THE IDEA OF OPTIMISM IN THE NOVELS OF G.K. CHESTERTON

Abstract

The article examines the plot-compositional and ideological-philosophical level of the main novels of G.K. Chesterton “Napoleon from Notting Hill”, “The Man who was Thursday”, “The Ball and the Cross”, “The Flying Tavern”, “The Return of Don Quixote” in order to determine the properties of the construction of artistic space common to these works. As a result of the research, the property of composition construction common to G.K. Chesterton’s novels is determined: each work invariably has a positive ending. This feature is closely related to the ideological and philosophical attitude of the author to oppose the ideas of decadents that prevailed in society, art and literature of his time, genetically related to the religious and philosophical teaching of the Gnostics, opposing the Christian creed. The idea of optimism in Chesterton’s novels is thus opposed to the ideas of skepticism, pessimism and nihilism of decadents, while his novels carry a powerful religious and philosophical message.