Presentation on the topic: Genre, plot and composition of the novel by L.N. Tolstoy "Anna Karenina"
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Presentation on the topic: Genre, plot and composition of the novel by L.N. Tolstoy "Anna Karenina"
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The originality of the genre Genre: novel. The peculiarity of the Anna Karenina genre lies in the fact that this novel combines features characteristic of several types of novelistic creativity. It contains, first of all, the features that characterize a family romance. The history of several families, family relationships and conflicts are highlighted here. It is no coincidence that Tolstoy emphasized that when creating Anna Karenina, he was possessed by family thought, while, while working on War and Peace, he wanted to embody popular thought. But at the same time, Anna Karenina is not only a family novel, but also a social, psychological novel, a work in which the history of family relations is closely connected with the depiction of complex social processes, and the portrayal of the heroes' fate is inseparable from the deep disclosure of their inner world.
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The originality of the genre Showing the movement of time, characterizing the formation of a new social order, the way of life and the psychology of various strata of society, Tolstoy gave his novel features of an epic. Embodiment family thought, the socio-psychological narrative, the features of the epic are not separate "layers" in the novel, but those principles that appear in their organic synthesis. And just as the social constantly penetrates into the outlining of personal, family relations, so the depiction of the individual aspirations of the heroes, their psychology, largely determines the epic features of the novel. The strength of the characters created in him is determined by the brightness of the embodiment of their own, personal and at the same time the expressiveness of the disclosure of those social ties and relations in which they exist.
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The originality of the genre Tolstoy's brilliant skill in "Anna Karenina" has caused an enthusiastic assessment of the writer's outstanding contemporaries. “Count Leo Tolstoy,” wrote V. Stasov, “has risen to such a high note that Russian literature has never taken before. Even among Pushkin and Gogol themselves love and passion were not expressed with such depth and striking truth as Tolstoy does now. V. Stasov noted that the writer is able to "sculpt with a wonderful sculptor's hand such types and scenes that no one knew in our entire literature before him ..." Anna Karenina "will remain a bright, huge star forever and ever!" Dostoevsky, who viewed the novel from his ideological and creative positions, also highly appreciated Karenina. He wrote: "Anna Karenina" is perfection as a work of art ... and such, with which nothing similar from European literature in the present era can be compared. "
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The plot and composition of the novel Tolstoy called Anna Karenina “a wide and free novel,” using Pushkin’s term “free novel”. This is a clear indication of the genre origins of the work. Tolstoy's "Broad and Free Novel" is different from Pushkin's "Free Novel". In Anna Karenina, for example, there are no lyrical, philosophical or journalistic digressions by the author. But between Pushkin's novel and Tolstoy's novel there is an undoubted successive connection, which manifests itself in the genre, and in the plot, and in the composition.
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The plot and composition of the novel In the novel "Anna Karenina" from the very beginning attention is directed to the events in which the characters of the heroes are clarified. The aphorism - “all happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” - this is a philosophical introduction to the novel. The second (event-driven) introduction is concluded in one single phrase: "Everything was confused in the Oblonskys' house." And finally, the next phrase provides a link to the action and defines the conflict. The accident that revealed Oblonsky's infidelity entails a chain of necessary consequences that make up the plot line of the family drama.
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The plot and composition of the novel The chapters of the novel are arranged in cycles, between which there is a close connection both in thematic and plot relations. Each part of the novel has its own "idea node". The main points of the composition are the thematic centers, which successively replace each other. In the first part of the novel, the cycles are formed in connection with conflicts in the life of the Oblonskys (chap. I-V), Levin (chap. VI-IX), Shtcherbatsky (chap. XII-XVI). The development of the action is determined by "the events caused by Anna Karenina's arrival in Moscow (chap. XVII-XXIII), Levin's decision to leave for the village (chap. XXIV-XXVII) and Anna's return to St. Petersburg, where Vronsky followed her (chap. XXII- XXX1Y) These cycles, following one after the other, gradually expand the scope of the novel, revealing patterns of development of conflicts. Tolstoy maintains the dimension of cycles in volume. In the first part, each cycle occupies five or six chapters with their own "content boundaries." This creates the rhythm of the sequence of episodes and scenes.
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The plot and composition of the novel The first part is one of the most remarkable examples of the “cool romance plot”. The logic of events, nowhere violating the truth of life, leads to abrupt and inevitable changes in the fates of the heroes. If before Anna Karenina's arrival Dolly was unhappy and Kitty was happy, then after Anna's appearance in Moscow "everything was confused": reconciliation of the Oblonskys became possible — Dolly’s happiness, and Vronsky’s break with Kitty — the misfortune of Princess Shtcherbatskaya — was inevitably approaching. The plot of the novel is based on major changes in the lives of the characters and captures the very meaning of their existence. The plot and thematic center of the first part of the novel is the image of the "confusion" of family and social relations, transforming the life of a thinking person into torment and causing the desire to "get away from all the measure of evil, confusion, both one's own and someone else's." This is the basis of the "chaining of ideas" in the first part, where the knot of further events is tied.10 
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The plot and composition of the novel The third part of the novel depicts the heroes after the crisis they experienced and on the eve of decisive events. Chapters are grouped into cycles that can be subdivided into periods. The first cycle consists of silt of two periods: Levin and Koznyshev in Pokrovskoe (. I-VI) and Levin's trip to Ergushevo (chap. VII-XII). The second cycle is devoted to the relationship between Anna and Karenin (chap. XIII-XVI), Anna and Vronsky (chap. XVII-XXIII). The third cycle again returns attention to Levin and is divided into two periods: Levin's trip to Sviyazhsky (chap. XXV-XXVIII) and Levin's attempt to create a new "science of economics" (chap. XXIX-XXXP).
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The plot and composition of the novel The fourth part of the novel consists of three main cycles: the life of the Karenins in St. Petersburg (Ch. I-V), the meeting of Levin and Kitty in Moscow in the Oblonskys' house (Ch. VII-XVI); the last cycle, dedicated to the relationship between Anna, Vronsky and Karenin, has two periods: the happiness of forgiveness ”(chap. XVII-XIX) and break (chap. XX-XXIII). In the fifth part of the novel, the focus is on the fate of Anna and Levin. The heroes of the novel achieve happiness and take their own path (the departure of Anna and Vronsky to Italy, Levin's marriage to Kitty). Life has changed, although each of them remained himself. "There was a complete break with all the previous life, and a completely different, new, completely unknown life began, but in reality the old one continued."
