“The History of a City” is one of the central works of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. It was published in the journal Otechestvennye zapiski in 1869-1870 and caused a wide public outcry. The main means of satirical exposure of reality in the work are grotesque and hyperbole. In terms of genre, it is stylized as a historical chronicle. The image of the author-narrator is called in it “the last archivist-chronicler.”
After the title there is a note: “According to original documents, published by M.E. Saltykov /Shchedrin/.” It is intended to create the illusion of authenticity.
M.E. writes with subtle irony. Saltykov-Shchedrin about how the faces of these mayors change with the change of one or another historical era: “So, for example, the mayors of Biron’s time are distinguished by their recklessness, the mayors of Potemkin’s time by their diligence, and the mayors of Razumovsky’s time by unknown origin and knightly courage. All of them flog the townsfolk, but the first flog the townsfolk absolutely, the latter explain the reasons for their management by the requirements of civilization, the third want the townsfolk to rely on their courage in everything.” Thus, from the very beginning, a hierarchy is built and emphasized: higher spheres - local government - ordinary people. Their destinies mirror what is happening in areas of power: “in the first case, the inhabitants trembled unconsciously, in the second they trembled with the consciousness of their own benefit, in the third they rose to awe filled with trust.”
The author emphasizes that the chronicler’s appearance is very real, which does not allow one to doubt his authenticity for a minute. M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin clearly indicates the boundaries of the period under consideration: from 1931 to 1825. The work includes “Address to the reader from the last archivist-chronicler.” To give a documentary character to this fragment of the narrative, the author places a footnote after the title stating that the address is conveyed exactly in the words of the chronicler himself. The publisher allowed himself only spelling corrections of the text in order to edit certain liberties in the spelling of words. The appeal begins with a conversation with the reader about whether there will be worthy rulers and leaders in the history of our country: “Is it really possible that in every country there will be glorious Nero and Caligula, shining with valor, and only in our own country will we not find such?” The omniscient publisher supplements this quote with a reference to a poem by G.R. Derzhavina: “Caligula! Your horse in the Senate Could not shine, shining in gold: Good deeds shine!” This addition aims to emphasize the value scale: it is not gold that shines, but good deeds. Gold in this case acts as a symbol of acquisitiveness, and good deeds are proclaimed as the true value of the world.
Further in the work there is a discussion about man in general. The chronicler encourages the reader to look at his own person and decide what is more important in him: the head or the belly. And then judge those in power. Analyzing the people's memory of city leaders and benefactors, the chronicler notes with subtle irony: “You don’t know what to glorify more: the power that dares in moderation, or these grapes that give thanks in moderation?”
At the end of the address, Foolov is compared to Rome, this again emphasizes that we are not talking about a specific city, but about a model of society in general. Thus, the city of Foolov is a grotesque image not only of all of Russia, but also of all power structures on a global scale, for Rome has been associated with the imperial city since ancient times, the same function is embodied by the mention of the Roman emperors Nero (37-68) and Caligula (12-68). 41) in the text of the work. For the same purpose, to expand the information field of the narrative, the names Kostomarov, Pypin and Solovyov are mentioned in the work. Contemporaries had an idea of what views and positions were being discussed. N.I. Kostomarov is a famous Russian historian, researcher of the socio-political and economic history of Russia and Ukraine, Ukrainian poet and fiction writer. A.N. Pypin (1833-1904) - Russian literary critic, ethnographer, academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, cousin of N.G. Chernyshevsky. B.C. Solovyov (1853-1900) - Russian philosopher, poet, publicist, literary critic of the late 19th - early 20th centuries.
Further, the chronicler dates the action of the story to the era of tribal feuds. At the same time, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin uses his favorite compositional technique: the fairy-tale context is combined with the pages of real Russian history. All this creates a system of witty subtle hints that are understandable to a sophisticated reader.
Having come up with funny names for the fairy-tale tribes, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin immediately reveals to the reader their allegorical meaning when representatives of the tribe of blockheads begin to call each other by name (Ivashka, Peter). It becomes clear that we are talking specifically about Russian history.
The bunglers decided to find themselves a prince, and since the people themselves are stupid, they are looking for an unwise ruler. Finally, one (the third in a row, as is customary in Russian folk tales) “princely lordship” agreed to rule this people. But with a condition. “And you will pay me many tributes,” the prince continued, “whoever brings a bright sheep, sign the sheep to me, and keep the bright one for yourself; Whoever happens to have a penny, break it in four: give one part to me, the other to me, the third to me again, and keep the fourth for yourself. When I go to war, you go too! And you don’t care about anything else!” Even unreasonable blockheads hung their heads from such speeches.
In this scene M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin convincingly shows that any power is based on the obedience of the people and brings them more troubles and problems than real help and support. It is no coincidence that the prince gives the bunglers a new name: “And since you did not know how to live on your own and, stupid, you yourself wished for bondage, then you will no longer be called bunglers, but Foolovites.”
The experiences of deceived bunglers are expressed in folklore. It is symbolic that on the way home one of them sings the song “Don’t make noise, mother green oak tree!”
The prince sends his thieving governors one after another. A satirical inventory of city governors gives them an eloquent description, testifying to their business qualities.
Clementius received the proper rank for his skillful preparation of pasta. Lamvrokanis traded in Greek soap, sponges and nuts. The Marquis de Sanglot loved to sing obscene songs. One can list for a long time the so-called exploits of mayors. They did not stay in power for long and did nothing worthwhile for the city.
