History of creation and literary fate of the work. Bulgakov the satirist. "Heart of a Dog" - the history of the creation of the film The history of the creation of the novel Bulgakov's Heart of a Dog

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✪ Dog's HEART. Mikhail Bulgakov

✪ Heart of a Dog-Invasion of the professor!

✪ The main phrase from the movie "Heart of a Dog"

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Story

The story was written in January-March 1925. During the search carried out by the OGPU on Bulgakov on May 7, 1926 (warrant 2287, case 45), the manuscript of the story was also confiscated from the writer. Three editions of the text have been preserved (all in the Manuscripts Department of the Russian State Library).

In the USSR in the 1960s, the story was distributed in samizdat.

In 1967, without the knowledge and against the will of the writer’s widow E. S. Bulgakova, the carelessly copied text of “The Heart of a Dog” was transferred to the West simultaneously to several publishing houses and in 1968 published in the magazine “Grani” (Frankfurt) and in Alec Flegon’s magazine “Student” "(London).

Plot

The story of the dog turning into a man quickly became known in medical circles, and then ended up in the tabloid press. Colleagues express their admiration for Professor Preobrazhensky, Sharik is shown in the medical lecture hall, and curious people begin to come to the professor’s house. But Preobrazhensky was not happy with the outcome of the operation; he understood that he could get out of Sharikov.

Meanwhile, Sharik falls under the influence of the communist activist Shvonder, who inspired him that he is a proletarian suffering from oppression by the bourgeoisie (represented by Professor Preobrazhensky and his assistant Dr. Bormental), and turned him against the professor.

Shvonder, being the chairman of the house committee, gave Sharik documents addressed to Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov, got him to work in the service for catching and exterminating stray animals (in “cleaning”) and forced the professor to register Sharikov in his apartment. Sharikov quickly made a career in the “cleaning”, becoming the boss. Under the influence of Shvonder, having read communist literature and feeling like a boss, Sharikov begins to be rude to the professor, behave cheekily at home, steal things with money and pester the servants. In the end, it came to the point that Sharikov wrote a false denunciation against the professor and Dr. Bormental. It was only thanks to the doctor’s influential patient that this denunciation did not reach law enforcement agencies. Then Preobrazhensky and Bormental ordered Sharikov to get out of the apartment, to which he refused and threatened the doctor with a revolver. Bormental pounced and disarmed Sharikov, after which he and the professor, unable to bear the antics of Poligraf Poligrafovich any longer and expecting only the situation to worsen, decided to do the opposite operation and transplanted a canine pituitary gland into Sharikov, and he gradually began to lose his human appearance and turned into a dog again.

Characters

Facts

A number of Bulgakov scholars believe that “Heart of a Dog” was a political satire on the leadership of the state in the mid-1920s. In particular, that Sharikov-Chugunkin is Stalin (both have an “iron” second name), prof. Preobrazhensky is Lenin (who transformed the country), his assistant Dr. Bormental, constantly in conflict with Sharikov, is Trotsky (Bronstein), Shvonder - Kamenev, assistant Zina - Zinoviev, Daria - Dzerzhinsky and so on.

Censorship

An OGPU agent was present at the reading of the manuscript of the story during a meeting of writers on Gazetny Lane, who described the work as follows:

[…] such things, read in the most brilliant Moscow literary circle, is much more dangerous than the useless and harmless speeches of writers of the 101st grade at meetings of the “All-Russian Union of Poets.”

The first edition of “Heart of a Dog” contained almost open allusions to a number of political figures of that time, in particular to the Soviet plenipotentiary representative in London Christian Rakovsky and a number of other functionaries known in the circles of the Soviet intelligentsia for their scandalous love affairs.

Bulgakov hoped to publish “The Heart of a Dog” in the anthology “Nedra”, but it was recommended not to even submit the story to Glavlit for reading. N. S. Angarsky, who liked the work, managed to transfer it to Lev Kamenev, but he stated that “this sharp pamphlet on modernity should under no circumstances be printed.” In 1926, during a search of Bulgakov’s apartment, the manuscripts of “The Heart of a Dog” were confiscated and returned to the author only after Maxim Gorky’s petition three years later.

The story was distributed in Samizdat already in the early 1930s.

On the occasion of the anniversary of the film "Vesti" we learned about Preobrazhensky's experiments and the casting of actors

25 years ago, at the end of 1988, the premiere of the television film “Heart of a Dog” by Vladimir Bortko based on the story of the same name by Mikhail Bulgakov took place. Since then, the popularity of this two-part masterpiece has only grown; it invariably ranks among the top Soviet/Russian films.

Professor Preobrazhensky’s expressions have become commonplace: “The devastation is not in the closets, but in the heads,” “Give me a piece of paper so that it’s armor,” “Don’t read Soviet newspapers in the morning!” The common sense of the scientist was contrasted with the revolutionary absurdity, which was embodied on the screen by Shvonder and Sharikov, whose phrases also became catchphrases: “Abyrvalg”, “This is some kind of shame, professor”, “Cats were strangled, strangled”, “Take everything away and divide”, “ Get in line, you sons of bitches, get in line.”

