Chapters two through twenty represent Ivan Severyanovich Flyagin's tale of "extensively flowing vitality." Before us is a "biography", consisting of a chain of anecdotal stories with many intricacies and unexpected twists in the plot. The epic path of the hero to the feat is full of passions and seeming accidents.
The plot of Leskov's story is created in a special way. Outwardly, it is built according to the chronicle type as a kaleidoscope of stories, “like beads strung on a string” (N.K. Mikhailovsky) of a single narrative. There is a "scattering" of "beads" - microplots, as a rule, not interconnected by a causal relationship. There is a connection between them of a different nature, due to the logic of the character's storytelling, the associations that arise in him ("... ...whatever I remember, then, if you please, I can tell you").
Microplots - "beads" form semantic blocks, each of which can be considered as an independent story. At the same time, they are all built according to a common compositional scheme, denoting Ivan's path from one "death" to another: event ("sin") - culmination ("death") - denouement ("wandering and redemption of sin"). The episodes are united by the image of the narrator, who is one and many at the same time.
Each microplot is a new life of Ivan Flyagin and his new name: Golovan - Ivan - Ivan Severyanovich - Ivan Golovan - Pyotr Serdyukov - Izmail. In each act of “everyday drama-comedy” the hero has a new role (postilion, “unpaid” nanny, doctor for the Tatars, coneser for the prince, soldier in the Caucasus, actor in a booth, novice in a monastery), a new sin is committed (the murder of an innocent monk, an attempt on God-given own life, horse-stealing, drunkenness, the murder of a baptized gypsy) and a new journey in the name of atonement for sin.
They can be viewed in isolation from each other, as relatively independent plots, showing "a variety of possible options for fate" (B. Dykhanova). However, a holistic view of the Russian character, as well as the author's intention, arises from the mutual conjugation, a kind of rhyming of these microplots. So Golovan the postillion nun “decided life without repentance” and saved the count’s family “from inevitable death”, and in gratitude, instead of permission to go to the monastery, he “begged” harmony from the count and “went from one guard to another, more and more more enduring" (chapter 2). The "enemy German" condemned the count's savior "to litter a whole mountain of stone for a cat's tail." Golovan decided to take his own life from this insult, “but he saved the gypsies with a knife,” then Ivan “cried” and “went into the robbers” (3rd chapter). This plot of saving the soul from inexorable sin will be mirrored in the story of Grusha's "death". “... Become my soul as soon as possible for the savior,” the gypsy prays to Ivan and asks: “Have pity on me, my dear, my dear brother; hit me once with a knife against the heart ”(Chapter 18).
When I read this work, it shocked me with its sincerity, soulfulness, and realistic description of images. The story was written in the second half of the 19th century, in a difficult, contradictory time for Russia. It is very similar to our time, the end ...
The story "The Enchanted Wanderer" is one of the best works of the Russian writer of the 19th century. N. S. Leskova. Leskov, a master of folklore images, portrayed wonderful Russian characters in the story, which make an unforgettable impression on the reader. Main...
The righteous Leskova tells about himself, without hiding anything - the “denouement” with the gypsy Grusha, and the tavern adventures, and the painful life in a ten-year captivity of the Tatars. But with the course of the story, everything petty and everyday in the hero fades into the background. Really,...
The works of Nikolai Semenovich Leskov are distinguished by their originality and originality. He has his own language, style, his own understanding of the world, the human soul. Leskov pays a lot of attention to human psychology in his works, but if other classics try ...
Review of the work of N. Leskov "The Enchanted Wanderer", written as part of the contest "My Favorite Book 2015".
We began to forget the names and books of great Russian writers. And among them, almost forgotten - Nikolai Semenovich Leskov. This author had a very difficult life and creative path. For a long time he was not accepted in the literary world, they refused to publish his works, and often they simply forced him to rewrite the ending. So, the original version of the book “The Sealed Angel” did not reach us, but we would like to know the real idea of the author, and not an instructive result.
But, now is not about that. In his work, Leskov refers to the Russian soul and spirituality. And this theme is especially clearly revealed in The Enchanted Wanderer. The soul of a simple Russian peasant opens before the reader, who has been trying to find his place all his life. In this book there will be no refined sublimity of spiritual feelings, but the realities of the world and life that the protagonist faces.
I will say that the entire narrative is conducted on behalf of the protagonist, who slowly tells the story of his difficult life. He does not pretend or exaggerate, but speaks as he lived and felt. In the stories from his life, the soul is revealed. He follows his own path, which sometimes leads him into impenetrable jungle, and sometimes leads him to a bright clearing.
This is not just a story about a journey, this is a story about finding your dream in the spiritual world. And it is all the more surprising that the soul, rushing about in the dark and bumping into obstacles, finds the strength to find the light. But this world still needs to be reached.
