The Visible and the Invisible Petersburg

Russian Literature VII(1979) 465-490 @North-Holland Publishing Company

THE VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE PETERSBURG

LUBOMfR DOLEEEL

In his novel Peterburg Andrej Belyj created a proto- type of the modern narrative text in Russian literature. The most obvious feature of this text is its fragmen- tariness. As a sequence of discontinuous, semantically independent fragments, the modern narrative text seemingly abandons the principles of semantic macrocoherence, as manifested especially in a coherent story. In fact, however, semantic macrocoherence is not discarded but only hidden; the story is given as a "secret" to be revealed in an active process of interpretation.' This means, specifically, that the interpreter has to con- struct a general hypothesis about the text's macro- structure. Needless to say, fragmentary texts open the possibility of proposing a great variety of macrostruc- tural hypotheses. The validity and acceptability of a particular hypothesis depends on its logical cohesion and on its confirmation by a close analysis of the text; careful attention to seemingly insignificant details is an important part of the confirmation procedure.

Our general hypothesis about the semantic macro- structure of Peterburg will be formulated in terms of narrative worZds. We shall try to show that a definite and well ordered system of narrative worlds can be pro- posed as the semantic base of Peterburg and that a coherent story can be derived from this system.'

1. THE SYSTEM OF NARRATIVE WORLDS.

It is well known that the city of Petersburg is much more than the locale of the novel; it provides the semantic material which is used in the construction of narrative worlds. Already in the "Prologue" one fundamental feature of this material is stated: the very

Lubomir DoZezeZ

existence of the city of Petersburg depends on its being the capital of the Russian empire:

I f Petersburg is not the capital, then there is no Petersburg. Then its existence is mere appearance.

[Esli ge Peterburg ne stolica, to - net Peterburga. ho tol'ko kazetsja, Eta on sdEestvuet.1

(2) 3

Developing this idea, Belyj links the existence of the visible city to the "invisible point" at its centre. Thus, at the very beginning of the text, the fundamental opposition in the semantic base of the novel is introduced: the opposition between the vi.sibZe and the invisible narrative worlds. What follows is a text which develops this duality by making it more complex and more specific.

The first complication arises from the introduction of an antagonism which splits both the visible and the invisible worlds into mutually hostile subworlds. In the visible world, the antagonistic subworlds are those of the city centre ("the prospects") and of the islands. Divided by the sharp boundary of the river, the prospects and the islands are much more than distinct geographical units; they are - as the text explicitly states - "mutually alien worlds" (13). In the invisible world, the antagonistic split generates the subworlds of the governing power ("the government") and of the anti-govemment,revolutionary force ("the party"). The link between the visible and the invisible subworlds is provided by a correlation: the prospects are correlated with the government, the islands with the revolutionary party.

Each narrative world is represented by a set of narrative agents. Later we shall have more to say about the descriptions and the roles of these agents. Here, let us just note that the visible world of the prospects is represented primarily by Senator Ableuchov,4 whereas the world of the islands is represented by a few secondary characters (such as Matvej Moriov) and, especially, by the group agent of the "masses". The agents of the invisible worlds remain - by necessity - anonymous. This is especially true about the highest officials of the government; the "leaders" of the party are given names, but never individualized by specific description.

We have mentioned that the antagonistic subworlds of the prospects and of the islands are separated by-the river; however, they also have to be linked, since, on a

The Visible and the Invisible Petersburg 467

higher plane, they form one (the visible) narrative world. The link is provided by the bridges spanning the "mutually alien worlds". The mediating role of the bridges provides a clue to the structural position of the main agent of the visible world, Nikolaj Appolono- viE Ableuchov. Let us note, that some of the most important events in Nikolaj's life history take place on a bridge: his suicide attempt, his decision to give a promise to the party, one of his appearances as the red domino; moreover, Nikolaj has twice crossed the bridge, coming into direct contact with the world of the islands. Thus, Nikolaj emerges as a "split" individual acting (and failing) in both antagonistic subworlds.

The two-dimensional opposition, just described, de- fines the core worlds of Peterburg. This core is expanded by the introduction of a structurally intermediate world which shall be called the worZd of shadows. Due to its intermediate position between the visible and the invisible worlds, the world of shadows is semantically unstable. Its agents, acting in a twilight zone, are subject to a recurrent semantic transformation: shadow + human + shadow . . .

The structure of the world of shadows is dominated by the same antagonism which has been described in the case of the visible and the invisible worlds. This is due to the fact that the agents of the world of shadows are "emissaries" of the antagonistic invisible subworlds: the government acts through the "legal" underground (secret police), the party through its underground conspirators (Dudkin). At the same time, however, the world of shadows displays a specific structural feature which plays a crucial role in the generation of the story of Peterburg: the antagonistic opposition is "neutralized" by the introduction of agents who are related to both poles of the invisible world. Clearly, the introduction of these double agents (agents-provocateurs) is made possible by the specific conditions of acting in the world of shadows. However, their narrative role transcends this original motivation: the presence of the agents-provocateurs brings into the world of shadows an absolute confusion which is the basis of the main intrigue. Moreover, the confusion creates an atmosphere of irrationality in the world of shadows, thus motivating the introduction of the "fourth dimension" of Peterburg, the world of the supernatural.

All the worlds of Peterburg which have been dealt with up to now belong to one general category - the natural world. The supernatura2 world is generated by

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the introduction of events and agents that are impossible in the natural world (see Doleiel, 1976a). The agents of the supernatural world are the well known phantoms of Peterburg whose role and specific status will be discussed later (sect-l). By the introduction of the supernatural world, the system of narrative worlds in Peterburg is completed.

