Stages of development of realism of the 19th century. The main features of realism

Realism

Realism (- material, real) is an artistic direction in art and literature, which is established in the first third of the 19th century. The origins of realism in Russia were I. A. Krylov, A. S. Griboedov, A. S. Pushkin (in Western literature, realism appears somewhat later, its first representatives were Stendhal and O. de Balzac).

features of realism. The principle of life's truth, which is guided by the realist artist in his work, trying to give the most complete reflection of life in its typical properties. The fidelity of the image of reality, reproduced in the forms of life itself, is the main criterion of artistry.

Social analysis, historicism of thinking. It is realism that explains the phenomena of life, establishes their causes and consequences on a socio-historical basis. In other words, realism is inconceivable without historicism, which involves the understanding of a given phenomenon in its conditionality, in its development and connection with other phenomena. Historicism is the basis of the worldview and artistic method of the realist writer, a kind of key to the knowledge of reality, allowing you to connect the past, present and future. In the past, the artist is looking for answers to topical issues modernity, and comprehends modernity as the result of previous historical development.

Critical portrayal of life. Writers deeply and truthfully show the negative phenomena of reality, focus on exposing the existing order. But at the same time, realism is not devoid of life-affirming pathos, because it is based on positive ideals - patriotism, sympathy for the masses, the search for a positive hero in life, faith in the inexhaustible possibilities of man, the dream of a bright future for Russia (for example, "Dead Souls"). That is why in modern literary criticism, instead of the concept of "critical realism", which was first introduced by N. G. Chernyshevsky, they most often talk about "classical realism". Typical characters in typical circumstances, that is, the characters were portrayed in close connection with the social environment that brought them up, formed them in certain socio-historical conditions.

The relationship between the individual and society is the leading problem posed by realistic literature. For realism, the drama of these relationships is important. Usually in the spotlight realistic works there are outstanding personalities, dissatisfied with life, “breaking out” from their environment, people who are able to rise above society and challenge it. Their behavior and actions become the subject of close attention and research for realist writers.

The versatility of the characters' characters: their actions, deeds, speech, lifestyle and inner world, the "dialectic of the soul", which is revealed in the psychological details of her emotional experiences. Thus, realism expands the possibilities of writers in the creative development of the world, in the creation of a contradictory and complex personality structure as a result of the subtlest penetration into the depths of the human psyche.

Expressiveness, brightness, figurativeness, accuracy of Russian literary language, enriched with elements of lively, colloquial speech, which realist writers draw from the national Russian language.

A variety of genres (epic, lyrical, dramatic, lyrical epic, satirical) in which all the richness of the content of realistic literature finds expression.

The reflection of reality does not exclude fiction and fantasy (Gogol, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Sukhovo-Kobylin), although these artistic means do not determine the main tone of the work.

Typology of Russian realism. The question of the typology of realism is connected with the disclosure of well-known patterns that determine the dominant of certain types of realism and their change.

In many literary studies there are attempts to establish typical varieties (trends) of realism: Renaissance, enlightenment (or didactic), romantic, sociological, critical, naturalistic, revolutionary-democratic, socialist, typical, empirical, syncretic, philosophical and psychological, intellectual, spiral, universal, monumental... Since all these terms are rather conditional (terminological confusion) and there are no clear boundaries between them, we suggest using the concept of “stages of development of realism”. Let us trace these stages, each of which takes shape in the conditions of its time and is artistically justified in its uniqueness. The complexity of the problem of the typology of realism lies in the fact that typologically unique varieties of realism not only replace each other, but also coexist and develop simultaneously. Therefore, the concept of "stage" does not mean that in the same chronological framework there can be no other kind of current, earlier or later. That is why it is necessary to correlate the work of this or that realist writer with the work of other realist artists, while revealing the individual originality of each of them, revealing the closeness between groups of writers.

First third of the 19th century. Krylov's realistic fables reflect the real relations of people in society, live scenes are drawn, the content of which is diverse - they could be everyday, social, philosophical and historical.

Griboedov created " high comedy”(“ Woe from Wit ”), that is, a comedy close to drama, reflecting in it the ideas that an educated society lived in the first quarter of a century. Chatsky, in the fight against the serf-owners and conservatives, defends national interests from the standpoint of common sense and popular morality. The play presents typical characters and circumstances.

In Pushkin's work, problems and the methodology of realism have already been outlined. In the novel "Eugene Onegin" the poet recreated the "Russian spirit", gave a new, objective principle images of the hero, was the first to show "an extra person", and in the story " Stationmaster» - « little man". In the people, Pushkin saw the moral potential that determines national character. In the novel "The Captain's Daughter", the writer's historicism was manifested - both in the correct reflection of reality, and in the accuracy of social analysis, and in understanding the historical regularity of phenomena, and in the ability to convey the typical features of a person's character, to show him as a product of a certain social environment.

30s of the XIX century. In this era of "timelessness", public inaction, only the bold voices of A. S. Pushkin, V. G. Belinsky and M. Yu. Lermontov were heard. The critic saw in Lermontov worthy successor Pushkin. Man in his work bears the dramatic features of the time. in destiny

Pechorin, the writer reflected the fate of his generation, his "age" ("A Hero of Our Time"). But if Pushkin devotes the main attention to the description of the actions, actions of the character, gives "outlines of character", then Lermontov focuses on the inner world of the hero, on an in-depth psychological analysis of his actions and experiences, on the "history of the human soul".

