Everyday stories: genre, ideas, style. “The Tale of Misfortune-Grief”, “The Tale of Frol Skobeev”, “The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn”. V. Kozhinov. Origin of the novel. A picaresque novel about Frol Skobeev, The Tale of Shemyakina's trial"

This is a picaresque story main character- a clever rogue, a rogue, a deceiver, an impoverished nobleman who deceives him by marrying Annushka, the daughter of a rich steel worker. Frol decides “I’ll be a colonel or a dead man.” The composition is interesting because the story is divided into 2 parts. The milestone is marriage. The first part develops rapidly, because... adventures, fun and often obscene games are described. In this game, Frol changes clothes 2 times, he is “mummered”, i.e. hides his face and puts on a mask. The second part is not based on an entertaining plot: it has a lot of descriptions and dialogues. If actions are important in the 1st part, then experiences are important in the 2nd part. For the first time, the author separates the hero’s speech from his own statements. The author manages to show the different psychological states of the hero (the father experiences anger, love and care). This is a conscious author's technique! The author shows that he can solve various problems: build a dynamic plot and depict the psychology of the hero. The author does not sympathize with the hero in any way, does not admire Frol’s successes. From the point of view of the author, Frol Skobeev is a fraud by conviction, he is cunning, not smart and brave. That. the main character does not seek to save the soul, but seeks to acquire earthly happiness.

"A Tale of Woe and Misfortune." One of the outstanding works of literature of the second half of the 17th century. is "A Tale of Woe and Misfortune." The central theme of the story is the theme tragic fate the younger generation, trying to break with the old forms of family life and home-building morality.

The introduction to the story gives this theme a universal, generalized sound. The biblical story of the fall of Adam and Eve is interpreted here as disobedience, disobedience of the first people to the will of the God who created them. The source of this disobedience is not the tempting devil, as the Bible interpreted, but the man himself, his heart "meaningless and insensitive." This interpretation of the biblical story speaks of a new worldview that the author has developed: the reason for a person’s violation of the commandments of humility and obedience is in himself, in his character, and not the result of the influence of otherworldly forces.

The plot of the story is based on tragic story the life of the Young Man, who rejected parental instructions and wished to live according to his own will, “how he likes it.” The appearance of a generalized collective image of a representative of the younger generation of his time was a very remarkable and innovative phenomenon. In literature, a historical figure is replaced by a fictional hero, whose character typifies the traits of an entire generation of the transitional era.

The young man grew up in a patriarchal merchant family, surrounded by constant care and care of loving parents. However, he yearns for freedom from under his native roof, longs to live according to his own will, and not according to parental instructions. The constant guardianship of his parents did not teach the Young Man to understand people, to understand life, and he pays for his gullibility, for his blind faith in the sanctity of the bonds of friendship. The “tsar’s tavern” destroys him. But the Good Guy doesn’t give up, he doesn’t bring his guilty head to his parents’ house, he wants to prove he’s right by going to “a foreign country, distant, unknown.” Personal experience convinced him that without advice "good people" you can't live. And humbly listening to their instructions, Well done “taught... to live skillfully”: “... from his great intelligence he made a life bigger than Starov’s.”

The reason for the hero's further misadventures is his character. Boasting of one’s happiness and wealth ruins the young man (“...and the word of praise has always rotted,” - the author moralizes). From this moment on, the image of Grief appears in the story, which, as in folk songs, personifies the tragic fate, destiny, and lot of a person. This image also reveals the internal duality, confusion of the hero’s soul, his lack of confidence in his abilities.

In the minds of Molodets, traditional ideas are still tenacious. Thus, he cannot overcome the old view of a woman as a “vessel of the devil,” the source of all the troubles and misadventures of a man; He remains faithful to the religious beliefs of his fathers. Not believing the insidious advice of Grief, the Well done, however, is unable to disobey the same advice when it comes from the Archangel Gabriel, whose appearance Grief has taken.

In the advice that Mountain gives to the Good Man, it is easy to detect the hero’s own painful thoughts about life, about the instability of his material well-being.

The story emphasizes that the reason for the ruin of Molodets is "Tsar's Tavern" where the hero leaves "your bellies" and changes "living room dress" on "Gunka tavern." So "guest son" turns into a homeless tramp, joining a large army "walking people" wandering through the cities and villages of Rus'. Pictures are painted brightly "nakedness and barefootness of immeasurable extent" in which the motives of protest of the poor class against social injustice and against their evil lot are heard.

In a truthful depiction of the process of formation of declassed elements of society - great social significance stories.

The young man, who rejected parental authority and did not want to submit to his father and mother, is forced to bow his proud head to Gorem-Gorinsky. "Good people" They sympathize with the fate of the Young Man and advise him to return to his parents’ shelter and ask for forgiveness. However, now Grief does not want to let go of its victim. It persistently and relentlessly pursues the Young Man, mocking all his attempts to escape from his "ill-fated fate". Walking with the Well done "under the arm" Grief "teaches" his "to live richly - to kill and rob." This makes the Well done remember "saved path" and go to the monastery. For the hero and author of the story, the monastery is by no means an ideal of a righteous life, but the last opportunity to escape from one’s ill-fated fate.

The story sharply contrasts two types of attitudes to life, two worldviews: on the one hand, parents and “good people” - the majority who guard the “Domostroevsky” social and family morality; on the other hand, - Well done, embodying the desire of the new generation for a free life.

It should be noted that the instructions of parents and the advice of “good people” concern only the most general practical issues of human behavior and are devoid of religious didactics.

The fate of the Young Man is presented in the form of his life, but the story no longer has anything in common with traditional hagiography. Before us is a typically secular, everyday biographical story.

The author has a perfect command of the poetics of folklore, its figurative system, and the forms of epic verse. The image of a good fellow, “naked, barefoot”, “belted with a bast” Grief, the epic picture of the feast, the song symbolism of the episode of the persecution of the Grief Young Man - all this finds a direct correspondence in epic folk poetry and in lyrical songs about Grief.

The interweaving of epic and lyricism gives the story an epic scope and gives it lyrical sincerity. In general, the story, according to N. G. Chernyshevsky, follows the true flow of the folk poetic word.

“The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn.” Thematically, The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn, created in the 70s of the 17th century, is close to “The Tale of Grief and Misfortune.” This story also reveals the theme of the relationship between two generations, contrasting two types of attitudes towards life. The basis of the plot is the life of the merchant son Savva Grudtsyn, full of anxiety and adventure. The narration of the hero's fate is given against a broad historical background. Savva's youth flows through the years "great persecution and rebellion" i.e. during the period of the struggle of the Russian people against the Polish intervention; in his mature years the hero takes part in the war for Smolensk in 1632-1634. The story mentions historical figures: Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, boyar Streshnev, governor Shein, centurion Shilov; and the hero himself belongs to the famous merchant family of the Grudtsyn-Usovs. However, the main place in the story is occupied by pictures of private life.

The story consists of a series of successive episodes that make up the main milestones of Savva’s biography: youth, mature years, old age and death.

