They are real heroes. Not just characters in books, but heroes: they fight evil. And even if they do not win, they embody the ideas of the era about what is good and what is bad. Views on justice and goodness are changing, enemies are taking on new guises, but, despite all the conventions and inconstancy of the rules of the game, even in our ironic era, books about those who fight against injustice appear. Of course, yesterday's heroes may look comical today. But the same thing may happen tomorrow with the heroes of our time.

1. Ilya Muromets

Epics about Ilya Muromets

Hero Ilya Muromets, son of Ivan Timofeevich and Efrosinya Yakovlevna, peasants of the village of Karacharova near Murom. Most popular character bylin, the second strongest (after Svyatogor) Russian hero and the first domestic superman.

Sometimes a real person is identified with the epic Ilya Muromets, the Monk Ilya of the Caves, nicknamed Chobotok, buried in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and canonized in 1643.

Years of creation. 12th–16th centuries

What is the point. Until the age of 33, Ilya lay, paralyzed, on the stove in parental home, until he was miraculously healed by wanderers ("passable stones"). Having gained strength, he arranged his father's household and went to Kyiv, along the way capturing Nightingale the Robber, who terrorized the neighborhood. In Kyiv, Ilya Muromets joined the squad of Prince Vladimir and found the hero Svyatogor, who gave him a sword-treasurer and a mystical " real power". In this episode, he demonstrated not only physical strength, but also high moral qualities, not responding to the advances of Svyatogor's wife. Later, Ilya Muromets defeated the “great force” near Chernigov, paved the direct road from Chernigov to Kiev, inspected the roads from Alatyr-stone, tested the young hero Dobrynya Nikitich, rescued the hero Mikhail Potyk from captivity in the Saracen kingdom, defeated Idolishche, walked with his squad to Tsargrad, one defeated the army of Kalin Tsar.

Ilya Muromets was not alien to simple human joys: in one of the epic episodes, he walks around Kiev with “tavern goals”, and his offspring Sokolnik was born out of wedlock, which later leads to a fight between father and son.

What does it look like. Superman. Epics describe Ilya Muromets as "remote portly good fellow”, he fights with a club “in ninety pounds” (1440 kilograms)!

What is he fighting for. Ilya Muromets and his squad very clearly formulate the purpose of their service:

“... stand alone for the faith for the fatherland,

... to stand alone for Kyiv-grad,

... to stand alone for the churches for the cathedral,

... he will save the prince and Vladimir.

But Ilya Muromets is not only a statesman - he is also one of the most democratic fighters against evil, as he is always ready to fight "for widows, for orphans, for poor people."

The way to fight. A duel with the enemy or a battle with superior enemy forces.

With what result. Despite the difficulties caused by the numerical superiority of the enemy or the dismissive attitude of Prince Vladimir and the boyars, he invariably wins.

What is it fighting against? Against the internal and external enemies of Rus' and their allies, violators of law and order, illegal migrants, invaders and aggressors.

2. Archpriest Avvakum

"The Life of Archpriest Avvakum"

Hero. Archpriest Avvakum made his way from a village priest to the leader of the resistance to church reform, Patriarch Nikon, and became one of the leaders of the Old Believers, or schismatics. Habakkuk - the first religious leader of such a magnitude, not only suffered for his beliefs, but also described it himself.

Years of creation. Approximately 1672–1675.

What is the point. A native of the Volga village, Avvakum from his youth was distinguished by both piety and violent temper. Having moved to Moscow, he took an active part in church and educational activities, was close to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, but sharply opposed the church reforms carried out by Patriarch Nikon. With his characteristic temperament, Avvakum waged a fierce struggle against Nikon, advocating the old order of church ritual. Avvakum, not at all embarrassed in expressions, conducted public and journalistic activities, for which he repeatedly went to prison, was cursed and defrocked, and was exiled to Tobolsk, Transbaikalia, Mezen and Pustozersk. From the place of the last exile, he continued to write appeals, for which he was imprisoned in an "earthen pit". Had many followers. Church hierarchs tried to persuade Avvakum to renounce his "delusions", but he remained adamant and was eventually burned.

What does it look like. One can only guess: Avvakum did not describe himself. Maybe this is how the priest looks like in Surikov’s painting “Boyar Morozova” - Feodosia Prokopievna Morozova was a faithful follower of Avvakum.

What is he fighting for. For purity Orthodox faith for the preservation of tradition.

The way to fight. Word and deed. Avvakum wrote accusatory pamphlets, but he could personally beat the buffoons who entered the village and break their musical instruments. Considered self-immolation as a form of possible resistance.

With what result. Avvakum's passionate sermon against church reform made mass resistance to it, but he himself, along with three of his associates, was executed in 1682 in Pustozersk.

What is it fighting against? Against the defilement of Orthodoxy by "heretical novelties", against everything alien, "external wisdom", that is scientific knowledge, against entertainment. He suspects the imminent coming of the Antichrist and the reign of the devil.

3. Taras Bulba

"Taras Bulba"

Hero.“Taras was one of the indigenous, old colonels: he was all created for abusive anxiety and was distinguished by the rude directness of his temper. Then the influence of Poland was already beginning to appear on the Russian nobility. Many already adopted Polish customs, started luxury, magnificent servants, falcons, hunters, dinners, courtyards. Taras didn't like it. He loved simple life Cossacks and quarreled with those of his comrades who were inclined towards the Warsaw side, calling them serfs of the Polish pans. Eternally restless, he considered himself the legitimate defender of Orthodoxy. Arbitrarily entered the villages, where they only complained about the harassment of tenants and the increase in new duties on smoke. He himself carried out reprisals against his Cossacks and made it a rule for himself that in three cases one should always take up a saber, namely: when the commissars did not respect the foremen in anything and stood in front of them in hats, when they mocked Orthodoxy and did not honor the ancestral law, and, finally, when the enemies were the Busurmans and the Turks, against whom he considered it in any case permissible to take up arms for the glory of Christianity.

