Tatyana G. Tolstolutskaya, Lecturer at the Department of Russian Language, N.N. Burdenko Voronezh State Medical University, Studencheskaya Street, 12, 394036, Voronezh, Russia; Graduate Student of the Voronezh State University. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5738-7453
The subject of research is the functions of representation of the Gospel text and its role in updating the author’s position in the drama “The Light Shines in the Darkness” by L.N. Tolstoy. Starting with the title, the quote from the Gospel plays the role of intertext, and the text of the drama is constructed as a “dialogue” of the Gospel text and the author’s narrative. Tolstoy uses Gospel allusions, reminiscences, and plot interpretations, which perform the functions of characterizing images and expressing the author’s intention. The actualization of the theme of service and the biblical symbolism of father and son bring the play closer to the story “The Master and the Worker”. However, in the drama, Tolstoy reflects on the possibility of absolute application of the gospel laws to life. Saryntsev’s self-deprecation to the level of a servant brings him closer to the heroes of Tolstoy’s other unfinished plays (“Peter Khlebnik”, “Dramatic Treatment of the Legend of Haggai”). Peter Khlebnik and the master, unlike Saryntsev, bring their lives into line with their new worldview, but their righteous life is shown schematically. The incompleteness of dramas may be due to the writer’s understanding of the impossibility of realizing the ideal in real life.
L.N. Tolstoy; “The Light Shines in the Darkness”; Gospel text; author’s position; drama; hero.
10.10.2024
15.11.2024
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