Victor Marie Hugo (28 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French poet, writer and playwright. Since 1841 he has been an honorary member of the French Academy. Hugo is considered one of the most talented people of his time, as well as one of the most significant figures of French romanticism.
Victor Hugo was born on February 28 in the French town of Benzason. His father served in the Napoleonic army, and his mother taught music at one of the city's schools. In addition to Victor, the family had two more brothers - Abel and Eugene, who later also followed in the footsteps of their father and were killed in one of the battles.
Due to the fact that Victor's father often had to go on business trips, the family moved from place to place every few weeks. So, the boy and his older brothers traveled almost from birth in Italy, major cities of France, were in Corsica, Elba and in many places where Napoleon's military armies were serving at that time.
Many bibliographers believe that constant travel only broke the fate of little Victor, but the writer himself often mentioned that it was travel that allowed him to look at life in a ambiguous way, learn to notice the smallest details and subsequently compare them in his works.
Since 1813, Victor moved to Paris with his mother. At that time, the mother had a stormy affair with General Lagori, who agreed to transport her beloved and her offspring closer to him. So, Victor was cut off from the rest of the brothers, who stayed with his father, and moved to Paris, where he began his education.
According to many bibliographers, Victor's mother was never in love with Lagori and agreed to marry him only for the sake of her son. The woman understood that, being next to her military father, who was an ordinary soldier, the son would sooner or later join the army, which means that he would forever break his fate and career.
She could not bear the fact that her husband "took away" her other two sons, therefore, having met Lagori, she decides to at least try to save Victor's fate. So, the future writer and playwright finds himself in the capital of France.
In 1814, thanks to the connections and authority of General Lagory, Hugo was admitted to the Lyceum of Louis the Great. It is here that his talent for creating unique works is manifested. Hugo creates such tragedies as "Yrtatine", "Athelie ou les scandinaves" and "Louis de Castro", but since Victor was not sure of his talent, the works did not reach publication until a few months after creation.
For the first time, he decides to declare himself at the lyceum competition for the best poem - “Les avantages des études” was written especially for the event. By the way, Victor receives the coveted prize, after which he participates in two more competitive events, in which he also wins.
In 1823, the first full-fledged work of Victor Hugo was published under the title "Gan the Icelander". Despite the fact that the author himself is sure that his creation will be appreciated by the public, it receives only a few positive reviews. The main critic of this work is Charles Nodier, with whom Hugo would later become best friends until 1830, when the literary critic began to allow himself overly harsh negative reviews of the works of his comrade.
Victor Hugo is called one of the key personalities of romanticism is by no means accidental. This was facilitated by the publication in 1827 of the work "Cromwell", where the author openly speaks in support of the French revolutionary Francois-Joseph Talma.
However, the work receives recognition and positive reviews not even for the revolutionary mood of the playwright, but rather for the fact that the author has moved away from the classical canons of the unity of place and time. At that time, it was the only such precedent, so "Cromwell" became an occasion for debate and fierce discussions not only among many literary critics, but even other writers.
Since 1830, Victor Hugo has worked primarily in the theater. This period includes such works by the author as "Rays and Shadows", "Inner Voices" and several other plays, which are almost immediately shown to the general public.
A year before, Hugo creates the play "Ernani", which he manages to put on stage with the help of one of his influential friends. The plot and the overall picture of the work again become a reason for battles between critics, because Hugo completely changes the canons and mixes the so-called classical (in his opinion, old) art with the new. The result is almost completely rejected by both critics and the actors themselves. But there is also a supporter of Hugo - Theophile Gauthier, who advocates novelty in art and ensures that Hernani is staged in several more city theaters.
In the autumn of 1822, Victor Hugo meets his first and only love, Frenchwoman Adele Fouche. Unlike the writer, Adele comes from an aristocratic family that was forced to hide for some time in connection with the suspicion of the murder of one of the kings. Nevertheless, Fouche's ancestors were acquitted, after which the aristocrats were fully returned to their privileges in society.
In the same year, the couple secretly got married. Five children were born in the marriage: Francois-Victor, Leopoldina, Adele, Leopold and Charles. The family has always been a support and support for Hugo. He always strove for loved ones and until the last minute fondly recalled all the moments spent together with his relatives.
February 26, 1802, in the east of France in the provincial town of Benzanos, the third child was born in the family of Joseph Hugo and Sophie Trebuchet. It was the future writer and the greatest man - Victor Hugo. His father was a captain in the Napoleonic army, but eventually rose to the rank of general, while his mother was a zealous royalist. From a very early age, the Hugo family moved a lot on duty as a paternal service: Corsica, Elba, Madrid - this is not a complete list of cities that Victor managed to see in early childhood. The boy grew up, and under the influence of constant travel, his character and romantic worldview were formed.
When the boy was only 12, his father and mother divorced, Sophie became the initiator, and the reason for this was her love affair with General Lagori. The breakup of the family occurred when the family lived in Madrid, after which Sophie finally moved to Paris, taking Victor with her.