Year of creation. The story was first published in 1835 in the collection Mirgorod. The edition of 1842, in which, in fact, we all read Taras Bulba, differs significantly from the original version.

What is the point. Throughout his life, the dashing Cossack Taras Bulba has been fighting for the liberation of Ukraine from oppressors. He, the glorious ataman, cannot bear the thought that his own children, flesh of his flesh, may not follow his example. Therefore, Taras kills Andriy's son, who betrayed the sacred cause, without hesitation. When another son, Ostap, is captured, our hero deliberately penetrates into the heart of the enemy camp - but not in order to try to save his son. His only goal is to make sure that Ostap, under torture, did not show cowardice and did not renounce high ideals. Taras himself dies like Joan of Arc, having previously presented Russian culture with the immortal phrase: “There are no bonds holier than camaraderie!”

What does it look like. Extremely heavy and fat (20 pounds, in terms of - 320 kg), gloomy eyes, black-white eyebrows, mustache and forelock.

What is he fighting for. For the liberation of the Zaporozhian Sich, for independence.

The way to fight. Hostilities.

With what result. With deplorable. All died.

What is it fighting against? Against oppressor Poles, foreign yoke, police despotism, old-world landowners and court satraps.

4. Stepan Paramonovich Kalashnikov

"A song about Tsar Ivan Vasilievich, a young guardsman and a daring merchant Kalashnikov"

Hero. Stepan Paramonovich Kalashnikov, merchant class. Trades in silks - with varying degrees of success. Moskvich. Orthodox. Has two younger brothers. He is married to the beautiful Alena Dmitrievna, because of whom the whole story came out.

Year of creation. 1838

What is the point. Lermontov was not fond of the theme of Russian heroism. He wrote romantic poems about nobles, officers, Chechens and Jews. But he was one of the first to find out that the 19th century is rich only in the heroes of his time, but heroes for all time should be sought in the deep past. There, in the Moscow of Ivan the Terrible, a hero was found (or rather, invented) with the now speaking surname Kalashnikov. The young oprichnik Kiribeevich falls in love with his wife and attacks her at night, persuading her to surrender. The next day, the offended husband challenges the oprichnik to a fistfight and kills him with one blow. For the murder of his beloved oprichnik and for the fact that Kalashnikov refuses to name the reason for his act, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich orders the execution of a young merchant, but does not leave his widow and children with mercy and care. Such is royal justice.

What does it look like.

"His falcon eyes are burning,

He looks at the oprichnik intently.

Opposite him, he becomes

Pulls on combat gloves

Mighty shoulders straightens.

What is he fighting for. For the honor of his woman and family. Kiribeevich's attack on Alena Dmitrievna was seen by the neighbors, and now she cannot be seen honest people. Although, going out to fight with the guardsman, Kalashnikov solemnly declares that he is fighting "for the holy truth-mother." But heroes sometimes distort.

The way to fight. Fatal fistfight. In fact, a murder in broad daylight in front of thousands of witnesses.

With what result.

“And they executed Stepan Kalashnikov

Death is fierce, shameful;

And the untalented head

She rolled on the chopping block in blood.

But on the other hand, Kiribeevich was also buried.

What is it fighting against? Evil in the poem is personified by an oprichnik with a foreign patronymic Kiribeevich, and even a relative of Malyuta Skuratov, that is, an enemy squared. Kalashnikov calls him "basurman's son", alluding to his enemy's lack of Moscow registration. And the first (and also the last) blow this person of eastern nationality inflicts not on the face of a merchant, but on an Orthodox cross with relics from Kyiv, which hangs on a valiant chest. He says to Alena Dmitrievna: “I am not a thief, a forest murderer, / I am a servant of the king, the terrible king ...” - that is, he hides behind the highest mercy. So the heroic act of Kalashnikov is nothing but a deliberate murder on the basis of ethnic hatred. Lermontov, who himself participated in the Caucasian campaigns and wrote a lot about the wars with the Chechens, the theme of "Moscow for Muscovites" in its anti-Basurman section was close.

5. Danko "Old Woman Izergil"

Hero Danko. Biography unknown.

“Only people lived in the world in the old days, impenetrable forests camps of these people surrounded on three sides, and on the fourth - there was a steppe. They were cheerful, strong and courageous people ... Danko is one of those people ... "

Year of creation. The short story "Old Woman Izergil" was first published in Samarskaya Gazeta in 1895.

What is the point. Danko is the fruit of the irrepressible imagination of the very old woman Izergil, whose name is Gorky's short story. A sultry Bessarabian old woman with a rich past tells beautiful legend: at the time of ona, there was a redistribution of property - there were disassemblies between the two tribes. Not wishing to remain in the occupied territory, one of the tribes went into the forest, but there the people suffered a massive depression, because "nothing - neither work nor women exhaust the bodies and souls of people as exhausting dreary thoughts." At a critical moment, Danko did not allow his people to bow to the conquerors, but instead offered to follow him - in an unknown direction.

What does it look like.“Danko… a handsome young man. The beautiful are always bold.

What is he fighting for. Go know. For getting out of the forest and thereby ensuring freedom for your people. Where are the guarantees that freedom is exactly where the forest ends, it is not clear.

The way to fight. An unpleasant physiological operation, indicating a masochistic personality. Self-dismemberment.

With what result. With dual. He got out of the forest, but died immediately. Sophisticated mockery of one's own body does not go in vain. The hero did not receive gratitude for his feat: his heart, torn from his chest with his own hand, was trampled under someone's heartless heel.

What is it fighting against? Against collaborationism, conciliation and cringing before the conquerors.

6. Colonel Isaev (Stirlitz)

Corpus of texts, from "Diamonds for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat" to "Bomb for the Chairman", the most important of the novels - "Seventeen Moments of Spring"

Hero. Vsevolod Vladimirovich Vladimirov, aka Maxim Maksimovich Isaev, aka Max Otto von Stirlitz, aka Estilitz, Bolsen, Brunn. An employee of the press service of the Kolchak government, an underground Chekist, intelligence officer, professor of history, exposing the conspiracy of the followers of Nazism.

