Notes Dobrolyubov N.A

When will the real day come?

Nikolai Alexandrovich Dobrolyubov
When will the real day come?
(The day before. The story of I.S. Turgenev.
"Russian Bulletin", 1860, No. 1-2.)
Schlage die Trommel und furchte dich nicht.
Heine*.
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* Beat the drum and don't be afraid. Heine[*] (German).
Aesthetic criticism has now become the property of sensitive young ladies. From conversations with them, servants of pure art can glean many subtle and true remarks and then write criticism like this: “Here is the content of Mr. Turgenev’s new story (the story of the content). Already from this pale sketch it is clear how much life and poetry there is of the freshest and fragrant. But only reading the story itself can give an idea of that instinct for the subtlest poetic shades of life, that keen mental analysis, that deep understanding of the invisible streams and currents of social thought, that friendly and at the same time bold attitude towards reality, which make up the distinctive traits of Mr. Turgenev's talent. Look, for example, how subtly these mental traits are noticed (repetition of one part from the story of the content and then an extract); read this wonderful scene, filled with such grace and charm (extract); remember this poetic living picture (extract ) or this lofty, bold image (extract). Isn't it true that this penetrates into the depths of your soul, makes your heart beat stronger, enlivens and decorates your life, elevates before you human dignity and the great, eternal meaning of the holy ideas of truth and goodness and beauty! Comme c"est joli, comme c"est delicieux!"*.
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* How beautiful it is, how charming it is! (French).
We owe our little acquaintance with sensitive young ladies the fact that we do not know how to write such pleasant and harmless criticism. Frankly admitting this and refusing the role of “educator of the aesthetic taste of the public,” we choose another task, more modest and more commensurate with our strengths. We simply want to summarize the data that is scattered in the writer’s work and which we accept as an accomplished fact, as a vital phenomenon standing before us. The work is simple, but necessary, because, with a lot of activities and rest, rarely does anyone have the desire to look closely at all the details of a literary work, to disassemble, check and put in their place all the figures from which this complex report is compiled about one of the aspects of our social life. life, and then think about the outcome and what it promises and what it obliges us to. And this kind of verification and reflection is very useful regarding the new story of Mr. Turgenev.
We know that pure aestheticians[*]* will immediately accuse us of trying to impose their opinions on the author and assign tasks to his talent. So let’s make a reservation, even though it’s boring. No, we are not imposing anything on the author, we say in advance that we do not know for what purpose, due to what preliminary considerations, he depicted the story that makes up the content of the story “On the Eve”. For us, what is important is not so much what the author wanted to say, but what he said, even if unintentionally, simply as a result of a truthful reproduction of the facts of life. We value every talented work precisely because in it we can study the facts of our native life, which is already so little open to the gaze of a simple observer. There is still no publicity in our lives other than the official one; Everywhere we encounter not living people, but officials serving in one department or another: in public places - with neat writers, at balls - with dancers, in clubs - with gamblers, in theaters - with hairdressing patients, etc. Everyone continues to bury his spiritual life; everyone looks at you as if saying: “after all, I came here to dance or to show off my hair; well, be happy that I’m doing my job, and please don’t try to extort my feelings and ideas from me.” ". And indeed, no one questions anyone, no one is interested in anyone, and the whole society goes apart, annoyed that they should converge on official occasions, such as a new opera, a dinner party or some committee meeting. Where can a person learn and study life who has not devoted himself exclusively to observing social mores? And then there is what diversity, what even opposition in the various circles and classes of our society! Thoughts that have become vulgar and backward in one circle are still hotly contested in another; What some consider insufficient and weak, others consider too harsh and bold, etc. What falls, what wins, what begins to establish itself and prevail in the moral life of society - we have no other indicator for this except literature, and mainly its artistic works. The writer-artist, not caring about any general conclusions regarding the state of social thought and morality, always knows how to grasp their most essential features, brightly illuminate and directly place them before the eyes of reflective people. That is why we believe that as soon as talent is recognized in a writer-artist, that is, the ability to feel and depict the vital truth of phenomena, then, already by virtue of this very recognition, his works provide a legitimate reason for reasoning about that environment of life, about that era , which evoked this or that work in the writer. And the measure of a writer’s talent here will be the extent to which he has captured life, the extent to which the images he has created are durable and vast.
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* For notes on words marked [*], see the end of the text.
We considered it necessary to express this in order to justify our method of interpreting the phenomena of life itself on the basis of a literary work, without, however, imposing on the author any pre-conceived ideas and tasks. The reader sees that for us it is precisely those works that are important in which life manifested itself, and not according to a program previously invented by the author. For example, we didn’t talk about “A Thousand Souls” [*], because, in our opinion, the entire social side of this novel was forced into a preconceived idea. Therefore, there is nothing to discuss here, except to what extent the author cleverly composed his essay. It is impossible to rely on the truth and living reality of the facts presented by the author, because his inner attitude towards these facts is not simple and truthful. We see a completely different attitude from the author to the plot in Turgenev’s new story, as in most of his stories. In “On the Eve” we see the irresistible influence of the natural course of social life and thought, to which the author’s very thought and imagination involuntarily submitted.
