“Bequeathed life of the apple trees”in the age of social catastrophe: the estate garden in prose by L.F. Zurov

About the author

Aida G. Razumovskaya (Pskov, Russia), DSc in Philology, Professor, Department of literature, State University of Pskov.

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7289-0629

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Abstract

The article traces the image of the estate, mainly, of the estate garden throughout the entire work of L.F. Zurov: in the story “Cadet”, the novels “The Ancient Way” and “The Field”, stories from the storybook “Maryanka”. The author’s attention is focused on the crucial era of revolutions and wars, against the background of which the ambiguity of the functions of the estate garden is revealed. Despite the specificity of the descriptions, it always appears in an existential projection. On the one hand, the garden is subjected to violent destruction, and on the other, it sets off the state of mind of the heroes, proving the inextricable link of a tree and a man. The author explains the selection of trees that inhabit the garden (apple tree, linden, fir tree, alder, etc.). But the main thing is that the image of the estate garden has an ontological coloring: it combines the transitory and the eternal, the semantics of eternal life and beauty are preserved, there is hope for the revival of the lost paradise.