1 n m Karamzin poor Liza. The story "Poor Lisa" by Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. Detailed analysis. Lisa's Incipient Love
Poor Lisa(story)
Poor Lisa | |
O. A. Kiprensky, "Poor Lisa", 1827 |
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Genre: | |
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Original language: | |
Year of writing: | |
Publication: |
1792, "Moscow Journal" |
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in Wikisource |
History of creation and publication
Plot
After the death of her father, a "wealthy peasant", young Liza is forced to work tirelessly to feed herself and her mother. In the spring, she sells lilies of the valley in Moscow and there she meets the young nobleman Erast, who falls in love with her and is ready even for the sake of his love to leave the world. Lovers spend all evenings together, share a bed. However, with the loss of innocence, Liza lost her attractiveness for Erast. One day, he reports that he must go on a campaign with the regiment and they will have to part. A few days later, Erast leaves.
Several months pass. Lisa, once in Moscow, accidentally sees Erast in a magnificent carriage and finds out that he is engaged (he lost his estate in cards and is now forced to marry a rich widow). In desperation, Liza throws herself into the pond.
Artistic originality
Simonov Monastery
The plot of the story was borrowed by Karamzin from European love literature, but transferred to "Russian" soil. The author hints that he is personally acquainted with Erast (“I met him a year before his death. He himself told me this story and led me to Liza’s grave”) and emphasizes that the action takes place precisely in Moscow and its environs, describes, for example , Simonov and Danilov monasteries, Sparrow Hills, creating the illusion of authenticity. For Russian literature of that time, this was an innovation: usually the action of the works unfolded "in one city." The first readers of the story perceived the story of Liza as a real tragedy of a contemporary - it was not by chance that the pond under the walls of the Simonov Monastery was called Liza Pond, and the fate of Karamzin's heroine was a lot of imitations. The oaks growing around the pond were dotted with inscriptions - touching ( “In these streams, poor Liza died days; If you are sensitive, passerby, take a breath!”) and caustic ( “Here Erast's bride threw herself into the pond. Drown yourself, girls: there's plenty of room in the pond!") .
However, despite the apparent plausibility, the world depicted in the story is idyllic: the peasant woman Liza and her mother have a refinement of feelings and perception, their speech is literate, literary and does not differ in any way from the speech of the nobleman Erast. The life of the poor villagers resembles a pastoral:
Meanwhile, a young shepherd was driving his flock along the river bank, playing the flute. Lisa fixed her eyes on him and thought: “If the one who now occupies my thoughts was born a simple peasant, a shepherd, and if he now drove his flock past me: ah! I would bow to him with a smile and say affably: “Hello, dear shepherd boy! Where are you driving your flock? And here it grows green grass for your sheep, and flowers bloom here, from which you can weave a wreath for your hat. He would look at me with an affectionate air - he would, perhaps, take my hand ... A dream! The shepherd, playing the flute, passed by and with his motley flock hid behind a nearby hill.
The story became a model of Russian sentimental literature. In contrast to classicism with its cult of reason, Karamzin asserted the cult of feelings, sensitivity, compassion: “Ah! I love those objects that touch my heart and make me shed tears of tender sorrow!” . Heroes are important, first of all, by the ability to love, to surrender to feelings. There is no class conflict in the story: Karamzin equally sympathizes with both Erast and Liza. In addition, unlike the works of classicism, "Poor Liza" is devoid of morality, didacticism, edification: the author does not teach, but tries to arouse the reader's empathy for the characters.
The story is also distinguished by a “smooth” language: Karamzin abandoned Old Slavicisms, arrogance, which made the work easy to read.
Criticism about the story
“Poor Lisa” was received with such enthusiasm by the Russian public because in this work Karamzin was the first to express the “new word” that Goethe said to the Germans in his Werther. Such a “new word” was the suicide of the heroine in the story. The Russian public, accustomed in old novels to comforting outcomes in the form of weddings, believing that virtue is always rewarded and vice punished, for the first time in this story met with the bitter truth of life.
