V. In the second half of the XVII century. the genre of the story took a leading position in the system literary genres. If a old Russian tradition denoted by this word any narrative, what is basically told, the story as a new literary genre filled with qualitatively different content. Its subject is the individual fate of a person, his choice of his life path, awareness of his personal place in life. It is no longer as clear-cut as before, the question of copyright to the events described: the voice of the author clearly gives way to the plot as such, and the reader is left to draw his own conclusion from this plot. The Tale of Woe-Misfortune is the first in the group of everyday stories XVII c., opening the topic young man who does not want to live according to the laws of antiquity and is looking for his own way in life. These traditional laws are personified by his parents and kind people who give the hero reasonable advice: do not drink two charms for one, do not look at good red wives, be afraid not of a wise man, but of a fool, do not steal, do not lie, do not bear false witness, do not think badly about people . It is obvious that we have before us a free arrangement of the biblical ten commandments. However, the Good fellow, who at that time was so small and stupid, not in full mind and imperfect in mind, rejects this traditional Christian morality, opposes his own path to it: he wanted to live as he liked. This motif of living for pleasure is amplified in the story when the named brother brings a glass of wine and a mug of beer to the Young Man: to drink for his own joy and fun. It is the desire for pleasure that leads the Young Man to collapse, which is very ironically stated by an anonymous author, telling how Grief teaches the young man to live richly, kill and rob, so that the young man will be hanged for that, or planted with a stone in the water. Life under the new rules does not add up, oblivion parental advice leads to disaster, respectively, the only possible way out is a return to traditional Christian dogmas.
The story begins literally with Adam. Following such an exposition, a story begins about the hero of the story himself - about a nameless young man.
In all previous Russian literature, we will not find works that would tell about the fate of an ordinary worldly person and set out the main events of his life. "The Tale of Woe and Misfortune" speaks of the fate of an unknown young man who violated the commandments of antiquity and paid heavily for it.
The image of "Woe-Misfortune" - fate, fate, as it arises in our story, is one of the most significant literary images. Grief simultaneously symbolizes an external force hostile to man and internal state man, his spiritual emptiness. It's like his doppelgänger.
For the time being, victory turns out to be behind the old days, it still triumphs over the awakening individualistic impulses. younger generation. This is the main meaning of the story, which very talentedly depicts children at the turn of two eras. It is characteristic, however, that monastic life is interpreted in the story not as an ideal, not even as a norm, but as a kind of exception for those who have not managed to organize their worldly life according to the rules that have been prescribed by centuries of tradition. Turning to the monastery is sad for the young man, but the only way out of his unsuccessful life.
The epic structure of the story: the metric structure of the verse, epic common places(coming to the ball, boasting at the feast), repetition of individual words, tautology, use constant epithets(violent winds, violent head, green wine)
The Tale of Frol Skobeev, Savva Gruditsyn.
The 17th century, especially its second half, was marked in the history of Russian literature by a significant development of narrative genres. Here, traditional didactic pious stories, closely related to the church tradition, and a secular entertaining story side by side, satire and parody are born. A stream of various translated literature poured into Russia, which quickly won wide circle readers.
translated literature
Translation Literature in the 17th Century has a significant impact on the development of the Russian story. Collections of moralizing stories are associated with church tradition - "The Great Mirror", translated from Polish, and "Roman Acts", dating back to the Latin original and containing stories from Roman life. The translators of instructive pious tales were scholar-monks who had moved to Moscow from Ukraine; secular literature was usually translated by employees of the embassy order.
Secular translated literature includes the collection "The History of the Seven Wise Men". His homeland was India, then came Arabic, Persian, latin translations, and as a result, a collection with a large number of alterations spread both in the East and in the West. Russian lists are translated from Polish and usually contain about 15 short stories of an entertaining nature.
"Bova-King". Engraving. 18th century
Knightly stories (about Tristan, Lancelot, Attila, Brunzvik, about the Roman Caesar Otto, about Melusin, etc.) were mainly transferred from Czech, Serbian, Polish sources, which were repelled from French, Italian and German texts. In fact, it was not so much a translation as a retelling, adapting the stories to national cultural conditions. So, for example, in the story about Yeruslan Lazarevich, which goes back to the Persian poem by Firdousi “Shah-Name (X century), the hero Rustem turns into Yeruslan, his wife's name is Nastasya Varfolomeevna. Eruslan, already being four years old, was distinguished heroic strength: “Kovo is enough by the hand - tovo’s hand is off; if enough for the head - that head is off. In the description of the hero, images of Russian fairy tales and epics are used.
