Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, a story - artistic analysis. Leskov Nikolai Semyonovich. (Comparative analysis of the essay “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” and the drama “The Thunderstorm”). The tragedy of two Katerina Leskov Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk district main idea

The work was originally a sketch from a series of female portraits, conceived at the end of 1864. In a letter to N. N. Strakhov, an employee and critic of the magazine “Epoch”, on December 7, 1864, N. Leskov writes: ““Lady Macbeth of our district” is the 1st issue of a series of essays exclusively on typical female characters of ours (Oka and partly Volga) area. I propose to write twelve such essays..."

As for the remaining essays, the idea of ​​writing remained unfulfilled.

As for “Lady Macbeth...”, then from an essay, according to the original plan of a “local” nature, this work during its creation grew into an artistic masterpiece of world significance.

Katerina Izmailova is a “villain unwillingly,” and not according to subjective data, a killer not by birth, but by the circumstances of her life. Finding herself a slave to her own feelings, Katerina successively overcomes a whole series of obstacles, each of which seems to her to be the last on the path to complete liberation and happiness. The persistence with which the heroine tries to subjugate circumstances to her will testifies to the originality and strength of her character. She stops at nothing, goes to the end in her terrible and, most importantly, useless struggle and dies only after completely exhausting the remarkable reserve of spiritual and vital forces given to her by nature.

Leskov’s light self-irony, expressed in the title of the story, seems to indicate the transfer of Shakespeare’s character to a “lower” social sphere.

At the same time, self-irony is a purely Leskovian feature of social satire, consciously used by the writer, giving it an original coloring within the framework of the Gogolian direction of Russian literature.

Pikhter is a large wicker basket with a bell for carrying hay and other livestock feed.

A quitrent mayor is a peasant headman appointed by the landowner to collect quitrents.

Yasmen Falcon is a daring fellow.

Kitty is a leather tightening bag, purse.

Patericon - a collection of the lives of the reverend fathers.

Throne - a throne, or temple, holiday - a day of remembrance of an event or “saint” in whose name this temple was built.

Forshlag (German) - a small melodic figure (of one or more sounds) that decorates a melody, a trill. Roomy - shared.

Job is a biblical righteous man who meekly endured the trials sent to him by God.

“Outside the window in the shadows flashes...” is a not entirely accurately conveyed excerpt from Y. P. Polonsky’s poem “Challenge”, in the original - not “hollow”, but “cloak”.

Sources:

Leskov N. S. Novels and stories / Comp. and note. L. M. Krupchanova. - M.: Moscow. worker, 1981.- 463 p.

The work was originally a sketch from a series of female portraits, conceived at the end of 1864. In a letter to N. N. Strakhov, an employee and critic of the magazine “Epoch”, on December 7, 1864, N. Leskov writes: ““Lady Macbeth of our district” is the 1st issue of a series of essays exclusively on typical female characters of ours (Oka and partly Volga) area. I propose to write twelve such essays..."

As for the remaining essays, the idea of ​​writing remained unfulfilled.

As for “Lady Macbeth...”, then from an essay, according to the original plan of a “local” nature, this work during its creation grew into an artistic masterpiece of world significance.

Katerina Izmailova is a “villain unwillingly,” and not according to subjective data, a killer not by birth, but by the circumstances of her life.

Finding herself a slave to her own feelings, Katerina successively overcomes a whole series of obstacles, each of which seems to her to be the last on the path to complete liberation and happiness. The persistence with which the heroine tries to subjugate circumstances to her will testifies to the originality and strength of her character. She stops at nothing, goes to the end in her terrible and, most importantly, useless struggle and dies only after completely exhausting the remarkable reserve of spiritual and vital forces given to her by nature.

Leskov’s light self-irony, expressed in the title of the story, seems to indicate the transfer of Shakespeare’s character to a “lower” social sphere.

At the same time, self-irony is a purely Leskovian feature of social satire, consciously used by the writer, giving it an original coloring within the framework of the Gogolian direction of Russian literature.

P. 6. Fir - a large wicker basket with a bell for carrying hay and other livestock feed.

P. 13. Quit burgor - a headman from the peasants, appointed by the landowner to collect quit rent.

P. 25. Yasmen falcon is a daring fellow.

P. 28. Kitty - leather tightening bag, pouch.

P. 32. Patericon - a collection of the lives of the reverend fathers.

P. 36. Throne - a throne, or temple, holiday - a day of remembrance of an event or “saint” in whose name this temple was built.

Forshlag (German) - a small melodic figure (of one or more sounds) that decorates a melody, a trill. P. 41. Local - general.

P. 47. Job is a biblical righteous man who meekly endured the trials sent to him by God.

“Outside the window in the shadows flashes...” is a not entirely accurately conveyed excerpt from Y. P. Polonsky’s poem “Challenge”, in the original - not “hollow”, but “cloak”.

Sources:

• Leskov N. S. Novels and stories / Comp. and note. L. M. Krupchanova. - M.: Moscow. worker, 1981.- 463 p.

annotation:The book includes: “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk”, “The Enchanted Wanderer”, “Lefty”, “The Stupid Artist” and other works by N. S. Leskov.

I.V. LATE

(Chelyabinsk State Pedagogical University, Chelyabinsk, Russia)

UDC 821.161.1-31 (Leskov I.S.)

