The artistic space in the fantastic story with the prerequisites of O.I. Senkovsky's fantasy "Satan's Big Exit"

Korobeinikova Yuliya Sergeevna ORCID: 0000-0002-3276-406X Russian Russian Language Teaching Assistant; Department of Russian Philology and Methods of Teaching Russian; Orenburg State University 134/1 Tereshkova str., Orenburg, 460050, Russia yulyakorobeynikova@mail.ru

The novel "Satan's Big Exit" (1833) is one of the most poorly studied works by O.I. Senkovsky. According to the researchers, the literary reputation of the writer still remains unclear. O.E. Tozyakova writes that O.I. Senkovsky "was declared a representative of the trade trend in literature, a "secondary" figure in the historical and literary process of the first third of the XIX century" ^[1]. However, at present, Russian literary criticism is increasingly turning to rethinking the literary heritage of previous eras. The study of the creativity of the writers of the "second and third series" allows us to penetrate deeper into the structure of the literary process and determine its features. This also applies to Russian fiction as a specific way of artistic reflection of reality, in which everyday reality is combined with the unreal, supernatural, but quite possible in the future. Many issues related to fantasy literature cannot be considered definitively resolved and indisputable. For example, the specifics of the artistic space in fantasy works remain poorly understood. This determines the relevance of our research.

O.I. Senkovsky is one of the central figures of the literary process in Russia in the first half of the XIX century. At one time, his works had considerable success and were popular. It should be noted that the category of laughter and theatricality in the works of O.I. Senkovsky is of particular interest to modern researchers. So, S.A. Dubrovskaya writes that the study of O.I. Senkovsky's work allows us to trace the path of transformation of the laughing word in the literary consciousness of the XIX century ^[2]. E.A. Tozyakova notes that O.I. Senkovsky creates in his works a "wrong" world of anti-culture and anti-values, trying to destroy the romantic system recognized in the 1830s ^[1]. Among foreign researchers, we note the Californian scientist L. Pedrotti, who in his work "Joseph-Julian Senkovsky: The Genesis of a literary stranger" examines the early period of O.I. Senkovsky's work ^[3]. In all the above-mentioned works, the idea can be traced that in the artistic world of the writer, different aesthetic positions are strangely intertwined, opposite literary methods collide, there are laughing, satirical, parody and polemical elements. For example, the novel "Satan's Big Exit" is a parody of O. de Balzac's early novel "Satan's Ball", written in the tradition of "frenzied romanticism". It should be noted that when studying the work of O.I. Senkovsky, the game, the paradox, the "laughing word", the blurring of the line between real and fiction come to the fore. However, the spatial organization of O.I. Senkovsky's prose has not yet been studied by both domestic and foreign literary critics.

So, the main purpose of our research was to consider the specifics of the spatial organization of O.I. Senkovsky's fantastic story "Satan's Big Exit". To achieve this goal, we have solved the following tasks: the features of fantastic literature are considered; the specifics of the organization of artistic space in fantastic literature and the spatial organization of O.I. Senkovsky's story "The Great Exit from Satan" are revealed.

The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time the spatial organization of the fantastic is considered in the story of O.I. Senkovsky "The Great Exit from Satan".

The practical significance of the research lies in the fact that the main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used in scientific and pedagogical activities when studying the work of O.I. Senkovsky, considering genre varieties of fantastic prose of the XIX century and issues related to the spatial organization of fantastic works.

About fiction and its features

It is worth noting that there is still no generally accepted theoretical and literary definition of fiction. The word "fiction" itself is of Greek origin. We call "fantastic" what is created by the imagination. Consequently, all fiction is "fantastic" because it is based on imagination, fiction. However, in a narrower sense, "fiction" is not understood as all fiction, but only those works in which unusual phenomena, situations, images, etc. occur.

In modern literary studies, it is customary to distinguish fiction as a genre and as a technique. The fantasy genre defines an entire literary work, and the technique is used in various literary genres. The distinction between genre and reception in fiction coincides with the alternation of the fantastic element in terms of its importance for a particular literary work. This is how, firstly, formal (conditional) fiction is distinguished (for example, in A.S. Pushkin's novella "The Queen of Spades" (1834), the fantastic element is in the background); secondly, meaningful (unconditional) fiction (for example, in A.I. Kuprin's novella "The Star of Solomon", the fantastic idea subordinates itself the whole work). In O.I. Senkovsky's novella "Satan's Big Exit", the fantastic also determines the substantive side of the entire work.

