Research work “Women’s images in literature of the 19th century.” Introduction
website- Beauty is an eternal category. Reading works of literature, each of us admired, empathized, and sometimes could see ourselves in the image of famous heroines of books. For many writers, a woman is the embodiment of earthly beauty. Men wrote and will always write about women, creating ideal images or forever capturing in their lines women who are magical and, at the same time, quite real. So why not imagine yourself as one of the main heroines of a novel? Imagine yourself in the way that different time was considered the ideal of beauty, both external and internal.
Perhaps you already associate yourself with one of the beautiful heroines, otherwise, this article will be the discovery of a new you in the guise of a literary heroine.
Tatyana Larina
She is silent, shy, loves to be sad by the window, does not like noisy games and girlish conversations of her friends. Therefore, in her family she seems like a “strange girl”; she does not know how to ask her family for affection. However, the heroine is familiar with the subtlest emotional impulses: they simply are not revealed to others. She is a romantic person. She loves reading books and vividly experiences various feelings and adventures with their characters. She is attracted to everything mysterious and enigmatic. When the heroine falls in love, the depth of her romantic nature is revealed. Yesterday's timid girl turns out to be unexpectedly brave. She is the first to confess her love, the first to write letters. Her love comes from the very heart, it is a pure, tender, shy feeling.
This image personifies the sensitivity, femininity, and dreaminess of the individual.
Bulgakovskaya Margarita
Margarita became a muse for the hero. It was she who, after reading the first pages of his novel, named her lover a master. Thanks to her, he wrote a magnificent novel of great artistic value. The heroine was always faithful to her love. All this time the heroine felt unhappy, she did not live, but existed. For a long time, the heroine kept what little she had left as a memory of her beloved.
For the sake of love, she will do anything, throwing away any fears and concerns.
The heroine, faithful in everything and always following her lover, shared his fate with her beloved from beginning to end. It was this image that became the embodiment of true devotion, all-consuming love, a captivating woman-inspiration.
Bulgakov's Margarita is undoubtedly a bright image, a unique one who loves freedom, and with an eternal dream: to leave the hated reality and stop being a captive of the framework and prohibitions of the society surrounding the heroine.
Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina - according to the plot, is a secular woman who occupies a high position in society. Differs from the rest in moral purity, inability to adapt to circumstances, and hypocrisy. She always felt the falseness of the surrounding relationships.
Her love was unhappy. Although the heroes turned a blind eye to the secular court, something still bothered them; they could not completely immerse themselves in love.
The tragic doom of love is associated not only with the harmful influence of society, but also with deep internal circumstances that are hidden in the souls of the heroes. She is a freedom-loving, spiritually gifted, intelligent and strong woman, but there was “something cruel, alien” in her feelings.
This is the image of a stately, powerful and at the same time soft and doubtful woman about her own principles and positions.
Turgenev girl
The heroine is an open, proud, passionate girl, striking at first glance with her unusual appearance, spontaneity and nobility. Life's tragedy explains it reverse side: she is shy, does not know how to behave in society. She early begins to think about the contradictions of life, about everything that surrounds her. The heroine radiates moral purity, sincerity, the ability to have strong passions and dreams of heroism.
It seems strange and unnatural precisely because usual life She doesn't like people in her circle. She dreams of an active, sublime and noble life. Her attention is attracted by simple people, she, apparently, both sympathizes and at the same time envies them. She understands life ordinary people as a kind of feat. She doesn't want her life to pass without a trace. But she feels how difficult it is to achieve this.
“Turgenev's girl” is a girl who has an independent, willful character, capable of performing a feat in the name of love and more.
Dream woman
Undoubtedly, our world is improving and modernizing. Views on the world change, the desire for the ideal is eternal. Images frozen on the pages of books excite our consciousness to this day. Feminine perfection, which many brilliant writers and poets tried to see and reveal, still excites us today. They searched for heroines, fantasized, sometimes this image remained only a dream, but someone still managed to find it. For the woman was revealing her real self. After all, it is impossible for a woman to be ideal and good for everyone... the main thing is to always remain yourself!
Close your eyes. Do you see? And in you there is a magical piece of a perfect woman, a woman of dreams.
It is not surprising that the most famous English writer wrote the image main character British literature: we are, of course, talking about Elizabeth Bennet from the novel “Pride and Prejudice” - Jane Austen’s second book. It was with her that the young girls of the country preferred to associate themselves, and also tried to imitate her in everything: in the 19th century there was a real cult of Elizabeth, comparable to the popularity of the image of Goethe’s “suffering Werther” in German society of the 18th century. Reasons for success literary character(besides) is that it was initially opposed to ideas about a well-bred girl. Unlike real Englishwomen of that time, who were expected to obey their family in everything, to always be reserved and even cold, Elizabeth was lively and natural. , admit that you were wrong, if necessary, and even violate the norms of decency - naturally, young British women, tired of the oppression of strict rules, were impressed by this behavior.
