Volume 4, 2016 year

The concept of the fantastic is one of the most complicated topics of terminology. It can hardly be explained in a rational way. Almost all definitions are supposed to have exceptions. None of them covers the phenomenon. The discussion of the problem is compounded by the translation of the category of Aristotle’s poetics αδύνατο/impossibile/невозможное, of the concepts fantasy, fantastic, adopted from Greek, into various languages and by the alteration of their meanings. Aristotle did not introduce the term the fantastic or the fantastika, but he conceived a theory of the fantastic. “The possible by necessity” that goes beyond “the possible in probability” is properly what we define as the fantastika. In Russian theory of literature “the fantastic / the fantastika” is not a genre or sort of literature or art, neither is it conventionality or a sort of it, but a category of aesthetics and poetics that is an indispensable requisite of Art and captures the essence of creativity. One of the controversial issues resides in the fact that reviewers have to distinguish fantastic imagination and non-fantastic one. There is left a certain remain in a literary work, that is not identified in relation to “the real” but remains the phantom of the author’s imagination. The rules of art are not identical to the rules of an empirical world. In the art everything is fiction, fancy, invention and at the same time everything is real, both the possible and the impossible. In art everything is possible, including the impossible — something that can not happen. The fantastika infringes the “rules of space and time, existence and intelligence”. It is impossible in the real world, goes beyond the empirical experience of man, but regardless of common sense it is real in the artistic world. It is here where an aesthetic effect of the fantastic resides in.

Keywords: fancy, fiction, the fantastic, the impossible, the fantastika, conventionality, dream, nightmare, madness

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The article is dedicated to the analysis of the concept of “the fantastic” that is one theessential notions of modern literature. The research provides more data on the history of the concept derived from the Greek word «τὸφανταστικόν». The article offers other Greek and Latin names and notions for designating something imaginary, fantastical, illusionary, fabulous, transcendental and miraculous. For the first time it studies the evolution of “the fantastic” notion in Ancient literature and of an antagonistic concept of “mimesis” which means “the representation of reality in actions” by Aristotle (Arst. Poet. IV 1448 b 39-40). Based on Greek and Latin authors’ literary works the article asserts constant existence of the fantastic in Ancient literature, philosophy, historiography and science, contrary to a longstanding authoritative tradition that refers the fantastic to the periphery of Ancient culture. The article presents the ways of comprehension of the Ancient tradition of correlating the fantastic with mimesis, the mythological with the rational in literature of the Modern period.

Keywords: the fantastic, ancient literature, Homer, Aristotle, paradoxography, mimesis, mythology

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The article addresses the semantics of the fictional, the miraculous, the real both in the world of poetics and in the system of categories of the modern Russian literature study. It is argued that the result of the scientific description (the very interpretation of particular literature works, as well as other scientific subjects, including national literatures) depends to quite an extent on the value system (axiology) of a researcher. For instance, hagiography (especially of holy fools) is overflowing with seemingly comic, as well as quite fictional details. However, it is only possible to interpret them “scientifically” as the manifestation of the world of laughter (as well as, in fact, the world of fiction) if one renounces from the tradition of holiness, approaching the subject of the scientific description with detachment, i.e., depriving it from a specific poetic reality. If the effectiveness (reality) of a “miracle” is accepted by the researcher as a positive significance of the world representation under study, the description — and understanding — of the subject may be one, whereas if a fundamentally different cultural tradition is being followed — it may also result in another scientific description.

Keywords: poetics, literature study, the fantastika, miracle, reality

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The article discusses a question about the balance between the fantastika as such and various definite ideas (technical, scientific or sociological) which can be found in a fantastic work — i.e. about the balance between the "lie" and the "hint", as Alexander Pushkin put it in his well-known poem "The Golden Cockerel". It is traditionally believed that the fantastika (especially science fiction) is created by authors to express some ideas they consider essential. This opinion was common among book critics from 1920s to 1950s, and even nowadays, some researchers and reviewers support this view. A large part of this article is devoted to the debate with such speculations. The analysis shows that if we give primary importance to the author’s ideas and regard the fantastika only as a nice "wrapping" for these ideas (or, in Puskin’s terms, the author’s "hints") which is used to attract readers’ attention and make them catch the “hints”, understand the expressed ideas and learn the lessons, it may lead to the destruction of the fantastic (visionary) world and the ideas embedded into the text. The article also covers such subjects as "pleasure from reading fiction", the escapism of the fantastika, the absoluteness of fictitious narrative in the structure of a piece of fiction, and the absolute notion of the possible and the impossible in such books (as contrasted with the relative and historically changing balance between the possible and the impossible in empirical reality). The article also contains certain arguments against some critics who analyze Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel "The Master and Margarita" from the perspective contested by the article’s author.