The presence of a fantastic element in a literary work gives the plot three qualities: exclusivity, clarity and significance of the conclusion. Exclusivity can be associated, for example, with a fantastic image. The second achievement of this image is clarity, since the fantastic element helps to build a plot and reveal the main idea of the work. The third is the desire for global conclusions ^[4].

In O.I. Senkovsky's novella "Satan's Big Exit", a fantastic setting:

firstly, the exclusivity of the plot of the work: a peculiar description of hell in the form of a large hall in the bowels of the earth, the image of Satan and his sponsors in a comic and satirical light;

secondly, clarity: the influence of dark forces on the earthly life of mankind is depicted;

thirdly, the significance of the conclusion: the author tries to convey the idea to the reader that the cause of all misfortunes on earth is a human tendency to sin, since "their <...> it is so easy to catch the bait of sweet sin" ^[5].

So, the story "Satan's Big Exit" refers to meaningful fiction, since the fantastic subordinates the whole idea of the work. In addition, the fantasticism of events and images determines the spatial organization of O.I. Senkovsky's story.

The artistic space in fiction literature

An artistic space is a place of action for literary heroes. According to D.S. Likhachev, the spatial organization of a work of art has certain "geographical" properties: it can be real or imaginary ^[6]. Thus, the events of the fairy tale take place in an unreal world, which differs from everyday reality by the presence of magical objects, creatures, phenomena, etc. In fantastic works, in turn, actions can unfold both in an unreal, fantastic (unlike ordinary reality) space, and in a real (familiar to the reader) space. The fantastic space defines the presence of a fantastic element, which is invariably present in any genre of fantasy literature.

Techniques such as the objective world, the movement of the hero, the landscape, etc. are involved in the formation of the artistic space ^[7]. Certain techniques have a major or secondary role in spatial organization, since individual authors pursue different goals of influencing the reader. For example, adventure literature will be characterized by a detailed description of the movement of the hero, on which the boundaries of the artistic space directly depend. In fiction, we find that the use of techniques is associated with a specific genre of fantasy literature. So, to form the spatial organization of works of the science fiction genre, the authors use both the movement of the hero (for example, in the story "A Scientific Journey to Bear Island" (1833) by O.I. Senkovsky), and a detailed description of the objective-material world to create authenticity (for example, in the science fiction story "Liquid Sun" (1912) A.I. Kuprin), etc. In the story "Satan's Big Exit" under study, in turn, an important role in spatial organization is played by the movement of hell devils from hell to earth, thereby forming a spatial opposition, where the space of hell acts as its own, mastered space, and the space of heaven, the surface of the earth, acts as someone else's, undeveloped.

Among the functions of the artistic space, one can distinguish psychological, revealing the feelings and thoughts of the characters; characterological, defining the type of artistic space for an individual character; plot-forming, denoting spatial boundaries; genre-forming, which defines the genre and genre variety of the work ^[7].

In the organization of artistic space, such traditional spatial images as home, antidom, path, road, border play an important role, which form spatial oppositions: one's own – another's; here – there; mastered – undeveloped (dangerous); past – future; right – left; good – bad; etc.

Yu.M. Lotman distinguishes the concepts of "roads" and "paths": The road is defined as a type of artistic space, and the path as the movement of the hero in this space ^[8]. It is worth noting that the road becomes a universal form of spatial organization in fantasy literature, since the idea of the path is correlated with this image as a guideline for the life of both an individual and humanity as a whole.

The organization of the fantastic space correlates with the organization of the artistic space as a whole. Fantastic events take place in a fictional space that does not directly "grow out" of everyday reality, but has a specific internal structure. The specificity of the spatial organization of fantastic literature is determined by the presence of a certain artistic convention. E.N. Kovtun offers the following definition: conditional – "not actually existing, imaginary, allowed mentally; giving an artistic image by the techniques adopted in this kind of art..." ^[9]. Following the researcher, we will understand the artistic convention as a fantastic element in a work of art. Let's take a closer look at the classification of types of artistic convention (fiction) by E.N. Kovtun, which in the future will help us determine the type of fantastic element involved in the organization of the artistic space in the story "Satan's Big Exit".

