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Author: Elena Yu. Safronova
Information about the author:

PhD in Philology, Dean of the Faculty of Traditional Arts and Crafts, Higher School of Folk Arts (Academy), Griboyedov Canal Embankment, 2A, 191186 St. Petersburg, Russia; Professor, Emperor Alexander I St. Petersburg State Transport University, Department of Russian and Foreign Languages, Moskovsky prospect, 9, 190031 St. Petersburg, Russia.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7245-9174

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For citation:

Safronova, E.Yu. “Crocodiliada by Fyodor Dostoevsky: Genesis and Evolution of the Theme.” Dostoevsky and World Culture. Philological journal, no. 4 (28), 2024, pp. 90–116. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2024-4-90-116

Received: 23 June 2024
Published: 25 Dec. 2024
Issue: 2024 no. 4 (28)
Department: POETICS. CONTEXT
Pages: 90-116
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2024-4-90-116
EDN:

https://elibrary.ru/IFHLVK

UDK: 821.161.1.0
BBK: 83.3(2Рос=Рус)
Keywords: Dostoevsky, satirical novel, “The Crocodile,” auto-parody, Altay Museum of Local Lore, F.V. Gebler, P.P. Semenov (Tien Shanskiy).
Abstract: The article examines the genesis of the titular metaphor in Dostoevsky’s satirical work “The Crocodile” and proposes a hypothesis that one of its sources lies in the author’s Siberian experiences — specifically, his visit to the Museum of Local Lore in Barnaul in 1856–1857. During this visit, Dostoevsky got to know the story about the museum’s founder, F.V. Gebler, and observed a rare exhibit of the time: a stuffed alligator crocodile. This, along with the broader natural science context of Dostoevsky’s Siberian period, found a new cultural resonance in St. Petersburg in 1865, when live crocodiles were displayed in the Passage by a German showman. The fantastic elements of the comic tale emerge as an interplay of these Siberian and St. Petersburg impressions, Old Testament and literary allusions, and a narrative strategy of self-parody. Contrary to traditional interpretations that identify N.G. Chernyshevsky or Saltykov-Shchedrin as the figure represented by “a certain gentleman of a known age and known appearance,” this figure could be, in fact, a veiled caricature of Dostoevsky himself. The image of Athanasius Matveyevich reflects traits of self-parody: a preoccupation with literature, confidence in a brilliant career, references to Socrates and Fourier, egotism, dreams of traveling abroad, and the frivolous behavior of a seemingly promising individual — all cryptically satirize Dostoevsky’s autobiography. The article also proves the internal thematic and f igurative kinship of the writer’s comic texts: the tales Uncle’s Dream, “The Crocodile” and the novel The Village of Stepanchikovo and its Inhabitants.

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