"A christmas tree and a wedding" by F. M. Dostoevsky: a synthesis of the genre traditions

Abstract

The article discusses the story of F.M. Dostoevsky "A Christmas Tree and a Wedding (From the notes of the unknown)" (1848) in the light of the genre traditions. The authors make a conclusion that the story is an artistic structure which is formed by the interaction between two genre traditions: story-feuilleton and Christmas story. It is argued that the pathos of the story "A Christmas Tree and a Wedding" consists in showing the general confusion of the Russian life, the disastrous impact of the environment on the soul and mind of the child through a specific and seemingly private event. To implement this task, Dostoevsky refers to the elements of the genre of the story-feuilleton. At the same time, the writer in his sharply-evaluative image of the vicious adult world tries to show its distorting effects on the world of children with their original purity and naturalness. The author's view of Dostoevsky, expressed in the form of the "unknown" author's "notes", is the assertion of the inviolability of the basics of the Christian life. This is due to the tradition of the Christmas story to render the story a timeless philosophical meaning. The theme of childhood will open up further in the works of the writer via close relationship between the social and philosophical aspects of the images.