About the semantic meanings of an image-symbol

At its core, the image of a crocodile is an image-symbol, multi-layered, multifunctional, "bristling" with different meanings, which you need to find out. First, we will write out a number of values attached to it in the text. The crocodile is an animal with a habitat in Egypt. A crocodile is a foreigner in Russia. It is the capital of the German crocodile farmer, private property that embodies the economic principle in the bourgeois world. Crocodile-prison. Finally, a crocodile retort for the experiment. Crocodile is a Western idea, the personification of European civilization. At the same time, the meanings that lie on the surface are complicated by their deeper meanings. In addition, nominative subject functions carry the burden of values of spatial geographical features. All this will be the subject of our analysis.

The hero of the story also seeks to find out the etymological roots of the word crocodile: "Crocodillo, - there is a word, obviously, Italian, modern, perhaps, to the ancient pharaohs of Egypt and, obviously, derived from the French root: croquer, which means to eat, eat and generally eat" (Dostoevsky F. M. Poly. collected works: In 30 vols. l., 1973. Vol. 5. p. 196; further-only p.). Leaving aside the irony of the author's interpretation, we point out two obvious signs that reveal the synchronous connection of the subject and the word that means it with two spaces-the modern and ancient world, Russia and Europe. The image of the crocodile, therefore, serves as a "bridge" between the past and the present, history and modernity, East and West.

The ancient world reveals its realities in the verbal formula of the "Pharaohs of Egypt", which immediately leads back to the centuries BC. In the Gospel of Matthew, the story of Jonah, as a punishment for disobedience, was caught in the belly of a fish. The event took place in the Mediterranean Sea. Let us listen to the comments of Archimandrite Michael, a 19th-century theologian: "The Hebrew words that are translated as great whale do not necessarily mean a whale, but a large fish in general-

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boo of some kind. One might think that it was a shark that can freely swallow a whole person; keeping a person alive in the belly of a shark for three days is undoubtedly a miraculous action" (Explanatory Gospel. The Gospel of Matthew, St. Petersburg, 1870. Book 1, p. 227). In the interpretation of the gospel text, specific details attract attention: the mention of the Mediterranean Sea, the story of a whale fish that transforms into a shark, since whales are "rarely found in the Mediterranean Sea" (Ibid.), the story of a wonderful three-day stay in the belly of a fish and salvation by God's command. All these details and details of the Ion myth and its interpretation could have been known to Dostoevsky.

It is curious that Ivan Matveich (from Matvey / Matthew) falls into a crocodile, like Jonah. It is probably no accident that the writer outlines the borders of the Mediterranean Sea by indicating the coastal countries: Egypt, Italy, and France. Moreover, in Dostoevsky's story, each of them claims to prioritize its historical connection with the crocodile (or perhaps, as the story says, "with some other fossil" - 198, that is, with the transformation of a huge fish-a whale or a shark), even from the time of the "Pharaoh's kingdom". from very old, historically close to the legend of Jonah (2nd half of the VIII century BC).

It is significant that the crocodile in the story was imported from Germany, and it is shown by Germans, and not - according to the proposed etymological roots-by Italians or French. The choice of the writer puts the reader in a dead end, makes you think: why exactly the Germans, what did Dostoevsky mean by this?..

The fantastic device of the monster resembles a completely empty huge bag, as if made "from rubber bands": "like those rubber products that are common in Gorokhovaya, Morskaya and, if I'm not mistaken, on Voznesensky Prospekt" - so an eyewitness from crocodile (196) testifies. In a strange way, the foreign crocodile, as a product of nature imported by the Germans from Germany, is close to purely Petersburg products, such as those found in Gorokhovaya, Morskaya and Voznesenskoye. It is difficult to judge what else can be found on these streets of St. Petersburg, except for rubber products, but I think it is not by chance that these streets are mentioned, although the principle of randomness, peripherality, and elusive information is also felt here.

Gorokhovaya, Morskaya, Voznesensky are the locations of St. Petersburg novels by Pushkin, Gogol, and Dostoevsky. Voznesensky, for example, leads directly to Kolomna and to the Bronze Horseman, to the Neva. Major Kovalev ("The Nose") mentions Voznesenskoye and the noseless women who sell oranges here. In this area, on New Year's Eve, Vasya Shumkov ("Weak Heart") turns up at Madame Leroux's store. About ka-

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some barber in Gorokhovaya, who makes special vials filled with ambition, fantasizes mad Poprishchin ("Notes of a madman"). On the corner of Morskaya and Gorokhovaya Street is the Countess's house ("The Queen of Spades"). The overseas crocodile drawn into the St. Petersburg space also becomes its belonging, responds to the images of Russian history. The crocodile's belly, which resembles rubber products, is also a space for the prisoner: these values immediately connect political allusions to a domestic but fantastic incident.

