Almost each of the famous Russian classics in his work turned to such a literary genre as a story, its main characteristics are the average volume between the novel and the story, one detailed plot line, a small number of characters. The famous writer-prose writer of the 19th century, Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, more than once, throughout his literary career, turned to this genre.
One of his most famous works, written in the genre of love lyrics, is the story "Asya", which is also often referred to as an elegiac genre of literature. Here readers find not only beautiful landscape sketches and a subtle, poetic description of feelings, but also some lyrical motives that smoothly turn into plot ones. During the life of the writer, the story was translated and published in many European countries and enjoyed a great polarity of readers both in Russia and abroad.
Writing history
Turgenev began writing his story "Asya" in July 1857 in Germany, in the city of Zinzeg-am-Rhein, where the events described in the book take place. After finishing the book in November of the same year (the writing of the story was a little delayed due to the author's illness and his overwork), Turgenev sent the work to the editorial office of the Russian magazine Sovremennik, in which it had long been awaited and published in early 1858.
According to Turgenev himself, he was inspired to write the story by a fleeting picture he saw in Germany: an elderly woman peeps out of the window of a house on the first floor, and a silhouette of a young girl is seen in the window of the second floor. The writer, reflecting on what he saw, comes up with a possible fate for these people and thus creates the story "Asya".
According to many literary critics, this story was personal for the author, since it was based on some events that took place in Turgenev's real life, and the images of the main characters have a clear connection, both with the author himself and with his immediate environment (prototype For Asya, the fate of his illegitimate daughter Pauline Brewer or his half-sister VN Zhitova, who was also born out of wedlock, could have become the fate of Asya; ...
Analysis of the work
Development of the plot
The description of the events that took place in the story is carried out on behalf of a certain N.N., whose name the author leaves unknown. The narrator recalls his youth and his stay in Germany, where on the banks of the Rhine he meets his compatriot from Russia Gagin and his sister Anna, whom he takes care of and calls Asya. A young girl, with her eccentricity of actions, constantly changing disposition and amazing attractive appearance, produces on N.N. very impressed and he wants to know as much as possible about her.
Gagin tells him the difficult fate of Asya: she is his illegitimate half-sister, born from his father's relationship with a maid. After the death of her mother, her father took thirteen-year-old Asya to him and raised her, as befits a young lady from a good society. Gagin, after the death of her father, becomes her guardian, first gives her to a boarding house, then they leave to live abroad. Now N.N., knowing the unclear social position of the girl who was born to a serf mother and a landowner father, understands what caused Asya's nervous tension and her slightly eccentric behavior. He becomes deeply sorry for the unfortunate Asya, and he begins to have tender feelings for the girl.
Asya, like Pushkinskaya Tatiana, writes a letter to Mr. N.N. asking for a date, he, unsure of his feelings, hesitates and makes a promise to Gagin not to accept his sister's love, because he is afraid to marry her. The meeting between Asya and the narrator is chaotic, Mr. N.N. reproaches her that she confessed her feelings for him to her brother and now they cannot be together. Asya runs away in confusion, N.N. realizes that he really loves the girl and wants her back, but does not find. The next day, having come to the Gagins' house with the firm intention of asking for the girl's hand, he learns that Gagin and Asya have left the city, he is trying to find them, but all his efforts are in vain. Never again in his life N.N. does not meet Asya and her brother, and at the end of his life he realizes that although he had other hobbies, he really loved only Asya and he still keeps the dried flower that she once gave him.
main characters
The main character of the story, Anna, whom her brother calls Asya, is a young girl with an unusual attractive appearance (a thin boyish figure, short curly hair, wide-open eyes framed by long and fluffy eyelashes), a direct and noble character, distinguished by an ardent temperament and a difficult, tragic fate. Born from an extramarital affair between a maid and a landowner, and brought up by her mother in severity and obedience, after her death she cannot get used to her new role as a lady for a long time. She perfectly understands her false position, therefore she does not know how to behave in society, she is shy and shy of everyone, and at the same time proudly wants no one to pay attention to her origin. Left early alone without parental attention and left to her own devices, Asya thinks too early about the contradictions in life around her.
The main character of the story, like other female characters in the works of Turgenev, is distinguished by an amazing purity of soul, morality, sincerity and openness of feelings, a craving for strong feelings and experiences, a desire to perform feats and great deeds for the benefit of people. It is on the pages of this story that such a common for all heroines concept of the Turgenev young lady and the Turgenev feeling of love appear, which for the author is akin to a revolution that invades the lives of heroes, testing their feelings for endurance and ability to survive in difficult living conditions.
