The main reason for the tragic ending of the story is poor Lisa. Poor Lisa

Which phrase do you think defines the idea of the story? Poor Lisa"? Justify your answer.

The phrase is “even peasant women know how to love.” Sentimentalists, unlike classicists, preferred the cult of feeling over the cult of reason. At the same time, they affirmed the extra-class value of a person, his high moral qualities. This key phrase Karamzin gives a new look at the problem of social inequality. Differences in social and property status do not yet indicate the superiority of one class over another. Lisa’s father and mother had high moral values, and she herself worked hard. The author describes in detail the development of her love feeling from inception to despair. For Lisa, the loss of love is tantamount to the loss of life. The idea of the story is concentrated in the phrase we cited, which has become the formula of sentimental literature.

The manner of expressing feelings that is characteristic of the main character of the story is also important for understanding the author’s position: in its vocabulary, concepts and ideas, it is no different from the expression of the feelings of an educated young lady. V.I. Korovin explains this by saying that “Karamzin’s artistic task was partly to bring the feelings of a peasant woman closer to the feelings of an educated young lady and thereby erase the differences in the content and forms of mental experiences.”

Describe main character stories. Which artistic media chosen by the author to create her external and internal appearance? How is the writer’s attitude towards her expressed?

The image of Lisa is described in detail by the author. The heroine inherited high moral qualities and beliefs from her parents: hard work, honesty, sincerity, kindness. She is pure, naive, selfless and therefore poorly protected from the vices that dominate around her. She is open to natural manifestations of feelings and therefore prone to delusions, after which a tragic insight occurs. The author treats his heroine with tender feelings, admires her, deeply experiences her joys and tragedy, and is constantly worried about her fate. Memories of Lisa’s deplorable fate make him “shed tears of tender sorrow.” And the very title of the story expresses Karamzin’s sympathetic and sentimental attitude towards Liza.

The characteristics of Lisa’s external and internal appearance are made up of the author’s descriptions and comments of her actions, as well as through the indirect transmission of her mother’s comments or the loving outpourings of Erast himself. Karamzin notes that Liza worked without sparing “her rare beauty, without sparing her tender youth.” Her beauty is also evidenced by the impression she “made on his heart.” The kind old mother called Lisa, by Divine mercy, her nurse, the joy of her old age, and prayed that the Lord would reward her for what she was doing for her mother. From this we learn that Lisa is virtuous, that she not only reveres her mother, but also frees her from all worries that are beyond her weak health.

What verbal details convey the movement of Lisa’s feelings for Erast - from timid affection to ardent passion?

The essential detail with which Liza and Erast’s acquaintance began was the flowers that Liza traded. The request he made to pick flowers just for him sparked the first feeling in the girl’s soul. She turned out to be more significant for her than for Erast, and therefore the next day, when he did not come, she did not sell the lilies of the valley to anyone and threw them into the Moscow River. Another detail is the timid glances she cast at the young man. Karamzin notes the expression of Liza’s feelings in her appearance - “her cheeks glowed like the dawn on a clear summer evening” - as they grew. Erast's kiss and his first declaration of love echoed in her soul with delightful music. As we see, color and sound details are important in conveying the movement of feelings from timid affection to ardent passion. The achievement of the apogee of love, which, according to the writer, led to the destruction of the heroine’s purity, is also accompanied by a number of important verbal details. A new word appears and rushes (into his arms). Before this, they had hugged on dates, their hugs were pure and immaculate. Now changes are happening around them both in nature and in the color and sound range: kisses became fiery, the darkness of the evening (in contrast to the quiet moon, the bright month) fed desires; “Not a single star shone in the sky - no ray could illuminate the errors.” After the fact, “lightning flashed and thunder struck. Lisa began to tremble.” “The storm roared menacingly, rain poured from black clouds - it seemed that nature was lamenting about Liza’s lost innocence.” After so much turning point In the relationship between Lisa and Erast, Karamzin began to convey in more detail the inner state of the young man, who was becoming more and more indifferent to his beloved. From this time on, natural symbols practically disappear from the narrative. Ancient oaks are mentioned only twice, former witnesses their love. The gloomy epithet now belongs to the oak tree over the grave of poor Lisa.

Pay attention to the role of gesture in revealing the internal state of the characters. Analyze this technique of the author.

Gesture in literature is one of the important techniques in conveying the internal state of a character. Karamzin also uses it widely. Let's analyze the scene of the meeting between Lisa and Erast in the city, when she saw him in a carriage approaching the house. Her feeling of joy from the meeting was expressed in gestures: she rushed, he felt herself in his arms. Although it is said that he felt himself being embraced, the author thereby emphasizes the swiftness of her joyful action. The swiftness of her movements is the swiftness in the expression of feelings. Then his gestures become swift - he wants to quickly free himself from Lisa so that no one sees him in the embrace of a simple peasant woman the day before profitable marriage: He took her by the hand, led her into the office, locked the door, put the money in her pocket, took her out of the office and ordered the servant to escort the girl from the yard. And all this was so fast that Liza couldn’t come to her senses.

Can Erast be considered a villain or an insidious seducer? How does Karamzin describe him, how does he reveal his attitude towards him? Compare the manner of depicting Erast with the manner of depicting heroes in the works of Russian classicism using the example of works known to you.

The meaning of the fate of poor Lisa outlined in the story is precisely that Erast is not a villain and a seducer, but a completely kind and sincere person, but weak and flighty. He sought pleasure, led an absent-minded lifestyle, “read novels, idylls, had a fairly vivid imagination and often wandered in thoughts to those times (former or not), in which, according to the poets, all people they walked carelessly through the meadows, bathed in clean springs, kissed like mounts, rested under roses and myrtles, and spent all their days in happy idleness.” He was attracted to Lisa not only by her external, but mainly by her spiritual beauty, her pure, immaculate expression of love. It seemed to him that he had found in her what his heart had been looking for for a long time. Erast quite sincerely dreamed that he would live with her like brother and sister and with contemptuous disgust he recalled the voluptuous pleasures he had already experienced. To which the writer wisely commented: “Reckless young man! Do you know your heart? Can you always be responsible for your movements? Is reason always the king of your feelings? His vices are rooted not in his own soul, but in the morals of society. When the relationship between Lisa and Erast reached a sensual level, Lisa retained and even lived out her love for him, and above all spiritual love, and Erast’s feelings began to decline, for such relationships were not new to him. Erast turns out to be a slave to “circumstances” that force him to marry a rich bride and part with Lisa as unceremoniously as he did. However, Karamzin also has compassion for him, because he still sees in him a “good fellow.” Having learned about Liza’s suicide, Erast deeply and sincerely suffers and “considers himself a murderer.” “So the “insensitivity” of society, enshrined in social and property inequality, separates and destroys people who are good by nature and becomes an insurmountable obstacle to their happiness. But since the sad love story of two good souls, then their reconciliation is possible where there are no social conventions and prejudices, where humanity reigns in its true and pure form. Therefore, Karamzin’s story ends with a pacifying chord” (V.I. Korovin).

In the works of classicism positive and negative heroes sharply opposed to each other. And the hero in this kind situations, of course, he was portrayed as a calculating and ruthless seducer.

How do you see the image of the narrator?

The narrator is a contemporary of the heroes of the story “Poor Liza.” He knows Erast, who tells him this sad story. This is a kind-hearted, sensitive, sentimental person who deeply feels the grief of people. The narrator is an educated person with life experience, observant, able to give to people correct characteristics. The narrator loves Moscow, its surroundings, the nature of his native land, and often walks to admire the landscape beauty. Material from the site

What is the purpose of lyrical digressions in the story?

There are not many lyrical digressions in the story. The author has more detailed judgments accompanying the depiction of the love of the heroes, which, however, can also be classified as digressions, for example: “Oh Liza, Liza! What happened to you? But there are also direct lyrical digressions, for example, at the beginning of “Poor Liza.” The narrator often comes to the Danilov Monastery “in the dark days of autumn to grieve with nature.” This retreat creates a lyrical and philosophical mood, the ground for sad reflections about life and death, about the bitter pages of the history of the fatherland.

