Evgeny Schwartz

A fairy tale in three acts

... And the scientist was angry not so much because the shadow left him, but because he remembered the well-known story about a man without a shadow, which everyone knew in his homeland. If he now returned home and told his story, everyone would say that he set off to imitate others ...

G.-H. Andersen. "Shadow"

... The alien plot, as it were, entered into my flesh and blood, I recreated it and only then released it into the light.

G.-H. Andersen. "The Tale of My Life", chapter VIII.

Acquaintance with the work of this writer begins not with books, but with feature films. Amazing, isn't it? Nothing unusual, and yet incredible, wonderful, magical when it comes to Yevgeny Schwartz, the great Soviet storyteller. We remember him for his amazing screenplays for the good old fairy tales, and for children's stories and poems, and, of course, for his famous fairy-tale productions. Among the latter is the play "Shadow" (Schwartz). A brief summary of the work will help you get acquainted with this wonderful work.

Little southern country

One fine day in a certain southern country, a young scientist named Christian Theodore arrives in a small hotel. He settled not somewhere, but in the room in which the famous storyteller Hans Christian Anderson lived before him. Apparently, this is not without reason, who knows?

Knows Annunziata, the daughter of the innkeeper. Usually she keeps quiet, but here, out of a sense of goodwill towards a new guest, she shares her innermost with him. It turns out that in a small southern country, fairy tales are true. The Sleeping Beauty, the Cannibal, and the Little Thumb Boy live in this place. And there was once a king who ruled here. He died long ago and left an extraordinary will. In it, he orders his daughter Louise to look for a husband not a rich and noble man, but a simple, honest and kind one. This order is a great mystery, but in a fairy-tale land there are ears even at the walls. So even street boys know about it. To fulfill the last will of the parent, the princess secretly leaves the palace. Many wish to discover her refuge in order to marry and take the royal throne.

Getting to know the princess

We continue to explore the play "Shadow" (Schwartz). The summary of the work does not end there. We continue ... Listening to the story of a simple girl, the scientist is endlessly distracted. He keeps looking at the balcony of the neighboring house, on which the beautiful stranger constantly comes out. Annunziata notices the strange behavior of the new guest and warns him that perhaps this is the beginning of a new fairy tale, and its end may be sad. Christian Theodore reassures her, and at the same time decides to talk to an unfamiliar girl. He falls in love at first sight, and the feeling seems to be mutual. Evgeny Schwartz ("Shadow", a summary of which we continue to present) imperceptibly leads the reader to the assumption that perhaps she is the very runaway princess?

The scientist longs to continue the conversation and with a share of irony invites the shadow lying at his feet to go instead of him to the young beauty and tell her about his love. In an unexpected way, the shadow really separates, deftly slips through the door of the neighboring balcony and disappears into the dark space. The young man suddenly becomes ill. The master's daughter runs into the room. Her fears and fears were not in vain: there is no shadow, and this is a very bad omen. She runs after the doctor.

Shadow

Everyone knows about the amazing events taking place in the southern country: the journalist Cesar Borgia, the owner of the hotel Pietro, the singer Yulia, and, of course, the ministers. The fairy tale does not end there (E. L. Schwartz, “Shadow”). The summary of the work cannot convey all the subtleties of the experiences of the characters. The author further tells that all the inhabitants of the city, without exception, did not approve of those sincere feelings that arose between the scientist and the princess in an instant and continue to grow, despite illness and separation. This is dangerous. Christian Theodore may soon become king, but he is not a bandit, not an extortionist and not a rogue, but a simple honest man. And, as you know, it is impossible to predict the actions of such people. What to do? The only way out is to get rid of it. Can be killed or bribed. To carry out this task is not so easy. For this you need a friend. Only he knows what the scientist loves and how he can be bought, or what is a mortal danger for him. And here the Shadow enters the scene, which appears to be the old faithful friend of the protagonist.

CONSPIRACY

How does the plot of the fairy tale "Shadow" (Schwartz) unfold further? The summary does not end there, just like the work itself. Shadow has his own cunning plan. He tricks Christian Theodore into signing a waiver of the princess. Allegedly, this will lull the vigilance of the ministers, and then they and Louise will be able to escape from the hated country. And in the meantime, he shows the princess a paper signed by her lover about the renunciation. The unfortunate girl is unable to forgive the traitor. Like the wind, her moods and feelings are changeable, and she immediately succumbs to them. "What is your name?" she asks Shadow. In response, he hears the name Theodore-Christians. This is almost the same as Christian Theodore. So she decides not to be sad anymore, but to marry Shadow.

execution

The scoundrel and deceiver celebrates his coronation and prepares for a magnificent wedding with Princess Louise. The only unresolved issue is the Scientist. It makes no sense to kill him, but there is a great desire to subjugate and become his master. Let him now follow him on his heels, inaudibly, imperceptibly. He orders Christian Theodore to give him a note at midnight agreeing to submit.

