‘COSAS DE RUSSIA’: JOSEPH CONRAD’S CONFESSIONS ABOUT RUSSIA AND RUSSIANS. PART 2
Аннотация
The paper addresses a very controversial subject in Conradian scholarship and criticism: Conrad’s representation of the ‘Cosas de Russia.’ So far, it has been largely (but not necessarily correctly) interpreted as either Russophobia (in his non-fiction) or Russophilia (in his fiction). Conrad himself evaded any clear answer as to his precise stance and its respective background. But his narrative strategies are telling enough. They contain some carefully guarded secrets, but also unintentional confessions. The question therefore is: how much did he really know about Russia and Russians, how familiar was he with Russian culture, language and literature? These issues are explored through a combination of British Cultural, Linguistic and Literary Studies, but also Slavonic Studies. The methods employed are close reading, narratology, deconstruction and contextualization. Apart from Conrad’s novels “Under Western Eyes” (1911) and “The Secret Agent” (1907) his essays “Autocracy and War” (1905) and “Turgenev” (1917) will be used for elucidation. Among the Russian works of fiction studied in comparison to Conrad’s works are Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Demons” (1871–1872) and “The Brothers Karamazov” (1879–1880) and Ivan Goncharov’s “Oblomov” (1859). The major attention, however, will be directed to Nikolay Gogol’s short stories “Nevsky Prospekt” (1835) and “The Overcoat” (1842) as well as his novel “Dead Souls” (1842). After reconsidering central issues and correcting some misassumptions in literary criticism, the paper attempts to add a few new aspects to the debate by focusing on issues of intertextuality. What emerges from all this is that Conrad’s ‘Cosas de Russia’ represent a kind of hidden master knowledge whose significance still needs to be fully recognized.
Key words: Joseph Conrad; Cosas de Russia; representation of Russian culture, language and literature; intertextuality; comparative studies of English and Russian literature; issues of translation.
DOI 10.23683/2415-8852-2017-3-17-37
Цитировать:
Binder Ch.M. ‘Cosas de Russia’: Joseph Conrad’s confessions about Russia and Russians. Part 2 // Практики и интерпретации: журнал филологических, образовательных и культурных исследований. 2017. Т. 2, № 3. С. 17‒37.
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Primary Literature
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