Ways to reveal characters in the story “Matteo Falcone. Prosper Merimee. “Matteo Falcone”: the time of creation of the novella. The image of the narrator. Moral lessons of the short story Artistic analysis of the short story by Merimee Matteo Falcone

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Literature lesson in 8th grade

Novella by Prosper Merimee

"Matteo Falcone" (1829).

Lesson objectives: develop the concept of a hero; give the concept of heroic character in literature; develop the concept of genre; challenge students to think independently about life, teach them to analyze texts, cultivate kindness and honor. Methodical techniques: teacher's story, conversation on issues; text analysis. Equipment: books by P. Merimee, illustrations “Taras Kills the Son of Andriy”, exhibition of books (“Pardon”, “Black Waters” by M. Karim, “Taras Bulba” by N.V. Gogol, “I See the Sun” by N. Dumbadze, “Shot” A.S. Pushkin), world map, explanatory dictionary, cards with new words..

During the classes.

Class organization.

-- Hello! I am glad to welcome you and the guests of the lesson. II. Introduction. Today we have an extracurricular reading lesson. Today we will talk about Prosper Merime’s short story “Matteo Falcone”. During the lesson we will need to rely on knowledge about literary trends - romanticism, realism, local color, character. What is literary character? What is important for revealing a person’s character? III. The teacher's word about the writer's work. Prosper Mérimée (1803-1870) is one of the remarkable French writers of the 19th century. He owns works of different genres - plays, historical novels, but the short stories of the 1820-1840s brought the writer the greatest fame. Novella – a short epic work comparable to a short story and characterized by a sharp, fast-paced plot and lack of descriptiveness. The focus of a short story is usually on an incident that influences the hero’s life and reveals his character. Merimee's heroes are always extraordinary people, with an exceptional destiny. Suffice it to remember Carmen - the name of this heroine is known throughout the world. Bizet's famous opera is based on Mérimée's novella. Individual work. Vilnar, please write briefly about the short story “Carmen”. A student's story (Vilnar). Merimee was a passionate propagandist of Russian culture, studied Russian history of the 17th and 18th centuries, and translated the works of Pushkin, Gogol, and Turgenev. The short story “Matteo Falcone” was written in 1829 and then translated into Russian. One of the translators was N.V. Gogol. It will be interesting to compare Gogol’s story “Taras Bulba” with the short story “Matteo Falcone”. Merimee was an excellent psychologist. He based his short stories on the clash of characters in special, unusual situations. Each of Merimee's heroes acts in accordance with the conditions in which he is placed. The writer is concerned about human behavior in extraordinary circumstances, problems of duty, conscience, and devotion to ideals. IV. Vocabulary work. Let's determine the meanings of the words that will be needed in the lesson. - What does the word “Corsica” mean? (an island in the Mediterranean Sea, owned by France, the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, whom Mérimée treated with great respect). (show on map)-- Maki – forest thickets, thicket.-- Voltigeurs – (student reading from a textbook) a detachment of riflemen, which for some time now has been recruited by the government so that, along with the gendarmes, they helped the police. -- A stiletto is a small dagger with a thin triangular blade. -- Fortune –) in ancient Greek mythology: the goddess of fate, happiness, luck, depicted on a container or wheel (a symbol of the variability of happiness) with a blindfold and a horn. ( one must not rely on luck, but have firm foundations) Working with an explanatory dictionary.-- Traitor - one who betrayed treacherously placed at the disposal of someone-- Duty -- Honor -- V. Conversation based on the novel. -- Guys, did you like the story? -- What is he talking about?(i.e. the topic is the punishment of the son for betrayal). -- How did you punish?(killed) - Today in class we must answer the question: “ So who is he, Matteo Falcone, a hero or a murderer? -- Where and when do the events of the novel take place?(The story takes place at the beginning of the 19th century on the island of Corsica. Impenetrable forest thickets, a semi-civilized population, primitive life, harsh and simple morals - this is the place where events unfold.) ( reading the description of the house, - P.386. textbook). -- What is this choice of location called in literature?(“local flavor”, it is characteristic of a number of “exotic” short stories by P. Merimee). -- Why does he use “local color”?(“local color” plays a completely realistic role, helps to understand the characters’ characters, their psychology, and convey the atmosphere of the time in which human behavior will be formed, i.e. the hero’s behavior depends on external circumstances, on the same “local color”). -- What form does Merimee choose when describing the scene?