In May 1895, the famous Polish novelist Boleslav Prus finished work on a new novel. "Pharaoh" - that is the name of the book, which today remains popular.
Background to the writing of the novel
The XIX century was not the best period for Poland. The decline of culture, attempts to abolish the Polish language, the plight of peasants and workers, exorbitant taxes, corruption and outdated laws - all this prevented the Commonwealth from becoming a great power again.
The descendant of the impoverished gentry Boleslav Prus at that time specialized in works in which he raised urgent issues. Therefore, many were surprised that at the peak of popularity, he wrote a book about ancient Egypt, "Pharaoh."
Roman Boleslav Prus provided excerpts from real historical documents to create a sense of that era. Reading about the problems of Ancient Egypt, many did not suspect that the resourceful author disguised censorship the social problems of modern Poland under the guise of the country of the 11th century pharaohs. BC.
The novel was originally published in the magazine Illustrated Weekly. But after 2 years came out as a separate publication "Pharaoh" (book). Boleslav Prus (a summary of the work is given in the article) worked on the novel for a year (1895-1896).
Plot
The story begins with the ruler of Egypt declaring his son Ramses to be the heir to the throne. The twenty-two-year-old youth is already making plans to revive the former glory of the state. The young man considers his main opponent a powerful Herichor, who is not only the Minister of War of his father, but also the main priest in the temple of Amon.
Entangled in a tangle of intrigue and betrayal, the young prince of Egypt falls in love with a simple Jewess Sarah. Contrary to tradition, he makes her his first concubine.
Soon, Sarah gives birth to a son of Seti, but Ramses is already losing interest in her, as she falls in love with the priestess of the goddess Ashtoret Kama.
The Prince’s hobby is cleverly used by the Phoenicians, trying to force the Egyptians to fight the Assyrians. Later they help Ramses take possession of Kama. That's just these relationships do not bring the hero happiness: the new lover turns out to be selfish hysteria. She demands that Sarah and Seti be expelled from the palace. When this fails, Kama sends his lover Lycon to kill Seti.
After the death of his son, the prince of Egypt loses his father and becomes a pharaoh. All problems of the country fall upon him. Despite the intrigues of the priests and the empty treasury, Ramses copes well at first. But an acute shortage of money forces him to secretly prepare an attack on the treasury of priests, thus planning to enrich Egypt and deprive competitors of power.
However, Herihor manages to outwit the pharaoh and make the people hate his ruler. Later, Lycon sent to Ramses kills him, the priest himself becomes the new pharaoh, marrying the mother of Ramses, Queen Empress Nitocris. He concentrates in his hands spiritual and secular power.
Using the treasures of the priests, Herichor enriches the country, makes peace with its neighbors, preserves Egyptian lands and implements many of Ramses’s ideas. He becomes the founder of a new dynasty of rulers of Egypt and returns to the country its former glory.
main characters
In the center of the novel written by Boleslav Prus is Pharaoh Ramses XIII.
He is an idealist and romantic who, faced with the harsh reality, does not give up. This hero is a wonderful commander, but he lacks the experience of a politician and wisdom.
In love, Ramses is fickle - he is attracted by the forbidden fruit. He could not have loved Sarah because of her background, and Kama because she was a priestess. However, the young man was able to get both women, overcoming all the difficulties, but soon lost interest in them. The last love of the hero was the wife of the chief of the guard Thutmose Hebron. She also became a forbidden fruit for him, but did not have time to get bored, since the hero died earlier.
The enemy of Ramses is the priest Herichor. He is twice as young as a young man and more sophisticated in intrigue. The priest turns into any victory. And although this character is negative, in the end it is he who brings peace and prosperity to Egypt. Readers brought this conclusion to Boleslav Prus: the pharaoh, regardless of origin, should be a skilled politician, not an ambitious dreamer.
Female images in the novel are poorly spelled out and serve as the background. Sarah - a meek and selflessly loving Ramses woman remains faithful to him to death. Despite the naivety, this girl is sometimes smarter than the prince himself, however, due to the lack of ambition, he and his son become a victim of intrigue.
Kama, as opposed to Sarah, knows his worth. Having conquered the heir, she hopes to gain power. Driven by her ambitions, the girl sets Ramses against herself, and after that she becomes a victim of the priests' revenge.
Issue
For its time was a very progressive "Pharaoh" (book). Boleslav Prus in his work criticized the monarchy as a system of government. It was very bold, because in 1895 most of the world was ruled by kings, and few believed that everything would change.
As a descendant of a ruined noble family who achieved fame and money with his labor, Boleslav Prus knew a lot about the habits of nobles. The “Pharaoh,” on the example of the fate of Ramses, shows how far away the problems of his people were kings. So from the main character turned out to be a close-minded ruler. In order to become famous, he tried to drag the country into a bloody war.
Ramses actually started a civil war inside Egypt in order to take money from the priests. While still a prince, he ruled Lower Egypt, but the trial of endless complaints quickly bored the future Pharaoh. In addition, he always considered himself above the law. To get the desired women, Ramses easily breaks the age-old foundations and laws.
In addition to the monarchy, Boleslav Prus also criticizes the clergy in his novel. "Pharaoh" reveals the cruel truth about the priests. They are shown as cruel charlatans, obsessed with power and wealth. The ending turns out to be paradoxical: the vile Herichor, having become a pharaoh, turned out to be a better ruler than the noble Ramses.
In addition to global issues, Prus in his work also shows the tragedy of an individual. The protagonist can not find his place in the arms of women, nor in dogma, nor in politics.
Boleslav Prus "Pharaoh": reviews
Shortly after publication, the novel was a resounding success. And after the revolutionary events of the XX century. became more relevant than ever.
“Pharaoh” received the most flight reviews at the end of the 19th century, and in the 20th century, and even in the new millennium. Despite some historical inaccuracies, readers around the world consider the work of Prus one of the best illustrations of the life of Ancient Egypt.
Film adaptation
By the 70th anniversary of the writing of the novel, the Poles decided to film it. In 1966, the movie of the same name was released. It turned out magnificent, for which he was nominated for an Oscar. By the way, the role of Kama in the film adaptation was played by the Polish actress Barbara Brylska, known to the Russian audience in the film “The Irony of Fate”.
Each work always passes the test of time: ingenious over the years does not lose relevance. Boleslav Prus’s novel “Pharaoh” successfully passed this test and after 120 years continues to excite readers around the world.