Sentimentalism is one of the main, along with classicism and rococo, artistic movements in European literature of the 18th century. Like Rococo, sentimentalism arises as a reaction to the classicist tendencies in literature that prevailed in the previous century. Sentimentalism got its name after the publication of the unfinished novel “A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy” (1768) by the English writer L. Stern, who, as modern researchers believe, consolidated , the new meaning of the word "sentimental" in English language. If earlier (the first use of this word by the Great Oxford Dictionary refers to 1749) it meant either “reasonable”, “sensible”, or “highly moral”, “edifying”, then by the 1760s it intensified the connotation associated not so much with belonging to areas of the mind, how much - to the area of feeling. Now "sentimental" also means "capable of sympathy", and Stern finally assigns to it the meaning of "sensitive", "capable of experiencing lofty and subtle emotions" and introduces it into the circle of the most fashionable words of his time. Subsequently, the fashion for "sentimental" passed, and in the 19th century the word "sentimental" in English acquires a negative connotation, meaning "inclined to indulge excessive sensitivity", "easily amenable to the influx of emotions."
Modern dictionaries and reference books already breed the concepts of "feeling" (sentiment) and "sensitivity", "sentimentality" (sentimentality), opposing them to each other. However, the word "sentimentalism" in English, as well as in other Western European languages, where it came under the influence of the success of Stern's novels, did not acquire the character of a strictly literary term that would cover the whole and internally unified artistic direction. English-speaking researchers still use mainly such concepts as “sentimental novel”, “sentimental drama” or “sentimental poetry”, while French and German critics single out rather “sentimentality” (French sentimentalite, German sentimentalitat) as a special category, to one degree or another inherent in works of art of various eras and trends. Only in Russia, starting from the end of the 19th century, attempts were made to comprehend sentimentalism as an integral historical and literary phenomenon. main feature sentimentalism, all domestic researchers recognize the "cult of feeling" (or "heart"), which in this system of views becomes the "measurement of good and evil." Most often, the appearance of this cult in Western literature of the 18th century is explained, on the one hand, by a reaction to enlightenment rationalism (with feeling directly opposed to reason), and on the other hand, by a reaction to the previously dominant aristocratic type of culture. The fact that sentimentalism as an independent phenomenon first appeared in England already in the late 1720s and early 1730s is usually associated with the social changes that took place in this country in the 17th century, when, as a result of the revolution of 1688-89, the third estate became independent and influential force. One of the main categories that determines the attention of sentimentalists to the life of the human heart, all researchers call the concept of "natural", in general, very important for the philosophy and literature of the Enlightenment. This concept combines the outer world of nature with the inner world. human soul, which, from the point of view of sentimentalists, are consonant and essentially involved in each other. From this it follows, firstly, Special attention the authors of this trend towards nature - its external appearance and the processes taking place in it; secondly, intense interest in the emotional sphere and experiences of an individual. At the same time, sentimentalist authors are interested in a person not so much as a bearer of a reasonable volitional principle, but as a focus of the best natural qualities that have been instilled in his heart from birth. The hero of sentimental literature acts as a feeling person, and therefore the psychological analysis of the authors of this trend is most often based on the subjective outpourings of the hero.
Sentimentalism "descends" from the heights of majestic upheavals, unfolding in an aristocratic environment, to the everyday life of ordinary people, unremarkable, except for the strength of their experiences. The sublime beginning, so beloved by the theoreticians of classicism, is replaced in sentimentalism by the category of touching. Thanks to this, researchers note, sentimentalism, as a rule, cultivates sympathy for one’s neighbor, philanthropism, becomes a “school of philanthropy”, as opposed to “cold-rational” classicism and, in general, the “dominance of reason” on early stages development of the European Enlightenment. However, too direct opposition of reason and feeling, "philosopher" and "sensitive person", which is found in the works of a number of domestic and foreign researchers, unnecessarily simplifies the idea of sentimentalism. Often, in this case, “reason” is associated exclusively with enlightenment classicism, and the entire area of “feelings” falls to the lot of sentimentalism. But such an approach, which is based on another very common opinion - that at the basis of its sentimentality is entirely derived from the sensationalist philosophy of George Locke (1632-1704), - obscures the much more subtle relationship between "reason" and "feeling" in the 18th century, moreover, it does not explain the essence of the divergence between sentimentalism and such an independent artistic direction of this century as rococo. The most debatable problem in the study of sentimentalism remains its relation, on the one hand, to other aesthetic trends of the 18th century, and, on the other hand, to the Enlightenment as a whole.
