Belinsky called the 19th century "predominantly historical", referring to the wide interest in history typical of this century and the reflection of historical events in its literature. This definition is quite applicable to the Fraction, where in the very first decades of the 19th century the historical drama and historical novel began to flourish.
French writers carefully studied the past of their country, resurrecting pictures of ancient times for a variety of purposes.
Vigny in the novel "Saint-Map" elegiacly lamented the "nobility" and "beauty" of the feudal-aristocratic forms of life, looking with bitter despondency at the spectacle of modernity, which, in his opinion, was the cemetery of all his hopes.
Hugo in his works connected the burning issues of the present with colorful scenes from the past. His historical novels are imbued with a feeling of deep protest against contemporary bourgeois social relations. He exposed the selfishness of the bourgeoisie and at the same time called on them to compassion and humanity in relation to the destitute people.
Mérimée came up with a historical novel (The Chronicle of the Times of Charles IX), whose task was to convince the French reading public that there had never been a "good" era in history; and in the old days baseness triumphed over noble dreams, and in the contemporary reality of the writer, as he depicts it, the domination of bourgeois mediocrity was established, which almost completely destroyed the hopes for any changes in the social system.
Dumas was very different from his contemporaries, who created outstanding examples of the French historical novel.
He did not strive to be a thinker and never attempted to solve certain historical problems - whether in relation to the past, whether in relation to the present.
There is no doubt that many French novelists went through the school of Walter Scott, who enjoyed wide recognition in European countries in the 19th century. Dumas perfectly understood the method of creativity of the English novelist, and his first novel, Isabella of Bavaria, was written under the clear influence of the author of The Puritans. In the subsequent time, when experience and skill were gained, Dumas was critical of the artistic principles of Walter Scott. “Really,” he says, “should you start a novel with something interesting or start it with a boring one, start with action or start with preparations, talk about characters after you show them, or show them after you have told about them?” ? Dumas resolutely affirms the first method, preferring swift action, which immediately captivates the reader with unusual adventures, skillfully woven intrigue, and an unexpected plot twist.
The popularity of Dumas's novels, with their picturesque depiction of the past, their motley picture of adventure and struggle, is due to the fact that they gave the reader a break from the boredom and vulgarity of bourgeois life. They transferred him to the world of bright and effective characters, to the world of disinterested passions, courage and generosity. However, the ideological limitations of Dumas led to the fact that his novels did not arouse active protest. They called for complete reconciliation with reality.
Dumas revives in a peculiar form the tradition of the bourgeois adventure novel of the 17th-18th centuries.
But in the 17th and 18th centuries bourgeois society was still only taking shape and moving towards its dominance. Another thing - in the XIX century. During the years of the July Monarchy, the life of the ruling classes in France received the stamp of bourgeois boredom and sober practicality. Not seeing active, courageous, resourceful, attractive heroes in modern life, Dumas seeks and finds them in the historical past.
The writer clearly sought to please a wide range of French readers with his novels. On the pages of his works, history loses its epic grandeur, it becomes simple and domestic; distant historical events are given against the background of the intimate life of the characters. The writer seeks to show that kings, queens, generals and ministers were also people over whom passions and whims had great power. Such an image was supposed to inspire the general reader with good-natured optimism in his attitude to life and to the "great ones of this world."
Attaching exceptional importance to the entertaining plot and the dramatic intensity of the narrative, Dumas used for this purpose the effective method of constructing a love affair, common among contemporary novelists. The intrigue was complicated by the fact that the hero and the heroine belonged to different peoples and parties that were in hostile relations with each other.
In the way of the triumph of the feelings of the characters, thus, a barrier was erected, skillfully overcome by the novelist.
The most popular novel in his series of historical narratives is undoubtedly The Three Musketeers. This novel is characterized by a rapidly and rapidly developing intrigue, an optimistic display of life as a continuous activity, a tense dramatic composition, and an easy and simple language.
The composition of The Three Musketeers was predetermined by the genre of the feuilleton novel, which required from the writer not only the completion of the chapters, but also their organic connection in the integral development of the plot. Dumas wrote each chapter of the novel so that its finale served as the beginning of the episode presented in the next chapter. Intended for the general reader, this novel contained many fascinating events, adventures, descriptions of conspiracies, fights, and complex intrigues that gave dramatic tension to the narrative.
