The 18th century, which glorified many wonderful people, including the writer Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. Towards the end of this century, he published his most famous creation - the story “Poor Lisa”. It was this that brought him great fame and enormous popularity among readers. The book is based on two characters: the poor girl Lisa and the nobleman Erast, who appear during the course of the plot in their attitude to love.
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin made a huge contribution to cultural development fatherland at the end of the 18th century. After numerous trips to Germany, England, France and Switzerland, the prose writer returns to Russia, and while relaxing at the dacha of the famous traveler Pyotr Ivanovich Beketov, in the 1790s he undertakes a new literary experiment. The local surroundings near the Simonov Monastery greatly influenced the idea of the work “Poor Liza,” which he nurtured during his travels. Nature was of great importance to Karamzin; he truly loved it and often exchanged the bustle of the city for forests and fields, where he read his favorite books and immersed himself in thought.
Genre and direction
“Poor Liza” is the first Russian psychological story that contains the moral disagreement of people of different classes. Lisa’s feelings are clear and understandable to the reader: for a simple bourgeois woman, happiness is love, so she loves blindly and naively. Erast’s feelings, on the contrary, are more confused, because he himself cannot understand them. At first, the young man simply wants to fall in love, just like in the novels he read, but it soon becomes clear that he is not capable of living with love. City life, full of luxury and passions, had a huge impact on the hero, and he discovers carnal attraction, which completely destroys spiritual love.
Karamzin is an innovator; he can rightfully be called the founder of Russian sentimentalism. Readers received the work with admiration, since society has already for a long time wanted something like this. The public was exhausted by the moral teachings of the classicist trend, the basis of which is the worship of reason and duty. Sentimentalism demonstrates the emotional experiences, feelings and emotions of the characters.
About what?
According to the writer, this story is “a very simple fairy tale.” Indeed, the plot of the work is simple to the point of genius. It begins and ends with a sketch of the area of the Simonov Monastery, which evokes in the narrator’s memory thoughts about the tragic turn in the fate of poor Lisa. This is a love story between a poor provincial woman and a wealthy young man from a privileged class. The lovers' acquaintance began with the fact that Lisa was selling lilies of the valley collected in the forest, and Erast, wanting to start a conversation with the girl he liked, decided to buy flowers from her. He was captivated by Lisa's natural beauty and kindness, and they began dating. However, the young man soon became fed up with the charm of his passion and found a more profitable match. The heroine, unable to withstand the blow, drowned herself. Her lover regretted this all his life.
Their images are ambiguous; first of all, the world of a simple natural person, unspoiled by city bustle and greed, is revealed. Karamzin described everything in such detail and picturesquely that readers believed in this story and fell in love with his heroine.
The main characters and their characteristics
- The main character of the story is Lisa, a poor village girl. IN early age she lost her father and was forced to become a breadwinner for her family, agreeing to any job. The hardworking provincial woman is very naive and sensitive, she sees only good traits in people and lives by her emotions, following her heart. She looks after her mother day and night. And even when the heroine decides to take a fatal act, she still does not forget about her family and leaves her money. Lisa’s main talent is the gift of love, because for the sake of her loved ones she is ready to do anything.
- Lisa's mother is a kind and wise old woman. She experienced the death of her husband Ivan very hard, as she loved him devotedly and lived happily with him for many years. The only joy was her daughter, whom she sought to marry to a worthy and wealthy man. The character of the heroine is internally whole, but a little bookish and idealized.
- Erast is a rich nobleman. He leads a riotous lifestyle, thinking only about fun. He is smart, but very fickle, spoiled and weak-willed. Without thinking that Lisa is from a different class, he fell in love with her, but still he is unable to overcome all the difficulties of this unequal love. Erast cannot be called a negative hero, because he admits his guilt. He read and was inspired by novels, was dreamy, looking at the world with rose-colored glasses. Therefore, his real love did not withstand such a test.
Subjects
- The main theme in sentimental literature is the sincere feelings of a person in a collision with indifference real world. Karamzin was one of the first to decide to write about the spiritual happiness and suffering of ordinary people. He reflected in his work the transition from a civil theme, which was common during the Enlightenment, to a personal one, in which the main subject of interest is the spiritual world of the individual. Thus, the author, having described in depth inner world characters together with their feelings and experiences, began to develop such a literary device as psychologism.
- Theme of love. Love in “Poor Liza” is a test that tests the characters’ strength and loyalty to their word. Lisa completely surrendered to this feeling; the author exalts and idealizes her for this ability. She is the embodiment of the feminine ideal, the one who completely dissolves in the adoration of her beloved and is faithful to him until her last breath. But Erast did not pass the test and turned out to be a cowardly and pathetic person, incapable of self-sacrifice in the name of something more important than material wealth.
- Contrast between city and countryside. The author gives preference to rural areas; it is there that natural, sincere and kind people who do not know temptation are formed. But in big cities they acquire vices: envy, greed, selfishness. For Erast, his position in society was more valuable than love; he was fed up with it, because he was not capable of experiencing a strong and deep feeling. Lisa could not live after this betrayal: if love died, she follows her, because she cannot imagine her future without her.
Problem
Karamzin in his work “Poor Liza” touches on various problems: social and moral. The problems of the story are based on opposition. The main characters vary both in quality of life and in character. Lisa is a pure, honest and naive girl from the lower class, and Erast is a spoiled, weak-willed, thinking only about his own pleasures, young man belonging to the nobility. Lisa, having fallen in love with him, cannot go a day without thinking about him, Erast, on the contrary, began to move away as soon as he received what he wanted from her.
The result of such fleeting moments of happiness for Lisa and Erast is the death of the girl, after which the young man cannot stop blaming himself for this tragedy and remains unhappy for the rest of his life. The author showed how class inequality led to an unhappy ending and served as a reason for tragedy, as well as what responsibility a person bears for those who trusted him.
the main idea
The plot is not the most important thing in this story. The emotions and feelings that awaken during reading deserve more attention. The narrator himself plays a huge role, because he talks with sadness and compassion about the life of a poor rural girl. For Russian literature, the image of an empathic narrator who can empathize with the emotional state of the heroes turned out to be a revelation. Any dramatic moment makes his heart bleed and also sincerely shed tears. Thus, main idea The story “Poor Liza” is that you should not be afraid of your feelings, love, worry, and sympathize to the fullest. Only then will a person be able to overcome immorality, cruelty and selfishness. The author starts with himself, because he, a nobleman, describes the sins of his own class, and gives sympathy to a simple village girl, calling on people of his position to become more humane. The inhabitants of poor huts sometimes outshine the gentlemen from ancient estates with their virtue. This is Karamzin’s main idea.