Before us is the Russian soul, which is illogical and inconsistent in its actions, and most often simply unpredictable. And it is impossible to explain all the actions of the hero, because our soul is dark, into which we ourselves often stray. But no matter what happens, there is always a light that will lead you on the right path. Nikolai Leskov, like no other writer, was able to understand and talk about the Russian soul. He saw something that many simply did not take into account, namely, Faith. The Russian people have always believed. Whose faith was true, and someone believed, because everyone believes. Our soul is always open to a miracle and is always looking for something impossible and unreal.
"The Enchanted Wanderer" penetrates deep into the subconscious and you begin to think about your life and your actions, you begin to gradually understand life and see everything in different colors. And in many ways this happens not only because of the main character, but because of the surprisingly and precise language that Nikolai Leskov writes.
This is just an indescribable feeling of antiquity, light and viscous, which tightens from the heads. Beautiful words and phrases that have long become archaic, but without which there simply will not be that deep understanding of life. The amazing lightness of the style, which allows you not only to read page after page, but to live life together with the hero, together with him to look for your place in life.
The book is not easy to understand. It is not enough just to read it - you need to survive, let everything through yourself. And then The Enchanted Wanderer will become more than just a work of Russian literature.
My story turned out to be a little chaotic, but it is simply impossible to talk about this book in another way. I really hope that the book interested you, and you decide to read it. And a very big request, do not postpone the book because of some unpleasant episodes from the life of Ivan Flyagin. He is a simple Russian peasant who lives the way he knows how and how he feels. None of us is sinless, everyone has unpleasant moments in life, but this is our life and our history. So do not judge Ivan Severyanych, who opens his soul to you.
Many are familiar with the work of Nikolai Leskov "The Enchanted Wanderer". Indeed, this story is one of the most famous in Leskov's work. We will now make a brief analysis of the story "The Enchanted Wanderer", look at the history of writing the work, discuss the main characters and draw conclusions.
So, Leskov wrote the story "The Enchanted Wanderer" in the period from 1872 to 1973. The fact is that the idea appeared during the author's journey through the waters of Karelia, when in 1872 he went to the island of Valaam, a famous shelter for monks. By the end of the same year, the story was almost finished and was even being prepared for publication under the title "Black Earth Telemak". But the publishing house refused to publish the work, considering it raw and unfinished. Leskov did not retreat, turning for help to the editors of the Novy Mir magazine, where the story was accepted and published. Before we make a direct analysis of the story "The Enchanted Wanderer", we will briefly consider the essence of the plot.
Analysis of The Enchanted Wanderer, main character
The events of the story take place on Lake Ladoga, where travelers met, whose goal is Valaam. Let's get acquainted with one of them - coneser Ivan Severyanych, who is dressed in a cassock, he told the others that from his youth he has a wonderful gift, thanks to which he can tame any horse. The interlocutors are interested in hearing the life story of Ivan Severyanych.
The hero of The Enchanted Wanderer, Ivan Severyanych Flyagin, begins the story by saying that his homeland is the Oryol province, he comes from the family of Count K. As a child, he fell in love with horses terribly. Once, for fun, he beat one monk so much that he died, which shows the attitude of the protagonist to human life, which is important in The Enchanted Wanderer, which we are now analyzing. Further, the main character talks about other events of his life - amazing and strange.
It is very interesting to note the consistent organization of the story in general. Why can you define it as a tale? Because Leskov built the narrative as oral speech, which imitates an improvisational story. At the same time, not only the manner of the main character-narrator Ivan Flyagin is reproduced, but also the peculiarity of the speech of other characters is reflected.
In total, there are 20 chapters in The Enchanted Wanderer, the first chapter is a kind of exposition or prologue, and the other chapters directly tell the life story of the protagonist, and each of them is a complete story. If we talk about the logic of the tale, it is clear that the key role here is played not by the chronological sequence of events, but by the memories and associations of the narrator. The story resembles the canon of life, as some literary critics say: that is, first we learn about the childhood years of the hero, then life is consistently described, it is also clear how he struggles with temptations and temptations.
conclusions
The protagonist in the analysis of The Enchanted Wanderer typically represents the people, and his strength, as well as his abilities, reflect the qualities inherent in the Russian person. It can be seen how the hero develops spiritually - initially he is just a dashing, careless and hot guy, but at the end of the story he is an experienced and mature monk over the years. However, his self-improvement became possible only thanks to the trials that he inherited, because without these difficulties and troubles he would not have learned to sacrifice himself and try to atone for his own sins.
In general, thanks to such, albeit a brief analysis of the story "The Enchanted Wanderer", it becomes clear what the development of Russian society was like. And Leskov managed to show this in the fate of just one of his main characters.
Note for yourself that the Russian man, according to Leskov's plan, is capable of sacrifice, and not only the strength of the hero is inherent in him, but also the spirit of generosity. In this article, we made a brief analysis of The Enchanted Wanderer, we hope you find it useful.
Leskov's story "The Enchanted Wanderer" has a number of its own features. A wide system of themes and problems, a dynamic plot, devoid of details, makes this work difficult to perceive - the idea of the work is sometimes lost behind numerous events.