The scientist understands that if he refuses, he faces imminent death. But he cannot do otherwise. Yes, Annunziata was right, he ended up in a fairy tale with a sad ending.

Drums beat from afar. The death sentence was carried out. The scientist's head was cut off... But unexpectedly, the Shadow's head also flies off his shoulders. The courtiers understand that a fatal mistake has occurred. What to do? They decide to get the living water hidden under seven locks, which has the miraculous power to cure all diseases and resurrect from the dead. In order to save Theodore-Christian, it is necessary to bring Christian-Theodore back to life.

A happy ending

The real master of all possible and impossible fairy kingdoms is Schwartz. "Shadow" (a summary for the reader's diary is the subject of this review) is a play about the most magical - about fidelity, dignity, kindness and the ability to love, which will never end.

Shadow's head returns to its original place. But what happened does not allow him to return to his former power. From now on, he fears for his life and tries his best to please his former master. The princess, in extreme indignation, drives away this lover as well. The shadow wraps himself in a black robe, presses against the wall and disappears. The scientist is sure that this is not the end. More than once he will meet him on his way. So be it, as long as he's happy. He takes the hand of his true love - Annunziata, and they leave the palace.

Once again, I would like to remind you that this article is devoted to the play-tale "Shadow" (Schwartz). The summary cannot describe all the feelings and emotions of the main characters, unable to convey that thin line between magic and reality, which the author depicted so vividly and naturally. Therefore, reading the work in its entirety is simply necessary.

Strange adventures happened to a young scholar named Christian Theodore who came to a small southern country to study history. He settled in a hotel, in a room where the storyteller Hans Christian Andersen lived before him. (Perhaps this is the whole point?) The master's daughter Annunziata tells him about the unusual will of the last local king. In it, he ordered his daughter Louise not to marry the prince, but to find a kind, honest husband among the humble people. The will is considered a great secret, but the whole city knows about it. The princess, in order to fulfill her father's will, disappears from the palace. Many try to find her hiding place in the hope of gaining the royal throne.

Listening to the story, Christian-Theodore is constantly distracted, because he looks at the balcony of the neighboring house, where a lovely girl appears every now and then. In the end, he decides to talk to her, and then even confesses his love and, it seems, finds a reciprocal feeling.

When the girl leaves the balcony, Christian-Theodor guesses that the princess was his companion. He wants to continue the conversation, and he half-jokingly turns to his shadow lying at his feet, inviting her to go instead of him to a stranger and tell about his love. Suddenly, the shadow separates and dives into the loosely closed door of the neighboring balcony. The scientist becomes ill. Annunziata, who runs in, notices that the guest no longer has a shadow, and this is a bad sign. She runs after the doctor. Her father Pietro advises not to tell anyone about what happened.

But in the city everyone knows how to eavesdrop. So the journalist Caesar Borgia, who entered the room, discovers full awareness of the conversation between Christian Theodore and the girl. Both he and Pietro are sure that this is a princess, and they do not want her to marry a visitor. According to Pietro, you need to find an escaped shadow, which, being the complete opposite of its owner, will help prevent the wedding. Annunziata is full of anxiety for the future of the young man, as she secretly already loves him.

A meeting of two ministers takes place in the city park. They gossip about the Princess and the Scientist. They decide that he is not a blackmailer, not a thief and not a cunning one, but a simple naive person. But the actions of such people are unpredictable, so you have to either buy it or kill it. A stranger suddenly appears next to them (this is the Shadow), an oblique place! "Everyone sees that the Shadow gets up with difficulty, staggers and falls. Having come to his senses, the first minister orders the lackeys to carry away the king and calls the executioner to execute the Scientist. Christian is taken away.

Annunziata begs Julia to do something to save him. She manages to awaken good feelings in the singer. Julia asks the Doctor to give her miraculous water, but the Doctor says that the Minister of Finance has seven locks on the water and it is impossible to get it. As soon as Shadow and Louise return to the throne room, drums are heard from afar: the execution has taken place. And suddenly Shadow's head flies off his shoulders. The First Minister understands that a mistake has occurred: they did not take into account that by cutting off the head of the Scientist, they will deprive him of his head and his shadow. To save the Shadow, you will have to resurrect the Scientist. Hastily sent for living water. The Shadow's head is back in place, but now the Shadow is trying to please his former master in everything, because he wants to live. Louise indignantly drives away the former fiancé. The shadow slowly descends from the throne and, wrapped in a mantle, presses against the wall. The princess orders the head of the guard: "Take him!" Shadow grabs the guards, but they have an empty robe in their hands - the Shadow disappears. “He disappeared to get in my way again and again. But I recognize him, I recognize him everywhere,” says Christian-Theodore. The princess begs for forgiveness, but Christian no longer loves her. He takes Annunziata's hand and they leave the palace.

