A Transtextual Reading of The Tale of Two Beasts: Ikhnilat by Aleksey Remizov and Kalileh and Demneh based on Gerard Genetteʼs Typology

“Kelileh and Demneh”, being marked as a remarkable and valuable work, has been one of the most influential texts on various literary creations in different periods throughout the history of world literature. Its influence has been extended and integrated to Russian literature in the moral tales of Ivan Krylov, the fables of Garshin, Tolstoy in the 19th century, and even some works of 20th century by Russian writers (including Aleksey Remizov). In this article, the researchers aim at employing a comparative content analysis method, relying on Gerard Genette's Transtextuality theory and Remizov's approach to literary adaptation from ancient texts. By analyzing the elements of the story and exploring the interaction between The Tale of two Beasts: Ikhnilat by Aleksey Remizov and the pre-text of Kelileh and Demneh, the research sheds light on the extent and nature of their narrative engagement. As the results have indicated, hypertextual relationships, specifically within the sub-branches of Gerard Genette's transtextuality theory, are more pronounced concerning the relationship between the two mentioned texts. The two stories, “The Lion and the Cow” and “Investigating the Work of Demneh”, from Kelileh and Demneh emerge as pretexts for the Russian writer's story. The analyses coming afterwards reveal that transformation prevails over Imitation in the hypertextual relationship between the two mentioned works. Furthermore, based on the genetic classification, a subtle use of refinement, a quantitative transformation in the narrative, and a parody have been observed in their hypertextual relationship.