The motifs of searching for a sense of being in the plot of the novel by Ivan A. Bunin “The life of Arseniev”

The article focuses on the study of the role of the motifs in the development of the plot of Ivan A. Bunin’s novel “The Life of Arseniev”. Investigating the early stages of spiritual formation of the main character of the novel, the author of the article highlights the motifs of loneliness, the feeling of senseless of an imperfect existence, the aspiration to understand the meaning of all things, the highest sense of being, to find the source and sense of an existential despondency - longing for God. The aspiration to find unshakable and eternal values brings Arseniev about to take the unusual road, that is why the motifs of wanderings, encircling and pilgrimage have a significant role in the plot of the novel. The aimless wandering of Arseniev is a reflection of the fact that he has not yet found the highest sense of being, and is opposed to the motif of wandering as a conscious choice of the person, who establishes a certain truth by his own conscious way, that is why the meaning of the pilgrimage and such Christian images as a temple, church, cathedral, monastery, pilgrim, saints attests to the hero’s search for God and for the way to Him. Arseniev’s searches are conditioned by his strivings for an inmost soul that a human soul always imagines, that is by his longing for God, his desire to find the highest sense of being, a true path as the path to God. This conclusion is confirmed by the path of life of the main character which includes the interrelation of motifs of search of a sense and purpose of life, the right path, wanderings, encircling, pilgrimage and also the main iconic images (temple, monastery).