Prerequisites for the emergence of sentimentalism
The prerequisites for the emergence of sentimentalism were already contained in the newest way of thinking., which distinguished the philosophers and writers of the 18th century and determined the whole structure and spirit of the Enlightenment. In this way of thinking, sensibility and rationality do not appear and do not exist without each other: in contrast to the speculative rationalist systems of the 17th century, rationalism of the 18th century is limited by the framework of human experience, i.e. the perception of the sentient soul. A person with his inherent desire for happiness in this earthly life becomes the main measure of the viability of any views. Rationalists of the 18th century not only criticize certain phenomena of reality that are inappropriate, in their opinion, but also put forward an image of ideal reality, conducive to human happiness, and this image ultimately turns out to be prompted not by reason, but by feeling. The ability for critical judgment and a sensitive heart are two sides of a single intellectual tool that helped the writers of the 18th century develop a new view of a person who abandoned the feeling of original sin and tried to justify his existence based on his innate desire for happiness. Various aesthetic trends of the 18th century, including sentimentalism, tried to paint the image of the new reality in their own way. As long as they remained within the framework of the Enlightenment ideology, they were equally close to the critical views of Locke, who denied the existence of so-called "innate ideas" from the standpoint of sensationalism. From this point of view, sentimentalism differs from Rococo or Classicism not so much in the “cult of feeling” (because in this specific understanding, feeling played no less important role and in other aesthetic currents) or the tendency to depict predominantly representatives of the third estate (all the literature of the Enlightenment was somehow interested in human nature “in general”, leaving out questions of class differences), but rather special ideas about the possibilities and ways of achieving happiness by a person. Like Rococo art, sentimentalism professes a sense of disillusionment with " great Stories”, refers to the sphere of private, intimate life of an individual, gives it a “natural” dimension. But if rocaille literature interprets “naturalness” primarily as an opportunity to go beyond the traditionally established moral norms and, thus, illuminates mainly the “scandalous”, behind-the-scenes side of life, condescending to the excusable weaknesses of human nature, then sentimentalism seeks to reconcile the natural and the moral. He began by trying to present virtue not as an introduced, but as an innate property of the human heart. Therefore, the sentimentalists were closer not to Locke with his resolute denial of any “innate ideas”, but to his follower A.A.K. moral sense, which alone can point the way to happiness. It is not the awareness of duty that prompts a person to act morally, but the command of the heart. Happiness, therefore, does not consist in the craving for sensual pleasures, but in the craving for virtue. Thus, the “naturalness” of human nature is interpreted by Shaftesbury, and after him by sentimentalists, not as its “scandalousness”, but as a need and opportunity for virtuous behavior, and the heart becomes a special supra-individual sense organ that connects a particular person with a common harmonious and morally justified structure of the universe.
Poetics of sentimentalism
The first elements of the poetics of sentimentalism penetrate the English literature of the late 1720s. when the genre of descriptive and didactic poems devoted to labor and leisure against the backdrop of rural nature (georgics) becomes especially relevant. In J. Thomson's poem "The Seasons" (1726-30) one can already find a completely "sentimentalistic" idyll, built on a sense of moral satisfaction arising from the contemplation of rural landscapes. Subsequently, such motifs were developed by E. Jung (1683-1765) and especially T. Gray, who discovered the elegy as a genre most suitable for sublime meditations against the backdrop of nature (the most famous work is “Elegy written in a rural cemetery”, 1751). A significant influence on the development of sentimentalism was exerted by the work of S. Richardson, whose novels ("Pamela", 1740; "Clarissa", 1747-48; "The History of Sir Charles Grandisson", 1754) not only for the first time introduced heroes who in everything corresponded to the spirit of sentimentalism, but and popularized a special genre form of the epistolary novel, so loved later by many sentimentalists. Among the latter, some researchers include the main opponent of Richardson, Henry Fielding, whose “comic epics” (“The Story of the Adventure of Joseph Endrus”, 1742, and “The Story of Tom Jones, the Foundling”, 1749) are largely based on sentimentalist ideas about human nature. In the second half of the 18th century, the tendencies of sentimentalism in English literature are getting stronger, but now they are increasingly in conflict with the actual enlightenment pathos of life-building, the improvement of the world and the upbringing of man. The world no longer seems to be the focus of moral harmony in the heroes of the novels by O. Goldsmith "The Weckfield Priest" (1766) and G. Mackenzie "The Man of Feelings" (1773). Stern's novels The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1760-67) and A Sentimental Journey are examples of caustic polemics against Locke's sensationalism and many conventional views of the English Enlightenment. The Scots R. Burns (1759-96) and J. MacPherson (1736-96) are among the poets who developed sentimentalist tendencies on folklore and pseudo-historical material. By the end of the century, English sentimentalism, more and more inclined towards “sensibility”, breaks with enlightenment harmony between feeling and reason and gives rise to the genre of the so-called Gothic novel (H. Walpole, A. Radcliffe, etc.), which some researchers correlate with an independent artistic current - pre-romanticism. In France, the poetics of sentimentalism enters into a dispute with Rococo already in the work of D. Diderot, who was influenced by Richardson ("The Nun", 1760) and, in part, Stern ("Jacquefatalist", 1773). The principles of sentimentalism were most consonant with the views and tastes of J.J. Rousseau, who created an exemplary sentimentalist epistolary novel, Julia, or New Eloise (1761). However, already in his "Confession" (publ. 1782-89), Rousseau departs from the important principle of sentimentalist poetics - the normativity of the depicted personality, proclaiming the inherent value of his one and only "I", taken in individual originality. In the future, sentimentalism in France is closely linked with the specific concept of "Rousseauism". Penetrating into Germany, sentimentalism first influenced the work of H.F. Gellert (1715-69) and F.G. sentimentalism, called the "Storm and Onslaught" movement, to which the young I.V. Goethe and F. Schiller belonged. Goethe's novel "The Sufferings of Young Werther" (1774), although considered the pinnacle of sentimentalism in Germany, in fact contains a hidden polemic with the ideals of the sturmerism and is not reduced to glorifying the "sensitive nature" of the protagonist. The “last sentimentalist” of Germany, Jean Paul (1763-1825), was especially influenced by Stern’s work.
