French realism of the 19th century in the works of Honore Balzac. Realism in French literature Why are Balzac's works related to each other?
(based on the analysis of the story “Gobsek”)
1. The main features of French realism of the Balzac period.
2. Balzac’s basic requirements for art, set out in the “Preface” to the “Human Comedy”.
3. Balzac’s “Human Comedy” and the place of the story “Gobsek” in it.
4. Features of the story’s composition that give it a general meaning.
5. Balzac’s methods of creating character and the ideological content of Gobsek’s image: a) portrait; b) environment, principles of description; c) evolution of the image; d) Gobsek’s philosophy, self-disclosure of the character; e) romantic and realistic in the image; f) typical features of the bourgeoisie, reflected in the image of Gobsek.
6. Principles of depicting the aristocracy, their connection with the main character.
In what years and under the influence of what factors was classical realism formed in foreign literature? in Russia? What are the objects of denunciation of Russian and foreign critical realism? What is the specificity of the study of society by realists and romantics, 19th-century realists and enlightenment realists?
List the features of realism highlighted by Balzac in the “Preface to the Human Comedy.”
Starting to consider Balzac’s “Preface to the Human Comedy,” which is regarded as a manifesto of realism, let us remember what the Human Comedy is. Which of the scientists, Balzac's contemporaries, with their theories suggested to him the idea of the "Human Comedy"? What does Balzac see as the similarities and differences between society and nature? What influence did W. Scott have on the concept of The Human Comedy? How did Balzac speak about V. Scott?
Write a quote that we're talking about about the need to create typical characters in typical circumstances. Engels noted objectivity as one of the features of realism. What does Balzac say about this? Does the creator of “The Human Comedy” think that it is enough for a writer to be “the secretary of French society,” “an archaeologist of social life,” “an accountant of professions”?
How can objectivity and bias be reconciled with criticism and the didacticism of realism?
On the one hand, striving for objectivity, and on the other, educating, what “three forms of being” does Balzac decide to embrace in his creation? How do we formulate this principle of realism? Which Russian writer, equal to Balzac in strength and power of talent, widely used this technique and in what work?
Let's consider the embodiment of some of the principles of Balzac's realism in his story "Gobsek". We set ourselves the following tasks:
a/ analyze the features of the story’s composition and the construction of a system of images;
b/ reveal Gobsek’s character through a portrait and things.
What place does the story “Gobsek” occupy in “The Human Comedy”? How are the individual volumes of the series held together? One of the leading themes here is the theme of stinginess. Name the images of misers in the works of Balzac and in world literature.
Draw the character system of the story on the board, demonstrating its relationship with the composition. What is the class composition of the characters in the story? For what purpose did the author use the regional composition? Prove that all classes depend on the material basis of society - money, gold.
Has a special love for gold main character story - moneylender Gobsek. This passion of his is emphasized even at the first acquaintance with the hero. Let's see how the character traits of the hero are revealed through the portrait.
What place does the technique of characterization through things occupy in Balzac's realistic system? Read the descriptions of Gobsek's house and apartment. What character traits are revealed through these descriptions? Which of the characters in the story is characterized based on similar techniques?
Literature
1. History foreign literature XIX century: Textbook. for universities / Ed. ON THE. Solovyova. – M., 2000. P.450-463.
2. History of foreign literature: Western European and American realism (1830-1860s): Textbook. manual for higher students ped. textbook institutions / G.N. Khrapovitskaya, Yu.P. Solodub. – M., 2005. P.421-449.
3. Balzac O. de “Preface to the Human Comedy” // Foreign literature of the 19th century: Realism: Reader of historical and literary materials / Comp. ON THE. Solovyova and others - M., 1990; or Balzac O. de Sobr. op. in 28 volumes - M., 1992. - T.1.
4. Kuchborskaya E.P. The work of Balzac. - M., 1970.
5. Oblomievsky D.D. Balzac. - M., 1961.
6. Practical classes on foreign literature / Under. ed. N.P. Michalskaya and B.I. Purisheva. - M., 1981.
7. Reizov B.G. Balzac. - L., 1960.
8. Chicherin A.V. works by O. Balzac “Gobsek” and “Lost Illusions”: Textbook. allowance. - M., 1982.
Charles Dickens's novel "The Adventures of Oliver Twist"
1. Periodization of Dickens's work. Artistic Features works written in the first period of creativity.
2. Problems of the novel. The theme of crime in the novel. The world of criminals and the world of gentlemen.
3. The evolution of the image of Oliver Twist
4. Basic ways of creating secondary images. The role of romantic motives in the depiction of these characters
"Oliver Twist" is Dickens's first "novel of education." Consider the structural features of the novel, determine the traditional elements of the plot typical for works of this genre. What is the relationship between Dickens's works and the mass, entertainment literature of the era?
How does Dickens see the bourgeoisie in his first works, what traits are characteristic of these heroes, what role do they play in the fate of Oliver Twist?
What are the features of Oliver Twist's evolution? How are these features related to the worldview of the writer himself?
What are the principles of creation negative heroes in Dickens's early works?
What is the evolution of Dickens's views, how does the ratio of romantic and realistic principles change in his books, the understanding of good and evil.
Literature
1. History of foreign literature of the 19th century: Textbook. for universities / Ed. N.A. Solovyova. – M., 2000. P.156-181.
2. History of foreign literature: Western European and American realism (1830-1860s): Textbook for students of higher pedagogical institutions / G.N. Khrapovitskaya, Yu.P. Solodub. – M., 2005. P.192-219.
3. Anikin G.V., Mikhalskaya N.P. Story English literature. - M., 1975.
4. Ivasheva V.V. The work of Dickens. - M., 1954.
5. Katarsky I. M. Dickens. - M., 1960.
6. Mikhalskaya N.P. Charles Dickens: An Essay on the Life and Work. - M., 1959.
7. Practical classes in foreign literature: Proc. allowance/Under. ed. N.P. Michalskaya and B.I. Purishev. - M., 1981.
8. Silman T.I. Dickens. Essays on creativity. - M., 1959.
9. Tugusheva M.P. Charles Dickens: an outline of his life and work. - M., 1979.
QUESTIONS FOR THE EXAM.
1. Realism as a method and direction in Western European literature. Periodization, representatives. The difference between the first period of realism and the second.
2. Periodization of creativity of J.P. Beranger. The poet's innovation. Main themes of poetry. Analysis of two poems.
3. Aesthetic views of F. Stendhal. The central problem of creativity, features of works (composition, language).
4. Conflict and composition of F. Stendhal’s novel “Red and Black”. Name problem.
5. Women's images in the novel “Red and Black” by F. Stendhal. Stendhal's principles of character development.
6. F. Stendhal “Vanina Vanini”. Conflict. The originality of the short story method.
7. The originality of O. de Balzac’s creativity. Aesthetic views of the writer. The structure of The Human Comedy.
8. Composition and system of images of O. de Balzac’s story “Gobsek”. The image of the main character, the principles of its disclosure.
9. O. de Balzac’s novel “Père Goriot.” System of images. Ideological orientation, style features, principles of character development.
10. Periodization, genre diversity of P. Merimee’s creativity. Merimee and Romanticism. Features of the genre and composition of the novel “Chronicle of the Times of Charles IX”.
11. P. Merimee. Exotic and modern novellas. Merimee’s principles of character development, style features. Analysis of two short stories to choose from.
