Recently the BBC showed a series based on Tolstoy's War and Peace. In the West, everything is the same as here - there, too, the release of film (television) adaptations sharply increases interest in the literary source. And then Lev Nikolayevich’s masterpiece suddenly became one of the bestsellers, and with it, readers became interested in all of Russian literature. On this wave, the popular literary website Literary Hub published an article “The 10 Russian Literary Heroines You Should Know.” It seemed to me that this was an interesting look from the outside at our classics and I translated the article for my blog. I'm posting it here too. Illustrations taken from the original article.

Attention! The text contains spoilers.

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We know that all happy heroines are equally happy, and each unhappy heroine is unhappy in her own way. But the fact is that there are few happy characters in Russian literature. Russian heroines tend to complicate their lives. This is how it should be, because their beauty is like literary characters largely stems from their ability to suffer, from their tragic destinies, from their “Russianness.”

The most important thing to understand about Russian female characters is that their destinies are not stories of overcoming obstacles to achieve “and they lived happily ever after.” Guardians of primordial Russian values, they know that there is more to life than happiness.

1. Tatyana Larina (A.S. Pushkin “Eugene Onegin”)

In the beginning there was Tatiana. This is a kind of Eve of Russian literature. And not only because it is chronologically the first, but also because Pushkin occupies a special place in Russian hearts. Almost any Russian is able to recite the poems of the father of Russian literature by heart (and after a few shots of vodka, many will do this). Pushkin's masterpiece, the poem "Eugene Onegin", is the story not only of Onegin, but also of Tatyana, a young innocent girl from the provinces who falls in love with the main character. Unlike Onegin, who is shown as a cynical bon vivant corrupted by fashionable European values, Tatyana embodies the essence and purity of the mysterious Russian soul. Including a tendency towards self-sacrifice and disregard for happiness, which shows her known failure from the man she loves.

2. Anna Karenina (L.N. Tolstoy “Anna Karenina”)

Unlike Pushkin's Tatyana, who resists the temptation to get along with Onegin, Tolstoy's Anna leaves both her husband and son to run away with Vronsky. Like a true dramatic heroine, Anna voluntarily does not right choice, a choice for which she will have to pay. Anna's sin and its source tragic fate not that she left the child, but that, selfishly indulging her sexual and romantic desires, she forgot Tatyana’s lesson of selflessness. If you see light at the end of the tunnel, don't be fooled, it could be a train.

3. Sonya Marmeladova (F.M. Dostoevsky “Crime and Punishment”)

In Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Sonya appears as the antipode of Raskolnikov. A whore and a saint at the same time, Sonya accepts her existence as a path of martyrdom. Having learned about Raskolnikov's crime, she does not push him away, on the contrary, she attracts him to her in order to save his soul. Characteristic here is the famous scene when they read the biblical story of the resurrection of Lazarus. Sonya is able to forgive Raskolnikov, because she believes that everyone is equal before God, and God forgives. For a repentant killer, this is a real find.

4. Natalya Rostova (L.N. Tolstoy “War and Peace”)

Natalya is everyone's dream: smart, funny, sincere. But if Pushkin's Tatiana is too good to be true, Natalya seems alive, real. Partly because Tolstoy complemented her image with other qualities: she is capricious, naive, flirtatious and, for the morals of the early 19th century, a little impudent. In War and Peace, Natalya starts out as a charming teenager, exuding joy and vitality. Over the course of the novel, she grows older, learns life lessons, tames her fickle heart, becomes wiser, and her character gains integrity. And this woman, which is generally uncharacteristic of Russian heroines, is still smiling after more than a thousand pages.

5. Irina Prozorova (A.P. Chekhov “Three Sisters”)

At the beginning of Chekhov's play Three Sisters, Irina is the youngest and full of hope. Her older brother and sisters are whiny and capricious, they are tired of life in the provinces, and Irina’s naive soul is filled with optimism. She dreams of returning to Moscow, where, in her opinion, she will find her true love and she will be happy. But as the chance to move to Moscow evaporates, she becomes increasingly aware that she is stuck in the village and losing her spark. Through Irina and her sisters, Chekhov shows us that life is just a series of sad moments, only occasionally punctuated by short bursts of joy. Like Irina, we waste our time on trifles, dreaming of a better future, but gradually we understand the insignificance of our existence.

6. Lisa Kalitina (I.S. Turgenev “The Noble Nest”)

In the novel “The Noble Nest” Turgenev created a model of a Russian heroine. Lisa is young, naive, pure in heart. She is torn between two suitors: a young, handsome, cheerful officer and an old, sad, married man. Guess who she chose? Lisa's choice says a lot about the mysterious Russian soul. She is clearly heading towards suffering. Lisa's choice shows that the desire for sadness and melancholy is no worse than any other option. At the end of the story, Lisa becomes disillusioned with love and goes to a monastery, choosing the path of sacrifice and deprivation. “Happiness is not for me,” she explains her action. “Even when I hoped for happiness, my heart was always heavy.”

