Yevgeny Zamyatin's prose is usually called new prose, or ornamental prose. Such prose is characterized by features inherent in the new synthetic art. Among them are a departure from realism, a rapidly developing fantastic plot, a thickening of symbolism and colors, highlighting only the general, synthetic feature of each phenomenon, and not a detailed description of it; a concentrated, compressed language, a choice of words with "the maximum coefficient of the resulting action", in the words of E. I. Zamyatin. Repetition and the cross-cutting verbal themes and leitmotivs that arise on its basis compensate for the shortcomings in the development of the plot and are the framework on which the narrative fabric of the work is contained.
The constructive element of a new prose work of art is implication, implication as a way of logical plot construction. The artistic prose of Evgeny Zamyatin is represented by certain metaphorical series. They are necessary for the writer to create an artistic image as a game substitute for a real number, this is a metaphor without similarity (Shklovsky V. B. Five people of acquaintances. Tiflis, 1927, p. 49). The image is canonized and passes from one part of the novel to another, like a quote. The technique, largely borrowed from Andrey Bely, becomes the hallmark of Evgeny Zamyatin's style. Metaphorical series are loaded with ideological and aesthetic content.
The world of the novel" We " is a world built of numbers and straight lines, cubes and rows, glass houses, uniforms, schedules and coupons. Each person is assigned his own number, he lives according to the plan, where everything is calculated in minutes. Work, walks, a private hour, love on coupons, and a Benefactor-leader and god in one person. The work is constructed on the basis of expanded implied values, impli --
page 20
rolled fields, where one attribute implies another, and the whole work resembles an expanded metaphor.
This is a world of "numbers", not personalities, a huge mechanism of a Single State thoroughly calculated in everything with perfectly ground "cogs". Everything is really calculated. Not only working hours - all aspects of the life of "numerers" are covered by the State, per second written in the Hour Tablet. Even art is subordinated to narrow practical goals in this truly barrack-like future. "It's ridiculous: everyone wrote about whatever they wanted... Now poetry is no longer a shameless nightingale's whistle: poetry is public service, poetry is utility" (Zamyatin E. I. Izbrannoe, Moscow, 1989, p. 352; further - only p.). And so the Institute of State Poets and Writers creates "Daily Odes to the Benefactor", the immortal tragedy "Late for Work".
Building an Integral is the goal of the whole life of a given society. For the "numbers", construction should be a sacred act of implementing the ideas of universal happiness. An ardent opponent of such an idea, Zamyatin sarcastically paints a picture of "this grandiose machine ballet": "This morning I was on the boathouse where the integral is being built, and suddenly I saw the machines: with my eyes closed, self-forgetfully, the balls of regulators were spinning; the cranks, glittering, bent to the right and left; the balance beam was proudly swaying its shoulders; in time with the chisel of a slotting machine squatted to the inaudible music" (p. 309).
D-503 sees before him the immutable straight streets, the glass pavements splashing with rays, the divine parallelepipeds of transparent dwellings, the square harmony of gray-blue ranks; " as if not whole generations, but I - it is I - have conquered the old God and the old life, it is I who created all this, and I am like a tower, I am afraid to move with your elbow, so that fragments of walls, domes, and cars don't fall down" (p.310).
Metaphorical series are constructed on the principle of implication. In this case, the "if - then" scheme is used. If the character is portrayed from a certain side, then all further descriptions of him will correspond to this characteristic: "R shook his head, scratched his head: the back of his head is some kind of square suitcase tied behind." According to the laws of implication, if the back of the head is compared to a suitcase, then thoughts R are things in this suitcase that can be sorted out, pulled out and unfolded: "I looked at his tightly locked suitcase and thought: what's he going through right now - in his briefcase?" (P. 335). " He frowned, rubbed the back of his head - this suitcase of his with extraneous, incomprehensible baggage. Pause. Here I found something in my briefcase, pulled it out, unfolded it, unfolded it - my eyes were varnished with laughter, and I jumped up" (p. 347).
