At the center of romantic aesthetics is a creative subject, a genius rethinking reality, or a villain convinced of the infallibility of his vision of reality. Romanticism professes the cult of individualism, focusing not on the universal, but on the exceptional.

The basis of the literary characterology of realism is the social type. The psychological discoveries of romanticism are reinforced in realism by broad social and historical analysis, ideological motivation of the hero's behavior. A character is usually determined by circumstances and environment.

In Russian realistic literature types of literary heroes are formed that have common characterological characteristics, their behavior is due to similar circumstances, and the disclosure of the image in the text is based on traditional plot collisions and motives. The most striking were "extra man", "little man", "common man".

Literary type « extra person»Emerged as a rethinking of the phenomenon of the chosenness of a romantic hero. The name of the type came into general use after IS Turgenev wrote the story "Diary of a Superfluous Person". Earlier in the literature there was a concept “ a strange man". This was how the character of the hero was determined, capable of abandoning the "norms public life».

Lermontov gives this name to one of his dramas. Interest in the “history of the human soul” in the works of A. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov, A. I. Herzen, I. S. Turgenev, I. A. Goncharov determined the specific characterology of the type of “superfluous person”.

it outstanding personality, which is reflected both in his appearance and in his actions; the character tragically realizes the lack of fulfillment of his own forces, deception by fate and unwillingness to change anything. The absence of specific goals becomes the reason for the hero's flight from circumstances that require decisive actions.

The question “why I lived, for what purpose I was born” remains open. A character of this type is characterized by a contemptuous attitude towards the world, which is explained by knowledge human weaknesses.

A sense of moral superiority and deep skepticism characterize the egocentric personality (“we honor everyone as zeros, but ourselves as units”), in which the rich intellectual abilities and a rejection of “hard work”.

Reflection, constant dissatisfaction with oneself and the world, loneliness are explained by the hero's refusal of sincere friendship, unwillingness to lose "hateful freedom"; the desire to share his spiritual experience with someone collides with the conviction that "it is impossible to love forever - it is not worth the trouble for a while." The sad result: spiritual or physical death, not heroic, but senseless death.

The evolution of the image of the "superfluous person" reveals the futility of this literary type, which has already been noted by critics mid XIX century. DI Pisarev talks about Onegin's doom. I. A. Goncharov writes about the weakness of Pechorin's natures and

Onegin. A. V. Druzhinin points to the gradual transformation of the "superfluous person" into the "hospital type". New "heroes of the century" appear, capable of overcoming the weaknesses of their predecessors. The failure of the "extra people" was shown by Turgenev (Rudin and Lavretsky), Goncharov (Oblomov and Raysky), Chekhov (Laevsky and Ivanov).

The concept of "little man" appears in literature before the type of hero itself is formed. He was born in the era of sentimentalism. Initially, this concept was used to designate the representatives of the third estate, which became of interest to writers due to the democratization of literature.

A lot of "revised" stories appeared, where the main character acted as a rogue or a victim. The story of G. I. Chulkov " Comely cook"On Russian material presents the plot of the novel by D. Defoe" Mole Flanders ", and the adventures of the adventurer attract the reader no less than the tragedies of Sumarokov. Gradually, the rogue heroes are replaced by the suffering heroes of sentimentalism.

NM Karamzin in "Poor Liza" embodied the main thesis of sentimentalism about the extra-class value of man - "and peasant women know how to love." Classic scheme, extremely expressively revealing the character " little man"In the works of sentimentalism, is practically unchanged: the idyllic pictures of the life of" natural people "are violated by the invasion of representatives of a vicious civilization.

A new impetus will be given to this type by realistic literature. "Belkin's Tales" by Pushkin, "The Overcoat" by Gogol, "Poor People" by Dostoevsky, Chekhov's stories will represent the type of "little man" in many ways, artistically formulate the characterological features of the literary type: an ordinary appearance, age from thirty to fifty years; limited existential opportunities; wretchedness of material existence; the conflict of the hero with a high-ranking person or abuser; the collapse of the dream of a lifetime; spontaneous rebellion of the character; tragic outcome.

Undoubtedly, the discovery of the "little man" type belongs to Pushkin. MM Bakhtin noted that Belinsky "overlooked" Samson Vyrin, did not make him the main source of the "little man" theme.

The explanation for this may be a favorable outcome of the conflict. Dunya is happy, despite the logic social relations... Samson Vyrin assumed that his daughter would have to take revenge on the streets, and she quite happily married Minsky.

Pushkin deliberately departs from portraying the social arguments of the tragedy of the unfortunate official, creating a utopian picture of relations between representatives of different social strata, not devoid of sentimentality.

Be that as it may, the psychology of the "little man" was outlined by Pushkin in all the evidence of his social existence. An equally significant aspect of the topic is the analysis of dramatic family relations... Pushkin's concept becomes the source of subsequent literary generalizations, predetermines the plots of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy about "unhappy families" conflict situations where "each family is unhappy in its own way."

The "little man" becomes the dominant type in the "natural school". L. M. Lotman wrote that "a man appeared among the writers" natural school»A cast social form distorting human nature ”.

