Artistic time in L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “Hadji Murad”

Abstract

The article analyzes the features and functions of artistic time in L.N. Tolstoy “Hadji Murad”. It is comprehended how the figure of Hadji Murad, with minor external adjustments made to the appearance and attitude of the protagonist in comparison with the prototype, turned out to be included in the philosophy of the writer’s life. It is shown that while working on the story, Tolstoy develops a special understanding of time associated with the development of a person’s ability to remember as a process that promotes spiritual unity. To understand the deep meanings of the work, it is necessary to correlate the story of Hadji Murad himself and his memoirs with the fact that the whole story, apart from the Prologue and the last sentence, is the author’s own recollection, supplemented by his imagination. The story of Hadji Murad is constructed according to the same type as all other scenes and episodes in aggregate: on the internal conjugation of exact dates, facts and events with poetic descriptions. The article reflects on the meaning of parallel time in the first eight chapters of the story, the problem of the writer’s choice of the beginning of the work following the poetic prologue.