“WHAT’S GERTRUDE TO HIM?” MIKHAIL SALTYKOV AND HORTENSE SCHNEIDER

Mikhail V. Stroganov

Mikhail V. Stroganov — DSc in Philology, Professor, A. N. Kosygin Russian State University (Technology. Design. Art), Institute of Slavic Culture, Khibinsky pr., 6, 129337 Moscow, Russia. E-mail: mvstroganov@gmail.com

Philological sciences

2017

Vol. 45

Pp. 118-125

April 11, 2017

September 15, 2017

821.161.1+821.133.1

83.3(2Рос=Рус)52+85.334.3(4Фра)

M. E. Saltykov did not like contemporaneous operetta and constantly mocked its authors and admirers. French actress Hortense Schneider, one of the prominent actresses in history of musical theater, was among main targets of his satire. She was the first operetta guest performer in Russia during winter 1871–1872 enjoying tremendous success. Protagonist of his “Diary of a provincial in Saint Petersburg” attends her performances, where Schneider intentionally put the focus on eroticism — the only point of attraction for Russian spectators, taking her as an accessible, open to public woman, intriguing uniquely by her physique. In his “The haven of Mon repos” Saltykov took Offenbach`s operetta as a reflection of the morals of the age of Napoleon III. He was not interested in Hortense as the symbol of certain tendencies of Russian society life, that`s why he used her Russian nickname as well: Шнейдерша, обер-Шнейдерша (Schneidersha, Ober-Schneidersha). Thus French actress and his literary character were not the same person. The picture of a French actress Hortense Schneider, made by Saltykov, represented one of specific author’s devices which he used while mentioning other historical figures. He did not care much about correspondence to the historical figure. What he really cared about was the ability of a historical figure to become symbolic of her/his times.

Saltykov, Hortense Schneider, mass culture, operetta, prototype.

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