Филологический класс (Feb 2019)
PERCEPTION HISTORY OF PAUL ERNST’S ART IN RUSSIA
Abstract
The article deals with the problem of the scientific perception history of the German writer Paul Ernst (1866–1933) in Russia. It explains the reasons for the persistent lack of interest to this writer in domestic (pre-revolutionary Russian, Soviet, and modern) studies of German literature. He played a large role enough in the development of German literature at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries (naturalism, neoclassicism, literature of “conservative revolution”, surrealism). The material for the analysis incudes the reference-encyclopedic and historical-literary sources that clearly reflect the peculiarities of perception of Ernst’s figure in pre-revolutionary Russia, in the USSR and in Russia of the post-perestroika period. It is noted that the first responses to the work of Ernst, although they were marked by the influence of vulgar-sociological methodology, showed the desire of researchers to enter (though not quite successfully) the work of the German writer in the literary process of his time. However, since the 1930s, an erroneous assessment has prevailed, according to which Ernst appears to be one of the leading representatives of reactionary (up to fascist) literature. This assessment has not been revised till present, what even today should apparently be the main reason for the lack of Russian researchers’ interest in the works of Paul Ernst. The author of the article expresses hope that the situation will change for the better and shows possible approaches to the study of the multifaceted work of the German writer, undeservedly ignored by Russian science. The article also provides examples of the study of Ernst’s work conducted by the author of this article in the 2000s, primarily in connection with Ernst’s contribution to the perception of Russian classical literature. Unfortunately, this aspect of Ernst’s work, until recently, was not covered at all by domestic literary criticism. It is expected that the propaganda of the German writer’s oeuvre undertaken by the author of the article will be useful in terms of appealing to him translators of fiction.
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