The Tale of N.S. Leskov "The Enchanted Wanderer": a brief analysis. Leskov "The Enchanted Wanderer": a summary

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

Which of us did not study the work of such a writer as Nikolai Semenovich Leskov at school? “The Enchanted Wanderer” (we will consider a summary, analysis and history of creation in this article) is the most famous work of the writer. It is about him that we will talk further.

History of Creation

The story was written in 1872-1873.

In the summer of 1872, Leskov traveled along Lake Ladoga across Karelia to the Valaam Islands, where the monks lived. On the way, he got the idea to write a story about a wanderer. By the end of the year, the work was completed and offered for publication. It was called "Black Earth Telemak". However, Leskov was refused publication, as the work seemed damp to the publishers.

Then the writer took his creation to the Russkiy Mir magazine, where it was published under the title “The Enchanted Wanderer, His Life, Experience, Opinions and Adventures.”

Before presenting Leskov's analysis("The Enchanted Wanderer"), let's turn to the summary of the work.

Summary. Getting to know the main character

The scene is Lake Ladoga. Travelers heading to the islands of Valaam meet here. It is from this moment that it will be possible to begin the analysis of Leskov's story "The Enchanted Wanderer", since here the writer gets acquainted with the main character of the work.

So, one of the travelers, Coneser Ivan Severyanych, a novice dressed in a cassock, tells that from childhood God endowed him with a wonderful gift to tame horses. Companions ask the hero to tell Ivan Severyanych about his life.

This story is the beginning of the main story, because in its structure Leskov's work is a story within a story.

The protagonist was born in the Oryol province in the family of the servants of Count K. Since childhood, he was addicted to horses, but once for the sake of laughter, he beat a monk to death. The murdered man begins to dream of Ivan Severyanych and says that he is promised to God, and that he will die many times and will never die until real death comes and the hero goes to Chernetsy.

Soon Ivan Severyanych quarreled with the owners and decided to leave, taking a horse and a rope. On the way, the thought of suicide came to him, but the rope on which he decided to hang himself was cut off by the gypsies. The hero's wanderings continue, leading him to the places where the Tatars drive their horses.

Tatar captivity

AnalysisLeskov's story "The Enchanted Wanderer" briefly gives us an idea of what the hero is like. Already from the episode with the monk it is clear that he does not value human life highly. But it soon turns out that the horse is much more valuable to him than any person.

So, the hero gets to the Tatars, who have a custom to fight for horses: two sit opposite and beat each other with whips, whoever lasts longer wins. Ivan Severyanych sees a wonderful horse, enters the battle and beats the enemy to death. The Tatars catch him and "bristle" him so that he does not run away. The hero serves them by crawling.

Two come to the Tatars, who with the help of fireworks intimidate them with their "fiery god". The protagonist finds things of visitors, scares them away with fireworks of the Tatars and cures their legs with a drug.

Coneser position

Ivan Severyanych is alone in the steppe. The analysis of Leskov (“The Enchanted Wanderer”) shows the strength of the character of the protagonist. Alone, Ivan Severyanych manages to get to Astrakhan. From there he is sent to his hometown, where he gets a job looking after the horses with his former owner. The rumor spreads about him as about a wizard, as the hero unmistakably identifies good horses.

The prince finds out about this, who takes Ivan Severyanych to his conesers. Now the hero chooses horses for a new owner. But one day he gets very drunk and in one of the taverns he meets the gypsy Grushenka. It turns out that she is the prince's mistress.

Grushenka

Leskov's analysis ("The Enchanted Wanderer") is impossible to imagine without the episode of Grushenka's death. It turns out that the prince planned to marry, and sent his objectionable mistress to a bee in the forest. However, the girl escaped from the guards and came to Ivan Severyanych. Grushenka asks him, to whom she has sincerely become attached and fallen in love, to drown her, because she has no other choice. The hero fulfills the request of the girl, wanting to get rid of the torment. He is left alone with a heavy heart and begins to think about death. Soon there is a way out, Ivan Severyanych decides to go to war in order to bring his death closer.

This episode showed not so much the cruelty of the hero as his penchant for strange mercy. After all, he saved Grushenka from suffering, tripling his torment.

However, in the war, he does not find death. On the contrary, he is promoted to officer, awarded the Order of St. George and retired.

Returning from the war, Ivan Severyanych finds a job in the address desk as a referee. But the service does not go well, and then the hero goes to the artists. However, our hero could not find a place for himself here either. And without having played a single performance, he also leaves the theater, deciding to go to a monastery.

Decoupling

The decision to enter a monastery turns out to be the right one, which is confirmed by the analysis. Leskov's "The Enchanted Wanderer" (summarized here) is a work with a pronounced religious theme. Therefore, it is not surprising that it is in the monastery that Ivan Severyanych finds peace, his spiritual hardships leave him. Althoughsometimes he sees "demons", but prayers manage to drive them away. Though not always. Once, in a fit, he slaughtered a cow, which he mistook for the devil's weapon. For this he was planted by the monks in the cellar, where he discovered the gift of prophecy.

Now Ivan Severyanych goes to Slovoki on a pilgrimage to the elders Savvaty and Zosima. After finishing his story, the hero falls into calm concentration and feels a mysterious spirit that is open only to babies.

Leskov's analysis: "The Enchanted Wanderer"

The value of the protagonist of the work is that he is a typical representative of the people. And in his strength and abilities the essence of the entire Russian nation is revealed.

Interesting, in this respect, is the evolution of the hero, his spiritual development. If at the beginning we see a reckless and careless dashing guy, then at the end of the story we have a wise monk. But this huge path of self-improvement would not have been possible without the trials that befell the hero. It was they who prompted Ivan to self-sacrifice and the desire to atone for his sins.

This is the hero of the story written by Leskov. “The Enchanted Wanderer” (an analysis of the work also testifies to this) is the story of the spiritual development of the entire Russian people on the example of one character. Leskov, as it were, confirmed with his work the idea that great heroes will always be born on Russian soil, who are capable not only of exploits, but also of self-sacrifice.