Essay “Characteristics of Peter the Great in the novel of the same name”

02.04.2019

The image of Peter I is striking in its power. It is felt in everything: in height, in physical strength, in the range of feelings, in work and revelry. Peter bears little resemblance to a European sovereign: he tortures and executes with his own hands, beats those close to him (albeit for the sake of it!), drinks excessively, and organizes wild fun. But he managed to make Russia a leading power, to instill in the country European culture. The writer almost does not give detailed descriptions of the king’s appearance, drawing him as if with strokes. Here is Peter, a young man: “Peter’s eyes grew wider and wider with curiosity. But he remained silent, clenching his small mouth. For some reason it seemed that if he crawled ashore - long-armed, long - Lefort would laugh at him.” But in mature years after the capture of Narva: “Peter quickly entered the vaulted knight’s hall in the castle... He seemed taller, his back was elongated, his chest was breathing noisily...” And only through the eyes of a foreigner the writer gives a detailed description of him: “This is a man of tall stature, stately, strong build , agile and dexterous. His face is round, with a stern expression, his eyebrows are dark, his hair is short, curly and darkish. He was wearing a twill caftan, a red shirt and a felt hat.”

Tolstoy often emphasizes the tsar’s nervousness: trembling nostrils, bulging eyes, a head twitching in anger, missing letters while writing when he is in a hurry, missing words when, “getting excited, he began to speak unintelligibly, choked on haste, as if he wanted to say a lot more than that.” than there were words on the tongue." Peter was always in a hurry, because from his early youth he realized that he was faced with a great task: to make Russia as rich and strong as European states. The king spends his nights without sleep, thinking: “He was surprised, but so what? What it was like - sleepy, poor, unmovable, this is how Russia lies. What a shame! The rich, the powerful have shame... And here it is not clear with what forces to push people aside, to open their eyes...” And then he thinks like a man of an era that is distant to us and terrible in its barbarism: “Is it possible to issue some kind of terrible decree? To hang them, to flog them...” And he flogged, hung, trimmed their beards, and forced people into backbreaking hard labor. All this is true - we must remember at what cost Russia entered Europe. But even before Peter, people were flogged and hanged... And although, according to Pushkin, he wrote decrees, like a whip, he acted for the good of the state.

Pyotr Alekseevich also realized that everyone needs to study, and he first. With naivety, he says to the German princess: “I know fourteen crafts, but I’m still bad, I came here for these... To be kings among you is not a nice thing... But for me, mother, I first need to learn how to carpenter myself.”

The most striking character trait, which surprised both foreigners and his own, was that Peter did not hesitate to deal with simple, “mean” people. Moreover, for the sake of business, he had no shame in submitting to artisans who simply called him by name. Peter studied not only crafts, but also sciences, arts, especially military affairs. He also knew several foreign languages, personally examining people sent abroad. Pushkin wrote about him: “Now an academician, now a hero, now a navigator, now a carpenter...”

Almost his entire reign was spent in wars. The transformations themselves served primarily to achieve victory over Sweden. What is Peter like in battle? Tolstoy shows us that this hero does not strive, like Charles XII, to constantly emphasize his courage. After the defeat at Narva, the tsar leaves, not fearing that he will be accused of cowardice. He's beyond that. During this period, his most characteristic feature is especially clearly manifested: failures and difficulties not only cannot force him to change his goal, but encourage him to fight even more decisively to achieve it. “I was embarrassed - a good lesson,” he says, having learned about the defeat of the Russian army, for the creation of which he spent almost ten years of his life. “We’re not looking for glory... And they’ll beat us ten more times, then we’ll overcome...”

A. Tolstoy at the end of the novel emphasizes that Peter considered war to be a difficult and difficult matter, an everyday “bloody suffering”, a state need, contrasting him with the Swedish king, who fights for glory. This contrast is also visible in the leadership talents of both monarchs: the talented Charles, carried away by victories, is ultimately defeated by Peter, for whom victory and the fate of his state are inseparable.

It is impossible to fully embrace the image of Peter the Great. Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy failed to do this throughout his life, leaving the novel unfinished. But we know that in the first quarter of the 18th century the emperor experienced the glory of victory at Poltava, at sea, peace with the defeated enemy, and the rise of Russia. There is much about Peter that is incomprehensible to us today. But his love for the country, his ability to learn from others are qualities that we cannot help but appreciate...

The figure of Peter I and the turning point of his time have always interested Russian writers. Peter's theme was reflected in the works of A. D. Kantemir, M. V. Lomonosov, G. R. Derzhavin, A. N. Radishchev, A. S. Pushkin.

Personality in the novel is interpreted as a point of application historical forces who sometimes act contrary to a person’s wishes. The role of an individual depends on whether his path coincides with the path of history. For a progressive figure, it is important not only to obey her will, but also to take initiative and be an active creator people's fate. This presentation was required by the rules socialist realism: portray the hero as a transformer of life.

The novel is named after the main character. The attention to him is explained not so much by his personal qualities, but by the role he played in the history of Russia. The appearance of Peter is prepared by showing the state crisis in Russia. Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich dies, and the royal relatives and boyars choose which of his two younger brothers to name tsar. At this decisive hour, the name of Peter sounds largely by chance. The need for a strong king has been brought forward by time. Against the backdrop of popular poverty and confusion in power, “a boy in a colorful narrow caftan” appears.

Peter appears to us as an unprepared, established personality. The writer shows his hero in movement, in development, in the process of his complex formation. The first volume covers the most early childhood Petra. For the first time we see him as a frightened child in a monomachian hat that has slipped to one side, when, at the request of the rebellious archers, the Tsarina and Matveev show the boy from the porch to the people. Below are other episodes real biography Petra.

The image of the hero changes in subsequent chapters. This is a teenager of about twelve years old, “a boy with a dull voice and unblinking owl eyes,” whom Aleksashka Menshikov, his future favorite, teaches cunning. This is Peter, already spreading his wings, giving the first rebuff to the imperial claims of his older sister. During the solemn religious procession in the Assumption Cathedral, the hero violates the pure and splendid church ritual, and in the presence of the boyars enters into arguments with Sophia. Here he is, a gangly, lanky young man with excessively large red hands, with a small mustache still emerging on his tanned face.

The plot of the novel correctly emphasizes that Peter's youth and youth were full of acute dramatic clashes and intense struggles for power. Peter is opposed to Sophia's favorite, Golitsyn, both externally and in political behavior. The future king has an active character and a desire to prove himself in action. The first of these cases was the amusing regiments, in relation to which the tsar’s hot, unbridled temper was fully manifested. This feature is explained in the novel by the unlimited power and permissiveness of the sovereign and the unconditional obedience of everyone around him. Gradually, the amusing troops, turning into Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky, become a force, a support for the maturing Peter in the fight against the old way of life, the keeper of which is Princess Sophia. She is supported by boyars and archers.

The main socio-political conflict of that time was the turning point in the definition historical path Russia. A well-known historical episode clarifies the role of Peter’s personality in the fate of our country.

The exceptional nature of the hero borders on demonism. His gaze is “dark, intent, inhuman.” His harshness, lack of restraint, cruelty towards enemies, suspiciousness, suspicion are extremely aggravated. The hero's traits become increasingly impersonal. Historical necessity strengthens, even exaggerates, those of them in which society, the country is transmitted in this moment time. The character of Peter, well known from documentary sources, acquires artistic authenticity.

Despite the plot incompleteness of the novel, the character of the ruler is described quite fully. In his image one can see the features of a people's leader who knows the way to a new better life and ready to sacrifice his own and others’ fate for her sake. The combination of the real and the fictional in the image makes the image of the hero contradictory. Peter I is shown as the incarnation best features national character, as a “people’s tsar-worker” and as the arbiter of world history.

The writer almost does not give detailed descriptions of the king’s appearance, drawing him as if with strokes. Here is Peter, a young man: “Peter’s eyes grew wider and wider with curiosity. But he remained silent, clenching his small mouth. For some reason it seemed that if he crawled ashore - long-armed, long - Lefort would laugh at him.” But in his mature years after the capture of Narva: “Peter quickly entered the vaulted knight’s hall in the castle. He seemed taller, his back was elongated, his chest was breathing noisily.” And only through the eyes of a foreigner does the writer give a detailed description of him: “This is a man of tall stature, stately, strong physique, agile and dexterous. His face is round, with a stern expression, his eyebrows are dark, his hair is short, curly and darkish. He was wearing a twill caftan, a red shirt and a felt hat.”

Tolstoy often emphasizes the tsar’s nervousness: trembling nostrils, bulging eyes, a head twitching in anger, missing letters while writing when he is in a hurry, missing words when, “getting excited, he began to speak unintelligibly, choked on haste, as if he wanted to say a lot more than that.” than there were words on the tongue." Peter was always in a hurry, because from his early youth he realized that he was faced with a great task: to make Russia as rich and strong as the European states. The king spends his nights without sleep, thinking: “He was surprised, but so what? What it was like - sleepy, poor, unmovable, this is how Russia lies. What a shame! The rich and powerful have shame. And here it is not clear with what forces to push people aside, to open their eyes.” And then he thinks like a man from an era distant from us and terrible in its barbarism: “Is it possible to issue some kind of terrible decree? To rehang, to flog.” And he flogged, hanged, cut their beards, and forced people into backbreaking hard labor. All this is true - we must remember at what cost Russia entered Europe. But even before Peter, people were flogged and hanged. And although, according to Pushkin, he wrote decrees, like a whip, he acted for the good of the state.

Pyotr Alekseevich also realized that everyone needs to study, and he first. With naivety, he says to the German princess: “I know fourteen crafts, but it’s still bad, I came here for these. Being kings among you is not a pleasant thing. But for me, mother, I first need to learn how to carpenter myself.”

Historical novel"Peter 1" is an inexhaustible source of detailed and very interesting information about Peter's time, about social conflicts, government and cultural reforms, about life, customs and people of that turbulent era. And most importantly...

Either an academician or a hero. Either a sailor or a carpenter. He was a worker with an all-encompassing soul on the eternal throne. A. S. Pushkin Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy came to literature at a difficult, turning point, when centuries-old...

P-loved Russia very much, knew its history well and often turned to the past of his country. In this past, he was interested in the image of Peter I, his character (complex and contradictory) and the ambiguous attitude towards his reforms of both his contemporaries and those who followed...

The bright, colorful figure of Peter the Great and his era have excited and excite the imagination of artists of many generations, from Lomonosov to the present day. One of the significant works on this topic is the novel by Alexei Tolstoy, the content of which is...

Image of PeterIin the novel by A.N. Tolstoy "Peter"I"

In the novel "Peter I" A. N. Tolstoy depicted time, events, people, their way of life and customs with historical truthfulness. “To understand the secret of the Russian people, its greatness,” the author wrote, “you need to know its past well and deeply: our history, its fundamental nodes, the tragic and creative eras in which the Russian character was born.”

A. N. Tolstoy widely covered the most important events of the Peter I era, showed the role in them of the most diverse segments of the population and the enormous historical significance of the figure of Peter I.

On the pages of the novel, Tsarevich Peter appears in the scene of the Streltsy rebellion, when his mother, Natalya Kirillovna, carries the boy out onto the porch: “Chub-faced and blunt-nosed, he craned his neck. His eyes are round, like those of a mouse...” He saw the bloody massacre, the exorbitant cruelty of the Streltsy , incited by Khovansky and Vasily Golitsyn. These events left an indelible mark on the prince’s soul and caused a nervous shock.

Peter grew up very active, excitable, impressionable; it was impossible to contain him in the greenhouse atmosphere of the palace, where his two brothers withered away.

There was a struggle for power, and Peter shocked the boyars with his frivolous behavior, games inappropriate for a tsar, scratches, bruises and pimples on his arms.

Peter was drawn to the German settlement; he is very interested in life on Kukui, where he is surprised by everything: “What is this for? What is this for? And how is it organized?” He will remain like this for the rest of his life, thanks to his lively curiosity he will constantly learn, let everything pass through himself, not be afraid of any work, no difficulties. He must reach everything himself; to carry out reforms, he needs independence of mind, the absence of authorities.

A. N. Tolstoy shows the extraordinary endurance of Peter, who could go without sleep or food for a day, forcing everyone in the amusing army to unconditionally accept his rules of the game, which eventually turned into a serious study of military science. The comrades in these games are boys from the common people, smart, loyal and brave - the core of the future guard.

In one of the chambers of the Preobrazhensky Palace, a ship workshop was organized, where, under the leadership of the Germans, they built models of galleys and ships, and studied arithmetic and geometry. Boris Golitsyn advised Peter to build a shipyard on Lake Pereyaslavl and sent him a cart necessary literature, and said to Natalya Kirillovna: “You gave birth to a good son, he will turn out to be smarter than everyone else, give him time. He has a sleepless eye...”

Peter, who loved the German Anna Mons (later erased from his heart for betrayal), was married to A. Lopukhina, a young, stupid and primitive girl who wanted her husband to sit near her skirt. But Peter was busy with work and worries from morning to evening - amusing ships were being built on Lake Pereyaslavl.

Having learned from Uncle Lev Kirillovich about Sophia's conspiracy, that the royal power was hanging by a thread, Peter remembers the horrors of his childhood, the execution of the Naryshkin supporters, and he has a seizure. He rides into Trinity; Sophia, having learned about this, says: “It’s free for him to run wild.” Counting on the troops, she was mistaken: the archers went to Peter, despite Sophia’s threats. “Like a dream from memory - power was leaving, life was leaving” from Sophia.

The situation in the country forced Peter to be cruel and merciless (often beyond measure); terrible theft, desolation, backwardness caused him terrible anger.

Peter grew very mature after the defeat at Azov; failure hardened him, he became stubborn, angry, businesslike. He sets his sights on a new campaign; For this purpose, it strengthens its combat power: it builds a fleet in Voronezh. And two years later, victory was not long in coming.

Peter's struggle with the boyars was cruel and irreconcilable; he broke the structure of the old boyar duma, now admirals, engineers, generals, foreigners sat in it - all of them were like-minded people of the young tsar.

A. N. Tolstoy describes in detail the profound changes in Peter’s consciousness after his trip abroad. There was a lot there that was extraordinary and marvelous for the Russian eye. Peter remembered sleepy, poor and clumsy Russia, he does not yet know, “with what forces to push people aside, to open their eyes... The devil brought me to be born a king in such a country!” All these thoughts arouse in him furious anger towards his own people and envy towards foreigners. The first impulse is to outweigh, to flog. “But who, who? The enemy is invisible, incomprehensible, the enemy is everywhere, the enemy is within himself...”

In Holland, Peter works at a shipyard as a sailor, is not afraid of any work, and studies shipbuilding. Peter's personality is actively being formed, his active, state mind is revealed, everything in him is subordinated to the main goal: to turn his country on the path leading from vegetation and isolation to progress, to the introduction of the Russian state into the circle of advanced states as a great power. He sets his sights on a war with a strong enemy - Sweden, in order to have access to the Baltic Sea. Realizing that for this he needs to be well equipped and armed, he decides to build factories in the Urals.

The defeat at Narva did not break Peter, but forced him to act: “... we haven’t learned to fight yet... for a cannon to fire here, it must be loaded in Moscow.” He begins careful preparations and three years later, having marched with a new army, with new cannons against the Swedes, he wins, standing firmly on the shore Baltic Sea.

Speaking as a realist writer, A. N. Tolstoy truthfully describes the bookmark new capital Russia - the city of St. Petersburg. Peasants work in terrible conditions: in swamps, half-starved, ragged, sick; the city is built on human bones.

A. N. Tolstoy looks at Peter not only as a major historical figure, which thousands of people are subject to, but also conveys the king’s ability to maintain friendship and respect for Lefort, to listen to his advice. Lefort's death was a huge loss for Peter: "There will be no other friend like him... Joy - together and worries - together."

A. N. Tolstoy widely shows the abundance of people's talents, which Peter noticed and sent to study abroad, since he understood that without young scientists it was impossible to make changes in the country. Peter valued people not for ranks and titles, but for talent, skills, dexterity and hard work, so in his circle there were many people from the people: this was Aleksashka Menshikov, and the Brovkin family, and Fyodor Sklyaev, and Kuzma Zhemov, and the Vorobyov brothers, and many others.

There were nobles and boyars who understood and supported the tsar: Prince Caesar Romodanovsky, the skilled commander Sheremetyev, diplomat Pyotr Tolstoy, Admiral Golovin, and clerk Venus.

The more grandiose Peter’s plans are, the tougher his character becomes; he is unforgiving towards those who hinder his progress and slow down the implementation of his ideas.

The merchants played a very important role in the tsar’s reforms: “God tied us with one rope, Pyotr Alekseevich, - where you go, we go,” says Ivan Brovkin to Peter on behalf of the merchants.