It is curious that this image generally became canonical for literature of the 19th century: if you look closely, many heroines of the works of that era are at least somewhat similar to Bennett. Even Leo Tolstoy once casually admitted that while working on the image of Natasha Rostova, he read novels English writers- including Jane Austen.
Japan: Princess Ochikubo
As you know, it was a closed country for a long time, and therefore social stereotypes and norms of behavior changed much less often there than in Europe. One of the first images of the ideal woman, which influenced many future national writers, appeared in Japanese literature very early, back in the 10th century, when “The Tale of the Beautiful Ochikubo” was written by an unknown author. Most of all, this text is reminiscent of the fairy tale about Cinderella: a beautiful stepdaughter living in a closet is tormented by her stepmother with her errands, and her father and other sisters support her in this matter. She sheathes the entire house, cleans, cooks, but her stepmother’s temper never softens.
Only Lucky case one day he introduces her to a young man from a noble Japanese family, who falls in love with her. The main thing for us (and for the Japanese) here is that the heart of an Ochikubo man wins not only with his beauty, but also with hard work, kindness, delicate taste and the ability to compose brilliant poetry. All these qualities were especially highly valued by the Japanese in women, and anyone had to understand the art so as not to disgrace her husband with an awkward remark. It is also interesting that, unlike “Cinderella”, the evil relatives here were by no means punished at the end of the story - on the contrary, Otikubo forgave them and persuaded her lover to help in every possible way the unfortunate father, stepmother and sisters and brothers.
Russia: Tatyana Larina and Natasha Rostova
We all remember how at school we wrote essays on the topic “ Women's images in Russian literature". And it was simply impossible to ignore the works of Alexander Pushkin and Leo Tolstoy. Of course: the names of Tatyana Larina and Natasha Rostova became household names, and their behavior and character were real for a long time. So, for example, the value of family and loyalty to one’s husband was placed above personal interests and desires, and the principle “but I am given to another and will be faithful to him forever” was supposed to become, on occasion, a life credo for girls. As for Natasha Rostova, everything is obvious here: Leo Tolstoy sought to present an ideal woman in her image - at least in his mind. The role of a mother and reliable support for her husband is her main purpose, while it is better to quickly forget about social events and balls.
It is worth noting that the image of both Tatyana Larina and Natasha Rostova was not the result of long observations of writers on the lives of Russian ladies - no: Pushkin, working on “Eugene Onegin,” adopted a lot from contemporary French literature, and Leo Tolstoy - from English . All this, however, did not interfere at all literary heroines to become unique national symbols - that’s what writing talent means.
USA: Scarlett O'Hara
The main heroine of American literature is, of course, Scarlett O'Hara. In this case, the word “heroine” is more than appropriate; the girl’s life was by no means easy, but she always found the strength to pull herself together and believe in her famous phrase: “I’ll think about it tomorrow.” Scarlett was adored by all American women and men, as evidenced by the enormous success of the book in the United States, as well as the eight Oscars that its famous film adaptation received. The novel was translated into 70 languages, and the image of Scarlett began to inspire and serve as an example for many women around the world - in this sense, there are not many characters similar to O’Hara in literature.
The love of the reading public belonged not only literary image, but also to the writer herself who created it. Margaret Mitchell, who went through several not very successful romantic stories, like her heroine, never gave up and worked on herself. Only an ankle injury prevented her from becoming a successful correspondent, but she did not regret it too much, taking up the pen to write her the only novel"Gone With the Wind".
France: Madame Bovary
It is unlikely that Flaubert could have imagined that his unloved heroine, Madame Bovary, would not only become a household name, but would also arouse the universal sympathy of women throughout France. He, being a famous moralist, was counting on a completely different effect. In his eyes, Emma Bovary, who is trying to rise above the vulgarity and boredom of everyday life through adultery, deserves fierce condemnation and the highest punishment - death. As a matter of fact, that is why the famous French novelist “poisons” Bovary at the end of the book, who decided to cheat on her unloved husband.
However, many did not agree with this position of the author and have been arguing for more than a hundred years whether Emma is worthy of sympathy. Romantic natures, of course, strongly support her behavior, making the woman a symbol of protest against the conventions of society: indeed, she listened to her heart, but there is nothing criminal about it. However, moralists usually fiercely rebuff romantics.
Be that as it may, Flaubert managed to create the image of a “provincial Frenchwoman” so talentedly that bored Emma became one of the main heroines of French literature, and ordinary women read the novel and sympathized with her, often recognizing the features of their own life in the sad fate of Bovary.