Years of creation. Novels about Colonel Isaev were created over 24 years - from 1965 to 1989.

What is the point. In 1921 Chekist Vladimirov liberates Far East from the remnants of the White Army. In 1927, they decided to send him to Europe - it was then that the legend of the German aristocrat Max Otto von Stirlitz was born. In 1944, he saved Krakow from destruction by helping the group of Major Whirlwind. At the very end of the war, he was entrusted with the most important mission - the disruption of separate negotiations between Germany and the West. In Berlin, the hero does his hard work, saving the radio operator Kat along the way, the end of the war is already close, and the Third Reich is collapsing to the song of Marika Rekk "Seventeen Moments of April". In 1945, Stirlitz was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

What does it look like. From the party characteristics of a member of the NSDAP since 1933 von Stirlitz, SS Standartenführer (VI department of the RSHA): “ True Aryan. Character - Nordic, seasoned. Supports with workmates a good relationship. Fulfills his duty without fail. Merciless to the enemies of the Reich. Excellent athlete: Berlin tennis champion. Single; he was not noticed in connections discrediting him. Marked with awards from the Fuhrer and thanks from the Reichsfuehrer SS ... "

What is he fighting for. For the victory of communism. It is unpleasant for oneself to admit this, but in some situations - for the motherland, for Stalin.

The way to fight. Intelligence and espionage, in some places the deductive method, ingenuity, skill-disguise.

With what result. On the one hand, he saves everyone who needs it and successfully carries out subversive activities; reveals covert intelligence networks and defeats the main enemy - Gestapo chief Muller. However Soviet country, for the honor and victory of which he is fighting, thanks his hero in his own way: in 1947, he, who had just arrived in the Union on a Soviet ship, was arrested, and by order of Stalin, his wife and son were shot. Stirlitz is released from prison only after the death of Beria.

What is it fighting against? Against whites, Spanish fascists, German Nazis and all enemies of the USSR.

7. Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov "Look into the eyes of monsters"

Hero Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov, symbolist poet, superman, conquistador, member of the Order of the Fifth Rome, arbiter of Soviet history and fearless destroyer of dragons.

Year of creation. 1997

What is the point. Nikolai Gumilyov was not shot in 1921 in the dungeons of the Cheka. From execution, he was saved by Yakov Wilhelmovich (or James William Bruce), a representative of the secret Order of the Fifth Rome, created back in the 13th century. Having acquired the gift of immortality and power, Gumilyov walks through the history of the 20th century, generously leaving his traces in it. Puts Marilyn Monroe to bed, along the way building chickens to Agatha Christie, gives valuable advice Ian Fleming, due to the absurdity of his character, starts a duel with Mayakovsky and, leaving his cold corpse in Lubyansky passage, runs, leaving the police and literary critics to compose a version of suicide. He takes part in the congress of writers and sits down on xerion - a magical dope based on dragon blood, which gives immortality to members of the order. Everything would be fine - the problems begin later, when the evil dragon forces begin to threaten not only the world in general, but the Gumilyov family: wife Annushka and son Stepa.

What is he fighting for. First, for goodness and beauty, then he is no longer up to high ideas - he simply saves his wife and son.

The way to fight. Gumilyov participates in an unthinkable number of battles and battles, owns hand-to-hand combat techniques and all types of firearms. True, in order to achieve special sleight of hand, fearlessness, omnipotence, invulnerability and even immortality, he has to throw xerion.

With what result. Nobody knows. The novel "Look into the eyes of monsters" ends without giving an answer to this burning question. All the continuations of the novel (both the Hyperborean Plague and the March of the Ecclesiastes), firstly, are much less recognized by Lazarchuk-Uspensky's fans, and secondly, and most importantly, they also do not offer the reader clues.

What is it fighting against? Having learned about the real causes of the disasters that hit the world in the 20th century, he fights first of all with these misfortunes. In other words, with a civilization of evil lizards.

8. Vasily Terkin

"Vasily Terkin"

Hero. Vasily Terkin, reserve private, infantryman. A native of Smolensk. Single, no children. He has an award for the totality of feats.

Years of creation. 1941–1945

What is the point. Contrary to popular belief, the need for such a hero appeared even before the Great Patriotic War. Tvardovsky invented Terkin during the Finnish campaign, where he, along with the Pulkins, Mushkins, Protirkins and other characters in newspaper feuilletons, fought with the White Finns for their homeland. So in 1941, Terkin entered an already experienced fighter. By 1943, Tvardovsky was tired of his unsinkable hero and wanted to send him into retirement due to injury, but letters from readers returned Terkin to the front, where he spent another two years, was shell-shocked and surrounded three times, conquered high and low heights, led fights in the swamps, liberated villages, took Berlin and even spoke with Death. His rustic but sparkling wit invariably saved him from enemies and censors, but he definitely did not attract girls. Tvardovsky even turned to readers with an appeal to love his hero - just like that, from the heart. Still do not have Soviet heroes the dexterity of James Bond.

What does it look like. Endowed with beauty He was not excellent, Not tall, not that small, But a hero - a hero.

What is he fighting for. For the cause of peace for the sake of life on earth, that is, his task, like that of any soldier-liberator, is global. Terkin himself is sure that he is fighting “for Russia, for the people / And for everything in the world”, but sometimes, just in case, he also mentions Soviet power- no matter what happens.

The way to fight. In war, as you know, any means are good, so everything is used: a tank, a machine gun, a knife, a wooden spoon, fists, teeth, vodka, the power of persuasion, a joke, a song, an accordion ...

With what result. Several times he was on the verge of death. He was supposed to receive a medal, but due to a typo in the list, the award did not find the hero.

But imitators found him: by the end of the war, almost every company already had its own “Terkin”, and some even had two.

