V. LEVSHIN'S WORK AND THE PHENOMENON OF THE "ORIENTAL STORY" IN THE CONTEXT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF RUSSIAN FICTION

Abstract

The research is devoted to the translated story "Veziri, or the Enchanted Lavirinf", which Levshin released with the subtitle "Oriental story ". Russian Russian fiction is interesting both in the context of the genre itself, which became very popular in Russian literature in the second half of the XVIII century, and from the point of view of the development of Russian fiction of the era of sentimentalism. In the existing studies devoted to the genre of the "oriental story", three types of it are distinguished: 1) moral and ethical with religious overtones; 2) entertaining, adventurous and gallant; 3) educational. However, the "Veziri" allow us to detect all three aspects, which is essential for understanding the general orientation of the fiction of that time and the very idea of the perception of the East in Russian literature. The history of the creation of this translation has not been studied sufficiently to compare Levshin's work with the original source, therefore, the style is considered precisely as a characteristic example of Russian fiction. The choice of Levshin himself is important, known, among other things, for his author's literary fairy tales based on motifs and images of Russian folklore.  In the "oriental story ", Persia becomes the scene of action, depicted not in a historical, but in a legendary and fabulous way, as an amazing land of miracles, heroism, high virtues and mystical mysteries. It seems productive to consider in this work the concept of "virtue", which is extremely important both for educational literature of the era of sentimentalism and for a literary fairy tale. In this aspect, one can explain the increased emotionality of the narration and direct speech of the characters themselves, since it is essential for sentimentalism to comprehend moral principles through a sensitive heart. At the same time, miracles and adventures in the story become a kind of moral test of the characters, as well as a sphere of comprehension of higher wisdom, which was very characteristic of the depiction of the East