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The plot and composition of the novel The thematic center represents the general concept of this plot state. In each part of the novel there are repeated words - images and concepts - that represent the key to the ideological meaning of the work. “The Abyss” appears in the second part of the novel as a metaphor for life, and then goes through many conceptual and figurative transformations. The word “confusion” was the key word for the first part of the novel, “web of lies” for the third, “mysterious communication” for the fourth, “choosing the path” for the fifth. These repetitive words indicate the direction of the author's thought and can serve as the "thread of Ariadne" in the complex transitions of the "wide and free novel." The architecture of the novel "Anna Karenina" is distinguished by the natural arrangement of all interconnected structural parts. There is no doubt that the composition of the novel "Anna Karenina" was compared to an architectural structure. I. Ye. Zabelin, characterizing the features of originality in Russian architecture, wrote that for a long time in Russia houses, palaces and churches “were not arranged according to the plan that was invented in advance and drawn on paper, and rarely fully responded to the construction of the building. all the real needs of the owner. Most of all were built according to the plan of life itself and the free outline of the very everyday life of the builders, although every single structure was always executed according to the drawing.
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Anna Karenina (1873-1877) is a novel by L.N. Tolstoy about the tragic love of a married lady Anna Karenina for the brilliant officer Vronsky against the background of the happy family life of the nobles Konstantin Levin and Kitty Shtcherbatskaya. A large-scale picture of the customs and life of the noble environment of St. Petersburg and Moscow II half of XIX century, combining the philosophical reflections of the author's alter ego Levin with the most advanced psychological sketches in Russian literature, as well as scenes from the life of peasants.
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History of creation On February 24, 1870, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy conceived a novel about the private life and relationships of his contemporaries, but he began to implement his plan only in February 1873. The novel was published in parts, the first of which was published in 1875 in the Russian Bulletin. Gradually, the novel turned into a social fundamental work, which received enormous success. The continuation of the novel was eagerly awaited.
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History of creation The editor of the journal refused to publish the epilogue because of the critical thought expressed in it, and finally, the novel was completed on April 5 (17), 1877. The last chapter of the already published material ended with the death of Karenina, at the end it said: "to be continued." The last part was corrected by Strakhov, and the Censorship was issued on June 25, 1877. The story began with a pause: “Almost two months have passed. It was already half of the hot summer. " It was already about the Serbo-Montenegrin-Turkish war, to which Vronsky was sent.
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History of creation So, the novel was published in full. The next edition (in its entirety) was in 1878. The first message about the work on the novel "Anna Karenina" was in a letter from L. N. Tolstoy to N. N. Strakhov dated March 25, 1873.
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Thoughts of great writers about the novel "Anna Karenina" If Tolstoy called "War and Peace" a "book about the past," in which he described the beautiful and sublime "integral world", then "Anna Karenina" he called "a novel from modern life". According to Hegel: “the novel in its modern sense presupposes a prosaically ordered reality”, but Leo Tolstoy represented in Anna Karenina a “fragmented world” devoid of moral unity, in which chaos of good and evil reigns. Unlike "War and Peace" in "Anna Karenina" there were no great historical events, but it raises and remains unanswered topics that are close to everyone personally.
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FM Dostoevsky found the thoughts of great writers about the novel Anna Karenina in the new novel by Tolstoy "a huge psychological development of the human soul." Therefore, "a living, hot and complete novel," as Leo Tolstoy called it, will be contemporary in any historical era. The novel, touching upon feelings “close to everyone personally,” became a living reproach to his contemporaries, whom NS Leskov ironically called “real secular people”. This novel is a strict, incorruptible judgment on our entire order of life. - A. A. Fet
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Genre features of the novel The peculiarity of the genre of "Anna Karenina" lies in the fact that the novel combines features inherent in several types of novelistic creativity. It contains primarily the features that characterize a family romance. The history of several families, family relationships and conflicts are highlighted here. the Karenin family wedding of Levin and Kitty Stepan Arkadyevich (Steve) and Anna Arkadyevna
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It is no coincidence that Tolstoy emphasized that when creating Anna Karenina, he was possessed by family thought, while, while working on War and Peace, he wanted to embody popular thought. But at the same time, Anna Karenina is not only a family novel, but also a social, psychological novel, a work in which the history of family relations is closely connected with the depiction of complex social processes, and the portrayal of the heroes' fate is inseparable from the deep disclosure of their inner world. Showing the movement of time, characterizing the formation of a new social order, the way of life and the psychology of various strata of society, Tolstoy gave his novel features of an epic. Genre features of the novel
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The genre features of the novel The embodiment of family thought, the socio-psychological narrative, the features of the epic are not separate "layers" in the novel, but those principles that appear in their organic synthesis. And just as the social constantly penetrates into the outlining of personal, family relations, so the depiction of the individual aspirations of the heroes, their psychology, largely determines the epic features of the novel. The strength of the characters created in him is determined by the brightness of the embodiment of their own, personal and at the same time the expressiveness of the disclosure of those social ties and relations in which they exist.
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Tolstoy's brilliant skill in Anna Karenina evoked an enthusiastic appraisal of the writer's outstanding contemporaries. “Count Leo Tolstoy,” wrote V. Stasov, “has risen to such a high note that Russian literature has never taken. Even among Pushkin and Gogol themselves, love and passion were not expressed with such depth and striking truth as Tolstoy does now. V. Stasov noted that the writer knows how "with a wonderful sculptor's hand to sculpt such types and scenes that no one before him knew in our entire literature ..." Anna Karenina "will remain a bright, huge star forever and ever!" Dostoevsky, who viewed the novel from his ideological and creative positions, also highly appreciated Karenina. He wrote: "Anna Karenina" is perfection as a work of art ... and such, with which nothing similar from European literature in the present era can be compared. " Genre features of the novel
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The novel was created as if at the turn of two eras in the life and work of Tolstoy. Even before the completion of Anna Karenina, the writer was carried away by new social and religious quests. They received a certain reflection in the moral philosophy of Konstantin Levin. However, the complexity of the problems that occupied the writer in new era, all the complexity of his ideological and life path are widely reflected in journalistic and works of art writer of the 80-90s. Genre features of the novel
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Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1828-1910) created Anna Karenina in a special period of his life: the time has come for him, as we would say now, for a reassessment of values. “A coup happened to me,” he wrote in the philosophical essay Confession, “which had been preparing in me for a long time and the inclinations of which were always in me. What happened to me was that the life of our circle - the rich, the scientists - not only got sick of me, but lost all meaning. " The spiritual quest of L.N. Tolstoy in the novel "Anna Karenina"
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So, Lev Nikolaevich rejected the traditionally measured existence of an educated Russian nobleman and began to search for some alternative to him, unshakable moral ideals, in accordance with which a different, righteous life is possible. As you know, in the end this resulted in Tolstoy's special religiosity (Christianity, cleansed of the dogmas and rituals of the church). Anna Karenina is interesting precisely as a creative reflection of the author's complex spiritual searches. Leo Tolstoy's spiritual quest in the novel "Anna Karenina"
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The characters of the novel The entourage of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy is the modern society of Anna Oblonskaya - Karenina. Tolstoy's observations of feelings and thoughts real people became the "artistic depiction of life" of the characters in the novel ... "Anna Karenina" film 2009
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There are no coincidences in Tolstoy's novel. The path begins with a railway, without which communication was impossible. Anna Karenina and Princess Vronskaya are traveling in the same carriage from St. Petersburg to Moscow, telling her about her son Alexei. Anna comes to reconcile Dolly with her brother Steva, convicted of treason, and who is “to blame” all around. Vronsky meets his mother, Steve meets his sister. The coupler is dying under the wheels ... The death of the coupler under the wheels of a steam locomotive has become a "bad omen", "the beautiful horror of a blizzard" symbolized the imminent destruction of the family.