The system is given a summarizing representation in Scheme 1. The most abstract opposition within the system is that between the natural and the supernatural worlds. As will be seen later, this opposition does not play a major role in the generation of the story; rather, it provides a source fox its ideological interpretations. The story itself is located in the natural world, being generated as a conflict between the antagonistic subworlds. Not surprisingly, major roles in the conflict will be assigned to Nikolaj and to the agents-provocateurs; their mediating position in the system of narrative worlds offers the highest dynamic potentials.

2. THE FORMATION OF NARRATIVE WORLDS.

We have set up the system of narrative worlds in Peterburg as a preliminary hypothesis about the macrocoherence of the novel;however, the concept of narrative world remained vague. Now, we shall try to make this concept more explicit.

Narrative world is a set of motifs defined by a general formative property. Since narrative motifs are specified on two levels of description - (semantic) structure and texture5 - the formative properties of motif sets can be either semantic or textural.

In the system of natural worlds of Peterburg, both textural and semantic formative properties are at work. The primary worlds - the visible world, the invisible world and the world of,shadows - are formed on the level of texture; they are constructed by sets of motifs which share some common property of texture. On the other hand, the secondary worlds (prospects - islands, secret police - revolutionaries, government - party) are formed by semantic features; the agents of these worlds are assigned contrastive semantic markers ("living on the prospects" - "living on the islands", "suppressing the revolt" - "revolting", "controlling" - "controlled").

The formation of the primary worlds is of particular interest and, therefore, will be dealt with in some detail. For this investigation, the primary

470 Lubomir DoZeHe

worlds will be arranged in an order which will facili- tate the understanding of their specific textual features.

A. The invisible world.

The invisible world is a set of motifs which share the general property of implicitness. Or, to speak somewhat simplistically, the invisible world is a set of implicit motifs. Obviously, implicitness is not a semantic property; a motif is implicit only due to special manipulation of its texture.

Implicit motifs have to satisfy two requirements: a. they must not be explicitly expressed in the text; b. they must be recoverable from the text. The seeming contradiction of these requirements is re- solved by the introduction of semantically defective or indefinite motifs - hints or allusions - which serve as vehicles of the implicit motifs. Specifically, the semantic imcompleteness or indefiniteness of an allusion triggers - in the process of its semantic interpretation - the recall of its presuppositions.6 It is these presuppositions of the indefinite (but explicit) motifs which represent the latent texture of implicit motifs. In other words, implicit motifs are not expressed in the text but are necessarily deduced from its texture. If the technique of allusion is applied systematically to a certain set of motifs, these motifs will form an invisible world. The invisible world is never described in the text; it is, however, present in the semantic structure of the text as a set of acti- vated presuppositions.

As we know, the invisible world of Peterburg is split into the antagonistic subworlds of the govern-. ment and of the party. Let us use some examples to dem- onstrate the formation of these invisible subworlds.

The first hint at the invisible world of government is given already on p.5: we are told that various pro- posals of Senator Ableuchov's adversaries are rejected "iy2 the proper place" ["tam, gde sleduet"]. This semantically indefinite motif presupposes that there exists a certain place (or institution) which has the ultimate power of decision. This site of ultimate power is never described explicitly, it remains "hidden" throughout the text. However, it makes its existence felt at several decisive moments. One of these moments is expressed by the following motif:

The name of Apollon Apollonoviz Ableuchov was peremptorily stricken from the list of candidates

The visible and the Invisible Petersburg 471

for a very important post.

[Apollon Apollonoviz Ableuchov by1 regitel'no vyzerknut iz kandidatskogo spiska na iskljuzi- tel'noj vagnosti otvetstvennyj post.]

(385) This motif is made semantically indefinite by the pass- ive phrase which deletes the name of the agent who caused the removal. But the existence of such an agent must be presupposed; again, it is, apparently, the highest representative of the governing power.

Not only the site of the ultimate power (and its agents), but other institutions of the government also remain implicit, and, therefore, invisible. Pondering the possibility of putting Dudkin under police surveillance, Apollon ApollonoviE knows that he would communicate his request (by telephone) "to the proper pZace" ("kuda sleduet"). Again, this indefinite description (equivalent to the first example) presupposes the existence of a place (institution) which is charged with the surveillance of suspicious individuals. In this case, the institution is named elsewhere in the text (N.N. Department, Security Section - "ochrannoe otdelenie") but these names are mere confirmation of its existence. Nowhere in the text is this government institution given a specific description, thus remaining within the boundaries of the invisible world.

Similar procedures of texture manipulation, result- ing in the introduction of implicit motifs, are applied in the formation of the invisible world of the party. The first allusion to the existence of this invisible world is given in Dudkin's statement:

They tell me that I am not I, but some kind of 'we'

[a mne govorjat, budto ja - ne ja, a kakie-to lrnyl] (86) .

The agents of the quoted speech act are made indefinite by the texture (pronouns instead of names), but it is presupposed t-hat they exist. Later on, three names are mentioned (229, 235) (ButizEenko, sigiganov, PeppoviE), and one of these names recurs in LippanEen- ko's statement:

Both Peppoviz, and Pepp have been already arrested

[IPeppoviE, i Pepp uZe arestovany] (322),

the implication being that these names represent im-

472 Lubomir DolezeZ

portant members of the party leadership (or, at least, of a party cell which, by the way, is referred to as "T...T...", an indefinite name similar to that of the N.N. department).

Once the narrative existence of the invisible party is established, the text provides occasional allusions from which further information about the party can be deduced. Thus, for example, from the motif that Varva- ra Petrovna (presumably a member or, at least, a fel- low-traveller of the party) brought Sof'ja Petrovna books of Karl Marx, we deduce that tne party is Marx- ist. From the motif

Aleksandr Ivanoviz was never a member of the Committee

[v Komitete ze Aleksandr Ivanoviz ne sostojal nikogda] (288),

we deduce that the party has an organizational centre. From the motif of a Frenchman's visit to LippanEenko and from the stay of the "Young Persian" at LippanEen- ko's house (302 ff.), we can deduce that the party has international connections, etc. Since the motifs of the party are consistently implicit, and no explicit description of its activities or its leading agents is given, the world of the party remains as invisible as the world of the government.

