The plot “notification of the imminent parent death” in Russian literature of the 20th century

The paper identifies and investigates a motif complex formed in the Russian literature of the first half of the 20th century and implemented mainly in the works of the 1960s. It develops the theme of parental melancholy that is widely represented in literature and, influenced by Yesenin’s “Letter to mother,” acquires the motif of death and indirect communication. The plot takes its final shape in K. Simonov’s poems “The Return” and “First love” and develops a stable semantic core in Paustovsky’s short story “The telegram”. This study proves the direct influence of Simonov’s works on Paustovsky. Basic to the plot is the situation of a lonely parent, abandoned by an adult child. There are several stages in the plot development, with the news of the imminent death of a parent being the central event. The younger character receives a letter or a telegram from the parent or his or her surroundings, with a possible duplicate message telling about the forthcoming or incurred parent’s death. In all plot implementations, the child fails to find the parent alive and sometimes ignores the call, actualizing the idea of guilt. Included in the plot is the motif of indirect communication from the parent and the child, both realized and possible. This written communication is perceived as an ersatz of genuine contact and does not relieve the parent’s pain and loneliness. An important micro-detail of the complex is the iconography of waiting: the description of the parent looking at the road (window, door).

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