The author in the structure of the text of the “Siberian Epistles” of Ignatius (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the study of the author’s beginning in the text of the “Siberian Epistles” written at the end of the 17th century by the famous church figure, writer, and publicist Ignatius (Rimsky-Korsakov). Of great importance is the image of the author manifesting itself in the structure and semantic field of the text in different situations. The fragments containing elements of Ignatius’ autobiography play a special role in its construction. The facts of personal life described and introduced into the epistolary discourse add new touches to his image and reveal his author’s position towards the events depicted and the people acting in them, thus expressing the author’s presence in the text. The writer includes the dialogues, where he acts as a participant, into the composition structure of the “Siberian Epistles”, often using the personal pronoun “I” as a method of author’s self-presentation. Sometimes he acts both as a narrator and a character inside the main text (listener, participant in the dialogue). The methods and ways of organizing the text used by Ignatius testify to his creative courage, his understanding of the significance of the writer’s word, the power of its impact on the reader. In general, the strategy chosen by the author of the “Siberian Epistles” allowed him to express most powerfully his individuality, author’s self-consciousness and helped in revealing the idea and goal that he set for himself when starting to create the “Siberian Epistles.”