Gustave Flaubert was born on December 12, 1821 in the family of a famous surgeon, spent all his childhood and youth at the hospital where his father's apartment was located. Flaubert himself thought from an early age that he was destined for a different career, although he began to write already in his teens. Interest in life, but more death, which largely determined the semantic core of future works, was born here, within the walls of the Rouen hospital, when, as a boy, secretly from his parents, Gustave made his way into the autopsy room and watched the bodies disfigured by death.
After receiving his initial education at the Royal College of Rouen, in 1840 Flaubert went to Paris to study law. This decision was not dictated by the heart: jurisprudence did not in the least interest the young man. In the most romantic capital of the world, he lives more than secluded, he has practically no comrades.
After studying for three years at the Sorbonne, Flaubert failed to pass the translation exam. In the same year, he was diagnosed with a disease that resembled epilepsy in symptoms. Doctors strongly recommend Gustave to lead a sedentary lifestyle, and constant seizures, from which he saw salvation only in taking hot baths, plague him. To find salvation from the disease, the future writer goes to Italy.
The year 1845 radically changes his life vector: his father dies, and then his beloved sister, Carolina. Flaubert takes care of the daughter of her sister and her husband, and also decides to return home to his mother in order to overcome the pain of loss with her. Together with her, they settled on a small, picturesque estate in Croisset, near Rouen. From now on, Flaubert's whole life will be connected with this place, which he left for a long time only twice.
The inheritance received allowed Flaubert not to know material worries, having no official service, he daily and painstakingly worked on his works.
In line with the then dominant romanticism in literature, his first stories were written: Memoirs of a Madman (1838) and November (1842). But in the novel "Education of the Senses", which did not see the light of day, work on which lasted from 1843 to 1845, the notes of realism are clearly traced.
By 1846, the beginning of his relationship with Louise Colet, a well-known writer in those days, whom he met in Paris, dates back. This affair, lasting eight years, was the longest affection in Flaubert's life. Due to the fact that the writer was very afraid to pass on his illness by inheritance, he, not wanting to continue his family, did not propose to anyone, although he was always popular with women.
Glory fell on Flaubert when, in 1856, his first novel, Madame Bovary, was published in the Revue de Paris magazine, which is calling card writer. Painstakingly, day after day, for five years, thinking over every written word, Flaubert wrote a book about how illusion can destroy reality. The plot is simple: an unremarkable, more than ordinary bourgeois woman, in order to add color to her life, starts two intrigues, not noticing that loving person was always there.
The novel, which ended in the suicide of the heroine, made a lot of noise. The author and editors of the magazine were sued for immorality. The sensational trial ended in an acquittal. But in 1864, the Vatican listed Madame Bovary on the Index of Forbidden Books.
The subtlest psychology in revealing the image main character became a real discovery in literature and largely determined the path of development of the entire European novel.
In 1858, Flaubert travels to Africa, bringing not only impressions from the voyage, but also his second novel Salammbo, the action of which takes the reader to ancient Carthage, making him a witness to the love of the daughter of a commander and leader of the barbarians. Historical accuracy and careful attitude to every detail of the story allowed this book to take its rightful place in a number of historical novels.
The third novel of the writer "Education of feelings" is devoted to the theme of the "lost generation".
Gustave Flaubert is one of the most prominent figures French literature XIX century. He was called a master of the "exact word", a recluse of the "ivory tower", a "martyr and fanatic of style". He was admired, he was quoted, they learned from him, he was accused of immorality, he was taken to court and yet justified, because no one could doubt Flaubert's talent as a writer and his devotion to the art of the word.
Unlike contemporary writers, Gustave Flaubert never used the laurels that fame gives. He lived as a recluse on his estate in Croisset, avoiding bohemian evenings and public performances, he did not chase circulation, did not bother publishers, and therefore did not make a fortune on his masterpieces. Like a fanatic in love, he had no idea how to commercialize literature, believing that art should not bring money. The source of inspiration for him was work - everyday painstaking work, that's all.
Many resort to dubious sources of inspiration - alcohol, drug intoxication, women, whom they call muses. Flaubert called all this the tricks of charlatans and excuses of lazy people. “I lead a harsh life, devoid of any external joy, and the only support for me is the constant inner rage ... I love my work with a frantic and perverted love, like an ascetic sackcloth scratching his body.”
Gustave was the third child in the family of a Rouen doctor named Flaubert. The boy was born on December 12, 1821. The scenery of his childhood was a meager bourgeois apartment and his father's operating room. In the surgical procedures performed by Father Flaubert, little Gustave found some special poetics. He was not afraid of the sight of blood, on the contrary, he liked to peep through a crack or a cloudy hospital glass at the progress of the operation. From childhood, the younger Flaubert had a passion for all kinds of anomalies, deformities, deviations, diseases. This shaped his future literary style - meticulous attention to detail and naturalism. Well, Flaubert made a masterful metaphor of illnesses, transferring them from the physical to the spiritual plane. Since then, the writer began to depict the moral ailments of mankind.