The further evolution of the literary type of the "little man" is associated with a shift in emphasis, in the words of M. M. Bakhtin, "from environment to man." Already in early work"Poor people" FM Dostoevsky focuses on the spiritual world of the hero, although dependence on social circumstances still determines the misfortunes of Makar Devushkin.

Dobrolyubov, in his article "Downed People", noted: "In the works of Dostoevsky we find one a common feature more or less noticeable in everything that he wrote: this is pain about a person who admits that he is not able to, or, finally, does not even have the right to be a real, complete, independent person by himself. "

In the novel Poor People, two views on the "little man" are combined - Pushkin's and Gogol's; Makar Devushkin, having read both stories, comes to the conclusion that “we are all Samson Vyrins”. This recognition indicates a dramatic discovery - the tragedy is predetermined, there is no way to deal with circumstances that are insurmountable.

Dostoevsky's well-known phrase: “We all came out of Gogol's" Overcoat "" implies not so much discipleship as the continuation and development of the theme of mercy, immeasurable love for a person rejected by society.

The world of Akaki Akakievich is closed within the limits of the dream of an overcoat, the world of Makar Devushkin is caring for Varenka. Dostoevsky represents the type of dreamer who is content with little, and all his actions are dictated by the fear of losing the modest gift of fate.

Thematic closeness is found between Poor People and the story White Nights, the hero of which gives himself a derogatory description: “The dreamer is not a person, but, you know, some kind of middle-class creature. He settles for the most part somewhere in an impregnable corner, as if hiding in it even from daylight. "

Dostoevsky revisits a well-known type of romantic hero who plunges into the world of ideal dreams, despising reality. Dostoevsky's heroes doomedly preach a life of humility, which leads them to death.

Another turn of the theme of the little man is associated with the writer's interest in the topic of drunkenness as an allegory of rebellion against public morality. In the novel Crime and Punishment, this kind of vice is seen not as a consequence of social evil, but as a manifestation of selfishness and weakness. Oblivion in drunkenness does not save a person who “has nowhere else to go”, it destroys the fate of loved ones: Sonya Marmeladova is forced to go to the panel, Katerina Ivanovna goes crazy, and if not for the case, her children would be inevitable death.

Chekhov does not express compassion for the "little man", but shows the real "smallness" of his soul. The story "Death of an Official" examines the problem of voluntariness of social obligations taken by a person. It is solved in a grotesque way. Chervyakov dies not as a "humiliated and insulted" person, but as an official who has lost his natural appearance from fear.

Chekhov, with all his creativity, proved that a person should not fit his potencies under the boundaries allowed by society. The spiritual needs of the individual are obliged to triumph over vulgarity and insignificance: "A person does not need three arshins of the earth, but the entire globe." The isolation of "case life", the writer insists, is pernicious.

The story "The Man in the Case" creates a frightening image of Belikov, an apologist for protective morality. All his behavior is imbued with fear "that something might come of it." The writer exaggerates the appearance of a defender of social morality; a black suit, glasses, galoshes, an umbrella are expressive details of the image that create an expressive portrait of a frightening social phenomenon.

The death of Belikov, it may seem, brings deliverance to people who are afraid of a zealous guardian of morality, but Chekhov is alien to an optimistic solution to a tragic conflict. The writer sadly admits that hopes to correct people who differ from Belikov in their way of life, but not in their inner self-awareness, are futile. At the end of the story, a symbolic emphasis is placed to make sure that protective ideas remain alive.

The scene of Belikov's funeral is shaped by the image of rain, and all those present open their umbrellas, this is read as the inescapability of what, in fact, the fearful teacher advocated.

F. Sologub, M. Bulgakov will present in their satirical works already a terrifying type of "petty demon", where "triumphant vulgarity" will be brought to the image-symbol.

Introduction to literary criticism (N.L. Vershinina, E.V. Volkova, A.A.Ilyushin, etc.) / Ed. L.M. Krupchanov. - M, 2005

Type of

The concept of "literary type" was first encountered in Hegel's Aesthetics. In literary theory, "type" and "character" are close, but not interchangeable; "character" reveals to a greater extent typical features personality, its psychological properties, and "type" is a generalization of certain social phenomena and is associated with typical traits. For example, Maksim Maksimych is a typical Russian soldier, "just a decent person," as LN Tolstoy said about him, while Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin is a type of "suffering egoist", the embodiment of "the vices of a whole generation in their full development."

Concept "typing" includes the process of creating a holistic picture of the world, is the basis of the creative process. Recognizing typification as an internal need and a law of art, writers realize that the typical is not a copy of reality, but an artistic generalization.

Moliere's Harpagon and Tartuffe are typical characters, but these are not social, but psychological types, illustrating the disregard for the requirements of morality.

If we want to call someone a miser or a hypocrite, we use these proper names as common nouns.