The education of a boy up to 12 years of age was inconsistent, and only in 1814 was Victor able to become a student at the Cordier boarding house, and then enter the Lyceum of Louis the Great. The talent of the writer began to manifest itself in the boy at a fairly young age - at the age of 14 he wrote "Yrtatine", "Athelie ou les scandinaves", "Louis de Castro", at 15 he received his first honorary review of the Toulouse Academy, in whose competitions he regularly participated , and later even was marked by the royal government.
At the end of his studies, Hugo seriously engaged in the development of his work. His early works, including the initial version of the famous novel "Bug Jargal" (1821), were published in the "Conservative Letterer" - a popular publication of those times.
1822 was an outstanding year for young Victor - his first collection Odes and Various Poems was born, imbued with the spirit of classicism. Just a year later, the author's second novel, Gan the Icelander, was already published, which received rather restrained reviews. One of the critics of the novel was Charles Nodier, whose constructive remarks and weighty arguments could not leave Hugo indifferent. Later, the writers had the opportunity to meet in person, and this meeting was the beginning of friendship. However, it did not last long - from about 1827 to 1830, until Nodier began to criticize Hugo's works more and more harshly.
Approximately in the same period (1827-1830), the writer's friendly relations were established with many outstanding personalities of literature, with whom they founded their own Senecal group at the Muses Francaise magazine. The group's work had a pronounced romantic orientation.
The fame of the young poet grew day by day: the play "Cromwell" released in 1827, with its famous "Foreword", the story "The Last Day of the Condemned" (1829), the collection "Oriental Motifs" (1829) - these works were very warmly received.
The period from 1829 to 1843 was especially fruitful for Hugo. One after another, he releases scandalous plays, which are censored every now and then. But that doesn't stop him. Following "Marion Delorme", in which Louis XIII was not portrayed in the most favorable light, there are "Ernani", "The King is amused" and "Ruy Blas". The triumph of the author becomes the destruction of the "Bastille of classicism" in dramaturgy, and romanticism finally comes to the fore.
A separate item in the biography of Victor Hugo is the historical novel Notre Dame Cathedral. In it, the author was able to demonstrate in all its glory his multifaceted talent in prose, while outlining the situation in France at that time, and incredibly accurately defining the current issues.
In 1843, Hugo experienced a terrible loss: during a shipwreck on the Seine, his very young daughter Leopoldina and her husband died. This was a real blow for him, and therefore for some time the writer decided to move away from society. Solitude prompted him to embark on a voluminous and complex work - a novel of a social nature, which the author himself called initially "Trouble." However, he failed to finish what he started - the revolution of 1848 pushed him to the beginning of an active socio-political activity, he became a member of the National Assembly.
The return of the writer was short-lived - in 1851, after the coup, Hugo again left France - first to Brussels, and later to the small island of Jersey, and from there to the island of Guernsey. During the period of seclusion, he wrote the book "Napoleon the Small", which exposed the entire dictatorial essence of Louis Bonaparte, and after "Retribution" - a subtle satire in verse, which also dealt with Napoleon III, his followers and fans of the regime. In the early 60s of the 19th century, Victor again returned to work on the novel Adversity. Today, this creation is familiar to the reader under the name "Les Misérables".
While on Granci Island, the writer published a number of books that today are rightfully considered classics of world literature: William Shakespeare, Toilers of the Sea, The Man Who Laughs, as well as a collection of poems, Songs of the Streets and Forests.
Victor Marie Hugo (fr. Victor Marie Hugo). Born February 26, 1802 in Besancon - died May 22, 1885 in Paris. French writer, poet, playwright, leader and theorist of French Romanticism. Member of the French Academy (1841).
Victor Hugo was the youngest of three brothers (the elders were Abel, (1798-1865) and Eugene, (1800-1837)). The writer's father, Joseph Leopold Sigisber Hugo (1773-1828), became a general in the Napoleonic army, his mother Sophie Trebuchet (1772-1821), the daughter of a Nantes shipowner, was a royalist Voltairian.
Hugo's early childhood takes place in Marseille, Corsica, Elba (1803-1805), Italy (1807), Madrid (1811), where his father's career takes place, and from where the family returns to Paris every time. Travel left a deep impression in the soul of the future poet and prepared his romantic outlook.
In 1813, Hugo's mother, Sophie Trebuchet, who had a love affair with General Lagory, separated from her husband and settled with her son in Paris.
