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The poor nobleman Frol Skobeev lived in the Novgorod district. In the same county was the patrimony of the stolnik Nardin-Nashchokin. The steward's daughter, Annushka, lived there. Frol conceived "to have love" with Annushka. He met the clerk of this patrimony, went to visit him. At this time, their mother came to them, who was constantly with Annushka. Frol gave his mother two rubles, but he did not say for what.

Christmas time came, and Annushka invited noble daughters from all over the area to her party. Her mother also came to Frol to invite his sister to the party. The sister, at the instigation of Frol, announced to her mother that she would come to the party with her girlfriend. When she began to gather for a visit, Frol asked her to give him a girl's outfit as well. The sister was frightened, but did not dare to disobey her brother.

At the party, no one recognized Frol in a girl's dress, even the mother. Then Frol Skobeev gave his mother five rubles and confessed everything ... She promised to help him.

The mother offered the girls new game- to the wedding. Annushka was the bride, and Frol Skobeev (whom everyone took for a girl) was the groom. The "young" were taken to the bedroom. There, Frol Skobeev revealed himself to Annushka and deprived her of her innocence. Then the girls went in to them, but they did not know anything. Annushka quietly reproached her mother, but she denied all the accusations, stated that she knew nothing, and even offered to kill Frol for such a "dirty thing." But Annushka felt sorry for Frol. The next morning, she released all the girls, and left Frola and her sister for three days. She gave him money, and Frol began to live much richer than before.

Annushka's father, Nardin-Nashchokin, ordered his daughter to go to Moscow, because good suitors wooed her there. Upon learning of Annushka's departure, Frol Skobeev decided to follow her and marry the girl at all costs.

Frol stayed in Moscow not far from the court of Nardin-Nashchokin. In the church he met Annushka's mother. The mother told the girl about the arrival of Frol Skobeev. Annushka was delighted and sent money to Frol.

The steward had a nun sister. When her brother came to her monastery, the nun began to ask to be allowed to see her niece. Nardin-Nashchokin promised to let his daughter go to the monastery. The nun said that she would send a carriage for Annushka.

Getting ready to go on a visit, the father warned Annushka that at any time a carriage from a nun sister could arrive. Let, they say, Annushka get into the carriage and go to the monastery. Hearing about this, the girl immediately sent her mother to Frol Skobeev so that he could get a carriage somewhere and come to her.

Frol lived only by going on orders. Poverty did not allow him to have a carriage. But he had a plan. Frol went to the steward Lovchikov and asked for a carriage for a while "to watch the bride." Lovchikov complied with his request. Then Frol got the coachman drunk, dressed himself in a servant's dress, sat on the box and went to Annushka. The mother, seeing Frol Skobeev, announced that they had come for Annushka from the monastery. The girl got ready and went to the apartment of Frol Skobeev. The father returned home and did not find his daughter, but was completely calm, knowing that she was in the monastery. Meanwhile, Frol married Annushka.

Frol brought the carriage with the drunken coachman to Lovchikov's yard. Lovchikov tried to ask the coachman about where the carriage was and what had happened, but the poor fellow did not remember anything.

After some time, Nardin-Nashchokin went to the monastery to his sister and asked her where Annushka was. The nun replied with surprise that she had not sent a carriage and had not seen her niece. The father began to grieve for the missing daughter. The next morning he went to the sovereign, reported on what had happened. The sovereign ordered to look for the steward's daughter. He ordered Annushka's kidnapper to show up. And if the thief does not appear himself, but is found, then he will be executed.

Then Frol Skobeev went to the steward Lovchikov, told about his act and asked for help. Lovchikov refused, but Frol threatened that he would accuse him of complicity: who gave the carriage? Lovchikov gave Frol advice: to throw himself at the feet of Nardin-Nashchokin in front of everyone. And he, Lovchikov, will intercede for Frol.

The next day, after Mass in the Assumption Cathedral, all the stolniks went out to talk to Ivanovskaya Square. Nardin-Nashchokin recalled the disappearance of his daughter. And at this time Skobeev went out in front of everyone and fell at the feet of Nardin-Nashchokin. The stolnik raised him, and Frol announced to him his marriage to Annushka. The shocked steward began to threaten that he would complain about Frol to the king. But Lovchikov reassured Nardin-Nashchokin a little, and he went home.

First, the steward and his wife cried about the fate of their daughter, and then they sent a servant to find out how she was doing. Having found out about this, Frol Skobeev ordered his young wife to pretend to be sick. Frol explained to the visiting servant that Annushka was ill from her father's anger. The stolnik, having heard such news, took pity on his daughter and decided to at least bless her in absentia. He sent an icon to the young.

The servant took the icon and carried it to Frol. And Frol, before his arrival, ordered Anna to sit down at the table. He explained to his father-in-law's servant that Annushka had recovered from her parents' blessing. The servant told the master everything. After that, the stolnik went to the king, said that his daughter had been found, and asked to forgive Skobeev. The sovereign agreed.

Then Nardin-Nashchokin sent Skobeev all sorts of supplies, and he began to live richly. And after a while the stolnik invited his son-in-law and daughter to his place. At first, the parents scolded Annushka, but then they put her and Frol at the table. Having mercy, Nardin-Nashchokin presented Frol with two of his fiefdoms, and even then he gave money.

A few years later the steward died. He made Frol Skobeev his heir. And Frol lived his life "in great glory and wealth."

retold

According to tradition, among the works about Savva Grudtsyn, Good Work and Grief-Misfortune, it is customary to consider "The Tale of Frol Skobeev" - an anonymous literary monument of the novelistic type, which scientists either date to the end of the 17th century, or are associated with the literary process of the next century. The first point of view on the dating of the work does not stand up to criticism, since it is based on the indication of the time of action in some lists - the adventures of Frol Skobeev are attributed to 1680. This date could not have been contained in the original, although, according to the researchers of the Tale, it is important for understanding the author's intention . Two years later, Peter I destroyed the system localism, anchored in "bit books", which made social barriers surmountable and opened the way to power and wealth for people like Frol Skobeev.

The hero of the "Tale" lives according to the principle "I will be a colonel or a dead man!" and is ready to achieve success in life at any cost. Having changed into a woman's dress, he enters the steward's house; having bribed Annushka's mother, he achieves a secret meeting with a girl, whom he then kidnaps. Frol

Skobeev is a master of blackmail and intrigue, he behaves like a talented actor, changing costumes and roles, and like an experienced director, skillfully playing the scene of Anna's fatal illness in order to beg forgiveness from the girl's parents. If the heroes of works about Savva Grudtsyn and Grief-Misfortune are defeated in their desire to "live by their own mind" and seek happiness outside the family and everyday life, then the orderly "sneak", the poor nobleman Frol Skobeev, shamelessly trampling on the ethical norms of behavior, fulfills his dream. He achieves material well-being and a high social position thanks to an advantageous marriage to the daughter of a steward. Boyarin Nardin-Nashchokin is forced to recognize the "thief and rogue" Frolka as his son-in-law and "heir in all his movable and immovable estate."