Keywords: fairy-tale, the fantastika, visionary world, idea

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The well-known final of Pushkin’s “Fairy tale of the Golden Cockerel” (crossed out by a censor) contained an unconventional statement: “The tale’s a lie, but it’s got a hint! For a good pal it’s a tip”. What was it for a “hint” that was a “fairy tale’s” conclusion, that the author was referring to? And why was the tale itself defined as a lie? In Pushkin’s language use a fairy tale (something that is told and then written down) is peculiar as it is obviously a fable and that is esthetically important. The fairy tale principle invented by the author provided the basis for the very “fables”, one could “pour tears over”. That very principle made the author perceive any event he described particularly vividly. This article gives several examples of Pushkin’s treating the events he wrote about as a “fairy tale”.

Keywords: fairy tale, legend, history, literary transformation, imagination

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The fantastika as a phenomenon of art has a long history. Despite the popularity of fantastic literary works, criticism could give a definition of the fantastic as a category of poetics comparatively late. In Russia of the 1820s, the interest in the theory of the fantastic was expressed in the reflection concerning folklore and literary fairy tales, in debates pro and contra the fantastika of the Russian Hoffmanists. Rationalism and positivism were prevalent in aesthetics. These movements were instigating many critics to deny the fantastic under the veil of the fight for realism. Creating fantastic works, writers themselves were defending the right for the fantastika: A. S. Pushkin, V. F. Odoevsky, N. V. Gogol, F. M. Dostoevsky, I. S. Turgenev, L. N. Tolstoy, N. A. Nekrasov, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, A. P. Chekhov and many others. Dostoevsky has a very special role in the justification of the fantastika. He developed an original theory of the fantastic and defined the fantastic as a “form of art”, a “boundless imagination”, breach of the “laws of nature”, existence and sense. I. F. Annensky and V. S. Solovyov voiced profound opinions on the fantastic in art. In its turn, the conception of V. S. Solovyov was developed by B. V. Tomashevsky who associated the technique of fantastic narration with realistic motivations. Afterwards Yu. V. Mann and Tzvetan Todorov accepted B. V. Tomashevsky’s ideas, and E. M. Neelov reflected concepts offered by I. F. Annensky and V. Ya. Propp in his works. In the 1970s–1980s, the age of the negation of the fantastika ended with its justification in Russian criticism and literary studies.

Keywords: the fantastika, the fantastic, history and theory of the fantastika, E. T. A. Hoffmann, W. Scott, F. M. Dostoevsky, V. S. Solovyov, B. V. Tomashevsky, Yu. V. Mann, Tzvetan Todorov

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The article studies the specific features of science fiction prose of the 20th — 21st centuries; it defines the status of science fiction among different types of futuristic literature of the post-Soviet period. With the course of time science fiction has lost its predominant position which it held throughout the most part of the 20th century in the USSR and Europe. The science fiction novels by Russian and foreign writers serve as the basis for analyzing the modern science fiction conceptions of the society of the future and its problems: artificial intelligence, contacts with space aliens, evolution stages of civilizations and their transformation into super-civilizations. The present study reveals the differences in fiction models of the future, inherent in western and eastern science fiction traditions. Furthermore, the article raises the issue of synthesis in a number of fiction texts of the principles of science fiction and fantasy demonstrating futuristic background and science fiction interpretation of classical images of fantasy.

Keywords: science fiction, fantasy, the world of future, artificial intelligence, extraterrestrial life

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The article studies the main functions, inherent to such a fabulous common attribute as an egg. The main mythological meaning of the egg referring to cosmogony whose echoes V. N. Toporov tried to find in Russian fairy tales undergoes a strong transformation in the works of this folk genre. Here this attribute may contain important elements such as the life force of Koschei, love and anxiety of the Tsar Maiden (the plot models are 302₁, the Death of Koschei in the egg and 400₂ the Tsar Maiden), it may also serve as a temporary storage for the items of the other world (plot model 301A, B Three underworlds) and extremely rarely contribute to the birth of a man (plot model 327 Tom thumb and the witch). The functions performed by the egg have fantastic content. In some cases similar actions may be associated with other items equivalent to eggs  (a ring, a ball, a box, or a handkerchief). In some fairy tales there is even a large-scale transformation: the egg becomes a reality of the texts with comic content (plot models 1218 Hatching, 1218** A Lazy person is sitting on the swan eggs, 1677 Minister (General) replaces a jester, who is busy hatching Chicks, 2022B a Broken egg).

