The story " Poor Lisa”, which became an example of sentimental prose, was published by Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin in 1792 in the publication “Moscow Journal”. It is worth noting Karamzin as an honored reformer of the Russian language and one of the most highly educated Russians of his time - this important aspect, allowing you to further evaluate the success of the story. Firstly, the development of Russian literature was of a “catch-up” nature, since it lagged behind European literature by about 90-100 years. While sentimental novels were being written and read in the West, clumsy classical odes and dramas were still being composed in Russia. Karamzin’s progressiveness as a writer consisted in “bringing” sentimental genres from Europe to his homeland and developing a style and language for the further writing of such works.
Secondly, the assimilation of literature by the public at the end of the 18th century was such that at first they wrote for society how to live, and then society began to live according to what was written. That is, before the sentimental story, people read mainly hagiographic or church literature, where there were no living characters or living speech, and the heroes of the sentimental story - such as Lisa - were given to secular young ladies real scenario life, a guide to feelings.
Karamzin brought the story about poor Liza from his many trips - from 1789 to 1790 he visited Germany, England, France, Switzerland (England is considered the birthplace of sentimentalism), and upon his return he published a new revolutionary story in his own magazine.
“Poor Liza” is not an original work, since Karamzin adapted its plot for Russian soil, taking it from European literature. We are not talking about a specific work and plagiarism - there were many such European stories. In addition, the author created an atmosphere of amazing authenticity by depicting himself as one of the heroes of the story and masterfully describing the setting of events.
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, soon after returning from the trip, the writer lived in a dacha near the Simonov Monastery, in a picturesque, calm place. The situation described by the author is real - readers recognized both the surroundings of the monastery and the “Lizin Pond”, and this contributed to the fact that the plot was perceived as reliable, and the characters as real people.
Analysis of the work
Plot of the story
The plot of the story is love and, as the author admits, extremely simple. The peasant girl Lisa (her father was a wealthy peasant, but after his death the farm is in decline and the girl has to earn money by selling handicrafts and flowers) lives in the lap of nature with her old mother. In a city that seems huge and alien to her, she meets a young nobleman, Erast. Young people fall in love - Erast out of boredom, inspired by pleasures and a noble lifestyle, and Liza - for the first time, with all the simplicity, ardor and naturalness " natural man" Erast takes advantage of the girl’s gullibility and takes possession of her, after which, naturally, he begins to be burdened by the girl’s company. The nobleman leaves for war, where he loses his entire fortune at cards. The way out is to marry a rich widow. Lisa finds out about this and commits suicide by throwing herself into a pond, not far from the Simonov Monastery. The author, who was told this story, cannot remember poor Lisa without holy tears of regret.
Karamzin, for the first time among Russian writers, unleashed the conflict of a work with the death of the heroine - as, most likely, it would have happened in reality.
Of course, despite the progressiveness of Karamzin’s story, his heroes differ significantly from real people, they are idealized and embellished. This is especially true for peasants - Lisa does not look like a peasant woman. It is unlikely that hard work would have contributed to her remaining “sensitive and kind”; it is unlikely that she behaved with herself internal dialogues in an elegant style, and she would hardly be able to carry on a conversation with a nobleman. Nevertheless, this is the first thesis of the story - “even peasant women know how to love.”
Main characters
Lisa
The central heroine of the story, Lisa, is the embodiment of sensitivity, ardor and ardor. Her intelligence, kindness and tenderness, the author emphasizes, are from nature. Having met Erast, she begins to dream not that he, like Prince Charming, will take her into his world, and that he should be a simple peasant or shepherd - this would equalize them and allow them to be together.
Erast differs from Lisa not only in social sign, but also by character. Perhaps, the author says, he was spoiled by the world - he leads a typical life for an officer and a nobleman - he seeks pleasure and, having found it, grows cold towards life. Erast is both smart and kind, but weak, incapable of action - such a hero also appears in Russian literature for the first time, a type of “aristocrat disillusioned with life.” At first, Erast is sincere in his impulse of love - he does not lie when he tells Lisa about love, and it turns out that he is also a victim of circumstances. He does not stand the test of love, does not resolve the situation “like a man,” but experiences sincere torment after what happened. After all, it was he who allegedly told the author the story about poor Lisa and led him to Lisa’s grave.
