Kucherovskaya V.: Alessandro Manzoni. last years of life

Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Manzoni is a famous Italian romantic writer, author of the novel The Betrothed.

Manzoni's father, Don Pietro, was already 50 years old when his son was born. He represented one of the oldest families who settled near Lecco (Italian: Lecco is a city in the Italian region of Lombardy), where its ruthlessness is remembered in a proverb that compares it to streams falling in the mountains. His mother, Giulia, had literary talent; her father was the famous economist, lawyer and publicist Cesare Beccaria.

Alessandro did not study well, but at the age of 15, a passion for poetry awakened in him, and he began to write sonnets. After the death of his father, in 1805, he moved to his mother in Paris and spent 2 years there in the circle of writers and ideologists of the philosophical movement of the 18th century. Among them he found true friends, in particular Claude Foriel. At that time, Manzoni was absorbed in the ideas of Voltaire. And after his marriage, being largely under the influence of his wife, he became a passionate adherent of Catholicism, to which he remained devoted throughout his entire subsequent life.

In the period from 1806 to 1807, during his stay in Paris, he first appeared before the public as a poet with 2 short passages. The first, with the title Urania, is written in the classical style, which he himself later opposed. The second was an elegy in free verse dedicated to the memory of Count Carlo Imbonati, from whom he inherited considerable property, including a country house in Brusuglio, which from then on became his main residence.

In 1819, Manzoni published his first tragedy, Conte di Carmagnola, which broke all the classical principles in literature and, at the same time, fueled lively disagreement. In one article it was strongly criticized, after which Goethe defended the work. The death of Napoleon in 1821 prompted the writing of the poem Cinque maggio (“Fifth of May”), which became one of the most popular poems in Italian (it was translated into Russian by Fyodor Tyutchev - “High anticipation of impulses and longing...”). The political events of this year and the arrest of many of his friends affected the writer’s work. During his subsequent retreat to Brusugli, in order to take his mind off things, Manzoni devoted much time to historical research.

In September 1822, Alessandro completed work on the novel The Betrothed and in 1827 the book was published, which brought the author enormous fame. In 1822 he published the second tragedy Adelchi, which tells the end of Lombard rule in Italy thanks to Charlemagne and contains many veiled allusions to Austrian dominance. The author's literary career was practically ended by these works. Nevertheless, Manzoni continued his work on the novel, rewriting and correcting some passages. Subsequently, he also wrote a short article about the Italian language.

Death of Manzoni
After the death of Manzoni's wife in 1833, several of his children and his mother die. In 1837 he married again, this time to Teresa Borri, widow of Count Stampa, whom he also later survived. Of Manzoni's 9 children, only 2 remained after his death. The death of his eldest son Luigi on April 28, 1873 was the final blow; he almost immediately fell ill and died of meningitis.

The country saw off Manzoni on his last journey with almost royal luxury. His remains were accompanied to the Milan cemetery by a huge funeral procession, which included princes and high officials. However, an impressive monument is Verdi's Requiem, which he wrote for the first anniversary of the writer's death and was first performed in the Church of St. Mark's in Milan.

Ple-myan-nick A. Ver-ri. Se-na-tor (1860).

He studied in colleges under various orders (1791-1803), despite this, already in his youth he became convinced day an-ti-kle-ri-ka-lom and res-pub-li-kan-tsem, with-ver-fem-tsem ra-tsio-na-liz-ma Pro-sve-sche-niya.

Early poetry of Manzoni you-der-zha-na in the spirit of class-si-tsiz-ma: the poem “Three-umph of freedom” (“Trionfo del-la libertà”, 1801 ), the idyll “Ad-da” (“Ad-da”, 1803), four philosophical-sa-ty-ric “Ac-teachings” (“Ser-moni”, 1803 -1804).

In 1805-1810 he lived in Paris; became close to a circle of French thoughts who maintained loyalty to the ideals of Enlightenment in the conditions of the Empire ( P.J.J. Ka-ba-nis, A.L.K. Des-tut de Tra-si, K. For-el). The evolution of the world-view and this-ki Manzoni in a hundred-ro-well ro-man-tiz-ma was reflected in the poems: “To the death of Kar -lo Im-bo-na-ti” (“In morte di Carlo Imbonati”, 1806), “Urania” (“Urania”, 1809) and especially - in a cycle of five ty “Sacred hymns” (“Inni sacri”, 1812-1822) and an essay “About some kind of morale cat” (“Sul-la morale cat- to-lica", 1819). Between 1809 and 1810, Manzoni experienced a moral crisis; conversion to the Catholic faith has completed his thinking about the human mission of this .

