II. Characteristics of the image of Nazansky
Characteristics plan:
1. The first mention of Nazansky.
2. Meeting between Romashov and Azansky.
3. Portrait of a hero.
4. The role of the interior.
5. Topics of Nazansky’s thoughts.
6. The role of landscape in characterizing the image of Nazansky.
7. Nazansky’s thoughts on love.
We learn about Nazansky from a conversation with Romashov (Chapter IV): he is an “inveterate man”, he “is going on leave for one month due to domestic circumstances... This means he started drinking”; “Such officers are a disgrace to the regiment, an abomination!” Chapter V contains a description of the meeting between Romashov and Nazansky. We first see Nazansky’s “white figure and golden-haired head,” hear his calm voice, and get acquainted with his home: “Nazansky’s room was even poorer than Romashov’s. Along the wall by the window stood a narrow, low, arched bed, so skinny, as if only a pink pique blanket lay on its bed frames; against the other wall there is a simple unpainted table and two rough stools...” All this, and even the direct look of “thoughtful, beautiful blue eyes” contradicts what the Nikolaevs said about him. Nazansky talks “about sublime matters”, philosophizes, and this, from the point of view of those around him, is “nonsense, idle and absurd chatter.” He thinks about “love, about beauty, about relationships with humanity, about nature, about the equality and happiness of people, about poetry, about God.” This is for him “a time... of freedom of spirit, will, and mind.” He feels someone else's joy and someone else's sorrow.
Description of the landscape, the mysterious night opening from the window, according to his sublime words: “in this soft air, full of strange spring aromas, in this silence, darkness, in these exaggeratedly bright and seemingly warm stars - a secret and passionate fermentation was felt, a thirst for motherhood was discerned and the wasteful voluptuousness of the earth, plants, trees - the whole world." Nazansky’s face seems “beautiful and interesting” to Romashov: golden hair, a high clean forehead, a neck of noble design, a massive and graceful head, similar to the head of one of the Greek heroes or sages, clear blue eyes looking “lively, intelligently and meekly.” True, this description of an almost ideal hero ends with a revelation: “only a very experienced eye would discern in this apparent freshness... the result of alcoholic inflammation of the blood.”
Dreaming of a “future god-like life,” Nazansky glorifies the power and beauty of the human mind, enthusiastically calls for respect for man, speaks enthusiastically about love and expresses the view of the author himself: “It is the lot of the chosen ones... love has its peaks, accessible only to a few millions." According to Kuprin, love is akin to musical talent. Kuprin will develop this theme later in the story “The Garnet Bracelet,” and much of what Nazansky said will directly transfer into the story.
In Nazansky’s passionate speeches there is a lot of bile and anger, thoughts about the need to fight against the “two-headed monster” - the police regime in the country, premonitions of the inevitability of deep social upheavals: “The more enormous the violence was, the bloodier the reprisals will be.” He is an opponent of military service and the army in general, condemns the brutal treatment of soldiers (Chapter XXI). Nazansky’s accusatory speeches are filled with open pathos. This is a kind of duel between the hero and a senseless and cruel system. Some of this hero’s statements, as Kuprin himself later said, “sound like a gramophone,” but they are dear to the writer, who invested in Nazansky a lot that worried him.
Teacher's comment:
In Nazansky’s statements, many critics note features of vulgarized Nietzscheanism: “love for humanity has burned out from human hearts. It is being replaced by a new, divine faith... This is love for yourself, for your beautiful body, to your omnipotent mind, to the endless wealth of your feelings... The time will come, and great faith in its Self will overshadow the heads of all people, like the fiery tongues of the holy spirit, and then there will be no more slaves, no masters, no cripples, no pity, no vices, no malice, no envy. Then people will become gods..." (Chapter XXI).
Issues for discussion:
Do you think there is any reason to call Nazansky a “Nietzschean”?
Why do you think such a hero was needed next to Romashov in “The Duel”?
III. Characteristics of the image of Romashov
1. Romashov and Nazansky.
2. Portrait of Romashov.
3. The actions of the hero.
4. What attracts you to Romashov?
5. Internal contradictions of the hero.
6. Romashov and Khlebnikov.
7. Romashov and Shurochka Nikolaeva.
Lieutenant Romashov, main character“The Duel” becomes infected with Nazansky’s moods and thoughts. This is a typical Kuprin image of a truth-seeker and humanist. Romashov is given in constant movement, in the process of his internal change and spiritual growth. Kuprin does not reproduce the entire biography of the hero, but the most important moment in it, without a beginning, but with a tragic end.
The portrait of the hero is outwardly inexpressive: “of average height, thin, and although quite strong for his build, he is awkward from great shyness,” sometimes characterless. However, in Romashov’s actions one can feel inner strength, coming from a sense of rightness and justice. For example, “unexpectedly for himself” he defends the Tatar Sharafutdinov, who does not understand Russian, from the colonel who insults him (Chapter I). He stands up for the soldier Khlebnikov when a non-commissioned officer wants to beat him (Chapter X). He even prevails over the bestial drunken Bek-Agamalov, when he almost hacked to death with a saber a woman from a brothel where the officers were carousing: “with a force that he did not expect from himself, he grabbed Bek-Agamalov by the hand. For several seconds, both officers, without blinking, looked intently at each other... he already felt that the madness was fading away from that distorted face with each passing moment. And it was terrible and inexpressibly joyful for him to stand like that, between life and death, and already know that he was the winner in this game” (Chapter XVIII). In all these duels Romashov rises to the occasion.
