|Generate QR code
Open Access
Subscription Access
Persona inferna – a mask from hell. The Pretender in Pushkin’s tragedy Boris Godunov
https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2020-1-37-91
Abstract
The author interprets the Pretender in Pushkin’s Boris Godunov as an infernal figure rather than an example of an unsophisticated yet talented and ambitious adventurer. Comparative analysis of 17th-c. Russian historical sources and the tragedy reveals that, in his depiction of the Pretender, Pushkin relied on hagiographies, chronicles, and reminiscences of people with first-hand knowledge, rather than N. Karamzin’s work. The paper examines the qualities attributed to the Pretender by other characters in the tragedy: they concern his personality, official and canonical legal status. The author stresses that the attributions are unbiased reflections on the Pretender’s actions. To this end, the researcher analyses the meaning and significance of the terms ‘rasstriga’ (‘runaway monk’), ‘samozvanets’ (‘pretender’), ‘eretic’ (‘heretic’), ‘postrel’ (‘scamp’), ‘sosud diavolskiy’ (‘vessel of evil’), and ‘vragougodnik’ (‘devil’s accomplice’) in their meanings from the 17th c. and up until Pushkin’s lifetime. Viewed from this angle, the Pushkinian character is presented as a menacing figure hell-bent on getting a Faustian bargain.
About the Author
B. A. Kurkin
Tambov State Technical University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Doctor of Jurisprudence
106 Sovetskaya St., Tambov, 392000
References
1. Agranovich, S. and Rassovskaya, L. (1992). Myth, folklore, and history in tragedy ‘Boris Godunov’ and in Alexander Pushkin’s prose. Samara: Samarskiy universitet. (In Russ.)
2. Alekseev, M. (1972). Pushkin’s remark ‘The people are silent’. In: M. Alekseev, Pushkin: Comparative historical studies. St. Petersburg: Nauka, pp. 209-215. (In Russ.)
3. Ancient patericon or tales of saints and gracious fathers’ asceticism. Issued by the St. Panteleimon Monastery on the Holy Mt. Athos. (1991). Moscow: Izd. otdel Moskovskogo Patriarkhata - ‘Planeta’. (In Russ.)
4. Anikst, A. (1972). Drama theory in Russia from Pushkin to Chekhov. Moscow: Nauka. (In Russ.)
5. Averintsev, S. (2005a). Another Rome. Selected articles. St. Petersburg: Amfora. (In Russ.)
6. Averintsev, S. (2005b). The connection of times. Kiev: Dukh i litera. (In Russ.)
7. Batyushkov, F. (1900). Pushkin and Racine (‘Boris Godunov’ and ‘Athalie’). A printing copy from: In memoriam Pushkin: A collection of articles of teachers and students of the Faculty of History and Philology of the St. Petersburg Imperial University. St. Petersburg: Typ. of M. M. Stasyulevich. (In Russ.)
8. Batyushkov, F. (1908). Boris Godunov. In: S. Vengerov, ed., The library of great writers. The works of Pushkin (6 vols). Vol. 2. St. Petersburg: Brokgauz-Efron, pp. 296-307. (In Russ.)
9. Belinsky, V. (1955). The tenth article. ‘Boris Godunov’. In: N. Belchikov, ed., The complete works of V. Belinsky (13 vols). Vol. 7. Moscow: AN SSSR, pp. 505-534. (In Russ.)
10. Bernstein, D. (1934). ‘Boris Godunov’. In: I. Zilberstein and I. Sergievsky, eds., Literary heritage. Vol. 16/18: <Alexander Pushkins. Moscow: Zhurnalno- gazetnoe obedinenie, pp. 215-246. (In Russ.)
11. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, K. (1898). The letters of K. Bestuzhev-Ryumin on Time of Troubles. St. Petersburg: Tip. M. M. Stasyulevicha. (In Russ.)
12. Blagoy, D. (1931). The sociology of Pushkin’s work. Essays. Extended 2nd ed. Moscow: Mir. (In Russ.)
13. Bokhanov, A. (2012). Boris Godunov. Moscow: Veche. (In Russ.)
14. Bulgakov, S. (1953). Philosophy of the name. Paris: YMCA-PRESS. (In Russ.)
15. Bussov, K. (1998). Moscow chronicle of 1584-1613. In: A. Liberman, B. Morozov and S. Shokarev, eds., Time of Troubles chronicles. Moscow: Fond Sergeya Dubova, pp. 11-162. (In Russ.)
