N. V. Gogol's novel "The Overcoat" and Lao She's novel "Rickshaw": typological parallels

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to identify the artistic potential of N. V. Gogol's novel "The Overcoat", which is actualized in the process of its literary and artistic reception in Lao She's novel "Rickshaw". The article analyzes the works of Russian and Chinese writers in a comparative aspect. As part of the study of the functioning of N. V. Gogol's novel "The Overcoat" in the writer's reception of Lao She, it was revealed that the Chinese writer focuses on the traditions of Russian literature of the 19th century, continues and develops on new material developed in the work of N. V. Gogol's principles and techniques of depicting the "little man". The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time it reveals the type of dialogical relations that is established between the novel "The Overcoat" and the novel "Rickshaw": "alien" (another verbal and artistic practice) ceases to be such, transforms into "one's own", becoming one of the codes in the artistic system of the work of the Chinese writer, without knowledge of which its adequate interpretation is impossible. As a result of the study, it was found that the plot of the novel "Rickshaw" is based on the same mythological scheme as the novella by N. V. Gogol. The multilayered tension of the plot action is repeated, revealing a demonic basis in the realistic, quite specific social and everyday circumstances of the hero's life. At the same time, the Chinese writer's novel reinforces the principle of social determinism, which is emphasized in the interpretations of the novel by Chinese scientists.