After the publication of the famous novel "Les Miserables" in 1862, Victor Hugo decided to write another, no less ambitious work. This book was created over a long ten years. Urgent issues of his time touched upon in the novel "The Year 93" by Hugo. A summary of the latest work of the great French writer is set forth in this article.
History of creation
What did Hugo tell about in the novel “93 Year”? A summary of the work is presented below. However, before embarking on it, a few words should be said about the history of the writing of the novel. It was based on important historical events of 1793. However, they were set out under the impression of the author of what was happening in France in the second half of the nineteenth century, namely, the Franco-Prussian war and the Paris Commune. Thus, in the artwork “Ninety-Third Year” Victor Hugo partially expressed his views on the political situation that prevailed in his homeland in 1870-1871.
What happened during the period when the writer completed his last historical novel? After the conclusion of a peace treaty with Prussia, unrest broke out, which resulted in a revolution and led to the establishment of self-government. It lasted seventy-two days. As already mentioned, the idea of the novel “Ninety-Three Years” came to the writer’s mind ten years before the above events. Perhaps, precisely because of the difficult situation in the country, the creation of the next creation dragged on for a long time. The idea of the novel, which at the initial stage did not have a clear outline, was finally formed after the social and political upheavals of 1870-1872.
A masterpiece of historical prose
When it comes to a category such as books about the French Revolution, first of all, it is not only the work of the patriarch of French romanticism that is mentioned. Alexander Dumas once wrote about these events . Many foreign and Russian researchers devoted their works to them. However, a huge historical and literary value is the book "Hugo 93". The summary of this work is, of course, not only a listing of important political events that served as the material for the creation of the plot. This is also a condensed story about the fate of the main characters. So where does Hugo's 93 year begin?
Summary: Sodrey Forest
The novel takes place at the end of May 1793. The Paris Battalion, conducting reconnaissance in the Sodreys Forest, was ready for any surprises. After all, these places gained tragic glory. The author called Sodrey Forest the most terrible place in the world. Because it was here, six months before the events described in the novel "The ninety-third year", the first atrocity of the civil war occurred. Once upon a time, quite peaceful bird hunting was arranged in the Sodrei forest. In connection with the political events in Paris, everything has changed. The novel “Ninety-third year” depicts a time when a fierce hunt for people was conducted in these picturesque places.
The soldiers and the Markitan accompanying them heard a suspicious rustling in the bushes. They were ready to shoot. However, it turned out that a woman of peasant origin and her three young children are hiding in the bushes. Under wartime laws, the unfortunate woman was interrogated. It was necessary to find out what political convictions a single mother adheres to. Not a stranger could clearly answer all the questions. The soldiers nevertheless found out that the husband Michelle Fleschard - and that was the name of the woman - died. And they burnt the hut where they lived. As a result, the peasant woman was in distress. Since then, she wandered through the forest wherever she looked, not realizing how great the danger to which she exposes herself and her children.
Hearing the sad story of a peasant woman, a battalion sergeant named Raduba proposed to adopt Rene-Jean, Gro-Alain and Georgette.
Corvette "Claymore"
The novel was preceded by a thorough study by the author of the history of the counter-revolutionary movement of the shuans. The writer studied a number of historical works. And the events that took place in Paris at the time when he was creating the historical work influenced the plot and the images of the main characters.
The novel shows the attitude of Hugo to the revolutionary movement. The writer sincerely sympathized with the defeated Communards, but at the same time he was critical of their methods of struggle. This contradictory attitude towards the revolutionary movement has shaped the attitude towards the events reflected in the novel “Ninety-Third Year”. Hugo's heroes are action people. However, they are devoted to ideals and sacrifice their lives for a lofty goal. Sometimes the cost of such victims is too high.
On the first of June, a frigate disguised as a merchant ship leaves the coast of England. In fact, the “Claymore” is a very important passenger. The author describes him as follows: "a tall old man, dressed in peasant robes, but possessing the prince's posture." The frigate dies in battle with the French squadron. The blame is on the gunner, who, on the orders of a man dressed in simple peasant clothes, is then shot. The majestic old man, saved by the royalists, is the future leader of the rebellious Vendée. However, one of the sailors - a young man named Galmalo - decides to take revenge on the old man for the murder of the gunner. After all, he was his sibling. However, Galmalo refuses on time to commit this murder.
