Tolstoy -Lermontov "Borodino"

[William Nickell]

Hi Robert and Sasha,

Durylin did visit Yasnaya Polyana in 1909.  I thought there might be some record of his conversations with Tolstoy in Makovitskii, but alas, there is not.  The next place to check:  Durylin's sent a letter  to N. N. Gusev in which he describes his trip, passages from which were included in a letter from Gusev to Tolstoy.  The latter has likely been published.  [All of this information from Makovitskii, U Tolstogo]

Bill Nickell




On Aug 30, 2011, at 1:00 AM, Robert Chandler wrote:

> Dear Sasha,
> 
> As always, I am amazed by your encyclopedic  knowledge.  Thank you!  But can I ask you if you think that Durylin is to be trusted here?  This all seems almost too good (from a Soviet point of view!) to be true.  
> 
> Is Durylin generally reliable?  And I wonder if the book was published before or after the German invasion.
> 
> All the best,
> 
> Robert 
> 
> On 29 Aug 2011, at 22:47, Alexandra Smith wrote:
> 
>> Dear Robert,
>> 
>> The quote on Borodino comes from Durylin's book "Na putiakh k realizmu". Durylin claims that in 1909 Tolstoy told him that his novel was inspired by  Lermontov's Borodino. Durilin's book on Lermontov was published in 1941.
>> 
>> See this link:http://feb-web.ru/feb/lermont/critics/jt/jt1-163-.htm
>> Дурылин С. Н. На путях к реализму // Жизнь и творчество М. Ю. Лермонтова: Исследования и материалы: Сборник первый. — М.: ОГИЗ; Гос. изд-во худож. лит., 1941.
>> Page 186:
>> "После «Бородина», появившегося через четыре месяца после смерти Пушкина в его осиротелом журнале, стало ясно, что на смену народному поэту Пушкину пришел народный поэт Лермонтов.
>> В 1909 г. автору этих строк довелось вести беседу о Лермонтове со Львом Николаевичем Толстым.
>> — Его «Бородино», — сказал Толстой, — это зерно моей «Войны и мира».
>> Это замечательные слова.
>> Они указывают истинное место «Бородина» в русской литературе: это целая народная эпопея в простом реалистическом рассказе, и самый этот рассказ есть торжество народности и реализма в русской литературе."
>> 
>> All best,
>> Sasha Smith
>> 
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>> -- --------------------------------------
>> Alexandra Smith (PhD, University of London)
>> Reader in Russian Studies
>> Department of European Languages and Cultures
>> School of  Languages, Literatures and Cultures
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>> 
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>> e-mail: Alexandra.Smith at ed.ac.uk
>> 
>> 
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> 
> 
> 
> Robert Chandler, 42 Milson Road, London, W14 OLD
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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