Reflecting the process of the rise of the new nobility, when "ancient, honest" families are replaced by "seedy", the author of the work is far from denouncing those who, like Frolka Skobeev, live relying not on the help of God or the devil, but on their own strengths and talents. In the character and fate of the hero of the Tale, the real features of many "chicks of Petrov's nest" find artistic refraction (for example, Alexander Menshikov, who sold pies from a stall in his childhood and remained illiterate all his life, which did not prevent him from becoming the "right hand" of the Russian emperor). A clear evidence of the emancipation of a woman is the behavior of Frol's chosen one - Annushka. She easily agrees to deceive her parents and run away from home, she chooses whom she loves, and is active in the implementation of her husband's plans.

Scientists' assumptions that the "Tale" could have been written at the beginning of the 18th century were confirmed by the study of N. A. Baklanova, which proved that the work belonged to the literature of the Petrine era. Firstly, the author of the monument leads the story as a story about the past. Secondly, the style of the work reveals similarities with the works created by the writers of the time of Peter the Great. He is purely business-like and devoid of the literary "weaving of words"; it is dominated by clericalisms ("to have a place of residence", "to go on official business"), a lot of vocabulary borrowed from Western European languages ​​("person", "registry", "apartment", "banquet"). The work is written in chopped phrases, not cleared of repetitions: "In Novgorod county had nobleman Frol Skobeev. In the same Novgorod county there were estates of the stolnik Nardin-Nashchokin, had daughter Annushka, who lived in those Novgorod estates". The style is especially heavy when the author invades the sphere of feelings and thoughts of the characters: Frol Skobeev "took the intention of having love with that Annushka."

Based on the analysis of the text, it is possible with good reason to see in the author of the "Tale" a Muscovite who is well acquainted with the topography of the city and the life of its inhabitants; the brisk clerical style of the work indicates the writer's possible belonging to the clerk's milieu. The adventures of Frol Skobeev do not cause him condemnation and are not accompanied by religious and moral maxims. He understands and accepts the hero as he is, refusing a monosyllabic interpretation of the image.

In terms of genre, "The Tale" is close to picaresque novel. An original compositional solution of the work, which is built from two contrasting parts: in the first part, the main thing is intrigue, the actions of the characters; in the second - the image of the characters, the psychological background of the action. love plot"The Tale" is immersed in Russian life, and the plot of the action is not accidentally attributed to the time of Christmas festivities with their characteristic dressing up, love divination and games. In the second part, the development of the plot is slowed down by the inclusion of dialogues and genre scenes in the narrative, while for the first time in Russian literature, the language of the characters is individualized, conveys their state of mind. Imperative intonations dominate in Nardin-Nashchokin's speech. In communicating with the "skinny" son-in-law, he often uses a strong word: "And you, rogue, what is it worth? Sit right there. Are you, rogue, to own my daughter?" If in "The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn" the speech of the heroes is bookish and colorless, then in "The Tale of Frol Skobeev" it, having separated from the author's, acquires lively intonations, depends on the nature of the character and the situation. Nardin-Nashchokin, communicating with Frolka, "the caller", "shouts" and "orders" ("Get up, say it's your fault!"); with his wife - “he talks and regrets about his daughter”: “How, friend, to be? Of course, the rogue will starve Annushka: what to feed her, and he himself, like a dog, is hungry.

Life authenticity is given to the "Tale" by subtle psychologism in the depiction of heroes, both main and secondary. Two-faced and cruel is Annushka's mother, who is ready to hide Frol "in a place of death" if a deceit is discovered. Soft, but weak-willed sister of the protagonist. The antics of her brother make her stay in "great sadness", fearing "great trouble", but she does not dare to disobey him. Deep is the grief of Annushka's parents, who, after long tears and unconsciousness, cursed their daughter. But, loving and pitying the only "child" in their souls, they try to find out "whether she is alive, whether she has any kind of food."

Tales of the 17th century that arose in the atmosphere of culture baroque, were influenced by this style. Hence the friability of their composition, the piling up of plots and the unexpected outcomes, stylistic dissonances, the clash of old and new, high and low, real and fantastic, which resembles pretentiousness architectural forms and the richness of the decor of the baroque "Naryshkin" churches. In everyday stories of the XVII century. see the origins of Russian short stories and novelistic narration. They are rich in plots, images and problems that more than one generation of writers of the New Age will think about.

Literary history of monuments

"The Tale of Frol Skobeev" seemed "an extremely remarkable thing" to I. S. Turgenev, who admired the touching "naivety of the style" of the work. The plot of the "Tales" in the XVIII century. processed by I. V. Novikov ("The Christmas evening of Novgorod girls, played in Moscow as a wedding") and N. M. Karamzin ("Natalia, the boyar daughter").

In 1869, D. V. Averkiev created "A comedy about the Russian nobleman Frol Skobeev and the steward's daughter Annushka of Nardyn-Nashchokin." On its basis, in 1950, the composer T. N. Khrennikov wrote the comic opera Frol Skobeev, which in a new edition was called The Rootless Son-in-Law (1966). The motives of The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn found artistic expression in the works of A.S.

4. A picaresque novel about Frol Skobeev.

The stories about the old husband, about Tatiana Sutulova, about the poor man who ended up in Shemyakin's court - these are just short stories with their specific laws of content: in each of them a person finds himself in a situation that forces him to act according to his personal will, to reveal his own face. And everywhere, acting as a private individual, the person wins: the girl marries “a good fellow”, Tatiana puts the seducers to shame and, moreover, receives a whole bunch of money, the hero of “Shemyakin’s Court” turns all his troubles inside out. But these are precisely individual decisive actions, instant flashes of personal energy. The stories appear as images of a striking, outstanding event in the life of the hero, when his individual traits and capabilities are suddenly revealed, and then the calm life that flows in line with ordinary norms continues again.

A qualitatively different content is revealed to us in the "History of the Russian nobleman Frol Skobeev", created on the eve of the Petrine reforms. This “nobleman of a poor man,” who “had more food for himself to always go to Moscow as a chargé d’affaires,” appears already, first of all, as a private person who has fallen out of the official social system and lives entirely at his own peril and risk.

Peter's reforms, the starting point of which was the establishment of an unusually powerful and unified autocratic power, were an expression of historical necessity - and, in particular, the need to overcome the shaky society, those tendencies of decay that had been developing since the middle of the 17th century. The struggle of the old boyars and the noble nobles, the church schism, the streltsy feuds, and, finally, the direct dual power of Sophia and Peter - all this led to an unstable and decaying state. Under these conditions, individual people could fall out of the social hierarchy. At the end of the 17th century, the mass of all kinds of "walking" people, who were no longer actually connected with any feudal institutions and collectives, grew significantly.

