II SD P From the history of the literary life of Pushkin's time Tetushkin's album (Instead of a preface) A little less than a century ago, theater historian NV Drizen found an old album with drawings and poems in the family archives. The album was owned by his great-great-grandmother;

Poetic vocabulary of Arabic wedding songs. Reflection in them of folk life and social relations In the lyrical poetry of the Arabs, behind traditional vocabulary and ordinary images that acquire the role of symbols, a deep social meaning is often hidden. Moreover, social

The Karamzin Salon was unique both in terms of its long existence (from the end of the 1820s until the death of Katerina Andreevna Karamzina in 1851), and in its composition, which collected names that were significant for Russian culture.

"Karamzin read us his story"

One of the remarkable forms of cultural life of Russian society at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries. there were salons. Appearing at the end of the XVIII century. (like the salon of G.R. Derzhavin) and focusing on the Parisian salons of the pre-revolutionary period, Russian salons especially flourished in the 1820-1830s. 1 Literary, musical, political, and more often harmoniously uniting the discussion of novelties of domestic and foreign writers, and playing music in living rooms, and a dispute about the latest political news with foreign envoys, maintaining a friendly, relaxed, playful atmosphere, salons became a significant fact of national culture, giving rise to new values, forming the historical, political, aesthetic consciousness of its participants 2 . As S.S. wrote Uvarov, "private, so to speak, domestic societies, consisting of people interconnected by free vocation and personal talents ... had and have, not only here, but everywhere, a tangible, although in some way invisible influence on contemporaries" 3.

The Karamzin Salon occupied a special place in the cultural life of the capital. Established during the life of the historiographer, the salon finally took shape under his widow Katerina Andreevna from the end of the 1820s. and especially in the 1830s-1840s, attracting the entire color of St. Petersburg society. In the first half of the 1820s. he was a circle united by the interests of literature and history and grouped around N.M. Karamzin, who "was some kind of life-giving, radiant focus" 4 for his young friends.

“At least our literary society,” the already mentioned S.S. Uvarov recalled, “consisted of Dashkov, Bludov, Karamzin, Zhukovsky, Batyushkov and me. Karamzin read his story to us. We were still young, but so educated, so that he listens to our remarks and uses them" 5 . The future Minister of Education knowingly mentioned the moderates in their political views"senior Arzamas" 6: right above the living room of the Karamzins, who then lived with Katerina Fedorovna Muravyova at No. 25 on the Fontanka, the Decembrist youth gathered in the office of her son Nikita Muravyov, talking about the same thing, but from positions directly opposite. "The young Jacobins were indignant" at Karamzin's "History": "several individual reflections in favor of the autocracy... seemed to them the height of barbarism and humiliation" 7 . The historiographer looked at the youth with the smile of condescension of a man wise in life 8 and "never, in the most heated debate, did he cross the boundaries of polite objection" 9 . Only once, angry, did he allow himself a sharp phrase: "Those who cry out against autocracy more than others, carry it in their blood and lymph."

The traditions of the salon were supported by the widow

After Karamzin's death in 1826, the traditions established by him were supported by the historiographer's widow, Katerina Andreevna. As Prince A.V. Meshchersky, "being in this sweet and hospitable family, I immediately found myself in the most intelligent environment of St. Petersburg society, in which the memory of the unforgettable Nikolai Mikhailovich was still so fresh and where, according to legend, both the former friends of the late historiographer and young poets, writers and scientists gathered new generation" 11 - "the spirit of Karamzin seemed to group them around his family" 12 . Among the well-known figures of Russian culture who visited the Karamzins' salon at different times, one can mention A.S. Pushkin, V.A. Zhukovsky, P.A. Vyazemsky, A.I. Turgenev, E.A. Baratynsky, M.Yu. Lermontov, F.N. Glinka, V.F. Odoevsky, N.V. Gogol, F.I. Tyutcheva, A.S. Khomyakova, Yu.F. Samarina, P.A. Pletneva, S.A. Sobolevsky, V.A. Sollogub, E.P. Rostopchin, A.O. Smirnov-Rosset.

The Karamzin Salon was unique both in terms of its long existence (from the end of the 1820s until the death of Katerina Andreevna Karamzina in 1851), and in its composition, which collected names that were significant for Russian culture. As V.A. Sollogub, everyone "that had a well-known name in Russia in art, diligently visited this hospitable, sweet, highly aesthetic house" 13 . Sollogub was echoed by A.F. Tyutcheva: "it so happened that for more than twenty years the most cultured and educated part of Russian society gathered in the modest salon of E.A. Karamzina" 14 . About the same, but with a feeling of obvious disapproval, I.I. Panaev, who accused the salon of the Karamzins and the writers who were part of it of "literary aristocracy": "In order to gain literary fame in the high society circle, it was necessary to get into the salon of Ms. Karamzina, the widow of a historiographer. Diplomas for literary talents were issued there" 15.

There Pushkin "shunned the panache of speeches"

In the review of I.I. Panaev, the responses of the disputes of 1830-1831 are heard. around the Literaturnaya Gazeta, in which A.S. Pushkin, P.A. Vyazemsky, A.A. Delvig was accused by their opponents of "literary aristocracy", and this general formula meant completely different things: N.A. Polevoy, the publisher of the Moscow Telegraph, saw in "aristocratism" a rejection of romantic rebellion and love of freedom, N.I. Nadezhdin, on the contrary, meant by "aristocratism" aristocratic dissatisfaction with reality and disregard for the life of the people, and F.V. Bulgarin represented the Literaturnaya Gazeta employees almost as aristocratic conspirators against the existing order 16 .

A.S. Pushkin and P.A. Vyazemsky vigorously objected to his opponents. “Referring to the biographical dictionaries of Novikov and Grech, we will point out,” wrote Prince P.A. Vyazemsky in Literaturnaya Gazeta, “that most of our writers belonged to the aristocracy, that is, a title that enjoys the benefits bestowed on the nobility: therefore, in Russia the expression the literary aristocracy can in no way be a reproach, but on the contrary, it is a commendable and, even better, a fair denunciation. Our drawing rooms of the nobility are also not dens of darkness and ignorance: they connect us with educated Europe; Russian and foreign books are read in them; travelers such as: Humboldt, Mrs. Stahl, Statfordt Kaning, Count Segur find sympathy and conformity to their concepts; echoes of European enlightenment are heard in them, in them, and not in the houses of merchants, not in the residences of the burghers, our artisans "17.

The rough stanzas of the eighth chapter of "Eugene Onegin", designated in the white manuscript of the novel as XXVI and XXVII, are connected with the controversy around the "literary aristocracy", in which A.S. Pushkin portrayed Tatiana's Petersburg living room as "truly noble":

In the living room of a truly noble
The panache of speeches was alienated
And petty-bourgeois ticklishness
Magazine stiff judges
[In the secular and free living room
The common syllable was adopted
And did not frighten anyone's ears
With its living strangeness...] 18

The prototype of this draft sketch was, most likely, the Karamzins' salon, in which, according to the unanimous reviews of contemporaries, a homely, patriarchal tone was adopted, which was alien to the "panache of speeches", and the Russian, "common" language for conversations, as evidenced by the notes of A. AND. Kosheleva ("these evenings were the only ones in St. Petersburg where they did not play cards and where they spoke Russian ...") 19 and poetic lines of E.P. Rostopchina:

They speak and think in Russian,
There hearts are imbued with a sense of homeland;
There ceremonial fashionable with its narrow chain
Does not choke, does not crowd ... 20

Pushkin's expression "in a truly noble living room" sounded like praise, 21 like a reflection of those best qualities that were inherent in the old Russian nobility: a sense of honor and dignity, noble noble pride, an honorary pedigree, adorned with the names of ancestors who became famous in the service of the Fatherland.

Disputes about the "literary aristocracy" continued after Pushkin's death. “Make peace with Shevyrev for the sake of his excellent article about the black side of our literature, which he published in the first book of The Moskvityanin for this year,” Prince P.A. Vyazemsky wrote to A.I. Turgenev in 1842. “Fyodorov read it to us the other day at the Karamzins' 22 . In this article, S.P. Shevyrev, in particular, argued that the best representatives of Russian literature "in idle apathy give way to the main roles of industrialists - and that's why our modern literature has become rich in money and bankrupt in thought" 23.

Here public opinion was formed

The problems of literature were the main, but not the only, subject of conversation in the Karamzins' salon. In addition to them, political and diplomatic issues were discussed, there were disputes on topical topics: “Literature, Russian and foreign, important events in our country and in Europe, especially the actions of the then great statesmen of England, Canning and Huskisson, most often made up the content of our lively conversations,” recalled about the atmosphere in the salon at the turn of the 1820-1830s. A.I. Koshelev 24 .

