Дьяволиада в творчестве Леонида Андреева. Мир как «репродукция ада». К постановке вопроса

Новый филологический вестник. 2025. № 4(75). С. 148–157.

Мытарева А. В.

The aim of the study is to examine the image of the infernal hero (the devil, Satan, or demon) in the oeuvre of Leonid Andreyev as a key marker of the "inverted" and unstable nature of the world, caused by the "death of God" — an idea that became central to the revaluation of values at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The research is based on the writer’s philosophical, diary, and literary texts, in which Andreyev’s demonology is formed at the intersection of the neo-mythological thinking of the Silver Age and existential doubt in traditional values (God, truth, morality).

By analyzing Andreyev’s prose and drama (specifically, “Silence”, “The Rules of Good”, “The Devil at the Wedding”, “Anathema”, “Satan's Diary”), the article demonstrates how the devil and demon in his oeuvre lose their romantic aura and become bearers of “everyday evil.” Through the image of the infernal hero, the paradoxical nature of humanity is revealed, and Christian truths are presented in a distorted form. In Andreyev’s works, Hell acquires recognizable traits of earthly life, and the devil becomes not only a temper but also a dutiful bureaucrat of the afterlife.

It is noted that infernal characters fulfill functions related to the idea of justice as unquestioning adherence to dogma. Thus, the image of the devil in Andreyev’s work becomes a reflection of a profound worldview crisis, centered around doubt in the divine origin and the impossibility of constructing a new value system for the world.

Keywords: Леонид Андреев, мифопоэтика, Leonid Andreev, mythopoetics, devil, инфернальный герой, infernal hero, дьяволиада