Модусный план одесских страниц повести А. Н. Толстого «Похождения невзорова, или ибикус»

Abstract

Novel by Alexksei Nikolaevich Tolstoy “Nevzorov’s adventures, or Ibicus” is valuable for cultural studies of Odessa due to the picture of life of the city in the beginning of XX cent. It’s interest for literary critics is connected with the opportunity to compare this picture with the image of Odessa of this period of time in literary works, written by other writers (S. Yushkevich, K.Paustovsky, V. Jabotinsky etc.). The need of investigation of this novel is caused it’s genre, too. It is one of the first experiences of creation of the picaresque in Russian literature of 1920-1930-th years. The purpose of the article is to study specifics of the image of Odessa in the novel by A.N. Tolstoy, the dependence of this image of the author’s and his hero-adventure’s points of view on the life in Odessa of 1918–1919-th. Both perceived what was happening as extremely dysfunctional. But the reasons for such attitude were different. Main goal of Nevzorov, the hero of the story, was to get a lot of gold and go for a quiet and prosperous life abroad. He was interested in only those people that could help his material welfare and physical security. He was ready for any adventure, even espionage and murder to achieve his goal. So the circle of people that he paid attention, was limited by the speculators and scammers. That is why the picture of life in Odessa is satirical: the protagonist and other characters are seen as an inappropriate to the norm. However, for the author of the story life that he saw in Odessa, was not normal, too. Tolstoy lived in Odessa from August 1918 to 4 April (22 March) 1919. The range of his interests, people he met, of course, was not like the hero of the story. First of all, there were meetings with writers who lived in those years in Odessa: Maximilian Voloshin, Semen Yushkevich, Pyotr Nilus, Nathan Inber, Ivan Bunin. During these years, in Odessa there were new publishers, newspapers and association of writers which developed new artistic principles of the literary work. A large number of charity concerts, literary evenings were organized in Odessa, and A. N. Tolstoy took an active part in them. But life in Odessa caused fear in his soul. The most tragic event of his life, and life of the country was emigration. The beginning of his emigration is connected for the author of “Nevzorov’s adventures, or Ibicus’ with Odessa. So A.N. Tolstoy was the witness of the chaos in the lives of people, attitudes among them, in their hearts and minds. For Tolstoy it was the reason of the tragedy. The key word to indicate his estimation of the life of Odessa in the early 1920's, is dispersion, which means the destruction and death of the unity which is the basis of the normal life of the country and people.