In his youth, Savva, sent by his father on trade affairs to the city of Orel Solikamsk, indulges in love pleasures with the wife of his father’s friend Bazhen II, boldly trampling on holiness family union and the sanctity of friendship. In this part of the story, the central place is given to the love affair and the first attempts are made to depict a person’s love experiences. Intoxicated with a love potion and expelled from Bazhen’s house, Savva begins to be tormented by the pangs of love: “And behold, as if a fire began to burn in his heart... his heart began to grieve and grieve for his wife... And from a great agony, the beauty of his face began to fade and his flesh began to become thin.” To dispel his grief, to quench his heartfelt melancholy, Savva goes outside the city, into the bosom of nature.

The author sympathizes with Savva and condemns the act "evil and unfaithful wife" insidiously seduced him. But this traditional motive of seducing an innocent youth takes on real psychological contours in the story.

The medieval motif of the union of man with the devil is also introduced into the story: in a fit of love grief, Savva calls for the help of the devil, and he did not hesitate to answer his call in the form of a young man. He is ready to provide Savva with any services, demanding from him only to give “the handwriting is a bit of a mess”(sell your soul). The hero fulfills the demand of the demon, without attaching much importance to it, and even worships Satan himself in his kingdom; the devil, taking the image of the “said brother,” becomes a devoted servant of Savva.

The ideological and artistic function of the image of the demon in the story is close to the function of Grief in “The Tale of Grief and Misfortune.” He is the embodiment of the hero's fate and the inner turmoil of his young and impetuous soul. At the same time, the image of the “sworn brother” that the demon takes on in the story is close to the folk tale.

If in the episodes depicting the hero’s youth, a love affair is brought to the fore and the ardent, addicted nature of an inexperienced young man is revealed, then in the episodes telling about Savva’s mature years, the heroic traits of his character come to the fore: courage, bravery, fearlessness. In this part of the story, the author successfully combines the techniques of folk epic poetry with stylistic devices military stories.

The denouement of the story is connected with the traditional motif of the “miracles” of the Mother of God icons: the Mother of God, through her intercession, delivers Savva from demonic torment, having first made him vow to go to a monastery. Having been healed, having received back what was smoothed out "handwriting" Savva becomes a monk. At the same time, attention is drawn to the fact that throughout the entire story Savva remains a “young man.”

The image of Savva, like the image of the Young Man in “The Tale of Woe and Misfortune,” summarizes the features of the younger generation, striving to throw off the oppression of centuries-old traditions and live to the fullest extent of their daring, brave powers.

The style of the story combines traditional book techniques and individual motifs of oral folk poetry. The innovation of the story lies in its attempt to portray an ordinary human character in an ordinary everyday setting, to reveal the complexity and inconsistency of character, to show the meaning of love in a person’s life. Quite rightly, therefore, a number of researchers consider “The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn” as the initial stage in the formation of the novel genre.

"The Tale of Frol Skobeev." If the heroes of the stories about Grief and Misfortune and Savva Grudtsyn, in their desire to go beyond the traditional norms of morality and everyday relations, are defeated, then the poor nobleman Frol Skobeev, the hero of the story of the same name, is already shamelessly trampling on ethical standards, achieving personal success in life: material well-being and strong social position.

An artistic nobleman forced to earn his living through private clerical practice "snitch"(petitioner for cases), Frolka Skobeev makes “fortune and career” the motto of her life. “Either I’ll be a colonel or a dead man!” - he declares. To achieve this goal, Skobeev does not disdain anything. He is unscrupulous in his means and uses bribery, deception, and blackmail. For him, nothing is sacred except faith in the power of money. He buys the mother’s conscience, seduces the daughter of the rich steward Nardin-Nashchokin, Annushka, then kidnaps her, of course with Annushka’s consent, and marries her. By cunning and deception, the spouses achieve parental blessing, then complete forgiveness and remission of their guilt. Annushka's father, an arrogant and arrogant noble steward, is finally forced to recognize him as his son-in-law "thief, rogue" And "snitch" Frolka Skobeev, sit down with him at the same table for lunch and "commit" his heir.

The story is a typical picaresque short story. It reflected the beginning of the process of merging the patrimonial boyars and the service nobility into a single noble class, the process of elevation new nobility from clerks and clerks, parish "thin" for changing "Old, honest birth."

Boyar pride and arrogance are subjected to sharp satirical ridicule in the story: the noble steward is powerless to do anything against the “seedy” nobleman and is forced to reconcile with him and recognize him as his heir. All this gives reason to believe that the story arose after 1682, when localism was eliminated.

In achieving his goal, Frol Skobeev does not rely on either God or the devil, but only on his energy, intelligence and everyday practicality. Religious motives occupy a rather modest place in the story. A person’s actions are determined not by the will of a deity or a demon, but by his personal qualities and are consistent with the circumstances in which this person acts.

The image of Annushka is also noteworthy in the story. She declares her rights to choose her betrothed, boldly breaks traditions, and actively participates in organizing an escape from her parents’ home; easily agrees to pretense and deception in order to regain the favor of the fooled father and mother.

Thus, the fate of the heroes of the story reflects characteristic social and everyday phenomena of the late 17th century: the emergence of a new nobility and the destruction of the traditional way of life.

The fate of a hero who has achieved success in life reminds us of the fates of the “semi-sovereign ruler” Alexander Menshikov, Count Razumovsky and other representatives of the “nest of Peter’s chicks.”

The author of “The Tale of Frol Skobeev” is obviously a clerk who dreams, like his hero, of going “into the people” and achieving a strong financial and social position. This is evidenced by the style of the story, peppered with clericalism: “have a place of residence”, “have an obligatory love for this Annushka” etc. These phrases are interspersed with archaic expressions of book style and vernacular, especially in the speeches of the heroes, as well as barbarisms that widely poured into the literary and colloquial language at that time (“quarter”, “coreta”, “banquet”, “person” and so on.).

The author has a good command of the skill of direct free storytelling. AND. WITH. Turgenev praised the story, calling it “an extremely wonderful thing.” “All the faces are excellent, and the naivety of the style is touching,” he wrote.

Subsequently, the story attracted the attention of writers of the 18th and 19th centuries: in the 80s of the 18th century. Iv. Based on it, Novikov created “Novgorod girls’ Yuletide evening, played as a wedding party in Moscow.” N. M. Karamzin used this plot in the story “Natalya - the Boyar’s Daughter”; in the 60s of the XIX century. playwright D.V. Averkiev wrote “The Comedy about the Russian nobleman Frol Skobeev”, and in the mid-40s of the 20th century. Soviet composer T. N. Khrennikov created the comic opera “Frol Skobeev” or “The Motherless Son-in-Law.”

