The time of the emergence of realism in literature. Realism as an artistic movement

Ultimately, all these noticeable shifts in the literary process - the replacement of romanticism with critical realism, or at least the promotion of critical realism to the role of a direction representing the main line of literature - were determined by the entry of bourgeois-capitalist Europe into a new phase of its development.

The most important new point now characterizing the alignment of class forces was the emergence of the working class into an independent arena of socio-political struggle, the liberation of the proletariat from the organizational and ideological tutelage of the left wing of the bourgeoisie.

The July Revolution, which overthrew Charles X from the throne - the last king the elder branch of the Bourbons - put an end to the Restoration regime, broke the dominance of the Holy Alliance in Europe and had a significant impact on the political climate of Europe (revolution in Belgium, uprising in Poland).

The European revolutions of 1848-1849, which swept almost all countries of the continent, became major milestone socio-political process of the 19th century. The events of the late 40s marked the final demarcation of the class interests of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. In addition to direct responses to the mid-century revolutions in the work of a number of revolutionary poets, the general ideological atmosphere after the defeat of the revolution was reflected in the further development of critical realism (Dickens, Thackeray, Flaubert, Heine), and on a number of other phenomena, in particular the formation of naturalism in European literatures.

The literary process of the second half of the century, despite all the complicating circumstances of the post-revolutionary period, is enriched with new achievements. The positions of critical realism in Slavic countries are being consolidated. They start their creative activity such great realists as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Critical realism is formed in the literature of Belgium, Holland, Hungary, and Romania.

General characteristics of 19th century realism

Realism is a concept that characterizes the cognitive function of art: the truth of life, embodied by specific means of art, the measure of its penetration into reality, the depth and completeness of it artistic knowledge.

The leading principles of realism of the 19th-20th centuries:

1. playback typical characters, conflicts, situations with the completeness of their artistic individualization (i.e., concretization of both national, historical, social signs, and physical, intellectual and spiritual characteristics);

2. An objective reflection of the essential aspects of life in combination with the height and truth of the author’s ideal;

3. preference in methods of depicting “forms of life itself,” but along with the use, especially in the 20th century, of conventional forms (myth, symbol, parable, grotesque);

4. predominant interest in the problem of “personality and society” (especially in the inescapable confrontation between social laws and the moral ideal, personal and mass, mythologized consciousness).

Among largest representatives realism in various types of art of the 19th-20th centuries. -- Stendhal, O. Balzac, C. Dickens, G. Flaubert, L. N. Tolstoy, F. M. Dostoevsky, M. Twain, A. P. Chekhov, T. Mann, W. Faulkner, A. I. Solzhenitsyn, O. Daumier, G. Courbet, I. E. Repin, V. I. Surikov, M. P. Mussorgsky, M. S. Shchepkin, K. S. Stanislavsky.

So, in relation to literature of the 19th century. Only a work that reflects the essence of a given socio-historical phenomenon should be considered realistic, when the characters of the work bear the typical, collective features of a particular social stratum or class, and the conditions in which they act are not an accidental figment of the writer’s imagination, but reflection of the patterns of socio-economic and political life era.

The characteristics of critical realism were first formulated by Engels in April 1888 in a letter to English writer Margaret Harkness in connection with her novel City Girl. Expressing a number of friendly wishes regarding this work, Engels calls on his correspondent to a truthful, realistic portrayal of life. Engels's judgments contain the fundamental principles of the theory of realism and still retain their scientific relevance.

“In my opinion,” says Engels in a letter to the writer, “realism presupposes, in addition to the truthfulness of details, truthfulness in the reproduction of typical characters in typical circumstances.” [Marx K., Engels F. Selected letters. M., 1948. P. 405.]

Typification in art was not a discovery of critical realism. Art of any era based on the aesthetic norms of its time in the appropriate artistic forms it was possible to reflect the characteristic or, as they began to say, typical features of modernity inherent in the characters of works of art, in the conditions in which these characters acted.

Typification among critical realists is more high degree this principle of artistic knowledge and reflection of reality, than that of their predecessors. It is expressed in the combination and organic relationship of typical characters and typical circumstances. In the richest arsenal of funds realistic typification not at all last place occupies psychologism, i.e., the disclosure of a complex spiritual world - the world of thoughts and feelings of the character. But spiritual world the heroes of critical realists are socially determined. This principle of character construction determined a deeper degree of historicism among critical realists compared to the romantics. However, the characters of the critical realists were least likely to resemble sociological schemes. It is not so much the external detail in the description of the character - portrait, costume, but rather his psychological appearance (here consummate master was Stendhal) recreates a deeply individualized image.

This is exactly how Balzac built his doctrine of artistic typification, arguing that along with the main features inherent in many people representing one or another class, one or another social stratum, the artist embodies the unique individual traits of a particular individual, both in his external appearance, in his individualized speech portrait, features of clothing, gait, manners, gestures, as well as in the inner, spiritual appearance.

Realists of the 19th century when creating artistic images, they showed the hero in development, depicted the evolution of character, which was determined by the complex interaction of the individual and society. In this they differed sharply from the enlighteners and romantics.

The art of critical realism set as its task an objective artistic reproduction of reality. The realist writer based his artistic discoveries on a deep scientific study of the facts and phenomena of life. Therefore, the works of critical realists are a rich source of information about the era they describe.

