Biography and themes of creativity Nikolai Leskov

Introduction

Nikolay Semyonovich Leskov (4 (16<#"justify">Biography

Born on February 4 (16th N.S.) in the village of Gorokhovo, Oryol province, in the family of an official of the criminal chamber, who came from the clergy. Childhood years passed in the estate of relatives of the Strakhovs, then in Orel. After retiring, Leskov's father took up agriculture in the Panin farm in the Kromsky district that he acquired. In the wilderness of Oryol, the future writer was able to see and learn a lot, which later gave him the right to say: "I did not study the people from conversations with Petersburg cabbies ... I grew up among the people ... I was my own man with the people ... I was this people are closest to all priests ... "In 1841 - 1846 Leskov studied at the Oryol gymnasium, which he could not graduate from: in the sixteenth year he lost his father, and the family property was destroyed in a fire. Leskov joined the Oryol Criminal Chamber of the Court, which gave him good material for future works.

In 1849, with the support of his uncle, the Kiev professor S. Alferyev, Leskov was transferred to Kiev as an official of the state chamber. In the house of his uncle, mother's brother, professor of medicine, under the influence of progressive university professors, Leskov's ardent interest in Herzen, in the great poet of Ukraine Taras Shevchenko, in Ukrainian culture was awakened, he became interested in the ancient painting and architecture of Kiev, later becoming an outstanding connoisseur of ancient Russian art.

In 1857, Leskov retired and entered the private service of a large trading company that was engaged in the resettlement of peasants to new lands and for which he traveled to almost the entire European part of Russia.

The beginning of Leskov's literary activity dates back to 1860, when he first appeared as a progressive publicist. In January 1861 Leskov settled in St. Petersburg with a desire to devote himself to literary and journalistic activities. He began to publish in Otechestvennye zapiski.

Leskov came to Russian literature, having a great supply of observations on Russian life, with sincere sympathy for the needs of the people, which was reflected in his stories The Extinguished Business (1862), The Robber; in the stories "The Life of a Woman" (1863), "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" (1865).

In 1862 he visited Poland, Western Ukraine, and the Czech Republic as a correspondent for the newspaper "Severnaya Beelya". He wanted to get acquainted with the life, art and poetry of the Western Slavs, whom he was very sympathetic to. The trip ended with a visit to Paris. In the spring of 1863 Leskov returned to Russia.

Knowing well the province, its needs, human characters, the details of life and deep ideological currents, Leskov did not accept the calculations of the "theoreticians" cut off from Russian roots. He talks about this in the story "Musk ox" (1863), in the novels "Nowhere" (1864), "Bypassed" (1865), "At the Knives" (1870). They outline the theme of Russia's unpreparedness for the revolution and the tragic fate of people who have linked their lives with the hope of its speedy realization. Hence the disagreement with the revolutionary democrats.

Between 1870 and 1880 Leskov overestimated a lot; acquaintance with Tolstoy has a great influence on him. National-historical issues appeared in his work: the novel "Soborians" (1872), "A weary family" (1874). During these years he wrote several stories about artists: "The Islanders", "The Sealed Angel".

The talent of the Russian man, the kindness and generosity of his soul have always admired Leskov, and this theme found its expression in the stories "Lefty (The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea)" (1881), "Dumb Artist" (1883), "Man on hours "(1887).

In Leskov's legacy, satire, humor and irony occupy a large place: "Selected Grain", "Shameless", "Empty Dancers" and others. The story "Rabbit Hearth" was the last major work of the writer.

Leskov died in St. Petersburg.

Literary career

Leskov began publishing relatively late - at the twenty-sixth year of his life, having placed several notes in the newspaper "St. Petersburg Vedomosti" (1859-1860), several articles in the Kiev editions "Modern Medicine", which was published by A.P. Walter<#"justify">Pseudonyms N. S. Leskov

At the beginning of his creative activity, Leskov wrote under the pseudonym<#"justify">Fire article

In an article about fires in the magazine "Northern Bee" on May 30<#"center">democrat righteous reformer leskov

"Nowhere"

Since early 1862<#"justify">First stories

In 1863<#"justify">"On knives"

In 1870<#"justify">"Cathedrals"

The novel "On Knives" was a turning point in the writer's work. As M. Gorky noted<#"justify">"Lefty"

One of the most striking images in the gallery of Leskov's "righteous" was the Lefty ("The Tale of the Tula oblique left-hander and the steel flea", 1881). Subsequently, critics noted here, on the one hand, the virtuosity of the embodiment of Leskov's "tale", saturated with puns and original neologisms (often with a mocking, satirical subtext), on the other hand, the multi-layered narrative, the presence of two points of view: open (belonging to an innocent character) and hidden , copyright, often the opposite.

As the biographer B. Ya. Bukhshtab noted, such "cunning" was manifested primarily in the description of the actions of Ataman Platov<#"justify">-1874 years

The creation of a gallery of bright positive characters was continued by the writer in a collection of stories published under the general title "The Righteous" ("Figure", "The Man on the Clock", "Non-Lethal Golovan", etc.) As critics later noted, Leskov's righteous are united by "straightforwardness, fearlessness , heightened conscientiousness, inability to come to terms with evil. "<#"justify">Attitude towards the church

Leskov's attitude towards the church was influenced by the influence of Leo Tolstoy, with whom he became close in the late 1880s. “I am always in agreement with him and there is no one on earth who is dearer to me than him. I am never embarrassed by something that I cannot share with him: I value his common, so to speak, the dominant mood of his soul and the terrible penetration of his mind, ”Leskov wrote about Tolstoy in one of his letters to V. G. Chertkov.