The author's attitude towards the main character of the story also became an innovation in Russian literature. So Karamzin does not blame Erast when Lisa dies, he demonstrates the social conditions that caused the tragic event. The big city influenced the young man, destroying his moral principles and making him corrupt. Lisa grew up in the village, her naivety and simplicity played a cruel joke on her. The writer also demonstrates that not only Lisa, but also Erast was subjected to the hardships of fate, becoming a victim of sad circumstances. The hero experiences feelings of guilt throughout his life, never becoming truly happy.
What does it teach?
The reader has the opportunity to learn something from the mistakes of others. The clash of love and selfishness is a hot topic, since everyone has experienced unrequited feelings at least once in their life, or experienced betrayal loved one. Analyzing Karamzin's story, we gain important life lessons, become more humane and more responsive to each other. The creations of the era of sentimentalism have a single property: they help people to enrich themselves mentally, and also cultivate in us the best humane and moral qualities.
The story “Poor Lisa” gained popularity among readers. This work teaches a person to be more responsive towards other people, as well as the ability to be compassionate.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!The story “Poor Liza,” which became an example of sentimental prose, was published by Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin in 1792 in the Moscow Journal publication. It is worth noting Karamzin as an honored reformer of the Russian language and one of the most highly educated Russians of his time - this important aspect, allowing you to further evaluate the success of the story. Firstly, the development of Russian literature was of a “catch-up” nature, since it lagged behind European literature by about 90-100 years. While sentimental novels were being written and read in the West, clumsy classical odes and dramas were still being composed in Russia. Karamzin’s progressiveness as a writer consisted in “bringing” sentimental genres from Europe to his homeland and developing a style and language for the further writing of such works.
Secondly, the assimilation of literature by the public at the end of the 18th century was such that at first they wrote for society how to live, and then society began to live according to what was written. That is, before the sentimental story, people read mainly hagiographic or church literature, where there were no living characters or living speech, and the heroes of the sentimental story - such as Lisa - gave secular young ladies a real life scenario, a guide to feelings.
Karamzin brought the story about poor Liza from his many trips - from 1789 to 1790 he visited Germany, England, France, Switzerland (England is considered the birthplace of sentimentalism), and upon his return he published a new revolutionary story in his own magazine.
“Poor Liza” is not an original work, since Karamzin adapted its plot for Russian soil, taking it from European literature. We are not talking about a specific work and plagiarism - there were many such European stories. In addition, the author created an atmosphere of amazing authenticity by depicting himself as one of the heroes of the story and masterfully describing the setting of events.
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, soon after returning from the trip, the writer lived in a dacha near the Simonov Monastery, in a picturesque, calm place. The situation described by the author is real - readers recognized both the surroundings of the monastery and the “Lizin Pond”, and this contributed to the fact that the plot was perceived as reliable, and the characters as real people.
Analysis of the work
Plot of the story
The plot of the story is love and, as the author admits, extremely simple. The peasant girl Lisa (her father was a wealthy peasant, but after his death the farm is in decline and the girl has to earn money by selling handicrafts and flowers) lives in the lap of nature with her old mother. In a city that seems huge and alien to her, she meets a young nobleman, Erast. Young people fall in love - Erast out of boredom, inspired by pleasures and a noble lifestyle, and Liza - for the first time, with all the simple, ardor and naturalness of a “natural person”. Erast takes advantage of the girl’s gullibility and takes possession of her, after which, naturally, he begins to be burdened by the girl’s company. The nobleman leaves for war, where he loses his entire fortune at cards. The way out is to marry a rich widow. Lisa finds out about this and commits suicide by throwing herself into a pond, not far from the Simonov Monastery. The author, who was told this story, cannot remember poor Lisa without holy tears of regret.
Karamzin, for the first time among Russian writers, unleashed the conflict of a work with the death of the heroine - as, most likely, it would have happened in reality.
Of course, despite the progressiveness of Karamzin’s story, his heroes differ significantly from real people, they are idealized and embellished. This is especially true for peasants - Lisa does not look like a peasant woman. It is unlikely that hard work would have contributed to her remaining “sensitive and kind”; it is unlikely that she would conduct internal dialogues with herself in an elegant style, and she would hardly be able to carry on a conversation with a nobleman. Nevertheless, this is the first thesis of the story - “even peasant women know how to love.”
Main characters
Lisa
The central heroine of the story, Lisa, is the embodiment of sensitivity, ardor and ardor. Her intelligence, kindness and tenderness, the author emphasizes, are from nature. Having met Erast, she begins to dream not that he, like a handsome prince, will take her into his world, but that he would be a simple peasant or shepherd - this would equalize them and allow them to be together.
Erast differs from Lisa not only in social sign, but also by character. Perhaps, the author says, he was spoiled by the world - he leads a typical life for an officer and a nobleman - he seeks pleasure and, having found it, grows cold towards life. Erast is both smart and kind, but weak, incapable of action - such a hero also appears in Russian literature for the first time, a type of “aristocrat disillusioned with life.” At first, Erast is sincere in his impulse of love - he does not lie when he tells Lisa about love, and it turns out that he is also a victim of circumstances. He does not stand the test of love, does not resolve the situation “like a man,” but experiences sincere torment after what happened. After all, it was he who allegedly told the author the story about poor Lisa and led him to Lisa’s grave.
Erast predetermined the appearance in Russian literature of a number of heroes of the “superfluous people” type - weak and incapable of making key decisions.
Karamzin uses “speaking names.” In the case of Lisa, the choice of name turned out to be a “double bottom.” The fact is that classical literature provided typification techniques, and the name Lisa was supposed to mean a playful, flirtatious, frivolous character. This name could have been given to a laughing maid - a cunning comedy character, prone to love adventures, and by no means innocent. By choosing such a name for his heroine, Karamzin destroyed the classical typification and created a new one. He lined up new addiction between the name, character and actions of the hero and outlined the path to psychologism in literature.
The name Erast was also not chosen by chance. It means “lovely” from Greek. His fatal charm and the need for novelty of impressions lured and destroyed the unfortunate girl. But Erast will reproach himself for the rest of his life.