(Merime chooses the form direct conversation with the reader, as if explaining the route to him “If you go northwest from Porto-Vecchio into the interior of the island, the terrain will begin to rise quite steeply, and after a three-hour walk along winding paths, cluttered with large clouds of rocks and here and there intersected ravines, you will come out to vast poppy thickets." Merimee calls these impenetrable thickets of young forest “the homeland of Corsican shepherds and everyone who is at odds with justice.” So the writer gives the reader a sign: we will talk about those “who are at odds with justice.” Along the way, we learn that farmers do not bother themselves with fertilizing the soil, but follow this path: they burn the forest, and the soil turns out to be fertilized with the ash of burnt trees.) -- How does the writer talk about local customs?(Laconically, sparingly, as if he was simply stating the facts.) _ What examples can you give ( Description of the house by M. Falcone
(p.386), “Father, if necessary, could count on daggers and carbines sons-in-law" p.382, "What did you think when you saw the soldiers? "Few of the Corsicans, having rummaged well in their memory, does not remember any sin such as a rifle shot, a blow with a stiletto, or other trifles in the same way..." p.389.) Merimee uses appeal to the reader: “If you killed a person, run to the poppies...”). -- What does it mean?(he does not call on the reader to kill. Merimee needs this ironic form so that the reader understands: the Corsican has no other option in such circumstances, the matter is common in Corsica, it is the way it is in this area. The most interesting thing is that Merimee, in such detail. With knowledge of the matter while describing Corsica, he was not there. From the note we learn that the writer first came to Corsica only 10 years after writing the novel.). So, What do locals value in life? What laws do they live by?(p.381, reading), (“if you killed a person, run to the maquis, from the point of view of the inhabitants of the maquis, murder is not a sin, but a violation of the eternal laws of justice and duty. Above all, the Corsicans they place a duty of honor"). --What can you say about the main character – Matteo Falcon?(“Matteo Falcone was quite a rich man”, “he lived honestly” (though Merimee immediately adds: “that is, without doing anything”); “the accuracy with which he shot from a gun was extraordinary even for this region”; “he was considered as good a friend as a dangerous enemy”; “only a man doomed to death could dare to call Falcone a traitor.”) --What role does portraiture play?(The portrait characterizes Matteo Falcone as a courageous, intelligent man. Tempered by life’s difficulties, close to nature, “natural.” He was “short in stature, but strong, with curly jet-black hair, an aquiline nose, thin lips, large lively eyes and a face the color of raw leather.” This is a description. romantic hero. Matteo Falcone is a true Corsican in every way. This is a straightforward, courageous person, not accustomed to hesitating in the performance of duty.) --What event underlies the plot of the novel?(Killing of a son by a father for betrayal). - How do you feel about the boy’s action?(Fortunatto’s act - vile and base, a traitor - at first agreed to hide the wounded man for a silver coin, but then, flattered by the sergeant’s silver watch, he betrayed his guest to his pursuers. Others believe that Fortunatto was still too young and did not understand what he had done. Let us turn to the text Fortunato behaved confidently with Sergeant Gamba, was proud that his father was a respected man: “My father is Matteo Falcone!” But when Gamba took out the silver watch, “little Fortunatto’s eyes lit up.” Fortunatto’s face clearly reflected the struggle that flared up in his soul. between the passionate desire to get the watch and the duty of hospitality." Fortunato could not resist the temptation.) - Who was Janetto to the boy?(guest). - How do the Bashkirs treat the guest? --What mistake did Fortunato make?(He violated the custom of warmly welcoming a guest, especially a wounded one. Indeed, in all times and among all peoples, handing over to the authorities a wounded, unarmed person who asked the owner of the house for shelter is regarded as a betrayal. For example, in Siberia they used to specially leave food for fugitives overnight). - Why did the father kill his son? Did he have the right to do this? How did his wife react to Matteo Falcone’s action?(Matteo Falcone did this because that he did not want to raise a traitor in his family. A small traitor grows into a big one. He counted. Anyone who has already committed treason once cannot count on the respect of people, no matter how small he may be. . For Matteo Falcone, a good name and honor are more important than anything, more than his son. Matteo committed this murder because local customs dictated it to him.. The situation of filicide, exceptional in its nature, in Merimee’s depiction appears as a logical, natural manifestation of Matteo’s strong and integral nature, everything way of Corsican life. Giuseppa, Matteo's wife , does not try to justify his traitor son. She cries and prays, but not a word of protest escapes her. She only tried to appeal to her husband’s paternal feelings: “After all, this is your son!” Even in her maternal grief, she does not encroach on what, together with her husband, she considers the dictates of duty.) -Why did the father punish his son so cruelly?