Perhaps Leskov's most notable anti-ecclesiastical work was the story "Midnights<#"justify">Bibliography

1.Essays on the distilling industry "(1861; article; published in April 1861 in the journal Otechestvennye zapiski")

2."Extinguished Business" (1862; first story)

."From a travel diary" (1862-1863; collection of journalistic essays)

."Russian Society in Paris" (1863; essay)

."The Life of a Woman" (1863; story)

."Musk ox" (1863; story)

."Nowhere" (1863-1864; "anti-nihilistic" novel depicting the life of a commune organized by "nihilists")

."Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" (1865; story)

."Bypassed" (1865; story; the plot was conceived in contrast to the story "What is to be done?" By N. G. Chernyshevsky)

."Warrior" (1866, story)

."The Islanders" (1866; a story about the Germans who lived in St. Pereburg)

.The Prodigal (1867; drama; first production - in 1867 at the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg)

."Kotin Miller and Platonida" (1867; story)

."The old years in the village of Plodomasovo" (1869; story)

."At the Knives" (1870-1871; "anti-nihilistic" novel; first published in the "Russian Bulletin" in 1870-1871)

."The Mysterious Man" (1870; biographical sketch about the Swiss AI Benny, who came to St. Petersburg on behalf of AI Herzen and lived for some time in Leskov's apartment)

.Cathedrals (1872; novel-chronicle about the clergy)

."The Sealed Angel" (1873; a story about a community of schismatics, later included in the collection "The Righteous")

."The Enchanted Wanderer" (1873; original title - "Black Earth Telemac"; a story that later entered the collection "The Righteous"; Leskov himself defined the genre of "The Enchanted Wanderer" as a story)

."At the End of the World" (1875-1876; story)

."Iron Will" (1876; a story about Russian and German national characters, based on true events that occurred in the 1850s-1860s, when Leskov served in the Scott & Wilkins company)

."At the End of the World" (1876; story later included in the collection "The Righteous")

.The Unbaptized Pop (1877; novella)

."Vladychny Court" (1877; essay on the Metropolitan of Kiev Philaret)

."The Mirror of the Life of a True Disciple of Christ" (1877; journalism)

."Prophecies of the Messiah" (1878; journalism)

."Little things of the episcopal life" (1878; a series of essays on the Russian clergy; first published in September-November 1878 in the newspaper "Novosti")

."Odnodum" (1879; story, later included in the collection "The Righteous")

."A pointer to the book of the New Testament" (1879; journalism)

.Sheramur (1879; a story later included in the collection The Righteous)

."Bishops' detours" (1879; essay on the Orthodox Church)

."Diocesan Court" (1880; essay on the Orthodox Church)

."Cadet Monastery" (1880; a story about the director of the cadet corps, later included in the collection "The Righteous")

."Non-lethal Golovan" (1880; story, later included in the collection "The Righteous"; the hero of the story belongs to the bourgeois class)

."Holy Shadows" (1881; essay on the Orthodox Church)

.Compilation of Fatherly Opinions on the Importance of Scripture (1881)

."Christ is visiting a peasant" (1881; story from the cycle "Christmas stories")

."Synodal Persons" (1882; essay on the Orthodox Church)

."Ghost in the Engineer's Castle" (1882; story from the cycle "Christmas Tales")

."Traveling with a Nihilist" (1882; story from the cycle "Christmas Tales")

."The Beast" (1883; story from the cycle "Christmas Tales")

."Pechersk Antiques" (1883; cycle of essays)

."Dumb artist" (1883; story about the serf "artist-hairdresser")

."Lefty" (1883; skaz, later included in the collection "The Righteous")

."Alexandrite" (1885; story from the cycle "Stories by the way")

."The Old Genius" (1884; story from the cycle "Christmas Tales")

."Scarecrow" (1885; story from the cycle "Yuletide Tales")

."Interesting Men" (1885; story from the cycle "Stories by the way")

."Old psychopaths" (1885; story from the cycle "Stories by the way")

."The Legend of Theodore the Christian and his friend Abram the Jew" (1886)

."Unmercenary Engineers" (1887; story, later included in the collection "The Righteous")

."Skomorokh Pamfalon" (1887; the original title "God-loving buffoon" was not missed by the censor)

."The Man on the Watch" (1887; story about a soldier, later included in the collection "The Righteous")

."The Lion of Elder Gerasim" (1888)

."The Dead Class" (1888; story from the cycle "Stories by the way")

."Mountain" (1890; the first version of "Zeno the Goldsmith" was not censored)

.The Hour of God's Will (1890; story)

."Devil's Dolls" 1890; novel pamphlet)

.The Innocent Prudence (1891)

.The Midnighters (1891; novella)

.Yudol (1892; story)

.The Improvisers (1892; story)

."Corral" (1893; story from the cycle "Stories by the way")

."Product of Nature" (1893; short story)

."Administrative grace" (1893; short story criticizing the political system of the Russian Empire; published after the revolutionary coup of 1917)

."Rabbit Remiz" (1894; a story that criticized the political system of the Russian Empire; published after the revolutionary coup of 1917)

."Lady and Fefela" (1894; story from the cycle "Stories by the way")

."Night owls" (1894; story; first published in the "Bulletin of Europe")

Russian European and righteous democrat as reformers through the eyes of N. S. Leskov

Contemporary criticism for Leskov has revealed the main tendency - the appeal of researchers to the originality of the narrative of Laughter and Grief. At the same time, the plot-compositional and figurative systems of the story represent a more complex artistic education, which is stated in the subtitle and dedication. Even before acquaintance with the composition and plot of the story, two melodies sound already: Russian and foreign. And these two melodies are connected by the problem of national character, by the interaction of Russian and European principles.

The hero of the story is Russian in origin and character, but European in views - Vatazhkov. The writer perceived the Russian character as not ideal. Leskov gives two views at the same time: a European, looking at what is happening in Russia, sees grief, and Russians see laughter. Until now, Vatazhkov is still not really understood - a figure in a special way beloved in the world of Leskov. The duet of their voices - a Russian European and a writer - is harmonious so that you can feel the strong overtones of the author's voice. Leskov sympathizes with Vatazhkov, as a person can sympathize with himself, but there is an ironic distance. Thanks to the vision in different prisms - the prism of self-expression, self-knowledge, in the prism of another consciousness - the characters of the “strange” Russians and Russian Europeans acquire a greater volume than if each of them were only alone with their own world.

The Russian person in the artistic world of Leskov is a complex phenomenon, the spiritual peak of which is the image of the righteous. The characters of the righteous as the embodiment of the Russian national character in Leskov's prose are associated with other types of Russian national character, including the type of the Russian European. Of interest is the type of the Russian righteous man as an unfulfilled reformer, who is closely related to the type of the Russian European. Relations of complementarity and contrast emerge between the story Laughter and Grief and the parallel story A Russian Democrat in Poland (1880).

The story "Laughter and Grief" is similar to the story "A Russian Democrat in Poland" and the motive of "strange" surprises, unpleasant surprises in Russian reality, in which the Russian character is revealed. The story is presented with bitter irony by the narrator. Once again, the narrative unites different polarities - laughter and grief. The righteous in the story are at first out-of-plot characters, the collective image of retirees, but the course of the story in the story leads the reader to the fact that in the main character we gradually begin to see a righteous person.

