Pushkin arrived in Boldino in the autumn of 1830 to resolve the issue of money for the wedding. He planned to stay there for no more than a month, but a terrible disease raged in the province - cholera, and no one was released due to quarantine. Therefore, he stayed there almost all autumn. During this time, he wrote more than forty works, among them Belkin's Tales.
The cycle of stories has such a name, since Pushkin attributed authorship to the provincial landowner Ivan Petrovich Belkin. Belkin's stories are told as entertaining stories about ordinary people of a simple rank. And the author-collector is the same simple person from the same social environment. Through the heroes, Russia is visible, with its real concerns, everyday life. When the narrator is from the same social background as his characters, this gives credibility to the work. Remember: you have already met with such works. For example, “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”, authored by N.V. Gogol attributed to the beekeeper Rudy Pank.
The story of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin "The Snowstorm" is preceded by an epigraph from the ballad of Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky "Svetlana". Let's remember what an epigraph is.
An epigraph is a small text that precedes a work; it can formulate a theme, succinctly express the main idea, or formulate a problem.
Below is an epigraph from the story "Snowstorm".
Horses rush along the mounds,
Trampling deep snow...
Here, aside the temple of God
Seen alone.
Suddenly a blizzard is all around;
Snow falls in tufts;
Black Raven, whistling its wing,
Hovering over the sleigh;
A prophetic groan says sadness!
The horses are hurried
Sensitively look into the dark distance,
Lifting manes...
The main words that carry the main load are blizzard, crow, distance. All of them are symbols of tragic events that are somehow connected with the blizzard. The word "suddenly" is of great importance, as much in life happens by chance. Why is the story called "Snowstorm"? Three heroes fall into a snowstorm. A blizzard is the element that suddenly breaks into their lives and changes the fate of everyone.
The heroes of the story: Marya Gavrilovna is a rich bride, Vladimir is a poor army ensign, and Burmin is a hussar colonel. The author treats Maria Gavrilovna and Vladimir with irony:
“Maria Gavrilovna was brought up on French novels and, therefore, was in love. Her chosen one was a poor army ensign who was on vacation in his village. It goes without saying that the young man burned with equal passion and that his amiable parents, noticing their mutual inclination, forbade their daughter to think about him, and he was received worse than a retired assessor.
Our lovers were in correspondence, and every day they saw each other alone in a pine grove or at an old chapel.(Fig. 2). There they swore eternal love to each other, complained about fate and made various assumptions. Corresponding and talking in this way, they (which is quite natural) came to the following reasoning: if we cannot breathe without each other, and the will of cruel parents hinders our well-being, then can we not do without it? It goes without saying that this happy thought first occurred to the young man, and that Marya Gavrilovna's romantic imagination greatly liked it..
Winter came and stopped their visits; but the correspondence became all the more lively. Vladimir Nikolaevich in every letter begged her to surrender to him, marry secretly, hide for some time, then throw herself at the feet of her parents, who, of course, would finally be touched by the heroic constancy and misfortune of their lovers and would certainly say to them: “Children! come into our arms”».
Rice. 2. Shmarinov D.A. (1907-1999). Illustrations for the story "Snowstorm" ()
Marya Gavrilovna really wanted her relationship with Vladimir to develop, as in a French novel, where one is poor and the other is rich, and this hinders their love. Vladimir was very suitable for this role. All this was like a game, but when does the game end and it becomes scary for the heroes? Of course, when Marya Gavrilovna has a prophetic dream, because the death of Vladimir will become a reality.
“Having sealed both letters with a Tula seal, which depicted two flaming hearts with a decent inscription, she threw herself on the bed just before dawn and dozed off; but here, too, terrible dreams continually awakened her. It seemed to her that at the very moment she was getting into the sleigh to go to the wedding, her father stopped her, dragged her with excruciating speed over the snow and threw her into a dark, bottomless dungeon ... and she flew headlong with an inexplicable sinking heart; then she saw Vladimir lying on the grass, pale, bloodied. He, dying, begged her in a piercing voice to hasten to marry him ... other ugly, meaningless visions rushed before her one after another.