Energetic, clear, devoid of archaisms, the language corresponds to the rapid flow of events, episodes and incidents unfolding in the novel.
Brave and enterprising musketeers, who miraculously intervened in the most important historical events, are persons of noble rank, they trade their sword, serving the king: they are paid for blood with louis and provide a decent content. But at the same time, Dumas tries to preserve the features of some kind of chivalry in the appearance and behavior of his heroes, forcing them to go through fire and water for the honor of the French queen, whom not every one of them even saw. And yet in the novel they act as the most ordinary people who play the role of servants.
In order not to reduce the greatness of the heroes and justify their actions in the eyes of the reader, the novelist refers to the mores of that era, which formed the morality of his heroes. “In those days,” Dumas notes, “the concepts of pride that are common today were not yet in vogue. The nobleman received money from the hands of the king and did not feel humiliated at all. D "Artagnan, therefore, without hesitation, put the forty pistoles he received in his pocket and even crumbled in expressions of gratitude to his majesty."
Assessing the past through the eyes of a bourgeois chronicler, Dumas, in his attempt to bring historical events closer to the level of understanding of his contemporary mass reader, was forced to show the dependence of the fate of the "great" people of the past on the energy and ingenuity of simple, ignoble people. At the most critical moments, three musketeers necessarily appear, and with them d "Artagnan, who save the honor of the queen and France with their courage.
Dumas makes the arrogant aristocrat Duke of Buckingham be moved by the news of the amazing exploits of d "Artagnan: "Listening to d" Artagnan, who told all this with the greatest simplicity, the duke looked at the young man from time to time, as if not believing that such foresight, such courage and devotion can be combined with the appearance of a young man who is hardly twenty years old.
All the "gentlemen", that is, the noblest persons of France and England, act like dummies in the novel. They are hung with jewels, bow politely, perform majestically, at any moment they are ready to die for the love of a beautiful lady, but, in essence, they do nothing, they cannot change anything either in their own or in anyone else's fate.
Intentionally or not, Dumas in his novel shows that national energy was by no means embodied either in Louis XIII, or in Anne of Austria, or in the nobles of the royal court.
And it turned out that the whole interest of the heroic narrative was concentrated on the actions of the brave musketeers, who, although they serve obediently to the court, at the same time oppose court morality in their views. The cold arrogance of the nobles in The Three Musketeers is contrasted with the generosity and valiant courage of the heroes, in whose minds only occasionally slips a guess that they, in fact, have to experience a hangover in someone else's feast.
This, in particular, is evidenced by the worldly sober reasoning of d "Artagnan, who, having avoided mortal danger after a duel with Comte de Ward, was amazed "at the thought of the strangeness of fate, forcing people to destroy each other in the name of the interests of third parties, completely alien to them and often not even aware of their existence.
The main characters of the novel always try to act together, as if they drew additional energy from comradely communication with each other. And if it happens to one of them to receive a reward, it is immediately divided equally among all.
Such an image of the disinterestedness and spiritual nobility characteristic of the musketeers turned into a kind of reproach directed at the bourgeois society of France, as it developed after the July Revolution of 1830 and as it was portrayed by the realist writers Balzac and Stendhal.
In the final chapter of the novel, which melodramatically depicts the retribution that befell the villain Milady, whose numerous crimes nearly killed the three Musketeers and d'Artagnan, Dumas introduces a significant episode: a man who agreed to cut off Milady's head is offered a bag of gold as a reward; the executioner throws him into the river - he is incorruptible, he does his job not for the sake of money, but in the name of just retribution.
The Three Musketeers and d "Artagnan act in the novel and perform their feats in an atmosphere of inexhaustible heroism. This heroism is the natural lot of those people who are created for tireless activity, the lot of those who are brave and generous, who value friendship, who are ready to calmly turn away from the pile dishonestly acquired gold. The twenty-first chapter of the first part of the novel tells how the Duke of Buckingham tried to reward d "Artagnan with valuable gifts and how it offended d" Artagnan: “He realized that the duke was looking for a way to force him to accept something from him in a gift, and the thought that for the blood of him and his comrades he would be paid in English gold, aroused in him a deep disgust.
