"Notes from the House of the Dead" attracted the attention of the public as an image of hard labor, which no one depicted visually to The House of the Dead,” wrote Dostoevsky in 1863. But since the topic of "Notes from the House of the Dead" is much broader and covers many general issues folk life, then the assessment of the work only from the side of the image of the prison subsequently began to upset the writer. Among Dostoevsky's rough notes dating back to 1876, we find the following: “In criticism of Notes from the House of the Dead, it means that Dostoevsky put on prisons, but now it is outdated. So they said in the bookstore, offering something else, nearest denunciation of prisons".

The attention of the memoirist in Notes from the House of the Dead is focused not so much on his own experiences as on the life and characters of those around him. prison and everything that I lived during these years, in one clear and vivid picture. Each chapter, being part of the whole, is a completely finished work, dedicated, like the whole book, to the general life of the prison. The image of individual characters is also subordinated to this main task.

There are many mass scenes in the story. Dostoevsky's desire to focus not on individual characteristics, but on the general life of a mass of people creates the epic style of Notes from the House of the Dead.

F. M. Dostoevsky. Notes from the House of the Dead (Part 1). audiobook

The theme of the work goes far beyond the Siberian penal servitude. Telling the stories of prisoners or simply reflecting on the mores of the prison, Dostoevsky turns to the causes of the crimes committed there, in the "freedom". And every time when comparing freemen and convicts, it turns out that the difference is not so great, that “people are people everywhere”, that convicts live according to the same general laws, more precisely, that free people live according to convict laws. It is no coincidence, therefore, that other crimes are even deliberately committed with the aim of getting into prison “and there getting rid of the incomparably more hard labor life in the wild.”

Establishing similarities between the life of hard labor and "freedom", Dostoevsky deals primarily with the most important social issues: the attitude of the people to the nobles and the administration, the role of money, the role of labor, etc. As was evident from Dostoevsky's first letter upon his release from prison, he was deeply shocked by the hostility of the prisoners to the convicts from the nobility. In Notes from the House of the Dead, this is widely shown and socially explained: “Yes, they don’t like nobles, especially political ones ... Firstly, you and the people are different, unlike them, and secondly, they are all the same were either landlords or military ranks. Judge for yourself, can they love you, sir?”

Particularly expressive in this regard is the chapter "Claim". It is characteristic that, despite the gravity of his position as a nobleman, the narrator understands and fully justifies the hatred of the prisoners for the nobles, who, having left the prison, will again move into an estate hostile to the people. The same feelings are manifested in the attitude of the common people to the administration, to everything official. Even the doctors of the hospital were treated with prejudice by the prisoners, "because the doctors are still gentlemen."

With remarkable skill, images of people from the people are created in the Notes from the House of the Dead. These are most often strong and whole natures, closely fused with their environment, alien to intellectual reflection. Precisely because in their previous life these people were oppressed and humiliated, because social causes most often pushed them to crimes, there is no repentance in their souls, but only a firm consciousness of their right.

Dostoevsky is convinced that the wonderful natural qualities of people imprisoned in a prison, under other conditions, could develop in a completely different way, find a different application for themselves. An angry accusation against the entire social order sounds the words of Dostoevsky that there were the best people from the people: “Mighty forces perished in vain, perished abnormally, illegally, irretrievably. And who is to blame? So, who's to blame?"

However goodies Dostoevsky does not draw rebels, but humble ones, he even claims that rebellious moods gradually fade away in prison. Dostoevsky's favorite characters in Notes from the House of the Dead are the quiet and affectionate young man Alei, the kind widow Nastasya Ivanovna, an old believer who decided to suffer for his faith. Speaking, for example, about Nastasya Ivanovna, Dostoevsky, without naming names, polemicizes with the theory of rational egoism Chernyshevsky: “Some say (I have heard and read this) that the highest love for one's neighbor is at the same time the greatest egoism. What was the egoism here, I can’t understand at all. ”

In "Notes from the House of the Dead" for the first time formed that moral ideal Dostoevsky, which he then did not get tired of promoting, passing him off as the ideal of the people. Personal honesty and nobility, religious humility and active love - these are the main features that Dostoevsky endows with his favorite heroes. Subsequently creating Prince Myshkin (“The Idiot”), Alyosha (“The Brothers Karamazov”), he essentially developed the trends laid down in Notes from the House of the Dead. These tendencies, which make the Notes related to the work of the “late” Dostoevsky, could not yet be noticed by the critics of the sixties, but after all the subsequent works of the writer they became obvious. It is characteristic that special attention was paid to this side of the "Notes from the House of the Dead" L. N. Tolstoy, who emphasized that here Dostoevsky was close to his own convictions. In a letter to Strakhov dated September 26, 1880, he wrote: “The other day I was unwell, and I was reading The Dead House. I forgot a lot, re-read and don't know better books from all new literature, including Pushkin. Not the tone, but the point of view is amazing: sincere, natural and Christian. Good, instructive book. I enjoyed the whole day yesterday, as I have not enjoyed for a long time. If you see Dostoevsky, tell him that I love him.”

