Decadent Schopenhauer Reception in Russian Fin de Siècle Literature: Fedor Sologub's Novel "The Petty Demon"

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse Fedor Sologub's work named The Petty Demon as a Russian literature example of the Fin de Siècle period. The reception of Schopenhauer's depiction of body as will in literary circles and the way it reflects in decadent literary motifs in the work is shown. Because Fin de Siècle is recognized as a period with multiplicity of styles, caution was taken to approach the novel at hand in a framework equivalent to those of canonical European works. As Fin de Siècle literature reflects the disorder of the period it is in, Russian cultural history was touched upon as well as the theoretical framework in the First Chapter in order to form a groundwork for the future comparisons. In the first main title of Second Chapter, it was analysed how Sologub used a figure from folklore as a Schopenhauerian motif in order to depict a decadence peculiar to the Russian culture. To support these claims, origins of the concept of banality in Russian literature and folklore was explored in respective titles. In the second main title, decadent Nietzscheism was put forth as a counterpart in Russian culture to decadent Wagnerism, typical examples of which could be found in European literature. To support the claim, the way femme fatale and beautiful boy as destroyer motifs were used within this context was analysed. In both main titles, example analysis of the works of J. K. Huysmans and Oscar Wilde respectively were used and compared to our analysis in order to ensure consistency. Decadent literature, which was subjected to disdain throughout history, was given the attention it deserves with regard to its successful reflection of the dynamics influential to the period and articulation of similar disturbances caused by modernism in different cultures.