Constantly reminding the reader of his reaction to what is happening (“I remember with sadness...”, “tears are rolling down my face, reader...”), the author organizes the narrative so that it acquires lyricism and sensitivity.
Theme, conflict of the story
Karamzin's story touches on several topics:
- The theme of the idealization of the peasant environment, the ideality of life in nature. The main character is a child of nature, and therefore by default she cannot be evil, immoral, or insensitive. The girl embodies simplicity and innocence due to the fact that she is from a peasant family, where eternal moral values are kept.
- Theme of love and betrayal. The author glorifies the beauty of sincere feelings and talks with sorrow about the doom of love, not supported by reason.
- The theme is the contrast between countryside and city. The city turns out to be evil, a great evil force capable of breaking a pure being from nature (Lisa’s mother intuitively senses this evil force and prays for her daughter every time she goes to the city to sell flowers or berries).
- Theme "little man". Social inequality, the author is sure (and this is an obvious glimpse of realism) does not lead to happiness for lovers from different backgrounds. This kind of love is doomed.
The main conflict of the story is social, because it is because of the gap between wealth and poverty that the love of the heroes, and then the heroine, perishes. The author extols sensitivity as the highest human value, asserts the cult of feelings as opposed to the cult of reason.
The story “Poor Liza,” written by Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, became one of the first works of sentimentalism in Russia. The love story of a poor girl and a young nobleman won the hearts of many of the writer’s contemporaries and was received with great delight. The work brought unprecedented popularity to the then completely unknown 25-year-old writer. However, with what descriptions does the story “Poor Liza” begin?
History of creation
N. M. Karamzin was distinguished by his love for Western culture and actively preached its principles. His role in the life of Russia was enormous and invaluable. This progressive and active man traveled extensively throughout Europe in 1789-1790, and upon his return he published the story “Poor Liza” in the Moscow Journal.
Analysis of the story indicates that the work has a sentimental aesthetic orientation, which is expressed in interest in people, regardless of their social status.
While writing the story, Karamzin lived at his friends’ dacha, not far from which he was located. It is believed that he served as the basis for the beginning of the work. Thanks to this, the love story and the characters themselves were perceived by readers as completely real. And the pond not far from the monastery began to be called “Liza’s Pond.”
“Poor Liza” by Karamzin as a sentimental story
“Poor Liza” is, in fact, a short story, a genre in which no one had written in Russia before Karamzin. But the writer’s innovation is not only in the choice of genre, but also in the direction. It was this story that secured the title of the first work of Russian sentimentalism.
Sentimentalism arose in Europe back in the 17th century and focused on the sensual side human life. Issues of reason and society faded into the background for this direction, but emotions and relationships between people became a priority.
Sentimentalism has always strived to idealize what is happening, to embellish it. Answering the question about what descriptions the story “Poor Liza” begins with, we can talk about the idyllic landscape that Karamzin paints for readers.
Theme and idea
One of the main themes of the story is social, and it is connected with the problem of the attitude of the noble class towards the peasants. It is not for nothing that Karamzin chooses a peasant girl to play the role of bearer of innocence and morality.
Contrasting the images of Lisa and Erast, the writer is one of the first to raise the problem of contradictions between the city and the countryside. If we turn to the descriptions with which the story “Poor Liza” begins, we will see a quiet, cozy and natural world that exists in harmony with nature. The city is frightening, terrifying with its “huge houses” and “golden domes.” Lisa becomes a reflection of nature, she is natural and naive, there is no falsehood or pretense in her.
The author speaks in the story from the position of a humanist. Karamzin depicts all the charm of love, its beauty and strength. But reason and pragmatism can easily destroy this wonderful feeling. The story owes its success to its incredible attention to a person’s personality and his experiences. “Poor Liza” aroused sympathy among its readers thanks to Karamzin’s amazing ability to depict all the emotional subtleties, experiences, aspirations and thoughts of the heroine.
Heroes
A complete analysis of the story “Poor Liza” is impossible without a detailed examination of the images of the main characters of the work. Lisa and Erast, as noted above, embodied different ideals and principles.
Lisa is an ordinary peasant girl, main feature which is the ability to feel. She acts according to the dictates of her heart and feelings, which ultimately led to her death, although her morality remained intact. However, there is little peasant in the image of Lisa: her speech and thoughts are closer to book language, but the feelings of a girl who has fallen in love for the first time are conveyed with incredible truthfulness. So, despite the external idealization of the heroine, her inner experiences are conveyed very realistically. In this regard, the story “Poor Liza” does not lose its innovation.
What descriptions does the work begin with? First of all, they are in tune with the character of the heroine, helping the reader to recognize her. This is a natural, idyllic world.
Erast appears completely different to the readers. He is an officer who is only puzzled by the search for new entertainment; life in society tires him and makes him bored. He is intelligent, kind, but weak in character and changeable in his affections. Erast truly falls in love, but does not think at all about the future, because Lisa is not his circle, and he will never be able to take her as his wife.
Karamzin complicated the image of Erast. Typically, such a hero in Russian literature was simpler and endowed with certain characteristics. But the writer makes him not an insidious seducer, but a sincerely in love with a person who, due to weakness of character, could not pass the test and preserve his love. This type of hero was new to Russian literature, but it immediately caught on and later received the name “superfluous person.”
Plot and originality
The plot of the work is quite simple. This is the story of the tragic love of a peasant woman and a nobleman, the result of which was the death of Lisa.
What descriptions does the story “Poor Liza” begin with? Karamzin draws a natural panorama, the bulk of the monastery, a pond - it is here, surrounded by nature, that the main character lives. But the main thing in a story is not the plot or descriptions, the main thing is feelings. And the narrator must awaken these feelings in the audience. For the first time in Russian literature, where the image of the narrator has always remained outside the work, a hero-author appears. This sentimental narrator learns a love story from Erast and retells it to the reader with sadness and sympathy.
Thus, there are three main characters in the story: Lisa, Erast and the author-narrator. Karamzin also introduces the technique of landscape descriptions and somewhat lightens the ponderous style of the Russian literary language.
