Character of cossack Kyrylo Tur in the deleted fragment of P. Kulish’s novel “Chorna rada” (“The Black Council: The Chronicle of 1663”)

Abstract

The subject of the inquiry is editions and versions of the text of the novel “The Black Council: The Chronicle of 1663” by Panteleimon Kulish. The objective of the study is to analyze a fragment of the original edition (released in 1846), that was not included in the final text (released in 1857), peculiar in that it contains materials to characterize the image of the Cossack. Analysis of this fragment in the interpretive and textual planes provides for a better understanding of the creative method of P. Kulish as the author of the “The Black Council”. The methodology of the article comprises of a combination of source studies and comparative methods, which helps to solve the raised textual problems. In particular, the comparison of different editions reveals the effect of the “blind eye” when reading the final text: the omitted place correlates with the immediate context, and upon careful reading of the novel one could notice a possible omission, because its presence somewhat violates the logic of presentation. As a result, it has been revealed that the Russian-language equivalent of the fragment is contained in a magazine publication “Kyiv Pilgrims in the 17th Century” (1846). This text is a dialogue between hetman Yakym Somko, Cossack Kyrylo Tur, colonel-priest Ivan Shram and his friend Matvii Cherevan. V. Petrov’s statement that the writer “builds his novel by wide concentric closed motivational circles”, using the methods of refutations and oppositions, has been confirmed. In textual criticism terms, this fragment in the final version reveals the effect of the “blind eye” while reading the novel. Cherevan’s remark (that only in the Sich everybody knows how to “live the right way”) is in response to Tur’s statement that the Cossacks are hardy drinkers and Tur’s ignoring of Somko’s accusations that the Cossacks sit up to their neck in vodka in the final text are less motivated than in the original version. Also, it is revealed that the source of Tur’s statement is that the Sich Cossacks divide the spoils of war in three parts: to the needs of the church, to the military needs and Cossacks festivities and fun. The author used an allusion to the epic song [duma] about Samiilo Kishka. The analyzed fragment of the original edition is published for the first time, which determines the novelty of the study. The analysis of Kyrylo Tur’s image in this fragment is promising in connection with the forthcoming comprehensive study of the topic, which will become possible after the publication of all draft texts of both versions of the novel in Complete Works by P. Kulish.