mykola xvyl'ovyj's "redaktor kark"-- a fictional antecedent to his pamphlets

American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages

Mykola Xvyl'ovyj's "Redaktor Kark"-- A Fictional Antecedent to His PamphletsAuthor(s): Virginia BennettSource: The Slavic and East European Journal, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Summer, 1987), pp. 158-170Published by: American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European LanguagesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/308024 .

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MYKOLA XVYL'OVYJ'S "REDAKTOR KARK"- A FICTIONAL ANTECEDENT TO HIS PAMPHLETS

Virginia Bennett, American Council of Teachers of Russian, Moscow

Mykola Xvyl'ovyj's short story "Redaktor Kark" predates his pamphlets by two years, yet it expresses a number of ideas which he later integrated into his polemical articles. As early as 1923, when "Redaktor Kark" appeared in Xvyl'ovyj's collection, Syni etjudy (Blue etudes), it offered a preview of vital issues relating to the survival and development of Ukrainian literature and culture. These were concerned with the nature and function of revolutionary and proletarian Ukrainian literature and the roles of Ukrainian Communist writers and intellectuals. Such questions were subsequently raised between 1925 and 1928 during the heat of the "Literaturna dyskussija" (Literary discussion),' when Xvyl'ovyj's pamphlets were written. Those collected under the titles Kamo hrjadely? (Quo vadis?), Dumky proty tediji (Thoughts against the mainstream), and Apolohety pysaryzmu (Apologians for hack writing) express directly and with more force the concerns earlier voiced in "Redaktor Kark." The primary focus of the present study is Xvyl'ovyj's methods of conveying his political beliefs through the structure, plot, and symbolism of "Redaktor Kark."

"Redaktor Kark" presents the challenging task of identifying the numer- ous political, sociological, and esthetic problems linked to the communization of Ukraine, its new status as a Soviet republic, and the implementation of Lenin's New Economic Policy there. The exposition of these problems is ingeniously interwoven in the framework of "Redaktor Kark," and although its main character, Kark, is by no means Xvyl'ovyj's alter ego, they share many concerns. Of paramount interest to Kark, to Xvyl'ovyj, and to many Ukrainians during the early 1920s, when the story is set, were the future goals of Ukrainian writers, the political status of Ukraine in Europe and among its sister republics, and the inculcation of a greater sense of national pride among Ukrainians through the evolution of an independent Ukrainian literature and culture.

After the publication of his two volumes of short fiction, Syni etjudy and Osin' (Autumn; 1924), Xvyl'ovyj became one of the leading spokesmen for 158 SEEJ, Vol. 31, No. 2 (1987)



Mykola Xvyl'ovyj's "Redaktor Kark" 159

post-Revolutionary Ukrainian writers and literary critics.2 When his beliefs began to diverge considerably from the increasingly rigid Party guidelines for the arts, they provoked heated debates, and he was often subjected to verbal abuse in the Ukrainian and Russian Party organs.3 It took great courage and personal integrity for Xvyl'ovyj to make public statements that were frequently in conflict with official literary policies. Even though his ties with the Party were very strong and his belief in the principles of Marxism firm, Xvyl'ovyj became alienated from the Ukrainian branch when it submitted increasingly to the dictates of the Russian Party. The conflict between his love for Ukraine and his loyalty to the Party culminated in his disillusionment with the latter, especially after 1928. When the artificially induced famines took place in the early 1930s and the purges of Ukrainian intellectuals intensified, Xvyl'ovyj lost all hope of ameliorating the political status of Ukraine; he committed suicide in 1933. Since his death, Xvyl'ovyj's works generally have been suppressed in Ukraine, where he is branded a "bourgeois nationalist"; there are few translations of his works into English. Because Xvyl'ovyj's prose is relatively unknown to non-Ukrainian Slavicists, summaries of "Redaktor Kark" and the pamphlets pertaining to it will be provided before the story itself is discussed.

The narrative organization and the style of "Redaktor Kark" impart sen- sations of hallucination and disorientation. Xvyl'ovyj supplies few details about his characters or their settings. The locale of the story is urban, with an emphasis on interiors. Redaktor Kark is identified only by his last name, which means "roughneck"; we learn only that he is a former Ukrainian revolutionary partisan, presently employed as a newspaper editor. The thinly outlined plot revolves around Kark's personal crisis: he has reached an impasse and is contemplating suicide. Passages describing Kark's obsession with his revolver hint obliquely at this. The stream-of-consciousness style reveals his thoughts, provides flashbacks to his past, and conveys his reac- tions to the realities of the present. Kark has been driven to a state of despair by the embourgeoisement of revolutionary values and the process of russification in Ukraine during the NEP period; a patriot and loyal Marxist, he has concluded that he is superfluous in the new social order under the NEP.