"Poor Lisa" in art
In painting
Literary reminiscences
dramatizations
Screen adaptations
- 1967 - "Poor Lisa" (teleplay), director Natalya Barinova, David Livnev, cast: Anastasia Voznesenskaya, Andrey Myagkov.
- - "Poor Lisa", director Idea Garanin, composer Alexei Rybnikov
- - "Poor Liza", directed by Slava Tsukerman, starring Irina Kupchenko, Mikhail Ulyanov.
Literature
- Toporov V. N."Poor Liza" Karamzin: Reading experience: On the occasion of the bicentennial from the date of publication. - Moscow: RGGU, 1995.
Notes
Links
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See what "Poor Lisa (story)" is in other dictionaries:
POOR LISA- The story of N.M. Karamzin. Written in 1792 and at the same time published in the Moscow Journal, which was published by the writer himself. The plot of the story, which had previously been reproduced many times in the European petty-bourgeois drama of the eighteenth century, is simple. This is a love story... ... Linguistic Dictionary
The cover of one of the stories of Leo Tolstoy The story is a prose genre that does not have a stable volume and occupies an intermediate position between the novel, on the one hand ... Wikipedia
"Karamzin" redirects here; see also other meanings. Nikolai Karamzin ... Wikipedia
1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 See also: Other events in 1792 Contents 1 Events 2 Prizes ... Wikipedia
Historiographer, b. December 1, 1766, d. May 22, 1826 He belonged to a noble family, descended from the Tatar Murza, named Kara Murza. His father, a Simbirsk landowner, Mikhail Egorovich, served in Orenburg under I. I. Neplyuev and ... Big biographical encyclopedia
Nikolai Mikhailovich (1766 1826) an outstanding writer and literary figure, the head of Russian sentimentalism (see). R. and grew up in the estate of his father, a middle-class Simbirsk nobleman, a descendant of the Tatar Murza Kara Murza. He studied with a rural deacon, later ... ... Literary Encyclopedia
Karamzin Nikolai Mikhailovich - .… … Dictionary of the Russian language of the 18th century
The story “Poor Liza” by Karamzin is based on the story of the unhappy love of a peasant woman for a nobleman. The work, written and published in 1792, influenced the further development of Russian literature - here for the first time "people acted, the life of the heart and passions was depicted in the midst of ordinary everyday life." The story has become a model of sentimentalism: the images of the characters of the story and the author's position are ambiguous, the feeling is the highest value, the inner world of a simple person is revealed first of all.
The story "Poor Lisa" is studied in the 9th grade literature course. In order to get acquainted with the plot and the characters of the work, we suggest reading the summary of "Poor Lisa".
main characters
Lisa- a peasant girl, selflessly loves Erast. Mentally rich, open, sensitive nature.
Erast- nobleman Kind, but weak in character, unable to think about the consequences of his actions.
Other characters
Narrator- a sentimental person, empathizes with his heroes. He loves "those objects that touch the heart and make you shed tears of tender sorrow."
Lisa's mother- a simple peasant woman, dreams of a happy marriage of her daughter.
The narrator, on behalf of whom the narration is being conducted, knows the surroundings of Moscow very well. His favorite place is the mountain where the Simonov Monastery is located. From here you can enjoy an amazingly beautiful view of Moscow.
In the neighborhood of the monastery, there is, collapsing, an empty shack. Thirty years ago, Lisa and her mother lived in it. After the death of his father, a wealthy peasant, his wife and daughter lived in poverty. The widow grieved over the death of her husband, weakened every day and could not work. Liza, who was only fifteen in the year of her father's death, "sparing her rare beauty, worked day and night." She wove canvases, knitted, picked berries and flowers and sold them all in Moscow.
