Russian national character in Russian literature. The problem of national character in one of the works of modern Russian literature

Our problem national character became one of the main literature of the 60-80s, closely connected with the activities of various revolutionaries, and later populists. Leskov also paid attention to her (and quite widely). We find the essence of the character of a Russian person revealed in many of his works: in the story “The Enchanted Wanderer”, in the novel “The Cathedral People”, in the stories “Lefty”, “Iron Will”, “The Sealed Angel”, “Robbery”, “Warrior” and others. Leskov introduced unexpected and, for many critics and readers, undesirable accents into solving the problem. This is the story “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk,” which clearly demonstrates the writer’s ability to be ideologically and creatively independent of the demands and expectations of the most advanced forces of the time.

N. S. Leskov. “The Enchanted Wanderer” is a story-narration by Ivan Flyagin about his life and destiny. He was destined to become a monk. But another force - the power of the charm of life - forces him to follow the roads of wanderings, hobbies, and suffering. In his early youth he kills a monk. Then he steals horses for gypsies, becomes a nanny for a little girl, is captured by the Tatars, then he is returned to the landowner, who orders him to be flogged, he becomes a coneser for the prince, is enchanted by the gypsy Grusha, and then throws her away, abandoned by the prince, according to her request, into the river, becomes a soldier, becomes an officer and Knight of St. George, retires, plays in the theater and, finally, enters a monastery as a novice. But even in the monastery he has no peace: he is overcome by “demons and imps.” Put in a hole, he begins to “prophesy” about an imminent war and finally goes on a pilgrimage to Solovki.

Leskov describes him as a simple-minded Russian hero, reminiscent of Ilya Muromets. Ivan Flyagin’s “fascination” can be understood in different ways: fascination with incomprehensible forces, witchcraft, the influence of the mysterious principles of existence that sent the hero on his way; fascination with the beauty and poetry of the world; artistic character; period of “sleep of the soul”.

The special character properties of the hero are self-esteem. Fearlessness, absolute freedom from the fear of death.

Flyagin's life story bizarrely combines both the life of the great martyr and a farce. The author defines the genre of the story as “tragicomedy”.

Leskov introduced unexpected and, for many critics and readers, undesirable accents into solving the problem. This is the story “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk,” which clearly demonstrates the writer’s ability to be ideologically and creatively independent of the demands and expectations of the most advanced forces of the time. Written in 1864, the story is subtitled “Essay.” But he should not be trusted literally. Of course, Leskov’s story is based on certain life facts, but this designation of the genre rather expressed the aesthetic position of the writer: Leskov contrasted the poetic fiction of modern writers, a fiction that often tendentiously distorted the truth of life, with the essayistic, newspaper-journalistic accuracy of his life observations. The title of the story, by the way, is very capacious in meaning, leads directly to the problem of the Russian national character, the Mtsensk merchant Katerina Izmailova is one of the eternal types of world literature - a bloody and ambitious villainess, whom the lust for power led along the steps from corpses to the radiance of the crown, and then mercilessly threw off into the abyss of madness. There is also a polemical aspect to the story. The image of Katerina Izmailova argues with the image of Katerina Kabanova from “The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky. At the beginning of the story, an inconspicuous but significant detail is reported: if Katerina Ostrovsky before her marriage was the same rich merchant daughter as her husband, then Leskov’s “lady” was taken into the Izmailovo family from poverty, perhaps not from the merchant class, but from the philistinism or peasantry. That is, Leskov’s heroine is an even greater commoner and democrat than Ostrovsky’s. And then there is the same thing as in Ostrovsky: a marriage not for love, boredom and idleness, reproaches from the father-in-law and husband, that he is “not a relative” (there are no children), and, finally, first and fatal love. Leskov’s Katerina was much less lucky with her heart-loving chosen one than Katerina Kabanova with Boris: her husband’s clerk Sergei is a vulgar and selfish man, a boor and a scoundrel. And then a bloody drama unfolds. For the sake of uniting with a loved one and elevating him to merchant dignity, the chilling details of murders (father-in-law, husband, young nephew - the legal heir of Izmailovo's wealth), a trial, a journey along a convoy to Siberia, Sergei's betrayal, the murder of a rival and suicide in the Volga waves.

“It seems to me that we should distinguish national ideal and national character. The ideal does not always coincide with reality; it does not even always coincide. But the national ideal is nevertheless very important. The people who create a high national ideal also create geniuses who approach this ideal” (D. S. Likhachev).

Well "National character in Russian literature" developed by teachers of the Nizhny Novgorod State Linguistic University named after. N. A. Dobrolyubova:

Galina Lvovna Gumennaya, candidate philological sciences, associate professor, author of the monograph “Here is the Muse, a frisky chatterer...” Pushkin’s humorous poems in the movement of time” and more than 80 articles on Russian literature of the 18th-20th centuries (lecture one);

Maria Alexandrovna Alexandrova, candidate of philological sciences, associate professor, author teaching aid““Woe from Wit” by A. S. Griboyedov in literary context 1810-1820s" and more than 80 articles about the works of A. S. Griboyedov, A. S. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov, N. V. Gogol, I. S. Turgenev, V. V. Mayakovsky, A A. Tarkovsky, A. A. Galich, B. Sh. Okudzhava (lectures second, third, fifth and sixth);

Arkady Germanovich Sadovnikov, candidate of philological sciences, associate professor, author of more than 60 articles about the works of N. M. Karamzin, A. P. Sumarokov, G. R. Derzhavin, V. A. Zhukovsky, A. S. Pushkin, I. S. Turgenev, L N. Tolstoy, A. P. Chekhov, A. P. Platonov (lectures four and seven).

