«Герой своего времени»: к характеристике образа Юрия Живаго

Abstract

The aim of the study is to specify the originality of Zhivago’s image as a novelistic hero in accordance with the “personal poetics” of B. Pasternak. The author of the article analyses different aspects of the comparison of the author and the hero in the novel “Doctor Zhivago”, gives his own interpretation of the image, and determines the discrepancy between the image of Zhivago and the traditional hero of lyrical prose. The scientific novelty of the study lies in a more detailed analysis of the hero, which has led to the identification of an additional genre-generic basis of the novel “Doctor Zhivago” - drama. As a result, it has been found out that Doctor Zhivago is an independent hero, who objectifies only a certain part of B. Pasternak’s personality, and not a lyrical hero. Yuri Zhivago is not the narrator of the novel. The narration in the novel is conducted not only from Zhivago’s point of view; his storyline constantly gives way to the storylines of other characters. Despite the presence of notes in the novel by Yuri Andreevich himself (a diary and a book of poems), we do not recognize the novel whole through his creative work. The contradictory worldview and behaviour of Doctor Zhivago are not the absolute moral norm of the novel. The system of images in Doctor Zhivago most closely resembles the system of actors in a drama.