The significance of the story “Poor Lisa” for Russian literature
Analysis of the story, thus, shows Karamzin’s incredible contribution to the development of Russian literature. In addition to describing the relationship between city and village, the appearance of the “extra person,” many researchers note the emergence of the “little person” - in the image of Lisa. This work influenced the work of A. S. Pushkin, F. M. Dostoevsky, L. N. Tolstoy, who developed the themes, ideas and images of Karamzin.
The incredible psychologism that brought Russian literature worldwide fame also gave rise to the story “Poor Liza.” What descriptions does this work begin with! There is so much beauty, originality and incredible stylistic lightness in them! Karamzin’s contribution to the development of Russian literature cannot be overestimated.
Poor Lisa (collection) Nikolay Karamzin
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Title: Poor Lisa (collection)
About the book “Poor Liza (collection)” Nikolai Karamzin
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin (1766–1826) - writer, historian and educator, creator of one of the most significant works in Russian historiography– “History of the Russian State”, the founder of Russian sentimentalism.
The book includes the stories “Poor Lisa,” “Bornholm Island,” and “Sierra Morena,” as well as a collection of essays, “Letters from a Russian Traveler.”
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Quotes from the book “Poor Liza (collection)” Nikolai Karamzin
She threw herself into his arms - and now her integrity had to perish! - Erast felt an extraordinary excitement in his blood - Liza had never seemed so charming to him - never had her caresses touched him so much - never had her kisses been so fiery - she knew nothing, suspected nothing, was afraid of nothing - the darkness of the evening nourished desires - not a single star shone in the sky - no ray could illuminate delusions. - Erast feels awe in himself - Lisa also, not knowing why - not knowing what is happening to her... Ah, Lisa, Lisa! Where is your guardian angel? Where is your innocence?
Lizin's father was a fairly prosperous villager, because he loved work, plowed the land well and always led a sober life.
“You must, young man,” he said, “you must inform me about the events of the world that I left behind, but have not yet completely forgotten. I have been living in solitude for a long time; I have not heard anything about the fate of people for a long time. Tell me if love reigns globe? Is incense burned on the altars of virtue? Are the peoples prosperous in the countries you have seen? “The light of science,” I answered, “is spreading more and more, but human blood is still flowing on the earth—the tears of the unfortunate are shed—they praise the name of virtue and argue about its essence.” – The elder sighed and shrugged.
In order to vividly feel all the audacity of the human spirit, one must be on the open sea, where one thin plank, as Wieland says, separates us from wet death, but where a skilled swimmer, spreading his sails, flies and in his thoughts already sees the glitter of gold, which in another parts of the world will be rewarded for his bold enterprise. “Nil mortalibus arduum est” - “Nothing is impossible for mortals,” I thought with Horace, lost in the infinity of Neptune’s kingdom.
The poet preaches the philosophy of “painful joy”, calls melancholy a sweet feeling, which is “the most gentle overflow from sorrow and melancholy to the joys of pleasure.”
Karamzin's heroes are like people, castaways, thrown onto a harsh and wild shore, alone in a deserted land.
Belinsky wrote: “Karamzin was the first in Rus' to write stories that interested society... stories in which people acted, the life of the heart and passions was depicted in the midst of ordinary everyday life.”
Perhaps no one living in Moscow knows the surroundings of this city as well as I do, because no one is in the field more often than me, no one more than me wanders on foot, without a plan, without a goal - wherever the eyes look - through the meadows and groves , over hills and plains. Every summer I find new pleasant places or new beauty in old ones. But the most pleasant place for me is the place where the gloomy, Gothic towers of the Sin...nova Monastery rise. Standing on this mountain, you see right side almost all of Moscow, this terrible mass of houses and churches, which appears to the eye in the image of a majestic amphitheater: a magnificent picture, especially when the sun shines on it, when its evening rays glow on countless golden domes, on countless crosses ascending to the sky! Below are lush, densely green flowering meadows, and behind them, along the yellow sands, flows a bright river, agitated by the light oars of fishing boats or rustling under the helm of heavy plows that sail from the most fruitful countries Russian Empire and provide greedy Moscow with bread. On the other side of the river one can see an oak grove, near which numerous herds graze; there young shepherds, sitting under the shade of trees, sing simple, sad songs and reduce the summer days, so uniform for them. Further away, in the dense greenery of ancient elms, the golden-domed Danilov Monastery shines; even further, almost at the edge of the horizon, the Sparrow Hills are blue. On the left side you can see vast fields covered with grain, forests, three or four villages and in the distance the village of Kolomenskoye with its high palace. I often come to this place and almost always see spring there; I come there and grieve with nature on the dark days of autumn. The winds howl terribly within the walls of the deserted monastery, between the coffins overgrown with tall grass, and in the dark passages of the cells. There, leaning on the ruins of tombstones, I listen to the dull groan of times, swallowed up by the abyss of the past - a groan from which my heart shudders and trembles. Sometimes I enter cells and imagine those who lived in them - sad pictures! Here I see a gray-haired old man, kneeling before the crucifix and praying for a quick release from his earthly shackles, for all the pleasures in life had disappeared for him, all his feelings had died, except for the feeling of illness and weakness. There a young monk - with a pale face, with a languid gaze - looks into the field through the lattice of the window, sees cheerful birds swimming freely in the sea of air, sees - and sheds bitter tears from his eyes. He languishes, withers, dries up - and the sad ringing of a bell announces to me his untimely death. Sometimes on the gates of the temple I look at the image of miracles that happened in this monastery, where fish fall from the sky to feed the inhabitants of the monastery, besieged by numerous enemies; here the image of the Mother of God puts the enemies to flight. All this renews in my memory the history of our fatherland - the sad history of those times when the ferocious Tatars and Lithuanians devastated the environs of the Russian capital with fire and sword and when unfortunate Moscow, like a defenseless widow, expected help from God alone in its cruel disasters. But what most often attracts me to the walls of the Sinova Monastery is the memory of the deplorable fate of Lisa, poor Lisa. Oh! I love those objects that touch my heart and make me shed tears of tender sorrow! Seventy yards from the monastery wall, near a birch grove, in the middle of a green meadow, there stands an empty hut, without doors, without endings, without