Features of impressionism in V. M. Garshin’s prose

Abstract

This article identifies the features of impressionism in V. Garshin’s prose, their functions and role in the literary process of the late 19^th century. No evidence is necessary to prove the fact that impressionism developed in literature as an independent trend, since it is combined with other methods, such as naturalism, symbolism and, to a greater extent, realism; however, we can identify its features in the work of Russian writers, in particular V. Garshin’s. This article analyzes in detail V. Garshin’s fiction in terms of impressionistic poetics, paying attention to the comparison of V. Garshin and A. Chekhov’s works. The analysis is based on the following works by Garshin: “Nadezhda Nikolaevna”, “Red Flower”, “Four Days”, “A Very Short Novel”, “Incident”, “Coward”, “Night”, “Artists”, “Signal” and Chekhov’s “Steppe” and “The Lady with the Dog”. Analyzing impressionistic techniques in Garshin’s works, we identify a range of themes used in their disclosure. The abundance of impressionistic elements, used by Garshin who is considered to be a realist, gives grounds for revising his place and role in the literary process of the late 19^th – early 20^th centuries.