12. general characteristics German literature 1830-1871.
13. The evolution of the worldview and creative method of G. Heine. Main themes, style features of the “Book of Songs” and “Modern Poems” Analysis of two poems. Reading by heart.
14. G. Heine "Germany." Winter's Tale". The problem of the poem method. Features of style. Reading a passage by heart.
15. English realism of the 19th century - historical features of its Formation. Representatives, their place in world and domestic literature.
16. Periodization of the work of Charles Dickens. The evolution of his realistic skill.
17. The place of the novel "Oliver Twist" in the works of Charles Dickens. System of images, moral and aesthetic ideal.
18. Problems of the novel by Charles Dickens “Great Expectations”. The evolution of Pip's image.
19. The system of images in the novel by Charles Dickens “Great Expectations”. Role minor characters in revealing the character of the main character.
20. U . Thackeray "Vanity Fair". The meaning of the title and subtitle. Composition and system of images.
21. French literature of the 50-60s. Features of realism. The main representatives, their place in Russian literature. Reflection of social and aesthetic views in the works of the "Parnassians".
22. Evil as a challenge to the bourgeois world in the poems of Charles Baudelaire’s collection “Flowers of Evil.” Analysis of one poem.
23. G. Flaubert. Philosophical, social and aesthetic views of the writer. Criticism of philistinism in the novel: images of Rodolphe, Leon. V. Nabokov about the novel "Madame Bovary".
24. The history of the creation of G. Flaubert’s novel “Madame Bovary”. Emma's riot social meaning and the inevitability of defeat. Principles of character development.
25. W. Whitman. Collection "Leaves of Grass". Cycles and themes of the collection. Method problem.
26. N. Hawthorne - short story writer and novelist. Analysis of the novel "The Scarlet Letter".
27. Works of G. Melville. Problems of the novel "Moby Dick".
28. Features of the development of American literature of the 50-60s.
REQUIRED LITERATURE
(Required texts for the exam)
1. Beranger P.-J. King Yveto. Marquis de Caraba. No, you are not Lisette. Mister Iscariot. Holy Union of Nations. Holy Alliance of Barbarians. Good God. My Maslenitsa 1829 Death of Satan. the 14 th of July. July graves. To my friends who became ministers. Mad Men. Snails. Fairy rhyme. Old banner. Old tramp.
2. O. Balzac. Gobsek. Father Goriot. Lost illusions. Articles: Preface to "The Human Comedy". Sketch of Bale.
3. F. Stendhal. Red and black. Parma monastery. Vanina Vanini. Articles: Racine and Shakespeare; Walter Scott and The Princess of Cleves.
4. P. Merimee. Chronicle of the times of Charles IX. Tamango. Matteo Falcone. Carmen. Etruscan vase. Venus of Illskaya. Lokis. Letter from Merimee to Pushkin. Merimee. Gyuzla (compare with Pushkin’s “Songs of the Western Slavs”): Morlach in Venice - Vlach in Venice; Beauty Elena - Fyodor and Elena; Ivko - Ghoul; Konstantin Yakubovich - Marko Yakubovich; Thomas' Horse - Horse
5. G. Flaubert. Madame Bovary. Salammbo.
6. C. Dickens. Oliver Twist. Hard times.
7. W. Thackeray. Vanity Fair
8. G. Heine. Lyrics. Sat. "Book of Songs". From the section “Youthful Sufferings”, “I had an ominous dream”, “I fled from the cruel...”, “Grenadiers”, from the section “Lyrical Intermezzo”, “In the wonderful month of May”, “I love you, foam-born... .", "And roses on my sweetheart's cheeks", "In the wild north...", "They tormented me...", "At the tea table in the living room..."; from the section “Returning to the Homeland”: “In this life is too dark”, “I don’t know what happened to me...”, “Generations change”, “I called the devil, he came to my house”, “There is oppression in my heart ", "I somehow don't like the fragmentation of the universe", "Oh, if you become my wife..."; from the series “North Sea”: “Sea Vision”, “Greeting to the Sea”, “Questions” “In the Harbour”. From Sat. "Modern Poems": "Michel after March", "Enlightenment", "Silesian Weavers", "Doctrine", "Donkey Voters", "Tendency", "New Alexander". Poem: "Germany. A Winter's Tale." Excerpts from the book. "Romantic School" (book II, chapter IV, book III, chapter I).
9. To choose from:
G. Buchner "The Death of Danton";
K. Gutskov "Uriel Acosta";
F. Goebbel "Judith";
V. Raabe "Chronicle of the Bird Settlement";
T. Storm "The Rider on a White Horse";
T. Fontane "Effie Brist".
American literature
10. To choose from:
N. Hawthorne "The Scarlet Letter";
G. Melville "Moby Dick, or the White Whale."
11. G. Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
12. W. Whitman. Sat. "Leaves of Grass": Song of the Axe. Now full of life. Song about the axe. Song of joys. Beat, beat, drum! Oh, captain, my captain! Song of the banner at dawn. Pioneers! Oh, pioneers! From "Song about the Exhibition". A song about myself.
Unrealistic trends of the 40-60s. 19th century
13. T. Gauthier. Art. Carmen.
14. Leconte de Lisle S. Elephants. Burnt offerings.
15. Baudelaire S. From the collection. "Flowers of Evil": Carrion. Albatross. Rag pickers' wine. Old ladies. Twilight. Hymn to beauty. Hair. Abel and Cain.
Textbooks, manuals and anthologies.
1. Elizarova M.E. and others. History of foreign literature of the 19th century. - M., 1975.
2. History of foreign literature of the 19th century / Ed. Ya.N.Zasursky, S.V.Turaev. - M., 1982.
3. History of foreign literature: In 2 parts / Ed. A.S.Dmitrieva. - M., 1983.
4. History of foreign literature of the 19th century: In 2 parts / Ed. N.P. Michalskaya. - M., 1991.
5. History of foreign literature of the 19th century: Textbook. for universities / Ed. N.A. Solovyova. - M., 2000.
6. History of foreign literature: Western European and American realism (1830-1860s): Textbook for students of higher educational institutions / G.N. Khrapovitskaya, Yu.P. Solodub. – M., 2005.
7. History of world literature: In 9 volumes - Vol.6. - M., 1989.
8. Proskurin B.M., Yashenkina R.F. History of foreign literature of the 19th century: Western European realistic prose: Textbook. - M., 1988.
9. History of English literature: In 3 volumes - Vol.2. - Vol. 1-2. - M., 1953, 1955.
10. History of French literature: In 4 volumes - Vol.2. - M., 1956.
11. History of German literature: In 5 volumes - Vol.3. - M., 1966.
12. History of American literature: In 2 hours - Part 1. - M., 1971.
13. Andreev L.G. and others. History of French literature. - M., 1987.
14. Anikin G.V., Mikhalskaya N.P. History of English literature. - M., 1985.
15. Gulyaev N.A. and others. History of German literature. - M., 1975.
16. Chernevich M.N. and others. History of French literature. - M., 1988 (or: M., 1965).
17. History of Western European literature. 19th century: England: textbook for students of philology departments of higher education institutions. / Ed. L.V. Sidorchenko and others - M., 2004.
18. Civil Z.T. From Shakespeare to Shaw. - M., 1992.
19. Kirnoze Z.I., Pronin V.N. Workshop on the history of French literature. - M., 1991.
20. Kirnoze Z.I. Pages of French classics. - M., 1992.
21. Klyushnik N.V. and others. Topics of tests on foreign literature of the 19th century: For part-time students of III-IY courses. - M., 1981.
