Maybe 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 I am, 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 form 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 dark passages cell. 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 the history of our fatherland in my memory - sad story those times when the ferocious Tatars and Lithuanians devastated the surrounding area with fire and sword Russian capital and when unfortunate Moscow, like a defenseless widow, expected help from God alone in its cruel disasters.
But most often what attracts me to the walls of the Sin...nova 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!
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 drink in 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 friendly: “Hello, dear shepherd! Where are you driving your flock? And it grows here green grass for your sheep, and here there are red flowers from which you can weave a wreath for your hat." He would look at me with a gentle look - he would perhaps 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 Lisa and - her dream was partly fulfilled: for he looked at her with an affectionate look, took her hand... But Lisa, Lisa stood with downcast eyes, with fiery cheeks, with a trembling heart - she could not take his hands away, she couldn’t 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 Liza!” said Erast. “Dear Liza! 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 to them like an instant. Finally Lisa remembered that her mother might worry about her. It was necessary to separate. “Oh, Erast!” she said. “Will you always love me?” - “Always, dear Lisa, always!” - he answered. “And can you swear to me 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 cannot be?” - “You can’t, you can’t, dear Lisa!” - “How happy I am, and how happy 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 last time and they promised to see each other every day in the evening, either on the river bank, or in a 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!” Liza said to her mother, who had just woken up. “Oh, mother! What a wonderful morning! How fun everything is in the field! Never have the larks sung so well, never has the sun shone so brightly, never have the flowers been so pleasant smelled!" 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 really seemed to her extremely pleasant; the kind daughter cheered up her whole nature with her joy. “Oh, Liza!” 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 God’s works, I can’t get enough of clear sky, like a tall tent, and like the ground, 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, fearing not to keep 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 the deep clean 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. It’s wonderful! It’s wonderful, my friend, that without knowing you, I could live calmly and cheerfully! Now I don’t understand it, now I think that without you life is not life, but sadness and boredom. Without your eyes the bright moon is dark; without your voice the singing nightingale 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 insignificant to him in comparison with the pleasures with which the passionate friendship of an innocent soul nourished 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, but it seems to me that seeing you is a great blessing 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. “Ah! We could never look at each other enough - until that 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, Liza! What happened to you?" - “Oh, Erast! I cried!” - “About what? What is it?” - “I have to tell you everything. The groom, the son of a rich peasant from a neighboring village, is wooing me; my 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 at death if she doesn’t marry me off with her. Ah! Mother doesn’t know that I have such a sweet 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 can’t 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 errors. - 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. Lisa 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 it!.. Are you silent, Erast? Are you sighing?.. "Oh my God! What is it?" Meanwhile, lightning flashed and thunder roared. Lisa trembled all over. “Erast, Erast!” she said. “I’m scared! I’m afraid that the 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. “Oh, 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: I love you! Only in my heart... But that’s enough! Forgive me! Tomorrow, tomorrow I’ll 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 a hand, 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 its most tender pleasures, will, of course, agree with me that the fulfillment of all desires is 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 of which 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 an important matter,” 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; on the sixth day he came with a sad face and said: “Dear Liza! I must say goodbye to you for a while. You know that we are at war, I am in the service, my regiment is going on a 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 wherever God tells you! 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 willing! 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 your tears!" - “No, take care of yourself, Lisa, take care of your friend. I don’t want you to cry without me.” - “Cruel man! You think to deprive me of this joy! 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 would 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 also wanted to say goodbye to Liza’s mother, who could not hold back tears when she heard that her affectionate, handsome master was about to 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 once 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 for 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 for the last time, pressing her to his heart for the last time, said: “Forgive me, Liza!..” 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 poor, languid, sorrowful friend, 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 was moving away - further - further - and finally disappeared - the sun rose, and Lisa, abandoned, poor, fainted 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. “Ah!” 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, die with him, or die by my own.” "Save his precious life. Wait, wait, my dear! I'm flying 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 depths of the 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 said to her: “Lisa! Circumstances have changed; I was engaged to get married; you must leave me alone for your own peace of mind.” forget me. I loved you and now I love you, that is, I wish you every good thing. 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 him, 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 property. 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 would swallow up the poor woman!.. No! The sky doesn’t fall; the earth doesn’t shake! Woe to 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 plunged 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 it to her.” this money to mother - it is not stolen - tell her that Liza 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 kiss yours now, 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 see each other there in a new life, I will recognize you, gentle Lisa!