From 1814 to 1818 he studied at the Lyceum Louis the Great. At the age of 14, he began his creative activity. He writes his unpublished tragedies: “Yrtatine”, which he dedicates to his mother, and “Athelie ou les scandinaves”, the drama “Louis de Castro”, translates Virgil, at the age of 15 he already receives an honorable mention at the Academy competition for the poem “Les avantages des études” , in 1819 - two prizes at the competition "Jeux Floraux" for the poem "Verdun virgins" (Vierges de Verdun) and the ode "On the restoration of the statue of Henry IV" (Rétablissement de la statue de Henri III), which marked the beginning of his "Legend of the Ages"; then he publishes the ultra-royalist satire The Telegraph, which first brought him to the attention of readers. In 1819-1821 he publishes Le Conservateur littéraire, a literary supplement to the royalist Catholic journal Le Conservateur. Filling out his own publication under various pseudonyms, Hugo published there “Ode on the Death of the Duke of Berry”, which established his reputation as a monarchist for a long time.
In October 1822, Hugo married Adele Fouche (1803-1868), five children were born in this marriage:
Leopold (1823-1823)
Leopoldina, (1824-1843)
Charles, (1826-1871)
François-Victor, (1828-1873)
Adele (1830-1915).
In 1823, Victor Hugo's Han d'Islande was published to a lukewarm reception. Well-reasoned criticism of Charles Nodier led to a meeting and further friendship between him and Victor Hugo. Shortly thereafter, a meeting was held in the library of the Arsenal, the cradle of romanticism, which had a great influence on the development of Victor Hugo's work. Their friendship will last from 1827 to 1830, when Charles Nodier becomes increasingly critical of the works of Victor Hugo. Around this period, Hugo resumes relations with his father and writes the poems Ode to my Father (Odes à mon père, 1823), Two Islands (1825) and After the Battle (Après la bataille). His father died in 1828.
Hugo's play Cromwell, written especially for the great actor of the French Revolution, François-Joseph Talma and published in 1827, caused heated debate. In the preface to the drama, the author rejects the conventions of classicism, especially the unity of place and time, and lays the foundations of romantic drama.
The Hugo family often arranges receptions in their house and establishes friendly relations with Sainte-Beuve, Lamartine, Merimee, Musset, Delacroix. From 1826 to 1837, the family often lives in the Chateau de Roche, in Bièvre, the estate of Bertien l "Enet, editor of the Journal des débats. There Hugo meets with Berlioz, Liszt, Chateaubriand, Giacomo Meyerber; composes collections of poems "Oriental Motives" (Les Orientales , 1829) and "Autumn Leaves" (Les Feuilles d'automne, 1831). The theme of "Oriental Motifs" is the Greek War of Independence, where Hugo speaks in support of Homer's homeland. In 1829, "The Last Day of the Sentenced to Death" (Dernier Jour d'un condamné), in 1834 - Claude Gueux (Claude Gueux). In these two short novels, Hugo expresses his negative attitude towards the death penalty. The novel Notre Dame Cathedral was published in 1831.
From 1830 to 1843, Victor Hugo works almost exclusively for the theater, however, he publishes at this time several collections of poetic works: Autumn Leaves (Les Feuilles d'automne, 1831), Twilight Songs (Les Chants du crépuscule , 1835), "Inner voices" (Les Voix intérieures, 1837), "Rays and shadows" (Les Rayons et les Ombres, 1840). In Songs of the Twilight, Victor Hugo exalts with great admiration the July Revolution of 1830.
As early as 1828 he staged his early play Amy Robsart. 1829 is the year of the creation of the play "Ernani" (first staged in 1830), which became the occasion for literary battles between representatives of the old and new art.
Theophile Gauthier, who enthusiastically accepted this romantic work, acted as an ardent defender of everything new in dramaturgy. These disputes have remained in the history of literature under the name "battle for" Ernani "". Marion Delorme, banned in 1829, was staged at the Porte Saint-Martin theater; "The King is amused" - in the "Comedie Française" in 1832 (removed from the repertoire and banned immediately after the premiere, resumed only after 50 years); this play was also banned, which prompted Victor Hugo to write the following preface to the original 1832 edition, which began: "The appearance of this drama on the stage of the theater gave rise to unheard-of actions on the part of the government.
The day after the first performance, the author received a note from Monsieur Jousselin de la Salle, director of the stage at the Théâtre-France. Here is its exact content: “It is now ten thirty minutes, and I have received an order to stop the performance of the play The King Amuses himself. Monsieur Talor conveyed this order to me on behalf of the Minister. It was November 23rd. Three days later, on November 26, Victor Hugo sent a letter to the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Le National, which said: “Monsieur, I have been warned that some of the noble young students and artists are going to come to the theater tonight or tomorrow and demand a drama show” The king is having fun” and to protest against the unheard-of act of arbitrariness, because of which the play was closed. I hope, monsieur, that there are other means to punish these illegal acts, and I will use them. Let me use your newspaper to support the friends of freedom, art and thought, and prevent violent speeches that may lead to the rebellion so desired by the government for a long time. With deep respect, Victor Hugo. November 26, 1832."
In 1841, Hugo was elected to the French Academy, in 1845 he received a peerage. In 1848 he was elected to the National Assembly. Hugo was an opponent of the coup d'état of 1851 and after the proclamation of Napoleon III as emperor was in exile. In 1870 he returned to France, and in 1876 he was elected senator.
