DOI: 10.25136/2409-8698.2022.8.38328

Abstract: Nekrasov's work presents a certain problem for studying from the point of view of the value system expressed in it. Despite the fact that quite a large number of works were devoted to this problem in Soviet times, it does not seem to be solved. The most productive approach to solving the question of the ethical foundations of Nekrasov's poetry seems to be the reconstruction of the understanding of the connection between aesthetics and ethics, characteristic of the socio-philosophical thought of his time. Throughout the 1830s and 1850s, the Russian liberal intelligentsia turned to German classical philosophy in search of answers to the question of the place of art in the world. From the philosophy of Kant, who sharply divided ethics and aesthetics and denied the possibility of art's direct impact on the world and society, she moved on to Schelling's "system of transcendental idealism". Not satisfied with the potential "immoralism" of this system, Russian liberal thought accepted Hegel's philosophy, on the one hand, recognizing the need for the philosopher to "accept" reality, on the other – reserving the artist the right to criticize this reality as not corresponding to his "concept". In the 1850s, the thinkers of the circle of Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov made additions based on Feuerbach's philosophy, but in fact it remains unchanged. These concepts allow us to truly understand Nekrasov's axiology, to truly approach his specific "poetry of reality", combining the pursuit of aesthetic perfection, philosophical acceptance of the world in its entirety and sharp criticism of modern society.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8698.2022.6.38087

Abstract: N.A. Nekrasov's poem "The Philanthropist" (1853) remains poorly studied. Soviet literary critics paid attention primarily to the dating of the work, the prototype of its character, and the creation of a real commentary on the text. Speaking about the content of the text, researchers (both Soviet and generally post-Soviet) see the poem as a satire either on the famous writer, educator and philanthropist Prince V.F. Odoevsky, or on philanthropy, charity in general. Such an understanding of the author's idea seems superficial and incorrect, based on a priori ideas about Nekrasov's "revolutionary" views. This article proposes a new reading of the poem as describing the impossibility for a person to go beyond the class relations that permeate the entire social life of Russia in the 19th century. The comparative-historical approach, methods of generalization, interpretation were used in the study. At the same time, as the analysis given in the article shows, the very idea of charity is not questioned or denounced by Nekrasov. The conclusions of the article are confirmed by comparing the poem "Philanthropist" with the works of N.V. Gogol ("Overcoat") and F.M. Dostoevsky ("Poor People"), in which there are episodes close to the central "scene" of "Philanthropist". This comparison allows us to show in particular how original Nekrasov interprets the plot, which has become almost "archetypal" for Russian literature of the mid-19th century: the collision of a "little man" with an angry "important person".