It becomes scary for the heroes when Masha realizes that she sees her parents for the last time. She doesn't want to leave her father's house. Despite prophetic dreams, pity for her parents and a sense of guilt before them, Masha still goes to church. The description of the blizzard is a sad omen for a fugitive.
“They went into the garden. The blizzard did not subside; the wind blew against her, as if trying to stop the young criminal. They made their way to the end of the garden. On the road, the sleigh was waiting for them. The horses, vegetating, did not stand still; Vladimir's coachman paced in front of the shafts, holding back the zealous. He helped the young lady and her girlfriend to sit down and put the bundles and the box, took the reins, and the horses flew.
Pushkin called Marya Gavrilovna a young criminal. Why? The fact is that Marya Gavrilovna transgressed the moral Christian law, which commands to honor the will of the parents. Vladimir's condition is similar to the feelings of the lyrical hero of Pushkin's poem "Demons" (Fig. 3).
Demons
Clouds are rushing, clouds are winding;
Invisible moon
Illuminates the flying snow;
The sky is cloudy, the night is cloudy.
I'm going, I'm going in an open field;
Ding ding ding bell...
Terrible, terribly scary
Amid the unknown plains!
"Hey, go, coachman!..." - "No urine
Horses, master, it's hard;
The blizzard sticks my eyes;
All roads skidded;
For the life of me, no trace is visible;
We got lost. What should we do!
In the field the demon leads us, apparently
Yes, it circles around.
Look: out, out playing,
Blows, spits on me;
Out - now pushes into the ravine
wild horse;
There's an unprecedented milestone
He stuck out in front of me;
There he flashed a small spark
And disappeared into the empty darkness.
Clouds are rushing, clouds are winding;
Invisible moon
Illuminates the flying snow;
The sky is cloudy, the night is cloudy.
We do not have the strength to spin around;
The bell suddenly stopped;
The horses became ... "What is there in the field?" -
“Who knows them? stump or wolf?
The blizzard is angry, the blizzard is crying;
Sensitive horses snore;
Here he is galloping far away;
Only eyes in the darkness burn;
The horses raced again;
Ding ding ding bell...
I see: the spirits have gathered
Among the whitening plains.
Endless, ugly
In the muddy moon game
Various demons swirled
Like leaves in November...
How many of them! where are they driven?
What is it they sing so plaintively?
Do they bury the brownie
Are witches getting married?
Clouds are rushing, clouds are winding;
Invisible moon
Illuminates the flying snow;
The sky is cloudy, the night is cloudy.
Demons rush swarm after swarm
In the boundless height
Screeching plaintively and howling
Breaking my heart...
Rice. 3. Illustration for the poem "Demons". Artist: N. Karazin. 1898 ()
Where did the demons "lead" Vladimir when the blizzard subsided? (on a beautiful plain, “covered with a white wavy carpet” - this is like a harbinger of the fate of a “poor army ensign”, who will be mortally wounded near Borodino and calm down forever).
How will the kidnapping of Marya Gavrilovna end? In the morning she gets up and comes to breakfast, and in the evening she goes to bed with a fever. The parents decide to give the young people the opportunity to get married, but Vladimir will send a half-crazy letter asking him to forget about him forever. (Here the author breaks the narrative sequence: we do not know what happened in the church. For what? The author creates intrigue to arouse even more interest in the narrative.)
What historical events obscure the history of Marya Gavrilovna and Vladimir? the War of 1812, the Battle of Borodino, where Vladimir would be wounded and then die already in Moscow on the eve of the entry of the French; the end of the war, the return from the campaign of our regiments, military officers, "hung with crosses."
Further, the author tells about the relationship between Marya Gavrilovna and the hussar colonel Burmin.
“We have already said that, despite her coldness, Marya Gavrilovna was still surrounded by seekers. But everyone had to retreat when the wounded hussar colonel Burmin appeared in her castle, with George in his buttonhole and with an interesting pallor, as the young ladies there said. He was about twenty-six years old. He came on vacation to his estates, located in the neighborhood of the village of Marya Gavrilovna. Marya Gavrilovna distinguished him very much. With him, her usual thoughtfulness was revived.
