The storytelling style of Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov’s “Lefty” presupposes the presence of a storyteller, a storyteller who not only narrates the events described in the work, but is himself a participant in these events. Therefore, the language and style of the tale reproduce living oral speech. The tale “Lefty” is full of diverse and very colorful words that reflect not only inner world heroes, but also them social status and education.
“...This popular, vulgar and pretentious language, in which many pages of my works are written, was not composed by me, but was overheard from a peasant, from an intellectual, from eloquent speakers, from holy fools and saints,” wrote N.S. Leskov.
Leskov himself said that the idea for the tale “Lefty” arose from a saying that says that the British made a steel flea, and the Russians shod this flea. And in the tale itself we meet folk sayings: “At least he has a sheep’s fur coat, but a human soul.”
The writer builds his work by stylizing some episodes, for example, as a fairy tale. Thus, the dialogue between the Tsar and Platov resembles a fairy tale opening:
“The Emperor says: “What do you, courageous old man, want from me?” And Platov replies: “I, Your Majesty, don’t need anything for myself...”
The speech of simple artisans in Leskov is typical of the common people. The left-handed man, in response to the sovereign’s proposal to use a microscope while the craftsmen are working, replies that they can do the work without a “small scope”, since they already have a “shot eye.”
But the reader will see Leskov’s so-called “word creation” where the character encounters a foreign concept that is incomprehensible to an illiterate person. This is how distorted words appear: “Abolon polvedersky”, instead of busta - “busters”, “ukushka” instead of couch, “whistle”, while messengers should be used, or instead of table - “dolbitsa”. Leskov's characters interpret some foreign words in a rather unique way, clarifying their meaning in their own way. Probably clearer to the common man the expression is “wind cap”, and not some strange “hood” or “waterproof cables” - “galoshes”.
Emperor Alexander I looks rather peculiar in the tale “Lefty.” Leskov says that Alexander Pavlovich decided not to go to Europe, but to “take a ride.” This word is close in structure and meaning to a word like “to take a ride,” that is, to take a superficial walk. Thus, the author belittles the image of the king, who makes a rather frivolous journey. But the use of the verb “gasp” in the emperor’s speeches shows how lost and helpless he looks in the eyes of readers.
The impression of authenticity of what is happening in the tale “Lefty” is created largely thanks to the living, believable language of Leskov’s characters. At one time, the writer opposed the introduction of alien and dissonant foreign words into the Russian language. Therefore we are in this work We see a parody of the use in the Russian language of words that do not take root in it, coming from the West.
“We must protect our rich and beautiful language from damage,”
Wrote N.S. Leskov in 1878. This call from a nineteenth-century writer is more relevant than ever now, when our language is under powerful attacks that are destroying its integrity and originality!
By I'll tell you a story
One of the most striking images in the gallery of Leskov’s “righteous people” was Lefty (“The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the steel flea", 1881). Subsequently, critics noted here, on the one hand, the virtuosity of the embodiment of Leskov’s “tale”, full of wordplay and original neologisms (often with a mocking, satirical overtone), on the other hand, the multi-layered nature of the narrative, the presence of two points of view: open (belonging to the simple-minded character) and hidden , author's, often the opposite. About this “treachery” own style N. S. Leskov himself wrote:
Several other people supported that in my stories it is really difficult to distinguish between good and evil, and that sometimes it’s even impossible to tell who is harming the cause and who is helping it. This was attributed to some innate cunning of my nature.
As biographer B. Ya. Bukhshtab noted, such “cunning” was manifested primarily in the description of the actions of Ataman Platov, from the point of view of the hero - almost heroic, but hiddenly ridiculed by the author. "Southpaw" was subjected to devastating criticism from both sides. Liberals and “leftists” accused Leskov of nationalism, while “rightists” considered the depiction of the life of the Russian people to be overly gloomy. N. S. Leskov replied that “to belittle the Russian people or to flatter them” was in no way his intention.
