Literary reminiscences. Literary theory

The human psyche is very complex in its structure. Until now, many phenomena cannot be accurately explained. It is necessary to put forward assumptions and theories in order to somehow touch on a phenomenon that is still unclear, but clearly manifests itself in humans. The same thing happens with such a phenomenon as reminiscence, the concept and examples of which will be discussed in the online magazine site.

How do memories arise? In simple terms, a person pays his attention to something, after which he consciously remembers what he saw, heard, said, did, etc. However, a person cannot pay attention to absolutely everything. For example, while you are standing at a bus stop and looking for minibus numbers to catch the one you need, at the same time people are passing by you, other cars are passing, the wind is blowing, birds are flying, people are talking about something, etc. All around Many events happen to you, but you pay attention only to what interests you at a given second of time.

It seems that a person does not remember everything that he did not pay attention to. Scientists refute this idea. Reminiscence is precisely those memories that the brain has imprinted, although the person himself did not pay attention to them.

Since memories are images from the past that have a clear picture and theme, then during reminiscence the memories are clear and clear. Only they are incomprehensible to a person, because he did not remember them consciously, did not pay attention to them when these events occurred in his life.

According to psychologists, the brain remembers absolutely everything that happens to a person, both inside and outside. A person may not pay attention to something, but if his eyes saw or ears heard, then it will definitely be remembered and deposited in the subconscious, from where memories will arise in the future.

What is reminiscence?

The phenomenon of reminiscence remains far unexplored, since it is still impossible to logically understand how memories arise that a person did not remember. Reminiscence refers to memories that a person reproduces without repeating them several days or even years after remembering them. Moreover, these memories are very clear and logically constructed. Undoubtedly, such memories evoke emotions in a person who did not even suspect they existed.

Reminiscence is the reproduction of information some time after its perception, which happened unconsciously, without repetition or intentional human participation.

This concept was described in 1907 by the Serbian scientist Urbancic, who observed how people reproduce verbal, nonverbal and sensorimotor material. Scientists note this phenomenon in preschool and school age. They are the ones who can reproduce the material several years after it was perceived, when this happened once, without memorization.

Many psychologists have been interested in the phenomenon of reminiscence. Everyone tried to describe this phenomenon, trying to explain the mechanism of its occurrence. However, so far no one has managed to do this. It’s just that a person automatically performs actions or reproduces material, which happens not by his will, but unconsciously.

Reminiscence appears as often as the material is interesting to a person. For example, logical chains are more often reproduced than incoherent material, and what is interesting to a person can pop up in the head just a few months after it is perceived.

Reproduction is influenced by many factors. For example, if a person does not master the material sufficiently, then it is not reproduced.

1. If the material is reproduced immediately after it has been memorized, then the individual relies on associations.
2. If information is reproduced some time after receipt, then it is based on logical connections.

Reminiscence often manifests itself in children, since it is based on the unreflective perception of information. This happens when a student memorizes material but does not understand it, or when a student learns a poem without understanding it, emotional perception. As soon as the test is passed or the teacher hears the poem, the information will be erased from the conscious part of the memory.

Thus, reminiscence is the perception of material without understanding it. There is simply memorization by repeating it many times, so that later it can be forgotten (the information will go into the subconscious) as soon as it is used or long time will not be used. Playback of this material after some time there will be a reminiscence, when a person suddenly remembers what he forgot, and this will be facilitated by favorable environmental conditions.

Reminiscence is a sudden memory. The person doesn't remember him. A person does not participate in the process of remembering it, that is, he is not even aware of its presence. However, in external environment Certain conditions arise that help to pull out certain information from the unconscious. This happened to everyone. Eg:

• Someone could remember the words of the song.
• Someone could remember events that preceded memory loss.
• Someone suddenly remembered the material that was told by the teacher at school.

The person is not trying to remember something. Reminiscence is memories that arise suddenly and unexpectedly for the person himself, but he forgot about them or did not even know that he had them.

In psychiatry, reminiscence refers to intrusive images and memories that are often reflected in nightmares.

A deviation from truly forgotten memories is a type of paramnesia - pseudo-reminiscence. This is when past events are distorted in memory and incorrectly localized in time due to negative emotions that arose at the moment of remembering them.

Reminiscence in psychology

Reminiscence is a normal phenomenon because it relates to the properties of memory. As already mentioned, it often occurs in childhood and refers to the material that has brightly saturated emotions and logical connections. Then they are easily reproduced in the future, even if a person has forgotten about them or did not know about their presence.

