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Abstract
This study examines N. A. Nekrasov's final poem Who Lives Happily in Russia, with a focus on the key imagery and motifs related to the theme of the body. Decoding these elements reveals new meanings within this folk epic and sheds light on the author’s artistic thinking. Several patterns in depicting characters’ appearance emerge: the link between physique and personality, and the correlation between descriptive detail and narrative significance. The most frequent portrait parameters are listed. Diligence and endurance become measures of a character’s appeal, giving artistic form to motif of folk heroism (bogatyrstvo). Alimentary imagery is examined by character status. The connection between social class and alcohol consumption is traced. Examples of the aestheticization of drinking are provided, along with its plot-forming function. The author emphasizes characters’ physical and mental reactions to alcohol, depicting the consequences of excess. Attention to vestimentary details and hygienic comfort is noted. Nekrasov also explores intimate relations, presenting a spectrum from mutual affection to exploitation and violence. The motif of physical suffering is analyzed through overwork, corporal punishment, illness, and other forms of duress. An overarching semantic dominant emerges: the experience of dying. The poem’s plot centers on death—a theme deeply personal to Nekrasov, who battled terminal illness. The poetics of corporeality in Who Lives Happily in Russia? is thus shaped by the paradoxical combination of Russian national heroism with the leitmotif of suffering flesh.
References
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