Estate Life in Pasternak’s Novel “Doctor Zhivago”

The aim of the article is to understand the role and significance of the estate topos in the artistic world of Pasternak’s novel, to analyze the connection between the image of the estate and the lines of the main characters, and to clarify the characters’ ideas about the form of estate life in the...

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Format: Article
Language:Russian
Published: Ural State Pedagogical University 2023-04-01
Series:Филологический класс
Subjects:
Online Access:https://filclass.ru/en/archive/2023/vol-28-1-2/usadebnyj-mir-v-romane-b-l-pasternaka-doktor-zhivago
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collection DOAJ
description The aim of the article is to understand the role and significance of the estate topos in the artistic world of Pasternak’s novel, to analyze the connection between the image of the estate and the lines of the main characters, and to clarify the characters’ ideas about the form of estate life in the past and its possible evolution under new conditions. Due to the reception of the discoveries of the Russian classics, Pasternak was able to create on the opening pages of the novel “Doctor Zhivago” the atmosphere of a properly flowing estate life. From Goncharov, Dostoevsky and Chekhov, Pasternak borrows mainly those artistic techniques that are associated with the crisis of a person’s state and their passions; from Tolstoy the writer “adopts” the very approach to life and the holistic vision of the environment. Estate life, according to Pasternak, is the best form of organization of being, linking together a person’s proximity to the earth and physical labor, their understanding of themselves in the history and future of the family, caring for their own house and garden. Pasternak’s Yuri Zhivago, who grew up in the traditions of the estate culture, is not a warrior and builder, although he has to perform both of these social roles and functions. Yuri Zhivago cannot even be called “forefront”: the main task of this character is to preserve honor and his living soul during crises, to convey to others his knowledge about life that does not depend on the system and political clashes. The author of the article notes that on the path of the best characters of Pasternak, the estate topos, images of the family and home, as the most important semantic and ideological centers of the novel, play a huge role. The article proves that Varykino becomes the culminating point on Doctor Zhivago’s path in comprehending the destruction of the estate past and his own revival, creating his own shelter, in which Yuri Zhivago feels himself to be a man, father, master and creator, feeling the harmonious flow of time and the fulfillment of his life purpose.
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spelling doaj.art-f187c5811bbc40bcbf36e59dc1f80cad2023-05-31T04:44:23ZrusUral State Pedagogical UniversityФилологический класс2071-24052658-52352023-04-011859610.51762/1FK-2023-28-01-08Estate Life in Pasternak’s Novel “Doctor Zhivago”The aim of the article is to understand the role and significance of the estate topos in the artistic world of Pasternak’s novel, to analyze the connection between the image of the estate and the lines of the main characters, and to clarify the characters’ ideas about the form of estate life in the past and its possible evolution under new conditions. Due to the reception of the discoveries of the Russian classics, Pasternak was able to create on the opening pages of the novel “Doctor Zhivago” the atmosphere of a properly flowing estate life. From Goncharov, Dostoevsky and Chekhov, Pasternak borrows mainly those artistic techniques that are associated with the crisis of a person’s state and their passions; from Tolstoy the writer “adopts” the very approach to life and the holistic vision of the environment. Estate life, according to Pasternak, is the best form of organization of being, linking together a person’s proximity to the earth and physical labor, their understanding of themselves in the history and future of the family, caring for their own house and garden. Pasternak’s Yuri Zhivago, who grew up in the traditions of the estate culture, is not a warrior and builder, although he has to perform both of these social roles and functions. Yuri Zhivago cannot even be called “forefront”: the main task of this character is to preserve honor and his living soul during crises, to convey to others his knowledge about life that does not depend on the system and political clashes. The author of the article notes that on the path of the best characters of Pasternak, the estate topos, images of the family and home, as the most important semantic and ideological centers of the novel, play a huge role. The article proves that Varykino becomes the culminating point on Doctor Zhivago’s path in comprehending the destruction of the estate past and his own revival, creating his own shelter, in which Yuri Zhivago feels himself to be a man, father, master and creator, feeling the harmonious flow of time and the fulfillment of his life purpose.https://filclass.ru/en/archive/2023/vol-28-1-2/usadebnyj-mir-v-romane-b-l-pasternaka-doktor-zhivagorussian classicsrevolutionary timereceptioncontinuityestatesestate toposestate mythhouse imagenoble traditions
spellingShingle Estate Life in Pasternak’s Novel “Doctor Zhivago”
Филологический класс
russian classics
revolutionary time
reception
continuity
estates
estate topos
estate myth
house image
noble traditions
title Estate Life in Pasternak’s Novel “Doctor Zhivago”
title_full Estate Life in Pasternak’s Novel “Doctor Zhivago”
title_fullStr Estate Life in Pasternak’s Novel “Doctor Zhivago”
title_full_unstemmed Estate Life in Pasternak’s Novel “Doctor Zhivago”
title_short Estate Life in Pasternak’s Novel “Doctor Zhivago”
title_sort estate life in pasternak s novel doctor zhivago
topic russian classics
revolutionary time
reception
continuity
estates
estate topos
estate myth
house image
noble traditions
url https://filclass.ru/en/archive/2023/vol-28-1-2/usadebnyj-mir-v-romane-b-l-pasternaka-doktor-zhivago