(This is a logical, natural manifestation of the strong and integral nature of the Corsican, the entire way of Corsican life). VI. Comparison of two scenes: the execution of Andriy (N.V. Gogol. “Taras Bulba”) and the finale of “Matteo Falcone”. - What work can this scene be compared to?(Illustration – Taras and Andrey). -Why did Taras kill his son?(For betraying the Fatherland, faith, Cossacks). - Why do the heroes of these works decide to do such a terrible act? --Is it dictated by the logic of revealing artistic character?(In both works, fathers kill their sons. Taras Bulba executed his son, who betrayed the Fatherland and faith. Cossacks. Son of Matteo Fortunatto also does not live according to human standards, not according to Christian laws: he betrayed his guest government representative. To wash away the shame from the family, Matteo takes Fortunatto to the maquis, but not right away kills him and first orders him to pray that Fortunatto will die a Christian. At Taras Bulba's there were even more compelling reasons for killing your son. Fortunato gave up one man, a bandit. Moreover, threatening him. And Andriy betrayed all the Cossacks, betrayed the faith, betrayed his homeland. But betrayal is betrayal, and his heroes judge him according to their own laws.) VII. Lesson summary. --Who is to blame for the death of Fortunato?(Fortunatto died at the hands of his own father. He paid with his life because of his selfishness and greed, led him to betrayal. Sergeant Gamba was also involved in this, bribing the boy and provoking his act. According to critics, the tragic fate of the main characters of the story is to blame for the “morality of betrayal, bribery, deceit, perfidy, which crushed in its own way the stable moral world of the “uncivilized” peoples and heroes of Merimee.”) -- Who is he, Matteo Falcone a hero or a killer ? (In the figure of Matteo Falcone, a conflict between the heroic and treacherous principles of life is revealed. It turns out that Matteo both hero and killer. From a Christian point of view, from a universal human point of view, he's a killer who has committed a grave sin. A With the point of view of the unwritten laws of the inhabitants of Corsica, their understanding of duty and honor, he - hero who brought justice. It takes a lot of willpower and strength of character to punish your own son with such severe punishment. It is love for his son that pushes Falcone to murder. Matteo Falcone's strength of character is such that he overcomes the natural human instinct of preserving oneself in children, the instinct of procreation.) VIII.Generalization. So, we are convinced that to understand the character of literary heroes it is necessary take into account the time and circumstances, in which it is placed. We must also take into account that wild poppies are beginning to penetrate monetary relations, morals change. This is realism.(They bribe Fortunato for hours. The father thinks about the new heir, who he is going to make his son-in-law, without having time to bury his son.) But despite the easing of laws, humanism, even today it is important to maintain a sense of duty, honor, and today treat betrayal with contempt. What work have we studied that addresses this same issue? (“The Captain’s Daughter”, who advises “ Take care of honor from a young age".) It contains the idea of high morality, honor, loyalty, duty, oath, human dignity, which a person must bring through any trials. This proverb, which has come down to us from time immemorial, has been and remains an excellent parting word for every young man. Because there are concepts that are the most important in all ages, there are prohibitions that “must not be violated.” Reading a poem by Alexander Yashin. --Remember the proverbs on this topic?(The child’s fault is the parents’ fault. Death is better than dishonor.) --What other works touch on this topic?(“Asә hokөmө”, in the epic “Ural” Shulgan, who violated the prohibition of his parents, died ingloriously; there is a curse song where Tevkelev, who betrayed his people, is cursed, “Black Waters” by M. Karim, M. Gorky “Mother and Son”, Kurban Bayram, i.e., this theme of a father punishing his son is typical in literature.) Today we have seen how important it is to take into account time and circumstances to understand the character of a literary hero. - Does the author condemn or justify his hero? Neither one nor the other. Matteo commits an act that was dictated to him by local customs, his own understanding of human dignity. One great man said, Whatthe most important thing is not to condemn or justify, but to understand why did the person do this? Perhaps we should understand Matteo’s action and travel back to those distant times. Assessment.

