Recently the BBC showed a series based on Tolstoy's War and Peace. In the West, everything is the same as here - there, too, the release of film (television) adaptations sharply increases interest in the literary source. And then Lev Nikolayevich’s masterpiece suddenly became one of the bestsellers, and with it, readers became interested in all of Russian literature. On this wave, the popular literary website Literary Hub published an article “The 10 Russian Literary Heroines You Should Know.” It seemed to me that this was an interesting look from the outside at our classics and I translated the article for my blog. I'm posting it here too. Illustrations taken from the original article.
Attention! The text contains spoilers.
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We know that all happy heroines are equally happy, and each unhappy heroine is unhappy in her own way. But the fact is that there are few happy characters in Russian literature. Russian heroines tend to complicate their lives. This is how it should be, because their beauty as literary characters largely comes from their ability to suffer, from their tragic destinies, from their “Russianness.”
The most important thing to understand about Russians female characters: their destinies are not stories of overcoming obstacles to achieve “and they lived happily ever after.” Guardians of primordial Russian values, they know that there is more to life than happiness.
1. Tatyana Larina (A.S. Pushkin “Eugene Onegin”)
In the beginning there was Tatiana. This is a kind of Eve of Russian literature. And not only because it is chronologically the first, but also because Pushkin occupies a special place in Russian hearts. Almost any Russian is able to recite the poems of the father of Russian literature by heart (and after a few shots of vodka, many will do this). Pushkin's masterpiece, the poem "Eugene Onegin", is the story not only of Onegin, but also of Tatyana, a young innocent girl from the provinces who falls in love with the main character. Unlike Onegin, who is shown as a cynical bon vivant corrupted by fashionable European values, Tatyana embodies the essence and purity of the mysterious Russian soul. This includes a penchant for self-sacrifice and a disregard for happiness, as shown by her famous abandonment of the person she loves.
2. Anna Karenina (L.N. Tolstoy “Anna Karenina”)
Unlike Pushkin's Tatyana, who resists the temptation to get along with Onegin, Tolstoy's Anna leaves both her husband and son to run away with Vronsky. Like a true dramatic heroine, Anna voluntarily does not right choice, a choice for which she will have to pay. Anna's sin and its source tragic fate not that she left the child, but that, selfishly indulging her sexual and romantic desires, she forgot Tatyana’s lesson of selflessness. If you see light at the end of the tunnel, don't be fooled, it could be a train.
3. Sonya Marmeladova (F.M. Dostoevsky “Crime and Punishment”)
In Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Sonya appears as the antipode of Raskolnikov. A whore and a saint at the same time, Sonya accepts her existence as a path of martyrdom. Having learned about Raskolnikov's crime, she does not push him away, on the contrary, she attracts him to her in order to save his soul. Typical here famous scene when they read the biblical story of the raising of Lazarus. Sonya is able to forgive Raskolnikov, because she believes that everyone is equal before God, and God forgives. For a repentant killer, this is a real find.
4. Natalia Rostova (L.N. Tolstoy “War and Peace”)
Natalya is everyone's dream: smart, funny, sincere. But if Pushkin's Tatiana is too good to be true, Natalya seems alive, real. Partly because Tolstoy complemented her image with other qualities: she is capricious, naive, flirtatious and, for the morals of the early 19th century, a little impudent. In War and Peace, Natalya starts out as a charming teenager, exuding joy and vitality. Over the course of the novel, she grows older, learns life lessons, tames her fickle heart, becomes wiser, and her character gains integrity. And this woman, which is generally uncharacteristic of Russian heroines, is still smiling after more than a thousand pages.
5. Irina Prozorova (A.P. Chekhov “Three Sisters”)
At the beginning of Chekhov's play Three Sisters, Irina is the youngest and full of hope. Her older brother and sisters are whiny and capricious, they are tired of life in the provinces, and Irina’s naive soul is filled with optimism. She dreams of returning to Moscow, where, in her opinion, she will find her true love and she will be happy. But as the chance to move to Moscow evaporates, she becomes increasingly aware that she is stuck in the village and losing her spark. Through Irina and her sisters, Chekhov shows us that life is just a series of sad moments, only occasionally punctuated by short bursts of joy. Like Irina, we waste our time on trifles, dreaming of a better future, but gradually we understand the insignificance of our existence.
