The problem of personal freedom in the story of Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot
To answer this question, you need to understand the meaning of the word "treason". According to the dictionary, treason is understood as a violation of fidelity to someone or something. Each person has their own reasons for committing adultery. He makes a choice based on his moral principles and decides whether to commit treason or remain faithful to them to the end. But sometimes, the biological principle triumphs and then a person commits a low deed. To understand a traitor, a person who has committed treason, you need to understand why he did it. So, what pushes a person to commit adultery?
In fiction, there are a huge number of heroes who went for treason. Infidelity in love has always been and remains an eternal problem.
Often, we cannot change the course of fate, we become hostages of circumstances.
For example, Katerina from the drama A.N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm", finding herself in her husband's house alone, endured arbitrariness on the part of her mother-in-law. She was locked in conditions that were alien to her, because her pure and dreamy soul yearned for something more. The husband could not give her what she wanted, namely, free herself from the surrounding pain and cruelty. Therefore, she fell in love with another, as it seemed to her, a worthy person, who was from a completely different world. But Boris was just as pathetic as Tikhon. For Katerina, as a believer, betrayal was a terrible sin, but she went for it, realizing all this. She sinned because of the love that she needed so much in this foreign to her world. In this case, the reasons for the betrayal were hatred of what she was obliged to remain faithful to. The betrayal helped Katerina understand that she lives in a world of lies and cruelty. Therefore, the suicide of the heroine, who could not come to terms with the deception, turned out to be natural.
But there are other concepts of treason, even more terrible.
So, in the work of L.N. Andreeva "Judas Iscariot" shows the canonical biblical story from its own point of view. Judas sells his teacher for 30 pieces of silver, but the author claims that this betrayal has deeper roots than just greed. Judas was convinced that this betrayal would be a blessing for the teachings of Jesus, forcing more people to join him. But erroneous judgments became fatal for him. When Judas realized his mistake, it was too late to change anything, and he himself went to follow the teacher. L.N. Andreev writes that it is not the absence of convictions, but their fallacy that leads to betrayal, treason.
Thus, anything can push a person to betray, simply because the concept of "betrayal" itself has many meanings. The main thing lies in the consequences of this action. By committing betrayal, a person destroys his principles, goes against his convictions, destroys himself. And therefore, one must always be aware of what will happen after the line through which one cannot step over is passed.
Judas and Jesus - minus and plus, evil and good.
Jesus' kindness is visible to all of us. She is beautiful, pure, warm. But no one thinks about the kindness of Judas, that he is kindness in evil.
Betrayal is a provocation.
Betrayal with a desire to elevate your beloved teacher, stand next to him, learn, test the love of many students.
Judas did not betray! Judas lost the game, having lost Jesus, but won, having learned the true face of the disciples: their hopelessness, weakness, cowardice, insignificance before trials,
in front of the world. They are led!
Pupils cannot comprehend on their own, show love. Love is only in words! As much as Judas wanted to provoke, he did not succeed in stirring it up. Failed to kindle hearts with fiery love, passion.
Having betrayed and lost Jesus, Judas betrayed and lost himself.
Reviews
According to many phrases from the Gospel, it can be concluded that Jyeshua was an adherent of the Gnostic religion. Gnostics believe that hell is our material world, where the soul is trapped in our body and suffers. Accordingly, only death - frees the soul from the hated material world, and the soul returns to God - the Spirit that gave birth to it.
If Christ is a Gnostic, then he should have been grateful to Judah that he gave him death, so that Christ would unite with God the Father.
And it is Judah who is the sacrifice, since it is he who gets all the dislike and curses of our world, for the fact that he fulfilled Yeshua's request
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The tragedy of Judas Iscariot has forever remained etched in the Gospel history as an edifying example of the terrible fate of a traitor. But there is another opinion: Judas, they say, was a misunderstood hero. What is the fallacy of such an opinion, which is contrary to the entire Christian tradition, and what is the danger of betrayal, Pavel Vladimirovich Kuzenkov will tell.
Kiss of Judas. Giotto
- Pavel Vladimirovich, where does the idea originate that Judas Iscariot is not a traitor, but the one who fulfilled the "command of God to betray"?
This idea originates from a naive fascination with formal logic. Considering the causal relationship of the Gospel events, we can conclude that since the atoning sacrifice of the Lord on Calvary was the result of the betrayal of Judas, then the sin of Judas plays a certain important role in divine Providence. Existed even a whole Gnostic sect of "Cainites" - worshipers of Judas, who allegedly committed the "secret of betrayal" at the behest of Christ.
But such reasoning was refuted by the Holy Fathers. Thus, Patriarch Photius cited the example of the emperor Diocletian: he executed many Christian martyrs, who, thanks to this, ended up in paradise. But, said the saint, we do not thank Diocletian, for a plan is important for a spiritual assessment of a human deed. Almighty God often directs even evil designs to good - but this does not mean that evildoers and sinners do the will of God. Man is completely free in his choice between good and evil, and he will answer for this choice before God.