42. Democratic satire of the 17th century (“The Tale of the Shemyakinsky Court”, “The Tale of Ersha Ershovich”, “Kalyazin Petition”, “The Tale of Hawkmoth”

In the 17th century Satire is developing very well. Satirical stories can be divided into 3 groups: anti-feudal, anti-clerical and everyday. Anti-feudal ones include “The Tale of Ersha Ershovich”, “The Tale of Shemyakin’s Court”. To the anti-clerical ones - “The Kolyazin Petition”, “The Tale of Hawk Moth”. Everyday stories are fictional. The works contain fictitious characters and events. “The Tale of Misfortune” belongs to this type. They reflected the dramatic clash of “oldness” and “newness” in the sphere of personal and public life. “The Tale of Hawkmoth” has 3 parts: 1-introduction, 2-conversation between Hawkmoth and the inhabitants of paradise, 3-exit of John the Evangelist. This construction speaks of the novelistic nature of the work. This story is an anti-clerical satire. The first part talks about who the hawk moth is: “who drinks early on the feasts of God.” He dies and an angel comes for him, after which the second part begins - the communication of the hawk moth with those who approach the gates of heaven - the Apostle Peter, the Apostle Paul, King David, King Solomon. Hawkmoth asks them to let him in, but they answer him that sinners cannot go to heaven. To which the hawk moth remembers something from their life about each one, from which each one “got away and was quickly put to shame.” In the third part, John the Theologian approaches the gates, who also says: “You cannot enter heaven as a hawkmoth.” To which Hawkmoth replies that in his Gospel it is written: “if we love each other, God will protect us both.” And he says that then John must either let him in or renounce writing the Gospel. This is how the hawk moth goes to heaven. In this work, the Supreme dogma is violated, the Divine court turns out to be unfair. The sinner goes to heaven. This story, a parody of medieval tales about the afterlife, angrily denounces church piety and church veneration of famous saints. All the saints mentioned here turn out to be unworthy of heaven. And the hawk moth acts as an angry accuser and at the same time a cunning speaker. Therefore, this story was included in the index of banned books.

The emancipation of the democratic strata of Muscovite Rus' in the 17th century, which historical development and the class struggle were liberated from the power of ancient foundations and views, which naturally contributed to the development of satire and parody of what official Rus', represented by its ruling elite, held to.

One of the most famous satirical stories is the story of the Shemyakin court, exposing an unfair court in Rus' in the 17th century, telling about the behavior of a bribe-taking judge, whose nickname is associated with the personality of the judge who bore the name Shemyak, very common in the 17th century. In the literatures of the East and West, there are a number of works in which the motifs inherent in this story appear in various variations. In these literatures, as a rule, a righteous and fair judge appears. In our story, there is a satire on judicial verdicts, and the judge himself acts as an unjust judge: his sentences, although formally fair, are dictated solely by self-interest. In the 16th century, the story of the Shemyakin trial was translated into verse and passed into popular literature and then underwent further literary processing by some writers.

In the 17th century a whole layer of works independent of official writing has appeared, to which the term “democratic satire” is assigned in literary criticism (“The Tale of Ersha Ershovich”, “The Tale of Priest Sava”, “Kalyazin Petition”, “The ABC of a Naked and Poor Man”, “The Tale of about Thomas and Erem”, “Service for the Tavern”, “The Tale of the Chicken and the Fox”, “The Tale of Luxurious Life and Fun”, etc.). These works are written both in prose, often rhythmic, and in poetic verse. They are closely related to folklore both in their artistic specificity and in their way of living. "Kalyazin Petition". The characters inhabiting the laughter anti-world live according to special laws. If these are monks, then they “turn inside out” the strict monastic rules, which prescribed strict observance of fasts and attendance at church services, labors and vigils. This is the “Kalyazin Petition,” which is a funny complaint from the monks of the Trinity Kalyazin Monastery (on the left bank of the Volga, opposite the city of Kalyazin), addressed to Archbishop Simeon of Tver and Kashin (1676-1681). They complain about their Archimandrite Gabriel (1681), who “annoys” them. The archimandrite, they complain, “ordered... our brothers to wake up, orders us to go to church often. And we, your pilgrims, are sitting around a bucket of beer without trousers in our cells.” Then a folklore picture of a “carefree monastery” is painted, in which the monks indulge in carousing and overeat, instead of strictly fulfilling their monastic duties. Here both complaining drunkards and the sanctimonious life of Russian monasteries are ridiculed.

Laughter literature of the 17th century. opposes itself not only to the official “untruth” about the world, but also to folklore with its utopian dreams. She speaks the “naked truth” - through the lips of a “naked and poor” person.

In 1680, the nobleman Frol Skobeev lived in the Novgorod district, and in the same Novgorod district there were the estates of the steward Nardin-Nashchokin; and his daughter Annushka lived in those estates.

Frol Skobeev found out about the captain’s daughter and intended to make love with her. She just doesn’t know through whom she can arrange to meet her. Then he decided to get acquainted with the manager of that estate and began to often go to his house. And one day he happened to be sitting at that manager’s house when the teacher of the steward’s daughter came there.

The story of Frol Skobeev. Video lecture

Skobeev found out that this teacher always lives with Annushka, and when she went from the manager to her mistress, he went out after her and gave her two rubles. The teacher tells him:

- Mr. Skobeev, it is not according to my merits that you would like to show such mercy, I have no service for you!

But Skobeev gave her the money without saying anything and walked away. And she came to her mistress Annushka - and also said nothing. Skobeev spent some time with the manager and went home.

At the time of Yuletide entertaining evenings, when girls gather to have fun, the daughter of steward Nardin-Nashchokin, Annushka, ordered her teacher to go to all the nobles living near their estate and who have maiden daughters, and ask them to come to her for a Yuletide party. She went and invited all the noble daughters to her mistress Annushka, and they all promised to come.

The teacher knew that Skobeev had a sister among the girls. She went to him and began to invite his sister to Annushka’s party. Sister said:

- Wait a little, please; I'll go to my brother and report. If he agrees, then I’ll tell you,” she went to Frol and announced: “The steward’s daughter’s mother has arrived and asks me to be at their party.”

Skobeev told his sister:

- Go and tell her that you will not be alone, but with the daughter of a nobleman.

The sister thought about what her brother told her, but did not dare to disobey and announced to the teacher that she would arrive at her mistress on the appointed evening with one noble daughter. And the teacher went to her mistress’s house.

Skobeev says to his sister:

- Well, sister, it’s time for you to get ready to go visit.

The sister began to put on her girl’s dress, and Skobeev said:

- Bring it, sister, and the same for me! I’ll get ready, and you and I will go together to Annushka, the captain’s daughter.

And his sister began to be very afraid: “If they identify him, then, of course, his brother will be in great trouble - but that steward Nashchokin is very close to the tsar!” However, she did not disobey her brother’s will, she brought him a girl’s dress, and Frol Skobeev, dressed in a girl’s dress, went with his sister to Annushka. When we arrived, many noble daughters had already gathered there, Skobeev was right there, and no one could identify him. Then Skobeev went out to relieve himself and found himself alone, and the teacher stood in the hallway with a candle. Frol came out into the hallway and began to say to her:

“Ah, my light-mother, there are many of our sisters here, and you serve many, but no one will give you a gift!”

