The work of Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov represents an interesting, bright and original look at the life and customs of the USSR. The writer, who lived through the times of the empire, never accepted Soviet power, living in a society that caused him only fear and misunderstanding. Dissatisfaction with Soviet reality was reflected in him in his famous story “ Heart of a Dog", in which he depicted the struggle of two worlds in all their contradictions. The many-wise Litrekon offers you an analysis of the story “The Heart of a Dog.”
The history of writing the story “Heart of a Dog” is interesting facts, miraculously preserved in the hard times of the post-revolutionary history of Russia:
- The story was written by Bulgakov in 1925 as a commission for the Nedra magazine, where his works “The Diaboliad” and “Fatal Eggs” had previously been published.
- The book was originally called “Heart of a Dog. Monstrous story", but then the author decided to make the title more concise.
- The prototype of Professor Preobrazhensky is the famous surgeon and uncle of the writer N.M. Pokrovsky.
- It was never published during the writer’s lifetime, so it is not known for certain what exactly inspired the writer to create it. However, many literary scholars have noticed that Bulgakov’s plot echoes the novel by H. Wells “The Island of Doctor Moreau,” where the scientist discovered a way to transform animals into people. The leitmotif of the story echoes many literary works of the twenties, when, after the revolutionary storms and the transition to peaceful life Some confusion and disappointment reigned in society due to the fact that the revolution did not solve eternal problems humanity.
- When Bulgakov first read his book at the Nikitsky Subbotnik, he was immediately reported to the Cheka: “The whole thing is written in hostile tones, breathing endless contempt for Sovstroi and denies all its achievements.”
The story “The Heart of a Dog” was banned in the USSR because Lev Kamenev, a high-ranking member of the Bolshevik Party, saw in the text a “sharp pamphlet on modernity” that “should under no circumstances be published.” After such a verdict, Nedra magazine and the Moscow Art Theater terminated the agreement with the writer on publication and theatrical production books. In 1926, Mikhail Bulgakov was searched, and even the manuscripts of his scandalous work were confiscated. The history of publication of the story “Heart of a Dog” ended only in 1987, when the era of glasnost began.
Genre and direction
"Heart of a Dog" refers to in literature. Despite the insignificant fantastic element, which is also explained from a scientific point of view, the author strives to objectively depict surrounding reality. The characters he created, their actions and words look authentic and naturalistic. The author successfully recreated the flavor of the era in the smallest detail: from the singing of ideologically correct songs to the “devastation in the closets.” The reader can believe that the events described could have happened in real life.
The genre of Bulgakov’s work “Heart of a Dog” can be defined as a story. The narrative covers a fairly short period of time, includes a small number of characters and storylines. But at the same time, the work is characterized huge amount details and real places, which give a more complete picture of the events taking place than the action in the story.
Composition and Conflict
The composition of the work “Heart of a Dog” is circular:
- The narrative opens with the internal monologue of the homeless dog Sharik, which acts as an exposition designed to reveal the backstory and show the reader the main characters.
- The operation on Sharik and his transformation into a human is the plot that marks the beginning of the conflict.
- The conflict culminates in Sharik’s attempt to adapt to his new life and his conflict with the professor.
- The finale ends with another internal monologue of the dog Sharikov, which marks the resolution of the conflict and the return of everything to normal - the denouement.
There are several conflicts in Bulgakov's story:
- The first conflict is the confrontation between the intellectual Professor Preobrazhensky and the house management, consisting of workers and political activists. This conflict is intended to show the clash of two generations and types of people who think in completely different categories. Bulgakov is on the professor’s side, because the privileges that he defends are deserved by his hard work. Shvonder looks like a caricatured upstart who became someone significant only thanks to the coup.
- The second conflict occurs between the dog Sharik, who has been transformed into a human, and the people around him, including the professor. The idea of this conflict lies in the danger that threatens humanity if it does not restrain itself on the path of progress. Polikarp Sharikov could not become a full-fledged person because he missed the necessary stages of development, but at the same time he demanded everything that he did not deserve. The conflicts are interconnected, and at the climax they are completely intertwined into one.
The point: what is the story about?
An old professor, Philip Preobrazhensky, finds a mongrel dying in an alley. Immediately giving the dog the name Sharik, Philip Philipovich, for an unknown purpose, brings it to his luxurious multi-room apartment.
The professor turns out to be a significant person serving many rich and influential people, including members of the Communist Party. With just one call, Preobrazhensky horrifies and embarrasses the head of the local housing administration, Shvonder, who wanted to transfer one of the seven rooms in the professor’s apartment to the poor.
Finally, we find out what Philip Philipovich was up to and why he needed Sharik. By transplanting the necessary organs, the professor planned to turn the dog into a human. The operation ends in brilliant success, Sharik transforms into a human and takes the name Sharikov.
Over time, due to the bad genetics of the organ donor and the inability of the professor to integrate his experimental subject into human society, Sharikov's character begins to deteriorate.