Interest in politics and diplomacy, characteristic of the Karamzin salon, does not allow it to be classified as a purely literary salon, the discussion of current political problems turned the salon into an important factor in shaping public opinion in the capital. According to Prince A.V. Meshchersky, "Karamzin's house was the only one in St. Petersburg, in the living room of which society gathered not for secular gossip and gossip, but exclusively for conversation and the exchange of thoughts" 25 . "Nobles, diplomats, writers, secular lions, artists - all met amicably on this common ground: here one could always find out the latest political news, hear an interesting discussion of the issue of the day or a book that had just appeared," 26 testified to A.F. Tyutchev.

What contributed to the attraction of the Karamzin salon among the intellectual elite of St. Petersburg society in the 1830s-1840s? "Where did that charm come from, thanks to which the guest, having crossed the threshold of the Karamzins' salon, felt freer and livelier, his thoughts became bolder, his conversation livelier and more witty" 27? The answer, most likely, lies in the sounded word "freedom". P.A. wrote about this. Pletnev Ya.K. Grotu: "In the society of the Karamzins there is something that is almost non-existent anywhere else: freedom, and consequently, life" 28 . Freedom from the narrow framework of high society rules and conventions, which the Karamzin salon gave its visitors, was especially acutely felt in the 30s and 40s. XIX century., No wonder A.S. Khomyakov called it "a green oasis" "among the ruinous sands" and "granite desert" 29 of Petersburg. In this salon, one could observe the following picture: "After tea, the youth played burners, and there they started dancing" 30 . According to A.I. Koshelev, evenings at the Karamzins' "refreshed and nourished our souls and minds, which was especially useful for us in the stuffy atmosphere of St. Petersburg at that time" 31 .

Tea with tarts - an indispensable ritual

In addition to freedom, Karamzin's salon was especially attractive due to its emphatically homely character: "they accepted it simply, as a family" 32 . The regulars of the salon had their own language, which in a playful way reflected the features of the home life of the Karamzins, for example, "the habit of calling pantaloons chronicles." The fact is that the old servant of the Karamzins, Luka, often sat "in the pose of a Turk" and cut his pantaloons, to which V.A. Zhukovsky came up with an anecdote: "Karamzin," said Zhukovsky, "saw something white and thought they were chronicles." After that, the youth of the Karamzin salon began to call pantaloons chronicles 33 .

The Karamzins changed their place of residence several times, but the atmosphere of their receptions remained unchanged: in the center of the living room there was an oval table with a large samovar, at which Katerina Andreevna or the daughter of the historiographer Sofya Nikolaevna poured tea for the guests and treated them to thin tarts of bread and butter - "and all the guests found that nothing could be tastier than tea, cream and tarts from the Karamzin salon" 34 . According to the poetic recognition of E.P. Rostopchina,

At the same time, the spectacle in our hearts comes to life,
At the round table, by the bright fire,
Cold winter, secular cold it will forget
And, touched, suddenly comprehends
The poetry of home life... 35

Most likely, the comfort of home attracted the young Pushkin to the Karamzins: "without family life, he was always looking for her from others, and he felt comfortable at the Karamzins' 36, wrote A.O. Smirnova-Rosset. Pushkin's tragedy 37 that Dantes was received and treated kindly by the Karamzins, about whom Sofya Nikolaevna wrote warm and sympathetic lines to her brother, but understanding of Pushkin's state and awareness of the catastrophe came only with the death of the poet.

After Pushkin's death, V.A. Zhukovsky was introduced by M.Yu. Lermontov, who became good friend Sofia Nikolaevna. "Sophie Karamzin is crazy about his talent" 38 - reported Ya.K. Grotu P.A. Pletnev. In the spring of 1840, before the second exile to the Caucasus, Lermontov wrote his famous poem "Clouds" ("Clouds of heaven, eternal wanderers!") in the Karamzin salon. The autograph of the poem has not been preserved, but there is a copy made by Sofya Nikolaevna 40 .

Sofya Nikolaevna, eldest daughter N.M. Karamzin from his first marriage to E.I. Protasova, set the tone in the Karamzins' salon. According to A.V. Meshchersky, "Sofya Nikolaevna was truly the driving force, guiding and enlivening the conversation, both in general and in private conversation. She had an amazing talent for welcoming everyone, seating and grouping guests according to their tastes and sympathies, finding forever new topics for conversation and showing the most lively and unconstrained participation in everything ... In this case, she resembled the famous Madame Recamier "41. In a similar way, the role of Sofya Nikolaevna and A.F. Tyutcheva: “Poor and dear Sophie, as I now see how she, like an industrious bee, flutters from one group of guests to another, connecting some, separating others, picking up a witty word, an anecdote, noting an elegant toilet ... entering into a conversation with some lonely lady, encouraging a shy and modest debutante, in a word, bringing the ability to get along in society to the degree of art and almost virtue "42.

As Yu.M. Lotman, “the picture described in Tyutcheva’s memoirs is so reminiscent of a scene from Tolstoy’s War and Peace that it is difficult to abandon the idea that Tyutcheva’s then-unpublished memoirs were available to Tolstoy. The emotional assessment in Tolstoy’s novel is directly opposite, but this is all the more emphasizes the similarity of the picture itself" 43 . This testified to the rebirth of the late Karamzins' salon into a "machine of faceless secular communication."

At the time of its heyday, the Karamzin salon was a remarkable phenomenon of Russian culture and socio-political thought. On the one hand, it was a significant fact in the history of Russian literature, associated with the names of A.S. Pushkin, M.Yu. Lermontova, N.V. Gogol and other representatives of the golden age of Russian culture, who read their works here. On the other hand, it is important for the history of social and political thought as one of the factors in the formation of public opinion in St. Petersburg. In both cases, the main thing seems to be that the Karamzins' salon created a special intellectual and emotional atmosphere of dialogue, a free exchange of thoughts and feelings, which is a necessary condition for any creativity.

