Title of the article:

MOTIF OF THE ICON IN THE STORY BY BORIS SPOROV “MONK-THE SAVIOR”

Author(s):

Ivan S. Leonov

Dorota Walczak

Information about the author/authors

Ivan S. Leonov — DSc in Philology, Associate Professor, Pushkin State Russian Language Institute, Akademika Volgina St., 6, 117485 Moscow, Russia. ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7435-3963. E-mail: ISLeonov@pushkin.institute

Walczak Dorota — Master of History, Master of Art History, Master of Russian Philology, Postgraduate student, University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście St., 26/28, 00-927 Warszawa, Polska. ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6109-6673. E-mail: dorota.walczak1990@gmail.com

Section

Philological sciences

Year

2020

Volume

Vol. 58

Pages

pp. 245-257

Received

July 17, 2019

Date of publication

December 28, 2020

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37816/2073-9567-2020-58-245-257

Index UDK

821.161.1.0

Index BBK

83.3(2Рос=Рус)7

Abstract

The paper discusses the nature and role of the icon`s motif in Boris Sporov’s story “Monk-The Savior”. It analyzes artistic parameters allowing to attribute this work to missionary prose (the evolution of a hero, a combination of crisis and choice-situations, the specifics of a false choice), focusing on the complex spiritual path of a person overcoming moral crisis and taking the path of reconciliation with God. The author explores the inner world of story`s main character, Ivan Korovin, displays his gradual refusal to protest against the Divine Providence, which is made possible through the knowledge of basics of icon painting. The study results in revealing that, at the first stage, the image of Christ the Punisher dominates the character’s consciousness, which is reflected in Ivan`s iconographic images of the Savior made without hands. At a later stage, the face of Christ the Punisher acquires a new shade — Christ the Sufferer, which partly draws together the hero, who had undergone moral and physical pain, and his Creator. Salvation through iconography is not a new motif to the Russian literature: B. F. Sporov remains here within the framework of the established tradition. The paper also establishes ideological and artistic parallels between the story “Monk-The Savior” and the works of Russian classical literature (Nikolai Gogol, Fyodor Dostoevsky), as well as the cinematography (Andrei Tarkovsky’s film “Andrei Rublev”).

Keywords

Orthodox fiction, missionary prose, Boris Sporov, icon`s motif, character's spiritual evolution.

References

1 Val'chak D. Nigilist i ikona. Revoliutsionery-ikonobortsy v romane F. M. Dostoevskogo “Besy” [A nihilist and an icon. Revolutionaries-iconoclasts in F. M. Dostoevsky's novel “Demons”]. Libri Magistri, 2018, no 5, pp. 70–77. (In Russian)

2 Volkov V. V., Gladilina I. V., Skakovskaia L. N. Literatura dukhovnogo realizma v prepodavanii russkogo iazyka kak inostrannogo [Literature of spiritual realism in teaching Russian as a foreign language]. Kazanskaia nauka, 2017, no 1, pp. 49–54. (In Russian)

3 Dostoevskii F. M. Polnoe sobranie sochinenii: v 30 t. [Complete works: in 30 vols.]. Leningrad, Nauka Publ., 1974. Vol. VI. 428 p. Vol. X. 519 p. Vol. XIV. 516 p. (In Russian)

4 Evangel'skii tekst v russkoi literature XVIII–XX vekov. Tsitata, reministsentsiia, motiv, siuzhet, zhanr: sbornik statei [The gospel text in Russian literature of the 18^th–20^th centuries. Quote, reminiscence, motive, plot, genre: collection of articles], responsible editor V. N. Zakharov. Petrozavodsk, Izdatel'stvo PetrGU Publ., 1994. 387 p. (In Russian)

5 Evseeva L. M., Kochetkov I. A., Sergeev V. N. Zhivopis' drevnei Tveri [Painting of the ancient Tver]. In: Early Tver painting [Early Tver painting]. Moscow, Iskusstvo Publ., 1983. 36 p. (In Russian)

6 Zakharov V. N. Russkaia literatura i khristianstvo [Russian literature and Christianity]. Problemy istoricheskoi poetiki, 1994, vol. 3, pp. 5–11. (In Russian)

7 Zen'kovskii V. V. Khristianskaia filosofiia [Christian philosophy], compiled and executive editor O. A. Platonov. Moscow, Izdatel'stvo Instituta russkoi tsivilizatsii Publ., 2010. 1072 p. (In Russian)

