Reālisms un ideālisms 19. un 20. gadsimta mijas latviešu literatūrā

Abstract

The article traces late 19th and early 20th-century theoretical discussions of the concepts of realism and idealism and their impact on Latvian literature, paying attention to the terminological and ideological aspects and the poetics of literary texts. The introductory part explains the topicality of research on realism and idealism. The main body of the article traces the genesis of realism and idealism in 19th-century European and Latvian literature by using the up-to-date methodology of literary studies and the humanities. Detailed attention is paid to the late 19th and early 20th-century discussions in Latvia that explain the historical use of these concepts. By scrutinizing the available material, it is possible to conclude that concepts of realism and idealism are historically rooted and interactive. It is, therefore, possible to state that literary practices at times substantially deviate from 19th-century theory, where both concepts are used inconsistently and at times polarised. The up-to-date theoretical approach based on the methodology of cultural studies and new historicism that accentuates the polyphony of an age helps to reveal the many-sidedness of 19th-century literature and provides an insight into the possibilities and meanings of the concepts of realism and idealism. Such an approach opens up new potential for interpreting well-known texts by Latvian writers.