The implicit character of the invisible world explains the fact, already mentioned, that its agents are not individualized. In spite of the mention of a few names, we cannot speak about distinct individuals - agents making decisions, giving orders or instructions, etc. Clearly, Belyj's invisible world is a representation of anonymous social forces constantly present in the background of the narrated actions but exercising their narrative functions only by "proxies".

B. The world of shadows.

Whereas the formation of the invisible world requires a closely controlled manipulation of texture, the formation of the world of shadows is accomplished by a relatively simple transposition: human + shadow. Let us first note that the narrator of Peterburg explicitly formulates this operation, assigning it, as a basic property, to the city of Petersburg:

The streets of Petersburg possess one indubitable quality: they transform passers-by into shadows; and they transform shadows into people.

[Peterburgskie ulicy obladajut nesomnennejgim


svojstvom: prevragEajut v teni prochogich; teni ge peterburgskie ulicy prevraE;ajut v ljudej.]

(3.2) In this formulation, the device is "laid bare".

In the typical case, the expression "shadow" [ten'] (or its synonym "silhouette") substitutes for the

proper or common name of the agent. The transposition (metaphorical, rather than metonymic) becomes formative procedure of a narrative world by being recurrently and consistently applied to a specific set of agents. The scope of the procedure can be described quite definitely: The name of "shadow" is given only to those characters who function in some form of dis- guise. Leading the life of false existence in the visible world, they conduct their narratively significant activities in the form of shadows. Specifically, the transposition is regularly applied to the descriptions of the "underground" Morkovin.7

agents Dudkin, Lippanzenko and

Dudkin emerges from the islands (the source of shadows!) as "Uncatchable, Invisible" (15) to turn immediately into "a bluish .shadow" ["sinevataja ten"'] (17). He himself traces his transformation into a

shadow back to the time when - after escaping from exile - he began his false ("underground") existence:

My own person, the person of Aleksandr Ivanoviz has become an accessory of my own shadow. Everybody knows the shadow of the Uncatchable; but nobody knows myself, Aleksandr Ivanoviz Dudkin.

[liEnost' moja, Aleksandra IvanoviEa, prevratilas' v pridatok sobstvennoj teni. Ten' Neulovimogo - znajut; menja - Aleksandra Ivanoviza Dudkina, znat' ne znaet nikto.]

(97).

LippanEenko and Morkovin enter the text as "two silhouettes"; it is impossible to recognize their faces, since "silhouettes have no faces" ["(silusty lit ne imejut)"] (33). At the end of the scene, the expression "silhouette" is replaced by the synonymous "shadow":

The two shadows slowly drifted into the foul mist. Soon the shadow of the burly man <...> re-emerged from the fog. It glanced absentrmindedly at the spire of the Peter and Paul Church. And it entered the small restaurant.

[Dve teni medlenno utekali v promozgluju mut'. Skoro

474 Lubomir Dole?ieZ

ten' tolstjaka <...> pokazalas' opjat' iz tumana, posmotrela rassejanno na petropavlovskij gpic. I vogla v restoranzik.] (34)

Note that in the Russian original, all predicates pre- serve the feminine gender (referring to the feminine Ilten'") , although the last two predicates could pos- sibly shift to the masculine gender, if "the burly man" were taken as the semantic core of the nominal phrase.

The pair of silhouettes re-emerges in the part of the novel which is significantly entitled "Shadows" ("Teni") (138-140); they are involved in a revealing conversation. But again the speakers are given no proper names; moreover, in this case, no description reveals their identity:

A shadow spoke to another shadow [Govorila ten' teni] (138)

The last example indicates that the motifs of the world of shadows are characterized - to a certain de- gree - by indefinite texture. Clearly, this device links the world of shadows to the invisible world. Throughout the first chapter of the novel, Dudkin remains IIa stranger", "a mysterious stranger"; Lippan- Eenko is referred to as "a person", "a certain person". The proper names of these agents (definitivization) appear only later in the text, marking the emergence of these agents from the world of shadows into the visible world. But since these proper names are false, no definite identification of the agents is possible.

It is important to note that the world of shadows is not exhausted by these prominent agents. In the streets of Petersburg, there appear recurrently mysterious agents whose only description is the indefinite metonymy "the bowler", often expanded into "a bowler, a cane, a greatcoat, a nose". The association of these agents with the world of shadows is made explicit in the description of the meeting between Niko- laj Apollonovi.5 and Morkovin:

Nikolaj Apollonoviz kept his eyes fastened on the play along the wall of the black-bowler shadow, the dark eternal shadow.

[Nikolaj ApollonoviE sledil, vse sledil za probegom po stenam tenevogo zernogo kotelka, vekovoj temnoj teni.] (227)

The mysterious agent named "bowler" is the eternal dark shadow of the secret police hovering over the


city of Petersburg. We have already mentioned that in the world of

shadows the opposition between the antagonistic subworlds (government - revolution) is "neutralized" by the introduction of agents-provocateurs. Now we can add that the "neutralization" is based on the impossi- bility of clearly identifying the individuals of this world ("shadows have no faces"). We shall see that one of these double-faced individuals, LippanEenko, is assigned a majos role in the story structure of Peter- burg. However, the fusion and confusion in the world of shadows is made most explicit and achieves a level of absurdity in the minor figure of Pave1 JakovleviE Morkovin. In his conversation with Nikolaj ApollonoviE, he claims to be "an ardent terrorist" (2351, at the same time admitting that he serves in the secretpolice ["ochranka"] (236). He then gives the following expla- nation of his role:

'I've been assigned to the secret police by the party'.

