The motif of pilgrimage in P. I. Melnikov-Pechersky's early works

The article is devoted to such a phenomenon of Russian spiritual life as pilgrimage, that became a popular theme of the 19th century literature and one of the basic motifs in P. I. Melnikov-Pechersky’s works. The possibility to use a variety of modifications of the concept in P. I. Melnikov-Pechersky’s works resulted from polysemy of the lexemes “pilgrim”, “pilgrimage” in the 19th century language, caused by the evolution of pilgrimage/wandering as a historical and cultural phenomenon. The analysis of different forms of manifestation of pilgrimage, conducted in the article basing on the material of the story “Poyarkov” (1857) and the short novel “Grisha” (1861), makes it possible to reconstruct the content-related meaning of “pilgrimage” / “wandering” in P. I. Melnikov-Pechersky’s early works. Various socio-cultural and historical meanings assigned by the writer to the concept of "pilgrimage" are identified through the analysis of images of pilgrims/wanderers in his works. The motif of pilgrimage is considered in interrelation with the emotional experience of the main characters (Poyarkov and Grisha). The article concludes that the motif of pilgrimage/wandering in P. I. Melnikov-Pechersky’s works, no matter which meaning it implicates, is a driving force for disclosing images of the main characters of the stories and goes hand in hand with their spiritual quests.