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Revue des études slaves - Année 1998 - Volume 70 - Numéro 4 - Pages 815-824
The concept of two truths in Puškin and Vigny : a note on the sources of Puškin's poem Geroj The article points to a possible French source of Puškin's poem Geroj (1830): the essay by Alfred de Vigny « Réflexions sur la vérité dans l'art » (1829) which serves as a preface to his famous historical novel Cinq-Mars. We do not have positive proof that Puškin was familiar with Vigny's Reflexions by the time of the writing Geroj. However, there is strong circumstantial evidence in favor of this hypothesis. Both pieces deal with the same problem, focusing on the nature of truth in art and history. This central theme is present in the very title of Vigny's essay and in the epigraph to Geroj for which Puškin chose the words of Pontius Pilate: «What is Truth?» Both pieces refer to historical episodes, when lofty legends corne into conflict with debunking revelations. Both pieces postulate a dichotomy of truth, drawing a contrast between artistic truth and historical truth. And finally, both pieces establish a hierarchy of traths, as both Vigny and Puškin's Poet opt for the artistic truth which is more beautiful and moral than pedestrian facts. With all that, there is also an important difference in the balance between the two truths found in Vigny and Puškin. While Vigny makes an eloquent case for poetic license, Puškin's position is more complex and 'dialogical': the ultimate truth is not one-sided, but rather emerges at an intersection of the interlocutors' arguments. Vigny's Reflexions help to place Puškin's philosophical musings into a broader contemporary context, specifically into the Romantic context, which is of paramount importance regardless of how un-Romantic Puškin of the 1830's might seem.
10 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.