['V ochrannoe-5 otdelenie japristavlenotpartii'] (237).

A secret agent who penetrates the party and, at the same time, claims to be an agent of the party in the secret police! The irrationality of the world of shadows cannot be given a more appropriate manifestation.

In the world of shadows there is no possibility to confirm or to disprove Morkovin's statement. The face- less individual cannot be identified as double-faced. This is the reason why Morkovin's trick works with Ni- kolaj ApollonoviE. This is the reason why LippanEenko can play a similar trick on Dudkin. When Dudkin starts suspecting LippanEenko, LippanEenko counters by accusing Nikolaj ApollonoviE of being a double agent (3211, thus throwing Dudkin into complete confusion.

We have noted .that the invisible worlds of the government and the party can conduct their activities only by "proxies"; now, we can further specify by say- ing that these "proxies" assume the form of agent- shadows. Thus, there is no substantial difference between the government and the party in their modus operandi: these invisible forces operate underground, in the world of shadows. The most instructive proof of this statement is given by the fact that even the visible branch of government [UErezdenie]

- Ableuchov's Bureau - conducts its activities in the world of

shadows. In keeping with the texture of the world of

476 Lubom-dr DoZeseZ

shadows, the functions of the Bureau in the system of government remain indefinite. Thus, for example, Able- uchov's "momentous memorandum" ["otvetstvennoe slovo", "otvetstvennyj cirkuljar"'] is mentioned twice (37, 117), but its content is never revealed. What is, however, more important, is the differentiation of texture between the descriptions of Ableuchov as an agent of the visible world and his description as a government of- ficial. The "visible" Ableuchov is never referred to as "shadow", but it is his shadow which rules over Russia: Ableuchov

sits in his office while his shadow, penetrating the stone of the wall <... > swoops down upon people in the fields; <... > it roams over vast expanses of the Samara, Tambov, Saratov regions

[sidit u sebja v kabinete, v to vremja, kak ten' ego, pronicaja kamen' steny <...> brosaetsja v poljach na prochogich: <...> ona guljaet v prostran- stvach - samarskich, tambovskich, saratovskich] (382).

C. The visible world.

The investigation of the formation of the visible world can be relatively short; the world is formed by motifs which are explicit and relatively definite in their texture. (We have to speak about relative definiteness in view of the fact that Belyj's texture reveals a general tendency toward indefiniteness). Let us note, for example, that the agents of the visible world are, from their very first appearance, desig- nated by permanent proper names: Apollon ApollonoviE Ableuchov, Nikolaj Apollonovi8 Ableuchov, etc. Unlike the agents of the world of shadows, they do not need false names or indefinite metonymic nicknames.

The explicit motifs of the visible world can be semantically interpreted without necessary xecourseto their presuppositions:

My Senator had only just attained his sixty-eigth year.

[Moemu senatoru tol'ko-&o ispolnilos' gest'desjat- vosem' let.] (5)

Apollon Apollonoviz raised his bald head and strode from the room.

[Apollon Apollonovi; podnjal lysuju golovu i progel von iz komnaty.] (9)

The Visible and the InvisibZe Petersburg 477

Nikolaj Apollonoviz's quarters consisted of rooms: one for sleeping, one for cooking, and one for receiving.

[Pomegzenie Nikolaja. ApollonoviEa sostojalo iz komnat: spal'ni, rabozego kabineta, priemnoj.] (40)

It is motifs like these that form the core of the visible world. They give a sufficiently definite description of its agents, their actions amd their environ- ment. The core of the visible world remains intact, in spite of the constant undermining of the very idea of definiteness in Belyj's texture. It is the complex of these motifs which prevents Peterburg from leaving the space of the narrative genre.

3. PATTERNS OF CONTROL

In the text of Peterburg a quantitative hierarchy of the three primary worlds is established: the set of motifs forming the visible world is the largest one, followed by the motifs of the world of shadows; the implicit motifs of the invisible world represent the smallest set. As a result, primary worlds appear in a gradual ranking: the visible world is in the fore- ground, the world of shadows forms the second plane while the invisible world provides a sketchy background.

A quite different hierarchy emerges when we inves- tigate the primary worlds in their dynamic aspect,i.e. as macrostructures generating and motivating the story. A hierarchy of control is superimposed on the quantitative hierarchy of the primary worlds. Through this operation, the order of the natural worlds is re- versed: the events of the visible world are motivated (controlled) by the forces of the invisible world,

partly directly, partly through the medium of the world of shadows. This pattern of control seems to me the fundamental organizing principle of the story of Peterburg.

Let us repeat that the general direction of control is from the invisible world through the world of shadows into the visible world. A more detailed investigation reveals several variants of this general pattern:

1. The invisible world directly controls the visible world.

This pattern of control determines the life history

478 Lubomir DoZeGeZ

of Apollon Apollonovi8; it becomes especially apparent in two decisive events which mark the end of the senator's career. Although at times the senator appears as an omnipotent ruler of Russia, these events bring the proof of his subordination to the invisible centre of government. We have already quoted the motif de- scribing the decision - made by some invisible agent(s) - to drop Ableuchov's name from the list of candidates for a very important post (see pp. - ). The narrator comments:

From this day Senator Ableuchov's twilight began.

[S Btogo dnja nazalsja i zakat senatora Ableuchova.] (386)

However, for a short time, Ableuchov continued to head the Bureau. His "voluntary" retirement from this post is motivated by his conflict with the hidden forces of the invisible government. "They" present an important document for Ableuchov's signature; this document is incompatible with Ableuchov's legalistic convictions. (His comment:

Strict administrative enforcement is one thing, but violation of the direct dictates of the Law is another entirely.