Burmin was indeed a very nice young man. He had just the kind of mind that women like: a mind of propriety and observation, without any pretensions and nonchalantly mocking. His behavior with Marya Gavrilovna was simple and free; but no matter what she said or did, his soul and eyes followed her like that. He seemed of a quiet and modest disposition, but rumor assured that he had once been a terrible rake, and this did not harm him in the opinion of Marya Gavrilovna, who (like all young ladies in general) gladly excused pranks that revealed courage and ardor of character.
The heroes were drawn to each other, she saw that he was not indifferent to him, but did not understand what kept him from explaining. Burmin himself soon revealed the secret, and we will find out what happened four years ago. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin retained the intrigue until the end of the work. Burmin was also swept by a snowstorm, and he ended up in the very church where Marya Gavrilovna was waiting for Vladimir. Here is what he says:
“The storm did not subside; I saw a light and ordered to go there. We arrived at the village; there was a fire in the wooden church. The church was open, a few sledges stood behind the fence; people were walking along the porch. "Here! here!" shouted several voices. I told the driver to drive up. “Have mercy, where did you hesitate? - someone told me, - the bride is in a swoon; pop doesn't know what to do; we were ready to go back. Come out soon." I silently jumped out of the sleigh and entered the church, dimly lit by two or three candles. The girl was sitting on a bench in a dark corner of the church; the other was rubbing her temples. “Thank God,” said this one, “you came by force. You almost killed the young lady. An old priest came up to me with a question: “Would you like me to start?” “Begin, begin, father,” I answered absently. The girl was raised. She seemed to me not bad... An incomprehensible, unforgivable frivolity... I stood beside her in front of the platter; the priest was in a hurry; three men and a maid supported the bride and were busy only with her. We got married. "Kiss," they told us. My wife turned her pale face towards me. I wanted to kiss her ... She cried out: “Ay, not him! not him!” - and fell unconscious. The witnesses fixed their frightened eyes on me. I turned around, walked out of the church without any obstacle, threw myself into the wagon and shouted: "Let's go!"».
Burmin could not hide this story from Marya Gavrilovna, since he sincerely loved her and wanted to be honest with her.
How does fate punish each of the heroes? Vladimir dies, Masha is punished by a series of trials that befell her (marriage to a stranger, Vladimir's death, father's death, inability to get married), Burmin, like Masha, is punished by fate for what he acted thoughtlessly - he joked cruelly. The heroes stumbled, but they repent, and for this they receive forgiveness from fate.
What role did the element (blizzard) play in the fate of all three heroes? She divorced Marya Gavrilovna from Vladimir, but united her with Burmin; helped to reveal the character of each of them; disposed of the lives of the heroes: she punished them for their frivolity, forced them to go through suffering and rewarded them for everything they experienced. That is, the blizzard is also the main, if not the main, hero of the story.
Bibliography
- Varneke B.V. The construction of Belkin's Tales (Russian) // Varneke B.V. Pushkin and his contemporaries: Materials and research / Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. - L .: Publishing house of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1930. - Issue. 38/39. - S. 162-168.
- V.E. Vatsuro "Tales of the late Ivan Petrovich Belkin" // V. E. Vatsuro. Commentator's Notes. - SPb., 1994.
- V.P. Polukhina, V.Ya. Korovina, V.P. Zhuravlev, V.I. Korovin and others. Literature. 6th grade. Tutorial in 2 parts. - M.: 2012. Part 1 - 304 p.; Part 2 - 288 p.
- 5litra.ru ().
- Drevnijmir.ru ().
- Allsoch.ru ().
Homework
- Write an essay on the topic “The role of fate in the story “The Snowstorm” by A.S. Pushkin.
- Answer the questions:
1. Who is the main character of the story "Snowstorm"?
2. What is the author's irony towards these young people?
3. When the game ends and it becomes scary for the heroes?
4. Why does the author start a story about one hero, leave him, go to another?
5. How will the abduction of Marya Gavrilovna end?
6. What was in the church, what happened?
- Write a comparative description of the heroes - Burmin and Vladimir (character, appearance, attitude towards Marya Gavrilovna).
