“All ye that Labor and Are Heavy Laden”: The Topic of Labor in A. Platonov’s Conceptual System

The article is devoted to the study of the topic of labor in the conceptual system of Andrei Platonov. The study is based on a comparative analysis of the novel Chevengur (1927–1930) and The Foundation Pit (1930) along with other works by the writer. The starting point of the reconstruction is the phrase “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11: 28) in the novel Chevengur. The article considers five transformations, based on the rethinking of three key words of the basic gospel phrase: truzhdayushchiesia (those that labour), obmenennyie (those that are heavy laden), and upokoiu (pokoi) (rest / peace). The highlighted concepts of labor as earthworks (digging graves), burden as pregnancy, and rest as death establish the isomorphism of the gospel phrase to the three consequences of Adam and Eve’s fall. This demonstrates the simultaneous presence of the corresponding conceptual areas of the New and Old Testaments in Platonov’s system, which iconically reflects the constant mutual transitions from the old (dying) to the new (young, being born) in the writer’s texts. The described conceptual system underlies all of Platonov’s works.