Those accustomed to visiting the Tolstoys could sometimes even forget that they were at Leo Tolstoy's. It was not easy and not immediately that they got used to the peculiarities of this house, but, having got used to it, they no longer felt the presence of the "great writer" in it so sharply. Day after day, in their eyes, Lev Nikolaevich gradually turned into simply an amiable and courteous "family" person. And only a loud exclamation, at certain hours, is heard somewhere nearby, in the next room or on the stairs - "Correction!" - made me alert again, remember, guess: proofreading ... Ah! These are prints brought from the printing house. At this exclamation, everyone involuntarily turned in the direction where he was sitting, who had become ordinary, and now again not just Lev Nikolaevich, but the writer Tolstoy. He drinks tea, thinks intently, as if he does not hear anything, and someone, before the others, Maria Lvovna, is already taking off and disappearing somewhere. The machine works, the machine does not stop, Tolstoy moves his thoughts, prints. The building in the courtyard, like a barn, is something that is connected with proofreading, with the movement of a non-stop machine. This is a warehouse of publications, "the economy of world fame" and at the same time the economy of Sofya Andreevna.
"He will command his angels to keep you; and they will carry you in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone." With this text from the Gospel (actually from the Psalter. - Ed.), M. Voloshin once began his speech about Tolstoy. Indeed, wasn't Tolstoy placed in exceptionally favorable conditions for the development of his talent? No matter how one relates to the influence of Sophia Andreevna on Tolstoy, one must, however, admit that among many "angels" she turned out to be the most real and efficient, playing the difficult role of a wife, a caring nanny and a reliable manager. Yes, up to a certain point, and then, and then? Discord, "spiritual divergence" ... All this could be blamed entirely on her alone, if only Tolstoy himself did not show hesitation in basic questions, in questions of material goods, from which he wanted, but could not decisively refuse. Tolstoy missed all deadlines. Having sown the wind, he reaped the whirlwind. There is nothing new in the fact that in the circle of wealthy people, most of the issues are based on money, they are the beginning and end of relationships among far and near... [...]
It is possible that sometimes he would like to "accept martyrdom", but no one dares to cause him even the slightest disturbance. And if in all cases he is guarded by someone so that he "does not stumble on a stone with his foot," then in the future, very soon, he himself, in front of the eyes of the whole world, will have to stumble over this stone.
[...] Several evenings spent in this house, we experienced almost the same feeling with which we came for the first time. Nothing prevented us from getting used to the environment, customs, family members, so attentive, simple. [...]
[An impression of a family scene.] You look with bewilderment, and want to believe your impression - it is not the patriarch who is sitting, but a plucked chicken, causing not a feeling of respect, but some kind of pity ...
This scene, common in ordinary homes in the family life of almost all people, makes a particularly painful impression. She doesn't want to be remembered. It would be better to forget it as something too human, seen everywhere and out of place here, where marital conflicts could be lived out in other forms. But precisely because this scene was too human, it is characteristic of those faces whose history we already knew. We knew who was hiding under the names of Kitty and Levin.
Just because we got to Tolstoy's house, we considered it our duty to re-read his previous works and especially that novel in which there are so many biographical features of the author himself and his wife - that novel that began a long time ago and is now on our eyes approached its last page. Time has changed both actors; but these faces, having already grown old, were in front of us and involuntarily each time forced us to compare what is with what was.
The scene at the card table, the writing with chalk of the initial letters of those phrases of great significance that are hesitant, lovers cannot express. And further family life, petty hardships and joys - all this, together with Levin's constant rebelliousness, who wants to live by the truth, made us want to know what kind of truth would lead and what would lead this couple, not similar in life goals to other heroes of the novel ...
In the last period of his work, Tolstoy spoke with contempt about this work of his: some vulgar lady fell in love with the same vulgar officer. The matured philosopher Tolstoy, of course, could not treat Karenina and Vronsky differently, but what could he now say about the former and now existing Levin, who lived to the age of seventy, and Kitty, once adored with her clear, truthful eyes? Once upon a time there was a scene at the card table, but now it's different... Not him, Levin-Tolstoy, but Kitty - Sofia Andreevna, sobbing, now finished the end of the novel...
Levin's life and his torments do not always touch us. Much of what he considered serious and important now seems to us almost unworthy of attention. There was too much free time in the life of the landlords not to experience, like Vronsky, the desire for desires, longing, even the unbearability of this longing, setting him up either to seek God, or to the thought of suicide. If Tolstoy had not been such a great artist, able to excite even in those moments when we disagree with him, we would not have put a large share of his experiences higher than that broderie anglaise (embroidery with English stitching. - Ed.), which filled her leisure time for so long desired and at some point "happy" Kitty. For a long time, her husband "was in painful discord with himself and strained all his mental strength to get out of it." What could the smart and observant Sofia Andreevna, in her own way, hope for, successfully directing family life in a direction favorable for her until she herself saw that all her strength had dried up and there was nothing left ahead? [...]
Tolstoy did not give the impression of being sick. He looked stronger and more alert than most of his age. Only sometimes it was possible to see from his eyes how alarmed and unhealthy he was about something - from these eyes, flickering as if from a hollow, undermined by time, and with an effort supporting the remnants of life in themselves. Not a single portrait of the many painted by different artists conveys to us this complex, strong at the core, but in some ways strongly broken Tolstoy. A conscientious and for Kramskoy very successful portrait, made in 1873, strongly resembles one who "was in painful discord with himself."
The portrait of Ge's work can be called "Writer Tolstoy at his desk" - and nothing more. What else should be added to the explanation about this man bending over the manuscript, about this writer with a large forehead and a crease between the superciliary arches? Some consider this portrait the best. Perhaps, especially if you put Repinsky next to him, the one where Tolstoy is depicted in a black blouse, sitting with a book. Repin painted Tolstoy in the period of his greatest popularity, already almost a worldwide celebrity, and took him not just from a random point, like Ge, but from a "plan" (a non-artistically conceived portrait. - Note by Nikolai Ulyanov). But the idea hardly helped anything. Like the smaller semi-portraits, semi-genres, made by the same Repin from the same famous model; This portrait can only be included in a series of illustrations for one or another book under the title "How Tolstoy Lives and Works." Repin, carried away by the outside, overlooked or could not overcome something more. In the great writer, he did not see that wormhole that was noticeable to many, but for some reason closed to an unartistically conceived portrait. A picturesque attack was necessary for the artist who decided to make a portrait of Tolstoy. What ordinary people saw, portrait painters failed to see.
Other works by other artists also do not rise above the average level. All portraits are the same. Yes, and it would be strange to make unlike someone who, by his external data, generally speaking, did not present difficulties for copying or photographing through painting. But what required the creativity of the artist turned out to be beyond the power of everyone who tried to "hook" this confused person with a brush. It is highly probable, however, that with the strict demands made by us, such a task really presented an insurmountable difficulty.
Like Pushkin, Tolstoy ended up as an unused, only briefly touched upon model. A portrait of Pushkin by Tropinin, are we not forced to consider it good only because the more spectacular portrait made by Kiprensky much less reminds us of the image that has already formed in our imagination not only of the poet Pushkin we love, but also of the “Arabian demon” - in general, all sorts of obsessed captivating human? Tolstoy sits, writes, plows, lies, rests under a tree, but where is he in the general complex?