22. Krylova T.S., Teplinskaya N.M. Test papers on foreign literature of the 19th century: For part-time students of III-IY courses. - M., 1986.
23. Leites N.S. From Faust to the present day. - M., 1987.
24. Nartov K.M. Foreign literature at school. - M., 1976.
25. Practical lessons in foreign literature / Ed. N.P.Michalskaya and B.I.Purishev. - M., 1981.
26. Trapeznikova N.S. Foreign literature in secondary school. - Kazan, 1982.
27. Turaev S.V., Chavchanidze D.L. Studying foreign literature at school. - M., 1982.
28. Reader on foreign literature of the 19th century / Comp. A.Anikst. - M., 1955.
29. Foreign literature XIX century. Realism. Reader of historical and literary materials: Textbook for philological specialists. universities / Comp. N.A. Solovyova. - M., 1990.
30. Foreign literature of the 19th century. Romanticism. Critical realism. Reader / Ed. Ya.N. Zasursky. - M., 1979.
Articles and monographs on topics.
1. Ginzburg L.Ya. About psychological prose. - L., 1971 / or L., 1999/.
2. Griftsov B.A. Psychology of a writer. - M., 1988.
3. Zatonsky D.V. the art of the novel and the twentieth century. - M., 1973.
4. Klimenko E.I. English literature of the first half of the nineteenth century. Essay on development. - L., 1971.
5. Maurois A. From Montaigne to Aragon. - M., 1983.
6. Reizov B.G. French novel of the 19th century. - M., 1969.
7. Suchkov B.L. Historical fate of realism. - M., 1969.
8. Muravyova N.I. Beranger. - M., 1965.
9. Danilin Yu.I. Beranger and his songs. - M., 1973.
10.Staritsyna Z.A. Beranger in Russian literature. -
11. Balzac O. de. Study of Bayle // Collected works: In 15 volumes - M., 1960. - T.15.
12. Vinogradov A.K. Stendhal. - M., 1960.
13. Wurmser A. Shouldn’t we look at the known in a new way? - M., 1975.
14.Zababurova N.V. Stendhal and problems psychological analysis. - Rostov-on/D., 1982.
15. Maurois A. Stendhal. "Red and Black" // A. Maurois. Literary portraits. - Rostov-on/D., 1997.
16.Reizov B.G. Stendhal: Artistic creativity. - L., 1978.
17. Fried J. Stendhal: an essay on life and work. - M., 1958.
18. Epstein M. On the stylistic principles of realism: The poetics of Stendhal and Balzac // Questions of literature. - 1977. - N8.
19. Balzac O. de “Preface to the “Human Comedy” // Foreign literature of the 19th century: Realism: Reader of historical and literary materials / Compiled by N.A. Solovyova and others - M., 1990; or Balzac O. de. Collected works in 28 volumes - M., 1992. - T.1; or Marx K., Engels F. About art: In 2 volumes - M., 1976. - T.1. 8, 480-483.
20. Bakhmutsky V.Ya. "Père Goriot" by Balzac. - M., 1970.
21. Wurmser A. Inhuman comedy. - M., 1967.
22. Grib V.R. Selected works. - M., 1956.
23. Griftsov B.A. How Balzac worked. - M., 1958; or Griftsov B.A. Psychology of a writer. - M., 1988.
24. Kuchborskaya E.P. The work of Balzac. - M., 1970.
25. Oblomievsky D.D. Balzac. - M., 1961.
26. Puzikov A.I. Portraits of French writers. Life of Zola. - M., 1976.
27. Reizov B.G. Balzac. - L., 1960.
28. Chernyshevsky N.G. Balzac // Chernyshevsky N.G. Collected works - M., 1947. - T.3.- P.369-370.
29. Chicherin A.V. Works by O. Balzac "Gobsek" and "Lost Illusions": Textbook. - M., 1982.
30. Danilin Y. Prosper Merime // Merime P. Selected works: In 2 volumes - M., 1957. - T.1.
31. Dynnik V. Prosper Merime // Merime P. Collection. Op.: In 6 volumes - M., 1963. - T.1.
32. Lukov V.A. Prosper Merimee. - M., 1984.
33. Reizov B.G. Merimee."Chronicle of the times of Charles IX" // Reizov B.G. French historical novel in the era of romanticism. - L., 1958.
34. Frestier J. Prosper Merimee. - M., 1987.
35. Belinsky V.G. Russian literature in 1844 // Belinsky V.G. Collected works.. - M., 1948. - T.2. - P.700-701.
36. Belinsky V.G. Parisian secrets // Ibid. - P.644-645.
37. Belinsky V.G. "Oliver Twist". Mr. Dickens' novel/1842/" // Belinsky V.G. Complete collected works: In 13 volumes - M.-L., 1959 - T.5.
38. Ivasheva V.V. English realistic novel of the 19th century.
39. Katarsky I.M. Dickens. - M., 1960.
40. Katarsky I.M. Dickens and his time. - M., 1966.
41. Michalskaya N.P.Charles Dickens. - M., 1987.
42. Mikhalskaya N.P. Dickens in Russia // Dickens Ch. Collected works: In 10 volumes - M., 1987. - T.10.
43. Silman T.N. Dickens. - M., 1970.
44. Tolstoy L.N. in the memoirs of contemporaries: In 2 vols. - M., 1955. - T.2. - P.181.
45. Tugusheva M.P. Charles Dickens. Essay on life and creativity. M., 1979.
46. Wilson E. The World of Charles Dickens. - M., 1975.
47. Alekseev M.P. From the history of English literature. - M;L., 1960.
48. Vakhrushev V.S. Thackeray's work. - Saratov, 1984.
49. Ivasheva V.V. Thackeray the satirist. - M., 1958.
50. Kettle A. Introduction to the history of the English novel. - M., 1966.
52. Thackeray in the memoirs of his contemporaries. - M., 1990.
53. Urnov M.V. Milestones of tradition in English literature. - M., 1986.
54. Chernyshevsky N.G. Newcomes, the history of one very respectable family // Chernyshevsky N.G. Full collection Op.: In 15 volumes - M., 1948. - T.4. - P.511-522.
55. Karelsky A.B. Georg Buchner // Georg Buchner. Play, prose, letters. - M., 1972.
56. Karelsky A.V. From hero to man: Two centuries of Western European literature. - M., 1990.
57. Neustroev V.P. Goebbel // History of German literature: In 5 volumes - Vol.4. - M., 1968.
58. Tronskaya M. Karl Gutskov-playwright // Karl Gutskov. Plays. - M., 1960.
59. Gizhdeu S.P. Heinrich Heine. - M., 1964.
60. Gizhdeu S.P. Lyrics by Heinrich Heine. - M., 1983.
61. Deych A.I. The poetic world of Heinrich Heine. - M., 1963.
62. Deych A.I. The fate of poets. - M., 1968.
63. Deych A.I. Harry from Dusseldorf. - M., 1980.
64. Dmitriev A.S. Heinrich Heine. - M., 1957.
65. Knipovich E.F. The courage of choice. - M., 1975.
66. Marx K. and Engels F. on art. - T.2. - M., 1976. - P.257-267.
67. Pisarev D.I. Heinrich Heine // Pisarev D.I. Selected philological and socio-political articles. - M., 1949.
68. Pronin V.A. "Poems worthy of a ban...": The fate of G. Heine's poem "Germany. A Winter's Tale". - M., 1986.
69. Stadnikov G.V. Heinrich Heine. - M., 1984.
70 Schiller F.P. Heinrich Heine. - M., 1962.
71. Balashov N.I. The legend and truth about Baudelaire // Baudelaire S. Flowers of Evil. - M., 1970.
72. Nolman M.L. Charles Baudelaire. - M., 1979.
73. Sartre J.-P. Baudelaire // Baudelaire S. Flowers of Evil. - M., 1993.
74. Belousov R.S. Flaubert's muse // Belousov R.S. Praise be to the Kamens. - M., 1982; or Belousov R.S. Jealous Muse // Smena. - 1998. - N4.