The trilogy of the Three Musketeers covers a significant period in the history of France - from 1625 to the time when the monarchy of Louis XIV, continuing its aggressive policy, launched a war against Holland in the 70s in order to conquer foreign lands and strengthen its economic and political power in Europe. Having traced the fate of his generous heroes and pleased the reader with their extraordinary adventures, the novelist concludes his lengthy narrative with a picture of the battle of the French troops with the Dutch. In this battle, d'Artagnan dies, a few minutes before his death he received the title of Marshal of France.
Dumas had an amazing gift - the ability to captivate the reader. Among the readers of his works were Marx, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Gorky, Mendeleev. In France, connoisseurs of his talent were George Sand, Balzac, Hugo. The historian Michelet wrote to Dumas: "I love you, I adore you, because you are a natural phenomenon."
Victor Hugo's enthusiastic review can be cited: “Alexandre Dumas is one of those people who can be called sowers of civilization; it heals and ennobles minds, instilling in them an inexplicable light, bright and strong; it fertilizes the soul and mind of man. It excites the thirst for reading, it loosens the human heart and throws seeds into it. He sows French ideas. French ideas contain so much humanity that wherever they penetrate, they bring progress to life. This is the source of the enormous popularity of people like Alexandre Dumas ”(“ Deeds and Speeches ”).
Dumas' works were extremely popular in Russia. In the 30s and 40s of the 19th century, translations of his novels and short stories were published in various magazines, in particular in the Telescope, Library for Reading, Fatherland Notes. After Dumas's drama "Henry III and his Court" was staged in a theater in France, it was translated into Russian and published as a separate edition. The famous tragedian V. A. Karatygin staged Dumas' plays on the Russian stage in his own translation.
One of the first Russian translators of Dumas was V. G. Belinsky. In 1834 "Telescope" published Belinsky's works by Dumas "Revenge" and "Mount Gemmi". In a review of the book "Modern stories of fashionable writers. Collected, translated and published by F. Koni" Belinsky noted the presence of deep poetic thought in Dumas' story "Masquerade" and wrote about the "powerful and energetic talent" of A. Dumas. True, later the great revolutionary democrat condemned the lightweight nature of some of Dumas' dramas and novels.
Dumas' shortcomings as a historical novelist are well known and obvious. But the reader should not look for a true depiction of historical reality in his novels. In his best works, Dumas remains a magnificent, fascinating storyteller, a master of intrigue and composition, the creator of forever memorable heroic characters, in which the writer’s belief is embodied in a peculiar, even naive, way, that a person with a clear mind, will, confidence in himself and his rightness, honesty and generosity, can and should actively intervene in life, defending, to the best of his strength and understanding, good and truth, fighting lies and evil. Dumas is one of those writers whom entire generations begin to read from childhood and re-read until old age. And one must think that such recognition is given not without reason.
The Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas père. Written in 1844, first published in the spring of the same year in the Parisian newspaper Siekl; a book was soon published, the circulation of which over the next five years reached 60,000 copies. The success of The Three Musketeers prompted Dumas to continue the theme; in 1845, the novel “Twenty Years Later” was published, in 1850 the publication of the last book about the Musketeers (“Ten Years Later, or Vicomte de Brazhelon”) was completed. Despite the commonality of the main characters, which makes it possible to combine all the novels into a single trilogy, the time gap between its parts and the lack of a direct plot connection allow The Three Musketeers to be considered as an independent work.
The success of W. Scott's translated novels contributed to the flourishing of the historical genre in French literature of the 1820s-1840s. Writers and playwrights increasingly sought to find answers in the past to the acute questions of the present (“Notre Dame Cathedral” by V. Hugo (1831), “Consuelo” by George Sand (1843), dramas by F. Pia, etc.). Dumas père, who had previously devoted a number of plays to the events of past eras (“Henry III and his Court”, “Nelskaya Tower”, etc.), first of all sought to give his works an action-packed, fascinating form and did not draw parallels between the past and the present. Unlike Hugo, who filled Marion Delorme, a play about the era of Cardinal Richelieu, with topical allusions that led to the banning of the production (1827), Dumas turned to the same historical period only to give the adventurous plot a romantic flavor.
To work on the novel, the author used the Memoirs of Monsieur d "Artagnan, lieutenant commander of the first company of the royal musketeers ..." (1700) written by Courtille de Santra and Roederer's book "Political and Love Intrigues of the French Court" (the writer also refers to mythical “Memoirs of the Count of the Case of Fer”, allegedly found by him in one of the archives). But Dumas did not at all consider the observance of historical truth to be an end in itself, and sometimes he treated the facts quite freely, reinterpreting them for the sake of plot entertainment. “For me, history is a nail, on which I hang my picture,” he said.