At the age of 12, Flaubert was sent to the Royal College of Rouen. Higher education Gustave went to receive in Paris. Unlike most young provincials, Flaubert was not impressed by the capital. He didn't like the rhythm big city, street bustle, depravity and idleness of youth. He does not indulge in unbridled fun, attending only a few bohemian circles. To the jurisprudence that the young man chose as future profession He lost interest almost immediately.
Best Moments study
The main achievement of his studies was friendship. So, at college, Flaubert met Buje, the future poet, and at the university - with the writer, journalist Du Can. Gustave carried friendship with these people throughout his life.
In the third year, Flaubert had an epileptic attack, the doctors diagnosed a severe nervous disease and forbade the patient from moral and mental stress. The university had to and Paris had to leave. Flaubert did not grieve for either. With a light heart, he left the hated capital for the family estate, which was located in the town of Croisset. Here he lived almost without a break until his death, leaving only a few times. family nest to travel to the East.
Madame Bovary: the birth of a masterpiece
When Gustave was diagnosed with epilepsy, Flaubert's father died. He left his son a substantial fortune. Gustave no longer had to worry about tomorrow, and therefore he lived quietly in Croisset, doing his favorite thing - literature.
Flaubert wrote from a young age. The first attempts at writing were an imitation of the romantics fashionable at that time. However, demanding of himself, Flaubert did not publish a single line. He did not want to blush in front of the public for discordant samples of the pen, his literary debut must be perfect.
In 1851, Flaubert set to work on Madame Bovary. For five years, he painstakingly writes out line after line. Sometimes the writer sits for days on one page, making endless edits, and finally, in 1856, "Madame Bovary" appears on the shelves of bookstores. The work created a huge public outcry. Flaubert was criticized, accused of immorality, even a lawsuit was initiated against him, but no one could doubt the literary skill of the author. Gustave Flaubert immediately became the most famous French writer.
The author called Emma Bovary his alter ego (we note that the work does not contain a positive hero as such, characteristic of the romantic tradition). The main similarity between Flaubert and his Bovary was the passion to dream of an ideal fake life. Faced with reality, Flaubert realized - sweet dreams kill like poison slow action. Anyone who is unable to part with them is doomed to death.
"Salambo", "Education of the Senses", "Buvard and Pécuchet"
Flaubert's second novel came out five years later in 1862. "Salambo" is the result of the writer's journey through Africa and the East. The historical background of the work was the uprising of mercenaries in ancient Carthage. The events described date back to the 3rd century BC. e. As a true perfectionist, Flaubert painstakingly studies numerous sources about Carthage. As a result, critics accused the author of being too attentive to historical details, due to which the work has lost its spirituality, and the images of psychologism and artistic depth. The public, however, was delighted with the second novel by the author of Madame Bovary, whose fame had already thundered far beyond the borders of France. "Salambo" successfully survived the second publication, and French ladies began to appear more and more in public in fashionable Punic-style dresses.
The third novel, "Education of the Senses", published in 1869, was greeted coolly, interest in it was revived only after the death of the writer. But the last work "Bouvard and Pécuchet" Flaubert called his favorite. Alas, the author failed to complete the work. The novel, which dissects human stupidity, was published after the writer's death in 1881.
When, after the successful publication of Madame Bovary, Flaubert woke up famous, he was not intoxicated by the frenzied fame. At first, the author defended his literary brainchild in court, and after the acquittal, he said goodbye to the enthusiastic public and locked himself in his mother's house in Croisset.
At the same time, Flaubert breaks off relations with the fashionable French poetess Louise Colet (nee Revoile). Her poems were very popular in the best Parisian salons. As the wife of a professor at the conservatory, Hippolyte Cole, she had affairs with celebrities without a twinge of conscience. Her attention was not spared by the popular writers of Chateaubriand, Béranger, Sainte-Beuve, who gladly wrote their authoritative reviews on the first pages of her poetry collections.
Roman Flaubert and Colet was passionate, impulsive, vicious. The lovers quarreled and parted in order to reconcile and get back together. Breaking with his illusions, Flaubert mercilessly debunks the romanticized image of Colet, created by his sentimental imagination. “Oh, better love art than me,” writes Flaubert in his farewell letter, “I love the idea…”
Biography of Gustave Flaubert: Monsieur Bovary
The 19th century in the field of culture was rightfully considered the century of the novel. The novel was to the educated classes what the series are now. Both entertainment and learning. At Gorky's call "Love a book - a source of knowledge!" legs are growing just from that era when the novelist not only entertained the public with a plot, but at the same time screwed it with a lot of useful information. Victor Hugo will always be an example to us in this.
Why Victor Hugo! He is not alone! 19th century - century of glory French novel. It was then that literature in France became a source of decent income for many, the most diverse, writers and journalists. The circle of consumers of literature, those who could read and enjoyed it, grew many times over. What should I say special thanks to the system public education and the industrial revolution. The "production" of novels has also become a kind of entertainment industry. But not only. Literature and journalism shaped the national consciousness and the French language itself.