75. Gorky A.M. About how I learned to write // Gorky on literature. - M., 1955.
76. Zhuravleva G.M. On the problem of studying the work of G. Flaubert in the 10th grade of a comprehensive school // Bulletin of pedagogical experience / Ser. "Philological images." - Issue 7. - Glazov, 1999.
77. Zatonsky D.V. Aesthetics and poetics of Gustave Flaubert // Flaubert G. On literature, art, writing: Letters, articles: In 2 volumes - Vol.1. - M., 1984.
78. Ivashchenko A.F. Gustave Flaubert. From the history of realism in France. - M., 1955.
79.Kirnoze Z.I. Gustave Flaubert and his novels // Kirnoze Z.I. Pages of French classics: A book for high school students high school. - M., 1992.
80. Nabokov V.V. Gustave Flaubert “Madame Bovary” // Nabokov V.V. Lectures on foreign literature. - M., 1998; or Nabokov V.V. Two lectures on literature: G. Flaubert and F. Kafka // Foreign literature. - 1997.- N11.- P.185-233.
81. Puzikov A.I. Flaubert’s ideological and artistic quest // Puzikov A.T. Knights of Truth: Portraits of French Writers. - M., 1986.
82. Reizov B.G. The work of Flaubert. - M., 1955.
83. Khrapovitskaya G.N. G. Flaubert//History of foreign literature of the 19th century. - Textbook for students. : In 2 hours - Part 2 / Ed. N.P.Michalskaya. - M., 1991; or Khrapovitskaya G.N. Flaubert G. // Foreign writers. Biobibliographic Dictionary: In 2 hours - Part 2./ Ed. N.P. Michalskaya. - M., 1997.
84. Bobrova M.N. Romanticism in American literature of the 19th century. - M., 1972.
85. Literary history of the USA: In 3 volumes - Vol.1. -M., 1977.
86. Nikolyukin A.N. American romanticism and modernity. - M., 1968.
87. Romantic traditions of American literature of the 19th century and modernity: Sat. works / Ed. Ya.N. Zasursky. - M., 1982.
88. Levinton A. N. Hawthorne and his novel “The Scarlet Letter” // N. Hawthorne. Scarlet Letter. - M., 1957.
89. Levinton A. Preface // N. Hawthorne. Novels. - M.-L., 1965.
90. Bashmakova L.P. Melville and E. Hemingway /On the Question of Traditions/ //American Literature. Problems of romanticism and realism. Book 5th. - Krasnodar, 1978.
91. Bashmakova L.P. The nature of convention in G. Melville’s novel “Moby Dick” and E. Hemingway’s story “The Old Man and the Sea” // American literature of the 19th-20th centuries: Interuniversity. Sat. - Krasnodar, 1987.
92. Zatonsky D.V. Leviathan and cetology // Zatonsky D.V. The art of the novel and the twentieth century. - M., 1973.
93. Kovalev Yu.V. Herman Melville and American Romanticism. - L., 1972.
94. Belousov R.S. What the books were silent about. - M., 1971.
95. Mitskevich B.P. Timeless. - Mn., 1986.
96. Orlova R.D. A hut that has stood for a century. - M., 1975.
97. Tugusheva M.P. G. Beecher Stowe's novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin". - M., 1985.
98. Ustenko G.A. Abolitionist novels by Beecher Stowe/"Uncle Tom's Cabin", "Dread"/. - Odessa, 1961.
99. Venediktova T.D. Poetry of Walt Whitman. - M., 1982.
100. Zasursky Ya.N. The life and work of W. Whitman. - M., 1955.
101. Lunacharsky A.V. Collected works: In 8 volumes - M., 1965. - T.5.
102. Mendelson M.O. Whitman's life and work. - M., 1969.
103. Turgenev I.S. Complete collected works: In 28 volumes - M., 1965. - T.10.
104. Chukovsky K.I. My Whitman. - M., 1969.
Reference publications and encyclopedias.
105. Foreign writers. Biolibrary Dictionary: In 2 hours / Ed. N.P. Michalska. - M., 1997.
106. Literature: School Student's Handbook / Comp. N.G. Bykova. - M., 1995.
107. Literary encyclopedic dictionary / Ed. V.M. Kozhevnikova, P.A. Nikolaeva. - M., 1987.
108. Myths of the peoples of the world. Encyclopedia: In 2 volumes. / Ch. ed. S.A. Tokarev. - M., 1987-1988.
109. Writers of the USA. Brief creative biographies/ Ed. Ya.N. Zasursky and others - M., 1990.
110. Fifty English novels: A short universal reference book, ed. G. Lassa / Transl. from English - Chelyabinsk, 1997.
111. Dictionary of foreign words / Head. edited by V.V. Pchelkina.- M., 1988
112. Dictionary of literary terms / Ed. L.I. Timofeeva, S.V. Turaeva. - M., 1976.
113. encyclopedic Dictionary young literary critic / Comp. IN AND. Novikov. - M., 1988.
114. Encyclopedic dictionary of a young literary critic / Comp. IN AND. Novikov E.A. Shklovsky. - M., 1998.
Related information.
The formation of French realism, starting with the work of Stendhal, occurred in parallel with the further development of romanticism in France. It is significant that the first who supported and generally positively assessed the realistic searches of Stendhal and Balzac were Victor Hugo (1802-1885) and Georges Sand (1804-1876) - prominent representatives of French romanticism of the era of the Restoration and the Revolution of 1830.
In general, it should be especially emphasized that French realism, especially during its formation, was not a closed and internally complete system. It arose as a natural stage in the development of the world literary process, as an integral part of it, widely using and creatively comprehending the artistic discoveries of those preceding and contemporary to it. literary movements and movements, in particular romanticism.
Stendhal’s treatise “Racine and Shakespeare”, as well as the preface to Balzac’s “Human Comedy”, outlined the basic principles of realism, which was rapidly developing in France. Revealing the essence of realistic art, Balzac wrote: “The task of art is not to copy nature, but to express it.” In the preface to “Dark Business,” the writer also put forward his concept of an artistic image (“type”), emphasizing, first of all, its difference from any real personality. Typicality, in his opinion, reflects the most important features of the general thing in a phenomenon, and for this reason alone “type” can only be “the creation of the artist’s creative activity.”
“Poetry of fact”, “poetry of reality” became fertile ground for realist writers. The main difference between realism and romanticism also became clear. If romanticism, in creating the otherness of reality, started from the inner world of the writer, expressing the inner aspiration of the artist’s consciousness, aimed at the world of reality, then realism, on the contrary, started from the realities of the surrounding reality. It was this significant difference between realism and romanticism that George Sand drew attention to in her letter to Honore de Balzac: “You take a person as he appears to your eyes, but I feel a calling in myself to portray him as I would like to see.”
