Makar miracle meaning of the name. Several interesting essays

Maxim Gorky played a significant role in the development of Russian literature at the beginning of the 20th century. The story “Makar Chudra” was written in the early period of the writer’s work. In it the author reveals to us romantic world legends, fairy tales, inspired allegories.

The heroes of the stories are desperate and beautiful people. They are proud and extremely freedom-loving.

The main character of the story is Makar Chudra, a wise old gypsy. For him, the main thing in life is personal freedom, which he would never trade for anything: “...This is how you need to live: go, go - and that’s all. Don't stand in one place for a long time - what's in it? Just as they run day and night, chasing each other, around the earth, so you run away from thoughts about life, so as not to stop loving it. And if you think about it, you’ll stop loving life, this always happens.”

Makar talks about human life and freedom:

"Life? Other people? ... – Hey! What do you care about that? Are you not life yourself? Other people live without you and will live without you. Do you think that someone needs you? You are not bread, not a stick, and no one needs you.”

He believes that a person without personal freedom becomes a slave: “Was he born then to dig up the earth, and then die without even having time to dig out his own grave? Does he know his will? Is the expanse of the steppe clear? Does the sound of the sea wave make his heart happy? He is a slave - as soon as he was born, he is a slave all his life, and that’s it! What can he do with himself?

The old gypsy thinks that love and freedom are incompatible. Love weakens a person, makes him submit to his beloved. He tells the legend of the love of Loiko and Radda. Makar admires the courage, resilience and love of freedom of his heroes. He believes that their action was the only right one.

Also in the story there is an image of the listener. He has no lines and virtually no description of him. Nevertheless, the author’s position is easily conveyed through his image.

Nature is an almost full-fledged participant in the story. By describing her beauty, the author betrays the feelings and thoughts of the characters.

The heroes of the legend are Loiko Zobar and the beautiful Radda. Loiko is a young, daring and proud gypsy. He was brave and strong, he was not afraid of anyone or anything: “Yes, if Satan had come to him with all his retinue, if he had not thrown a knife at him, he would probably have had a strong fight, and what the devil would have given a kick in the snout - that’s just it!”

Loiko valued his freedom most of all. I didn’t stay anywhere for long. “He loved only horses and nothing else, and even then only for a short time - he would ride and sell, and whoever wants the money, take it. He didn’t have what he cherished - you need his heart, he himself would tear it out of his chest and give it to you, if only it would make you feel good. That’s what he was, a falcon!” But after meeting Radda, Loiko “lost his head.”

Radda is a young gypsy of such beauty that no one could resist her. She was so proud that even her love for Loiko could not break her. “I’ve never loved anyone, Loiko, but I love you. And I also love freedom! Will, Loiko, I love more than you.”

Both Radda and Loiko look at their love as a chain that binds them. They give up love and choose death for the sake of absolute freedom.

“Makar Chudra” is Maxim Gorky’s first story, so it showed all the sincerity of the young artist, his romantic nature. The story was written based on the impressions of the future writer’s wanderings in Bessarabia, his acquaintance with the free wandering life of the gypsies, bright characters, and the spirit of freedom characteristic of the expanses of those places. The dependence of Gorky’s story on Pushkin’s poem “The Gypsies” (1824) is undeniable. But “Makar Chudra” is not at all a repetition of Pushkin’s work in new images in another historical time. For Gorky, Pushkin’s poem became a source of inspiration and served as an example of development plot situation, creating images.

Gorky uses a traditional scheme of interaction between heroes in the story. There are four heroes. First of all, this is the listener and the author-narrator of the story, that is, this image is simultaneously “in” the story being told and “outside” it. The second important figure is the narrator - the old gypsy Makar Chudra. Note that in Pushkin, the old gypsy sometimes appears in this capacity, but not in those cases when direct events occur in the poem. And finally, the rod romantic story- the love of two bright natures: young gypsy, who embodied the very daring and freedom, Loiko Zobar and the beautiful gypsy Radda, in whose image all earthly beauty and indomitable will were united. Thus, the reader learns an extraordinary story-legend about love and freedom from the story of an old gypsy, which, in turn, is retold by the author-narrator. It turns out that history passes through like three “filters”: personal experience its direct participants, the assessment and reasoning of the gypsy and the artistic rethinking of the author-narrator.

