Crocodiliada by Fyodor Dostoevsky: Genesis and Evolution of the Theme

Abstract

The article examines the genesis of the titular metaphor in Dostoevsky’s satirical work “The Crocodile” and proposes a hypothesis that one of its sources lies in the author’s Siberian experiences — specifically, his visit to the Museum of Local Lore in Barnaul in 1856–1857. During this visit, Dostoevsky got to know the story about the museum’s founder, F.V. Gebler, and observed a rare exhibit of the time: a stuffed alligator crocodile. This, along with the broader natural science context of Dostoevsky’s Siberian period, found a new cultural resonance in St. Petersburg in 1865, when live crocodiles were displayed in the Passage by a German showman. The fantastic elements of the comic tale emerge as an interplay of these Siberian and St. Petersburg impressions, Old Testament and literary allusions, and a narrative strategy of self-parody. Contrary to traditional interpretations that identify N.G. Chernyshevsky or Saltykov-Shchedrin as the figure represented by “a certain gentleman of a known age and known appearance,” this figure could be, in fact, a veiled caricature of Dostoevsky himself. The image of Athanasius Matveyevich reflects traits of self-parody: a preoccupation with literature, confidence in a brilliant career, references to Socrates and Fourier, egotism, dreams of traveling abroad, and the frivolous behavior of a seemingly promising individual — all cryptically satirize Dostoevsky’s autobiography. The article also proves the internal thematic and f igurative kinship of the writer’s comic texts: the tales Uncle’s Dream, “The Crocodile” and the novel The Village of Stepanchikovo and its Inhabitants.

Keywords

• dostoevsky
• satirical novel
• “the crocodile
• ” auto-parody
• altay museum of local lore
• f.v. gebler
• p.p. semenov (tien shanskiy)