CHILDHOOD IN THE SOCIO-CULTURAL SPACE OF THE NOVEL BY V. NABOKOV “GIFT”/“DAR”
DOI: 10.23951/1609-624X-2020-3-30-44
Introduction. The appeal to the study of childhood in V. Nabokov’s novel is argued by a number of factors: historical and cultural changes at the beginning of the 20th century, attention to the phenomenon of childhood in humanitarian knowledge, and the significance of childhood in the aesthetics of modernism. Despite the fact that the topic of childhood has repeatedly become the subject of Nabokov’s analysis, it was not considered as part of the sociocultural space in the novel “Gift” (“Dar”). The purpose of the work is to explore the social and cultural features that describe the space of the formation of the personality of the characters; to determine the features of childhood as part of the socio-cultural space of V. Nabokov’s novel “Gift” (“Dar”). Material and methods. The study is based on the material of the novel “Gift” (“Dar”). The theoretical and methodological base of the research is composed of the sociological works of P. Sorokin, his works on the semiotics of the creative space of Y.M. Lotman, E. Farino, Nabokov’s studies of Yu. Levin. Results and discussion. The central character Fyodor Godunov-Cherdyntsev is the subject of understanding childhood as a special socio-cultural space in the novel. He recreates a number of signs (a description of the toys, a specific location of the Godunov mansion in St. Petersburg, a description of the interior of the estate in Leshino, a characteristic of the social relationship of the family, etc.), which make it possible to get an idea of a “successful childhood”. The image of his childhood is fitted by the novice poet into the manor and St. Petersburg’s style of Russian literature and through the association of his nanny with Arina Rodionovna, the spiritual relationship of the Godunov clan with Pushkin is established. The uniqueness of the socio-cultural space of Fyodor’s childhood is in the stereoscopic volume, the fullness of existence, ensured by the inclusion of the Godunov’s family in the natural universe, science, and elite culture. The social well-being of the Godunov-Cherdyntsev’s family is interpreted by Nabokov not like someone’s giving this privilege, but as genuine (internal) aristocracy, which is ensured by internal strength of mind, the ability to fulfill oneself in various fields: social and political (Fyodor’s Grandfather), scientific (Father Konstantin Kirillovich), creative (Fyodor). In contrast to his own childhood, Fyodor describes the childhood of the “great sixties” N. G. Chernyshevsky (Godunov’s best toys and clothes are contrasted with Nicolya’s “trousers”/“nankov’s trousers; Fyodor’s attentiveness and vigilance are contrasted with Nicolas’s shortsightedness; Godunov-Cherdyntsev’s physical dexterity is opposed to Chernyshevsky’s clumsiness, etc.). Finally, the continuity of the views and values of the father by the son in the noble family and the refusal to follow in the footsteps of the father in the family history of the son of the priest, the revolutionary fellow of Chernyshevsky are emphasized. Conclusion. Contrary to the prevailing opinion about Nabokov as a writer who is alien to social issue, the analysis allows us to state that the socio-cultural code is a significant method of revealing the ideological and thematic originality of the novel “Gift” (“Dar”). The socio-cultural space of childhood turns out to be the determining factor for all subsequent life. The socio-cultural space in Nabokov’s novels can be considered in a number of ways: intra-family and clan relations; social and personal status (the question of the correspondence of the inner world of a person to the assumed social role); the relationship of social conditions of existence with education, upbringing, cultural and personal self-determination of a person. Nabokov disputes the idea of aristocrats as people who are afraid of hard physical work and divorced from real life. On the contrary, he contrasts the “short-sightedness” of materialist-raider Chernyshevsky, who knows neither life, nor art, nor native nature, with comprehensive enlightenment and adaptability to life in the most diverse conditions of the Godunov-Cherdyntsevs (grandfather Kirill Ilyich and Fedor in exile, father - in expeditions). Social well-being is interpreted by Nabokov not as a self-worthy good, but as a basis for the freedom of personal and cultural selfdetermination.
Keywords: Nabokov, “Gift” (“Dar”), literature of the Russian foreign countries, socio-cultural space, childhood
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Issue: 3, 2020
Series of issue: Issue 3
Rubric: TOPICAL ISSUES OF LITERARY CRITICISM
Pages: 30 — 44
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