Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin is known as. Biographies of writers and poets

famous writer of Catherine's era, creator of Russian domestic comedy

classicism

Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin (Von-Wiesin, von Wiesen April 3, Moscow - December 1, St. Petersburg) - Russian writer of the Catherine era, creator of Russian everyday comedy.

Biography

Surname Von-Wiesen or, with a Russified ending, Von-Wiesin (German. von Wiesen) was written in the 18th century in two words or with a hyphen; this same spelling remained until the mid-19th century. The spelling “Fon-Vizin” was used by the author of the first major biography of Fonvizin, P. A. Vyazemsky. Continuous writing established by literary critic second half of the 19th century V. N. S. Tikhonravov, although Pushkin already found this style correct, as giving a more Russian character to the surname of the writer, who was, in Pushkin’s words, “from the Per-Russian Russians.”

Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin came from a knightly family that emerged from Livonia under Ivan the Terrible, which gave Russia several generations of serving nobles. Son of Ivan Andreevich Fonvizin, whose image he later embodied in his favorite hero Starodum in his work “The Minor.”

In 1755-1760 he studied at the noble gymnasium at Moscow University, then for a year at the university's Faculty of Philosophy. In 1760, among the best high school students, Fonvizin and his brother Pavel arrived in St. Petersburg. Here he met Lomonosov, the founder of the Russian theater A.P. Sumarokov and saw for the first time theatrical performance, the first play was the play by the Danish writer Holberg "Henry and Pernille". In 1761, by order of one of the Moscow booksellers, Fonvizin translated from German a fable by the founder of Danish literature, Ludwig Holberg. In total, Fonvizin translated 228 fables. Then, in 1762, he translated the political-didactic novel of the French writer Abbot Terrason “Heroic Virtue or the Life of Seth, King of Egypt,” written in the manner of the famous “Telemaque” by Fenelon, Voltaire’s tragedy “Alzira or the Americans,” Ovid’s “Metamorphoses,” in 1769 sentimental story Gresse “Sidney and Scilly or benefits and gratitude”, which received the name “Corion” from Fonvizin. His favorite writer was Rousseau. Simultaneously with the translations, Fonvizin’s original works began to appear, painted in sharply satirical tones. Thus, presumably, a play that was not published during the author’s lifetime, the so-called “early “Minor,””, first published only in volumes 9-10 of the “Literary Heritage” series in 1933, dates back to the 1760s. Her characters are prototypes of the characters of the famous “Undergrowth”. So, Aksen is similar to Prostakov, Julitta is similar to Prostakova, and Ivanushka is similar to Mitrofan. There is also a version that the early “Nedorosl” does not belong to Fonvizin.

Fonvizin was under the strong influence of French educational thought from Voltaire to Helvetius. He became permanent participant a circle of Russian freethinkers who met in the house of Prince Kozlovsky.

Fonvizin's literary studies also helped him in his career. His translation of Voltaire’s tragedy drew attention, and in 1763 Fonvizin, who was then serving as a translator in a foreign collegium, was appointed to serve under the then already well-known cabinet minister Elagin, under whose command Lukin also served. More great success used his comedy “The Brigadier”, to read which to the empress herself, the author was invited to Peterhof, after which other readings followed, as a result of which he became close to Pavel Petrovich’s tutor, Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin. In 1769, Fonvizin went into the service of Panin, becoming, as his secretary, one of his closest and most trusted persons. Before Panin’s death, Fonvizin, on his direct instructions, compiled “Discourse on the extermination of all forms of government and hence the precarious state of both the empire and the sovereigns themselves.” "Discourse..." contains exclusively a sharp picture the despotic regime of Catherine and her favorites, demands constitutional changes and directly threatens otherwise with a violent coup.

In 1777-1778, Fonvizin traveled abroad and stayed in France for quite a long time. From here he writes letters to his sister F.I. Argamakova, P.I. Panin (brother of N.I. Panin), Ya.I. Bulgakov. These letters had a pronounced public-social character. Fonvizin’s keen mind, observation, ability to understand economic, social and political phenomena in the life of French society, allowed him to draw historical true picture feudal-absolutist France. Studying French reality, Fonvizin wanted to better understand the processes taking place not only in France, but also in Russia, and to find ways to improve the socio-political order in his homeland. He appreciates what deserves attention in France - trade and industry.

One of best works Russian journalism is “Discourse on the indispensable state laws"(late 1782 - early 1783). It was intended for the pupil of Nikita Panin - the future Emperor Pavel Petrovich. Speaking about serfdom, Fonvizin considers it necessary not to destroy it, but to introduce it into the “limits of moderation.” He was frightened by the possibility of a new Pugachevism; it was necessary to make concessions in order to avoid further shocks. Hence the main requirement - the introduction of " fundamental laws", the observance of which is also necessary for the monarch. The most impressive is the picture of contemporary reality drawn by the satirical writer: limitless arbitrariness that has gripped all government bodies.

The comedy "Brigadier" features two families of provincial landowners. The image of Ivan, the son of the foreman, a frantic gallomaniac, occupies a central place.

Having retired, Fonvizin, despite serious illness(paralysis), until the end of his life he was engaged in literary work, but met misunderstanding and sharp disapproval in the person of Empress Catherine II, who forbade Fonvizin to publish a five-volume collected works. Literary heritage last period the writer's life consists mainly of articles for magazines and dramatic works- the comedy “The Tutor’s Choice” and the dramatic feuilleton “Conversation with Princess Khaldina.” Besides, in last years throughout his life he worked on an autobiography " Sincere confession" Fonvizin died in December 1792 and was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. On the eve of his death, he met I. I. Dmitriev, who left memories of Fonvizin’s last evening.

Meaning

Pushkin valued gaiety very highly and extremely regretted that in Russian literature “there are so few truly cheerful works.” That is why he lovingly noted this feature of Fonvizin’s talent, pointing out the direct continuity of the dramaturgy of Fonvizin and Gogol.

“In the works of this writer, the demonic principle of sarcasm and indignation was revealed for the first time, which was destined to permeate all Russian literature from then on, becoming the dominant tendency in it,” noted A. I. Herzen.

Speaking about the work of Fonvizin, the famous literary critic Belinsky wrote: “In general, for me Kantemir and Fonvizin, especially the latter, are the most interesting writers the first periods of our literature: they tell me not about transcendental priorities on the occasion of flat illuminations, but about living reality, historically existing, about the rights of society.”

