It is known that the collection of stories by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev "Notes of a Hunter" was first published in the literary publication "Contemporary" in the period from 1847 to 1851. And he came out as a separate book in 1852. The narration in all the works, united by a single author's intention, is carried out on behalf of the character Pyotr Petrovich. This young gentleman, who loves hunting, travels to nearby villages. He meets different people and in conversation with them shares his impressions of the life of peasants and landowners, and also talks about the picturesque nature.
At present, all cultural people of our country are necessarily familiar with the cycle of essays by I. S. Turgenev's "Notes of a Hunter". Here, Russian folk traditions, everyday life, landscape sketches and philosophical philosophies are fully revealed, which are transmitted to readers through the prism of perception of a young educated person of the middle of the 19th century. The stories in the collection, strung like beads on a necklace, convey both individual stories of the narrative and the general ideological plan of the writer.
In this context, it is important to understand that the multidimensionality of the Russian classic excludes an unambiguous interpretation of the Hunter's Notes, because the individual perception of each reader is based on personal experience that can evolve from one reading to another. Therefore, the brief content of the cycle of stories is based only on conveying the most significant characteristics of the narrative, designed for philosophical awareness and the disclosure of new shades of life rethinking.
The social idea of the "Notes of a Hunter"
Recalling the historical era that Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev describes, one should clearly formulate the main social idea of his collection of stories. In a laconic form, one can say that "Notes of a Hunter" express the general picture of the life of the Russian people through 25 mini-plots.
Russia in the mid-19th century experienced a tremendous influence of serfdom on its state. This legalized form of slavery was an objective brake on the path of economic progress and social development. To reform Russian legislation, a strong political will of the ruler was needed, based on concern for his people.
However, the state of the Russian peasantry and the main political trends in the country did not contribute to progress in this fateful issue. And if the serfs themselves were simple bearers of the Russian tradition inherited from their ancestors for many centuries, then educated populists from among the big bourgeoisie actively spoke out in favor of slavery.
One political wing said that only landowners as "fathers" can adequately take care of their peasants, who, like "children", cannot do without their care in free market conditions. Others (populists) idealized pre-Petrine Russia with its boyar values. They completely denied the need for reforms and openly advocated the preservation of serf slavery as the cornerstone of statehood. Thus, both political movements spoke out in favor of the lack of rights of the peasants, covering up their selfish intentions with care for an unintelligent people, translating an important decision into the plane of psychological and everyday discussions, which were akin to simple demagoguery.
Reviews of contemporaries
Recognition of the special contribution to the development of Russian literature from the work of I. S. Turgenev cannot be realized without the reviews of his contemporaries. Thus, the well-known critic of his time, Belinsky, wrote a review article "A Look at Russian Literature of 1847". It was noted in it that not all stories from the collection "Notes of a Hunter" are equal in terms of their artistic merit. According to his version, the most successful were "Khor and Kalinich", "Burmistr", "Odnodvorets Ovsyanikov" and "Office" (in the specified sequence). However, despite the presence of "less powerful" essays, the authoritative critic admitted that "between them there is not a single one that would not be in any way interesting, entertaining and instructive." Taking into account the "sharp tongue" of this literary critic, we can consider such a characteristic as an extreme degree of approval.
Saltykov-Shchedrin spoke of the "Notes of a Hunter" as the birth of "a whole literature, which has as its object the people and their needs." And Goncharov made out on the pages of a collection of stories "a true troubadour, wandering with a gun and a lyre through the villages, through the fields."
Nekrasov, in his letter to Turgenev, compared his essays with the story "Logging" (1853-1855) by L. N. Tolstoy, who was preparing for publication in Sovremennik. Kirill Pigarev put it this way: “In Notes of a Hunter, we follow Turgenev in his walk, and at close range we are imbued with the charm of every unpretentious, but in its own way captivating, feature of the picture. Each color is perceived in its isolation, as in the paintings of the old masters."
