Thesis supervisor:
Roman Voitehhovitš, University of Tartu
Opponents:
Prof. L. V. Zubova
Prof. L. Sproge
Summary:
Marina Tsvetaeva is one of the most distinguished poets of the 20th century European literature. The dissertation focusses on the book «Milestones. I» (1922) by Tsvetaeva. This collection of verses was an experiment taken in order to elaborate an individual image of "tsvetaevian Russia". It is worth mentioning that the book was published in 1922, on the eve of her emigration to the Western Europe. She lived in Germany, Czechoslovakia, and France.
Having studied the intense dialogue of Tsvetaeva's poetry with different cultures (from Scandinavian to Chinese), the researches paid almost no attention to the period of Tsvetaeva's reflection over her own national identity and the process of "invention of Russia" in her poetical works. Such realms, as folk stylization, historical narratives, political and religious motifs in the poet's works, were studied separately. The present study is apparently the first research that combines all the mentioned aspects in the framework of studying the "Russian theme" on the basis of one of Tsvetaeva's books.
In the thesis the tradition of Tartu structural and semiotic school of text analysis is followed carefully. The study shows the representation of Tsvetaeva's image of Russia in the different aspects of the structure of a poetical book.