How Russian realism developed in the 19th century. Realism in art (XIX-XX centuries)

Each literary direction characterized by its own characteristics, thanks to which it is remembered and distinguished in separate species. This happened in the nineteenth century, when some changes took place in the writing world. People began to comprehend reality in a new way, to look at it from an absolutely different perspective. The peculiarities of 19th century literature lie, first of all, in the fact that now writers began to put forward ideas that formed the basis of the direction of realism.

What is realism

Realism appeared in Russian literature at the beginning of the nineteenth century, when a radical revolution took place in this world. The writers realized that the previous trends, the same romanticism, did not satisfy the expectations of the population, since their judgments lacked common sense. Now they tried to depict on the pages of their novels and lyrical works the reality that reigned around, without any exaggeration. Their ideas were now of the most realistic character, which existed not only in Russian literature, but also in foreign literature for more than one decade.

Main features of realism

Realism was characterized by the following features:

• depiction of the world as it is, truthful and natural;
• at the center of the novels is a typical representative of society, with typical problems and interests;
• the emergence of a new way of understanding the surrounding reality - through realistic characters and situations.

Russian literature of the 19th century was of great interest to scientists, because through the analysis of works they were able to understand the very process in literature that existed at that time, as well as give it a scientific basis.

The emergence of the era of Realism

Realism was first created as special shape to express the processes of reality. This happened back in the days when such a movement as the Renaissance reigned in both literature and painting. During the Enlightenment, it was conceptualized in a significant way, and was fully formed at the very beginning of the nineteenth century. Literary scholars name two Russian writers, who have long been recognized as the founders of realism. These are Pushkin and Gogol. Thanks to them, this direction was comprehended, received theoretical justification and significant distribution in the country. With their help, Russian literature of the 19th century received great development.

In literature there was now no sublime feelings that the direction of romanticism possessed. Now people were worried about everyday problems, how to resolve them, as well as the feelings of the main characters that overwhelmed them in a given situation. Features of literature of the 19th century are the interest of all representatives of the direction of realism in the individual character traits of each individual person for consideration in one or another life situation. As a rule, this is expressed in a clash between a person and society, when a person cannot accept and does not accept the rules and principles by which other people live. Sometimes at the center of the work is a person with some kind of internal conflict, which he is trying to cope with himself. Such conflicts are called personality conflicts, when a person understands that from now on he cannot live as he lived before, that he needs to do something to get joy and happiness.

Among the most important representatives of the movement of realism in Russian literature It is worth noting Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky. World classics gave us such realist writers as Flaubert, Dickens and even Balzac.

» » Realism and features of 19th century literature

Realism is a trend in literature and art that aims to faithfully reproduce reality in its typical features Oh. The dominance of realism followed the era of Romanticism and preceded Symbolism.

1. At the center of the work of realists is objective reality. In its refraction through the worldview of art. 2. The author subjects life material to philosophical processing. 3. The ideal is reality itself. The beautiful thing is life itself. 4. Realists approach synthesis through analysis.

5. The principle of the typical: Typical hero, specific time, typical circumstances

6. Identification of cause-and-effect relationships. 7. The principle of historicism. Realists turn to the problems of the present. The present is the convergence of past and future. 8. The principle of democracy and humanism. 9. The principle of objectivity of the story. 10. Socio-political and philosophical issues predominate

11. psychologism

12. .. The development of poetry is somewhat calming down 13. The novel is the leading genre.

13. Heightened social-critical pathos is one of the main features of Russian realism - for example, “The Inspector General”, “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol

14. The main feature of realism as a creative method is increased attention to the social side of reality.

15. The images of a realistic work reflect general laws existence, not living people. Any image is woven from typical traits manifested in typical circumstances. This is the paradox of art. An image cannot be correlated with a living person; it is richer than a specific person - hence the objectivity of realism.

16. “The artist should not be a judge of his characters and what they say, but only an impartial witness

Realist writers

Late A. S. Pushkin - the founder of realism in Russian literature ( historical drama“Boris Godunov”, the stories “The Captain’s Daughter”, “Dubrovsky”, “Belkin’s Tales”, the novel in verse “Eugene Onegin” back in the 1820s - 1830s)