“Vesti” decided to understand the scientific, revolutionary, artistic and even musical components of the immortal work.

GERMAN BOBIKOV AND CICCIOLINA

The story was written by Mikhail Bulgakov in 1925. It was supposed to be published in the almanac “Nedra,” but Lenin’s ally, Politburo member Lev Kamenev banned it, drawing a negative resolution: “This is a sharp pamphlet on modernity. Under no circumstances should it be printed." And the story was first published in 1968 abroad - in Germany and England.

The first film adaptation was also abroad: director Alberto Lattuada directed the Italian-German film “Heart of a Dog” (Italian: “Cuore di cane”, German: “Warum bellt Herr Bobikow?” - “Why is Mr. Bobikow barking?”) in 1976. The film reflected the disappointment in the flower revolutions of the hippies of the late 60s: the Shvonders and Sharikovs embodied the destroyers of the revolutionary illusions of the students.

The famous Swedish actor, twice Oscar nominee Max von Sydow starred in the role of Preobrazhensky, and one of episodic roles performed by future porn star Cicciolina.

The publication of “Heart of a Dog” in the USSR occurred in the magazine “Znamya” only in 1987, 62 years after it was written. Director Sergei Mikaelyan gave this magazine to Vladimir Bortko to read at Lenfilm. "I knew others famous works Bulgakov, the same “The Master and Margarita,” but I haven’t read “The Heart of a Dog,” Vladimir Vladimirovich told us. Bortko was instantly captivated by the professor's monologue, and he decided to film. There were no censorship problems with this picture, despite its poignancy - perestroika was booming in the yard. In contrast to Bortko’s painting “The Blonde Around the Corner” with Andrei Mironov, which lay on the shelf for two years - until 1984. By the way, this picture brought the director his first fame.

THE FILM WAS NOT ONLY MADE BASED ON THE STORY

After the premiere of “Heart of a Dog,” viewers rushed to read the story, but did not find many of the jokes and scenes. The fact is that Vladimir Bortko and his wife Natalya wrote the script not only based on the story - they made excerpts from the writer’s stories and feuilletons.

A janitor who has gone crazy, to whom the librarian, in order to get rid of it, advised him to read volumes of the encyclopedia - from the feuilleton "Gem Life", a prophetess in the circus - from the story "Madmazel Jeanne" ("Fool, put on a smart face!"), calling on spirits - from "Spiritual session”, and the “stars” of Clara and Rosa, which were conducted by Shvonder, are from the feuilleton “The Golden Correspondence of Ferapont Ferapontovich Kaportsev”. These scenes and witticisms not only added shine to the film.

“Using Bulgakov’s stories,” the director shared a secret with us, “we expanded the boundaries of the apartment where the story takes place. Now there was a street, a circus.” By the way, the Moscow streets were “played” by Peter, since the filming took place at Lenfilm.

PROFESSORS PREOBRAZHENSKY AND BORMENTAL

A-list stars auditioned for the role of Preobrazhensky: Leonid Bronevoy, Mikhail Ulyanov, Yuri Yakovlev and Vladislav Strzhelchik. Evgeny Evstigneev won the tender, and this role came in handy for him. After the division of the Moscow Art Theater between Tatyana Doronina and Oleg Efremov, Evstigneev remained with the latter. But he asked the director in chief, since he had recently suffered a heart attack, not to give him new roles, but only to complete the old ones. Efremov took this as a betrayal and rashly snapped: “Then go retire...” Evstigneev was in shock. It was in this state that he showed up for the screen test. So at that time he himself experienced sensitive blows of fate, which also befell Preobrazhensky. “All the actors played wonderfully at the auditions, but Evstigneev was more accurate,” recalls Bortko. The artist’s son, Denis Evstigneev, noted: “The film literally saved my father. He constantly talked about his role, played something, showed scenes. The painting became a support for him during that difficult period.” Many noted the soulfulness of Evstigneev’s manner in this role, which he himself later called his favorite. As for Dr. Bormental, the director immediately saw him in Boris Plotnikov, then an actor at the Moscow Satire Theater. “I instantly approved Plotnikov,” Bortko tells us. “And I was very pleased with it.” Plotnikov was afraid to play with the famous artist, but Evstigneev said: “We are equal to you, colleague” - and the timidity passed.