E.N. Kovtun identifies six types of fiction: 1) rational (or scientific) convention: the extraordinary is created by the forces of science and technology or previously unknown laws of nature; 2) fantasy: exposes everyday life using ideas about otherworldly and supernatural phenomena and creatures; 3) mythological convention: assumes the presence of a wide, "cosmic" scale of action and issues; 4) fabulous convention: lies at the heart of a literary fairy tale, borrowing imagery from a folklore tale, a special spatio-temporal organization; 5) philosophical convention: explicit fiction plays a secondary role here – there is an artificial creation of the situation; 6) satirical convention: fiction is associated with techniques and methods of comic depiction of reality (hyperbole, grotesque, etc.) ^[10].

So, the specificity of the artistic space in fantasy literature is determined by the presence of a fantastic element, the functions of the artistic space and the techniques that form it, as well as the traditional spatial images of home, anti–home, paths, roads, borders, forming oppositions of the series "own – alien", "real - fantastic", etc.

The specifics of the spatial organization of O.I. Senkovsky's novel "Satan's Big Exit"

O.I. Senkovsky creates an artistic model of hell – a grotesque likeness of a modern society for the writer, where Satan dominates. It is the ruler of the underworld that the writer gives the opportunity to expose the vices of society through communication with his subordinates, demons and devils. According to the ranks of the representatives of Satan's retinue, the reader determines the sphere of activity of the infernal subjects: the dinner is the chairman of rebellions and revolutions (betrayal, murder), the first lord is the devil of journalism (deception, theft), the chief administrator of marital affairs (treason, lies). The paradox of the story lies in the fact that Satan's retinue harms not only humanity, but also its underground ruler. The story "Satan's Big Exit", according to Yu.M. Medvedev, is an example of literary grotesque ^[5], has a theatrical character. Already in the title of the work, the setting for the theatrical form is given: going on stage, on the platform.

The actions of O.I. Senkovsky's novella "Satan's Big Exit" are depicted in the space of the underworld – hell, represented in the form of a large hall, in the middle of which there is a throne of bats. Satan sits on this throne, accepting devils, each of whom is responsible for a specific area of human vices: for example, Astaroth is responsible for rebellions, revolutions, Bubantus is responsible for journalism, Dot–for literature, Fifi-Coco – for adultery. Satan praises and rewards diligent and conscientious helpers with new titles, and punishes the negligent. So, the presence of fantastic situations, phenomena, the very image of hell indicates that the narrative unfolds in a fantastic space.

The main type of fiction (according to E.N. Kovtun's classification) in "Satan's Big Exit" is associated with the assumption of the existence of the other world, which has a direct impact on the fate of people. The story of O.I. Senkovsky presents a different, supernatural world as eternally existing, as a given that intrudes into the ordinary. However, it is important to note that the real and the fantastic in "Satan's Big Exit" form a unity expressing the versatility of the universe. Adhering to romantic traditions, the artistic world of O.I. Senkovsky's story is embodied in the space of an imaginary, fictional world closely connected with reality. In addition, in the story we find a satirical convention that creates the comicality of everything that happens, and a philosophical convention that allows the author to draw a global conclusion that a person voluntarily extends his hand to evil. So, in "Satan's Big Exit" there are several types of artistic conventions involved in the organization of the fantastic space of the story: fantasy, satirical and philosophical conventions.

In the story of O.I. Senkovsky, exit (action) Satan is not limited to the space of hell. Universal spatial images of home, anti-home, pathways and borders also create an artistic space:

– the house as a developed, "own" space – an underground kingdom, hell;

– the antidote is like an "alien", dangerous space filled with light: "something bothered his eyesight: he felt an unpleasant pain in his eyes. Suddenly, looking up, he saw a crevice in the ceiling, through which the last rays of the setting sun were making their way on earth. He immediately guessed the cause of the eye pain..." ^[5];

– the ceiling of the infernal hall is like the boundary between "alien" and "one's own", between light and darkness, between hell and heaven, between fantastic and real spaces;

– the spatial image "path-road" is depicted ("road" is equal to "path"): The great path-road, which consists of segments (the "path" as the commission of the messenger of Satan), organizes the entire space of the story.

