The story “The Duel” was published in 1905 and immediately made A. I. Kuprin popular. This is not at all surprising, because in no essay of that time the army and its manners were described with such a degree of skill. In this article we will talk about the heroes of the aforementioned work, and also reveal the image of Romashov in the novel “The Duel” by Kuprin.
Idea of writing
The material for this work was given to the author by life itself. The writer graduated from the cadet school, and then for four years he served in the infantry regiment. The story is based on all the impressions accumulated during this time. Therefore, the author managed to depict episodes of army life so realistically and enrich the work with a whole gallery of soldier and officer portraits. The image of Romashov in the novel “The Duel” will be revealed a little later, but for now we will briefly talk about other heroes.
Officers
The life and service of officers of the N-th regiment has common features. Their life is a daily routine, consisting of studying army manuals, combat training, officer meetings, drinking bouts with friends, gambling and adultery with other people's wives.
On the other hand, each officer is endowed with personality and stands out against the general background. For example, the good-natured and unpretentious lieutenant Vetkin. He does not think about the future and lives only on army days. The company commander Plum is a rude, stupid servant with a heavy character and a craving for strict discipline. He is not interested in anything that is outside the limits of the charter, system and company. Plum has only two attachments: solitary drunkenness in the evenings and drill beauty of his own company. Lieutenant Bek-Agamalov constantly struggles with outbreaks of bloodthirsty instincts and cannot cope with them. Captain Osadchy somehow resembles the image of Romashov in the novel “The Duel”, but, unlike Yuri, he is excessively cruel. The captain literally glorifies the merciless war, thereby inspiring awe to his subordinates. The gallery of characters is continued by the passive and melancholy captain Leshchenko, who makes him look depressed; dummy and veil Bobetinsky, who considers himself a high-class man with elegant manners; a young old man, Lieutenant Olizar and others. I am sincerely sorry for the poor widow lieutenant Zegrzta, who barely has enough salaries to feed four children. Before we reveal the image of Romashov in the novel “The Duel”, we will briefly talk about two colorful characters.
Lt. Col. Rafalsky
In order to escape from routine and boredom, each officer came up with a certain occupation that helped him get away from the heavy nonsense of army service. Lt. Col. Rafalsky, nicknamed Brem, had a menagerie at home. Among his colleagues, he was known as a man of the kindest soul, a glorious and sweet eccentric. But once a tired bugler complied with his order in the wrong way, and this good-natured man was simply furious, striking the soldier in the jaw with such force that he lost several teeth.
Captain Stelkovsky
Warfare was his calling. He took care of his own soldiers, so his company was the best in the regiment: it seemed that all the people in it were specially selected. They walked full, lively, soberly assessed the environment and were not afraid to look into the eyes of any bosses. In the company, Stelkovsky did not swear and did not fight. In training and appearance, it was in no way inferior to any guards unit. At military shows, the captain showed himself as an initiative, smart and resourceful commander. However, out of service in his actions there is nobility: he seduces young peasant women. This became a kind of entertainment for the captain.
Two main characters
Patience, a little more - and we will describe the image of Romashov. "Duel" reveals to us the spiritual devastation, inhumanity, vulgarization and grinding people in the conditions of military service. Who does the author contrast with the officer environment with her stubborn officer caste? Second Lieutenant Romashov and his senior friend - an officer of Nazansky. They embody the humanistic principle in the work. Let us dwell on them in more detail. And we begin, of course, from the first. So, how does the author draw the image of Romashov in the novel “The Duel”?
Yuri Romashov
Many literary historians and critics agree that Kuprin invested his autobiographical features in the image of the protagonist: Yuri was born in the city of Narovchat, he does not remember his father (only his mother), spent his childhood in Moscow, studied in the cadet corps, and then went to the military school. All this corresponds to the circumstances of Kuprin's life.
Yuri Romashov appears before the reader as a charming young man, attracting with his spiritual purity and nobility. It is these qualities that do not allow the lieutenant to adapt to the army environment. Yuri is simple-hearted and kind, has childish reverie and a vivid imagination. And almost all the people in his environment are vicious and have forgotten how to think. Therefore, the lieutenant feels lonely and alien among the soldiers: for a year and a half of officer service he was constantly tormented by a feeling of confusion and loneliness among indifferent and unfriendly people. Yuri did not like the brutal habits of the military, vulgar communications, drinking bouts, maps, bullying of soldiers.
