Forms of representation of “the spirit of times” in “The tale of Simeon the Prince of Suzdal” by N. Polevoy

Abstract

Romantic historicism is defined by the combination of two basic ideas: the closedness of the historical past and the infinity of being. “The spirit of times” is a category characteristic of Romanticism, which determines the nature of text historicity. For N. Polevoy, it is significant to depict not only the material world, but also the ideological, mental level of comprehension of this world by the perceiving subject - the protagonist of the work (in the dialogues of the characters), as well as the “local flavor” of the characters’ images, largely based on the thinking forms characteristic of a certain time and society. The mental image of the world, formed by the man of the Middle Ages, presupposed the correlation of what was happening with biblical truths. Realizing the limitations of the characters’ idea of the true meaning of the events, the author makes them seek it in disputes. To create a “local flavor”, he also uses the forms of the characters’ names, which acquire a symbolic meaning in the context of the depicted events. All forms of representation of “the spirit of times”, used in the story, allow us to show the ambiguity, the incompleteness of the participants’ knowledge of the events happening around them. To this end, the narrator connects events belonging to the history of different peoples, showing that their participants cannot always even predict how they will interact over time. The “goal-setting” form of “the spirit of times” representation is an appeal to a chronicle source or a direct word of the narrator.