“ADAM BEDE” BY GEORGE ELIOT AND “NOTES OF A HUNTER” BY IVAN TURGENEV: IDEOLOGICAL AND ARTISTIC CONVERGENCES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17072/2037-6681-2018-3-149-161Keywords:
Turgenev, George Eliot, England, Russia, novel, series of short stories, peasantry in li¬terature, comparative literature studies, literary hero.Abstract
The essay deals with ideological and aesthetical typological convergences and congruencies in the works of the two great European writers of the second half of the 19th century. It is shown that democratic thinking, synthesis of liberalism and humanism, which is a peculiar feature of both Turgenev and Eliot, are very much reflected in the system of concepts of the two works under analysis; both Eliot’s and Turgenev’s works are famous in the literary histories of their countries due to the masterful and original introduction into literature of a new type of a literary hero – the one from peasantry. It is stressed in the essay that the grounds for typological generalizations of these two works are the writers’ realistic and analytical approach to the artistic ways of depicting a human being’s fate under swiftly changing social, cultural and moral circumstances. The essay shows that Turgenev and Eliot depict province as socio-cultural wholeness. One of the main ideas of the essay is to show that both writers appeal to a human being who is an autonomous creature in terms of social, moral and spiritual existence, who thinks of himself as a unique and independent being and thus draws a border between himself and the world around and tries to establish his social independence and self-sufficiency. It is the reason why George Eliot and Ivan Turgenev set so many hopes on a human being’s high level of morality, his conscientious behavior in the situation of free choice, the concentration of which is higher, the more democratic and less patriarchal and paternalistic the contemporary world becomes. The author of the essay analyses what is called moral and ethical spaces of the writers’ works, where liberal and humanistic inclinations of Turgenev and Eliot are a sort of keystones; this fact determines ideological and artistic convergences of the writers even if we take into account their national, social, cultural and gender differences. It is shown in the essay that the parameters of these spaces are checked first of all by the images of the heroes taken from the humble people, who are, by both writers’ confidences, morally and ethically pure and solid because of their closeness to Nature. The author of the article shows how much important for Eliot and Turgenev as moral realists are pictures of the countryside landscapes, very much anthropological in the ways of their existence in the plots of the works, and, what is more, these pictures are philosophically and ethically sharpened by the authors, which once again makes them so close to one another. It is proved in the essay that romantic features in the images of the authors’ protagonists is a serious ground to think of these writers in terms of poetical convergences. It is also demonstrated that the comparative method of studying Adam Bede and Notes of a Hunter gives a good chance to reveal some points more vividly should we look at these works separately.References
Алексеев М. П. Мировое значение «Записок охотника» // Творчество И. С. Тургенева: сб. ст. / под ред. С. М. Петрова. М.: Гос. учеб.-пед. изд-во, 1959. URL: http://turgenev-lit.ru/turgenev/kritika-o-turgeneve/tvorchestvo-turgeneva-sbornik/index.htm (дата обращения: 12.05.2018).
Белинский В. Г. Взгляд на русскую литературу 1847 года // Белинский В. Г. Собр. соч.: в 9 т. М.: Худож. лит., 1982. Т. 8. С. 337–414.
Боборыкин П. Д. Столицы мира (Тридцать лет воспоминаний). М.: Сфинкс, 1911. 516 с.
Головко В. М. Черты национального архетипа в мифологеме Христа произведений И. С. Тургенева // Проблемы исторической поэтики. 1994. Т. 3. С. 231–248.
Головко В. М. Художественно-философская интерпретация свободы и необходимости И. С. Тургенева в парадигматическом контексте аксиологического онтологизма // Знание. Понимание. Умение. 2014. № 4. С.40–48.
Давыдов В. В. Жизнь как ценность: личность и витальное начало в «Записках охотника» И. С. Тургенева // Вестник КРАУНЦ. Гуманитарные науки. 2015. № 2(26). С. 20–25.
