The novel
The novel is set during one of the gloomiest and most hopeless periods of Russian history, as the last young generation from several aristocratic families move from depression and shock into despair from 1914 through December 25, 1937. This complex lyrical novel is organized according to poetic and musical principles. Poetry appears: 1) as leitmotif in the form of epigraphs from the author to various sections of the novel; 2) as a component of the inner life of the characters; and 3) as a linguistic device, when the prose text becomes highly poetic. Music appears: 1) externally as part of the life of many of the characters, professional or semiprofessional musicians; 2) as a thread connecting the characters, and their inner response to music; and 3) as an organizing stylistic device in the prose-poetic text.
Poetry and music, by virtue of their intrinsic nature as forms of
art, point beyond the here and now reality toward transcendence,
toward something sacred. Asia, the central character of the novel, has
a God-given talent for music, began to compose music at the age of 18,
and at this age already provides the most profound definition of the
essence of music (which would apply equally to poetry as well):
&ellipsis; music must speak about the Divine!
(&ellipsis; muzyka dol&zhachek;na govorit&soft; o
bo&zhachek;estvennom!
). In this way the extensive use of music
and poetry in the novel organizes all the levels of its artistic
unity. In this short talk I must concentrate on only a few aspects of
the rich poetic-musical subtext of the novel, primarily in Part I,
namely the function of the epigraphs in the structure of the
novel.
Part I contains twenty-nine chapters, thirteen of which begin with epigraphs, primarily drawn from poetry of the Silver Age (Blok, Axmatova, Belyj, Bal&soft;mont, Cvetaeva, and Pasternak). Poetry and music reveal the characters' integrity and their upbringing in the high cultural traditions of the Silver Age and the moral and ethical values of the finest representatives of Tsarist Russia. Part I, in spite of the palpable descent toward the total desintegration of the old world order, ends on a definite upturn, with the idea of immortality which is stronger than the red terror.
In contrast to part I, part II does not contain a single poetic
epigraph, though poetic subtext appears occasionally when the
characters quote certain lines. The nature of the poetry quoted,
however, differs markedly from the epigraphs of part I. Part II is the
definite descending movement, the ultimate trial of the characters
which sets up the final outcome of each individual life. Immediately
following this scene part III begins with an epigraph from Blok's poem
defeated
turn in order
to overcome the most hopeless time in Russia's history, culminating in
1937?
Music and poetry (or the lack of them) play a key role in this work, leading from the sound texture to the author's central Christian message of faith and love, even to sacrificing one's own soul for another. Music and poetry help to sustain life, to overcome the total despair of the hopeless existence in the new Soviet reality, and enable the defeated to achieve eternal life.