LITERATURE
IN THE CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE OF HESYCHASM: VALAAM IN PROSE OF NIKOLAI LESKOV AND IVAN SHMIELYOV Cover Image

LITERATURA W KRĘGU WPŁYWU HEZYCHAZMU: WAŁAAM W PROZIE NIKOŁAJA LESKOWA I IWANA SZMIELOWA
LITERATURE IN THE CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE OF HESYCHASM: VALAAM IN PROSE OF NIKOLAI LESKOV AND IVAN SHMIELYOV

Author(s): Józef Kuffel
Subject(s): Russian Literature, Theory of Literature, Sociology of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Hesychasm; elder (staretz); The Valaam Monastery; Russian émigré literature; neorealism;

Summary/Abstract: The prose of a prominent literary representative of the “first wave” of Russian emigration after the 1917 revolution Ivan Shmielyov and selected texts by Nikolai Leskov were usedas the material for the study. The émigré author represents the neorealistic trend in the prose of the early 20th century, referring to the classics of 19th century Russian literature. The traumatic experiences of the revolution and the civil war became for him, as for the entire generation of Russian émigrés, a turning point in reevaluating their worldview, leading to a religious revival. Consequently, the author became a continuator of the Orthodox tradition in literature, whose exponent was N. Leskov. Despite the differences between the discourses of patristics and belles-lettres, the hypothesis stipulated in the title of the article that the con- sidered word artist - both in terms of worldview and literature - was under the influence of hesychasm (elderhood), is confirmed.

  • Issue Year: 19/2023
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 27-38
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: Polish