Description of the city in the white nights. "White Nights" main characters

Dostoevsky's story White Nights tells about two young people suffering from unrequited love. The main characters of White Nights are the dreamer and Nastenka, who met during the White Nights of St. Petersburg and began to meet in a friendly manner. The dreamer fell in love with a girl, and Nastenka tells him about her love for another person. The dreamer silently loves the girl, dreaming of her love. The writer's work is written in the genre of sentimentalism and naturalism, in "White Nights" the heroes are social, they belong to a cohort of small people, depending on the reasons and circumstances.

Characteristics of the heroes "White Nights"

main characters

Minor characters

This list contains a brief description of the characters and characteristics of the heroes from the novel "White Nights" by FM Dostoevsky, which can be used to write an essay in literature lessons.

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SEASONS

May. White Nights

What a night! What bliss is all over!
Thank you, dear midnight land!
From the kingdom of ice, from the kingdom of blizzards and snow
How fresh and clean your May flies! ..
(A. Fet)

White nights - this is the name of the nights in May in the north of Russia, when the night is as bright as the day. The White Nights in St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia, have always been marked by romantic nocturnal festivities and singing. The image of the White Nights of St. Petersburg is captured in the canvases of Russian artists and the verses of Russian poets. The music of the play conveys a change of contradictory moods: sorrowful reflections are replaced by sweet fading of the soul overflowing with delight against the background of a romantic and completely extraordinary landscape of the period of white nights.

The epigraph to this play is the first stanza of Afanasy Fet's poem "Another May Night ...". Here are the rest of his stanzas:

... What a night! All the stars to one
Warmly and meekly look into the soul again,
And in the air following the song of the nightingale
Anxiety and love are spreading.

The birches are waiting. Their leaf is translucent
Shyly beckons and amuses the eye.
They tremble. So to the newlywed virgin
And her dress is joyful and alien.

No, never more tender and incorporeal
Your face, oh night, could not torment me!
Again I go to you with an involuntary song,
Unwitting - and the last, maybe.

The calm tempo (andantino), the hand-friendly arrangement of the chords on the keyboard, their soft arpeggiation (playing the chord sounds not simultaneously, but one after the other, as if on a harp), quiet sounding (piano) - all this conveys a peaceful, dreamy character. Some catch something rhapsodic in such a presentation and in such a texture.

You don't need any special musical knowledge to immediately and directly perceive and accept this music. The melodies from which the play is woven - and this is also a feature of Tchaikovsky's style - can be sung very easily: nowhere does their length conflict with the nature of the vocal capabilities of an ordinary person.

This play is structured in the same way as many of Tchaikovsky's romances. In this case, it comes to mind to compare it with the romance "Oh, sing that song ..." (op. 16, no. 4). Their similarity is caused by many details of the style: firstly, the melody in both works is placed in the soprano register, both works are written in the same key - G major. The arpeggios on wide chords in the romance, towards the end of it, are reminiscent of similar arpeggios at the beginning of a piano piece. The middle section of White Nights can easily be imagined as a romance in which the piano echoes many phrases of the voice.

Exclamation intonations in the epigraph find expression in musical intonations - in the music one can feel the enthusiasm of feelings. At the same time, a certain coldish-transparent shade is noticeable. It is even possible to determine to some extent by what means the composer achieves this sensation: by climbing into the highest registers (two measures before the first stop of movement), the melody is arranged according to the sounds of the so-called pure fourth and fifth. These inherently empty and cold-sounding intervals, although they are supported by a fuller chord in the middle register in the left hand, just create a feeling of thinness. After a general pause, the music goes to the middle, then to the low register: the presentation is, as it were, a string quartet interspersed with solo phrases now in the imaginary viola, now in the cello. And gradually this part of the piece - again, like all the others in the cycle, three-part - ends with a harmonious soft quartet sound.

The middle part contrasts with the extreme ones to a greater extent than in other numbers of the cycle: the major is replaced by the minor; the tempo becomes more lively -allegro giocoso, in contrast to the initial andantino, which means a tempo that is slightly more lively than andante (we note this on purpose, since sometimes it is considered on the contrary - slower than andante); another dynamics: in the first movement, shades of quiet sonority prevail, here, on the contrary, loud; meter: in the first - three-part, in the second - two-part). In a word, everything speaks of greater emotion. Attention is drawn to the texture of the presentation. If in the first movement the melody, as a rule, was far removed from the accompanying voices, then here it is intertwined with them. And it depends on the art of the performer so that the sound does not turn into some kind of undifferentiated sound mass. Here one cannot but recall the favorite piano texture of R. Schumann, whom, as we know, Tchaikovsky was very fond of 2. This similarity is especially evident when comparing the middle part with the way the famous "Arabesque" (op. 18) by Schumann was recorded.

It is difficult to decide what is the intent of the allegretto in the context of the extreme parts of this piece with their wide, unhurried melody. Both the rhythm of every two bars of this middle section and the melodic structure in the middle episode of this section (the play is written in a complex three-part form) revive many years later in the nannies' chorus "Have fun, dear children" in act I of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades.
The moods and feelings expressed by this play are very clear. This is generally a characteristic feature of P. Tchaikovsky's music, and, probably, it is precisely because of this that it is so loved.

1 It doesn't take much breathing to sing Tchaikovsky's melodies. This will become especially clear if we compare melodic constructions with them, for example, by R. Wagner with his “endless melody”. This does not mean, of course, that all Wagnerian melodies should be performed in one breath, but nevertheless they require vocal resources that are much less common than those suggested by P. Tchaikovsky's melody.

2 “It is safe to say that the music of the second half of the current century will constitute a period in the future history of art that will be called Schumann's,” Tchaikovsky believed. Tchaikovsky chose Schuman as a reference when he wrote his other wonderful piano cycle "Children's Album", for which he chose the subtitle (in the first edition): "In imitation of Mr. Schumann".

Text by Alexander Maykapar
Based on materials from the magazine "Art"

On the poster: Evgeny Boyko ... White Nights (2009)

When I'm in my room
I write, I read without an icon lamp,
And the sleeping masses are clear
Deserted streets, and light
Admiralty needle,
A.S. Pushkin "The Bronze Horseman"

On a white night the month is red
Floats up in the blue.
The ghostly beautiful wanders
Reflected in the Neva.
Alexander Blok

A phenomenon to which thousands of lines are devoted. They write about him in prose, compose poems, compose songs. White nights have long become a symbol of the northern capital, a symbol of romance and mystery. And although this natural phenomenon is typical for other cities located at high northern latitudes, for example, for Novy Urengoy, Nadym, Severodvinsk, it is St. Petersburg that is associated with light, weightless nights.

Officially, they run from June 11 to July 2. But Petersburgers claim that the range is wider: from about May 25 to July 15. At this time, there is nowhere for an apple to fall in the city, tourists flock from all over the world to capture what it is like reading at night without light or taking pictures after midnight without a flash. Hotel rooms are flying like hot cakes, this kind of excitement affects prices, they jump at times.

Tour operators compete in wit, offering a variety of travel programs for the White Nights. The city authorities organize all kinds of festivals. For about a month, the atmosphere of a round-the-clock holiday reigns in northern Palmyra. The general fun is not shared only by transport workers: metro, buses, trolleybuses work in their usual schedule. And rightly so, sleep for drivers is a sacred thing.

Why are the nights white?

White nights are a purely natural and scientifically explainable phenomenon. It is applicable to all cities that are above 60 parallel north latitude, in St. Petersburg it is almost 60, to be exact, 59, 57. The sun in these places in June-July does not go far beyond the horizon, so darkness does not come. But to say that it is light at night as well as during the day is not entirely correct. The most appropriate definition is twilight. Evening smoothly flows into morning, there are no pitch black colors, only muted gray tones. Such a prolonged sunset or sunrise, whichever you prefer.

Petersburgers claim that during this period it is brightest in the area of ​​Elagin Island and the Gulf of Finland. This seems to have something to do with geographic location.

Excursion routes

During the white nights, travel agencies spout with ideas. Petersburg at this time certainly never sleeps, and how to sleep if it is light enough outside. Crowds of guests explore northern Palmyra on foot, from the windows of one and two-decker sightseeing buses, from the decks of pleasure ships. Iconic sights, streets and bridges appear in unusual lighting, surrounded by a halo of gray haze, they seem mysterious and enigmatic.

Museums are closed around the clock at this time. But there are days when you can get to the same Hermitage on a white night - this is the 20th of May, when the international action "Night at the Museum" is held. But cafes and restaurants are open all the time. So do not deny yourself the opportunity, have a coffee on the outdoor terrace overlooking St. Isaac's Cathedral, and then go for a walk on its roof. During the white nights - walking on the rooftops of St. Petersburg is a common and romantic thing.