And if we talk about language and style, the main success in this area has been achieved by Gustave Flaubert (1821 - 1880). He is sometimes called the creator of the modern novel.
“Flaubert's Normandy mustache” is remembered by everyone who listened to and fell in love with D. Tukhmanov's disc “According to the Wave of My Memory”, which appeared in 1975. What is true is true, Gustave Flaubert's mustache was luxurious. And yes, he was a native of Normandy.
Gustave Flaubert was born in the "capital" of Normandy, Rouen. His father was the chief physician of the local hospital. Studying at the Royal College of Rouen made the boy fall in love with history and literature. And not only French. Gustave read both Cervantes and Shakespeare. Here, in college, he acquired true friend for life, the future poet L. Buye.
Now from Paris to Rouen - two hours by train. At the beginning of the 19th century, this was also not very far away, so Gustave Flaubert went to continue his studies in Paris. At the Sorbonne he studied law. After three years of study, he did not pass the exams and said goodbye to the thought of a career as a lawyer. But he had a burning desire to become a writer.
In 1846 my father died. After him, the family was left with a sufficient fortune so that Gustave could return to the Croisset estate near Rouen, which belonged to their family. Here he lived, taking care of his mother and doing literature. From here, he used to travel to Paris, where he met with famous colleagues E. Zola, G. Maupassant, the Goncourt brothers and I. S. Turgenev. By the way, the Russian writer had a considerable influence on all the listed French writers. A translation was not required for communication. Turgenev spoke excellent French.
Flaubert's life is not particularly eventful. Although there were travels in it. For example, in the recently French colony Tunisia and the Middle East. But still he locked himself in the provinces and concentrated entirely on literature. He did not have to constantly earn a living by writing. Therefore, he could at his pleasure hone each phrase in search of " right word"("mot juste"). In the already mentioned song from the disc “According to the wave of my memory”, written after a poem by M. Voloshin, the Goncourt brothers are called “chasers”. Perhaps this nickname would be more suitable for the great perfectionist Flaubert. In short, G. Flaubert became famous as an outstanding stylist.
For all my creative life Flaubert has published five books. His first novel, Madame Bovary, was published in 1857. The release of the novel was accompanied by a scandal, which attracted additional attention to it.
The main theme of this work is the conflict between invented life and real life. The heroine of the novel is not a heroic person at all. Moreover, the unforgettable MS Panikovsky would call Madame Bovary a pitiful and insignificant person. An ordinary bourgeois from a small town near Rouen (a province of a province, so to speak), in search of adventure and "high" (in her understanding) love, squanders her husband's money and eventually commits suicide. At the same time, it is poisoned with arsenic. Who knows - not the most aesthetic way to settle scores with life. Long and painful dying, black vomit... And G. Flaubert painstakingly described all this. And in general, Flaubert's work made a splash with its realism. Before that, no French writer had described in detail how the heroine of his novel was being fucked in a carriage circling the city. Ah, the morality of the French nation was terribly traumatized by this! The author and editors of the magazine in which the novel was published were sued for insulting public morality
The lawsuit by the writer and journalists was won. In 1857, the novel "Madame Bovary" was published as a separate book. Completely, without cuts. And critics stuck a label to H. Flaubert: a realist. However, realism French writer has little to do with critical realism that flourished in pre-revolutionary Russia, and even more so, to socialist realism, which for seventy years frightened students of philology in the Soviet Union.
The second book of G. Flaubert came out five years later. This was historical novel"Salambo" ("Salammbô"). The action took place in Carthage after the first Punic War. That is, long before our era. Exotic, however. The writer's impressions of the trip to Tunisia had an effect. Carthage was in these parts. By the way, the novel was and remains a very fascinating reading matter. There is a lot of eroticism in it, which at that time could be considered pornography too.
The third novel, "Education of feelings" ("L "éducation sentimentale") was published in 1859. This is a story about a young man who lives in hard times another french revolution. The young man was brought up in a romantic spirit, but faced with real life. To be honest, this is a phenomenon that occurs with every generation of young men at any, even not very revolutionary, time. So the novel may seem interesting to many boys of the 1990s. (It was also a stormy time in modern history Russia) And yes, this story also has a sexual zest - love young man and an adult woman, fifteen years older than him.
In 1874, a book was published that Flaubert had been writing for almost twenty years, "The Temptation of St. Anthony" ("La Tentation de Saint-Antoine"). Flaubert does not so much describe the feat of the saint as broadly and generously, in a Brueghelian way, paints all existing and conceivable heresies, religions, philosophies and sins. It is interesting to write about sins, and it is not boring to read.
Reading all of these novels is still interesting. Flaubert is not a boring writer. Not Emile Zola, who fired up the firebox of his creative imagination for the full-length book series Rougon-Macquart (21 "production" novels are no joke!). In terms of subject matter, it is closer to Maupassant, whose books in the days of my adolescence were not given to schoolchildren in the library. The only difference is that Flaubert wrote one novel on a topic about which Maupassant wrote a dozen. short stories. So if someone has not read Flaubert, we can advise you to fill this gap. At least the time spent on this will not be a pity. And the translations into Russian are good, making you feel the skill of the great stylist.
