The story "Childhood" became the first work of 24-year-old Leo Tolstoy and immediately opened the way for him not only in Russian, but also in world literature. The young writer sent it to the editor-in-chief of the then most famous literary magazine Sovremennik, Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov, along with money in case the manuscript was returned, but the poet could not help but see that the creation of a real talent fell into his hands. Although Tolstoy's subsequent books brought him even greater fame, Childhood did not fade in the least in comparison with them. There was depth, moral purity, and wisdom in the work.
The main character of the work is 10-year-old Nikolenka Irteniev. The boy grows up in a noble family in a rural estate, he is surrounded by the closest and most beloved people: a teacher, brother, sister, parents, nanny.
Readers get acquainted with the world of Nikolai through his story, and many of his actions are analyzed by a young man who has already grown up, but for whom childhood memories are so vivid that he carried them through many years. And they form the personality. Already on early stages growing up it becomes quite clear what you will be.
What can be said about Nicholas? He is smart but lazy, so learning doesn't always go smoothly. However, the boy's conscientiousness and kindness fully compensate for the lack of diligence. He is very attached to close people, subtly feels their mood. Especially touching is his tenderness for his mother. In addition, he is prone to prudence and reflection: he likes to delve into himself, sort through thoughts and feelings. But a firm character has not yet developed in him: for example, he follows the lead of a friend and commits a low deed.
In little Nikolai there was all the best that later formed an adult personality. But he laments, where have gone the purity and sensitivity, which were in abundance in childhood, and which he does not find in himself today? Have they disappeared without a trace? No, it's just that in a world where emotions are usually restrained, sincere impulses were locked deep in the soul.
Karl Ivanovich
Tolstoy dedicates the first chapter of the story to the teacher, Karl Ivanovich, whom little Nikolai loves very much, although he is sometimes angry with him like a child. The boy sees the good heart of the mentor, feels his great affection, he describes him as a person with a clear conscience and a calm soul. The pupil feels sorry for his dear teacher and sincerely wishes him happiness. His heart responds to the old man's feelings.
But Kolya is not at all perfect, it happens that he gets angry, scolds his teacher or nanny to himself, does not want to study, thinks a lot about himself and puts his “I” above others, participates in bullying along with others over Ilenka Grap. But who didn't do the same as a child? The reader will recognize himself in many ways: how he wants to grow up as soon as possible and stop doing his homework, how he dreams of becoming handsome, because then it is very important, as any mistake is perceived as a tragedy. Therefore, the teacher was characterized by patience and restraint, as well as a sense of humor and sincere affection for the boy.
Mother
Nikolai is a very sensitive child, he loved his mother very much, but he only remembers her kind eyes, affection and love. Just to be with her, to feel the touch of her hands, to thrill from her tenderness was real happiness for him. She died early, it was then that his childhood ended. The grown-up hero thinks that if he could see maman's smile in the most difficult moments of his life, he would never know grief.
A ten-year-old boy has a very rich inner life, selfishness and love for loved ones, good and evil often fight in it, and yet the morality already laid down helps to make the right human choice already in the subconscious. It has a lot of conscience and shame. He very deeply analyzes his feelings, any of their external manifestations are often supported by an internal contradiction. Nikolai notices that his tears bring him pleasure, that, having lost his mother, he grieves as if for show. His prayers are always for the health and well-being of loved ones, for mom and dad, for poor Karl Ivanovich, he asks God to give happiness to everyone. It is in this compassionate impulse that the influence of the mother is manifested, to whom the writer does not pay much attention. He shows her through his son, a kind soul did not sink into oblivion when the body died, she remained on earth in a child who adopted her responsiveness and tenderness.
Dad
Nikolenka also loves her father very much, but this feeling is different from tenderness for her mother. Dad is an undoubted authority, although we see a person with many shortcomings in front of us: he is a player, a spendthrift, a womanizer.
But the hero talks about all this without any condemnation, he is proud of his father, considering him a knight. Although dad is undoubtedly stricter, tougher than mom, he has the same kind heart and boundless love for children.
Natalya Savishna
This is an elderly woman who is in the service of Nikolai's family (she was his mother's nanny). She is a serf, like the other servants. Natalya Savishna is kind and modest, her look expressed "calm sadness." In her younger years she was a plump and healthy girl, but in her old age she was hunched over and haggard. Her hallmark is selflessness. She devoted all her strength to caring for the master's family. Nikolai often speaks of her diligence, diligence, good morals.
The main character trusted the old woman with his experiences, because her sincerity and honesty were undeniable. She is proud only of the fact that she has never stolen from the masters, so they entrust her with the most responsible affairs. The heroine's love for the whole family was all the more surprising, because Nikolenka's grandfather forbade her to marry her beloved. However, she did not hold a grudge.
Sonya, Katya and Serezha
Kolya is still at the age when playing Robinson, where you can swim along an imaginary river, go hunting in the forest with a stick-gun, brings pleasure, without such childishness it is difficult for him to imagine his life.
The hero describes a not very long period of his childhood, but manages to fall in love three times: with Katenka, Seryozha and Sonya. These are completely different feelings, but they are childishly pure and naive. Love for Seryozha made him imitate and bow before him, and this led to a very cruel act. Nikolai did not stand up for Ilenka Grapa, whom they had unfairly offended, although he could sympathize even with a wounded bird. As an adult, he considers this the most unpleasant memory of a bright happy childhood. He is very ashamed of his callousness and rudeness. Love for Katya was a very tender feeling, he kissed her hand twice and burst into tears from overflowing emotions. She was something very sweet and dear to him.
