E. Canetti and v.v. rozanov: On the type of a protean artist

Abstract

The article argues the originality of the poetics of the Austrian writer and Nobel Prize winner Elias Canetti (1905-1994) and the Russian writer and philosopher Vasily V.Rozanov (1856-1919) on the example of the so-called "short fiction". The author adheres to the terminology proposed by the writers, namely "fallen leaves" by Rozanov and "notes" by Canetti, leaving unattended the discussion by literary critics and linguists regarding the definition of the genre under the consideration. A heterogeneous nature of creativity of both the authors and its thematic homogeneity, which is particularly evident in the analyzed genre, is pointed out. The genre under the study led to the conclusion that any topic in the interpretation by Rozanov and Canetti gets metaphysical and existential meaning. The history of the "fallen leaves" and "notes", their spontaneity and at the same time thematic integrity as well as the presence of linguistic paradoxes reveal specific nature of the imagery of the author's style which highlights the problem of the thinker's individuality. Particular attention is paid to the category of transformation that allows to reconstruct the type of the artist's protean personality and identify a number of features of Rozanov's and Canetti's poetics. © IDOSI Publications, 2013.