40s of the XIX century. During this period, the realists received the name "natural school" (N. V. Gogol, A. I. Herzen, D. V. Grigorovich, N. A. Nekrasov). The works of these writers are characterized by accusatory pathos, rejection of social reality, increased attention to everyday life, everyday life. Gogol did not find the embodiment of his lofty ideals in the world around him, and therefore he was convinced that in the conditions of contemporary Russia, the ideal and beauty of life can be expressed only through the denial of ugly reality. The satirist explores the material, material and everyday basis of life, its "invisible" features and the spiritually wretched characters that arise from it, firmly confident in their dignity and right.

Second half of the 19th century. Creativity of writers of this time (I. A. Goncharov, A. N. Ostrovsky, I. S. Turgenev, N. S. Leskov, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, L. N. Tolstoy, F. M. Dostoevsky, V G. Korolenko, A.P. Chekhov) distinguishes a qualitatively new stage in the development of realism: they not only critically comprehend reality, but also actively look for ways to transform it, reveal close attention to the spiritual life of a person, penetrate into the “dialectics of the soul”, create a world populated by complex conflicting characters full of dramatic conflicts. The works of writers are characterized by subtle psychologism and great philosophical generalizations.

Turn of XIX-XX centuries. The features of the era were most clearly expressed in the works of A. I. Kuprin, I. A. Bunin. They sensitively captured the general spiritual and social atmosphere in the country, deeply and faithfully reflected the unique pictures of the life of the most diverse segments of the population, created an integral and truthful picture of Russia. They are characterized by such themes and problems as the continuity of generations, the legacy of centuries, the root connections of a person with the past, the Russian character and features national history, the harmonious world of nature and peace public relations(devoid of poetry and harmony, personifying cruelty and violence), love and death, the fragility and fragility of human happiness, the mysteries of the Russian soul, loneliness and the tragic predestination of human existence, the path to liberation from spiritual oppression. The original and original work of writers organically continues the best traditions of Russian realistic literature, and above all a deep insight into the essence of the depicted life, the disclosure of the relationship between the environment and the individual, attention to the social background, the expression of the ideas of humanism.

pre-October decade. A new vision of the world in connection with the processes taking place in Russia in all areas of life determined the new face of realism, which differed significantly from classical realism in its "modernity". New figures came to the fore - representatives of a special trend within the realist trend - neorealism ("renewed" realism): I. S. Shmelev, L. N. Andreev, M. M. Prishvin, E. I. Zamyatin, S. N. Sergeev-Tsensky , A. N. Tolstoy, A. M. Remizov, B. K. Zaitsev and others. They are characterized by a departure from the sociological understanding of reality; mastering the sphere of the "earthly", deepening the concrete-sensual perception of the world, artistic study subtle movements of the soul, nature and man, coming into contact, which eliminates alienation and brings closer to the original, unchanging nature of being; a return to the hidden values ​​of the folk-village element, capable of renewing life in the spirit of "eternal" ideals (pagan, mystical coloring of the depicted); comparison of the bourgeois urban and rural way of life; the idea of ​​the incompatibility of the natural force of life, existential good with social evil; connection of the historical and metaphysical (next to the features of everyday or concrete historical reality, there is a “superreal” background, mythological overtones); the motif of cleansing love as a kind of symbolic sign of the all-human natural unconscious principle, bringing enlightened peace.

Soviet period. Distinctive features of socialist realism that arose at that time were party spirit, nationalism, the depiction of reality in its "revolutionary development", propaganda of the heroism and romance of socialist construction. In the works of M. Gorky, M. A. Sholokhov, A. A. Fadeev, L. M. Leonov, V. V. Mayakovsky, K. A. Fedin, N. A. Ostrovsky, A. N. Tolstoy, A. T. Tvardovsky and others affirmed a different reality, a different person, different ideals, a different aesthetics, principles underlying the moral code of a fighter for communism. A new method was promoted in art, which was politicized: it had a pronounced social orientation expressed the state ideology. In the center of the works was usually a positive hero, inextricably linked with the team, which constantly had a beneficial effect on the individual. The main sphere of application of the forces of such a hero is creative work. It is no coincidence that the production novel has become one of the most common genres.

20-30s of the XX century. Many writers, forced to live under a dictatorial regime, under severe censorship, managed to preserve their inner freedom, showed the ability to remain silent, be careful in their assessments, switch to allegorical language - they were devoted to the truth, the true art of realism. The genre of anti-utopia was born, in which severe criticism of a totalitarian society based on the suppression of the individual and individual freedom was given. The fates of A. P. Platonov, M. A. Bulgakov, E. I. Zamyatin, A. A. Akhmatova, M. M. Zoshchenko, O. E. Mandelstam were tragically destined for a long time to be deprived of the opportunity to publish in the Soviet Union.

The period of the "thaw" (mid-50s - first half of the 60s). At this historical time, young poets of the sixties (E. A. Yevtushenko, A. A. Voznesensky, B. A. Akhmadulina, R. I. Rozhdestvensky, B. Sh. Okudzhava, etc.) declared themselves loudly and confidently. "rulers of thoughts" of their generation, together with representatives of the "third wave" of emigration (V. P. Aksenov, A. V. Kuznetsov, A. T. Gladilin, G. N. Vladimov,

A.I. Solzhenitsyn, N.M. Korzhavin, S.D. Dovlatov, V.E. Maksimov, V.N. Voinovich, V.P. the human soul in the conditions of the command-administrative system and internal opposition to it, confession, moral quest heroes, their release, emancipation, romanticism and self-irony, innovation in the field of artistic language and style, genre diversity.