During the night bus tour, they will definitely show the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Summer Garden, the Bronze Horseman, and of course they will guess the time, and this is about 1 am, and they will take you to the Palace, Blagoveshchensky or some other bridge during its opening. But this incredible action is best watched from the water, numerous pleasure boats will help you as a tourist. Just choose the marina carefully. Your hotel should be on this side, not the opposite side. Otherwise, while away the time for you until 5-6 in the morning, until the bridges are reunited again.

Festive Petersburg

White nights are always a festive atmosphere. In a month when the sun does not go far beyond the horizon, they organize all kinds of festivals and celebrations:

• City Day - May 27, apparently Peter the Great guessed that the foundation date was timed to coincide with the beginning of the White Nights season. The culmination of this day is the "Classics on Dvortsovaya" festival. In the evening, the leading artists of La Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden perform in the open air of St. Petersburg;

• Stars of the White Nights is the city's main cultural event. The main stage is the Mariinsky Theater. For a month, the audience is shown non-stop classical art. A symphony orchestra performs on the main stage, a ballet on the Istoricheskaya stage, and the Concert Hall awaits opera fans. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Despite the large number of all kinds of performances, they are in great demand, because they are attended by world-class stars. Cultural life does not stop at night. All the same classical concerts, ballet, opera;
• "Scarlet Sails" - the main city graduation, it takes place on the 20th of June and falls on the very peak of the white nights;

• "White Nights" - this is one of the stages of the European Cup in badminton, takes place in Gatchina;
• During the White Nights, the Festival of Children and Youth Creativity "Sounds and Colors of the White Nights" is held;
• White Night Swing Jazz Festival;
• At the end of May, all the fountains are turned on in the city.

The deceit of the white nights

For an unprepared person, the feeling of time is lost. It seems that it is still very early, and the clock stubbornly shows the time close to midnight. Therefore, look at your watch more often, or even better, set a reminder like "the subway is closing in half an hour", "it's already late, it's time to go to bed." Although it is very difficult for many to fall asleep in this mode, especially out of habit, only blackout curtains save. Some do not go to bed on purpose, so as not to oversleep such wonderful, romantic, white nights.

And a nice bonus - a video of the White Nights in St. Petersburg

Nikolay Zhurkin

F.M. Dostoevsky wrote the novel "White Nights" in the last months of the autumn of 1847, soon, already in 1848, the work was published by the journal Otechestvennye zapiski.

Earlier, the writer was already interested in the topic of "Petersburg dreamers", on this topic in 1847 he wrote several articles-feuilletons, which were included in the large feuilleton "Petersburg Chronicle". But Dostoevsky published these articles almost anonymously, signing feuilletons with the letters "F.M." Later, critics found that part of the material from the feuilleton was included in the story "White Nights" - a description of the life of the heroes, their characteristics.

The story is dedicated to A.N. Pleshcheev, a friend of Dostoevsky's youth, and some critics argue that Pleshcheev became the prototype for the protagonist. Some, however, object that the image of the protagonist is the image of the youngest Dostoevsky, and it is no coincidence that the author narrates from the first person, hinting at his autobiography.

Analysis of the work

Genre features, composition, content of the story

The writer accompanies the story with two subtitles: "A Sentimental Novel" and "From the Memoirs of a Dreamer." Both subtitles indicate that the story belongs to a particular genre and literary movement. The first - directly, the second - indirectly, because diary entries, memoirs, retrospectives are becoming a common method of presentation in sentimental literature. The writer calls the story a novel, also proceeding from sentimental views. For the same reasons, the protagonist of the story has no name, the author simply calls him "The Dreamer."

However, the genre “White Nights” is certainly not sentimentalism in its purest form, but rather “sentimental naturalism”, because both the place and the characters are quite real, moreover, deeply social and belong to the category of “little people” praised by Dostoevsky. But in the story "White Nights" there are traces of utopianism, because the heroes turned out to be too pure, too sterile, honest in their feelings.

