THE WORK OF ALEKSANDR GRIN (1880-1932): A STUDY OF GRIN’S PHILOSOPHICAL OUTLOOK Krzysztof Martowicz A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St. Andrews 2011 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/2467 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons License R ! "# $ R ! "# $ %& & ' #& () 1 Declarations (i) I, Christopher Martowicz, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 80000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. Date …… Signature of candidate ……… (ii) I was admitted as a research student in September 2005 and as a candidate for the degree of PhD in September 2009; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2005 and 2009. Date …… Signature of candidate ……… (iii) I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of PhD in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date …… Signature of Head of School ……… In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews we understand that we are giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. 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Date …… Signature of candidate ……… I Mojej wspaniałej i kochanej bonie Ani oraz naszej cudownej córeczce Zosi prac B t B dedykuj B… II Abstract There has been to date no attempt at a detailed examination of Aleksandr Grin’s philosophical views interpreted on the basis of his literary work. Whilst some critics have noted interesting links between the writer’s oeuvre and a few popular philosophers, this has usually been done in passing and on an ad hoc basis. This thesis aims to fill this gap by reconstructing Grin’s views in relation to the European philosophical tradition. The main body of the thesis consists of three parts built on and named after three essential themes in philosophy: External World, Happiness and Morality. Part One delineates Grin’s views on nature and civilisation: I argue first that his cult of nature makes it possible to conceive of Grin as a pantheistic thinker close to Rousseau and Bergson, and then I reconstruct the author’s criticism of urbanisation and industrialisation. In the second part I assess the place of happiness in Grin’s world-view, indicating its similarities to the philosophy of various thinkers from the Ancients to Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. After sketching a general picture of the concept of happiness in Grin’s works, I discuss the place of material and immaterial factors in the writer’s outlook. I also gather maxims expressed by the protagonists in his fiction that can be taken as recommendations concerning ways of achieving and defending happiness. Finally, I link happiness with the problem of morality in Grin’s oeuvre. In the final part I examine modes of moral behaviour as displayed by the author’s protagonists. Firstly, I argue that in Grin’s works we find numerous examples and themes that allow us to perceive him as an existentialist. Secondly, I indicate Grin’s adherence to rules of conduct commonly associated with chivalric literature. Thirdly, I emphasise the importance of Promethean-like characters in the moral hierarchy of Grin’s protagonists. III Acknowledgements I am greatly indebted to a number of people but first of all I should express my sincere gratitude to my supervisors Dr Roger Keys and Dr Claire Whitehead, as well as Dr Aleksandra Smith from The Division of European Languages and Cultures at the University of Edinburgh, who provided me with helpful suggestions and important advice during my Grinian journey. I wish to thank also the School of Modern Languages of the University of St Andrews for the financial contribution towards my research. I wish to express my cordial appreciation to my wife Anna for her invaluable encouragement and spiritual support at all stages of this work. My special thanks go also to my parents Ewa and Elio, and my brother Jan simply for being there. Finally, I wish to thank my dear friends Ron Looker for his linguistic support and Gleb Garazha for his interesting philosophical remarks. IV The novel is not the author’s confession; it is an investigation of human life in the trap the world has become. Milan Kundera A fictional technique always relates back to the novelist’s metaphysics. The critic’s task is to define the latter before evaluating the former. Jean-Paul Sartre V CONTENTS Introduction 1 Current state of research 16 Part One - External world 20 1.1 Nature 21 1.2 Civilisation 32 Part Two - Happiness 49 2.1 Eudaimonology 51 2.2 The concept of happiness in Grin’s work 54 2.3 Wealth 61 2.4 Immaterial goods 62 2.4.1. Intrapersonal values 63 2.4.1.1 Love 63 2.4.1.2 Family life 66 2.4.1.3 Friendship 67 2.4.2 Intrapersonal values 69 2.4.2.1 Fame and respect of others 69 2.4.2.2 Self-satisfaction and self-realisation 70 2.4.2.3 Contact with nature 72 2.4.2.4 Life in itself 73 2.4.2.5 Freedom 74 2.4.2.6 Imagination 76 2.4.2.7 Art 78 2.4.2.8 Adventure 79 2.5 Sets of rules 82 2.6 Altruism and the problem of virtue 89 2.7 The place of happiness in Grin’s Weltanschauung 92 Part Three - Morality 95 3.1 Existentialism 98 3.1.1 Grin and questions of human existence 100 3.1.2 Grin’s personal existential journey 101 3.1.3 The experience of happiness 106 3.1.4 The meaning of existence 109 3.1.5 The problem of suicide 111 VI 3.1.6 Naked existence 118 3.1.6.1 Spiritual loneliness 118 3.1.6.2 Paradoxes of freedom 122 3.1.6.3 Infinite responsibility and authenticity 126 3.1.7 Existential sketches 132 3.1.7.1 The painter and his sketches 132 3.1.7.2 Rejected options 134 3.1.8 Grin as an intuitive existentialist 143 3.2 Romantic chivalric ethos 145 3.2.1 The genesis of the Grinian Knight 145 3.2.2 Characteristics of the Knight 148 3.2.3 The evaluation of Grin’s romantic chivalric ethos 164 3.3. Promethean Humanism 165 3.3.1 Being good requires sacrifices (‘Sozdanie Aspera‘) 168 3.3.2 Readiness to create good (‘Gatt, Vitt i Redott‘) 170 3.3.3 Let peace fall over the world (‘Poedinok predvoditelei‘) 171 3.3.4 Let the time of love come for ever (‘Uchenik charodeia‘) 173 3.3.5 The tragic fate of Prometheus (‘Blistaiushchii mir’) 175 3.3.6 Grin’s ideal hero 192 Final conclusions 194 Bibliography 197 VII Introduction The pathways of philosophy and literature interweave in three main forms which may be summarised as ‘philosophy of literature’, ‘philosophy and literature’ and ‘philosophy in literature’. The first type refers to the philosophical reflection on literature as an art form and addresses questions concerning the nature of literature (What makes something literature?), its forms (What is literature and what is not?), meanings (How do literary works convey meanings?), values and purposes. ‘Philosophy and literature’, in turn, is the attempt to apply philosophy to a literary work to enhance one's understanding of this work an example of which is, for instance, interpreting literary works using concepts from aesthetics, ethics, religion studies or particular philosophical currents (e.g. existentialism) as interpretative tools. The last form of coexistence – ‘philosophy in literature’ – is focused on the issues of presence of philosophical thought in a literary work which surfaces either explicitly in characters’ dialogues or implicitly, in which case only attending to incidents in the lives of the characters allows for reconstruction of that thought. This places ‘philosophy in literature’ as a predominantly author-oriented phenomenon accepting that behind every literary work there is a human being who experiences the world in his own peculiar way. The world requires him to interpret facts, events, acts, behaviour – from the level of simple reactions to the most complex and mysterious questions concerning the essence of human existence (life, hate, faith, melancholy, love, honour, and death). A literary work is an image of this interpretation – a picture of the author’s beliefs, visions of the world and perception of reality (claiming the contrary would imply that the author is unfaithful to himself).