The meaning of the word memoirs in Ushakov’s explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. Dictionary of literary terms What is Memoir, what does it mean and how to write it correctly

from French mEmoires - memories), a literary narration by a participant in social, political, literary and artistic life about events, a witness or actor whom he was, about the people with whom he came into contact. Memoirs are a type of documentary literature and at the same time one of the types of confessional prose (autobiography, confession), adjacent to historical prose, essay, biography. Memoirs can contain the memories of an ordinary person about his “ordinary” life, conveying the flavor of a certain era, thoughts, feelings, attitudes and expectations of “average” people of a particular time, of a particular social, age, psychophysiological or age status. In this regard, memoirs belong to genres bordering between literature proper and everyday letters and diaries not intended for publication.

The origin of memoirs is associated with the memoirs of Xenophon (c. 445 - c. 355 BC) about Socrates and the “Notes on the Gallic War” of Julius Caesar (100 or 102–44 BC). In further literature, “The History of My Disasters” (1132–36) by P. Abelard, “ New life"(1292) Dante, “Poetry and Truth from My Life” (1811–33) J. V. Goethe, “Confession” (1766–69) J. J. Rousseau, “Ten Years in Exile” (unfinished, ed. . in 1821) J. de Stael; in Russian literature - “The Past and Thoughts” (1855–68) by A. I. Herzen, “Captured Work” (1921–22) by V. N. Figner, “People, Years, Life” (1961–65) by I. G. Erenburg, V. P. Kataev’s trilogy “Holy Well” (1966), “The Grass of Oblivion” (1967), “My Diamond Crown” (1978); “On the Banks of the Neva” (1967) and “On the Banks of the Seine” (1983) by I. V. Odoevtseva, “Through the Eyes of a Man of My Generation” (published 1988) by K. M. Simonov, “A Calf Butted an Oak Tree” (1990) A I. Solzhenitsyn. A special place among memoirs is occupied by notes and memories of prominent statesmen, including the Russian Empress Catherine II, the head of the English government during the 2nd World War, W. Churchill. Stable features of the genre: factuality, eventfulness, retrospectiveness, immediacy of the author's judgments, picturesqueness, documentary. An indispensable property of memoirs is their subjectivity in the selection of facts, in their coverage and evaluation; A common method of artistic characterization is a portrait. Memoirs are an irreplaceable source of information about the events of the past, tastes, morals, customs, a system of aesthetic and spiritual values, and an important tool for literary, socio-historical and cultural studies. Memoirs in their “pure” form can be identified with works of fiction of a memoir nature (“Pedagogical Poem”, 1933–1936, A. S. Makarenko), often with “encrypted” characters (“My Diamond Crown” by V. P. Kataev). There are known hoax memoirs (the fake “diary” of the lady-in-waiting of the last Russian Empress A. A. Vyrubova). In the 20th–21st centuries. memoirs in the form of memoirs, sketches, fictional dialogues, polemics “retroactively”, diary entries, etc. are one of the most relevant genres. In Russia, this is the so-called “camp” literature, which carries not only the truth about the tragic pages of the latest national history, but also a powerful charge of social and political exposure: “ Steep route"(1967–80) E. S. Ginzburg, “The Gulag Archipelago” (1973) A. I. Solzhenitsyn, “Plunge into Darkness” (1987) O. N. Volkova, “Kolyma Tales” (1954–73) V. T. Shalamova and others. Memoirs include collective collections of memories, united either by the community of authors (profession, age, nationality, biography, ideological, artistic and aesthetic affinity), or by the object of memories (memories of contemporaries about A. S. Pushkin, memories of participants literary movement imagism).

