Novel "The Gadfly" by Ethel Lilian Voynich as a manifesto of the pan-European revolutionary struggle in
The situation in England at the end of the 19th century and the connection with the Russian revolutionary emigration had a tremendous impact on the Irish novelist and musician Ethel Lilian Voynich. That is why they contributed to the birth of the idea of the novel "The Gadfly".
For its embodiment, the revolutionary romantic traditions of English literature played an important role too. Voynich's favorite poets were Shakespeare, Milton, Blake, and especially Shelley who was a man of radically democratic beliefs. The creation of the image of the Gadfly, giving his life to the struggle for the liberation of Italy, was also prepared by Byron's freedom-loving poetry.
With her novel "The Gadfly" Ethel Lilian Voynich won wide recognition. She managed to give the theme of the revolutionary struggle and heroic deed a bright romantic interpretation and created the image of a brave revolutionary fighter who is a man of active action.
The set of human qualities of the Gadfly, whose character is revealed in the unity of his political activities and rich spiritual life, was a new and important phenomenon in the English literature of the late 19th century. "The Gadfly" attracted numerous readers with his uncompromisingness and willingness to give life for the sake of the revolutionary struggle. The scene of the shooting and death of the Gadfly becomes an affirmation of his invincibility and vitality of revolutionary ideas.
The image of the Gadfly embodies the features of Russian, Polish and Italian revolutionaries. In its origin, the hero of the novel is a half-English, half-Italian. All these facts underscore the international character of revolutionary ideas and the liberation struggle that have engulfed Europe.
In Russia, at the beginning of the 20th century, this novel was read in underground circles and in Sunday working schools. It was published in all languages of the peoples of the USSR.
This novel also affirms the idea of the incompatibility of revolutionary beliefs with religion. The path of protagonist Arthur Burton is a way of renouncing liberalism and religious delusions, coming to revolutionary action and atheism. The romantic pathos of this book is combined with the realistic depiction of the environment surrounding Arthur and the depth of psychological characteristics. Emotionality in describing the heroic feat is connected here with the satirical line of the novel. In "The Gadfly", the romantic principle is predominant.