What is it fighting against? First against the Finns, then against the Nazis, and sometimes against Death. In fact, Terkin was called upon to fight depressive moods at the front, which he did with success.

9. Anastasia Kamenskaya

A series of detective stories about Anastasia Kamenskaya

Heroine. Nastya Kamenskaya, major of MUR, the best analyst of Petrovka, a brilliant operative, in the manner of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot investigating serious crimes.

Years of creation. 1992–2006

What is the point. The work of an operative involves hard everyday life (the first evidence of this is the television series "Streets of Broken Lights"). But it is difficult for Nastya Kamenskaya to rush around the city and catch bandits in dark alleys: she is lazy, in poor health, and loves peace more than anything in the world. Because of this, she periodically has difficulties in relations with management. Only her first boss and teacher, nicknamed Kolobok, believed in her. analytic skills limitless; the rest have to prove that she is the best at investigating bloody crimes, sitting in the office, drinking coffee and analyzing, analyzing.

What does it look like. Tall, lean blonde, her features expressionless. She never wears make-up and prefers casual, comfortable clothes.

What is he fighting for. Definitely not for a modest police salary: knowing five foreign languages and having some connections, Nastya can leave Petrovka at any moment, but does not do it. It turns out that he is fighting for the triumph of law and order.

The way to fight. First of all, analytics. But sometimes Nastya has to change her habits and go on the warpath on her own. In this case, acting skills, the art of reincarnation and female charm are used.

With what result. Most often - with brilliant: criminals are exposed, caught, punished. But in rare cases, some of them manage to hide, and then Nastya does not sleep at night, smokes one cigarette after another, goes crazy and tries to come to terms with the injustice of life. However, so far there are clearly more happy endings.

What is it fighting against? Against crime.

10. Erast Fandorin

A series of novels about Erast Fandorin

Hero. Erast Petrovich Fandorin, a nobleman, the son of a small landowner who lost his family fortune at cards. He began his career in the detective police with the rank of collegiate registrar, managed to visit Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878, serve in the diplomatic corps in Japan and incur the disfavor of Nicholas II. He rose to the rank of State Councilor and retired. Private detective and consultant to various influential people since 1892. Phenomenally lucky in everything, especially in gambling. Single. Has a number of children and other descendants.

Years of creation. 1998–2006

What is the point. The turn of the XX-XXI centuries again turned out to be an era that is looking for heroes in the past. Akunin found his defender of the weak and oppressed in the gallant 19th century, but in that professional field, which is becoming especially popular right now - in the special services. Of all Akunin's stylistic undertakings, Fandorin is the most charming and therefore the most enduring. His biography begins in 1856, the action of the last novel dates back to 1905, and the end of the story has not yet been written, so you can always expect new achievements from Erast Petrovich. Although Akunin, like Tvardovsky earlier, since 2000 has been trying to end his hero and write his last novel about him. The Coronation is subtitled The Last of the Novels; the “Lover of Death” and “The Mistress of Death” written after her were published as a bonus, but then it became clear that Fandorin’s readers would not let go so easily. The people need, need, an elegant detective who knows languages ​​and is wildly popular with women. Not all the same "Cops", in fact!

What does it look like.“He was a very pretty young man, with black hair (which he was secretly proud of) and blue (alas, it would be better also black) eyes, quite tall, with white skin and a damned, indestructible blush on her cheeks. After the experience of misfortune, his appearance acquires an intriguing detail for ladies - gray temples.

What is he fighting for. For an enlightened monarchy, order and law. Fandorin dreams of new Russia- ennobled on japanese manner, with firmly and reasonably established laws and their scrupulous execution. About Russia, which did not go through the Russo-Japanese and First world war, revolution and civil war. That is, about Russia, which could be if we had enough luck and common sense to build it.

The way to fight. A combination of the deductive method, meditation techniques and Japanese martial arts with almost mystical luck. By the way, it is necessary female love, which Fandorin uses in every sense.

With what result. As we know, the Russia that Fandorin dreams about did not happen. So globally, he suffers a crushing defeat. Yes, and in small things too: those whom he tries to save most often die, and the criminals never go to jail (they die, or pay off the court, or simply disappear). However, Fandorin himself invariably remains alive, as does the hope for the final triumph of justice.

What is it fighting against? Against the unenlightened monarchy, revolutionary bombers, nihilists and socio-political chaos, which in Russia can come at any moment. Along the way, he has to fight bureaucracy, corruption in the highest echelons of power, fools, roads and ordinary criminals.

Illustrations: Maria Sosnina

Russian literature has given us a cavalcade of both positive and negative characters. We decided to recall the second group. Beware, spoilers.

20. Alexei Molchalin (Alexander Griboyedov, "Woe from Wit")

Molchalin is the hero of "nothing", Famusov's secretary. He is faithful to his father's behest: "to please all people without exception - the owner, the boss, his servant, the janitor's dog."

In a conversation with Chatsky, he sets out his life principles, which are that "at my age one should not dare to have one's own judgment."

Molchalin is sure that you need to think and act as is customary in the "famus" society, otherwise they will gossip about you, but, as you know, " gossips scarier than pistols.

He despises Sophia, but is ready to please Famusov to sit with her all night long, playing the role of a lover.

19. Grushnitsky (Mikhail Lermontov, "A Hero of Our Time")

Grushnitsky has no name in Lermontov's story. He is the "double" of the main character - Pechorin. According to Lermontov’s description, Grushnitsky is “... one of those people who have ready-made lush phrases for all occasions, who are simply not touched by the beautiful and who importantly drape in extraordinary feelings, sublime passions and exceptional suffering. To produce an effect is their delight ... ".

Grushnitsky is very fond of pathos. There is not an ounce of sincerity in him. Grushnitsky is in love with Princess Mary, and at first she answers him with special attention, but then falls in love with Pechorin.