It is difficult to talk about the kind of life that G. Flaubert lived in his last years. No adventures, no love affairs. True, they say that he had love with Guy de Maupassant's mother. Death began to creep up on friends and relatives, in 1869 his friend, the poet Buye, died. During the Franco-Prussian War, the Croisset estate was occupied by the Germans. Criticism of his novels was treated with some suspicion. Both the plots and the language of his novels caused rejection. So the publication of Flaubert's novels did not bring commercial success. Yes, and the maintenance of the estate demanded everything more money, and revenues did not increase.
Flaubert died at his estate of Croisset on May 8, 1880. By that time, no one denied his influence on the development of the French novel. And since French literature at the end of the 19th century was exemplary for all writers of the enlightened community, it can be said without exaggeration: the work of Gustave Flaubert influenced the entire world literature. Including Russian. One way or another, Leo Tolstoy wrote with an eye on the French. And "Anna Karenina" is, in a sense, a Russian version of the story of Madame Bovary, a bad woman who chased the so-called "love".
The influence of French literature on Soviet literature is even stronger and not at all beneficial. The point is that the union Soviet writers created by people for whom Flaubert, Maupassant, Zola were stars of the first magnitude. And, having begun to lead the Union, they wittingly or unwittingly pushed the seething literature of the Soviet 1920s into the already established and therefore boring frame of realism, knocked together by the great French novelists. At the same time, they understood realism in a completely different way than the great French. Therefore, this frame was significantly narrowed down, wrapped in a kumach and called socialist realism. And since the leadership of the Union was united, and feeding came from one hand, practically none of the writers who declared themselves Soviet could resist the pressure. More talented sculpted, as best they could, epics about modern life, encrusting them to the best of their talent and non-conformism with pearls and diamonds. The untalented also achieved some success in composing according to the recipes of the great ones. They were published in mass circulation, but it was difficult to read this brew. Masochists can read Babaevsky, and suicides - M. Bubenov. Some of the sovpis already in the 1970s brought to life what was gossiped about A. Dumas the father a hundred years before. Huge "opupei" like "Eternal Call" scribbled "literary slaves." And how was the multinational Soviet literature- Separate crying.
However, Gustave Flaubert is not at all to blame for these “excesses on the ground”.
Gustave Flaubert was born on December 12, 1821 in the city of Rouen into a petty bourgeois family. His father was a surgeon in the hospital of Rouen, and his mother was the daughter of a doctor. He was youngest child in family. In addition to Gustave, the family had two children: an older sister and brother. Two other children did not survive. The writer spent his childhood bleakly in the doctor's dark apartment.
The writer studied at the Royal College and Lyceum in Rouen, starting in 1832. There he met Ernest Chevalier, with whom he founded Art et Progress in 1834. In this edition, he first printed his first public text.
In 1836 he met Eliza Schlesinger, who had a profound influence on the writer. He carried his silent passion through his whole life and displayed it in the novel "Education of the Senses".
The youth of the writer is associated with provincial cities France, which he repeatedly described in his work. In 1840 Flaubert entered the faculty of law in Paris. There he led a bohemian life, met many famous people, wrote a lot. Dropped out of school in the year after the first epileptic stroke. In 1844, the writer settled on the banks of the Seine, not far from Rouen. Flaubert's lifestyle was characterized by isolation, the desire for self-isolation. He tried to devote time and energy to literary creativity.
In 1846 his father died, and after some time his sister. His father left him a solid inheritance on which he could live comfortably.
Flaubert returned to Paris in 1848 to take part in the Revolution. From 1848 to 1852 he traveled to the East. He visited Egypt and Jerusalem, through Constantinople and Italy. He wrote down his impressions and used them in his works.
Since 1855, in Paris, Flaubert visited many writers, including the Goncourt brothers, Baudelaire, and also met with Turgenev.
In July 1869 he was greatly shocked by the death of his friend Louis Bullet. There is evidence that Flaubert had love affairs with the mother of Guy de Maupassant, which is why they had friendly relations.
During the occupation of France by Prussia, Flaubert hid in Rouen with his mother and niece. His mother died in 1872 and at that time the writer had already started having problems with money. There are health problems as well. He sells his property, leaves an apartment in Paris. He publishes his works one after another.
The last years of the writer's life were overshadowed financial problems, health problems and betrayal of friends.
in the very work of Flaubert, as it were, ashamed to show his sympathy for people who are not worthy of this sympathy, and at the same time considers it below his dignity to show his hatred for them. As a resultant of this potential love and quite real hatred for people, Flaubert's pose of dispassion arises.
Some of the formal features of the novel noted by literary critics are a very long exposition, the absence of a traditional goodie. Transferring the action to the province (with its sharply negative image) puts Flaubert among the writers in whose work the anti-provincial theme was one of the main ones.