The feeling for Sonya was very bright, made him different: confident, handsome and very charming. It instantly overwhelmed him all, everything that was before her became insignificant.
Nikolai's childhood plunges every reader into his bright memories and gives hope that the kindness, love, purity that was there cannot completely disappear. She lives in us, we should just not forget that happy time.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!) was the first attempt in Russian literature to portray the history of the internal development of the child, the history of his soul. The subject of reproduction in this case was the author himself in his past, the material for him were numerous memories of his own childhood life, very vividly preserved in memory, thanks to Tolstoy's artistic observation. And subsequently, he penetratingly and truthfully depicted the internal states of other people, natures completely alien to him, performing the so-called miracle of artistic transformation, imagining the events of people's spiritual life as they actually happen, with all their characteristic details, by the power of creative imagination.
Childhood. Adolescence. Youth. Screen adaptation of the trilogy by L. N. Tolstoy (1973)
The hero of the story "Childhood" is Nikolenka Irteniev - a boy with a peculiar, gifted, remarkable nature. Some forces still unclear to himself are ripening in him, some kind of vocation awaits him, preparing for him a special fate. The childhood of such an exceptional child cannot pass as it does in the children of the rest, the special properties of the still undecided nature mostly create collisions between him and the environment, and the childhood years of such people are rarely happy. We see the same thing in Nikolenka's childhood.
Painfully impressionable, always immersed in his thoughts, reflections and observations of the life around him, the boy grows up lonely, self-absorbed and quiet. He is completely unaware of that carefree joy of existence, those selfless games and fleeting light impressions with which the existence of cheerful children is usually full. The work of thought began for him from the first years of his conscious life; the stamp of his spiritual vocation marked him. The boy is busy not with the external, surrounding world, like children, but with his inner world.
He grasps the impressions of the environment very deeply and takes them into his inner world and there he experiences again, vaguely pondering their meaning. He notices the unspoken and unexpressed, which is hidden behind words and external manifestations in the relationship of father and mother, servants, etc. it has immediacy, childish cheerfulness, as well as simplicity and freedom in dealing with other people. Nikolenka Irteniev is shy, proud, secretive, he jealously watches his every step and word, afraid to say or do something that will drop him in the eyes of others, despairs of his mistake and painfully envies the simplicity, freedom and beautiful dexterity of others cheerful and loved by all children.
The tendency to analyze his actions is aggravated in him by a still sharply developed aesthetic sense; the boy has subtle feeling beauty, and he is all the more frightened by what seems to him ugly in himself, surrendering at the same time to selfless delight in others, in whom he sees features of beauty. Nikolenka said from childhood that he was ugly, and awkwardness and embarrassment further emphasized the funny side of this little philosopher, with protruding hair and ears and an intelligent look in his eyes. But along with all this, a passionate thirst for love lives in him, the need for tenderness, affection, the desire to give himself to something with all his heart. In the family, the atmosphere is rather cold: a sickly, quiet mother pays little attention to children, the father is partly immersed in business. Agriculture, partly into secular life, the children are left to the care of teachers and servants. To transfer his need to love Nikolenka to his friend, Seryozha Ivin, who, with his beauty, dexterity and independence, caressed his aesthetic sense and seemed to him the ideal of a person.
This story of Nikolenka's childhood experiences also shows in him another characteristic feature of him: a great power of imagination. Living in his inner world, the boy creates for himself pictures of an imaginary life in which all the insults and all the dissatisfaction of real life were compensated by the exploits and heroism created by fantasy. Under the influence of the moral upheavals and disappointments suffered, this ability flared up in the child with particular force, and he devoted himself entirely to the pictures of his imagination, under the influence of which he rejoiced or cried (for example, sitting in a punishment cell).
Nikolai Petrovich Irteniev - the main character of the story "Childhood" by L. N. Tolstoy, a ten-year-old boy from a noble family. This is a cheerful, kind and well-mannered boy who grows up in love and care. Not only parents take part in his upbringing, but also nanny Natalya Savishna, and teacher Karl Ivanovich. He loves his parents very much and is proud of them. In his eyes are the most beautiful and sincere loving people. Mother for him is the source of all beauty. When thinking of her, he always imagines her kind smile and the sweet sounds of her voice. Nikolenka's love for her mother was akin to love for God.
Feelings for other people occupy a special place in his life. The good disposition of the boy is also manifested during the games of the neighboring children. He sympathizes with the sickly Ilenka Grap from a poor family. In the village, he treats Katenka with love, in Moscow he is literally in love with Sonechka Valakhina. He likes to meet new children, for example, relatives of the Ivins. Nikolenka Irteniev is a peculiar boy, even an outstanding one. He learned early to distinguish falsehood and does not like deception. By nature, he is contradictory and observant. For his grandmother's birthday, he wrote poetry and was very excited when they were read aloud.
He recalls the happy time spent in the countryside with longing and with a smile. Nikolenka's childhood ended with the death of her mother. Having lost the most beloved person in the world, he ceased to be small. The Irtenev family moved to Moscow, but every time he was in the village, he visited his mother's grave.
Trilogy L.N. Tolstoy "Childhood. Adolescence. Youth"
Tolstoy thought over this trilogy very carefully. It was important for him to express his thoughts about Russian life, Russian society, and literature. Therefore, in these works everything is very important, there is nothing unnecessary - Tolstoy thought through every detail, every scene, every word. Its task is to show the development of a person's personality, the formation of his character, beliefs. We see the main character, Nikolenka Irtenev, in different periods his life. This is childhood, adolescence and youth. Tolstoy chose these periods because they are the most important in a person's life. In childhood, the child is aware of his connection with the family and the world, he is very sincere and naive; in adolescence, the world expands, new acquaintances occur, a person learns to interact with other people; in youth there is an awareness of oneself as a unique personality, separation from the surrounding world. Nikolenka also goes through all these stages.