Erast predetermined the appearance in Russian literature of a number of heroes of the type “ extra people» - weak and incapable of making key decisions.
Karamzin uses " speaking names" In the case of Lisa, the choice of name turned out to be a “double bottom.” The fact is that classic literature provided for typification techniques, and the name Lisa was supposed to mean a playful, flirtatious, frivolous character. This name could have been given to a laughing maid - a cunning comedy character, prone to love adventures, and by no means innocent. By choosing such a name for his heroine, Karamzin destroyed the classical typification and created a new one. He built a new relationship between the name, character and actions of the hero and outlined the path to psychologism in literature.
The name Erast was also not chosen by chance. It means “lovely” from Greek. His fatal charm and the need for novelty of impressions lured and destroyed the unfortunate girl. But Erast will reproach himself for the rest of his life.
Constantly reminding the reader of his reaction to what is happening (“I remember with sadness...”, “tears are rolling down my face, reader...”), the author organizes the narrative so that it acquires lyricism and sensitivity.
Theme, conflict of the story
Karamzin's story touches on several topics:
- The theme of the idealization of the peasant environment, the ideality of life in nature. The main character is a child of nature, and therefore by default she cannot be evil, immoral, or insensitive. The girl embodies simplicity and innocence due to the fact that she is from a peasant family, where eternal moral values are kept.
- Theme of love and betrayal. The author glorifies the beauty of sincere feelings and talks with sorrow about the doom of love, not supported by reason.
- The theme is the contrast between countryside and city. The city turns out to be evil, a great evil force capable of breaking a pure being from nature (Lisa’s mother intuitively senses this evil force and prays for her daughter every time she goes into town to sell flowers or berries).
- Subject " little man». Social inequality, the author is sure (and this is an obvious glimpse of realism) does not lead to happiness for lovers from different layers. This kind of love is doomed.
The main conflict of the story is social, because it is because of the gap between wealth and poverty that the love of the heroes, and then the heroine, perishes. The author extols sensitivity as highest value of man, affirms the cult of feelings as opposed to the cult of reason.
“Poor Lisa” has a truly happy fate. The story is one of the works that mark a literary era, and this is its significance for the history of literature. Written almost 200 years ago, over these two centuries it has not known either oblivion or loss of readership.
One of the most characteristic features of the great works of Russian literature is that, despite the simplicity of the external plot, they raise the most complex, deep questions of life. These are “Eugene Onegin” by A. S. Pushkin, “ Dead Souls"N.V. Gogol, "Anna Karenina" by L.N. Tolstoy...
The plot of “Poor Lisa,” as the author himself rightly noted, is very simple. The peasant woman Lisa and the nobleman Erast fell in love with each other, but soon Erast left his beloved to marry a rich widow and thereby improve his fortune. An abandoned girl drowned in a pond out of grief.
This story had greater success than everything Karamzin wrote earlier. “Your “poor Lisa” is beautiful to me!” - this is how Petrov, an impartial and harsh critic, responded to the story.
First of all, “Poor Liza” captivated the reader because it told about Russian life, about modernity. Usually in stories they wrote that the action takes place in an undefined “one city”, “one village”, but here the Simonov Monastery, well known to every Muscovite, everyone recognized birch grove and the meadow where the hut stood, the monastery pond surrounded by old willows - the place of the death of poor Lisa... Accurate descriptions gave special authenticity to the whole story. In addition, the author emphasized the veracity of his story: “Ah! Why am I writing not a novel, but a sad true story!” Even the fact that Liza sold forest flowers was a new feature of everyday life: in one of the articles, Karamzin reports that they began selling bouquets of such flowers in Moscow only a year or two before the creation of the story.
Behind the Fox Pond the name Lizin has become established, it is on for a long time has become a place of pilgrimage for sensitive readers. The guide to Moscow of 1827, along with the Sukharev Tower, the Red Gate and other Moscow attractions, recommends visiting Lizin Pond.
Not only sensitive girls, but also men came to the pond: Pogodin reports the words of Professor Tsvetaev, “that he also went to Lizin’s pond, with a white handkerchief in his hands, to wipe away his tears.”
Now, many years later, “Poor Liza” seems almost an elegant toy, but at one time it was perceived differently: it was an extremely modern and socially sounding work. The theme and images of “Poor Liza” directly resonate with the pages of Radishchev’s book that had just been banned and confiscated even from private individuals.