The main character of the story "Laughter and Grief" Vatazhkov is endowed with a surname from the category of speaking surnames, comes from the word "vatazhka", which means "society." The surname "Vatazhkov" gives the character the typical features of immature Russian society. Samburskiy has a foreign-language surname, which can be interpreted in different ways. The name of the character alone makes it possible to see the complexity of Sambursky's national self-identification, which was extremely important for Leskov, who loved Russian characters that arise from a combination of Russian and Polish principles.

This story reveals Leskov's views on the purpose of Russia, its place in the world, its relationship with kindred countries and cultures, and also gives Leskov's assessment of the man-reformer.

The author's thought is expressed not only in the plot about the failed project of Samburskiy, but also in the individual components of the plot, included in the narrative of anecdotes, in the author's sounding remarks regarding the concept of A.S. Khomyakov, various ideas about the purpose of Russia. The quote from A. S. Khomyakov “We \u200b\u200bbelieved for a long time amid eastern laziness and dirty bustle”, presented in the author's retelling at the beginning of the story, actualizes the complex topic of the relationship between Leskov and the Slavophiles, the relationship between their moral and philosophical concepts, ideas about the Russian people and character.

In the Russian character, Sambursky, by his actions, points to such important qualities as fortitude, warm hospitality, and patriotism. Samburskiy is a large character, a monolithic personality, integral in its moral basis. He loves the country with his heart, with living, objective love. His character is not subject to the passage of time. His character traits are efficiency, stubbornness, modesty, justice, and most importantly, firmness. The practical qualities of the righteous reformer are in harmony with the moral. The integrity of his righteous life, like that of other righteous people depicted by Leskov, is filled with beauty. On the other hand, Leskov, true to his method, does not idealize the righteous either. The depiction of a righteous Russian democrat in the story does not look unambiguous, since Leskov also makes his image stereoscopic.

In the story "Laughter and Grief" the Russian European is a failed reformer Vatazhkov, his life in Russia is depicted as an anecdote symbol. The writer pays great attention to considering the serious problem of adaptation of Russian Europeans in Russian society. Vatazhkov is akin to the Russian Europeans I. S. Turgenev, the writer and revolutionary A. I. Herzen ...

Vatazhkov, being for Leskov an example of everything Russian, does not possess the firmness that the righteous Sambursky possesses. The character of Vatazhkov has strengths and weaknesses, is depicted in the story in many ways, shaded from all other characters of the characters, in which a certain trait of the Russian character dominates in an exaggerated form. This made it possible to create a typology of Russian character in the story, for the holistic character of Vatazhkov and other characters representing different types of character create a large-scale picture of Russia.

In the artistic world of Leskov, the Russian European, the failed reformer Vatazhkov plays an important, significant role, but does not stand alone. His view of Russian reality and Russian character is sober. The character analyzes the life he saw in Russia in comparison with Western landmarks and feels helpless due to ignorance of the country.

Vatazhkov and Samburskiy as reformers are distinguished by their different attitudes towards people, towards their own destiny, but despite the failure to implement plans to reform the life of society, they are united by a more important and valuable thing: their strong-willed moral choice is not to go against their conscience. Both he and the other would never want to harm their people and country. Ideal in politics would be, according to Leskov, the union of conscience and justice, the best features of these characters.

Colorisms and their functioning in the prose of N. S. Leskov

The functioning of linguistic units in a literary text is indicative of the uniqueness of the writer's idiostyle. The specificity of the author's idiostyle also depends on what colors and for what purpose he uses.

Colorisms are understood as linguistic (usual) or speech (occasional) units, which include a root morph, semantically or etymologically related to color naming.

The object of analysis was colorism, and the material of the study was the works of "a special person and a special writer" of the 19th century NS Leskov (the story "The Enchanted Wanderer", the story "The Stupid Artist" and the novel "Cathedrals").

For a multifaceted analysis of the colorisms used by Leskov in the works under study, six parameters are important (semantics, origin, morphemic structure, part-of-speech attribution, usage patterns, functions in a literary text).

Consideration of the color gamut of Leskov's colors leads to the conclusion: chromaticisms and basic colors of the spectrum are most often used.

In the process of analyzing the use of colorisms in Leskov's works, it was revealed that the color gamut makes up a list of 53 colors and 4 combinations, and 409 examples of the use of colorisms.

The favorite colors of the writer are simple and bright: colors with the root white, black, red, sin, gray, yellow, green.

From a lexico-grammatical point of view, the colors used in Leskov's works are expressed in four parts of speech: noun, adjective, verb and adverb. The predominance of adjectives, it seems, is directly related to the realistic, partly even naturalistic manner of writing this author.

The use of mixed colors, rare in the national consciousness (for example, purple, orange, blange, masak), is found in works in isolated cases: a dwarf in a "masak cloak", Savely Tuberozov from a dream "in a violet kamilavka", Martha Plodomasova has a "bright orange skirt" , "Blaze cloud".

The colors used by the writer can be classified into 8 rows with a common meaning of some basic color. The most numerous rows of colors in the works of this writer are rows of yellow and red, since they include 12 roots.

Leskov rarely uses the names of color combinations.

Complex colors in the structure of the studied works of Leskov are few in number. It should be noted that in the works of Leskov, there are colors expressed using phrases. Moreover, all examples are unusual and peculiar: "the color of pink-yellow clouds", "masaka color", "the color of ripening plum".

An analysis of the use of colorisms in a literary text shows that their functions are diverse.

In general, two functions of colorisms can be identified: the function of symbolization and pictorial and expressive. Moreover, each of them can act as text-forming.

The pictorial and expressive function in the studied material is realized in non-identical private manifestations, which indicates the originality of the color perception of a creative person. So, the detailing function of colorisms acts as a sign of Leskov's style. The injection of a number of colorisms (for the most part belonging to the same color field) is typical in all analyzed texts.

In Leskov's novel "Cathedrals", the use of colorisms is distinguished by the originality of syntagmatics ("brown eyes", "blue face, nose" turned green, "" yellow person, "etc.).

Leskov's color coincides with the ideological thread of the artist's intention. He is no longer an image of an object, but an expression of thought. The stylistic feature of Leskov's colors is that, using only white and black colors, he could create images that are bright and unforgettable: the image of Ivan Severyanovich Flyagin and a beautiful gypsy. Here the writer acts as a graphic artist.

The techniques of Leskov's artistic depiction are diverse. The accuracy of Leskov's linguistic colors is the guide through which the poetry of this prose writer enters the heart of the reader.

