The influence of Sir Walter Scott on the first Russian historical novel

Abstract

The first Russian historical novel, Jurij Miloslavskij or the Russians in 1612, was penned by Mikhail Zagoskin in 1829. Some literary historians have come to the conclusion that Zagoskin was unduly influenced by Sir Walter Scott in his use of structures, themes and plot devices. When a structural model for the Waverley series is created and compared to the structures present in the Zagoskin novel, enormous differences become apparent. These exist at both the micro-level, where diegetic content is related to specific structures, and at the macro-level, where structural patterns can be discerned and compared. Certain similarities in the utilization of plot devices can be ascribed to the debt the historical novel owes to the epic and picaresque traditions, and to the underling applicability of game theory to each genre. While Scott and Zagoskin do deal with similar themes, these tend to become distorted as they pass through the filter of each author\u27s disparate historicism. This is especially apparent in the manner in which each author treats the theme of the supernatural. We see, thus, that incidental or coincidental plot-related similarities uncovered in a comparison are greatly overshadowed by the numerous structural and thematic dissimilarities present. Scott\u27s influence on Zagoskin was inspirational, not artistic