Acquittal allowed the release of the novel separate edition(). The preparatory period of work on the novel "Salambo" required a trip to the East and North Africa. So the novel appeared in 1862. This is a historical novel that tells about the uprising in Carthage in the third century BC. e.
Two years later, in September 1864, Flaubert completed work on the final version novel "Education of the Senses". The third novel "Education of feelings" () was saturated social problems. In particular, the novel describes the European events of 1848. The novel also includes the author's own life events, such as the first love. The novel was coldly received and only a few hundred copies were printed.
Flaubert's writings were well known in Russia, Russian critics wrote sympathetically about them. His works were translated by I. S. Turgenev, who was close friends with Flaubert; M. P. Mussorgsky created an opera based on "Salambo".
Major works
Gustave Flaubert, a contemporary of Charles Baudelaire, occupies a leading role in the literature of the 19th century. He was accused of immorality and admired, but today he is recognized as one of the leading writers. The novels Madame Bovary and The Education of the Senses brought him fame. His style combines elements of both psychologism and naturalism. Flaubert himself considered himself a realist.
Gustave Flaubert began work on Madame Bovary in 1851 and worked for five years. The novel was published in Revue de Paris magazine. The style of the novel is similar to the works of Balzac. The plot tells about a young man named Charles Bovary, who recently graduated from a provincial lyceum and got a position as a doctor in a small settlement. He marries a young girl, the daughter of a wealthy farmer. But the girl dreams of beautiful life, she reproaches her husband for his inability to provide such a life and gets herself a lover.
The novel "Salambo" was published after the novel "Madame Bovary". Flaubert began work on it in 1857. He spent three months in Tunisia, studying historical sources. When he appeared in 1862, he was received with great enthusiasm. The novel begins with the mercenaries celebrating victory in the war in the gardens of their general. Angry at the absence of the general and remembering their grievances, they smash his property. Salammbô, the general's daughter, comes to calm down the soldiers. Two mercenary leaders fall in love with this girl. The freed slave advises one of them to conquer Carthage in order to get the girl.
Work on the novel "Education of the Senses" began in September 1864 and ended in 1869. The work is autobiographical. The novel tells about a young provincial who goes to study in Paris. There he learns friendship, art, politics and cannot choose between a monarchy, a republic and an empire. Many women appear in his life, but none of them can be compared with Marie Arnoux, the merchant's wife, who was his first love.
The idea for the novel "Bouvard and Pécuchet" appeared in 1872. The author wanted to write about the vanity of his contemporaries. Later, he tried to understand the very nature of man. The novel talks about how hot summer day two men, Bouvard and Pécuchet, meet by chance and become acquainted. Later it turns out that they have the same profession (copier) and even shared interests. If they could, they would live outside the city. But, having received an inheritance, they still buy a farm and are engaged in agriculture. Later it turns out their inability to this work. They try themselves in the field of medicine, chemistry, geology, politics, but with the same result. Thus, they return to their profession of copyists.
Compositions
- "Memoirs of a Madman" / fr. Memoires d "un fou ,
- "November" / fr. Novembre,
- "Madam Bovary. Provincial manners» / fr. Madame Bovary,
- "Salambo" / fr. Salammbo ,
- "Education of the senses" / fr. L "Education sentimentale ,
- "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" / fr. La Tentation de Saint Antoine ,
- "Three stories" / fr. Trois contes ,
Screen adaptations
- Jean Renoir), France, 1933
- Madame Bovary (dir. Vincente Minnelli), 1949
- Education of the Senses (dir. Marcel Cravenne), France, 1973
- Save and Save (dir. Alexander Sokurov), USSR, 1989
- Madame Bovary (dir. Claude Chabrol), France, 1991
- Maya Memsaab, (dir. Ketan Mehta), 1992, (based on the novel "Madame Bovary")
- Madame Bovary (dir. Tim Fievell), 2000
- Night after night / All nights (Toutes les nuits), (dir. Eugene Green), (based on), 2001
- Simple soul (Un coeur simple), (dir. Marion Lane), 2008
- Madame Bovary (dir. Sophie Barthez), 2014
Music
- opera "Madame Bovary" / Madame Bovary (1955, Naples), composer Guido Pannain.
Bibliography in Russian
Compositions:
- Collected works. T. 1-4. SPb., ed. Panteleeva, 1896-1898
- Full composition of writings. T. 1-4, 8. - St. Petersburg, Rosehip, 1913-1915.
- Sobr. works T.1-8 - M., GIHL-Goslitizdat, 1933-1938;
- Sobr. works in 5 volumes - M., Pravda, 1956;
- Collected works in 4 volumes. - M., Pravda, 1971
- Collected works in 3 volumes. - M., 1983-1984
- About literature, art, writer's work. Letters. Articles: in 2 volumes - M., .
Critical Literature:
- Anosova N. A. -
- Dezhurov A.S. Objective novel by H. Flaubert "Madame Bovary" // Foreign literature of the XIX century. Workshop for students, graduate students, philologists and high school students of humanitarian schools. M., . - S. 304-319.