Judas was absolutely free in his choice. He had a choice.When Christ, seeing and knowing the intention of Judas, said to him: "What are you doing, do it quickly"(John 13:27), he did not at all induce him to betray. The Lord with these words tried to awaken the conscience of Judas, as if hastening him with a choice: "If you decide to commit an atrocity - do it: yes - yes, no - no." None of the apostles understood these words then, and Judas, of course, understood immediately. At that moment, he could still repent - but pride overcame his conscience. However, not for long: then, when the deed was already done, conscience spoke again, and her voice became so unbearable that Judas could no longer live and committed suicide.
The sin of Judas is not just love of money, guile, or envy. Betrayal is treachery, betrayal of trust. Judas was a disciple of the Lord, he was not only close to Christ - he was entrusted with a box of money. It is clear that his position meant a special trust in the Lord. And he was the one who betrayed him. A betrayal of trust is an extreme form of abuse of love, the basis of fidelity. When we love someone, we completely trust that person, and at the same time become defenseless against his betrayal. If there is deception in a situation of rivalry, struggle, no one will call this a betrayal. People constantly use tricks or cunning in communication - but treachery occurs only where they break the oath, deceive those who trusted them. The prototype of all such betrayals is the act of Dennitsa, the highest angel, clothed with the special trust of God. That is why it is written in the Scripture about Judas: "Satan entered him"(Luke 22: 3; John 13:27). Anyone who commits betrayal acts in the image of Satan.
- Why do you think these days this erroneous concept of Judas as a hero has become close and understandable to many people?
- The heroization of traitors is one of the most effective ways to fight religion. Heroizing a traitor or in some way justifying his actions, saying that he was motivated by the best intentions, etc., can blur the very idea of faith and love. For example, how is adultery now treated? After all, they ceased to be perceived as a betrayal! And this means that there is no love either. The impoverishment of love, as we know, is a sign of the approaching end of the human race.
Judas Iscariot throwing pieces of silver
- If betrayal is opposed to love, and love implies freedom, then it turns out that one cannot say that Judas had no choice, one cannot say that he was forced to betray Christ ...
- Any betrayal is the realization of freedom. This is the insidiousness. We just need to understand the very meaning of the word "freedom". A person needs freedom in order to choose the truth, to choose the right path. If we choose the wrong, wrong, sinful path, then this alienates us from good, and freedom becomes dangerous. So freedom is valuable not in itself, but only when it leads to the truth. In any practical matter, we use freedom only until we know how to do it right. And no one in their right mind would advocate the "freedom" to make mistakes when solving math problems or flying an airplane.
Spiritual freedom is necessary for a person in order for him to come to the truth on his own. Only the rational soul's own choice is pleasing to God. You cannot force someone to do good - although sometimes you really want to ... The law, acting by fear, is necessary only as the first step in the upbringing of a person. But as he grows up, as the image of God is revealed in a person, conscience begins to play the main role. This is the meaning of the era of Grace, which opened with the Coming of Christ. Freedom is a necessary condition for spiritual development, and therefore it is considered one of the most important values of Christianity. But not in itself, but only as a path to faith. Man is saved by faith.
Betrayal is considered one of the worst sins because it rejects the very principle of faith. It is the absolute opposite of faith and love. And if God is love, and faith saves, then we can say that Satan is treason, and treachery closes the path to salvation. These are diametric opposites, and freedom only gives the opportunity to choose in different directions. There is a choice of loyalty, and there is a choice of betrayal and betrayal, behind which are pride and selfishness.
- Can selfishness in a person be the cause of infidelity and betrayal?
Selfishness is love, closed on oneself. Because there is love for oneself, closed on God, for it is said: "Love your neighbor as yourself"(Luke 10:27). This is the kind of love that begins with oneself and continues further, reaching out to the near, distant and ascending to God. A egoism is love that is closed on itself, or rather, is opposed to love both for one's neighbor and for God.
Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. Repin. I. E. End of the 1880s
The state of a society in which selfishness is cultivated is very dangerous. Insofar as love only for oneself knows neither betrayal, nor loyalty, nor love. Thus, the very foundations of social life are destroyed. Even in ancient times, Aristotle and other thinkers said that human society rests on love, without which it immediately begins to collapse. Egoists are not viable, they quickly perish themselves and destroy the social organism. Therefore, as history shows, a soft, “understanding” attitude towards traitors is characteristic of dying civilizations, and the glorification of loyalty is characteristic of rapidly developing ones.
How to separate people, how to make them defenseless? It is necessary to create a cult of freedom, to cultivate the right to choose as such - including treason. You don’t owe anything to anyone, you don’t owe anything to anyone, live as you feel comfortable, do what is beneficial to you. Such slogans seem convenient, logical to a person, he really gains great freedom - but at the same time, often imperceptibly to himself, he loses something really valuable: family, friends, homeland and, ultimately, himself. The same thing happens to him that happens to Judas: a person comes into a state of absolute emptiness, the meaninglessness of his existence, which becomes unbearable. Scripture says: "It would be better for such a person not to be born"(Matt. 26:24) - this state is so terrible that even non-being is better than such being. That is why traitors usually end their lives in the most miserable way. Betrayal is equally destructive at all levels, from personal to universal. One of the most famous topics is military betrayal. Whatever the motives behind the behavior of a person who has violated the oath, there is no excuse for him. Take, for example, the figure of the Soviet general Vlasov, whom they sometimes try to call almost a fighter for Orthodoxy. Yes, indeed, the Vlasov Russian Liberation Army used religious rhetoric, but it was still based on betrayal. Vlasov was a loyal communist and Stalin's favorite. And by agreeing to serve the Nazis, he committed unconditional betrayal. Everything else is from the evil one.