Mr. N.N.
The main male character and narrator of the story, Mr. N.N., has features of a new literary type, which in Turgenev replaced the type of “extra people”. This hero completely lacks the conflict with the outside world, typical for a "superfluous person". He is an absolutely calm and prosperous person with a balanced and harmonious self-organization, easily gives in to vivid impressions and feelings, all his experiences are simple and natural, without falsehood and pretense. In love experiences, this hero strives for peace of mind, which would be intertwined with their aesthetic completeness.
After meeting with Asya, his love becomes more tense and contradictory, at the last moment the hero cannot completely surrender to feelings, because they are overshadowed by the disclosure of the secret of feelings. Later, he cannot immediately tell his brother Asya that he is ready to marry her, because he does not want to disturb the feeling of happiness that overwhelms him, as well as fearing future changes and responsibility that he will have to take for someone else's life. All this leads to a tragic outcome, after his betrayal, he loses Asya forever and it is too late to correct the mistakes he made. He lost his love, rejected the future and the very life that he could have, and is paying the price for this throughout his life devoid of joy and love.
Features of compositional construction
The genre of this work belongs to an elegiac story, the basis of which is a description of love experiences and melancholic discourses about the meaning of life, regret about unfulfilled dreams and grief about the future. The work is based on a beautiful love story that ended in tragic separation. The composition of the story is built according to the classical model: the plot of the plot is a meeting with the Gagins family, the development of the plot is the rapprochement of the main characters, the emergence of love, the culmination is a conversation between Gagin and N.N. about Asya's feelings, the denouement is a date with Asya, an explanation of the main characters, the Gagins' family leaves Germany, the epilogue is Mr. N.N. reflects on the past, regrets unfulfilled love. The highlight of this work is Turgenev's use of the old literary technique of plot framing, when the narrator is introduced into the narrative and the motivation for his actions is given. In this way, the reader is given a “story-by-story” designed to enhance the meaning of the story being told.
In his critical article "A Russian Man for a Rendezvous," Chernyshevsky sharply condemns the indecision and petty timid selfishness of Mr. N.N., whose image is somewhat softened by the author in the epilogue of the work. On the other hand, Chernyshevsky, on the other hand, without choosing expressions, sharply condemns the act of Mr. N.N. and renders his sentence the same as him. The story "Asya", thanks to the depth of its content, has become a real pearl in the literary heritage of the great Russian writer Ivan Turgenev. The great writer, like no one else, managed to convey his philosophical reflections and thoughts about the fate of people, about that time in the life of every person when his actions and words can forever change it for the better or for the worse.
And a film based on this book. A young girl with an uncertain social status. The daughter of a maid, born of a master. Raised by a brother. The beloved of the protagonist of the story.
History of creation
Ivan Turgenev began working on the story "Asya" in the summer of 1857, and finished the text in November. The first publication took place in 1858, when the first issue of the Sovremennik literary magazine came out. It was expected that Turgenev would send the story to the editor much earlier, but the work proceeded slowly due to illness and the general fatigue of the author.
The idea of the story came from the writer in Germany. In one small town, Turgenev accidentally witnessed a scene that spurred his imagination. A young girl was looking out of a window in the upper floors of the house, while an elderly woman was peeping out of a window on the first floor. Ivan Turgenev became interested in the life of these two persons and tried to imagine what was happening between them. The idea of the story "Asya" was born from these reflections.
There are many autobiographical moments in the story. Turgenev himself had an illegitimate daughter, Polina, who became the prototype of Asya. Like the heroine of the story, Polina was, from the point of view of society at that time, in a strange position. The girl's mother was a peasant, and her father, Ivan Turgenev, was a master. Polina got into the society of noblemen from the peasant world and felt uncomfortable in the new environment. Turgenev also had an illegitimate sister, Varvara, who could also become the prototype of Asya.
The illustrations for the story at different times were created by artists David Borovsky, Ksenia Klementyeva and Vladimir Zeldes.
Plot
The scene is a small town on the banks of the Rhine. The main character gets on a noisy student holiday with music and there he meets two compatriots - a girl Asya and her brother, a certain Gagin, who is going to become an artist.
Asya is 17 years old. The full name of the heroine is Anna Nikolaevna Gagina. This is a short, thin girl with a "boyish" haircut to the shoulders, a brunette with curly hair, black eyes and long eyelashes. Wears a wide-brimmed straw hat that covers part of his face, muslin scarves and long shawls.
