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Senkevich Henryk

famous Polish novelist. Genus. in 1846 in Wola Oszejska w Łukowskiem. Higher education received in Warsaw Main school. Literary activity began very early, but became famous in 1876, when, traveling around America, he sent from there a number of travel sketches, correspondence, short stories, full of artistic truth and humor. In the 80s, S. began to publish a number of historical novels, which made him popular not only in his homeland, but throughout Europe and America. As a collaborator and co-editor periodicals(mainly "Słowo"), S. belonged to the conservative old gentry party, although in many of his works he advocates democracy. In general, S., however, is quite alien to politics and stands on the basis of exclusively artistic interests. S.'s popularity reached its zenith after the appearance of the novel “Without Dogma” and has since continued to remain at the same level. Secured financial situation gives him full opportunity to work, following exclusively internal attraction, and systematically expand his artistic outlook new travels; excursions to Africa provided him with material for a number of highly artistic and interesting letters. Living either in Warsaw or Krakow, S. takes some part in local public affairs: for example, he was one of the most active members of the committee in charge of the construction of the monument to Mickiewicz. S. is a corresponding member of our Academy of Sciences. Novels, stories, travel essays and S.'s novels can be divided into two main groups - historical and psychological-social.

Historical works The stories, in turn, fall into two groups: stories from Polish history, mainly the 17th century, and from the first period of Christianity. Novels from Polish history can be named par excellence patriotic. These are the novels: “With Fire and Sword,” “The Flood,” “Pan Volodyevsky” and “Sword Bearers.” The first three novels are connected by chronological continuity and the participation of the same characters in the course of the action. Particular success, almost unprecedented, befell “With Fire and Sword.” The novel is written in an engaging way; events are presented according to Polish historical sources, however, certainly authoritative; there are almost no factual errors in the novel (this is also noted by Prof. V.B. Antonovich in his wonderful study about this novel). But the novel does not explain what it was like social status Ukraine, what were the reasons for the bloody clashes, the almost spontaneous struggle. Inner side life of the then Ukraine also remains opened with a feather novelist. The paints are applied unevenly; the image of the Polish side came out much brighter and more prominent than the image of the Cossacks. The hero of the novel is Jeremiah Vishnevetsky, who became famous both among the Poles and the Cossacks. S. follows in the footsteps of the Polish literary tradition. The idealism that makes up S. distinctive feature his hero, is out of place in Vishnevetsky even in the form in which the novelist portrayed him. The most striking and truly beautiful figure in the novel can be considered the “Polish Falstaff” - Zagloba. The novel "The Flood" and technical methods, and in terms of understanding the meaning of events above “With Fire and Sword,” although the Polish public and critics greeted it with less enthusiasm. The wars of Poland with the Swedes are presented very vividly and plastically. In describing the siege of Częstochowa, the author achieves remarkable perfection and is quite an epic writer. Characteristic historical figures written masterfully and in accordance with the sources. The individualism of old Poland is illuminated from the most sympathetic side. In some particulars, the influence of Dumas is evident, which, however, can be noticed in “With Fire and Sword.” "Pan Volodyevsky" is weaker than the two previous novels in concept and execution, although it is replete with excellent descriptions of natural scenes. Some scenes are breathtaking in their lyricism (for example, the speech over Volodyevsky’s coffin). The short story "Tatar Captivity" testifies to the author's deep understanding of the psychology of the past, although it was written under some influence of "El principe constante" as reported by the poet Slovaksky. The novel "Bearers of the Sword", depicting the struggle of the Poles with the Teutonic Order, according to artistic techniques adjacent to the previous ones. Portraying distant historical era, about which relatively little evidence has survived, S. shows great tact, avoiding any exaggeration and fiction and focusing the reader’s attention on the image characters. The masterful handling of the dialogue is noteworthy. Novels and stories dedicated to early period Christianity, stand in artistically higher than patriotic. S. is very familiar with ancient Roman culture; He also began to be interested early in the psychological process of transition from a pagan worldview to a Christian one. The novella Let's Follow Him is an excellent attempt to reproduce this process. S.’s novel “Quo vadis?”, especially popular in America and Italy, gained worldwide fame. S. paints here a picture of a dying pagan world and a nascent Christian one. The picture of the pagan world is painted with remarkable perfection, almost flawlessly. The author studied the sources, especially Tacitus, and monuments of plastic art. The Christian community is depicted less brightly and in relief. The figures of Nero and Petronius are superbly depicted. The novel is replete with scenes full of tragedy. In one of them (Lygia on the horns of the tour) one can also see a symbolic meaning.