Top semantics in the stories of N.S. Leskov "The Mountain" and "The Sealed Angel"

In the mythopoetic and religious tradition, there is a universal concept of "path" that has become central to Christianity. The path connects certain points: the beginning and the center, the periphery and the nuclear, sacredly marked point of space. Such "polar points" are unbelief and faith, respectively marked with negative-positive semantics. The religious and mythological context of "unbelief" includes it in the paradigm of the "crooked, curved path" and the symbolism of the circle as hopelessness, a restless spirit.

It is in the circles of such "wandering in the dark" that the main heroine of the "Egyptian Tale" "The Mountain" by NS Leskov enters. At the very beginning of the path, Nefora is still very far from the "center" of the path. Nephor's path to Zeno is indirect, winding, tense. On the plot level, this “wandering in the dark” ends with “darkness”, “dirt and coal dust” as markers of an unclean, “stained” path and, as a result, with the hatred of Nephora and the desire for “revenge on all Christians”.

"Mount Ader" is that sacred center with which "impossibly difficult metaphysical problems are associated: the beginning and end in time and space, simplicity and complexity, freedom and lack of freedom of will, the existence or non-existence of God." So, the path of Nephor as a circulation, wandering, self-destruction by passion, revenge and hatred at the same time - this is a path "around the center" - around the mountain.

In the mundane space (“near the mountain”), where the “center” is modeled, all those who go to it have “cosmological valence” and become a semantic similarity of this center. Therefore, the main condition for approaching the center for walking is the presence in them of a certain "cosmological implication", "related" to them with the "point of concentration of the sacred in space." That is why, on the way to the center, those in whom such a “kinship” is imaginary: all the noble parishioners ran away at night. Only the strong in spirit reach the mountain, those that are weaker turn aside or stop. Thus, the path to grief is associated with tests for the truth of faith and the absence of fear.

The text reveals figurative-symbolic, plot and motivational parallels with the precedent text of the story - the Bible. Zeno's ascent to Mount Ader is a direct allusion to the ascent of Jesus Christ to Calvary. The choice of the mountain for solitary meditation is not accidental, since in the world religion it is the seat of sages and hermits, the locus most suitable for meditation: immersion in oneself and union with God. Hence - the ritual destination of the mountain for worship. The mountain is located at the intersection of two points of the spatial vertical: the earth and the sky. In the context of the indicated vertical of the top and bottom, the mountain at the same time connects two opposites: darkness and light, death and life. The “locus distribution” of the characters can be called not accidental in the text of the story: below (at the foot of the mountain) there are those who are spiritually blind (“darkness”) or weak in spirit; on the mountain itself were only spiritually enlightened, filled with faith and love ("light") Zeno and Nephorus.

The ratio of the foot of the mountain to the “bottom” is confirmed at the text level by means of motives. One of the "profane motives" can be considered the motive of the "dance of death", reinforced by the motives of fun, carelessness, feast, revelry and "allowed" by "extreme states" and death.

The "dance of death" at the foot of the mountain is contrasted with a meditative immersion in their inner world and in comprehension of the essence of God's world, Zeno and Nephoros who ascended the mountain. If Zeno was originally shown in the story as a “already established” Christian with great strength of will, spirit and faith, then Nefore, before ascending, had to fall many times. Both those who passed the initiation were confirmed in the faith, for which "they were useful to people and kind to God."

Possessing the ability to connect vertical points, the mountain "permeates" all spheres of being: heaven, earth and the underworld. This serves as the basis in various world cultures for understanding the mountain as, firstly, a "semantic synonym" of the World Tree, World Axis, Ladder, Navel of the Earth. All these universal symbols are similar not so much structurally as semantically, therefore they are isomorphs. Mount Ader is the place that “attests to its highest sacredness” in the text of the story.

The isomorphism of the mountain and world universal images, its location, the meditative function of connecting the vertical and horizontal points - all this confirms the dominant symbolism of Mount Ader. The mountain is a symbol of spiritual elevation, the concentration of divine power. The premonition of the constant presence of the theistic top sacralizes this image. This explains the implication of the mythologeme of the path in Leskov's story "The Mountain": to it, to the mountain as the personification of the spirit, you need to reach, the path is difficult, dangerous, fraught with many trials and losses. This path is a kind of initiation: those who have climbed the mountain (who have achieved spiritual enlightenment, spiritual knowledge and understanding) feel the divine powers in themselves for solving inhuman tasks: “The mountain is coming! .. The mountain is coming !! Great is the Christian God! The artist Zeno the goldsmith moved the mountain! "

At the same time, the mountain in the text of the story symbolizes difficulties and, at first glance, unresolved problems: their overcoming depends on the degree of faith and fortitude: “in order to go this way ... that you have to be ready for anything, not counting how many of us: one or many. "

The sacralization of the path in another story by Leskov “The Sealed Angel” is evidenced by the key biblical mythologem “angel”: angels “know” God's knowledge (and “broadcast” about it - pass it on to people) and, as a result, “lead” (direct) them: “ Any saved person is not led by an Ethiopian, but an angel guides. " The angel is a symbol of service, higher spirituality, purity, intercession. It is no coincidence that the angelic statement is not visible, more often than not it is not realized: "... the angelic way is not visible to everyone ...". Angels are considered "guides." The iconographic image of an angel in the text of the story is clearly canonized with images of wings, a cross, a sword.

The mythologeme “way”, central to the Christian cultural tradition, is included in the text of Leskov's story for several reasons.

The motive of the road actualizes the guiding role of the angel depicted on the icon: “And so the icon ... passed before us, as if the angel himself preceded us”.

From the place where the angel led the workers ("under the big city, on the big flowing water, on the Dnieper River"), the "wondrous miracles from the angel" begin. A “good place”, saturated with a “peaceful spirit”: prayers, chants, icons, becomes a sacred locus, which is charged with a certain potential of searching for the “true path” and explicates the intention of “transition”, “exit”, “search”. At the textual level, it is represented by the myths of the bridge and the stairs.

In the mythological tradition, a bridge, like a staircase, is a mediator between two worlds, a symbol of reaching the “other shore” and, as a consequence, an isomorph of a path and a crossroads. Connecting the “two banks” horizontally, the bridge implicitly joins the “false” and “true”, “sacral” and “profane”, “divine” and “devilish” - the so-called “vertical” antitheses. The ambivalent semantics of mediator images unfolds the textual paradigm of "miracles" performed by the "omnipotent power of God."

