The essay “Life and customs of the capital and provincial nobility in the novel “Eugene Onegin. Description of the life of nobles in the novel by A.S.

It was no coincidence that the great Russian critic V. G. Belinsky called A. S. Pushkin’s novel “Eugene Onegin” “an encyclopedia of Russian life.” This is connected, of course, with the fact that not a single work of Russian literature can compare with the immortal novel in verse in terms of the breadth of coverage of the writer’s contemporary reality. Pushkin describes his time, noting everything that was essential for the life of the generation: the life and customs of people, the state of their souls, popular philosophical, political and economic trends, literary preferences, fashions, and so on.

Throughout the action of the novel and in lyrical digressions, the poet shows all layers of Russian society, including the high society of St. Petersburg, noble Moscow and the local nobility.

Petersburg at that time was a real center of cultural and political life, a place where the best people of Russia lived. There “Fonvizin, the friend of freedom, shone,” and Knyazhnin and Istomin captivated the audience. The author knew and loved St. Petersburg well, and therefore he is precise in his descriptions, not forgetting either “the salt of secular anger”, or “necessary fools”, “starched impudents” and the like.

St. Petersburg is oriented towards the Western way of life, and this is manifested in fashion, in the repertoire of theaters, and in the abundance of “foreign words”. The life of a nobleman in St. Petersburg from morning to night is filled with entertainment, but at the same time “monotonous and motley.” With all his love for the northern capital, Pushkin cannot help but note that it is the influence of the highest St. Petersburg society, the system of upbringing and education adopted there and the way of life that leaves an indelible imprint on a person’s consciousness, making him either empty and worthless, or prematurely disappointed in life. The main character of the novel, Eugene, is, of course, a resident of the capital, even though he is one step above secular society.

Describing the Moscow nobility, Pushkin is often sarcastic: in the living rooms he notices “incoherent vulgar nonsense” and sadly notes that in the conversations of the people whom Tatyana meets in the living room, “thoughts will not flare up for the whole day.”

The poet's contemporary Russia is rural Russia, and Pushkin emphasizes this with a play on words in the epigraph to the second chapter. This is probably why the gallery of characters from the landed nobility in the novel is the most representative. The landed nobles live a life whose routine was established once and for all many years ago. In his uncle’s chambers, Onegin finds the “calendar of the eighth year,” for “the old man, having a lot to do, did not look at other books.” Nothing happens in their lives, one day is like another. Perhaps only Lensky differs from other landowners, “with a soul straight from Göttingen,” and only because Vladimir received his education in Germany. However, Pushkin foresees that, if Lensky had not died on, he could, in twenty years, repeat the life of old Larin or Uncle Onegin:

I would really know life

I had gout at the age of forty.

I drank, ate, got bored, got fat, grew weaker

And finally in my bed

I would die among children,

Whining women and doctors.

With irony, Pushkin also describes the secular village society that gathered in the Larins’ house. It is no coincidence that the author gives some of the guests the names of characters from Fonvizin’s plays. The provincial nobility is in many ways funny, their range of vital interests is ridiculous and pitiful. Village life, according to Pushkin, is conducive to moving from the world of romantic dreams to the world of everyday worries. But it is no coincidence that it was among the local nobility that Pushkin’s “sweet ideal” appeared - Tatyana Larina, whose upbringing and education combined the traditions of high education and folk culture. It is the local nobility that lives in close proximity to the people, and therefore the idea of ​​revival is probably embedded in them.