V. G. Belinsky in his article "On the Russian Story and the Stories of Mr. Gogol" defines the typifying features of the literary hero: his wife, that he is ready to strangle her with his hands at the slightest suspicion of infidelity - just say it more simply and shorter: here is Othello! .. Do not say: here is an official who is mean by conviction, maliciously well-intentioned, transgressed in good faith - say: here is Famusov! "

The schematism of classicist images is associated with the intentional attitude of the authors to illustrate ethical and aesthetic positions using the example of a particular character. That is why the image, reduced to a theoretical premise, is marked by the maximum typicality. However, an image that carries any one dominant trait, gaining in typicality, often loses in artistry.

The aesthetics of classicism are based on the principles of rationalism. Classicists assert a view on work of fiction as a consciously created creation, reasonably organized, logically provable. Having put forward the principle of "imitation of nature", the classicists consider the observance of well-known rules and restrictions as an indispensable condition. The goal of art is the artistic transformation of nature, the transformation of nature into a beautiful and ennobled aesthetic reality.

The strict hierarchy of genres of classicism also gives rise to the normalization of literary types. Social conflicts appear in the work as reflected in the souls of the heroes. The division of characters into positive and negative in classicist aesthetics is natural. There should be no intermediate types, since art is charged with the task of correcting vices, praising the dignity of an ideal person.

Playwrights of the era of classicism turn to Aristotle, who argued that tragedy "seeks to depict the best people than the existing ones. "Heroes classic plays forced to deal with circumstances that, as in the tragedy of antiquity, cannot be prevented. In the classic version of the conflict, the resolution of the tragic situation now depends not on fate, but on the titanic will of the hero personifying the author's ideal.

According to the poetics of the genre, the heroes of the tragedy could be mythological characters, monarchs, military leaders, persons who determined by their will the fate of many people and even an entire nation. It is they who embody the main requirement - to sacrifice selfish interests in the name of the common good. As a rule, the content of a character in a tragedy is reduced to one essential feature. She also determined the moral and psychological appearance of the hero. Thus, in the tragedies of Sumarokov, Kiy ("Khorev"), Mstislav ("Mstislav") are depicted by the playwright only as monarchs who have violated their duty to their subjects; Khorev, Truvor, Vysheslav - as heroes who know how to control their feelings, to subordinate them to the dictates of duty. Character in classicism is not depicted by itself, but is given in relation to the opposite property. The collision between duty and feeling, caused by a dramatic combination of circumstances, made the characters of the heroes of tragedies similar, and sometimes indistinguishable.

In the works of classicism, especially in comedy, the main character trait of the hero is fixed in his behavior and in his name. For example, the image of Pravdin cannot show at least some flaw, and Svinin - not the slightest dignity. Vice or virtue takes a specific figurative form in Fonvizin's comedies: the bigot Outlander, the braggart Verholet.

In the literature of sentimentalism, the emphasis is transferred from the environment to the person, to the sphere of his spiritual life. Preference is given to characters in which "sensitivity" prevails. Sentimentality, according to G. Pospelov, "the state is more complex, caused mainly by the ideological understanding of a certain contradiction in the social characters of people. Sensitivity is a personal psychological phenomenon, sentimentality has a generalizing cognitive meaning." Sentimentality of experience is the ability to realize in the external insignificance of the life of other people, and sometimes in your own life, something internally significant. This feeling requires the hero's mental reflection (emotional contemplation, the ability of introspection). Goethe's Werther is a striking example of sentimental character. The title of the novel is symptomatic - "The Suffering of Young Werther". In Goethe's work, suffering is perceived not as a chain of unfortunate events, but as an experience of spiritual experience, capable of purifying the hero's soul, ennobling his feelings. The author did not idealize his hero. After finishing work on the novel, Goethe wrote that he had depicted " young man immersed in extravagant dreams "who" perishes ... due to unhappy passions. "

After a century of "thinking" (as Voltaire called the Age of Enlightenment), authors and readers felt that thought, a logically proven idea, does not exhaust the potential of the individual: it is possible to put forward a spectacular idea of ​​improving the world, but this is not enough to correct a vicious world. The era of romanticism is coming. In its content, art reflects the rebellious spirit of a person. The romantic theory of genius is crystallizing in literature. "Genius and villainy are two incompatible things" - this phrase of Pushkin defines the main types of characters in romanticism. Poets discovered an unusual complexity, the depth of the spiritual world of man, the inner infinity of the personality.

An intense interest in strong feelings and secret movements of the soul, in the mysterious side of the universe gives rise to an exceptional psychologism of images in terms of intensity. The craving for the intuitive encourages writers to imagine heroes in extreme situations, to persistently comprehend the hidden sides of nature. The romantic hero lives by imagination, not reality. Special psychological types are formed: rebels opposing the high ideal to the triumphant reality; philistines ("just good people"who live surrounded by routine and are content with their position. Novalis wrote that this type of people" is not capable of rebellion, will never escape from the kingdom of vulgarity "); villains who tempt a person with omnipotence and omniscience; musicians (gifted people who Many heroes of romanticism become literary myths symbolizing the thirst for knowledge (Faust), uncompromising devotion (Quasimodo) or absolute evil (Cain). the authors deliberately weaken the fact of a person's dependence on the circumstances caused by social conflicts... The lack of motivation of character is explained by his predestination and self-sufficiency. "One, but fiery passion"directs the actions of the heroes.

