Typological Convergence and “Strange Contingence” in the Novels of V. Kaverin “Two Captains” and B. Schlink “Olga”

Abstract

The results of a comparative analysis of the poetic dominants in the novels “Two Captains” by V. Kaverin and “Olga” by B. Schlink are presented. The novelty of the research is seen in the identification of diachronic typological parallels that can be traced at all levels of the poetological structure, including the features of the narrative, plot-compositional construction, and the system of images. It is noted that in both novels the problem of historical and cultural memory arises, since it is one of the defining components of the national mentality. It has been proved that letters form not only the “nuclear events” of the novels under study, but also are semantic centers that accumulate the components of mythological models that determined the life and fate of the heroes of the studied works. The “strange contingence” is commented on in terms of problems, since in both works the main characters are inspired by the idea of developing the North. The article reveals “strange contingence” at the moral and ethical level, connected with the fate of a private person of the 20th century, whose life is not only inscribed in world history, but composes and creates it. It is shown that the history of V. Kaverin and B. Schlink is interesting as a field, the study of which helps to clarify the present and warn against mistakes in the future.

Keywords

• cultural memory
• national myths
• national mentality
• bernard schlink
• veniamin kaverin
• typological relationships