On the Genre Interpretation of the Fairy Tale Kissel by Saltykov-Shchedrin

Abstract

Introduction. The article explores the almost unstudied fairy tale Kissel by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. There are no surveys on the story except for the writer’s comments on collected works. The key concept of the tale (kissel) is identified by the Soviet literature as a Russian man, while the problem is limited to denouncing “peoples’ lack of participation”. Results. As the genre of the tale Kissel is actually a parable, it is important to understand both literary and historical context. The historical context is represented by the rapid development of “wild” capitalism in post-reformed Russia, described in different publicistic series of 1870–1880s written by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, as well as the emergence of the “Russian bourgeois” class (the satirist was very skeptical of the idea that the class could become a base for the new social order). The literary context is observed in the satirist’s works of 1870–1880s empathizing problems of predation, uncontrolled and merciless elimination of Russian natural resources, as well as the inability of Russian nobility to resist those social challenges. Those problems are characterized by the three main characters of the tale Kissel: the pig, the kissel and the lords personalizing concepts of “predation”, patriarchal peasantical Russia, and the cultural class losing its positions in social life. Conclusion. The author claims that the fairy tale Kissel by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin is the satirist’s peculiar warning that such uncontrolled embezzlement of the country’s wealth (i.e. the pig eating kissel) might lead to painful consequences for the Russian society.