Novella by Prosper Merimee “Matteo Falcone”

One early autumn morning, Matteo and his wife went to poppies look at your herds grazing in the clearing. Little Fortunato wanted to go with them, but the pasture was too far away, someone had to stay to guard the house, and his father did not take him with him. From what follows it will be clear how he had to repent of that.

1 stop

Several hours had already passed since they left; little Fortunato lay calmly in the very sun and, looking at the blue mountains, thought that next Sunday he would go to dinner in the city with his uncle caporale , when suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a rifle shot. He jumped up and turned towards the plain where the sound came from. Again, at irregular intervals, shots were heard, closer and closer; Finally, on the path leading from the plain to Matteo’s house, a man appeared, covered in rags, overgrown with a beard, and wearing a pointed hat, the kind worn by mountaineers. He could hardly move his legs, leaning on the gun. He had just been shot in the thigh.

2nd stop

This was a bandit who, having gone into the city at night to buy gunpowder, was ambushed by Corsican Voltigeurs 1 . He fired back furiously and eventually managed to escape the pursuit by hiding behind rock ledges. But he was not much ahead of the soldiers: his wound did not allow him to reach poppies

He approached Fortunato and asked:

-Are you Matteo Falcone's son?

Yes.

- I'm Giannetto Sanpiero. The yellow collars are chasing me. Hide me, I can't go anymore.

- What will father say if I hide you without his permission?

- He will say that you did well.

Who knows!

- Hide me quickly, they are coming here!

- Wait until your father returns.

- Wait? Damn it! Yes, they will be here in five minutes. Come on, hide me quickly, otherwise I will kill you!

Fortunato answered him with complete composure:

-Your gun is unloaded, but in your carchera no more cartridges.

I have a dagger with me.

- Where can you keep up with me!

With one leap he was out of danger.

- No, you are not Matteo Falcone's son! Will you really allow me to be captured near your house?

This apparently had an effect on the boy.

Voltigeurs- here: horse soldiers.

3 stop

- What will you give me if I hide you? - he asked, approaching.

The bandit rummaged in a leather bag hanging from his belt and took out a five-franc piece, which he had probably hidden to buy gunpowder. Fortunato smiled at the sight of the silver coin; he grabbed her and said to Giannetto:

Don't be afraid of anything.

4 stop

He immediately made a large hole in the haystack that stood near the house. Giannetto curled up in it, and the boy covered him with hay so that air could penetrate there and he had something to breathe. It would never have occurred to anyone that someone was hidden in the haystack. Moreover, with the cunning of a savage, he came up with another trick. He brought in a cat and kittens and laid her on the hay so that it seemed as if it had not been stirred in a long time. Then, noticing traces of blood on the path near the house, he carefully covered them with earth and again, as if nothing had happened, stretched out in the sun.

A few minutes later, six riflemen in brown uniforms with yellow collars, under the command of a sergeant, were already standing in front of Matteo's house. This sergeant was a distant relative of Falcone. (It is known that in Corsica, more than anywhere else, kinship is considered.) His name was Teodoro Gamba. He was a very active man, a terror for bandits, whom he caught quite a few.

Hello, nephew! - he said, approaching Fortunato. - How you have grown! Was anyone passing here just now?

Well, uncle, I'm not as big as you yet! - the boy answered with a simple-minded look.<…>

Ah, the scoundrel! You're being cunning! Answer quickly, where did Giannetto go, we are looking for him. He walked this path, I'm sure of it.

How do I know?

How do you know? But I know that you saw him.

Do you see passers-by when you sleep?

You didn't sleep, you rascal! The shots woke you up.

Do you think, uncle, that your guns shoot so loudly? My father's carbine shoots much louder.<…>

Scammer! - said Gamba, grabbing him by the ear. - I just have to want it, and you’ll sing differently! “We should probably give you about two dozen blows with the flat of a saber so that you will finally speak.”

And Fortunato continued to chuckle.

My father is Matteo Falcone! - he said significantly.

Do you know, little rascal, that I can take you to Corte or Bastia, throw you into prison on straw, shackle you and cut off your head if you don’t tell me where Giannetto Sanpiero is?

The boy burst out laughing when he heard such a funny threat. He repeated:

My father is Matteo Falcone.

Sergeant! - one of the voltigeurs said quietly. - Don't quarrel with Matteo.

Gamba was clearly in difficulty. He spoke in a low voice with the soldiers, who had already inspected the entire house.<…>

The sergeant and his squad were losing patience; they were already looking at the plain, as if about to return to where they came from, but then...

Bastia- a city and port on the north-eastern coast of Corsica.

5 stop

…their boss, making sure that the threats did not make any impression on Falcone’s son, decided to make a last attempt and test the power of affection and bribery.<…>

-...listen: be smart and I'll give you something. <…>

The sergeant pulled out of his pocket a silver watch, which was worth a good ten crowns, and, noticing that little Fortunato’s eyes lit up at the sight of it, he said to him, holding the watch suspended by the end of the steel chain:

-Rogue! You would probably like to wear such a watch on your chest, you would walk along the streets of Porto-Vecchio proudly, like a peacock, and when passers-by would ask you: “What time is it?” - you would answer: “Look at my watch.”

-When I grow up, my uncle corporal will give me a watch.

- Yes, but your uncle’s son already has a watch... though not as beautiful as this one... and he’s younger than you. The boy sighed.

- Well, do you want this watch, nephew?

Fortunato, glancing sideways at his watch, looked like a cat being presented with a whole chicken. Feeling that he is teased, he does not dare to put his claws into it, from time to time he averts his eyes to resist the temptation, constantly licks his lips and with his whole appearance seems to be telling the owner: “How cruel your joke is!”<…>

-Just tell me where Giannetto and your watch are.

