The main features of sentimentalism in literature. Sentimentalism: what does this concept mean in literature?

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SENTIMENTALISM(French Sentiment) – direction to European literature and art of the second half of the 18th century, formed within the framework of the late Enlightenment and reflecting the growth of democratic sentiments of society. Originated in lyric poetry and novel; later, penetrating into theatrical art, it gave impetus to the emergence of the genres of “tearful comedy” and bourgeois drama.

Sentimentalism in literature.

The philosophical origins of sentimentalism go back to sensationalism, which put forward the idea of ​​a “natural”, “sensitive” (knowing the world with feelings) person. By the beginning of the 18th century. ideas of sensationalism penetrate into literature and art.

The “natural” man becomes the protagonist of sentimentalism. Sentimentalist writers proceeded from the premise that man, being a creation of nature, from birth possesses the inclinations of “natural virtue” and “sensibility”; The degree of sensitivity determines the dignity of a person and the significance of all his actions. How to achieve happiness main goal human existence possible under two conditions: the development of human natural principles (“education of feelings”) and stay in the natural environment (nature); merging with her, he finds inner harmony. Civilization (the city), on the contrary, is a hostile environment for it: it distorts its nature. The more social a person is, the more empty and lonely he is. Hence the cult characteristic of sentimentalism privacy, rural existence and even primitiveness and savagery. Sentimentalists did not accept the idea of ​​progress, fundamental to the encyclopedists, looking with pessimism at the prospects for social development. The concepts of “history”, “state”, “society”, “education” had a negative meaning for them.

Sentimentalists, unlike classicists, were not interested in the historical, heroic past: they were inspired by everyday impressions. The place of exaggerated passions, vices and virtues was taken by human feelings familiar to everyone. Hero of sentimental literature - a common person. Mostly this is a person from the third estate, sometimes of a low position (maidservant) and even an outcast (robber), in the richness of his inner world and purity of feelings he is not inferior to, and often superior to, representatives of the upper class. The denial of class and other differences imposed by civilization constitutes the democratic (egalitarian) pathos of sentimentalism.

Turning to the inner world of man allowed sentimentalists to show its inexhaustibility and inconsistency. They abandoned the absolutization of any one character trait and the unambiguous moral interpretation of a character characteristic of classicism: a sentimentalist hero can commit both bad and good deeds, experience both noble and base feelings; sometimes his actions and desires do not lend themselves to a simple assessment. Since a person by nature has a good beginning and evil is the fruit of civilization, no one can become a complete villain - he always has a chance to return to his nature. Retaining hope for human self-improvement, they remained, with all their pessimistic attitude towards progress, in the mainstream of enlightenment thought. Hence the didacticism and sometimes pronounced tendentiousness of their works.

The cult of feeling led to a high degree of subjectivism. This direction is characterized by an appeal to genres that most fully allow one to show the life of the human heart - elegy, novel in letters, travel diary, memoirs, etc., where the story is told in the first person. Sentimentalists rejected the principle of “objective” discourse, which implies the removal of the author from the subject of the image: the author’s reflection on what is being described becomes the most important element of the narrative for them. The structure of the essay is largely determined by the will of the writer: he does not so strictly follow established literary canons that fetter the imagination, he builds the composition rather arbitrarily, and is generous with lyrical digressions.

Born on British shores in the 1710s, sentimentalism became floor. 18th century a pan-European phenomenon. Most clearly manifested in English, French, German and Russian literature.

Sentimentalism in England.

Sentimentalism first made itself known in lyric poetry. Poet trans. floor. 18th century James Thomson abandoned the urban motifs traditional for rationalist poetry and made English nature the object of his depiction. Nevertheless, he does not completely depart from the classicist tradition: he uses the genre of elegy, legitimized by the classicist theorist Nicolas Boileau in his Poetic art (1674), however, replaces the rhymed couplets with blank verse, characteristic of Shakespeare's era.