At the end of the 1810s, Manzoni became the head of the Milanese circle of ro-man-ti-kovs, united around the magazine “Concilia-tore” (1818- 1819); his es-the-tical works: “Letter to Mr. Sh... about the unity of time and place in the drama-ti-che-pro-iz-ve-de- niy" (“Let-te-ra sull' unità di tempo e di luogo nella tragedia”, 1823, Russian translation 1984) and “Letter to Mar-ki-zu Che-za-re D'Azeglio about the birth mantiz-me" (“Lettera al marchese Cesare d'Azeg-lio sul romanticismo”, 1823, published in 1846, Russian translation 1984) were perceived as ma-ni-fe-sty ro -man-tic school not only in Italy, but also beyond its pre-de-la-mi. These works, as well as the ode “March 1821” (“Marzo 1821”, published in 1848) and “The Fifth of May” (“Il cinque maggio”, 1821; na-pi-sa-na to the death of Na-po-le-o-na I and by- la for-pre-on the price-zu-roy until 1822) from-ra-zi-li-presentation of Manzoni about the conflict mutual-de-st-vii blah- the city's heroic act, the strict historical and political no wisdom of pro-vi-de-niya. The ode “Fifth of May” was re-published in the magazine “Über Kunst und Altertum” by I.V. Goe-te (1822); partial Russian translation implemented by F.I. Tyutchev (circa 1829).

The type of depiction of historical events that was justified in Manzoni’s es-thetical so-chi-ne-ni-yahs was op-ro-bo-van them in the tra-ge-di-yah “Count Car-man-o-la” (“Il conte di Carmagnola”, 1820; Russian translation 1888) and “Adel-chi” (“Adel-chi”, 1822; Russian translation 1978), built on the unprincipled moral conflict between a good person and the state institute . Pre-di-word to “Count Car-man-o-le”, where Manzoni, in part-st-no-sti, subjected the cri-ti-ke to the rule of three unities, one hundred -lo one of the first ma-ni-fe-sts of the ro-man-tic theater.

But-va-tor-sky ha-rak-ter is-to-riz-ma Manzoni, most of all, you-ra-zil-sya in the very know-me-none of his co-chi-not -nii - ro-ma-not “Ob-ru-chen-nye” (“I promessi sposi”, 1st edition entitled “Fer-mo and Lucia” - 1821-1823; according to -the next editions are 1825-1827 and 1840-1842; Russian translation 1833). Events from the life of the Duke of Milan in the 17th century, os-mys-le-ny in Ro-ma-not as a manifestation of per-ma -nent-no-go moral-religious conflict (pro-ti-standing of Christian ethics, following the Evangelical -we-there, on one side, and low-men's co-ry-st-in-te-re-s, contempt for the weak - on the other -goy). The plot of the novel is built on the collision of the poor and humiliated with the mouths of the strong this world; according to Manzoni, the meaning of human actions gives faith in pro-vision. In “Ob-ru-chen-nyh” there are some plot elements of Italian prose of the 17th century, as well as elements -you go-ti-che-sko-go-ro-ma-na.

Among other works: the historical essay “Is-to-ria according to the dawn of the table” (“Storia del-la colonna infame”, on-pi-sa -but in the 1820s, published in 1842; Russian translation 1978), developing the theme of moral responsibility for those in power; treatise “On the Italian language” (“Della lingua italiana”, 1847, published in 1850).

Essays:

Manzoni: cattolicesimo e ragione borg-he-se: antologia. Torino, 1975;

Out-of-branch. M., 1978;

Tutte le lettere. Mil., 1986;

Tutte le opere. Mil., 1990-1991. Vol. 1-5;

Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Manzoni(Italian Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Manzoni(March 7, Milan - May 22, Milan) - Italian romantic writer, author of the novel “The Betrothed”.

Biography

Manzoni's father, Pietro, was already 50 years old when his son was born. He represented one of the oldest families who settled near Lecco in the Italian region of Lombardy, where its mercilessness is remembered in a proverb that compares it to streams falling in the mountains. His mother, Giulia, had literary talent, her father was the famous economist, lawyer and publicist Cesare Beccaria.

Alessandro did not study well, but at the age of 15, a passion for poetry awakened in him, and he began to write sonnets. After the death of his father, in , he moved to his mother in Paris and spent 2 years there in the circle of writers and ideologists of the philosophical movement of the 18th century. Among them he found true friends, in particular Claude Foriel. At that time, Manzoni was absorbed in the ideas of Voltaire. And after his marriage, being largely under the influence of his wife, he became a passionate adherent of Catholicism, to which he remained devoted throughout his entire life..

Creation

In the period from to , during his stay in Paris, he first appears before the public as a poet with 2 short excerpts. The first one, with the title Urania, written in the classical style, which he himself later opposed. The second was an elegy in free verse dedicated to the memory of Count Carlo Imbonati, from whom he inherited considerable property, including a country house in Brusuglio, which from then on became his main residence.

B Manzoni publishes his first tragedy Conte di Carmagnola, which broke all the classical principles in literature and, at the same time, kindled lively disagreement. In one article it was strongly criticized, after which Goethe defended the work. The death of Napoleon prompted him to write a poem Cinque maggio(“Fifth of May”), which became one of the most popular poems in Italian (it was translated into Russian by Fyodor Tyutchev - “High premonitions of impulses and longing...”). The political events of this year and the arrest of many of his friends affected the writer’s work. During his subsequent retreat to Brusugli, in order to take his mind off things, Manzoni devoted much time to historical research.

