Duality and splitting of characters in the original version of L. Andreev's play ‘To the stars’

the article analyzes the mechanisms of duality and character splitting in the original version of Leonid Andreev's play "To the Stars". The primary focus is on the dyad of Pyotr Ternovsky (Verkhovtsev in early drafts) and Valentin Verkhovtsev, interpreted as the result of an artistic splitting of a single archetype that originates from Pyotr Verkhovensky in F.M. Dostoevsky's novel "Demons". The intertextual connection with Dostoevsky's novel is examined, alongside the transformation of the ideological component: whereas Dostoevsky's Verkhovensky embodies a destructive force, Andreev's conflict between the "doubles" lacks clear-cut moral definition and mirrors the author's own philosophical uncertainties. It is argued that Pyotr Ternovsky and Valentin Verkhovtsev become vehicles for two opposing worldviews (Schopenhauerian pessimism vs. active Nietzschean protest), between which Andreev himself, as evidenced by his diaries and letters, could not make a definitive choice. Thus, the character splitting serves as a means of artistically rendering the author's internal dialogue and his doubts about Russia's path during the tumultuous era of 1905. The theme of duality is presented not merely as a literary device but also as a reflection of a profound existential crisis within the creative individual.

duality, splitting, ‘To the Stars’ by L. Andreev, splitting of images in dramaturgy