"The Golden Key" - a story or a story? Analysis of the work "The Golden Key" by A. N. Tolstoy

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Hardly anyone remembers that Alexei Tolstoy did not plan to create an independent fairy tale, but only wanted to translate into Russian the magical story of the Italian writer Carlo Collodi, which is called “The Adventures of Pinocchio. The history of the wooden doll. Literary critics spent a lot of time trying to determine what genre the Golden Key belongs to (a story or a short story). An amazing and controversial work that conquered many young and adult readers was written at the beginning of the 20th century. But not everything went smoothly with its creation.

We know how varied the work of Alexei Tolstoy. The fairy tale "The Golden Key" turned out to be out of work for some time - the writer was distracted by other projects. Returning to the Italian fairy tale, he decides not only to translate it into his native language, but also to supplement it with his thoughts and fantasies. As a result of this work, the world saw another wonderful work of the author, known to the Russian reader under the name "Golden Key". We will try to analyze it.

Multifaceted author

Aleksey Tolstoy is known for hisversatility: he wrote poems, plays, scripts, short stories and novels, journalistic articles, did literary processing of fairy tales and much, much more. The subject matter of his work knows no bounds. Thus, in works about the life of the nobles, the praise of Bolshevism is most often traced - its ideology seems to the writer to be the highest folk truth. In the unfinished novel "Peter I" Tolstoy criticizes the cruel reformist rule of the dictator. And in the science fiction novels "Aelita" and "Engineer Garin's Hyperboloid", he extols the power of education, enlightenment and sings of peacefulness.

When there are disputes about whether the "Golden Key" is a story or a short story, it is impossible to give a definite answer. After all, a fairy tale contains signs of both genres. And the fictional world and characters further complicate the task. One thing is undeniable: this fairy tale is one of the best works for children in the world of literature.

First publication of "Pinocchio"

Italian K. Collodi first published his fairy tale “The Adventures of Pinocchio. The story of a puppet" in 1883. Already in 1906, it, translated into Russian, was published by the magazine "Sincere Word". Here we should digress and clarify that in the preface to the first edition (and this is 1935), Alexei Tolstoy writes that he heard this fairy tale in childhood and, when he retold it, came up with new adventures and endings each time. Perhaps he gave such a comment in order to explain the many additions and changes in the fairy tale by the author.

While still in exile, at the Berlin publishing house "On the Eve"together with the writer N. Petrovskaya, A. Tolstoy publishes the book The Adventures of Pinocchio. This is really the closest version of the fairy tale to the original by Collodi. The wooden boy goes through a lot of misadventures, and in the end, a fairy with blue hair from a lazy prankster turns him into an obedient child.

A contract to write a play

Later, when Tolstoy had already returned to Russia and had written more than one work, he again turned to this text. The old-fashionedness and sentimentality of the original did not allow the writer to make his own adjustments not only to the plot, but also to the images of the main characters. It is known that he even consulted with Yu. Olesha and S. Marshak about writing his own independent fairy tale.

Back in 1933, Tolstoy signed a contract with Detgiz to develop a script about the adventures of Pinocchio based on his book, published in Berlin. But the work on "Walking through the torments" still did not allow distraction. And only tragic events and a heart attack experienced as a result returned Tolstoy to work on an easy and ingenuous fairy tale.

Pinocchio or Pinocchio?

In 1935, the author created a wonderful and very significant fairy tale from the point of view of cultural heritage - "The Golden Key" (this story or story will become clear later). Compared to the original source, Pinocchio's adventures are much more interesting and original. The child, of course, will not be able to read the subtext that Tolstoy gave to the tale. All these hints are intended for adults who introduce their baby to Pinocchio,Malvina, Karabas and Papa Carlo.

The boring, moralistic presentation of history by the writer Collodi did not attract A. N. Tolstoy at all. We can say that the fairy tale "The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio" was only written based on the motives of K. Collodi. Tolstoy needed to show the young reader kindness and mutual assistance, faith in a brighter future, the need for education, etc. And most importantly, to evoke compassion for the oppressed (puppets from the Karabas theater) and hatred for the oppressors (Karabas and Duremar). As a result, The Golden Key (a story or a story, we still need to try to understand) turned out to be Tolstoy's huge success.