Romashov has a dreamy, romantic nature, he is prone to reflection. He had a “slightly funny, naive habit, often characteristic of very young people, of thinking of himself in the third person, in the words of formulaic novels.” What is attractive about the hero is his spiritual gentleness, kindness, and innate sense of justice. All this sharply distinguishes him from the other officers of the regiment. The clash between man and officer first occurs in Romashov himself, in his soul and consciousness. This internal struggle gradually turns into an open duel with Nikolaev and all the officers. Romashov is gradually freeing himself from a false understanding of the honor of an officer's uniform. The turning point was the hero’s reflections on the situation human personality in society, his internal monologue in defense of human rights, dignity and freedom. Romashov was “stunned and shocked by the unexpectedly bright consciousness of his individuality,” and in his own way he rebelled against the depersonalization of a person in military service, in defense of the ordinary soldier. He is indignant at the regimental authorities, who maintain a state of hostility between soldiers and officers. But his impulses to protest are replaced by complete apathy and indifference; his soul is often overwhelmed by depression: “My life is lost!”
The feeling of absurdity, confusion, and incomprehensibility of life depresses him. During a conversation with the sick, disfigured Khlebnikov, Romashov experiences acute pity and compassion for him (Chapter XVI). Unexpectedly, he rebels against God himself, who allows evil and injustice (another fight, perhaps the most important one). “From that night, a deep spiritual breakdown occurred in Romashov,” He closed himself off, focused on his inner world, firmly decided to break with military service in order to start new life: “the idea became clearer and clearer for him that there are only three proud recognitions of man: science, art and free physical work" Thoughts about the possibility of another life are combined with thoughts about love for Shurochka Nikolaeva. Sweet, feminine Shurochka, with whom Nazansky is in love, is essentially guilty of killing Romashov in a duel. Self-interest, calculation, lust for power, double-mindedness, “some kind of evil and proud force,” Shurochka’s resourcefulness are not noticed by the loving Romashov. She demands: “You must definitely fight tomorrow” - and Romashov agrees for her sake to a duel that could have been avoided.
IV. About the psychologism of the story
Literary critic I. A. Pitlyar argued that the story “The Duel” is “a phenomenon of great realistic art, in which a mercilessly truthful depiction of the “horror and boredom of military life” was combined with great reliability in revealing the psychology of a person experiencing a serious moral turning point, in depicting the breakdown of consciousness freeing itself from the shackles of ugly caste prejudices.”
Do you agree that the story “The Duel” is distinguished by “great authenticity in revealing human psychology”? If so, what features of the narrative indicate this?
Which of the heroes experiences a “serious moral turning point”? What is it connected with?
V. Discussion of the meaning of the story's title
What is the meaning of the title of the story?
(The fights that we have already talked about naturally and inevitably lead to a denouement. To the last fight. The duel between Romashov and Nikolaev is not described in the story. The death of Romashov is reported in the dry, official, soulless lines of the report of Staff Captain Dietz (Chapter XXIII). This the duel, the death of the hero are predetermined: Romashov is too different from everyone else to survive in this society. Duels are mentioned several times in the story, a painful, stuffy atmosphere is escalated. In the nineteenth chapter, it is described how drunken officers sing a funeral chant, and the clear sounds of a funeral service are suddenly interrupted. terrible, cynical curse" Osadchy. The offended Romashov tries to reason with people. After this, a scandal breaks out, leading to Romashov challenging Nikolaev to a duel. But the name also has a metaphorical, symbolic meaning.)
VI. Closing remarks from the teacher
Kuprin wrote: “With all the strength of my soul, I hate the years of my childhood and youth, the years of the corps, the cadet school and service in the regiment. Everything I have experienced and seen I must write about. And with my novel I will challenge the tsar’s army to a duel.” The story is a duel between Kuprin and the entire army, with the entire system that kills the individual in a person and kills the person himself. In 1905, this story, of course, was perceived by revolutionary forces as a call to fight. But almost a hundred years after it was written, the story remains a call for respect for the human person, for reconciliation and brotherly love.
Lesson 10. The talent of love in A. I. Kuprin’s story “The Garnet Bracelet”
The purpose of the lesson: show Kuprin’s skill in depicting the world of human feelings; the role of detail in the story.
Lesson equipment: recording of Beethoven's Second Sonata.
Methodical techniques: commented reading, analytical conversation.
During the classes
I. Teacher's word
The story “The Garnet Bracelet,” written by Kuprin in 1910, is dedicated to one of the main themes of his work - love. The epigraph contained the first line of music from Beethoven's Second Sonata. Let us remember the statement of Nazansky, the hero of “The Duel,” that love is a talent akin to music. (It is possible to listen to a musical excerpt.) The work is based on real fact- the love story of a modest official for a socialite, the mother of the writer L. Lyubimov.
II. Story prototypes
The teacher reads the following excerpt from the memoirs of L. Lyubimov:
“In the period between her first and second marriage, my mother began to receive letters, the author of which did not identify himself and emphasized that the difference in social status does not allow him to count on reciprocity, he declared his love for her. These letters were preserved in my family for a long time, and I read them in my youth. An anonymous lover, as it turned out later - Zhelty (in Zheltkov's story), wrote that he served at the telegraph (in Kuprin, Prince Shein jokingly decides that only some telegraph operator can write like that), in one letter he reported that under the guise the floor polisher entered my mother’s apartment and described the situation (in Kuprin, Shein again jokingly tells how Zheltkov, disguised as a chimney sweep and smeared with soot, enters Princess Vera’s boudoir). The tone of the messages was sometimes pompous, sometimes grumpy. He was either angry with my mother or thanking her, although she did not react in any way to his explanations...
