Home and family in the novels 'The White Guard' by M.A. Bulgakov and 'The Suicide' by M.A. Aldanov: A look at the revolution from the 'inside' and the 'outside'

Y.V. Makarova

Penza State University, Penza, 440026 Russia

E-mail: makelvita@yandex.ru

Received June 30, 2020

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DOI: 10.26907/2541-7738.2020.5.62-71

For citation: Makarovа Y.V. Home and family in the novels “The White Guard” by M.A. Bulgakov and “The Suicide” by M.A. Aldanov: A look at the revolution from the “inside” and the “outside”. Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta. Seriya Gumanitarnye Nauki, 2020, vol. 162, no. 5, pp. 62–71. doi: 10.26907/2541-7738.2020.5.62-71. (In Russian)

Abstract

The sociocultural content of the concept of family hearth under the conditions of the revolutionary events of 1917 described in the novels “The Suicide” (‘Samoubiistvo’) by M.A. Aldanov and “The White Guard” (‘Belaya gvardiya’) by M.A. Bulgakov was revealed.

The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that the concepts of home and family are the basic components of the sociocultural consciousness of any society.

The study was performed with the aim of identifying key motifs in the description of home, as well as similarities and differences in the linguistic representation of this concept when describing two periods in the history of Russia (during the pre-revolutionary and revolutionary times) from the position of the author as an eyewitness to the events and the author as an emigrant.

The following conclusions were made: in the descriptions of home of the pre-revolutionary Russia in the novels “The White Guard” by M.A. Bulgakov and “The Suicide” by M.A. Aldanov, the motifs of the well-being, stability, and continuity of generations are emphasized. In the episodes depicting the revolutionary events, the linguistic representation of home and family changes considerably: the motifs of doom, regret about the lost, surrealism, and tenuous imaginings become evident.

The results obtained are important for linguistic analysis of some passages of the text needed for the adequate perception of the novels “The White Guard” by M.A. Bulgakov and “The Suicide” by M.A. Aldanov.

Keywords: motif, home, family, hearth, revolution

References

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