The article analyses the essay Diaphaneite of the English art critic and writer of the Victorian era Walter Pater (1839-1894). Close reading of the essay, accompanied by the analysis of the historical context (Oxford student culture and the influence of the different traditions of the Anglican Church) leads to several conclusions about the specificity of the writer's outlook and method, as well as the initial reception of his ideas. Close reading of the essay allows the article to provide its detailed analysis and to indicate possible philosophical, historical and literary sources, which played an important role in shaping Pater's creative concept. Refs 51.