Citation

Polivanov K. Russian Literature 2015; 78(3-4): 643-653.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015)

DOI

10.1016/j.ruslit.2015.11.001

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The paper explores the tight relation between "art" and "immortality" in Boris Pasternak's author's ideology on the basis of a newly found letter to his second wife Zinaida Nikolaevna Neigauz, written in the beginning of 1931. This letter, preserved only in a copy, sheds new light upon one of the most important points of the author's ideology. In this document, Pasternak explains his views on the unacceptability of suicide. The letter is closely related to his autobiographical work Safe Conduct, the final part of which was written soon after the suicide of Vladimir Maiakovskii. It is possible to draw a line from the letter to the novel Doctor Zhivago. The ends of two protagonists' lives, Iurii Zhivago and his antipode Pavel Antipov-Strelnikov, are compared. The main protagonist dies, leaving behind his poetry. For Pasternak, it is the way of continuation, "life after death", and the symbol of creative immortality of a poet. On the contrary, Antipov committed suicide, an end consistent with his life position. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.

Language: ru

Keywords

B.L. Pasternak; Doctor Zhivago; Safe Conduct