Setting the main task of literary criticism as the explanation of those phenomena of reality that gave rise to a well-known work of art, we must note that when applied to the stories of Mr. Turgenev, this task still has its own meaning. G. Turgenev can rightly be called a painter and singer of the morality and philosophy that has dominated our educated society in the last twenty years. He quickly guessed new needs, new ideas introduced into the public consciousness, and in his works he certainly paid attention (as much as circumstances allowed) to the issue that was on the agenda and was already vaguely beginning to worry society. We hope on another occasion to trace the entire literary activity of Mr. Turgenev and therefore now we will not dwell on this. Let’s just say that we attribute to this author’s instinct for the living strings of society, this ability to immediately respond to every noble thought and honest feeling that is just beginning to penetrate the consciousness of the best people, a significant share of the success that Mr. Turgenev constantly enjoyed among the Russian public . Of course, literary talent itself contributed a lot to this success. But our readers know that Mr. Turgenev’s talent is not one of those titanic talents that, solely by the power of poetic representation, amazes, captivates you and draws you to sympathy for a phenomenon or idea with which you are not at all inclined to sympathize. Not stormy, impetuous force, but on the contrary - softness and some kind of poetic moderation serve as characteristic features of his talent. Therefore, we believe that he could not arouse the general sympathy of the public if he dealt with issues and needs that were completely alien to his readers or had not yet been aroused in society. Some would have noticed the charm of the poetic descriptions in his stories, the subtlety and depth in the outlines of various faces and positions, but, without any doubt, this would not have been enough to make lasting success and fame for the writer. Without a living attitude to modernity, everyone, even the most sympathetic and talented narrator, must suffer the fate of Mr. Fet, who was once praised, but from whom now only a dozen amateurs remember the top ten best poems. A lively attitude towards modernity saved Mr. Turgenev and strengthened his constant success among the reading public. Some thoughtful critic[*] even once reproached Mr. Turgenev for the fact that his activities so strongly reflected “all the fluctuations of social thought.” But, despite this, we see here precisely the most vital side of Mr. Turgenev’s talent, and with this side we explain why each of his works has been met with such sympathy, almost enthusiasm, until now.
So, we can safely say that if Mr. Turgenev has already touched on some issue in his story, if he has depicted some new side of social relations, this serves as a guarantee that this issue is really being raised or will soon be raised in consciousness of an educated society that this new side of life is beginning to emerge and will soon appear sharply and brightly before the eyes of everyone. Therefore, every time a story by Mr. Turgenev appears, a curious question becomes: what aspects of life are depicted in it, what issues are raised?
This question appears now, and in relation to Turgenev’s new story it is more interesting than ever. Until now, Mr. Turgenev’s path, in accordance with the path of development of our society, has been quite clearly outlined in one direction. He came from the sphere of higher ideas and theoretical aspirations and aimed to bring these ideas and aspirations into the crude and vulgar reality, which had deviated far from them. The preparations for the struggle and the suffering of the hero, who worked for the victory of his principles, and his fall before the overwhelming force of human vulgarity, usually constituted the interest of the stories of Mr. Turgenev. Of course, the very foundations of the struggle, that is, ideas and aspirations, changed in each work or, with the passage of time and circumstances, were expressed more definitely and sharply. Thus, the Superfluous Man was replaced by Pasynkov, Pasynkov by Rudin, Rudin by Lavretsky[*]. Each of these faces was bolder and fuller than the previous ones, but the essence, the basis of their character and their entire existence was the same. They were introducers of new ideas into a well-known circle, educators, propagandists - at least for one female soul, and propagandists. For this they were very praised, and indeed - at one time they were apparently very needed, and their work was very difficult, honorable and beneficial. It was not for nothing that everyone greeted them with such love, so sympathized with their mental suffering, and so regretted their fruitless efforts. It was not for nothing that no one then thought to notice that all these gentlemen were excellent, noble, intelligent, but essentially idle people. Drawing their images in different positions and collisions, Mr. Turgenev himself usually treated them with touching sympathy, with heartache for their suffering, and constantly aroused the same feeling among the mass of readers. When one motive for this struggle and suffering began to seem insufficient, when one trait of nobility and sublimity of character began to seem to be covered with some vulgarity, Mr. Turgenev knew how to find other motives, other traits and again fell into the very heart of the reader and again aroused him and his enthusiastic sympathy for the heroes. The item seemed inexhaustible.
But recently, in our society, quite noticeable demands have emerged that are completely different from those that brought Rudin and all his brethren to life. There has been a radical change in the attitudes of the educated majority towards these individuals. The question was no longer about the modification of one or another motive, one or another beginning of their aspirations, but about the very essence of their activity. During that period of time, while all these enlightened champions of truth and goodness, eloquent sufferers of lofty convictions, were depicted before us, new people grew up for whom love of truth and honesty of aspirations are no longer a novelty. From childhood, inconspicuously and constantly, they were imbued with those concepts and aspirations for which previously the best people had to struggle, doubt and suffer in adulthood*. Therefore, the very nature of education in today’s young society has taken on a different color. Those concepts and aspirations that previously gave the title** of an advanced person are now considered the first and necessary accessory of the most ordinary education. From a high school student, from a mediocre cadet, even sometimes from a decent seminarian, you will now hear the expression of such convictions for which in the past, for example, Belinsky had to argue and get excited. And the high school student or cadet expresses these concepts - so difficult, previously acquired in battle - completely calmly, without any excitement or complacency, as a thing that cannot be otherwise and is even unthinkable otherwise.
