THE BOOK OF POEMS IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY ... - TopReferat

In this final poem, Lavinia's spiritual journey reaches a resolution; the path from
Christmas to Easter is completed. On the third day (за три дня), she, like Christ, 260 is
raised again and enters into eternal life, where the centuries pass unnoticed.
Her search for the ideal place of worship also comes to an end. With the help of her everfaithful
guardian angels, she builds a hermitage which perfectly fits her body; Lavinia has
finally achieved the Christ-like equation of body and church. This church is
impenetrable; "like a gateway with its doors drawn shut," Lavinia can no longer be
invaded by the demons who tempted her throughout her journey. Like the "hollow
cross," she has emptied herself of desire and now resides in a Buddhist state of nirvana.
The hermitage also provides a distinct ending point for the journey which began in the
hippodrome; Lavinia, who set out from a public, pagan space, ends up in a private, holy
space. God has indeed overtaken the white horse of the opening poem. As in the
opening poem, Lavinia flies, but God alone replaces the demonic observers of
"Ипподром": Лечу пред Богом одиноко.
Thus, the final poem brings together the book's multiple threads—the imitation of
Christ's life, the Buddhist quest for nirvana, the unique geography of Lavinia's spiritual
world, and the characters who populate that world. Lavinia's "fragmentary novel," like
the collection of seemingly disparate epigraphs which introduce it, is ultimately united in
the final poem, "Скит." The race, set out in the opening poem, is completed, and Lavinia
triumphs in her fall.
260 Matthew 17:22-23: "They were going about together in Galilee when Jesus said to them, 'The Son of
Man is to be handed over into the power of men, and they will kill him; then on the third day he will be
raised again.'"
197