The most strongly influenced by Russian folklore is the story of King Bova, which goes back to the French medieval legend of the knight Bovo d "Anton. It tells about the numerous misadventures of the knight and his exploits in the name of love, among the heroes are kings Markobrun, Dodon and Gvidon, Princess Militrisa Kirbityevna, bogatyr Polkan, Tsar Saltan and his son Lukoper From the 17th to the beginning of the 20th century, numerous lubok editions of Bova the King appeared.
Original Russian novels
Great popularity in the XVII-XVIII centuries. used the so-called lubok pictures. They were drawings with poetic or prose explanations. Plots were usually taken from popular stories, fairy tales, less often from church literature. At first they were drawn on a thin linden bark (lubok), later they began to be printed in printing houses. Most of the popular prints were satirical, such famous series of pictures "How mice buried a cat", dedicated to the death of Peter I.
Russian stories are also distinguished by the richness and variety of themes and plots. Along with moralizing stories, there are historical, everyday, satirical stories with elements of literary parody.
The poetic edifying-household "The Tale of Woe-Misfortune" testifies to the wide penetration of folklore into book literature. The story begins with a story about how the forefathers Adam and Eve, having violated the commandment of God, doomed the human race to grief and sorrow. After such an introduction, the story begins about the hero - a good fellow who violated the house-building commandments of antiquity, tried to live according to his own understanding and paid bitterly for it. Saves the young man from Grief-Misfortune - "barefoot, naked, with a bast girded" - only leaving for the monastery.
Astrakhan cat. Wooden splint. 18th century
satire, parody, humorous story, ridiculing orders or church life, most clearly testify to the growth of secular tendencies in Russian culture XVII in. The famous “Tale of the Shemyakin Court” is based on the adventures of a poor peasant who brought him to the dock, and his cunning deliverance from his accusers (a rich brother, a priest and a city dweller) thanks to the dexterity of Judge Shemyaka. Shemyaka's casuistry was perceived as a parody of the legal proceedings of the 17th century. In connection with the judicial procedures of Muscovite Russia, the Tale of Yersh Yershovich, the son of Shchetinnikov, was also written, depicting a lawsuit between the boyar son Leshch and the “dashing man”, “yabednik” Yersh Yershovich for possession of Lake Rostov. After hearing the witnesses - Whitefish and Herring, Judge Sturgeon pronounces a verdict to beat the call-taker Ruff with a whip and hang him. The author of the satire-parody is well acquainted with judicial letters and the conduct of trials in Russia. Like "Shemyakin Court", the story of the "court case" of Bream and Ruff entered the 18th century. into popular literature, and also turned into an oral fairy tale.
Household stories of the 17th century
V. In the second half of the XVII century. the genre of the story took a leading position in the system of literary genres. If the ancient Russian tradition used this word to designate any narrative, then what is basically told, the story as a new literary genre, is filled with a qualitatively different content. Its subject is the individual fate of a person, his choice of his life path, awareness of his personal place in life. The question of the author's attitude to the events described is no longer as unambiguous as before: the author's voice clearly gives way to the plot as such, and the reader is left to draw his own conclusion from this plot. The Tale of Woe-Misfortune is the first in a group of everyday stories of the 17th century, which opens the theme of a young man who does not want to live according to the laws of antiquity and is looking for his own way in life. These traditional laws are personified by his parents and kind people who give the hero reasonable advice: do not drink two charms for one, do not look at good red wives, be afraid not of a wise man, but of a fool, do not steal, do not lie, do not bear false witness, do not think badly about people . It is obvious that we have before us a free arrangement of the biblical ten commandments. However, the Good fellow, who at that time was so small and stupid, not in full mind and imperfect in mind, rejects this traditional Christian morality, opposes his own path to it: he wanted to live as he liked. This motif of living for pleasure is amplified in the story when the named brother brings a glass of wine and a mug of beer to the Young Man: to drink for his own joy and fun. It is the desire for pleasure that leads the Young Man to collapse, which is very ironically stated by an anonymous author, telling how Grief teaches the young man to live richly, kill and rob, so that the young man will be hanged for that, or planted with a stone in the water. Life according to the new rules does not add up, forgetting parental advice leads to disaster, respectively, the only possible way out is a return to traditional Christian dogmas.