And the noble title of Frol Skobeev no longer determines his being: he only uses his belonging to the nobility when he needs to get into the "fun party" to Annushka Nardina Nashchokina, who invites the daughters of neighboring nobles. Yes, and here he changes clothes and pretends to be "some noble daughter", allegedly invited by Skobeev's sister. It was just as easy for Frol to "get out of his servant's dress" and pass himself off as a servant of Annushka's aunt. The real essence Skobeev is also identified by the stolnik Lovchikov, who says: “You are a real rogue!”, And Nardin Nashchokin himself: “You know about yourself. Who are you? .. You, a rogue, own my daughter?

Frol is really a rogue, picaro, and the story about him is the first Russian rogue novel. In contrast to the short story, where the revealed face of a private individual appears as a completely human, kind, although perhaps not devoid of slyness, here the “naked” personality, left without a medieval mask, appears in various qualities. The narrator does not at all depict his rogue as an unscrupulous villain: Frol has a touching attitude towards his loving sister; after his good fortune, he keeps "in great mercy and honor" Annushka's "mother" who helped him; accepting from the envoys of Nardin Nashchokin “a reserve of 6 horses”, he orders with a broad gesture to put it in the place shown, “regardless of the register”, etc. But this is not even the point, not the balance of good and bad; the essence of narration lies primarily in innovative objectivity, in a sober perception of life. Frol's path appears as natural and the only possible one: it is not a victim of the intrigues of the "devil". He has “nothing more to live with than to go for orders”, and “many noble people knew that he was a Skobeev nobleman, not rich, only a great sneak, interceding for orders” - that is, “a gate, a rogue and a snitch”.

In a word, Frol somehow turns out to be a rogue in the eyes of boyar society - he is a rogue involuntarily, a rogue by his very position. Therefore, the story of the conquest of Annushka, as a result of which Frol became the heir of Nardin Nashchokin, appears in a special light. Frol acts as a kind of heroic rogue, and this is emphasized in every possible way in the narrative. At the very beginning of the action, when Frol is going to go with his sister to the steward’s daughter “in a girl’s dress”, “his sister was very lamented, because if she recognizes it, then, of course, there will be a great misfortune for my brother, because that steward Nardin Nashchokin is very great favor with the king is. Here Frol leaves with Annushka “to a special room”, and the sister “was very in great sadness, feeling sorry for her brother and hoping that, of course, there will be a reason” (that is, trouble). But Frol Skobeev "regardless of any fear and grew her virginity." And the “reason” really goes around, because the mother immediately suggests to Annushka: “We have enough people, we can hide it in a place of death.” Annushka, who has fallen in love, refuses, "regretting that Frol Skobeev." However, the main obstacles are ahead, and Frol tells his sister: “Although I will lose my stomach, I will not leave Annushka behind, either I will be a colonel or a dead man ... and if misfortune occurs, then remember your brother. I cleaned up and went to Moscow.”

Indeed, Frol single-handedly enters into a real battle with an immensely strong opponent, a battle where death lies in wait for him at every step. He takes Annushka out of the house, and the tsar, on the complaint of the steward, "ordered to commit ...: if someone keeps her secretly, so that they announce, if someone does not announce, and then searches, then he will be executed by death." So the hero begins to confront almost the state itself. So he outmaneuvered the stolnik Lovchikov, first begging him for a carriage, and then threatening to "point at you, so that you appeared and gave the carriage." Lovchikov dissuades the angry Nardin Nashchokin, who has already told Frol: “I will go to the sovereign and I will ask you about your picaresque insult to me.” The very public assessment of Frol's swindle is remarkable: “They were very surprised at Skobeev that he made such a parable so boldly”; moreover, as Lovchikov says to Nardin Nashchokin, “Skobeev cannot hide anywhere from your anger.” Frol himself asks to "let go" to him for his "boldness".

Precisely because Skobeev does not look at "any fear of himself", that he is bold and bold, the author cannot but treat him with sympathy. The story does not embellish Frol at all; Annushka is possessed by love, he is driven only by the desire to get out of poverty and a despicable position by a daring marriage. True, the story subtly shows that the dangerous struggle brings Frol close to Annushka, and now he sincerely shares his excitement with her: “Well, Annushka, I don’t know what will happen to you and me! I announced you to your father!”

The cynical practicality of the new hero openly comes to the surface: he uses both Annushka's love and parental feelings for selfish purposes; however, Frol makes his immoral career in a world that is ready to kill him like a dog at every turn. And this determines the inconsistency of the meaning of the story, the indivisibility of condemnation and sympathy. But the main thing is not even in this, but in the very fact of the discovery in the story of hitherto unknown human energy. The impudent and devilishly dexterous behavior of the new hero of private life naturally aroused a kind of admiration. In a perverted and narrow form, here for the first time appeared the enormous possibilities of an individual, one on one fighting with society and making a hole in it. The nobleman, who enjoys the "great favor" of the king, is unable to cope with this contemptible and impoverished rogue and is forced to put Frol at his table.

In assessing the hero, it is necessary to proceed not from abstract timeless criteria of morality, but from the concrete historical meaning of the actions themselves: from this point of view, Frol's picaresque behavior is almost the only form of asserting an independent personality possible for a given time, revealing its energy. Like the characters in Western picaresque novels, Frol appears in a kind of heroic halo, because his individual will and mind are able to resist the whole hostile world. This new content gives rise to an innovative narrative form. A sober prose story absorbs aesthetic versatility: the heroism of Frol’s behavior, who does not look at “any fear of himself” and decides to be “a colonel or a dead man,” is combined with the base prose of his dressing in a servant’s dress, feigned falling “before the feet” of Nardin Nashchokin, who raises it with a “natural stick”, etc. The drama of events fraught with a mortal threat turns into the comic bitterness of Nardin Nashchokin, who sends an expensive image to Frol and Annushka with the words: “And tell the rogue and thief Frolka Skobeev not to squandered." A free prosaic tale easily absorbs and makes tangible the most diverse streams of a seemingly monotonous stream. Everyday life, reflecting at the same time their interweaving and interpenetration.

It is enough to take any moment of the story to see this complex versatility: "Frol Skobeev, in spite of any fear, grew her virginity." On the one hand, this is a base and criminal act: Frol does this not even at the behest of rude passion, but simply to win a rich bride. But another motive immediately appears - a fearless challenge to the whole world: after all, Annushka herself can at any moment call the servants who will hide Frol "in a place of death"; Behind her are the enraged steward, the church, which cruelly punishes all adultery, and, finally, the king himself. Frol is defenseless, he "can't hide anywhere"; his support is only his own mind, will and "boldness". Such a contradictory combination of condemnation and sympathy was not possible in the old literature; here it becomes the basis of the story.