She was buried near a pond, under a gloomy oak tree, and a wooden cross was placed on 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 terrible death her daughter, and her blood cooled with horror - her eyes closed forever. The hut was 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!
Epigraph to the lesson: Living does not mean writing history, tragedy or comedy, but thinking, feeling and acting as best as possible, loving goodness, raising your soul to its source. N. M. Karamzin
“Near the Simonov Monastery there is a pond shaded by trees. 25 years before this I composed “Poor Liza” there. The influence of the story on contemporaries was so great that “thousands of curious people traveled and went to look for traces of the Lisins near the Simonov Monastery. »
“...and peasant women know how to love!” A. N. Radishchev N. M. Karamzin “Journey from “ Poor Lisa"St. Petersburg to Moscow" (chapter "Edrovo")
Idyll One of the genres ancient literature depicting peaceful virtues rural life against the backdrop of beautiful nature.
O. Kiprensky. Poor Lisa. The poetic image of Lisa is drawn as the embodiment of hard work, modesty, selfless, simple-minded gullibility and dedication. She is a devoted daughter, lovingly caring for her mother. This is the first heroine in Russian literature who, forgetting about duty and reason, went towards her feelings.
Psychologism The author’s deep penetration into the environment of the characters’ feelings in order to determine the laws mental life personality.
Sentimentalism Ø Art direction(current) in art and literature late XVIII – early XIX centuries. ØFrom French SENTIMENTAL - sensitive. Ø “An elegant image of the basic and everyday” (P. A. Vyazemsky.)
Sentimentalism Transitional (from classicism to romanticism) literary movement II half. XVIII – early XIX centuries. Sentimentalism declared the dominant " human nature"not reason, but feeling, and the path to the ideal is harmonious developed personality sought in the release and improvement of “natural” feelings.
Main features 1. Opening human psychology. 2. The feeling is proclaimed highest value. 3. Interest in to the common man, to the world of his feelings, to nature, to everyday life. 4. Idealization of reality, subjective image of the world. 5. Ideas of moral equality of people, organic connection with nature. 6. The work is often written in the first person (narrator - author), which gives it lyricism and poetry.
Comparative characteristics classicism and sentimentalism Line of comparison Classicism Sentimentalism Ideas Education in the spirit of loyalty to the state, the cult of reason The desire to represent the individual in the movement of the soul Topics Civil, social Love Heroes and characters Division into positive and negative heroes There is no straightforwardness in assessment, attention to ordinary people The role of landscape Auxiliary, conditional Means psychological characteristics
Problems of the story Problem of love Problem of fate and circumstances Problem of nature and man
The significance of the Simonov Monastery in the story “Poor Liza” The author emphasizes that the action takes place in Moscow and its environs, describes, for example, the Simonov Monastery, creating the illusion of authenticity. This was an innovation for Russian literature of that time: usually the action of the works took place “in one city.” The first readers of the story perceived Lisa's story as real tragedy contemporaries - it is no coincidence that the pond under the walls of the Simonov Monastery was named Lizin's Pond, and the fate of Karamzin's heroine received a lot of imitations. The oak trees growing around the pond were dotted with touching inscriptions (“In these streams, poor Lisa ended her days; If you are sensitive, passer-by, sigh!”). “…. here the image of the Mother of God puts his enemies to flight... . but most often what attracts me to the walls of the Simonov Monastery is the memory of the deplorable fate of Lisa, poor Lisa. Oh!. . . »
Karamzin’s landscape is not only the background of the action, but also a means of psychological characterization of the hero, a “mirror of the soul.” The entire love story of Lisa and Erast is immersed in a picture of the life of nature, constantly changing according to the stages of development of love feelings.
Heroes of the story Narrator The image of the narrator is included in the structure of the story as its full-fledged hero and actor, he is the only intermediary between the reader and the characters. The narrator of the story learns about Lisa’s story from Erast himself, worries about the fate of the heroes, his emotions are conveyed to the reader. The narrator seems sensitive, sad, joyful. The coexistence of the author and his hero in the same narrative space was not familiar to Russian literature before Karamzin.
Lisa The name of the heroine “who worships God.” Beautiful in soul, body, beautiful, hardworking, peasant woman. Lisa's feelings are distinguished by their depth, consistency, and selflessness. The poetic image of Lisa is drawn as the embodiment of hard work, modesty, selfless, simple-minded gullibility and dedication. She is a devoted daughter, lovingly caring for her mother. This is the first heroine in Russian literature who, forgetting about duty and reason, went towards her feelings. Read by Tatyana Telegina (02:50) O. A. Kiprensky, “Poor Liza”, 1827.