Undoubtedly, The Three Musketeers is the most famous and read novel by A. Dumas père. The plot of this book has a greater integrity and compositional unity than other novels of this master of the "novel-feuilleton"; here the writer managed to avoid the peculiar adventure literature of the 19th century. melodramatism and schematization even when describing negative characters (Richelieu, Milady), and the exciting adventures of the heroes are presented lively and cheerfully. The Three Musketeers are also free from the gloomy fatalism of the writer's later novels (The Devil's Gorge, etc.).
But the main thing, thanks to which Dumas' Three Musketeers managed to push even the books of this author so beloved by readers as The Count of Monte Cristo and Queen Margot on the shelves, are the images of the main characters, the musketeers Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d "Artagnan , whose names have become household names not only in the author's homeland. Selflessly devoted to France and the king, they are always ready to demonstrate courage, dexterity and courage; above all, the brave four values loyalty, honesty, and the ability to come to the rescue of a comrade. literature: sometimes they are too quick-tempered (at the beginning of the novel, trifling incidents cause a duel between d'Artagnan and his future friends); these brave warriors are not averse to having fun in good company; It is difficult for Porthos to resist excessive food, Aramis does not shy away from connections with married ladies, and d "Artagnan once succumbed to the spell of the cardinal's seductive spy, and we will never know what secrets the silent Athos keeps - Count de la Fere. But when it comes to defense country (the battle of La Rochelle), the honor of the queen (the story of the diamond pendants of Anne of Austria) or helping a friend who is in another trouble, all other problems go aside, and, despising the danger, the musketeers rush to the rescue.Heroes are brave, but not cruel, courageous, but not vengeful, and even in Milady they, showing chivalrous nobility, until the last minute see a beautiful woman, and not a mortal enemy. behavior of the Musketeers, makes the legendary four so attractive to the reader (especially the young one) that he inevitably seeks to imitate Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d "Artagnan.
The writer managed - without lengthy arguments and annoying didactics - to give in The Three Musketeers magnificent examples of courage, real patriotism and disinterested male friendship. It is the moral and educational significance of the images of the musketeers that distinguishes Dumas' novel from the endless stream of adventure literature. The author himself, until the end of his life, retained affection for his favorite heroes: he wrote plays about musketeers, published the historical magazines Musketeer and Dartagnan (" Dartagnan "). Enthusiastically received by contemporaries (the prime minister did not start cabinet meetings without looking at the latest issue of the newspaper that published The Three Musketeers), the novel subsequently delighted such diverse figures as K. Marx, Dickens, Jack London, M. Gorky, S.M. Eisenstein and A.I. Kuprin (the latter ranked d'Artagnan among the "eternal companions of mankind").
On July 12, 1931, in Gascony (department of Gers), in the city of Osh, a monument to d "Artagnan, the most charming, resourceful and witty musketeer, the fruit of Dumas's literary fantasy, was inaugurated.
The novel The Three Musketeers is one of the world record holders in terms of the number of adaptations (more than 30 films by the beginning of the 1990s); at least three of them were shown on the screens of Russian cinemas at one time: the French film of the same name with Mylène Demongeot as Milady (1962) is closest to the literary source. But the Russian television film (1979) with M. Boyarsky, who played the role of d "Artagnan and performed a popular song about the Musketeers (composer - M. Dunaevsky), enjoyed special love in our country.
Quite recently I got acquainted with the great novel by A. Dumas "The Three Musketeers". Of course, before reading the book, I watched a serial film based on this work. And even then I really wanted to read a novel about the Musketeers, once again become a participant in their adventures.
Reading the book, I never ceased to envy d'Artagnan and his friends. What an interesting life these people had! What noble and fearless deeds they were ready for! In what a significant era it fell to live for the musketeers!
Roman Dumas teaches us many very important lessons. So, on the pages of this work we learn courage. The author calls this quality one of the most important virtues of a real man: "Courage always commands respect."
Already at the very beginning of the novel, we see how D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers boldly fight the cardinal's guards, despite the numerical superiority of their rivals. The young Gascon was not afraid of Richelieu's soldiers and fought on a par with the experienced Athos, Porthos and Aramis. And, most importantly, the heroes defeated their enemies!