At the same time, the new artistry is manifested in the "History of Frol Skobeev" in a limited, non-expanded form; it is rather a forerunner of the novel than an established pattern of the genre, like the stories of Guzman, Pablos, Francion. In the story about Frol, both sides of the genre turn out to be undeveloped, undecided - a comprehensive image of a private hero and a panorama of the person who appears before him. lifeworld. First of all, it is characteristic that the story is not embodied in the form of the first person - this is the most essential regularity of the early stage in the development of the picaresque novel. Frol is still depicted, as it were, with third-party eyes, and his motives, mental states, his entire unknown appearance of the new hero is almost not revealed. So, for example, only by individual hints of the narrator can we judge his cheerfulness, striving for the fullness of the sensation of life (and not just for narrow self-interest), which is so strongly expressed in the prevailing picaresque novels. We learn that, having won the first victory over Annushka, Frol was “very glad to be and made banquets and had fun with his brother nobles”; that immediately after Nardin Nashchokin sent “reserves”, “Frol Skobeev already lives luxuriously and travels everywhere for noble people. And they were very surprised at Skobeev that he made such a parable so boldly. Here the appearance of a person is outlined, who is not at all driven by a devastating and vulgar desire for selfish prey, which he, like a spider, will squeeze in his corner, but by the desire to assert himself, to enjoy the feeling of his personal victory. A peculiar shade puts on big picture a scene of reconciliation between the father and the unwanted son-in-law; having invited his daughter and Frol to his place, the steward says: “And you, rogue, why are you standing there? Sit down right now! Do you, a rogue, own my daughter! And Frol Skobeev said: “Well, sir, God has already judged him so!” And they all sat down to eat together ... ”This first mention of God in the mouth of Frol sounds very mocking and contrasts remarkably with the idyllic last phrase.

At the same time, the versatility of Skobeev's appearance is only outlined, as if it needs to be completed. His behavior is so striking and bold for the author and readers that it is of interest in itself, from a purely factual point of view. Also, only the contours of the picture of the world are outlined - Annushka's "fun evening", the story of the carriage, the images of the steward Lovchikov and the spouses of the Nardins Nashchokins, a gathering of stewards on Ivanovskaya Square, the "snake" life in which Skobeev has been spinning so far, etc. In a word, the narrative does not yet absorb the wide background of the whole world, although it is nevertheless obvious that in this germ of the novel lies the possibility of such an epic expansion. Here, as it were, something that can be shown in a specific form and movement is already named.

However, the intensive development of the novel does not begin in Russian literature. The picaresque story about Frol Skobeev remains an episode in the history of literature, generated by the peculiar conditions of the end of the 17th century. After the reforms of Peter the Great, epic odes, heroic poems, satires, tragedy and comedy, corresponding to the spirit of the "state Renaissance", play a central role in literature. At the same time, at the beginning of the 18th century, prose stories appeared - “histories” about the “Russian sailor Vasily”, “Alexander the Russian nobleman” and “the Russian merchant John”.

It would seem that the heroes of these "histories" are the younger brothers or children of Frol Skobeev. But everything here has changed dramatically. These stories take place in various countries Europe, where the heroes are busy with military, diplomatic or love adventures. And before us is a completely different genre, in its aesthetics and style, which has almost nothing in common with the history of Fool Skobeev. These "histories", naturally born in the era of Peter the Great, represent a peculiar form of the Renaissance "knight's novel". It is no coincidence that in the same period Western chivalric tales about Prince Bova, Peter the Golden Keys, etc., translated in the last century, translated back in the last century, were again processed and most widely disseminated, and a number of new western chivalric books unknown in the 17th century appeared.

"History of the Russian sailor Vasily" with its sublime and extraordinary adventures - this is really an original "knight's novel" of the Renaissance type. The direct portrayal of a modern hero is remarkable in it: Vasily is not some medieval daring, like Bova, but the son of a seedy Russian nobleman, going to St. Petersburg, where he becomes a sailor and goes to study in Holland. But then he gets into a whole chain of truly chivalrous adventures, in which his heroic character is revealed. In the end, he marries (and in a completely different way than Frol Skobeev) the princess and becomes the "King of Florence" himself. This content, quite explicable from the reality of the Petrine era, does not give rise to the development of the novel in the proper sense: a peculiar genre arises, akin to the same Spanish chivalric narratives of the 16th century. In the future, it naturally does not develop in Russian literature.

The line outlined by the "History of Frol Skobeev" indeed continues later in " Pretty cook"(1770) by Mikhail Chulkov, Alexander Izmailov's wonderful novel "Eugene, or the Pernicious Consequences of Bad Education and Community" (1799 - 1801), Narezhny's novels and, finally, in Gogol's brilliant book - though not in the poem " Dead Souls”, but in the picaresque story “The Adventures of Chichikov”.

However, as can be seen even purely empirically, the main and all-consuming line of the Russian novel does not run in this direction; starting from "Eugene Onegin" and "A Hero of Our Time" to the novels of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Gorky, the spiritual quest of the individual and the ideological struggle are the direct subject of the image. While in the West, up to Balzac, Dickens, Thackeray, Zola, Maupassant, the theme of the struggle for existence, for position in society, plays an enormous role, the Russian novel in its highest manifestations depicts, so to speak, the struggle for "welfare" spiritual world. Here it is impossible to dwell on the study of the causes and features of this peculiar development of the novel in Russia; our task is only to show how this central line of the Russian novel is born in the literature of the 17th century.

This article presents summary"The Tale of Frol Skobeev", as well as its analysis, which will give you general idea about this work. The story that interests us was created by an unknown author in the second half of the 17th century.

In the Novgorod district there lived a poor nobleman named Frol Skobeev. Here, in the county, was the patrimony of Nardin-Nashchokin, the steward. His daughter Annushka lived with him. Frol wanted to "have love" with her. To do this, he met with the clerk of the patrimony, went to visit him. During his visit, the mother (that is, the nanny) came to the clerk, who was constantly with Annushka. Frol gave her two rubles without saying why.

Annushka's party

It's Christmas time. The daughter of Nardin-Nashchokin decided to have a party, to which she invited noble daughters. Her mother also went to Frol to invite his sister. At Frol's instigation, his sister told her mother that she would be at the party with her girlfriend. The girl began to gather for a visit, and Skobeev asked her to give him a dress. His sister was frightened, but did not dare to disobey Frol.

No one, including the mother, recognized the main character at the party, as he went there in a girl's dress. Skobeev gave his mother another 5 rubles and told her about everything. The woman promised that she would help him.

In order to bring Frol and Annushka together, the mother suggested that the girls play a new game imitating a wedding. At this wedding, Annushka was supposed to be the bride, and Skobeev (he was still mistaken for a girl) - the groom. "Newlyweds" went to the bedroom. Here Frol opened up to Annushka, after which he deprived her of her innocence.

Then the girls entered the "young" bedroom, but did not know what had happened. Annushka, left alone with her mother, reproached her for what she had done. However, the woman denied the allegations. She said she didn't know anything. Mom even suggested that Annushka kill Frol. However, the girl felt sorry for him. In the morning Annushka let all the girls go home, and Frola Skobeeva and his sister decided to keep them for 3 days. The girl gave Frol money, and he became much richer than he was.

