Main themes of sentimentalism. Sentimentalism in Russian literature of the 19th century

§ 1. The emergence and development of sentimentalism in Europe

Literary movements should not always be judged by their names, especially since the meaning of the words by which they are designated changes over time. IN modern language“sentimental” - easily touched, able to quickly become emotional; sensitive. In the 18th century, the words “sentimentality”, “sensitivity” meant something else - receptivity, the ability to respond with the soul to everything that surrounds a person.Sensitivethey called the one who admired virtue, the beauties of nature, the creations of art, who sympathized with human sorrows. The first work in the title of which the word appeared was “Sentimental Journey”ByFrance and Italy” by Englishman Laurence Stern(1768). The most famous writer of sentimentalism, Jean Jacques Rousseau, is the author of the touching novel “Julia, or the New Heloise”(1761).

Sentimentalism(from French.sentiment- "feeling"; from English.sentimental- “sensitive”) - a literary movement in European art of the second half of the 18th century, prepared by the crisis of Enlightenment rationalism and proclaiming that the basis of human nature is not reason, but feeling. An important event in the spiritual life of Europe was the discovery in man of the ability to enjoy the contemplation of his own emotions. It turned out that By sympathizing with one’s neighbor, sharing his sorrows, helping him, one can experience sincere joy. To perform virtuous actions means to follow not external duty, but one’s own nature. Developed sensitivity in itself is capable of distinguishing good from evil, and therefore there is no need for morality. a work of art was valued by how much it could upset a person and touch his heart. On the basis of these views, the artistic system of sentimentalism grew.

Like its predecessor - classicism, sentimentalism is thoroughly didactic, subordinated to educational tasks. But this is didacticism of a different kind. If classic writers sought to influence the minds of readers, to convince them of

Bypassing the need to follow the immutable laws of morality, sentimental literature turns to feeling. She describes the majestic beauties of nature, solitude in the bosom of which becomes an affinity for nurturing sensitivity, appeals to religious feelings, glorifies the joys family life, often contrasted with the state virtues of classicism, depicts various touching situations that simultaneously evoke in readers both compassion for the characters and joy from the feeling of their spiritual sensitivity. Without breaking with the Enlightenment, sentimentalism remained faithful to the ideal of a normative personality, but the condition for its implementation was not the “reasonable” reorganization of the world, but the release and improvement of “natural” feelings. The hero of educational literature in sentimentalism is more individualized, he is a democrat by origin or beliefs; there is no straightforwardness characteristic of classicism in the delineation and assessment of characters. The rich spiritual world of the common people, the affirmation of the innate moral purity of representatives of the lower classes are some of the main discoveries and conquests of sentimentalism.

The literature of sentimentalism was addressed to everyday life. Choosing ordinary people as her heroes and destining for an equally simple reader, not experienced in book wisdom, she demanded the immediate embodiment of her values ​​and ideals. She sought to show that these ideals were extracted from everyday life, putting her works into the formstravel notes, letters, diaries, written but hot on the heels of events. Accordingly, the narration in sentimental literature comes from the perspective of a participant or witness of what is being described; at the same time, everything that happens in the narrator’s mind comes to the fore. Sentimentalist writers strive above all to educateemotional culturetheir readers, therefore the description of spiritual reactions to certain phenomena of life sometimes obscures the phenomena themselves. The prose of sentimentalism is filled with digressions, outlining the nuances of the characters’ feelings, and discussions on moral themes, while the storyline gradually weakens. In poetry, the same processes lead to the foregrounding of the author’s personality and the collapse of the genre system of classicism.

Sentimentalism received its most complete expression in England, developing from melancholic contemplation and a patriarchal idyll in the lap of nature to a socially specific disclosure of the theme. The main features of English sentimentalism are sensitivity, not devoid of exaltation, irony and humor, which also provide a parodic debunking of the

of the canon, and the skeptical attitude of sentimentalism to one’s own capabilities. Sentimentalists showed the non-identity of man to himself, his ability to be different. But unlike pre-romanticism, which developed in parallel with it, sentimentalism was alien to the irrational - the inconsistency of moods, the impulsive nature of emotional impulses, he perceived as accessible to rationalistic interpretation.

Pan-European cultural communication and typological proximity in the development of literature led to the rapid spread of sentimentalism in Germany, France, and Russia. In Russian literature, representatives of the new movement in the 60-70s of the 18th century. became M. N. Muravyov, N. P. Karamzin, V. V. Kapnist, N. A. Lvov, V. A. Zhukovsky, A. I. Radishchev.

The first sentimental trends in Russian literature appeared in the mid-70s of the 18th century. in the poetry of the still very young M. N. Muravyov (1757-1807). At first he wrote poems on themes bequeathed by classicist teachers. A person, according to the poets of Russian classicism, must always maintain internal balance or, as they said, “peace.” Reflecting and reading European authors, M. N. Muravyov came to the conclusion that such peace cannot exist, since a person is “sensitive , he is passionate, he is subject to influences, he was born to feel.” This is how the most important words for sentimentalism sounded: sensitivity (in the sense of receptivity) and influence (now they say “impressionability”). You cannot evade influences, they determine the entire course of human life.