By the way, the idea of confronting loyalty and betrayal is very firmly rooted in the political history of Orthodox Russia. It begins with the treacherous murder of his brothers Boris and Gleb by Svyatopolk the Accursed, and ends with the events of Ferval in 1917 and the feat of Nicholas II. Both the young princes and the last emperor became victims of betrayal and were glorified by the people as passion-bearers - a rare face of holiness, meaning a perfect imitation of Christ.
Generally speaking, an apology for betrayal is characteristic of perishing, decaying societies. This is an apocalyptic idea. As we remember, in the Revelation of John the Theologian, the Babylonian harlot appears as one of the images of decayed humanity (Ch. 17). But who is a harlot? A woman who, by definition, is incapable of loyalty and love. The cultivation of fornication is as vivid a symbol of absolute spiritual decay as the glorification of Judas.
It is characteristic that in the XX century the image of Judas was one of the favorite topics of anti-religious propaganda in domestic and world culture. In 1907, Leonid Andreev created the image of a "loving traitor" - a vivid evidence of the deepest spiritual dichotomy of pre-revolutionary Russia. After the revolution, the poet Demyan Bedny composed "A New Testament without a Flaw", in which he portrayed Judas as a slanderous simpleton who had betrayed Christ "by accident." The apology of Judas was a natural consequence of the present "era of betrayal" that opened in Russia in February 1917 and almost destroyed our Fatherland. Without understanding this, we will not understand either the reasons for the defeat of the White movement, or the meaning of brutal and unprecedented repressions, or absolute intolerance towards traitors in Soviet times.
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Judas Iscariot. Repin I. E.
- The tragic story of Judas often arouses people's sympathy. It would seem that Judas understood what he had done for a terrible sin, repented, but still the Church considers him a traitor. How should we relate to this?
- Betrayal is therefore viewed as a grave offense, because there is no way out of it. There are sins that are irreversible in their extreme manifestations. Salvation is possible only through sincere and complete repentance. But the state of the traitor is such that at the very moment when he repents, when he sees the whole horror of his deed, he can no longer live. Until he repents, he can deceive his conscience, convincing himself that this is just an ordinary trick, a strategy of behavior, that everyone does this. But when a person suddenly realizes that he has betrayed his faith, betrayed love, life becomes unbearable for him. Such a state is almost impossible to withstand.
But even in the case of betrayal, salvation is possible - through contrition and pure, sincere faith. When the Apostle Peter denied Christ out of cowardice, he, too, realizing this, fell into terrible despair. But the Lord, foreseeing this, warned him: "I prayed for you so that your faith does not become scarce"(Luke 22:32). Since Judas was an unbeliever, he could not get rid of the hopelessness that befell him. And Peter was saved precisely by his unfailing faith in the infinite mercy of the Lord: it did not allow him to plunge into a terrible maelstrom of despair.
It is significant that it was the apostle, nicknamed for the firmness of his faith "stone", or rather "rock", passed through such a test. The Lord humbled Peter, who self-confidently said that he was ready to accept death for the Teacher, and showed us all: look, people, do not be proud, do not shout about the strength of your faith, but rather humble yourself and weep for your weaknesses.
Faith is the gift of divine grace. But the choice between betrayal and loyalty always faces people. All cultures, including pagan ones, glorified heroes who were true to their family, fatherland, true to their word. Loyalty has always been considered one of the highest qualities of a person, the standard of honor, on which generations were brought up. And those states and societies in which indifference to treason and even ridicule of loyalty developed (as, for example, in the Soviet Union in the last years of its existence), quickly ceased to exist. When betrayal loses its drama, when sayings like “we are not like that, life is like that”, “nothing personal, only business” come into fashion - it is in such an atmosphere that the spiritual decay of a person and society takes place.
That is why it is so important to educate children by examples of loyalty. After all, children are especially sensitive to lies, to deception. Somewhere at the age of five, a child begins to understand that it is possible to deceive, and here it is very important to teach him that there is a trick, a joke, a game - but there is betrayal. During the game, you can be cunning: the ability to recognize cunning and reveals the most dexterous, skillful. But it's completely different when you start deceiving people who believe you.
Unfortunately, understanding of these basic things is blurring due to the fact that a new generation is growing up in the atmosphere of computer games, films and chats. The concepts of "honest" and "dishonest", honed in the live communication of adolescents, are obscured in the atmosphere of soulless virtuality. The consumer society is vitally interested in a person living his whole life "playfully" - because then he becomes a source of income. And in the game there is neither betrayal nor love, only selfless passion and irresponsible calculation that any "move" can be canceled. It is very dangerous. In real life, every act is irreversible. And such acts as betrayal inflict irreparable internal trauma.