7. Margarita (M. Bulgakov “The Master and Margarita”)

Chronologically last on the list, Bulgakov's Margarita is an extremely strange heroine. At the beginning of the novel, she is an unhappily married woman, then she becomes the Master’s mistress and muse, and then turns into a witch flying on a broomstick. For Master Margarita, this is not only a source of inspiration. She becomes, like Sonya for Raskolnikov, his healer, lover, savior. When the Master finds himself in trouble, Margarita turns to none other than Satan himself for help. Having concluded, like Faust, a contract with the Devil, she is still reunited with her lover, albeit not entirely in this world.

8. Olga Semyonova (A.P. Chekhov “Darling”)

In "Darling" Chekhov tells the story of Olga Semyonova, loving and tender soul, common man who is said to live by love. Olga becomes a widow early. Twice. When there is no one nearby to love, she withdraws into the company of a cat. In his review of “Darling,” Tolstoy wrote that, intending to make fun of a narrow-minded woman, Chekhov accidentally created a very likable character. Tolstoy went even further; he condemned Chekhov for his overly harsh attitude towards Olga, calling for her soul to be judged, not her intellect. According to Tolstoy, Olga embodies the ability of Russian women to love unconditionally, a virtue unknown to men.

9. Anna Sergeevna Odintsova (I.S. Turgenev “Fathers and Sons”)

In the novel “Fathers and Sons” (often incorrectly translated “Fathers and Sons”), Mrs. Odintsova is a lonely woman mature age, the sound of her last name in Russian also hints at loneliness. Odintsova is an atypical heroine who has become a kind of pioneer among female literary characters. Unlike other women in the novel, who follow the obligations imposed on them by society, Mrs. Odintsova is childless, she has no mother and no husband (she is a widow). She stubbornly defends her independence, like Pushkin's Tatiana, refusing the only chance to find true love.

10. Nastasya Filippovna (F.M. Dostoevsky “The Idiot”)

The heroine of “The Idiot” Nastasya Filippovna gives an idea of ​​how complex Dostoevsky is. Beauty makes her a victim. Orphaned as a child, Nastasya becomes a kept woman and the mistress of the elderly man who took her in. But every time she tries to escape the clutches of her situation and create her own destiny, she continues to feel humiliated. Guilt casts a fatal shadow on all her decisions. According to tradition, like many other Russian heroines, Nastasya has several fate options, associated mainly with men. And in full accordance with tradition, she is not able to make the right choice. By submitting to fate instead of fighting, the heroine drifts towards her tragic end.

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The author of this text is writer and diplomat Guillermo Herades. He worked in Russia for some time, knows Russian literature well, is a fan of Chekhov and the author of the book Back to Moscow. So this look is not entirely outsider. On the other hand, how to write about Russian literary heroines without knowing Russian classics?

Guillermo does not explain his choice of characters in any way. In my opinion, the absence of Princess Mary or “ poor Lisa"(which, by the way, was written earlier than Pushkin's Tatiana) and Katerina Kabanova (from Ostrosky's The Thunderstorm). It seems to me that these Russians literary heroes neither better known among us than Lisa Kalitina or Olga Semyonova. However, this is my subjective opinion. Who would you add to this list?

Once again, our editors decide to conduct field research on a book topic. This time we asked women, including from other countries, to answer the question: who are their favorite female literary characters? Who do they look up to, who inspired them to be who they are, or inspires them to develop themselves?

We got interesting results. Most of our respondents, and there were more than two dozen of them, named dramatic heroines classic novels like Jane Eyre, passionate, restless, not always happy. But our favorite movie heroines had a completely different character: the warrior princess Xena or Carrie Bradshaw. From this we made two conclusions: many film adaptations completely changed the personality of classic book heroines: for example, in the legend of Robin Hood, Lady Marion is a gentle lady who needs to be saved, and in the film with Costner, she is an ironic and strong-willed girl who deftly wields a sword. Secondly, for reasons beyond our control, we did not read the books on which many of our favorite films were based - for example, “Fantaghiro” by Italo Calvino, but everyone enjoyed watching the film about an adventurous princess in knightly armor.

Nevertheless, we present to you our heroines. Let's start with those who are dear to us since childhood.

Pippi Longstocking

Irina (30 years old, Ukraine, social worker): Pippi taught me that obedience is not always good, that manners and rules can be neglected for the sake of sincerity, honesty, friendship, that a girl can fight, be independent and force herself to be respected.

