On a par with such stories and short stories as “Judas Iscariot”, “Savva”, “Son of Man”, based on the godless ideas of Leonid Andreev, you can put “Life of Vasily of Thebes”. The summary of this work is a biography of a man who, from an early age, carried the burden of sorrows and sorrows, but, despite this, did not lose his love and faith in God.
The main character
Mysterious and severe rock accompanies the life of Vasily Thebes. A summary of the ideas that the author put into this work is to understand the true faith. For the protagonist, God is love, justice and wisdom. An example of great humility was the life of Basil of Thebes. The summary of the story suggests that for its author the theme of true and false faith was extremely close.
Father Vasily is a priest, a man who, from year to year, feels nothing but dislike and loneliness. He is unhappy in marriage. His first son died. The second was born sick, because he was conceived in insanity. The life of Vasily of Thebes would have been unbearable without true superhuman humility. A brief summary of the chapters will give an idea of the hardships and trials of this literary character, which, it would seem, impossible to endure to a simple person.
Woe in the family of father Basil
There was happiness in his life. But it was very short. Only the first years of marriage were cloudless and bright. But the beloved son, Vasya, died, and the priest, who was at that time still young, seemed to have died too. She became distracted, as if she had not seen anything else around her: neither her husband, nor her daughter, nor any of the people. And in order to finally plunge into her world, where there was nothing more to do but to yearn for the dead child, she began to drink bitterly. The author says that already after the first drops drunk by the horse, it became clear to Father Vasily that it will always be so. Realizing this, he was frightened, brought medicine from the doctor for a serious illness from the doctor, and, having reconciled, began simply to live on.
Joy and light forever left the life of Basil of Thebes. The summary of the first chapter is the loss of a son and grief, which the protagonist cannot share with anyone else. He pronounces the phrase: “I believe,” and as if trying to use these words to kill his doubts about divine power and justice.
Booty's disease
Just four years after the death of the son of Basil, the wife of Thebes was very old. In the parish, no one loved an already deacon. But when in the district it became known about the terrible binges of the buttocks, they began to treat Father Vasily with complete disdain. It should be said that in life he was a person deprived of the ability to arouse sympathy. He ruled the church service poorly. He was absolutely disinterested, but his awkward and abrupt movements, with which he usually accepted offerings, caused an unpleasant impression on people. It seemed to the parishioners that he was extremely greedy. People do not like losers. Vasily Thebes - a vivid example in the literature, which confirms that the contempt of others is the result of failures in life.
In the church, he constantly feels mocking and unkind looks on himself. At home he is waiting for a drunken boot, who, in her madness, believed that Vasya, who was drowned, could be resurrected by the birth of a new son. She asks, demands, begs: "Give me back Vasya, pop!" And at the end of the second chapter, the main character, almost desperate, again as if convinces himself of his faith.
Leonid Andreev was a master of sophisticated and vivid literary style . The life of Vasily Thebes, whose summary is a story about the unbearably painful fate of a person, is an almost poetic work. It uses various artistic means and symbolic words of the protagonist are repeated with refrain: “I believe!”
Vasya
The third chapter tells of a short happiness in the house of Basil of Thebes. The parrot got pregnant and, in anticipation of her son, led a right and measured life. She stopped drinking, did not do the heavy housework, did everything to ensure that the birth went well. At Epiphany, the fall was resolved from burden. The child had an oversized head and excessively thin limbs. Father Vasily and his wife spent several years in hope and fear. Three years later, it became clear to the parents that Vasya’s son was born an idiot.
Moron
In his work he used various symbols of Andreev. The life of Vasily Thebes, whose summary is not limited to the tragic death of his son and his wife’s illness, is filled with symbols. The birth of the second Vasily is another test that befell the main character of the story. In the second chapter, the image of an idiot dominating the whole family appears. The inhabitants of the house suffer from bedbugs. Dirty and torn clothes are everywhere. And the "half-child-half-beast" itself symbolizes the undeserved grief and torment from which the family of Father Basil suffers.
Nastya
In addition to his idiot son, Vasily Thebes also had a daughter, Nastya. About her in the work is mentioned in the first chapters casually as a girl with a sullen and evil look. Father Vasily was so absorbed in his grief that he not only did not pay attention to his daughter, but even seemed to forget about the existence of other people on earth.
But once in a confession, talking with an old woman, he suddenly realized that in addition to his grief, each of the parishioners has their own sorrows. The pop, stunned by his own suffering, did not think about them. But in the world, it turned out, so many other people's grief. And after this realization, he first looked into the eyes of his daughter - a sad, embittered and useless girl.
Summary of “The Life of Basil of Thebes” by Andreev recalls the parable of the righteous Job. However, the main character of this story, unlike the biblical character, repeatedly tries to rebel against fate. In conclusion, he is trying to change something. He wants to leave, plans to take his son Vasya to a shelter. But the wife dies in a fire. Father Vasily himself is also dying. The last thing he sees is the sky engulfed in fire. Thebes death is a symbol of the idea that Andreev expressed more than once in his work. According to the Russian classic, it makes no sense for a person to resist omnipotent rock. There is only meaning in faith and love.