6. Lisa Kalitina (I.S. Turgenev “The Noble Nest”)
In the novel " Noble Nest"Turgenev created a model of a Russian heroine. Lisa is young, naive, pure in heart. She is torn between two suitors: a young, handsome, cheerful officer and an old, sad, married man. Guess who she chose? Lisa's choice says a lot about the mysterious Russian soul. She is clearly heading towards suffering. Lisa's choice shows that the desire for sadness and melancholy is no worse than any other option. At the end of the story, Lisa becomes disillusioned with love and goes to a monastery, choosing the path of sacrifice and deprivation. “Happiness is not for me,” she explains her action. “Even when I hoped for happiness, my heart was always heavy.”
7. Margarita (M. Bulgakov “The Master and Margarita”)
Chronologically last on the list, Bulgakov's Margarita is an extremely strange heroine. At the beginning of the novel, she is an unhappily married woman, then she becomes the Master’s mistress and muse, and then turns into a witch flying on a broomstick. For Master Margarita, this is not only a source of inspiration. She becomes, like Sonya for Raskolnikov, his healer, lover, savior. When the Master finds himself in trouble, Margarita turns to none other than Satan himself for help. Having concluded, like Faust, a contract with the Devil, she is still reunited with her lover, albeit not entirely in this world.
8. Olga Semyonova (A.P. Chekhov “Darling”)
In "Darling" Chekhov tells the story of Olga Semyonova, loving and tender soul, common man who is said to live by love. Olga becomes a widow early. Twice. When there is no one nearby to love, she withdraws into the company of a cat. In his review of “Darling,” Tolstoy wrote that, intending to make fun of a narrow-minded woman, Chekhov accidentally created a very likable character. Tolstoy went even further; he condemned Chekhov for his overly harsh attitude towards Olga, calling for her soul to be judged, not her intellect. According to Tolstoy, Olga embodies the ability of Russian women to love unconditionally, a virtue unknown to men.
9. Anna Sergeevna Odintsova (I.S. Turgenev “Fathers and Sons”)
In the novel “Fathers and Sons” (often incorrectly translated “Fathers and Sons”), Mrs. Odintsova is a lonely woman of mature age; the sound of her surname in Russian also hints at loneliness. Odintsova is an atypical heroine who has become a kind of pioneer among female literary characters. Unlike other women in the novel, who follow the obligations imposed on them by society, Mrs. Odintsova is childless, she has no mother and no husband (she is a widow). She stubbornly defends her independence, like Pushkin's Tatiana, refusing the only chance to find true love.
10. Nastasya Filippovna (F.M. Dostoevsky “The Idiot”)
The heroine of “The Idiot” Nastasya Filippovna gives an idea of how complex Dostoevsky is. Beauty makes her a victim. Orphaned as a child, Nastasya becomes a kept woman and the mistress of the elderly man who took her in. But every time she tries to escape the clutches of her situation and create her own destiny, she continues to feel humiliated. Guilt casts a fatal shadow on all her decisions. According to tradition, like many other Russian heroines, Nastasya has several fate options, associated mainly with men. And in full accordance with tradition, she is not able to make the right choice. By submitting to fate instead of fighting, the heroine drifts towards her tragic end.
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The author of this text is writer and diplomat Guillermo Herades. He worked in Russia for some time, knows Russian literature well, is a fan of Chekhov and the author of the book Back to Moscow. So this look is not entirely outsider. On the other hand, how to write about Russian literary heroines without knowing Russian classics?
Guillermo does not explain his choice of characters in any way. In my opinion, the absence of Princess Mary or “ poor Lisa"(which, by the way, was written earlier than Pushkin's Tatiana) and Katerina Kabanova (from Ostrosky's The Thunderstorm). It seems to me that these Russians literary heroes neither better known among us than Lisa Kalitina or Olga Semyonova. However, this is my subjective opinion. Who would you add to this list?
Literary heroes are usually fiction author. But some of them still have real prototypes that lived at the time of the author, or known historical figures. We will tell you who these strangers were to a wide circle readers figures.
1. Sherlock Holmes
Even the author himself admitted that Sherlock Holmes has a lot common features with his mentor Joe Bell. On the pages of his autobiography one could read that the writer often recalled his teacher, spoke about his eagle profile, inquisitive mind and amazing intuition. According to him, the doctor could turn any matter into a precise, systematized scientific discipline.
Often Dr. Bell used deductive methods inquiries. Just by looking at a person alone, he could tell about his habits, his biography, and sometimes even make a diagnosis. After the novel's release Conan Doyle corresponded with the “prototype” of Holmes, and he told him that perhaps this is exactly how his career would have turned out if he had chosen a different path.