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MEMOIRS

historical (French m?moires, from Latin memoria - memory) - the author’s memories of the historical. events in which he was a participant or eyewitness, one of the types of historical sources. There are no clear lines separating M. from other types of sources of personal origin (sometimes the circle of M. also includes diaries, autobiographies, etc., along with memoirs). Dept. works like M. were created already in antiquity. These are, in particular, “Anabasis” by Xenophon (Russian translation, M.-L., 1951) - about the campaign of 10 thousand Greeks in Mesopotamia in 401 BC. e. and “Notes on the Gallic War” by Julius Caesar (Russian translation, M.-L., 1948). In the Middle Ages, M. wrote ch. arr. representatives of the feudal class, courtiers. Such are, for example, “The Conquest of Constantinople” by J. de Villehardouin (G. Villehardouin, L´histoire de la conqu?te de Constantinople, P., 1584) - an epically calm story about the 4th crusade of one of its leaders; “The History of Saint Louis” by J. Joinville (J. Joinville, L´histoire et chronique du tr?s-chr?stien roy Saint Louis, P., 1547) - a colorful picture of the life and customs of the era of Louis IX; "Chronicles" by J. Froissart (J. Froissart, Chroniques, P., 1869-99), reflecting the events of the 14th century. - 100 Years' War, Jacquerie, W. Tyler's rebellion; “Chronicle and History” by F. de Commines (Ph. de Commines, Chronique et istoire... durant le r?gne du roi Louis XI, P., 1524), imbued with ideas of exalting the power of Louis XI (2nd half of 15 V.). Standing somewhat apart are M. Pierre Abelard ("The History of My Disasters", Russian translation, 1959), which shows the persecution of Catholic freethinking. 12th century church But already from the Renaissance, new themes invaded M., interest in the surrounding world, in people, grew. personalities, among the memoirists there are more and more townspeople, merchants, including travelers (see the article “Travel”). In the M. of the prominent Huguenot figure T. A. d'Aubigne "Tragic Poems. Memoirs" (R., 1616; in Russian translation, M., 1949) the era comes to life religious wars; B. Cellini in his autobiography “The Life of Benvenuto, son of maestro Giovanni Cellini...” (Naples, 1728; Russian translation, M., 1931) vividly depicts the morals of Italy in the 16th century. By the 16th century There are also such examples of Russian M. as “The History of the Grand Duke of Moscow” (St. Petersburg, 1913) by Prince A. M. Kurbsky, where the events of the time of Ivan the Terrible are recreated, “The Life of Archpriest Avvakum, written by himself” (St. Petersburg, 1861), colorful ideologist of the Old Believers. Examples of M. countries of the East 15-16 centuries. The memoirs of Z. M. Vasifi, the courtier of the Timurids (Khorasan) Badai al-vaqai (vol. 1-2, M., 1961), expressing the ideas of the mountains, can serve as an example. feudal opposition power, M. ruler of the Great Mughals Babur (Russian translation "Babur-name", Tashkent, 1948). 17-18 centuries - the heyday of memoirs, especially in France. The following French masterpieces date back to this time. literature, such as M. Duke J. F. de Retz (J. Fr. Retz, M?moires, P., 1717) and M. Duke L. Saint-Simon (v. 1-21, P., 1829-30 ; Russian translation of selected parts, vol. 1-2, M.-L., 1934-36). Major social upheavals cause a flow of M., in which representatives of the main. fighting factions assess events from their class positions: M. of O. Cromwell’s associate T. Fairfax (Th. Fairfax, Memoirs of the reign of Charles the First, v. 1-2, L., 1848), T. Jefferson (Th. Jefferson, Memoirs, correspondence and private papers, v. 1-4, L., 1829), prominent Girondist Madame M. J. Roland (M. J. Roland, M?moires, v. 1-2, P., 1820), French military organizer bourgeois revolutions of the 18th century L. Carnot (L. Carnot, M?moires, v. 1-2, P., 1861-64), “Memoirs” of the diplomat Prince Talleyrand (v. 1-5, R., 1891-92; Russian translation. , M.-L., 1934) and many others. etc. Almost all of Napoleon I’s associates left apologetics about him. memories. Among the works of the 18th century, written in Russia, “Notes of Catherine II” (St. Petersburg, 1906), as well as “The Life and Adventures of Andrei Bolotov...” (vol. 1-4, St. Petersburg, 1871-73), stand out. there are vivid pictures of the life of the nobility, events Seven Years' War and the uprising of E. Pugachev. In the 19th - early 20th centuries. due to rapid socio-economic changes, the growth of education, the composition of memoirists is democratizing, personal moments in memoirs are increasingly fading into the background or are closely intertwined with public moments. M. are increasingly becoming political in nature. Many M. revolutionaries appear, for example. “My Memoirs” by G. Garibaldi (R., 1860; Russian translation, M., 1931), the leader of German Social Democracy A. Bebel “From My Life” (Bd 1-3, V., 1910-14; Russian translation, M., 1963). Among Russian M. 19th century. A large group of M. Decembrists stands out. Among them are “Russia and the Russians” by N. I. Turgenev (vol. 1-2, St. Petersburg, 1907-08), “Notes” of Prince S. P. Trubetskoy (St. Petersburg, 1906). Exceptions occupy a special place. Valuable for its broad themes and richness of content, “The Past and Thoughts” by A. I. Herzen (vol. 1-4, London, 1861-67). Since the middle of the century, M. torg appeared. bourgeoisie, commoners, and later workers and peasants. Valuable information about the organization and activities of the populists is contained in the M. Narodovoltsev V. N. Figner (“Sealed Labor,” vol. 1-2, M., 1921-22) and O. V. Aptekman (“From the history of revolutionary populism “Earth” and will" of the 70s", Rostov n/D., 1907). The first memoirs of workers include “Memoirs” of the leader of the Morozov strike P. A. Moiseenko (M., 1924) and the memoirs of V. Gerasimov (first published in the magazine “Byloe”, 1906, No. 6). The composition of memoirists and the topics of memoirs in Russia changed fundamentally after October. The authors of memoirs are primarily figures revolutionary movement, recreating the course of the heroic struggle against tsarism and the bourgeois system. There are especially many M. about Vel. Oct. socialist revolution (memoirs of V. Antonov-Ovseenko “In the Seventeenth Year”, M., 1933; book by the American communist J. Reed “Ten Days that Shook the World” (N.Y., 1919; Russian translation, M., 1923); in Moscow, its participants clearly depicted the civil war ("Civil War 1918-1921", vol. 1-3, Moscow, 1928-30, and many others). Since 1924, many memoirs about V. I. Lenin began to be published In the context of the cult of Stalin's personality, their publication almost ceased. After 1956, a new rise in Soviet memoirs began, in which memories of Lenin occupy a prominent place (collection "Memoirs of V.I. Lenin", parts 1-3, M ., 1956-60, etc.), about the Great Patriotic War (by the end of 1965, more than 100 books on this topic were published in the USSR alone in the “War Memoirs” series). The composition of memoirists and the topics of their books changed dramatically, etc. countries with the victory of socialist revolutions there. In foreign socialist countries, M. are devoted to a significant extent to the revolutionary struggle in modern times, anti-fascist. movement, socialist transformations, etc. These are M. Bolg. partisans ("Botevtsi", Sofia, 1959), M. state. Hungarian figure I. Dobi “Memories and History” (Dobi I., Vallom?s es t?rt?nelem, k?t. 1-2, Bdpst, 1962), collective M. about the formation of the GDR “We are strength” ( "Wir sind die Kraft", V., 1959), etc. With the growth of the national liberation movement in the countries of Asia, Africa and Latvia. America, M. leaders of this movement appear, many of whom later became political. figures liberated from imperialism. oppression of countries: M.K. Gandhi, My Life (v. 1-2, Ahmadabad, 1927-29; Russian translation, M., 1959), J. Nehru, Autobiography (L., 1930; Russian translation. , M., 1955); K. Nkrumah, Autobiography (L., 1957; Russian translation, M., 1961) and others. M. many bourgeois. state, political and other figures of the 20th century. distinguished, among many other class features, by an anti-Soviet orientation, for example, W. Churchill’s memoirs “The World Crisis” (v. 1-6, R., 1923-31; Russian translation, M.-L., 1932), R. Poincare "In the Service of France... Memoirs 1914-1918" (v. 1-10, R., 1926-33; Russian translation, vol. 1-2, M., 1936), G. Hoover (N Hoover, Memoirs, v. 1-3, N.Y., 1952). At the same time, more and more M. worker veterans are appearing and will be released. capitalist movements countries (T. Mann, Memoirs, translated from English, M.-L., 1924; M. Thorez, Son of the People, translated from French, M., 1950; S. Katayama, Memoirs, translated from Japanese ., M., 1964; M. Chilean communist E. Laferte, Life of a Communist, translated from Spanish, M., 1961, and many others). M. are a document of the era of their creation. They are often used as a political tool. and ideological struggle, and are often written for purely practical and even selfish purposes of the author. Sometimes one of the main purposes of writing M. is to settle scores with one’s politicians. opponents. These are, for example, to a certain extent the M. of the Tsar's Minister S. Yu. Witte ("Memoirs", vol. 1-3, M.-P., 1923-24). Other M. authors exaggerate their role in events or present their actions in a light favorable to themselves. Yes, tour. state the figure Dzhemal Pasha in his “Notes” (Russian translation, Tiflis, 1923) seeks to absolve himself of responsibility for the policies of the Young Turks in 1914-18. Many M. political. figures have a pronounced character of self-praise or apologetics (for example, M. Napoleon). In a number of cases, memoirists deliberately keep silent important facts. For example, Talleyrand, who wrote his M. during the Bourbon restoration, kept silent about his participation in the activities of the Establishment. revolutionary meetings France at the end of the 18th century. Despite the variety of specific tasks and goals of memoirists, their works are united by the fact that, unlike other sources of personal origin, they are written, as a rule, after the memoirists find themselves outside the environment associated with the events depicted in M. Observations and impressions of eyewitnesses in M. are often adjusted under the influence of the author’s new interests and other circumstances. The characteristic features of M. are: subjectivity, determined by the social or political positions of the authors, as well as the limitations of their individual experience, and the retrospective nature of the presentation of facts. Memoir’s specific primary source is memory (however, along with it, memoirists often use a variety of documentation, diaries, letters, the press, etc.). M., like any other sources, are used by historians only after careful source criticism. The purpose of the latter is to determine the degree of reliability and completeness of the content of the materials, taking into account all variants of their text and data from a comparison of the studies under study with those of other authors on similar or related topics. In this case, the analysis of authorship plays a primary role, in particular social status and biographical data from the memoirists, their worldview, the degree of participation in the events covered, and specific goals when writing memoirs. For all their peculiarities and certain uncertainty of the boundaries of the genre, memoirs are extremely valuable historical. source. Reflecting the past in its specificity, memoirs contain a wealth of material for studying the psychology and life of society as a whole, as well as individual societies. groups. Thanks to M. the historical can be recreated. the background against which events unfolded, the atmosphere and flavor of a particular era, the logic of people’s behavior is clarified. Sometimes in M. you can find unpublished or unknown documents, letters, etc. in whole or in fragments. In a number of cases, M. is the only or main source of our knowledge about individual segments of history, about past events or their individual aspects. The literary portraits of people who played an outstanding role in history are of considerable value. B means. Thanks to M., students and associates of Marx, Engels, and Lenin, living images of the founders of Marxism-Leninism were preserved for history. Bibliographies and collections M.: Memories of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Annotated index of books and journal articles 1954-1961, M., 1963 (compiled by F. N. Kudryavtsev); Mintslov S. R., Review of notes, diaries, memoirs, letters and travels related to the history of Russia and printed in Russian. language, c. 1-5, Novgorod, 1911-12; History of Soviet society in the memoirs of contemporaries, 1917-1957. Annotated index of memoir literature, part 1, M., 1958; the same, part 2, c. 1, Journal publications 1917-1927, M., 1961; Index of memoirs, diaries and travel notes of the 18th-19th centuries, M., 1951; Collection des m?moires relatifs a la R?volution d´Angleterre, publ... par F. P. G. Guizot, t. 1-25, P., 1823-25; Collection des m?moires r?latifs a la R?volution fran?aise... publ. par S. A. Berville et J. F. Barri?re, v. 1-68, P., 1820-28; Biblioth?que des m?moires relatifs a l´histoire de France pendant le XVIII si?cle, ?d. Barri?re F. et A. de Lescure, v. 1-28, P., 1846-66; the same, Nouvelle série avec introductions, notices et notes par M. de Lescure, v. 29-37, P., 1875-81; Collection des mémoires relatifs a l´histoire de France... jusqu´au XIII si?cle, publ... par F. Guizot, v. 1-30, P., 1823-35; Nouvelle collection des m?moires sur l´histoire de France... jusqu´a la fin du XVIII si?cle..., ?d. J.-F. Michaud et J. J. F. Poujoulat, pt. 1-34, P., 1836-39; Westphal M., Die besten deutschen Memoiren aus 7 Jahrhunderten, Lpz. , 1923. Lit.: Cardin V., Today is about yesterday. Memoirs and modernity, M., 1961 (popular science book); Chernomorsky M.N., Memoirs as a historical source, M., 1959 (Soviet period of the history of the USSR); Derevnina L.I., On the term “memoirs” and the classification of memoir sources (historiography of the issue). - "Issues of archival science", 1963, No. 4; Caboche Ch., Les m?moires et l'histoire en France, t. 1-2, P., 1863; Wolf G., Einf?hrung in das Studium der neueren Geschichte, V., 1910, S. 324 404. I. Ya. Bisk. Tambov.