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Symbolism in the novel railway (the symbolism of the railway tells the reader that the prophecy of the author of the novel is as follows: the modern world, which has lost God, is inherently moving towards failure, like on railroad tracks); the flashing and dying candle becomes a symbol of the life and death of Anna Karenina. Darkness conjures up Anna Karenina symbolic image extinct life; one of the most important symbols of Anna Karenina is the figure of a little peasant with a tousled beard. The Little Peasant appears at the decisive moments in the life of the title character: a few moments before her acquaintance with Vronsky, before childbirth and (three times!) On the day of her death; he is not only present in reality, but is also seen by the characters in a dream;
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sparkle in Anna's eyes. After the conversation with Vronsky, “Anna walked with her head bowed and playing with the brushes of her head. Her face shone with a bright shine; but this shine was not cheerful, it resembled the terrible shine of a fire in the middle of a dark night. " This image is a symbol of love that has arisen; KD Levin is relentlessly pursuing the image of a bear (talking about comparing 3 young ladies on a skating rink with 3 bears, bear skin, constellation Ursa Major); nature accompanies Anna Karenina in the form of a whirlwind, blizzard, snowstorm. The snowstorm in the novel is not just a blizzard, but a blizzard of passion; Symbolism in the novel
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red pouch. He first appears in the novel during Anna's conversation with Dolly after the ball. Anna Karenina hid her cap and cambric handkerchiefs there. It can be assumed that at this moment in the soul of the heroine the bag got in touch with her secret - she seemed to have hidden her secret in the bag. During the episode on the train, the red bag ends up in Annushka's hands next to a torn glove. Gloves can be associated with concepts of honor; when challenged to a duel, "throw down the glove." Annushka in torn gloves holds a red bag belonging to Anna Karenina, thanks to which it begins to acquire a special meaning, that is, to symbolize the loss of honor; the heroine's crime is symbolically indicated by episodes where wedding rings appear. The ring symbolizes the union of two hearts. An attempt to remove the ring from the finger speaks of a desire to throw off the burden of this union, break the union, dissolve the marriage; Symbolism in the novel
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alexei Karenin's ears seem too big to Anna. Karenin's protruding ears are the accumulation in Anna's mind of disgust for him and a symbol of Karenin's death; theater, opera. The falsehood on the stage seemed to spread to the people in the audience and prevented them from separating the truth from the lie. Only one cursory mention at the very beginning of the story about Anna that the heroine had just been to Tolstoy's opera already doomed the heroine to the absence of a deeply moral feeling in her soul. Consequently, the opera in the novel becomes a symbol of immorality. Symbolism in the novel
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Prototypes Anna Karenina (Oblonskaya) According to the appearance described by L. N. Tolstoy (dark hair, white lace and a small purple garland of pansies), the prototype could be Maria Alexandrovna Gartung, Pushkin's daughter. Marital status - Alexandra Alekseevna Obolenskaya (ur. Dyakova), wife of A. V. Obolensky and sister of M. A. Dyakova; By fate - Anna Stepanovna Pirogova, whom unhappy love led to death, in 1872 (because of A. N. Bibikov); According to the situation - S. A. Bakhmetyev and M. A. Dyakova. Divorce was very rare. And the story of the marriage of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy to S. A. Bakhmetyeva, who left her husband L. Miller (E. L. Tolstoy's nephew) for his sake, made a lot of noise in the world. The wife of the chamberlain Sergei Mikhailovich Sukhotin, Maria Alekseevna Dyakova, achieved a divorce in 1868 and married S.A. Ladyzhensky.
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Konstantin Levin Leva, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. He was depicted in the novel as a typical image of a Russian idealist, but he shows far from the best part of his "I". Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky Adjutant wing and poet Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy. In 1862 he married S. A. Miller-Bakhmetyeva, who left her husband and family for him. This story made a lot of noise in the world. Aleksey Aleksandrovich Karenin Baron Vladimir Mikhailovich Mengden is a landowner and official, a member of the State Council, a callous man, short and unattractive. But he was married to the beautiful Elizaveta Ivanovna Obolenskaya (ur. Bibikova), Leo Tolstoy said: "She is lovely, and one can only imagine what would have happened if she cheated on her husband ..." Chamberlain, councilor of the Moscow city office Sergei Mikhailovich Sukhotin. In 1868, his wife M. A. Dyakova achieved a divorce and married S. A. Ladyzhensky. Prototypes
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T. Samoilova as A. Karenina (1967) N. Gritsenko as A. Karenin V. Lanovoy as A. Vronsky B. Goldaev as K. Levin
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Epigraph of the novel, its meaning As an epigraph to the novel, Tolstoy chose the words of God from the biblical book of Deuteronomy in the Church Slavonic translation: "Vengeance is mine, and I will repay."
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Epigraph of the novel, its meaning main characterAnna Karenina is a delicate and conscientious person, she is connected with her lover Count Vronsky by a real, strong feeling. Anna's husband, a high-ranking official Karenin, seems to be soulless and callous, although at some moments he is capable of high, truly Christian, good feelings. "Karenon" in Greek (Homer) "head". the surname "Karenin" is derived from this word. Perhaps that is why Tolstoy gave such a surname to Anna's husband, Karenin is a leading man, that in him reason prevails over the heart, that is, feeling.
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The epigraph of the novel, its meaning Tolstoy creates circumstances that seem to justify Anna. The writer tells in the novel about the connections of another socialite, Betsy Tverskaya. She does not advertise these connections, does not flaunt it and enjoys a high reputation and respect in society. Anna is open and honest, she does not hide her relationship with Vronsky and seeks to achieve a divorce from her husband. And yet Tolstoy judges Anna on behalf of God himself. The payment for treason to her husband is the heroine's suicide. Her death is a manifestation of divine judgment.
