Institute of Philology of the Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences
ISSN 2307–1753 [16+]
Founder — Institute of Philology, SB RAS
Critique and Semiotics
Digital network scientific journal
for specialists in philology and semiotics
DOI: 10.25205/2307-1737
Roskomnadzor certificate number Эл № ФС 77-84784 
Kritika i Semiotika (Critique and Semiotics)
По-русски
Archive
Submission requirements
Process for Submission and Publication
Editor′s office
Editorial Board and Editorial Council
Our ethical principles
Search:


Email: silantev@post.nsu.ru

Article

Name: Topics of a Fairy-Tale in the Plot Structure of V. Zazubrin’s Play “Undermining”

Authors: E. N. Proskurina

Institute of Philology SB RAS (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation)

Issue 1, 2020Pages 323-337
UDK: 82DOI: 10.25205/2307-1737-2020-1-323-337

Abstract: The article provides a structural analysis of the «forgotten» play by V. Zazubrin “Undermining”. This is the final work of the writer, created in the mid-1930s. The plot is organized around the conflict between the “archaists and innovators” from medicine. Its compliance to the normative parameters of the socialist-realism canon is shown, following which leads to the same type of the Soviet plot as such. Similar plot type, which is formed as a result of typical actions of the heroes, correlates with the model of a fairy-tale, where there is also a predetermination of the actions of the characters. In dramaturgy, these properties are most distinct. The plot of the Zazubrin’s play moves from the failures of the hero-innovator, his accusations of sabotage by colleagues of the older generation and the ban on further experimentation – to a scientific triumph and wedding. This corresponds to the functions of a fairy-tale plot, such as “shortage”, the struggle of the hero and the antagonist, violation of the prohibition, solving a difficult task, marriage and “reigning”. The analysis leads to the conclusion: the schematic behavior of the hero, his subordination to the plot within the boundaries of a given canon leads to a decrease in the artistic level of the play, depriving its content of the occasionality that is characteristic of Zazubrin’s early work.

Keywords: V. Zazubrin’s play “Undermining”, V. Propp, topic of a fairy- tale, Soviet drama, socialist-realism canon

Bibliography:

Entsiklopedicheskiy slovar’ [Encyclopedic Dictionary]. Leningrad, Ministry of Culture of the USSR Publ., 1935. (in Russ.)

Gudkova V. Rozhdeniye sovetskikh syuzhetov. Tipologiya otechestvennoy dramy 1920-kh – nachala 1930-kh godov [The Birth of Soviet Plots. Typology of domestic drama of the 1920s – early 1930s]. Moscow, NLO Publ., 2008, 456 p. (in Russ.)

Gyunter Kh. Zhiznennyye fazy sotsrealisticheskogo kanona [Life phases of the socialist-realist canon]. In: Sotsrealisticheskiy kanon [Socialist-realist canon]. St. Petersburg, Akademicheskiy proyekt Publ., 2000, p. 281–288. (in Russ.)

Kirshon V. M. O literature i iskusstve: Stat’i i vystupleniya [About literature and art: Articles and speeches]. Moscow, Khudozhestvennaya literatura Publ., 1967, 261 p. (in Russ.)

Kreps E. M. O prozhitom i perezhitom [About lived and experienced]. Moscow, Nauka, 1989. (in Russ.)

Literaturnoye nasledstvo Sibiri [The literary heritage of Siberia]. Novosibirsk, 1972, vol. 2, 444 p. (in Russ.)

Meletinsky E. M. Vvedeniye v istoricheskuyu poetiku eposa i romana [Introduction to the historical poetics of the epic and novel]. Moscow, Nauka, 1986, 320 p. (in Russ.)

Propp V. Morfologiya volshebnoy skazki [Morphology of a fairy-tale]. Moscow, Labirint Publ., 2005, 124 p. (in Russ.)

Proskurina E. N. K istorii neosushchestvlennykh zamyslov V. Zazubrina [To the history of unfulfilled plans of V. Zazubrin]. Syuzhetologiya i syuzheto- grafiya [Studies in Theory of Literary Plot and Narratology], 2019, no. 1, p. 72– 79. (in Russ.)

Silantyev I. V. Syuzhetologicheskiye issledovaniya [Plotological studies]. Moscow, Yazyki slavyanskoy kul’tury Publ., 2009, 223 p. (in Russ.)

Yarantsev V. P’yesa Vladimira Zazubrina “Podkop”: epilog sud’by [The dramatic play by Vladimir Zazubrin “Undermining”: an epilogue of fate]. Sibirskiye ogni [Siberian Lights], 2018, no. 2, p. 97–108. (in Russ.)

Zabytyye p’yesy 1920–1930-kh godov [Forgotten plays of the 1920–1930s]. Moscow, NLO Publ., 2014, 992 p. (in Russ.)

Zazubrin V. Podkop [Undermining]. Sibirskiye ogni [Siberian Lights], 2018, no. 2, p. 109–168. (in Russ.)

Institute of Philology
Nikolaeva st., 8, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation
+7-383-330-15-18, ifl@philology.nsc.ru
© Institute of Philology