Course Description: cultural and historical formations of national character are presented, imprinted throughout the centuries-old development of Russian literature in the works of Russian writers who made up the Russian classical canon.

Purpose of studying the course: the formation of ideas about various cultural and historical formations of national character, imprinted throughout the centuries-old development of Russian literature in the works of those Russian writers who formed the domestic classical canon and became an integral part of world culture.

Result of the course: to have an idea of the main aspects of the manifestation of national character in the literature of the 11th-20th centuries, to navigate the system of traditional values of Russian culture.

Course structure:

Lecture 1. Saints and righteous men in ancient Russian literature

Lecture 2. The image of the Russian European in the works of A.S. Pushkin

Lecture 3. Tragic maximalists in the works of I.S. Turgenev

Lecture 4. Man and history in the works of L.N. Tolstoy

Lecture 5. Philanthropists in the works of F.M. Dostoevsky

Lecture 6. The image of the Russian intellectual in the works of A.P. Chekhov

Lecture 7. On the femininity of the Russian soul: poetry and philosophy of the Silver Age

Nationality of literature

The relationship of literature to the people, manifested in various aspects. Firstly, nationality is a measure of the interpenetration of literature and folklore. Literature borrows plots, images and motifs from folk works (for example, fairy tales by A.S. Pushkin using material from Russian folk tales). Sometimes it happens the other way around - songs with Russian verses. poets become popular (for example, the song “Peddlers”, which is based on an excerpt from the poem by N.A. Nekrasova“Who lives well in Rus'”). Secondly, nationality is a measure of the author’s penetration into the popular consciousness, the adequacy of his portrayal of representatives of the people. So, for example, the tetralogy of F.A. can be considered folk. Abramova“Pryasliny”, which depicts the life of a northern village during the Great Patriotic War and after it. In non-folk works from this point of view simple people are depicted unnaturally, far-fetched (such, for example, were many “ceremonial” novels socialist realism, depicting a “varnished” reality). Thirdly, the term “nationality” sometimes refers to the accessibility of literature to people, its understandability for an unprepared reader. Folk literature in this case, it is opposed to elitist literature intended for a narrow circle. IN modern literature, especially in postmodernism a work can perform two functions (for example, the novel “The Name of the Rose” by W. Eco for the average reader - an exciting detective story, but this novel is also addressed to the philologist, because it contains many allusions and reminiscences from other works).
The philosophical concept of nationality in art takes shape in the works of G. Vico and J.-J. Rousseau, then I. G. Herder. In the beginning. 19th century Herder published the collection “Voices of Peoples in Songs,” which, along with folk songs, also included original poems. Thus, Herder wanted to show the unity of literature and the manifestation of the “folk spirit” in it. German writers and scientists (A. and F. Schlegel, A. von Arnim, C. Brentano, J. and V. Grimm) studied folk culture, collected, processed and published folklore works. They created a “mythological school”, believing that the basis of all art is myth, from which folklore develops. In literature romanticism one of the main principles was an interest in the history of their people and their art, an orientation towards their spirit and poetics. In Russia at the beginning. 19th century articles about nationality were written by O. M. Somov, P. A. Vyazemsky. The discussion unfolded in the 1840s, when the nationality turned out to be one of central problems in the dispute between Slavophiles and Westerners. If for the Slavophiles nationality consisted of loyalty to the spirit of Russian folklore and life, then Westerners saw it primarily in a realistic depiction of reality. In the 1860s. The nationality of literature was associated with the depiction of the oppressed position of the people, their dependence and susceptibility to arbitrariness. Soviet literature considered nationality one of the main criteria for evaluating a work, understanding it as correct image people and accessibility to the people, but the desire to hush up shortcomings led to the opposite - many works portrayed the people extremely falsely.

Literature and language. Modern illustrated encyclopedia. - M.: Rosman. Edited by prof. Gorkina A.P. 2006 .

See what “nationality of literature” is in other dictionaries:

folk literature- conditionality literary works life, ideas, feelings and aspirations masses, expression in literature of their interests and psychology. The idea of the nationality of literature is largely determined by what content is put into... ...

One of basic concepts Marxist-Leninist aesthetics. It means the reflection by art of the life, creativity (and also, according to some concepts, the “core interests”) of the people. In the concept of Marxism-Leninism, the concept of folk art is closely... ... Wikipedia

One of the main concepts of Marxist-Leninist aesthetics, meaning the connection of art with the people, the conditionality of the arts. phenomena of life, struggle, ideas, feelings and aspirations of working people, expression in art of ideals, interests and... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

Art, one of the basic concepts of Marxist-Leninist aesthetics, meaning the connection of art with the people, the conditionality of artistic phenomena by the life, struggle, ideas, feelings and aspirations of the working people, the expression of ideals in art... Art encyclopedia

PEOPLE, nationalities, women. (book). 1. The same as the people in 2 meanings. “...In a number of cases, oppressed peoples living on the outskirts have their relatives on the other side of the border...” Lenin. "... October Revolution, breaking the old chains and pushing it to... ... Dictionary Ushakova

NATIONALITY- literature, art, a multi-valued concept that characterizes: 1) the relationship of individual creativity to collective creativity, the degree of creative borrowing and inheritance professional literature(art) of motifs, images, folk poetics... ...