2. James Bond
Literary history James Bond began with a series of books that were written by intelligence officer Ian Fleming. The first book in the series, Casino Royale, was published in 1953, a few years after Fleming was assigned to monitor Prince Bernard, who had defected from German service to English intelligence. After much mutual suspicion, the scouts became good friends. Bond took over from Prince Bernard to order a Vodka Martini, adding the legendary “Shaken, not stirred.”
3. Ostap Bender
The man who became the prototype of the great schemer from the “12 chairs” of Ilf and Petrov, at the age of 80, still worked as a conductor on railway on the train from Moscow to Tashkent. Born in Odessa, Ostap Shor was from a young age prone to adventure. He introduced himself either as an artist or as a chess grandmaster, and even acted as a member of one of the anti-Soviet parties.
Only thanks to his remarkable imagination, Ostap Shor managed to return from Moscow to Odessa, where he served in the criminal investigation department and fought against local banditry. This is probably where Ostap Bender’s respectful attitude towards the Criminal Code comes from.
4. Professor Preobrazhensky
Professor Preobrazhensky from the famous Bulgakov novel “ Heart of a Dog"was also real prototype- French surgeon of Russian origin Samuil Abramovich Voronov. At the beginning of the 20th century, this man made a real splash in Europe by transplanting monkey glands into humans to rejuvenate the body. The first operations showed a simply amazing effect: elderly patients experienced a resumption of sexual activity, improved memory and vision, ease of movement, and children who were lagging behind in mental development gained mental alertness.
Thousands of people were treated in Voronova, and the doctor himself opened his own monkey nursery on the French Riviera. But very little time passed and the miracle doctor’s patients began to feel worse. Rumors arose that the result of the treatment was just self-hypnosis, and Voronov was called a charlatan.
5. Peter Pan
The boy with the beautiful fairy Tinkerbell was given to the world and to James Barry himself, the author of the written work, by the Davis couple (Arthur and Sylvia). The prototype for Peter Pan was Michael, one of their sons. Fairytale hero received from a real boy not only his age and character, but also nightmares. And the novel itself is a dedication to the author’s brother, David, who died a day before his 14th birthday while ice skating.
6. Dorian Gray
It's a shame, but main character The novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” significantly spoiled the reputation of its real-life original. John Gray, who in his youth was a protégé and close friend of Oscar Wilde, was handsome, rugged, and had the appearance of a 15-year-old boy. But their happy union came to an end when journalists became aware of their relationship. An angry Gray went to court and obtained an apology from the newspaper's editors, but after that his friendship with Wilde ended. Soon John Gray met Andre Raffalovich, a poet and native of Russia. They converted to Catholicism, and after some time Gray became a priest at St. Patrick's Church in Edinburgh.
7. Alice
The story of Alice in Wonderland began on the day Lewis Carroll walked with the daughters of the rector of Oxford University, Henry Lidell, among whom was Alice Lidell. Carroll came up with the story on the fly at the request of the children, but the next time he did not forget about it, he began to compose a sequel. Two years later, the author presented Alice with a manuscript consisting of four chapters, to which was attached a photograph of Alice herself at the age of seven. It was entitled “A Christmas gift to a dear girl in memory of a summer day.”
8. Karabas-Barabas
As you know, Alexei Tolstoy only planned to present Carlo Collodio’s “Pinocchio” in Russian, but it turned out that he wrote an independent story, in which analogies were clearly drawn with cultural figures of that time. Since Tolstoy had no weakness for Meyerhold’s theater and its biomechanics, it was the director of this theater who got the role of Karabas-Barabas. You can guess the parody even in the name: Karabas is the Marquis Karabas from Perrault’s fairy tale, and Barabas is from Italian word scammer - baraba. But no less speaking role The leech seller Duremar went to Meyerhold's assistant, who worked under the pseudonym Waldemar Luscinius.
9. Lolita
According to the memoirs of Brian Boyd, biographer of Vladimir Nabokov, when the writer was working on his scandalous romance"Lolita", he regularly looked through newspaper sections in which reports of murder and violence were published. His attention was drawn to the sensational story of Sally Horner and Frank LaSalle, which occurred in 1948: a middle-aged man kidnapped 12-year-old Sally Horner and kept her with him for almost 2 years until the police found her in a California hotel. Lasalle, like Nabokov’s hero, passed off the girl as his daughter. Nabokov even briefly mentions this incident in the book in the words of Humbert: “Did I do to Dolly the same thing that Frank LaSalle, a 50-year-old mechanic, did to eleven-year-old Sally Horner in ’48?”