When published in Rus, as well as in a separate edition, the story was accompanied by a preface:
I cannot say where exactly the first breeding of the fable about the steel flea was born, that is, whether it started in Tula, Izhma or Sestroretsk, but, obviously, it came from one of these places. In any case, the tale of the steel flea is a specifically gunsmith legend, and it expresses the pride of Russian gunsmiths. It depicts the struggle of our masters with the English masters, from which ours emerged victorious and the English were completely shamed and humiliated. Here, some secret reason for military failures in Crimea is revealed. I wrote down this legend in Sestroretsk according to a local tale from an old gunsmith, a Tula native, who moved to the Sister River during the reign of Emperor Alexander the First.
Dictionary
« Lefty »
A ___________________
Agitation is a combination of nouns: agitation (excitement, excitement - from the French agitation) and expectation. Kunstkamera - a collection of rarities, a museum.
Abolon Polvedere - instead of: Apollo Belvedere (the famous ancient statue kept in Rome, in the Vatican).
Alexey Fedotov-Chekhovsky is a priest of the Taganrog Cathedral Church, to whom Alexander I confessed before his death.
“Ay lyuli - se tre zhuli.” - Cest très joli (French) - this is very cute.
B__________________ _ Busters - a combination of words: busts and chandeliers.
Canopy - instead of: canopy.
Storm meter is a combination of words: barometer and storm.
I would make him noble. - “Noble” - here it means: nobleman.
Recklessness is a combination of words: prejudice and recklessness.
Bobrinsky plant. - The refinery plant of Count A. A. Bobrinsky existed in the town of Smela, Kyiv province. from the 30s of the 19th century.
Bufta - instead of: bay.
IN___________________
In Candelabria... - obviously, instead of “in Calabria” (Calabria is a peninsula in Italy). Connected with the word: candelabra (candle stand).
Veroiyatsia - instead of: variation (a form of classical or characteristic dance, built on jumping or finger movements, lasting one or two minutes).
Babylons - winding patterns, frills.
Look through the strongest microscope. - Tula craftsmen are still famous for the fineness of their work. Thus, the Soviet gunsmith M.I. Pochukaev “placed his signature on one stem of the ornament, only 0.1 mm wide; it is visible only with a strong magnifying glass."
G___________________
Hunchbacked - instead of: hunchbacked.
Grandevu - instead of: rendezvous (French rendez-vous - love date).
Count Kisselrode - Count Nesselrode Karl Vasilyevich (1780-1862), in 1822-1856 - Minister of Foreign Affairs.
D______
Twelve languages - twelve nations. This expression often referred to Napoleon's army.
Before Riga's Dynaminde... - Dunamünde, since 1893 Ust-Dvinsk, now Daugavgriva - a port at the mouth of the Western Dvina.
... “two ninety versts”... - that is, 180 versts. Kizlyarka is a low-quality grape vodka produced in the city of Kizlyar in the Caucasus.
Multiplication dolbit. - Dolbitsa - a combination of words: table and chisel.
Double - connecting words: double and sit down
Dance dance. - Danser (French) - dance; here in the meaning of some dance form.
HER_________________ __ Erfix (French: air fixe - solid look) is a sobering agent added to water.
AND__________________
Zhukov tobacco. - In the 20-50s, pipe tobacco from the St. Petersburg factory of Vasily Zhukov was very popular.
Z___________________
Zusha is the river on which the city of Mtsensk stands; tributary of the Oka.
I/Y_________________
And god-making icons and grave-like heads and relics... - instead of: and miraculous icons I am myrrh-streaming (supposedly exuding fragrant myrrh) heads and relics.
Empress Elisaveta Alekseevna (1779-1826) - wife of Alexander I.
TO
Ceramide - instead of: pyramid
“Stone-cut” - carved from stone.
Root tube - carved from the root of a tree.
Chicken with lynx... - instead of: chicken with rice Tugament - instead of: document.
Kazamat - casemate (solitary cell in a fortress).
Slander is a combination of words: feuilleton and slander.
M_________________
Melkoscope - a combination of words: microscope and finely Merbluzy - instead of: camel.
Manton is the same as manto.
Mortimer's gun. - G. W. Mortimer - English gunsmith late XVIII century.
Murin is a black man.
N_________________
Nymphosoria is a combination of the words: ciliates and nymph.
Waterproof cable - instead of: waterproof raincoat (a combination of the Russian word “waterproof” with the ending of the French adjective).
On Holy Athos... - Athos is a peninsula in Greece, on which there were many monasteries and hermitages, including Russian ones.