The story begins literally with Adam. Following such an exposition, a story begins about the hero of the story himself - about a nameless young man.
In all previous Russian literature, we will not find works that would tell about the fate of an ordinary worldly person and set out the main events of his life. "The Tale of Woe and Misfortune" speaks of the fate of an unknown young man who violated the commandments of antiquity and paid heavily for it.
The image of "Woe-Misfortune" - fate, fate, as it arises in our story, is one of the most significant literary images. Grief simultaneously symbolizes an external force hostile to a person and the internal state of a person, his spiritual emptiness. It's like his doppelgänger.
For the time being, victory turns out to be behind the old days, it still triumphs over the awakening individualistic impulses of the younger generation. This is the main meaning of the story, which very talentedly depicts children at the turn of two eras. It is characteristic, however, that monastic life is interpreted in the story not as an ideal, not even as a norm, but as a kind of exception for those who have not managed to organize their worldly life according to the rules that have been prescribed by centuries of tradition. Turning to the monastery is sad for the young man, but the only way out of his unsuccessful life.
The epic structure of the story: the metrical structure of the verse, epic common places (coming to the ball, boasting at the feast), repetition of individual words, tautology, the use of constant epithets (wild winds, wild head, green wine)
The Tale of Frol Skobeev, Savva Gruditsyn.
Historical novels
Tale of the beginning of Moscow. In the second half of the XVII century. historical tale gradually loses historicism, acquiring the character of a love-adventure short story, which then serves as the basis for the development of adventurous-adventure love story. The main attention is transferred to the personal life of a person, there is an interest in moral, ethical, everyday issues.
Indicative in this regard are the stories about the beginning of Moscow, which S.K. Shambinago divides into three types: a chronographic story, a short story and a fairy tale. Historical basis of these stories was the legend of the murder of Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1174, revised in the 16th century. when it is included in the Nikon Chronicle and the Book of Degrees. Here the hagiographic characteristics of the prince and the negative assessment of his killers were strengthened, "cursed" Kuchkovichi.
The chronographic story about the beginning of Moscow still retains a certain historicity: here the foundation of Moscow is associated with Yuri Dolgoruky, who created the city on the site of the villages of the boyar Stepan Kuchka, who was killed by him, and sent his sons and daughter Ulita to Vladimir to his son Andrey. Having become Andrei's wife, Ulita, possessed by lust, leads a conspiracy against the pious husband and, together with her brothers, kills him.
The story is already completely losing its historicism. The founding of Moscow is attributed to Prince Andrei Alexandrovich and dated to June 17, 1291 (by indicating "exact" dates, the author seeks to emphasize the "historicism" of his story). The main attention is paid to the intrigue connected with the criminal love of the wife of the Suzdal prince Daniil Alexandrovich (actually younger son Alexander Nevsky was the prince of Moscow from 1272 to 1303) Ulita to the two young sons of the boyar Kuchka.
The image of the evil Princess Julitta, inflamed "Sotan's suggestion of prodigal lust", is also associated with the tradition of moralizing literature about "evil wives". The desire to show Daniel as a martyr goes back to the hagiographic tradition. "martyrdom is accepted from adulterers and his wife," and even to some extent correlate it with Boris and Gleb.
New in the story is not only its plot, built on love affair, but also the desire to show psychological condition Kuchkovichi. They abide "in mourning and in sorrow and in great sorrow" due to the fact that they missed Prince Daniel "alive" and begin to repent of their deeds. Only inspired by Julitta, who told them the secrets of her husband, they, again "Filled with an evil mind" commit murder. In fear and trembling, the Kuchkovichi flee from Suzdal, having learned about Andrey's campaign against them.
