The Transformation of Three Dostoevsky Themes in Lyudmila Ulitskaya’s Oeuvre Cover Image

The Transformation of Three Dostoevsky Themes in Lyudmila Ulitskaya’s Oeuvre
The Transformation of Three Dostoevsky Themes in Lyudmila Ulitskaya’s Oeuvre

Author(s): Tünde Szabó
Subject(s): Cultural history, Sociology of Culture, Philology, Sociology of Literature
Published by: Hrvatsko filološko društvo
Keywords: Dostoevsky; Ulitskaya; daydreaming; “accidental family”; demonism;

Summary/Abstract: The study examines the transformations of certain ideas of Dostoevsky in the works of L. Ulitskaya. Three themes – daydreaming, accidental family, and demonism – can be identified in Ulitskaya’s Sonechka, Sincerely Yours, Shurik and The Big Green Tent either directly or as mediated by certain authors or works of the Russian Silver Age. The transformation of these themes also constitutes the transmutation of a type of hero and the realisation of certain structural principles. The paper argues that, although Ulitskaya does not name Dostoevsky as her literary predecessor, she enters into a dialogue with Dostoevsky’s ideas and poetics.

  • Issue Year: 2021
  • Issue No: 3-4
  • Page Range: 207-227
  • Page Count: 21
  • Language: English