16. Chronicle of many revolts and devastation of the Moscow state <...> in the reign of the blessed tsar Aleksey Mikhaylovich in 7163/1655. (1788). 2nd ed. Moscow: <s. n.> (In Russ.)
17. Chistov, K. (2003). Russian folk utopia (the genesis and functions of socio-utopian legends). St. Petersburg: Dmitry Bulanin. (In Russ.)
18. Clayton, J. D. (2007). Dimitry’s shade: A reading of Alexander Pushkin’s ‘Boris Godunov’. Translated by L. Semyonova and I. Sakkulin. St. Petersburg: Akademicheskiy prospekt. (In Russ.)
19. Collection of the Imperial Russian Historical Society. Vol. 142. (1913). Moscow: Typ. G. Lissnera and D. Sobko. (In Russ.)
20. Darsky, D. (1951). Pushkin’s Little Tragedies. Moscow: Moskovskaya khudozhestvennaya pechatnya. (In Russ.)
21. Dunaev, M. (2001). Orthodox Christianity and Russian literature (6 parts). Part 1-2. Extended 2nd ed. Moscow: Khristianskaya literatura. (In Russ.)
22. Emerson, C. (1986). Boris Godunov: The Shakespeare connection. In: C. Emerson, Transpositions of a Russian theme. Bloomington; Indianapolis: Indiana U. P., pp. 9-35.
23. Engelgardt, B. (1916). Pushkin’s historicism: On the nature of Pushkin’s objectivity. In: S. Vengerov, ed., Pushkinist: historical and literary collection II. St. Petersburg: <s. n.>, pp. 1-158. (In Russ.)
24. Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow [Drozdov]. (2005). The discourse on the day of the Holy Martyr Righteous Tsarevich Demetrius. In: Works of Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna. Discourses and speeches (5 vols). Vol. 2:1821-1826. Reprint, Moscow: Novospasskiy monastyr. (In Russ.)
25. Filippova, N. (1972). A. S. Puskin’s national tragedy ‘Boris Godunov’. Moscow: Kniga. (In Russ.)
26. Firsov, N. (1915). Pushkin as a historian. In: S. Vengerov, ed., The library of great writers. The works of Pushkin (6 vols). Vol. 2. St. Petersburg: Brokgauz- Efron, pp. 243-257. (In Russ.)
27. Flavius, J. (2002). Antiquities of the Jews (2 vols). Vol. 2. Translated by G. Genkel. Moscow: AST: Ladomir. (In Russ.)
28. Fomichev, S. (2007). Pushkin’s perspective. Moscow: Znak. (In Russ.)
29. Frank, S. (1999). Pushkin as a political thinker. In: V. Perelmuter, ed., Pushkin in exile. 1937. Moscow: Progress-Traditsiya, pp. 129-158. (In Russ.)
30. Gorodetsky, B. (1969). A. S. Puskin’s tragedy ‘Boris Godunov’. Commentary. St. Petersburg: Prosveshchenie. (In Russ.)
31. Grunberg, P. (2006). Pushkin and cognition of history (Pushkin as a historical thinker). In: S. Sazonova, ed., Pushkin in the 21st century: Collected papers in honour of Valentin Semyonovich Nepomnyashchy. Moscow: Russkiy mir, pp. 111-139. (In Russ.)
32. Gurevich, A. (1984). History and modernity in ‘Boris Godunov’. Izvestiya ANSSSR. Literature and Language Series, 43(3), pp. 204-214. (In Russ.)
33. Hilferding, A. (1873). Onega epic folk songs, recorded by Alexander Fyodorovich Hilferding in the summer of 1871. St. Petersburg: Tip. Imperatorskoy Akademii nauk. (In Russ.)
34. Ilyichev, A. (2006). A. S. Pushkin’s tragedy ‘Boris Godunov’ and the tradition of chronicles. In: Humanitarian problems of the modern civilization: International Likhachev readings, 24-26 May 2006. St. Petersburg: SBbGUP, pp. 153-155. (In Russ.)
35. Karamzin, N. (1997). History of the Russian state (3 books). Book 3. History of the Russian state. Vol. 9-12. St. Petersburg: OOO ‘Zolotoy vek’, TOO ‘Diamant’. (In Russ.)
36. Karpov, A. (1988). A. S. Pushkin’s ‘Boris Godunov’. In: V. Markovich, ed., The analysis of drama: Collected papers. St. Petersburg: LGU, pp. 91-108. (In Russ.)