One of the basic concepts of Marxist-Leninist aesthetics, meaning the connection of art with the people, the conditioning of artistic phenomena by the life, struggle, ideas, feelings and aspirations of the working people, the expression in art of ideals, interests and... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

PARTISHITY OF LITERATURE- PARTY IN LITERATURE. The doctrine of P. l., put forward and substantiated by V. I. Lenin, is based on the traditions of the progressive culture of the past, those writers and critics who advocated the bias of art, defended the idea of ... ... Literary encyclopedic dictionary

partisanship of literature- ideological and political aspiration of creativity, expressing the interests of certain classes and social groups. The concept of partisanship in literature played a huge role in literary criticism of the Soviet period; Currently it has lost its... Terminological dictionary-thesaurus in literary studies

The history of Russian literature, for the convenience of viewing the main phenomena of its development, can be divided into three periods: I from the first monuments to Tatar yoke; II until the end of the 17th century; III to our time. In reality, these periods are not sharply... encyclopedic Dictionary F. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Books

Kobzar, Taras Shevchenko. Moscow, 1954, State Publishing House Fiction. Publisher's binding. The rarity is in good condition. In 1840, Shevchenko’s first collection of poems “Kobzar” was published, which opened…

Introduction

The topic of this study course work is “Image of the Russian national character”.

The relevance of the topic is caused by the acute interest these days in writers with a pronounced national consciousness, which includes Nikolai Semenovich Leskov. The problem of the Russian national character has become particularly acute in modern Russia, and in the world national identity is currently being updated by active processes of globalization and dehumanization, the approval mass society and the increase in socio-economic and moral problems. In addition, studying the stated problem allows us to understand the writer’s worldview, his concept of the world and man. In addition, the study of the stories of N.S. Leskova in school allows the teacher to draw students' attention to their own moral experience, contributing to the education of spirituality.

Goals and objectives of the work:

1) Having studied the existing and available to us research literature, to reveal the originality of N.S.’s creativity. Leskov, his deeply folk origins.

2) Identify the features and traits of the Russian national character that are captured in artistic creativity N.S. Leskov as a certain spiritual, moral, ethical and ideological integrity.

The work is based on the study of literary criticism, critical literature; the conclusions obtained in the work are based on observations of literary texts- the stories “The Enchanted Wanderer” (1873) and “The Tale of the Tula Sideways Lefty and the Steel Flea” (1881).

The structure of the work includes an introduction, two parts, a conclusion and a list of references.

The significance of the work is associated with the possibility of using it in studying this author in a literature course at school.

The problem of Russian national character in Russian philosophy and XIX literature century

“Mysterious Russian soul”... What kind of epithets were awarded to our Russian mentality. Is the Russian soul so mysterious, is it really so unpredictable? What does it mean to be Russian? What is the peculiarity of the Russian national character? How often have philosophers asked and asked these questions in scientific treatises, writers in works of various genres, and even ordinary citizens in table discussions? Everyone asks and answers in their own way.

Very accurately the character traits of the Russian person are noted in folk tales and epics. In them, the Russian man dreams of a better future, but he is too lazy to make his dreams come true. He still hopes that he will catch a talking pike or catch goldfish who will fulfill his wishes. This primordial Russian laziness and love of dreaming about the advent of better times has always prevented our people from living. A Russian person is too lazy to grow or make something that his neighbor has - it is much easier for him to steal it, and even then not himself, but to ask someone else to do it. A typical example of this is the case of the king and rejuvenating apples. All Russian folklore is based on the fact that being greedy is bad and greed is punishable. However, the breadth of the soul can be polar: drunkenness, unhealthy gambling, living for free, on the one hand. But, on the other hand, the purity of faith, carried and preserved through the centuries. A Russian person cannot believe quietly and modestly. He never hides, but behind faith goes to execution, he walks with his head held high, striking his enemies.

There are so many things mixed into a Russian person that you can’t even count them on your fingers. Russians are so eager to preserve what is theirs that they are not ashamed of the most disgusting aspects of their identity: drunkenness, dirt and poverty. Such a trait of the Russian character as long-suffering often goes beyond the bounds of reason. From time immemorial, Russian people have resignedly endured humiliation and oppression. The already mentioned laziness and blind faith in a better future are partly to blame here. Russian people would rather endure than fight for their rights. But no matter how great the patience of the people is, it is still not limitless. The day comes and humility transforms into unbridled rage. Then woe to anyone who gets in the way. It’s not for nothing that Russian people are compared to a bear - huge, menacing, but so clumsy. We are probably rougher, certainly tougher in many cases. Russians have cynicism, emotional limitations, and a lack of culture. There is fanaticism, unscrupulousness, and cruelty. But still, mostly Russian people strive for good. The Russian national character has many positive traits. Russians are deeply patriotic and possess high strength spirit, they are able to defend their land to the last drop of blood. Since ancient times, both young and old have risen to fight against invaders.