Bibliography

• Editions of Fonvizin's works:
  • "Writings, letters and selected translations Fonvizin" (St. Petersburg, 1866, edited by P. A. Efremov, with a biography compiled by A. P. Pyatkovsky);
  • "First full meeting works of Fonvizin" (Moscow, 1888);

• Materials for biography and creativity:
  • Book P. A. Vyazemsky, “Fonvizin” (St. Petersburg, 1848; “Complete Collection of Works of Prince Vyazemsky,” vol. V, Facsimile reproduction in pdf);
  • N. S. Tikhonravov, “Materials for the complete works of Fonvizin, ed. L. N. Maykova" (St. Petersburg, 1894);
  • A. I. Nezelenov, “ Literary directions in Catherine's era" (St. Petersburg, 1889);
  • S. A. Vengerov, “Russian Poetry” (vol. 1; the comic poem “Chortik on the Droshky”, which is the greatest bibliographic rarity, is printed here; this poem is also included in the “Materials” of Tikhonravov, who doubts, however, the reliability of its attribution to Fonvizin );
  • I. N. Zhdanov, “Fonvizin” (in the “Russian Biographical Dictionary”; complete bibliography).
  • A. L. Stein, "D. I. Fonvizin: 1745-1792: Essay on life and creativity.” (M., 1945).
  • Stanislav Rassadin. Die, Denis, or the Empress's Undesirable Interlocutor. (The story of the life and work of Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin). M., “Text”, Series “Collection”, 2008.

Addresses in St. Petersburg

Summer 1773 - 11.1774 - Bolshaya Sadovaya Street, 26.

Perpetuation of memory

• In Moscow there is Fonvizin Street, named after the playwright. There are also Fonvizin streets in Zaporozhye, Kharkov and Kherson.

The image of Fonvizin in literature

• Fonvizin is mentioned, without a name, in Gogol’s story “The Night Before Christmas”:

• Fonvizin is mentioned in A. S. Pushkin’s novel “Eugene Onegin” in a stanza about the Russian theater:

• The name of Fonvizin is associated with a well-known historical anecdote about the phrase Die, Denis, you can’t write it better.

• The Old Believers fully included in their essay “The Eighth Century” the text of Fonvizin’s satire “Message to my servants Shumilov, Vanka and Petrushka” without a title and, in the tradition of Russian chronicles, without reference to the author (Guryanova N. S. Peasant anti-monarchist protest in Old Believer eschatological literature period of late feudalism (Novosibirsk, 1988, p. 43).

Notes

Links

• Rastyagaev A.V. Sincere Fonvizin // Electronic magazine “Knowledge. Understanding. Skill ». - 2009. - No. 5 - Philology.
• Texts of D. I. Fonvizin’s diary with his impressions of European countries
• Klosterman G. I. Fonvizin. From Klosterman's unpublished notes / Note. P. I. Barteneva // Russian Archive, 1881. - Book. 3. - Issue. 6. - pp. 291-299.
• Fonvizin, Denis Ivanovich in the library of Maxim Moshkov
• Cheat sheet on the works of Fonvizin D.I.

Categories:

• Personalities in alphabetical order
• Writers by alphabet
• Born on April 14
• Born in 1745
• Born in Moscow
• Died December 12
• Died in 1792
• Died in St. Petersburg
• Denis Fonvizin
• Studied at Moscow State University
• Writers Russia XVIII century
• Poets of Russia
• Russian poets
• Russians writers XVIII century
• Playwrights of Russia
• Translators of prose and drama into Russian
• Publicists of Russia
• Fabulists
• Members of the Russian Academy
• Fonvizins
• Buried at the Lazarevskoye cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra

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See what “Fonvizin, Denis Ivanovich” is in other dictionaries:

Denis Fonvizin Date of birth: April 3 (14), 1745 Place of birth: Moscow, Russian Empire Date of death: December 1 (12), 1792 Place of death: Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire Rod acts ... Wikipedia

Russian writer. Born into a wealthy noble family. In 1755√62 he studied at the gymnasium at Moscow University. In 1762 he became a translator at the College of Foreign Affairs and moved to... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Fonvizin (Denis Ivanovich; F.’s surname was written in the 18th century in two words: the same spelling was preserved until the middle of the 19th century; the spelling in one word was finally established by Tikhonravov, although Pushkin already found this spelling correct, as ... Biographical Dictionary

- (1745 or 1744 92), Russian. writer, founder of Russian everyday satirical comedies. F.’s “minor” did not leave the stage until the 1840s; interest in F. intensified after the release of Complete. collection Op. (1830) and research by P. A. Vyazemsky (published from 1830).... ... Lermontov Encyclopedia

- (1744 or 1745 1792) Russian writer, educator. In the comedy The Brigadier (production 1770) satirically depicted morals noble class, his passion for all things French. In the comedy Nedorosl (staged in 1782), a landmark work of Russian... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (1744/1745 1792) writer, playwright Is he happy who is happy alone? Imagine a man who would devote all his nobility to the sole purpose of making him feel good, who would achieve nothing to the point that he himself would feel nothing... ... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms

Fonvizin, Denis Ivanovich- FONVIZIN Denis Ivanovich (1744 or 1745 1792), Russian writer. Creator of the first social comedies in Russia: “The Brigadier” (production 1770) satirical image morals of the nobility; “The Minor” (staged in 1782) is a landmark work,... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Genus. in Moscow April 3 1745, died in St. Petersburg on December 1. 1792. The genealogical lists of the Fonvizin family begin with the name of Pyotr Volodimerov, titled Baron. "To the kingdom of the great sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke John Vasilyevich, all... ... Big biographical encyclopedia

- (1744/1745 1792), Russian writer. The comedy “The Brigadier” (staged in 1770) satirically depicts the morals of the noble class and its passion for everything French. In the comedy “Nedorosl” (staged in 1782), a landmark work of Russian literature... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (1744, Moscow 1792, St. Petersburg), writer, playwright, publicist. Brother. Fonvizin spent his childhood in house 15th. He received his primary education under the guidance of his father, Ivan Andreevich, in the spirit of respect for antiquity and Christian customs... Moscow (encyclopedia)

1.12.1792 (14.12). Writer Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin died

Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin (04/3/1744(45?)–12/1/1792), – playwright, prose writer. Born in Moscow into a wealthy noble family, descended from Germans from the Order of the Sword. One of them, Baron Peter von Wisin, together with his son, was captured by the Russians during Livonian War 1558–1583 They remained in Russia, where they arrived and younger sons Baron. Their descendants professed the Lutheran religion for several generations, which did not prevent them from serving faithfully new homeland, especially since they received estates and other awards for this.

Denis Fonvizin, their already quite distant descendant, received a wonderful home education. In 1755–1760 studied at the gymnasium at, then for a year at the Faculty of Philosophy. IN student years began publishing in Moscow magazines as a translator of foreign authors.

In 1762 he moved to St. Petersburg and took the position of translator at the College of Foreign Affairs. In 1763–1769 served as secretary to the cabinet minister I.P. Elagin, who was in charge of analyzing petitions to the highest name, and from 1766 imperial theaters. Sharing oppositional views towards the morals of the court, on his instructions Fonvizin developed draft constitutional reforms in Russia, which were supposed to abolish serfdom and grant political rights to all classes.

