The Plot About the Book and Reading in Satirical Magazines of 1769–1774

Abstract

The interest that modern human science shows in the Enlightenment as time still continues and has become one of the reasons to examine the periodicals of the 1760s and 1770s as part of its complex social and cultural process. Separating a specific cul-tural practice for analysis allowed concentrating on identifying some anthropological senses in cultural changes and some ways of coping with current conflicts. The author of the article observes how the magazines that are identified as satirical (Truten’, Zhivopisets, Vsyakaya Vsyachina, Adskaya Pochta, Smes’, and others) make a dialogue between the book and reading. The significance of this topic is the early discussion on the problem of educating the nobility that was held in the society. In the 1760s and 1770s, the topic became popular in a new way because of the ideas of Catherine the Great to educate people “of a new brand”. To solve the problem, the government started to reor-ganize educational institutions whose programs began to include secular science, books and art. However, home schooling remained closed for changes. There, medieval spiritual books still dominated because “aunties”-tutors (so-called “starushki”) were afraid of any cultural innovations. The well-known thesis that, in the second part of the century, the authority of medieval texts became weaker is proved by different magazine articles that were based on the daily experience and examinations of contemporaries who were the witnesses of the cultural changes and who had to choose what to read, where and how to teach their children. In publications of different genres, we can notice that the press con-tinued to value the book and reading as a good way to learn and educate. Besides, medie-val texts appeared to be something that favored superstitious views on the Universe. In the then contemporary satirical ideas, medieval books marked the changing generation of readers. Some examples of parents’ sanctimonious views on religious beliefs, disrespect towards governmental rules, cruel treatment of serfs degraded the value of reading medie-val books. On the contrary, positive heroes showed interest in the new secular knowledge and books, tried to become well-read and study foreign languages, to be capable of making a free choice. To bring up such a noble person was only possible if their parents were thoughtful to their children’s natural proclivity and to the choice of their tutors, and were sensitive to governmental changes. Generations that could stop reading Old Russian books were changing their reading habits. They became free in choosing books and in reading them critically. The trend to be well-read made reading more dynamic.