THE UNFINISHED “KHACHATUR ABOVYAN” NOVEL BY AKSEL BAKUNTS

Abstract

The idea of the “Khachatur Abovyan” novel occupied Aksel Bakunts’s mind for several years leading him to studiously examine the writings of the great educator, as well as to research the archival materials about Abovyan’s life. Numerous remarkable literary critics, including Edvard Jrbashyan, Suren Aghababyan, and Hrant Tamrazyan, have analyzed the novel “Khachatur Abovyan.”  They have all considered it a historical novel (Tamrazyan H., 1984). This unfinished novel reflects the joint evaluation of Bakunts and Charents regarding the tragic issues and barriers that Abovyan had to fight for bringing his vision to life, as noted by Suren Aghababyan (Nalbandian V., 1978). Yeghishe Charents tremendously admired the “Khachatur Abovyan” novel.  On one occasion, he told Ruben Zaryan, “Wait, wait a bit more, and then you will see what our friend will accomplish.” (Aghababyan S., 1986). Bakunts succeeded in bringing to life the period of Abovyan’s life when he was studying in Dorpat (present-day Tartu in Estonia), vividly describing Abovyan’s university environment and longing for his distant homeland. The novel “Khachatur Abovyan” has accurately represented the changes in the life of Eastern Armenia after it joined Russia.  Had the novel “Khachatur Abovyan” been completed, it would have greatly enriched the modern Armenian literary heritage and would have been considered a masterpiece created by Aksel Bakunts.