Annushka's departure to Moscow

Nardin-Nashchokin, Annushka's father, ordered his daughter to go to Moscow, because there were good suitors who were wooing her. Upon learning that the daughter of the stolnik went to Moscow, Skobeev decided to catch up with her and marry her at any cost.

Main character arrived in Moscow and stopped not far from the place where the courtyard of Nardin-Nashchokin was located. Skobeev met the girl's mother in the church. She told Annushka that Frol had come to Moscow. The girl was delighted and sent him money.

Annushka's kidnapping

"The Tale of Frol Skobeev" continues with very interesting events. Their content is as follows.

Nardin-Nashchokin had a nun sister. He came to the monastery to see her. The nun asked to see her niece. The stolnik promised that he would let Annushka go to visit the monastery. His sister said that a carriage would come for the girl. Nardin-Nashchokin, having gathered to visit, warned Annushka that the carriage from his sister could arrive at any time. He ordered her to get into it and go to the monastery. Upon learning of this, Annushka immediately sent her mother to Skobeev, so that he would come to her, having previously taken out the carriage.

It was not easy for the main character to do this. After all, he lived only by the fact that he went on orders. He could not have a carriage due to poverty. However, Frol Skobeev was enterprising, and he had a plan. The main character went to the steward Lovchikov. He asked him to borrow a carriage, allegedly for "watching the bride." Stolnik agreed to fulfill the request of Frol Skobeev. Then the main character got the coachman drunk, changed into a servant's dress, took the carriage and went to Annushka. Seeing him, the mother said that the girl had come from the monastery. Annushka got ready and together with Frol went to his apartment.

Marriage

Nardin-Nashchokin returned home. He learned that his daughter had left, but he was calm, because he thought that she had gone to the monastery. Meanwhile, Frol Skobeev married Annushka. After he had used the carriage, he returned it to Lovchikov along with the drunken coachman. Lovchikov tried to find out from the coachman where they had gone and what they were doing, but he did not remember anything.

Nardin-Nashchokin learns about the disappearance of his daughter

After some time, the steward Nardin-Nashchokin went to his sister in the monastery. He asked where his daughter was. The sister was very surprised and replied that she had not seen her niece, had not sent a carriage for her. The father began to grieve when he learned about the disappearance of Annushka. In the morning he went to the sovereign, reported what had happened. The sovereign ordered to search for Annushka. He ordered her kidnapper to show up, and if he did not, he would be executed if discovered.

Then Skobeev went to Lovchikov, confessed everything to him and asked for help. Stolnik at first refused, but the main character threatened him that he would accuse Lovchikov of complicity, because he gave him a carriage. The stolnik advised Frol Skobeev to confess everything to Nardin-Nashchokin and throw himself at his feet in front of everyone. And Lovchikov will stand up for Frol.

Frol Skobeev confesses everything to Annushka's father

The next day, after mass celebrated in the Assumption Cathedral, all the stolniks went to Ivanovskaya Square to talk. Nardin-Nashchokin lamented the disappearance of his daughter. Frol Skobeev came out and fell at his feet in front of everyone. The stolnik raised Frol, and he informed him of his marriage to Annushka. Nardin-Nashchokin was shocked. He began to threaten Skobeev that he would complain about him to the sovereign. However, Lovchikov reassured the steward, and he went home.

Annushka's "illness" and her "recovery"

At first, Nardin-Nashchokin and his wife wept over the fate of their daughter, and then sent a servant to find out how she lives. Frol Skobeev, having found out about this, ordered his wife to pretend to be sick. He told the servant who arrived that Annushka was ill because of her father's anger. Hearing about this, Nardin-Nashchokin felt sorry for his daughter. He decided to bless her at least in absentia. For this, the stolnik decided to send the icon to the young spouses.

The servant took this icon and went with it to Frol. And the main character, before his arrival, told his wife to sit down at the table. When the servant arrived, he explained to him that the girl had recovered because her parents had blessed her. The servant told Nardin-Nashchokin about everything. Then the steward went to the king. He told him that his daughter was found, and also asked the sovereign to forgive Frol Skobeev. The king agreed.

The final

So we have come to the finale, describing the summary of "The Tale of Frol Skobeev." Nardin-Nashchokin sent the main character all sorts of supplies, and he began to live richly. After some time, parental anger decreased so much that the stolnik invited his son-in-law with his daughter. At first, the parents scolded Annushka, but then they put her at the table with Frol. Nardin-Nashchokin relented and gave his son-in-law two estates, and also gave him money.

A few years later, Nardin-Nashchokin died. He made his son-in-law, who lived his life "in great glory and wealth," his heir. This concludes the summary of the story about Frol Skobeev. We also invite you to get to know her. brief analysis. This will help you better understand what the story of Frol Skobeev is about. This work still attracts many researchers.

Brief analysis

So what is remarkable about "The Tale of Frol Skobeev"? The analysis of this work can be quite voluminous, since it is an interesting phenomenon in the literature. The story was created during the transitional period between the Middle Ages and the New Age, when the old foundations were crumbling. The struggle between the old and the new was reflected in many creations, among which was The Tale of Frol Skobeev.

The analysis of the work is especially interesting in relation to the protagonist. He is a poor-born nobleman, who is forced to earn his livelihood by practicing the practice of "yabednik", that is, an intercessor for business. The motto of Frol Skobeev sounds like this: "Either I will be a colonel, or a dead man!" For the sake of realizing his plan, Frol does not disdain anything. He uses any means, be it bribery, blackmail, deceit. In the end, Annushka's father, a swaggering and arrogant noble steward, is forced to recognize Frolka as his son-in-law. He sits down with him to dine at the same table and makes him his heir.

"The Tale of Frol Skobeev", a brief summary of which was presented above, is a work that reflects the beginning of the merger of the patrimonial boyars and the service nobility into a single estate. In the second half of the 17th century, when this story was written, the rise of a new nobility began. "Artistic" came to replace honest, ancient childbirth.

Boyar arrogance and pride are sharply ridiculed in the work. Nardin-Nashchokin cannot do anything against the poor nobleman. He is forced to recognize him as his heir. This fact gives researchers reason to believe that the work was created after 1682, that is, after the liquidation of localism.

Without condemning the protagonist of the work "The Tale of Frol Skobeev", the author admires his dexterity, resourcefulness, cunning, craftiness. He rejoices at Frol's success in life and does not at all consider his actions shameful. The main character, achieving his goal, does not rely on God or the devil. He relies only on himself, on his energy, worldly practicality and intelligence. Religious motives in the story are given a rather modest place. From now on, it is not God's will that determines a person's actions, but his personal qualities.

The story about Frol Skobeev, a summary and analysis of which is presented in this article, refers to everyday stories. Among the others famous works of this genre can be noted "The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn" and "The Tale of Grief-Misfortune". It would be interesting to consider them, and not just "The Tale of Frol Skobeev." The authorship of all these works has not yet been established. However, it is obvious that their creators were talented.

