Leonov’s “Pyramid” is a landmark work in the author’s work. Leonid Maksimovich wrote this book from 1940 to 1994. It was published in draft form in the year of the writer's death. The resulting philosophical and mystical novel consists of two volumes, events unfold on more than one and a half thousand pages of printed text.
about the author
Leonid Leonov is a famous Soviet writer. He created a number of novels, short stories and plays, was awarded orders and medals, nominated for the Nobel Prize. The author began his creative activity at the age of 16, publishing in the newspaper, where his father worked as an editor, essays, reviews and poems of his own composition. At the age of 20, he voluntarily joined the Red Army, fought at the front and at the same time managed to write articles under the pseudonym Maxim Laptev.
Demobilized a year later, Leonov turned his talent into a professional activity. His first stories, and some subsequent works, were similar in style to the works of Dostoevsky.
Leonid Maksimovich built his early books on the principles of realism, but, taking up the Pyramid, turned to symbolism and translated the story into a surreal layer of life.
History of creation
Leonov’s “Pyramid” was created over 40 years. Often published in the pre-war years, the writer began to publish less and less new works, devoting himself to work on the novel. Nevertheless, even for such a long period of time, the author failed to bring the text in full order before publication. A draft version went into print, in which the relationship between the plot lines of some characters was not finalized, a number of chapters were unsuccessfully arranged, the monologues of the heroes were drawn out, and even several important episodes were missing.
Leonov laid the beginning of the Pyramid with a story from his own biography. The play Blizzard, written and staged by him, did not like the leadership very much, and the author was afraid of arrest. These events begin the plot of the novel.
Further, creating a book, the writer sought to show a scientific picture of the world in combination with a theological one, to demonstrate the factors of the development of civilization and the influence of mankind on historical events. At the same time, Leonov was able to reflect his own mental confusion, painful thoughts about the decline in the morality of mankind. This is clearly confirmed by the chapters in which the girl and the angel travel through alien worlds and almost everywhere observe the death of civilization.
Summary
Leonov's "Pyramid" originates in 1940, the author acts as a narrator. He awaits arrest for writing and staging a disgraced play, subsequently banned by the authorities. Thinking that he is spending his last days outside, Leonid Leonov finds himself on the outskirts of Moscow, where he wanders into the Staro-Fedoseyevsky cemetery. There he witnesses a conversation between the young daughter of the priest Dunya Loskutova and the ethereal spirit painted on the column of the temple.
By the will of Dunin, the power of imagination or for other reasons, but the angel leaves the drawing. Having turned into a tall and awkward man, he begins his journey on Earth. The purpose of his arrival is unknown, but he lives almost a human life, in particular, takes the name Dymkov and gets a job at the circus.
Julia Bambalski
Dymkov was able to show miracles, for which he gained some popularity in the circus. The audience was so impressed by his performance that he was not even applauded, being amazed. People felt that these were not simple tricks, although initially Dymkov joined the troupe to avoid possible difficulties due to his unusualness.
Meanwhile, events unfolded inside the circus. Dymkov met the daughter of the main artist of the troupe, Julia. This was an attractive, even fatal woman who dreamed of making an acting career, but did not have such an opportunity due to an absolute lack of talent. Julia decided to seduce the angel into things beneficial to her, but he could not refuse her. In particular, the actress wanted to have her own palace, filled with exact copies of all possible works of art. Dymkov fulfilled the desire and made it so that the erected building could be seen only by “initiates”.
Professor Shatanitsky
Meanwhile, the rumor of miracles reached the ears of the militant atheist Professor Shatanitsky. He decided to teach all the heavenly powers and not let the angel go back, moreover, make him lose all holiness. The author portrays this hero as a messenger of the devil himself, and a struggle for human souls flares up between the two forces.
The professor tempts the characters, trying to influence Julia, the father of Dunya and even Stalin himself. He inspires the girl with a wish for an angel, that people from the circle of the devil are much more interesting. They are strong-willed and purposeful and even more beautiful and muscular, according to Shatanitsky. After the words of the professor, Julia understands that she is attracted to the dark side.