Notes
1. Muravieva I.A. Salons of Pushkin's time: Essays on literary and secular life St. Petersburg. SPb., 2008. S. 7.
2. Vatsuro V.E. S.D.P. From the history of the literary life of Pushkin's time. M., 1989. S. 256.
3. Uvarov S.S. Literary memories // "Arzamas": Collection. In 2 books. Book 1. memoir evidence; On the eve of "Arzamas"; Arzamas documents. M., 1994. S. 41.
4. Vyazemsky P.A. Notebooks// Karamzin: Pro et contra. Comp. L.A. Sapchenko. SPb., 2006. S. 456.
5. Quoted. Quoted from: Aronson M.I. Mugs and salons // Aronson M., Racer S. Literary circles and salons. M., 2001. S. 67.
6. The Arzamas Society (1815-1818) united supporters of the Karamzin trend in literature.
7. Pushkin A.S. Karamzin // Collection. op. in 6 volumes. T. 6. M., 1969. S. 384.
8. For example, Karamzin spoke of N.I. Turgenev: "He is a terrible liberalist, but kind, although sometimes he looks askance at me, because I declared myself a non-liberalist" (Letters from N.M. Karamzin to I.I. Dmitriev. St. Petersburg, 1866, p. 253) .
9. Dmitriev M.A. Chapters from the memories of my life. M., 1998. S. 100.
10. Vyazemsky P.A. Notebooks (1813-1848). M., 1963. S. 24.
11. From my antiquity. Memories of Prince A.V. Meshchersky. 1841 // Russian archive. 1901. N 1. S. 101.
12. Smirnova A.O. Autobiographical notes // Smirnova-Rosset A.O. Diary. Memories. Ed. S.V. Zhytomyr. M., 1989. S. 192.
13. Memoirs of Count V.A. Sollogub // Literary salons and circles. First half of the 19th century. M.-L., 1930. S. 214.
14. Tyutcheva A.F. Memories. At the court of two emperors. M., 2008. S. 18.
15. Panaev I.I. Literary memories // Aronson M., Racer S. Literary circles and salons. M., 2001. S. 206.
16. Lotman Yu.M. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Biography of the writer // Lotman Yu.M. Pushkin. SPb., 1995. S. 134-136.
17. Vyazemsky P.A. An explanation of some modern literary questions. Article I. About the spirit of the parties; about the literary aristocracy // Vyazemsky P.A. Favorites / P.A. Vyazemsky. Comp., author intro. Art. and comment. P.V. Akulshin. M., 2010. S. 138-139.
18. Lotman Yu.M. A.S. Pushkin's novel "Eugene Onegin". Comment // Lotman Yu.M. Pushkin. SPb., 1995. S. 711; Izmailov N.V. Pushkin and the Karamzin family // Pushkin in the letters of the Karamzins 1836-1837. M.-L., 1960. S. 24-25.
19. Koshelev A.I. Notes // Aronson M., Racer S. Literary circles and salons. M., 2001. S. 209.
20. Rostopchina E.P. Where I feel good 1838 // Aronson M., Racer S. Literary circles and salons. M., 2001. S. 208.
21. Izmailov N.V. Pushkin and the Karamzin family...S. 25-26.
22. Op. Cited from: Aronson M., Racer S. Literary circles and salons. M., 2001. S. 214.
23. Ibid. S. 213.
24. Koshelev A.I. My memories of A.S. Khomyakov // Koshelev A.I. Selected works / A.I. Koshelev; Comp., authors intro. Art. and comment. P.V. Akulshin, V.A. Gornov. M., 2010. S. 324.
25. From my antiquity. Memories of Prince A.V. Meshchersky. 1841... S. 101.
26. Tyutcheva A.F. Memories. At the court of two emperors... P.19.
27. Ibid. P.19.
28. Correspondence of Ya.K. Grotto with P.A. Pletnev. T. 1. St. Petersburg, 1896. S. 647.
29. Khomyakov A.S. In the album S.N. Karamzina // Aronson M., Racer S. Literary circles and salons. M., 2001. S. 215.
30. Correspondence of Ya.K. Grotto with P.A. Pletnev. T. 1 ... S. 260.
31. Koshelev A.I. My memories of A.S. Khomyakov... S. 324.
32. From my antiquity. Memories of Prince A.V. Meshchersky. 1841... S. 101.
33. Smirnova A.O. Autobiographical notes ... S. 179.
34. Tyutcheva A.F. Memories. At the court of two emperors... S. 22.
35. Rostopchina E.P. Where I feel good ... S. 208.
36. Smirnova A.O. Autobiographical notes ... S. 179.
37. Muravieva I.A. Salons of Pushkin's time: Essays on the literary and social life of St. Petersburg. SPb., 2008. S. 359-360.
38. Correspondence of Ya.K. Grotto with P.A. Pletnev. T. 1. St. Petersburg, 1896. S. 158.
39. Izmailov N.V. Pushkin and the Karamzin family... S. 27.
40. Muravieva I.A. Salons of the Pushkin era ... S. 383.
41. From my antiquity. Memories of Prince A.V. Meshchersky. 1841...S. 102.
42. Tyutcheva A.F. Memories. At the court of two emperors... S. 19.
43. Lotman Yu.M. Culture and Explosion // Lotman Yu.M. Semiosphere. SPb., 2004. S. 96.

2017

I. Introduction.

II. Albums of the salons of Pushkin's time and their echoes today:

1. Salons in the life of Russian society in the Pushkin era.

2. The best Moscow and St. Petersburg salons.

3. Salon albums.

III. Conclusion.

IV. References.

Introduction

culture This is a multi-tiered building. And if its highest manifestation is art, then the "culture of everyday life" is its foundation.

The features of the life of any society are interesting and informative, especially if they are distant from us for almost two centuries. They require decryption.

In what order did guests sit at the table during a dinner party? When two coats of arms were depicted on the carriage door and what did it mean? What is a ball and how is it similar to a parade?

All these are trifles of everyday life, but without them much is incomprehensible in the works of Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy ... This is our history and the history of our culture, therefore the life of our ancestors is interesting to us, there are no trifles in it.

Yu. Tynyanov, V. Vinogradov, V. Zhirmunsky, Yu. Lotman dealt with the problems of everyday life as a cultural phenomenon.

The literary life of the Pushkin era of the XIX century was reflected in works of art, letters, memoirs of Pushkin and his contemporaries.

Salons in the life of Russian society in Pushkin's time

In the 20-30s of the XIX century in St. Petersburg and Moscow, along with literary societies and circles, there was another form of them - salons, for visitors to which literature was not a profession, but a hobby or entertainment. A salon is a political or literary-artistic circle of people of a chosen circle, gathering in the house of a private person. (Dictionary of Ozhegov)

“There were about 30 people in the elegant salon. Some spoke in an undertone to each other, others listened, some walked around ...

There were no loud voices and disputes, just like cigars. The hostess was sitting not far from the door ... in the other corner there was a tea table; in his neighborhood a few pretty girls were whispering to each other; near the bronze clock, which had just struck half past ten, a graceful woman, immersed in velvet armchairs, was busy with three young people seated near her: they were talking about something. This is how Karolina Pavlova, the famous poetess, who herself was the owner of the famous Moscow salon on Sretensky Boulevard, describes the salon. On Thursdays, a diverse audience gathered there. Here Herzen met with Shevyrev, Aksakov - with Chaadaev. Here they argued about the historical paths of Russia, read poems and discussed articles. The poetic talent of Karolina Pavlova, her lively educated conversation made her salon pleasant and attractive to writers.

On the announced day, without an official invitation, a certain group of people gathered to talk, exchange opinions, and play music. Neither cards, nor feasts, nor dances provided for such meetings. Traditionally, the salon was formed around a woman - she brought the spirit of intellectual coquetry and grace, which created an indescribable atmosphere of the salon.

The best Moscow and St. Petersburg salons of that time

Each salon was distinguished by its selection of visitors, its character. If they came to Princess Volkonskaya to enjoy music and poetry, a society of literary friends gathered at Delvig's, and a high-society salon gathered in the St. Petersburg salons of Elizaveta Khitrovo and Countess Ficquelmont. All vital European and Russian life, political, literary and social, had true echoes in these two related salons. They could stock up on all the issues of the day, from a political pamphlet and a parliamentary speech by a French or English orator, to a novel or drama by one of the favorites of that literary era.

The evenings at the writer V. Sollogub were completely different. In addition to people of art, there were many high-ranking people who could look closely at Russian writers. Only four women had access to Sollogub's salon, and then on condition that they had the most modest toilets. This is Countess Rostopchina, Countess Dashkova, Musin-Pushkin and Demidov.

From the very beginning, only Russian was spoken in the Karamzins' salon. After the death of the writer, his daughter Sofya Nikolaevna becomes the mistress of the salon. For twenty years or more, this salon has been one of the most attractive centers of the St. public life, a true oasis of literary and intellectual interests among the brilliant and magnificent, but little spiritualized St. Petersburg light.

There was always an atmosphere of power of attorney in the salons. The Salon of Sofya Dmitrievna Ponomaryova occupied a special place in St. Petersburg during the Pushkin period. charming, clever woman, she herself created the society of her salon. She knew languages, translated well, wrote. Delvig, Baratynsky, and Kuchelbecker were in love with her. In her salon there was no hint of luxury, no pretensions to fashion; here everyone was cheerful, free and easy. The album that has come down to our time, which was filled in by visitors to her salon, also speaks of Ponomareva's salon.

Salon albums

Albums in Pushkin era they spread a taste for reading and writing, they became fond of literature. Pushkin, Baratynsky, and Batyushkov wrote in albums. The hostess gave the album to one of the visitors to the salon with a request to write poetry to her. The one who received the "task" read other entries and reacted to them. There was a conversation. Album lyrics are various madrigals, puns, epigrams. The album gave room for a kind of album game. Here, in addition to poetry, one could meet with instructions and teachings. For example, Ponomareva’s album contains the following “Teacher’s Instructions” by N.I. Grech: “Sit straight at the table, don’t fight with your neighbors and don’t eat anything without bread. Walking the streets, do not look at the windows. Do not make fun of old people and your teachers.

Albums of that time and now serve as a precious source of poetic texts - many of them never made it to print during the author's lifetime, others the author applied several times to different addressees. As time passed, relationships between people changed. In the albums, postscripts to existing records appeared. So A.S. Pushkin in the album of A.A. Olenina, under the poem "I loved you" in 1833, ascribes: "Pluskvamperfe is long gone."

The album was filled for a long time, passed from mother to daughter. Grave crosses appeared near the records - a sign that the author of the record is no longer in the world. The album not only accompanied a person through life - it denoted his relationship with death. They were afraid to write on the first sheet - there was a belief that the one who fills the beginning of the album will die. The first entry often appeared on the last sheet, then in the middle. The albums contained not only recordings, but also drawings that actively complemented the words. So to the poem

Long ago my soul would wither

And the blood in my heart cooled,

If I hadn't been backed up...

instead of the last line there was a drawing: an anchor, a cross and a flaming heart. The meaning is clear: the anchor is hope, the cross is faith, the burning heart is a sign of love.

