Summer of the Lord

For the title of his work (in the original “Lto God”) Shmelev chose the phrase used in verse 2 of chapter 61 of the book of the prophet Isaiah

This same place in front of the worshipers, according to the Gospel of Luke , was read by Jesus Christ when he entered the synagogue in the city of Nazareth ( Luke 4: 16-22 ). Both passages with this text: the prophecy of Isaiah and the Gospel of Luke are read in the Orthodox Church during the divine service on the feast of the New Year . “The Lord's Lord” ( Heb. שְׁנַת־ לַיהוָה , ancient Greek ἐνιαυτός κυρίου ) is a Slavic name, in Russian it is the “Year of the Lord.”

As an epigraph to this work, Shmelev chose a quatrain from an unpublished during his lifetime poem by Alexander Pushkin :

In this case, the “native ashes” is the home center, that is, the Fatherland; and “paternal coffins” are the graves of ancestors, allegorically - the memory of the history of ancestors.

The basis of the novel “Summer of the Lord” was the story of I. S. Shmelev about the Russian Christmas to his seven-year-old godson Yves Zhantiy in December 1927 in Sevres ^{[2] [3]} . The novel is included in the autobiographical trilogy: "Praying at the Temple" (1931-1948), "Summer of the Lord" (1933-1948) and the collection "Native" (1931) and occupies a central place in it. Creating a book took the writer about 14 years. “In it,” said Shmelyov, “I show the face of Holy Russia, which I carry in my heart ... Russia, which looked into my childish soul” ^[4] . According to Shmelev, the work on the book saved him from despair and nervous breakdown after the death of his son ^[5] . "God-worshiping" and "Summer of the Lord" are united by a common theme, they contain the same heroes (father, Gorkin); they have similar internal plots. At the beginning of 1928 the first essay “Our Christmas. Russian children "; in 1938–1940, other chapters were published, in particular, “Yegor'ev Day”, “Christmas” ^[6] . In 1948, the novel was completely released by the Paris-based publisher YMCA-Press . At home of the writer, selected chapters were first published in the journal Novy Mir for 1964 under the title “From the Past” ^[7] . Separate chapters as independent stories (Icebreaker, March Drops, Lunch for Different) were included in the collection of works by Shmelev, published in 1983 by Fiction. Fully "Summer of the Lord" in Russia was published in 1988.

Most critics agree that the stylistics and heroes of “The Summer of the Lord” originate from the autobiographical works of L. N. Tolstoy (“Childhood”), S. T. Aksakova (“ Childhood of Bagrov-grandson ”), M. Gorky , and also from the prose of Dostoevsky and Leskov, Nikita 's Childhood by A. N. Tolstoy, and so on. The recreation of Russian life, the Russian picture of the world by an émigré writer is compared with the autobiographical works of I. A. Bunin created in emigration ^[8] . The book admired I.A. Ilyin : “... Russia itself wrote about this book itself — with Shmelev's pen”; He noted that what Shmelyov depicted in the novel is not what “was and has passed,” but what “is and will continue ... This is the very spiritual fabric of the believing Russia. This is the spirit of our people. ” Shmelev created “a work of art of national and metaphysical significance,” depicting “the sources of our national spiritual power” (Ilyin I. A., “On Darkness and Enlightenment”).

There are various interpretations of both the genre of the “Summer of the Lord” and the artistic manner of the writer. A number of literary scholars define the genre of the book as a “spiritual novel” ^[9] . In the novel “Summer of the Lord,” the writer refers to the memories of his early childhood, which ended for him at the age of seven with the tragic death of his father. The main themes of the novel are the movement of the church year (all major holidays are reflected) and in parallel - the spiritual maturation of the main character, Vanya, who passes through experiences associated with church life (joy, fear, a sense of sin), and through suffering during illness and father's death. Summer of the Lord consists of 41 chapters and is divided into three parts: Holidays (16 chapters), Joys (16 chapters), Tribulation (9 chapters). The titles of the chapters of the first and second part of the book contain references to various holidays and church services: “ Yefimony ” ^[10] , “ Annunciation ”, “ Easter ”, “ Filippovka ”, “ Troitsyn Day ”. Before the reader, the entire annual circle of worship services unfolds - from the “ Great Lent ” (the first chapter of the first part) to the “ Radunitsa ” (the last chapter of the second part) ^[11] . The book actively uses religious vocabulary and quotations: according to EE Ivanova's calculations, the text contains 625 words from liturgical and church life, 139 quotes from liturgical literature, including stories from the lives of saints, presented in the perception of the book's hero ^[9] . Trying to achieve a more accurate reflection of the church realities, Shmelev consulted with the famous theologian AV Kartashev .

Researchers note that having made a child’s hero a novel, the author embodies the Gospel metaphor: “If you don’t convert and you will not be like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” ( Matthew 18: 3) ^[5] . Vanya sincerely perceives the church life with its rites; at the first confession from father Victor, the boy sincerely repents of all sins of children. When, after Communion, on the street, the local bully, Grishka, is trying to insult him rudely, Vanya behaves like a Christian, refraining from responding to rudeness.

The novel shows an idealized image of a large merchant patriarchal family, whose members are not only the hero, his father and sisters — Sonya, Manya and the one-year-old Katyusha and brother Kolya. In the patriarchal world of Shmelyov, servants and servants are also perceived as family members, close people: Gorkin, Vasily Vasilyevich, Domnushka’s nurse, Mariushka’s cook, Nastya’s breadwinner, Antipushka-Kucher. Since the novel is autobiographical, the main character's mother practically does not appear in him: with his mother Evlampia Gavrilovna, Shmelev had a complicated relationship, and her image is not present in the ideal world of “The Lord’s Summer”.