From the Chronicles modern events memoirs are distinguished by the fact that in them the author’s face comes to the fore, with his sympathies and dislikes, with his aspirations and views. Very often belonging to persons who played a prominent role in history, sometimes covering a significant period of time, for example, the entire life of the author, often connecting important events with trifles Everyday life, memoirs can be historical material of primary importance.

The Oldest European Memoirs

Classical antiquity knew only two authors of memoirs - Xenophon And Caesar. True homeland memoirs in XIX century was considered France. The first experiments in this area relate here to XIII century. Villehardouin's naive notes on the Latin Empire still stand on the border between memoirs and chronicles, while Histoire de St. Louis“ (about ) is rightfully considered an example of historical memoirs.

France ( XVI -XIX century)

The number of memoirs especially increased in the era of revolution (memoirs Necker, Besenval, Ferrier, Alexandre Lamet, Lafayette, Madame de Stael, Campan, Barbara, Billo-Varenna, Dumouriez , Madame Roland , Mirabeau, Mounier, Barera, Camille Desmoulenas). Even executioners, for example, Samson, wrote memoirs then.

Many of the memoirs of that era that appeared with the names of famous figures are fraudulent. This kind of forgery was widely practiced by Soulavie, whose collections have therefore been superseded “Collection des mémoires relatifs à la revolution française”(30 vols., Paris, 1820-1830) and some other publications.

Even more numerous are memoirs dating back to the Napoleonic era. Almost all generals Napoleon and many other people left notes. Of particular importance are the memoirs of Bignon, O'Meara, Constant, Lavalette, Savary, the Duchess of Abrantes, Marmont, Eugenia Beauharnais, Madame de Remusat, Talleyrand.

Later they wrote memoirs by Carnot, Broglie, Chateaubriand , George Sand , Guizot, Marmier, Edmond de Goncourt And Jules de Goncourt.

England

English literature is also rich in memoirs, in which they, however, acquire significance only from the era of the queen. Elizabeth and even more so since the internal wars of the 17th century. For reign Charles I The memoirs of James Melville and the Scot David Craford are of particular importance. The most important works of this kind are collected in the publication Guizot , “Collection des mémoires relatifs à la revolution d’Angleterre”(33 vols., Paris, 1823 et seq.).

Of the memoirs of later times, the notes of Bolingbroke and Horace Walpole. In England, as in France, the literature of memoirs had reached, by the end of the 19th century, dimensions that were barely accessible to review.

Germany

Poland

Russian memoirs

In Russian literature, a number of notes begin with “The History of the Book.” Great Moscow about the deeds that we have heard from trustworthy men and that we have seen before our eyes,” the famous prince Kurbsky, having the character of a pamphlet rather than history, but important as an expression of the opinion of a well-known party.

The Time of Troubles gave rise to a whole series of narratives from contemporaries and eyewitnesses of the Troubles, but with a few exceptions, these works cannot be considered simple-minded records of what was seen and heard: in almost all the legends there appears either a biased point of view, or influences from which the simplicity and truthfulness of the author’s testimony suffers. Not to mention the works that appeared even before the end of the Troubles (the story of Archpriest Terenty), journalistic features are not alien to the two largest narratives about the Troubles - Vremennik by Ivan Timofeev and “The Tale of the Siege of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery” by Abraham Palitsyn. In both works, the desire to expose the vices of Muscovites prevails. society and with them explain the origin of the unrest; Depending on such a task, there is a lack of chronological connection, gaps in factual testimony, and an abundance of abstract reasoning and moralizing.