The phenomenon of "departure" (literally - the fall of the iconographic angelic image from the analogion is considered as a divine omen, as a harbinger of troubles, misfortunes, as a sign of heavenly punishment. In the text of the story, the "fall" of the icon is accompanied by a plot of anxiety and the prophetic dream of Mikhailitsa. destruction, death, which is actualized by images from colorative-zoomorphic-pyromorphic models: fire, pillar of fire, rooster ... Contextual stringing of images symbolizing and foreshadowing misfortune is emphasized here by verbs from the lexico-semantic group of “destruction, destruction, violence”: “everything burned out "," The river carries ash yes ... twists and swallows deeply, sucks "and abstract nouns that convey the psychological state of fear, anxiety, horror.

The "ascent" of an angel on a lectern is accomplished in a prayer of forgiveness by the kneeling grandfather Maroi. The motive of ritual ablution with the help of "twelve clean plinths of new fired bricks" is not accidental here either. The ritual erection of the “ladder” along which the icon was “ascended” is saturated with the symbolism of the divine, sacred numbers “twelve” and “three”, as well as the “cleansing” coloratives “fiery” and “pure” (triple contextual duplication testifies to the semantic dominant of the “sacred action "). Thus, the “descent” (“fall”) of the angelic icon and its “ascent” to its former place (lifting on a lectern) are associated with forerunners and symbolic meanings.

The bright angelic face is "sealed" with a "boiling resin stream". Fire here (as in the rest of the text "water") manifests its destructive power: "scorched pure face", "fire resin imprinting", "fire brand", "fire jet", "blood" - "fire" is actualized on the mythological cut of psychological associatives "hell", "death", "punishment", "retribution". From this moment on, the text introduces the leitmotif of blindness, which semantically breaks down into a number of motives derived from it.

The abuse of the icon entailed a heavenly punishment. The "boomerang law" worked: the blindness of the angel, his "fiery seal" entailed "visible" diseases. This is how the “face” takes on the signs of God's punishment.

From the moment of the loss of the angel protecting the Old Believers, the “path” of “return” (“abduction of the sealed angel”) and “unsealing” of his “pure face” begins. The protective nature of the icon-painting angel is manifested not only in the fact that he is “our keeper”, but also in his ability to “stand up for himself”. And this is due to the secret of icon painting. The self-protective power of the icon-painting angel lies in the uniqueness of the icon of Stroganov's writing.

So, in the context of understanding the protective and protective nature of the icon-painting image, the universal opposition “true - false” is explicated, realized by binary pairs: “commercial (worldly)” “icon-painting”; "Secular artist" "icon painter"; "Old icon painting school" "new icon painting school"; "Msterskaya" icon painting school "Palekhovskaya" icon painting school.

Further in the text, binarity "multiplies", if I may say so: the differences between icon painting schools and masters of icon painting are not "opposed", but presented as a "multiple structure. Icon-painting masters and schools are united into one - "Russian school", opposed to "foreign" as "amazing, wonderful".

If in opposite pairs the second member of the binary opposition is marked with “sacred semantics” correlated with eternity, strength, strength, heaven, spirit, then in the antithesis “Russian foreign” “Russian”, implying the symbolism of “oblivion, breaking ties”, is negatively colored. Thus, the concept of memory is realized in the same universal opposition "true false", directly correlated with "earthly" and "heavenly" as "perishable, transitory" - on the one hand, and - "eternal, spiritual" - on the other.

The same semantics of “true heavenly” and “perishable earthly” is reflected in the contextual antithesis “holy scripture - icon painting”, which are combined in the mythologem “paths. The search for Sevastyan, a real iconographer, and the return of the angelic icon resemble a winding path, the path "after", this is the path of losses and gains. The path of search and return is sacralized, as it is marked by the presence of God: angelic help and divine "divas".

Thus, the path of finding the lost angel is the path of finding love. And the "unsealing" of the angelic face is not only the skillful removal of the "fire-resin imprinting", but also the liberation of souls with the help of love from the vanity of the world and lies.

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The second half of the nineteenth century was a real golden period for Russian literature. At this time, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Turgenev, Nekrasov, Ostrovsky, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Goncharov worked. An impressive list, isn't it?

There lived and wrote during this period another great Russian writer, familiar to all of us from childhood - Nikolai Semenovich Leskov.

Biography of the writer. Family and childhood

The future classic of Russian literature was born in 1831 in the Oryol district, in the village of Gorokhovo. His grandfather was a priest, his father also graduated from theological seminary, but went to work as an investigator in the Oryol Criminal Chamber. After being forced to retire, he moved with his family to Panino (village), in

The writer's childhood was spent in the village. It was here that he "absorbed" the language of the Russian people, which formed the basis of the unique "Leskov language" - a special style of presentation, which later became the main feature of his

The biography of Nikolai Leskov contains a mention of the fact that he studied poorly at the gymnasium. Later, the writer said about himself that he was "self-taught." Not passing the exam for transferring to the next grade, the young man left the educational institution and began working as a scribe in the Oryol Criminal Chamber.

Biography of N. S. Leskov. Commercial service

After the death of his father, the eldest son Nikolai takes on the responsibility of caring for the family (besides him, his parents had six more children). The young man moved to Kiev, where he first got a job in the Kiev Treasury Chamber, and then transferred to the commercial company of a maternal relative, the English entrepreneur A. Ya. Shkot (Scott). On duty, Nikolai Leskov often travels around the country. The knowledge and impressions gained during these trips will then form the basis of many of the writer's works.

Nikolai the Writer - the opponent of nihilism

As they say, there would be no happiness, but misfortune helped. In 1860 the company "Shekot and Wilkens" was closed, and Nikolai Semyonovich moved to St. Petersburg, where he began writing in earnest.

At first, Leskov acts as a publicist: he prints articles and essays on topical topics. Collaborates with the magazines "Northern Bee", "Otechestvennye zapiski", "Russian speech".

In 1863, The Life of a Woman and The Musk Ox, the first stories of the writer, were published. The next year he published the famous novel "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District", some short stories, as well as his first novel "Nowhere". In it, nihilism, fashionable at that time, is opposed to the fundamental values \u200b\u200bof the Russian people - Christianity, nepotism, respect for daily work. The next major work, also containing a criticism of nihilism, was the novel At the Knives, published in 1870.