Textbook solemnity of both portraits... [...]
The last time I saw Tolstoy was on a specific occasion. Through Tatyana Lvovna, he invited me to come in and talk about my manuscript of Ge Among Youth. I did not attach so much importance to my manuscript. I only took up the pen in a moment of mental confusion. [...] Exit from the stage of certain well-known, little-known and completely unknown extras like me. Why did I come, what is the need? And all around the room plunges into darkness, which yesterday lived with people and will live today, and now it’s like a forest where the echo has died away. This is the life over which Tolstoy thinks and searches for meaning. What is he doing at that moment nearby: writing for so long or just sitting ... The door creaked ...
I hear or imagine the noise of the Trekhgorny beer factory next door. What a strange combination - a brewery, Leo Tolstoy, where I sat waiting - everything was now so ordinary, in the order of things. Where did L[ev] N[ikolaevich] go, I did not understand, I asked myself, I wondered what had happened to me in a small difference in time. And when Tolstoy entered and, sitting down at the table, began to talk with me, I almost did not feel his harsh criticism of my writing, calmly listened to his remarks, agreed with them, did not object, feeling that it was not this that occupied me, but something something else, more interesting than the first literary experience.
I listened to his voice, peered into his face, into every muscle, forgetting the purpose of my visit. Yes, and L[ev] N[ikolaevich] himself soon forgot what we were talking about, translated the speech into something else, asked me about the life of artists, in particular, about the life of A.S. Golubkina, whom he once saw in his house. [...]
"Anna Karenina" is a novel with a modern theme, the main theme of which is Anna's betrayal of marital fidelity, because of which she is rejected by society and ends her life in an extremely tragic way. In parallel with her own destiny, we observe her destructive relationship with Vronsky and the love story of Levin and Kitty, based on unselfishness.
The plot takes place in the 70s of the 19th century in Russia, and, despite the fact that the characters of the novel live in the same place, their destinies do not depend on each other.
One of the main issues raised in the novel is the acceptable and unacceptable behavior of men and women in society, which is why the novel is often compared to Flaubert's Madame Bovary. Both novels touch on the same themes, and one of them is the unfortunate fate of a woman who has found happiness, but is condemned by society.
Tolstoy, like Flaubert, uses a narrator in the novel who knows everything, comments on events and is an intermediary between characters and readers.
The novel consists of several storylines, where each family plays an important role for the whole plot. Among other things, Tolstoy touches on topics conventionally divided into happiness-sadness, wealth-poverty.
The themes mentioned above are most relevant to the two characters most opposed to each other in the novel. Anna symbolizes high society and wealth, while Levin is modest and strives for a peaceful family life.
In addition to the parallelism of the storylines, the structure of the novel can also be represented as a ring. First of all, this is reflected in the relationships and constant contradictions of the characters (Levin, who is in love with Kitty, who loves Vronsky, who, in turn, likes Anna).
The novel ends with the same question as at the beginning - the theme of adultery. Despite the fact that there is a plot in Anna Karenina, the question remains open.
At the end of the novel, the differences between Anna and Levin become less and less, and the unselfish and pure love of Levin and Kitty (unlike Anna and Vronsky) runs into difficulties. The end of the novel touches on the actual theme of the existence of a happy family.
“Anna Karenina” is a very controversial novel, as it speaks of hypocrisy and a society that is biased and condemns any betrayal in marriage, even if the marriage exists only formally, and there has been nothing between the spouses for a long time.
Genre: novel
Time: 70s 19th century
Location of events: Russia
Anna Karenina retelling
The novel begins with Anna's arrival at the house of her brother, Stiva Oblonsky. Steve's wife - Kitty's sister, Dolly, finds out about her husband's infidelity, and the family collapses. Stiva is waiting for Anna's arrival as his salvation. Anna convinces Dolly to forgive her husband.
Anna has a high status in society. She is charming, sociable, loved by everyone. She loves her nephews and son very much and skillfully resolves conflicts that arise.
Levin is a poor landowner who is in love with the wealthy Princess Kitty, who, in turn, hopes for an engagement with Count Vronsky. Disappointed by her refusal, he travels to Moscow to devote himself to his work.
Vronsky meets Kitty, but, to her dismay, he is not at all interested in marriage. At the ball, he fell in love with Anna, which drove Kitty to despair. The doctors suggested that Kitty's parents take her abroad, and they set off on a journey.
In Germany, Kitty recovered, forgot about Vronsky and found new friends. Upon her return, she accepts Levin's second proposal and they marry. Despite Levin's jealousy and insecurity, they are happily married. Kitty takes very compassionate care of Levin's dying brother Nikolai.
In the future, Kitty has a son, which makes her even happier, while Levin tries to find himself even after the wedding. He finds salvation in religion, but deep down he feels that only Kitty can support him.
The relationship between Anna and Vronsky is completely opposite. Anna is married to Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin, who holds a high position in the ministry. Her relationship with her husband is completely insensitive, as Anna is suppressed by his rationality and coldness.
After Vronsky's declaration of love, Anna tries to hide and leave, but Vronsky follows her, and they meet almost daily. According to rumors, Anna's husband also finds out about this. He asks Anna to keep her relationship a secret in order to avoid a public scandal, but she does not listen to him at all.
Soon Anna becomes pregnant from Vronsky and tells him this news before the races. The shock of the news leads to an accident. Seeing this, Anna is no longer able to restrain her feelings.
On the way home, Anna openly confesses her infidelity to her husband, but he refuses to give her a divorce. He forbids Vronsky and Anna to meet in their house. Months of suffering pass while Vronsky persuades Anna to leave her husband. After the birth of a girl, she begs her husband for forgiveness. He again accepts her and the newborn daughter. This news shocks Vronsky so much that he tries to shoot himself.
In the end, Anna nevertheless decides to leave with Vronsky. She takes her daughter, but her husband forbids her to take her beloved son with her. Vronsky and Anna leave for Italy and are happy for a while, but over time, Anna misses her son more and more, which forces her to return to Russia. Accompanied by Vronsky, she drives up to the house, where she learns that her son has been informed of her death.
In high society, Anna is no longer successful. Despite the fact that Vronsky has become more influential thanks to her, they go to his estate in the village.
Vronsky realizes that his daughter bears the surname Karenina, and again asks Anna to divorce her husband. He thinks more and more about his career and the life he sacrificed for Anna. She is increasingly jealous and yearns to regain her former life and status in society. Over time, she becomes even more hysterical and begins to take morphine. In a deep depression, she throws herself under a passing train. Vronsky, unable to remain in this society any longer and survive her death, voluntarily leaves for the front in Serbia.
In the novel, we see two completely different types of relationships. Kitty and Levin's love is built on trust, while Anna and Vronsky's tumultuous relationship is built on selfishness and a sense of ownership. Anna was rejected by society due to infidelity (at the time, infidelity was not considered a serious mistake, but nevertheless it was preferable to keep it secret). But Anna could not and did not want to pretend and hide her feelings for Vronsky, as a result of which pressure from society forced her to commit suicide.