The role of M. N. Muravyov in the history of Russian literature is great. In particular, he was the first to describe the inner world of a person in development, examining in detail his mental movements. The poet worked a lot to improve his poetic technique, and in some of his later poems his verse is already approaching the clarity and purity of Pushkin’s poetry. But, having published two poetry collections in his early youth, M. II. Muravyov then published sporadically, and subsequently left literature altogether for the sake of teaching.

Russian sentimentalism, predominantly aristocratic in nature, is largelyrationalistic,are strong in itdidactic settingAndeducational trends.Improving the literary language, Russian sentimentalists turned to colloquial norms and introduced vernacular language. IN

the basis of the aesthetics of sentimentalism, kyak and classicism, imitation of nature, idealization of patriarchal life, the spread of elegiac moods. The favorite genres of sentimentalists were epistle, elegy, epistolary novel, travel notes, diaries and other types of prose works. in which confessional motives predominate.

The ideal of sensitivity proclaimed by the sentimentalists influenced a whole generation of educated people in Europe. Sensitivity was reflected not only in literature, but also in painting, in interior decoration, especially in park art; the newfangled landscape (English) park, with every turn of its paths, was supposed to show nature in an unexpected way and thus provide food for the senses. Reading sentimental novels was part of the norm of behavior for an educated person. Pushkin’s Tatyana Larina, who “fell in love with the deceptions of both Richardson and Rousseau” (Samuel Richardson is a famous English sentimental novelist), in this sense received the same upbringing in the Russian wilderness as all European young ladies. To literary heroes they sympathized with real people and imitated them.

In general, sentimental education brought a lot of good things. People who received it learned to appreciate more the most insignificant details of life around them, to listen to every movement of their soul. The hero of sentimental works and the person brought up on them are close to nature, perceive themselves as its product, admire nature itself, and not that. how people remade it. Thanks to sentimentalism, some writers of past centuries, whose work did not fit into the framework of the theory of classicism, became loved again. Among them are such great names as W. Shakespeare and M. Cervantes. In addition, the sentimental direction was democratic, the disadvantaged became objects of compassion, and the simple life of the middle class of society was considered favorable to tender, poetic feelings.

In the 80-90s of the 18th century. There is a crisis of sentimentalism associated with the gap between sentimental literature and its didactic tasks. After the French Revolution 1<85) 179<1 гг. сентиментальные веяния в европейских литерату­рах сходят на нет, уступая место романтическим тенденциям.

1.When and where did sentimentalism originate?

2.What are the causes of sentimentalism?

3.Name the basic principles of sentimentalism.

4.What features of the Enlightenment did sentimentalism inherit?

5.Who became the hero of sentimental literature?

6. In which countries did sentimentalism become widespread?

7.Name the main principles of English sentimentalism.

8.How did sentimentalist moods differ from pre-romantic ones?

9.When did sentimentalism appear in Russia? Catch his representativesin Russian literature.

10.What are the distinctive features of Russian sentimentalism?Name its genres.

Key concepts:sentimentalism, feeling, feelings- activity. didacticism, enlightenment, patriarchal life. elegy, message, travel notes, epistolary novel

Sentimentalism remained faithful to the ideal of a normative personality, but the condition for its implementation was not the “reasonable” reorganization of the world, but the release and improvement of “natural” feelings. The hero of educational literature in sentimentalism is more individualized, his inner world is enriched by the ability to empathize and sensitively respond to what is happening around him. By origin (or by conviction) the sentimentalist hero is a democrat; the rich spiritual world of the common people is one of the main discoveries and conquests of sentimentalism.

The most prominent representatives of sentimentalism are James Thomson, Edward Jung, Thomas Gray, Laurence Stern (England), Jean Jacques Rousseau (France), Nikolai Karamzin (Russia).

Sentimentalism in English literature

Thomas Gray

England was the birthplace of sentimentalism. At the end of the 20s of the 18th century. James Thomson, with his poems “Winter” (1726), “Summer” (1727) and Spring, Autumn, subsequently combined into one whole and published () under the title “The Seasons,” contributed to the development of a love of nature in the English reading public by drawing simple, unpretentious rural landscapes, following step by step the various moments of the life and work of the farmer and, apparently, striving to place the peaceful, idyllic village environment above the bustling and spoiled city.

In the 40s of the same century, Thomas Gray, the author of the elegy “Rural Cemetery” (one of the most famous works of cemetery poetry), the ode “Towards Spring”, etc., like Thomson, tried to interest readers in rural life and nature, to awaken their sympathy to simple, inconspicuous people with their needs, sorrows and beliefs, while at the same time giving his creativity a pensive and melancholy character.

