Among the secondary characters, some are just in the background, people from the crowd, others are described so vividly that it is difficult not to remember them.
The image and characterization of Marmeladov in the novel “Crime and Punishment” is an example of such a description. The main character's father is an excellent storyteller. He presents his fate in the monologue so figuratively that it becomes unclear why the author hid behind his back.
To the man in the novel already over 50 years. The hero's appearance is typical for Russia. These were the petty officials who worked in the offices. They shaved carefully, tried to behave respectably, and had a sense of tact and intelligence. It is clear that the author feels sorry for the invented character, but he cannot change their fate. This is how many officials who have lost the meaning of life end up. Semyon Zakharovich's clothes are described in different ways: sometimes he tries to be clean and neat, more often he is dressed in rags, which are typical of drunkards.
Hero's appearance features:
The face is often swollen from constant intoxication; it lacks freshness and attractiveness. The eyelids swell and the eyes become narrow like slits. Eye color is reddish. Only the eyes of a very tired person can look like this, but here the reason is completely different. It is not for nothing that the author calls Marmeladov’s clothes the rags of a beggar:
tattered tailcoat;
crumbling buttons;
crumpled dirty shirtfront;
unkempt vest.
All clothes are “decorated” with sticky blades of hay. This gave reason to think that the person had not undressed or washed for several days. Hands remain dirty; they are “greasy, red, with black nails.”
Marmeladov reveals his soul to Raskolnikov in an amazing monologue. Strangely, Dostoevsky allowed not many characters to independently analyze their fate. The reader learns about most of the characters from the lips of the author or other characters. Marmeladov talks about all family members: wife, children. The man is married for the second time. He took a widow with her third children. Marmeladov has a daughter from his first marriage - Sonya, the girl will change Raskolnikov, become his beloved and support in life. Marmeladov’s marriage was not based on love, it arose out of compassion for a woman who found herself in terrible poverty. Katerina Ivanovna agreed to marry Semyon Zakharovich, although she was from a higher social circle, educated and saw a different life. Marmeladov worked in the provinces, worked diligently, but was laid off and lost his job. The man began to drown his grief in wine and slowly drank himself to death. He sees everything that happens around him, understands and suffers from the fact that he is unable to change anything. The native daughter receives a “yellow ticket”, sells her body, and the father robs the family and takes the last of the money to a tavern. Drunkenness drove Semyon Zakharovich to death. He gets hit by horses racing down the street, receives many injuries and dies in the arms of his daughter. The wife dies on the day when Marmeladov was buried. Three children end up in an orphanage; it’s scary to even imagine what awaits the orphans.
Semyon Marmeladov - retired official. He drank himself when he lost his position as titular councilor. The character's image combines the qualities of ordinary people looking for meaning in wine, suffering from a terrible illness, and unable to get rid of the craving for alcohol. What is the character of the hero, what is remarkable about the character in the novel:
Marmeladov drank himself to death, but did not lose his ability to speak. He is florid in his reasoning, eloquent in his words. The hero's fate is typical of ordinary people who fall into drunkenness and poverty.
The old official Marmeladov, it seems, occupies an episodic place in Crime and Punishment. This is a pathetic, weak-willed drunkard who has sunk to the very “bottom” of human existence... The “righteous Pharisees” look at him with contempt, not seeing that his heart is capable of noble impulses (he out of pity married Katerina Ivanovna, a poor widow with children; he idolizes his daughter Sonechka, understanding the greatness of her life, given for others).
