Development of literature in the second half of the 19th century. Features of the development of Russian literature in the second half of the 19th century Authors of the 2nd half of the 19th century

Literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century played an important role in the social life of the country. Most modern critics and readers are sure of this. At that time, reading was not entertainment, but a way of understanding the surrounding reality. For the writer, creativity itself became an important act of civil service to society, since he had a sincere belief in the power of the creative word, in the likelihood that a book could influence the mind and soul of a person so that he would change for the better.

As modern researchers note, it was precisely because of this belief that in the literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century a civic pathos was born in the struggle for some idea that could play an important role in transforming the country, sending the entire country along one path or another. The 19th century was the century of maximum development of Russian critical thought. Therefore, the speeches in the press of critics of that time were included in the annals of Russian culture.

A well-known confrontation that emerged in the history of literature in the half of the 19th century emerged between Westerners and Slavophiles. These social movements arose in Russia back in the 40s of the 19th century. Westerners advocated that the true development of Russia began with the reforms of Peter I, and in the future it is necessary to follow this historical path. At the same time, they treated all of pre-Petrine Rus' with disdain, noting the lack of culture and history worthy of respect. Slavophiles advocated the independent development of Russia independent of the West.

Just at that time, a very radical movement became popular among Westerners, which was based on the teachings of utopians with a socialist bent, in particular, Fourier and Saint-Simon. The most radical wing of this movement saw revolution as the only way to change something in the state.

Slavophiles, in turn, insisted that Russian history is no less rich than Western history. In their opinion, Western civilization suffered from individualism and lack of faith, having become disillusioned with spiritual values.

The confrontation between Westerners and Slavophiles was also observed in Russian literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century, and especially in criticism of Gogol. Westerners considered this writer the founder of the social-critical trend in Russian literature, and Slavophiles insisted on the epic completeness of the poem “Dead Souls” and its prophetic pathos. Remember that critical articles played a big role in Russian literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century.

In the 1840s, a whole galaxy of writers appeared who rallied around the literary critic Belinsky. This group of writers came to be called representatives of the “natural school.”

They were very popular in the literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century. Their main character is a representative of the unprivileged class. These are artisans, janitors, beggars, peasants. Writers sought to give them the opportunity to speak out, to show their morals and way of life, reflecting through them the whole of Russia from a special angle.

The genre is gaining great popularity among them. It describes different layers of society with scientific rigor. Prominent representatives of the “natural school” are Nekrasov, Grigorovich, Turgenev, Reshetnikov, Uspensky.

By 1860, the confrontation between Westerners and Slavophiles was fading away. But disputes between representatives of the intelligentsia continue. Cities and industry are rapidly developing around us, and history is changing. At this moment, people from a variety of social strata came to the literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century. If earlier writing was the domain of the nobility, now merchants, priests, townspeople, officials and even peasants take up the pen.

In literature and criticism, ideas laid down by Belinsky are developed; authors pose pressing social questions to readers.

Chernyshevsky lays the philosophical foundations in his master's thesis.

In the 2nd half of the 19th century, the direction of “aesthetic criticism” received special development in literature. Botkin, Druzhinin, Annenkov do not accept didacticism, proclaiming the intrinsic value of creativity, as well as its detachment from social problems.

“Pure art” should solve exclusively aesthetic problems, representatives of “organic criticism” came to such conclusions. In its principles, developed by Strakhov and Grigoriev, true art became the fruit of not only the mind, but also the soul of the artist.

Soil scientists gained great popularity during this period. Dostoevsky, Grigoriev, Danilevsky, and Strakhov considered themselves to be among them. They developed Slavophile ideas, while warning against getting too carried away with social ideas and breaking away from tradition, reality, history and the people.

They tried to penetrate into the lives of ordinary people, deducing general principles for the maximum organic development of the state. In the magazines "Epoch" and "Time" they criticized the rationalism of their opponents, who, in their opinion, were too revolutionary.

One of the features of literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century was nihilism. The soil scientists saw it as one of the main threats to present reality. Nihilism was very popular among different strata of Russian society. It was expressed in the denial of accepted norms of behavior, cultural values ​​and recognized leaders. Moral principles were replaced by the concepts of one’s own pleasure and benefit.

The most striking work of this direction is Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons,” written in 1861. Its main character, Bazarov, denies love, art and compassion. Pisarev, who was one of the main ideologists of nihilism, admired him.

The novel plays an important role in Russian literature of this period. It was in the second half of the 19th century that Leo Tolstoy’s epic “War and Peace”, Chernyshevsky’s political novel “What is to be done?”, Dostoevsky’s psychological novel “Crime and Punishment”, and Saltykov-Shchedrin’s social novel “The Golovlevs” were published.

The most significant was the work of Dostoevsky, which reflected the era.

In the 1850s, poetry experienced a period of prosperity after a short period of oblivion that followed the golden age of Pushkin and Lermontov. Polonsky, Fet, Maikov come to the fore.

In their poems, poets pay increased attention to folk art, history, and everyday life. It becomes important to comprehend Russian history in the works of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Maykov, Mey. It is epics, folk legends and ancient songs that determine the style of the authors.

In the 50-60s, the work of civilian poets became popular. Poems by Minaev, Mikhailov, and Kurochkin are associated with revolutionary democratic ideas. The main authority for poets of this movement is Nikolai Nekrasov.

By the end of the 19th century, peasant poets became popular. Among them we can highlight Trefolev, Surikov, Drozhzhin. In her work she continues the traditions of Nekrasov and Koltsov.

The second half of the 19th century was the time of development of national and original drama. The authors of the plays actively use folklore, paying attention to the life of peasants and merchants, national history, and the language spoken by the people. You can often find works devoted to social and moral issues; they combine romanticism with realism. Such playwrights include Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Ostrovsky, Sukhovo-Kobylin.

The variety of styles and artistic forms in drama led to the emergence at the very end of the century of vivid dramatic works by Chekhov and Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy.

Foreign literature of the 2nd half of the 19th century has a significant influence on domestic writers and poets.