Pavel Kuzenkov
Interviewed by Andrey Golovach
Sretenskaya Theological Seminary
Konovalova M.E.
MOBU SOSH # 10
The originality of the interpretation of the image of Judas and the Gospel plot in the story of L. Andreev "Judas Iscariot".
Annotation: In Andreev's story, the betrayal of Judas is the flip side of love for Jesus. So who is Judas Iscariot: a traitor or a righteous man? - This question is still being asked by researchers. Judas Andreeva is a classic tragic hero, with all the set of signs he should be: a contradiction in his soul, a sense of guilt, suffering and redemption, an extraordinary scale of personality, heroic activity that defies fate.
Keywords: L. Andreev, Judas Iscariot, the theme of betrayal, the duality of the image, expressionism.
Konovalova M.E.
Theoriginalityof the interpretation of the image of Judas and the gospel story in L. Andreev "s story« Judas Iscariot» .
Abstract: In Andreev "s story, the betrayal of Judah is the reverse side of the love of Jesus. So who is Judas Iscariot: a traitor or a righteous man? This question is still asked by the researchers. Judas Andreeva is a classic tragic hero, with all the set of signs put to him: a contradiction in the soul, a sense of guilt, suffering and redemption, an uncommon scale of personality, heroic activity challenging fate.
Keywords: L. Andreev, Judas Iscariot, theme of betrayal, duality image, expressionism.
Leonid Nikolaevich Andreev is one of those Russian writers who determined the mentality of society at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. He wrote about loneliness, about the disunity of souls, thought a lot about the meaning of life, about death, about faith, about God.
The story "Judas Iscariot" occupies a special place in the writer's work, it was her many contemporaries, colleagues and critics who recognized the writer as the artistic peak. Back in 1902, L. Andreev wrote to Serafimovich: "By the way, I am thinking over time to write something on the psychology of betrayal." Over time, the idea acquired more general philosophical features: the writer raises the eternal questions of good and evil from an unusual angle. Gradually, the conceived story grew into a story; it was completed in February 1907.
In the story "Judas Iscariot" Andreev gives his version of the famous Gospel parable. The author makes the central hero of the work not Jesus, but Judas Iscariot, a contradictory, active, outstanding person. To complete the perception of the image, the writer describes in detail the memorable appearance of Judas: whose skull was “as if cut from the back of the head by a double blow of the sword and re-assembled, it was clearly divided into four parts and inspired distrust, even alarm ... Judas's face also doubled ... One eye of Judas is alive, attentive , black, .. and the other, covered with a whitish haze ... ". The duality in the appearance of Judas is emphasized several times by the writer. Such a portrait can be called psychological: it conveys the essence of the hero - the duality of his personality, duality of behavior, duality of feelings, the exclusiveness of his fate. The eleven disciples of Christ look inexpressive against the background of this hero. They constantly argue among themselves "who paid more love" in order to be close to Christ and to ensure for themselves in the future entry into the Kingdom of Heaven near the Teacher. The disciples treat Judas with contempt and disgust, as well as to other vagabonds and beggars. They are deep in matters of faith, engage in self-contemplation and shut themselves off from people. L. Andreev's Judas is very active, he lives in the real world: he steals money from the treasury of the brotherhood in order to feed a hungry harlot, at the cost of his humiliation protects Christ from the wrath of the crowd. He plays the role of a mediator between people and Christ.
Judas all his life was looking for a meeting with Jesus, because he knew the truth about the sinful, dark essence of people and wanted to find the Power that could transform this essence. Also, Judas understands that Jesus will not be understood by people.
The root of the conflict between Jesus and Judas is that Jesus preaches mercy, forgiveness, longsuffering, while Judas passionately wants to shake the foundations of the sinful world. Jesus is aware of Judas' betrayal, but accepts his fate.
In his 1907 article "On the Realists" A. Blok wrote: "Having sold Christ to the high priest, Judas surrounds Jesus with" quiet love, gentle attention "," shy and timid, like a girl in her first love. " With a “kiss of love” he betrays Jesus and “high above the crown of the earth raises the crucified love on the cross with love.” Mortally yearns at the guardhouse window, where soldiers torture Jesus. "
Why, according to Andreev, Judas betrayed Christ? Andreev shows that Judas was forced to condemn Jesus to sacrificial death in order to awaken the true faith, the conscience of people. Judas is a tragic figure. He believes: in order for a dark, poor in spirit crowd to believe in the ideal, in Christ, it needs a miracle. This miracle will be the resurrection of Christ after his martyrdom.
Judas also chose his own cross. By betraying Christ, he condemns himself to eternal damnation, forever securing for himself the shameful nickname of a traitor.
In Andreev's story, the betrayal of Judas is the flip side of love for Jesus. So who is Judas Iscariot: a traitor or a righteous man? - this question is still being asked by researchers. “Did Jesus know about the terrible mission of his disciple? Not only did he know, but he himself chose him from among his followers ... Jesus knew that only Judas, the only one of the twelve, would be able to fulfill his plan. " In the betrayal of Judas, the providence of God.
