ANTIQUE AND CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS IN THE IMAGE OF THE GARDEN IN THE NOVEL BY BORIS PASTERNAK “DOCTOR ZHIVAGO”

The article studies the image of the garden in the novel “Doctor Zhivago” that demonstrates the influence of the Ancient and Christian cultures on Boris Pasternak’s artistic and philosophical views. In classical literary tradition the garden served as a mythological and idyllic locus of happy life. In Christianity the most significant milestones of the biblical history are associated with the garden ? the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane. In Russian literature the garden plays an important role too, beginning from the era of baroque and classicism and ending with symbolism. Pasternak undoubtedly considers all these earlier traditions, and in his novel “Doctor Zhivago” the garden, comprising the natural and cultural meanings, becomes a symbolic embodiment of history, creativity and faith.