Suicidal problematics in Nabokov’s Russian novels and novella in the light of N. Berdyaev’s views
V. Nabokov’s views on the phenomenon of voluntary self-destruction have much in common with the views of N. Berdyaev, therefore, the comparison of the discourses of the writer and the philosopher seems to be productive. The object of the research is the novels “The Defense”, “The Gift” and the novella “The Enchanter”, considered in the context of Berdyaev’s work “On Suicide”. The author uses the methods of thanatological, intertextual, motif, structural-semantic, ontopoetic, cultural-historical analysis. In the course of the study, the author comes to the conclusion that Nabokov and Berdyaev, each with their own means, show the multifaceted nature of the problem of suicide. They pay attention to the personal aspect (the presence of such negative qualities of suicides as egocentrism, irresponsibility, inclination to escapism, consumerism, latent or explicit opposition to the world, theomachy intentions), the social aspect (unfavorable environment, taboo of death, disrespect for death mystery, falling under the influence of manipulators, toxic ideas), and the mystical-religious aspect (the influence of demonic forces and the latent or open conflict with God). The difference is that Nabokov prefers “indirect statements”. Also the philosopher and the writer raise the issue of the “antidote”, the essence of which they see in reconciliation with God and spiritual struggle for the soul.
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Sourses
Berdyaev, N. A. (1931), O samoubiystve: Psikhologicheskiy etyud [On Suicide: Psychological Etude], YMCA-press, Paris, France (in Russ.).
Berdjaev, N. A. (1990), Samopoznanie (opyt filosofskoy avtobiografii) [Self Knowledge: An Essay in Autobiography], Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya, Moscow, Russia (in Russ.).
Dostoevskiy, F. M. (1990), Sobranie sochineniy v 15 tomakh. Tom 7 [Collected works in 15 volumes. Vol. 7], Nauka, Leningradskoe otdelenie, Leningrad, Russia (in Russ.).
Nabokov, V. V. (2004–2009), Russkiy period. Sobranie sochineniy v 5 tomakh [Russian period. Collected works in 5 volumes], Simpozium, Saint-Petersburg, Russia (in Russ.).
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