The image of a Russian woman in Russian literature. Female images in Russian classical literature. Girl with hazel eyes

It is not surprising that the most famous English writer penned the image of the main character of British literature: we are, of course, talking about Elizabeth Bennet from the novel “Pride and Prejudice” - Jane Austen’s second book. It was with her that the young girls of the country preferred to associate themselves, and also tried to imitate her in everything: in the 19th century there was a real cult of Elizabeth, comparable to the popularity of the image of Goethe’s “suffering Werther” in German society of the 18th century. The reasons for the success of the literary character (besides) is that he was initially opposed to the idea of ​​a well-bred girl. Unlike real Englishwomen of that time, who were expected to obey their family in everything, to always be reserved and even cold, Elizabeth was lively and natural. , admit that you were wrong, if necessary, and even violate the norms of decency - naturally, young British women, tired of the oppression of strict rules, were impressed by this behavior.

It is curious that this image generally became canonical for literature of the 19th century: if you look closely, many heroines of the works of that era are at least somewhat similar to Bennett. Even Leo Tolstoy once casually admitted that while working on the image of Natasha Rostova, he read novels by English writers - including Jane Austen.

Japan: Princess Ochikubo

As you know, it was a closed country for a long time, and therefore social stereotypes and norms of behavior changed much less often there than in Europe. One of the first images of an ideal woman, which influenced many future national writers, appeared in Japanese literature very early, back in the 10th century, when “The Tale of the Beautiful Ochikubo” was written by an unknown author. Most of all, this text is reminiscent of the fairy tale about Cinderella: a beautiful stepdaughter living in a closet is tormented by her stepmother with her errands, and her father and other sisters support her in this matter. She sheathes the entire house, cleans, cooks, but her stepmother’s temper never softens.

Only a lucky chance one day brings her together with a young man from a noble Japanese family, who falls in love with her. The main thing for us (and for the Japanese) here is that the heart of an Ochikubo man wins not only with his beauty, but also with hard work, kindness, delicate taste and the ability to compose brilliant poetry. All these qualities were especially highly valued by the Japanese in women, and anyone had to understand the art so as not to disgrace her husband with an awkward remark. It is also interesting that, unlike “Cinderella”, the evil relatives here were by no means punished at the end of the story - on the contrary, Otikubo forgave them and persuaded her lover to help in every possible way the unfortunate father, stepmother and sisters and brothers.

Russia: Tatyana Larina and Natasha Rostova

We all remember how at school we wrote essays on the topic “Female images in Russian literature.” And it was simply impossible to ignore the works of Alexander Pushkin and Leo Tolstoy. Of course: the names of Tatyana Larina and Natasha Rostova became household names, and their behavior and character were real for a long time. So, for example, the value of family and loyalty to one’s husband was placed above personal interests and desires, and the principle “but I am given to another and will be faithful to him forever” was supposed to become, on occasion, a life credo for girls. As for Natasha Rostova, everything is obvious here: Leo Tolstoy sought to present an ideal woman in her image - at least in his mind. The role of a mother and reliable support for her husband is her main purpose, while it is better to quickly forget about social events and balls.

It is worth noting that the image of both Tatyana Larina and Natasha Rostova was not the result of long observations of writers on the lives of Russian ladies - no: Pushkin, working on “Eugene Onegin,” adopted a lot from contemporary French literature, and Leo Tolstoy - from English . All this, however, did not at all prevent literary heroines from becoming unique national symbols - that’s what writing talent means.

USA: Scarlett O'Hara

The main heroine of American literature is, of course, Scarlett O'Hara. In this case, the word “heroine” is more than appropriate; the girl’s life was by no means easy, but she always found the strength to pull herself together and believe in her famous phrase: “I’ll think about it tomorrow.” Scarlett was adored by all American women and men, as evidenced by the enormous success of the book in the United States, as well as the eight Oscars that its famous film adaptation received. The novel was translated into 70 languages, and the image of Scarlett began to inspire and serve as an example for many women around the world - in this sense, there are not many characters similar to O’Hara in literature.

The love of the reading public belonged not only to the literary image, but also to the writer herself who created it. Margaret Mitchell, who went through several not very successful romantic stories, like her heroine, never gave up and worked on herself. Only an ankle injury prevented her from becoming a successful correspondent, but she did not regret it too much, taking up the pen to write her only novel, Gone with the Wind.

France: Madame Bovary

It is unlikely that Flaubert could have imagined that his unloved heroine, Madame Bovary, would not only become a household name, but would also arouse the universal sympathy of women throughout France. He, being a famous moralist, was counting on a completely different effect. In his eyes, Emma Bovary, who is trying to rise above the vulgarity and boredom of everyday life through adultery, deserves fierce condemnation and the highest punishment - death. As a matter of fact, that is why the famous French novelist “poisons” Bovary at the end of the book, who decided to cheat on her unloved husband.

However, many did not agree with this position of the author and have been arguing for more than a hundred years whether Emma is worthy of sympathy. Romantic natures, of course, strongly support her behavior, making the woman a symbol of protest against the conventions of society: indeed, she listened to her heart, but there is nothing criminal about it. However, moralists usually fiercely rebuff romantics.