Shadow
Summary of the play
Strange adventures happened to a young scholar named Christian Theodore who came to a small southern country to study history. He settled in a hotel, in a room where the storyteller Hans Christian Andersen lived before him. (Perhaps this is the whole point?) The master's daughter Annunziata tells him about the unusual will of the last local king. In it, he ordered his daughter Louise not to marry the prince, but to find a kind, honest husband among the humble people. The will is considered a great secret,

But the whole city knows about it. The princess, in order to fulfill her father's will, disappears from the palace. Many try to find her hiding place in the hope of gaining the royal throne.
Listening to the story, Christian-Theodore is constantly distracted, because he looks at the balcony of the neighboring house, where a lovely girl appears every now and then. In the end, he decides to talk to her, and then even confesses his love and, it seems, finds a reciprocal feeling.
When the girl leaves the balcony, Christian-Theodor guesses that the princess was his companion. He wants to continue the conversation, and he half-jokingly turns to his shadow lying at his feet, suggesting that she go instead of him to a stranger and tell about his love. Suddenly, the shadow separates and dives into the loosely closed door of the neighboring balcony. The scientist becomes ill. Annunziata, who runs in, notices that the guest no longer has a shadow, and this is a bad sign. She runs after the doctor. Her father Pietro advises not to tell anyone about what happened.
But in the city everyone knows how to eavesdrop. So the journalist Caesar Borgia, who entered the room, discovers full awareness of the conversation between Christian Theodore and the girl. Both he and Pietro are sure that this is a princess, and they do not want her to marry a visitor. According to Pietro, you need to find an escaped shadow, which, being the complete opposite of its owner, will help prevent the wedding. Annunziata is full of anxiety for the future of the young man, as she secretly already loves him.
A meeting of two ministers takes place in the city park. They gossip about the Princess and the Scientist. They decide that he is not a blackmailer, not a thief and not a cunning one, but a simple naive person. But the actions of such people are unpredictable, so you have to either buy it or kill it. A stranger suddenly appears next to them (this is the Shadow), an oblique place!” Everyone sees that the Shadow gets up with difficulty, staggers and falls. Coming to his senses, the first minister orders the lackeys to carry the king away and calls the executioner to execute the Scientist. Christian is taken away.
Annunziata begs Julia to do something to save him. She manages to awaken good feelings in the singer. Julia asks the Doctor to give her miraculous water, but the Doctor says that the Minister of Finance has seven locks on the water and it is impossible to get it. As soon as Shadow and Louise return to the throne room, drums are heard from afar: the execution has taken place. And suddenly Shadow's head flies off his shoulders. The First Minister understands that a mistake has occurred: they did not take into account that by cutting off the head of the Scientist, they will deprive him of his head and his shadow. To save the Shadow, you will have to resurrect the Scientist. Hastily sent for living water. The Shadow's head is back in place, but now the Shadow is trying to please his former master in everything, because he wants to live. Louise indignantly drives away the former fiancé. The shadow slowly descends from the throne and, wrapped in a mantle, presses against the wall. The princess orders the head of the guard: “Take him!” Shadow grabs the guards, but they have an empty robe in their hands - the Shadow disappears. “He disappeared to get in my way again and again. But I recognize him, I recognize him everywhere,” says Christian-Theodore. The princess begs for forgiveness, but Christian no longer loves her. He takes Annunziata's hand and they leave the palace.

You are now reading: Summary Shadow - Schwartz Evgeny Lvovich

THE SYSTEM OF IMAGES IN E.L. SCHWARTZ’S PLAY “SHADOW”

The characters and arrangement of characters in Schwartz's play and in Andersen's fairy tale differ significantly. At first glance, it is obvious that there are much more characters in the play: Andersen has only four heroes. This is a scientist, a shadow, a princess and poetry, and in Schwartz's play there are fourteen main and secondary ones, not counting the participants in the mass scenes. According to critics, “this is due to genre features. After all, "Shadow" by E.L. Schwartz is a dramatic work. However, we know many very famous plays in which there are less than four characters. It seems to us that it is unlikely that Schwartz's goal was simply to increase the number of actors, he needed different characters, each of which plays a role in the embodiment of the author's ideological concept. In order to show this, we will try to analyze the system of images in the play.
The action in "Shadow" is organized not by pairs of main characters (Scientist-Shadow, Scientist-Annunziata), but by a group of characters who are revealed in connection with the image of the Scientist. This creates a multifaceted action. But it is important to note that the playwright was able to show the inner essence and individual behavior of each character. At the same time, Schwartz, of course, uses "foreign plots" and traditional folklore characters. As O. Rusanova notes: “In accordance with the folklore traditions of a fairy tale, the models of behavior of heroes are subject to special laws and depend on the function of each character in the system of action. The scientist, as a positive hero, strives to establish peace, harmony, goodness. And the Shadow in this system acts as his opponent, an enemy that interferes with the main character. Indeed, the images of the scientist, the Shadow, Julia Giuli are taken from Andersen's fairy tales, and Pietro and Cesare Borgia continue the tradition of folklore cannibals. But traditional images, of course, are transformed by Schwartz and filled with new content.
By the fact that the author included the name of the Shadow in the title of the play, it can be assumed that he attached special importance to this character. In the previous chapter, we noted that the Shadow embodied all the inhumanity, all the vices of the society of a fairy-tale country, with which its ministers and courtiers are endowed. It is no coincidence that the Shadow quickly finds a common language with them. Researchers note that there were episodes in the drafts of the play that emphasized this commonality. For example, the Minister of Finance said about Shadow that he is an ideal official, because he is not attached to anything, neither to his homeland, nor to friends, but only craves power, which is understandable, since he crawled on the ground for so long. Some episodes testify to the connection of the image of the Shadow with fascism, which is understandable, given the years of Schwartz's work on the play. There are direct allusions to this in the drafts, for example, “dark clothes”, “marching squads”, “training in formation” are mentioned there. It seems to us that Schwartz was right in refusing this association in the final version, because the Shadow embodies everything dark and inhuman that can give power in any country and at any time.
In the previous chapter, we noted that the plot of the play is based on the division of human essence into two parts, that is, on the motif of duality, which was very common in romanticism, especially in the work of Hoffmann. Therefore, it is no coincidence that in the name of his hero, Christian Theodor, Schwartz indicated his successive connection not only with Andersen, but also with Hoffmann (Hans Christian and Ernst Theodor).
As you know, in folklore, the story of a man who lost his shadow is a story about a man who lost his soul. This was precisely the content of Chamisso's novel, from which one of the most important leitmotifs passed into the play - the price for the shadow, that is, the price for the soul. The shadow, the hidden side of a person's personality, easily adapted to the political life of the country, to its intrigues, but his master could not accept them. The scientist, Christian Theodore, theoretically studied history, but was confused before the practice of public life. He continues to live in accordance with his concepts of the eternal laws of being, so he actually resists the authorities. "In the metaphorical division of the main character of the tale, the possibility of implementing different life strategies, different ways of realizing the personality" is expressed. When the Scientist begins to see, the Shadow disappears. Everyone "grabs a shadow, but there is no shadow, an empty mantle hangs on their hands." “He disappeared,” says the Scientist, “to get in my way again and again. But I recognize him, I recognize him everywhere. Not only in dialogues and scenes, but in the very nature of the behavior of the shadow, Schwartz fundamentally emphasizes the dependence of the Shadow on the Scientist.
It is interesting that in both Andersen and Schwartz the Shadow “knows everything”, i.e. all the "shadow" sides of life. With almost the same words, both shadows talk about how they can reveal the hidden sides of a person’s nature, learn his secrets. Therefore, the Shadow feels its strength, its advantage over a person. “I could stretch across the floor, climb the wall, and fall through the window at the same time—is he capable of that kind of flexibility? I could lie on the pavement, and passers-by, wheels, hooves of horses did not cause me the slightest harm - but could he adapt to the terrain like that? In two weeks I got to know life a thousand times better than he did. Inaudibly, like a shadow, I penetrated everywhere, and peeped, and eavesdropped, and read other people's letters. And now I am sitting on the throne, and he lies at my feet.
As we remember, the Scientist from Andersen's fairy tale dies. He hadn't fought the Shadow for too long. When the Shadow began to conclude an agreement with him, he let her go and even promised not to reveal her plans to anyone. The scientist writes books about truth, goodness and beauty, but when he encounters evil and deceit (the Shadow calls him his own shadow), he is lost, indignant, but does nothing. He becomes a passive victim. In Schwartz's play, the Scientist embodies the bright side of the human soul - selflessness and honesty, he dreams of the happiness of all people, love and trust, he fights the Shadow with all his might and is ready to die for the triumph of justice, he even goes to execution not as a victim, but as a wrestler, which is why he is resurrected at the end of the play. According to the author, he must continue to fight for the salvation of the world and win.
