Dostoevsky in the Perception of a Bearer of Another Culture: Interpretative Constants. Article 1. Prolegomena

Abstract

The article attempts to systematize the material related to the reception of Fedor M. Dostoevsky’s works by foreign speakers, examines reinterpretations, secondary texts of various types devoted to the writer’s creative works – philological studies, feature films, TV series, theatrical productions, comics, computer games, textbooks of the Russian language for foreigners, the results of pilot surveys, etc. Theoretical substantiations of the problem of understanding and perception of a literary text by a bearer of a different culture are given, the key concepts of which are “the presumption of incomplete understanding” and “the presumption of a negative assessment”. In order to generalize the material the term “interpretative constant” is introduced. Interpretative constants are generalized statements expressed in a concise form such as “The study of a man is the main theme of Dostoevsky’s works”; “God-seeking is the main theme of his works”; “The main force of evil is a woman”; “He loved death, suffering more than life”; “Suffering in the Russian world unites people”; “All the actions of the heroes are conditioned by libido”, etc. Generally, the method of identifying the interpretative constants and their interpretation is indicated. Interpretative constants have the predictive effect, their classification allows us to determine possible trends in the development of Dostoevistics, both foreign and domestic. It is assumed that the specification of the material presented in the publication will be carried out in the subsequent articles of the cycle.