The idea of an earthly and heavenly shelter in V.G. Korolenko’s short story “Fedor the homeless”

The appeal to the problem posed is due to the ontological significance of true values for each person and society as a whole in any era. Researchers have repeatedly noted that the plot of Korolenko’s works is often based on the moral quest and self determination of the hero, usually a simple man with a difficult fate - this is exactly the situation that is central to the story “Fedor the Homeless”. The relevance of the stated topic is related to the study of the central problem of this article - the consideration of ethical and ontological implications behind social issues. The scientific novelty lies in the study of religious philosophical, existential issues, which had not been considered in the analysis of this work before. The plot of the story is based on the events that took place in a party of prisoners walking along the Siberian highway to the place of detention. The key attention is paid to the image of the personality of the main character, who was imprisoned with his father in childhood and doomed to a life of vagabond. It is established that it is important for Fyodor to understand the structure of the universe and the place and role of man in it - the solution to the problem of the meaning of life depends on this. The main thing for the hero is the question of human responsibility, which extends beyond his earthly life, in another world. Fyodor Bezdyutny’s unexpected meeting with an elderly inspector who escorted him twenty years ago reveals the moral and ethical coordinate system of each of the characters, allowing them to see in their life positions an allusion to the gospel parable of the publican and the Pharisee. During the analysis it becomes clear: in Korolenko’s story, a distinct social problem is fraught with ethical problems. Deprived of his native home from childhood, Fyodor Bezdyutny tries to create a kind of family in his party and introduces the main moral principles into the lives of convicts and exiles: justice, mercy and love. Having remained homeless in his life he seeks to arrange a shelter for whom he can, unconsciously following the highest moral law, which has become for him the main spiritual support in life.