But he has some kind of boots on his hands. Just like a sapazhu monkey - a corduroy talma. - Boots - socks. Sapazhu is a genus of monkeys with short, thick fur. Talma is a long sleeveless cape. Plis is a cotton fabric similar to velvet.
On a cold paratha... - Paratha is probably instead of a front porch.
“Noshchiyu” - at night.
ABOUT___________________
Ozyamchik - azyam, long-brimmed peasant outerwear.
From the Anichkin Bridge from the nasty pharmacy... - that is, from the pharmacy opposite the Anichkov Bridge (at the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and the Fontanka embankment).
Obukhvinskaya hospital - instead of: Obukhvinskaya.
P___________________
At his rise... - that is, at the beginning of his reign.
He will sit under the present... - The present (gift) is here instead of: a tarpaulin.
Half-skipper - instead of: sub-skipper - assistant skipper.
Bet - instead of: bet.
Undermedic - medical assistant, paramedic.
Public - a combination of words: public and police.
Pubel - obviously, instead of: poodle.
The sweaty spiral has become... - “Spiral” here is like a noun from the verb “spiral” (sweaty spiral - air stale with sweat) Folding - a folding icon painted on two or three doors.
Pistola is a pistol.
WITH___________________
Bend - bend.
Sugar molvo. - In the 10-20s years XIX century in St. Petersburg there was a sugar factory “of commerce for adviser and gentleman” Y. N. Molvo.
Saint of Myra-Lycia... - Nicholas the “miracle worker” (IV century) was an archbishop in the city of Myra in the country of Lycia (in Asia Minor).
Whistling - a combination of words: messenger and whistle.
His beloved daughter Alexandra Nikolaevna... - Alexandra Nikolaevna (1825-1844) - the youngest daughter of Nicholas I.
Studing is a combination of words: pudding and jelly.
Symphon - instead of: siphon (a bottle with a tap for sparkling or mineral water).
With a boilie - with a fight, with beatings.
T___________________
Back then Sestroretsk was called Sesterbek. - In geographical books of the 18th and early 19th centuries, Sestroretsk, as well as the Sestra River on which it stands, are named: Sesterbek; Sisterbek, Sestrabek, Sisterbek.
Bite - instead of: couch.
Solid Earth Sea - instead of: Mediterranean.
F ___________________
Postilion - a horse coachman on the front horse when harnessed in a train.
H_________________
A clock with a chime. - Trepetir - a combination of words: repeater (a mechanism in a pocket watch that chimes time when a special spring is pressed) and tremble.
SCH__________________
Shchiglets - instead of: boots.
« I cannot say where exactly the first breeding of the fable about the steel flea was born, that is, whether it started in Tula, Izhma or Sestroretsk, but, obviously, it came from one of these places. In any case, the tale of the steel flea is a specifically gunsmith legend, and it expresses the pride of Russian gunsmiths. It depicts the struggle of our masters with the English masters, from which ours emerged victorious and the English were completely shamed and humiliated. Here, some secret reason for military failures in Crimea is revealed. I wrote down this legend in Sestroretsk according to a local tale from an old gunsmith, a Tula native, who moved to the Sister River during the reign of Emperor Alexander the First.” Leskov, Nikolai Semenovich
6th grade students
Compilation of this dictionary is a project of 6th grade students based on the work "Lefty". In it you will find required material about the tale “Lefty”, and also collected words that are puns. Leskov's language in this work is its wealth.
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“Lefty” (full title “The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea”) - storyNikolai Leskov , written and published in1881 . The author included the story in his collection of works “The Righteous”.
First published in the magazine "Rus". Separate edition printed 1882.
The story “Lefty” is an example of a Russian tale, the traditions of which were laid backGogol . Tale - epic genre based on folk legends and legends. The narration is told on behalf of the narrator, a person with a special character and style of speech.
The narration looks like oral history, in which the author, unfamiliar with in foreign words, distorts them in the most unexpected way. Plunging into folk life, the writer wanted to portray her as she really is and with her language. Therefore, his heroes express their thoughts with those irregularities, speech distortions, and purely folk turns of speech that are characteristic of to the common people. Leskov eavesdropped on the speech of different segments of the Russian population and turned to folklore. The famous Leskov tale was compiled from different layers of language. And this one special language story, which is peppered with puns and words that arose in the writer’s imagination, a kind of folketymology and there is the real richness of the work.