BBK Sh33(2Ros=Rus) -8.44

GENRE OF SYNCRETIC STORY IN THE WORK OF N.S. LESKOVA. ESSAY-TRAGEDY “LADY MACBETH OF MTSENSK”

Annotation. To create the original ecstatic character of the story “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” N.S. Leskov synthesizes elements of various artistic systems: sentimentalism, romanticism within the framework of a realistic narrative; folklore and literary traditions. The development of the plot and the ending of the story are built according to the laws of dramatic action. Heroine N.S. Leskova demonstrates a readiness to recklessly and ecstatically, that is, in the manifestation of an extreme degree of excess, to indulge in passions, a tendency to sudden impulsive decisions, sharp reactions, flashy expressions of feelings, which is inherent in drama heroes to a much greater extent than in epic heroes. Thus, in the narrative, “essay” and “tragedy” collide, generating a “dramatically acute sense of existence.” Genre syncretism is ambivalent in nature, the purpose of which is to describe passion and express its condemnation.

Key words: syncretism, genre, N.S. Leskov, “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk”, essay, tragedy, folklorism, mythopoetics, epic, drama.

It is known that N.S. Leskov resorted to “removing” the boundary between a story, an essay and a novella, giving many of his works complex genre structures. In the title and subtitle of the analyzed story, there is a fusion of artistic tradition and the documentary genre - the essay. The genre's complexity is explained not only by the writer's well-known adherence to everyday facts. The issues of “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” are on a par with the journalism of the early 1860s. N.S. Leskov actively participated in the well-known polemics of the 1860s, devoted a number of articles to the problem of women's emancipation, where he spoke about the possibility of freedom and equality of women with men only through conscious and voluntary involvement in labor activity. But “momentary impressions”, liberation through debauchery, according to the writer, leads to a decline in morals and unbridledness. The proverb “the first song is sung when one blushes” and its variant

- “the first song to sing” - included in the article “Russian women and emancipation” and taken as an epigraph to the “essay”, which is also

testifies to the similar problems of a journalistic article and a work of art. Three years after N.S.’s journalistic articles. Leskov again turns to the problem of emancipation, but now he solves it in the strictly artistic sphere. Thus, within the framework of ideas about women in the literature of the 1860s of the 19th century, the “essay” “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District” can also be considered as a polemically pointed answer to the one proposed by N.G. Chernyshevsky’s model for resolving family conflicts, and as an illustration of the tragic consequences of a modern woman’s lack of ideas about the boundaries of what is permitted. And, finally, as an answer to the even more acute polemics of his time “about the Russian man,” about the possibilities in the depths of Russian life for the origins of real drama. In this case, the “essay” emphasizes the issues and uses the analytical capabilities of the documentary genre. Real life facts are comprehended by the writer in journalism, with its open presentation of a fact, an author's idea, a social problem. In the “essay” by N.S. Leskov artistically explores these facts as a “continuation” or “variation” of the problem, but using the possibilities of the artistic form. Unlike “Musk Ox”, where fact enters the artistic system through the genuine “memoir” nature of the narrative, as a result of which there is an emphasis on authenticity, in the “essay” of “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” an “illusion of documentary” is created: the artistic form itself “ plays" with sketchiness.

Meeting the narrative frame in the title “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk,” the reader immediately enters the associative background of the work. Shakespeare's reminiscence contains a reference to the genre of tragedy, and the "essay", with its stubborn attraction to fact, unfolds into a toponymic legend about terrible events that once happened. The plot of the story, like the entire compositional structure of “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk,” is subordinated to the revelation of character, which “you will never remember without trepidation” [Leskov 1956: 96], and unfolds in the social and everyday aspect. N.S. Leskov uses the technique of introducing the genre. The motive of the rumor: “from someone’s easy word” they began to call her “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” - connects the past with the present and translates the perception of the text into the “illusion” of an event that actually took place. But the “illusion” also has another side, which gives an assessment of the event that took place and compares it with the tragedy - that “emotional thrill”, the strength and psychological depth of which is reflected in the periphrasis: “Lady Mac-

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bet." The mention of “Macbeth” immediately evokes certain associations in the reader, a capacious world image emerges that embodies Leskov’s idea of ​​folk drama: “Sometimes in our places such characters are created that no matter how many years have passed since meeting them, some of them are never remember without trembling. Among such characters is the merchant’s wife Katerina Lvovna Izmailova, who played out a once terrible drama” [Leskov 1956: 96].

The text of the story is not only addressed to the past, to “tradition,” it demonstrates the process of “forming a tradition,” supported by the personal and creative activity of the writer. The story of the merchant's wife Katerina Lvovna Izmailova, elevated to the rank of legend, unfolds before the reader. The basis for this genre characteristic is the presence in the periodical press of the city of Mtsensk of articles confirming the existence of the Leskov legend [Voronkov 2002: 19; Godlevskaya 2002: 4], which in turn goes back to Shakespearean tragedy, preserving the memory of the genre. The unexpected meeting in the formula of the title of “condo” Russia and Shakespeare turns out to be significant. From the very beginning of the “essay” of “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk”, in the places of intended genre intersections, or from the “borderlines” of meanings, a qualitatively new character begins to be created, living through a true tragedy in her life. A Russian drama unfolds before the reader. Leskov’s heroine, who realized personal freedom through a flared passion, goes through her way of the cross in the conditions of provincial reality, the artistic analysis of which is offered by N.S. Leskov.

Lev Anninsky, commenting on the plot of the story “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk,” claims that Leskov’s four-time murderer for the sake of love cannot be placed into any “typology of characters.” “After all, who is strangling? - asks Anninsky. - A native of the people, a Nekrasov “gardener”, a sales clerk. Yes, a Russian woman, “from the poor,” an integral nature, ready to do anything for love, is our recognized conscience, our last justification. That is, two traditionally positive characters of Russian literature of that time. They strangle a person for the sake of passion. They choke a child. There is something to despair about” [Anninsky 1986: 90]. These words of Anninsky polemically sharpen the interpretation of Leskov’s heroine, but they capture the ambivalent nature of the assessment of heroes: on the one hand, N.S. Leskov’s heroes are recognized as “traditionally positive” “heroes”

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folk “love story”, and on the other hand, condemnation is expressed. In this regard, we emphasize that the writer saw life as complex, confusing, paradoxical, and not amenable to simplified, unambiguous comprehension and evaluation.

