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An experiment in narratological reading. The Bishop [Arkhierey] by Chekhov
https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2021-2-92-115
Abstract
The article showcases the distinctive characteristics and analytical powers of the narratological approach to examination of a literary text as a system of episodes comprising a unique subject of the artistic whole. The author specifies the typological concept of the narrative picture of the world as the basis for accurate understanding of epic literature. An analytical description of the system of episodes in the short story The Bishop [Arkhierey] reveals the consistency of Chekhov's masterpiece with the precedential (in this case, evangelical) picture of the world. The story's narrative content is examined as an artistic actualisation of a sacred historical event in an incident of a private quotidian existence. The proposed interpretation of the story polemicises with that offered by the German narratology scholar W. Schmid, who denies the eventfulness of the protagonist's metamorphosis and views his epiphany with skepticism.
Keywords
A. Chekhov,
The Bishop [Arkhierey],
the gospel,
resurrection,
narratology,
a system of episodes,
the world picture
Supporting agencies: The study has been funded by the Russian Science Foundation, project № 20-18-00417.
About the Author
V. I. Tyupa
Russian State University for the Humanities
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Valery I. Tyupa - Doctor of Philology.
6/1 Miusskaya Sq., Moscow, 125047.
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Review
For citations:
Tyupa V.I. An experiment in narratological reading. The Bishop [Arkhierey] by Chekhov. Voprosy literatury. 2021;(2):92-115. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2021-2-92-115
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