FEMALE IMAGES IN RUSSIAN CLASSICAL LITERATURE. Russian literature has always been distinguished by the depth of its ideological content, its tireless desire to resolve questions of the meaning of life, its humane attitude towards people, and the truthfulness of its depiction. Russian writers sought to identify in female characters the best features characteristic of our people. In no other national literature will we meet such beautiful and pure women, distinguished by their faithful and loving hearts, as well as their unique spiritual beauty. Only in Russian literature is so much attention paid to the depiction of the inner world and complex experiences of the female soul. Starting from the 12th century, the image of a Russian female heroine, with a big heart, a fiery soul and a readiness for great unforgettable feats, runs through all our literature.
It is enough to recall the captivating image of the ancient Russian woman Yaroslavna, full of beauty and lyricism. She is the embodiment of love and loyalty. Her sadness in separation from Igor is combined with civil grief: Yaroslavna experiences the death of her husband’s squad and, turning to the forces of nature, asks for help not only for her “lada”, but also for all his warriors. The author of “The Lay” managed to give the image of Yaroslavna extraordinary vitality and truthfulness. He was the first to create a beautiful image of a Russian woman.
A. S. Pushkin painted an unforgettable image of Tatyana Larina. Tatyana is “Russian in soul,” the author emphasizes this throughout the novel. Her love for the Russian people, for patriarchal antiquity, for Russian nature runs through the entire work. Tatyana is a “deep, loving, passionate nature.” Whole, sincere and simple, she “loves without art, obedient to the attraction of feeling.” She does not tell anyone about her love for Onegin except the nanny. But Tatyana combines her deep love for Evgeny with a sense of duty to her husband:
I love you (why lie?),
But I was given to another;
I will be faithful to him forever.
Tatyana is characterized by a serious attitude towards life, towards love and towards her duty; she has a depth of experience, a complex spiritual world. All these traits were nurtured in her by her connection with the people and nature, which created a truly Russian woman, a person of great spiritual beauty.
Pushkin also created another, seemingly less striking image - the modest Russian girl Masha Mironova (“ Captain's daughter"). The author was able to show a serious attitude towards love, a depth of feeling that she cannot express in beautiful words, but to which she remains faithful throughout her life. She is ready to do anything for her loved one. She is capable of sacrificing herself to save Grinev’s parents.
We also unforgettable another image, full of beauty and tragedy - Katerina in Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm”, which, according to Dobrolyubov, reflected the best character traits of the Russian people: spiritual nobility, the desire for truth and freedom, readiness for struggle and protest. Katerina - “a bright ray in dark kingdom", an exceptional woman, a poetic and dreamy nature. Having found herself in an atmosphere of hypocrisy and hypocrisy, having married an unloved person, she suffers deeply. But how brightly her feeling flares up when she meets a person in this “dark kingdom” who is close to her in his moods. Love for him becomes the only meaning of life for Katerina: for the sake of Boris, she is ready to transcend her concepts of sin. The struggle between feeling and duty leads to Katerina publicly repenting to her husband and, driven to despair by the despotism of Kabayikhi, commits suicide. In the death of Katerina Dobrolyubov sees “a terrible challenge to tyrant power.”
I. S. Turgenev was a great master in creating female images, a subtle connoisseur of the female soul and heart. He painted a whole gallery of portraits of amazing Russian women. Lisa Kapitina stands before us - bright, clean, strict. A sense of duty, responsibility for one’s actions, and deep religiosity bring her closer to women ancient Rus'("Noble Nest").
But Turgenev also created images of “new” women - Elena Stakhova and Marianna. Elena is an “extraordinary girl”, she is looking for “active good”. She strives to leave the narrow confines of the family into the space of social activities. But the conditions of Russian life at that time did not allow such activity for a woman. And Elena fell in love with Insarov, who dedicated his whole life to the liberation of his homeland. He captivated her with the beauty of the feat in the struggle for the “common cause.” After his death, Elena remains in Bulgaria, devoting her life to a holy cause - the liberation of the Bulgarian people from the Turkish yoke.
The true singer of the Russian woman was N. A. Nekrasov. No poet before or after has paid so much attention to a Russian woman. The port speaks with pain about the difficult lot of the Russian peasant woman, that “the keys to women’s happiness were lost long ago.” But no slavishly humiliated life can break her pride and self-esteem. This is Daria in the poem “Frost, Red Nose.” How alive an image appears before us, pure in heart and bright.
With great love and warmth, Nekrasov writes about the Decembrist women who followed their husbands to Siberia. Trubetskoy and Volkonskaya are ready to share with them, who suffered for the people’s happiness, hard labor and prison. They are not afraid of either disaster or deprivation.
Finally, the revolutionary democrat N. G. Chernyshevsky showed in the novel “What is to be done?” the image of a woman of modern times - Vera Pavlovna, decisive, energetic, independent. How passionately she strives from the “basement” into the “free air.” Vera Pavlovna is truthful and honest to the end. She strives to make life easier for many people, to make it beautiful and extraordinary. Many women read the novel and sought to imitate Vera Pavlovna in their lives.