In 1680, the nobleman Frol Skobeev lived in the Novgorod district, in the same Novgorod district were the estates of the steward Nardin-Nashchokin; and his daughter Annushka lived in those estates.

Frol Skobeev found out about the steward's daughter and set out to make love with her. Only he does not know through whom it is possible to arrange so as to see her. Then he decided to get acquainted with the manager of that patrimony and began to often visit his house. And once it happened to him to sit at that manager on a visit, when the teacher of the steward's daughter came there.

The Tale of Frol Skobeev. Video lecture

Skobeev learned that this teacher always lives with Annushka, and as she went from the manager to her mistress, he went out after her and gave her two rubles. The teacher tells him:

- Mr. Skobeev, it’s not on my merits that you please render such mercy, there is no my service to you!

But Skobeev gave her the money without saying anything, and walked away. And she came to her mistress Annushka - and also did not say anything. Skobeev sat still with the manager and went home.

At the time of the Christmas holidays, when the girls gather to have fun, the daughter of the stolnik Nardin-Nashchokin, Annushka, ordered her teacher to go to all the nobles living near their patrimony and who have maiden daughters, and ask them to come to her Christmas party. She went and invited all the noble daughters to her mistress Annushka, and everyone promised to come.

The teacher knew that Skobeev had a sister in girls. She went to him and began to invite his sister to Annushka's party. Sister said:

– Wait, please, a little; I'll go to my brother, I'll report. If he agrees, then I'll tell you, - she went to Frol and announced: - The mother of the steward's daughter has arrived and asks me to be at their party.

Skobeev said to his sister:

- Go, tell her that you will not be alone, but with the daughter of a nobleman.

The sister thought about what her brother had said to her, but did not dare to disobey and announced to the teacher that she would come to her mistress on the appointed evening with one noble daughter. And the governess went to her mistress's house.

Skobeev says to his sister:

- Well, sister, it's time for you to get ready to go to visit.

The sister began to put on a girl's dress, and Skobeev says:

- Bring it, sister, and I have the same! I'll get ready, and we'll go with you to Annushka, the steward's daughter.

And his sister began to be very afraid here: “If they recognize him, then, of course, his brother will be in great trouble - and after all, that steward Nashchokin is very close to the king!” However, she did not disobey her brother's will, brought him a girl's dress, and Frol Skobeev, dressed in a girl's dress, went with his sister to Annushka. When they arrived, many noble daughters had already gathered there, Skobeev was right there, and no one could identify him. Then Skobeev went out of need and found himself alone, and the teacher stood in the hallway with a candle. Frol, as he went out into the hallway, began to say to her:

“Ah, my mother-light, there are many of our sisters here, and you serve many, but no one will give you gifts!”

The teacher cannot in any way recognize Skobeev in him. He took out five rubles and gave it to her. She took it reluctantly. Skobeev sees that the teacher cannot recognize him in any way, fell on his knees in front of her and announced that he was a nobleman Frol Skobeev and that he had come in a girl's outfit for the sake of Annushka, because he needed to make love with her at all costs! She, when she saw that he really was Frol Skobeev, was very confused and did not know what to do with him. However, she remembered two of his gifts and said:

“All right, Mr. Skobeev, for your favor to me, I am ready to provide you with all kinds of help,” and she went into the hall where the girls were, without saying anything to anyone.

Then she said to her mistress:

- Enough, girls, play! I'll show you another game, the way we used to play when we were young.

Annushka did not disobey her will and said:

- Well, mother-mother, your will for all our games.

Then the teacher announced the game to them:

- Please, mother Annushka. You be the bride, - and pointed to Skobeev, - and this girl the groom, - and led them to a separate room to rest, as is customary at a wedding. The girls went to see them off to the chambers, then returned back to the hall, where they continued their games. The teacher ordered everyone to sing loud songs so that the girls could not hear anything. And Skobeeva's sister sat in great sadness and saw that, of course, there would be trouble. Skobeev stayed with Annushka and announced that he was Frol Skobeev, a Novgorod nobleman, and not a girl. Annushka did not know what to answer, and was in great fear. And our Frol, despite the danger, behaved very bravely and mastered it. Then Annushka began to ask Skobeev not to disgrace her in front of others.

The teacher and the girls came to the chambers where they were, and Annushka's face changed greatly from what she had not seen in her whole life. Not one of the girls could identify Skobeev, nor Annushka told anyone, she only took the teacher by the hand, led her into a separate room and began to say to her:

- What did that damned one do to me - it wasn’t a girl with me, it was a man from our city, Frol Skobeev!

“Indeed,” she justifies herself, “the gracious empress, she could not recognize him in any way and thought that he was also a girl, and if he did such a dirty trick, then we have a lot of people, we can completely remove him to a secret place.

But Annushka took pity on Skobeev (he immediately aroused pity in her heart when he was there with her) and said:

- Well, mother, so be it, and I can’t return that!

The girls went into the hall, and with them Skobeev in a girl's dress. We had fun all night. Then the girls went to rest, and Annushka left with Skobeev, saying at the same time:

“I can’t find her better for sleeping as my girlfriend,” and they amused themselves with bodily play all night.

Such pity had already taken possession of Annushka that she got up from Frol with great reluctance. The next morning, having risen, the girls thanked Annushka for the treat and went to their homes. And the Skobeevs were about to leave, but Annushka let all the girls go and left them. And Skobeev stayed with Annushka for three days (all in a girl's outfit - so that the servants in the house would not recognize him), had fun with her, and after three days went with his sister to his home.

Annushka gave Skobeev several chervonets, and from that time on, the poor man Skobeev got rich, began to live luxuriously and arrange banquets for his brethren-nobles.

Then her father, the stolnik Nardin-Nashchokin, wrote to Annushka from Moscow, so that she immediately left for Moscow: profitable suitors, children of the stolniks, were wooing her. And Annushka, although with great reluctance, went to Moscow, not wanting to disobey her father. Skobeev found out that Annushka had left for Moscow, and he thought: he didn’t know what to do - he was not a rich nobleman and earned money only by conducting court cases in Moscow. Finally, he decided to mortgage his estates and go to Moscow in order to get Annushka as his wife. And so he did. Skobeev began to get ready for Moscow, and his sister was very worried if some kind of trouble would happen. Skobeev began to say goodbye and said:

- Well, mother sister, do not grieve, please, about anything: even if I lose my life and accept my end there, but I will not leave Annushka - either I will be a colonel, or a dead man! And if it comes out according to my intention, I won’t leave you either, and if misfortune comes out, then I ask you not to leave me without remembrance.

So he said goodbye and went to Moscow.