Main characters: Anna Karenina, Vronsky, Levin, Kitty
Character Analysis
Anna Arkadievna Karenina is the main character of the novel. She is an intelligent, smart, beautiful woman who let her feelings take over the mind. Showing us her “weakness”, Tolstoy asks the question whether she is really to blame and whether it is fair to blame a person for his feelings.
At that moment, when Anna fell in love with Vronsky, she was well aware of her exclusion from high society and complete condemnation. No one would take into account whether she was happily married or not. However, in her opinion, nothing could compare with true love.
Despite the fact that society could not accept her feelings, she was not going to hide them or pretend to be faithful to her husband. This shows that she behaved more morally than other women, as she took full responsibility for her actions without false pretense in an attempt to maintain her status.
Tolstoy describes Anna as a person with a strong character, who is very difficult to judge because of her principles. She really stands out among the crowd of hypocritical people. The decision to leave her husband for the sake of Vronsky looks quite natural and humane. That is why Anna is perceived as a heroine, and not a moral criminal.
Over time, the situation changes, feelings are replaced by jealousy and doubts. Anna becomes more nervous and selfish, she is tormented by remorse. It can be concluded that her death was provoked by her own moral anguish, and not by pressure from society.
Levin- a landowner, described at the beginning as a person with a strong character like Anna, confident that the meaning of a person's life is his own happiness. He thinks so until he meets Kitty. After the wedding, he realizes that this is not always enough to make life meaningful.
His simplicity and slight conservatism bring Kitty security and peace, but there is no romantic passion in their feelings that Kitty once felt for Vronsky.
Vronsky- a young handsome officer who lives a carefree life before meeting Anna. According to the plot of the novel, he turns from an irresponsible person into someone who is able to do everything for the sake of his beloved and even takes responsibility for the child. But nothing lasts forever, and when he and Anna face difficulties, Vronsky, despite his love, begins to regret his lost career.
Despite the fact that there is no direct connection between Vronsky and Anna's suicide, it cannot be said that he had nothing to do with this tragedy. He did not keep his promise to Anna, and this happened as a result of the desire to be an ordinary person. While Vronsky tried to be himself, Anna became more and more convinced that she had become a burden for him.
Kitty- a princess from Moscow, in love with Vronsky. Her father does not approve of her feelings, considering Levin a more suitable candidate. However, at first Kitty refuses Levin, waiting for an offer from Vronsky.
Rejected by Vronsky, Kitty regrets her refusal to Levin. After spending some time abroad, she becomes stronger mentally. Her marriage to Levin is strong and stable.
Kitty's chastity could not be compared with Anna, who charmed Vronsky. Kitty is destined to become a faithful wife, while Anna strives to achieve something more in life.
Leo Tolstoy biography
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is a Russian writer who was born in 1828. He is one of the great realist writers of his time. The son of a landowner, Tolstoy was orphaned at the age of 9 and was educated mainly by teachers from France and Germany.
At the age of 16, Tolstoy entered Kazan University, but quickly became disillusioned with his studies and was expelled. After a fruitless attempt to improve the life of the serfs on his estate, he travels to Moscow, where he enters high society.
In 1851 Tolstoy joined his brother's regiment in the Caucasus, where he first met the Cossacks. Further, he describes their life and way of life with sincere sympathy in the novel Cossacks, published in 1863. Also during his service, Tolstoy completes two autobiographical novels, which suddenly receive wide publicity and approval.
Back in St. Petersburg, Tolstoy promotes education for the peasants by opening a local elementary school.
In 1862 he marries Sofya Andreevna Bers from a Moscow secular family. Over the next 15 years, he had a large family with 19 children. At the same time he published two of his most famous novels, War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877).
In the impartial novel "Confession" Tolstoy describes his spiritual excitement and begins a long journey to moral and social peace. In his opinion, it lies in two principles of the Gospel: love for all people and resistance to the temptation of the devil. Living in autocratic Russia, Tolstoy fearlessly criticizes social inequality and the unquestioning authority of the state and church. His didactic essays, translated into many languages, won the hearts of people in many countries from all walks of life, many came to him in Russia seeking advice.
"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is a novel that can be called autobiographical, as it is based on the childhood of ...
Praskovya Sergeevna Uvarova.Praskovya Sergeevna Uvarova
K.E. Makovsky. Portrait of P.S. Uvarova. Butter. 1882
“The dress was not crowded anywhere, the lace beret did not go down anywhere, the rosettes did not crumple and did not come off, pink shoes with high arched heels did not sting, but amused the leg. Thick braids of blond hair held like their own on a small head. All three buttons were fastened without breaking on a high glove that wrapped around her hand without changing its shape. The black velvet of the medallion especially tenderly surrounded her neck ... Her eyes shone, and her ruddy lips could not help but smile from the consciousness of her attractiveness ”- this is Kitty Shcherbatskaya at the ball at the Bobrishchevs.
And here is an entry in the diary of the same time of that same gloomy young man: - “With boredom and drowsiness, I went to the Ryumins, and suddenly I was doused. P.Sh. - charm. Fun all day." P.Sh. - this is Praskovya Shcherbatova, an eighteen-year-old conqueror of men's hearts, cheerful and sparkling, who impressed the young Tolstoy so much that it was she who became the prototype of Kitty Shcherbatskaya from Anna Karenina.
Book. Praskovya Sergeevna Shcherbatova (03/28/1840 - 06/30/1924), married to Uvarov.
She was born in the village of Bobriky, Lebedyansky district, Kharkov province, on March 28, 1840, in the family of Prince Sergei Alexandrovich Shcherbatov and Praskovya, daughter of Prince Boris Svyatopolk-Chetvertinsky. Grandniece of Maria Naryshkina, favorite of Alexander I and mother of his children. Sister of Prince Nikolai Shcherbatov, director of the Historical Museum.
Alexander Alexandrovich Kiselev, View of the environs of Kharkov. 1875
Prince Boris Antonovich Chetvertinsky (1781-1865)
Portrait of Maria Antonovna Naryshkina. S. Tonchi. Italy, Russia. Pavlovsk.
Prince Nikolai Sergeevich Shcherbatov
The family sacredly supported the traditions of their ancestors - historians, educators, military men. The famous Russian historian Prince M.M. was also famous among great-great-grandfathers. Shcherbatov.
Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Shcherbatov, Dmitry Grigorievich Levitsky
Parasha's father, Prince Shcherbatov, was closely acquainted with Pushkin himself and kept a copy of The Prisoner of the Caucasus with the author's inscription: "To my friend Sergei."
Her childhood was happy and free. Together with her six brothers and two sisters, in an atmosphere of love and harmony, she frolicked in the family estate, and then in Moscow. The young princess was well taught and gloriously brought up. Her mother, born Princess Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya, herself a well-educated lady, tried to find the best teachers for her daughter. Russian literature was taught by Professor F.I. Buslaev, music - N.G. Rubinstein, painting - A.K. Savrasov. Praskovya knew several languages.
Buslaev, Fedor Ivanovich
Nikolai Grigorievich Rubinstein, Russian pianist and composer
Alexei Kondratievich Savrasov. 1870s
No less, if not most, of the life of a noble young lady should have been occupied by the "introduction to the big world", which came upon reaching the "age of the bride." And therefore, for the pretty Praskovya, the doors of high society living rooms and houses were first opened in 1856, during a significant event for Russia - the solemn days of the coronation of Emperor Alexander II.