The everyday life of the characters is determined by the church calendar: during the Great Lent, ice is stored up for the summer, apples are picked for the Savior Transfiguration, cucumbers are salted on the Eve of “ Ivan the Fast ”, and after the Exaltation they chop cabbage. All rituals and customs are repeated from year to year. “Food Code” shows the rich real world of pre-revolutionary Russia and emphasizes the Russian cultural identity, recalling it to emigrants; not only lush, festive, but also commemorative, ceremonial food is shown ^[12] .

In the third part (chapters “Holy Joy”, “Living Water”, “Moscow”, “Silver Box”, “Bitter Days”, “Blessing of Children”, “Unction”, “Death”, “Funeral”), the Vanya family faces tragedy. Beloved father because of the sinister black steel mare was seriously injured and slowly dying. The child’s eyes show illness and death, which are also surrounded by traditional rites and beliefs. Before his father dies, Vanya sees a dream: he walks with Gorkin on a large meadow followed by the Trinity ( Trinity-Sergius Lavra , the trip to which is described in the story “God-worshiping”; the dying father blesses Vanya in the image of the Holy Trinity). The meadow is covered with truly “living”, moving flowers (Christian symbol of life), including the beloved Vanya’s “yellows”; such a flower, presented by his son, the father kept on the desk. “Summer of the Lord” ends with the singing of the “ Trisagion Song ” at the funeral of the father.

Vanya , the son of Sergei Ivanovich, the head of a large merchant family is the main character of the novel, on whose behalf the narration is written. The image Vani inherent autobiographical features. The boy is not yet seven years old. Surrounding people call him “the amusement boy”: Vanya is a lively and cheerful child, “as light as an ant!”; this is an emotional and capable boy: while preparing for school, he cries over the “Prophetic Oleg”, without any difficulty performs the grammatical task of the governess. Vanya constantly lives with a feeling of happiness and delight created by life in a cozy patriarchal world: “joyful prayer”, pleasant, bright smells, tasty fast food (Vanya is sure that she will be in the next world) ^[6] . The family tragedy makes the boy grieve, but at the same time religious education (including the teachings of the old carpenter Gorkin) helps him to find the light, to see a new meaning in life.

Sergey Ivanovich is Vanya's father, a contractor who manages the farm in the old manner. This is a pious person who does good deeds: for Christmas, he organizes a dinner “for different”, that is, for the poor, takes care of the temple in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Sergei Ivanovich is a fan of Pushkin and helps in organizing the opening of the monument to the poet, even suffering losses. After being thrown off by an evil mare named Steel, Sergei Ivanovich becomes seriously ill. Ordinary people, as shown in the novel, sympathize with the kind owner, try to promote his recovery, rejoice at the slightest improvement. But all in vain: Sergei Ivanovich weakens and dies. He accepts his destiny with Christian humility, telling the doctor that he has “The Will of God” and regrets even the mare who threw him off. Sergey Ivanovich, as a number of researchers believe, is one of the few positive images of a Russian entrepreneur ^{[13] [14]} . Shmelev admitted that his charming and cheerful father was a favorite of women, which he did not mention in his autobiographical prose ^[6] .

Gorkin Mikhail Pankratovich (Mikhail Pankratych, Gorka) is an old carpenter who “no longer works, but at home”, the spiritual mentor of the boy Vanya. Gorkin is also the hero of Shmelyov’s autobiographical story, Bogomolye ^[15] . This hero is a “Russian believer, a commoner” (I. Ilyin), an expert on folk rites and traditions. Gorkin allows his pupil to understand the meaning of the Orthodox ritual himself, in an understandable form pointing the child to the “inner spiritual meaning of what is happening” ^[4] , without intimidation and severity; on the contrary, the old man is convinced that the Orthodox faith is “the nicest, the most cheerful! And the weak is relieved, the gloom is enlightening, and the small is joy. ” This reflects the opinion of Shmelev himself, who was convinced that the main thing in Orthodoxy is holidays, a solemn cult "in colors, lights, sounds," and "asceticism of dirt" is alien to him ^[6] .

• Shmelev I. S. Summer of the Lord: [Holidays. Joy Tribulation]; Pilgrimage; Articles about Moscow / Drafting, introductory article, comment B.N. Lyubimov. - M .: Moscow Worker , 1990. - 576 p. - ( Moscow's literary chronicle ). - 100 000 copies - ISBN 5-239-00621-0 .

• Sorokina, O. N. Moskovian: The Life and Work of Ivan Shmelev. - 2nd edition. - 2000. - 407 s. - ISBN 5-239-02020-5 .
• Surovova L. Yu . Living old Ivan Shmelyov: From the history of the creation of "The Summer of the Lord." - M .: Coincidence, 2006. - 304 p. - (Russian literature: history and modernity). - ISBN 5-903060-10-2 .
• Francesco Bigo. “Moroznaja Rossija, a ... teplo! ..” Anali tematica del romanzo Leto Gospodne di IS Šmelëv. Tesi di Laurea. Università Ca 'Foscari Venezia. 2012 [4]

• Summer of God in the library of Maxim Moshkov
• "Summer of the Lord" on the website "The Orthodox Encyclopedia" Alphabet of Faith ""
• Lysenko L. A. Reflection of the author’s personal religiosity in the description of the Russian traditions of Orthodox holidays in a poem in the prose Summer of the Lord by I. S. Shmelev.
• Balakay A. G. Dictionary of the story "Summer of the Lord."