At first, these letters amused everyone, but then (they arrived almost every day for two or three years) my mother even stopped reading them, and only my grandmother laughed for a long time, opening the next message from the loving telegraph operator in the morning.
And then came the denouement: an anonymous correspondent sent my mother a garnet bracelet. My uncle<...>and my father, who was then my mother’s fiancé, went to see Yellow. All this happened not in the Black Sea city, like Kuprin, but in St. Petersburg. But Zhelty, like Zheltkov, actually lived on the sixth floor. “The spit-stained staircase,” writes Kuprin, “smelled of mice, cats, kerosene and laundry” - all this corresponds to what I heard from my father. Yellow lived in a squalid attic. He was caught composing another message. Like Kuprin’s Shein, the father was more silent during the explanation, looking “with bewilderment and greedy, serious curiosity in the face of this strange man" My father told me that he felt some kind of secret in Yellow, a flame of genuine selfless passion. My uncle, again like Kuprin’s Nikolai Nikolaevich, got excited and was needlessly harsh. Yellow accepted the bracelet and gloomily promised not to write to my mother again. That was the end of it. Anyway, oh future fate We don’t know anything about him.”
Romashov Georgy Alekseevich
DUEL
Tale (1905)
Romashov Georgy Alekseevich (Romochka, Yuri Alekseevich) is the main character of the story. Shurochka calls him “clumsy”, “sweet boy”, “kind, cowardly”, weak. In a young graduate cadet school, now a second lieutenant, serving for the second year in a regiment stationed in a small Jewish town, weakness of will and strength of spirit are peculiarly combined. Serving in the army is a difficult test for R.: he cannot come to terms with the rudeness and vulgarity of regimental life.
R. composes stories, although he is ashamed of his literary studies. “He was of average height, thin, and although quite strong for his build, he was awkward because of his great shyness.” However, it is the shy R., who blushes even in a conversation with officers, who stands up for the Tatar soldier in front of the regimental commander Shulgovich, which causes his anger. R. realizes his loneliness and loss among strangers, unfriendly or indifferent people. Out of boredom, R. often goes to the station, where trains stopping briefly remind him of a different, festive life. R. retained his childhood habit of “thinking of himself in the third person, in the words of formulaic novels.” But one day he saw that a beautiful lady and her companion were standing on the platform of a courier train, laughing at him - pale, short-sighted and awkward.
Like Andrei Bolkonsky from L. Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” R. dreams of a feat. He is unable to force himself not to go to the Nikolaevs’ house anymore, to give up his love for Shurochka, who considers herself an exalted nature and dreams of breaking out of the vulgar regimental life. For this, one thing is needed: for her husband to pass the military academy exams on the third try. Having broken off the painful connection with Raisa Peterson, R. “is not ashamed to grieve over his lost purity, about simple physical purity.” Having guessed about R.'s love for Shurochka, Raisa sends anonymous letters of libel to Nikolaev. Finally, Shurochka confesses her love to R., but reproaches him: “Why are you so<...>weak!<...>If you could conquer yourself big name, great position!”
Calling himself “small,” “weak,” “a grain of sand,” R. grumbles against God, but then asks for forgiveness: “Do with me whatever You please. I obey everything with gratitude.” R. experiences a deep mental breakdown and feels much older than his twenty-two years.
After a fight with Nikolaev, R. challenges him to a duel and within 24 hours becomes “the fairy tale of the city and the hero of the day.” A meeting of the officers' court makes a decision on the inevitability of a duel between R. and Nikolaev. Shurochka asks R. not to kill her husband, but also not to give up the duel, as this could interfere with his entry into the academy. According to Shurochka, Nikolaev knows about everything and will also try not to get caught.” Then “something secret, disgusting, slimy crawled invisibly between them,” and Shurochka, knowing that she saw R. in last time, is given to him.
The next day Nikolaev kills R. in a duel.
All characteristics in alphabetical order:
The strength and weakness of the nature of Second Lieutenant Romashov (based on the story “The Duel” by A. I. Kuprin)
Second Lieutenant Romashov - the main thing actor story "The Duel".
The story about the fate of the main character begins after he served in the regiment for a year and a half, since cardinal, significant changes began to occur to Romashov not from the very beginning of his service. When he first arrived at the garrison, he was overwhelmed by dreams of glory. Then for him “officer” and human honor were synonymous. In his fantasies, the newly-minted officer saw how he pacifies a riot, inspires soldiers to fight by his example, and receives awards. All this is just a figment of the imagination. In fact, he participates in daily drinking bouts, plays cards, and enters into a long-term and unnecessary relationship with an insignificant woman. All this is done out of boredom, since this is the only entertainment in the garrison, and the service is monotonous and causes nothing but boredom.
Daydreaming and lack of will are the most important traits of Romashov’s nature, which immediately catch the eye. Then the author introduces us closer to the hero, and the reader learns that Romashov is characterized by warmth, gentleness, and compassion. However, all these wonderful qualities cannot always manifest themselves because of the same weak will.
