After the ball in a nutshell. After the ball. The position of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy: on the side of moral principles
Konstantin Nikolaevich Batyushkov
Oh, memory of the heart! You are stronger
The mind of the sad memory
And often with your sweetness
You captivate me in a distant country.
I remember the voice of sweet words,
I remember blue eyes
I remember golden curls
Carelessly curly hair.
My incomparable shepherdess
I remember the whole outfit is simple,
And a sweet, unforgettable image,
Travels everywhere with me.
My guardian genius - with love
He was given the joy of separation;
Will I fall asleep? - will lean against the headboard
And will sweeten the sad dream.
Anna Furman
There have been fatal encounters in the life of every poet, and Konstantin Batyushkov is no exception in this matter. In 1813, while visiting friends in St. Petersburg, the poet met Anna Furman and fell madly in love with the girl. The parents of the young lady are not at all averse to marrying their daughter to a very wealthy nobleman, who, moreover, is a member of a prestigious public service. However, Anna Furman does not have reciprocal feelings for her groom. Realizing this, Batyushkov breaks off the engagement, but until the end of his life he keeps in his heart the image of the girl who captivated his imagination.
The poet devotes a whole cycle of poems to Anna Furman, one of which, entitled “My Genius,” dates back to 1815. This work was written a few months after the dissolution of the engagement, which the poet greatly regrets. It is for this reason that the first lines of the poem are filled with sadness and longing. “Oh, memory of the heart! You are stronger than the mind of the sad memory,” with this phrase the poet wants to emphasize that he is not able to subordinate his love to logic and common sense. Even knowing that the chosen one does not reciprocate, Batyushkov continues to love her and considers her the only one who is worthy of becoming his wife. However, according to the recollections of eyewitnesses, Konstantin Batyushkov could become a completely happy family man and live with his young wife happy life. This is exactly what the poet dreamed of, but he understood that his beloved agreed to the marriage not because of high feelings, but under pressure from her parents. This assumption soon finds confirmation when the poet becomes an unwitting witness to a conversation between Anna Furman and her friend. We are talking about the upcoming wedding, which the bride treats with disdain, believing that marriage will give her only the only consolation - freedom and deliverance from parental instructions. It was then that Batyushkov decides to talk to the bride’s father and casually mentions that he does not have enough money to support his family. This argument turns out to be decisive in the matter of Anna Furman's upcoming marriage, and the wedding is upset. However, the poet is unable to leave St. Petersburg immediately, since due to a deep nervous shock he falls ill and needs special care. It was then that he announced to his friends that his financial affairs had been shaken in order to hide the true cause of his worries. But in the fit of another attack of clouding of reason, he still reveals his secret, declaring that he cannot live under the same roof with someone who is ready to tolerate him for the sake of money.
Realizing that there is no turning back, and the relationship with Anna Furman is broken forever, the poet continues to keep her image in his own heart. “I remember the voice of sweet words, I remember blue eyes,” notes the author, recreating bit by bit the portrait of the person closest and dearest to him. However, it is not only Anna Furman’s appearance that attracts the poet. He is sincerely convinced that this extraordinary girl is his genius and guardian angel. It is she who inspires Batyushkov to create and forces him to put his feelings into poetry.
Even after breaking up with Anna Furman, the poet not only continues to love her, but also sincerely believes that meeting her is a gift of fate. The fact that the feelings were deprived of reciprocity does not sadden Batyushkov at all, who is happy simply because he loves himself. And it seems to him that it is this love that saves him from loneliness and life’s hardships, it helps to materialize the image of the chosen one, who at the most difficult moment “will cling to the headboard and sweeten the sad dream.”
It is noteworthy that Batyushkov carried his feelings for Anna Furman throughout his life, and every year they only became stronger, eventually driving the impressionable poet to the point of insanity.
Readers became acquainted with the story “After the Ball,” created in 1903, only in 1911, after his death. On our website you can not only read summary“After the Ball” by Tolstoy, but also to understand how the work is structured and what its ideological content is. The story is included in the 8th grade Russian literature curriculum.