Once the heroine, as usual, came to the city to sell lilies of the valley. On one of the streets she met a young man of good appearance and offered him to buy flowers. Instead of the five kopecks that Liza asked for, the young man wanted to pay a ruble for "lilies of the valley plucked by the hands of a beautiful girl," but Liza did not take the extra money. Then he told the girl that he would like to always be her only customer. The stranger asked Lisa where she lived, and the girl answered.
Arriving home, Lisa told her mother about the meeting.
The next day, having collected the best lilies of the valley, Liza went to Moscow, but she never met yesterday's stranger.
In the evening, sadly sitting at the yarn, the girl suddenly saw under the window a recent acquaintance (his name was Erast) and was very happy. The old mother told him about her grief and the "nice qualities" of her daughter. Mother really liked Erast, and she dreamed that Lisa's fiancé would be just like that. However, Lisa objected that this was impossible - after all, he was a “master”, and they were peasants.
Erast, a nobleman by birth, "with a fair mind and a kind heart, kind by nature, but weak and windy," craved only entertainment. The beauty and naturalness of Lisa impressed him so much that the young man decided: he had found his happiness.
Lisa slept restlessly at night - the image of Erast disturbed and excited the imagination. Even before sunrise, the girl went to the banks of the Moscow River and, sitting on the grass, watched the awakening nature. Suddenly, the silence of the morning was broken by the sound of oars, and Lisa saw Erast floating in a boat.
In a moment the young man jumped out of the boat, ran up to Liza, took her by the hands, kissed her and confessed his love. This confession echoed in the soul of the girl with delightful music - and Erast heard from her that we also love. The young man swore eternal love to Liza.
Since then, Liza and Erast met every evening, talked about their love, kissed, "their hugs were pure and immaculate." The girl aroused Erast's admiration, and all past secular amusements seemed insignificant. He was sure that he could never harm his beloved "shepherdess".
At the request of Lisa, Erast often visited her mother, who always rejoiced at the arrival of a young man.
Meetings of young people continued. Once Lisa came to her beloved in tears. It turned out that the son of a wealthy peasant wants to marry her, and Lisa's mother is happy about this, because she does not know that her daughter has a "dear friend."
Erast said that he values \u200b\u200bthe happiness of his beloved, and after the death of his mother, they will live together, "like in paradise." After these words, Lisa threw herself into the arms of Erast - "and at this hour the chastity should have perished", the heroes became close.
They still met, says the author, but "how everything has changed!". Platonic love was replaced by feelings that were not new to Erast. Lisa loved "only lived and breathed." Erast began to come less often, and one day he did not appear for several days, and when he finally came on a date, he said that he had to say goodbye for a while - there was a war going on, he was in the service, and his regiment was going on a campaign. On the day of parting, saying goodbye to Erast, Liza "said goodbye to her soul." Both of them were crying.
The days of separation were filled for Lisa with bitterness and longing. Almost two months passed, the girl went to Moscow for rose water for her mother. Walking down the street, she drew attention to a rich carriage and saw Erast in it. At the gate of the house where the carriage drove in, Liza went up to Erast and hugged him. He was cold, explained to Liza that he was engaged - life circumstances force him to marry. He asked to forget about him, said that he loved Lisa and loves, wishes her well. Putting a hundred rubles in the girl's pocket, he ordered the servant to "escort her out of the yard."
Erast was indeed at war, but he did not fight, but lost his fortune at cards. To improve things, the young man decided to marry a rich widow who had long been in love with him.
"I'm dead!" - only from this could Liza think, going where her eyes look, after meeting with her beloved. She woke up, finding herself on the shore of a pond, where she and Erast often saw each other. Memories of a happy time "shook her soul." Seeing the neighbor's daughter Anyuta, the girl gave her money and her apologies for her mother. She herself threw herself into the waters of the pond and drowned. The mother, unable to bear the death of her beloved daughter, died. Erast, who learned about Liza's death, blamed himself for her death, he never found happiness in life. Shortly before the death of Erast, a storyteller met him, and he told him his story.