During these same years, Fonvizin became close to a circle of young freethinking officers and, under their influence, created satirical work"Message to my servants..." (1769). Interest in theater was expressed in work on an original Russian satirical comedy (before that he had adapted foreign comedies “to Russian customs”). The comedy "The Brigadier" was written in 1766–1769. and installed in 1770. In 1769, Fonvizin became secretary of the head of the College of Foreign Affairs - N.I. Panin, teacher of the heir to the throne. They were brought together by their opposition to the government of Catherine II and the conviction that Russia needed “fundamental laws.”

In 1777–1778 traveled with his wife abroad, to France and Germany, letters from this trip were later published under the title “Notes of the First Journey,” which played a role in the development of Russian prose. Disappointment with Western philistinism and rationalism did not prompt, however, Fonvizin to think deeply about the spiritual reasons for this. His thoughts are limited mainly to the social plane.

In 1781, Fonvizin wrote his most famous work - the comedy "The Minor" denouncing serfdom and the ignorance of officials, which, according to the author, could be overcome by reforms in the spirit of the Enlightenment.

In March 1782, after Panin was removed from business, he resigned and completely devoted himself to literary creativity. In 1783 he published a series satirical works: “The experience of a Russian class member”, “A petition to the Russian Minevra from Russian writers”, “The narrative of an imaginary deaf and dumb”. In 1784–1785 Fonvizin again visited Europe - Germany and Italy, anonymously published in French "The Life of Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin", painting the image of an ideal enlightened nobleman. And again, the ideal is purely social.

In the last years of his life, the seriously ill writer began autobiographical story“A sincere confession of my deeds and thoughts” (unfortunately, it was not completed). On December 1, 1792 he died in St. Petersburg. He was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Material used:
Russian writers and poets.
Brief biographical dictionary.
Moscow, 2000.

DI. Fonvizin.. From “Notes of the First Journey” about France, the most cultural country in Europe (1777)

I left for France and, through Strasbourg, Besançon, Bourg-en-Besse, reached glorious city Lyon. The road in this state is very good; but everywhere in the cities the streets are so narrow and so poorly maintained that one must marvel at how people with five human feelings they can live in such uncleanliness...

Walking in Lyon along the most noble and largest street (which, however, is not suitable for our alleys), I saw lit torches in broad daylight and many people in the street. Being short-sighted, I thought that this was certainly some kind of noble burial; but when I came closer out of curiosity, I saw that I was greatly deceived; The French gentlemen deigned to kill themselves a pig - and found a place to singe it in the very middle of the street!

The stench, uncleanliness and the crowd of idle people looking at this operation forced me to take another road. Having not seen Paris yet, I don’t know whether the sense of smell suffers less there; but the cities I saw in France are in a sorry state in terms of cleanliness...

Almost nowhere can you open a window in the summer from contaminated air. In order to have everything at hand and not have to go far, benches have been made under every house. In one gold and finery shine, and next to it, in the other, beaten cattle with blood flowing are hung. There are streets where blood flows in the drains made on the sides, because there is no special place reserved for the slaughter. I found the same abomination in other French cities, which were all so monotonous that whoever was on one street was in the whole city; and whoever was in one city saw all the cities. Paris has the only advantage over others that its exterior is indescribably more majestic, but its interior is worse.

It is in vain that they say that the cause of uncleanness is crowdedness. There are many villages in France, but you can’t drive into any of them without holding your nose. With all this, the habit, from infancy of living in mud up to their ears, means that the French sense of smell does not suffer in the least. In general, we can say that there is nothing to adopt here in the discussion of purity, and even less in the discussion of good morals. Convinced of this truth, I looked for the reasons why so many foreigners are attracted here? ...

Upon closer examination, I see only two things that attract foreigners here: performances and - if I may say so - girls. If these two lures are taken away today, then tomorrow two-thirds of the foreigners will leave Paris. The outrage has reached such an extent that the noblest people are not ashamed to sit with girls in boxes in public. These creatures are showered with diamonds. ... With what skill they know how to combine the charms of beauty with the pleasantness of reason in order to catch their victim in the net! This victim is mostly foreigners, who bring with them as much money as possible, and if not always a sound mind, then at least a healthy body; and they leave Paris having lost both, often irrevocably. I think that if a father does not want to lose his son, then he should not send him here...

I think there is no such poor scholarship in the whole world; for just as civil titles are bought without a certificate, whether the buyer has the knowledge required for his position, then there are no hunters to waste their time learning a useless science. The abuse of the sale of ranks produced here the terrible effect that, despite the incredible variety of ways to enlightenment, deep ignorance is quite often...

I turned my main zeal to the knowledge of local laws. ... The system of laws of this state is a building, one might say, wise, built over many centuries and rare minds; but the various abuses and corruption of morals that crept in little by little have reached the very extreme and have already shaken the foundation of this spacious building, so that living in it is disastrous, and ruining it is disastrous. The first right of every Frenchman is liberty; but his true present state is slavery; for a poor man cannot earn his food except through slave labor; and if he wants to use his precious freedom, he will have to die of hunger. In a word: there is freedom empty name and the right of the strong remains the right above all laws...

The best laws mean nothing when the first law, the first union between people, has disappeared in human hearts - good faith. We don’t have a lot of it, but here we don’t even have a head. All honesty is in words, and the more coherent one’s phrases are, the more one should beware of any deception. Neither breed nor outward signs of honor prevent one from condescending to the most vile deceptions, as soon as the slightest self-interest is involved. How many gentlemen of St. Louis, who make their living by sucking up to a stranger and borrowing from him as much as their simplicity allows, then the next day disappear completely, and with the money from their lender! How much do they earn for their spouses, sisters, daughters? In a word, money is the first deity of this land.

The corruption of morals has reached such an extent that a vile act is no longer punished with contempt; The most honest people really do not have the slightest confidence in distinguishing a slacker from an honest person, considering that such a difference would be contre la politesse française [contradicting French politeness]...

In general, we must pay tribute to the local nation that they weave words masterfully, and if that is what intelligence consists of, then every local fool has a great share of it. They think little here, and they don’t have time, because they talk a lot and quickly. They usually open their mouths without knowing what else to say, and since it would be a shame to close your mouth without saying anything, they say words that automatically come across the tongue, without caring much whether they have any meaning. ... This is the general, or rather, natural character of the nation; but it is necessary to add to it the corruption of morals, which has reached the extreme, in order to draw a true conclusion about the people whom all of Europe reveres as its model...

Their (Parisians') dreams about their own reason have reached such stupidity that it is rare that a Frenchman will not say about himself that he is reasonable. Is there no difference between the French mind and the human mind? In order to make this search, I accepted the sign of reason in the whole world among the local clever people. I came that it was too long for them; they shortened it much for themselves. Through the word reason, for the most part, they understand one quality, namely its sharpness, without at all demanding that it be controlled by common sense...

Listening to reason and resorting to its judgment in everything is boring; and the French cannot stand boredom. What they don’t do to avoid boredom, that is, to do nothing! And indeed every day is a holiday here. Seeing from morning to night countless people in continuous idleness, one must be surprised at what is happening here. Without mentioning the gardens, the five theaters are filled every day. Everyone loves fun as much as they hate work; and people can’t stand especially menial work. But the uncleanliness in the city is such that it is very difficult for people who are not completely ossified to endure.