Fortunato smiled incredulously, his black eyes peered into the sergeant’s eyes, he tried to read into them how much his words could be believed.

-“Let them take off my epaulettes,” cried the sergeant, “if you don’t get a watch for this!” The soldiers will be witnesses that I will not go back on my words.

Saying this, he brought the watch closer and closer to Fortunato, almost touching the boy’s pale cheek with it. Fortunato's face clearly reflected the struggle that had flared up in his soul between the passionate desire to receive the watch and the duty of hospitality. His bare chest heaved heavily - it seemed that he was about to suffocate. And the clock swayed in front of him, spun, every now and then touching the tip of his nose.

6 stop

Finally, Fortunato hesitantly reached for the watch, the fingers of his right hand touched it, the watch lay on his palm, although the sergeant still did not let go of the chain... Blue dial... Brightly polished cover... It burns with fire in the sun... The temptation was too great.

Fortunato raised his left hand and pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the haystack he was leaning against. The sergeant understood him immediately. He let go of the end of the chain, and Fortunato felt like the only owner of the watch. He jumped up faster than a doe and ran ten steps away from the haystack, which the voltigeurs immediately began to scatter.

The hay began to stir, and a bloody man with a dagger in his hand crawled out of the hay; he tried to get to his feet, but the clotted wound did not allow him to do so. He fell. The sergeant rushed at him and snatched the dagger. He was immediately tied hand and foot, despite resistance.

Lying on the ground, twisted like a bundle of brushwood, Giannetto turned his head towards Fortunato, who approached him.

-...son! - he said more contemptuously than angry.

The boy threw him the silver coin that he had received from him - he was aware that he no longer had a right to it - but the criminal did not seem to pay any attention to it. With complete composure he said to the sergeant:

- Dear Gamba! I can't go; you will have to carry me to the city.<…>

7 stop

While the voltigeurs were busy - some preparing a stretcher from chestnut branches, others bandaging Giannetto's wound - at the turn of the path leading to poppies, Matteo Falcone and his wife suddenly appeared.<…>

Matteo stopped without saying a word; while the sergeant spoke, he slowly raised the muzzle of the gun so that it was pointed at the sky at the moment the sergeant approached.

Good afternoon, brother! - said the sergeant, extending his hand to him. - We haven't seen each other for a long time.

Good afternoon, brother!

I came by in passing to say hello to you and my sister Peppa. Today we made a fair end, but our spoils are too great and we cannot complain of fatigue. We just covered Giannetto Sanpiero.

God bless! - Giuseppa cried. - Last week he stole our milk goat.

These words made Gamba happy.

Poor fellow! - Matteo responded. - He was hungry!

This scoundrel defended himself like a lion,” continued the sergeant, slightly annoyed. - He killed one of my shooters and crushed the hand of Corporal Chardon; well, this is not a big problem: after all, Chardon is a Frenchman... And then he hid so well that the devil himself would not have found him. If it weren't for my nephew Fortunato, I would never have found him.

Fortunato? - Matteo cried.

Fortunato? - Giuseppa repeated.

-Yes! Giannetto hid in that haystack over there, but his nephew discovered his cunning. I will tell his uncle the corporal about this, and he will send him a good gift as a reward. And I will mention both him and you in the report addressed to the prosecutor.

- Damn it! - Matteo said barely audibly.

They approached the detachment. Giannetto was lying on a stretcher, about to be carried away. Seeing Matteo next to Gamba, he smiled strangely, and then, turning to face the house, spat on the threshold and said:

House of the traitor!

Only a man doomed to death could dare to call Falcone a traitor. A blow from the dagger would immediately repay the insult, and such a blow would not have to be repeated.

However, Matteo only raised his hand to his forehead, like a grief-stricken man.

Fortunato, seeing his father, went into the house. Soon he reappeared with a bowl of milk in his hands and, looking down, handed it to Giannetto.

Then, turning to one of the voltigeurs, he said:

-Comrade! Let me get drunk.

<…>The sergeant signaled to leave, said goodbye to Matteo and, having received no answer, quickly moved towards the plain.

About ten minutes passed, and Matteo was still silent. The boy looked anxiously first at his mother, then at his father, who, leaning on the gun, looked at his son with an expression of restrained anger.

You're off to a good start! - Matteo finally said in a calm voice, but scary for those who knew this man.

Father! - the boy cried; his eyes filled with tears, he took a step forward, as if about to fall on his knees in front of him.

But Matteo shouted:

Away!

The boy, sobbing, stopped motionless a few steps from his father.

8 stop

Giuseppa came up. She caught her eye on a watch chain, the end of which was sticking out from under Fortunato’s shirt.

Who gave you this watch? - she asked sternly.

Uncle Sgt.

Falconet grabbed the watch and, throwing it forcefully against a stone, smashed it to pieces.