10. Carlson
The story of Carlson’s creation is mythologized and incredible. Literary scholars claim that a possible prototype of this funny character became Hermann Goering. And although Astrid Lindgren’s relatives deny this version, such rumors still exist today.
Astrid Lindgren met Goering in the 1920s when he organized air shows in Sweden. At that time, Goering was just “in the prime of his life,” a famous ace pilot, a man with charisma and a wonderful appetite. The motor behind Carlson’s back is an interpretation of Goering’s flying experience.
Supporters of this version note that for some time Astrid Lindgren was an ardent fan of the National Socialist Party of Sweden. The book about Carlson was published in 1955, so there could be no talk of a direct analogy. However, it is possible that the charismatic image of the young Goering influenced the appearance of the charming Carlson.
11. One-Legged John Silver
Robert Louis Stevenson in the novel “Treasure Island” portrayed his friend Williams Hansley not at all as a critic and poet, which he essentially was, but as a real villain. During his childhood, William suffered from tuberculosis and his leg was amputated at the knee. Before the book appeared on store shelves, Stevenson told a friend: “I have to confess to you, Evil on the surface, but kind at heart, John Silver was copied from you. You're not offended, are you?
12. Winnie the Pooh Bear
According to one version, the world-famous teddy bear got its name in honor of the favorite toy of the writer Milne’s son Christopher Robin. However, like all the other characters in the book. But in fact, this name comes from the nickname Winnipeg - that was the name of the bear who lived in the London Zoo from 1915 to 1934. This bear had many child fans, including Christopher Robin.
13. Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise
Despite the fact that the main characters in the book are named Sal and Dean, Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road is purely autobiographical. One can only guess why Kerouac abandoned his name in the most famous book for the beatniks.
14. Daisy Buchanan
In the novel “The Great Gatsby,” its author Francis Scott Fitzgerald deeply and soulfully described Ginevra King, his first love. Their romance lasted from 1915 to 1917. But due to different social statuses they separated, after which Fitzgerald wrote that "poor boys should not even think of marrying rich girls." This phrase was included not only in the book, but also in the film of the same name. Ginevra King became the prototype for Isabel Borge in Beyond Paradise and Judy Jones in Winter Dreams.
Especially for those who like to sit up and read. If you choose these books, you will definitely not be disappointed.
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Heroes famous books We sometimes perceive films and movies as good friends, but we still remember that these are fictional characters. And it’s even more interesting to know that writers were inspired to create them real people. The authors borrowed their appearance, habits, and even favorite words from them.
Editorial website collected prototypes famous heroes films and books - it’s simply incredible that they actually lived.
"Abstract" Marshak -
Academician Ivan Kablukov
It turns out that the “absent-minded man from Basseynaya Street” from Samuil Marshak’s poem actually existed! He was the famous eccentric, academician Ivan Kablukov, who was famous for his impracticality and absent-mindedness. For example, instead of the words “chemistry and physics,” the professor often told students “chemistry and physics.” And instead of the phrase “the flask burst, and a piece of glass fell into the eye,” he could have gotten: “the flask burst, and a piece of the eye fell into the glass.” The expression “Mendelshutkin” meant “Mendeleev and Menshutkin,” and Ivan Alekseevich’s usual words were “not at all” and “I, that is, not me.”
The professor read a poem, and one day he reminded Marshak’s brother, the writer Ilyin, wagging his finger: “Your brother, of course, was aiming at me!” In Marshak’s drafts there is this version of the beginning of the poem, in which the hero was directly named by the first and last name of the prototype:
Lives in Leningrad
Ivan Kablukov.
He calls himself
Heel Ivanov.
Sources: Miron Petrovsky "Books of our childhood », « Moscow's comsomolets »
Dr. House - Dr. Thomas Bolte
Dr. Thomas Bolti, nicknamed “the real House,” is also eccentric. Here he is rushing to the patient, avoiding traffic jams on roller skates.
The creators of the series about Dr. House became interested in the story of the doctor Thomas Bolti from New York, who cured a gallery owner who had suffered from migraines for 40 years. The man visited several dozen doctors who fed him a bunch of medications for headaches. And Thomas Bolti got hooked on the fact that the patient could not tolerate egg yolk. He carefully studied the tests again and realized that the patient had been suffering from heavy metal poisoning for 40 years. After treatment, the man forgot what a migraine was. And this is not an isolated case - Bolti’s talent and erudition allow him to take on the most difficult cases. He is even called a “medical detective.”
The creators of House were inspired by cases from Bolti's practice and his somewhat eccentric behavior. He himself is not delighted with the series: “Yes, there are some similarities between us, but I don’t like the film. I am categorically against going over heads like House to make a diagnosis.” But by the way, after this, Dr. Bolti’s career took off, and now he is the official doctor of the MTV office.