The development of the lyrics follows the path of strengthening the pessimistic motives already heard in D. Thomson. The theme of the illusory and futility of earthly existence triumphs in Edward Jung, the founder of “graveyard poetry.” Poetry of the followers of E. Young - Scottish pastor Robert Blair (1699–1746), author of a gloomy didactic poem grave(1743), and Thomas Gray, creator Elegy written in a rural cemetery(1749), - is permeated with the idea of ​​equality of all before death.

Sentimentalism expressed itself most fully in the genre of the novel. Its founder was Samuel Richardson, who, breaking with the picaresque and adventure tradition, turned to depicting the world of human feelings, which required the creation of a new form - a novel in letters. In the 1750s, sentimentalism became the main movement of English educational literature. The work of Lawrence Sterne, considered by many researchers to be the "father of sentimentalism", marks the final departure from classicism. (Satirical novel Life and opinions of Tristram Shandy, gentleman(1760–1767) and novel Sentimental Journey in France and Italy by Mr. Yorick(1768), from which the name of the artistic movement came).

Critical English sentimentalism reaches its peak in the work of Oliver Goldsmith.

The 1770s saw the decline of English sentimentalism. The genre of sentimental novel ceases to exist. In poetry, the sentimentalist school gives way to the pre-romantic school (D. Macpherson, T. Chatterton).

Sentimentalism in France.

In French literature, sentimentalism expressed itself in classical form. Pierre Carlet de Chamblen de Marivaux stands at the origins sentimental prose. (Life of Marianne, 1728–1741; And Peasant going public, 1735–1736).

Antoine-François Prevost d'Exile, or Abbe Prevost, opened a new area of ​​feelings for the novel - an irresistible passion that leads the hero to a life catastrophe.

The culmination of the sentimental novel was the work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778).

The concept of nature and “natural” man determined the content of his artistic works (for example, the epistolary novel Julie, or New Eloise , 1761).

J.-J. Rousseau made nature an independent (intrinsically valuable) object of image. His Confession(1766–1770) is considered one of the most frank autobiographies in world literature, where he brings the subjectivist attitude of sentimentalism to the absolute ( piece of art as a way of expressing the author’s “I”).

Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (1737–1814), like his teacher J.-J. Rousseau, believed main task the artist asserts the truth - happiness lies in living in harmony with nature and virtuously. He sets out his concept of nature in his treatise Sketches about nature(1784–1787). This theme receives artistic embodiment in the novel Paul and Virginie(1787). Depicting distant seas and tropical countries, B. de Saint-Pierre introduces a new category - “exotic”, which will be in demand by romantics, primarily Francois-René de Chateaubriand.

Jacques-Sébastien Mercier (1740–1814), following the Rousseauian tradition, makes the central conflict of the novel Savage(1767) the collision of the ideal (primitive) form of existence (the “golden age”) with the civilization that is corrupting it. IN utopian novel2440, what a dream there are few(1770), based on Social contract J.-J. Rousseau, he constructs an image of an egalitarian rural community in which people live in harmony with nature. S. Mercier presents his critical view of the “fruits of civilization” in a journalistic form - in an essay Painting of Paris(1781).

The work of Nicolas Retief de La Bretonne (1734–1806), a self-taught writer, author of two hundred volumes of works, is marked by the influence of J.-J. Rousseau. In the novel The Corrupt Peasant, or The Dangers of the City(1775) tells the story of the transformation, under the influence of the urban environment, of a morally pure young man into a criminal. Utopian novel Southern opening(1781) treats the same theme as 2440 S. Mercier. IN New Emile, or Practical Education(1776) Retief de La Bretonne develops the pedagogical ideas of J.-J. Rousseau, applying them to women's education, and polemicizes with him. Confession J.-J. Rousseau becomes the reason for the creation of his autobiographical essay Mister Nikola, or the Human Heart Unveiled(1794–1797), where he turns the narrative into a kind of “physiological sketch.”

