Reading “The Return of Chorb” by V. Nabokov as Neo-mythological Novel

Olga Kalenichenko

doi:doi:10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13

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Reading “The Return of Chorb” by V. Nabokov as Neo-mythological Novel

Olga Kalenichenko

Published in Communication and Linguistics Studies (Volume 9, Issue 2)

Received: 8 January 2023 Accepted: 8 May 2023 Published: 6 July 2023

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Abstract

A typology of the approach of writers of the 19th – 20th centuries to Wagner's musical dramas as an intertext has been given in the article. This may be a manifestation of the novel creators' erudition, a recollection of an anecdotal situation that arises on the basis of an opera's plot, an implicit foreshadowing of tragic events in a work, etc. Along with the point mention of Wagner operas in the works of world literature, there is also a different approach to the work of Richard Wagner. In this case, writers are attracted by the fact that when creating almost all of his librettos for operas, the composer creatively processed German myths and medieval German legends. On the basis of these librettos, neo-mythological works arise. Among them is V. Nabokov's short story “The Return of Chorb”, the “cipher-code” of which is the medieval myth of “a simpleton with a pure heart”, which is the basis for the libretto of Wagner's opera “Parsifal”, and on three levels: the system of images of the novella, its ontological and religious levels. The analysis showed that Nabokov took into account almost all genre features of the neo-mythological short story. At the same time, it should be noted that the writer approached this genre not formally, but having deeply mastered symbolist aesthetics, which was reflected in Nabokov's short story up to the creation of the author's creative legend about himself and his compatriots who were forced to leave their homeland.

Published in	Communication and Linguistics Studies (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13
Page(s)	42-46
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Richard Wagner, Vladimir Nabokov, Symbolism, Neo-mythological Prose, Intertext, Cipher-Code

References

[1]	Babiy, O. 2011. Ideya bessmertiya v khudozhestvennom mirovozzrenii R. Vagnera. Problemi vzaêmodíí̈ mistetstva, pedagogíki ta teoríí̈ í praktiki osvíti, 33: 179–194. Kharkív: S. A. M. S. 186, 181, 186.
[2]	Buhks, N. 2001. “Opernyye prizraki” v romanakh V. Nabokova. Vladimir Nabokov: pro and contra. URL: https://www.rulit.me/books/vladimir-nabokov-pro-et-contra-tom-2-download-311905.html
[3]	Vagner, R. 1978. Izbrannyye raboty. Moscow: Iskusstvo. S. 130.
[4]	Dolinin, A. 2019. Kak ustroyeny teksty Nabokova. Lektsii Aleksandra Dolinina ob avtore «Lolity» i «Dara» – k 120-letiyu pisatelya. URL: https://arzamas.academy/materials/1615.
[5]	Kapra, F. 1994. Dao fiziki. Issledovaniye paralleley mezhdu sovremennoy fizikoy i mistitsizmom Vostoka. URL: https://royallib.com/read/kapra_fritof/dao_fiziki.html#20480
[6]	Levik, B. 1973. Muzykal'naya literatura zarubezhnykh stran. Moscow: Muzyka. S. 202.
[7]	Lishtanberzhe, A. 1997. Rikhard Vagner kak poet i myslitel'. URL: https://imwerden.de/publ-1718.html
[8]	Mints, Z. 2004. Blok i russkiy simvolizm: Izbrannyye trudy. URL: http://www.ruthenia.ru/mints/papers/ neomifologich.html
[9]	Nabokov, V. 2001. Vozvrashcheniye Chorba. URL https://librebook.me/vozvrachenie_chorba_vladimir_vladimirovich_nabokov
[10]	Parsifal'. 2009. Libretto. Rikhard Vagner. URL http://wagner.su/node/384
[11]	Razin'kova, I. 2005. Simvolistskoye mirosozertsaniye i rasskaz V. V. Nabokova “Vozvrashcheniye Chorba”. Vestnik Voronezhskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Filologiya. Zhurnalistika 2: 87–91.
[12]	Sologub, F. 1991. Tvorimaya legenda. URL https://traumlibrary.ru/book/sologub-legenda/sologub-legenda.html
[13]	Torchinov, Y. 2000. Vvedeniye v buddologiyu: kurs lektsiy. URL http://anthropology.ru/ru/text/torchinov-ea/lekciya-2-osnovy-buddiyskogo-ucheniya
[14]	Wilde, O. 2011. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Victoria: University of Victoria. S. 30.
[15]	Chetyre Blagorodnyye Istiny. 2019. Tkheravada. ru. URL http://www.theravada.ru/4-truths.htm

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Olga Kalenichenko. (2023). Reading “The Return of Chorb” by V. Nabokov as Neo-mythological Novel. Communication and Linguistics Studies, 9(2), 42-46. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13

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Olga Kalenichenko. Reading “The Return of Chorb” by V. Nabokov as Neo-mythological Novel. Commun. Linguist. Stud. 2023, 9(2), 42-46. doi: 10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13

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Olga Kalenichenko. Reading “The Return of Chorb” by V. Nabokov as Neo-mythological Novel. Commun Linguist Stud. 2023;9(2):42-46. doi: 10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13