The plot is based on the events that happened to the writer’s brother. The realism of the depiction of reality and the unusual ring composition helped the author draw a parallel between the past and the present. A succinct and concise story forces us to focus on one main event in the life of the main character. Through the eyes of Ivan Vasilyevich we see the cruel century of the reign of Nicholas I, crippling the soul and morality of his contemporary.
Main characters of the story
Main characters:
- Ivan Vasilyevich is a person who acts as a narrator. He remembers the time when he was a “cheerful, lively fellow and also rich” and was a young and in love student. The young man is trusting, honest and conscientious.
Other characters:
- Pyotr Vladislavich is Varenka’s father, colonel. A two-faced man: a kind, loving father at the ball and an insensitive officer supervising the punishment of a soldier after the ball.
- Varenka is an eighteen-year-old girl with whom the hero is madly in love. She is charming, sweet and naive.
Tolstoy “After the Ball” very brief summary
1840s. Main character story - a young rich nobleman Ivan Vasilyevich. He lives in a provincial town and studies at a local university (probably we are talking about Kazan). Ivan Vasilyevich has been in love for some time with the young beauty Varenka, daughter of Colonel B.
Young people meet at balls and evenings. Ivan Vasilyevich is in love with Varenka. The girl reciprocates his feelings. Once at a ball, Ivan Vasilyevich and Varenka dance together almost the entire evening. Ivan Vasilyevich is happy with love. At the ball, Varenka's father, Colonel B., behaves politely and kindly to those around him.
In the morning after the ball, lover Ivan Vasilyevich walks around the city. On the street he sees soldiers beating a Tatar criminal with rods. This process is led by Colonel B., Varenka’s father. The “amiable” colonel turns out to be a cruel man in his service. He beats his soldiers. When the Tatar criminal asks for mercy, the colonel coldly continues the punishment.
This morning after the ball turns the life of the young romantic Ivan Vasilyevich upside down. The colonel's cruelty shocks him so much that he decides not to become an officer. His love for Varenka fades away. He won't marry her. Later, Varenka marries another man and starts a family.
A short retelling of “After the Ball” by Tolstoy
L. N. Tolstoy's story “After the Ball” begins with the words of the main character and narrator, Ivan Vasilyevich, that actions and personality are influenced not only by the environment, but also by chance. In support of this thought, he begins to talk about an accident that influenced his entire future life.
This happened in the 40s, when Ivan Vasilyevich was still a student at the university. He was young and rich, and very much in love with a beautiful girl named Varya. Her father was a colonel, a military commander of the Nikolaev bearing named Pyotr Vladislavovich, a stately tall old man.
One day, Ivan Vasilyevich and Varya met at a ball hosted by the provincial leader on the last day of Maslenitsa, and Ivan Vasilyevich danced with her almost the entire day. Before dinner, the wife of the ball organizer asks Varya to dance with her father. While the daughter dances the mazurka with her father, all the guests look at them. Ivan Vasilyevich is touched when he sees that the old man wears old-fashioned homemade boots, only so as not to deny his daughter anything. After the dance, the colonel brings his daughter to Ivan Vasilyevich, and they dance together again, then Varya, after her father has left, stays with Ivan Vasilyevich and goes to the square dance after dinner. Ivan Vasilyevich is happy and loves her even more.
Returning home, Ivan Vasilyevich looks at the feather from the fan and the glove given to him by his beloved, and cannot sleep. He decided to go for a walk in the city and, approaching the field near which Varya’s family lived, he heard the unpleasant sounds of a flute and drum. Out of the fog in front of him emerge the silhouettes of soldiers in black uniforms standing in two rows opposite each other. From a passerby he learns that they are chasing the Tatar for escaping. Then a man, naked to the waist, appears before his eyes, walking towards him, tied to the guns of two soldiers, and next to him is a vaguely familiar military figure. He recognizes Varya’s father as a military man.