The main character of the story is a left-handed craftsman. He is unusually talented, gifted with unusual abilities. And at the same time, he does not know the basics of science, he acts by intuition.
Leskov mourns the fact that the people, although infinitely talented, are uneducated and unenlightened. The writer dreams that the talent of the people will be combined with broad scientific knowledge. And he also thinks that the people are endlessly humiliated, that they do not listen to him and do not delve into his feelings and thoughts. Talent and lack of education ordinary people- this is the main problem of Russia.
“Dictionary of allegorical words based on N.S. Leskov’s tale “Lefty”
Abolon Polvedere - Apollo Belvedere
Anticipation - endurance
Aglitsky - English
Storm gauge - barometer
Bufta - bay
With a boilie - with beatings
Beliefs - variations
Grandevu – rendezvous (meeting, date)
Sepulchral icons - myrrh-streaming, exuding fragrant liquid
Twelve languages – twelve languages
Double carriage – double
Multiplication dolbit - multiplication table
Slander - from the words feuilleton and slander
Root tube - a tube made from the root of a tree
Ceramides - pyramids
Melkoscope - microscope
Boots - socks
Nymphosoria - from nymph and ciliate; something strange, microscopic
Ozyamchik - peasant clothing like a coat
Pistolya – pistol, weapon
Prelamut - mother of pearl
Nasty - on the opposite side of the street
Pubel - poodle
Chicken with lynx – with rice
Studing - pudding
Symphon – siphon for water
Tugament - document
Solid Earth Sea - Mediterranean
With a repeater - with a repeater (fight)
Couch – couch
Realizing the place and significance of N.S. Leskov in the literary process, we always note that he is an amazingly original writer. The external dissimilarity of his predecessors and contemporaries sometimes made him see in him a completely new phenomenon, which had no parallel in Russian literature. Leskov is brightly original, and at the same time you can learn a lot from him.He is an amazing experimenter who gave birth to a whole wave of artistic searches in Russian literature; He is a cheerful, mischievous experimenter, and at the same time extremely serious and deep, setting himself great educational goals.
Leskov’s creativity, one might say, knows no social boundaries. He brings out in his works people of various classes and circles: and landowners - from the rich to the semi-poor, and officials of all stripes - from the minister to the quarterly, and the clergy - monastic and parish - from the metropolitan to the sexton, and military men of various ranks and types of weapons, and peasants, and people from the peasantry - soldiers, artisans and every working person. Leskov willingly shows different representatives of the nationalities of Russia at that time: Ukrainians, Yakuts, Jews, Gypsies, Poles... Leskov’s versatility of knowledge of the life of each class, estate, and nationality is amazing. Leskov's exceptional life experience, his vigilance, memory, and his linguistic flair were needed to describe the life of the people so closely, with such knowledge of everyday life, economic structure, family relationships, folk art, and the folk language.
With all the breadth of coverage of Russian life, there is a sphere in Leskov’s work to which his most significant and famous works belong: this is the sphere of life of the people.
Who are the heroes of Leskov’s most beloved works by our readers?
Heroes" Sealed angel" - mason workers, "Left-handed" - blacksmith, Tula gunsmith, " Toupee artist"- serf hairdresser and theatrical make-up artist
To place a hero from the people at the center of the narrative, it is necessary First of all, master his language, be able to reproduce the speech of different segments of the people, different professions, destinies, ages. The task of recreating the living language of the people in a literary work required special art, when Leskov used the form of skaz.
The tale in Russian literature comes from Gogol, but was especially skillfully developed by Leskov and glorified him as an artist. The essence of this manner is that the narration is not conducted on behalf of a neutral, objective author; the narrative is narrated by a narrator, usually a participant in the events being reported. The speech of a work of art imitates the living speech of an oral story. Moreover, in a fairy tale, the narrator is usually a person from a different social circle and cultural layer to which the writer and the intended reader of the work belong. Leskov’s story is told by either a merchant, or a monk, or an artisan, or a retired mayor, or a former soldier. . Each narrator speaks in a way that is characteristic of his education and upbringing, his age and profession, his concept of himself, his desire and ability to impress his listeners.