L.N. Tolstoy, speaking against the ideology of the commoner democrats, contrasts the image of Vera Pavlovna with his ideal woman - Natasha Rostova. This is a gifted, cheerful and determined girl. She, like Tatyana Larina, is close to the people, to their life, loves their songs, rural nature. The patriotic upsurge that all layers of Russian society experienced when Napoleon's army entered Russia also gripped Natasha. At her insistence, the carts intended for loading property were cleared for the wounded. But life ideal Natasha Rostova is a happy family.
The greatest Russian writers in their works revealed in all their richness the spiritual, moral and intellectual qualities of Russian women, purity, intelligence, full of love heart, desire for freedom, for struggle.
There has always been a special attitude towards women in Russian literature, and until a certain time the main place in it was occupied by a man - a hero, with whom the problems posed by the authors were associated. N. Karamzin was one of the first to pay attention to fate poor Lisa, who, as it turned out, also knew how to love selflessly.
The situation changed radically in the second half of the nineteenth century, when, due to the growth of the revolutionary movement, many traditional views on the place of women in society changed. Writers of different views saw the role of women in life differently.
Can not imagine world literature without the image of a woman. Even without being the main character of the work, she brings some special character to the story. Since the beginning of the world, men have admired the fair half of humanity, idolized and worshiped them. Already in myths Ancient Greece we meet the gentle beauty Aphrodite, the wise Athena, the treacherous Hera. These women goddesses were recognized as equal to men, their advice was listened to, they were trusted with the fate of the world, and they were feared.
And at the same time, the woman was always surrounded by mystery, her actions led to confusion and bewilderment. To delve into a woman’s psychology and understand her is the same as resolving one of the ancient mysteries Universe.
Russian writers have always given women a special place in their works. Everyone, of course, saw her in their own way, but for everyone she was support, hope, and an object of admiration. I.S. Turgenev sang the image of a persistent, honest girl, capable of making any sacrifice for the sake of love; ON THE. Nekrasov admired the image of a peasant woman who “stops a galloping horse and enters a burning hut”; for A.S. Pushkin's main virtue of a woman was her marital fidelity.
For the first time, a bright female image in the center of the work appeared in Karamzin’s “Poor Liza.” Before this, female images, of course, were present in the works, but their inner world was not given enough attention. And it is natural that the female image was first clearly manifested in sentimentalism, because sentimentalism is an image of feelings, and a woman is always full of emotions and is characterized by the manifestation of feelings.
Russian literature has always been distinguished by the depth of its ideological content, its tireless desire to resolve questions of the meaning of life, its humane attitude towards people, and the truthfulness of its depiction.
Russian writers sought to identify in female characters the best features characteristic of our people. In no literature in the world will we meet such beautiful and pure women, distinguished by their faithful and loving hearts, as well as their unique spiritual beauty. Only in Russian literature is so much attention paid to the depiction of the inner world and complex experiences of the female soul. Starting from the 12th century, the image of a Russian female heroine, with a big heart, a fiery soul and a readiness for great unforgettable feats, runs through all our literature. It is enough to recall the captivating image of the ancient Russian woman Yaroslavna, full of beauty and lyricism. She is the embodiment of love and loyalty. The author of "The Lay" managed to give the image of Yaroslavna extraordinary vitality and truthfulness; he was the first to create a beautiful image of a Russian woman.
A.S. Pushkin created an unforgettable image of Tatyana Larina. Tatiana is “Russian in soul,” the author emphasizes this throughout the novel. Her love for the Russian people, for patriarchal antiquity, for Russian nature runs through the entire work. Tatyana is a “deep, loving, passionate nature.” Tatyana is characterized by a serious attitude towards life, towards love and towards her duty; she has a depth of experience, a complex spiritual world. All these traits were nurtured in her by her connection with the Russian people and Russian nature, which created a truly Russian woman, a person of great spiritual beauty.
We cannot forget another image of a woman, full of beauty and tragedy, the image of Katerina in Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm,” which, according to Dobrolyubov, reflected the best character traits of the Russian people, spiritual nobility, the desire for truth and freedom, readiness for struggle and protest. Katerina is “a bright ray in a dark kingdom”, an exceptional woman, a poetic and dreamy nature. The struggle between feeling and duty leads to the fact that Katerina publicly repents to her husband and, driven to despair by Kabanikha’s despotism, commits suicide. In the death of Katerina Dobrolyubov sees “a terrible challenge to tyrant power.”
I.S. was a great master in creating female images, a subtle connoisseur of the female soul and heart. Turgenev. He painted a whole gallery of amazing Russian women.