Like many young writers of his era, Hugo was greatly influenced by a well-known figure in the literary current of romanticism and an outstanding figure in France at the beginning of the 19th century. As a young man, Hugo decided to be "Chateaubriand or nothing" and that his life should match that of his predecessor. Like Chateaubriand, Hugo would promote the development of romanticism, have a significant place in politics as a leader of republicanism, and be exiled due to his political positions.
The early passion and eloquence of Hugo's first works brought him success and fame in the early years of his life. His first collection of poetry, Odes et poésies diverses, was published in 1822, when Hugo was only 20 years old. King Louis XVIII granted an annual allowance for the writer. Although Hugo's poems were admired for their spontaneous fervor and fluency, this collection of works was followed by Odes et Ballades, Odes et Ballades, written in 1826, four years after the first triumph. Odes et Ballades presented Hugo as a great poet, a true master of lyrics and song.
Victor Hugo's first mature work in the genre of fiction, The Last Day of the Condemned to Death, was written in 1829 and reflected the acute social consciousness of the writer, which continued in his subsequent works. The story Le Dernier jour d'un condamné (The last day of the condemned to death) had a great influence on writers such as, and. Claude Gueux, a short documentary story about a real-life murderer who was executed in France, saw the light of day in 1834 and was later hailed by Hugo himself as a forerunner of his excellent work on social injustice, Les Misérables. But Hugo's first full novel would be the incredibly successful Notre-Dame de Paris (Notre Dame), which was published in 1831 and quickly translated into many languages throughout Europe. One effect of the novel was to draw attention to the decrepit Notre Dame Cathedral, which began to attract thousands of tourists who read the popular novel. The book also contributed to a renewed respect for the old buildings, which immediately thereafter began to be actively preserved.
Hugo died on May 22, 1885 at the age of 83 from pneumonia. The funeral ceremony lasted ten days. About a million people attended his funeral. After a lavish national funeral, his ashes were placed in the Pantheon.
Poetry of Victor Hugo:
Odes and Poetic Experiences (Odes et poésies diverses, 1822)
Odes (Odes, 1823)
New Odes (Nouvelles Odes, 1824)
Odes and Ballades (Odes et Ballades, 1826)
Oriental motifs (Les Orientales, 1829)
Autumn Leaves (Les Feuilles d'automne, 1831)
Twilight Songs (Les Chants du crépuscule, 1835)
Inner voices (Les Voix intérieures, 1837)
Rays and shadows (Les Rayons et les ombres, 1840)
Retribution (Les Chatiments, 1853)
Contemplations (Les Contemplations, 1856)
Songs of the streets and forests (Les Chansons des rues et des bois, 1865)
Terrible Year (L'Année terrible, 1872)
The art of being a grandfather (L'Art d "être grand-père, 1877)
Papa (Le Pape, 1878)
Revolution (L "Âne, 1880)
The Four Winds of the Spirit (Les Quatres vents de l'esprit, 1881)
Legend of the Ages (La Légende des siècles, 1859, 1877, 1883)
Satan's End (La fin de Satan, 1886)
God (Dieu, 1891)
All the Strings of the Lyre (Toute la lyre, 1888, 1893)
The Dark Years (Les années funestes, 1898)
The Last Sheaf (Dernière Gerbe, 1902, 1941)
Ocean (Océan. Tas de pierres, 1942)
Dramaturgy of Victor Hugo:
Inez de Castro (1819/1820)
Cromwell (Cromwell, 1827)
Amy Robsart (1828, published 1889)
Marion Delorme (Marion de Lorme, 1829)
Hernani (Hernani, 1829)
The King Amuses himself (Le roi s'amuse, 1832)
Lucrece Borgia (Lucrece Borgia, 1833)
Mary Tudor (Marie Tudor, 1833)
Angelo, Tyrant of Padua (Angelo, tyran de Padoue, 1835)
Ruy Blas (1838)
Burgraves (Les Burgraves, 1843)
Torquemada (Torquemada, 1882)
Free theatre. Small Pieces and Fragments (Théâtre en liberté, 1886).
Novels of Victor Hugo:
Han Icelander (Han d'Islande, 1823)
Bug-Jargal (1826)
The last day of the condemned to death (Le Dernier jour d'un condamné, 1829)
Notre Dame Cathedral (Notre-Dame de Paris, 1831)
Claude Gueux (1834)
Les Misérables (1862)
Toilers of the Sea (Les Travailleurs de la Mer, 1866)
The Man Who Laughs (L'Homme qui rit, 1869)
Year ninety-three (Quatrevingt-treize, 1874).