8 Iulianiia, monakhinia (Sokolova M. N.). Trud ikonopistsa [The work of an icon painter]. Sergiev Posad, Izdatel'stvo Sviato-Troitskoi Sergievoi lavry Publ., 1995. 158 p. (In Russian)

9 Kazantseva I. A. Kontseptsiia mira i cheloveka v sovremennoi proze dukhovnogo realizma [The concept of the world and man in modern prose of spiritual realism]. Vestnik TvGU, Series Filologiia [Philology], 2015, no 1, pp. 52–59. (In Russian)

10 Kaplan V. Iereiskaia proza. Stanet li ona literaturnym iavleniem? [Series. Priestly prose. Will it become a literary phenomenon?]. In: Zhurnal Foma [Foma Magazine]. Available at: http://foma.ru/ierejskaya-proza.html (accessed 12 December 2017). (In Russian)

11 Kononenko Iu. Fenomen “sviashchennicheskoi prozy” [The phenomenon of “priestly prose”]. In: Livejournal.com. Available at: http://dm-jurevch-67.livejournal.com/52847.html (accessed 01 March 2017). (In Russian)

12 Krasniakova M. S. Sovremennaia pravoslavnaia proza: genezis, osnovnye motivy, tipologiia siuzhetov [Modern Orthodox prose: Genesis, main motives, plot typology: PhD Dissertation]. Voronezh, 2016. 206 p. (In Russian)

13 Leonov I. S., Korepanova V. A. Poetika pravoslavnoi prozy XXI veka [Poetics of Orthodox prose of the 21^st century]. Moscow, Iaroslavl', Remder Publ., 2011. 122 p. (In Russian)

14 Leonov I. S. “Lozhnaia vybor-situatsiia” kak iavlenie sovremennoi pravoslavnoi literatury (na primere proizvedenii Sergeia Kozlova) [“False choice-situation” as a phenomenon of modern Orthodox literature (as exemplified by Sergey Kozlov's works) ]. Mezhdunarodnyi aspirantskii vestnik, 2014, no 2, pp. 33–35. (In Russian)

15 Leonov I. S. Russkaia prikhodskaia proza XXI veka kak literaturnyi fenomen [Russian parish prose of the 21^st century as a literary phenomenon]. Raleign, North Carolina, USA, Open Science Publishing Publ., 2018. 180 p. (In Russian)

16 Liubomudrov A. M. Dukhovnyi realizm v literature russkogo zarubezh'ia: B. K. Zaitsev, I. S. Shmelev [Spiritual realism in the literature of the Russian abroad: B. K. Zaitsev, I. S. Shmelev]. St. Petersburg, Dmitrii Bulanin Publ., 2003. 289 p. (In Russian)

17 Motorina A. A. Russkaia khudozhestvennaia proza XX – nachala XXI veka: izobrazhenie dukhovnogo sostoianiia cheloveka v krizisnuiu epokhu [Russian artistic prose of the 20^th – beginning of the 21^st century: image of the spiritual state of a person in a crisis era: PhD Dissertation]. Moscow, 2018. 168 p. (In Russian)

18 Prashcheruk N. V. Sovremennaia dukhovnaia proza: traditsii, smysly, poetika. Uchebnoe posobie [Modern spiritual prose: traditions, meanings, poetics. Textbook]. Ekaterinburg, Izdatel'stvo UrFU Publ., 2018. 116 p. (In Russian)

19 Red'kin V. A. Dukhovnyi realizm kak khudozhestvennyi metod sovremennoi literatury [Spiritual realism as an artistic method of contemporary literature]. Vestnik TvGU. Seriia: Filologiia [Philology], 2018, no 1, pp. 71–78. (In Russian)

20 Sporov B. Osada [Siege]. Moscow, Izdatel'skii Sovet Russkoi Pravoslavnoi Tserkvi Publ., 2009. 416 p. (In Russian)

21 Khristianstvo i russkaia literatura: sbornik statei [Christianity and Russian literature: a collection of articles], responsible editor V. A. Kotel'nikov. St. Petersburg, Nauka Publ., 1994. 397 p. (In Russian)

22 Jewdokimow D. Człowiek przemieniony. Fiodor M. Dostojewski wobec tradycji Kościoła Wschodniego [A man transformed. Fyodor M. Dostoevsky in the tradition of the Eastern Church]. Poznań, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza Publ., 2009. 238 p. (In Polish)

PDF-file

Download