Sentimentalism in Russia
In Russia, all the most significant samples of Western European sentimental literature were translated as early as the 18th century, influencing F. Emin, N. Lvov, and partly A. Radishchev (“Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”, 1790). Russian sentimentalism reached its peak in the works of N. Karamzin(“Letters from a Russian Traveler”, 1790; “Poor Liza”, 1792; “Natalia, Boyar's Daughter”, 1792, etc.). Subsequently, A. Izmailov, V. Zhukovsky and others turned to the poetics of sentimentalism.
The word sentimentalism comes from English sentimental, which means sensitive; French sentiment - feeling.
Features of sentimentalism as a new direction are noticeable in European literatures 30-50s of the XVIII century. Sentimentalist tendencies are observed in the literature of England (the poetry of J. Thomson, E. Jung, T. Gray), France (the novels of G. Marivo and A. Prevot, the “tearful comedy” of P. Lachosset), Germany (“serious comedy” X. V Gellert, partly "Messiad" by F. Klopstock). But as a separate literary trend, sentimentalism took shape in the 1760s. The most prominent sentimentalist writers were S Richardson ("Pamela", "Clarissa"), O. Goldsmith ("The Weckfield Priest"), L. Stern ("The Life and Opinions of Tristramy Shandy", "Sentimental Journey") in England; J. V. Goethe (“The Sufferings of Young Werther”), F. Schiller (“Robbers”), Jean Paul (“Siebenkes”) in Germany; J.-J. Rousseau ("Julia, or New Eloise", "Confession"), D. Diderot ("Jacques the Fatalist", "The Nun"), B. de Saint-Pierre ("Paul and Virginia") in France; M. Karamzin (“Poor Liza”, “Letters from a Russian Traveler”), A. Radishchev (“Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”) in Russia. The direction of sentimentalism also affected other European literatures: Hungarian (I. Karman), Polish (K. Brodzinsky, Yu. Nemtsevich), Serbian (D. Obradovic).
Unlike many other literary movements, the aesthetic principles of sentimentalism do not find complete expression in theory. Sentimentalists did not create any literary manifestos, did not put forward their own ideologists and theorists, such as, in particular, N. Boileau for classicism, F. Schlegel for romanticism, E. Zola for naturalism. It cannot be said that sentimentalism has developed its own creative method. It would be more correct to consider sentimentalism as a certain frame of mind with characteristic features: feeling as a basic human value and dimension, melancholic daydreaming, pessimism, sensuality.
Sentimentalism is born within the enlightenment ideology. It becomes a negative reaction to Enlightenment rationalism. Sentimentalism opposed the cult of feeling to the cult of the mind, which dominated both classicism and the Enlightenment. For changing famous saying Rationalist philosopher René Descartes: “Cogito, ergosum” (“I think, therefore I am”) comes the words of Jean-Jacques Rousseau: “I feel, therefore I am.” Sentimentalist artists resolutely reject the one-sided rationalism of Descartes, which was embodied in the normativity and strict regulation in classicism. Sentimentalism is based on the agnostic philosophy of the English Thinker David Hume. Agnosticism was polemically directed against the rationalism of the Enlightenment. He questioned faith in the limitless possibilities of the mind. According to D. Hume, all a person's ideas about the world can be false, and people's moral assessments are based not on the advice of the mind, but on emotions or "active feelings". “Reason,” says the English philosopher, “never has before it anything other than perceptions.
.. “According to this, shortcomings and virtues are subjective categories. “When you recognize some act or character as false,” says D. Hume, “you mean by this only what, due to the special organization of your nature, you experience when contemplating it ...” Philosophical soil for sentimentalism was prepared by two other English philosophers - Francis Bacon and John Locke. They gave the primary role in the knowledge of the world to the feeling. “The mind can err, the feeling never” - this expression of J. Rousseau can be considered the general philosophical and aesthetic creed of sentimentalism.