The conflict in the story “Makar Chudra” can be presented from two perspectives. First of all, he continues the Pushkin theme in “Gypsies.” However, if Pushkin romantic poem embodies ideas that go beyond this literary direction, then Gorky, on the contrary, affirms the romantic ideal in spite of reality. That is why love conflict in Pushkin's poem, which involves the Russian exile Aleko, the gypsy Zemfira and the young gypsy, Gorky replaced it with a conflict between two gypsies, between whom there is no barrier except the will that they value more life. Consequently, the conflict in Gorky’s story is not realistic, like Pushkin’s, but romantic.

Why did Gorky call the story “Makar Chudra”, because he is just a storyteller? It seems that the role of the old gypsy is very important in the work and is not limited to the function of the narrator. Makar Chudra serves as an exponent of the ideas of the story from the position of a person outside social life, outside the yoke of morality and obligations. Thanks to the ideological purpose of this image plot role Makara Chudra grows into the role of a wise teacher, expressing the innermost thoughts of a young writer.

The romantic spirit of Gorky's early works turned out to be in demand in Russian society of that time, which needed a voice affirming freedom, love, and human dignity. A very characteristic visual technique of early Gorky was that he expanded the traditional possibilities of prose by involving other types of art, such as painting and graphics. This is, for example, the description of the hero: “Here is a horse cut out of the darkness, and a man sits on it and plays, riding up to us.” The verb “cut out” is akin to a colorful epithet, and Gorky needed it in order to clearly and visibly highlight main image his early creativity- a proud and free person.

Source: Moskvin G.V. Literature: 9th grade: in 2 hours. Part 2 / G.V. Moskvin, N.N. Puryaeva, E.L. Erokhin. - M.: Ventana-Graf, 2016

Chekhov highly valued Gorky's stories “On Rafts” and “In the Steppe”: they were in tune with the work of Chekhov and his contemporaries with their strict, sad and merciful attitude towards the world and the people of everyday life. The novelty of Gorky's position was manifested, however, in a new approach to man. It was not enough for him to say how badly people lived. It was not enough for him to teach the reader to pity and love the humiliated and oppressed. In all spheres of life, Gorky began to look for those who were capable of heroism.

The semi-legendary tale of the “experienced man” Makar Chudra about the young gypsies Loiko Zobar and Radda, the daughter of the glorious soldier Danila, sounded like a hymn to freedom and love. The beautiful Radda, lovingly, smiled like a queen. Loiko was like a mountain eagle. Their love burned with a bright, sizzling flame. But in the gloomy life that people have created, lovers would have to “submit to the tightness that squeezed them.” Like a flash of lightning, their love could not get along with the world of ordinary, dimly living people, ready to either sell or buy what they called love. Radda and Loiko, both of them, preferred death to such love. It’s hard to believe that the legend about their love, their rapture of will and their fearless death is based on reality. Gorky painted such unusual characters, so strongly feeling souls, that the reader imagines heroes of heroic proportions: they wanted love-will, which can be seen in a dream or which can be heard about in a fairy tale.

Atmosphere romantic fairy tale supports her with a corresponding description of nature: gusts of cold wind, the severity of the endless steppe, the splash of a sea wave running onto the shore, the bright flame of a fire that parted the darkness of the autumn night. The romantic flavor is enhanced by the story of the daring robber life of Zobar, who was not afraid of Satan himself and his retinue. And even more so - hints at the demonic nature of Radda’s image: Makar Chudra alternately calls her “the devil’s wench,” “the damned Radda,” and then “the devil’s wench.” However, despite the seemingly ominous epithets and comparisons, the general tone of the legend story is magical, fairy-tale, highly romantic.

The story “Makar Chudra” was written in 1892 and refers to early period Gorky's creativity. Here his romantic ideals were especially clearly manifested. The narration is told from the point of view of the narrator. The frame is a description of the sea and a conversation with an old gypsy. Inside the text is a legend about the love of two gypsies, which Makar Chudra recalls. Thus, we have a story within a story. Below you will find an analysis of the story “Makar Chudra” by Gorky.

