Mathematics as the Principle of Artistic Thinking: On the Question of Correspondences between the Novels Petersburg by A. Bely and We by E. Zamyatin
https://doi.org/10.18384/2949-5008-2024-2-83-93
Abstract
Aim. To find correspondences in the mathematical and literary ideas of the two authors and to understand how mathematical algorithms are embodied in the structure of their novels.
Methodology. By means of employing various modes of analysis (hermeneutical, comparative, and cultural-historical methods), it is shown that in the novels Petersburg and We mathematics, both algebra and geometry, determines the way the authors and their characters perceive the world, and, as a consequence, special attention is paid to mathematics in the context of considering the psychology and even physiology of the characters.
Results. The analysis shows that mathematics determines Zamyatin’s way of conducting dialogue with Bely, whose novel undoubtedly influenced the thinking of the writer of We.
Research implications. The significance of mathematics in the prose of Bely and Zamyatin is proved, and on this basis the peculiarities of the artistic thinking of each writer are characterized. The further study of their work in the proposed direction will help reveal the philosophical meaning of the works , to deepen understanding of the specifics of the psychologism of the two authors.
About the Author
Zhang Linlin
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Linlin Zhang– Postgraduate Student , Department of History of Modern Russian Literature and Contemporary Literary Process, Faculty of Philology
Leninskye Gory 1, Moscow 119991
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