“If it were not for Judas and his betrayal, if it were not for Golgotha, the passion of the Lord and death on the cross, Jesus would not have risen from the dead, would not have struck the gullible hearts of his fellow tribesmen with the greatest miracle-miracle, which could only be performed by the Son of God ... Jesus thereby showed mankind the only way to salvation "
L. Andreev foresaw the reaction of his contemporaries to his story: “The story will be scolded both from the right and from the left, from above and from below.” And he was right: the accents that were placed in his version of the Gospel story turned out to be unacceptable for many, including and L.N. Tolstoy. At the same time the story was highly appreciated by M. Gorky, A. Blok, K. Chukovsky.
The polarity of assessments of the work of L. Andreev and its protagonist in literary criticism has not disappeared even today, and it is caused by the dual character of the image of Andreev's Judas.
A negative assessment of the image of Judas is given by L.A. Zapadova, who warns: “Knowledge of the Bible for a full-fledged perception of the story-story and comprehension of the secrets of“ Judas Iscariot ”is necessary in various aspects. It is necessary to keep in mind the biblical knowledge, in order at least not to succumb to the charm of the serpentine-satanic logic of the song, whose name the work is named after. "
Judas Andreeva is a classic tragic hero, with all the set of signs he should be: a contradiction in his soul, a sense of guilt, suffering and redemption, an extraordinary scale of personality, heroic activity that defies fate.
Problematic questions for discussion:
How Judas's view of people is revealed in his words about the apostles: “They always love their teacher, but more dead than alive. When the teacher is alive, he can ask them a lesson, and then they will feel bad. And when the teacher dies, they themselves become teachers, and it is bad for others to do it ”?
In the mouth of Judas, the author put a very deep ethical postulate “Is there a wonderful sacrifice, what you say, beloved disciple? Where there is a victim, there is an executioner and traitors there! The sacrifice is suffering for one and a shame for all. " Do you agree with this statement?
Do you agree with the idea that Judas in Andreev's story is a "reluctant traitor", that his betrayal is the other side of love for Jesus?
Is it possible to justify a "reluctant traitor"?
Pupils get acquainted with the story "Judas Iscariot" in the lessons of extracurricular reading, but this story was created for closer study. It makes you think about the nature of betrayal and loneliness, about the spiritual contradictions tearing a person apart, about your actions and thoughts.
Bibliography
1.Andreev L.N. Judas Iscariot // Prose.-M.: Publishing house AST, 2003
(2) A.A. Blok in Memory of Leonid Andreev // A.A. Blok.
A. Sobr.soch.V6v.T.5.M., 1971
3. Bulgakov S.N. Judas Iscariot the Apostle-traitor // Bulgakov S.N. Works
about Trinity.-M., 2001.
4.Zapadova L.A. Sources of text and "secrets" of the story-story "Judas
Iscariot "// Russian Literature -1997.-№3
5.Mikhailov S.M. The Justification of Judas, or the Twelfth Wheel of the World
Chariots: An Apocryphal Study //http:// www. skrijali. ru/
6. Lesson development on Russian literature of the 20th century: Grade 11.-M.: VAKO, 2007.
7. Lesson planning for literature for the textbook "In the world of literature. 11th grade" edited by A.G. Kutuzova.-M., Publishing House "Examination", 2006.
8. Mikhailov S.M. Judas Iscariot: Traitor or Saint? .M .: 2007.
He [Thomas] scrutinized Christ and Judas,
sitting next to each other, and this strange closeness of the divine
beauty and monstrous disgrace, a man with a meek gaze
and an octopus with dull, greedy eyes oppressed his mind,
like an unsolvable riddle.
L. Andreev. Judas Iscariot
Judas, perhaps the most mysterious (from a psychological point of view) evangelical character, was especially attractive to Leonid Andreev with his interest in the subconscious, in the contradictions in the human soul. In this area, L. Andreev, I recall the words of M. Gorky, was "terribly quick-witted."
In the center of L. Andreev's story is the image of Judas Iscariot and his betrayal - "experiment". According to the Gospel, Judas was moved by a materialistic motive - he betrayed the Teacher for 30 pieces of silver 1 (the price is symbolic - this is the price of a slave at that time). In the Gospel, Judas is greedy, he reproaches Mary when she buys precious ointment for Jesus - Judas was the keeper of the public treasury. Andreevsky Judas is not peculiar to the love of money. Judas himself buys expensive wine for Jesus from L. Andreev, which Peter drinks almost all of.
The reason, the motive of the terrible betrayal, according to the Gospel, was Satan, who entered Judas: "Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, ... and he went and spoke with the high priest" (Gospel of Mark, chapter 14: 1-2). The Gospel explanation seems, from a psychological point of view, mysterious: since all the roles have already been assigned (both the victim and the traitor), then why did the heavy cross of being a traitor fall on Judas? Why did he then hang himself: could not bear the gravity of the crime? Repented of the crime he had committed? The "crime - punishment" scheme here is so generalized, abstracted, reduced to a general model that, in principle, it allows various psychological concretizations.