In September, Alessandro finished work on the novel Engaged and the book was published, which brought the author enormous fame. In he published the second tragedy Adelchi, which tells of the end of Lombard rule in Italy thanks to Charlemagne and contains many veiled allusions to Austrian dominance. The author's literary career was practically ended by these works. Nevertheless, Manzoni continued his work on the novel, rewriting and correcting some passages. Subsequently, he also wrote a short article about the Italian language.

After 1827, Manzoni published only theoretical articles on language and literature.

Death of Manzoni

After the death of Manzoni's wife in 1833, several of his children and his mother die. He married again, this time to Teresa Borri, widow of Count Stampa, whom he also later survived. Of Manzoni's 9 children, only 2 remained after his death.

In 1860, King Victor Emmanuel II appointed him a senator.

The death of his eldest son Luigi on 28 April was the final blow, and he fell ill almost immediately and died of meningitis.

The country saw off Manzoni on his last journey with almost royal luxury. His remains were accompanied to the Milan cemetery by a huge funeral procession, which included princes and high officials. However, the impressive monument is Verdi's Requiem, which he wrote for the first anniversary of the writer's death and was first performed in the Church of St. Mark's in Milan.

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Literature

• Manzoni, Alexander // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

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Excerpt characterizing Manzoni, Alessandro

After sitting silently for some more time in “my” chambers, Caraffa stood up and, just about to leave, said quite calmly:
– I will inform you when your daughter appears here, Madonna. I think it will be very soon. - And bowing secularly, he left.
And I, trying with all my might not to succumb to the surging hopelessness, with a trembling hand, took off my shawl and sank onto the nearest sofa. What was left for me - exhausted and lonely?.. By what miracle could I save my brave girl, who was not afraid of the war with Caraffa?.. What kind of lie did they tell her to force her to leave Meteora and return to this earthly Inferno cursed by God and people? ?..
I couldn’t even think what I had in store for Anna Caraffa... She was his last hope, the last weapon that I knew he would try to use as successfully as possible to force me to surrender. Which meant that Anna would have to suffer severely.
Unable to remain alone with my misfortune any longer, I tried to call my father. He appeared immediately, as if he was just waiting for me to call him.
– Father, I’m so scared!.. He’s taking Anna away! And I don’t know if I can save her... Help me, father! At least give me some advice...
There was nothing in the world that I would not agree to give to Karaffa for Anna. I agreed to everything... except for one thing - to give him immortality. And this, unfortunately, was exactly the only thing that the Holy Pope wanted.
– I’m so afraid for her, father!.. I saw a girl here - she was dying. I helped her leave... Is Anna really going to get a similar test?! Are we really not strong enough to save her?..
“Don’t let fear into your heart, daughter, no matter how much it hurts you.” Don't you remember what Girolamo taught his daughter?.. Fear creates the possibility of bringing into reality what you are afraid of. He opens the doors. Don't let fear weaken you before you even begin to fight, dear. Don't let Karaffa win without even starting to fight back.
- What should I do, father? I didn't find his weakness. I didn’t find what he was afraid of... And I no longer had time. What should I do, tell me?..
I understood that our short lives with Anna were approaching their sad end... But Caraffa still lived, and I still didn’t know where to start to destroy him...
- Go to Meteora, daughter. Only they can help you. Go there, my heart.
My father’s voice sounded very sad, apparently just like me, he did not believe that Meteora would help us.
“But they refused me, father, you know.” They believe too much in their old “truth”, which they once instilled in themselves. They won't help us.
- Listen to me, daughter... Go back there. I know you don't believe... But they are the only ones who can still help you. You have no one else to turn to. Now I have to leave... I'm sorry, dear. But I will return to you very soon. I won't leave you, Isidora.
The father’s essence began to “ripple” and melt as usual, and after a moment completely disappeared. And I, still looking in confusion at where his transparent body had just shone, realized that I didn’t know where to start... Caraffa declared too confidently that Anna would very soon be in his criminal hands, so I had no time to fight there was almost none left.
Getting up and shaking myself from my heavy thoughts, I decided to follow my father’s advice and go to Meteora again. It couldn't have been worse anyway. Therefore, having tuned in to the North, I went...
This time there were no mountains or beautiful flowers... I was greeted only by a spacious, very long stone hall, at the far end of which something incredibly bright and attractive sparkled with green light, like a dazzling emerald star. The air around her shone and pulsated, splashing out long tongues of burning green “flame”, which, flaring up, illuminated the huge hall right up to the ceiling. North stood next to this unprecedented beauty, thinking about something sad.
- Hello to you, Isidora. “I’m glad you came,” he said affectionately, turning around.
- And hello to you, Sever. “I came for a short time,” I answered, trying my best not to relax and not succumb to Meteora’s charm. - Tell me, Sever, how could you let Anna go from here? You knew what she was doing! How could you let her go?! I hoped Meteora would be her protection, but she betrayed her so easily... Please explain, if you can...

Oh, and the cunning clothing sellers are fooling our brother! I almost bought myself an “Italian” jacket, but I stopped in time and went on the Internet, and there was this...