Storyline

Of course, we remember that the main storyline tells us how Pinocchio and his doll friends confront the villains: Karabas, the cat Basilio and the fox Alice, Duremar and other representatives of the authorities of the Country of Fools. The fight is for a golden key that opens the door to another world. Tolstoy repeatedly created multi-layered texts - a superficial retelling of events actually turns out to be a rather deep analysis of what is happening. Such is his symbolism of works. The golden key for Pinocchio and Papa Carlo is freedom, justice, the opportunity for everyone to help a friend and become better and more educated. But for Karabas and his friends, it is a symbol of power and we alth, a symbol of oppression of the “poor and stupid.”

Fairy tale composition

The author unequivocally sympathizes with the "light forces". Negative characters he gives satirically,ridiculing all their aspirations to exploit the good-natured poor. He describes in some detail the way of life in the Land of Fools, debunking the "power of the seven-tailed lash" at the end and praising humanity and kindness. This description of social life is so emotional and lively that all children truly empathize with Pinocchio's adventures.

It is this composition that allows us not to guess whether the "Golden Key" is a story or a story, but to clearly determine that all the described features of the construction of a literary work are characteristic of the story.

Instructive images of Tolstoy

What else allows you to answer the question: "The Golden Key" is a story or a story?" The author himself calls "The Adventures of Pinocchio" a fairy tale story. After all, it describes the events of more than one day; and the action takes place in the whole country: from a small town on the seashore through the forest, where both kind and not so good travelers can meet, to the wasteland of the Land of Fools and beyond …

Inherent in the work and some characteristics of folk art. So, all the characters are described very clearly and clearly. From the first mention, we understand whether a good hero or not. The prankster Pinocchio, who at first glance is an ill-mannered and uncouth piece of wood, turns out to be a brave and fair boy. It is presented to us in a combination of positive and negative, as if reminding us that all people are imperfect. We love him not only for his boundless luck - Tolstoy was able to show that it is common for everyone to make mistakes, commit absurd stupidities and strive to elude duties. Nothingthe human is not alien to the heroes of the fairy tale "The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio".

The Malvina doll, for all its beauty and spiritual purity, is rather boring. Her desire to educate and teach everyone very clearly shows that no coercive measures can force a person to learn something. This requires only an inner desire and understanding of the meaning of education.

Funny criminals

The comic technique in A. N. Tolstoy's story "The Golden Key" is also used to describe negative characters. The satire with which all the dialogues of the cat Basilio and the fox Alice are served makes it clear from the very beginning how narrow-minded and petty these criminals are. In general, it is worth noting that the images of the oppressors in the fairy tale "The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio" cause a smile and bewilderment rather than anger. The author is trying to show children that lies, anger, greed, greed are not just bad; all these qualities lead to the fact that a person himself gets into stupid situations, trying to harm another.

Oppression without violence

It is worth noting that a completely humane and peaceful fairy tale is “The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio”. One story about the misadventures of a wooden boy is replaced by another, but nowhere is there death or violence. Karabas Barabas only brandishes his whip, the Cat and the Fox rather absurdly hang Pinocchio on a tree, the court of the Country of Fools determines the boy's punishment - to drown inswamp. But everyone knows that a tree (and Pinocchio is still a log) needs a lot of time to drown. All these acts of violence look comical and absurd and nothing more.

And even the rat Shushara strangled by Artemon is mentioned in passing, this episode is not emphasized. In a fair fight between Pinocchio and Karabas, the boy wins by tying the doctor of puppet science by his beard to a tree. This again gives the reader food for thought, encourages in any situation to find harmless, but unambiguous solutions.

Naughty is the engine of progress

The fairy tale "The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio" clearly demonstrates to the reader that the child is initially curious and restless. In Tolstoy's book, Pinocchio is by no means a lazy slacker (like Collodi's Pinocchio), on the contrary, he is very energetic and curious. It is this interest in all aspects of life that the writer emphasizes. Yes, often a child gets into a bad company (the cat Basilio and the fox Alice), but adults can explain and clearly demonstrate the bright colors of life (the wise and ancient turtle Tortilla opens Pinocchio's eyes to who is his friend and who is his enemy).

This is the phenomenon of Alexei Tolstoy's creativity. The fairy tale "The Golden Key" is actually a very instructive and deep work. But the ease of style and the chosen scenery allow us to read everything from cover to cover in one breath and draw completely unambiguous conclusions about good and evil.