Attitude towards the church

As a descendant of clergy, Leskov attached great importance to Christianity and its role in Russian life. Chronicles "Soborians" are dedicated to priests, as a stabilizing force of their time. The writer has stories and stories, united in the collection "The Righteous". They tell about honest, conscientious people with whom the Russian land is rich. In the same period, the amazing story "The Captured Angel" was published - one of the best works created by a writer named Nikolai Leskov. His biography, however, suggests that he subsequently succumbed to the influence of Lev Tolstov and became disillusioned with the Russian clergy. His later works are filled with bitter sarcasm in relation to "priesthood".

Nikolai Leskov died in 1895 in St. Petersburg, at the age of 64.

Nikolai Semenovich Leskov left behind a large number of original and beloved works by us to this day. His biography reflects the difficult path of a thinking and self-seeking person. But no matter how his creative development goes, we still know and love his "Lefty", "The Enchanted Wanderer", "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" and many other creations.

Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov was born on February 16 (4 according to the old style), 1831 in the village of Gorokhovo, Oryol province, into the family of an official (the son of a priest); his mother was a noblewoman. The writer's childhood passed in the Oryol estate of his mother's relatives, and then in Orel. The future writer studied at the Oryol gymnasium, but the death of his father and the fire, which destroyed almost all the family's property, did not give him the opportunity to complete the course. From 1847 he served first in the Oryol Criminal, then in the Kiev Treasury Chamber. He supplemented his lack of education with reading, attended lectures on agronomy, forensic science, state law, and anatomy as a volunteer at Kiev University.
In 1853 Leskov married Olga Vasilievna Smirnova, the daughter of a Kiev merchant. In 1857, he retired and entered the private service of his relative, who managed large estates. Working as his assistant, he travels a lot around the country, accompanying peasant migrants.
In 1861 Leskov parted with his wife and moved to St. Petersburg to devote himself entirely to literary creativity. Not long before that, his essays and articles appeared in Petersburg magazines. One of these articles - about the St. Petersburg fires (the author demands either to refute the rumors that the fires were organized by students, or to find and punish those responsible) - served as the beginning of his long polemic with the revolutionary democrats. Leskov became the object of offensive suspicions. An undeserved resentment prompted him to go abroad (as a correspondent for the newspaper "Severnaya Beelya"), and most importantly, to change in many ways his views on progress and the path to it, on the revolutionary movement.
In the 60s, Leskov wrote novels and stories, mainly devoted to the life of provincial Russia; the most famous of them are "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District", "The Life of a Woman", "Warrior". Many of his works are published under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. In the second half of the 60s - early 70s. antihilistic novels "Nowhere" and "At the Daggers" appeared. The latter brought the writer scandalous fame and became a kind of crisis, which ended with Leskov's settling of scores with the revolutionary movement of the 60s.
In 1865, Ekaterina Stepanovna Bubnova became Leskov's common-law wife; in 1866 their son Andrey was born (the future biographer of the writer).
With the beginning of the 70s. the second half of Leskov's activity begins, almost free from the anger of the day. The great success of the novel "Soboryane" allowed both the readers and the author himself to determine his main talent and vocation - to see and show the bright color of the most gray, at first glance, positions and layers of Russian life. One after another, excellent stories and stories appear: "The Captured Angel", "The Enchanted Wanderer", "The Non-Fatal Golovan", which compiled a special volume in Leskov's Collected Works under the general title "The Righteous." In 1881 the famous "Lefty" is presented to the readers.
In the late 70s, in the 80s. the relations of the writer with the liberal press are improving. Accordingly to this reconciliation, Leskov's attitude towards the "conservatives" changed significantly, which was reflected in his official career. He was dismissed from the ministries (Public Education and State Property, in the educational departments of which he managed to work for a very short time). The writer, however, gladly accepted his resignation, seeing in it a confirmation of his independence.
Leskov was greatly influenced by Leo Tolstoy, whom they met in 1887. Partly under this influence, the writer devoted himself almost exclusively to religious and moral interests and issues that always worried him.
In the last 12-15 years of his life, Leskov's literary position was ambiguous. Despite his big name, he was lonely, did not constitute a literary center. Criticism did little to him. This did not prevent, however, the major success of his complete collected works. Some of Leskov's works are subject to censorship prohibitions, which affects both his health and psychological state.
Nikolai Semenovich Leskov died in St. Petersburg on March 5 (according to the old style on February 21), 1895.

Nikolay Semenovich Leskov

Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (1831 - 1895) - prose writer, the most people's writer in Russia, playwright. Author of famous novels, novellas and short stories, such as: "Nowhere", "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District", "At the Knives", "Cathedrals", "Lefty" and many others, the creator of the theatrical play "The Waste".

early years

Born on February 4 (February 16), 1831 in the village of Gorokhovo, Oryol province, in the family of an investigator and the daughter of an impoverished nobleman. They had five children, Nikolai was the oldest child. The writer spent his childhood in the city of Orel. After his father left office, the family moved from Orel to the village of Panino. Here Leskov's study and knowledge of the people began.

Education and career

In 1841, at the age of 10, Leskov entered the Oryol gymnasium. The future writer did not work out with his studies - in 5 years of study, he graduated from only 2 classes. In 1847, thanks to the help of his father's friends, Leskov got a job as a clerk in the Oryol criminal chamber of the court. When Nikolai was 16 years old, his father died of cholera, and all property burned down in a fire.
In 1849 Leskov, with the help of his uncle, a professor, was transferred to Kiev as an official of the Treasury, where he later received the post of clerk. In Kiev, Leskov developed an interest in Ukrainian culture and great writers, painting and architecture of the old city.
In 1857, Leskov left his job and entered the commercial service in a large agricultural company of his English uncle, on whose business he traveled over most of Russia for three years. After the company was closed, in 1860 he returned to Kiev.