[Odno delo - tverdaja, administrativnaja vlast', a d.rugoe delo... - narugenie prjamych, zakonnych porjadkov.] (401)).

In this situation Ableuchov has only two choices: either to sign or to leave his office. (It is note- worthy that Ableuchov's refusal to sign is characterized - by his deputy - as a "rebellion", i.e. a rebellion against the invisible government).

Let us note that the pattern of control which determines this part of Ableuchov's life story is con- nected with Ableuchov's. privileged position in the visible world. As head of the visible branch of government, he is directly linked with the invisible government. However, even Ableuchov does not seem to have direct access to the invisible world; in his dealings with the invisible centres of government, he is con- fined either to telecommunication (telephone), or to "mediators" (the document is presented by his deputy).

2. The invisible world controls the world of shadows.

This pattern of control is best demonstrated in an


event which is seemingly of minor significance, but, in fact, reveals the fundamental principles of the story structure. When Morkovin approaches Apollon Apol- 1onoviE to inform him about the preparation of the terrorist act (182, 210 f-1, he reports that he was sent by the director of the N.N. department:

(Director of the N.N.department suggested <...> to ask you a ticklish question.

[Direktor N.N.departamenta predlozil <...> za- dat' vam odin gzekotlivyj vopros.] (182)).

We shall return to the significance of Morkovin's information later; here, let us only note the fact that Morkovin, an agent of the world of shadows, acts on the instructions of an agent of the invisible world.

The second instance of this pattern of control is much more central to the story of Peterburg; it con- cerns Dudkin, the prime agent of the world of shadows. When Nikolaj Apollonovi.6 asks Dudkin:

Tell me, is there no control over you?

[A skagite, razve nad vami kontrolja net?],

Dudkin immediately replies by referring to "a certain person" (94), i.e. to LippanEenko. Ever since they met (in Helsingfors), LippanEenko has imposed on Dudkin

the heaviest burdens [tjagEaj%.e bremena] (95).

In spite of his personal aversion, Dudkin accepts this control, since he believes that LippanEenko represents the "highest" instance of the party. In Dudkin's be- lief, LippanEenko assumes the role of an agent of the invisible world (the centre of the party), while in fact, he is an agent of the world of shadows.

Dudkin's fateful error is of crucial significance for his life story and for the whole story structure of Peterburg. It is explained by the fact that Dudkin has no direct access to the invisibZe world.

The conspiracy closed his access to the body of the party.

[Konspiracija pozakryvala emu dostup v samoe partijnoe telo.] (288) -

and thus LippanEenko was able to assume the role of Dudkin's "organ of contact with the party"

480 Lubomir DoZeieZ

Lippangenko byl ego organ ob?%enija s partiej. (295)

Let us note that Dudkin's error is the first manifestation of a major distortion of the pattern of control which occurs in the world of shadows: due to the "neutralization" of the antagonistic opposition, the source of instructions mediated by the world of shadows becomes uncertain. In the case of Dudkin, the instructions which he believes to come from the invisible party can be traced only to LippanEenko who himself is under the control of the opposite invisible world - the government. The world of shadows is a dis- torting transmitter of the pattern of control.

3. The world of shadows controls the visible world.

This pattern of control determines the actions of Nikolaj ApollonoviE and, therefore, assumes central significance in the structuring of the story. Nikolaj is tied to the invisible party by his mysterious promise which belongs to the "prehistory" of the narrated action.' However, all his actions in the "history" are controlled by the world of shadows; Nikolaj never gets any instruction directly from the invisible centre.

Due to the "neutralization" in the world of shadows, the ultimate source of all instructions given to Niko- laj is uncertain. We know that he received the bomb from Dudkin, but Dudkin himself acted on the instructions of LippanEenko. Both Dudkin and Nikolaj believe that the bomb is an instrument of the invisible party, while, in fact, it is an instrument of LippanEenko, a double agent of the world of shadows. What is even more important, the crucial instruction to kill the senator with the bomb clearly originates with Lippan- Eenko; it is given in a letter personally written by him and signed "The Invisible" - a cryptogram Lippan- 6enko uses in his contacts with Nikolaj. It is note- worthy that Dudkin has no knowledge of the content of the letter; he thinks that Nikolaj was only asked to hide the bomb for a time (281).

To leave no doubt about the pattern of control over Nikolaj, Belyj brings into action another agent of the world of shadows, Morkovin. Morkovin urges Nikolaj not to postpone the fateful mission; otherwise, Nikolaj will be arrested by Morkovin in his role as agent of the secret police. We know that the status of Morkovin as agent-provocateur was made quite explicit; we also know that he acts in tandem with Lippanzenko. Thus, the central intrigue of Peterburg clearly originates


in the "neutralized" space of the world of shadows. This motivation of the intrigue can be stated with

certainty: extending the motivation into the invisible world is speculative. Even if such an extension could be supported by textual evidence, the ultimate source of the intrigue would be uncertain due to the distor- ting process which takes place in the world of shadows. In other words, we can never say with certainty from which pole of the invisible world the instruction to kill Senator Ableuchov originated. While most critics assign the responsibility to the party, a contrary hypothesis could equally be entertained.We know that the senator is in conflict with "an adver- sary party" in the invisible government; we know that his closest friend and collaborator (his Del'vig) fell victim to a bomb attack. And, what is most important, we know that Morkovin failed to inform the senator about the most crucial details of the conspiracy, although he was well aware of them. Thus, the plot against Senator Ableuchov could be interpreted as a provocation or as an episode of internal feud within the government.