Messengers returning from celestial countries make a "journey" from hell to earth and back, reporting to Satan about new rebellions, recent revolutions, fights, riots, ways to "increase sinfulness" ("now they sin even according to magazines and newspapers: they lie, steal, kill, cheat, blaspheme, according to they live and die in dishonor" ^[5]), adultery, quarrels, etc., which occurred on the entire surface of the earth. The path-road of the story consists of the following segments: the "path" of the line of marital affairs done on earth, the "path" of the line of rebellions and revolutions, the "path" of the first lord devil of journalism, the "path" of the great line of literature. Thus, the universal image of the road in O.I. Senkovsky's fantastic story is close to the folklore interpretation: firstly, the path-road combines the meaning of "road" as a certain type of space and "path" as the movement of the hero in this space; secondly, the road forms a circular composition of the story (messengers, making a commotion on a huge a part of the globe: in Paris, Germany, Italy, England, the East Indies, America, they return with a report to hell).

The artistic space in the story "Satan's Big Exit" performs a psychological function: the characters establish a balance between real space and fantastic space; a plot-forming function: the actions of the characters erase the boundary between real and fantastic spaces; a genre-forming function: fantasy allows the existence of an otherworldly world closely connected with the real world.

The spatial organization of O.I. Senkovsky's story does not have a characterological function, since romantic aesthetics sets an ambiguous image of Satan, endowing him with good and evil principles. Exploring the artistic space in the story "Satan's Big Exit", we found that the element of theatrical play permeates the entire work. The dramatization of prose is a process of transferring the techniques and principles of drama into a non-dramatic text, integrating scenic and non-scenic forms within the prosaic space. The result of this process is the effect of the theatricality of a prose work. E.A. Polyakova gives the following definition of theatricality: "Theatricality in literature is understood as a specific theatrical, scenic way of unfolding the plot and depicting the characters of characters, including both spatiality and visuality, on the one hand, and a special perspective of perception of reality, on the other" ^[11].

O.I. Senkovsky describes what is happening in the underground space in an emphatically reduced grotesque version. The writer thickens the colors so much that the world of evil described by romantics does not appear as mysterious and gloomy, but rather as funny. The huge hall where the demonic reception takes place is openly fake (a throne made of bones, many books, etc.). Satan, along with his retinue, are more like artists taking turns on the stage of a large hall. Thus, the presence of game moments (ways of reflecting the world through action, grotesque, parody, etc.) that affect the perception of the story as a kind of representation allows us to designate a model of a theatrical space in which the identity "world – theater / playground" is formed.

Summing up our research, we note: O.I. Senkovsky's novel "Satan's Big Exit" refers to meaningful fiction, where the fantastic element subordinates the whole idea of the work. Fantastic events, situations, and images set the spatial organization of O.I. Senkovsky's story. The specificity of the artistic space in the fantastic story "Satan's Big Exit" is due to the fact that several types of artistic fiction (fantasy, satirical and philosophical conventions) participate in the organization of space. The main method of forming a spatial organization is the movement of heroes, which forms oppositions of a series: "one's own – another's", "underground – terrestrial", "mastered – undeveloped". Universal spatial images of home, antidome, paths, roads, borders also participate in the organization of artistic space. In the spatial organization of the story "Satan's Big Exit", the characterological function that determines the type of space behind a certain hero is excluded.

In addition, the strategy of theatrical play in the work of O.I. Senkovsky allows you to reach a deep philosophical and ideological level and see the versatility of the writer's artistic world. In "The Great Exit from Satan" the eternal problem of good and evil is raised, which is implemented in a peculiar way in the spatial organization of the story by O.I. Senkovsky. The main fantastic character, as a potential bearer of the evil principle, does not commit anything terrible, but acts only as an expositor and judge of human vices.