British Aesthetics of the “Picturesque” as a Way of Organizing a Fantastic Space in the Story “Tarantas” by V. A. Sollogub

Abstract

The article examines the story “Tarantas” by V. A. Sollogub, perceiving it from several angles. First of all, as stated in the title, the story is considered in the context of the British aesthetic category “picturesque,” which has been developed starting from the middle of the 18th century, in the works of William Gilpin, Uvedale Price and Richard Payne Knight, and adopted by Russian writers of the early 19th century. By means of this category Sollogub creates a gallery of fantastic and pseudo-fantastic situations, which serve as illustrations of the three types of the fantastic, according to the theory of Ts. Todorov. Sollogub demonstrates a considerable awareness of European aesthetics, creating a gallery of picturesque characters, situations, and encounters, and thus providing an example of Russian picturesque travel (voyage pittoresque), a genre that developed in the 1810s–1830s and was at the center of journalistic controversy at the time. The story “Tarantas” becomes a powerful statement by a conservative author, showing how excessive enthusiasm for Western concepts and a general orientation towards the West can obscure the original picturesque in a Russian person, and become the cause of fantastic, deceptive dreams.

Keywords

• picturesque
• fantastic
• sollogub
• “tarantas
• ” fantastic space
• picturesque journey
• dream