Features of romanticism in the story “Makar Chudra”

The main feature of romanticism as a literary movement is dual worlds: the division of the world into the real and the ideal. The story depicts perfect world freedom, beauty, songs and music, wonderful freedom-loving people. Already in the exhibition, Makar Chudra contrasts the eternal vegetation of ordinary people, their shameful slavery with freedom and understanding of the world. People, according to the hero, are not born to “pick up the earth.” He thinks about a person: “Does he know his will? Is the expanse of the steppe clear? Does the sound of the sea wave gladden his heart?” This is precisely the meaning and purpose of life: in understanding the world, learning its secrets. What else becomes clear when we analyze the story “Makar Chudra”?

The focus in romanticism is on the exceptional hero, free, beautiful, standing above the surrounding everyday life. Such heroes in the story are Loiko Zobar and Radda. Most of all they value the ideal of freedom. Heroes are guided by feelings, passion, and not reason.

Landscape in romanticism is not just a backdrop for action, it carries a special meaning. The love of romantics for sea and mountain views is well known. It is in the vast expanses of the sea and mountains that the free and passionate soul of an exceptional hero can find a response. Main reception when depicting nature - personification: “the sea sang a gloomy and solemn hymn”, “the darkness of the autumn night shuddered” and timidly moved away. Makar Chudra, a philosopher, a wise old gypsy, is in complete unity with the surrounding world, the quiet splash of waves, the beauty of the sea.

In the finale, the narrator seems to be immersed in an ideal world: the melody of the sea draws him to where the proud Loiko Zobar and the beautiful Radda are circling in an eternal dance.

Analysis of the story “Makar Chudra” - conflict

IN little story Gorky touches on several serious topics. These are questions about freedom and slavery, the meaning of human life, the beauty of nature and the world as a whole, about love and self-love.

The conflict is based on the antithesis between freedom and slavery. For Makar Chudra, freedom is the opportunity to enjoy life, the absence of any restrictions. Loiko and Radda value, above all, personal freedom, independence from other people, not only externally, but also internally. They place will above everything, even above love. This is the main conflict. For heroes, to fall in love means to submit to another person, and they cannot do this, it is contrary to their nature. Therefore, a vicious circle situation arises. It is no coincidence that Radda says: “At will, Loiko, I love more than you. And I can’t live without you, just as you can’t live without me.” Even brief analysis The story “Makar Chudra” makes this idea clear.

A beautiful gypsy can only love strong man whom she cannot make submissive to herself, but, having fallen in love, she will not obey herself. She gives her lover a task to test him, and knows in advance that Loiko will not fulfill the condition of bowing to her in front of the entire camp. Therefore, when the gypsy plunges a knife into her chest, Radda, smiling, says that she knew what he would do. She smiles because the hero passed the test of strength of character and love of freedom, he turned out to be worthy of love Rudds. But the paradox is that love and pride turned out to be incompatible, so the heroes die.

This article presented an analysis of the story “Makar Chudra”. We hope you found this article helpful. Our literary blog was created with the aim of highlighting different aspects of works of world literature and their authors. Read also

The problem of freedom has always worried word artists. Exactly Liberty was attractive to romantic heroes. For her sake they were ready to die. After all, romanticism is like literary movement formed a very specific canon: exceptional personality, making exceptional demands on the world. Therefore, the hero is an order of magnitude higher than the people around him, therefore society as such is rejected by him. This also determines the typical loneliness of the hero: for him this is a natural state, and the hero finds an outlet only in communication with nature, and more often with the elements.

Maxim Gorky in his early works refers to traditions of romanticism, but in the context of the twentieth century his work is defined neo-romantic.

In 1892, the first romantic story appeared in print. "Makar Chudra", in which an old gypsy appears before the reader surrounded by a romantic landscape: he is enveloped "the darkness of an autumn night", opening on the left a boundless steppe and on the right an endless sea. The writer gives him the opportunity to talk about himself, about his views, and the story of Loiko Zobar and Radda, told by the old shepherd, becomes the main means of revealing image of the main character, because the story is named after him.

Talking about Radda and Loiko, Chudra speaks more about himself. At the heart of his character lies the only principle that he considers the most valuable - the maximum desire for freedom. For heroes, will is also more valuable than anything in the world. In Radda, the manifestation of pride is so strong that even love for Loiko Zobar cannot break it: “I’ve never loved anyone, Loiko, but I love you. And I also love freedom! Will, Loiko, I love you more than you.”.

