Death Messengers in the Russian Literature of the 19th Century (On Tolstoy’s Novel “Anna Karenina” and Turgenev’s Story “The Unfortunate One”)

Abstract

Purpose. The article is devoted to the analysis of death messengers, their role and meaning in Ivan Turgenev’s story “The Unfortunate One” and Leo Tolstoy’s novel “Anna Karenina”.Results. In Turgenev’s story a herald of death is presented as a phantom, a soul manifestation of the young woman who subsequently dies under mysterious circumstances. At the same time, the phantom appears not to the gaze of the female character, who falls victim to family intrigues, but to her spiritual friend, Pyotr Gavrilovich. The young student perceives a strange vision as an optical illusion, but sees the next clue that is a dream, a premonition of an impending disaster. A light phantom of the young woman is both an omen of her impending death, and a kind of call for help. In “Anna Karenina”, the messenger of death appears in the form of an infernal old man and becomes a sign of the terrible death of an unfortunate woman. His horrible appearance is a reflection of the horror that Anna Karenina faces in the last minutes of her life.Conclusion. Death messengers warn of impending danger but also let us guess the type of death awaiting the heroes by their look.