BALLS AND BALLS

More than a dozen applicants auditioned for the role of Polygraph Polygraphovich Sharikov. The brightest among them was Nikolai Karachentsov, who naturally voiced the Gascon dog in the cartoon “Dog in Boots,” based on “The Three Musketeers” (1981). “Karachentsov talentedly portrayed a dog, but his acting role was that of a hero-lover, and I needed a dog and an alcoholic in one image,” says Bortko. Vladimir Tolokonnikov was selected based on the actor's photo database, which was available at all major studios - he served in the Almaty Russian Theater named after. Lermontov (as we learned, he still works there, and after “Heart of a Dog,” one of his most striking roles was in the film “Hottabych” in 2006, where he played an old genie). Tolokonnikov made a toast so colorfully at the screen tests: “I wish it all!” that the director’s doubts disappeared. “Volodya killed me the moment he took a sip,” says the director. - Of course, it was not vodka, but water. But he drank very convincingly.” The role of Sharik was played by a mongrel named Karai. He was chosen from several applicants - members of the Druzhok dog club. “He was the smartest dog,” says the director. - He didn't speak French. I did everything on the first take.” Karay subsequently became a “movie star”, starring in the films “Wedding March”, “Re-exam”, “Rock and Roll for the Princess” and “Forever 19 Years Old”.

DO NOT OFFER BEER. ONLY COGNAC!

It is known that Evgeny Evstigneev liked to drink 50 grams of cognac “for courage” before going on stage or before filming. Tolokonnikov said that because of theatrical troubles, Evgeniy Aleksandrovich began to bring more and more alcohol to the filming. And he shared it with Tolokonnikov. Phrase from the film “Do not offer beer to Sharikov!” turned to the voiceover: “Shouldn’t I pour some for Sharikov?” Vladimir Bortko told us about the conflict with Evstigneev on this basis: “Evgeniy Aleksandrovich decided that there would be no filming today. And he drank very well. A difficult conversation took place. But after that there were no such conflicts with him. Evstigneev did not drink alcohol on the site anymore.”

“Heart of a Dog” is a warning film about what social and scientific revolutions bring side effects. In the finale, Preobrazhensky says with disappointment: “This is what happens when a researcher, instead of groping and in parallel with nature, forces the question and lifts the veil: here, get Sharikov and eat him with porridge!”

THE DITS WERE INSPIRED BY YESENIN

Also memorable in the film are the songs “The Harsh Years Are Passing” and “Sharikov’s Ditties” by bard Yuli Kim (“Bumbarash”) to the music of Vladimir Dashkevich (“Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson”).

“In Bulgakov’s book it is written: “They sing,” says Bortko. - But what? I ordered songs from Dashkevich and Kim. They wrote wonderfully. But then I realized that when Sharikov dances, he needs ditties. Like Yesenin’s poem was like this: “The ship sails past the pier - we’ll feed the fish with communists.” And again I called Kim, and a day later he dictated to me over the phone: “Eh, apple, you are my ripe one, but here comes a young lady, white skin, White skin, valuable fur coat, If you give me anything, you will be whole,” etc.

EXPERIMENTS WITH PEOPLE AND ANIMALS

We became curious to know how realistic Preobrazhensky’s rejuvenation experiments were.

“In the 20s and 30s, testicles from monkeys were transplanted into elderly men by a Russian emigrant in France, Dr. Serge Voronov,” Deputy Director of the Institute of Gerontology, Professor Valery Shatilo told us. - But it gave a temporary effect, for several months. In addition, there was a real danger of introducing the virus.”

The director of the Institute of Genetic and Regenerative Medicine, Academician Gennady Butenko, reminds us of Preobrazhensky among our contemporaries in terms of the courage and uniqueness of his experiments: “We decided to sew two mice. Young and old animal. And, to their surprise, they saw that the old did not become younger, but the young, on the contrary, became old. The aging mechanism dominates.”

The same effect was observed with stem cell transplantation. Regarding organ transplants from dogs to humans, Butenko told us: “This is dangerous. The species barrier is triggered when organs are rejected by the immune system.”

Among the latest anti-aging substances, the academician named rapamycin, an antibiotic that slows down the development of aging programs. And reservatrol is a substance from red wine. “However, to get the rejuvenating effect of this substance, you need to drink at least five liters of red wine a day. You’ll become an alcoholic faster,” the academician laughs.

In his opinion, the science of the future needs to delve into the genome: “Last year, the US Congress allocated $9 billion for the study of the human genome. Preobrazhensky should now be a geneticist. But there is no need to hope for a breakthrough in this area. And variations on the theme “Heart of a Dog” are just fantasy today. Writers come to me so that I can tell them the real plot for the book, but revolutionary upheavals in this area is not expected.”

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Year the story was written: 1925

First publication: in the magazines “Grani” (Frankfurt) and “Student” (London) in 1968 almost simultaneously.

For the first time in the Soviet Union, the story Heart of a Dog was published in 1987 and has been republished many times since then.

As prototypes literary character Professor F.F. Preobrazhensky names several real doctors. This is Bulgakov’s uncle, gynecologist Nikolai Pokrovsky, surgeon Sergei Voronov. In addition, a number of prototypes are called famous contemporaries author - scientist Bekhterev, physiologist Pavlov and founder of the Soviet state Lenin.
We consider Mikhail Bulgakov's story The Heart of a Dog to be the second most important work after The Master and Margarita...