- Ivashchenko A.F. Gustave Flaubert. From the history of realism in France. - M.,;
- Morua A. Literary portraits. - M., . - S. 175-190;
- Puzikov. Ideological and artistic views of Flaubert // Puzikov. Five portraits. - M., . - S. 68-124;
- Reizov B. G. Flaubert's work. - M.,;
- Khrapovitskaya G. N. Gustave Flaubert // History foreign literature XIX century. - Part 2. - M.,. - S. 215-223.
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Notes
Links
- Biography, bibliography, texts of works, letters, gallery, forum.
- - novels in Russian and French; Maurois, Nabokov on Madame Bovary
- - Flaubert's collection online
- - version of 1856, translation by M. Petrovsky, Correspondence 1830-1880
- in the library of Maxim Moshkov
Excerpt characterizing Flaubert, Gustave
When he was offered to serve, or when some general, state affairs and war were discussed, assuming that the happiness of all people depended on such or such an outcome of such and such an event, he listened with a meek, condoling smile and surprised the people who spoke to him with his strange remarks. But both those people who seemed to Pierre to understand the real meaning of life, that is, his feeling, and those unfortunate people who obviously did not understand this - all people in this period of time seemed to him in such a bright light of the feeling shining in him that without the slightest effort, he immediately, meeting with any person, saw in him everything that was good and worthy of love.Considering the affairs and papers of his late wife, he had no feeling for her memory, except for pity that she did not know the happiness that he knew now. Prince Vasily, now especially proud of having received a new place and a star, seemed to him a touching, kind and pitiful old man.
Pierre often later recalled this time of happy madness. All the judgments that he made for himself about people and circumstances during this period of time remained forever true for him. Not only did he not subsequently renounce these views on people and things, but, on the contrary, in internal doubts and contradictions, he resorted to the view that he had at that time of madness, and this view always turned out to be correct.
“Perhaps,” he thought, “I seemed then strange and ridiculous; but then I was not as mad as I seemed. On the contrary, I was then smarter and more perceptive than ever, and I understood everything that is worth understanding in life, because ... I was happy.
Pierre's madness consisted in the fact that he did not, as before, wait for personal reasons, which he called the virtues of people, in order to love them, and love overflowed his heart, and he, loving people for no reason, found undoubted reasons for which it was worth loving them.
From that first evening, when Natasha, after Pierre's departure, with a joyfully mocking smile, told Princess Marya that he was definitely, well, definitely from the bath, and a frock coat, and a short haircut, from that moment something hidden and unknown to her, but irresistible woke up in Natasha's soul
Everything: face, gait, look, voice - everything suddenly changed in her. Unexpected for herself - the power of life, hopes for happiness surfaced and demanded satisfaction. From the first evening, Natasha seemed to have forgotten everything that had happened to her. Since then, she has never complained about her situation, has not said a single word about the past and was not afraid to do fun plans for the future. She spoke little of Pierre, but when Princess Mary mentioned him, a long-extinct gleam lit up in her eyes and her lips puckered up in a strange smile.
The change that took place in Natasha surprised Princess Mary at first; but when she understood its meaning, this change upset her. “Is it possible that she loved her brother so little that she could forget him so soon,” thought Princess Mary, when she alone pondered the change that had taken place. But when she was with Natasha, she did not get angry with her and did not reproach her. The awakened power of life, which seized Natasha, was obviously so unstoppable, so unexpected for herself, that Princess Mary, in the presence of Natasha, felt that she had no right to reproach her even in her soul.
Natasha surrendered herself to the new feeling with such fullness and sincerity that she did not try to hide the fact that she was now not sad, but joyful and cheerful.
When, after a nightly explanation with Pierre, Princess Mary returned to her room, Natasha met her on the threshold.
- He said? Yes? He said? she repeated. Both joyful and at the same time pathetic, asking for forgiveness for his joy, the expression stopped on Natasha's face.
“I wanted to listen at the door; but I knew what you would tell me.
No matter how understandable, no matter how touching was for Princess Marya the look with which Natasha looked at her; no matter how sorry she was to see her excitement; but Natasha's words in the first minute offended Princess Marya. She remembered her brother, his love.
“But what to do! she cannot do otherwise,” thought Princess Marya; and with a sad and somewhat stern face she conveyed to Natasha everything that Pierre had told her. On hearing that he was going to Petersburg, Natasha was amazed.
- To Petersburg? she repeated, as if not understanding. But, peering into the sad expression on Princess Mary's face, she guessed the reason for her sadness and suddenly burst into tears. “Marie,” she said, “teach me what to do.” I'm afraid to be stupid. What you say, I will do; teach me…
- You love him?
“Yes,” Natasha whispered.
- What are you crying about? I’m happy for you,” said Princess Marya, forgiving Natasha’s joy for those tears.
“It won't be anytime soon. Just think what happiness it will be when I will be his wife and you will marry Nicolas.
“Natasha, I asked you not to talk about it. We'll talk about you.
They were silent.
- But why go to Petersburg! - suddenly said Natasha, and she herself hastily answered herself: - No, no, it’s necessary ... Yes, Marie? So you need...
