2022 Issue №3

The article aims to clarify the genre and narratological features of the most famous novel by J.-P. Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux Marianna’s Life. This work is usually mentioned as a sample of the epistolary prose of Enlightenment. However, the poetics of this literary work which sometimes is called the Second Pamela does not match the poetic manners of Richardson who is considered to have been the creator of the epistolary novel. Richardson influenced the development of European as well as French novel greatly. The comparative analysis allows us to establish the difference between the narratives of English and French writers. While the English writer uses the technique called «writing to the moment», describing the emotional feelings as a climax, Marivaux using the interference of both memoir and epistolary types of letters, created the feeling of ambiguity of the protagonist story (the aged woman speaks about her youth). The time distance makes it possible for Marivaux to become ironic to his own feelings and this results in the effect of “double register”. Thus, Marivaux’s novel becomes an innovative experimental text, a model of rocaille narrative.

The topic “duality” in novel “The damned place”, written by M. I. Voskresensky, little known author of the “second line” is revealed through the changes the main character has undergone within three years and female twin-images, who look similar, but differ in nature. Duality plays a significant role in novel’s plot, it reveals characters’ personalities. At the same time duality of female images becomes a moment of their testing, examination of their morality and feelings. Male images (Linsky and Lonsky) do not pass this test, female ones (Claudia and Masha), thanks to duality, discover the true values of life, which are not in love for a man and not in wealth, but in following a sense of duty to parents and natural inclinations. Thus, the duality in the moralistic novel The Cursed Place reveals the true nature of the characters. It is the moral assessment of the characters that the narrator and the author focus on.

Allusion as a technique of fiction has been studied by various scientific disciplines for the past few decades. This “translator” of cultural, historical and literary information is a significant element that serves to reveal the author’s intention. Allusive inclusions from the works of M. Matusovsky are divided into groups depending on the source of allusions. Biblical, literary and cinematic allusions are studied in detail as the most significant in terms of functional and stylistic use. Allusive references are considered due to their semantics, historical and cultural context. Historical, literary, cultural sources of information are brought to study the semantic nature of allusive inclusions. The article also analyzes stylistic functions of allusion. It is noted that the allusion technique is used not only to give poems an emotionally expressive sound, but also to activate the consciousness of readers, create additional literary associations.