Shvonder takes responsibility for Sharikov’s employment, preparing documents for him and placing him in the cat catching service. Under the influence of the head of the house management, Sharikov begins to see Preobrazhensky as his direct enemy and begins to blackmail the professor, threatening to write a denunciation. At this moment, Philip Philipovich’s assistant, Ivan Bormental, loses his temper and kills Sharikov.
At the end of the story, the reader learns that Preobrazhensky saved Sharikov’s life by turning him back into Sharik’s dog and leaving him to live with him.
The main characters and their characteristics
The system of images in the story “Heart of a Dog” is presented by the Many-Wise Litrecon in the form of a table:
| characters from the story “Heart of a Dog” | characteristic |
| polygraph polygraphovich balls | former yard dog ball. the fruit of Preobrazhensky’s bold experiment. appears before readers in two roles: as a dog and as a person.
1) in the form of a dog, we see a rather smart and sweet mongrel, prone to philosophizing. 2) after the transformation, an extremely unpleasant subject appears before us: selfish, rude and ignorant. he is prone to alcoholism and smoking, behaves immorally and uncivilized, pestering women and making a mess in the apartment. periodically complains about his new life, but doesn’t want to part with her. loves scandals, quarrels and willingly projects them. always pulls the blanket over himself, wanting to quickly appropriate himself maximum quantity material values: in the finale he insists on dividing Preobrazhensky’s apartment. feelings of gratitude, responsiveness and tact are unknown to him. Only fear can sober up Sharikov. finds himself only in catching stray cats, where he achieves great success, becoming the head of the service. the new proletarian society becomes an ideal habitat for him, where he can exercise his rights without fulfilling his duties. he easily masters a new revolutionary vocabulary and flaunts it, achieving his selfish goals. |
| Philip Philipovich Preobrazhensky | old Moscow professor, intellectual. This is a polite, cultured, but narcissistic and arrogant person who makes high demands on himself, but in return demands respect and recognition from others. a brilliant doctor and scientist, a hardworking and purposeful leader. looks at the world through the prism of pessimism, constantly expects the worst, often grumbles and complains about the lack of order and legality. having seen the past era, he constantly compares the new era with it, and not in favor of the Soviet regime, because he is irritated by the general equalization of people, which is unnatural by nature. Realizing the unnaturalness of his experiment, he admits the mistake and eliminates it. he behaves rather selfishly, showing little interest in the problems of those around him, trying with all his might to isolate himself from public life. has extensive connections in the country's leadership and is not shy about using them. In his behavior, Philip Philipovich is guided by the principles of individualism, in which he opposes socialism as an ideology. |
| Shvonder | Chairman of the House Committee and Communist Party activist. a functionary who strictly observes regulations and formalities and strives to create the same conditions for all residents. encountering a professor who, living within the system, manages to ignore all its laws, begins to develop a personal dislike for him. conscientiously participates in the fate of Sharikov, issuing him a passport and arranging a job for him, at the same time, however, exacerbating his conflict with Preobrazhensky. By nature, Shvonder is a typical proletarian promoter who masks the lack of real achievements and talents with activity and formalism. high intelligence and success irritate him because he lives in a utopia of universal equality, but does not understand that by nature all people are not equal, but individual. Having once mastered one theory, the Shvonder forces life into its framework and does not think of any deviations. |
| Ivan Arnoldovich Bormental | young doctor, assistant professor. cultural and well-mannered person, devoted to the professor and hardworking at work. He is reasonable and calm, but in the end, unable to bear Sharikov’s behavior any longer, he breaks down and kills him. |
Topics
The theme of the story “Heart of a Dog” sealed its fate: the author walked on the edge and touched upon issues that were pointedly avoided by censorship:
- Scientific progress– the example of the professor clearly shows that often, following the path of unstoppable progress, humanity itself is not fully aware of its actions and does not understand what they can lead to. In any discovery, it is important not to disrupt the natural course of things so much as to exclude nature from human life and ignore its laws.
- New power- the work is imbued with hostility towards the Soviet regime, in which Bulgakov saw something alien and dangerous. The universal passion for equality and brotherhood killed individuality in people and deprived them of the opportunity to think freely.
- Creation of the type of Soviet man– the ideology of communism implies a change in human consciousness through a change in being. Ideology was supposed to educate people from whom nails could be made, as Mayakovsky wrote. Bulgakov, accustomed to thinking of himself as an elite, did not believe that ordinary workers and peasants could ever compare with him. It was not just a matter of origin, but the fact that people have different capabilities, and it is impossible to equalize them without deforming them.
- Kindness– the world depicted in the story “Heart of a Dog” is completely devoid of kindness. The cruel reality embitters people who do not even feel pity for a dog, let alone each other. Preobrazhensky himself saves the dog only in order to obtain material for the experiment.
- Culture– Professor Preobrazhensky’s apartment is represented as a lonely island of culture and sophistication in the middle of an ocean of rudeness and ignorance. Only there you can still hear refined speech and correct Russian language without swearing and vulgarity. Every word of the professor is spoken consciously and correctly, but the speech of Shvonder and others like him is like clippings from revolutionary newspapers, mixed somehow.
- Upbringing– Bulgakov showed the important role education plays in the development of a person. Preobrazhensky and Bormenthal were unable to convey their values to Sharikov, to instill culture in him, as a result, he began to learn from Shvonder, opposing himself to his own creators. It is impossible to create a real person without education and long journey formation that takes place in youth.
- Pride and Humility– at the beginning of the story, Philip Philipovich appears before us as a proud man who considers himself capable of overcoming nature, but in the end he comes to terms with the failure of his experiment, realizing that it is better to return everything the way it was.
Problems
The problems of the story “Heart of a Dog” became fatal for Bulgakov. Raising acute social and political problems, he fell into disgrace and lost many sources of his income:
- Devastation after the Civil War– the country in Bulgakov’s story is a deplorable spectacle. Dark streets covered with snow, gloomy tired people and dilapidated houses surround the heroes. But not only everyday life is in decline, but also the people themselves, who have lost life guidelines and not understanding how to organize their lives. This is exactly what the writer speaks about through the mouth of Professor Preobrazhensky.
- Bureaucracy- in the person of Shvonder, the writer showed the emerging Soviet bureaucrat - an executive person obsessed with formalism and interested only in carrying out the will of the state. Such a person arouses obvious hostility in Bulgakov; in him he sees his direct enemy.
- Harassment of dissent– an extremely hostile relationship is established between the professor and the house management at the very first meeting. Convinced communists understand that Preobrazhensky has a worldview that directly contradicts their own views. This alone arouses in them antipathy and a desire to harm Philip Philipovich, who is saved only by his connections. The writer looks with condemnation at the communists' attempt to invade a person's personal life and attempt to forcibly change someone's beliefs.
- Raid on the intelligentsia– the story shows an atypical situation when an anti-Soviet intellectual not only avoids the repressive machine of the state, but uses it for his own purposes. However, he also has to constantly be on guard, expecting some kind of meanness from the haters. For Bulgakov, as an intellectual, such a situation seems unacceptable and absurd.
- The inability of the new government to organize life- through the mouth of Preobrazhensky, Bulgakov expresses claims to the new government for the chaos and lawlessness reigning in the country. In his opinion, the country and people need a strong hand that will finally force people to work and fulfill duties, and not just demand rights.
- Negative consequences of scientific discoveries- in the first half of the twentieth century, beliefs that uncontrolled technological progress were dangerous for humanity spread more and more throughout the world. These views are our response in the work of Bulgakov and the image of Preobrazhensky, who himself created what almost destroyed him.
- Cruelty to animals– Bulgakov specifically emphasizes the evil that people cause to the stray dog Sharik, starting with the cook pouring boiling water on him, ending with the professor who uses the dog for his experiment. According to the writer, if people are cruel to a harmless dog, then they are doubly merciless to each other.
Meaning
The work reflects the turbulent and alarming atmosphere of the early twentieth century. The author looks anxiously into the future, warning humanity against the path it is taking. The main idea of the story “Heart of a Dog” is hidden in symbolic meaning the experiment itself. In the post-revolutionary period, the ideologists of the Bolshevik Party became concerned with the process of creating a new type of person - the Soviet. Motivational posters hung everywhere, extremely useful and correct news stories were described in newspapers and magazines, slogans were heard at meetings and rallies, and in schools education was completely subordinated to the needs and demands of the party. It was decided to make a coherent mechanism out of the people that would master the industrialization necessary for a backward agricultural country. Preobrazhensky did the same thing: he created new type person. But his idea, like the party’s initiative, failed, because it is impossible to go against nature and simplify man to a mechanism. The Soviet government ignored the same thing that Preobrazhensky did not notice - the process of education, long and complex, like the process of the historical formation of the people, which cannot be forced. This is the main idea of the story “Heart of a Dog”: it is necessary to recognize the failure of the Soviet experiment and return to the natural order, in which each person had a “place according to his abilities.” Universal equality is as impossible as creating a full-fledged human from a dog.
Bulgakov's conservative beliefs clearly appear in the work. Sharik symbolizes the Russian people, the professor symbolizes the Russian intelligentsia, which, according to Bulgakov, liberated the people, and Shvonder symbolizes the Soviet government, which, due to the weakness of the intelligentsia, took on the role of educator of the people and led them against the intelligentsia. The writer saw the salvation of the country in an orderly and evolutionarily developing system that would return peasants and workers to their rightful place, and not elevate them to places where they could not cope with their responsibilities, just as Sharikov failed with the role of a person.
What does it teach?
In the person of Sharikov, the writer shows us what lack of culture and ignorance is. Bulgakov's hero shows how a decent person should not behave. The author makes us think that outdated bourgeois morality is much higher than proletarian morality, because it is based on eternal values and centuries-old experience that new people deny. We can draw a historical conclusion from the story “Heart of a Dog”: the global Soviet experiment was initially doomed to failure, because artificially equating people with different possibilities and inclinations is impossible.
The story also teaches us prudence and restraint in our desires. He talks about how important it is to respect others and defend individual freedom.
Criticism
If similarly crudely disguised attacks (for all this “humanization” is just emphatically noticeable, careless makeup) attacks appear on the book market of the USSR, then the White Guard abroad... can only envy the exceptional conditions for counter-revolutionary authors here.
However, the intelligentsia approved of Bulgakov’s work, and reviews from critics greatly supported him in difficult times:
"This is the first literary work, which dares to be itself. The time has come to implement the attitude towards what happened... [meaning the October Revolution of 1917]" (M. Ya. Schneider, 1925)
“I was very pleased to read your review of M. Bulgakov... his humorous things are pearls that promise him to be an artist of the first rank. But censorship cuts it mercilessly. Recently I killed the wonderful piece “Heart of a Dog”, and he is completely losing heart.” (V. Veresaev (Smidovich) - M. Voloshin (Kirienko-Voloshin), letter dated April 8, 1925)
More modern critics also noted the skill of Bulgakov, who was able to convey the character of the era, which he witnessed:
One of the burning problems of the time was the problem of value. human personality. Most often, social demagogues reduced the issue to external “indicators”: if a worker, then “ours”; if from the nobles or bourgeoisie, then the enemy, the “alien element”, who does not have the right to revolutionary conquests, in essence, has no rights at all, a “disenfranchised”. The antagonism of the warring parties, quite natural during the years of revolution and civil war, cleverly inflating and warming up even after the revolutionary events, when V.I. Lenin called on all segments of the Russian population to cooperate with the Soviet government. Bulgakov showed such antagonism between Preobrazhensky and Bormental, on the one hand, and Shvonder and the members of the house committee, on the other. So far, Preobrazhensky has won, his talent, his genius. And Bulgakov, together with his heroes, celebrates this victory.” (Viktor Petelin, article “ Happy time» // Bulgakov M. A. Collected works in 10 volumes. T. 3. Heart of a Dog. - M.: Golos, 1995. - 464 p.)
Critics have noted that “Heart of a Dog” clean water satire, and that even the reader himself is ridiculed:
Formally, it can be regarded as a work dedicated to a new stage in the triumph of science: the hero, Professor Preobrazhensky, manages... to cope with the creation of his own hands that has rebelled against him. But you shouldn’t rush to conclusions based on formal features. After all, at the same time, again formally, “Heart of a Dog” is a satire, as everyone who has read it can testify to. Therefore, it is necessary to understand whether the in this case science or is ridiculed. And if it is not science that is being ridiculed here, then what is it?<…>Yes, the reader of “Heart of a Dog” laughs at himself... ...The reader... and serves as the main object of ridicule in “Heart of a Dog”.<…>(E. G. Stepanyan, “About Mikhail Bulgakov and the “heart of a dog””, Oklik publishing house, 2011)
Encyclopedic YouTube
1 / 3
✪ Dog's HEART. Mikhail Bulgakov
✪ Heart of a Dog - Invasion of the Professor!
✪ The main phrase from the movie "Heart of a Dog"
Subtitles
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 became the property of 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, 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 “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 seized 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.
Composition
So, as a sign of peaceful greetings
I take off my hat, I hit it with my forehead,
Having recognized the philosopher-poet
Under a careful hood.
A. S. Pushkin
In terms of genre, “Heart of a Dog” (1925) is a story, but when discussing its genre uniqueness, it should be recognized that it is a social and philosophical satirical story with elements of fantasy.
The story describes NEP Moscow in the mid-20s of the 20th century. Life ordinary people, for the sake of whose happiness the revolution was made, is very difficult. Suffice it to recall the girl typist, citizen Vasnetsova. For her work she receives a pittance, which is impossible to feed herself on even in the canteen of “Normal food for employees of the Central Council of the National Economy”, so she is forced to become the mistress of her boss, a boorish and smug “coming from the people” (I). This figure (“chairman of something”) believes: “My time has come. Now I (...) no matter how much I steal, it’s all female body, on cancer necks, on Abrau-Durso. Because I was hungry enough in my youth, it will be enough for me, but there is no afterlife” (I). The young typist will become Sharikov’s bride, and, of course, she will agree to marry this miracle of nature not because of a good life.
Simple Soviet people the author describes sympathetically, but there are other characters in the story who are satirically ridiculed. This is the fat cook from the mentioned “Normal Food...” canteen: he steals quality food and feeds rotten food to visitors, which causes these visitors to have stomach ache. This is the new elite - patients of Professor Preobrazhensky, well-fed and satisfied, but preoccupied with various sexual problems. The professor himself, who resembles a medieval French knight, and his faithful student-squire Doctor Bormental, who wanted to correct the laws of nature, are ridiculed.
The social content of the story is expressed through the description of the everyday life of Moscow: criminals are still on the loose in the capital (Klim Chugunkin), there is a problem of food supply, drama communal apartments, bitter drunkenness. In other words, Bulgakov shows the discrepancy between official Soviet propaganda and real life. The social idea of the story is to show the heavy unsettled life common man in the Soviet country, where, as in the old days, swindlers and scoundrels of various stripes rule the roost - from the canteen caretaker to high-ranking patients of Professor Preobrazhensky. These heroes are portrayed satirically, and the logic of the narrative leads the reader to the conclusion that the well-fed and comfortable life of such people is paid for by the suffering of the entire people during the years of the revolution and civil war.
In the story, the social content is closely intertwined with philosophical reflections on the new, post-revolutionary time and the “new” man generated by this time. At least two serious philosophical problems should be highlighted in the work.
The first is about the scientist’s responsibility for his discoveries. Professor Preobrazhensky decided to carry out a unique operation - to transplant a human pituitary gland into the brain of an experimental dog. Since Philip Philipovich is a talented surgeon, he managed to implant the pituitary gland of the bandit Klim Chugunkin into the brain of the mongrel Sharik. The scientist conceived this operation in order to test his guesses regarding the artificial rejuvenation of the human body. Having received an extract of the sex hormone from the pituitary gland, the professor could not yet know that the pituitary gland contains many different hormones. The result was unexpected: the experimenter’s miscalculation led to the birth of a disgusting informer, alcoholic, demagogue - Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. With his experiment, Preobrazhensky challenged evolution, the natural state of affairs in nature.
But, according to Bulgakov, violating the laws of nature is very dangerous: a monster may be born that will destroy the experimenter himself, and along with him all of humanity. IN fiction This idea was also developed in mid-19th century (M. Shelley's novel "Frankenstein, or the New Prometheus"), and many times in the 20th century (A.N. Tolstoy's novel "The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin", B. Brecht's play "Galileo", the story of the Strugatsky brothers "Monday Begins on Saturday" ", etc.). Preobrazhensky realized the danger of his scientific experience, when Sharikov robbed him, tried to survive from the apartment, wrote a denunciation about the counter-revolutionary statements and actions of the professor. Philip Philipovich, in a conversation with Bormenthal, admitted his experience was practically useless, although brilliant, from a scientific point of view: “Please explain to me why it is necessary to artificially fabricate Spinoza, if any woman can give birth to a genius at any time. (...) Humanity itself takes care of this and, in an evolutionary order, every year persistently, singling out all kinds of scum from the masses, creates dozens of outstanding geniuses who adorn the globe” (VIII).
Second philosophical problem the story is about people's compliance with the laws of social development. In the author’s opinion, social illnesses cannot be cured in a revolutionary way: the writer experiences deep skepticism regarding the revolutionary process in his backward country and contrasts it with his “beloved and Great Evolution"(letter from M.A. Bulgakov to the USSR Government dated March 28, 1930). The story “Heart of a Dog” reflects a sharp change in public views Bulgakov in comparison with previous beliefs presented in the novel “ White Guard"(1921-1924). Now the writer understands that it is not the revolution with its unpredictable explosions and zigzags, but the great, unstoppable evolution that acts according to nature, natural and human. Only as a result of the revolution can individuals like Shvonder and Sharikov come to power - uneducated, uncultured, but self-satisfied and determined.
It seems to Shvonder and Sharikov that creating a just society is easier than ever: everything must be taken away and divided. Therefore, Shvonder is outraged that Professor Preobrazhensky lives in a seven-room apartment and even has servants (cook Daria Petrovna and maid Zina). The fighter for “universal justice” and at the same time the chairman of the House of Coma cannot understand that for normal work and successful experiments a scientist requires premises and freedom from household chores. with their own scientific discoveries A scientist brings such enormous benefit to society that it is beneficial for society itself to create good living conditions for him. After all, an outstanding scientist, as Preobrazhensky is presented in the story, is a rarity and great value for the nation. However, such reasoning is beyond Shvonder’s understanding, and he, seeking formal social equality, as he understands it, constantly pits Sharikov against Philip Philipovich. The professor, analyzing the situation, is sure that as soon as Sharikov finishes with his “creator,” he will definitely “take care of” his “ideological leader” (VIII). Then things won’t go well for Shvonder either, because Sharikov is a dark, evil and envious force that can’t create anything, but wants to divide everything and grab more for itself. Sharikov’s view of the world seems primitive to Preobrazhensky (and Bulgakov himself), although nothing else could have been born in the undeveloped brains of Poligraf Poligrafovich. Skeptical about the idea of “general sharing,” the writer essentially repeats the opinion of the Russian philosopher N.A. Berdyaev, who wrote that “equality is an empty idea and that social justice should be based on the dignity of each individual, and not on equality.” .
The story contains elements of fantasy that make the plot entertaining and at the same time help to reveal the idea of the work. Of course, the pituitary gland transplant operation and the very transformation of a dog into a humanoid creature are fantastic, but fantastic (even from the point of view of physiologists beginning of the XXI century) the ideas of artificial rejuvenation of the human body seemed quite real to some domestic scientists in the mid-20s of the 20th century. This is evidenced by newspaper articles and reports enthusiastically describing the promising experiences of doctors (L.S. Aizerman “Fidelity to the idea and fidelity to ideas” // Literature at school, 1991, No. 6).