At this time, realistic novels reigned in foreign literature. First of all, these are the works of Balzac ("Shagreen Skin", "The Abode of Parma", "Eugenia Grande"), Charlotte Brontë ("Jane Eyre"), Thackeray ("The Newcombs", "Vanity Fair", "The Story of Henry Esmond"), Flaubert ("Madame Bovary", "Education of the Senses", "Salammbô", "A Simple Soul").

In England at that time, Charles Dickens was considered the main writer; his works “Oliver Twist”, “The Pickwick Papers”, The Life and Adventures of Nicklas Nickleby”, “A Christmas Carol”, “Dombey and Son” were also read in Russia.

In European poetry, the collection of poems by Charles Baudelaire “Flowers of Evil” becomes a real revelation. These are the works of the famous European symbolist, which caused a storm of discontent and indignation in Europe due to the large number of obscene lines; the poet was even fined for violating moral standards, making the collection of poems one of the most popular in the decade.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Russian literature and culture flourished. Important events took place in the social life of the country during this period: the Crimean War, numerous peasant unrest, the abolition of serfdom, the emergence of capitalism. In general, social relations overcome a certain bar, a certain level, after which a return to the recent past seems impossible. First of all, this concerns attitudes towards a person, his problems, without distinction between categories and classes. The process of formation of the “new man”, his social and moral self-awareness begins. It is not surprising that such aspirations made realism the main direction in Russian literature by the mid-19th century, through which the principles of depicting reality were developed. His new stage was closely connected with an attempt to penetrate in detail into the depths of human feelings and relationships. The authors demonstrate a desire not only to convey their emotions through the characters, but also to reveal the main causes of social evil. As a result, authors are increasingly turning to folk themes in their works; the image of a peasant, a peasant, is becoming one of the main ones in fiction. Traditions of realism laid down by Lermontov and Pushkin, Gogol, are consolidated, their works in many ways become a standard for new authors. Critical reviews of works acquire considerable significance and weight. This was largely due to the activities of Chernyshevsky, including his dissertation “Aesthetic Relations of Art to Reality.” One cannot help but remember that it was at this time that a significant event took place: serfdom was abolished in the Russian Empire, which of course was reflected in fiction. The desire for further reforms on this basis led to controversy and the emergence of two camps: liberals and democrats. The former proposed political and economic reforms to gradually change social relations, the latter insisted on immediate, radical changes, usually through revolutionary processes. Dobrolyubov, Herzen, Nekrasov, among others, belonged to the democratic camp, Chernyshevsky, and Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Druzhinin, Leskov adhered to liberal views. As a rule, the exchange of views and ideas was carried out through polemics on the pages of literary magazines. Also in the literature there are disputes between supporters of “pure art” and adherents of the “Gogolian” movement, and later – between “soilists” and “Westerners”. Under the influence of the ideology of the raznochintsy, the ideas of “real criticism” are developed, and the problem of a positive hero is raised. The creative searches of realist writers lead to new artistic discoveries, enrichment of the novel genre, and strengthening of psychologism. In the second half of the 19th century, a whole galaxy of talented Russian writers appeared: F.M. Dostoevsky (Poor people, Crime and Punishment), I.S. Turgenev (Fathers and Sons, Notes of a Hunter), I.A. Goncharov (Ordinary history, Oblomov, Precipice), A.N. Ostrovsky (Thunderstorm, Not everything is Maslenitsa for the cat, Lack of dowry, Our own people - we will be numbered), N.A. Nekrasov (Princess Volkonskaya, Who Lives Well in Rus'), M.E. Saltykov - Shchedrin (The History of a City, Lord Golovlev, Poshekhon Antiquity), L.N. Tolstoy (War and Peace), A.P. Chekhov (Novel of a Doctor, Novel of a Reporter, Ward No. 6, Death of an Official, Melancholy, Vanka, The Cherry Orchard).

Prose of the 2nd third of the 19th century. Main names, issues and genre diversity.

The 19th century is a significant century in Russian literature. He gave the world such great names as A.S. Pushkin, M.Yu. Lermontov, N.V. Gogol, I.S. Turgenev, F.M. Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy... The literature of this time is clearly divided into two periods: the first half of the 19th century and the second half of the 19th century. The artistic works of these periods are distinguished by their ideological pathos, themes, artistic techniques, and mood.

A.N. Ostrovsky is rightfully considered a reformer who brought a lot of new things to Russian drama. His innovation was reflected in the fact that he sharply turned the Russian theater towards life and its current social and moral problems. Ostrovsky was the first to turn to the life of the Russian merchants, described the life and customs of this huge layer of Russian society, and showed what problems exist in it.

In addition, it was Ostrovsky who became the “developer” of psychological drama, showing the inner world of the characters and the emotions of their souls. The plays of this playwright are filled with symbolism. All these features will be continued in the plays of Chekhov and playwrights of the 20th century.

I.S. Turgenev went down in the history of not only Russian, but also world literature as an unsurpassed psychologist and artist of words. This writer is known primarily as the author of the novels “Fathers and Sons”, “The Noble Nest”, “Rudin” and others. In addition, he is the creator of prose poems, full of lyricism and deep reflections on life, and other prose works.

Defining the main feature of his creative path, Turgenev said: “I strove, as far as I had the strength and ability, to conscientiously and impartially portray and embody what Shakespeare called the very image and pressure of time.”

The classic managed to show in his work the purity of love, the power of friendship, passionate faith in the future of his Motherland, confidence in the strength and courage of the Russian people. The creativity of a true artist of words involves many discoveries, and Turgenev is proof of this.

All works of F.M. Dostoevsky is an artistic study of man, his ideal essence, his fate and future. Dostoevsky's man is a being who has lost his integrity; he is a man in discord, in disagreement with reality and with himself. We can say that Dostoevsky's hero is a restless hero who is constantly in search of himself. This path is full of suffering, blood, sin. But this is always a thinking person trying to know himself. In his denial of both God and life, Dostoevsky’s hero is much more honest than many “believers” and “respectable” people.

