On Leonid Andreev’s literary reputation: The concept of leonidandreevism

Abstract

The article analyzes Leonid Andreev’s literary reputation in the socio-cultural context of the 20th and 21st centuries. Methodology of this study is based on I. N. Rosanov’s theory of literary reputations, as well as on the works by B. M. Eikhenbaum, Iu. N. Tynianov, and N. A. Bogomolov. The word Leonidandreevism was already widespread during Andreev’s lifetime and it is still actively used as a value-laden expression applied to the content and style of various phenomena in art. Unlike the concepts Tolstoyanism and Dostoevskianism, Leonidandreevism refers not only to the psychological and philosophical aspects of the writer’s work but also to the stylistic peculiarities of his prose and drama. The article demonstrates that this concept has a predominantly negative connotation and is closely connected to Andreev’s literary reputation that includes such characteristics as “the singer of horrors and nightmares”, “an uncultured writer” (in the eyes of the symbolists), “a decadent and a degenerate”, and “a hero of parodies”. The article also follows semantic metamorphoses of the concept “Leonidandreevism” during the early Soviet period, in the postwar years, during perestroika, and at present. This study uses L. Ia. Ginzburg’s notes on the psychology of the Soviet man, Iu. K. Olesha’s diaries, reviews and articles of different years, and Internet resources that can provide an idea about using the word both in contemporary speech and in the discourse of literary criticism. The examples used in the article demonstrate that at the present time both meanings of the word Leonidandreevism are equally common. The author concludes that the concept Leonidandreevism has crossed the boundaries of its epoch and become a part of mass consciousness — one of the stereotypes that helps to perceive the changes in ideology and literary tastes in Russia.