The image of the vampire in Russian short stories of the early 20th century (“The Red-Headed Guest” by F. Sologub and “The Vampire” by S. Solomin)

The article is devoted to the analysis of the specifics of the representation of the vampire image in Russian short stories of the early 20th century. The scientific novelty is determined by the research material itself and consists in the fact that for the first time the image of the vampire in the comparative aspect is conceptualized in the stories of Russian novelists belonging to different aesthetic systems (symbolist manner – F. Sologub and realistic manner – S. Solomin). The aim of the work is to reveal the artistic originality of the vampire image in the stories of the early twentieth century. As a result of the study, it was established, firstly, that in F. Sologub’s “The Red-Headed Guest” and S. Solomin’s “The Vampire” the image of a female vampire, referring to the biblical Lilith and the infernal heroines of E. Raupach and T. Gautier, is built through erotic and mortal motifs, and attention is focused on the inner transformation of the heroines. Secondly, “The Red-Headed Guest,” which tends to be a “Christmas Story” in terms of genre, is saturated with biblical references. Thirdly, color symbolism plays a significant functional role in the portrayal of the heroines: F. Sologub uses black, red, green, S. Solomin uses black and red. Finally, in both stories the vampire functions in specific realities – the closed topos of a house (manor, room), which is an analog of a Gothic castle.