Be that as it may, Flaubert managed to create the image of a “provincial Frenchwoman” so talentedly that bored Emma became one of the main heroines of French literature, and ordinary women read the novel and sympathized with her, often recognizing the features of their own life in the sad fate of Bovary.

One of the distinctive features of Russian classical literature is the depth of its ideological content. It demonstrates a tireless desire to resolve the question of the meaning of life, a humane attitude towards people, and the truthfulness of the image.

And also Russian writers in their works sought to find the image of an ideal Russian woman. They brought out its best features, which are inherent in our people. In few literatures in the world can one find such beautiful and pure representatives of the fairer sex. They are distinguished by a loving and faithful heart and unique spiritual beauty.

Only in Russian literature is so much attention paid to the description of the inner world and the most complex experiences of the female soul. Through all the works one can see the image of a Russian woman who is a heroine, who has a big heart and a fiery soul, who is ready for exploits.

Russian soul Tatiana

One of the central images of women in Russian poetry is the unforgettable image of Tatyana Larina, created by A. S. Pushkin. Throughout the entire novel “Eugene Onegin,” the author emphasizes that she is “Russian in soul.” It shows how much she loves the Russian people, Russian nature, patriarchal antiquity, its customs and legends.

Tatyana appears before the reader as a person who is characterized by depth of nature and passion of feelings. It is distinguished by such qualities as integrity, sincerity, simplicity. The poet writes that Tatyana loves “without art”; she succumbs to the attraction of feelings.

She does not reveal the secret of her love for Eugene to anyone except the nanny. But the depth of love cannot outweigh the feelings of respect and duty towards her husband. She does not want to dissemble and tells Eugene that she loves him, but will be faithful to her legal spouse all her life.

In this novel, A.S. Pushkin gave the image of a Russian woman who takes life, love and duty very seriously. She is distinguished by the depth of her experiences and the complexity of her spiritual world. The author makes it clear that these traits are directly related to Russian nature, the Russian people, under whose influence a truly Russian woman, a person with a big and beautiful soul, was formed.

Modest Masha Mironova

In “The Captain's Daughter” A.S. Pushkin created the image of a modest Russian girl - Masha Mironova. It would seem that he is not outstanding at all. But if you look at it more carefully, you can see the depth of her feelings and her serious attitude towards love. She cannot express them verbally, but remains faithful to them all her life. Masha shows a willingness to do anything to save her loved one, to sacrifice herself for the sake of the life of her parents.

Peasant women and Decembrists

The images of Russian women by Nekrasov stand apart in Russian poetic works. This wonderful poet is called their singer. Before and after this, none of the poets paid so much attention to them.

With genuine pain, Nikolai Alekseevich spoke about the difficult fate of Russian peasant women. He wrote that the keys to their female happiness were long lost. But, despite this, the humiliated life of slavery did not break their inherent sense of pride and self-esteem. This is Daria, familiar to us from the poem “Red Nose Frost.” The image of this Russian peasant woman is the image of a bright person, pure in soul and heart.

Great love and warmth can be felt in Nekrasov’s depiction of the Decembrist women who, without any doubt, followed their husbands to Siberia. Princesses Volkonskaya and Trubetskoy are ready to fully share with them all the hardships, disasters and deprivations, prison and hard labor.

Light Ray - Katerina

It is impossible not to note this image of a Russian woman, which is full of both beauty and tragedy. This is Katerina from “The Thunderstorm” by N. A. Ostrovsky. According to N.A. Dobrolyubov, it reflected a number of the best features characteristic of the Russian people. We are talking about spiritual nobility, the desire for freedom and truth, readiness for protest and struggle.

Everyone remembers that the critic called Katerina a ray of light that broke through the dark kingdom of the suffocating patriarchal merchant world of Kabanikha and Dikoy. This woman is characterized as exceptional, with a poetic, dreamy nature. Finding herself in an atmosphere of hypocrisy and hypocrisy, having been married to an unloved man, she experiences genuine deep suffering.

But when she meets a person in the “dark kingdom” who is close to her in her moods, a romantic feeling flares up brightly in her. Love becomes for the heroine the main and only meaning of her life. However, her sense of duty wins, and she repents to her husband. And although in the finale Katerina dies by throwing herself into the Volga, thereby she poses a “challenge to the tyrant force.”

Expert I. S. Turgenev

Another great master in creating images of Russian women is I. S. Turgenev. He was a subtle connoisseur of the female soul and heart and brought out an amazing gallery of images. In “The Noble Nest” the pure, bright and strict Liza Kalitina appears before the reader. She is united with the women of Ancient Rus' by such traits as a deep religious feeling, a sense of duty and responsibility for her actions.

However, the writer also depicts a new type of woman. These are Elena Stakhova from the novel “On the Eve” and Marianna from “Novi”. So, Elena is trying to break out of the narrow family framework and plunge into the rapid flow of social activities. However, the living conditions that existed at that time did not give women such an opportunity. After the death of her loved one, Stakhova devotes her life to a holy cause. She participates in the liberation of the people of Bulgaria from the Turks.

Woman for family

One of the favorite and most developed images of women in Russian literature is the image of Natasha Rostova in “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy. The great writer contrasts it with Chernyshevsky’s image of Vera Pavlovna in the novel “What is to be done?” Disagreeing with the ideology of the commoner democrats, Tolstoy paints the image of a woman created not for social activities, but for the family.