In short, the other day I was walking around the “Lokhoskop” shopping center, near the Skhodnenskaya metro station, and came across the multi-brand store “Lady & Gentlman Cheaty”. I read the set of stamps, from top to middle - worthy! And there's still a sale. This is where I’ll buy myself a spinjac, cheaper than in Europe - I thought naively.

I went in and started looking. Hugo Boss has really dropped in price, the price is lower than on sale at the Istanbul airport.

Such a low price raised certain doubts about the quality of the product. What if there is some completely unsellable model? By the way, there were no others there. Nearby is a chic department of the Italian brand Alessandro Manzoni.

The seller chirped right into my ears - they say, it’s a well-known brand, the highest premium quality, you won’t regret it, and even a huge discount, it’s a sales season. The prices really matched the premium brand.

And it looks like I got a good jacket, for only 10,000 rubles approximately - a discount of as much as 70%! Just like in Milan in August, honestly. Such a lining could not lie: Made in Italy, all sorts of monograms... The name also inspires confidence - this is a famous Italian poet and writer, the author of a poem on the death of Napoleon, translated by Tyutchev!

But something stopped me this time... I went to have a snack and read about this wonderful brand on the Internet. And taaam...tadaaam... The website of the Italian brand was registered by someone Andrey Mikhailov from Perervinsky Boulevard in Moscow!

Registrant Name: Andrey I Mikhailov
Registrant Organization: N/A
Registrant Street: Perervinskiy bulvar, 9-115
Registrant City: Moscow
Registrant State/Province: Moscow
Registrant Postal Code: 109451
Registrant Country: RU
Registrant Phone: +7.9119225374

Turns out it's a werewolf brand owned by the store. Damn, what a shame it is to deceive customers and tell them about “famous Italian”! It turns out that we have a lot of such Perervin crap, and in Europe too, but at least there they don’t hide their origin and affiliation.

And I was surprised - why did such a chic jacket have threads sticking out of the sleeves?))

Well, be careful, cats, who fell for this trick!

Saved

ALESSANDRO MANZONI – ALESSANDRO MANZONI

(Milan, 1785 - 1873)

Italian writer, poet, playwright, public figure. Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni was born in Milan on March 7, 1785 in the family of Count Pietro Manzoni and Giulia Beccaria, daughter of Cesare Beccaria, the famous educator and author of the treatise “On Crimes and Punishments”, in which he opposes torture and the death penalty.

The Manzoni family was quite wealthy. Pietro Antonio's great-grandfather owned Barzio's land in Valsassino, from where he moved with his family in 1710 to Celeotto - to a villa built in the 18th century and later sold due to great financial problems. Grandfather Alessandro and father Pietro, born in 1736, lived in Celeotto. When Giulia and Pietro Manzoni married on October 20, 1782, Giulia was 20 years old and Pietro was 46. It was a marriage by consent: the contract was signed on September 12 of that year, and it states "the mediation of His Excellency Signor Count Pietro Verri , Actual Councilor of State and President of the Ducal Treasury of Milan,” a mediation that began in February and was carried out with “commendable modesty.” Julia was very attached to Pietro Verri; he was an old friend of her family, and the feelings he had for the young girl were more than just sympathy. Julia agreed to the marriage reluctantly, but she understood that this was the only possible solution.

The marriage did not last long. From the first months of her marriage, with a husband who was twice her age, seven unmarried sisters-in-law and a brother-in-law who was a priest, Julia protested against the dark, retrograde atmosphere of the house; she passionately dreamed of receptions in prestigious salons and of freedom. She begins to visit Verri's house, where she meets the young and attractive Giovanni Verri and falls in love with him. Therefore, when Alessandro is born, confident rumors begin to circulate that he is the son of Giovanni.

Pietro Manzoni, not paying attention to the gossip, accepts his son and gives him to his nurse Caterina Panzeri, a woman with a gentle and cheerful character, the wife of a certain Carlo Spreafico, who lives in the vicinity of Lecco.

With the birth of the child, the atmosphere in the Manzoni household becomes even colder, to such an extent that in 1791 Giulia asks for and receives an official divorce. Alessandro, according to the law, remains with his father.

At the age of six, the boy entered the college of the Fathers of Somaschi, first in Merate, and then, in 1796, in Lugano. Here he meets Padre Carlo Felice Soave (1749-1803), the author of the collection “Moral Stories”, a strict man, but very respected for his honesty, the only teacher whom Alessandro will remember with great respect. Two years later, Alessandro entered the Barnobite College in Milan, where he received a good classical education for ten years. However, college leaves him with a feeling of irritation and dissatisfaction, exacerbated by the situation in his family. But it was during this period that he made friends, communication with whom would last a lifetime, such as, for example, with Ermes Visconti (1784-1841).

Parents have little interest in their son's life. In 1792, Giulia Beccaria met the noble and wealthy Carlo Imbonati, with whom she lived first in London and then in Paris, where she was received kindly thanks to her father’s fame. In 1805 Carlo dies.

