The Cruel Art of Beauty: Walter Pater and the Uncanny Aestheticism of Isaak Babel′'s Red Cavalry

Author: Bullock, Philip Ross

Source: The Modern Language Review, Volume 104, Number 2, 1 April 2009 , pp. 499-529(31)

Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association

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Abstract:

This article argues that Walter Pater's writings may have played a crucial, largely unsuspected role in shaping Isaak Babel′'s aesthetics. After tracing the translation and reception of Pater in Russia, it examines ways in which Babel′'s reading of Pater may have influenced the composition of Red Cavalry: the representation of the nature of art and the artist's calling; the use of ecphrasis as a literary device emphasizing the role of imagination in aesthetic contemplation of artworks; and the relationship between aestheticism and (homo)eroticism. Finally, it suggests that Pater's amoral aestheticism allowed Babel′ to resolve the tension between his appreciation of Lev Tolstoi's style and a dislike of his didacticism.

Keywords: Walter Pater; Isaak Babel′'s aesthetics; translation; reception; Russia; ecphrasis; aestheticism; (homo)eroticism; Lev Tolstoi

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Wadham College, Oxford

Publication date: 2009-04-01

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The Modern Language Review, the flagship journal of the Association, is available to all individual members as part of their subscription. MLR is one of the oldest journals in its field, maintaining an unbroken publication record since its foundation in 1905, and publishing more than 3,000 articles and 20,000 book reviews.

Each volume consists of four issues, published in January, April, July and October of each year. Its 1000+ annual pages are divided roughly equally between articles, predominantly on medieval and modern literature in the languages of Europe, and over 500 reviews of books in these areas. All contributions are in English, and each section is edited by a noted scholar in the field, under the overall supervision of the General Editor. Articles are chosen not only for their scholarly worth and originality but also, as far as possible, for their potential interest to a wider readership in other disciplines.

The Cruel Art of Beauty: Walter Pater and the Uncanny Aestheticism of Isaak Babel′'s Red Cavalry

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