THE NEW WORLD AFTER THE FLOOD. THE RAIN MOTIF IN THE NOVEL LAME FATE BY ARKADIJ AND BORIS STRUGACKIJ: PROPOSAL FOR AN ECOCRITICAL ANALYSIS

Giulia  Baselica

doi:10.21618/fil2531056b

Autor/innen

Giulia Baselica Università degli Studi di Torino Dipartimento di Lingue e Letterature straniere e Culture moderne

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21618/fil2531056b

Schlagworte:

Soviet literature, Soviet science fiction, Strugackij, Lame Fate, rain

Abstract

In Lame Fate (Chromaja sud’ba), a novel by Arkadij and Boris Strugackij written between 1965 and 1966, a secondary narrative—a novel within a novel—unfolds alongside the main storyline. This embedded narrative, titled Ugly Swans (Gadkie lebedi), was initially rejected by censors due to its political undertones but was later published in a Latvian magazine in 1987 under the title The Rainy Season (Vremja doždja). Set in an unnamed town subjected to relentless rainfall, Ugly Swans explores the catastrophic consequences of a great flood, which is widely attributed to the actions of the mokrecy (clammies), mysterious beings confined to a leper colony. The incessant rain is primarily perceived as a manifestation of divine retribution. Notably, only children remain unaffected by its destructive force, instead experiencing the rain as a natural, protective, and nurturing element. The rain, depicted as both a tangible and symbolic menace, ultimately compels the adult population to abandon the city. In doing so, it cleanses the accumulated corruption of civilization, eradicating any remnants of the old world. However, after the deluge subsides, a new era emerges—one bathed in sunlight, signifying renewal and the birth of a new world. This paper aims to examine the motif of rain in Lame Fate through an ecocritical lens, identifying not only its fundamental thematic implications but also the broader environmental consciousness evident throughout the Strugackij brothers’ body of work. By contextualizing the rain motif within the novel, this study seeks to illuminate its significance within the Authors’ broader philosophical and literary vision.

Literaturhinweise

Antonioli, M. (2017) What is Ecosophy. In Boundas C. V. (ed.), Schizoanalysis and Ecosophy. London-New York, Bloomsbury, pp. 74–86.

Bateson, G. (2000) Ecology and Flexibility in Urban Civilization. In Bateson G., Steps to an Ecology of Mind. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, pp. 502–513.

Buell, L. (2005) The Future of Environmental Crisis and Literary Imagination. Hoboken, Wiley-Blackwell publishing.

Burcev. G., Kazakov, A. (2020) Intertekstual’nyj kontekst recepcii, R. D. Brėdberi v tvorčestve brat’ev A. N. i B. N. Strugackij (Literaturnaja tradicija F. M. Dostoevskogo i F. Kafki). Nauka o čeloveke: gumanitarnye issledovanija. 1 (39), 19–29.

Čerkinskij, S. (1967) Razvitie naučnych osnov standartizacii kačestva pit’evoj vody v SSSR. Gigiena i sanitarija. 6, 28–34.

Chevalier, J. & Gheerbrant, A. (1996) The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols. London, Penguin Books.

Clark, T. (2019) The Value of Ecocriticism. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Daemmrich, H. S. (1985) Themes and Motifs in Literature. Approaches Trends Definition. The German Quarterly. 5 (4), 566–575.

Duckert, L. (2017) For all Waters. Finding ourselves in Early Modern Wetscapes. Minneapolis, London, University of Minnesota Press.

Farrell, A. J. (2022) Ecosophy and Educational Research for the Anthropocene. New York, London, Routledge.

Fitting, P. (2010) Utopia, dystopia and science fiction. In Claeys G. (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Utopian Literature. Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Saõ Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo, Mexico City, Cambridge University Press, pp. 135–153.

Genesis 2–9. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%202&version=NIV (ultimo accesso 26/11/2024).

Genesis 6–9. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%206&version=NIV (ultimo accesso 26/11/2024).

Glotfelty, C. & Fromm, H. (1996). Introduction. In Glotfelty C., Fromm H. (eds.), The Ecocriticism Reader. Landmarks in Literary Ecology. Athens and London, The University of Georgia Press, pp. XV–XXXVII.

Greg, G. (2004) Ecocriticism. London and New York, Routledge.

Guattari, F. (2000) The Three Ecologies (transl. by Pindor I., Sutton P.). London, The Athlone Press.

Jameson, F. (1982) Progress versus utopia. Science Fiction Studies. 9 (2), 147–158.

Kaspė, I. (2018) V sojuze s utopiej. Smyslovye rubeži pozdnesovetskoj kul’tury. Moskva, Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie.

Komarov, B. (1978) Uničtoženie prirody. Obostrenie ėkologičeskogo krizisa v SSSR. Frankfurt /Main, Posev.

Kuznecova, A. (2009) Strugackie i kritika. Recepcija tvorčestva brat’ev Strugackich v kritike i literaturovedenii: 1950-1990-e gg. Moskva, Lipeck.

Lauesen, L. M. (2013) Natural Environment. In Idowu S. O., Capaldi, N., Zu, L. & Das Gupta, A. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility. Heidelberg, New York, Dordrecht, London, Springer.

Malvestio, M. (2022) Theorizing Eco-Dystopia: Science Fiction, the Anthropocene, and the Limits of Catastrophic Imagery. CPCL. European Journal of Creative Practices in Cities and Landscapes. 5 (1), 25–38.

Obertrajs, Ju. (2019) Voda v XX stoletii: transformacija landšafta i čeloveka v sovetskom sojuze, Germanii, Evrope i SŠA. Vestnik Surgutskogo pedagogičeskogo universiteta. 6, 39–51.

Oppermann, S. (2023) Blue Humanities. Storied Waterscapes in the Anthropocene. Cambridge, New York, Port Melbourne, New Delhi, Cambridge University Press.

Putra, A. J. (2016) Climate Change in Literature and Literary Studies: from cli-fi, climate change theater and ecopoetry to ecocriticism and climate change criticism. WIREs, Clim Change. 7, 266–282.

Serbinenko, V. (1989) Tri veka skitanii v mire utopii. Čitaja brat’ev Strugackich. Novyj mir. 5, 242–255.

Strugackij, A., B. (1989) Chromaja sud’ba, Moskva, Naslednik Strugackich, Avtor. Strugatsky, A., B. (2020) Lame fate. Ugly swans (transl. by Vinokour M.). Chicago, Chicago Review Press.

Suvin, D. (1988) Positions and Propositions in Science-Fiction. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire and London, Macmillan Press.

Svitenko, N. (2021) “Gadkie lebedi”: cennostnye orientacii podrostkov v odnoimennoj povesti A. i B. Strugackich. Yakovlev Chuvash State Pedagogical University Bulletin/Vestnik ČPGU imeni I. Ja Jakovleva. 4 (113), 64–70.

Thompson, D. (1996) The end of Time, Faith, Fear in the Shadow of the Millenium, Hannnover and London, University Press of New England.

Timothy, C. (2019) The Value of Ecocriticism. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Tomaševskij, B. (1925) Teorija literatury. Leningrad, Gosudarstvennoe izdatel’stvo.

Weiner, D. R. (1999) A little Corner of Freedom. Russian Nature Protection from Stalin to Gorbachёv. Berkley, Los Angeles, London, University of California Press.

Weiner, D. R. (2000) Models of Nature. Ecology, Conservation and Cultural Revolution in Soviet Russia. Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press.

Žolkovskij, A., Ščeglov Ju. (1996) Raboty po poėtike vyrazitel’nosti: Invarianty Tema Priemy Tekst. Moskva, Progress.