Quest of the Spirit: From Suffering to Acceptance

101. Hubris!--Tolstoy's "Father Sergius"

                                                                 Tolstoy's "Father Sergius"

         Tolstoy's "Father Sergius" is a story of spiritual transformation. The main character learns the wages of excessive pride, and with God's help, grows into a true servant of the Lord God. His transformation from ignorance to awareness, or ignorance to experience, denotes his spiritual coming of age, from a young prince interested in impressing his superiors to one primarily concerned with pleasing God. In his early years, protagonist Stepan Kasatsky prides himself on his ability to excel in academics, athletics, and later in military prowess. Falling in love with the charming Countess Korotkova whom he believed to be chase, yet subsequently discovers that she has served as the mistress of his beloved Emperor Nicholas, Kasatsky breaks off his relationship with her, leaves the service of his Emperor, and joins a monastery, where he attempts to find truth and honesty at last. There, too, however, his pride leads to his downfall, just as it had done with his unforgiving attitude toward the Countess, who believing in Stepan's kindness and mercy, had confessed her earlier infidelity with the Emperor (508). After seven years as a devout monk, Kasatsky again becomes vain, not in his worldly as before, but in his own spiritual piety (512). Recalling his earlier humiliation over the Countess' affair, the young monk refuses to return a kindness offered him by a military officer, and is severely reprimanded by his Father Superior who sends him to Father Paissy of the Tambov Monastery, a distant place where he will live as a hermit, and hopefully regain a sense of humility (515). There, too, however, the hero struggles within himself against his pride and lustful attitude. A young divorcee visits him under the pretense of being lost, when in reality, her plan is to seduce him. In his anguish, Kasatsky prays and cuts off one of his fingers with an axe to quench the passionate impulse within (525). At seeing the young monk's devotion, the woman 's heart fills with shame and guilt so overwhelming that she too renounces the world, and joins a sisterhood of local nuns (525). He lives as a recluse there for another seven years. As a result of his notoriety, Stepan again suffers the temptation to follow the values of the world rather than God (528). In his desperation, Kasatsky doubts God and even considers suicide (537). Like the Prodigal Son, he eventually turns back to God, and the Lord blesses him with the gift of healing, a gift which he feels is totally undeserved, yet he does not quench the Spirit, but allows the miracles to occur through him. As his fame grows, however, so does his pride. Kasatsky conceals his identity, to avoid being surrounded by crowds demanding his healing power. Even during this stage of his life, Stepan, or Father Sergius, as he is known for his healing gift, suffers from the conflict of having time for God and time to nurture the needs of his suffering followers. As his fame spreads throughout the area, Kasatsky continually prays for strength, and during a dream, an angel advises him to visit a poor and abandoned woman whom he had earlier in life had scorned and ridiculed. Like the word of the Lord telling Elijah to visit the widow and her son dying of starvation, Kasatsky obeys that spiritual voice, visits the lonely woman, and realizes that through her own spiritual strength , she is enabled to care for her children by teaching music lessons and performing odd jobs. Torn between his individual piety to God and the appeals of the suffering crowds that throng about him, Stepan decides to abandon his priestly attire and wanders among the villages as a poor, lost vagabond, helping others as he goes along. Ironically, the police arrest him as a beggar, and he refuses to divulge his identity. Since he had "no passport," and only calls himself "a servant of God," they condemn him to Siberia. There he lives as a hired servant for a well-to-do peasant where he works in the kitchen, garden, teaches children, and attends the sick" (546). Here, his role of servant-hood is fulfilled. The role of the humble servant is Tolstoy's message for all men, that fame and notoriety can never supersede the kindness and mercy of God within the human heart. Father Sergius' spiritual quest comes to an end through obedience and devotion to his Father in heaven. Kasatsky passes from ignorance to experience, and innocence to awareness, to become a true disciple of his Lord.

                                              Works Cited for Tolstoy's "Father Sergius"

Tolstoy, Leo."Father Sergius." Great Short Works of Leo Tolstoy. John Bayley, Introduction.                           Louise and Aylmer Maude, Trans. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.