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* We have already been reproached once for being partial to the younger generation and pointing out the vulgarity and emptiness to which most of its representatives indulge. But we never thought of standing up for all young people indiscriminately, and this would not be consistent with our goal. Vulgarity and emptiness are the heritage of all times and all ages. But we spoke and are now speaking about chosen people, the best people, and not about the crowd, since Rudin and all the people of his caliber did not belong to the crowd, but to the best people of their time. However, we will not be wrong if we say that among the mass of society, the level of education has recently risen. (Note by N.A. Dobrolyubov.)
** Titlo (title) is an honorary title.
Meeting a person of the so-called progressive trend, no one today from decent people indulges in surprise and delight, no one looks into his eyes with silent reverence, no one mysteriously shakes his hand and invites him in a whisper to come to his circle of selected people - to talk about that that injustice and slavery are disastrous for the state. On the contrary, now they stop with involuntary, contemptuous amazement in front of a person who shows a lack of sympathy for publicity, selflessness, emancipation*, etc. Now even people who do not like progressive ideas at heart must show that they love them in order to have access to a decent society. It is clear that in this state of affairs, the former sowers of good, people of the Rudin style, are losing a significant share of their former credit. They are respected like old mentors; but rarely does anyone, having entered his mind, be disposed to listen again to those lessons that were received with such greed before, in the age of childhood and initial development. Something else is needed, we need to move on**.
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* Emancipation, or emancipation (from French) - liberation from dependence, in particular the liberation of women from their state of economic and legal oppression and their equal rights with men.
** The extraordinary success with which publications of the works of some of our writers of the forties are encountered can apparently testify against this idea. A particularly striking example is Belinsky[*], whose works quickly sold out, they say, in the amount of 12,000 copies. But, in our opinion, this very fact serves as the best confirmation of our thought that Belinsky was the foremost of the advanced, none of his peers went further than him, and where 12,000 copies of Belinsky were snapped up in a few months, the Rudins simply had nothing to do. Belinsky’s success proves not at all that his ideas are still new to our society and require great effort to disseminate, but precisely that they are now dear and sacred to the majority and that their preaching no longer requires either heroism or specialness from new figures. talents. (Note by N.A. Dobrolyubov).
“But,” they will tell us, “after all, society has not reached the extreme point in its development; further mental and moral improvement is possible. Therefore, society needs leaders, preachers of truth, and propagandists, in a word, people of the Rudin type. All the former has been accepted and entered into the general consciousness, let us assume. But this does not exclude the possibility that new Rudins will appear, preachers of new, higher tendencies, and will again fight and suffer, and again arouse the sympathy of society. This subject is, indeed, inexhaustible in its content and can constantly bring new laurels to such a sympathetic writer as Mr. Turgenev."
It would be a pity if such a remark were justified now. Fortunately, it seems to be refuted by the latest movement in our literature. Reasoning abstractly, one cannot help but admit that the idea of eternal movement and the eternal change of ideas in society, and, consequently, of the constant need for preachers of these ideas, is quite fair. But you also need to take into account the fact that societies do not live only to reason and exchange ideas. Ideas and their gradual development have their significance only because they, born from existing facts, always precede changes in reality itself. A certain state of affairs creates a need in society, this need is recognized, and following the general consciousness of it, an actual change should appear in favor of satisfying the need recognized by everyone. Thus, after a period of awareness of certain ideas and aspirations, a period of their implementation must appear in society; thinking and talking must be followed by action. The question now is: what has our society been doing in the last 20-30 years? Nothing for now. It studied, developed, listened to the Rudins, sympathized with their failures in the noble struggle for convictions, prepared for action, but did nothing... So much beauty had accumulated in the head and heart; in the existing order of affairs, so many absurd and dishonest things have been noticed; the mass of people “conscious of themselves above the surrounding reality” is growing every year - so that soon, perhaps, everyone will be above reality... It seems there is nothing to wish for us to continue forever to walk this tedious path of discord, doubt and abstract sorrows and consolations. It seems clear that what we now need is not people who would “elevate us above the surrounding reality” even more, but people who would raise – or teach us how to raise – reality itself to the level of those reasonable demands that we have already recognized. In a word, we need people of action, not abstract ones, always a little epicurean reasoning*.
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* Epicureanism (from Greek) - a tendency to sensual pleasures, to a pampered life; here: reasoning that is far from life, from the requirements of reality.
The awareness of this, although vaguely, was already expressed in many with the appearance of the “Noble Nest”. Mr. Turgenev's talent, together with his faithful tact to reality, brought him out of a difficult situation with triumph this time. He knew how to stage Lavretsky in such a way that it would be awkward to mock him, although he belongs to the same family of idle types whom we look at with a grin. The drama of his situation no longer lies in the struggle with his own powerlessness, but in the clash with such concepts and morals, with which the struggle, indeed, should frighten even an energetic and courageous person. He is married and has deserted his wife; but he fell in love with a pure, bright creature, brought up in such concepts that loving a married person is a terrible crime. Meanwhile, she loves him too, and his claims can constantly and terribly torment her heart and conscience. You will inevitably think bitterly and heavily about this situation, and we remember how painfully our hearts sank when Lavretsky, saying goodbye to Liza, said to her: “Oh, Liza, Liza! How happy we could be!” and when she, already a humble nun at heart, answered: “You see for yourself that happiness depends not on us, but on God,” and he began: “Yes, because you...” and didn’t finish... Readers and critics of The Noble Nest, I remember, admired many other things in this novel. But for us, his most significant interest lies in this tragic collision of Lavretsky, whose passivity, precisely in this case, we cannot but excuse. Here Lavretsky, as if betraying