Asya often has mood swings, the girl is either sad or starts having noisy fun, is eccentric and does unexpected things. Maybe, for example, climb the ruins of an old castle, suddenly deciding to water flowers there. Slowly, the protagonist begins to realize that Asya, in all likelihood, is not Gagin's sister in fact.
A few days later, the protagonist's patience bursts, and he summons Gagin to a frank conversation. It turns out that Asya really is not Gagin's sister. Gagin himself at the age of twelve left home for Petersburg, to a boarding house. The hero's father lived in the village and by the time of Gagin's departure had become a widower.
Only after his father died, Gagin found out that the parent had another side child - a girl. This child was Asya, who was born from the master by the maid Tatiana, who worked in the Gagins' house. Until the age of nine, the girl lived with her mother in a hut and grew up in a simple village environment, so her manners did not resemble a "lady".
In the ninth year of Ashina's life, her mother died, and the girl ended up in the house of her father, a landowner. There they began to re-educate the girl, trying to make a girl of noble birth out of her. At the time of her father's death, Asya was already thirteen years old. Of the girl's relatives, only her half-brother remained, in whose care Asya ended up. Twenty-year-old Gagin single-handedly raised the girl.
Asya spent four years in a St. Petersburg boarding house, where her brother passed the heroine. It was difficult for her there. In the boarding house they tried to re-educate the girl, but Asya's “wild” character changed little. The heroine tried to instill good manners and teach French and German, and also taught to dance the waltz.
Then Asya, together with Gagin, goes abroad, where the young people get to know the main character. Asya evokes deep pity in the hero. He thinks that the girl's nervous state is caused by the precariousness of her social position.
Asya really has a lot of complexes based on her own "obscene" origin. The heroine is ashamed of her own mother and wants to be no worse than "noble" girls. Because of these complexes, Asya's behavior often looks unnatural - the girl looks tense, laughs strangely, loves to show off and does not behave very skillfully in society.
Asya is used to voicing out loud everything that comes to mind, does not know how to lie, and masks her natural shyness with cheeky behavior. It is difficult to get along with the heroine, despite the fact that Asya's heart is kind. At the same time, the girl is smart, energetic and mobile, funny and does not like to sit still.
The brother considers Asya a capricious and spoiled girl. The heroine is indeed prone to pranks and impudent behavior, loves to meet people of a lower circle. At the same time, Asya is proud and never complains, the heroine is characterized by heightened self-esteem and ambition.
Illustration for Turgenev's story "Asya" Young people are imbued with tender feelings for each other, and one day Asya writes a letter to the hero, where she asks for a date. The hero has a serious conversation with his brother Asya. He sees what feelings the girl has for the hero, and asks if he is going to marry Asya. The main character hesitates and does not feel confident that he really wants to marry this woman. As a result, they agree to the point that at the next meeting the hero will reject Asya's feelings, so as not to reassure the girl in vain.
The next time Asya meets the hero in the house belonging to the burgomaster's widow. Asya confesses to the hero in her own feelings and throws herself into his arms, but the hero suddenly begins to put forward claims to the girl. The hero, it turns out, did not like the fact that Asya trusted her brother and told him about her own feelings for the hero. According to the hero, this will prevent them from being together now.
Having heard all this and realizing that her love is unrequited, Asya runs away, and the hero, together with Gagin, has to look for a girl. The main character finally realizes that he still has a desire to marry Asya and some feelings for the girl. It's too late, however. The hero is going to talk to Gagin the next day to ask Ashina for his hand, but it turns out that Asya and her brother left the city. The hero manages to find out that they went to London, but there Asya's trail is finally lost. The further biography of the heroine remains unknown.
The key theme of the work is the problem of love, which does not find a response. And also the theme of a superfluous person, a hero with an indecisive character, who does not find a place in life and misses a happy opportunity in love.
Screen adaptations
In 1977 the film-melodrama Asya, based on the novel by Ivan Turgenev, was released at the Lenfilm film studio. The film was directed and written by Joseph Kheifits, and the actress starred in the role of Asya. The film was shot in collaboration with the German film studio DEFA. Filming took place in the cities of Babelsberg and Potsdam. The actor played the role of Gagin, and Vyacheslav Ezepov played the main character. German actors starred as supporting characters.
Quotes
“She ran to the house. I ran after her - and a few moments later we were whirling in the cramped room, to the sweet sounds of Lanner. Asya waltzed beautifully, with enthusiasm. Something soft, feminine suddenly emerged through her strict girlish appearance.