Realism has the following distinctive features:

1. The artist depicts life in images that correspond to the essence of the phenomena of life itself.
2. Literature in realism is a means for a person to understand himself and the world around him.
3. Cognition of reality occurs with the help of images created through typification of facts of reality (“typical characters in a typical setting”). Typification of characters in realism is carried out through the truthfulness of details in the “specifics” of the characters’ conditions of existence.
4. Realistic art is life-affirming art, even with tragic resolution conflict. The philosophical basis for this is Gnosticism, the belief in knowability and an adequate reflection of the surrounding world, unlike, for example, romanticism.
5. Realistic art is characterized by the desire to consider reality in development, the ability to detect and capture the emergence and development of new forms of life and social relations, new psychological and social types.

In the course of the development of art, realism acquires specific historical forms and creative methods (for example, educational realism, critical realism, socialist realism). These methods, interconnected by continuity, have their own characteristic features. The manifestations of realistic tendencies vary in different types and genres of art.

In aesthetics, there is no definitively established definition of both the chronological boundaries of realism and the scope and content of this concept. In the variety of points of view being developed, two main concepts can be outlined:

· According to one of them, realism is one of the main features of artistic knowledge, the main trend in the progressive development of the artistic culture of mankind, in which the deep essence of art is revealed as a way of spiritual and practical development of reality. The measure of penetration into life, artistic knowledge of its important aspects and qualities, and, first of all, social reality, determines the measure of realism of a particular artistic phenomenon. In each new historical period, realism acquires new look, now revealing itself in a more or less clearly expressed tendency, now crystallizing into a complete method that defines the features of the artistic culture of its time.
· Representatives of another point of view on realism limit its history to a certain chronological framework, seeing in it a historically and typologically specific form of artistic consciousness. In this case, the beginning of realism dates back to either the Renaissance or the 18th century, the Age of Enlightenment. The most complete disclosure of the features of realism is seen in the critical realism of the 19th century; its next stage is represented in the 20th century. socialist realism, which interprets life phenomena from the perspective of the Marxist-Leninist worldview. A characteristic feature of realism in this case is considered to be the method of generalization, typification of life material, formulated by F. Engels in relation to the realistic novel: " … typical characters in typical circumstances..."
· Realism in this understanding explores the personality of a person in indissoluble unity with his contemporary social environment and public relations. This interpretation of the concept of realism was developed mainly on the material of the history of literature, while the first one was developed mainly on the material of the plastic arts.

Whatever point of view one adheres to, and no matter how one connects them with each other, there is no doubt that realistic art has an extraordinary variety of ways of cognition, generalization, and artistic interpretation of reality, manifested in the nature of stylistic forms and techniques. Realism of Masaccio and Piero della Francesca, A. Durer and Rembrandt, J.L. David and O. Daumier, I.E. Repina, V.I. Surikov and V.A. Serov, etc. differ significantly from each other and testify to the broadest creative possibilities for objective exploration of the historically changing world through the means of art.

Moreover, any realistic method is characterized by a consistent focus on understanding and revealing the contradictions of reality, which, within given, historically determined limits, turns out to be accessible to truthful disclosure. Realism is characterized by conviction in the knowability of beings, features of the objective real world by means of art. realism art knowledge

Forms and techniques of reflecting reality in realistic art are different in different types and genres. The deep penetration into the essence of life phenomena, which is inherent in realistic tendencies and constitutes the defining feature of any realistic method, is expressed in different ways in the novel, lyric poem, in a historical painting, landscape, etc. Not every outwardly reliable depiction of reality is realistic. Empirical validity artistic image takes on meaning only in unity with a truthful reflection of the existing aspects of the real world. This is the difference between realism and naturalism, which creates only visible, external, and not genuine essential truthfulness of images. At the same time, in order to identify certain facets of the deep content of life, sometimes sharp hyperbolization, sharpening, grotesque exaggeration of the “forms of life itself” are required, and sometimes a conditionally metaphorical form of artistic thinking.

The most important feature of realism is psychologism, immersion through social analysis into the inner world of a person. An example here is the “career” of Julien Sorel from Stendhal’s novel “The Red and the Black,” who experienced a tragic conflict of ambition and honor; psychological drama by Anna Karenina from the novel of the same name by L.N. Tolstoy, who was torn between the feelings and morality of class society. Human character is revealed by representatives of critical realism in an organic connection with the environment, with social circumstances and life conflicts. The main genre of realistic literature of the 19th century. Accordingly, it becomes a socio-psychological novel. It most fully meets the task of objective artistic reproduction of reality.

Let's consider general signs realism:

1. An artistic depiction of life in images that corresponds to the essence of the phenomena of life itself.
2. Reality is a means for a person to understand himself and the world around him.
3. Typification of images, which is achieved through the truthfulness of details in specific conditions.
4. Even in the face of a tragic conflict, art is life-affirming.
5. Realism is characterized by the desire to consider reality in development, the ability to detect the development of new social, psychological and public relations.

The leading principles of realism in art of the 19th century V.:

· objective reflection of the essential aspects of life in combination with the height and truth of the author’s ideal;
· reproduction of typical characters, conflicts, situations with the completeness of their artistic individualization (i.e., concretization of both national, historical, social signs, and physical, intellectual and spiritual characteristics);
· preference in methods of depicting “forms of life itself,” but along with the use, especially in the 20th century, of conventional forms (myth, symbol, parable, grotesque);
· predominant interest in the problem of “personality and society” (especially in the inescapable confrontation between social patterns and the moral ideal, personal and mass, mythologized consciousness) [4, p.20].