The sentimental cult of feeling predetermines a wider interest than in classicism in the inner world of a person, in his psychology. The external world, notes the well-known Russian researcher P. Berkov, for sentimentalists “is valuable only insofar as it enables the writer to find the richness of his inner experiences ... For a sentimentalist, self-disclosure, exposure of the complex mental life that takes place in it is important.” The sentimentalist writer chooses from a number of life phenomena and events exactly those that can move the reader, make him worry. The authors of sentimentalist works appeal to those who are able to empathize with the heroes, they describe the suffering of a lonely person, unhappy love, and often the death of heroes. The sentimentalist writer always seeks to evoke sympathy for the fate of the characters. So the Russian sentimentalist A. Klushchin urges the reader to sympathize with the hero, who, due to the inability to connect his fate with his beloved girl, commits suicide: “Sensitive, immaculate heart! Shed tears of regret for the unfortunate love of a suicide; pray for him - beware of love! - Beware of this tyrant of our feelings! His arrows are terrible, the wounds are incurable, the torment is incomparable.
The hero of the sentimentalists is democratized. This is no longer the king or commander of the classicists, who acts in exceptional, extraordinary conditions, against the backdrop of historical events. The hero of sentimentalism is a completely ordinary person, as a rule, a representative of the lower strata of the population, a sensitive, modest person, with deep feelings. Events in the works of sentimentalists take place against the backdrop of everyday, quite prosaic life. Often it closes in the middle of family life. Such a personal, private life of an ordinary person is opposed to extraordinary, improbable events in the life of an aristocratic hero of classicism. By the way, a simple person among sentimentalists sometimes suffers from the arbitrariness of the nobles, but he is also able to “positively influence” them. So, the servant Pamela from the novel of the same name by S. Richardson is pursued and tries to seduce her master - the squire. However, Pamela is a model of integrity - she rejects all courtship. This led to a change in the attitude of the nobleman to the maid. Convinced of her virtue, he begins to respect Pamela and truly falls in love with her, and at the end of the novel, he marries her.
Sensitive heroes of sentimentalism are often eccentrics, people extremely impractical, unadapted to life. This feature is especially inherent in the heroes of the English sentimentalists. They do not know how and do not want to live "like everyone else", to live "in the mind." The characters in Goldsmith's and Stern's novels have their own hobbies, which are perceived as eccentric: Pastor Primrose from O. Goldsmith's novel writes treatises on the monogamy of the clergy. Toby Shandy from Stern's novel builds toy fortresses that he himself besieges. The heroes of the works of sentimentalism have their own "horse". Stern, who invented this word, wrote: “A horse is a cheerful, changeable creature, a firefly, a butterfly, a picture, a trifle, something that a person clings to in order to get away from the usual course of life, to leave life's anxieties and worries for an hour. ".
In general, the search for originality in each person determines the brightness and diversity of characters in the literature of sentimentalism. The authors of sentimentalist works do not sharply contrast "positive" and "negative" characters. Thus, Rousseau characterizes the idea of his "Confession" as a desire to show "one person in all the truth of his nature." The hero of the "sentimental journey" Yorick performs deeds both noble and low, and sometimes finds himself in such difficult situations when it is impossible to unambiguously evaluate its actions.
Sentimentalism changes the genre system of contemporary literature. He rejects the classicist hierarchy of genres: sentimentalists no longer have "high" and "low" genres, they are all equal. The genres that dominated the literature of classicism (ode, tragedy, heroic poem) give way to new genres. Changes occur in all kinds of literature. The epic is dominated by the genres of travel notes (“Sentimental Journey” by Stern, “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” by A. Radishchev), epistolary novel (“The Sufferings of Young Werther” by Goethe, novels by Richardson), family and household story ("Poor Lisa" by Karamzin). In the epic works of sentimentalism, elements of confession ("Confession" by Rousseau) and memories ("The Nun" by Diderot) play an important role, which makes it possible for a deeper disclosure of the inner world of the characters, their feelings and experiences. Lyric genres - elegies, idylls, messages - are aimed at psychological analysis, revealing the subjective world of the lyrical hero. The outstanding lyric poets of sentimentalism were English poets (J. Thomson, E. Jung, T. Gray, O. Goldsmith). Dark motives in their works led to the emergence of the name "cemetery poetry". T. Gray's "Elegy Written in a Rural Cemetery" becomes a poetic work of sentimentalism. Sentimentalists also write in the genre of drama. Among them are the so-called "philistine drama", "serious comedy", "tearful comedy". In the dramaturgy of sentimentalism, the "three unities" of the classicists are canceled, elements of tragedy and comedy are synthesized. Voltaire was forced to recognize the validity of the genre shift. He emphasized that it was caused and justified by life itself, since “in one room they laugh at what serves as a subject of excitement in another, and the same face sometimes goes from laughter to tears for a quarter of an hour from one and the same occasion. ".