The style of the story closely intertwines the traditions of the book and folk-tale manner of narration. The latter is associated with the presence of rhyming phrases:
“Why would it be in Moscow the kingdom of being
and who knew that Moscow was reputed to be a state.”
Turning to the boyar Kuchka, Prince Daniel says:
“Don’t give your sons to me in the yard,
And I will come against you with a war and beat you with a sword,
and I will burn your red villages with fire.
In the story, there are no hints of any historical events. Her hero is Daniil Ivanovich, who founded the Krutitsy Bishop's House.
The Tale of the Foundation of the Tver Otroch Monastery. The transformation of a historical story into a love-adventure novel can be traced by the example of The Tale of the Founding of the Tver Otroch Monastery. Her hero is the prince's servant, the youth Gregory, wounded by love for the sexton's daughter Xenia. Having secured the consent of Xenia's father and the prince for marriage, Grigory happily prepares for the wedding, but "God's Will" Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich of Tver turns out to be Xenia's real fiancé, and Grigory is only his matchmaker. Shocked Gregory, "I was obsessed with a great twist," takes off himself "princely dress and ports", changes into a peasant dress and goes into the forest, where “Build yourself a hut and a chapel.”
The main reason that forced Gregory to flee "to desert places" and founding a monastery there, is not a pious desire to devote oneself to God, as was the case before, but unrequited love.
Ksenia in many ways resembles Fevronia: she is the same wise, prophetic maiden, endowed with features of piety. "Behold that maiden very beautiful," prince “be kindled in heart and bewildered in thought.”
The story is widely represented by the symbolism of wedding folk songs. The prince sees prophetic dream: his favorite falcon caught “a dove with green shining beauty”; during the hunt, the prince lets his falcons go, and his beloved falcon brings him to the village of Edimonovo and sits on the church of Dmitry Solunsky, where Ksenia and Gregory were to be married, and now, by the will of fate, the prince took the place of Gregory.
The hagiographic elements prevailing at the end of the story do not destroy the integrity of its content, which is based on fiction.
"The Tale of Suhan". In search of new images, forms of storytelling associated with heroic theme defense of the motherland from external enemies, literature of the second half of XVII in. refers to folk epic. The result of the book processing of the epic plot was "The Tale of Sukhan", preserved in a single list late XVII in. Her hero - a hero - is fighting the Mongol-Tatar conquerors, who, led by Tsar Azbuk Tavruevich, want to capture the Russian land. Poeticizing heroic deed Sukhan, the author highly appreciates the faithful service of the hero to the ideal sovereign Monomakh Vladimirovich. Only with the help of battering rams can the enemies mortally wound Sukhan. But even wounded, he fights until he has killed all the enemies. The king wants to favor Sukhan for his faithful service in cities and estates, but the dying hero asks only to give him “serf”, “complaining word and forgiveness”. It is very significant that the relationship between the hero and the sovereign reflects the nature of the relationship of a serviceman to the Moscow Tsar.
Thus, having lost historicism, genres historical literature and XVII century. acquire new qualities: they develop fiction, entertaining, the influence of genres of oral folk art, and history itself becomes an independent form of ideology, gradually turning into a science.
Themes of satirical works of the second half of the 17th century. The nature of parody in works. Antithesis as a leading method of creation satirical image. Folklore beginning in satirical works. The language of satire.
One of the most remarkable phenomena in the literature of the second half of the 17th century is the design and development of satire as an independent literary genre, which is due to the specifics of the life of that time.
The formation of a "single all-Russian market" in the second half of the XVII century. led to the strengthening of the role of the trade and craft population of cities in the economic and cultural life countries. However, politically, this part of the population remained deprived of rights and was subjected to shameless exploitation and oppression. The settlement responded to the strengthening of oppression with numerous urban uprisings, which contributed to the growth of class self-consciousness. The emergence of democratic satire was the result of the active participation of the townspeople in the class struggle.
Thus, Russian reality "rebellious" The 17th century was the soil on which satire arose. Social acuteness, anti-feudal orientation of literary satire brought With folk oral-poetic satire, which served those inexhaustible source where she drew her artistic and visual means.
Significant aspects of the life of feudal society were subjected to satirical denunciation: an unfair and corrupt court; social inequality; the immoral life of monastics and clergy, their hypocrisy, hypocrisy and greed; " state system» soldering people through "king's tavern".
