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Merezhkovsky with their complex religious and pagan themes, with grandiose
     archetypes drawn from across the centuries, Sologub’s novel was read at face-value by most. The deeply buried mythological
     and symbolic strata of the novel eluded the general readership. Symbolic personification and archetypes were just as important
     to the literary creativity of Sologub as they were to Merezhkovsky, Bely and Blok. His aesthetic mythologization was perhaps
     more obscure and idiosyncratic, but, as several of the critical essays contained in the appendix at the end of this volume
     indicate, Sologub had a conscious sense of the symbolic patternings which he was weaving into the sociological fabric of the
     text.
    The bizarre, gray little creature of indeterminate shape and form, the
nedotykomka
, that seems to be a figment of Peredonov’s incipient madness, has long intrigued readers and critics—and bedevilled translators.
     Theories on the identity and the significance of this enigmatic creation abound with the same vigor as the little beastie
     displays in scurrying across the pages of the novel and through the deranged mind of Peredonov. Readers will find several
     explanations of the
nedotykomka
in the critical appendix of this edition. Some of the debate focuses on whether the
nedotykomka
is an autonomous being or the sum total of Peredonov’s neuroses and vulgarityrolled up into a single musty gray bundle which dissolves into dust or dissipates into thin air at every attempt of Peredonov’s
     to touch, trap or destroy it. It has already been pointed out that, like other Symbolist writers of his generation, Sologub
     was also attracted to the idea of the symbolic incarnation, embodiment or personification of the artistic idea. The creation
     of his
nedotykomka
would seem to offer ample proof of this. English readers in particular, however, have been troubled by the exact meaning
     of the word in Russian. The actual form
nedotykomka
cannot be found in the usual reference texts and dictionaries and the closest variant one is apt to discover is
nedotyka
which signifies a touchy, prickly, sullen or even clumsy person. One source does provide the actual word used by Sologub. 17
Nedotykomka
appears to be a regional variation on
nedotyka
and carries the same basic meaning. Two things may be of interest here. First of all, the variation used by Sologub is, in
     fact, accredited to the Novgorod region where he held his first teaching posts. Secondly, Sologub’s variant is also a synonym
     for
nedotroga
which is a flower bearing the Latin name of
Impatiens non me tangere—or
, in simple English: “touch-me-not.” Readers of the text will immediately discern the two-fold applicability of Sologub’s
     choice of
nedotykomka
. Peredonov is constantly described as being sullen, touchy and even awkward. At the same time, the elusive
nedotykomka
is a genuine “touch-me-not” who defies all Peredonov’s attempts to lay his hands on it. Linguistically, at least, this may
     shed some light on the identity of the
bête grise
in Peredonov’s diseased world.
    Readers may wonder about the surname of our hero, Peredonov. That, too, has given critics pause. The most likely suggestions
     have indicated that the root may well have come from Don Quixote, one of Sologub’s beloved characters and an archetype with
     which he felt he had a great deal in common. In the case of Peredonov, we have, of course, the reverse image of the idealistic
     and chivalrous Spanish knight. A number of critics have already indicated the parallels that may well exist between Cervantes’
     novel and Sologub’s where the sheeplike Volodin performs the role of Sancho Panza and Varvara appears as Aldonsa. 18
    Extensive discussions of educational organization and educational philosophy are omnipresent in most of Sologub’s novels,
     not to mention many of his stories. One must recall that Sologub devoted twenty-five years of his life to this profession
     and