Peppi Dovgapanchokha

Astrid Lindgren, Swallowtail-Ukraine

It's actually a very, very funny book. It's funny how Pippi deals with hooligans: one on a tree, the other in a doll's stroller (the reader laughs to tears), how she makes clumsy police officers chase her, how she performs in the circus (the reader jumps on the sofa), how she fools thieves and tries to behave good in “decent” society (the reader dumps the sugar bowl on the floor). Pippi does everything exactly how children are NOT supposed to do, and this is what delights young readers. True, at the same time, Pippi is a kind, generous, noble girl. Don't forget to re-read this book with your children!

Ronya

Elena (27 years old, Ukraine, entrepreneur): It also seemed to me as a child that my parents didn’t understand me and I really wanted to run away into the forest and be on my own. Ronya made me feel that everything was within our power and there was no need to be afraid of anything, that we needed to look for and find like-minded people. The same adventurous boys, for example.

Ronya, the robber's daughter

Astrid Lindgren, Swallowtail-Ukraine

The quite happy and promising daughter of the robber Roni one fine day meets the son from a gang of competitors - the boy Birk. The children of sworn enemies, Roni and Birk either argue and compete, then save each other from danger - and finally, they fall in love mutual sympathy. In secret from their parents, they decide to become sister and brother. But the irreconcilable enmity of the robber families interferes with their friendship. The children quarrel with their parents and run away from the castle into the forest. Here among the dangers wildlife And fairytale monsters They will test the strength of their friendship and live an adventurous summer. To get their children back, parents have to give up their feud. At the end of the story, the robber clans unite, and Roni and Birk, to the displeasure of their fathers, take an oath that they will never become robbers.

Anne Shirley

Miroslava (24 years old, journalist): I like the whole series, although I read these books when I was no longer a child or even a teenager. This is a story about an independent, hardworking and principled girl. Anne taught me to rely on myself and not wait for any princes.

Enn iz Zelenikh Dakhiv

Lucy-Maude Montgomery, Urbino

To begin with, Anne was supposed to be a boy. That is, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, single middle-aged brother and sister living in the village of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island, decided to adopt a boy from an orphanage who would help with the housework. And a girl arrived, Anne Shirley, smart. lively, kind, quick-tempered, red-haired. The character of Anne was very much loved by readers. In other books in the series, Anne grows up, learns, falls in love, and raises children. Little Anne became the prototype for Pippi Longstocking, and Mark Twain once called her “the most touching and charming child in literature since the immortal Alice.”

Pallas Athena and other Greek goddesses and nymphs

Kristina (35 years old, Ukraine, teacher): My dad was a sailor, so I really loved reading The Odyssey, of course, adapted for children, and then all the myths ancient Greece. Of course, my favorite heroine was Pallas Athena: wise, fair, brave. I will say now: not involved in “dubious” intrigues, like other nymphs, goddesses and princesses of Hellas. A real lady. But they were all beautiful, omnipotent, irresistible.

Myths of Ancient Greece

"Eksmo"

First of all, this is the basis Western culture. We cannot even imagine how much the plots, heroes and their adventures influenced everything that was written, invented and said after Homer. Without knowledge of myths, a person cannot have any literary culture as such. Yes, this is the opinion of our editors.

Growing up, we began to read other books. About love. And they themselves began to want love “like in a book” and began to look for similarities with the heroines of their favorite novels. All the brave and passionate are in our thoughts: Larisa from “The Dowry”, the hetaera Thais of Athens from the novel of the same name by Efremov and all the heroines of Dumas, and Consuelo Georges Sand.

Scarlett O'Hara

Let's make a reservation right away that the majority of our respondents named this heroine as the woman with whom they compare themselves and who they would like to be, of course, with regard to independence, perseverance, ingenuity and perseverance. Perhaps because we first saw the film and read the book at a time when a woman was supposed to be a Komsomol member and a mother-heroine at the same time.

Maria (25 years old, Ukraine, fashion pastry chef): Scarlett knows no barriers, she is a master of flirting and all sorts of feminine tricks, she didn’t care about the opinion of society, capable of love, but unable to recognize it in another person. Strong woman. And, of course, “I’ll think about it tomorrow!”

gone With the Wind

Margaret Mitchell, Eksmo

A novel about how a beautiful and ambitious girl loved the wrong man all her life, loved the image she invented herself, loved because she could not get him. She loved through war and poverty, marrying others “to spite the conductor” or to improve the financial condition of the family - after all Civil War between southern and northern states walked right through her Georgia estate. In general, she almost achieved her goal. And she realized that this hero of her dreams was not a hero at all, but the person who should have reciprocated, left and did not look back.

Margarita

Maria (37 years old, Ukraine, designer): I wanted to feel in myself the same mystical, “witchy” beginning as in Margarita. “Play with fire” a little, decide to change your destiny and win over to your side higher power, albeit not light. All for love.