The publisher considered it necessary to present detailed biographies of the most prominent leaders. Here M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin resorts to N.V., already known from “Dead Souls.” Gogol's classical technique. Just as Gogol portrayed landowners, he presents to the readers a whole gallery of typical images of city governors.
The first of them is depicted in the work of Dementy Varlamovich Brudasty, nicknamed Organchik. In parallel with the story about any specific mayor M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin constantly paints a general picture of the actions of city authorities and the perception of these actions by the people.
So, for example, he mentions that the Foolovites for a long time remembered those bosses who flogged and collected arrears, but at the same time they always said something kind.
The organ struck everyone with the most severe severity. His favorite word was the cry: “I won’t stand it!” Next M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin says that master Baibakov secretly came to the mayor of organ affairs at night. The secret is revealed suddenly at one of the receptions, when the best representatives of the “Gluiovsky intelligentsia” come to see Brudasty (this very phrase contains an oxymoron, which gives the story an ironic connotation). There the mayor breaks down the organ he was using instead of his head. Only Brudasty allowed himself to portray an uncharacteristic friendly smile for him, when “... suddenly something inside him hissed and buzzed, and the longer his mysterious hissing lasted, the more and more his eyes spun and sparkled.” No less interesting is the reaction of the city's secular society to this incident. M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin emphasizes that our ancestors were not carried away by revolutionary ideas and anarchist sentiments. Therefore, they only sympathized with the city mayor.
In this fragment of the work, another grotesque move is used: the head, which is being taken to the mayor after repairs, suddenly begins to bite around the city and utters the word: “I’ll ruin it!” A special satirical effect is achieved in the final scene of the chapter, when two different mayors are brought to the rebellious Foolovites almost simultaneously. But the people have become accustomed to not being greatly surprised by anything: “The impostors met and measured each other with their eyes. The crowd dispersed slowly and in silence.”
After this, anarchy begins in the city, as a result of which women seized power. These are the childless widow Iraida Lukinishna Paleologova, the adventurer Clementine de Bourbon, the Revel native Amalia Karlovna Shtokfish, Anelya Aloizievna Lyadokhovskaya, Dunka the fat-fifted, Matryonka the nostril.
In the characteristics of these mayors one can discern subtle hints about the personalities of the reigning persons in Russian history: Catherine II, Anna Ioannovna and other empresses. This is the most stylistically reduced chapter. M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin generously rewards the mayors with offensive nicknames and insulting definitions (“fat-fleshed”, “thick-footed”, etc.). Their entire reign boils down to chaos. The last two rulers generally resemble witches more than real people: “Both Dunka and Matryonka committed unspeakable outrages. They went out into the street and knocked the heads of passers-by with their fists, went alone to taverns and smashed them, caught young guys and hid them underground, ate babies, and cut out women’s breasts and ate them too.”
An advanced person who takes his responsibilities seriously is named in the work of S.K. Dvoekurov. In the author’s understanding, he correlates with Peter the Great: “One thing is that he introduced mead making and brewing and made the use of mustard and bay leaves mandatory” and was “the founder of those brave innovators who, three quarters of a century later, waged wars in the name of potatoes.” Dvoekurov's main achievement was his attempt to establish an academy in Foolov. True, he did not achieve results in this field, but the desire to implement this plan in itself was already a progressive step compared to the activities of other mayors.
The next ruler, Pyotr Petrovich Ferdyshchenko, was simple and even liked to equip his speech with the affectionate word “brother-sudarik.” However, in the seventh year of his reign, he fell in love with the suburban beauty Alena Osipovna. All nature has ceased to be favorable to the Foolovites: “From the very spring of St. Nicholas, from the time the water began to enter low water, and until Ilyin’s day, not a drop of rain fell. The old-timers could not remember anything like this, and not without reason attributed this phenomenon to the brigadier’s fall from grace.”
When the pestilence spread throughout the city, the truth-loving Yevseich was found in it, who decided to talk to the foreman. However, he ordered that the old man be put on a prisoner's uniform, and so Yevseich disappeared, as if he had not existed in the world, disappeared without a trace, as only the “miners” of the Russian land can disappear.
Light is shed on the real plight of the population of the Russian Empire by the petition of the residents of the most unfortunate city of Foolov, in which they write that they are dying out, that they see the authorities around them as unskillful.
The savagery and cruelty of the crowd is striking in the scene when the residents of Foolov throw the unfortunate Alenka from the bell tower, accusing her of all mortal sins. The story with Alenka had barely time to be forgotten when the foreman found himself a different hobby.
Strelchikha Domashka. All these episodes, in essence, show women's powerlessness and defenselessness in front of the voluptuous foreman.
The next disaster that befell the city is a fire on the eve of the feast of the Kazan Mother of God: two settlements burned down. The people perceived all this as another punishment for the sins of their foreman. The death of this mayor is symbolic. He drank too much and ate too much of the people's treat: “After the second break (there was a pig in sour cream) he felt sick; however, he overcame himself and ate another goose with cabbage. After that, his mouth twisted. You could see how some administrative vein on his face trembled, trembled and trembled, and suddenly froze... The Foolovites jumped up from their seats in confusion and fear. It's over..."
