Ideological and thematic originality of M. Pavlov’s novel «Fate»

Belyaeva Tatyana Nikolaevna PhD in Philology Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Language Speech Communication, Mari State University 424039, Russia, Republic of Mari El, Yoshkar-Ola, Druzhby str., 77, sq. 113 beljaeva1978@rambler.ru Other publications by this author

Guseva Nadezhda Vasilevna PhD in Philology Guseva Nadezhda Vasilievna, candidate of philological sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Finno-Ugric and Comparative Philology Federal State-Funded Educational Institution of Higher Education «Mari State University» 425221, Russia, Republic of Mari El, village Znamensky, Cherepanova str., 6a, sq. 84 ovechkinanadezhda@rambler.ru

The creative workshop of the Mari prose writer Mikhail Prokopyevich Pavlov "started working" only in the 1990s of the last century. A person who does not have a higher philological education has not dared to publish for a long time. It was only in the early 1990s that his stories began to appear on the pages of the republican newspapers "Kugarnya" and "Mari El". Soon the novel "Pyrymashyn kosage" ("Legacy of Fate") was published, which, one might say, brought him fame. In his first works, M. Pavlov raised the topical problems of our time: unemployment in the 1980s - early 1990s of the XX century, the growth of alcoholism, and, as a result, the increase in cases of theft – the story "Archa" ="Casket"; expounded on the daily life of a simple rural worker, social changes in the village, difficulties and problems in the collective farm – "Ishyt kundem"="Ishyt side", etc. Even then, the novelist begins to reflect on the moral foundations of society, the imperfection of the law enforcement system, about camp and prison life: the story "Pire Mikale" ("Mikale the Wolf"), the stories "Chetlyk zhaka" ("Silhouette of the lattice") and "Thief ?myrim iya pyra" ("Thieves' fate from the devil"), the novel "Pyrymash" ("Fate"), etc. It cannot be unequivocally stated that it was criminal prose, based on the disclosure of a crime. But the Mari prose writer managed to reproduce the mental world of criminals of various categories in various situations, to substantiate the motives of their actions.

The ideological and thematic originality of the novel is due to the period of its writing. As G. E. Tamarchenko rightly notes: "New genres are most often born at the intersection of new literary trends caused by the entry of society into a new stage of its history and literary traditions. Then there is a crossing of traditional forms (including genre ones) with new social and artistic tasks of the coming era" ^{[10, p. 260]}. "It is this transitivity that determines the features of conflicts, characterology, a set of motives, narrative techniques" of these works of the prose writer ^{[5, p. 14]}. It should be noted that this topic is not entirely new for the national literature of the second half of the 20th century, when the Mari literary literature tried to "get away from the usual in search of original methods of displaying modern reality" ^{[6, p. 268]}. "Thanks to glasnost," Oshel Vasli was the first to speak about the "camp life" of the repressed in the memoir story "Aideme ilash shochesh"="A man is born to live" ^[7], then Maxim Shved "Kirtni pichi korgyshty"="Youth in a cage" ^{[11, p. 240]}. Z. Katkova also addressed the "camp" theme at one time (the story "Toshto language" ="An old sin" ^[4], "You can't get away from yourself" ^[3]). The hero of the story "You can't get away from yourself" is a former thief and repeat offender who has passed the life path of a true communist (a citizen of the Soviet Union). The literary creativity that has awakened in him awakens thoughts about the events he has experienced, although he does not seek sympathy from his readers, on the contrary, severely condemns himself for shaming the honest name of his father (one of the organizers of state farms in the Mari territory), who was brutally murdered, like his mother and sisters. Street life contributed to his degradation. "The author convincingly depicts the spiritual evolution of the criminal, the moral rebirth of the hero. The artistic study of the socio-historical causes of his moral decline and gradual spiritual enlightenment is the innovation of Z. Katkova" ^{[2, p. 343]}.

In 2006, on the 70th anniversary of the writer's birth, a collection of his selected works was published under the title "Chetlyk zhaka" ("Silhouette of the lattice"). In 2011, the Council of the Estonian Kindred Peoples Program, together with the Association of Finno-Ugric Literatures, awarded Mikhail Prokopevich Pavlov a Literary Prize in the category of fiction prose works for this collection.