Speaking about the peculiarities of the Russian character, one cannot fail to mention the cheerful disposition - a Russian sings and dances even in the most difficult periods of his life, and even more so in joy! He is generous and loves to go out on a grand scale - the breadth of the Russian soul has already become the talk of the town. Only a Russian person can give everything he has for the sake of one happy moment and not regret it later. Russian people have an inherent aspiration for something infinite. Russians always have a thirst for a different life, a different world, they always have dissatisfaction with what they have. Due to greater emotionality, Russian people are characterized by openness and sincerity in communication. If in Europe people are quite alienated in their personal lives and protect their individualism, then a Russian person is open to being interested in him, showing interest in him, caring for him, just as he himself is inclined to be interested in the lives of those around him: both his soul wide open and curious - what is behind the soul of the other.

A special conversation about the character of Russian women. Russian woman has unbending strength spirit, she is ready to sacrifice everything for loved one and follow him to the ends of the earth. Moreover, this is not blindly following a spouse, like oriental women, but quite conscious and independent decision. This is what the wives of the Decembrists did, going after them to distant Siberia and dooming themselves to a life full of hardships. Nothing has changed since then: even now, in the name of love, a Russian woman is ready to spend her entire life wandering around the most remote corners of the world.

The works of Russian philosophers made an invaluable contribution to the study of Russian national character. turn of the XIX century- XX centuries - N.A. Berdyaev (“Russian Idea”, “Soul of Russia”), N.O. Lossky (“The Character of the Russian People”), E.N. Trubetskoy (“The Meaning of Life”), S.L. Frank (“The Soul of Man”), etc. Thus, in his book “The Character of the Russian People,” Lossky gives the following list of the main features inherent in the Russian national character: religiosity and the search for absolute good, kindness and tolerance, powerful willpower and passion, and sometimes maximalism . High development moral experience the philosopher sees that all layers of the Russian people show a special interest in distinguishing between good and evil. Such a feature of the Russian national character as the search for the meaning of life and the foundations of existence, according to Lossky, is excellently illustrated by the works of L.N. Tolstoy and F.M. Dostoevsky. Among such primary properties, the philosopher includes the love of freedom and its highest expression - freedom of spirit... Those who have freedom of spirit are inclined to put every value to the test, not only in thought, but even in experience... As a result of the free search for truth, it is difficult for Russian people to come to terms with each other ... Therefore, in public life The love of freedom of Russians is expressed in a tendency towards anarchy, in repulsion from the state. However, as N.O. rightly notes. Lossky, u positive qualities There are often negative sides too. The kindness of a Russian person sometimes prompts him to lie so as not to offend his interlocutor, due to the desire for peace and good relations with people at all costs. Among the Russian people there is also the familiar “Oblomovism”, that laziness and passivity that is excellently depicted by I.A. Goncharov in the novel “Oblomov”. Oblomovism in many cases reverse side high qualities of the Russian people - the desire for complete perfection and sensitivity to the shortcomings of our reality... Among the especially valuable properties of the Russian people is a sensitive perception of strangers states of mind. This results in live communication between even unfamiliar people. “The Russian people have highly developed individual personal and family communication. In Russia there is no excessive replacement of individual relationships with social ones, there is no personal and family isolationism. Therefore, even a foreigner, having arrived in Russia, feels: “I am not alone here” (of course, I am talking about normal Russia, and not about life under the Bolshevik regime). Perhaps these are the properties main source recognition of the charm of the Russian people, so often expressed by foreigners, is good knowledgeable about Russia..." [Lossky, p. 42].

ON THE. Berdyaev in philosophical work The “Russian Idea” presented the “Russian soul” as the bearer of two opposite principles, which reflected: “the natural, pagan Dionysian element and ascetic monastic Orthodoxy, despotism, hypertrophy of the state and anarchism, freedom, cruelty, a tendency to violence and kindness, humanity, gentleness, ritualism and the search for truth, a heightened consciousness of the individual and impersonal collectivism, pan-humanity, ... the search for God and militant atheism, humility and arrogance, slavery and rebellion” [Berdyaev, p. 32]. The philosopher also drew attention to the collectivist principle in the development of national character and in the fate of Russia. According to Berdyaev, “spiritual collectivism”, “spiritual conciliarity” is a “high type of brotherhood of people”. This kind of collectivism is the future. But there is another collectivism. This is “irresponsible” collectivism, which dictates to a person the need to “be like everyone else.” The Russian person, Berdyaev believed, is drowning in such collectivism; he feels immersed in the collective. Hence the lack of personal dignity and intolerance towards those who are not like others, who, thanks to their work and abilities, have the right to more.

So, in the works of Russian philosophers at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries, as well as in modern research(for example: Kasyanova N.O. “On the Russian National Character”), among the main characteristics of the traditional Russian national mentality, three leading principles stand out: 1) the religious or quasi-religious nature of the ideology; 2) authoritarian-charismatic and centralist-power dominant; 3) ethnic dominance. These dominants - religious in the form of Orthodoxy and ethnic - were weakened in Soviet period, while the ideological dominant and the power dominant, with which the stereotype of authoritarian-charismatic power is associated, became more strengthened.