The novel "Eugene Onegin" is a realistic work. A.S. Pushkin depicted in it the contemporary noble society of the 20s of the 19th century, showing in detail how and what the nobles lived not only in both capitals, but also in the provinces.
The St. Petersburg nobility is characterized by vanity and tawdry: “it’s no wonder to keep up everywhere.” The day of the main character Eugene Onegin is the embodiment of vanity:
Sometimes he was still in bed:
They bring notes to him.
What? Invited? In fact,
Three houses are calling for the evening...
And then - alternating entertainment. Onegin lives by the clock, without attaching meaning to what he does. His day begins in the afternoon, he gets up late - this is one of the features of the life of aristocrats. After dinner, Onegin goes to the theater, although it has lost its charm for him, has become something ordinary, boring:
More cupids, devils, snakes
They jump and make noise on stage...
And Onegin went out;
He goes home to get dressed.
The ball began at nine or ten o'clock in the evening, but it was customary for secular young people to arrive after midnight. After the night's entertainment, Onegin went to bed:
What about my Onegin? Half asleep
He goes to bed from the ball.
Evgeniy, within the framework of that time, was a fairly highly educated and well-mannered person, although he studied and was raised at home:
He's completely French
He could express himself and wrote;
I danced the mazurka easily
And he bowed casually.
And Pushkin also notes that Onegin “has his hair cut in the latest fashion.” In the hero’s office there is “amber on the pipes of Constantinople, porcelain and bronze on the table, perfume in cut crystal.”
In this metropolitan society, public opinion is placed above all else, which creates a special type of behavior:
And here is public opinion!
Spring of honor, our idol!
And this is what the world revolves on!
The main feature of the provincial nobility is patriarchy and loyalty to antiquity:
They kept life peaceful
Habits of a dear old man.
Among provincial entertainments, the ball occupies a special place, and new trends have not yet penetrated into the outback, and therefore tradition dominates in dancing:
I also saved the mazurka
Initial beauties:
Jumps, heels, mustaches.
In the provinces, women read mostly sentimental novels. Tatyana's reading range is typical for a village young lady: novels by Richardson and Rousseau, Martyn Zadeka's dream book.
Villagers eat a lot. Pushkin describes village pickles with pleasure. Food is almost the most essential part of village life.
The local nobles are one big family. They love to gossip with each other. The relationship between nobles and peasants is not an independent theme in the novel; they are only mentioned in connection with the characteristics of the main characters:
He is the yoke of corvée, the ancient
I replaced it with easy quitrent;
And the slave blessed fate.
The Larin family can serve as a mirror of the local nobility. Pushkin describes their life in detail. Olga and Tatyana's mother was a Moscow young lady in her youth. Then she married a landowner, at first she cried, and then she got used to it and became a full-fledged mistress:
She went to work
I salted mushrooms for the winter.
The novel also depicts the Larins’ guests who came to Tatiana’s name day:
With his portly wife
Fat Pustyakov arrived;
Gvozdin, an excellent owner,
Owner of poor men;
The Skotinins, the gray-haired couple...
District dandy Petushkov,
My cousin, Buyanov,
In down, in a cap with a visor
(As you know him, of course)
And retired adviser Flyanov,
Heavy gossip, old rogue,
Glutton, bribe-taker and buffoon.
It is easy to notice that all the guests have “speaking” surnames. And of course, they are all incorrigible conservatives. When Onegin replaced corvee with quitrent, they called him a most dangerous eccentric and ended their friendship with him.
There, in the village, the best representatives of the nobility met. Such are Lensky and Onegin. Lensky became a close friend of Evgeniy. He was fond of the philosophical teachings that were fashionable at that time and dreamy romantic poetry divorced from life. Lensky has many excellent inclinations, but he lacks knowledge and understanding of reality. He perceives people as a romantic and a dreamer.
Like Onegin, Lensky is alien to the society of the provincial nobility with its narrow interests, but he idealizes Olga Larina, an ordinary girl who takes love lightly. Her image is a parody of a sentimental portrait.
The central female image in the novel is the image of Tatyana Larina. Pushkin calls his heroine a “Russian soul,” a “sweet ideal.” There are traits in Tatyana's character that make her similar to Onegin and Lensky. Tatyana amazes with her uniqueness and originality. Onegin is “unsociable,” lives as an “anchorite,” and Tanya “seemed like a stranger in her own family.” She feels lonely both in the village and in high society. She is simple and sincere.
Tatiana was raised by a serf nanny. Tatiana's nanny is a true representative of women from the common people. She tells in the novel about the fate of a peasant woman.
Life in the provinces flows measuredly and monotonously, but at the same time it is not without a certain practical meaning, and in the life of Moscow society “no changes are visible,” “everything is the same as before.” You can hear incoherent nonsense in the living rooms. The noble assembly gathers to show off the new vest, to boast about this and that. Moscow life is boring and empty. Everything about her is pale, indifferent: “They slander even boringly.” In general, Moscow is like an intermediate link between the provinces and St. Petersburg.
“Eugene Onegin” is a highly original and national Russian work. Pushkin's novel formed a solid foundation for new Russian poetry, new Russian literature.