In the 1790s, during the era of the Great French Revolution sentimentalism is losing its position, giving way to revolutionary classicism.

Sentimentalism in Germany.

In Germany, sentimentalism was born as a national-cultural reaction to French classicism, the creativity of English and French sentimentalists played a certain role in its formation. Significant merit in the formation of a new view of literature belongs to G.E. Lessing.

The origins of German sentimentalism lie in the polemics of the early 1740s between Zurich professors I. J. Bodmer (1698–1783) and I. J. Breitinger (1701–1776) with a prominent apologist for classicism in Germany, I. K. Gottsched (1700–1766); The “Swiss” defended the poet’s right to poetic imagination. The first major exponent of the new direction was Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, who found common ground between sentimentalism and the German medieval tradition.

The heyday of sentimentalism in Germany occurred in the 1770s and 1780s and is associated with the Sturm und Drang movement, named after the drama of the same name Sturm und Drang F. M. Klinger (1752–1831). Its participants set themselves the task of creating an original national German literature; from J.-J. Rousseau, they adopted a critical attitude towards civilization and the cult of the natural. The theorist of Sturm und Drang, philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder, criticized the “boastful and sterile education” of the Enlightenment, attacked the mechanical use of classicist rules, arguing that true poetry is the language of feelings, first strong impressions, fantasy and passion, such a language is universal. “Stormy geniuses” denounced tyranny, protested against the hierarchy of modern society and its morality ( Tomb of the Kings K.F.Shubart, To freedom F.L. Shtolberg and others); their main character was a freedom-loving strong personality - Prometheus or Faust - driven by passions and not knowing any barriers.

In his younger years, Johann Wolfgang Goethe belonged to the Sturm und Drang movement. His novel Suffering young Werther (1774) became a landmark work of German sentimentalism, defining the end of the “provincial stage” of German literature and its entry into pan-European literature.

The spirit of Sturm und Drang marked the dramas of Johann Friedrich Schiller.

Sentimentalism in Russia.

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

His novel Poor Lisa (1792) is a masterpiece of Russian sentimental prose; from Goethe's Werther it inherited the general atmosphere of sensitivity and 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 Masha A.E.Izmailova (1801), Journey to Midday Russia (1802), Henrietta, or The Triumph of Deceit over Weakness or Delusion I. Svechinsky (1802), numerous stories by G. P. Kamenev ( The story of poor Marya; Unhappy Margarita; Beautiful Tatiana) etc.

Evgenia Krivushina

Sentimentalism in the theater

(French sentiment - feeling) - direction in European theater arts second half of the 18th century

The development of sentimentalism in the theater is associated with the crisis of the aesthetics of classicism, which proclaimed a strict rationalistic canon of drama and its stage embodiment. The speculative constructions of classicist drama are being replaced by the desire to bring theater closer to reality. This is reflected in almost all components of theatrical performance: in the themes of plays (reflection of private life, development of family and psychological plots); in language (classicist pathetic poetic speech is replaced by prose, close to conversational intonation); in the social affiliation of the characters (heroes theatrical works become representatives of the third estate); in determining the locations of action (palace interiors are replaced by “natural” and rural views).

"Tearful comedy" - an early genre of sentimentalism - appeared in England in the work of playwrights Colley Cibber ( Love's last trick 1696;Carefree husband, 1704, etc.), Joseph Addison ( Godless, 1714; Drummer, 1715), Richard Steele ( Funeral, or Fashionable sadness, 1701; Liar Lover, 1703; Conscientious lovers, 1722, etc.). These were moralizing works, where comic beginning was consistently replaced by sentimental and pathetic scenes, moral and didactic maxims. The moral charge of the “tearful comedy” is based not on the ridicule of vices, but on the chanting of virtue, which awakens to the correction of shortcomings - both individual heroes and society as a whole.

