The motif of the рrodigal daughter in the novel “The Life of Arseniev” by I.A. Bunin

Kovalyova Tatiana N.,

Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor of the Philology and Pedagogical Technologies of Philological Education Department

Pyatigorsk State University

e-mail: tatjana_kovaleva@mail.ru

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0064-7600

The article is devoted to the research of the reception of the plot of the gospel parable of the prodigal son (to the motive of the prodigal daughter) in Lika’s storyline in the novel by I.A. Bunin “The Life of Arseniev”. Meanwhile, the main motives of the gospel parable of the prodigal son are revealed in the history of Lika. The turning point in Lika’s life is her leaving her father’s house without parental blessing; in a sacred sense, this is a falling away from God. Violation by Lika of “the first and greatest commandment in the law”, departure from God, submission to desires, absolutization of the beloved man led the heroine to the fall and gave Arseniev the right for permissiveness, led to sin. The most important events of the gospel parable of the prodigal son are a person’s awareness of the fall, sincere repentance for sins and repentance before God — these events make the resurrection of the soul possible but they appear in the changed and incomplete form in the history of Lika. However, Lika’s repentance did not develop into repentance before God, and therefore the sacral meaning of repentance and return was not implemented. Therefore, the miracle and the holiday of resurrection of her soul did not occurred - the objective law of these events is confirmed by the gospel parable of the prodigal son - and absence of these events is the main cause of Lika’s death. The gospel parable of the prodigal son is the underlying basis for the fifth book of the novel “The Life of Arseniev”, this aspect opens up a deeper level of perusal of the love story of Arseniev and Lika and of the whole novel in general.

Keywords: I.A. Bunin, “The Life of Arseniev”, poetics, gospel parable, plot, motive, prodigal son, prodigal daughter, departure from the parental house, dissolute life, repentance, without repentance before God

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