THE ROLE OF THE SKY MOTIVE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF KONSTANTIN LEVIN’S STORYLINE IN TOLSTOY’S NOVEL “ANNA KARENINA”

Abstract

The Sky and the Universe attracted close attention of Tolstoy, the artist. The image-symbol of the sky accompanies the writer’s beloved heroes on the life path. The article is devoted to the role of the sky motif in the development of the plot line of Konstantin Levin — one of the central characters of the novel Anna Karenina, and the influence of the sky on his fate. Tolstoy’s hero is closely connected with the Universe and with the earthly reality. He looks for the Truth, answers to the most important questions of being, seeking to comprehend the meaning of life, gaining faith, focusing on the eternal, beautiful sky and earthly reality; he commits to economic activities, house–building. He seeks to understand the ethical ideals of the peasantry. The article discusses several episodes, describing the hero’s meetings with the Universe, which are connected with his desire to gain love, happiness, harmonious personal relations, with an intuitive sensation of the inextricable connection of the earthly and the heavenly, the perfection of the Universe and with the transition to a new stage of spiritual development. These episodes are created with exceptional artistic skill. The scene of spring hunting in the forest at sunset demonstrates the hero’s organic connection with the Cosmos; his involvement in the element of the Earth and the celestial element. The next situation marks the turning point in the hero’s personal fate. It is dedicated to Levin’s fleeting vision, when he, before the morning dawn after a night spent on stacks of hay, sees like a dream a pearl shell–cloud in the sky. The impression of a church cross against the backdrop of the winter night sky, stars, the Auriga constellation with a bright star, Capella, is such that “seized from the conditions of material life”, the hero feels the mysterious contact of the soul with heaven. The impressions of this night are associated with good omen for him. On the last pages of the novel, after the thunderstorm, the hero experiences his indissoluble unity with the Cosmos; he is inclined to conclude that the undoubted manifestation of the Divine are the laws of good, accessible to every human heart, uniting all people. In these minutes, Konstantin Levin feels that he is close to finding the faith. The revelations he received anticipate the transition to a new stage in the hero’s spiritual development, the unknown paths of life revealing to him.