Richardson's famous novels - "Pamela" (), "Clarissa Garlo" (), "Sir Charles Grandison" () - are also of a bright and typical product of English sentimentalism. Richardson was completely insensitive to the beauties of nature and did not like to describe it, but he put psychological analysis in the first place and made the English, and then the entire European public, keenly interested in the fate of the heroes and especially the heroines of his novels.

Laurence Sterne, author of “Tristram Shandy” (-) and “A Sentimental Journey” (; after the name of this work the direction itself was called “sentimental”), combined Richardson’s sensitivity with a love of nature and a peculiar humor. Stern himself called the “sentimental journey” “a peaceful journey of the heart in search of nature and all spiritual attractions that can inspire us with more love for our neighbors and for the whole world than we usually feel.”

Sentimentalism in French literature

Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre

Having moved to the continent, English sentimentalism found somewhat prepared soil in France. Quite independently of the English representatives of this trend, Abbé Prévost (“Manon Lescaut,” “Cleveland”) and Marivaux (“Life of Marianne”) taught the French public to admire everything touching, sensitive, and somewhat melancholy.

Under the same influence, Rousseau's "Julia" or "New Heloise" was created, who always spoke of Richardson with respect and sympathy. Julia reminds many of Clarissa Garlo, Clara reminds her of her friend, miss Howe. The moralizing nature of both works also brings them closer to each other; but in Rousseau’s novel nature plays a prominent role; the shores of Lake Geneva - Vevey, Clarens, Julia’s grove - are described with remarkable skill. Rousseau's example did not remain without imitation; his follower, Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, in his famous work “Paul and Virginie” () transfers the scene of action to South Africa, accurately foreshadowing the best works of Chateaubreand, makes his heroes a charming couple of lovers living far from urban culture, in close communication with nature, sincere, sensitive and pure in soul.

Sentimentalism in Russian literature

Sentimentalism penetrated into Russia in the 1780s and early 1790s thanks to translations of the novels “Werther” by J.V. Goethe, “Pamela,” “Clarissa” and “Grandison” by S. Richardson, “The New Heloise” by J.-J. Rousseau, "Paul and Virginie" by J.-A. Bernardin de Saint-Pierre. The era of Russian sentimentalism was opened by Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin with “Letters of a Russian Traveler” (1791–1792).

His story "Poor Liza" (1792) is a masterpiece of Russian sentimental prose; from Goethe's Werther he inherited a general atmosphere of sensitivity, melancholy and the theme of suicide.

The works of N.M. Karamzin gave rise to a huge number of imitations; at the beginning of the 19th century appeared "Poor Liza" by A.E. Izmailov (1801), "Journey to Midday Russia" (1802), "Henrietta, or the Triumph of Deception over Weakness or Delusion" by I. Svechinsky (1802), numerous stories by G.P. Kamenev ( “The Story of Poor Marya”; “Unhappy Margarita”; “Beautiful Tatiana”), etc.

Ivan Ivanovich Dmitriev belonged to Karamzin’s group, which advocated the creation of a new poetic language and fought against archaic pompous style and outdated genres.

Sentimentalism marked the early work of Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky. The publication in 1802 of a translation of Elegy, written in a rural cemetery by E. Gray, became a phenomenon in the artistic life of Russia, for he translated the poem “into the language of sentimentalism in general, translated the genre of elegy, and not an individual work of an English poet, which has its own special individual style” (E. G. Etkind). In 1809, Zhukovsky wrote a sentimental story “Maryina Roshcha” in the spirit of N.M. Karamzin.

Russian sentimentalism had exhausted itself by 1820.

It was one of the stages of pan-European literary development, which completed the Age of Enlightenment and opened the way to romanticism.

Main features of the literature of sentimentalism

So, taking into account all of the above, we can identify several main features of Russian literature of sentimentalism: a departure from the straightforwardness of classicism, an emphasized subjectivity of the approach to the world, a cult of feelings, a cult of nature, a cult of innate moral purity, innocence, the rich spiritual world of representatives of the lower classes is affirmed. Attention is paid to the spiritual world of a person, and feelings come first, not great ideas.

In painting

The direction of Western art of the second half of the 18th century, expressing disappointment in “civilization” based on the ideals of “reason” (Enlightenment ideology). S. proclaims the feeling, solitary reflection, and simplicity of the rural life of the “little man.” J.J.Russo is considered the ideologist of S.