Rejects sentimentalism and classical canons of composition. The work is now built not according to the rules of strict logic and proportionality, but rather freely. In the works of sentimentalists, lyrical digressions spread. They often lack the classic five story elements. The role of the landscape, which acts as a means of expressing the feelings and moods of the characters, is also enhanced in sentimentalism. The landscapes of the sentimentalists are mostly rural, they depict rural cemeteries, ruins, picturesque corners that should evoke melancholy moods.
The most eccentric work of sentimentalism in form is Stern's The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. It is the name of the protagonist that means "unreasonable." The whole structure of Stern's work seems just as "reckless".
It has a lot digressions, all sorts of witty remarks, started but not finished short stories. The author constantly deviates from the topic, talking about some event, he promises to return to it further, but does not. Broken in the novel is a chronologically sequential presentation of events. Some sections of the work are not printed in the order of their numbering. Sometimes L. Stern leaves blank pages altogether, while the preface and dedication to the novel are located not in the traditional place, but inside the first volume. At the basis of "Life and Opinions" Stern put not a logical, but an emotional principle of construction. For Stern, it is not the external rational logic and sequence of events that is important, but the images of the inner world of a person, the gradual change of moods and spiritual movements.
Sentimentalism as a literary method developed in the literatures of Western European countries in the 1760s-1770s. The artistic method got its name from the English word sentiment (feeling).
Sentimentalism as a literary method
The historical background for the emergence of sentimentalism was the growing social role and political activity of the third estate. At its core, the activity of the third estate expressed a tendency to democratize the social structure of society. The socio-political imbalance was evidence of the crisis of the absolute monarchy.
However, the principle of a rationalistic worldview changed its parameters significantly by the middle of the 18th century. The accumulation of natural science knowledge has led to the fact that in the field of the very methodology of cognition there has been a revolution, foreshadowing a revision of the rationalist picture of the world. The highest manifestation of the rational activity of mankind - absolute monarchy - more and more demonstrated both its practical inconsistency with the real needs of society, and the catastrophic gap between the idea of absolutism and the practice of autocratic rule, since the rationalistic principle of world perception was revised in new philosophical teachings that turned to the category of feeling and sensation .
The philosophical doctrine of sensations as the only source and basis of knowledge - sensationalism - arose at the time of the full viability and even flowering of rationalistic philosophical teachings. The founder of sensationalism is the English philosopher John Locke. Locke declared experience to be the source of general ideas. External world given to a person in his physiological sensations - sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch.
Thus, Locke's sensationalism offers a new model of the process of cognition: sensation - emotion - thought. The picture of the world produced in this way also differs significantly from the dual rationalistic model of the world as a chaos of material objects and a cosmos of higher ideas.
From the philosophical picture of the world of sensationalism follows a clear and distinct concept of statehood as a means of harmonizing the natural chaotic society with the help of civil law.
The result of the crisis of absolutist statehood and the modification of the philosophical picture of the world was the crisis of the literary method of classicism, which was due to the rationalist type of worldview, associated with the doctrine of absolute monarchy (classicism).
The concept of personality, which has developed in the literature of sentimentalism, is diametrically opposed to the classic one. If classicism professed the ideal of a reasonable and social person, then for sentimentalism the idea of the fullness of personal being was realized in the concept of a sensitive and private person. The sphere where the individual private life of a person can be revealed with particular clarity is the intimate life of the soul, love and family life.
The ideological consequence of the sentimentalist revision of the scale of classic values was the idea of the independent significance of the human personality, the criterion of which was no longer recognized as belonging to a high class.
In sentimentalism, as in classicism, the relationship between the individual and the collective remained the sphere of greatest conflict tension; sentimentalism gave preference to the natural person. Sentimentalism demanded from society respect for individuality.
The universal conflict situation of sentimentalist literature is the mutual love of representatives of different classes, breaking up against social prejudices.
The desire for the natural naturalness of feeling dictated the search for similar literary forms of its expression. And in place of the high "language of the gods" - poetry - prose comes in sentimentalism. The advent of the new method was marked by the rapid flourishing of prose narrative genres, first of all, the story and the novel - psychological, family, educational. Epistolary, diary, confession, travel notes - these are typical genre forms of sentimentalist prose.
Literature that speaks the language of feelings addresses feelings, evokes emotional resonance: aesthetic pleasure takes on the character of an emotion.
The peculiarity of Russian sentimentalism
Russian sentimentalism arose on national soil, but in a larger European context. Traditionally, the chronological boundaries of the birth, formation and development of this phenomenon in Russia are determined by 1760-1810.
Already since the 1760s. works of European sentimentalists penetrate into Russia. The popularity of these books causes a lot of their translations into Russian. F. Emin's novel "Letters of Ernest and Doravra" is an obvious imitation of Rousseau's "New Eloise".
The era of Russian sentimentalism is "the age of exceptionally diligent reading."