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Anna commits suicide, but it is not divine retribution - the meaning of Anna's divine punishment is not revealed by Tolstoy. (In addition, according to Tolstoy, not only Anna deserves the highest judgment, but also other characters who have committed a sin - first of all, Vronsky.) Anna's fault for Tolstoy lies in evading the destiny of his wife and mother. The connection with Vronsky is not only a violation of marital duty. It leads to the destruction of the Karenin family: their son Seryozha is now growing up without a mother, and Anna and her husband are fighting each other for their son. Anna's love for Vronsky is not a lofty feeling in which the spiritual principle prevails over physical attraction, but a blind and destructive passion. Epigraph of the novel, its meaning
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Anna deliberately goes against the divine law that protects the family. This is her fault for the author. Later, Tolstoy wrote about the biblical saying - the epigraph to Anna Karenina: “People do a lot of bad things to themselves and to each other only because weak, sinful people have taken upon themselves the right to punish other people. "Vengeance is mine, and I will repay." Only God punishes, and then only through the person himself. " Epigraph of the novel, its meaning
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According to A. A. Fet, “Tolstoy points to“ I will repay ”not as a rod of an obnoxious mentor, but as a punitive force of things<…>". Only God has the right to punish, and people have no right to judge. This is not only a different meaning, but also the opposite of the original one. In the novel, the pathos of indecision is increasingly revealed. Depths, truths - and therefore indecision. Epigraph of the novel, its meaning
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But another interpretation is also possible. According to Christ's words, "from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required." Anna has been given more than the unloyal Betsy Tverskaya or Steve Oblonsky. She is mentally richer and thinner than them. And it was charged more severely from her. This interpretation corresponds to the meaning of the epigraph to the text of the first completed edition of the novel: "One and the same thing marriage is fun for some, for others it is the wisest thing in the world." For Anna, marriage, marriage is not fun, and the heavier is her sin. Epigraph of the novel, its meaning "Anna Karenina" 1935 film
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The Tragedy of Anna Karenina Anna was very young, married to Karenin, a successful tsarist official. His usual, normal state is soullessness and lies, admiration for the form. He is like that in public service, in society, and in the family.
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“They say: a religious, moral, honest, intelligent person,” Anna thinks of her husband, “but they don't see what I saw. They do not know how he strangled my life for eight years, strangled everything that was alive in me ... They do not know how at every step he insulted me and remained pleased with himself. Didn't I try, did my best to find an excuse for my life? Didn't I try to love him, love my son, when it was no longer possible to love my husband? But the time has come, I realized that I can no longer deceive myself, that I am alive, that I am not guilty, that God made me such that I need to love and live. " The tragedy of Anna Karenina
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Anna Karenina is one of the most charming female images of Russian literature. Her clear mind, pure heart, kindness and truthfulness attract the sympathy of the best people in the novel to her - the Shtcherbatsky sisters, Princess Myagaya, Levin. The special charm of Anna is unconsciously felt by children - sensitive souls who do not tolerate falsehood. The Tragedy of Anna Karenina T. Drubich as A. Karenina in the film of the same name (2009)
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Anna tried to break free from the false, soulless world, but failed. She could not deceive her husband, as decent women of her circle did, who were not condemned by anyone for this. It was also impossible to divorce him: it meant giving up his son. Seryozha, an ardently loving mother, Karenin does not give to her - out of high Christian motives. A wall of alienation grows around Anna: Everyone pounced on her, all those who are a hundred times worse than her. The tragedy of Anna Karenina
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With tremendous power, Tolstoy portrays the torment of a lonely female soul. Anna has no friends, no business that could captivate her. In life, she only has Vronsky's love. And Anna begins to be tormented by terrible thoughts about what will happen if he stops loving her. She becomes suspicious, unfair. An evil spirit of some kind of struggle settles between her and the person dear to her. Life becomes unbearable. And death, as the only means to restore love to her in his heart, to punish him and to win in the struggle that the evil spirit that settled in her heart waged with him, clearly and vividly presented itself to her. The tragedy of Anna Karenina
The peculiarity of the Anna Karenina genre lies in the fact that this novel combines features inherent in several types of novel creativity. It contains, first of all, the features that characterize a family romance. The history of several families, family relationships and conflicts are highlighted here. It is no coincidence that Tolstoy emphasized that when creating Anna Karenina, he was possessed by family thought, while, while working on War and Peace, he wanted to embody popular thought. But at the same time, Anna Karenina is not only a family novel, but also a social, psychological novel, a work in which the history of family relations is closely connected with the depiction of complex social processes, and the depiction of the heroes' fate is inseparable from the deep disclosure of their inner world. Showing the movement of time, characterizing the formation of a new social order, the way of life and the psychology of various strata of society, Tolstoy gave his novel features of an epic. The embodiment of family thought, socio-psychological narration, the features of the epic are not separate "layers" in the novel, but those principles that appear in their organic synthesis. And just as the social constantly penetrates into the outlining of personal, family relations, so the image of the individual aspirations of the heroes, their psychology, largely determines the epic features of the novel. The strength of the characters created in him is determined by the brightness of the embodiment of their own, personal and at the same time the expressiveness of the disclosure of those social ties and relations in which they exist.
Tolstoy's brilliant skill in Anna Karenina has evoked an enthusiastic appraisal of the writer's outstanding contemporaries. “Count Leo Tolstoy,” wrote V. Stasov, “has risen to such a high note that Russian literature has never taken before. Even among Pushkin and Gogol themselves, love and passion were not expressed with such depth and striking truth as Tolstoy does now. V. Stasov noted that the writer is able to "sculpt with a wonderful sculptor's hand such types and scenes that no one knew in our entire literature before him ..." Anna Karenina "will remain a bright, huge star forever and ever!" Dostoevsky, who viewed the novel from his ideological and creative positions, also highly appreciated Karenina. He wrote: "Anna Karenina" is perfection as a work of art ... and such, with which nothing similar from European literature in the present era can be compared. "
The novel was created, as it were, at the turn of two eras in the life and work of Tolstoy. Even before the completion of Anna Karenina, the writer was carried away by new social and religious quests. They received a certain reflection in the moral philosophy of Konstantin Levin. However, all the complexity of the problems that occupied the writer in the new era, all the complexity of his ideological and life path are widely reflected in the journalistic and artistic works of the writer of the eighties - nineties.
The artistic originality of the novel "Anna Karenina"
The plot and composition of the novel
Tolstoy called Anna Karenina “a wide and free novel,” using Pushkin’s term “free novel”. This is a clear indication of the genre origins of the work.
Tolstoy's "Broad and Free Novel" is different from Pushkin's "Free Novel". In Anna Karenina, for example, there are no lyrical, philosophical or journalistic author's digressions. But between Pushkin's novel and Tolstoy's novel there is an undoubted successive connection, which manifests itself in the genre, and in the plot, and in the composition.
In Tolstoy's novel, as in Pushkin's novel, paramount importance belongs not to the plot completion of the propositions, but to the “creative concept”, which determines the selection of material and in the spacious frame of the modern novel presents freedom for the development of plot lines. “I can’t and don’t know how to put certain boundaries to my fictitious persons - such as marriage or death, after which the interest of the narrative would be destroyed. I involuntarily imagined that the death of one person only aroused interest in other persons, and the marriage seemed mostly to be a tie, and not a denouement of interest, ”wrote Tolstoy.
"Wide and Free Romance" obeys the logic of life; one of his inner artistic goals is to overcome literary conventions. In 1877, in his article "On the Significance of a Contemporary Novel," F. Buslaev wrote that modernity cannot be satisfied with "non-marketable tales, which until recently were presented as novels with mysterious ties and adventures of incredible heroes in a fantastic, unprecedented situation. -November ". Tolstoy sympathetically noted this article as an interesting experience in comprehending the ways of development of realist literature XIX in. ...