For the first time, the novel "Pyrymash" ("Fate") was published in 1999 in the republican magazine Onchyko and was immediately noted by the editorial board, and M. P. Pavlov himself became the winner of the prize of this magazine. This is how he writes about the beginning of the creation of the novel "Iziem godsek achamlan seryshym vozash shonenam, orlanen kushmem nergen kuzhu-kuzhu seryshym, kolysho achamlan..." ^{[8, p. 46]} ("Since childhood I wanted to write a letter to my late father, a long letter about my sufferings, experiences..."). (Here and further the translation from Mari is ours). But it turned out to be a novel about tragic events: the wave of repression of the 1937s, the Great Patriotic War and the troubled postwar period of the second half of the 20th century. The writer truthfully reveals the social problems of the last century: the essence of the totalitarian regime and the law enforcement system of the Soviet Union; the "unwritten" laws of prison and camp life; the difficult fate of family members of political prisoners and the repressed, social and political transformations in the Soviet Union in the 1970s – 1990s, although, fortunately, the writer himself did not have to experience the horrors camp, prison life. "Komi republikyshte Mikhail Prokopievich lageryshte, jailmashte shinchen lekshe, conditionally erykyshte ulsho exiled-vlak dene pyrlya pasham oyten. Payrem godym, yara japyshte, yilme rudaltme pagytyshte, nuno yuzhgunam tudlan shke ilysh kornysht nergen kalaskalenyt" ^{[1, p. 6]} "In the Komi Republic, Mikhail Prokopievich worked together with former prisoners of camps, prisons, exiled settlers. On holidays and in their free time, when there was a great desire to talk, they told him about their lives." So the life and fate of many people served as the basis for the creation of new prose works by the writer. Therefore, most of the characters in his novels and novels have real prototypes. For example, the fate of front-line captain Kozlov, who commanded a company and a battalion during the Great Patriotic War, and after working as a foreman of the molding shop of the Dezhnevsky brick factory formed the basis of the narrative about the main character of the novel "Fate" by Alexey Petrovich Yadrikov. The prototype of his wife Nastya is the granddaughter of a good friend of the novelist Tokpayev Tokpai Emanovich. The novel as a whole tells about the fate of three generations of this family: "Tjylan mylam pesh sayyn palime Tokpayev Tokpai Emanovichyn tukym vozhshym nalynam. Tudo shkezhe 1870 iyishte shochyn, kugu ?dyrzho Proskoviy – 1890 iyishte, en izi ergizhe Lavrenty 1905 iyishte shochyn. Proskoviyyndyrzho Nastya – Alexey Yadrikovyn vatizhe liesh. Nastyan zonishto ushnimo kokymsho mariizhyn, Arnoldyn, prototypshe Yusa lana man Pole, Ukhta olase “Building Material” association of the T ekonomistlan yyta yle, kurymeshlan tyshan kodash punchal pochesh ilen. It seems that the character nergen tyge kalaskalash liesh" ^{[8, p. 49]} ("The story was based on the fate of Tokpayev Tokpai Emanovich, a family I know well. He was born in 1980, the eldest daughter in 1980, and the youngest son, Lawrence, was born in 1905. The daughter of Proskov married Alexei Yadrikov. The prototype of Nastya's second spouse, with whom she agreed on the zone, was the Pole Yuza, who worked as the chief economist of the Stroymaterial association in the city of Ukhta, exiled there for life imprisonment. This is how you can tell about each character").

The concrete historical theme of the novel was an excellent ground for a convincing reconstruction of the characters and circumstances born of Soviet reality; for revealing the essence of the totalitarian regime, the "strength and might" of the ruling communist government, sometimes turning into tyranny and despotism; for embodying the theme of the "little man" as a cog caught in the mechanism of this Soviet machine. Telling about the fate of one person, the writer managed to recreate the way of life of two generations of the Soviet people.

The ideological and moral type of the problematic of the novel "Pyrymash" ("Fate") focuses on the deep foundation of the human personality, namely Alexey Petrovich Yadrikov, Nastya and their children. At the center of the work is a philosophical and moral search, the characters' attempts to answer questions about the meaning of life, about good and evil, truth and injustice. The writer was able to deeply reveal the processes of moral search, ideological self-determination of Yadrikov and the struggle of the characters of the novel for freedom, despite being in captivity. The main confrontation in the novel is the confrontation between the hero and the way of life, personality and society, and the household environment.