History of creation
Plans to create a story about the life of monks visited Leskov during his trip along Lake Ladoga. During the trip, Leskov had to visit the islands of Valaam and Korel - at that time it was the place of the monks' settlement. The landscapes he saw contributed to the idea of writing a work about the life of these people. By the end of 1872 (almost six months after the trip), the story was written, but its publication was not so fast.
Leskov sent the story to the editors of the Russky Vestnik magazine, whose editor at that time was M. Katkov. Unfortunately, this story seemed to the editorial commission unfinished and they did not publish it.
In August 1873, readers nevertheless saw the story, but already in the Russkiy Mir newspaper. Its title changed and was presented in expanded form: "The Enchanted Wanderer, His Life, Experiences, Opinions and Adventures." A dedication was also added to the story - to Sergei Kushelev - it was in his house that the story was first presented to the general public.
The symbolism of the name
Leskov's story was originally planned to be called "Black Earth Telemak". It is impossible to unequivocally answer the question why such a specific name was chosen. With the first word - "chernozem" everything is quite logical - Leskov planned to emphasize the territorial affiliation of the protagonist and limited his range of action to the area of \u200b\u200bdistribution of chernozem as a typical type of soil. With Telomak, things are somewhat more complicated - in ancient mythology, Telemak is the son of Odysseus and Penelope. He sets about searching for his father and helps him get rid of his mother's suitors. It is difficult to imagine the similarities between Telemachus and Ivan. However, it is still present and consists in the search. Telemak is looking for his father, and Ivan is looking for his place in the world, which allows him to exist harmoniously, "the charm of life itself."
It is the last concept - "the charm of life" that became the key concept in the second version of the title of the story. Ivan Flyagin spends his whole life wandering - fate and chance do not give him the opportunity to finally settle down.
However, at the same time, Flyagin does not experience extreme dissatisfaction with his fate, he perceives each new turn in his life path as the will of fate, predestination in life. The actions of the protagonist, which led to significant changes in his life, always occur as if unconsciously, the hero does not think about them and does not plan, they occur spontaneously, as if by the will of witchcraft, a kind of "charm".
According to the researchers, there is another episode in the story that allows us to talk about the “enchantment” of the protagonist – even before birth, Ivan’s mother “promised her son to God”, which predetermined his fate.
Heroes
All the chapters-stories of The Enchanted Wanderer are united by the personality of Ivan Severyanych Flyagin (Golovin), who tells an unusual story of his life.
The second most important in the story is the image of the gypsy Pear. The girl became the subject of unrequited love Flyagin. Pear's unrequited love for the prince did not allow the girl to consider Flyagin's feelings towards her and contributed to her death - Pear asks Flyagin to kill her.
All other characters have generalized character traits - they are represented by typical heroes in their social stratum.
- Count and Countess from Oryol Governorate- landowners, to whose possessions Flyagin belonged from birth.
- Barin from Nikolaev- a man for whom Flyagin served as a nanny - looked after his little daughter.
- The girl's mother- the mother of the girl entrusted to Flyagin, who ran away with a certain officer from her husband.
- Officer- A young man in love with the girl's mother. He offers Flyagin money to give them the child. Helps Flyagin financially after his escape from the master.
- A person with "magnetism"- a casual acquaintance of Flyagin, who hypnotized him for alcohol intoxication and addiction.
- Prince- a landowner whose Flyagin serves as a cones.
- Evgenia Semyonovna- mistress of the prince.
- gypsies- a generalized image of the gypsy community.
- Tatars- generalized image.
- Natasha- two wives of Flyagin, who appeared with him during his residence with the Tatars.
Plot
Ivan was a late child - his mother could not get pregnant for a long time, but fate was unfair to her - she never managed to experience the happiness of motherhood - the woman died during childbirth. The born child had an unusually large head, for which Golovan was named. Once, due to negligence, Ivan caused the death of a monk and from that moment he learned about a certain prophecy of his life - the deceased monk said in a dream that Ivan would always escape death, but at a critical moment he ended up in a monastery and became a monk.
Dear readers! We suggest that you familiarize yourself with which Nikolai Leskov wrote.
The prediction begins to come true: first, Ivan miraculously remains alive after the cart he drove fell off a cliff, then the gypsies save him from suicide by hanging.
Flyagin decides to join the gypsies - at the request of a new acquaintance, he steals horses from his master. Together with the gypsy, Ivan sells horses in the market, but he does not receive the proper monetary reward for this. Ivan says goodbye to the gypsy and goes to Nikolaev.
