Reception of the Christian tradition of "cleansing" prayer in the lyrics of Julia Zhadovskaya

Zenevich Ekaterina Vasilievna ORCID: 0009-0000-9118-5722 Head of the Editorial Office, Postgraduate (Pushkin Institute of the Russian Language); Institute of Theoretical and Applied Electrodynamics of the Russian Academy of Sciences 125412, Russia, Moscow, Izhorskaya str., 13, p. 6 pasek1980@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

The influence on the formation of the religious component of the author's picture of the world by Yu.V. Zhadovskaya (1824-1883) was primarily influenced by biographical events. The writer had a difficult fate: she was born without a left hand, and on the right there were only three fingers, at the age of three she lost her mother, and in her youth she experienced an unhappy love. All these facts determined the special worldview of Yu.V. Zhadovskaya, associated with "experiences of the pain of hopeless love, tragic loneliness, prayerful thoughts" ^{[1, p.226]}.

Not only these events, but the writer's education also influenced her worldview. Yulia Zhadovskaya was raised by her maternal grandmother Anastasia Petrovna Gotovtseva from the age of three to fifteen. Pavel Zhadovsky, the poet's brother, recalled that her grandmother raised her in her own way, "in the fear of God" ^{[2, p.6]}, "forced her to repeat prayers and retell events from sacred history" ^{[2, p.7]}. Later, Anastasia Fedorova, a pupil of Yu.V. Zhadovskaya, recalled that "... her favorite topic of conversation was philosophical and religious ^{[3, p.396]}, and in adulthood, after the loss of her father and husband, "... for whole hours she ... read the Gospel and the Bible" ^{[3, p.405]}. The writer's religiosity is also manifested in her letters, which contain quotations from the Bible or phrases from the teachings of the holy fathers of the Orthodox Church.  

The special religiosity of the writer's worldview is noted by researchers of her work E.M. Afanasyeva ^[1], V.A. Blagovo ^[4], E.V. Khokhlova ^[5], E.A. Trushina ^[6], I.V. Voitenko ^[7], L.K. Graudina ^[8]. E.A. Trushina emphasizes that the lyrical heroine of Y.V. Zhadovskaya "analyzes her own feelings, evaluates them from the point of view of Orthodox morality, tries to determine their place in the general structure of being and its spiritual laws" ^{[6, p.63]}. E.M. Afanasyeva considers prayer lyrics "an organic component of poetic the legacy of Yu.V. Zhadovskaya" ^{[1, p. 229]}.

Religious and spiritual orientation is one of the main features of Yu.V. Zhadovskaya's work. The poetic heritage of Y.V. Zhadovskaya includes texts of religious content. In poetic prayers and poems on religious subjects, the poetess's special worldview is revealed, associated with spiritual reflections and prayer experience.

Analyzing poetic texts of religious and spiritual subjects, E.A. Trushina divides them into two groups: poems related to the genre of prayer, and poems based on biblical stories ^{[9, p. 72]}. We believe that there is a third group – poems that characterize a special state of prayer. The lyrical event of this group of poems is focused on the Orthodox tradition of spiritual weeping and "cleansing" prayer ^{[10, p.67]}, in which tears acquire a "cleansing nature" ^{[10, p.66]} and serve as a sign of God's mercy ^[11]. 

This article is devoted to the analysis of the artistic reception of the Christian tradition of "cleansing" prayer in the lyrics of Y.V. Zhadovskaya. The object of the research is the texts of religious and spiritual themes of the first lifetime collection of poems "Temptation" (1845), "Calmly over me Again" (1846), "Monologue" (1846), "When reading the History of Peter the Great" (1846), the texts of the second lifetime collection of poems "Wonderful Minute!" (1847), "Night... Chu! into the shady Garden" (1846), "The Awakening of the Heart" (1848), "Who are my relatives" (1850) and unpublished poems "I remember that evening and quiet and beautiful", "Who loved and believed passionately", "The curly birches are noisy, noisy" (unpublished poems are taken from a handwritten notebook Yu.V. Zhadovskaya, which is stored in RGALI ^[17]).

The main part

In the poetry of Y.V. Zhadovskaya (1824-1883), lyrical situations containing motifs of tears and crying occupy a significant place: in 56 poems (this is about a quarter of the entire poetic heritage), various shades of feelings are expressed through these motifs.

