Article

Name: The short story of A. G. Bitov “Man in the landscape” (1983): the plot of mental wanderings in searching for the essence of art and of the meaning of being

Authors: Ekaterina D. Bukhanova

National Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russian Federation; Siberian State Medical University, Tomsk, Russian Federation

In the section Study of literature

Abstract:

A significant place in the legacy of Andrey Bitov (1937−2018), a contemporary Russian writer, is occupied by analytical essayist prose. His natural philosophy tetralogy “The catechumen” (1971−2011) portrays the travels of the protagonist as a metaphor for the sensory and mental comprehension of reality and the world picture embodiment in the text. The story “Man in the landscape” (1983) involves an acquaintance with an artist, who leads the lyrical hero, a travel writer, into provocative “Socratic dialogues” interpreted as a space of metaphysical quests. The marginal adventures turn out to be a philosophical experiment, a revelation of free thought in the circles of the search for truth. This version of the evolution of artistic forms, starting from primordial mimetism and Renaissance humanism, comprehends the non-classical worldview of the 20th century. This happens not in iconic postmodern art but in the modernist transcendence of the Here-Being. The sequence of loci of the journey takes the hero from the sacred space to the infernal, increasing the semantics of the art phenomenon not only with creative but also with destructive aspects (“art” as “temptation”), strengthening the existential anxiety as a “concern for being.” Salvation is seen as the path of grateful contemplation of the Creation, embodying the essence of the Creator’s plan and testament, helping Him overcome his loneliness. The Being comprehends itself in the mirror of the text, understood as an act of acceptance of life.

Keywords: Andrey Bitov, “The catechumen,” “Man in the landscape,” the journey plot, the essence of art, the meaning of the being

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