Professor of Medicine, outstanding surgeon, Philip Philipovich Preobrazhensky, managed to achieve excellent results in human rejuvenation in 1924 in Moscow. He set out to continue medical research and decided on an unprecedented experiment - to perform an operation on a dog to transplant a human pituitary gland. A stray dog ​​named “Sharik”, whom the professor picked up on the street, was chosen as a test subject. The dog found himself in a spacious apartment, he was well fed and looked after. Sharik formed the idea that he was special... The donor organs that Sharik received during the operation belonged to Klim Chugunkin, a thief, rowdy and alcoholic, who died in a fight.

The experiment was a success; the results exceeded our wildest expectations. The dog's limbs stretched out, the dog lost its hair, the ability to pronounce sounds first, then words, and later full-fledged speech appeared... The dog began to resemble a person in appearance... Moscow was filled with rumors about miraculous transformations happening in the laboratory of Professor Preobrazhensky. But very soon the professor had to regret what he had done. Sharik inherited all the most unpleasant habits from Klim Chugunkin; he received not only physical, but also psychological humanization. Polygraph Polygraphovich Sharikov (he gave himself this name) discovered in himself a passion for terrible foul language, drunkenness, fornication, theft, vanity, tavern revelry and discussions about the proletarian idea. Sharikov gets a job as head of the department for cleaning the city from stray animals. He was helped in this by the chairman of the house committee, Shvonder, who hoped in this way, with the help of Sharikov, that Professor Preobrazhensky would survive from the large apartment.

Sharikov really likes his work and comes to pick him up every day. company car, the professor's servant treats him with servility, and he does not feel obligated to Professor Preobrazhensky and Doctor Bormental, who are still trying to make a man out of Sharikov, instilling in him the basics cultural life. He, like an angry dog, takes pleasure in killing stray cats, but according to Professor Preobrazhensky, “cats are temporary.” Sharikov brought a young girl to the professor’s apartment, whom he hired to work, from whom he hid his biography. The girl learns from the professor the truth about Sharikov's origins and refuses the advances of Poligraf Poligrafovich - and then he threatens to fire her. Doctor Bormenthal stands up for the girl...

After Sharikov’s numerous misadventures, Doctor Bormental, together with Professor Preobrazhensky, conduct new operation, returning Sharikov to his original appearance. The dog does not remember anything of what he did in human form; he remains to live in the apartment of Philip Philipovich Preobrazhensky.

Happy reading!

The story “Heart of a Dog” was written by Bulgakov in 1925, but due to censorship it was not published during the writer’s lifetime. Although, she was known in literary circles of that time. Bulgakov read “The Heart of a Dog” for the first time at the Nikitsky Subbotniks in the same 1925. The reading took 2 evenings, and the work immediately received admiring reviews from those present.

They noted the courage of the author, the artistry and humor of the story. An agreement has already been concluded with the Moscow Art Theater to stage “Heart of a Dog” on stage. However, after the story was assessed by an OGPU agent who was secretly present at the meetings, it was banned from publication. The general public was able to read “Heart of a Dog” only in 1968. The story was first published in London and only in 1987 became available to residents of the USSR.

Historical background for writing the story

Why was “Heart of a Dog” so harshly criticized by the censors? The story describes the time immediately after the 1917 revolution. It's harsh satirical work, ridiculing the class of “new people” that emerged after the overthrow of tsarism. The bad manners, rudeness, and narrow-mindedness of the ruling class, the proletariat, became the object of the writer’s denunciation and ridicule.

Bulgakov, like many enlightened people of that time, believed that creating a personality by force was a path to nowhere.

Will help you better understand the “Heart of a Dog” summary by chapter. Conventionally, the story can be divided into two parts: the first talks about the dog Sharik, and the second talks about Sharikov, a man created from a dog.

Chapter 1. Introduction

The Moscow life of the stray dog ​​Sharik is described. Let's give a brief summary. “The Heart of a Dog” begins with the dog talking about how his side was scalded with boiling water near the dining room: the cook poured hot water and it fell on the dog (the reader’s name is not yet revealed).

The animal reflects on its fate and says that although it experiences unbearable pain, its spirit is not broken.

Desperate, the dog decided to stay in the gateway to die, he was crying. And then he sees “Mr. special attention The dog turned his attention to the stranger's eyes. And then, just by appearance, he gives a very accurate portrait of this man: confident, “he won’t kick, but he himself is not afraid of anyone,” a man of mental work. In addition, the stranger smells of hospital and cigar.

The dog smelled the sausage in the man’s pocket and “crawled” after him. Oddly enough, the dog gets a treat and gets a name: Sharik. This is exactly how the stranger began to address him. The dog follows his new friend, who calls him. Finally, they reach the house of Philip Philipovich (we learn the stranger's name from the mouth of the doorman). Sharik's new acquaintance is very polite to the gatekeeper. The dog and Philip Philipovich enter the mezzanine.