Baiterikov Alexander

From the novel, one can indeed judge the era and study the life of Russia in the 10-20s of the 19th century. The poet gave us vivid pictures of the capital and provincial nobility.

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Municipal budgetary educational institution

"Popovskaya secondary school"

Bavlinsky municipal district

Republic of Tatarstan

RESEARCH WORK

“Description of the life of nobles in the novel by A.S. Pushkin

"Eugene Onegin"

Nomination " Life and culture of Pushkin’s time"

Baiterikov Alexander

9th grade student at MBOU "Popovskaya Secondary School"

Supervisor

Tsareva Lyudmila Alexandrovna

Teacher of Russian language and literature

MBOU "Popovskaya Secondary School"

Popovka, 2013

1. Introduction.

“Eugene Onegin” - “encyclopedia of Russian life”

1. Main part

Chapter I. Eugene Onegin is a typical representative of the St. Petersburg nobility.

Chapter II. Moscow nobility in A.S. Pushkin’s novel “Eugene Onegin”

Chapter III. The spiritual world of provincial nobles in A.S. Pushkin’s novel “Eugene Onegin”

1. Conclusion

1. Literature

Introduction

“Eugene Onegin” - “encyclopedia of Russian life”

Great Pushkin!
It's so good that it's yours
wealth:
Your poems, poems and novels,
Your sonnets, odes, epigrams -
Everything that makes your art strong.

T.V. Rumyantseva

The novel “Eugene Onegin,” it seems to me, occupies a central place in Pushkin’s work. This is not only the largest work in size, but also the widest in its coverage of themes, characters, paintings, and places. The writer worked on it for more than eight years. For the breadth of the depiction of Russian life, for the depth of typical images and the richness of thoughts of V.G. Belinsky called it “an encyclopedia of Russian life.” From it, indeed, one can judge the era, study the life of Russia in the 10-20s of the 19th century. The poet gave us vivid pictures of the capital and provincial nobility.

In “Eugene Onegin” the heroes are given in their usual social environment; they live and act in the atmosphere of Russian reality of that time, in the circle of their relatives, in their society. Each of the heroes of this work has its own biography, its own psychology, its own habits, its own understanding of life. The novel gives a broad picture of the life of Russia at that time, the socio-political, economic and cultural situation of that era; we see vivid images and pictures of the life of the “high society” - St. Petersburg and Moscow - and the provincial nobility. The historical life of Russian society appears through the thoughts, feelings and actions of the heroes.

While working on the novel, Pushkin introduced details of his contemporary life into its text, directly following the course of reality itself.

The purpose of the research work is to analyze the depicted world of the novel from the point of view of the manifestation in it of the realities of culture and life of the Russian nobility of the Pushkin era.In accordance with the stated goal, I believe it is necessary to solve the following tasks: - to explore the life of noble society depicted in the novel;- consider the culture and life of the nobility at the beginning of the 19th century;- identify their significance for the concept of the novel and their role in the embodiment of artistic images of the work.

CHAPTER I.

Evgeny Onegin is a typical representative of the St. Petersburg nobility.