In Romashov’s soul there is a constant struggle between a man and an officer. It is changing before our eyes. Gradually he banishes caste prejudices from himself. He sees that all the officers are stupid, embittered, but at the same time they boast of “the honor of their uniform.” They allow themselves to beat soldiers, and this happens every day. As a result, the rank and file turn into faceless, obedient slaves. Whether they are smart or stupid, whether they are workers or peasants, the army makes them indistinguishable from each other.
Romashov never had to raise his hand against soldiers, taking advantage of his position and superiority. As a deeply impressionable nature, he cannot remain indifferent to what is happening around him. He learns to see a friend, a brother in a soldier. It is he who saves Private Khlebnikov from suicide.
His colleague Nazansky, a drunken officer-philosopher, has a significant influence on Romashov. Kuprin put it into his mouth own ideas: about freedom of spirit, about peaceful existence, and the need to fight against tsarism (the stronghold of which is the army). At the same
time, Nazansky slides into the ideas of Nietzscheanism, into the glorification of individualism and the denial of the collective. Thus, although this drunken officer conveys many of the author’s ideas and moods, at the same time he serves as an example of the detrimental influence of an officer’s life on an intelligent and promising person. It should be noted that intellectually Nazansky is much higher than Romashov, and he considers him his teacher.
Romashov, like a sponge, absorbs Nazansky’s ideas about free man. He thinks about it a lot. The turning point in Romashov’s spiritual development was his internal monologue in defense of the Personality. It is then that he realizes not only his own individuality, but also the individuality of each person individually. Seeing that army life suppresses the individual, the lieutenant tries to look for those to blame, but does not find them and even begins to grumble at God.
The fact that Romashov does not succumb to the influence of a destructive atmosphere is his strength. He has his own opinion, he protests internally. On the other hand, Romashov is a person subject to doubts.
However, the seeds sown by Nazansky germinate in Romashov’s soul. All the time thinking about the order existing in the garrison, he comes to the idea of the complete abolition of the army. As for the danger of war, Romashov believes that all people on earth can simply agree on peace and the issue will disappear by itself. This only speaks of the second lieutenant’s complete isolation from earthly realities. He lives his fantasies.
In the end, the hero comes to the only correct conclusion, in his opinion. He wants to leave the service and devote himself either to science, or art, or physical labor. Who knows what would have happened to Second Lieutenant Romashov if not for the duel that interrupted all his dreams. He, in principle, was sacrificed for the career of another officer. Romashov never managed to do anything, and probably would never have done it.
Kuprin presented the image of the main character of “The Duel” very vividly and psychologically believable. He did not idealize Romashov at all, despite his obvious sympathy and sympathy, he did not ignore either his advantages or disadvantages. Romashov is a weak man in himself, but strong theme that he was able to resist the influence of the environment, not to subordinate his mind, thoughts, ideas to it. It wasn't his fault that it came to nothing.
DID KUPRIN WRITE ABOUT HIMSELF, WITH THE DEATH OF ROMASHOV "KILLING" HIS YOUTHING DREAMS?
A.P.Apsit Portrait of A.I.Kuprin 1928
Photo by A.I. Kuprin 1900s
Kuprin was a lieutenant in the White Army, a brilliant horseman who, on a bet, could ride a horse to the second floor of a restaurant, drink half a glass of cognac without leaving the saddle, and return to earth in the same manner.
Kuprin spent his childhood in the Orphan School (Moscow, Kazakova St., 18), where for his nonsense that he was General Skobelev, Napoleon himself, they would put on him a pointed cap with the boldly written inscription “Liar.”
As a 12-year-old boy with a cropped hair, Kuprin studied at the Cadet School (Moscow, 1st Krasnokursantsky Ave., 3–5), then at the Junker School (Moscow, corner of Znamenka and Gogolevsky Boulevard), where he was in a punishment cell for the peasant girl Dunyasha (he looked after her instead of studying in topography) and for the first printed story - “paper scribbling”.
Just yesterday, he, a cadet, raced in a troika to a ball at a women's institute, declared his love at a clean skating rink and secretly kept a scarf of some stranger picked up in the theater, and today he is an officer of the 46th Dnieper Infantry Regiment. He jumps from the second floor when some garrison lady promised a kiss for this, for the sake of another love, abandoning poetry and prose, he tries to enter the Academy of the General Staff.
If I did, I passed the exams with flying colors! - if on the way to St. Petersburg I had not met friends from the cadet corps in Kyiv and, having gone on a spree, had not thrown a police bailiff off either a ferry or a float restaurant. According to one version, because he did not give up the reserved table to them, the officers, according to another, more romantic, for brazenly pestering some girl.
There were no duels in his life. But, isn’t it true, there is something in common in the description of the writer’s youth with Romashov, the hero of his story “The Duel”?
The title of A. I. Kuprin’s story, “The Duel,” correctly conveys the meaning of the drama that unfolded in it. By duel we mean not only the duel described at the end of the story, but also all the events that happen to the main characters.
The book takes place at a time when fights between officers had just been officially resolved. Naturally, this topic is lively discussed in the garrison. First
it is seriously touched upon in the conversation between Shurochka Nikolaeva and Romashov.
Shurochka, a beautiful, charming, intelligent, educated woman, speaks of duels as some kind of necessary phenomenon. An officer, she argues, is obligated to put himself at risk. An insult can only be washed away with blood. Shurochka, the officer’s wife, is not the only one who talks about fights with such fervor. This is the opinion of the majority of men in the garrison.
