THE CHARACTER OF AHASUERUS IN RUSSIAN AND POLISH LITERATURE IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY

Apply

THE CHARACTER OF AHASUERUS IN RUSSIAN AND POLISH LITERATURE IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY

Journal Title: Слов’янський збірник - Year 2014, Vol 0, Issue 18

Abstract

This article is dedicated to functioning of the legendary folkloric character of Ahasuerus in different national literatures. Interpreting the legend of the Wandering Jew in their works, some writers focus their attention on the issue of cognition and cognoscibility of the world, the notion of the world. Such vision makes the artistic search of V. F. Odoevsky and J. Potocki alike. It is quite remarkable that the belief in the ideals of the Enlightenment, advocacy of reason and progress are characteristic of both writers. Both the Russian and the Polish writers reveal the philosophic interaction among all the phenomena. The authorial world by V. F. Odoevsky comprises certain features making it affined to the Proto-Romanticism. This affinity may be tracked via a comparison of the character of Ahasuerus in his works and in The Manuscript found in Saragossa by Jan Potocki. At the same time, unlike J. Potocki, V. F. Odoevsky brings into focus the problem of intuition, spiritual properties, and interaction of the conscious and the unconscious in the process of creation. Thus, his work is dedicated to the Wandering Jew’s destiny, character, and the artist’s tragic personality. J. Potocki avails himself of the evangelical legend as mere means for getting across the historical facts about life, customs and mentality of peoples who lived in Ancient Egypt and Judaea. Therefore, in his interpretation Ahasuerus is a tragic character of an artist who betrayed his talent. J. Potocki sees Ahasuerus as being a mediator between different historical epochs, whose presence is necessary for motivating the historical information inclusion in the text.

Authors and Affiliations

T. Yu. Moreva

Keywords

EP ID EP637832
DOI -
Views 76
Downloads 0