The case ends in a duel. Grushnitsky is so low that he conspires with friends and they do not load Pechorin's pistol. The hero cannot forgive such frank meanness. He reloads the pistol and kills Grushnitsky.

18. Afanasy Totsky (Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot)

Afanasy Totsky, having adopted and dependent Nastya Barashkova, the daughter of a deceased neighbor, eventually “became close to her”, developing a suicidal complex in the girl and indirectly becoming one of the culprits of her death.

Extremely avid to the female, at the age of 55, Totsky decided to connect his life with the daughter of General Epanchin Alexandra, deciding to marry Nastasya to Ganya Ivolgin. However, neither of these things worked out. As a result, Totsky "was captivated by a visiting Frenchwoman, a Marquise and a Legitimist."

17. Alena Ivanovna (Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment)

The old pawnbroker is a character that has become a household name. Even those who have not read Dostoevsky's novel have heard of her. Alena Ivanovna is not so old by today’s standards, she is “60 years old”, but the author describes her like this: “... a dry old woman with sharp and angry eyes with a small pointed nose ... Her blond, slightly graying hair was oiled with oil. Some kind of flannel rag was wrapped around her thin and long neck, similar to a chicken leg ... ".

The old woman pawnbroker is engaged in usury and profits from the grief of people. She takes valuable things at huge interest, treats her younger sister Lizaveta, beats her.

16. Arkady Svidrigailov (Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment)

Svidrigailov - one of Raskolnikov's doubles in Dostoevsky's novel, a widower, at one time was bought out of prison by his wife, lived in the village for 7 years. A cynical and depraved person. On his conscience, the suicide of a servant, a 14-year-old girl, possibly the poisoning of his wife.

Due to Svidrigailov's harassment, Raskolnikov's sister lost her job. Upon learning that Raskolnikov is a murderer, Luzhin blackmails Dunya. The girl shoots at Svidrigailov and misses.

Svidrigailov is an ideological scoundrel, he does not experience moral torment and experiences "world boredom", eternity seems to him "a bathhouse with spiders." As a result, he commits suicide with a shot from a revolver.

15. Boar (Alexander Ostrovsky, Thunderstorm)

In the form of Kabanikha, one of central characters Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm" reflected the outgoing patriarchal, strict archaism. Kabanova Marfa Ignatievna - "a rich merchant's wife, widow", Katerina's mother-in-law, mother of Tikhon and Varvara.

The boar is very domineering and strong, she is religious, but more outwardly, because she does not believe in forgiveness or mercy. She is as practical as possible and lives by earthly interests.

The boar is sure that family life it can only be preserved on fear and orders: “After all, out of love, parents are strict with you, out of love they scold you, everyone thinks to teach good.” She perceives the departure of the former order as a personal tragedy: “That’s how the old days are brought out ... What will happen, how the elders die, ... I don’t know.”

14. Lady (Ivan Turgenev, "Mumu")

We all know sad story about the fact that Gerasim drowned Mumu, but not everyone remembers why he did it, but he did it because the despotic lady ordered him to do so.

The same landowner had previously given the washerwoman Tatyana, with whom Gerasim was in love, to the drunkard shoemaker Kapiton, which ruined both.
The lady, at her own discretion, decides the fate of her serfs, not at all considering their wishes, and sometimes even common sense.

13. Footman Yasha (Anton Chekhov, The Cherry Orchard)

Lackey Yasha in Anton Chekhov's play " The Cherry Orchard"- the character is unpleasant. He openly bows to everything foreign, while he is extremely ignorant, rude and even boorish. When his mother comes to him from the village and waits for him in the servants' room all day, Yasha dismissively declares: "It is very necessary, I could come tomorrow."

Yasha tries to behave decently in public, tries to appear educated and well-mannered, but at the same time, alone with Firs, she says to the old man: “You are tired, grandfather. If only you'd die sooner."

Yasha is very proud of the fact that he lived abroad. With a foreign gloss, he wins the heart of the maid Dunyasha, but uses her location for his own benefit. After the sale of the estate, the lackey persuades Ranevskaya to take him back to Paris with her. It is impossible for him to stay in Russia: "the country is uneducated, the people are immoral, moreover, boredom ...".

12. Pavel Smerdyakov (Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov)

Smerdyakov - a character with speaking surname, according to rumors, the illegitimate son of Fyodor Karrmazov from the city's holy fool Lizaveta Smerdyashchaya. The surname Smerdyakov was given to him by Fyodor Pavlovich in honor of his mother.

Smerdyakov serves as a cook in Karamazov's house, and, apparently, he cooks quite well. However, this is "a man with rottenness." This is evidenced by at least Smerdyakov’s reasoning about history: “In the twelfth year there was a great invasion of Russia by Emperor Napoleon of France, the first, and it would be good if these very French had conquered us then, an intelligent nation would have conquered a very stupid one, sir, and annexed to itself. There would even be other orders.”

Smerdyakov is the murderer of Karamazov's father.

11. Pyotr Luzhin (Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment)

Luzhin is another of the twins of Rodion Raskolnikov, a business man of 45 years old, "with a cautious and obnoxious physiognomy."

Having broken out "from rags to riches", Luzhin is proud of his pseudo-education, behaves arrogantly and stiffly. Having made an offer to Duna, he anticipates that she will be grateful to him all her life for the fact that he "brought her to the people."

He also wooed Dunya by calculation, believing that she would be useful to him for his career. Luzhin hates Raskolnikov because he opposes their alliance with Dunya. Luzhin, on the other hand, pockets Sonya Marmeladova one hundred rubles at her father's funeral, accusing her of stealing.

10. Kirila Troyekurov (Alexander Pushkin, "Dubrovsky")

Troekurov is an example of a Russian master, spoiled by his power and environment. He spends his time in idleness, drunkenness, voluptuousness. Troekurov sincerely believes in his impunity and unlimited possibilities (“That is the strength to take away the estate without any right”).