Natasha is a determined and cheerful girl, close to the people. There is thriftiness and practicality in it. When Napoleon entered Moscow, she, like many representatives of various strata of Russian society, experienced genuine patriotic enthusiasm.

But the heroine’s life ideals are not complex, they are in the family sphere and are clearly manifested at the end of the novel, when the reader sees Natasha surrounded by a happy family.

Thus, the greatest of Russian poets and writers managed to create a whole galaxy of beautiful images of Russian women, revealing in all their richness all their qualities, which include intelligence, purity, the desire for happiness, struggle, freedom.

Russian literature has always been distinguished by its depth of ideological content, its tireless desire to pose and resolve vitally important questions, its humane attitude towards people, and the truthfulness of its depiction of reality. Russian writers sought to identify in female characters the best features characteristic of our people. In no literature in the world will we meet such beautiful and pure women, distinguished by a faithful and loving heart, and unique spiritual beauty.

Only Russian writers paid so much attention to depicting the inner world and complex experiences of the female soul. Starting from the 12th century, the image of a Russian female heroine with a warm heart, a fiery soul and a readiness for great feats runs through all our literature.

It is enough to recall the captivating image of the ancient Russian woman Yaroslavna, full of beauty and lyricism. She is the embodiment of love and loyalty. Her sadness in separation from Igor is combined with civil grief: Yaroslavna experiences the death of her husband’s squad and, turning to the forces of nature, asks for help not only for her “lada”, but also for all his warriors. The author of “The Lay” managed to give the image of Yaroslavna extraordinary vitality and truthfulness. He was the first to create a beautiful image of a Russian woman.

In the novel “Eugene Onegin” A. S. Pushkin captured the unforgettable image of Tatyana Larina. Tatiana has a “Russian soul” - the author emphasizes this throughout the entire novel. Her love for the Russian people, for patriarchal antiquity, for Russian nature runs through the entire work. Tatyana is a “deep, loving, passionate nature.” Whole, sincere and simple, she “loves without art, obedient to the attraction of feeling.” She does not tell anyone about her love for Onegin except the nanny. But Tatyana combines her deep love for Evgeny with a sense of duty to her husband:

I love you (why lie?),

But I was given to another;

I will be faithful to him forever.

Tatyana is characterized by a serious attitude to life, to love and to her duty; she is characterized by a depth of experience and a complex spiritual world. All these traits were nurtured in her by her connection with the Russian people and Russian nature.

Pushkin also gave another, seemingly less noticeable image of a modest Russian girl. This is the image of Masha Mironova in The Captain's Daughter. The author was able to show her serious attitude towards love, the depth of feeling that the heroine cannot express in beautiful words, but remains faithful to all her life. She is ready to do anything for the sake of her loved one. She is capable of sacrificing herself to save Grinev’s parents.

We cannot forget another image of a woman, full of beauty and tragedy, the image of Katerina in Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm,” which, according to Dobrolyubov, reflected the best character traits of the Russian people, spiritual nobility, the desire for truth and freedom, readiness for struggle and protest. Katerina is “a bright ray in a dark kingdom”, an exceptional woman, a poetic and dreamy nature. Having found herself in an atmosphere of hypocrisy and hypocrisy, having married an unloved person, she suffers deeply. But how brightly her feeling flares up when she meets a person close to her in spirit in this “dark kingdom”! Love for him becomes the only meaning of life for Katerina: for the sake of Boris, she is ready to transcend her concepts of sin. The struggle between feeling and duty leads to Katerina publicly repenting to her husband, but, driven to despair by Kabanikha’s despotism, she commits suicide. In the death of Katerina Dobrolyubov sees “a terrible challenge to self-styled power.”

I. S. Turgenev was a great master in creating female images, a subtle connoisseur of the female soul. He painted a whole gallery of amazing Russian women. Liza Kalitina (“The Noble Nest”) stands before us - bright, clean, strict. A sense of duty, responsibility for her actions, and deep religiosity bring her closer to the women of Ancient Rus'.

But Turgenev also gave images of women of modern times - Elena Stakhova and Marianna. Elena is an “extraordinary girl”, she is looking for “active good”, strives to go beyond the narrow confines of the family, into the space of social activities. But the conditions of Russian life at that time did not give women the opportunity for such activities. And Elena fell in love with Insarov, who dedicated his whole life to the liberation of his homeland. He captivated her with the beauty of her heroism in the struggle for the “common cause.” After his death, Elena remains in Bulgaria, devoting her life to a holy cause - the liberation of the Bulgarian people from the Turkish yoke. The true singer of the Russian woman was N. A. Nekrasov. No poet either before or after Nekrasov paid so much attention to women's fate. The poet speaks with pain about the difficult lot of the Russian peasant woman, that “the keys to women’s happiness were lost long ago.” But no slavishly humiliated life can break the pride and sense of self-worth of a Russian peasant woman. This is Daria in the poem “Frost, Red Nose.” How alive the image of a Russian peasant woman appears before us, pure in heart and bright in soul:

He endures both hunger and cold,

Always patient and even.