Here Ivan enters the service of the master - he takes care of his daughter. After some time, the girl's mother appears and asks to give the child to her. At first, Ivan resists, but at the last moment changes his mind and runs away with the girl's mother and her new husband. Then Ivan gets to the Tatars - Flyagin participates in a duel with a Tatar and defeats his opponent, unfortunately, the Tatar dies, and Ivan was forced to join the Tatars in order to avoid punishment. To prevent Flyagin from running away from them, the Tatars sew chopped horsehair into his heels - after that Ivan could not walk normally - his hair was pricked badly. Ivan was in Tatar captivity twice - both the first and the second time he was given two wives. From the wives of the second “marriage”, Flyagin has children, but this did not bring any changes to Flyagin’s life - Ivan is indifferent to them. After escaping from the Tatars, Ivan serves with the prince. Falling in love with the gypsy Grusha became tragic in Ivan's life - Flyagin experienced the pangs of unrequited love.
Pear, in turn, was unrequitedly in love with the prince, the news of whose wedding caused the girl's emotional breakdown. Grusha is afraid that her actions may cause irreparable harm to the prince and his wife, and therefore asks Flyagin to kill her. After the murder of Grunya, Ivan goes to the army - having escaped from the prince, Flyagin met the old people, whose only son was taken into the army, out of pity for the old people, Ivan pretends to be another person and goes to serve instead of their son. The next point in the life of Flyagin was the monastery - Ivan gets there after his resignation. The officer rank, not supported by proper knowledge, did not allow Ivan to realize himself.
The strange behavior of Flyagin caused the monks to send him to travel to holy places. This is where the story ends. Flyagin himself during the trip expresses the hope of returning to the front.
Structure
The story of Nikolai Leskov is included in the cycle of stories united by the theme of monasticism and religiosity. The structure of the work is as follows: the story consists of 20 chapters. Compositionally, they are divided into exposition and development of action. Traditionally, the first chapter is an exposition. According to the canons of literary criticism, it should be followed by a plot, but this does not happen in Leskov's story - this is due to the structure of the story itself - the subsequent chapters are fragments from the life of the protagonist, which in essence are completely independent and, moreover, are placed in violation of the chronological framework . In fact, these fragments in the structure of the composition are the development of the action.
It is also impossible to single out the climax from these elements - each memory is special, and is associated with a certain turning point in the hero's life - it is unrealistic to determine which event was more significant of them. Some researchers are inclined to believe that the culmination can be attributed to a fragment of the text that tells about the meeting between Flyagin and Grusha - it is at this moment in his life that Flyagin experiences the strongest devastation - he drinks a lot and drunkenly, is actually depressed. The story also lacks a denouement - the hero's journey along Lake Ladoga is another fragment that is likely to lead to new changes in the character's life. All chapters are designed in the form of small logically designed stories, each of which actually has a semantic ending.
Character image features
Leskov's story is indicated by a number of features in the depiction of acting characters.
First of all, it concerns the main character. Ivan Flyagin does not look like a typical monk - with his appearance he resembles a hero. Ivan is a tall, broad-shouldered man, physically developed, it seems that he has descended from the pages of epic stories. Ivan has wisdom and the ability to make logical conclusions, but at the same time he tends to act extremely stupidly, recklessly, which often turns out fatally for other characters, and also brings irreparable, negative consequences into his life.
The image of Pear is also not without contradictions and its own characteristics - a typical gypsy woman - passionate and impulsive, and an angel coexist in her. The pear realizes that because of her emotionality, she will not be able to come to terms with unrequited love and will cause tragedy in the life of her lover or his future wife. Classically, she was supposed to follow her emotions, but here her other side of personality appears - Pear is a virtuous person - she prefers to die herself, but not bring misfortune.
The life of any serf is not without the intervention of representatives of the aristocracy. Leskov's story was no exception. The author actively introduces some features in the description of characters of this type. Leskov deliberately creates a negative image of representatives of high society - in the story all landowners are presented as selfish tyrants who mistreat their serfs.
Ivan Flyagin served in the army for 15 years, but very little is said about this period in the story.
The only image of a military man that can be seen in the story is a colonel. In general, the image of this man is typical for a military man “he was brave and liked to pretend to be Suvorov”, but he has another personality that resembles the image of his father. The colonel carefully listens to the story of Flyagin's life, but not only does not take everything that has been said into account, but also convinces Ivan that all this happened only in his fantasies. On the one hand, this seems to be an unreasonable action on the part of the colonel, but at the same time it saves Flyagin from punishment instead of an officer's rank.
The next category of images refers to foreigners - in the story, in addition to Russian people, three nationalities are also depicted - gypsies, Tatars and Poles. All representatives of these nationalities are endowed with exaggeratedly negative qualities - the life of foreigners is presented as immoral, illogical and therefore artificial, devoid of colors of real sincere feelings and emotions. Foreigners (with the exception of Pear) do not have positive character traits - they are always hypocrites and dishonest people.
There are also representatives of monasticism in the story. There is canonicity in the image of these people. They are strict and harsh people, but at the same time sincere and humane. Ivan's atypicality causes bewilderment and concern in them, but at the same time they empathize with him and express concern for his fate.