Schwartz shows the evolution of his hero: at first he presents him as naive and simple-hearted, but in the fight against the Shadow he acquires maturity and courage, becomes a person. Therefore, it is no coincidence that Schwartz, unlike Andersen, gives his hero a name: Christian Theodore.
The scientist all the time addresses people, trying to convince them of the need to live differently. This call is addressed to readers of our era.
It is surprising that none of the researchers writes that Schwartz's idea that the Shadow is actually the second side of human nature actually concerns every person, and it is quite obvious that each of us in our life also has to struggle with with his shadow.
We think, however, that not only dark and light make up the essence of human nature, there are also intermediate, shadowy sides of our character in us, which are illustrated by other characters in Schwartz's play. Except for Annunziata, all other heroes are carriers of certain human weaknesses and vices that have developed under certain conditions of life in a fairy-tale land.
Annunziata, along with the Scientist, appears in the play in a positive way. Schwartz sympathetically describes her in the author's remark as a black-haired girl, with large, lively black eyes. Annunziata resembles Cinderella: she does not have a mother, but she has a light, friendly disposition, she is always ready to help others, she is able to sincerely and selflessly love, so it is clear that she warns him, and when he was slandered, she alone did not leave him.
Unlike Annunziata, Princess Louise immediately, without understanding, believed the Shadow. In accordance with the tradition of a fairy tale plot, the main character would have to fall in love with a beautiful princess, and at the beginning of the play, in the conversation of the characters, her mysterious image begins to emerge. But it soon becomes clear that the attitude towards her is devoid of any sublimity. When asked by a scientist who lives in the house opposite, Pietro replies that he does not know, "they say some kind of damn princess." Annunziata reports that "since the king's will became known, a lot of bad women have rented entire floors of houses and pretend to be princesses." And in another place: “They say about this girl that she is not a good woman ... In my opinion, this is not so scary. I'm afraid that things are worse here ... What if this girl is a princess? After all, if she is really a princess, everyone will want to marry her, and you will be trampled in a stampede. And when the princess finally appears, she turns out to be suspicious and unfriendly. In her opinion, all people are liars and scoundrels. She unceremoniously asks how many rooms the Scientist has, whether he is a beggar.
It is interesting that Schwartz weaves a fairy-tale motif about the frog princess into this storyline, but here it gets a new sound. It turns out that this tale is being told incorrectly, Princess Louise knows her well, since the frog princess is her aunt. In fact, she was a beautiful woman who married a scoundrel who only pretended to love her. And his kisses were so cold and so disgusting that the beautiful girl turned into a cold and disgusting frog. The princess is also afraid of turning into a frog, but judging by her words and behavior, she is already a person with a cold and indifferent soul. However, the enamored Christian Theodore sends his shadow to tell the princess about his love. Thus, “the first steps of the scientist in the direction of the princess set in motion a mass of faces that become the object of the playwright’s portrayal of the same intent as the scientist. At the same time ... the main group of characters is in relation to each other in an equal position. From this came this concept - the multifaceted action - which was used by many who wrote and spoke about the "Shadow" .
As in Andersen's fairy tale, the princess takes the Scientist for the Shadow, and the Shadow for the Scientist, she is faced with the problem of choice and prefers the one whose words are more pleasant to her. She is “poisoned by the palace air” and, as her father predicted, she will not do anything worthy in life, therefore the real princess of this fairy tale is not Louise, but Annunziata.
Unlike Andersen's fairy tale, where there is no obvious confrontation between the Scientist and other characters, in Schwartz's play almost all the characters oppose Christian Theodore. It is they who, with their weakness or sycophancy, selfishness and cruelty, allow the Shadow to come to power. It is they who create an atmosphere of calculation, self-interest, i.e. an environment in which not only the action takes place, but also the struggle in the souls of the characters between good intentions and career considerations. Some of them hope to marry a princess and inherit the throne (like Shadow, Pietro), someone aspires to fame and fortune (like Julia), someone wants everything at once (like Caesar Borgia). At the same time they are all "playing". The motive of the game can be traced in all the personal and political relationships of the characters. “The acting of the singer, the intrigues of the journalist and his commitment to fashion, the game of chess of ministers, entertainment games for holidaymakers, etc. they model a special image of a state in which people's lives are comprehended in terms of obligation, existence according to given (game) rules.
Schwartz borrowed the fates and characters of some characters from the history or fairy tales of Andersen, which the reader immediately guesses from the names of the characters. So, in connection with the name of the journalist Caesar Borgia, who is thirsty for success and money, there is an association with the Italian nobleman Cesare Borgia, who lived in the 15th century, known for his perfidy and bloodthirsty cruelty. Therefore, it is understandable why Schwartz added his own stories to characterize his character. Caesar Borgia utters the phrase that it is easiest to eat a person when he is sick or gone on vacation, because then he does not know who ate him, and you can maintain excellent relations with him. This gives Schwartz reason to attribute this hero to the category of fabulous cannibals acting in new historical conditions.
Cannibals also include the Minister of Finance, who earned 200% of the profit by selling poisons to a poisoner who poisoned his entire family. The minister himself miraculously survived, but lost the ability to move, and is carried by two lackeys, who, on his orders, give him a pose of extreme surprise or extreme indignation, depending on what the situation requires.
Schwartz puts an expressive description of the minister in the mouth of the singer Yulia Julie. She says that when a tan was fashionable, the minister was so tanned that he looked like a black man, but soon the tan went out of fashion and then he decided to have an operation, the remaining white skin from under his underpants was transplanted onto his face, after which he began to call a slap just a slap
The owner of the hotel Pietro also appears as a cannibal, but, unlike Caesar Borgia, who tries to make a good impression on everyone with his manners and speech, Pietro fires from a pistol all the time, swears, curses, scolds the daughter he loves. In addition to extracting money from the guests of his hotel, he also serves as an appraiser in the city pawnshop. And almost all the appraisers of the pawnshop, according to Annunziata, are former cannibals.
The image of Pietro is somewhat softened by his love for his daughter, which he carefully hides, and some kind of "forcedness" to be a cannibal. Cannibalism of Pietro is not his meaning of life, like Caesar Borgia, but a mask, because such behavior is required by the system of relations of a fabulous city. He is outraged that while such an important event as the coronation is taking place in the city, the inhabitants love, give birth, die. Piero is afraid of these people, so he goes to serve in the police, and comes to the square not in a civilian suit, as ordered, but in boots with spurs. “I can confess to you,” he explains to the corporal, “I purposely went out in boots with spurs. Let them get to know me better, otherwise you will hear enough of such that then you can’t sleep for three nights. ”
One of the most complex and ambiguous images in the play is the singer Yulia Dzhuli. Annunziata's words - "they say this is the same girl who stepped on the bread to keep her new shoes" - evoke in memory) the heroine of Andersen's fairy tale "The Girl Who Stepped on the Bread", but this is more of a poetic metaphor: Julia Julie has to "step on good people, best friends, even yourself - and all this in order to keep your new shoes, stockings, dresses.
Julie Julie smiles all the time because she doesn't trust anyone, and smiling the same way, she betrays the Scientist. She is sure that she is a celebrity, she obeys the orders of the Minister of Finance, who is in love with her, so as not to lose her fame, but on the other hand, she tries to remain a friend for the Scientist, Caesar Borgia and Annunziata. Noticing from the behavior of the Minister of Finance that the Scientist is in trouble, she hurries to help him. Thus, she, like Louise, is faced with a choice: obey the order of the Minister of Finance, betray the scientist by taking him away from the meeting place with the princess, or refuse to comply with the order. And when the minister threatens her that the newspapers will take apart her figure, her private life, and she will become a “former celebrity,” she can’t stand it, she gives up. However, throughout the play, Yulia Julie is in a constant emotional struggle, which makes her image dramatic.
In Schwartz's plays, key words and expressions are important to characterize the characters. We have already noted that the image of Julia Julie is created with the help of a literary quotation from Andersen (“the girl who stepped on the bread”), but there is one more detail with which the image is created - myopia. Here Schwartz does not mean the visual acuity of the heroine, but her vision of the world: she does not see well the essence of the people around her or, which is more typical for her, does not want to see when it is convenient for her. Julia pretends to be nearsighted "in order to keep her new dresses, shoes, stockings."
The image of the doctor in the play is ambiguous. This is a gloomy and concentrated, but honest and kind person who "was on everything with his hand." He is well versed in people and in life, and advises the Scientist to look through everything and master the art of shrugging. He has long reconciled himself, does not fight, and this did not make him happy, so he selflessly helps Christian Theodore. While all the characters - ministers, Caesar Borgia, Piero, Julia - are confused, not knowing how to save their interests, the Doctor looks for a means in books to save the scientist and informs him that if you say "shadow, know your place", then she time will turn into a shadow.
It is interesting that Schwartz brings a noisy, direct, lively crowd of townspeople onto the stage, against the background the courtiers look intimidated, having lost the ability to see, hear, speak, and think from fear. However, Schwartz does not idealize the people, for the most part it is a crowd that is indifferent to the fact that the Shadow treacherously and cynically became king. From the indifferent and vulgar chatter of onlookers on the streets, one can understand that these people do not care about anything but their own peace of mind. Therefore, it becomes clear how they were ruled for so many years by a king who is simultaneously characterized as both “prudent” and “crazy”.
The motive of "madness" is also found in the assessment of the Scientist by the courtiers and people who support power. From the very beginning of the play, the Scientist's line of conduct is created according to the principle of opposite possibilities: if he, a stranger in a small southern country, behaved "prudently", everything could end well, if not like everyone else, i.e. like "crazy", the story could have ended badly.
It should be noted that Schwartz uses in his plays the struggle of opposite principles typical of folklore plots (good-evil, fantasy-reality), which is expressed in the images of the main characters, but within the framework of these basic opposite principles, Schwartz builds more complex, more intricate relationships between the characters, than a simple juxtaposition of positive and negative characters. In the atmosphere of mystery and alertness created by the author, the characters themselves constantly find out the truth of the intentions and the sincerity of the feelings of their interlocutors. So, the singer Julia, who mixed up the room numbers and got into the room of the Scientist, asks him a lot of questions: who are you? why are you still not in our circle, not in the circle of real people? are you famous? are you angry with me? am I tired of you? are you a doctor? do you rest here? Journalist Caesar Borgia, while meeting the Scientist, is more interested in his person and in what impression he makes on others: what exactly did you hear? Was I praised or scolded? do you like my frankness? The beautiful stranger from the neighboring balcony, who turned out to be a princess, also doubts the sincerity of the words of Christian Theodore: when you speak, does it seem as if you are not lying? you pretend to be attentive and kind so cleverly that I want to complain to you, you probably know that not all people are scoundrels? The behavior of the characters, which creates this atmosphere of wariness, suspicion from the very first act, is caused both by their fear of public opinion and their own desire to figure out who is their friend and who is their enemy, who can be trusted and who cannot.
The originality of Schwartz's play lies in the fact that the actions of the heroes are determined not only by the main conflict and struggle, but each of the heroes chooses his own personal path. It turns out a kind of "parallel" movement, which determines the composition of the play "Shadow". Therefore, the denouement, which always plays a decisive role in revealing the artist's intention, faded into the background, and the finale of the play turned out to be "open". From this we can conclude that Schwartz focuses on the heroes themselves, their own will, the free choice of their line of behavior, i.e. for E. Schwartz in this play, individual human destiny was important, each character plays a role in solving the problem set by the author - to show that the victory of evil, affirmed by Andersen, is not the only possible, eternal and unchanging. By resurrecting his hero at the end of the play, Schwartz changes the "foreign plot".
To characterize each image, Schwartz finds very vivid stylistic turns, sometimes unexpected, but eloquent words in their everyday life. So, for example, the king, drawing up a will addressed to his daughter, signs it completely, it would seem, inappropriate in such a solemn document with the word "dad", but in this strange will this word turned out to be quite suitable. In this way, Schwartz emphasizes the unexpected tenderness of the absurd king.
The same can be seen in Pietro's attitude towards his daughter. "Why aren't you coming? he shouts to Annunziata. “Go and reload your gun immediately. Heard after all - the father shoots. Everything needs to be explained, everything needs to be poke in the nose. I'll kill you!" The intonations of an ordinary parental reproach (“you need to poke your nose into everything”) are replaced by a threat (“I’ll kill you!”). However, for all its meaninglessness, this text sounds completely natural. Pietro speaks to Annunziata in precisely those words that do not oblige to anything and do not entail any consequences, but with which thousands of irritated fathers speak with their grown children. As a satirist, Schwartz, of course, exaggerates, exacerbates the funny in his characters, but at the same time he never deviates from their attitude towards himself and others.
Analyzing the stylistic speech features of Schwartz's creation of the characters of his heroes, we noticed that not only the external, but also the internal speech of the characters plays an important role in the play. It is clear that in a drama where the characters' speaking is the main form of realization of its content and form, external speech plays a primary role, which turns a thought into a word, materializes it so that it becomes understandable to another character in the play, as well as to the viewer and reader. But in Schwartz, the reaction of most of the characters to the events taking place is not only explicit, verbal, but also internal, emotional. Internal thoughts are always discontinuous, they are not brought to their logical end, in contrast to the external, logically structured statement: “The peculiarity of the syntax of internal speech lies in the apparent fragmentation, fragmentation compared to external speech. It has a peculiar tendency to shorten a sentence or phrase. In the play "Shadow" Schwartz masterfully uses this "syntax of inner speech". So, creating images of ministers, the author finds an interesting technique: they do not speak in full words, their speech is abrupt. They are so experienced in intrigue and betrayal that they understand each other perfectly:
First Minister. Health?
Second Minister. Reply.
First Minister. Affairs?
Second Minister. Very bad.
First Minister. Why?
Second Minister. Jumping.
These are people-masks, incapable of experiencing sincere feelings, moreover, meeting with the Scientist leads them into confusion. This honest person seems to them much more dangerous than a thief or a blackmailer: it is impossible to negotiate with such a person; in accordance with their usual methods - buy. So, there is only one way out - to kill. It is clear that the fate of the country, which is ruled by such ministers, seems very tragic.
However, the most characteristic feature of Schwartz's poetics is irony. Moreover, in the play, irony is not only a stylistic device, but also a way of thinking. It is the ironic attitude to reality that allows some researchers (Rubin) to believe that "the genre of the writer's plays is a new genre that embodies the ironic principle of the study of reality, which lies in line with the intellectual drama of the 20th century, that is, ironic drama" .
Of course, as in any dramatic work, the author's remarks play an important role in creating the characteristics of the character. In Schwartz, these remarks, for all their brevity, are also very expressive. For example, the speech of all characters, except for the Scientist, is accompanied by remarks “quietly”, “whispering”. This emphasizes the tension, suspicion of the created atmosphere.