- Wife! - he said. - Is this my child?

Giuseppa's dark cheeks became redder than bricks.

- Come to your senses, Matteo! Think about who you are telling this to!

-This means that this child is the first in our family to become a traitor.

Fortunato's sobs and sobs intensified, and Falcone still did not take his lynx eyes off him. Finally he hit the ground with the butt and, throwing the gun over his shoulder, walked along the road to poppies, ordering Fortunato to follow him. The boy obeyed.

Giuseppa rushed to Matteo and grabbed his hand.

-After all, this is your son! - she cried out in a trembling voice, glaring her black eyes into her husband’s eyes and as if trying to read what was going on in his soul.

-Leave me,” Matteo said. - I'm his father!

Giuseppa kissed her son and, crying, returned to the house.

She threw herself on her knees in front of the image of the Mother of God and began to pray fervently. Meanwhile, Falcone, having walked two hundred paces along the path, descended into a small ravine. Having tested the ground with his butt, he was convinced that the ground was loose and that it would be easy to dig. The place seemed suitable to him for fulfilling his plan.

- Fortunato! Stand by that big stone.

Having carried out his order, Fortunato fell to his knees.

Pray!

- Father! Father! Do not kill me!

- Pray! - Matteo repeated menacingly.

Stuttering and crying, the boy recited the “Our Father” and “I Believe.” The father firmly said “Amen” at the end of each prayer.

-Don't you know any more prayers?

-Father! I also know the “Virgin Mary” and the litany that my aunt taught me.

- It's very long... Well, anyway, read it.

The boy finished the litany completely silently.

Are you finished?

-Father, have mercy! I'm sorry! I'll never do it again! I will ask Uncle Corporal to have Giannetto pardoned!

He babbled something else; Matteo raised his gun and, taking aim, said:

- May God forgive you!

Fortunato made a desperate effort to get up and fall at his father’s feet, but did not have time. Matteo fired and the boy fell dead.

Without even looking at the corpse, Matteo walked along the path to the house to get a shovel to bury his son. He had not gone even a few steps when he saw Giuseppa: she was running, alarmed by the shot.

- What did you do? - she exclaimed.

- He did justice.

Where is he?

- In the ravine. I'll bury him now. He died a Christian. I will order a memorial service for him. We need to tell our son-in-law, Theodore Bianchi, to come live with us.

9 stop

"Matteo Falcone" the main characters and their characteristics will help you understand the reasons for their actions.

"Matteo Falcone" main characters

Main characters:

Matteo Falcone - head of families
his son Fortunato,
Giuseppa is Matteo's wife, a woman who is not very respected in Corsican families. Economical, obedient to her husband, pious. She sincerely feels sorry for her son, but cannot protect him from her husband.
fugitive Giannetto Sanpiero,
soldiers and Sergeant Theodore Gamba.

"Matteo Falcone" characteristics of the characters

- a typical Corsican, able to shoot accurately, determined, proud, brave, strong, observes the laws of hospitality and is ready to help anyone who asks for it. Matteo Falcone does not tolerate meanness and betrayal. He owned numerous herds, which were looked after by specially hired shepherds. In Corsica he was considered a good friend and a dangerous enemy.

“he lived honestly, that is, without doing anything, on the income from his numerous herds, which nomadic shepherds grazed in the mountains, driving from place to place.”

Some people consider Matteo Falcone a hero, others a murderer. For some, he is a man with enormous willpower, an iron character, who managed to kill even his own son in order to punish betrayal... And for others, he is a cruel killer who, in order to preserve his good name, killed his little son.

From the point of view of Christianity, from a universal human point of view, he is a murderer who has committed a grave sin. And from the point of view of the unwritten laws of the inhabitants of Corsica, their understanding of duty and honor, he is a hero who has committed justice. It takes a lot of willpower and strength of character to punish your own son. It is love for his son that pushes Falcone to murder. The strength of Matteo Falcone’s character is such that he overcomes the natural human instinct of preserving himself in children, the instinct of procreation. But at that time he could not do otherwise. The meaning of the hero's life is the honor of the family. According to Matteo, a person’s honor, the purity of the soul must be impeccable, without blemish.

Fortunato- ten-year-old son Matteo. The boy is smart, cunning, and careful. He helped a fugitive criminal, benefiting himself.

The boy behaves with the gendarmes who were looking for the criminal, confidently, calmly, tries to confuse them, is not afraid, even laughs. Fortunato is not afraid of either a bandit or a policeman, he behaves completely independently and freely with them: he is confident that no one will touch Matteo Falcone’s son. The boy's problem is different. He hid the bandit and promised him: “Don’t be afraid of anything.” And he himself handed the criminal over to the gendarmes for a silver watch. This boy’s act is immoral, vile, low. Now he is a traitor and would remain so for the rest of his life.

