Abstract

This dissertation is a comparative study of satirical works from four cultural spheres of Europe. Moving among texts in English, French, Russian, and Serbian, I investigate the technical and creative characteristics that define the genre of narrative satire. Distinguished stylistically from other literary genres and from theoretical, philosophical and ideological discourses, narrative satire provides a pragmatic, sober and realistic outlook on social life, and emphasizes a self-critical and subversive perspective on the culture of its origin. I argue for a context-based reevaluation of satire and its role in the history of both East and West European cultural canons. The study shows how various writers employed satirical narratives and plots based on the concept of the journey to reflect on decisive social and political issues from the eighteenth to the early twentieth century. Satire emerges as a particularly relevant cultural agent in my discussion of several influential artists who left an indelible mark on their respective cultures. I focus on Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, Voltaire's Candide, Nikolai Leskov's The Enchanted Wanderer, and Radoje Domanović's Ruminations of a Serbian Ox. I interpret the connections between these writers as evidence of an overlooked and important transnational and transeuropean literary tradition. This study testifies to the long-lasting and transformative power of satire, as it travels across cultures and languages. Each of my chapters focuses on a unique cultural context and moment. I compare and contrast the conditions in the early eighteenth century England and pre-revolutionary France to the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century processes in Russia and the Kingdom of Serbia. I explore the unique literary and historical circumstances of each writer as I make an argument that knowledge of the context is essential for comprehension of satire. Ultimately, I interpret satire as a form of knowledge and philosophical wisdom, and a way to learn about the past and think about the present. I emphasize the significance of the journey as a narrative device. The journey is not just a theme or topic, but the structural principle that generates the narratives I discuss. The journey is a way to tell stories, experience the world and acquire profound knowledge that I call “satirical wisdom.” Through narration based on movement and action, satire manages to travel between cultures and enlighten its readers. My dissertation presents four detailed case studies to support this argument.