TRADITIONS OF A. N. OSTROVSKY AND A. P. CHEKHOV IN EGOR ZAGREBIN’s PLAY “LEBED’ BELAYA [THE WHITE SWAN]”

Abstract

This article investigates the specifics of the Udmurt drama. The novelty of the paper lies in the fact that for the first time ever it presents more detailed theoretical considerations of Egor Zagrebin's play “ Lebed’ Belaya [The White Swan]”. Its relevance is based on the use of the comparative historical method which enables us to identify the origins of the Udmurt dramaturgy. We can trace the impact of A. N. Ostrovsky and A. P. Chekhov’s theater on the play “Lebed’ Belaya [The White Swan]" by E. Zagrebin. On the one hand, Egor Zagrebin's play is focused on the ideological and worldview conflict worked out by Ostrovsky, and on the other hand, it involves the elements of Chekhov's drama (an orientation towards symbolism and reticence is clearly detected in it). The study presents a comparison of the Udmurt play with Ostrovsky's drama “ Groza [Thunderstorm]” and Chekhov's comedy “Tchaika [The Seagull]”. The system of direct and hidden references to the previous texts has been developed in the process of research, which shows how the culture-bound literature overcomes and creatively transforms the initial trends of the Russian literature. If the Russian drama of the 19-20 centuries deals with insoluble conflicts (for example, “eternal conflicts” of Ostrovsky and metaphysical conflicts of Chekhov), then the idea of inherent harmony of the world is embodied in the play by E. Zagrebin. Despite the extreme tension of the collision, the dramatic conflict can be resolved; and the victory is won by the normative principle which is deeply rooted in the culture-specific soil. It is crucial that the Udmurt dramaturgy of the second half of the 20 century is under a double influence. On the one hand, it goes back to the tradition of the Russian classical literature (A. Pushkin, N. Gogol, A. Ostrovsky, A. Chekhov, and others); on the other hand, it responds to the current state of the literary process, or rather being influenced by the Soviet dramaturgy (A. Vampilov, A. Volodin, M. Roshchin, and others).