Vol 82, No 1 (2023)

The article examines cases of psychopathy, which occurred among Russian writers of the 1st half of the 19th century, in particular K.N. Batyushkov and P.Ya. Chaadaev, and the connection of the disease with their literary activity. The material from the history of Russian psychiatry is involved. At the same time, the development of the theme of insanity in the literature of this period, as well as in the early poetry of B.L. Pasternak, is studied in detail. The romantic nature and sources of such development in the works of V.F. Odoevsky, the influence of E.T.A. Hoffman’s creativity are revealed. The romantic personification of the theme of madness is shown in N.A. Polevoy’s novels “The Bliss of Madness”, “Emma” and in N.F. Pavlov’s novella “Masquerade”. The philosophical and ethical interpretation of the theme is noted in the poems of E.A. Boratynsky and F.I. Tyutchev, in the novels of A.I. Herzen “Doctor Krupov”, “Damaged”.

The article deals with parameters for the study of adjectival derivation from the point of view of semantic typology. The bases of semantic typology of word formation and classification of derived adjectives are considered. It is shown that the parameters of “Eurocentric” standard classifications are shifted towards formal-content samples (derivative formant ~ formant value). The Tungus-Manchu languages demonstrate a possible system in which a significant role has the correlation between a (specialized) formant with a general meaning of ʻpropertyʼ and a limited semantic class of derivational bases. Of particular typological interest are the principles of semantic selection of derivational bases. In the Tungus-Manchu languages, there is a peculiar specialization of suffixes on bases with “perceptual” features (ʻcolorʼ, ʻtasteʼ, ʻsmellʼ, etc.), as well as on other core semantic types of adjectives. The distribution of individual characteristics of the Tungus-Manchu word formation within the language subgroup and against the areal background is traced.

The article analyzes the individual author’s incarnations of the image of Christ in the poetry of Z. Gippius, M. Lokhvitskaya, E. Dmitrieva (Cherubina de Gabriak), A. Herzyk, E. Kuzmina-Karavaeva and A. Barkova. Falling in love with Christ is colored in the women’s lyrics of the Silver Age with erotic tones, and his divine beauty becomes the subject of poetic description. The appeal to this image is closely connected with the problems of subjectivity and the search for a new author’s identity, which characterize women’s lyrics of the turn of the 19th–beginning 20th centuries. By reconstructing traditional ideas about femininity, female authors also destroy traditional ideas about love lyrics, about the “other” in relation to whom they define their “I”: Christ is put in place of the Romantic ideal lover. Submission to him does not deprive the female author of subjectivity, but on the contrary – allows one to prove the right to creativity. This is evidenced by the motive of the choice of the lyrical heroines of these authors. Implicitly, they relate themselves to such holy chosen ones as St. Teresa of Avila or St. Catherine of Siena, who became famous both as “beloved”, earthly “spouses” of Christ, and as writers, having gained the right to speak in the masculine culture of the late Middle Ages.

The article considers the first translation of Ivan S. Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons&8j1; into English, made by the American diplomat Eugene Schuyler and published in the USA in 1867. The Preface reported that the translation was made from the original language, but there are reasons to doubt this. The article presents the opinions of American critics on this issue. In response to their reproaches, Schuyler admitted that he sometimes referred to the French translation published in 1863, but considered this acceptable, since it was carried out by Turgenev himself (together with Louis Viardot). A comparison of some fragments of the two translations allows us to conclude that Schuyler addressed the French version of the novel more often than the Russian one. This is also indicated by the transliteration of proper names, the tracing of some turns and the complete identity of the notes with the French version. Another problem raised in the article concerns the issue of the reception of “Fathers and Sons&8j1; in Schuyler’s translation by his compatriots. After the “Sketches of a Hunter” (a.k.a. “A Sportsman’s Sketches”), which were successful in the United States due to the relevance of the topic of slavery (serfdom) at that time, American readers expected to see urgent problems again in Turgenev’s new work. However, instead, what they thought was just a well-made text appeared before them. American critics appreciated the artistic merits of “Fathers and Sons”, but the realities of Russian life and the complex of problems set forth by the novel turned out to be quite alien to the American audience and did not strike a chord with them.

This paper is dedicated to the diachronic sources of adversative markers in the world’s languages. It presents a typological classification of meanings from which the linguistic units that have the meanings ‘but’, ‘however’, ‘nevertheless’ or ‘whereas’ (the meanings ‘но’, ‘однако’) have apparently developed. The classification includes the following sources, which are absent from the previous classifications that we have consulted (or need refinement): hesitant substitution (‘rather, more like’), focalization (‘exactly’), invariable outcome (‘be that as it may’), absence of a hindrance (‘without hindrance’), and also such discourse functions as repetition (‘again’), transition (‘anyway, now’) and continuity (‘next’). The distinction between four semantic types of adversative coordination (concessive, substitutive, oppositive and argumentative) that we make allows us to show the processes of grammaticalization in more detail. We sum up the apparent semantic shifts by putting them onto a semantic map. Our observations are based on the established examples of diachronic semantic shifts, etymological data, and instances of synchronic polysemy.

The article highlights the main milestones of the scholarly activity of Natalia Vasilyevna Kornienko, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who presently celebrates her jubilee and is greeted by the national academic community. The works of N.V. Kornienko, dedicated to the creative heritage of A. Platonov, M. Sholokhov, K. Fedin, Vs. Ivanov, have updated and streamlined the source database for the research of Soviet writers. The critical editions prepared by N.V. Kornienko are valued for their in-depth exploration of historical and literary material and thorough reliance on the documentary sources and archives. Such publications reveal the desire for unbiased research, the ability to consider material within two contrasting cultural streams (metropolis and emigration), which unite in the literature of the era, the contemplation of literary phenomena and processes against a broad socio-cultural background, pairing them with the corresponding phenomena and processes in other fields of creativity, primarily in social and philosophical thought. An outstanding scholar, she harmoniously combines devoted commitment to academic service with professorial skills, creating workspace friendly for everyone from young students to mature specialists in the field, so that all feel needed and involved in the great cause of preserving Russian culture.