History of the creation of the work
The idea for “The Enchanted Wanderer” came from N.S. Leskova during a trip to Lake Ladoga. The writer began his work in 1872, and in 1873 he finished it under the title “Black Earth Telemachus” and unsuccessfully tried to be published in the “Russian Bulletin”. Later N.S. Leskov changes the title to “The Enchanted Wanderer” and is published in “Russian World” in the same 1873.
The story “The Enchanted Wanderer” tells about the events of the 1820-1830s. It includes one storyline related to the wanderings of Ivan Flyagin. Throughout the entire story, the main character goes through life's trials, and at the end of the work he goes to a monastery, where he finds peace of mind, having been cleansed of past sins.
The author dedicates his story to his friend General S.E. Kushelev, from whom the story was first read.
Analysis of the work
Here Leskov's skill as a storyteller reached its highest point. And since the narration is told in the first person, the author gave free rein to verbal ingenuity. Events develop with breathtaking speed, the author talks about them at a fast pace, filling them with expressive and picturesque details. As you can see by reading the summary, Leskov’s “The Enchanted Wanderer” is the life of a reluctant adventurer, full of unusual events. Whether he wants it or not, he, like someone under a spell, finds himself from one misadventure to another.
The hero of the story is a serf peasant who grew up in a master's stable. The irrepressible vital energy of this “natural man” pushes him at the very beginning of his life to reckless actions. The natural strength that “shimmered with vitality” through his veins makes young Flyagin similar to the heroes of Russian epics, the similarities with which the author mentioned from the first lines. Thus, Leskov noted that the character’s character has roots in the life and history of the Russian people. But the heroic strength lies dormant in Ivan Severyanich for a long time and for the time being he lives outside of good and evil, carelessness is manifested in his actions, which ultimately leads to the most dramatic consequences. Apparently, he is not particularly bothered by them, but the monk he killed appears to him in his dreams and predicts difficult trials.
Genre of the work
The genre specificity of The Enchanted Wanderer is unusual. It is generally accepted that the work of N.S. Leskova is a story, although at the first publication it was called a story.
In addition, “The Enchanted Wanderer” includes the characteristics of an adventure novel, which involves the wanderings of a character who stands out for his external and internal qualities, and the dynamics of the plot.
There are elements of life in the work associated with the wanderings and walks of the main character. This also includes mystical elements and dreams.
There is also a connection between “The Enchanted Wanderer” and the parable form of storytelling. The author makes reference to the parable of the prodigal son, thereby raising eternal universal questions.
The title of the work and its meaning
The word “wanderer” speaks of those wanderings that befell the fate of the main character. He travels and searches for the right path not only on earth, but also in his own spiritual world.
The word “enchanted” suggests that the hero has the ability to admire and be enchanted by the world around him. The second meaning of this word is that the wanderer seems to be enchanted by someone, so all his travels are connected with the predetermination of fate.
Subject
In the story “The Enchanted Wanderer” the main theme is righteousness
. The book makes you think that a righteous person is not one who does not sin, but one who sincerely repents of his sins and wants to atone for them at the cost of self-denial. Ivan sought the truth, stumbled, made mistakes, suffered, but God, as we know from the parable of the Prodigal Son, values more the one who returned home after long wanderings in search of the truth, and not the one who did not leave and accepted everything on faith. The hero is righteous in the sense that he took everything for granted, did not resist fate, walked without losing his dignity and without complaining about the heavy burden. In his search for the truth, he did not turn towards profit or passion, and in the end he came to true harmony with himself. He realized that his highest destiny was to suffer for the people, “to die for the faith,” that is, to become something greater than himself. A great meaning appeared in his life - service to his homeland, faith and people.
Love theme
is revealed in Flyagin’s relationship with the Tatars and Grusha. It is obvious that the author cannot imagine this feeling without unanimity, conditioned by one faith, culture, and paradigm of thinking. Although the hero was blessed with wives, he could not love them even after the birth of their children together. Pear also did not become his beloved woman, because he was captivated by only the outer shell, which he immediately wanted to buy, throwing government money at the feet of the beauty. Thus, all the hero’s feelings turned not to an earthly woman, but to abstract images of the homeland, faith and people.
The theme of patriotism.
Ivan more than once wanted to die for the people, and at the end of the work he was already preparing for future wars. In addition, his love for his homeland was embodied in a reverent longing for his fatherland in a foreign land, where he lived in comfort and prosperity.
Faith. The Orthodox faith, which permeates the entire work, had a huge influence on the hero. It manifested itself both in form and in content, because the book resembles the life of a saint, both compositionally and in ideological and thematic terms. Leskov considers Orthodoxy to be a factor determining many properties of the Russian national character.
