Boris Pasternak, Doktor Zhivago [Doctor Zhivago]

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The seeds of

Doctor Zhivago

go back almost to the earliest stages of Pasternak’s prose-writing career, resurfacing every so often in fictional fragments (accumulated under such titles as “Patrick’s Notes” and “Fragments of a Novel”). However the novel as we now know it was begun in earnest just after the Second World War, under the working title of “Boys and Girls”, and was completed as “Doctor Zhivago” by the end of 1955. [For further information on the novel’s genesis, please see the biographical profile of Pasternak.] From the Soviet viewpoint, Pasternak’s novel was far removed from the official cultural doctrine of “socialist realism”, which demanded positive heroes and unstinting praise for the Communist Party, criteria deliberately not satisified by the…

1473 words

Citation: Cornwell, Neil. "Doktor Zhivago". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 May 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=12495, accessed 28 March 2024.]

12495 Doktor Zhivago 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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