Article

Name: John Ruskin in “The circle of reading” by L. Tolstoy: on the textual history of the legend “The Big Dipper (Bucket)”

Authors: A. A. Tulyakova

National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation

In the section Study of literature

Abstract: The paper deals with the textual history of the legend “The Big Dipper (Bucket),” which is part of Leo Tolstoy’s “The Circle of Reading” as one of the “weekly readings.” The study compares the original English text, discovered for the first time, with translation by Tolstoy. The analysis of the legend in the cultural and biographical context shows the ways of Tolstoy’s transforming other writers’ texts and the reasons for addressing them. It is revealed that Tolstoy’s intention to translate this legend may have been due to his interest in John Ruskin’s works and in particular his fairy tale “The king of the golden river,” that is very similar to the legend. While sharing many Ruskin’s ideas, Tolstoy, nevertheless, criticizes his religious views. The paper traces how the writer transformed the religious motifs of legend according to his religious ethics.

Keywords: L. Tolstoy, “The circle of reading,” John Ruskin, “weekly readings,” legend, religion, drought

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