Obraz iluzjonisty w prozie Michaiła Szyszkina na tle tradycji literatury rosyjskiej
The Image of an Illusionist in Mikhail Shishkin Prose Against the Background of Russian Literary Tradition

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to the image of an illusionist in the prose of Mikhail Shishkin. This figure appears in all of his main novels: The Taking of Izmail (2000), Maidenhair (2005), and The Light and the Dark (2010). Shishkin often links illusionistic art with the figure of a child whose trust makes him believe in the possibility of the world being shaped by an artist, a human being. In the works of Shishkin, the figure of an illusionist appears in reference to the Platonic tradition, in the context of creative activities associated with the divine creation of the world (the triad illusionist-writer-Creator). Therefore, this figure often appears as a metaphor of the author of the text, who also has the ability to create something out of nothing, to make something disappear or change. Moreover, Shishkin’s prose includes the theme of unreality and trickery of the actions of both illusionists and creators. Still, Shishkin emphasizes that the writer’s responsibility is not to report reality but to present it in a way which gives the recipient hope.

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