The writer constructed the scene of action in such a way that it coincided with his main idea. The action of the first book takes place in the Irtenevs' estate - the boy's home; in the second book the hero visits many other places; finally, in the third book, the hero's relationship with the outside world comes to the fore. And here the theme of the family is very important.
The theme of the family is the leading theme of the trilogy. It is the connection with the family, with the house that strongly affects the main character. Tolstoy deliberately shows in each part some sad event in the Irtenev family: in the first part, Nikolenka's mother dies, and this destroys harmony; in the second part, the grandmother, who was Nikolenka's support, dies; in the third part, the stepmother appears, the new wife of the father. So gradually, but inevitably, Nikolenka enters the world of adult relationships. I think he is getting angry.
The story in the trilogy is told in the first person. But this is not written by Nikolenka himself, but by the already adult Nikolai Irtenyev, who recalls his childhood. In Tolstoy's time, all memoirs were written in the first person. In addition, the story in the first person brings the author and the hero closer together, so the trilogy can be called autobiographical. In many ways, in this book, Tolstoy writes about himself, about the maturation of his soul. After the release of the entire trilogy, the writer admitted that he had departed from his initial plan.
In the trilogy, six years from the life of Irtenev pass before us, but they are not described day by day. Tolstoy shows the most important moments of the boy's fate. Each chapter carries an idea. They follow each other so as to convey the development of the hero, his emotions and feelings. Tolstoy chooses circumstances in such a way that they show the character of the hero brightly and strongly. So, Nikolenka finds herself in the face of death, and here conventions do not matter.
Tolstoy characterizes his heroes through a description of their appearance, manners, behavior, because this is how the inner world of heroes is manifested. Even a foreign language serves to characterize the hero: aristocrats speak French, the teacher Karl Ivanovich speaks broken Russian and German, ordinary people speak Russian.
All this allowed L.N. Tolstoy to analyze the psychology of the child and adolescent. In the trilogy, the inner world of a person and the external environment are constantly compared.
Characteristics of the characters in the trilogy of Leo Tolstoy “Childhood. Adolescence. Youth"
Characteristics of the image of Irteniev Nikolenka (Nikolai Petrovich)
Irteniev Nikolenka (Nikolai Petrovich)- The main character on whose behalf the story is being told. Nobleman, Count. From a noble aristocratic family. The image is autobiographical. The trilogy shows the process of internal growth and formation of the personality of N., his relationship with the people around him and the world, the process of comprehending reality and himself, the search peace of mind and the meaning of life. N. appears before the reader through his perception different people with which one way or another confronts his life.
« Childhood ". N.'s story is ten years old. Among his dominant features are shyness, which brings the hero a lot of suffering, a desire to be loved and introspection. The hero knows that he does not shine with his appearance and they even find moments of despair on him: it seems to him that “there is no happiness on earth for a person with such a wide nose, thick lips and small gray eyes.” Acquaintance with the hero occurs at the moment of his awakening, when his tutor Karl Ivanovich wakes him up. Already here, in the first scene of the story, one of the main features of Tolstoy's writing is manifested - psychological analysis, the famous "dialectics of the soul", about which N. G. Chernyshevsky wrote in an article devoted to the trilogy and military stories of Tolstoy, and which will be developed in his future essays. Several large (the death of the mother, moving to Moscow and the countryside) and small (grandmother's birthday, guests, games, first love and friendships, etc.) events take place in the story, thanks to which the writer manages to look deeper into the soul of the hero.
Perfectly conveying child psychology, Tolstoy depicts little N. acutely perceiving not only the surrounding nature, but also childishly vividly and directly responding to the troubles of people close to him. So, he sympathizes with the tutor Karl Ivanych, whom his father decided to fire. Tolstoy describes in detail the state of mind of the hero. “After praying, you used to wrap yourself in a blanket; the soul is light, light and gratifying; some dreams drive others, but what are they about? they are elusive, but filled with pure love and hope for bright happiness.” N.'s childhood - the time of maximum life fullness and harmony, carelessness and strength of faith, innocent gaiety and boundless need for love - is drawn by the writer with a feeling of undisguised tenderness.
« adolescence ". Adolescence, according to the narrator, begins for him with the death of his mother. He speaks of it as a "desert", where there are rarely "minutes of a true warm feeling, so brightly and constantly illuminating the beginning of my life." The maturing N. begins to attend questions that until then did not bother him at all - about the lives of other people. Until now, the world revolved around him alone, and now his view is gradually beginning to change. The impetus for this is a conversation with the daughter of Mimi's mother's friend Katenka, who is brought up with the Irtenyevs, who talks about the difference between them: the Irtenyevs are rich, they are poor with their mother. The hero is now interested in how others live, “if they don’t care about us at all ?., how and with what they live, how they raise their children, do they teach them, are they allowed to play, how are they punished? etc.". For the writer, this process of gradual opening of individualistic isolation on oneself alone is extremely important - both from a psychological and moral point of view, although in the story he does not evaluate it as a sin, since, in his opinion, children's egoism is, so to speak, a natural phenomenon, as, however, and social - a consequence of education in aristocratic families. N.'s relations with other people are also becoming more complicated, primarily with his brother Volodya, who is only a year and a few months older than him, but this gap seems much larger: the brother uncontrollably moves away from N., causing him a bitter sense of loss, jealousy and a constant desire to look into his world (the scene of the destruction of N.'s brother's jewelry collection, which he overturns along with the table). His likes and dislikes become sharper and more contradictory (the episode with the tutor St.-Jerom (oM), his self-awareness, analyzed in detail by the author. does not have such a striking influence on the direction of a person as his appearance, and not so much the appearance itself, but the belief in its attractiveness or unattractiveness. "The hero describes his appearance as follows:" I am much shorter than Volodya, broad-shouldered and fleshy, still bad and still tormented by this, I try to seem original. One thing consoles me: this is what my dad once said about me that I have a smart mug, and I quite believe in it.