The same moral and aesthetic principles formed the basis of the French “tearful comedy.” Its most prominent representatives were Philippe Detouche ( Married Philosopher, 1727; Proud man, 1732; Waster, 1736) and Pierre Nivelle de Lachausse ( Melanida, 1741; School of mothers, 1744; Governess, 1747, etc.). Some criticism social vices was presented by playwrights as temporary delusions of the heroes, which by the end of the play were successfully overcome by them. Sentimentalism is also reflected in the work of one of the most famous French playwrights of that time - Pierre Carle Marivaux ( Game of love and chance, 1730; Triumph of love, 1732; Inheritance, 1736; Sincere, 1739, etc.). Marivaux, while remaining a faithful follower of salon comedy, at the same time constantly introduces into it features of sensitive sentimentality and moral didactics.

In the second half of the 18th century. “tearful comedy,” while remaining within the framework of sentimentalism, is gradually being replaced by the genre of bourgeois drama. Here the elements of comedy completely disappear; The plots are based on tragic situations Everyday life third estate. However, the problematic remains the same as in the “tearful comedy”: the triumph of virtue, overcoming all trials and tribulations. In this single direction, bourgeois drama is developing in all European countries: England (J. Lillo, The London Merchant, or the Story of George Barnwell; E.Moore, Player); France (D. Diderot, The Bastard, or The Trial of Virtue; M. Seden, Philosopher, without knowing it); Germany (G.E. Lessing, Miss Sarah Sampson, Emilia Galotti). From theoretical developments and Lessing’s dramaturgy, which was defined as “ bourgeois tragedy“, the aesthetic movement of “Storm and Drang” arose (F. M. Klinger, J. Lenz, L. Wagner, I. V. Goethe, etc.), which reached the peak of its development in the work of Friedrich Schiller ( Robbers, 1780; Deceit and love, 1784).

Theatrical sentimentalism became widespread in Russia. Appearing for the first time in the work of Mikhail Kheraskov ( Friend of the unfortunate, 1774; Persecuted, 1775), the aesthetic principles of sentimentalism were continued by Mikhail Verevkin ( That's how it should be,Birthday people,Exactly the same), Vladimir Lukin ( A spendthrift, corrected by love), Pyotr Plavilshchikov ( Bobyl,Sidelet and etc.).

Sentimentalism gave a new impetus to the art of acting, the development of which, in a certain sense, was inhibited by classicism. The aesthetics of the classicist performance of roles required strict adherence to the conventional canon of the entire set of means of acting expression; the improvement of acting skills proceeded rather along a purely formal line. Sentimentalism gave actors the opportunity to turn to the inner world of their characters, to the dynamics of image development, the search for psychological persuasiveness and versatility of characters.

By the middle of the 19th century. the popularity of sentimentalism faded away, the genre of bourgeois drama practically ceased to exist. However, the aesthetic principles of sentimentalism formed the basis for the formation of one of the youngest theatrical genres - melodrama.

Tatiana Shabalina

Literature:

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Atarova K.N. Laurence Stern and his "Sentimental Journey". M., 1988
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Lotman Yu.M. Rousseau and Russian culture XVIII– beginning of the 19th century. – In the book: Lotman Yu. M. Selected articles: In 3 vols, vol. 2. Tallinn, 1992
Kochetkova I.D. Literature of Russian sentimentalism. St. Petersburg, 1994
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Also in late XVIII century in Russian literature, to replace the dominant direction of classicism, a new movement arose, called sentimentalism, which came from the French word sens, meaning feeling. Sentimentalism as artistic movement, generated by the process of struggle against absolutism, appeared in the second half of the 18th century in a number of Western European countries, primarily in England (the poetry of D. Thomson, the prose of L. Stern and Richardson), then in France (the work of J.-J. Rousseau) and Germany ( early work I.V. Goethe, F. Schiller). Sentimentalism, which arose on the basis of new socio-economic relations, was alien to the glorification of statehood and class limitations inherent in classicism.

