The Household of Derzhavin and the Russian Patriotic 19th Century Narrative

Abstract

In the article by Marina Kostiukhina (St. Petersburg) entitled «The Household of Derzhavin and the Russian Patriotic 19th Century Narrative», the connection between the creation of educational patriotic texts in literature and the family traditions in the household of Gavriil Derzhavin is revealed. Derzhavin’s home became the centre of the prominent society, The Colloquy of Lovers of the Russian Word (1811– 1816), and this connection was revealed in the works of L. A. Yartseva who was closely connected to the society. The combination of family discourse and national discourse marks the patriotic texts created by this children’s author. Her artistic and educational principles came very close to the patriotic canon established in Russian society in the 1830s–1850s. The rhetoric of this canon was based on the glorification of a family as a keeper of Russian Orthodox patriotic values. The practice, however, led to the increased control of the state over the family education.