Positive Hero in Russian Literature

This classic text brings a period of Russian literature to life and demonstrates how the battles over the positive hero reappeared with dramatic clarity in the dissident literary movement after Stalin's death. Mathewson argues that the true continuity between nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian prose was to be found in this persistent conflict between contrary views of the real nature and proper uses of literature. This new edition includes chapters on Belinsky, Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn, and Sinyavsky.

"A masterpiece of critical penetration." --Isaiah Berlin

"One of the most important studies produced by a Slavist in this country." --Slavic Review