TWO “NOVELS”: METAMORPHOSE OF “SMILE” AND “MOCK” IN “OBLOMOV” BY I.A. GONCHAROV

Abstract

The article compares two plotlines connected with Olga Ilyinskaya and Agafya Pshenitsyna. The storylines of “smile” and “mock” are researched through the perspective of the category of the comic within Goncharov’s novel. The paper deals with the phenomenon of duality as far as Olga Ilyinskaya”s “smile” is concerned: on the one hand the “smile” is regarded as a symbol of Western culture (one can see smile on the face of Olga for the first time in connection with Shtolts), on the other hand the “smile” appears as a symbol of Olga’s love for Oblomov, love of the world of “own”. Olga’s “smile” is polysemantic: it is associated with book, life and love. The disillusion of her marriage with Oblomov leads to the transformation of her smile as her smile is replaced and subdued by “mock” and “tears”. Dramatic final of the love story of Olga and Oblomov is regarded in metaphysical context as a betrayal of her destination, refusal from her genuine Groom. As a requital of her destination Olga loses her “childish laughter” and “smile”. Discussing the plotline of Agafya Matveevna’s “mock” the author highlights backward movement: from “mock” to “smile”, from automatic life to spiritual transformation of life. The reader appreciates the “mock” of Pshenitsyna as a mystery suggested by the writer. The article considers different meanings of emergence of Agafya’s “mock”: as a sign of chastity of her soul, as a sign of simplicity, humbleness and meakness. While comparing two heroines the author marks the difference between their cultural references: the image of Olga Ilyinskaya is aestheticized and romanticized while on the contrary the image of Agafya Pshenitsina deaestheticized and deepened. The author emphasizes dynamics of the image of Olga and static nature of the image of Agafya Matveevna. As a result the first image tends towards picturesqueness and the second one leans towards iconicity. In the final part of the novel Olga’s “smile” and Agafya’s “mock” are dissolved in tears for Oblomov, which makes readers experience some tender emotions.