On the finale of Y.I. Zamyatin’s novel “We”: an optimistic tragedy?

We consider the ambiguity of Y.I. Zamyatin’s novel ending “We” on the basis of its synthetic feature and the author’s worldview ideas embodied in it. We note the key function of the heroine I-330 in the structure and novel theme, we draw attention to another female character, O90, whose fate is a seemingly “secondary”, completed earlier, but no less important storyline of the novel. We analyze O-90’s intertextual connections with other characters, at the plot level; we also reveal some possible extratextual associations of this character with Zamyatin’s statements in his critical articles and essays. Thus, in this character we see a fairly clear “integral image” of motherhood and writing, a realization of the “spiral” path of dialectical development, which is important for Zamyatin’s writer identity, and a hint of the vitality of the seemingly failed revolution as well. The combination of these features in one character makes us rethink the plotline of the novel and allows us to see a certain optimistic implication in its tragic ending. The symmetry of the two heroines’ fate and their decisive alliance also prove the importance of this character in the composition and the subject matter of the work.