Reminiscence often occurs in situations:

• When fatigue passes. During a period of fatigue, a person remembers the material, but cannot reproduce it because he does not understand. After fatigue has passed, it is possible to understand the information.
• When there is no layering of material. If a person is in a situation of perceiving a large amount of material, then he forgets a lot. However, in the absence of receipt new information material may emerge from the subconscious.

Scientists say that the brain constantly repeats existing information. This is why reminiscence occurs, even if the information was not specifically learned.

Speaking about pathological conditions when reminiscence is obsessive images from the past, psychologists talk about the phenomenon as a psychotraumatic event. If a person finds himself in a similar traumatic situation, then negative emotions will lead to memories - reminiscence.

Other reasons causing reminiscence are:

1. Panic states.
2. Intoxication.
3. Irrational fears.
4. Pathologies of the brain with impaired memory functions.
5. Traumatic brain injuries.

External factors that push a person to sudden memories are called allusions. They are a hint, a hint that pushes you to the right thought. An allusion is an external stimulus that provokes reminiscence.

Treatment of reminiscence

Do specialists treat reminiscence? Since this phenomenon has not been fully studied, it is quite problematic to treat it. The normal state is reminiscence, which does not cause obsessive states. It requires neither medication nor consultation with a psychiatrist.

More worrying is the lack of reminiscence in a person, which, according to psychiatrists, may indicate a dysfunction of memory or pathology in the brain. It may also indicate the development of senile dementia.

Drug treatment consists of eliminating the causes that caused the pathological reminiscence and the symptoms that manifest themselves:

• Sedatives are prescribed to normalize sleep.
• Increased anxiety and panic conditions are eliminated with antipsychotics and sedatives.
• Antidepressants help relieve depression, which causes intrusive memories.

Drug treatment takes place in parallel with psychocorrection. Here, identifying underlying problems and hypnosis, aimed at changing negative memories into positive ones, helps.

Individual counseling is carried out, which helps eliminate fears, panic and anxiety, as well as repress memories that cause discomfort when they appear. During group work, art therapy methods are used.

To prevent negative memories from arising in the future, psychologists offer their help. A person will benefit from the so-called debriefing, which is carried out immediately after a stressful or traumatic situation in order to change its perception (from negative to positive) and not repress it into the subconscious so that it does not suddenly emerge.

If reminiscence occurs in a normal form, then it should not be treated. Only pathological forms of reminiscence, taking the form of an obsessive state, require psychological assistance. A person cannot cope with this problem on his own, so it is better not to delay treatment.

What is the outcome of reminiscence?

A completely normal phenomenon for a healthy brain is reminiscence - an involuntary rush of memories that a person might not even be aware of. However, if they are negative, emotionally overwhelming, intrusive, and appear in dreams, then we may be talking about mental disorders. The outcome depends on what measures the person takes.

Every person at least once remembered something that was long forgotten. Everyone periodically has clear and vivid memories that have never been reproduced by a person consciously. This function brain often manifests itself in a situation where a person finds himself in circumstances that are triggers. They have a certain logical connection with the memories that they evoked, which can be of interest to psychologists and the person himself. If you ask why these memories occurred, then you can see the connection between the trigger and reminiscence.

(in psychology) (from Latin reminiscentia - memory) - reproduction of long-learned and forgotten material, delayed recall of information with later layers. Usually the initial reproduction, immediately following the perception of the material, turns out to be less complete than the delayed, reminiscent one.

REMINISCENCE

in psychology - a more complete and accurate reproduction of material stored in memory compared to what was originally imprinted (memorized); reproduction - some time after memorizing something that was, as it were, inaccessible during direct perception. Can be observed when memorizing a wide variety of verbal and visual material, as well as when consolidating sensorimotor skills. It especially often manifests itself when working with a large volume of logically or substantively related material that has an emotional impact on a person. It is more pronounced in childhood - especially in preschool and junior school age.

The effect of reminiscence can be observed when working with various verbal or visual material, which can be texts, poems, lists, pictures, objects, especially if the material is logically connected, large in volume and has an emotional impact.