Sources: HistoryTime, RealDoctorHouse
Dorian Gray - poet John Gray
The English poet John Gray, whom Oscar Wilde met in the late 80s of the 19th century, became the prototype of Dorian Gray. A sophisticated, decadent poet, smart, handsome and ambitious, he inspired the writer with the image of the eternally young and beautiful Dorian Gray. After release famous novel many began to call John Gray after the hero, and the poet himself signed at least one of his letters to Wilde “Dorian.” It is surprising that after 30 years John Gray abandoned bohemian life, became a Catholic priest and even received a parish.
Sources: The Man Who Was Dorian Gray, « Wikipedia »
Sherlock Holmes - Professor Joseph Bell
Sherlock Holmes has much in common with Edinburgh University professor Joseph Bell, for whom Conan Doyle worked as an assistant at the hospital. The writer often recalled his teacher, talking about his eagle profile, inquisitive mind and amazing intuition. Bell was tall, lean, abrupt in his movements and smoked a pipe.
He knew how to accurately determine the profession and character of his patients and always encouraged students to use deduction. He invited to lectures strangers and asked students to say who they were and where they were from. One day he brought a man in a hat into the audience, and when no one could answer Bell’s questions, he explained that since he had forgotten to take off his hat, then most likely Lately he served in the army. There it is customary to wear a headdress in order to salute. And since he showed signs of a fever characteristic of the West Indies, this man apparently arrived from Barbados.
Sources: " School of Life ", « Historical truth »
James Bond - "King of Spies" Sydney Reilly
There are debates about the prototype of James Bond, and this image is largely collective (former intelligence officer Ian Fleming gave the hero his own features). But many agree that the character is very similar to the “king of spies,” a British intelligence officer and adventurer Russian origin Sydney Reilly.
Incredibly erudite, he spoke seven languages, loved to play politics and manipulate people, adored women and had numerous affairs. Reilly never failed a single operation entrusted to him and was known for being able to find a way out of almost any situation. He knew how to instantly transform into a completely different personality. By the way, he has a great legacy in Russia: his track record even includes preparations for the assassination attempt on Lenin.
Sources: " AiF », a book by Robin Bruce Lockhart "Sydney Reilly: spy legend of the 20th century »
Peter Pan - Michael Davis
The wonderful book about Peter Pan was inspired by the son of the writer's friends, Sylvia and Arthur Davis. He had known the Davises for a long time, was friends with all their five sons, but it was four-year-old Michael (a brilliant boy, as they said about him) who became the prototype of Peter Pan. From him he copied character traits and even nightmares that tormented the playful and brave, but sensitive child. By the way, the Peter Pan sculpture in Kensington Gardens has Michael's face.
Christopher Robin - Christopher Robin Milne
Christopher Robin from the books about Winnie the Pooh by Alan Milne is the son of the writer, whose name was exactly that - Christopher Robin. As a child, the relationship with my parents did not work out - the mother was busy only with herself, the father with his creativity, he spent a lot of time with the nanny. He would later write: “There were two things that darkened my life and from which I had to escape: the fame of my father and “Christopher Robin.” The child grew up very kind, nervous and shy. “The prototype of both Christopher Robin and Piglet,” as psychologists would later say about him. The boy's favorite toy was Teddy Bear, which his father gave him for his first birthday. And the bear, as you already guessed, is best friend Robin Winnie the Pooh.
Sources: BBC News, Independent
"The Wolf of Wall Street" - broker Jordan Belfort
On the left is Jordan Belfort, and it is about his biography that we learn from the successful Hollywood film. Life raised the stockbroker to the top and dropped him into the dirt. At first he plunged headlong into beautiful life, and later went to prison for almost 2 years for fraud in the securities market. After his release, Belfort easily found use for his talents: he wrote 2 books about his life and began conducting seminars as a motivational speaker. According to him, the main rules of success are: “Act with boundless faith in yourself, and then people will believe you. Act as if you have already achieved amazing success, and then you will truly succeed!
Sources: HistoryTime, magazine "Ogonyok"
Ostap Bender - Osip Shor
The fate of Ostap Bender’s prototype is no less surprising than the story of the “great schemer”. Osip Shor was a man of many talents: he played football well, was well versed in law, worked for several years in the criminal investigation department and was in many troubles, from which he got out with the help of artistry and inexhaustible imagination mixed with arrogance.