Hence the different understanding by realists and romantics of the image of the author in a work of art. For example, in “The Human Comedy” the image of the author, as a rule, is not highlighted as a person at all. And this is the fundamental artistic decision of Balzac the realist. Even when the image of the author expresses his own point of view, he only states facts. The narrative itself, in the name of artistic verisimilitude, is emphatically impersonal: “Although Madame de Lange did not trust her thoughts to anyone, we have the right to assume...” (“Duchess de Lange”); “Perhaps this story brought him back to happy days life..." (“Facino Cane”); “Each of these knights, if the data is accurate...” (“Old Maid”).
The French researcher of the “Human Comedy,” a contemporary of the writer A. Wurmser, believed that Honore de Balzac “can be called Darwin’s predecessor,” because “he develops the concept of the struggle for existence and natural selection.” In the writer’s works, the “struggle for existence” is the pursuit of material assets, and “natural selection” is the principle according to which in this struggle the strongest wins and survives, the one in whom cold calculation kills all living human feelings.
At the same time, Balzac's realism, in its emphases, differs significantly from the realism of Stendhal. If Balzac, as the “secretary of French society,” “first of all paints its customs, morals and laws, not shying away from psychologism,” then Stendhal, as an “observer of human characters,” is first and foremost a psychologist.
The core of the composition of Stendhal's novels is invariably the story of one person, and this is where his favorite “memoir-biographical” narrative unfolding originates. In Balzac’s novels, especially of the late period, the composition is “event-based”; it is always based on an incident, which unites all the characters, involving them in a complex cycle of actions, one way or another connected with this incident. Therefore, Balzac the narrator covers with his mind's eye vast spaces of social and moral life his heroes, getting to the bottom of the historical truth of his century, to those social conditions that shape the characters of his heroes.
The originality of Balzac's realism was most clearly manifested in the writer's novel “Père Goriot” and in the story “Gobsek,” which is related to the novel by some common characters.
Essay on literature on the topic: Realism of O de Balzac
Other writings:
- But it is no coincidence that they say: Balzac’s realism turned out to be smarter than Balzac himself. A wise person is one who evaluates a person not according to his political views, but according to his moral qualities. And in the works of Balzac, thanks to the efforts to objectively depict life, we see honest republicans - Read More ......
- The works of Balzac are those works to which a person will return more than once throughout his life and perceive them as something new and rediscovered for himself. According to Seneca, life is measured not by length, but by content. Apparently, the same criteria Read More......
- Stendhal's work belongs to the first stage in the development of French critical realism. Stendhal brings into literature the fighting spirit and heroic traditions of the just finished revolution and Enlightenment. His connection with educators preparing their heads for the upcoming revolution can be observed in the works of Read More......
- The writer, like his parents, spontaneously added the aristocratic particle “de” to his surname. Correspondence between O. de Balzac and E. Hanska covers five volumes. It was published under the general title “Letters to a Foreigner” (this is how she signed her first letters to the writer Read More ......
- At one time, Dostoevsky heard a lot of reproaches addressed to him: why does he depict life in such sharp collisions, conflicts, even disasters, is he too cruel in his perception of reality, are there many elements of chance and Read More ... ...
- There is always room for exploits in life. M. Gorky The formation and development of realism in Russian literature was undoubtedly influenced by trends emerging in the general mainstream of European literature. However, Russian realism differs significantly from French, English, German and in the time of its emergence, Read More......
- The restored Bourbon monarchy collapsed in 1830. After the July Revolution, financiers, bankers, and money tycoons came to power in France. They placed a king on the throne. Louis Philippe, they distributed ministerial portfolios and stock exchange shares, they dictated laws and directed the political course Read More......
- The novel “The Last Chouan, or Brittany in 1799” (in subsequent editions Balzac called it shorter - “Chouans”) was published in March 1829. Balzac published this work under his real name. He managed to convey in this novel the air Read More......
Honore de Balzac began writing novels to earn money. And very quickly he surprised the world with the absolute maturity of his style. “Chouans, or Brittany in 1799” - the first work of Balzac, signed with his real name, includes all the components of the work of the writer, who began as the author of commercial novels about vampires (The Birag Heiress, The Hundred-Year-Old Man) and suddenly decided to create serious novel. Balzac took Scott and Cooper as his teachers. Scott was attracted to the historical approach to life, but did not like the dullness and schematism of the characters. The young writer decides to follow Scott’s path in his work, but to show readers not so much a moral example in the spirit of his own ethical ideal, but to describe passion, without which one cannot truly exist. genius creation. In general, Balzac’s attitude towards passion was contradictory: “the murder of passion would mean the murder of society,” he said; and added: “passion is an extreme, it is evil.” That is, Balzac was fully aware of the sinfulness of his characters, but did not even think of abandoning the artistic analysis of sin, which interested him very much and, practically, formed the basis of his work. In how Balzac was interested human vices, of course, one can feel a certain part of the romantic thinking that was always characteristic of the great realist. But Balzac understood human vice not as evil, but as the product of a certain historical era, a certain period of the existence of a country and society. The world of Balzac's novels carries within itself a clear definition of the material world. Personal life is very closely connected with official life, so big political decisions do not descend from the sky, but are thought out and discussed in living rooms and notary offices, in the boudoirs of singers, colliding with personal and family relationships. Society is explored in Balzac's novels in such detail that even modern economists and sociologists study the state of society behind his novels. Balzac did not show the interaction between people against the background of God, as Shakespeare did, he showed the interaction between people against the background of economic relations. For him, society appears in the form of a living being, the only living organism. This creature is constantly moving, changing, like the ancient Proteus, but its essence remains unchanged: the stronger eat the weaker. Hence the paradoxical nature of Balzac's political views: the global realist never hid his royalist sympathies and sneered at revolutionary ideals. In the essay “Two Meetings in One Year” (1831), Balzac disrespected the revolution in 1830 and its achievement: “After a fight comes victory, after victory comes distribution; and then there are many more winners than those who were seen at the barricades.” Such an attitude towards people in general is characteristic of a writer who studied humanity the way biologists study the animal world.
One of Balzac's most serious passions, starting from childhood, was philosophy. IN school age he was not a little distraught when, at a Catholic boarding school, he became acquainted with the ancient monastery library. He did not begin serious writing until he had studied the works of all the more or less outstanding philosophers of old and new times. That is why the “Philosophical Etudes” (1830 - 1837) arose, which can be considered not only works of art, but also quite serious philosophical works. The novel “Shagreen Skin”, fantastic and at the same time deeply realistic, also belongs to the “Philosophical Etudes”. Fiction, in general, is a phenomenon characteristic of Philosophical Studies. It plays the role of a deus ex machine, that is, it serves as the central plot premise. Like, for example, a piece of old, dilapidated leather, which the poor student Valentin accidentally gets in an antique shop. Covered with ancient inscriptions, a piece of shagreen fulfills all the desires of its owner, but at the same time it shrinks and thereby shortens the life of the “lucky one”. “Shagreen Skin,” like many other novels by Balzac, is dedicated to the theme of “lost illusions.” All of Raphael's wishes were fulfilled. He could buy everything: women, valuable things, exquisite surroundings, he only did not have a natural life, natural youth, natural love, and therefore had no meaning to live. When Raphael learns that he has become the heir of six million, and sees that his shagreen skin has shrunk again, hastening his old age and death, Balzac notes: “The world belonged to him, he could do everything - and no longer wanted anything.” “Lost illusions” can be considered both the search for an artificial diamond, to which Walthasar Claes sacrifices his own wife and children (“Search for the Absolute”), and the creation of a super-work of art, which takes on the meaning of manic passion for the artist Frenhofer and is embodied in a “chaotic combination of strokes "
Balzac said that Uncle Toby from L. Stern's novel Tristram Shandy became for him a model of how to sculpt a character. Uncle Toby was an eccentric, he had a strong point - he did not want to get married. The characters of Balzac's heroes - Grande ("Eugenia Grande"), Gobsek ("Gobsek"), Goriot ("Father Goriot") are built on the "horse" principle. In Grande, such a hobby (or mania) is the accumulation of money and jewelry, in Gobsek it is enriching one’s own bank accounts, for Father Goriot it is fatherhood, serving daughters who demand more and more money.