Realism is a trend in literature and art that truthfully and realistically reflects the typical features of reality, in which there are no various distortions and exaggerations. This direction followed romanticism, and was the predecessor of symbolism.

This trend originated in the 30s of the 19th century and reached its peak in the middle of it. His followers sharply denied the use in literary works any sophisticated techniques, mystical trends and idealization of characters. The main feature of this trend in literature is artistic representation real life with the help of ordinary and familiar images to readers that are part of their everyday life (relatives, neighbors or acquaintances).

(Alexey Yakovlevich Voloskov "At the tea table")

The works of realist writers are distinguished by their life-affirming beginning, even if their plot is characterized by tragic conflict. One of the main features of this genre is the authors’ attempt to consider the surrounding reality in its development, to discover and describe new psychological, public and social relationships.

Having replaced romanticism, realism has characteristic features art, striving to find truth and justice, wanting to change the world in better side. The main characters in the works of realist authors make their discoveries and conclusions after much thought and deep introspection.

(Zhuravlev Firs Sergeevich "Before the Crown")

Critical realism developed almost simultaneously in Russia and Europe (approximately 30-40s of the 19th century) and soon emerged as the leading trend in literature and art throughout the world.

In France literary realism, first of all, is associated with the names of Balzac and Stendhal, in Russia with Pushkin and Gogol, in Germany with the names of Heine and Buchner. They all experience in their literary creativity the inevitable influence of romanticism, but gradually move away from it, abandon the idealization of reality and move on to depicting a broader social background, where the life of the main characters takes place.

Realism in Russian literature of the 19th century

The main founder of Russian realism in the 19th century is Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. In his works " Captain's daughter", "Eugene Onegin", "Belkin's Tales", "Boris Godunov", " Bronze Horseman“He subtly captures and skillfully conveys the very essence of all important events in the life of Russian society, presented by his talented pen in all its diversity, colorfulness and inconsistency. Following Pushkin, many writers of that time came to the genre of realism, deepening the analysis of the emotional experiences of their heroes and depicting their complex inner world (“Hero of Our Time” by Lermontov, “The Inspector General” and “Dead Souls” by Gogol).

(Pavel Fedotov "The Picky Bride")

The tense socio-political situation in Russia during the reign of Nicholas I aroused keen interest in the life and fate of common people among progressive public figures that time. This is noted in later works Pushkin, Lermontov and Gogol, as well as in the poetic lines of Alexei Koltsov and the works of the authors of the so-called “natural school”: I.S. Turgenev (cycle of stories “Notes of a Hunter”, stories “Fathers and Sons”, “Rudin”, “Asya”), F.M. Dostoevsky (“Poor People”, “Crime and Punishment”), A.I. Herzen (“The Thieving Magpie”, “Who is to Blame?”), I.A. Goncharova (“Ordinary History”, “Oblomov”), A.S. Griboyedov “Woe from Wit”, L.N. Tolstoy (“War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina”), A.P. Chekhov (stories and plays “ The Cherry Orchard", "Three Sisters", "Uncle Vanya").

Literary realism of the second half of the 19th century was called critical; the main task of his works was to highlight existing problems and address issues of interaction between man and the society in which he lives.

Realism in Russian literature of the 20th century

(Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky "Evening")

The turning point in the fate of Russian realism was the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when this direction was experiencing a crisis and a new phenomenon in culture loudly declared itself - symbolism. Then a new updated aesthetics of Russian realism arose, in which History itself and its global processes were now considered the main environment shaping a person’s personality. The realism of the early 20th century revealed the complexity of the formation of a person’s personality; it was formed under the influence not only social factors, the story itself acted as the creator of typical circumstances, under the aggressive influence of which the main character fell.

(Boris Kustodiev "Portrait of D.F. Bogoslovsky")

There are four main trends in realism of the early twentieth century:

Critical: continues traditions classical realism mid-19th century. The works place emphasis on the social nature of phenomena (the works of A.P. Chekhov and L.N. Tolstoy);
Socialist: displaying the historical and revolutionary development of real life, analyzing conflicts in conditions of class struggle, revealing the essence of the characters of the main characters and their actions committed for the benefit of others. (M. Gorky “Mother”, “The Life of Klim Samgin”, most works by Soviet authors).
Mythological: display and re-interpretation of real life events through the prism of plots of famous myths and legends (L.N. Andreev “Judas Iscariot”);
Naturalism: an extremely truthful, often unsightly, detailed depiction of reality (A.I. Kuprin “The Pit”, V.V. Veresaev “A Doctor’s Notes”).

Realism in foreign literature of the 19th-20th centuries

The initial stage of the formation of critical realism in European countries in the mid-19th century is associated with the works of Balzac, Stendhal, Beranger, Flaubert, and Maupassant. Merimee in France, Dickens, Thackeray, Bronte, Gaskell - England, the poetry of Heine and other revolutionary poets - Germany. In these countries, in the 30s of the 19th century, tension was growing between two irreconcilable class enemies: the bourgeoisie and the labor movement, a period of growth was observed in various spheres of bourgeois culture, and a number of discoveries were taking place in natural science and biology. In countries where a pre-revolutionary situation developed (France, Germany, Hungary), the doctrine of the scientific socialism of Marx and Engels arose and developed.