Seven years have passed since the 12th year. The agitated historical sea of Europe has subsided to its shores. It seemed quiet; but the mysterious forces that move mankind (mysterious because the laws governing their movement are unknown to us) continued their action.
Despite the fact that the surface of the historical sea seemed motionless, humanity moved as continuously as the movement of time. Various groups of human clutches were formed and disintegrated; the reasons for the formation and disintegration of states, the movements of peoples were prepared.
The historical sea, unlike before, was directed by gusts from one coast to another: it seethed in the depths. Historical figures, not as before, were carried in waves from one coast to another; now they seemed to circle in one place. Historical figures, who previously at the head of the troops reflected the movement of the masses with the orders of wars, campaigns, battles, now reflected the seething movement with political and diplomatic considerations, laws, treatises ...
This activity historical figures historians call reaction.
Describing the activities of these historical figures, who, in their opinion, were the cause of what they call reaction, historians condemn them severely. Everybody famous people of that time, from Alexander and Napoleon to m me Stael, Photius, Schelling, Fichte, Chateaubriand, and so on, are put before their strict judgment and justified or condemned, according to whether they contributed to progress or reaction.
In Russia, according to their description, a reaction also took place during this period of time, and the main culprit of this reaction was Alexander I - the same Alexander I, who, according to their own descriptions, was the main culprit of the liberal undertakings of his reign and the salvation of Russia.
In real Russian literature, from a schoolboy to a learned historian, there is no person who would not throw his stone at Alexander I for his wrong actions during this period of his reign.
“He should have done this and that. In this case, he did well, in this badly. He behaved well at the beginning of his reign and during the 12th year; but he acted badly, giving a constitution to Poland, creating a Holy Alliance, giving power to Arakcheev, encouraging Golitsyn and mysticism, then encouraging Shishkov and Photius. He did badly, being engaged in the front part of the army; he acted badly, cashiering the Semyonovsky regiment, etc.”
It would be necessary to fill out ten sheets in order to list all the reproaches that historians make to him on the basis of the knowledge of the good of mankind that they possess.
What do these accusations mean?
The very actions for which historians approve of Alexander I - such as: the liberal undertakings of the reign, the struggle with Napoleon, the firmness shown by him in the 12th year, and the campaign of the 13th year, do not follow from the same sources - the conditions of blood , upbringing, life, which made the personality of Alexander what it was - from which those actions follow, for which historians blame him, such as: the Holy Alliance, the restoration of Poland, the reaction of the 20s?
What is the essence of these accusations?
In the fact that such a historical person as Alexander I is, a person who stood at the highest possible level of human power, as if in the focus of the blinding light of all the historical rays concentrating on him; a person who was subject to those strongest influences in the world of intrigue, deceit, flattery, self-delusion, which are inseparable from power; a person who felt on himself, every minute of his life, responsibility for everything that happened in Europe, and a person not invented, but living, like every person, with his own personal habits, passions, aspirations for goodness, beauty, truth - that this person, fifty years ago, not only was not virtuous (historians do not reproach him for this), but did not have those views for the good of mankind that the professor now has, from an early age engaged in science, that is, reading books, lectures and copying these books and lectures into one notebook.
But even if we assume that Alexander I was mistaken fifty years ago in his view of what is the good of the peoples, we must involuntarily assume that the historian who judges Alexander will, in the same way, after some time have passed, turn out to be unjust in his view of the fact that which is the good of humanity. This assumption is all the more natural and necessary because, following the development of history, we see that every year, with every new writer, the view of what is the good of mankind changes; so that what seemed good ten years later seems to be evil; and vice versa. Moreover, at the same time we find in history completely opposite views on what was evil and what was good: some of the constitution and the Holy Alliance given to Poland are credited, others reproach Alexander.
It is impossible to say about the activity of Alexander and Napoleon that it was useful or harmful, because we cannot say for what it is useful and for what it is harmful. If someone does not like this activity, then he does not like it only because it does not coincide with his limited understanding of what is good. Whether the preservation of my father's house in Moscow in the 12th year, or the glory of the Russian troops, or the prosperity of St. Petersburg and other universities, or the freedom of Poland, or the power of Russia, or the balance of Europe, or a certain kind of European enlightenment - progress, I must admit that the activity of every historical person had, in addition to these goals, other goals that were more general and inaccessible to me.
But let us suppose that so-called science has the possibility of reconciling all contradictions and has an invariable measure of good and bad for historical persons and events.
Let us assume that Alexander could have done everything differently. Let us assume that he could, at the behest of those who accuse him, those who profess the knowledge of the ultimate goal of the movement of mankind, dispose of according to the program of nationality, freedom, equality and progress (there seems to be no other) that the present accusers would give him. Let us assume that this program would have been possible and drawn up, and that Alexander would have acted according to it. What would have happened then to the activities of all those people who opposed the then direction of the government - to the activities that, according to historians, are good and useful? This activity would not exist; there would be no life; there would be nothing.