one of the generic traits of his type, is almost not even a propagandist. Beginning with his first meeting with Liza, when she was going to mass, throughout the novel he timidly bows before the inviolability of her concepts and never once dares to approach her with cold reassurances. But this, of course, is because here propaganda would be the very thing that Lavretsky, like all his brothers, is afraid of. With all this, it seems to us (at least, it seemed when reading the novel) that the very position of Lavretsky, the very collision chosen by Mr. Turgenev and so familiar to Russian life, should serve as strong propaganda and lead each reader to a series of thoughts about the meaning of the whole enormous department of concepts that govern our lives. Now, according to various printed and verbal reviews, we know that we were not entirely right: the meaning of Lavretsky’s position was understood differently or was not at all clear to many readers. But that there was something legitimately tragic in it, and not ghostly, was clear, and this, together with the merits of the performance, attracted the unanimous enthusiastic participation of the entire Russian reading public to The Noble Nest.
After "The Noble Nest" one could fear for the fate of Turgenev's new work. The path of creating sublime characters forced to humble themselves under the blows of fate has become very slippery. Amidst the enthusiasm for the “Noble Nest,” voices were also heard expressing displeasure at Lavretsky, from whom more was expected. The author himself considered it necessary to introduce Mikhalevich into his story, so that he would curse Lavretsky with a bully. And Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, who appeared at the same time, finally and sharply explained to the entire Russian public that now it is better for a powerless and weak-willed person not to make people laugh, it is better to lie on his sofa than to run, fuss, make noise, argue and talk from empty empty for whole years and decades. Having read Oblomov, the public understood his kinship with the interesting personalities of the “superfluous people” and realized that these people were now truly superfluous and that they were of exactly the same use as the kindest Ilya Ilyich. “What will Mr. Turgenev create now?” - we thought and with great curiosity began to read “On the Eve”.
The sense of the present moment did not deceive the author this time either. Realizing that the former heroes had already done their job and could not arouse the same sympathy among the best part of our society, he decided to leave them and, having sensed in several fragmentary manifestations the spirit of the new demands of life, he tried to take the road along which the advanced movement of the present time is taking place. ..
In Mr. Turgenev's new story we encounter different positions, different types than we are accustomed to in his works of the previous period. The social need for action, for living action, the beginning of contempt for dead, abstract* principles and passive virtues was expressed in the entire structure of the new story. Without a doubt, everyone who reads our article has now already read “On the Eve”. Therefore, instead of telling the content of the story, we will present only a short sketch of the main characters.
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* Abstract (from Latin) - abstract.
The heroine of the novel is a girl with a serious mindset, an energetic will, and humane aspirations of her heart. Its development took place in a very unique way thanks to special family circumstances.
Her father and mother were very limited people, but not evil; the mother was even positively distinguished by her kindness and gentleness of heart. From childhood, Elena was spared from family despotism, which destroys so many beautiful natures in the bud. She grew up alone, without friends, completely freely; no formalism constrained her. Nikolai Artemyich Stakhov, her father, a dull man, but who pretended to be a philosopher of a skeptical tone and stayed away from family life, at first only admired his little Elena, in whom extraordinary abilities were discovered early on. Elena, while she was small, also, for her part, adored her father. But Stakhov’s relationship with his wife was not entirely satisfactory: he married Anna Vasilyevna for her dowry, did not have any feelings for her, treated her almost with disdain and moved away from her into the company of Augustina Christianovna, who robbed and fooled him. Anna Vasilyevna, a sick and sensitive woman, like Marya Dmitrievna of the “Noble Nest,” meekly endured her situation, but could not help but complain about it to everyone in the house, and by the way, even to her daughter. Thus, Elena soon became the confidant of her mother’s sorrows and involuntarily became a judge between her and her father. Given her impressionable nature, this had a great influence on the development of her inner strengths. The less she could act practically in this case, the more work seemed to her mind and imagination. Forced from an early age to peer into the mutual relationships of people close to her, participating with both her heart and head in explaining the meaning of these relationships and pronouncing judgment on them, Elena early accustomed herself to independent reflection, to a conscious look at everything around her. The family relations of the Stakhovs are outlined very briefly in Mr. Turgenev, but in this essay there are deeply correct indications that explain a lot about the initial development of Elena’s character. By nature she was an impressionable and intelligent child; Her position between her mother and father early caused her to think seriously, early raised her to an independent, to a powerful role. She became on a level with her elders, making them defendants before her. And at the same time, her thoughts were not cold, her whole soul merged with them, because it was about people too close, too dear to her, about relationships with which the most sacred feelings, the most living interests of the girl were connected. That is why her thoughts were directly reflected in her disposition of heart: from adoration of her father, she moved on to passionate attachment to her mother, in whom she began to see an oppressed, suffering creature. But in this love for the mother there was nothing hostile to the father, who was neither a villain, nor a positive fool, nor a domestic tyrant. He was just a very ordinary mediocrity, and Elena lost interest in him - instinctively, and then, perhaps consciously, deciding that there was nothing to love him for. Yes, she soon saw the same mediocrity in her mother, and in her heart, instead of passionate love and respect, only a feeling of regret and condescension remained: Mr. Turgenev very successfully outlined her relationship with her mother, saying that she “treated her mother like with a sick grandmother." The mother admitted that she was inferior to her daughter; the father, as soon as his daughter began to outgrow him mentally, which was very easy, lost interest in her, decided that she was strange, and abandoned her.