Master and Margarita

Mikhail Bulgakov, Eksmo

This is one of the most beloved novels in our selection about. In the ordinary, even ordinary, vulgar and terrible life Satan and his servants suddenly enter some Muscovites. He has absolutely his own affairs in Moscow, but suddenly he comes across two people whose love needs to be helped, and then the power “which always wants evil and always does good” saves the Master and Margarita. The Kalvaria publishing house published this novel translated into Ukrainian.

Anna Karenina

Oksana (32 years old, Russia, actress): It was during this period of my life that I loved Anna Karenina. For the depth of feelings, for honesty, for courage.

Ramona (40 years old, Italy, editor): Fearless, non-conformist, passionate, luxurious. And I don't like the way Tolstoy dealt with her character in the finale.

Anna Karenina

Leo Tolstoy, Eksmo

Once upon a time there lived a beautiful, smart Anna married to an unloved old husband. She visited high society, wore expensive clothes, and adored her son. And suddenly she fell in love with the young and handsome man, and he fell in love with her. It was possible to hide, hide and drag out the affair for years. But she decided to leave her husband, live openly with her beloved, gave birth to a daughter from him and came to terms with the fact that high society she was no longer called. A bold choice. Everything would be fine, but only young and beautiful life with a tarnished reputation was no longer suitable and he decided to marry a “decent” girl. What could Anna do?

Feride

Tatyana (36 years old, translator, journalist, writer): If we talk about girlish reading, I was a big fan of Feride, a girl who created problems for herself, and then with great effort, but also with rare dignity, got out of them. She relied on herself, knew how to make friends, love, be grateful, generous and proud. In love, it’s either everything or nothing. Over time, I realized that extremes, especially in love, are only good in books, but in life you need to be smarter. And more fun.

Kinglet - songbird

Reshad Nuri Guntekin

This is a book about the Turkish Jane Eyre. About a poor orphan who fell in love with her cousin and he was supposed to marry someone else. Therefore, Feride ran away from home and led a working life full of hardships in the teaching field: she sowed reasonable, kind, eternal things in remote Turkish villages. Of course, she had to fend off the advances of unsuitable men. A few years later, she returned to visit relatives and learned that her cousin (a handsome, green-eyed, mustachioed man) was widowed. But in fact, he generally always loved only her, and that wife, already deceased, this is so - it happens.

Hermione

Tatyana (26 years old, Ukraine, journalist, editor): I could name many book heroines that I liked, reading about which I imagined myself in their place. But my biggest influence was Hermione Granger. Everything that the heroine did in the book impressed me. For me, she is the most interesting character, you can see how lovingly J.K. Rowling wrote her character. I love her for her insight, intelligence, talent, loyalty, ability to be a good friend, resourcefulness and composure when necessary. The only thing that upsets me about Hermione is her choice of companion. And as Rowling herself recently admitted, it was Hermione and Harry who perfect couple, but the writer had her own reasons for turning the character’s story in a different direction.

Harry Potter

J.K. Rowling, "A-BA-BA-GA-LA-MA-GA"

School of magic, spells, curses, prophecies, friends, enemies and monsters. Surprisingly, an entire generation not only had fun reading these books, but also found their own role models. Hermione is smart, proactive, not afraid of responsibility, a girl-comrade in arms.

Dagny Taggert

Svetlana (36 years old, Ukraine, PR manager): Men call a woman a bitch who has not been made into a fool. And she is also a stylish beauty!

Atlas straightened his shoulders

Ayn Rand, "Our Format"

“Atlanteans” in Ayn Rand’s novel are sentenced to carry the main driving forces humanity - production, creation and creativity. In her opinion, it is thanks to the “Atlanteans”, the heroes of the novel, that the existence of humanity is possible. According to public opinion polls conducted in 1991 by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club, in America Atlas Shrugged is the second book after the Bible that led to changes in the lives of American readers. In our country, the novel “Atlas Shrugged” was little known until 2008, but became popular in the next two years and is regularly included in the top twenty bestsellers of business literature.

Simone de Beauvoir

Aminata (32 years old, Senegal-Italy-France, anthropologist, writer): I honestly can't think of any iconic female characters. My role model for honesty was Holden from The Catcher in the Rye, but he's a guy. But the woman whose life and philosophy is an example for me is Simone de Beauvoir.

Second gender

Simone de Beauvoir

Do you like reading banned books? Which were banned so that women would not consider themselves equal to men? So, this book is included by the Vatican in the “Index of Prohibited Books.” "The Second Sex" is one of the most famous works author, telling about the treatment of women throughout human history; often regarded as one of the major feminist philosophical works and the starting point of second wave feminism.

Dubravka Ugresic

Olya (42 years old, Serbia-Italy, teacher, translator): I also used to love the Brontë sisters and “ gone With the Wind" And recently I have been translating books by Dubravka Ugresic, a Croatian writer, and I admire her and her heroines: strong, brave, principled, who do not compromise with the patriarchal world.