The teacher cannot recognize Skobeev in him. He took out five rubles and gave it to her. She took it with great reluctance. Skobeev sees that the teacher cannot recognize him in any way, fell to his knees in front of her and announced that he is a nobleman Frol Skobeev and that he came in a girl’s dress for the sake of Annushka, because he needs to make love with her at all costs! When she saw that he really was Frol Skobeev, she was very confused and did not know what to do with him. However, she remembered two of his gifts and said:

“Okay, Mr. Skobeev, for your favor towards me I am ready to provide you with all kinds of help,” and she went into the hall where the girls were, without saying anything to anyone.

Then she said to her mistress:

- Stop playing, girls! I'll show you another game, like we played in our youth.

Annushka did not disobey her will and said:

- Well, mother, mother, your will for all our games.

Then the teacher announced a game to them:

- If you please, Mother Annushka. You be the bride,” and pointed to Skobeev, “and this girl is the groom,” and took them to a separate room to rest, as usual at a wedding. The girls went to accompany them to their chambers, then returned back to the hall, where they continued their games. The teacher ordered everyone to sing loud songs so that the girls could not hear anything. And Skobeeva’s sister sat in great sadness and saw that, of course, there would be trouble. Skobeev stayed with Annushka and announced that he was Frol Skobeev, a Novgorod nobleman, and not a girl. Annushka did not know what to answer and was in great fear. And our Frol, despite the danger, behaved very bravely and mastered it. Then Annushka began to ask Skobeev not to disgrace her in front of others.

The teacher and the girls came to the chambers where they were, and Annushka’s face changed greatly from something she had never seen before. Not one of the girls could identify Skobeev, nor Annushka told anyone, she just took the teacher by the hand, took her to a separate room and began to reprimand her:

- What did that damned one do to me? It wasn’t a girl with me, it was a man from our city, Frol Skobeev!

“Truly,” she justifies herself, “the gracious lady could not recognize him in any way and thought that he was also a girl, and if he had done such a dirty trick, then we have a lot of people, we can completely remove him to a secret place.”

But Annushka felt sorry for Skobeev (he immediately aroused pity in her heart when he was there with her) and said:

- Well, mommy, so be it, and I won’t be able to return that!

The girls went into the hall, and with them Skobeev in a girl’s dress. We had fun all night. Then the girls went to rest, and Annushka left with Skobeev, saying:

“I couldn’t find her better to sleep with as my girlfriend,” and all night they amused themselves with physical play.

Such pity had already taken possession of Annushka that she stood up from Frol with great reluctance. The next morning, having risen, the girls thanked Annushka for the treat and went to their homes. And the Skobeevs got ready to go, but Annushka let all the girls go and left them behind. And Skobeev stayed with Annushka for three days (all in girl’s attire - so that the servants in the house would not recognize him), had fun with her and after three days I went with my sister to my home.

Annushka gave Skobeev several ducats, and from that time on, the poor Skobeev got rich, began to live luxuriously and organize banquets for his fellow nobles.

Then her father, the steward Nardin-Nashchokin, wrote from Moscow to Annushka, telling her to immediately leave for Moscow: profitable suitors, the children of the steward, were wooing her. And Annushka, although with great reluctance, went to Moscow, not wanting to disobey her father. Skobeev found out that Annushka had left for Moscow, and thought: he didn’t know what to do - he was not a rich nobleman and earned money only by handling litigation in Moscow. Finally, he decided to pawn his estates and go to Moscow to marry Annushka. So I did. Skobeev began to prepare for Moscow, and his sister was very worried that some kind of trouble would happen. Skobeev began to say goodbye and said:

- Well, mother-sister, please don’t worry about anything: even if I lose my life and meet my end there, but I won’t leave Annushka - either I’ll be a colonel or a dead man! And if it turns out according to my intention, I will not leave you either, and if misfortune happens, then I ask you not to leave me without remembering.

So he said goodbye and went to Moscow.

Upon arrival in Moscow, he stayed in an apartment not far from Nardin-Nashchokin’s house. The next day Skobeev went to mass and saw Annushka’s teacher in the church, and when the liturgy ended, he left the church and began to wait for her. She came out, and Skobeev approached her, bowed to her and began to ask her to announce him to Annushka. The teacher promised to serve him in every possible way. She came home and announced to Annushka about Skobeev’s arrival. And Annushka was very happy and began to ask her teacher to go to mass the next day, take 20 rubles of money, and give it to Skobeev. The teacher did just that.

This steward, Nardin-Nashchokin, had a sister who was tonsured in a convent. And then one day he went to her monastery to rest. When he arrived, his sister greeted him with the honor due to him, and the steward stayed with her for a considerable time. During the conversation, the sister suddenly asked:

“I humbly ask you, my lord brother, please let your Annushka go to see me - it’s been many years since I’ve seen her.”

The steward promised to let her go.

“I don’t hope, brother-sovereign, that you will do this and not forget.” I just humbly ask: please order in your house, when I send a carriage for her, to let her come to me - even if you are not at home.

The brother promised to satisfy this request.

And then one day it happened that Nardin-Nashchokin went to visit with his wife. He punishes his daughter:

“Listen, my friend Annushka, if my sister sends a carriage for you from the monastery, and your aunt sends a carriage for you, then go to her without delay!” - and he and his wife went to visit.

And Annushka then began to ask the teacher, as soon as the moment presented itself, to go to Skobeev, so that he could get a carriage somewhere and come to her himself, saying that he was from Sister Nardin-Nashchokin from the monastery. The teacher went to Skobeev and gave him her mistress’s order. As Skobeev heard this, he doesn’t know what to do or how to deceive anyone, because all the noble nobles know that he is not a rich nobleman and is only a master of litigation. And then he remembered that the steward of Lovchikov favored him. I went to that one.

He came to Lovchikov and talked to him for a long time. Then Skobeev began to ask Lovchikov to lend him a carriage and horses - to go see the bride. Lovchikov gave. Skobeev went, came to his apartment and got the coachman drunk, and he dressed in a lackey's dress, sat on the box and went to Nardin-Nashchokin for Annushka.

The teacher saw that Skobeev's boat had arrived looking strange, and she told Annushka: her aunt had sent a servant from the monastery for her. Annushka got dressed, got into the carriage and went to Skobeev’s apartment.

Then Lovchikov’s coachman woke up. Frol saw that the coachman was not so good. very drunk, and got him completely drunk, put him in the carriage, and he sat on the box and went to Lovchikov. He arrived at the yard, opened the gate, let the carriage and coachman into the yard, and went home. Lovchikov’s servants went out into the yard and saw that horses and a carriage were standing, the coachman was lying in the carriage, severely drunk and sleeping, and no one saw who brought him to the yard. And Lovchikov ordered the carriage to be removed and the horses to be driven in, saying:

“It’s also good that he didn’t leave.” There’s nothing to take from Skobeev!

The next morning Lovchikov began asking the coachman where he was with Skobeev, and he said:

“I just remember being in the apartment, but I don’t know where he went and what he did.”