In contrast to the latter, he brought to the fore issues of personal life, the cult of sincere pure feelings and nature. The sentimentalists contrasted the empty social life and the depraved morals of high society with the idyll of village life, selfless friendship, touching love at the family hearth, in the lap of nature. These feelings were reflected in numerous “Travels”, which came into fashion after Stern’s novel “Sentimental Journey”, which gave its name to this literary movement.

In Russia, one of the first works of this kind was the famous “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” by A.N. Radishchev (1790). Karamzin also paid tribute to this fashion, publishing “Letters of a Russian Traveler” in 1798, followed by P. Sumarokov’s “Travel to the Crimea and Bessarabia” (1800), “Journey to Midday Russia.” V. Izmailov and “Another Journey to Little Russia” by Shalikov (1804). The popularity of this genre was explained by the fact that the author could freely express thoughts here that gave rise to new cities, meetings, and landscapes. These reflections were characterized for the most part by increased sensitivity and moralism. But, in addition to this “lyrical” orientation, sentimentalism also had a certain social order.

Having emerged in the era of Enlightenment, with its inherent interest in the personality and spiritual world of man, and an ordinary, “little” man, sentimentalism also adopted some features of the ideology of the “third estate,” especially since during this period representatives of this estate also appeared in Russian literature - common writers.

Thus, sentimentalism brings to Russian literature a new idea of ​​honor, this is no longer the antiquity of the family, but the high moral dignity of a person. In one of the stories, the “villager” notes that only a person with a clear conscience can have a good name. “For a “little” person - both a hero and a commoner writer who came to literature, the problem of honor takes on special significance; it is not easy for him to defend his dignity in a society where class prejudices are so strong.” Nekrasov N.A. Full collection op. and letters. M., 1950. T. 9. P. 296.

Characteristic of sentimentalism is also the affirmation of the spiritual equality of people, regardless of their position in society. N.S. Smirnov, a former runaway serf, then a soldier, the author of the sentimental story “Zara,” prefaced her with an epigraph from the Bible: “And I have a heart, just like you.”

Along with describing the “life of the heart,” sentimentalist writers paid great attention to issues of education. At the same time, the “teacher” educational function of literature was recognized as the most important.

Russian sentimentalism found its most complete expression in the works of Karamzin. His "Poor Liza", "Notes of a Traveler", "Julia" and a number of other stories are distinguished by all the features characteristic of this movement. Like the classic of French sentimentalism J.-J. Rousseau, in whose works Karamzin, by his own admission, was attracted by “sparks of passionate philanthropy” and “sweet sensitivity,” his works are filled with humane sentiments. Karamzin evoked the sympathy of readers for his characters, excitedly conveying their experiences. Karamzin's heroes are moral people, gifted with great sensitivity, selfless, for whom affection is more important than worldly well-being. Thus, the heroine of Karamzin’s story “Natalya, the Boyar’s Daughter” accompanies her husband to the war so as not to be separated from her beloved. Love for her is higher than danger or even death. Alois from the story "Sierra Morena" takes his own life, unable to bear the betrayal of his bride. In the traditions of sentimentalism, the spiritual life of characters literary works Karamzin's work takes place against the backdrop of nature, the phenomena of which (thunderstorm, storm or gentle sun) accompany people's experiences as an accompaniment.

Thus, the story about the sad fate of the heroine of “Poor Lisa” begins with a description of a gloomy autumn landscape, the appearance of which seems to echo the subsequent dramatic story the love of a peasant girl. The author, on whose behalf the story is told, walks through the ruins of the monastery “to grieve with nature on the dark days of autumn.” The winds howl terribly within the walls of the deserted monastery, between the coffins overgrown with tall grass and in the dark passages of the cells. “There, leaning on the ruins of tombstones, I listen to the dull groan of time.” Nature, or “nature,” as Karamzin more often called it, not only participates in people’s experiences, it nourishes their feelings. In the story “Sierra Morena,” the romantic landscape inspires the owner of the castle, Elvira: “Strong winds agitated and twisted the air, crimson lightning curled in the black sky, or the pale moon rose above the gray clouds - Elvira loved the horrors of nature: they exalted, delighted, nourished her soul ". Turgenev I.S.Full. collection op. and letters. In 20 volumes M., 1960-1968. T. 14. P. 81.

