Филологический класс (Oct 2022)
The Theme of “Hermitage” in Samuel Johnson’s Essay “The Vision of Theodore, the Hermit of Teneriffe, Found in His Cell”
Abstract
The article considers “The Vision of Theodore” by Samuel Johnson as an example of the cautionary tales of the English Enlightenment literature. The aim of the article is to analyze the plot in terms of refraction of the visionary tradition in it. The historical-literary commentary has made it possible to clarify the evaluations of “The Vision of Theodore” in the 18th century English criticism and the approaches of the modern English literary criticism to the essay. The study highlights the originality of Johnson’s idea in the construction of the plot of the vision, which consists in the creation of the situation of hermitage of the protagonist on the exotic island of Tenerife. A look at the travelogue essays “The Journey to the Hebrides” by Johnson has helped the author of the article to identify possible reasons for the writer’s creation of an artistic image of the island as a “plausible” space for Theodore’s spiritual experience. The effect of the authenticity of the vision is also achieved through the motif of the manuscript found in the cell and the allusion in the protagonist’s name. The protagonist’s complicated inner state (including his passionate desire to climb the mountain and the doubts about the action) becomes the starting point in the development of the plot. Johnson uses the popular visionary motif of a dream due to which Theodore gets an opportunity to see the surroundings of Tenerife in a different light and learn a moral lesson. Under the guidance of the guardian spirit, Theodore observes the mountain of Existence and explores the mountain space as an allegory of the life path. The analytical nature of the description of the human flow resembles the reasoning of R. Descartes in his treatise “Passions of the Soul” and testifies to the complex understanding of the essence of the human soul in “The Vision of Theodore” by Johnson. The writer believes that reason and faith are the only true spiritual supports in life. It is concluded that Johnson modifies the tradition of the visionary genre to implement the enlightenment program. In the spirit of the times, the writer enhances the didactic pathos, makes the narrative sound documentary and true-to-life, and brings Theodore’s experiences closer to the readers of “The Preceptor”.
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