"The Königsberg Trail" in E. T. A. Hoffmann's novel "The Devil's Elixir"

The relevance of the study is determined by the scientific significance of the problem of urban text as one of the main directions of modern Russian literary history. The study of the regional literary process – Königsberg/Kaliningrad – helps to identify its local specifics. The article systematically examines the image of the monastery of St. Lipa in the context of the modern urban landscape. The uniqueness of the image, memorable from the first pages due to its vivid verbal description, is determined by the cultural and historical context and local mythology. The image of the monastery of St. Lipa is presented in the article as a physical reality and literary space, which is associated with the development of one of the leading themes of the novel "The Devil's Elixir" - retribution for the guilt of ancestors. References to this image are made throughout the narrative; it is associated with the possibility of atonement for the guilt of a criminal family. The author uses a comprehensive literary approach that combines historical-cultural, biographical, and comparative-typological methods. It is shown how the plot and motive content of the novel “The Devil’s Elixir” relates to the image of the monastery of St. Lipa: the motives of pilgrimage/path, atonement for sin, mysterious circumstances of birth, “heavenly consolation” became especially significant in the narrative. The leitmotif is Medard’s memory of his early childhood spent in the monastery of St. Linden, which accompanies him in a “brightly colorful world” and performs a saving function. Attention is paid to the images of the founder of the family, the “old pilgrim”, the “wonderful child”, the mysterious meeting with whom took place in the monastery of St. Lipa and became fateful. The novelty of the study is related to the fact that the historical and cultural model of Königsberg-Kaliningrad has been clarified. The problem of genius loci is analyzed using the life of E. T. A. Hoffmann and his novel “The Devil’s Elixir”. This approach made it possible to clarify the specifics of the space of Königsberg/Kaliningrad, which preserves the memory of the brilliant romantic and his artistic world.

city, monastery, symbol, plot, image, motif, andscape, commentary, diary, memory