“Journey with a pot of geraniums” as a parody of the “sentimental canon” of travelogue

This paper characterizes the plot scenario of “a journey with a pot of geraniums” as a parody of the sentimental travelogue canon. The analysis focuses primarily on the version presented in Vasily Sipovsky’s understudied novel “Puteshestvie Erasta Krutolobova v Moskvu i Sankt-Peterburg v 30-kh godakh 19 stoletiya” (“Erast Krutolobov’s journey to Moscow and St. Petersburg in the 1830s”). The study uncovers the essential elements of the “touching tale of geraniums” that characterize the parody of the “sentimental canon.” These include: (1) a stage-coach journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg as the primary route; (2) the protagonists, an old maid and a large geranium bush; (3) the purpose of the journey, which involves delivering the geranium as a cherished memento from a long-lost love; and (4) the finale, in which the man fails to recognize the plant, ultimately shattering the heroine’s heart. For the first time, the pretext of Sipovsky’s novel is established. It is the parody travelogue “Putevye vpechatleniya i, mezhdu prochim, gorshok gerani” (“Travel impressions and, by the way, a pot of geraniums”) by Alexander Veltman, published in 1840 in the magazine “Syn Otechestva.” Furthermore, the study analyzes the function of the floral code, positioning the geranium, a symbol contrasting to the poetic peony and rose, as a central element of the parodic elements of both Sipovsky’s and Veltman’s travelogues.

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