The specificity of the incarnation of tradition family chronicles in the novel A. Ivanov's “The eternal call”

The article is concentrates on the peculiarities of refracting the traditions of family novel in A. Ivanov’s “The Eternal Call”. In particular, we investigate the transformation of a family novel into a family chronicle using the comparative historical method and the method of integral analysis of a literary work. “The Eternal Call” is considered within the context of family chronicles of the 1950-1970s; parallels with the novels by A.M. Gorky, M. Sholokhov, and F. Abramov are traced. It is established that, unlike family novels of the 19th - early 20th centuries characterized by such elements as confessionalism, intimacy, and the framework limited to the history of one family, in A. Ivanov’s novel the genre limitations are expanded to a family chronicle. Secondly, unlike social realism novels, “The Eternal Call” was focused on A.M. Gorky’s tradition, having synthesized the elements of a family chronicle, a socio-psychological novel and a philosophical novel. The importance of chronotopical image of home, as well as the motive of the salvation of the kin are highlighted. In A. Ivanov’s novel the guidelines for the protagonists choosing the course of life are not only social and historical events, but personal morality and kin morality, as well as moral values of the family. The writer is attentive to the pedigree and childhood of his characters, he focuses on the social and historical component of their destinies. The theme of genealogy allows A. Ivanov to trace the historical and social predetermination of such character traits as emotional and spiritual ones. In the novel “The Eternal Call”, the story of the Saveliev family, marked by conflicts, a break in ties, becomes a reflection of the history of the country and the ethnos in general, the family in the “big” history remains the dominant category.