No need to read!

Dubravka Ugresic, O. Morozova Publishing House

“No need to read!” Dubravki Ugresic is a bold criticism modern literature. The book consists of critical essays, more like fascinating stories. And the sparkling rebellious novel “Baba Yaga Laid an Egg” was translated into Russian.

Frida

Julia (36 years old, Germany, project manager): Frida is both the author and protagonist of her works, main character their paintings and poems. I love her for her strength of spirit, her ability not to indulge in grief, to remain true to herself and at the same time not to betray love.

Frida Kahlo. Kind of ruthless

Gerard de Cortans, "Nora-Druk"

Mexican artist Frida Kahlo has long been a cult, icon, film, pop art and inspiration for many people around the world. Frida's life has always been about overcoming pain, its sublimation into art. She was born only because The only son her parents died. She was in a terrible accident that ruined her health forever. She fell in love with a poet who did not know how to be faithful. She painted herself, her life, her soul, her country. The greatest artist and greatest woman in the emotional book by Gerard de Cortanza, the presentation of which in Ukrainian took place quite recently.

Literary heroes are usually fiction author. But some of them still have real prototypes that lived at the time of the author, or known historical figures. We will tell you who these strangers were to a wide circle readers figures.

1. Sherlock Holmes

Even the author himself admitted that Sherlock Holmes has a lot common features with his mentor Joe Bell. On the pages of his autobiography one could read that the writer often recalled his teacher, spoke about his eagle profile, inquisitive mind and amazing intuition. According to him, the doctor could turn any matter into a precise, systematized scientific discipline.

Often Dr. Bell used deductive methods inquiries. Just by looking at a person alone, he could tell about his habits, his biography, and sometimes even make a diagnosis. After the novel's release Conan Doyle corresponded with the “prototype” of Holmes, and he told him that perhaps this is exactly how his career would have turned out if he had chosen a different path.

2. James Bond

Literary history James Bond began with a series of books that were written by intelligence officer Ian Fleming. The first book in the series, Casino Royale, was published in 1953, a few years after Fleming was assigned to monitor Prince Bernard, who had defected from German service to English intelligence. After much mutual suspicion, the scouts began good friends. Bond took over from Prince Bernard to order a Vodka Martini, adding the legendary “Shaken, not stirred.”

3. Ostap Bender

The man who became the prototype of the great schemer from the “12 chairs” of Ilf and Petrov, at the age of 80, still worked as a conductor on railway on the train from Moscow to Tashkent. Born in Odessa, Ostap Shor was from a young age prone to adventure. He introduced himself either as an artist or as a chess grandmaster, and even acted as a member of one of the anti-Soviet parties.

Only thanks to his remarkable imagination, Ostap Shor managed to return from Moscow to Odessa, where he served in the criminal investigation department and fought against local banditry. This is probably where Ostap Bender’s respectful attitude towards the Criminal Code comes from.

4. Professor Preobrazhensky

Professor Preobrazhensky from the famous Bulgakov novel “ Heart of a Dog"was also real prototype- French surgeon of Russian origin Samuil Abramovich Voronov. At the beginning of the 20th century, this man made a real splash in Europe by transplanting monkey glands into humans to rejuvenate the body. The first operations demonstrated a simply amazing effect: elderly patients experienced a resumption of sexual activity, improved memory and vision, ease of movement, and children who were lagging behind mental development, gained mental alertness.

Thousands of people were treated in Voronova, and the doctor himself opened his own monkey nursery on the French Riviera. But very little time passed and the miracle doctor’s patients began to feel worse. Rumors arose that the result of the treatment was just self-hypnosis, and Voronov was called a charlatan.

5. Peter Pan

The boy with the beautiful fairy Tinkerbell was given to the world and to James Barry himself, the author of the written work, by the Davis couple (Arthur and Sylvia). The prototype for Peter Pan was Michael, one of their sons. The fairy-tale hero received from the real boy not only his age and character, but also nightmares. And the novel itself is a dedication to the author’s brother, David, who died a day before his 14th birthday while ice skating.

6. Dorian Gray

It's a shame, but main character The novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” significantly spoiled the reputation of its real-life original. John Gray, who in his youth was a protégé and close friend of Oscar Wilde, was handsome, rugged, and had the appearance of a 15-year-old boy. But their happy union the end came when journalists became aware of their relationship. An angry Gray went to court and obtained an apology from the newspaper's editors, but after that his friendship with Wilde ended. Soon John Gray met Andre Raffalovich, a poet and native of Russia. They converted to Catholicism, and after some time Gray became a priest at St. Patrick's Church in Edinburgh.