Marmeladov's monologue from the film Crime and Punishment
And in his drunken speech, delivered in the tavern, one can hear the faith of the evangelical publican, who was closer to God than the self-satisfied, righteous Pharisee. When the innkeeper said that there was no need to feel sorry for him, Marmeladov, he replied:
"Yes! There's no reason to feel sorry for me! I need to be crucified, crucified on a cross, and not pitied! But crucify him, judge, crucify him, and, having crucified him, have pity on him! And then I myself will go to you to die, because I don’t thirst for fun, but for sorrow and tears!.. Do you think, seller, that this half-damask of yours has become a delight for me? I looked for sorrow, sorrow at its bottom, sorrow and tears, and tasted it, and found it; and the one who took pity on everyone and who understood everyone and everything will take pity on us; he is the only one, he is the judge. She will come that day and ask: “Where is the daughter, that her stepmother is evil and consumptive, that she betrayed herself to strangers and minors? Where is the daughter who took pity on her earthly father, an obscene drunkard, without being horrified by his atrocities?” And he will say: “Come! I have already forgiven you once... I have forgiven you once... And now your many sins are forgiven, because you loved me a lot..." And she will forgive my Sonya, she will forgive me, I already know that she will forgive... I did it just now, as it was with her, in felt it in my heart!.. And he will judge and forgive everyone, both the good and the evil, both the wise and the humble... And when he has finished with everyone, then he will say to us: “Come out, he will say, you too!” Come out drunk, come out weak, come out drunk!” And we will all go out without shame and stand. And he will say: “You pigs! the image of the beast and its seal; but come too!” And the wise will say, the wise will say: “Lord! Why do you accept these? And he will say: “That is why I accept them, the wise ones, because I accept them, the wise ones, because not one of these himself considered himself worthy of this...” And he will stretch out his hand to us, and we will fall down... and weep... and we will understand everything!”
This amazingly powerful speech of the drunken Marmeladov reeks of something evangelical. Almost all of our writers, starting with Karamzin, preached love for people, but no one’s preaching of this love achieved such strength and penetration as Dostoevsky’s.
This speech reveals the entire rich soul of Marmeladov, a character similar to Ostrovsky’s hero , Lyubima Tortsova. And we understand Who raised Sonya in her high idealism. In this speech we can discern the idea of the novel: it glows with the spirit of selfless reconciliation with life and humility.
Some heroes of classical literature gain immortality and live next to us; this is exactly what the image of Sonya turned out to be in the novel “Crime and Punishment” by Dostoevsky. From her example, we learn the best human qualities: kindness, mercy, self-sacrifice. She teaches us to love devotedly and selflessly believe in God.
The author does not immediately introduce us to Sonechka Marmeladova. She appears on the pages of the novel when a terrible crime has already been committed, two people have died, and Rodion Raskolnikov has ruined his soul. It seems that nothing in his life can be improved. However, meeting a modest girl changed the hero’s fate and revived him to life.
The first time we hear about Sonya is from the story of the unfortunate drunken Marmeladov. In confession, he talks about his unhappy fate, about his starving family and gratefully pronounces the name of his eldest daughter.
Sonya is an orphan, Marmeladov’s only natural daughter. Until recently, she lived with her family. Her stepmother Katerina Ivanovna, a sick, unhappy woman, was exhausted so that the children would not die of starvation, Marmeladov himself drank away his last money, the family was in dire need. Out of despair, the sick woman often became irritated over trifles, made scandals, and reproached her stepdaughter with a piece of bread. Conscientious Sonya decided to take a desperate step. In order to somehow help her family, she began to engage in prostitution, sacrificing herself for the sake of her loved ones. The story of the poor girl left a deep mark on Raskolnikov’s wounded soul long before he personally met the heroine.
A description of the girl's appearance appears on the pages of the novel much later. She, like a wordless ghost, appears on the threshold of her home during the death of her father, crushed by a drunken cab driver. Timid by nature, she did not dare to enter the room, feeling vicious and unworthy. An absurd, cheap, but bright outfit indicated her occupation. “Meek” eyes, “a pale, thin and irregular angular face” and the whole appearance betrayed a meek, timid nature that had reached the extreme degree of humiliation. “Sonya was small, about seventeen years old, thin, but quite pretty blonde, with wonderful blue eyes.” This is how she appeared before Raskolnikov’s eyes, this is how the reader sees her for the first time.
A person's appearance can often be deceiving. The image of Sonya in Crime and Punishment is full of inexplicable contradictions. A meek, weak girl considers herself a great sinner, unworthy to be in the same room with decent women. She is embarrassed to sit next to Raskolnikov’s mother, and cannot shake hands with his sister for fear of offending them. Sonya can easily be offended and humiliated by any scoundrel, like Luzhin or the landlady. Defenseless against the arrogance and rudeness of the people around her, she is unable to stand up for herself.