So, the beginning of the story is marked by opposing and even mutually exclusive trends at the level of genre interactions: the boundaries between fact and fiction are being destroyed, and a “high” tragedy is about to occur in the prosaic Russian outback. The interpretation of character is dominated by ambivalence, which shapes the living space of the characters and the entire artistic system of the story.

The narrative does not immediately turn to tragedy, but begins with a banal love story between a bored merchant and clerk. The plot of the “love novel” is built according to the laws of folklore genres, which are based on song and popular motifs, the most significant of which are the recognizable dramatic ballad plot of the love story of “Princess Volkhonskaya and Vanka the Klyushnichik” [Kireevsky 1983: 304] and the “funny” plot of popular prints pictures about the tricks of the “merchant’s wife and clerk” [Rovinsky 1900: 120]. Processing folklore material, N.S. Leskov contaminates the dramatic and comic, achieving this not only with folklore stylization, but also with literary means and techniques. The nature of Katerina Izmailova’s passion combines “heartfelt weakness” and “extraordinary strength.” The depiction of “weakness of heart” appears in the narrative in the spirit of the sentimental tradition, while “strength” will require the romantic, even demonic “pulsations” of the artistic system. Let us turn to the analysis of the text of the story.

The basis of Katerina Lvovna’s love, like that of any other Russian woman, is a sensual principle, for the time being restrained by “deadly boredom” and “merchant etiquette.” During the first date, unexpected for Katerina, the “experienced girl” unleashes a stream of “sensual speech” on her. The erotic character of his speeches is given by the motives of loneliness, sadness and melancholy, the motive of the heart, especially consonant with sentimental aesthetics: “... melancholy, I will tell you, Katerina Lvovna, my own heart is so, I can say, sensitive that I would take it and cut it out with damask with a knife from my chest and throw it at your feet” [Leskov 1956: 102]. Appeal to sensuality, openness of intentions, complimentary exclamations, the key word “heart” are characteristic of the popular folklore phraseology of the seducer and at the same time reveal

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signs of sentimentalism. Katerina experiences a feeling of “indescribable” fear from a new feeling unknown to her until now. Before her is a good fellow from her folklore girlish dreams: “. a fine fellow with a daring, handsome face framed by jet-black curls.” [Leskov 1956: 99], with speeches that she did not have to hear, being married to an unloved, unaffectionate husband: “Her heart never really lay towards him” [Leskov 1956: 98].

However, the “liveness” of the nature of the heroine N. S. Leskov manifests itself at the first opportunity. The departure of the unloved husband, spring, “warm, light, cheerful, and through the green wooden lattice of the garden you can see different birds flitting from branch to branch in the trees” [Leskov 1956: 98]. Heroine N.S. Leskova strives to restore the disturbed balance between nature’s own needs and the outside world. It is the “life of the heart” that determines for her the harmony of the universe.

The scene of a date in the garden, culminating in the expression of the heroine’s sensual impulses, is presented in the spirit of the folk aesthetics of understanding love:

“Have you been pining for me, Seryozha?

How could it not dry?

How did you dry? Tell me about it.

How can you tell about this? Is it possible to explain this as you dry out? I was homesick.

Why didn’t I feel this, Seryozha, that you were killing me? They say they feel it.

Sergei remained silent” [Leskov 1956: 108].

Katerina does not notice Sergei’s silence, his dry answers, filled with delight from these confessions, she hears her inner melody, responding in the image of a garden: “Look, Seryozha, paradise, what a paradise! - Katerina Lvovna exclaimed, looking through the thick branches of the blossoming apple tree covering her, at the clear blue sky, on which stood a full fine month” [Leskov 1956: 108]. "Golden night! Silence, light, aroma and beneficial revitalizing warmth" [Leskov 1956: 109].

The heroine's feelings are naked infinitely. The folklore-idyllic picture, conversations about feelings, caresses under flowering trees, confessions, delights, and spiritual emanations of the heroine are conveyed in a landscape-psychological parallel: the radiance of the moonlight, gilding the entire garden. The garden keeps warmth - the warmth of Katerina Lvovna’s heart. The motive of warmth is associated with emotional experiences -

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our heartfelt attraction, the desire for spiritual intimacy, deeper, more trusting relationships.

Noting the differences in the manifestations of the sentimental element, we emphasize: if in sentimentalism the naturalness of nature is interpreted as the need for virtuous behavior, then in Leskov’s text the sentimental tonality performs a different stylistic function. The popular folklore phraseology of the seducer is colored with sentimentality: Sergei’s speech is replete with exclamations, rhetorical questions, loud confessions, he strives to evoke sympathy for his situation, appealing to sensuality, exposing his jealousy. The heart becomes the central subject of the seducer’s speech: “... my whole heart sank in baked blood!” [Leskov 1956: 110] “I feel what love is like and how it sucks my heart like a black snake” [Leskov 1956: 111]. A sign of the true interests of a popular youth is the absence of sentimental intentions and the presence of a vulgar tone of illiterate speech: “Why am I going to go from here,” Sergei answered in a happy voice” [Leskov 1956: 110].