However, there were also critical assessments of colleagues in the creative workshop. So, the essayist Vasily Botkin expressed his opinion about "Choir and Kalinich", saying that it reminds him of a kind of "fiction". And his phrase "This is an idyll, and not a characteristic of two Russian men" in the list of general assessments of Turgenev's work stood apart.
Summary
Despite the banal title of the book, which at first glance reflects only some of the impressions of a young Oryol landowner who is fond of hunting, its artistic value is very high. The collection of essays, consisting of 25 different parts, has a monolithic plot structure reflecting the true state of the Russian hinterland in the mid-19th century.
"Notes of a Hunter" in the full sense can be attributed to the most expressive and realistic books about peasant Russia. And the skill of Turgenev will subsequently be assessed at the highest level, because the literary community will call his style "poetry in prose."
The story "Khor and Kalinich" tells about real serfs. In the Kaluga region (Ulyanovsk district) there is the village of Khorevka, which inherited the sprawling Khorya farm. The main characters are very striking personalities. They exceed the level of their intelligence of the landowner Polutykin - their master.
The chorus embodied all the qualities of a wonderful worker and business executive. Under his leadership there is a strong and profitable farm in which six sons and their families are managed. The head of the combined family rejects Polutykin's proposal to redeem freedom from serfdom. He considers this an unreasonable waste of money and regularly pays double dues.
Kalinich, being an assistant to the landowner in his hunting amusements, embodied excellent spiritual qualities. It blends harmoniously with nature. An excellent hunter can speak pain, pacify a restive horse, calm angry bees.
In this story, Turgenev very colorfully explains the populists and the bourgeoisie that the serfs are not at all afraid of changes, but are guided in their actions exclusively by practical expediency.
The essay "Bezhin Meadow" immerses the reader, together with the landowner-hunter, into the atmosphere of a boy's freedom. Here children, resting by the fire at night, graze horses in the steppe. During the conversation, their thoughts get confused, changing places between reality and fiction. After all, the perception of life is highly dependent on the scenic beauty of the area. A magnificent master of words, Turgenev tells about a fleeting and real picture of life.
In Lingonberry Water, the reader is very sensitive to the pain and bitterness of the loss of fifty-year-old Vlas, who lost his son, who was his household helper. The situation associated with the death of a loved one is aggravated by the fact that the soulless master refused to reduce the rent. And this made Vlas's position hopeless.
The story "Ermolai and the Miller's Woman" tells about the hard life of Arina. The fierce landowner Zverkov outraged her love for the servant. The pregnant miller was dressed in rags and shaved bald, after which she was sent to the village.
The essay "Knocks" tells about a landowner who loves hunting and travels to Tula on a tarantass for a shot. The coachman Filofey, pressing his ear to the ground, hears the sound of an approaching troika. After a while they are caught up by a group of drunk men who asked for money. Having received them, they left. The meeting with the robbers was easy on the landlord. However, in similar circumstances, luck turned away from the merchant they killed.
Each of the stories in the "Hunter's Notes" is distinguished by its own nuances of folk life, where the beauty of nature and colorful Russian characters are closely intertwined with the glaring social contradictions of the general storyline. And the whole point of the book boils down to the objective necessity of serious changes in the state structure in Russia.
conclusions
It is quite obvious that it was not the fiery hearts of the revolutionaries who could turn the issue of serfdom so acutely, but the pen of I. S. Turgenev. The relevance of the "Hunter's Notes" was unconditionally recognized by the entire literary community.
The writer himself later repeatedly recalled an episode at one railway station, when young commoners approached him and, bowing to the belt, expressed their gratitude on behalf of the whole of Russia. It is noteworthy that immediately after writing the essay of stories, it was classified as a classic by such authoritative writers as Herzen and Chernyshevsky.
Today everyone understands that the Hunter's Notes played a very important role for the abolition of serfdom in our country. It is noteworthy that, according to the testimony of historians, this book became a reference book for the Russian Emperor Alexander II.