The author of the novel pays special attention to the St. Petersburg nobility, a typical representative of which is Eugene Onegin. The poet describes the day of his hero in every detail, and Onegin’s day is a typical day of a capital dandy. Thus, Pushkin recreates a picture of the life of the entire St. Petersburg secular society. The day of such people began long after noon. The right to get up as late as possible was a sign of aristocracy:

Sometimes he was still in bed:

They bring notes to him.

What? Invitations? In fact,

Three houses are calling for the evening...

The morning toilet and breakfast were followed by a walk. The favorite place for festivities of St. Petersburg dandies is Nevsky Prospekt and the English Embankment of the Neva. And Onegin also walks along the “boulevard” at these hours:

Putting on a wide bolivar,
Onegin goes to the boulevard
And there he walks in the open space,
While the watchful Breget
Dinner won't ring his bell.

Onegin, like other young people of his circle, spends the afternoon in the theater. But he is not keen on art and goes there, rather, because of fashion and perceives the theater as a place where social meetings and love affairs take place:

Everything is clapping. Onegin enters

Walks between the chairs along the legs,

The double lorgnette, slanting, points

To the boxes of unknown ladies

...More cupids, devils, snakes

They jump and make noise on stage...

...And Onegin went out;

He goes home to get dressed. Onegin goes to the ball, where he spends the rest of his time. Onegin's Day ends. He goes home, but tomorrow the same day awaits him:

Sleeps peacefully in the shade of the blessed

Fun and luxury child.

Until the morning his life is ready,

Monotonous and colorful

And tomorrow is the same as yesterday.

From this passage we can see that the social life of the protagonist, filled with splendor and luxury, is in fact empty and monotonous.

CHAPTER II.

Moscow nobility in the novel by A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin"

The Moscow nobility, with which the author introduces us on the pages of his novel, seems simpler, more welcoming, more natural. But he speaks about him quite harshly, sharply satirically, thereby giving very unflattering characteristics:

But no change is visible in them;
Everything about them is the same as the old model:
At Aunt Princess Elena's
Still the same tulle cap;
Everything is whitewashed Lukerya Lvovna,
Lyubov Petrovna lies all the same,
Ivan Petrovich is just as stupid
Semyon Petrovich is also stingy...

Young Moscow nobles primly and unfavorably perceive the provincial young lady: haughtily, carelessly and smugly “they look Tatyana up and down”, “they find her somehow strange, provincial and cutesy.” They interpret the girl’s simplicity, naturalness, spontaneity as a lack of upbringing, inability to behave in society, an inept desire to attract attention. However, society, recognizing Tatyana’s right to provincial oddity, accepts her into its circle.

The poet enthusiastically and sympathetically describes Moscow balls:

There is cramped space, excitement, heat,

Music roars, candles sparkle,

Flashing, whirlwind of fast steams

Light dressing for beauties...

He is fascinated by the abundance of light, loud music, beautiful outfits, and graceful movements of the dancers. The festive bustle, “noise, laughter, running, bowing, gallop, mazurka, waltz” attract Pushkin with its colorfulness and solemnity. Tatyana, who grew up in harmonious unity with nature, suffocates in this limited space; she “hates the excitement of the light”:

She's stuffy here... she's a dream

Strives for life in the field,

To the village, to the poor villagers,

To a secluded corner,

Where a bright stream flows,

I am to my flowers, to my novels.

In the living room everyone is occupied with “incoherent, vulgar nonsense”:

They slander even boringly;
In the barren dryness of speech,
Questions, gossip and news
Thoughts won’t flash for a whole day...

There is endless melancholy all around, so Moscow society is occupied by “talking about nothing.”

This means that lack of spirituality, the absence of any mental interests, and the stagnation of life of the Moscow nobles becomes their main characteristic.

CHAPTER III.

The spiritual world of provincial nobles.

A striking example of the small landed nobility is the family of Tatyana Larina, Onegin’s uncle and the guests at Tatyana’s name day. The Larin family is the environment in which Tatyana grew up, having absorbed all the kindness, simplicity, patriarchy and cordiality of local morals and way of life.