Nikolai Alexandrovich Dobrolyubov

When will the real day come?

(“On the Eve”, story by I. S. Turgenev. “Russian Bulletin”, 1860, No. 1–2)

Schlage die Trommel und furchte dich nicht!

Aesthetic criticism has now become the property of sensitive young ladies. From conversations with them, servants of pure art can glean many subtle and correct remarks and then write criticism of this kind. “Here is the content of Mr. Turgenev’s new story (story content). Already from this pale sketch it is clear how much life and poetry is the freshest and most fragrant. But only reading the story itself can give an idea of that instinct for the subtlest poetic shades of life, that acute mental analysis, that deep understanding of the invisible streams and currents of social thought, that friendly and at the same time bold attitude towards reality, which constitute the distinctive features of Mr. Turgenev. Look, for example, how subtly these mental traits are noted (repetition of one part from the story of the content and then an extract); read this wonderful scene, filled with such grace and charm (extract); remember this poetic, living picture (extract) or this tall, bold image (extract). Isn’t it true that this penetrates into the depths of your soul, makes your heart beat stronger, enlivens and decorates your life, elevates before you human dignity and the great, eternal significance of the holy ideas of truth, goodness and beauty! Comme c"est joli, comme c"est delicieux!”

We owe our little acquaintance with sensitive young ladies the fact that we do not know how to write such pleasant and harmless criticism. Frankly admitting this and refusing the role of “educator of the aesthetic taste of the public,” we choose another task, more modest and more commensurate with our strengths. We simply want to summarize the data that is scattered in the writer’s work and which we accept as an accomplished fact, as a vital phenomenon standing before us. The work is simple, but necessary, because, with a lot of activities and rest, rarely does anyone have the desire to look closely at all the details of a literary work, to disassemble, check and put in their place all the figures from which this complex report is compiled about one of the aspects of our social life. life, and then think about the outcome and what it promises and what it obliges us to. And this kind of verification and reflection is very useful regarding the new story of Mr. Turgenev.

We know that pure aestheticians will immediately accuse us of trying to impose their opinions on the author and assign tasks to his talent. So let’s make a reservation, even though it’s boring. No, we are not imposing anything on the author, we say in advance that we do not know for what purpose, due to what preliminary considerations, he depicted the story that makes up the content of the story “On the Eve.” For us it is not so important that wanted tell the author how much, what affected to them, even if unintentionally, simply as a result of a truthful reproduction of the facts of life. We value every talented work precisely because in it we can study the facts of our native life, which is already so little open to the gaze of a simple observer. There is still no publicity in our lives other than the official one; Everywhere we encounter not living people, but officials serving in one department or another: in public places - with neat writers, at balls - with dancers, in clubs - with gamblers, in theaters - with hairdressing patients, etc. Everyone continues to bury his spiritual life; everyone looks at you as if saying: “After all, I came here to dance or to show off my hair; Well, be happy that I’m doing my job, and please don’t try to extort my feelings and concepts from me.” And indeed, no one questions anyone, no one is interested in anyone, and the whole society goes apart, annoyed that they should converge on official occasions, like a new opera, a dinner party or some committee meeting. Where can a person learn and study life who has not devoted himself exclusively to observing social mores? And then there is what diversity, what even opposition in the various circles and classes of our society! Thoughts that have already become vulgar and backward in one circle are still hotly contested in another; what is considered insufficient and weak by some, seems too harsh and bold to others, etc. What falls, what wins, what begins to establish itself and prevail in the moral life of society - we have no other indicator for this except literature, and mainly , her artistic works. The writer-artist, not caring about any general conclusions regarding the state of social thought and morality, always knows how to grasp their most essential features, brightly illuminate and directly place them before the eyes of reflective people. That is why we believe that as soon as talent is recognized in a writer-artist, that is, the ability to feel and depict the vital truth of phenomena, then, already by virtue of this very recognition, his works provide a legitimate reason for reasoning about that environment of life, about that era , which evoked this or that work in the writer. And the measure of a writer’s talent here will be the extent to which he has captured life, the extent to which the images he has created are durable and vast.

