The image of princess Sophia in historical novels of 1870–1880

The article analyzes of the image of princess Sophia in historical novels The Throne and the Monastery (1878) by P. Polezhaev, The Tsar Maiden (1878) by Vs. Solovyov, For Whose Sins? The Great Schism (1878) and Tsar Peter and Ruler Sophia (1880) by D. Mordovtsev, On the Height and in the Dale: Princess Sophia (1879) by E. Karnovich. The peculiarity of these works lies in the fact that they were created at approximately the same time, were based on the same historical sources, had a similar plot and differ mostly in terms of interpretation of the events and characters depicted. The mentioned circumstances allow us to consider these novels as an indicator of changes in public attitudes towards the historical personality of princess Sophia. In the middle of the 18th – first half of the 19th century princess Sophia repeatedly became the heroine of literary works, but acted mainly as a negative secondary character. The article states that the image of the princess in the novels in question acquires the features of an extraordinary personality (her education and reading range are described); the princess becomes the central character; the essence of the conflict in the works shifts from the theme of usurpation of power to the moral question of the price of maintaining it. The result of rethinking of princess Sophia’a story is a clarification of Peter’s myth. In addition, two social issues relevant for the second half of the 19th century are associated with the image of the princess: women’s emancipation and understanding of the religious schism of the 17th century.