THE PECULIARITY OF THE DIALOGUE WITH THE BIBLE IN LESYA UKRAINKA ‘S APOCRYPH «THE CURSE OF RACHEL»

Abstract

The investigation is an attempt to interpret Lesya Ukrainka’s author’s apocrypha «The Curse of Rachel» in the biblical context, which made it possible to read new meanings that are revealed in the correlation of the work with the text of the Holy Scriptures. It is noted that in the work of Lesya Ukrainka, there is a shift in emphasis from one of the central mystical events of the Gospel – the incarnation to the natural feelings of mother Mary for her child, the desire to protect her from persecution. Another specific feature of the apocryph is the shift of the author’s focus of attention from the relationship between the Heavenly Father and the Son, postulated in the Gospel, to the relationship between mother and son. In the apocryph of Lesya Ukrainka, such, emphatically derogatory, names of Jesus are used as «the son of poor Mary», «this, the son of Mary», which leads to the profanation of the image of Jesus. The image of the Mother of God in the apocryphal text is also desacralized. The author outlines Maria’s emotional state in purely human, selfish dimensions, emphasizing that her feelings are no different from the emotions of other mothers who are also proud of their children. It is emphasized that in the interpretation of Lesya Ukrainka, the image of Rachel appears as the embodiment of the dark, destructive aspect of the maternal archetype, which manifests itself in cruelty, vindictiveness, and aggression. Arguing that the death of Jesus was in vain, the heroine of the apocryph demonstrates a complete leveling of the basic principles of Christianity. The foremother of Israelappeals to the principle of blood revenge, according to which murder requires retribution. The curse pronounced in the apocryph appears from a Christian point of view as a terrible sin, because this wish for death is directed against the Son of God. It is concluded that the apocryphal model in the work «Rachel’s Curse» is based on ontological principles different from those of the Gospels. The plot of the work develops within the framework of the Old Testament ethical paradigm, which provides for the supremacy of the Law – an external imperative prescription, the violation of which leads to punishment.