Mamin-Sibiryak’s “Rudins”: Turgenev’s character and novel transformation

Abstract

This article is an investigation of such forgotten novels by Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak as “Birthday Boy” (1888) and “The Crowd’s Favorite” (1898). The author analyzes the novels’ problematics connected with the lives of the intellectuals in the 1880-1890s, describes the types of characters and poetics specificity. Mamin-Sibiryak’s views are considered in the context of the Russian classical literature of the 19th century and compared with Saltykov-Shchedrin’s, Turgenev’s and Dostoevsky’s thoughts about the role of the intelligentsia in the modern world and the problematic renewal of Russian life. The main precedent text is the novel “Rudin” by Ivan Turgenev. The change of the protagonist, who traces his genetic and typological origin to Rudin, is described in the article. The author reveals plot-compositional similarities between Mamin-Sibiryak’s novels and the precedent text. © Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved.