On a subtext in Vasily Shukshin’s short story ‘Gena Proydisvet’

Abstract

The article details the subtext of V. Shukshin’s shorts story ‘Gena Proydisvet.’ The story centres around yet another weird and amusing character —  a frequent type in Shukshin’s novellas. The protagonist seems constantly preoccupied with soul-searching, while his behaviour is depicted as complex and ambiguous, indicating inner duality. This duality becomes a driving force for the poetics of the short story. The text emphasizes the ‘us-and-them’ dichotomy. In this regard, the ‘ours’ is described through traditional Christian imagery, folklore symbolism, and mythological bestiary motifs. The ‘theirs’ is represented by images of the ‘bard’ culture and songs by author-songwriters. The story sees explosive and destructive trends clash with their conservative opposites, deemed to safeguard traditional culture and society. The former are shown through an allusion to V. Vysotsky’s song ‘Fastidious steeds’ [‘Koni prive redlivye’]. The latter are traced in S. Esenin’s poetics, including his contrasting of two bestiary symbols: a steed and a cow.