The idea of the story
The idea of the story is the deep connection of a person with the Motherland and religion. With the help of these attributes, Leskov tries to reveal the peculiarities of the Russian soul and its mental qualities of character. The life of a simple Russian person is closely connected with disappointments and injustice, however, no matter how often and to what extent these troubles occur in a person’s life, a Russian person never loses hope for a miracle - according to Leskov, it is in this optimistic ability that the mystery of the Russian lies. souls.
The author brings readers to the conclusion that without a Motherland and religion, a person cannot fully exist. No matter how many sins there are in a person’s life, sincere repentance allows you to start your life from scratch.
Theme of the story
Leskov's story is filled with a wide system of themes. The questions raised in the work have a diverse expression and are able to comprehensively describe the features and complexities of the life of an ordinary person.
Religion and its influence on human life
Of course, the influence of religion in the time of Flyagin on human life was much stronger - at the present time, other social institutions have taken over part of the responsibilities of the social sphere. At that time, the church was the bearer of morality, taught the interaction of people in society, developed positive qualities of character in people. Religion at that time also helped people find answers to their questions in the field of science. Some of the information perceived by society at that time could well be perceived as the action of otherworldly mystical power, which made the church even more significant in the eyes of people.
Thus, religion helped a person find the right path on his life path, outline the ideal of a real person and stimulate people's interest in achieving this ideal.
Love and its truth
It seems that Leskov's story was created in order to trace the importance and essentiality of love (in every sense of the word). This is love for the motherland, and love for life, and love for God, and love for the opposite sex. The diversity of Ivan Flyagin's life allowed him to experience love in all its manifestations. Of particular interest to the reader is Flyagin's relationship with the opposite sex.
While Flyagin's feelings towards his Tatar wives are natural - since they arose as a "necessity", then feelings for the gypsy Grusha are regrettable - like any other manifestation of unrequited love.
Ivan is captivated by the girl, but the hope of finding happiness between Flyagin and Grusha is fading just as quickly as Grusha's love for the prince ignites.
paternal feelings
During his stay with the Tatars, Ivan is "given" wives - these are women with whom Ivan did not experience family feelings. In the “family” children are born with these women, but the man does not feel kinship with them and, as a result, he does not have parental feelings towards them. Ivan explains this by the fact that his children were not of the Christian faith. At that time, the influence of religion on a person was more significant than today, so this could cause alienation. Similar motifs appear repeatedly in the literature. So, for example, in the poem of the Ukrainian literary figure T.G. Shevchenko "Haidamaki" the main character does not prevent the death of his children, because they were of a "different" faith, while the man does not feel remorse or regret. Based on such motives, Ivan Flyagin's attitude towards his children looks quite humane.
Understanding the Motherland and its meaning for a person
Fate decreed that Ivan Flyagin had a chance to learn about the peculiarities of the life of different peoples. First of all, of course, these were the features of the life of the Russian people - from childhood, Ivan knew about the complexities of the relationship between the social elements of the Russian people, mental features that also cause certain difficulties. However, not only this is an integral part of the Russian person - the peculiarities of nature and the relationship of man with it, folklore aiming at the perception of the beauty of life, became the reason for Flyagin's special attachment to his people.
Faced with a community of gypsies, Flyagin clearly understands that "such a life is not for him" - the traditions of these people and their moral principles are too different from those that Flyagin used to be guided by.
Life among the Tatars also did not attract Ivan - there is no doubt that the life of these people was not absolutely immoral or unattractive, but Flyagin did not manage to feel "at home" - the image of his native land was constantly in his thoughts. Perhaps this is due to the fact that his stay with other nationalities was violent - Ivan got into this society not because he experienced spiritual kinship, but because the circumstances were such.
Issues
Deviating from the traditions of the genre, Leskov makes an increased emphasis on the problems of his work. Like the theme, the problematic of the story also has a developed structure. Patriotism and the place of a person in society still remain the key concept, however, these concepts are overgrown with new symbolic elements.
Social inequality
No matter how sad it may sound, the problem of social inequality has always been relevant and has been repeatedly understood by artists. Aristocratic origin has always been highly valued in society and actually opened any door, bypassing the intellectual and moral criteria. At the same time, an intellectually developed personality with high morality, but of a simple origin (peasant) has always remained on the sidelines of fate.
The unspoken law of "social equality" often became the cause of the unhappy life of not only serfs, but also aristocrats, who could be happy in marriage with a person of simple origin, but were unable to overcome the demands of society.
In most cases, representatives of aristocratic origin did not consider peasants to be people - they could sell them, force them to do overwork that leads to injury, beat them, and in general worry more about their animals than about serfs.
Nostalgia for the Motherland
In a modern multicultural society, the problem of nostalgia for the Motherland is not so relevant - modern means of scientific and technological progress can minimize this feeling. However, in the modern world of Leskov, the awareness of oneself as a unit of the nationality and the bearer of its mental qualities is more thorough - in the mind of a person, the image of the Native Land, national symbols and traditions, close and dear to him, is deposited. Denying these attributes makes a person unhappy.