However, as already stated, all this is speculation. What is certain, is the fact that the instruction to kill Senator Ableuchov comes from the world of shadows. Accepting the world of shadows as the uZtimate source of the instruction, would add an interesting dimension to our interpretation of the pattern of control. It would mean that the world of shadows achieved a certain actional autonomy, playing its own game of dirty tricks. Such an assumption is highly plausible, since the world of shadows - due to its mode of operation - cannot be fully controlled. The shadows can turn against their own masters.

This possibility, however, does not affect the general pattern of control which is essential for the story of Peterburg: the agents of the visible world are controlled by the visible world and/or by the world of shadows. Due to this control, they lose the status of independent agents, becoming either dependent agents or patients of the controlling forces. Senator Ableuchov's status as dependent agent of the invisible government is revealed at the crucial junc- ture of his career; he is the patient of the bomb- attack of which the motivation was traced to the world of shadows. Dudkin is a dependent agent controlled by LippanEenko while believing that he is controlled by the party. Nikolaj Ableuchov is a dependent agent, fully controlled by the world of shadows.' This transformation of the agents of the visible world into de-

482 Lubomir Do leze Z

pendent agents or patients of hidden forces is, in my opinion, one of the fundamental structural features of Peter-burg. Making his protagonists dependent on hidden and inaccessible forces of social organization, Belyj created a narrative structure which was to become the highlight of 20th century fict'ion.

.._ 4. THE ROLE OF THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD.

We have concluded that the agents of the visible world of Peterburg are controlled, in the typical case, by the agents of the world of shadows who, in turn, are controlled by the anonymous forces of the invisible world. Since the invisible world is, in principle, inaccessible from the visible world, the modal status of the invisible world becomes problem- atic: Is it a natural, or a supernatural world? Or,to put it in terms of our dynamic model: Is the invisible source of control which dominates the life histories of the visible agents a human or a supernatural world? In the story of Peterburg, the question is raised in a narrative manner - by the introduction of a set of "phantoms".

The phantoms of Peterburg are associated with all the principal acting characters. However, we shall focus our discussion solely on Dudkin's phantoms, for two reasons: a. the set of Dudkin's phantoms is complete in the

sense that he "meets" all the phantoms introduced in the text - the white domino, gignarfne and the Bronze Horseman;

b. with, respect to Dudkin, the phantoms most clearly reveal their principal narrative role. The Christ-like figure of the white domino is of

minor importance for Dudkin's life history; in his brief appearance (324 f.), he remains absolutely pas- sive and does not affect the course of Dudkin's actions. On the contrary, the devil-like zignarfne and the genius loci Bronze Horseman assume an active role by motivating (or being credited with motivating) some central actions of Dudkin's life history.

We have seen that Dudkin is under the control of an agent of the world of shadows, the agent-provocateur LippanEenko. LippanEenko is the main representative of the "neutralization" of the antagonism in the world of shadows. From the very beginning, Dudkin feels some uncertainty about the source of control exercised over him and this uncertainty triggers his "disease". When he finally becomes certain about the confusion in his world, he explains it as a work of supernatural forces:

The VisibZe and the Invisible Petersburg 483

Abracadabra mixed everything up.

[Abrakadabra vse pereputala.] (286).

Significantly, the first symptoms of Dudkin's "disease" appear in Helsingfors where he fell under the control of LippanEenko. At the same time, the satanistic .$i&arfne makes his first appearance. I0 The association of Signarfne with LippanEenko is made explicit in his next appearance as a guest in Lippanzen- ko's cottage. At the moment when LippanEenko performed his supreme provocatory trick - accusing Nikolaj Apol- 1onoviE of being a double agent - he

. ..walked into the dining room and gave fiignarfne's arm a friendly squeeze

[osoba <... > progagala v stolovuju, druzeljubno chvatila signarfieva po ple&] (319).

Finally, Signarfne himself confirms his close ties with LippanEenko; he tells Dudkin:

'We have friends in common... Nikolaj Stepany; Lippanzenko, where I am accepted as son'.

['U nas obs'5i.e s vami druz'ja... Nikolaj Stepa- nyE LippanEenko, gde ja byvaju prinjat, kak syn.'] (331).

The association of zignarfne with LippanEenko makes the relationship of the supernatural world to the con- fused world of shadows explicit. Moreover, bignarfne himself confirms his emergence from the shadow world of Petersburg in a conversation with Dudkin appearing in the chapter entitled "Peterburg" (338-341). The title of the chapter indicates that it has a crucial significance for the novel's meaning; surprisingly, this significance has not been apprehended by inter- preters of Belyj's text.

Signarfne establishes the explicit link between the city of Petersburg - dominated by the world of shadows - and the supernatural world. He outlines the charac- teristics of Petersburg in contrast to a primitive country, the Papua. In Papua, a visitor meets only what he expects to meet - a Papuan who is

an earthborn creature [sugzestvo zemnorodnoe] (338).

Moreover, continues Signarfne,

'in Papua there exist institutions of legal order, perhaps approved by the Papuan parliament'

484 Lubomir DoZezel

[Ii v Papuasii sug8estvujut kakie-nibud' instituty pravovych uzregdenij, odobrennych, mozet byt', papuasskim parlamentom'] (ibidem).

Translating siznarfne's characterization of Papua into terms of our model, we can say that Papua is a natural human world with a visible government. On the contrary, a visitor to Petersburg who expects to find there "u visible administration":

on %taetsja s javnoju administraciej Peterburga

and, therefore, does not carry "a shadow passport":

tenevogo pasporta u nego net

will risk all possible consequences. His complaints addressed to the visible world will remain without result, since

we do not live <... > in a visible world

[ved' v vidimom mire my <...> ne zivem] (339).

It may well be that you have no other recourse than to address yourself politely to the world of shadows.