The next city ruler turned out to be efficient and meticulous. Vasilisk Semyonovich Wartkin flashed around the city like a fly, loved to shout and take everyone by surprise. It is symbolic that he slept with one eye open (a kind of allusion to the “all-seeing eye” of the autocracy). However, Wartkin's irrepressible energy is spent for other purposes: he builds castles in the sand. Foolovites aptly call his way of life the energy of inaction. Wartkin wages wars for enlightenment, the reasons for which are ridiculous (for example, the Foolovites’ refusal to plant Persian chamomile). Under his leadership, the tin soldiers, entering the settlement, begin to destroy the huts. It is noteworthy that the Foolovites always learned about the subject of the campaign only after its completion.
When Mikoladze, a champion of graceful manners, comes to power, the Foolovites grow fur and begin to suck their paws. On the contrary, wars for education make them dumber. Meanwhile, when education and legislative activity ceased, the Foolovites stopped sucking their paws, their fur faded without a trace, and soon they began to dance in circles. The laws spell out great poverty, and the inhabitants become obese. The "Charter of Respectable Pie Baking" convincingly shows how much stupidity is concentrated in legislative acts. It states, for example, that it is prohibited to make pies from mud, clay and building materials. As if a person of sound mind and good memory is capable of baking pies from this. In fact, this charter symbolically shows how deeply the state apparatus can intervene in the everyday life of every Russian. They are already giving him instructions on how to bake pies. Moreover, special recommendations are given regarding the position of the filling. The phrase “Let everyone use the filling according to their condition” indicates a clearly defined social hierarchy in society. However, the passion for legislation also did not take root on Russian soil. Mayor Benevolensky was suspected of having connections with Napoleon, accused of treason and sent “to that region where Makar did not drive calves.” So, using the figurative expression of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin writes allegorically about exile. Contradictions in the artistic world of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, which is a caustic parody of the author’s contemporary reality, awaits the reader at every turn. So, during the reign of Lieutenant Colonel Pyshch, the people in Foolov were completely spoiled because he preached liberalism in the reign.
“But as freedom developed, its original enemy arose - analysis. With the increase in material well-being, leisure was acquired, and with the acquisition of leisure came the ability to explore and experience the nature of things. This always happens, but the Foolovites used this “newly discovered ability” not in order to strengthen their well-being, but in order to undermine it,” writes M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.
Pimple became one of the most desirable rulers for the Foolovites. However, the local leader of the nobility, who was not distinguished by special qualities of mind and heart, but had a special stomach, once, on the basis of gastronomic imagination, mistook his head for stuffed. In describing the scene of Pimple's death, the writer boldly resorts to the grotesque. In the final part of the chapter, the leader in a rage rushes at the mayor with a knife and, cutting off pieces of the head slice by slice, eats it completely.
Against the backdrop of grotesque scenes and ironic notes by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin reveals to the reader his philosophy of history, in which the flow of life sometimes stops its natural flow and forms a whirlpool.
The most painful impression is made by Gloomy-Burcheev. This is a man with a wooden face, never illuminated by a smile. His detailed portrait eloquently tells about the character of the hero: “Thick, comb-cut, pitch-black hair covers the conical skull and tightly, like a yarmulke, frames the narrow and sloping forehead. The eyes are gray, sunken, shadowed by somewhat swollen eyelids; the look is clear, without hesitation; the nose is dry, descending from the forehead almost straight down; lips are thin, pale, covered with trimmed mustache stubble; the jaws are developed, but without an outstanding expression of carnivory, but with some inexplicable bouquet of readiness to crush or bite in half. The whole figure is lean with narrow shoulders raised upward, with an artificially protruded chest and long, muscular arms.”
M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, commenting on this portrait, emphasizes that we have before us the purest type of idiot. His style of government could only be compared with the random cutting of trees in a dense forest, when a person waves it right and left and steadily walks wherever his eyes look.
On the day of remembrance of the apostles Peter and Paul, the mayor ordered people to destroy their homes. However, this was only the beginning of Napoleonic plans for Ugryum-Burcheev. He began sorting people into families, taking into account their height and physique. After six or two months, no stone remained from the city. Gloomy-Burcheev tried to create his own sea, but the river refused to obey, tearing down dam after dam. The city of Glupov was renamed Nepreklonsk, and the holidays differed from everyday life only in that instead of labor worries, intensive marching was ordered. Meetings were held even at night. In addition to this, spies were appointed. The end of the hero is also symbolic: he instantly disappeared, as if he had melted into thin air.
The very unhurried, drawn-out style of narration in the work of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin shows the insolubility of Russian problems, and satirical scenes emphasize their severity: rulers are replaced one after another, and the people remain in the same poverty, in the same lack of rights, in the same hopelessness.
“The History of a City,” written by Saltykov-Shchedrin, is a satirical parody of what is happening in the state.
Genre
The author defines the work as a satirical novel. Although the work is very ambiguous, it is written like a chronicle, all the characters seem beyond the bounds of fantasy, and what the author describes is more like what is happening in a delusional dream.
Moreover, everything that happens in the novel is a harsh reality, so in terms of direction it can be classified as realism.
What is the work about?
The work tells the story of a small provincial town, whose residents wanted to live happily ever after, but in the end they got the completely opposite effect. It turned out that finding a smart ruler is not such an easy task. Therefore, one prince takes over the management, who considers this business to be a very profitable occupation, but other than destruction and autocracy, he will bring absolutely nothing to this city.