IN Russian literature XIX century, the problem of Russian national character is also one of the main ones: we find dozens of images in the works of A.S. Pushkin and M.Yu. Lermontova, N.V. Gogol and M.E. Saltykova-Shchedrina, I.A. Goncharov and N.A. Nekrasova, F.M. Dostoevsky and L.N. Tolstoy, each of whom bears the indelible stamp of Russian character: Onegin and Pechorin, Manilov and Nozdryov, Tatyana Larina, Natasha Rostova and Matryona Timofeevna, Platon Karataev and Dmitry Karamazov, Oblomov, Judushka Golovlev and Raskolnikov, etc. You can’t list them all.

A.S. Pushkin was one of the first to pose in Russian literature the problem of the Russian national character in its entirety. His novel "Eugene Onegin" became highest degree folk work, "encyclopedia of Russian life." Tatyana Larina, a girl from a noble environment, is the one in whom the primordial nationality was most significantly reflected: “Russian soul, /On her own, without knowing why, /With her cold beauty/ loved the Russian winter.” This twice repeated “Russian” speaks about the main thing: the domestic mentality. Even a representative of another nation can love winter, but only a Russian soul can feel it without any explanation. Namely, she can suddenly see “frost in the sun on a frosty day,” “the radiance of pink snow,” and “the darkness of Epiphany evenings.” Only this soul has an increased sensitivity to the customs, mores and legends of “common antiquity” with its card games. New Year's fortune telling, prophetic dreams and alarming signs. Wherein Russian beginning for A.S. Pushkin is not limited to this. To be “Russian” for him is to be faithful to duty, capable of spiritual responsiveness. In Tatyana, like in no other hero, everything that was given merged into a single whole. This is especially evident in the scene of explanation with Onegin in St. Petersburg. It contains deep understanding, sympathy, and openness of soul, but all this is subordinated to the observance of necessary duty. It does not leave the slightest hope for the loving Onegin. With deep sympathy, Pushkin also talks about the sad serfdom of nanny Tatyana.

N.V. Gogol in the poem " Dead Souls" also strives to vividly and succinctly portray the Russian people, and for this he introduces into the narrative representatives of three classes: landowners, officials and peasants. And although greatest attention given to landowners (such vivid images, like Manilov, Sobakevich, Korobochka, Plyushkin, Nozdryov), Gogol shows that the real bearers of the Russian national character are the peasants. The author introduces into the narrative the carriage maker Mikheev, the shoemaker Telyatnikov, the brickmaker Milushkin, and the carpenter Stepan Probka. Special attention is given to the strength and acuity of the people's mind, sincerity folk song, brightness and generosity national holidays. However, Gogol is not inclined to idealize the Russian national character. He notes that any meeting of Russian people is characterized by some confusion, that one of the main problems of the Russian person: the inability to complete the work begun. Gogol also notes that a Russian person is often able to see the correct solution to a problem only after he has performed some action, but at the same time he really does not like to admit his mistakes to others.

Russian maximalism in its extreme form is clearly expressed in the poem by A.K. Tolstoy: “If you love, it’s crazy, / If you threaten, it’s not a joke, / If you scold, it’s rash, / If you chop, it’s wrong!” / If you argue, it’s too bold, / If you punish, then it’s a good thing, / If you ask, then with all your soul, / If you feast, then you feast like a mountain!”

ON THE. Nekrasov is often called national poet: he, like no one else, often addressed the topic of the Russian people. The vast majority of Nekrasov's poems are dedicated to the Russian peasant. In the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” a generalized image of the Russian people is created thanks to all the characters in the poem. This and central characters(Matryona Timofeevna, Saveliy, Grisha Dobrosklonov, Ermila Girin), and episodic (Agap Petrov, Gleb, Vavila, Vlas, Klim and others). The men came together with a simple goal: to find happiness, to find out who has a good life and why. A typical Russian search for the meaning of life and the foundations of existence. But the heroes of the poem failed to find a happy man; only landowners and officials were at ease in Rus'. Hard life for a Russian people, but there is no despair. After all, those who know how to work also know how to rest. Nekrasov expertly describes village holidays, when everyone, young and old, starts dancing. True, unclouded fun reigns there, all worries and labors are forgotten. The conclusion that Nekrasov comes to is simple and obvious: happiness lies in freedom. But freedom in Rus' is still very far away. The poet also created a whole galaxy of images of ordinary Russian women. Perhaps he romanticizes them somewhat, but one cannot help but admit that he managed to show the appearance of a peasant woman in a way that no one else could. For Nekrasov, a serf woman is a kind of symbol of the revival of Russia, its rebellion against fate. The most famous and memorable images of Russian women are, of course, Matryona Timofeevna in “Who Lives Well in Rus'” and Daria in the poem “Frost, Red Nose.”

