Spiritual quest theme in Penelope Fitzgerald’s novel "The beginning of spring"
The article analyzes Penelope Fitzgerald’s novel “The Beginning of Spring”. Fitzgerald is a well-known English writer. The events of the book take place in Russia before the First World War. Since Fitzgerald always treated Russian culture with great love and put it above English in terms of spirituality, the theme of the character’s spiritual quest is central in the work of literature. The disclosure of the topic is associated with four main characters: Frank, Nelly, Selwyn, and Lisa. Selwyn and Lisa appear in the novel as sources of spiritual influence, and Frank and Nellie are the objects of this influence. As the story progresses, it turns out that the changes that occurred in Nelly under the influence of Selwyn were superficial, and the woman quickly became disillusioned with the ideas in spired by her mentor. More difficult and covertly proceeds the spiritual evolution of Frank. His practicality and skepticism impede spiritual formation. However, Lisa, who appeared as an educator for children in the house, succeeds in first waking the sensual passions in him, and then breaking his usual stability, laid the foundation for subsequent changes in the inner world.