Barrel Organ and Organ- Grinder in Russian Fiction of the 1840s

Abstract

In the 1840s, barrel organ and organ grinders became a core part of the city’s folk entertainment culture as mentioned in essayistic and memoir literature. However, the references are scarce and there are no detailed descriptions existing. To study this phenomenon of folk culture, the author turns to fictional texts: Dead Souls by N.V. Gogol, “Shtoss” by M. Yu. Lermontov, “Katerina-Hurdy-Gurdy” by I.P. Myatlev, and “Savvushka” by I.T. Kokorev. The article analyzes the chain of ideas that each of these authors associates with the barrel organ and organ-grinders. In general, these views correlate with the views reflected in non-literary sources. I.T. Kokorev develops the story of the street artist in the most detailed way which may be explained by his interests in essay writing, closeness to the so-called “natural school” (a 19 th century literary trend), and personal experience.

Keywords

• 19 th century russian literature and folklore culture
• street artists
• sharmanka and sharmanshchik
• gogol
• lermontov
• myatlev
• kokorev.