The Frenchman has no reason, and would consider it a misfortune in his life to have it; for it would make him think when he can have fun. Fun is one object of his life. And since money is needed for fun, then to acquire it they use all the wit that nature has endowed him with. ... They consider deception to be the right of reason. According to their general way of thinking, there is no shame in deceiving; but not to deceive is stupid. ... His deity is money. From money there is no labor that has not been raised, and there is no meanness that a Frenchman has not done. ... D ’ The Alamberts and Diderots are, in their way, the same charlatans that I saw every day on the boulevard; They all deceive people for money, and the only difference between a charlatan and a philosopher is that the latter adds unparalleled vanity to the love of money. ...

As far as I remember, the whole system of modern philosophers is that people should be virtuous regardless of religion: but they, who do not believe in anything, prove the possibility of their system? Who from wise men of the age Why, having conquered all prejudices, remained an honest man? Which of them, denying the existence of God, has not made monetary interest their only deity, and is not ready to sacrifice all their morality to it? Their vanity alone extends to the point that the sciences themselves have become a source of irreconcilable hostility between families. ...

Education in France is limited to one doctrine. No master plan education, and all youth learn, but are not educated. The main effort is made so that one becomes a theologian, another a painter, another a carpenter; but for each of them to become a man, it doesn’t even occur to him. And so, regarding education, France has no advantage over other states. In this part they have as many shortcomings as anywhere else; but a thousand times more quackery. ...

The French nobility, for the most part, is in extreme poverty, and its ignorance is incomparable. Neither the title of nobleman nor the Order of St. Louis prevents one from walking around the world in France. ... Many of them tormented me with persistent requests to get them positions as tutors in Russia; but since the fulfillment of their requests would be murderous for the innocent people who fell into their hands, I shied away from this crime and consider it a duty of conscience not to contribute to the evil that is already quite taking root in our fatherland. ...

If I found anything in France in a flourishing state, then, of course, their factories and manufactories. There is no nation in the world that has such an inventive mind as the French in arts and crafts that concern taste. I went to the marchandes des modes as if they were artists, and looked at the dresses and outfits as if they were beautiful paintings. This gift of nature did much to damage their morals. Fashions change every day: every woman wants to be dressed up latest fashion; husbands became unable to give enough money to their wives for cleaning; wives began to make money without bothering their husbands, and France at one time became a model of taste and a temptation of morals for all of Europe...

In discussing the abuse of spiritual power, I am sure that France is incomparably more unfortunate than other states. ... The power of the clergy in France is such that the noblest are not afraid of losing it by any temptation. Prelates publicly keep girls, and there is nothing more shameful than the life that French abbots lead...

Considering the state of the French nation, I learned to distinguish between freedom by right and actual freedom. Our people do not have the first, but enjoy the latter in many ways. On the contrary, the French, having the right to freedom, live in real slavery.

Fonvizin's comedies left a clear portrait of that already virtually non-Russian and soulless nobleman Society XVIII century, of which even its best representatives were part, like Fonvizin himself or. Despite the disfavor of Catherine II, many of Fonvizin’s works were included in the lists, phrases from which became catchphrases:

In general, a good article in praise of the Freemason and Russophobe Fonvizin. After this, Comrade Nazarov will still object to the fact that his site has turned into another National Bolshevik resource.

Down with Comrade Nazarov and the Bolshevik Fonvizin! We demand that President Putin close another National Bolshevik resource!

Three dots "***", of course, can play the fool, but Nazarov really "blushed". Soon he will be little different from O. Platonov.

Dear Sir or Madam with IP 69.80.226.83. You have already reproached the author for “national-bolshevism” and “reds” under the articles of the “Holy Rus'” calendar about 5 times. And always cowardly and anonymously, with different designations, as, for example, here: “About the article and the “Russian Idea.” They would have been called some Epiphanus or Evdokia (however, we already have such a critic).
What you saw as “redness” is your purely medical matter. Until now, some of my critics from Kirill’s “new nobles”, like S. Volkov and the newspaper “Our Country,” have been distinguished by similar features of vision. It is your right. But in this case, I ask you to blame in the Orthodox way: with your full name, in order to bear responsibility for your own stupidity or nastiness.

Born April 3(14), 1745 in Moscow. He came from an old noble family (the Livonian knight von Vizin was captured under John IV, then began to serve the Russian Tsar). Since 1755, Denis Fonvizin was enrolled in the gymnasium at Moscow University, where he successfully studied Latin, German and French languages and spoke at ceremonial acts with speeches in Russian and German languages. In 1760, among the best students, Fonvizin was taken to St. Petersburg to be presented to the university curator I.I. Shuvalov and “promoted to student.” He made his debut in the literary field as a translator: he translated from German a collection of the Danish writer Ludwig Golberg, popular in Europe. Moral fables(1761). Several minor translations of Fonvizin appeared in university publications in 1761–1762 (including in M.M. Kheraskov’s magazine “Useful Amusement,” where poems by Fonvizin’s older brother, Pavel, were also published); translation of Voltaire's tragedy Alzira(1762) was not published at the time, but became widespread in lists (published in 1894). At the same time, he began to translate a lengthy, four-volume adventure-didactic novel by Abbot Jean Terrason Heroic Virtue, or the Life of Seth, King of Egypt, from Mysterious Evidence ancient egypt taken (1762–1768).

In 1762, Fonvizin left the university and became a translator at the College of Foreign Affairs. In 1763, after the coronation celebrations in Moscow, he moved with the court to St. Petersburg and until 1769 served under the State Councilor of the Palace Chancellery I.P. Elagin, who, being the manager of “court music and theater,” patronized aspiring writers. Fonvizin entered the so-called “Elagin circle”, whose participants (Elagin himself, V.I. Lukin, B.E. Elchaninov, etc.) were busy developing original Russian comedy. For this purpose, foreign plays were altered, “bent” “to our morals” (i.e., the names of the characters, everyday realities, etc. were changed). Lukin argued that the latter is necessary, since “many spectators do not receive any improvement in the morals of others from comedies. They think that it is not them, but strangers who are being ridiculed.” In addition, the circle mastered the traditions of the bourgeois “tearful drama” (otherwise known as “serious comedy”), the theorist of which was D. Diderot, i.e. a mixture of “funny” and “touching” in comedies was allowed. In this spirit, Fonvizin composed his first, verse comedy Corion(1764), based on the drama of the French author Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset Sydney. The action in it takes place in a village near Moscow and consists of a presentation of the sentimental story of lovers Corion and Xenovia, separated by a misunderstanding and happily united in the finale. Corion, however, was only a test of the pen of Fonvizin the playwright.