At the center of romantic aesthetics is a creative subject, a genius rethinking reality, or a villain convinced of the infallibility of his vision of reality. Romanticism professes the cult of individualism, focusing not on the universal, but on the exceptional.

The basis of the literary characterology of realism is the social type. The psychological discoveries of romanticism are supported in realism by a broad social and historical analysis, ideological motivation of the hero's behavior. A character is usually determined by circumstances and environment.

In Russian realistic literature, types of literary heroes are formed that have common characterological characteristics, their behavior is determined by similar circumstances, and the disclosure of an image in the text is based on traditional plot collisions and motives. The most striking were "extra man", "little man", "common man".

The literary type of "superfluous person" arose as a rethinking of the phenomenon of the chosenness of a romantic hero. The name of the type came into general use after IS Turgenev wrote the story "The Diary of an Extra Man". Earlier in the literature there was a concept of "strange person". This was how the character of the hero was determined, capable of abandoning the "norms of social life." Lermontov gives this name to one of his dramas. Interest in the "history of the human soul" in the works of A. S. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov, A. I. Herzen, I. S. Turgenev, I. A. Goncharov determined the specific characterology of the type of "superfluous person". This is an outstanding personality, which is reflected in his appearance and in his actions; the character tragically realizes the lack of fulfillment of his own forces, deception by fate and unwillingness to change anything. The absence of specific goals becomes the reason for the hero's flight from circumstances that require decisive actions.

The question is: "why did I live, for what purpose was I born?" remains open. A character of this type is characterized by a contemptuous attitude towards the world, which is explained by the knowledge of human weaknesses. A sense of moral superiority and deep skepticism characterize the egocentric personality ("we regard everyone as zeros, but ourselves as units"), in which rich intellectual abilities and aversion to "hard work" are contradictory. Reflection, constant dissatisfaction with oneself and the world, loneliness are explained by the hero's refusal of sincere friendship, unwillingness to lose "hateful freedom"; the desire to share his spiritual experience with someone collides with the conviction that "it is impossible to love forever - it is not worth the trouble for a while." The sad result: spiritual or physical death, not heroic, but senseless death.

The evolution of the image of the "superfluous person" reveals the futility of this literary type, which was already noted by critics of the mid-19th century. DI Pisarev talks about Onegin's doom. IA Goncharov writes about the weakness of the natures of Pechorin and Onegin. A. V. Druzhinin points to the gradual transformation of the "superfluous person" into the "hospital type". New "heroes of the century" appear, capable of overcoming the weaknesses of their predecessors. The failure of the "extra people" was shown by Turgenev (Rudin and Lavretsky), Goncharov (Oblomov and Raysky), Chekhov (Laevsky and Ivanov).

The concept of "little man" appears in literature before the type of hero itself takes shape. He was born in the era of sentimentalism. Initially, this concept was used to designate the representatives of the third estate, which became of interest to writers due to the democratization of literature. A lot of "remixed" stories appeared, where the main character played the role of a rogue or a victim. GI Chulkov's story "The Good-Looking Cook" in Russian material represents the plot of the novel "Mol Flanders" by D. Defoe, and the adventures of the adventurer attract the reader no less than the tragedies of Sumarokov. Gradually, the rogue heroes are replaced by the suffering heroes of sentimentalism.

Η. M. Karamzin in "Poor Liza" embodied the main thesis of sentimentalism about the extra-class value of man - "and peasant women know how to love." The classical scheme, which reveals the character of the "little man" in the works of sentimentalism in the most expressive way, is practically unchanged: the idyllic pictures of the life of "natural people" are violated by the invasion of representatives of a vicious civilization.

A new impetus will be given to the said mud by realistic literature. "Belkin's Tales" by Pushkin, "The Overcoat" by Gogol, "Poor People" by Dostoevsky, Chekhov's stories will represent the type of the "little man" in many ways, artistically formulate the characterological features of the literary type: ordinary appearance, age from thirty to fifty years; limited existential opportunities; wretchedness of material existence; the conflict of the hero with a high-ranking person or abuser; the collapse of the dream of a lifetime; spontaneous rebellion of the character; tragic outcome.

Undoubtedly, the discovery of the "little man" type belongs to Pushkin. Μ. M. Bakhtin noted that Belinsky "overlooked" Samson Vyrin, did not make him the main source of the "little man" theme. The explanation for this may be a favorable outcome of the conflict. Dunya is happy, despite the logic of social relations. Samson Vyrin assumed that his daughter would have to take revenge on the streets, and she quite happily married Minsky. Pushkin deliberately departs from portraying the social arguments of the tragedy of the unfortunate official, creating a utopian picture of relations between representatives of different social strata, not devoid of sentimentality. Be that as it may, the psychology of the "little man" was outlined by Pushkin in all the evidence of his social existence. An equally significant aspect of the topic is the analysis of dramatic family relationships. Pushkin's concept becomes the source of subsequent literary generalizations, predetermines the plots of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy about "unhappy families", conflict situations where "each family is unhappy in its own way."