The epigraph to the story was the poems of I. Turgenev "Flower", whose lyrical hero picks a flower, peacefully growing in the shade of trees, and pins it to his buttonhole. Turgenev argues: beautiful flowers do not grow for momentary pleasures (read - people live), but a person takes them with an imperious hand, picks them off and condemns them to a quick death (read - seduces, first loves and extols, then leaves). Dostoevsky somewhat alters Turgenev's statement, making a question out of it: « …Or was it created in order to stay at least for a moment, in the neighborhood of your heart? " That is, Dostoevsky comes to the conclusion that sometimes touching love, walking along the edge of unfulfilled happiness - this is the whole life, one can devote oneself to this only memory, as the Dreamer does.

Compositionally, the story consists of 5 chapters, 4 chapters are devoted to nights in St. Petersburg, the last one is called "Morning". The construction is symbolic: romantic nights are the stages of the successive love of the protagonist with the main character, the stages of his development, and in the end he, morally perfect, stands on the threshold of his morning - his epiphany. He found love, but unrequited, therefore, in the morning of his epiphany, he surrenders his love to another, gets rid of dreams and, experiencing a real feeling, does a real act.

Morning simultaneously dispels empty hopes and breaks off a series of wonderful meetings, it becomes the beginning and end of the hero's drama.

The plot of the story

The plot of the story: the young man, on whose behalf the story is being told, arrived in St. Petersburg 8 years ago. He works, and in his free time he looks at cityscapes and dreams. Once he saves a girl on the embankment, who is being pursued by a drunk. The girl tells the Dreamer that she is waiting on the embankment for her lover, who was going to come for her exactly a year ago, making an appointment for these days. The girl waits for him for several days, but he does not come, and despair begins to seize her. The dreamer communicates with Nastenka, takes over the transfer of the letter to her lover, and he falls in love with the girl. Nastenka also falls in love, and they are even going to get married, when suddenly the former lover appears again and takes Nastenka away. A cold, dank St. Petersburg morning comes, the Dreamer feels sobering and devastation.

main characters

The protagonist of the story is the Dreamer - the author's favorite image of a lonely person, completely isolated from the outside world and living in a vicious circle of his dreams.

The Dreamer is a 26-year-old resident of St. Petersburg. He is educated, but poor, has certain prospects, but has no worldly desires. He serves somewhere, but does not converge with colleagues and other people around - for example, women. He is not interested in either the everyday side of life, or money, or girls, he is constantly immersed in ghostly romantic dreams and, during periods of contact with the world around him, experiences a painful feeling of alienation to this world. He compares himself to a dirty kitten, not needed by anyone in the world and experiencing reciprocal resentment and enmity. However, he would not be irresponsible if they needed him - after all, people are not disgusting to him, he would be ready to help someone, capable of empathy.

The dreamer is a typical “little person” (social status, inability to act, immobility, imperceptibility of existence) and “superfluous person” (he feels himself as such, despising only himself for his uselessness).

The main character, a 17-year-old girl Nastenka, is opposed to the Dreamer as an active, acting character. Despite the external fragility and naivety and young age, she is stronger than the Dreamer in her search for happiness. The writer uses many words with diminutive-affectionate suffixes - "eyes", "hands", "sweetheart", emphasizing the childishness and spontaneity of the image, its playfulness, restlessness, like a child's. By his habits, a child is a real woman in his heart: he skillfully uses the help of an adult man, but at the same time, clearly recognizing his sensitive and indecisive nature, he stubbornly does not notice his feelings. At a critical moment, however, when it becomes clear that her beloved has abandoned her, she quickly finds her bearings and finally notices these very feelings. At the moment of the appearance of a potential husband, he again looks at the feelings of the Dreamer as friendly participation. However, should the girl be blamed for her fickleness? In the end, she truly waited for her main happiness for a whole year, and there is no insincerity in the fact that she almost went over to the Dreamer - the life of a lonely fragile girl in big and hostile Petersburg is not easy and dangerous, she needs support and support.

Nastenka writes a letter to the Dreamer in which she thanks him for participating in her story. Having received the letter, the Dreamer does not feel sad - he sincerely wishes the girl happiness and, repeating the idea of ​​the epigraph, says that a whole minute of bliss with Nastenka is enough for a whole human life.

Dostoevsky's contemporaries saw in the story French utopian ideas, which they were all fascinated with. The main thesis of the utopians of the 1840s was the desire for silent feat, sacrifice, and renunciation of love in favor of other people. Dostoevsky was deeply devoted to these ideas, which is why the type of love he describes is so ideal.