The causes of Kark's gloom are revealed through impressionistic scenes and encounters. One source of despair is the reversals by the NEP of social reforms enacted during the Revolution: "Even the Communists are looking better, perhaps not all-it is the NEP. ?kic is organizing a trust, and he rarely mentions Ukraine" (146).4 Another is the supremacy in Ukraine of parvenus (as Kark terms them): self-serving bureaucrats who refuse to take a stand against the ongoing russification of Ukraine. Kark accuses them of betraying revolutionary ideals in order to advance within the Party or to



160 Slavic and East European Journal

reap material rewards for their services. Finally, Kark reflects upon the problem of continuing the Revolution in Ukraine during peacetime.

Most of what we discover about Kark is revealed through his encounters with a small cast of generally nameless characters, simply indicated by de- scriptive phrases: "the landlady," "the editor-in-chief," "the flatterer," the daughter of his pre-Revolutionary boss, and "Red Beard"-a Ukrainian patriot and Marxist. Two characters of greater significance are given names: Skic, a co-worker at the newspaper, and Njusja, the landlady's daughter. Skic ("sketch" in Ukrainian) represents some of the elements that cause Kark so much pain and disillusionment. He is a complacent, prag- matic speculator and a former member of the Central Committee of the Social Revolutionary Party. His criticisms of Ukraine and Ukrainians infuri- ate Kark, who finds his condescension intolerable. Njusja, on the other hand, is Kark's best friend. She is a sickly dreamer, whose patriotism and love for Ukrainian culture and history are echoed in Kark's own sentiments; she reaffirms the values that he cherishes. Njusja tries to soothe his anguish with tales of Ukraine's glorious past. Although she herself comes from the landed gentry and has an aura of the past about her, she is in full accord with the Revolution, which she believes is an extension of Ukrainians' search for freedom and independence from Russia.

As Kark perceives the widening gap between his convictions and those of the newspaper for which he works, he takes the decisive step of resigning. His superior, the editor-in-chief, makes it quite clear that Kark will not be missed. Upon returning home, Kark has a long discussion with Njusja in which he speaks about his love for Ukraine and his feelings of frustration at the unpromising future awaiting his beloved homeland. Our last glimpse of Kark, like our first, sees him sitting at his table contemplating his revolver. His suicide is indicated by a metaphor-a bird flying off into the night-and by Xvyl'ovyj's remarks in ensuing chapters.

A summary of "Redaktor Kark" would be incomplete without mention of the nonfictional sections, which openly state Xvyl'ovyj's views and con- tain themes later developed in his pamphlets. However, Kark's adventures and musings and Xvyl'ovyj's authorial intrusions into the story are not without political statements. Among the topics which Xvyl'ovyj discusses are: the need for innovative literary techniques reflecting social revolution, the need to de-russify Ukraine, and the problems of literary opportunism, tendentiousness, and anti-intellectualism in the new schools of writing. He also introduces some of his ideas for new literary styles more compatible with the new society. He mentions the need for romanticism-an approach which later in his pamphlets he calls "romantic vitaism" (Latin vita)-and describes his own personal goals as a writer of fiction.

The following precis of the arguments presented in Xvyl'ovyj's pamphlets is limited to the issues they share with "Redaktor Kark." The essays in




Kamo hrjadegy?, Dumky, and Apolohety pysaryzmu (all published between 1925 and 1926) gave notice of Xvyl'ovyj's campaign for the improvement of Ukrainian literature and cultural life. In them, he despaired over the poor quality of the works of pseudo "proletarian" writers, who disguised their identities behind noms de plume containing the stereotypical Ukrainian suffixes -enko and -cja. He crusaded against the onslaught of what he aptly dubbed "Red graphomania." He acidly castigated editors and critics who rushed to acclaim and publish the trash offered by opportunists masquer- ading as "proletarian" writers. The Party coryphaei, as Xvyl'ovyj termed them, hindered the progress of Ukrainian literature by raising an "ignomin- ious song and dance" (Kamo hrjadegy?, 83) over writers who deliberately limited themselves to proletarian subjects for political advancement or profit, or, as Xvyl'ovyj branded it, "careerism and speculation" (Kamo hrja- deMy?, 82-83).

