"New Sentimentality" in the Novels Pismovnik by Mikhail Shishkin and The Aviator by Eugene Vodolazkin

The essay explores the phenomenon of "new sentimentality", the nature of functioning and forms of manifestation of sentimentalist discourse in the novels Pismovnik [Letter-Book] by Mikhail Shishkin and The Aviator by Eugene Vodolazkin. The essay consists of two paragraphs. The theoretical synopsis provides the background for the analysis of the mentioned works of the 2010s, which demonstrate one of the most promising trends in the development of the latest prose related to the experience of sentimentalism. Since a direct inheritance of sentimentalist traditions in the literature of the 21st century is impossible, the dialogue with it is carried out according to the law of negation of the negation or the oxymoronie prineiple, whieh allows to eombine the ineongruous. But ehanging and transforming the "new sentimentality" still does not lose the eonneetion with the "primary souree". In the eourse of the analysis it is proved that in Shishkin's and Vodolazkin's novels the dialogue with sentimentalism is manifested not only at the level of the eharaeters' world pereeption but also at the level of the author's eoneept, whieh determines the system of values, the speeifies of the genre and the form of the narrative, the nature of the leitmotivs and the peeuliarities of the plot strueture. In Pismovnik, the sentimental diseourse interaets with the postmodern one, in The Aviator with the postmodern and realistie diseourses. However, being integrated into a "foreign" system, it remains relatively independent and retains its aestheties. "New sentimentality" in Shishkin's and Vodolazkin's novels is a form of rehabilitation of humanistie values, assertion of the signifieanee of the "small" world, as opposed to the "big" one, eounter to the postmodern world as text, the eruelty of reality and the simulative world of mass eulture. An important role in reereating the "small world" in Pismovnik and The Aviator is played by primary physiologieal sensations - sense of smell, toueh, vision, hearing, taste. It is elosely eonneeted with the motive of ehildhood, whieh is very important in both novels and allows to reeall the open sentimentalists' type of a "natural man". However, in the works of Shishkin and Vodolazkin, new versions of a "sensitive hero" is presented. He pereeives the world through the prism of eulture, so the texts are based on the game with quotes, remarks, allusions. But this game is not self-valuable: at the end of the analyzed novels the word of the eharaeters serves as an expression of a humanistie eonseiousness related to the author. The author of the artiele eomes to the eonelusion that in relation to the novels Pismovnik by Shishkin and The Aviator by Vodolazkin we ean talk about "new sentimentality", whieh determines evaluation eriteria, about neo-sentimentalist diseourse as the dominant element of the narrative strueture and about "new sentimentalism" as an aesthetie phenomenon. All this makes it possible to pereeive these works as a symptomatie phenomenon indieating a possible veetor of development of modern intelleetual prose.

Keywords

Authors

References