Abstract
The concept of "the Other", which is an organic part of A. Bitov's worldview, has not received enough serious coverage in the works of modern literary critics (some comments about this phenomenon can be found in the only monograph on A. Bitov written by Ellen B. Chances). The author tries to fill this gap by analyzing the features of the concept representation in the novel "Uletayuschij Monakhov". The concept of "the Other", in accordance with Zhil' Delez’s and Feliks Gvattari’s doctrine, is considered in the article in several ways: as a subject, object and "possible world". The study of the structure and semantics of the concept leads to the conclusion about the Other as a necessary condition for the understanding of the "I" by the author and the characters carrying the burden of "non-incarnation" in the novel. The nature of their relationship with the Other due to the intention not only to judge but to explore both themselves and their personality, to neutralize the fictitious nature of their own existence. The article discusses the figurative, metaphorical, symbolic and axiological components of the concept. They are presented in the images of «twins», «fraternal rhymes» and similarities, perceived by Monakhov either as «the other» or as «his». The role of the principle of specularity is emphasized. It makes it possible to produce various variants of the fate of the main character and his lovers. The analysis of the influence of the phenomenon of the Other on the process of author's self-identification is important as well. The writer's self-identity doublet is the consciousness of the character of the novel, the texts created by A. Bitov earlier, and the post-Pushkin Russian literature, which appears in «Uletayuschij Monakhov» as a series of «pale prints» and copies.
Keywords
A. Bitov, concept analysis, the other, double, twin, possible world, consciousness, identity