The image series is based on concepts that can be attributed to the author's synonymy. Stylistic figures are created both at the expense of
page 21
as well as through individual author's synonyms. These are the words clean, transparent, Lear cleaned the bath solution clean: "Yesterday was for me the very paper through which chemists filter their solutions: all suspended particles, all excess remains on this paper. And in the morning I went down completely distilled, transparent " (p. 339).
The introduction of contextual antonyms to the text is based on the same principle: "Downstairs, in the lobby, at a table, the controller, glancing at the clock, wrote down the numbers of incoming calls. Her name is Yu... but I'd rather not mention her numbers, because I'm afraid I might write something bad about her. Although, in fact, she is a very respectable old woman. The only thing I don't like about her is that her cheeks are somewhat saggy - like fish gills (it would seem: what's the big deal?) She scratched her pen, and I saw myself on the page: "D-503" - and-next to the blob " (p. 340). Stylistic figures based on contrast are created using contextual antonyms. These are the words clean and blob. They are not antonyms in their primary function, but in the context of the work they form an expressive series of secondary oppositions. Further, the semantic field is expanded by including the phrase ink smile in the context: "Just as I was about to draw her attention to this, she suddenly raised her head and gave me such an inky smile." 340) One metaphor leads to another, a third, and thus we see an expansion of the semantic field: "I knew that the letter she read must still pass through the Bureau of Guardians (I think it is unnecessary to explain this natural order), and I will have it no later than 12. But I was confused by this very smile, the ink drop muddied my clear solution " (p. 340).
The literal understanding of figurative-figurative expressions gives them, in essence, the functions of reference words. This construction of images is based on a great freedom of ambiguity.
Another vivid example of a contextual metaphor: "When she speaks, her face is like a fast, glittering wheel: you can't see the individual spokes. But now the wheel is stationary. And I saw a strange combination: dark eyebrows raised high at the temples - a mocking sharp triangle with the top turned up - two deep wrinkles, from the nose to the corners of the mouth. And these two triangles somehow contradicted each other, putting this unpleasant, irritating X on the whole face - like a cross: the face crossed out with a cross.
The wheel spun, the spokes merged... "(p. 341).
Thus, we see an artificial establishment of a metaphorical series. These are metaphors without similarity, built not on the principle of "nests", that is, "birds" do not evoke one another, but on the contrary, "crow" is more likely to evoke the continuation and "fox" or "cheese" than " vo-
page 22
robey" (Shklovsky V. B. Edict. op. p. 49). The image, once installed, passes through the entire work. A certain characteristic, a detailed epithet accompanies the hero through the entire novel, and the character is shown only from this side. If you need to change the hero, the change takes place in the spirit of this characteristic. The new detail is held by the status and only appears in its context. Thanks to this interrupted narrative, Zamyatin draws the reader's attention to an unusual premise, makes them think, and engage in joint work with the author. The reader accepts the course of reasoning and proofs, but since it was indirect, it is only at the end of the argument that the premise appears, which should have been the original one. In this case, it is a conclusion that the author and the reader come to together. Thus, the reader not only agrees with the author about any conclusion, but also considers this conclusion to be his own, which means that the writer has achieved the goal he needs. This technique allows him to write sparingly, leaving room for the reader's imagination and remains in the memory for a long time.
The novel "We" was created at a time when the Soviet Union as a phenomenon was only in its infancy. Zamyatin was the first to see the end of people's lives in a society ruled by a dictatorship. The novel was published in England in English in 1924, and in Prague in Russian in 1927. In Russia, the first publication appeared only in 1988. Yevgeny Zamyatin's prose found its reader with great delay. A fighter against totalitarianism and despotism, he was not fully understood either in the West or in the East.
New publications: |
Popular with readers: |
News from other countries: |
Editorial Contacts | |
About · News · For Advertisers |
Swedish Digital Library ® All rights reserved.
2014-2024, LIBRARY.SE is a part of Libmonster, international library network (open map) Keeping the heritage of Serbia |