In the albums, a conversation ensued. One writes: “Be silent about people’s weaknesses, shout about virtues,” and the other replies: “A good deed will show itself without a cry.” In response to an unfortunate poetic compliment:

It is said that the eyes are the mirror of the soul.

So your wise and sweet ones are so good, -

immediately came the reply:

I have seen many such eyes,

That there is not enough soul in them:

And look for hearts in them, -

So the heart didn't exist.

This is already a reflection of salon culture - the album seems to freeze the conversation that just sounded in the living room.

Conclusion

“Albums have spread our taste for reading and writing - they have become fond of literature. And this is clear!..Women, these light, fickle, windy, but always sweet creatures for us - women do whatever they want with us, their zealous fans... Thanksgiving to women! They introduced albums and provided a pleasant and useful occupation for our young people. - I'm even sure that since the appearance of the albums, we began to write better, more pleasantly; express themselves more freely, more decently, closer to public conversation.

These are lines from an article On Albums published in 1820 in the magazine Well Intentioned. Apparently, this topic was already occupied by Pushkin's contemporaries. In 1846, in a letter to Wulff, the poet Yazykov complained: “The album, which contains Pushkin’s poems, is a treasure, and it should also be preserved as a monument to that golden time when the girls had albums”

The amazing thing is that the form of the album has passed through a century and has reached our time. The current generation, fascinated by computers and players, continues to be interested in them. It is very good that the form of the salon album of the 19th century has come down to our time, at least in such a slightly modified, even vulgarized form ..

Those fashion did not go to the albums

At least we've moved on a hundred years.

Girls pour their soul into them year after year,

Without hiding, without hiding hopes.

It was a golden time

Time of stormy passions and intrigues.

I can see and hear you at this moment.

Living by learning from salon albums,

Reading them to friends on the way,

I want at least these patterns

Learn to save their souls.

It seems to me that by studying the albums of that time in more detail, propagandizing them among students, it would be possible to incline my peers to the correct writing, creativity.

References

1 . Lotman Yu.M. Conversations about Russian culture. - St. Petersburg, 1994.

2. Chereisky L.A. Pushkin's contemporaries. - L., Det.lit., 1981.

3. Marchenko N.A. Literary life of Pushkin's time. - "Literature at school", 1997-4.

4. Lukovich I.E. In the salon of Z.A. Volkonskaya. - "Literature at school", 2003 -2.

5. Vatsuro V.E. Literary albums in the collection of the Pushkin House. - L., 1979. (There is a presentation for the work)

“Only a very enlightened woman can run a salon”

\ Prince P.A. Vyazemsky \

"And a provincial novice
The hostess was not embarrassed by arrogance:
She was the same for everyone.
Effortless and sweet"

\ A.S. Pushkin \

Pushkin's time ... This is now what we call the 20-30s of the 19th century ... And then the golden age of Russian literature was just beginning ... And it was in demand all the way national history... The era of reforms and enlightenment has borne fruit: a narrow layer of highly educated people has appeared ... And among them are amazing women ...
Today we will remember them - those who were muses and the first listeners... Thanks to whom the future great men of Russian literature could gather under one roof...

Reindeer House

Fontanka, 101... This house survived the centuries unchanged. In it, at the director of the Public Library Alexei Olenin, the young Poet began to receive immediately after graduating from the Lyceum. The owner himself designed the title page of the first edition of Ruslan and Lyudmila. Here Pushkin first met Zhukovsky and Gnedich, Krylov and Batyushkov.
It was the center of noble culture, where "opinions were formed on questions of literature and art." Literary salons met the needs of mutual communication, exchange of opinions ... They knew how to have fun there (unlike our virtual)))))).
In the summer, the meetings took place in the country estate of Priyutino. It is now well restored: the house has been preserved, and even the oaks planted by Olenin in memory of his sons ...
After exile in 1827, Pushkin returned to St. Petersburg. This time in Anna Olenina's album he left the following dedication:

"A confession of love frightens you,
You will tear the letter of love,
But a poetic message
With a gentle smile you will read ... "

Then there will be many others, more serious, with the hope of a reciprocal feeling ... And, finally, the last: “I loved you ...”

Salon of the Karamzins

Contemporaries recognized Karamzin's wife, Ekaterina Andreevna, as one of the most prominent women of the era. “Possessing her feelings, her mind, she shone with perfection,” Pushkin sang about her in poetry. After the death of her husband in 1826, she completed and published the last (12th) volume of The History of the Russian State, continuing to expand Karamzin's literary merits. Later, Salon was helped to keep the daughters of the historiographer - Sophia and Ekaterina.
Salon Karamzins mentioned in the sketches for " Eugene Onegin»,

“In the living room, truly noble,
The panache of speeches was alienated
. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .
Mistress secular and free
The common syllable was adopted ... "

This was the circle where they communicated in their native language and where ladies also took part in the discussion of new literature. Pushkin visited here with Natalie. Before last days The poet idolized Ekaterina Andreevna.

Voeikov and Ponomareva

Pushkin did not manage to attend these St. Petersburg Salons - he was serving a southern exile. But his lyceum and literary friends were their regulars. These mistresses were very different characters and never met each other.
Alexandra Voeikova - Zhukovsky's niece (the ballad "Svetlana" is dedicated to her) - a gentle sublime creature, a painter and a musician ... Her mansion was located next to the Anichkov Bridge. Yevgeny Boratynsky wrote about her: "... And with you, the soul is full of sacred silence." K. Ryleev dedicated the poem "Rogneda" to her. She was the muse of I. Kozlov and N. Yazykov. And she herself was fond of the poems of the young Pushkin, writing them down in her album.

Sofia Ponomareva... Cheerful, groovy and flirtatious. She composed poetry, knew 4 languages, selected music. With the consent of her husband, she created the Salon "S.D.P." - "The estate of friends of enlightenment", where Masonic rituals were performed and playful nicknames were assigned. Everything revolved around the owner. And all ... former lyceum students: M. Yakovlev, Kyukhlya and madly in love A. Illichevsky and A. Delvig. It is believed that the famous poem is also dedicated to her: "Love's days are short,\ But I can't see her cold...\"
Sonechka died on the threshold of her 30th birthday, leaving a bright mark on the souls of many poets...

"Princess nocturne"

In the late evenings, the windows in the mansion of Princess Evdokia Golitsyna on Millionnaya Street, near the Winter Palace shone brightly ... Guests gathered here in carriages, and among them 18-year-old Pushkin. He met the mistress of the Karamzins. The whole atmosphere of the palace was something mysterious ... Starting with the fact that the princess received only at night. Not very happy in her personal life, she prioritized spiritual communication at the highest level.
A rare beauty and a true patriot of Russia immediately captivated the Poet. In the same year, he dedicated a wonderful verse to Golitsyna (one of my favorites):
"The edges of strangers inexperienced lover
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .
I said: in my own country
Where is the true mind, where is the genius we will find?
Where is a woman - not with a cold beauty,
But with fiery, captivating, lively?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
I almost hated the fatherland -
But yesterday I saw Golitsyna
And reconciled with my fatherland.

The literary tastes of the "Princess of the Night" were very progressive: all her closest friends were in "Arzamas" ... The poet visited Golitsyna every day, and in 1818 he sent her Ode "Liberty" - with a dedication.
From his first exile in May 1820, he writes Al. Turgenev:
“Away from the fireplace, Prince. Golitsyna will freeze under the sky of Italy ... And in 1823, already from Odessa: "What does the poetic, unforgettable, constitutional, anti-Polish, heavenly princess Golitsyna do?" (The princess was indignant that Poland was given a constitution, but Russia was not).
Returning to St. Petersburg, Pushkin most often visits Delvig.

Among their

On Saturdays, a circle of writers gathered at V.A. Zhukovsky - not far from the Nikolsky Cathedral, and on Wednesdays and Sundays - at the Delvigs, near the Vladimir Church (the house was defended in the 90s of the 20th century). Anton had already published "Northern Flowers" and was happily married to Sofya Saltykova. Pushkin, Kuchelbecker, A. Bestuzhev, K. Ryleev and others tumbled here.
While visiting a friend, the Poet often saw Anna Kern (she lived either with the Delvigs or with Pushkin's sister - at the other end of the same Kuznechny Lane), but now they were connected only by friendship. In 1828, Pushkin read "Poltava" here... In 1830, Delvig began publishing Literaturnaya Gazeta, but in January of the following year his life was cut short. Alexander could not find a place for himself from grief.

