Stavrogin's Confession: text and contexts.

The paper attempts to examine Stavrogin's confession in the context of biblical and literary traditions. Both the structure based on plots and the character of the narrative are a testament to the literary nature of the text. A profound meaning of the religious confession determined not only by repentance, but also by intention is implicit in the text so that homo confitens would "alter his mind". The analysis shows that, when Stavrogin "crossed the border" of his self--acceptance saturated with hubris, he was no longer afraid of crime or punishment. Hence, he was incapable of expressing Christian remorse. As a result, the so-called Stavrogin's confession was merely a lofty declaration in which he confessed to being involved in the "case of Matriosha", so, in other words, it was a sort of hypocritical repentance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]