The image of Romashov in the novel “The Duel” by Kuprin was thought out in such a way as to arouse the reader's compassion and sympathy for the misfortune of others. So, Yuri stood up for Tatar Sharafutdinov, who does not know Russian well and practically does not understand the orders of the colonel. He also kept Khlebnikov from suicide (the soldiers drove him to despair by beatings and bullying). Unlike other military men, Yuri understands that no matter how monotonously submissive and unprepossessing Khlebnikov is, he is actually a living person, and not a mechanical quantity.
The lieutenant’s humanity manifested itself in another way: in a discussion of soldierly massacres of civilians, in relation to the batman Gaynan and his pagan beliefs, in his feelings about a vulgar romance with Raisa Peterson, etc.
The image of Romashov in the novel “The Duel” (with citations)
After the work of A. I. Kuprin was published and gained popularity, the most popular phrases of the main character immediately began to appear in literary publications. We also decided to choose from the story the best quotes of Yuri Romashov, which most accurately reveal his character. We invite you to familiarize yourself with them.
About love for Alexandra Petrovna:
“Love is the most amazing and wonderful feeling. Huge happiness just to see your beloved at least once a year. For her and for her every whim, I am ready to give my life. ”
About soldiers:
“The officers are embittered and stupid, but at the same time proud of the“ uniform honor ”. Every day they beat ordinary soldiers, turning them into submissive and faceless slaves. No matter who they were before the army, she made them indistinguishable from each other. "
About calling:
“The idea that a person has only three proud callings: free physical labor, art and science, is becoming clearer and clearer for me.”
Nazan
The image of Romashov in the novel “The Duel” (quotes characterizing the hero, you could read above) is the main thing in the work. But it is impossible not to mention Nazansky - as the least vital character in an essay. Apparently, the author introduced it to express his worldviews and cherished thoughts. You ask, why not embody all this in the image of the protagonist? We think that the author considered the lieutenant too uneducated and young to express this philosophy. But Nazansky came up perfectly and very successfully complemented the image of Romashov. Kuprin’s “duel” is good because it contains many characters that complement each other.
With the help of Nazansky, the author criticizes the army and officers. “No, think of us, the unfortunate soldiers, the army infantry, as the main core of the brave and glorious Russian army. All this is garbage, tear, blockage, ”the lieutenant says. It seems to us that the true tragedy of this officer is that he is aware of the abomination of his environment, but he can do nothing about it. In addition to Romashov, he did not even have anyone to share, as the soldiers immediately made him laugh. Indeed, from their point of view, the officer is not allowed to think about exalted matters.
Nazansky Philosophy
The Gospel admonition on love for one's neighbor is foreign to Nazan. He believes that over time, love for humanity will be replaced by self-love: his mind, body and an infinite variety of feelings ... “Everyone should be the king of the world, his pride and adornment, and take whatever he wants. Do not be afraid of anyone, you have no equal. The time will come, and faith in your own Self will overshadow all people. And then there will be no envy, no malice, no vices, no pity, no colleagues, no masters, no slaves. People will turn into gods. ” This position of the character echoes the theory of the superman in the spirit of Nietzsche. She was quite popular in the early 20th century. Apparently, the author of the work was also carried away by her.
Conclusion
So, we described the main characters of the story and, hopefully, fully covered the topic: “Kuprin. "The Duel": the image of Romashov. " And the last ...
Although the lieutenant listened with admiration to Nazansky, Nietzsche’s teaching was alien to him. He does not accept contempt for the weak and defenseless. It is enough to recall how Yuri was kind to Hainan and how carefully he treated Khlebnikov. Despite the brilliance and mind of Nazansky, the image of Romashov in the novel “The Duel” is much more noble and attractive. Apparently, the author, having made it so, wanted to convey to the reader the idea that a decent and honest person will always be higher than the rest and win in the spiritual sense.