This manner gives Leskov’s story a special liveliness. The language of his works, unusually rich and varied, deepens the social and individual characteristics of his heroes, and becomes for the writer a means of subtle assessment of people and events. Gorky wrote about Leskov's tale:"...The people of his stories often talk about themselves, but their speech is so amazingly alive, so truthful and convincing that they stand before you as mysteriously tangible, physically clear, as people from the books of L. Tolstoy and others, otherwise to say, Leskov achieves the same result, but with a different technique of mastery."
To illustrate Leskov’s storytelling style, let’s take some tirade from "Lefty" This is how the narrator describes, based on Lefty's impressions, the living and working conditions of English workers : “Every worker they have is constantly well-fed, is not dressed in rags, but each one is wearing a capable tunic vest, shod in thick boots with iron knobs, so as not to get his feet on anything; he works not with a boilie, but with training and has for himself concepts. In front of everyone, in plain sight, hangs a multiplication dot, and under his hand is an erasable board: all the master does is look at the dot and compare it with the concept, and then he writes one thing on the board, erases another, and neatly puts together what is written on the numbers. , that’s what actually happens.”
The narrator did not see any English workers. He dresses them according to his imagination, combining a jacket with a vest. He knows that they work there “according to science”; in this regard, he himself has only heard about the “multiplication dot”, which means that a master who works not “by eye”, but with the help of “digits”, must check his products with it. The narrator, of course, does not have enough familiar words; he distorts or uses unfamiliar words incorrectly. “Shiblets” become “schiglets” - probably by association with panache. The multiplication table turns into a “chicken” - obviously because the students “chuck” it. Wanting to designate some kind of extension on the boots, the narrator calls it a knob, transferring to it the name of the extension on a stick.
Popular storytellers often reinterpret strange-sounding foreign words into Russian., which, with such alteration, receive new or additional meanings; Leskov especially willingly imitates this so-called “folk etymology” ". Thus, in “Lefty” the barometer turns into a “storm meter”, the “microscope” into a “small scope”, the “pudding” into a “studying” " etc. Leskov, who passionately loved puns, wordplay, witticisms, and jokes, filled “Levsha” with linguistic oddities. But their set does not give the impression of excess, because the immense brightness of the verbal patterns is in the spirit of folk buffoonery. And sometimes word game not only amuses, but behind it there is a satirical denunciation.
The narrator in a tale usually addresses some interlocutor or group of interlocutors, the narrative begins and progresses in response to their questions and comments. At the core "Toupee artist" - the story of an old nanny to her pupil, a nine-year-old boy. This nanny is a former actress of the Oryol serf theater of Count Kamensky. This is the same theater that is described in Herzen’s story “The Thieving Magpie” under the name of the theater of Prince Skalinsky. But the heroine of Herzen’s story is not only a highly talented, but, due to exceptional life circumstances, also an educated actress. Leskov’s Lyuba is an uneducated serf girl, with natural talent capable of singing, dancing, and performing roles in plays “by sight” (that is, by hearsay, following other actresses). She is not able to tell and reveal everything that the author wants to tell the reader, and not everything can be known (for example, the master’s conversations with his brother). Therefore, not the entire story is told from the perspective of the nanny; part of the events are presented by the author with the inclusion of excerpts and small quotes from the story. nanny's story.
In the very popular work Leskova - "Lefty" we encounter a tale of a different kind. There is no author, no listeners, no narrator. More precisely, the author’s voice is heard for the first time after the completion of the tale: in the final chapter, the writer characterizes the story told as a “fabulous legend,” an “epic” of the masters, “a myth personified by folk fantasy.”
(*10) The narrator in “Lefty” exists only as a voice that does not belong to a specific, named person. This is, as it were, the voice of the people - the creator of the “gunsmith legend”.
"Lefty"- not an everyday tale, where the narrator narrates events he has experienced or personally known to him; here he retells a legend created by the people, as folk storytellers perform epics or historical songs. As in folk epic, in "Lefty" a number of historical figures act: two kings - Alexander I and Nicholas I, ministers Chernyshev, Nesselrode (Kiselvrode), Kleinmichel, ataman of the Don Cossack army Platov, commandant of the Peter and Paul Fortress Skobelev and others.