Dostoevsky's characters are connected by blood to God, although they often deny him. Without knowing it themselves, they often go the way of many evangelical saints, literally “suffering” their faith.

Dostoevsky's world is the world of the “humiliated and insulted.” The writer’s gaze is turned specifically to them, exposing the life and suffering of these people. In many ways, this is why F.M. Dostoevsky is called the “great Russian humanist.”

The depiction of a person’s spiritual growth, the “dialectics of the soul” is perhaps the most characteristic in the work of L.N. Tolstoy. This artistic feature can be traced throughout the writer’s entire creative career. Tolstoy writes in such a way that it is clearly visible: the more a person is influenced by secular society, the poorer his inner world is; a person can achieve inner harmony in communication with the people, with nature. Tolstoy is convinced that class barriers have a depressing effect on character development.

Tolstoy's heroes are no strangers to contradictions; there is a persistent internal struggle within them, but their best spiritual qualities never betray them. Natasha's intuitive spiritual sensitivity, Pierre's nobility, the analytical mind and moral beauty of Prince Andrei, the subtle soul of Princess Marya - all this unites the heroes of War and Peace, despite the individuality of each character. We can say that all of Tolstoy’s best heroes are united by the richness of their spiritual world and the desire for happiness.

All works by A.P. Chekhov's stories are not only very realistic, but they also contain a deep philosophical meaning. “The vulgarity of a vulgar person” is what the writer fought against all his life. Protest against everyday life and philistinism is the main thing in his works. Some of the writer’s heroes strive to break out of this “vicious circle” (three sisters from the play of the same name), others obediently plunge into this quagmire, gradually putting their soul to sleep (Doctor Startsev from “Ionych,” for example).

Chekhov's works are complex and very subtle. They contain several layers of meaning, which only an attentive and knowledgeable reader can reveal. All the works of this Russian writer are filled with many symbols, allowing one to reveal their full depth.

Thus, Russian literature of the second half of the 19th century is very diverse and vibrant. Every writer of that time is a real figure not only of Russian, but also of world literature. Despite all the differences, all these artists are united by a love for their homeland and a desire to improve the lives of Russian people. In addition, all writers used classical traditions, creating on their basis something of their own, new, which, in turn, also became a classic.

Main trends in the development of Russian literature in the 2nd third of the 19th century.

By the middle of the 19th century, the process of development of the basic principles of depicting reality in Russian literature had ended, and realism had established itself. And literature of the 19th century. becomes a real driving force in the entire Russian artistic culture. Russian culture of this period was later called the “golden age” of art. Pushkin was declared the founder of Russian realism (this is a generally established fact). Realism becomes, to a certain extent, a method of artistic cognition of reality.

"natural school". Gogol's works

"natural school"

The main feature of realism as a creative method is increased attention to the social side of reality. The task of truthfully showing and exploring life presupposes in realism many techniques for depicting reality, which is why the works of Russian writers are so diverse in both form and content. The main thing in this method, according to the theorists of realism, is typification.

The images of a realistic work reflect the general laws of existence, and not living people. Any image is woven from typical traits manifested in typical circumstances. This is the paradox of art. An image cannot be correlated with a living person; it is richer than a specific person - hence the objectivity of realism. Each has its own principle for selecting facts of reality, which necessarily reveals the subjective view of the artist. Each artist has his own measure.

Realism as a method of depicting reality in the second half of the 19th century. received the name critical realism, because its main task was to criticize reality, and the main issue that received wide coverage was the question of the relationship between man and society. To what extent does society influence the fate of the hero? Who is to blame for a person being unhappy? What to do to change a person and the world? - these are the main questions of literature in general, Russian literature of the second half of the 19th century. - in particular. The main question that worried the entire thinking intelligentsia was the question: “Which path will Russia take?” He divided everyone into two camps: Slavophiles and Westerners. The differences between them were in determining the main direction in which Russia should go:

1) in the Western way, focusing on the life experience of the civilized West.

2) in Slavic, referring primarily to the national characteristics of the Slavs.

There were also religious differences between Slavophiles and Westerners. The Slavophiles proposed to compare everything earthly with the heavenly, and the temporal with the eternal. Only when looking from there (from the point of view of Divine reality) can one appreciate everything that is found here (on Earth). Westerners believed that earthly happiness depended on an enlightened mind. But they were united in one thing: they hated serfdom and fought for the liberation of the peasants from it.

Slavophiles: Khomyakov, Kireevsky, Konst. Aksakov, Samarin. The foundations of the Slavophil teaching were laid by Alexey Stepanovich Khomyakov and Ivan Vasilyevich Kireevsky, later they were called senior Slayanophiles. The first to throw a bomb into the public consciousness was Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadaev, who wrote “Philosophical Letter”, the historical role of Russia was defined as educational for distant descendants: “Alone in the world, we gave nothing to the world, took nothing from the world... “Khomyakov and Kireevsky gave a worthy answer to Chaadaev, proving the uniqueness of the experience of the Russian people. Kireevsky believed that Orthodoxy is a genuine Christian religion in its undistorted form, unlike Catholicism and Protestantism, it forms relationships between people on a disinterested basis. Younger Slavophiles even more categorically declared the chosenness of the Russian people, “carrying Christ in their soul, for whom the thread connecting the earthly with the heavenly has not been broken...”. They idealized the peasant community, since, admittedly, they did not know the people.

Westerners: Chaadaev, Belinsky, Herzen, Stankevich. They believed that it was the Western European path that should lead Russia to equality before the law, the establishment of freedoms, including freedom of speech - in other words, to the victory of liberalism (liberalis - free). 1840-50 passed under the sign of the struggle between Westerners and Slavophiles. The struggle was waged everywhere: in magazines, in literary salons, at public lectures. The debates were heated, the struggle was fierce: friends became enemies.

In 1860-80 XIX century two camps were more sharply defined: democrats and liberals. Democrats called for revolutionary changes, and liberals called for gradual, economic ones. At the center of the struggle between the two camps is the abolition of serfdom.

Democrats: Herzen, Nekrasov, Dobrolyubov, Chernyshevsky, Pisarev and others.

