THE MEANING AND ROLE OF ITALIAN CHARACTERS IN THE WORKS OF V. ODOEVSKY In this paper, the role of ‘Italian characters’ is examined in two famous short stories by V. Odoevsky: “Opere del cavaliere Giambattista” (1831) and “Sebastian Bach” (1835) – both republished in the series “Russian Nights” (1844). The author moulds his characters on romantic stereotypes, and brings into the scene, even within a single person (see, for example, the particular role of the half-blooded characters), the eternal battle between the rational pragmatic component, ‘indifferent’ to passions and mostly identified with the ‘Nordic’ life style, and the irrational hot-blooded one with primordial instincts and similar to that of the Mediterranean people. In “Opere del cavaliere Giambattista Piranesi”, this tension is the basis of the conflict between authentic art and simple thirst for glory which is at the heart of the story whereas, in “Sebastian Bach”, the writer concentrates on the issue of the formation itself of the human character, which he regards as the result of the battle between innate ‘natural’ characteristics and external influences (education, life-style, environment). .
Semantika i funkcional'nost' personažej-ital'jancev v proze V.F. Odoevskogo
Mingati, Adalgisa
2013-01-01
Abstract
THE MEANING AND ROLE OF ITALIAN CHARACTERS IN THE WORKS OF V. ODOEVSKY In this paper, the role of ‘Italian characters’ is examined in two famous short stories by V. Odoevsky: “Opere del cavaliere Giambattista” (1831) and “Sebastian Bach” (1835) – both republished in the series “Russian Nights” (1844). The author moulds his characters on romantic stereotypes, and brings into the scene, even within a single person (see, for example, the particular role of the half-blooded characters), the eternal battle between the rational pragmatic component, ‘indifferent’ to passions and mostly identified with the ‘Nordic’ life style, and the irrational hot-blooded one with primordial instincts and similar to that of the Mediterranean people. In “Opere del cavaliere Giambattista Piranesi”, this tension is the basis of the conflict between authentic art and simple thirst for glory which is at the heart of the story whereas, in “Sebastian Bach”, the writer concentrates on the issue of the formation itself of the human character, which he regards as the result of the battle between innate ‘natural’ characteristics and external influences (education, life-style, environment). .I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione
