The famous Boldinskaya autumn has a special place in the work of A. Pushkin. over the course of 3 months, the poet created many completely different genres and styles of works, including the famous cycle âBelkin's Talesâ. But not everyone knows that âthe penâ of Ivan Petrovich âbelongsâ to another creation of the poet: the unfinished novel âThe History of the Village of Goryukhinâ. And although she did not receive such wide fame as âThe Blizzardâ, âStation Wardenâ and the other 3 novels of the cycle, the story of Goryuhins was noted by many critics as a work, though not finished, but quite mature and important in the work of Alexander Sergeyevich.
Who is Belkin?
For those who are new to Pushkinâs work, it should be noted that the image of Belkin appears twice in his works. From the introduction to the âTales of the late Ivan Petrovich Belkinâ we learn that this writer was born and lived almost his whole life in Goryukhin, was fond of literature and left behind several stories, five of which are included in the cycle mentioned above. It also describes the appearance of the hero and a brief history of his deeds and death. In the second work, Belkin appears already as the author of the history of the village of Goryukhin. Moreover, the story of Goryukhin is preceded by a biography of Ivan Petrovich himself.
Now, more about what the reader learns about Belkin and his patrimony from the unfinished story of the poet.
Children and teenagers
Born in 1801, Belkin received his first education from a Goryukhinsky clerk who instilled in him, among other things, a love of reading, and then literature in general. Parents of the boy, on the contrary, did not like to read, and therefore almost did not keep books in the house. And they didnât particularly burden their children with classes, which subsequently Belkin would rank as a lack of education, preventing him from becoming a real writer.
At the age of twelve, Barchuk was sent to boarding school - Pushkin continues âThe History of the Village of Goryukhinâ. However, this was followed by an invasion of Napoleonâs troops, and after 3 months the boy was returned home. Belkin, pampered by parental care, refused further training on his own - he begged his mother to leave him in the village, since his health does not allow him to get up early. And only at the age of 16 he still had to go to serve in the infantry regiment, where the young man was enlisted as a cunker. Unpleasant impressions left Ivan Petrovich these years. However, the absence did not last long: after 8 years, after the death of dearest parents, he returned to his native estate.
Homecoming
With indescribable excitement, Belkin drove up to his native places and with the same feeling drove into the master's yard. The first thing that caught his eye was the decline in the household and the enthusiasm of the mongrel. In amazement, he examined the young master immediately gathered men and women, finding in the crowd the faces of their former playmates. After a bath and a hastily cooked dinner, Ivan Petrovich was put to bed in the room in which he fell asleep 23 years ago.
For about three weeks, the master of the inheritance took care of his estate and met with officials. When all things were finished, he began to feel bored, prompting me to dashing thoughts: should I start writing? However, not only the craving for literature, but also the stories of the housekeeper about the past of the estate, as well as the scribe found in the pantry, prompted the future author of the history of the village of Goryukhin to this.
Thoughts on writing
At first, Belkin was frightened by the thought that came to his head. The lack of education in childhood, wandering around apartments and service had little to do to seriously master this tricky and unattainable, in his opinion, business. I recalled how, in St. Petersburg, fate brought the young cunker to the famous writer B., who accidentally sat down at a table in a candy store. Belkin then did not pay attention to his neighbor, and when he found out who was eating a steak next to him, he rushed after him. I didnât take the change for lunch, I almost knocked the guard officer down, but I didnât catch up with Mr. B. The loss of 30 kopecks, the reprimand, and almost the arrest â this was the price of trying to get acquainted with the famous writer, who was never crowned with success.
No matter how much the author of the future history of the village of Goryukhin doubted his own abilities, the innate craving for writing prevailed. He tried himself in various genres for a long time, even decided on a historical poem about Rurik. Finally, he took up the tales that taught him to express his thoughts correctly, freely and pleasantly. But soon these studies bored him, and Belkin began to look for a new subject for his literary work.
Unexpected decision
Further, âThe History of the Goryukhin Villageâ, a brief summary of which is given here, received unexpected development. The housekeeper found a basket with books in the attic and, knowing Ivan Petrovichâs craving for reading, she dragged her master. Belkin's first rapture soon gave way to disappointment: in the basket lay ordinary calendars. However, they turned out to be not so useless: on the pages woven into calendars, the novice writer made out quite interesting notes concerning the life of the Goryukhin estate for 55 years. Economic, meteorological, and statistical data gleaned from leaflets written in old handwriting prompted Ivan Petrovich to begin searching for other data on the history of his native estate. There were so many of them that six months later the hero of Pushkin's work began writing the history of his estate.
The following are the sources that served as the basis for the creation of the work: 54 ancient calendars, scribbled by various representatives of the Belkin family; the remaining part of the annals of the deacon; oral traditions told to the master by the old-timers of Goryukhin; account books compiled by the elders of the estate.