The former priest arranges a test for Shatanitsky, asking him to give the name of God. But the professor cannot do this, and Father Matthew is convinced that he is faced with a demonic minion, if not the devil himself. But soon the author introduces the reader to the convictions of Loskutov, and they are far from the ideas of Christians. The hero believes that God made a mistake by creating a person as he is. He had to pay for it, having died on the cross. Therefore, Jesus was not executed for the sins of people, but for his own.
Stalin was seduced by many people like Shatanitsky. According to Leonov’s Pyramid, this is precisely what led to a huge number of senseless and brutal murders.
Stalin
But temptations threaten not only ordinary people. In the philosophical and mystical novel of Leonid Leonov, they appear before an angel. The rumor about a circus worker performing real miracles reached the Kremlin and did not go unnoticed by Stalin. The governor invited Dymkov to his house and told him about his beliefs. It turned out that his thoughts largely agree with the opinion of Loskutov. Stalin considered mankind so imperfect that he predicted a speedy degeneration. Moreover, he was going to bring this moment closer and build a new, more perfect one on the bones of the old population.
Dymkov did not succumb to the temptation to rebel against God, but he had to flee not only from Moscow, but from the planet in general. And despite the arranged trap, he succeeded.
Book in book
There is another line in the plot of the Pyramid of Leonov, the main character of which is Vadim Loskutov, brother of Duni. He is a convinced communist and supporter of the socialist project in Russia. He gives all his strength to work on an essay on the construction of a pyramid by the ancient Egyptian pharaoh, which both then and now implicitly symbolizes the inequality of different layers of the population. Moreover, the work of ancient slaves engaged in the erection of a cultural monument correlates with the hard work of modern builders of socialism.
One of Vadim’s goals is to covertly warn Stalin that his cult will be debunked. The writer respects the ruler, but at the same time condemns him for his characteristic desire for the pharaohs to be equal with God on earth. In any case, the result is sad. The young communist, like the socialist utopia, is doomed and perishes in the camp.
Allusions
The novel Pyramid depicts the struggle between good and evil, the confrontation of Dymkov as the messenger of God, and Shatanitsky as the embodiment of the devil. The characters of other heroes also have prototypes. So, Stalin seemed to have left the pages of Dostoevsky’s parable “The Grand Inquisitor,” and the image of Duni dates back to the beloved of the Italian poet Alighieri Beatrice.
Even some areas on which the events of Leonov’s Pyramid unfold are similar to real objects. For example, according to the description of the Staro-Fedoseyevsky cemetery, where the meeting of Duni with Dymkov took place, it looks like Preobrazhenskoe.
Reader Reviews
Certainly an interesting and powerful novel, many could not read due to the strong dilution of events with lengthy philosophical dialogues and digressions. In reviews of Leonov’s Pyramid, it is often said that the work is very long, and it could be reduced by two-thirds without damage. Some readers believe that the book gained popularity only on the grounds that it was printed in the year of the author’s death.
At the same time, people who have read the work in full give him high marks for the acuteness of the plot, the discussion of important issues and topics. After reading the full version of the novel, an understanding of its essence comes, the reader opens an idea, and he, finally, can feel all the emotionality and intellectuality of the work.
Criticism
In the year of publication, Leonov’s Pyramid was hardly discussed by critics, but later became of interest to the literary world. Zakhar Prilepin saw in the book the efforts of evil to denigrate good, which lead to success due to the naivety and good nature of the angel. Dark forces show the baseness of human nature, destroying itself and even God's messengers.
A number of critics see a great resemblance to Bulgakov's “Master and Margarita.” The works begin at about the same time, but it is more remarkable that the story is about characters from another world, for which both novels were at one time accused of singing Satanism.
Also to this day there are disputes about the title of the work. Some literary scholars believe that it would be more appropriate to call the novel "Tower of Babel", bringing history closer to biblical. But there are supporters of the opinion that the name has a broader meaning. This is not only a reference to the tombs of ancient peoples, but also a reminder that mysterious things are happening inside these places of worship - the properties of substances and space itself are changing. Thus, the “Pyramid" is a reference to supernatural phenomena occurring in the real world.
Disputes about the work are ongoing now. Recently, critics have become interested in revealing the problems of Christian morality in Leonov’s work.