“Happiness has no tomorrow; he does not have yesterday's either; it does not remember the past, does not think about the future; he has a present - and that is not a day, but a moment. "
“I remember that I was walking home without thinking about anything, but with a strange weight on my heart, when suddenly I was struck by a strong, familiar, but rare smell in Germany. I stopped and saw a small patch of hemp near the road. Her steppe smell instantly reminded me of my homeland and aroused a passionate longing for her in my soul. I wanted to breathe Russian air, walk on Russian soil. "
The main character of the story, Gagin's younger sister, the beloved of Mr. N., is one of the most poetic female images in Turgenev's work. Asya was the daughter of a wealthy nobleman and a maid. Having lost her mother early, she remained in the care of her father. Soon her father died, then her elder brother on her father's side, Gagin, took care of her.
One of the main characters in the story, Anna's elder brother (Asya) and a friend of the protagonist. For the first time, Gagin meets at a "commercial", that is, a German student party. He came to the city on the right bank of the Rhine to spend more time with his sister and practice his favorite art. Here they met N.N., who was at that time 25 years old.
The main character of the work, narrator, friend of the Gagins. This hero of Turgenev belongs to the "new" generation of people who have replaced the "superfluous". It is he who tells the story of an acquaintance that took place many years ago in a town on the banks of the Rhine. He was then only twenty-five years old, and he wanted to see the world.
Father of the Gagins
He was a good man, but in life he was unlucky. The first wife died early, Gagin was only 6 months old. He left for the village, where he lived for twelve years, without leaving anywhere. A few years after the death of his wife, he became friends with the servant Tatyana, from whom Asya was born to him. When Asya was 9 years old, Tatiana died. The father himself died of a serious illness when Asya was 13 years old.
Tatyana
Asya's mother, a proud and strict servant of Gagin's mother. She got along with Gagin's father and bore him a girl, Asya. Her father called her to marry, but she refused. She lived separately from him with her daughter. She died when Asya was 9 years old.
Uncle Gagin
The brother of Gagin's father, who took him from the village. His uncle took him to Petersburg, where he lived himself and was quite significant there.
Jacob
Father Gagin's valet. It was he who was instructed to tell the whole story to Asya Gagin.
Frau Louise
An old German woman with whom Asya became friends and she also loved her. The widow of a former local burgomaster. It was with her that Asya NN made an appointment to say goodbye. And it was she who gave Asya's farewell note to Mr. N.
Mistress of the Gagins
An episodic character, the mistress of the house where the Gagins lived.
Very touching, lyrical and beautiful from the point of view of literary art, the story "Asya" was written in 1857 by Ivan Turgenev. Millions of readers were literally captivated by this work - people read, re-read and read "Asya", it was translated into many foreign languages, and critics did not hide their delight. Turgenev wrote an attractive and unpretentious love story, but how beautiful and unforgettable it turned out! Now we will make a short analysis of the story "Asya" by Ivan Turgenev, and in addition, you can read the summary on our website. In the same article, the plot of "Asi" will be presented very briefly.
Writing history and prototypes
The story was published when Turgenev was almost forty years old. It is known that the author was not only well educated, but also possessed a rare talent. Once Ivan Turgenev set off to travel to Germany, and fleetingly saw the following picture: two women looked out of the windows from a two-story house - one was an elderly and dignified lady, and she looked from the first floor, and the second was a young girl, and looked out she's on top. The writer wondered - who are these women, why do they live in the same house, what brought them together? Reflections on this glimpsed picture prompted Turgenev to write the lyric story "Asya", which we are now analyzing.
Let's discuss who could become the prototype of the main character. Turgenev, as you know, had a daughter, Pauline Brewer, who was born illegitimate. She is very reminiscent of the timid and sensual main character Asya. At the same time, the writer had a sister, so it is quite possible that Turgenev could have considered Varvara Zhitova as a prototype for Asya. Both the one and the other girl could not come to terms with their dubious position in society, which worried Asya herself.
The plot of the story "Asya" is very short
A short retelling of the plot will help to better understand the analysis of the story "Asya" by Turgenev. The narration is led by the main character. We see the anonymous Mr. N.N., who traveled abroad and met his compatriots there. Young people made acquaintance and even made friends. So, N.N. meets the Gagins. This brother and his half-sister Asya, who also went on a trip to Europe.
Gagin and N.N. like each other, they have much in common, so they communicate, relax together and have fun. In the end, N. N. falls in love with Asya, and the main character experiences reciprocal feelings. They declare their love, but misunderstandings in the relationship lead to mixed feelings and awkward conversation. Asya and Gagin abruptly leave, leaving a note at the very moment when N.N. decided to ask her hand in marriage. He rushes about in search of the Gagins, looks for them everywhere, but does not find them. And the feelings that he had for Asya are never repeated in his life.