It was during this period that “abstract questions about the purpose of a person, about the future life, about the immortality of the soul ...” become the “favorite and most constant subjects” of the hero’s thoughts. Tolstoy emphasizes that in solving them, N. comprehends the impotence of the mind, falls into a hopeless circle of analysis of his thoughts, at the same time losing willpower, freshness of feeling and clarity of mind (which will subsequently affect the general concept of the writer's personality). At the same time, N.'s first real friendship was established with Dmitry Nekhlyudov, under whose influence N. came to "an enthusiastic adoration of the ideal of virtue and the conviction that a person is destined to constantly improve."
« Youth ". N. - almost seventeen. He reluctantly prepares for university. His main passion is the desire for moral improvement, which now gives food not only to the mind, awakening new thoughts, but also to feelings, prompting its active implementation. The hero, however, is soberly aware of the sharp contradiction between the wonderful plans of a morally active life and its present "petty, confused and idle order." Dreams are replacing reality. At the heart of them, as the hero reports, are four feelings: love for an imaginary woman; the love of love, that is, the desire to be loved; hope for extraordinary, vainglorious happiness and expectation as a result of this of something magically happy; self-loathing and remorse, consisting in hatred of the past and a longing for perfection. The hero makes rules of life and tries to follow them. His whole life during this period passes in a series of falls and rebirths.
The hero enters the mathematical faculty of the university, his father gives him a droshky with a horse, and he goes through the first temptations of the consciousness of his own adulthood and independence, which, however, lead to disappointment. Reading novels (especially in summer) and comparing himself with their heroes, N. begins to try to be "as much as possible comme il faut" (he calls this concept "one of the most pernicious, false notions instilled in me by upbringing and society”), that is, meet a number of conditions: excellent knowledge French, especially pronunciation, long and clean nails; "the ability to bow, dance and talk"; “indifference to everything and the constant expression of a certain graceful contemptuous boredom”, etc. It is this concept, as Tolstoy emphasizes, that is the reason for the hero’s false prejudice towards other people, primarily towards the students studying with him, who are not only no less intelligent, than he, but they also know much more, although they fall far short of the criteria he has chosen. The ending of the story is N.'s failure in the exam in mathematics and expulsion from the university. The hero again decides to write the rules of life and never do anything wrong.
Characteristics of the image of St.-Jerome
St.-Jerome- French, tutor of the Irtenevs. At first, his relationship with Nikolenka does not add up, it seems to the boy that he has “no other goal in life than the desire to punish” him. In the episode at the grandmother's name day, the hero punishes the naughty Nikolenka, and he, who at first fought back, and then is still locked in the closet, imagines how and with what he could take revenge on the tormentor. The hero becomes the object of irreconcilable hatred on the part of the pupil. One of the methods of educating S. is that, “straightening his chest and making a majestic gesture with his hand, he shouted in a tragic voice: “A genoux, mauvais sujet!” Subsequently, their relationship gradually improved. “Now discussing this man in cold blood, I find that he was a good Frenchman, but a Frenchman in the highest degree. He was not stupid, quite well educated and conscientiously fulfilled his duty towards us, but he had common to all his fellow countrymen and so opposite to the Russian character the distinctive features of frivolous egoism, vanity, insolence and ignorant self-confidence.
Characteristics of the image of Grandmother
Grandmother- the countess, one of the most important figures in the trilogy, as if representing the past majestic era (like Prince Ivan Ivanovich). Image B, fanned by universal reverence and respect. She knows how to give a word or intonation to understand her attitude towards a person, which for many others is a decisive criterion. The narrator portrays her not so much with the help of static characteristics, but through the description of her interaction with other characters who arrive to congratulate her on her name day, her reactions and words. B. seems to feel his strength and power, his special significance. After the death of her daughter, Nikolenka's mother, she falls into despair. Nikolenka catches her at the moment when she is talking to the deceased as if she were alive. Despite the importance of the old woman, he considers her kind and cheerful, but her love for her grandchildren is especially intensified after the death of their mother. Nevertheless, the narrator compares her with a simple old woman, housekeeper Natalya Savishna, finding that the latter had a greater influence on his worldview.
Characteristics of the image of Valkhina Sonechka
Valahina Sonechka- the daughter of an acquaintance of the Irtenyevs, Mrs. Valakhina. Nikolenka meets her at her grandmother's birthday party and immediately falls in love. Here is his first impression: “... A wonderful twelve-year-old girl in a short open muslin dress, white pantaloons and tiny black shoes came out of the muffled person. There was a black velvet ribbon on her white neck; her head was all in dark blond curls, which went so well in front to her beautiful swarthy face, and in the back to her bare shoulders ... ”He dances a lot with S, makes her laugh in every possible way and is jealous of other boys. In Youth, Nikolenka, after a long separation, meets again with S, who has grown ugly, but "the charming bulging eyes and a bright, good-natured cheerful smile were the same." The grown-up Nikolenka, whose feelings require food, is again carried away by it.