Publicism and essays by Victor Hugo:
fr. Victor Marie Hugo
French writer (poet, prose writer and playwright), one of the main figures of French romanticism
Victor Hugo
Hugo Victor Marie- French writer, poet, a prominent representative of the romantic literary trend - was born in Besançon on February 26, 1802. His father was a high-ranking soldier, therefore, as a child, Hugo managed to visit Corsica, Elba, Marseille, Madrid, which later played a role in his formation as a romantic writer. A noticeable imprint on the formation of his personality was played by the monarchist and Voltaire views of his mother. After the divorce, she took Victor away, and in 1813 they settled in Paris. His education continued in the capital: in 1814, Hugo became a pupil of the private boarding school Cordier, from 1814 to 1818 he was a student of the Lyceum of Louis the Great.
Hugo began writing at the age of 14. His first publications - debut poems and the novel "Byug Zhargal" - date back to 1821. Victor was 19 when his mother's death forced him to look for a source of livelihood, and he chose the craft of a writer. The poetic collection "Odes and Miscellaneous Poems" (1822) attracted Louis XVIII and brought the author an annual annuity. In the same year, Hugo married Adele Fouche, with whom he became the father of five children.
The preface to the drama "Cromwell", written in 1827, attracted general attention to Hugo, as it became a real manifesto of a new - romantic - direction in French dramaturgy. Thanks to him, as well as the story "The Last Day of the Condemned" (1829) and the collection of poems "Oriental Motives" (1829), the author gained great fame. 1829 marked the beginning of an extremely fruitful period in his creative biography, which lasted until 1843.
In 1829, Hugo wrote another work that became resonant - the drama "Ernani", which put an end to literary disputes, marking the final victory of democratic romanticism. Dramaturgical experiments made Hugo not only famous, but also a wealthy author. In addition, active cooperation with theaters gave another acquisition: the actress Juliette Drouet appeared in his life, who was his muse and mistress for more than three decades. In 1831, one of Hugo's most popular novels, Notre Dame de Paris, was published.
In 1841, the writer became a member of the French Academy, which meant official recognition of his merits in the field of literature. The tragic death of his daughter and son-in-law in 1843 forced him to abandon his active social life in favor of creative work: it was at that time that the idea of a large-scale social novel arose, which Hugo conventionally called "Troubles." However, the revolution of 1848 returned the writer to the bosom of social and political activity; in the same year he was elected to the National Assembly.
In December 1851, after a coup d'état, Victor Hugo, who opposed the self-proclaimed Emperor Louis Napoleon III Bonaparte, was forced to flee the country. He spent almost two decades in a foreign land, living in the British Isles, where he wrote works that gained immense popularity, in particular, the lyric collection Contemplations (1856), the novels Les Misérables (1862, revised The Adversity), The Workers sea" (1866), "The Man Who Laughs" (1869).
In 1870, after the overthrow of Napoleon III, Hugo, who for many years served as the personification of the opposition, returned triumphantly to Paris. In 1871 he was elected to the National Assembly, but the conservative policy of the majority led the writer to refuse the deputy post. During this period, Hugo continued his literary activity, but he did not create anything that would increase his fame. He experienced the death in 1883 of Juliette Drouet as a severe loss, and two years later, on May 22, 1885, the 83-year-old Victor Hugo himself died. His funeral became a national event; the ashes of the great writer rest in the Pantheon - in the same place where the remains of Voltaire are buried.
Victor Marie Hugo(fr. Victor Marie Hugo; February 26, 1802, Besancon - May 22, 1885, Paris) - French writer (poet, prose writer and playwright), one of the main figures of French romanticism. Member of the French Academy (1841).
Victor Hugo was the youngest of three brothers (the elders were Abel, (1798-1865) and Eugene, (1800-1837)). The writer's father, Joseph Leopold Sigisber Hugo (1773-1828), became a general in the Napoleonic army, his mother Sophie Trebuchet (1772-1821), the daughter of a Nantes shipowner, was a royalist Voltairian.
Hugo's early childhood takes place in Marseille, Corsica, Elba (1803-1805), Italy (1807), Madrid (1811), where his father's career takes place, and from where the family returns to Paris every time. Travel left a deep impression in the soul of the future poet and prepared his romantic outlook.
In 1813, Hugo's mother, Sophie Trebuchet, who had a love affair with General Lagory, separated from her husband and settled with her son in Paris.
From 1814 to 1818 Hugo studied at the Lyceum Louis the Great. At the age of 14, he began his creative activity: he writes his unpublished tragedies - “ Yrtatine”, which he dedicates to his mother; and " Athelie ou les scandinaves", drama" Louis de Castro”, translates Virgil. At the age of 15, he already receives an honorary review at the Academy's competition for the poem " Les avantages des études”, in 1819 - two prizes at the Jeux Floraux competition for the poems “Verdun Maidens” ( Vierges de Verdun) and the ode "On the restoration of the statue of Henry IV" ( Retablissement de la statue de Henri IV), which marked the beginning of his "Legend of the Ages". Then he prints the ultra-royalist satire " Telegraph”, which first drew the attention of readers to it. In 1819-1821 he publishes Le Conservateur litteraire, a literary supplement to a royalist Catholic magazine Le Conservator. Filling out his own edition under various pseudonyms, Hugo published there " Ode on the Death of the Duke of Berry”, which for a long time secured his reputation as a monarchist.