... He will stop a galloping horse,

He will enter a burning hut!

With great love and warmth, Nekrasov writes about the Decembrist women who followed their husbands to Siberia. Trubetskoy and Volkonskaya are ready to share with their husbands who suffered for the people’s happiness, hard labor, and prison. They are not afraid of either disaster or deprivation.

Finally, the revolutionary democrat N. G. Chernyshevsky showed in the novel “What is to be done?” the image of a new woman, Vera Pavlovna, decisive, energetic, independent. How passionately she strives from the “basement” into the “free air.” Vera Pavlovna is truthful and honest to the end. She strives to make the life of so many people easier, to make it beautiful and extraordinary. That is why many women became so engrossed in the novel and sought to imitate Vera Pavlovna in their lives.

L.N. Tolstoy, speaking out against the ideology of the democrats-raznochintsy, contrasts the image of Vera Pavlovna with his ideal woman - Natasha Rostov. This is a gifted, cheerful and determined girl. She, like Tatyana Larina, is close to the people, to their life, loves their songs, rural nature. Tolstoy emphasizes practicality and economics in Natasha. During the evacuation from Moscow in 1812, she helped pack things and gave valuable advice. The patriotic upsurge that all layers of Russian society experienced when Napoleon’s army entered Russia also gripped Natasha. At her insistence, the carts intended for loading property were cleared for the wounded. But Natasha Rostova’s life ideals are not complicated - they lie in the family sphere.

The greatest Russian writers in their works brought out a number of wonderful images of Russian women, revealing in all their richness their spiritual, moral and intellectual qualities, purity, intelligence, a heart full of love, the desire for freedom, for struggle. These features are characteristic of the image of a Russian woman in Russian classical literature.

FEMALE IMAGES IN RUSSIAN CLASSICAL LITERATURE. Russian literature has always been distinguished by the depth of its ideological content, its tireless desire to resolve questions of the meaning of life, its humane attitude towards people, and the truthfulness of its depiction. Russian writers sought to identify in female characters the best features characteristic of our people. In no other national literature will we meet such beautiful and pure women, distinguished by their faithful and loving hearts, as well as their unique spiritual beauty. Only in Russian literature is so much attention paid to the depiction of the inner world and complex experiences of the female soul. Starting from the 12th century, the image of a Russian female heroine, with a big heart, a fiery soul and a readiness for great unforgettable feats, runs through all our literature.

It is enough to recall the captivating image of the ancient Russian woman Yaroslavna, full of beauty and lyricism. She is the embodiment of love and loyalty. Her sadness in separation from Igor is combined with civil grief: Yaroslavna experiences the death of her husband’s squad and, turning to the forces of nature, asks for help not only for her “lada”, but also for all his warriors. The author of “The Lay” managed to give the image of Yaroslavna extraordinary vitality and truthfulness. He was the first to create a beautiful image of a Russian woman.

A. S. Pushkin painted an unforgettable image of Tatyana Larina. Tatyana is “Russian in soul,” the author emphasizes this throughout the novel. Her love for the Russian people, for patriarchal antiquity, for Russian nature runs through the entire work. Tatyana is a “deep, loving, passionate nature.” Whole, sincere and simple, she “loves without art, obedient to the attraction of feeling.” She does not tell anyone about her love for Onegin except the nanny. But Tatyana combines her deep love for Evgeny with a sense of duty to her husband:

I love you (why lie?),

But I was given to another;

I will be faithful to him forever.

Tatyana is characterized by a serious attitude towards life, towards love and towards her duty; she has a depth of experience, a complex spiritual world. All these traits were nurtured in her by her connection with the people and nature, which created a truly Russian woman, a person of great spiritual beauty.

Pushkin also created another, seemingly less striking image - the modest Russian girl Masha Mironova (“The Captain’s Daughter”). The author was able to show a serious attitude towards love, a depth of feeling that she cannot express in beautiful words, but to which she remains faithful throughout her life. She is ready to do anything for her loved one. She is capable of sacrificing herself to save Grinev’s parents.

We also unforgettable another image, full of beauty and tragedy - Katerina in Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm”, which, according to Dobrolyubov, reflected the best character traits of the Russian people: spiritual nobility, the desire for truth and freedom, readiness for struggle and protest. Katerina is “a bright ray in a dark kingdom”, an exceptional woman, a poetic and dreamy nature. Having found herself in an atmosphere of hypocrisy and hypocrisy, having married an unloved person, she suffers deeply. But how brightly her feeling flares up when she meets a person in this “dark kingdom” who is close to her in his moods. Love for him becomes the only meaning of life for Katerina: for the sake of Boris, she is ready to transcend her concepts of sin. The struggle between feeling and duty leads to Katerina publicly repenting to her husband and, driven to despair by the despotism of Kabayikhi, commits suicide. In the death of Katerina Dobrolyubov sees “a terrible challenge to tyrant power.”

I. S. Turgenev was a great master in creating female images, a subtle connoisseur of the female soul and heart. He painted a whole gallery of portraits of amazing Russian women. Lisa Kapitina stands before us - bright, clean, strict. A sense of duty, responsibility for her actions, and deep religiosity bring her closer to the women of ancient Russia (“Noble Nest”).