At one time, Nardin-Nashchokin came from among the guests and asked Annushka. The teacher said:

- By your order, she was released to your sister in the monastery, because she recognized the carriage and horses.

Nardin-Nashchokin said:

- Fairly!

And the steward for a long time I didn’t visit my sister and thought that Annushka was in the monastery. And Frol Skobeev has already married her! Then one day Nardin-Nashchokin went to visit his sister in the monastery and sat there for a while, but did not see his daughter. And he asked his sister:

- Sister, why don’t I see Annushka? Sesgra replied:

- Stop mocking me, brother! So what is it that I unfortunately asked you to do? You don’t believe me, but I don’t even have time to send for her!

And Nardin-Nashchokin then said:

- How, Empress-sister, what do you want to say!? I can’t understand: she was released to you for about a month, you sent a carriage for her, and at that time I was visiting with my wife, and she was released on my orders...

“No, brother,” the sister answers, “I didn’t send a carriage, and I didn’t have Annushka...

Then Nardin-Nashchokin began to feel sorry for his daughter, who had disappeared without a trace, began to cry and, arriving home, announced to his wife that Annushka had disappeared and that her sister did not have her. I started asking the teacher:

– Who came for her and where did she go?

The teacher said that the coachman arrived and said: “From convent I came from your sister to pick up Annushka,” and according to the master’s order, Annushka went. Everyone began to grieve and cry about this, and the next morning the steward went to the sovereign and announced that his daughter had gone missing. And the sovereign ordered a publication to be made about his daughter: if anyone is keeping her secretly, then let him show up, and if he doesn’t show up, but is found, then he will be executed by death.

Frol Skobeev heard about this publication and did not know what to do. He then decided to go to the steward Lovchikov, remembering how he favored him. Arriving at Lovchikov, Skobeev began to have an extensive conversation, and Lovchikov asked him if he got married and took a rich woman? Skobeev responded:

– I don’t see wealth yet, but time will tell.

- Well, Mr. Skobeev, now live decently, stop arguing. Better sit in your patrimony.

Then Skobeev began to ask the steward to intercede for him. Lovchikov told him:

“If it’s possible, I’ll intercede, but if it’s impossible, then don’t be angry.”

And Frol told him:

- Stolnik Nardin-Nashchokin’s daughter, Annushka, is with me, and I recently married her!

Lovchikov said:

- Answer as you did.

“And if you don’t defend me,” said Skobeev, “then I’ll say a word about you.” I would have to tell you that you gave me horses and a carriage, and if you hadn’t given me, I wouldn’t have done anything!

“Oh, you swindler,” Lovchikov was confused, “what have you done to me?.. Well... I will defend you as best I can,” and ordered him to come to the Assumption Cathedral the next day, where Nardin-Nashchokin will be. – After mass we will all stand on Ivanovskaya Square. And at this time, come, fall before him and announce his daughter, and I, as best I can, will ask for you.

Skobeev came to the Assumption Cathedral for mass. There Nardin-Nashchokin, Lovchikov and other stewards are all at mass. And after mass, everyone then had the custom of gathering on Ivanovo Square opposite Ivan the Great and having conversations with each other. Skobeev went to these conversations, bowed to all the celebrants, as custom requires (and all the stewards knew Skobeev), and fell before Nardin-Nashchokin, asking for forgiveness:

- Dear sir and the sovereign's steward! I pray, forgive me, if I were your servant, my guilt, which I boldly committed before you!

And Nardin-Nashchokin was already old, his eyesight was weak, although he could see that there was a person in front of him. At that time, old people had the custom of carrying canes with hooks on top. And so Nardin-Nashchokin lifts Skobeev with his hook.

- Who are you? Tell me about yourself and what need do you have for me?

And Skobeev only repeats:

- Let go of my guilt!

Lovchikov approached Nardin-Nashchokin and said:

– The nobleman Frol Skobeev lies in front of you and asks for absolution.

And Nardin-Nashchokin cried out:

- Get up, you rogue! I've known you for a long time, you slacker. Finally, I slandered myself! Well, tell me, it will be possible - I’ll help, if it’s impossible - whatever you want. I told you, you rogue, long ago: “Live decently!” Stand up, tell me, what kind of guilt do you have?

Then Skobeev stood up from his feet and announced that he had his daughter Annushka and that he had married her. When Nardin-Nashchokin heard about his daughter, he burst into tears and fell into unconsciousness. And having come to his senses a little, he said:

- What did you do, bastard?! Do you understand who you are? There will be no absolution for you! Do you want to own my daughter?! I’ll go to the sovereign and complain about you!

Then Lovchikov approached him a second time and began to persuade him not to file a complaint with the sovereign so soon.

“You’d better go home and tell your wife about everything.” And act according to the general advice. So be it - he cannot be returned, and this Skobeev... will not be able to hide anywhere from your anger.

And Nardin-Nashchoknn listened to his advice, did not go to the sovereign, but got into the carriage and went home. And Skobeev came to his apartment and said to Annushka:

“Well, Annushka, I don’t know what will happen to you and me now: I announced about you to your father.”

Nardin-Nashchokin arrived home, went to his chambers, cried and shouted:

- Wife! You know, I found Annushka!

- Where is she, father? - asks the wife.

- Oh, my friend, the thief, rogue and scoundrel Frol Skobeev married her!

And the wife, hearing this, does not know what to say. They both began to cry bitterly, feel sorry for their daughter and scold her right there and do not know what to do with her now.

Then they came to their senses and, regretting their daughter, began to reason: “We will have to send a man and find where he, the bastard, lives and find out about our daughter, whether she is alive.” They called the servant and told him:

– Go and find Frol Skobeev’s apartment. Find out about Annushka: Is she alive and does she have any means?

The servant went around Moscow to look for Frol Skobeev’s apartment. After a long search, I found it and came to the yard. Skobeev saw that a man was coming from his father-in-law and ordered his wife to lie down on the bed and pretend to be sick. Annushka did as her husband wanted. The servant entered the room and bowed as usual. Skobeev asked:

“What kind of person are you, and what business do you have with me?”

He replied that he was sent by the steward Nardin-Nashchokin to find out if his daughter was alive.

“Look, my friend,” says Skobeev, “how healthy she is: such is her parents’ anger - they scold and curse her behind her back, that’s why she lies on the verge of death.” Convey their mercy so that they may at least bless her in absentia during her lifetime.

The man bowed and left. He came to his master and reported:

– I found Frol Skobeev’s apartment, only Annushka is very sick and asks you for at least a blessing in absentia.

The parents began to grieve immensely about their daughter and think: “What to do with a thief and a rogue!” – but they still felt more sorry for the daughter. The mother began to say:

- Well, my friend, it must be that the rogue owns our daughter. This is what God ordered - it will be necessary to send an image to them and bless them, at least in absentia. And once our hearts calm down, then we will be able to see them ourselves.

They took an image from the wall, overlaid with gold and precious stones (the entire frame cost 500 rubles) and sent it with the same servant so that they could pray to this image;

- Tell the thief Frolka not to squander it!

And their servant, having changed clothes, went to Frol Skobeev’s apartment. Skobeev saw that the same man had come and said to his wife:

- Get up, Annushka! – and they both sat down next to each other.

The servant entered the room, gave the image to Skobeev and said:

- Your parents, given by God, sent a blessing to you.

Skobeev venerated the image, Annushka too, and they placed it where it belonged.

“Here,” Skobeev said to the servant, “this is the parental blessing: they didn’t even leave us in absentia, but God gave Annushka health - now, thank God, she’s healthy.” Thank their mercy for not abandoning their lost daughter.

The servant came to his master and reported that he had given away the image, that Annushka was healthy, that they thanked him - and went where he was told. The steward went to the sovereign and said:

“I found my daughter with the Novgorod nobleman Frol Skobeev, who has already married her, and I ask your Sovereign Grace to forgive Skobeev’s guilt in this,” and told him everything in detail. To this the sovereign said to him:

- On the. it is your will how you do it. And I advise you - he will never be returned, and he will not be abandoned by your reward, but by my mercy, and in your old age you will have joy.

Nardin-Nashchokin bowed to the sovereign and drove home. There they continued to grieve for their daughter. The steward says to his wife:

- How can it be, my friend? Of course, the rogue will kill Annushka - what should he, a thief, feed her? And he himself is as hungry as a dog. It is necessary, my friend, to send them some kind of reserve, at least six horses.

- Of course, you need to send it, my friend! - said the wife, and they sent a supply, attaching a register to it.

When the supply arrived, Skobeev, without looking at the register, ordered everything to be put in the right places, and ordered the charioteer to thank the gentlemen for their parental favors.

Skobeev began to live luxuriously and travel around with noble people. Many were surprised that he arranged such a life for himself and so boldly.

After a considerable time, the Nardin-Nashchokins took pity on their daughter and softened. They sent to the children to ask them to come and have a meal.

As soon as a man came and asked:

“Your father ordered to invite you to dinner this day,” Skobeev said:

- Tell our priest that we will see to their health without delay!

The Skobeevs got dressed and went to their parents’ house. We arrived and entered the chambers. Annushka fell at the feet of her parents. The steward and his wife, seeing her repentance, began to scold her and cry right away that she had done such a thing without her parents’ will, and cursing her life. And having become sufficiently angry, they absolved her of her guilt and ordered her to sit down at the table with them. And Skobeev was told:

- And you, rogue, why are you standing there? Sit down right now! Should you, you rogue, own our daughter?

And Frol said to his father-in-law:

- Sovereign Father, this is how God judged! - and everyone sat down to eat.

Nardin-Nashchokin then ordered the servants not to let any strangers into the house - they said that “the steward is busy: he wants to eat with his son-in-law, the thief Frol Skobeev!” After the meal, the steward asks his son-in-law:

- Well, you rogue, how are you going to live? And Skobeev answers:

- Dear Sir-Father! Would you like to know for yourself what I need to live on - I can’t find any other food except through court cases...

“Stop,” says the steward, “stop, you rascal, wandering around the courts - I have an estate in the Simbirsk district of three hundred households, and in the Novgorod district of two hundred households.” Guide them after you and live like people.

The Skobeevs bowed, thanked their parents and, after sitting for a while, went to their apartment. And the father-in-law, steward Nardin-Nashchokin, ordered Skobeev to be turned back. And he began to say to him:

- Well, rogue, do you have money? How will you cope with the villages?

Frol said:

- You know, Father Sovereign, what kind of money I have...

And the steward ordered the butler to give him five hundred rubles. Skobeev said goodbye and went with his wife to his place.

Then Frol ruled the villages for himself and began to live luxuriously. He visited his father-in-law constantly, and he was always received with honor. And he stopped going to court. And, after living for some time, steward Nardin-Nashchokin, in old age, moved to eternal life, and made Skobeev the heir of all his movable and immovable property. After some time, his mother-in-law passed away. And so Frol Skobeev, having lived his life in glory and wealth, left heirs and died.

The complete opposite, both in content and language, of the stories about Grief and Misfortune and about Savva Grudtsyn is “The Story of the Russian nobleman Frol Skobeev,” which tells about the adventures of a rogue and a sneak. Its hero, a poor nobleman, very successfully arranges his material well-being by deception marrying the daughter of the rich and influential steward Nardin-Nashchokin, Annushka. Neither Frol nor Annushka have any regard for tradition, there is not the slightest sign of spiritual tragedy, which the young man from “The Tale of Woe and Misfortune” experiences, breaking away from antiquity.

Frol bribes Annushka's mother and thanks to this, in a girl's dress, he gets to Annushka's party, during which, with the help of the same mother, he secludes himself with the girl and, taking advantage of her inexperience, seduces her. This act not only easily gets away with him, but also brings material benefits: Annushka, releasing Frol, gives him several ducats, “and from that time Skobeev got hold of the char and began to live luxuriously and held banquets with his other noble brothers.” Inspired by good luck, Frol plans to marry Annushka, who just at this time is called by her parents from their Novgorod estate to Moscow, “so that good suitors, the capital’s children, woo her.” He rushes to Moscow with the firm intention of achieving his goal. “Although I’ll lose my belly...,” he says to his sister, “but I won’t leave Annushka: either I’ll be a colonel or a dead man!” Again, through the nanny, he begins a relationship with Annushka, from whom he receives twenty rubles. Taking advantage of the fact that a carriage was supposed to be sent for Annushka to take her to visit her aunt in the monastery, he deceitfully, supposedly for “looking at the bride,” gets a carriage from his patron steward Lovchikov, solders the coachman and takes Annushka, but not to the monastery , and to his apartment, and then marries her. When, by order of the tsar, a publication was made about the disappearance of Nardin-Nashchokin’s daughter and the kidnapper was ordered to return her under penalty of death, Frol informed Lovchikov. that he took Annushka away and married her, asks for his intercession, threatening otherwise to entangle him in his business, because by giving his carriage, Lovchikov thereby contributed to the abduction of the girl. Lovchikov has no choice but to rescue Frol, for which he arranges a meeting with Annushka’s father in his presence. With the courage of an adventurer who consciously takes risks and takes into account the situation, Frol announces to Nardin-Nashchokin that he has kidnapped his daughter and asks for forgiveness. From an immediate complaint against the kidnapper, with which the desperate father is going to turn to the tsar, Skobeev is saved by the same Lovchikov, who recommends Nardin-Nashchokin to first consult with his wife. Gradually, the parent's heart softens, and Nardin-Nashchokin, concerned about the future fate of his daughter, not only does not complain to the Tsar about Frol, but asks the Tsar to forgive his son-in-law. Frol very skillfully takes advantage of the parents’ pity for their daughter, forces her to pretend to be terminally ill when Nardin-Nashchokin’s servant comes to visit her, and asks for at least a blessing in absentia for her, and then, after the parents have sent the precious image, he orders Annushka to stand up, declaring, that her parents' blessing raised her to her feet. The rogue Frol is invariably lucky, and he not only gets away with it, but also rapidly succeeds. Annushka’s parents supply the newlyweds with abundant provisions so that the “thief”, “dog” Skobeev does not starve their daughter to death.