The long time interval (more than half a century), the dynamic plot of the work allow not only to trace the fate of the characters of the novel, but also to realize the essence of the social and political processes of the described periods. The events unfold in the Mari ASSR, in the villages of Shabarzhi, Ishyttyr of the Komi Territory and in the Arkhangelsk region.

There are more than fifty-five characters in the novel who contribute to the disclosure of the subject, the ideological world of the work, and the problematic. For M. Pavlov, there are no secrets in the hero's soul – he knows everything about him, can trace in detail the internal processes, explain the causal relationship between impressions, thoughts, and experiences. The disclosure of the main character traits of most of the characters (courage, heroism, loyalty to ideological principles, love, willpower) allows the novelist to connect him with the mentality of the entire Soviet people. And, according to the writer, truth, justice, love, kindness, hard work, mutual assistance and mutual understanding are the main measures of human life and the foundations of society.

The novel is imbued with the pathos of tragedy: not only the Great Patriotic War brought great human losses to the country (the main character, Alexei Yadrikov, Ensai Ishutkin, Major Kozhaev, the first and second battalions, etc., died in battles), but also the repressions of 1930 ? 1937 destroyed the best part of Russian scientific personnel, including the Mari intelligentsia and they left a deep "wound" in the soul of subsequent generations.

One of the essential problems of the novel is life "behind bars". Alexey is picked up from the train station and taken to prison. The arrest of Alexei Yadrikov and his wife (Anastasia Savelyevna) destroys not only family well-being, but forever divides the family into three camps. The third-person narration allows the novelist to psychologically subtly reveal the characters of the main characters, criminals. The prisoners are people of different nationalities (Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Cossack, Karakalpak, Uzbek, etc.) and social status (former bosses, collective farmers, ordinary workers, students, military, people with higher and secondary education, illiterate). Some people want to help Alexei: they advise him to honestly admit everything, others do not understand the reason for his act: "You are a dirty wash, you are a cold kalase. Is it a verch mom shkendychym indyryktet, myskylyktet? – he teaches. – Nuno erykyshte rakatlanat, ty orlanet" ^{[9, p. 15]} ("You also repent, tell me everything. Why should you suffer, suffer humiliation for another? – he teaches. – They enjoy being free, but you suffer"). But the majority condemns: "Did you take someone else's place, you bastard? Come on, kanai otsedova" ^{[9, p. 29]}. For a long time, Yadrikov himself does not understand what caused his arrest, and for the rest of his life he hopes that everything will be resolved, that he will restore his honest name. Only before his death, realizing that he would not be rehabilitated during his lifetime, he asked the Finn: "Yocha-shamych palysht, achasht nimogai tushman liyyn ogyl, tygai-tugayim ynysht shono, yandar shom-chon dene ilen, communist liyyn, communist kodyn. <...> Ty ile. Ilen shukto. Tidee tylanet tek myyn we order semyn liesh. Kech myyn yocha-shamychemyn pialeshysht ile, yodmem shukto. Ala ere tygak ogesh lii, iktazh-mogo da vashtaltesh. Kalase nunylan kushan kapem toyimo liesh. Ala kumylysht lektesh gyn, tolynat kayat. Shkezhat yandar sh?m-chon dene ile" ^{[9, pp.184-1855]} ("Let my children know that their father is not an enemy of the people, let them not think anything bad, he was a bright man, a communist, a communist and remained. <...> And you live. Live to see it. Let this be my command to you. Live for the happiness of my children, fulfill the request. Maybe it won't always be like this, something will change. Tell them where I'm going to be buried. Maybe there will be a desire – they will come. And live with a pure heart yourself"). Alexey does not know how to live at the expense of another, realizing that not only our "roots" strengthen and perpetuate our names, but also the life we have lived. He is an idealized and at the same time generalized hero of his time. A man of honor and a fighter for justice, he categorically does not tolerate lies. For him, the family, the well-being and happiness of his wife and children come first. Therefore, after learning about his wife's arrest, wanting to help her, he confesses even to what he did not commit. And after that, he always tries to support his loved ones: he regularly sends money, conducts correspondence with children.

