Specifics of “Turning Point” in G. Gazdanov’s Early Work (from “The Hotel of the Future” to “An Evening with Claire”)

The article is devoted to understanding the prose of G. Gazdanov, a representative of the “first wave” generation of young émigrés. The aim of the study is to identify changes in Gaito Gazdanov’s style from his first publication to the novel “An Evening with Claire,” which brought the writer widespread recognition in the literary circles of the Russian emigration. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that, for the first time, as a result of a comparative analysis of short stories published in 1926— 1928, stylistic and poetological changes that became pivotal for the writer’s prose have been identified. It has been established that the evolution of style and poetic devices occurred gradually — from the story “The Hotel of the Future” to the novel “An Evening with Claire,” and the “turning point” on this path is the story “The Dragon,” which represents the key features of Gazdanov’s mature prose: a clear “softening” of narrative technique; the appearance of a narrator endowed with reflective consciousness and autobiographical “details.” It has been revealed that the depiction of the hero’s total reflection is combined with the depiction of scenes from the material world; following the prose writers of the Silver Age, the writer widely uses the musical motif, directly interconnected with the motif of death; he introduces the image of a woman — a Muse. In “The Dragon,” G. Gazdanov first embodies the idea of a “second” inner existence, and also turns to the autobiographical episode of his father's death.

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