A number of hypotheses have been proposed to explain the phenomenon of reminiscence. According to one of them, fatigue during learning material leads to a deterioration in its immediate reproduction. The delay allows you to restore the optimal functional state and thus improves the reproduction of the material. Another hypothesis is based on the assumption that there are processes of hidden repetition of material that continue after the cessation of explicit learning and lead to better reproduction after a delay. Reminiscence can also be explained by the fact that after a delay, the interference of information stored in memory decreases. But so far, none of the hypotheses can claim to be a complete explanation of all cases of reminiscence.

REMINISCENCE

from lat. reminiscor - I remember) - reproduction some time after memorizing something that was not available during direct reproduction. This effect can be observed when working with various verbal or visual material, which can be texts, poems, lists, pictures, objects, especially if the material is logically connected, large in volume and has an emotional impact on a person. It is especially often observed in preschool age and among younger schoolchildren.

Reminiscence

Word formation. Comes from Lat. reminiscor - I remember.

Specificity. This effect can be observed when working with various verbal or visual material, which can be texts, poems, lists, pictures, objects, especially if the material is logically connected, large in volume and has an emotional impact on a person. It is especially common in preschool age and in younger schoolchildren.

REMINISCENCE

1. General value similar to the meaning of the term recollection, except that it is often seen as the unconscious retrieval of information, while recollection is considered the result of mental efforts to retrieve information from memory. 2. Chaotic, sequential retrieval from memory of information about some earlier experience. The implication is that this process is quite leisurely and enjoyable. 3. Simple: synonym for remembering (1). In meanings 2 and 3 there is no unconscious aspect. See oblivion, loss of information from memory.

REMINISCENCE

from lat. reministentia - recollection, vague recollection) - delayed reproduction of something that was initially temporarily forgotten (not reproduced) during immediate reproduction. The result is a partial or even overall improvement in delayed reproduction compared to immediate reproduction. R. is observed in the process of memorizing a wide variety of verbal and visual material (texts, lists, sets of pictures, objects). R. manifests itself most clearly when working with logically related material that is large in volume and has an emotional impact on a person. In different people very noticeable individual characteristics are observed. R. manifests itself most clearly in childhood.

So, reminiscence. This word, as you “hear”, has Latin roots and is based on the meaning of “memories, recollections, reminders”, in general - everything that is connected with our memory, or rather the actions performed by it.

Reminiscence usually refers to references to previous cultural and historical facts, works and their authors present in literary texts.

Specific example

Let’s say we are reading George Sand and come across the following description of the heroine: “This is an impeccable marble Galatea with Tasso’s heavenly gaze and Alighieri’s bitter smile. This is the relaxed and chivalrous pose of Shakespeare’s young heroes: this is the poetic lover Romeo, this is the pale ascetic, this is the seer Hamlet; this is Juliet, half-dead Juliet, who hides poison and the memory of broken love on her chest.”

Almost all of you are familiar with Shakespeare (read, watched, heard from those who read, watched) - so you can easily imagine his Prince Hamlet and the young lovers, Romeo and Juliet. Many people probably know who Galatea is. Someone will easily remember not only the name of the author of the famous “ Divine Comedy", but also his appearance. Some may be familiar with Torquato Tasso, one of the greatest Italian poets of the 16th century. All the names listed in this paragraph are reminiscences, but on one small condition - that you recognize them.

Main function

Reminiscence only becomes reminiscence when it begins to fulfill its main function- reminder function. A reader who has not seen anything unusual in a literary text, or who has seen it but has not received the slightest idea of ​​what the author is talking about, will pass by this peculiar artistic medium. This is where it would be appropriate to say: “The more familiar you are with the previous culture, the better you comprehend the subsequent one.” Modern culture postmodernism, by the way, is almost entirely built on reminiscences, transforming the familiar artistic text into intertext, a text woven from samples of the previous and surrounding culture.

What are they?

Very different, but, as mine shows personal experience getting acquainted with this topic, most often writers like to turn to their own kind, less often - to works and authors representing other (non-literary) forms of art.

The form of reminiscences is also different. Most often, reminiscences are introduced into the text by mentioning a particular character, a work, its episode, the author of the work, etc., etc., as shown above. Less often we deal with citations.

The nature of reminiscences depends on their artistic function in the text. The author can both objectively describe the source (for example, if reminiscence is introduced into the text as a historical component), and express his personal attitude towards a particular author, work or cultural fact. Where it is necessary to ridicule a character, the reminiscence will acquire the features of parody; where to exalt, the author will be more serious than ever.

How do they arise?