Liberals: Turgenev, Goncharov, Druzhinin, Fet, Tyutchev, Leskov, Dostoevsky, Pisemsky, etc.

Heated controversy flared up on the pages of magazines of both directions. Magazines of that time were an arena of socio-political struggle.

2. Natural school. Representatives and almanacs. “Physiological” essay as the main genre. Using the example of 2-3 works.

In the 40s, a direction arose designated as “natural school”. Gogol's work largely determined the content and direction of the “natural school”. Gogol was a great innovator, discovering that even an insignificant event, such as the acquisition of an overcoat by a minor official, can become a significant event for understanding the most important issues of human existence. No wonder one of the writers uttered the famous phrase: “We

everyone came out of Gogol’s “The Overcoat.” The “Natural School” became the initial stage in the development of realism in Russian literature. The new direction proposed topics that had not previously been recognized as important. Life, customs, characters, events from the life of the lower classes became the object of study by “naturalists”. The leading genre was the “physiological essay,” which was based on accurate “photography” of the life of various classes. To one degree or another, Nekrasov, Grigorovich, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Goncharov, Panaev, Druzhinin and others joined the “natural school”. They needed their own collection, including works by “naturalists”, and in 1845 two parts of the collection “Physiology of St. Petersburg” were published " Since 1847, Pushkin’s former magazine Sovremennik became the “mouthpiece” of the new direction.

Five outstanding writers have already worked in the anthology “Petersburg Collection”. It opened with Dostoevsky's novel Poor People. It contained two works by Turgenev, a poem by A.N. Maykov “Mashenka”, poems by Nekrasov, articles by Belinsky, translation of “Macbeth” from English. The almanac “Leviathan” was being prepared for release.

The dominant method of the natural school was critical realism. Representatives of the school often moved to the edge of naturalism. The real fact was very important for the school. IN AND. Dahl (Lugansky) wrote essays entitled “Daggerotypes.” The principles of realistic writing were just being mastered by the natural school. These principles reflected the psychology of the multitude. The genre of physiological essay is becoming popular. An ordinary person became a hero. The school's goal was to enlighten and educate readers. The little man was considered as a full-fledged aesthetic image.

The physiological essay came from the traditions of French literature (Honoré de Balzac). But the natural school borrowed only a trend. The physiological sketch was a laboratory of social typification. It reflected the anthropological approach to man. Social typification prevailed over psychology. The dramatic collisions of the essay constituted the inevitability of the path dictated by the environment of the class for its individual representative. The question of the individual’s activity was not raised (“The environment is stuck” - F.M. Dostoevsky). And yet, the best representatives of the natural school raised the question of individual responsibility. An important principle of the natural school is the active author's position.

A typical work of the natural school is Grigorovich’s essay “Petersburg Organ Grinders”. In the introduction, the author proves the importance of describing poor St. Petersburg. He gives national and social types of organ grinders and their listeners - the inhabitants of St. Petersburg. A whole cross-section of society is given. In conclusion, Grigorovich talks about empathy. Through the essay, society learned about itself.

3. Tale of the 40s. Problems, genre specificity. (“Ordinary History” by Goncharov, “Anton Goremyk” by Grigorovich, “Tarantas” by Sollogub, etc.). Using the example of 2-3 works.

In Ordinary History, every person at any stage of his development will find the necessary lesson for himself. The naivety and sentimentality of Sashenka Aduev is funny in a business atmosphere. His pathos is false, and the loftiness of his speeches and ideas about life are far from reality. But the uncle cannot be called an ideal either: a efficient breeder, a respected person in society, he is afraid of sincere living feelings and in his practicality goes too far: he is afraid to show sincere warm feelings for his wife, which leads her to a nervous breakdown. There is a lot of irony in the uncle's teachings, but the simple-minded nephew takes them too directly - first arguing with them, and then agreeing.

Deprived of false ideals, Alexander Aduev does not acquire genuine ideals - he simply becomes a calculating vulgarity. Goncharov's irony is aimed at the fact that such a path is no exception. Youthful ideals disappear like “hairs” from a son’s head, which Aduev Jr.’s mother so laments. This is an “ordinary story”. There are not many people who can resist the pressure of the big city and bourgeois society on their mind and soul. At the end of the novel, we see that the cynic uncle is much more humane than his capable student nephew. Alexander Aduev has turned into a business man, for whom nothing is more important than career and money. And St. Petersburg expects new victims - naive and inexperienced.

Dmitry Vasilyevich Grigorovich also belongs to the writers of the natural school. He studied at the Moscow gymnasium, and then at the St. Petersburg boarding school. In 1836 he became a cadet at the Main Engineering School. In 1840 he entered the Academy of Arts, then served in the office of the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Theater. N.A. Nekrasov introduces Grigorovich to writers and invites him to participate in his publications. Grigorovich becomes close to Turgenev and I. I. Panaev. He participates in Nekrasov’s collection “Physiology of St. Petersburg”. In 1845 he published the essay “Petersburg Organ Grinders”. The knowledge of the life of organ grinders, gained by Grigorovich from direct observations, was combined in the essay with acute social observation. Grigorovich’s first story, “The Village” (1846), was distinguished by its innovation and vivid realism of concept.

The next work made Grigorovich a famous writer - this is the story “Anton Goremyka”. L. N. Tolstoy pointed out the social significance of the story in a letter to Grigorovich: “You are dear to me... especially because of the unforgettable impressions that your first stories, together with Notes of a Hunter, made on me.” Tolstoy noted that the Russian peasant - our teacher and nurse - “can be described without mocking and not to enliven the landscape, but can and should be written to his full height, not only with love, but with respect and even awe”1.

The novel “Fishermen” brought Grigorovich great success in the 50s. It is entirely devoted to the theme of folk life. The writer is interested in the traits of the spiritual power of common people, their moral strength. It was these forces that he looked for in the people. Nekrasov considered “Fishermen” an excellent study of folk life.

