The Image of Christ in Russian Literature

More about the book

Vladimir Nabokov remarked on Dostoevsky's characters "sinning their way to Jesus," highlighting the elusive nature of Christ in Russian literature. The rise of biblical criticism and secularism in the nineteenth century complicated earnest affirmations of Jesus in literary works. Direct affirmations risked diminishing Christ, either through unconvincing faith explanations or by reducing him to mere ideological arguments. The authors examined in this study recognized that to reimage Christ for their time, they needed to portray him indirectly, avoiding clichés, doctrines, or naïve apologetics. Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Mikhail Bulgakov, and Boris Pasternak employed apophatic Christology, using negative formulations to express their views on Jesus. Their professions of atheism and non-divine interpretations serve as distinct paths toward a deeper understanding of Christ. This study, the first in English to explore the image of Christ in Russian literature, underscores the significance of apophaticism as both a theological practice and a literary technique. It also highlights the skepticism prevalent in Russian literary attitudes toward Jesus, shaped by the authors' personal struggles with doubt, which led to some of the most thought-provoking images of Christ in literature. This work will engage scholars, students of Orthodox Christianity, and general readers interested in religion and nineteenth-century Russian novels.