This question may seem stupid to some, but I personally think it’s worth answering.

For supporters of conscious creative process I will not discover anything new - most of the reminiscences, without a doubt, are quite consciously introduced by the author into the text, and in this, as in the use of any artistic means, there is nothing surprising. The uniqueness of reminiscences lies elsewhere - in their possible unconsciousness, in the fact that the author, on the wave of some extraordinary intuition, completely unconsciously puts into the text what he once knew but has forgotten. In this case, the reminiscence will be implicit, but can be solved by anyone, including the author himself.

Reminiscence is the reflection in a new book of individual quotes and, of course, images of the previous one famous work, most often created by a classic. It is a fairly subtle and powerful creative tool that affects memory and should not be confused with plagiarism. After all, if reminiscence in literature is a creative echo, rethought, introducing new colors, influencing the reader’s imagination, then plagiarism, appropriation of authorship is, of course, theft. The Ukrainian poet, classic Kotlyarevsky, even creatively “dealt with” the plagiarist Mr. Matsapura, placing him in his “Aeneid” as one of the characters bullied by the devils in hell.

By the way, almost all of us met with reminiscence. Remember how, as children, we asked our elders to “come up with a fairy tale for us,” and then listened to the stories about Ivanushka the Fool, Vasilisa the Beautiful, etc. in a free presentation (Reminiscence is also images that pass from fairy tale to fairy tale. ) It is used both by a collection of short stories, connected together by a common main character, and by a series similar to it in composition. Moreover, as you know, later developments in the plot allow for references from a completely different book, where the general image used has already been encountered before.

This literary instrument is held in special esteem by the classics. Thus, Pushkin and Lermontov often and originally used reminiscence. Examples of this are numerous. When famous literary critic Vasily Andreevich Vyazemsky wrote about the aspiring poet Alexander Sergeevich that he was a “consequence” of the poet Zhukovsky, then Pushkin himself clarified that he was not a consequence, but a student. In his poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”, Pushkin in the 12th chapter placed an entire mini-parody of the work of his older friend “The Song of the 12 Virgins”. At the same time, Vyazemsky was his friend, and after the duel he was constantly at his bedside until the very end.

In the 18th century, reminiscence was a powerful platform for creative collaboration. Continuing to talk about the reminiscences of the classics, let us remember Lermontov, who in his famous poem “ Prisoner of the Caucasus» used this one extensively literary device, based on Pushkin’s poem of the same name. This work the young Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov can even be called a creative presentation of Pushkin’s lines. Not only do the beginnings of both poems (about Circassians resting in their auls in the evening) coincide in plot and rhythm, but the compositional passages also coincide. The line about the long journey leading to Russia frankly coincides. Often Lermontov's reminiscence is a kind of creative mosaic. A deeper study of his poem “Circassians” reveals consonance with the works of Pushkin, Byron, Dmitriev, Kozlov. So is it possible to say that Lermontov committed plagiarism in his work? Of course not! Creative ideas should not ossify and be perceived as licensed dogmas, they should be developed. Doesn’t a “quotable” poet leave his mark on Literature? If the subsequent work is in no way inferior to the previous one in its strength and depth, is it plagiarism? Fortunately, the laws of creativity are different from the laws of business licensing.

Reminiscences are multifunctional: they often reproduce quotes and phrases already known to readers, either transforming them, or even leaving them in the form characteristic of the original source. Otherwise, with the help of reminiscence, the names of characters and images from the previous ones suddenly appear in a new work.

A recognized master of reminiscence is our contemporary, classic Victor Pelevin. His novel “Chapaev and Emptiness” not only “brings us together” with previously known characters, Furmanov’s heroes, but paints a completely different storyline. Appears main character Peter Emptiness, decadent poet. The action “bifurcates” between 1919 and 1990. Victor Pelevin uses the stylistics of Vasily Ivanovich’s speech from Dmitry Andreevich Furmanov’s novel “Chapaev”. In particular, in his speeches before going to the front, the same phrases and phrases were used: “there’s no point in blaspheming”, “they knew what it was”, “we’ll give you a hand.” The image of Anka the Machine Gunner, rethought by Pelevin, is extremely interesting. In modern times, a mysteriously fickle woman and an educated socialite are at the same time. She masterfully leads the thread of conversation and skillfully presents herself. And this is far from the only book by Victor Pelevin in which reminiscence appears. His other novel with the more than laconic title “T” generally famously “twists with images.” United by the methodology of Buddhism, it introduces Leo Tolstoy as its main character. Further, as it turns out, the image of a classic is not independent. It, in turn, is written by five writers (analogy with the demiurges). “Swallowing” the novel further, we meet the writer’s reinterpretation of Optina Pustyn, associated with Golgotha. The reasonings of Pelevin's Count Tolstoy, which constitute his internal spiritual rethinking, are an obvious reminiscence of the autobiographical “Notes of a Madman.”