In October 1822, Hugo married Adele Fouche (1803-1868), five children were born in this marriage:
In 1823 Victor Hugo's novel The Icelander was published. Han d'Islande), which received a lukewarm reception. Well-reasoned criticism of Charles Nodier led to a meeting and further friendship between him and Victor Hugo. Shortly thereafter, a meeting was held in the library of the Arsenal, the cradle of romanticism, which had a great influence on the development of Victor Hugo's work.
The friendship between Hugo and Nodier would last from 1827 to 1830, when the latter would become increasingly critical of the writer's works. Somewhat earlier, Hugo resumes relations with his father and writes the poem "Ode to my father" ( Odes a mon père, 1823), " two islands" (1825) and "After the battle" ( Apres la bataille). His father died in 1828.
Hugo's "Cromwell" Cromwell), written specifically for the great actor of the French Revolution, François-Joseph Talma and published in 1827, caused heated debate. In the preface to the drama, the author rejects the conventions of classicism, especially the unity of place and time, and lays the foundations of romantic drama.
The Hugo family often arranges receptions in their house and establishes friendly relations with Sainte-Beuve, Lamartine, Merimee, Musset, Delacroix.
From 1826 to 1837, the writer's family often lived in the Château de Roche, in Bièvre, the estate of Louis-François Bertin, editor Journal des debates. There Hugo meets Berlioz, Liszt, Chateaubriand, Giacomo Meyerbeer; composes collections of poems "Oriental motives" ( Les Orientales, 1829) and "Autumn Leaves" ( Les Feuilles d'automne, 1831). The theme of "Oriental Motifs" is the Greek War of Independence, where Hugo speaks in support of Homer's homeland.
In 1829, The Last Day of the Condemned to Death was published ( Dernier Jour d'un condamne), in 1834 - "Claude Ge" ( Claude Gueux). In these two short novels, Hugo expresses his opposition to the death penalty.
Novel " Cathedral of Notre Dame” was published in the interval between these two works, in 1831.
From 1830 to 1843 Victor Hugo worked almost exclusively for the theatre. However, he publishes several collections of poetry during this time:
In Songs of the Twilight, Victor Hugo glorifies the July Revolution of 1830 with great admiration.
Scandal during the first production " Ernani» (1830). Lithograph J.-I. Granville ( 1846)
Already in 1828 he staged his early play " Amy Robsart". 1829 - the year of the creation of the play "Ernani" (first staged in 1830), which became the occasion for literary battles between representatives of the old and new art. Theophile Gauthier, who enthusiastically accepted this romantic work, acted as an ardent defender of everything new in dramaturgy. These disputes remained in the history of literature under the name " battle for Hernani". The play "Marion Delorme", banned in 1829, was staged at the theater "Porte Saint-Martin"; and "The King is amused" - in the "Comedy Française" in 1832 (removed from the repertoire and banned immediately after the premiere, the show was resumed only after 50 years).
The prohibition of the latter prompted Victor Hugo to write the following preface to the original 1832 edition, which began: " The appearance of this drama on the stage of the theater gave rise to unheard-of actions on the part of the government. The day after the first performance, the author received a note from Monsieur Jousselin de la Salle, director of the stage at the Théâtre-France. Here is its exact content: “It is now ten thirty minutes, and I have received an order to stop the performance of the play The King Amuses himself. Monsieur Talor conveyed this order to me on behalf of the Minister».
It was November 23rd. Three days later, on November 26, Victor Hugo sent a letter to the editor-in-chief of Le National, which said: Monsieur, I have been warned that some of the noble students and artists are going to the theater this evening or tomorrow and demand the showing of the drama The King Amuses himself, and also protest against the unheard-of act of arbitrariness due to which the play was closed. I hope, monsieur, that there are other means to punish these illegal acts, and I will use them. Let me use your newspaper to support the friends of freedom, art and thought, and prevent violent speeches that may lead to the rebellion so desired by the government for a long time. With deep respect, Victor Hugo. November 26, 1832».
At the heart of the plot conflict in all of Hugo's dramas is a fierce duel between a titled despot and a disenfranchised plebeian. Such is the clash of the obscure youth Didier and his girlfriend Marion with the all-powerful minister Richelieu in the drama Marion Delorme, or the exile Hernani with the Spanish king Don Carlos in Hernani. Sometimes such a clash is brought to a grotesque point, as in the drama "The King Amuses", where the conflict is played out between the minion of fate, invested with power, the handsome and heartless egoist King Francis, and the hunchbacked freak, the jester Triboulet, offended by God and people.
In 1841 Hugo was elected to the French Academy, in 1845 he received a peerage, in 1848 he was elected to the National Assembly. Hugo was an opponent of the coup d'état of 1851 and after the proclamation of Napoleon III as emperor was in exile. In 1870 he returned to France, and in 1876 he was elected senator.