Upon arrival in Moscow, he stayed at an apartment not far from Nardin-Nashchokin's house. The next day, Skobeev went to mass and saw Annushkin's teacher in the church, and as the liturgy ended, he left the church and began to wait for her. She left, and Skobeev approached her, bowed to her and began to ask her to announce him to Annushka. The teacher promised to serve him in every possible way. She came home and announced to Annushka that Skobeev was coming. And Annushka was very happy and began to ask her teacher to go to mass the next day, taking money for 20 rubles, and give it to Skobeev. The teacher did just that.

This steward Nardin-Nashchokin had a sister who was tonsured in a convent. And somehow he went to her monastery to rest. As soon as he arrived, his sister greeted him with the honor due to him, and the steward stayed with her for a considerable time. During the conversation, the sister suddenly asked:

- I humbly you, my sovereign brother, I ask you: please let your Annushka go to see me - I haven’t seen her for many years.

The steward promised to let her go.

- I do not hope, brother-sovereign, that you will do this and not forget. I only humbly ask: if you please, order in your house, when I send a carriage for her, let her go to me - even if you are not at home.

The brother promised to satisfy her request as well.

And then one day it happened to Nardin-Nashchokin to go on a visit with his wife. He punishes his daughter:

- Listen, my friend Annushka, if my sister sends for you from the monastery, and your aunt sends a carriage, then you go to her without delay! - and he went to visit with his wife.

And Annushka immediately began to ask the teacher, as soon as the moment presented itself, to go to Skobeev, so that he would get a carriage somewhere and come to her himself, saying that he was from the sister of Nardin-Nashchokin from the monastery. The teacher went to Skobeev and gave him the order of her mistress. As Skobeev heard this, he does not know what to do and how to deceive whom, because all noble nobles know that he is a poor nobleman and only a master of litigation. And then he remembered that Lovchikov, the steward, favored him. Went to that.

He came to Lovchikov and talked with him for a long time. Then Skobeev began to ask Lovchikov to lend him a carriage and horses - to go see the bride. Lovchikov gave. Skobeev drove off, came to his apartment and got the coachman drunk, and he himself dressed in a footman's dress, sat on the box and went to Nardin-Nashchokin to fetch Annushka.

The tutor saw that Skobeev’s boat had arrived in a strange appearance, and said to Annushka: the minister’s aunt had sent for her from the monastery. Annushka got dressed, got into the carriage and went to Skobeev's apartment.

Here Lovchikov's coachman awoke. Frol saw that the coachman was not so good. he was very drunk, and made him completely drunk, put him in the carriage, and he himself sat on the box and went to Lovchikov. He came to the yard, opened the gate, let the carriage with the coachman into the yard, and went to his own room. Lovchikov's servants went out into the yard and saw that horses and a carriage were standing, the coachman was lying in the carriage, severely drunk and sleeping, and no one saw who brought him to the yard. And Lovchikov ordered the carriage to be removed, and the horses to be driven, saying at the same time:

“It’s also good that he didn’t leave. There is nothing to take from Skobeev!

The next morning Lovchikov began to ask the coachman where he had been with Skobeev, and he said:

- I only remember how I was at the apartment, but where he went and what he did, I don’t know.

At one time, Nardin-Nashchokin came from among the guests and asked Annushka. The teacher said:

- By your order, she was released to your sister in the monastery, because she recognized the carriage and horses.

Nardin-Nashchokin said:

- Fairly!

And the steward did not visit his sister for a long time and thought that Annushka was in the monastery. And Frol Skobeev has already married her! Then, somehow, Nardin-Nashchokin went to his sister in the monastery and sat there in order, but did not see his daughter. And he asked his sister:

- Sister, why don't I see Annushka? Sesgra replied:

- Completely, brother, scoff! So what if I unfortunately asked you? You don't believe me, and I don't even have time to send for her!

And Nardin-Nashchokin then said:

- How, the empress-sister, what do you deign to say!? I can’t understand: she was released to you for about a month, you sent a carriage for her, and at that time I was visiting with my wife, and she was released at my command ...

“No, brother,” the sister answers, “I didn’t send a carriage, and I didn’t have Annushka ...

Then Nardin-Nashchokin began to regret his daughter, who had disappeared without a trace, wept, and, having arrived home, announced to his wife that Annushka was gone and that her sister was gone. I began to ask the teacher:

- Who came for her and where did she go?

The governess said that a coachman had come and said: “I came from your sister’s convent to fetch Annushka,” and by order of the master, Annushka drove off. Everyone began to grieve and cry about this, and the next morning the stolnik went to the sovereign and announced that his daughter had disappeared without a trace. And the sovereign ordered to make a publication about his daughter: if someone keeps her secretly, then let him show up, and if he does not show up, but is found, then he will be executed by death.

Frol Skobeev heard about this publication and did not know what to do. He then decided to go to the stolnik Lovchikov, remembering how he favors him. Having come to Lovchikov, Skobeev began to have an extensive conversation, and Lovchikov asked him if he had married and taken a rich woman? Skobeev replied:

- Wealth is not yet seen, but time will tell.

- Well, Mr. Skobeev, now live decently, quit litigious. Better sit in your fiefdom.

Then Skobeev began to ask the stolnik to intercede for him. Lovchikov told him:

- If possible, I will intercede, and if it is impossible, then do not be angry.

And Frol told him:

- Stolnik Nardin-Nashchokin's daughter, Annushka, is with me, and recently I married her!

Lovchikov said:

- As you did, so answer.

“And if you won’t defend me,” said Skobeev, “then I’ll say a word about you.” I would have to tell you that you gave horses and a carriage, and if you hadn't, I wouldn't have done anything!

“Oh, you swindler,” Lovchikov was confused, “what did you do to me? .. Well ... how can I ... I will defend you,” and ordered him to come to the Assumption Cathedral the next day, where Nardin-Nashchokin would be. - After mass, we will all stand on Ivanovskaya Square. And at this time you come, fall before him and announce his daughter, and I will ask for you as best I can.

Skobeev came to the Assumption Cathedral for Mass. There Nardin-Nashchokin, Lovchikov and other stolniks are all at mass. And after mass, then everyone had the custom to gather on Ivanovskaya Square opposite Ivan the Great and conduct conversations among themselves. Skobeev went to these conversations, bowed to all the stewards, as custom requires (and all the stewards of Skobeev knew), and fell before Nardin-Nashchokin, asking for a petition:

- Gracious sovereign and sovereign stolnik! I beg you, let me go, if I were your slave, my guilt, which I boldly committed before you!

And Nardin-Nashchokin was already old in years, his eyesight was weakened, although he could see that in front of him was a person. At that time it was the custom of the old people to carry walking sticks with hooks at the top. And now Nardin-Nashchokin raises Skobeev with his hook.

- Who are you? Tell me about yourself and what do you need before me?

And Skobeev only repeats:

Release my guilt!

Lovchikov went up to Nardin-Nashchokin and said:

- Lies in front of you and asks for forgiveness of his guilt nobleman Frol Skobeev.