“Now we are interested in the reality around us in the novel, the current life in the family and society, as it is, in its active fermentation of unsettled elements of the old and the new, dying and nascent, elements excited by the great upheavals and reforms of our century” , - wrote F. Buslaev.
Anna's storyline unfolds “within the law” (within the family) and “outside the law” (outside the family). Levin's storyline moves from being “in the law” (in the family) to the consciousness of the illegality of all social development (“we are outside the law”). Anna dreamed of getting rid of what “painfully bothered” her. She chose the path of voluntary sacrifice. And Levin dreamed of “ending his dependence on evil,” and he was tormented by the thought of suicide. But what Anna thought was "truth" was for Levin a "painful lie." He could not stop at the fact that evil owns society. He needed to find a "higher truth", that "undoubted sense of good", which should change life and give it new moral laws: "instead of poverty, common wealth, contentment, instead of enmity - consent and connection of interests." ... Circles of events in both cases have a common center.
For all the isolation of the content, these plots represent concentric circles with a common center. Tolstoy's novel is a pivotal work with artistic unity. "In the field of knowledge there is a center, and from it there are countless radii, - said Tolstoy. - The whole task is to determine the length of these radii and their distance from each other." This statement, if applied to the plot of Anna Karenina, explains the principle of concentricity of the arrangement of large and small circles of events in the novel.
Tolstoy made Levin's "circle" much wider than Anna's "circle". Levin's story begins much earlier than Anna's story and ends after the death of the heroine, whose name the novel is named after. The book ends not with the death of Anna (part seven), but with Levin's moral quest and his attempts to create a positive program for the renewal of private and public life (part eight).
The concentricity of the plot circles is generally characteristic of the novel Anna Karenina. Through the circle of relations between Anna and Vronsky, the parody novel of Baroness Shilton and Petritsky "shines through". The story of Ivan Parmenov and his wife becomes for Levin the embodiment of patriarchal peace and happiness.
But Vronsky's life did not follow the rules. The first to notice this was his mother, dissatisfied with the fact that some kind of "Werther's passion" had taken possession of his son. Vronsky himself feels that many living conditions were not provided for by the rules ":" Only recently, with regard to his relationship with Anna, did Vronsky begin to feel that his set of rules did not fully define all conditions, and in the future it seemed difficult "there are doubts and doubts in which Vronsky no longer found a guiding thread."
The more serious Vronsky's feeling becomes, the further he moves away from the "undoubted rules" that light obeys. Illegal love made him illegal. By force of circumstances, Vronsky had to renounce his circle. But he is unable to overcome the "secular person" in his soul. With all his might he strives to return "to his bosom." Vronsky is drawn to the law of light, but this, according to Tolstoy, is a cruel and false law, which cannot bring happiness. In the finale of the novel, Vronsky leaves as a volunteer for the army. He admits that he is only fit to "cut into a square, crush or lie down" (19, 361). The spiritual crisis ended with a kata stanza. If Levin denies the very thought expressed in "revenge and murder," then Vronsky is entirely at the mercy of harsh and cruel feelings: “I, as a man,” said Vronsky, “is so good that life is not for me. what is not worth "; "Yes, I can be good for something as a tool, but as a person I am a wreck."
One of the main lines of the novel is connected with Karenin. This is a "statesman"
Tolstoy points to the possibility of Karenin's soul enlightenment at critical moments in life, as it was during the days of Anna's illness, when he suddenly got rid of the "confusion of concepts" and comprehended the "law of good." But this enlightenment did not last long. Karenin is in nothing but can find a foothold. "My position is terrible because I do not go anywhere, I do not find a fulcrum in myself."
Oblonsky's character was a difficult task for Tolstoy. Many fundamental features of Russian life in the second half of the 19th century found their expression in it. Oblonsky is located in the novel with the lordly latitude. One of his dinners stretched over two chapters. Oblonsky's hedonism, his indifference to everything except that which may bring him pleasure, is characteristic feature the psychology of an entire estate tending to decline. “It is necessary one of two things: either to admit that the present structure of society is fair, and then to defend our rights; or admit that you are enjoying unfair advantages, as I do, and enjoy them ”(19, 163). Oblonsky is smart enough to see the social contradictions of his time; he even believes that the structure of society is unfair.
Oblonsky's life proceeds within the boundaries of the "law", and he is quite satisfied with his life, although he has long admitted to himself that he is using "unfair advantages." His "common sense" is the prejudice of the whole estate and is the touchstone on which Levin's thought is hone.
The peculiarity of the "wide and free novel" lies in the fact that the plot loses here its organizing influence on the material. The scene at the railway station ends the tragic story of Anna's life (Chapter XXXI, part seven).
In Tolstoy's novel, they looked for a plot and did not find it. Some argued that the novel was already over, others assured that it could be continued indefinitely. In "An-not Karenina" the plot and the plot do not coincide. The fabulous provisions, even when they are exhausted, do not interfere with the further development of the plot, which has its own artistic completeness and moves from the emergence to the resolution of the conflict.
Only at the beginning of the seventh part, Tolstoy "introduced" the two main characters of the novel - Anna and Levin. But this acquaintance, extremely important in terms of plot, did not change the plot course of events. The writer tried to discard the concept of a plot altogether: "The connection of a building was made not on the basis of the plot and not on the relationship (acquaintance) of persons, but on the internal connection."
Tolstoy wrote not just a novel, but a "novel of life." The genre of the "wide and free novel" removes the limitations of the closed development of the plot within the framework of the finished plot. Life does not fit into the scheme. Plot circles in the novel are arranged in such a way that attention is focused on the moral and social core of the work.
The plot of "Anna Karenina" is "the history of the human soul", which enters into a fatal duel with the prejudices and laws of its era; some do not withstand this struggle and perish (Anna), others "under the threat of despair" come to the consciousness of "people's truth" and ways to renew society (Levin).
The principle of concentric arrangement of plot circles is a characteristic of Tolstoy's form of revealing the inner unity of a “broad and free novel”. The invisible "castle" is the author's general view of life, which naturally and freely transforms into the thoughts and feelings of the heroes, "brings the vaults" together with impeccable accuracy.
The originality of the "wide and free novel" is manifested not only in how the plot is built, but also in what architecture, what composition the writer chooses.
