The gospel text and subtext in the stories “The daughter of a high official” by Ivan Panayev and “The painter” by Vladimir Odoyevsky

Ivan Panayev’s story “The Daughter of a High Official” and Vladimir Odoyevsky’s story “The Painter” were published in the journal “Otechestvennye Zapiski” (“Domestic notes”) in 1839. The plots of these stories are similar to each other. The events take place in St. Petersburg of that time. The key problems put forward in them are creative work, expression of the ideal, discovering and maintenance of the artistic identity despite the misunderstanding and pressure of the “crowd”. However, inspite of being formally similar these stories demonstrate that behind the external religiosity there is philosophy and worldview that are not absolutely Christian by character, and the text of an apparent romantic character conceals Orthodox values. Thus, if at first sight Odoyevsky’s story resembles German Romanticism, the study of the poetics of “The Painter” discloses the deep worldview and spiritual ties of the writer with Orthodoxy. In the story of Panayev a Christian tradition gets exposed. The direct introduction of the gospel text into the narration makes it possible to ennoble “positive” characters and to give solemnity to the narration. However, Fichtian Philosophy and the cult of a creative personality is affrimed in Panayev’s story. It brings him to the philosophy of Romanticism and alienated from Christianity. The conflict between the artist and the “crowd” in Panayev’s story takes a social subtext, thus, foretelling the development of the “natural school”.