The chapter “Edrovo” “Travels from St. Petersburg to Moscow” tells how in this village the author met a peasant girl Anyuta, who cannot marry the man she loves, because he has to pay 100 rubles for permission to marry, and neither , neither Anyuta has that kind of money. The author offers Anyuta and her mother this money, but they refuse.
The image of Anyuta’s mother echoes the image of Liza’s mother, who resolutely refuses to take from Erast the payment he persistently offers “ten times more than the price she sets” for the fabric woven by Liza. In addition, there are minor coincidences in details and words: for example, Anyuta’s father died, leaving a strong household, Lisa’s father was also a “prosperous villager,” and here and there there was no male worker left in the house; Karamzin’s Lisa says: “God gave me hands to work with,” Anyuta’s fiancé, also refusing to accept money as a gift, declares: “I, master, have two hands, I’ll run the house with them.” The connection between “Poor Liza” and “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” is undeniable.
The fundamental difference between the works of Radishchev and Karamzin is that in “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” the theme is revealed through the means of journalism, in “Poor Liza” - through artistic means. Radishchev names the phenomenon and gives it an explanation from a social and economic point of view, Karamzin depicts it. Both methods have their merits, but for the conditions of Russian reality fiction had special meaning. Her role in public life determined by N. G. Chernyshevsky. He called it a “textbook for life.”
The 18th century, which glorified many wonderful people, including the writer Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. Towards the end of this century, he published his most famous creation - the story “Poor Lisa”. It was this that brought him great fame and enormous popularity among readers. The book is based on two characters: the poor girl Lisa and the nobleman Erast, who appear during the course of the plot in their attitude to love.
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin made a huge contribution to cultural development fatherland at the end of the 18th century. After numerous trips to Germany, England, France and Switzerland, the prose writer returns to Russia, and while relaxing at his dacha famous traveler Pyotr Ivanovich Beketov In the 1790s, he took on a new literary experiment. The local surroundings near the Simonov Monastery greatly influenced the idea of the work “Poor Liza,” which he nurtured during his travels. Nature for Karamzin had great value, he truly loved her and often exchanged the bustle of the city for forests and fields, where he read his favorite books and lost himself in thought.
Genre and direction
“Poor Liza” is the first Russian psychological story that contains the moral disagreement of people of different classes. Lisa’s feelings are clear and understandable to the reader: for a simple bourgeois woman, happiness is love, so she loves blindly and naively. Erast’s feelings, on the contrary, are more confused, because he himself cannot understand them. At first, the young man simply wants to fall in love, just like in the novels he read, but it soon becomes clear that he is not capable of living with love. City life, full of luxury and passions, had a huge influence on the hero, and he discovers carnal attraction, which completely destroys spiritual love.
Karamzin is an innovator; he can rightfully be called the founder of Russian sentimentalism. Readers received the work with admiration, since society had been wanting something like this for a long time. The public was exhausted by the moral teachings of the classicist trend, the basis of which is the worship of reason and duty. Sentimentalism demonstrates the emotional experiences, feelings and emotions of the characters.
About what?
According to the writer, this story is “a very simple fairy tale.” Indeed, the plot of the work is simple to the point of genius. It begins and ends with a sketch of the area of the Simonov Monastery, which evokes in the narrator’s memory thoughts about the tragic turn in the fate of poor Lisa. This is a love story between a poor provincial woman and a wealthy young man from the privileged class. The lovers' acquaintance began with the fact that Lisa was selling lilies of the valley collected in the forest, and Erast, wanting to start a conversation with the girl he liked, decided to buy flowers from her. conquered him natural beauty and Lisa's kindness, and they started dating. However, the young man soon became fed up with the charm of his passion and found a more profitable match. The heroine, unable to withstand the blow, drowned herself. Her lover regretted this all his life.
Their images are ambiguous; first of all, the world of simple things is revealed natural man, unspoiled by city bustle and greed. Karamzin described everything in such detail and picturesquely that readers believed in this story and fell in love with his heroine.
The main characters and their characteristics
- The main character of the story is Lisa, a poor village girl. IN early age she lost her father and was forced to become a breadwinner for her family, agreeing to any job. The hardworking provincial woman is very naive and sensitive, she sees in people only good features and lives by his emotions, following the call of his heart. She looks after her mother day and night. And even when the heroine decides to take a fatal act, she still does not forget about her family and leaves her money. Lisa’s main talent is the gift of love, because for the sake of her loved ones she is ready to do anything.