The story is told on behalf of the protagonist, Alexander Petrovich Goryanchikov, a nobleman who ended up in hard labor for a period of 10 years for the murder of his wife. Having killed his wife out of jealousy, Alexander Petrovich himself confessed to the murder, and after serving hard labor, cut off all ties with relatives and remained in a settlement in the Siberian city of K., leading a secluded life and earning a living by tutoring. One of his few entertainments is reading and literary sketches about hard labor. Actually, "alive by the House of the Dead", which gave the name of the story, the author calls the prison where the convicts are serving their sentences, and his notes - "Scenes from the House of the Dead".

Once in prison, the nobleman Goryanchikov is acutely worried about his imprisonment, which is aggravated by the unusual peasant environment. Most of the prisoners do not take him for an equal, at the same time despising him for impracticality, disgust, and respecting his nobility. Having survived the first shock, Goryanchikov begins to study the life of the inhabitants of the prison with interest, discovering for himself the “common people”, its low and sublime sides.

Goryanchikov falls into the so-called "second category", into the fortress. In total, in the Siberian penal servitude in the 19th century there were three categories: the first (in mines), the second (in fortresses) and the third (factory). It was believed that the severity of hard labor decreases from the first to the third category (see Hard labor). However, according to Goryanchikov, the second category was the most severe, as it was under military control, and the prisoners were always under surveillance. Many of the convicts of the second category spoke in favor of the first and third categories. In addition to these categories, along with ordinary prisoners, in the fortress where Goryanchikov was imprisoned, there was a “special department”, in which prisoners were determined for indefinite hard labor for especially serious crimes. The “special department” in the code of laws was described as follows: “A special department is established at such and such prison for the most important criminals, until the most difficult hard labor is opened in Siberia.”

The story does not have a coherent plot and appears to readers in the form of small sketches, however, arranged in chronological order. In the chapters of the story there are personal impressions of the author, stories from the life of other convicts, psychological sketches and deep philosophical reflections.

The life and customs of prisoners, the relationship of convicts to each other, faith and crimes are described in detail. From the story you can find out what kind of work the convicts were involved in, how they earned money, how they brought wine to prison, what they dreamed about, how they had fun, how they treated their bosses and work. What was forbidden, what was allowed, what the authorities looked through their fingers, how the convicts were punished. The national composition of convicts, their relationship to imprisonment, to prisoners of other nationalities and classes is considered.

Alexander Goryanchikov was sentenced to 10 years hard labor for the murder of his wife. The "Dead House", as he called the prison, housed about 250 prisoners. There was a special order here. Some tried to make money with their craft, but the authorities took away all the tools after searches. Many asked for charity. With the proceeds, you could buy tobacco or wine to somehow brighten up existence.

The hero often thought about the fact that someone was exiled for a cold-blooded and brutal murder, and the same term was given to a person who killed a person in an attempt to protect his daughter.

In the very first month, Alexander happened to see a completely different people. There were also smugglers, and robbers, and scammers, and Old Believers. Many boasted of their crimes, wishing for the glory of fearless criminals. Goryanchikov immediately decided that he would not go against his conscience, like many, trying to make his life easier. Alexander was 1 of 4 nobles who got here. Despite his contemptuous attitude towards himself, he did not want to grovel or complain, and wanted to prove that he was able to work.

Behind the barracks, he found a dog and often came to feed his new friend Sharik. Soon acquaintances with other prisoners began, however, he tried to avoid especially cruel murderers.

Before Christmas, the prisoners were taken to the bathhouse, which everyone was very happy about. On the holiday, the townspeople brought gifts to the prisoners, and the priest consecrated all the cells.

Having fallen ill and ended up in the hospital, Goryanchikov saw with his own eyes what corporal punishment practiced in prison leads to.

During the summer, the prisoners rebelled over prison food. After that, the food became a little better, but not for long.

Several years have passed. The hero had already come to terms with many things and was firmly convinced not to make any more past mistakes. Every day he became more humble and patient. On the last day, Goryanchikov was taken to a blacksmith, who removed the hated shackles from him. Ahead was waiting for freedom and a happy life.