A complete description of Sonya Marmeladova in the novel “Crime and Punishment” consists of an analysis of her actions. Physical weakness and indecision are combined in her with enormous mental strength. At the core of her being is love. For the love of her father, she gives him her last money for a hangover. For the sake of love for children, he sells his body and soul. For the sake of love for Raskolnikov, she follows him to hard labor and patiently endures his indifference. Kindness and the ability to forgive distinguish the heroine from other characters in the story. Sonya does not hold a grudge against her stepmother for her crippled life, and does not dare condemn her father for his weak character and eternal drunkenness. She is able to forgive and regret Raskolnikov for the murder of Lizaveta, close to her. “There is no one more unhappy than you in the whole world,” she tells him. To treat the vices and mistakes of people around you this way, you have to be a very strong and integral person.
Where does a weak, fragile, humiliated girl have such patience, endurance and inexhaustible love for people? Faith in God helps Sonya Marmeladova to survive herself and lend a helping hand to others. “What would I be without God?” – the heroine is sincerely perplexed. It is no coincidence that the exhausted Raskolnikov goes to her for help and tells her about his crime. The faith of Sonya Marmeladova helps the criminal to first confess to the murder he has committed, then sincerely repent, believe in God and start a new happy life.
The main character of F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment” is considered to be Rodion Raskolnikov, since the plot is based on the story of the hero’s crime. But it is impossible to imagine the novel without the image of Sonya Marmeladova. Sonya's attitude, beliefs, and actions reflect the author's life position. The fallen woman is pure and innocent. She fully atones for her sin with all-encompassing love for people. She is “humiliated and insulted”, not a “trembling creature” according to Raskolnikov’s theory, but a person worthy of respect, who turned out to be much stronger than the main character. Having gone through all the trials and suffering, Sonya did not lose her basic human qualities, did not betray herself and suffered happiness.
Sonya's moral principles, faith, love turned out to be stronger than Raskolnikov's egoistic theory. After all, only by accepting the beliefs of his girlfriend does the hero gain the right to happiness. The favorite heroine of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky is the embodiment of his most secret thoughts and ideals of the Christian religion.
Work test
Plan
1. “Little Man” in Russian literature.
2. Titular Councilor Marmeladov
3. Characteristics of Marmeladov
4. Conversation between Marmeladov and Raskolnikov
The story of the little man occupies an important place in Russian literature, and especially in the works of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. Marmeladov is a colorful character in the novel Crime and Punishment.
Semyon Zakharovich worked as a titular councilor, but due to alcoholism he lost his last job. He looked to be over fifty, of average height, stocky, greyish, and bald. He has the face of a heavy drinker: flabby, red eyes, yellowish skin. He shaved, as was the habit of a former official, but rarely; thick gray stubble had already begun to cover his face. His tailcoat is buttoned with the only remaining button, torn at the elbows, and his shirtfront looks dirty. Something of the official, who once had a respectable appearance, slipped into his movements. His hands always had a dirty, untidy appearance with blackness under the nails and seemed excessively greasy to others.
But Marmeladov has a noble soul. As Dostoevsky wrote about him: “He was kind, noble. He loved and respected his family. The only bad thing is that, out of his kindness, he trusted too much in all sorts of depraved people... he drank with those who weren’t even worth his soles!” He took pity on Katerina Ivanovna and her three children, who lived in poverty, and married her, but this only further aggravated their distress. Wife about Marmeladov: “He was a kind-hearted man!”
He also has a daughter, Sonya. Drawn into relentless alcoholism, he steals money from his wife and does not appear at home at night. He loves Sonya, but takes money from her, which she earns through “indecent work.” She supports the whole family. “What is the income from it? He’s a drunkard, he drank everything away, he stole everything from us and took it to the tavern, he ruined the life of the family and mine all in the tavern!” says Sonya. However, Marmeladov is educated and has self-esteem. In the eyes of those around him, he is ridiculous, but with all his appearance he is trying to show that he has not completely sunk and also means something.
