The visualization of characters’ appearance in A. Bely's novel “Petersburg” (formulation of the topic)

This article outlines the general patterns of introducing the elements of characters’ appearance into A. Bely’s novel “Petersburg”. The portrait details in the novel are generally analyzed from the standpoint of aesthetic and ideological peculiarities, however some general comments and conclusions presented in the works of the last decades point out the existence of certain controversies and the lack of any detailed analysis of the visual features of characters in the novel. The analysis, presented in this article, brings to light the particular features of the visualization of characters’ appearance and the functions of portrait detail in A. Bely’s novel “Petersburg”. The observations of Bely’s methods of introducing visual characteristics of characters in “Petersburg” lead to the following conclusions. For the entire text of this written work A. Bely does not refuse to portray characters’ external features, but the methods he uses to do it serve to deform and weaken the visual imagery. The construction of character images in “Petersburg” is defined by the lack of composure and thoroughness and the absence of the characterological function (the indications of the connection between external changes and internal processes), a tendency to on one hand accentuate certain body parts or facial features (eyes, back, etc.) and to highlight certain details while mixing the features of a character’s appearance and their surroundings and on the other hand introduce portrait details to inanimate objects (i.e. anthropomorphosis). Besides, it is clear that the notions and reference points that the theory of literature had offered before (the “portrait”, its function and various typologies) can only be applied to interpret the peculiarities of the “Petersburg” poetics only nominally.