Such an insoluble contradiction between love and pride in romantic character is perceived by Makar Chudra as absolutely natural, and it can only be resolved by death: romantic hero cannot sacrifice either his boundless love or his absolute pride. But love presupposes humility, self-sacrifice and the ability to submit to a loved one. And this is precisely what the heroes of the legend told by Chudra cannot do.

What assessment does Makar Chudra give to this position? He believes that this is the only way a real person who is worthy of imitation should understand life, and only with such a position can personal freedom be preserved.

But does the author agree with his hero? What is the author's position and what are the means of expression? To answer this question, it is important to note compositional feature Gorky's early works - availability narrator's image. At first glance, this inconspicuous image, because he does not manifest himself in any actions. But it is the position of this man, a wanderer who meets different people on his way, that is especially important for the writer himself.

In almost all the early romantic works of Maxim Gorky, negative consciousness will also be embodied, distorting real picture being, and the positive, filling life with higher meaning and content. And the gaze of the autobiographical hero seems to snatch out the brightest characters - such as Makar Chudra.

And even though he listens rather skeptically to the objections of the hero-narrator, it is the ending that dots all the i’s in the author’s position. When the narrator, looking into the darkness of the endless steppe, sees the gypsies Loiko Zobar and Radda “were spinning in the darkness of the night smoothly and silently”, and no way “The handsome Loiko could not compare with the proud Radda”, he reveals his position. Yes, these words contain admiration, but the thinking reader realizes the futility of such a bloody outcome: even after death, Loiko cannot become equal to the beautiful Radda.

In accordance with the best traditions Romanticism Maxim Gorky used many means of expression in his story. Describing the main characters, he uses hyperbole: Radda’s beauty can only be played on the violin, and Loiko’s mustache fell on his shoulders and mixed with his curls. To convey the peculiarities of speech, especially of the old Chudra, he introduces appeals, interjections, and rhetorical exclamations.

A significant role is played by the landscape, but not simple, but animated, where Makar controls the waves, and the sea sings a gloomy, but at the same time solemn hymn to a pair of proud, handsome gypsies.