Psychological and social S.'s novels and short stories are distinguished by a variety of plots. In the novella he achieves the same perfection of technique as Maupassant. In S.'s early short stories there is a lot of lyricism, sincerity and hidden bitterness. The author repeatedly emphasizes the irony of fate, which cruelly mocks the disadvantaged and weak (“Yanko the Musician”, “For Bread”, “Barten the Winner”, “From the Teacher’s Notes”, “Sea Watchman”, “In Vain”, “At the Source”). A sad, almost pessimistic mood is especially felt in the novel “Without Dogma.” The universality of the type derived in the person of Ploshovsky is beyond doubt. Ploshovsky is a Pechorin of the newest type, a man whose will is almost atrophied, and next to this there is painful impressionability, thoughtfulness, a cult of beauty and intellectual pleasures. Anelka is an epically simple and attractive type. Inability to feel and active work leads to the death of Ploshovsky and Anelka: Ploshovsky, feeling that he lacks " basics of life", commits suicide. In the person of Ploshovsky, S. consolidated the moribund type of partly decadent, partly mental sybarite, torn away from normal soil. Ploshovsky has predecessors in S.'s works: a student in the novel "Na marne" and Doctor Iozvovich in the drama "On one card." The first is a type of positivist-idealist crippled by life, the second is a democrat-positivist who makes a career out of political play, with a strong will, but without moral principles, which ultimately destroys him. "The Polanetsky Family" - everyday novel, leaving a fresh and invigorating impression. He depicts part of the intelligent Polish society - the eminent nobility of the old formation and the newly emerging bourgeoisie, which emerged mainly from among the ruined nobility. The hero of the novel, Polanetsky, is an ordinary person in all respects, with average mental development and strong will. The novelist takes him to various moments in his personal life and points out traces of romanticism, which Polanetsky and many other characters in the novel have not yet managed to renounce. The heroine of the novel, Marina Shavitskaya, who became Polanetsky’s wife, belongs to the category of simple and ingenuous creatures, who, by the instinct of unspoiled nature, know what is straight and true. life path. There are quite a few varieties of the Polish intelligentsia in the novel, partly portrayed with remarkable perfection (Bukacki, Zavilovsky, Mashko). From female figures In addition to Marini, the sick girl Litka and her mother Khvastovskaya are depicted with great feeling and realism; on the negative side, Osnovskaya, Kastelli, Kreslavsky, Bronicheva are outlined. The novel is imbued with unconscious optimism. The society depicted by S., despite its weaknesses and shortcomings, has sufficient foundations, certain ideals, vitality and the ability to revive. The novel “The Polanecki Family” is the most objective and, after “Quo Vadis,” the most artistically mature work of S. Modern Polish society is depicted in it impartially and with sufficient completeness. The sphere of personal and even selfish interests prevails in him over the sphere of public interests.

S.'s travel essays, especially his American stories, are distinguished by high merits. The descriptions of nature are impeccable; psychological analysis sometimes reaches remarkable depth (for example, the story of Lillian’s death). Thanks to the author's powers of observation and extensive training, his travel sketches not only entertain, but also provide valuable ethnographic information.

