Biblical motifs in S. Aksakov’s Years of Childhood [Detskie gody Bagrova-vnuka]

Abstract

The article analyzes the biblical motifs and mythopoetic elements in the second part of S. Aksakov’s autobiographical trilogy Years of Childhood [Detskie gody Bagrova-vnuka]. The first experiences of a child in understanding the world are interpreted as ‘living knowledge’ (a term coined by A. Khomyakov). The image of the boy’s wet-nurse represents characteristics of the divine nature, the source of the vital force. The poetic image of ‘the torch of life’ is an allusion to the inextinguishable lamps with which the New Testament’s wise virgins greeted the bridegroom in anticipation of the symbolic wedding feast and life eternal. The chapter ‘First spring in the village’ is written to strongly resemble the biblical account of the Creation of the world, both in style and the manner of artistic associations. The book’s mythopoetic element, enduring imagery, and real-life situations create a unity of the cultural space. The Old and New Testaments’ motifs are depicted to be in natural coexistence. The world is shown through the eyes of a child, with childhood portrayed as a cultural phenomenon.