Ivan Vasilyevich sees how the guilty man is beaten, his bloody back, and how he asks for mercy, and the colonel, as if nothing had happened, walks next to him, scolding some soldier for hitting too weakly. This scene became unbearable for Ivan Vasilyevich, and he immediately went home. At home, he tried to convince himself that he simply did not know what the colonel knew, and since this cruelty was taken for granted, there was no point in worrying. However, this unpleasant memory was never erased from his memory, and even seeing Varya, he remembered this incident with the Tatar and therefore his love began to wane and he stopped dating the girl.
Two scenes of the story, contrasting in mood, well illustrate the author’s thoughts about the hypocrisy, the brilliant façade and the rotten essence of the society of that time. We see how aristocrats in their circle look benevolent and sweet, dance wonderfully and have fun, and immediately after that we are shown how these same people mercilessly cause suffering to others below them. This also destroys the protagonist’s idea of his beloved’s father as good person, and even his feelings for the colonel's daughter collapse, despite the fact that he convinces himself that his behavior with the Tatar and the soldiers was normal, since no one protests against it.
Read also: The collection “Sevastopol Stories” was written and published in 1855, dedicated to the defense of Sevastopol. We recommend reading the chapter-by-chapter summary for reader's diary. In his book, Leo Tolstoy describes the heroism of the city’s defenders, and also shows the senselessness and mercilessness of the war.
Compositionally, the content of the work can be divided into two parts: events at the ball and after the ball.
The first lines of the story are a discussion between experienced friends about whether environment influence a person's destiny. One of them, Ivan Vasilyevich, believing that “it’s all a matter of chance,” offers to listen to a story from his life.
His story begins with a description of a ball in the house of the provincial leader. Happy Ivan Vasilyevich enjoys communicating with his beloved girl. Everything seems wonderful to him: wonderful, kind owners, beautiful outfits, dazzling hall, cheerful music. Throughout the evening, the hero does not take his eyes off his beloved. He watches with delight the dancing colonel and his daughter.
He is touched by his homemade boots, thinking that for the sake of Varenka, his father saves on himself and makes sacrifices. The young man is ready to love the whole world. " I was not only cheerful and contented, I was happy, blissful, I was kind, I was not me, but some unearthly creature, knowing no evil and capable of only good", the narrator recalls.
Inspired by his impressions, the narrator, returning home, remains in a state of bliss. He goes outside. Early morning, the city is waking up, rare passers-by. The surroundings seemed “nice and significant.” This part of the story is imbued with a feeling of goodness and light. Brilliant eyes, joyful smiles, white and pink colors surround the young lover.
The mood changes dramatically in the next part of the story. In the clearing morning fog, Ivan Vasilyevich saw a picture that struck his imagination. The Tatar was driven away between the soldiers with sticks in their hands. His colleagues beat him severely on orders from his superiors, punishing him for running away. His back turned into something" motley, wet, red, unnatural" The words of the poor fellow reached the young man. He did not speak, but sobbed: “ Brothers, have mercy. Brothers, have mercy" But the punishment continued.
In the man leading the torture, Ivan Vasilyevich unexpectedly recognized the father of his beloved Varenka. The officer, without taking off his gloves, beat one of the soldiers who decided to take pity on the unfortunate man. Noticing Ivan Vasilyevich, Pyotr Vladislavich pretended that they did not know each other and continued to control the execution. The main character felt horror and shame. On the way home, he tried to find an excuse for the colonel’s actions, but a terrible picture appeared before him again and again, and unpleasant, harsh music sounded in his ears. He was terrified, scared and sad.
The event radically changed life young man. He stopped dating Varenka, " love has waned». For a long time I tried to make sense of what I saw. I thought that I didn’t understand something important in this life. But " no matter how hard I tried and then I couldn’t find out" Therefore, I did not want to be an officer, and did not become an official. His worldview and moral principles did not allow him to serve a state with such cruel and unjust laws.
Conclusion
L.N. Tolstoy's story was created more than a century ago, but has not lost its relevance. How to choose the right path in life and not succumb to circumstances? These questions still concern every young person today. The work helps to understand the historical past of our country and warns against mistakes. From the example of the main character, we learn kindness, honesty and mercy.
