Some Observations on the Importance of the Translation of the Story “The Luminous Resurrection of Christ” in Shaping and Developing the Easter Tale

Abstract

The article examines the factors that contributed to the formation of the Easter story genre in Russia. The author connects this process with the work of the Slavophiles, analyzes the context in which the European “Christmas” tale was not only translated in Russia, but was built into Russian culture. Emblematic of this transformation was the story of Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol in Prose,” which was published under the title “The Luminous Resurrection of Christ” in Russia. The article examines some of the changes made to Dickens’ text, on the basis of which it can be posited that the free translation of the work came out of the Slavophil environment. It is assumed that D. A. Valuev and A. S. Khomyakov jointly planned and carried out the translation and adaptation of the story. The author of the article notes that the action is transferred to Russia, the setting of the story and the characters are invested with Russian names, features, habits and customs, and, most significantly, Christmas – the religious holiday at the centre of Dickens’ story — is replaced by Easter.