Letters from Russia by Robert Watt, published in Denmark in 1867, were born as a result of the Danish writer’s trip to Russia to cover Princess Dagmar of Denmark’s arrival in Russia and wedding with Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich in 1866. Robert Watt was a journalist, a writer, a translator, and the artistic director of Tivoli Gardens amusement park from 1866 to his death in 1894. Letters from Russia contains seventeen chapters, in which the writer describes his impressions of his trip to Russia, from the moment he said farewell to Denmark standing on the deck of “Mermaid” frigate, which was raising sails heading to Kronstadt, to the ceremonial reception of the Danish Princess. Road diaries of those who travelled across Russia have always been an important source of information about the country and the epoch, and Robert Watt’s book is no exception. Watt’s book is partly a guidebook — he describes all places of interest in Moscow and St Petersburg, but he also ponders on specific features of life in Russia and the national character. Most of his characteristics are highly positive, he doesn’t pay much attention to unsightly sides of life. The observer’s assessment depends on their personality, previous experience, the recipient (in this case the book was aimed at the Danish reader), and the political situation. We could assume that as the writer was sent to Russia to cover Princess Dagmar of Denmark’s wedding he did not intend to pay attention to the ugly sides of the Russian life. Nevertheless, Robert Watt’s book, unknown to a wide audience in Denmark and Russia, is an important cultural monument which supplements the history of relations between Denmark and Russia
This paper examines the representation of the “other” culture in 19 th-century travelogues, using the examples of Robert Watt’s Traveller’s account Letters from Russia (1867) and Bayard Taylor’s Northern Travel: Summer and Winter Pictures of Sweden, Denmark and Lapland (1857). The traditions of travelling and their reflection in both travelogues are presented, including the popularity of routes to Russia and Northern Europe. The cultural background of the travelogue genre of the mid-19th century is identified, as well as the characteristic features of travelogues, among which is the traveller’s perception of the “other” culture in comparison with his own culture or previously perceived ones. The subject of this study is the individual narrative strategies used by the authors to achieve the goal of conveying their own perception of the “other” world to the reader. A comparative analysis of the narrative structure and dialogicality of the authors’ narrative is made, including the representation of the “other” culture through the traditional documentary structure of travelogues; the static and dynamic nature of the narrative is revealed, the intention is the pinnacle of the journey. The consideration of the “other” culture analyses stereotypes specific to the regions of the narrative, the debunking or confirmation of pre-existing knowledge; the relationship between the cultural and natural features of the regions. The narrators’ immersion in the “other” culture and the narration of their own experiences and feelings during the journey are described. The inevitability of dialogue between “other” and “own” culture, their rapprochement or estrangement is the basis of the travelogue genre