This is interesting: The story by L.N. Tolstoy was written in 1872 and belongs to the literary movement of realism. You can read the summary on our website. It will be useful in preparing for literature lessons in grade 5, as well as for familiarizing yourself with the plot of the work.
The title of the work refers the reader to. However, unlike his predecessor, Tolstoy in his story portrayed not a romantic, idealized character, but an ordinary Russian officer Zhilin - a brave, hardworking and humane hero, capable of always finding a way out of a difficult situation.
Video summary After the ball
“Respected by all,” Ivan Vasilyevich recalls something that happened to him long ago, which changed his entire future life. He says his whole life changed because of one morning...
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy
"After the ball"
There was a conversation among friends that “for personal improvement it is necessary to first change the conditions among which people live.” Everyone respected Ivan Vasilyevich told a story that radically changed his life.
Then he was young and deeply in love with eighteen-year-old Varenka, a beautiful, tall and graceful girl. This was at a time when the narrator studied at a provincial university, and his main pleasure was balls and evenings.
On the last day of Maslenitsa, the provincial leader gave a ball. Ivan Vasilyevich “was drunk with love” and danced only with Varenka. Her father, Colonel Pyotr Vladislavich, “a handsome, stately and fresh old man,” was also there. After lunch, the hostess persuaded him to take one round of the mazurka together with his daughter. The whole hall was delighted with this couple, and Ivan Vasilyevich was imbued with an enthusiastic and tender feeling for Varenka’s father.
That night Ivan Vasilyevich could not sleep, and he went to wander around the city. His feet carried him to Varenka’s house. At the end of the field where her house stood, he saw some kind of crowd, but, coming closer, he saw that it was a Tatar deserter being driven through the gauntlet. Pyotr Vladislavich walked nearby and vigilantly ensured that the soldiers properly lowered the stick onto the red back of the person being punished, and when he saw Ivan Vasilyevich, he pretended that they did not know each other.
The narrator could not understand whether what he saw was good or bad: “If this was done with such confidence and was recognized by everyone as necessary, it means that they knew something that I did not know.” But without knowing this, he could not enter either the military or any other service.
Since then, every time he saw Varenka’s pretty face, he remembered that morning, and “the love just faded away.” Retold Yulia Peskovaya
Friends argued that it was necessary to change the conditions so that a person could strive to achieve personal excellence. Ivan Vasilyevich described to those present an incident that he believes changed his life.
He was young and in love with Varenka, a beautiful, tall and graceful eighteen-year-old girl. He studied at the university of a provincial city, and his main pleasure was balls and evenings. At Maslenitsa, the provincial leader had a ball. Ivan Vasilyevich, drunk with love, danced with only Varenka. The girl’s father, Colonel Pyotr Vladislavich, was also present at the ball. He was handsome, stately and fresh, although he was an old man. He was persuaded to take the mazurka tour with his daughter. Everyone was delighted with the dance of this couple. Ivan Vasilyevich experienced enthusiastically tender feelings for Varenka’s father.
At night, Ivan Vasilyevich could not sleep and wandered around the city. His feet brought him to Varenka’s house. It was early morning - and at the end of the field there was a crowd of heroes, busy with something. Coming closer, he saw that a Tatar deserter was being driven through the ranks. Pyotr Vladislavich walks along the line and carefully monitors that all the soldiers act with sufficient force, lowering sticks on the bloody back of the soldier. He even whipped a soldier with his glove who didn't hit hard enough. At the same time, the colonel said: “You will smear!” Noticing Ivan Vasilyevich, the colonel pretended to be unfamiliar with him.
The narrator could not understand whether what he witnessed was good or bad. After all, this was done with confidence in the necessity and correctness, and was recognized by everyone as correct. He decided that he could not answer for himself what he personally did not know about the structure of this society. And so he did not enlist in the military service, nor in any other service. And after this incident, every time he saw the face of Varenka, so beloved before, he remembered her father. Love somehow ended by itself.