The unusual composition of the novel "Anna Karenina" seemed especially strange to many. The absence of a logically complete plot made the composition of the novel unaccustomed. In 1878 prof. SA Rachinsky wrote to Tolstoy: “The last part made a chilling impression, not because it was weaker than the others (on the contrary, it is full of depth and subtlety), but because of a fundamental flaw in the construction of the entire novel. It has no architecture. In it, two themes, unrelated, are developing side by side, and developing splendidly. How glad I was at Levin's acquaintance with Anna Karenina. - Agree that this is one of the best episodes of the novel. Here an opportunity presented itself to tie all the threads of the story and provide a holistic ending behind them. But you didn’t want to - God be with you. Anna Karenina is still the best contemporary novel, and you are the first contemporary writer. "
Tolstoy's reply letter to prof. S.A. Rachinsky is extremely interesting, as it contains the definition characteristic features art form the novel "Anna Karenina". Tolstoy insisted that one can judge a novel only on the basis of its “inner content”. He believed that the critic's opinion about the novel is “wrong”: “On the contrary, I am proud of architecture,” wrote Tolstoy. “The vaults are brought together in such a way that one cannot see where the castle is. And this is what I tried most of all ”(62, 377).
In the strict sense of the word, there is no exposition in Anna Karenina. Regarding Pushkin's excerpt "The Guests Huddled to the Dacha" Tolstoy said: "This is how you need to start. Pushkin is our teacher. This immediately brings the reader into the interest of the action itself. Another would describe the guests, the rooms, and Pushkin goes straight to the point. "
In the novel "Anna Karenina" from the very beginning, attention is directed to the events in which the characters of the heroes are clarified.
The aphorism - “all happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” - this is a philosophical introduction to the novel. The second (event-driven) introduction is concluded in one single phrase: "Everything was confused in the Oblonskys' house." And finally, the next phrase provides a link to the action and defines the conflict. The accident that revealed Oblonsky's infidelity entails a chain of necessary consequences that make up the plot line of the family drama.
The chapters of the novel are arranged in cycles, between which there is a close connection both in thematic and plot relations. Each part of the novel has its own "idea node". The main points of the composition are the thematic centers, which successively replace each other.
In the first part of the novel, the cycles are formed in connection with the conflicts in the life of the Oblonskys (chapters I - V), Levin (chapters VI - IX), Shtcherbatskys (chapters XII - XVI). The development of the action is determined by "the events caused by Anna Karenina's arrival in Moscow (chap. XVII - XXIII), Levin's decision to leave for the village (chap. XXIV - XXVII) and Anna's return to Petersburg, where Vronsky followed her ( Chapter XXXX-XXX1Y).
These cycles, following one after another, gradually expand the scope of the novel, revealing the patterns of development of conflicts. Tolstoy maintains the co-dimensionality of the volume cycles. In the first part, each cycle takes five to six chapters with their own "content boundaries". This creates the rhythm of the sequence of episodes and scenes.
The first part is one of the finest examples of the "cool romance plot." The logic of events, nowhere violating the truth of life, leads to abrupt and inevitable changes in the fate of the heroes. If before Anna Karenina's arrival Dolly was unhappy and Kitty was happy, then after Anna's arrival in Moscow "everything was confused": reconciliation of the Oblonskys became possible — Dolly’s happiness, and Vronsky’s break with Kitty — the misfortune of Princess Shtcherbatskaya — was inevitably approaching. The plot of the novel is based on major changes in the lives of the characters and captures the very meaning of their existence.
The plot and thematic center of the first part of the novel is the image of the "confusion" of family and social relations, transforming the life of a thinking person into torment and causing the desire to "get away from all abomination, confusion, both one's own and someone else's." This is the basis of the "chaining of ideas" in the first part, where the knot of further events is tied.
The second part has its own theme center. This is the "abyss of life", before which the heroes stop in confusion, trying to free themselves from "confusion". The action of the second part takes on a dramatic character from the very beginning. The circles of events here are wider than in the first part. Episodes change at a faster pace. Each cycle includes three to four chapters. The action is transferred from Moscow to St. Petersburg, from Pokrovskoye to Krasnoe Selo and Peterhof, from Russia to Germany.
Kitty, having survived the collapse of her hopes, after breaking with Vronsky, leaves for the "German waters" (chap. I-III). The relationship between Anna and Vronsky is becoming more and more open, imperceptibly pushing the heroes to the abyss (Ch. IV - VII). Karenin was the first to see the "abyss", but his attempts to "warn" Anna were in vain (Ch. VIII-X)
From the secular salons of St. Petersburg, the action of the third cycle is transferred to Levin's estate - Pokrovskoye. With the onset of spring, he especially clearly felt the influence on the life of the "spontaneous force" of nature and folk life (chap. XII - XVII). Vronsky's social life is opposed to Levin's economic concerns. He achieves success in love and is defeated at the races in Krasnoe Selo (Ch. XVIII-XXV).
A crisis begins in the relationship between Anna and Karenin. Uncertainty dissipates, and the rupture of family ties becomes inevitable (chap. XXVI - XXIX). The finale of the second part returns attention to the beginning - to Kitty's fate. She comprehended "the whole weight of this world of grief," but gained new strength for life (chap. XXX - XXXV).
Peace in the Oblonsky family was again broken. "The spike made by Anna turned out to be fragile, and the family harmony broke again in the same place." "Abyss" swallows not only the family, but all Oblonsky's property. To count trees before making a deed of purchase with Ryabinin is as difficult for him as "measuring the deep ocean, counting the sands, the rays of the planets." Ryabinin buys timber for next to nothing. The soil is slipping from under Oblonsky's feet. Life "drives out the idle person."
Levin sees "from all sides the impoverishment of the nobility taking place." He is still inclined to attribute this phenomenon to the irresponsibility, "innocence" of such masters as Oblonsky. But the very ubiquity of this process seems mysterious to him. Levin's attempts to get closer to the people, to understand the laws and the meaning of patriarchal life have not yet been crowned with success. He stops in bewilderment before the "elemental force" that "constantly opposed him." Levin is determined to fight against this "elemental force." But, according to Tolstoy, the forces are not equal. Levin will have to change the spirit of struggle for the spirit of humility.
Anna's love overwhelmed Vronsky with a sense of "vain-glorious success." He was "proud and self-sufficient." His desire came true, "the charming dream of happiness" came true. Chapter XI, with its “vivid realism,” is built on a striking combination of opposing feelings of joy and grief, happiness and disgust. “It's over,” says Anna; the word “horror” is repeated several times, and the whole mood of the characters is sustained in the spirit of irrevocable immersion into the abyss: “She felt that at that moment she could not express in words that feeling of shame, joy and horror before this entry into new life».
The unexpected turn of events confused Karenin with its illogicality and unpredictability. His life was always subject to unchanging and precise concepts. Now Karenin "stood face to face with something illogical and stupid and did not know what to do." Karenin only had to reflect on "reflections of life." There the weight was clear. “Now he felt a feeling similar to what a man would have experienced, calmly passing over an abyss over a bridge and suddenly seeing that this bridge was dismantled and that there was an abyss. This abyss was life itself, the bridge was the artificial life that Aleksey Alexandrovich lived ”[18, 151].
“The bridge” and “the abyss”, “artificial life” and “life itself” - in these categories the internal conflict is revealed. The symbolism of generalizing images giving a prophetic indication of the future is much clearer than in the first part. It is not only spring in Pokrovskoe and horse races in Krasnoe Selo.