Balzac described the story “Eugene Grandet” as a bourgeois tragedy “without poison, without a dagger, without bloodshed, but for characters more cruel than all the dramas that took place in the famous family of Atrides.” Balzac feared the power of money more than the power of feudal lords. He looked at the kingdom as the only family in which the king is the father, and where there is natural position of things. As for the rule of bankers, which began after the revolution in 1830, here Balzac saw a serious threat to all life on earth, because he felt the iron and cold hand of monetary interests. And the power of money, which he constantly exposed, Balzac identified with the power of the devil and contrasted it with the power of God, the natural course of things. And here it’s hard to disagree with Balzac. Although Balzac's views on society, which he expressed in articles and sheets, cannot always be taken seriously. After all, he believed that humanity is a kind of fauna, with its own breeds, species and subspecies. That is why he valued aristocrats as representatives of the best breed, which was supposedly bred on the basis of the cultivation of spirituality, which neglects benefit and worthless calculation. Balzac in the press supported the insignificant Bourbons as the “lesser evil” and promoted an elitist state in which class privileges would be inviolable, and the right to vote would extend only to those who have money, intelligence and talent. Balzac even justified serfdom, which he saw in Ukraine and was fond of. The views of Stendhal, who valued the culture of aristocrats only at the level of aesthetics, seem much more fair in this case.
Balzac did not accept any revolutionary actions. During the revolution in 1830, he did not interrupt his vacation in the province and did not go to Paris. In the novel "Peasants", expressing regret for those who are "great through their hard life", Balzac says about the revolutionaries: “We poeticized the criminals, we had mercy on the executioners, and we almost created an idol out of the proletarian”! But it is no coincidence that they say: Balzac’s realism turned out to be smarter than Balzac himself. A wise person is one who evaluates a person not according to his political views, but according to her moral qualities. And in Balzac’s works, thanks to an attempt at an objective portrayal of life, we see honest republicans - Michel Chrétien (“Lost Illusions”), Nizron (“The Peasants”). But the main object of study of Balzac’s work is not they, but the most important force of today - the bourgeois, the same “angels of money” who acquired the significance of the main driving force of progress and whose morals Balzac exposed, exposed in detail and not fussily, like a biologist, which I study the habits of a certain subspecies of animals. “In commerce, Monsieur Grandet was like a tiger: he knew how to lie down, curl up into a ball, look closely at his prey for a long time, and then rush at it; opening the trap of his wallet, he swallowed another fate and again laid down, like a boa constrictor that digests food; He did all this calmly, coldly, methodically.” The increase in capital looks like something like an instinct in Grande’s character: before his death, with a “terrible movement” he grabs the golden cross of a priest who is bending over a fainting man. Another “knight of money” - Gobsek - acquires the significance of the only god in whom he believes modern world. The expression “money rules the world” is vividly realized in the story “Gobsek” (1835). A small, inconspicuous, at first glance, man holds the whole of Paris in his hands. Gobsek executes and pardons, he is fair in his own way: he can drive almost to suicide someone who neglects piety and because of this gets into debt (Countess de Resto), or he can let go of a pure and simple soul who works day and night. night, and finds himself in debt not through his own sins, but through complex social conditions(seamstress Ogonyok).
Balzac liked to repeat: “French society itself must be the historian. All I can do is serve as his secretary.” These words indicate the material, the object of study of Balzac’s work, but they conceal the means of processing it, which cannot be called “secretary”. On the one hand, Balzac relied in the process of creating images on what he saw in real life(the names of almost all the heroes of his works can be found in newspapers of that time), but based on the material of life, he derived certain laws behind which society existed, and, unfortunately, exists. He did this not as a scientist, but as an artist. Therefore, the technique of typification (from the Greek typos - imprint) acquires such significance in his work. A typical image has a specific design (appearance, character, fate), but at the same time it embodies a certain trend that exists in society at a certain historical period. Balzac created typical grievances in different ways. He could be aimed only at typicality, as, for example, in the “Monograph on the Rentier”, but he could sharpen individual character traits or create aggravated situations, as, for example, in the stories “Eugene Grande” and “Gobsek”. Here, for example, is a description of a typical rentier: “Almost all individuals of this breed are armed with a reed or a snuff box. Like all individuals of the human genus (mammals), he has seven valves on his face and most likely has a complete skeletal system. His face is pale and often onion-shaped, it lacks character, which is his defining characteristic.” But the fireplace full of spoiled canned goods, never lit in the house of the millionaire - Gobsek, is, of course, a sharpened feature, but it is precisely this sharpness that emphasizes the typicality, exposes the tendency that exists in reality, the ultimate expression of which is Gobsek.
in 1834 - 1836 Balzac publishes a 12-volume collection of his own works, which is called “Studies on the Morals of the 19th Century.” And in 1840-1841. the decision to generalize the entire creative activity Balzac entitled "The Human Comedy", which is often called the "comedy of money". Relationships between people in Balzac are predominantly determined by monetary relations, but they were not the only ones that interested the author of The Human Comedy, who divided his gigantic work into the following sections: “Etudes on Morals”, “Physiological Etudes” and “Analytical Etudes”. Thus, the whole of France appears before us, we see a huge panorama of life, a huge living organism that is constantly moving due to the incessant movement of its individual organs.
The feeling of constant movement and unity, the synthetic nature of the picture, arises due to the characters who return. For example, we will first meet Lucien Chardon in Lost Illusions, and there he will try to conquer Paris, and in The Splendor and Poverty of the Courtesans we will see Lucien Chardon, who was conquered by Paris and turned into meek instruments of the devilish ambition of Abbot Herrera-Vautrin (also one cross-cutting character). In the novel "Père Goriot" we first meet Rastignac, a kind guy who came to Paris to receive an education. And Paris provided him with an education - a simple and honest guy turned into a rich man and a member of the cabinet, he conquered Paris, understood its laws and challenged him to a duel. Rastignac defeated Paris, but destroyed himself. He deliberately killed the guy from the province who loved to work in the vineyard and dreamed of getting a law education to improve the life of his mother and sister. The naive provincial turned into a soulless egoist, because otherwise there was no way to survive in Paris. Rastignac went through various novels of the “Human Comedy” and acquired the meaning of a symbol of careerism and the notorious “social success”. Maxime de Tray, the de Resto family constantly appear on the pages of various works, and we get the impression that there are no points at the end of individual novels. We are not reading a collection of works, we are looking at a huge panorama of life. “The Human Comedy” is a striking example of the self-development of a work of art, which never diminishes the greatness of the work, but on the contrary, gives it the greatness of something provided by Nature. It is precisely this kind of powerfulness, far exceeding the personality of the author, that is the brilliant work of Balzac.
