Świat muzułmański w literackiej prezentacji Lwa Tołstoja

Abstract

The article is a presentation of the image of the North-Caucasian Islam based on the three prose texts of Leo Tolstoy: The Cossacks, A prisoner in the Caucasus, Hadji-Murad. They were written at a different stage of development of the creative writer, which allows showing the evolution of the subject in his rich literary practice. Along with the historical contexts, and even ethnographic ones (The Cossacks, A prisoner in the Caucasus), the writer`s attention is gradually turning to the religious-philosophical issues. Moreover, it presents detailed psychologism of the characters, what is especially noticeable in the novel Hadji Murad. The main protagonist of the work is a Muslim whose prototype was a historical figure, ambiguously interpreted by today’s and next generations. The characteristics of the Muslims and the image of their life presented in the works is gradually individualized. The prospect of their description is also modified. These texts present humanistic and pacifist attitude of Tolstoy. The writer draws the reader`s attention to the universal values in the life of a human.