37. Kostomarov, N. (1994). Time of Troubles in the Moscow state in the early 17th century. Moscow: Charli. (In Russ.)
38. Kurkin, B. (2016). What the Simpleton sings about (the meaning of the image of the Simpleton in A. S. Pushkin’s tragedy ‘Boris Godunov’). Voprosy Filologii, 54(2), pp. 96-102. (In Russ.)
39. Kurkin, B. (2017). ‘Among these unknown fields.’ The meaning and role of the scene ‘The plain near Novgorod-Seversky’ in A. S. Pushkin’s tragedy ‘Boris Godunov’. Filologicheskie Nauki, 3, pp. 66-73. (In Russ.)
40. Lazarevsky, A., ed. (1871). Excerpts from letters of the actor V. A. Karatygin to P. V. Katenin. Russkiy Arkhiv, 6, pp. 0241-0246. (In Russ.)
41. Levenstim, A. (1906). Superstition and the criminal law. Research on the history of Russian law and culture. Vestnik Prava. Law Society journal at the Imperial St. Petersburg University, 36(1), pp. 291-343. (In Russ.)
42. Lotman, L. (1996). Historical-literary commentary. In: A. Pushkin, Boris Godunov. St. Petersburg: Academicheskiy proekt, pp. 129-359. (In Russ.)
43. Lotman, Y. (2003). Pushkin: A biography of the writer. In: Y. Lotman, Pushkin: A biography of the writer. Articles and notes, 1960-1990. St. Petersburg: Iskusstvo-SPB, pp. 21-184. (In Russ.)
44. Lyubomudrov, M. and Strizhev, A., eds. (2014). The complete works and letters of Ignaty Bryanchaninov (8 vols). Vol. 5. Moscow: Palomnik. (In Russ.)
45. Macarius the Egyptian. (1994). Spiritual homilies. Reprint, The Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. (In Russ.)
46. Massa Isaac. (1937). A brief report on Moscow in the early 17th century. Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe socialno-ekonomicheskoe izd. (In Russ.)
47. Maymin, E. (1981). Pushkin. His life and work. Moscow: Nauka. (In Russ.)
48. Military charter. (1830). In: Complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire since 1649. Vol. 5:1715-1719. St. Petersburg: Tip. II Otdeleniya Sobstvennoy Ego Imperatorskogo Velichestva Kantselyarii, No. 3006. (In Russ.)
49. Most Holy John Tobolsky (Maximovich). (2014). Iliotropion. Foreword and commentary of the priest Aleksandr Gumerov. 3rd ed. Moscow: Izd. Sretenskogo monastyrya. (In Russ.)
50. Nepomnyashchy, V. (2001). Pushkin. Selected works of the 1960S-1990S (2 vols). Vol. 1: Poetry and fate. Moscow: Zhizn i mysl. (In Russ.)
51. On the real distress of the Moscow state, on Grishka Otrepiev. (1910). In: S. Platonov and P. Vasenko, eds., Russian historical library, published by the Imperial Archaeographic Committee. Vol. 14: The second half. The new chronicle. St. Petersburg: Typ. M. A. Aleksandrova, pp. 58-61. (In Russ.)
52. Odinokova, D. (2000). System of the main characters in A. S. Pushkin’s tragedy ‘Boris Godunov’. In: V. Alekseev and E. Dergacheva-Skop, eds., Siberian Pushkinistics today: Collected papers. Novosibirsk: GPNTB SO RAN, pp. 133-152. (In Russ.)
53. Odinokova, D. (2005). The function of the Impostor’s character in the motif structure of A. S. Pushkin’s tragedy ‘Boris Godunov’. Vestnik NGU. History and Philology Series, 4(4), pp. 106-112. (In Russ.)
54. Odinokova, D. (2007). The motif analysis of the poetic structure of Pushkin’s tragedy ‘Boris Godunov’. Novosibirsk: NGU. (In Russ.)
55. A. Panchenko, A. (2000). On the way to the secularization of culture. In: Panchenko, On Russian history and culture. St. Petersburg: Azbuka, pp. 79-211. (In Russ.)
56. Pavlov-Silvansky, N. (1910). The people and Tsar in Pushkin’s tragedy. In: N. Pavlov-Silvansky, Works (3 vols). Vol. 2: Essays on the Russian history of the 17th- 19th centuries. St. Petersburg: Typ. M. M. Stasyulevicha, pp. 289-303. (In Russ.)