In developing the peasant theme, D. V. Grigorovich proceeds from familiarity with folk poetry and the peculiarities of folk speech. In the stories “The Village” and “Anton the Miserable” he reproduces the features of peasant life: hustling in the village, women’s activities “each with some kind of work, a spinning wheel, a comb or bobbins.” The writer notices the description of the costume of the village women: the more prosperous women in “high tussocks” trimmed with sequins and braiding with low cuffs, in motley cats and bright striped underpants; who is poorer - simply tied a scarlet handkerchief around his head, keeping the ends apart, and pulling a gray chupan over his husband's shoulders...2. Grigorovich also describes the red goods of a merchant-trader visiting the village of Kuzminskoye: “cufflinks, namistya, glass beads, bundles of red gum,” etc. The writer resorts to a description of the landscape: the road to the Lublin water mill, a description of the bank of the Oka, the village of Antonovka (“Plowman and amaranth").

Grigorovich also conveys the demonological ideas of the peasants, introduces into the text “terrible” stories about evil spirits, about meetings with brownies and goblins, about the appearance of the dead that exist among the peasants. Thus, in the story “The Plowman and the Velvet Plant” they are associated with an “unkind” place in the area called Glinishche, which conveys the peasants’ “rumors” about it. The writer also reproduces an ethnographically correct picture of peasant wedding rituals: the unbraiding of the bride’s braids, the arrival of the groom, the groomsmen’s verdicts, the wedding, the wedding table. The ritual of blessing is accompanied by the verdict of the groomsmen: “Fathers, priests, mothers, mothers and all good neighbors, bless our young lad on the road, to the open field, to the green meadows, to the eastern side, to the red sun, to the bright moon, to the clear stars, to God’s temple, to the ringing of bells”3. Grigorovich pays a lot of attention to the description of the festive table: “... a dashing treat was started! Whatever your heart desired, there was plenty of everything... Various dishes, bowls of cabbage soup, pea jelly, oatmeal jelly, cold soup and porridge, huge cups filled to the top with carrot pies, porridge pies, unleavened and butter cheesecakes and all sorts of others... damask glasses with fusel, liqueurs, more or less sweetened with honey... Worts and mash stood in large buckets”4. All these details reproduce the peasant setting. As epigraphs, the writer uses Russian folk songs, proverbs and sayings, which enhance the reproduction of social pictures and, as it were, predetermine the tragic fates of the peasant heroes, emphasizing the narrative of the bitter life of the peasants. Thus, the epigraph from the folk song “Far away in a remote corner grew a thin white birch...” symbolizes the hopelessness of the life of a peasant woman, as well as the proverbs: “I’ll handle someone else’s misfortune with my hands, but I won’t put my mind to it,” “Live if you can, die.” , if you want”, “Sir, whatever the carpenter wants, he’ll cut it out.”

D. V. Grigorovich recreates pictures of rural labor with its calendar conditionality. The writer notes: “In rural working life, especially from April to October, time flies with incredible speed; before you have time to finish one job, you see, another is already ready... Hands work tirelessly, sweat flows in streams for six whole months.”5 At the same time, the use of ethnography and folklore in Grigorovich’s works has its own specifics. They create a general background, pictures of everyday life, are woven into the plot, and complement the idea of ​​​​the image of the hero and his environment. Folklore also projects the poeticization of images, their certain correlation with folk poetry - fairy tales, songs (“Village”, the image of Akulina). In the story “Anton Goremyka” folklore has the character of an everyday phenomenon. In the manner of presentation of folklore and ethnographic material, Grigorovich approaches Dahl.

The writer also turns to folklore and ethnography as illustrative external color to depict both idyllic pictures of folk life and the peasant characters themselves (“Plowman”, 1853). He sought to discern the poetic principles in peasant labor, in the peasants’ activities: in plowing, in harvesting, the ritual of “dressing” the last sheaf, the wisdom of the peasant, his unity with nature and his native land. It is in this way of rural life of the people, according to Grigorovich, that one can see the “real Russian field”, hear folk speech and a real Russian song and feel involved in the people’s world: “Your heart will beat sweetly, if only you love this song, this people and this land" Trying to present readers with a comprehensive description of life in the empire, Sollogub put the narrative in the form of travel sketches and built it on the conflict of judgments and points of view of the main characters (according to another point of view, on their comparison and interaction). The journey of the heroes, typical of Russian society of that time, lasts from Moscow to Mordas, which covers almost all of central Russia. The author set his main goal “to determine the national essence of life in his homeland.” At the same time, artistic exploration of various aspects of life was not an end in itself. The researchers considered the positive aspects of the story to be a truthful depiction of Russian life, coupled with satirical richness, colorful scenes, and the narrative style itself, while noting at the same time the inconsistency in following realism (“... did not reveal the true reasons...”). At the same time, the author also showed irony in relation to his own views.

Work on “Tarantas” began in the era of the formation of Westernism and Slavophilism. The story became an expression of the author's irony regarding the ideological struggle that captured his peers (for example, the Gagarin brothers [Comm. 20]). The ideological opponent of the pro-European-minded Ivan Vasilyevich, aimed at searching for the ideal Russian nationality and embodying an “abstract, bookish view of Russia,” is the patriarchal landowner Vasily Ivanovich, who is not devoid of practicality. Acting as a mocking skeptic regarding the dreams and ideas of his idealistic companion, who constantly deals with the harshness of Russian reality along the way, Vasily Ivanovich at the same time himself embodies “the limitations of “common sense”.” In general, Sollogub took the ideological component of the story more seriously than his previous works. Among the reasons that pushed him to do this, researchers name the growing attention of society to the problems of national identity, the further division between Westerners and Slavophiles, and the controversy caused by the appearance of Gogol’s “Dead Souls” and “Russia in 1839.” A. de Custine. As a result, the characters’ conversations touch on such topics as class problems of merchants and officials, the role of the nobility and the vicissitudes of the private life of this class, the history of Russia, Russia and Europe, schism, etc. The last chapter, “The Dream,” which is a utopia, is based on contradictory statements and shows Russia as if “inside out,” testifying at the same time to the author’s skepticism about the present and hope for the country’s future. The little-known continuation of “Ivan Vasilyevich in the Caucasus,” rather a “corrective remark,” already reflects the “transformation” of the former idealist Ivan Vasilyevich into his sensible opponent.