What is the role of landscape in the story? How is it connected with the mood and feelings of lovers?

The landscape creates an emotional background for the perception of the plot of the story and the fate of its heroes, and is in harmony with the feelings of the lovers. At the beginning of the story, for example, there is a sharp contrast between the majestic amphitheater of Moscow with golden domes and the green flowering meadows located at its foot and the wretched, ruined hut in which Liza lived with her mother thirty years ago. From the panorama of Moscow, the narrator glances at the Simonov Monastery, remembers in connection with it the story of poor Liza, indicates the nature of her mood, and then directs her gaze to her former home. This is how the landscape compositionally builds approaches to the beginning of the sad story of Lisa and her love for Erast. The author’s mood (“tender sorrow”) is gradually conveyed to the reader through reading the landscape and the narrator’s thoughts about the pictures he saw.

Against the backdrop of beautiful landscape sketches, the characters’ love feeling arises and develops. They are found “on the river bank or in a birch grove, but most often under the shade of hundred-year-old oak trees<…>- oak trees overshadowing a deep, clear pond, fossilized in ancient times.” The quiet moon harmonizes with Lisa’s hair, “silvering it.” The fusion of love and nature is interestingly described: silver-plated moonlight Lisa's hair plays with marshmallows and the hand of a dear friend, which creates an airy, chaste image love feeling. We hear about such a merging of feeling with the perception of nature in the words of Lisa, containing a declaration of love for Erast: “without your eyes the bright month is dark; without your voice the nightingale singing is boring; without your breath the breeze is unpleasant to me.” Observed by us literary devices characteristic of sentimentalism.

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Perhaps no one living in Moscow knows the surroundings of this city as well as I do, because no one is in the field more often than me, no one more than me wanders on foot, without a plan, without a goal - wherever the eyes look - through the meadows and groves , over hills and plains. Every summer I find new pleasant places or new beauty in old ones.

But the most pleasant place for me is the place where the gloomy ones rise, gothic towers Si...new monastery. Standing on this mountain, you see on the right side almost the whole of Moscow, this terrible mass of houses and churches, which appears to the eye in the form of a majestic amphitheater: a magnificent picture, especially when the sun shines on it, when its evening rays glow on countless golden domes, on countless crosses ascending to the sky! Below are lush, densely green flowering meadows, and behind them, along the yellow sands, flows a bright river, agitated by the light oars of fishing boats or rustling under the helm of heavy plows that sail from the most fruitful countries Russian Empire and provide greedy Moscow with bread.

On the other side of the river one can see an oak grove, near which numerous herds graze; there young shepherds, sitting under the shade of trees, sing simple, sad songs and reduce the summer days, so uniform for them. Further away, in the dense greenery of ancient elms, the golden-domed Danilov Monastery shines; even further, almost at the edge of the horizon, they turn blue Sparrow Hills. On the left side you can see vast fields covered with grain, forests, three or four villages and in the distance the village of Kolomenskoye with its high palace.

I often come to this place and almost always see spring there; I come there and grieve with Nature on the dark days of autumn. The winds howl terribly within the walls of the deserted monastery 1, between the coffins overgrown with tall grass, and in the dark passages of the cells... There, leaning on the ruins of the grave stones, I listen to the dull groan of times, swallowed up by the abyss of the past - a groan from which my heart shudders and trembles. Sometimes I enter cells and imagine those who lived in them - sad pictures! Here I see a gray-haired old man, kneeling before the crucifix and praying for a quick release from his earthly shackles, for all the pleasures in life had disappeared for him, all his feelings had died, except for the feeling of illness and weakness. There a young monk - with a pale face, with a languid gaze - looks into the sky through the lattice of the window, sees cheerful birds floating freely in the sea of air, sees - and sheds bitter tears from his eyes. He languishes, withers, dries up - and the sad ringing of a bell announces to me his untimely death. Sometimes on the gates of the temple I look at the image of miracles that happened in this monastery, where fish fall from the sky to feed the inhabitants of the monastery, besieged by numerous enemies; here the image of the Mother of God puts the enemies to flight. All this renews the history of our fatherland in my memory - sad story those times when the fierce Tatars and Lithuanians devastated the outskirts of the Russian capital with fire and sword and when unfortunate Moscow was like a defenseless widow. She expected help from God alone in her severe disasters.

But most often what attracts me to the walls of the Sin...nova Monastery is the memory of the deplorable fate of Lisa, poor Lisa. Oh! I love those objects that touch my heart and make me shed tears of tender sorrow!

Seventy yards from the monastery wall, near a birch grove, in the middle of a green meadow, there stands an empty hut, without doors, without endings, without a floor; the roof had long since rotted and collapsed. In this hut, thirty years before, the beautiful, amiable Liza lived with her old woman, her mother.

Lizin's father was a fairly prosperous villager, because he loved work, plowed the land well and always led a sober life. But soon after his death, his wife and daughter became poor. The lazy hand of the mercenary poorly cultivated the field, and the grain ceased to be produced well. They were forced to rent out their land, and for very little money. Moreover, the poor widow, almost constantly shedding tears about the death of her husband - for even peasant women know how to beat! - day by day she became weaker and could not work at all; Only Lisa, who remained after her father for fifteen years, - only Lisa, not sparing her tender youth, not disrespecting her rare beauty, worked day and night - weaved canvases, knitted stockings, picked flowers in the spring, and in the summer she took berries and sold them in Moscow . Sensitive, kind old lady. Seeing her daughter’s tirelessness, she often pressed her to her weakly beating heart, called her divine mercy, nurse, the joy of her old age, and prayed to God to reward her for everything she does for her mother.

“God gave me hands to work with,” said Lisa, “you fed me with your breasts and followed me when I was a child; Now it’s my turn to follow you. Just stop breaking down, stop crying; Pasha’s tears will not revive the priest.”

But often gentle Lisa I couldn’t hold back my own tears - ah! she remembered that she had a father and that he was gone, but to reassure her mother she tried to hide the sadness of her heart and appear calm and cheerful. “In the next world, dear Liza,” answered the sorrowful old woman, “in the next world I will stop crying. There, they say, everyone will be happy; I will probably be happy when I see your father. Only now I don’t want to die - what will happen to you without me? To whom should I leave you? No, God grant that I get you into a place first! Maybe it will be found soon a kind person. Then, having blessed you, my dear children, I will cross myself and calmly lie down in the damp earth.”

Two years have passed since the death of Lizin's father. The meadows were covered with flowers, and Lisa came to Moscow with lilies of the valley. A young, well-dressed, pleasant-looking man met her on the street. She showed him the flowers and blushed. “Are you selling them, girl?” - ask;! he is smiling. “I’m selling,” she answered. “What do you need?” - “Five kopecks.” - “It's too cheap. Here's a ruble for you." Lisa was surprised, she dared to look at the young man, she blushed even more and, looking down at the ground, told him that she would not take the ruble. “For what?” - “I don’t need anything extra.” - “I think that beautiful lilies of the valley, plucked by the hands of a beautiful girl, are worth a ruble. When you don’t take it, here’s your five kopecks. I would like to always buy flowers from you; I would like you to tear them just for me.” Lisa gave the flowers, took five kopecks, bowed and wanted to go, but the stranger stopped her by the hand. “Where are you going, girl?” -"Home". - “Where is your house?” Lisa said where she lived, said and went. The young man did not want to hold her, perhaps because those passing by began to stop and, looking at them, grinned insidiously.

When Lisa came home, she told her mother what had happened to her. “You did well not to take the ruble. Maybe it was some bad person..." - "Oh no, mother! I don't think so. He has such a kind face, such a voice...” - “However, Liza, it’s better to feed yourself by your labors and not take anything for nothing. You don’t know yet, my friend, how evil people They might offend the poor girl! My heart is always out of place when you go to the city; I always put a candle in front of the image and pray to the Lord God that he will protect you from all troubles and misfortunes.” Tears welled up in Lisa's eyes; she kissed her mother.

