“PSYCHIC POISONING” SYSTEM: ON “DRIVING TO MADNESS” MOTIVE IN THE NOVEL BY A. R. BELYAEV “PROFESSOR DOWELL'S HEAD”

Abstract

The article analyzes one of the motives of Alexander Romanovich Belyaev’s creative work - the motive of madness. The author considers the original interpretation of madness theme in the Soviet literature of the 1920-1930s by the example of the novel by A. R. Belyaev “Professor Dowell’s Head”: specificity of madman and madhouse image, motives of verification and simulation of mental illness, social-philosophical problem of establishing the border between sanity and madness. The special attention is paid to the motive of “driving to madness” as a complex (audial and visual) influence on characters’ mental health called “psychic poisoning”.

References

1. Беляев А. Р. Собрание сочинений: в 8-ми т. М.: Молодая гвардия, 1963. Т. 1. Остров погибших кораблей; Голова профессора Доуэля. 336 с.
2. Бочаров С. Г. Петербургское безумие // Пушкинский сборник / сост. И. Лошилов, И. Сурат. М.: Три квадрата, 2005. С. 305-327.
3. Руднев В. П. Энциклопедический словарь безумия. М.: Гнозис, 2013. 560 с.
4. Фуко М. История безумия в классическую эпоху / пер. с фр. И. К. Стаф. М.: АСТ; АСТ МОСКВА, 2010. 698 с.

Author information

About this article

Publication history

• Published: March 1, 2017.

Keywords

• А. Р. Беляев
• феномен безумия
• образ безумца
• образ сумасшедшего дома
• доведение до сумасшествия
• мотив изоляции
• A. R. Belyaev
• phenomenon of madness
• madman image
• madhouse image
• driving to madness
• isolation motive

Copyright

© 2017 The Author(s)
© 2017 Gramota Publishing, LLC

User license

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)