Exposing a judicial system based on Cathedral code Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1649, devoted to the story of Shemyakin's court and Ersh Ershovich.
The birth of Russian satire is inseparable from the affirmation of the idea of the extra-class value of a person, as well as from the need to accumulate experience. satirical image accumulated in the folklore and literature of previous centuries.
Russian satire during the period in the period of formation was not of an abstract moralizing nature, but was socially sharp, rising from denunciation of private abuses of power to criticism of the foundations of the existing world order
40. One of the most remarkable phenomena in the literature of the 17th century is the emergence of satire as an independent literary genre, due to the specifics of that time. Significant aspects of the life of feudal society were subjected to satirical denunciation: an unfair and corrupt court, social inequality, immoral behavior, hypocrisy and hypocrisy of monastics and clergy, the state system of soldering the people through the "king's tavern". These works are closely related to folklore in their own way. artistic specificity. They are mostly anonymous.
What are the main artistic achievements democratic literature? First of all, a decisive rejection of historicism, the defining principle ancient Russian literature. Appears new hero- not a historical one (prince, military leader, priest), but an everyday personality (a simple person of different classes). Literature is gradually being freed from religious guardianship, defending the right to fiction. an important step on this path became the anonymity of literary heroes.
Consider in this regard "The Tale of the Shemyakin Court". It is dedicated to the denunciation of the judiciary. It satirically depicts Judge Shemyaka, a bribe-taker and chit-maker who interprets state laws in his favor.
The content of the story boils down to the following: there lived two brothers - rich and poor. "The rich man lent many years to the poor, but could not correct his poverty." Once a poor man asked his brother for a horse to bring firewood from the forest. The rich man gave a horse, but did not give a yoke. The poor man tied the logs to the horse's tail, but as he entered the yard, the horse caught on the gate and tore off its tail. The rich man saw the crippled horse, took his brother and went to the city to complain to Judge Shemyaka.
On the way, the brothers spent the night at the priest's house. The poor man, lying on the beds, watched with envy as his brother was having dinner with the priest, fell on the cradle in which the priest's son was sleeping, and crushed him to death. Now two plaintiffs have gone to the judge - a rich brother and a priest.
In the city they had to go across the bridge. The poor man, in despair, decided to part with his life, threw himself from the bridge into the ditch, but unsuccessfully. He fell on the old man, who was being taken to bathe in the bathhouse, and crushed him. Three plaintiffs have already appeared before the judge. The poor man, not knowing what to do, took a stone, wrapped it in a scarf and put it in a hat. During the analysis of each case, he surreptitiously showed the judge a bundle with a stone.
Shemyaka, counting that the defendant promises him a "knot of gold", in all three cases decided the case in his favor. But when his messenger asked the poor man what he had in his hat, he replied that he had a stone wrapped in a knot with which he wanted to kill the judge. Upon learning of this, the judge was not angry, but rejoiced: after all, if he had condemned the poor man, he would have killed him.
A rich peasant, punished for his greed, and a priest find themselves in a ridiculous position. Having taken money from all three plaintiffs, thanks to his intelligence and cunning, the poor man remains the winner in this dispute. According to the researchers, this story correlates with the satirical folk tale about an unjust judge and fairy tale about wise guessers. All the fairy-tale elements are present here: the rapidity of the development of the action, the implausible crimes of the poor hero, and the comedy of the situation in which the judge and the plaintiffs find themselves.
The well-known "The Tale of Ersh Ershovich" that arose in the first decade of the 17th century. The story about the lawsuit between Ruff and Leshch and Golovl reflects the real conditions of life in Russia at that time, class relations.
Leshch and Golovl, "residents of Lake Rostov," complain to the court about "Ruff, Ershov's son, the bristle, the snitch, the thief, the robber," who asked them to "live and feed" for a short time in Rostov Lake. The simple-hearted Bream and Golovl believed him, let him in, and he bred there and took possession of the lake. The story goes on about the tricks of Ruff, "the age-old deceiver." In the end, the judges recognize that Bream and his comrades are right and give them Ruff. But even here Ruff managed to escape punishment. He offered Bream to swallow him from the tail, and Bream, seeing the slyness of Ruff, did not mess with him and let him go free. Moreover, Bream and Golovl call themselves "peasants", and Ruff - "from the boyar kids." The story reminded contemporaries life situation when the son of a boyar, by deceit and violence, robs the peasants of the land.