Erast The hero's name means “beloved.” A rich nobleman, with intelligence and kind hearted, led distracted life, thought only about his own pleasure. A. N. Fedorov. Erast. Illustration for the story “Poor Lisa”
Details emphasize the moral purity of the heroine. The image of Lisa is accompanied by a motif of whiteness, purity and freshness: on the day of her first meeting with Erast, she appears in Moscow with lilies of the valley in her hands. Read by Tatyana Telegina (01: 32)
FIRST MEETING …. Lisa came to Moscow with lilies of the valley. Young, good dressed man, pleasant looking, 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……. »
THE AUTHOR OBSERVES THE CHANGE OF LIZA'S FEELINGS Confusion Sadness Crazy joy Sad reflection Delight Fear Greatest anxiety Despair Shock SUICIDE
Love became a test for Erast. He knew his character poorly and overestimated his moral strength. Soon he “could no longer be content with pure embraces alone. He wanted more, more, and finally he couldn’t want anything.” Satiety sets in and a desire to free oneself from a boring connection sets in. His feeling is selfish.
LOVE IS A MORAL TEST OF HEROES Liza Erast Strength of character, ability to deep feeling, Tenderness, dedication, BUT RELIANCE Duality of nature, harmfulness of the environment, frivolity, selfishness. It seems to him that he has been resurrected for new feelings, but there is no depth. It is not the high, but the low, habitual feelings that win. The soul has not been cleansed of evil, it deceives Lisa.
In Erast's relationships, the author always emphasizes the motive of money. Every appearance of Erast on the pages of the story is connected with money. When he first meets Lisa, he wants to pay her a ruble for the lilies of the valley instead of five kopecks; when buying Liza’s work, he wants to “always pay ten times the price she sets”; before leaving for war, “he forced her to take some money from him.” Erast measures everything in money. Money is a symbol of insincere relationships. The leitmotif of money accompanies the image of the nobleman Erast, and not of poor Lisa. The heroine has no selfish intentions.
1. Karamzin shows that love plays big role V human life. 2. But he warns that the fulfillment of all desires is the most dangerous temptation in love, since this leads, if not to death, then to the most fatal changes. 3. In his opinion, reason is necessary CONCLUSIONS:
THE THEME OF REASON, REASON ERAST. She doesn’t think about anything, goes with the flow, makes idyllic plans for life with Lisa as her sister. LISA Thinks about her fate, but her mind is not allowed to triumph. NARRATOR Constantly in tension, he is close to the heroes, but cannot help them in any way. “Reasonable man, is reason always the king of your feelings? »
THEME OF MIND, REASON. What prevails in the relationship between Lisa and Erast? Feelings, not reason, are the cause of their troubles. If people are controlled by passions, then happiness and pleasure will be followed by retribution - punishment. “Oh, Lisa! Where is your guardian angel? "Conclusion: The moment of love, when you give yourself entirely to the feeling, is wonderful, but long life and strength of feelings is given by REASON.
THE PROBLEM OF FATE AND CIRCUMSTANCES Circumstances – Sum real reasons, they don’t have that hopelessness like rock. Erast is forced to join the army; marry a rich widow to improve his financial situation. ROCK - ? BUT, according to Karamzin, there are higher, fatal forces that pronounce their sentence on a person.
RESULT OF THOUGHTLESSNESS LIZA doomed herself for the fact that she thoughtlessly, recklessly loved, to PHYSICAL death. ERAST, for not keeping his vow to always be with Lisa, doomed himself to MORAL death: “he was unhappy until the end of his life.” The AUTHOR does not blame the heroes, but explains the reasons for their troubles, warns the reader about possible troubles if they forget about reason.
PROBLEM MAN AND NATURE Higher power presented in the image of nature: SHE 1. The embodiment of beauty. 2. The feeling mind (sympathizes, approves, condemns, warns, becomes an enemy). CONCLUSION: a person can be in harmony with nature, and he can also turn into a toy of terrible fatal forces.
