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The Firebird and the Fox: Russian Culture under Tsars and Bolsheviks
Showcasing the genius of Russian literature, art, music, and dance over a century of turmoil, within the dynamic cultural ecosystem that shaped it, The Firebird and the Fox explores the shared traditions, mutual influences and enduring themes that recur in these art forms. The book uses two emblematic characters from Russian culture - the firebird, symbol of the transcendent power of art in defiance of circumstance and the efforts of censors to contain creativity; and the fox, usually female and representing wit, cleverness and the agency of artists and everyone who triumphs over adversity - to explore how Russian cultural life changed between 1850 and 1950. Jeffrey Brooks reveals how high culture drew on folk and popular genres, then in turn influenced an expanding commercial culture. Richly illustrated, The Firebird and the Fox assuredly and imaginatively navigates the complex terrain of this eventful century.
346 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2019
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January 30, 2025
“The single most popular historical novel in late imperial Russia was not War and Peace but a story of folkloric origins that celebrated freedom and poked fun at authority with side splitting humor (for the era). The Legend of How a Soldier Saved Peter the Great from Death appeared in multiple versions in 1843 and drew upon the deep Russian traditions and mythologies of the heroic Fool.” (p 19)
“Both Dostoevsky and Tolstoy played with the notion of absent authority and evoked a magical space in which their heroes and heroines could act freely. In Anna Karenina, (1873-1877) where authority seems always on call, Tolstoy sends his adulterous lovers abroad and beyond the reach of order. In War and Peace, Prince Andrew’s greatest moment is when he lies wounded on the battlefield and realizes the hugeness of the universe around him: he is beyond the reach of tsarist authority not only because he is behind French lines but, more importantly, because he is in the shadow of death…More poignantly, Pierre Bezukhov, the real hero of the novel, manifests all the ineptness of a Fool although he is clearly intellectually capable. . .
Dostoevsky, too, uses the tradition of the Fool to probe the nature of free will. The Brothers Karamazov begins with a familiar folklore trilogy: three brothers, two older and worldly, the youngest naive…From this folkloric foundation, Dostoevsky shifts to a fully developed and highly complex novel that far transcends the folktale…Dostoevsky evokes Holy Fools in The Idiot, a work that is two things at once: a Realist novel and a fantastic philosophical adventure.” (p 34)
“Pierre and the bear inject a patently impossible element into a historical novel. A century before the appearance of Magical Realism, Tolstoy introduced elements of it by drawing on the folkloric tradition and evoking the Fool to allow events and characters in the novel to take unexpected directions.” (p 36)
“Even before Russia’s 1861 Emancipation, Tsar Alexander II had warned of the need to free the serfs from above lest they free themselves from below. Such fears lingered.” (p 41). [not unlike the enslavers in the American south who feared uprising among their slaves]
“As the Russian critic Alexander Chudakov observes, ‘Chekov’s comic sketches always take some fragment of life, with no beginning or end, and simply offer it for inspection.’ He goes on to suggest that Chekov’s later works also often ‘follow the same pattern, beginning ’in the middle’ and ending ‘with nothing.’” (p 71)
“Chekov uses some of his innovations from the short form in his most magnificent longer fiction. ‘Lady with a Little Dog’…opens with Gurov, a calculating philanderer in Yalta, casting about for prey. His tryst with the self-possessed lady surprises them both when they discover love. The story ends with their wish free themselves from lies and unwanted ties. Chekhov leads his readers to anticipate more, and even to imagine a sequel…”. (p 71)
This is a deep, detailed dive into Russian culture as expressed through the arts. One must live and breathe this in order to appreciate this.
“Both Dostoevsky and Tolstoy played with the notion of absent authority and evoked a magical space in which their heroes and heroines could act freely. In Anna Karenina, (1873-1877) where authority seems always on call, Tolstoy sends his adulterous lovers abroad and beyond the reach of order. In War and Peace, Prince Andrew’s greatest moment is when he lies wounded on the battlefield and realizes the hugeness of the universe around him: he is beyond the reach of tsarist authority not only because he is behind French lines but, more importantly, because he is in the shadow of death…More poignantly, Pierre Bezukhov, the real hero of the novel, manifests all the ineptness of a Fool although he is clearly intellectually capable. . .
Dostoevsky, too, uses the tradition of the Fool to probe the nature of free will. The Brothers Karamazov begins with a familiar folklore trilogy: three brothers, two older and worldly, the youngest naive…From this folkloric foundation, Dostoevsky shifts to a fully developed and highly complex novel that far transcends the folktale…Dostoevsky evokes Holy Fools in The Idiot, a work that is two things at once: a Realist novel and a fantastic philosophical adventure.” (p 34)
“Pierre and the bear inject a patently impossible element into a historical novel. A century before the appearance of Magical Realism, Tolstoy introduced elements of it by drawing on the folkloric tradition and evoking the Fool to allow events and characters in the novel to take unexpected directions.” (p 36)
“Even before Russia’s 1861 Emancipation, Tsar Alexander II had warned of the need to free the serfs from above lest they free themselves from below. Such fears lingered.” (p 41). [not unlike the enslavers in the American south who feared uprising among their slaves]
“As the Russian critic Alexander Chudakov observes, ‘Chekov’s comic sketches always take some fragment of life, with no beginning or end, and simply offer it for inspection.’ He goes on to suggest that Chekov’s later works also often ‘follow the same pattern, beginning ’in the middle’ and ending ‘with nothing.’” (p 71)
“Chekov uses some of his innovations from the short form in his most magnificent longer fiction. ‘Lady with a Little Dog’…opens with Gurov, a calculating philanderer in Yalta, casting about for prey. His tryst with the self-possessed lady surprises them both when they discover love. The story ends with their wish free themselves from lies and unwanted ties. Chekhov leads his readers to anticipate more, and even to imagine a sequel…”. (p 71)
This is a deep, detailed dive into Russian culture as expressed through the arts. One must live and breathe this in order to appreciate this.
Displaying 1 of 1 review