Description of the city
The city was named Foolov, which clearly describes the people who created it. This is a small settlement, a county to be precise, there is not even an academy building in it, but the brewing of honey and beer is thriving.
The county is on the banks, as one of the mayors is constantly trying to cope with the river. And the key place is the bell tower, from where unwanted citizens are thrown out.
Main characters
The main characters of the work are the mayors, each of whom has one of the character traits inherent in one person famous in history. So one of them steals and talks about it, another is distinguished by his love of love, another one always dreamed of changing the course of rivers and leveling all the streets.
Some of them are collective images that show what traits all statesmen have had throughout time.
Themes
The key theme of the work is the imperfection of the political system existing at that time. People in this situation are considered completely oppressed; they cannot in any way correct the current situation.
Slavery is the only correct and possible position in the eyes of the Russian people, doomed to enslavement.
Using the example of a small outback, Saltykov-Shchedrin tries to show that the people as a whole cannot exist without a harsh ruler who openly enslaves
Issues
At the center of the problem is a distortion of existing history; it is presented as the history of power in the singular, but not the history of compatriots and the people as a whole.
the main idea
The main idea is that the people are ready to unconsciously and completely submit to the government, which is autocratic; it is not ready to take responsibility for the people. Each of the rulers is fighting to ensure that their well-being is important; they are not ready to worry about the people.
The author is not trying to make fun of the people, he wants to open their eyes to what is happening in the world. He encourages them to act, to be better, to strive to correct the existing situation, and not to sit idly by, waiting for global changes for the better.
Artistic media
One of the key artistic devices is that the fantasy world is completely intertwined with the real one. This is not to say that there is a lot of fiction in the story.
Thanks to its humorous slant, the work finds many readers, but not everyone understands the real meaning of the work.
This work is worthy of attention, although the situation in the country has changed, some problems still remain relevant. Not everyone in the modern world can make fun of what is happening in society in such a topical and relevant way; they may be subject to ridicule and criticism.
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- Essay by Chatsky and Famusov (comparative characteristics)
One of the most common problems in human society is and will remain generational conflict. This problem will haunt humanity throughout its existence, since it simply cannot be avoided.
One day, returning home after school, I saw my grandmother at the table! - Grandma, it’s been so long since you came to us! - I exclaimed, running up to her and hugging her.
Our life is an amazing process consisting of hundreds of challenges, some of which are not just difficult, but insurmountable. Every day is unique in nature, it is full of various events
Saltykov-Shchedrin is called one of the most famous and great Russian satirists of the 19th century.
And the key work with which the work of Saltykov-Shchedrin is associated is “The History of a City,” filled with symbolism and subtle satire.
Saltykov-Shchedrin began writing the masterpiece of social satire in 1868, and in 1870 “The History of a City” was completed.
Naturally, the idea and main theme of this satirical work caused a certain resonance not only in literary circles, but also in much wider, completely different circles of society.
The art of satire in “The Story of a City”
The focus of Saltykov-Shchedrin’s work is the history of the city of Foolov and its people, who are called Foolovites. Initially, critics and many readers perceived the general concept of the story and its satirical motives as a depiction of Russia's past - the 18th century.
But the writer intended to depict the general system of national autocracy, which applies both to the past and to the pitiful present. The life of the city of Foolov and the consciousness of its population is an extensive caricature of the life and government structure of all of Russia, as well as the behavior and meaning of existence of Russians.
The central character of the story is the people themselves, whose image the writer reveals wider and wider with new chapters. A more detailed picture of Saltykov-Shchedrin’s critical attitude towards society can be seen with the help of the mayors, who constantly change throughout the narrative.
Images of mayors
The images of mayors are different, but similar in their limitations and absurdity. The foolish Brudasty is despotic, limited in his mind and awareness of reality, he is an accurate example of an autocratic system that absorbs human feelings and souls on its way.
And the mayor Pyshch, whose name speaks for itself, is represented by the image of “a head living separately from the body.” Saltykov-Shchedrin symbolically showed how his head was once eaten by an official.
The author grotesquely ridicules the activities of another mayor - Ugryum-Burcheev - in the “military populations” he organized and in the way of thinking, which represented “what I want, I do.”
Grotesque, pathos, Aesopian language as a means of depicting reality
The power of Saltykov-Shchedrin’s creativity can be called the power of satirical exposure of that reality, which to many people, out of habit and spinelessness, seems to be the norm.
The most paradoxical thing is that what he described turns out to be the real truth, despite all the grotesque and pathos used by the writer as a means of depicting the past and present.
The parody that the writer creates in “The History of a City” is so accurate and skillfully played that it has nothing to do with absurdity and simple humor.
“The History of a City” Saltykov-Shchedrin
"The Story of a City" analysis of the work - theme, idea, genre, plot, composition, characters, issues and other issues are discussed in this article.
“The History of a City” is one of the central works of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. It was published in the journal Otechestvennye zapiski in 1869-1870 and caused a wide public outcry. The main means of satirical exposure of reality in the work are grotesque and hyperbole. In terms of genre, it is stylized as a historical chronicle. The image of the author-narrator is called in it “the last archivist-chronicler.”
After the title there is a note: “According to original documents, published by M.E. Saltykov /Shchedrin/.” It is intended to create the illusion of authenticity.
