Remizov's myth in the structure of Yaroslavl text

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to consider an important scientific historical and literary issue: the place of A. M. Remizov, an outstanding representative of Russian neorealism, in the structure of the so-called Yaroslavl text. For the first time Remizov's auteur myth is inscribed into the structure of a local text, to which type the Yaroslavl text belongs. This literary phenomenon is presented in the context of studying the author's individuality along the lines common to Russian prose: the enrichment of content, the search for new narrative and artistic forms. The following objectives of the work were also dealt with in the context of contemporary studies of the first half of the XX century Russian literature: to clarify the definitions of the Yaroslavl text and the Remizov myth; to determine the biographical, narrative, historical and literary contours of the latter; to identify and establish the place of archetypes and motives in this myth; and, finally, to incorporate myth into the conceptual space of the Yaroslavl text. The most significant results of the work are the following: the historical-literary and personal-biographical components of the Remizov myth are described; the role of folklore, literary motives and archetypes in the system of motives and images of Remizov's prose is established; the latter are shown in the context of his creative evolution. Remizov's auteur myth is integrated into the historical and literary space of the Yaroslavl text. Some observations are made on the philosophy, aesthetics, and poetics of Remizov's prose and the expressiveness of his writings. Diaries and documents are taken into account as a full-fledged link in the writer's legacy; the attitude to them as secondary, auxiliary material has been overcome. The approaches used in the work led to an original view of the writer’s skills and allowed to break the existing opinions about Remizov's type of artistic thinking. The article evaluates the artistic merits of some of the well-known works in a new way, clarifies the writer's position, shows its connection with mythology and folklore, with the functions of the components of external and internal forms. Remizov's skill is analyzed in the context of neo-mythologism and word-making relevant to the Russian prose of the XX century. Thus, scientific understanding of the complex phenomena in Russian literature of the first third of the XX century have been enriched.