a floor; the roof had long since rotted and collapsed. In this hut, thirty years before, the beautiful, amiable Liza lived with her old woman, her mother. Lizin's father was a fairly prosperous villager, because he loved work, plowed the land well and always led a sober life. But soon after his death, his wife and daughter became poor. The lazy hand of the mercenary poorly cultivated the field, and the grain ceased to be produced well. They were forced to rent out their land, and for very little money. Moreover, the poor widow, almost constantly shedding tears over the death of her husband - for even peasant women know how to love! — day by day she became weak and could not work at all. Only Lisa, who remained after her father for fifteen years, only Lisa, not sparing her tender youth, not sparing her rare beauty, worked day and night - weaving canvases, knitting stockings, picking flowers in the spring, and taking berries in the summer - and selling them in Moscow. The sensitive, kind old woman, seeing her daughter’s tirelessness, often pressed her to her weakly beating heart, called her divine mercy, nurse, the joy of her old age, and prayed to God to reward her for all that she does for her mother. “God gave me hands to work,” said Lisa, “you fed me with your breasts and followed me when I was a child; Now it’s my turn to walk on you. Just stop breaking down, stop crying: our tears will not revive the priests.” But often tender Liza could not hold back her own tears - ah! she remembered that she had a father and that he was gone, but to reassure her mother she tried to hide the sadness of her heart and seem calm and cheerful. “In the next world, dear Liza,” answered the sad old woman, “in the next world I will stop crying. There, they say, everyone will be happy; I will probably be happy when I see your father. Only now I don’t want to die - what will happen to you without me? To whom should I leave you? No, God grant that we get you a place first! Maybe a kind person will soon be found. Then, having blessed you, my dear children, I will cross myself and calmly lie down in the damp earth.” Two years have passed since the death of Lizin's father. The meadows were covered with flowers, and Lisa came to Moscow with lilies of the valley. A young, well-dressed, pleasant-looking man met her on the street. She showed him the flowers and blushed. “Are you selling them, girl?” - he asked with a smile. “I’m selling,” she answered. - “What do you need?” - “Five kopecks.” - “It's too cheap. Here's a ruble for you." - Lisa was surprised, she dared to look at the young man, she blushed even more and, looking down at the ground, told him that she would not take the ruble. - “For what?” - “I don’t need anything extra.” “I think that beautiful lilies of the valley, plucked by the hands of a beautiful girl, are worth a ruble. When you don’t take it, here’s your five kopecks. I would like to always buy flowers from you: I would like you to pick them just for me.” “Lisa gave the flowers, took five kopecks, bowed and wanted to go, but the stranger stopped her with his hand. - “Where are you going, girl?” - “Home.” - “Where is your house?” — Lisa said where she lives, she said it and went. The young man did not want to hold her, perhaps because those passing by began to stop and, looking at them, grinned insidiously. When Lisa came home, she told her mother what had happened to her. “You did well not to take the ruble. Maybe it was some bad person...” - “Oh no, mother! I don't think so. He has such a kind face, such a voice...” - “However, Liza, it’s better to feed yourself by your labors and not take anything for nothing. You still don’t know, my friend, how evil people can offend a poor girl! My heart is always in the wrong place when you go to town; I always put a candle in front of the image and pray to the Lord God that he will protect you from all trouble and adversity.” — Liza had tears in her eyes; she kissed her mother. The next day Lisa picked the best lilies of the valley and again went into town with them. Her eyes were quietly searching for something. Many wanted to buy flowers from her, but she replied that they were not for sale, and looked first in one direction or the other. Evening came, it was time to return home, and the flowers were thrown into the Moscow River. “No one owns you!” - said Lisa, feeling some sadness in her heart. “The next evening she was sitting under the window, spinning and singing plaintive songs in a quiet voice, but suddenly she jumped up and shouted: “Ah!..” A young stranger stood under the window. “What happened to you?” - asked the frightened mother, who was sitting next to her. “Nothing, mother,” Lisa answered in a timid voice, “I just saw him.” - "Whom?" - “The gentleman who bought flowers from me.” The old woman looked out the window. The young man bowed to her so courteously, with such a pleasant air, that she could not think anything but good things about him. “Hello, kind old lady! - he said. - I am very tired; Do you have any fresh milk? The helpful Liza, without waiting for an answer from her mother - perhaps because she knew it in advance - ran to the cellar - brought a clean jar covered with a clean wooden mug - grabbed a glass, washed it, wiped it with a white towel, poured it and served it out the window, but she was looking at the ground. The stranger drank, and the nectar from Hebe’s hands could not have seemed tastier to him. Everyone will guess that after that he thanked Lisa and thanked her not so much with words as with his eyes. Meanwhile, the good-natured old woman managed to tell him about her grief and consolation - about the death of her husband and about the sweet qualities of her daughter, about her hard work and tenderness, and so on. and so on. He listened to her with attention, but his eyes were - need I say where? And Liza, timid Liza, glanced occasionally at the young man; but not so quickly does the lightning flash and disappear in the cloud, as quickly her blue eyes turned to the ground, meeting his gaze. “I would like,” he said to his mother, “for your daughter not to sell her work to anyone but me. Thus, she will have no need to go to the city often, and you will not be forced to part with her. I can come and see you from time to time.” “Here a joy flashed in Liza’s eyes, which she tried in vain to hide; her cheeks glowed like dawn on a clear summer evening; she looked at her left sleeve and pinched it right hand. The old woman willingly accepted this offer, not suspecting any bad intention in it, and assured the stranger that the linen woven by Lisa, and the stockings knitted by Lisa, were excellent and last longer than any others. — It was getting dark, and the young man wanted to go. “What should we call you, kind, gentle master?” - asked the old woman. “My name is Erast,” he answered. “Erast,” said Lisa quietly, “Erast!” She repeated this name five times, as if trying to solidify it. - Erast said goodbye to them and left. Lisa followed him with her eyes, and the mother sat thoughtfully and, taking her daughter by the hand, said to her: “Oh, Lisa! How good and kind he is! If only your groom were like that!” Liza's heart began to tremble. "Mother! Mother! How can this happen? He’s a gentleman, and among the peasants...” Lisa didn’t finish her speech. Now the reader should know that this young man, this Erast, was a rather rich nobleman, with a fair mind and a kind heart, kind by nature, but weak and flighty. He led an absent-minded life, thought