One of the characteristic features of Russian portrait art of this period was citizenship. The heroes of the portrait no longer live in their own closed, isolated world. The consciousness of being necessary and useful to the fatherland, caused by the patriotic upsurge in the era of the Patriotic War of 1812, the flowering of humanistic thought, which was based on respect for the dignity of the individual, and the expectation of imminent social changes are restructuring the worldview of the advanced person. The portrait of N.A., presented in the hall, is adjacent to this direction. Zubova, granddaughters A.V. Suvorov, copied by an unknown master from a portrait of I.B. Lumpy the Elder, depicting a young woman in a park, away from the conventions of social life. She looks at the viewer thoughtfully with a half-smile; everything about her is simplicity and naturalness. Sentimentalism is opposed to straightforward and overly logical reasoning about the nature of human feeling, emotional perception that directly and more reliably leads to the comprehension of the truth. Sentimentalism expanded the idea of ​​human mental life, coming closer to understanding its contradictions, the very process of human experience. At the turn of two centuries, the work of N.I. developed. Argunov, a gifted serf of the Sheremetyev counts. One of the significant trends in Argunov’s work, which was not interrupted throughout the 19th centuries, is the desire for concreteness of expression, an unpretentious approach to a person. A portrait of N.P. is presented in the hall. Sheremetyev. It was donated by the Count himself to the Rostov Spaso-Yakovlevsky Monastery, where the cathedral was built at his expense. The portrait is characterized by realistic simplicity of expression, free from embellishment and idealization. The artist avoids painting the hands and focuses on the model’s face. The coloring of the portrait is based on the expressiveness of individual spots of pure color, colorful planes. In the portrait art of this time, a type of modest chamber portrait was emerging, completely freed from any features of the external environment, demonstrative behavior of models (portrait of P.A. Babin, P.I. Mordvinov). They do not pretend to be deeply psychologistic. We are dealing only with a fairly clear fixation of patterns and a calm state of mind. A separate group consists of children's portraits presented in the hall. What is captivating about them is the simplicity and clarity of the interpretation of the image. If in the 18th century children were most often depicted with the attributes of mythological heroes in the form of cupids, Apollos and Dianas, then in the 19th century artists strive to convey the direct image of a child, the warehouse of a child’s character. The portraits presented in the hall, with rare exceptions, come from noble estates. They were part of estate portrait galleries, the basis of which were family portraits. The collection was of an intimate, predominantly memorial nature and reflected the personal attachments of the models and their attitude towards their ancestors and contemporaries, the memory of whom they tried to preserve for posterity. The study of portrait galleries deepens the understanding of the era, allows you to more clearly sense the specific environment in which the works of the past lived, and understand a number of features of their artistic language. Portraits provide rich material for studying the history of Russian culture.

V.L. experienced a particularly strong influence of sentimentalism. Borovikovsky, who depicted many of his models against the background of an English park, with a soft, sensually vulnerable expression on his face. Borovikovsky was connected with the English tradition through the circle of N.A. Lvova - A.N. Venison. He knew well the typology of English portraiture, in particular from the works of the German artist A. Kaufmann, fashionable in the 1780s, who was educated in England.

English landscape painters also had some influence on Russian painters, for example, such masters of idealized classicist landscape as Ya.F. Hackert, R. Wilson, T. Jones, J. Forrester, S. Dalon. In the landscapes of F.M. Matveev, the influence of “Waterfalls” and “Views of Tivoli” by J. Mora can be traced.

In Russia, the graphics of J. Flaxman (illustrations to Gormer, Aeschylus, Dante), which influenced the drawings and engravings of F. Tolstoy, and the small plastic works of Wedgwood were also popular - in 1773, the Empress made a fantastic order for the British manufactory for “ Service with green frog"of 952 objects with views of Great Britain, now stored in the Hermitage.

Miniatures by G.I. were performed in English taste. Skorodumov and A.Kh. Rita; The genre “Pictorial Sketches of Russian Manners, Customs and Entertainments in One Hundred Colored Drawings” (1803-1804) performed by J. Atkinson were reproduced on porcelain.

There were fewer British artists working in Russia in the second half of the 18th century than French or Italian ones. Among them, the most famous was Richard Brompton, the court artist of George III, who worked in St. Petersburg in 1780 - 1783. He owns portraits of the Grand Dukes Alexander and Konstantin Pavlovich, and Prince George of Wales, which became examples of the image of heirs at a young age. Brompton's unfinished image of Catherine against the backdrop of the fleet was embodied in the portrait of the Empress in the Temple of Minerva by D.G. Levitsky.

French by birth P.E. Falcone was a student of Reynolds and therefore represented the English school of painting. The traditional English aristocratic landscape presented in his works, dating back to Van Dyck of the English period, did not receive wide recognition in Russia.

However, Van Dyck's paintings from the Hermitage collection were often copied, which contributed to the spread of the genre of costume portraiture. The fashion for images in the English spirit became more widespread after the return from Britain of the engraver Skorodmov, who was appointed “Her Imperial Majesty's Cabinet engraver” and elected Academician. Thanks to the work of the engraver J. Walker, engraved copies of paintings by J. Romini, J. Reynolds, and W. Hoare were distributed in St. Petersburg. The notes left by J. Walker talk a lot about the advantages of the English portrait, and also describe the reaction to the acquired G.A. Potemkin and Catherine II of Reynolds's paintings: "the manner of thickly applying paint ... seemed strange ... for their (Russian) taste it was too much." However, as a theorist, Reynolds was accepted in Russia; in 1790 his “Speeches” were translated into Russian, in which, in particular, the right of the portrait to belong to a number of the “highest” types of painting was substantiated and the concept of “portrait in the historical style” was introduced.

