Reception of Imposture Phenomenon in Mikhail Bulgakov’s Work 1920s

The reception of the phenomenon of imposture in the “Moscow” stories of M. A. Bulgakov in the 1920s: “Diaboliade”, “Fatal Eggs” and “Heart of a Dog”. The relevance of studying the problem is due to the fact that reception is not a process of replication or reconstruction of the primary features of the phenomenon, but their rethinking. The study of the reception of imposture demonstrated which fragments of the primary cultural code of the phenomenon of imposture remained, and which ones were modified after actualization in the new conditions. An attempt is made to trace the evolution and complication of the image of the impostor from the “Diaboliad” and “Fatal Eggs” to the “Heart of a Dog”. Particular attention is paid to the ways of representing the phenomenon of “domestic imposture”. It is determined that “imposture” appears in two versions: forced (involuntarily) and conscious (resulting from a conscious choice of a character). The main ways of manifestation of imposture in the stories are revealed: appropriation of someone else’s / loss of one’s name or title, taking someone else’s place / position, imposing new roles, theatrical / acting behavior of the characters, “dressing up” of the characters. It is concluded that the phenomenon of imposture in satirical stories is based on a psychological “role” conflict, due to the problem of identifying a person in society. 

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