But, despite the genetic connection of Russian sentimentalism with European, it grew and developed on Russian soil, in a different socio-historical atmosphere. Peasant revolt, which grew into civil war, made his own adjustments both to the concept of "sensitivity" and to the image of "sympathizer". They acquired, and could not help but acquire, a pronounced social connotation. The idea of moral freedom of the individual lay at the heart of Russian sentimentalism, but its ethical and philosophical content did not oppose the complex of liberal social concepts.
Lessons from European travel and the experience of the Great french revolution Karamzin fully corresponded with the lessons of Russian travel and understanding of the experience of Russian slavery in Radishchev. The problem of the hero and the author in these Russian "sentimental journeys" is, first of all, the story of the creation of a new personality, a Russian sympathizer. The “sympathizers” of both Karamzin and Radishchev are contemporaries of turbulent historical events in Europe and Russia, and the reflection of these events in the human soul is at the center of their reflection.
Unlike the European Russian sentimentalism had a solid educational foundation. The educational ideology of Russian sentimentalism adopted, first of all, the principles of the "educational novel" and the methodological foundations of European pedagogy. The sensitivity and sensitive hero of Russian sentimentalism were striving not only to reveal the "inner man", but also to educate and educate society on new philosophical foundations, but taking into account the real historical and social context.
The consistent interest of Russian sentimentalism in the problems of historicism is also indicative: the very fact of the emergence from the depths of sentimentalism of the grandiose building “History of the Russian State” by N. M. Karamzin reveals the result of the process of comprehending the category of the historical process. In the depths of sentimentalism, Russian historicism acquired a new style associated with ideas about the feeling of love for the motherland and the indissolubility of the concepts of love for history, for the Fatherland and the human soul. The humanization and animation of historical feeling is, perhaps, what sentimentalist aesthetics has enriched Russian literature of the new time, which is inclined to cognize history through its personal incarnation: epochal character.
Details Category: A variety of styles and trends in art and their features Posted on 07/31/2015 19:33 Views: 8913Sentimentalism as an artistic movement arose in Western art in the second half of the 18th century.
In Russia, its heyday fell on the period from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 19th century.
Term meaning
Sentimentalism - from fr. sentiment (feeling). The ideology of the mind of the Enlightenment in sentimentalism is replaced by the priority of feeling, simplicity, solitary reflection, interest in " little man". J. J. Rousseau is considered the ideologist of sentimentalism.
Jean Jacques Rousseau
The main character of sentimentalism becomes a natural person (living in peace with nature). Only such a person, according to sentimentalists, can be happy, having found inner harmony. In addition, the education of feelings is important, i.e. natural beginnings of man. Civilization (urban environment) is a hostile environment for people and distorts its nature. Therefore, in the works of sentimentalists, a cult of private life, rural existence arises. Sentimentalists considered the concepts of "history", "state", "society", "education" to be negative. They were not interested in the historical, heroic past (as the classicists were interested in); daily impressions were for them the essence of human life. The hero of the literature of sentimentalism is an ordinary person. Even if this is a person of low origin (servant or robber), then the wealth of his inner world is in no way inferior, and sometimes exceeds inner world upper class people.
Representatives of sentimentalism did not approach a person with an unambiguous moral assessment - a person is complex and capable of both lofty and low deeds, but by nature a good beginning is laid in people, and evil is the fruit of civilization. However, each person always has a chance to return to his nature.
The development of sentimentalism in art
England was the birthplace of sentimentalism. But in the second half of the XVIII century. it has become a pan-European phenomenon. Sentimentalism manifested itself most clearly in English, French, German and Russian literature.
Sentimentalism in English Literature
James Thomson
At the end of the 20s of the XVIII century. James Thomson wrote the poems "Winter" (1726), "Summer" (1727), "Spring" and "Autumn", later published under the title "The Seasons" (1730). These works helped the English reading public to take a closer look at their native nature and see the charm of the idyllic village life in contrast to the vain and spoiled city. The so-called "graveyard poetry" (Edward Jung, Thomas Grey) appeared, which expressed the idea of the equality of all before death.
Thomas Gray
But sentimentalism expressed itself more fully in the genre of the novel. And here, first of all, we should remember Samuel Richardson, an English writer and printer, the first English novelist. He usually created his novels in the epistolary genre (in the form of letters).
Samuel Richardson
The main characters exchanged long frank letters, and through them Richardson introduced the reader to the secret world of their thoughts and feelings. Remember how A.S. Pushkin in the novel "Eugene Onegin" writes about Tatyana Larina?
She liked novels early on;
They replaced everything for her;
She fell in love with deceptions
And Richardson and Rousseau.
Joshua Reynolds "Portrait of Laurence Sterne"
No less famous was Lawrence Stern, the author of Tristram Shandy and Sentimental Journey. "Sentimental Journey" Stern himself called "the peaceful journey of the heart in search of nature and all the spiritual desires that can inspire us more love to our neighbors and to the whole world than we usually feel.”
Sentimentalism in French Literature
At the origins of French sentimental prose is Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux with the novel "The Life of Marianne" and the Abbé Prevost with "Manon Lescaut".
