RUSSIAN MYTH ABOUT DON QUIXOTE IN THE NOVEL “AELITA” BY A. TOLSTOY
Abstract
https://doi.org/10.18522/1995-0640-2025-2-101-112
The article is devoted to the first analysis of the peculiarity of interpretation of the Russian myth about Don Quixote in the novel “Aelita” by A. Tolstoy. The rebellion of the dreamerheroes against imperfect reality is associated in the novel with the problem of self-identification. The journey to Mars of the thinker Elk and the figure of Gusev becomes not so much a search for a wonderful place as a wandering in search of their own place in a rapidly changing reality. The intellectual Elk, embodying the idea of scientific service, and Gusev, a native of the people, a quixotic revolutionary, an owner of active creative energy, are necessary for each other on the path of self-determination. It is important not only to advance the heroes along the path of self-realization, but also to move towards each other. The relationships I - other has been established between the “scientist” Elk and the “non-scientist” Gusev, where recognition and understanding of the value system of the other leads to recognition of oneself. The journey-search for heroes ends with the acquisition of personal happiness and the realization of one's destiny, which contributes to the achievement of the common good in the future.
Key words: Russian Don-Quixotism, myth of Don Quixote, A. N. Tolstoy, impostor, rebel, superfluous man, wanderer, fiction
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