The presence in the realistic narrative of elements of another aesthetic system - sentimentalism - reveals the tendency of the main character’s nature towards naked sensuality, the inability (or unwillingness) to guess the other interests of her lover. The falsely sentimental sensitivity of Sergei’s speeches becomes the “key” to Katerina Lvovna’s heart. Neither the rumors about his previous love affairs, his inconstancy, nor his “dryness” during a date in the garden alarm Katerina Lvovna. She is immersed in a new world of sensory and bodily experiences. Her reflection is connected only with what can disrupt her internal idyllic existence. At the center of her world is “her Seryozhechka” and that new sensory-physical world that he personifies: “. with him the convict path blooms with happiness” [Leskov 1956: 132].

Concentration of sensuality, extreme devotion to the point of self-dissolution in a loved one, a complete lack of common sense in actions, slavery to one’s feelings, which knows no moral barriers - this, according to N. S. Leskov, is “the love of many too passionate women” [Leskov 1956 : 132]: “Katerina Lvovna was now ready for Sergei into fire, into water, into prison and to the cross. He made her fall in love with him to the point that there was no measure of devotion to him. She went crazy with her happiness." [Leskov 1956: 112].

Katerina’s central monologue, in the scene in the garden under the blossoming apple trees, is consonant with love in terms of the strength of passion and frankness of confessions.

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love romance lyrics. The song-romance arises and exists at the junction of two poetics: folklore and literary; The goal of the genre is to present the dramatic side of human existence, to express emotional, often tragic experiences. This genre is characterized by lyricism, recreates the intimate experiences of people, and has certain thematic and genre characteristics. For him, the motive of seduction is obligatory: “What you lured me into, I don’t know, / I only know one thing, that you lured me in” [Urban songs, ballads and romances 1999: 284]. Romances are characterized by a combination of natural scenes and acute experiences, love longings and the motive of betrayal. The outcome may be bitter and may be accompanied by the motive of death. Husbands, children, rivals, and the heroes themselves can be involved in the fatal circle of death. We find all these details in the text of N.S. Leskova. The scene in the garden is filled with sensual lyricism and passion, it contains motifs of seduction and betrayal. In the story, the circle of death involves the father-in-law, the husband, the innocent child, the rival and, finally, the heroine herself.

In the monologue indicated below, Katerina, in lyrical reflection, prophesies the further course of events: “...so if you, Seryozha, betray me, if you exchange me for anyone or anything else, I am with you, my dear friend , excuse me, I won’t part alive” [Leskov 1956: 110].

How a subtype of the love romance genre can transform into another

Ballad, under special conditions. The peculiarity of Leskov’s text is that we have before us an action-packed story about fatal circumstances, and in the center of this story is a person of a special tragic fate.

Again we are faced with a situation where the development of the action of the “love story” in N.S. Leskov’s story is determined by the specificity of the genre existence of a folk song [see. about this: Pozdina 2012: 111]. In the text by N.S. Leskov that we are analyzing, there is a transition from the genre subtype of love romance to the genre subtype of ballad romance. The further development of the action will be directed along the lines of a ballad romance - which will be determined by both the acute expression of feelings and the accompanying details of the story, including the criminal one, and the tragic outcome that has taken place. And yet, the creators of ballads knew the limit beyond which they could not go. The heroine N. S. Leskova eliminates this limit with the epic motif of unbridled power that we have already outlined, going back to the epics about Vasily Buslaev.

We emphasize that the scene in the garden is one of the most important episodes in

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development of action and in clarifying the nature of the character of the main character. This scene uses the technique of retardation, which is a structural feature of an epic narrative, slowing down the action at the peak of the development of feeling. This is the climax in the plot of the “love novel”, a turning point after which the action takes a turn towards tragedy, and other facets of the nature of Katerina Lvovna’s character begin to appear. The growing motive of “strength”, which will manifest itself in the scene of the husband’s murder, will require a different artistic structure, with different laws for the development of action - dramatic.

Against the background of the chronicle narrative chosen by N. S. Leskov, the analyzed story stands out for its steady increase in tension in the development of a single end-to-end action. In an epic work, as a rule, there is no end-to-end tension and, therefore, a single climax,” which is a structural feature of the dramatic type. The noticeable “action” based on criminal incidents is inextricably linked with its significant dramatization.

Compositionally, the story consists of small chapters, each of which has its own scenic conclusion: the scene of the seduction of Katerina, the scene in the garden, the scene of the murder of the husband, the scene of the strangulation of the child, the scene of exposure, scenes in hard labor and, finally, the final scene. The first action of the drama takes place in the limited stage space of the Izmailovs’ house, the metaphor of which can be “paradise” as Katerina’s sensory and mental state. The second act of the drama will take place in hard labor, but also in the limited space of the chronotope, the metaphor of which is “hell” as a punishment for rampant sensuality. Some scenes are deliberately theatrical. Thus, before the murder of the father-in-law, the appearance of the “sinned, but always still submissive daughter-in-law” changes [Leskov 1956: 105]. A sudden change in Katerina Izmailova disarms her husband, an experienced merchant, who practically does not defend himself at the time of the murder. The demonstration of riotousness makes the scene of the murder of Zinovy ​​Borisovich especially theatrical. To provoke her husband into a confrontation, Katerina Lvovna puts on a whole performance: at the right moment she brings Sergei onto the stage, demonstratively kisses and pardons him. Her audacity and courage are shocking, her expressions are catchy and biting. In this scene, she is characterized by surprise, spontaneity, provocative intonations: ““Come on, Seryozhechka, come on, come on, my dear,” she beckoned to the clerk. Sergei shook his curls and boldly sat down next to the hostess.<...>- What? Or is it not pleasant? Look-

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But look, my yasmen falcon, how wonderful it is!” Katerina Lvovna laughed and kissed Sergei passionately in front of her husband” [Leskov 1956: 118].