Creative life

1860 is considered the beginning of Leskov's career, at this time he writes and publishes articles in various magazines. Six months later, he moved to St. Petersburg, where he plans to engage in literary and journalistic activities.
In 1862, Leskov became a regular contributor to the Northern Bee newspaper. Working in it as a correspondent, he visited Western Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Poland. He was close and sympathetic to the life of Western sister nations, so he delved into the study of their art and life. In 1863, Leskov returned to Russia.
Studying and observing the life of the Russian people for a long time, sympathizing with its sorrows and needs, Leskov's pen published the stories "The Extinguished Business" (1862), the stories "The Life of a Woman", "Musk Ox" (1863), "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" (1865).
In the novels "Nowhere" (1864), "Bypassed" (1865), "At the Knives" (1870), the writer revealed the theme of Russia's unpreparedness for revolution.
Having disagreements with the revolutionary democrats, Leskov refused to publish many magazines. The only one who published his work was Mikhail Katkov, editor of the Russian Bulletin magazine. It was incredibly difficult for Leskov to work with him, the editor ruled almost all of the writer's works, and even refused to publish some of them.
In 1870 - 1880, he wrote the novels "Cathedrals" (1872), "A weary family" (1874), where he revealed the national and historical problems. Leskov was not finished with the novel "A Weary Family" due to disagreements with the publisher Katkov. Also at this time he wrote several stories: "The Islanders" (1866), "The Sealed Angel" (1873). Fortunately, "The Captured Angel" was not touched by the editorial revision of Mikhail Katkov.
In 1881, Leskov wrote the story "Lefty (The Tale of the Tula scythe Lefty and the steel flea)" - an old legend about the masters of arms business.
The story "Rabbit Shack" (1894) was the last great work of the writer. In it, he criticized the political system of Russia at that time. The story was published only in 1917 after the Revolution.

Personal life of the writer

Leskov's first marriage was unsuccessful. The wife of the writer in 1853 was the daughter of a Kiev merchant Olga Smirnova. They had two children - the firstborn son Mitya, who died in infancy, and daughter Vera. The wife fell ill with a mental disorder and was treated in St. Petersburg. The marriage broke up.
In 1865, Leskov lived with the widow Ekaterina Bubnova. The couple had a son, Andrei (1866-1953). He separated from his second wife in 1877.

Last years

The last five years of his life, Leskov suffered from asthma attacks, from which he later died. Nikolai Semenovich died on February 21 (March 5) 1895 in St. Petersburg. The writer was buried at the Volkov cemetery

The Enchanted Wanderer ( 1873 )

Summary of the story

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On the way to Valaam on Lake Ladoga, several travelers meet. One of them, dressed in a novice cassock and looking like a "typical bogatyr", says that having "God's gift" for taming horses, according to his parent's promise, he died all his life and could not die in any way. At the request of travelers, a former coner (“I am a coner,<…> I am a connoisseur of horses and I was with the repairmen to guide them, ”the hero himself says about himself) Ivan Severyanich, Mr. Flyagin, tells his life.

Coming from the courtyard people of Count K. from the Oryol province, Ivan Severyanich from childhood becomes addicted to horses and once "for the sake of laughter" beats a monk to death in a cart. The monk appears to him at night and reproaches him for taking his life without repentance. He tells Ivan Severyanych that he - "the promised" son of God, and gives the "sign" that he will die many times and never dies, will come before the real "death" and Ivan Severyanych go to Monk. Soon Ivan Severyanich, nicknamed Golovan, saves his owners from imminent death in a terrible abyss and falls into mercy. But he chops off the tail of the master's cat, which carries pigeons from him, and as punishment he is severely flogged, and then sent to the "English garden to beat pebbles with a hammer." The last punishment of Ivan Severyanich "tortured", and he decides to commit suicide. The rope prepared for death is cut by a gypsy, with whom Ivan Severyanich leaves the count, taking his horses with him. With a gypsy, Ivan Severyanich breaks up, and, having sold a silver cross to an official, he gets a vacation view and is hired as a "nanny" for the little daughter of a master. For this work, Ivan Severyanich is very bored, leads the girl and the goat to the river bank and sleeps over the estuary. Here he meets the lady, the mother of the girl, who begs Ivan Severyanich to give her the child, but he is relentless and even fights with the lady’s current husband, an officer-lancer. But when he sees an angry approaching master, he gives the child to the mother and runs with them. The officer sends the passportless Ivan Severyanich away, and he goes to the steppe, where the Tatars drive the horses.

Khan Dzhankar sells his horses, and Tatars set prices and fight for horses: they sit opposite each other and whip each other with whips. When a new handsome horse is put up for sale, Ivan Severyanich does not hold back and, speaking for one of the repairmen, drives the Tatar to death. According to the "Christian tradition", he is taken to the police for murder, but he runs away from the gendarmes in the very "Ryn-Peski". The Tatars "bristle" the legs of Ivan Severyanich so that he would not run away. Ivan Severyanich moves only by crawling, serves as a doctor for the Tatars, yearns and dreams of returning to his homeland. He has several wives "Natasha" and children "Kollek", whom he regrets, but he admits to the audience that he could not love them, because they are "unbaptized". Ivan Severyanich is completely desperate to get home, but Russian missionaries come to the steppe "to set their faith." They preach, but refuse to pay the ransom for Ivan Severyanich, claiming that before God "all are equal and all the same." After some time, one of them is killed, Ivan Severyanich buries him according to the Orthodox tradition. He explains to the listeners that "an asiatic should be brought to faith with fear," because they "will not respect the humble God without threat." The Tatars bring two people from Khiva who come to buy horses in order to "make war". In the hope of intimidating the Tatars, they demonstrate the power of their fiery god Talafa, but Ivan Severyanich discovers a box with fireworks, introduces himself as Talafa, converts the Tatars to Christianity and, finding "caustic earth" in the boxes, heals his feet.

In the steppe, Ivan Severyanich meets a Chuvashin, but refuses to go with him, because he simultaneously reveres both the Mordovian Keremeti and the Russian Nicholas the Wonderworker. On the way, Russians come across, they cross themselves and drink vodka, but drive away the "passportless" Ivan Severyanich. In Astrakhan, the wanderer ends up in prison, from where he is taken to his hometown. Father Ilya excommunicates him for three years from the sacrament, but the count, who has become pious, lets him go “for rent,” and Ivan Severyanich gets a job in the horse section. After he helps the peasants to choose a good horse, fame goes about him as a magician, and everyone demands to tell a "secret". Including one prince, who takes Ivan Severyanich to his post as a coner. Ivan Severyanich buys horses for the prince, but from time to time he has drunk "exits", in front of which he gives the prince all the money for purchases for safety. When the prince sells a beautiful horse to Dido, Ivan Severyanich is very sad, “makes a way out,” but this time he keeps the money with himself. He prays in church and goes to a tavern, where he meets a “prepus-teishi-empty” person who claims that he drinks because he “voluntarily took on weakness” so that it would be easier for others, and Christian feelings do not allow him to stop drinking. A new acquaintance imposes magnetism on Ivan Severyanich in order to free himself from "zealous drunkenness", and at the same time gives him an extraordinary drink. At night, Ivan Severyanich ends up in another tavern, where he spends all his money on the beautiful gypsy songstress Grushenka. Obeying the prince, he learns that the owner himself gave fifty thousand for Grushenka, bought her out of the camp and settled her in his house. But the prince is a fickle man, he is tired of the "love word", from "Yahont's emeralds" he falls asleep, besides, all the money runs out.

