TOLSTOVSKY TEXT IN WORKS BY A. BLOK

Abstract

The article, based on the material of A. Blok’s work, examines the elements of the Tolstoyan text as a nominal supertext of literature. It is argued that the basis of this text is the myth of L.N. Tolstoy, which has been actively developing for a century and a half until today, but at the beginning of the 20th century, when Tolstoy’s tragic departure from his own home became popular, it became especially relevant. The structure of the Tolstoyan myth is analyzed, the mythologies associated with it (mythologized constant representations) created and reproduced by A. Blok in accordance with his own poetic worldview, personal attitude to the work and personality of L.N. Tolstoy. In light of the problem posed, the poet’s lyrics, his articles, and correspondence are examined. Attention is focused on the originality of the Tolstoy text in the creative heritage of Blok, based on the proximity of worldviews, the sacralization of the image of the great writer, rejection of criticism and profanation of the image of Tolstoy in contemporary art, journalism and memoirs. Unlike other modernist movements, the Symbolists did not set the task of overthrowing the idols of the past, but on the contrary, they even defended a certain continuity of traditions, all the more so with such an original author as Blok. But the desire to protect Tolstoy from attacks on his authority also makes it possible to develop a biographical myth about the writer. The question is raised about the features of the perception of this myth in the culture and literature of the first third of the XX century.