(Julien Dupre "Return from the Fields")

As a result of complex creative and theoretical polemics with the followers of romanticism, critical realists took for themselves the best progressive ideas and traditions: interesting historical themes, democracy, trends folklore, progressive critical pathos and humanistic ideals.

Realism of the early twentieth century, which survived the struggle of the best representatives of the “classics” of critical realism (Flaubert, Maupassant, France, Shaw, Rolland) with the trends of new non-realistic trends in literature and art (decadence, impressionism, naturalism, aestheticism, etc.) is acquiring new character traits. He turns to social phenomena real life, describes the social motivation of human character, reveals the psychology of personality, the fate of art. The basis of modeling artistic reality philosophical ideas are laid down, the author's focus is primarily on the intellectually active perception of the work when reading it, and then on the emotional one. A classic example of intellectual realistic novel are the works of the German writer Thomas Mann “The Magic Mountain” and “Confession of the Adventurer Felix Krull”, the dramaturgy of Bertolt Brecht.

(Robert Kohler "Strike")

In the works of realist authors of the twentieth century, the dramatic line intensifies and deepens, there is more tragedy (the work of the American writer Scott Fitzgerald “The Great Gatsby”, “Tender is the Night”), and a special interest in the inner world of man appears. Attempts to portray conscious and unconscious life moments people lead to the emergence of a new literary device, close to modernism, called “stream of consciousness” (works by Anna Segers, W. Keppen, Yu. O’Neill). Naturalistic elements appear in creativity American realist writers, such as Theodore Dreiser and John Steinbeck.

Realism of the 20th century has a bright, life-affirming color, faith in man and his strength, this is noticeable in the works of American realist writers William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Jack London, Mark Twain. The works of Romain Rolland, John Galsworthy, Bernard Shaw, and Erich Maria Remarque were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Realism continues to exist as a direction in modern literature and is one of the most important forms of democratic culture.

The emergence of realism

In the 30s of the XIX century. Realism is becoming widespread in literature and art. The development of realism is primarily associated with the names of Stendhal and Balzac in France, Pushkin and Gogol in Russia, Heine and Buchner in Germany. Realism develops initially in the depths of romanticism and bears the stamp of the latter; not only Pushkin and Heine, but also Balzac experienced a strong fascination in their youth romantic literature. However, unlike romantic art realism refuses the idealization of reality and the associated predominance of the fantastic element, as well as an increased interest in the subjective side of man. In realism, the prevailing tendency is to depict a broad social background against which the lives of the heroes take place (“ Human Comedy"Balzac, "Eugene Onegin" by Pushkin, "Dead Souls" by Gogol, etc.). Realist artists sometimes surpass philosophers and sociologists of their time in their depth of understanding of social life.

Stages of development realism XIX century

The formation of critical realism occurs in European countries and in Russia almost at the same time - in the 20s - 40s of the 19th century. It is becoming a leading trend in the literature of the world.

True, this simultaneously means that the literary process of this period is irreducible only in a realistic system. Both in European literatures, and - especially - in US literature, the activity of romantic writers continues in full measure. Thus, the development of the literary process occurs largely through the interaction of coexisting aesthetic systems, and characteristic as national literatures, and creativity individual writers requires mandatory consideration of this circumstance.

Speaking about the fact that since the 30s and 40s, realist writers have occupied a leading place in literature, it is impossible not to note that realism itself turns out to be not a frozen system, but a phenomenon in constant development. Already within the 19th century, the need arises to talk about “different realisms”, that Merimee, Balzac and Flaubert equally answered the main historical questions that the era suggested to them, and at the same time their works are distinguished by different content and originality forms.

In the 1830s - 1840s, the most remarkable features of realism as a literary movement that gives a multifaceted picture of reality, striving for an analytical study of reality, appear in the works of European writers (primarily Balzac).

The literature of the 1830s and 1840s was largely fueled by statements about the attractiveness of the century itself. The love for the 19th century was shared, for example, by Stendhal and Balzac, who never ceased to be amazed at its dynamism, diversity and inexhaustible energy. Hence the heroes of the first stage of realism - active, with an inventive mind, not afraid of facing unfavorable circumstances. These heroes were largely associated with the heroic era of Napoleon, although they perceived his two-facedness and developed a strategy for their personal and public behavior. Scott and his historicism inspire Stendhal's heroes to find their place in life and history through mistakes and delusions. Shakespeare makes Balzac say about the novel “Père Goriot” in the words of the great Englishman “Everything is true” and see echoes of the harsh fate of King Lear in the fate of the modern bourgeois.

Realists second half of the 19th century centuries will reproach their predecessors for “residual romanticism.” It is difficult to disagree with such a reproach. Indeed, the romantic tradition is very noticeably represented in creative systems Balzac, Stendhal, Merimee. It is no coincidence that Sainte-Beuve called Stendhal “the last hussar of romanticism.” Traits of romanticism are revealed

– in the cult of exoticism (Mérimée’s short stories like “ Matteo Falcone", "Carmen", "Tamango", etc.);

– in the predilection of writers for depicting bright individuals and passions that are exceptional in their strength (Stendhal’s novel “Red and Black” or the short story “Vanina Vanini”);

– a passion for adventurous plots and the use of fantasy elements (Balzac’s novel “Shagreen Skin” or Merimee’s short story “Venus of Il”);

– in an effort to clearly divide heroes into negative and positive – carriers of the author’s ideals (Dickens’s novels).