The "little man" becomes the dominant type in the "natural school". LM Lotman wrote that “man appeared among the writers of the“ natural school ”as a cast of a social form that distorts human nature."

Further evolution of the literary type of "little man" is associated with a shift in accents, according to Μ. M. Bakhtin, "from Wednesday to person." Already in his early work "Poor People" FM Dostoevsky focuses on the spiritual world of the hero, although dependence on social circumstances still determines the misfortunes of Makar Devushkin. Dobrolyubov, in his article "Hammered People", noted: "In the works of Dostoevsky we find one common feature, more or less noticeable in everything that he wrote: this is pain about a person who admits that he is not able to, or, finally, does not even have the right to be a person. a real, complete, independent person, by himself. "

In the novel Poor People, two views of the "little man" are combined - Pushkin's and Gogol's; Makar Devushkin, having read both stories, comes to the conclusion that "we are all Samson Vyrins". This recognition indicates a dramatic discovery - the tragedy is predetermined, there is no way to deal with circumstances that are insurmountable. Dostoevsky's well-known phrase: "We all came out of Gogol's" Overcoat "" implies not so much discipleship as the continuation and development of the theme of mercy, immeasurable love for a person rejected by society.

The world of Akaki Akakievich is closed within the limits of the dream of an overcoat, the world of Makar Devushkin is caring for Varenka. Dostoevsky represents the tiniest dreamer who is content with little, and all his actions are dictated by the fear of losing the modest gift of fate. Thematic closeness is found between Poor People and the novel White Nights, the hero of which gives himself a derogatory characterization: “The dreamer is not a man, but, you know, some kind of neuter creature. as if hiding in it even from daylight. " Dostoevsky revisits a well-known type of romantic hero who plunges into the world of ideal dreams, despising reality. Dostoevsky's heroes doomedly preach a life of humility, which leads them to death.

Another turn of the theme of the little man is associated with the writer's interest in the topic of drunkenness as an allegory of rebellion against public morality. In the novel "Crime and Punishment" this kind of vice is seen not as a consequence of social evil, but as a manifestation of selfishness and weakness. Oblivion in drunkenness does not save a person who "has nowhere else to go", it destroys the fate of loved ones: Sonya Marmeladova is forced to go to the panel, Katerina Ivanovna is going crazy, and if not for the case, her children would be inevitable death.

Chekhov does not express compassion for the "little man", but shows the real "smallness" of his soul. The story "The Death of an Official" examines the problem of the voluntariness of a person's social obligations. It is solved in a grotesque way. Chervyakov dies not as a "humiliated and insulted" person, but as an official who, out of fear, has lost his natural conviction.

Chekhov, with all his creativity, proved that a person should not fit his potencies under the boundaries allowed by society. The spiritual needs of the individual are obliged to triumph over vulgarity and insignificance: "A person needs not three arshins of the earth, but the entire globe." The isolation of "case life", the writer insists, is pernicious.

In the story "The Man in the Case" a frightening image of Belikov, an apologist of protective morality, is created. All his behavior is imbued with fear "that something might come of it." The writer exaggerates the appearance of a defender of social morality; a black suit, glasses, galoshes, an umbrella are expressive details of the image that create an expressive portrait of a frightening social phenomenon. The death of Belikov, it may seem, brings deliverance to people who are afraid of a zealous guardian of morality, but Chekhov is alien to an optimistic solution to a tragic conflict. The writer sadly admits that hopes to correct people who differ from Belikov in their way of life, but not in their inner self-awareness, are futile. At the end of the story, a symbolic emphasis is placed to make sure that protective ideas remain alive. The scene of Belikov's funeral is shaped by the image of rain, and all those present open their umbrellas, this is read as the inescapability of what, in fact, the fearful teacher advocated.

F. Sologub, M. Bulgakov will present in their satirical works the already frightening type of "petty demon", where "triumphant vulgarity" will be brought to an image-symbol.

V modern literary criticism Along with the traditional social literary types of realism, attention is paid to psychological types that are not carriers of any ideology, but are important for characterizing the epoch being depicted.

The origin of the type " common man"there was sentimentalism with its concept of the extra-word value of man. romantic literature"the common man" personifies the "immaculate nature." Circassian at Pushkin (" Prisoner of the Caucasus"), the Georgian woman by Lermontov (" Mtsyri ") embodies the idea of ​​harmony between the world and man, which the rebellious hero lost in his soul. In realistic literature, the image of a" common man "reflects the idea of ​​an ordered life based on the laws of patriarchal life.

N. Strakhov called Pushkin's story "The Captain's Daughter" a family chronicle. Pushkin does not idealize "simple Russian families" that preserve "the habits of deep antiquity." The author also shows the serf character traits of Andrei Petrovich Grinev, does not hide the cruelty of Captain Mironov, who is ready to torture a Bashkir. But the focus of the author's attention is completely different: in the world of the Grinevs and Mironovs, he finds, first of all, what, speaking about " Captain's daughter", Gogol clearly indicated:" Simple greatness ordinary people". These people are attentive to each other, live by conscience, are faithful to a sense of duty. They do not crave majestic achievements, personal glory, but are able to act decisively and boldly in extreme circumstances. These Pushkin characters are attractive and strong because they live in the world of Russian traditions. and customs, basically folk.