Romashov's life in the regiment is an eternal duel with himself and with the officer's prejudices. He is not like his comrades, he has different aspirations in life. Arriving at the regiment, Romashov dreamed “of valor, of exploits, of glory.” He idealized the officers, believing that these people were noble, generous, and honest. But in the garrison, the officers lead a gray, hopeless existence, they take it out on soldiers whom they do not consider as people; in the evenings, not knowing what to do, the officers gather, play cards and organize meaningless revelries.
The whole story is a series of minor clashes between Romashov and the people around him.
All these minor skirmishes lead to one main thing - the duel between Romashov and Nikolaev.
In general, the duel was predetermined from the very beginning. Romashov loves Nikolaev’s wife, and besides, she responded to him, if not with love, but at least with sympathy and affection. Affectionately calling the officer “Romochka,” Shurochka spends time with him free time"I have nothing to do." Romashov refuses an affair with the regimental lady Raisa Alexandrovna Peterson, with whom he dirtyly and boringly (and for quite a long time) deceived her husband. Wanting to take revenge on her “mustachioed Zhorzhik,” she begins bombarding Shurochka’s husband with anonymous letters.
Nikolaev himself does not accept Romashov from the very beginning. To the shame during the review, when, due to Romashov’s fault, the ceremonial march failed, an explanation was added with Nikolaev, who demanded that everything be done to stop the flow of anonymous messages, and also not to visit their house. Therefore, sooner or later the fight had to take place.
The word “duel” in relation to the event may not be entirely appropriate, since it was not a fair battle between two officers.
Shurochka, so dearly loved by Romashov, assured him that everything had been agreed upon in advance and no one would be injured. At the same time, she made a reservation that she was saying goodbye to him forever, but he, like all lovers, did not hear this.
Could a trusting, romantic second lieutenant imagine that the woman he loved was so cold, calculating and treacherous?
He died without knowing happy love, without realizing cherished dream about leaving the service and devoting oneself to a more worthy occupation. The duel between Romashov and the outside world was not in favor of the dreamy second lieutenant.
“The Duel” was released with a dedication to M. Gorky, to whom Kuprin was close at this time of his work, and, in addition to high criticism, earned the praise of L.N. Tolstoy.
And now the duelists:
YURI ALEXEEVICH ROMASHOV
I.Glazunov Illustration for the story "The Duel" ch. 16 (fragment)
He was of average height, thin, and although quite strong for his build, he was awkward due to his great shyness. He didn’t know how to fencing with espadrons even in school, and after a year and a half of service he completely forgot this art.
In a young graduate of a cadet school, now a second lieutenant, serving for the second year in a regiment stationed in a small Jewish town, weakness of will and strength of spirit are uniquely combined. Military service is a difficult test for Romashov: he cannot come to terms with the rudeness and vulgarity of regimental life.
Romashov writes stories, although he is ashamed of his literary pursuits.
“Not for the first time in the year and a half of his officer service, he experienced this painful consciousness of his loneliness and loss among strangers, unfriendly or indifferent people - this melancholy feeling of not knowing what to do with this evening.” Out of boredom, he often goes to the station, where trains stopping briefly remind him of a different, festive life.
After a fight with Nikolaev, Romashov challenges him to a duel and within 24 hours becomes “the fairy tale of the city and the hero of the day.” A meeting of the officers' court makes a decision on the inevitability of a duel between Romashov and Nikolaev.
The next day, Nikolaev kills Romashov in a duel.
VLADIMIR EFIMOVICH NIKOLAEV
For two years in a row, he has been failing his exams for the academy, and Alexandra Petrovna, Shurochka, is doing everything to ensure that his last chance (he was only allowed to enter up to three times) was not missed.
And lastly, in 2007, a twelve-episode television feature film “Junkers” was shot, based on the works of A. I. Kuprin. The script is based on the novel “Junker”, the story “The Duel”, “At the Turning Point” (“Cadets”), many of the writer’s stories and episodes from his biography. The time of action in the film, unlike Kuprin’s novels, is shifted from late XIX century for the years preceding the outbreak of the First World War.
We just have to re-read the fragments of the original source!
The usual conversation, beloved by young officers, began about cases of unexpected bloody massacres on the spot and how these cases almost always took place with impunity. In one small town, a beardless, drunken cornet charged with a saber into a crowd of Jews whose Easter pile he had previously “destroyed.” In Kyiv, an infantry second lieutenant hacked a student to death in a dance hall because he elbowed him at the buffet. In some big city- either in Moscow or in St. Petersburg - an officer shot “like a dog” a civilian who, in a restaurant, made a remark to him that decent people do not pester strangers.
Romashov, who had been silent until now, suddenly, blushing with embarrassment, unnecessarily adjusting his glasses and clearing his throat, intervened in the conversation:
- And here, gentlemen, is what I will say from my side. Let’s say I don’t consider a bartender... yes... But if a civilian... how can I say this?.. Yes... Well, if he is a decent person, a nobleman and so on... why would I be there? attack him, unarmed, with a saber? Why can’t I demand satisfaction from him? Still, we are cultured people, so to speak... “Eh, you’re talking nonsense, Romashov,” Vetkin interrupted him. - You will demand satisfaction, and he will say: “No... uh... I, you know, anyway... uh... I don’t recognize a duel. I am against bloodshed... And besides , uh... we have a magistrate..." So then you'll walk around with a beaten face all your life.
