The works of the great Russian writer Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky should be known to every self-respecting person. If there is absolutely not enough time for a full reading of all books, read “Humiliated and Offended” for a start. The summary (part 1 and the subsequent ones will be considered in this review) will tell you about the difficult history of two families and teach you to recognize good and evil, sincerity and falsehood, love and false feelings.
The main characters of the novel
Fyodor Dostoevsky introduces Ivan Petrovich, the writer, who writes his story to the finale of the work. He started a diary not from a good life: in childhood, his parents left him an orphan, and the boy was brought up in the house of Nikolai Sergeyevich Ikhmenev. He had a good, but impoverished surname, lost his estate, but soon became the owner of a small village and married Anna Andreevna Shumilova. In subsequent chapters, the family is in trouble. The reader understands that the name of the work is not chosen by chance, and it is the Ikhmenevs who are humiliated and insulted.
The summary tells that Prince Peter Aleksandrovich Valkovsky and his son Alyosha began to visit the old people. Ikhmenev soon became manager, but after the conflict, his family was forced to again go to St. Petersburg. The daughter of Nikolai Sergeyevich and Anna Andreeva, Natasha, was a stumbling block between Alyosha and writer Ivan. Subsequent events of this love triangle will be described in the book "Humiliated and Offended." A summary of parts and chapters will convey the complexity of the relationship between the two families.
Minor characters of the novel and their role
The action begins in a German pastry shop, where old Smith is heading with the dog Azorka. Indoors, he annoys those present with his many hours of pastime, but he is no longer destined to return here ... Azorka suddenly dies of old age or hunger, after which the old man hurried to the exit and also died unexpectedly.
Become an eyewitness to the actions of the humiliated and offended novel: a brief chapter by chapter will tell you how important it is to remain a good person in this cruel world, like the main character Ivan. Smith gives him his address, and soon the young man moves to his apartment, where he meets the old man’s granddaughter - Elena. Anna Trifonovna Bubnova - the owner of this orphan girl, often hits her and humiliates her. Filipp Filippovich Masloboev is a school friend of Vanya, to whom he tells the story of Smith.
Princess Katerina Fedorovna Filimonova first becomes Alyosha’s friend, and then the bride, thereby destroying his relationship with Natasha. The heroine appears infrequently in the novel, but the reader immediately becomes aware that a naive child is hiding under the mask of this rich woman.
Contents of Part 1 of "Humiliated and Insulted" (short)
Reviews of this novel range from enthusiastically positive to disapproving, but in order to appreciate the writer's idea, you yourself need to delve deeper into the era of the 19th century and understand the complexity of the relationship of the main characters.
On the first pages of his book, Dostoevsky introduces the reader to the life of Ivan Petrovich, the Ikhmenev and Valkovsky family. The prince sends his son Alyosha to the house of Nikolai Sergeyevich for educational purposes, and there the romance begins with a young man with Natasha. All this happened during the absence of Ivan, who went to study in St. Petersburg. Upon returning, the young writer realizes that Natasha is his fate. Ivan makes her an offer, which the girl accepts, but the old people are not in a hurry to get married, and this mistake becomes fatal ... Soon Natasha leaves for Alyosha, who later turned out to be a scoundrel.
The unfortunate Ivan moves to Smith's apartment and meets there with his granddaughter Elena. Alyosha and Natasha lived in a poor apartment on the Fontanka. The girl was often sad and was sure that the groom would leave her for the sake of Katerina Fedorovna, the young lady whom Prince Valkovsky chose his son to be his wife. Natasha talked about everything secret with Ivan, who often visited her.
Content 2 parts
Prince Valkovsky wants to get married with Katerina Filimonova, but at the same time understands that only Natasha will bring real happiness to his son. Ivan often sees Elena and becomes a witness of how cruel the old woman Bubnov treats her: after beating, the girl begins to have seizures. It is hard to believe that such cruel women still live on earth, but a description of such atrocities is given in the book "Humiliated and Offended." The summary, fortunately, does not convey all the horror of the fourth chapter of the second part.
The young man decides to take the girl away, hires her a doctor, buys good clothes, but she was eager to work and is ready to go back to the old tyrant. The poor thing begins to look after her savior herself and asks now to call her Nellie - that was the name of her foreign mother.
Content 3 parts
Approaching Natasha’s apartment on the Fontanka, Ivan noticed the carriage of Prince Valkovsky, with whom they then entered the house together. The girl was alone and said that Alyosha did not appear for several days, but as soon as she started to speak, he suddenly returned from Katerina Filimonova. Natasha flared up, deciding that the prince was only trying to seem kind, but in fact he was eager for this rich young lady to be the bride of her son ...
Alyosha swore to Ikhmeneva in eternal love and that he only refers to Kate as a sister. But the girl did not believe and asked Ivan to visit the countess. It is easy to guess that fate was cruelly joking at the Ikhmenev family, and it was they who were humiliated and insulted. A brief description of subsequent events reveals this point. Soon the prince received an offer to visit the countess. Gradually, the reader learns that Katerina is in love with Ivan, and he almost does not like Natasha. The drunk prince in the evening revealed on the other side: he confessed his selfish intentions and announced his desire to marry his son and countess.