“Poor Liza” was received by the Russian public with such enthusiasm because in this work Karamzin was the first to express the “new word” that Goethe said to the Germans in his “Werther”. The heroine’s suicide was such a “new word” in the story. The Russian public, accustomed in old novels to consoling endings in the form of weddings, who believed that virtue is always rewarded and vice is punished, met for the first time in this story the bitter truth of life. V. V. Sipovsky, philologist, professor, writer Read by Tatyana Telegina (01: 43)
Homework Answer the questions Option 1 1 Prove that “Poor Liza” is a work of sentimentalism. 2 What does the word “poor” mean in the title of the work? 3 Why couldn't the heroes be happy? social inequality was an obstacle to their happiness? Option 2 1 Do you think the author condemns his heroine for committing suicide? 2 How do you understand the meaning of Karamzin’s words: “And peasant women know how to love”? 3 Why do all Lisa and Erast’s dates take place against the backdrop of nature?
assicism Line of comparison Saint nalism Education of a person in the spirit of loyalty to the state, cult of reason Main idea Striving to represent human personality in the movements of the soul Civil, public Main theme Heroes and characters Love Strict division into positive and negative, single-linearity Auxiliary, conditional Role landscapes Tragedy, ode, epic; comedy, fable, satire Main genres Refusal of straightforwardness in assessing characters, attention to ordinary people Means of psychological characterization of heroes Tale, journey, novel in letters, diary, elegy, message, idyll
In the outskirts of Moscow, not far from the Simonov Monastery, there once lived a young girl Lisa with her old mother. After the death of Liza's father, a fairly wealthy villager, his wife and daughter became poor. The widow became weaker day by day and could not work. Liza alone, not sparing her tender youth and rare beauty, worked day and night - weaving canvases, knitting stockings, picking flowers in the spring, and berries in the summer and selling them in Moscow.
One spring, two years after her father’s death, Lisa came to Moscow with lilies of the valley. A young, well-dressed man met her on the street. Having learned that she was selling flowers, he offered her a ruble instead of five kopecks, saying that “beautiful lilies of the valley, plucked by the hands of a beautiful girl, are worth a ruble.” But Lisa refused the offered amount. He did not insist, but said that in the future he would always buy flowers from her and would like her to pick them only for him.
Arriving home, Lisa told her mother everything, and the next day she picked the best lilies of the valley and came to the city again, but young man I didn’t meet you this time. Throwing flowers into the river, she returned home with sadness in her soul. The next day in the evening the stranger himself came to her house. As soon as she saw him, Lisa rushed to her mother and excitedly told him who was coming to them. The old lady met the guest, and he seemed very kind to her and nice person. Erast—that was the young man’s name—confirmed that he was going to buy flowers from Lisa in the future, and she didn’t have to go into town: he could stop by to see them himself.
Erast was a rather rich nobleman, with a fair amount of intelligence and a naturally kind heart, but weak and flighty. He led an absent-minded life, thought only about his own pleasure, looked for it in secular amusements, and not finding it, he was bored and complained about fate. At the first meeting, Lisa’s immaculate beauty shocked him: it seemed to him that in her he found exactly what he had been looking for for a long time.
This was the beginning of their long dates. Every evening they saw each other either on the river bank, or in a birch grove, or under the shade of hundred-year-old oak trees. They hugged, but their hugs were pure and innocent.
Several weeks passed like this. It seemed that nothing could interfere with their happiness. But one evening Lisa came to a date sad. It turned out that the groom, the son of a rich peasant, was wooing her, and her mother wanted her to marry him. Erast, consoling Lisa, said that after his mother’s death he would take her to him and live with her inseparably. But Lisa reminded the young man that he could never be her husband: she was a peasant woman, and he noble family. You offend me, said Erast, for your friend the most important thing is your soul, a sensitive, innocent soul, you will always be closest to my heart. Lisa threw herself into his arms - and at this hour her integrity was to perish.
The delusion passed in one minute, giving way to surprise and fear. Lisa cried saying goodbye to Erast.
Their dates continued, but how everything changed! Lisa was no longer an angel of purity for Erast; platonic love gave way to feelings that he could not be “proud of” and which were not new to him. Lisa noticed a change in him, and it saddened her.
Once during a date, Erast told Lisa that he was being drafted into the army; they will have to part for a while, but he promises to love her and hopes to never part with her upon his return. It is not difficult to imagine how hard it was for Lisa to be separated from her beloved. However, hope did not leave her, and every morning she woke up with the thought of Erast and their happiness upon his return.