The true singer of the Russian woman was N.A. Nekrasov. No poet either before or after Nekrasov paid so much attention to a Russian woman. The poet speaks with pain about the difficult lot of the Russian peasant woman, about the fact that “the keys to female happiness were lost long ago.” But no slavishly humiliated life can break the pride and self-esteem of a Russian peasant woman. This is Daria in the poem "Frost, Red Nose." The image of a Russian peasant woman, pure in heart and bright, appears before us so vividly. With great love and warmth, Nekrasov writes about the Decembrist women who followed their husbands to Siberia. Trubetskoy and Volkonskaya are ready to share hard labor and prison with their husbands who suffered for the people’s happiness. They are not afraid of either disaster or deprivation.
The great revolutionary democrat N.G. Chernyshevsky showed the image in the novel “What is to be done?” new woman Vera Pavlovna, decisive, energetic, independent. How passionately she strives from the “basement” into the “free air”. Vera Pavlovna is truthful and honest to the end. She strives to make the life of so many people easier, to make it beautiful and extraordinary. That is why many women became so engrossed in the novel and sought to imitate Vera Pavlovna in their lives.
L.N. Tolstoy, speaking out against the ideology of commoner democrats, contrasts the image of Vera Pavlovna with his ideal woman - Natasha Rostova from the novel "War and Peace". This is a gifted, cheerful and determined girl. She, like Tatyana Larina, is close to the people, to their life, loves their songs, rural nature.
The female image and its depiction changed with the development of literature. It was different in different areas of literature, but as literature developed, psychologism deepened; Psychologically, the female image, like all images, became more complex and the inner world became more significant. If in medieval novels the ideal of a female image is a noble, virtuous beauty and that’s it, then in realism the ideal becomes more complicated, and the woman’s inner world plays a significant role.
The female image is most clearly manifested in love, jealousy, passion; and, in order to more clearly express the ideal of the female image, the author often puts the woman in conditions where she fully expresses her feelings, but, of course, not only to depict the ideal, although this also plays a role.
A woman’s feelings determine her inner world, and often, if a woman’s inner world is ideal for the author, he uses the woman as an indicator, i.e. her attitude towards this or that hero corresponds to the attitude of the author.
Often, through the ideal of a woman in a novel, a person is “purified” and “born again,” as, for example, in the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment".
In Dostoevsky's novels we see many women. These women are different. With "Poor People" the theme of a woman's fate begins in Dostoevsky's work. Most often, they are not financially secure, and therefore defenseless. Many of Dostoevsky's women are humiliated. And women themselves are not always sensitive towards others; there are also simply predatory, evil, heartless women. He does not ground them or idealize them. Dostoevsky has no happy women. But there are no happy men either. There are no happy families either. Dostoevsky's works expose the difficult life of all those who are honest, kind, and warm-hearted.
The greatest Russian writers in their works showed a number of wonderful images of Russian women, revealed in all their richness their spiritual, moral and intellectual qualities, purity, intelligence, a heart full of love, the desire for freedom, for struggle - these are the features characteristic of the image of a Russian woman in Russian classical literature.
Female images in XIX literature V.
Literature is the source from which we, readers, get information about a particular era. Works of the 18th century - early XIX V. give us the opportunity to vividly and colorfully reproduce a picture of Russian society, taken at one of the most interesting moments of its development.
In my opinion, Russian classical literature is so rich and diverse that it can tell us about any problem that is still relevant today.
There are so many works in Russian literature that tell about women’s fate. This is “Svetlana” by V.A. Zhukovsky,
“Minor” D.I. Fonvizin, “Woe from Wit” by A.S. Griboyedova, "Evgeniy
Onegin" A.S. Pushkin. The heroines of these works lived at approximately the same time and were in the same circumstances. Sophia, niece
Staroduma from the comedy “Nedorosl”, Sofya Famusova from the play “Woe from Wit”, Tatyana Larina from the novel “Eugene Onegin” ... and this is not a complete list of heroines with whom the best pages of Russian classical literature are associated.
While studying these works in literature classes, I began to think more and more often about the female lot of these girls. Previously, it seemed to me that their life was full of something unusual and mysterious, but over time I began to understand that there was nothing mysterious here, they were ordinary, society ladies, with their own problems and shortcomings. But nothing happens that simply, and no matter how simple they may be, each of them has its own characteristics, qualities for which they should be valued and respected. And that’s why I was interested in the theme of women’s fate, posed in the works of poets and writers of the 18th century. – beginning of the 19th century
Some authors, when creating their creations, sought to show female beauty and charm, talking about their “sweet ideal” of a woman.
Others spoke about femininity, spiritual purity, sincerity, and strength of character.
The most famous, in my opinion, are Sofya Famusova from the play
A.S. Griboyedova “Woe from Wit” and Tatyana Larina from the novel by A.S. Pushkin
"Eugene Onegin".