Contemporaries did not appreciate either “Lefty” or Leskov’s talent in general.They believed that Leskov was excessive in everything: he applied bright colors too thickly, put his characters in too unusual positions, forced them to speak in an exaggeratedly characteristic language, and strung too many episodes onto one thread. and so on.
Most associated with the creativity of the people "Lefty". At the very basis of its plot lies a comic saying in which the people expressed admiration for the art of Tula masters: "The Tula people shoed a flea". Used by Leskov and popularly used legends about the skill of Tula gunsmiths. Back at the beginning of the 19th century, an anecdote was published about how an important Russian gentleman showed an expensive English pistol to a craftsman at the Tula Arms Factory, and he, taking the pistol, “unscrewed the trigger and showed his name under the screw.” In “Lefty,” Platov arranges the same demonstration to prove to Tsar Alexander that “we have our own at home just as well.” In the English “armoury cabinet of curiosities”, (*12) taking the especially praised “pistol” in his hands, Platov unscrews the lock and shows the tsar the inscription: “Ivan Moskvin in the city of Tula.”
As we see, love for the people, the desire to discover and show the best sides of the Russian folk character they did not make Leskov a panegyrist, did not prevent him from seeing the features of slavery and ignorance that his history imposed on the people. Leskov does not hide these traits in the hero of his myth about the brilliant master. The legendary Lefty and his two comrades managed to forge and attach horseshoes with nails to the legs of a steel flea made in England. On each horseshoe “the artist’s name is displayed: which Russian master made that horseshoe.” These inscriptions can only be seen through a “microscope that magnifies five million times.” But the artisans did not have any microscopes, but only “shot eyes.”
This is, of course, a fabulous exaggeration, but it has a real basis. Tula craftsmen have always been especially famous and are still famous for their miniature products, which can only be seen with the help of a strong magnifying glass.
Admiring the genius of Lefty, Leskov, however, is far from idealizing the people as they were, according to historical conditions, at that time. Lefty is ignorant, and this cannot but affect his creativity. The art of the English craftsmen was manifested not so much in the fact that they cast the flea from steel, but in the fact that the flea danced, wound up with a special key. Savvy, she stopped dancing. And the English masters, cordially welcoming Lefty, sent to England with a savvy flea , indicate that he is hampered by a lack of knowledge: "...Then you could have realized that in every machine there is a calculation of force, otherwise you are very skilled in your hands, but you did not realize that such a small machine, like in the nymphosoria, is designed for the most accurate accuracy and does not have shoeings cannot. Now the nymphosoria does not jump and dance through this.” Leskov attached great importance to this point. In an article devoted to the tale of Lefty, Leskov contrasts Lefty’s genius with his ignorance, and his (ardent patriotism) with the lack of concern for the people and homeland in the ruling clique. Leskov writes: “The reviewer of “New Time” notes that in Lefty I had the idea to bring out not one person, and that where it says “Lefty”, you should read “Russian people”.
Lefty loves his Russia with a simple-hearted and ingenuous love. He cannot be tempted by an easy life in a foreign land. He is eager to go home because he is faced with a task that Russia needs to complete; thus she became the goal of his life. In England, Lefty learned that the muzzles of guns should be lubricated, and not cleaned with crushed bricks, as was customary in the Russian army then, - which is why “bullets dangle in them” and guns, “God bless war, (...) are not suitable for shooting ". With this he hurries to his homeland. He arrives sick, the authorities did not bother to provide him with a document, the police completely robbed him, after which they began to take him to hospitals, but they did not admit him anywhere without a “tugament”, they threw the patient onto the floor, and finally, “the back of his head split on the paratha” . Dying, Lefty thought only about how to bring his discovery to the king, and still managed to inform the doctor about it. He reported to the Minister of War, but in response he received only a rude shout: “Know (...) your emetic and laxative, and don’t interfere with your own business: in Russia there are generals for that.”