About two months passed like this. One day Lisa went to Moscow and on one of the big streets she saw Erast passing by in a magnificent carriage, which stopped near a huge house. Erast came out and was about to go out onto the porch, when he suddenly felt himself in Lisa’s arms. He turned pale, then, without saying a word, led her into the office and locked the door. Circumstances have changed, he announced to the girl, he is engaged.
Before Lisa could come to her senses, he took her out of the office and told the servant to escort her out of the yard.
Finding herself on the street, Lisa walked wherever she looked, unable to believe what she heard. She left the city and wandered for a long time until she suddenly found herself on the shore of a deep pond, under the shadow of ancient oak trees, which several weeks before had been silent witnesses to her delight. This memory shocked Lisa, but after a few minutes she fell into deep thought. Seeing a neighbor's girl walking along the road, she called her, took all the money out of her pocket and gave it to her, asking her to give it to her mother, kiss her and ask her to forgive her. poor daughter. Then she threw herself into the water, and they could no longer save her.
Liza’s mother, having learned about the terrible death of her daughter, could not withstand the blow and died on the spot. Erast was unhappy until the end of his life. He did not deceive Lisa when he told her that he was going to the army, but, instead of fighting the enemy, he played cards and lost his entire fortune. He had to marry an elderly rich widow who had been in love with him for a long time. Having learned about Liza’s fate, he could not console himself and considered himself a murderer. Now, perhaps, they have already reconciled.
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin
Poor Lisa
Source of text: Karamzin N. M. Selected works: In 2 vols. --M.; L.: Artist. lit., 1964. Perhaps no one living in Moscow knows the outskirts 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 on the right side almost the whole of Moscow, this terrible mass of houses and churches, which appears to the eye in the form 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 fertile countries of the Russian Empire and supply 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 thus shorten 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 the 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 most often what attracts me to the walls of the Sin...nova 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 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 weaker 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 canvas, knitting stockings, picking flowers in the spring, and picking berries in the summer - and sold them in Moscow. Sensitive, kind old lady, seeing her daughter’s tirelessness, she 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 with,” said Lisa, “you fed me with your breasts and followed me when I was a child; now it’s my turn to follow you. Just stop being upset, stop crying; our tears will not revive 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 cheerful; I will probably be cheerful when I see your father. Only now I don’t want to die - What will happen to you without me? Who will I leave you with? No, God grant that I find you a place first! Maybe I’ll find you soon a kind person. Then, having blessed you, my dear children, I will cross myself and calmly lie down in the damp earth." Two years passed after the death of Lizin's father. The meadows were covered with flowers, and Liza came to Moscow with lilies of the valley. A young, well-dressed, pleasant-looking man met her at 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, dared to look at the young man, 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 by the hand: "Where are you going, girl?" - "Home." - " Where is your house?" Lisa said where she lives, said 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. Lisa, having arrived home, told her mother, what 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 is better to feed yourself by your labors and not take anything for nothing. You don’t know yet, my friend, how evil people They might offend the 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." Tears welled up in Lisa’s eyes; she kissed her mother. The next day Lisa picked the best lilies of the valley and again went with them to the city. Her eyes were quietly searching for something. Many wanted to buy flowers from her, but she answered 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 can own you!" said Lisa, feeling some kind of sadness in her heart. The next day in the evening she sat under the window, spinning and in a quiet voice sang plaintive songs, but suddenly jumped up" and shouted: "Ah! in a timid voice, - I just saw him." - "Who?" - "That gentleman who bought flowers from me." The old woman looked out the window. The young man bowed to her so politely, with such pleasant view that she could think nothing but good things about him. “Hello, good old lady,” he said. “I’m 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, and wiped it with a white towel , poured it and served it out the window, but she herself looked 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 the lightning flashes and disappears in the cloud, as quickly her blue eyes turn 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 myself I can come 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 day 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 is a gentleman, and among the peasants...” Lisa did not 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 her arms, to her 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 drink in 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. Liza 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 would be friendly: “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 Lisa and - her dream was partly fulfilled: for he looked at her with an affectionate look, took her behind 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 Liza!” said Erast. “Dear Liza! 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 with not much space left 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. “Oh, Erast!” she said. “Will you always love me?” - “Always, dear Lisa, always!” - he answered. “And can you swear to me 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 cannot be?” - “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 river bank, or in a 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!” said Lisa to her mother, who had just woken up. “Oh, mother! What a wonderful morning! How fun everything is in the field! Never have the larks sung so well, never has the sun shone so brightly, never have the flowers They didn’t smell nice!” 