Is reminiscence relevant? The stage of its development states: “Yes, and how!” Moreover, he is often nourished by it, finds life-giving forces and ideas in it, and sometimes, like Victor Pelevin, turns into a creative method.

And it is creative in nature, in this it differs from ordinary copying, compilation, or, especially, plagiarism. For the same reason, it is necessary to distinguish between reminiscence and quotation.

The earliest reminiscences should be recognized as the silhouettes, proportions and subjects of the ancients rock paintings, repeated in the “animal style” of the Scythians or in the works of masters modern era(painters, jewelers, designers, etc.). Some totems, coats of arms and trademarks have a clear reminiscent nature. There are historical, compositional, deliberate and unsuccessful reminiscence. Reminiscences can be present both in the text, image or music itself, and in the title, subtitle or chapter titles of the work in question. Artistic images and the names of some literary characters, individual motifs and stylistic devices (see the relationship between the post-impressionists and the founders of impressionist painting).

Plato

The origin of the ancient Greek philosophical term should be attributed to Plato. The concept was used in Plato's doctrine of nature human soul and the doctrine of ideas. Plato believed that intuition serves as a tool for the soul to collect information about another world. This term is found in three of Plato's major works. In “Meno” Socrates talks about the universal relatedness of objects to each other, thanks to which one can literally remember everything and find everything. The Platonic concept put into the mouth of Socrates is that the mechanism of recollection ( anamnesis, anamnesis, other Greek ἀνάμνησις ) opens access to judgments about causes. The Phaedo repeats the dogma that knowledge is actually recollection. In the Phaedrus, Plato postulates reminiscence (remembering) as initiation into the sacraments and an approach to spiritual perfection.

Russia

At the same time, the word entered the Russian language as an everyday Gallicism and allusion. In a letter dated February 1, 1840 to the Russian historian T. N. Granovsky, the philosopher and poet N. V. Stankevich called the platonic relationship of the addressee with N. V. “reminiscence.” In the second half of the 19th century, the word became traditional musical term. In a letter to Russian composer On June 10, 1863, pianist and conductor M. A. Balakirev gave a description of the past opera to M. P. Mussorgsky through musical “reminiscences.”

IN modern period in Russia, the methodological problems of literary reminiscence were dealt with by M. M. Bakhtin, D. S. Likhachev, Yu. M. Lotman, A. Gollovacheva (), A. Arkhangelsky () and P. Bukharkin (). A number of fruitful solutions were found by Lotman in the article “Tyutchev and Dante. Towards the formulation of the problem" ().

Movie

Leni Riefenstahl used reminiscence as a method of maximizing the impact on the viewer. For example, in the film “Triumph of the Will” the climax was reached in frames in which the viewer from above could see a sea of ​​poles and waving banners, but the figures of the standard bearers were not visible. These frames should be considered as a reminiscence of the famous painting by the founder of impressionism, Claude Monet, “Rue Saint-Denis. Holiday June 30, 1878. (Flags)".

Explicit reminiscences from the film “Triumph of the Will” are often found in modern world documentary cinema. For example, in English film"Lord of the "Golden Triangle", dedicated to the merging of rebel armies with drug dealers on the territory of the Asian Shan people: in scenes with a youth brigade, a morning military review, in an episode with the ceremonial raising of the flag in the army of an Asian drug lord and in location shooting of singing soldiers, army columns moving through the mountains, without entering into open conflict with the commander of the illegal army, the authors of the film designate the analyzed social phenomenon as a “great threat.” Western world“exclusively thanks to reminiscence as a technique accessible only to the viewer of Western European culture.

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Literature

• Reminiscence / Al. Morozov. // . - M. : Sov. encycl, 1971. - T. 6. - P. 254.