Alessandro was practically abandoned by his mother, and he had only minor, very rare meetings with his father. The father saw in his son the embodiment of his unsuccessful marriage and the woman he could not love and conquer. Alessandro's adolescence passed without family affection, support and love, which are necessary for balance between his “I” and the outside world.

In 1798, Alessandro returned to Milan, which would soon become the capital of the Cisalpine Republic, and entered the College of Longone. In 1801 he finished his studies and returned to the family palace on Via Sant Damiano, diversifying his city life with visits to Villa Caleotto near Lecco. He lives practically without communicating with his father, with the servants, from time to time receiving rare guests - Monty, Foscolo, Cuoco... In the same year he wrote his first significant work - a poem in imitation of the classics " About the triumph of freedom " ("Del trionfo della libertà"), the result of his dissatisfaction with the teaching methods of the Barnabites and Somaskas, his break with Catholicism, and his enthusiasm for the Enlightenment ideals and values ​​of the French Revolution.

Manzoni's house was plunged into melancholy. But even in the company of seven old maids and an uncle with an eyesore, Alessandro managed to have fun. He loved the theater and played in the Ridotto della Scala. He meets the poet Vincenzo Monti (1754-1828), who seems to him a person worthy of imitation, and is carried away by the ideas that Napoleon spreads throughout Europe, although Napoleon’s personality itself disappointed him.

The poetic vocation of sixteen-year-old Manzoni is expressed in the autobiographical sonnet " Self-portrait", in which he introduces himself as follows: "Capel bruno; alta fronte; occhio loquace..." ("Dark hair; high forehead; expressive look..."). By character, he recognizes himself as "duro dei modi, ma di cor gentile..." ("difficult disposition, but with a kind heart. .."), although it is difficult for him to judge himself: “Poco noto ad altrui, poco a me stesso. / Gli uomini e gli anni mi diran chi sono" ("Little known to others and little to myself. / People and years will tell me who I am"). This is a young man searching for himself. In style, the sonnet is close to the manner of Vittorio Alfieri, who was for the youth of that time a kind of idol, the embodiment of an unrecognized genius and rebellious character, a fighter against all mediocrity and hypocrisy.

Alessandro Manzoni's poetic debut dates back to 1802, it is a sonnet " On the life of Dante" ("Per la vita di Dante"). Inspired by his friendship with Ugo Foscolo and Ermes Visconti, as well as the first-time feeling of love for Visconti's sister, the "angelic Luisina", the poet writes an ode " Qual su le Cinzie cime"(1802), in which the influence of the poetry of Parini and Foscolo is felt; idyll" Adda" ("Adda", 1803), a peculiar invitation from Monti to the villa in Caleotto; four " Sermons" ("Sermoni"), in which, in the manner of Horace, he satirically ridicules the modern decline of morals. The young man understands that the poet must make extraordinary efforts to make a work of art an instrument of education for humanity. This idea is the legacy of another great poet, whose personality even after death worried the minds of the intellectuals of Milan and became significant for the Lombard enlightenment - Giuseppe Parini (1729-1799).

At the age of eighteen, Alessandro Manzoni is already widely known in intellectual circles, from whom he asks for judgments and evaluations of his works. Becomes a friend of Vincenzo Cuoco (1770-1823), author of the essay “On the Neapolitan Revolution of 1799” (“Saggio sulla revoluzione napoletana del 1799”, 1801), which shocked the young poet with terrible descriptions of Bourbon repressions. From him Alessandro receives an incentive to study the works of Giambattista Vico and to historical research. The idea of ​​history as an analysis of the living conditions of the people and as a set of events, the main character of which is the mass of the people, occupies the author of “The Betrothed,” “a novel about the poor,” at this time.

Milan is an attractive and inspiring city for a young man who, until he was sixteen, lived among the tranquil landscapes of Lake Como and the harsh walls of colleges. Despite this, Alessandro leaves Lombardy with enthusiasm when his mother invites him to Paris in 1805. In 1804, Monti was visiting Count Imbonati and Giulia and told them about the son they hardly knew. Finally, a mother figure appears in Alessandro's life. Perhaps fear of loneliness or guilt prompts Julia to invite her son to her place. Alessandro accepts the invitation, but while he is preparing for the trip, Imbonati suddenly dies, bequeathing to Giulia his entire fortune, among other things, the Villa Brusulio, not far from Milan. Twenty-year-old Alessandro arrives in Paris in September 1805, however, instead of his mother, he is met by a grieving woman. However, over time, an attachment arises between mother and son, even stronger due to long years of separation. From this moment in the life of a young man, the most important and constructive period of intellectual development begins.

Julia Beccaria was 43 years old at that time. Blonde with gray eyes and an aquiline nose, a woman of imperious, proud and courageous character, she retained the grace that had once made her the queen of Milanese salons. Her son immediately succumbs to this charm, gains confidence in her, and helps her survive the pain of loss. For her he writes a lyric poem " On the death of Carla Imbonati " ("In morte di Carlo Imbonati", 1806), in which he imagines that the deceased appeared to him in a dream to advise how a man of honor should behave. The poem is similar to a moral commandment that Manzoni will follow throughout his life, in which the poet expresses his human and literary ideals , associated with ethics and a specific analysis of the history of mankind and its evolution. The poet also condemns art for art's sake and art that has become the subject of economic relations. It is impossible not to recall here the spiritual testament of Giuseppe Parini - the ode "The Fall". Moral severity reveals Manzoni's hostility towards flatterers who , praising their masters, turn literature into a “shameful bazaar of flattery.”