"Beauties of the Ages"

So the brilliant women of that time were called Bella Akhmadulina. The first in this series, without a doubt, Zinaida Volkonskaya ... Refined, romantic and gifted with talents:
singers, musicians, writers, and most importantly: the ability to support any conversation.
She opened her famous Salon in Moscow, on Tverskaya. We all remember the picture, which captures the moment of the meeting there between Pushkin and Mickiewicz...
"Queen of muses and beauty,
You hold with a gentle hand
Magic scepter of inspiration..."
This is an offering from Pushkin. But most of the poems were dedicated to her by the enamored Dmitry Venevitinov, who died early. The salon brought together D. Davydov and P. Chaadaev, Khomyakov and Zagoskin and other Moscow writers. It was in it that Pushkin presented "Boris Godunov" and the last chapters of "Eugene Onegin" ... Living later in Rome, the Princess hosted Zhukovsky and Gogol, encouraged Russian artists, and created the "Patriotic Conversation" society.
The granddaughter of Kutuzov, Countess Ficquelmont, also kept the high-society Salon ... As the wife of the Austrian ambassador, she lived in Saltykov's house - near the Summer Garden. Pushkin most often visited here in the 30s. These walls were the first to hear his new creations... In a letter from Moscow, the Poet is distressed that "he has been removed from the salon." Calls the countess "the most brilliant of noble ladies." And she regrets that "God made her saltier" - she dreams of a simpler life.
In 1832, after her marriage in St. Petersburg on Liteiny, the Salon was opened by a good friend of Pushkin and Gogol, the independent and original Alexandra Rosset.
She was fond of all kinds of arts and philosophy ... Let us recall the famous lines of the Poet about her:
"... And how kind the child was,
Laughed at the absurd crowd,
I judged sanely and lightly,
And the blackest jokes of anger
She wrote straight out."

Her friends called her "Donna Sol". This is what Vyazemsky emphasized in the verse:
"You are Donna Sol, sometimes Donna Pepper!
. . . . . . . . . .
Oh Donna Sahar! Donna Honey!"

After the death of Pushkin in the same year at the Karamzins, Smirnova-Rosset met Lermontov, who dedicated beautiful poems to her:
"I can't occupy your mind...
All this would be funny
If only it wasn't so sad..."

She loved Russian poetry selflessly. And after the death of two great poets, she continued to serve her faithfully ... Zhukovsky called her "Dearest of the darlings, smart of the smart, adorable of the adorable." She even captivated Gogol, Belinsky and Aksakov - only later.

End of an era

In the middle of the 19th century, the Salons gradually "came to naught" ... along with Russian poetry. A well-known connoisseur of light, Prince Pyotr Vyazemsky, noted: "That type of woman has disappeared. This ruler, this queen of secular sociability is no more."

Literary salons of St. Petersburg in the 19th century

Introduction

The history of Russian literature in the first half of the 19th century is closely connected with the phenomenon of literary salons that flourished at that time in St. Petersburg. Many salons in St. Petersburg in the first half of the 19th century were run by women. According to Vyazemsky ... the female mind is often hospitable, it willingly orders and welcomes smart guests, carefully and deftly arranging them at home ... Such mistresses of the salons were Elizaveta Mikhailovna Khitrovo and Dolly Fikelmont (daughter and granddaughter of Field Marshal Kutuzov), Karamzins - Ekaterina Andreevna, Sophie and Katrin, Alexandra Osipovna Smirnova-Rosset. The decoration of the Olenins' salon was its lovely mistresses, especially Anna Alekseevna, with whom A.S. was in love at one time. Pushkin. At the time of the raznochintsy, in the second half of the 19th century, the word “salon” no longer had such an attractive meaning, as, for example, in the time of Pushkin, when the literary salons of Golitsina, Volkonskaya, Olenins, Karamzins were known to all reading and writing people in Russia. Salons where the stars of new authors lit up and already recognized writers and poets shone with talent.

The purpose of this work is to consider the phenomenon of literary salons in St. Petersburg in the 19th century.

1.The history of the "salon"

The first salons appeared, probably in France, in the era of Louis XIII (early 17th century). The noble Italian Giulia Savely married Mr. de Vivon and decided to rebuild the house according to the classical model. Together with the symmetrically arranged windows and rooms, which followed each other in a solemn enfilade, a new way of life came. The hostess, a beautiful and educated lady, received guests, according to the French custom, lying in bed in the morning. She was visited by familiar aristocrats, artists, scientists and poets. During a cheerful and intelligent conversation, time flew by unnoticed by everyone: the lady combed her hair, dressed, and her guests exchanged news and gossip, read poems and plays. However, they often played politics: the salon of Julie de Vivon, and then the salon of her daughter, the Marquise Catherine de Ramboulier, was in opposition to the Court.

So, two centuries ahead, the rules of salon life were established. Salon ("living room" in French) was a kind of circle around a brilliant lady, which united her friends from different layers society. These circles have always been created according to their interests: some were fascinated by religion, others by politics, and others by literature, art and music. Salons were started by noble ladies, rich bourgeois women, fashionable courtesans.

For the most part, the salons were the refuge of the opposition: it was not the king who reigned here, but a beautiful, or at least quite intelligent and amiable lady, in front of whom both the peer and the impoverished artist were equal. The ideologues of the French Revolution drew inspiration from such salons. Of course, the presence of the lady threw a bridle on both minds and tongues. And already under Hegel (the beginning of the 19th century), this resulted in frank affectation, about which the great German philosopher spoke with sarcasm.

Bearing in mind the role of salons in French culture, Pushkin used to say that French poetry was born in the hallway and did not go beyond the living room.

But still, it is hardly an exaggeration to say that the salon is a cell civil society, especially if he supports opposition to the hard regime. They are also an indicator of the maturity of society.

In Russia, even in the 18th century, there was no smell of real salons. The Hermitage circle under Catherine II was only a salon in appearance: they did not have fun and developed here, they made a career here. Paul 1 did not tolerate contradictions in anything at all. He even married courtiers and gave them in marriage at his own discretion, like serfs. What kind of salons are there! .. salon literary bookstore

2. Salon "Night Princess"

The owner of the first genuine salon in Russia was Princess Evdokia (Avdotya) Ivanovna Golitsyna, nee Izmailova (1780-1850). She was born in a very respectable and rich family: her mother was the sister of the famous Prince Yusupov. Probably, Avdotya Izmailova received black wavy hair, fiery black eyes and swarthy elastic skin from Tatar ancestors. In her father's family, she also received a brilliant education for a woman of that time.

The young beauty made a splash at the court, and Emperor Paul decided to make her happy: he betrothed her a rich and noble groom, Prince S.M. Golitsyn. But the spouses turned out to be so “incompatible” that as soon as Alexander ascended the throne, they parted with a light heart.

Prince Peter Vyazemsky notes that in the very beauty of Golitsyna there was something chaste even in her mature years. After parting with her husband, Avdotya Ivanovna met her only love, to whom she remained faithful all her life, the brilliant Prince M.P. Dolgoruky.

In 1808, Prince Dolgoruky died a heroic death in one of the battles with Napoleon. Princess Golitsyna closes in grief. But his bonds are broken by universal grief: the war of 1812. The princess participates in patriotic actions, is engaged in extensive charity work, and prints a highly courageous brochure. After the fall of Bonaparte, she argues about the future of Russia and Europe in Paris with the smartest people of that time: M.F. Orlov, M.S. Vorontsov, brothers A. and S.I. Turgenevs. Princess Golitsyna is an ardent patriot. But was she smart? All the same Prince P. Vyazemsky notes that she was, rather, "smart for others." In other words, she turned out to be a genius of intelligent and amiable communication.

Returning to St. Petersburg in 1816, the princess becomes naturally... the hostess of the salon. And what a salon! Her house on Millionnaya Street turns into a kind of temple of art, painted by the best artists of the era. Nothing from a fast-moving fashion - everything is simple, majestic and original to the point of impossibility. The hostess receives guests in robes that make you remember not Parisian fashion magazines, but pictures from the life of Ancient Rome. The conversations last all night, for the princess is just afraid ... of the night. The gypsy told her death at night in a dream. For these vigils, Golitsyna was nicknamed the “night princess” (“la Princesse Nocturne”). But at the same time, an enlightened spirit reigns in conversations, and partly (among the guests, of course) even republican. And among her guests are poets: the caustic Vyazemsky, the good-natured Zhukovsky, the dreamy Batyushkov. This latter writes enthusiastically in 1818 that it is difficult for someone to surpass Avdotya Ivanovna Golitsyna in beauty and pleasantness, and that her face will never grow old. Since 1817, barely leaving the Lyceum, at her feet is the young Pushkin. The wise Karamzin finds the passion of the brilliant young man too demonstrative and ardent. He writes, not without irony: “The poet Pushkin in our house fell mortally in love with Pythia Golitsyna and now spends evenings with her: he lies from love, gets angry from love, but he still does not write from love ...”