The second culminating center in the story, dividing the narrative into “before” and “after,” forming the plot and revealing a qualitatively different side of Katerina Lvovna’s love, is the murder of a child. In none of the other scenes is there such a concentric convergence of the mythopoetic context: sacred and demonic, which determines the originality of the genre structure of the story, leading to the sphere of ontological values ​​[see. more details: Pozdina 2012: 127]. One cannot but agree with Catherine Gery, who asserts ambivalence within the story’s artistic system itself: “This system constantly oscillates between the sexualization of the world and the moral condemnation of sexuality” [Gery 2004: 105].

The final scene seems to be the culminating point of the triumph of the revelry of the demonic elements. The demonic gains power over reality. Reality becomes the embodiment of hell: piercing cold, roar of waves, rampant elements. Bodily (sexual) fury is equated to the fury of the underworld, demonic forces, both external and internal, in the very essence of the heroine. Katerina Lvovna in the final act of the tragedy, in the mysterious action, reunites with the natural world of elemental demonic forces for her. The motive of the biblical curse sounds in the roar of the raging elements. The realistic picture of the hard labor life is aggravated by the personal love tragedy of Katerina Lvovna. In the last act of the tragedy, the farce of Katerina Lvovna’s former lover sounds like a reminder of what they did, their crimes, the sinfulness of their love. Masks are being changed. Katerina Lvovna’s frozen gaze and moving lips are undoubted symptoms of her unbearable pain, exaggerated suffering and loneliness, a borderline state of catastrophe. The crisis psychological state is conveyed through the visual and auditory planes of perception: “Her head was burning as if on fire; pupils of the eyes. enlivened by a wandering sharp brilliance"<...>“Among Sergei’s vile speeches, she heard a rumble and a groan from the opening and squelching shafts” [Leskov 1956: 142].

The dialogue of the characters in the finale is of an extra-textual nature: “Katerina Lvovna set off on her journey completely lifeless: only her eyes looked terribly at Sergei and did not blink away from him” [Leskov 1956: 138]. Wanting to whisper a prayer, she echoes Sergei’s speeches: “How are we

Russian classics: dynamics of artistic systems

they walked around the battle, sat through long autumn nights, sent people away from the world with a cruel death” [Leskov 1956: 142]. But this “apparent” external dialogue suggests that each of the heroes of this tragedy carries within itself its own drama. And each of them pronounces a monologue, but a specific monologue - on the “threshold” of death.

“Threshold of death” in the text by N.S. Leskova is outlined by the author’s commentary, which sounds as if “behind the scenes,” but it is he who defines the “horizon” of connections and meanings of everything that makes up human life: “In these hellish, soul-rending sounds that complete the horror of the picture, the advice of the wife of the biblical Job: “Curse the day of your birth and die.” Whoever does not want to listen to these words, who is not flattered by the thought of death even in this sad situation, but frightened, must try to drown out these howling voices with something even more uglier. A simple person understands this perfectly well: he then unleashes all his bestial simplicity, begins to act stupidly, mocks himself, people, and feelings. Not particularly gentle anyway, he becomes extremely angry” [Leskov 1956: 140]. The motives of the Last Judgment aggravate the ontological problematic, bringing it to the “limits”. “The situation of an individual’s social loneliness reveals ontological loneliness: those who are not ready to look beyond the borders of this world (and therefore beyond the borders of themselves) find themselves locked into their own finite physicality - “animal simplicity”” [Savelova 2005: 25]. As Catherine Gery states, “irrational forces that cannot be controlled by anyone are found in the very psychological make-up of the heroine: Katerina Lvovna is in the power of something dark that is higher than her, but at the same time constitutes an integral part of herself” [Gery: 2004 110].

Indeed, all murders are committed by her as a “ritual of sacrifice” on the altar of “love attraction” (“the curse of sex”): everything that stands in the way is instantly eliminated, even at the cost of one’s own life. And therefore the final scene is not a suicide, but another murder, even more ritual: the heroine performs a rite of initiation, the final transition to the other world, which completes the turn of the plot towards disaster. The epic narrative reveals the event of "completion" inherent in drama. The unity of action consists of moving towards an inevitable catastrophe. According to S.M. Telegin, the author of the mythological concept of the image of Katerina Izmailova, “the fate of any person is tragic, but not everyone feels it, since not everyone acutely awakens it

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individuality, not everyone consciously and painfully feels their personality, their “I”, with an excess of vital energy, with love and passion awakening in Katerina Lvovna” [Telegin 1998: 56]. “Redundancy” is stated in the first lines of the “essay,” and the entire story of Katerina Izmailova - the prerequisites for the disaster - determines its accomplishment and demonstrates the ensuing consequences.

The legend taking shape before the reader’s eyes creates the illusion of an event in the present, and therefore the ending of the essay, like the development of the action, is built according to the laws of drama. The hero and the “spectator” (reader) have a reaction to the final event, and in the text of the “essay” there are spectators, “living witnesses” of the event, whose reaction is witnessed by the narrator - “everyone is petrified”, occurs simultaneously.

Thus, the heroine N. S. Leskova demonstrates a readiness to recklessly and ecstatically, that is, in the manifestation of an extreme degree of redundancy, to indulge in passions, a tendency to sudden impulsive decisions, sharp reactions, flashy expressions of feelings - which is inherent in drama heroes much more than in epic heroes.

The genre correlation of Leskov's text with Shakespeare's tragedy required compliance with Shakespeare's romantic concept of personality [Jary 2004: 110]. Katerina Izmailova reveals a natural talent for creative creation of “love attraction”, a readiness to lay the whole world at the feet of her beloved. She perceives love as a way of self-affirmation of an individual who suddenly feels inner freedom, complete emancipation of personal feelings, a “Renaissance” experience of love.