The time spent in Paris gave Manzoni the opportunity to expand his cultural horizons through contacts that would play a significant role in his artistic and literary formation. Here Alessandro finds his closest friend, Claude Fourier (1772-1844), a philologist who, together with Madame de Staël, developed the culture of romanticism in France. It was Claude Fourier who brought Manzoni into the circle of "Ideologues", a group of intellectuals opposed to the Napoleonic regime because it had destroyed what they had fought for in 1789. This circle included such personalities as Anthony Destutt de Tracy (1754-1836), physician, physiologist and philosopher, and Pierre Jean Cabanis (1757-1808). Under their guidance, Manzoni opens up to the new European literature and begins to realize that any research should be carried out “as carefully as possible and without drawing any conclusions unless you are completely sure of them.” This is where Manzoni pays detailed attention to the reconstruction of historical situations in his dramatic works and in The Betrothed.

At this time, Alessandro became interested in reading the works of the great moralists and philosophers of the 17th century: Blaise Pascal, Jacques Busset... He also shared the ideas of Voltaire, and thanks to Fourier he became familiar with romantic ideas and became acquainted with the works of August-Wilhelm Schlegel (1767-1845) .

In 1807 the poemetto was published Urania" ("Urania"; perhaps dedicated to his beloved Sofia Grushi), in which the educational role of poetry is proven. The poet uses Monti's classicist schemes, which are, however, only an external form. Poemetto is an educational work of art. Here the muses and graces sent to earth by Jupiter are almost in a Christian way they symbolize the virtues that form God's crown. However, some time later, Manzoni abandons his creation, saying that “this is not how poetry should be written. Perhaps I will write something even worse, but never such poems." And indeed, the poem is not capable of arousing the reader’s interest, and is very mediocre in style.

During this period, he accompanies his mother to Italy three times: to Turin in 1806, to Genoa in February 1807 to woo Luigina Visconti (the engagement did not end in marriage) and in September of the same year to Milan after an unsuccessful engagement to the daughter of Destu de Tracy . On the shores of Lake Como, through the mediation of his mother, he meets Enriquette Blondel, the daughter of Genevan bankers who moved to Italy. This time the engagement was successful.

Thus, sixteen-year-old Enriqueta entered Manzoni's life to leave a deep mark on it. She and Alessandro were married in the municipality of Milan on February 6, 1808. In the evening of the same day, the newlyweds were blessed according to the evangelical rite in Enriqueta's house - the house of convinced Calvinists. Enriquette's father, François-Louis Blondel, was a wealthy Genevan businessman, owner of spinning mills on the banks of the Adda. During these years, he began active banking activities in Milan and bought the Imbonati Palace.

In June 1808, the Manzoni family went to Paris. All three - the newlyweds and Julia - are immensely happy. It is known about Enriquetta that “she was blonde, good-natured and graceful, very modest, ready to hide from society, while Alessandro’s mother always felt like an actress; very neat and tactful, while Julia preferred artistic disorder in everything.” Alessandro was sure that the mother was pleased with her daughter-in-law; and she treated Julia with respectful tenderness and filial affection. In December 1809, the young couple had a daughter, Julia-Claudia, who in August, according to the marriage contract, was baptized according to the Catholic ritual.

Alessandro's modest life does not give biographers the opportunity to establish the events that led the couple to the Catholic faith. Without a doubt, Enriqueta was tired of endless visits to salons, and motherhood forced her to think about her obligations towards her child - obligations regarding not only how to raise him, but also how to educate him. How to bring Julia to the Christian faith if Enriqueta herself feels insecure?

Thus, the need arose to get to know Catholicism better, according to the canons of which the daughter was to be raised. The Jansenist abbot Eustaquio Degola (1761-1826) became a friend of the family. On May 22, 1810, Enriqueta converted to the Catholic faith, and in February of the same year the couple were married according to the Catholic rite.

Enriquetta’s communication with the abbot did not go unnoticed by Alessandro. Until this moment he had been completely indifferent to religion, perhaps due to his youthful rebellion against pedantic religious education. Gradually, he becomes infected with his wife’s desire to find a way to communicate with God. During the same period, Manzoni’s “conversion” took place, although the Catholic faith for him is not a way of life, as it was for Enriquetta: in faith he saw values ​​previously hidden from him.

Numerous friends throughout his life would ask Manzoni about his “eureka moment,” the moment that became decisive in his acceptance of faith. And Alessandro never answered these questions directly: “It was the mercy of God, my dear, simply the mercy of God.” A possible motive was an episode that occurred during the celebration of the wedding of Napoleon and Marie Louise of Austria. Separated by the crowd, Alessandro and Enriquetta lost sight of each other. Frustrated, Alessandro went to the Church of St. Rocco. The words of daughter Victoria “it was the Lord who appeared before St. Paul on Damasco Street” became prophetic. Alessandro left the church and immediately saw Enriquetta, alive and unharmed.