only about his own pleasure, looked for it in secular amusements, but often did not find it: he was bored and complained about his fate. Lisa's beauty made an impression on his heart at the first meeting. He read novels, idylls, had a fairly vivid imagination and often moved mentally to those times (former or not), in which, according to the poets, all people carelessly walked through the meadows, bathed in clean springs, kissed like turtle doves, rested under They spent all their days with roses and myrtles and in happy idleness. It seemed to him that he had found in Lisa what his heart had been looking for for a long time. “Nature calls me into its arms, to its pure joys,” he thought and decided - at least for a while - to leave the big world. Let's turn to Lisa. Night came - the mother blessed her daughter and wished her a gentle sleep, but this time her wish was not fulfilled: Lisa slept very poorly. The new guest of her soul, the image of the Erasts, appeared so vividly to her that she woke up almost every minute, woke up and sighed. Even before the sun rose, Lisa got up, went down to the bank of the Moscow River, sat down on the grass and, saddened, looked at the white mists that were agitated in the air and, rising up, left shiny drops on the green cover of nature. Silence reigned everywhere. But soon the rising luminary of the day awakened all creation: the groves and bushes came to life, the birds fluttered and sang, the flowers raised their heads to be saturated with the life-giving rays of light. But Lisa still sat there, saddened. Oh, Lisa, Lisa! What happened to you? Until now, waking up with the birds, you had fun with them in the morning, and a pure, joyful soul shone in your eyes, like the sun shines in drops of heavenly dew; but now you are thoughtful, and the general joy of nature is alien to your heart. — Meanwhile, a young shepherd was driving his flock along the river bank, playing the pipe. Lisa fixed her gaze on him and thought: “If the one who now occupies my thoughts was born a simple peasant, a shepherd, and if he were now driving his flock past me: ah! I would bow to him with a smile and say affably: “Hello, dear shepherd!” Where are you driving your flock? And here green grass grows for your sheep, and here flowers grow red, from which you can weave a wreath for your hat.” He would look at me with an affectionate look - perhaps he would take my hand... A dream! A shepherd, playing the flute, passed by and disappeared with his motley flock behind a nearby hill. Suddenly Lisa heard the sound of oars - she looked at the river and saw a boat, and in the boat - Erast. All the veins in her were clogged, and, of course, not from fear. She got up and wanted to go, but she couldn’t. Erast jumped out onto the shore, approached Liza and - her dream was partly fulfilled: for he looked at her with an affectionate look, took her hand... And Liza, Liza stood with downcast eyes, with fiery cheeks, with a trembling heart - she could not take her hand away from him - she could not turn away when he approached her with his pink lips... Ah! He kissed her, kissed her with such fervor that the whole universe seemed to her to be on fire! “Dear Lisa! - said Erast. - Dear Lisa! I love you,” and these words echoed in the depths of her soul like heavenly, delightful music; she hardly dared to believe her ears and... But I throw down the brush. I will only say that at that moment of delight Liza’s timidity disappeared - Erast learned that he was loved, loved passionately with a new, pure, open heart. They sat on the grass, and so that there was not much space between them, they looked into each other’s eyes, said to each other: “Love me!”, and two hours seemed like an instant to them. Finally Lisa remembered that her mother might worry about her. It was necessary to separate. “Ah, Erast! - she said. “Will you always love me?” - “Always, dear Lisa, always!” - he answered. - “And can you swear an oath to me about this?” - “I can, dear Lisa, I can!” - "No! I don't need an oath. I believe you, Erast, I believe you. Are you really going to deceive poor Liza? Surely this can’t happen?” - “You can’t, you can’t, dear Lisa!” - “How happy I am, and how happy my mother will be when she finds out that you love me!” - “Oh no, Lisa! She doesn’t need to say anything.” - “For what?” - “Old people can be suspicious. She will imagine something bad.” - “It can’t happen.” - “However, I ask you not to say a word to her about this.” - “Okay: I need to listen to you, although I wouldn’t want to hide anything from her.” “They said goodbye, kissed for the last time and promised to see each other every day in the evening, either on the bank of the rock, or in the birch grove, or somewhere near Liza’s hut, just to be sure, to see each other without fail.” Lisa went, but her eyes turned a hundred times to Erast, who was still standing on the shore and looking after her. Lisa returned to her hut in a completely different state than in which she left it. Heartfelt joy was revealed on her face and in all her movements. "He loves me!" - she thought and admired this thought. “Oh, mother! - Lisa said to her mother, who had just woken up. - Oh, mother! What a wonderful morning! How fun everything is in the field! Never have larks sung so well, never has the sun shone so brightly, never have flowers smelled so pleasant!” - The old woman, propped up with a stick, went out into the meadow to enjoy the morning, which Lisa described in such lovely colors. It, in fact, seemed to her extremely pleasant; the kind daughter cheered up her whole nature with her joy. “Oh, Lisa! - she said. - How good everything is with the Lord God! I’m sixty years old in the world, and I still can’t get enough of the works of God, I can’t get enough of the clear sky, which looks like a high tent, and the earth, which is covered with new grass and new flowers every year. It is necessary for the king of heaven to love a person very much when he removed the local light so well for him. Ah, Lisa! Who would want to die if sometimes we didn’t have grief?.. Apparently, it’s necessary. Maybe we would forget our souls if tears never fell from our eyes.” And Lisa thought: “Ah! I would sooner forget my soul than my dear friend!” After this, Erast and Liza, afraid of not keeping their word, saw each other every evening (while Liza’s mother went to bed) either on the river bank, or in a birch grove, but most often under the shade of hundred-year-old oak trees (eighty fathoms from the hut) - oaks , overshadowing a deep, clear pond, fossilized in ancient times. There, the often quiet moon, through the green branches, silvered Liza’s blond hair with its rays, with which the zephyrs and the hand of a dear friend played; often these rays illuminated in the eyes of tender Liza a brilliant tear of love, always dried with Erast’s kiss. They hugged - but chaste, bashful Cynthia did not hide from them behind a cloud: their embrace was pure and immaculate. “When you,” said Lisa to Erast, “when you tell me: “I love you, my friend!”, when you press me to your heart and look at me with your touching eyes, ah! Then it happens to me so good, so good that I forget myself, I forget everything except Erast. Wonderful! It’s wonderful, my friend, that without knowing you, I could live calmly and cheerfully! Now I don’t understand this, now I think that without you life is not life, but sadness and boredom. Without your eyes the bright month is dark; without your voice the nightingale singing is boring; without