Conclusion
In his work, Karamzin proclaimed a timeless idea - any person, regardless of origin and position in society, is worthy of love, respect and compassion. This humanistic position of the author deserves attention in modern life.
A brief retelling of "Poor Lisa" is only the first step towards getting to know the story. Full text will allow you to comprehend the depth of the author's intention and appreciate the beauty and conciseness of the language of the work.
Story test
The test will help you assess your level of knowledge summary:
Retelling rating
Average rating: 4.1. Total ratings received: 6663.
The story "Poor Lisa", which became a model of sentimental prose, was published by Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin in 1792 in the publication "Moscow Journal". It is worth noting Karamzin as an honored reformer of the Russian language and one of the most highly educated Russians of his time - this is an important aspect that allows us to evaluate the success of the story in the future. Firstly, the development of Russian literature had a "catching up" character, since it lagged behind European literature by about 90-100 years. While in the West sentimental novels were being written and read with might and main, clumsy classical odes and dramas were still being composed in Russia. Karamzin's progressiveness as a writer consisted in "bringing" sentimental genres from Europe to his homeland and developing a style and language for further writing such works.
Secondly, the assimilation of literature of the late 18th century by the public was such that at first they wrote for society how to live, and then society began to live according to what was written. That is, before the sentimental story, people read mostly hagiographic or church literature, where there were no living characters or lively speech, and the heroes of the sentimental story - such as Lisa - gave secular young ladies a real scenario of life, a guide of feelings.
History of the creation of the story
Karamzin brought a story about poor Lisa from his many trips - from 1789 to 1790 he visited Germany, England, France, Switzerland (England is considered the birthplace of sentimentalism), and upon his return he published a new revolutionary story in his own journal.
“Poor Liza” is not an original work, since Karamzin adapted its plot for Russian soil, taking it from European literature. We are not talking about a specific work and plagiarism - there were many such European stories. In addition, the author created an atmosphere of amazing authenticity by drawing himself as one of the heroes of the story and masterfully describing the situation of events.
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, shortly after returning from a trip, the writer lived in a dacha not far from the Simonov Monastery, in a picturesque, calm place. The situation described by the author is real - the readers recognized both the surroundings of the monastery and the “lizine pond”, and this contributed to the fact that the plot was perceived as reliable, and the characters as real people.
Analysis of the work
The plot of the story
The plot of the story is love and, according to the author, utterly simple. The peasant girl Liza (her father was a prosperous peasant, but after his death the economy is in decline and the girl has to earn money by selling needlework and flowers) lives in the bosom of nature with her old mother. In a city that seems huge and alien to her, she meets a young nobleman, Erast. Young people fall in love - Erast out of boredom, inspired by pleasures and a noble lifestyle, and Liza - for the first time, with all the simple, ardor and naturalness of a "natural person". Erast takes advantage of the girl's gullibility and takes possession of her, after which, naturally, he begins to be weary of the girl's company. The nobleman leaves for the war, where he loses his entire fortune in cards. The way out is to marry a rich widow. Lisa finds out about this and commits suicide by throwing herself into a pond, not far from the Simonov Monastery. The author who has been told this story cannot remember poor Liza without holy tears of regret.
For the first time among Russian writers, Karamzin unleashed the conflict of a work by the death of the heroine - as, most likely, it would have been in reality.
Of course, despite the progressiveness of Karamzin's story, his characters differ significantly from real people, they are idealized and embellished. This is especially true of the peasants - Lisa does not look like a peasant woman. It is unlikely that hard work would have contributed to the fact that she remained “sensitive and kind”, it is unlikely that she would conduct internal dialogues with herself in an elegant style, and she could hardly keep up a conversation with a nobleman. Nevertheless, this is the first thesis of the story - "and peasant women know how to love."
main characters
Lisa
The central heroine of the story, Liza, is the embodiment of sensitivity, ardor and ardor. Her mind, kindness and tenderness, the author emphasizes, are from nature. Having met Erast, she begins to dream not that he, like a handsome prince, will take her to his world, but that he should be a simple peasant or shepherd - this would equalize them and allow them to be together.
