MOTHERS’ IMAGES IN F. M. DOSTOEVSKY’S NOVEL “THE ADOLESCENT”
DOI: 10.23951/1609-624X-2022-6-121-131
Introduction. Roman F. M. Dostoevsky’s “The Adolescent” is defined by many researchers as a novel of education. If the relationship between Versilov and Arkady is comprehensively covered in the research literature, then another aspect of parental love – maternal – seems to be insufficiently studied. Although some scientists (N. A. Tarasova, N. A. Kladova, E. A. Ivanova) indirectly touched on this topic, it has not yet become the subject of independent study. Aim of the article is to consider the images of heroines-mothers Sofia Andreevna Dolgorukaya and Daria Onisimovna in the novel by F. M. Dostoevsky’s “The Adolescent”. Material and methods. The material of the study is Dostoevsky’s novel “The Adolescent”. With the help of structural-semiotic, motivic and comparative methods, the specificity of the author’s embodiment of the artistic images of mothers is traced from the idea and drafts to the final text, the role of maternal images of Sofya Andreevna Dolgoruky and Darya Onisimovna (Nastasya Egorovna) in the process of raising Arkady, Liza and Olya is analyzed. Results and discussion. The key images embodying the images of mothers and children are Sofya Andreevna Dolgorukaya and her children, Arkady and Lisa, as well as Daria Onisimovna and her daughter Olya. In the artistic conception of the novel, maternal love is presented as an effective way to overcome the spiritual illness of a nation, an individual family and each of its members. Thirst for a significant life goal, youthful maximalism, denial of the experience and values of previous generations, supposedly “guilt” of parents for insufficient success or personal qualities of a Teenager are typical age-related features of personality development. The immaturity of the unsettled personality of a Teenager can be overcome and healed in the family. Through overcoming selfishness and vanity, realizing himself as an integral part of his family, the young man finds his way, his individuality. Moreover, the leading role in the formation of a teenager is maternal. Through the understanding and acceptance by the “holy mother” of the shortcomings and mistakes of a child of any age, the sources of love are gradually opened and the model of family behavior is inherited as a sacred moral norm that ensures the stability and integrity of an adult personality. In addition, the article reveals the process of mutual influence in the system of «mother – child» relations both within the family and in a wider social context. The writer emphasizes the negative role of tragic events in the spiritual transformation of the artistic images of mothers, depicting the suffering of a woman who lost her baby (Liza) and the suicide of her daughter (Daria Onisimovna). Conclusion. In the novel “The Adolescent” Dostoevsky depicts two types of motherly love. The first type of merciful and all-accepting love is embodied by Sofya Andreevna. Her love influenced Arkady’s way of thinking, transformed his soul and revealed to him the value of family relationships, the unconditionality of parental love. In the relationship between Liza and her mother, as in the case of the relationship between Arkady and Sofya Andreevna, love became saving, brought comfort in grief, helped to survive suffering and grow spiritually. The second, opposite, type of hypertrophied love-passion for the child is realized in the relationship between Darya Onisimovna and Olya. Such love is initially destructive, devoid of a Christian basis, as a result of which the maternal image is transformed as an artistic integrity: the place of Darya Onisimovna is replaced by the shadow of the heroine – Nastasya Egorovna.
Keywords: F. M. Dostoevsky, the novel “The Adolescent”, the image of the mother, types of maternal love, Sofia Andreevna Dolgorukaya, Daria Onisimovna
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Issue: 6, 2022
Series of issue: Issue 6
Rubric: LITERARY STUDIES
Pages: 121 — 131
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