Critics perceived Tarantas differently. Bulgarin considered it a trinket, and Yu. F. Samarin’s review was sharply negative. Gogol and Zhukovsky spoke positively about the book in letters to Sollogub, and extreme guardians (I.N. Skobelev, P. Sharsh) spoke positively about the book in reviews. According to the latter, the story was successful and consistent with the spirit of the “official nationality.” An intermediate position was occupied by Nekrasov, who combined praise and reproaches in his review, and Belinsky [Comm. 21]. The latter, however, in his review “Russian Literature in 1845” put, although with reservations, “Tarantas” in first place among the published books. It was he, according to A. S. Nemzer, who discovered the deepest understanding of the book. Noted by almost all reviewers, the writing of “Tarantas” in the spirit of the natural school was reproached as a procession in the path of Gogol and his followers, while Belinsky considered this its main advantage. Moreover, the critic shared the discrepant visual structure of the work and the views of Sollogub himself and considered the former without taking into account the latter

>>Literature: Russian literature of the second half of the 19th century

Russian literature; second half of the 19th century

60s . This time went down in Russian history as a period of intensified social struggle. After the reform of 1861, a wave of peasant uprisings took place in the country. The problems of reorganizing life worried all active forces - from revolutionary democrats who called Rus' to the ax, to soft and liberal supporters of a gradual and bloodless evolutionary path.

In the 60s of the 19th century, the nature of literary life also changed. The groups of Slavophiles, Westerners and revolutionary democrats became more clearly defined.

Slavophilism is a direction in Russian social and literary thought of the 40-60s of the 19th century. It defended the originality of Russia's historical and cultural path. Slavophiles called their movement Slavic-Christian, Moscow, truly Russian. They idealized the religious, moral and social principles of Kievan and Muscovite Rus', creating a model of a utopian social system. For Slavophiles, the true history of Russia was tragically cut short by the reforms of Peter 1.

Westerners, on the contrary, believed that the true history of the Russian state only began with Peter's reforms. They affirmed the “Western”, bourgeois path of development of Russia, and were active opponents of serfdom. And these ideas were defended not only by the revolutionary-democratic wing (N.A. Dobrolyubov, N.G. Chernyshevsky), but also by liberal Westerners (V.G. Belinsky, A.I. Herzen, N.P. Ogarev, T.N. Granovsky, V. P. Botkin, P. V. Annenkov, I. I. Panaev, I. S. Tyrgenev).

Both Slavophiles and Westerners opposed serfdom, but they had different ideas about the future path of Russia. The escalation of disputes led to the severance of all personal relations between previously friendly people and to their bitter polemics.

The ideological disputes between Westerners and Slavophiles are depicted in “The Past and Thoughts”, “Soroka-Borovka” by A. I. Herzen, reflected in “Notes of a Hunter” by I. S. Tyrgenev, “Tarantas” by V. A. Sollogub. Here is how Herzen assessed these two directions: “We had the same love, but not the same one. They and we had from an early age... a feeling of boundless love for the Russian people, enveloping the entire existence... And we, like Janus or like a double-headed eagle, looked in different directions, while our hearts beat alone.”

There was a trend that sought to smooth out the contradictions between Westerners and Slavophiles - “soilism”. F. M. Dostoevsky, ...... Ap. A. Grigoriev and N. N. Strakhov asserted the “all-humanity” of the Russian national spirit. They believed that it was necessary to overcome the disunity between the intelligentsia and the people. “Pochvennsky” called for the preservation of identity (national soil) and did not reject the positive role of the reforms of Peter 1. We are strong as a whole people, strong with the strength that lives in the simplest and most humble individuals - that’s what Count L.N. Tolstoy wanted to say, - Strakhov wrote, and he is absolutely right.”

In the 60s - during the period of the rise of social thought - the periodical press acquired an increasingly important role. If at the beginning of the century the number of newspapers and magazines numbered in the dozens, then in the second half of the century - in the hundreds. Almost all works of Russian classical literature were first published and actively discussed on the pages of magazines and only then appeared before the reader in separately published books. The special type of Russian “thick” literary magazine that emerged in the 19th century became a phenomenon of national culture.

Read the names of the authors and the titles of works that were published, for example, in the Sovremennik magazine, founded by A. S. Pushkin in 1836 (the magazine existed until 1866): “Notes of a Hunter” and “Mumu” ​​by I. S. Tyrgenev, “An Ordinary Story” and “Oblomov’s Dream” (in the appendix to the magazine) by I. A. Goncharova, “Childhood” and “Adolescence” by L. N. Tolstoy, poems by N. A. Nekrasov, A. N. Maykov, A. K Tolstoy, A. A. Fet, Y. P. Polonsky... Since 1847, “Contemporary” was published by N. A. Nekrasov and I. I. Panaev, and later N. G. Chernyshevsky (with 1853) and N. A. Dobrolyubov (since 1856).

Along with Chernyshevsky, revolutionary democratic criticism was represented by Nikolai Aleksandrovich Dobrolyubov (1836-1861). In just five years of his activity, he created a number of articles that are still important and interesting. Dobrolyubov called his criticism real. The merits of “real criticism” were revealed in the articles “What is Oblomovism?”, “Characteristics of the Russian common people”, “When will the real day come?”, “The Dark Kingdom”, “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom”. For Dobrolyubov, the question of the “writer’s worldview” came first. In the supplement to the Sovremennik magazine - "Whistle" he created satirical images of the poets Apollo Kapelkin, Konrad Lilienschwager and Jacob Ham.

The Sovremennik magazine has gathered talented critics around it. And the point is not even that it was on its pages that the most important critical works appeared, but that criticism took a strong place in Russian literature.