Unlike Y. Nagibin's story "The Beloved Disciple" published in the early 1990s, where the author's position is clearly expressed (in particular, already in the title itself), L. Andreev's story is contradictory, ambivalent, its "answers" are encrypted and paradoxical, which determines the contradictory, often polar nature of the reviews about the story. The author himself spoke about this as follows: "As always, I only pose questions, but I do not give answers to them ..."
The story is symbolic and has a parable character. The beginning is parable: "And now Judas came ...", repetitions of the union and sounding epic: "And there was evening, and evening silence was, and long shadows fell on the ground - the first sharp arrows of the coming night ..."
At the beginning of the story, a negative characterization of Judas is given, it is argued, in particular, that "he had no children, and this once again said that Judas is a bad man and God does not want posterity from Judas" with your thief's eye " etc. These characteristics are fair from a certain point of view; they are often cited as evidence of the author's negative attitude towards the central character of his story. And yet it must be remembered that these rumors do not belong to the author, but to some "knowing" Judas, as evidenced by the author's references to the point of view of others: "Jesus Christ many times warned that Judas of Cariot is a man of very ill fame and one must beware of him ... ";" Told further, that ... [it is highlighted in both cases by me. - VK] "This initial knowledge about Judas is further supplemented, corrected by the author.
Deliberately at the beginning of the story, a repulsive portrait of the ugly red-haired Judas is also given:
And then Judas came ... He was thin, of good stature, almost the same as Jesus ... and he was strong enough in strength, apparently, but for some reason he pretended to be frail and sickly ... Short red hair did not hide the strange and unusual shape his skull: as if cut from the back of the head by a double blow of the sword and re-composed, it was clearly divided into four parts and inspired distrust, even alarm: behind such a skull there can be no peace and harmony, behind such a skull you can always hear the noise of bloody and merciless battles. Judas' face also doubled: one side of it, with a black, sharply looking out eye, was alive, mobile, willingly gathering in numerous crooked wrinkles. On the other, there were no wrinkles, and it was deathly smooth, flat and stiff; and although it was equal in size to the first, it seemed huge from a wide-open blind eye ...
What was the motive for Judas' villainous act? S.S. Averintsev in the encyclopedia "Myths of the Nations of the World" calls the main motive "painful love for Christ and the desire to provoke the disciples and the people to take decisive action."
From the text of the story it follows that one of the motives is not psychological, but philosophical and ethical, and it is associated with the satanic nature of Judas ( "And Satan entered Judas ..."). It's about who knows people better: Jesus or Judas? Jesus, with his idea of love and faith in a good beginning in a person, or Judas, asserting that in the soul of every person - "every untruth, abomination and lie", even in the soul of a kind person, if you scrub it thoroughly? Who will win this unspoken dispute between Good and Evil, i.e. what will be the outcome of Judas's "experiment"? It is important to emphasize that Judas wants not to prove, but to verify his truth, which was rightly noted by L.A. Kolobaeva: “Judas needs not to prove that Christ's disciples, like people in general, are bad - to prove to Christ, to all people, but to find out what they are in reality, to find out their real value. Judas must decide whether he is deceived or right? This is the cutting edge of the story's problematics, which is of a philosophical and ethical nature: the story asks a question about the basic values of human existence "3.
To this end, Judas decides on a terrible "experiment". But his burden is burdensome for him, and he would be glad to be mistaken, he hopes that "and others" will protect Christ: "Betraying Jesus with one hand, Judas diligently sought to frustrate his own plans with the other.".
The duality of Judas is connected with his satanic origin: Judas claims that his father is a "goat" 4, i.e. Devil. If Satan entered Judas, then the satanic principle had to manifest itself not only at the level of the deed - the betrayal of Judas, but also at the level of philosophy, ethics, and also appearance. Judas, with his characteristic (and explained by the author of the story) insight, as if from the outside, sees and evaluates people. The author deliberately gives Judas "serpentine" features: "Judas crawled away", "And walking, as everyone walks, but feeling as if he was dragging along the ground"... In this case, we can talk about the symbolic nature of the story - about the duel between Christ and Satan. This conflict is essentially an evangelical one, it expresses the opposition between Good and Evil. Evil (including the recognition of ontological evil in the human soul) wins in the story. It could be argued that L. Andreev comes to the idea of the global powerlessness of man, if (paradox!) Not Judas' ability to repentance and self-sacrifice.