M. Yu. Lermontov (“Hero of Our Time”)

N. V. Gogol (“Dead Souls”, “The Inspector General”)

I. A. Goncharov (“Oblomov”)

A. S. Griboedov (“Woe from Wit”)

A. I. Herzen (“Who is to blame?”)

N. G. Chernyshevsky (“What to do?”)

F. M. Dostoevsky (“Poor People”, “White Nights”, “Humiliated and Insulted”, “Crime and Punishment”, “Demons”)

L. N. Tolstoy (“War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina”, “Resurrection”).

I. S. Turgenev (“Rudin”, “The Noble Nest”, “Asya”, “Spring Waters”, “Fathers and Sons”, “New”, “On the Eve”, “Mu-mu”)

A. P. Chekhov (“The Cherry Orchard”, “Three Sisters”, “Student”, “Chameleon”, “The Seagull”, “Man in a Case”

Since the middle of the 19th century, the formation of Russian realistic literature, which is created against the backdrop of the tense socio-political situation that developed in Russia during the reign of Nicholas I. A crisis of the serfdom system is brewing, there are strong contradictions between the authorities and common people. There is an urgent need to create realistic literature that is acutely responsive to the socio-political situation in the country.

Writers turn to socio-political problems of Russian reality. The genre of the realistic novel is developing. His works are created by I.S. Turgenev, F.M. Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy, I.A. Goncharov. It is worth noting the poetic works of Nekrasov, who was the first to introduce social issues into poetry. His poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'?” is known, as well as many poems that reflect on the difficult and hopeless life of the people. End of the 19th century - The realistic tradition began to fade away. It was replaced by so-called decadent literature. . Realism becomes, to a certain extent, a method of artistic cognition of reality. In the 40s, a “natural school” arose - the work of Gogol, he was a great innovator, discovering that even an insignificant event, such as the acquisition of an overcoat by a minor official, can become a significant event for understanding the most important issues of human existence.

"Natural School" became initial stage development of realism in Russian literature.

Topics: Life, customs, characters, events from the life of the lower classes became the object of study by “naturalists”. The leading genre was the “physiological essay,” which was based on accurate “photography” of the life of various classes.

In literature " natural school“The hero’s class position, his professional affiliation and the social function he performs decisively prevailed over his individual character.

Those who joined the “natural school” were: Nekrasov, Grigorovich, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Goncharov, Panaev, Druzhinin and others.

The task of truthfully showing and exploring life presupposes in realism many techniques for depicting reality, which is why the works of Russian writers are so diverse in both form and content.

Realism as a method of depicting reality in the second half of the 19th century. received the name of critical realism, because its main task was the criticism of reality, the question of the relationship between man and society.

To what extent does society influence the fate of the hero? Who is to blame for a person being unhappy? What to do to change a person and the world? - these are the main questions of literature in general, of Russian literature of the second half of the 19th century V. - in particular.

Psychologism - characterizing a hero by analyzing him inner world, consideration of the psychological processes through which a person’s self-awareness is realized and his attitude to the world is expressed, has become the leading method of Russian literature since the formation of the realistic style in it.

One of the remarkable features of Turgenev’s works of the 50s was the appearance in them of a hero who embodied the idea of ​​the unity of ideology and psychology.

Realism of the 2nd half of the 19th century reached its peak precisely in Russian literature, especially in the works of L.N. Tolstoy and F.M. Dostoevsky, who at the end of the 19th century became the central figures of the world literary process. They enriched world literature with new principles for constructing a socio-psychological novel, philosophical and moral issues, new ways of revealing the human psyche in its deep layers

Turgenev is credited with creating literary types of ideologists - heroes, whose approach to personality and characterization of their inner world is in direct connection with the author’s assessment of their worldview and the socio-historical meaning of their philosophical concepts. The merging of the psychological, historical-typological and ideological aspects in Turgenev’s heroes is so complete that their names have become a common noun for a certain stage in the development of social thought, a certain social type representing a class in its historical state, and the psychological makeup of the individual (Rudin, Bazarov, Kirsanov , Mr. N. from the story “Asya” - “Russian man on rendez-vous”).

Dostoevsky's heroes are at the mercy of ideas. Like slaves, they follow her, expressing her self-development. Having “accepted” a certain system into their soul, they obey the laws of its logic, go through all the necessary stages of its growth with it, and bear the yoke of its reincarnations. Thus, Raskolnikov, whose concept grew out of rejection of social injustice and a passionate desire for good, passing through all its logical stages along with the idea that took possession of his entire being, accepts murder and justifies the tyranny of a strong personality over the voiceless masses. In lonely monologues-reflections, Raskolnikov “strengthens” in his idea, falls under its power, gets lost in its ominous vicious circle, and then, having completed the “experience” and suffering internal defeat, begins to feverishly seek dialogue, the possibility of jointly assessing the results of the experiment.