Abbe Prevost
But the highest achievement in this direction was the work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), a French philosopher, writer, thinker, musicologist, composer and botanist.
Main philosophical works Rousseau, which outlined his social and political ideals, were "New Eloise", "Emil" and "Social Contract".
Rousseau first tried to explain the causes of social inequality and its types. He believed that the state arises as a result of a social contract. According to the treaty, the supreme power in the state belongs to all the people.
Under the influence of Rousseau's ideas, such new democratic institutions as the referendum and others arose.
J.J. Rousseau made nature an independent object of the image. His "Confession" (1766-1770) is considered one of the most frank autobiographies in world literature, in which he vividly expresses the subjectivist attitude of sentimentalism: a work of art is a way of expressing the author's "I". He believed that "the mind can be wrong, the feeling - never."
Sentimentalism in Russian literature
V. Tropinin “Portrait of N.M. Karamzin" (1818)
The era of Russian sentimentalism began with N. M. Karamzin's Letters from a Russian Traveler (1791-1792).
Then the story "Poor Lisa" (1792) was written, which is considered a masterpiece of Russian sentimental prose. She was a great success with readers and was a source of imitation. There were works with similar names: "Poor Masha", "Unfortunate Margarita", etc.
Karamzin's poetry also developed in line with European sentimentalism. The poet is not interested in the outer, physical world, but in the inner, spiritual world of man. His poems speak "the language of the heart", not the mind.
Sentimentalism in painting
The artist V. L. Borovikovsky experienced a particularly strong influence of sentimentalism. His work is dominated by a chamber portrait. AT female images V. L. Borovikovsky embodies the ideal of beauty of his era and the main task of sentimentalism: the transfer of the inner world of man.
In the double portrait "Lizonka and Dashenka" (1794), the artist depicted the maids of the Lvov family. Obviously, the portrait was painted with great love for the models: he saw both soft curls of hair, and the whiteness of faces, and a slight blush. The intelligent look and lively immediacy of these simple girls– in line with sentimentalism.
In many of his chamber sentimental portraits, V. Borovikovsky managed to convey the diversity of feelings and experiences of the people portrayed. For example, “Portrait of M.I. Lopukhina" is one of the most popular portraits of women artist's brushes.
V. Borovikovsky “Portrait of M.I. Lopukhina" (1797). Canvas, oil. 72 x 53.5 cm. Tretyakov Gallery(Moscow)
V. Borovikovsky created the image of a woman, not associated with any social status - she is just a beautiful young woman, but living in harmony with nature. Lopukhin is depicted against the background of the Russian landscape: birch trunks, ears of rye, cornflowers. The landscape echoes the appearance of Lopukhina: the curve of her figure echoes the bowed ears of corn, the white birch trees are reflected in the dress, the blue cornflowers echo the silk belt, the soft purple shawl echoes the drooping rosebuds. The portrait is full of life authenticity, depth of feelings and poetry.
The Russian poet Y. Polonsky, almost 100 years later, dedicated verses to the portrait:
She has long passed, and there are no longer those eyes
And there is no smile that was silently expressed
Suffering is the shadow of love, and thoughts are the shadow of sorrow,
But Borovikovsky saved her beauty.
So part of her soul did not fly away from us,
And there will be this look and this beauty of the body
To attract indifferent offspring to her,
Teaching him to love, suffer, forgive, be silent.
(Maria Ivanovna Lopukhina died very young, at the age of 24, from consumption).
V. Borovikovsky “Portrait of E.N. Arsenyeva" (1796). Canvas, oil. 71.5 x 56.5 cm State Russian Museum (Petersburg)
But this portrait depicts Ekaterina Nikolaevna Arsenyeva, the eldest daughter of Major General N.D. Arsenyeva, pupil of the Society of Noble Maidens at the Smolny Monastery. Later, she will become the maid of honor of Empress Maria Feodorovna, and in the portrait she is depicted as a sly, coquettish shepherdess, on a straw hat - ears of wheat, in her hand - an apple, the symbol of Aphrodite. It is felt that the character of the girl is light and cheerful.
Sentimentalism is not only a direction in culture and literature, it is primarily a mindset human society at a certain stage of development, which in Europe began somewhat earlier and lasted from the 20s to the 80s of the 18th century, in Russia it fell on late 18th - early XIX centuries. The main signs of sentimentalism are as follows - in human nature, the primacy of feelings, and not reason, is recognized.
From mind to feeling
Sentimentalism closes which covered the entire XVIII century and gave rise to a number of these are classicism and rococo, sentimentalism and pre-romanticism. Some experts consider romanticism to follow the described trend, and sentimentalism is identified with pre-romanticism. Each of these areas has its own characteristic distinctive features, each has its own normative personality, the one whose traits better than others express the trend that is optimal for a given culture. There are some signs of sentimentalism. This is a concentration of attention on the individual, on the strength and power of feelings, the prerogative of nature over civilization.