One of Xvyl'ovyj's major contentions was that writers from the proletariat should make no literary contributions until they had become educated and joined the ranks of the intelligentsia. "It is not the masses, still ideologically unformed, who will set the ideological tone of the cultural renaissance. Rather it is the intelligentsia of those masses" (Apolohety, 306). Xvyl'ovyj felt obliged to correct a misconception held by his opponents: "The intelligentsia is merely the educated part of any class" (Apolohety, 304).

Xvyl'ovyj advocated that Ukrainians turn to Western Europe for their cultural education and inspiration (not to Russia, as they had in the past). A problem related to this view was how to curtail the russification of Ukraine that had intensified after the Revolution. Xvyl'ovyj suggested that to halt this process writers would have to instill in workers and peasants a knowledge of their cultural heritage and a sense of pride in their national origins. The new literature that would educate Ukrainians about themselves must be indigenous to Ukraine. The prose style which Xvyl'ovyj developed, "romantic vitaism," would be the best suited for such tasks. "'Romantic vitasim' is created not by '-enkos, but by communards. Like every art, it is for developed intellects. It is the sum total of the new way of thinking, a new Weltanschauung, of new harmonious vibrations" (Kamo hrjadegy?, 104).

Despite giving the first impression of a disorganized collection of reminiscences, musing, unrelated incidents, and authorial digressions, "Redaktor Kark" is actually carefully organized within a rigid, tightly constructed framework, almost classical in form. It is preceded by two epigraphs: one, an extract from a work by Pavlo Tybyna, a poet of Xvyl'ovyj's generation, the other from a text by Vasilij Aleksandrovskij, a Russian proletarian poet.5 There follow eighteen sections designated by Roman numerals. Of them eight (I, II, IV, V, X-XII, XVII) relate Kark's story and ten (III, VI-IX, XIII-XVI, XVIII) are totally devoted to the author's remarks. The inevita- bility of Kark's fate is emphasized by the depiction of a similar scene in the




first and last chapters dealing with him: in both he contemplates the revolver on the table before him.

The contents and internal structuring of "Redaktor Kark" are in contrast to the sedate, classical ordering of its chapters. Although the Roman numerals hint at classicism, the chapters themselves depart from that tradi- tion. Their length is far from uniform or balanced; they vary from several pages to four words. One chapter is a deliberate ironic commentary on structure: "Why on earth are there so many sections? Such is the psychology of the creative intellect: to give as much as possible, even when it is impos- sible" (148). Xvyl'ovyj even defines chapter IX as an "agitational leaflet," in which he expresses the need for revolutionary literature to depict revolution: "The Revolution is creating a new way of life, and one must write a revolutionary way of life" (140).

Samples from many literary genres are interwoven into the narrative. These can be found in snatches of essays, statements on Xvyl'ovyj's literary policies, diary entries, parables, and two dramatized scenes with dialogues- one actually a playlet. For example, chapter VI is a small essay on the works of young Ukrainian writers. Chapter XIV is identified by the line in italics, "An excerpt from my diary" (147)-where the "diary" seems to be Xvyl'ovyj's rather than Kark's. Xvyl'ovyj calls chapter III a parable; in it he constructs a parallel between nightingales and writers. The dialogues and dramatizations occur in the last chapters-XVII and XVIII. The former involves a dialogue between Kark, Njusja, and a character simply called "the author," wherein each character is assigned speeches. The latter con- tains a playlet, in which the author and the reader exchange opinions about the story.

Throughout the text, Xvyl'ovyj deliberately obscures the roles of Kark, the narrator, the character he calls "the author," and himself by leaving out the usual transitional phrases that indicate a switch in role; the roles of Kark and the narrator are sometimes intermingled, and Kark uses the inclusive "we," as do the narrator and Xvyl'ovyj. It is difficult to distinguish between the narrator and Xvyl'ovyj, because they both use the first person. Statements about literary policies found in both the essay-chapters and those dealing with the plot can be either from the narrator or from Xvyl'o- vyj. When the inclusive "we" is used, it seems to be from the narrator; when "I" is used, it seems that Xvyl'ovyj himself is speaking. Xvyl'ovyj further confounds us by distancing himself from "the author" in the playlet. This becomes apparent when comments from the first chapter are recalled. In the dialogue, "the author" states that the reader has just read Kark's diary, whereas in the first chapter Xvyl'ovyj or the narrator says that this is not a diary, but "the weaving of a contemporary novella" (132). For example, in chapter III Xvyl'ovyj directly addresses his readers and exhorts them to participate in the creative process of the story. Another statement by "the




author" to "the reader" in the playlet, "Editor Kark thinks that I am a parvenu" (151), does not correspond to the impression conveyed to the real reader by Xvyl'ovyj's impassioned remarks about literature elsewhere in the story.