In Tolstoy, the system of ideas that the hero develops and develops in the course of his life is a form of his communication with the environment and is derived from his character, from the psychological and moral characteristics of his personality.

It can be argued that all three great Russian realists of the mid-century - Turgenev, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky - depict the mental and ideological life of a person as a social phenomenon and ultimately presuppose obligatory contact between people, without which the development of consciousness is impossible.

critical realism artistic herzen

Guy de Maupassant (1850-1993): he passionately, painfully hated the bourgeois world and everything connected with it. He painfully searched for the antithesis of this world - and found it in the democratic strata of society, in the French people.

Works: short stories - “Pumpkin”, “Old Woman Sauvage”, “Madwoman”, “Prisoners”, “The Chair Weaver”, “Papa Simone”.

Romain Rolland (1866-1944): the meaning of being and creativity initially lay in the belief in the beautiful, the good, the bright, which never left the world - you simply need to be able to see, feel and convey it to people.

Works: novel "Jean Christoff", story "Pierre and Luce".

Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880): His work indirectly reflected contradictions french revolution mid-nineteenth century. The desire for truth and hatred of the bourgeoisie were combined in him with social pessimism and lack of faith in the people.

Works: novels - "Madame Bovary", "Salammbo", "Education of Sentiments", "Bouvard and Pécuchet" (not finished), stories - "The Legend of Julian the Stranger", "A Simple Soul", "Herodias", also created several plays and extravaganza.

Stendhal (1783-1842): The work of this writer opens the period of classical realism. It was Stendhal who took precedence in substantiating the main principles and program for the formation of realism, theoretically stated in the first half of the 19th century, when romanticism still dominated, and soon brilliantly embodied in artistic masterpieces outstanding novelist of the time.

Works: novels - " Parma monastery", "Armance", "Lucien Levene", stories - "Vittoria Accoramboni", "Duchess di Palliano", "Cenci", "Abbess of Castro".

Charles Dickens (1812--1870): Dickens's works are full of deep drama, social contradictions He sometimes has a tragic character, which they did not have in the interpretation of writers of the 18th century. Dickens also touches on the life and struggles of the working class in his work.

Works: “Nicholas Nickleby”, “The Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewitt”, “ Hard times", "Christmas Stories", "Dombey and Son", "The Antiquities Shop".

William Thackeray (1811-1863): Polemicizing with the romantics, he demands strict truthfulness from the artist. "Even though the truth is not always pleasant, better than the truth there is nothing." The author is not inclined to portray a person as either an out-and-out scoundrel or an ideal being. Unlike Dickens, he avoided happy endings. Thackeray's satire is permeated with skepticism: the writer does not believe in the possibility of changing life. He enriched the English realistic novel by introducing the author's commentary.

Works: “The Book of Snobs”, “Vanity Fair”, “Pendennis”, “The Career of Barry Lyndon”, “The Ring and the Rose”.

Pushkin A.S. (1799-1837): founder of Russian realism. Pushkin’s dominant idea is of the Law, of the laws that determine the state of civilization, social structures, the place and significance of a person, his independence and connection with the whole, the possibility of author’s judgments.

Works: “Boris Godunov”, “ Captain's daughter", "Dubrovsky", "Eugene Onegin", "Belkin's Tales".

Gogol N.V. (1809-1852): a world far from any ideas about the law, vulgar everyday life, in which all concepts of honor and morality, conscience are mutilated - in a word, Russian reality, worthy of grotesque ridicule: “blame the evening mirror if you have a crooked face” .

Works: " Dead Souls", "Notes of a Madman", "Overcoat".

Lermontov M.Yu. (1814-1841): sharp enmity with the divine world order, with the laws of society, lies and hypocrisy, all kinds of defense of individual rights. The poet strives for a specific image social environment, everyday life individual person: combining the features of early realism and mature romanticism into an organic unity.

Works: “Hero of Our Time”, “Demon”, “Fatalist”.

Turgenev I.S. (1818-1883): Turgenev is interested in the moral world of people from the people. The main feature of the cycle of stories was truthfulness, which contained the idea of ​​liberation of the peasantry, represented peasants as spiritually active people capable of independent activity. Despite his reverent attitude towards the Russian people, Turgenev the realist did not idealize the peasantry, seeing, like Leskov and Gogol, their shortcomings.

Works: “Fathers and Sons”, “Rudin”, “ Noble Nest", "The day before".

Dostoevsky F.M. (1821-1881): Regarding Dostoevsky’s realism, they said that he “ fantastic realism" D. believes that in exceptional, unusual situations, the most typical appears. The writer noticed that all his stories were not made up, but taken from somewhere. main feature: Creation philosophical basis with a detective - there is murder everywhere.