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@article{10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13,
  author = {Olga Kalenichenko},
  title = {Reading “The Return of Chorb” by V. Nabokov as Neo-mythological Novel},
  journal = {Communication and Linguistics Studies},
  volume = {9},
  number = {2},
  pages = {42-46},
  doi = {10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cls.20230902.13},
  abstract = {A typology of the approach of writers of the 19th – 20th centuries to Wagner's musical dramas as an intertext has been given in the article. This may be a manifestation of the novel creators' erudition, a recollection of an anecdotal situation that arises on the basis of an opera's plot, an implicit foreshadowing of tragic events in a work, etc. Along with the point mention of Wagner operas in the works of world literature, there is also a different approach to the work of Richard Wagner. In this case, writers are attracted by the fact that when creating almost all of his librettos for operas, the composer creatively processed German myths and medieval German legends. On the basis of these librettos, neo-mythological works arise. Among them is V. Nabokov's short story “The Return of Chorb”, the “cipher-code” of which is the medieval myth of “a simpleton with a pure heart”, which is the basis for the libretto of Wagner's opera “Parsifal”, and on three levels: the system of images of the novella, its ontological and religious levels. The analysis showed that Nabokov took into account almost all genre features of the neo-mythological short story. At the same time, it should be noted that the writer approached this genre not formally, but having deeply mastered symbolist aesthetics, which was reflected in Nabokov's short story up to the creation of the author's creative legend about himself and his compatriots who were forced to leave their homeland.},
 year = {2023}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Reading “The Return of Chorb” by V. Nabokov as Neo-mythological Novel
AU - Olga Kalenichenko
Y1 - 2023/07/06
PY - 2023
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13
DO - 10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13
T2 - Communication and Linguistics Studies
JF - Communication and Linguistics Studies
JO - Communication and Linguistics Studies
SP - 42
EP - 46
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2380-2529
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13
AB - A typology of the approach of writers of the 19th – 20th centuries to Wagner's musical dramas as an intertext has been given in the article. This may be a manifestation of the novel creators' erudition, a recollection of an anecdotal situation that arises on the basis of an opera's plot, an implicit foreshadowing of tragic events in a work, etc. Along with the point mention of Wagner operas in the works of world literature, there is also a different approach to the work of Richard Wagner. In this case, writers are attracted by the fact that when creating almost all of his librettos for operas, the composer creatively processed German myths and medieval German legends. On the basis of these librettos, neo-mythological works arise. Among them is V. Nabokov's short story “The Return of Chorb”, the “cipher-code” of which is the medieval myth of “a simpleton with a pure heart”, which is the basis for the libretto of Wagner's opera “Parsifal”, and on three levels: the system of images of the novella, its ontological and religious levels. The analysis showed that Nabokov took into account almost all genre features of the neo-mythological short story. At the same time, it should be noted that the writer approached this genre not formally, but having deeply mastered symbolist aesthetics, which was reflected in Nabokov's short story up to the creation of the author's creative legend about himself and his compatriots who were forced to leave their homeland.
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Author Information

Olga Kalenichenko

Department of Theater Studies, Theater Faculty, ?. P. Kotlyarevsky Kharkiv National University of Arts, Kharkiv, Ukraine

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APA Style

Olga Kalenichenko. (2023). Reading “The Return of Chorb” by V. Nabokov as Neo-mythological Novel. Communication and Linguistics Studies, 9(2), 42-46. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13

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Olga Kalenichenko. Reading “The Return of Chorb” by V. Nabokov as Neo-mythological Novel. Commun. Linguist. Stud. 2023, 9(2), 42-46. doi: 10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13

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AMA Style

Olga Kalenichenko. Reading “The Return of Chorb” by V. Nabokov as Neo-mythological Novel. Commun Linguist Stud. 2023;9(2):42-46. doi: 10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13

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@article{10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13,
  author = {Olga Kalenichenko},
  title = {Reading “The Return of Chorb” by V. Nabokov as Neo-mythological Novel},
  journal = {Communication and Linguistics Studies},
  volume = {9},
  number = {2},
  pages = {42-46},
  doi = {10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20230902.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cls.20230902.13},
  abstract = {A typology of the approach of writers of the 19th – 20th centuries to Wagner's musical dramas as an intertext has been given in the article. This may be a manifestation of the novel creators' erudition, a recollection of an anecdotal situation that arises on the basis of an opera's plot, an implicit foreshadowing of tragic events in a work, etc. Along with the point mention of Wagner operas in the works of world literature, there is also a different approach to the work of Richard Wagner. In this case, writers are attracted by the fact that when creating almost all of his librettos for operas, the composer creatively processed German myths and medieval German legends. On the basis of these librettos, neo-mythological works arise. Among them is V. Nabokov's short story “The Return of Chorb”, the “cipher-code” of which is the medieval myth of “a simpleton with a pure heart”, which is the basis for the libretto of Wagner's opera “Parsifal”, and on three levels: the system of images of the novella, its ontological and religious levels. The analysis showed that Nabokov took into account almost all genre features of the neo-mythological short story. At the same time, it should be noted that the writer approached this genre not formally, but having deeply mastered symbolist aesthetics, which was reflected in Nabokov's short story up to the creation of the author's creative legend about himself and his compatriots who were forced to leave their homeland.},
 year = {2023}
}

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