your breath the breeze is unpleasant to me.” “Erast admired his shepherdess—that’s what he called Lisa—and, seeing how much she loved him, he seemed more kind to himself. All the brilliant fun big world seemed to him insignificant in comparison with the pleasures with which passionate friendship an innocent soul fed his heart. With disgust he thought about the contemptuous voluptuousness with which his feelings had previously reveled. “I will live with Liza, like brother and sister,” he thought, “I will not use her love for evil and I will always be happy!” - Reckless young man! Do you know your heart? Can you always be responsible for your movements? Is reason always the king of your feelings? Lisa demanded that Erast often visit her mother. “I love her,” she said, “and I want the best for her, and it seems to me that seeing you is a great well-being for everyone.” The old lady was really always happy when she saw him. She loved to talk with him about her late husband and tell him about the days of her youth, about how she first met her dear Ivan, how he fell in love with her and in what love, in what harmony he lived with her. "Oh! We could never look at each other enough - until the very hour when cruel death crushed his legs. He died in my arms!” “Erast listened to her with unfeigned pleasure. He bought Liza’s work from her and always wanted to pay ten times more than the price she set, but the old woman never took extra. Several weeks passed in this way. One evening Erast waited a long time for his Lisa. Finally she came, but she was so sad that he was afraid; her eyes turned red from tears. “Lisa, Lisa! What happened to you? - “Ah, Erast! I cried!" - "About what? What's happened?" - “I have to tell you everything. A groom is wooing me, the son of a rich peasant from a neighboring village; Mother wants me to marry him.” - “And you agree?” - "Cruel! Can you ask about this? Yes, I feel sorry for mother; she cries and says that I don’t want her peace of mind, that she will suffer on the verge of death if she doesn’t marry me off with her. Oh! Mother doesn’t know that I have such a dear friend!” “Erast kissed Lisa and said that her happiness was dearer to him than anything in the world, that after her mother’s death he would take her to him and live with her inseparably, in the village and in the dense forests, as if in paradise. - “However, you cannot be my husband!” - Lisa said with a quiet sigh. - “Why?” - “I am a peasant woman.” - “You offend me. For your friend, the most important thing is the soul, the sensitive, innocent soul, and Lisa will always be closest to my heart.” She threw herself into his arms - and at this hour her integrity had to perish! - Erast felt an extraordinary excitement in his blood - Liza had never seemed so charming to him - never had her caresses touched him so much - never had her kisses been so fiery - she knew nothing, suspected nothing, was afraid of nothing - the darkness of the evening fed desires - not a single star shone in the sky - no ray could illuminate the delusions. - Erast feels awe in himself - Lisa also, not knowing why - not knowing what is happening to her... Ah, Lisa, Lisa! Where is your guardian angel? Where is your innocence? The delusion passed in one minute. Lila did not understand her feelings, she was surprised and asked. Erast was silent - he searched for words and did not find them. “Oh, I’m afraid,” said Lisa, “I’m afraid of what happened to us! It seemed to me that I was dying, that my soul... No, I don’t know how to say this!.. Are you silent, Erast? Are you sighing?.. My God! What's happened?" — Meanwhile, lightning flashed and thunder roared. Lisa trembled all over. “Erast, Erast! - she said. - I'm scared! I’m afraid that thunder will kill me like a criminal!” The storm roared menacingly, rain poured from black clouds - it seemed that nature was lamenting about Liza’s lost innocence. “Erast tried to calm Lisa down and walked her to the hut. Tears rolled from her eyes as she said goodbye to him. “Ah, Erast! Assure me that we will continue to be happy!” - “We will, Lisa, we will!” - he answered. - “God willing! I can’t help but believe your words: after all, I love you! Only in my heart... But it’s complete! Sorry! Tomorrow, tomorrow, see you." Their dates continued; but how everything has changed! Erast could no longer be satisfied with just the innocent caresses of his Liza - just her glances filled with love - just one touch of the hand, just one kiss, just one pure embrace. He wanted more, more, and finally could not want anything - and whoever knows his heart, who has reflected on the nature of his most tender pleasures, will, of course, agree with me that fulfillment everyone desires are the most dangerous temptation of love. For Erast, Lisa was no longer that angel of purity that had previously inflamed his imagination and delighted his soul. Platonic love gave way to feelings that he could not be proud and which were no longer new to him. As for Lisa, she, completely surrendering to him, only lived and breathed him, in everything, like a lamb, she obeyed his will and placed her happiness in his pleasure. She saw a change in him and often told him: “Before you were more cheerful, before we were calmer and happier, and before I was not so afraid of losing your love!” “Sometimes, saying goodbye to her, he told her: “Tomorrow, Liza, I can’t see you: I have something important to do,” and every time at these words Liza sighed. Finally, for five days in a row she did not see him and was in the greatest anxiety; at the sixth he came with a sad face and said to her: “Dear Liza! I have to say goodbye to you for a while. You know that we are at war, I am in the service, my regiment is going on campaign.” - Lisa turned pale and almost fainted. Erast caressed her, said that he would always love dear Liza and hoped that upon his return he would never part with her. She was silent for a long time, then burst into bitter tears, grabbed his hand and, looking at him with all the tenderness of love, asked: “Can’t you stay?” “I can,” he answered, “but only with the greatest dishonor, with the greatest stain on my honor. Everyone will despise me; everyone will abhor me as a coward, as an unworthy son of the fatherland.” “Oh, when that’s the case,” said Lisa, “then go, go where God tells you to go!” But they can kill you." - “Death for the fatherland is not terrible, dear Liza.” - “I will die as soon as you are no longer in the world.” - “But why think about it? I hope to stay alive, I hope to return to you, my friend.” - “God willing! God forbid! Every day, every hour I will pray about it. Oh, why can’t I read or write! You would notify me about everything that happens to you, and I would write to you about my tears!” - “No, take care of yourself, Lisa, take care of your friend. I don’t want you to cry without me.” - "Cruel person! You are thinking of depriving me of this joy too! No! Having parted with you, will I stop crying when my heart dries up? - “Think about the pleasant moment in which we will see each other again.” - “I will, I will think about her! Oh, if only she had come sooner! Dear, dear Erast! Remember, remember your poor Liza, who loves you more than herself!” But I cannot describe everything that they said on this occasion. The next day was supposed to be the last date. Erast wanted to say goodbye to Liza’s mother, who could not hold back tears when she heard that affectionate, handsome gentleman she must go to war. He forced her to take