Epigraphs of A School for Fools by Sasha Sokolov as the key to understanding the structure of the novel

Authors

  • Dmitry K. Baranov Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University (NovSU), 41, Bolshaya Sankt-Peterburgskaya ul., Veliky Novgorod, 173003, Russia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu09.2019.301

Abstract

The epigraphs of А School for Fools, by pointing to certain episodes, help to reconstruct, in as many details as possible, the plot of the novel. The words of the second epigraph (the list of verbs) reflect the structure of the novel in a compressed form. The verbs “to drive” and “to hold” characterize the controversial world surrounding Nymphaea; “…to run, to offend…” refer to the protagonist’s escape from his father’s house, which has the mythological traits of voluntarily leaving paradise, while “…to hear, to see…” point out to the motifs of specific vision and hearing that connect Nymphaea with the teacher Norvegov. The verbs “…to turn, to breathe, to hate…” are associated with the theme of Norvegov’s life and mentorship, whereas “to depend” indicates both Nymphaea’s independence from time and the fact that he outgrows his teacher: Norvegov, who is referred to as independent in the novel, compromises with the Perillo system. The verb “терпеть” has two major meanings, i.e. ‘to tolerate’ and ‘to endure’, and thus marks the fundamental ambiguity of the final. In the former meaning, the verb is associated with the noun “tolerance” and indicates the conflict in the novel. The verb also points to Nymphaea’s “patient mother,” who wants her son to join society. The thematic return to the mother of the hero is justified by the loss of Norvegov’s ideality in the last chapter.

Keywords:

Sasha Sokolov, postmodernism, motif analysis, intertext

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
 

References

Литература

Азеева 2015 — Азеева И. В. Саша Соколов «Школа для дураков»: опыт интерпретации игрового текста: учебное пособие . Ярославль: Ярославский гос. театр. инст., 2015.

Диваков 2013 — Диваков С. В. Творчество Саши Соколова: (проблемы жанра). Дис. … канд. филол. наук. Тверь: Тверской гос. ун-т, 2012.

Егоров 2002 — Егоров М. Ю. Продуцирование текста как художественный феномен в романе Саши Соколова «Школа для дураков». Дис. … канд. филол. наук. Ярославль: Яросл. гос. пед. ун-т им. К. Д. Ушинского, 2002.

Липовецкий 1997 — Липовецкий М. Н. Русский постмодернизм: Очерки исторической поэтики. Екатеринбург: Уральский гос. пед. ун-т, 1997.

Руднев 1999 — Руднев В. П. Словарь культуры XX века: Ключевые понятия и тексты. М.: Аграф, 1999.

Сысоева 2008 — Сысоева О. А. Пародия как жанрообразующий фактор романной прозы Саши Соколова. Дис. … канд. филол. наук. М.: МГУ им. М. В. Ломоносова, 2008.

Ziolkowski 1987 — Ziolkowski M. In the land of the lonely goatsucker: ornithic imagery in “A School for fools” and “Between dog and wolf ”. Canadian-American Slavic Studies. 1987, 21: 401–416.

References

Азеева 2015 — Azeeva I. V. Sasha Sokolov. “School for Fools”: the experience of the interpretation of the game text. Yaroslavl: Yaroslavl State Theatrical Institute Press, 2015. (In Russian)

Диваков 2013 — Divakov S. V. Sasha Sokolov’s creativity: (problems of the genre). PhD thesis (Philology). Tver: Tver State University, 2012. (In Russian)

Егоров 2002 — Egorov M. Iu. Text production as an artistic phenomenon in Sasha Sokolov’s novel “A School for Fools”. PhD thesis (Philology). Yaroslavl: Yaroslavl State Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushinskii, 2002. (In Russian)

Липовецкий 1997 — Lipovetsky M. N. 20th Century Culture Dictionary: Key Concepts and Texts. Yekaterinburg: Ural State Pedagogical University Press, 1997. (In Russian)

Руднев 1999 — Rudnev V. P. 20th Century Culture Dictionary: Key Concepts and Texts. Moscow: Agraf Publ., 1999. (In Russian)

Сысоева 2008 — Sysoeva O. A. Parody as a genre-forming factor of Sasha Sokolov’s novel prose. PhD thesis (Philology). Moscow: Moscow State University named after M. V. Lomonosov. 2008. (In Russian)

Ziolkowski 1987 — Ziolkowski M. In the land of the lonely goatsucker: ornithic imagery in “A School for fools” and “Between dog and wolf ”. Canadian-American Slavic Studies. 1987, 21: 401–416.

Published

2019-10-16

How to Cite

Baranov, D. K. (2019). Epigraphs of A School for Fools by Sasha Sokolov as the key to understanding the structure of the novel. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Language and Literature, 16(3), 338–353. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu09.2019.301

Issue

Section

Literary Studies