Characteristics of the image of Semenov
Semenov- a rogue student. Entered the university together with Nikolenka. For a month he carefully went to lectures, and then went on a spree and at the end of the course did not show up at the university at all. He enjoys special respect among students, they look at him "with some kind of even horror." The narrator describes the original end of his "revelry": C, in order to pay off his debts, voluntarily sells himself into recruits. From the barracks, he sends Zukhin a debt and a note. Students go to him there. Nikolenka describes his appearance as follows: “It was he, with gray hair cut to a comb, a shaved blue forehead and with his usual gloomy and energetic expression on his face.” He keeps himself open and simple, holding out his big black hand to everyone, and then tells Zukhin about his "strange, incomprehensible adventures."
Characteristics of the image of Grapa Ilinka
Grap Ilinka- the son of a foreigner who once lived with the grandfather of the Irtenevs, was obliged to him for something and considered it his duty to send them I. "A boy of about thirteen, thin, tall, pale, with a bird's face and a good-natured submissive expression." They pay attention to him only when they want to laugh at him. This character - a participant in one of the games of the Ivins and Irtenevs - suddenly becomes the object of general mockery, ending with him crying, and his hunted appearance painfully affects everyone. The narrator's recollection of him is associated with remorse and, according to him, is the only dark spot of his childhood. “How did I not approach him, protect him and comfort him?” he asks himself. Later, I., like the narrator, enters the university. Nikolenka admits that he is so used to looking down on him that he is somewhat unpleasant that he is the same student, and he refuses father I.'s request to allow his son to spend the day with the Irtenevs. From the moment of entering the university, I., however, comes out from under the influence of Nikolenka and keeps up with a constant challenge.
Characteristics of the image of Grisha
Grisha- wanderer, holy fool. "A man of about fifty, with a pale oblong face pitted with smallpox, long gray hair and a sparse reddish beard." Very tall. “His voice was rough and hoarse, his movements hurried and uneven, his speech was meaningless and incoherent (he never used pronouns), but the accents were so touching, and his yellow ugly face sometimes took on such an openly sad expression that, listening to him, it was impossible to resist from some mixed feeling of regret, fear and sadness. The main thing known about him is that he goes barefoot in winter and summer, visits monasteries, gives icons to those he loves, and speaks mysterious words that are taken for predictions. To see the pood chains that he wears on himself, the children peep how he undresses before going to bed, they see how selflessly he prays, evoking a feeling of tenderness in the narrator: “Oh, great Christian Grisha! Your faith was so strong that you felt the closeness of God, your love is so great that the words poured out of your mouth by themselves - you did not believe them with your mind ... "
Characteristics of the image of Dubkov
Dubkov- adjutant, friend of Volodya Irtenyev. “... A small wiry brunette, no longer the first youth and a little short-legged, but not bad-looking and always cheerful. He was one of those narrow-minded people who are especially pleasant precisely because of their narrow-mindedness, who are unable to see objects from different angles and who are always carried away. The judgments of these people are one-sided and erroneous, but always sincere and fascinating. A big fan of champagne, trips to women, playing cards and other entertainments.
Characteristics of the image of Avdotya Vasilievna Epifanova
Epifanova Avdotya Vasilievna- a neighbor of the Irtenyevs, then the second wife of Pyotr Aleksandrovich Irtenyev, Ni-Kolenka's father. The narrator notes her passionate, devoted love for her husband, which, however, does not in the least prevent her from loving to dress beautifully and go out into the world. Strange, playful relations are established between her and the young Irtenevs (with the exception of Lyubochka, who fell in love with her stepmother, who reciprocates her feelings), hiding the absence of any kind of relationship. Nikolenka is surprised at the contrast between that young, healthy, cold, cheerful beauty that Y. appears before the guests, and an elderly, exhausted, yearning woman, sloppy and bored without guests. It is her slovenliness that robs her of her final respect as a storyteller. About her love for her father, he remarks: “The only purpose of her life was to acquire the love of her husband; but she did, it seemed, on purpose everything that could be unpleasant for him, and everything with the aim of proving to him the full strength of her love and readiness for self-sacrifice. E.'s relationship with her husband becomes a subject of special attention for the narrator, since the “family thought” already occupies Tolstoy at the time of the creation of the autobiographical trilogy and will be developed in his subsequent writings. He sees that in their relationship begins to appear "a feeling of quiet hatred, that restrained disgust for the object of affection, which is expressed by an unconscious desire to do all possible minor moral troubles to this object."
Characteristics of the image of Zukhin
Zukhin- Nikolenka's comrade at the university. He is eighteen years old. Passionate, receptive, active, riotous nature, full of energy and energy wasted in revelry. Drinks from time to time. The narrator meets him at a meeting of a circle of students who have decided to prepare for exams together. “... A small dense brunette with a somewhat swollen and always glossy, but extremely intelligent, lively and independent face. This expression was especially given to him by a low, but humpbacked forehead above deep black eyes, bristly short hair and a frequent black beard, which always seemed unshaven. He never seemed to think about himself (which I always especially liked in people), but it was clear that his mind was never left without work. He does not respect and does not like science, although they are given to him with extreme ease.
Zukhin is a type of commoner, intelligent, knowing, although not belonging to the category of people comme il faut, which at first causes the narrator “not only a feeling of contempt, but also some personal hatred that I felt for them because, without being a comme il faut, they seemed to consider me not only equal to themselves, but even good-naturedly patronized me. Despite his irresistible disgust at their untidy appearance and manners, the narrator feels something good in Z. and his comrades and is drawn to them. He is attracted by knowledge, simplicity, honesty, poetry of youth and daring. In addition to the abyss of shades that make up the difference in their understanding of life, Nikolenka cannot get rid of the feeling of inequality between him, a wealthy person, and them, and therefore cannot “enter into even, sincere relations with them.” However, he is gradually drawn into their life and once again discovers for himself that the same 3., for example, judges literature better and more clearly and in general not only is not inferior to him in anything, but even surpasses him, so that the height, with which he, a young aristocrat, looks at Z. and his comrades - Operov, Ikonin and others - imaginary.
