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A.M. Gorky Institute
of World Literature
of the Russian Academy of Sciences

IWL RAS Publishing

A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature
of the Russian Academy of Sciences

 IWL RAS

Povarskaya 25a, 121069 Moscow, Russia

8-495-690-05-61

edition@imli.ru

iwl.ras.publishing@gmail.com

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  • Classification – name: Literary studies
  • Author: Lola Debüser
  • Pages: 173–183
  • Publisher: A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IWL RAS Publ.)
  • Rights – description: Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 (СС BY-ND)
  • Rights – URL: Visit Website
  • Language of the publication: Russian
  • Type of document: Research Article
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.22455/978-5-9208-0745-8-173-183
  • EDN:

    https://elibrary.ru/AHSHHM

  • Year of publication: 2024
  • Place of publication: Moscow
  • PDF

  • Debjuzer, L. “ʽHappy Moscow’ in the World and Cultural Area: Transformation of Faustian Intentions into Mephistophelian Reality.” “Strana filosofov” Andreia Platonova: рroblemy tvorchestva [ Andrey Platonov’s “Country of Philosophers”: Unanswered Questions], vol. 9, ed. by N.V. Kornienko, comp. M.V. Osipenko. Moscow, IWL RAS Publ., 2024, pp. 173–183. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/978-5-9208-0745-8-173-183

Information about the author: 

Lola Debüser, DSc in Philology, 10 Weseler Str., 10318 Berlin, Germany. 

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Abstract: The article is devoted to considering Platonov’s novel “Happy Moscow” against the background of Faustian images and motifs in literature. In “Happy Moscow,” the central images of the characters live their “highest moment” at the Komsomol ball. Chesnov’s Moscow, as a symbolic image of the era, conquers men’s hearts at the ball. The engineer Sartorius shows that his contemporaries are witnesses of the “highest moment” in the history of humanity in the parable he composed: he demonstrates the exit from the darkness of the historical labyrinth into the light of nature. Others develop similar ideas, indicating complete ignorance and dependence on the pact with the Mephistopheles of his era, who see themselves both as Faust and Peter I. Platonov shows the “Walpurgis Night” of Stalinism using references to Goethe’s “Faust,” Pushkin’s “The Bronze Horseman,” Dostoevsky’s parables, Stalin’s speeches and slogans. 

  • Keywords: Andrey Platonov, “Happy Moscow,” “Faust,” Goethe.

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