Данилевский Р. Ю. Об одной особенности нравственной идеи «Записок охотника» // Спасский вестник. 2012. № 20. С. 4–12.
Ковалевская С. В. Воспоминания о Джордж Элиот // Ковалевская С. В. Воспоминания. Повести. М.: Правда, 1986. С. 311–331.
Конышев Е. М. Тема народа в «Записках охотника» Тургенева: ее философские и литературные основы // Вестник Брянского университета. 2013. № 2. С. 204–210.
Курляндская Г. Б. Всемирная гармония в творчестве Тургенева // Спасский вестник. 2004. № 11. С. 10–18.
Лебедев Ю. В. Тургенев. М.: Молодая гвардия, 1990. 608 с.
Недзвецкий В. А. Тургенев: логика творчества и менталитет героя. Курс лекций для магистрантов. М.: Изд-во МГУ, 2011. 208 с.
Поспелов Г. Н. История русской литературы XIX века (1840–1860 гг.). М.: Высш. шк., 1972. 472 с.
Ребель Г. М. Голос из темноты. Рассказ И. С. Тургенева «Живые мощи» // Вопросы литературы. 2008. № 6. С. 265–281.
Тургенев в воспоминаниях современников:
в 2 т. / сост. и подгот. текстов С. М. Петров и Г. М. Фридлянд. Изд. 2-е. М.: Худож. лит., 1983. Т. 2. 557 с.
Тургенев И. С. Записки охотника // Тургенев И. С. Собр. cоч.: в 6 т. М.: Правда, 1968. Т. 1. С. 3–362.
Тургенев И. С. Полн. собр. соч. и писем. Письма. Т. X, 1872–1874. М.; Л.: Худож. лит., 1965. 542 с.
Феклин М. Б. Тургенев в Англии: первые полвека. Оксфорд; Нижний Новгород: Perspective Publications, 2005. 240 с.
Allen W. George Eliot. New York; London: The Macmillan Company, 1964. 192 p.
Browning O. Life and Writings of George Eliot. London and Felling-on-Tyne: The Walter Scott Publishing Co., LTD, 1890.174 p.; i-xiv.
Cecil D. George Eliot // Cecil D. Early Victorian Novelists. Essays in revaluation. London and Glasgo: Collins. The Fontana Library, 1964. P. 215–250.
Cross J. W. George Eliot's Life as Related in Her Letters and Journals. New York: Harper and Brothers, Franklin Aquare, 1885. Vol. 3. 443 p.
Dolin T. Authors in Context. George Eliot. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. 284 p.
Eliot G. Adam Bede. London and New York: John Lane, 1911. 768 p.
Eliot G. The Natural History of German Life // Eliot G. Selected Critical Writings / edited and with Introduction and Notes by Rosemary Ashton. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. P. 260–295.
Gill St. Wordsworth and the Victorians. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. 346 p.
Houghton W. E. The Victorian Frame of Mind, 1830–1870. New Haven and London: Yele University Press, 1985. 467 p.
Newlin T. The Thermodynamis of Desire in Turgenev’s Notes of a Hunter // The Russian Review. 2013. July. Vol. 72. Issue 3. P. 365–389.
Paris B. George Eliot’s Religion of Humanity // George Eliot: A Collection of Critical Essays / еd. by George R. Creeger. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc; Englewood Cliffs, 1970. P. 11–36.
Proskurnin B. The Reception of George Eliot in Russia: The Start that Determined the Paradigm // The Reception of George Eliot in Europe / еd. by Elinor Shaffer and Catherine Brown. L.: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016. P. 261–274.
Williamson A. Against Egology: Ethics and Style in George Eliot and Emmanuel Levinas // The George Eliot Review. Journal of the George Eliot Fellowship. 2017. No. 48. P. 33–47.