Going to the city, Ivan Severyanich overhears the conversation of the prince with his former mistress Evgenia Semyonovna and learns that his master is going to marry, and that the unfortunate and sincerely in love with him Grushenka wants to marry Ivan Severyanich. Returning home, he does not find a gypsy, which the prince secretly takes to the forest to the bee. But Grusha runs away from her guards and, threatening to become a "shameful woman," asks Ivan Severyanich to drown her. Ivan Severyanich fulfills the request, while in search of an imminent death he pretends to be a peasant's son and, having given all the money to the monastery as "a contribution for Grushin's soul," goes to war. He dreams of perishing, but "he does not want to accept either land or water," and having distinguished himself in business, he tells the colonel about the murder of a gypsy. But these words are not confirmed by the sent request, he is promoted to officer and dismissed with the Order of St. George. Taking advantage of the colonel's letter of recommendation, Ivan Severyanich gets a job as a "clerk" in the address desk, but gets on the insignificant letter "fit", the service does not go well, and he goes to the artists. But rehearsals take place during Passion Week, Ivan Severyanich has to portray the "difficult role" of a demon, and besides, intercede for the poor "noblewoman", he "flutters the whirlwinds" of one of the artists and leaves the theater for a monastery.

According to Ivan Severyanich, the monastery life does not bother him, he remains there with horses, but he does not consider it worthy to take the senior tonsure for himself and lives in obedience. When asked by one of the travelers, he says that at first a demon appeared to him in a "seductive female form," but after earnest prayers, only little demons, "children" remained. One day Ivan Severyanich hacks the demon with an ax, but he turns out to be a cow. And for another deliverance from demons, they put him in an empty cellar for the whole summer, where Ivan Severyanich discovers in himself the gift of prophecy. On the ship, Ivan Severyanich turns out to be because the monks let him go to prayer in Solovki to Zosima and Savvaty. The wanderer admits that he expects a near death, because the spirit inspires him to take up arms and go to war, and he "wants to die for the people." Having finished the story, Ivan Severyanich falls into quiet concentration, again feeling in himself the inspiration of a mysterious broadcasting spirit that opens only to babies.

The most striking and original in the literary work of Nikolai Semenovich Leskov is the Russian language. His contemporaries wrote and tried to write in an even and smooth language, avoiding too bright or questionable phrases. Leskov, on the other hand, greedily grabbed every unexpected or picturesque idiomatic expression. All forms of professional or class language, all kinds of slang words - all this can be found on its pages. But he especially loved the comic effects of vernacular Church Slavonic and puns of "folk etymology." He allowed himself great liberties in this respect and invented many successful and unexpected deformations of the usual meaning or familiar sound. Another distinguishing feature of Leskov: he, like no other of his contemporaries, possessed the gift of story. As a storyteller, he probably ranks first in modern literature. His stories are simply anecdotes, told with colossal gusto and skill; even in his big things, he loves, characterizing his characters, to tell several anecdotes about them. This was contrary to the traditions of "serious" Russian literature, and critics began to regard him as just a gaiter. Leskov's most original stories are so packed with all kinds of incidents and adventures that critics, for whom ideas and tendencies were the main thing, found it ridiculous and ridiculous. It was too obvious that Leskov was simply enjoying all these episodes, as well as the sounds and grotesque guises of familiar words. No matter how hard he tried to be a moralist and a preacher, he could not ignore the opportunity to tell an anecdote or rock a joke.

Nikolay Leskov. Life and legacy. Lecture by Lev Anninsky

Tolstoy loved Leskov's stories and enjoyed his verbal balancing act, but blamed him for the oversaturation of his style. According to Tolstoy, Leskov's main drawback was that he could not keep his talent within the framework and "overloaded his load with good." This taste for verbal pictoriality, for the rapid presentation of an intricate plot, is strikingly different from the methods of almost all other Russian novelists, especially Turgenev, Goncharov or Chekhov. In Leskov's vision of the world there is no haze, no atmosphere, no softness; he chooses the most flashy colors, the roughest contrasts, the sharpest contours. His images appear in the merciless daylight. If the world of Turgenev or Chekhov can be likened to the landscapes of Koro, then Leskov is Bruegel the elder, with his variegated, bright colors and grotesque forms. Leskov does not have dull colors; in Russian life he finds bright, picturesque characters and writes them with powerful strokes. The greatest virtue, out of the ordinary originality, great vices, strong passions and grotesque comic features - these are his favorite subjects. He is both a cult of heroes and a humorist. Perhaps one could even say that the more heroic his characters are, the more humorous he portrays them. This humorous cult of heroes is Leskov's most original trait.

Leskov's political novels of the 1860s-70s, which then incurred hostility on him radicals, are now almost forgotten. But the stories he wrote at the same time did not lose their fame. They are not as rich in verbal joys as the stories of the mature period, but they already demonstrate to a high degree his skill as a storyteller. Unlike later things, they give pictures of hopeless evil, invincible passions. An example of this Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (1866). It is a very powerful exploration of a woman's criminal passion and the insolent cynical heartlessness of her lover. Cold merciless light pours on everything that happens and everything is told with strong "naturalistic" objectivity. Another wonderful story of that time - Warrior , the colorful story of a St. Petersburg pimp who treats her profession with delightfully naive cynicism and deeply, completely sincerely offended by the “black ingratitude” of one of her victims, whom she was the first to push on the path of shame.

Portrait of Nikolai Semenovich Leskov. Artist V. Serov, 1894

These early stories were followed by a series Chroniclethe fictional city of Stargorod. They make up a trilogy: Old years in the village of Plodomasovo (1869), Soborians (1872) and Wasted genus (1875). The second of these chronicles is the most popular of Leskov's works. It is about the Stargorod clergy. Its head, Archpriest Tuberozov, is one of Leskov's most successful images of the "righteous man." Deacon Achilles is a superbly written character, one of the most amazing in the entire portrait gallery of Russian literature. Comic escapades and the unconscious mischief of a huge, full of strength, completely soulless and simple-minded like a deacon's child and the constant reprimands he receives from Archpriest Tuberozov are known to every Russian reader, and Achilles himself became a common favorite. But in general Soborians the thing is uncharacteristic for the author - too smooth, unhurried, peaceful, poor in events, unpleasant.