- Lisa's mother is a kind and wise old woman. She experienced the death of her husband Ivan very hard, as she loved him devotedly and lived happily with him for many years. The only joy was her daughter, whom she sought to marry to a worthy and wealthy man. The character of the heroine is internally whole, but a little bookish and idealized.
- Erast is a rich nobleman. He leads a riotous lifestyle, thinking only about fun. He is smart, but very fickle, spoiled and weak-willed. Without thinking that Lisa is from a different class, he fell in love with her, but still he is unable to overcome all the difficulties of this unequal love. Erast cannot be called negative hero, because he admits his guilt. He read and was inspired by novels, was dreamy, looking at the world with rose-colored glasses. Therefore, his real love did not withstand such a test.
Topics
- The main topic in sentimental literature are the sincere feelings of a person in a collision with indifference real world. Karamzin was one of the first to decide to write about the spiritual happiness and suffering of ordinary people. He reflected in his work the transition from civil theme, which was extended during the Enlightenment, to the personal, in which the main subject of interest is spiritual world individual. Thus, the author, having described in depth inner world characters together with their feelings and experiences, began to develop such literary device as psychologism.
- Theme of love. Love in “Poor Liza” is a test that tests the characters’ strength and loyalty to their word. Lisa completely surrendered to this feeling; the author exalts and idealizes her for this ability. She is the embodiment of the feminine ideal, the one who completely dissolves in the adoration of her beloved and is faithful to him until her last breath. But Erast could not stand the test and turned out to be cowardly and pathetic person, incapable of self-sacrifice in the name of something more important than material wealth.
- Contrast between city and countryside. The author gives preference rural areas, it is there that natural, sincere and good people who know no temptation. But in big cities they acquire vices: envy, greed, selfishness. For Erast, his position in society was more valuable than love; he was fed up with it, because he was not capable of experiencing a strong and deep feeling. Lisa could not live after this betrayal: if love died, she follows her, because she cannot imagine her future without her.
Problem
Karamzin in his work “Poor Liza” touches on various problems: social and moral. The problems of the story are based on opposition. The main characters vary both in quality of life and in character. Lisa is a pure, honest and naive girl from the lower class, and Erast is a spoiled, weak-willed, thinking only about his own pleasures, young man belonging to the nobility. Lisa, having fallen in love with him, cannot go a day without thinking about him, Erast, on the contrary, began to move away as soon as he received what he wanted from her.
The result of such fleeting moments of happiness for Lisa and Erast is the death of the girl, after which the young man cannot stop blaming himself for this tragedy and remains unhappy for the rest of his life. The author showed how class inequality led to an unhappy ending and served as a reason for tragedy, as well as what responsibility a person bears for those who trusted him.
the main idea
The plot is not the most important thing in this story. The emotions and feelings that awaken during reading deserve more attention. The narrator himself plays a huge role, because he talks with sadness and compassion about the life of a poor rural girl. For Russian literature, the image of an empathic narrator who knows how to empathize emotional state heroes turned out to be a revelation. Any dramatic moment makes his heart bleed and also sincerely shed tears. Thus, main idea The story “Poor Liza” is that you should not be afraid of your feelings, love, worry, and sympathize to the fullest. Only then will a person be able to overcome immorality, cruelty and selfishness. The author starts with himself, because he, a nobleman, describes the sins of his own class, and gives sympathy to a simple village girl, calling on people of his position to become more humane. The inhabitants of poor huts sometimes outshine the gentlemen from ancient estates with their virtue. This is Karamzin’s main idea.
The author's attitude towards the main character of the story also became an innovation in Russian literature. So Karamzin does not blame Erast when Liza dies, he demonstrates social conditions, which were the reason tragic event. Big city influenced the young man, destroying him moral principles and making him corrupt. Lisa grew up in the village, her naivety and simplicity played a cruel joke on her. The writer also demonstrates that not only Lisa, but also Erast was subjected to the hardships of fate, becoming a victim of sad circumstances. The hero experiences feelings of guilt throughout his life, never becoming truly happy.
What does it teach?