A picture or drawing of Notes from the House of the Dead

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History of creation

The story is documentary in nature and introduces the reader to the life of imprisoned criminals in Siberia of the second half of XIX century. The writer artistically comprehended everything he saw and experienced during the four years of hard labor (from to), being exiled there in the case of the Petrashevites. The work was created from one year to the next, the first chapters were published in the Vremya magazine.

Plot

The presentation is conducted on behalf of the protagonist, Alexander Petrovich Goryanchikov, a nobleman who ended up in hard labor for a period of 10 years for the murder of his wife. Having killed his wife out of jealousy, Alexander Petrovich himself confessed to the murder, and after serving hard labor, cut off all ties with relatives and remained in a settlement in the Siberian city of K., leading a secluded life and earning a living by tutoring. One of his few entertainments is reading and literary sketches about penal servitude. Actually, "alive by the House of the Dead", which gave the name of the story, the author calls the jail, where the convicts are serving their sentences, and his notes - "Scenes from the House of the Dead".

Characters

• Goryanchikov Alexander Petrovich - main character story from whose perspective the story is being told.
• Akim Akimych - one of the four former nobles, comrade Goryanchikov, senior prisoner in the barracks. Sentenced to 12 years for the execution of a Caucasian prince who set fire to his fortress. An extremely pedantic and stupidly well-behaved person.
• Gazin is a convict kisser, a wine merchant, a Tatar, the strongest convict in prison.
• Sirotkin is a former recruit, aged 23, who went to hard labor for the murder of a commander.
• Dutov - former soldier, who rushed to the guard officer in order to delay the punishment (running through the ranks) and received an even longer sentence.
• Orlov is a strong-willed killer, completely fearless in the face of punishments and trials.
• Nurra is a highlander, Lezgin, cheerful, intolerant of theft, drunkenness, devout, a favorite of convicts.
• Aley is a Dagestanian, 22 years old, who ended up in hard labor with his older brothers for attacking an Armenian merchant. A neighbor on the bunks of Goryanchikov, who became close friends with him and taught Alei to read and write in Russian.
• Isai Fomich is a Jew who went to hard labor for murder. Moneylender and jeweler. Was on friendly terms with Goryanchikov.
• Osip - a smuggler who elevated smuggling to the rank of art, carried wine in prison. He was terribly afraid of punishments and many times refused to engage in carrying, but he still broke down. Most of the time he worked as a cook, preparing separate (not state-owned) food for the money of the prisoners (including Goryanchikov).
• Sushilov is a prisoner who changed his name at the stage with another prisoner: for a ruble, silver and a red shirt, he changed the settlement to eternal hard labor. Served Goryanchikov.
• A-v - one of the four nobles. He received 10 years of hard labor for a false denunciation, on which he wanted to earn money. Hard labor did not lead him to repentance, but corrupted him, turning him into an informer and a scoundrel. The author uses this character to portray the complete moral fall of a person. One of the escapees.
• Nastasya Ivanovna is a widow who disinterestedly takes care of the convicts.
• Petrov, a former soldier, ended up in hard labor, having stabbed a colonel during an exercise, because he unfairly hit him. Characterized as the most determined convict. He sympathized with Goryanchikov, but treated him as a dependent person, a curiosity of the prison.
• Baklushin - went to hard labor for the murder of a German who wooed his bride. The organizer of the theater in prison.
• Luchka, a Ukrainian, went to hard labor for the murder of six people, and in conclusion he killed the head of the prison.
• Ustyantsev - a former soldier, in order to avoid punishment, drank wine infused with tea to induce consumption, from which he later died.
• Mikhailov is a convict who died in a military hospital from consumption.
• Zherebyatnikov is a lieutenant, an executioner with sadistic inclinations.
• Smekalov is a lieutenant, an executioner who was popular among convicts.
• Shishkov is a prisoner who went to hard labor for the murder of his wife (the story "Akulkin's husband").
• Kulikov is a gypsy, a horse thief, a cautious veterinarian. One of the escapees.
• Elkin is a Siberian who ended up in hard labor for counterfeiting. A cautious veterinarian who quickly took Kulikov's practice away from him.
• The story features an unnamed fourth nobleman, a frivolous, eccentric, unreasonable and not cruel person, falsely accused of killing his father, acquitted and released from hard labor only ten years later. The prototype of Dmitry from the novel The Brothers Karamazov.

