The role and functions of aviation discourse in E. Vodolazkin's novel "Aviator"

The subject of the study is the functions of aviation discourse in E. Vodolazkin's novel "Aviator." The focus is on the semiotic role of elements of aviation discourse presented in the text, their connection to the pre-revolutionary myth of the "hero-divine being," as well as to Soviet state narratives represented in the text through the introduction of the camp theme. The analysis examines how the iconic figure of the aviator, significant in 20th-century Russian culture, is transformed in the novel through the antithesis of "non-subjectivity – subjectivity." The transformation of the character from a child-player to a metaphysical hero is demonstrated. It shows how the symbolic content of the flight plot evolves throughout the novel: from play, dream, and creativity, overcoming boundaries, to achieving wholeness in existence, to death and returning to a state before sin. The connection between the elements of aviation discourse represented in the novel and those of the earlier stages of this discourse is articulated. It concludes that the absence of direct references to Soviet aviation discourse plays an important role. The methodology relies on a comprehensive approach that employs structural-typological, intertextual methods, and mythopoetic analysis, alongside justifying the legitimacy of the discursive optics in literary studies. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that the article systematically examines the role of aviation discourse in contemporary Russian literature on the material of the novel "Aviator" for the first time. It is proven that the aviation discourse in the novel refers to the myth of the aviator relevant in early 20th-century literature and directs the reader to traditional topos of Russian literature (memory, repentance, freedom); the culturally-historical context associated with it allows for the description of the concept of social transformations occurring in Russia throughout the 20th century as presented in the novel. The functions of aviation discourse in the novel fundamentally differ from those of Soviet aviation discourse, which is closely linked to state narratives; this is its essential difference, represented at the level of constructing the elements of this discourse (the image of the aviator, the plot situation of flight, the image of the airplane)

Antithesis · Aviation · Discourse analysis · HERO · Legitimacy · Mythology · Narrative · Semiotics · Discourse Analysis and Cultural Communication · Education, Literature, Philosophy Research · Psycholinguistics and Behavioral Studies

• On a Borderline between Fact and Fiction. Literary Output of Eugene Vodolazkin

  Open Access•Lenka Odehnalová•Przeglad Rusycystyczny•2024

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