The Napoleonic theme in the story by A. Zegers "Slavery returned to Guadeloupe" in the context of the traditions of F.M. Dostoevsky

The subject of the study is the specifics of the disclosure of the Napoleonic theme in the story by A. Zegers "Slavery returned to Guadeloupe" in the context of the development of the traditions of F.M. Dostoevsky. This work belongs to the so-called "Negro" novels by Anna Zegers. The development of the events described in the work is based on antagonism and the problem of mutual rejection of blacks and whites. The problem of the oppressed position of Blacks in the story is closely related to the image of Napoleon. In her literary and critical articles, A. Zegers repeatedly denounced the Napoleonic concept of power. The writer reflected on it as part of the analysis of the creative heritage of F.M. Dostoevsky and L.N. Tolstoy. In this article, the disclosure of the Napoleonic theme in the story by A. Zegers is considered in the context of the traditions of F.M. Dostoevsky. The author uses the following methods of researching a work of art: the method of structural analysis, the method of holistic analysis, the method of comparative analysis. As a result of the conducted research, it was found that the image of Napoleon in this work is recreated through the use of inappropriate direct speech, expressive details, direct and indirect characteristics given to him by other characters. Following the traditions of F.M. Dostoevsky in this work was manifested in the fact that, firstly, A. Zegers recreates the images of the heroes-ideologists Beauvais and Beranger, for whom service to public duty, reflections on the fate of mankind (on the example of the population of Guadeloupe) dominate personal interests. Secondly, like the Russian classic, the writer condemns the cruel and unjustified pursuit of power and greatness based on the humiliation and destruction of the weak and defenseless. But unlike Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment", in which Raskolnikov admires Napoleon as a historical figure, the German writer focuses on describing the perception of Bonaparte by his contemporaries. As a result, the cult of Napoleon's personality is absent in the main part of the story, and in the finale of the work it is debunked by using the antithesis with the images of Beauvais and Beranger. This is the peculiarity of the artistic approach of the German writer in terms of the Napoleonic theme in the story "Slavery returned to Guadeloupe"

Zeghers, Napoleon, Dostoevsky, opposition, novel, slavery, independence, colonization, the Negro, Guadeloupe