M.E. writes with subtle irony. Saltykov-Shchedrin about how the faces of these mayors change with the change of a particular historical era: “So, for example, the mayors of Biron’s time are distinguished by their recklessness, the mayors of Potemkin’s time by their diligence, and the mayors of Razumovsky’s time by unknown origin and knightly courage. All of them flog the townsfolk, but the first flog the townsfolk absolutely, the latter explain the reasons for their management by the requirements of civilization, the third want the townsfolk to rely on their courage in everything.” Thus, from the very beginning, a hierarchy is built and emphasized: higher spheres - local government - ordinary people. Their destinies mirror what is happening in areas of power: “in the first case, the inhabitants trembled unconsciously, in the second they trembled with the consciousness of their own benefit, in the third they rose to awe filled with trust.”
The author emphasizes that the chronicler’s appearance is very real, which does not allow one to doubt his authenticity for a minute. M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin clearly indicates the boundaries of the period under consideration: from 1931 to 1825. The work includes “Address to the reader from the last archivist-chronicler.” To give a documentary character to this fragment of the narrative, the author places a footnote after the title stating that the address is conveyed exactly in the words of the chronicler himself. The publisher allowed himself only spelling corrections of the text in order to edit certain liberties in the spelling of words. The appeal begins with a conversation with the reader about whether there will be worthy rulers and leaders in the history of our country: “Is it really possible that in every country there will be glorious Nero and Caligula, shining with valor, and only in our own country will we not find such?” The omniscient publisher supplements this quote with a reference to a poem by G.R. Derzhavina: “Caligula! Your horse in the Senate Could not shine, shining in gold: Good deeds shine!” This addition aims to emphasize the value scale: it is not gold that shines, but good deeds. Gold in this case acts as a symbol of acquisitiveness, and good deeds are proclaimed as the true value of the world.
Further in the work there is a discussion about man in general. The chronicler encourages the reader to look at his own person and decide what is more important in him: the head or the belly. And then judge those in power. Analyzing the people's memory of city leaders and benefactors, the chronicler notes with subtle irony: “You don’t know what to glorify more: the power that dares in moderation, or these grapes that give thanks in moderation?”
At the end of the address, Foolov is compared to Rome, this again emphasizes that we are not talking about a specific city, but about a model of society in general. Thus, the city of Foolov is a grotesque image not only of all of Russia, but also of all power structures on a global scale, for Rome has been associated with the imperial city since ancient times, the same function is embodied by the mention of the Roman emperors Nero (37-68) and Caligula (12-68). 41) in the text of the work. For the same purpose, to expand the information field of the narrative, the names Kostomarov, Pypin and Solovyov are mentioned in the work. Contemporaries had an idea of what views and positions were being discussed. N.I. Kostomarov is a famous Russian historian, researcher of the socio-political and economic history of Russia and Ukraine, Ukrainian poet and fiction writer. A.N. Pypin (1833-1904) - Russian literary critic, ethnographer, academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, cousin of N.G. Chernyshevsky. B.C. Solovyov (1853-1900) - Russian philosopher, poet, publicist, literary critic of the late 19th - early 20th centuries.
Further, the chronicler dates the action of the story to the era of tribal feuds. At the same time, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin uses his favorite compositional technique: the fairy-tale context is combined with the pages of real Russian history. All this creates a system of witty subtle hints that are understandable to a sophisticated reader.
Having come up with funny names for the fairy-tale tribes, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin immediately reveals to the reader their allegorical meaning when representatives of the tribe of blockheads begin to call each other by name (Ivashka, Peter). It becomes clear that we are talking specifically about Russian history.
The bunglers decided to find themselves a prince, and since the people themselves are stupid, they are looking for an unwise ruler. Finally, one (the third in a row, as is customary in Russian folk tales) “princely lordship” agreed to rule this people. But with a condition. “And you will pay me many tributes,” the prince continued, “whoever brings a bright sheep, sign the sheep to me, and keep the bright one for yourself; Whoever happens to have a penny, break it in four: give one part to me, the other to me, the third to me again, and keep the fourth for yourself. When I go to war, you go too! And you don’t care about anything else!” Even unreasonable blockheads hung their heads from such speeches.
In this scene M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin convincingly shows that any power is based on the obedience of the people and brings them more troubles and problems than real help and support. It is no coincidence that the prince gives the bunglers a new name: “And since you did not know how to live on your own and, stupid, you yourself wished for bondage, then you will no longer be called bunglers, but Foolovites.”
The experiences of deceived bunglers are expressed in folklore. It is symbolic that on the way home one of them sings the song “Don’t make noise, mother green oak tree!”
The prince sends his thieving governors one after another. A satirical inventory of city governors gives them an eloquent description, testifying to their business qualities.
Clementius received the proper rank for his skillful preparation of pasta. Lamvrokanis traded in Greek soap, sponges and nuts. The Marquis de Sanglot loved to sing obscene songs. One can list for a long time the so-called exploits of mayors. They did not stay in power for long and did nothing worthwhile for the city.
The publisher considered it necessary to present detailed biographies of the most prominent leaders. Here M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin resorts to N.V., already known from “Dead Souls.” Gogol's classical technique. Just as Gogol portrayed landowners, he presents to the readers a whole gallery of typical images of city governors.
The first of them is depicted in the work of Dementy Varlamovich Brudasty, nicknamed Organchik. In parallel with the story about any specific mayor M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin constantly paints a general picture of the actions of city authorities and the perception of these actions by the people.