Last decades of the XX century. The new generation of writers, who already lived in somewhat relaxed political conditions within the country, came up with lyrical, urban and rural poetry and prose that did not fit into the rigid framework of socialist realism (N. M. Rubtsov, A. V. Zhigulin,

V. N. Sokolov, Yu. V. Trifonov, Ch. T. Aitmatov, V. I. Belov, F. A. Abramov, V. G. Rasputin, V. P. Astafiev, S. P. Zalygin, V. M. Shukshin, F. A. Iskander). The leading themes of their work are the revival of traditional morality and the relationship between man and nature, which manifested the closeness of the writers to the traditions of Russian classical realism. The works of this time are imbued with a sense of attachment to the native land, and hence responsibility for what is happening on it, a sense of the irreparable spiritual losses due to the rupture of age-old ties between nature and man. Artists comprehend a turning point in the sphere of moral values, shifts in society in which she is forced to survive human soul, reflect on the catastrophic consequences for those who lose historical memory, the experience of generations.

The latest Russian literature. In the literary process recent years Literary critics fix two currents: postmodernism (blurring of the boundaries of realism, awareness of the illusory nature of what is happening, mixing different artistic methods, style diversity, strengthening the influence of avant-garde - A. G. Bitov, Sasha Sokolov, V. O. Pelevin, T. N. Tolstaya, T. Yu. Kibirov, D. A. Prigov) and post-realism (traditional for realism attention to the fate of a private person, tragically lonely, in the vanity of everyday life that humiliates him, losing moral guidelines, trying to self-determine - V. S. Makanin, L. S. . Petrushevskaya).

So, realism as a literary and artistic system has a powerful potential for continuous renewal, which manifests itself in one or another transitional era for Russian literature. In the work of writers who continue the traditions of realism, there is a search for new themes, heroes, plots, genres, poetic means, a new manner of talking with the reader.

The emergence of realism

General character of realism

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction:

Relevance:

The essence of realism in relation to literature and its place in the literary process are understood in different ways. Realism is an artistic method, following which the artist depicts life in images that correspond to the essence of the phenomena of life itself and are created by typing the facts of reality. In a broad sense, the category of realism serves to determine the relationship of literature to reality, regardless of the writer's belonging to one or another literary school and direction. The concept of "realism" is equivalent to the concept of the truth of life and in relation to the most heterogeneous phenomena of literature.

Objective:

consider the essence of realism as a literary movement in literature.

Tasks:

Explore the general nature of realism.

Consider the stages of realism.

The emergence of realism

In the 30s of the XIX century. realism is gaining significant popularity in literature and art. The development of realism is primarily associated with the names of Stendhal and Balzac in France, Pushkin and Gogol in Russia, Heine and Buchner in Germany. Realism develops initially in the depths of romanticism and bears the stamp of the latter; not only Pushkin and Heine, but also Balzac experienced a strong passion for romantic literature in their youth. However, unlike romantic art, realism renounces the idealization of reality and the predominance of the fantastic element associated with it, as well as an increased interest in the subjective side of man. Realism is dominated by a tendency to depict a wide social background against which the life of the characters takes place (" human comedy"Balzac, "Eugene Onegin" by Pushkin, "Dead Souls" by Gogol, etc.). Depth of understanding social life realist artists sometimes surpass the philosophers and sociologists of their time.

General character of realism

“Realism is opposed, on the one hand, to directions in which content is subject to self-sufficing formal requirements (conditional formal tradition, canons of absolute beauty, striving for formal sharpness, “innovation”); on the other hand, to directions that take their material not from reality, but from the world of fantasy (whatever the origin of the images of this fantasy), or looking for a “higher” mystical or idealistic reality in the images of reality. Realism excludes the approach to art as a free "creative" game and assumes the recognition of the reality and cognizability of the world. realism is that direction in art in which the nature of art as a special kind cognitive activity most clearly expressed. In general, realism is an artistic parallel to materialism. But fiction has to do with man and human society, that is, with a sphere which the materialist conception consistently masters only from the point of view of revolutionary communism. Therefore, the materialistic nature of pre-proletarian (non-proletarian) realism remains largely unconscious. Bourgeois realism very often finds its philosophical justification not only in mechanical materialism, but in the most diverse systems - from various forms of "shameful materialism" to vitalism and to objective idealism. Only a philosophy that denies the knowability or reality of the external world excludes the realistic attitude.

To one degree or another, all fiction has elements of realism, since reality, the world of social relations, is its only material. literary image, completely divorced from reality, is unthinkable, and an image that distorts reality beyond known limits is devoid of any effectiveness. The inevitable elements of reflecting reality can, however, be subordinated to tasks of a different kind and stylized in such a way in accordance with these tasks that the work loses any realistic character. Only such works can be called realistic, in which the installation on the image of reality is predominant. This attitude can be spontaneous (naive) or conscious. In general, we can say that spontaneous realism is characteristic of the creativity of pre-class and pre-capitalist society to the extent that this creativity is not in slavery to an organized religious worldview or does not fall into the captivity of a certain stylizing tradition. realism, as a companion of the scientific worldview, arises only at a certain stage in the development of bourgeois culture.

Inasmuch as the bourgeois science of society either takes as its guiding thread an arbitrary idea imposed on reality, or remains in the swamp of creeping empiricism, or tries to extend to human history scientific theories worked out in natural science, to the extent that bourgeois realism cannot yet be fully considered a manifestation of the scientific worldview. The gap between scientific and artistic thinking, which first sharpened in the era of romanticism, is in no way eliminated, but only blurred in the era of the dominance of realism in bourgeois art. The limited nature of the bourgeois science of society leads to the fact that in the era of capitalism the artistic ways of cognizing socio-historical reality often turn out to be much more effective than the "scientific" ways. The sharp vision and realistic honesty of the artist very often help him to show reality more truly and fully than the attitudes of bourgeois scientific theory that distort it.