Patriotism
The problem of patriotism is closely connected with the problem of nostalgia for the Motherland. In the story, Leskov reflects on whether it is important to recognize oneself as a representative of a certain nationality and how important it is. The author raises the question of why people are ready to perform feats in the name of the Motherland and why they do not stop loving their Motherland, despite the existing problems in the system of their state.
This problem is revealed not only with the help of the image of Ivan Flyagin, but also with the help of representatives of other nationalities who, in contact with other cultures, remain true to their people.
missionary
In fact, every religion is faced with the problem of missionary work, especially at the stage of its formation - adherents of the faith often went to preach the foundations of their religious vision among other believers. Despite the peaceful way of enlightenment and conversion to their religion, many nationalities were hostile towards such people - using the example of Christian missionaries and their attitude towards the Tatars, Leskov sums up: some peoples can be converted to their faith only by force, acting with the help of fear and cruelty.
Comparison of lay and monastic life
The destiny of Ivan Flyagin's life created a favorable environment for comparing secular and monastic life. While the life of the laity flows as usual, in fact guided only by civil and moral laws. The life of a monk is full of hardships. Ivan's fate developed in such a way that he was able to experience both worldly life and monastic life. However, neither the first nor the second allowed him to find rest. Ivan always experiences some kind of internal dissatisfaction, his life has always been full of suffering, and he has become so accustomed to this state of affairs that he no longer recognizes himself outside of these feelings. Suffering has become a necessary condition for his life, the calm and everyday life of a monastic life drives him crazy and "populates his consciousness with demons."
The predestination of human destiny
The problem of predetermination of human destiny in the story is considered in a broad and narrow expression. A narrow expression is represented by the life situation of Ivan Flyagin - his mother, even before birth, promised a child to God, but Ivan's lack of education prevented the realization of this postulate.
In a broad sense, the predestination of life is shown in the tragic position of serfs in society - the peasants at that time could become free people, having received the appropriate document, but even, it would seem, such a positive event did not bring them happiness - without education and the ability to behave in society at the level for the aristocracy, such a will was just Filka's letter, since the former serfs had no opportunity to settle down in the world of "free people".
The problem of education
Among the peasants, the problem of education was one of the weightiest. The point here was not only the acquisition of general knowledge and elementary knowledge in the field of grammar and arithmetic. In fact, all the serfs did not understand the basics of ethics, did not know how to logically build their speech within the framework of rhetoric, and therefore were absolute ignoramuses in every sense, which greatly aggravated their situation.
Justice
Life is often devoid of justice. Prejudice in most cases becomes an integral companion of the common man. From time to time, a person interacts with injustice and gains his own life experience. In addition, Leskov raises the question of the existence of justice in general - no matter how difficult Flyagin’s life path is and no matter how many dishonest people he meets, Ivan still subconsciously believes that there is justice in the world.
Relationship between "The Enchanted Wanderer" and "The Parable of the Prodigal Son"
Leskov's story is essentially an allusion to the parable of the prodigal son. Ivan was originally promised to God - and the house of God was supposed to become his home, but Flyagin leaves this destiny, this is accompanied by a series of events that defy logic and common sense, Ivan goes further and further into the labyrinths of worldly life. However, the same combination of circumstances brings Ivan back to his house - after receiving the officer rank, Flyagin's life became much more difficult - they did not want to take him to simple work, and he could not do the work that he needed by rank, due to his lack of education. Disillusioned with acting, Flyagin ends up in a monastery.
Thus, Leskov's story "The Enchanted Wanderer" departs from the classical story in many moments - the variety of problems and subjects allows us to consider life in all its complexities and surprises. The author in the work avoids typicality - all elements of the story are endowed with individual, atypical qualities. However, it should be noted that Leskov artificially depicts images of foreigners and aristocrats with the help of grotesque and hyperbole, containing a negative message. Thus, an advantageous accentualization of the idea of the work is achieved.
“The Enchanted Wanderer” N.S. Leskova
Leskov's story "The Enchanted Wanderer" dates back to 1873. Initially, it was called "Black Earth Telemak". The image of the wanderer Ivan Flyagin summarizes the remarkable features of people who are energetic, talented by nature, inspired by boundless love for people. It depicts a man from the people in the intricacies of his difficult fate, not broken, even though "he died all his life and could not die in any way." In the story, a kaleidoscope of pictures of serf Russia appears, many of which anticipate Leskov's satirical works of the 80s and 90s.
"The Enchanted Wanderer" was Leskov's favorite hero, he put him next to "Lefty". “The Enchanted Wanderer should immediately (before winter) be published in one volume with “Lefty” under one common title: “Well Done,” he wrote in 1866.
