Fairy Tale and Reality in the Novel by S. D. Krzhizhanovsky "The Stolen Bell"

Abstract

The article studies the combination of fairy tale and reality in the novel by S.D. Krzhizhanovsky The Stolen Bell. Due to the strict censorship the writer had to use fairy-tale plots and allegory. In spite of it, there are references to the events of the 1920-1930s in his novel. They are: persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church, looting of churches, the process of remelting bells for coins. Krzhizhanovsky manages to convey accurately the spirit of that time. Because of it the borderline between mysterious India and Soviet Russia disappears. In the novel appears some roll calls with other works of the author of Fairy Tales for Prodigy. Being combined, they form a general context of Krzhizhanovsky's creative activity. The opposition of sound and deafness is aanalyzed by the author. This opposition also serves as a marker of the epoch in which an individual does not hear anything because of the cacophony of different voices. The main character of the novel, a deaf old man collecting coins-sounds embodies the ideal of the writer who dreams of the world harmony and happiness for all people. The desire to collect all scattered coins and melt them into a bell shows the impossibility of this undertaking and the utopian nature of Krzyzanowsky's worldview.