Erast differs from Liza not only in social terms, but also in character. Perhaps, the author says, he was spoiled by the world - he leads a typical lifestyle for an officer and a nobleman - he seeks pleasures and, having found them, cools to life. Erast is both smart and kind, but weak, incapable of action - such a hero also appears in Russian literature for the first time, a type of "disappointed aristocrat's life." At first, Erast is sincere in his love impulse - he does not lie when he tells Lisa about love, and it turns out that he is also a victim of circumstances. He does not stand the test of love, does not resolve the situation "like a man", but feels sincere torment after what happened. After all, it was he who allegedly told the author the story of poor Lisa and led him to Liza's grave.
Erast predetermined the appearance in Russian literature of a number of heroes like "superfluous people" - weak and incapable of key decisions.
Karamzin uses "speaking names". In the case of Liza, the choice of the name turned out to be "double-sided". The fact is that classical literature provided for typification techniques, and the name Lisa was supposed to mean a playful, flirtatious, frivolous character. Such a name could have a laughing maid - a cunning comedy character, prone to love adventures, by no means innocent. Having chosen such a name for his heroine, Karamzin destroyed the classical typification and created a new one. He built a new relationship between the name, character and actions of the hero and outlined the path to psychologism in literature.
The name Erast was also not chosen by chance. It means "beautiful" in Greek. His fatal charm, the need for novelty of impressions lured and ruined the unfortunate girl. But Erast will reproach himself for the rest of his life.
Constantly reminding the reader of his reaction to what is happening (“I remember with sadness ...”, “tears are rolling down my face, reader ....”), the author organizes the narrative in such a way that it acquires lyricism and sensitivity.
Quotes
"Mother! Mother! How can this be? He is a gentleman, and among the peasants ...". Lisa.
"Nature calls me into its arms, to its pure joys," he thought, and decided - at least for a while - to leave the great light..
“I can’t live,” thought Liza, “it’s impossible!.. Oh, if only the sky would fall on me! If only the earth would swallow up the poor woman!... No! The sky doesn’t fall; the earth doesn’t tremble! Lisa.
"Now, maybe they've already reconciled!" Author
Theme, conflict of the story
Karamzin's story touches on several themes:
- The theme of the idealization of the peasant environment, the ideality of life in nature. main character- a child of nature, and therefore, by default, it cannot be evil, immoral, insensitive. The girl embodies simplicity and innocence due to the fact that she comes from a peasant family, where eternal moral values are kept.
- The theme of love and betrayal. The author sings of the beauty of sincere feelings and sadly talks about the doom of love, not supported by reason.
- The theme of the opposition of the village and the city. The city turns out to be evil, a great evil force capable of breaking a pure creature from nature (Lisa's mother intuitively feels this evil force and prays for her daughter every time she goes to the city to sell flowers or berries).
- The theme of the "little man". Social inequality, the author is sure (and this is an obvious glimpse of realism) does not lead to the happiness of lovers from different backgrounds. Such love is doomed.
The main conflict of the story is social, because it is precisely because of the gap between wealth and poverty that the love of the heroes dies, and then the heroine. The author exalts sensitivity as the highest value of a person, affirms the cult of feelings as opposed to the cult of reason.
- In the story “Poor Liza”, Karamzin touches on the topic of confrontation between the city and the countryside. In it, the main characters (Lisa and Erast) are examples of this confrontation. Lisa is a peasant girl. After the death of her father, she and her mother became impoverished, and Lisa was forced to take on Read More ......
- This story tells about the love of a peasant girl Lisa for a rich man. young man Erast. When Lisa's father died, she was 15 years old, she stayed with her mother, they did not have sufficient means of subsistence, so Lisa was engaged in needlework and work Read More ......
