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A sailing ship as a motif and symbol in The Life [Zhitie] of Archpriest Avvakum
https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2022-5-84-98
Abstract
The article is concerned with the motif and symbol of a sailing ship in The Life [Zhitie] of Archpriest Avvakum. The researcher is the first to challenge the supposition about a ‘traditional’ genesis of this motif and symbol in Avvakum’s autobiography; she also defines the role of this motif in the plot of The Life — the magnum opus of the Old Believers’ spiritual leader. Various motif-related elements are ancillary to the main idea of The Life — to demonstrate the hero’s sainthood. The same message guides Avvakum’s choice of sources to borrow the main motif and symbol for his book. Among these is the medieval apocryphal tale Narration of Our Father Agapius [Skazanie otsa nashego Agapiya]. A comparison between the tale and Avvakum’s The Life confirms the hypothesis of such a borrowing, through which the motif and symbol of a sailing ship in the immolated archpriest’s autobiography translates into his guaranteed passage to the heavenly abode. In the closing paragraphs, the researcher shares her observations about the semantics of the motif and symbol of a ship in Avvakum’s prose works unrelated to The Life.
About the Author
Yu. A. Rostovtseva
Institute of Arts and Information Technologies
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Yulia A. Rostovtseva - Candidate of Philology
1 Lialovskoe Rd., Krasny Voin, 141570, Moscow Region
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Review
For citations:
Rostovtseva Yu.A. A sailing ship as a motif and symbol in The Life [Zhitie] of Archpriest Avvakum. Voprosy literatury. 2022;(5):84-98. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2022-5-84-98
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