7. Alice

The story of Alice in Wonderland began on the day Lewis Carroll walked with the daughters of the rector of Oxford University, Henry Lidell, among whom was Alice Lidell. Carroll came up with the story on the fly at the request of the children, but the next time he did not forget about it, he began to compose a sequel. Two years later, the author presented Alice with a manuscript consisting of four chapters, to which was attached a photograph of Alice herself at the age of seven. It was entitled “A Christmas gift to a dear girl in memory of a summer day.”

8. Karabas-Barabas

As you know, Alexey Tolstoy only planned to present Carlo Collodio’s “Pinocchio” in Russian, but it turned out that he wrote independent history, in which analogies are clearly drawn with cultural figures of that time. Since Tolstoy had no weakness for Meyerhold’s theater and its biomechanics, it was the director of this theater who got the role of Karabas-Barabas. You can guess the parody even in the name: Karabas is the Marquis Karabas from Perrault’s fairy tale, and Barabas is from Italian word scammer - baraba. But no less speaking role The leech seller Duremar went to Meyerhold's assistant, who worked under the pseudonym Waldemar Luscinius.

9. Lolita

According to the memoirs of Brian Boyd, biographer of Vladimir Nabokov, when the writer was working on his scandalous romance"Lolita", he regularly looked through newspaper columns in which reports of murder and violence were published. His attention was drawn to the sensational story of Sally Horner and Frank LaSalle, which occurred in 1948: a middle-aged man kidnapped 12-year-old Sally Horner and kept her with him for almost 2 years until the police found her in a California hotel. Lasalle, like Nabokov’s hero, passed off the girl as his daughter. Nabokov even briefly mentions this incident in the book in the words of Humbert: “Did I do to Dolly the same thing that Frank LaSalle, a 50-year-old mechanic, did to eleven-year-old Sally Horner in ’48?”

10. Carlson

The story of Carlson’s creation is mythologized and incredible. Literary scholars claim that Hermann Goering became a possible prototype of this funny character. And although Astrid Lindgren’s relatives deny this version, such rumors still exist today.

Astrid Lindgren met Goering in the 1920s when he organized air shows in Sweden. At that time, Goering was just “in the prime of his life,” a famous ace pilot, a man with charisma and a wonderful appetite. The motor behind Carlson’s back is an interpretation of Goering’s flying experience.

Supporters of this version note that for some time Astrid Lindgren was an ardent fan of the National Socialist Party of Sweden. The book about Carlson was published in 1955, so there could be no talk of a direct analogy. However, it is possible that the charismatic image of the young Goering influenced the appearance of the charming Carlson.

11. One-Legged John Silver

Robert Louis Stevenson in the novel “Treasure Island” portrayed his friend Williams Hansley not at all as a critic and poet, which he essentially was, but as a real villain. During his childhood, William suffered from tuberculosis and his leg was amputated at the knee. Before the book appeared on store shelves, Stevenson told a friend: “I have to confess to you, Evil on the surface, but kind at heart, John Silver was copied from you. You're not offended, are you?

12. Winnie the Pooh Bear

According to one version, the world-famous teddy bear got its name in honor of the favorite toy of the writer Milne’s son Christopher Robin. However, like all the other characters in the book. But in fact, this name comes from the nickname Winnipeg - that was the name of the bear who lived in the London Zoo from 1915 to 1934. This bear had many child fans, including Christopher Robin.

13. Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise

Despite the fact that the main characters in the book are named Sal and Dean, Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road is purely autobiographical. One can only guess why Kerouac abandoned his name in the very famous book for the beatniks.

14. Daisy Buchanan

In the novel “The Great Gatsby,” its author Francis Scott Fitzgerald deeply and soulfully described Ginevra King, his first love. Their romance lasted from 1915 to 1917. But due to their different social statuses, they separated, after which Fitzgerald wrote that “poor boys should not even think about marrying rich girls.” This phrase was included not only in the book, but also in the film of the same name. Ginevra King became the prototype for Isabel Borge in Beyond Paradise and Judy Jones in Winter Dreams.

Especially for those who like to sit up and read. If you choose these books, you will definitely not be disappointed.

Who is a literary character? We devote our article to this issue. In it we will tell you where this name came from, what literary characters and images are, and how to describe them in literature lessons according to your desire or the teacher’s request.

Also from our article you will learn what an “eternal” image is and what images are called eternal.

Literary hero or character. Who is this?

We often hear the concept of “literary character”. But few can explain what we are talking about. And even schoolchildren who have recently returned from a literature lesson often find it difficult to answer the question. What is this mysterious word “character”?

It came to us from ancient Latin (persona, personnage). The meaning is “personality”, “person”, “person”.

So, a literary character is an active person. We are mainly talking about prose genres, since images in poetry are usually called “lyrical hero”.