The master loves his daughter Masha, but passes her off as an old man she does not love. Troekurov's serfs look like their master - the Troekurov kennel is insolent to Dubrovsky Sr. - and thereby quarrels old friends.

9. Sergei Talberg (Mikhail Bulgakov, White Guard)

Sergei Talberg is the husband of Elena Turbina, a traitor and opportunist. He easily changes his principles, beliefs, without special efforts and remorse. Thalberg is always where it is easier to live, so he runs abroad. He leaves his family and friends. Even Talberg's eyes (which, as you know, are the "mirror of the soul") are "two-story", he is the exact opposite of the Turbins.

Talberg was the first to put on a red armband at the military school in March 1917 and, as a member of the military committee, arrested the famous General Petrov.

8. Alexey Shvabrin (Alexander Pushkin, The Captain's Daughter)

Shvabrin is the antipode of the protagonist of Pushkin's story "The Captain's Daughter" by Pyotr Grinev. IN Belogorsk fortress he was exiled for murder in a duel. Shvabrin is undoubtedly smart, but at the same time he is cunning, impudent, cynical, and mocking. Having received Masha Mironova's refusal, he spreads dirty rumors about her, wounds him in the back in a duel with Grinev, goes over to Pugachev's side, and, having been captured by government troops, spreads rumors that Grinev is a traitor. In general, a rubbish person.

7. Vasilisa Kostyleva (Maxim Gorky, "At the Bottom")

In Gorky's play "At the Bottom" everything is sad and melancholy. Such an atmosphere is diligently maintained by the owners of the rooming house where the action takes place - the Kostylevs. The husband is a nasty cowardly and greedy old man, Vasilisa's wife is a prudent, dodgy opportunist, forcing her lover Vaska Ash to steal for her sake. When she finds out that he himself is in love with her sister, she promises to give her away in exchange for killing her husband.

6. Mazepa (Alexander Pushkin, Poltava)

Mazepa is a historical character, but if in history the role of Mazepa is ambiguous, then in Pushkin's poem Mazepa is definitely negative character. Mazepa appears in the poem as an absolutely immoral, dishonorable, vengeful, vicious person, like a treacherous hypocrite for whom nothing is sacred (he “does not know the shrine”, “does not remember goodness”), a person who is accustomed to achieve his goal at any cost.

The seducer of his young goddaughter Maria, he publicly executes her father Kochubey and - already sentenced to death - subjected to severe torture in order to find out where he hid his treasures. Without equivocation denounces Pushkin and political activity Mazepa, which is determined only by the love of power and the thirst for revenge on Peter.

5. Foma Opiskin (Fyodor Dostoevsky, "The Village of Stepanchikovo and Its Inhabitants")

Foma Opiskin is an extremely negative character. Livelier, hypocrite, liar. He diligently portrays piety and education, tells everyone about his supposedly ascetic experience and sparkles with quotes from books...

When he gets his hands on power, he shows his true nature. “The low soul, having come out from under oppression, oppresses itself. Thomas was oppressed - and he immediately felt the need to oppress himself; they broke down on him - and he himself began to break down on others. He was a jester and immediately felt the need to have his own jesters. He boasted to the point of absurdity, broke down to the point of impossibility, demanded bird's milk, tyrannized without measure, and it got to the point that good people, having not yet been witnesses to all these tricks, but listening only to stories, they considered all this to be a miracle, an obsession, they were baptized and spat ... ".

4. Viktor Komarovsky (Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago)

Lawyer Komarovsky is a negative character in Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago. In the fates of the main characters - Zhivago and Lara, Komarovsky is an "evil genius" and a "grey eminence". He is guilty of the ruin of the Zhivago family and the death of the protagonist's father, he cohabits with Lara's mother and with Lara herself. Finally, Komarovsky deceives Zhivago and his wife apart. Komarovsky is smart, prudent, greedy, cynical. Overall, bad person. He himself understands this, but it suits him perfectly.

3. Judas Golovlev (Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, "Gentlemen Golovlevs")

Porfiry Vladimirovich Golovlev, nicknamed Yudushka and Krovopivushka, is "the last representative of a swindled family." He is hypocritical, greedy, cowardly, prudent. He spends his life in endless slander and litigation, drives his son to suicide, while imitating extreme religiosity, reading prayers "without the participation of the heart."

Toward the end of his dark life, Golovlev gets drunk and runs wild, goes into a March blizzard. In the morning, his stiff corpse is found.

2. Andriy (Nikolai Gogol, Taras Bulba)

Andriy - younger son Taras Bulba, the hero of the novel of the same name by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. Andriy, as Gogol writes, from early youth began to feel the "need for love." This need brings him down. He falls in love with a panochka, betrays his homeland, friends, and father. Andriy admits: “Who said that my homeland is Ukraine? Who gave it to me in the homeland? The fatherland is what our soul seeks, which is sweeter for it than anything. My homeland is you! ... and everything that is, I will sell, give, destroy for such a homeland!
Andrew is a traitor. He is killed by his own father.

1. Fyodor Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov)

He is voluptuous, greedy, envious, stupid. To maturity, he became flabby, began to drink a lot, opened several taverns, made many countrymen his debtors ... He began to compete with his eldest son Dmitry for the heart of Grushenka Svetlova, which paved the way for the crime - Karamazov was killed by his illegitimate son Peter Smerdyakov.

Reading works of art, we first of all pay attention to its main actors. All of them have clear characteristics in literary theory. Which ones - we learn from this article.

The word "image" in Russian literary criticism has several meanings.

First, all art is figurative; reality is recreated by the artist with the help of images. In the image, the general, generic is revealed through the individual, transformed. In this sense, we can say: the image of the Motherland, the image of nature, the image of man, i.e. image in the art form of the Motherland, nature, man.