Chapter 2. First day in a new apartment

In the second and third chapters, the action of the first part of the story “Heart of a Dog” develops.

The second chapter begins with Sharik's memories of his childhood, how he learned to read and distinguish colors by the names of stores. I remember his first unsuccessful experience, when instead of meat, having mixed it up, the then young dog tasted insulated wire.

The dog and his new acquaintance enter the apartment: Sharik immediately notices the wealth of Philip Philipovich’s house. They are met by a young lady who helps the gentleman take off his outerwear. Then Philip Philipovich notices Sharik’s wound and urgently asks the girl Zina to prepare the operating room. Sharik is against treatment, he dodges, tries to escape, commits a pogrom in the apartment. Zina and Philip Philipovich cannot cope, then another “male personality” comes to their aid. With the help of a “sickening liquid” the dog is pacified - he thinks he is dead.

After some time, Sharik comes to his senses. His sore side was treated and bandaged. The dog hears a conversation between two doctors, where Philip Philipovich knows that only with affection it is possible to change a living being, but in no case with terror, he emphasizes that this applies to animals and people (“red” and “white”) .

Philip Philipovich orders Zina to feed the dog Krakow sausage, and he himself goes to receive visitors, from whose conversations it becomes clear that Philip Philipovich is a professor of medicine. He treats delicate problems of wealthy people who are afraid of publicity.

Sharik dozed off. He woke up only when four young men, all modestly dressed, entered the apartment. It is clear that the professor is not happy with them. It turns out that the young people are the new house management: Shvonder (chairman), Vyazemskaya, Pestrukhin and Sharovkin. They came to notify Philip Philipovich about the possible “densification” of his seven-room apartment. The professor makes a phone call to Pyotr Alexandrovich. From the conversation it follows that this is his very influential patient. Preobrazhensky says that due to the possible reduction of rooms, he will have nowhere to operate. Pyotr Aleksandrovich talks with Shvonder, after which the company of young people, disgraced, leaves.

Chapter 3. The professor’s well-fed life

Let's continue with the summary. “Heart of a Dog” - Chapter 3. It all starts with a rich dinner served to Philip Philipovich and Dr. Bormenthal, his assistant. Something falls from the table to Sharik.

During the afternoon rest, “mournful singing” is heard - a meeting of Bolshevik tenants has begun. Preobrazhensky says that, most likely, the new board will lead this lovely house into desolation: theft is already evident. Shvonder wears Preobrazhensky's missing galoshes. During a conversation with Bormenthal, the professor utters one of the key phrases that reveals to the reader the story “Heart of a Dog” what the work is about: “Devastation is not in closets, but in heads.” Next, Philip Philipovich reflects on how the uneducated proletariat can accomplish the great things for which it positions itself. He says that nothing will change for the better as long as there is such a dominant class in society, engaged only in choral singing.

Sharik has been living in Preobrazhensky’s apartment for a week now: he eats plenty, the owner pampers him, feeding him during dinners, he is forgiven for his pranks (the torn owl in the professor’s office).

Sharik's favorite place in the house is the kitchen, the kingdom of Daria Petrovna, the cook. The dog considers Preobrazhensky a deity. The only thing that is unpleasant for him to watch is how Philip Philipovich delves into human brains in the evenings.

On that ill-fated day, Sharik was not himself. It happened on Tuesday, when the professor usually does not have an appointment. Philip Philipovich receives a strange phone call, and commotion begins in the house. The professor behaves unnaturally, he is clearly nervous. Gives instructions to close the door and not let anyone in. Sharik is locked in the bathroom - there he is tormented by bad premonitions.

A few hours later the dog is brought into a very bright room, where he recognizes the face of the “priest” as Philip Philipovich. The dog pays attention to the eyes of Bormental and Zina: false, filled with something bad. Sharik is given anesthesia and placed on the operating table.

Chapter 4. Operation

In the fourth chapter, M. Bulgakov puts the climax of the first part. “Heart of a Dog” here undergoes the first of its two semantic peaks - Sharik’s operation.

The dog lies on the operating table, Dr. Bormenthal trims the hair on his stomach, and the professor at this time gives recommendations that all manipulations with internal organs should go away instantly. Preobrazhensky sincerely feels sorry for the animal, but, according to the professor, he has no chance of survival.

After the head and belly of the “ill-fated dog” are shaved, the operation begins: after ripping open the belly, they exchange Sharik’s seminal glands for “some other ones.” Afterwards, the dog almost dies, but a faint life still glimmers in it. Philip Philipovich, penetrating into the depths of the brain, changed the “white lump”. Surprisingly, the dog showed a thread-like pulse. Tired Preobrazhensky does not believe that Sharik will survive.

Chapter 5. Bormenthal's Diary

The summary of the story “Heart of a Dog,” the fifth chapter, is a prologue to the second part of the story. From Dr. Bormenthal's diary we learn that the operation took place on December 23 (Christmas Eve). The gist of it is that Sharik was transplanted with the ovaries and pituitary gland of a 28-year-old man. The purpose of the operation: to trace the effect of the pituitary gland on the human body. Until December 28, periods of improvement alternate with critical moments.

