The Characterological Functions of Untidiness in the Works of Fyodor Dostoevsky and His Contemporaries

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Author: Olga A. Dekhanova
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PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Moscow, Russia.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2216-2548 

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Dekhanova, O.A. “The Characterological Functions of Untidiness in the Works of Fyodor Dostoevsky and His Contemporaries.” Dostoevsky and World Culture. Philological journal, no. 2 (18), 2022, pp. 144–174. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2022-2-144-174
Received: 15 Apr. 2022
Published: 25 June 2022
Issue: 2022 no. 2 (18)
Department: POETICS. CONTEXT
Pages: 144-174
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2022-2-144-174
EDN:

https://elibrary.ru/PUZKYN
UDK: 821.161.0+94
BBK: 83+83.3(2=411.2)+63.3
Keywords: Dostoevsky, body odors, scents of everyday life, tidiness, Leskov.
Abstract: The article is the continuation of a study on Dostoevsky’s olfactory in the cultural and historical context of the second half of the 19th century. The involvement of public consciousness in the formation of new hygienic standards led to fundamental changes in the olfactory of Russian literature. The gradual overcoming of aesthetic prohibitions made it possible to use unpleasant odors associated with human activity as an artistic detail with negative assessment. Smell rating (pleasant/ unpleasant) is a cultural phenomenon that largely depends on the historical, national, religious, and economic characteristics of a society. In addition, the assessment of smell is also one of the elements of tidiness, a historically established sign system that determines a group identity. Deviations from established cultural norms (untidiness) determine the social boundaries of society at the olfactory level as well. The smell of untidiness, to which Dostoevsky’s contemporaries actively address, consist a specific stench of unwashed body, smells of sweat, urine and other biological secretions, the smell of unclean clothes, the stinking smell of breath, including the smell of wine fumes. In addition, the use of smells inappropriate for the bodily sphere or the smells of illness for the comparative description of “smells like” forms an extensive negative metaphorical field. Dostoevsky’s use of olfactory details to define his characters follows, on the one hand, general patterns, and on the other, has a number of personal features, including his close attention to the cleanliness of the characters’ underwear. This detail is present in almost every description of appearance. Direct references to the connection between unclean underwear and unpleasant odor can be found in a very small group of descriptions, nevertheless, indications of unclean underwear and the untidy appearance of a character have olfactory properties, as they generate a sense of expected unpleasant smell. In addition, the article considers the peculiarity of the use of negative body odors in the novel The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky and in Leskov’s stories.

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