The later works of eyewitnesses of the Troubles, which appeared under Tsars Mikhail and Alexei, differ from the earlier ones in their greater objectivity and more factual depiction of the era (“Words” by Prince I. A. Khvorostinin, especially the story of Prince I. M. Katyrev of Rostov, included in Sergei’s chronograph Kubasov), but in them the presentation is often subordinated either to conventional rhetorical devices (notes of Prince Semyon Shakhovsky, dating back to 1601-1649), or to one general point of view (for example, the official one - in the manuscript attributed to Patriarch Philaret and depicting events from 1606 until the election of Michael as Tsar).

Therefore, as a historical source, those few works that deviate from the general literary template and do not go beyond a simple ingenuous presentation of events are of greater importance. This is, for example, the life of the teacher. Dionysius, Archimandrite of the Trinity-Sergius Convent, which in 1648 - 54. wrote the Trinity cellarer Simon Azaryin, and the Moscow sergeant added his memories. Assumption Cathedral Ivan Nasedka(cf. S. F. Platonov, “Ancient Russian tales and stories about the Time of Troubles, as a historical source,” St. Petersburg, 1888; the texts of the legends were printed by him in the “Historical Library” published by the archaeographical commission, vol. 13). The works of Kotoshikhin, Shusherin (life of Nikon), Avvakum (autobiography), and Semyon Denisov bear the character of notes or personal memories.

Peter I

Alexander II

Of the numerous memories of the era of Alexander II, notes are of particular importance N.V. Berga(about Polish conspiracies), Count Valuev, N.S. Golitsyn (about the abolition of corporal punishment, in “ Russian antiquity", 1890), A. L. Zisserman (Caucasian memoirs, in the "Russian Archive", 1885), Levshin, Count M. N. Muravyov, P. N. Obninsky, N. K. Ponomarev ("Memoirs of the mediator of the first call" , in “Russian Antiquity”, 1891, No. 2), N. P. Semyonova, Y. A. Solovyova, gr. D. N. Tolstoy-Znamensky.

Literary Memoirs

Literary memoirs of the 19th century are very numerous. These are the notes S. T. Aksakova , P. V. Annenkova, Askochensky, Bodyansky (in the “Collection of the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature”, 1891), N.P. Brusilov (in the “Historical Vestn.” 1893, No. 4), Buslaev, book. P. A. Vyazemsky, A. D. Galakhov (in “Historical Vestn.” 1891 No. 6 and 1892 No. 1 and 2), Herzen, Panaev, Golovacheva-Panaeva, Grech, I. I. Dmitrieva, V. R. Zotov (“Historical Vestn.”, 1890), M. F. Kamenskaya, Kolyupanova, Makarova,

For those who have something interesting to tell, there is a relatively rare specialty - memoirist - who is it and why is it so remarkable - read on.

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Who are they?

Most often, not only writers, but also prominent political figures, and simply people who have something to tell become memoirists. Anyone who can write their own life or the life of another person can become the author of a memoir.

What is a memoir?

Memoirs are understood as records of memories, various notes written by contemporaries of events or people. Facts may be presented regarding various types of events in which the author participated, witnessed or knew people who participated in them.

The most important difference from ordinary fiction lies in the initial focus on some documentary presentation. This kind of document will pretend to be reliable and even objective.

Features of the work of memoirists

The authors of memoirs, unlike writers of various chronicles or fiction, put themselves in the first place, and the entire narrative is built on the basis of what they saw, felt, and experienced. At the same time, they express their subjective opinion regarding the events described, the person or group of persons mentioned.

• Most often, people who are involved in art, sports, who managed to influence society, or who participated in historical events turn to memoirs.

It is for this reason that, with the help of memoirists, historians often succeed in recreating many events about which very little was officially known.

The peculiarity of memoirs is also that they can reflect a whole historical layer, with a description of little things known only to the author of the memoirs, which can help to recreate a certain picture of what happened at one time or another.

All this can be used by learned historians, for whom it is very important to obtain such information to fill in the gaps in the overall picture of events.

Therefore, it is very important for a memoirist to describe as accurately as possible their feelings, experiences and what they see around them, what is happening in the world.

Since the very concept of “memoirs” suggests that it will be reasoning or memories of a specific person or a story about a person, a group of people or events, the person who describes all this needs to present everything consistently, without violating historical integrity.

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For some, memoirs are a great way to speak out and talk about their difficult creative or work path. For some, it is a way to earn extra money by taking advantage of what is at the zenith of fame.

As you can see, memoirs provide an opportunity for some to speak out, and for others to study a certain stage of history, focusing on the stories of contemporaries of those events.

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Memoir literature

Memoir literature

1. Scope and composition of the concept.
2. Class determination of memoir genres.
3. Questions of reliability of M. l.
4. Techniques for examining M. l.
5. The meaning of memoirs.
6. Main historical milestones of M. l.

1. SCOPE AND COMPOSITION OF THE CONCEPT.- M. l. (from the French memoire - memory) - works of writing that consolidate in one form or another the memories of their authors about the past. Sometimes approaching fiction, in particular, for example. to such genres as family chronicle (see) and various types of historical fiction, M. l. However, it differs from them in the desire to accurately reproduce a certain area of ​​reality. Unlike fiction, works of memoir literature carry exclusively or predominantly cognitive functions without any special artistic attitudes. However, it is sometimes extremely difficult to draw a clear line between them and fiction. Neither “The Diary of Kostya Ryabtsev” by Ognev, nor “Confessions d’un enfant du siecle” by Musset with the works of M. l. are not. But already in Dickens’s “David Copperfield” or especially in S. Aksakov’s “Family Chronicle” we find a huge number of autobiographical realities, which form the basis of literary and artistic treatment. Feedback is quite possible here - in the monuments of M. l. there may be, to one degree or another, a desire for artistic expression. Thus, the memoirs of an Italian adventurer of the 18th century. Casanova is not alien to the techniques of the gallant adventure novel of the Rococo era, and the memoirs of the Decembrist N. A. Bestuzhev are written in a clearly idealizing everyday manner based on models classical biographies Plutarch. The combination of the aspects of “reliable” and “fiction” in a memoir creates enormous difficulties for a biographer of a writer or a researcher of his work (a classic example of this fusion is Goethe’s “Dichtung und Warheit”). The proportion of the relationship between both elements can vary extremely greatly: the elements of fiction, almost completely dominant in Stern’s “Sentimental Journey,” fade into the background in Karamzin’s “Letters of a Russian Traveler,” an elaborate diary written by Karamzin during his trip to the West. Europe; This work stands at the border between artistic and literary works. The latter often turns out to be deeply fruitful for literature: for example, “Chapaev” by Furmanov, being an artistic generalization of a certain period and corner civil war, at the same time, maintains a greater degree of closeness to reality, which undoubtedly increases the reader’s attention and contributes to the success of the work.
Quite a lot different genres M. l. often intertwined with each other. The primary and, in a certain sense, the most primitive form of M. l. is a diary - daily or periodic entries by the author, outlining the events of his personal life against the background of the events of contemporary reality (the latter, however, is not always necessary). The diary represents the primary form of M. l. - there is no general perspective of events here, and the narrative is based on the molecular connection of the records, united by the unity of the person presenting them, the system of his views. An example of this type is the recently published “Diaries” of M. Shahinyan. Memories or notes are a more complex and frequent form of M. l. Here the author gets the opportunity to take a long-term look back, cover a larger period of time and analyze its events from the angle of a certain ideological concept. There is less randomness in memories; they contain much more elements of selection and screening out events. The third form can be considered an autobiography, shorter than memoirs in scope and covering the most important and turning points in the history of a person (memories can tell about reality in general, but for an autobiography it is necessary to find the personality at the center of the story). An autobiography is often written for special reasons - e.g. a writer reviewing his creative path (see the collection of autobiographies “Our First Literary Steps” by N. N. Fidler, “Writers about themselves,” Edited by V. Lidin, etc.). An autobiography dedicated to certain, especially turning-point events in the life of a writer, is often also called a confession (cf., for example, “Confession” of L. Tolstoy, written by him after a creative turning point in 1882, or the dying “Author’s Confession” of Gogol). This term, however, is not entirely defined, and for example. Rousseau's Confessions are more of a memoir. If the center of gravity is transferred from the author to persons with whom he was connected in some way in the past, a form of biographical memories arises. These are eg. memoirs of N. Prokopovich about Gogol, Gorky about L. Tolstoy, which do not provide a complete scientific biography, but provide the most valuable material for it. Finally, if memories of a loved one are written in connection with his death and under its direct impression, we have the form of an obituary.
It must be noted that this classification is schematic and in itself does not determine the genre essence of a particular work by M. L., although it brings us closer to revealing this essence. Study of forms of M. l. must be specific: only then will typological analysis be saturated with specific class content and give us a complete understanding of the essence of those socio-political tendencies that define this or that genre of literary fiction. Abstract study of M. l. outside the processes of class struggle that create it is absolutely fruitless.