The story “Chelkash” belongs to the early romantic works of M. Gorky. It is part of the series of so-called stories about tramps. The writer has always been interested in this “class” of people that formed in Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Gorky considered tramps to be interesting “human material” who seemed to be outside society. In them he saw a kind of embodiment of his human ideals: “I saw that although they live worse” ordinary people“But they feel and recognize themselves better than them, and this is because they are not greedy, do not strangle each other, and do not hoard money.”
At the center of the story (1895) are two heroes opposed to each other. One is Grishka Chelkash, “an old poisoned wolf, well known to the Havana people, an inveterate drunkard and a clever, brave thief.” This is already a mature person, a bright and extraordinary nature. Even in a crowd of tramps like him, Chelkash stood out for his predatory strength and integrity. No wonder Gorky compares him to a hawk: “he immediately attracted attention with his resemblance to a steppe hawk, his predatory thinness and this aiming gait, smooth and calm in appearance, but internally excited and vigilant, like those years ago bird of prey which he resembled."
As the plot develops, we learn that Chelkash lives by robbing ships and then selling his loot. Such activities and lifestyle suit this hero quite well. They satisfy his need for a sense of freedom, risk, unity with nature, a sense of his own strength and unlimited own capabilities.
Chelkash is a hero from a village. He is the same peasant as the other hero of the story - Gavrila. But how different these people are! Gavrila is young, physically strong, but weak in spirit and pitiful. We see how Chelkash struggles with contempt for this “young heifer”, who dreams of a prosperous and well-fed life in the village, and even advises Gregory how he can “better fit in” in life.
It becomes clear that these are completely different people will never be found common language. Although they have the same roots, their nature, their nature, is completely different. Against the background of the cowardly and weak Gavrila, the figure of Chelkash emerges with all his might. This contrast is especially clearly expressed at the moment when the heroes “went to work” - Grigory took Gavrila with him, giving him the opportunity to earn money.
Chelkash loved the sea and was not afraid of it: “At the sea, a wide, warm feeling always rose in him - embracing his entire soul, it cleansed it a little from worldly filth. He appreciated this and loved to see himself as the best here, among the water and air, where thoughts about life and life itself always lose - the former - their sharpness, the latter - their value.”
This hero was delighted by the sight of the majestic element, “endless and powerful.” The sea and clouds intertwined into one whole, inspiring Chelkash with their beauty, “arousing” high desires in him.
The sea evokes completely different feelings for Gavrila. He sees it as a black heavy mass, hostile, carrying mortal danger. The only feeling that the sea evokes in Gavrila is fear: “It’s just scary in it.”
The behavior of these heroes at sea is also different. In the boat, Chelkash sat upright, calmly and confidently looked at the surface of the water, forward, communicating with this element on an equal footing: “Sitting at the stern, he cut the water with the wheel and looked forward calmly, full of desire to ride long and far along this velvet surface.” Gavrila is crushed by the sea elements, she bends him, makes him feel like an insignificance, a slave: “... grabbed Gavrila’s chest with a strong hug, squeezed him into a timid ball and chained him to the bench of the boat...”
Having overcome many dangers, the heroes return safely to the shore. Chelkash sold the loot and received the money. It is at this moment that the true natures of the heroes appear. It turns out that Chelkash wanted to give Gavrila more than he promised: this guy touched him with his story, stories about the village.
It should be noted that Chelkash’s attitude towards Gavrila was not unambiguous. The “young chick” irritated Grigory, he felt Gavrila’s “foreignness” and did not accept him life philosophy, its values. But, nevertheless, grumbling and swearing at this man, Chelkash did not allow himself meanness or baseness towards him.
Gavrila, this gentle, kind and naive person, turned out to be completely different. He admits to Gregory that he wanted to kill him during their trip in order to get all the loot for himself. Later, not deciding on this, Gavrila begs Chelkash to give him all the money - with such wealth he will live happily in the village. For this reason, the hero lies at Chelkash’s feet, humiliates himself, forgetting about his human dignity. For Gregory, such behavior only causes disgust and disgust. And in the end, when the situation changes several times (Chelkash, having learned new details, either gives or does not give Gavrila the money, a serious fight breaks out between the heroes, and so on), Gavrila receives the money. He asks Chelkash for forgiveness, but does not receive it: Gregory’s contempt for this pitiful creature is too great.
Not by chance positive hero the story becomes a thief and a tramp. Thus, Gorky emphasizes that Russian society prevents rich human potential from being revealed. He is satisfied only with Gavrili and their slave psychology and average capabilities. There is no place for extraordinary people who strive for freedom, flight of thought, spirit and soul in such a society. Therefore, they are forced to become tramps, outcasts. The author emphasizes that this is not only a personal tragedy of tramps, but also a tragedy of society, deprived of its rich potential and its best strengths.