The next day Lisa picked the best lilies of the valley and again went into town with them. Her eyes were quietly searching for something.

Many wanted to buy flowers from her, but she replied that they were not for sale, and looked first in one direction or the other. Evening came, it was time to return home, and the flowers were thrown into the Moscow River. “No one owns you!” - said Lisa, feeling some sadness in her heart.

The next day in the evening she was sitting under the window, spinning and singing plaintive songs in a quiet voice, but suddenly she jumped up and shouted: “Ah!..” A young stranger was standing by the window.

“What happened to you?” - asked the frightened mother, who was sitting next to her. “Nothing, mother,” answered Lisa in a timid voice, “I just saw him.” - "Whom?" - “The gentleman who bought flowers from me.” The old woman looked out the window.

The young man bowed to her so courteously, with such a pleasant air, that she could not think anything but good things about him. “Hello, kind old lady! - he said. - I am very tired; Do you have any fresh milk? The helpful Liza, without waiting for an answer from her mother - perhaps because she knew it in advance - ran to the cellar - brought a clean jar covered with a clean wooden mug - grabbed a glass, washed it, wiped it with a white towel, poured it and served it out the window, but she was looking at the ground. The stranger drank, and the nectar from Hebe’s hands could not have seemed tastier to him. Everyone will guess that after that he thanked Lisa, and thanked her not so much with words as with his eyes.

Meanwhile, the good-natured old woman managed to tell him about her grief and consolation - about the death of her husband and about the sweet qualities of her daughter, about her hard work and tenderness, and so on. and so on. He listened to her with attention, but his eyes were - need I say where? And Liza, timid Liza, glanced occasionally at the young man; but the lightning does not sparkle and disappear in the cloud as quickly as Blue eyes they turned to the ground, meeting his gaze. “I would like,” he said to his mother, “for your daughter not to sell her work to anyone but me. Thus, she will have no need to go to the city often, and you will not be forced to part with her. I can come and see you from time to time.” Here a joy flashed in Liza’s eyes, which she tried in vain to hide; her cheeks glowed like the dawn on a clear summer evening; she looked at her left sleeve and pinched it right hand. The old woman willingly accepted this offer, not suspecting any bad intention in it, and assured the stranger that the linen woven by Lisa, and the stockings knitted by Lisa, were excellent and last longer than any others.

It was getting dark, and the young man wanted to go. “What should we call you, kind, gentle master?” - asked the old woman. “My name is Erast,” he answered. “Erastom,” said Lisa quietly, “Erastom!” She repeated this name five times, as if trying to solidify it. Erast said goodbye to them and left. Lisa followed him with her eyes, and the mother sat thoughtfully and, taking her daughter by the hand, said to her: “Oh, Lisa! How good and kind he is! If only your groom were like that!” Liza’s whole heart began to tremble. "Mother! Mother! How can this happen? He is a gentleman, and among the peasants...” - Lisa did not finish her speech.

Now the reader should know that this young man, this Erast, was a rather rich nobleman, with a fair mind and a kind heart, kind by nature, but weak and flighty. He led an absent-minded life, thought only about his own pleasure, looked for it in secular amusements, but often did not find it: he was bored and complained about his fate. Lisa's beauty made an impression on his heart at the first meeting. He read novels, idylls, had a fairly vivid imagination and often mentally moved back to those times (former or not), in which, according to the poets, all people carelessly walked through the meadows, bathed in clean springs, kissed like turtledoves, rested and They spent all their days with roses and myrtles and in happy idleness. It seemed to him that he had found in Lisa what his heart had been looking for for a long time. “Nature calls me into its arms, to its pure joys,” he thought and decided - at least for a while - to leave the big world.

Let's turn to Lisa. Night came - the mother blessed her daughter and wished her a gentle sleep, but this time her wish was not fulfilled: Lisa slept very poorly. The new guest of her soul, the image of the Erasts, appeared to her so vividly that she woke up almost every minute, woke up and sighed. Even before the sun rose, Lisa got up, went down to the bank of the Moscow River, sat down on the grass and, podgoryunnpvppk. I looked at the white mists that waved in the air and, rising upward, left shiny drops on the green cover of nature. Silence reigned everywhere, but soon the rising luminary of the day awakened all creation: the groves and bushes came to life, the birds fluttered and sang, the flowers raised their heads to drink in the life-giving rays of light. But Lisa still sat sad. Oh, Lisa, Lisa! What happened to you? Until now, waking up with the birds, you had fun with them in the morning, and a pure, joyful soul shone in your eyes, like the sun shines in drops of heavenly dew; but now you are thoughtful, and the general joy of nature is alien to your heart. Meanwhile, a young shepherd was driving his flock along the river bank, playing the pipe. Lisa fixed her gaze on him and thought: “If the one who now occupies my thoughts was born a simple peasant, a shepherd, and if he were now driving his flock past me: ah! I would bow to him with a smile and say affably: “Hello, dear shepherd! Where are you driving your flock? And here green grass grows for your sheep, and here flowers grow red, from which you can weave a wreath for your hat.” He would look at me with an affectionate look - maybe he would take my hand... A dream! A shepherd, playing the flute, passed by and disappeared with his motley flock behind a nearby hill.

Suddenly Lisa heard the sound of oars - she looked at the river and saw a boat, and in the boat - Erast.

All the veins in her were clogged, and... Of course, not out of fear. She got up and wanted to go, but she couldn’t. Erast jumped out onto the shore, approached Lisa, and her dream was partly fulfilled: for he looked at her with an affectionate look, and took her hand. And Lisa, Lisa stood with downcast eyes, with fiery cheeks, with a trembling heart - she could not take his hand away, she could not turn away when he approached her with his pink lips... Ah! He kissed her, kissed her with such fervor that the whole universe seemed to her to be on fire! “Dear Lisa! - said Erast. - Dear Lisa! I love you!”, and these words echoed in the depths of her soul like heavenly, delightful music; she hardly dared to believe her ears and...

But I throw down the brush. I will only say that at that moment of delight Liza’s timidity disappeared - Erast learned that he was loved, loved passionately with a new, pure, open heart.

They sat on the grass, and so that there was not much space between them, they looked into each other’s eyes, said to each other: “Love me!”, and two hours seemed like an instant to them. Finally, Lisa remembered that her mother might worry about her. It was necessary to separate. “Ah, Erast! - she said. “Will you always love me?” - “Always, dear Lisa, always!” - he answered. “And can you swear to me this?” - “I can, dear Lisa, I can!” - "No! I don't need an oath. I believe you, Erast, I believe you. Are you really going to deceive poor Liza? Surely this can’t happen?” - “You can’t, you can’t, dear Lisa!” - “How happy I am, and how happy mother will be when she finds out that you love me!” - “Oh no, Lisa! She doesn’t need to say anything.” - “For what?” - “Old people can be suspicious. She will imagine something bad.” - “It can’t happen.” - “However, I ask you not to say a word to her about this.” - “Okay: I need to listen to you, although I wouldn’t want to hide anything from her.”

They said goodbye, kissed last time and they promised to see each other every day in the evening, either on the river bank, or in the birch tree, or somewhere near Liza’s hut, but surely, they would definitely see each other. Lisa went, but her eyes turned a hundred times to Erast, who was still standing on the shore and looking after her.

Lisa returned to her hut in a completely different state from the one in which she left it. Heartfelt joy was revealed on her face and in all her movements. "He loves me!" - she thought and admired this thought. “Oh, mother! - Lisa said to her mother, who had just woken up. - Oh, mother! What a wonderful morning! How fun it is in the field! Never have larks sung so well, never has the sun shone so brightly, never have flowers smelled so pleasant!” The old woman, propped up with a stick, went out into the meadow to enjoy the morning, which Lisa described in such lovely colors. It really seemed to her extremely pleasant; her kind daughter cheered up her entire nature with her joy. “Oh, Lisa! - she said. - How good everything is with the Lord God! I’m sixty years old in the world, and I still can’t get enough of the works of the Lord, I can’t get enough of the clear sky, which looks like a high tent, and the earth, which is covered with new grass and new flowers every year. It is necessary that the Heavenly King should love a person very much when he removed the local light so well for him. Ah, Lisa! Who would want to die if sometimes we didn’t have grief?.. Apparently, it’s necessary. Maybe we would forget our soul if tears never fell from our eyes.” And Lisa thought: “Ah! I would sooner forget my soul than my dear friend!”