The Jansenist ideas through which Manzoni came to the Catholic faith were reflected in his vision of humanity, as they instilled in him a pessimistic view of history as an irrational mixture of events and facts, organized only by God's provision, and also strengthened his moral rigor and severity of behavior.

Returning to Milan, Manzoni continued his studies under the guidance of the Jansenist Luigi Tosi, who would greatly influence not only the writer's religious formation, but also his literary works.

In the winter of 1810, the Manzoni family settled in Milan, sometimes going to the country villa Brusulio. These are the happiest years, lived under the sign of complete agreement.

While Alessandro plants plane trees, spruces, cypresses, robins, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, large-flowered magnolia, Lebanese cedar, Tyrolean grapes, thinking about ideas for his future works, Enriqueta is raising children. Pietro was born in 1813, Christina in 1815, Sofia in 1817, and Enrico in 1819. In 1821, Clara was born, having lived only two years; in 1822 - Victoria, in 1826 - Filippo, in 1830 - the youngest daughter Matilda. Of all of them, only Victoria and Enrico will survive their father.

Villa Brusulio was always full of friends and acquaintances, among whom were the most significant writers and intellectuals of the time: Ermes Visconti, Giovanni Bercher (1783-1851), Tommaso Grossi (1790-1853), Carlo Porta (1775-1821), Massimo d "Azeglio (1809-1850), later Manzoni's son-in-law, the Florentines Gino Capponi (1792-1876) and Giuseppe Giusti (1809-1850). Some of them consider Manzoni a "mystery", not being able to comprehend the full diversity of his character. Thanks to his With his friendly and peaceful attitude towards everyone, his deep respect for the past, his slightly stuttering, but always kind manner of communication, Manzoni aroused only sympathy among those around him. Claude Fourier sometimes comes from Paris, whom little Sofia adores. Alessandro meets the philosopher Antonio Rosmini (1792- 1867) - a future heart friend who influenced Manzoni's artistic and religious concepts.In September 1819, the Manzoni family went to Paris, where Alessandro met the historian Augustin Thierry (1795-1856) and the philosopher Victor Cusi (1792-1867), who would go with Manzoni to Italy. Thus, the trip to Paris, which lasted until August 1820, became extremely useful for the final formation of literary ideas and the concept of the writer’s most significant works.

In 1812, under the spiritual guidance of Monsignor Tosi Manzoni, he prepared a literary project of twelve sacred hymns dedicated to religious holidays. Of these, only five were written:

· Resurrection (La Risurrezione, April-June 1812);

· Christmas (Il Natale, July-September 1813);

· Trinity (La Pentecoste, started in June 1817, continued in

April 1819 and completed in September-October 1822).

To these five hymns will be added " Poems for First Communion " ("Strofe per una prima comunione"); together they will compose a collection of religious poems.

At the same time, four odes on civil themes were written:

· April 1814 (Aprile 1814);

· Proclamation at Rimini (Il proclama di Rimini; written after Murat's defeat at Tolentino; interrupted at stanza 51; is the embodiment of Manzoni’s patriotic ideas);

· March 1821 (Marzo 1821 ; Manzoni's political and patriotic appeal, an expression of his desire to see Italy united and free);

· Fifth of May (Il cinque maggio; written on the death of Napoleon Bonaparte).

On January 15, 1816, Manzoni begins to write the first of his two tragedies, " Count of Carmagnola" ("Il conte di Carmagnola"), on which he worked for a long time, as evidenced by letters to Fourier and the preface to the tragedy itself.

This winter the writer's health is deteriorating. He is seized by an attack of the same illness from which he had already suffered in Paris. This is a nervous illness that haunted him all his life, a type of hypochondriacal depression against which he was powerless. In March 1817, the family plans a trip to Paris, but they are denied passports. Even a doctor’s certificate about the need for treatment due to poor health did not help. The government demanded a written statement of the reasons for the trip, issuing an order prohibiting the police from issuing permission to travel on health grounds. Therefore, the hope for travel and for a new meeting with Fourier was in vain. At that time, the mayor of the city was Francesco di Soro, a civilian dignitary of the Austrian army. From 1815 to 1817 he governed Lombardy, then was transferred to the imperial chancellery, and was replaced in this post by Count Giulio Strassoldo. In 1819, the Manzoni finally reached Paris. During the trip, the Manzoni family visited Savoy and Switzerland. Alessandro needed this to distract himself a little. On September 19, the Manzoni arrived in Chamberly to visit friends, from there on the 23rd they went to Paris, where they arrived on October 1.

The stay in Paris lasted until July 1820. The Manzoni even toyed with the idea of ​​moving to France, but were unable to sell the villa in Brusilio.

However, Alessandro's health did not improve. He was tormented by fears, anxiety, headaches... The only thing that saved him for a while was walking, especially hiking from Milan to Brusulio. In addition, Manzoni ran every day for four hours.