S. does not have the talent of a playwright; his stage experiments are unsuccessful in composition, although some characters are conceived very deeply (for example, Iozvovich). As a theorist of the novel and art in general, S. speaks out in many places in his works. His discussions on these topics in the novel “Without Dogma” are especially interesting. S. is the enemy of naturalism; in his Letters on Zola he certainly condemns the philosophy of the French novelist. Some of S.'s techniques resemble Turgenev's manner; in general, in terms of talent and worldview, he is more similar to Russian novelists than to French ones (he was compared without reason to Bourget). Complete collection S.'s works on Polish language published in Warsaw. - Reviews of Polish criticism about S. are very numerous. The best expression extreme passion for S.'s novels are the articles of prof. University of Krakow gr. Tarnovsky, who dedicated an entire book to S. (“Studja”). Her weak sides- the absence of a comparative element in the analysis of S.’s works and an overly panegyric tone. The exemplary Polish critic Khmelevsky ("Nasi powiesciopisarze" and articles in "Ateneum"), who analyzes S.'s novels very subtly and scientifically, goes to the opposite extreme. In assessing his historical novels, Khmelevsky almost aligns himself with the opinions of Antonovich and Pypin (see below). In "Without Dogma" Khmelevsky sees special kind diseases of the will. S. Khmelevsky has a very high opinion of his artistic talent. The critical experiments of Boguslavsky et al. are illuminated from various sides S.'s works contain interesting parallels and comparisons. In Spasovich’s study of “The Polanetsky Family,” the author, with the usual depth of analysis, emphasizes the outstanding merits of this novel, which has not been sufficiently appreciated by critics (Spasovich’s article is also available in Russian, in the “Collected Works”). Among the Russian critics, V. B. Antonovich (“Kiev Antiquity” , 1885, 5), analyzing the reasons for the success of the novel “With Fire and Sword,” comes to the conclusion that S. stands at the level of Polish-gentry ideas about the causes of the Cossack wars of the 17th century and that the Polish historical identity has not made much progress since then. Prof. Antonovich points to the idealization of Jeremiah Vishnevetsky as an example of the one-sidedness of S.’s understanding. historical events. The views of V.B. Antonovich are shared by A.N. Pypin ("Bulletin of Europe", February, 1888). Russian criticism reacted much more kindly to psychological novels S. Vlad speaks with particular praise of “Without Dogma.” Karenin ("Bulletin of Europe" 1891, July), recognizing Ploshovsky's universality of type, and his novel's high artistry. A. Volynsky gives an equally positive assessment of this novel in Severny Vestnik (1891, 12). Iv. Ivanov compares Ploshovsky with Pechorin and does not find new motives in S.’s novel (“The World of God,” 1895, 11). M. A. Protopopov in the article “Guilt or Misfortune?” sees in Ploshovsky a fruitlessly reflective person, doomed to death and deeply unhappy ("Russian Thought", 1893, March). “The Polanetsky Family” in the article by L. E. Obolensky (book “Weeks”, 1895, III) is analyzed from a social point of view; the author notes the isolation from the soil of the intelligentsia depicted by S.. In terms of design, “The Polanetsky Family” does not satisfy I. Gofshetter (“Senkevich as a Psychologist of Our Time,” St. Petersburg, 1896), who has a negative attitude towards Polanetsky. A wonderful article about "Quo Vadis" was written by Prof. Mishchenko ("Ancient motifs in the works of Sienkiewicz", "Russian Thought", 1897, 8); he places S.’s novel very highly and recognizes the author’s thorough knowledge of the sources. G. Shepelevich published an excerpt from his publication in 1894 as a separate brochure. lectures about Without dogma, two articles by him about S. were included in the collection “Our Contemporaries” (St. Petersburg, 1899: “Senkevich as a novelist-psychologist” and “ Historical novels G. Sienkiewicz"). Reviews of Western European criticism, especially French (in the "Revue de deux Mondes" and others), are generally favorable for S., but they do not bring anything new to the literature of the plot. The same can be said about the reviews of Italian criticism (in "Corriere di Napoli", in "Ilustrazione", etc.), speaking enthusiastically about "Quo vadis" and "The Polanecki Family". Reviews about S. in German and English journalism differ in a more bibliographic than critical nature; however, in prefaces to German translations There are interesting remarks (for example, Levenfeld). Translations into Russian of S.'s works are very numerous, but far from being of equal merit. Transl. can be considered exemplary. V. M. Lavrova (ed. "Russian Thought"). S.'s works were published in Kyiv in an unsatisfactory translation by Mr. Dombrovsky. Many of S.'s works have been translated into English, German, Italian, French, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Spanish and even volapük. In Italy in Lately individual scenes from "Quo vadis" are staged folk theater. S.'s works inspired some Polish and foreign painters. Best illustrations Some of S.'s novels, after the Polish ones, are American and English.

L. Shepelevich.

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The winter from 1682 to 1683 was so cold that even the old-timers did not remember anything like it. In the fall there were constant rains, and in mid-November the first frost hit, which bound the rivers and covered the trees as if with a glass shell. In the forests, frost stuck to the pines and began to break branches. In early December, after the frost intensified, birds began to flock to villages and towns, and even forest animals crawled out of the thicket and approached human dwellings. However, on the eve of the day of St. Damasius, the sky began to become cloudy, and then snow fell for ten days in a row. He covered the ground with a thick layer of one and a half arshins, covered forest roads and fences and even windows in huts. People shoveled snow drifts in order to get from the house to the stables or barnyard. When the snow finally stopped, a biting frost struck again, causing the trees to shoot in the forest like guns.

At that time, when the peasants had to go to the forest for firewood, they would only travel in a herd for safety, and even then, trying so that night would not find them far from the village. After sunset, none of them dared go out into their own yard without a pitchfork or an ax, and the dogs barked short, frightened barks at the wolves until the morning.

However, on such a night and in a terrible frost, a huge carriage on a sleigh, drawn by four horses and surrounded by riders, moved along the forest road. Ahead rode on a stocky front horse with a kafark, that is, with an iron bowl attached to a long pole, in which a tar torch glowed - not to illuminate the road, because it was light from the moon, but to warn off the wolves. The coachman sat on the box, the postilion sat on the carriage, and on the sides of the carriage two workers armed with flails were bouncing on thin nags.

This whole procession moved very slowly due to the unbeaten road and snow drifts, which here and there, and especially at turns, looked like giant shafts towering in the middle of the road.

This slowness drove him out of patience and at the same time worried Mr. Gedeon Pongovsky, who, counting on the number and excellent weapons of his servants, decided to set off despite the fact that in Radom he was warned about the danger, especially since he had to go to Belchonchka through Kozenetskaya Pushcha.