A young peasant woman and a handsome man. Watercolor N.G. Chernetsova. Early XIX V.

After this, Erast and Liza, fearing not to keep their word, saw each other every evening (while Liza’s mother went to bed) either on the river bank, or in a birch grove, but most often under the shade of hundred-year-old oak trees (eighty fathoms from the hut) - oaks , overshadowing a deep, clear pond, fossilized in ancient times.

There, the often quiet moon, through the green branches, silvered Liza’s light hair with its rays, with which the zephyrs and the hand of a dear friend played; often these rays illuminated in the eyes of tender Liza a brilliant tear of love, always dried with Erast’s kiss. They hugged - but chaste, bashful Cynthia did not hide from them behind a cloud: their embrace was pure and immaculate. “When you,” said Lisa to Erast, “when you tell me: “I love you, my friend!”, when you press me to your heart and look at me with your touching eyes, ah! then it feels so good, so good that I forget myself, I forget everything except Erast. It’s wonderful! It’s wonderful, my friend, that without knowing you, I could live calmly and cheerfully! Now I don’t understand it, now I think that without you life is not life, but sadness and boredom. Without your eyes the bright month is dark; without your voice the singing nightingale is boring; without your breath the breeze is unpleasant to me." Erast admired his shepherdess - that’s what he called Liza - and, seeing how much she loved him, he seemed more kind to himself. All brilliant fun big world seemed insignificant to him in comparison with the pleasures with which the passionate friendship of an innocent soul nourished his heart. With disgust he thought about the contemptuous voluptuousness with which his feelings had previously reveled. “I will live with Liza, like brother and sister,” he thought, “I will not use her love for evil and I will always be happy!” Reckless young man! Do you know your heart? Can you always be responsible for your movements? Is reason always the king of your feelings?

Lisa demanded that Erast often visit her mother. “I love her,” she said, “and I want the best for her, but it seems to me that seeing you is a great well-being for everyone.” The old lady was really always happy when she saw him. She loved to talk with him about her late husband and tell him about the days of her youth, about how she first met her dear Ivan, how he fell in love with her and in what love, in what harmony he lived with her. "Oh! We could never look at each other enough - until the very hour when cruel death crushed his legs. He died in my arms!” Erast listened to her with unfeigned pleasure. He bought Liza’s work from her and always wanted to pay ten times more than the price she set, but the old woman never took extra.

Several weeks passed in this way. One evening Erast waited a long time for his Lisa. Finally she came, but she was so sad that he was afraid; her eyes turned red from tears. “Lisa, Lisa! What happened to you? - “Oh, Erast! I cried!" -"About what? What's happened?" - “I have to tell you everything. A groom is wooing me, the son of a rich peasant from a neighboring village; Mother wants me to marry him.” - “And you agree?” -"Cruel! Can you ask about this? Yes, I feel sorry for mother; she cries and says that I don’t want her peace of mind, that she will suffer on the verge of death if she doesn’t marry me off with her. Oh! Mother doesn’t know that I have such a dear friend!” Erast kissed Lisa and said that her happiness was dearer to him than anything in the world, that after her mother’s death he would take her to him and live with her inseparably, in the village and in the dense forests, as if in paradise. “However, you cannot be my husband!” - Lisa said with a quiet sigh. “Why?” - “I am a peasant woman.” - “You offend me. For your friend, the most important thing is the soul, the sensitive innocent soul, and Lisa will always be closest to my heart.”

She threw herself into his arms - and at this hour her integrity had to perish! Erast felt an extraordinary excitement in his blood - Liza had never seemed so charming to him, never had her caresses touched him so much, never had her kisses been so fiery, she knew nothing, suspected nothing, was not afraid of anything - the darkness of the evening fed desires - not a single star shone in the sky, not a single ray could illuminate the delusions. Erast feels awe in himself - Lisa also, not knowing why, not knowing what is happening to her... Ah, Lisa, Lisa! Where is your guardian angel? Where is your innocence?

The delusion passed in one minute. Lisa did not understand her feelings, she was surprised and asked. Erast was silent - he searched for words and did not find them. “Oh, I’m afraid,” said Lisa, “I’m afraid of what happened to us! It seemed to me that I was dying, that my soul... No, I don’t know how to say this!.. Are you silent, Erast? Are you sighing?.. My God! What's happened?" Meanwhile, lightning flashed and thunder roared. Lisa trembled all over. “Erast, Erast! - she said. - I'm scared! I’m afraid that thunder will kill me like a criminal!” The storm roared menacingly, rain poured from black clouds - it seemed that nature was lamenting about Liza’s lost innocence. Erast tried to calm Lisa down and walked her to the hut. Tears rolled from her eyes as she said goodbye to him. “Ah, Erast! Assure me that we will continue to be happy!” - “We will, Lisa, we will!” - he answered. “God willing! I can’t help but believe your words: after all, I love you! Only in my heart... But it’s complete! Sorry! Tomorrow, tomorrow, see you."

Their dates continued; but how everything has changed! Erast could no longer be satisfied with just the innocent caresses of his Lisa, just her loving glances, just one touch of a hand, just one kiss, just one pure embrace. He wanted more, more, and finally could not desire anything - and whoever knows his heart, who has reflected on the nature of its most tender pleasures, will, of course, agree with me that the fulfillment of all desires is the most dangerous temptation of love. For Erast, Lisa was no longer that angel of purity that had previously inflamed his imagination and delighted his soul. Platonic love gave way to feelings of which he could not be proud and which were no longer new to him. As for Lisa, she, completely surrendering to him, only lived and breathed him, in everything, like a lamb, she obeyed his will and placed her happiness in his pleasure. She saw a change in him and often told him: “Before you were more cheerful, before we were calmer and happier, and before I was not so afraid of losing your love!” Sometimes, saying goodbye to her, he told her: “Tomorrow, Liza, I can’t see you: I have an important matter,” and every time at these words Liza sighed.

Finally, for five days in a row she did not see him and was in the greatest anxiety; at the sixth he came with a sad face and said: “Dear Liza! I have to say goodbye to you for a while. You know that we are at war, I am in the service, my regiment is going on campaign.” Lisa turned pale and almost fainted.

Erast caressed her, said that he would always love dear Liza and hoped that upon his return he would never part with her. She was silent for a long time, then she burst into bitter tears, grabbed his hand and, looking at him with all the tenderness of love, asked: “Can’t you stay?” “I can,” he answered, “but only with the greatest dishonor, with the greatest stain on my honor. Everyone will despise me; everyone will abhor me as a coward, as an unworthy son of the fatherland.” “Oh, when that’s the case,” said Lisa, “then go, go where God tells you to go!” But they can kill you." - “Death for the fatherland is not terrible, dear Liza.” - “I will die as soon as you are no longer in the world.” - “But why think about it? I hope to stay alive, I hope to return to you. to my friend." - “God willing! God willing! Every day, every hour I will pray about it. Oh, why can’t I read or write! You would notify me about everything that happens to you, and I would write to you about my tears!” - “No, take care of yourself, Lisa, take care of your friend. I don’t want you to cry without me.” - "Cruel person! You are thinking of depriving me of this joy too! No! Having parted with you, will I stop crying when my heart dries up? - “Think about the pleasant moment in which we will see each other again.” - “I will, I will think about her! Oh, if only she had come sooner! Dear, dear Erast! Remember, remember your poor Liza, who loves you more than herself!”

But I cannot describe everything that they said on this occasion. The next day was supposed to be the last date.