The fierceness of the confrontation when resolving pressing issues in the life of society inevitably caused conflicts. A striking outburst of this confrontation was the split that occurred in the editorial office of the Sovremennik magazine. The immediate reason for it was the article by N. A. Dobrolyubov “When will the real day come?” about the novel by I. S. Typgenev “On the Eve” (1860). Tyrgenev's work was about the Bulgarian revolutionary Insarov, who dreamed of delivering the Balkan Slavs from the Turkish yoke. Dobrolyubov’s prediction about the inevitability of the appearance of “Russian Insarovs” who would fight against the oppressors of the people did not at all coincide with the predictions of the writer himself and even frightened him. Having read the critic’s article before its publication, Typgenev presented Nekrasov with an ultimatum: “Choose: either me or Dobrolyubov!” Nekrasov chose a like-minded person. The article over which there was a dispute appeared in print, and a break became inevitable. Following Turgenev, L. N. Tolstoy, I. A. Goncharov, A. A. Fet and others left the magazine.

Discussion of the burning problems of that time was reflected in the fate of authors and works that, it would seem, had long ago firmly established themselves. Even the contribution of the great Pushkin to Russian literature is being reassessed. Both opponents and defenders of the great poet’s work actively used his name and his works in their battles. I. A. Goncharov wrote: “Pushkin is the father, the founder of Russian art, just as Lomonosov is the father of science in Russia.” And there were many such judgments. But the popular critic D.I. Pisarev argued that Pushkin is just “an idol of previous generations.” He set himself the task of overthrowing the “Outdated Idol” in order to achieve the victory of “realism.” As you will see, Bazarov, the hero of I. S. Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons,” will stand in the same positions. The name of Pushkin was closely associated with the ongoing controversy over “pure art.” Intertwined in this debate are questions related to the role of literature, which have been heard in the art of many centuries, and quite topical topics generated by the preparation of the reform of 1861 and its implementation.

“Art for art’s sake,” or “pure art,” is the conventional name for a number of aesthetic concepts, which are characterized by the affirmation of the self-worth of all artistic creativity, that is, the independence of art from politics, social problems, and educational tasks. This position could also be progressive, for example, when its supporters contrasted the depiction of personal feelings with pompous and loyal odes. But often it reflected rather conservative views. This is how V. G. Belinsky expressed his attitude towards such aesthetic views: “Fully recognizing that art, first of all, must be art, we nevertheless think that the idea of ​​some kind of pure, detached art living in its own
own sphere... there is an abstract, dreamy thought. Such art never happens anywhere.”

Getting acquainted with Pushkin's lyrics, you have already seen how difficult it was for Him to resolve the question of the role and vocation of a poet. And therefore it is difficult to understand why in these years such wonderful lines were reproached for him, seeing in them the slogan of “pure art”:

Not for everyday worries,
Not for gain, not for battles,
We were born to inspire
For sweet sounds and prayers...

For all theorists of “pure art,” the defense of the absolute independence of creativity presupposes sharp restrictions in the choice of topics. In other words, the declaration of freedom collides with real unfreedom. When we turn to Pushkin’s work, the extraordinary breadth of his approach to the world around us, the completeness of his coverage of life and the richness of its reflection are obvious to us.

Representatives of “pure art” were reproached for refusing to solve social problems. and numerous parodies emphasized precisely this feature of their works.

To confirm this, it is enough to read the poem by D. D. Minaev 1 “Duet of Fet and Rosenheim 2”.

1 Minaev Dmitry Dmitrievich(1835-1889) - Russian poet. He was famous as the “king of rhyme.” His satirical talent was especially evident when working for the Iskra magazine. Master of epigram, parody, poetic feuilleton.

2 Rosenheim. Mikhail Pavlovich(1820-1887) - Russian poet, publicist. He was known as an “exposer” of moral vices. His progressiveness was superficial, and Slavophile ideas often turned into crude nationalism.

D. D. Minaev
Duet of Fet and Rosenheim

(Unconscious rejoicing and unconscious blasphemy)

Fet
I came to you with greetings
Tell them that the sun has risen.

Rosenheim
I came to you with a pamphlet
Tell me what it's like this summer
In taverns, in buffets
Meat prices have risen everywhere.

Fet
Tell them that the forest has woken up.
All woke up, every branch.

Rosenheim
Tell me how I'm bent
From worries and horrified:
The whole city choked
And he's thirsty for wine.

Fet
Tell me that with the same passion,
Like yesterday, I came again...

Rosenheim
Tell me what's with the wild power
We are being swallowed by the mouth of hell
The evil of the yoke of taxation.

Fet
Tell me that from everywhere
It blows me away with joy.

Rosenheim
And open it to your loved ones,
That I will take all bribes
Beat like old dishes
And my verse will dispel their groan.

Now it is obvious to us that such a clash between poets and prose writers only demonstrated the one-sidedness of their judgments.

When turning to the art of the 60s of the 19th century, one cannot stop only at literature. Painting and music responded with equal force to the demands of the time.

In Russian painting, the “Itinerants” loudly declared themselves. The names of I. N. Kramsmogo, I. E. Repin, V. G. Perov, A. K. Savrasov, V. I. Surikov, I. I. Shishkin and others became widely known. The Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions, which emerged in 1870, relied on the activities of the Artel of Free Artists (1863)

The social orientation was clearly manifested in the work of the “Itinerants”. For them, the guide to action was the poems of N. A. Nekrasov:

Share of the people
His happiness
Light and freedom
First of all!

In the 60s, Russian national music also flourished. The history of world musical culture includes composers M. A. Balakirev, Ts. A. Cui, M. P. Mussorgsky, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, A. P. Borodin. The works they created still live on opera stages.

70s. The reform of 1861 was left behind, but dissatisfaction with its results shook the great empire. As a result, new revolutionary forces emerge, striving to change life in the country, the populists. They put forward the theory of “peasant socialism,” deciding to make the transition to socialism through the peasant community, bypassing capitalism. “Going to the people” became popular among progressive youth, but it was not successful. A split occurs in the revolutionary organization "Land and Freedom", and the part that separated from the organization and received the name "People's Will" set itself a new task - the struggle to overthrow the autocracy through terror.