A.S. Pushkin dedicate one of his early masterpieces to Golitsyna (“K ***”):

Do not ask why a dull thought

In the midst of love I am often clouded

Why do I raise my gloomy gaze to everything,

Why is a dream not sweet to me sweet life;

Do not ask why the soul is cold

I fell out of love with merry love

And I don't call anyone sweet

Whoever loved once will never love again;

Who knew happiness, he will not know happiness,

For a brief moment, bliss is given to us:

From youth, from softness and voluptuousness

Only sadness remains.

If the first half of the poem is about his feelings, then the second is about her fate, and here Pushkin showed that wonderful property, the genius of which was also Golitsyna herself, the ability to be imbued with the feelings and thoughts of another person, or “empathy

Of course, he did not linger at the feet of the princess for a very long time, all the more so because, as you know, he wrote poetry then, and Golitsyn ... a treatise on mathematics! And although already loving contemporaries called this ladies' needlework "complete nonsense", nevertheless Golitsyna did not leave her studies in mathematics until her death ...

Pushkin will remember Golitsyna in the southern exile. The princess will help him to transfer from provincial Chisinau to almost metropolitan Odessa. But the point in their relationship, perhaps, will be beautifully put by the poet back in 1819, with a poetic madrigal to her when sending the ode "Liberty":

A simple pupil of nature,

So I used to sing

Dream of beautiful freedom

And she breathed sweetly.

But I see you, I listen to you, -

And what? .. Weak man! ..

Losing my freedom forever

I adore captivity with my heart.

Alas, the glory of the salon most often faded along with the beauty of its mistress. We do not know anything about how Pushkin treated Golitsyna after returning from exile - and yet they could not help but meet! But one of his contemporaries wrote down very bitter and cruel words about the “night princess” in the 30s: “Old and terribly ugly, she always wore dresses of sharp colors, was known as a scientist and, they say, corresponded with Parisian academicians on mathematical issues. She seemed to me just a boring blue stocking ”(V.V. Lenz).

In 1845 O. de Balzac visited St. Petersburg. Golitsyna did not know him, but at midnight she sent a carriage for him with an invitation to her place. However… the creator of the “Human Comedy” was offended and wrote to her: “In our country, gracious madam, they only send for doctors, and even then for those with whom they are familiar. I am not a doctor.” In the 1940s, Golitsyna left for Paris. They say that the largest literary critic Sainte-Beuve listened to her opinions ...

Golitsyna died in St. Petersburg and was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. She ordered to draw an interesting and in her own way touching epitaph on the monument to herself: “I ask the Orthodox Russians and those passing here to pray for the servant of God, so that the Lord hears my warm prayers at the throne of the Most High for the preservation of the Russian spirit.”

. "Queen of Muses and Beauty"

... Everything is significant and symbolic in the fate of this woman. She was born in the historical year 1789 in the German "Florence on the Elbe" - Dresden. Father, Prince Beloselsky-Belozersky, was nicknamed the “Moscow Apollo” for his beauty, but he was also smart and educated: he made friends with Mozart and Voltaire. This latter highly praised the French verses of the prince. For a sober analysis of the events of the French Revolution, the “Moscow Apollo” fell into disfavor, was dismissed from the diplomatic service and, as if a dissident, lived from 1794 in Turin. He devoted himself to the arts and to the upbringing of his two daughters who lost their mother so early.

The prince was especially pleased with the youngest, surprisingly graceful, lively and musical. When she grew up and appeared at the Russian Court, she impressed everyone with her beauty, education (she knew eight languages!), With her magnificent singing and acting on stage. Professionals (including Rossini and the famous actress Mars) sighed: if it were not for the extremely high origin of the princess, much more noble than the emperor himself, what a star the opera stage would have found in her! ..

So, talents, beauty, art and politics crowned the heroine of our essay almost from the cradle. We are talking about the hostess of the most famous Russian salon of the 19th century - Princess Zinaida Alexandrovna Volkonskaya.

By the will of her father, Princess Beloselskaya-Belozerskaya became Princess Volkonskaya. Actually, another Volkonsky, Sergei (the future Decembrist), was wooed to her. But he was so fascinated by politics that he did not succumb to its charms. Otherwise, you see, poor Zinaida would have had to conquer the Siberian expanses with her husband instead of Paris, Vienna and Rome ... But fate kept her for all-European glory, and she got the brother of the Decembrist Nikita as her husband.

Living in Paris, the princess became interested in the bohemian life of the French capital, made friends with actors and even participated in rehearsals of professionals. The free air of Europe, however, familiar to her from the cradle, turned Zinaida's head too much. The sovereign dressed his indignation and, in fact, the order to return back to his homeland in the most refined form: “... If I was indignant at you, ... I confess to you frankly, then for the preference that you give to Paris with all its pettiness. Such an exalted and excellent soul seemed to me unsuitable for all this vanity, and I considered it miserable food for it. My sincere affection for you, such a long-term one, made me regret the time you waste on classes, in my opinion, so little worthy of your participation. What a difference parade parades in gloomy St. Petersburg and a society similar to non-commissioned officer Arakcheev! ..

She settled in Odessa, where she had a salon. Here the poet K. Batyushkov fell in love with her. She told him so much and colorfully about her beloved Italy that he could not stand it and went there. Alas, his mental illness was already approaching irreversibly ... 1820-22. Volkonskaya spends in Rome, in the Palazzo Poli (next to the Trevi Fountain). Here the artist F. Bruni (the future coryphaeus of Russian classicism) falls in love with her in earnest and forever remains her close, devoted friend. Here she is surrounded by Russian artists and sculptors: S. Galberg, S. Shchedrin, A. (later K. himself) Bryullovs. Here she raises her son Sasha and adopted son Vladimir Pavey. She found this last one literally on the London pavement (in French, pave - “pavement”). The English gavrosh seemed to her so much like the late Grishenka...

The tsar nevertheless expresses an adamant desire for the princess to return to her homeland. She submits. In St. Petersburg, Volkonskaya is engaged in historical research in the archives and, as a result, writes the historical book Slavic Painting of the 5th Century. For her labors, she is the first woman! - Becomes a member of the Society of Lovers of Russian Antiquities at Moscow University.

After Alexander's death, Volkonskaya leaves for Moscow. Her court successes were over. As one of her friends wrote, "At court they do not tolerate ... mental advantage." The new tsar and his family were oh so less developed than her adored Alexander ... She settled in the house of the princes Beloselsky-Belozersky on Tverskaya. Here is how a contemporary describes the princess's apartment, which has become a temple of the arts and a temple of her talents and beauty: “Her dining room is mustard-green with watercolor landscapes and a Caucasian sofa. Her office is hung with gothic paintings, with small busts of our kings on consoles... The floor of her salon is painted in white and black, which perfectly imitates mosaics. I can't express how beautiful and in good taste it all is."

The luminaries of Russian literature and culture of that time were here: P. Vyazemsky, D. Davydov, E. Baratynsky, P. Chaadaev, V. Odoevsky, M. Zagoskin, M. Pogodin, S. Shevyrev, A. Khomyakov, the Kireevsky brothers ... But , of course, Pushkin and A. Mickiewicz were the biggest stars here.

Pushkin came here after his exile, at the time of his most noisy triumphs. Z. Volkonskaya met him with a performance of a romance to the verses “The daylight went out ...” This method of artistic coquetry touched the poet. He did not fall in love, but he was completely imbued with a friendly disposition. And at the same time he dedicated these verses to Z. Volkonskaya:

Among scattered Moscow,

With the talk of whist and boston,

You love Apollo games.

Queen of muses and beauty,

You hold with a tender hand

Magic scepter of inspiration,

And over a pensive brow,

Double crowned with a wreath,

And the genius curls and burns...

In the salon of Volkonskaya, he said goodbye to the wife of the Decembrist M. Volkonskaya (nee Raevskaya), his old and very deep passion. Everyone will remember this evening. Zinaida sang a lot and played music, as if trying to nourish the soul of Maria, who was leaving for her husband for hard labor, with “Italian sounds”, with which she said goodbye, it seemed, forever. But, having arrived in Siberia, she discovered that in the huge box that Zinaida presented to her, there were not warm clothes, but ... clavichords! Romantic Mary needed them even more!

Unwittingly, Zinaida Volkonskaya broke hearts and changed destinies. Adam Mickiewicz was almost engaged to Karolina Janisch (later the famous poetess K. Pavlova), but fell in love with the brilliant princess. The engagement broke down. But Zinaida remained only a friend to him. At the same time, the young and handsome poet D. Venevitinov falls in love with her. He devotes passionate lines to her, but Zinaida is only friendly with him.