2. CLASS DETERMINITY OF MEMOIRS GENRES.- In literary studies of the past, attempts have been made repeatedly to establish the general formal characteristics of literary fiction. These attempts were not in any way successful. Features characteristic of memoir works of some eras cease to be mandatory in other eras; the products of some class groups are radically different from works that express a different class ideology and serve a different class practice. The Lefovites cultivated M. l. for its “factuality” in contrast to fiction, supposedly based on “fiction”. It is not difficult to discover the fictitiousness of this division: memoirs very often embellish reality, depict it from a certain angle, and outright distortion of facts. Smirnova’s “Notes” do not cease to be a fact M. l. because they contain a lot of unreliable and downright erroneous things.
Timeless features do not define the being of a literary form; the form and content of the cut are determined by the interweaving of specific socio-historical conditions. In such memoirs as “Bolotov’s Notes,” on the one hand, and “The History of My Contemporary” by V. G. Korolenko, on the other, there is nothing in common except the desire for the most truthful depiction of the past, a desire manifested in different contents and different forms in two representatives of different classes in two profoundly different historical eras. Studying memoirs outside their specific class context inevitably leads to idealistic abstractions.
Being a specific form of manifestation of certain styles, memoir genres are determined in all their features by the same socio-economic conditions that determine styles, and serve the same goals of class practice. The memoirs of S. T. Aksakov, created by a representative of landowner Slavophilism, differ significantly from the memoirs of I. A. Khudyakov, a representative of the revolutionary raznochinstvo, who expressed the interests of the revolutionary peasant democracy of the 60s. Aksakov’s memoirs (“Family Chronicle”, “Childhood of Bagrov’s Grandson”) paint the everyday idyll of a noble estate of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, idyllically interpreting even the ugliest aspects of this life (“good afternoon” of the landowner, including kicks to the servants), give a picture education, life and training of a young nobleman in the conditions of an established, calm, prosperous estate life, highlighting as a necessity the most severe abuse of serfs (grandfather’s “sin” and other episodes). Aksakov’s memoirs are a genre telling about family estate life noble nest the end of the 18th century - they idealize the bygone world, to which the Slavophile landowner gravitated with his social cult of the ancient landowner system. Thus, the artistic memoirs of S. T. Aksakov in the class struggle performed the political function of protecting noble estate land ownership at the time of the intensification of the revolutionary struggle against feudalism in Russia, when it had been brewing since the late 50s. The revolutionary situation wrested the “liberation of the peasants” from serfdom.
The memoirs created by the revolutionary democrat and Karakoz resident I. A. Khudyakov are different. I. A. Khudyakov is a representative of the vanguard of revolutionary populism of the 60s, a supporter of the political revolution in the interests of the peasantry and the “people” in general. Undoubtedly sharing the views on the asceticism of a revolutionary and the “severe discipline of personal life” common to the entire Ishutin circle, he gave his memories a different style and genre features, than a representative of landownership. The memoir genre of I. A. Khudyakov, reflecting the socio-political life of the era of the 60s, is an expression of “the second stage of the revolution - the raznochinsky or bourgeois-democratic stage,” according to Lenin. If the landowner-memoirist poeticized his past, his childhood and youth, the revolutionary commoner regarded this past as an irreparable evil. “Our life,” Khudyakov states in the preface regarding his upbringing, “remained broken and broken and was filled with a number of physical and moral sufferings.” I. A. Khudyakov recognized the benefits of “autobiographies, frankly written,” the character of which he imagined as follows: “Real life is always more instructive than fictional; and in this respect well-written biographies are always more instructive than novels.” In an essay about his life, he “omitted those particular details that could have been a godsend for a novelist or artist,” and gave an image of “his unsuccessful struggle with the most severe obstacles to the achievement of the human ideal.” The author's class position and worldview determine the specific historical features of this memoir genre.
Differentiation of memoir genres also exists within a single class style. The memoirs of S. I. Kanatchikov “The History of My Life” and A. E. Badaev “Bolsheviks in the State Duma” are works by representatives of the working class, created almost simultaneously during the era of the construction of socialism (1928-1929). While there is a unity of class consciousness and class experience between these two memoirists, their memoirs represent different genres. “The History of My Life” by S. I. Kanatchikov is a social and everyday memoir, the memoirs of A. E. Badaev are socio-political. S.I. Kanatchikov paints a picture of the gradual growth and transformation of a village boy into a conscious worker, proletarian. Against the backdrop of hard working life in the factories of Moscow and St. Petersburg, the process of formation of a young proletarian, a conscious fighter for the interests of the proletariat, in conditions of capitalist exploitation, the path of his cultural growth and political development and the fight against capitalism. The memoirs of A. E. Badaev reveal the political struggle of the Bolshevik faction in the State Duma in the last years before the revolution of 1917. They describe the revolutionary events of the last years of the existence of the monarchy and show how the activities of the faction were reflected in the revolutionary struggle of the working class and how, in turn, certain moments mass workers' movement were reflected in the work of the faction. These two memoirs give different aspects of a single class experience. Since the authors, representatives of the same class, paid attention to different aspects of reality, they created different genres within the single style of proletarian literature. Nevertheless, these are genres of one class experience - representatives of proletarian socialism.
Each memoirist shows only those facts on which his class consciousness is concentrated, grouping and interpreting the facts from his own class position in the interests of the class struggle. The social and class interests of the author of the memoirs are determined, for example. the fact that A. Galakhov, a representative of the reactionary nobility of the 40s, speaking in his memoirs about 1825, did not say a word about the Decembrist uprising. On the contrary, A. I. Herzen, who belonged to the “generation of noble landowner revolutionaries of the first half of the last century,” in which “despite all the fluctuations between democracy and liberalism, the democrat still prevailed” (Lenin), gave an enthusiastic assessment of the Decembrist uprising as ideological fighters against tsarism, infecting their descendants with their example.
Class consciousness and class interests, while determining the themes of memoirs, of course also determine the memoirist’s point of view on the phenomena depicted, on their coverage and interpretation. Hence it is clear that the same phenomenon (event, person, fact of literature or journalism) in the memories of representatives of different social groups receives not only a different assessment, but also a different presentation of the sequence of events or a different retelling of what was heard and seen. L. Tolstoy, in the memoirs of his like-minded people, receives the traditional iconographic appearance of a sentimental sage and non-resistance to evil. In the memoirs of M. Gorky, he is shown as a living person with bright features of contradictory psychology, through which Lenin saw a man in master Tolstoy. The question naturally arises, whose portrayal of L. Tolstoy is the most truthful, the most reliable, i.e., objectively historical? The memoirs closest to objective truth will be those that reflect the criticism and worldview of the advanced, revolutionary class of a given era. Gorky's memoirs represent the highest degree of objectivity in the knowledge and portrayal of L. Tolstoy, while the memoirs of the Tolstoyans do not provide a correct reflection of reality. Highest degree The memoirs of proletarian revolutionaries also represent an objective historical knowledge of reality in comparison with the memoirists of other groups (classes) who have gone to those active now. The revolutionary practice of the advanced class provides the most true, accurate and deep knowledge of phenomena.
The difference in class tendencies, determined by the difference in the class experience of different class groups (classes), creates deeply different and opposing genres of literary fiction. Single genre M. l. does not exist. The genres of literary fiction arising on different and opposing class foundations. different and opposite in both primary and secondary characteristics.