But Turgenev also created images of “new” women - Elena Stakhova and Marianna. Elena is an “extraordinary girl”, she is looking for “active good”. She strives to leave the narrow confines of the family into the space of social activities. But the conditions of Russian life at that time did not allow such activity for a woman. And Elena fell in love with Insarov, who dedicated his whole life to the liberation of his homeland. He captivated her with the beauty of the feat in the struggle for the “common cause.” After his death, Elena remains in Bulgaria, devoting her life to a holy cause - the liberation of the Bulgarian people from the Turkish yoke.

The true singer of the Russian woman was N. A. Nekrasov. No poet before or after has paid so much attention to a Russian woman. The port speaks with pain about the difficult lot of the Russian peasant woman, that “the keys to women’s happiness were lost long ago.” But no slavishly humiliated life can break her pride and self-esteem. This is Daria in the poem “Frost, Red Nose.” How alive an image appears before us, pure in heart and bright.

With great love and warmth, Nekrasov writes about the Decembrist women who followed their husbands to Siberia. Trubetskoy and Volkonskaya are ready to share with them, who suffered for the people’s happiness, hard labor and prison. They are not afraid of either disaster or deprivation.

Finally, the revolutionary democrat N. G. Chernyshevsky showed in the novel “What is to be done?” the image of a woman of modern times - Vera Pavlovna, decisive, energetic, independent. How passionately she strives from the “basement” into the “free air.” Vera Pavlovna is truthful and honest to the end. She strives to make life easier for many people, to make it beautiful and extraordinary. Many women read the novel and sought to imitate Vera Pavlovna in their lives.

L.N. Tolstoy, speaking against the ideology of the commoner democrats, contrasts the image of Vera Pavlovna with his ideal woman - Natasha Rostova. This is a gifted, cheerful and determined girl. She, like Tatyana Larina, is close to the people, to their life, loves their songs, rural nature. The patriotic upsurge that all layers of Russian society experienced when Napoleon's army entered Russia also gripped Natasha. At her insistence, the carts intended for loading property were cleared for the wounded. But Natasha Rostova’s life ideal is a happy family.

The greatest Russian writers in their works revealed in all their richness the spiritual, moral and intellectual qualities of Russian women, purity, intelligence, a heart full of love, the desire for freedom, for struggle.

Literatures

O. V. Barsukova

Introductory Notes

Cognition of personality in fiction

Along with scientific knowledge, there is comprehension of man in art, religion, etc. If science operates with concepts, then in art there are visual means for this. “The method of literature is the method of art; The method of psychology is the method of science. Our question is which approach is most adequate for studying personality."

Works of art are unique and inimitable. They are the result of the author’s creativity and inevitably reflect his personal position, subjective perception of the phenomenon depicted or described, his life experience. Of course, priority in describing a person in art belongs to fiction.

The appeal of psychologists to works of fiction has a long tradition. Domestic and foreign scientists belonging to various directions and schools considered works of fiction as a source of psychological knowledge and illustrated their theories and typologies with characters from fiction.

One of the first to develop was a psychoanalytic approach to the study of works of art, creativity and personality of writers. The emphasis is on the analysis of the unconscious in a person's life. These are the works of the classics of psychoanalysis (S. Freud, S. Spielrein), individual (A. Adler) and analytical psychology (K. Jung), humanistic psychology (E. Fromm), etc. Thus, K. Jung believes that the subject of psychology in in this case is the process of artistic activity.

Much attention was paid to works of fiction as a source of psychological knowledge by the famous American psychologist, specialist in the field of personality psychology, proponent of the idiographic (individual) approach G. Allport. In his article “Personality: a problem of science or art?” the scientist claims that personality as a part of mental life, existing in single and individual forms, can be the subject of literature and psychology. Noting the features of literary and psychological approaches to the study of personality, G. Allport points out that none of them is better or worse than the other, each has its own strengths and weaknesses. The main advantages of fiction are integrity in the description of character and interest in individuality. The advantage of psychology is the strict and evidence-based nature of its scientific methods.

The author's typology of personality in the context of the life path of E. Yu. Korzhova is of great interest. All types and subtypes of personality are considered by the author using examples of characters from world fiction. This typology is based on the orientation of the individual – his life orientations and life position, which determine the characteristics of the individual’s life path. What is of interest is the author’s important, in our opinion, recommendation to psychologists who turn to the analysis of works of fiction: “Particular attention should be paid to classical fiction, where one can more often find intuitive insights of genius regarding human nature.”

In works of fiction, a person appears in all his diverse manifestations - in internal dialogue and communication with people, in impulsive actions and thoughtful actions.

“In a genuine work of art, the one-sidedness of the rational description of a person is removed while maintaining the cognitive attitude, the value attitude towards the actions and deeds of the heroes is clearly expressed, there is no moralizing, abstract truths and appeals; here there is an image of human destiny, a description of real living conditions, a variety of life connections and relationships between people.”

Thus, integrity and versatility, due to the unity of the cognitive, evaluative, creative and communicative aspects of the work, are the main features of the description of a person in fiction.

E. Yu. Korzhova notes that several ways of using fiction in psychological cognition can be identified.

Philological research in which a literary image is correlated with a specific philosophical or religious concept (M. M. Bakhtin).