Characteristics of the image of Ivin Serezha
Ivin Serezha- a relative and peer of the Irtenevs, “a swarthy, curly-haired boy, with an upturned hard nose, very fresh red lips that rarely completely covered the slightly protruding upper row of white teeth, dark blue beautiful eyes and an unusually lively expression on his face. He never smiled, but either looked completely serious, or laughed heartily with his sonorous, distinct and extremely captivating laugh. His original beauty strikes Nikolenka, and he falls in love with him like a child, but he does not find any response in I., although he feels his power over him and unconsciously, but tyrannically uses it in their relationship.
Characteristics of the image of Irteniev Volodya
Irteniev Volodya (Vladimir Petrovich)- Nikolenka's older (for a year and several months) brother. The consciousness of his seniority and primacy constantly prompts him to actions that hurt his brother's pride. Even the condescension and grin, with which he often honors his brother, turns out to be a reason for resentment. The narrator characterizes V .: “He was ardent, frank and fickle in his hobbies. Carried away by the most heterogeneous subjects, he indulged in them with all his soul. He emphasizes the "happy, nobly frank character" of V. However, despite occasional and brief disagreements or even quarrels, relations between the brothers remain good. Nikolenka is involuntarily carried away by the same passions as V., but out of pride she tries not to imitate him. With admiration and a feeling of some envy, Nikolenka describes V.'s admission to the university, the general joy in the house on this occasion. V. has new friends - Dubkov and Dmitry Nekhlyudov, with whom he soon disagrees. His favorite pastimes with Dubkov are champagne, balls, cards. V.'s relationship with the girls surprised his brother, because he "did not allow the thought that they could think or feel anything human, and even less allowed the possibility of discussing anything with them."
Characteristics of the image of Irteniev Peter
Irteniev Petr Alexandrovich (Dad)- Count, head of the Irtenev family, father of Nikolenka. “He was a man of the last century and had, in common with the youth of that century, the elusive character of chivalry, enterprise, self-confidence, courtesy and revelry. He looked contemptuously at the people of this age, and this look came as much from innate pride as from secret annoyance that in our age he could not have either the influence or the success that he had in his. His two main passions in life were cards and women...
Big, stately height, a strange, small step gait, a habit of twitching a shoulder, small always smiling eyes, a large aquiline nose, irregular lips that somehow awkwardly but pleasantly folded, a lack of pronunciation - whispering, and a large bald head over the whole head. The narrator realizes that his father's appearance is not very happy, but at the same time notes that everyone liked him with her, without exception, and was lucky. The main guide of his life and actions is happiness and pleasure. In the story "Youth" he marries a second time to a neighbor on the estate. The narrator admits that for him his father was the highest being, he loves and puts him high, although he does not take a special part in the life of his son.
Characteristics of the image of Irteneva Lyubochka
Irteneva Lyubochka Nikolai's older sister. In the story "Childhood" she is eleven years old. The narrator calls her "the black one" and describes her attire as "a short canvas dress and little white lace-trimmed knickers." In "Boyhood" she is already given a more detailed portrait: "Lyubochka is short in stature and, as a result English disease, she has goose legs and a nasty waist. Only her eyes are good in her whole figure, and these eyes are really beautiful - large, black, and with such an indefinably pleasant expression of importance and naivety that they cannot but stop attention. The narrator notes her family resemblance to her mother, which consists in something elusive: in her hands, in the manner of walking, especially in her voice and in some expressions, as well as in playing the piano and in all the techniques at the same time.
Characteristics of the image of Irteneva Natalia Nikolaevna
Irteneva Natalya Nikolaevna (Maman)- Nikolenka's mother. The narrator describes her as follows: “When I try to remember my mother as she was at that time, I imagine only her brown eyes, always expressing the same kindness and love, a mole on her neck, a little lower than the place where small hairs curl, embroidered white collar, tender dry hand, which caressed me so often and which I kissed so often. In her smile, as noted, all the beauty of the face. She dies early, and the grief of loss then casts a shadow over much of the protagonist's childhood and adolescence.
Characteristics of the image of Karl Ivanovich (Mauer)
Karl Ivanovich (Mauer)- German, teacher, tutor. Appears at the very beginning of the story "Childhood" flapping flies over the head of the sleeping Nikolenka Irtenyev, which causes dissatisfaction with the awakened pupil. Tolstoy emphasizes the eccentricity of K.I. and his kindness, but also the difference between the behavior of the hero in the nursery and in the classroom, where he no longer acts as a good-natured uncle, but as a mentor, with glasses on his nose and a book in his hand. Most of the time K. I. spends reading, and at this time on his face there is a calm and majestic expression. “As I now see in front of me a long figure in a padded robe and in a red cap, from under which sparse gray hair is visible.” All K.I.’s things are laid out in orderly order, neatly in their place.
K. I. considers himself unhappy from birth, or, as he himself says, distorting Russian words in a German way, “Isho in the womb of my matri.” His life is long rich story, which the hero tells the children: he is the illegitimate son of Count von Zomerblat, out of generosity went to military service instead of his brother, whom his father loved more than him, he fought with the French, was captured, fled, worked at a rope factory; returning home, he was almost arrested as a deserter, fled again, was hired by the Russian general Sazin, and only then got to the Irtenevs. Parting with their family, when Nikolenka's father is going to take on a new French tutor, is experienced as a drama.
