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Viktor Pelevin's Chapaev I Pustota in the Context Ofits Times

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Satire, Parody, and Nostalgia on the Threshold: Viktor Pelevin's Chapaev i Pustota in the Context ofits Times by Krystyna A. Steiger Department ofRussian and Slavic Studies McGill Univesity December 2004 A thesis submitted to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor ofPhilosophy © Krystyna A. Steiger 2004 Library and Bibliothèque et 1+1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 0-494-12949-2 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 0-494-12949-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, électronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. ln compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privée, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont été enlevés de cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page cou nt, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. ••• Canada 11 Satire, Parody, and Nostalgia on the Threshold: Viktor Pelevin's Chopaev i Pustota in the Context ofits Times by Krystyna Steiger A Thesis Submitted for the Degree ofDoctor ofPhilosophy Abstract This thesis analyzes Viktor Pelevin's Chapaev i Pustota (1996) from the perspective of its (extra-)literary context, and status as a threshold text on various levels. It argues that through the expression of satire, parody, and nostalgia, Pelevin's novel exemplifies and transcends the threshold between the Soviet and post-Soviet literary narrative. Against the background of various comparison texts, by such precursors and contemporaries as Kaledin, Makanin, Petrushevskaia, P'ietsukh, Sorokin and Tolstaia, Pelevin's novel isshown both to conform with and diverge from the (post-)glasnost' literary text. Common features on the levels of theme and motif are identified, in order to establish both the notion ofliterary threshold, and a link to its extra-literary counterpart, in keeping with the crises of national transition from late- to post-Soviet status. Using Bakhtinian theory as a point of departure, the notion of threshold is identified on various levels ofPelevin's text, including theme, motif, and bifurcated structure in the form of dual time frames and plotlines. Through satire, Pelevin is shown to reconcile the notion of threshold as change, with that of frozen transition. OvertIy parodie, Chapaev i Pustota manipulates three principal constructs of Socialist Realism: the positive hero, the mentor/disciple relationship, and the spontaneity/consciousness dialectic. The thesis traces the role and development ofthese constructs in the four (un-)official versions of the so-called 'Chapaev myth' before 111 examining Pelevin's own manipulation of the eonstruets against three distinct models of parody by Gary Saul Morson, Linda Huteheon, and the Russian Formalists. As an aesthetie manifestation of the extra-literary threshold state, the expression of nostalgia is examined in various texts of the (post-)glasnost' period. Pelevin's parody and satire of nostalgie expression attests to the evolution in his novel from Soeialist Realism to sots-art, and beyond. iv Satire, parodie et nostalgie sur le seuil: Chapaev i Pustota de Viktor Pelevin dans le contexte de son époque par Krystyna Steiger Thèse soumise en vue de l'obtention d'un doctorat en philosophie Résumé Cette thèse se propose d'analyser le roman de Viktor Pelevin, Chapaev i Pustota (1996), du point de vue de ses contextes littéraire et extra-littéraire, et d'établir à plusieurs niveaux sa nature de texte-seuil. Son argument central consiste à poser que par l'expression de la satire, de la parodie et de la nostalgie, le roman de Pelevin représente de manière exemplaire, et transcende, le seuil qui sépare le roman pré-soviétique du roman post-soviétique. À la lumière d'une comparaison avec divers textes de précurseurs et de contemporains, comme Kaledin, Makanin, Petrushevskaia, P'ietsukh, Sorokin et Tolstaia, le roman de Pelevin se révèle comme à la fois conforme et différent du texte littéraire des périodes Glasnost et post-Glasnost. Des thèmes et des motifs communs permettent de définir la notion de seuil littéraire et d'établir un lien avec son équivalent extra-littéraire que sont les crises de transition nationale de la fin de l'ère soviétique vers l'ère post-soviétique. À partir de la théorie bakhtinienne, la notion de seuil est identifiée à plusieurs niveaux du texte de Pelevin, y compris au niveau des thèmes, des motifs, et d'une structure binaire sur le plan de la chronologie et de l'intrigue. À travers la satire, Pelevin concilie la notion de seuil, comprise comme changement, avec celle de transition figée. Ouvertement parodique, Chapaev i Pustota manipule trois construits fondamentaux du réalisme socialiste : le héros positif, la relation de maître à disciple, et v la dialectique entre la spontanéité et la conscience. Cette thèse retrace le rôle et le développement de ces trois construits dans les quatre versions, officielle et non officielles, du soit disant «mythe de Chapaev», avant d'examiner, à partir de trois modèles théoriques de la parodie empruntés à Gary Saul Morson, Linda Hutcheon et aux formalistes russes, la manière dont Pelevin lui-même les manipule. En tant que manifestation esthétique de l'état de seuil, l'expression de la nostalgie est examinée dans divers textes des périodes Glasnost et post-Glasnost. La parodie de Pelevin et sa satire de l'expression nostalgique attestent d'une évolution, dans son roman, du réalisme socialiste vers le Sots-art, et au-delà. VI Acknowledgements First and foremost, 1 would like to thank my Thesis Supervisor, Professor Laura Beraha of McGill's Department of Russian and Slavic Studies for her guidance in every stage of this dissertation. Without her erudition, strategic and academic advice, enthusiasm for my topic, common interests in the field of post-Soviet literature, and constant good cheer, writing this thesis would have been a much less exciting, and much more intimidating, task. 1 give heartfelt thanks to Professor Paul Austin, Chair of Russian and Slavic Studies, for his moral support over the years. 1 thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for the Doctoral Fellowship which enabled me to pursue my studies. 1 also thank Ms. Lynda Bastien, our Graduate Administrator, for always being on top of it, with a smile and a kind word. Last, but never least, 1 thank my husband Nory Marc Steiger - my full-time consultant, pillar, source of inspiration, and aIl round guiding light. VII A Note On Transliteration This dissertation follows the modified Library of Congress system; it omits the diacritical marks and ligatures required by the strict style. Exceptions are made when quoting directly from an English-language publication, preserving the system fol1owed in the given article or book. Vlll Table of Contents Introduction .............................................................................................. .ix Chapter 1. ................................................................................................ 1 II. ............................................................................................... 47 III ............................................................................................... 98 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 152 Bibliography............................................................................................ 164 ix Introduction Since its publication in 1996, Viktor Pelevin's Chapaev i Pustotal has received a wealth of positive criticism, and more than its share of negative reviews. Having read a good cross-section of the articles written, one would be hard-pressed not to recognize the distinct dichotomy of opinion between critics - those who thoroughly appreciate the novel, and those who emphatically do not. To be sure, in Pelevin criticism, there is rarely a middle ground. It is all the more fitting, then, that this thesis treats Pelevin's novel as a threshold text - one that both occupies and represents a certain middle ground or bridge" of sorts, between historical periods and literary
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