Tatyana’s father, “a kind fellow, but belated in the last century,” led a simple, philistine lifestyle, like that of his parents and grandfathers: “he ate and drank in his dressing gown; his life rolled on calmly; in the evening, sometimes a good family of neighbors, unceremonious friends, would come together to complain, and curse, and laugh about something.” He sincerely loved his wife, was indulgent to her whims, never read books, but did not interfere with his daughter’s passion; in general, “he was a simple and kind gentleman,” unencumbered by intelligence and education, and Lensky, “full of sincere sadness,” remembers with warmth about him.
Tatyana's mother experienced passionate love in her youth, but according to ancient custom, “without asking her advice, the girl was taken to the crown.” She was “eager and... I cried at first,” but “then I took up housekeeping, got used to it and became happy.” Her lifestyle is typical of a village landowner:

She went to work
I dried mushrooms for the winter,
She kept expenses, shaved her foreheads,
I went to the bathhouse on Saturdays,

She beat the maids in anger -
All this without asking my husband.

These were nice, hospitable people, completely satisfied with their position, not trying to comprehend the structure of the universe, but sincerely attached to each other, appreciating decency, simplicity, and kindness. Such villagers, like beautiful pictures of nature, attract the poet with their harmony and freedom. The main characters of the novel also fall under the charm of nature and the simplicity of human relationships, but they do not always have enough poetry and the ability to find beauty in the simple. Both Tatyana and Lensky, who grew up in the wilderness of the village, treated their neighboring landowners rather condescendingly and kindly, trying, however, to avoid communication with the narrow-minded, narrow-minded rural residents with their narrow outlook:

Their conversation is sensible
About haymaking, about wine,
About the kennel, about my relatives,
Of course, he didn’t shine with any feeling,
Not with poetic fire,
Neither sharpness nor intelligence...

In her prophetic dream, Tatyana sees herself at a demonic sabbath, among a noisy and cackling gang making terrible sounds: “barking, laughing, singing, whistling and clapping, people’s rumors and a horse’s tramp!” All this demonic, crazy evil spirits frighten with their unceremoniousness, impudence, rudeness, and terrible appearance, reminiscent of Gogol’s witchcraft images:
...at the table

Monsters sit around:

One with horns and a dog's face,
Another with a rooster's head,
There's a witch with a goat beard,
Here the frame is prim and proud,
There's a dwarf with a ponytail, and here
Half crane and half cat.

It would seem that this abundance of repulsive faces, this motley crowd are just images of a bad dream, but the subsequent description of Tatyana’s name day is strikingly reminiscent of her recent dream:

There is a hustle and bustle in the front hall;

Meeting new faces in the living room,

Barking mosek, smacking girls,
Noise, laughter, crush at the threshold,
Bows, shuffling of guests,
The nurses cry and the children cry.

The images of the Larins’ guests are surprisingly similar to the monsters seen in a dream in their unattractiveness and ugliness, primitiveness, even the consonance of names. The village landowners have become so degraded and impoverished in their intelligence that they differ little from monsters - half-animals, half-humans. The satirical power of Pushkin's denunciation of lack of spirituality and vulgarity reaches its apogee - the imaginary and real companies of heroes overlap and merge. The images of people are no better than the ugly heroes of a strange dream. If you look closely, the primitive but harmless landowner neighbors turn out to be just as repulsive as the imaginary monsters. It's all one company. Some of the Larins’ guests: “Monsieur Triquet, a wit, recently from Tambov, with glasses and a red wig” - a vulgar poet, a provincial entertainer, a noisy wit, accustomed to being the center of attention with a pre-prepared set of wretched jokes; “Gvozdin, an excellent master, owner of poor men” - indifferent to the fate of his subjects; “Fat Pustyakov” - the surname itself, as well as the definition, clearly speak of limited interests and mental poverty.