Haven't you read in the newspapers about the officer's duel? - Shurochka suddenly asked.
Romashov perked up and with difficulty averted his eyes from her.
- No, I haven’t read it. But I heard it. And what?
- Of course, you, as usual, don’t read anything. Really, Yuri Alekseevich, you are going downhill. In my opinion, something ridiculous happened. I understand: fights between officers are a necessary and reasonable thing. - Shurochka convincingly pressed her knitting to her chest. - But why such tactlessness? Think: one lieutenant insulted another. The insult is severe, and the society of officers decides the duel. But what follows is nonsense and stupidity. The conditions are just like death penalty: fifteen steps of distance and fight until a serious wound... If both opponents are on their feet, the shots resume. But this is a massacre, this... I don’t know what! But wait, these are just flowers. All the officers of the regiment, almost even the ladies of the regiment, come to the scene of the duel, and even a photographer is placed somewhere in the bushes. This is horror, Romochka! And the unfortunate second lieutenant, Fendrik, as Volodya says, like you, and in addition, offended, and not the offender, receives a terrible wound in the stomach after the third shot and by the evening dies in agony. And it turns out that he had an old mother and a sister, an old young lady, who lived with him, just like our Mikhin... But listen: why, who needed to make such a bloody buffoonery out of the duel? And this, mind you, at the very first stages, immediately after the resolution of the fights. And believe me, believe me! - exclaimed Shurochka, her eyes sparkling, - now the sentimental opponents of officer duels - oh, I know these despicable liberal cowards! - now they will shout: “Ah, barbarity! Ah, a relic of wild times! Ah, fratricide!”
- However, you are bloodthirsty, Alexandra Petrovna! - Romashov inserted.
- Not bloodthirsty, - no! - she objected sharply. - I'm pitiful. I’ll take off the bug that’s tickling my neck and try not to hurt it. But try to understand, Romashov, there is simple logic here. What are officers for? For war. What is the first thing required for war? Courage, pride, the ability not to blink before death. Where these qualities are most clearly manifested in Peaceful time? In duels. That's all. It seems clear. It is not the French officers who need duels - because the concept of honor, and even an exaggerated one, is in the blood of every Frenchman - not the Germans - because from birth all Germans are decent and disciplined - but us, us, us! Then we will not have among the officers card sharpers like Archakovsky, or incessant drunkards like your Nazansky; Then, by itself, there will be amicosity, familiar mockery in the meeting, in front of the servants, this is your mutual foul language, throwing decanters at each other’s heads, with the goal of not hitting, but missing. Then you won’t vilify each other like that behind your back. An officer's every word must be weighed. The officer is a model of correctness. And then, what tenderness: fear of a shot! Your profession is to risk your life.
20
.........
In the evening of that day he was again summoned to court, but this time together with Nikolaev. Both enemies stood almost side by side in front of the table. They never
looked at each other, but each of them felt at a distance
the mood of the other and was tensely worried about it. They both stubbornly and
They looked motionless at the chairman as he read the court decision to them:
- "The court of the society of officers of the N-sky infantry regiment, consisting of - followed
ranks and names of judges - chaired by Lieutenant Colonel Migunov,
having considered the case of a collision in the premises of the lieutenant's officers' meeting
Nikolaev and second lieutenant Romashov, found that due to the severity of mutual
insults, the quarrel of these chief officers cannot be ended by reconciliation and
that a duel between them is the only means of satisfaction
offended honor and officer's dignity. The court's opinion is confirmed
regimental commander."
Having finished reading, Lieutenant Colonel Migunov took off his glasses and hid them in a case.
“It remains for you, gentlemen,” he said with stony solemnity, “
choose your seconds, two on each side, and send them to nine
o'clock in the evening here, to the meeting, where they, together with us, will work out the conditions
duel. However,” he added, standing up and hiding his eyeglass case in his back pocket,
- however, the court ruling you read now does not have any meaning for you
binding force. Each of you retains complete freedom to fight on
a duel, or... - he spread his hands and paused - or leave the service.
Then... you are free, gentlemen... Two more words. Not as chairman
court, and as a senior comrade, I would advise you, gentlemen, officers,
refrain from attending the meeting until the fight." This may lead to
complications. Goodbye.
Nikolaev turned sharply and with quick steps left the hall. Slowly
Romashov also followed him. He wasn't scared, but he suddenly felt
feeling exceptionally lonely, strangely isolated, as if cut off from
all over the world. Coming out onto the porch of the meeting, with a long, calm surprise, he
looked at the sky, at the trees, at the cow at the fence opposite, at the sparrows,
bathed in dust in the middle of the road, and thought: “Here - everyone lives, bustles,
fusses, grows and shines, but I no longer need or find anything interesting.
I'm condemned. I am alone".
Sluggishly, almost bored, he went to look for Bek-Agamalov and Vetkin,
whom he decided to ask for seconds. Both readily agreed -
Bek-Agamalov with gloomy restraint, Vetkin with affectionate and
meaningful handshakes.
Romashov didn’t want to go home - it was creepy and boring there. In these
difficult moments of mental impotence, loneliness and sluggish misunderstanding of life
he needed to see a close, sympathetic friend and at the same time subtle,
an understanding, gentle-hearted person.
And suddenly he remembered Nazansky.
21
........
Romashov told in detail the story of his collision with Nikolaev.
Nazansky listened to him thoughtfully, tilting his head and looking down at the water,
which, in lazy, thick streams, shimmering like liquid glass,
resounded far and wide from the bow of the boat.
- Tell the truth, aren’t you afraid, Romashov? - Nazansky asked quietly.
- Duels? No, I’m not afraid,” Romashov quickly answered. But immediately he
fell silent and in one second vividly imagined how he would stand completely
close against Nikolaev and see the black descending in his outstretched hand
barrel of a revolver. “No, no,” Romashov added hastily, “I won’t.”
lie that I'm not afraid. Of course it's scary. But I know that I won't chicken out, no
I'll run away and won't ask for forgiveness.
Nazansky dipped his fingertips into the warm, evening, slightly murmuring
water and spoke slowly, in a weak voice, clearing his throat every minute:
- Oh, my dear, dear Romashov, why do you want to do this? Think:
if you know for sure that you will not be afraid - if you know for sure - then
after all, how many times will it be bolder to take and refuse?
- He hit me... in the face! - Romashov said stubbornly, and again the burning
anger swayed heavily within him.
“Well, well, well, he hit me,” Nazansky objected affectionately and sadly,
He looked at Romashov with gentle eyes. - Is that really the point? Everything in the world
passes, your pain and your hatred will pass. And you yourself will forget about
this. But the person you killed will never be forgotten. He will be with
you in bed, at the table, alone and in a crowd. Idle talkers,
filtered fools, copper foreheads, colorful parrots assure that
Killing in a duel is not murder. What nonsense! But they are sentimental
They believe that robbers dream of the brains and blood of their victims. No, murder -
always murder. And what is important here is not pain, not death, not violence, not
disgusting disgust for blood and corpses - no, the most terrible thing is that you
you rob a person of his joy of life. Great joy of life! - repeated
suddenly Nazansky spoke loudly, with tears in his voice. - After all, no one - neither you nor me,
oh, and simply no one in the world believes in any afterlife.
That's why everyone fears death, but cowardly fools deceive themselves
prospects of radiant gardens and the sweet singing of castrati, and the strong -
silently step over the line of necessity. We are not strong. When we think
what will happen after our death, we imagine an empty, cold and
dark cellar. No, my dear, these are all lies: the cellar would be happy
deception, joyful consolation. But imagine the horror of the thought that
There will be absolutely, absolutely nothing, no darkness, no emptiness, no cold... even
There will be no thought about it, there won’t even be any fear left! At least fear!
Think!
......
“Yes, life is wonderful,” said Romashov.
- Beautiful! - Nazansky repeated fervently. - And here are two people from behind
that one hit the other, or kissed his wife, or simply passing
passed him and twirled his mustache, looked at him impolitely - these two people
shooting at each other, killing each other. Oh no, their wounds, their suffering,
their death - to hell with it all! Is he killing himself - a pathetic moving
a lump called a person? He kills the sun, hot, sweet
Sun, bright sky, nature, - all the diverse beauty of life, kills
the greatest pleasure and pride is human thought! He kills what
will never, never, never return. Ah, fools, fools!
22
.......
- Well, do you want me to give up the fight tomorrow and apologize to him? Do it? - he said sadly.
She was silent for a moment. The alarm clock filled with its metallic chatter
all corners of a dark room. Finally she said barely audible, as if in
thoughtfully, with an expression that Romashov could not catch:
- I knew you would offer this.
He raised his head and, although she held his neck with her hand, straightened up
beds.
- I'm not afraid! - he said loudly and dully.
“No, no, no, no,” she said hotly, hastily, pleadingly
in a whisper. - You did not understand me. Come closer to me... like before... Come on!..
She hugged him with both arms and whispered, tickling his face with hers.
thin hair and breathing hotly into his cheek:
- You did not understand me. Mine is completely different. But I'm ashamed of you. You
so pure, kind, and I’m embarrassed to tell you about it. I'm calculating
I'm ugly...
- No, tell me everything. I love you.
“Listen,” she spoke, and he rather guessed her words than heard them.
their. - If you refuse, then how many insults, shame and suffering will fall
at you. No, no, not that again. Oh, my God, at this moment I won't
lie to you. My dear, I’ve thought about and weighed all this for a long time.
Let's say you refused. The husband's honor has been rehabilitated. But, understand, in a duel,
ending in reconciliation, there is always something left... how should I say?.. Well,
or something doubtful, something exciting bewilderment and disappointment...
Do you understand me? - she asked with sad tenderness and carefully
kissed his hair.
- Yes. So what?
- The fact that in this case the husband will almost certainly not be allowed to take the exams.
The reputation of an officer of the General Staff should be without fluff. Meanwhile
if you actually shot yourself, then there would be something heroic,
strong. To people who know how to hold themselves with dignity under fire,
they forgive a lot, a lot. Then... after the duel... you could, if
you want to apologize... Well, that's your business.
......
Trying to hide an incomprehensible, dull irritation, he said dryly:
- For God's sake, explain yourself more directly. I promise you everything.
Ilya Glazunov Shurochka at Romashov's on the eve of the duel, chapter 22
Then she spoke commandingly right next to his mouth, and her words were
like quick, trembling kisses:
- You definitely have to shoot yourself tomorrow. But neither of you will
injured. Oh, understand me, don't judge me! I myself despise cowards, I
woman. But for my sake, do it, George! No, don't ask about your husband, he
knows. I did everything, everything, everything.