Similar information.
The process of awakening the consciousness of the individual is reflected in what appeared in the second half of the 17th century. new genre - everyday story. His appearance is associated with a new type of hero, who declared himself both in life and in literature. The everyday story vividly reflects the changes that have taken place in the consciousness, morality and life of people, that struggle between "old" and "new" of the transitional era, which permeated all spheres of personal and social life.
"A TALE OF SORRY AND SORRY". One of the outstanding works of literature of the second half of the 17th century is The Tale of Woe and Misfortune. The central theme of the story is tragic fate the younger generation, trying to break with the old forms of family and household way of life, domostroevskoy morality.
The introduction to the story gives this theme a universal sound. The biblical story about the fall of Adam and Eve is interpreted here as disobedience, disobedience of the first people to the will of the god who created them. The plot of the story is based on sad story the life of the Young Man, who rejected parental instructions and wished to live according to his own will, " as he likes". The appearance of a generalized-collective image of a representative of the younger generation of his time was a very remarkable and innovative phenomenon. In literature, a historical personality is replaced by a fictional hero, in whose character the features of an entire generation of the transitional era are typified.
Well done grew up in a patriarchal merchant family, surrounded by vigilant care and concern loving parents. However, he strives for freedom from under his native roof, he longs to live according to his own will, and not according to parental instructions. The constant guardianship of his parents did not teach the Young Man to understand people, to understand life, and he pays for his gullibility, for his blind faith in the sanctity of the bonds of friendship. The reason for the further misadventures of the hero is his character. Boasting of your happiness and wealth destroys the Young Man. From that moment on, the image of Grief appears in the story, which, as in folk songs, personifies the tragic fate, fate, fate of a person. This image also reveals the inner split, the confusion of the hero's soul, his lack of confidence in his abilities.
In the advice given to the Good Gore, it is easy to detect the painful thoughts of the hero himself over life, over the instability of his material well-being. AT truthful image the process of formation of declassed elements of society - a large social significance story.
The author sympathizes with the hero and at the same time shows his tragic doom. The good fellow pays for his disobedience. To the time-honored traditional way of life, he cannot oppose anything but his desire for freedom. The story sharply contrasts two types of attitude to life, two worldviews: on the one hand, parents and " good people"- the majority, standing guard over the" Domostroy "social and family morality; on the other hand, the Young Man, embodying the desire of the new generation for a free life.
It should be noted that the instructions of parents and the advice of "kind people" concern only the most general practical issues of human behavior and are devoid of religious didactics.
The interweaving of epic and lyrics gives the story an epic scope, gives it lyrical sincerity. In general, the story, according to N.G. Chernyshevsky, "follows the right course of the folk poetic word." Chernyshevsky N.G. Full Sobr. Works, v.2. Pg, 1918, p. 616.
"The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn". Thematically, the Tale of Woe and Misfortune adjoins the Tale of Savva Grudtsyn, created in the 70s of the 17th century. This story also reveals the theme of the relationship between two generations, contrasts two types of attitudes towards life.
The basis of the plot is the life of the merchant's son Savva Grudtsyn, full of worries and adventures. The narrative about the fate of the hero is given against a broad historical background. Savva's youth takes place during the struggle of the Russian people with the Polish intervention; in mature years the hero takes part in the war for Smolensk in 1632-1634. The story mentions historical figures: Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, boyar Streshnev, governor Shein, centurion Shilov; and the hero himself belongs to the well-known merchant family of the Grudtsyn-Usovs. However, the main place in the story is occupied by pictures of private life.
The story consists of a series of consecutive episodes that make up the main milestones of Savva's biography: youth, mature years, old age and death.
In his youth, Savva, sent by his father to commercial affairs to the city of Orel Solikamsky, indulges in love pleasures with the wife of a friend of father Bazhen II, boldly trampling on the sanctity of family union and the sanctity of friendship. The author sympathizes with Savva, condemns the act " evil and unfaithful wife", insidiously seducing him. But this traditional motif of seducing an innocent lad acquires real psychological outlines in the story.