Philosophical research, when a work of art is considered as a unique figurative and artistic form of philosophical exploration of reality (S. G. Semenova).

“Scientific” direction (psychology and psychiatry), in which examples from fiction are used as illustrations of data obtained as a result of scientific analysis (K. Leonhard).

Psychological research (psychoanalysis, personality psychology) and the study of the personality of the writer, his works, psychobiographical analysis of writers (E. Yu. Korzhova).

General psychological research (general psychology, psychology of art), dedicated to the “translation” from the language of fiction into the language of science (L. S. Vygotsky, V. M. Allahverdov).

V. I. Slobodchikov and E. I. Isaev point to the existing division of writers:

Writers and philosophers - L. N. Tolstoy, G. Hesse and others.

Writers and sociologists - O. Balzac, E. Zola and others.

Writers-psychologists - F. M. Dostoevsky, F. Kafka and others.

On the other hand, K. Leonhard calls both F. M. Dostoevsky and L. N. Tolstoy writers-psychologists. This division characterizes the peculiarities of the writers’ view while preserving the artistic image and creating the image of a person in all its diversity.

Features of the depiction of women in fiction

When analyzing images of women in fiction, it should be remembered that these images are formed by the authors in a certain social context and their content reflects and is determined by everyday ideas about the desirability and adequacy of certain characteristics of a woman. In other words, the image of a woman in fiction depends on the political, social and psychological characteristics of the specific society in which the author lives and works and which is described in the work of fiction. Works of art present the image of a woman that is typical for a particular society, desirable and necessary, and reflects those traits that in a given society are considered characteristic of a woman. Therefore, when analyzing this or that image of a woman, it is also necessary to take into account the characteristics and ideology of the social stratum to which the woman belongs.

On the other hand, an important feature of classical literature is the depiction of man in all his diversity. This allows us to discover a variety of female images. Let us turn to the manual already mentioned above by E. Yu. Korzhova. The author, based on his personality typology, characterizes the following female images.

1. A person with a passive life position is Nana (E. Zola “Nana”), Olga Semyonovna (A.P. Chekhov “Darling”).

2. A person with an active life position – Stranger (S. Zweig “Letters from a Stranger”), Katerina Ivanovna (F. M. Dostoevsky “The Brothers Karamazov”), Anna Karenina (L. N. Tolstoy “Anna Karenina”), Carmen (P Merimee "Carmen").

3. A person striving to achieve balance with the environment - Scarlett O'Hara (M. Mitchell "Gone with the Wind").

4. A person who seeks to upset the balance with the environment - Tatyana Larina (A. S. Pushkin “Eugene Onegin”), Katerina (A. N. Ostrovsky “The Thunderstorm”).

5. Situational and holistic personality with an active life position - Olga Ivanovna (Chekhov A.P. “Jumping”).

6. Internally holistic personality - Sonya Marmeladova (F. M. Dostoevsky “Crime and Punishment”), Elena Stakhova (I. S. Turgenev “On the Eve”).

3. What, in your opinion, explains the division of writers into “psychologists”, “philosophers” and “sociologists”?

4. Give examples of the author’s personality typology, illustrated with characters and situations from fiction. What is the peculiarity of the view on the analysis of the female image among representatives of various psychological trends?

Tasks for independent work

Students are offered the following as independent work (homework) on this topic.

1. Make a list of domestic and foreign contemporary works of art that present various female images and characters.

2. Create a typology of female images in works of a certain genre. For example, images of women in fairy tales (wise, beautiful, treacherous, etc.), in myths (mother, lover, warrior, etc.).

3. Compose a typology of female images in the works of writers of one historical period, a certain ideology. For example, the typology of women in the works of Soviet writers (woman-worker, woman-mother, woman-friend, etc.).

4. Based on the materials obtained during task 4, conduct a socio-psychological analysis of the rules governing a woman’s lifestyle. For example, the three “Cs” of a German woman are kitchen (kuche), church/church (kirche), children (kinder). For each rule, you need to give one or two examples from a work of fiction.

5. L.N. Tolstoy considered Natasha Rostova, the heroine of his novel “War and Peace,” to be the ideal woman. Please suggest what considerations the author might have taken from when characterizing his heroine this way, give her a brief description as a loving woman, wife, mother.

6. Come up with and write down a plot for your own work of art of any genre and briefly describe the heroine (appearance, lifestyle, main character traits).

Bibliography

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6. Vygotsky L. S. Psychology of art. – Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 1998. – 480 p.

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11. Leonhard K. Accented personalities / Transl. with him. – Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 2000. – 544 p.

12. Allport G. Personality: a problem of science or art? // Psychology of Personality. Texts / Ed. Yu. B. Gippenreiter, A. A. Bubbles. – M.: Publishing house of Moscow State University, 1982. pp. 228–230.

13. Paludi M. Psychology of women. – St. Petersburg: Prime-EUROZNAK, 2003. – 384 p.

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15. Workshop on social psychology / Ed. I. S. Kletsina. – St. Petersburg: Peter, 2008. – 256 p.

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Annex 1

Personality: a problem of science or art?

G. Allport

(abbreviated)

There are two fundamental approaches to a detailed study of personality: literary and psychological.