The originality of realism as a method occurs in the period when romantics play a leading role in the literary process. Next to them, in the mainstream of romanticism, Merimee, Stendhal, and Balzac began their writing journey. All of them are close to the creative associations of the romantics and actively participate in the struggle against the classicists. It was the classicists of the first half of the 19th century, sponsored by the monarchical Bourbon government, who were the main opponents of the emerging realistic art in these years. Almost simultaneously published, the manifesto of the French romantics - “Preface” to the drama “Cromwell” by V. Hugo and Stendhal’s aesthetic treatise “Racine and Shakespeare” have a common critical focus, being two decisive blows to the already outdated set of laws of classicist art. In these most important historical and literary documents, both Hugo and Stendhal, rejecting the aesthetics of classicism, advocated for expanding the subject of depiction in art, for the abolition of forbidden subjects and themes, for presenting life in all its fullness and contradictions. Moreover, for both, the highest example that should be oriented toward when creating new art is the great master of the Renaissance, Shakespeare (perceived, however, by both Hugo and Stendhal in different ways). Finally, the first realists of France and the romantics of the 20s are brought together by a common socio-political orientation, revealed not only in the opposition to the Bourbon monarchy, but also in the critical perception of the bourgeois relations that were establishing themselves before their eyes.
After the revolution of 1830, which was a significant milestone in the development of France, the paths of realists and romantics diverged, which, in particular, was reflected in the polemics of the 30s (for example, critical reviews Balzac about Hugo’s drama “Ernani” and his article “Romantic Akathists”). However, after 1830, contacts between yesterday's allies in the fight against the classicists remained. Remaining true to the fundamental methods of their aesthetics, the romantics will successfully master the experience of the realists (especially Balzac), supporting them in almost all the most important endeavors. Realists, in turn, will also be interested in following the work of the romantics, greeting each of their victories with constant satisfaction (this, in particular, was the relationship between J. Sand and Hugo with Balzac).
Realists of the second half of the 19th century will reproach their predecessors for the “residual romanticism” found in Mérimée, for example, in his cult of exoticism (the so-called exotic novellas), and in Stendhal for his predilection for depicting bright individuals and exceptional passions (“Italian Chronicles”). , in Balzac - in the craving for adventurous plots and the use of fantastic techniques in philosophical stories(“Shagreen skin”) These reproaches are not without foundation, and this is one of the specific features - there is a subtle connection between realism and romanticism, which is revealed, in particular, in the inheritance of techniques or even themes and motifs characteristic of romantic art (the theme of lost illusions, the motif of disappointment).
The great realists see their task as the reproduction of reality as it is, in the knowledge of its internal laws that determine the dialectics and diversity of forms. “The historian itself was supposed to be French society; I could only be its secretary,” writes Balzac in the Preface. But an objective image is not a passive mirror reflection of this world, for sometimes, as Stendhal notes, “nature reveals unusual spectacles, sublime contrasts” and they may remain incomprehensible to the unconscious mirror. Taking up Stndahl's thought, Balzac argues that the task is not to copy nature, but to express it. That is why the most important of the attitudes - the reconstruction of reality - for Balzac, Stendhal, Mérimée does not exclude such techniques as allegory, fantasy, grotesque, symbolism.
Realism of the second half of the 19th century, represented by the work of Flaubert, differs from the realism of the first stage. There is a final break with romantic tradition, officially recited already in Madame Bovary (1856). And although the main object of depiction in art still remains bourgeois reality, the scale and principles of its depiction are changing. The bright individualities of the heroes of the novel of the 30s and 40s are being replaced by ordinary people, little more than remarkable. The multicolored world of truly Shakespearean passions, cruel fights, heartbreaking dramas, captured in Balzac’s “Human Comedy”, the works of Stendhal and Mérimée, gives way to a “mildew-colored world”, the most remarkable event of which is adultery.
Fundamental changes are noted, in comparison with the realism of the first stage, in the artist’s relationship with the world in which he chooses the image as an object. If Balzac, Merimee, Stendhal showed an ardent interest in the destinies of this world and constantly, according to Balzac, “felt the pulse of their era, saw its illnesses,” then Flaubert declares a fundamental detachment from the unacceptable reality for him, which he draws in his works. Obsessed with the idea of solitude in an ivory castle, the writer is chained to modernity, becoming a stern analyst and an objective judge. However, despite all the paramount importance that critical analysis acquires, one of the most important problems of the great masters of realism remains the problem of the positive hero, because “vice is more effective... virtue, on the contrary, reveals only unusually thin lines to the artist’s brushes.” Virtue is indivisible, but vice is manifold
The late 1820s and early 1830s, when Balzac entered literature, were the period of greatest flowering of Romanticism in French literature. The great novel in European literature by the time of Balzac had two main genres: the novel of the individual - an adventurous hero (Robinson Crusoe by D. Defoe) or a self-absorbed, lonely hero (The Sorrows of Young Werther by W. Goethe) and a historical novel (Waverly by W. . Scott).
Realism is a direction that strives to depict reality. In his work, Balzac moves away from both the novel of personality and historical novel Walter Scott.
The formation of French realism, starting with the work of Stendhal, occurred in parallel with the further development of romanticism in France. It is significant that the first who supported and generally positively assessed the realistic searches of Stendhal and Balzac were Victor Hugo (1802-1885) and Georges Sand (1804-1876) - prominent representatives of French romanticism during the Restoration and Revolution of 1830.
In general, it should be especially emphasized that French realism, especially during its formation, was not a closed and internally complete system. It arose as a natural stage in the development of the world literary process, as an integral part of it, widely using and creatively interpreting the artistic discoveries of previous and contemporary literary movements and directions, in particular romanticism.
Stendhal's treatise "Racine and Shakespeare", as well as the preface to Balzac's "Human Comedy", outlined the basic principles of realism, which was rapidly developing in France. Revealing the essence of realistic art, Balzac wrote: “The task of art is not to copy nature, but to express it.” In the preface to “Dark Business,” the writer also put forward his concept of an artistic image (“type”), emphasizing, first of all, its difference from any real personality. Typicality, in his opinion, reflects the most important features of the general thing in a phenomenon, and for this reason alone “type” can only be “the creation of the artist’s creative activity.”
on the contrary, he started from the realities of the surrounding reality. It was this significant difference between realism and romanticism that George Sand drew attention to in her letter to Honore de Balzac: “You take a person as he appears to your eyes, but I feel a calling within myself to portray him as I would like to see him.”
Hence the different understanding by realists and romantics of the image of the author in a work of art. And this is the fundamental artistic decision of Balzac the realist.
The work of Balzac.
Honoré de Balzac (May 20, 1799, Tours - August 18, 1850, Paris) - French writer. His real name is Honore Balzac, the particle “de”, meaning belonging to a noble family, began to be used around 1830.
In 1829, the first book signed with Balzac’s name was published: “The Chouans”. Next year he writes seven books, among them Family world, Gobsek, which attracted widespread attention from readers and critics. In 1831 he published his philosophical novel “Shagreen Skin” and began the novel “A Woman of Thirty.” These two books elevate Balzac high above his literary contemporaries.