Tears in the artistic world of Y.V. Zhadovskaya appear not only from negative (grief, sadness, longing), but also from positive emotions (love, joy, inspiration). The diverse epithets to the word "tears" reflect the whole range of feelings: tears can be "hot" ("Pretense", "Awakening of the heart"), "bitter" ("Regret", "To the child (Thought)", "Necessary pretense", "I swear to you, blind conviction", "P***"), "hot" ("I still, madly, love him", "Unrestrained struggle", "Duma", "In the cemetery"), "involuntary" ("Two sisters"), "sweet" ("Awakening of the heart", "Farewell"), "unaccountable" ("Calmly above me again"), "bright" ("When reading the history of Peter the Great"). These epithets have an increased expressive and stylistic coloring, which is generally characteristic of the "soulful" ^[12] lyrics of the poetess. 

The effect of the nakedness of the feelings of the lyrical heroine Yu.V. Zhadovskaya is enhanced by the use of attributive verbs of the state: tears "roll" ("Pretense", "Monologue", "I see you in tears! one after another"), "pouring" ("Temptation", "Unrestrained struggle", "Wonderful minute", "You won't forget me soon"), "shine" / "shine" ("I still love him, mad,", "Calmly over me again", "Awakening hearts"), "glow" ("Mermaid", "Visit",), "break through" ("I would just sit and look now"), "freeze" ("Who are my relatives").

One of the most frequent plot–forming elements in poems containing the motif of tears is the antithesis of "fun - longing/ sadness" (for example, "Pretense", "Necessary pretense", "The brighter the noisy feast, the more fun the conversation", "Monologue"). The lyrical plot in such poems, as a rule, is based on a similar model: the lyrical heroine, not finding a kindred spirit in society, tries to hide her feelings and worries. She is forced to pretend, depicting gaiety and attention: "... full attention depicts a look, but thoughts are far away" ^{[13, p.5]}; "How can I be cheerful, smile, / If my chest is full of longing" ^{[13, p.46]}, "The brighter the noisy feast, the merrier the conversation, / The my sad soul is heavier" ^{[13, p. 133]}, "And if anyone saw these tears, / With what smile he would look at them" ^{[13, p.134]}. 

The themes of the search for a kindred soul and the grace of God are developed and philosophically comprehended in the poem "Who is related to me". The plot of the poem goes back to the gospel parable of the merciful Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). In the Gospel, the parable is told by Jesus Christ, and in Y.V. Zhadovskaya, physical and spiritual suffering are conveyed in the first person:

Covered with wounds, prostrated in the dust,

I lay by the wayside, in languor and tears…

…………………………………………….

I was already chilled by the cold sleep of death;

My groans died away on my lips,

Tears froze in the dimming eyes... ^{[13, p. 95]}  

The main idea of the gospel parable – compassion and helping people regardless of their religion – is creatively reinterpreted in the poem. "Otherness" ^{[15, p.15]} in the artistic world of Yu.V. Zhadovskaya has a different nature: it is associated with spiritual and painful loneliness and a tragic sense of abandonment of God ^{[16, p.34]}: "I cry that I do not find a single soul in the world!" ^{[13, p.17]} ("I cry"), "... Oh, there is no living soul / with happiness and joy!..." ^{[17, p.13]} ("Melancholy"), "... What am I crying about, what am I suffering about / Why do I hide my suffering from everyone" ^{[13, p.27]} ("Child"), "People will insult you cruelly, / They will disgrace the sanctity of the soul; / You, my friend, will suffer alone, / Shed hot tears in silence" ^{[13, p.59]} ("Duma"). At the most acute moment of suffering and proximity to death, someone appears: "He was unknown to me, but full of holy love."21 The Savior first of all "wiped away tears with a saving hand," then "poured healing balm on wounds," "took with him and helped" (cf. "Come to me all you who labor and you are burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28)). The highest degree of suffering associated with death is accompanied by tears. The image of the Savior is associated with the description of a special spiritual path in the artistic world of Yu.V. Zhadovskaya. At a critical moment, in a moment of despair, help from above appears, which gives strength for the continuation of life and spiritual resurrection.