L. Andreev does not justify the act of Judas, he is trying to solve the riddle: what guided Judas in his act 5? The writer fills the gospel story of betrayal with psychological content, and the following stand out among the motives:
- rebellion, rebellion of Judas, an irrepressible desire to solve the riddle of a person (to find out the price of "others"), which is generally characteristic of the heroes of L. Andreev. These qualities of Andreev's heroes are largely a projection of the soul of the writer himself - a maximalist and rebel, a paradoxalist and a heretic;
- loneliness, rejection Jude 6. Judas was despised, and Jesus was indifferent to him. Judas received recognition only for a short time - when he defeated the strong Peter in throwing stones, but then again it turned out that everyone went ahead, and Judas again trudged behind, forgotten and despised by everyone. By the way, L. Andreev's language is extremely picturesque, plastic, expressive, in particular, in the episode where the apostles throw stones into the abyss:
Peter, who did not like quiet pleasures, and Philip with him began to tear off large stones from the mountain and let them down, competing in strength ... Straining, they tore an old, overgrown stone from the ground, raised it high with both hands and let it go down the slope. Heavy, he struck short and stupidly and thought for a moment; then hesitantly made the first leap - and with every touch of the ground, taking speed and strength from it, he became light, fierce, all-crushing. He no longer jumped, but flew with bared teeth, and the air, whistling, let through his dull, round carcass. Here is the edge, - with a smooth last movement, the stone soared upward and calmly, in heavy thoughtfulness, flew roundly down to the bottom of an invisible abyss.
The picture is so expressive that we watch with tension the jumps and, finally, the flight of the stone, accompanying our eyes at every stage of its movement. The Messiah completely stopped paying attention to Judas: "for everyone he (Jesus) was a delicate and beautiful flower, but for Judas he left only sharp thorns - as if Judas had no heart"... This indifference of Jesus, as well as the arguments about who is closer to Jesus, who loves him more, became, as a psychologist would say, a provoking factor for Judas' decision;
- resentment, envy, immeasurable pride, the desire to prove that it is he who loves Jesus most of all is also characteristic of Andrew's Judas. To the question put to Judas, who will be the first in the Kingdom of Heaven next to Jesus - Peter or John, the answer follows, which amazed everyone: the first will be Judas! Everyone says that they love Jesus, but how they will behave in the hour of trial is to check this and Judas seeks. It may turn out that the "others" love Jesus only in words, and then Judas will triumph. The act of a traitor is the desire to test the love of others for the Teacher and to prove his love.
The plot-compositional role of Judas is multifaceted. He is intended by the author to be a catalyst of events in order to highlight and give a moral assessment to the actions of "others". But the plot also moves by Judas' personal desire to be understood by the Teacher, to induce him to pay attention to him, to appreciate his love. Judas creates an existential situation - a situation of choice, which should become a moment of psychological, moral revelation for all participants in this great test.
At the same time, the personality of Judas becomes independently significant in the story, and a correct indicator testifies to its significance - the speech of the central character, in contrast to the speech of "and other" characters. R.S. Spivak discovers the priority of the creative principle in the story and distinguishes in it (and on the basis of speech too) two types of consciousness: inert, uncreative("faithful" students) and creative, liberated from the pressure of dogma (Judas Iscariot): "The inertness and sterility of the first consciousness - based on blind faith and authority, over which Judas never tires of scoffing, is embodied in the unambiguous, poor, at the everyday level, speech of" faithful "disciples. whose consciousness is focused on the creativity of a free personality, replete with paradoxes, hints, symbols, poetic allegories "7. It is replete with metaphors, poetry, for example, the appeal of Judas to Jesus' beloved disciple John:
Why are you silent, John? Your words are like golden apples in transparent silver vessels, give one of them to Judas, who is so poor.
This gave the basis for R.S. Spivak to assert that the creative personality has a central place in the Andreev concept of man and in the Andreev worldview.
L. Andreev is a romantic writer (with a personalistic, that is, a deeply personal type of consciousness, which was projected onto his works and, above all, determined their character, range of topics and features of the worldview) in the sense that he did not accept evil in the world around him, the most important justification his existence on earth was creativity 7. Hence - the high value of a creative person in his artistic world. In L. Andreev's story, Judas is the creator of a new reality, a new, Christian era, no matter how blasphemous it sounds for a believer.
Andreevsky Judas acquires grandiose proportions, he is equalized with Christ, is considered as a participant in the re-creation of the world, its transformation. If at the beginning of the story Judas "dragged along the ground like a punished dog", "Judas crawled away, hesitated hesitantly and disappeared", then after what he did:
... all the time belongs to him, and he walks unhurriedly, now the whole earth belongs to him, and he steps firmly, like a sovereign, like a king, like one who is infinitely and joyfully alone in this world. Notices the mother of Jesus and tells her sternly:
- Are you crying, mother? Weep, cry, and all the mothers of the earth will cry with you for a long time. Until we come with Jesus and destroy death.
Judas understands the situation as a choice: either he will change the world with Jesus, or:
Then there will be no Judas of Carioth. Then there will be no Jesus. Then it will be ... Thomas, stupid Thomas! Have you ever wanted to take the earth and raise it?
Thus, we are talking about the transformation of the world, no less. Everything in the world longs for this transformation, nature yearns for it (see the expressive landscape picture in the story before the start of the tragic events):
And ahead of him [Judas. - VK], and from behind, and from all sides, the walls of the ravine rose, cutting off the edges of the blue sky with a sharp line; and everywhere, digging into the ground, huge gray stones towered - as if a stone rain had once passed here and its heavy drops froze in an endless thought. And this wild-desert ravine looked like an overturned, chopped-off skull, and every stone in it was like a frozen thought, and there were many of them, and they all thought - hard, boundless, stubborn.