Thus, between the realism of the first period and romanticism there is a complex “family” connection, manifested, in particular, in the inheritance of techniques and even individual themes and motifs characteristic of romantic art (the theme of lost illusions, the motif of disappointment, etc.).

In Russian historical and literary science, “the revolutionary events of 1848 and the important changes that followed them in the socio-political and cultural life bourgeois society" is considered to be what divides "realism foreign countries XIX century into two stages - realism of the first and second half of the 19th century" (“History of foreign literature of the 19th century / Edited by Elizarova M.E. - M., 1964). In 1848, popular protests turned into a series of revolutions that swept across Europe (France, Italy, Germany, Austria, etc.). These revolutions, as well as the unrest in Belgium and England, followed the “French model”, as democratic protests against a class-privileged government that did not meet the needs of the time, as well as under the slogans of social and democratic reforms. Overall, 1848 marked one huge upheaval in Europe. True, as a result of it, moderate liberals or conservatives came to power everywhere, and in some places even a more brutal authoritarian government was established.

This caused general disappointment in the results of the revolutions, and, as a consequence, pessimistic sentiments. Many representatives of the intelligentsia became disillusioned with mass movements, active actions of the people on a class basis and transferred their main efforts to private world personality and personal relationships. Thus, the general interest was directed towards the individual, important in itself, and only secondarily - towards his relationships with other individuals and the world around him.

The second half of the 19th century is traditionally considered the “triumph of realism.” By this time realism in full voice declares itself in the literature not only of France and England, but also of a number of other countries - Germany (late Heine, Raabe, Storm, Fontane), Russia (" natural school", Turgenev, Goncharov, Ostrovsky, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky), etc.

At the same time, since the 50s, a new stage in the development of realism begins, which involves new approach to the image of both the hero and the society around him. The social, political and moral atmosphere of the second half of the 19th century “turned” writers towards the analysis of a person who can hardly be called a hero, but in whose fate and character the main signs of the era are refracted, expressed not in a major deed, a significant act or passion, compressed and intensely conveying global shifts of time, not in large-scale (both social and psychological) confrontation and conflict, not in typicality taken to the limit, often bordering on exclusivity, but in everyday life, everyday life. Writers who began working at this time, as well as those who entered literature earlier but worked during this period, for example, Dickens or Thackeray, certainly were guided by a different concept of personality. Thackeray’s novel “The Newcombs” emphasizes the specificity of “human studies” in the realism of this period - the need to understand and analytically reproduce multidirectional subtle mental movements and indirect, not always manifested social connections: “It is difficult to even imagine how many different reasons determine our every action or passion, how often, when analyzing my motives, I mistook one thing for another...” This phrase by Thackeray conveys perhaps the main feature of the realism of the era: everything is focused on the depiction of a person and character, and not circumstances. Although the latter, as they should in realistic literature, “do not disappear,” their interaction with character acquires a different quality, associated with the fact that circumstances cease to be independent, they become more and more characterologized; their sociological function is now more implicit than it was with Balzac or Stendhal.

Due to the changed concept of personality and the “human-centrism” of the whole artistic system(and “man – the center” was not necessarily a positive hero, defeating social circumstances or dying - morally or physically - in the fight against them) one may get the impression that the writers of the second half of the century abandoned the basic principle of realistic literature: dialectical understanding and depiction of relationships character and circumstances and adherence to the principle of socio-psychological determinism. Moreover, some of the most prominent realists of this time - Flaubert, J. Eliot, Trollott - when talking about the world surrounding the hero, the term “environment” appears, often perceived more statically than the concept of “circumstances”.

An analysis of the works of Flaubert and J. Eliot convinces us that artists need this “stacking” of the environment primarily so that the description of the situation surrounding the hero is more plastic. The environment often narratively exists in the inner world of the hero and through him, acquiring a different character of generalization: not poster-sociologized, but psychologized. This creates an atmosphere of greater objectivity in what is being reproduced. In any case, from the point of view of the reader, who trusts such an objectified narrative about the era more, since he perceives the hero of the work as a person close to him, just like himself.

Writers of this period do not at all forget about one more aesthetic setting of critical realism - the objectivity of what is reproduced. As is known, Balzac was so concerned about this objectivity that he looked for ways to bring literary knowledge (understanding) closer together with scientific knowledge. This idea appealed to many realists of the second half of the century. For example, Eliot and Flaubert thought a lot about the use of scientific, and therefore, as it seemed to them, objective methods of analysis in literature. Flaubert thought especially a lot about this, who understood objectivity as synonymous with impartiality and impartiality. However, this was the spirit of the entire realism of the era. Moreover, the work of realists in the second half of the 19th century occurred during the period of takeoff in the development of natural sciences and the heyday of experimentation.

In the history of science it was important period. Biology developed rapidly (C. Darwin’s book “The Origin of Species” was published in 1859), physiology, and the formation of psychology as a science took place. The philosophy of positivism by O. Comte became widespread, and later played an important role in the development of naturalistic aesthetics and artistic practice. It was during these years that attempts were made to create a system of psychological understanding of man.