The condition stabilizes on December 29, “suddenly.” Hair loss is noted, further changes occur every day:

• 12/30 barking changes, limbs stretch, and weight gains.
• 31.12 the syllables (“abyr”) are pronounced.
• 01.01 says “Abyrvalg”.
• 02.01 is on hind legs, swears.
• 06.01 the tail disappears, says “beer house”.
• 01/07 takes on a strange appearance, becoming like a man. Rumors begin to spread around the city.
• 01/08 they stated that replacing the pituitary gland did not lead to rejuvenation, but to humanization. Sharik is a short man, rude, swearing, calling everyone “bourgeois.” Preobrazhensky is furious.
• 12.01 Bormental assumes that the replacement of the pituitary gland has led to the revitalization of the brain, so Sharik whistles, speaks, swears and reads. The reader also learns that the person from whom the pituitary gland was taken is Klim Chugunkin, an asocial element, convicted three times.
• January 17 marked the complete humanization of Sharik.

Chapter 6. Polygraph Polygraphovich Sharikov

In the 6th chapter, the reader first gets acquainted in absentia with the person who turned out after Preobrazhensky’s experiment - this is how Bulgakov introduces us to the story. “The Heart of a Dog,” a summary of which is presented in our article, in the sixth chapter experiences the development of the second part of the story.

It all starts with the rules that are written on paper by doctors. They say about compliance good manners while in the house.

Finally, the created man appears before Philip Philipovich: he “ short and unattractive appearance”, dressed unkemptly, even comically. Their conversation develops into a quarrel. The man behaves arrogantly, speaks unflatteringly about the servants, refuses to observe the rules of decency, and notes of Bolshevism creep into his conversation.

The man asks Philip Philipovich to register him in the apartment, chooses his first name and patronymic (takes it from the calendar). From now on he is Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. It is obvious to Preobrazhensky that the new manager of the house has a great influence on this person.

Shvonder in the professor's office. Sharikov is registered in the apartment (the ID is written by the professor under the dictation of the house committee). Shvonder considers himself a winner; he calls on Sharikov to register for military service. The polygraph refuses.

Left alone with Bormenthal afterwards, Preobrazhensky admits that he is very tired of this situation. They are interrupted by noise in the apartment. It turned out that a cat had run in, and Sharikov was still hunting for them. Having locked himself in the bathroom with the hated creature, he causes a flood in the apartment by breaking the tap. Because of this, the professor has to cancel appointments with patients.

After the flood is eliminated, Preobrazhensky learns that he still needs to pay for the glass Sharikov broke. Polygraph's impudence reaches its limit: not only does he not apologize to the professor for the complete mess, but he also behaves impudently after learning that Preobrazhensky paid money for the glass.

Chapter 7. Attempts at education

Let's continue with the summary. “The Heart of a Dog” in the 7th chapter tells about the attempts of Doctor Bormental and the professor to instill decent manners in Sharikov.

The chapter begins with lunch. Sharikov is taught proper table manners and is denied drinks. However, he still drinks a glass of vodka. Philip Philipovich comes to the conclusion that Klim Chugunkin is visible more and more clearly.

Sharikov is offered to attend an evening performance at the theater. He refuses under the pretext that this is “one counter-revolution.” Sharikov chooses to go to the circus.

It's about reading. The polygraph admits that he is reading the correspondence between Engels and Kautsky, which Shvonder gave him. Sharikov even tries to reflect on what he read. He says that everything should be divided, including Preobrazhensky’s apartment. To this, the professor asks to pay his penalty for the flood caused the day before. After all, 39 patients were refused.

Philip Philipovich calls on Sharikov, instead of “giving advice on a cosmic scale and cosmic stupidity,” to listen and heed what people with a university education teach him.

After lunch, Ivan Arnoldovich and Sharikov leave for the circus, having first made sure that there are no cats in the program.

Left alone, Preobrazhensky reflects on his experiment. He almost decided to return Sharikov to his dog form by replacing the dog’s pituitary gland.

Chapter 8. “The New Man”

For six days after the flood incident, life went on as usual. However, after delivering the documents to Sharikov, he demands that Preobrazhensky give him a room. The professor notes that this is “Shvonder’s work.” In contrast to Sharikov’s words, Philip Philipovich says that he will leave him without food. This pacified Polygraph.

Late in the evening, after a clash with Sharikov, Preobrazhensky and Bormental talk for a long time in the office. We are talking about the latest antics of the man they created: how he showed up at the house with two drunken friends and accused Zina of stealing.

Ivan Arnoldovich proposes to do the terrible thing: eliminate Sharikov. Preobrazhensky is strongly against it. He might come out similar story due to his fame, but Bormental will definitely be arrested.