His big dream was to go to Brazil or Argentina, so Osip began to dress in a special way: he wore light clothes, a white captain’s cap and, of course, a scarf. Writers also borrowed signature phrases from him, for example, “My dad is Turkish.” This was Shor's first scam - in order to avoid being drafted into the army, he decided to impersonate a Turk and forged documents.
The tricks of the adventurer Osip were innumerable: in 1918–1919 in Odessa, in order to earn a living, he posed as an artist, a chess grandmaster, a representative of an underground anti-Soviet organization, or sold places in paradise to bandits. And one day he asked Ilf and Petrov for money “for the image” (he later admitted that it was a joke). Valentin Kataev talks about these events in his book “My Diamond Crown”.
Sources: " Russian planet », « Wikipedia »
Russian literature has given us a cavalcade of both positive and negative characters. We decided to remember the second group. Beware, spoilers.
20. Alexey Molchalin (Alexander Griboedov, “Woe from Wit”)
Molchalin is the hero “about nothing”, Famusov’s secretary. He is faithful to his father’s behest: “to please all people without exception - the owner, the boss, his servant, the janitor’s dog.”
In a conversation with Chatsky, he sets out his life principles, consisting in the fact that “at my age I should not dare to have my own judgment.”
Molchalin is sure that you need to think and act as is customary in “Famus” society, otherwise they will gossip about you, and, as you know, “ gossips scarier than pistols."
He despises Sophia, but in order to please Famusov, he is ready to sit with her all night long, playing the role of a lover.
19. Grushnitsky (Mikhail Lermontov, “Hero of Our Time”)
Grushnitsky has no name in Lermontov's story. He is the “double” of the main character - Pechorin. According to Lermontov’s description, Grushnitsky is “... one of those people who have ready-made pompous phrases for all occasions, who are not touched by simply beautiful things and who are importantly draped in extraordinary feelings, sublime passions and exceptional suffering. Producing an effect is their pleasure...”
Grushnitsky loves pathos very much. There is not an ounce of sincerity in him. Grushnitsky is in love with Princess Mary, and she initially answers him special attention, but then falls in love with Pechorin.
The matter ends in a duel. Grushnitsky is so low that he conspires with his friends and they do not load Pechorin’s pistol. The hero cannot forgive such outright meanness. He reloads the pistol and kills Grushnitsky.
18. Afanasy Totsky (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Idiot”)
Afanasy Totsky, having taken Nastya Barashkova, the daughter of a deceased neighbor, as his upbringing and dependent, eventually “became close to her,” developing a suicidal complex in the girl and indirectly becoming one of the culprits of her death.
Extremely averse to the female sex, at the age of 55 Totsky decided to connect his life with the daughter of General Epanchin Alexandra, deciding to marry Nastasya to Ganya Ivolgin. However, neither one nor the other case burned out. As a result, Totsky “was captivated by a visiting Frenchwoman, a marquise and a legitimist.”
17. Alena Ivanovna (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Crime and Punishment”)
The old pawnbroker is a character who has become a household name. Even those who have not read Dostoevsky’s novel have heard about it. Alena Ivanovna, by today’s standards, is not that old, she is “about 60 years old,” but the author describes her like this: “... a dry old woman with sharp and angry eyes with a small pointed nose... Her blond, slightly gray hair was greasy with oil. Some kind of flannel rag was wrapped around her thin and long neck, similar to a chicken leg...”
The old woman pawnbroker is engaged in usury and makes money from people's misfortune. She takes valuable things at huge interest rates, abuses her younger sister Lizaveta, beats her.
16. Arkady Svidrigailov (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Crime and Punishment”)
Svidrigailov is one of Raskolnikov’s doubles in Dostoevsky’s novel, a widower, at one time he was bought out of prison by his wife, he lived in the village for 7 years. A cynical and depraved person. On his conscience is the suicide of a servant, a 14-year-old girl, and possibly the poisoning of his wife.
Due to Svidrigailov's harassment, Raskolnikov's sister lost her job. Having learned that Raskolnikov is a murderer, Luzhin blackmails Dunya. The girl shoots at Svidrigailov and misses.
Svidrigailov is an ideological scoundrel, he does not experience moral torment and experiences “world boredom,” eternity seems to him like a “bathhouse with spiders.” As a result, he commits suicide with a revolver shot.
15. Kabanikha (Alexander Ostrovsky, “The Thunderstorm”)
In the image of Kabanikha, one of the central characters of the play “The Thunderstorm,” Ostrovsky reflected the outgoing patriarchal, strict archaism. Kabanova Marfa Ignatievna, “a rich merchant’s wife, widow,” mother-in-law of Katerina, mother of Tikhon and Varvara.
