The Experience of Reading the Novel “Petrovs in the Flu and Around it” by Alexei Salnikov and the Poem “The Tram That Lost Its Way” by Nikolay Gumilyov

Abstract

The article is devoted to the interpretation of the novel “Petrovs in the Flu and Around It” by Alexei Salnikov, which is viewed as a travelogue novel or a transcendental journey of a soul trying to understand itself and realize the purpose of its being in this world. The author attempts to read Salnikov’s novel through the prism of Nikolay Gumilyov’s poem “The Tram Th at Lost Its Way”. When comparing the works of diff erent genres written by the poet and by the writer, the tram and trolleybus became the key symbolic images. It is these types of transport that turn out to be the mystical carriers of Gumilyov’s and Salnikov’s heroes to another world. The ballad and the novel are set in two spaces, one of which is associated with the otherworldly wanderings of the soul. The novel about the Petrovs begins with a trip in a trolleybus, where strange encounters and unexpected plot twists occur. The tram, which appeared at the beginning of the 20th century, became a characteristic sign of the times of the 1920s – 1930s; it and was refl ected many times in prose and poetry of the 20th century. The most striking embodiment of this image is Gumilyov’s ballad. In some texts (Bulgakov, Pasternak) the tram is associated with death, but in other works (Okudzhava) the lyrical image of a blue trolleybus has a diff erent meaning and belongs to a diff erent context. It is perceived as a sign of the “Th aw” era, as a place helping to overcome mental pain, and is associated with the concept of unity and mutual assistance. Comparison of the two texts allows to take a fresh look at Salnikov’s novel, although the proposed reading option is not the only possible one.

Keywords:

trolleybus, tram, flu, absurdity, ferriage, Hades