3. ISSUES OF RELIABILITY M. L.- The documentary form of M. l., the apparent “ingenuousness” of her narration does not, however, serve as a guarantee of its veracity. Memoirs suffer the usual fate of testimony, even in the absence of malicious distortion of reality; the author's class position, his worldview affect both the choice of facts, their coverage, and the conclusions from these facts; orientation of M. l. cannot but serve certain purposes of class practice. Tatishchev also took this point into account when determining the degree of reliability in Count Matveev’s report about the Streltsy revolt: “Sylvester Medvedev, a monk of the Chudov Monastery, and Count Matveev,” he says in his “Russian History,” described the Streltsy rebellion, only in legends of the passions very they disagree and are more disgusted, because Count Matveev’s father was killed by archers, and Medvedev himself took part in that rebellion.” The idea that the study of M. l. does not require special proof. can be scientifically fruitful not only adjusted for the personal bias and direct interest of the authors ( similar topics, which are noted by Tatishchev), but above all, subject to the disclosure of the specific historical class purposefulness of the memoirs, which fully retains its important role in cases where the author acts as an “outside observer.” Memoirs, like any other literature of a class society, serve the purposes of ideological and political struggle against one or another class enemy. In this regard, references from the book. Kurbsky’s focus on “reliable men” does not prevent us from perceiving his notes as a sharp political pamphlet in his struggle with Ivan the Terrible or, more broadly, in the struggle of one group of landowners against another, which seized power in the Moscow state.
The class orientation of memoirs reduces their objective-cognitive function, usually if it comes from reactionary classes, exploiting classes interested in covering up the contradictions of reality. And vice versa, the consistent partisanship of representatives of the revolutionary classes increases the objective-cognitive value of their memoirs. In this regard, the highest level is represented by the corresponding records of proletarian revolutionaries, leaders of the working class, whose revolutionary practice, historical tasks and ultimate goals form the real basis for the most profound and accurate knowledge of the surrounding world. This is Lenin’s final brochure about the Second Congress of the RSDLP (“One step forward, two steps back,” 1904), which is a kind of “memoir” of one of the participants in the events. This work remains unsurpassed to this day as the pinnacle of a truly scientific and truly objective, with all its partisanship, understanding of one of the most important stages in the development of the international labor movement. It is enough to compare with this Leninist Bolshevik, genuine authenticity the subjectivist distortion and vulgarization of the historical reality of L. Trotsky in his book “Mein Leben” (My Life) in order to see the completely opposite cognitive significance of M. l., the class orientation of which follows the line of class interests of the bourgeoisie and counter-revolution.
When assessing autobiographical entries, in addition to all of the above, one should keep in mind that these entries are often compiled with the explicit purpose of self-justification and self-defense of their author. The most detailed and extremely factual at first glance notes of the Decembrist D.I. Zavalishin when compared with a number historical documents turn out to be very unstable in their supposedly documentary-accurate statements, especially regarding the behavior of Zavalishin himself in the case of December 14: the noble pose of the author of the notes is completely discredited by a number of protocol records, sealed with his signature, and the report of the investigative commission. Even in cases where the author sets himself the special goal of exposing himself, one should not succumb to the emphatically sincere tone of such self-exposure. In “Confession,” Rousseau uses this effective motif of extreme frankness more than once in an actorly manner.

5. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MEMOIRS.- Memoirs, as a source of information about the life of a particular era, provide important material on the history of literary life. We know a number of notes devoted to literary life or reproducing most interesting moments from the life of one or another artist of the word. These are eg. notes of the brothers Goncourt, George Sand, Chateaubriand and others. In Russian. We have an extensive literary history that has significant historical and literary value. Here we must keep in mind, along with the notes of the artists themselves, words, such as. Pushkin’s diary, Fet’s “My Memoirs”, etc., as well as notes from those who, due to the nature of their activities, had the opportunity to observe closely literary life from her everyday everyday side, little accessible to the general public. Thus, N. I. Grech, the author of “Notes on My Life” (2nd ed., St. Petersburg, 1886, last - M., 1928), had the opportunity, as editor of the “Northern Bee,” to provide a lot of information on the history of Russian artistic word and journalism (in particular, about the activities of censorship), although he often deliberately distorted them. A. V. Nikitenko (“My story about myself and what I witnessed in life”) reveals many interesting episodes from the activities of the Censorship Committee, of which he was a long-term member. Memoirs of A. Panaeva (see), ex-wife I. I. Panaeva, and then for 15 years common-law wife Nekrasov, contains a lot of information not only about the personality and literary work of Nekrasov, but also about a whole galaxy of writers with whom she had to meet or about whom she had heard from friends.
But of particular value for a literary historian are the notes written by great literary artists and which provide rich material not only for the study of a writer’s biography, but also for the study creative personality writer (memoirs of J. Sand, Mme de Staël, diary of the Goncourts, memoirs of Goethe and others - in the West, diaries of Pushkin, Tolstoy, Bryusov, memoirs of M. Gorky - here). In such works we often find direct indications of the writer’s intentions and the creative history of individual specific works. In addition, in addition to cases of direct instructions, a new and special meaning in the context creative history acquire records, in which vital material is reproduced in documentary form, which was also reflected in another way by the same author - artistic. From this point of view, the memories of M. Gorky, collected in his books “Childhood”, “In People”, “My Universities”, etc., are of great value. A comparison of the persons depicted here and the events depicted with the first early works of the same Gorky provide excellent material for judgments not only about the creative process, about the emergence work of art, but also about the creative method, about artistic style writer, about his class attitude to the material of life.
M. l. can further provide abundant historical material not only for literary research, but also for the literary artists themselves. It is known that when creating War and Peace, Tolstoy made extensive use, along with general historical research, of the memoirs of contemporaries of the era he depicted. Memoir materials often provide much more scope than scientific works on history for studying the everyday nature of the era, the psychology of individuals, etc.; M. l. sometimes it speaks more to the writer’s imagination and provides more resources for the concrete embodiment of his artistic images. That is why the authors of the so-called. “historical” novels willingly resort to memoir sources. Anatole France, in the novel “The Gods Thirst,” depicting the Great French Revolution, and in the collection of short stories “The Mother-of-Pearl Casket,” dating to the same era, reproduces a number of episodes borrowed from the extensive M. l.
Often and much wider use of M. l. - when an artist borrows from someone else’s notes all the plot material and type of his work. This is how many stories and novellas of Soviet literature arose, dedicated to the era of the civil war. As a typical example of the use of one of these memoirs, one can point to Vsevolod Ivanov’s story “The Death of the Iron”, the plot of which is based on the memories of the Red commander L. Degtyarev, but the transmission and coverage of the facts has been changed.
Due to the fact that most of the notes are not directly prepared for publication and are made public only later, the value of the material presented in them increases, since it is less subject to distortion by the official censorship of the author at the time and to the editing of the preliminary secret censorship of the author himself. Because of this, in M. l. Such details have reached us that they hardly penetrated or did not penetrate at all into the press of their time. In the notes of A. S. Pishchevich, for example. we find many facts that the author had the opportunity to closely observe as a dragoon during the reign of Catherine II and then on civil service under Paul I; Many of these facts reveal for us the details of officer and bureaucratic life at that time, and report on all sorts of “everyday” abuses in the service. It is not surprising that memoirs preserved from the effects of contemporary censorship, when made public in subsequent eras, arouse particularly suspicious attitudes on the part of censors. Thus, Bolotov’s memoirs, dedicated to the 18th century, were significantly distorted in the first edition, published after the author’s death: in subsequent editions it was necessary to restore missing episodes from the manuscript, sometimes depicting representatives of the bureaucracy, officers and clergy in an unattractive light, even against Bolotov’s wishes. Naturally, the greatest scope for studying M. l. as a monument to past life and historical conditions arises when state power passes into the hands of other classes that are not interested in “concealing the secrets” of a class that has already disappeared from the scene.
The October Revolution especially contributed to the revival of literary literature, which relates to the past and reveals what, under the conditions of this past, could not be revealed earlier. A whole series of memoirs of revolutionary figures have been made public over the past few years, providing enormous material on the history of the revolutionary movement in Russia, on the history of political parties and internal party disagreements, revealing the specific situation of the class struggle (memoirs of Lenin by N.K. Krupskaya, A.I. Elizarova , - V. N. Sokolova (“Party card No. 0046340”), N. Nikiforova (“Ants of the Revolution”), etc.).
At the same time, in connection with the heightened sense of historical responsibility of our revolutionary era, the “latentness” usual for most memoirs turned out to be radically revised: the recording of what is happening in the revolutionary struggle is now made, in a number of cases, not in the leisure time of old people, and certainly not in in any case, not for distant descendants, but in the process of struggle, for contemporaries, for comrades in the same struggle. Most memories of Lenin are of this nature; This goal dictated the organizational work to record and record memories of the activities of the Red Army and began on the initiative of Gorky, “History of Factories and Plants.”

