Literary criticism is the same science as everyone else, only more interesting. It also has a place for various classifications. Everyone knows the image of the “Turgenev girl”, but still the most popular is the image of an extra person in Russian literature. It's time to get to know him better.
Who is an extra person?
The extra person in literature is a literary hero that is often found in the works of Russian creators of the 1840-1850s. Such a person is talented and represents a worthy representative of the human race. Due to a number of circumstances, he cannot realize his full potential in Russia.
Features
The extra person in Russian literature often belongs to the upper class of society. Moreover, it is separated from the nobility and bureaucracy, which is considered a rabble in some way. Condemning the people around him and not having a real opportunity to realize his abilities, such a person spends all his free time in idleness, reflection or festivities. Of course, such a lifestyle for a person full of high ideals and thoughts is destructive, because he plunges him into destructive boredom. For this reason, the character begins to be interested in gambling, which subsequently ruin it, or to challenge the duel for the slightest reason, if only to somehow diversify its faded gray life.
The main features of an extra person are:
- inability to answer for your words and deeds;
- immature skepticism;
- passive role in society;
- big ambitions;
- old age;
- tendency to lengthy actions and thoughts.
Thus, we can conclude that the extra person is a very amorphous and non-initiative creature, but zealously proving its importance, competence and intellectual abilities. In the literature of the late 19th century, this image was partly sung and examined in detail.
How did you come about?
Images of superfluous people in literature began to appear after Turgenev published The Diaries of an Extra Man in 1850. It is for the protagonist - a disappointed and passive Russian nobleman - that the concept we already know is entrenched. Very quickly, this image became fashionable among Russian writers, who happily dedicated whole works to it. But their work was largely autobiographical, which makes you think.
Ancestor
The image of an extra person in literature was firmly entrenched precisely with Eugene Onegin. Everything that was before and after it does not convey so accurately and vividly all the typical features of such a character. What was he like? Onegin of Alexander Pushkin is a worthy representative of his time, even one of the best. He is very smart, quick-witted and perceptive. In addition, he has a wide range of interests (astronomy, history, medicine, philosophy). He will find something to answer on any topic, he will easily and naturally support small talk. It is very interesting and informative to read the dialogues of Eugene with Lensky about morality, religion or science. The hero even has a timid desire to do something significant, to leave some kind of trace. Eugene, for example, tried to make life easier for his peasants. Unfortunately, all this was just a trifle, which was lost against the background of his whole life, because most of his part he spent precious time committing various stupid things. Petersburg has a great influence on the hero - spoiled and vulgar. It was in the circle of such people that Eugene’s personality matured and grew. He himself understands that he does not want to strive for something and cannot love someone with all his heart. Awareness of this depresses Onegin even more. Despite this, it changes throughout the book. The book ends on a positive note, because the protagonist has a hope for a spiritual rebirth.
Examples
The topic of an extra person in literature is quite common. The most popular extra people are Eugene Onegin (A.S. Pushkin), Pechorin (M. Lermontov) and Chatsky (A. Griboedov). The named heroes originate from the Byron characters who lived in the era of romanticism. The evolution of the excess character is visible in such a work as “Who is to blame”, as well as in the early works of the already named Turgenev (Chulkaturin, Rudin, Lavretsky).
Romance in reality
The extra man in literature - who is he? As you know, a bicycle does not need to be invented anew, just look at it from a different angle. An extra person is a romantic character that has been familiar to us for a long time, which is considered by the author under the mirror of reality. In the works, the author no longer praises his hero, who is thrown out of society by society. He no longer describes the confrontation of human nature and various circumstances. Thanks to the category of superfluous people, the authors manage to look into the causes of possible alienation, try to analyze them and find some way out. Much attention is paid to the psychology of such people, their state of mind, feelings and behavior. Describing all this, the authors no longer try to learn any lessons, teach something, express morality. The instructive tone is lost, the path for analysis and reflection is open.
Characteristic features of works
Extra people in the literature of the 19th century appeared due to the interest of the writers themselves in the human soul, its concerns and vices. The study of the inner world of a versatile educated person is an important feature of all the works of Russian realism. The extra person in literature has long come into the everyday life of writers and critics. This concept has become the subject of research and reflection for social scientists and other figures in the literary environment.
Reasons for the appearance
The reasons for the appearance of extra people in 19th century literature are rooted in the problems of the writers themselves. In order to reflect something on paper, it is necessary that it be inside. It is impossible to create or invent something from the outside. Literary creators themselves were full of those problems and torments that they ascribe to their heroes. Perhaps everything was not so clearly manifested among them, but, having begun to understand themselves, they were able to bring this state to their apogee on their heroes and find a way out in exaggeration.
Each person is to some extent "superfluous." Everyone at least sometimes feels like that, so this problem is relevant for many. That is why the literature describing the torment of extra people has become a classic. Is not it true that this topic will always be in demand? The development of literature in this direction was due to the fact that new authors described people who did not fit into social standards and frameworks. Every year there were more and more of these, and each was a small universe for the attentive and thoughtful writer.
It is also worthwhile to understand that an extra person in the literature arose due to the fact that he displayed a mass phenomenon. Wealthy nobles and landowners did not know what to do with themselves. They gave birth to children who were raised in the spirit of idleness and idleness. They lacked goals and aspirations. When a person grows in such an environment, this cannot but affect his future picture of the world and life itself. Sometimes the extra person was a reflection of a truly amazing and unique personality, but more often than not he meant a whole group of people that was indicative and too demonstrative to go around in literature.
Influence on others
The extra person in literature is different in that it brings a lot of suffering and trouble to those who love them. Most often this applies to women who are imbued with a sincere feeling for the hero. The main problem of extra people is that they are unnecessary and unable to fit into the social and functional structure of the world in which they exist. It is these characters that appear among writers and part-time officials (I. Goncharov, A. Pisemsky). In the book of Leo Tolstoy, “War and Peace,” Pierre Bezukhov has occupied the niche of an extra person for a long time. His hero was afraid of life, as he was repelled by all the evil and deceit that was present in her. Instead of living a real life and getting completely involved in it, he was engaged in buying paintings, drinking and walking a lot, and also immersed himself in the world of books.
Extra people are usually very talented and smart, but for a number of reasons, they cannot prove themselves in society. All this leads to passive depression, which drives them into gambling houses and other suspicious places. Very often, the life of such a person breaks off on a very tragic note: they die in a duel, commit suicide or become victims of other circumstances.
Summing up the article, I want to say that Russian classics is a huge storehouse of useful and instructive information. Everyone who wants to know themselves and the world around them a little more is simply obliged to get acquainted with the unique works of Russian word masters.