Nikolai Alexandrovich Dobrolyubov

When will the real day come?

(“On the Eve”, story by I. S. Turgenev. “Russian Bulletin”, 1860, No. 1–2)

Schlage die Trommel und furchte dich nicht!

We considered it necessary to express this in order to justify our technique - to interpret the phenomena of life itself on the basis of a literary work, without, however, imposing on the author any pre-conceived ideas and tasks. The reader sees that for us it is precisely those works that are important in which life manifested itself, and not according to a program previously invented by the author. We didn’t talk about “A Thousand Souls,” for example, at all, because, in our opinion, the entire social side of this novel was forced into a preconceived idea. Therefore, there is nothing to discuss here, except to what extent the author cleverly composed his essay. It is impossible to rely on the truth and living reality of the facts presented by the author, because his inner attitude towards these facts is not simple and truthful. We see a completely different attitude from the author to the plot in Mr. Turgenev’s new story, as in most of his stories. In “On the Eve” we see the irresistible influence of the natural course of social life and thought, to which the author’s very thought and imagination involuntarily submitted.

Setting the main task of literary criticism as the explanation of those phenomena of reality that gave rise to a well-known work of art, we must note that when applied to the stories of Mr. Turgenev, this task has a special meaning. G. Turgenev can rightly be called the representative and singer of the morality and philosophy that has dominated our educated society in the last twenty years. He quickly guessed new needs, new ideas introduced into the public consciousness, and in his works he usually drew (as much as circumstances allowed) attention to the issue that was on the agenda and was already vaguely beginning to worry society. We hope on another occasion to trace the entire literary activity of Mr. Turgenev and therefore now we will not dwell on this. Let’s just say that we attribute to this author’s instinct for the living strings of society, this ability to immediately respond to every noble thought and honest feeling that is just beginning to penetrate the consciousness of the best people, a significant share of the success that Mr. Turgenev constantly enjoyed among the Russian public . Of course, literary talent itself contributed a lot to this success. But our readers know that Mr. Turgenev’s talent is not one of those titanic talents that, solely by the power of poetic representation, amazes, captures you and draws you to sympathy for such a phenomenon or idea, which you are not at all inclined to sympathize with, not a stormy, impetuous force, but on the contrary, gentleness and some kind of poetic moderation serve as characteristic features of his talent. Therefore, we believe that he could not arouse the general sympathy of the public if he dealt with issues and needs that were completely alien to his readers or had not yet been aroused in society. Some would have noticed the charm of the poetic descriptions in his stories, the subtlety and depth in the outlines of various faces and positions, but, without any doubt, this would not have been enough to make lasting success and fame for the writer. Without a living attitude towards modernity, everyone, even the most sympathetic and talented narrator, must suffer the fate of Mr. Fet, who was once praised, but from whom now only a dozen amateurs remember the top ten best poems. A lively attitude towards modernity saved Mr. Turgenev and strengthened his constant success among the reading public. Some thoughtful critic even once reproached Mr. Turgenev for the fact that his activities so strongly reflected “all the fluctuations of social thought” (2). But, despite this, we see here precisely the most vital side of Mr. Turgenev’s talent, and with this side we explain why each of his works has been met with such sympathy, almost with enthusiasm, until now.

(The day before. The story of I.S. Turgenev.

"Russian Bulletin", 1860, N 1-2.)

Schlage die Trommel und furchte dich nicht.

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* Beat the drum and don't be afraid. Heine[*] (German).

Aesthetic criticism has now become the property of sensitive young ladies. From conversations with them, servants of pure art can glean many subtle and true remarks and then write criticism like this: “Here is the content of Mr. Turgenev’s new story (the story of the content). Already from this pale sketch it is clear how much life and poetry there is of the freshest and fragrant. But only reading the story itself can give an idea of that instinct for the subtlest poetic shades of life, that keen mental analysis, that deep understanding of the invisible streams and currents of social thought, that friendly and at the same time bold attitude towards reality, which make up the distinctive traits of Mr. Turgenev's talent. Look, for example, how subtly these mental traits are noticed (repetition of one part from the story of the content and then an extract); read this wonderful scene, filled with such grace and charm (extract); remember this poetic living picture (extract ) or this lofty, bold image (extract). Isn't it true that this penetrates into the depths of your soul, makes your heart beat stronger, enlivens and decorates your life, elevates before you human dignity and the great, eternal meaning of the holy ideas of truth and goodness and beauty! Comme c"est joli, comme c"est delicieux!"*.