So, in his story, Bulgakov, being a doctor, expressed a skeptical attitude towards the problem of rejuvenation, and being a writer, he satirically depicted the “success” of gerontologists and philosophically comprehended the consequences of human revolutionary intervention in the life of nature and society.
The story “Heart of a Dog” can be considered the most interesting work early creativity Bulgakov, since the main artistic principles writer. In a small work, Bulgakov managed to do a lot: to depict in sufficient detail and satirically modern life the country of the Soviets, pose the most important moral problem about the scientist’s responsibility for his discovery, and even outline his own understanding of the ways of development of human society. New social conditions give rise to “new” people, and the story discusses the collapse of the idea that a “new” person can be created quickly, for example, by some miraculous pedagogical or surgical methods. The courage of Professor Preobrazhensky, who decided to improve nature itself, was severely punished.
In its diversity of content, “Heart of a Dog” is reminiscent of Bulgakov’s main work, the novel “The Master and Margarita,” because in terms of genre features, both the novel and the story coincide - social and philosophical satirical work with elements of fantasy.
Other works on this work
“The rational and the moral always coincide.” L. N. Tolstoy. (Based on one of the works of Russian literature - M. A. Bulgakov “Heart of a Dog”) “The Great Experiment” in M. A. Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog” “Sharikovism” as a social and moral phenomenon (based on M. A. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog”) “I don’t want and cannot believe that evil is the natural state of man” (F. M. Dostoevsky) (using the example of M. Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog”) The author and his characters in M. A. Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog” Bulgakov - “a politically harmful author” (review) Bulgakov and his novel "Heart of a Dog" What is Professor Preobrazhensky’s fault? (based on the story “Heart of a Dog” by M. A. Bulgakov) M. A. Bulgakov’s view of the revolution (based on the story “Heart of a Dog”) Shvonder’s visit to Professor Preobrazhensky (analysis of an episode from chapter 6 of M. A. Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog”) Comic and tragic in the works of M. A. Bulgakov (using the example of the story “Heart of a Dog”) M. A. Bulgakov “Heart of a Dog” Monologue of Preobrazhensky as one of the elements of his portrait characterization (based on the story “Heart of a Dog” by M. A. Bulgakov) Moral issues of M. A. Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog.” Moral issues of the story by M.A. Bulgakov "Heart of a Dog" Moral issues of works of the 20th century (1-2 works of Russian and native literature) The image of an antihero and the means of its creation in one of the works of Russian literature of the 20th century The image of an antihero and the means of its creation in one of the works of Russian literature of the 20th century. (M.A. Bulgakov. “Heart of a Dog.”) The image of Moscow in M. A. Bulgakov’s novel “Heart of a Dog” The image of Professor Preobrazhensky (based on the story “Heart of a Dog” by M. Bulgakov) The image of a Russian intellectual (based on M. A. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog”) The image of Sharikov in M. A. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog” Features of the development of conflict in one of the works of Russian literature of the 20th century. (M.A. Bulgakov. “Heart of a Dog.”) Why was Professor Preobrazhensky mistaken (story by M.A. Bulgakov “Heart of a Dog”) Why was Bulgakov’s satirical story “The Heart of a Dog” not published immediately after it was written? Why can Professor Preobrazhensky’s experiment be called unsuccessful? (based on M. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog”) Techniques of the comic and their role in one of the works of Russian literature of the 20th century. (M.A. Bulgakov. “Heart of a Dog.”) Problems and artistic originality of M. A. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog” Professor Preobrazhensky and Shvonder (based on M. Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog”) Reasoning over the pages of the story “Heart of a Dog” Real and unreal in the works of M.A. Bulgakov's "Heart of a Dog" and "The Master and Margarita" Review of the story “Heart of a Dog” by M. A. Bulgakov. Fatal experiments (based on the story “Heart of a Dog” by M. Bulgakov) The role of satire in M. Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog” The role of fiction in M. A. Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog” SATIRE (Based on the story “Heart of a Dog”) The originality of Mikhail Bulgakov's satire (“Heart of a Dog”) The meaning of Sharik’s two transformations in M. A. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog” The meaning of Sharik’s two transformations in M.A.’s story. Bulgakov "Heart of a Dog" The meaning of the title of M. A. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog” The meaning of Sharik’s transformations (based on M. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog”). Soviet power in M. A. Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog.” The theme of revolution, civil war and the fate of the Russian intelligentsia in Russian literature (Pasternak, Bulgakov) Fantastic and real in M. A. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog” Features of the revolutionary era in M. A. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog” Features of the revolutionary era in M. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog” Sharikov and Sharik (based on the story “Heart of a Dog” by M. A. Bulgakov) Sharikov and Sharikovism (based on M. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog”) Sharikov and Sharikovism (based on M. A. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog”) Sharikov and Sharikovism (based on M. A. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog”). Sharikovism is a social phenomenon “Devastation is not in closets, but in heads,” - the main idea of M. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog” Analysis of M. A. Bulgakov's story "Heart of a Dog" The image of Professor Preobrazhensky The history of the creation and fate of M. A. Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog” Relevance of M. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog” Statement of moral problems in M. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog” The meaning of the title of the story “Heart of a Dog” Fatal experiments The creation of a new man from old “human material” (based on M. A. Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog”) The bad thing is that people don’t think about social justice (based on the story “Heart of a Dog”) Conflict in the story “Heart of a Dog” Heart of a Dog, Image of Sharikov in M. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog” Results of Shvonder’s education of Sharikov (Analysis of the episode “From the Diary of Doctor Bormenthal” based on M.A. Bulgakov’s news “Heart of a Dog”) Techniques of the comic and their role in one of the works of Russian literature of the 20th century Sharikov and Sharikovism Shvonder's visit to Professor Preobrazhensky. (Analysis of an episode from chapter 6 of Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog.”) Biblical motives in the story "Heart of a Dog" The meaning of Sharik’s two transformations in Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog” The unnatural experiment of Professor Preobrazhensky Fantasy dystopia and satire in the story “Heart of a Dog” Heart of a Dog, The image of an anti-hero and the means of its creation in one of the works of Russian literature of the 20th century “Heart of a Dog”, The image of an anti-hero and the means of its creation in one of the works of Russian literature of the 20th century. (M. A. Bulgakov. “Heart of a Dog.”) “Heart of a Dog”, Life with a Dog’s Heart (based on M. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog”) Soviet Russia and the “new man” through the eyes of Mikhail Bulgakov (based on the story “Heart of a Dog”) Why can Professor Preobrazhensky’s Experiment be called unsuccessful? Features of the revolutionary era in Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog” The Great Experiment "Reasonable and moral always coincide." L.N. Tolstoy. ("Heart of a Dog") The vitality of “Sharikovshchina” as a social and moral phenomenon “Shvonder is the biggest fool” (based on M. Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog”) The author's position and techniques for depicting characters in Mikhail Bulgakov's story "Heart of a Dog" The central character of the story M.A. Bulgakov "Heart of a Dog" Sharikov is the hero of the story by M.A. Bulgakov "Heart of a Dog" Genre originality of the story “Heart of a Dog” by M.A. Bulgakov “The devastation is not in the closets, but in the heads” “Heart of a Dog”, Bulgakov and his novel “Heart of a Dog” Features of the development of conflict in one of the works of Russian literature of the 20th century The image of the city in one of the works of Russian literature of the 20th century. Two works based on M. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog” and “Fatal Eggs” The tragedy of the Russian people in Mikhail Bulgakov's story "Heart of a Dog" Satire as a means of ridiculing distorted reality (Based on the story “Heart of a Dog” by M. A. Bulgakov) “A real writer is the same as an ancient prophet: he sees more clearly than ordinary people” (based on Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog”) Sharikov - characteristics of a literary hero Satire in Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog” The theme of the danger of a “revolutionary” transformation of nature Heart of a Dog, Satire (based on the story “Heart of a Dog”) Heart of a Dog, Sharikov and Sharikovism (based on M. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog”) Works of M. A. Bulgakov The relationship between Sharikov and Preobrazhensky Essay on M. Bulgakov’s stories “Heart of a Dog” and “Fatal Eggs” The role of the author in the story “Heart of a Dog” “The Bedbug” by Mayakovsky and “Heart of a Dog” by Bulgakov in the context of time Dispute between Doctor Bormenthal and Professor Preobrazhensky A Christmas story on Prechistenka (the main themes of M. Bulgakov’s story “The Heart of a Dog”) Reality and fiction in M.A. Bulgakov’s story “Heart of a Dog.”The story "Heart of a Dog", the history of which is given in this article, is one of the most famous works Russian writer of the early 20th century Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov. The story, written in the first years of Soviet power, very accurately reflected the mood that reigned in the new society. So accurate that it was banned from printing until perestroika.
History of writing the work
The story "The Heart of a Dog", the history of which dates back to 1925, was written by Bulgakov in short terms. Literally in three months. Naturally, as a reasonable person, he had little faith that such a work could be published. Therefore, it was distributed only in lists and was known only to his close friends and associates.
The story “The Heart of a Dog” first fell into the hands of the Soviet government in 1926. In the history of the creation of this mirror of early Soviet reality, the OGPU played a role, which discovered it during a search of the writer on May 7. The manuscript was confiscated. The history of the creation of "Heart of a Dog" has since been closely connected with the archives of the Soviet intelligence services. All discovered editions of the text are now available to researchers and literary critics. They can be found in the Russian State Library. They are kept in the manuscript department. If you carefully analyze them, then the history of the creation of Bulgakov’s “Heart of a Dog” will appear before your eyes.
The fate of the work in the West
It was impossible to officially read this work in the Soviet Union. In the USSR it was distributed exclusively in samizdat. Everyone knew the story of the creation of “Heart of a Dog”; many were so eager to read it that they sacrificed their sleep. After all, the manuscript was handed over for a short period of time (often only for one night); in the morning it had to be given to someone else.
Attempts to publish Bulgakov's work in the West were made more than once. The history of the creation of the story "Heart of a Dog" abroad began in 1967. But everything happened not without flaws. The text has been copied to a quick fix and careless. The writer's widow Elena Sergeevna Bulgakova was not aware of this at all. Otherwise, she could have checked the accuracy of the text of the story “Heart of a Dog.” The history of the creation of the work in Western publishing houses is such that they received a very inaccurate manuscript.
It was first officially published in 1968 in the German magazine Grani, which was based in Frankfurt. And also in the magazine "Student", which was published by Alec Flegon in London. In those days there were unspoken rules, according to which in the event of publication work of art abroad, its publication in its homeland automatically became impossible. This was the story of the creation of Bulgakov’s “Heart of a Dog.” After that it became simply unrealistic to appear in a Soviet publishing house.
First publication in homeland
Only thanks to perestroika and glasnost did many key works of the 20th century become available to the Russian reader. Including "Heart of a Dog". The history of creation and the fate of the story are such that the work was first published in its homeland in 1987. This happened on the pages of Zvezda magazine.
However, the basis was the same inaccurate copy from which the story was published abroad. Later, researchers would estimate that it contained at least a thousand gross errors and distortions. However, it was in this form that “Heart of a Dog” was published until 1989. The history of creation can briefly fit into just a few pages. In reality, decades passed before the story reached the reader.
Original text
This annoying inaccuracy was corrected by the famous textual scholar and literary critic Lydia Yankovskaya.
In a two-volume edition of the selections, she was the first to print the original text that we still know today. This is how Bulgakov himself wrote it in “Heart of a Dog”. The history of the creation of the story, as we see, was not easy.
Plot of the story
The action of the work takes place in the capital in 1924. At the center of the story is the famous surgeon, luminary of science, Philip Philipovich Preobrazhensky. His main research is devoted to the rejuvenation of the human body. In this he achieved unprecedented success. Almost the country's top officials sign up for consultations and operations with him.
In the course of further research, he decides on a daring experiment. Transplants a human pituitary gland into a dog. As an experimental animal, he chooses an ordinary yard dog, Sharik, who somehow accosted him on the street. The consequences were literally shocking. Later short time The ball began to turn into a real person. However, he acquired his character and consciousness not from a dog, but from the drunkard and rude man Klim Chugunkin, who owned the pituitary gland.
At first, this story was circulated only in scientific circles among professors, but soon leaked to the press. The whole city knew about her. Preobrazhensky’s colleagues express admiration, and Sharik is shown to doctors from all over the country. But Philip Philipovich is the first to understand how terrible the consequences of this operation will be.
Sharik's transformation
Meanwhile, Sharik, who has turned into a full-fledged person, begins to be influenced by negative impact communist activist named Shvonder. It inspires him that the proletarian who is oppressed by the bourgeois, in the person of Professor Preobrazhensky. That is, exactly what the October Revolution fought against is happening.
It is Shvonder who issues documents to the hero. Now he is not Sharik, but Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov. Gets a job in a service that traps and exterminates homeless animals. First of all, he is, of course, interested in cats.
Under the influence of Shvonder and communist propaganda literature, Sharikov begins to be rude to the professor. Requires you to register yourself. Ultimately, he writes a denunciation against the doctors who turned him from a dog into a man. It all ends in scandal. Preobrazhenisky, who is unable to endure this any longer, performs the reverse operation, returning Sharikov’s canine pituitary gland. Over time, he loses his human appearance and returns to an animal state.
Political satire
This work is shining example acute The most common interpretation is associated with the idea of the awakening of proletarian consciousness as a result of the victory of the October Revolution. Sharikov is an allegorical image of the classical lumpen proletariat, which, having unexpectedly received large number rights and freedoms, begins to show purely selfish interests.
At the end of the story, the fate of Sharikov's creators looks predetermined. In this, according to many researchers, Bulgakov predicted the coming mass repressions of the 30s. As a result, many loyal communists who achieved victory in the revolution suffered. As a result internal party struggle some of them were shot, and some were exiled to camps.
The ending, invented by Bulgakov, seems artificial to many.
Sharikov is Stalin
There is another interpretation of this story. Some researchers believe that it was acute political satire on the country's leadership, which worked in the mid-20s.
The prototype of Sharikov in real life is Joseph Stalin. It is no coincidence that both have an “iron” surname. Remember that the original name of the person who received the dog’s pituitary gland was Klim Chugunkin. According to these literary scholars, the prototype was the leader of the revolution, Vladimir Lenin. And his assistant, Doctor Bormental, who is constantly in conflict with Sharikov, is Trotsky, real name which is Bronstein. Both Bormenthal and Bronstein are Jewish surnames.
There are prototypes for other characters as well. Preobrazhensky's assistant Zina is Zinoviev, Shvonder is Kamenev, and Daria is Dzerzhinsky.
Soviet censorship played an important role in the history of the creation of this work. The first edition of the story contained direct references to political characters of that time.
One of the copies of the manuscript fell into the hands of Kamenev, who imposed a strict ban on the publication of the story, calling it “a sharp pamphlet on modernity.” In samizdat, the work began to spread from person to person only in the 1930s. It gained fame throughout the country much later - during perestroika.