Valerii Briusov's Zemlia: An occult critique of symbolist apocalyptic theurgy

Ceballos, Lindsay

Valerii Briusov's Zemlia: An occult critique of symbolist apocalyptic theurgy

Abstract

This article contextualizes a little-known work of Symbolist drama, Valerii Briusov’s Zemlia (Earth, 1905), in a larger Symbolist polemic with Andrei Belyi about the stakes of apocalyptic theurgy. “Theurgy” held that art could create or change phenomenal reality and for some Symbolists had strong associations with prophesy. Shortly before the publication of Zemlia, Briusov publically disputed Belyi’s view of art as poetic prophesy, upholding the work of poets like Bal’mont, whom Belyi regularly dismissed for his aestheticism. This polemic found its way to the action, setting, and characters of Zemlia, where, Briusov used theosophical ideas about the lost continent of Atlantis as a vehicle for his critique. Briusov and Konstantin Bal’mont shared a fascination with Atlantis and believed it to be the origin of art and culture. Theosophists held that Atlantean culture had been preserved in the Aztec civilization; it is for this reason that Briusov’s characters bear names from that people’s language, Nahuatl. He added to these references elements from theosophist histories of Atlantis, as well as Aztec myth, in order to pose a rival eschatology to Belyi’s Christian narrative of Apocalypse. In Zemlia, Briusov plays out an eschatological model that predates Christianity, subsuming all world histories into its master narrative. He thus corrects Belyi’s apocalyptic prophesies about the “Woman Clothed in the Sun,” acting out, albeit in a dramatic reality, an occult prophesy of the end of the world. In this way, Zemlia is not Belyi’s theurgy, but a rare example of occult theurgy. Briusov also defends his friend and fellow enthusiast, Bal’mont, who, at the time of Zemlia’s publication, was traveling in Mexico in search of the same mysterious Atlantean connections. In the end, Briusov’s view of apocalypse is firmly rooted on “Earth.” In Zemlia, the mystery of the world’s shared cultural and historical past overcomes the fear of otherworldly judgment so prevalent in Symbolist apocalyptic works.

Title	Valerii Briusov's Zemlia: An occult critique of symbolist apocalyptic theurgy
Creator	Ceballos, Lindsay
Publisher	Slavic and East European Journal
Academic Department	Russian & East European Studies
Organization	Lafayette College
Date Issued	2017
Date Available	2018-08-29T13:37:07Z
Type	Article
Language	English
Bibliographic Citation	Ceballos, L. (2017) "Valerii Briusov's Zemlia: An occult critique of symbolist apocalyptic theurgy." Slavic and East European Journal 61 (4): 732-753.
Standard Identifier	Handle 10385/2432
Permalink	http://hdl.handle.net/10385/2432
Rights Statement	In Copyright
Rights Holders	AATSEEL of the U.S., Inc.