Abstract
The article considers N. A. Durova's novels "The Sulphur Key" and E.A. Gan's "Utballa". A. Gan's "Utballa" as an example of romantic prose and, at the same time, the presence of ethnographic elements in the novels gives grounds to speak of "ethnographic romanticism". Romantic poetics demonstrated a strong interest in national originality of the people. This explains the presence of ethnographic elements in the novels, which describe the way of life of foreign ethnic groups (Cheremis and Kalmyks), customs, rituals, traditions and their mythology, and which function in the novels in different ways: in "Sernyi Kluch" they help create a romantic twoworld and its "peak" - the main character's character, whereas in "Utballa" ethnographic elements create an image of a diverse world full of vicissitudes, in which a real man in the guise of a woman preserves her deep spirituality to the end. The novels of Durova and Gan investigate the similarities and differences in the representation of the image of a foreign ethnic group and the archetype of national consciousness. The stories have much in common, which is due to the gender peculiarities embodied through ethnographic images. Ethnographic elements allow one to see a people and its traditions in all their identity and beauty. In the novels, ethnography is used as a leading expressive medium, providing information on the mentality of the people, their moral norms and national history. In their everyday scenes and pictures, the authors saturate the narration with folk tales that are an integral part and essential element of the characterization of the hero. The description of everyday life is given in realistic tones (rituals of religious services, weddings) and filled with rich colours and vivid details. The life of the people, legends, nature and people's characters merge, conveying the uniqueness of everyday life and a vivid picture of life. Ethnography is a marker of national culture that develops under specific conditions that define its uniqueness: long-established customs and habits, moral notions, everyday life, etc., and it reflects and explains through fiction the realities of life and the characters of its characters as typical representatives of a particular nation. Understanding the life and culture of the people is always based on the writer's life experience and fiction.