History of creation and brief analysis of the story “The Enchanted Wanderer”
Nikolai Semenovich Leskov
The date of writing of the work is 1872. Leskov goes to Valaam, in these holy places the author of truly folk stories comes up with the idea of writing a story about a wanderer.
This is a chronicle of the life of one hero. There is no central event to which the others are drawn together. Various episodes of the story follow each other.
The narrator, Ivan Severyanovich Flyagin, an already elderly man, begins the story of his life from childhood. The difficult trials that befell him are connected by one thread.
The story of the main character is very unusual. This is a folk hero of the era of serfdom, possessing enormous physical strength. He is brave, sincere and straightforward to the point of naivety, responsive to the grief of others.
Ivan Severyanich's talent lies in a heightened sense of beauty. He feels the beauty in nature, in feminine charm, in words. His speech fascinates with its unique poetry. Despite his misdeeds, the reader feels a pure and noble soul in the hero.
Flyagin passionately loves his homeland. With age, his patriotism becomes broader and more conscious. The man has a presentiment of the coming war, he dreams of taking part in it and dying for his native land.
The large number of episodes in the story makes it possible to reveal Flyagin’s character and contrast the folk hero with characters from another environment. Leskov shows the serf man as a strong, bright personality, and the nobles as ignoble and weak people.
Problems
The rich range of issues in the story “The Enchanted Wanderer” includes social, spiritual, moral and ethical problems of the individual and the whole people.
Search for the truth.
In an effort to find his place in life, the hero stumbles upon obstacles and does not overcome all of them with dignity. Sins that become a means to overcome the path become a heavy burden on the conscience, because he does not withstand some tests and makes a mistake in choosing the direction. However, without mistakes there is no experience that led him to the realization of his own belonging to the spiritual brotherhood. Without trials, he would not have suffered his truth, which is never given easily. However, the price for revelation is invariably high: Ivan became a kind of martyr and experienced real spiritual torment.
Social inequality
. The plight of the serfs is becoming a problem of gigantic proportions. The author not only depicts the sad fate of Flyagin, whom the master brought to injury by sending him to the quarry, but also certain fragments of the life of other ordinary people. The fate of the old people, who almost lost their only breadwinner, who was recruited, is bitter. The death of the hero’s mother is terrible, because she died in agony without medical care or any help at all. The treatment of serfs was worse than that of animals. For example, horses worried the master more than people.
Ignorance
. Ivan could have realized his mission faster, but no one was involved in his education. He, like his entire class, did not have a chance to go out into the world, even after acquiring freedom. This restlessness is demonstrated by the example of Flyagin’s attempt to settle in the city even in the presence of the nobility. Even with this privilege, he could not find a place for himself in society, since not a single recommendation can replace upbringing, education and manners, which were not learned in the stable or in the quarry. That is, even a free peasant became a victim of his slave origin.
Temptation
. Any righteous person suffers from the scourge of demonic power. If we translate this allegorical term into everyday language, it turns out that the enchanted wanderer was struggling with his dark sides - selfishness, desire for carnal pleasures, etc. It’s not for nothing that he sees Pear in the image of the tempter. The desire he once felt for her haunted him in his righteous life. Perhaps he, accustomed to wandering, could not become an ordinary monk and come to terms with a routine existence, and he clothed this craving for active action and new searches in the form of a “demon.” Flyagin is an eternal wanderer who is not satisfied with passive service - he needs torment, feat, his own Golgotha, where he will ascend for the people.
Homesickness.
The hero suffered and languished in captivity in an inexplicable desire to return home, which was stronger than the fear of death, stronger than the thirst for the comfort with which he was surrounded. Because of his escape, he experienced real torture - horsehair was sewn into his feet, so he could not escape during all these 10 years of captivity.
The problem of faith.
In passing, the author told how Orthodox missionaries died trying to baptize the Tatars.
Selfishness and further spiritual growth
Ivan almost died in an accident, after which the master turned away from him . The young man committed a sin by stealing horses from his own owner. In the next episode, the hero issued false documents for himself and got a job with a Pole. But even here he could not stay long, since he acted dishonestly towards the gentlemen. While participating in a fight for a horse, the young man unintentionally killed his opponent.
To avoid going to jail, he had to go live with the Tatars. They did not want to let him go, even though at that time the character had started a family. He worked as a doctor. At some point, fireworks fell into his hands, with the help of which he scared off the Tatars and managed to escape. Posing as a runaway peasant, he was able to enter his native estate. But they didn’t welcome him there, because they saw him as a sinner.
