THE IMAGE OF JOAN OF ARC IN THE ARTISTIC WORLD OF MARINA TSVETAEVA

Abstract

A research into the function of the image of Joan of Arc in the poetry of M. Tsvetaeva is carried out. This topic has never attracted the scholars dealing with her work before. The analysis of M. Tsvetaeva’s poetic world showed that first and foremost the image of Saint Joan is connected in M. Tsvetaeva’s poetry with the troubled and tragic post revolutionary epoch in whiсh the poet sees parallels with the time of the Hundred Years War. However, the influence of the image of Joan of Arc on the work of M. Tsvetaeva proved to be deeper and was tracked in her diary notes as well as in the motifs connected with the lyric “self” of her poetry. These motifs are: being a chosen one; being guided by a supernatural force; hearing the voices; life as a constant struggle; a woman, who gets involved into man’s business; a strong woman leading a man to the throne; woman as an embodiment of life and passion in contrast to man - deprived of life slave of rationality; fire in which Joan of Arc and the lyric “self” of the poet parish. The research results in a conclusion that the image of Joan of Arc could be classified as one of the key images of M. Tsvetaeva’s poetic universe.