2013-№3(40) Article 5

E.V. Belopolskaya

A.I. Solzhenitsyn and saint john of the ladder: moral and spiritual development (based on the novel «In the first circle»). p. 52-60.

UDC 241

The paper analyzes A. Solzhenitsyn’s novel «In the First Circle» (1968) as a literary representation of Christian ideas of moral and spiritual development. The Christian image of the ladder, which was used by Saint John of the Ladder as a symbolic representation of one’s way to God, has been a guiding star for numerous generations of Christians. To better understand the first prosaic work by A. Solzhenitsyn one should view it through the prism of Christian philosophy or, to be more specific, through the prism of asceticism. A. Solzhenitsyn’s prisoners have to make a moral choice in favor of good or evil. Viewed through the prism of the Ladder such different characters as Rubin and Sologodin demonstrate considerable similarity. Both disregard moral and spiritual development and focus on earthly well-being. Nerzhin’s story is an illustration of Saint John of the Ladder’s philosophy. Having chosen to climb the long ladder of moral and spiritual development, the character gradually gains ascetic freedom.

Solzhenitsyn, Saint John of the Ladder, Christianity, asceticism, steps of the Ladder, virtues and vices, spiritual battle.

References

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