1 Introduction

The Cave "is a short story written by Yevgeny Zamyatin in 1921, which uses St. Petersburg in the context of the Stone Age as a metaphor for the survival difficulties of the people at that time, and explores the existentialist philosophical proposition of survival and morality. In the work, the physical characteristics of the characters overlap with those of animals and natural objects, and the sensory effects are amplified, revealing the conflict between the environment and the body. Domestic research focuses more on dystopian plots and themes, neglecting the important role of the body in Zamyatin's creations. Zamyatin is an advocate of synthesis, emphasizing the mutual influence between literature and art. He has a close relationship with painters such as Grigoriev, and the distorted, disordered, and ugly body images in his paintings influence the body poetics in Zamyatin's works. In "The Cave," Zamyatin reconstructs the meaning of the body, subverts the dialectical relationship between the body and the mind, showcases his rhetorical features and creative aesthetics, and extends to the unique body view and redefinition of the body and "human" in the cultural background of the Silver Age.

2 Monster World - Fierce Bodies

Explored the relationship between body deformation and animality in Zamyatin's "Cave". Animal nature is opposite to human nature, with the former being controlled by physiological instincts and the latter incorporating rational factors. Cave "depicts the process of the human body returning to animal nature, highlighting animal images through body deformation and distortion, and separating the animal nature from the human body. The shaping of Malkin's image reflects the division between animality and humanity, while the animalization of Obeldschov's body is manifested as the combination of animal organs and human organs. The author vividly depicts the relationship between the human body and the lifeless natural imagery through the materialization of the body, highlighting the overwhelming role of animality in the human body. The shaping of these monster images reveals that animality and primitiveness are open mysteries in the human body, and the conflict and fusion of animality and humanity manifest powerful forces in extreme environments.

3 Sensory Kingdom - Drifting Body

Explored the relationship between bodily senses and spatiotemporal perception in Zamyatin's "Cave". William James believed that the body is the starting point of emotional consciousness, and sensory experience is a tool for communication between humans and the environment. The Cave showcases the disturbance and interference of the human body's primitive senses in time and space through the framework of impressionist aesthetics. In the novel, the protagonist uses touch, hearing, and taste perception to trace back time and transform space, revealing nostalgia for the past and dissatisfaction with reality. Merleau Ponty emphasizes that changes in the external environment act on spiritual consciousness through the sensory system, evoking changes in psychological time and space. The protagonist experiences the intersection and fusion of two spaces under the dual influence of psychological and actual time and space. The work uses bodily senses as a medium, implying the integration of psychological space and real space.

4 Wastelands of Life - Desperate Bodies

Zamiyajing explores the conflict between the body and the environment through the setting of extreme environments in "Cave", and how this conflict affects the characters' mental state and moral boundaries. In the work, the protagonists Malkin and Martha's living space is squeezed due to a lack of suitable temperature and food, and their physical needs conflict with moral rationality. In this environment, bodily instincts gradually dominate, while the mind and heart are governed by bodily instinctual responses. Malkin's "Body Tightening" and Martha's "Body Paper" images reveal the oppression of the environment on the body and the expulsion of moral conscience. Cave also portrays the self destruction of the characters' bodies, such as self torture and suicide, which are passionate rebellions of the body against the environment. Malkin and Martha's suicidal intentions reflect their different attitudes towards bodily instincts and moral ethics. Markin's suicide carries a "martyrdom" color, while Martha's suicide is a direct counterattack against environmental oppression.

5 Conclusion

In the context of the Silver Age, the "body" became an important creative element in Russian literature. Zamyatin's "Cave" redefines the concept of "human" through unique bodily writing, showcasing the author and the era's understanding of human existence. In the work, Zamyatin grafts the human body with animal organs and natural materialization in a disorderly manner, rationalizing the animality of the human body and emphasizing that physicality and animality have always been at the core of history. At the same time, he revealed that the human body has both ethical and physical qualities, and the manifestation of the status of physicality allows the body and mind to blend together, forming an organic whole. Zamyatin uses the body as the creative theme to showcase the real survival difficulties of people after the Soviet Revolution, explore existentialist philosophical propositions, and depict the tragedies of the human soul, history, the times, and the collapse of humanitarianism.