Russian national character occupies central place and in the works of L.N. Tolstoy. Thus, in the novel “War and Peace” the Russian character is analyzed in all its diversity, in all spheres of life: family, national, social and spiritual. Of course, Russian traits are more fully embodied in the Rostov family. They feel and understand everything Russian, because feelings play main role in this family. This is most clearly manifested in Natasha. Of the entire family, she is most endowed with “the ability to sense shades of intonation, glances and facial expressions.” Natasha initially has a Russian national character. In the novel, the author shows us two principles in the Russian character: militant and peaceful. Tolstoy discovers the militant principle in Tikhon Shcherbat. The militant principle must inevitably appear during people's war. This is a manifestation of the will of the people. A completely different person is Platon Karataev. In his image, Tolstoy shows a peaceful, kind, spiritual beginning. The most important thing is to attach Plato to the earth. His passivity can be explained by his inner belief that, in the end, good and just forces win and, most importantly, one must hope and believe. Tolstoy does not idealize these two principles. He believes that a person necessarily has both a militant and a peaceful beginning. And, depicting Tikhon and Plato, Tolstoy depicts two extremes.

A special role in Russian literature was played by F.M. Dostoevsky. Just as in his time Pushkin was the “starter,” so Dostoevsky became the “finisher” of the Golden Age of Russian art and Russian thought and the “starter” of the art of the new twentieth century. It was Dostoevsky who embodied in the images he created the most essential feature of Russian national character and consciousness - its inconsistency, duality. First, negative pole national mentality- this is all “broken, false, superficial and slavishly borrowed.” The second, “positive” pole is characterized by Dostoevsky by such concepts as “simplicity, purity, meekness, broadness of mind and gentleness.” Based on the discoveries of Dostoevsky, N.A. Berdyaev wrote, as already mentioned, about the opposite principles that “formed the basis for the formation of the Russian soul.” As N.A. said Berdyaev, “To understand Dostoevsky to the end means to understand something very significant in the structure of the Russian soul, it means to get closer to the solution to Russia” [Berdyaev, 110].

Among all Russians classics of the 19th century century M. Gorky pointed specifically to N.S. Leskov as a writer who, with the greatest effort of all the forces of his talent, sought to create a “positive type” of Russian man, to find among the “sinners” of this world a crystal pure man, "righteous".

Portrayal of Russian national character

Part 1. The problem of Russian national character in Russian philosophy and literature of the 19th century

“The mysterious Russian soul”... What epithets have been bestowed upon our Russian mentality. Is the Russian soul so mysterious, is it really so unpredictable? What does it mean to be Russian? What is the peculiarity of the Russian national character? How often have philosophers asked and asked these questions in scientific treatises, writers in works of various genres, and even ordinary citizens in table discussions? Everyone asks and answers in their own way.

The character traits of the Russian person are very accurately noted in folk tales and epics. In them, the Russian man dreams of a better future, but he is too lazy to make his dreams come true. He keeps hoping that he will catch a talking pike or catch a goldfish that will fulfill his wishes. This primordial Russian laziness and love of dreaming about the advent of better times has always prevented our people from living. A Russian person is too lazy to grow or make something that his neighbor has - it is much easier for him to steal it, and even then not himself, but to ask someone else to do it. A typical example of this is the case of the king and the rejuvenating apples. All Russian folklore is based on the fact that being greedy is bad and greed is punishable. However, the breadth of the soul can be polar: drunkenness, unhealthy gambling, living for free, on the one hand. But, on the other hand, the purity of faith, carried and preserved through the centuries. A Russian person cannot believe quietly and modestly. He never hides, but goes to execution for his faith, walking with his head held high, striking his enemies.

There are so many things mixed into a Russian person that you can’t even count them on your fingers. Russians are so eager to preserve what is theirs that they are not ashamed of the most disgusting aspects of their identity: drunkenness, dirt and poverty. Such a trait of the Russian character as long-suffering often goes beyond the bounds of reason. From time immemorial, Russian people have resignedly endured humiliation and oppression. The already mentioned laziness and blind faith in a better future are partly to blame here. Russian people would rather endure than fight for their rights. But no matter how great the patience of the people is, it is still not limitless. The day comes and humility transforms into unbridled rage. Then woe to anyone who gets in the way. It’s not for nothing that Russian people are compared to a bear - huge, menacing, but so clumsy. We are probably rougher, certainly tougher in many cases. Russians have cynicism, emotional limitations, and a lack of culture. There is fanaticism, unscrupulousness, and cruelty. But still, mostly Russian people strive for good. There are many positive features in the Russian national character. Russians are deeply patriotic and have high fortitude; they are capable of defending their land to the last drop of blood. Since ancient times, both young and old have risen to fight against invaders.

A special conversation about the character of Russian women. A Russian woman has unbending fortitude; she is ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of a loved one and go to the ends of the earth for him. Moreover, this is not blindly following a spouse, like Eastern women, but a completely conscious and independent decision. This is what the wives of the Decembrists did, going after them to distant Siberia and dooming themselves to a life full of hardships. Nothing has changed since then: even now, in the name of love, a Russian woman is ready to spend her entire life wandering around the most remote corners of the world.