57. Pokrovsky, M. (1934). The most concise account of Russian history. 5th ed. Moscow: Uchpedgiz. (In Russ.)
58. Pokrovsky, N., ed. (2012). Latukhin’s book of royal degrees. 1676. Moscow: Yazyki slavyanskikh kultur. (In Russ.)
59. Polevoy, N. (1831). Boris Godunov. Alexander Pushkin’s work. St. Petersburg. In: E. Larionova, ed., Pushkin in his lifetime criticism (1831-1833). St. Petersburg: Gosudarstvenniy Pushkinskiy teatralniy tsentr v Sankt-Peterburge, 2003, pp. 421-432. (In Russ.)
60. Pozov, A. (1998). Pushkin’s metaphysics. 2nd ed. Moscow: Nasledie. (In Russ.)
61. Pushkin, A. (1962a). Letter about ‘Boris Godunov’. In: B. Tomashevsky, ed., The collected works of A. Pushkin (10 vols). Vol. 6: Literary criticism and jour¬nalism. Moscow: GIKhL, pp. 292-297. (In Russ.)
62. Pushkin, A. (1962b). Letter to A. K. Benckendorf, dtd. 16 Apr. 1830. In:
63. L. Modzalevsky, ed., The collected works of A. Pushkin (10 vols). Vol. 9: Letters, 1815-1830. Moscow: GIKhL, pp. 320-323. (In Russ.)
64. Pushkin, A. (1962c). Letter to P. Y. Chaadaev, dtd. 19 Oct. 1836. In: L. Modzalevsky and M. Semenko, ed., The collected works of A. Pushkin (10 vols). Vol. 10: Letters, 1831-1837. Moscow: GIKhL, pp. 307-310. (In Russ.)
65. Pushkin, A. (19628). The history of Pugachev [Istoriya Pugacheva]. In: B. Tomashevsky, ed., The collected works of A. Pushkin (10 vols). Vol. 7: The history of Pugachev, historical articles and materials, reminiscences and diaries. Moscow: GIKhL, pp. 7-186. (In Russ.)
66. Rassadin, S. (1977). Pushkin as a drama writer. Poetics, ideas, evolution. Moscow: Iskusstvo. (In Russ.)
67. Rosen, E. (2003). Baron E. F. Rosen’s opinion on A. S. Pushkin’s drama ‘Boris Godunov’ (from the Dorpat journal Dorpater Jahrbücher). In: E. Larionova, ed., Pushkin in his lifetime criticism (1831-1833). St. Petersburg: Gosudarstvenniy Pushkinskiy teatralniy tsentr v Sankt-Peterburge, pp. 444-447. (In Russ.)
68. Sacristan Ivan Timofeev’s yearbook. (1891). In: S. Platonov, ed., Russian historical library, published by the Imperial Archaeographic Committee. Old Russian literary monuments from the Time of Troubles. Vol. 13. St. Petersburg: <s. n.>, col. 261-472. (In Russ.)
69. Serman, I. (1969). Pushkin and Russian historical drama of the 1830s. In: B. Meilach, ed., Pushkin: Research and materials. Vol. 6: Pushkin’s realism and the literature of his time. St. Petersburg: Nauka, pp. 118-149. (In Russ.)
70. Skrynnikov, R. (1990). Impostors in Russia in the early 17th century. Grigory Otrepiev. Novosibirsk: Nauka. (In Russ.)
71. Slonimsky, A. (1963). Pushkin’s artistry. Corrected 2nd ed. Moscow: GIKhL. (In Russ.)
72. Solonevich, I. (2010). People’s monarchy. Moscow: Institut russkoy tsivilisatsii. (In Russ.)
73. Solovyova, T. (1998). ‘On sorcerers and heretics.’ Documents on the history of the Moscow state in the early 17th century. Istochnik. Dokumenty russkoy istorii, 33(2), pp. 3-10. (In Russ.)
74. St. Demetrius of Rostov. (1764). The life of tsarevich Dimitry Uglichsky. In: The Menaion [Chetii Minei]. Vol. 4: June - August. Reprint, St. Petersburg: Aksion estin, 2009. (In Russ.)
75. St. Demetrius of Rostov. (2017). The life of His Reverence Irinarkh, the hermit of the Rostov Boris and Gleb Monastery on the Ustie. In: Selected biographies by St. Demetrius of Rostov. Moscow: Eksmo, pp. 564-585. (In Russ.)