And Nardin-Nashchokin cried out:

- Get up, you bastard! I've known you for a long time, slacker. Finally slandered himself! Well, say, it will be possible - I will help, it is impossible - as you wish. I told you, rogue, for a long time: "Live decently!" Stand up, tell me what's your fault?

Then Skobeev got up from his feet and announced that his daughter Annushka was with him and that he had married her. As Nardin-Nashchokin heard about his daughter, he burst into tears and fell into unconsciousness. And recollecting himself a little, he said:

"What have you done, you bastard?" Do you understand who you are? There will be no absolution for you! Do you own my daughter? I'll go to the sovereign and complain about you!

Here Lovchikov approached him for the second time and began to persuade him not to file complaints to the sovereign so soon.

“It’s better to go home and tell your wife about everything. And follow the advice of the general and act. So be it - that cannot be returned, but this Skobeev ... will not be able to hide anywhere from your anger.

And Nardin-Nashchokn listened to his advice, did not go to the sovereign, but got into a carriage and drove home. And Skobeev came to his apartment and said to Annushka:

- Well, Annushka, what will happen to you and me now - I don’t know: I announced about you to your father.

Nardin-Nashchokin came home, went to his chambers, crying and shouting:

- Wife! You know - I found Annushka!

- Where is she, father? the wife asks.

- Oh, my friend, thief, swindler and slanderer Frol Skobeev married her!

And the wife, having heard this, does not know what to say. They both began to weep bitterly, feel sorry for their daughter and scold her right there and do not know what to do with her now.

Then they came to their senses and, regretting the daughter, began to reason: “It will be necessary to send a man and find out where he, the scoundrel, lives and find out about our daughter, whether she is alive.” They called the servant and said to him:

- Go and find Frol Skobeev's apartment. Find out about Annushka: Is she alive and has any means.

A servant went around Moscow to look for Frol Skobeev's apartment. After a long search found and came to the yard. Skobeev saw that a man was coming from his father-in-law and ordered his wife to lie down on the bed and pretend to be sick. Annushka did as her husband wanted. The servant entered the room and bowed, as usual. Skobeev asked:

“What kind of person are you, and what business do you have with me?”

He replied that he was sent from the stolnik Nardin-Nashchokin to find out if his daughter was alive.

“Look, my friend,” says Skobeev, “how healthy she is: such is parental anger - they scold and curse her behind her eyes, that’s why she lies near death.” Convey their mercy so that they even bless her in absentia during her lifetime.

The man bowed and left. He came to his master and reported:

- I found Frol Skobeev's apartment, only Annushka is very ill and asks you for at least a blessing in absentia.

Parents began to grieve immensely about their daughter and think: “What to do with a thief and a rogue!” - but the daughter was still more pitied. The mother began to say:

- Well, my friend, it should be that the rogue owns our daughter. So God ordered - it will be necessary to send an image to them and bless them at least in absentia. And when our hearts calm down, then we will be able to see them ourselves.

They removed from the wall an image overlaid with gold and precious stones(the whole salary cost 500 rubles) and sent with the same servant to pray for this image;

- Tell the thief Frolka not to squander it!

And their servant, having changed clothes, went to the apartment of Frol Skobeev. Skobeev saw that the same man had come and said to his wife:

Get up, Annushka! and they both sat side by side.

The servant entered the room, gave the image to Skobeev and said:

- Your parents, given by God, sent you a blessing.

Skobeev venerated the image, Annushka too, and they placed it where it belonged.

“Here,” Skobeev said to the servant, “such is the parental blessing: they didn’t even leave us in absentia, and God gave Annushka health – now, thank God, she is healthy.” Thank their mercy that they did not leave their erring daughter.

The servant came to his master and reported that he gave the image, that Annushka was healthy, that they thanked him - and went where he was told. The stolnik went to the sovereign and said:

“I found my daughter at the Novgorod nobleman Frol Skobeev, who had already married her, and I ask Your Sovereign Grace to release this Skobeev’s guilt,” and told him everything in detail. To this the emperor said to him:

- On the. it's your choice how you do it. And I advise you - that one cannot be returned, and he will not be left by your reward, but by my mercy, and in your old age you will have joy.

Nardin-Nashchokin bowed to the sovereign and drove home. There they began to grieve for their daughter. The clerk says to his wife:

- How, my friend, to be? Of course, after all, the rogue will kill Annushka - what should he, the thief, feed her? And he himself, go like a dog, is hungry. It is necessary, my friend, to send them some kind of reserve, well, about six horses.

- Of course, it is necessary, my friend, to send! - said the wife, and they sent a supply, attaching a register to it.

When the supply arrived, Skobeev, without looking at the register, ordered everything to be put in the right places, and ordered the charioteers to thank the gentlemen for their parental favors.

Skobeev began to live luxuriously and travel around noble people. Many were surprised that he arranged such a life for himself and so boldly.

After a considerable time, the Nardins-Nashchokins took pity on their daughter and relented. They sent to the children to ask them to eat with them.

As soon as a man came and asked:

“Your father ordered to invite you to dinner this day,” Skobeev said:

- Tell our father that we will be to their health without delay!

The Skobeevs dressed and went to their parents' house. They arrived and entered the chambers. Annushka fell at the feet of her parents. The stolnik and his wife, seeing her repentance, began to scold her and cry right there, what did she do without the will of her parents, and cursing her life. And being angry enough, they let go of her guilt and ordered her to sit down at the table with them. And Skobeev was told:

- And you, rogue, what are you standing? Sit down right now! Are you a rogue to own our daughter! ..

And Frol said to his father-in-law:

- Sovereign-father, God judged so! and they all sat down to eat.

Nardin-Nashchokin then ordered the servants not to let any strangers into the house - they said that “the steward is busy: with his son-in-law, the thief Frol Skobeev, he deigns to eat!” After the meal, the steward asks his son-in-law:

- Well, rogue, what will you live on? And Skobeev answers:

- Gracious sovereign-father! If you please know for yourself what I should live on - I can’t find any other food, except for court cases ...

- Stop, - says the steward, - stop, rogue, dragging around the courts - I have an estate in the Simbirsk district of three hundred households, and in the Novgorod district of two hundred households. Take care of them and live like people.

The Skobeevs bowed, thanked their parents, and after sitting for a while, drove back to their apartment. And the father-in-law, the stolnik Nardin-Nashchokin, ordered Skobeev to turn back. And he began to say to him:

- Well, rogue, do you have any money? What will you do with the villages?

Frol said:

- You know, father-sovereign, what money I have ...

And the stolnik ordered the butler to give him five hundred rubles. Skobeev said goodbye and went with his wife to his place.

Then Frol took the village after him and began to live luxuriously. He visited his father-in-law incessantly, and was always received with honor. And he quit going to court. And, having lived for some time, the stolnik Nardin-Nashchokin, in extreme old age, moved to eternal life, and made Skobeev the heir to all his movable and immovable property. After some time, his mother-in-law also passed away. And so Frol Skobeev, having lived his life in glory and wealth, left heirs and died.