Showing the participation of Savva in the struggle of Russian troops for Smolensk, the author glorifies his image. Savva's victory over enemy heroes is depicted in a heroic epic style. In these episodes, Savva approaches the images of Russian heroes, and his victory in fights with enemy "giants" rises to the significance of a national feat. Russian novels of the 17th century / Afterword. and comment. M.O. Skripil to the Tale of Savva Grudtsyn. M., 1954, pp. 385-394.
The denouement of the story is connected with the traditional motif of the "miracles" of the Mother of God icons: the Mother of God, by her intercession, saves Savva from demonic torment, having previously taken a vow from him to go to the monastery. Healed, received back his smoothed " handwriting", Savva becomes a monk. At the same time, attention is drawn to the fact that Savva remains a "young man" throughout the story. The image of Savva, as the image of the Young Man in "The Tale of Woe and Misfortune", summarizes the features of the younger generation, striving to throw off the oppression of centuries traditions, to live to the fullest extent of their daring valiant forces.
The image of the demon allows the author of the story to explain the reasons for the hero’s extraordinary successes and defeats in life, as well as to show the restless soul of a young man with his thirst for a stormy and rebellious life, his desire to become noble. The style of the story combines traditional book techniques and individual motifs of oral folk poetry. The novelty of the story lies in its attempt to depict an ordinary human character in an ordinary everyday environment, to reveal the complexity and inconsistency of character, to show the meaning of love in a person's life. Quite rightly, therefore, a number of researchers consider "The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn" as initial stage development of the novel genre.
"THE STORY ABOUT FROL SKOBEEV". If the hero of the stories about Woe and Misfortune and Savva Grudtsyn, in his desire to go beyond the traditional norms of morality, domestic relations, is defeated, then the poor nobleman Frol Skobeev, the hero of the story of the same name, shamelessly tramples ethical standards, achieving personal success in life: material well-being and a strong social position.
The story reflected the beginning of the process of merging the boyars-patrimonials and the service nobility into a single noble estate, the process of exaltation new nobility from clerks and clerks, parish " artistic" for changing " ancient, honest birth"The author does not condemn his hero, but admires his resourcefulness, dexterity, craftiness, cunning, rejoices in his successes in life and does not at all consider Frol's actions shameful. Achieving his goal, Frol Skobeev does not rely on God, nm on the devil, but only on one's energy, mind and worldly practicality.Religious motives occupy a rather modest place in the story.A person's actions are determined not by the will of a deity, a demon, but by his personal qualities and are consistent with the circumstances in which this person acts.
The fate of a hero who has achieved success in life reminds us of the fate of the "semi-powerful ruler" Alexander Menshikov, Count Razumovsky and other representatives of the "Petrov's nestlings".
"THE TALE ABOUT KARP SUTULOV". This story is a link between the genre of everyday and satirical story. In this work, satire begins to occupy a predominant place. The dissolute behavior of the clergy and eminent merchants is exposed to satirical denunciation. The story of the unfortunate love affairs archbishop, priest and merchant acquires the features of a fine political satire. Not only the behavior of the “tops” of society is ridiculed, but also hypocrisy, the hypocrisy of religion, which gives the “right” to churchmen to sin and “let go” of sins.
The heroine of the story is an energetic, intelligent and cunning woman - the merchant's wife Tatyana. She is not embarrassed by the obscene proposals of the merchant, the priest and the archbishop, and she tries to extract from them maximum benefit. Thanks to her resourcefulness and intelligence, Tatyana managed to maintain marital fidelity and acquire capital, for which she was awarded the praise of her husband, the merchant Karp Sutulov.
The whole structure of the story is determined by the folk satirical anti-priest tale: the slowness and consistency of the narration with obligatory repetitions, fantastic fabulous incidents, a sharp satirical laugh, denouncing eminent unlucky lovers found in chests in " single srachitsy".
The satirical depiction of the depraved morals of the clergy and merchants brings the Tale of Karp Sutulov closer to the works of democratic satire of the second half of the 17th century.