“Princess Kitty Shcherbatskaya was eighteen years old. She went out the first winter. Her success in society was greater than that of her two older sisters, and more than even the princess had expected. Not only were the young men dancing at Moscow balls almost all in love with Kitty. Already in the first winter, two serious parties appeared: Levin and, immediately after his departure, Count Vronsky. In fact, when Tolstoy saw this charming creature, she had been leaving for a long time, but did not lose her freshness and turned the heads of many ...
At less than nineteen years old, the princess got married, making an enviable match. But this was not the main thing in her marriage. The bridegroom was so interesting, knew so much and talked so fascinatingly about various antiquities, that an inquisitive girl could hardly resist his mind.
Count Alexei Sergeevich Uvarov (1825-1884) came from an old Russian family famous for its cultural traditions. His father was a friend of Zhukovsky, president of the Academy of Sciences and Minister of Education, his own uncle, hero of the war of 1812, Major General F.S. Uvarov baptized the future Russian writer Ivan Turgenev.
Coat of arms of the Uvarov family
Count (since 1846) Sergei Semyonovich Uvarov (father), thin. V. A. Golike
Ekaterina Alekseevna Uvarova, ur. Razumovskaya (1783-1849 (mother)
The Uvarov ancient Roman sarcophagus still adorns the exposition of the Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin. Therefore, Alexei Sergeevich himself, by the time of his meeting with the young Shcherbatova, was already an established historian, archaeologist, connoisseur of antiquities.
Soon after the wedding, the young went to Rome, Naples, Florence, Ravenna. Alexei Sergeevich introduced his young wife to the treasures of European culture, they admired architectural masterpieces, climbed the ruins, visited museums and private collections.
Bernardo Paolo Francesco Ernesto Bellotto
Salvatore Fergola, 1840
The primordial brilliance of antiquity and renaissance seemed to be rediscovered by him. How much charm in the turn of Praskovya's head when she examines some kind of shard in her palm, how smart her fresh reasoning about certain historical mysteries is. A rare secular beauty will argue with her husband on scientific topics with such fervor... And here, in Italy, they talked a lot about Russian antiquity, dreaming of collecting all the priceless treasures scattered throughout the cities and towns of Russia. “How we do not value our own, how wasteful we are!” exclaimed Praskovya.
Then she will constantly help her husband - the founder of the Moscow Archaeological Society and the Historical Museum, and will become his indispensable colleague, comrade. Formally, she was not a member of the Archaeological Society, but she did serious work in it, organized and prepared archaeological congresses, and corresponded.
Praskovya Sergeevna Uvarova
Alexei Sergeevich never tired of being surprised by her tirelessness and perseverance, in the depths of his heart blessing the Creator for such a gift of fate. He dedicated his book "The Stone Age" to his wife and testified: - "You have always participated in all my travels and constantly assisted me in my research." One of his awards - a medal presented to him at the Tiflis Congress of Archaeologists - was presented by the count to Praskovya Sergeevna with an engraved inscription: "To my beloved employee."
Praskovya Sergeevna Uvarova
But in 1884 her husband died unexpectedly, and Praskovya Sergeevna, a firm and purposeful person, tried to overcome her grief with work. Thank God, she had where to get strength. In addition, it was supported by a large historical community.
On January 14, 1885, she was first elected an honorary member of the Moscow Archaeological Society, and three months later - its chairman.
Even there, in Italy, on their honeymoon, she and her husband talked a lot about Russian historical antiquities, about how many in Russia do not understand their pricelessness, about the fact that they go to Italy “for history”, having at their side rare gifts, and not knowing how to save them ... And Praskovya Sergeevna forever remembered her husband's testament, which sounded like an insistence, like a call, like a guide to active action: to destroy indifference to domestic antiquities, to teach to value native monuments, to appreciate every remnant of antiquity, every building, erected by our ancestors, to preserve and protect them from any destruction.
Suzdal Kremlin, Kozhin, Semyon Leonidovich
Royal Doors. Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Suzdal
Golden Doors in the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ, Suzdal
Stove tile in the Bishops' chambers of the Suzdal Kremlin
Bishops' chambers. Suzdal, Russia.Photos by Alexey Zelenko
Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin, Ivan the Terrible, Destroyed
"Tsar Tsar" (1690) - signature icon of A. I. Kazantsev
Veil with the image of Peter and Fevronia, workshop of Tsarina Irina Fyodorovna Godunova
With enthusiasm, Praskovya Sergeevna served the cause of Russian science, and Russian society responded to her with sincere respect and love. She carried on extensive correspondence, letters addressed to her are still kept in the Historical Museum. Among those who turned to the countess for advice and help, who had a scientific dialogue with her, were the artists Polenov, Vasnetsov, Ostroukhov, the historian Klyuchevsky, the archaeologist Sizov, the art critics Tsvetaev and Shmit, and many others.
State Historical Museum
She headed the Commission of the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Monuments, traveled around the cities for field surveys, and together with members of the commission drew up a special scheme, according to which she proposed to carry out an inventory of the existing ancient monuments.
Praskovya Sergeevna Uvarova
In 1908, she came to Orel to get acquainted with the work of the church historical and archaeological society and to form local ancient repositories and archival institutions. How much delight and undisguised joy in the story of one of the participants in this meeting: - “With special attention, Uvarova examined the ancient items of the church sacristy, rich in material and sewing with silk, gold and silver vestments, air, shrouds, shrouds and other exhibits that arrived in the ancient repository from founded in the XIII century Svensky monastery near Bryansk.
Praskovya Sergeevna was amazed at the elegance and delightful painstaking handmade work... She considered pectoral crosses (encolpions) of the 12th century for reserve holy gifts, which in the old days, with the blessing of the church, the laity took with them on trips or hikes and partake of them themselves, as an outstanding monument of antiquity.
Crucifixion of Christ. Our Lady of Assunta
Crucifixion of Christ. Our Lady of Kupyatitskaya
Crucifixion of Christ. Calvary cross
Uvarova was also struck by one hitherto unknown museum icon of St. Titus, a reverend, apparently a hermitage. She asked the members of the society to take all measures to clarify the identity of the saint and read the very dull and barely preserved signature on his icon. When visiting the museum, Praskovya Sergeevna wrote down many things that interested her in her memoir. She compared some of the exhibits with the photographs she had.
The countess was very pleased with her acquaintance with the museum, archive and library of the society, expressing only regret that she did not have enough time to carefully examine a number of exhibits and documents. At the end of the tour, she signed the book of visitors to the museum…”.
And then she chaired the meeting of the archival commission, listened to the reports with attention and interest, asked for clarifications, details, clarifications. Praskovya Sergeevna's sympathy, as noted in the protocol, "to everything she saw and heard was complete, and she repeatedly stated that it gave great pleasure to both members of the society and all participants in this meeting." She was always welcomed in this way, wherever she went.
The countess was honored to become an honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in 1895 and several universities, she was elected a professor at Derpt, Kharkov, Kazan, Moscow universities and the St. Petersburg Archaeological Institute, she wrote books, supported many scientific initiatives.
