Reading Constraints: Interpretations of Censorship in Andrei Bely’s 'Petersburg'

• In Event: Unspeakable Things: Omission, Ellipsis, and Erasure from Censorship to Creative Strategy, 1910-1930s

Abstract

The symbolist and modernist writer Andrei Bely created, revised, and (re)published his novel 'Petersburg' in the years between 1913 and 1928, spanning the period preceding and following the establishment of the extensive and complex Soviet censorship system.



The elliptical and omissive character of this revision process has ever since challenged the readers of 'Petersburg', sparking disputes on authorial intent, Bely’s psychological state, and the potential impact of censorship. Consequently, almost a century later, a definitive consensus on the authoritative version of the novel remains uncertain.



This presentation will delve into the complexities of censorship dynamics within the context of Bely's work, exploring how these factors influence interpretations, canonizations, and translations of works of Russian and Soviet literature. Recalling Michael Holquist’s (1994) remarks on the ‘unsettling filiation’ between censorship, translation, and criticism, it is argued that censorship, translation, and criticism are not only similar filiations but, in fact, part of a shared textual paradigm of continuous representation and interpretation.

Author

• Jesper Nyeng, U of Copenhagen (Denmark)