Further, Preobrazhensky admits that in his opinion the experiment was a failure, and not because they succeeded “ new person" - Sharikov. Yes, he agrees that in terms of theory, experiment has no equal, but there is no practical value. And they ended up with a creature with a human heart “the lousiest of all.”

The conversation is interrupted by Daria Petrovna, she brought Sharikov to the doctors. He pestered Zina. Bormental tries to kill him, Philip Philipovich stops the attempt.

Chapter 9. Climax and denouement

Chapter 9 is the culmination and denouement of the story. Let's continue with the summary. "Heart of a Dog" is coming to an end - this is the last chapter.

Everyone is concerned about Sharikov's disappearance. He left home, taking the documents. On the third day the Polygraph appears.

It turns out that, under the patronage of Shvonder, Sharikov received the position of head of the “food department for cleaning the city from stray animals.” Bormenthal forces Polygraph to apologize to Zina and Daria Petrovna.

Two days later, Sharikov brings a woman home, declaring that she will live with him and the wedding will soon take place. After a conversation with Preobrazhensky, she leaves, saying that Polygraph is a scoundrel. He threatens to fire the woman (she works as a typist in his department), but Bormenthal threatens, and Sharikov refuses his plans.

A few days later, Preobrazhensky learns from his patient that Sharikov had filed a denunciation against him.

Upon returning home, Polygraph is invited to the professor's procedural room. Preobrazhensky tells Sharikov to take his personal belongings and move out. Polygraph does not agree, he takes out a revolver. Bormental disarms Sharikov, strangles him and puts him on the couch. Having locked the doors and cut the lock, he returns to the operating room.

Chapter 10. Epilogue of the story

Ten days have passed since the incident. The criminal police, accompanied by Shvonder, appear at Preobrazhensky’s apartment. They intend to search and arrest the professor. The police believe that Sharikov was killed. Preobrazhensky says that there is no Sharikov, there is an operated dog named Sharik. Yes, he spoke, but that does not mean that the dog was a person.

Visitors see a dog with a scar on its forehead. He turns to a representative of the authorities, who loses consciousness. The visitors leave the apartment.

IN last scene we see Sharik lying in the professor’s office and reflecting on how lucky he was to meet such a person as Philip Philipovich.

"Heart of a Dog"- story by Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov.

Story

The story was written in January-March 1925. During the search carried out by the OGPU on Bulgakov on May 7, 1926 (warrant 2287, case 45), the manuscript of the story was also confiscated from the writer. Three editions of the text have been preserved (all in the Manuscript Department of the Russian State Library): the chapter “Give the floor to a textual critic.”

In 1967, without the knowledge and against the will of the writer’s widow E. S. Bulgakova, the carelessly copied text of “Heart of a Dog” was transferred to the West: the chapter “My French Queen...” simultaneously to several publishing houses and in 1968 published in the magazine “Grani” (Frankfurt ) and in Alec Flegon's magazine The Student (London).

Plot

The story of a dog that turned into a man turned out to be the property of the tabloid press. Curious people begin to come to the professor's house. But Preobrazhensky himself is not happy with the outcome of the operation, since he understands that he can get out of Sharik.

Meanwhile, Sharik falls under the influence of the communist activist Shvonder, who inspired him that he is a proletarian suffering from oppression by the bourgeoisie (represented by Professor Preobrazhensky and his assistant Dr. Bormental), and turned him against the professor.

Shvonder, being the chairman of the house committee, issues documents to Sharik in the name of Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov, arranging for him to work in the service for catching and destroying stray animals (in “cleaning”) and forces the professor to officially register Sharikov in his apartment. Sharikov quickly makes a career in the “cleaning” service, becoming the boss. Under the bad influence of Shvonder, having superficially read communist literature and feeling like the “master of the situation,” Sharikov begins to be rude to the professor, behave cheekily at home, steal things with money and pester the servants. In the end, it comes to the point that Sharikov writes a false denunciation against Professor and Doctor Bormental. It is only thanks to the doctor’s influential patient that this denunciation does not reach law enforcement agencies. Then Preobrazhensky and Bormenthal order Sharikov to get out of the apartment, to which he responds with a categorical refusal. The doctor and the professor, no longer able to endure the arrogant and impudent antics of Poligraf Poligrafovich and expecting only the situation to worsen, decide to perform the reverse operation and transplant a canine pituitary gland into Sharikov, after which he gradually begins to lose his human appearance and turns into a dog again...