If we assume that human life can be controlled by reason, then the possibility of life will be destroyed.
If one assumes, as historians do, that great men lead mankind to certain goals, which are either the greatness of Russia or France, or the equilibrium of Europe, or the spreading of the ideas of the revolution, or general progress, or whatever it is, it is impossible to explain the phenomena of history without the concepts of chance and genius.
If the goal European wars the beginning of this century consisted in the greatness of Russia, then this goal could be achieved without all the previous wars and without invasion. If the goal is the greatness of France, then this goal could be achieved without a revolution, and without an empire. If the goal is to spread ideas, then printing would do it much better than soldiers. If the goal is the progress of civilization, then it is quite easy to assume that, in addition to the destruction of people and their wealth, there are other more expedient ways for the spread of civilization.
Why did it happen this way and not otherwise?
Because that's how it happened. “Chance made the situation; genius took advantage of it,” says history.
French writer
1823-1840 - Flaubert studies at the Royal College of Rouen, where he does not achieve much success, but shows an interest in history and big love to literature. At school, he met the future poet L. Buie (1822-1869), who became his lifelong friend.
1840 - Flaubert begins studying law in Paris.
1843 - Flaubert is diagnosed with a nervous disease and prescribed a sedentary lifestyle. He interrupts his studies at the Sorbonne.
1845 - Flaubert travels to Italy.
1846 - after the death of his father, he returns to the Croisset estate near Rouen, takes care of his mother and is mainly engaged in literature. He has enough wealth to travel and devote many years to writing his works.
1849-1851 - Flaubert travels to the East.
1856 - Flaubert publishes Madame Bovary in the Revue de Paris. provincial customs”(Madame Bovary. M?urs de provinse), which he created for five years, slowly, carefully finishing each episode, achieving expressiveness and accuracy of each phrase. main theme“Madame Bovary” became the age-old conflict between illusion and reality, between invented and real life. To reveal this theme, Flaubert did not use the heroic impulses of a noble personality, but pitiful dreams ordinary bourgeois. Flaubert gave his narrow-minded characters an exalted universal meaning. Despite editorial corrections and cuts, the author and editors of the journal are being sued for insulting public morality. The court acquitted Flaubert.
1857 - the novel Madame Bovary is published as a separate book without any cuts.
1858 - Flaubert travels to Africa.
1862 - Flaubert's second novel Salammbo is published, which was the result of a trip to Africa, as well as serious historical and archaeological studies. The action of the novel takes place in Carthage after the 1st Punic War, when mercenaries led by Mato rebelled against the Carthaginians led by Hamilcar.
1864 - The Vatican bans Madame Bovary and lists it on the Index of Forbidden Books.
1869 - Flaubert's third novel is published - "Education of feelings" (L "education sentimentale, the first, fundamentally different from this, edition of the novel, not published during his lifetime, was written by Flaubert back in 1845). This novel is a biography of a young man seeking to establish himself in Paris, but failing because of the vagueness, inconstancy of his feelings and aspirations - creative, love, political.The action takes place in the 40s of the XIX century, in an atmosphere of turbulent intellectual life in France during the period of the July Monarchy, and the revolution is the final 1848 and the story of the collapse of the Second Republic, correlated with the failure of the protagonist Frédéric Moreau, Sentiment Education is a hard-hitting portrait of a lost generation.
1870-1871 - During the Franco-Prussian War, Flaubert served in the army with the rank of lieutenant and was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor.
1874 - comes out philosophical drama"The Temptation of Saint Anthony" (La Tentation de Saint-Antoine), begun even before "Madame Bovary". The Temptation is inspired by a painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, which Flaubert saw in Genoa in 1845. The idea of flaunting the temptations besieging the saint occupied Flaubert for the rest of his life, and its embodiment in the novel-dialogue is an attempt to show all conceivable sins, heresies, religions and philosophies. In the same year, Flaubert's comedy The Candidate (Le candidat) was staged.
1877 - “Three stories” (Trois Contes) are published: a story about the life of a village maid (“Simple Heart”, Un Coeur simple), all achievements of which, after a long life, come down to a stuffed parrot, to which she becomes attached to such an extent that she unconsciously begins to treat him as the Holy Spirit. In The Legend of St. Julian the Hospitable (La Legende de Saint-Jullien l "Hospitalier), a medieval righteous man who repented of the sins of his youth is subjected to the last supreme test: a leper turns to him with a request for a kiss. Having fulfilled his desire, Julian finds himself face to face with Jesus who raised him to heaven.Herodias (Herodias) tells of Salome demanding the head of John the Baptist.
1881 - The novel Bouvard et Pecuchet is published posthumously; Here is a satirical encyclopedia culture XIX century, presented through the story of twin friends who, having retired and settled in a small provincial town, are tirelessly engaged in self-education, consistently studying a variety of fields of knowledge: agronomy, geology, history, literature, etc. The result of their experience exposes the inner the inconsistency of intellectual culture, which also manifests itself in the political farce that the revolution of 1848 turns into in the French province.