The crocodile that swallowed the "son of the fatherland" evokes associations with a prison, a fortress. Willingly or unwittingly, in this connection, the remark that the crocodile is not of Italian or French, but of German "citizenship"is justified. In Russia, the imperial house, since the era of Peter I, was related, looking for brides not in France and Italy, but in Germany. German blood flowed in the veins of the Russian tsars, the Germans occupied the first places in the state. Isn't that why the German krokodilytsik is aware of his special role and demands for himself a stone house on Gorokhovaya Street, his own pharmacy and the rank of Russian colonel (200), thus claiming his historical advantages? Peter created the Peter and Paul Fortress as the citadel of the city with the German name - Petersburg, as a stronghold of imperial power. In the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Decembrists and Chernyshevsky languished in anticipation of the verdict at different times. Crocodile as a fortress, as a symbol of power threatens the life of every person, reminds of its voracity.

Other questions also arise: does the crocodile, such a strange and exotic creature, have a connection with Russian culture, history, and folk beliefs? And if it does, which ones?

In the dictionary of V. I. Dahl, the word crocodile is explained as follows:" toothy, swamp animal, in the genus of a huge lizard " (Dahl V. I. Explanatory Dictionary. Moscow, 1979. T. P. S. 197). The interpretation seems to be "adjusted" to the concepts and associations of the Russian person. Why shouldn't such a large lizard settle in the St. Petersburg swamps? Moreover, in the story there are projects for the economic principle of breeding crocodiles in the ponds of Pargolov near St. Petersburg and on its own in Moscow. The absurdity of such proposals only increases the fantastic reality.

The plot of "Crocodile" is based on the motif of reality/sleep ("Sometimes it really seemed to me that all this was some kind of monstrous dream (...) about the monster... " -193), is a common technique that introduces a fantastic element into the narrative. It is easy to see that the fantastic and symbolic atmosphere in the story is formed around the image of the crocodile. In the " Newest dream interpreter "(Moscow, 1829) it is said: "a crocodile seen in a dream means misfortune and persecution from hidden enemies" (Tales of Miracles. Biblioteka russkoi fantastiki [Library of Russian Fiction], Moscow, 1990, vol. 1, p. 460). Despite

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despite the fact that the motif of misfortune and persecution is removed in the subtext, stands "behind the scenes", like the motif of a dream, the events of the story balance on the edge of reality-fiction, thus opening up opportunities for the manifestation of a diverse range of mythological allusions.

In Christian symbolism, Masonic interpretation, and Egyptian mythology, the crocodile is a mystery animal: this is the devil Typhon-a symbol of evil, a destructive demon waiting for its victims between the earth and the Champs-Elysees (Manley P. Hall. An encyclopedia of Masonic, Hermetic, Kabbalistic, and Rosicrucian symbolic philosophy. Novosibirsk, 1992, vol. 1, pp. 312, 327). In the story: "our dear Ivan Matveich, in all probability, is now floating somewhere in the Empyreans "(184). "Soar in the empyrean", for example, means: to be between heaven and earth (Phraseological Dictionary, Moscow, 1967, p. 69). It is important to understand that in Russian the concepts of "Champs-Elysees "and" Empyreans " are synonymous and symbolize not only unearthly spaces, a shelter for ancient gods and heroes, but also the abode of death. Even in Pushkin we meet: "to go to the Champs-Elysees" - to die (Mythological Dictionary, Moscow, 1985, p. 163). In the sense of "to die," Dostoevsky uses the expression "to soar in the empyrean," as Pushkin uses " to go to the Champs-Elysees." In the logic of such reasoning, the image of the crocodile in the story under study takes on another facet of meaning: "an inhabitant of the Pharaoh's kingdom", a mystery animal of Egyptian mythology-an aggressive "insidious monster" (181), the devil Typhon, devouring his victims. It is appropriate to recall that the evil crocodile-Typhon, spewing flames, in its mythological functions and meanings resembles a crocodile, a fierce beast, whose anger generates fire, destroying everything around. This image was known to Russian readers from the "Legend of the Indian Kingdom".

Consequently, the popular consciousness perceived the image of the crocodile already in the XIII century. In the "Legend" formed an idea of a certain land, on which "in one direction you need to go for ten months, and it is impossible to reach the other, because there the sky meets the earth" (The Legend of the Indian Kingdom / / Monuments of literature of Ancient Russia. XIII century. Moscow, 1981. p. 468). Among the fantastic people (mute, horned, nine fathoms (giants), with four arms, with dog heads, etc.), non-fantastic, but for the Russian consciousness exotic animals are mentioned: elephants, crocodiles, humped camels, which have wonderful properties. Dostoevsky, as well as many of his contemporaries, might have known these popular ideas. The wanderer Feklusha from Ostrovsky's" Thunderstorm "speaks, for example, about" people with dog heads "(Ostrovsky A. N. Sobr. soch.: In 10 vols. Moscow, 1959. Vol. 2. p. 241), thereby "voicing" the author's knowledge, a quote from the "Legend of the Indian Kingdom". The main thing that undoubtedly catches your eye: cro-

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kodil, such an unconventional creature for Russian everyday life, is included in the number of folklore images, reflected in the mythological representations of the people, in their vocabulary.

