Lavrenti Ardaziani
Encyclopedia
Lavrenti Ardaziani (1815 — January 1, 1870) was a Georgian
writer and journalist and one of the forerunners of Georgian realistic
fiction prose.
Born in Tiflis of a deacon
, Ardaziani graduated from the local theological seminary and entered the civil service under the Russian
viceroyal administration. He debuted with prose translation of Shakespeare in 1858 and quickly established himself as one of the leading contributors to the principal Georgian literary magazine Tsiskari. His works – full of satirical touches – are noted for their realistic portrayal of social life in old Tbilisi. His best known novella Solomon Isakich Mejganuashvili (სოლომონ ისაკიჩ მეჯღანუაშვილი, 1861) is a first-person life-story told by the eponymous hero of the Tiflis Armenian milieu, who starts modestly as a small tradesman and then turn to money lending so that the aristocracy also falls into his clutches. He now aims at becoming accepted in beau monde and wants to marry his daughter off to a Georgian prince Alexander Raindidze who, a well-bred and enlightened liberal man, is presented as a contrast to the character of Solomon. Of note are also Ardaziani's work Travelling by the Pavements of Tiflis (მოგზაურობა ტფილისის ტროტუარზედ, 1862), novel The Obedient Woman (მორჩილი, 1862) and polemic essays in the Georgian press.
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
writer and journalist and one of the forerunners of Georgian realistic
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
fiction prose.
Born in Tiflis of a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
, Ardaziani graduated from the local theological seminary and entered the civil service under the Russian
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
viceroyal administration. He debuted with prose translation of Shakespeare in 1858 and quickly established himself as one of the leading contributors to the principal Georgian literary magazine Tsiskari. His works – full of satirical touches – are noted for their realistic portrayal of social life in old Tbilisi. His best known novella Solomon Isakich Mejganuashvili (სოლომონ ისაკიჩ მეჯღანუაშვილი, 1861) is a first-person life-story told by the eponymous hero of the Tiflis Armenian milieu, who starts modestly as a small tradesman and then turn to money lending so that the aristocracy also falls into his clutches. He now aims at becoming accepted in beau monde and wants to marry his daughter off to a Georgian prince Alexander Raindidze who, a well-bred and enlightened liberal man, is presented as a contrast to the character of Solomon. Of note are also Ardaziani's work Travelling by the Pavements of Tiflis (მოგზაურობა ტფილისის ტროტუარზედ, 1862), novel The Obedient Woman (მორჩილი, 1862) and polemic essays in the Georgian press.