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* How beautiful it is, how charming it is! (French).

We know that pure aestheticians[*]* will immediately accuse us of trying to impose their opinions on the author and assign tasks to his talent. So let’s make a reservation, even though it’s boring. No, we are not imposing anything on the author, we say in advance that we do not know for what purpose, due to what preliminary considerations, he depicted the story that makes up the content of the story “On the Eve”. For us, what is important is not so much what the author wanted to say, but what he said, even if unintentionally, simply as a result of a truthful reproduction of the facts of life. We value every talented work precisely because in it we can study the facts of our native life, which is already so little open to the gaze of a simple observer. There is still no publicity in our lives other than the official one; Everywhere we encounter not living people, but officials serving in one department or another: in public places - with neat writers, at balls - with dancers, in clubs - with gamblers, in theaters - with hairdressing patients, etc. Everyone continues to bury his spiritual life; everyone looks at you as if saying: “after all, I came here to dance or to show off my hair; well, be happy that I’m doing my job, and please don’t try to extort my feelings and ideas from me.” ". And indeed, no one is asking anyone, no one is interested in anyone, and the whole society goes apart, annoyed, that should converge on official occasions, like a new opera, a dinner party or some committee meeting. Where can a person learn and study life who has not devoted himself exclusively to observing social mores? And then there is what diversity, what even opposition in the various circles and classes of our society! Thoughts that have become vulgar and backward in one circle are still hotly contested in another; What some consider insufficient and weak, others consider too harsh and bold, etc. What falls, what wins, what begins to establish itself and prevail in the moral life of society - we have no other indicator for this except literature, and mainly its artistic works. The writer-artist, not caring about any general conclusions regarding the state of social thought and morality, always knows how to grasp their most essential features, brightly illuminate and directly place them before the eyes of reflective people. That is why we believe that as soon as talent is recognized in a writer-artist, that is, the ability to feel and depict the vital truth of phenomena, then, already by virtue of this very recognition, his works provide a legitimate reason for reasoning about that environment of life, about that era , which evoked this or that work in the writer. And the measure of a writer’s talent here will be the extent to which he has captured life, the extent to which the images he has created are durable and vast.

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* For notes on words marked [*], see the end of the text.

We considered it necessary to express this in order to justify our technique - to interpret the phenomena of life itself on the basis of a literary work, without, however, imposing on the author any pre-conceived ideas and tasks. The reader sees that for us it is precisely those works that are important in which life manifested itself, and not according to a program previously invented by the author. For example, we didn’t talk about “A Thousand Souls” [*], because, in our opinion, the entire social side of this novel was forced into a preconceived idea. Therefore, there is nothing to discuss here, except to what extent the author cleverly composed his essay. It is impossible to rely on the truth and living reality of the facts presented by the author, because his inner attitude towards these facts is not simple and truthful. We see a completely different attitude from the author to the plot in Turgenev’s new story, as in most of his stories. In “On the Eve” we see the irresistible influence of the natural course of social life and thought, to which the author’s very thought and imagination involuntarily submitted.

Setting the main task of literary criticism as the explanation of those phenomena of reality that gave rise to a well-known work of art, we must note that when applied to the stories of Mr. Turgenev, this task still has its own meaning. G. Turgenev can rightly be called a painter and singer of the morality and philosophy that has dominated our educated society in the last twenty years. He quickly guessed new needs, new ideas introduced into the public consciousness, and in his works he certainly paid attention (as much as circumstances allowed) to the issue that was on the agenda and was already vaguely beginning to worry society. We hope on another occasion to trace the entire literary activity of Mr. Turgenev and therefore now we will not dwell on this. Let’s just say that we attribute to this author’s instinct for the living strings of society, this ability to immediately respond to every noble thought and honest feeling that is just beginning to penetrate the consciousness of the best people, a significant share of the success that Mr. Turgenev constantly enjoyed among the Russian public . Of course, literary talent itself contributed a lot to this success. But our readers know that Mr. Turgenev’s talent is not one of those titanic talents that, solely by the power of poetic representation, amazes, captivates you and draws you to sympathy for a phenomenon or idea with which you are not at all inclined to sympathize. Not stormy, impetuous force, but on the contrary - softness and some kind of poetic moderation serve as characteristic features of his talent. Therefore, we believe that he could not arouse the general sympathy of the public if he dealt with issues and needs that were completely alien to his readers or had not yet been aroused in society. Some would have noticed the charm of the poetic descriptions in his stories, the subtlety and depth in the outlines of various faces and positions, but, without any doubt, this would not have been enough to make lasting success and fame for the writer. Without a living attitude to modernity, everyone, even the most sympathetic and talented narrator, must suffer the fate of Mr. Fet, who was once praised, but from whom now only a dozen amateurs remember the top ten best poems. A lively attitude towards modernity saved Mr. Turgenev and strengthened his constant success among the reading public. Some thoughtful critic[*] even once reproached Mr. Turgenev for the fact that his activities so strongly reflected “all the fluctuations of social thought.” But, despite this, we see here precisely the most vital side of Mr. Turgenev’s talent, and with this side we explain why each of his works has been met with such sympathy, almost enthusiasm, until now.