In a drunken state after meeting with Raskolnikov, Marmeladov was run over by a horse on the street. He died from his injuries. Raskolnikov takes part in the funeral and gives Marmeladov’s widow money for the funeral. As Katerina Ivanovna recalls on the day of the funeral, a mint cockerel was found in her husband’s pocket, which he bought for his beloved adopted daughter Lidochka. He was a loving father. On the same day, Katerina Ivanovna will fall on the street and die of bleeding. Young children were orphaned and ended up in an orphanage.
Marmeladov is educated, not stupid, but suffers from mental anguish due to his alcohol addiction and cannot get rid of it. He shamelessly steals the last savings from his family, and realizes that he is gradually ceasing to be a person. He is intelligent and not without self-criticism; he understands that he is not acting humanly. “I am a beast!” he says to himself. His heart hurts because he is forced to constantly grovel.
The conversation between Marmeladov and Raskolnikov in a dirty pub conveys the atmosphere of the terrifying and insignificant life of that time. In his novel, Dostoevsky shows how capitalist society treats the common man; respect is only possible for prosperous and wealthy citizens. Anger, hatred and the indifferent attitude of the public contribute to the commission of a crime by an ordinary person, but this is a crime, first of all, against himself.
Essay “Characteristics and lessons of Marmeladov.” Analysis of the episode where Raskolnikov met with Marmeladov in a tavern. The tragedy of the Marmeladov family
The St. Petersburg images in the novel “Crime and Punishment” form a gloomy picture of the morals of the city bottom, which was observed by Dostoevsky’s contemporaries. The Marmeladov family is the most vivid gallery of characters illustrating the depth of the fall of poor people. All members of this family seem to have broken wings: they have fallen and cannot get up, they are only powerlessly tossing and turning on the ground. They could have been sleepy city dwellers who would not have attracted our attention, but their only breadwinner took to drinking and dragged his household to the bottom. It is Marmeladov who is to blame for the fact that his family has become poor and immoral. One of the main mysteries of the novel: why did he do it? Therefore, what interested me most in the work was the image of the former official Marmeladov.
It is noteworthy that the author attaches great importance to this image. The dialogue between Raskolnikov and Marmeladov in the tavern goes beyond the plot and tells us about something more important for Dostoevsky’s plan, and not for its implementation. The writer wanted to convey to us not a specific life story, but the entire horror of poverty, to which people simply turn a blind eye so as not to see how moral collapse comes after financial collapse.
It is from this moment that we begin to recognize Semyon Zakharovich. This man immediately attracted Raskolnikov's attention. In Marmeladov’s eyes “there seemed to be even enthusiasm shining—perhaps there was sense and intelligence—but at the same time there seemed to be a flicker of madness.” Marmeladov’s appearance revealed him as a poor alcoholic who had degenerated to the last degree. No one would have thought that he was once a titular councilor. Moreover, he even married a widow with three children, since he could provide them with a decent existence. But something broke in the hero’s heart: he began to drink and with his behavior drove his wife to consumption, and his only daughter to death. Rodion learns all this from Marmeladov in the tavern and is once again convinced of the correctness of his theory, because his victim profited from such terrible stories.
Why did Marmeladov drink himself to death? What was the fate of Marmeladov, the little man? I think the reason is his weakness of character. He took Katerina Ivanovna as his wife out of pity, he didn’t achieve much in the service, and to all the disasters that befell him, he reacted like this: “And I... was lying drunk, sir.” When his wife was beaten, he remained silent. When his daughter went to the panel, he endured it. Moreover, the hero cannot even remain idle without support; he needs a listener who will console him. All this indicates that the official lost his dignity while still in service, when he was pushed around in every possible way by higher ranks. They broke him, because everyday humiliating lack of rights dulls people, makes them indifferent to everything. As we see, he is not a bad person: compassionate, kind and responsive to the grief of others. But the slave position destroyed his personality, and from this loss he began to drink uncontrollably and selflessly. There is nothing left of him, he is poor in spirit, because he has lost his dignity.