Fortunato died at the hands of his own father. He paid with his life because of his selfishness and greed, which led him to betrayal. Sergeant Gamba was also involved in this, bribing the boy and provoking his act.

Why did Matteo Falcone kill his son?

Matteo Falcone did this because he did not want to raise a traitor in his house. A small traitor grows into a big one, he believed.

Someone who has already committed treason once cannot count on the respect of people, no matter how small he may be.

For Matteo, a good name and honor are more valuable than anything, even more valuable than his son. Matteo killed his son because local customs dictated that he do so, but no one has the right to decide when to die

Composition

The name of Prosper Merimee rightfully takes its place in the brilliant galaxy of French realists of the second half of the 19th century. The work of Stendhal, Balzac and their younger contemporary Merimee became the pinnacle of French national culture in the post-revolutionary period.

The writer wanted to give an idea of the cruel morals of the 14th century without violating historical accuracy.

In 1829, P. Merimee began writing the short story “Matteo Falcone”. Merimee's short stories amaze with their emotional expressiveness and brevity. In the writer's short stories, exotic themes attract him. The cruel life of modern times forced him to turn to the depiction of passions, which became a sign of human originality.

The central event of the story - the murder of his son for betrayal - organizes all the plot material. A short exhibition not only explains the origins of the maquis, but also characterizes Corsican customs, local hospitality and readiness to come to the aid of the persecuted. “If you have killed a man, run to the poppies of Porto-Vecchio... The shepherds will give you milk, cheese and chestnuts, and you have nothing to fear from justice...”

Matteo Falcone is a brave and dangerous man, famous for his extraordinary art of shooting, he is faithful in friendship, dangerous in enmity. His character traits are determined by the laws of Corsican life.

In the scene of Fortunato’s betrayal, almost every word is significant, as is the symbolism of the boy’s name, which allows us to imagine how much his father expected from him. At ten years old, the boy “showed great promise,” for which the father was proud of his son. This is evidenced by the intelligence and courage with which he made a deal, first with Giannetto, and then with Gamba.

Sergeant Gamba played the role of a fatal seducer; he is also a Corsican, even a distant relative of Matteo, although he has completely different personal qualities. He imagines a world in which profit and calculation suppress all natural impulses. A silver watch with a blue dial and a steel chain became a symbol of merchant civilization. This thing took the lives of two people. Sergeant Gamba can safely be declared guilty of Fortunato's death. The specifics of Corsian life, as well as the internal tragedy of the event, are revealed by the spare dialogue and laconic expressiveness of the action. Matteo, his wife Giuseppa, the bandit Gianneto Sampiero, the maquis shepherds are people of one world, living according to their own internal laws. Opposed to this world are Sergeant Gamba, his voltigeurs with yellow collars - a sign of their eccentricity, the semi-mythical and omnipotent “Uncle Corporal”, whose son already has a watch and who, as Fortunatto thinks, can do anything. The spatial boundary of these two worlds lies between the poppies and the field, while the moral boundary can be overcome at the cost of betraying the moral laws of one’s world, which is what Fotunato is trying to do.

His action can be assessed in different ways. On the one hand, he betrayed Corsican laws and violated moral standards; but on the other hand, it is easy to understand him: he is still a child, he really liked the watch, and a jealous feeling of envy appeared, because the son of “Uncle Corporal” has such a watch, although he is younger than Fortunato. In addition, Gamba promised the boy that “uncle corporal” would send him a good gift as a reward.

Matteo punishes his son for such an act with death. The fact that the sentence passed on Fotunato by his father was not the result of Matteo’s personal exaggerated ideas about the honor of the family, but expressed a moral attitude towards the betrayal of the entire people, is evidenced by the behavior of Giuseppa, who, despite all her grief, was aware of Matteo’s rightness.

Written in 1829, the short story has the form of a smooth, progressive narrative, opening with an exposition in which the author introduces the reader to the setting of the work - the Corsican poppies and the main character - the rich owner of sheep herds, Matteo Falcone. Prosper Merimee introduces into the text the image of the author-narrator, who met the proud Corsican two years after the story happened, to more fully reveal the latter’s character.

Matteo Falcone is portrayed by them as a man who does not look his age, who still shoots accurately and is known in the area as a good friend and a dangerous enemy. The tragedy that happened in the hero’s life, if it affected him, is not visible to others: there are still no gray hairs on his head, his eyes have not lost their sharpness. Matteo Falcone, a father who killed his ten-year-old son for betrayal, a true Corsican who put honor above all else, was able to find the strength to live on precisely because he did not compromise his inner principles and punished the traitor who appeared in his family.

