THE NOVELLA OF I. S. SHMELEV "THE MAN FROM THE RESTAURANT": THE GENESIS OF THE INTENTION

The article is devoted to the study of the formation of the idea of the novella by I. Shmelev "The Man from the Restaurant". The material under study includes the surviving draft materials for the novella. The urgency of the work is due to the need for a deeper study of the pre-revolutionary creative activity of the writer, since it was during this period that the foundations of his creative method, the so-called "spiritual realism", were laid. The unpublished editions of the novella were deciphered and analyzed, which determines the novelty of the research. A comparison of all available options for the beginning of the story is carried out. The methods of textual analysis used make it possible to reconstruct the stages of the formation of ideological and artistic concepts. The novella "The Man from the Restaurant" has traditionally been considered an example of new realism, and its main character - a waiter in a first-rate restaurant, - is an example of artistic comprehension of the "little man" theme. The comparative analysis showed that Shmelev methodically selected plot and figurative details that allowed him to convey as accurately as possible not only the work and family life of the waiter, but also his inner world. The storytelling strategy is focused on the story form from the very beginning. In early editions, the social aspect of the protagonict's life is most pronounced. The author focuses on comparing the waiter and the "noble" diners of the restaurant. The comparison is made by the main character himself, observing the reflection of himself and the clients in the mirror. In the early version, it is the mirror that becomes the reason for Skorokhodov to look at himself and his life from the outside. But in the process of searching for the reasons that awakened the protagonist's self-consciousness, Shmelev dwells on his son's attitude to his father's craft: in the later edition, the phrase, said by his son about his profession is offensive to Skorokhodov and becomes an impetus for the development of the novella's action. Thus, the social issues acquire a spiritual and psychological focus. The selected options for the beginning of the story testify to the author's search for a psychologically correct message that opens the protagonist's path to spiritual enlightenment: socially and in everyday life, he suffers crushing losses, but he gains spiritual wisdom and spiritual peace.