Журнал «Филоlogos»

THEME OF THE EAST IN THE CREATIVE CONSCIOUSNESS OF I. BUNIN AND M. GORKY

Author: Shugan O.V.

The article examines the long-term creative dialogue of I.A. Bunin and M. Gorky on the example of the theme of the East. The similarity of works by Bunin and Gorky is based on a great interest in each other's work, which was supported by intense personal communication. Turning to the image of Tamerlane, Bunin and Gorky reflected the apocalyptic premonitions of a future catastrophe, typical for their contemporaries. In the stories "Scream", "Temir-Aksak-Khan", the poems "On the Way from Nazareth", "Coal", "In the Horde", written by Bunin, and in Gorky's ''Samarkand'' legends and his tale about mother and Timur from "Tales of Italy" the themes of war and countless civilian lives are persistently sounded. The storyline of a parent who lost child in Bunin's story "Scream" (1911) was developed and transformed by Gorky in "Tales of Italy" (fairy tale IX about his mother and Timur, 1911. In the fairy tale Gorky created the bright and expressive image of the tyrant, focusing on the cruelty of Tamerlane. The contrast between the images of unfortunate father in Bunin's story and unfortunate mother in Gorky's fairy tale attracts attention. Little Turk in Bunin's story looks miserable and funny, and Gorky's image of the "mother" acquires the features of an ancient deity, it is mythologized. In his tale, Gorky does not just describe the story of a woman who has lost her son - he composes the solemn anthem of the Mother. Bunin did not agree with the Gorky's image of the "super-woman" and created the image of Our Lady in the poem "On the Way from Nazareth" (1912), avoiding symbolism and hyperbole. The Virgin cult by Bunin confronts the Gorky's mythology "Mother". Meek and humble Maria is an antipode of a strong-willed and courageous mother-fisherwoman. In Gorky's "Samarkand" legend about the dispute between Tamerlane and God (1914), God promises to punish Tamerlane by saturation, but he died without realizing what does it mean. In the story "Temir-Aksak-Khan" (1921), Bunin brought this motive to a logical end, developing the theme of satiation of power and spiritual death of the tyrant, outlined by Gorky in the legend of Tamerlane. That creative dialogue complements the history of the relationship between Bunin and Gorky and shows that, despite the difference in ideological and aesthetic platforms, they committed to the humanistic ideals, manifested hatred for war and tyranny.