Realism includes two points: firstly, the depiction of the external features of a particular society and era with such a degree of specificity that gives the impression (“illusion”) of reality; secondly, a deeper disclosure of the actual historical content, essence and meaning of social forces through images-generalizations that penetrate beyond the surface. Engels, in a famous letter to Margarita Harkness, formulated these two points as follows: "In my opinion, realism implies, in addition to the truthfulness of details, the fidelity of the transfer of typical characters in typical circumstances."

But, despite their deep inner connection, they are by no means inseparable from one another. The mutual connection of these two moments depends not only on the historical stage, but also on the genre. This connection is strongest in narrative prose. In drama, especially in poetry, it is much less stable. The introduction of stylization, conditional fantasy, etc., in itself does not at all deprive a work of a realistic character, if its main orientation is aimed at depicting historically typical characters and situations. So, "Faust" by Goethe, despite the fantasy and symbolism, is one of the greatest creatures bourgeois realism, because the image of Faust gives a deep and true embodiment of certain features of the rising bourgeoisie.

The problem of realism has been developed by Marxist-Leninist science almost exclusively in relation to narrative and dramatic genres, the material for which are "characters" and "positions". As applied to other genres and other arts, the problem of realism remains completely insufficiently developed. In connection with the much smaller number of direct statements of the classics of Marxism, which can give a concrete guiding thread, vulgarization and simplification still reign to a large extent here. In extending the concept of "realism" to other arts, two simplifying tendencies should be especially avoided:

1. tendencies to identify realism with external realism (in painting, realism is measured by the degree of "photographic" similarity) and

2. tendencies to mechanistically extend to other genres and arts the criteria developed on narrative literature, without taking into account the specifics this genre or art. Such a gross simplification in relation to painting is the identification of realism with a direct social plot, such as we find, for example, among the Wanderers. The problem of realism in such arts is, first of all, the problem of an image built according to the specifics of this art and filled with realistic content.

All this applies to the problem of realism in lyrics. Realistic lyrics are lyrics that truthfully express typical feelings and thoughts. In order to recognize lyrical work realistic, it is not enough for what it expresses to be "generally valid", "of general interest" in general. Realistic lyrics are an expression of feelings and mindsets that are specifically typical of a class and era.

Stages of development realism XIX century

The formation of realism takes place in European countries and in Russia almost at the same time - in the 20-40s of the XIX century. In the literatures of the world, it becomes the leading direction.

True, this simultaneously means that the literary process of this period is irreducible only in a realistic system. And in European literatures, and - in particular - in the literature of the United States, the activity of romantic writers continues in full measure: de Vigny, Hugo, Irving, Poe, etc. Thus, the development literary process goes largely through the interaction of coexisting aesthetic systems, and the characterization of both national literatures and the work of individual writers requires that this circumstance be taken into account.

Speaking about the fact that since the 1930s and 1940s realist writers have occupied a leading place in literature, it is impossible not to note that realism itself is not a frozen system, but a phenomenon in constant development. Already within the 19th century, it became necessary to speak of "different realisms", that Mérimée, Balzac and Flaubert responded in equal measure to the main historical issues which the era prompted them, and at the same time, their works are distinguished by their different content and originality of form.

In the 1830s - 1840s, the most remarkable features of realism as a literary movement that gives a multifaceted picture of reality, striving for an analytical study of reality, appear in the work of European writers (primarily Balzac).

“The literature of the 1830s and 1840s was fed largely by claims about the attractiveness of the age itself. Love to XIX century shared, for example, Stendhal and Balzac, who never ceased to be amazed at his dynamism, diversity and inexhaustible energy. Hence the heroes of the first stage of realism - active, with an inventive mind, not afraid of a collision with adverse circumstances. These heroes were largely associated with the heroic era of Napoleon, although they perceived his duplicity and developed a strategy for their personal and social behavior. Scott and his historicism inspires the heroes of Stendhal to find their place in life and history through mistakes and delusions. Shakespeare forces Balzac to speak about the novel "Father Goriot" in the words of the great Englishman "Everything is true" and to see in the fate of the modern bourgeois echoes of the harsh fate of King Lear.

"Realists of the second half of XIX centuries will reproach their predecessors with "residual romanticism." It is difficult to disagree with such a reproach. Indeed, the romantic tradition is very tangibly represented in the creative systems of Balzac, Stendhal, Mérimée. It is no coincidence that Sainte-Beuve called Stendhal "the last hussar of romanticism." Features of romanticism are found:

- in the cult of the exotic (Merime's short stories of the type " Matteo Falcone”, “Carmen”, “Tamango”, etc.);

- in the writers' predilection for depicting bright personalities and passions of exceptional strength (Stendhal's novel "Red and Black" or the short story "Vanina Vanini");

- in a passion for adventurous plots and the use of elements of fantasy (Balzac's novel " Shagreen leather"or the short story by Merimee" Venus Ilskaya ");

- in an effort to clearly divide the characters into negative and positive - the bearers of the author's ideals (Dickens' novels).

Thus, between the realism of the first period and romanticism there is a complex “family” connection, which manifests itself, in particular, in the inheritance of techniques characteristic of romantic art and even individual themes and motives (the theme of lost illusions, the motive of disappointment, etc.).