Beat the drum and don't be afraid!

G. Turgenev can rightly be called the representative and singer of the morality and philosophy that has dominated our educated society in the last twenty years. He quickly guessed new needs, new ideas introduced into the public consciousness, and in his works he usually drew attention to the question that was next in line and was already vaguely beginning to worry society. The preparations for the struggle and the suffering of the hero, who worked for the victory of his principles, and his fall before the overwhelming force of human vulgarity ... were usually the interest of Mr. Turgenev’s stories. Of course, the very foundations of the struggle, that is, ideas and aspirations, changed in each work or, with the passage of time and circumstances... Thus, the extra person was replaced by Pasynkov, Pasynkov by Rudin, Rudina by Lavretsky. But recently, in our society, quite noticeable demands have emerged that are completely different from those that brought Rudin and all his brethren to life. There has been a radical change in the attitudes of the educated majority towards these individuals. ...society needs both leaders, preachers of truth, and propagandists, in a word - people of the Rudin type. ... Now in Turgenev’s Elena we see a new attempt to create an energetic, active character and we cannot say that the author failed in depicting the character itself. ... The fact is that in “On the Eve” the main person is Elena. It reflected that vague longing for something, that almost unconscious, but irresistible need for a new life, new people, which now covers all of Russian society, and not even just the so-called educated one. Elena so clearly reflected the best aspirations of our modern life, and in those around her, all the inconsistency of the usual order of that same life stands out so clearly. ... To satisfy our feelings, our thirst, we need more: we need a person like Insarov, but a Russian Insarov.

Dobrolyubov. Dark Kingdom (about the works of Ostrovsky, 1859)

...We consider it the best thing to apply to Ostrovsky’s works criticism real, consisting in reviewing what his works give us…. Real criticism relates to the artist’s work in the same way as to the phenomena of real life: she studies them, trying to determine their own standard, to collect their essential, characteristic features, but without fussing at all about why oats are not rye, and coal is not diamond...

...the main advantage of a writer-artist is truth his images; otherwise there will be false conclusions from them, and, by their grace, false concepts will be formed.

Social activities are little touched upon in Ostrovsky’s comedies . … But in Ostrovsky, two types of relationships are extremely fully and vividly displayed, to which a person can still attach his soul in our country - relationships family and relationships by property. It is no wonder, therefore, that the plots and the very names of his plays revolve around family, the groom, the bride, wealth and poverty.<…>Dramatic collisions and disasters in Ostrovsky's plays all occur as a result of a clash between two parties - seniors And younger, rich And poor, self-willed And unrequited. It is clear that the outcome of such clashes, by the very essence of the matter, should have a rather abrupt character and feel random.

With these preliminary considerations, let us now enter this world revealed to us by the works of Ostrovsky, and we will try to take a closer look at the inhabitants who inhabit it. dark kingdom. You will soon see that it was not for nothing that we named it dark.

Before us are the sadly submissive faces of our younger brothers, doomed by fate to a dependent, passive existence. Sensitive Mitya, good-natured Andrei Bruskov, poor bride Marya Andreevna, disgraced Avdotya Maksimovna, unfortunate Dasha and Nadya - stand before us, silently submissive to fate, resignedly sad... This is a world of hidden, quietly sighing sorrow, a world of dull, aching pain , a world of prison-like, deathly silence, only occasionally enlivened by a dull, powerless murmur, timidly dying out at its very inception. There is no light, no warmth, no space; The dark and cramped prison reeks of rot and dampness. Not a single sound from the free air, not a single ray of bright day penetrates into it. From time to time, only a spark of that sacred flame that burns in every human breast flares up in it until it is flooded with an influx of everyday dirt. This spark smolders a little in the dampness and stench of the dungeon, but sometimes, for a minute, it flares up and pours the light of truth and goodness on the gloomy figures of the languishing prisoners.<…>And there is nowhere for them to expect consolation, nowhere to look for relief: the senseless dominates violently and unaccountably over them. tyranny represented by various Tortsovs, Bolshovs, Bruskovs, Ulanbekovs, etc., not recognizing any reasonable rights and demands.

…Looking at the artist not as a theorist, but as a reproducer of reality phenomena, we do not attach exceptional importance to , what theories does he follow? The main thing is that he is conscientious and does not distort the facts of life in favor of his views: then the true meaning of the facts will appear by itself in the work, although, of course, not with such brightness as in the case when the power of abstract thought helps artistic work... Even his opponents themselves say about Ostrovsky that he always draws correctly pictures of real life...