1832 - a record for fertility: Balzac publishes nine complete works, chapters III and IV of his masterpiece: “A Woman of Thirty” and triumphantly enters literature. Readers, critics and publishers pounce on each of his new books. If his hope of becoming rich has not yet been realized (since he is weighed down by a huge debt - the result of his unsuccessful commercial ventures), then his hope of becoming famous, his dream of conquering Paris and the world with his talent, has been realized. Success did not turn Balzac's head, as it did with many of his young contemporaries. He continues to lead a hard working life, sitting at his desk for 15-16 hours a day; working until dawn, he publishes three, four and even five or six books every year. However, one should not think that Balzac wrote with particular ease. He rewrote and revised many of his works.
The works (over thirty) created in the first five or six years of his systematic writing activity depict the most diverse areas of contemporary French life: the village, the province, Paris; various social groups. The huge amount of artistic facts contained in these books required systematization. Artistic analysis had to give way to artistic synthesis. In 1834, Balzac conceived the idea of creating a multi-volume work - a “picture of morals” of his time, a huge work, which he later entitled “The Human Comedy”. According to Balzac, The Human Comedy was supposed to be artistic history and the artistic philosophy of France as it developed after the revolution.
Balzac worked on this work throughout his entire subsequent life; he included most of the already written works in it, and revised them specifically for this purpose. He outlined this huge literary publication in the following form:
Balzac reveals his plan in the following way: “The “study of morals” gives the whole of social reality, without omitting a single situation in human life, not a single type, not a single male or female character, not a single profession, not a single form of life, not a single social group, not a single one French region, no childhood, no old age, no adulthood, no politics, no law, no military life. The basis is the history of the human heart, the history of social relations. Not made-up facts, but what happens everywhere.”
Having established the facts, Balzac proposes to show their reasons. The Inquiry into Morals will be followed by the Philosophical Inquiries. In “A Study of Morals” Balzac depicts the life of society and gives “typical individuals”, in “ philosophical studies“He judges society and gives “individualized types.” The establishment of facts (“Studies on Morals”) and the clarification of their causes (“Philosophical Studies”) will be followed by a justification of the principles by which life should be judged. “Analytical Research” will serve this purpose. Thus, man, society, humanity will be described, judged, analyzed in a work that will represent the “Thousand and One Nights” of the West.
balzac gobsek novella
What was the impact of the emergence of realism in Balzac’s work?
) Man, the main object of a realistic story or novel, ceases to be an isolated personality separated from society and class. An integral social fabric is explored, infinitely multiple in nature, in which each character is a particle. Thus, in the novel "Père Goriot" the boarding house of Madame Vauquer is in the foreground. Yellow paint, the smell of rot and the owner herself with her slipping shoes and sweet smile sum up the impression of the boarding house. And there is something common in the social status of all its inhabitants, which, however, does not prevent the sharp identification of its individual inhabitants: the cynic Vautrin, the young ambitious Rastignac, the noble worker Bianchon, the shy Victorine, the complacent and preoccupied father Goriot. In Balzac's "Human Comedy" there are more than two thousand very significant and multifaceted characters studied by him.
Balzac's creative activity is infinitely difficult. Learn to penetrate the minds and hearts of people close to him and strangers of different classes of society, different ages and professions. Balzac in his short story “Facino Canet” talked about how he learned this. He peered into unfamiliar faces, caught snatches of other people's conversations, he taught himself to live with the feelings and thoughts of other people, felt their worn clothes on his shoulders, their holey shoes on his feet, he lived in someone else's environment of poverty, or luxury, or average income. He himself becomes either a miser, or a spendthrift, or an uncontrollably passionate seeker of new truths, or an idle adventurer.
It is with such insight into other people's characters and morals that realism begins.
- 1) Not only man, not only relationships between people - the history of contemporary society occupied Balzac. His method was the knowledge of the general through the particular. Through Father Goriot he learned how people get rich and go broke in bourgeois society, through Taillefer - how crime becomes the first step towards creating a large fortune for a future banker, through Gobsek - how the passion for accumulating money suppresses all living things in the bourgeoisie of this era, in Vautrin he sees the extreme expression of that philosophical cynicism, which, like an illness, affects different layers of society.
- 2) Balzac is one of the creators and classics of critical realism. It is completely in vain that the word “critical” is sometimes equated with the word negative and it is believed that this concept includes only a negative attitude towards the depicted reality. The concepts of “critical” and “accusatory” are identified. Critical means analyzing, examining, discerning. “Criticism” is a search and judgment about the merits and demerits...”
)In order to reproduce the history and philosophy of his contemporary society, Balzac could not limit himself to either a single novel or a series of separate independent novels. It was necessary to create something integral and at the same time facing in different directions. "The Human Comedy" is a series of novels connected by one grand plan. In relatively rare cases, one novel is a continuation of another. So, in “Gobsek” - the further fate of the family of Count de Resto, shown in the novel “Père Goriot”. The connection between Lost Illusions and The Splendor and Poverty of Courtesans is even more consistent. But most novels have their own complete plot, their own complete idea, although the characters, both primary and secondary, constantly move from novel to novel.
)Balzac's predecessors taught to understand the lonely, suffering human soul. Balzac discovered something new: the integrity, interdependence of human society. The antagonism that is tearing this society apart. With what contempt the Marquise d'Espard will reject the young poet when she learns that he is the son of an Angoulême pharmacist! Class struggle will form the basis of the novel "The Peasants". And each of his characters is a particle of that huge picture, both disharmonious and dialectically integral, which the author always has before his eyes. Therefore, in The Human Comedy the author is completely different from romantic novel. Balzac called himself a secretary. Society uses his pen and talks about itself through him. This is where the novelist approaches the scientist. The main thing is not the expression of something personal, but a correct understanding of the subject being studied, the disclosure of the laws governing it.
)The concreteness and diversity of language in Balzac’s works are associated with a new type of detailing, when the color of a house, the appearance of an old chair, the creaking of a door, the smell of mold become meaningful, socially rich signals. This is an imprint of human life, telling about it, expressing its meaning.
The image of the external appearance of things becomes an expression of the stable or changeable state of mind of people. And it turns out that not only a person and his way of life influence the material world subordinate to him, but, on the contrary, a kind of power of the world of things that can warm and enslave the human soul is reflected. And the reader of Balzac’s novel lives in the sphere of objects that express the meaning of the bourgeois way of life, which oppresses the human personality.
6) Balzac comprehends and establishes laws public life, the laws of human characters, ultimately the human spirit, infringed by the conditions of a possessive world and yearning for freedom. It is Balzac's humanity, the ability to penetrate into the inner structure of people, young and old, poor and rich, men and women, that is the true wealth of the "Human Comedy".
Therefore, the reader of this multi-component work, already in its linguistic fabric, should feel the strongest scope of the author’s ever-introducing and multi-dimensional thought. If we knew our era perfectly, we would know ourselves better,” says Balzac in the philosophical and political novel “Z. Marx". Through understanding the whole society, a complete understanding of oneself and any other person is achieved. And vice versa, through the understanding of many people, one can achieve an understanding of the people. Such guiding threads, important for the correct and integral perception of The Human Comedy, saturate the author’s speech, not only visually visual, but also philosophically insightful.
