Fyodor Sologub
Fyodor Sologub, born Fedor Kuz'mich Teternikov, was a significant Russian writer and poet, known for his contributions to symbolic literature. Raised in a modest family in St. Petersburg, he pursued higher education at the St. Petersburg Teachers Institute and later held various teaching positions for twenty-five years. Sologub gained literary prominence with his poetry collections, particularly "Stikhi" and "Teni," published in 1896, and his novel "Bad Dreams," which also debuted the same year. His writing style is marked by a subjective, decadent tone, reminiscent of contemporary French literature, with notable works like "Plamennyi krug" reflecting his disillusionment with the world.
Often employing the dual imagery of Dulcinea-Aldonsa from Cervantes' "Don Quixote," Sologub sought beauty within life's ugliness. His second novel, "The Little Demon," published in 1916, achieved success through its blend of reality and fantasy, featuring a memorable character, Peredonov, whose paranoia symbolizes a broader struggle against life’s squalor. Additionally, Sologub's theories on drama are explored in his 1908 work "Teatr odnoy voli," and his plays, such as "The Triumph of Death" and "Lyubvi," capture the intricate relationship between love and death—a recurring theme in literature. Sologub's unique perspective and stylistic innovations continue to resonate within Russian literary traditions.
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Fyodor Sologub
Writer
- Born: 1863
- Birthplace: St. Petersburg, Russia
- Died: December 5, 1927
- Place of death: Leningrad, Soviet Union (now St. Petersburg, Russia)
Biography
Fyodor Sologub, whose given name was Fedor Kuz’mich Teternikov, was the son of hardworking Russian peasants. His father was a tailor and his mother was a domestic servant in St. Petersburg. Sologub lived in St. Petersburg for most of his sixty-four years and received his higher education at the St. Petersburg Teachers Institute. Upon graduation, he briefly taught in the provinces before returning to St. Petersburg and settling there permanently. He was first a secondary school teacher and later a supervisor in the schools, where he served for twenty- five years. It was not until the publication of his Stikhi and Teni, two collections of poetry published in 1896, that he began to be recognized as a literary force. His novel, Bad Dreams, published in English in 1978, also appeared in 1896.
Sologub was one of Russia’s earliest symbolic writers. His verse is highly subjective and was considered quite decadent, reminiscent of much of the writing that was going on France at the time. Among his most celebrated collections of verse is the 1908 Plamennyi krug (circle of fire) which reflects a weariness with the ways of the world and a disdain for life. Sologub rejects a world in which wickedness, cruelty, unfairness, and ugliness predominate rather than harmony, peace, and beauty.
Among his frequently used symbols is the dual image of Dulcinea-Aldonsa taken from Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605). He uses this image to find beauty even in that which is not inherently beautiful. His poetry generally is verbally economical and classical in its meter and rhyme. His poetic expression is concise and direct.
Although his first novel, Bad Dreams, is diffuse and has so many subplots that it loses impact, his second novel, The Little Demon (1916), set in a provincial Russian town, has just the proper combination of reality and fantasy to make it succeed. Sologub’s fictional teacher, Peredonov, likely an autobiographical representation, is deeply paranoid. He cannot rise above the squalor of his life. He is a well-wrought and memorable character who gave rise to the word “peredonvshchina” (Peredonovism), which indicates a paranoid person who struggles unsuccessfully to shake off or rise above the ugliness of the real world.
Sologub’s theories of drama are articulated in his 1908 Teatr odnoy voli (theater of one will). His own plays were popular and received considerable attention in the Russian press. Most of them, including The Triumph of Death (translated in 1916), the 1907 Lyubvi (loves), and the 1912 Zalozhniki zhizni (hostages of life), deal with the interplay of love and death that has characterized a great deal of literature through the ages.