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Studia Litterarum

Philological journal

A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature
of the Russian Academy of Sciences

ISSN 2500-4247 (Print)

ISSN 2541-8564 (Online)

Povarskaya St., 25A, bld. 1, 121069 Moscow, Russia

+7 (495) 690-50-30

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  • For citation:

    Nazarova, A.V. “The Sacralization of the Image of a Woman in the ʽMonastic Legend’ by E.N. Chirikov ʽCaptivity of Passions’.” Studia Litterarum, vol. 10, no. 3, 2025, pp. 184–199. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2500-4247-2025-10-3-184-199 

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    Acknowledgements: The research was carried out at IWL RAS with support of a grant from the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 19-78-10100 (https://rscf.ru/project/19-78-10100/).

  • Author: Anastasia V. Nazarova
  • Information about the author:

    Anastasia V. Nazarova, PhD in Philology, Senior Lecturer, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, GSP-1, 119991 Moscow, Russia; Senior Researcher, А.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Povarskaya St., 25А, bld. 1, 121069 Moscow, Russia.

    https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3579-861X

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

  • Received: March 18, 2024
  • Published: September 25, 2024
  • Issue: 2025 Vol. 10, №3
  • Department: Russian Literature
  • Pages: 184–199
  • DOI:

    https://doi.org/10.22455/2500-4247-2025-10-3-184-199

  • EDN:

    https://elibrary.ru/ZUVZVG

  • UDK: 821.161.1.0
  • BBK: 83.3(2Рос=Рус)53
  • Publication Type: Research Article
  • Keywords: the renewal of realism, the female question, Eternal femininity, the image of the Virgin, the Christian worldview, mythopoetics.
  • Abstract: The evolution of E.N. Chirikov’s (1864–1932) ideas about the nature and purpose of women was reflected in his prose legacy. The female characters of the writer’s early works who continued the tradition of critical realism were usually presented as victims of ugly social relations whose protest in most cases is futile. But the ideological change in Chirikov’s mind in the 900s pushed him to establish a connection between the feminine principle and the religious ideals of the Russian people. The approach to such a concept was the “monastic legend” “Captivity of the Passions” (1911) where the author revised many ideas that existed in the popular consciousness including under the influence of Christianity about the sinfulness of the sensual nature of a woman. The dual content of the female image in Chirikov pushes for comparison with similar phenomena in symbolist culture in particular with the image of a Beautiful Lady, a Stranger and then the bright transformed image of Blok’s Russia-wife. But despite the external similarity the origins of these interpretations are different: the teaching of V. Solovyov about Sophia, the Wisdom of God, the Soul of the world is turned out to be the leading one for the symbolists, and the religious foundations of folk beliefs were the mainstay for Christian-oriented realism.

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