However, even at this stage of the development of literature, the character of the hero is not conceived by the writer outside social analysis, although the latter acquires a slightly different aesthetic essence, different from that which was characteristic of Balzac and Stendhal. Of course, in Flaubert's novels. Eliot, Fontana and some others, what is striking is “a new level of depiction of the inner world of man, a qualitatively new mastery of psychological analysis, which consists in the deepest disclosure of the complexity and unforeseenness of human reactions to reality, the motives and causes of human activity” (History world literature. T.7. – M., 1990).

It is obvious that the writers of this era sharply changed the direction of creativity and led literature (and the novel in particular) towards in-depth psychologism, and in the formula “social-psychological determinism” the social and psychological seemed to change places. It is in this direction that the main achievements of literature are concentrated: writers began not only to draw a complex inner world literary hero, but to reproduce a well-functioning, thoughtful psychological “character model”, in it and in its functioning, artistically combining the psychological-analytical and social-analytical. Writers updated and revived the principle of psychological detail, introduced dialogue with deep psychological overtones, and found narrative techniques for conveying “transitional,” contradictory spiritual movements that were previously inaccessible to literature.

This does not mean at all that realistic literature abandoned social analysis: the social basis of reproduced reality and reconstructed character did not disappear, although it did not dominate character and circumstances. It was thanks to the writers of the second half of the 19th century that literature began to find indirect ways of social analysis, in this sense continuing a series of discoveries made by writers of previous periods.

Flaubert, Eliot, the Goncourt brothers and others “taught” literature to reach out to the social and what is characteristic of the era characterizes its social, political, historical and moral principles, through the ordinary and everyday existence of an ordinary person. Social typification among writers of the second half of the century is the typification of “mass appearance, repetition” (History of World Literature. Vol. 7. - M., 1990). It is not as bright and obvious as among representatives of classical critical realism of the 1830s and 1840s and most often manifests itself through the “parabola of psychologism,” when immersion in the inner world of a character allows one to ultimately immerse oneself in the era in which historical time as the writer sees it. Emotions, feelings, and moods are not transtemporal, but of a specific historical nature, although it is primarily ordinary everyday existence that is subject to analytical reproduction, and not the world of titanic passions. At the same time, writers often even absolutized the dullness and wretchedness of life, the triviality of the material, the unheroic nature of time and character. That is why, on the one hand, it was an anti-romantic period, on the other, a period of craving for the romantic. This paradox, for example, is characteristic of Flaubert, the Goncourts, and Baudelaire.

There is one more important point associated with the absolutization of imperfection human nature and slavish subordination to circumstances: writers often perceived the negative phenomena of the era as a given, as something irresistible, and even tragically fatal. That is why in the works of realists of the second half of the 19th century the positive principle is so difficult to express: the problem of the future interests them little, they are “here and now”, in their time, comprehending it in an extremely impartial manner, as an era, if worthy of analysis, then critical.

As noted earlier, critical realism is literary direction on a global scale. Another notable feature of realism is that it has a long history. At the end of the 19th and 20th centuries, the work of such writers as R. Rolland, D. Golusorsi, B. Shaw, E. M. Remarque, T. Dreiser and others gained worldwide fame. Realism continues to exist to this day, remaining the most important form of world democratic culture.

Realism

Realism (material, real) is an artistic movement in art and literature, which was established in the first third of the 19th century. The origins of realism in Russia were I. A. Krylov, A. S. Griboyedov, A. S. Pushkin (realism appeared in Western literature somewhat later, its first representatives were Stendhal and O. de Balzac).

Features of realism. The principle of life's truth, which guides the realist artist in his work, striving to give the most complete reflection of life in its typical properties. The fidelity of the depiction of reality, reproduced in the forms of life itself, is the main criterion of artistry.

Social analysis, historicism of thinking. It is realism that explains the phenomena of life, establishes their causes and consequences on a socio-historical basis. In other words, realism is unthinkable without historicism, which presupposes an understanding of a given phenomenon in its conditionality, development and connection with other phenomena. Historicism is the basis of the worldview and artistic method of a realist writer, a kind of key to understanding reality, allowing one to connect the past, present and future. In the past, the artist looks for answers to pressing questions of our time, and interprets modernity as the result of previous historical development.

Critical portrayal of life. Writers deeply and truthfully show the negative phenomena of reality, focusing on exposing the existing order. But at the same time, realism is not devoid of life-affirming pathos, for it is based on positive ideals- patriotism, sympathy for the masses, the search for a positive hero in life, faith in the inexhaustible possibilities of man, the dream of a bright future for Russia (for example, “Dead Souls”). That is why in modern literary criticism, instead of the concept of “critical realism,” which was first introduced by N. G. Chernyshevsky, they most often speak of “classical realism.” Typical characters in typical circumstances, that is, characters were depicted in close connection with the social environment that raised them and formed them in certain socio-historical conditions.

The relationship between the individual and society is the leading problem posed by realistic literature. The drama of these relationships is important for realism. Typically the center of attention realistic works They turn out to be extraordinary individuals, dissatisfied with life, “breaking out” from their environment, people who are able to rise above society and challenge it. Their behavior and actions become the subject of close attention and study for realist writers.

The versatility of the characters’ characters: their actions, deeds, speech, lifestyle and inner world, the “dialectics of the soul,” which is revealed in the psychological details of its emotional experiences. Thus, realism expands the possibilities of writers in the creative exploration of the world, in the creation of a contradictory and complex personality structure as a result of subtle penetration into the depths of the human psyche.