So, for example, he mentions that the Foolovites for a long time remembered those bosses who flogged and collected arrears, but at the same time they always said something kind.
The organ struck everyone with the most severe severity. His favorite word was the cry: “I won’t stand it!” Next M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin says that master Baibakov secretly came to the mayor of organ affairs at night. The secret is revealed suddenly at one of the receptions, when the best representatives of the “Gluiovsky intelligentsia” come to see Brudasty (this very phrase contains an oxymoron, which gives the story an ironic connotation). There the mayor breaks down the organ he was using instead of his head. Only Brudasty allowed himself to portray an uncharacteristic friendly smile for him, when “... suddenly something inside him hissed and buzzed, and the longer his mysterious hissing lasted, the more and more his eyes spun and sparkled.” No less interesting is the reaction of the city's secular society to this incident. M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin emphasizes that our ancestors were not carried away by revolutionary ideas and anarchist sentiments. Therefore, they only sympathized with the city mayor.
In this fragment of the work, another grotesque move is used: the head, which is being taken to the mayor after repairs, suddenly begins to bite around the city and utters the word: “I’ll ruin it!” A special satirical effect is achieved in the final scene of the chapter, when two different mayors are brought to the rebellious Foolovites almost simultaneously. But the people have become accustomed to not being greatly surprised by anything: “The impostors met and measured each other with their eyes. The crowd dispersed slowly and in silence.”
After this, anarchy begins in the city, as a result of which women seized power. These are the childless widow Iraida Lukinishna Paleologova, the adventurer Clementine de Bourbon, the Revel native Amalia Karlovna Shtokfish, Anelya Aloizievna Lyadokhovskaya, Dunka the fat-fifted, Matryonka the nostril.
In the characteristics of these mayors one can discern subtle hints about the personalities of the reigning persons in Russian history: Catherine II, Anna Ioannovna and other empresses. This is the most stylistically reduced chapter. M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin generously rewards the mayors with offensive nicknames and insulting definitions (“fat-fleshed”, “thick-footed”, etc.). Their entire reign boils down to chaos. The last two rulers generally resemble witches more than real people: “Both Dunka and Matryonka committed unspeakable outrages. They went out into the street and knocked the heads of passers-by with their fists, went alone to taverns and smashed them, caught young guys and hid them underground, ate babies, and cut out women’s breasts and ate them too.”
An advanced person who takes his responsibilities seriously is named in the work of S.K. Dvoekurov. In the author’s understanding, he correlates with Peter the Great: “One thing is that he introduced mead making and brewing and made the use of mustard and bay leaves mandatory” and was “the founder of those brave innovators who, three quarters of a century later, waged wars in the name of potatoes.” Dvoekurov's main achievement was his attempt to establish an academy in Foolov. True, he did not achieve results in this field, but the desire to implement this plan in itself was already a progressive step compared to the activities of other mayors.
The next ruler, Pyotr Petrovich Ferdyshchenko, was simple and even liked to equip his speech with the affectionate word “brother-sudarik.” However, in the seventh year of his reign, he fell in love with the suburban beauty Alena Osipovna. All nature has ceased to be favorable to the Foolovites: “From the very spring of St. Nicholas, from the time the water began to enter low water, and until Ilyin’s day, not a drop of rain fell. The old-timers could not remember anything like this, and not without reason attributed this phenomenon to the brigadier’s fall from grace.”
When the pestilence spread throughout the city, the truth-loving Yevseich was found in it, who decided to talk to the foreman. However, he ordered that the old man be put on a prisoner's uniform, and so Yevseich disappeared, as if he had not existed in the world, disappeared without a trace, as only the “miners” of the Russian land can disappear.
Light is shed on the real plight of the population of the Russian Empire by the petition of the residents of the most unfortunate city of Foolov, in which they write that they are dying out, that they see the authorities around them as unskillful.
The savagery and cruelty of the crowd is striking in the scene when the residents of Foolov throw the unfortunate Alenka from the bell tower, accusing her of all mortal sins. The story with Alenka had barely time to be forgotten when the foreman found himself a different hobby.
- shooter Domashka. All these episodes, in essence, show women's powerlessness and defenselessness in front of the voluptuous foreman.
The next disaster that befell the city is a fire on the eve of the feast of the Kazan Mother of God: two settlements burned down. The people perceived all this as another punishment for the sins of their foreman. The death of this mayor is symbolic. He drank too much and ate too much of the people's treat: “After the second break (there was a pig in sour cream) he felt sick; however, he overcame himself and ate another goose with cabbage. After that, his mouth twisted. You could see how some administrative vein on his face trembled, trembled and trembled, and suddenly froze... The Foolovites jumped up from their seats in confusion and fear. It's over..."
The next city ruler turned out to be efficient and meticulous. Vasilisk Semyonovich Wartkin flashed around the city like a fly, loved to shout and take everyone by surprise. It is symbolic that he slept with one eye open (a kind of allusion to the “all-seeing eye” of the autocracy). However, Wartkin's irrepressible energy is spent for other purposes: he builds castles in the sand. Foolovites aptly call his way of life the energy of inaction. Wartkin wages wars for enlightenment, the reasons for which are ridiculous (for example, the Foolovites’ refusal to plant Persian chamomile). Under his leadership, the tin soldiers, entering the settlement, begin to destroy the huts. It is noteworthy that the Foolovites always learned about the subject of the campaign only after its completion.
