The otherworldly reality motif in contemporary Russian prose

This article examines the otherworldly reality motif in Russian prose of the late 20th and the early 21st centuries, drawing on such works as “Two Kingdoms” by L.S. Petrushevskaya, “The Tambourine of the Upper World” by V.O. Pelevin, “All is Forbidden” by N.N. Sadur, “Pasternak” by M.Yu. Elizarov, and “House of Twins” by A.V. Korolev. The cited texts are representative for the purposes of this study: in each of them, the motif of the otherworldly reality plays a central role in the plot and carries profound symbolic significance. The relevance of the article stems from the fairly high frequency of this motif in works from the 1900s to the 2000s, as well as from the increased attention which modern scholarship is paying to the problem of another reality as a possible alternative existence. The aim of this study is to examine the otherworldly reality motif poetics and to identify its symbolism in works of contemporary Russian prose. The objectives of the study are: 1) to determine the influence of the existing literary-folkloric visionary tradition on works of contemporary literature; 2) to establish, in each specific work, the symbolism of the otherworldly reality motif, as determined by the author’s individual artistic objectives; 3) to identify general trends in the semantic content of the otherworldly reality motif among contemporary Russian writers. To accomplish these objectives, a structural-semiotic method of literary analysis is employed, enabling the identification of mythologems, literary-folkloric images, ‘formulas’ and plots that embody the otherworldly reality motif in contemporary prose. The research has revealed a rich literary-folkloric tradition linked to archaic notions of the afterlife, embodied in such conceptual terms as ‘the other world’, ‘hell’ and ‘heaven’. The range of individual authors’ interpretations of the otherworldly reality motif is quite broad. L. Petrushevskaya and V. Pelevin subvert popular notions of paradise as a materially prosperous existence after death. N. Sadur and A. Korolev draw upon images of heaven and hell to embody the idea of the real life imperfection. In M. Elizarov’s work, the priority given to the pagan myth of the afterlife over the Christian understanding of the afterlife discredits Christianity as alien to the Russian consciousness. Through the ‘hell–heaven’ dichotomy, A. Korolev embodies the idea of the human nature duality. Overall, by drawing on the otherworldly reality motif, contemporary writers raise existential questions and convey a sense of the tragedy of the modern human existence.

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