In domestic historical and literary science, “the revolutionary events of 1848 and the important changes that followed them in the socio-political and cultural life of bourgeois society” are considered to be what divides “the realism of foreign countries of the 19th century into two stages - the realism of the first and second half of the 19th century ". In 1848, popular uprisings turned into a series of revolutions that swept across Europe (France, Italy, Germany, Austria, etc.). These revolutions, as well as the riots in Belgium and England, took place on the "French model", as democratic protests against the class-privileged and not meeting the needs of the time of government, as well as under the slogans of social and democratic reforms. On the whole, 1848 marked one huge upheaval in Europe. True, as a result of it, moderate liberals or conservatives came to power everywhere, in some places even a more brutal authoritarian government was established.

This caused a general disappointment in the results of the revolutions, and, as a result, pessimistic moods. Many representatives of the intelligentsia became disillusioned with the mass movements, the active actions of the people on a class basis, and transferred their main efforts to the private world of the individual and personal relationships. Thus, the general interest was directed to an individual, important in itself, and only secondarily - to its relationship with other personalities and the surrounding world.

The second half of the 19th century is traditionally considered the "triumph of realism". By this time realism full voice declares itself in the literature not only of France and England, but also of a number of other countries - Germany (late Heine, Raabe, Storm, Fontane), Russia ("natural school", Turgenev, Goncharov, Ostrovsky, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky), etc. P.

At the same time, a new stage in the development of realism begins in the 50s, which involves a new approach to the image of both the hero and the society surrounding him. The social, political and moral atmosphere of the second half of the 19th century "turned" writers towards the analysis of a man who can hardly be called a hero, but in whose fate and character the main signs of the era are refracted, expressed not in a major deed, significant deed or passion, compressed and intensely conveying global shifts of time, not in large-scale (both in social and psychological) confrontation and conflict, not in typicality brought to the limit, often bordering on exclusivity, but in everyday, everyday everyday life.

The writers who began to work at that time, like those who entered literature earlier, but created during the specified period, for example, Dickens or Thackeray, certainly focused on a different concept of personality, which was not perceived and reproduced by them as a product of a direct relationship. social and psychological-biological principles and rigidly understood determinants. In Thackeray's novel "Newcombs" the specifics of "human science" in the realism of this period are emphasized - the need for understanding and analytical reproduction of multidirectional subtle spiritual movements and indirect, not always manifested social ties: "It is difficult to even imagine how many different reasons determines our every act or passion, how often, analyzing my motives, I took one for another ... ". This phrase of Thackeray conveys, perhaps, main feature realism of the era: everything focuses on the image of a person and character, and not circumstances. Although the latter, as they should in realistic literature, "do not disappear," their interaction with character acquires a different quality, connected with the fact that circumstances cease to be independent, they become more and more characterologised; their sociological function is now more implicit than it was with the same Balzac or Stendhal.

Due to the changed concept of personality and the "human-centrism" of the entire art system(moreover, the “man-center” was by no means necessarily a positive hero who conquered social circumstances or perished - morally or physically - in the fight against them) one might get the impression that the writers of the second half of the century abandoned the basic principle of realistic literature: dialectical understanding and depiction of relationships nature and circumstances and following the principle of socio-psychological determinism. Moreover, some of the most prominent realists of that time - Flaubert, J. Eliot, Trollot - in the case when they talk about the world around the hero, the term “environment” appears, often perceived more statically than the concept of “circumstances”.

An analysis of the works of Flaubert and J. Eliot convinces that artists need this "stakeout" of the environment, first of all, so that the description of the environment surrounding the hero is more plastic. The environment often narratively exists in the inner world of the hero and through him, acquiring a different character of generalization: not poster-like sociologized, but psychologized. This creates an atmosphere of greater objectivity of the reproduced. In any case, from the point of view of the reader, who trusts such an objectified narrative about the era more, since he perceives the hero of the work as a close person, the same as himself.

The writers of this period do not in the least forget about another aesthetic setting of critical realism - the objectivity of what is reproduced. As you know, Balzac was so preoccupied with this objectivity that he was looking for ways to bring literary knowledge(understanding) and scientific. This idea appealed to many realists of the second half of the century. For example, Eliot and Flaubert thought a lot about the use of scientific, and therefore, as it seemed to them, objective methods of analysis by literature. Flaubert thought about this especially a lot, who understood objectivity as a synonym for impartiality and impartiality. However, this was the trend of the entire realism of the era. Moreover, the work of the realists of the second half of the 19th century fell on a period of take-off in the development of the natural sciences and the flourishing of experimentation.

This was an important period in the history of science. Biology developed rapidly (Ch. Darwin's book "The Origin of Species" was published in 1859), physiology, psychology was developing as a science. O. Comte's philosophy of positivism, which later played an important role in the development of naturalistic aesthetics and artistic practice, became widespread. It was during these years that attempts were made to create a system of psychological understanding of man.

However, even at this stage in the development of literature, the character of the hero is not conceived by the writer outside of social analysis, although the latter acquires a somewhat different aesthetic essence, different from that which was characteristic of Balzac and Stendhal. Of course, that in the novels of Flaubert. Eliot, Fontana and some others are striking "a new level of depiction of the inner world of a person, a qualitatively new mastery of psychological analysis, which consists in the deepest disclosure of the complexity and unpredictability of human reactions to reality, the motives and causes of human activity" .