Marquis de Lantenac
This is the name of the mysterious old man who miraculously escaped while traveling on a frigate. On land, he learns the news of the destroyed republican detachment. Lantenac orders the execution of all prisoners. However, he makes no exception, even for two women. He orders the three children that he is informed about to take with him, without having a clear plan about their future fate. One of the women, meanwhile, is alive: she was just shot through her collarbone.
Revolutionary spirit
The atmosphere of struggle reigns in Paris. Hugo portrays the French capital as a city in which even children smile heroically. Everything here breathes revolution. Among the preachers these days, priest Simurden stands out. He is fierce and cold-blooded. After the revolution broke out, Simurden refused the dignity and devoted his life to the liberation movement. This man, meritorious by Robespierre, subsequently becomes Commissioner of the Vendée Convention.
In the early days of July, a lone traveler stops near the town of Dole, in one of the inns. From the innkeeper, this man, who later turns out to be none other than Simurden, finds out about the battles taking place nearby. Gauvin and the Marquis de Lantenac fight. Moreover, the fighting could not be so bloody if it were not for the deed of the royalist leader. Lantenac allegedly ordered a woman to be shot, and her children are kept somewhere in the fortress. Simurden goes to the battlefield, where he almost dies from a sword, the blow of which is intended for Gauvin. This young man is a descendant of a noble family. Simurden knows him from an early age.
Terror and mercy
Gauvin was once a pupil of Simurden. In addition, he is the only person to whom this middle-aged and cruel man feels affection. Both Simurden and Gauvin dream of the triumph of the Republic. However, the first believes that to achieve the goal can only be terror. The second prefers to be guided by mercy. Gauvin, however, is very implacable towards Lantenac. He is ready at all costs to destroy the Marquis.
Children Michelle Flashar
Lantenac is doomed to perdition. In order to save his life, he uses the children of the peasant woman Flashar as hostages. But the fact is that in the castle where Lantenac takes refuge, there is an underground exit. Royalists release their leader, and he, before leaving the shelter, sets a fire, thereby condemning the children to certain doom. However, at the last moment, Lantenac, having heard the cry of his mother, returns and saves his little prisoners.
Execution
Gowen is a character personifying justice and mercy. Therefore, he frees Lantenac. The republic, according to Gauvin, should not tarnish itself with the murder of a man who went to self-sacrifice. For the generous act of the young commander sentenced to death. A cruel sentence is passed by none other than Simurden. But as soon as Gauvin loses his head from the blow of the guillotine, the former priest commits suicide. With such a tragic outcome, Hugo concluded the “Ninety-Third Year”.
Analysis
This historical work testifies to the contradictory attitude of the author towards revolution in the broad sense of the word. The novel was written during the events of the Paris Commune and could not help but become a response to the situation that developed in the French capital in 1871-1872. The writer praised the significance of the revolution, which swept not only over his homeland, but also over the whole world. But at the same time, the author remained true to his previous idea, according to which, society can change for the better only as a result of the rebirth of the human inner world. It is no coincidence that in the novel there is a contrast between such images as Simurden and Gauvin. Terror and mercy - these are the features of the revolutionary movement, according to Hugo.
"Ninety-third year": reviews
One of the literary scholars called this creation a broad artistic canvas, which depicts the greatest events of the late nineteenth century. Certainly, critics of the Soviet era saw in the Hugo novel what censorship demanded, namely: the struggle of the working people of Paris, the glorification of revolutionaries and angry attacks on emigre nobles. In fact, the novel in question in this article is not only the greatest creation of classical prose, but also the most controversial work of Hugo.
The work of the French writer was highly appreciated by the geniuses of Russian literature Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. The most famous work outside France was the novel Les Miserables. However, an essay on the controversial spirit of the revolution also did not go unnoticed by readers. This novel, according to fans of Victor Hugo, is the best work of historical prose of the nineteenth century.
Translation from French into Russian was first carried out at the end of the nineteenth century. At that time, revolutionary ideas occupied the minds of students and intellectuals. However, this topic is always relevant. After more than a hundred years, interest in the novel did not fade. To date, the best translation from French into Russian, according to readers and critics, belongs to Nadezhda Zharkova.
The disastrous consequences of the revolution are an important part of Russian history. And therefore, the great novel of Victor Hugo is popular with readers in our country today.