The heroes have changed in many ways, entered into a new life. In the second part of the novel, the image of a ship on the high seas naturally appears, as a symbol of the life of a modern man. Vronsky and Anna “experienced a feeling similar to the feeling of a navigator who sees on a compass that the direction in which he is moving rapidly is far from the proper one, but that it is not within his power to stop the movement, that every minute removes everything from him. more and more from the proper direction, and that admitting to oneself in retreat is the same as admitting destruction. "
The second part of the novel has an inner unity, despite all the differences and contrasting changes in plot episodes. What for Karenin was "the abyss", then for Anna and Vronsky it became "the law of love", and for Levin the consciousness of his helplessness in the face of "elemental force." No matter how far the events of the novel diverge, they are grouped around a single plot-thematic center.
The third part of the novel depicts the heroes after experiencing a crisis and on the eve of decisive events. Chapters are grouped into cycles that can be subdivided into periods. The first cycle consists of two periods: Levin and Koznyshev in Pokrovskoe (. I - VI) and Levin's trip to Ergushevo (Ch. VII - XII). The second cycle is devoted to the relations between Anna and Karenin (chap. XIII - XVI), Anna and Vronsky (chap. XVII - XXIII). The third cycle again returns attention to Levin and is divided into two periods: Levin's trip to Sviyazhsky (chap. XXV-XXVIII) and Levin's attempt to create a new "science of economics" (chap. XXIX-XXXP).
The fourth part of the novel consists of three main cycles: the life of the Karenins in St. Petersburg (chapters I - V), the meeting of Levin and Kitty in Moscow in the Oblonskys' house (chapters VII - XVI); the last cycle, dedicated to the relationship between Anna, Vronsky and Karenin, has two periods: the happiness of forgiveness ”(chap. XVII - XIX) and break (chap. XX - XXIII).
In the fifth part of the novel, the focus is on the fate of Anna and Levin. The heroes of the novel achieve happiness and choose their own path (departure of Anna and Vronsky to Italy, Levin's marriage to Kitty). Life has changed, although each of them remained himself. "There was a complete break with all the previous life, and a completely different, new, completely unknown life began, in reality the old one continued."
The thematic center is a general concept of the given state of the story. In each part of the novel there are repeated words - images and concepts - that represent the key to the ideological meaning of the work. “The Abyss” appears in the second part of the novel as a metaphor for life, and then goes through many conceptual and figurative transformations. The word “confusion” was the key word for the first part of the novel, “web of lies” for the third, “mysterious communication” for the fourth, “choosing the path” for the fifth. These repeating words indicate the direction of the author's thought and can serve as the "thread of Ariadne" in the complex transitions of the "wide and free novel."
The architecture of the novel "Anna Karenina" is distinguished by the natural location of all the interconnected structural parts. There is no doubt that the composition of the novel "Anna Karenina" has been compared to an architectural structure. I. Ye. Zabelin, characterizing the features of originality in Russian architecture, wrote that for a long time in Russia houses, palaces and temples “were not arranged according to the plan that was invented in advance and drawn on paper, and rarely fully met all the real needs of the owner.
Most of all, they were built according to the plan of life itself and the free outline of the very everyday life of the builders, although every single building was always executed according to the drawing.
This characteristic relating to architecture indicates one of the deepest traditions that nourished Russian art. From Pushkin to Tolstoy, the 19th century novel. emerged and developed as an "encyclopedia of Russian life." The free movement of the plot outside the shy framework of the conventional plot determined the originality of the composition: "life itself ruled the lines of the placement of buildings."
A. Fet compared Tolstoy with a master who achieves "artistic integrity" and "in simple woodwork." Tolstoy built circles of plot movement and a labyrinth of composition, “brought vaults” of the novel with the art of the great architect.
The dramatically intense style of Pushkin's stories with their inherent swiftness of the plot, the rapid development of the plot, the characterization of the heroes directly in action, especially attracted Tolstoy in the days when he began work on the “lively, hot” novel about modernity.
And yet it is impossible to explain the novel's original style of beginning by external Pushkin influence alone. The impetuous plot of "Anna Karenina", its intense plot development - all these are artistic means, inextricably linked with the content of the work. These means helped the writer to convey the drama of the heroes' su-deb.
Not only the very beginning of the novel, but its entire style is associated with a lively and energetic creative principle, clearly formulated by Tolstoy - "introduction into action at once."
Tolstoy introduces all, without exception, the heroes of his wide, multi-planed work without preliminary descriptions and characteristics, in an atmosphere of acute life situations. Anna - at the moment of her meeting with Vronsky, Steve Oblonsky and Dolly in a situation when both think that their family is crumbling, Konstantin Levin - on the day when he tries to make an offer to Kitty.
In Anna Karenina, a novel whose action is especially intense, the writer, introducing one of the heroes (Anna, Levin, Karenin, Oblonsky) into the narrative, concentrates his attention on it, devotes several chapters in a row, many pages predominantly Noah characteristic of this hero. So, Oblonsky is dedicated to I - IV, Levin - V - VII, Anna - XVIII - XXIII, Karenin - XXXI - XXXIII chapters of the first part of the novel. Moreover, each page of these chapters is distinguished by the amazing capacity of the characteristics of the heroes.
As soon as Konstantin Levin managed to cross the threshold of the Moscow Presence, the writer had already shown him in the perception of the gatekeeper, the official of the Presence, Oblonsky, having spent only a few phrases on all this. In just the first few pages of the novel, Tolstoy was able to show the relationship of Steva Oblonsky with his wife, children, servants, petitioner, watchmaker. Already on these first pages, Steva's character is vividly and multifacetedly revealed in a multitude of typical and at the same time uniquely individual traits.
Following Pushkin's traditions in the novel, Tolstoy remarkably developed and enriched these traditions. The great artist-psychologist found many new unique means and techniques to combine a detailed analysis of the hero's experiences with Pushkin's purposeful development of the narrative.
As you know, "internal monologues", "psychological commentary" are specifically Tolstoy's artistic methods, by means of which the writer, with particular depth, revealed inner world heroes. These subtle psychological techniques are saturated in Anna Karenina with such intense dramatic content that they usually not only do not slow down the pace of storytelling, but enhance its development. All of Anna Karenina's “internal monologues” can serve as an example of this connection between the subtle analysis of the characters' feelings and the acutely dramatic development of the plot.
In a sudden passion, Anna tries to escape her love. Unexpectedly, ahead of schedule, she leaves Moscow for home to St. Petersburg.
“Well, what then? Is there and can exist any other relationship between me and this officer-boy, besides those that happen with every acquaintance? " She chuckled contemptuously and again took up the book, but already decidedly could not understand what she was reading. She passed the slitting knife across the glass, then put its smooth and cold surface to her cheek and almost laughed out loud with joy that suddenly took possession of her for no reason. She felt that her nerves, like strings, were being pulled tighter and tighter on some kind of screwed pegs. She felt that her eyes were opening more and more, that the fingers and toes were moving nervously, that something inside was pressing down on the air, and that all the images and sounds in this fluctuating semi-darkness amaze her with extraordinary brightness.