Characteristics of the image of Katenka
Katya- the daughter of the governess Lyubochka Irteneva Mimi. Light blue eyes, a smiling look, a straight nose with strong nostrils and a mouth with a bright smile, tiny dimples on pink transparent cheeks. Nikolenka feels something like first love for her. From her, for the first time, he hears words about poverty and wealth (K. and her mother Mimi are poor, the Irtenievs are rich), which made him think and caused a “moral change” in him.
Characteristics of the image of Prince Ivan Ivanovich
Prince Ivan Ivanovich- a type of aristocrat of the last century, the embodiment of the chivalrous spirit of a past era, partly idealized by Tolstoy (cf. the story "Two Hussars"). “A man of about seventy, tall, in a military uniform with large epaulettes, from under the collar of which a large white cross was visible, and with a calm, open expression on his face. The freedom and simplicity of his movements amazed me. Despite the fact that a semicircle of thin hair remained on the back of his head and that the position of his upper lip clearly proved the lack of teeth, his face was still of remarkable beauty ”- this is how Ni-Kolenka sees him for the first time, at a celebration in honor of his grandmother’s birthday. The narrator also notes his brilliant position in society and the general respect that the prince earned by his consistency and firmness, with which he always adhered to an elevated way of thinking, the basic rules of religion and morality. The hero is kind and sensitive, but cold and somewhat arrogant in his manner. A small, according to the narrator, mind, he is, however, well educated and well-read. The prince cannot live without society, and wherever he is, he lives widely and openly. Subsequently, paying the prince a visit after entering the university, Nikolenka is embarrassed, knowing that he is the heir to the prince.
Characteristics of the image of Kolpikov
Kolpikov- "a short, dense civilian gentleman with a red mustache." Something like a quarrel takes place between him and Nikolenka, who is celebrating his admission to the university with friends in Yar. Dinner K. scolds Nikolenka, who has lit a cigarette next to him, and he stews, partly at a loss, partly feeling guilty. The incident hurts the narrator's self-esteem, especially because he seems to have chickened out, allowing himself to be treated like this and not being able to find a decent answer. Recovering himself, he no longer finds K. in place. Having then told Nekhlyudov about this incident, he learns that K. is “a well-known scoundrel, a cheater, and most importantly a coward, expelled from the regiment by his comrades for having received a slap in the face and did not want to fight.”
Characteristics of the image of Lyubov Sergeevna
Lyubov Sergeevna- Beloved Nekhlyudov, about whom he admiringly tells his friend Nikolenka as a woman who has a huge influence on him. Nikolenka meets her at Nekhlyudov's dacha. “She was very ill-looking: red-haired, thin, small in stature, a little lopsided.” She speaks in incoherent phrases. The narrator, no matter how hard he tries, cannot find a single beautiful feature in her. He finds her mannered and uninteresting, although out of sympathy for a friend, he does not want to admit this even to himself. She, in turn, is also not disposed towards him, considering him "the greatest egoist, atheist and mocker", often arguing with him and getting angry.
Characteristics of the image of Mimi (Maria Ivanovna)
Mimi (Maria Ivanovna)- governess of the Irtenevs, mother of Katenka. The narrator, calling her boring, complains that it was impossible to talk about anything in her presence, because she found everything indecent. Later, Nikolenka learns that once his father was fond of her and therefore she is hostile to his new marriage.
Characteristics of the image of Mikhailov Yakov
Mikhailov Yakov- clerk, serf Irtenev. His face is always calm, expressing "consciousness of his dignity and at the same time subservience, that is: I am right, but by the way, your will!", When he speaks, his fingers are in great anxiety and desperately jump in different directions. The narrator is present business conversation I. with his father and, already from the height of his adult consciousness, gives him the following, slightly ironic description: “Yakov was a serf, a very zealous and devoted person; he, like all good clerks, was extremely stingy for his master and had the strangest ideas about the benefits of the master.
Characteristics of the image of Natalia Savishnaya
Natalya Savishna- a housekeeper, in the past a yard girl, then a maid and nanny to Nikolenka's mother. A type of selflessly devoted servant who selflessly devotes her whole life to her masters (cf. Arina Rodionovna in A. S. Pushkin). Her story is as follows: already after she was taken to the state house, she wanted to marry a young lively waiter Foka, but the narrator's grandfather considered this ingratitude on her part and exiled her to a barnyard in a steppe village. However, no one could replace N. S., she was returned, and she, in turn, repented before the master and asked to forget her former nonsense. Having received her freedom after twenty years of faithful service, she was deeply wounded. After the death of his mother, Nikolenka in N.S.'s room listens with bated breath to her simple-hearted explanations about the fact that the soul of the Righteous, before going to heaven, toils for another forty days. He is also struck by her sudden transition from talking about the holy and mysterious to grouchiness and petty calculations, in which he later sees the sincerity of grief, which does not want and does not know how to pretend. After the departure of the Irtenevs from the village, she is bored with idleness, a year after the death of Nikolenka's mother, dropsy opens in her. For two months she suffers from an illness, enduring torments with Christian patience, and accepts death as a blessing (a motive extremely important for Tolstoy - cf. "Three deaths"), having previously asked everyone for forgiveness for the insults that she could cause them, and thanked for favors given to her. The narrator recalls this old woman as a "rare, wonderful creature" whose whole life was love and self-sacrifice and who had "such a strong and good influence on my direction and development of sensitivity."