References
Alekseev M. P. Mirovoe znachenie «Zapisok Okhotnika» [World significance of “Notes of a Hunter”]. Tvorchestvo I. S. Turgeneva. Sbornik statey [Turgenev’s works. Collection of essays]. Ed. by S. M. Petrov. Moscow, Gosudarstvennoe uchebno-pedagogicheskoe izdatelstvo Ministerstva Prosvescheniya RSFSR, 1959. http://turgenev-lit.ru/turgenev/kritika-o-turgeneve/tvorchestvo-turgeneva-sbornik/index.htm (accessed 17.03.2018) (In Russ.)
Belinsky V. G. Vzglyad na russkuyu literaturu 1847 goda [A view on Russian literature of 1847]. Belinsky V. G. Sobr. soch. v 9 t. [Collected works in 9 vols.]. Moscow, Khudozhestvennaya literatura Publ., 1982, vol. 8, pp. 337–414. (In Russ.)
Boborykin P. D. Stolitsy mira (Tridtsat’ let vospominaniy) [Capitals of the world (Thirty years of remembering]. Moscow, Sfinks Publ., 1911. 516 p. (In Russ.)
Golovko V. M. Cherty natsional’nogo arkhetipa v mifologeme Khrista proizvedeniy I. S. Turgeneva [Characteristics of the national archetype of the Christ mythologeme in Ivan Turgenev’s literary works]. Problemy istoricheskoy poetiki [The Problems of Historical Poetics], 1994, vol. 3, pp. 231–248. (In Russ.)
Golovko V. M. Khudozhestvenno-filosofskaya interpretatsiya svobody i neobkhodimosti I.S. Turgeneva v paradigmaticheskom kontekste akseologicheskogo ontologizma [Ivan S. Turgenev’s artistic and philosophical interpretation of freedom and necessity in the paradigmatic context of the 20th century axiological ontologism]. Znanie. Ponimanie. Umenie [Knowledge. Understanding. Skill], 2014, vol. 4, pp. 40–48. (In Russ.)
Davydov V. V. Zhiz’n kak tsennost’: lichnost’ i vital’noe nachalo v “Zapiskakh okhotnika” I. S. Turgeneva [Life as a value: personality and vital grounds in I. S. Turgenev’s ‘A Sportsman's Sketches’]. Vestnik KRAUNC. Gumanitarnye nauki [Journal Collection of Scientific Works of KRASEC. The Humanities], 2015, issue 2(26), pp. 20–25. (In Russ.)
Danilevskiy R. Yu. Ob odnoy osobennosti nravstvennoy idei «Zapisok Okhotnika» [On one peculiarity of the moral idea of “Notes of a Hunter”]. Spasskiy vestnik [Spassky Herald], 2012, issue 20, pp. 4–12. (In Russ.)
Kovalevskaya S. V. Vospominaniya o Dzhordzh Eliot [Remembering George Eliot]. Kovalevskaya S. V. Vospominaniya. Povesti [Memoirs. Stories]. Moscow, Pravda Publ., 1986, pp. 311–331. (In Russ.)
Konyshev E. M. Tema naroda v «Zapiskakh okhotnika» Turgeneva: ee filosofskie i literaturnye osnovy [Theme of the folk in “Notes of a Hunter” by Turgenev]. Vestnik Bryanskogo Universiteta [The Bryansk State University Herald], 2013, issue 2, pp. 204–210. (In Russ.)
Kurlyandskaya G. B. Vsemirnaya garmoniya v tvorchestve Turgeneva [World harmony in Turgenev’s works]. Spasskiy vestnik [Spassky Herald], 2004, issue 11, pp. 10–18. (In Russ.)
Lebedev Yu. V. Turgenev [Turgenev]. Moscow, Molodaya gvardiya Publ., 1990. 608 p. (In Russ.)
Nedzvetskiy V. A. Turgenev: logika tvorchestva i mentatlitet geroya. Kurs lektsiy dlya magistrantov [Turgenev: the logic of creative work and mentality of a hero. The course of lectures for Master’s students]. Moscow, Lomonosov Moscow State University Publ., 2011. 208 p. (In Russ.)