Without characters It is impossible to write a story or a poem, a novel or a story. Otherwise, it will be a meaningless collection of, if not words, then perhaps events. The heroes are people and animals, mythological and fantastic creatures, inanimate objects, for example, Andersen's steadfast tin soldier, historical figures and even entire nations.

Classification of literary heroes

They can confuse any literature connoisseur with their quantity. And it’s especially hard for secondary school students. And especially because they prefer to play their favorite game instead of doing homework. How to classify heroes if a teacher or, even worse, an examiner demands it?

The most win-win option: classify the characters according to their importance in the work. According to this criterion, literary heroes are divided into main and secondary. Without the main character, the work and its plot will be a collection of words. But in case of loss minor characters we will lose a certain branch storyline or expressiveness of events. But overall the work will not suffer.

The second classification option is more limited and is not suitable for all works, but for fairy tales and fantasy genres. This is the division of heroes into positive and negative. For example, in the fairy tale about Cinderella, poor Cinderella herself - positive hero, she evokes pleasant emotions, you sympathize with her. And here are the sisters and evil stepmother- clearly heroes of a completely different type.

Characteristics. How to write?

Heroes literary works sometimes (especially in a literature lesson at school) they need a detailed description. But how to write it? The option “once upon a time there was such a hero. He is from a fairy tale about this and that” is clearly not suitable if the assessment is important. We will share with you a win-win option for writing a characterization of a literary (and any other) hero. We offer you a plan with brief explanations what and how to write.

• Introduction. Name the work and the character you will talk about. Here you can add why you want to describe it.
• The place of the hero in the story (novel, story, etc.). Here you can write whether he is major or minor, positive or negative, a person or a mythical or historical figure.
• Appearance. It would not be amiss to include quotes, which will show you as an attentive reader, and will also add volume to your description.
• Character. Everything is clear here.
• Actions and their characteristics in your opinion.
• Conclusions.

That's all. Keep this plan for yourself, and it will come in handy more than once.

Famous literary characters

Although the very concept of a literary hero may seem completely unfamiliar to you, if you tell you the name of the hero, you will most likely remember a lot. Especially it concerns famous characters literature, for example, such as Robinson Crusoe, Don Quixote, Sherlock Holmes or Robin Hood, Assol or Cinderella, Alice or Pippi Longstocking.

Such heroes are called famous literary characters. These names are familiar to children and adults from many countries and even continents. Not knowing them is a sign of narrow-mindedness and lack of education. Therefore, if you don’t have time to read the work itself, ask someone to tell you about these characters.

The concept of image in literature

Along with character, you can often hear the concept of “image”. What is this? Same as the hero or not? The answer will be both positive and negative, because a literary character may well be literary way, but the image itself does not have to be a character.

We often call this or that hero an image, but nature can appear in the same image in a work. And then the topic of the examination paper can be “the image of nature in the story...”. What to do in this case? The answer is in the question itself: if we are talking about nature, you need to characterize its place in the work. Start with a description, add character elements, for example, “the sky was gloomy,” “the sun was mercilessly hot,” “the night was frightening with its darkness,” and the characterization is ready. Well, if you need a description of the hero’s image, then how to write it, see the plan and tips above.

What are the images?

Our next question. Here we will highlight several classifications. Above we looked at one - images of heroes, that is, people/animals/mythical creatures and images of nature, images of peoples and states.

Also, images can be so-called “eternal”. What's happened " eternal image"? This concept names a hero who was once created by an author or folklore. But he was so “characteristic” and special that after years and eras other authors write their characters from him, perhaps giving them other names, but that doesn’t matter the essence changing. Such heroes include the fighter Don Quixote, the hero-lover Don Juan and many others.

Unfortunately, modern fantasy characters do not become eternal, despite the love of fans. Why? What's better than this funny Don Quixote of Spider-Man, for example? It's difficult to explain this in a nutshell. Only reading the book will give you the answer.

The concept of "closeness" of the hero, or My favorite character

Sometimes the hero of a work or movie becomes so close and loved that we try to imitate him, to be like him. This happens for a reason, and it’s not for nothing that the choice falls on this character. Often a favorite hero becomes an image that somehow resembles ourselves. Perhaps the similarity is in character, or in the experiences of both the hero and you. Or this character is in a situation similar to yours, and you understand and sympathize with him. In any case, it's not bad. The main thing is that you imitate only worthy heroes. And there are plenty of them in the literature. We wish you to meet only with good heroes and only imitate positive traits their character.

The world of books has the amazing ability to take the reader into a completely different reality. When you get carried away by a particular book, it’s easy to get lost, blurring the line between reality and fiction created by one of the greatest authors globe, forcing us to go all the way along with the heroes, experiencing the same thing as them.