Characteristics of the image of Dmitry Nekhlyudov
Nekhlyudov Dmitry- the prince, a friend of Volodya Irtenyev, whom he met at the university, and then Nikolenka's best friend. He “is not good-looking: small gray eyes, a low, steep forehead, disproportionate length of arms and legs ... There was only good in him - an unusually tall stature, a delicate complexion and excellent teeth. But this face received such an original and energetic character from narrow, shining eyes and a changeable, now strict, now childishly vague expression of a smile, that it was impossible not to notice it. The hero, like Nikolenka, is very shy and shy, although it is precisely at those moments when he involuntarily blushes that his face expresses the greatest determination, as if he is angry with himself. At first, Nikolenka does not like his quick glance, proud look, and especially the indifference with which he treats him, but then they draw closer, feeling a common interest and direction, expressed mainly in the pursuit of perfection. N. shares with a friend the most intimate - love for Lyubov Sergeevna, plans for marriage, village life and work on himself (see the story "The Morning of the Landowner", where N. is the main character).
Characteristics of the image of Marya Ivanovna Nekhlyudova
Nekhlyudova Marya Ivanovna- Princess, mother of Dmitry Nekhlyudov. “... A tall, slender woman of about forty. She could have been given more, judging by the curls of her half-gray hair, frankly exposed from under her cap, but from her fresh, extremely delicate, almost wrinkle-free face, and especially from the lively, cheerful gleam of her big eyes, she seemed much less. Her eyes were brown, very open; lips too thin, a little strict; nose fairly regular and slightly to the left side; her hand was without rings, large, almost masculine, with beautiful oblong fingers. The narrator, who gets to know her at the Nekhlyudovs' dacha, draws attention to her somewhat cold, open look, and a little later defines for himself the nature and direction of the Nekhlyudov family as "logicality and at the same time simplicity and elegance", which are set by M.I. Nikolenka likes the fact that she treats him seriously and simply.
Characteristics of the image of Sophia Ivanovna Nekhlyudova
Nekhlyudova Sofia Ivanovna- Aunt Nekhlyudova, an old girl, plump, not tall, with large lively and calm blue eyes. At first, she seems to Nikolenka very proud, but soon he changes his mind and begins to understand her essence much better. “Sofya Ivanovna, as I later recognized her, was one of those rare middle-aged women born for family life to whom fate has denied this happiness, and who, as a result of this refusal, all that reserve of love that has been kept for so long, has grown and strengthened in their hearts for children and husbands, suddenly decide to pour out on some of the elect. And this supply of old girls of this kind is so inexhaustible that, despite the fact that there are many chosen ones, there is still a lot of love that they pour out on everyone around ... "
The writing
Nikolenka Irteniev is a boy from a noble family, he lives and is brought up according to the established rules, he is friends with children from the same families. He loves his parents and is proud of them. But Nikolenka's childhood years were restless. He experienced many disappointments in the people around him, including those closest to him.
As a child, Nikolenka especially strove for goodness, truth, love and beauty. And the source of all the most beautiful in these years for him was his mother. With what love he remembers the sounds of her voice, which were "so sweet and welcoming", the gentle touch of her hands, "a sad, charming smile." Nikolenka's love for his mother and love for God "somehow strangely merged into one feeling," and this made his soul feel "easy, bright and gratifying," and he began to dream that "God would give happiness to everyone, so that everyone was happy…".
A simple Russian woman, Natalya Savishna, played an important role in the spiritual development of the boy. “Her whole life was pure, selfless love and selflessness,” she instilled in Nikolenka the idea that kindness is one of the main qualities in a person’s life.
Nikolenka acutely feels falsehood and deceit, punishes herself for noticing these qualities in herself. He once wrote poems for his grandmother's birthday, which included a line saying that he loves his grandmother like his own mother. His mother had already died by that time, and Nikolenka argues as follows: if this line is sincere, it means that he stopped loving his mother; and if he loves his mother as before, it means that he made a falsity in relation to his grandmother. The boy is very tormented by this.
A large place in the story is occupied by the description of the feeling of love for people, and this ability of a child to love others delights Tolstoy. But the author at the same time shows how the world of big people, the world of adults destroys this feeling. Nikolenka was attached to the boy Seryozha Ivin, but did not dare to tell him about his affection, did not dare to take his hand, say how glad he was to see him, “did not even dare to call him Seryozha, but certainly Sergey”, because “every expression of sensitivity childishness was also proved by the fact that the one who allowed himself it was still a boy. Having matured, the hero more than once regretted that in childhood, "without having yet gone through those bitter trials that bring adults to caution and coldness in relationships," he deprived himself of "the pure pleasures of tender childish affection due to only one strange desire to imitate great" .
Nikolenka's attitude towards Ilenka Grapu reveals another trait in his character, which also reflects the bad influence of the "big" world on him. Ilenka Grap was from a poor family, he became the subject of ridicule and bullying from the boys of Nikolenka Irtenyev's circle, and Nikolenka also participated in this. But then, as always, he felt a sense of shame and remorse. Nikolenka Irteniev often deeply repents of his bad deeds and acutely experiences his failures. This characterizes him as a thinking person, able to analyze his behavior and a person beginning to grow up.
This is a small ten-year-old boy with a kind, sensitive heart, a lively and impressionable soul. The formation of Nikolenka's character takes place among various people close to him: parents, brothers and sisters, teachers, courtyards. Relations with each of them leave a unique mark in the boy's heart, which influences the state of mind, thoughts and feelings of Nikolenka. A responsive and impressionable child carefully observes not only the events taking place in the external world, but also the changes in his inner world. This attentiveness to all the movements of her own soul helps Nikolenka to cope with many problems, to draw the right conclusions. It seems to me that in the future a kind, observant, sympathetic and honest person will grow out of Nikolenka.