The kind and simple-minded Russian giant is the main character and the central figure of the story. This man with a childish soul is distinguished by irrepressible fortitude, heroic mischief and that excess in hobbies, which is so alien to the moderation of virtuous bourgeois heroes. He acts at the behest of duty, often on the intuition of feeling and in an accidental outburst of passion. However, all his actions, even the strangest ones, are invariably born from his inherent philanthropy. He strives for truth and beauty through mistakes and bitter repentance, he seeks love and generously gives love to people. The “enchanted wanderer” is a type of “Russian wanderer” (in the words of Dostoevsky). Of course, Flyagin has nothing in common with the noble "superfluous people" - Aleko, Onegin, whom Dostoevsky had in mind. But he, too, seeks and cannot find himself. He does not need to humble himself and desire to work in his native field. He is already humble and, by his muzhik rank, is faced with the need to work. But he has no peace. In life, he is not a participant, but only a wanderer, “Black Earth Telemak”.
In the story, the life of the protagonist is a chain of adventures so diverse that each of them, being an episode of one life, at the same time can make up a whole life. Count K.'s postillion, a fugitive serf, a babysitter, a Tatar prisoner, a coneser at the prince-repairer, a soldier, a knight of St. George - a retired officer, a "reference officer" in the address desk, an actor in a booth, and, finally, a monk in a monastery - and that's it this is for one life, not yet completed.
The very name of the hero turns out to be inconsistent: “Golovan” is a nickname in childhood and adolescence; "Ivan" - that's what the Tatars call him) this name here is not so much a proper one as a common noun: "they have everything if an adult Russian person is Ivan, and a woman is Natasha, and they call boys with Kolka"); under the false name of Peter Serdyukov, he serves in the Caucasus: having gone to the soldiers for another, he, as it were, inherits his fate, and after the expiration of his service life, he can no longer regain his name. And finally, having become a monk, he is called “Father Ishmael”, nevertheless always remaining himself - the Russian man Ivan Severyanych Flyagin.
Creating this image, Leskov will not forget anything - neither childish spontaneity, nor the peculiar “artistry” and narrow “patriotism” of the “warrior”. For the first time in a writer, the personality is so multifaceted, so free, so released to its will.
There is the deepest meaning in the very wandering of the Leskovsky hero; it is on the roads of life that the “enchanted wanderer” comes into contact with other people, these unexpected meetings put the hero in front of problems, the very existence of which he had not even suspected before.
Ivan Severyanych Flyagin at first sight strikes with his originality: “He was a man of enormous stature, with a swarthy, open face and thick, wavy, lead-colored hair; his gray cast so strangely ... he was in the full sense of the word a hero, reminiscent of grandfather Ilya Muromets in the beautiful picture of Vereshchagin and in the poem of Count A. K. Tolstoy. It seemed that he would not have walked in duckweed, but would have sat on a “chubar” and rode in bast shoes through the forest and lazily sniffed how “dark forest smells of resin and strawberries”.
The story about the taming of the horse does not seem to be connected at all with the previous two, but its finale - the death of the tamed horse - evokes the death of the exiled deacon. And here and there there is violence against a free being of nature. Both man and animal that have shown disobedience are broken and cannot bear it. With the story of the taming of the horse, the narrative of Flyagin's “extensive past vitality” begins, and this episode is not accidentally “taken out” from the sequential chain of events. It's like a kind of prologue to the biography of the hero.
According to the hero, his destiny is that he is the “prayed” and “promised” son, is obliged to devote his life to serving God.
Ivan Severyanych Flyagin lives primarily not with his mind, but with his heart, and therefore the course of life imperiously carries him along, that is why the circumstances in which he finds himself are so diverse. The path that the hero of the story goes through is the search for his place among other people, his vocation, comprehension of the meaning of his life efforts, but not with reason, but with his whole life and his destiny. Ivan Severyanych Flyagin does not seem to be interested in the questions of human existence, but with his whole life, with its bizarre course, he answers them in his own way.
The theme of “going through the throes” develops regardless of the fact that the hero does not attach much importance to it. Ivan Severyanych's story about his life seems almost implausible precisely because it all fell to the lot of one person. “What a drum you are, brother: they beat you, they beat you, and they still won’t finish you,” the doctor, who listened to the whole story, tells him.
Leskov's hero is destitute of life, robbed by it from the very beginning, but in the process of life itself, he multiplies the spiritual wealth a hundredfold, which he is endowed with by nature. His exclusivity grows on Russian folk soil and is all the more significant because the hero answers everything with his own heart, and not with the constructions of the mind. The idea here is opposed by something unconditional, which withstands the most difficult tests.
In the unhurried narration of Leskov's heroes, visible features of the recent past arose and the figures of real people loomed. Therefore, “The Enchanted Wanderer” reveals to the reader the main theme of Leskov’s work - the theme of the formation of a person, the painful torment of his spirit in the struggle of passions and prudence, in the hero’s difficult knowledge of himself. Behind the incident, the case arose in these works of the life of the individual.