She is the first Russian woman to receive the title of honorary academician. Sofya Kovalevskaya had been awarded this title a few years earlier, but she was considered a foreign corresponding member and represented Swedish science.
Praskovya Sergeevna Uvarova
Ivan Vladimirovich Tsvetaev, the father of Marina Tsvetaeva, also owed a lot to Praskovya Sergeevna. He created the Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow (now the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts). It was Uvarova who tried to open not only the doors of secular salons to Tsvetaev, but also the adoptive persons of the imperial family; in 1914 she wrote the article “I.V. Tsvetaev is the creator of the Museum of Fine Arts.
Ivan Vladimirovich Tsvetaev
Praskovya Sergeevna supported everyone who was engaged in noble museum work, who collected antiquities, she understood that the best collections of state museums are based on the efforts of those who were once considered eccentrics and ridiculed. But she was very worried if these antiquities were taken out, and therefore she did a lot to preserve the Russian cultural heritage in her homeland.
“Oh hedgehog send them perfect love ...”
To understand what a painful path led Levin and Kitty to the wedding, you need to read the entire work of Leo Tolstoy "Anna Karenina" and, probably, more than once. But we present for your attention a joyful and desired result of the worries and wanderings of two loving hearts. Wedding.
The author calls the bride and groom not newlyweds, not newlyweds, but “new brides”. They are excited and full of awe.
Today this scene would be called a wedding, but then this ceremony was equated with a wedding, because there were no state bodies for recording civil status (that is, registry offices). Information about the creation of a new family was entered in church books.
Everything in the temple, I think, is filled with spirituality, humility, bright thought. This must also penetrate into the hearts of the people. However, ladies at weddings are still worried about hats, men - ten rubles difference between unburned and burnt. That is, everyone is in the wedding, despite the emotions, feelings, experiences in a rather everyday, everyday mood. What can not be said about the bride and groom. Of course, one can imagine: what they are thinking about there - in front of the altar, but it is impossible to guess exactly.
Confusion, fear of doing something wrong, the most tender happiness... Only newlyweds know this for real!
Elena Kaluzina
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy
Anna Karenina
* PART FIVE *
III
A crowd of people, especially women, surrounded the lighted for the wedding
church. Those who did not have time to penetrate into the middle crowded around the windows,
pushing and arguing and peering through the bars.
More than twenty carriages were already placed by the gendarmes along the street.
A police officer, ignoring the frost, stood at the entrance, shining in his uniform.
More carriages drove up incessantly, and then ladies in flowers with raised
trains, then the men, taking off their caps or black hats, entered the church. AT
both chandeliers and all the candles near the local images were already lit in the church itself.
Golden radiance on the red background of the iconostasis, and gilded carvings of icons, and
silver chandeliers and candlesticks, and floor slabs, and rugs, and banners above
by the kliros, and the steps of the pulpit, and the old blackened books, and the cassocks, and
surplices - everything was flooded with light. On the right side of the warm church, in the crowd
tailcoats and white ties, uniforms and damasks, velvet, satin, hair, flowers,
bare shoulders and arms and high gloves, there was a restrained and animated conversation,
reverberating strangely in the high dome. Every time there was a beep
the door being opened, the conversation in the crowd subsided, and everyone looked around, expecting to see
incoming bride and groom. But the door had already been opened more than ten times, and
each time it was either a late guest or a guest joining the
mug of the invited, to the right, or a spectator who deceived or propitiated
police officer, joining a strange crowd, to the left. Both relatives and
outsiders have already gone through all phases of waiting.
At first they thought that the bride and groom would arrive right away, not
attributing no significance to this delay. Then more and more often
look at the door, talking about whether something happened.
Later this lateness became embarrassing, and relatives and guests tried to make
the appearance that they do not think about the groom and are busy with their conversation.
The protodeacon, as if recalling the value of his time, impatiently
coughed, making the glass in the windows tremble. On the kliros were heard
samples of voices, the blowing of the nose of bored choristers. Priest incessantly
sent first the deacon, then the deacon to find out if the groom had arrived, and himself, in a lilac
cassock and an embroidered belt, more and more often went out to the side doors, waiting for the groom.
Finally, one of the ladies, looking at her watch, said: "However, this is strange!" - and
all the guests became uneasy and began to loudly express their surprise and
displeasure. One of the best men went to find out what had happened. Kitty in it
time, quite ready for a long time, in a white dress, a long veil and a wreath
orange flowers, with a planted mother and sister Lvova stood in the hall
Shcherbatsky house and looked out the window, waiting in vain for more than half an hour for news
from his best man about the groom's arrival at the church.
Meanwhile, Levin, in trousers, but without a waistcoat and tailcoat, was walking back and
forward through your number, continually leaning out the door and looking
corridor. But in the corridor it was not visible who he expected, and he, with despair
returning and waving his arms, he treated Stepan, who was quietly smoking
Arkadyich.
“Has there ever been a man in such a terrible foolish position!” -
he said.
"Yes, it's stupid," Stepan Arkadyevitch confirmed, smiling softly. - But
calm down, they'll bring it now.
No, how! said Levin with restrained fury. - And these stupid
open vests! Impossible! - he said, looking at the crumpled in front of his
shirts. “And how things have already been taken to the railroad!” he cried with
despair.
“Then put on mine.
- And it should have been so long ago.
- It's not good to be funny... Wait! is formed.
The point was that when Levin demanded to get dressed, Kuzma, the old
servant Levin, brought a tailcoat, waistcoat and everything that was needed.
"And the shirt!" exclaimed Levin.
"Your shirt is on," Kuzma replied with a calm smile.
Kuzma did not think of leaving clean shirts, and, having received orders, all
to put them down and take them to the Shcherbatskys, from whom they were leaving that same evening
young, he did just that, packing everything except the tailcoat pair. Shirt worn with
morning, was crumpled and impossible with the open fashion of vests. Send to
Shcherbatsky was far away. They sent me to buy a shirt. The footman has returned: everything is locked -
Sunday. They sent to Stepan Arkadyevitch, brought a shirt; She was
impossibly wide and short. Finally, they sent to the Shcherbatskys to unpack things.
The groom was expected in the church, and he, like a beast locked in a cage, walked around the room,
looking out into the corridor and remembering with horror and despair what he had said to Kitty
And what can she think now.
Finally, the guilty Kuzma, forcibly catching his breath, flew into the room with
shirt.
- Just stopped. They’ve already been raised on a cart, ”said Kuzma.
Three minutes later, without looking at his watch so as not to irritate his wounds, Levin
ran down the corridor.
"That won't help you," Stepan Arkadyevitch said with a smile, unhurriedly
rushing after him. - Formed, formed ... - I tell you.
IV
We've arrived! - There he is! - Which? - You're younger, right? - and she,
mother, neither alive nor dead! - they started talking in the crowd when Levin, having met
bride at the entrance, together with her entered the church.
Stepan Arkadyevitch told his wife the reason for the delay, and the guests, smiling,
whispered among themselves. Levin noticed nothing and no one; he is not
lowering his eyes, looked at his bride.