In the story" Stupid artist" the writer depicts a rich count with an “insignificant face” that exposes an insignificant soul. This is an evil tyrant and tormentor: people he dislikes are torn to pieces by hunting dogs, executioners torment them with incredible tortures. Thus, Leskov contrasts truly courageous people from the people with “gentlemen”, maddened by immense power over people and imagining themselves courageous, because they are always ready to torment and to destroy people at their own whim or caprice - of course, with the hands of others. There were enough such “foreign hands” at the service of the masters: both serfs and civilians, servants and people appointed by the authorities for all kinds of assistance “ strong of the world this." The image of one of the master's servants is vividly depicted in "The Stupid Artist." This is pop. Arkady, undaunted by the torture that threatens him, perhaps fatal, tries to save his beloved girl from the abuse (*19) of her by a depraved master. The priest promises to marry them and hide them at his place for the night, after which both hope to get into the “Turkish Khrushchuk”. But the priest, having previously robbed Arkady, betrays the fugitives to the count's people sent to search for the escaped ones, for which he receives a well-deserved spit in the face.
"Lefty"
ORIGINALITY OF NARRATION. LANGUAGE FEATURES. While discussing the genre uniqueness of the story, we said nothing about such a definition of the genre as “skaz”. And this is no coincidence. The tale as a genre of oral prose implies a focus on oral speech, narration on behalf of a participant in the event. In this sense, “Lefty” is not a traditional tale. At the same time, skaz can also be called such a way of storytelling, which involves “separation” of the narrative from the participant in the events himself. In “Lefty” exactly this process occurs, especially since the word “fable” is used in the story, suggesting the fairy-tale nature of the narrative. The narrator, being neither a witness nor a participant in the events, actively different forms expresses his attitude to what is happening. At the same time, in the tale itself one can detect the originality of the position of both the narrator and the author.
Throughout the story the style of narration changes. If at the beginning of the first chapter the narrator outwardly unsophisticatedly sets out the circumstances of the emperor’s arrival in England, then successively talks about the events taking place, using colloquialisms, outdated and distorted forms of words, different types of neologisms etc., then already in the sixth chapter (in the story about the Tula masters) the narrative becomes different. It does not completely lose its colloquial character, however becomes more neutral, distorted forms of words and neologisms are practically not used . By changing the narrative style, the author wants to show the seriousness of the situation described.. It doesn't happen by chance even high vocabulary, when the narrator characterizes “the skilled people on whom the hope of the nation now rested.” The same kind of narrative can be found in the last, 20th chapter, which obviously, to summarize, contains the author's point of view, so its style differs from the style of most of the chapters.
The narrator’s calm and apparently dispassionate speech often includes expressively colored words(for example, Alexander Pavlovich decided to “travel around Europe”), which becomes one of the forms of expression author's position, deeply hidden in the text.
The narrative itself skillfully emphasizes intonation features of characters' speech(cf., for example, the statements of Alexander I and Platov).
According to I.V. Stolyarova, Leskov “directs readers’ interest to the events themselves”, which is facilitated by the special logical structure of the text: most of the chapters have an ending, and some have a kind of beginning, which makes it possible to clearly separate one event from another. This principle creates the effect of a fantastic manner. It can also be noted that in a number of chapters, it is at the end that the narrator expresses the author’s position: “And the courtiers who are standing on the steps all turn away from him, thinking: “Platov got caught and now they’ll drive him out of the palace,” that’s why they couldn’t stand him for bravery” (end of chapter 12).
It is impossible not to note the use of various techniques that characterize the features not only oral speech, but also folk poetry in general: tautologies(“they shod on horseshoes”, etc.), peculiar forms of verbs with prefix(“I admired”, “send”, “clap”, etc.), words with diminutive suffixes(“palm”, “little belly”, etc.). It is interesting to pay attention to the entered text of the saying(“morning is wiser than night”, “snow on your head”). Sometimes Leskov can modify them.
ABOUT the mixing of different manners of narration is evidenced by the nature of neologisms. They can go into more detail describe an object and its function(two-seater carriage), scene(busters - combining the words busts and chandeliers, the writer gives a more complete description of the room in one word), action(whistles - whistle and messengers accompanying Platov), designate foreign curiosities(marble coats - camel coats, etc.), the state of the characters (waiting - waiting and agitation, an annoying couch on which long years lay Platov, characterizing not only the hero’s inaction, but also his wounded pride). The appearance of neologisms in Leskov is in many cases due to literary play.
