Ideas and Ideals

The article describes the experience of novels interpretation. The novels are written by an American writer of the Russian origin, the founder of the philosophical trend of rational individualism (objectivism) Ayn Rand. A comparative analysis of the two lists of values that form the basis of Western civilization, one of which is the subject of her criticism (refuting). A new formulation of the question concerning the relationship between the values of charity and justice is suggested in the article as a response to A. Rand. The author substantiates that the notion of justice is derived from the notion of charity. The value of charity in Christian consciousness binds together humanity and freedom. The author highlights the idea, that the principle of «rational personal gain», proposed by A. Rand is the principle of cynical reason and it cannot be a sustainable basis for the modern society.

The paper considers a novel of antiquity-scientist A.N. Egunov who was writing under pseudonym Nicolev. Studying antiquity wasn’t considered to be antique. It led to the culture of the XX century and one’s own experience. In the 1920s it was insistently advised «to learn from classics». But the writer’s roles and social profile as well as his relations with his own gift were changing. A. Nikolev’s subtle and clever structures are involuntary perceived as «intensifying» editing. The novel is set in the specific topography. All the toponyms are acknowledged historically except for «the magical village Mirandino». «Ancient Tulsky district» represents the living tract, a museum «without walls». The names of Goethe and Tolstoy remind of definitive features which formed the world of culture. A slight touch on the meaning, writing-wandering, reading will become a storyline of the text. Physically «light hand» is a prevailing metaphor. The moments of revelation capture the turning points in a wonderful wandering. Essential is the suddenness of a crucial question. It concerns the semantics and function of the word «Faust» (fist). The character’s name is connected with the linguistic theory of nominations, with a long-standing argument about the nature of names. Semantics and grammar are opposed: the weaker sex is opposed to the stronger sex, «humane place» – to the chauvinistic culture. The main rhythm of emotions is repeated: violence, power, «weak» power. Egunov was a musically gifted person. In his translations from the ancient Greek language he kept the atmosphere of rhythmo-melodic inflexional features of the text. The novel is particularly in the need of contextualization. The context is constantly changing, and reminds of the Heraclitus river.

In this article the peculiarities of perception and interpretation of "The Diary of a Writer" by F. Dostoevsky are considered from historical and functional points of view in the following aspects: literary, cultural and political. The new paradigms of its study on representative examples of the latest research are identified. In the focus of modern interpretations intermedial and metadiscursive nature of Dostoevsky’s magazine, writer’s syncretism of creative thinking, the limited actuality and justification of many of his prophecies in the context of our time are substantiated. As a result, we can observe the full rehabilitation of “The Diary of a Writer” as one of the greatest works of Dostoevsky, which is remaining the standard of journalism and artistry.