Keywords: Russian folk tales, the egg, functions, plot models

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The article examines a dream vision genre, which was very popular in the Middle Ages. In Old Russia, dream visions (also called dream allegories) used to be included into different collections of didactic material — patericons, menaia, or synaxaria. Visions analyzed in this article were taken from the Alphabetical Patericon issued in 1791. There are two types of dream visions: those of the afterlife, in which a visionist makes a pilgrimage into another reality (the realm of the dead), and those, in which the representatives of the afterlife reveal themselves to visionists (usually in their dreams while sleeping). The article demonstrates the similarity between dream allegories and fairy tales, since both genres developed from the same range of ideas about the afterlife, and use similar images and motifs (i.e. ordeals the hero undergoes, crossing the border between the worlds, appearance of a magical helper etc.). Medieval dream allegories do not belong to the fantastika in the strict sense of this term, however, they had a certain impact on this type of literature during the early modern period. For example, a literary technique, called the “the covert fantastika” by Yury Mann, obviously derives from the dream vision genre.

Keywords: Old Russian literature, dream vision, Middle Ages, fairy tale

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From the experience perspective of translation experience and observations, the author of this article proposes returning to the topic “Odoevsky – Dostoevsky”, which is not the most studied one in Russian and Western criticism. The article briefly reviews some articles and comments made by Russian critics about the artistic dialogue between V. F. Odoevsky and Fyodor Dostoevsky. By focusing on the story “The Living Corpse” and the short novel’ “The Double”, the author finds a number of linguistic, thematic and compositional references, which allow us to raise again the issue of the influence of Odoevsky’s works on young Dostoevsky. The role and purpose of the fantastic poetics in the worldview of these writers, а specific approach to the topic of the double and the use of colloquial language by the narrator and the main characters are the subject of analysis. The author made a supposition that the traces of “The Living Corpse” may be found not only in “Poor Folk”, but also in “The Double”, in which main characters’ psychology and actions are comparable. Attention is also paid to the structure of both works. In the end the author speculates on the relationship between the truth and writing, or on the aspiration of Dostoevsky’s characters to know themselves through writing.

Keywords: the fantastika, the topic of the double, “The Living Corpse”, “The Double”, characters’ psychology

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The article is devoted to the analysis of N. Kluev’s perception of the October Revolution.He considered revolutionary process as an act of dying / birth, resurrection of Holy Russia. The poet doesn’t observe specific events, except commemoration for the dead sailors perished in the battle for new life. Since metaphysics is more important for him than physics, it is significant for the poet to present the readers invisible, undercover world, which is depicted in the text by means of fantastic plot and a system of fantastic images. As soon as the world is “reborn” the poem actualizes an ancient cosmogenic plot about the creation of the world from the chaos of water. This plot received Christian connotation with time, so demiurge is Jesus Christ himself. Accomplices of evil in the form of sharks and louses act on behalf of satan. Copper Whale is an image which combines the visible and invisible worlds, the dying and being born. In its description the poet appeals to the 17th Kalevala verse, where the demiurge hero Vainamoinen goes through excruciating trials in the womb of Vipunen to obtain undercover knowledge. Old Testament prophet Jonah goes through similar trialin the womb of a whale. This event was interpreted by the first Christians as the sign of the Savior: as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the womb of the whale, so will Son of Man spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Russia also has to go through these trials to become Holy Russia again.

Keywords: N. Klyuev, “Pesnoslov”, “Copper Keith”, Sacred Russia, “Kalevala”, Vyaynyameynen, Vipunen

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The article studies the early period of A. Platonov’s creative work, whose peculiarity is the abundance of science fiction. Fantastic and real worlds are closely interrelated in the writer’s texts: A. Platonov attributes autobiographical features to his characters and grants them the ideas of his own inventions. In the article it is concluded that A. Platonov’s fantastika fiction cannot be defined as purely scientific (NF), but rather as social one. One of the main themes of the social fantastika of the writer is the relationship between Man and nature. This theme allows revealing the traits of other genres in his works: utopia and dystopia. Another feature of the early works of Andrei Platonov is a synthesis of science fiction and mythological conventionalism. The article examines the "ordeal" theme, the motive of the road, which becomes the main plot-forming factor and symbolizes a search for truth by the protagonist. The article also considers two utopian images in A. Platonov’s texts: the image of America as a technocratic Paradise and the image of the City-Garden. The synthesis of science fiction, utopia and myth creates the specific fantastic world of Andrei Platonov.

Keywords: A. Platonov, science fiction, fantastic world, utopia, dystopia, myth

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In the article the author studies some features of poetics of a fairy tale which found reflection in science fiction literature in general and in I. A. Efremov’s works in particular. It is well-known fact that the main hero of a fantastic work is the world itself created by the author. Therefore, special attention is paid to laws of creation of an alternative fantastic world which were for the first time allocated by researchers (and by E. M. Neyolov too) in relation to the fairy tale: division into “one’s own” and “someone else’s”, distinction between “a look from outside” and “a look from inside”, the lack of choice, the requirement to keep a given word. In the course of the analysis of I. A. Efremov’s creations (the world-known novel “The Nebula of Andromeda” and other his works) there was made a conclusion that all these laws found their full and obvious reflection in the poetics of his novels (not only in science fiction but in historical novels too, for example “Tais Afinskaya”).

