One of the famous Russian philosophers once said that Leonid Andreev, like no other, knows how to break a fantastic cover from reality and show reality as it really is. Perhaps the writer acquired this ability due to a difficult fate. The biography of Leonid Andreev is a heap of conflicting and strange facts. About what his life was, you can understand only by studying his work.
Conflicting information
Andreev Leonid Nikolaevich - a representative of the Silver Age of Russian literature. Korney Chukovsky, who created the most accurate notes about the life of the creators of this period, argued that Andreev was controlled by a "sense of world emptiness." You can understand what is hidden behind these words only by reading Judas Iscariot. In this and some other works, the author seems to make the reader see the abyss where everything seemed to be clear and definite for a long time. His characters are complex and ambiguous, like himself. It is impossible to judge stereotyped neither about biblical characters, nor about real people. And the life of Leonid Andreev is proof of this.
He received a law degree, but became a writer. He showed suicidal tendencies, but made an impression of a cheerful and cheerful person. He was accused of having links with the Bolsheviks, but he hated Vladimir Lenin. He was admired by great contemporaries - Maxim Gorky and Alexander Blok. And in this there is also a certain inconsistency, because these people in real life did not transfer each other's spirit.
A family
Andreev Leonid Nikolaevich was born in Orel. Relatives on the maternal side were impoverished nobles. Parents of the father - a nobleman and serf girl. The writer's mother was an uneducated woman, but she had a strong, persistent character. The biography of Leonid Andreev is full of tragic events, in which the fervent disposition inherited from his father played an important role.
Childhood
The biography of Leonid Andreev was formed under the influence of his passionate indefatigable character. Childhood, in his own memories, was sunny and carefree. Already at six years old he read a lot, and everything that came to his hand. And being a high school student, he discovered a literary gift. The formation of him as a writer was greatly influenced by the works of Chekhov and Tolstoy. Leonid showed a penchant for stylization already in his early years, imitating the style of the great creators of the word in his first attempts at writing.
Andreyev-artist
The future writer graduated from the Oryol gymnasium, where he did not show outstanding abilities. Most of all, from an early age he was interested in painting. And it is worth saying that Ilya Repin and other eminent artists highly appreciated the artistic gift of Andreev, but, despite this, his paintings remained unclaimed. It is known that for some period of his life the writer made a living by painting portraits. To many of his works he created illustrations.
First works
The complex and vivid biography of Leonid Andreev was reflected in his works. Today, his personality arouses interest because of its contradictory nature and ambiguity. Tolstoy, Chekhov and Korolenko greatly appreciated the literary gift of this writer. Needless to say, Leonid Andreev became a significant figure in the cultural life of the beginning of the 20th century. His stories became the subject of controversy and debate. The staging of plays is an important cultural event.
Andreev’s career began with newspaper publications under the pseudonym of James Lynch. He entered literature as an unsurpassed master of realism. The critical realism genre includes his works “At the Window”, “Case”, “Christians”, “Grand Slam”. The general idea of these stories is to expose the philistine existence, the poor spiritual world, the hypocrisy and other vices of the contemporary writer of society. This topic, however, has not lost relevance today.
Andreev and the October Revolution
The attitude of Leonid Andreev to revolutionary events was also difficult. Showing anti-Soviet sentiments, he sought to understand the essence of the new government. But, living in Finland, he became disillusioned with the white emigre environment. Andreev was never succeeded in knowing the essence of the socialist revolution. He died in 1919 from a heart attack.
According to Maxim Gorky, the most prominent fiction writer among his contemporaries was Leonid Andreev. His works were highly appreciated by the author of the play “At the Bottom”. Despite the difference in worldview, Andreev and Gorky were allies in preparation for the 1905 revolution. But a few years later their paths diverged. Hostile to Gorky, Leonid Andreev took a political position. His stories were full of "black secrets" of the human soul, and in them there was an image of the horror of death. All this was alien to Gorky realism. Although the writers continued to value each other, they could no longer walk the same road.
"Judas Iscariot"
A significant role in the work of Andreev is played by biblical subjects. It is with their help that the reader can understand what the most important moral and universal values are. The story "Judas Iscariot" was created in 1907 on the island of Capri. Initially, it was supposed to be devoted to the topic of betrayal. But, as already mentioned, neither the personality of Andreev, nor his work was unambiguous. Therefore, Judas became a rather complicated hero with him. Andreev has this biblical character - not just a man who betrayed his teacher for thirty pieces of silver. He is low, deceitful, selfish. But at the same time he is portrayed as a true fighter with human stupidity and cowardice.
Leonid Andreev in his work did not just retell well-known Bible stories to everyone. The interpretation of these plots is peculiar to him. And critics interpret it differently. According to one opinion, Andreev in his work made a kind of path from atheism to Orthodoxy.
The unique artistic style and philosophical beginning merged into the work of this writer. His works can arouse sympathy for people and satisfy an aesthetic need. Many critics have claimed that there is "cosmic pessimism" in the books of this writer. Andreev himself claimed that a person’s tears did not speak of his pessimism. And, despite the theme of death, which he repeatedly touched on, according to the recollections of loved ones, he was a rather cheerful person.