From this series Pushkin's heroes threads stretch to a great variety of characters in subsequent Russian literature. These are Lermontov's Maksim Maksimych, the old-world landowners of Gogol, the Rostovs of Leo Tolstoy, Leskov's "righteous". This type of literary hero is called differently in literary criticism. Since it is impossible to define clear social criteria, it is rather psychological type: these images are not the carriers of the main idea of ​​the text; all the author's attention is not focused on them. An exception is Gogol's story "Old World Landowners". V. Ye. Khalizev calls characters of this kind "supertypes". Similar images, according to the researcher, were present in various artistic aesthetics. V. Ye. Khalizev calls a complex of stable qualities: “This is, first of all, the rootedness of a person in a close reality with its joys and sorrows, with communication skills and everyday affairs. Around him".

A. Grigoriev called such heroes "humble", opposed them to "predatory", "proud and passionate" characters. Then the concepts of "ordinary person" and "eccentric" appear. M. Bakhtin ranked them as "social and everyday heroes" not endowed with ideological sound. The type of "common man" cannot exhaust its possibilities, since he is a reflection of the world of an ordinary man, but he will constantly transform depending on the priorities of aesthetic theories. So, in the literature of existentialism, this main image was the artist's challenge to the inhuman world. Heroes Camus, Kafka, Sartre lose their names, merging with the crowd of indifferent, become "outsiders" for others and for themselves.

- (hero type) - a set of characters that are close in their social status or occupation, worldview and spiritual appearance. Such characters can be represented in different works of the same or several writers.

Literary types are a reflection of trends in the spiritual development of society, worldview, philosophical, moral and aesthetic views the writers themselves. The spread of this or that literary type can be dictated by a "social order", that is, the need of society, readers to portray people with some kind of stable complex of qualities. The interest and sympathy towards them on the part of readers and critics, the success of books in which such people are portrayed, stimulate writers to "repeat" or "variations" of a certain literary type.

Often, a new literary type arouses the interest of critics, who give it its name (“noble robber”, “superfluous person”, “little man”, “humiliated and insulted”, “nihilist”, “tramp”). The theoretical comprehension of literary types is completed by literary scholars relying on more wide circle facts of the history of literature.

Literary type of "noble robber" originated in romantic literature. This is a man of noble birth (nobleman), who, due to various circumstances, turns out to be outside the law, becomes a robber. The representative of the upper class turns into an outcast, an outcast. As a rule, the motives for this transformation are insult, humiliation or resentment. " Noble robbers»Fight for justice, take revenge on their offenders. These are truly noble people who sacrifice their social status for the sake of honor and the triumph of justice. "Noble robbers" are also in the works of Russian writers: such is Vladimir Dubrovsky, who takes revenge on Troekurov and false witnesses for dishonor (A.S. Pushkin's novel "Dubrovsky"), Captain Kopeikin, who fights for justice to be restored ("The Tale of Captain Kopeikin "In Nikolai Gogol's poem" Dead Souls ").

TO type of "extra person" critics XIX v. and some literary scholars in XX v. include Eugene Onegina, Pechorin, Oblomov, heroes of the novels of Turgenev (Rudin, Lavretsky). This is the name of the nobles who have not found their place in life, who have not seen the use of their powers, often weak and weak-willed. It should be noted that the type of "superfluous person" is rather the result of a critical understanding of the named heroes from certain ideological and social positions. The material of the works does not allow one to evaluate Onegin, Pechorin and others only from the point of view of their social “usefulness”. This series of heroes reflects different eras, different ideas of writers about a person. It is hardly justified to consider heroes of such different works within the framework of one literary type.

Literary type of "little man" developed in Russian prose of the 1830s - 1840s. For its time, this type of hero was a kind of revolution in understanding and portraying a person in a literary work. Indeed, the "little man" was not like exceptional romantic heroes with their complex spiritual worlds. A “little man” is, as a rule, a poor Petersburg official, a “cog” of a huge bureaucratic machine, an inconspicuous creature standing on one of the lower rungs of the social ladder. The character of such a person was unremarkable, he did not have any strong emotional movements, "ambitions".

The spiritual world of the "little man" is meager, of little interest. However, the authors of works about "little people" portrayed them from a humanistic standpoint, emphasizing that even such a pitiful, defenseless and powerless creature is worthy of respect and compassion. Many works about "little people" are characterized by sentimental pathos. The appearance of the "little man" was the beginning of the democratization of literature. Classical images of "little people" were created by A.S. Pushkin (Samson Vyrin in " Stationmaster", Eugene in" The Bronze Horseman") And N.V. Gogol (Bashmachkin in" The Overcoat ").

The development of the type of "little man" was the literary type of "humiliated and insulted" man, which is most vividly represented in the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky ("The Humiliated and Insulted" is the title of Dostoevsky's novel). For the first time, the image of a "humiliated and insulted" person - Makar Devushkin - was created by Dostoevsky in the novel Poor People (1846). This hero, a poor St. Petersburg official, looked like numerous “ little people", Portrayed by the writers of the" natural school "of the 1840s. But, unlike his contemporaries, Dostoevsky did not limit himself social characteristics Devushkina. He showed that his hero understands and acutely experiences his humiliating situation, cannot come to terms with him, although he is not capable of protest.

The type of "humiliated and insulted" became a true artistic discovery of Dostoevsky. In his image, minor officials, students, unhappy women and children from the lower strata of society - people are proud, thinking, deeply feeling, with a complex and peculiar spiritual world. Some of the "humiliated and insulted" in Dostoevsky's works have features of romantic heroes. These are romantics who find themselves at the "bottom" of life, bearing their cross, but internally not resigned to their humiliating position. Vivid images"Humiliated and insulted" are created by the writer in the novel "Crime and Punishment": the Raskolnikov family, the Marmeladov family. Each of these people is a bright personality with their own destiny, with their own views on the world.

Pioneer literary type "nihilist" was IS Turgenev, who created the image of Yevgeny Bazarov in the novel "Fathers and Sons". After Turgenev, this type of hero was perceived by many writers of the 1860s. as the most topical and interesting. Numerous "anti-nihilistic" novels appeared, reflecting the true features of the "nihilists," or rather, raznochin-democrats, of the 1860s. But the portrayal of "nihilists" was extremely tendentious, often caricatured. The writers actually created a myth about the leaders of the youth of that time, overly emphasizing negative traits in their worldview, spiritual appearance, everyday behavior and even appearance. "Nihilists" in the novels of I. A. Goncharov ("The Break"), N.S. Leskov ("Nowhere" and "At the Knives"), V.P. The turbulent sea "), VV Krestovsky (dilogy" Bloody poof ") often looked primitive people, licentious and depraved, covering up their feeble-mindedness and immorality with a "system of phrases". Against the background of such heroes, Turgenev's Bazarov is an objective and artistically most successful experience of portraying a common democrat.

Literary type of "tramp"(A "former" person who fell to the "bottom" of life, a vagabond) appeared in the works of M. Gorky in the 1890s. - in the stories "Chelkash", "Former People", "Malva". The heroes of Gorky's play At the Bottom (1902) can be considered the classic completion of this type. In Gorky's portrayal, "tramps" are people from various strata of society who find themselves on the sidelines, and often at the "bottom" of life. These are vagabonds, inhabitants of shelters, brothels, living odd jobs, theft or alms. They have no property, they are contemptuous of everyday life. Gorky emphasized in his heroes special spiritual qualities: pride, love of freedom, toughness, even cruelty towards people and at the same time a willingness to give up the latter. "Tramps" despise pity, do not feel rejected, but, on the contrary, like to emphasize that it was they who rejected the false world of people, their false values. They develop their own romantic philosophy of life, based on the cult of a free, proud and strong person.

DQuite often, the literary type means simply group of characters united by a common social status (nobles, landowners, officials, peasants, merchants, etc.) or by occupation, profession (officers, soldiers, scientists, writers, revolutionaries, etc.). In this case, it is assumed that the social or professional affiliation of people determines their similarity.

At first glance, both the image, and the character, and the literary type, and lyrical hero- the concepts are the same, or at least very similar. Let's try to understand the twists and turns of the meanings of the concepts being studied.

Image Is an artistic generalization of human properties, character traits in the individual appearance of the hero. An image is an artistic category that we can evaluate from the point of view of the author's skill: one cannot despise the image of Plyushkin, since it evokes admiration for the skill of Gogol, one can not like the type of Plyushkin.

Concept "the character" broader than the concept of "image". A character is any character in a work, therefore, it is wrong to substitute this concept for the concept of “image” or “lyrical hero”. But note that in relation to minor persons work, we can only use this concept. Sometimes you can come across this definition: a character is a person who does not influence the event, not important in revealing the main problems and ideological conflicts.

Lyrical hero- the image of a hero in a lyrical work, feelings, thoughts, whose feelings reflect the author's worldview; it is an artistic "double" of the author, which has its own inner world, your destiny. Is not autobiographical character, although it embodies the author's spiritual world. For example, the lyrical hero M.Yu. Lermontov is a "son of suffering", disappointed in reality, romantic, lonely, constantly looking for freedom.

Literary type Is a generalized image of human individuality, the most possible, characteristic, for a certain social environment in certain time... The literary type is a unity of the individual and the typical, and the “typical” is not synonymous with the “average”: the type always incorporates all the brightest features characteristic of a particular group of people. The apogee of the author's skill in developing a type is the transition of the type to the category of common nouns (Manilov is a common noun image of an idle dreamer, Nozdrev is a liar and a braggart, etc.).

We often come across one more concept - character... Character is a human individuality, formed from certain spiritual, moral, mental traits; it is a unity of emotional reaction, temperament, will and the type of behavior determined by the socio-historical situation and time. Each character has a dominant trait that gives a living unity to the whole variety of qualities and properties.

Thus, when characterizing a hero, it is very important not to forget about the differences discussed above.

I wish you success in characterizing your favorite literary heroes!

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Who it literary character? We devote our article to this issue. In it, we will tell you where this name came from, what literary characters and images are, and how to describe them in literature lessons at will or at the request of the teacher.

Also from our article you will learn what an "eternal" image is and what images are called eternal.

Literary hero or character. Who is this?

We often hear the term "literary character". But what we are talking about, few can explain. And even schoolchildren who have recently returned from a literature lesson often find it difficult to answer the question. What is this mysterious word "character"?

It came to us from ancient Latin (persona, personnage). Meaning - "personality", "person", "face".

So, a literary character is a protagonist It is mainly about prose genres, since images in poetry are usually called "lyrical hero".

Without actors it is impossible to write a story or a poem, a novel or a story. Otherwise, it will be a senseless set, if not words, then perhaps events. The heroes are people and animals, mythological and fantastic creatures, inanimate objects, for example, Andersen's steadfast tin soldier, historical figures and even entire nations.

Classification of literary heroes

They can confuse any literary connoisseur with their number. And it is especially difficult for secondary school students. And especially the fact that they prefer to play their favorite game instead of doing their homework. How to classify heroes if the teacher or, even worse, the examiner demands it?

The safest option is to classify the characters according to their importance in the work. On this basis, literary heroes are divided into major and minor. Without the main character, the work and its plot will be a set of words. But with a loss minor characters we will lose a certain branch of the storyline or expressiveness of events. But in general, the work will not suffer.

The second variant of the classification is more limited and is not suitable for all works, but for fairy tales and fantastic genres. This is the division of heroes into positive and negative. For example, in the tale of Cinderella, poor Cinderella herself - positive hero, she evokes pleasant emotions, you sympathize with her. And here are the sisters and angry stepmother- clearly heroes of a completely different warehouse.

Character characteristics. How to write?

Heroes literary works sometimes (especially in a literature lesson at school) they need a detailed description. But how do you write it? The option "there was such a hero. He is from a fairy tale about this and that" is clearly not suitable if the assessment is important. We will share with you a safe bet writing a description of a literary (and any other) hero. We offer you a plan with brief explanations of what and how to write.

• Introduction. Name the work and the hero you will be talking about. You can also add here why you want to describe it.
• The place of the hero in the story (novel, story, etc.). Here you can write whether it is major or minor, positive or negative, person or mythical or historical person.
• Appearance. It will not be superfluous with quotes, which will show you as an attentive reader, and even add volume to your characterization.
• Character. Everything is clear here.
• Actions and their characteristics in your opinion.
• Conclusions.

That's all. Save this plan for yourself, and it will come in handy more than once.

Notable literary characters

Although the very concept of a literary hero may seem completely unfamiliar to you, if you tell you the name of a hero, you will most likely remember a lot. Especially it concerns famous characters literature such as Robinson Crusoe, Don Quixote, Sherlock Holmes or Robin Hood, Assol or Cinderella, Alice or Pippi Longstocking.

Such heroes are called famous literary characters. These names are familiar to children and adults from many countries and even continents. Not knowing them is a sign of narrow-mindedness and ignorance. Therefore, if you have no time to read the work itself, ask someone to tell you about these characters.

The concept of the image in literature

Along with the character, you can often hear the concept of "image". What is it? The same as the hero or not? The answer will be both positive and negative, because a literary character may well be a literary image, but the image itself does not have to be a character.

Often we call this or that hero an image, but in the same way, nature can appear in a work. And then the theme of the examination sheet can be "the image of nature in the story ...". What should be done in this case? The answer is in the question itself: if we are talking about nature, you need to characterize its place in the work. Start with a description, add character elements such as "the sky was frowning", "the sun was burning mercilessly", "the night scared its darkness", and the characterization is ready. Well, if you need a characterization of the hero's image, then how to write it, see the plan and tips above.

What are the images?

Our next question. Here we highlight several classifications. Above, we examined one - the images of heroes, that is, people / animals / mythical creatures and images of nature, images of peoples and states.

Also, images can be so-called "eternal". What is the "eternal image"? This concept calls a hero once created by an author or folklore. But he was so "characteristic" and special that after years and epochs other authors write their characters from him, perhaps giving them other names, but without changing the essence of this. These heroes include the fighter with Don Quixote, the hero-lover Don Juan, and many others.

Unfortunately, modern fantasy characters do not last forever, despite the love of the fans. Why? Why is this funny Don Quixote Spider-Man better, for example? It is difficult to explain this in a nutshell. Only reading the book will give you the answer.

The concept of "closeness" of the hero, or My favorite character

Sometimes the hero of a work or movie becomes so close and loved that we try to imitate him, to be like him. This happens for a reason, and it is not for nothing that the choice falls on this character. Often the favorite hero becomes an image that already reminds us in some way. Perhaps this is a similarity in character, or the experience of both the hero and you. Or this character is in a situation similar to yours, and you understand and sympathize with him. This is not a bad thing anyway. The main thing is that you imitate only worthy heroes. And there are plenty of them in the literature. We wish you to meet only with good heroes and imitate only the positive traits of their character.