His comedy became a completely original and innovative work Brigadier(1768–1769, post. 1772, pub. 1786). This is the first “comedy of manners” in Russian literature, in contrast to the previously dominant satirical “comedy of characters”, when personified vices (“stinginess”, “bragging”, etc.) were brought to the stage. IN Foreman vices, peculiarities of speech and behavior of characters are socially conditioned. This is achieved with the help of “verbal masks”. After subtracting the speech characteristics, there are no other, individual human traits"(G.A. Gukovsky). “Talking” in comedy prevails over “action”: on stage they drink tea, play cards, discuss what books are needed for education, etc. The characters constantly “let slip” about themselves. Declarations of love (Advisor - Brigadier, Brigadier - Advisor) do not achieve their goal due to the fact that they essentially say different languages, i.e. a “dialogue of the deaf” emerges. What unites the negative characters of the comedy is their “stupidity”, shaded by the “prudence” of the positive ones - Sophia and Dobrolyubov, whose participation, however, is kept to a minimum (they say practically nothing and only scold everyone else as “brutes”). The figure of the “hallomaniac” Ivanushka is brought to the fore (the influence of Golberg’s comedy on the idea of ​​“The Brigadier” was noted) Jean-French), with which the most important topic for Fonvizin is the education of a nobleman.

In the 1760s, during the era of the Commission for drawing up the New Code (1767), Fonvizin spoke out on the issue of rights and privileges of the nobility that worried everyone. He translates the treatise by G.-F. Quayer Merchant nobility(1766), where the right of a nobleman to engage in industry and trade was substantiated (it is no coincidence that in Underage Starodum became rich as a Siberian industrialist, not a courtier). The manuscript distributed his compilation from the works of the German lawyer I.G. Yusti An abbreviation on the liberties of the French nobility and the benefits of the third rank(late 1760s). As an appendix to the story translated by Fonvizin by F.-T.-M.Arno Sidney and Scilly, or Beneficence and Gratitude(1769) one of his few poems was published Message to my servants - Shumilov, Vanka and Petrushka(there are elements of anticlerical satire here, believed to be inspired by Fonvizin’s close communication with the writer F.A. Kozlovsky, a famous Voltairian and freethinker). Fonvizin's activities as a translator literary prose crowned the translation of Paul Jérémie Bitobe's story into biblical story Joseph(1769): This is a sentimental, lyrical narrative written in rhythmic prose. Later, Fonvizin proudly wrote that this story “served me to draw tears from sensitive people. For I know many who, reading Joseph, which I translated, shed tears.”

In 1769, Fonvizin became one of the secretaries of Chancellor Count N.I. Panin, who was making plans for the early transfer of the throne to Pavel Petrovich and limiting autocracy in favor of the Supreme Council of nobles. Having soon become Panin's confidant, Fonvizin plunged into an atmosphere of political projects and intrigues. In the 1770s, he only twice acted as a writer (more precisely, as a political publicist of the “Panin party”, instructing the monarch on how to rule for the good of the nation) - in A word for Pavel Petrovich's recovery(1771) and translation Words of praise to Marcus Aurelius A.Thoma (1777). Fonvizin’s letters, written during a trip to France in 1777–1778 and addressed to P.I. Panin (the chancellor’s brother), are a remarkable description of the mores of French society on the eve of the revolution in style and satirical sharpness.

After the disgrace and resignation of N.I. Panin, Fonvizin also retired (in March 1782). In 1782–1783, “according to Panin’s thoughts,” he composed Discourse on indispensable state laws(so-called Panin's will), which was supposed to be a preface to the prepared but unrealized N.I. and P.I. Panin to the project “Fundamental rights that cannot be applied at all times by any authority” (i.e., essentially, the project of a constitutional monarchy in Russia). Later this Panin's will, replete with attacks against the autocracy, was used for propaganda purposes by the Decembrists. Immediately after the death of the patron (March 1783), Fonvizin composed a brochure Life of Count N.I. Panin, published in St. Petersburg, first in French (1784), and then in Russian (1786).

The comedy brought Fonvizin fame and universal recognition Minor(1779–1781, post. September 1782, pub. 1783). The extraordinary success of the play during its first production on the court stage on Tsaritsyn Meadow was testified by unknown author"Drammatic Dictionary" (1787): "The theater was incomparably filled, and the audience applauded the play by throwing purses." This is a “comedy of manners”, depicting the domestic life of a wild and dark family of provincial landowners. At the center of the comedy is the image of Mrs. Prostakova, a tyrant and despot in own family and even more so among his peasants. Her cruelty in dealing with others is compensated by her unreasonable and ardent tenderness for her son Mitrofanushka, who, thanks to such maternal upbringing, grows up spoiled, rude, ignorant and completely unfit for any business. Prostakova is confident that she can do whatever she wants, because a decree on “noble freedom” has been given for this. Opposed to her and her relatives, Starodum, Pravdin, Sophia and Milon believe that the freedom of a nobleman lies in the right to study, and then serve society with his mind and knowledge, which justifies the nobility of the noble title. In the finale, retribution comes: Prostakova is cut off from her estate and abandoned by her own son (the theme of a cruel tyrant, indulging in his passions and destroying his subjects, brings Fonvizin’s comedy closer to the tragedies of A.P. Sumarokov). Contemporaries most of all in Underage Starodum’s prudent monologues captivated him; later, comedy was valued for the colorful, socially characteristic language of the characters and colorful everyday scenes (often these two levels of comedy - ideological and everyday - were contrasted, as, for example, in the epigram of I.F. Bogdanovich: The venerable Starodum, / Hearing the vile noise, / Where the woman is unattractive, / With nails crawling into her face, / He quickly went home. / Dear writer, / Sorry, I did the same).

In 1783, Princess E.R. Dashkova invited Fonvizin to participate in the magazine “Interlocutor of the Russian Word” that she published. In the very first issue his The experience of a Russian estate. Compiled as if for the needs of the “Dictionary” being prepared Russian Academy Sciences", Fonvizinsky Experience… was a covert political satire, exposing the court order and the “idleness” of the nobles. In the same magazine in 1783, without a title or signature, Fonvizin’s politically acute and daring “questions” were published (in the manuscript they are titled as Several questions that can arouse special attention in intelligent and honest people), addressed to Catherine II and supplied with “answers” ​​from the empress herself, who at first believed I.I. Shuvalova to be the author of the “questions”. The truth soon became clear, and thus Fonvizin, with his “free speech,” incurred the displeasure of the authorities and subsequently experienced difficulties with the publication of his works. Translation of the work by I.G. Zimmerman About national curiosity(1785), a story about the persecution suffered by a sage, truth teller ruler ( Callisthenes. Greek story, 1786), and a poetic fable Fox-Kaznodey(17887) were published anonymously. By 1788 he had prepared his Complete works and translations in 5 volumes: a subscription was announced, but publication did not take place, and even its manuscript is now lost. In the same 1788, he unsuccessfully sought permission to publish the author’s magazine “Friend” honest people, or Starodum” (some of the magazine materials prepared by Fonvizin were published only in 1830).