Clearly, the reader is included among the participants of this work. Xvy- l'ovyj often enters into a dialogue with the reader, as for example in chapter III: "My dear readers[,] ... I'm afraid that you won't read this to the end" (135). In another chapter, Xvyl'ovyj confers with his readers: "What do you think; how will the novella end?" (147). Then shortly before the denoue- ment, Xvyl'ovyj confides to the reader: "I had wanted Njusja to fall in love with Kark, and 9kic with Njusja. They didn't, and it wasn't necessary. As a matter of fact, one can't write about love in every novella-what do you suppose?" (147-48). Xvyl'ovyj's interaction with the reader is parodied in the final chapter, where "the author" and "the reader" review the questions of literary policies raised throughout the text. The fictional and real readers are left to solve the riddles posed by the complex and elusive thread of the narrative and to ponder over Xvyl'ovyj's and Kark's observations on literature and politics in post-Revolutionary Ukraine.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of the structure of "Redaktor Kark" is the counterbalance between the ideas expressed in Xvyl'ovyj's interrup- tions and Kark's views about the present state of affairs in Ukraine. Where- as Xvyl'ovyj concentrates upon esthetics, Kark agonizes over the political, social, and historical problems related to the communization of Ukraine. A profoundly reflective man, Kark spends a good deal of time comparing his present life, surroundings, and the ambiance of 1922 to the excitement and deep political commitment he felt in 1917 and 1918. The people and scenes from his own neighborhood trigger reminiscences of former comrades and incidents from the Revolution.

Xvyl'ovyj often chooses highly emotional, symbolic images to convey Kark's observations and feelings. For example, Kark strolls past a square where traders are selling hogs and recalls an heroic battle between Ukrainian revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries which took place on this site. The irony of the contrast is unmistakable. The voice of a blind man who accosts him in the street reminds Kark of the voice of a former comrade from his partisan days. The blind man's role is to subtly call attention to the fate of a number of former revolutionaries at the time of the story. The onslaught of the NEP is shown graphically as well as symbolically, and with irony. There are at least two scenes which bring into focus some of the retreats from revolutionary policies. The first has to do with the distribution of "luxury" items. On one occasion, Kark's landlady prattles to him about how she succeeded in hiding her porcelain teacups. It occurs to Kark that the Revolution made it possible for even the peasants to drink from such cups, but that NEP prevents this possibility from materializing. In another




incident, a friend invites him to witness a typical "worker's wedding," which, to Kark's dismay, will be held in a church. He interprets this incident as a sign of the re-emergence of the Orthodox church as a political power under the laxity of NEP policies.

In Kark's conversations with ?kic and fellow workers at the newspaper, Xvyl'ovyj goes to the heart of the problems brought on by the NEP. Kark is especially disturbed by his discussions with ?kic, because they reveal a corruption of revolutionary ideals and a serious departure from the goals of the Revolution among those in power. They also indicate that bourgeois aspirations still flourish in post-Revolutionary Ukraine. Finally, through Kark's conversations or solitary musings, Xvyl'ovyj indicates the direct relationship between the continuation of russification in Ukraine and the NEP. The contrapuntal technique of alternating the narrative with Xvyl'o- vyj's authorial digressions in order to highlight and complement the problems exposed in each is highly effective and innovative. The reader is encouraged to draw comparisons between the political retreats observed by Kark and the literary retreats noted by Xvyl'ovyj. Whereas the narrative reports Kark's debates with other characters in the story, it is clear from Xvyl'ovyj's remarks that he is defending his own views against ideological opponents among his colleagues and potential readers. Many of his digressions are written in a conversational tone, as though he is debating the reader.

As mentioned earlier, two of the problems raised by Xvyl'ovyj in "Redaktor Kark" are his advocacy of revolutionary literary techniques and of establishing a Ukrainian literature independent from Russian influence. The first section in which these themes appear is chapter III. Xvyl'ovyj draws the battle line with the statement, "I'm afraid that you won't read my story through to the end. You are in the clutches of tendentious literature" (135). In this section he creates the parable of nightingales singing in the woods, the gist of which is that writers must avoid copying the style or ideas of others and must strive to create new types of literature: "Nightin- gales don't all sing alike, listen. [There are] nightingale Mozarts and Beet- hovens .... To sing [or repeat-V. B.] over and over again is not to create, but to ape" (135).