Part one

• I. Dead house
• II. First Impressions
• III. First Impressions
• IV. First Impressions
• V. First month
• VI. First month
• VII. New acquaintances. Petrov
• VIII. Decisive people. Luchka
• IX. Isai Fomich. Bath. Baklushin's story
• X. Feast of the Nativity of Christ
• XI. Performance

Part two

• I. Hospital
• II. Continuation
• III. Continuation
• IV. Akulkin husband. Story
• V. Summer couple
• VI. convict animals
• VII. Claim
• VIII. Comrades
• IX. The escape
• X. Exit from hard labor

Links

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See what "Notes from the Dead House" is in other dictionaries:

- "NOTES FROM A DEAD HOUSE", Russia, REN TV, 1997, color, 36 min. Documentary. The film is a confession about the inhabitants of the island of Fire, near Vologda. Pardoned murderers of one hundred and fifty "suicide bombers", for whom the death penalty is the Decree of the President ... ... Cinema Encyclopedia

Notes from the House of the Dead ... Wikipedia

Writer, born October 30, 1821 in Moscow, died January 29, 1881, in St. Petersburg. His father, Mikhail Andreevich, married to the daughter of a merchant, Marya Fedorovna Nechaeva, served as the headquarters of the doctor at the Mariinsky Hospital for the Poor. Employed in the hospital and… … Big biographical encyclopedia

Renowned novelist, b. Oct 30 1821 in Moscow, in the building of the Maryinsky hospital, where his father served as a staff doctor. Mother, nee Nechaeva, came from the Moscow merchants (from a family, apparently, intelligent). D.'s family was… …

The history of Russian literature for the convenience of reviewing the main phenomena of its development can be divided into three periods: I from the first monuments to the Tatar yoke; II to the end of the XVII century; III to our time. In reality, these periods are not sharply ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary F. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky

Notes from the House of the Dead

Part one

Introduction

In the remote regions of Siberia, among the steppes, mountains or impenetrable forests, one occasionally comes across small towns, with one, many with two thousand inhabitants, wooden, nondescript, with two churches - one in the city, the other in a cemetery - cities that look more like a good suburban village than in the city. They are usually very adequately equipped with police officers, assessors and all the rest of the subaltern rank. In general, in Siberia, despite the cold, it is extremely warm to serve. People live simple, illiberal; orders are old, strong, consecrated for centuries. Officials who rightly play the role of the Siberian nobility are either natives, hardened Siberians, or visitors from Russia, mostly from the capitals, seduced by the salary that is not set off, double runs and tempting hopes in the future. Of these, those who know how to solve the riddle of life almost always remain in Siberia and take root in it with pleasure. Subsequently, they bear rich and sweet fruits. But others, a frivolous people who do not know how to solve the riddle of life, will soon get bored with Siberia and ask themselves with anguish: why did they come to it? They impatiently serve their legal term of service, three years, and after it has expired, they immediately bother about their transfer and return home, scolding Siberia and laughing at her. They are wrong: not only from official, but even from many points of view, one can be blessed in Siberia. The climate is excellent; there are many remarkably rich and hospitable merchants; many extremely sufficient foreigners. Young ladies bloom with roses and are moral to the last extreme. The game flies through the streets and stumbles upon the hunter itself. Champagne is drunk unnaturally much. Caviar is amazing. Harvest happens in other places fifteen times ... In general, the land is blessed. You just need to know how to use it. In Siberia, they know how to use it.

In one of these cheerful and self-satisfied towns, with the sweetest people, the memory of which will remain indelible in my heart, I met Alexander Petrovich Goryanchikov, a settler who was born in Russia as a nobleman and landowner, who later became a second-class exile convict for the murder of his wife and, after the expiration of a ten-year term of hard labor determined for him by law, he humbly and inaudibly lived out his life in the town of K. as a settler. He, in fact, was assigned to one suburban volost, but he lived in the city, having the opportunity to get at least some kind of livelihood in it by teaching children. In Siberian cities one often comes across teachers from exiled settlers; they are not shy. They teach mainly the French language, which is so necessary in the field of life and which without them in the remote regions of Siberia would have no idea. For the first time I met Alexander Petrovich in the house of an old, honored and hospitable official, Ivan Ivanovich Gvozdikov, who had five daughters, of different years, who showed great promise. Alexander Petrovich gave them lessons four times a week, thirty silver kopecks a lesson. His appearance intrigued me. He was an extremely pale and thin man, not yet old, about thirty-five, small and frail. He was always dressed very cleanly, in a European way. If you spoke to him, he looked at you extremely intently and attentively, listening with strict politeness to your every word, as if pondering it, as if you had asked him a task with your question or wanted to extort some secret from him, and, finally, he answered clearly and briefly, but weighing every word of his answer to such an extent that you suddenly felt awkward for some reason, and you yourself finally rejoiced at the end of the conversation. I then asked Ivan Ivanovich about him and found out that Goryanchikov lives impeccably and morally, and that otherwise Ivan Ivanovich would not have invited him for his daughters; but that he is terribly unsociable, hiding from everyone, extremely learned, reads a lot, but speaks very little, and that in general it is quite difficult to get into conversation with him. Others claimed that he was positively insane, although they found that, in fact, this was not such an important shortcoming, that many of the honorary members of the city were ready to show kindness to Alexander Petrovich in every possible way, that he could even be useful, write requests and so on. It was believed that he must have decent relatives in Russia, maybe not even the last people, but they knew that from the very exile he stubbornly cut off all relations with them - in a word, he hurt himself. In addition, everyone here knew his story, they knew that he had killed his wife in the first year of his marriage, killed him out of jealousy and himself denounced himself (which greatly facilitated his punishment). The same crimes are always looked upon as misfortunes and regretted. But, in spite of all this, the eccentric stubbornly avoided everyone and appeared in public only to give lessons.

