Tatyana Tolstaya’s “Night”, as Gabe previously alluded to, seems on its surface a description of Russian life for Alexei, a mentally disabled adult, and his mother. However, there is definitely something more significant beneath the surface of Alexei and his mother’ rather mundane life.
I thought it was interesting how Alexei is depicting as wanting to be a writer and is aware of Pushkin and appears to be inspired by his work. Additionally, the comment that “Alexei Petrovich has his world, the real one, in his head. There everything is possible. And this one, the outer one, is wicked and wrong. And it’s very hard to keep in mind what’s good and what’s bad” interested me as well (189). The idea between living in two separate worlds, an inner world of multiple possibilities, and an outer world that is oppressive could perhaps give a glimpse into what life and the creative process is like for writers, artists, etc. living in Russia during this time. On one hand, Alexei has his inner world in which anything is possible. Additionally, his dependence on his mother gives off a sense of innocence–he is still able to dream and imagine despite his rather unfortunate situation. On the other hand, his mother is fully aware of his reality and acts as a guide for him. In other words, she balances out his imagination that can sometimes run wild. Perhaps their relationship shows the inner-workings of how the creative process works in Russia. Artists and Alexei, like Alexei, live in two separate worlds in which they are constantly trying to balance. In their imagination they are free, but in the contact instability of Russia they are not.
Liam, I agree! I want to add to your point about the bond between mother and son. I agree that she guides him through the world. She shields him from any further pain he may experience while also keeping him away from danger, like women and being publicly ridiculed. I find the description on page 189 especially compelling:
“Oh Mommy, guiding star! You’re pure gold! You’ll take care of everything, wise woman, you’ll untangle all the knots! You knock down all the dark corners, all the labyrinths of the incomprehensible, impassable world with your mighty arm; you sweep away all the barriers–now the ground is flat and level.”
Your comments on how Russians had an inner world that was “wrong” to express on the outside is spot on. After thinking about this text for a while, I agree that Alexei is meant to represent the people, who had original, creative thoughts, but were told by the Soviet Union to keep those thoughts to themselves, acting strictly to make the citizens fall in line. What I’m unsure of his how the public works into the allegory. They act harshly to Alexei, even beating him up when he leaves the house to find ice cream at night, and his mother must come to save him. This speaks to your point on the mother being a savior figure on whom Alexei still relies, but I’m still not exactly sure who the crowd is meant to represent.
You make a very insightful analysis of Alexei’s inner and outer world, a concept from the story that also found to be fascinating. For Alexei, it is hard for him to “live by other people’s rules” and the inner world provides an escape from the outer world. (Tolstaya 189). The distinction between these two world’s allows Tolstaya to make an astute commentary on the oppressive and constraining nature of Russia at the time. As you mentioned, the conceptualization of these worlds in the narrative illustrates how the constraints on expression during time were even more limiting for the creative imaginations of writer and artists.
I think that the quote you bring up here is very interesting, especially in contrast to the idea of perestroika that we have talked about in class before. In Alexei Petrovich’s mind, the concept of making the private public, or bringing the internal into the external, is not an option. He has the “real” world where “everything is possible” in his head, and the “outer” world in contrast is “wicked and wrong”. Is Alexei meant to be contrarian to perestroika, or is his statement unrelated to this concept?
This idea that Russian artists had to walk between the boundaries of their imagined worlds an the real, oppressive reality is very interesting to me. I wonder if its possible that “Mommy” represents some kind of push towards propagandistic work. At the end of the story it is, after all, Mommy who gives Alexei the piece of paper upon which he scrawls “night.” She provides him with the means to create art, but her presence remains oppressive in the way it keeps Alexei safe indoors, away from the source of his inspiration. (The night and the darkened streets.)
Your reflection on the idea of two worlds: one with infinite opportunities and creativity and one of oppression fits quite well into the shed story, most likely why they were both selected and included together. The inner world and daydream seems to be a prevailing theme as we approach the end of the USSR. I understood this inner world to be a representation of the promised vs the reality of what was actually given. The inner world is almost an alternate timeline where everything worked out and the promised greatness of the USSR was achieved. The having “made sense of the world” at the end of “Night” also seems to parallel the moment in the shed story where the shed is awakened of its reality and blows up.
This is such a rich discussion overall, and Colby, what a perfect way to draw the themes of the discussion, and the two stories assigned for class, together at the end! It is so exciting for me to see these fruitful, sensitive, knowledgeable exchanges unfolding among all of you!!