Here Xvyl'ovyj creates a triple pun on the word perespivuvaty, which can mean "to sing more loudly and longer than others," "to sing again," or figura- tively "to repeat again and again." The message of the pun can also be interpreted three ways. Writers must not sing the same old tunes, i.e., they must break away from the old methods and themes and maintain creativity by seeking new ones. Or, singing more loudly, i.e., being published often and receiving acclaim from critics because of the acceptable political content of one's works, does not imply artistic worth or creativity. Finally, Ukrain- ian writers must not repeat (or ape) Russian works.




This last interpretation finds validation in Dumky, where Xvyl'ovyj writes about the "slave mentality" of his predecessors and his ideological opponents: "[Ukrainian intellectuals] suffered and are suffering from cultural retrogression. Our purveyor of culture cannot imagine himself without a Russian bandmaster. He is only capable of repeating after, of aping" (177). In both texts, Xvyl'ovyj uses the same word mavpuvaty, or malpuvaty, meaning "to imitate or ape," In chapter IX of "Redaktor Kark,"' he continues with the theme of breaking ground for new forms of literature: "It is difficult to pave the way[,] the ground is hard, [there are] burdocks. . . . When will I leave the literature of the past?" (141).

The image of the difficult path occurs elsewhere in the story and in the final section of the Kamo hrjadegy? collection. In the sixth chapter of "Redaktor Kark," Xvyl'ovyj writes: "I set off on a new path, and I am joyful" (140). This statement follows a discussion of the fact that too many young Ukrainian writers were emulating the style of Sevienko by depicting Ukraine in terms of shepherds and bucolic scenes typical of "Little Russia" of the tsarist era. Several years later, in a similar context, he exhorts aspiring young writers "to create the kind of art Europe expects of us. We know, our path is difficult, and we take upon ourselves a great responsibility. On the other hand, it is a joyous path of heady struggle, a path which races toward the future behind the crimson steeds of our brilliant revolution" (Kamo hrjadegy?, 132). In several digressions, Xvyl'ovyj elaborates upon the theme of innovation. He speaks of the reader's joining in the creative process and implies that one must go beyond innovation for its own sake and try, as he has, to create a totally artistic work, one which would require much reflective thought and prior knowledge from the reader. Chapter VIII underlines this message by its striking format of just four Ukrainian words, translated as: "For the vivid thought of the reader" (140).

We learn at the outset that Kark's story unfolds in 1922. By then, the destructive tendencies of the anti-intellectual campaign of the "proletarians" had become clear to Xvyl'ovyj. This problem appears in several chapters which describe Kark's relations with his editor-in-chief. Kark's opinion of his boss is reflected in the following description: "He's a defensive fellow- that's clear, and high-strung-that's also clear. He always thinks that people are making fun of him. He abuses the intelligentsia, yet he likes it when people say to him: 'But you yourself are an intellectual"' (141). The theme is continued in the next chapter, when Kark reflects upon why he feels so tense and ill-at-ease in the editorial offices:

He didn't speak with the editor-in-chief. What was there to talk about? He was angry with him. The anger intensified. He was offended on behalf of himself, of Red

Beard, and of thousands, scattered throughout Ukraine and unseen, yet close to him. The editor-in-chief flourished and abused the intelligentsia anew, and [Kark] wanted to spit in his eyes for his falsehood, for his hypocrisy. (144)




As previously noted, Xvyl'ovyj devoted a great deal of attention to the role of the intelligentsia in educating the Ukrainian masses and in creating a cultural renaissance in Ukraine. He contradicted the idea that the intelligentsia were ipso facto representatives of the old order, potential enemies of the proletariat, and members of an elite social stratum. Xvyl'ovyj tried to dispel these misconceptions a number of times in his pamphlets, especially in Kamo hrjadegy? and Apolohety. One essay, included in the latter collection, bears the provocative title "Sock It Again to the Intelligentsia!" In it, Xvyl'ovyj concentrates upon just such anti-intellectual attitudes as those reflected in the above-cited passages from "Redaktor Kark," and it is the source of Xvyl'ovyj's remarks given earlier above in defense of the intelligentsia. He thought it was self-evident that the intelligentsia came from all social groups and that it was imperative that it continue to do so.