Despite the scale of the transformation of Peter I, not only did they not improve the lot of the people, but, on the contrary, led to increased exploitation and increased extortions from poor peasants. They were driven thousands of miles away to build ships and cities, separating them from their families, to mine iron, and were marked to death as soldiers. All this is also covered in the novel.

A. N. Tolstoy created a monumental image of Peter I, but this is not ideal figure"crown bearer". He depicted the most complex interweaving of rough and gentle, kind and evil, humane and cruel. But, of course, Peter I was a man of genius in terms of his potential and the scale of the transformations carried out in Russia.

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The image of Peter I is striking in its power. It is felt in everything: in height, in physical strength, in the range of feelings, in work and revelry. Peter bears little resemblance to a European sovereign: he tortures and executes with his own hands, beats those close to him (albeit for the sake of it!), drinks excessively, and organizes wild fun. But he managed to make Russia an advanced power and instill European culture in the country. The writer almost does not give detailed descriptions of the king’s appearance, drawing him as if with strokes. Here is Peter, a young man: “Peter’s eyes grew wider and wider with curiosity. But he remained silent, clenching his small mouth. For some reason, it seemed that if he crawled ashore - long-armed, long - Lefort would laugh at him.” But in his mature years after the capture of Narva: “Peter quickly entered the vaulted knight’s hall in the castle... He seemed taller, his back was elongated, his chest was breathing noisily...” And only through the eyes of a foreigner does the writer give a detailed description of him:

“This is a tall, stately, strong-built man, agile and dexterous. His face is round, with a stern expression, his eyebrows are dark, his hair is short, curly and darkish. He was wearing a twill caftan, a red shirt and a felt hat.”

Tolstoy often emphasizes the tsar’s nervousness: trembling nostrils, bulging eyes, a head twitching in anger, missing letters while writing when he is in a hurry, missing words when, “getting excited, he began to speak unintelligibly, choked on haste, as if he wanted to say a lot more than that, than there were words on the tongue.” Peter was always in a hurry, because from his early youth he realized that he was faced with a great task: to make Russia as rich and strong as the European states. The king spends his nights without sleep, thinking: “He was surprised, but so what? What it was like - sleepy, poor, unmovable, this is how Russia lies. What a shame! The rich, the powerful have shame... And here it is not clear with what forces to push people aside, to open their eyes...” And then he thinks, like a man of an era that is distant to us and terrible in its barbarism: “Is it possible to issue some kind of terrible decree? To hang, to flog...” And he flogged, hung, trimmed their beards, forced people into backbreaking hard labor. All this is true - we must remember at what cost Russia entered Europe. But even before Peter, people were flogged and hanged... And although, according to Pushkin, he wrote decrees, like a whip, he acted for the good of the state. Pyotr Alekseevich also realized that everyone needs to study, and he first. With naivety, he says to the German princess: “I know fourteen crafts, but I’m still bad, I came here for these... To be kings among you is not a nice thing... But for me, mother, I first need to learn how to carpenter myself.”

The most striking character trait that surprised both foreigners and his own people was that Peter did not hesitate to deal with simple, “mean” people. Moreover, for the sake of business, he had no shame in submitting to artisans who simply called him by name. Peter studied not only crafts, but also sciences, arts, especially military affairs. He also knew several foreign languages, personally examining people sent abroad. Pushkin wrote about him: “Now an academician, now a hero, now a navigator, now a carpenter...”

Almost his entire reign was spent in wars. The transformations themselves served primarily to achieve victory over Sweden. What is Peter like in battle? Tolstoy shows us that this hero does not strive, like Charles XII, to constantly emphasize his courage. After the defeat at Narva, the tsar leaves, not fearing that he will be accused of cowardice. He's beyond that. During this period, his most characteristic feature is especially clearly manifested: failures and difficulties not only cannot force him to change his goal, but encourage him to fight even more decisively to achieve it. “Being embarrassed is a good lesson,” he says, having learned about the defeat of the Russian army, for the creation of which he spent almost ten years of his life. “We’re not looking for glory... And they’ll beat us ten more times, then we’ll overcome...”

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The image of Peter I in the novel of the same name by A. N. Tolstoy

Essay “Characteristics of Peter the Great in the novel of the same name”

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