Holy Fool - The Yurodivy in Art and Literature

The Yurodivy in Art and Literature

After the 17th century the yurodivy existed more in the arts than in real life. Prominent examples are the fool in Boris Godunov, Pavel's mother and Father Zosima in The Brothers Karamazov, Sofia Semyonovna Marmeladova (Sonya) in Crime and Punishment and Prince Myshkin in The Idiot. As mentioned in the “Eastern Christianity” section, another fool-for-Christ, Grisha, was described in Leo Tolstoy's book "Childhood. Boyhood. Youth".

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