Karamzin's "Letters From A Russian Traveler" Space Studies

Letters of a Russian Traveler(hereinafter referred to as Letters)is the result of the Russian writer Karamzin's travels through many European countries.In this realistic and fictional travelogue,the traveler travels through the geographical and social space of the European world.Thus,spatial studies become an integral part of the study of Letters.This thesis argues that the space in Letters is not only the location where the storyline takes place,but also a product of social history and culture permeated with social ideology.Space is not a purely objective and empty container,but a concrete representation of cultural and political discourse.This thesis is based on the theoretical foundation of Lefebvre's “Theory of Space Production” and Mike Crang's “Cultural Geography”,and examines the border space,natural space and theater space in Letters,which are closely connected with social history and ideology.This thesis attempts to reveal and clarify the hidden historical reality and ideology behind the spaces,the mode of cross-cultural encounters of the traveler in the spaces,and the national and cultural identity of the traveler.This thesis consists of three parts: the introduction,the main body with four chapters,and the conclusion.The introductory section briefly describes the reasons for the selection of this thesis,and summarizes the relevant research findings of domestic and foreign scholars on Karamzin and his Letters.The first chapter identifies the concept of “space” in literary studies,and clarifies “Theory of Space Production” of Lefebvre and “Cultural Geography” of Mike Crang on which this thesis is based.The second chapter analyzes how the border,as a cultural-geographical space,becomes a site of identity transformation for the traveler.It also reveals the imperial discourse and colonial ideology behind this transformation.Influenced by this ideology,the traveler's crosscultural encounter in the border space follows the pattern of textual encounter.The third chapter examines the “natural space” in Letters,arguing that Karamzin uses the“sublime” and “picturesque” aesthetics that were popular in the 18 th century within the discursive framework of “the Grand tour” to construct natural space,which is permeated with the ideology of European aristocracy and cultural elites.With this ideology in mind,the traveler maintains a condescending posture in cross-cultural encounter with Alpine people.Chapter 4 analyzes the “theater space”,which was the social arena of political struggle between different classes,parties and groups in France during the Revolutionary period,and was the representational space of the political discourse of the Revolution.In the cross-cultural encounter with the French aristocracy in theater,the traveler encounters the invalidation of his national identity and turns to emphasize his cultural identity as a European aristocrat.The concluding section summarizes the content of the chapters and points out the value and shortcomings of this study.