76. St. John Damascene. (1913). An exact exposition of the Orthodox faith. Translated from Greek. In: The complete works of John Damascene. Vol. 1. St. Petersburg: Izd. Imperatorskoy S.-Peterburgskoy Dukhovnoy Akademii, pp. 157-345. (In Russ.)
77. St. Joseph Volotsky. (1993). The Enlightener. Discourse 12. Moscow: Valaamsky monastyr. (In Russ.)
78. Synodic sentence against friar Otrepiev ... falsely named tsarevich Dimitry. (1604). In: Collection of state letters and treaties held by the State Collegium of Foreign Affairs. Part 2. Moscow: Tip. Selivanovskogo, 1819, pp. 164-165. (In Russ.)
79. The life of tsarevitch Dimitry Ioannovich, included in the menaion of Ioann Milyutin. (1891). In: S. Platonov, ed., Russian historical library <...> Vol. 13. St. Petersburg: <s. n.>, col. 899-922. (In Russ.)
80. The so-called Different tale. (1891). In: S. Platonov, ed., Russian historical library <...> Vol. 13. St. Petersburg: <s. n.>, col. 1-144. (In Russ.)
81. The story of how Boris Godunov unlawfully ascended the royal throne in Moscow. (1891). In: S. Platonov, ed., Russian historical library <...> Vol. 13. St. Petersburg: <s. n.>, col. 145-176. (In Russ.)
82. The story of knyaz Ivan Mikhaylovich Katyrev-Rostovsky, codex of the Imperial Public Library. Q. 4. No. 154. (1891). In: S. Platonov, ed., Russian historical library <...> Vol. 13. St. Petersburg: <s. n.>, col. 559-624. (In Russ.)
83. The tale about Grishka Otrepiev. (1891). In: S. Platonov, ed., Russian historical library <...> Vol. 13. St. Petersburg: <s. n.>, col. 713-754. (In Russ.)
84. The tale about the reign of Tsar Theodore Ioannovich. (1891). In: S. Platonov, ed., Russian historical library <...> Vol. 13. St. Petersburg: <s. n.>, col. 755-836. (In Russ.).
85. The tale of Abraham Palitsyn, codex of the Moscow Theological Academy No. 175. (1891). In: S. Platonov, ed., Russian historical library <...> Vol. 13. St. Petersburg: <s. n.>, col. 473-524. (In Russ.)
86. The tale of De Thou about False Dmitry. (1859). In: N. Ustryalov, The tales of contemporaries about False Dmitry (2 parts). Part 1. Corrected 3rd ed. St. Petersburg: Tip. Imp. Akademii Nauk, pp. 321-353. (In Russ.)
87. Turbin, V. (1994). Impostors characters in Pushkin’s works. In: V. Turbin, A short while before Aquarius. Moscow: ‘Radiks’, pp. 63-81. (In Russ.)
88. Vadeysha, M. (2001). The drama about a bath (on the image of a ‘false’ tsar in the historical song). In: Trudy Fakulteta Etnologii, 1, pp. 12-26. (In Russ.)
89. Valdenberg, V. (2006). Old Russian notinos about the tsar’s power limits. Essays on Russian political literature from Vladimir the Great to the end of the 17th century. Moscow: Territoria budushchego. (In Russ.)
90. Vasilik, V. (2012). The image of the Impostor in the narrative of the first third of the 17th century: False Dmitry as Julian the Apostate and the Antichrist. In: Trudy Istoricheskogo Fakulteta Sankt-Peterburgskogo Universiteta, 10, pp. 29-33. (In Russ.)
91. Vasilik, V. (2018). The sun of Russian poetry and storms of history: Marking the 180th death anniversary of Alexander Pushkin. Moscow: Sretenskiy monastyr. (In Russ.)
92. Vinogradov, V. (1999). A history of words. 2nd ed. Moscow: Institut Russkogo Yazyka RAN. (In Russ.)
93. Vinokur, G. (1999). Collected works. Commentary to Alexander Pushkin’s ‘Boris Godunov’. Moscow: Labirint; ‘Brandes’. (In Russ.)
Review
For citations:
Kurkin B.A. Persona inferna – a mask from hell. The Pretender in Pushkin’s tragedy Boris Godunov. Voprosy literatury. 2020;1(1):37-91. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2020-1-37-91
Views:
670
Email this article 