These huge forests once began long before Jedlinka and extended far beyond Kozeniny to the Vistula itself, to the side lying on the other bank of Streznica and north to Rychilov.

It seemed to Pan Gideon that, having left Radom before noon, he would be home by sunset as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, in several places it was necessary to dig up a covered road, which took several hours, so they passed Jedlinka almost in the evening. There they were warned once again that it was better to stay overnight, but since the blacksmith found a torch with which they could light their way, Pan Pongovsky ordered them to move on.

And then night found them in the forest.

It was difficult to drive faster because of the ever-increasing snowfalls, and Pan Gideon began to worry more and more. In the end, he began to curse his journey, but in Latin, so as not to frighten his relative, Mrs. Vinnitskaya, and his adopted daughter, Mrs. Seninskaya, who were traveling with him.

Panna Seninskaya was young and carefree, and therefore was not very afraid. On the contrary, having pulled back the leather curtain at the carriage window and ordered the worker riding next to him not to block the view, she cheerfully looked at the snowdrifts and pine trunks, covered with long stripes of snow, along which the red lights of a splinter crawled, forming, together with the greenish light of the moon, a pleasant entertainment for the eyes. Then, cupping her lips like a funnel, she began to blow, and she was amused by the fact that the breath was visible and turned pinkish from the fire.

But the cowardly and almost hundred-year-old Mrs. Vinnitskaya began to grumble:

And why was it necessary to leave Radom or, at least, not spend the night in Jedlna, where we were warned about the danger? And all because of someone's stubbornness. Belchonchka is still far away, and the road goes all the time in the forest... Wolves will probably attack us... Unless Archangel Raphael, the patron saint of travelers, will have mercy on the lost, which, unfortunately, they are completely unworthy of...

Hearing this, Pan Pongovsky completely lost his temper.

This was all that was needed to get lost.

But the road goes straight as an arrow, and as for the wolves, maybe they will attack, maybe not. They have enough people, and besides, the wolf reluctantly attacks a soldier, not only because it fears him more than an ordinary mortal, but also directly under the influence of some kind of addiction and as an intelligent, intelligent animal.

The wolf understands perfectly well that neither the tradesman nor the peasant will give him anything for nothing, and only the soldier sometimes allows him to profit, since it is not for nothing that people call war the wolf's harvest. However, thinking this way and slightly flattering the pride of the wolves, Pan Pongovsky was not at all confident in their favor. Therefore, it occurred to him whether he should order one of the people to get off his horse and sit down next to the young lady. In this case, he himself would protect one door of the carriage, and he would protect the other, not to mention the fact that the abandoned horse would probably rush forward or backward and could distract the wolves with it.

But it seemed to Pan Gideon that there was still time ahead for this. For now, he placed two pistols and a knife on the front seat, next to Panna Seninskaya, so that he could have them at hand. Since he did not have a left hand, he could only use his right.

They drove calmly for several miles.

The road began to widen.

Pongovsky, who knew this road very well, sighed with relief and said:

Malikova Polyana is not far away.

He hoped that in the open it was at least safer than in the forest.

But at that very moment, the man riding ahead with the kafark suddenly turned his horse, jumped up to the carriage and began to quickly say something to the driver and servants, who answered him curtly, as they usually say in a moment of danger, when there is no time to lose.

What is there? - asked Pan Pongovsky.

Something is heard in the clearing.

Some noise! God knows what!

Pan Pongovsky was about to order the man riding with the kafark to go forward, to see what was happening there, but he thought that in such cases it was better not to be left without fire and to stick together, and besides, it was easier to defend in a bright clearing than in the middle of a forest, and therefore ordered to move on.

But a minute later the leader reappeared at the carriage window.

Boars,” he said.

A loud grunt can be heard from the right side of the road.

Well, thank God!

But maybe they were attacked by wolves?

Then thank God too! We'll pass by without delay. Well, touch it. Indeed, the advanced assumption turned out to be correct. Having arrived at the clearing, they saw, at a distance of two or three shots from a bow, to the right of the road, a herd of wild boars huddled together, surrounded by a moving ring of wolves. The terrible grunting, in which one could hear not alarm, but rage, became increasingly stronger. When the carriage approached the middle of the clearing, the servants, looking from the horses, noticed that the wolves did not yet dare to rush at the herd, but were only advancing on it more and more strongly.

The boars formed a circle, in the middle of which stood female boars, and at the edges were the strongest boars, forming, as it were, a moving fortress, menacing, sparkling with white fangs, invincible and fearless.

And between the ring of wolves and this wall of fangs and blunt snouts, a snow-white circle was visible, illuminated, like the entire clearing, bright light moon.

Only occasionally would a wolf jump up to the herd, but now he would back away, as if frightened by the clicking of fangs and an even more menacing grunt.