An invaluable contribution to the study of Russian national character was made by the works of Russian philosophers at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries - N.A. Berdyaev (“Russian Idea”, “Soul of Russia”), N.O. Lossky (“The Character of the Russian People”), E.N. Trubetskoy (“The Meaning of Life”), S.L. Frank (“The Soul of Man”), etc. Thus, in his book “The Character of the Russian People,” Lossky gives the following list of the main features inherent in the Russian national character: religiosity and the search for absolute good, kindness and tolerance, powerful willpower and passion, and sometimes maximalism . The philosopher sees the high development of moral experience in the fact that all layers of the Russian people show a special interest in distinguishing between good and evil. Such a feature of the Russian national character as the search for the meaning of life and the foundations of existence, according to Lossky, is excellently illustrated by the works of L.N. Tolstoy and F.M. Dostoevsky. Among such primary properties, the philosopher includes the love of freedom and its highest expression - freedom of spirit... Those who have freedom of spirit are inclined to put every value to the test, not only in thought, but even in experience... As a result of the free search for truth, it is difficult for Russian people to come to terms with each other ... Therefore, in public life, Russians’ love of freedom is expressed in a tendency towards anarchy, in repulsion from the state. However, as N.O. rightly notes. Lossky, positive qualities often have negative sides. The kindness of a Russian person sometimes prompts him to lie so as not to offend his interlocutor, due to the desire for peace and good relations with people at all costs. Among the Russian people there is also the familiar “Oblomovism”, that laziness and passivity that is excellently depicted by I.A. Goncharov in the novel “Oblomov”. Oblomovism in many cases is the flip side of the high qualities of the Russian person - the desire for complete perfection and sensitivity to the shortcomings of our reality... Among the especially valuable properties of the Russian people is a sensitive perception of other people's states of mind. This results in live communication between even unfamiliar people. “The Russian people have highly developed individual personal and family communication. In Russia there is no excessive replacement of individual relationships with social ones, there is no personal and family isolationism. Therefore, even a foreigner, having arrived in Russia, feels: “I am not alone here” (of course, I am talking about normal Russia, and not about life under the Bolshevik regime). Perhaps, these properties are the main source of recognition of the charm of the Russian people, so often expressed by foreigners who know Russia well...” [Lossky, p. 42sch.

ON THE. Berdyaev in the philosophical work “Russian Idea” presented the “Russian soul” as the bearer of two opposite principles, which reflected: “the natural, pagan Dionysian element and ascetic monastic Orthodoxy, despotism, hypertrophy of the state and anarchism, freedom, cruelty, a tendency to violence and kindness, humanity, gentleness, ritualism and the search for truth, a heightened consciousness of the individual and impersonal collectivism, pan-humanity, ... the search for God and militant atheism, humility and arrogance, slavery and rebellion” [Berdyaev, p. 32]. The philosopher also drew attention to the collectivist principle in the development of national character and in the fate of Russia. According to Berdyaev, “spiritual collectivism”, “spiritual conciliarity” is a “high type of brotherhood of people”. This kind of collectivism is the future. But there is another collectivism. This is “irresponsible” collectivism, which dictates to a person the need to “be like everyone else.” The Russian person, Berdyaev believed, is drowning in such collectivism; he feels immersed in the collective. Hence the lack of personal dignity and intolerance towards those who are not like others, who, thanks to their work and abilities, have the right to more.

So, in the works of Russian philosophers at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries, as well as in modern studies (for example: N.O. Kasyanova “On Russian National Character”), three leading principles stand out among the main characteristics of the traditional Russian national mentality: 1) religious or quasi-religious character ideology; 2) authoritarian-charismatic and centralist-power dominant; 3) ethnic dominance. These dominants - religious in the form of Orthodoxy and ethnic - were weakened during the Soviet period, while the ideological dominant and the power dominant, with which the stereotype of authoritarian-charismatic power is associated, became more strengthened.

In Russian literature of the 19th century, the problem of the Russian national character is also one of the main ones: we find dozens of images in the works of A.S. Pushkin and M.Yu. Lermontova, N.V. Gogol and M.E. Saltykova-Shchedrina, I.A. Goncharov and N.A. Nekrasova, F.M. Dostoevsky and L.N. Tolstoy, each of whom bears the indelible stamp of Russian character: Onegin and Pechorin, Manilov and Nozdryov, Tatyana Larina, Natasha Rostova and Matryona Timofeevna, Platon Karataev and Dmitry Karamazov, Oblomov, Judushka Golovlev and Raskolnikov, etc. You can’t list them all.

A.S. Pushkin was one of the first to pose in Russian literature the problem of the Russian national character in its entirety. His novel “Eugene Onegin” became a highly popular work, “an encyclopedia of Russian life.” Tatyana Larina, a girl from a noble background, is the one in whom the primordial nationality was most powerfully reflected: “Russian in soul, / She herself, without knowing why, / With her cold beauty, / loved the Russian winter.” This twice repeated “Russian” speaks about the main thing: the domestic mentality. Even a representative of another nation can love winter, but only a Russian soul can feel it without any explanation. Namely, she can suddenly see “frost in the sun on a frosty day,” “the radiance of pink snow,” and “the darkness of Epiphany evenings.” Only this soul has an increased sensitivity to the customs, mores and legends of the “common antiquity” with its New Year’s card fortune-telling, prophetic dreams and alarming signs. At the same time, the Russian beginning for A.S. Pushkin is not limited to this. To be “Russian” for him is to be faithful to duty, capable of spiritual responsiveness. In Tatyana, like in no other hero, everything that was given merged into a single whole. This is especially evident in the scene of explanation with Onegin in St. Petersburg. It contains deep understanding, sympathy, and openness of soul, but all this is subordinated to the observance of necessary duty. It does not leave the slightest hope for the loving Onegin. With deep sympathy, Pushkin also talks about the sad serfdom of nanny Tatyana.