Kabanikha is very domineering and strong, she is religious, but more outwardly, since she does not believe in forgiveness or mercy. She is as practical as possible and lives by earthly interests.
Kabanikha is sure that family life can survive only on fear and orders: “After all, out of love your parents are strict with you, out of love they scold you, everyone thinks to teach you good.” She perceives the departure of the old order as a personal tragedy: “This is how the old times come to be... What will happen, how the elders will die... I don’t know.”
14. Lady (Ivan Turgenev, “Mumu”)
We all know sad story about the fact that Gerasim drowned Mumu, but not everyone remembers why he did it, but he did it because the despotic lady ordered him to do so.
The same landowner had previously given the washerwoman Tatyana, with whom Gerasim was in love, to the drunken shoemaker Capiton, which ruined both of them.
The lady, at her own discretion, decides the fate of her serfs, without regard at all to their wishes, and sometimes even to common sense.
13. Footman Yasha (Anton Chekhov, “The Cherry Orchard”)
Footman Yasha in Anton Chekhov's play " The Cherry Orchard" - an unpleasant character. He openly worships everything foreign, but at the same time he is extremely ignorant, rude and even boorish. When his mother comes to him from the village and waits for him in the people’s room all day, Yasha dismissively declares: “It’s really necessary, she could come tomorrow.”
Yasha tries to behave decently in public, tries to seem educated and well-mannered, but at the same time alone with Firs he says to the old man: “I'm tired of you, grandfather. I wish you would die soon.”
Yasha is very proud that he lived abroad. With his foreign polish, he wins the heart of the maid Dunyasha, but uses her location for his own benefit. After the sale of the estate, the footman persuades Ranevskaya to take him with her to Paris again. It is impossible for him to stay in Russia: “the country is uneducated, the people are immoral, and, moreover, boredom...”.
12. Pavel Smerdyakov (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Brothers Karamazov”)
Smerdyakov is a character with a telling surname, according to rumors, the illegitimate son of Fyodor Karrmazov from the city holy fool Lizaveta Stinking. The surname Smerdyakov was given to him by Fyodor Pavlovich in honor of his mother.
Smerdyakov serves as a cook in Karamazov’s house, and he cooks, apparently, quite well. However, this is a “foulbrood man.” This is evidenced at least by Smerdyakov’s reasoning about history: “In the twelfth year there was a great invasion of Russia by Emperor Napoleon of France the First, and it would be good if these same French had conquered us then, a smart nation would have conquered a very stupid one and annexed it to itself. There would even be completely different orders.”
Smerdyakov is the killer of Karamazov's father.
11. Pyotr Luzhin (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Crime and Punishment”)
Luzhin is another of Rodion Raskolnikov’s doubles, business man 45 years old, “with a cautious and grumpy face.”
Having made it “from rags to riches,” Luzhin is proud of his pseudo-education and behaves arrogantly and primly. Having proposed to Dunya, he anticipates that she will be grateful to him all her life for the fact that he “brought her into the public eye.”
He also wooes Duna out of convenience, believing that she will be useful to him for his career. Luzhin hates Raskolnikov because he opposes his alliance with Dunya. Luzhin puts one hundred rubles in Sonya Marmeladova's pocket at her father's funeral, accusing her of theft.
10. Kirila Troekurov (Alexander Pushkin, “Dubrovsky”)
Troekurov is an example of a Russian master spoiled by his power and environment. He spends his time in idleness, drunkenness, and voluptuousness. Troekurov sincerely believes in his impunity and limitless possibilities (“This is the power to take away property without any right”).
The master loves his daughter Masha, but marries her to an old man she doesn’t love. Troekurov's serfs are similar to their master - Troekurov's hound is insolent to Dubrovsky Sr. - and thereby quarrels old friends.
9. Sergei Talberg (Mikhail Bulgakov, “The White Guard”)
Sergei Talberg is the husband of Elena Turbina, a traitor and an opportunist. He easily changes his principles and beliefs, without much effort or remorse. Talberg is always where it is easier to live, so he runs abroad. He leaves his family and friends. Even Talberg’s eyes (which, as we know, are the “mirror of the soul”) are “two-story”; he is the complete opposite of Turbin.
Thalberg was the first to wear the red bandage at the military school in March 1917 and, as a member of the military committee, arrested the famous General Petrov.
