PETER THE GREAT REVISED: ON THE HISTORY OF THE TEXT OF ALEXEY TOLSTOY’S NOVEL
Journal Title: Studia Litterarum - Year 2016, Vol 1, Issue 3
Abstract
The article examines Alexey Tolstoy’s incomplete revisions (1944– 1945) of the frst book of his novel Peter the Great. These revisions were taken into account in the course of the text’s preparation for the frst Collection of Complete Works (1946) compiled and edited after Tolstoy’s death. On the one hand, the revisions of 1944–1945 continued the main line of Tolstoy’s work on his previous editions (general tendency to conciseness, elimination of colorful epithets, cuttings, clarifcation of images and historical realities). On the other hand, Tolstoy returned to those images what he had repudiated when preparing one of the frst drafts of the text (as for example, the image of Nikita Pustosvyat). Besides, according to A. V. Alpatov, the author cut out the “erroneous moments” related to the mention of Germans and German influence on Peter in the novel (“the elements of idealization in the depiction of Kukuy”). One of the main directions in the author’s revisions had to do with the image of the main character, Peter the First. Tolstoy idealized Peter by cutting the descriptions of his disease and seizures and by correcting the scenes representing his wrath and mad, explosive temper. Thus, in 1944–1945 Tolstoy seriously reworked his novel including its contents.
Authors and Affiliations
Anna S. Akimova
Keywords
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- EP ID EP26117
- DOI 10.22455/2500-4247-2016-1-3-4-262-277
- Views 302
- Downloads 16
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