A.S. Pushkin, faithful to the truth of life, created memorable images of landowners. The portraits of some of them are very expressive, detailed, while the portraits of other landowners are superficial. The poet mercilessly exposes the consumerist attitude of the landowners to life, but with sincere sympathy relates to the simplicity and kindness of relations that exist among the provincial nobility. Yes, they are not heroes, they are ordinary people with weaknesses, shortcomings, they do not strive for high things, but they still show concern and warmth towards their loved ones and expect the same from them.

Conclusion.

In the novel “Eugene Onegin” by A.S. Pushkin paints a picture of the life of the Russian nobility at the beginning of the 19th century, their way of life and morals. In this novel, like an encyclopedia, you can learn everything not only about the life of the nobles, but also about their culture, how they dressed, what was in fashion, the menu of prestigious restaurants, what was on in the theater. Throughout the action of the novel and in lyrical digressions, the poet shows all layers of Russian society of that time: the high society of St. Petersburg, noble Moscow, the local nobility and the peasantry. This allows us to talk about “Eugene Onegin” as a truly folk work. The reader learns about how secular youth were brought up and spent their time; albums of county young ladies even open before us. The author's opinion about balls and fashion attracts attention with the sharpness of his observation.

“Eugene Onegin” is an “encyclopedia of Russian life” of Pushkin’s time. For the first time in Russian literature, an entire historical era, modern reality, was recreated with such breadth and truthfulness. In the novel “Eugene Onegin,” Pushkin turns Russian literature to the most important issues of national life. All layers of Russian society of the serf period find their artistic embodiment in the novel, social and cultural trends and trends of the first half of the 20s of the 19th century are illuminated. Pushkin's novel taught to despise the noble-serf society, to hate an empty and meaningless life, selfishness, narcissism, and callousness of heart. The novel exalted truly human relationships, proclaiming the need for a connection between Russian noble culture and the people, with their lives. That is why Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin” was a highly folk work, “an act of consciousness for Russian society, almost the first, but what a great step forward for it,” wrote Belinsky. Eugene Onegin was the first Russian realistic novel. Heroes think, feel and act in accordance with their characters.

The realism of the novel is clearly expressed in the style and language of Pushkin’s work. Each word of the author accurately characterizes the national-historical life of the era, the character and culture of the heroes and at the same time emotionally colors them. “Eugene Onegin” captured the spiritual beauty of Pushkin and the living beauty of Russian folk life, which was first revealed to readers by the author of the brilliant novel. Thus, “Eugene Onegin” is a realistic, social and everyday novel that combines history and modernity.

Literature

1. Pushkin A.S. Evgeny Onegin. – M., 1986

2. Belinsky V.G. Works by A.S. Pushkin. – M., 1990

3. Great Soviet Encyclopedia

4. Zyryanov P.N. History of Russia in the 19th century. – M., 2001

5. E.G. Babaev The Works of Pushkin -M, 1988

6. Lotman Yu.M. Conversations about Russian culture: Russian life and traditions

Nobility of the 18th – early 19th centuries. Sat-Fri., 2001

7. Lotman Yu.M. Roman A.S. Pushkin “Eugene Onegin” Commentary. – Sat-Fri., 1983

8. Lyashenko M.N. History of Russia. – M., 1997

9. Petrov S.M. Essay on the life and work of A.S. Pushkin. – M., 1986

Correcting the morals of an outdated nation is as difficult as making ebony white.
Pythagoras