8. Alexey Shvabrin (Alexander Pushkin, “The Captain's Daughter”)
Shvabrin is the antipode of the main character of Pushkin’s story “ Captain's daughter» Petra Grinev. IN Belogorsk fortress he was exiled for murder in a duel. Shvabrin is undoubtedly smart, but at the same time he is cunning, impudent, cynical, and mocking. Having received Masha Mironova’s refusal, he spreads dirty rumors about her, wounds him in the back in a duel with Grinev, goes over to Pugachev’s side, and, having been captured by government troops, spreads rumors that Grinev is a traitor. In general, he is a rubbish person.
7. Vasilisa Kostyleva (Maxim Gorky, “At the Depths”)
In Gorky's play "At the Bottom" everything is sad and sad. This atmosphere is diligently maintained by the owners of the shelter where the action takes place - the Kostylevs. The husband is a nasty, cowardly and greedy old man, Vasilisa’s wife is a calculating, resourceful opportunist who forces her lover Vaska Pepel to steal for her sake. When she finds out that he himself is in love with her sister, he promises to give her up in exchange for killing her husband.
6. Mazepa (Alexander Pushkin, “Poltava”)
Mazepa is a historical character, but if in history Mazepa’s role is ambiguous, then in Pushkin’s poem Mazepa is unambiguous negative character. Mazepa appears in the poem as an absolutely immoral, dishonest, vindictive, evil person, as a treacherous hypocrite for whom nothing is sacred (he “does not know the sacred,” “does not remember charity”), a person accustomed to achieving his goal at any cost.
The seducer of his young goddaughter Maria, he puts her father Kochubey to public execution and - already sentenced to death - subjects her to cruel torture in order to find out where he hid his treasures. Without equivocation, Pushkin denounces and political activity Mazepa, which is determined only by the lust for power and thirst for revenge on Peter.
5. Foma Opiskin (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Village of Stepanchikovo and Its Inhabitants”)
Foma Opiskin is an extremely negative character. A hanger-on, a hypocrite, a liar. He diligently pretends to be pious and educated, tells everyone about his supposedly ascetic experience and sparkles with quotes from books...
When he gains power, he shows his true nature. “A low soul, having come out from under oppression, oppresses itself. Thomas was oppressed - and he immediately felt the need to oppress himself; They broke down over him - and he himself began to break down over others. He was a jester and immediately felt the need to have his own jesters. He boasted to the point of absurdity, broke down to the point of impossibility, demanded bird's milk, tyrannized beyond measure, and it got to the point where good people, not having yet witnessed all these tricks, but listening only to tales, they considered it all a miracle, an obsession, crossed themselves and spat on it...”
4. Viktor Komarovsky (Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago)
Lawyer Komarovsky is a negative character in Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago. In the destinies of the main characters - Zhivago and Lara, Komarovsky is " evil genius" And " eminence grise" He is guilty of the ruin of the Zhivago family and the death of the protagonist's father; he cohabits with Lara's mother and Lara herself. Finally, Komarovsky tricks Zhivago into separating him from his wife. Komarovsky is smart, calculating, greedy, cynical. Overall, bad person. He understands this himself, but this suits him quite well.
3. Judushka Golovlev (Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, “The Golovlev Lords”)
Porfiry Vladimirovich Golovlev, nicknamed Judas and Blood Drinker, - “ last representative of the escapist kind." He is hypocritical, greedy, cowardly, calculating. He spends his life in endless slander and litigation, drives his son to suicide, and at the same time imitates extreme religiosity, reading prayers “without the participation of the heart.”
At the end of my life dark life Golovlev gets drunk and runs wild, goes into the March snowstorm. In the morning, his frozen corpse is found.
2. Andriy (Nikolai Gogol, “Taras Bulba”)
Andriy - younger son Taras Bulba, the hero of the story of the same name by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. Andriy, as Gogol writes, from early youth began to feel the “need for love.” This need fails him. He falls in love with the lady, betrays his homeland, his friends, and his father. Andriy admits: “Who said that my homeland is Ukraine? Who gave it to me in my homeland? The Fatherland is what our soul is looking for, what is dearer to it than anything else. My fatherland is you!... and I will sell, give away, and destroy everything that I have for such a fatherland!”
Andriy is a traitor. He is killed by his own father.
1. Fyodor Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Brothers Karamazov”)
He is voluptuous, greedy, envious, stupid. By maturity, he became flabby, began to drink a lot, opened several taverns, made many fellow countrymen his debtors... He began to compete with his eldest son Dmitry for the heart of Grushenka Svetlova, which paved the way for the crime - Karamazov was killed by his illegitimate son Pyotr Smerdyakov.
