A prayer (“Hermit fathers and immaculate women…”)

This article argues that Pushkin in his short poem “Hermit Fathers and Immaculate Women…”, marked with roman numeral II in his Stone Island cycle, rethinks an image of the poet-prophet from his poem “Prophet” in accordance with an ethical ideal of the Christian poet and prophet (Ephrem the Syrian). Pushkin opposed Christian ideals of the eastern poet and “hermit father” to tyranny-fighter ideals of the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz and his alter ego Conrad.