The courage of the young d'Artagnan was appreciated by the musketeers and accepted him into their company: “- If I am not yet a musketeer,” he said on the threshold of de Treville's house, addressing his new friends, “I can still consider myself accepted as a student, not is it true?"
Soon, rumors about the prowess of the hero spread throughout Paris, and after a little more time, D'Artagnan managed to show his courage, saving the French queen herself!
But the main character and his friends are not only brave warriors, they are also true friends, loyal and devoted to each other. The motto of the four friends has long become winged: "One for all and all for one." And the Musketeers justified him more than once: they never left each other in trouble, they were always together, even in the face of mortal danger. Let us recall at least the episodes associated with the insidious Lady Winter: D'Artagnan became the sworn enemy of this woman, she tried with all her might to destroy the hero. However, the Gascon, with the help of his friends, who did not leave their young friend for a minute, managed to deal with the villain: “- Charlotte Baxon, Countess de La Fere, Lady Winter, - ... - your atrocities overwhelmed the measure of patience of people on earth and God on sky. If you know any prayer, read it, for you are condemned and will die.”
We can say that the heroes of Dumas' novel are my ideals, people whom I want to imitate. I admire that D'Artagnan and the Musketeers honor honor and dignity above all else. So, the heroes faithfully serve their king and fatherland. That is why they risked their lives to bring Anne of Austria's pendants from England. That is why D'Artagnan refused to swear allegiance to the cardinal - the worst enemy of King Louis and France. That is why the heroes will never leave a helpless person in trouble (remember how the Gascon saved Constance Bonacie from the soldiers of the cardinal).
I want to confess that I consider myself a student of the heroes of the novel by A. Dumas. In my opinion, a real man should be like D'Artagnan and his friends - brave, courageous, fair, honest, devoted to his beliefs and loved ones. I will strive to be at least a little like my favorite characters - real Knights and Heroes.
The adventure novel by A. Dumas "The Three Musketeers" is a very interesting story about the life and heroic deeds of devoted friends - musketeers who, risking their lives, defended their honor. The novel leaves no one indifferent, as it is filled with vivid events and characters.
The plot of the novel by A. Dumas "The Three Musketeers"
The protagonist of the work, the young nobleman Charles D'Artagnan, guided by the desire to become a musketeer, goes to Paris. On the way, he gets into a fight with Count Rochefort, Cardinal Richelieu's best friend, who stole his letter of introduction.
D'Artagnan is sent to serve in the Guards regiment of Desessard, since without a letter of recommendation they could not take him into the guard of the royal musketeers. On the first day of his service, D'Artagnan quarreled with three Musketeer friends - Aramis, Porthos and Athos, and challenged them to a duel.
A duel between friends did not take place, since on that day a royal decree was issued banning such battles between musketeers. D'Artagnan and the three Musketeers soon became friends and forgot their former quarrels.
At this time, in the royal palace, one of Cardinal Richelieu's girlfriends arranged an intrigue against the queen herself. The Musketeers found out about this, and went to Paris to defend the honor of the queen.
The musketeers managed to overcome all the obstacles that the cardinal and Milady placed on their way to Paris, and exposed the intrigue against the queen.
However, the brave struggle of the Musketeers did not end there. Faithful friends many times lagged behind the honor of French women, which was encroached upon by the British, and even managed to defend their kingdom from invaders without outside help. However, the evil Milady and the cardinal also continued to intrigue the musketeers.
Milady found D'Artagnan's beloved, the beautiful girl Constance, in the monastery and poisoned her. D'Artagnan decided to punish Milady: having convicted her of all the atrocities against the French crown, he handed over the villainess to the authorities.
Cardinal Richelieu, afraid that he might suffer the fate of Milady, decided to make peace with the musketeers. He apologized for his actions and presented them with high ranks in the army of musketeers.
The laws of honor by which the heroes of Dumas live
Honor is a set of moral qualities that at all times commanded respect. What does it mean to live according to the laws of honor? First of all, it means to be noble, courageous, fair, reliable, honest and able to defend the interests of weaker people.
This is how we see the heroes of the novel by A. Dumas "The Three Musketeers". Musketeer friends help each other, together they go towards their goal. Risking their lives, at the first call they go to defend the life and honor of other people.
Musketeers help each other fight obstacles. Reading the novel by A. Dumas, we admire the dedication and devotion of the main characters.