Chapter XIV of "Redaktor Kark" presents Xvyl'ovyj's reflections on romanticism and hints at his later theory of "romantic vitaism," themes he would develop further in Kamo hrjade'y?:

An excerpt from my diary. I am deliberating on contemporary Ukrainian belles lettres. This is what I think: this is the era of romanticism. He who doesn't understand this is missing a great deal. Realism will come when thousands graduate from the workers' universities; naturalism will come when the polluting of life ends. (147)

One of the most politically sensitive issues raised in "Redaktor Kark" and Xvyl'ovyj's pamphlets is the ongoing process of russification in Ukraine and the concomitant need to reverse that process by "ukrainization" of the proletariat. By 1922, the dreams of achieving political autonomy and national consciousness engendered by the Revolution were beginning to fade. In approaching this problem, Xvyl'ovyj represses his usual tendency to speak openly. Instead, he makes veiled allusions or uses symbolic lan- guage to refer to Russian influence in post-Revolutionary Ukrainian political and cultural life. The complexity of the political situation in Ukraine after the Civil War is mirrored in the surrealistic style of "Redaktor Kark," and hints of Xvyl'ovyj's underlying messages must be sorted out from the collage of shifting moods and scenes. The objects, settings, and interpersonal relationships in Kark's story, as well as Xvyl'ovyj's digressions, often assume symbolic meanings which the reader is expected to comprehend. Although many diverse themes are introduced in the work, they are all interrelated, and the manner in which they complement each other lends a deeper meaning to the composition as a whole.

Both in Ukraine and Russia, a number of writers from the younger generation found that a romantic style was best suited to conveying the ethos of revolution. Xvyl'ovyj's "romantic vitaism" represented this literary approach in Ukraine, while "revolutionary romanticism" was its counterpart in Russia. Xvyl'ovyj's prose is distinguished by its extensive reliance upon




the tropes and emotional intensity of lyrical poetry; there are similes, regular and extended metaphors, personification, and apostrophe. In "Redaktor Kark," these are combined with many of the devices of oratorical and polemical literature, as well as simple conversation, including rhetorical questions, exclamations, exhortations, several types of irony, pseudo-confi- dences, lyrical outpourings, and puns. Not only is the prose of "Redaktor Kark" highly ornamental, but it also represents Xvyl'ovyj's experimentation with sound patterns, semantics, neologisms, typography, and graphics. It is frequently arranged rhythmically in strings of assonant or alliterative words. It seems that Xvyl'ovyj delights in repeating several Soviet acronyms, play- ing with their cacophony and onomatopoeia. The finesse of his puns depends upon his sensitivity to the phonology and morphology of Ukrain- ian. The typesetting, punctuation, unorthodox arrangements of the text itself and of chapter division, paragraphs, and sentences show Xvyl'ovyj's attention to the visual impression of the story.

A predominant feature of "Redaktor Kark" is its symbolism. One example is the development of the theme of death. On a superficial level, the plot revolves around Kark's depressed state of mind and its outcome-suicide. On a deeper level, the gradual mental deterioration and presumed death of the main character is paralleled by the death of the revolutionary impetus during the NEP. Finally, there is Xvyl'ovyj's veiled prophecy, expressed through Kark, of the absorption of the Ukrainian people through russification. An ironic footnote to this prophecy was Xvyl'ovyj's own suicide for the same motives. In another symbolic passage, Xvyl'ovyj interjects into the narration the remark that Kark's eyes resemble those of the Russian writer, Vsevolod Gargin. Not only does he challenge his reader to a game of literary "trivia," but he simultaneously hints at Kark's suicide. Gargin killed himself in a fit of depression supposedly brought on by social conditions ("Redaktor Kark," 132). Xvyl'ovyj mentions in passing that Il'ja Repin, Gargin's por- traitist, was sympathetic to the cause of Ukrainian nationalism.