In recent years, Fonvizin’s health had deteriorated greatly (in 1784–1785 he and his wife traveled to Italy for treatment) and at the same time his religious and repentant sentiments increased. They were reflected in an autobiographical essay written “in the footsteps” Confessions J.-J. Rousseau, – Sincere confession of my deeds and thoughts(1791). His last comedy, incompletely preserved Choosing a tutor(between 1790 and 1792), dedicated, as in many ways, Minor, issues of education, however, it is much inferior to the latter in artistic terms.

Fonvizin died on December 1 (12), 1792 in St. Petersburg after an evening spent visiting G.R. Derzhavin, where, according to those present, he was cheerful and playful. He was buried at the Lazarevskoye cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Vladimir Korovin

Fonvizin is a comedian.

By the time the first dramatic work was written Alzira(1762–1763), Fonvizin’s experience of theatrical impressions was already quite extensive. At Moscow University in the 60s it flourished student theater, which gave performances in turn with Locatelli’s comic opera. The future playwright was greatly impressed by his acquaintance with the St. Petersburg Russian Theater, which took place in 1760, especially by the comic play of Ya. Shumsky, as well as majestic figure“the father of the Russian theater” F.G. Volkov - “a man of deep intelligence, filled with virtues, who had great knowledge and could be a statesman” (Fonvizin D.I.)

It is important to emphasize that the second half of the 18th century. - the heyday of theatrical classicism in Russia, serving primarily the cause of strengthening statehood. But it is the comedy genre that is becoming the most important and widespread in stage and dramatic art. The best comedies of this time are part of social and literary life. Russian comedy of the 18th century. is closely related to satire and often has political orientation. Comedy is popular because it is directly related to real life, and elements realistic direction mature in its sphere. In addition, the flowering of comedy has its origins in the deep traditions of laughter and entertainment culture in Russia in the 17th century.

Yes, comedy Brigadier(1768–1769) organically merges with satire and is in the sphere of classicism aesthetics. The author's great achievement is the language of the play - personified, colloquial, sharp. The comedy is built on witty, skillfully honed dialogue, but stage action there is little in it. She is static, just like the characters of her heroes are static. IN Foreman the unities and rules of classicist poetics are clearly observed. The composition of the play is built symmetrically, with cross-sectional action - all this characterizes Fonvizin’s artistic method, based on the educational rational thinking of the 18th century figure.

Comedy Minor(1782) became a landmark event in the development of Russian comedy. It represents a system that is complex in structure and thought out to the smallest detail. A system in which every line, every character, every word is subject to the identification of the author's intention. The comedy is based on several interrelated problems. One of them, the problem of educating the young noble generation, worried the author even before writing Foreman. There were early lists, initial editions of the future finished, masterfully honed late Minor. In them, the author, who had not yet mastered the laws of classicism, turned to the experience of the comedy repertoire of the city theater, oral folk comedy. Ignorance of modern literary canons played a role positive role in creating an original innovative work. The interludes of the training of the underage Ivanushka, who later became Mitrofan (which in translation from Greek means “revealed by the mother”), bore a great resemblance to a street folk show, a farce. In the early editions of the play, Fonvizin gives scope to the tomfoolery of the undergrowth, who mainly makes people laugh and jokes around. But it is obvious that for the author such comedy, even in the original lists, is far from being an end in itself. Having started the play as an everyday comedy of manners, Fonvizin does not stop there, but boldly goes further, to the root cause of “evil morals,” the fruits of which are known and strictly condemned by the author. The reason for the vicious education of the nobility in feudal and autocratic Russia is the established state system, which gives rise to arbitrariness and lawlessness. Thus, the problem of education turns out to be inextricably linked with the entire life and political structure of the state in which people live and act from top to bottom. The Skotinins and Prostakovs, ignorant, limited in mind, but not limited in their power, can only educate their own kind. Their characters are drawn by the author especially carefully and fully, with all the authenticity of life. Fonvizin significantly expanded the scope of classicism’s requirements for the comedy genre here. The author completely overcomes the schematism inherent in his earlier heroes, and thus the characters Minor become not only real persons, but also common nouns.

Fonvizin masterfully builds the linguistic characteristics of his characters: these are rude, offensive words in Prostakova’s uncouth speeches; the words of soldier Tsyfirkin, characteristic of military life; Church Slavonic words and quotes from the spiritual books of seminarian Kuteikin; Vralman's broken Russian speech and the speech of the noble heroes of the play - Starodum, Sophia and Pravdin, whose conversation is distinguished by some literary quality. These characters constitute another layer of comedy, the most important for Fonvizin, the social Political Views which they, in fact, express.

The role of Starodum was created by Fonvizin with the expectation of best actor Russian theater I.A. Dmitrevsky, on his social temperament. Possessing a noble, refined appearance, the actor constantly occupied the role of the first hero-lover in the theater. Unfortunately, soon after the premiere, the theater on whose stage was first staged Minor, closed and disbanded.

Comedy Minor rightfully considered highest achievement national drama of the entire 18th century, a work of classicism emerging in the depths of realistic art. He called it a “truly social comedy” Minor N.V. Gogol, putting her on a par with Griboyedov’s Woe from the mind.

Editions: Collection Op. in 3 volumes. M., 1983; Favorites. M., 1983.

Ekaterina Yudina

Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin is a Russian writer, playwright, translator, publicist, creator of the national everyday comedy, author of the famous comedy “The Minor.” Fonvizin was born in Moscow on April 14 (April 3, O.S.), 1745, and was the successor of a knightly family that was of Livonian origin and finally Russified. Elementary education was received by Denis thanks to his father, who held an official position in the audit board; At home, a patriarchal atmosphere reigned.

Education was continued at the gymnasium at Moscow University, and then at the University itself: Fonvizin during 1759-1762. was a student at the Philosophical University. From 1756 to 1759 he was a member of the troupe of the amateur university theater of M. Kheraskov, and later played in the professional Public theater. During his student days, Fonvizin made his debut in the literary field - with translation activities. He took up this closely upon his arrival in St. Petersburg in 1760: Fonvizin and his brother arrived in the capital as one of the best high school students.

Fulfilling an order from one of the booksellers, Fonvizin in 1761 translated into Russian the fables of Ludwig Holberg, who wrote in German. In total, he translated more than 200 fables, a novel by the Frenchman Terrason, Voltaire’s tragedy, Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”, etc. Fonvizin considered J.-J. to be his favorite writer. Rousseau. In parallel with his translation work, he began to write essays of a satirical nature.

After graduating from the university, D.I. Fonvizin became a translator in a foreign collegium, and from 1763 he was transferred to the service of the State Councilor of the Palace Chancellery I.P. Elagin. By the way, this appointment was facilitated by his pursuit of literature: his translation of Voltaire’s tragedy did not go unnoticed. While working under Elagin, Fonvizin did not give up his translation activities. Having become close to Kozlovsky’s literary circle, he created his debut independent work - “Message to my servants Shumilov, Vanka and Petrushka”; in 1764 his first comedy play, Corion, appeared. During 1766-1769. The comedy “The Brigadier” was written and published in 1786. She marked the beginning of the comedy of manners genre, because... The overwhelming majority of Russian authors created comedies of characters.

