Abstract
My paper will examine figure of the Jesuit in nineteenth-century literature, a theme which evolves from my thesis on the image of Catholicism. The nineteenth century is of special interest in conjunction with the study of Russian attitudes to religion since it was a crucial time in the formation of Russian national identity. My paper will begin by outlining who the Jesuits are and what role they play in world history. Then I will briefly summarise the influence of the Jesuits on Russian history and how this may have affected how they were viewed in literature. I will then use some examples from some well-known texts and analyse how the Jesuit appears as a character in Russian plays and novels of this period. Starting with Pushkin’s drama about the Time of Troubles Boris Godunov and comparing this with Khomiakov’s drama, Dmitriii Samozvanets , I will outline how the Jesuit appears as Machiavellian schemer. Next I will discuss the 1840s and 1850s and the Jesuit polemics with Slavophile thinkers. Lastly, I will look at some examples from Dostoevskii’s Idiot and Tolstoi’s Voina i Mir and discuss the portrayal of Jesuits as eloquent speakers who were attempting to convert Russians. I will argue that although Jesuits are often neglected as minor characters in Russian literature, examining this theme can inform us about how Russian national identity was being formulated, and Russian writer’s response to how they felt Russian religious identity was being challenged.
Highlights
In the sixteenth century, St Ignatius of Loyola had a dramatic conversion experience, which he later wrote about in his autobiography
As we will observe from Russian literature, this served to stoke anti-Catholic prejudice, combining as it did with existing tensions between Russia and neighbouring Poland
In 1820, Alexander I expelled the Society of Jesus from Russia. Several factors influenced this decision but it was partly due to fears that they were converting Russians, members of the upper classes, to Catholicism (Flynn 249–65)
Summary
St Ignatius of Loyola had a dramatic conversion experience, which he later wrote about in his autobiography. (After all, Khomiakov’s main theological contributions were constructed as a reply to Western clergy.) Likewise, a Jesuit provokes a tirade and debate in the novel, even though he is absent from Russia and the novel, because he is dead In this novel, Russian Orthodox Christianity ought perhaps to be represented by Myshkin, but his response does not properly meet that challenge as he does little to explain the positive attributes of Orthodoxy. Once again, the figure of the woman is an important trope in connection with the theme of temptation and conversion This is not because Dostoevskii believed that women were responsible for corrupting Russian society (virtuous, kenotic female characters are not hard to find in his novels). It is as though Catholicism is seen as seductive, a femme fatale and the Jesuits the chief representatives of it
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