And “Frol Skobeev began to live luxuriously and travel everywhere with noble people, and they were very surprised at Skobeev that he did such a thing and so boldly.”

Frol, a swindler and scoundrel, ends his life as a worthy man in all respects, according to the concepts of his environment, whose past no one knows or, in any case, does not remember. Wealth and marriage to the capital's daughter provide him with honor and respect. Annushka's noble parents finally reconcile with their son-in-law, whom they had so recently treated as a thief and a rogue, accept him with honor and leave him all their estates as an inheritance. In the person of Frol, everyday practicality triumphs, which became so characteristic of the petty service nobility, which at that time was making its way to the top of the social ladder. The author of the story himself does not express his condemnatory attitude towards the hero and his morally unsightly life career.

Frol and Annushka can match Frol in the freedom with which she treats her father’s behests and commandments of antiquity. Only observing a purely external convention, after Frol has taken possession of her, she reproaches her mother: “What You, Damn, she did it to me! This was not a girl with me - he is a courageous man of our city, Frol Skobeev! But when the mother, pretending that she did not suspect anything bad, offers to hide him “in a secret place” for the “dirty trick” Frol has committed, Annushka, who has already managed to feel affection for her seducer, refuses to deal with Frol, briefly motivating her decision: “ Already be like this! I can’t return that!” Moreover, she detains Frol for three days, during which he “had fun all the time with Annushka,” and then releases him, generously giving him gifts. With her affection and money, Annushka does not leave Frol even after moving to Moscow, and on her initiative, Frol takes her away in a carriage, as if sent by her aunt from the monastery. She does not feel a shadow of remorse, having fled from her parents’ house; she does not feel sorry for the old people - her father and mother, who were shocked, as she well understood, by her act, and she, together with her lover, participates in deceiving her parents when she pretends to be sick.

No better than either of them is Annushka’s mother, a person of an older generation, but nevertheless without any foundations in her soul, a corrupt pimp who patronizes Frol because he pays her for her services.

The author did an excellent job of outlining the character of his characters, especially Frol Skobeev. He masterfully shows a combination of arrogance, cynicism and obsequious calculated delicacy. To Lovchikov’s question whether Frol got married and took a rich girl for himself, he replies: “Now I still don’t see wealth; time will tell in the future,” and immediately threatens his patron with personal troubles if he does not help him out. When the image is brought from the Nardin-Nashchokins, Frol and Annushka venerate it, place it in the proper place and order to thank Annushka’s parents for “not abandoning their lost daughter.” In his father-in-law’s house, he meekly and obediently listens to his insults and humbly responds to the offensive nicknames that the eminent old man, wounded in his pride and wounded in his pride, rewards him with.

The characters of Annushka’s parents, who oscillate between feelings of anger at their daughter and pity for her and ultimately reconcile with her, are also shown very vividly and believably.

The story is very interesting in its focus on realism and psychologism. The characters depicted in it are distinguished by all the signs of typicality. Their actions are motivated not by the intervention of an outside force - God or the devil, who often determined the behavior and destinies of people in works of ancient Russian literature, but by the free actions of the characters themselves, arising from their characters and the properties of their nature; They are not objects of some kind outside of their acting and directing force, but subjects of action, independently managing their lives and, to the best of their abilities and practical dexterity, creating their everyday well-being. The story is also interesting for its lively humor. Just look at its final page, which conveys the conversation between old man Nardin-Nashchokin and Frol Skobeev, who came with Annushka for lunch to his father-in-law! How subtly and skillfully the condescending and dismissive attitude of the well-born steward towards his unfortunate son-in-law is conveyed and how well the gradual softening of the insulted father and the increase in his concern for the fate of the young spouses are shown! Or as marks of casually thrown phrases, like the one with which Nardin-Nashchokin addresses a servant, through whom he - as a sign of a blessing in absentia - sends an expensive image to Annushka, who pretended to be sick: “And tell the rogue and thief Frolka not to squander it! » It is also apt to mention that when abundant food supplies arrived at Frol’s apartment on several carts and with them a register, Frol accepted the gift, “despite the register.” But perhaps the most impressive impression is made by Frol’s calmly cynical phrase, which he said in response to Nardin-Nashchokin’s reproaches for kidnapping his daughter: “Sovereign Father, God has already judged him this way!” Turgenev spoke about the story like this: “This is an extremely wonderful thing. All the faces are “excellent, and the naivety of the style is touching.”

The language of the story reveals a fundamental difference from the traditional language of previous monuments of Russian literature. He approaches the language of secular stories of the Peter the Great era and at the same time abundantly uses modern clerical jargon, sounding already at the very beginning of the story: “In 1680, in the Novogorod district there was a nobleman Frol Skobeev; in the same Novgorod district there were the estates of the steward Nardin-Nashchokin, and in those estates his daughter Annushka lived in them,” and below, in the same vein: “And the steward Nardin-Nashchokin was very ancient over the years.” The story included fashionable foreign words, such as “publication”, “register”, “apartment”, “person”, “banquets”, “natural”, and such pretentious expressions that also became fashionable, such as “to have love”, “there is no service of mine for you” , “entertainment evenings called Christmastide”, “obligatory love”, etc. The author, apparently, tried to write in the language that seemed to him most appropriate to his contemporary requirements, which were presented by a secular story, but in his attempts at fashion he had to , probably seem naive even to his more educated contemporaries. He himself, obviously, belonged either to the clerical order or to the petty nobility and, despite his undoubted talent, was a man of very moderate literary literacy.

The action of the story in one of the lists dates back to 1680, in another list its very writing dates back to this year. Judging, however, by the language and by the fact that in the story some facts are spoken of as already about the affairs of the past (“Then everyone had the custom of being in a meeting on Ivanovskaya Square”; “at that time those old people had the custom of carrying natural canes in their hands with buns"), the story should be dated to the very end of the 17th century. or the beginning of the 18th century - the eve of Peter’s reforms. Later, stories of a gallant-romantic style, such as the story of Vasily Kariotsky, became characteristic.

The story of Frol Skobeev is a typical example of the picaresque short story genre, which by that time had become quite widespread in the West. However, any suitable Western parallels to our story have not yet been found, and it is unlikely that they should be looked for, since its plot situations are more or less common places in a certain historical era. In addition, the surnames appearing in the story about Frol - with the exception of one list, where instead of Skobeev there is Skomrakhov, and instead of Nardin-Nashchokin - Nardin-Tsap-lin - find their correspondence in the historical documents of the era and are associated with those very localities. which are discussed in the story. This last circumstance gives rise to the assumption of the possibility of a real lining for its writing."