Description of the patrimony
The next part of the work is especially distinguished by Pushkin's contemporaries, who believed that here the poet, using the example of a small estate, was able to recreate the full picture of feudal Russia.
240 acres of land and 63 souls - these are the dimensions of a country located next to the Sivka River and having the capital Goryukhino. Her inhabitants, of strong build and courageous appearance, were distinguished by hard work, courage and militancy. Although they were prone to drinking. They hunted, fishing, picking berries, mushrooms and nuts, which at all times generously endowed the local forests, lakes and river. Favorable to the goryuhintsy can be called the fields on which rye, buckwheat and other grain crops were grown in large quantities. The development of trade was facilitated by the presence of the Sivka River and the development of crafts, for example, knitting bast shoes. To match the men were women, always able to stand up for themselves and constituted public guard.
A special place in the history of the village of Goryukhin is given to customs and mores that reigned among its inhabitants. Belkin tells how the life of the young was getting better after the wedding, how the dead were buried, what clothes they wore at different times of the year. Loved goryuhintsy and art. So, Zemstvo Terenty got into the annals, famous for having skillfully painted with both hands. The hearing of residents was often delighted by the bagpipe and balalaika. And the verses of the Bald Arkhip were compared with the creations of Virgil and Sumarokov (by the way, the content of one of them is given in the story of Belkin).
About the board of Tryphon
âFabulous timesâ is the name of the last chapter of Pushkinâs unfinished story about the history of the village of Goryukhin. Its main characters are yard people, the last elder Trifon chosen by the people, sent by the master clerk.
According to the annals, the Belkins once possessed vast lands. Goryukhino was one of the remote corners, which was often forgotten. And so the years of prosperity alternated in the estate with times of decline. And in the past came the end of the rule of the popularly elected headman of Tryphon. On the eve of the temple festival, when all the people, including the headman, were tipsy, a little cart with an unfamiliar Jew and a certain dignitary entered the village.
Arriving demanded Tryphon, but since the latter turned out to be pretty drunk, they showed some kind of letter and dismissed everyone until the next day. In the morning all the goryuhintsy gathered for a gathering, where they read out the message from the master. According to him, from now on, the newcomer will manage the estate, and Tryphon, accused of cheating, should help him in everything. The contents of the letter and the threats supplementing it by the new clerk instantly knocked hops out of the heads of the nobles. The latter dutifully scattered home in anticipation of change.
How the new board ended
The clerk immediately set about implementing his political system. First things first, I divided all the peasants into prosperous and poor so that the former would pay arrears, carry out social duties and become quieter. He sent him to the arable land, and if it didnât help, he sent him to laborers. It was possible to redeem only for a double quitrent, which bore undoubted benefit to the master's household. For threats to send to recruits took a large lease. An accidental fee was added to the quitrent. Worldly gathering and completely destroyed. All this, just three years later, led to the complete impoverishment of the goryuhintsy, in which some men worked on the tower, others in laborers, and the children went to fight at all. On such a gloomy note ends "The History of the Village of Goryukhin."
What idea unites all parts of a work
Contemporaries and descendants of Pushkin saw in the unfinished story several important points.
Firstly, the poetâs attempt to recreate under the patrimony is noteworthy - the poet herself calls Goryukhino not a property, but a country â a generalized image of feudal Russia with arbitrariness, cruelty and violence against people reigning in it.
Secondly, an involuntary association with another work arises - the âHistory of the Russian Stateâ by N. Karamzin, which is distinguished by a well-intentioned and semi-official approach to depicting Russian reality. And Pushkin in this situation is an implacable opponent of the prevailing foundations, driving the people into even greater bondage.
History of the publication of Pushkin's work
Written in Boldinâs fall of 1830, the story saw the light only after the death of the poet. It with many errors, in particular with the wrong sequence of parts and under the name "Chronicle of the village of Gorokhin", was published in the "Contemporary" in 1837.
âThe History of the Goryukhin Villageâ did not receive such popularity as many other works of the poet. However, she is rightly called the forerunner of âThe Story of a Cityâ by Saltykov-Shchedrin - a grotesque-satirical novel that exposed the vices of Russian society of the 19th century.
Why the writer never finished his work remains a mystery. One thing is clear: as the basis for the plot, he used statistical records prepared for the revision of 1794 in Boldino. This is evidenced by the poet's notes made on the pages of the manuscript itself, and the plan of the parts of the story that were never written. So, in the title of the last part of âHistory of the village of Goryukhinâ the word ârevoltâ is mentioned, which, most likely, would indicate Pugachev's uprising - it is reliably known that in 1774 the Boldin peasants tried to hang the clerk, but they were prevented by the approached parts of the authorities.
Summing up, it can be noted that a talented person is great in everything. Therefore, even the fact that A.S. Pushkin did not finish his story to the end does not in the least diminish its merits and significance for Russian literature.