Everyone said that she had become very ugly in these last days and was under
the crown is far from being as good as usual; but Levin did not find it. He
looked at her high hair with a long white veil and white flowers,
a high-standing ruffled collar, especially virginally closing from the sides
and opening in front of her long neck, and amazingly thin waist, and to him
it seemed that she was better than ever - not because these flowers,
this veil, this dress ordered from Paris added something to her
beauty, but because, in spite of this prepared splendor of attire,
the expression of her sweet face, her look, her lips were still the same special
an expression of innocent truth.
“I already thought you wanted to run,” she said and smiled at him.
“It’s so stupid what happened to me, I’m ashamed to say!” he said,
blushing, and had to turn to Sergei Ivanovich, who had come up.
- Your shirt story is good! - said Sergei Ivanovich, shaking
head and smiling.
"Yes, yes," answered Levin, not understanding what they were talking about.
"Well, Kostya, now we must decide," said Stepan Arkadyevitch,
pretending to be frightened is an important question. You are now in a position
appreciate its importance. They ask me: should the burnt candles be lit, or
unfired? The difference is ten roubles,” he added, gathering his lips into
smile. - I decided, but I'm afraid that you will not agree.
Levin understood that it was a joke, but he could not smile.
- So how? unfired or burnt? here is the question.
- Yes Yes! unfired.
- Well, I'm very happy. The question is settled!” said Stepan Arkadyevitch, smiling. -
However, how stupid people are in this position, - he said to Chirikov, when Levin,
looking at him in bewilderment, he moved towards the bride.
“Look, Kitty, stand on the carpet first,” said Countess Nordston,
coming up. - You are good! she turned to Levin.
- What, not scary? said Marya Dmitrievna, the old aunt.
- Aren't you fresh? You are pale. Wait, bend down! - said Kitty's sister,
Lvov, and, rounding her full, beautiful hands, corrected her with a smile
flowers on the head.
Dolly came up, wanted to say something, but could not pronounce it, she began to cry
and laughed unnaturally.
Kitty looked at everyone with the same absent eyes as Levin. On the
all the speeches addressed to her she could only answer with a smile of happiness, which
now it was so natural to her.
Meanwhile the clergymen had put on their clothes, and the priest and the deacon went out to
lectern, standing in the porch of the church. The priest turned to Levin, something
having said. Levin did not listen to what the priest said.
"Take the bride by the hand and lead her in," said the best man to Levin.
For a long time Levin could not understand what was required of him. Took a long time to fix it
and they already wanted to quit - because he took everything with the wrong hand or the wrong
hand, - when he finally understood that it was necessary with his right hand, without changing
position, take her by the right hand. When he finally took the bride for
hand, as it should have been, the priest went a few steps ahead of them and
stopped at the lectern. A crowd of relatives and friends, buzzing with talk and rustling
trains, moved behind them. Someone, bending down, straightened the bride's train. AT
the church became so quiet that drops of wax could be heard falling.
An old priest, in a kamilavka, with gray strands shining with silver
hair, sorted into two sides behind the ears, protruding small senile
hands from under a heavy silver robe with a gold cross on the back, fingered
something at the lectern.
Stepan Arkadyevitch approached him cautiously, whispered something, and, winking
Levin, went back again.
The priest lit two flower-decorated candles, holding them sideways in his left
hand, so that the wax dripped from them slowly, and turned to face the bride.
The priest was the same one who confessed Levin. He looked tired
and with a sad look at the bride and groom, he sighed and, pulling out from under the robe
right hand, blessed the groom with it, and in the same way, but with a touch of careful
tenderness, put folded fingers on Kitty's bowed head. Then he submitted
them candles and, taking a censer, slowly moved away from them.
"Is that really true?" thought Levin, and looked round at the bride. Him
somewhat above her profile could be seen, and from the slightly perceptible movement of her lips and
eyelashes he knew she felt his gaze. She didn't look back, but
her high ruffled collar moved as it rose toward her pink
little ear. He saw that the breath stopped in her chest and trembled
a small hand in a high glove holding a candle.
All the fuss of shirts, being late, talking with friends, relatives, their
displeasure, his ridiculous situation - everything suddenly disappeared, and he felt
happy and scared.
A handsome tall protodeacon in a silver surplice, with standing
sides with combed curled curls, smartly stepped forward and, habitually
lifting the orarion on two fingers with a gesture, he stopped in front of the priest.
"Bla-go-word-vi, vla-dyko!" - slowly one by one, oscillating waves
air, solemn sounds were heard.
"Blessed be our God always, now and ever, and forever and ever," - humbly
and the old priest answered in a melodious voice, continuing to sort through something on the lectern.
And, filling the whole church from windows to vaults, he rose slender and wide,
intensified, stopped for a moment and quietly froze the full chord of the invisible
clear.
They prayed, as always, for heavenly peace and salvation, for a synod, for
sovereign; prayed for the now engaged servant of God Constantine and
Catherine.
"Oh hedgehog send them perfect love, more peaceful and help, Lord
let us pray," the whole church seemed to breathe in the voice of the protodeacon.
Levin listened to the words, and they amazed him. "How did they know that
help, exactly help? he thought, remembering all his recent fears and doubts.
opinion. - What do I know? What can I do in this terrible business, he thought, without
help? I need help right now."
When the deacon had finished the litany, the priest addressed the betrothed
book:
- "Eternal God, gathered in unity at a distance," he read to the meek
in a melodious voice, - and the union of love that they put indestructible; blessed
Isaac and Rebekah, heirs of your promise, I showed: bless yourself and
this servant of yours, Constantine, Catherine, instructing me in every good deed.
Like a merciful and philanthropic God, thou art, and we send glory to you, father, and
son, and the holy spirit, now and forever and forever and ever." - "A-amen" - again
an invisible choir poured into the air.
"Distant, gathering in union and positive union of love," - as
profound these words, and how corresponding to what you feel in this
minute! thought Levin. Does she feel the same as me?
And looking back, he met her gaze.
And from the expression of this look, he concluded that she understood the same thing as
is he. But it wasn't true; she almost did not understand the words of the service and did not even
listened to them during the engagement. She could not listen and understand them: so
strong was that one feeling that filled her soul and more and more
intensified. The feeling was the joy of the complete accomplishment of what was already
a month and a half passed in her soul, and that in the course of all these six
for weeks pleased and tormented her. In her soul that day, as she in her
brown dress in the hall of the Arbat house, she approached him silently and gave herself
him, - in her soul on that day and hour a complete break was made with all the former
life, and a completely different, new, completely unknown to her
life, in fact, continued the old one. Those six weeks were
the most blissful and most painful time for her. Her whole life, everything
desires, hopes were focused on this one thing that was still incomprehensible to her
a person with whom she was connected by something even more incomprehensible than himself
a person, now a drawing together, now a repulsive feeling, and at the same time she
continued to live in the conditions of the former life. Living the old life, she was terrified
on himself, on his complete irresistible indifference to everything that has passed:
to things, to habits, to people who loved and love her, to
mother's indifference to the sweet, most of all beloved gentle
father. Now she was horrified by this indifference, now she rejoiced at what had brought her
to this indifference. She could neither think nor wish for anything outside of life with
by this person; but this new life did not yet exist, and she could not even
present it clearly. There was one expectation - fear and joy of the new and
unknown. And now, just about waiting, and uncertainty, and remorse for
renunciation of the former life - everything will end, and a new one will begin. This is not new
might not be scary in its obscurity; but scary or not scary -
it had already taken place six weeks ago in her soul; now only
that which had long been done in her soul was sanctified.