It is obvious that the writers of this era dramatically changed the direction of creativity and led literature (and the novel in particular) towards in-depth psychologism, and in the formula "socio-psychological determinism" the social and psychological, as it were, changed places. It is in this direction that the main achievements of literature are concentrated: writers began not only to draw the complex inner world of a literary hero, but to reproduce a well-oiled, well-thought-out psychological “character model”, in it and in its functioning artistically combining the psychological-analytical and socio-analytical. The writers updated and revived the principle of psychological detail, introduced a dialogue with deep psychological overtones, found narrative techniques for conveying "transitional", contradictory spiritual movements that were previously inaccessible to literature.

This does not mean that realist literature abandoned social analysis: social basis reproducible reality and reconstructed character did not disappear, although it did not dominate character and circumstances. It was thanks to the writers of the second half of the 19th century that literature began to find indirect ways of social analysis, in this sense continuing a series of discoveries made by writers of previous periods.

Flaubert, Eliot, the Goncourt brothers, and others "taught" literature to go to the social and what is characteristic of the era, characterizes its social, political, historical and moral principles, through the ordinary and everyday existence of an ordinary person. Social typification among writers of the second half of the century is the typification of “mass character, repetition”. It is not as bright and obvious as that of the representatives of classical critical realism of the 1830s and 1840s and most often manifests itself through the “parabola of psychologism”, when immersion in the inner world of the character allows one to ultimately immerse himself in the era, in historical time, as he sees it. writer. Emotions, feelings, moods are not of an overtime, but of a concrete historical nature, although it is primarily ordinary everyday existence that is subjected to analytical reproduction, and not the world of titanic passions. At the same time, writers often even absolutized the dullness and wretchedness of life, the triviality of the material, the unheroism of time and character. That is why, on the one hand, it was an anti-romantic period, on the other, a period of craving for the romantic. Such a paradox, for example, is characteristic of Flaubert, the Goncourts, and Baudelaire.

There are other important points associated with the absolutization of the imperfection of human nature and slavish subordination to circumstances: often writers perceived the negative phenomena of the era as a given, as something irresistible, and even tragically fatal. Therefore, in the work of realists of the second half of the 19th century, a positive beginning is so difficult to express: they are of little interest in the problem of the future, they are “here and now”, in their own time, comprehending it with the utmost impartiality, as an era, if worthy of analysis, then critical.

CRITICAL REALISM

from the Greek kritike - the art of disassembling, judging and lat. realis - real, real) - the name attached to the main realistic method Art XIX century, developed in the art of the XX century. The term "critical realism" emphasizes the critical, accusatory pathos of democratic art in relation to the existing reality. This term was proposed by Gorky to distinguish this type of realism from socialist realism. Previously, the unfortunate term “bourgeois R.” was used, but even now accepted is inaccurate: along with sharp criticism of the noble-bourgeois society (O. Balzac, O. Daumier, N. V. Gogol and the “natural school”, M. E. Saltykov- Shchedrin, G. Ibsen and others) pl. prod. K. r. embodied the positive principles of life, the mood of progressive people, the labor and moral traditions of the people. Both start in Russian. Literature is represented by Pushkin, I. S. Turgenev, N. A. Nekrasov, N. S. Leskov, Tolstoy, A. P. Chekhov, in the theater - M. S. Shchepkin, in painting - "Wanderers", in music - M I. Glinka, composers " mighty handful”, P. I. Tchaikovsky; in foreign literature XIX century - Stendhal, C. Dickens, S. Zeromsky, in painting - G. Courbet, in music - G. Verdi, L. Janachek. AT late XIX in. formed the so-called. verism, which combined democratic tendencies with some refinement of social issues (for example, G. Puccini's operas). A characteristic genre of literature of critical realism is the socio-psychological novel. On the basis of K. r. Russian classical art criticism developed (Belinsky, Chernyshevsky, Dobrolyubov, Stasov), ch. the principle of which was the nationality. Critical realism socially substantiates the formation and manifestation of characters, the fate of people, social groups, individual classes (the ruin of the local nobility, the strengthening of the bourgeoisie, the decomposition of the traditional way of peasant life), but not the fate of society as a whole: a change in the social structure and prevailing morality is conceived in one or to some extent as a consequence of the improvement of morality or self-improvement of people, and not as a natural emergence of a new quality as a result of the development of society itself. This is the inherent contradiction of critical realism, in the XIX century. inevitable. In addition to socio-historical and psychological determinism, as an additional artistic emphasis (starting with the work of G. Flaubert), biological determinism is used in critical realism; in L.N. Tolstoy and other writers, it is consistently subordinated to the social and psychological, but, for example, in some works of the literary direction, the head of which, Emile Zola, theoretically substantiated and embodied the principle of naturalism, this type of determination was absolutized, which caused damage to the realistic principles of creativity . The historicism of critical realism is usually built on the contrast between the “current century” and the “past century”, on the opposition of the generations of “fathers” and “children” (“Duma” by M. Yu. Lermontov, I.S. Turgenev “Fathers and Sons”, “Saga about Farsites” by J. Galsworthy and others), ideas about periods of timelessness (for example, O. Balzac, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, A. P. Chekhov, a number of writers and artists of the early 20th century). Historicism in this sense often prevented an adequate reflection of the past in historical works. Compared to the production on contemporary themes, K. R., deeply reflective historical events, a little (in literature - the epic "War and Peace" by Tolstoy, in painting - paintings by V. I. Surikov, I. E. Repin, in music - operas by M. P. Mussorgsky, G. Verdi). In foreign art in the XX century. Critical realism acquires a new quality, approaching different types modernism and naturalism. Traditions of classical K. r. develop and enrich J. Galsworthy, G. Wells, B. Shaw, R. Rolland, T. Mann, E. Hemingway, K. Chapek, Lu Xun and others. At the same time, many others. artists, especially in the second half. XX century., being carried away by modernist poetics, they retreat from the artistic. historicism, their social determinism acquires a fatalistic character (M. Frisch, F. Dürrenmatt, G. Fallada, A. Miller, M. Antonioni, L. Buñuel, and others). To great achievements K. r. cinematography includes the work of directors Ch. Chaplin, S. Kreimer, A. Kuro-sawa; Italian neorealism was a type of critical realism.

