“Anecdotal Interest” in the creative practice of M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin and N. S. Leskov: a target setting

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Abstract

The article offers an attempt of comparative analysis of the works of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin and N.S. Leskov from the point of view of “anecdotism” as a means of plot construction and destruction of conventional methods of typification. The material used includes reviews of contemporaries, aesthetic declarations of Leskov and Saltykov, as well as early Leskovʼs journalism. Even Leskovʼs contemporaries characterized him as an “anecdotist writer”, implying his inability to analyze large-scale historical trends and to develop a coherent ethical assessment of phenomena and characters. Similarly, Saltykov-Shchedrinʼs critics from among the radical Sixties youth reproached the writer with “innocent humor”, masking the lack of ideas and superficiality of social analysis. However, as early as the late 1850s, some critics believed that the plots of Shchedrinʼs essays were too similar to anecdotes. The article shows that by refusing a completed plot with clearly defined ideological accents, both authors sought to overcome the narrative clichés of their time.

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About the authors

I. А. Kravchuk

Author for correspondence.
Email: kolesovan@gmail.ru

Master of Philology, Independent Researcher

Russian Federation

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