Literature

• E. Schmidt, “Richardson, Rousseau und Goethe” (Jena, 1875).
• Gasmeyer, “Richardson’s Pamela, ihre Quellen und ihr Einfluss auf die englische Litteratur” (Lpc., 1891).
• P. Stapfer, “Laurence Sterne, sa personne et ses ouvrages” (P., 18 82).
• Joseph Texte, “Jean-Jacques Rousseau et les origines du cosmopolitisme littéraire” (P., 1895).
• L. Petit de Juleville, “Histoire de la langue et de la littérature française” (Vol. VI, issue 48, 51, 54).

• “History of Russian Literature” by A. N. Pypin, (vol. IV, St. Petersburg, 1899).
• Alexey Veselovsky, “Western influence in new Russian literature” (M., 1896).
• S. T. Aksakov, “Various Works” (M., 1858; article about the merits of Prince Shakhovsky in dramatic literature).

Links

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

• Luchko, Klara Stepanovna
• Stern, Lawrence

See what “Sentimentalism” is in other dictionaries:

Sentimentalism- literary direction in the West. Europe and Russia XVIII beginning. 19th century I. SENTIMENTALISM IN THE WEST. The term "S." formed from the adjective “sentimental” (sensitive), to swarm is already found in Richardson, but gained particular popularity after ... Literary encyclopedia

Sentimentalism- SENTIMENTALISM. By sentimentalism we understand that direction of literature that developed at the end of the 18th century and colored the beginning of the 19th century, which was distinguished by the cult of the human heart, feeling, simplicity, naturalness, special... ... Dictionary of literary terms

sentimentalism- a, m. sentimentalisme m. 1. The literary movement of the second half of the 18th and early 19th centuries, which replaced classicism, characterized by special attention to the spiritual world of man, to nature and partly idealizing reality. BAS 1.… … Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

SENTIMENTALISM- SENTIMENTALISM, SENTIMENTALISM sensitivity. A complete dictionary of foreign words that have come into use in the Russian language. Popov M., 1907. sentimentalism (French sentimentalisme sentiment feeling) 1) European literary movement of the late 18th… Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

SENTIMENTALISM- (from the French sentiment feeling), a movement in European and American literature and art of the 2nd half of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Starting from enlightenment rationalism (see Enlightenment), he declared that the dominant of human nature is not reason, but... Modern encyclopedia

SENTIMENTALISM- (from the French sentiment feeling) a movement in European and American literature and art of the 2nd half. 18 start 19th centuries Starting from Enlightenment rationalism (see Enlightenment), he declared that the dominant of human nature is not reason, but feeling, and... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Sentimentalism as a literary method developed in the literature of Western European countries in the 1760-1770s. The artistic method gets its name from the English word sentiment (feeling).

Sentimentalism as a literary method

The historical prerequisite for the emergence of sentimentalism was the growing social role and political activity of the third estate. At its core, the activity of the third estate expressed a tendency towards democratization of the social structure of society. The socio-political imbalance was evidence of the crisis of the absolute monarchy.

However, the principle of rationalistic worldview significantly changed its parameters by the middle of the 18th century. The accumulation of natural science knowledge has led to a revolution in the field of the methodology of knowledge itself, foreshadowing a revision of the rationalistic picture of the world. The highest manifestation of the rational activity of mankind - the absolute monarchy - more and more demonstrated its practical inconsistency with the real needs of society, and the catastrophic gap between the idea of ​​absolutism and the practice of autocratic rule, since the rationalistic principle of world perception was subject to revision in new philosophical teachings that turned to the category of feelings and sensations .

The philosophical doctrine of sensations as the only source and basis of knowledge - sensualism - arose at a time of full viability and even flowering of rationalist philosophical teachings. The founder of sensationalism is the English philosopher John Locke. Locke declared experience to be the source of general ideas. The external world is given to man in his physiological sensations - vision, hearing, taste, smell, touch.

Thus, Locke's sensationalism offers a new model of the process of cognition: sensation - emotion - thought. The picture of the world produced in this way also differs significantly from the dual rationalistic model of the world as a chaos of material objects and a cosmos of higher ideas.

From the philosophical picture of the world of sensationalism follows a clear and precise concept of statehood as a means of harmonizing a natural chaotic society with the help of civil law.

The result of the crisis of absolutist statehood and the modification of the philosophical picture of the world was the crisis of the literary method of classicism, which was determined by the rationalistic type of worldview and associated with the doctrine of absolute monarchy (classicism).

The concept of personality that has developed in the literature of sentimentalism is diametrically opposed to the classicist one. If classicism professed the ideal of a rational and social person, then for sentimentalism the idea of ​​the fullness of personal existence was realized in the concept of a sensitive and private person. The area where a person’s individual private life can be revealed with particular clarity is the intimate life of the soul, love and family life.

The ideological consequence of the sentimentalist revision of the scale of classicist values ​​was the idea of ​​the independent significance of the human personality, the criterion of which was no longer recognized as belonging to a high class.