Conclusion

As noted earlier, realism is a worldwide literary movement. A notable feature of realism is also the fact that it has a long history. At the end of the 19th and in the 20th centuries, the works of such writers as R. Rollan, D. Golussource, B. Shaw, E. M. Remarque, T. Dreiser and others gained worldwide fame. Realism continues to exist up to the present time, remaining the most important form of world democratic culture.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. V.V. Sayanov Romanticism, realism, naturalism - L. - 1988.

2. E.A. Anichkov Realism and new trends. – M.: Science. - 1980.

3. M.E. Elizarova History of foreign literature of the XIX century - M. - 1964.

4. P. S. Kogan Romanticism and realism in European literature of the 19th century. - M. - 1923

5. F. P. Schiller From the history of realism in the 19th century. in the West - M. - 1984.

Realism is the dominant ideological and stylistic trend in the culture and art of Europe and America in the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. He replaced such a powerful stylistic trend in culture and art as romanticism.

The basic principle of creativity in realism- this is a depiction of reality, a person and the world as real, as they are. Not invented, not embellished in the direction of any ideal. In that fundamental difference realism from previous trends and trends - baroque, where the image is pretentious and unnatural, classicism, where the world "improved" by rationality is depicted, romanticism, where the cult of violent passions, strong emotions reigns, where the world of healing and majestic nature is glorified. Truthfulness in realism (not similarity with the truth, but correspondence to the truth) is one of the most important values.

Therefore, the realist tries to recreate the details and facts of the events or phenomena that he describes as authentically as possible.

Realism in literature (as well as in painting, by the way) conveys the typical features of objects: objects, phenomena and people. The more relevant and topical the topic raised by the author in a literary work, the better in realism. The sharper the social sound of the work right here and right now, the better again. Realists explore modernity and try to keep pace with it - and this is a fact. This, however, does not negate the historical plots in the literature of realism. Accuracy and historical truthfulness are highly valued in their reproduction.

famous realists European literature - Honore de Balzac, Emile Zola, Bertolt Brecht, Guy de Maupassant and other authors. In Russian literature, these are Anton Chekhov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Nikolai Chernyshevsky, Yuri Olesha and other authors. At the beginning of the 20th century, the dominance of realism in culture and art began to decline - it is being squeezed by modernist movements with their cult of freedom of creativity, and for modernists it does not matter whether the world they depict is similar to the real one, whether it is reliable. Realism is pushed aside by symbolism and futurism.

In some countries, realism as a trend in art and in literature in particular reigned supreme until the middle of the 20th century. The USSR was no exception, where the dominant ideology in art for a long time was socialist realism (socialist realism). Its prominent representatives in literature are Maxim Gorky, Konstantin Paustovsky, Alexander Fadeev, Konstantin Simonov and others. A good example of socialist realism in fine arts- this is the personality of the sculptor Vera Mukhina, the author of the sculpture "Worker and Collective Farm Girl", famous in the USSR.

Exists in literature and painting and such interesting phenomenon how "magical realism". Basically, this term refers to the work of authors of the middle of the 20th century and the end of the 20th century. His recognized "father" in literature is the Colombian prose writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez. These are those works of art where the theme of magic and sorcery is incorporated into an otherwise realistic piece of art. Marquez's associates in "magical realism" are also such famous authors like Julio Cortazar and Jorge Borges. In painting, this is the work of the Frenchman Marc Chagall.

Realism is a trend in literature and art, truthfully and realistically reflecting the typical features of reality, in which there are no various distortions and exaggerations. This direction followed romanticism, and was the forerunner of symbolism.

This trend originated in the 30s of the 19th century and reached its peak by the middle of it. His followers strongly denied the use of literary works any sophisticated tricks, mystical trends and idealization of characters. The main feature of this trend in literature is the artistic depiction of real life with the help of ordinary and well-known readers of images that are part of them for them. Everyday life(relatives, neighbors or acquaintances).

(Alexey Yakovlevich Voloskov "At the tea table")

The works of realist writers are distinguished by a life-affirming beginning, even if their plot is characterized by a tragic conflict. One of the main features of this genre is the authors' attempt to consider the surrounding reality in its development, to discover and describe new psychological, social and social relations.

Having replaced romanticism, realism has the characteristic features of art, seeking to find truth and justice, wishing to change the world for the better. The main characters in the works of realist authors make their discoveries and conclusions after much thought and deep introspection.

(Zhuravlev Firs Sergeevich "Before the wedding")

Critical realism is developing almost simultaneously in Russia and Europe (approximately 30-40s of the 19th century) and soon emerges as the leading trend in literature and art throughout the world.

In France, literary realism is primarily associated with the names of Balzac and Stendhal, in Russia with Pushkin and Gogol, in Germany with the names of Heine and Buchner. All of them experience the inevitable influence of romanticism in their literary work, but gradually move away from it, abandon the idealization of reality and move on to depicting a wider social background, where the life of the main characters takes place.