Then the young man lived for three years in the prince’s house, helping him choose good horses in exchange for shelter. One evening the guy got drunk, spending all the money he had on the gypsy Grusha. The prince once fell in love with her and even bought her, but later his feelings cooled down, which is why the girl was driven away. She begged him to kill him, and the guy pushed her into the water.
Then everything developed somewhat differently, because Flyagin went to the front, taking the place of the only son of poor peasants. He accomplished many feats there and even received the rank of officer. When he was sent into retirement, he could not find a place for himself in peaceful life. And then, finally, he realized his true purpose. Thus the moment came when the wanderings of the protagonist were destined to end. The man thought about going to a monastery. To his own surprise, he felt unprecedented relief and interest in this place. This is the summary of the story “The Enchanted Wanderer”.
Ivan Flyagin
Flyagin Ivan Severyanych is the hero of N. S. Leskov’s story “The Enchanted Wanderer”, the main narrator of the events. This is a completely new image of a person, not comparable to any of the heroes of Russian literature. The features of an epic hero, a fairy-tale character and a hero of adventure novels are organically intertwined in him. This character is invulnerable and successfully overcomes all life's obstacles. Ivan Severyanich does not have a specific travel goal. For him, the world is an endless miracle, and every new refuge is a new adventure. He gets along well with any people. He had the opportunity to live with Orthodox monks, and with unbaptized Tatars, and with wild Kirghiz. But the hero is so flexible that he managed to live according to other people's customs.
By nature, Flyagin is a naive and simple-hearted person. When the owner is ready to shower Ivan with gold as a reward for saving his family, he only asks for an accordion, which he immediately throws away. Somehow this character manages to avoid certain death in all situations. He fought in the Caucasian war, and swam across the river under enemy bullets, and wanted to hang himself, but some gypsy cut the rope. The ability to get out of any difficult situation alive brings him closer to the heroes of adventure novels. At the same time, this hero is quite contradictory. On the one hand, he honors God and avoids sins. He does not want to love his unbaptized wives and children. On the other hand, he also had non-Christian actions. For example, in his youth he beat a monk with a whip, who then appeared to him in a dream.
Ivan's escape
Soon Ivan started pigeons in the stable. But the cat got into the habit of carrying pigeons, he caught her and cut off her tail. The maid came running, the cat was the master's, began to scold Ivan and hit him on the cheek. He sent her away. Ivan was flogged and sent to beat stones for paths in the garden with a hammer. The summary of “The Enchanted Wanderer” cannot convey how difficult and tedious this work is. But Ivan was tired of crawling on his knees all day, it became completely unbearable, and he decided to hang himself. Went into the forest and jumped out of a tree with a rope around his neck. It was cut by a gypsy who appeared from nowhere. He suggested that Flyagin run away from his masters and engage in horse stealing. Ivan didn’t want to steal, but he couldn’t go back.
That same night they took the best horses from the master's stable and rode off to Karachev. The horses were sold, for which Ivan received only a ruble. Ivan quarreled with the gypsy, and that’s where they parted. Ivan made himself a leave certificate and went to work for the master, from whom his wife ran away, leaving behind a little daughter. So Ivan was assigned to her as a nanny. Ivan took the girl along the seashore and gave her goat’s milk to drink. But somehow a monk appeared to him in a dream and said that Ivan still had to endure a lot, and showed him a vision - the steppe and galloping horsemen. The mother began to visit the girl, secretly from the master, and persuade Ivan to give her her daughter for good money. But he did not want to deceive the master.
Pear
Pear is a young gypsy from the story “The Enchanted Wanderer.” The main character Ivan Flyagin met her when he served with a noble prince. He was immediately captivated by her, especially her voice. In the eyes of Ivan Severyanych, she is an ideal. Everything about her is beautiful, her appearance, her passion, and her artistry. She, like an enchantress, fascinates him from the very first meeting. Grushenka was ransomed by the prince, who was also once in love with her. Now he had cooled down on her and wanted to kick her out of his house. She still loved him and was jealous of other women.
From the conversation overheard by Ivan, it became clear that the prince was going to get married and marry Grusha to Ivan. Pear, having learned about this, no longer wanted to live. She didn’t love Ivan, but she treated him well. She asked him to stick a knife in her heart so as not to commit suicide. She said that if she did not die, she would become “the most shameful woman.” He was never able to stab her, but he ordered her to pray and pushed her off a steep cliff into the river. After that, he gave all his money to the monastery as a contribution for Grusha’s soul.
