The Images of Mary of Egypt, Mary Magdalene and Cleopatra in Russian Literature: the Christian and the Pagan

The article examines the orthodox tradition of paying homage to Venerable Mary of Egypt. The perception of the image of Mary of Egypt is compared with that one of Mary Magdalene in the West-European World, particularly in literature and art. The different forms of interaction between the hagiography of Mary of Egypt and Russian literature are traced: adaptation of the plot, allusions, insertion of the motif of a repented whore. The plot of Cleopatra, as of an impenitent whore, is opposite to a hagiographic plot (by its semantic pole of attraction). Two female images symbolize two divergent paths — to spiritual rebirth and to the ruin. As a result of the analysis of the works of A. Pushkin, I. Aksakov, N. Leskov, V. Bryusov, A. Remizov it is deduced that both plots turned out to be productive for Russian literature of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, namely because of their paired relationship.