In sentimentalism, as in classicism, the area of ​​greatest conflict tension remained the relationship between the individual and the collective; sentimentalism gave preference to the natural person. Sentimentalism demanded that society respect individuality.

The universal conflict situation of sentimentalist literature is the mutual love of representatives of different classes, which is broken by social prejudices.

The desire for the natural naturalness of feeling dictated the search for similar literary forms of its expression. And the lofty “language of the gods” - poetry - is replaced in sentimentalism by prose. The advent of the new method was marked by the rapid flourishing of prose narrative genres, primarily the story and novel - psychological, family, educational. Epistolary, diary, confession, travel notes - these are typical genre forms of sentimentalist prose.

Literature that speaks the language of feelings is addressed to feelings and evokes an emotional resonance: aesthetic pleasure takes on the character of emotion.

The originality of Russian sentimentalism

Russian sentimentalism arose on national soil, but in a larger European context. Traditionally, the chronological boundaries of the birth, formation and development of this phenomenon in Russia are determined by 1760-1810.

Already since the 1760s. works of European sentimentalists penetrate into Russia. The popularity of these books causes many translations into Russian. F. Emin’s novel “Letters of Ernest and Doravra” is an obvious imitation of Rousseau’s “New Heloise”.

The era of Russian sentimentalism is “the age of exceptionally diligent reading.”

But, despite the genetic connection of Russian sentimentalism with European sentimentalism, it grew and developed on Russian soil, in a different socio-historical atmosphere. The peasant revolt, which developed into a civil war, made its own adjustments both to the concept of “sensitivity” and to the image of a “sympathizer.” They acquired, and could not help but acquire, a pronounced social connotation. The idea of ​​moral freedom of the individual underlay Russian sentimentalism, but its ethical and philosophical content did not oppose the complex of liberal social concepts.

Karamzin’s lessons from European travel and the experience of the Great French Revolution were in full correspondence with the lessons of Russian travel and Radishchev’s understanding of the experience of Russian slavery. The problem of the hero and the author in these Russian “sentimental journeys” is, first of all, the story of the creation of a new personality, a Russian sympathizer. “Sympathizers” of both Karamzin and Radishchev are contemporaries of turbulent historical events in Europe and Russia, and at the center of their reflection is the reflection of these events in the human soul.

Unlike European Russian sentimentalism had a strong educational basis. The educational ideology of Russian sentimentalism adopted, first of all, the principles of the “educational novel” and the methodological foundations of European pedagogy. Sensitivity and the sensitive hero of Russian sentimentalism were aimed not only at revealing the “inner man,” but also at educating and enlightening society on new philosophical foundations, but taking into account the real historical and social context.

The consistent interest of Russian sentimentalism in the problems of historicism also seems indicative: the very fact of the emergence from the depths of sentimentalism of the grandiose edifice of “History of the Russian State” by N. M. Karamzin reveals the result of the process of understanding the category of historical process. In the depths of sentimentalism, Russian historicism acquired a new style associated with ideas about the feeling of love for the motherland and the indissolubility of the concepts of love for history, for the Fatherland and the human soul. Humanity and animation of historical feeling - this is, perhaps, what sentimentalist aesthetics has enriched Russian literature of modern times, which tends to understand history through its personal embodiment: epochal character.

In the mid-18th century, the process of decomposition of classicism began in Europe (in connection with the destruction of the absolute monarchy in France and other countries), as a result of which a new literary direction appeared - sentimentalism. England is considered to be its homeland, since its typical representatives were English writers. The term “sentimentalism” itself appeared in literature after the publication of “A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy” by Laurence Stern.

Catherine the Great vault

In the 60-70s, the rapid development of capitalist relations began in Russia, resulting in the growing phenomenon of the bourgeoisie. The growth of cities increased, which led to the emergence of the third estate, whose interests are reflected in Russian sentimentalism in literature. At this time, that layer of society, which is now called the intelligentsia, begins to form. The growth of industry turns Russia into a strong power, and numerous military victories contribute to the rise of national self-awareness. In 1762, during the reign of Catherine II, nobles and peasants received many privileges. The Empress thereby tried to create a myth about her reign, showing herself to be an enlightened monarch in Europe.

The policies of Catherine the Second largely impeded progressive phenomena in society. So, in 1767, a special commission was convened to examine the state of the new code. In her work, the empress argued that an absolute monarchy is necessary not to take away freedom from people, but to achieve a good goal. However, sentimentalism in literature meant depicting the life of the common people, so not a single writer mentioned Catherine the Great in his works.

The most important event of this period was the peasant war led by Emelyan Pugachev, after which many nobles sided with the peasants. Already in the 70s, mass societies began to appear in Russia, whose ideas of freedom and equality influenced the formation of a new movement. Under such conditions, Russian sentimentalism in literature began to take shape.