When Mikoladze, a champion of graceful manners, comes to power, the Foolovites grow fur and begin to suck their paws. On the contrary, wars for education make them dumber. Meanwhile, when education and legislative activity ceased, the Foolovites stopped sucking their paws, their fur faded without a trace, and soon they began to dance in circles. The laws spell out great poverty, and the inhabitants become obese. The "Charter of Respectable Pie Baking" convincingly shows how much stupidity is concentrated in legislative acts. It states, for example, that it is prohibited to make pies from mud, clay and building materials. As if a person of sound mind and good memory is capable of baking pies from this. In fact, this charter symbolically shows how deeply the state apparatus can intervene in the everyday life of every Russian. They are already giving him instructions on how to bake pies. Moreover, special recommendations are given regarding the position of the filling. The phrase “Let everyone use the filling according to their condition” indicates a clearly defined social hierarchy in society. However, the passion for legislation also did not take root on Russian soil. Mayor Benevolensky was suspected of having connections with Napoleon, accused of treason and sent “to that region where Makar did not drive calves.” So, using the figurative expression of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin writes allegorically about exile. Contradictions in the artistic world of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, which is a caustic parody of the author’s contemporary reality, awaits the reader at every turn. So, during the reign of Lieutenant Colonel Pyshch, the people in Foolov were completely spoiled because he preached liberalism in the reign.
“But as freedom developed, its original enemy arose - analysis. With the increase in material well-being, leisure was acquired, and with the acquisition of leisure came the ability to explore and experience the nature of things. This always happens, but the Foolovites used this “newly discovered ability” not in order to strengthen their well-being, but in order to undermine it,” writes M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.
Pimple became one of the most desirable rulers for the Foolovites. However, the local leader of the nobility, who was not distinguished by special qualities of mind and heart, but had a special stomach, once, on the basis of gastronomic imagination, mistook his head for stuffed. In describing the scene of Pimple's death, the writer boldly resorts to the grotesque. In the final part of the chapter, the leader in a rage rushes at the mayor with a knife and, cutting off pieces of the head slice by slice, eats it completely.
Against the backdrop of grotesque scenes and ironic notes by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin reveals to the reader his philosophy of history, in which the flow of life sometimes stops its natural flow and forms a whirlpool.
The most painful impression is made by Gloomy-Burcheev. This is a man with a wooden face, never illuminated by a smile. His detailed portrait eloquently tells about the character of the hero: “Thick, comb-cut, pitch-black hair covers the conical skull and tightly, like a yarmulke, frames the narrow and sloping forehead. The eyes are gray, sunken, shadowed by somewhat swollen eyelids; the look is clear, without hesitation; the nose is dry, descending from the forehead almost straight down; lips are thin, pale, covered with trimmed mustache stubble; the jaws are developed, but without an outstanding expression of carnivory, but with some inexplicable bouquet of readiness to crush or bite in half. The whole figure is lean with narrow shoulders raised upward, with an artificially protruded chest and long, muscular arms.”
M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, commenting on this portrait, emphasizes that we have before us the purest type of idiot. His style of government could only be compared with the random cutting of trees in a dense forest, when a person waves it right and left and steadily walks wherever his eyes look.
On the day of remembrance of the apostles Peter and Paul, the mayor ordered people to destroy their homes. However, this was only the beginning of Napoleonic plans for Ugryum-Burcheev. He began sorting people into families, taking into account their height and physique. After six or two months, no stone remained from the city. Gloomy-Burcheev tried to create his own sea, but the river refused to obey, tearing down dam after dam. The city of Glupov was renamed Nepreklonsk, and the holidays differed from everyday life only in that instead of labor worries, intensive marching was ordered. Meetings were held even at night. In addition to this, spies were appointed. The end of the hero is also symbolic: he instantly disappeared, as if he had melted into thin air.
The very unhurried, drawn-out style of narration in the work of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin shows the insolubility of Russian problems, and satirical scenes emphasize their severity: rulers are replaced one after another, and the people remain in the same poverty, in the same lack of rights, in the same hopelessness.
By creating the ironic, grotesque “History of a City,” Saltykov-Shchedrin hoped to evoke in the reader not laughter, but a “bitter feeling” of shame. The idea of the work is built on the image of a certain hierarchy: ordinary people who will not resist the instructions of often stupid rulers, and the tyrant rulers themselves. In this story, the common people are represented by the residents of the city of Foolov, and their oppressors are the mayors. Saltykov-Shchedrin ironically notes that these people need a boss, one who will give them instructions and keep a tight rein, otherwise the whole people will fall into anarchy.
History of creation
The concept and idea of the novel “The History of a City” was formed gradually. In 1867, the writer wrote a fairytale-fantastic work, “The Story of the Governor with a Stuffed Head,” which later formed the basis for the chapter “The Organ.” In 1868, Saltykov-Shchedrin began working on “The History of a City” and completed it in 1870. Initially, the author wanted to give the work the title “Foolish Chronicler.” The novel was published in the then popular magazine Otechestvennye zapiski.