6. MAIN HISTORICAL MILESTONES M. L.- After all that has been said above, it is clear that studying the social nature of M. l. It is most convenient to use the material of specific memoir genres that have historically developed in a specific class style and have a certain ideological content. So, in the very fact of increased gravitation towards M. l. In general, the class orientation of literary formations can already have an effect. The attraction to the individualistic type of memoirs on the part of A. France (“Little Pierre”, “The Book of My Friend”, etc.) cannot but be connected with the passivity and passionism of his work, and through this creativity - with passive role, which the group of middle bourgeoisie that put it forward, cut off from direct participation in production and in the economic struggle, must have realized that it was becoming more and more hopeless (see France). However, from the repeatedly observed fact - the dual use of the same literary material- it is clear that even in its general form, interest in M. l. cannot be interpreted in isolation from the place it occupies in the concrete situation of the class struggle.
In this situation M. l. creates a number of specific class genres. Story genre evolution M. l. has not yet been written, nothing has yet been done to study individual memoir genres from the point of view of their class characteristics, but it is still possible to note some groups of memoir works with a fairly obvious social-genre nature. “Comments on the Gallic War” by Julius Caesar, which combines a number of purely military, political, ethnographic, geographical and other information about Gaul, the circumstances of its origin and, most importantly, its general tendency - to get to know the conquered country and contrast it with the idea of ​​​​Roman statehood - serve an expression not only of the expansion of the slave state in the era of its heyday (1st century BC), but also of the military-political strategy of Julius Caesar that grew on this soil, who brilliantly took advantage of the class and tribal contradictions of the Gauls in the interests of the Roman state. “Confessions” of St. Augustine (IV-V centuries AD), interpreting theological problems from an individual psychological point of view, telling about attacks of unbelief, religious doubts and hesitations, about the temptations of worldly life, finally designing itself in a style not intended for theologians , but for secular readers - is the result of the economic decline of the large-landowning class of the Roman Empire, whose interests were expressed by Augustine, and the peculiar literary and ideological “decadence” associated with this decline.
Geoffroy de Villegarduin's notes on the crusade, in which he himself took part, are typical of the feudal era. The feudal-church ideology of the ruling classes finds expression here, first of all, in the fact that Villehardouin tries to portray as a Christian feat the openly predatory campaign of the “crusaders” of 1202, which caused confusion even in the minds of his contemporaries; for the “holy army,” instead of fighting the “infidels,” as it was supposed to, entered into an agreement with the Venetian Republic and plundered the lands of the Christian East in order to form a new Latin empire on the ruins of Byzantium. The subordination of all the historical and historical-everyday material cited in Villehardouin’s notes to the high theme of “serving the Lord,” disdain for fact as such, and the replacement of analysis of facts with generalized declarations about them characterize the literary design of these notes.
The era of the liberation struggle of cities against the feudal lords is vividly reflected in the memoirs (“De vita sua”) of the French theologian-historian Guibert of Nogent (XI-XII centuries), hostile to the rising burghers, but already absorbing the influence coming from the emerging urban culture. Guibert closely studies the surrounding reality (expressive descriptions of the history of the Lanskaya commune, his childhood, youth, etc.), life interests him in itself, he gravitates towards everyday sketches, etc.
The memoir part of Dante's “New Life” in his biographical comments to the sonnets and canzones dedicated to Beatrice gives a familiar late Middle Ages the theme of ideal-mystical love for a woman in a new, individualistic version, thereby reflecting that general individualism, which in Dante’s work complicated the traditional ideology of the feudal nobility in the conditions of the growth of trading cities.
The autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini, a most characteristic work of the era of growth of capitalist relations in the 16th century, can be completely opposed to medieval memoirs. In a distinctly individualistic approach to facts, in the cultivation of colorful, full of life material, in the absence of lifeless, abstract, reasoning leading away from life, not just the personal disposition of the artist-adventurer Benvenuto Cellini is revealed, but the ideology of the young bourgeoisie of the Renaissance, its willfulness and healthy epicureanism.
In Germany, the era of the Reformation and religious wars creates the form of political memoirs (notes of Charles V, autobiography of G. von Berlichingen, etc.), often turning into a pamphlet (see).
In Spain, which became in the XVI-XVII centuries. great colonial power, a group of memoirs appeared written by participants in the conquest (notes and memoirs of Columbus, Pizarro, Diaz, etc.). These memoirs are usually descriptions of travel to unknown lands, the life of exotic countries, and the exploits of Spanish weapons. They are imbued with the spirit of adventurism, Catholic missionary work, and admiration for the heroism of the conquerors.
Memoirs of the era of Louis XIII and Louis XIV in the choice of depicted facts, in the cultivation of little things related to court life and the royal person, and in connection with this in the microscosm of the very manner of depiction - one of the most visible literary manifestations of the courtly aristocratic environment of the 17th century. The most characteristic example can be the memoirs of Duke Saint-Simon, who speaks with equal significance about the major political events of that time, and about court intrigues, about the worldly appearance, about the manners of the king (cf. the memoirs of Louis XIV’s favorites Montespan and Maintenon, the gallant “Memoirs” Duke de Grammont", written at the beginning of the 18th century by A. Hamilton, as well as from earlier - "Memoirs" by Brantome, depicting the history and morals of the court of Charles IX and his successors).
We find similar types of memoirs in Russia, but, due to the general lag of Russian historical process, only starting from the 18th century. (notes of Catherine II, Prince Dashkova, Yu. V. Dolgorukov, F. N. Golitsyn, V. N. Golovina and many others).
The disintegration of the absolute monarchy was reflected in the character of Casanova’s memoirs (18th century), in the entire ideology of this international adventurer expressed in them, in the entertaining epicureanism of a playmaker, in themes consisting of court, social and love intrigues, flavored with Kabbalistic quackery, in the main tendency to amusing and entertaining in the choice of facts and in the presentation. Other trends permeate the memoirs of the ideologists of the rising bourgeoisie. Voltaire's memoirs disavow the old order; Rousseau (Confessions), Goldoni and Goethe, recounting their life stories, create a monumental biography of a representative of the rising third estate, growing into a central figure of the last century.
The French Revolution revives the genre of political memoirs (notes of Lafayette, Mme. de Staël, Mirabeau, C. Desmoulins, Madame Roland and many others), differing for the most part clearly expressed party orientation, passion for issues of social life.
“Memoirs of a Parisian bourgeois” by Dr. Veron, published in the middle of the 19th century, both in the subject matter, which leads to a restaurant, to the stock exchange, to the editorial office, and in the nature of the presentation, designed not for readers who understand at a glance, belonging to a certain closed circle, but for a wider, “democratic” reading mass manifests the ideology and interests of the bourgeoisie in the era of the heyday of industrial capitalism.
Russian M. l. XIX century Along with the secular and literary notes of Smirnova and Kern, he gives family and political memoirs of the Decembrists and people close to them (notes of M. A. Bestuzhev and others). The character of these memoirs is connected - in the first group - with the noble character of Russian literature of the early 19th century. and - in the second group - with the noble-bourgeois nature of the December uprising. The mood of the revolutionary-democratic intelligentsia late XIX V. manifest themselves with the greatest strength and completeness in the memoirs of Kropotkin, Morozov, Vera Figner, M. Frolenko and a number of others.
Soviet literature, critically using the best traditions of revolutionary memoirs, sharpens their agitation and organizing role. At the same time, in connection with the increasing interest in revolutionary and generally “social” topics, a curious feature is observed in the very process of creating memoirs: memories are now often written down from the words of peasants or workers who do not have special literary skills and aspirations, and sometimes are completely illiterate, but keep I have a lot in my memory that may be of interest to the Soviet reader. For example, it is built on such records. The book “The Serf Grandmother” by T. Ferapontova, published by Guise in 1926, contains a retelling of the true memories of the peasant woman M. I. Volkova about the times of serfdom. Recently, special expeditions have even begun to be organized for the purpose of such records (recording the memories of Ural workers about October revolution, made by S. I. Mirer and V. Borovik (“Revolution”, 1931), the story of the old collective farmer Vasyunkina about her life, recorded by R. S. Lipets, etc.).
Typological differentiation of M. l. must be carried out not only vertically, but also horizontally, that is, not only in connection with the historical change of social formations and the dominance of various classes, but also in connection with their existence and struggle in the same era. It is enough, as an example, to contrast Remarque’s book of military memoirs “All Quiet in the West” and Furmanov’s combat memoirs in his books “Chapaev” and “Mutiny”. In the first case, we have before us a petty-bourgeois pacifist writer serving the class interests of the bourgeoisie, in the second we have before us a proletarian writer and revolutionary fighter who knows how to reveal the social meaning of individual military episodes and not only shows the way out, but also agitates for it.
In conclusion, it is necessary to once again strongly emphasize the enormous political role of memoirs. Very often, under the guise of an objective “chronicle of events,” the memoirist defends an incorrect, harmful belief system. Such are, for example, the well-known memoirs about the February Revolution by A. Shlyapnikov, which interpret the history of the revolution in a Menshevik and anarcho-syndicalist manner, etc. Political memoirs represent a naked weapon of the class struggle. This requires increased vigilance in this area. Bibliography:
Pekarsky P., Russian memoirs of the 18th century, Sovremennik, 1855, No. 4, 5, 8; Gennadi G., Notes (memoirs) of Russian people, Bibliographical instructions, “Readings in Imp. about history and ancient history. Russian at Moscow univers.", 1861, book. IV; Pylyaev M.I., List of the most important memoirs and notes left by Russian writers and public figures and still not made public, “Historical Bulletin”, 1890, I; Chechulin N., Memoirs, their significance and place among historical sources, St. Petersburg, 1891; Mintslov S. R., Review of notes, diaries, memoirs, letters and travels related to the history of Russia and printed in Russian. lang., vol. I, II-III, IV-V, Novgorod, 1911-1912.