Functions of intertextual inclusions in N. G. Chernyshevsky’s novel "What Is to Be Done?" (to the 195th anniversary of the birth)

Abstract

The article examines the novel "What is to be done?" written by N. G. Chernyshevsky. In the post-Soviet space, this work again attracts the attention of researchers. The study focuses on one of the most significant aspects of text organisation essential for understanding its meaning and structure. It is intertext in the variety of its manifestations. The article considers its characterological and axiological (explication of Christian values) functions, as well as the role of intertextual inclusions in the formation of the author’s tone, in expanding the spatial and temporal boundaries of the narrative. The research method is intertextual analysis, i. e. identifying intertextual inclusions and their forms (quotations, allusions, reminiscences). The article investigates the relationship between the pre-text and the receiving context, the functions of intertext, as well as world-generating analysis (O. G. Revzina). The research reveals that N. G. Chernyshevsky organises the spatio-temporal structure of the narrative with the help of intertextual inclusions. The specificity of the narrative consists in the intertwined and interdependent relationship between the atemporal (the eternal values of Christianity) and the temporal (biographical and historical time of the characters and the author).