To better understand them, to realize the depth of their characters, I took up research work. After all, these heroines are somewhat similar to us today. We also strive to find the answer to the eternal question: “What is love?” We also want to understand this feeling, we want to love and be loved, but at the same time make our choice consciously, without losing our own dignity.
I believe that there is a lot in common between Sofia Famusova and Tatyana Larina. They lived in approximately the same era when women were supposed to stay at home raising children, and only because they were noblewomen did the parents take care of education for their daughters, but this could only be in the best case.
One was raised in the village and then comes to Moscow. The other lives in
Moscow, but then, in all likelihood, he will end up in the village for some time. And they, quite possibly, read the same books. For father
Sophia in the books is all evil. And Sophia was brought up on them. Most likely, it was precisely those that were available to the “district young lady”, Pushkin’s
Tatiana - Richardson, Rousseau, de Stael.
Sophia grew up in the house of her father, Pavel Afanasyevich Famusov, and lost her mother in infancy. She was raised by Madame Rosier, who was her governess. Sophia received a good education
“We take tramps, both into the house and on tickets,
To teach our daughters everything, everything...” said Famusov.
At seventeen years old, she not only “bloomed charmingly,” as the admiring Chatsky says about her, but also shows an enviable independence of opinion, unthinkable for people like Molchalin or even her father.
An important role in her is played by that spontaneity, the unspoiled nature of her nature, which allowed Goncharov to bring Griboyedov’s heroine closer to Pushkin’s Tatyana Larina: “...she, in her love, is just as ready to give herself away as Tatyana: both, as if sleepwalking, wander in fascination with childish simplicity "
But there is also a significant difference. Tatyana is not only the ideal character of a Russian woman, as the author of the novel imagined her
"Eugene Onegin". She loves an extraordinary person, worthy of her in a number of qualities.
Sophia's chosen one, unfortunately, is different. Therefore, we must evaluate her behavior, her courage, which so frightens this chosen one, differently.
Comparing Tatyana and Sophia, Goncharov wrote that “the huge difference is not between her and Tatyana, but between Onegin and Molchalin. Sophia’s choice, of course, does not recommend her, but Tatyana’s choice was also random...”
But he further noted that “it was not immorality” (but not “God”, of course) that “brought” her to Molchalin. But simply “the desire to patronize a loved one, poor, modest, who does not dare raise his eyes to her, - to elevate him to oneself, to one’s circle, to give him family rights.” Goncharov thinks so.
We cannot immediately understand her character. In her behavior and moods there is a contradiction between a sober mind and sentimental experiences.
Despite the fact that she was raised by “a fool of a father and some kind of madam,” her ideal contradicts the rules Famusov society. Although he arose under the influence of “French books,” one can feel in him the desire for an independent choice of his love and his destiny, disagreement with the prepared fate. Sophia is ready to protect her love - however, using the methods of the society that raised her: deception and gossip.
This manifests itself in relation to Chatsky. She starts a rumor that Chatsky has gone crazy, trying to take revenge on him.
Ah, Chatsky! You love to dress everyone up as jesters,
Would you like to try it on yourself?
Sophia does not hide her alienation and then hostility towards him, although she understands that pretending to be with this keen observer of her behavior would “make her life easier”. She even, without pretending, reveals to him her sympathy for Molchalin, admits trustingly and directly:
I didn’t try, God brought us together.
Of the most wonderful quality
He is finally: compliant, modest, quiet,
Not a shadow of worry in his face
And there are no wrongdoings in my soul;
He doesn’t cut strangers at random, -
That's why I love him.
Sophia lives only by love; Molchalin’s low and dependent position seems to even intensify her attraction to him. Her feeling is serious, it gives her the courage not to be afraid of the opinions of the world and to go against all the norms and traditions of her environment.
What do I need rumors? Whoever wants to, judges it that way...
What do I care about anyone? Before them? To the whole universe?
Funny? - let them joke; annoying? - let them scold.
She makes her choice independently and is not ashamed, almost does not hide it.
Molchalin! How my sanity remained intact!
You know how dear your life is to me!
V.G. Belinsky notes in relation to Sophia: “She has some kind of energy of character: she gave herself to a man, without being seduced by either his wealth or his nobility, in a word, not out of calculation, but, on the contrary, too much out of calculation...”. Indeed, it is somewhat suspicious that a girl of noble origin turns her attention not to her childhood friend, whom she should know better, but to a servant, whose main talents are cunning and the ability to adapt.
But, having learned how Molchalin treated her, Sophia rejects him with contempt and orders him to leave the house tomorrow, threatening otherwise to reveal everything to her father.
Leave me alone, I say, now,
I'll wake up everyone in the house by screaming,
And I will destroy myself and you.