None of them is “better” than the other: each has certain merits and ardent adherents. Too often, however, fans of one approach are disdainful of fans of the other. This article is an attempt to reconcile them and in this way create a scientific and humanistic system for the study of personality.

It is true that compared to the giants of literature, the psychologists who deal with the depiction and explanation of personality appear sterile and sometimes a little stupid. Only a pedant could prefer the raw set of facts which psychology offers for the consideration of individual mental life to the magnificent and unforgettable portraits which are created by famous writers, playwrights or biographers. Artists create; psychologists are just collecting. In one case - the unity of images, internal consistency even in the finest details. In another case, there is a pile of poorly coordinated data.

One critic presented the situation vividly. As soon as psychology, he notes, touches the human personality, it repeats only what literature has always said, but does it much less skillfully.

Whether this unflattering judgment is entirely correct, we will soon see. For the moment it helps at least to call attention to the significant fact that literature and psychology are in some sense competitors; they are two methods dealing with personality. The method of literature is the method of art; The method of psychology is the method of science. Our question is which approach is most adequate for studying personality.

Generally speaking, almost all literary descriptions of character (whether it is a written sketch, as in the case of Theophrastus, or fiction, drama or biography) are based on the psychological assumption that each character has certain traits peculiar to him, and that these traits can be shown through descriptions of characteristic episodes of life. In literature, personality is never described in the way that sometimes happens in psychology, namely with the help of sequential, unrelated special actions. A personality is not a water ski, rushing in different directions across the surface of a body of water, with its unexpected deviations that have no internal connection with each other. A good writer will never make the mistake of confusing a person's personality with the "personality" of a water ski. Psychology often does this.

So, the first lesson that psychology should learn from literature is something about the nature of the essential, stable properties of which personality is composed. This is a personality trait issue; Generally speaking, I am of the opinion that this problem has been treated more consistently in the literature than in psychology. More specifically, it seems to me that the concept of appropriate influence and appropriate response, so clearly presented in the ancient sketches of Theophrastus, can serve as an excellent guide for the scientific study of personality, where patterns can be determined with greater accuracy and greater reliability than is done in the literature. Using the power of the laboratory and controlled external observation, psychology will be able, much more accurately than the literature, to establish for each individual a clear set of different life situations that are equivalent for him, as well as a clear set of answers that have the same meaning.

The next important lesson from literature concerns the internal content of its works. No one has ever demanded from the authors proof that the characters of Hamlet, Don Quixote, Anna Karenina are true and reliable. Great character descriptions, by virtue of their greatness, prove their truth. They know how to inspire confidence; they are even necessary. Each action, in some subtle way, seems to be both a reflection and the completion of one well-fashioned character. This internal logic of behavior is now defined as self-confrontation: one element of behavior supports another, so that the whole can be understood as a sequentially connected unity. Self-confrontation is only a method of legitimation used in the work of writers (except perhaps in the work of biographers, who do have some need for the external reliability of a statement). But the method of self-confrontation is barely beginning to be used in psychology.

Once, commenting on Thackeray's character description, G. Chesterton remarked: “She drank, but Thackeray did not know about it.” Chesterton's barb stems from his demand that all good characters have internal consistency. If one set of facts about a person is given, other relevant facts must follow. The describer must know exactly what the deepest motivational traits were at work in this case. For this most central and therefore most unifying core of any personality, Wertheimer proposed the concept of the basis, or root, from which all stems grow.

Of course, the problem is not always so simple. Not all personalities have basic integrity. Conflict, the ability to change, even personality disintegration are common phenomena. In many works of fiction we see an exaggeration of constancy, consistency of personality - more like caricatures than characteristic images. Oversimplification occurs in drama, fiction, and biographical accounts. Confrontations seem to come too easily. Dickens's descriptions of characters are a good example of oversimplification. They never have internal conflicts, they always remain what they are. They usually resist the hostile forces of the environment, but in themselves are completely constant and integral.

But if literature often errs because of its particular exaggeration of the unity of the personality, then psychology, through lack of interest and limitations of methods, generally fails in revealing or exploring the integrity and consistency of characters that actually exist. The greatest shortcoming of the psychologist at the present time is his inability to prove the truth of what he knows. No less than a literary artist, he knows that personality is a complex, well-composed and more or less stable mental structure, but he cannot prove it. He does not, unlike writers, use the obvious method of self-confrontation of facts. Instead of striving to surpass writers in this matter, he usually finds a safe haven in the thicket of statistical correlation.

So, psychology needs methods of self-confrontation - methods through which the internal unity of the individual can be determined.

The next important lesson for psychologists to learn from the literature is how to maintain ongoing interest in a given individual over a long period of time.

The abstraction that the psychologist makes in measuring and explaining the non-existent “psyche-in-general” is an abstraction that writers never make. Writers know very well that the psyche exists only in isolated and special forms.

Here we are, of course, faced with the basic disagreement between science and art. Science always deals with the general, art always deals with the special, the individual. But if this division is correct, then what should we do with personality? Personality is never “general”, it is always “individual”. Should it then be given entirely to art? So, psychology can’t do anything about it? I am sure that very few psychologists will make this decision. However, it seems to me that the dilemma is inexorable. Either we must abandon the individual, or we must learn from literature in detail, dwell on it more deeply, modify as much as necessary our concept of the scope of science in such a way as to make room for the individual case more hospitably than before.