Content 4 parts
Now Ivan has a sore soul for two girls: for Natasha and Nelly. The second became naughty and made fun of her doctor. The unfortunate was diagnosed with a heart defect, and even medications are not able to prolong her life. Nellie could not live with Ivan calmly, so she ran away, leaving a note. The doctor, who at first seemed her friend, refused to take her up, and the girl didn’t want to stay with the Ikhmenevs.
The culmination of the humiliated and offended novel follows - a summary of the following chapters reveals the vile essence of the entire Valkovsky family. Alyosha declares that she loves Katerina Filimonova, but is in a hurry to get married to Natasha, because she cannot imagine life without her. But their happiness is hindered by the conflict of the fathers, so Ikhmenev robs the daughter of parental blessing and curses her. However, the wedding of Alyosha and Natasha did not take place, and the prince who married his son on the countess was the winner in this battle. The old Ikhmenevs found another happiness: they forgave their daughter and began to educate Nelly as a native.
Epilogue
Nellie continued to live in the house of the old Ikhmenevs, and soon got used to them completely, and Ivan completed his story, which he had been working on for so long. Philip Masloboev often visited the family and did not stand aside, learning about the tragic fate of the girl. He secretly tells Ivan that Nellie is actually not an orphan at all, but the daughter of Prince Valkovsky - this is a turning point in the book "Humiliated and Offended." It turned out that the girl knew everything, but was silent ... She is living out her last days in torment. Before her death, Nellie hands Ivan a cross with a lance, where the message of her mother Valkovsky was kept.
The story of the fall and resurrection of the main character
First love is always the most sincere, passionate and has dire consequences - for Natasha Alyosha was probably the first, so she left her father's house for him. She herself executed herself, deciding to give up everything and become a slave to this "adult child", the eternal player and favorite of women. Because of the Valkovsky, the Ikhmenevs are not only miserable, but also humiliated and offended.
The summary further tells that Alyosha, without a twinge of conscience, complained to Katerina that Natasha was not sacrificing anything for him ... Was it really not enough for her to leave the girl from her parents' home? Nikolai Ikhmenev forbade pronouncing the name of his daughter, and he stole a gold medallion with her portrait from his wife to secretly admire, remember, suffer from all ... Natasha caused a lot of suffering to the old people, but she cannot be blamed for her deeds - actions were done for love, and this is main excuse. At the end of the fourth part, the father forgives his daughter and falls on her knees in front of her. The Ikhmenevs, humiliated and insulted, nevertheless reunite, and for them this is genuine happiness.
The role of the heroine Nelly in the concept of the book
The tragedy of the novel is amplified by the description of the difficult fate of a girl with a heart defect, which, as it seems at first glance, became a participant in the actions by chance. The illegitimate Nelli, who lost her mother in childhood, is doomed to hate humanity, which caused her so much pain, to the end of her life. They endure all beatings, humiliations, and themselves refuse happiness - this small creature does not know what it means to be happy, perhaps that is why it cannot live with people who, like her, are humiliated and insulted.
The summary reveals the true story of her family: once Smith cursed and drove out his daughter, who fled with her lover, who turned out to be Valkovsky. It is Nellie who returns harmony and understanding to the Ikhmenov family. Nikolai Sergeyevich realizes the sinfulness of his act and rushes himself at the feet of Natasha with a request to forgive him. Thus, poor Nelly sacrificed herself for the sins of her mother, her vile father, and for the happiness of the Ikhmenev family.
History of creation
The book "Humiliated and Insulted" was published in 1861 in the journal "Time", during the life of Dostoevsky it was reprinted twice. In Russia, they were wary of writers who returned from exile, so the genius novel was not enthusiastically received, although critics spoke positively of it (in particular, V. G. Belinsky).
The work was filmed three times: in 1915, a troupe of artists from the Solovtsov Theater, in 1976 a performance was staged by E. Velikhanov. In 1991, the film was directed by A. Eshpay; in 2005 a musical was made to the music of A. Zhurbin. To understand the idea of ​​the novel, it is important not only to watch the production from the screen, but also to read "Humiliated and Offended" (summary).
Hugo and his novel Les Miserables
The topic of the humiliated and offended is not the first century that remains relevant in world literature. The main character of the work of Victor Hugo - Jean Valjack - spent almost 20 years in hard labor for petty theft, and when he was released, he opened his own factory and became mayor. He does all this under a false name, but the authorities become aware of the whole truth: the poor man is again deprived of his freedom, but this time he makes an escape. Jean brings up Cosette, the daughter of an unhappy woman who died of consumption. The girl's lover participated in the republican uprising and was convicted, but Valzhak saves him and blesses the young. The next year, he dies in poverty in the arms of Cosette and her husband. “Les Miserables” is the story of a sinner who has become a great righteous man. Thus, works on the topic "Humiliated and Offended" are available not only to Fyodor Dostoevsky, but also to Victor Hugo.