Characters

Facts

• The prototype of the “Kalabukhov House”, in which the main events of the story unfold, was the apartment house of the architect S. F. Kulagin (house number 24 on Prechistenka Street), built with his money in 1904.
• Throughout the entire story, Professor Preobrazhensky constantly hums “From Seville to Grenada... In the quiet twilight of the nights.” This line is from Tchaikovsky’s romance “Don Juan’s Serenade”, the verses of which are taken from A.K. Tolstoy’s poem “Don Juan”. Perhaps in this way Bulgakov played up the professor’s occupation: the character in Tolstoy’s poem was known for his sexual adventures, and the professor restores sexual youth to his faded patients.
• The professor carries out the operation on Sharik in the period from December 24 to January 6 - from Catholic to Orthodox Christmas Eve. Sharik's transformation takes place on January 7, Christmas Day.
• There is an opinion that Sharikov can be perceived as a bearer of a demonic principle. This can be seen in his appearance: the hair on his head is “coarse, like bushes in an uprooted field,” like the devil’s. In one of the episodes, Sharikov shows Professor Preobrazhensky a shish, and one of the meanings of the word shish is the hairs standing on end on the devil’s head: 642.
• Perhaps the prototype of Professor Preobrazhensky for the author was his uncle, his mother’s brother, Nikolai Mikhailovich Pokrovsky, a gynecologist. His apartment coincides in detail with the description of Philip Philipovich's apartment, and, in addition, he had a dog. This hypothesis is also confirmed by Bulgakov's first wife, T. N. Lappa, in her memoirs. The prototypes of Professor Preobrazhensky’s patients were the writer’s acquaintances and famous public figures of that time: 642-644. But there are other hypotheses (more about them are described in the article by Philip Filippovich Preobrazhensky).
• The house committees that Professor Preobrazhensky complained about, and one of which was headed by Shvonder, really worked very poorly after the revolution. As an example, we can cite the order to the residents of the Kremlin dated October 14, 1918: “[...] house committees do not at all fulfill the duties assigned to them by law: the dirt in the courtyards and squares, in the houses, on the stairs, in the corridors and apartments is appalling. Garbage from apartments is not removed for weeks; it sits on the stairs, spreading infection. The stairs are not only not washed, but also not swept. Manure, garbage, and corpses have been lying around in the yards for weeks. dead cats and dogs. Stray cats roam everywhere, being constant carriers of infection. There is a “Spanish” disease in the city, which has reached the Kremlin and has already caused deaths...”
• Abyrvalg - the second word spoken by Sharik after the transformation from a dog into a human - is the word “Glavryba” pronounced in reverse order - the Main Directorate of Fisheries and the State Fishing Industry under the People's Commissariat of Food, which in 1922-1924 was the main economic body, in charge of the fishing grounds of the RSFSR. The first similarly constructed word was “abyr” (from “fish”). Sharik pronounced this word in reverse order, because, being a dog, he learned to read using the “Glavryba” sign, to the left of which there was always a policeman, which is why Sharik approached the sign with right side and read from right to left.
• The rock group "Agatha Christie" recorded the song "Heart of a Dog", the text of which is Sharik's monologue.

The story as a political satire

The most common political interpretation of the story relates it to the very idea of ​​the “Russian revolution”, the “awakening” of the social consciousness of the proletariat. Sharikov is traditionally perceived as an allegorical image of the lumpen proletariat, who unexpectedly received large number rights and freedoms, but quickly discovered selfish interests and the ability to betray and destroy both their own kind (a former homeless dog climbs the social ladder, destroying other homeless animals), and those who endowed them with these rights. It should be noted that Klim Chugunkin earned money by playing music in taverns and was a criminal. The ending of the story looks artificial, without third-party intervention (deus ex machina) the fate of Sharikov’s creators looks predetermined. It is believed that in the story Bulgakov predicted the mass repressions of the 1930s.

A number of Bulgakov scholars believe that “Heart of a Dog” is a political satire on the government of the mid-1920s, and each of the characters has a prototype among the political elite of the country at that time. In particular, the prototype of Sharikov-Chugunkin is Stalin (both have an “iron” second surname), professor Preobrazhensky - Lenin (who transformed the country), Doctor Bormental, who is constantly in conflict with Sharikov - Trotsky (Bronstein), Shvonder - Kamenev, assistant Zina - Zinoviev, Daria - Dzerzhinsky and so on.

Censorship

An OGPU agent was present at the reading of the manuscript of the story during a meeting of writers on Gazetny Lane, who described the work as follows:

[…] such things, read in the most brilliant Moscow literary circle, are much more dangerous than the useless and harmless speeches of 101st grade writers at meetings of the “All-Russian Union of Poets.”

The first edition of “Heart of a Dog” contained almost open allusions to a number of political figures of that time, in particular to the Soviet plenipotentiary representative in London Christian Rakovsky and a number of other functionaries known in the circles of the Soviet intelligentsia for their scandalous love affairs.

Bulgakov hoped to publish “Heart of a Dog” in the almanac “Nedra”, but it was recommended that the story not even be given to Glavlit for reading. Nikolai Angarsky, who liked the work, managed to give it to Lev Kamenev, but he declared that “this poignant pamphlet on modernity should under no circumstances be printed.” In 1926, during a search in Bulgakov’s apartment, the manuscripts of “The Heart of a Dog” were seized and returned to the author only after the petition of Maxim Gorky three years later.

Film adaptations