G.K. Shchennikov, examining the work of Dostoevsky, points out that such an experience reflected a historical process: a grandiose shift in a person’s general worldview, in the structure of the individual’s holistic relationship to the world: love as an element of feelings, passion as an element of the national spirit and passion as an artistic object capable of expressing the general the state of the era [Shchennikov 1987: 44]. In terms of the strength of passion and awareness of freedom, the absence of restraining principles, the heroine of N. S. Leskova is close to Dostoevsky’s heroes. These writers are also brought together by the artistic characteristics of the time of the beginning of the second half of the 19th century: the understanding of freedom as an impulse and revelry of passions and passion as an artistic object capable of expressing the general state of the era. Like Dostoevsky’s heroes, the free passion of the liberated person N.S. Leskova is dual and ambivalent by nature. On the one hand, this is direct

Russian classics: dynamics of artistic systems

the need to sacrifice oneself to another, the need for self-giving, dissolution in a loved one. On the other hand, this is a terrible deformation of the picture of the world and consciousness, sublimating passion in crimes. Like Dostoevsky, N.S. Leskov is not interested in the development of feelings, but in the combination of polar principles: terrible crimes intensify the passion of Katerina Izmailova.

Heroine N.S. Leskova carries within herself the potential of a romantic personality: the triumph of emancipation and unbearable pain and suffering, merged in the ecstatic pulsations of nature. In the associative background of the work, the theme of the original sinfulness of man, the curse, redemption by blood, the theme of the lost paradise sounds. The image of Katerina Lvovna embodies the romantic idea of ​​the presence of the otherworldly in the earthly world; she herself has the ability to cross the border between the earthly and the demonic. In the aesthetics of romanticism, the soul of a person does not belong to him alone, but serves as a playground for mysterious forces. But if in romanticism there is an awareness of the alienness of these forces to man, then in N. S. Leskov the heroes discover that the power of the dark is an integral part of themselves, part of their nature, the expression of which is Jung’s archetypal model of the evil Trickster [Jung 1997: 338]. The personification of absolute evil, inexplicable neither from the point of view of the manifestation of the will of the individual, nor from the point of view of the order of things indifferent to morality, attracted the attention of the romantics. Katerina Lvovna appears as an emanation of primary chaos and the kingdom of shadows and represents this archaic type, ambivalent by nature, a carrier of evil and always a victim herself. She commits a series of crimes in an atmosphere of demonic chaos. Her irrevocable alienation from the world does not give hope for revival. The opinion of many researchers of the tragedy genre agrees that its plot is based on the archetype of the victim.

In the work of N.S. Leskov is not just a pessimistic “excess” of the image, but in its disastrous “excess” a tragic picture of the world is revealed. In his memoirs, N. S. Leskov emphasized the horror and fear he experienced while writing the story: “But when I wrote my “Lady Macbeth,” under the influence of tense nerves and loneliness, I almost reached the point of delirium. At times I felt unbearably creepy, my hair stood on end, I froze at the slightest rustle, which I myself made by moving my leg or turning my neck. These were difficult moments that I will never forget. Since then I have avoided describing such horrors” [Leskov 1956: 499].

Undoubtedly, we are talking about liberated to its extreme

Russian classics: dynamics of artistic systems

the limits of female sexuality, which destroys the world and the very nature of man. This is the writer’s warning to modern society and an expression of nostalgia for the ideal natural states of man, the affirmation of a highly moral ideal of women in the era of emancipation and the nihilistic decline of morals.

Thus, the “folk” legend about the villainess merchant Izmailova grows into a story about a living person. This is how the artistic effect of the versatility of human nature is achieved. Horrified by the terrible demonic nature of sexual lusts that he discovered, which can awaken animal instincts in a person, the writer strives to search for harmony.

A living, highly original and contradictory aesthetic image, embodying the ecstatic type, is created at the border of the intersection of various modes of artistry that embody the author’s concept of man. So in the story of N.S. Leskov, “essay” and “tragedy” converge, generating a dramatically acute sense of existence, which ensures the uniqueness of the artistic form. Genre specificity is manifested not only in the syncretism of various genre formations, but, above all, in the ambivalent nature of this syncretism, and, consequently, of the artistic system itself, aimed at describing passion and expressing its condemnation.

LITERATURE

Anninsky L.A. Three heretics: stories about A.F. Pisemsky, P.I.

Melnikov-Pechersky, N.S. Leskov. M.: Book, 1986.

Voronkov A. “Lady Macbeth” wanders around the cops? // Expanses of Russia. 2002. 28 Aug. P. 19. (About the house where the prototypes of “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District” lived in the city of Mtsensk, about the accuracy of the version).

Godlevskaya E. Scary House // Generation. 2002. May 28. P. 4. (About the house on Lenin Street (formerly Staro-Moskovskaya) in the city of Mtsensk, which belonged to the merchant Inozemtsev; according to the version, the events described by N.S. Leskov in “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District” took place here).

Proud songs, ballads and romances / composition, compilation. text and comment. A. Kulagina, F.M. Selivanova. M.: Sovremennik, 1999.

Zheri K. Sensuality and crime in “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” N.S. Leskova // Russian literature. 2004. No. 1. pp. 102-110.

Kireevsky P.V. Collection of folk songs by P.V. Kireevsky: in 2 volumes. T.1. L: Nauka, 1983.

Leskov N.S. Collection op. : in 11 volumes. M. : GIHL, 1956. T. 1.