The work “The Old Woman Izergil” was written by Maxim Gorky in 1895. The story refers to early works written by Gorky. “Old Woman Izergil” is one of Gorky’s works, filled with the spirit of romanticism. After all, Gorky is rightfully considered the first to introduce romanticism into Russian literature. Romantic works occupy a huge place in the writer’s work. The composition of the story “Old Woman Izergil” is unusual. Gorky himself said that “Old Woman Izergil” is one of the works that was built on top level, he considered it one of his best works. The composition is such that Gorky writes a story within a story, or rather, three stories within a story. The work consists of three parts: the legend of Larra, the life of the “old woman Izergil” and the legend of Danko. All three stories are different, but they have something in common, and this commonality is that Gorky, through these “three stories,” is looking for an answer to the question “about the meaning of life.”
The first part is the legend of Larra. The main character is a young man, the son of an eagle and an ordinary woman. He is proud, freedom-loving, daring, selfish, and he paid for these qualities. Considering himself the best, regardless of the opinions of other people, he could not calmly get along in society and therefore commits such daring act like the murder of the daughter of one of the elders. For this he received his punishment, the worst for any person, this is expulsion from society and immortality in solitude. People call him Larra, which means outcast. At first, Larra likes this outcome of events, since he was a freedom-loving person, but after some time passes, the main character understands the meaning of life, but it is too late he bears the well-deserved punishment. He remained immortal and alone, time dried him up and turned him into a shadow that reminded people of his existence.
The second part is autobiographical. Old woman Izergil talks about her life. From her story we learn that she had many men, and she loved them all, as it seemed to her truly. Her life was full of travel, she visited many parts of the country and even beyond its borders. She played on people's feelings, but at the same time she had pride, which came first. If she loved, then she loved with all her heart and no obstacles on her path to happiness could stop her (the murder of a sentry at his post), and if she abandoned her, she abandoned her completely, irrevocably and irrevocably. Just as in the legend of Larra, Gorky is trying to show us the commonality that connects these stories. This is the meaning of life. The old woman reflects on fate, saying: “What is fate here? Everyone is their own destiny!” She realizes the meaning of life, it is not wandering around the world in search of her love, but a calm, quiet life in some village with her husband and children.
And finally, the third part is the legend of Danko. The main character of the legend is the romantic hero Danko. He was handsome, courageous, strong, a true leader, able to lead people, freedom-loving and selfless. Danko is one of those people who are always brave, he decides to help his people, he leads them in order to bring people out of deep forest. The road was not easy, and when all the people rebelled against Danko, he tore his heart out of his chest in order to illuminate the path for people and give people kindness and warmth emanating from a heart burning with love. But as soon as people achieved their desired goal, no one even remembered the dying Danko, who loved the people so much and did everything to make the people feel good. The sparks burning in the night of the expanse of the steppe reminded people of the glorious, selfless hero Danko, who saw his meaning in life in helping people.
Romanticism occupies a central position in Gorky's works. The work “Old Woman Izergil” is one of the assets of this movement in literature of the late 19th century. Gorky fully reveals his idea about the meaning of life. He shows three points of view, thereby giving the reader a question to think about, “what is the meaning of life?”

Mashenka

In 1926 the first prose work Nabokov's novel "Mashenka". On this occasion, Niva magazine wrote: “Nabokov, having fun, tirelessly embroiders himself and his destiny in different variations along the canvas of his works. But not only his own, although hardly anyone interested Nabokov more than himself. This is also the fate of an entire human type - the Russian emigrant intellectual.” Indeed, for Nabokov, life in a foreign land was still quite difficult. The past, in which there were bright feelings, love, a completely different world, became a consolation. Therefore, the novel is based on memories. There is no plot as such, the content unfolds as a stream of consciousness: dialogues characters, internal monologues of the main character, descriptions of the scene of action are interspersed.

The main character of the novel, Lev Glebovich Ganin, having found himself in exile, lost some of the most important personality traits. He lives in a boarding house, which he does not need and is not interested in, its inhabitants seem pitiful to Ganin, and he himself, like other emigrants, is of no use to anyone. Ganin is sad, sometimes he cannot decide what to do: “should I change my body position, should I get up to go and wash my hands, should I open the window...”. “Twilight obsession” is the definition that the author gives to the state of his hero. Although the novel belongs to the early period of Nabokov’s work and is, perhaps, the most “classical” of all the works he created, the play with the reader characteristic of the writer is also present here. It is unclear what serves as the root cause: either spiritual experiences deform the external world, or, on the contrary, ugly reality deadens the soul. There is a feeling that the writer has placed two crooked mirrors in front of each other, the images in which are ugly refracted, doubling and tripling.
The novel “Mashenka” is structured as the hero’s recollection of his former life in Russia, cut short by the revolution and Civil War; The narration is told in third person. In Ganin’s life before emigration there was one thing: an important event- his love for Mashenka, who remained in her homeland and was lost with her. But quite unexpectedly, Ganin recognizes his Mashenka in the woman depicted in the photograph, the wife of his neighbor in the Berlin boarding house Alferov. (It is not yet clear whether this is his Mashenka at all). She must come to Berlin, and this expected arrival revives the hero. Ganin’s heavy melancholy passes, his soul is filled with memories of the past: a room in a St. Petersburg house, country estate, three poplars, a barn with a painted window, even the flickering spokes of a bicycle wheel. Ganin again seems to be immersed in the world of Russia, preserving the poetry of “noble nests” and the warmth of family relationships. Many events took place, and the author selects the most significant of them. Ganin perceives the image of Mashenka as “a sign, a call, a question thrown into the sky,” and to this question he suddenly receives a “gemstone, delightful answer.” The meeting with Mashenka should be a miracle, a return to the world in which Ganin could only be happy. Having done everything to prevent his neighbor from meeting his wife, Ganin finds himself at the station. At the moment the train on which she arrived stops, he feels that this meeting is impossible. And he leaves for another station to leave the city.

