Plotting History: The Russian Historical Novel in the Imperial Age

4. Masterpieces in Context: Taras Bulba and The Captain’s Daughter

Writing in the 1880s, Aleksandr Skabichevsky claimed that Taras Bulba and The Captain’s Daughter “have nothing in common with any of the other historical novels of the thirties, which di¤er from them like night and day” (“Nash istoricheskii roman,” 665). For a variety of reasons this idiosyncratic premise held sway for many decades. Taras Bulba and The Captain’s Daughter are among the most thoroughly researched works of Russian literature; however, even nowadays, as historical novels they are mostly considered in terms of Scott’s novels, whereas their links to the genre as a whole are often overlooked. In this chapter I examine them from the standpoint of a broader contemporary background, showing how Gogol and Pushkin employ elements characteristic of the historical poetics outlined previously. Contextualizing Taras Bulba and The Captain’s Daughter makes possible a better understanding of some otherwise perplexing aspects of these works (e.g., Gogol’s savage patriotism; Pushkin’s chronological games) and ultimately provides a more precise explanation of their uniqueness. Both of these novels are crucial for defining the parameters of the genre since they represent opposing models of the historical novel. Pushkin perfects the Scottian model by finding a balance of fictional and historical characters in highly specific historical settings. By contrast, Gogol stretches to the limits the notion of historical chronotope by combining events that occurred across two centuries and all but eliminating historical characters. Although he follows Hugo, like Scott he concentrates on the conflict between civilizations . While utilizing familiar models and numerous conventional elements, Gogol and Pushkin nevertheless achieve something unique. Gogol creates an epic meant to reflect the entirety of the Ukraine’s medieval history, while 76 4
 Masterpieces in Context Taras Bulba and The Captain’s Daughter Pushkin presents an archetypal vision of Russian history in his brilliant portrayal of the Pugachev rebellion. Taras Bulba “Come on, son, turn around! Lord, you look funny! What sort of a priest’s cassocks are you wearing?” (Mirgorod ed., 2:247) Although these opening remarks addressed by Taras to his sons contain no references to history, they nevertheless resonate powerfully with romantic historical poetics, setting the tone for the rest of the novel. The most obvious device here is the lack of narrative introduction, a beginning in medias res with just a dialogue cue. Gogol shuns the convention of authorial forewords or detailed expositions, instead utilizing dialogue to create an illusion of immersion into the past. He strengthens this illusion through the use of exotic idiom (Ukrainian synku and tsur tebe! in the original) and by focusing on exotic attire. In this introductory scene historical exoticism is enhanced through description, specifically the rugged mannerisms of the Cossack colonel and antiquarian details pertaining to his dwelling. At some point, however, the authorial narrative undermines the illusion of history redivivus through the incursion of the writer’s voice into the text. This happens at the opening of the novel, where Bulba’s colorful diatribe against scholastic education is interrupted by the following remark: “Bulba added one more word that the censors do not allow into print—and rightly so” (2:249). Throughout the text one encounters similar interjections typical of romantic narrative conventions, such as “Now it is appropriate to say something about his sons” (2:257) or “But let us turn to our story” (2:314). As was mentioned earlier, contemporary writers tend to raise aesthetic issues in the body of their novels by invoking artistic models or referring to specific works of art, thereby exposing the artificiality of the unfolding story. In Taras Bulba this device is manifested in frequent metaphors and comparisons drawn from the realm of painting, which has a direct bearing on the pictorial aspect of the romantic historical imagination. The past is represented as a series of pictures, or tableaux vivants: “and the Cossacks beheld a picturesque scene [zhivaia kartina]” (1842 ed., 2:99; Magarshack’s translation , 109; cf. Polevoi’s definition of his novel’s genre: “the life of the people in tableaux vivants” [Kliatva, 299]). Although further animation transforms these silent and motionless scenes into a historical drama of sorts, discussions of painting techniques or interjections like “This was a picture and an masterpieces in context 77 artist should have grabbed a brush to paint it” (Mirgorod ed., 2:293) expose the presence of artistic consciousness behind the text. In the 1842...