Conditions for the emergence of a new direction

In the second half of the 18th century there was a struggle against feudal orders in Europe. Enlightenmentists defended the interests of the so-called third estate, which often found itself oppressed. Classicists glorified the merits of monarchs in their works, and sentimentalism (in Russian literature) became the opposite direction in this regard several decades later. Representatives advocated the equality of people and put forward the concept of a natural society and natural man. They were guided by the criterion of reasonableness: the feudal system, in their opinion, was unreasonable. This idea was reflected in Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe, and later in the works of Mikhail Karamzin. In France, a striking example and manifesto is the work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau “Julia, or the new Heloise”; in Germany - “The Sorrows of Young Werther” by Johann Goethe. In these books, the tradesman is portrayed as an ideal person, but in Russia everything is different.

Sentimentalism in literature: features of the movement

Style is born in a fierce ideological struggle with classicism. These currents oppose each other in all positions. If the state was depicted by classicism, then a person with all his feelings was depicted by sentimentalism.

Representatives in literature introduce new genre forms: love story, psychological story, as well as confessional prose (diary, travel notes, travel). Sentimentalism, unlike classicism, was far from poetic forms.

The literary movement affirms the transcendental value of the human personality. In Europe, the tradesman was portrayed as an ideal person, while in Russia the peasants were always oppressed.

Sentimentalists introduce alliteration and descriptions of nature into their works. The second technique is used to display the psychological state of a person.

Two directions of sentimentalism

In Europe, writers smoothed out social conflicts, while in the works of Russian authors, on the contrary, they intensified. As a result, two directions of sentimentalism were formed: noble and revolutionary. The representative of the first is Nikolai Karamzin, known as the author of the story “Poor Liza.” Despite the fact that the conflict occurs due to the clash of interests of a high and low class, the author puts the conflict in the first place as a moral one, not a social one. Noble sentimentalism did not advocate the abolition of serfdom. The author believed that “even peasant women know how to love.”

Revolutionary sentimentalism in literature advocated the abolition of serfdom. Alexander Radishchev chose just a few words as the epigraph for his book “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”: “The monster barks, mischievously, laughs and barks.” This is how he imagined a collective image of serfdom.

Genres in sentimentalism

In this literary direction, the leading role was given to works written in prose. There were no strict boundaries, so genres were often mixed.

N. Karamzin, I. Dmitriev, A. Petrov used private correspondence in their work. It is worth noting that not only writers turned to him, but also personalities who became famous in other areas, such as M. Kutuzov. A. Radishchev left the travel novel in his literary heritage, and the educational novel - M. Karamzin. Sentimentalists also found application in the field of drama: M. Kheraskov wrote “tearful dramas”, and N. Nikolev - “comic operas”.

Sentimentalism in the literature of the 18th century was represented by geniuses who worked in some other genres: satirical fairy tales and fables, idylls, elegy, romance, song.

"Fashionable wife" by I. I. Dmitrieva

Often sentimentalist writers turned to classicism in their work. Ivan Ivanovich Dmitriev preferred to work with satirical genres and odes, so his fairy tale called “The Fashionable Wife” was written in poetic form. General Prolaz, in his old age, decides to marry a young girl who is looking for an opportunity to send him for new things. In the absence of her husband, Premila receives her lover Milovzor right in her room. He is young, handsome, a ladies' man, but a naughty man and a talker. The replicas of the heroes of "The Fashionable Wife" are empty and cynical - with this Dmitriev is trying to portray the depraved atmosphere prevailing in the noble class.

"Poor Liza" by N. M. Karamzin

In the story, the author talks about the love story of a peasant woman and a master. Lisa is a poor girl who became a victim of betrayal by the rich young man Erast. The poor thing lived and breathed only for her lover, but did not forget the simple truth - a wedding between representatives of different social classes cannot take place. A rich peasant wooes Lisa, but she refuses him, expecting exploits from her lover. However, Erast deceives the girl, saying that he is going to serve, and at that moment he is looking for a rich widowed bride. Emotional experiences, impulses of passion, loyalty and betrayal are feelings that sentimentalism often depicted in literature. During the last meeting, the young man offers Lisa one hundred rubles as a token of gratitude for the love she gave him during their dating days. Unable to bear the breakup, the girl commits suicide.

A. N. Radishchev and his “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”

The writer was born into a wealthy noble family, but despite this, he was interested in the problem of inequality of social classes. His famous work “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” in the genre direction can be attributed to travel popular at that time, but the division into chapters was not a mere formality: each of them examined a separate side of reality.

Initially, the book was perceived as travel notes and successfully passed through the censors, but Catherine the Second, having familiarized herself with its contents personally, called Radishchev “a rebel worse than Pugachev.” The chapter "Novgorod" describes the depraved morals of society, in "Lyuban" - the problem of the peasantry, in "Chudovo" we are talking about the indifference and cruelty of officials.