The beginning of the 17th century remained in the memory of the Russian people as a "time of troubles":
Literature of the 17th century - historical background
- The murder of Tsarevich Dmitry,
- the difficult political situation in the country and the willfulness of the boyars,
- the unstable position of the Moscow kingdom on the world stage
led to the fact that neighboring countries tried to take advantage of the weakness of a huge power. During this period, Russian literature becomes at the service of the interests of its country, and it was the word that helped to consolidate a fragmented society.
Genres and themes of Russian literature of the 17th century
1.Publicistic
At this time, literature became relevant, containing:
- thinking about politics
- fiery calls to fight the invaders,
- glorifying the courage of heroes
- and strengthening the authority of the new royal dynasty.
These ideas were the main ones in such works as “The Tale of 1606”, “The Tale of the Repose and Burial of M.V. Skopin-Shuisky", "Chronicle book", " New story about the glorious Russian kingdom and the great state of Moscow.
And who knows, statehood would have been preserved in Russia if it were not for the fiery speeches of Patriarch Hermogenes and those like him, sent in the form of letters throughout the kingdom. After all, it was after receiving such a letter that the Novgorodians Minin and Pozharsky collected civil uprising and in 1612 they liberated Moscow from the Poles.
2. Historical story in the 17th century
Genre: Historical Fiction, at this time is transformed.
Now the stories describe not only specific events of national importance, but also facts from the lives of individual people, fiction is used, story line and image system. Don Cossacks, who on their own initiative captured the fortress of Azov and opened access to the sea, become the main characters of the "Tale of the Azov Seat of the Don Cossacks" . In the center of the story are simple in origin, but brave and courageous heroes who risked their lives for the good of the Fatherland.
Such a seemingly important topic for the state as the foundation of Moscow, in " Tale of the Beginning of Moscow" is presented in the form of a love-adventure novel.
The focus of the writer is not only significant event, but also the personal lives of the characters, their psychological picture, love affair . Other examples of the birth of fiction on the basis of a historical story in Russian literature of this period are:
- "The Tale of the Founding of the Tverskoy Otroch Monastery" (a lyrical plot added),
- "The Tale of Sukhan" (processed plot from the epic).
3. Genre of life
traditional living as a genre at this time, too, absorbs worldly motives.
Transformation of the genre of life in the 17th century
Facts from everyday life are mentioned in the life, a connection with folklore is traced. All this turns it into an autobiographical confession. This can be said about the lives of John of Novgorod and Mikhail of Klopsky. They are already more reminiscent of everyday stories than strictly canonized church works. And "The Tale of Julian Lazarevskaya" for the first time describes the facts of the biography of a Russian noblewoman, her character and moral traits.
4. Household stories
In the second half of the XVII century. appear everyday stories(“The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn”, “The Tale of Woe and Misfortune”, “The Tale of Frol Skobeev”, etc.).
Universal motives, the struggle of the new with the old, the sincerity of the author himself are manifested in a generalized story about the fate of the young generation - "The Tale of Woe and Misfortune". Her hero, who comes from a merchant family, is trying to find his way in life. And although Molodets is the fruit of the author's fantasy, he personifies the tragic situation of the entire young generation, which is trying to break out of the established framework. Some do not succeed, others, like Frol Skobeev, on the contrary, succeed. Fate specific person, his searches and life path become a topic for other everyday stories.
Features of literature of the 17th century in Russia
Thus, in the 17th century in Russian literature:
- genres have been transformed, which used to be traditional(life, historical story);
- in the center of the story were people with their dissimilar characters and problems;
- foundations have been laid for further development fiction(plot, composition, images);
- attention was paid to oral folk art;
- satire emerged as an independent literary genre.
Dramatic satire in the literature of the 17th century is represented by such stories: "The Tale of Karp Sutulov", "The Tale of Shemyakin's Court", "The Tale of Ersh Yershovich son Shchetinnikov", "The ABC of a Naked and Poor Man". The authors of that time began to look more boldly at the events taking place and, ridiculing, denounce evil. The entire feudal-serf society, and the social inequality prevailing in it, and the unfair trial, and the hypocrisy of the clergy, became the objects of satire.
It was in satire that for the first time in Russian literature the miserable life of the poor and hungry was depicted.
