The still angel. On the historyof one of the-constantmotifsof russian literature. Article one - The origin and historyof the topos

In the epilogue of the novel "Home of the Gentry" by I.S. Turgenev there is the scene, a person of the present company pronounces Lisa Kalit-kina's name, everybody falls silent and thinks: "A still angel has flown by". In Russia they say such a phrase at the moment of sudden silence. The motif of a still angel is linked metaphorically with the heroine of the novel: her nature can be labeled not only "still" (that is gentle, meek) but truly angelic. In this article, the attempt to trace the genesis of this motiv is made for three aspects: generally cultural, literary-artistic, and really-factual.The last one supposes the serach for real prototypes of the heroine. Article one is dedicated to the origin of the "still angel" topos. It follows the Eastern Cristianity roots of the motif "stillness" (meekness, tranquillity) as well as Westent Europe pietistic tradition of the "angelic" motif mentioned in the story, which was more important for Turgenev. Remembering nanny Agatha's ascetic religiosity influencing on Lisa, it could be possible to suggest that the source of the heroine's natural "stillness" is Hesychasm - the late Byzantine mystical tendency, the followers of which preached "divinization" - introduction to the divine grace via "silentificatin" and silent (Jesus) prayer. Nanny Agatha may be considered as a guide of such kind of asceticism in "Home of the Gentry". However, Lisa's religiousness was forming under the Western Europe pietism as well. The motif of an angel of Western Christianity tradition has evolved significantly: a rough algel-warrior was replaced with an image of a meek angel-guardian. Such an interpretation of "still angel" can be met in the works of Ludolf of Saxony (14th c.) and Dionysius Cartusianus (15th c.). Such a replacement of the "warlike" understanding of an angelic essence with the pietistic image of an angel-guardian, which is summoned to defend and appease the soul of every individual human being, can be explained with the significant raise of standart of living in the last Middle Age Western Europe, which is usually followed with the change-over to more "soft" forms of social life. At the beginnig of 18th century the still angel becomes the general part of popular pietistic literature, especially in German and other Protestant countries. The still angel becomes the favourite character of moralizing stories and talks, as well as Advent calendars. All that kind of literature reached Russian with ease and found its grateful readers represented by well educated gentry, who had pushed away orto-dox ascetic ideas long ago. This is not by accident, that Lisa associated the flowers grown on the spot where Jesus's blood had beenspilt, with the wallflowers - Erysimum cheiri, which were planted in the flower bed in the Kalitkins' garden laid for appearance, nice pastime, and other mundane pleasues. Lisa was the kind of person which Agatha wanted to see, as well as which was more close to Ludolf of Saxony and Dionysius Cartusianus.

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