'[i, stalo byt', ostaetsja vam podat' po&itel'- nuju pros'bu v mir tenej] (ib'dem) .

Having no visible administration, Petersburg is ruled by the world of shadows. But what is the nature of this world? It is unknown -

the biology of the shadow has not been studied

[biologija tenej e?%e ne izuEena],

but it certainly is not a human world:

a shadow is not even a Papuan [ten' - daze ne papuas] (338).

Therefore, we have to conclude, the city of Petersburg falls into the domain of the supernatural:

Our capital city <... > belongs also to the world beyond.

[Stoliznyj nag.gorod <...> prinadlezit i k strane zagrobnogo mira.] (337).

The VisibZe and the InvisibZe Petersburg 485

I have quoted from this passage in extenso, because it gives the most explicit text-inherent description of the system of narrative worlds in Peterburg and of the relationship between the world of shadows and the world of the supernatural. The world of shadows which is indefinite with respect to the basic antagonism of the novel is also indefinite in its alethic status,

with respect to the opposition "natural - super- 2F;rall'. The world of shadows can be explained not only by the transformation human + shadow, but also by the transformation phantom + shadow. Through this transformation, the supernatural world would become the ultimate controlling force of Petersburg. In any case, a double pattern of control is suggested by the introduction of the supernatural world and by its link to the world of shadows (see Scheme #2):

Scheme #2

supernatural world 4.

invisible world + world of shadows -f visible world

The link signarfne-LippanEenko represents the most obvious manifestation of the supernatural motivation of the world of shadows. In Dudkin's life history, however, it is the phantom of the Bronze Horseman which assumes the most active role. At the same time, the narrative functions of the two phantoms are in contrast: .?i.?narfne is the embodiment of the irra- tional confusion in the world of shadows, while the Bronze Horseman stimulates the'destruction of this irrationality. It is the Bronze Horseman rather than the "white domino" who represents sisnarfne's antag- onist in the set of Dudkin's phantoms.

The Bronze Horseman - an explicit intertextual phantom - replays in Peterburg its symbolic role of the elementary force of Russian history. It links the events of 1905 with the Russian past, presenting them as just one episode in the protracted conflict between the authoritative government and the desperate rebel:

The bronze-headed giant has kept up his chase throughout the periods of time to this very instant <...>; quarter-centuries went by; and to the throne came Nikolaj; and to the throne came

486 Lubomir DoZeIe 1

the Aleksandrs; meanwhile, Aleksandr IvanyE (Dudkin - L.D.), the shadow, ceaselessly surmounted the same round, all the periods of time <...>; and in pursuit of him, in pursuit of everybody - thundered the hoofbeats of metal.

[Mednoglavyj gigant progonjal Perez periody vremeni vplot' do Btogo miga <...>; protekali Eetverti veka; i vstaval na tron - Nikolaj; i vstavali na tron - Alek- sandry; Aleksandr Ze IvanyE, ten', bez ustali odoleval tot te kruq, vse periody vremeni <...>; a vdogonku za nim, a vdogonku za vsemi, - qromychali udary metalla.]

(349)

However, at this moment, when the myth of the Bronze Horseman is interpreted in the most explicit terms, it is also re-interpreted:

Aleksandr IvanyE, Evgenij, grasped for the first time that he had spent a century running for no reason, that the hoofbeats thundering after him were totally without ire.

[Aleksandr IvanyE, Evgenij, vpervye tut ponjal, &o stoletie on bezal ponaprasnu, Eta za nim gromychali udary bez vsjakogo gneva.] (359)

In this closest link - in fact, identification - of Belyj's Aleksandr and Puzkin's Evgenij, one of the most important ideological interpretations of the novel is introduced: the historical spirit of Russia is not an enemy of the rebel. He shall address Dudkin in the most intimate way - "rq son" ["moj synok"l- and shall inspire him to his final act. And Dudkin accepts from his "teacher" the fateful, but liberating mission.

The link between the supernatural motivation and Dudkin's final action of killing LippanEenko is established by the typical device of Belyj's texture - a metonymic chain: the metallic horseman + a piece of metal + (Finnish knife)/scissors + the murder weapon. Through this link, Dudkin's act assumes a historical dimension, as it shall signify the end of tyranny:

Then all shall turn about; under the metal's blow < . . . > Lippanzenko will disintegrate, the garret will cave in and the destructioylof Petersburg will come to pass; the caryatid will be destroyed under the metal's blow.

[Togda vse obernetsja; pod udarom metalla <...>


razletitsja Lippanzenko, Eerdak ruchnet i razrugitsja Peterburg; kariatida razr&tsja pod udarom metalla.]

(349)

But this lofty rhetoric cannot be sustained in Belyj's text; the final appearance of the Bronze Horseman is a grotesque parody: the mad Dudkin sitting on the dead LippanEenko in the horseman position ["verchom"] (cf. Ivanov-Razumnik, 1919, 106; Holthusen, 1957, 121).

The introduction of the supernatural world into the system of narrative worlds of Peterburg is not necessary for generating the story; in fact, as already mentioned, the story is located fully in the natural world and arises out of the pattern of control which is characteristic for the set of natural subworlds. The supernatural world is introduced in order to offer text-inherent interpretations of the story. The introduction of the supernatural world brings about a mythologization of the story of Peterburg: the story becomes an episode in the eternal myth of Russia.

However, a word of caution is necessary. The authenticity of the interpretation depends critically on the authenticity of the supernatural world." And, in this respect, Already Sklovskij

Belyj's text is notoriously ambiguous. noticed that "fantastic events are

once asserted and then again negated" and Holthusen confirmed this observation (zklovskij, 1929, 214; Holthusen, 1957, 128). A detailed investigation of the procedures which bring about the demythologization requires a special study. Here, let us only note that the status of the supernatural world in Belyj's Peter- burg is uncertain, since it is neither clearly authen- ticated, nor definitely disauthenticated. The semantic indefiniteness which gives the novel its special atmosphere extends to the authenticity of its supernatural.