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 really seemed to her extremely pleasant; the kind daughter cheered up her whole nature with her joy. “Oh, Liza!” she said. “How good everything is with the Lord God! I’m sixty years old in this world, and I still can’t get enough of God’s works, I can’t get enough of the clear sky, like a tall tent, and the earth.” ", which every year is covered with new grass and new flowers. The king of heaven must love a person very much when he has taken away the local light so well for him. Oh, Liza! Who would want to die if sometimes we did not 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) - oak trees 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 pure. “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 feels so good, so good that I forget myself, forget everything except Erast. It’s wonderful! It’s wonderful, my friend, that without knowing you, I could live calmly and cheerfully! Now I don’t understand it, 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 singing nightingale is boring; without your breath the breeze is unpleasant to me." Erast admired his shepherdess—that’s what he called Liza—and, seeing how much she loved him, he seemed more kind to himself. All the brilliant amusements of the great world seemed insignificant to him in comparison with the pleasures with which the passionate friendship of an innocent soul nourished 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, but it seems to me that seeing you is a great blessing 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. “Ah! We could never look at each other enough - until that 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, Liza! What happened to you?" - “Oh, Erast! I cried!” - "About what? What is it?" - “I must tell you everything. The groom, the son of a rich peasant from a neighboring village, is wooing me; my mother wants me to marry him.” - "And you agree?" - “Cruel! Can you ask about this? Yes, I feel sorry for my mother; she cries and says that I don’t want her peace of mind, that she will suffer in death if she doesn’t marry me to her. Ah! 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 can’t be my husband!” - said Lisa 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 was 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 - Liza 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. Lisa 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 it!.. Are you silent, Erast? Are you sighing? .. My God! What is it?" Meanwhile, lightning flashed and thunder roared. Lisa trembled all over. “Erast, Erast!” she said. “I’m scared! I’m afraid that the thunder will kill me like a criminal!” The storm roared menacingly, rain poured from black clouds - it seemed that nature was lamenting about Lisia’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. “Oh, 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 completely! Forgive me! Tomorrow, tomorrow I’ll 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 a hand, 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 its most tender pleasures, will, of course, agree with me that the fulfillment of all desires is 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 of which 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 would tell her: “Tomorrow, Liza, I can’t see you: I have an important matter to attend to,” 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; on the sixth day he came with a sad face and said: “Dear Liza! I must say goodbye to you for a while. You know that we are at war, I am in the service, my regiment is going on a 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 wherever God tells you! 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 willing! 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 your tears!" - “No, take care of yourself, Lisa, take care of your friend. I don’t want you to cry without me.” - “Cruel man! You think to deprive me of this joy! 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 would 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 also wanted to say goodbye to Liza’s mother, who could not hold back tears when she heard that her affectionate, handsome master was about to 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 once 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 have come 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 for the last time, 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 poor, languid, sorrowful friend, who, saying goodbye to him, said goodbye to her soul. All nature remained in silence. Lisa sobbed - Erast cried - left her - she fell - knelt down, raised her hands to the sky and looked at Erast, who was moving away - further - further - and finally disappeared - the sun shone, and Liza, 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 what was dear to her heart. “Ah! - 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'm flying 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 on, her days were days of melancholy and the sorrow that had to be hidden from the tender mother: all the more did her heart suffer! Then it was only relieved when Lisa, secluded in the density of the forest, could freely shed tears and moan about separation from her beloved. Often the sad turtle dove combined her 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 , with which her mother treated her eyes. On one of the large streets she met a magnificent carriage, and in this carriage she saw Erast. “Ah!” Liza screamed and rushed to him, but the carriage drove past and turned into the yard. Erast went out and was about to go to the porch of the huge house, when he suddenly felt himself in Liza’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: “Liza! 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: “Show this girl out 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 him, 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 property. 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 the sky would fall on me! If the earth would swallow up the poor woman!.. No! The sky doesn’t fall; the earth doesn’t shake! Woe to 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 Liza is guilty against her, that I hid from her my love for one cruel man - to E... Why know his name? - Tell me that he cheated on me - ask her to forgive me - God will be her helper, kiss her hand the way I kiss yours now, 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 see each other there in a new life, I will recognize you, gentle Lisa! She was buried near a pond, under a gloomy oak tree, and a wooden cross was placed on 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 was 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! 1792