From then on, it was as if I didn’t know you.
Reproaches, complaints, my tears
Don’t you dare expect, you’re not worth it;
Valuing intelligence, dedication, respect for people in a person, Sophia arouses self-pity because she was cruelly mistaken in Molchalin.
And this mistake deals her a cruel blow.
As noted by K.A. Polevoy: “Sophia is the necessary face of the play, where you see modern society". "She is, as it were, the initial stage of the future insidious, slanderous, insensitive Khlestovs, Khryumins, Tugoukhovskys, who at one time, of course, were Sophias, but, deprived of moral and mental education, became gossips and destroyers of their young daughters, granddaughters and nieces. “The mind and soul, always idle and immersed in petty gossip and the conceit of life, signified only by dinners and balls, must certainly bear the fruits that they have collected
Famusov at the end of the comedy,” K.A. came to this conclusion. Polevoy in his article dedicated to Sophia.
But Sophia is not like them, she is much smarter than her peers, she feels them more subtly. She's too full of sensitivity. She has strong inclinations of a remarkable nature, a lively mind, passionate and feminine softness... “she hides in the shadows something of her own, hot, tender, even dreamy,” said A.I. Goncharov. Sophia does not like the empty cleverness, wit and evil tongue that distinguished people XIX V.
That is why she cannot understand Chatsky: she also attributes his merciless witticisms to evil tongues.
I sincerely feel sorry for Sophia: with her lively mind and dedication, she became a victim of a society in which hypocrisy and self-interest reign, and real feelings are devalued. Her lesson is a lesson for me in life. She succumbed to the influence of the people around her; showed weakness, which means you need to stick to your life principles, and trust only close and faithful people who can really give practical advice.
As I.A. once noted. Goncharov: “Sophia is a mixture of good instincts with lies, a lively mind with the absence of any hint of ideas and beliefs, confusion of concepts, mental and moral blindness - all this does not have the character of personal vices in her, but is like common features her circle..."
And we don’t know what Sophia’s future fate will be, but we want to believe that she will be able to preserve in herself the best that was given to her by nature.
Tatyana Larina is another heroine whose fate did not turn out the way she herself would have liked. Her love was most likely tragic in nature. Although, I don’t think that Tatyana was disappointed in life. Maybe it was just a test that she endured with dignity.
Tatyana is a very rare name for the 19th century. and maybe, calling his heroine that way, A.S. Pushkin already emphasized the unusualness, peculiarity, and exclusivity of her nature. Using particles NOT and NI in the description
Tatyana, he talks not so much about what she was like, but rather about what Tatyana was not: ordinary.
"Nor the beauty of your sister,
Nor the freshness of her ruddy
She wouldn't attract anyone's attention.
Dick, sad, silent,
Like a forest deer, timid...
...She didn’t know how to caress
To your father, nor to your mother;
Child herself, in a crowd of children
I didn’t want to play or jump...
Her thoughtfulness and daydreaming make her stand out among the local inhabitants; she feels lonely among people who are unable to understand her spiritual needs. Her tastes and interests are not entirely clear to us:
...scary stories
In winter in the dark of nights
They captivated her heart more...
...She loved on the balcony
Warn the dawn...
...She liked novels early on...
Tatyana's only real pleasure and entertainment were books: she read a lot and indiscriminately.
"She fell in love with deceptions
And Richardson and Russo"
These romantic book characters and served as an example for Tatyana to create the ideal of her chosen one. We see the same thing with Sophia.
V.G. Belinsky, explaining Tatiana’s character, said: “Tatiana’s entire inner world consisted of a thirst for love; nothing else spoke to her soul; her mind was asleep... Her girlish days were not busy with anything, they did not have their own sequence of work and leisure... A wild plant, completely left to its own devices, Tatyana created her own own life, in the emptiness of which the inner fire that was devouring her burned all the more rebelliously because her mind was not occupied with anything...”
Pushkin writes about his heroine seriously and respectfully. He notes her spirituality and poetry.
Under the influence of the books she read, Tatyana creates her own romantic world, in the center of which - by the will of fate - was Onegin, whose unusualness and depth of personality Tatyana immediately felt. I should note that Onegin and Tatyana have many things in common: mental and moral originality, a feeling of alienation to their environment, and sometimes an acute sense of loneliness. But if Pushkin is ambivalent about Onegin, then
Tatyana - with open sympathy. The poet’s ideas about the Russian are connected with “sweet Tatyana” national character. Pushkin endowed his heroine with wealth inner world and spiritual purity:
“a rebellious imagination, a living mind and will, a wayward head, and a fiery and tender heart.”
No wonder the author notes:
Tatiana (Russian soul,
Without knowing why)
With her cold beauty
I loved Russian winter...