The reader has the opportunity to learn something from the mistakes of others. The clash of love and selfishness is a hot topic, since everyone has experienced unrequited feelings at least once in their life, or experienced betrayal loved one. Analyzing Karamzin's story, we gain important life lessons, we become more humane and more responsive to each other. The creations of the era of sentimentalism have a single property: they help people to enrich themselves mentally, and also cultivate in us the best humane and moral qualities.
The story “Poor Lisa” gained popularity among readers. This work teaches a person to be more responsive to other people, as well as the ability to be compassionate.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!The story "Poor Liza", reviews of which are collected in this article, was written by Mikhail Karamzin. This classic genre of sentimentalism. It was written in 1792.
Sentimental story
Based on the reviews, you can get a full impression of the story “Poor Liza”. It talks about a girl, Lisa, who lives not far from the Simonov Monastery with her elderly mother.
After her father, who was very wealthy, died, the family quickly became poor. The widow grew weaker every day and soon was unable to work at all. Lisa had to work, not sparing her youth and beauty.
In the book “Poor Liza” Karamzin (reviews about her were mostly positive) describes her activities. She knitted stockings and picked flowers and berries, which she sold at the market.
In Moscow
In reviews of the story “Poor Liza,” readers note that she went to Moscow to trade. One day she went to sell lilies of the valley. On the street she met a young and attractive man. He generously offered her a ruble instead of five kopecks for a bouquet. He didn’t insist, but promised that from now on he would always buy flowers from her so that she would pick them only for him.
In reviews of the book “Poor Liza” by Karamzin, readers note that Liza is a very sincere girl. At home she told her mother everything. And the next day she picked the most beautiful lilies of the valley, but this time she did not meet the young man. She threw the flowers into the river and returned home sad.
The next day the stranger himself came to her home. The guest was greeted by an old woman, he seemed pleasant to her and well-mannered person. It turned out that his name was Erast. He confirmed that he was going to buy flowers from Lisa in the future. Moreover, she does not have to go to the city, he himself will come for them.
Erast
Erast plays an important role in reviews of the work “Poor Liza”. It turned out that he was a rich and noble nobleman. WITH kind hearted, but at the same time flighty and weak-willed. He lived absent-mindedly, caring only about his own pleasure. At the same time, he often complained and moped.
The immaculate beauty of the main character of the story “Poor Liza,” this is especially noted in reviews, amazed and attracted him. It began to seem to him that in this girl he had found something that he had not been able to find for a long time.
The young people began dating. Almost every day they had long dates. Most often they saw each other on the river bank, less often in a birch grove. Sometimes they spent time under the shade of hundred-year-old oak trees. From time to time they hugged, but their hugs were pure and immaculate.
So days and weeks passed. In the book “Poor Liza” by Karamzin, many people noted this in reviews, everything was described in such a way that it seemed that nothing could interfere with their future happiness.
True, one day Lisa came to a date looking sad and sad. Erast found out that the groom, the son of a local rich peasant, had come to woo her. Mother liked him and agreed that Lisa would marry him. Erast began to console the girl, convincing her that as soon as her mother died, he would definitely take her to him. They will become happy and will live inseparably for the rest of the time.
Lisa responded by reminding him that they could never be together. They will not see a wedding, because she is a simple peasant woman, and Erast is a representative of a prominent and noble noble family. About the story "Poor Liza" in reviews, readers note that this fact was extremely sad main character. After all, being reunited with her beloved Erast was her main dream.
Erast began to object. He began to convince her that the most important thing in a person is the soul. What matters most to him is her sensitivity and innocence, not her origins. Because of this, she will always be close to his heart. Hearing this, Lisa immediately rushed into his arms.
Karamzin further writes that at that very moment she parted with her integrity. Analyzing this work, many reviews note that this is the culminating episode of the story. After it, events develop towards a denouement.
Upset Lisa
The delusion that gripped Lisa soon passed. In its place came fear and surprise. During her farewell to Erast, the girl cried bitterly.
Their dates continued. But they began to pass in a completely different way. Lisa ceased to be for Erast that symbol of purity that so attracted him to her. Platonic relationships were replaced by feelings that he could not be proud of at all. Moreover, they were not new to him. Already known for a long time and not attractive in any way. This change was very noticeable to Lisa, and it seriously saddened her.
Erast leaves for service
On one of the dates, Erast told Lisa that he was being called up for service. He has to go to the army, which means they will be separated for an indefinite period. At the same time, he promised to love her, as before, and when he returned, he would not part with her again.