Victor Hugo died on May 22, 1885, at the age of 84, from pneumonia. The funeral ceremony of the famous writer lasted ten days; about a million people took part in it.
On June 1, the coffin with the body of Hugo was exhibited for two days under the Arc de Triomphe, which was covered with black crepe.
After a magnificent national funeral, the ashes of the writer were placed in the Pantheon.
Quasimodo(hero of the novel " Cathedral of Notre Dame”) - Luc-Olivier Merson. Engraving from Alfred Barbu's book " Victor Hugo and his time» (1881)
Like many young writers of his era, Hugo was greatly influenced by François Chateaubriand, a well-known figure in the literary current of romanticism and a prominent figure in France at the beginning of the 19th century. As a young man, Hugo decided to be " Chateaubriand or none", and also that his life should correspond to the life of his predecessor. Like Chateaubriand, Hugo would promote the development of romanticism, would occupy a significant place in politics as the leader of republicanism, and be exiled because of his political views.
The early-born passion and eloquence of the first works brought Hugo success and fame in the early years of his life. His first collection of poetry, "Odes and Miscellaneous Poems" ( Odes et poesies diverses) was published in 1822, when Hugo was only 20 years old. King Louis XVIII granted an annual allowance for the writer. Hugo's poetry was admired for its spontaneous fervor and fluency. This collection of works was followed by the collection "Odes and Ballads" ( Odes and Ballades), written in 1826, four years after the first triumph. It presented Hugo as a great poet, a true master of lyrics and song.
Cosette- the heroine of the novel Outcasts". Illustration by Emil Bayard
The first mature work of Victor Hugo in the genre of fiction, "The Last Day of the Condemned to Death" ( Le Dernier jour d'un condamne), was written in 1829 and reflected the sharp social consciousness of the writer, which continued in his subsequent works. The story had a great influence on writers such as Albert Camus, Charles Dickens and F. M. Dostoyevsky. Claude Gueux, a short documentary story about a real-life murderer executed in France, was published in 1834 and was subsequently regarded by Hugo himself as a harbinger of his magnificent work on social injustice - an epic novel " Outcasts» (Les Miserables). But Hugo's first full-fledged novel will be the incredibly successful Notre-Dame de Paris (« Cathedral of Notre Dame”), published in 1831 and quickly translated into many languages throughout Europe. One of the effects of the novel's appearance was the subsequent attraction of attention to the desolate Notre Dame Cathedral, which began to attract thousands of tourists who read the popular novel. The book also contributed to a renewed respect for the old buildings, which immediately thereafter began to be actively preserved.
"The Man Who Laughs"(French L "Homme qui rit) - one of the most famous novels of Victor Hugo, written in the 60s of the XIX century. The starting point in the plot of the novel is January 29, 1690, when a child is abandoned in Portland under mysterious circumstances.
Hugo began work on the novel in July 1866 in Brussels. In a letter to Lacroix's Parisian publisher, Victor Hugo suggests the title of the work " By order of the king", but later, on the advice of friends, stops at the final title" The man who laughs».
Victor Hugo started painting at the age of 8. Now private collectors and museums have about 4,000 works by the writer, they are still successful and are sold at auctions). Most of the works were written in ink and pencil between 1848 and 1851. He made sketches with pen and black ink on plain paper. Delacroix said to Hugo: "If you became an artist, you would outshine all the painters of our time" (Delacroix made costume designs for Hugo's first play "Amy Robsart").
Hugo was familiar with many artists and illustrators, the brothers Deveria, Eugene Delacroix, so his close friend was Louis Boulanger. Admiration for the writer and poet resulted in a deep mutual friendship, visiting Hugo's house every day, Boulanger left a lot of portraits of people grouped around the writer.
He was attracted by fantastic plots, inspired by all the same poems by Hugo: "Ghost", "Lenora", "Devil's Hunt". The lithograph "Night Sabbath" was masterfully executed, where devils, naked witches, snakes and other "evil spirits" appearing in Hugo's ballad rush in a terrible and swift round dance. A whole series of lithographs was inspired by Boulanger's novel Notre Dame Cathedral. Of course, one cannot exhaust the work of Boulanger with the all-encompassing influence of Hugo. The artist was inspired by the stories of the past and present, the Bible, Italian literature... But the works inspired by the art of Hugo remain the best. The talent of the writer was akin to the artist, in his work he found the most faithful support for his quest. Their devoted friendship, which lasted a lifetime, was the subject of admiration for contemporaries. "Monsieur Hugo lost Boulanger," said Baudelaire upon learning of the artist's death. And in a review of the “Salon of 1845” (a brochure published in the same year with a volume of about 50 pages, signed by “Baudelaire-Dufay”). Baudelaire gives the following characterization of Louis Boulanger: “we have before us the last fragments of the old romanticism - this is what it means to live in an era when it is believed that the artist has enough inspiration to replace everything else; this is the abyss where Mazepa's wild leap takes him. M. Victor Hugo, who killed so many, also killed M. Boulanger - the poet pushed the painter into the pit. And meanwhile, M. Boulanger writes quite decently - just look at his portraits; but where the hell did he get a degree as a historical painter and inspired artist? Is it not in the prefaces and odes of his famous friend?