It would seem that the novel assumes a love triangle situation, and the development of the plot pushes towards this. But Nabokov rejects the traditional ending. Ganin’s deep experiences are much more important to him than the nuances of the characters’ relationships. Ganin’s refusal to meet his beloved has not a psychological, but rather a philosophical motivation. He understands that the meeting is unnecessary, even impossible, not because it entails inevitable psychological problems, but because you can’t turn back time. This could lead to submission to the past and, therefore, renunciation of oneself, which is generally impossible for Nabokov’s heroes.

In the novel “Mashenka” Nabokov first addresses themes that will then appear repeatedly in his work. This is the theme of lost Russia, acting as an image paradise lost and the happiness of youth, the theme of memory, which simultaneously resists the all-destroying time and fails in this futile struggle.

The image of the main character, Ganin, is very typical of the work of V. Nabokov. Unsettled, “lost” emigrants constantly appear in his works. The dusty boarding house is unpleasant to Ganin, because it will never replace his homeland. Those living in the boarding house - Ganin, mathematics teacher Alferov, the old Russian poet Podtyagin, Klara, funny dancers - are united by uselessness, some kind of exclusion from life. The question arises: why do they live? Ganin acts in films, selling his shadow. Is it worth living in order to “get up and go to the printing house every morning,” as Clara does? Or “look for an engagement”, as dancers look for it? Humiliate yourself, beg for a visa, explaining yourself in bad German, as Podtyagin is forced to do? None of them have a goal that would justify this miserable existence. All of them do not think about the future, do not strive to get settled, improve their lives, living in the daytime. Both the past and the expected future remained in Russia. But admitting this to yourself means telling yourself the truth about yourself. After this, you need to draw some conclusions, but then how to live, how to fill boring days? And life fills up petty passions, romances, vanity. “Podtyagin came into the room of the hostess of the boarding house, stroking the affectionate black dachshund, pinching her ears, a wart on her gray muzzle and talking about his old man’s painful illness and that he had been trying for a long time for a visa to Paris, where pins and red wine are very cheap "

Ganin’s connection with Lyudmila does not leave for a second the feeling that we are talking about love. But this is not love: “And yearning and ashamed, he felt how senseless tenderness - the sad warmth remaining where love had once slipped very fleetingly - makes him press without passion to the purple rubber of her yielding lips...” Did Ganin have real love? When he met Mashenka as a boy, he fell in love not with her, but with his dream, the ideal woman he had invented. Mashenka turned out to be unworthy of him. He loved silence, solitude, beauty, and sought harmony. She was frivolous and pulled him into the crowd. And “he felt that these meetings were making him smaller true love" In Nabokov's world happy love impossible. It is either connected with betrayal, or the heroes do not even know what love is. Individualistic pathos, fear of subordination to another person, fear of the possibility of his judgment make Nabokov’s heroes forget about her. Often the plot of the writer's works is based on a love triangle. But it is impossible to find the intensity of passions, the nobility of feelings in his works; the story looks vulgar and boring.

The novel “Mashenka” is characterized by features that appear in further creativity Nabokov. It's a game literary quotes and the construction of the text on elusive and reappearing leitmotifs and images. Here sounds become independent and significant (from nightingale singing, meaning the natural beginning and the past, to the noise of a train and tram, personifying the world of technology and the present), smells, repeating images - trains, trams, light, shadows, comparisons of heroes with birds. Nabokov, speaking about the meetings and partings of the characters, undoubtedly hinted to the reader about the plot of “Eugene Onegin.” Also, an attentive reader can find in the novel images characteristic of the lyrics of A.A. Feta (nightingale and rose), A.A. Blok (dates in a snowstorm, heroine in the snow). At the same time, the heroine, whose name is in the title of the novel, never appeared on its pages, and the reality of her existence sometimes seems doubtful. The game with illusions and reminiscences is ongoing.