Article

Name: The Restaurant Locus in the Prose of Shanghai Émigrés of the 1920s and 1940s

Authors: Anna A. Bogoderova

Novosibirsk State Technical University, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation; Institute of Philology of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

Abstract:

The article is devoted to the analysis of the restaurant locus in the works of Russian emigrants of the eastern branch about Shanghai. Restaurants, bars, cabarets and taverns were a characteristic feature of Shanghai's urban environment, which emigrants had to mentally and artistically master. Shanghai with its international culture and tense, energetic life of a big capitalist city was noticeably different not only from Russia, but also from another eastern center of the Russian abroad – Harbin. The literary works of the following authors were considered: E. Magaram, S. Alymov, V. Rambaev, A. Petrov, G. Kochurov, N. N. Ivanitsky, A. Nentsinsky, J. Lovic, P. Severny, N. I. Ilyina. The restaurants depicted in the texts examined are jazz-era entertainment institutions with a specific atmosphere that barely supposes a meal but includes alcohol, aggressive music, and indecent dancing. This is a place for debauchery, intoxication and violent fights. The pleasure of the rude crowd is achieved at the expense of humiliating dancing girls, musicians, and artists. The negative impression is intensified by the use of contrast. In some works, the pernicious restaurant locus is contrasted with a quiet family home. In others, the characters, in order to save themselves, must leave not only the restaurant, but also Shanghai itself, and seek their place outside in the big world. The restaurant binge reflects Shanghai's inherent thirst for strong impressions and maximum vigor, and both loci are rejected by the authors.

Keywords: restaurant locus, cabaret, bar, pub, Shanghai, Russian emigrants

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