The authors of sentimental stories sought to contrast relationships based on calculation with other, unselfish feelings. Lvov’s story emphasizes the love of the heroine, devoid of any selfish motives, who admits: “But he didn’t give me anything - silver, gold, beads, and ribbons; but I didn’t take anything, I only needed his love ".

Thus, Russian sentimentalism introduced into literature - and through it into life - new moral and aesthetic concepts that were warmly received by many readers, but, unfortunately, were at odds with life. Readers brought up on the ideals of sentimentalism, which proclaimed human feelings as the highest value, bitterly discovered that the measure of attitude towards people still remained nobility, wealth, and position in society. However, the beginnings of this new ethics, expressed at the beginning of the century in such seemingly naive works of sentimentalist writers, will eventually develop into public consciousness and will contribute to its democratization. In addition, sentimentalism enriched Russian literature with linguistic transformations. The role of Karamzin was especially significant in this regard. However, the principles he proposed for the formation of Russian literary language caused fierce criticism from conservative writers and gave rise to the so-called “disputes about language” that captured Russian writers at the beginning of the 19th century.

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- 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 the depiction of life precisely common people, therefore, 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, 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 shining example and the manifesto becomes the work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau “Julia, or the new Heloise”; in Germany - "Suffering young Werther“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 the literature introduce new genre forms: love story, a 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 ideal person, whereas in Russia the peasants have always been 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.” That's how he imagined it collective image 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 several other genres: satirical tale and fable, idyll, 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 on the part of 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 genre direction can be attributed to travel that was 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're talking about 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. Early works 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 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 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 bustle and spoiled city.

In the 40s of the same century, Thomas Gray, author of the elegy “The Country Cemetery” (one of famous works cemetery poetry), ode “Towards Spring”, etc., like Thomson, he tried to interest readers in village life and nature, to awaken in them sympathy for simple, unnoticed people with their needs, sorrows and beliefs, at the same time giving his work 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 it first psychological analysis 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 melancholic.

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 art. 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 best essays Chateaubrean makes his heroes a charming couple of lovers living far from city 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 the 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

Direction Western art the second half of the 18th century, expressing disappointment in “civilization” based on the ideals of “reason” (the ideology of the Enlightenment). 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 characteristic features Russian portrait art of this period was civic-minded. 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 mental life human beings, 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 portrait art At 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 models, 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 the child, the childish 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 English school 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 “Engraver of Her Imperial Majesty’s Cabinet” 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 essays"(M., 1858; article about the merits of Prince Shakhovsky in dramatic literature).

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Sentimentalism (from French. sentiment- feeling) arose during the Enlightenment in England in the mid-18th century. during the period of the decomposition of feudal absolutism, class-serf relations, the growth of bourgeois relations, and therefore the beginning of the liberation of the individual from the shackles of the feudal-serf state.

Representatives of sentimentalism

England. L. Stern (novel “A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy”), O. Goldsmith (novel “The Vicar of Wakefield”), S. Richardson (novel “Pamela,” or Virtue Rewarded, novel “ Clarissa Garlow", "The History of Sir Charles Grandison").

France. J.-J. Rousseau (novel in letters "Julia, or the New Heloise", "Confession"), P. O. Beaumarchais (comedies "The Barber of Seville", "The Marriage of Figaro").

Germany. J. W. Goethe (sentimental novel “The Sorrows of Young Werther”), A. Lafontaine (family novels).

Sentimentalism expressed the worldview, psychology, and tastes of broad sections of the conservative nobility and bourgeoisie (the so-called third estate), thirsting for freedom, a natural manifestation of feelings that demanded consideration of human dignity.

