Аннотация: Sevastopol Sketches by Leo Tolstoy. A literary and historical note.
Sevastopol Sketches by Leo Tolstoy. A literary and historical note.
Leo Tolstoy wrote three Sevastopol stories. ('Sevastopol in December' [1854], 'Sevastopol in May' [1855], 'Sevastopol in August' [1855]).
Each story was dated [has own date]. Dates of writing (completion) do not coincide with the periods described.
'Sevastopol in December' is a peculiar sightseeing tour of Sevastopol and a brief description of the collective soul of its defenders.
The North side - Grafskaya Marina - the premises of the hospital - the inn - the Yazonovsky redoubt - the fourth bastion ... The author shows them to the reader in the first story.
The second and third story are more saturated with plots, filled with specific characters, individual events, dialogs, details ...
Behind the space of the stories, events of a different level unfold.
Gradually, the opposite side provides its advantage in artillery power. But this process is beyond the boundaries of Sevastopol stories.
In the story "Sevastopol in May" there are only a few details.
"The bright spring sun rose from morning over British works... "
'It was a bomb from the elevator, and the fact that it got into the company proved that the French noticed the column.'
'In a company commanded by Mikhailov, 26 people left [were killed] one night from artillery fire' (Recall that a company at different times and in different armies numbered from 120 to 250 people. Suppose 10 percent of the company's personnel dropped out [were killed] in one night - the level of losses is clear).
Finally, the story 'Sevastopol in August' describes the most powerful bombing of Sevastopol by the opposite side and the partial retreat of the Russian army.
Each of the three stories in its own way describes the collective spirit, the collective soul of the defenders of Sevastopol.
The story 'Sevastopol in December' is dominated by a feeling of extremely strong emotions. View, smell, sound - they are amazing, they are striking the eyewitness of events.
Pictures [paintings] of the spirit begin to unfold.
Beauty. Sadness. Grandeur.
Courage, pride.
Hardness of spirit. Calmness, self-confidence. Call of Duty. Indifference to danger.
Horror and sadness, greatness and fun. Amazement that elevates the soul.
Empathy, fear to offend, high respect and surprise ...
Simplicity and stubbornness.
... a feeling that you did not expect to see, maybe - this is a feeling of anger, revenge on the enemy ...
This is not a sense of pettiness, vanity ... but a willingness to die for the homeland...
In the story "Sevastopol in May" appears "one great law of love", "innocent blood", questions ...
'Where is the expression of evil to be avoided? Where is the expression of good to emulate in this story? Who is the villain, who is the hero of her? Everyone is good and everyone is bad. "
"Sevastopol in August." (Partial defeat and retreat).
In this story, a description of selfish motives [a love to money] and some vices appears.
Perplexity of the retreating troops. The ongoing struggle between courage and fear.
'Coming to the other side of the bridge, almost every soldier took off his hat and crossed himself. But behind this feeling was a different, heavy, sucking and deeper feeling: it was a feeling as if similar to remorse, shame and anger. Almost every soldier, looking from the North side at the abandoned Sevastopol, with unspeakable bitterness in his heart sighed and threatened enemies. "
On this phrase, on those words the Sevastopol stories end.
On these emotions, on these feelings, the stage of the Great Patriotic War ended, - the period, preceding the Battle of Stalingrad (17 July 1942 - 2 February 1943).
During the Battle of Stalingrad, bitterness, remorse, shame and anger gave way to the ability to fight and win.
March 29, 2020 21:40
Translation from Russian into English: March 29, 2020 22:41.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский 'Севастопольские рассказы Льва Толстого. Литературно-историческая заметка'.