NATALIYA KLIMOVA'S IMAGE IN THE LITERARY INTERPRETATION BY M.OSORGIN AND V.SHALAMOV

The author analyzes the image of N.S. Klimova in M. Osorgin's novels “The Witness of History”, “The Book of Ends”, as well as in the story “Golden Medal” by V. Shalamov. The purpose of the study is to compare two artistic concepts of the image of the same real historical person. Similarities are revealed in several important aspects of the image of the protagonist. In particular, both authors portray her as a girl with a stormy temperament, comparing it with the force of nature. The authors also emphasize the protagonist's tendency to melodramatize, and while M. Osorgin sees Natasha's growing into the role of a fearless revolutionary as a result of internal efforts, V. Shalamov thinks that this perception is possible only for the “external” consciousness, but not for the protagonist herself. Both writers focus their attention on the unchanging tragedy of the laws of history, which destroy lives, and on the inevitability of the birth of a “revolutionary spirit” in a person during crisis periods. There are also differences in the approach to the image of the personality of N.S. Klimova. M. Osorgin shows the evolution of the protagonist's worldview: having discovered the ontological essence of the world, she is disappointed in the revolutionary struggle, whereas V. Shalamov maintains her image intact in its romantic brightness. The motivations of the protagonist’s actions are different: for M. Osorgin, she strives for an extraordinary act, for V. Shalamov – for self-sacrifice for the benefit of the people. The difference in moral evaluations of the protagonist’s activity is also significant: in M. Osorgin’s novels, the author gives an ambivalent assessment of Natasha’s actions, while V. Shalamov gives the protagonist an unambiguously positive evaluation. Therefore, we can conclude that these differences are associated with the revolutionary experience of the writers and their perception of the past, the symbol of which they both see in N.S. Klimova: while M. Osorgin eventually finds the inconsistency in the old ideals, V. Shalamov keeps perceiving the revolution and its heroes in the romantic aura.

Natalya Klimova, «letter before execution», political terrorism, revolution, Nietzscheism, the laws of history.