„The Text Was Considered Miraculous”. Magic Words in Pasternak’s „Doctor Zhivago”

摘要

In Doctor Zhivago, Pasternak brings scientific and political discourses into dialogue withmagical ones. In an emblematic episode, two soldiers from opposing sides each wear a protectiveamulet containing the „miraculous” text of the 90th Psalm. One dies; one survives.While this discrepancy is easily traced to scientific and socioeconomic causes, the episode isdesigned to foreground the least rational explanation: that done right, magic actually works.Embodying Pasternak’s interest in the interrelationships among science, politics, poetry, andmagic, the textual amulet is especially significant because it represents a magical power thatis reserved for words. This article finds that Pasternak’s novel contains numerous examplesof such efficacious „magical” texts – from the Gospels to peasant songs, from politicalslogans to Zhivago’s poems – and argues that reading Doctor Zhivago by the light of these„magic words” yields insights into the aesthetics and design of the novel.