Throughout the narrative, the writer describes the brutality of prison bosses, guards: they were beaten not only to bruises, to loss of consciousness, robbed (Nastya was not returned a woolen jacket after the bath, saying that it did not exist ^{[9, p. 28]}).

The fate of the children of convicts is another important issue raised in the novel. Alexey and Nastya have two sons left in the wild ? Igor and Voloy. The youngest son, Voloy, missed his mother very much, constantly called her, rushed to his parents. Children cried at night, they were often bullied, beaten (bruised) at school. Classmates and teachers called him a "brat of the enemy of the people" ^{[9, p. 31]}. Only the support of their loved ones (grandparents, Uncle Lava and Aunt Oklina) helped the children survive and cope with emotional experiences.

The exemplary family of Lava and Oklina serves as an example for many villagers. Their life experience, warm relationships and love become a strong support and example for their own son Semon, and for Igor and Voloy. The grown–up Igor is the eldest son of Nastya and Alexei, marries his beloved Marina. After receiving a seven-year education, he begins working on a collective farm as an accountant, and is interested in beekeeping. Despite all the hardships and hardships, the young man did not harden, grew up hardworking, became a caring family man.

Life "battered" him when he was very young, practically "left him without a childhood": separated him from his father and mother, inflicted great emotional wounds, he had to work hard and take on an unchildishly heavy life burden. Igor understood a lot about life, the meaning of life, about people from an early age and even reasoned in an adult way: "Portyshkem ogesh kol, kocham tumyshanym kondenys, utlarakshym yydal denat koshtam. And the coat of izirak gynat, tenilan yora, chytem, toshtem denak koshtam" ^{[9, p. 55]} ("Felt boots are not needed, grandfather brought patched ones, I wear bast shoes more often. And although the coat is small, it will do for this season, I'll be patient, I'll look like an old one"). And he even teaches his younger brother to be smart: "You are warm, you are warm, and Pasham is niminyarat. Me ty denet acha-ava pelen ogyn ile. Is that so aram pukshimo kon shuesh? Yorah eshe memnam ashnash nalynt: pukshat-yiktat, chiktat. Yochaportysh logalyna gyn, ilyshna tygai volna ogesh lii. Kech izish vu yir shonalte, izi otyl ynde. Modyn kurzhtalme dene me shkyret ogesh tem" ^{[9, p. 97]} ("You only think about how to eat, but you don't want to work at all. You and I don't live with Mom, we don't live with Dad. Who wants to feed someone else for nothing? It's good that they also sheltered us: they fed us, watered us, clothed us. You can't live so comfortably in an orphanage. Think about it, you're not small anymore. You won't get enough playing"). And Igor always showed care, love, tenderness: both to his family and to the surrounding nature. A loving person, according to M. Pavlov, is able to make people close to him happy, preserve and multiply the beautiful in himself and in the world around him. In general, he is able to transform the whole world.

The time spent without a father and mother could not but affect the fate of the younger son of the Yadrikovs – Voloy. In the novel, using the example of his life, the writer continues to reveal the theme "behind the barbed wire." Since childhood, the boy did not like to work, it was difficult for him to study at school. Often, referring to work at home, he hid in the garden – he liked to spend time doing nothing. At a more mature age, he ended up in prison, served his time. After the death of his grandparents, he sold their house, got married, and moved to live in the city. He became a good family man, the father of three children.

Thus, telling about the fate of one kind, the author leads to the formulation of problems of a universal nature, reveals the essence of the social and political processes of the last XX century: the repressions of the 1930s, the difficult war years and the era of the 1980s - 1990s. The writer managed to reveal the inner feelings of political prisoners, the essence of the law enforcement system of the Soviet country itself, and explain the reason for the hard life of "enemies of the people" and their families. Therefore, the prose writer's narrative is very psychological. The writer focuses on the hero's ideological and moral search for truth, goodness, justice, personal happiness and well–being. For M. Pavlov, there are no secrets in the hero's soul – he knows everything about him, can trace internal processes in detail, explain the causal relationship between impressions, thoughts, and experiences. Such a narrative makes it possible to depict the inner world of not only Alexei, but the whole people.