This separation was difficult for Lisa. Every morning she woke up with hope about her bright future, constantly thinking about Erast. About two months passed like this.
One day Lisa went to Moscow. In the city, she accidentally saw Erast on the street, who drove past her in a rich carriage. He came out near a luxurious house and was about to climb onto the porch when he felt himself in the arms of the main character.
Erast instantly turned pale, and then, without saying a word, he took her to his office and carefully locked the door. He announced to Lisa that everything had changed in his life, he was now engaged.
Before the girl had time to come to her senses, Erast called a servant, ordering him to escort her from the yard.
Death of Lisa
Once on the street, Lisa ran wherever she could. She could not believe the betrayal of her loved one. As a result, she came to the shore of a deep pond, found herself under the canopy of oak trees, where she spent so much time with her lover.
In the distance, she saw a neighbor's girl wandering along the road. Lisa called her over, gave her all the money she had with her, told her to give it to her mother, kiss her and forgive her poor daughter. The next moment she threw herself into the water. No one could save her.
Lisa's mother, having learned about her daughter's death, died on the spot. Erast married, but lived an unhappy life. He really served in the army, as he told Lisa, but he did not fight the enemy, but played cards. As a result, I lost my entire fortune. To improve his affairs, he had to marry a rich widow.
Poor Lisa (collection) Nikolay Karamzin
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Title: Poor Lisa (collection)
About the book “Poor Liza (collection)” Nikolai Karamzin
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin (1766–1826) - writer, historian and educator, creator of one of the most significant works in Russian historiography– “History of the Russian State”, the founder of Russian sentimentalism.
The book includes the stories “Poor Lisa,” “Bornholm Island,” and “Sierra Morena,” as well as a collection of essays, “Letters from a Russian Traveler.”
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Quotes from the book “Poor Liza (collection)” Nikolai Karamzin
She threw herself into his arms - and now her integrity had to perish! - Erast felt an extraordinary excitement in his blood - Liza had never seemed so charming to him - never had her caresses touched him so much - never had her kisses been so fiery - she knew nothing, suspected nothing, was afraid of nothing - the darkness of the evening nourished desires - not a single star shone in the sky - no ray could illuminate delusions. - Erast feels awe in himself - Lisa also, not knowing why - not knowing what is happening to her... Ah, Lisa, Lisa! Where is your guardian angel? Where is your innocence?
Lizin's father was a fairly prosperous villager, because he loved work, plowed the land well and always led a sober life.
“You must, young man,” he said, “you must inform me about the events of the world that I left behind, but have not yet completely forgotten. I have been living in solitude for a long time; I have not heard anything about the fate of people for a long time. Tell me if love reigns globe? Is incense burned on the altars of virtue? Are the peoples prosperous in the countries you have seen? “The light of science,” I answered, “is spreading more and more, but human blood is still flowing on the earth—the tears of the unfortunate are shed—they praise the name of virtue and argue about its essence.” – The elder sighed and shrugged.
In order to vividly feel all the audacity of the human spirit, one must be on the open sea, where one thin plank, as Wieland says, separates us from wet death, but where a skilled swimmer, spreading his sails, flies and in his thoughts already sees the glitter of gold, which in another parts of the world will be rewarded for his bold enterprise. “Nil mortalibus arduum est” - “Nothing is impossible for mortals,” I thought with Horace, lost in the infinity of Neptune’s kingdom.
The poet preaches the philosophy of “painful joy”, calls melancholy a sweet feeling, which is “the most gentle overflow from sorrow and melancholy to the joys of pleasure.”
Karamzin’s heroes are like shipwrecked people, thrown onto a harsh and wild shore, alone in a deserted land.
Belinsky wrote: “Karamzin was the first in Rus' to write stories that interested society... stories in which people acted, the life of the heart and passions was depicted in the midst of ordinary everyday life.”
Karamzin is deeply convinced that humanity is moving along the path of progress, that it was the 18th century. Thanks to the activities of great educators - scientists, philosophers and writers - he brought people closer to the truth. Misconceptions do exist, but they, like “alien growths, will sooner or later disappear,” for a person will definitely come “to the pleasant goddess-truth.” Having mastered the educational philosophy of his time, Karamzin believes that “enlightenment is the palladium of good morals.” Enlightenment is beneficial for people of all conditions.
