Article

Name: “Double Nelson” by V. Yanowsky: “The Story of the Devil”

Authors: Elena N. Proskurina

Institute of Philology of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

Abstract:

The article presents an analysis of V. Yanovsky’s little-known story “Double Nelson” in the light of the apocryphal plot about the pact with the devil. The author is known to the modern reader mainly by his memoir book “The Elysian Fields” (1983). However, he has a considerable artistic legacy still awaiting serious research. He ways of modifying the ancient plot are shown in the story, which attracts attention by its dialogue with literary texts about the devil’s wager. The “Queen of Spades” by Pushkin occupies the main place among them. In this case, the work is based not on the theme of a card game, but on a chess match. The pacted hero’s attempt to break free from the devil’s power during a chess tournament turns out to be his undoing. This becomes the realization of a metaphor embedded in the title of the story: the double nelson is a technique in wrestling that condemns the opponent to unequivocal defeat. The interpretation of the work includes the socio-political situation surrounding the assassination of the president of the Third Republic, P. Dummer. This connection is present in the text at the level of hint.

Keywords: V. Yanovsky’s prose, the plot of the contract with the devil, chess in literature, intertextual dialogue

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