Works: “Crime and Punishment”, “Idiot”, “Demons”, “Teenager”, “The Brothers Karamazov”.

Realism in literature is a direction whose main feature is a truthful depiction of reality and its typical features without any distortion or exaggeration. This originated in the 19th century, and its adherents sharply opposed sophisticated forms of poetry and the use of various mystical concepts in works.

Signs directions

Realism in 19th-century literature can be distinguished by clear characteristics. The main one is artistic image reality in images familiar to the average person, which he regularly encounters in real life. Reality in the works is considered as a means of man’s knowledge of the world around him and himself, and the image of each literary character is worked out in such a way that the reader can recognize himself, a relative, colleague or acquaintance in it.

In the novels and stories of realists, art remains life-affirming, even if the plot is characterized by tragic conflict. Another sign of this genre is the desire of writers to consider surrounding reality in its development, and each writer tries to discover the emergence of new psychological, social and social relations.

Features of this literary movement

Realism in literature, which replaced romanticism, has the signs of art that seeks and finds truth, striving to transform reality.

In the works of realist writers, discoveries were made after much thought and dreaming, after analyzing subjective worldviews. This feature, which can be distinguished by the author’s perception of time, determined the distinctive features of realistic literature of the early twentieth century from traditional Russian classics.

Realism inXIX century

Such representatives of realism in literature as Balzac and Stendhal, Thackeray and Dickens, George Sand and Victor Hugo, in their works most clearly reveal the themes of good and evil, and avoid abstract concepts and show real life of their contemporaries. These writers make it clear to readers that evil lies in the lifestyle of bourgeois society, capitalist reality, and people’s dependence on various material values. For example, in Dickens's novel Dombey and Son, the owner of the company was heartless and callous not by nature. It’s just that he developed such character traits due to the presence big money and the ambition of the owner, for whom profit becomes the main achievement in life.

Realism in literature is devoid of humor and sarcasm, and the images of the characters are no longer the ideal of the writer himself and do not embody him cherished dreams. From the works of the 19th century, the hero practically disappears, in whose image the author’s ideas are visible. This situation is especially clearly visible in the works of Gogol and Chekhov.

However, this literary trend is most clearly manifested in the works of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, who describe the world as they see it. This was expressed in the image of characters with their own strengths and weaknesses, the description of mental torment, a reminder to readers of the harsh reality that cannot be changed by one person.

As a rule, realism in literature also affected the fate of representatives of the Russian nobility, as can be judged from the works of I. A. Goncharov. Thus, the characters of the heroes in his works remain contradictory. Oblomov is a sincere and gentle person, but due to his passivity he is not capable of better things. Another character in Russian literature has similar qualities - the weak-willed but gifted Boris Raisky. Goncharov managed to create the image of an “anti-hero” typical of XIX century, which was noticed by critics. As a result, the concept of “Oblomovism” appeared, referring to all passive characters whose main features were laziness and lack of will.

Realism is usually called a movement in art and literature, whose representatives strived for a realistic and truthful reproduction of reality. In other words, the world was portrayed as typical and simple, with all its advantages and disadvantages.

General features of realism

Realism in literature differs in a number of ways common features. Firstly, life was depicted in images that corresponded to reality. Secondly, reality for representatives of this movement has become a means of understanding themselves and the world around them. Thirdly, the images on the pages literary works were distinguished by the truthfulness of details, specificity and typification. It is interesting that the art of the realists, with their life-affirming principles, sought to consider reality in development. Realists discovered new social and psychological relationships.

The emergence of realism

Realism in literature as a form artistic creation arose during the Renaissance, developed during the Enlightenment and emerged as an independent movement only in the 30s of the 19th century. The first realists in Russia include the great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin (he is sometimes even called the founder of this movement) and no less outstanding writer N.V. Gogol with his novel “Dead Souls”. Concerning literary criticism, then within its limits the term “realism” appeared thanks to D. Pisarev. It was he who introduced the term into journalism and criticism. Realism in 19th century literature became distinctive feature of that time, having its own characteristics and characteristics.

Features of literary realism

Representatives of realism in literature are numerous. The most famous and outstanding writers include such writers as Stendhal, Charles Dickens, O. Balzac, L.N. Tolstoy, G. Flaubert, M. Twain, F.M. Dostoevsky, T. Mann, M. Twain, W. Faulkner and many others. They all worked on the development creative method realism and embodied in their works its most striking features in inextricable connection with their unique authorial characteristics.