Erast also wanted to say goodbye to Liza’s mother, who could not hold back her tears when she heard that her affectionate, handsome husband was about to go to war. He forced her to take some money from him, saying: “I don’t want Lisa to sell her work in my absence, which, by agreement, belongs to me.” The old lady showered him with blessings. “God grant,” she said, “that you return to us safely and that I see you again in this life! Perhaps by that time my Lisa will find a groom according to her thoughts. How I would thank God if you came to our wedding! When Lisa has children, know, master, that you must baptize them! Oh! I would really like to live to see this!” Lisa stood next to her mother and did not dare look at her. The reader can easily imagine what she felt at that moment.

But what did she feel then when Erast, hugging her for the last time, pressing her to his heart for the last time, said: “Forgive me, Lisa!..” What a touching picture! The morning dawn, like a scarlet sea, spread across the eastern sky. Erast stood under the branches of a tall oak tree, holding in his arms his poor, languid, sorrowful friend, who, saying goodbye to him, said goodbye to her soul. All nature 2 remained in silence.

Lisa sobbed, Erast cried, left her, she fell, knelt down, raised her hands to the sky and looked at Erast, who was moving away - further - further - and finally disappeared - the sun shone, and Lisa, abandoned, poor, fainted and memory.

She came to her senses - and the light seemed dull and sad to her. All the pleasant things of nature were hidden for her along with those dear to her heart. "Oh! - she thought. - Why did I stay in this desert? What keeps me from flying after dear Erast? War is not scary for me; It's scary where my friend is not there. I want to live with him, I want to die with him, or I want to save his precious life with my death. Wait, wait, my dear! I fly to you!" She already wanted to run after Erast, but the thought: “I have a mother!” - stopped her. Lisa sighed and, bowing her head, walked with quiet steps towards her hut. From that hour, her days were days of melancholy, sorrow, which had to be hidden from her tender mother: all the more did her heart suffer! Then it only became easier when Lisa, secluded in the depths of the forest, could freely shed tears and moan about separation from her beloved. Often the sad turtledove combined his plaintive voice with her moaning. But sometimes - although very rarely - a golden ray of hope, a ray of consolation, illuminated the darkness of her sorrow. “When he returns to me, how happy I will be! How everything will change! From this thought her gaze cleared, the roses on her cheeks were refreshed, and Lisa smiled like a May morning after a stormy night. Thus, about two months passed.

One day Lisa had to go to Moscow to buy rose water, which her mother used to treat her eyes. On one of the big streets she met a magnificent carriage, and in this carriage she saw Erast. "Oh!" - Liza screamed and rushed towards him, but the carriage drove past and turned into the yard. Erast came out and was about to go to the porch of the huge house, when he suddenly felt himself in Lisa’s arms. He turned pale, without answering a word to her exclamations, took her hand, led her into his office, locked the door and told her: “Lisa! Circumstances have changed; I am engaged to get married; you should leave me alone and for your own peace of mind forget me. I loved you and now I love you, that is, I wish you all the best. Here are a hundred rubles - take them,” he put the money in her pocket, “let me kiss you for the last time, go home.” Before Lisa could come to her senses, he took her out of the office and said to the servant: “Escort this girl from the yard.”

My heart is bleeding at this very moment. I forget the man in Erast, I am ready to curse him, but my tongue does not move - I look at the sky, and a tear rolls down my face. Oh! Why am I writing not a novel, but a sad true story?

So, Erast deceived Lisa by telling her that he was going to the army? No, he really was in the army, but instead of fighting the enemy, he played cards and wiped out almost all his property. Peace was soon concluded, and Erast returned to Moscow, burdened with debts. He had only one way to improve his circumstances - to marry an elderly rich widow who had long been in love with him. He decided to do so and moved to live in her house. dedicating a sincere sigh to his Lisa. But can all this justify him?

Lisa found herself on the street, and in a position that no pen could describe. “He, he kicked me out? Does he love someone else? I'm dead! - these are her thoughts, these are her feelings! A severe faint interrupted them for a while. One kind woman, who was walking on the street, stopped over Liza, who was lying on the ground, and tried to bring her to memory. The unfortunate woman opened her eyes and stood up with the help of this kind woman, thanked her and went, not knowing where. “I can’t live,” thought Lisa, “I can’t!.. Oh, if only the sky would fall on me!” If the earth swallowed up the poor!.. No! The sky is not falling; the earth does not shake! Woe is me!" She left the city and suddenly saw herself on the shore of a deep pond, under the shade of ancient oak trees, which a few weeks before had been silent witnesses to her delight. This memory shocked her soul; the most terrible heartache was depicted on her face. But after a few minutes she plunged into some thoughtfulness, looked around her, saw her neighbor’s daughter (a fifteen-year-old girl) walking along the road - she clicked, took ten imperials out of her pocket and, handing it to her, said: “Dear Anyuta, dear friend! Take this money to your mother - it is not stolen - tell her that Liza is guilty against her, that I hid my love for one from her to a cruel person- to E... Why know his name? Say that he cheated on me, ask her to forgive me - God will be her helper, kiss her hand the way I kiss yours now, say that poor Liza ordered me to kiss her - say that I...” Then she threw herself into the water. Anyuta screamed and cried, but could not save her, she ran to the village - people gathered and pulled Lisa out, but she was already dead.

Thus she ended her life beautiful soul and body. When we see each other there, in a new life, I will recognize you, gentle Lisa!

She was buried near a pond, under a gloomy oak tree, and a wooden cross was placed on her grave. I often sit here in thought. leaning on the receptacle of Lisa's ashes; a pond flows in my eyes; The leaves rustle above me.

Lisa's mother heard about terrible death her daughter, and her blood cooled with horror - her eyes closed forever. The hut was empty. The wind howls in it, and the superstitious villagers, hearing this noise at night, say: “There is a dead man groaning there; Poor Lisa is moaning there!”

Erast was unhappy until the end of his life. Having learned about Lizina’s fate, he could not console himself and considered himself a murderer. I met him a year before his death. He himself told me this story and led me to Lisa’s grave. Now maybe they have already reconciled!

Questions and tasks

Based on the details in the story, recreate psychological picture heroines.
What in the image of Lisa evokes your sympathy, respect, and sympathy?
Is there anything in the girl’s character, her behavior, her manner of communication that seems to you to be gone forever, unnecessary for a modern person? Why do you think so?
What qualities of Erast’s character attracted Lisa?
Was Erast's feeling for Lisa sincere? Justify your answer.
What do you think is the main reason tragic ending stories?
Find in the text of the story the words that most fully characterize the main characters - Lisa and Erast.
Give examples that confirm that the story “Poor Liza” belongs to the literature of sentimentalism.

1 ...Within the walls of an empty monastery... - During the plague epidemic of 1771, the Simonov monastery was turned into an infirmary. After this, it was inactive for a number of years and was restored as a monastery in 1795, i.e. four years after the completion of the story “Poor Liza”.

2 Nature - here: nature.

On August 19-21, one of the most discussed topics in the media and blogosphere was the news that the Russian athlete Rasul Mirzaev hit a 19-year-old student, as a result of which the latter died. Fights with fatal outcomes are not uncommon among visitors to Moscow nightclubs. But in this case there are some peculiarities.

Firstly, a 19-year-old police college student died Ivan Agafonov. Secondly, his killer turned out to be 25-year-old Dagestani Rasul Mirzaev. Thirdly, Mirzaev also turned out to be a professional athlete, a world champion in martial arts nicknamed “Black Tiger”.

Experts commented to the correspondent on this tragic incident.

IA REX: What, in your opinion, are the main reasons for this tragic event and why did it cause public outcry? Should a professional athlete be able to control his emotions, since he has serious weapons, and ordinary people Just not ready to take a blow from a professional? What is the role of the national and cultural component in inflating the information noise?