Keywords: I. A. Efremov, science fiction, magic fairy tale, poetics

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The early works of the Strugatsky brothers like most of the Soviet science fiction works have a utopian character that depends on the authors’ communist convictions. The above-mentioned utopism depends on the conception of historical optimism that existed within the framework of socialist realism. As a result, the confrontation of the human and hostile nature of unexplored planets is typical for the early Strugatskys’ works. The key theme of the writings is the theme of scientists’ and cosmonauts’ work. These features of the works under consideration allow us to correlate them with the genre of the production novel. At the same time, the Strugatskys follow the tradition of the ‘firm science fiction’, which implies a science fiction work construction on the basis of a scientific hypothesis developing with the action. The result is the plentiful substantiations of the described technical achievements. In search of their own style, the Strugatskys change the habitual language of the Soviet science fiction, introduce a novice hero that adds authenticity to scientific descriptions and explanations and emphasize social and ethical problems, which will be their identifying mark in future. In the very immature period of their creative life the famous Soviet science fiction writers formulate their credo they will follow henceforth ‘miracle — mystery — authenticity’.

Keywords: the Strugatsky brothers, science fiction, socialist realism, the production novel, ‘firm science fiction’

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The article studies a game in Lyudmila Stefanovna Petrushevskaya’s fairy tales. The Game is seen as a marker of postmodern tendencies that are present in the writer’s fictional world. The game principle in the writer’s fairy tales functions on a language level, i.e. in the use of a language game which can be seen, first of all, in the series “Linguistic fairy tales” written with made up words, but also in the use of transformation of traditional fairy tale formulas and in animating a literal meaning of idiomatic expressions. On a motive and plot level the game appears as the stage performance (fairy tales “White Kettles”, “Willow Whip”), the game of children or adults that play child’s games (the cycle “Adventures of Barbie”, dolls’ novel “Little Fairy”, The Tale of a Broom and a Stick). Petrushevskaya’s fairy tales involving readers into the world of a game (from playing with a word to the game as the life principle) are an example of adaptation of a literary fairy tale in modern times.

Keywords: children’s literature, literary fairy tale, Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, game, postmodernism

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The article observes folklore and fantastic elements in the book of Victor Pulkin “Kizhi Stories” (1973). In the few publications about the book the question of the importance and specificity of the fantastic, going back to folklore, images and motifs in writer’s prose, has not been raised. This article reveals a system of such images in “Kizhi Stories” through the topics and poetics of the book. The complex genre synthesis inherent in the book, often creates artistic situation at the border of reliable and unusual. The article analyzes included in the story fantastic characters along with the realities of the legend area, as well as images and motifs, dating back to the subjects of local and world folklore, including tales, features introduced by the author motivation of the fantastic, and examines the role of these images in the creation of a mythologized image of Kizhi Island. A fantastic character of mythological and folkloristic images is emphasized by concept-based correlation between old and modern times, inherent in Kizhi stories, when mythological origins take form of a constitutive quality of an island life. An event line of the fairy tale and the legend according to the author is projected from the past to the present of Kizhi Island, adding the traits of an idyllic locus to the latter.

Keywords: Kizhi island, space, the fantastika, fairy tales, legends, mythology, geopoetic

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This article analyzes the specifics of the “children’s” utopia based on E. Uspensky’s tale “Uncle Fyodor, his Dog and his Cat”, that represents a childhood dream of a good life, of the achievement of children’s aspirations. The analysis is conducted in comparison with the specific features of the classic “adult” utopia. The folkloristic and fairy character of Uspensky’s children’s utopia is remarked here as well as the “superconductivity” of its space; the role of a game in the utopia; the lack of a common feature of any classic utopia which is the “absence of a hero”. It is concluded among other things that social structure of a society, which plays the main role in the “adult” utopia, is substituted here for familiar to a child daily routines that organize existence. Special attention in the article is given to the episode with the Sun presented to the characters by the scientists of the Institute of Solar physics that is replete with the symbolic meaning. In E. Uspensky’s tale “Uncle Fyodor, his Dog and his Cat” adult and children levels of meaning do not exist separately but interact and penetrate one into another.

Keywords: E. Uspensky, utopia, children’s utopia, game, literary fairy tales, children’s literature

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The article gives a brief outline of life and works of E.M. Neyolov, the researcher of Russian folklore and literature who developed an original concept of science fiction, a method for the analysis of folklore and literary genres.

Keywords: E. M. Neyolov, historical poetics, fairy tale, the fantastika, children’s literature, science fiction, fantasy

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