Pospelov G. N. Istoriya russkoy literatury 19 veka [The History of the Russian literature of the 19th century]. Moscow, Vysshaya shkola Publ., 1972. 472 p. (In Russ.)
Rebel G. M. Golos iz temnoty. Rasskaz I. S. Turgeneva «Zhivye moshchi» [The voice from the darkness. I. S. Turgenev’s story “A living relic”], Voprosy literatury [Issues of Literature], 2008, issue 6, pp. 265–281. (In Russ.)
Turgenev v vospominaniyakh sovremennikov. V 2 t. [Turgenev in memoirs of contemporaries. In 2 vols.]. Second Edition. Comp. by S. M. Petrov, G. M. Fridlyand. Moscow, Khudozhestvennaya literatura Publ., 1983, vol. 2. 557 p. (In Russ.)
Turgenev I. S. Zapiski okhotnika [Notes of a Hunter]. Turgenev I. S. Sobr. soch. v 6 t. [Collected works in 6 vols.]. Moscow, Pravda Publ., 1968, vol. 1, pp. 3–362. (In Russ.)
Turgenev I. S. Poln. sobr. soch. i pisem. Pis’ma. [Complete collection of works and letters. Letters]. Moscow, Leningrad, Khudozhestvennaya literatura Publ., 1965, vol. 10 (1872–1874). 542 p. (In Russ.)
Feklin M. B. Turgenev v Anglii: pervye polveka [Turgenev in England: the first half of the century]. Oxford, Nizniy Novgorod, Perspective Publications, 2005. 240 p. (In Russ.)
Allen W. George Eliot. New York, London, The Macmillan Company, 1964. 192 p. (In Eng.)
Browning O. Life and Writings of George Eliot. London and Felling-on-Tyne, The Walter Scott Publishing Co., LTD, 1890. 174 p.; i-xiv. (In Eng.)
Cecil D. George Eliot. Cecil D. Early Victorian Novelists. Essays in revaluation. London and Glasgow, Collins. The Fontana Library, 1964, pp. 215–250. (In Eng.)
Cross J. W. George Eliot’s Life as Related in Her Letters and Journals. New York, Harper and Brothers, Franklin Square, 1885, vol. 3. 443 p. (In Eng.)
Dolin T. Authors in Context. George Eliot.
Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2005. 284 p. (In Eng.)
Eliot G. Adam Bede. London and New York, John Lane, 1911. 768 p. (In Eng.)
Eliot G. The Natural History of German Life. Eliot G. Selected Critical Writings. Ed. and with Introduction and notes by Rosemary Ashton. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1999, pp. 260–295. (In Eng.)
Gill St. Wordsworth and the Victorians. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1998. 346 p. (In Eng.)
Houghton W. E. The Victorian Frame of Mind, 1830–1870. New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1985. 467 p. (In Eng.)
Newlin T. The Thermodynamics of Desire in Turgenev’s Notes of a Hunter. The Russian Review, 2013, July, vol. 72, issue 3, pp. 365–389. (In Eng.)
Paris B. George Eliot’s Religion of Humanity. George Eliot: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. by George R. Creeger. New Jersey, Prentice Hall Inc, Englewood Cliffs, 1970, pp. 11–36. (In Eng.)
Proskurnin B. The Reception of George Eliot In Russia: The Start that Determined the Paradigm. The Reception of George Eliot in Europe. Ed. by Elinor Shaffer and Catherine Brown. London, Bloomsbury Academic, 2016, pp. 261–274. (In Eng.)
Williamson A. Against Egology: Ethics and Style in George Eliot and Emmanuel Levinas. The George Eliot Review. Journal of the George Eliot Fellowship, 2017, issue 48, pp. 33–47. (In Eng.)
