Images of a Doctor and a Patient in the Prose of I. S. Shmelev and V. N. Lyalin

The article examines the artistic features of the images of a doctor and a patient in the prose of I. S. Shmelev and the modern Russian writer V. N. Lyalin. The concept of the “morbid code” is examined and the tendency towards the emergence of medical literature studies against the background of comprehensive medicalization of modern Russian society, is noted. The research was based on I. S. Shmelev’s “The Doctor’s Story” and V. N. Lyalin’s “Obsession” and “Accidental Joy.” Comparative analysis revealed that both authors rely on a Christ-centered worldview, in the context of which they examine the problems of illness, suffering, and recovery. The key to understanding the nature of human illness is the unity of the bodily and spiritual aspects. Both I. S. Shmelev and V. N. Lyalin perceive a doctor’s talent as a gift from God, and consider those who have it to be called to a special self-sacrificial service. The characters in the medical profession are not idealized, they are seen as inclined towards spiritual crises, which is expressed either through despondency and cooling towards their own profession, or through a physical illness, which can be overcome only by turning to the Evangelical tradition. Both authors introduce the image of a doctor-patient, who is able to simultaneously experience a range of spiritual and physical sufferings, as well as evaluate them from the perspective of a medical professional and a church-going Christian. The patient’s condition during the culmination of the disease is depicted by both writers using visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile details. An important role is played by the prophetic dream motif, which may indicate an impending illness or, on the contrary, its elimination. The key motif in the morbid prose of I. S. Shmelev and V. N. Lyalin is that of “passing through death,” which is associated with the evangelical, or, more specifically, with the Golgotha symbolism.