Anna's sudden feeling develops rapidly, before our eyes, and the reader with ever-increasing excitement awaits how the struggle in her soul will be resolved.
Anna's internal monologue on the train psychologically prepared her for a meeting with her husband, during which Karenin's “ear cartilages” were first noticed.
Let's give another example. Alexey Alexandrovich, who has made sure of his wife's infidelity, painfully ponders what to do, how to find a way out of this situation. And here a detailed psychological analysis and the mastery of live plot development are inextricably linked. The reader closely follows the flow of Karenin's thoughts, not only because Tolstoy subtly analyzes the psychology of an official-bureaucrat, but also because the future fate of Anna depends on the decision he comes to.
In the same way, introducing into the dialogues between the heroes of the novel a "psychological commentary" that reveals the secret meaning of words, fleeting glances and gestures of the characters, the writer, as a rule, not only did not slow down the narration, but communicated the development of the conflict with particular tension.
In chapter XXV of the seventh part of the novel, between Anna and Vronsky, a difficult conversation about divorce comes again. It was thanks to the psychological commentary made by Tolstoy in the dialogue between Anna and Vronsky that it became especially evident how rapidly, with every minute, the gap between the characters was brewing. In the final version of this scene (19, 327), the psychological commentary is even more expressive and dramatic.
In Anna Karenina, due to the greater dramatic tension of the entire work, this connection became especially close and immediate.
Striving for greater conciseness of the narrative, Tolstoy often passes from conveying the thoughts and feelings of the characters in their immediate flow to the author's, more condensed and concise depiction of them. For example, here is how Tolstoy draws Kitty's state at the moment of her explanation with Levin.
“She was breathing heavily without looking at him. She was delighted. Her soul was overflowing with happiness. She had never expected that his expressed love would make such a strong impression on her. But this only lasted for one moment. She remembered Vronsky. She raised her bright, truthful eyes to Levin, and, seeing his desperate face, hastily answered:
It can't be ... forgive me. "
So throughout the novel "Anna Karenina", Tolstoy constantly combines psychological analysis, a comprehensive study of the dialectics of the soul with the liveliness of plot development. Using the terminology of the writer himself, we can say that in Anna Karenina a keen "interest in the details of feelings" is constantly combined with an exciting "interest in the development of events." At the same time, it should be noted that the storyline, connected with Levin's life and searches, develops less rapidly: chapters, dramatically tense, are often replaced by calm ones, with a leisurely, slow development of the narrative (scenes of mowing, hunting episodes Levin's happy family life in the village).
Alexander Pushkin, drawing the multifaceted characters of his heroes, sometimes used the technique of "cross characteristics" (for example, in "Eugene Onegin").
In the works of L. Tolstoy, this Pushkin tradition was widely developed. It is known that by showing his heroes in the assessment and perception of various characters, Tolstoy achieved a special truth, depth and versatility of the image. In Anna Karenina, the technique of “cross characteristics” constantly helped the artist, in addition, to create situations full of acute drama. Initially, Tolstoy described, for example, the behavior of Anna and Vronsky at the Moscow ball, mostly on his own behalf. In the final version, we saw the heroes through the prism of the perception of Vronsky in love, Kitty chilled with horror.
The depiction of the tense atmosphere of horse racing is also associated with Tolstoy's use of this technique. The artist draws Vronsky's dangerous leap not only from his own face, but also through the prism of perception of the agitated bath, "compromising" herself Anna.
Anna's behavior at the races, in turn, is closely watched by the outwardly calm Karenin. "He again looked into this face, trying not to read what was so clearly written on it, and against his will he read with horror on it what he did not want to know."
Anna's attention is focused on Vronsky, however, she involuntarily lays her attention on every word and gesture of her husband. Exhausted by Karenin's hypocrisy, Anna captures the traits of servility and careerism in his behavior. Adding Anna's assessment to Karenin's characterization, Tolstoy intensified both the drama and the accusatory sound of the episode.
Thus, in Anna Karenina, the peculiarly Tolstoyan, subtly psychological methods of penetrating characters (internal monologue, the method of mutual evaluations) serve at the same time as a means of intense “lively and hot” development of action.
Moving "fluid" portraits of Tolstoy's heroes are in many ways the opposite of Pushkin's. However, behind this opposition, and here, some common features are found. At one time, Pushkin, honing his realistic, authentic, lively style of narration, sarcastically over the lengthy and static descriptions of contemporary fiction writers.
Portraits of his heroes Pushkin, as a rule, painted in action, in connection with the development of the conflict, revealing the feelings of the heroes through the depiction of their poses, gestures, facial expressions.
All the above characteristics of the behavior and appearance of the characters are devoid of static, descriptiveness, do not slow down the action, but contribute to the development of the conflict, are directly related to it. Such lively, dynamic portraits occupy a much larger place in Pushkin's prose and play a greater role than a few generalized descriptive characteristics.
Tolstoy was a genius innovator in the creation of portraits. The portraits and his works, in contrast to the stingy and laconic of Pushkin's, are fluid, reflecting the most complex "dialectic" of the heroes' feelings. At the same time, it was in the work of Tolstoy that the Pushkin principles - drama and dynamism in depicting the appearance of the characters, the Pushkin tradition - to draw heroes in live scenes, without the help of direct characteristics and static descriptions, received the highest development. Tolstoy, like Pushkin in his time, sharply condemned the “now impossible manner of descriptions, logically arranged: first, descriptions actors, even their biographies, then a description of the area and environment, and then the action begins. And a strange thing - all these descriptions, sometimes on dozens of pages, less acquaint the reader with faces than a carelessly thrown artistic line during an action already begun between completely undescribed faces. "
The art of fluid, dynamic portraiture allowed Tolstoy to connect especially closely the characteristics of heroes with action, with the dramatic development of conflict. In Anna Karenina, this connection is especially organic.
And in this respect, Pushkin is closer to Tolstoy the portrait painter than such artists as Turgenev, Gon-Charov, Herzen, in whose works the direct characteristics of the characters are not always merged with the action.
The connections between Tolstoy's style and Pushkin's are deep and varied.
The history of the creation of "Anna Karenina" testifies to the fact that not only in the years of his literary youth, but also in the period of the highest creative flowering, Tolstoy fruitfully drew from the source of national literary traditions, developed and enriched these traditions. We tried to show how in the 70s, at a turning point in Tolstoy's work, Pushkin's experience contributed to the evolution of the writer's artistic method. Tolstoy relied on the traditions of Pushkin the prose writer, following the path of creating his own new style, which is characterized, in particular, by a combination of deep psychologism with dramatic, purposeful development of action.
It is significant that in 1897, speaking about the folk literature of the future, Tolstoy asserted “all the same three Pushkin’s principles:“ clarity, simplicity and brevity ”, as the most important principles on which this literature should be based.