Upon returning from Paris, an intense creative period begins: tragedy " Adelgiz", hymn " Trinity"and two civil odes and, finally, in 1827 the first edition was published" Engaged".

MANZONI THE MAN

Much has been written about Alessandro Manzoni as a great writer and intellectual. But what was he like in family life and as a father? Anyone who imagines him as a calm patriarch will be severely disappointed. Alessandro Manzoni exhibited all the traits of a person with a nervous disorder. Researcher and literary critic Pietro Citati lists all his phobias: at the table he began to feel dizzy; on the street he was afraid that houses would collapse on him or he would fall into the abyss. He couldn't stand the crowd, the wet ground and the chirping of sparrows. If a thunderstorm started, he felt unusually weak. “A victim of his illness, he did nothing for weeks... With an empty mind and a lost look, he really had to fear falling into the abyss of oblivion.”

Over time, the writer learned to deal with his absurd fears, developing a whole strategy that allowed him to live with neurosis. He tried to lead a measured life according to the rules: 25 minutes of walking before lunch, dressing according to the weather; always went to bed at a certain time; ate the same thing; drank hot chocolate in the morning... If he was overcome by anxiety, he would walk for hours along the streets of the city or in the surrounding area. Sometimes he walked 30-40 kilometers a day and returned home tired but calm.

Enriquetta Blondel dies on December 25, 1833. And this was the first of a long series of griefs that befell Alessandro Manzoni. Pietro Citati writes: “A few years after the completion of The Betrothed, the writer’s life became increasingly sad. The brief creative impulse faded away; at almost 45 he became a pedantic proofreader and an inexorable editor of his works.” A year later, the eldest daughter Juliet dies, who had recently married Massimo d'Azeglio; she was only 25 years old. Dejected by everything that was happening, Manzoni began writing the hymn "Christmas", which was never finished.

In 1837, Alessandro married Teresa Borri, the widow of Decio Stampa and the mother of the modest young man Stefano Stampa, with whom the writer began a paternal relationship built on respect, affection and veneration. Teresa devoted her entire life to caring for her husband’s health, creativity and fame; friends compared her to a vestal virgin who passionately guards something sacred.

In May 1841, two months after the death of Giulia Beccaria, twenty-five-year-old Cristina, who was married to Cristoforo Baroggi, dies. In 1845, at the age of twenty-seven, Sofia, the wife of Ludovico Trotti, died. In the same year, Victoria marries Giovanbattista Giorgini, a moderate liberal. Victoria moves to Pisa, where the ill Matilda, who will die in March 1856, will come to her.

Material problems are added to the grief for loved ones: the fire in Brusulio in 1848, bad harvests, debts of sons. At the age of 26, Filippo went to prison for debt, while Enrico was spending his wife’s huge inheritance. The "heroic" moment in Filippo's life was his participation in the battles against the Austrians in 1848, during which he was captured. He is transported to Vienna. He would die in 1868 in poverty, leaving four children.

The uprising in Milan did not have the expected result, and in August 1848 the Austrians returned to the city. Manzoni takes refuge for two years in Lesa on Lake Maggiore, where he is received by Stefano Stampa and his mother Teresa. At this time, he developed a close friendship with Antonio Rosmini, who lives near Lesa, in Stresa. The result of this friendship was a dialogue " About fiction " ("Dell"invenzione", 1850), in which Manzoni argues that in a literary work there should be no place for fantastic inventions, it must convey the truth, especially the historical truth. That is why he refused to write “The Betrothed” in the vein in which the first edition was written. Rosmini even offers him possible topics collected in the treatise " About pleasure" ("Del piacere", 1851).

This correspondence was followed by a decade of reflection on historical topics and linguistic research, which later served as material for the essay." About the French Revolution of 1789 and the Revolution of 1859 " ("Sulla rivoluzione francese del 1789 e la rivoluzione del 1859", 1860; published posthumously).

In 1860, Manzoni received the title of Senator of the Kingdom of Italy. On February 26, 1861, he took part in the Turin meeting of the Senate, which awarded Victor Emmanuel II the title of King of Italy.

Teresa Borri dies in August 1861. Back in 1856, Claude Fourier went missing, and a year earlier Manzoni lost the support of his best friend Rosmini. What was his influence on Manzoni? He defined the concept of “creativity” as a divine spark that manifests itself through human talent. With the help of Rosmini, Manzoni deepened the concept of Catholic morality, getting rid of Jansenist ideas forever.

Alessandro Manzoni remained lucid until the end of his days. He died at 6 pm on May 22, 1873, after excruciating agony, outliving his son Pietro by almost a month. The deterioration of his condition began in January 1872, when he fell while leaving the Church of St. Fedele and hit his head hard. The whole of Milan took part in his funeral. The funeral cortege drove along Victor Emmanuel Avenue to the Monumental Cemetery. A year later, Giuseppe Verdi dedicated the “Mass” to Alessandro Manzoni and personally conducted the orchestra during its performance in the Church of St. Mark and at La Scala.

V. Kucherovskaya, 02.2006

Opere / Works

Material criticism / Critical material