Be sure to read the characterization of Gagin, and it is important that we examined the plot of the story "Asya" very briefly, because it makes it easier to analyze further.
Asya's image
Asya seems to us a special and unusual girl. She reads a lot, draws beautifully and takes what is happening to her heart. She has a heightened sense of justice, but as for character - she is fickle and even somewhat extravagant. Sometimes she is drawn to reckless and desperate actions, which is evident from her decision to quit her relationship with N.N., with whom she fell deeply in love.
However, the analysis of the story "Asya" shows that the soul of a girl is easy to hurt, she is very impressionable, kind and affectionate. Of course, this nature attracted Mr. N.N., who began to spend a lot of time with his new friends. He is looking for the reasons for her actions and sometimes wonders: to condemn Asya to him or to admire her.
Important details of the analysis of the story "Asya"
When Asya begins to communicate with the main character N.N., incomprehensible and previously unknown feelings awaken in her soul. The girl is still very young and inexperienced, and does not know how to cope with her emotions. She is afraid of this state, this explains her strange and changeable actions, which can hardly be called ordinary whims. She wants to evoke sympathy in N. N., life is attractive and charming in his eyes, and in the end she opens up to him and Gagin.
Yes, this is a childish and naive act, but here she is - a sweet, kind girl Asya. Unfortunately, neither Gagin nor N.N. appreciate Asya's frank and temperamental behavior. She seems reckless to her brother, and the main character reflects on her temper, thinking that it is madness to marry a girl of seventeen with such a character. In addition, he found out that Asya was illegitimate, and such a wedding would have caused misunderstanding in secular circles! Even a short analysis of the story "Asya" showed that this ruined their relationship, and when NN changed his mind, it was already too late.
Of course, we have something to think about: could Gagin enlighten his sister, whom he loved so much, and whose whims he always fulfilled, and convince her not to rush things? Or maybe Gagin should have had a more frank talk with N.N.? Should Asya make such a hasty decision and quit the relationship? Was it not cruel to the main character? And Mr. N. N. himself - was he ready to fight for his love, go against secular rules, put feelings higher? Well, there are a lot of questions, but can someone give unequivocal answers to them? Hardly. Let everyone find the answer for himself ...
You have read the analysis of the story "Asya" by Turgenev, and in this article the plot of the story was presented very briefly, a description of the image of Asya and the characteristics of all the characters.
Wrote in 1857. This story tells us about the unhappy love of a young underage girl who fell in love with a twenty-five-year-old man. The story is based on the recollection of a certain N.N., who is one of the main characters of Turgenev's story "Asya". In addition to N.N., the story also contains the main character Asya, whose characteristics we need to describe.
The image of Asya in the story of Turgenev
The image of Asya in Turgenev's story is well traced in the work. And this is a pretty girl with a roundish face. She has a small nose, round cheeks. Dark hair, light eyes with long eyelashes. Asya is graceful, "her slender appearance was clearly and beautifully drawn against the clear sky." The girl spoke two languages fluently. This is the portrait of a girl that emerges when you read the summary of Turgenev's story "Asya".
Asya is the illegitimate daughter of a landowner and a peasant woman. The girl knew about this and was very ashamed, "she wanted the whole world to forget her origin." After the death of her mother, she lived in her father's house, and after his death she was in the care of her brother. And although Asya studied at the best boarding school, she could not become a real young lady. She is "used to babbling whatever comes into her head."
Asya was naturally timid, but at the same time behaved cheekily. This is a girl about whom you can say "gunpowder" and "fire", "chameleon girl". She is wayward, kind, sincere, empathetic. Asya can be like a child, and can be capricious, can be playful and impudent. Her image will forever remain in the memory of the reader.
Once she met her love in the image of Mr. N.N. And I completely surrendered to this feeling, which I experienced for the first time. For her N.N. was a real hero. She fell in love so much that she is ready for anything, but the girl was mistaken in her choice. NN was indecisive and despite the fact that his feelings were mutual, despite the fact that the girl told him “yours” and confessed her love, he rejected her and Asya left forever. N.N. then many times he regretted his decision, but it was too late.
The girl's first love was broken and unhappy.
In the essay based on Turgenev's story "Asya", I would like to highlight the main idea of Turgenev's story "Asya". The author shows us how important it is to do everything on time and are not afraid of their feelings. You need to fight for your dream so that you don't regret later. And just Asya was not afraid, Asya acted, and although we do not know the girl's future life, I would very much like her future to be happy.