Realism in Russian literature of the 19th century

The main founder of Russian realism in the 19th century is Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. In his works "The Captain's Daughter", "Eugene Onegin", "Tales of Belkin", "Boris Godunov", "The Bronze Horseman" he subtly captures and skillfully conveys the very essence of all important events in the life of Russian society, represented by his talented pen in all its diversity. , colorfulness and inconsistency. Following Pushkin, many writers of that time came to the genre of realism, deepening the analysis of the emotional experiences of their heroes and depicting their complex inner world (Lermontov's Hero of Our Time, Gogol's The Inspector General and Dead Souls).

(Pavel Fedotov "The Picky Bride")

The tense socio-political situation in Russia during the reign of Nicholas I aroused a keen interest in the life and fate of the common people among progressive public figures of that time. This is noted in later works Pushkin, Lermontov and Gogol, as well as in the poetic lines of Alexei Koltsov and the works of the authors of the so-called " natural school»: I.S. Turgenev (a cycle of stories "Notes of a Hunter", stories "Fathers and Sons", "Rudin", "Asya"), F.M. Dostoevsky ("Poor People", "Crime and Punishment"), A.I. Herzen (“The Thieving Magpie”, “Who is to blame?”), I.A. Goncharova ("Ordinary History", "Oblomov"), A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit", L.N. Tolstoy ("War and Peace", "Anna Karenina"), A.P. Chekhov (stories and plays "The Cherry Orchard", "Three Sisters", "Uncle Vanya").

Literary realism of the second half of the 19th century was called critical, the main task of his works was to highlight existing problems, to raise issues of interaction between a person and the society in which he lives.

Realism in Russian Literature of the 20th Century

(Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky "Evening")

The turning point in the fate of Russian realism was the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when this direction experienced a crisis and loudly declared itself a new phenomenon in culture - symbolism. Then a new updated aesthetics of Russian realism arose, in which the main environment that forms the personality of a person was now considered History itself and its global processes. The realism of the early 20th century revealed the full complexity of the formation of a person's personality, it was formed under the influence of not only social factors, history itself acted as the creator of typical circumstances, under the aggressive influence of which the main character fell.

(Boris Kustodiev "Portrait of D.F. Bogoslovsky")

There are four main currents in the realism of the early twentieth century:

• Critical: continues the tradition of classical realism of the mid-19th century. The works focus on the social nature of phenomena (creativity of A.P. Chekhov and L.N. Tolstoy);
• Socialist: displaying the historical and revolutionary development of real life, conducting an analysis of conflicts in the conditions of the class struggle, revealing the essence of the characters of the main characters and their actions committed for the benefit of others. (M. Gorky "Mother", "The Life of Klim Samgin", most of the works of Soviet authors).
• Mythological: reflection and rethinking of real life events through the prism of the plots of famous myths and legends (L.N. Andreev "Judas Iscariot");
• Naturalism: an extremely truthful, often unsightly, detailed depiction of reality (A.I. Kuprin "The Pit", V.V. Veresaev "Notes of a Doctor").

Realism in foreign literature of the 19th-20th centuries

The initial stage of the formation of critical realism in Europe in the middle of the 19th century is associated with the works of Balzac, Stendhal, Beranger, Flaubert, Maupassant. Merimee in France, Dickens, Thackeray, Brontë, Gaskell in England, the poetry of Heine and other revolutionary poets in Germany. In these countries, in the 30s of the 19th century, tension was growing between two irreconcilable class enemies: the bourgeoisie and the labor movement; various fields bourgeois culture, there are a number of discoveries in natural science and biology. In countries where a pre-revolutionary situation has developed (France, Germany, Hungary), the doctrine of scientific socialism of Marx and Engels arises and develops.

(Julien Dupre "Return from the fields")

As a result of a complex creative and theoretical debate with the followers of romanticism, critical realists took for themselves the best progressive ideas and traditions: interesting historical themes, democracy, folklore trends, progressive critical pathos and humanistic ideals.

The realism of the early twentieth century, having survived the struggle of the best representatives of the "classics" of critical realism (Flaubert, Maupassant, France, Shaw, Rolland) with the trends of new unrealistic trends in literature and art (decadence, impressionism, naturalism, aestheticism, etc.) acquires new character traits. He refers to social phenomena real life, describes the social motivation of the human character, reveals the psychology of the individual, the fate of art. The modeling of artistic reality is based on philosophical ideas, the author's attitude is given, first of all, to the intellectually active perception of the work when reading it, and then to the emotional one. The classic example of an intellectual realistic novel is the works German writer Thomas Mann's "Magic Mountain" and "Confession of the Adventurer Felix Krul", dramaturgy by Bertolt Brecht.

(Robert Kohler "Strike")

In the works of the author-realists of the twentieth century, the dramatic line intensifies and deepens, there is more tragedy (creativity American writer Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby", "Tender is the Night"), there is a special interest in the inner world of man. Attempts to depict the conscious and unconscious life moments of a person lead to the emergence of a new literary device, close to modernism called the "stream of consciousness" (works by Anna Zegers, W. Koeppen, Y. O'Neill). Naturalistic elements appear in the work of American realist writers such as Theodore Dreiser and John Steinbeck.

The realism of the twentieth century has a bright life-affirming color, faith in man and his strength, this is noticeable in the works of American realist writers William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Jack London, Mark Twain. The works of Romain Rolland, John Galsworthy, Bernard Shaw, Erich Maria Remarque enjoyed great popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Realism continues to exist as a trend in contemporary literature and is one of the most important forms of democratic culture.