Expressiveness, brightness, imagery, precision of the Russian literary language, enriched with living elements, colloquial speech, which realist writers draw from the popular Russian language.

A variety of genres (epic, lyrical, dramatic, lyric-epic, satirical), in which all the richness of the content of realistic literature is expressed.

Reflection of reality does not exclude fiction and fantasy (Gogol, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Sukhovo-Kobylin), although these artistic means do not determine the main tone of the work.

Typology of Russian realism. The question of the typology of realism is associated with the disclosure of known patterns that determine the dominance of certain types of realism and their replacement.

In many literary works there are attempts to establish typical varieties (trends) of realism: Renaissance, educational (or didactic), romantic, sociological, critical, naturalistic, revolutionary-democratic, socialist, typical, empirical, syncretic, philosophical-psychological, intellectual, spiral-shaped, universal, monumental... Since all these terms are rather arbitrary (terminological confusion) and there are no clear boundaries between them, we propose to use the concept of “stages of development of realism”. Let us trace these stages, each of which takes shape in the conditions of its time and is artistically justified in its uniqueness. The complexity of the problem of the typology of realism is that typologically unique varieties of realism not only replace each other, but also coexist and develop simultaneously. Consequently, the concept of “stage” does not mean that in the same chronological framework there cannot be another kind of flow, earlier or later. That is why it is necessary to correlate the work of one or another realist writer with the work of other realist artists, while identifying the individual uniqueness of each of them, revealing the closeness between groups of writers.

First third XIX century. Krylov’s realistic fables reflected the real relationships of people in society, depicted living scenes, the content of which was varied - they could be everyday, social, philosophical and historical.

Griboyedov created " high comedy"("Woe from Wit"), that is, a comedy close to drama, reflecting in it the ideas that lived the educated society of the first quarter of the century. Chatsky, in the fight against serf owners and conservatives, defends national interests from the standpoint of common sense And folk morality. The play contains typical characters and circumstances.

In Pushkin's work, the problems and methodology of realism have already been outlined. In the novel “Eugene Onegin” the poet recreated the “Russian spirit”, gave a new, objective principle for depicting the hero, was the first to show the “superfluous person”, and in the story “ Stationmaster» - « little man" In the people, Pushkin saw the moral potential that determines national character. In the novel "The Captain's Daughter" the historicism of the writer's thinking was revealed - both in the correct reflection of reality, and in the accuracy of social analysis, and in the understanding of the historical patterns of phenomena, and in the ability to convey the typical characteristics of a person's character, to show him as a product of a certain social environment.

30s of the XIX century. In this era of “timelessness”, public inaction, only the brave voices of A. S. Pushkin, V. G. Belinsky and M. Yu. Lermontov were heard. The critic saw in Lermontov a worthy successor to Pushkin. The man in his work bears the dramatic features of the time. In fate

Pechorin, the writer reflected the fate of his generation, his “age” (“Hero of Our Time”). But if Pushkin devotes his main attention to the description of the character’s actions, gives the “outline of character,” then Lermontov focuses on the hero’s inner world, on the in-depth psychological analysis his actions and experiences, on the “history of the human soul.”

40s of the XIX century. During this period, realists received the name “natural school” (N.V. Gogol, A.I. Herzen, D.V. Grigorovich, N.A. Nekrasov). The works of these writers are characterized by accusatory pathos, rejection of social reality, and increased attention to everyday life. Gogol did not find the embodiment of his lofty ideals in the world around him, and therefore was convinced that in the conditions of contemporary Russia, the ideal and beauty of life could be expressed only through the denial of ugly reality. The satirist explores the material, material and everyday basis of life, its “invisible” features and the spiritually wretched characters arising from it, firmly confident in their dignity and right.

Second half of the 19th century. The work of writers of this time (I. A. Goncharov, A. N. Ostrovsky, I. S. Turgenev, N. S. Leskov, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, L. N. Tolstoy, F. M. Dostoevsky, V. G. Korolenko, A. P. Chekhov) are distinguished by a qualitatively new stage in the development of realism: they not only critically comprehend reality, but also actively look for ways to transform it, show close attention to the spiritual life of man, penetrate into the “dialectic of the soul”, create a world populated by complex contradictory characters, saturated dramatic conflicts. The works of writers are characterized by subtle psychologism and large philosophical generalizations.

The turn of the XIX-XX centuries. The features of the era were most clearly expressed in the works of A. I. Kuprin and I. A. Bunin. They sensitively captured the general spiritual and social atmosphere in the country, deeply and faithfully reflected the unique pictures of life of the most diverse segments of the population, and created a complete and truthful picture of Russia. They are characterized by such themes and problems as the continuity of generations, the heritage of centuries, the root connections of man with the past, Russian character and characteristics national history, the harmonious world of nature and the world of social relations (devoid of poetry and harmony, personifying cruelty and violence), love and death, the fragility and fragility of human happiness, the mysteries of the Russian soul, loneliness and the tragic predestination of human existence, ways of liberation from spiritual oppression. The original and original creativity of writers organically continues the best traditions Russian realistic literature, and above all, deep penetration into the essence of the life depicted, disclosure of the relationship between the environment and the individual, attention to the social and everyday background, expression of the ideas of humanism.

