Gymnastics in “Anna Karenina” by L. N. Tolstoy and “Demons” by F. M. Dostoevsky: Body, Movement, Exercise

With the growing popularity of gymnastics in society and the spread of gymnastic discourse, gymnast heroes characters frequently appear in Russian literature of the second half of the 19th century. One of them is Kirillov, the protagonist of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Demons,” whose gymnastic exercises at first glance seem to contradict the logic of his thinking. The article is devoted to the analysis of this bodily practice in the novel and based on the comparison of Kirillov with Levin, perhaps the most famous character in Russian classical literature who is passionate about gymnastics. Besides gymnastics itself, two other key junctions exist between these characters, which allow us to identify and differentiate their models: speech disorders and suicidal ideation, which is closely related to the former. Levin’s model of the gymnast can be considered an opposition between the spheres of life and death, whose visible manifestations are the body and speech, respectively. In this context, bodily activity is associated with order, and speech – with chaos. In “Demons,” the illusion of such an opposition is created, but a completely different logic is discernible behind it. Body and speech in the models of the gymnast Kirilliv have a mimetic appearance. The main attribute of this character’s gymnastics is a ball, required for “strengthening the back.” However, this need has nothing to do with the body: it stems from pride. Furthermore, the association between the ball and the “planet” that emerges in the text allows Kirillov’s gymnastic exercises to be interpreted as a projection of the role of God. The article concludes by emphasizing the connection between both models and the specific nature of the “new project” of gymnastics.