Pozdina I.V. Genre specificity of N.S.’s prose Leskov in the 1860s: monograph. Chelyabinsk: Publishing house Chelyabinsk. state myth restoration of the story

Russian classics: dynamics of artistic systems

N.S. Leskova “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District”) // New about N.S. Leskov. M.; Yoshkar-Ola: Prometheus, 1998. pp. 46-58.

Rovinsky D.A. Russian folk pictures: in 2 volumes. St. Petersburg. : Published by R. Golike, 1900.

Savelova L.V. The specificity of the genre structure of N.S.’s stories Leskova 1860-1890s: dis. ...cand. Philol. Sci. Stavropol, 2005.

Telegin S.M. In the land of Shakespearean passions (mythological restoration of N.S. Leskov’s story “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk”) // New about N.S. Leskov. M.; Yoshkar-Ola: Prometheus, 1998. pp. 46-58.

Shchennikov G.K. Dostoevsky and Russian realism. Sverdlovsk: Ural Publishing House. University, 1987.

Jung K.G. Soul and Myth: Six Archetypes. Kyiv: Port Royal; M.: Perfection, 1997.

This work. Speaking about the history of writing the story, we note that it is known from Leskov’s biography: the author himself was involved in criminal cases, and this suggests that the story of “Lady Macbeth” could well have been based on real events, because we are talking about crimes and concepts of morality. The work was written in 1864.

Genre, composition and main theme

Although this article has already noted that the work is a story, Nikolai Leskov himself defined the genre as an essay, since it contains elements of the narration of real events and has its own backstory. Therefore, it would not be a mistake to call both an essay and a story a genre of work.

Since any classical work has certain problems, when analyzing “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk”, we will also not miss the mention of the problems raised by the author. And the main one is a moral problem, which the heroes of the work do not talk about, but this theme is clearly expressed if you follow the events and dialogues taking place. The analysis is provided to readers, because everyone can have their own understanding of morality, but there are certain standards, to deviate from which means to act immorally.

Another problem is the manifestation of love, or rather, consideration of what a passionately loving woman is capable of. What is the main theme of the work?

Of course, this is the theme of love. Intoxicated with feelings, but cold at the moment of committing the crime, Katerina shows by her example what she is ready for for the sake of her own happiness. Although we can't call her happy after everything she's done. That is why this is an essay - there is no assessment of the characters and characteristics of their personalities, but only terrible crimes are described, which can be assessed from the outside.

Basic images

• Katerina. The main character of the essay. She was not beautiful in appearance, but she was an attractive woman, charismatic. Single, living without children and husband. From the description of her life, we understand that she is not a potential criminal. And she is ready to enter into a relationship with the first person she meets who pays attention to her.
• Sergey. A clerk who did not love Katerina, but played with her and her feelings.
• The father-in-law who mocked Sergei. He was later killed by Katerina.
• Fedya Lyamin. The son of a murdered husband, a little boy. It was his murder that gave the heroine the idea that it was difficult for her to stop killing.

Important details of the analysis of "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District"

Of course, Lady Macbeth is a morally difficult work about the consequences of love for an eternally lonely woman. Each murder is described in detail. Love was not a rush of feelings in the life of the main character; she was withdrawn and boring, spent all her time at home and was idle. Katerina Lvovna understood that love is a certain characteristic of a person that everyone, including her, should have. But then she did not realize what such reasoning would lead her to.

Sergei, being her accomplice, hiding his father-in-law’s body together, committed crimes for the sake of profit. But Katerina was obsessed, she was unstoppable. After this murder, she felt like the mistress of the house, she gave orders to everyone, but at the same time Sergei was always with her. For the sake of him and their love, she was ready to do anything. Which she confirms by following his lead and not daring to say a word against him.

When Fedya arrived at their house, Sergei became the initiator of the murder. He convinced the woman that the boy was an obstacle to their family happiness. In his opinion, the boy will destroy their union. The image of Fedya is one of the most significant in the essay “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk,” which we are analyzing. Together with the boy, Catherine’s soul dies. She decides to brutally kill, even while pregnant.

Committing murder after murder, changes are noticeable in Sergei’s portrait, such as trembling lips, tremor of the chin and others, but Katerina remains completely soulless. But in the denouement of the essay, Katerina herself becomes a victim, and you even feel sorry for her. She no longer loves anyone, including herself.

The work caused a storm of condemnation and indignation. It did not fit the literary criteria and political mood of the time. The image of Katerina was not recognized as a typical Russian female image.

In this article we have presented you with a brief analysis of the story "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk", you will find more information on the topic by visiting our literary

Lady Macbeth is undoubtedly a strong person who would be better off using her strength for something better.

Leskov describes Catherine "Macbeth" as a beautiful woman - stately with dark eyes, long eyelashes, dark hair. She has everything, as they say, in place - a beautiful figure, smooth skin. She is a young and healthy woman. But there are no children, and my husband is a very busy person, constantly busy with his own affairs, and often leaves. Katerina simply has nowhere to apply her strength or direct her energy. She is bored... She also has unspent feelings that her serious husband does not need at all.

And so she finds herself a lover... She simply grabs onto this handsome guy as the meaning of life. But he still uses it. Basically, without much love for her, he has an affair with her. (And then, already in exile, he starts an affair with another...) Katerina is overwhelmed by her feelings - she can hide them, but she is ready to do anything for the sake of her lover. She's not very picky about people. If only she could fall in love with a worthy man who would not put her on trial, for a crime for his own benefit.