The biography period from 1769 to 1782 was associated with the service of Count N.I. Panina; Fonvizin worked as his secretary, and later became his confidant. While in this position, he found himself in the world of big politics and behind-the-scenes games. In 1777, Fonvizin left Russia, lived for quite a long time in France, where he tried to delve into the processes taking place in this state, while simultaneously thinking about the fate of his homeland, trying to see a path that would allow him to take socio-political life to a new level.

In 1782, Fonvizin had to resign due to the fact that Count Panin fell into disgrace. Based on his ideas, Fonvizin wrote “Discourse on Indispensable State Laws” (1782-1783). This work was intended for the count's pupil, who in the future was to become Emperor Paul, and is considered one of best essays national journalism.

Peak creative achievements Denis Ivanovich’s comedy “The Minor,” written in 1882 and published in 1883, which, like “The Brigadier,” caused a huge public outcry. Belinsky at one time noted that Russian comedy began only with Fonvizin, and his plays are one of the “remarkable phenomena” in the history of Russian literature.

After leaving public service, Fonvizin devoted himself to literature, although his health left much to be desired (the writer had partial paralysis). Catherine the Second largely prevented its implementation creative ideas, in particular, by imposing a ban on the publication of the magazine “Friend of Honest People, or Starodum,” a collection of works in 5 volumes. During this period of creative activity, he created several dramatic works, magazine articles and an autobiography (remained unfinished). In 1784 and 1785, Fonvizin went to Italy for treatment, and in 1787 he recovered his noticeably deteriorating health in Vienna. The Fonvizin couple also experienced financial difficulties at this time. Literature classes were actually curtailed. The writer died on December 12 (December 1, O.S.), 1792; He was buried at the Lazarevskoye cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg.

FONVIZIN DENIS IVANOVICH - prose writer, playwright, translator. Creator of Russian everyday comedy. Secretary of the head of Russian diplomacy N.I. Panin, State Councilor. The elder brother of Senator P.I. Fonvizina.

Family. Youth

Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin came from an old noble family: the Livonian knight von Vizin was captured at , then began to serve the Russian Tsar. The surname itself was distorted over time; initially it had the spelling von Wiesen and many researchers for a long time used separate spelling or spelling Von-Vizin, but in late XIX century researcher N.S. Tikhonravov established the modern spelling of the writer’s surname. Fonvizin's father, Ivan Andreevich, was an official of the revision board, close to many famous politicians.

Fonvizin received a good education at home. In 1755-1760 he studied at the gymnasium at Moscow University, where he successfully studied Latin, German and French and gave speeches at ceremonial events in Russian and German. In 1760, among the best students, Fonvizin was taken to St. Petersburg to be presented to the curator of the university. There he was “promoted to student” at the Faculty of Philosophy. Denis Ivanovich actively participated in student life, played in amateur theater MM. Kheraskova.

First literary experiments

At this time, he made his debut in the literary field as a translator: he translated from German the collection of the Norwegian-Danish writer Ludwig Holberg, popular in Europe, “Moral Fables” (1761). Several minor translations of Fonvizin appeared in university publications in 1761-1762 (including in M.M. Kheraskov’s magazine “Useful Amusement,” where poems by Fonvizin’s older brother, Pavel, were also published). The translation of Voltaire's tragedy "Alzira" (1762) was not published at the time, but became widespread in copies (published 1894). At the same time, he began to translate a lengthy, four-volume, adventure-didactic novel by Abbot Jean Terrason, “Heroic Virtue, or the Life of Seth, King of Egypt, Taken from the Mysterious Evidence of Ancient Egypt” (1762-1768). Denis Ivanovich also translated Ovid’s huge poetic work “Metamorphoses”. Among other things, he translated more than two hundred different fables.

"Elaginsky circle". “The Brigadier” and the emergence of the “comedy of manners”

In 1762, Fonvizin left the university and moved to St. Petersburg, where he began working as a translator at the College of Foreign Affairs. Until 1769, he worked under the direction of the State Councilor of the Palace Chancellery, who managed " court music and theater" and patronized aspiring writers. Elagin appreciated Fonvizin's translation of Voltaire's tragedy and soon the young writer entered the so-called. “Elagin circle”, whose participants (Elagin himself, B.E. Elchaninov and others) were busy developing original Russian comedy. To do this, they remade foreign plays, imposing their content on Russian realities. Also in the circle, they mastered the traditions of the bourgeois “tearful drama” (“serious comedy”), of which he acted as a theorist. In this spirit, Fonvizin in 1764 composed his first, poetic comedy “Corion”, taking as a basis the drama “Sydney” by the French author Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset. The action in the play takes place in a village near Moscow and consists of a presentation of the sentimental story of lovers Corion and Xenovia, separated by a misunderstanding and happily united in the finale. Also at that time, Fonvizin became close to the literary circle of the poet and translator Prince F.A. Kozlovsky, a friendship began between him and the outstanding actor I.A. Dmitrievsky.

In 1769 the first absolute independent work Fonvizin's play "The Brigadier", which was appreciated. It was staged at the theater in 1770, although it was not published until 1786. “The Brigadier” became the first “comedy of manners” in Russian literature, in contrast to the previously dominant satirical “comedy of characters”, when personified vices were brought to the stage. In "The Brigadier" all the vices, all the behavior of the characters is socially conditioned. Here, ignorance, bribery, bigotry and blind servility to foreigners, so characteristic of the local bureaucratic circles of Russian society, are cruelly ridiculed. The life-like credibility of such satirical comedy characters as the Brigadier, the Advisor, the Counselor and Ivanushka was achieved by the playwright without violating the principles of character depiction inherent in classicism. But in the Brigadier, the realistic tendencies of Denis Ivanovich’s work manifested themselves with great force. Main artistic merit The play is aptly individualized language of the characters: the military vocabulary of the Brigadier, the combination of clerical orders and Church Slavonic expressions in the speech of the Advisor, the salon Russian-French jargon of Ivanushka and the Advisor, the popular vernacular of the Brigadier. In contrast to negative characters positive images comedies (Dobrolyubov, Sophia) are pale and sketchy. The figure of the “hallomaniac” Ivanushka is brought to the fore, with whom the most important topic for Fonvizin is the education of a nobleman.

