The image of the scientist in the works of V. Korolenko

Abstract

The article considers the connection of the works of V. G. Korolenko with the literary Western European tradition of depicting prominent people, labelled by the stamp of genius, who left a noticeable mark in science. The concept of genius is considered in the interpretation of philosophers I. Kant, A. Schopenhauer and F. Nietzsche, who saw it as consistent with their theories: contemplation and self-denial, will, energy of all previous generations. According to philosophical concepts, the following main trends in the literature of the nineteenth century were formed: the image of fanatical thieves from the works of M. Shelley, G. Wells, or infantile observers, as the heroes of the works of J. Verne – eccentrics detached from the real life. The realistic tradition in the depiction of images of scientists is considered on the example of the work of A. Chekhov «Boring Story». The image of a scientist created by a writer reflects the main contradiction in the life of a creative person – the discrepancy between life in science and real existence. There wasn’t any difference between creative and real life for V. Korolenko. He «lived as he wrote, and wrote as he lived». The great righteous man of everyday life, a missionary of spiritual deeds, the writer Korolenko created an image of the scientist Izborsky similar to his own life principles. The narrative structure of the work enabled the author to reflect on his student's past and think about his own unrealized future. It is hypothesized that Korolenko could be new Timiryazev or Mendeleev; however he chose the way forward active citizenship and revolutionary mood. The paper examines how the writer transformed the image of the scientist, which developed in European literature, into a new type of hero, due to socio-historical conditions and the spiritual search for time. The images of scientists created in the story «On both sides» and partly in the novel «The Story of My Contemporary» are analyzed from two points of view – the narrator-student and professor-teacher. A young man, who is also in a difficult mind condition, perceives personality, oratory, moral principles of the scientist Izborsky. The analysis of the narrator's structure helps to determine the conceptual features of the image of an ascetic scientist, among which is paid attention to the presence in the works of historical context, the strength of moral influence on students, admiration for the prospects of scientific discoveries.