World literature is full of various characters: positive, negative, romantic, warlike, strong-willed, weak, cultish, etc. Probably each of us is still school years after reading any love story, or any other work with a charming main character, was filled with dreams of meeting such a person on her way. Even as adult, self-sufficient women, after reading another book, the thought often subconsciously arises: “Well, why aren’t there such people in real life?».

In the classics of world literature, there are so many detailed and described male characters, so charming, that it is difficult to resist the ardent desire to revive them and stay with them until the end of their days. Moreover, you understand that this is an ideal, and ideals do not exist in real life. Let's take a look at some of the best men of your dreams who can be found in the pages of your favorite book...

1. Christian Gray (Fifty Shades of Gray, E.L. James)

This is probably the newest one male character from literature that I would like to revive for myself. Well, who wouldn’t want to meet an amazingly sexy, charming, educated and successful entrepreneur, who is undoubtedly the subject of fantasies for many modern women. Yes, yes, with him even BDSM seems less painful, and even more romantic than one might think. How I would like to see next to me such a handsome, intelligent and mysterious man with a heart of gold, eager to overcome hunger on the planet...

2. Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen)

But this is already a classic. A classic not a work, but a hero. Mr. Darcy is a classic best man in the world character that's been around since the 1800s, but his age only adds to his appeal. No one knows what exactly makes him so irresistible: his self-confidence, a slight touch of arrogance or the passionate love with which he burns for Elizabeth and his strong sense of moral duty, but Mr. Darcy has a certain immortal charm that makes him so ideal. Also, this episode where Colin Firth (“ Bridget Jones's Diary", "The King Speaks") comes out of the lake in a wet white shirt...

3. Philip Pirrip (Pip) (Great Expectations, Charles Dickens)

This is a surprisingly complex character with the most simple name. His love is sincere and pure. He grows up in conditions in which all men on the planet should live. He also has an amazing thirst for success and improvement in all respects: moral, social, financial and educational. He always has a dream and clear goal, certain expectations and hopes for the future. Here they are, ambitions! Still, he is somewhat of an idealist, seeing the world only in black and white colors, while there are so many shades of gray. And having achieved his goals and becoming a gentleman, he began to behave slightly snobbish and cold. But he still remains one of the most beloved male characters!

4. Edward Fairfax Rochester (“Jane Eyre”, Charlotte Brontë)

Ah, Mr. Rochester! In fact, you can even turn a blind eye to his crazy wife locked in the attic (she's still locked...). We all subconsciously gravitate toward bad boys, and Mr. Rochester has just the right balance of impending anger and passion to make one look past his shortcomings. He may be mysterious, rude and ungracious, but he is extremely intelligent, kind and treats Jane as an equal, noting her intelligence and strength, despite the fact that in Victorian England men were considered superior to women. If only he were real, he would be the most eligible bachelor on the planet!

5. Edward Cullen (Twilight, Stephenie Meyer)

Even if you're not a fan of the Twilight saga, it's hard to deny that this hero is one of the best. There is something special about him that makes him charm even the most skeptical person, and this is clearly not Robert Pattison (“Bel Ami”, “Cosmopolis”)... The character of Edward Cullen is truly enchanting. Zephanie Meyer describes him as impossibly handsome, with perfect facial features and a lean, muscular body (who cast Pattison????). But he seduces not with his sweetness or meanness, but with something mysterious, charming and absolutely genuine, peculiar only to him... (Really, who was involved in the selection of actors?!?!)

6. Sherlock Holmes (The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle)

Perhaps it's all to blame Robert Downey Jr (« iron Man ", "Soloist"), who gave this strong image his own special charm and killer appearance, which would not have been possible to do Vasily Livanov(« Master and Margarita», « Don Quixote returns"), but it is still an irresistible explosive mixture of genius, charm, humor and irony. He constantly creates the impression of a man with his head in the clouds, incredibly capable of surprising the reader. This is an outstanding, unsolved personality who can stop any criminal.

7. James Bond (Books about James Bond, Ian Fleming)

Probably one of the most famous womanizers in the history of world literature, James Bond is the main gallant gentleman. He is handsome and charming, self-confident and cool-headed, able to protect in any situation, and he also has all these gadgets and other cool gadgets. Just remember the amazing Sean Connery (“Highlander”, “ League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"), which became one of the best incarnations of the hero.

8. Rhett Butler (Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell)

A list of the best male literary characters would be incomplete without the extremely charming mustache man, Rhett Butler. He is handsome and rich, brave, determined and enterprising. He disdains the order and opinion of society, a cynic who does not particularly choose methods for achieving success. But he is unusually smart, even wise, showing delicacy and appreciating the spiritual beauty of people. He also knows how to love boundlessly and selflessly, even a woman like Scarlett O’Hara. Well, who wouldn't want Clark Gable (" It Happened One Night") once came off the television screen, hugged you, gently pressed you to yourself, and whispered something affectionate in your ear?