- The literary direction of sentimentalism came to Russia from France at the end of the 18th century, and addressed mainly to the problems of the human soul. Karamzin's story "Poor Liza" tells about the love of the young nobleman Erast and the peasant woman Lisa. Lisa lives with her mother in the Read More ......
- Karamzin's story "Poor Liza", written in the genre of sentimentalism, causes a storm of emotions when reading. This sad story cannot leave indifferent even the most callous person. Many works have been written in this genre, but it is “Poor Liza” that is deservedly recognized as the best. This Read More ......
- The best story of Karamzin is rightly recognized as "Poor Liza" (1792), which is based on the enlightening idea of the extra-class value of the human person. The problematic of the story is of a social and moral nature: the peasant woman Lisa is opposed by the nobleman Erast. The characters are revealed in relation to the heroes to love. Lisa's feelings are deep, Read More ......
- Sentimentalism is one of the most significant literary trends XVIII century in Russia, the brightest representative of which was N. M. Karamzin. Russian stories, the main content of which was a story about love, and the greatest value - sensitivity, appeared before Karamzin. But it is his Read More ......
- I. The relevance of N. M. Karamzin's story "Poor Lisa" at all times. II. True and false values in the story. 1. Work, honesty, kindness of soul are the main moral values of Liza's family. 2. Money as the main value in the life of Erast. 3. The real reasons Read More ......
- The story begins with a description of the cemetery where the girl Liza is buried. Based on this picture, the author tells sad story a young peasant woman who paid with her life for her love. Once, while selling lilies of the valley collected in the forest on the street, Liza met a young nobleman, Erast. Her Read More ......
Rated the book
"Poor Lisa"
What a naive story. If in some incomprehensible way you managed to avoid knowledge about the fate of poor Lisa, then it is still completely clear from the first lines what will happen next and why. But you know what feeling arises when reading? tenderness. Was there really such naivety, could there really be such love? And yet ... if Lisa is such a pure and noble girl, how could she doom her mother to a lonely old age? In general, the most curious thing when reading this story was the compilation in my head of the image of an ideal woman according to Karamzin. What is she? It seemed to me that something like this: love a man with all my heart, trust him in everything, spit on everyone else, be innocent, modest, etc. Are there any? Certainly not Poor Karamzin...
"Natalia, boyar's daughter"
I heard somewhere that when a newspaper was brought to Catherine the Great, which, at her command, was printed in St. Petersburg, she was indignant that journalists were describing what was bad and said something like: “Why do you only write about bad things? I already know what's wrong with us. You better write what we have good!”. I can't vouch for the accuracy of the quote, but I conveyed the meaning correctly. We will not talk about the literal perception of her words even several centuries later, and this is not so unambiguous, let's talk about something else. Karamzin writes about the good. Firstly: the whole story is simply permeated with love for Russia, faith in the tsar, longing for real and specifically Russian people. Secondly: the images of the heroes of the story are so ideal that it is hard to believe in the reality of their existence, and it is not necessary. Thirdly: faith in justice and in pure, eternal love is a leitmotif that conquers, despite all the fabulousness, even a very cynical one. contemporary writer. It seems to me that this story by Karamzin should be perceived as a fairy tale, and a fairy tale, as you know, should not be either plausible or, even more so, real. She should just be kind and talk about something good (the presence of a princess and a prince, whoever they are, is a must).
"Martha the Posadnitsa"
Wild peoples love independence, wise peoples love order, but there is no order without autocratic power.
And the people of free Novgorod could listen to the royal messenger, but they liked listening to a woman offended by fate more. And offended, and even more so single women, are bad advisers. Thanks to the advice of the "freedom-loving" Madame Martha, she was not alone in becoming lonely, almost all the women of Veliky Novgorod were added to her loneliness, and all together it was not so dreary. Hmm ... When the free inhabitants starved, fought with the royal army and drank dashingly, they became uninteresting in free life and joyfully greeted Ivan the Terrible, who decided this very Martha and her daughter (apparently, for sure) and decided. So whatever one may say, all roads lead to autocracy, no matter how formidable it may be.