In anguish of unrequited feelings, Venevitinov leaves for St. Petersburg, where he is awaited by arrest, a stay in a damp casemate (all this in the case of the Decembrists), a quick illness and an early death (March 15, 1827).

Saying goodbye, Zinaida gave him an antique ring.

You were dug in a dusty grave, Herald of love for centuries,

And again you are grave dust

You will be bequeathed, my ring, -

Having written these lines, the poet did not know to what extent he turned out to be a prophet in them! Dmitry Venevitinov was not only waiting for an ambulance, too quick death. A hundred years later, the poet's grave was dug up, the ring was removed, and now it is in the Literary Museum.

Zinaida experienced this loss very painfully, she was tormented by pangs of conscience. The common grief brought her closer to Venevitinov's mother. When she was in St. Petersburg, Volkonskaya always stayed with her ...

At the end of 1826, Volkonskaya married the Italian aristocrat Ricci. To do this, she had to convert to Catholicism.

This brought enormous displeasure to Tsar Nicholas, because he considered himself a guardian Orthodox faith. But no reproaches, persuasion, threats helped: in 1829, Zinaida Volkonskaya and her husband left Russia - in fact, forever. Volkonskaya will go several more times to settle matters from Italy to St. Petersburg. But she will not succumb to the pressure of the king: Italy will now be her homeland, and Catholicism by faith.

She settles in Rome in a beautiful villa near the Cathedral of San Giovanni in Laterano. Its terrace is the remains of an ancient aqueduct. In one of the alleys of the park, the princess sets up a lot of monuments: to her mother and father, Pushkin, Goethe (with whom she just talked about Pushkin at one time!), Alexander the First, Walter Scott.

Bryullov also created the best portrait of Volkonskaya.

The villa was constantly visited by Russian artists, poets, musicians, writers. It is surprising that it was in this very un-Russian place that Gogol wrote his Dead Souls!

the year was one of the darkest for the inhabitants of the Volkonskaya villa. In March, Gogol dies, in April - Zhukovsky, in July - Bryullov ... In 1860, Count Ricci dies. Zinaida survived him by two years ... Together with her, the era of salons left Russian life. In any case, P. Vyazemsky categorically stated so.

The most accurate words about Z. Volkonskaya were probably said by her great-nephew, Prince S.M. Volkonsky: "A refined representative of young romanticism, combined with the awakening and still little realized nationalism, she was a typical fruit of Western civilization, bringing herself to the service of her native art" ...

The descendants sold at auction the priceless archive of Volkonskaya with autographs by Pushkin, Zhukovsky and Gogol, drawings by Kiprensky, Bruni, A. Ivanov and Bryullov. The Soviet authorities did not find the means to acquire them. Most of these relics ended up in the United States.

4. "I loved you..."

If we decide that the fate of the star of the literary-aristocratic salon has always been surprisingly happy, then we will be cruelly mistaken in this. The life of one of the most famous beautiful ladies of the Pushkin and Lermontov era, Anna Alekseevna Olenina, is a direct proof of this.

The Salon of the President of the Academy of Arts and Director of the Public Library, Alexei Nikolayevich Olenin, could not but be one of the main centers of culture in Northern Palmyra at the beginning of the 19th century. Easy to communicate, witty and amiable, Olenin surprisingly combined cordiality, intelligence, deep education with an amazing ability to "search", that is, he was a catcher of ranks and awards. And if he had to choose between muses and a career, he always intrepidly preferred the latter. When the unfortunate poet Delvig incurred the disfavor of the authorities, Olenin immediately dismissed him from his service. When the time came for the Arakcheevshchina, it was Olenin who proposed to the academicians (meaning the Academy of Sciences) to choose Unter Arakcheev in its honorary members. To a careful question about scientific achievements candidate Olenin replied: "He is very close to the sovereign!".

The wife of a successful nobleman, Elizaveta Markovna, was also distinguished by her amazing cordiality (some thought it was feigned). Sometimes even unwell, she lay on the couch among the guests and smiled at them non-violently ... Olenin remained, in general, a literary Old Believer, adjoined the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature, which is why I.A. Krylov (he became his own, completely domestic person here) and G.R. Derzhavin. But “new times - new songs”, and V.A. Zhukovsky, P.A. Vyazemsky, K.N. Batyushkov. Over time, the voice of M.I. will sound here. Glinka, and the best artists will decorate Oleninsky's house and his dacha in Priyutino very gracefully ... This dacha is the first prototype of the Soviet "houses of creativity" in Rus'. A beautiful house in a picturesque area not far from the capital, each guest is provided with a comfortable room, and the schedule is drawn up so that, in addition to going to the table, a creative person has full time. He can ride, he can shoot with a bow or a gun, he can walk, he can fool around, play charades, sing and dance, participate in “fairs”, where everyone dressed in folk costumes ... Of course, he can somehow create if he the noise of the guests or the ringing of Cupid's arrows does not interfere. And this ringing sounded louder over the years: Olenin had five children and one pupil. It was with her, Anna Furman, that the translator of Homer N.I. first fell in love. Gnedich, and then the poet Batyushkov. It was about her that he wrote one of his most famous poems:

O memory of the heart! You are stronger than the mind of a sad memory And often with your charms you captivate me in a distant country. I remember the voice of sweet words, I remember blue eyes, I remember golden curls Carelessly curly hair. Of my incomparable shepherdess I remember all the simple attire, And the sweet, unforgettable image Wanders with me everywhere. My guardian genius, love In the joy of separation he is given: I will fall asleep - he will cling to the headboard And sweeten the sad dream

Pushkin found the first four lines superfluous, but it was in them that Batiushkov expressed the entire uncomplicated and sad plot of his “novel”. The reindeer were not against marriage. But Anna herself admitted to the poet that she only gives him her fate - not her heart. Batyushkov retreated.

When the grandchildren asked the daughter of the Olenins, Anna, why she did not marry Pushkin, she answered: “He was not rich!” Among the children of the Olenins shone Annette Olenina or Aneta at home. She was smart, fragile, she had perhaps the smallest and most charming leg in all of St. Petersburg. As soon as Aneta came out, she was immediately noticed. There was no end to the fans. She became the center of attraction for Olenin's salon, recognized by all.

At her feet is Pushkin himself! He had just returned from exile (1828). At one time here he met a relative of the hostess A.P. Kern. As you know, he dedicated his masterpiece and a few rude but insightful remarks to her ...

But Olenina did not get bitter berries, but only pretty flowers. And what! Pushkin simply raved about her in 1828: “You and you”, “Luxury city, poor city ......

In Olenina, Pushkin was attracted by youth, originality of mental disposition (as it seemed to him then), small legs and wonderfully expressive eyes:

What a thoughtful genius in them,

And how much childlike simplicity

And how many languid expressions.

And how much bliss and dreams!

Let them down with a smile Lelya -

In them modest graces triumph;

Raise - Raphael's angel

So contemplates the deity!

With "childish simplicity" Aneta then wrote in her diary: Pushkin "is rather modest, and I even talked to him and stopped being afraid that I would not lie about something in a sentimental way." In the diary, the physical ugliness of a genius is noted more than once ... However, Aneta strongly advocates for women's equality in the matrimonial issue - she appears, however, only on the pages of her diary: “A woman's mind is weak, you say? So be it, but her mind is stronger. And if it comes to that, then, leaving aside obedience, why not admit that a woman’s mind is as vast as yours, but that the weakness of her bodily constitution does not allow her to express it? After all, the bear breaks people, but the bee gives honey. They say that Pushkin broke off the engagement himself. And a year later he wrote another of his love masterpieces - “I loved you ...” He is also addressed to her, Aneta Olenina, but three years later the poet will mark the poem in French next to the autograph: “long gone”.

Meanwhile, it was not so easy for the brilliant Aneta to get married. For just a year and a half, suitors curled around her, and then ...

Aneta suffers in silence, closes in female friendship, is fond of serious reading (Hegel, Fichte). She is seriously threatened with the fate of remaining an old maid and becoming a "blue stocking". Pushkin wrote ardent poems to Olenina, and Lermontov wrote only humorous ones ... In 1838, Elizaveta Markovna died. Now Aneta has the whole house and her inconsolable sick father in her arms. Only in 1842, at the age of 34, Anna Olenina became the wife of Mr. Andro, the natural son of Count Lanzheron. General Andro adores her, but is morbidly jealous, irritable and despotic, and hates everything that connects her with the wonderful people who have graced her youth. But as soon as her husband died, Aneta left for the village of Derezhna in Volyn, where a chest with relics of her youth had long been sent: albums, diaries, souvenirs, autographs of Pushkin and Zhukovsky, Lermontov and Gnedich. The coquetry of youth has become the heart memory of old age.

Anna Alekseevna lived to be 80 years old, she died in 1888, surrounded by objects that proved to her the correctness of Batyushkov’s “unsuccessful” lines:

O memory of the heart! You are stronger

The mind of a sad memory ...

5. Muses at the Karamzins' samovar

In principle, a salon is a loose concept. There were salon-temples, temples of beauty and talents of its mistress (like Golitsyna and Z. Volkonskaya), there were political circles with the aim of influencing public opinion in favor of the government and weave intrigues (the salon of Nesselrode), there were salons that were in opposition to the Court (the salon of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna).

But he was quite special among the St. Petersburg salons. It could be called the "family shelter of the muses." Not in the sense that his mistress (more precisely, the hostesses) were artistically gifted, but in the sense that nowhere did writers and artists (but especially still writers) feel so comfortable and at ease at home. Guests were welcome here every evening. In the red living room with simple straw chairs, a samovar and ... the Russian language reigned! It was the only living room in St. Petersburg where at that time they preferred their native speech and never played cards. Poets in modest frock coats and the first beauties, diplomats and provincial relatives dressed for a ballroom who stopped by, all found interest and spiritual rest in the salon, which was run by the wife (and then widow) of the historian Karamzin Ekaterina Andreevna and her daughters Sofya and Ekaterina.

Here is a picture of the Karamzins' salon from rough sketches for "Eugene Onegin":

In the living room of a truly noble

The panache of speeches was alienated

And petty-bourgeois ticklishness

Magazine stiff judges.

Mistress secular and free

The common syllable was adopted ...

And a provincial novice

The hostess was not embarrassed by arrogance:

She was the same for everyone.

Effortless and sweet...

This is said about Ekaterina Andreevna Karamzina, nee Kolyvanova, half-sister of the poet Vyazemsky (she was the daughter of Prince Vyazemsky and Countess Sievers), Karamzin's second wife and, as many assure, the secret of Pushkin's deepest affection. An evil-speaking memoirist claims: “She was white, cold, beautiful, like a statue of antiquity” (F.F. Vigel). The daughter of free love, Ekaterina Andreevna knew how to inspire respect in anyone who communicated with her. Together with her, Tsar Alexander the First liked to open balls. His beloved sister Ekaterina wrote to Karamzin absolutely enthusiastically: “I don’t dare to tell Ekaterina Andreevna everything that I think about her ... Embracing her with all my heart, I leave her to guess about it herself. Trust my true respect."

It is known that Pushkin was deprived of his mother's love and attention, and fell in love with Ekaterina Andreevna Karamzina not so much as a woman, but as an ideal mother. He shared with her his anxious joy on the eve of his marriage. Dying, the poet asked her to bless him. Karamzina did this from afar, then Pushkin asked her to come up to him, kissed her hand. She sobbed and left...

Ekaterina Andreevna was almost 20 years younger than her husband. Of course, there was no very ardent love on her part, but the deepest sympathy, respect, and strong affection arose. Ekaterina Andreevna helped her husband in his work as an editor, literary collaborator, literary agent ... She raised her stepdaughter Sophie (Karamzin's daughter from her first marriage) as her own. After the death of Karamzin in 1826, Ekaterina Andreevna retained her salon, expanded and strengthened secular and court ties, although she did not like high society fuss - and all for the sake of the children: Sophie's receptionist and her Catherine and two sons. All the same, this did not affect Sophie’s fate very happily ... It remains to be surprised how this sweet and very lively girl (somewhat exalted and infantile) did not “make a party for herself”!

Sophie did not understand the tragic background of Pushkin's duel. But the poet himself, long before that, seemed to have seen her not very successfully developed life. He dedicated these lines to her:

In the worldly steppe, sad and boundless,

Mysteriously broke through three keys:

The key of youth, the key is swift and rebellious,

Boils, runs, sparkling and murmuring;

Castal key with a wave of inspiration

In the steppe of the worldly exiles waters,

The last key, the cold key of oblivion,

He will conceal the heat of the heart the sweetest of all.

Sophie then turned 18 ... And in the album of 39-year-old Sophie, another genius - Lermontov - jokingly noted the emerging change in his worldview:

I loved in the past,

In the innocence of my soul

And noisy storms of nature,

And storms of secret passions.

But their ugly beauty

I soon comprehended the mystery

And I'm bored of them incoherent

And deafening language.

I love more year after year

Giving space to peaceful desires,

Clear weather in the morning

In the evening, a quiet conversation

I love your paradoxes

And ha-ha-ha, and hee-hee-hee,

Smirnova little thing; Sasha's farce

And Ishka Myatlev's poems ...

Sophie was, if not the soul of the Karamzin circle, then certainly its main fidget. In the salon, she was nicknamed "Samovar Pasha", because she had the duty to pour tea for guests.

In the 1940s, the Karamzins' salon took first place among Russian literary salons. Young then I.I. Panaev writes, not without irony: “In order to gain literary fame in the high society circle, it was necessary to get into the salon of Ms. Karamzina, the widow of the historiographer. Diplomas for literary talents were issued there. It was already a real high-society literary salon with a strict choice, and the Recamier of this salon was S.N. Karamzin, to which all our famous poets considered it their duty to write messages. Sophie Karamzina died on the threshold of a new era, in 1856, at the age of 54. But even on her deathbed, she retained both childishness and secularism, repeating in delirium that “there is no death, death is only affectation” (from a letter by F.I. Tyutchev).

native daughter Ekaterina Andreevna, also Ekaterina, was distinguished by the strict and calm nature of her mother. She married Prince Meshchersky, a kind but completely inexpressive person, and played the first violin in her family. She also had her own salon, with a somewhat political bias. Conservative, I must say. However, that was a completely different era.

6. Literary salon in a bookstore

Along with the salons, which were kept by famous and wealthy secular ladies, a new phenomenon appeared in St. Petersburg - a literary salon in a bookstore. It was a salon in the shop of Smirdin, a talented bookseller who did a lot for Russian literature.

In 1831, Smirdin rented for a high price a room on Nevsky Prospekt, where before that foreign merchants and wealthy booksellers had mainly traded. The European-style bookstore also houses his extensive reading library. Soon Smirdin's shop and library became a fashionable literary salon in St. Petersburg. Pushkin, Gogol, Delvig, Batyushkov, Zhukovsky and other writers visited him. Supplementing and expanding Plavilshchikov's collection, Smirdin organized access to his books for a low fee. This allowed people of the simple class to use its funds. The library was supplied with an extensive catalog compiled and published in 1828. It was possible to make all kinds of references to the publications of the late 18th - early 19th centuries.

In his store A.F. Smirdin tried to diversify the methods of selling a book: he sent books by mail, arranged book lotteries and giveaways of leftovers. Smirdin did a lot of bibliographic work in the store, widely used advertising in newspapers and magazines. One of the advanced methods of trading was the work of determining circulations. For these purposes, Smirdin organized the acceptance of pre-orders for printed books.

In search of a mass buyer, Smirdin turned his eyes to those segments of the population that had not attracted the attention of booksellers before him, namely: to people from different classes - the merchants, the bourgeoisie, the clergy, the peasantry, the bureaucracy. It was a poor but active group of buyers.

Thus, Smirdin's bookstore was a transitional link from the literary salon, as it was in aristocratic St. Petersburg, to the various literary circles that appeared in St. Petersburg in the second half of the 19th century.

Conclusion

The literary salons of Petersburg in the 19th century played an important role in the literary process of that time. There were public readings, exchange of information and news. The salons were the place where one could freely express one's opinion, where free social thought lived and flourished. In the second half of the 19th century, the very concept of "salon" lost its meaning. "Circles" appeared in which writers, poets, critics gathered not around a beautiful hostess, but united by one ideology, a common goal. The Petrashevsky circle is known, the circle that united around the journal Sovremennik, Domestic Notes, the Polonsky circle, which included the critic Stasov and many others.

Bibliography

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Bertenev P.I. About Pushkin: Pages of the poet's life. Memoirs of contemporaries. - M., 1992.

Veresaev V.V. Pushkin in life: A systematic collection of authentic testimonies of contemporaries.-M., 1984.

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Saint Petersburg. Entertaining questions and answers. Collection. S.-Pb.: Ed. Parity. 2000

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Tags: Literary salons of St. Petersburg in the 19th century Abstract Culturology