Everything in the world yearns for transformation. And it happened - the course of time was changed.
What are tears? Judas asks and furiously pushes motionless time, punches it with his fist, curses like a slave. It is alien and that is why it is so disobedient. Oh, if it belonged to Judas - but it belongs to all these crying, laughing, chatting, as in a bazaar; it belongs to the sun; it belongs to the cross and heart of Jesus dying so slowly.
And one more important feature of Andreev's hero (Andreev's concept of man) is emphasized by researchers: "This is a potential rebel, a rebel challenging earthly and eternal existence. These rebels are very different in their vision of the world, and their rebellions are of different colors, but the essence of their existence is the same. : they die, but do not surrender "8.
From artistic features L. Andreev's story "Judas Iscariot" attracts the attention of literary critics system of paradoxes, contradictions, innuendos, which has the most important pictorial function. The system of paradoxes helps to understand the complexity and ambiguity of the Gospel episode, constantly keeps the reader in suspense. It reflects the emotional storm that swept over the soul of the betrayed Christ, and then the repentant and hanged Judas.
The paradoxical duality of the external and internal essence of Judas is constantly emphasized by the author. The hero of the story is deceitful, envious, ugly, but at the same time the most intelligent of all the students, moreover intelligent with a superhuman, satanic mind: he knows people too deeply and understands the motives of their actions, for others he has remained incomprehensible. Judas betrays Jesus, but he loves him like a son, the execution of the Teacher for him is "horror and dreams." Paradoxical duality gives multidimensionality, multiple meaning, psychological persuasiveness to Andreev's story.
In Judas, undoubtedly, there is something of the devil, but at the same time, his personal (not from the devil, but from a person) tremendous sincerity, the power of feeling for the Teacher at the hour of his tragic test, the significance of his personality cannot but affect the reader. The duality of the image lies in the fact that in it is inextricably linked that terrible that is fixed to it by the religious and cultural world tradition, and that sublimely tragic that equates it with the Teacher in the depiction of L. Andreev. It is the author of the story who owns the words piercing in meaning and emotional power:
And from that evening until the very death of Jesus, Judas did not see any of his disciples near him; and among all this crowd there were only the two of them, inseparable until death, wildly bound by the common suffering - the one who was betrayed to humiliation and torment, and the one who betrayed him. From the same cup of suffering, like brothers, both of them, the betrayer and the traitor, drank, and the fiery moisture equally scorched clean and unclean lips 9.
In the context of the story, the death of Judas is as symbolic as the crucifixion on the cross of Jesus. In a reduced plan, and at the same time as a significant event, towering above ordinary reality and ordinary people, the suicide of Judas is described. The crucifixion of Jesus on the cross is symbolic: the cross is a symbol, the center, the convergence of Good and Evil. Judas hanged himself on a broken, crooked branch of a wind-tormented, half-withered tree, but on a mountain (!), High above Jerusalem. Deceived by people, Judas voluntarily leaves this world after his teacher:
Judas long ago, during his lonely walks, outlined the place where he would kill himself after the death of Jesus. It was on a mountain high above Jerusalem, and there was only one tree, crooked, tortured by the wind tearing it from all sides, half-withered. It extended one of its crooked branches to Jerusalem, as if blessing it or threatening it with something, and Judas chose it in order to make a noose on it ... [Judas] angrily muttered:
No, they are too bad for Judas. Do you hear Jesus? Will you believe me now? I am going to you. Meet me kindly, I'm tired. I am very tired. Then we, together with you, embracing like brothers, will return to earth. Good?
Recall that the word brothers has already been pronounced in the speech of the author-narrator earlier, and this testifies to the closeness of the positions of the author and his hero. A distinctive feature of the story is lyricism and expressiveness, an emotionally high degree of narration, conveying the tension of Judas' expectations (the embodiment of "horror and dreams"). At times, especially when describing the execution of Christ, the story takes on an almost unbearable character in terms of tension:
When the hammer was raised to nail the left hand of Jesus to the tree, Judas closed his eyes and for an eternity did not breathe, did not see, did not live, but only listened. But then, with a grinding sound, iron hit iron, and time after time dull, short, low blows - you can hear how a sharp nail enters a soft wood, pushing its particles apart ...
One hand. Not too late.
Another hand. Not too late.
Leg, other leg - is it all over? He hesitantly opens his eyes and sees how the cross rises, swaying, and is set in the pit. He sees how, shuddering tensely, the painful arms of Jesus stretch out, widen the wounds - and suddenly the fallen belly goes under the ribs ...
And again the author - together with the central hero of the story, and as a result of the maximum approach to the suffering Jesus, the depicted picture grows to an enormous size (in reality, it was hardly possible to see Jesus so close - he was on the cross, the guards did not allow him to approach), reaching an extraordinary expressiveness. The expressiveness and emotional infectiousness of L. Andreev's story prompted A. Blok at one time to say: "The author's soul is a living wound."