The fact that Kark's personal destiny is linked to that of the Revolution in Ukraine is made clear in his outburst to Njusja on the betrayal of revolutionary principles: No, Njusja, I can't go on like this. It is difficult for me. People are closing in on me, but who are they? They keep silent about their name. I can't live, I can't create. Things are terrible for us-some are selling themselves; others push themselves forward-dark, unknown, parvenus. Former Social Democrats take the metropolitanship.6 Social Democrats-do you understand? Social Democrats wearing mitres. This is terrible. I can't go on. This is terrible. (144)

Then, stimulated by this conversation, Kark gazes obsessively at his revolver when he returns to his room. His thoughts turn to the future plight of his compatriots if russification takes hold:

Then he once again thought about the Browning, and he agonized, for he wanted to go on living; Red Beard also wanted to go on living-a Soviet automaton isolated from life with his




journal. And [Kark] felt sorry for him. But there is that Varangian force-great, colossal, putting more and more pressure on [us]. (145)

It is through Xvyl'ovyj's use of symbols that the theme of death assumes such an important role. Although the revolver is an obvious symbol for death, it is by no means a primitive one. The significance of the gun must be considered from a number of different angles. Xvyl'ovyj tells us that the gun has a personal history. As Kark's possession, its past is intimately linked with his own. It has been with Kark since his early days as a youthful insurgent during the upheavals of 1905. He used it when he was a partisan during the Revolution and the Civil War. However, at present its honorable function as a revolutionary's tool has been superseded by the dishonorable one as instrument for self-destruction. Likewise, Kark now feels that he no longer serves an honorable cause. At the beginning of the story, the revolver evokes inspiring recollections in which Kark takes pride and consolation. At the conclusion, it is a constant reminder of Kark's suicidal despair.

Smoke is another recurrent image in the story, a complex symbol with several meanings. When Kark sees smoke or thinks about it, various asso- ciations flash through his mind: from smoke's connection to the Revolution- arson by the partisans or peasants-or the symbol used in songs of that period-raging steppe fires-to portray the intensity of revolutionary activities in Ukraine. Industrialization and urbanization are indicated by the deliberately banal image of smoke emerging from the smokestacks (an image canonized in agitprop literature). Smoke from incense in church triggers in Kark a series of reflections about the oppressive tactics of the pre-Revolutionary Church, its destruction by the Revolution, and its phoenix-like resurrection during the NEP period. Finally, Kark is haunted by two fantasies that represent for him the act of suicide: the smoking hole in his forehead and the swirling smoke and mist that remind him of the void which awaits him after death.

A knowledge of Kievan, Ukrainian, Russian, and European history is necessary to understand the significance of several historical symbols. The first occur in the story's epigraphs, which direct the reader's attention toward two questions raised later. One involves Russian and Ukrainian relations, which culminate in Ukraine's struggle for autonomy in the post- Revolutionary period. The second is the Russians' view of Ukraine as the land of the "Xoxols"7--a primitive rural province ignorantly resisting the Revolution. A complete reading of the full texts of Ty6yna's and Aleksan- drovskij's poems, from which the epigraphs are taken (n. 5), supports these interpretations: Tybyna contrasts the Russians' and Ukrainians' approach to the Revolution, while Aleksandrovskij speaks of the Revolution in rural areas.




On two occasions, Kark equates the Russians with the Varangians: "And there is in it [the use of patronymics-V. B.] some sort of northern sweet- ness, a persistence, the deep forests of Kaluga, and Ivan Kalita-and Mus- covite force-great, colossal, fatal, which comes from the Varangian guests" (133-34). Xvyl'ovyj echoes these thoughts in an essay in Dumky, "Kul'turnyj epigonizm," where he mocks the famous quotation from the chronicles, "Come and rule over us." The paraphrasing is introduced within the context of Xvyl'ovyj's discussion of what he calls the "slavish mentality" of those Ukrainians who only seek inspiration from Russia (Tvory, 4:177). One can infer from Kark's remarks that what is taking place in post-Revolutionary Ukraine is a contemporary version of the subjugation of proto-Ukrainians by the Norsemen. Kark speaks several times about northerners (Russians) as opposed to southerners (Ukrainians).

Time and again, Xvyl'ovyj insisted in his pamphlets that the only place where Ukrainians should seek inspiration for their creative endeavors was Western Europe, and that only when they became thoroughly steeped in European cultural traditions would Ukrainian culture achieve autonomy. This point is subtly made in a passage in "Redaktor Kark." Kark is particularly fond of a statuette of a Roman centurion which he has brought home from the newspaper offices. He imagines that the objet d'art has been in those offices since the seventeenth century, when a famous Ukrainian gazette was distributed all over Ukraine. That century was, of course, the height of the Ukrainian Baroque, when Ukraine's ties with the West were closer than with Russia.

