EPICUREANISM AND CHRISTIANITY IN HISTORICAL NOVELS VALERIUS. A ROMAN STORY BY J.G. LOCKHART AND THE EPICUREAN BY T. MOORE
Journal Title: Studia Litterarum - Year 2017, Vol 2, Issue 1
Abstract
The article examines historical novels by J.G. Lockhart and T. Moore hitherto under- studied in Russia. It analyzes main principles and techniques of historical narrative in these novels; the influence of Walter Scott and F.R. Chateaubriand; philosophical Epicureanism in the novels; and the specificity of their work with historical sources. The author comes to the following conclusions. Lockhart’s and Moore’s reflection on time and history results in the idea that every man is connected with the whole of creation, and that the culture of each epoch depends on the culture of earlier civilizations. Lockhart’s novel Valerius, for example, was influenced by the genre of the Enlightenment philosophical novella. Such categories as time, the meaning of life, death, place, and role of man in history are intro- duced in the narrative through the form of philosophical dialogue. Following the tradi- tion of F.R. Chateaubriand, Lockhart, and Moore largely draw on literary heritage: texts by Homer, Virgil, Horace, Cicero as well as philosophical works of antiquity: the writings of Epicurus, Lucretius, and Plato. Historical novels by Lockhart and Moore reveal cer- tain important aspects of the ethical and philosophical system of the 19 th century Victorian England.
Authors and Affiliations
E. V. Somova
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP26133
- DOI 10.22455/2500-4247-2017-2-1-110-131
- Views 370
- Downloads 18
IN SEARCH OF FOLKLORE IMPERATIVE: IVAN A. IL’YIN AND PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT OF THE RUSSIAN IMMIGRATION CIRCLE
This article is part of the larger research project “Philosophical Thought of the Russian ‘Silver Age’ and Folklore.” Its aim is philosophical reflection of the Russian folk culture considering it as living tradition th...
ANDRÉ GIDE’S RETOUR DE L’U.R.S.S. AND ITS PUBLICATION HISTORY: A VIEW FROM THE KREMLIN
The article discusses the publication history of André Gide’s book Return from the USSR written after his trip to the Soviet Union. It explains how the Kremlin gathered information about the book and how ofcial Soviet...
“Between Death and Life” by A.N. Apukhtin: Reincarnation Plot as the Narrative Problem
A. N. Apukhtin’s story “Between Death and Life” (written shortly before the author’s death) was not published during his lifetime and has been largely overlooked by Russian scholars. However, it is interesting for its...
A DOCUMENT PAUL AUSTER’S NEW YORK TRILOGY
The article deals with the way a literary work “creates” a document out of itself, on the example of Paul Auster’s novels. A document here is the report of a character, a private detective who is watching another chara...
FLOWER IMAGES IN THE POETIC WORLD OF INNOKENTY ANNENSKY
The article examines the image of flowers / flower in the poetry by Innokenty Annensky due to the high relevance of floral imagery in his work. It analyzes 22 poems chosen in accordance with the specific way the poet pr...