Chervonenko S.M.
The artistic function of female characters in part 1 of A. N. Tolstoy’s novel Peter the First. Pp. 134–141.
UDC 821.161.1-31.09«19»
DOI 10.37724/RSU.2026.90.1.013
Abstract. This article examines A. N. Tolstoy’s novel Peter the First. The analysis focuses on a number of female. Particular attention is paid to the poetics of the images of Tsarina Evdokia, the Tsar’s German lover Anna Mons, and the Electresses Sophia and her daughter Sophia Charlotte. This allows for tracing the dynamics of one of the novel’s main themes: the relationship between Russian and Western cultural traditions. Parallels are drawn with the final part of D. S. Merezhkovsky’s trilogy Antichrist. Peter and Alexis. The research analyzes its continuity and novelties in revealing the main theme of the whole work. The author’s interpretation of destiny and family happiness in connection with the depiction of Tsarina Eudoxia and other female characters in the first book is considered. The comparative analysis not only highlights the stylistic features of the narrative in Tolstoy’s novel but also leads to a conceptual understanding of the issues within the literary work as a whole: the confrontation and interaction of Russian and European civilizations. The depiction of the positive and negative aspects of both world orders is revealed, showing how the writer emphasizes this. The article also focuses on the themes of the mystery and uniqueness of the Russian mentality, paying attention to the deep foundation of the Christian moral way of life, the thorny path of development, and how it leads the author of the novel to the difficult issue of the paths of Russia’s past, present, and future. The research confirms that issues of gender relations, especially within the family, hold particular spiritual and moral significance and influence not only in the development of an individual, shaping their worldview, but also the structure of public life in the state as a whole.
Keywords: paths of development of Russia and Europe, Tsar Peter, female characters, spiritual and moral traditions, family and state structure of life.
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