Vice-President of the Kyiv City Federation of Sports and Combat Sambo, Honored Trainer of Ukraine, international extra-class judge (Kyiv) Vladimir Vinogradov:

I didn’t really understand what and who said to whom at the disco, but I have been telling my students from the very beginning early childhood I teach you to distinguish between words and actions. In any case, a professional athlete has no right to attack in response to words. He must have enough arguments and psychological preparation to force the chatterbox to apologize without inappropriate use of force. Even if the entire campaign of tipsy young people attacked with their fists the international master of sports in combat sambo Rasul Mirzaev, he was able to block their attack without causing injury. As far as I can judge from information from television news, the victim did not show any aggression towards the athlete and did not deserve such an attack.

Political scientist Grigory Trofimchuk:

It is characteristic that during the funeral of another “Russian-Caucasian” victim in the conflict, the police again took total security measures. This funeral regime is becoming a trend in the Russian Federation, which will only worsen in the future.

I would not like to imagine hypothetical school textbooks that could be used in history lessons in 100-150 years and where something like this would be said: “One of the signs of the collapse of the federation in beginning of XXI century, the facts of street confrontation between Russians themselves and other Russians became more frequent. Even in those rare cases when these clashes were not nationalistic, but clearly of an everyday nature, when the murdered person was not associated with extremist organizations, the authorities could not adequately respond to the event in order to present it to the population in the necessary informational key and thereby preventing socio-political destabilization at the initial stage."

To prevent such textbooks from appearing in reality, it is necessary to stop negative development a topic that, after just one tragedy with E. Sviridov, will no longer be possible to drive inside. Prime Minister Putin will not be physically able to lay wreaths at the grave of every victim.

Apparently, it was not for nothing that under the Bolsheviks, almost all types of martial arts - starting with karate and not to mention the so-called “fighting without rules”, kickboxing - were banned. It is now absolutely clear that this made sense.

Hence, the first conclusion: all types of such martial arts should return to where they perform the necessary function - to the gyms of special services. As for sports, it would be much more important for Russia to aim at a global campaign to make national look wrestling, sambo, the status of an Olympic discipline. All other new, ambiguous, aggressive species into which the Russian Federation has gotten involved, having produced “Black Tigers”, “Steel Sledgehammers” and other caricatures in the Western spirit, will have to be taken outside the scope of the law. “Struggle without rules” means “struggle outside the law.”

The problem is that not quite adequate people automatically flock into these niches, who find themselves not in engineering, not in kayaking, not in nuclear physics, but in stupidly splitting their opponent’s skull with their feet. Conducting political studies with this contingent is a pointless exercise. Although, until such a law has been adopted, we still need to talk with these fighters and expand our intellectual horizons. But such master classes should, of course, not be conducted by trainers or school teachers.

The case of the murder of Ivan Agafonov received a wide public response because it was not Ivanov or Kuznetsov who killed him, but Mirzaev. Even if the police provided an exemplary funeral in terms of socio-political stability, they could not stop the conversations on this issue, which intensified in hundreds of thousands of Russian families and which were obviously not in favor of the current Russian government.

This is the main danger for the country and the problem for the Kremlin: the Kremlin does not know how to stop the trends that, at the level of the very consciousness of Russians, are increasingly alienating and separating the Caucasus and Caucasians from the body of Russia. I believe that it is necessary to create a completely new expert structure under the President of the Russian Federation, which would give specific advice (and not scientific and unnecessary calculations in the “increase-deepen” style) in this most complex practical area.

I also believe that the energy of this kind of aggressive fighters must be directed not inside Russia (so that it will ultimately destroy the federation), but exclusively outside its perimeter. Let mobile units assembled from such “Mirzayevs” storm the future “Amin’s palaces”, “Tskhinvali”, “Moncada barracks”, etc. Why force those Russians into these structures who are not born for this, when nature itself has created and cast universal fighters who practically do not need to be trained? They will tear apart all opponents of Russia with gusto, especially since the result of such a battle will no longer be prison, but a high government award and eternal recognition of the people.

Scientific director of the Center for the Study of Modernity (France) Pavel Krupkin:

This case, especially its discussion in blogs and the press, is very indicative of the presentation of achieved tolerance Russian society to violence. Many of our people fully justify the opportunity to “punch” someone just like that, in fact, without any particular reason. This especially looks good for these people when the probability of “getting change” is small, as in the case under consideration. And this is very sad, since it does not at all contribute to the education of valor in people - that for the sake of which ordinary societies endure fights.

A wide public outcry arose mainly because of the season - fortunately, God has so far saved Russia from the usual August catastrophes this August. Accordingly, this information occasion was used by the media and other media environments to fill the existing void. In addition, the incident, unfortunately, continued the sad series of events associated with immigrants from North Caucasus- at least in terms of the law-abiding nature of the culprit after the incident, he pleasantly stands out in better side. Nevertheless, the question of the inappropriate behavior of mountain youth on the Russian plain continues to arise and excite the residents of this very plain. And the inability of the authorities to cope with this problem is one of the most serious challenges facing the Russian Federation.

Security and crisis expert Fedor Yakovlev:

The main reasons for attracting public attention to a generally rather ordinary fist fight, of which there are many in Russia, as in any other country, every day, are quite naturally the personality of the world champion in mixed martial arts Rasul Mirzaev and its tragic outcome. Of course, a hand-to-hand fighter, and even of such a level as Mirzaev, must control his emotions and, even more so, the use of his “strike force”. Of course, the difference in nationalities in in this case will be played out, but the personal and everyday nature of the quarrel between young people is too obvious, so there won’t be a second “Manezhka” for sure.

Journalist and blogger Alexander Khokhulin:

The reason for the tragic event is known and banal - the girl was “not divided.” The second question can be considered rhetorical: all people should be able to control their emotions, which is basically how they differ from animals. And the role of the national and cultural component in inflating the information noise is, of course, disgusting.

Culturologist, Candidate of Philosophy (Germany) Larisa Beltser-Lisyutkina:

This episode is about a domestic murder. The basis of the conflict, judging by the available information, was archaic machismo stereotypes, an orientation toward violence, and equally outdated ideas about insulted male “honor,” inherent in both sides. It is not possible to assess the cultural and national component based on the information received (I read press reports): one of the protagonists of the conflict, the killer Rasul Mirzaev, is labeled as a Dagestani Islamist, and the victim, Ivan Agafonov, is a student at the police college. What forms of behavior and what ideas about their own power are instilled in “cops” in Russia is also generally known. True, against the background of the killer’s Caucasian origin, in the mass consciousness the victim can be reinterpreted from a symbolic “Evsyukov” into a disciplined defender of law and order. The dubiousness of this approach is obvious when referring to the statistics of violence and murders due to domestic conflicts in Russia. The victims of beatings and murders are primarily women and children, but conflicts between men also lead to injuries and murders on a massive scale.

Political scientist, expert on media and PR technologies (Azerbaijan) Ali Hajizadeh:

This kind of event usually arouses keen interest in the media and the blogosphere, especially if it occurs during the low information season. Not just a professional athlete, but any adult should be able to control their emotions. The fact that the athlete is Caucasian is enough for the media to make a fuss out of this incident. However, there is another side to the matter: why did Mirzaev hit the student? Judging by information from the media and blogs, the clash occurred over Mirzaev’s girlfriend. I think the media should be extremely careful in this matter not to exploit the tragedy of the Agafonov family.

Journalist Igor Bogatyrev:

When they're in Once again someone is beaten, beaten to death, cut and raped - which for most of them is obviously included in “ national traditions" But I have not yet completely lost my sense of objectivity in order to treat this case exactly the same as the ones mentioned. And therefore I treat it taking into account the real circumstances of the case. And there are at least three of them, which some citizens do not want to notice:

1. The victim behaved, let’s say, not quite adequately. Personally, I can hardly imagine a blockhead playing with a radio-controlled car at the age of 19, especially not in the yard own home, and somewhere “near the nightclub”. This behavior usually indicates a “what I want, I do” character. So it is quite possible to assume that he could have molested the girl, and that he called her a prostitute, as the “killer” states.

