CONFLICT OF REALITY AND FANTASTIC FICTION IN THE STORY OF ALEXEY N. TOLSTOY “COUNT CALIOSTRO”

The article examines the story “Count Cagliostro” by Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy, completed during the emigration period: based on a real historical fact (the visit to Russia in 1779-1780 of the Italian adventurer Giuseppe Balsamo, who called himself Count Cagliostro), it combines reality with fantas...

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Main Author: Elena M. Kiryukhina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Science and Innovation Center Publishing House 2024-06-01
Series:Russian Studies in Culture and Society
Subjects:
Online Access:https://csjournal.ru/jour/index.php/rscs/article/view/239
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author Elena M. Kiryukhina
author_facet Elena M. Kiryukhina
author_sort Elena M. Kiryukhina
collection DOAJ
description The article examines the story “Count Cagliostro” by Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy, completed during the emigration period: based on a real historical fact (the visit to Russia in 1779-1780 of the Italian adventurer Giuseppe Balsamo, who called himself Count Cagliostro), it combines reality with fantastic fiction, and turning to works using a fantastic element is very relevant today. At first glance, the complex vicissitudes of life should have determined the preference of fantasy over reality, but in “Count Cagliostro” fantastic fiction enters into a conflicting relationship with the world of reality, proof of this thesis becomes the purpose of the article. Using problematic, comparative-contrastive, cultural-historical, chronological, and biographical methods, the author solves the goal by comparing “Count Cagliostro” with the story written at the same time – A.N. Tolstoy’s “Nikita’s Childhood” and the previously created poem by A.K. Tolstoy – “Portrait”, a simultaneous comparison of these works has not been previously made and represents the scientific novelty of the presented article. The author comes to the conclusion that in difficult times of moral searches A.N. Tolstoy does not want to hide from life’s problems in the world of a fantasy universe; the conflict between reality and fantastic fiction is resolved in favor of the triumph of real earthly love. This ability to prefer harsh reality to fairy-tale fiction will affect both the subsequent work and the life path of A.N. Tolstoy.
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spelling doaj-art-3c1340a6f9ab45fa85f8ca28398b002a2025-01-03T01:47:44ZengScience and Innovation Center Publishing HouseRussian Studies in Culture and Society2576-97822024-06-018212814410.12731/2576-9782-2024-8-2-239239CONFLICT OF REALITY AND FANTASTIC FICTION IN THE STORY OF ALEXEY N. TOLSTOY “COUNT CALIOSTRO”Elena M. Kiryukhina0Nizhny Novgorod State Agrotechnological UniversityThe article examines the story “Count Cagliostro” by Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy, completed during the emigration period: based on a real historical fact (the visit to Russia in 1779-1780 of the Italian adventurer Giuseppe Balsamo, who called himself Count Cagliostro), it combines reality with fantastic fiction, and turning to works using a fantastic element is very relevant today. At first glance, the complex vicissitudes of life should have determined the preference of fantasy over reality, but in “Count Cagliostro” fantastic fiction enters into a conflicting relationship with the world of reality, proof of this thesis becomes the purpose of the article. Using problematic, comparative-contrastive, cultural-historical, chronological, and biographical methods, the author solves the goal by comparing “Count Cagliostro” with the story written at the same time – A.N. Tolstoy’s “Nikita’s Childhood” and the previously created poem by A.K. Tolstoy – “Portrait”, a simultaneous comparison of these works has not been previously made and represents the scientific novelty of the presented article. The author comes to the conclusion that in difficult times of moral searches A.N. Tolstoy does not want to hide from life’s problems in the world of a fantasy universe; the conflict between reality and fantastic fiction is resolved in favor of the triumph of real earthly love. This ability to prefer harsh reality to fairy-tale fiction will affect both the subsequent work and the life path of A.N. Tolstoy.https://csjournal.ru/jour/index.php/rscs/article/view/239literature of russian abroadstories “count cagliostro” and “nikita’s childhood” by a.n. tolstoypoem “portrait” by a.k. tolstoyconflict between reality and fantasy
spellingShingle Elena M. Kiryukhina
CONFLICT OF REALITY AND FANTASTIC FICTION IN THE STORY OF ALEXEY N. TOLSTOY “COUNT CALIOSTRO”
Russian Studies in Culture and Society
literature of russian abroad
stories “count cagliostro” and “nikita’s childhood” by a.n. tolstoy
poem “portrait” by a.k. tolstoy
conflict between reality and fantasy
title CONFLICT OF REALITY AND FANTASTIC FICTION IN THE STORY OF ALEXEY N. TOLSTOY “COUNT CALIOSTRO”
title_full CONFLICT OF REALITY AND FANTASTIC FICTION IN THE STORY OF ALEXEY N. TOLSTOY “COUNT CALIOSTRO”
title_fullStr CONFLICT OF REALITY AND FANTASTIC FICTION IN THE STORY OF ALEXEY N. TOLSTOY “COUNT CALIOSTRO”
title_full_unstemmed CONFLICT OF REALITY AND FANTASTIC FICTION IN THE STORY OF ALEXEY N. TOLSTOY “COUNT CALIOSTRO”
title_short CONFLICT OF REALITY AND FANTASTIC FICTION IN THE STORY OF ALEXEY N. TOLSTOY “COUNT CALIOSTRO”
title_sort conflict of reality and fantastic fiction in the story of alexey n tolstoy count caliostro
topic literature of russian abroad
stories “count cagliostro” and “nikita’s childhood” by a.n. tolstoy
poem “portrait” by a.k. tolstoy
conflict between reality and fantasy
url https://csjournal.ru/jour/index.php/rscs/article/view/239
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