In the 1760s, during the work of the Commission to draw up a new Code (1767), Denis Ivanovich spoke out on the issue of the rights and privileges of the nobility that concerned everyone. He translates the treatise of G.-F. Quaye’s “Trading Nobility” (1766), which substantiated the right of a nobleman to engage in industry and trade (it is no coincidence that in “Nedorosl” Starodum became rich as a Siberian industrialist, and not a courtier). The manuscript distributed a compilation he compiled in the late 1760s from the works of the German lawyer I.G. Justi "Abridgement of the liberty of the French nobility and the benefits of the third rank." As an appendix to the story translated by Fonvizin, F.-T.-M. Arno “Sidney and Scilly, or Beneficence and Gratitude” (1769) published one of his few poems, “Message to my servants Shumilov, Vanka and Petrushka” (here there are elements of anti-clerical satire, believed to be inspired by Fonvizin’s close communication with the writer F A. Kozlovsky, a famous Voltairean and freethinker). Fonvizin’s activity as a translator of fiction was crowned by the translation of Paul Jérémie Bitobe’s story on the biblical story “Joseph” (1769): this is a sentimental narrative imbued with lyricism, written in rhythmic prose.

Service N.I. Panin. "Notes of the First Traveler"

In 1769, Denis Ivanovich took the position of one of the secretaries under the head of the College of Foreign Affairs, Count, who, in turn, became the tutor of the heir to the throne. Nikita Ivanovich made plans for the early transfer of the throne to the Tsarevich and the limitation of autocracy in favor of the Supreme Council of nobles. Having soon become Panin's confidant, Fonvizin plunged into an atmosphere of political projects and intrigues. In the 1770s, he only twice acted as a writer (more precisely, as a political publicist of the “Panin party”, instructing the monarch on how to rule for the good of the nation) - in the “Word for the recovery of Pavel Petrovich” (1771) and the translation of “Word of praise to Marcus Aurelius "A. Thomas (1777).

In 1777-1778, Fonvizin traveled through Germany and France. One of the reasons for this trip was the long-term illness of the writer’s wife Ekaterina Vasilievna (nee Dmitrieva-Mamonova, the couple had 8 children). His impressions from this trip were reflected in the “Notes of the First Traveler”, which became one of important milestones in the process of changing the appearance of Russian prose during this period.

After disgrace and resignation of N.I. Panin, in March 1782 Fonvizin also resigned. In 1782-1783, “according to Panin’s thoughts,” he composed “Discourse on the Indispensable Laws of State” (the so-called “Testament of Panin”), which was supposed to become a preface to N.I. and P.I. Panin’s project “Fundamental rights that cannot be applied at all times by any authority” (i.e., essentially, the project of a constitutional monarchy in Russia). Later, this “Testament of Panin,” replete with attacks against the autocracy, was used for propaganda purposes by the Decembrists. Immediately after the death of his patron (March 1783), Fonvizin composed the brochure “The Life of Count N.I. Panin", published in St. Petersburg, first in French (1784), and then in Russian (1786). In 1784, Denis Ivanovich again went abroad - to Italy and Germany, which was also due to the need for treatment for the partial paralysis that began in the writer.

"Undergrown"

After 1773-1775, any manifestation of liberal views could lead to dire consequences. But, despite this, in the early 1780s, the comedy “The Minor” (1779-1781, staged in September 1782, published in 1783) was released, which brought Fonvizin fame and universal recognition. The first production of the play on the court stage on Tsaritsyn Meadow was an extraordinary success. At the center of the comedy is the image of Mrs. Prostakova, a tyrant and despot in her own family and among her peasants. Her cruelty in dealing with others is compensated by her unreasonable and ardent tenderness for her son Mitrofanushka, who, thanks to such maternal upbringing, grows up spoiled, rude, ignorant and completely unfit for any business. Prostakova is confident that she can do whatever she wants, because a decree on “noble freedom” has been given for this. Opposed to her and her relatives, Starodum, Pravdin, Sophia and Milon believe that the freedom of a nobleman lies in the right to study, and then serve society with his mind and knowledge, which justifies the nobility of the noble title. In the finale, retribution comes: Prostakova is cut off from her estate and abandoned by her own son.

What captivated contemporaries most of all in “The Minor” were Starodum’s prudent monologues; later, comedy was valued for the colorful, socially characteristic language of the characters and colorful everyday scenes (often these two levels of comedy - ideological and everyday - were contrasted, as, for example, in the epigram of I.F. Bogdanovich: Venerable Starodum, / Having heard the vile noise, / Where the woman is unattractive / crawls into her face with her nails, / went home quickly. / Dear writer, / Sorry, I did the same). “The Minor” became the only Russian play of the 18th century that took a strong place in the repertoire Soviet theater. This fact serves as clear evidence of the enduring significance of the work of the playwright and satirist.

Last years

In 1783, the princess invited Fonvizin to participate in the magazine she published, “Interlocutor of the Russian Word.” His “The Experience of a Russian Estates Member” appeared in the very first issue. Compiled as if for the needs of the “Dictionary of the Russian Academy of Sciences” that was being prepared, Fonvizin’s “Experience” was a hidden political satire, exposing the court order and the “idleness” of the nobles. In the same magazine in 1783, without a title or signature, Fonvizin’s politically acute and daring “questions” were published (in the manuscript they are entitled “Several questions that can arouse special attention in smart and honest people”), addressed to Catherine II and equipped with “answers” ” of the empress herself, who at first believed I.I. to be the author of the “questions”. Shuvalova. The truth soon became clear, and thus Fonvizin, with his “free speech,” incurred the displeasure of the authorities and subsequently experienced difficulties with the publication of his works.

Translation of the work by I.G. Zimmerman’s “On National Curiosity” (1785), a story about the persecution suffered by a sage who speaks the truth to the ruler (“Callisthenes”, 1786), and the poetic fable “The Fox-Kaznodey” (1787) were published anonymously. By 1788, the writer had prepared his “Complete Works and Translations in 5 Volumes”: a subscription was announced, but the publication was suspended by the Empress, and even his manuscript is now lost. In the same year, Fonvizin unsuccessfully sought permission to publish the author’s magazine “Friend of Honest People, or Starodum” (some of the magazine materials prepared by Fonvizin were published only in 1830).

In recent years, Fonvizin's health has deteriorated greatly. In addition, the Fonvizin couple began to experience increasing financial difficulties. At the same time, the writer’s religious and repentant sentiments increased. They were reflected in an autobiographical essay written “in the footsteps” of “Confession” by J.-J. Rousseau, - “Frank confession of my deeds and thoughts” (1791). His last comedy, “The Tutor’s Choice” (between 1790 and 1792), which has not completely survived, is devoted, like “The Minor” in many ways, to issues of education, but is much inferior to the latter in artistic terms.

The satirist died on December 1 (12), 1792 in St. Petersburg after an evening spent visiting. Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin was buried in St. Petersburg at the Lazarevskoye cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Memory

In the name of D.I. Fonvizin named streets in Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Korolev, Kherson, Alma-Ata, as well as the Fonvizinskaya metro station in Moscow.

Essays

The first complete works of Fonvizin. M., 1888.

Plays. M., 2008.

Collected works in 2 volumes. M., 1959.

Works, letters and selected translations of Fonvizin. St. Petersburg, 1866.