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Abstract: The grotesque, according to most researchers (Yu. V. Mann, D. P. Nikolaev, M. T. Ryumina, T. Yu. Dormidonova, D. V. Kozlova, and others), is actualized in literature at crisis and turning points. This is largely due to the fact that the transitional historical era actualizes transitional art forms. The 1920s became such a time of truly tectonic changes in Russian history, culture, and literature, which inspired a grotesque and ambivalent worldview and world reflection. The proponent of such ambivalence, L. N. Lunts, one of the founders of the “Serapion Brothers” group, reflected a new “inverted” world in his dramatic work, constructing a special, grotesque model of the world. Referring either to a conventional time / place of action, or transferring it to the distant past, he was certainly trying to comprehend the present. The ambivalent nature of both reality itself and its perception is most clearly manifested in the system of images of the plays, although, of course, it is reflected in all elements of the artistic system. In the tragedy “Vne zakona”, the protagonist exists in constant search of a foothold, rejecting what has just been acquired. In the finale of the play, the internal conflict reaches its peak, revealing the duality of the main character: he is both the ruler, whom the Pope crowns, and a robber, the son of a stonemason. In the meta-drama “Obez’yany idut!”, the ambivalence of actions correlates with the instability and insecurity of the world. Everything that happens on the stage has a double meaning; everyone is both an accidental participant in the action and a character in a revolutionary play with their own role. The troubadour Bertrand de Born from the tragedy by the same name tries to combine two principles – his “sword killed, and his voice revived”. However, according to a complex, grotesque logic, death does not lead to renewal, and victory means defeat. In the play “Gorod pravdy”, ambivalence is a defining feature of both conventional images of townspeople and soldiers, thus reflecting the “unpreparedness” of the world and the absence of norms.

About the author(s) :

Irina A. Babenko

North Caucasus Federal University (Stavropol, Russia)

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7380-5561

Olga K. Strashkova

North Caucasus Federal University (Stavropol, Russia)

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8740-5048

Publication Timeline:

Date of receipt: 28.01.2025; date of publication: 30.06.2025

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