Traits of Sentimentalism

The cult of feeling, natural feeling, not spoiled by civilization (Rousseau asserted the decisive superiority of simple, natural, “natural” life over civilization); denial of abstraction, abstraction, conventionality, dryness of classicism. Compared to classicism, sentimentalism was a more progressive direction, because it contained tangible elements of realism associated with the depiction of human emotions, experiences, and the expansion of a person’s inner world. Philosophical basis sentimentalism becomes sensationalism (from lat. sensus– feeling, sensation), one of the founders of which was the English philosopher J. Locke, who recognizes sensation, sensory perception as the only source of knowledge.

If classicism affirmed the idea of ​​an ideal state governed by an enlightened monarch, and demanded that the interests of the individual be subordinated to the state, then sentimentalism put in the first place not a person in general, but a specific, private person in all his originality. individual personality. At the same time, the value of a person was determined not by his high origin, not by his property status, not by class, but by his personal merits. Sentimentalism first raised the question of individual rights.

The heroes were ordinary people - nobles, artisans, peasants who lived mainly by feelings, passions, and hearts. Sentimentalism opened up the rich spiritual world of the common people. In some works of sentimentalism sounded protest against social injustice, against the humiliation of the “little man”.

Sentimentalism gave literature a democratic character in many ways.

Since sentimentalism proclaimed the writer’s right to express his author’s individuality in art, genres emerged in sentimentalism that contributed to the expression of the author’s “I”, which means that the first-person form of narration was used: diary, confession, autobiographical memoirs, travel (travel notes, notes, impressions ). In sentimentalism, poetry and drama are replaced by prose, which has a greater opportunity to convey complex world emotional experiences of a person, in connection with which new genres arose: family, everyday and psychological novel in the form of correspondence, “philistine drama”, “sensitive” story, “bourgeois tragedy”, “tearful comedy”; The genres of intimate, chamber lyrics (idyll, elegy, romance, madrigal, song, message), as well as fable, flourished.

A mixture of high and low, tragic and comic, a mixture of genres was allowed; the law of “three unities” was overthrown (for example, the range of phenomena of reality expanded significantly).

Ordinary, everyday family life was depicted; the main theme was love; the plot was based on situations in the everyday life of private individuals; the composition of works of sentimentalism was arbitrary.

The cult of nature was proclaimed. The landscape was a favorite backdrop for events; the peaceful, idyllic life of a person was shown in the lap of rural nature, while nature was depicted in close connection with the experiences of the hero or the author himself, and was in tune with personal experience. The village, as the center of natural life and moral purity, was sharply contrasted with the city as a symbol of evil, artificial life, and vanity.

The language of the works of sentimentalism was simple, lyrical, sometimes sensitively elated, emphatically emotional; such poetic means, as exclamations, addresses, affectionate diminutive suffixes, comparisons, epithets, interjections; Blank verse was used. In the works of sentimentalism, there is a further convergence of literary language with living, colloquial speech.

Features of Russian sentimentalism

In Russia, sentimentalism was established in the last decade of the 18th century. and fades away after 1812, during the development of the revolutionary movement of the future Decembrists.

Russian sentimentalism idealized the patriarchal way of life, the life of the serf village and criticized bourgeois morals.

The peculiarity of Russian sentimentalism is a didactic, educational orientation towards raising a worthy citizen. Sentimentalism in Russia is represented by two movements:

• 1. Sentimental-romantic – Η. M. Karamzin ("Letters of a Russian Traveler", the story "Poor Liza"), M. N. Muravyov (sentimental poems), I. I. Dmitriev (fables, lyrical songs, poetic fairy tales “Fashionable Wife”, “Fancy Woman”, F.A. Emin (novel “Letters of Ernest and Doravra”), V.I. Lukin (comedy “The Sprawler, Corrected by Love”).
• 2. Sentimental-realistic – A. II. Radishchev ("Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow").