D. Fonvizin - “satire is a brave ruler. Satyrs the bold overlord Satyrs the bold overlord summary

Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin is one of the most prominent figures in the literature of the 18th century. His love for the theater originated in his youth, and the talent of the future playwright was noticed by his gymnasium teachers.

Over time, Fonvizin's educational views deepened, his desire to intervene with his works in the very thick of the events of the Russian public life... Fonvizin is rightfully considered the creator of the Russian socio-political comedy. His famous play "The Minor" turned the Prostakovs' estate into a center of vices, "evil worthy fruits", which the playwright denounces with his characteristic slander, sarcasm, and irony. "The Minor" is a multi-dark work. It raises questions about the steady fulfillment of the "position" by each citizen, about the nature of family relations in contemporary Russia, about the system of upbringing and education. But the main, undoubtedly, are the problems of serfdom and state power... In the very first act, we find ourselves in an atmosphere of tyranny of the landlords. Trishka sewed Mitrofan's caftan "pretty badly", but this does not save him from abuse and flogging. The old nurse Mitrofana Eremeevna is immensely devoted to her masters, but receives from them "five rubles a year and five slaps a day." Prostakova is outraged by the fact that the serf girl Palashka, falling ill, lies "as if she were noble." The arbitrariness of the landowners led to the complete impoverishment of the peasants. “Since we have taken away everything that the peasants had, we cannot rip anything off. Such a disaster! " - complains Prostakova. But the landlords know for sure that they are protected by the entire system of state power. It was the social structure of Russia that allowed the Prostakovs and Skotinins to dispose of their estates in their own way.

Throughout the comedy, Fonvizin emphasizes the "bestial" essence of Prostakova and her brother. Even Vralman thinks that, living with the gentlemen Prostakovs, he is "a fairy with horses." Mitrofan will be no better. The author does not simply ridicule his "knowledge" in the sciences, his unwillingness to learn. Fonvizin sees that the same cruel serf-owner lives in him.

A huge influence on the formation of people like Mitrofan, in the author's opinion, is exerted not only by the general situation in the noble estates, but also by the adopted system of education and upbringing. Ignorant foreigners were involved in the upbringing of young noblemen. What could Mitrofan learn from the coachman Vralman? Could such nobles become the mainstay of the state? The group of positive characters in the play is represented by the images of Pravdin, Starodum, Milon and Sophia. For a writer of the era of classicism, it was extremely important not only to show social vices, but also to indicate the ideal to which one must strive. On the one hand, Fonvizin denounces state orders, on the other hand, the author gives a kind of instruction on what a ruler and society should be. Starodum expounds the patriotic views of the best part of the nobility, expresses topical political thoughts. Introducing into the play the scene of Prostakova's deprivation of mastery rights, Fonvizin suggests to the audience and the government one of the possible ways to suppress the tyranny of the landowners. Note that this step of the writer was disapprovingly met by Catherine II, who directly made the writer feel it. The Empress could not help but see in the comedy "The Minor" a sharp satire on the most terrible vices of the empire. Fonvizin's sarcasm was also reflected in the work entitled "General Court Grammar", compiled in the form of a textbook. The writer gives apt characteristics of the court mores, reveals the vices of the upper class. Calling his grammar "universal", Fonvizin stressed that these features are characteristic of monarchical rule in general. He calls the courtiers flatterers, sycophants, scoundrels. The satirist divides people living at the court into "vowels", "mute" and "half-vowels", and considers the verb "due" to be the most common, although debts are not paid at court. Catherine never saw obedience from Fonvizin, and therefore soon his works ceased to appear in print. But Russia knew them because they were on the lists. And the satirist entered the consciousness of his generation as a bold denouncer of the vices of society. It was not for nothing that Pushkin called him "a friend of freedom", and Herzen put the comedy "The Minor" on a par with Gogol's "Dead Souls".

Magic land! There in the old years

Satyrs brave lord

Fonvizin shone, friend of freedom ...

A. S. Pushkin

A bold lord of satire, a writer of great talent, an artist merciless in his truth, Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin was the founder of Russian realism. “He initiated the most magnificent and, perhaps, the most socially fruitful line of Russian literature - the denunciatory-realistic line,” wrote A. M. Gorky. In his works, Fonvizin skillfully exposed the vices of the ruling class, fought against the Russian autocracy, reflected the whole gamut of mores of his contemporary era, expressed a sharp rise in the national consciousness of people. His keen observant gaze noted all the impartial details of the surrounding reality: corruption and lawlessness of the courts, the low morality of the nobles, favoritism encouraged by the higher authorities. All these vices of society were certainly subject to his mark of satire.

Even at the beginning of his creative career, Fonvizin became close to young progressive writers and publishers. The result of communication with them was the poem "A message to my servants Shumilov, Vanka and Petrushka", which ridiculed the foundations of church doctrine and defenders of religion, preaching divine wisdom in the creation of the world and man. The author, with frank irony, exposed the lies and hypocrisy of the statutes of official morality:

The priests try to deceive the people,

Butler's servants, masters' butlers,

Gentlemen of each other, and noble boyars

Quite often they also want to deceive the sovereign;

And everyone, to fill their pocket tighter,

For the good, he judged to take up deception.

Fonvizin was interested not in a demonstration of abstract vices, but in revealing the real life of representatives of the "noble class". So, in the comedy "Brigadier" he shows the mental apathy and lack of spirituality, stupidity and cruelty, selfishness and debauchery prevailing in society. Behind the outward decency of the heroes lies the predatory appearance of the owners, who are ready to gnaw each other's throats. Both the foreman and the adviser were in the past in the service. But service was for them only a means to achieve a single goal - career growth, their own benefit.

In the works of the satirist, there is no artificial introduction of comic elements. Their object is real life, pure truth. The created images are typical, their language and behavior are fully consistent with the environment and era. A vivid picture of the wild ignorance and arbitrariness of the local nobles is presented in "Letters to Falalei". According to the author, the immoral behavior of the heroes turns them into a kind of cattle, which is intensified by a blind passion for animals and, along with this, cruelty to serfs, whom they do not at all consider for people.

The writer also presents a bold assessment of the reign of Catherine and the exposure of all its shortcomings in his Discourse on the Indispensable Laws of the State. Here the author touches upon the question of the relationship between the people and the sovereign. He expresses deep conviction that "... he cannot control others with glory, who cannot control himself ...", thereby making it clear that he does not approve of the policies and behavior of the authorities. In his opinion, Catherine did not perform main task ruler - "has not introduced in his state indispensable rules", without which there is no guarantee that she herself will not make her rule autocratic, tyrannical.

A true son of his time, DI Fonvizin was one of the progressive people of the 18th century. Throughout his career, he affirmed the lofty ideals of justice and humanism. In all his works, there is certainly a courageous protest against the injustice of autocracy, an angry denunciation of serf abuse. And bold satire became his well-aimed and faithful weapon.

Why ... abuse, how
not from the disastrous inequality between people?
J. J. Rousseau

This is how Alexander Pushkin estimated the talented playwright of the 18th century, adding to this characteristic one more - "... a friend of freedom." Fonvizin's bold and brilliant satire determined the development of the satirical trend in Russian literature for many years. The main objects of Fonvizin's satire in the brilliant comedy "The Minor" are "evil worthy fruits", the disfigurement of all human feelings and relationships.

Using the example of one serf family, the playwright was able to show all the harmful consequences of serfdom - actual slavery. The theme of the comedy "The Minor" was the main conflict in the socio-political life of Russia in the second half of the 18th century - the unbridled arbitrariness of the landowners and the complete lack of rights of the serfs. The despotic form of government was supported by the supreme power - this idea Fonvizin repeatedly emphasized in the speeches of Starodum.