Turning back to the lectern, the priest with difficulty caught the small ring
Kitty demanded Levin's hand and put it on the first knuckle of his finger.
"The servant of God Konstantin is betrothed to the servant of God Catherine." And wearing a big
a ring on Kitty's pink, small finger, pitiful in its weakness, the priest
said the same.
Several times the betrothed wanted to guess what to do, and each
once they made a mistake, and the priest corrected them in a whisper. Finally done what needs to be done
was, crossing them with rings, he again handed Kitty a big one, and Levin
small; again they got confused and twice passed the ring from hand to hand,
and yet it didn't work out as expected.
Dolly, Chirikov, and Stepan Arkadyevitch stepped forward to correct them.
There was confusion, whispers and smiles, but solemnly tender
the expression on the faces of the betrothed did not change; on the contrary, tangling their hands, they
looked more seriously and solemnly than before, and the smile with which Stepan
Arkadyevitch whispered that now everyone should put on their ring, involuntarily froze at
him on the lips. He felt that any smile would offend them.
“You created the male and the female from the beginning,” read the priest
after the change of rings, - a wife is combined from you to your husband, to help and in
perception of the human race. Ubo himself, Lord our God, send the truth to
your inheritance and your promise, on your servants our fathers, in every kind and
generation, your chosen ones: look at your servant Constantine and at your servant
Catherine and confirm their betrothal in faith, and unanimity, and truth, and
love..."
Levin felt more and more that all his thoughts about marriage, his
dreams of how he would arrange his life - that it was all childish and that
it is something that he did not understand until now and now understands even less,
though it is done upon him; rose higher and higher in his chest
shudders, and unruly tears came into his eyes.
V
The whole of Moscow was in the church, relatives and friends. And during the ceremony
betrothal, in the brilliant illumination of the church, in the circle of dressed-up women, girls
and men in white ties, tailcoats and uniforms, the decently quiet
conversation, which was predominantly started by men, while women were
absorbed in observing all the details of the
sacred rites.
In the circle closest to the bride were her two sisters: Dolly and the eldest,
the calm beauty of Lvov, who came from abroad.
- What is this Marie in purple, like black, for a wedding? - said
Korsunskaya.
- With her light of face, there is only one salvation ... - answered Drubetskaya. - I
I wonder why they made a wedding in the evening. This is a merchant...
- More beautiful. I also got married in the evening, - answered Korsunskaya and
sighed, remembering how sweet she was that day, how funny it was
her husband is in love and how everything is different now.
- They say that whoever is the best man more than ten times does not marry; I
wanted to be the tenth in order to insure himself, but the place was occupied, - he said
Count Sinyavin to the pretty Princess Charskaya, who had plans for him.
Charskaya answered him only with a smile. She looked at Kitty, thinking about
how and when she will stand with Count Sinyavin in Kitty's position, and how she
then remind him of his current joke.
Shcherbatsky told the old lady-in-waiting Nikolaeva what he intended to wear
a crown for Kitty's chignon to make her happy.
“You shouldn’t have put on a chignon,” answered Nikolaeva, who had long decided
that if the old widower whom she caught marries her, then the wedding
will be the simplest. - I don't like this fast.
Sergei Ivanovich was talking to Darya Dmitrievna, jokingly assuring her that
the custom of leaving after the wedding is spreading because newlyweds are always
is somewhat sensible.
- Your brother can be proud. She is amazingly cute. I think you're jealous?
"I've already experienced it, Darya Dmitrievna," he answered, and his face
suddenly took on a sad and serious expression.
Stepan Arkadyevitch was telling his sister-in-law his pun about divorce.
“We must fix the wreath,” she answered, not listening to him.
“What a pity that she has become so ugly,” said Countess Nordston Lvova.
“Still, he’s not worth her finger. Isn’t it?
- No, I really like him. Not because he is a future beaufrere,
answered Lvova. - And how well he keeps himself! And it's so hard to keep
behave well in this position - do not be ridiculous. And he is not funny, not pulled,
he is visibly touched.
- You seem to be waiting for this?
- Almost. She always loved him.
- Well, let's see which of them will be on the carpet first. I advised
Kitty.
“It doesn’t matter,” answered Lvova, “we are all obedient wives, this is in our
breed.
- And I purposely became the first with Vasily. And you, Dolly?
Dolly stood beside them, heard them, but did not answer. She was
touched. Tears stood in her eyes, and she could not say anything,
without bursting into tears. She rejoiced at Kitty and Levin; thinking back to your
wedding, she looked at the radiant Stepan Arkadyevitch, forgot everything
present and remembered only her first innocent love. She did not remember
one herself, but all the women close and familiar to her; she remembered them at that time
the only solemn time for them, when they, like Kitty, stood
under the crown with love, hope and fear in the heart, renouncing the past and
entering into a mysterious future. Among these all the brides who came
her memory, she remembered her dear Anna, details about the alleged
divorce which she had recently heard. And she also, pure, stood in
orange flowers and veil. Now what?
“Awfully strange,” she said.
Not only sisters, friends and relatives followed all the details
sacraments; extraneous women, spectators, with excitement,
breathtaking, watched, afraid to miss every movement, expression
the faces of the bride and groom did not answer with annoyance and often did not hear speeches
indifferent men who made jocular or extraneous remarks.
- Why are you crying so much? Or reluctantly goes?
- Why involuntarily for such a young man? Prince, right?
- And this is a sister in white satin? Well, listen to the deacon bark: "Yes
afraid of her husband."
- Miraculous?
- Synodal.
- I asked the footman. He says that now he is taking him to his patrimony. rich
passion, they say. Then they issued it.
- No, they're a good couple.
- But you argued, Marya Vlasyevna, that carnalinas are worn on departure.
Look at the one in the plus, messenger, they say with what selection ... So, and
again that way.
- What a sweet bride, like a lamb removed! And no matter how you say
pity our sister. So it was said in the crowd of spectators who managed to slip into
church doors.
VI
When the ceremony of betrothal was over, the clergyman spread before the lectern
in the middle of the church, a piece of pink silk fabric, the choir sang skillful and complex
a psalm in which the bass and tenor called to each other, and the priest,
Turning around, he pointed out to the betrothed at the spread pink piece of cloth. No matter how
both often and a lot listened to the sign that whoever steps on the carpet first, he
will be the head of the family, neither Levin nor Kitty could remember this when
they took those few steps. They did not hear loud remarks and disputes
that, according to some, he became before, according to others, both
together.
After the usual questions about their desire to marry, and whether they promised
they to others, and their strange-sounding answers began a new
service. Kitty listened to the words of the prayer, wanting to understand their meaning, but she could not.
The feeling of triumph and bright joy as the rite is performed more and more
more overwhelmed her soul and deprived her of the possibility of attention.