Speaking about the novel by A.S. Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin” as an “encyclopedia of Russian life”, it is necessary to mention the era in which Pushkin lived and worked and in which the events of the novel developed.
The Patriotic War of 1812 showed that the Russian people are a great force, the foundation of which was, first of all, patriotism and sincere love for the Motherland. At the end of the war, the victorious people, the heroic people were returned to their original state. The soldiers who won victory at the front, returning home, again turned into forced peasants, all their exploits were forgotten.
In connection with these events in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the nobility was divided into two unequal groups. The majority are predominantly the older generation, conservative in their views, accustomed to their life and not wanting to change anything.
The other is young progressive nobles who have seen the world and know how to compare Europe free from serfdom and slave Russia, subject to prejudices. The famous Decembrists would later emerge from this class; the poet himself belonged to it.
But our task is to describe the nobility as it was, with its shining splendor, balls and evenings, ladies in chic outfits and socialites. Behind the external beauty hid a thoroughly rotten society, in which “no thoughts will flare up for the whole day” and “faces encountered everywhere, // Impenetrable fools.” Few people here received a serious education and upbringing.

We all learned a little bit
Something and somehow.

So, education, thank God,

It's no wonder for us to shine.

The novel "Eugene Onegin" was created by Pushkin over a period of 8 years (from 1823 to 1831). If the first chapters of the novel were written by a young poet, almost a youth, then the final chapters were written by a person with considerable life experience. This “growing up” of the poet is reflected in...

One of the main characters of the novel in the verses of A.S. Pushkin is Onegin. It is no coincidence that the work is named after him. The image of Onegin is complex and contradictory, containing positive signs of progressiveness and sharply negative features of clearly expressed individualism....

The uncertainty of all those who wrote about “Eugene Onegin” is striking. Critics and literary scholars seem to recognize in advance the depravity of the plan and the insignificance of the chances of success. Even the brave and independent Belinsky made a reservation from the very first line: “We admit:...

First of all, Lensky lacks his own, hard-won personal experience. Almost everything from his borrowed scholarship to his poetry is literally all drawn from books, from romantic German poetry and philosophy of the first two decades of the 19th century. He doesn't...

The novel “Eugene Onegin,” written by Pushkin between 1823 and 1831, is, in Belinsky’s words, “a sincere work of the author, the beloved child of his imagination.” And indeed, this work, to which Pushkin devoted more time than to any other, is one of the most mature. Not to mention the fact that the novel is of great historical interest, it is also a rare example in artistic terms; written in graceful, harmonious verse, it contains a number of highly poetic pictures, illustrated with artistic descriptions of nature and rural
life.

After reading this novel, anyone, even those who have never been to Russia, can form a correct idea about its nature and partly about village life. All four seasons are reproduced in “Eugene Onegin” and, moreover, the reproduction is so consistent with reality that when reading the novel, the same ones arise in the soul. feelings that are experienced during direct contemplation of nature.

Now autumn is coming; everything calms down, and nature seems to freeze, and the life of the village inhabitants also freezes.
Winter in Rus' is a time of fun and joy; Sleigh rides and ice skating are available and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of gender or age. Christmas time is coming, and with it a new entertainment - fortune telling; everyone is guessing:
Windy youth guesses,
Old age guesses through glasses
At his gravestone...

How much joy and fun, how many secret worries and hopes are connected with the thought of the upcoming fortune-telling in every village girl; they all know the “legends of deep antiquity,” and they all equally believe in “dreams, card fortune-telling, and moon predictions.”

The landowners reward themselves for their boredom when one of them has a ball. All the neighbors come to see it, the music is blaring and the parquet floor is cracking under the heels of overzealous dancers. After the ball,
according to traditional custom, guests stay overnight with their hosts.

Such was the life of the landowner; it is impossible not to notice that he was distinguished by extreme emptiness and a complete absence of any serious interests, which explains his boredom and somnolence.

As for the life of the common people, being in a serfdom, they depended on the will of the masters, and the personal character of the landowner determined the degree of his well-being. But in general they demanded of him honesty and hard work; if the gentlemen were kind, then life was far from bad for the serfs; the landowner took care of their well-being in his own interests, there was no sharp line of separation between the master and the peasant; young maids, for example, worked and told fortunes together with the young ladies, old nannies even enjoyed a certain respect in the house. As for the concepts of the common people, one must think that they were little narrower than the concepts of their masters, who received a superficial French education.