She is simply blinded by her passion. Katerina thinks that her lover will also do everything for her, if anything... But he’s definitely not ready for that. And so, for his sake, consider that she is poisoning her father-in-law, her husband, and almost her child - her husband’s heir. Fortunately, people save the child. She allows herself to be used, forgets about her soul. But she also experiences remorse - it’s not for nothing that the ghost of her father-in-law appears to her and almost strangles her. She understands that she has done something terrible... But she only needs a return from her lover, who cannot give it to her. And she began to commit crimes so as not to end this connection. And also for her dear one to live in luxury.

Of course, it takes place in a Russian village with ordinary people, but that doesn’t make it any less passionate. Like Macbeth, the heroes suffer, make mistakes, and are tormented by their passions. The image of Katerina even evokes horror. It’s a pity for her, I would like to stop her before she does all this trouble. I think that her image is an example of a sinner blinded by her desires. She could go around the world with her lover, but she probably understood that then he would leave her.

Option 2

Katerina Izmailova in Leskov’s story “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” does not have a specific prototype; rather, it is a collective image of women who ended up in hard labor. Leskov himself at one time worked in the criminal chamber and saw enough of such criminals. In the title of the work, the author clearly points to the Shakespearean heroine, who did not spare anyone on the way to her goal. Such is Katerina Izmailova.

At the beginning of the work, Katerina Izmailova is a rather quiet, peaceful woman, forced to marry an uninteresting but rich merchant. She herself is of low birth, penniless.

The young woman is terribly bored living in this uninteresting, tastelessly tidy house with her husband and father-in-law, who do not pay attention to her. Katerina's appearance is attractive, although she is not a beauty. She has beautiful dark eyes with long eyelashes. This woman has nothing to do, her father-in-law keeps a vigilant eye on the household, and she wanders around the house all day with nothing to do.

Perhaps the birth of an heir would bring her relief, but they have no children. This is how these people live in boredom and lack of basic respect for each other. Therefore, it is not surprising that Katerina Izmailova falls in love with the young clerk Sergei.

Katerina’s character is strong, she is an integral person, ready to go her own way. Love, or rather passion, a kind of insanity, makes it uncontrollable. For the sake of love, she is ready to do anything. Even for murder. Without blinking an eye, she and her lover send her own husband and father-in-law to their forefathers. This woman is essentially going crazy, since she doesn’t even spare her young nephew Fyodor. Leskova wrote that while describing the murder scene he felt uneasy.

However, God's judgment is being carried out. They are caught in the act and brought to justice. It’s also terrible that Katerina is pregnant at the time of the murder; she is not stopped even by the fact that everyone around is celebrating the religious holiday “Introduction of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the Temple.”

She easily gets rid of her own child, who, by the way, is Sergei, because she believes that he can prevent her from “loving” the clerk. It seems that Katerina Izmailova has been possessed by demons. She doesn't care where she is or what she does. For her, only one love is important for Sergei, which she revels in.

Sergei, of course, is not in love with her. He was flattered to be the mistress’s lover; he is a subservient man. The strong character of Katerina Izmailov suppresses and forces him to obey. But already in hard labor, he is trying to get rid of her.

For a woman, the behavior of the person she loves most in the world is tantamount to death. She does not understand that such passion is a heavy yoke for both herself and her partner. Deep down, he is afraid of her and wants to end the relationship as soon as possible. And for Katerina, this is not just a betrayal, it is a death sentence.

Without love there can be no life. Having decided to commit suicide, she takes her rival with her. Both drown in the water.

In the work “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” Leskov clearly showed what passion is. This dark force that in no way resembles love. Burning, passionate “love” is destructive for a person, while true love does not seek its own. She is long-suffering and abounding in mercy.

Essay Catherine Lady Macbeth

When reading Leskov’s work, Katerina evokes conflicting feelings.

Her fate is not easy. She was not a beauty, but she was still striking. A small, thin brunette with brown eyes. At the beginning of the work, the author draws his heroine with a calm character. It can be used as an example as a standard of behavior.

However, life presented the young girl with many challenges. She married a not-so-young man whom she did not love. The girl moved in with him, where she gradually began to fade. The husband paid practically no attention to Katerina. The girl lost her zest for life.

And then a young man, Sergei, stands in her way. The girl lost her head. Love and passion flowed into her life. However, everything secret ever becomes clear. Their relationship began to surface. The girl despairs and decides to commit a terrible act - murder.

Then the black stripe continues. One trouble follows another. In the end, the heroine cannot stand it and commits suicide.

The author depicts Katerina in different ways in the situations that occurred. At first she is a fragile, gentle girl. Once married, she becomes a boring, gray stocking. Having acquired love, she blossomed like a rose. In extreme situations, her true nature emerges, devoid of any moral principles. She is a creepy, greedy egoist.

However, after thinking about Katerina’s fate, you can look at her behavior from the other side.

Firstly, the young girl did not know true love. She was driven into a corner and not accepted by society.

Secondly, any woman wants to love and be loved. Everyone dreams of experiencing awe in the soul, feeling care and love at least once in their life.

And here it is – happiness. Sergei filled Katerina’s soul with warmth with his presence. All the girl’s actions can be justified. This is not immorality. This is fear, the fear of losing the most intimate thing - love.

This is not selfishness. This is power. Only a strong person is able to account for his actions and understand why you are doing it. But Katerina was not ashamed of the deed she had committed. She is a strong woman who has not been broken.

Lady Macbeth has been betrayed. And she couldn't stand it. Living without a loved one means not living at all.

Blind love is the fault of all her actions. The girl fell into the wrong hands. Like the husband who didn’t give her affection, like Sergei who took advantage of her.

In the life of every person there is indifference, anger, kindness, and humanity. But everyone makes their own choice, on which their future fate will depend.

Speech is what Nature gave to man, and what he was able to develop for his own benefit. A person must develop his vocabulary, enrich it by reading fiction