There are many possible approaches to a work as rich in connotations and stylistic mastery as "Redaktor Kark." The purpose of this discussion has been to offer an interpretation based upon comparison of issues raised in the story and developed more fully several years later in Xvyl'ovyj's pamphlets. The points made in so many ways and on so many levels in this story gain deeper significance when viewed in the light of Xvyl'ovyj's straightforward presentation of his ideas in the pamphlets. In both "Redak- tor Kark" and the pamphlets, Xvyl'ovyj confronts the reader with urgent problems facing the Ukrainian intellectuals and politicians of his day: the dilemmas created when ideals and reality clash, when the promises of political autonomy for Ukraine, of freedom and prosperity for the Ukrainian proletariat, and of a cultural renaissance in Ukrainian culture are dissipated in post-Revolutionary power struggles between the Russian Party and the other national parties.




NOTES

1 Most of Xvyl'ovyj's biographers deal adequately with the "Literary discussion" (n. 2 below). However, Luckyj gives particularly detailed descriptions of relevant issues, participants, and organizations in his Literary Politics in the Soviet Ukraine.

2 Among the most useful sources of information on Xvyl'ovyj's life, works, and political activities are Ferguson; Han; Istorija ukrajins'koji literatury, vol. 3; Kostjuk; Luckyj; Lavrinenko.

3 For an excellent overview of works in the contemporary Ukrainian and Russian press by and about Xvyl'ovyj see Lejtis and Jalek. Xvyl'ovyj is mentioned in the entry "Ukrainskaja sovetskaja literatura" in the first Soviet literary encyclopedia, where he is called a "counterrevolutionary bourgeois nationalist" (578). Xvyl'ovyj came to the attention of Stalin himself, who criticized him several times in print for his nationalistic tendencies (Stalin, Index).

4 Parenthetical references are to Xvyl'ovyj, "Redaktor Kark." Translations are mine. 5 The complete text of Tytyna's poem is in Lavrinenko, 41; Aleksandrovskij's is in Elov

and ?amurin, 442-43. 6 Ukrainian metropolija has two meanings: "metropolitanship" and "metropolis." This is

another example of Xvyl'ovyj's puns. 7 Xvyl'ovyj himself uses this Russian derogatory designation for Ukrainians; see "Redaktor

Kark," 133.

WORKS CITED

Elov, I. S. and E. I. ?amurin, eds. Russkaja podzija XX veka. M.: Novaja Moskva, 1925. Ferguson, Dolly Mary. "Lyricism in the Early Creative Prose of Mykola Khvyl'ovy." Ph. D.

diss., Univ. of Toronto, 1976. Han, O. Trahedija Mykoly Xvyl'ovoho. n.p.: Prometej, n.d. Istorija ukrajins'koji literatury. Vol. 6. Kiev: AN URSR, 1970. Kostjuk, Hryhorij. "Mykola Xvyl'ovyj: tyttja, doba, tvortist'." In Xvyl'ovyj, Tvory, vol. 1,

15-106. Lavrinenko [Lawrynenko], Jurij, ed. Rozstriljane vidrodlennja. Paris: Instytut Literacki, 1959. Lejtis [Leitis], A. and M. Jalek. Desjat' rokiv ukrajins'koji literatury: 1917-1927. Xar'kiv:

DVU, 1928-30. Luckyj, George S. N. Literary Politics in the Soviet Ukraine. 1917-1934. N.Y.: Columbia Univ.

Press, 1956. Stalin, I. V. Index to Solinenija, vol. 8. M.: Gos. izd-vo polit. lit-ry. 1948. "Ukrainskaja sovetskaja literatura." In Literaturnaja knciklopedija, vol. 11. M.: Xud. lit-ra,

1939. Xvyl'ovy, Mykola. Apolohety pysaryzmu. In Tvory, vol. 4, 237-320. Xvyl'ovy, Mykola. Dumky proty tefiji. In Tvory, vol. 4, 139-234. Xvyl'ovy, Mykola. Kamo hrjadely? In Tvory, vol. 4, 65-137. Xvyl'ovy, Mykola. "Kul'turnyj epigonizm." In Tvory, vol. 4, 175-83. Xvyl'ovy, Mykola. Osin'. Xar'kiv: 9ljax osvity, 1924. Xvyl'ovy, Mykola. "Redaktor Kark." In Tvory, vol. 1, 131-51. Xvyl'ovy, Mykola. Syni etjudy. Xar'kiv: DVU, 1923. Xvyl'ovy, Mykola. Tvory vp'jatox tomax. Ed. Hryhorij Kostjuk. N.Y.: Smoloskyp, 1978.



mykola xvyl'ovyj's "redaktor kark"-- a fictional antecedent to his pamphlets

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