The writer's heightened interest in national culture, the subtlest sense of all shades of folk life made it possible for him to create a kind of artistic world and develop an original, artistic, unique - "Leskovsky" way of depicting. Leskov knew how to portray the life of the people, merged into one with the people's worldview, deeply rooted in national history. Leskov believed and knew how to show that the people are able to deeply “understand the public good and serve it without being forced, and, moreover, serve with exemplary self-sacrifice even in such terrible historical moments when the salvation of the fatherland seemed impossible.” Deep faith in the great power of the people and love for the people gave him the opportunity to see and comprehend the "inspiration" of people's characters. In The Enchanted Wanderer, for the first time in Lesk's work, the theme of folk heroism is fully developed. Despite many unattractive features, realistically noted by the author, the collective semi-fairytale image of Ivan Flyagin appears before us in all its grandeur, nobility of soul, fearlessness and beauty and merges with the image of the heroic people. “I really want to die for the people,” says the enchanted wanderer . The “black-earth Telemak” deeply experiences his involvement in his native land. What a great feeling lies in his unpretentious story about loneliness in Tatar captivity: “... There is no bottom to the depths of anguish ... You see, you don’t know where, and suddenly a monastery or a temple is indicated in front of you, and you remember the baptized land and cry.”
In The Enchanted Wanderer, Leskov speaks of a “good Russian hero”, about “good innocence”, about a “kind soul”, about a “good and strict life”. The life of the described heroes is full of wild, evil and cruel impulses, but in the hidden source of all human actions and thoughts lies kindness - unearthly, ideal, mystical. It does not open among people in its pure form, because kindness is a state of the soul that has come into contact with the deity.
Those heroes who are closest to his heart, Leskov always compares with the heroes of epics and fairy tales. N. Pleschunov draws the following conclusion, arguing about the "Enchanted Wanderer": "...there is a hunch that this" Charmed Wanderer "is the people under the serfdom, seeking, waiting for the hour of their deliverance." Not only the heroes of The Enchanted Wanderer, but also many other images of the writer were “icons”, but not in the sense that they were essentially religious, but in the fact that their most significant features were reflected by the writer “statically”, “traditionally” , in the spirit of religious genres, genres of folklore and ancient Russian literature: lives and parables, legends and legends, legends, anecdotes and fairy tales.
The hero of the story is called an enchanted wanderer, and in this title the whole worldview of the writer appears. Charm is a wise and blessed fate, which, like the miraculous icon in the “Sealed Angel”, itself puts a person in various temptations. Even in moments of rebellion against her, she slowly and imperceptibly cultivates divine self-denial in a person, preparing a decisive change in his consciousness. Each life event casts some kind of shadow into the soul, preparing in it woeful doubts, quiet sadness about the vanity of life.
The religious perception of the world, the tendency to superstition correspond to the level of consciousness of the majority of Leskov's heroes, are determined by the traditions and ideas about the world around them gravitating over them. However, under the cover of religious thoughts and reasoning of his heroes, the writer managed to see a completely worldly, ordinary attitude to life and even (which is especially significant) was able to critically treat the official religion and the church. Therefore, the work “The Enchanted Wanderer” has not lost its deep meaning to this day.
Whatever a religious person from the common people looks at, everything acquires a wonderful meaning for him. He sees God in manifestations - and these manifestations seem to him to be one airy chain that connects him with the last refuge of the spirit. Making his worldly path, he sheds on it the light of his infantile faith, having no doubt that the path leads him to God. This idea runs through the whole story of Leskov "The Enchanted Wanderer". His details are striking in their originality, and in places, through the thick colors of everyday description, one feels the writer's nature, with its diverse, obvious and secret passions.
A deep sense of moral beauty, alien to corrupting indifference, "overcomes the spirit" of the Leskovsky righteous. The native environment communicates by its living example not only inspired impulses, but the "strict and sober mood" to their "healthy soul, which lived in a healthy and strong body."
Leskov loved all of Russia as it is. He took it as an old fairy tale. This is a fairy tale about an enchanted hero. He portrayed Rus' holy and sinful, wrong and righteous. Before us is an amazing country of amazing people. Where else can you find such righteous, craftsmen, eccentrics? But all of her froze in charm, froze in her unexpressed beauty and holiness, and she had nowhere to put herself. There is courage in it, there is scope, there is a great talent, but everything is dormant, everything is fettered, everything is enchanted.
“Enchanted Rus'” is a conditional, literary term. This is a cumulative image, recreated by the artist in his work, incorporating some aspects of historical reality. These are the hidden great forces that Leskov saw in his people. This is an “old tale” about him.
Bibliography:
1. A. Volynsky “N.S. Leskov”;
2. V. Yu. Troitsky “Writer of the Russian Land”, “Leskov the Artist”;
3. L. Krupchanov “Thirst for Light”;
4. G. Gunn “The Enchanted Rus' of Nikolay Leskov”.
5. B. Dykhanova “The Sealed Angel” and “The Enchanted Wanderer” by N. S. Leskov.
