Samara space in Dina Rubina's novel «Petrushka's syndrome»

Abstract

This article is an experience of studying the structure and role of the «Samara text» in the novel «Petrushka's Syndrome» by Dina Rubina. The initial premise of this article is the author's conviction that it is space that appears in the named novel by Dina Rubina as a constructive principle of the literary work genre organization and the construction of an artistic semiosphere, through analysis of which the researcher can enter the sphere of meanings. The Samara space is not the only one in the novel and is included in a large and complex system of spaces formed by the «Lviv», «Prague», «Berlin», «Israeli» and «South Sakhalin» chapters, and each of these loci has its own artistic tasks and own meanings. At the same time, Samara appears in the novel as a very special space and semantic code formed by the Samara history, urban folklore, artistic and other texts, which together form an urban myth and urban text, and finally, perhaps, by Dina Rubina’s personal impressions, obviously well acquainted with Samara and the Samara residents. All these components of the «Samara text» form the Samara code, which is the focus of the article authors. The most thorough analysis in the article is one of the Samara mini-topos – Visi's apartment, which is the quintessence of the «Samara» life in the novel.