The Petty Demon Read Online Free Page A

of the century. His poems, in particular, appeared in all of the leading Symbolist journals of the era, including
The Scales, The New Path, Questions of Life, World of Art
and
The Golden Fleece
. Despite the pejorative epithets leveled at him by Gorky and others, Sologub was also a frequent contributor of works to
     the popular political and satirical feuilletons of the day (
The Spectator, The Hammer, The Devil’s Post
, etc.). In addition, he was always prepared to contribute appropriate works to miscellanies and anthologies in benefit of
     variouscharitable and humanitarian cause, in particular the struggle against antisemitism and the campaign for women’s rights. This
     meddling of a decadent poet and “pornographer” in political and social questions no doubt contributed to the general confusion
     surrounding Sologub.
    The year 1907 witnessed a turning-point in Sologub’s life for several reasons. He suffered a personal tragedy in the death
     of his sister to whom he had been very devoted. The same year, however, Sologub’s reputation reached its zenith with the complete
     publication of his novel,
The Petty Demon
, which met with almost universal acclaim in Russia. Like his earlier novel,
Bad Dreams
,
The Petty Demon
drew on Sologub’s pedagogical experiences in the provincial backwoods of Russia. In the “hero” of the novel, Peredonov, a
     rural teacher, Sologub incorporated all the vicious and petty vulgarity imaginable. Few characters in Russian fiction can
     even pretend to the ignoble and spiritual void represented by Peredonov who endowed Russian literature and social criticism
     with the term of “Peredonovshchina” (i.e., “Peredonovism”). In 1907, Sologub also completed twenty-five years of pedagogical
     service and retired, now able to devote himself entirely to literary activity thanks to a state pension and the critical acclaim
     accorded
The Petty Demon
. Rumors circulated to the effect, however, that his resignation was forced on him because of the apparent erotic motifs in
     the novel which included hints of the seduction of a young schoolboy by the beautiful and sensuous Lyudmila.
    About the same time, Sologub added to his laurels in prose and poetry by developing an interest in theater and drama, writing
     half-a-dozen or so popular plays during the inter-revolutionary period for the leading theaters and directors (including Meyerhold).
     In 1908, Sologub’s personal fortunes rose as well, for at the not-so-tender age of forty-five he became acquainted with and
     married the writer-critic, Anastasia Nikolaevna Chebotarevskaya. Young, vivacious, extremely eccentric, Chebotarevskaya took
     Sologub’s career in hand, actively aiding him with his literary work and doing her utmost to promote his literary fortunes.
     In fact, in 1911, she gathered together and edited a number of critical reviews and articles on Sologub’s work (mostly favorable!)
     and published it under her own name.
    With his marriage to Chebotarevskaya, Sologub’s formerly restrained and almost austere life-style altered, at least externally.
     At her insistence a larger apartment was rented, visitors now included not merely poets, but politicians, artists and entrepreneurs.
     Noisy parties and masquerades, at which Sologub, sad and perplexed, wandered about like a lost sheep, appeared to be his wife’s
     inspiration, Chebotarevskaya suffered from some psychological malady early on in their marriage and her condition deteriorated
     over the years. Thus, Sologub had to care for her, just as he earlier had cared for his invalid mother and his sick sister.
    In 1907, after the enormous success of his novel
The Petty Demon
, Sologub began the serialization of his greatest and most bizarre work,
The Created Legend
(1907–1913). 10 During its serialization
The Created Legend
provoked the critics’ ire as few other novels ever did in the historyof Russian literature. Initial perplexity gave way to general dismay and