some money from him, saying: “I don’t want Lisa to sell her work in my absence, which, by agreement, belongs to me.” — The old lady showered him with blessings. “God grant,” she said, “that you return to us safely and that I see you again in this life! Perhaps by that time my Lisa will find a groom according to her thoughts. How I would thank God if you came to our wedding! When Lisa has children, know, master, that you must baptize them! Oh! I would really like to live to see this!” “Lisa stood next to her mother and did not dare look at her. The reader can easily imagine what she felt at that moment. But what did she feel then when Erast, hugging her and pressing her to his heart for the last time, said: “Forgive me, Lisa!” What a touching picture! The morning dawn, like a scarlet sea, spread across the eastern sky. Erast stood under the branches of a tall oak tree, holding in his arms his pale, languid, sorrowful girlfriend, who, saying goodbye to him, said goodbye to her soul. The whole nature was silent. Lisa sobbed - Erast cried - left her - she fell - knelt down, raised her hands to the sky and looked at Erast, who moved away - further - further - and finally disappeared - the sun rose, and Lisa, abandoned, poor, lost her feelings and memory . She came to her senses - and the light seemed dull and sad to her. All the pleasant things of nature were hidden for her along with those dear to her heart. "Oh! - she thought. - Why did I stay in this desert? What keeps me from flying after dear Erast? War is not scary for me; It's scary where my friend is not there. I want to live with him, I want to die with him, or I want to save his precious life with my death. Wait, wait, my dear! I fly to you!" “She already wanted to run after Erast, but the thought: “I have a mother!” - stopped her. Lisa sighed and, bowing her head, walked with quiet steps towards her hut. - From that hour, her days were days of melancholy and sorrow, which had to be hidden from her tender mother: all the more did her heart suffer! Then it only became easier when Lisa, secluded in the dense forest, could freely shed tears and moan about separation from her beloved. Often the sad turtledove combined his plaintive voice with her moaning. But sometimes - although very rarely - a golden ray of hope, a ray of consolation, illuminated the darkness of her sorrow. “When he returns to me, how happy I will be! How everything will change! - from this thought her gaze cleared, the roses on her cheeks were refreshed, and Lisa smiled like a May morning after a stormy night. — Thus, about two months passed. One day Lisa had to go to Moscow to buy rose water, which her mother used to treat her eyes. On one of the big streets she met a magnificent carriage, and in this carriage she saw Erast. "Oh!" - Liza screamed and rushed towards him, but the carriage drove past and turned into the yard. Erast came out and was about to go to the porch of the huge house, when he suddenly felt himself in Lisa’s arms. He turned pale - then, without answering a word to her exclamations, he took her hand, led her into his office, locked the door and told her: “Lisa! Circumstances have changed; I am engaged to get married; you should leave me alone and for your own peace of mind forget me. I loved you and now I love you, that is, I wish you all the best. Here are a hundred rubles - take them,” he put the money in her pocket, “let me kiss you for the last time - and go home.” - Before Lisa could come to her senses, he took her out of the office and said to the servant: “Escort this girl from the yard.” My heart is bleeding at this very moment. I forget the man in Erast - I’m ready to curse him - but my tongue does not move - I look at the sky, and a tear rolls down my face. Oh! Why am I writing not a novel, but a sad true story? So, Erast deceived Lisa by telling her that he was going to the army? - No, he really was in the army, but instead of fighting the enemy, he played cards and lost almost all his estate. Peace was soon concluded, and Erast returned to Moscow, burdened with debts. He had only one way to improve his circumstances - to marry an elderly rich widow who had long been in love with him. He decided to do so and moved to live in her house, dedicating a sincere sigh to his Lisa. But can all this justify him? Lisa found herself on the street and in a position that no pen could describe. “He, he kicked me out? Does he love someone else? I'm dead! - these are her thoughts, her feelings! A severe faint interrupted them for a while. One kind woman who was walking down the street stopped over Liza, who was lying on the ground, and tried to bring her to memory. The unfortunate woman opened her eyes, stood up with the help of this kind woman, thanked her and went, not knowing where. “I can’t live,” thought Lisa, “I can’t!.. Oh, if only the sky would fall on me!” If the earth swallowed up the poor!.. No! the sky is not falling; the earth does not shake! Woe is me!" “She left the city and suddenly saw herself on the shore of a deep pond, under the shade of ancient oak trees, which a few weeks before had been silent witnesses to her delight. This memory shook her soul; the most terrible heartache was depicted on her face. But after a few minutes she fell into some thoughtfulness - she looked around her, saw her neighbor’s daughter (a fifteen-year-old girl) walking along the road - she called her, took ten imperials out of her pocket and, handing them to her, said: “Dear Anyuta, dear friend! Take this money to mother - it is not stolen - tell her that Lisa is guilty against her, that I hid my love for one from her to a cruel person, - to E... Why know his name? - Say that he cheated on me, - ask her to forgive me, - God will be her helper, - kiss her hand as I now kiss yours, - say that poor Liza ordered me to kiss her, - say that I ..." Then she threw herself into the water. Anyuta screamed and cried, but could not save her, she ran to the village - people gathered and pulled Lisa out, but she was already dead. Thus she ended her life, beautiful in body and soul. When we there, in a new life, see you, I recognize you, gentle Lisa! She was buried near a pond, under a gloomy oak tree, and placed wooden cross at her grave. Here I often sit in thought, leaning on the receptacle of Liza’s ashes; a pond flows in my eyes; The leaves rustle above me. Lisa's mother heard about the terrible death of her daughter, and her blood ran cold with horror - her eyes closed forever. — The hut is empty. The wind howls in it, and the superstitious villagers, hearing this noise at night, say: “There is a dead man moaning there: poor Lisa is moaning there!” Erast was unhappy until the end of his life. Having learned about Lizina’s fate, he could not console himself and considered himself a murderer. I met him a year before his death. He himself told me this story and led me to Lisa’s grave. - Now, maybe they have already reconciled!Karamzin is deeply convinced that humanity is moving along the path of progress, that it was the 18th century. Thanks to the activities of great educators - scientists, philosophers and writers - he brought people closer to the truth. Misconceptions do exist, but they, like “alien growths, will sooner or later disappear,” for a person will definitely come “to the pleasant goddess-truth.” Having mastered the educational philosophy of his time, Karamzin believes that “enlightenment is the palladium of good morals.” Enlightenment is beneficial for people of all conditions.