Towards nature
This trend in literature differs from previous and subsequent trends primarily in the cult of the human heart. Preference is given to simplicity, naturalness, the hero of the works becomes a more democratic personality, often a representative of the common people. Great attention is paid to the inner world of man and nature, of which he is a part. These are the signs of sentimentalism. Feelings are always freer than reason, which was worshiped or even deified by classicism. Therefore, sentimentalist writers had greater freedom of imagination and its reflection in a work that also no longer fit into the strict logical framework of classicism.
New literary forms
The main ones are travels and novels, but not just, but instructive or in letters. Letters, diaries, memoirs are the most frequently used genres, as they make it possible to reveal the inner world of a person more widely. In poetry, elegy and epistle take precedence. That is, in themselves, are also signs of sentimentalism. The pastoral cannot belong to any other direction than the one described.
In Russia sentimentalism was reactionary and liberal. The representative of the first was Shalikov Petr Ivanovich (1768-1852). His works were an idyllic utopia - infinitely kind kings sent by God to earth solely for the sake of peasant happiness. No social contradictions - beautiful soul and universal goodness. Probably, thanks to such sweet and sour works, a certain tearfulness and far-fetchedness, which are sometimes perceived as signs of sentimentalism, have been entrenched in this literary movement.
Founder of Russian sentimentalism
Outstanding representatives of the liberal trend are Karamzin Nikolai Mikhailovich (1766-1826) and the early Zhukovsky Vasily Andreevich (1783-1852), these are well-known. You can also name several progressive liberal-minded writers - these are A. M. Kutuzov, to whom Radishchev dedicated "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow", M. N. Muravyov, a sage and poet, poet, fabulist and translator, V. V. Kapnist and N. A. Lvov. The earliest and most striking work of this trend was Karamzin's story "Poor Lisa". It should be noted that the signs of Russia have distinctive features from Europe. The main thing is the instructive, moral and enlightening nature of the works. Karamzin said that one should write the way one speaks. Thus, another feature of Russian sentimentalism is the improvement of the literary language of the work. I would like to note that a positive achievement or even the discovery of this literary direction is that it was the first to turn to the spiritual world of people of the lower classes, revealing its wealth and generosity of soul. Before the sentimentalists, the poor people, as a rule, were shown to be rude, callous, incapable of any spirituality.
"Poor Lisa" - the pinnacle of Russian sentimentalism
What are the signs of sentimentalism in "Poor Liza"? The plot of the story is uncomplicated. Its charm is not that. The very idea of \u200b\u200bthe work conveys to the reader the fact that the natural naturalness and rich world of Lisa, a simple peasant woman, is incomparably higher than the world of a well-educated, secular, well-trained Erast, in general, and a good person, but squeezed by the framework of conventions that did not allow him to marry beloved girl. But he did not even think of marrying, because, having achieved reciprocity, Erast, full of prejudices, lost interest in Lisa, she ceased to be the personification of purity and purity for him. A poor peasant girl, even full of dignity, trusting a rich young man who has descended to a commoner (which should speak of the breadth of her soul and democratic views), is initially doomed to the final run to the pond. But the merit of the story lies in a completely different approach and perspective of the rather banal events covered. It is precisely the signs of sentimentalism in "Poor Liza" (the beauty of the soul common man and nature, the cult of love) made the story incredibly popular with contemporaries. And the pond, in which Liza drowned herself, began to be called by her name (the place in the story is indicated quite accurately). The fact that the story has become an event is also evidenced by the fact that among the current graduates of Soviet schools, almost everyone knows that Karamzin wrote "Poor Lisa", as Pushkin wrote "Eugene Onegin", and Lermontov wrote "Mtsyri".
Originally from France
Sentimentalism itself is a more significant phenomenon in fiction than classicism with its rationalism and dryness, with its heroes, who, as a rule, were crowned persons or generals. "Julia, or New Eloise" by Jean-Jacques Rousseau burst into fiction and laid the foundation for a new direction. Already in the works of the founder of the movement, general signs of sentimentalism appeared in literature, forming a new artistic system that glorified a simple person who was able to empathize with others without any self-interest, endlessly love loved ones, sincerely rejoice in the happiness of others.
Similarities and differences
And sentimentalism largely coincide, because both of these directions belong to the Enlightenment, but they also have differences. Classicism glorifies and deifies the mind, and sentimentalism - feeling. The main slogans of these trends also differ: in classicism it is “a person subject to the dictates of reason”, in sentimentalism it is “a feeling person”. The forms of writing works also differ - the logic and rigor of the classicists, and the works of authors of a later literary direction, rich in digressions, descriptions, memoirs and letters. Based on the foregoing, we can answer the question of what are the main features of sentimentalism. The main theme of the works is love. Genres specific - pastoral (elegy), sentimental story, letters and travel. In the works - a cult of feelings and nature, a departure from straightforwardness.