A group of writers appears in literature reflecting populist ideals and sentiments - G.I. Uspensky, N. N. 3latovratsky, S. M. Stepnyak-Kravchinsky, N. I. Naumov, S. Karonin (N. E. Petropavlovsky), etc. Among this galaxy, the most prominent author was Gleb Ivanovich Uspensky, who began publishing as early as in the 60s. Even then his “Morals of Rasteryaeva Street” became known. In the 70s, he was passionate about “going to the people” and lived in the Novgorod and Samara provinces. A series of his essays appears: “The Peasant and Peasant Labor”, “The Power of the Land”, “Quarter of a Horse”, “The Book of Receipts”, etc.

The creative searches of writers and poets who have already established themselves in literature continue. In poetry, the leading role is played by N. A. Nekrasov: his poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” appears. M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin publishes the novel “The Golovlev Gentlemen”, L. N. Tolstoy - the novel “Anna Karenina”, F. M. Dostoevsky - the novels “Demons”, “Teenager”, “The Brothers Karamazov”.

N. S. Leskov occupies a special place in Russian literature. In his works “The Soborians”, “On Knives” and “The Enchanted Wanderer” a distinctive feature of the writer’s work was clearly revealed - the search for gifted natures, positive types of Russian people.

In 1866, the Sovremennik magazine was closed. The leading place in journalism is occupied by “Russian Word” and “Notes of the Fatherland” (Saltykov-Shchedrin began to manage the magazine after the death of Nekrasov in 1877).

80s. On March 1, 1881, Tsar Alexander 11 was killed. The Narodnaya Volya societies were destroyed. A time began that was often called the “twilight” of Russian life. The banned magazines “Otechestvennye zapiski” and “Delo” are being replaced by the magazines “Week” and “Vestnik Evropy”, which are moderate in their views. “Dragonfly” and “Shards” with their petty humor replaced “Whistle” and “Spark”.

The mood of that time - the era of “timelessness” and decline - was clearly expressed in their work by the poet S. Ya. Nadson and the writer V. M. Garshin. During these years, V. G. Korolenko became famous for “Makar’s Dream”, “The River Plays”, “The Blind Musician”, “In Bad Society”, “The Forest is Noisy”, etc.), A. P. Chekhov actively entered into literature .

Let's sum it up

Questions and tasks

1. How do you connect such concepts as liberal, Westernizer, Slavophile, revolutionary democrat, “soilist,” populist with the second half of the 19th century?
2. How do you understand the assessment of the positions of Slavophiles and Westerners given by A. I. Herzen?
3. To what time do you attribute the heyday of Russian realism? What authors is he associated with?
4. What is “pure art”? What are its main features? Who and why actively opposed “pure art”? What was this confrontation expressed in? Give examples.
5. How can we explain the sharp increase in periodical publications and the increasing influence of magazines in the second half of the 19th century?

Topics of reports and abstracts

1. The influence of the creativity of writers and poets of the first half of the 19th century on the development of literature in the second half of the century.
2. Reflection of the ideas of Slavophiles and Westerners in society and literature of the second half of the 19th century.
3. “Soilism” as a phenomenon of social thought.

Recommended reading

G r i g o r e v A p. A. Literary criticism. M., 1967.
Gurevich A. M. Dynamics of realism. M., 1995.
D r u z i n A. V. Beautiful and eternal. M., 1988.
Kulesh about V.I. History of Russian criticism. M., 1972.
F okht U. Ways of Russian realism. M., 1963.

The 19th century for Russian literature is rightly called golden. He gave us many talented writers who opened Russian classical literature to the whole world and became a trendsetter. The romanticism of the early 19th century is replaced by the era of realism. The founder of realism is considered to be A.S. Pushkin, or rather his later works, which marked the beginning of this era.

In the 40s, the “natural school” emerged, which became the beginning of the development of the direction of realism in Russian literature. The new direction covers topics that have not been widely covered before. The object of study for the “sitters” was the life of the lower classes, their way of life and customs, problems and events.

From the second half of the 19th century, realism received the name critical. In their works, poets and writers criticize reality, trying to find an answer to the question of who is to blame and what to do. Everyone was concerned about the question of how Russia would develop further. Society is divided into Slavophiles and Westerners. Despite the difference in views, these two movements are united by hatred of serfdom and the struggle for the liberation of the peasants. Literature becomes a means of struggle for freedom, showing the impossibility of further moral development of society without social equality. During this period, works were created that later became masterpieces of world literature; they reflected the truth of life, national identity, dissatisfaction with the existing autocratic serfdom, the truth of life made the works of that time popular.

Russian realism in the second half of the 19th century had significant differences from Western European realism. Many writers of the time identified in their works the motifs that prepared the shift to revolutionary romance and social realism that occurred in the 20th century. The most popular novels and stories in Russia and abroad were those of the second half of the 19th century, which showed the social nature of society and the laws governing its development. The characters in the works talk about the imperfections of society, conscience and justice.

One of the most famous literary figures of that time is I. S. Turgenev. In his works he raises important issues of that time (“fathers and sons”, “on the eve”, etc.)

Chernyshevsky’s novel “What is to be done?” made a great contribution to the education of revolutionary youth.

The works of I. A. Goncharov show the morals of officials and landowners.

Another major figure whose work influenced the minds and consciousness of people of that time was F. M. Dostoevsky, who made an invaluable contribution to the development of world literature. In his writings, the writer reveals the versatility of the human soul; the actions of his heroes can confuse the reader and force them to show sympathy for the “humiliated and insulted.”

Saltykov-Shchedrin in his works exposes officials and embezzlers, bribe-takers and hypocrites who rob the people.

L.N. Tolstoy in his work showed all the complexity and inconsistency of human nature.

A.P. Chekhov's feelings about the fate of Russian society were reflected in his works, giving him a writer whose talent still inspires admiration to this day.

Literature of the late 19th century had a great influence on all spheres of culture; theater and music also entered the struggle for their ideals. The mood of society at that time is reflected in painting, introducing into people’s consciousness the idea of ​​equality and benefit for the whole society.

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