Pre-October decade. A new vision of the world in connection with the processes taking place in Russia in all areas of life determined a new face of realism, which differed significantly from classical realism in its “modernity”. New figures emerged - representatives of a special trend within the realistic direction - neorealism ("renewed" realism): I. S. Shmelev, L. N. Andreev, M. M. Prishvin, E. I. Zamyatin, S. N. Sergeev-Tsensky , A. N. Tolstoy, A. M. Remizov, B. K. Zaitsev, etc. They are characterized by a departure from the sociological understanding of reality; mastering the sphere of the “earthly”, deepening the concrete sensory perception of the world, artistic study of the subtle movements of the soul, nature and man coming into contact, which eliminates alienation and brings us closer to the original, unchanging nature of being; a return to the hidden values of the folk-village element, capable of renewing life in the spirit of “eternal” ideals (pagan, mystical flavor of the depicted); comparison of the bourgeois urban and rural way of life; the idea of the incompatibility of the natural force of life, existential good with social evil; a combination of the historical and the metaphysical (next to the features of everyday or concrete historical reality there is a “super-real” background, a mythological subtext); the motive of purifying love as a kind of symbolic sign of the all-human natural unconscious principle that brings enlightened peace.

Soviet period. Distinctive features The socialist realism that arose at this time was partisanship, nationality, the depiction of reality in its “revolutionary development”, propaganda of the heroism and romance of socialist construction. In the works of M. Gorky, M. A. Sholokhov, A. A. Fadeev, L. M. Leonov, V. V. Mayakovsky, K. A. Fedin, N. A. Ostrovsky, A. N. Tolstoy, A. T. Tvardovsky and others affirmed a different reality, a different person, different ideals, a different aesthetics, principles underlying moral code fighter for communism. A new method in art was promoted, which was politicized: it had a pronounced social orientation and expressed state ideology. At the center of the works was usually positive hero, inextricably linked with the team, which constantly had a beneficial influence on the individual. The main sphere of application of the forces of such a hero is creative work. It is no coincidence that the industrial novel has become one of the most common genres.

20-30s of the XX century. Many writers, forced to live under a dictatorial regime, under conditions of cruel censorship, managed to maintain internal freedom, showed the ability to remain silent, be careful in their assessments, switch to allegorical language - they were devoted to the truth, true art realism. The genre of dystopia was born, in which a harsh critique of a totalitarian society based on the suppression of personality and individual freedom was given. The fates of A.P. Platonov, M.A. Bulgakov, E.I. Zamyatin, A.A. Akhmatova, M.M. Zoshchenko, O.E. Mandelstam were tragic; they were deprived of the opportunity to publish in the Soviet Union for a long time.

The “thaw” period (mid-50s - first half of the 60s). At this historical time, young poets of the sixties (E. A. Evtushenko, A. A. Voznesensky, B. A. Akhmadulina, R. I. Rozhdestvensky, B. Sh. Okudzhava, etc.) loudly and confidently declared themselves “rulers of thought” of their generation together with representatives of the “third wave” of emigration (V. P. Aksenov, A. V. Kuznetsov, A. T. Gladilin, G. N. Vladimov,

A. I. Solzhenitsyn, N. M. Korzhavin, S. D. Dovlatov, V. E. Maksimov, V. N. Voinovich, V. P. Nekrasov, etc.), whose works were characterized by acute critical understanding modern reality, preservation of the human soul in a command-administrative system and internal confrontation her, confession, the moral quest of the characters, their liberation, emancipation, romanticism and self-irony, innovation in the field of artistic language and style, genre diversity.

The last decades of the 20th century. A new generation of writers, already living in somewhat relaxed political conditions within the country, came up with lyrical, urban and rural poetry and prose that did not fit into the rigid framework of socialist realism (N. M. Rubtsov, A. V. Zhigulin,

V. N. Sokolov, Yu. V. Trifonov, Ch. T. Aitmatov, V. I. Belov, F. A. Abramov, V. G. Rasputin, V. P. Astafiev, S. P. Zalygin, V. M. Shukshin, F. A. Iskander). The leading themes of their work are the revival of traditional morality and the relationship between man and nature, which revealed the writers’ closeness to the traditions of Russian classical realism. The works of this period are permeated with a feeling of attachment to the native land, and therefore responsibility for what happens on it, a feeling of the irreplaceability of spiritual losses due to the severance of age-old ties between nature and man. The artists comprehend the turning point in the sphere of moral values, shifts in society in which the human soul is forced to survive, reflect on the catastrophic consequences for those who lose historical memory, experience of generations.

The latest Russian literature. In the literary process recent years Literary scholars identify two trends: postmodernism (blurring of the boundaries of realism, awareness of the illusory nature of what is happening, mixing of different artistic methods, stylistic diversity, increasing the influence of avant-gardeism - A. G. Bitov, Sasha Sokolov, V. O. Pelevin, T. N. Tolstaya, T. Yu. Kibirov, D. A. Prigov) and post-realism (traditional attention for realism to the fate of a private person, tragically lonely, in the vanity of his humiliating everyday life, losing moral guidelines trying to self-determinate - V.S. Makanin, L.S. Petrushevskaya).

So, realism as a literary and artistic system has a powerful potential for continuous renewal, which manifests itself in one or another transitional era for Russian literature. In the works of writers who continue the traditions of realism, there is a search for new themes, characters, plots, genres, poetic means, a new way of talking with the reader.