The plot of the work
(Illustrations by the creative team of Soviet graphic artists "Kukryniksy")
The narration is told on behalf of the chronicler. He talks about the inhabitants of the city who were so stupid that their city was given the name “Fools”. The novel begins with the chapter “On the Roots of the Origin of the Foolovites,” which gives the history of this people. It tells in particular about a tribe of bunglers, who, after defeating the neighboring tribes of bow-eaters, bush-eaters, walrus-eaters, cross-bellied people and others, decided to find a ruler for themselves, because they wanted to restore order in the tribe. Only one prince decided to rule, and even he sent an innovative thief in his place. When he was stealing, the prince sent him a noose, but the thief was able to somehow get out of it and stabbed himself with a cucumber. As you can see, irony and grotesque coexist perfectly in the work.
After several unsuccessful candidates for the role of deputies, the prince came to the city in person. Having become the first ruler, he started the countdown of the “historical time” of the city. It is said that twenty-two rulers with their achievements ruled the city, but the Inventory lists twenty-one. Apparently, the missing one is the founder of the city.
Main characters
Each of the mayors fulfills his task in implementing the writer’s idea through the grotesque to show the absurdity of their rule. Many types show traits of historical figures. For greater recognition, Saltykov-Shchedrin not only described the style of their rule, comically distorted their surnames, but also gave apt characteristics pointing to the historical prototype. Some personalities of city governors represent images collected from the characteristic features of different persons in the history of the Russian state.
Thus, the third ruler, Ivan Matveevich Velikanov, famous for drowning the director of economic affairs and introducing taxes of three kopecks per person, was exiled to prison for an affair with Avdotya Lopukhina, the first wife of Peter I.
Brigadier Ivan Matveyevich Baklan, the sixth mayor, was tall and proud to be a follower of the line of Ivan the Terrible. The reader understands that this refers to the bell tower in Moscow. The ruler found his death in the spirit of the same grotesque image that fills the novel - the foreman was broken in half during a storm.
The personality of Peter III in the image of Guard Sergeant Bogdan Bogdanovich Pfeiffer is indicated by the characteristic given to him - “a Holstein native”, the style of government of the mayor and his outcome - removed from the post of ruler “for ignorance”.
Dementy Varlamovich Brudasty was nicknamed “Organchik” for the presence of a mechanism in his head. He kept the city in fear because he was gloomy and withdrawn. When trying to take the mayor's head to the capital's craftsmen for repairs, it was thrown out of the carriage by a frightened coachman. After Organchik's reign, chaos reigned in the city for 7 days.
A short period of prosperity for the townspeople is associated with the name of the ninth mayor, Semyon Konstantinovich Dvoekurov. A civilian adviser and innovator, he took up the appearance of the city and started a honey and brewing business. Tried to open an academy.
The longest reign was marked by the twelfth mayor, Vasilisk Semenovich Wartkin, who reminds the reader of the style of rule of Peter I. The character’s connection with a historical figure is indicated by his “glorious deeds” - he destroyed the Streletskaya and Dung settlements, and difficult relations with the eradication of the ignorance of the people - he spent four wars for education and three - against. He resolutely prepared the city for burning, but suddenly died.
By origin, a former peasant Onufriy Ivanovich Negodyaev, who, before serving as mayor, stoked furnaces, destroyed the streets paved by the former ruler and erected monuments on these resources. The image is copied from Paul I, as evidenced by the circumstances of his removal: he was dismissed for disagreeing with the triumvirate regarding the constitutions.
Under State Councilor Erast Andreevich Grustilov, Foolov's elite was busy with balls and nightly meetings with the reading of the works of a certain gentleman. As in the reign of Alexander I, the mayor did not care about the people, who were impoverished and starving.
The scoundrel, idiot and “Satan” Gloomy-Burcheev has a “speaking” surname and is “copied” from Count Arakcheev. He finally destroys Foolov and decides to build the city of Neprekolnsk in a new place. When attempting to implement such a grandiose project, the “end of the world” occurred: the sun went dark, the earth shook, and the mayor disappeared without a trace. This is how the story of “one city” ended.
Analysis of the work
Saltykov-Shchedrin, with the help of satire and grotesquery, aims to reach the human soul. He wants to convince the reader that human institutions must be based on Christian principles. Otherwise, a person's life can be deformed, disfigured, and in the end can lead to the death of the human soul.
“The History of a City” is an innovative work that has overcome the usual boundaries of artistic satire. Each image in the novel has pronounced grotesque features, but is at the same time recognizable. Which gave rise to a flurry of criticism against the author. He was accused of “slander” against the people and rulers.
Indeed, the story of Foolov is largely copied from Nestor’s chronicle, which tells about the time of the beginning of Rus' - “The Tale of Bygone Years.” The author deliberately emphasized this parallel so that it becomes obvious who he means by the Foolovites, and that all these mayors are by no means a flight of fancy, but real Russian rulers. At the same time, the author makes it clear that he is not describing the entire human race, but specifically Russia, reinterpreting its history in his own satirical way.
However, the purpose of creating the work Saltykov-Shchedrin did not make fun of Russia. The writer’s task was to encourage society to critically rethink its history in order to eradicate existing vices. The grotesque plays a huge role in creating an artistic image in the work of Saltykov-Shchedrin. The main goal of the writer is to show the vices of people that are not noticed by society.
The writer ridiculed the ugliness of society and was called a “great scoffer” among such predecessors as Griboyedov and Gogol. Reading the ironic grotesque, the reader wanted to laugh, but there was something sinister in this laughter - the audience “felt like a scourge lashing itself.”