CONCLUSION

Having considered the features of the interpretation of the plot about the shadow in the play of the same name by Schwartz, we came to the following conclusions:

1 If we divide Schwartz's fairy tales into "tales of positions" and "tales of characters", then we refer to "Shadow" as a "tale of characters", because the greatest interest for the playwright is the inner world of his characters. Each of them chooses his own path. It turns out a kind of "parallel" movement, which determines the composition of the play "Shadow".

2 Schwartz transforms the genre nature of the fairy tale:
its traditional conflict between good and evil, he rethinks from the point of view of modern literary consciousness, if in a fairy tale good necessarily defeats evil, then Schwartz in plays admits the possibility of a twofold resolution of the main conflict,
a fairy-tale country does not appear fairy-tale in the good old sense, magic recedes before reality,
famous fairy-tale characters are involved in the social relations of people of the 20th century: a boy with a finger is traded in the market, cannibals have become corrupt journalists or hotel owners.

3 The plot of the Shadow in folklore is the story of a man who has lost his shadow, i.e. who lost his soul. This plot, first developed by the German romantic Chamisso, was used by Andersen and Schwartz. In Shamisso's fairy tale, the shadow does not play an independent role; in the fairy tale of Andersen and Schwartz, the shadow becomes an active character, a double of a person, and embodies all his worst sides. The basis of the plot is the psychological struggle between the scientist and his shadow.

4 Schwartz and Andersen have in common:
a mixture of the fantastic and the real, characteristic of the fairy tale genre,
both positive heroes and carriers of evil become fairy-tale heroes,
the choice of topic is the career of a brazen, unprincipled character, the story of his path to the royal throne through blackmail and deceit
ironic manner of writing, but Schwartz's irony, expressed in paradoxes, puns, hyperbole, contradictions, is not only a stylistic device, but also a way of thinking, studying reality.

6 In contrast to the traditional opinion about the optimism of the finale of Schwartz's play, we believe that
if the love story line is happily resolved, then the final appeal of the Scientist to readers and viewers - “on the road” - is not so much a call to action and the achievement of universal harmony, but the flight of the Scientist from the former fairy-tale country, he did not change anything in the world around him, and open The ending provides an opportunity to think about the continuation of the plot.
none of the researchers noted the ambivalent attitude of Schwartz to the Shadow. The existence of a person without a shadow is impossible, the existence of a shadow is impossible without a person, i.e. the emergence of a new conflict, with an unknown resolution, is inevitable.
The shadow is actually the second side of human nature, this applies to every person, and each of us in life also has to fight with his shadow.
in Schwartz's play, unlike Andersen's fairy tale, the Scientist is not alone, but almost all the characters oppose him. It is they who, with their weakness or sycophancy, selfishness and cruelty, allow the Shadow to come to power.

Unfortunately, history knows no epochs when the ideology of hypocrites and careerists, liars and sycophants would not be formed. Therefore, the position of Schwartz, presented in opposition to eternal truths: good and evil, cruelty and justice, impunity and retribution, is relevant in any era.
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Andersen G.-H. Sobr. op. In 4 vols. M. 1997. Vol. 3
Schwartz E. L. Prose. Poems. Dramaturgy. M. 1998. 640 p. School of classics)
Schwartz E.L. Shadow // Shvarts E.L. Favorites. SPb., 1998

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