Key factors of the choice of “characters” in the early Merezhkovskiy’s critical works and the protagonist of his first novel are considered in the article. The author demonstrates that metaphors of the fine arts unite essays of the book “Constant Companions” devoted to various writers. The investigator also points out the aesthetic world view as an essential feature connecting Julian the Apostate, the main character of the novel, with its author, a representative of the epoch on the verge of the 19–20th.