Plot plot coincides with a meeting between Matteo Falcone's ten-year-old son, Fortunato, and the bandit Giannetto Sanpiero, who is escaping from the soldiers, during which the boy, not without difficulty, agrees to help the wounded man. The child’s reluctance to help the guest free of charge reveals both his character and his further tragic fate. Fortunato’s meeting with his uncle, Sergeant Teodoro Gamba, at the dialogue level repeats the conversation with Giannetto Sanpiero: at the beginning, Fortunato does not want to help his relative in capturing the fugitive (a parallel with how the boy refuses to help the bandit), then he defends himself from the threats directed at him in the name of his father, after which he succumbs to temptation and sells his help for a silver breast watch, clearly worth more than the one five-pound coin given to him by Giannetto.

In artistic image of Fortunato the features of Matteo Falcone are visible - fearlessness, awareness of his belonging to an ancient family, cunning and resourcefulness (the episode with how the boy hid the bandit - in a haystack, covering him on top with a cat with kittens). A penchant for betrayal, bargaining and venality are his personal traits, determined both by his young age and by new trends that have come to Corsican society. They are still barely perceptible, but can already be traced in children's rivalry (Uncle Fortunato's son, who is younger than him, has a watch, but the boy does not) and in the adult proposals of Giannetto and Teodoro (interestingly, both the bandit and the servant of justice act in the same way, when they want to get their way). The boy's mother, Giuseppa, is in character something between her husband and her son: with difficulty, but still, she accepts her husband's decision to get rid of the traitor, even if he is the desired son, whom they have been waiting for so long after three daughters; like Fortunato, she has a love for material things: recognizing Giannetto as the kidnapper of a milk goat, she rejoices at his capture, while Matteo sympathizes with the hungry bandit.

Climax The short story, expressed in the scene of Giannetto's surrender to Sanpiero Fortunato, turns into a denouement gradually: at the beginning we see how Matteo Falcone reacts to what happened in his house, then we get an assessment of what is happening from Giannetto, spitting on the threshold "house of the traitor", after which we see Fortunato, afraid of his father’s wrath, who decided to correct the situation with a bowl of milk, then the narrative focuses on the image of a bandit, who rejects the filling gift, turns to face the soldier who arrested him, calls him his comrade and asks for water to drink. Matteo Falcone, watching what is happening, remains silent. He does not help Giannetto, since he did not take responsibility for his fate, but he also does not intend to tolerate a traitor in his family. While the soldiers tie up the arrested man and put him on a stretcher, Matteo Falcone does nothing and does not show himself in any way: perhaps he is gathering his thoughts, perhaps waiting for the witnesses to the future murder to leave. A true Corsican does not make excuses for Giannetto, but also does not help his relative, Teodoro Gamba. The hero’s inner excitement is visible only by the fact that he does not say goodbye to the latter when he leaves.

Matteo Falcone remains taciturn until the end of the tragic ending. He does not give in to the persuasion of his wife, who appeals to his paternal feelings (the persuasion is also not too intrusive, since Giuseppa understands the essence of what is happening and partly agrees with her), does not allow his heart to soften from his son’s tearful requests to have mercy on him. All he can do for his child is to give him the opportunity to pray before dying in order to die in a Christian way. Having read two prayers, Fortunato asks his father not to kill him, saying, like all children, that "he will improve", and, as an adult, trying to find a reasonable solution to improve the situation (ask Uncle Corporal to pardon Giannetto), but Matteo Falcone remains adamant. He gives his son time for two more prayers, one of which - a litany - turns out to be long and difficult for both participants in the unfolding tragedy, after which he shoots Fortunato. Matteo kills the boy in a ravine with loose soil that would make it easy to dig a grave. Such foresight indicates that the decision made by the main character is final and irrevocable.

Giuseppa, like a real Corsican woman, comes to terms with the decision of her husband, who has every right to control the lives of his family members. The heroine understands that stained honor can only be washed away with blood. She is trying to save her son’s life, but she has no arguments against Matteo’s menacing words: "I am his father!". Realizing that a tragic outcome is inevitable, Giuseppa throws herself on her knees in front of the image of the Mother of God and begins to pray. She runs into the ravine at the sound of a shot in the hope of seeing a different outcome, but is faced with “perfect justice.” Matteo Falcone immediately gives his wife instructions on how to live further: serve a memorial service for Fortunato and invite one of his sons-in-law to the house.

The short story “Matteo Falcone” is a story about Corsican morals, proud and harsh, sacredly honoring the law of hospitality (even in relation to fugitive criminals) and demanding its fulfillment from all people, without exception, regardless of age. A society in which every member has at least one murder to his name must have its own immutable law. Fortunato broke it. Matteo had no choice but to punish the criminal.