Poetics of the Key Scenes of V. Pelevin’s Literary Historiosophy

Abstract

Tatyana E. Sorokina (Moscow, Russian Federation)

The article studies the poetics of the key scenes of the artistic philosophy of history of Victor Pelevin. There is an attempt to identify the features of his rational creative manner. Firstly, in the novels and stories of the writer there is modernity, transformed into grotesque images «of our days». Secondly, dynamism of fable text formation is in the context of philosophical reflection and breakthroughs that allow the reader to feel attached to the «wisdom», without leaving the area of the plot that can be disclosed within mass culture. Thirdly, the component of the philosophical text does not require the reader’s own intellectual effort; humor, irony and sarcasm eliminate vector of didactic narrative complexity of the book. Fourthly, the frequent use of profanity, limit of the freedom of the narrator and the characters from the classic morality reinforce grotesque sound of works and stimulate the reader to go through a certain surge of marginality, however, not going beyond the act of reading. And fifthly, it is accomplished the introduction to Buddhist culture, which is «preached» by means of historical realities of modern Russia.

The paradox of Pelevin’s poetics: the impossibility of history, but it is impossible not to talk about it. What it is not substantially constant appears in the dialogue of the novel. The ambiguity of chronotope, the duality of time and space, ironic attitude to the character – the basis of poetics is not only in the novel «Chapaev and Emptiness», which raises the question of the existence of history as a fact of consciousness, the reality existing outside our mind, but also the «Sacred Book of the Werewolf» and «Тhe Empire V». The key image – the image of the emptiness.

Consequently, the poetics of the key scenes of artistic historiosophy of Pelevin is considered on the material of novels «Chapaev and Emptiness», «The Sacred Book of the Werewolf» and «The Empire V».

Key words: poetics, key scenes, historiosophical idea, time-space, image of the emptiness, Buddhist motives.