You may have noticed that the psychologists you know, despite their profession, are no better at understanding people than others. They are not particularly insightful, and are not always able to give advice on personality problems. This observation, if you made it, is certainly correct. I will go further and say that because of their habits of excessive abstraction and generalization, many psychologists are actually inferior to other people in understanding individual lives.

When I say that, in the interests of a proper science of personality, psychologists should learn to go into detail, to go deeper into a single case, it may seem that I am intruding into the field of biographical descriptions, the clear purpose of which is the exhaustive, detailed description of a single life.

However, biography increasingly becomes strict, objective and even heartless. For this direction, psychology was undoubtedly more important. Biographies are becoming more and more like scientific dissections, performed more for the purpose of understanding than for inspiration and noisy exclamations. Now there are psychological and psychoanalytic biographies and even medical and endocrinological biographies.

Psychological science has also had its influence on autobiography. There have been many attempts at objective self-description and self-explanation.

I have mentioned three lessons that psychologists can learn from the literature to improve their work. The first lesson is a concept regarding the nature of traits that appears widely in the literature. The second lesson concerns the method of self-confrontation, which good literature always uses and psychology almost always avoids. The third lesson calls for a more sustained interest in one person over a longer period of time.

In presenting these three advantages of the literary method, I have said little about the distinctive advantages of psychology. In conclusion, I must add at least a few words to praise my profession.

Psychology has a number of potential advantages over literature. It has a strict character that compensates for the subjective dogmatism inherent in artistic descriptions. Sometimes literature goes into self-confrontation of facts too easily. For example, in our comparative study of biographies of the same person, it was found that each version of his life seemed reasonably plausible, but only a small percentage of the events and interpretations given in one biography could be found in the others. No one can know which portrait, if any, is the true one.

For good writers, the degree of consistency in observations and explanations of something that is necessary for psychologists is not necessary. Biographers can give widely varying interpretations of life without discrediting the literary method, while psychology will be ridiculed if its experts cannot agree.

The psychologist was very tired of the arbitrary metaphors of literature. Many metaphors are often grotesquely false, but they are rarely condemned. In literature one can find, for example, that the obedience of a certain character is explained by the fact that “servant blood flows in his veins,” the ardor of another by the fact that he has a hot head, and the intelligence of a third by “the height of his massive forehead.” A psychologist would be torn to pieces if he allowed himself to make such fantastic statements about cause and effect.

The writer is further permitted, and even encouraged, to entertain and entertain readers. He can convey his own images, express his own passions. Its success is measured by the reaction of readers, who often demand only a slight recognition of themselves in a character or an escape from their immediate concerns. The psychologist, on the other hand, is never allowed to entertain the reader. Its success is measured by a more rigid criterion than the delight of the reader.

When collecting material, the writer proceeds from his random observations of life, passes over his data in silence, discards unpleasant facts of his own free will. The psychologist must be guided by the requirement of fidelity to the facts, all the facts; The psychologist is expected to be able to ensure that his facts come from a verifiable and controlled source. He must prove his conclusions step by step. His terminology is standardized, and he is almost completely deprived of the ability to use beautiful metaphors. These restrictions contribute to the reliability and verifiability of conclusions, and reduce their bias and subjectivity.

I agree that personality psychologists are essentially trying to say what the literature has always said, and they are necessarily saying it in a much less artistic way. But they try to speak more accurately and from the point of view of human progress - with greater benefit - about what they have advanced, albeit a little for now.

Personality is not a problem exclusively for science or exclusively for art, but it is a problem for both. Each approach has its own merits, and both are needed for a comprehensive study of personal wealth.

If, in the interests of pedagogy, it is expected that I will end the article with some important advice, then it will be this. If you are a psychology student, read lots and lots of novels and character dramas and read biographies. If you are not a psychology student, read them, but also be interested in papers on psychology.

Appendix 2

Sample list of classic works of art for work in class

1. G. H. Andersen “The Snow Queen”.

2. S. Bronte “Jane Eyre”.

3. M. A. Bulgakov “The Master and Margarita”.

4. N.V. Gogol “The Inspector General”, “Dead Souls”.

5. F. M. Dostoevsky “Crime and Punishment”, “Uncle’s Dream”.

6. E. Zola “Nana”.

7. M. Yu. Lermontov “Hero of Our Time.”

8. M. Mitchell “Gone with the Wind.”

9. Guy de Maupassant “Dear Friend”.

10. A. N. Ostrovsky “Thunderstorm”, “Dowry”.

11. C. Perrault “Cinderella”.

12. A. S. Pushkin “Eugene Onegin”.

13. W. Thackeray “Vanity Fair.”

14. L. N. Tolstoy “Anna Karenina”, “War and Peace”.

15. I. S. Turgenev “Fathers and Sons.”

16. N. G. Chernyshevsky “What to do?”

17. A. P. Chekhov “The Cherry Orchard”, “Three Sisters”, “Darling”, “Jumping”.

18. W. Shakespeare “Lady Macbeth”, “King Lear”.