She thinks and feels like a truly Russian person. She knows how to appreciate natural beauty. It was not for nothing that when Tanya found out that she was being sent to Moscow, at the first rays of the sun she got up and hurried to the fields:
"Sorry, peaceful valleys,
And you, familiar mountain peaks,
And you, familiar forests;
Sorry, heavenly beauty,
Sorry, cheerful nature;
Nature has a great influence on her. Thanks to her, Tatyana did not break and withstood the pain inflicted on her by Onegin.
A.S. Pushkin emphasizes the spiritual connection of a girl who grew up in a provincial estate with the way of life, beliefs, and folklore of the people.
“Tatiana believed the legends
Of common folk antiquity,
And dreams, and card fortune-telling,
And the predictions of the moon.
She was worried about signs;"
Tatyana’s dream also testifies to this; it speaks of her naturalness, honesty, sincerity, the people’s, folklore perception of the world is so close to her.
And let us remember Sophia: after all, she also talks about sleep. And here for the first time
Sophia named those traits of her personality that she valued so highly
Goncharov. Sophia's dream is important for understanding her character, just as sleep is important
Tatyana Larina to understand the character of Pushkin’s heroine, although
Tatyana is actually dreaming about her dream, but Sophia is making up the dream to deceive her father.
Suddenly a nice person, one of those we
We'll see - it's like we've known each other forever,
He appeared here with me; and insinuating and smart,
But timid...You know who was born in poverty...
Tatyana saw Onegin in her dream. “She found out between the guests
The one who is sweet and scary to her,
The hero of our novel!
As V.G. noted Belinsky in his article: Tatyana - “this marvelous combination of rude, vulgar prejudices with a passion for French books and respect for the profound creation of Martyn Zadeki is possible only in a Russian woman...
... And suddenly Onegin appears. He is completely surrounded by mystery: his aristocracy, his undeniable superiority over this entire calm and vulgar world... could not help but act on Tatyana’s fantasy.” With understanding, Pushkin describes how Tatyana’s feeling of love awakens:
Her imagination has long been
Burning with bliss and melancholy,
Hungry for fatal food;
Long-time heartache
Her young breasts were tight;
The soul was waiting...for someone,
And she waited... The eyes opened;
She said: it's him!
The combination of someone is of interest. Is it possible to just wait for someone? But Tatyana waited, and that’s probably why she fell in love with a man without knowing him. She only knew that Evgeny was not like everyone else - this was enough to become interested and then fall in love. She knew very little about life, people, and even herself. “For Tatiana there was no real Onegin, whom she could neither understand nor know; therefore, she needed to give it some meaning, borrowed from a book, and not from life, because life
Tatyana also could neither understand nor know,” said V.G. Belinsky
But her love is a real, great feeling, no matter how it was borrowed from books. She loved with all her heart, surrendered to this feeling with all her soul. With what sincerity she wrote a letter to Onegin, and despite the fact that she was the first to declare her love, the first to take a risky step that was absolutely not accepted in society.
Tatyana's letter is an impulse, confusion, passion, melancholy, a dream, and at the same time it is all genuine. It was written by a Russian girl, inexperienced, tender and lonely, sensitive and shy.
Such an act only commands respect. After all, even in our time, it is not customary for a girl to be the first to reveal her love.
But time passes, Tatyana is married off, although her first love still lives in her heart. But she remains true to her duty. When they meet, she says to Onegin:
“I love you (why lie?),
But I was given to another;
I will be faithful to him forever.”
And now, in our time, every young man is looking for his ideal woman. And I think that many people associate this ideal with Tatyana
Larina, because she combines those qualities that make a woman beautiful. Years pass, people, social conditions, aesthetic principles change, but those spiritual qualities that the “sweet ideal” of the great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin possesses will always be honored.
To sum up what I said, I return to Tatyana’s comparison
Larina and Sofia Famusova.
For readers, Tatyana has become an ideal role model. A convincing, psychologically truthful image of a Russian girl, silent and sad, timid and at the same time decisive, sincere in her feelings.
And Sophia is an example of a young girl in whom naivety and hypocrisy, the thirst for love and the obstacles created by society and upbringing are struggling.
The heroine of Pushkin's novel goes through a significant and very important part of her life. life path and appears before us as an established character, completed by the author. The heroine of Griboyedov's play essentially receives only the first cruel lesson. She is depicted at the beginning of the trials that befall her. Therefore, Sophia is a character that can be further developed and revealed “to the end” only in the future.
In the process of studying this topic, I realized how difficult it was for women to make their choice; they did not have any special rights, so no one took their opinion into account. And how much happier we turn out to be than them.
After all, all paths and roads are open to us, living in the 21st century. But how important it is not to make a mistake in choosing and to preserve yourself. Undoubtedly, they help us with this
Sofya Famusova and Tatyana Larina.
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