A remarkable master of the Russian word, K. G. Paustovsky paid special attention to definitions. He believed that the epithet "should be accurate, fresh and stingy." This statement also applies to the epithet oily, which is found in Paustovsky's published works 27 times, 16 of which fall on the "final" autobiographical "Tale of Life" (1946-1963).

Buttery is a suffix adjective with the meaning "containing or similar to what is named in the basis of the motivating word" (Grammar of the modern Russian literary language. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow, 1970, § 465), i.e. it has different meanings: similar to oil (as if covered with it: glossy, slippery) and soaked in oil. Explanatory dictionaries cite several isolated cases of the use of the epithet oily by Russian writers: N. Nekrasov, M. Saltykov-Shchedrin, L. Leonov, A. Kuprin, M. Gorky, K. Fedin, M. Sholokhov.

The Dictionary of Epithets of literary Russian speech by A. Zelenetsky (1913) does not record it, nor does any of the dictionaries of synonyms of the Russian language. There is an explanation for this. The fact is that the adjective oily was not perceived for a long time (perhaps, even now it is not always perceived) as an artistic, and even more poetic epithet due to the fact that it has either a pronounced "technical" or satirically negative connotation (see Saltykov-Shchedrin: "the face is covered with oily mucus"). Examples of the poetic use of this epithet in fiction are extremely rare: "Oily wine" (Nekrasov), "oily leaves" (Fedin).

None of our dictionaries gives examples of the use of the adjective oily by I. Bunin. Meanwhile, already in his first major work, Romantics, Paustovsky refers to him: "Bunin read his stories. His hollow voice, without intonation, was soporific. The coat was buttoned up to the neck.. . But behind this coat, hot Judea suddenly bloomed, and the Russian language sparkled like a newly found treasure of gold coins." Later in " The Tale of

page 28

He once again recalled Bunin, who had performed in Moscow in 1914. The last time he saw him was in 1920 in Odessa before Bunin left for exile. Paustovsky idolized this writer and in 1961 dedicated a special essay to him. Bunin, in turn, highly appreciated Paustovsky's prose.

In the above quote from The Romantics, Paustovsky mentioned ancient Judea, which came to life under Bunin's pen. Indeed, in 1907-1911 Bunin published a series of essays, which he later combined into one cycle - "Shadow of the Bird", which included descriptions of his travels in the Mediterranean Sea and biblical Palestine. In these essays, which struck the young Paustovsky, Bunin describes the sea as follows:: "The sun shines with a thick blue-purple oil...> water"; sea "was a thick blue-purple oil"; "I stared in amazement at the burning oil that licked the steamer."

Such an artistic and emotional image is really hard to forget. And Paustovsky later uses this method of description in his prose: "The water in the bay seemed to be covered with a layer of dark olive oil" (1935); "We did not go out to sea, but into a purple flame" (1957); "The sea is heavy and smooth, like olive oil" (1961).

Bunin also used the adjective oily in his essays: "Oily-gold stripes" of light from portholes fell on the waves; "pig-eyed crocodiles lay in bronze-green oily logs"; the river merges with "oily, burning-bitter and dull greenish asphalt water". In other works of those years: "under the oily yellow-brown skin", " black and oily were his hair, his beard, dark and oily face." In the period 1907-1913 Bunin especially often applied to adjectives with the suffix-east. In his poetic works, he often meets: serpentine, resinous, clawed, stony, rocky, radiant, wavy... and, of course, oily ("the oily sheen of water illuminated by lights").

For the first time, the epithet oily is recorded in Paustovsky's "Romantics": "Oily mastic burned the throat." Then in 1924: "Black lacquer burned asphalt, pitted with oily tires." Later-in 1930 and 1933: "Oily and salty smell of hamsa", "pink and oily salmon meat", "oily waves". Since 1944, Paustovsky again begins to use this epithet. In addition to the traditionally defined concepts: water, eyes, wave-the epithet oily is also used by the writer in relation to such concepts as blocks of halva, tobacco, copper.

Along with this, the writer is also characterized by metaphorical epithets that define abstract concepts: smell, warmth, sweetness. And here again, a figurative parallel can be traced in Bunin's descriptions (he passed near the " sighing machine that blew... with its warmth and

page 29

smell of heated oil") and Paustovsky ("oily heat of engine rooms").

In some cases, Paustovsky's descriptions are extremely realistic: "An oily stream poured noisily from the engine room"; "The engine sighed loudly, and hot oily water dripped from it on the sand"; "It became twice as hot from the red-hot engine and the oily boiling water pouring out of the tender". Here, the jet, water, and boiling water are oily because they actually contain oil. In one of the books "Stories about Life" Paustovsky writes: "... from the locomotive suddenly poured... hot water mixed with engine oil."

But there are often surprises of this kind: "She treated me to meringue cakes that melted in my mouth with a buttery cold sweetness." Detailed descriptive images of early works ("Chubirov shone "...> like a fireman smeared with oil"; machinist - "a small, shiny old man from engine oil") in an autobiographical story are transformed into a brief, but capacious and expressive description: "The oily stokers went around cursing."

Some of Paustovsky's images are surprisingly consistent and persistent. He writes in 1930: oil is "brown, with a golden greasy sheen." And almost in the same way, thirty years later, he describes " the oily brown with a golden sheen of Emben oil." This epithet can carry a different emotional charge. Let's compare two phrases: "I was particularly disgusted by the short man with round, oily eyes" and "For some reason, I wanted to see him...> the resin in the heart of the pines has acquired an oily red color." A repulsive impression - in the first case, and a joyful perception of nature-in the second.

Paustovsky has descriptions that are synonymous with the adjective oily, but they are all more prosaic, "simple": an oiled back, an old man glistening with engine oil,steam locomotives glistening with oil, the ground glistening with autol. How does a succinct phrase win in comparison to them: "The train was asleep. It smelled like an oily warmth." You can't be more precise and expressive!

By the end of his life, when Paustovsky, being already seriously ill, was writing an autobiographical "Tale of Life", in which "words compete in terms of impact with the colors of painting" (R. Fraerman), he highlighted in his memory the adjective he had long loved, opening up great artistic and synonymous possibilities in this "dry" word.

Saint-Petersburg

Permanent link to this publication: