A BORDERLINE EFFECT OR A LIFE BEHIND THE BORDER? THE DIALOGUE OF ‘ONE’S OWN’ AND ‘THE FOREIGN’ IN LEONID ANDREEV’S FINNISH PERIOD
https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2018-2-157-179
Abstract
The article examines the Finnish period in the writings of Leonid Andreev, trying to answer the question of whether the writer’s work represents a ‘borderline effect’ (mixing of cultures), or an isolated cultural phenomenon invoked by external and internal factors alike. The researcher looks for the influence of the Finnish culture and landscape (‘the power of location’, according to N. Antsiferov’s local history method), and the unique cultural environment of the Finnish Karelian Isthmus on these writings (and introduces the term of ‘Russian summer cottage dwellers’ effect’). The article considers Andreev’s contacts with Russian artists and thinkers, and his translated works that were published in Finland during his lifetime. The author’s output is regarded as an isolated cultural act through the prism of M. Bakhtin’s outsideness (vnenakhodimost’), and the researcher lists the factors behind the process. A special focus is given to the effect of the Russian revolution of 1917 on Andreev’s life and work: the article shows how it turned his ‘semi-emigration’ into a ‘complete emigration’ and steered him towards journalism.
About the Author
A. Vostrov
Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Alexey Vladimirovich Vostrov, essayist, historian, lecturer
Academic interests include Finnish literature, literatures of ethnic minorities, Belorussian literature. Author of The Swedish Archipelago of Finland: Through the Eyes of an Outsider [Shvedskiy arkhipelag Finlyandii: vzglyad so storony] (2014) and a number of articles on Finnish history and culture.
References
1. Andreev L. The Realm of Roerich // Andreev L. Collected works in 6 vols. Vol. 6. Moscow: Knizhniy klub Knigovek, 2012. P. 652-655. (In Russ.)
2. Andreeva V. The House at Chernaya Rechka // Leonid Andreev. Distant. Close / Ed. I. G. Andreeva. Moscow: Minuvshee, 2011. P. 250-378. (In Russ.)
3. Antsiferov N. Urbanism Issues in Russian Fiction. Reconstructing the Image of Dostoevsky’s Petersburg Basing on the Analysis of Literary Traditions / Comp., text prep., afterword by D. S. Moskovskaya. Moscow: IMLI RAN, 2009. (In Russ.)
4. Bakhtin M. The Problem of Content, Material and Form in Verbal Art // Bakhtin M. Collected works in 7 vols. Vol. 1. Philosophical Aesthetics of the 1920s. Moscow: Russkie slovari, 2003. P. 266-324. (In Russ.)
5. Bakhtin M. The Forms of Time and Chronotope in the Novel // Bakhtin M. Collected works in 7 vols. Vol. 3. Theory of the Novel (1930-1961). Moscow: Yazyki slavyanskikh kultur, 2012. P. 340-511. (In Russ.)
6. Bogdanov A. Between the Wall and the Abyss // Andreev L. Collected works in 6 vols. Vol. 1. Moscow: Khudozhestvennaya literatura, 1990. P. 5-40. (In Russ.)
7. Chukovsky K. Leonid Andreev // Chukovsky K. Collected works in 15 vols. Vol. 6. Moscow: Khudozhestvennaya literatura, 1969. P. 22-47. (In Russ.)
8. Fidler F. From the World of Writers: Personalities and Judgements. Moscow: NLO, 2008. (In Russ.)
9. Grigorieva N. A Journey to Russian Finland: An Essay on History and Culture. St. Petersburg: Norma, 2002. (In Russ.)
10. Hellman B. The Little Man and the Great War: The Story The Yoke of War [Igo voyny] by L. N. Andreev // Hellman B. Meetings and Clashes. Articles on Russian Literature. Helsinki, 2009. (Slavica Helsingiensia 36). P. 89-99. (In Russ.)
11. Hellman B. The Reception of L. N. Andreev’s Work in Finland // Leonid Andreev: Materials and Research. Issue 2. Moscow: IMLI RAN, 2012. P. 278-298. (In Russ.)
12. Iezuitova L. Leonid Andreev and Literature of the Silver Age. Selected works. St. Petersburg: Petropolis, 2010. (In Russ.)
13. Ken L., Rogov L. The Life of Leonid Andreev, Told by Himself and His Contemporaries. St. Petersburg: Kosta, 2010. (In Russ.)
14. Likhachev D. Memoirs. Moscow: AST, 2016. (In Russ.)
15. Musaev V. Russia and Finland: Migration Contacts and the Status of Diasporas (the late 19th century - 1930s). St. Petersburg: Publishing house of Polytechnic University, 2007. (In Russ.)
16. Rishina R. ‘The Eternal Jungle of Despair’: Leonid Andreev and American Optimism // Leonid Andreev: Materials and Research. Issue 2. P. 180-201. (In Russ.)
17. Ushakin S. Outsideness: Bakhtin as Someone Else’s Own // Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie. 2006. Issue 3 (79). P. 73-85. (In Russ.)
18. White F. Leonid Andreev: Performance and Deception / Translated from English by E. Kanishcheva // Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie. 2004. Issue 5 (69). P. 130-143. (In Russ.)
19. Zaytsev B. Leonid Andreev // Zaytsev B. St. Nicolas Street. Tales and short stories. Moscow: Khudozhestvennaya literatura, 1989. P. 254-263. (In Russ.)
Review
For citations:
Vostrov A. A BORDERLINE EFFECT OR A LIFE BEHIND THE BORDER? THE DIALOGUE OF ‘ONE’S OWN’ AND ‘THE FOREIGN’ IN LEONID ANDREEV’S FINNISH PERIOD. Voprosy literatury. 2018;(2):157-179. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2018-2-157-179
Views:
412
Email this article 