The playwright reveals the dire consequences of slavery. The peasants are completely ruined. Mrs. Prostakova does not know what to do next: “Since we took away everything that the peasants had, we cannot rip anything off. Such a disaster! " Slavery morally disfigures everyone: both slaves and slave owners. Raba Eremeevna, Mitrofanushka's nanny, is an image of tremendous power. She lives the life of not a man, but a dog: insults, beatings, swearing, humiliation have made this old woman a slave who, like a chain dog, humiliatingly licks the hand of her mistress beating her. The slave-owning landlords are so corrupted that they have become the Skotinins. The people of the scotinous breed, although they call themselves the "noble class", in their essence have become despicable and vile brutes. They are not ashamed of their ignorance and ignorance, they are even proud of them: "People live and lived without sciences." Under this they sum up the base of life: they say that "learning is nonsense", that even without it they can put them in a position, and without learning one can achieve wealth. Pravdin notes with regret that, indeed, "money often leads to ranks, ranks - to nobility." Material from the site

Fonvizin's satire touched high society and even the royal court. Although Pravdin is deeply convinced of the enlightened nature of the autocracy in the person of Catherine II, Starodum, who has seen the court and its order, explains to him that the highest government in Russia encourages slavery, supports the Prostakovs and Skotinins. Starodum does not believe that this power can be cured, he says: "It is in vain to call a doctor to see the sick; here the doctor will not help, unless he himself becomes infected."

Fonvizin's bold satire showed that slavery and parasitic life pervert the human personality. Despotic and at the same time cowardly, greedy and vile, in which even family feelings are disfigured - this is how the landowners appear in the portrayal of a bold satirist. From here the path was opened (to the brilliant generalizations of Gogol and other Russian classics.

Magic land! there in old years,

Satyrs bold lord,

Fonvizin shone, friend of freedom ...

A. Pushkin

The eighteenth century left many remarkable names in the history of Russian literature. But if it were required to name a writer in whose works the depth of comprehension of the mores of his era would be commensurate with the courage and skill in exposing the vices of the ruling class, then first of all Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin should be mentioned.

Fonvizin went down in the history of national literature as the author of the famous comedy "The Minor". But he was also a talented prose writer. The gift of a satirist was combined in him with the temperament of a born publicist. Empress Catherine II feared the scourging sarcasm of the Fonvizin satire. Fonvizin's unsurpassed artistic skill was noted in his time by Pushkin. It amazes us to this day.

As one of the most prominent figures of educational humanism in Russia in the 18th century, Fonvizin embodied in his work the rise of national consciousness that marked this era. In the vast country awakened by the reforms of Peter the Great, the best representatives of the Russian nobility acted as the exponents of this renewed self-awareness. Fonvizin perceived the ideas of enlightenment humanism especially sharply, with a pain of his heart he observed the moral devastation of a part of his class. Fonvizin himself lived in the grip of ideas about the high moral obligations of a nobleman. In oblivion by the nobles of their duty to society, he saw the cause of all public evils: "It happened to me to travel around my land. I saw what most of those who bear the name of a nobleman relate their love. I saw many of those who serve, or, even more, take their places in the service just to ride a couple. I saw many others who immediately resigned, as soon as they achieved the right to harness the quadruple. I saw contemptuous descendants from the most respectable ancestors. In a word, I saw servile nobles. I am a nobleman, and this is what tore my heart to pieces. " This is what Fonvizin wrote in 1783 in a letter to the writer of "Bylei and Fables", that is, to the Empress Catherine I.

Fonvizin joined the literary life of Russia at a time when Catherine II encouraged interest in the ideas of the European Enlightenment: at first she flirted with the French enlighteners - Voltaire, Diderot, D. Alambert.But very soon there was no trace of Catherine's liberalism.

By force of circumstances, Fonvizin found himself in the midst of the internal political struggle that flared up at court. In this struggle, gifted with brilliant creativity and keen observation, Fonvizin took the place of a satirist who denounced corruption and lawlessness in courts, the low morality of the nobles close to the throne and favoritism encouraged by the higher authorities.

N. I. Novikov with his satirical magazines "Truten" and "Painting", Fonvizin with his publicistic speeches and the immortal "Minor" and, finally, A. N. Radishchev with the famous "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow" - these are the milestones in the formation of the tradition the most radical line of the Russian noble Enlightenment, and it is no coincidence that each of the three outstanding writers of the era was persecuted by the government. In the activities of these writers, the prerequisites for that first wave of the anti-autocratic liberation movement, which were later called the stage in the development of noble revolutionary thought, ripened.

"Have a heart, have a soul, and you will be a man at all times."

DI. Fonvizin

Denis Fonvizin - the great Russian writer, one of the most famous Russian literary men of the Catherine's era, a talented creator of the first Russian everyday comedy, playwright, publicist and translator.

Writer p dressed April 14, 1744 years in a wealthy noble Moscow family. He spent his childhood in a patriarchal atmosphere in the house of his father, Ivan Andreevich Fonvizin, who was an official of the Moscow revision board.

His origin was the most noble: his ancestral historical roots went back to the ancient knightly family, whose representatives settled in Russia under Ivan the Terrible, leaving Livonia. Mid X IX century the surname of this genus was written in two words or with a hyphen von Wiesen (or Von Wiesen, German von Wiesen). This eminent family gave Russia several generations of service nobles at once.

In 1755-1760. studied at the gymnasium at Moscow University, then for a year - at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University. V student years began to appear in Moscow magazines.

In 1762 he moved to St. Petersburg and took the place of a translator at the Collegium of Foreign Affairs. In 1763 - 69 he served as secretary to the cabinet minister I. Elagin, who was in charge of the analysis of petitions for the highest name, and from 1766 - and the imperial theaters.

In the same years, Fonvizin became close to a circle of young freethinking officers, under their influence he created the satirical work "A Message to My Servants ..." (1769). His interest in the theater was expressed in his work on an original Russian satirical comedy (before that he had shifted foreign comedies "to Russian customs"). "Brigadier", written in 1766 - 69 and staged in 1770, was published only in 1792 - 95. N. Novikov said about this comedy: "It was composed exactly in our morals."

In 1777 - 78 he traveled abroad, to France and Germany, about which he later wrote in the "Notes of the First Traveler", which played an important role in the formation of Russian prose.

His most significant work, comedy "Undergrowth"(1781), Fonvizin created in an atmosphere of reaction that followed the suppression of the Pugachev rebellion. It directly indicates the root of all Russia's troubles - serfdom and public ignorance, which, according to Fonvizin, can be overcome by reforms in the spirit of the Enlightenment.

In March 1782, he resigned, deciding to completely devote himself to literary creativity. In 1783 he published a number of satirical works: "The Experience of the Russian Estates", "Complaints to the Russian Minevre from Russian Writers", "The Narrative of an Imaginary Deaf and Dumb".

In 1784 - 85 Fonvizin visited Germany and Italy, anonymously published on French"The Life of Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin", depicting the image of an ideal enlightened nobleman.

In the future, Fonvizin was not allowed to appear in print; a five-volume collection of his works was not published. His articles were distributed only in lists.

The last years of his life the writer was seriously ill, but did not leave literary pursuits: he began the autobiographical story "A sincere confession in my deeds and thoughts" (it was not finished, but even in its unfinished form is a wonderful example of Russian prose).

DI. Fonfisin died in St. Petersburg on December 12, 1872. Buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

About the life and work of D.I. Fonvizin can be read:

S. Rassadin. Die, Denis, or the Empress's Disagreeable Interlocutor.

The history of the life and work of Denis Ivanovich Fonviziin. The book contains vivid portraits of Empress Catherine II, poet G.R. Derzhavin, Count N.I. Panin and many other prominent personalities of that era.

S. Rassadin. Satyrs are a bold lord.

This book is about D.I. Fonvizine was an outstanding writer, thinker, person who reflected in himself the strangeness and complexity of the Russian 18th century. It is also about the nature of that amazing century, about the people who lived in it: about G. Derzhavin, N. Panin and others. The book is a portrait of the writer, but a group portrait is against the background of the era and surrounded by its notable personalities.