At first I did not pay much attention to him, but, I do not know why, he gradually began to interest me. There was something mysterious about him. There was no way to talk to him. Of course, he always answered my questions, and even with an air as if he considered this his first duty; but after his answers I somehow found it hard to question him longer; and on his face, after such conversations, one could always see some kind of suffering and fatigue. I remember walking with him one fine summer evening from Ivan Ivanovich. It suddenly occurred to me to invite him over for a minute to smoke a cigarette. I cannot describe the horror expressed on his face; he was completely lost, began to mutter some incoherent words, and suddenly, looking angrily at me, rushed to run in the opposite direction. I was even surprised. Since then, when meeting with me, he looked at me as if with some kind of fear. But I did not let up; something drew me to him, and a month later, for no apparent reason, I myself went to Goryanchikov. Of course, I acted stupidly and indelicately. He lodged on the very edge of the city, with an old bourgeois woman who had a sick, consumptive daughter, and that illegitimate daughter, a child of ten years old, a pretty and cheerful girl. Alexander Petrovich was sitting with her and teaching her to read the minute I went in to see him. When he saw me, he became so confused, as if I had caught him in some kind of crime. He was completely at a loss, jumped up from his chair and looked at me with all his eyes. We finally sat down; he closely followed my every glance, as if he suspected some special mysterious meaning in each of them. I guessed that he was suspicious to the point of madness. He looked at me with hatred, almost asking: “Will you leave here soon?” I talked to him about our town, current news; he remained silent and smiled maliciously; it turned out that he not only did not know the most ordinary, well-known city news, but was not even interested in knowing them. Then I started talking about our region, about its needs; he listened to me in silence and looked into my eyes so strangely that I finally felt ashamed of our conversation. However, I almost teased him with new books and magazines; I had them in my hands, fresh from the post office, and I offered them uncut to him. He gave them a greedy look, but immediately changed his mind and declined the offer, responding with lack of time. Finally I said goodbye to him and, leaving him, I felt that some unbearable weight had been lifted from my heart. I was ashamed and it seemed extremely stupid to molest a person who sets his main task - to hide as far as possible from the whole world. But the deed was done. I remember that I hardly noticed his books at all, and, therefore, it was unfairly said about him that he reads a lot. However, driving twice, very late at night, past his windows, I noticed a light in them. What did he do, sitting up until dawn? Did he write? And if so, what exactly?

Circumstances removed me from our town for three months. Returning home already in the winter, I learned that Alexander Petrovich died in the autumn, died in seclusion and never even called a doctor to him. The town has almost forgotten about him. His apartment was empty. I immediately made the acquaintance of the mistress of the dead man, intending to find out from her; What was her lodger particularly busy with, and did he write anything? For two kopecks, she brought me a whole basket of papers left over from the deceased. The old woman confessed that she had already used up two notebooks. She was a gloomy and silent woman, from whom it was difficult to get anything worthwhile. She had nothing new to tell me about her tenant. According to her, he almost never did anything and for months did not open a book and did not take a pen in his hands; but whole nights he paced up and down the room and kept thinking something, and sometimes talking to himself; that he was very fond of and very fond of her granddaughter, Katya, especially since he found out that her name was Katya, and that on Catherine's day every time he went to someone to serve a memorial service. Guests could not stand; he went out from the yard only to teach children; he even looked askance at her, the old woman, when she, once a week, came at least a little to tidy up his room, and almost never said a single word to her for three whole years. I asked Katya: does she remember her teacher? She looked at me silently, turned to the wall and began to cry. So, this man could at least make someone love him.