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Full Description
Merezhkovsky's bold claim that "all Russian literature is, to a certain degree, a struggle with the temptation of demonism" is undoubtedly justified. And yet, despite its evident centrality to Russian culture, the unique and fascinating phenomenon of Russian literary demonism has so far received little critical attention. This substantial collection fills the gap. A comprehensive analytical introduction by the editor is follwed by a series of fourteen essays, written by eminent scholars in their fields. The first part explores the main shaping contexts of literary demonism: the Russian Orthodox and folk tradition, the demonization of historical figures, and views of art as intrinsically demonic. The second part traces the development of a literary tradition of demonism in the works of authors ranging from Pushkin and Lermontov, Gogol and Dostoevsky, through to the poets and prose writers of modernism (including Blok, Akhmatova, Bely, Sologub, Rozanov, Zamiatin), and through to the end of the 20th century.
Contents
List of Illustrations
Notes on Contributors
Preface
Introduction: Russian Literature and its Demons: Introductory Essay
Pamela Davidson
PART I: TRADITIONS AND CONTEXTS
Chapter 1. Nostalgia for Hell: Russian Literary Demonism and Orthodox Tradition
Simon Franklin
Chapter 2. The Russian Folk Devil and His Literary Reflections
Faith Wigzell
Chapter 3. Antichrist Enthroned: Demonic Visions of Russian Rulers
Kevin Platt
Chapter 4. Divine Service or Idol Worship? Russian Views of Art as Demonic
Pamela Davidson
PART II: LITERARY DEMONS
Chapter 5. The Muse and the Demon in the Poetry of Pushkin, Lermontov and Blok
Pamela Davidson
Chapter 6. Lermontov's The Demon: Identity and Axiology
Robert Reid
Chapter 7. The Devil is in the Detail: Demonic Features of Gogol's Petersburg
Julian Graffy
Chapter 8. The Devils' Vaudeville: "Decoding" the Demonic in Dostoevsky's The Devils
W. J. Leatherbarrow
Chapter 9. Rozanov and His Literary Demons
Liza Dimbleby
Chapter 10. The Demon. The Mythopoetic World Model in the Art of Lermontov, Vrubel, Blok
Avril Pyman
Chapter 11. The Demonomania of Sorcerers: Satanism in the Russian Symbolist Novel
Adam Weiner
Chapter 12. Symbolist Devils and Acmeist Transformation: Gumilev, Demonism, and the Absent Hero in Akhmatova's Poem Without a Hero
Michael Basker
Chapter 13. Playing Devil's Advocate: Paradox and Parody in Zamiatin's "The Miracle of Ash Wednesday"
Philip Cavendish
Chapter 14. Literary Representations of Stalin and Stalinism as Demonic
Rosalind Marsh
Index
