Eve, Magdalina, Samaritian... (To the Typology of Female Images in the Novel of L. M. Leonov “Thief”)

Purpose. The article presents the results of the analysis of key female images in the novel by L. M. Leonov “Thief”: Masha Dolomanova, Tatiana Vekshina, Zinaida Balueva, Ksenia Babkina – whose fates are united by a typological commonality. The relevance of the study is due to the rethinking of the role of women in the modern world and art, and the formation of heroines, unhappy men in the world of men, in the literature of the 20th century developed, including under the influence of post-revolutionary, post-war reality, under the influence of urbanization. Methodology. The study based on the works devoted to the poetics of motif, image. To achieve the goal, the following tasks were set: determination of artistically significant motives; comparison of plot lines with precedent texts (mostly biblical); explanation of details that clarify the essence of female images. Using the method of motif analysis, identified the main motives involved in creating the storylines of each heroine, and their variants. Results. The motif of violence is highlighted, which is presented in the following allomotives: sexual violence (including deprivation of innocence) – for all heroines, except for Zinaida Balueva; physical violence (beating) – images of Masha Dolomanova, Zinaida Balueva – and suicide (Ksenia Babkina); psychological abuse (like suppression of will, lack of care) – all heroines. Within the framework of the method of structural-typological analysis, female characters were correlated with the poles of the binary opposition between the evil wife and the good wife, ascending to the Holy Scriptures. It was found that, in addition to the motive of violence, which is present in the storyline of each heroine, but conditioned not by the will of the person, but by chance, Leonov’s female characters are united by the motive of temptation, temptation, which allows one to assess their individual position and explain the tragic outcome of life. Conclusion. The female images in the novel “Thief” are comparable with such biblical personalities as Eve, Mary Magdalene, an unnamed Samaritan woman, Tatiana the Martyr. Their fates are determined by the actions or desires of other heroes, which, given the fact that they have not found their own God, ultimately leads to despair and irrevocable death.