Envy by Yury Olesha
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In the novel Envy, Yury Olesha portrays the alienation of the bourgeois in the wake of the Russian revolution. The protagonist, Nikolai Kavalerov, realizes gradually that the new Soviet man is not to be envied but to be ignored. The critical incident occurs at the climax of the novel, when Kavalerov dreams of the death of the Christ-like Ivan Babichev at the hands of his own disaffected machine. At the end of the novel, Kavalerov decides to remain in the bed of the widow Prokopovich, symbol of decadence and decay. He comes to realize that a transition to a new Soviet man is impossible, and his envy changes to indifference. The Soviet world is represented in Envy as a place where individuality is lost and replaced with collective ideals--romanticism replaced with empiricism and emotions replaced by logic. The Soviet ideal as portrayed in Envy is similar to other novels of the proto-social realistic type. The familiar characteristics include the disdain for bourgeois feelings and a driving desire to emulate a machine. The new Soviet man in Envy is represented by Volodia Makarov, a young soccer star and engineering student. The great goals in Envy are the opening of the Quarter cafeteria and the development of the superior salami.á Olesha's tone deliberately belittles the ideals of the social realist novels. The triviality of the goals in Envy represents the hollow nature of the Soviet emphasis on materialism. A humorous passage satirizing this Soviet staple shows A
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ssive reality of the Soviet state, Nikolai Kavalerov creates an alternative reality in the world of daydreams, a world in which emotions and individuality can be freely expressed. One evening he thinks aloud:
In our country the roads to glory are obstructed by barriers . . . A talented man must either abate or dare to raise the barrier with a big scandal. I, for example, would like to argue. I like to show the strength of my personality. I want my own glory (17).
During the scene at the airport, Kavalerov shows how he denies the reality of the new age. While watching an airplane, he notes his perceptions:
Higher, higher--I followed it, stamping on the bank: it sped away, sometimes it flashed, sometimes blackened. The distance was changing and it was changing, taking the forms of various objects: a rifle bolt, a quill pen, a trampled lilac blossom (33).
The past and future worlds are represented metaphysically by the two women, the widow Prokopovich and the young Valia. During the whole novel, Kavalerov lusts after Valia. However, he is also drawn almost uncontrollably to the much older, overweight widow and her luxurious, ornamented bed. These events mirror the plot in that his lust for Valia can be equated wit
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1920
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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