Alexander Green is a man of a very difficult, harsh fate, but with a surprisingly bright and kind creative imagination. The heroes and fantastic countries created by him are carried away by rebellious romance, the energy of goodness, courage, external and internal beauty. An example of this is his amazing story extravaganza "Scarlet Sails."
Recall Read
The story "Scarlet Sails", a summary of which we now recall, was written a little less than a hundred years ago, in 1922. However, the work is still perceived as a hymn to kind and bright feelings, faith in oneself and one's dream, in light, love and happiness, justice and hope. And the main image of the work - a ship with red sails like the morning dawn - embodies the youth of the soul and heart, the poetry of romance, beautiful feelings, the obligatory embodiment of the miracle.
To your attention - "Scarlet Sails": a short summary of the story, the text of which takes us to the invented Caperna, a small fishing village on the seashore. Strong, harsh people live there, whose life and work are associated with constant risk, the struggle against the wayward sea element.
They are poor, but proud and strong in spirit, like Longren, a sailor, most of his time forced to plow through the expanses of water in order to earn food for himself and his beloved wife Mary, as well as their only priceless treasure - little Assol.
No matter how joyless the existence of Longren, no matter how heavy his sailor's bread, he is happy, thanks to his family, and does not want another fate. But fate is rarely favorable to the poor. While her husband is away, Mary remains penniless, she has nothing to feed her daughter. She is trying to borrow a couple of kopecks from a local shopkeeper, Menners. And he, taking advantage of the hopeless situation of an unhappy woman, offers her a deal: money in exchange for love.
Mary refuses. Hoping to lay the last valuable thing - her wedding ring - the poor thing goes to the city, gets rain in the way, gets sick and literally goes to the grave in a couple of days.
Scarlet Sails, a brief summary of the story, cannot ignore this moment, because it is the cause of the Longren tragedy and the source of many children's sorrows and sorrows for his daughter. When the sailor returns, he is met in the house by a compassionate neighbor and tiny Assol.
Tough days have come for the miserable sailor. He left his business, left the team, refused the help of a neighbor and finally “dropped anchor” in his dilapidated house, fully devoting himself to his daughter.
Not only the whole “Scarlet Sails” - a brief summary can even tell you what Assol has become for the tormented soul of an early aged former sailor. He sewed dresses for her, told amazing stories from his adventure-filled life, and the girl idolized her father and absorbed his every word with grateful attention. Two lonely, suffering hearts found each other and became the most reliable and loyal support of one another.
A few years after the events described, Menners died: he was carried away into the raging sea. Longren saw everything - moreover, the shopkeeper prayed for help. In response, the sailor reminded him of the story with Mary - she also prayed for help. So the shopkeeper paid for his former meanness. But in the village of Longren, no one understood and did not support. They squinted at him, didn’t talk to him, they shied away at him when a man went into a zucchini to miss a glass of ale in the evening. And the children, having heard the adults, drove Assol from their companies, offended and teased. So gradually their own dreams and fantasies became the girl’s comfort. And also - wonderful wooden toys - models of ships, boats, sailboats (which Longren made for sale). When the girl grew up, she, helping her father, took them to the city, to the toy store. Once, setting off on a journey with a ship with red sails, Assol met old Aigl, a collector of fairy tales and legends. Peering at the girl carefully, he predicted her amazing fate. In the eyes of Assol, he read persistent faith in the Miracle, waiting for him. And he told her that one day, when she grows up, from the distant lands a similar ship will sail for her under red sails. A kind, noble prince will make her his wife and take her far, far away, to a country where there are no tears and sadness, where cheerful music sounds, and people sing wonderful songs, where everyone has open, friendly hearts, and no one holds a stone in his bosom.
“Scarlet Sails” is a story about the greatness and beauty of the human soul, but also about the baseness of some people.
The second storyline carries us to an old noble estate, the family nest of the aristocrats Gray. Each of the representatives of the clan had to bear on its shoulders a heavy burden of responsibility to ancestors and descendants. But the soul of Arthur, lively, purposeful, devoid of estates and prejudice of estates, ardently protests against that fate, which is destined for the little boy. He is independent, willful and wants to create his own life. He has a kind, sincere heart. And the picture of a ship breaking through a storm to its native shores captivates his imagination. Therefore, after another collision with his family, Arthur leaves his father's house. Further on, his fate is a struggle with himself, with his aristocratic effeminacy and physical weakness. In the end, having overcome many difficulties, Gray becomes the captain of the same ship that he dreamed about, contemplating the picture in the castle.
It is clear that the story "Scarlet Sails" ends happily. Arthur Gray is the very prince who was bestowed by Assol as a reward for faith in love, a fairy tale and purity of thoughts. And for Gray, Assol is the guiding star that will one day lead to happiness.
The heroes turned out to be worthy of each other, and scarlet sails bloomed above them, taking them to other horizons on sea waves and tailwinds.