The appeal to the genre of prayer in the lyrical picture of the poetess's world is determined by the awareness of a special spiritual path. It is loneliness that is the basis for inner peace and salvation of the soul. 

In the poetess's artistic world, the desire to stay alone, escape, free oneself from the laws of society and "sweetly ... sad, pray" ^{[14, p.11]} ("Pretense") is associated with a special spiritual state. In the poem "Monologue", this state is described as an "incomprehensible mystery": "Yes, they will not understand how all of me penetrated / An incomprehensible and secret joy" ^{[13, p.34]} ("Monologue"). In Christianity, this condition is described as a "cleansing" prayer. The Christian tradition of "cleansing" prayer implies that for spiritual purification it is necessary to enter a certain state of "mortification for peace" ^{[10, p.66]}, harmony and pacification. To do this, you need to distract attention from everything around you and focus on your inner experiences. Evening and night in the art world of Yu.In Zhadovskaya, they are the most suitable time to distract from the hustle and bustle of people: "Everyone has been sleeping for a long time… No one will respond to the thought, to the sound" ^{[13, p.60]} ("Awakening of the heart"), "Everything sleeps around me in a calm, sweet sleep..." ^{[14, p.34]} ("Temptation"), "... no one sees..." ^{[13, p.51]} ("A wonderful minute!"), "... people have been sleeping for a long time" ^{[13, p. 82]} ("Night ... Chu! to the shady garden"). Sleep, tranquility and silence are the first symbolic stage of the lyrical heroine's distraction from the world around her and the beginning of spiritual purification.

The next symbolic stage of immersion in a special prayerful state and finding peace is contemplation of the beauty of nature. Yu.V. Zhadovskaya's worldview is characterized by a description of nature as a living whole, and the landscape is almost always the same – these are noisy trees, the sky and the stars: "The heavens are shining calmly above me again" ^{[14, p.39]} ("Calmly above me again"), "To whom I will point to this sky, / Covered with shiny stars?" ^{[14, p.62]} ("Monologue"), "The curly birches are noisy, noisy, / And not a single star in the boundless height" ^{[17, p.68]} ("The curly birches are noisy, noisy"), "Pour your tears boldly! / Month with stars / What's the matter with you?" ^{[13, p.51]} ("A wonderful minute"), "But stealthily with the earth / The stars speak; / And in sweet meditation / Trees stand" ^{[13, p. 83]} (Night ... Chu! to the shady garden").

Y.V. Zhadovskaya's lyrics are characterized by psychological parallelism: the experiences of the lyrical heroine are connected with the state of nature. In the poem of the first collection "Calmly above me again", the lyrical situation of finding harmony for communion with God begins with contemplation of the "calm radiance of heaven", and the anaphora "again" emphasizes the multiplicity and repeatability of this event:

Calmly above me again

The heavens are shining,

And an unaccountable tear

My eyes are shining;

Again, again in my soul

And it's quiet and bright... ^{[14, p.39]}

The motif of prayer tears glistening in the eyes is, on the one hand, the point of transition of a lyrical event from an external description to an internal state, and on the other hand, a kind of sign, a symbol that the soul has begun to enter the "field of purity" ^{[10, p.66]}: "Tears in prayer ... are a sign of mercy Of God, to whom the soul was vouchsafed by its repentance, and that it was accepted and began to enter the field of purity with tears" ^{[10, p.66]}. A similar lyrical situation of contemplation of heavenly harmony and transition to a special prayerful state is contained in the poem "Night ... Chu! to the shady garden." As in the poem "Calmly above me again", the "gaze" of the lyrical heroine "burns with a tear", and prayer tears are a sign of the heroine's transformation and spiritual purification.

The lyrical situation of the transition to a prayerful state in the poems of Yu.V. Zhadovskaya is most often described in the first person. The exception is the unpublished poem "I remember that evening, both quiet and beautiful," in which the heroine recalls her friend:

...Sadness was visible

In your features... and you are quiet and sad in the distance

She looked at me with a strange smile,

And a large tear shone in your eyes... ^{[17, p. 16]}

Contemplation of nature generates a new state of detachment from the world ("with a strange smile"), and the motif of prayer tears also becomes a symbol of the external manifestation of the prayerful state.