Crocodile as a hero is also known to the Russian popular print. One of the popular prints from the collection of D. A. Rovinsky is called: "Yaga Baba goes with a crocodile to fight on a pig with a pestle, but they have a bottle of wine under the bush." This picture belongs to the beginning of the XVIII century. It is one of the stories that came out of the Old Believers ' environment, criticizing Peter I and his reforms. This satirical piece shows Yaga Baba riding a pig with a pestle in her hands, threatening a crocodile that raised its paws on her and sat on its tail. Here, under the crocodile, as an emblem, a screen saver is made, on which a small ship is imprinted, and in the middle of the composition-a bush, under it - a "bottle of wine".

Who is behind these satirical allegories? Crocodile - Peter I, and Yaga-Baba-Catherine I. Ship = emblem-symbol of the Petrovsky Fleet, which included a small ship called "Crocodile", easily maneuverable, a thunderstorm for the enemy, terrible in appearance and resistant in battle. This name of the ship in the satirical lubka is transferred to the royal person, and the leaf tells about the family quarrels of the married imperial couple, who liked to take communion in the "bottle with wine" (Rovinsky D. A. Lubochnye pictures. St. Petersburg, 1839. Vol. 1. p. 37; Vol. 4. p. 158-159; Vol. 5. P. 158; Le Loubok, Limagene populaire russe XVIIe-XIXe siecles. L., 1984. N 27).

In the minds of schismatics, Peter 1 is a crocodile-devil, the Antichrist, surrounded by infernal images: Yags-Women, pigs. This popular print plot shows the reaction of the religious consciousness of the Old Believers, supports the connection of the image of the crocodile with the motives of Russian statehood, correlates it with Peter I himself.

In Dostoevsky's story, the focus on the popular art style is clearly visible: in "Crocodile", a special language of popular print is certainly heard, in the plots of which the lively hero is saved unharmed from the monster's womb (Jesuitova L. A. Dostoevsky's story "Crocodile" / / From Pushkin to Bely. St. Petersburg, 1992, pp. 194, 205). In addition to the leaflets on the subject of swallowing the hero by a crocodile, Dostoevsky was certainly familiar with the leaf depicting Peter I in the form of a crocodile. In any case, this can serve as an explanation for the motives associated with the historical and political aspects of the contemporary Dostoevsky reform of 1861-1865, attributed to the era of Peter's transformations, which is established by the subtext of the images of the story "Crocodile" with the images of popular prints.

It is easy to see that the image of a crocodile has limited functionality, and therefore the list of its meanings is not great: crocodile-the devil Typhon, a fierce beast, a symbol of misfortune and persecution of hidden enemies, a swamp animal that resembles a large

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lizard, the name of the ship of the Peter the Great Fleet, the hero of popular prints in the role of Peter I.

Another function of this image is shown in the popular print: it symbolizes a different existence, which is invariant in its meanings to the trident kingdom in fairy tales, from which the hero, as a rule, returns unharmed, renewed, and a happy winner.

Perhaps the popular version, which tells about a man who fell into the belly of a monster and miraculously escaped, correlates with the biblical myth of Jonah, at the behest of the god Yahweh, who found himself in the belly of a huge fish (in the Slavic version of the Bible - a whale), which was there for three days and was ejaculated after prayers and repentance without damage to the light of In another version of the legend, Jonah visited two fish. The first was a large one, the interior of which was a large hollow room lit by a diamond. This fish revealed to Jonah the secrets hidden from the eyes of man, and did him no harm, releasing him after three days. The other fish, because it was in the period of spawning, turned out to be uncomfortable and cramped for Jonah: only then did he begin to pray to God for deliverance (Myths of the peoples of the world. Encyclopedia, Moscow, 1991, vol. 1, p. 555. Stlb. 1-3). The widespread mythological story of a man being swallowed and vomited by a monster bears, as is well known, echoes of the rite of initiation, as well as the tradition proposed by exegetes, who saw in this image a symbol of the Babylonian captivity, and finally, the New Testament Christian tradition of death and resurrection on the third day (Ibid. Stlb. 2-3).