“Thus, Leskov’s tale as a type of narration was not only transformed and enriched, but also served to create a new genre variety: the tale. A fairy tale is distinguished by its great depth of coverage of reality, approaching in this sense the novel form. It was Leskov’s fairy tale that contributed to the emergence of a new type of truth-seeker, who can be put on a par with the heroes of Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky” (Mushchenko E.G., Skobelev V.P., Kroychik L.E. S. 115). The artistic originality of “Lefty” is determined by the task of searching for special forms of expressing the author’s position to assert the strength of national character.
N.S. Leskov in “Lefty” very often uses colloquial and dialect words in the narrator’s speech, which characterizes the narrator as a person belonging to a certain culture and social class. When translating these words, which have a pronounced oral character, many translators experience certain difficulties. Let's look at a number of examples:
"shooting the eye" ("Lefty" ch. 14). - “our eyes are trained” (J. H). “a trained eyes” A. Yarmolensky, B. Deutsch (A. Ya)
“send for us” (“Lefty” ch. 5). - “send for us” (A. Ya).
“embarrassed” (“Lefty” ch. 2) - “embarrass” (A. Ya). “upset” (J.H.).
“and he walks with his eyes downcast” (“Lefty” ch. 2). -
“But Platov strode along with his eyes fixed on the floor” (J. H).
“But Platov walked on with his eyes lowered” (A. Ya).
As we see from the examples, translators fail to translate Russian vernacular speech correctly. In translation, the narrator’s speech is close to literary, and therefore there is no motivation in the tale, and thus the image of a hero from the people in the original disappears when translated into English.
In "Lefty" the narrator doesn't speak. literary language, but has a special socially defined manner of speaking; in his speech you can sometimes find dialect words:
“otherwise you are very skilled in your hands…” (“Lefty” ch. 15). -
“and although you are very clever with your hands...” (J.H.).
"leg" (the name of stockings, usually women's) Voronezh region) ("Lefty" ch. 15). - “velvet talmas” (J.H.).
Thus, in translations, dialecticisms are often replaced by literary expressions, and sometimes completely omitted, which leads to the loss of connotative meaning, i.e. to leveling out cultural flavor.
Proverbs are “stable sayings, grammatically and rhythmically organized, which capture the practical experience of the people and their assessment and which appear in speech as independent judgments” [Lekant 2002: 62] are also found in the tales of N.S. Leskova, and “Lefty” is no exception. Already in the first chapter we encounter the proverb: “the morning is wiser than the evening” (“Lefty” ch. 1) - “I must sleep on it, he thought” (J. H).
When translating J.H. Hannah uses conventional literary words, which disrupts the perception of what was said when reading by a foreign reader. Therefore, we believe that in this case it would be more appropriate to use an analogue of this proverb in English language“An hour in the morning is worth two in the evening.”
Since a tale is associated with a socially marked narrator, it may have speech standards and colloquial phraseological units, which the authors may experience certain difficulties in translating. Let's look at examples from the tale "Lefty":
“snow falling on our heads” (“Lefty” ch. 14) - “snow falling on our heads” (J. H).
As we can see from the example, the translator uses tracing to convey this phraseological unit. But in English there is a more suitable correspondence to this phraseological unit “as a bolt from the blue”, which we believe the best option in this case.
“We made a mistake” (“Lefty” ch. 2) - “Oho, we’ve been had” (J. H).
Literally, this phrase can be translated as “well, we got there.” Of course, such a translation is inaccurate and does not reveal the full flavor of the original phraseological unit, but only shows its colloquial nature.
One of specific features The fantastic manner of narration in “Lefty” is the use of a large number of occasional words. This can be explained not only by the style of the work itself, but also by the peculiarity individual style N.S. Leskova.
Many scientists distinguish two types of occasionalisms: potential and individual-authorial. Potential occasionalisms are created on the basis of highly productive word-formation models, and individual-author occasionalisms are created based on unproductive or unusual models and are distinguished by their originality and striking novelty [Vinogradov 2004: 125]. Leskov is characterized by individual authorial occasionalisms, and especially by formations built in the spirit of “folk etymology.”
Basically, when translating occasional words, translators use tracing, replace them with standard literary words, and also use description, which often leads to the loss of the originality of the original:
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