Rated the book
About "Marfa the Posadnitsa ..."
And I liked this "fairy tale", especially after we analyzed this work from different points of view at lectures on the history of Russian culture.
In my opinion, this historical story has every chance of success, so to speak - it is interesting, very dynamic, the language is quite digestible even for a modern reader. Nevertheless, there is a significant minus (which, of course, needs to be written down not by Karamzin, but by the modern reader) - one who wants to get acquainted with "Marfa the Posadnitsa" must become real historical events. After that, it will become even more interesting to read, because it is always interesting to compare reality and fiction, especially if the author does not position his work as a purely historical chronicle.
In addition, in addition to the historical action, Karamzin's point of view on various aspects of life (wealth, for example) is also interesting.
Plus, this story is purely oppositional for its time, which also cannot leave you indifferent. Karamzin's idea that autocracy is the only correct form of government for Russia cannot fail to attract the attention of an enlightened and interested public. (5/5)
About "Poor Lisa".
To understand and perceive this work without an ache in the jaw and exclamations of "God, well, idiotkaaaaa", you need to be a man of your time. I am sentimental to the point of horror, but this work caused me a zhuuuuut reaction. Precisely because I live in a different time, which means that I simply cannot understand many of the actions and thoughts of those times. Romanticism, yes, but not sentimentalism. (2/5)
The literature of this trend really influenced the reading people both in Europe and in Russia. The heroes of the works became the object of worship, they were sympathized with, like real people, they were imitated both in behavior and in clothes, they tried to get to the places where they lived. Readers were attracted by the inner world of the characters, the movements of their souls, the courage and frankness of the author, who was not embarrassed by her tears - a sign of sensitivity.
In Russian literature, the most popular sentimental story was "Poor Lisa" by N. M. Karamzin (1792). It was a great success with readers. Since the author accurately named the scene, the Simonov Monastery and the pond, located nearby, where Lisa died, became a place for walking Muscovites and many visitors. Readers shed about Lisa, like the author, "tears of tender sorrow."
The story is permeated with respect for the person and brings up humanity. It reveals to readers their own souls, awakens compassion and other noble feelings. One of Karamzin's contemporaries testified: "We felt all the sweetness of participation, and, despite the flowing tears, our heart secretly admired, seeing ourselves capable of that."
The described tragic story was perceived as real, because its narrator personally knew the hero, who led him to Liza's grave. The author's introduction and conclusion set the reader in a certain emotional mood, causing empathy and sympathy of readers. The story was also popular because Karamzin created life images of the characters. Each of them, like living people, contains both good and bad qualities. They love, they suffer, they make mistakes, they repent. Recall that the heroes in the works of the classicists were endowed with either positive or negative traits character. They often had speaking names and surnames.
The reader opens a magnificent landscape, the beauty of which I subtly feel. Art and the narrator conveys, which testifies to the depth and richness of his soul. At the same time, by opposing the city and the countryside, the author prepares the reader for the perception of the images of the heroes. The transition from the summer panorama of Moscow to the autumn one sets you up for anxious expectation, creates a sad mood.
Consider how the relationship between Lisa and Erast developed. What did the author say about Erast? This is “a rather rich nobleman, with a fair mind and a kind heart, kind by nature, but weak and windy. He led a distracted life, thinking only about his own pleasure, looking for it in secular amusements, but often did not find it: he was bored and complained about his fate.
What attracted Erast to Liza? “The beauty of Lisa at the first meeting made an impression in his heart. He read novels, idylls, had a rather lively imagination, moved mentally to those times (former and non-former), in which, according to the poets, all people carelessly walked through the meadows, bathed in clean springs, kissed like doves, rested under roses and myrtle and in happy idleness they spent all their days. It seemed to him that he had found in Lisa what his heart had been looking for for a long time. “Nature calls me into its arms, to its pure joys,” he thought, and decided to leave the great light at least for a while.
