Download:

PDF

For citation:

Yakovenko N.V. Allusions to the Gospel Stories in Christ Landed in Harodnia by V. Korotkevich and Master and Margarita by M. Bulgakov. Studia Litterarum, 2020, vol. 5, no 1, pp. 212–227. (In Russ.)

DOI: 10.22455/2500-4247-2020-5-1-212-227

Author: N.V. Yakovenko
Information about the author:

Natalya V. Yakovenko, PhD in Philology, Researcher, Yanka Kupala Institute of Literary Studies of the Center for Belarusian Culture, Language and Literature Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Surganov St. 1, build. 2, 220072 Minsk, Republic of Belarus.

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Received: February 08, 2019
Published: March 25, 2020
Issue: 2020 Vol. 5, №1
Department: Literature of the Peoples of Russia and Neighboring Countries
Pages: 212-227
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22455/2500-4247-2020-5-1-212-227

UDK: 821.161.3 + 821.161.1
BBK: 83.3(4Беи) + 83.3(2Рос=Рус)6
Keywords: Gospel, allusion, Vladzimir Korotkevich, Mikhail Bulgakov, novel, concept, travesty, farcical.

Abstract

This article examines typological similarities and differences in the literary interpretation of Gospel plots based on comparative analysis of the texts of the novels Christ Landed in Harodnia by the classic of Belarusian literature Vladzimir Korotkevich and Master and Margarita by the classic of Russian literature Mikhail Bulgakov. Comparing the plots of the novels with the texts of the Gospel of Matthew (5: 9–14; 9: 27–31) and the Gospel of Mark (15: 20–25), the author analyzes the allusion of the Belarusian writer to the Sermon on the Mount of Christ, to the healing of the blind, the allusion of V. Korotkevich and M. Bulgakov to the evangelical concept “according to your faith be to you”, and the ascent of Christ to Calvary in the novels Christ Landed in Harodnia and Master and Margarita. At the same time, the article emphasizes the antiatheistic and non-anti-religious nature of the novels built on the principles of aesthetic play. The research leads to the following conclusions: the novels by V. Korotkevich and M. Bulgakov do not pretend to expound or interpret the Gospel, instead they are extended allusions to to the Gospel's themes. The Gospel theme in the works is part of the broader framework that explores the relation between good and evil, spiritual and material, between truths and lies, between power and justice.

References

1 Bibliia [The Bible]. Minsk, Belarus’ Publ., 1990. 1376 p. (In Russ.)

2 Bulgakov M.A. Master i Margarita. Pis’ma [The Master and Margarita. Letters]. Bulgakov M.A. Sobranie sochinenii: v 5 t. [Collected Works: in 5 vols.]. Moscow, Khudozhestvennaia literatura Publ., 1990. Vol. 5. 734 p. (In Russ.)

3 Ivan’shina E.A. Avtor — tekst — chitatel’ v tvorchestve Mikhaila Bulgakova 1930-kh godov (“Adam i Eva”, “Master i Margarita”): avtoref. dis. … kand. filol. nauk [The Author — Text — Reader in the Work of Mikhail Bulgakov of the 1930’s (“Adam and Eve”, “Master and Margarita”): PhD thesis, summary]. Voronezh, 1998. 22 p. (In Russ.)

4 Karatkevich U.S. Zbor tvoraw u 8 tamah [Collected Works: in 8 vols.]. Minsk, Mastackaia litaratura Publ., 1990. Vol. 6, comm. by A.L. Verabei. 492 p. (In Beloruss.)

5 Karatkevіch U. Hrystos pryzjamliwsja w Garodni (Evangelle ad Iudy) [Christ landed in Gorodnya (Gospel of Judas)], introd. by A. Verabei. Minsk, Bellіtfond Publ., 2000. 496 p. (In Beloruss.)

6 Korotkevich V. Khristos prizemlilsia v Gorodne (Evangelie ot Iudy) [Christ landed in Gorodnya (Gospel of Judas)], transl. from Belarusian and comm. by P. Zholnerovich. Minsk, Lіtaratura і Mastatstva Publ., 2011. 542 p. (In Russ.)

7 Kuraev A.V. “Master i Margarita”: za Khrista ili protiv? [“Master and Margarita”: for Christ or Against?]. Moscow, Prospekt Publ., 2016. 172 p. (In Russ.)

8 Leont’ev A.A. Intertekst v romane M.A. Bulgakova “Master i Margarita”: avtoref. dis. … kand. filol. nauk [Intertext in M. Bulgakov’s Novel “Master and Margarita”: PhD thesis, summary]. Moscow, 2001. 17 p. (In Russ.)

9 Ljavonava E.A. Aljuzija na vobraz Hrysta w ramane Uladzimira Karatkevicha “Hrystos pryzjamliwsja w Garodni” i susvetnaja litaraturnaja tradycyja [Allusion to the Image of Christ in the Novel of Vladimir Korotkevich “Christ landed in Gorodnya” and World Literary Tradition]. Uladzimir Karatkevich i suchasnasc” [Vladimir Korotkevich and Modernity]. Navapolatsk, PDU Publ., 2001, pp. 130–142. (In Beloruss.)

10 Navojchyk P.I. Antyklerykal”nyja matyvy w tvorchasci U. Karatkevicha [Anticlerical Motifs in the Work of V. Korotkevich]. Russkaia i belorusskaia literatury na rubezhe XX–XXI vv.: v 2 ch. [Russian and Belarusian Literature on the Frontier of the 20th–21st Centuries: in 2 parts]. Minsk, RIVSH Publ., 2010, part 1, pp. 192–196. (In Beloruss.)

11 Niamtsu A.E., Labai E.V. Evangel’skii kontsept v slavianskoi literature [The Concept of the Gospel in Slavic Literature]. Naukovii vіsnik Chernіvets’kogo unіversitetu, 2011, issue 537, pp. 68–72. (In Russ.)