The Image of the “Alien” in Epistolary Works by Nikolay Karamzin

The article is aimed at understanding the image of the “alien” in Nikolay Karamzin's letters to different addressees. Epistolary works are considered as a significant part of Karamzin's creative heritage. The author of the work states the fact that the writer's private correspondence expands the boundaries of documentariness through the principles and techniques of an artistic understanding of reality; therefore, the form and ideological content of the letters, the motivational complex manifested in them, the key images, their subjective organization reflect Karamzin's characteristic methods of a literary presentation of reality, the organization principles of an epistolary dialogue with the addressee, in which the connection between “own” and “alien”, Russia and Europe, “us” and “them” are comprehended among other things. Various levels of Karamzin's self-reflection are given through the correlation of “own” and “alien”, as well his specific epistolary behavior, which is based on special strategies of the author's self-presentation. The image of the author, like the image of the addressee, the character of Karamzin's letters, influence their imagology. Foreign cultural images, one of which in particular is Don Quixote, which is an expression of humanistic ideas promoting the welfare of all humankind, patriotism, worldwide responsiveness, a kind of quintessence of the author's idealistic attitudes, also contribute to the comprehension and translation of his own worldview. The image of the “alien” is revealed in a special way in the motive structure of Karamzin's letters, in particular, in the motive of the native land. At the same time, the philosophy of the “alien” space becomes an instrument for the life-building of the author of the letters, contributes to the declaration of his value system: “own” (holy Russia, Fatherland, home) is truly valuable, it requires constructive endeavour, “alien” is ephemeral, distracting from real things. Obviously, the image of the “alien” in Karamzin's letters is inseparable from the image of the “own”, thoughts about the fate of Russia; it is inextricably linked with Karamzin's political pedagogy and moral and philosophical ideals. The consideration of Karamzin's letters through the prism of the image of the “alien” makes it possible to highlight significant aspects of the author's worldview, consider the dynamics of characteristic elements of his poetics that appear in the letters and are determined by the writer's life and creative way. Karamzin's letters represent an example of how an epistolary text interacts with the literary tradition, participates in the creative activity of its author, and, not at least, becomes productive for national prose development in general and epistolary works in particular, how it influences the development of national consciousness.

Keywords

Authors

References