Excerpt characterizing Reminiscence

Of the youth, not counting eldest daughter the countess (who was four years older than her sister and already behaved like a grown-up) and the young lady's guest, Nikolai and Sonya's niece remained in the living room. Sonya was a thin, petite brunette with a soft gaze, shaded by long eyelashes, a thick black braid that wrapped around her head twice, and a yellowish tint to the skin on her face and especially on her bare, thin, but graceful, muscular arms and neck. With the smoothness of her movements, the softness and flexibility of her small limbs, and her somewhat cunning and reserved manner, she resembled a beautiful, but not yet fully formed kitten, which would become a lovely little cat. She apparently considered it decent to show participation in the general conversation with a smile; but against her will, from under her long thick eyelashes, she looked at her cousin [cousin] who was leaving for the army with such girlish passionate adoration that her smile could not deceive anyone for a moment, and it was clear that the cat sat down only to jump more energetically and play with your sauce as soon as they, like Boris and Natasha, get out of this living room.
“Yes, ma chere,” said the old count, turning to his guest and pointing to his Nicholas. - His friend Boris was promoted to officer, and out of friendship he does not want to lag behind him; leaves both the university and me as an old man: he goes to military service,ma here. And his place in the archive was ready, and that was it. Is that friendship? - said the count questioningly.
“But they say war has been declared,” said the guest.
“They’ve been saying this for a long time,” said the count. “They’ll talk and talk again and leave it at that.” Ma chere, that’s friendship! - he repeated. - He is going to the hussars.
The guest, not knowing what to say, shook her head.
“Not out of friendship at all,” answered Nikolai, flushing and making excuses as if from a shameful slander against him. – Not friendship at all, but I just feel a calling to military service.
He looked back at his cousin and the guest young lady: both looked at him with a smile of approval.
“Today, Schubert, colonel of the Pavlograd Hussar Regiment, is dining with us. He was on vacation here and takes it with him. What to do? - said the count, shrugging his shoulders and speaking jokingly about the matter, which apparently cost him a lot of grief.
“I already told you, daddy,” said the son, “that if you don’t want to let me go, I’ll stay.” But I know that I am not fit for anything except military service; “I’m not a diplomat, not an official, I don’t know how to hide what I feel,” he said, still looking with the coquetry of beautiful youth at Sonya and the guest young lady.
The cat, glaring at him with her eyes, seemed every second ready to play and show all her cat nature.
- Well, well, okay! - said the old count, - everything is getting hot. Bonaparte turned everyone’s heads; everyone thinks how he got from lieutenant to emperor. Well, God willing,” he added, not noticing the guest’s mocking smile.
The big ones started talking about Bonaparte. Julie, Karagina’s daughter, turned to young Rostov:
– What a pity that you weren’t at the Arkharovs’ on Thursday. “I was bored without you,” she said, smiling tenderly at him.
The flattered young man with a flirtatious smile of youth moved closer to her and entered into a separate conversation with the smiling Julie, not noticing at all that this involuntary smile of his was cutting the heart of the blushing and feignedly smiling Sonya with a knife of jealousy. “In the middle of the conversation, he looked back at her. Sonya looked at him passionately and embitteredly and, barely holding back the tears in her eyes and a feigned smile on her lips, she stood up and left the room. All Nikolai's animation disappeared. He waited for the first break in the conversation and with an upset face left the room to look for Sonya.
– How the secrets of all these young people are sewn with white thread! - said Anna Mikhailovna, pointing to Nikolai coming out. “Cousinage dangereux voisinage,” she added.
“Yes,” said the countess, after the ray of sunshine that had penetrated into the living room with this younger generation had disappeared, and as if answering a question that no one had asked her, but which constantly occupied her. - How much suffering, how much anxiety has been endured in order to now rejoice in them! And now, really, there is more fear than joy. You're still afraid, you're still afraid! This is precisely the age at which there are so many dangers for both girls and boys.
“Everything depends on upbringing,” said the guest.
“Yes, your truth,” continued the Countess. “Until now, thank God, I have been a friend of my children and enjoy their complete trust,” said the countess, repeating the misconception of many parents who believe that their children have no secrets from them. “I know that I will always be the first confidente [confidant] of my daughters, and that Nikolenka, due to her ardent character, if she plays naughty (a boy cannot live without this), then everything is not like these St. Petersburg gentlemen.
“Yes, nice, nice guys,” confirmed the count, who always resolved issues that confused him by finding everything nice. - Come on, I want to become a hussar! Yes, that's what you want, ma chere!