Стоицизм одинокого волка. Романтическая эстетика Альфреда де Виньи и ее литературные абрисы. Статья первая

Abstract

The article reveals the specific nature of Alfred de Vigny’s aesthetic views and literary work which illustrates his original position in the context of the aesthetics of French romanticism. Alfred de Vigny shared its basic principles related to the conviction in the inherent value of art, the priority of artistic perfection, idealization and symbolization, and an increased interest in the national origins of artistic creativity and the character of a romantic hero — sensitive, passionate, melancholic, and at the same time egocentric. However, he gave them the romantic-heroic connotation of the philosophy of stoicism, which defined the semantic dominant of his creative work and the aura of masculine restraint inherent in it. His reflections on the truth and fiction in art, artistic images and symbols, the features of a historical novel, the character of a romantic drama, and the figure of a banished poet largely paved the way for the further development of these subjects both in theory and artistic practice. Most of the characters of his symbolic plays, novels, and poems are self-absorbed, proud loners, marked by a tragic worldview, who stoically endure the adversities that fall to their lot but are unable to avoid fatal outcomes. Alfred de Vigny considered himself an “epic moralist” focused on issues of honor, duty, and conscience. Another distinctive feature of his position is not only the interest in national history but also a direct appeal to its vicissitudes in his artistic creativity, as well as conceptualization of ways to understand history in art. The rich symbolism of de Vigny’s works, their high artistry, a deep understanding of the tragic fate of the artist, a cursed poet, had a significant impact on the aesthetics and poetics of symbolism. Additionally, Alfred de Vigny’s philosophical and aesthetic ideas of abandonment of man into existence, the tragic nature of his lot, hopeless loneliness, inescapable longing, and despair, which were reflected in the pessimistic tone of many of his works, had a considerable influence on the creative activity of French existentialists and their followers in the 20th–21st centuries.