What do Lisa and her mother say about Erast? “He has such a kind face, such a voice…” – admires the girl. Lisa's mother also perceives him in the same way: “But what should we call you, good sir?” The author speaks of his hero as a kind, but frivolous person. And what character trait is hidden behind the words said about him: "... I thought only about my own pleasure"? Of course, this is selfishness. At the same time, Erast understands that a man must be responsible for the fate of his beloved woman. He thinks; “I will not use her love for evil, and I will always be happy.”
Karamzin notes that Erast was influenced by bucolic poetry, common in the literature of classicism and sentimentalism. Moreover, it is impossible not to note the author's ironic attitude to bucolic, or pastoral, poetry. The life of the virtuous villagers of Karamzin takes place in the works: "Father Lizin ... loved work, plowed the land well and always led a sober life." Liza sold her handicrafts and flowers in the city, and looked after her sick mother.
Meeting with a beautiful village girl selling lilies of the valley corresponded to Erast's mood. These flowers were the personification of her purity, modesty, soft beauty and defenselessness. Erast seeks to buy lilies of the valley for a great price. This is how the theme of money arises, the hero wants to buy along with flowers and the location of a girl. The reader is convinced that the character of the hero combines contradictory traits.
The inner world of the characters is revealed in their speech, gestures, actions, in the author's descriptions of their experiences, as well as with the help of the landscape. So, not having met the next day after meeting Erast, who promised to always buy flowers from her, Liza throws lilies of the valley into the river with the words: “No one owns you!” In this act of the heroine, which has a symbolic meaning, both the strength of feelings and the state of her soul are revealed. Introducing Erast to her mother, Lisa “repeated this name five times, as if trying to solidify it.” Liza's gestures convey excitement, joy, and embarrassment. For example, listening that Erast would come to them every day, “she looked at her left sleeve and pinched it right hand”.
Nature is always in accordance with Lisa's state of mind. But the realization of the accomplished tragedy makes her feel at odds with nature: “Ah, Lisa! What happened to you? Until now, waking up with the birds, you had fun with them in the morning, and a pure, joyful soul shone in your eyes, like the sun shines in drops of heavenly dew; but now you are pensive and the general joy of nature is foreign to your heart.”
Their dates continued; but how things have changed! Erast could no longer be satisfied with being alone with the innocent caresses of his Lisa - with her eyes full of love - with one touch of the hand, one kiss, one pure embrace. He wanted more, more, and, finally, could not want anything - and whoever knows his heart, who has thought about the nature of his most tender pleasures, will, of course, agree with me that the fulfillment of all desires is the most dangerous temptation of love. Liza was no longer for Erast this angel of purity, who had previously inflamed his imagination and delighted his soul. Platonic love gave way to such feelings that he could not be proud of and which were no longer new to him.
Having left the "big world", carried away by a beautiful villager, Erast prudently promises nothing to Lisa, forgets about his responsibility for her fate. He advises her not to tell her mother about their relationship. Lisa listens to Erast "with downcast eyes, with fiery cheeks, with a trembling heart." She “could not take her hands away from him, could not turn away when he approached her with his pink lips ... ah! He kissed her, kissed her with such fervor that the whole universe seemed to her on fire! But I throw the brush…”.
As the researchers of Karamzin's work note, this episode is as if drawn with paints based on the metaphors “fire of love”, “love burns hearts”. Erast's cooling came because the girl had lost the charm of novelty for him. The habit of city life took its toll. His passionate speeches are replaced by cold prudence, he offers Liza a hundred rubles for her sincere love. So the theme of money arises both at the first and at the last meeting of Erast with Lisa.
Erast could not live among simple, sincere people. Urban civilization corrupted him, killed his natural kindness, made him prudent (marries a rich widow). He did not keep his intention "not to use" Liza's love for evil.