Institute of Philology of the Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences
Monuments of Folklore Siberian Journal of Philology Critique and Semiotics
Yazyki i fol’klor korennykh narodov Sibiri Syuzhetologiya i Syuzhetografiya
Institute of Philology of
the Siberian Branch of
Russian Academy of Sciences
По-русски
DOI: 10.25205/2307-1737
Roskomnadzor certificate number Эл № ФС 77-84784 
Kritika i Semiotika (Critique and Semiotics)
По-русски
Archive
Submission requirements
Process for Submission and Publication
Editor′s office
Editorial Board and Editorial Council
Our ethical principles
Search:


Email: silantev@post.nsu.ru

Article

Name: The Intrigue of Interpretation in S. Nosov’s Novel Firs Fortinbras

Authors: Galina A. Zhilicheva

Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

Issue 2, 2024Pages 88-108
UDK: 82.0DOI: 10.25205/2307-1753-2024-2-88-108

Abstract:

The article explores the semantics and operation of the intrigue of interpretation. In contemporary literature, the “role of the reader” within the structure of the “open work” (Eco) is increasingly emphasized. The aesthetic crisis and the conceptualization of the “death of the author” bring heightened attention to the figure of the recipient, sometimes transforming the event intrigue into an intrigue of interpretation, with readers interpreting literary works as actants. Since the situations of perception and understanding by the text's characters are included in the system of episodes, the depicted aesthetic communication correlates with the depicting one, and the intratextual interpreter aligns with the recipient of the artistic whole. In S. Nosov’s novel “Firs Fortinbras,” the intrigue of interpretation complicates the adventurous narrative and leads to the effect of a narrative palimpsest (Genette). The novel's title programs a dual-layered response: firstly, it activates an intertextual-theatrical context (Chekhov and Shakespeare); secondly, it sets a peculiar riddle – we are required to understand why the names of dramaturgical characters from different centuries are combined. The reader becomes a participant in a game communication, with intertext creating a genre expectation of a philological novel, and the combination of the incompatible (heroes of tragedy and comedy) sets an absurdist character to the work. The analysis of narrative features reveals that the hero-narrator reflects on the characters of Ionesco, Chekhov, Shakespeare (the Orator, Firs, Fortinbras) not only because he plays or dreams of playing the corresponding roles in the theater but also because identification with literary images allows him to fill the void of existence, correlate his life with literary analogs, thereby giving it meaning.

Keywords: intrigue, narration, reader hero, intertext, palimpsest, S. Nosov

Bibliography:

Aristotle. Poetika [Poetics]. Transl. by M. Gasparov. In: Aristotle. Works. In 4 vols. Moscow, Mysl’ Publ., 1983, vol. 4, pp. 645–681. (in Russ.)

Baroni R. Réticence de l’intrigue. In: Narratologies contemporaines: Approches nouvelles pour la théorie et l’analyse du récit. Paris, Éd. des archives con-temporaines, 2010, pp. 199–213.

Eco U. Rol' chitatelya. Issledovaniya po semiotike teksta. St. Petersburg, Simpozium Publ., 2005, 502 p. (in Russ.)

Esslin M. Teatr absurda [The Theatre of the Absurd]. Transl. from Eng. by G. Kovalenko. St. Petersburg, Baltic Seasons Publ., 2010, 528 p. (in Russ.)

Evreinov N. N. Demon teatral'nosti [The demon of theatricality]. Moscow, St. Petersburg, Letniy sad Publ., 2002, 536 p. (in Russ.)

Galatenko Yu. N. Baroni R. Napryazhenie i razreshenie: muzykal'nost' intrigi ili muzykal'naya intriga? [Baroni R. Tensions et resolutions: musicalité ou intrigue musicale?]. Social Sciences and Humanities. Domestic and Foreign Literature. Series 7: Literature Studies, 2012, no. 3, pp. 61–67. (in Russ.)

Grimova O. A. Poetika sovremennogo russkogo romana: zhanrovye transformatsii i povestvovatel'nye strategii [Poetics of the contemporary russian nov-el: genre transformations and narrative strategies]. Ekaterinburg, INTMEDIA Publ., 2019, 280 p. (in Russ.)

Oroby S. “Beskonechnyi tupik” Dmitriya Galkovskogo: struktura, ideologiya, kontekst [“Endless Deadlock” by Dmitry Galkovsky: structure, ideology, context]. Blagoveshchensk, BSPU Press, 2010, 224 p. (in Russ.)

Pavlova N. S. Priroda real'nosti v avstriiskoi literature [The nature of reatity in Austrian literarure]. Moscow, Yazyki slavyanskoi kul'tury, 2005, 312 p. (in Russ.)

Ricoeur P. Vremya i rasskaz [Time and Narrative]. Moscow, St. Petersburg, Universitetskaya kniga Publ., 1998, vol. 1, 313 p.; 2000, vol. 2, 224 p. (in Russ.)

Shmid W. Narratologiya [Narratology] Moscow, Yazyki slavyanskoi kul’tury Publ., 2003, 312 p. (in Russ.)

Sternberg М. Mimesis and Motivation: The Two Faces of Fictional Coher-ence. Poetics Today, 2012, no. 33, pp. 329–483.

Tomashevsky B. V. Teoriya literatury. Poetika [Theory of Literature. Poet-ics]. Moscow, Aspekt Press, 1996, 334 p. (in Russ.)

Turysheva O. N. Kniga – chtenie – chitatel' kak predmet literatury [Book – reading – reader as literary subjects]. Ekaterinburg: Ural Uni. Press, 2011, 337 p. (in Russ.)

Tyupa V. I. Na puti k istoricheskoi narratologii [Towards Historical Narratology]. Novyi filologicheskii vestnik, 2020, no. 3 (54), pp. 32–54. (in Russ.)

Tyupa V. I. Gorizonty istoricheskoy narratologii [Horizons of Historical Narratology]. St. Petersburg, Aleteya Publ., 2021, 271 p. (in Russ.)

Villeneuve J. Le sens de l’intrigue ou la narrativité, le jeu et l’invention du diable. Québec, Presses Université Laval, 2004, 448 p.

Institute of Philology
Nikolaeva st., 8, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation
+7-383-330-15-18, ifl@philology.nsc.ru
© Institute of Philology