So, the appearance of tears is a sign of the beginning of spiritual transformation. However, spiritual purification as the final stage of "cleansing" prayer in the artistic world of Y.V. Zhadovskaya is not always possible. In the poem "The curly birches are making noise, making noise", the state of nature and the absence of brilliant stars ("and not a single star in the boundless height" ^{[17, p.68]}) do not allow the heroine to achieve inner harmony: "I sit alone, quietly dropping tears / In the impenetrable darkness" ^{[17, p.68]}, "A sad row of cherished images rises, / But I do not merge with it, as before, I am a soul" ^{[17, p.68]}. The lyrical heroine "drops" tears, they do not "shine", do not "burn" and do not reflect the radiance of the stars. The desire to merge with the divine and the unattainability of this spiritual state emphasizes the image of a dark starless sky. Using the literary model of artistic duality, Yu. V. Zhadovskaya continues the traditions of the Romantic era. The romantic feeling of the unattainability of the ideal and tragic fate is emphasized by characteristic natural images.

The motif of prayer tears in the poem "Temptation" is interesting. The lyrical plot is similar to the previous ones: distraction from the hustle and bustle of the world, contemplation of natural harmony, concentration on emotional experiences and even "tears in the eyes". But the ending is unusual, where the lyrical heroine admits that her tears are "not about sins" and that sinful human nature prevents her from reaching a prayerful state: "Full of painful battles with herself, / In vain I seek saving prayers, / In vain I call them to sinful lips - / My soul is occupied with earthly, insignificant things" ^{[14, p. 14]}. In the Christian tradition, tears "shed for sinful motives" ^{[10, p.65]} are called sinful. In order for the tears of sin to become pleasing to God, it is necessary to change the cause of tears. Thus, the "cleansing" prayer in the artistic world of Zhadovskaya does not always end with spiritual purification and moral self-improvement.

I would especially like to note the motif of prayer tears in the poem "When reading the history of Peter the Great". It was published only in the first collection of poems and was not included in either the second collection or the posthumous edition. In the preface to the posthumous edition, the brother of the poetess P.V. Zhadovsky explained that he did not include weak poems in this edition, which had been excluded earlier from the publications of Yu.V. Zhadovskaya herself ^[2].

This poem is interesting for an unusual lyrical event, in which the motif of prayer tears symbolizes "glorification of God" ^{[1, p.232]} and tenderness ^[18]. The lyrical heroine reads a book about the "exploits" of Peter I, admires them and plunges into a prayerful state: "But sweet to me! and I can barely breathe, / And I feel: my gaze is burning with pride, / then it shines with a bright tear of humility" ^{[14, p.20]}. The final part of the poem is a prayer of thanks "for the peace of the native country, / For glory, for Peter, for the Holy Royal House" ^{[14, p.20]}. This is the only poem where two lyrical events are combined – immersion in a prayerful state and prayer itself. Thanks to this connection, the desired state is achieved – the fusion of the soul of the lyrical heroine with the divine. Cleansing tears change their nature: they become tears of tenderness when "prayer conversion and the very form of communication between the divine and the created change qualitatively" ^{[18, p. 136]}.

In the individual author's picture of the world by Yu.V. Zhadovskaya, the Christian tradition of "ontological joy in God and about God" ^[10] is the highest stage testifying to spiritual purification.  

Conclusion

The reception of the Christian tradition of spiritual purification forms a special worldview of the poetess, which consists in a "dual" worldview: the desire to find inner harmony and tranquility is combined with a tragic sense of abandonment of God. The theme of loneliness and the search for a kindred soul in the lyrics of Yu.V. Zhadovskaya, continuing the traditions of the Romantic era, allows, on the one hand, to define the basic framework of readers' expectations, and on the other hand, to violate the peculiar genre canon of "cleansing" prayer.

One of the ways of artistic reinterpretation of Orthodox prayer in the individual author's picture of the world by Yu.V. Zhadovskaya is the inclusion of the motif of prayer tears in the lyrical plot of poems of religious themes. This motif is present in texts that include elements of supplication, thanksgiving and penitential prayers. A special prayerful state in lyrical situations containing the motif of prayer tears correlates with the attainment of inner harmony and tranquility and is a sign of entering the "field of purity" for spiritual purification and prayer.

Turning to Christian values, the poetess embodies her vision of the theme of poetic communion with God, the purpose of which is the inner transformation of a person.