In the last quarter of the 18th century. The story about Frol Skobeev underwent literary processing under the pen of Iv. Novikov, who wrote the story “The Novgorod Girls’ Yuletide Evening, Played as a Wedding Party in Moscow,” which was included in his book “The Adventures of Ivan Gostiny’s Son.” At the end of the 60s of the XIX century. playwright Averkiev, based on the plot of the story about Frol, wrote the play “Comedy about the Russian nobleman Frol Skobeev and Nardyn-Nashchokin’s capital’s daughter Annushka.” In 1950, composer T. Khrennikov composed the comic opera “Frol Skobeev” on the same plot.

Written in the 17th century, “The Story of the Russian Nobleman Frol Skobeev” (see its full text) is similar to the contemporary “The Tale of Ersha Ershovich”, for here too the main character is an unscrupulous and cunning rogue. However, in the story about Frol there is neither parody nor morality. This is simply an everyday, adventurous story that conveys an unusually realistic picture of that time.

The story of Frol Skobeev. Video lecture

The poor nobleman Frol Skobeev, a sneaker and a rogue, decided to marry Annushka, the daughter of the noble steward Ordin-Nashchokin (in the story he is called: Nardin-Nashchokin) and receive a rich dowry for her. To do this, he enters a party in Nardin-Nashchokin’s house in his village estates, dressed in a woman’s dress. Having bribed Annushka's mother and revealed his intentions to her, Frol Skobeev continues to see Annushka and seeks her love.

When steward Nardin-Nashchokin registers his daughter from the village estates to Moscow, Frol Skobeev goes there after her: through the most shameless deception, he takes Annushka away from her father’s house and secretly marries her. Old Nardin-Nashchokin is desperately looking for his missing daughter and goes to complain to the king. The Emperor orders “to make a publication about that capital’s daughter: if anyone keeps her secretly, so that it is announced, and if someone does not announce it and is found, then she will be executed by death.”

Having heard about such a “publication”, Frol Skobeev decides to go ahead. Having secured the patronage of another steward, Lovchikov, whom he also cunningly deceived, he approaches Nardin-Nashchokin after mass in the Assumption Cathedral, on Ivanovskaya Square, falls at his feet and announces in front of all the people that he has married his daughter Annushka.

The old steward is stunned: the joy of finding his missing daughter and anger at the “rogue and slacker” who married her are fighting in his soul. The steward of Lovchikov “represents” Frol Skobeev. Frol, having forced his wife to pretend to be sick, brings to the attention of her parents that she is seriously ill and begs them to at least bless her in absentia. After consulting with his wife, grieving and crying with her for some time, Nardin-Nashchokin decides to send the blessed image to his daughter.

Little by little, the clever rogue ensures that the old steward begins relations with the daughter who deceived him and her husband and eventually invites them to his house for dinner. But the proud steward still cannot overcome his disgust for the swindler who has become his son-in-law, and, receiving him for the first time in his house, he orders “his people not to let anyone outside into the house - they would say that there is no such time the steward, because he eats with his son-in-law, the thief and rogue, Frolka Skobeev.”

Having achieved the forgiveness of Nardin-Nashchokin, Frol Skobeev achieves further: the steward gives him estates and money so that his daughter can live without need. Upon the death of the good steward, Skobeev becomes the heir of all his wealth.

In the picaresque short story “The Tale of Frol Skobeev” he triumphs new hero- a poor seedy nobleman, a petty clerk. This is the first Russian picaresque story of the 17th century. The exact date of writing has not been established. Based on various data, the time period when she could have appeared extends from 1680 (the hero’s adventures are attributed to this year in some lists) to the 20s of the 18th century. (judging by the peculiarities of vocabulary and realities); by the 18th century include all 9 famous lists works. The story was discovered in the collection of M.P. Pogodin in 1853.

Small in volume, not rich in events, lively and dynamically written story is a kind of apology for cunning, resourcefulness and trickery. Its hero, a resident of the Novgorod district of the “great Yabida” Frol Skobeev, earns his living as an attorney, i.e. the clerk decides to “have love” at all costs with Annushka, the daughter of the clerk Nardin-Nashchokin. To begin with, he meets a certain clerk, in whose house he encounters Annushka’s mother. Skobeev gives her two rubles without asking for anything in return. When Annushka invites noble daughters through her mother to visit the Christmastide, the unrecognized Frol also arrives, dressed in a woman’s dress. Having ambushed the mother, he gives her five rubles and reveals who he is, asking her to set him up with Annushka, which the mother does. They are left in the bedroom, where the deceiver revealed himself to Annushka and, despite her fear, “corrupted her virginity.” When the steward summoned his daughter to Moscow, Frol goes after her. In Moscow, having begged a carriage from a friend of the steward Lovchikov and drunk the coachman into unconsciousness, he dresses up in coachman’s clothes and takes the girl away. Annushka and Frol are getting married. The saddened steward informs the sovereign about the disappearance of his daughter. By royal command, the kidnapper must show up, otherwise, if found, he will be executed

When the stewards come out onto Ivanovskaya Square in the Kremlin after the liturgy in the Assumption Cathedral, Frol falls at the feet of Nardin-Nashchokin. Together with Lovchikov, he dissuades Annushka’s father from complaining to the sovereign. Some time later, Nardin-Nashchokin sends a man to see how his daughter lives. The cunning Frol forces Annushka to go to bed and, through a messenger, tells her father that her daughter is ill and asks for parental forgiveness before her death. Frightened parents send their daughter an image, one butt of which is worth 500 rubles. Having forgiven their daughter, the parents visit her in the new house and invite Annushka and Frol to their place, ordering the servants not to let anyone in, announcing to everyone: the steward is “eating with his son-in-law, the thief and rogue Frolka.” For supporting family life The steward gives Frol an estate in Simbirsk district, consisting of 300 households. Over time, the resourceful Frol becomes the heir to all the steward’s property, marries his sister in marriage, and the mother who helped him is kept in great mercy and honor until her death.

In the story you can see quite real facts: surnames characters are found in documents dating back to the 17th century, and the prototype of the steward could well have been the boyar A.L. Ordin-Nashchokin, who headed the Ambassadorial Prikaz. But this work attracts, first of all, its artistic merits. Here, unlike other ancient Russian stories, the author’s speech does not merge with the speech of the characters, which, although not individualized, is close to colloquial speech and is rich in lively intonations. The story also lacks an edifying element, so characteristic of stories of the 17th century. (another argument in favor of dating it to the 18th century). Small details specially highlighted by the author are interesting and unusual. The most important events, as in other works of medieval prose, occur at particularly significant moments (Christmas time), in particularly significant places (in church, after the liturgy), but these events themselves are such that the connection with other works of the genre is no longer like continuity, but a parody.

Before the reader is a picaresque short story, which over time will be reborn into the genre of a Christmas story, and its hero is a typical rogue, a swindler, distinguished not by wealth, but by resourcefulness and personal connections. The unknown author of the work openly sympathizes with the hero, and the fact that he is well aware of the order terminology makes it possible to look at the hero he presents as a self-portrait.