Thus, the myth of Peterburg is a typically modern myth, a myth without authentication. The irrationality of human actions .and historical conflicts is not re- deemed by supernatural justification. The forces which govern the actions of the heroes of Peterburg are inaccessible and, therefore, mysterious; however, in the 20th century, any attempt to explain these forces by recourse to the supernatural necessarily lacks authenticity.

* t

488 Lubomir DoZegel

NO

1.

2.

3.

4. 5.

6.

7.

a.

9.

TES

Cf. the following statement about the modern novel: "Any ac- count of such a novel represents a pulling-together of dis- parate elements of the story" (Edel, 1964, 50). By concentrating on the story of Peterburg, we do not mean to deny the significance of other text components which still awai.t a thorough structural investigation (such as Belyj's representation of mental events, his treatment of narrative time, the poetic texture of his novel etc.) Even story structure will not be explored fully; the erotic story line (Niko- laj - Sofja Petrovna - Lichutin) will be left aside.

If this partial analysis will promote an impression that Belyj's Peterburg is a political novel, it should be said that this impression is justified, especially as a rectifica- tion of statements of the following kind: "Belyj is not interested in social and political problems <...> Peterburg is not a novel about the 1905 revolution <...> The whole action with its external conflicts is symbolic of the internal struggle of the author <... > Belyj is interested only in one theme - his own consciousness" (Donchin, 1967, v-vi). Such a statement is in contradiction with explicit textual facts and reflects no more than the critic's own prejudice. The pages refer to the Bradda Books edition of Peterburg (Letchworth, Hertfordshire, 1967). This edition is a reprint of the 1916 Petrograd edition, containing the original (un- abridged) text. This statement will be qualified in section 2 (p.476). For the concepts "motif texture" and "motif structure", see Dolegel, 1971, 1976a. The relationship between presuppositions and implicitness requires a special theoretical consideration; for a preliminary discussion, see Ducrot, 1969, 1972 and Hausenblas, 1972. The false existence of these agents is manifested by the fact that they live under false names (Dudkin = Pogorel'skij, Lip- pa&enko = Movrokadro, Morkovin = Voronkov). The content of the promise is recognized as uncertain by Holthusen (1957, 116). Holthusen maintains that "the promise was never clearly formulated", at the same time, however, he asserts that the version given by "the terrorists" (sic!) "is not seriously contradicted by Nikolaj Apollonovi;". In fact, Nikolaj tries to convince Dudkin that this interpretation of his promise is false (283, 284). Contrary to Holthusen, Hanig (1965, 60) and Cioran (1973, 142) assert that Nikolaj prom- ised to kill his father; Cioran draws far-reaching philosophi cal consequences from this dubious interpretation. The status of Nikolaj as dependent agent makes the standard psychoanalytic interpretation of his actions highly dubious. His only voluntary action in the chain of events - the wind- ing of the clock-mechanism - is described as an accident. His

The VisibZe and the InvisibZe Petersburg 489

attitude to his father is an ambiguous love-hate relationship. His horrors, hesitations, and inner conflicts are more than obvious. Only when neglecting these obvious narrative facts and when interpreting Nikolaj's behaviour in isolation from the overall story structure, can Nikolaj join the ranks of Oedipal patricides.

10. At this point, another motivation for the Devil's appearance is given: Dudkin's preaching of Satanism. However, Dudkin left his satanistic credo behind, which does not prevent the Devil from re-appearing. The Devil is a permanent part of Dudkin's shadow existence.

11. The "caryatid" is, of course, Belyj's symbol of the existing power (see Holthusen, 1957, 132, footnote 1).

12. A world is called authentic, if it is assigned the status of narrative fact; for a discussion of procedures of authentica tion and disauthentication, see DoleEel, 1976b.

* +

490 LubomZr DoZeieZ

REFERENCES

Cioran, Samuel D. 1973 The Apocalyptic Symbolism of Andrej BeZyj, The Hague-

Paris.

Dolesel, Lubomir 197.1 "Toward a Structural Theory of Content in Prose Fic-

tion", in: S.Chatman, ed., Literary Styie: A Sym- posium. London-New York, 95-110.

1976a "Narrative Semantics", in: PTL: A Journal for Descrip- tive Poetics and Theory of Literature, 1, 129-151.

1976b "Narrative Worlds", in: L.Matejka, ed., Sound, Sign and Meaning. &uinquaganary of the Prague Linguistic Circle, Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Slavic Contribu- tions, No.~), 542-552.

Donchin, G. 1967 "Introduction" to Peterburg, Letchworth, Hertford-

shire.

Ducrot, Oswald 1969 "Presupposes et sous-entendus", Langue franguise, 4,

30-43.

1972 Dire et ne pas dire, Paris.

Edel, Leon 1964' The Modern PsychoZogicaZ Novel, New York.

Hausenblas, Karel 1972 "Explicitnost a implicitnost jazykoveho vyjadgoviini",

Slovo a sZovesnost, 33, 98-105.

Holthusen, Johannes 1957 Studien zur Asthetik und Poetik des russischen Sym-

boZismus, Gtittingen.

Hiinig, Anton 1965 Andrej BeZyjs Romane. StiZ und Gestalt, Miinchen.

Ivanov-Razumnik, V. 1919 AZeksandr BZok. Andrej Belyj, Petrograd.

gklovskij, Viktor 1929 0 teorii prosy, Moskva.

Documents

The Visible and the Invisible Petersburg