N.V. Gogol, in the poem “Dead Souls,” also strives to vividly and succinctly portray the Russian people, and for this he introduces into the narrative representatives of three classes: landowners, officials and peasants. And, although the greatest attention is paid to the landowners (such vivid images as Manilov, Sobakevich, Korobochka, Plyushkin, Nozdryov), Gogol shows that the real bearers of the Russian national character are the peasants. The author introduces into the narrative the carriage maker Mikheev, the shoemaker Telyatnikov, the brickmaker Milushkin, and the carpenter Stepan Probka. Particular attention is paid to the strength and sharpness of the people's mind, the sincerity of folk songs, the brightness and generosity of folk holidays. However, Gogol is not inclined to idealize the Russian national character. He notes that any meeting of Russian people is characterized by some confusion, that one of the main problems of the Russian person: the inability to complete the work begun. Gogol also notes that a Russian person is often able to see the correct solution to a problem only after he has performed some action, but at the same time he really does not like to admit his mistakes to others.

ON THE. Nekrasov is often called the people's poet: he, like no one else, often addressed the topic of the Russian people. The vast majority of Nekrasov's poems are dedicated to the Russian peasant. In the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” a generalized image of the Russian people is created thanks to all the characters in the poem. These are central characters (Matryona Timofeevna, Savely, Grisha Dobrosklonov, Ermila Girin), and episodic ones (Agap Petrov, Gleb, Vavila, Vlas, Klim and others). The men came together with a simple goal: to find happiness, to find out who has a good life and why. A typical Russian search for the meaning of life and the foundations of existence. But the heroes of the poem failed to find a happy man; only landowners and officials were at ease in Rus'. Life is hard for the Russian people, but there is no despair. After all, those who know how to work also know how to rest. Nekrasov expertly describes village holidays, when everyone, young and old, starts dancing. True, unclouded fun reigns there, all worries and labors are forgotten. The conclusion that Nekrasov comes to is simple and obvious: happiness lies in freedom. But freedom in Rus' is still very far away. The poet also created a whole galaxy of images of ordinary Russian women. Perhaps he romanticizes them somewhat, but one cannot help but admit that he managed to show the appearance of a peasant woman in a way that no one else could. For Nekrasov, a serf woman is a kind of symbol of the revival of Russia, its rebellion against fate. The most famous and memorable images of Russian women are, of course, Matryona Timofeevna in “Who Lives Well in Rus'” and Daria in the poem “Frost, Red Nose.”

The Russian national character also occupies a central place in the works of L.N. Tolstoy. Thus, in the novel “War and Peace” the Russian character is analyzed in all its diversity, in all spheres of life: family, national, social and spiritual. Of course, Russian traits are more fully embodied in the Rostov family. They feel and understand everything Russian, because feelings play a major role in this family. This is most clearly manifested in Natasha. Of the entire family, she is most endowed with “the ability to sense shades of intonation, glances and facial expressions.” Natasha initially has a Russian national character. In the novel, the author shows us two principles in the Russian character: militant and peaceful. Tolstoy discovers the militant principle in Tikhon Shcherbat. The militant principle must inevitably appear during a people's war. This is a manifestation of the will of the people. A completely different person is Platon Karataev. In his image, Tolstoy shows a peaceful, kind, spiritual beginning. The most important thing is to attach Plato to the earth. His passivity can be explained by his inner belief that, in the end, good and just forces win and, most importantly, one must hope and believe. Tolstoy does not idealize these two principles. He believes that a person necessarily has both a militant and a peaceful beginning. And, depicting Tikhon and Plato, Tolstoy depicts two extremes.

A special role in Russian literature was played by F.M. Dostoevsky. Just as in his time Pushkin was the “starter,” so Dostoevsky became the “finisher” of the Golden Age of Russian art and Russian thought and the “starter” of the art of the new twentieth century. It was Dostoevsky who embodied in the images he created the most essential feature of Russian national character and consciousness - its inconsistency, duality. The first, negative pole of the national mentality is everything “broken, false, superficial and slavishly borrowed.” The second, “positive” pole is characterized by Dostoevsky by such concepts as “simplicity, purity, meekness, broadness of mind and gentleness.” Based on the discoveries of Dostoevsky, N.A. Berdyaev wrote, as already mentioned, about the opposite principles that “formed the basis for the formation of the Russian soul.” As N.A. said Berdyaev, “To understand Dostoevsky to the end means to understand something very significant in the structure of the Russian soul, it means to get closer to the solution to Russia” [Berdyaev, 110].

Among all the Russian classics of the 19th century, M. Gorky pointed specifically to N.S. Leskov as a writer who, with the greatest effort of all the forces of his talent, sought to create a “positive type” of a Russian person, to find among the “sinners” of this world a crystal clear person, a “righteous person.”