Secondly, at the linguistic level of the work, the image is identical to the concept of "tropes". In this case we are talking about metaphor, comparison, hyperbole, etc., i.e. about figurative means of poetic language. If we imagine the figurative structure of the work, then the first figurative layer is images-details. A second figurative layer grows out of them, consisting of actions, events, moods, i.e. everything that is dynamically deployed in time. The third layer is images of characters and circumstances, heroes who find themselves in conflicts. From the images of the third layer, a holistic image of fate and the world is formed, i.e. concept of being.

The image of the hero is an artistic generalization of human properties, character traits in the individual appearance of the hero. A hero can cause admiration or repulsion, perform actions, act. The image is artistic category. It is impossible, for example, to say: "I despise the image of Molchalin." You can despise the silent type, but his image as an artistic phenomenon causes admiration for the skill of Griboyedov. Sometimes instead of the concept of "image" the concept of "character" is used.

The concept of "character" is broader than the concept of "image". A character is any character in a work. You can not say instead of "lyrical hero" " lyrical character". The lyrical hero is the image of the hero in lyrical work, experiences, feelings, whose thoughts reflect the author's worldview. This is the artistic "double" of the author-poet, which has its own inner world, its own destiny. The lyrical hero is not an autobiographical image, although it reflects personal experiences, attitude towards different parties"the life of the author himself. The lyrical hero embodies the spiritual world of the author and his contemporaries. The lyrical hero of A. S. Pushkin is a harmonious, spiritually rich personality who believes in love, friendship, optimistic in his views on life. Another lyrical hero of M. Yu. Lermontov This is the "son of suffering", disappointed in reality, lonely, romantically striving for will and freedom and tragically not finding them. Characters, like heroes, can be main and secondary, but when applied to episodic actors, only the term "character" is used. ".

Often, a character is understood as a minor person who does not influence events, and a literary hero is a multifaceted character that is important for expressing the idea of ​​a work. You can meet the judgment that the hero is only that character who carries positive principles and is the spokesman for the author's ideal (Chatsky, Tatyana Larina, Bolkonsky, Katerina). The statement that negative satirical characters (Plyushkin, Iudushka Golovlev, Kabanikha) are not heroes is incorrect. Two concepts are mixed here - the hero as a character and the heroic as a way of human behavior.

The satirical hero of a work is a character, a character against whom the point of satire is directed. Naturally, such a hero is hardly capable of heroic deeds; is not a hero in the behavioral sense of the word. IN creative process creating images of heroes in "some of them embody the most characteristic features for a given time and environment. Such an image is called a literary type.

The literary type is a generalized image of human individuality, the most possible, characteristic of a particular social environment in certain time. The literary type reflects patterns community development. It combines two sides: individual (single) and general. Typical (and this is important to remember) does not mean average; the type always concentrates in itself everything that is most striking, characteristic of a whole group of people - social, national, age, etc. Types created in the literature goodies(Tatyana Larina, Chatsky), "superfluous people" (Eugene Onegin, Pechorin), Turgenev girls. In aesthetically perfect works, each type is a character.

Character - human individuality, consisting of certain mental, moral, mental traits. This is the unity of emotional reaction, temperament, will, and the type of behavior determined by the socio-historical situation and time (epoch). Character consists of diverse traits and qualities, but this is not an accidental combination of them. In each character there is a main, dominant feature, which gives a living unity to the whole variety of qualities and properties. The character in the work can be static, already formed and manifested in actions. But most often the character is presented in change, in development, evolution. There is a pattern in the development of character. The logic of character development sometimes comes into conflict with the author's intention (even A. S. Pushkin complained to Pushchin that Tatyana got married without his "knowledge"). Obeying this logic, the author cannot always turn the fate of the hero the way he wants.

1. The meaning of the terms "hero", "character"

2. Character and character

3. The structure of a literary hero

4. Character system

1. The meaning of the terms "hero", "character"

The word "hero" is rich history. Translated from the Greek "heros" means a demi-god, a deified person. In pre-Homeric times (X-IX century BC), heroes in Ancient Greece the children of a god and a mortal woman or a mortal and a goddess were called (Hercules, Dionysus, Achilles, Aeneas, etc.). Heroes were worshiped, poems were composed in honor of them, temples were erected for them. The right to the name of the hero gave the advantage of family, origin. The hero served as an intermediary between the earth and Olympus, he helped people comprehend the will of the gods, sometimes he himself acquired the miraculous functions of a deity.

Such a function, for example, is obtained beautiful Elena in an ancient Greek temple legend, a fairy tale about the healing of the daughter of a friend of Ariston, the king of the Spartans. This nameless friend of the king, according to legend, had a very beautiful wife, in infancy, the former is very ugly. The nurse often carried the girl to the temple of Helen and prayed to the goddess to save the girl from deformity (Helen had her own temple in Sparta). And Elena came and helped the girl.

In the era of Homer (VIII century BC) and up to the literature of the 5th century BC. inclusive, the word "hero" is filled with a different meaning. Not only the descendant of the gods turns into a hero. It becomes any mortal who has achieved outstanding success in earthly life; any person who has made a name for himself in the field of war, morality, travel. Such are the heroes of Homer (Menelaus, Patroclus, Penelope, Odysseus), such is Theseus Bacchilid. The authors call these people "heroes" because they became famous for certain feats and thus went beyond the historical and geographical.

Finally, starting from the 5th century BC, not only an outstanding person, but any “husband”, both “noble” and “unfit”, who fell into the world turns into a hero. literary work. The artisan, messenger, servant and even slave also acts as a hero. Such a reduction, desacralization of the hero's image is scientifically substantiated by Aristotle. In "Poetics" - the chapter "Parts of the tragedy. Heroes of tragedy" - he notes that the hero may no longer be distinguished by "(special) virtue and justice." He becomes a hero simply by getting into a tragedy and experiencing "terrible".

In literary criticism, the meaning of the term "hero" is very ambiguous. Historically, this meaning grows out of the meanings indicated above. However, in theoretical terms, it is a new, transformed content, which is read at several semantic levels: artistic reality works, literature proper, and ontology as a science of being.