Sentimentalism in the works of V. A. Zhukovsky

The writer lived at the turn of two centuries. At the end of the 18th century, the leading genre in Russian literature was sentimentalism, and in the 19th it was replaced by realism and romanticism. The early works of Vasily Zhukovsky were written in accordance with the traditions of Karamzin. “Maryina Roshcha” is a beautiful story about love and suffering, and the poem “To Poetry” sounds like a heroic call to accomplish feats. In his best elegy, “Rural Cemetery,” Zhukovsky reflects on the meaning of human life. A major role in the emotional coloring of the work is played by the animated landscape, in which the willow slumbers, the oak groves tremble, and the day turns pale. Thus, sentimentalism in the literature of the 19th century is represented by the work of a few writers, among whom was Zhukovsky, but in 1820 the direction ceased to exist.

SENTIMENTALISM. By sentimentalism we understand that direction of literature that developed at the end of the 18th century and colored the beginning of the 19th century, which was distinguished by the cult of the human heart, feelings, simplicity, naturalness, special attention to the inner world, and a living love for nature. In contrast to classicism, which worshiped reason, and only reason, and which, as a result, built everything in its aesthetics on strictly logical principles, on a carefully thought-out system (Boileau’s theory of poetry), sentimentalism provides the artist with freedom of feeling, imagination and expression and does not require his impeccable correctness in the architectonics of literary creations. Sentimentalism is a protest against the dry rationality that characterized the Age of Enlightenment; he values ​​in a person not what culture has given him, but what he has brought with him in the depths of his nature. And if classicism (or, as it is more often called here in Russia, false classicism) was interested exclusively in representatives of the highest social circles, royal leaders, the sphere of the court and all kinds of aristocracy, then sentimentalism is much more democratic and, recognizing the fundamental equivalence of all people, is omitted into the valleys of everyday life - into that environment of the bourgeoisie, the bourgeoisie, the middle class, which at that time had just advanced in purely economic terms and began - especially in England - to play an outstanding role on the historical stage. For a sentimentalist, everyone is interesting, because in everyone intimate life glows, shines and warms; and you don’t need special events, stormy and bright activity, in order to be honored with getting into literature: no, it turns out to be hospitable in relation to the most ordinary people, to the most ineffective biography, it depicts the slow passing of ordinary days, the peaceful backwaters of nepotism, the quiet a trickle of everyday worries.

Sentimentalism of “Poor Lisa”: the eternal and universal in the story

The story Poor Liza was written by Karamzin in 1792. In many ways, it corresponds to European models, which is why it caused a shock in Russia and turned Karamzin into the most popular writer.

At the center of this story is the love of a peasant woman and a nobleman, and the description of the peasant woman is almost revolutionary. Before this, two stereotypical descriptions of peasants had developed in Russian literature: either they were unfortunate oppressed slaves, or they were comical, rude and stupid creatures who could not even be called people. But Karamzin approached the description of the peasants in a completely different way. Lisa does not need sympathy, she does not have a landowner, and no one oppresses her. There is also nothing comic in the story. But there is a famous phrase And peasant women know how to love, which changed the consciousness of people of that time, because... they finally realized that peasants are also people with their own feelings.

Features of sentimentalism in “Poor Lisa”

In fact, there is very little typically peasant in this story. The images of Liza and her mother do not correspond to reality (a peasant woman, even a state woman, could not do only selling flowers in the city), the names of the characters are also taken not from the peasant realities of Russia, but from the traditions of European sentimentalism (Liza is a derivative of the names Eloise or Louise, typical of European novels).

The story is based on a universal idea: every person wants happiness. Therefore, the main character of the story can even be called Erast, and not Liza, because he is in love, dreams of an ideal relationship and does not even think about anything carnal and base, wanting to live with Liza like a brother and sister. However, Karamzin believes that such pure platonic love cannot survive in the real world. Therefore, the climax of the story is Lisa’s loss of innocence. After this, Erast stops loving her as purely, since she is no longer an ideal, she has become the same as the other women in his life. He begins to deceive her, the relationship breaks down. As a result, Erast marries a rich woman, while pursuing only selfish goals, without being in love with her.

When Lisa finds out about this, arriving in the city, she finds herself beside herself with grief. Believing that she no longer has anything to live for, because... her love is destroyed, the unfortunate girl throws herself into the pond. This move emphasizes that the story is written in the tradition of sentimentalism, because Liza is driven solely by feelings, and Karamzin places strong emphasis on describing the feelings of the characters in “Poor Liza.” From the point of view of reason, nothing critical happened to her - she is not pregnant, she is not disgraced in front of society... Logically, there is no need to drown herself. But Lisa thinks with her heart, not her mind.

One of Karamzin's tasks was to make the reader believe that the heroes really existed, that the story was real. He repeats several times that he is not writing a story, but a sad true story. The time and place of action are clearly indicated. And Karamzin achieved his goal: people believed. The pond in which Lisa allegedly drowned became the site of mass suicides of girls who were disappointed in love. The pond even had to be cordoned off, which gave rise to an interesting epigram:

Here Erast’s bride threw herself into the pond,

Drown yourself, girls, there's plenty of room in the pond!