Gavriil Derzhavin’s “Felitsaˮ, J.F. Marmontel’s “Belisariusˮ and the Strategy of Literary Success in the Court of Catherine the Great

Abstract

The article offers an analysis of literary contexts of G.R. Derzhavin's ode “Felitsa”, suggesting to recognize Marmontel’s “Bélisaire” (“Belisarius”) as a source for key ideological concerns. The work of a French encyclopédist was translated into Russian by Catherine II and a group of noblemen. Derzhavin, much like the author of “Belisarius”, built his text around the antithesis: he opposed the “vices” of aristocrats to the idealized image of the monarch. Thus, “Felitsa” belongs in the same category of texts as “Nakaz” (“Order”), “Velizer” (“Belisarius”), “Vsyakaya vsyachina” (“All sorts of things”), and especially “Sobesednik liubitelei rossiiskogo slova” (“Companion for the Lovers of Russian Letters”), which were authored or inspired by the Russian Empress and were addressing the nature of power and the way of things between the monarch and his/her subjects. The latter, the “Companion”, not only opened with “Felitsa”, but also offered new ideologemes of power and became instrumental in creating Derzhavin’s reputation as a poet.