Title of the article:

ON THE “THEME GENESIS” IN SCI-FI DRAMAS BY K. ČAPEK AND A. N. TOLSTOY

Author(s):

Kseniya K. Maslova

Information about the author/authors

Kseniya K. Maslova — Applicant, The Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky avenue, 32 а, 119991 Moscow, Russia. E-mail: ksema_maslova@mail.ru

Section

Philological sciences

Year

2017

Volume

Vol. 44

Pages

Pp. 117–125

Received

January 29, 2017

Date of publication

June 15, 2017

Index UDK

821.161.1+821.162.3

Index BBK

83.3(2Рос=Рус)6+83.3(4 Чех)6

Abstract

The fact that A. N. Tolstoy literary reworked a play by the Czech writer K. Čapek is widely known in national and foreign literature. The similarity of dramas “Revolt of the machines” and “R. U. R.” was noted by contemporary critics (1920s) and by a number of later authors about Čapek and Tolstoy. However, the issue of the creative relationship of these two writers is still unresolved. New to the Soviet literature appeal to processing of the borrowed story sometimes had to face bewilderment and even accusations of plagiarism in articles and reviews of 20s. Meanwhile, the issue of the “Genesis theme” of “Revolt of the machines” was never raised, although being highly significant to the study of A. N. Tolstoy's works of 1920s. It could contribute to a more comprehensive interpretation of Tolstoy`s views in the first year up on his return to Soviet Union from emigration. This article will allow to analyze some internal and external aspects of “theme Genesis” in the plays “Revolt of the machines” by A. N. Tolstoy and “R. U. R.” by K. Čapek, thus providing more evidence that the play of the Russian writer is not a duplicate of translation and constitutes a proper work of his own written under the influence of Čapek.

Keywords

literary relations, the Czech-Russian literary relations, literary influence, fiction, Alexei Tolstoy, the Revolt of the machines of R. U. R., R. U. R., Karel Čapek, robot.

References

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