2. The “killer” weighed up to 65 kg, had a height of 165, despite the fact that the victim himself was involved in bodybuilding, as some sources note. So one can assume an attempt to molest on the part of the victim, and explain the “unsoftened” force of the blow from “ the killers".

3. There was only one blow. One! Already - non-standard for “this kind of cases”. There was no beating, no stomping on the head, no “fair mountain fight” ten on one. Judging by the video, approach, strike, retreat. The patient went limp. And by the way, he didn’t fly anywhere - not a meter, not a centimeter. So it is quite possible to assume both the validity of such an answer and the complete civility of the answerer, that is, the “killer”.

Yes, it is quite possible to believe that the victim hit his head, and it was this, precisely this time, after this particular blow, that led to his death. You can believe it. But this also needs to be checked.

Yes, if all this is true, then the “murderer” must answer according to the law. But not more. And, if my memory serves me correctly, there is quite an obvious “murder by negligence” here.

But, I repeat, all this needs to be checked!

And check, among other things, because the very promotion of this case, its level, scale, arouses very serious suspicions in me. Is this the first or only case when a “guest from the south” killed a Russian? Yes if only! Such cases occur every day, and are obviously deliberate, and much more worthy of increased attention. Put yourself in the tapes of the DPNI or similar structures - black and black! But for some reason there is silence about them. Moreover, the cases known on the Internet that they tried to promote did not have such support in the media. - So why this one?

There are three assumptions.

First. This is not just Vanya, but someone’s “son”.

Second. This campaign is distracting us from something more serious in the same area. Sagra?

Third. This case was deliberately taken “for promotion” in order to carry out the investigation exceptionally clearly, and then tell all of us: “Well, did you go broke? See - fatal accident. And you attacked” (And this will be confirmed one hundred percent, when necessary - they know how to do it.) Well, and after, with everyone it’s real in a terrible case, stick this story in all of us’s noses, “Do you remember when?..” In general, working out the scenario “The Boy and the Wolves.” That’s what I think. Besides, I encourage others too. I mean, to think.

Coordinator of the international expert group IA REX Sergey Sibiryakov:

I look at this tragic event through the eyes of the father of the champion of Ukraine in combat sambo, master of sports, student of the honored coach of Ukraine Vladimir Vinogradov. I am sure that my 17-year-old son would never deal such a blow to a tipsy and relaxed guy. I often attended various judo and sambo competitions in which my son participated. I can note that in these competitions the number of Caucasians is disproportionate to their number in Ukraine. At the same time, at competitions, guys from the Caucasus fight very hard and sometimes do not hesitate to break the rules, injuring their opponents. Caucasian families are seriously preparing their children for life in a different national environment, and at the same time they are not going to give up their traditions. What should good-natured Slavs do in such a situation? The Slavic majority cannot abandon their Slavic mentality and suddenly become aggressive, like the children of the mountains? Maybe, statesmen it is necessary to carry out explanatory work with influential people from diasporas and encourage migrants to comply with the laws and traditions of the majority of the population. Maybe even in schools in the North Caucasus it is necessary to introduce a subject on the study of the traditions and mentality of the Russian people. Aggressiveness must be used to benefit the Fatherland in military affairs. It worked out well in the Russian Empire! Let us recall the participation of the Wild Division in various wars.

Well, we, parents, need to prepare our children for the changed national environment. At first, my son was unable to defeat aggressive rivals in the Caucasus in competitions and he had a complex about this, but over time he learned to use their hot temperament for his victories, now they respect and are afraid of him.

We remind you that the fight happened on August 13th. Agafonov was taken to the hospital, but doctors were unable to save his life - the student fell into a coma and died on the night of Thursday, August 18. World champion in martial arts Rasul Mirzaev admitted to beating 19-year-old student Ivan Agafonov, media reported citing official representative of the Russian Investigative Committee Vladimir Markin. “Mirzaev admitted causing bodily harm to a 19-year-old student,” Markin said.

According to the preliminary findings of forensic experts, the 19-year-old student died not from a blow from champion Rasul Mirzaev, but from an injury received when his head hit the asphalt.

Zubarev Evgeniy Nikolaevich,

missionary of St. Seraphim Cathedral.

In our youth, everything seemed clear to us in matters of life. But years, decades have passed. History, literature, and our own experience give us knowledge about both the near and distant past. And religion makes it possible to feel a living connection with this past, because in God we are all alive. Acquired knowledge, life experience do not allow one to treat the phenomena of life so unambiguously, for example, love.

When you carefully, thoughtfully read works, you begin to notice things that you previously did not pay any attention to. Here is the song “Men's Conversation” performed by Mark Bernes, words by N. Dorizo, music by N. Bogoslovsky, which we have known for a long time. It contains the following words: “The girls loved us too, but when we fell in love, we did not love.” And only now, years, decades later..., this phrase suddenly surprised and struck me. How is it like this: you fell in love, but didn’t love? So, love and falling in love are not the same thing?

And here are the words of Prince Vasily from “The Garnet Bracelet” by Kuprin: “Really, think, Kolya (and with him we, the readers), is he to blame for love and is it really possible to control such a feeling as love - a feeling that... I haven’t found an interpreter yet.”

I think..., I think for a long time... First of all, what concept are we talking about - “love” or “being in love”? Although the word “love” was used. Then questions arise. Is it possible to blame yourself and others for love? What about falling in love? Is it possible to control love? What about falling in love? Are love and infatuation feelings? If the feelings are different, then they must be different? Or is love not a feeling, but something else? There are so many important questions, on the answers to which much depends on the understanding of the works, and most importantly - in one’s own life, in relationships with people.

It turns out that not everything is so hopeless; on the contrary, it has long been interpreted... in Christianity. “The word “love” is used in everyday life so often and in such different contexts that modern people are no longer able to clearly understand its meaning. Like many holy things, by the power of the devil this word is often desecrated and devalued in human life. But this does not make the concept of love any less significant. As the Apostle John the Theologian tells us, “ God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16), and this is an exhaustive definition of love... The Lord sends His only begotten Son to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of people... It is through the Lord Jesus Christ we learn that love is sacrifice... God reveals Himself to us as One in essence, but Trinity in Persons. We believe in the Holy Trinity, the inner law of life of which is love, uniting three Persons with a single nature. This is an absolute, unclouded and undivided unity, and therefore we can say that love is unity. The unity of the Persons of the Holy Trinity is achieved through internal communication, and therefore we can also say that love is unity that is achieved through communication of people. So, love is sacrifice, it is communication and it is unity"(Patriarch Kirill).

Holy Bible in the words of the Apostle Paul, he reveals to us the properties of love: “Love is long-suffering, kind, ... does not envy, ... is not conceited, is not proud, does not act rudely, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; covers everything, believes everything, hopes everything, endures everything. Love never fails...” (1 Cor. 13:4-8).

St. Ephraim the Syrian encourages us to ask God: “... grant me the spirit... of love, Thy servant.” Means, love is nothing more than God's gift which a person receives under the condition of a correct spiritual life: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace...” (Gal. 5:22).

But aren’t the lives and deeds of saints an interpretation of love?

“As you can understand, before marriage all these conditions true love impossible to perform. You cannot love someone who is sacrificial, who believes everything, who forgives everything, eternal love, if you have not yet gotten to know a person, have not learned to forgive, sacrifice something, have not learned to fight for love. And this, in turn, is only possible with the passage of time. In this sense, love before marriage is impossible. Falling in love, mutual affection, sympathy are possible. Only in marriage can the feeling of loving people be tested for strength. Love is a beautiful tree that grows from a seed and bears fruit. But it is not a tree, and therefore that initial feeling that the bride and groom have cannot yet be called true love"(priest Pavel Gumerov "Three pillars of family happiness").

Much more can be added to what has been said, but what has been said is enough to understand what love is and use it as a criterion for characterization. literary heroes about their ability to love and the strength of their love.