In the artistic world of creation, a hero is any person endowed with appearance and inner content. This is not a passive observer, but an actant, a person actually acting in the work (translated from Latin, “actant” means “acting”). The hero in the work necessarily creates something, protects someone. the main task hero at this level is the development and transformation of poetic reality, the construction artistic sense. At the general literary level, the hero is artistic image the person who summarizes the most character traits reality; living repeatable patterns of being. In this regard, the hero is the bearer of certain ideological principles expresses the intention of the author. It models a special imprint of being, becomes the seal of the era. A classic example is Lermontov's Pechorin, "a hero of our time." Finally, at the ontological level, the hero forms special way knowledge of the world. He must bring people the truth, acquaint them with the variety of forms human life. In this regard, the hero is a spiritual guide, leading the reader through all circles of human life and showing the way to the truth, God. Such is Virgil D. Alighieri (“ The Divine Comedy”), Faust I. Goethe, Ivan Flyagin N.S. Leskova ("The Enchanted Wanderer"), etc.

The term "hero" often coexists with the term "character" (sometimes these words are understood as synonyms). The word "character" French descent, but has Latin roots. Translated from Latin“regzopa” is a person, a face, a disguise. "Persona" the ancient Romans called the mask that the actor put on before the performance: tragic or comic. In literary criticism, a character is the subject of a literary action, an utterance in a work. The character represents the social appearance of a person, his external, sensually perceived person.

However, the hero and the character are not the same thing. The hero is something integral, complete; character - partial, requiring explanation. The hero embodies the eternal idea, is destined for the highest spiritual and practical activity; the character simply denotes the presence of a person; "works" as a statistician. The hero is the masked actor, and the character is only a mask.

2. Character and character

A character easily turns into a hero if he receives an individual, personal dimension or character. According to Aristotle, character refers to the manifestation of the direction of "the will, whatever it may be."

IN modern literary criticism character is the unique personality of the character; his inner appearance; that is, everything that makes a person a personality, that distinguishes him from other people. In other words, the character is the same actor who plays behind the mask - the character. At the heart of the character is the inner "I" of a person, his self. Character shows the image of the soul with all its searches and mistakes, hopes and disappointments. It denotes the versatility of human individuality; reveals its moral and spiritual potential.

Character can be simple or complex. A simple character is distinguished by integrity and static. He endows the hero with an unshakable set of value orientations; makes it either positive or negative. positive and bad guys usually divide the system of characters in the work into two warring factions. For example: patriots and aggressors in the tragedy of Aeschylus ("Persians"); Russians and foreigners (Englishmen) in N.S. Leskov "Lefty"; "last" and "many" in the story of A.G. Malyshkin "Dair's Fall".

Simple characters are traditionally paired, most often on the basis of opposition (Shvabrin - Grinev in " Captain's daughter» A.S. Pushkin, Javert - Bishop Miriel in "Les Misérables" by V. Hugo). Contrasting sharpens the merits of positive heroes and detracts from the merits of negative heroes. It arises not only on an ethical basis. It is also formed by philosophical oppositions (such is the confrontation between Joseph Knecht and Plinio Designori in G. Hesse's novel The Glass Bead Game).

A complex character manifests itself in an incessant search, an inner evolution. It expresses the diversity of the spiritual life of the individual. It reveals both the brightest, loftiest aspirations of the human soul, as well as its darkest, basest impulses. In a complex character, on the one hand, the prerequisites for the degradation of a person are laid (Ionych by A.P. Chekhov); on the other hand, the possibility of his future transformation and salvation. A complex character is very difficult to designate in the dyad "positive" and "negative". As a rule, it stands between these terms or, more precisely, above them. It condenses the paradox, the contradictory nature of life; concentrates all the most mysterious and strange, which is the secret of man. These are the heroes of F.M. Dostoevsky R. Musil, A. Strindberg and others.

3. The structure of a literary hero

A literary hero is a complex, multifaceted person. He can live in several dimensions at once: objective, subjective, divine, demonic, bookish (Master M.A. Bulgakova). However, in his relations with society, nature, other people (everything that is opposite to his personality), the literary hero is always binary. He takes on two forms: inner and outer. It goes in two ways: introverting and extroverting. In the aspect of introversion, the hero is “thinking in advance” (to use the eloquent terminology of C. G. Jung) Prometheus. He lives in a world of feelings, dreams, dreams. In the aspect of extra-version, the literary hero is "acting, and then pondering" Epithemeus. He lives in the real world for the sake of its active development.

On creation appearance the hero is “worked” by his portrait, profession, age, history (or past). The portrait endows the hero with a face and figure; teaches him a complex distinctive features(fatness, thinness in A.P. Chekhov's story "Thick and Thin") and bright, recognizable habits (a characteristic wound in the neck of the partisan Levinson from A.I. Fadeev's novel "Rout").

Very often, the portrait becomes a means of psychologization and testifies to certain character traits. As, for example, in the famous portrait of Pechorin, given through the eyes of the narrator, a certain wandering officer: “He (Pechorin - P.K.) was of medium height; his slender, thin figure and broad shoulders proved a strong constitution, capable of enduring all the difficulties of a nomadic life.<…>. His gait was careless and lazy, but I noticed that he did not swing his arms - a sure sign of a secret character.

Profession, vocation, age, history of the hero pedal the process of socialization. Profession and vocation give the hero the right to socially useful activities. Age determines the potential for certain actions. The story about his past, parents, country and place where he lives, gives the hero a sensually tangible realism, historical concreteness.

The inner image of the hero is made up of his worldview, ethical beliefs, thoughts, attachments, faith, statements and actions. Worldview and ethical beliefs endow the hero with the necessary ontological and value orientations; give meaning to his existence. Attachments and thoughts outline the manifold life of the soul. Faith (or lack thereof) determines the presence of the hero in the spiritual field, his attitude towards God and the Church (in the literature of Christian countries). Actions and statements denote the results of the interaction of the soul and spirit.