Two initiations: On the symbolic meaning of an episode in the plot of B. Pasternak's novel "Doctor Zhivago"

A mythical and poetical analysis of “Doctor Zhivago”, Part I, Chapter 8, makes it possible to explain the parallelism of the key events in the lives of Nikki Dudorov and Yury Zhivago. The story of the ancient pagan initiation that plays a pivotal role in the formation of Dudorov's personality stands in an artistic and logical counterpoint to the progression of Zhivago's life based on Christ-centered traditions.