Of course, Dostoevsky used this universal mythological plot: the motif of the monster, the motif of its womb resembling a spacious room (Ivan Matveich invites both his friend and wife to his house), the writer does not miss the motif of darkness, the motif of captivity, the motif of swallowing ("thanks to the almighty, it was swallowed without any damage" - 185), the motif of communion with the miraculous prophetic knowledge ("Out of the crocodile will now come truth and light" - 194), the spatial motif of the "other world". However, it is extremely significant that Dostoevsky chooses not the image of a fish, but the image of a crocodile, which performs all these functions of a universal mythological plot, and, despite its exoticism, has a connection with Russian folklore, with Russian popular culture. Its universal plot is permeated with additional motifs of Russian folklore and Russian popular print: for example, the hero's swallowing by a crocodile, correlated with mythological folk ideas and historical realities, which ascend in their meanings to the Petrine theme reflected in folk culture, ridiculed here in the images of mummers.

Building the image of a crocodile, the writer forms it in the form of spatial meanings, which contributes to the perception of this image.

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as fantastic. For example: to get into a crocodile means to be "sent to the bowels" (191-192), to be registered abroad (191), to explore "European lands" in a crocodile (189). The crocodile is the boundary that separates this world and the next. The author emphasizes these meanings by italicizing them: "If I am famous here, I want her to be famous there "(194). Thus, the space of the crocodile and the space of St. Petersburg are visibly opposed, as two different existences. In addition, the crocodile is a retort, the bowels of nature (196), where an experiment of epochal significance takes place: a national messiah is formed from an ordinary official. Finally, the crocodile for Ivan Matveich is a " dungeon "(198): his wife can demand her legal spouse and start a "trial" in order to rescue him (200).

The image of the crocodile has a number of meanings that echo the ideas of the bourgeois age, its socio-economic principles. First, the crocodile is a symbol of private property, an object of purchase and sale, and a beneficent example of attracting foreign capital to Russia (186): ripping open the belly of a crocodile is the same as "ripping open the belly of fixed capital". In this regard, Ivan Matveich plays the role of the son of the fatherland, since "he doubled the value of a foreign crocodile, and perhaps even tripled it." His example will attract both another and a third foreigner, who "will already bring two or three crocodiles at a time", and " capital is grouped around them. Here comes the bourgeoisie "(190). In addition, in this layer of meanings, the image of the crocodile, if you follow its artistic nature, acts as an allegory: Europe came to Russia in the form of a toothy crocodile (foreign capital), swallowed a middle-class official, thus beginning the "vaccination" of economic instincts in order to contribute to the formation of the middle class in Russia, to help give birth " so the so-called bourgeoisie " (189).

The motive of bourgeois Europe is certainly connected with the motive of attracting foreign capital to Russia, which must be used "to buy up parts of our land" (189). In this logic, the demand of the crocodile owner, who wanted to buy his own house in Gorokhovaya Street of St. Petersburg, and not in some strape of Hamburg, Berlin or Dresden, is understandable. The sale of land has, according to Dostoevsky, not only an economic, but also a political effect: "When (...) all the land will be in the hands of attracted foreign companies, then (...) you can set any rental price you want. So, the guy will work (...) from one daily bread (...) he will be subdued, diligent, and will work out three times as much for the same price "(190) - Europe will thus help not only to create its own bourgeoisie, but also "obliging proletarians".

The image of a crocodile also serves an ideological function. In cha-

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as a crocodile-retort-this image responds to the image of the retort-underground "Notes", which carries the idea of unification from national roots, alienating the heroes from the soil under the influence of European knowledge and Western ideals. The ideological function of the crocodile-retort and underground-retort images is revealed in the task of creating a special kind-a universal homunculus: "it is only necessary to apply the fruits of European civilization "(59).

What is the result? There is no doubt that the image of a crocodile is an image - symbol that reveals its meanings from different angles: spatial, historical, folklore, mythological, ideological, social and political. When different functions are superimposed, an image is formed-a symbol of the last St. Petersburg story. Dostoevsky borrows the technique of this image from Russian popular print, from biblical myths, and from allegorical images. This technique makes it possible to combine a fast-flowing moment with eternity, newspaper information, problems of the passing day - with philosophical questions, historical allusions, and to see the multi-dimensionality of an image-symbol behind the one-dimensional allegory. Of course, the image-symbol creates a special symbolic space around itself, which allows not only the main images of the "Crocodile", but even marginal ones to be read as multi-layered.

It is appropriate to recall how, for example, when different functions are superimposed, the image of a German crocodile changes - a stupid, greedy, self-seeking philistine, who for a moment with the help of his wonderful crocodile is able to become a "Russian colonel", establish his family, home and pharmacy in the Russian land, like many of his compatriots who are, as is known, under the special patronage of the Russian imperial Court. The fantastic-symbolic characteristics of the image - symbol constantly provoke unexpected situations and twists in the plot, usually outlining new opportunities for the development of the plot action and interpretation of the images of the story.

Vladivostok

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