They prayed "for the hedgehog to yield to chastity and the fruit of the womb for the benefit, about the hedgehog
rejoice in them by seeing their sons and daughters." It was mentioned that God
created a woman from Adam's rib, and "for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and
cling to a woman, they shall be two in one flesh," and that "this is a great mystery";
asked God to give them fertility and blessings, like Isaac and Rebekah,
Joseph, Moses, and Zipporah, and that their sons may see their sons. "All this was
beautiful, thought Kitty, listening to these words, all this cannot be
otherwise," and a smile of joy, communicated involuntarily to all who looked at her,
shone on her radiant face.
- Put it on completely! - advice was heard when the priest put on them
crowns, and Shcherbatsky, trembling in his three-button glove, held high
crown above her head.
- Put it on! - she whispered smiling.
Levin looked round at her and was struck by the joyful radiance which
was on her face; and this feeling involuntarily communicated itself to him. He became the same
like her, light and fun.
They had fun listening to the reading of the apostolic epistle and the roar of the voice
protodeacon at the last verse, awaited with such impatience by an outsider
the public. It was fun to drink warm red wine with water from a flat bowl, and
it became even more cheerful when the priest, throwing back the robe and taking both of their hands in his,
led them around the lectern with the gusts of the bass, which brought out "Isaiah rejoice".
Shcherbatsky and Chirikov, who supported the crowns, getting tangled in the bride's train, also
smiling and rejoicing at something, then lagged behind, then stumbled upon those being married at
priest stops. The spark of joy that ignited in Kitty seemed to
communicated to everyone in the church. It seemed to Levin that both the priest and
the deacon, like him, wanted to smile.
Having removed the crowns from their heads, the priest read the last prayer and congratulated
young. Levin glanced at Kitty, and he had never before seen her like that.
She was charming with that new radiance of happiness that was on her face.
Levin wanted to say something to her, but he didn't know if it was over.
The priest brought him out of the difficulty. He smiled with his kind mouth and quietly
said:
“Kiss your wife, and you kiss your husband,” and he took the candles from their hands.
Levin kissed her smiling lips cautiously, gave her his hand, and,
feeling a new, strange closeness, he left the church. He didn't believe he couldn't
believe it was true. Only when their surprised and timid met
looks, he believed it, because he felt that they were already one.
After dinner that night, the young people left for the village.
137 years ago, Leo Tolstoy completed Anna Karenina, a novel that became a classic of world literature, but for which at the end of the 19th century both critics and readers “pissed off” the author.
On April 17, 1877, Leo Tolstoy finished work on the novel Anna Karenina. Real people became the prototypes of many characters - the classic “painted” some of the portraits and characters from the friends, relatives and just acquaintances around him, and the hero named Konstantin Levin is often called the alter ego of the author himself. AiF.ru tells what Tolstoy's great novel tells about and why Anna Karenina has become a "mirror" of its era.
Two marriages
“All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” this phrase opens the first volume of Anna Karenina and sets the mood for the entire novel. Over the course of eight parts, the author describes the joys and hardships of individual families: adultery, marriages and the birth of children, quarrels and experiences.
The work is based on two storylines: a) the relationship between the married Anna Karenina and the young and passionately in love with her Alexei Vronsky; b) the family life of the landowner Konstantin Levin and Kitty Shcherbatskaya. Moreover, against the background of the first couple, experiencing passion and jealousy, the second is a real idyll. By the way, in one of the early versions of the novel was called "Two Marriages".
On someone else's misfortune
The life of Anna Karenina, it would seem, can only be envied - a woman from high society, she is married to a noble official and raises her son with him. But her whole existence is turned upside down by a chance meeting at the train station. Leaving the carriage, she exchanges glances with the young count and officer Vronsky. Soon the couple collides again - now at the ball. Even Kitty Shcherbatskaya, who is in love with Vronsky, notices that he is drawn to Karenina, and she, in turn, is interested in her newfound admirer.
But Anna needs to return to her native Petersburg - to her husband and son. Persistent and stubborn Vronsky follows her - not at all embarrassed by her status, he begins to court the lady. Throughout the year, the heroes meet at balls and social events until they become lovers. The entire high society is watching the development of their relationship, including Alexei Karenin, Anna's husband.
Despite the fact that the heroine is expecting a child from Vronsky, her husband does not give her a divorce. During childbirth, Anna almost dies, but a month after her recovery, she goes abroad - along with Vronsky and their little daughter. She leaves her son in the care of his father.
But life with her lover does not bring her happiness. Anna begins to be jealous of Vronsky, and he, although he loves, is weary of her and yearns. Returning to St. Petersburg does not change anything - especially since former friends avoid their company. Then the heroes go first to the village, and then to Moscow - however, their relationship does not become stronger from this. After a particularly violent quarrel, Vronsky leaves to visit his mother. Karenina follows him and at the station she comes up with a decision on how to resolve this situation and “untie” everyone’s hands. She throws herself under the train.
Vronsky takes the loss hard and leaves as a volunteer for the war. Their little daughter is taken in by Alexei Karenin.
Levin's Second Chance
In parallel, Tolstoy unfolds another storyline: he describes the story of Kitty Shcherbatskaya and Konstantin Levin. The 34-year-old landowner was in love with 18-year-old Kitty and even decided to propose to her, but she was then carried away by Vronsky and refused. Soon the officer left for Anna, and Shcherbatskaya was left "with nothing." On a nervous basis, the girl fell ill, and Levin drove back to the village, to manage his estate and work together with the peasant peasants.
However, Tolstoy gave his heroes a second chance: the couple met again at a dinner party. Kitty understands that she loves Levin, and he realizes that his feelings for the girl have not faded at all. The hero for the second time offers Shcherbatskaya a hand and a heart - and this time she agrees. Immediately after the wedding, the couple leaves for the village. Despite the fact that at first life together is not easy for them, they are happy - Kitty supports her husband when his brother died, and gives birth to Levin's child. This is exactly what, according to Tolstoy, a family should look like, and between spouses there must certainly be spiritual closeness.
Mirror of the era
As Sergei Tolstoy, the son of the classicist, wrote, “A realistic novel, like Anna Karenina, requires, first of all, truthfulness; therefore, not only large, but also small facts taken from real life served as material for him. But what could prompt the author to such a plot?
Divorce was rare in the 19th century. Society severely condemned and despised women who dared to leave their families for another man. However, there were precedents, including in the Tolstoy family. For example, his distant relative Alexei Tolstoy married Sofya Bakhmeteva - when the couple met, Bakhmeteva was already married to another and had a daughter. To some extent, Anna Karenina is a collective image. Some features of her appearance are reminiscent of Maria Hartung - Pushkin's daughter, and the character of the heroine and the situation in which she found herself, the author "wove" from several different stories. The spectacular ending was also taken from life - Anna Pirogova, the cohabitant of Tolstoy's neighbor in Yasnaya Polyana, died under the train. She was very jealous of her lover, but somehow she quarreled with him and left for Tula. Three days later, the woman handed over a letter to her cohabitant through the coachman, and she herself threw herself under the wheels.
Nevertheless, critics were outraged by Tolstoy's novel. Anna Karenina was called immoral and immoral - that is, “in reality”, readers treated her in exactly the same way as secular characters in the book. A number of attacks were also caused by the description by the author of the scene of intimacy between his heroine and Vronsky. Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin spoke of Anna Karenina as a "cow romance", where Vronsky is a "bull in love", and Nikolai Nekrasov wrote an epigram:
