The superfluous person in the literature. Russian classics

Literary studies are the same science as everyone else, only more interesting. It also has a place for different classifications. Everyone knows the image of the "Turgenev girl", but still the most popular is the image of a superfluous person in Russian literature. It's time to get to know him better.

Who is this extra person?

The superfluous person in the literature is a certain literary hero, which is often found in the works of Russian creators of the 1840s-1850s. Such a person is talented and represents a worthy representative of the human race. Due to a number of circumstances, it can not realize its full potential in the conditions of Russia.

Features

The superfluous person in the Russian literature frequently belongs to the higher class of a society. At the same time, it is separated from the nobility and bureaucracy, which is considered a rabble in some way. Condemning people around him and not having a real opportunity to realize their opportunities, such a person spends all his free time in idleness, reflection or festivities. Of course, such a way of life for a person full of high ideals and thoughts, is disastrous, because he plunges him into destructive boredom. For this reason, the character begins to be interested in gambling, which subsequently ruins him, or throw challenges to a duel at the slightest temptation, just to somehow diversify his discarded gray life.

The main features of a superfluous person are:

• Impossibility to answer for one's words and deeds;
• Immature skepticism;
• Passive role in society;
• Great ambitions;
• Mental old age;
• The propensity for lengthy actions and reflections.

Thus, we can conclude that an extra person - this creature is very amorphous and uninformative, but zealously proves its importance, competence and intellectual abilities. In the literature of the late XIX century, this image was partially sung and examined in detail.

How did you come about?

Images of superfluous people in literature began to appear after in 1850 Turgenev published "Diary of a superfluous person." It was for the main character - the disappointed and passive Russian nobleman - that the notion known to us was fixed. Very quickly this image became fashionable among Russian writers, who gladly dedicated whole works to him. But their work was largely autobiographical, which makes you think.

Ancestor

The image of a superfluous man in literature was firmly entrenched precisely behind Yevgeny Onegin. All that was before and after him, does not convey so accurately and vividly all the typical features of this character. What was he like? Onegin Alexander Pushkin is a worthy representative of his time, even one of the best. He is very intelligent, smart and penetrating. In addition, he has a wide range of interests (astronomy, history, medicine, philosophy). On any topic, he will find what to answer, easily and naturally maintain a secular conversation. It is very interesting and informative to read Eugene's dialogues with Lensky about morality, religion or science. The hero has even a timid desire to do something weighty, leave some trace behind him. Eugene, for example, tried to make life easier for his peasants. Unfortunately, all this was just a trifle, which was lost against the background of all life, because most of it burned precious time, doing a variety of stupid things. Great influence on the hero has St. Petersburg - spoiled and vulgar. It was in the circle of such people that Evgeny's personality ripened and grew. He himself understands that he does not want to strive for anything and can not love someone with all his heart. This realization depresses Onegin even more. Despite this, throughout the book it is changing. The book ends on a positive note, because the main character has a hope for a spiritual rebirth.

Examples

The subject of the superfluous person in the literature meets quite often. The most popular superfluous people are Eugene Onegin (AS Pushkin), Pechorin (M. Lermontov) and Chatsky (A. Griboyedov). These characters have their origin even in the characters of Byron, who lived in the era of Romanticism. The evolution of the superfluous character is visible in such a work as "Who is to blame", as well as in the early works of the already named Turgenev (Chulkaturin, Rudin, Lavretsky).

Romance in real life

A superfluous person in literature - who is he? As you know, the bike does not have to be invented again, just look at it from a different angle. A superfluous person is a romantic character, already familiar to us, that is considered by the author under the mirror of reality. In works the author no longer praises his hero, who is thrown out by society overboard. He no longer describes the confrontation between human nature and various circumstances. Thanks to the category of superfluous people, the authors manage to look into the reasons for possible alienation, try to analyze them and find some way out. Much attention is paid to the psychology of such people, their mental state, experiences and behavior. Describing all this, the authors no longer try to make any lessons, teach something, express morality. The instructive tone is lost, the path for analysis and reflection is opened.

Characteristic features of the works

Superfluous people in the literature of the 19th century appeared because of the interest of the writers themselves to the human soul, its worries and vices. The study of the inner world of a versatile educated person is an important feature of all the works of Russian realism. The superfluous person in the literature for a long time came into the use of writers and critics. This concept has become the subject of research and reflection for social scientists and other figures of the literary environment.

Causes of appearance

The causes of the appearance of superfluous people in the literature of the 19th century are rooted in the problems of writers themselves. In order to reflect this on paper, it is necessary that it be inside. Create or come up with something from the outside is impossible. The literary creators themselves were full of those problems and torments that are attributed to their heroes. Perhaps they were not so brightly manifested, but, beginning to understand themselves, they were able to bring their state to their apogee on their heroes and find a way out in exaggeration.

Every person is to some extent "superfluous". Everyone at least sometimes feels so, so this problem is relevant for many. That is why literature, describing the torment of superfluous people, has become a classic. Is not this theme always in demand? The development of literature in this direction was due to the fact that the new authors described people who did not fit in with social standards and frameworks. Every year more and more of these appeared, and each was a small universe for an attentive and thoughtful writer.

It is also worth noting that an extra person in the literature arose because he displayed a mass phenomenon. The prosperous noblemen and landlords did not know what to do with themselves. They gave birth to children, who were brought up in the spirit of idleness and idleness. They lacked goals and aspirations. When a person grows in such an environment, this can not but affect his future picture of the world and life itself. Sometimes an extra person was a reflection of a truly amazing and unique personality, but more often than not he meant a whole group of people who were indicative and too demonstrative in order to get around it in the literature.

Influence on others

The superfluous man in literature differs in that it brings a lot of suffering and trouble to those who love them. Most often this applies to women who are imbued with a sincere feeling for the hero. The main problem of superfluous people is that they turn out to be unnecessary and incapable of fitting into the socio-functional structure of the world in which they exist. It is these characters that appear in writers and concurrent officials (I. Goncharov, A. Pisemsky). In Leo Tolstoy's book "War and Peace", Pierre Bezukhov occupies a niche for a superfluous man for a long time. His hero was afraid of life, as he was repelled by all the evil and deceit that was present in it. Instead of living a real life and being totally involved in it, he was engaged in buying up paintings, drank and drank a lot, and also immersed himself in the world of books.

Superfluous people are usually very talented and smart, but for a number of reasons they can not prove themselves in society. All this leads to a passive depression that drives them into gambling houses and other suspicious places. Very often the life of such a person ends on a very tragic note: they die in a duel, commit suicide or become victims of other circumstances.

Summing up the article, I want to say that the Russian classics are a huge storehouse of useful and instructive information. Everyone who wants to know himself and the world around him is a bit more, simply must get acquainted with the unique works of Russian word masters.