• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell &. Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 THE “ AFRICAN-ARISTOCRAT” : ALEXANDER S. PUSHKIN’ S DUAL POETIC PERSONA DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State U niversity By Raquel Ginnette Greene, B.A., M.A. ***** The Ohio State U niversity 1999 D issertation Committee: Approved by Professor Irene Masing-Delic, Adviser Professor George Kalbouss ^ \ __ Professor Lyubomira Parpulova-Gribble Adviser Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures Graduate Program UMI Number: 9931601 Copyright 1999 by Greene, Raquel Ginnette All rights reserved. UMI Micrororm 9931601 Copyright 1999, by U M I Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, M I 48103 Copyright by Raquel Ginnette Greene 1999 ABSTRACT My dissertation examines the extent to which Alexander S. Pushkin (1799-1837), the Russian poet, inscribed in his writing the contrasting self-images that in part were brought on by his dual ethnic heritage. A member of one of the oldest aristocratic families of Russia on his father’s side and a descendant of Ibragim Cannibal, a native of northern Africa, on his mother’s, Pushkin produced many works which, upon close examination, reveal an ambiguous, but ultimately positive attitude towards both sides of his lineage. The issue of Pushkin’s ancestry has been repeatedly addressed by scholars, most of whom concentrate on genealogy or the family’s historical impact. The literary significance of his dual heritage has attracted less attention. Therefore, I examine the symbolic impact of Pushkin’s ancestry on his oeuvre, as well as on his concept of the poet. Using the Nietzschean terms of “Dionysiac” and “Apolline,” I assert II that Pushkin welcomed what has been perceived as “ irre c o n c ila b le ” legacies o f his lineage. N a tu ra lly unaware of Nietzschean terminology, Pushkin nevertheless perceived his “duality” in terms of “Dionysiac” inspiration and “Apolline” form, with the African heritage belong to Dionysus and the Russian to Apollo. The basic division between “visionary” and “craftsman” is, after a ll, as ancient as the two gods. Although affirming both lines of his heritage in the personal myth of the divinely inspired and formally masterful poet, Pushkin also had negative reactions to his lineage. The “black” Pushkin is an Othello figure who falls prey to emotions. The “white” aristocrat is a Don Juan, the souless dandy. I begin with a resume of Pushkin’s family history, and then examine both the positive and negative perceptions of Pushkin’s dual ancestry (e.g., Othello versus Don Juan) in his publistic and historical writings, prose and poetry - with particular reference to his Egyptian Nights. I l l Dedicated to my father IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my dissertation advisor, Irene Masing- Delic, for the support and guidance given over the years. My dissertation committee, George Kalbouss, Lyubomira Parpulova- Gribble and Stephen Summerhill, offered many helpful suggestions, and I thank them for the stimulating conversation. Dean James Upton has been a constant source o f inspiration and sanity during my years at OSU. Friends and colleagues Iona Dickerson and Susan Walton have always been encouraging and supportive. I would also like to express my deep gratitude to Susan Pitcock who has provided invaluable help in matters big and sm all. I am especially grateful to Mary Allen Johnson who graciously aided in the final editing of this dissertation. I extend heartfelt gratitude to Grinnell College and its Department of Russian. I would not have been able to finish my degree in such a timely fashion without their support and encouragement during th is past year. I would also like to thank my parents, Hyman and Katherine Greene, who have always shown unconditional love and unwavering support. Finally, I would like to thank my son Kellen, who has always been able to make me smile. VI VITA August 9, 1968.............. Born - Bronx, New York 1989...................................B.A. Slavic Languages and L ite ra tu re s / International Relations, University of V irg in ia . 199 1...................................M.A. Russian, University of Arizona. 1992 - 1998.................... Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University 1998 - present .............. CSMP Fellow, Grinnell College FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Slavic and East European Languages and L iteratures Vll TABLE OF CONTENTS Page A b stract ............................................................................................. i i D edication ......................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ................................................................................ v V ita ..................................................................................................... v i i Chapters: Introduction ..................................................................................... 1 1. Family H isto ry ........................................................................... 44 2. Othello versus Don Juan .......................................................... 87 3. Publistic Writing ..................................................................... 114 4. Historical Writing ................................................................... 129 5. Egyptian Nights......................................................................... 160 6. Poetry .......................................................................................... 177 Conclusion......................................................................................... 233 Bibliography ..................................................................................... 240 VI 1 1 INTRODUCTION One of the numerous facets of Alexander Pushkin’s (1799- 1837) “protean” genius is his acknowledged ability to introduce new themes, and one of the most innovative of the novel themes introduced to Russian literature by him is that of “the African.” Pushkin reflected upon his own African ancestry in the development of this theme and this personal reflection is manifested throughout his oeuvre. I have chosen to investigate this theme in my dissertation since it has not yet been perceived as an important element of Pushkin’s “life creation,” despite the many studies on the “African” Pushkin; nor has i t been examined in in te ra c tio n w ith what I term the “ a r is to c r a tic ” theme in Pushkin’ s l i f e and work, a theme that, like the “African” one, pertains to his family history. To define what I mean by the term “life creation,” I rely on Irina Paperno’s introduction to Creating Life: The Aesthetic Utopia o f Russian Modernism (1994). Paperno defines “life creation” Czhiznetvorchestvo"), asthe principle of fusing art and life as practiced by Russian symbolists in the 1890S-1910S.Though the word **zhiznetvorchestvo** itself is somewhat untra nsla tab le, Paperno presents an explanation o f the term: ‘*tvorchestvo refers to artistic creation; when combined w ith the word zhizn* (“life ”), it suggests both the a rtistic modeling of life and a synthesis of the two elements - creation and l i f e . ” ^ Paperno fu rth e r states th a t contempo­ rary critics mostly use the concept zhiznetvorchestvo to mean aesthetic organization of behavior.^ The concept of zhiznetvorchestvo is however not limited to the symbolist period. It was already presented in Boris Tomashevskii's groundbreaking article, “Literature and Biography" (1923). Although, in his article, Tomashevskii does not use this exact term, he states that for certain writers: ...th e knowledge th a t th e ir biographies were a constant background for their works compelled [them] to dramatize certain...motifs in their own lives and, furthermore, to create for themselves an a rtific ia l legendary biography ' Ir in a Paperno and Joan Delaney Grossman, eds., Creating L ife : The Aesthetic Utopia of Russian Modernism (Stanford, CA:

Load more

  263

Copy Link