Interpreting the Christian Category of Patience in M. Elizarov’s Novel “The Librarian”

Purpose. The aim of the article is to investigate the author's interpretation of “patience” concept, other key categories and images of Christianity in M. Elizarov’s novel “The Librarian”. Results. The plot of “The Librarian” is based on the myth “USSR, the golden age” and on the complex of Christian ideas. It is most productive to consider “The Librarian” within the framework of the myth-making tendency, when the author continues to cultivate a myth created in a fictional work in his interviews and journalism. The leading artistic task of the author is an attempt to update the Christian doctrine through a synthesis with communist ideology. In the novel, the patience category is endowed with both Christian meanings (“the consolation of the suffering”) and Soviet militaristic sense. M. Elizarov enters into a dialogue with the mass consciousness since it becomes the main consumer of any myth, including the myth created by the author of “The Librarian”. In the novel, the contexts of archaic myth, folklore and criminal subculture, the interest in which is typical for modern mass society, arise in the patience motive’s implementation. The author's understanding of patience, that is close to the Christian canon, is found in Alexei Vyazintsev’s interpretation of the soteriological mission. The motive of the alone hero’s reading of “The Incessant Psalter” in an underground bunker appeals to schema practice. However, in reality, Elizarov creates an unconscious schema practice parody. Conclusion. In M. Elizarov’s novel “The Librarian”, the ideas about the Christian feat of patience are passed through the prism of mass consciousness, that leads to literalization, simplification and emasculation of highly spiritual Christian meanings

Aesthetics · Art · Christianity · Interpretation (philosophy · Literature · Mythology · Paganism · Patience · Sociology · Theology · Discourse Analysis and Cultural Communication · Philosophy · Religious studies · Religious Studies