Now he managed to free himself from her soft and
strong hands. He got out of bed and said firmly:
- Okay, so be it. I agree.
To His Highness, commander of the N-sky infantry regiment.
Staff captain of the same regiment Dietz.
I hereby have the honor to inform your honor that on this 2nd
June, according to the conditions reported to you yesterday, June 1st, took place
a duel between Lieutenant Nikolaev and Second Lieutenant Romashov. Opponents
met five minutes to 6 o’clock in the morning, in a grove called “Dubechnaya”,
located 3 1/2 versts from the city. Duration of the fight
including the time spent on signals, it was 1 minute. 10 sec. Places,
occupied by duelists were determined by lot. On the command "forward" both
the enemy went towards each other, and with a shot fired
Lieutenant Nikolaev, Second Lieutenant Romashov was wounded in the upper right part
belly. Lieutenant Nikolaev stopped to shoot, exactly the same as
remained standing, waiting for a return shot. After the specified
half a minute for a return shot, it was discovered that Second Lieutenant Romashov
cannot respond to the enemy. As a result of this, the second lieutenant's seconds
Romashov was offered to consider the fight over. By general agreement this
was done. When transferring Second Lieutenant Romashov into the carriage, the last
fell into a severe fainting state and died seven minutes later from
internal hemorrhage. Seconds on the part of Lieutenant Nikolaev
were: me and Lieutenant Vasin, and from the side of Second Lieutenant Romashov: lieutenants
Bek-Agamalov and Vetkin. The order for the duel, by common consent, was
provided to me. Testimony of the junior doctor Col. ac. It's hot at this
I enclose.
Staff Captain Dietz.
Site materials used
1. Romashov and Nazansky.
2. Portrait of Romashov.
3. The actions of the hero.
4. What attracts you to Romashov?
5. Internal contradictions of the hero.
6. Romashov and Khlebnikov.
7. Romashov and Shurochka Nikolaeva.
Lieutenant Romashov, the main character of “The Duel,” becomes infected with Nazansky’s moods and thoughts. This is a typical Kuprin image of a truth-seeker and humanist. Romashov is given in constant movement, in the process of his internal change and spiritual growth. Kuprin does not reproduce the entire biography of the hero, but the most important moment in it, without a beginning, but with a tragic end.
The portrait of the hero is outwardly inexpressive: “of average height, thin, and although quite strong for his build, he is awkward from great shyness,” sometimes characterless. However, in Romashov’s actions one can feel the inner strength coming from a sense of rightness and justice. For example, “unexpectedly for himself” he defends the Tatar Sharafutdinov, who does not understand Russian, from the colonel who insults him (Chapter I). He stands up for the soldier Khlebnikov when a non-commissioned officer wants to beat him (Chapter X). He even prevails over the bestial drunken Bek-Agamalov, when he almost hacked to death with a saber a woman from a brothel where the officers were carousing: “with a force that he did not expect from himself, he grabbed Bek-Agamalov by the hand. For several seconds, both officers, without blinking, looked intently at each other... he already felt that the madness was fading away from that distorted face with each passing moment. And it was terrible and inexpressibly joyful for him to stand like that, between life and death, and already know that he was the winner in this game” (Chapter XVIII). In all these duels Romashov rises to the occasion.
Romashov has a dreamy, romantic nature, he is prone to reflection. He had a “slightly funny, naive habit, often characteristic of very young people, of thinking of himself in the third person, in the words of formulaic novels.” What is attractive about the hero is his spiritual gentleness, kindness, and innate sense of justice. All this sharply distinguishes him from the other officers of the regiment. The clash between man and officer first occurs in Romashov himself, in his soul and consciousness. This internal struggle gradually turns into an open duel with Nikolaev and with all the officers. Romashov is gradually freeing himself from a false understanding of the honor of an officer's uniform. The turning point was the hero’s reflections on the position of the human person in society, his internal monologue in defense of human rights, dignity and freedom. Romashov was “stunned and shocked by the unexpectedly bright consciousness of his individuality,” and in his own way he rebelled against the depersonalization of a person in military service, in defense of the ordinary soldier. He is indignant at the regimental authorities, who maintain a state of hostility between soldiers and officers. But his impulses to protest are replaced by complete apathy and indifference; his soul is often overwhelmed by depression: “My life is lost!”
The feeling of absurdity, confusion, and incomprehensibility of life depresses him. During a conversation with the sick, disfigured Khlebnikov, Romashov experiences acute pity and compassion for him (Chapter XVI). Unexpectedly, he rebels against God himself, who allows evil and injustice (another fight, perhaps the most important one). “From that night, a deep spiritual breakdown occurred in Romashov,” He closed himself off, focused on his inner world, firmly decided to break with military service in order to start a new life: “the idea became clearer and clearer to him that there are only three proud recognitions of man: science, art and free physical labor.” Thoughts about the possibility of another life are combined with thoughts about love for Shurochka Nikolaeva. Sweet, feminine Shurochka, with whom Nazansky is in love, is essentially guilty of killing Romashov in a duel. Self-interest, calculation, lust for power, double-mindedness, “some kind of evil and proud force,” Shurochka’s resourcefulness are not noticed by the loving Romashov. She demands: “You must definitely fight tomorrow” - and Romashov agrees for her sake to a duel that could have been avoided.