Now the answer to Prince Vasily’s question from “The Garnet Bracelet” becomes obvious: “... is he guilty of love”? Can a person be guilty of being kind, merciful, honest, etc.? Unless, of course, we are really talking about love here. Love is a gift from God in response to a person's efforts in right spiritual life. The answer to the question is also obvious: “Is it possible to control such a feeling as love”? Love is not a feeling, but a state of mind, like God. To achieve such a state is the goal of the Christian life leading to salvation. “Love... does not think evil,” so they say: love and do what you want, but you only want good.

Now let’s think about the state of mind in which Zheltkov is (“ Garnet bracelet") and Liza ("Poor Liza" by Karamzin). Can we call it a blessed state of love? (Grace is the presence of God in man.) Both Mr. Zheltkov and Lisa are overwhelmed by the feeling of falling in love. It is a feeling, not love.

“Correct love for one’s neighbor lies in fulfilling his Gospel commandments,” says Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov and adds, “and not at all in fulfilling the whims of one’s neighbor.” What gospel commandment does Mr. Zheltkov fulfill in relation to Vera Nikolaevna? The Gospel says: “Whoever looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Zheltkov does not observe, but violates the commandment, and even openly persecutes Vera Nikolaevna. Is suicide really fulfilling the commandments?

Falling in love is a natural feeling of a person, coming from nature, arising as a result of puberty from the need to create a family and procreate. It’s like a feeling of hunger, also coming from nature, that is, from the flesh, the body’s needs. How a person satisfies hunger, what food, depends on taste, and taste depends on many factors. Falling in love is neither good nor bad, just like feeling hungry. The question is how a person treats him, how he satisfies him. “Drink abstinently, eat little, and you will be healthy” (St. Mitrophan of Voronezh). Doctors advise the same. There must be a measure, otherwise there will be trouble. How is the measure of love determined? Falling in love should not go beyond the boundaries of morality (conscience and God's commandments). Falling in love without morality is fornication, that is, sin. And sin is a wound that a person inflicts on his soul. Repeated repetition of sin forms a habit, and the habit turns into sinful passion. Passion is a chronic disease of the soul, from which a person is not able to heal on his own; a doctor is needed - the Savior Jesus Christ. Healing occurs through Repentance.

So, falling in love without morality can turn into passion, which, unfortunately, is often called love. It is clear that it has not the slightest relation to true love, although love can only be true. But the point is not in terms, but in essence, although clear and precise terms would help us think correctly and would not mislead us. As St. Ignatius Brianchaninov says, “from accepted correct thoughts all good things are born, from accepted false thoughts all evil things are born.”

Falling in love, as we said, is natural, but love is supernatural, because it is given from God, and therefore, as Professor M. M. Dunaev points out, “any love unity outside of Christ is untrue, unsteady and therefore doomed.” Growing in love, we draw closer to God, arousing the feeling of falling in love, we fall into a passionate state, often leading to sin, and, naturally, we move away from God.

Let's look at the example of the story “Poor Liza” by N. M. Karamzin.

Can falling in love be a reliable condition for happiness? That's the question.

Did Lisa have any experience of love before meeting Erast? Yes, we read: “...left after her father for fifteen years, only Lisa, not sparing her tender youth, not sparing her rare beauty, worked day and night...”. “God gave me hands to work with,” said Lisa, “you fed me with your breasts and followed me when I was a child; now it’s my turn to follow you.” She selflessly loved her parents, not out of fear, but out of conscience, fulfilling the 5th commandment of God. Remembering her father, “tender Liza could not hold back her own tears..., but to calm her mother, she tried to hide the sadness of her heart and seemed calm and cheerful.” Lisa is respectful of people (“...gave flowers, took five kopecks, bowed...” - “love is not exalted”), easy to communicate (when asked where her house is, she immediately answered), selfless (refuses to take a ruble - “she doesn’t look for love hers”), frank (“when she came home, she told her mother” - “love does not rejoice in untruth, but rejoices in the truth”) and so on. Where do these sprouts of virtues come from in her soul? The old mother, “seeing her daughter’s tirelessness..., called it Divine mercy,” and Lisa herself says that God gave her hands to work with. Based on her way of thinking, we can continue: God gave her a heart to sympathize with her neighbor, and gave her the will to take care of others upon herself. And, despite the hard work, “waking up with the birds, you had fun with them in the morning, and a pure, joyful soul shone in your eyes.” The seeds of Lisa's virtues were sown by her parental example of life and upbringing. As we see, happiness does not depend on the external circumstances of life: both mother and daughter were happy. Love and joy, love and peace of mind, harmony of feelings are inseparable. But for complete happiness it is necessary that a kind person be found for Lisa to marry.

Did Lisa have any experience of falling in love before meeting Erast? Not yet.

The resulting love becomes for Lisa, as for any young man, a serious test and a challenge for the emerging personality. Will a soul, not strengthened by trials, with young sprouts of virtues, not hardened in the fight against passions, be able to maintain moral boundaries without succumbing to temptation? No, I couldn't.

How and why did this happen?

Firstly, she did not try to fight the dreams of Erast, although she was clearly aware of the impossibility of their marriage, thereby strengthening the feeling that arose in her soul and continued meeting with him, now secret. The world is narrowing for her: “...now you are thoughtful, and the general joy of nature is alien to your heart.” Secondly, she agrees to deceive her mother, and this is already immoral, a direct violation of the 5th commandment, it is lawless and criminal. “And because iniquity abounds, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12) - this is a spiritual law. Thirdly, and this is the most important thing, in response to her mother’s words: “We would forget our soul if tears never fell from our eyes,” Lisa thought (where is her former frankness?): “Ah! I would sooner forget my soul than my dear friend!” What is the meaning of this “dialogue”? The mother directly speaks about the need to take care of the main thing in life - about the immortal soul, about the need to live according to God's laws, because “The King of Heaven loved a person very much when He removed the here light so well for him.” All good comes from God. Liza, overwhelmed by passion, is ready to forget about her soul. There was a reassessment of values in her. The idol in the person of Erast obscured God and the main goal - eternal life. The connection with the source of love is interrupted, there is no recharging.

Everything that happened next was a natural consequence of an internal revolution in her soul. Having moved away from God, having lost His gracious help, Lisa found herself unprotected from the machinations of the devil, who leads her to the mortal sin of fornication. And physical death against the background of spiritual death means little.

Poor Lisa!

Poor not only on social grounds, this is not the main thing here. Poor not only because she was deceived. Poor because she has lost God - the main wealth of man. “This is what happens to those who store up treasures for themselves, and are not rich in God” (Luke 12:21). But her name, Elisabeth - “who worships God” - is apparently no coincidence.

If Lisa had kept her feeling of falling in love within moral boundaries... but that would have been a different story, and, undoubtedly, with a happy ending.

You can, of course, blame Erast for everything, there is such a temptation. And the author himself had difficulty restraining himself from this: “I forget the man in Erast - I am ready to curse him - but my tongue does not move...” A Christian’s tongue should not move to curse according to the commandment: “Judge not, lest ye be judged” ( Matthew 7:1). Let us leave judgment to the mercy of God. Each person himself will bear responsibility for his life, for his soul. Last Judgment, and there the only mitigating circumstance is not justification, but Repentance.

Erast has his own story.

Before meeting Lisa, did Erast have any experience of love, that is, experience of sacrificial service and caring for others? Hard to say. Probably not: “He led an absent-minded life, thought only about his own pleasure, looked for it in secular amusements, but often did not find it: he was bored and complained about his fate.” Curious, isn't it? Lisa “worked day and night,” and “a joyful soul shone in her eyes.” He was just having fun and... “was bored and complained about fate.” Here the author discovers for us one of the most important spiritual laws implanted in man by God. Saint Isaac the Syrian formulated it this way: “Behind all pleasure ( illegal) disgust and bitterness follow.” Why? Because man is not called to pleasure, but to love. And love is a sacrifice, and to sacrifice means to tear off a piece of yourself and give to another, and the more you tear off and give, the greater the love: “There is no greater love than if someone lays down his soul ( i.e. life) yours for your friends.”