In March 1866, the novel "Toilers of the Sea" was published with illustrations by Gustave Dore. “Young, gifted master! Thank you,” Hugo writes to him on December 18, 1866. - Today, in spite of the storm, an illustration to "Toilers of the Sea" that is in no way inferior to it in strength has reached me. You have depicted in this drawing a shipwreck, a ship, a reef, a hydra, and a man. Your octopus is scary. Your Gillette is great."
Hugo Rodin received an order for a monument in 1886. The monument was planned to be installed in the Pantheon, where the writer was buried a year before. Rodin's candidacy was chosen, among other things, because he had previously created a bust of the writer, which was received positively. However, Rodin's work, when it was completed, did not meet the expectations of customers. The sculptor depicted Hugo as a mighty naked titan leaning on a rock and surrounded by three muses. The nude figure seemed out of place in the tomb, and as a result, the project was rejected. In 1890, Rodin revised the original design by removing the figures of the Muses. A monument to Hugo in 1909 was installed in the garden at the Palais Royal.
The most famous illustrator of Hugo's books is perhaps the artist Emile Bayard ("Les Misérables"). The emblem of the musical "Les Misérables" is a picture in which the abandoned Cosette sweeps the floors in the tavern at Thenardier's. In the musical, this scene corresponds to the song "Castle on a Cloud" ( Castle on the cloud). A cropped version of the picture is usually used, where only the head and shoulders of the girl are visible, often a waving French flag is woven into the emblem in the background. This image is based on an engraving by Gustave Brion, who in turn was based on a drawing by Emile Bayard.
In the USSR, his books were designed by P. N. Pinkisevich, the last book illustrated by A. I. Kravchenko, a well-known master of engraving, was “Notre Dame Cathedral” (1940). Also famous are the illustrations of the contemporary French artist Benjamin Lacombe ( Benjamin Lacombe) (born in 1982). (Victor Hugo, Notre-Dame de Paris, Part 1 - 2011, Partie 2- 2012. Editions Soleil).
Victor Marie Hugo - French writer (poet, prose writer and playwright), head and theorist of French romanticism. Member of the French Academy (1841) and the National Assembly (1848).
The writer's father was Joseph Leopold Sigisber Hugo (1773-1828) - general of the Napoleonic army, and his mother was Sophie Trebuchet (1772-1821) - the daughter of a shipowner, a royalist Voltairian.
Hugo's early childhood took place in Marseille, Corsica, Elba (1803-1805), Italy (1807), Madrid (1811), where his father's career takes place, and from where the family returns to Paris every time. Travel left a deep impression in the soul of the future poet and prepared his romantic outlook. Hugo himself later said that Spain was for him "a magical source, the waters of which intoxicated him forever." In 1813, Hugo's mother, who had a love affair with General Lagory, separated from her husband and settled with her son in Paris.
In October 1822, Hugo married Adele Fouche, five children were born in this marriage: Leopold (1823-1823), Leopoldina (1824-1843), Charles (1826-1871), François-Victor (1828-1873), Adele (1830 -1915).
Victor Hugo's first mature work in the genre of fiction was written in 1829 and reflected the writer's keen social consciousness, which continued in his subsequent works. The story Le Dernier jour d'un condamné (The last day of the condemned to death) had a great influence on such writers as Albert Camus, Charles Dickens and F. M. Dostoevsky.
Claude Gueux, a short documentary story about a real-life murderer who was executed in France, saw the light of day in 1834 and was later hailed by Hugo himself as a forerunner of his excellent work on social injustice, Les Misérables.
But Hugo's first full novel would be the wildly successful Notre-Dame de Paris (Notre Dame), which was published in 1831 and quickly translated into many languages across Europe. One effect of the novel was to draw attention to the decrepit Notre Dame Cathedral, which began to attract thousands of tourists who read the popular novel. The book also contributed to a renewed respect for the old buildings, which immediately thereafter began to be actively preserved.
In the declining days of Hugo, he devotes a lot of energy to poetry. One after another, collections of his poems are published. In 1883, a grandiose epic was completed, the fruit of many years of work - "The Legend of the Ages". Death interrupted Hugo's work on the collection "All the Strings of the Lyre", where, according to the plan, the entire repertoire of his poetry was to be presented.
In May 1885 Hugo fell ill and died at home on May 22. The state funeral became not only a tribute to the great man, but also the apotheosis of the glorification of republican France. The remains of Hugo were placed in the Pantheon, next to Voltaire and J.-J. Rousseau.
