The early diaries of Leo Tolstoy as a basis of 'My Confession'

Abstract

The author of the article proceeds from the fact that the tendency to autobiographical confession is Leo Tolstoy’s characteristic feature at all stages of his creative activity. The desire to deepen self-knowledge, to determine the purpose in life and his own faith, to influence the nature of self-development in terms of self-improvement, to create a personality worthy of self-esteem, was most fully expressed in the diaries of the Russian writer. The article shows that in the early diaries (1847–1855), the experience of selfobservation determines the confessional-autobiographical discourse. Moreover, the very motivation of a number of records (about consciousness, self-knowledge, faith, religion, God) is, in a way, actualized in My Confession (1879–1882). These observations give grounds to raise the question if My Confession is based on Leo Tolstoy’s early diaries.