Uncle's dream

The story takes place in the city of Mordasov, where Maria Alexandrovna Moskaleva lives - an energetic lady with a twenty-three-year-old daughter. Mother wants to marry Zinaida, but she gently rejects the proposals of her only boyfriend, Pavel Mozglyakov; there are no other worthy gentlemen in their small town.

Once in the house of the Moskalevs, Prince K., a gentleman of a very respectable age, who, according to the townspeople, suffers from senile dementia and resembles “a dead man on springs,” stops. During a conversation with a guest, Maria Alexandrovna matures a plan: to marry him to her daughter. Zinaida, with whom her mother shares this idea, at first ardently rejects any talk about the wedding, but the elder Moskaleva makes weighty arguments: according to her arguments, the girl has a special mission - in marriage she will be a sister of mercy for her husband, and after his death she will become rich and free princess.

Maria Alexandrovna makes a lot of efforts to implement her project; as a result, the prince, relaxing from the drinks and singing of Zinaida, agrees to marry. However, the next morning it turns out that K. very vaguely remembers recent events, and Pavel Mozglyakov manages to convince the "uncle" that he saw his upcoming wedding in a dream. When the deception is revealed, Zinaida honestly admits her guilt, and the prince, touched by her sincerity, reports that it would be a great honor for him to offer her hand and heart to such a girl. Everything that happened becomes a strong shock for K.; three days later he dies in his hotel room. Pavel Mozglyakov is also repenting, realizing that because of jealousy he lost his beloved. In a few years, fate will bring them to a ball in a distant land; Zinaida, who had by then become the wife of the Governor General , did not recognize the former boyfriend.

Work on the novel “Uncle's Dream” began at Dostoevsky after a long creative pause associated with his stay in Omsk prison and then in Semipalatinsk. The author was prompted to create it by not only a desire to return to literary activity, but also financial difficulties: for example, in 1858, telling in a letter addressed to publicist Mikhail Katkov about the idea of ​​a new work, Fedor Mikhailovich frankly made it clear that he was in dire need of money : “If you would like to have, for printing this year, my novel, can you now send me forward to the novel, which is missing and badly needed 500 rubles, in silver” ^[1] . Not only Katkov, but also the publisher of the Russian Word magazine Grigory Kushelev-Bezborodko agreed to cooperate with Dostoevsky on the scheme he proposed - payment of fees on credit, “on parole” ^[2] .

Researchers were unable to determine the exact start date for work on Uncle's Dream; according to their assumptions, Fyodor Mikhailovich was going to write a comedy based on the plot he had invented, so the drafts were filled with the corresponding remarks : “Ten in the morning,” “Marya Alexandrovna sits by the fireplace,” and so on ^[3] . Despite the rush, Dostoevsky, in violation of preliminary agreements, was only able to send the finished manuscript to the Russian Word in January 1859; in March, the story was already published ^[4] . Subsequently, recalling the history of its creation, Dostoevsky admitted:

I wrote it then in Siberia , for the first time after hard labor, solely for the purpose of starting the literary field again, and terribly fearing censorship (as a former exile). And therefore, involuntarily, wrote a little thing of pigeon kindness and remarkable innocence ^[5] .

The literary community of Russia greeted the publication of Uncle's Dream with almost demonstrative silence. Judging by the memoirs of Dostoevsky’s contemporaries, writers Ivan Turgenev and Ivan Goncharov , critic Dmitry Pisarev , and poet Nikolai Nekrasov gave oral assessments of the new work of Fyodor Mikhailovich ^[6] . Warmly responded to the story in one of the letters, Alexei Plescheev , who was busy for a long time about the return of Dostoevsky to literature and acted as an agent in his negotiations with the publishers ^[7] . However, the author did not wait for hot responses and reviews, such as those that accompanied the release of the novel “ Poor People ” ^[6] .

According to the critic Gregory Friedlander , the characters in the story change as the plot develops, each of them in the next chapter “gets a new depth”, and the idea of ​​a particular image that has developed among readers after a separate scene is refuted in the next episode ^[8] .

Prince K.

In one of his letters to his brother, Dostoevsky mentioned that Prince K. was the only serious hero of Uncle's Dream. Outwardly, it is “all artificial”, consisting of a wig, false whiskers and a goatee covering a significant part of the face; his wrinkles are disguised with the help of blush and whitened - in order to “costume this mummy as a young man”, the valet spends several hours daily. As critic Konstantin Mochulsky noted, the prince’s image is interesting in that it is not only a cartoonized portrait of the “Russian European gentleman,” but also the literary predecessor of another Dostoevsky’s character — we are talking about Stepan Verkhovensky from the novel “ Demons ”, which, like K., “monitors European education” and interleaves Russian and French words ^[9] . Among the characteristics that the researchers endow with the prince are “caricature”, “puppet character”, “baron simp”, “fair jester”, “farce clown”. At the moment when K. reports that he is “on friendly foot” with Byron , the features of Khlestakov are revealed in him ^[6] . At the same time, the prince is able to change: so, at the time of the deception, when the proud Zinaida takes all the blame on herself, K. loses the usual absurdity - in him, according to Friedlander, “chivalry, resentful and helpless humanity” is found ^[8] .

Among the acquaintances of Dostoevsky, reminiscent of the prince, included the playwright Fedor Kokoshkin : he, like K., to a very old age "played the secular celadon and ladies' admirer." Eyewitnesses claimed that with the help of makeup and a wig, he was transformed daily: "We had to see what kind of Ovidian transformations were made with him" ^[10] . In addition, literary scholars call a kind of "relative" of the Prince of Pushkin's character - Count Nulin :

Both of them first appeared before us because of the same setback: the one had a carriage overturned, the other had a stroller ... Count Nulin, a juir and a dandy, squandered not only his cash, but also his “future income” in a whirlwind of fashion. Prince Dostoevsky’s similar circumstances of life ... Prince K. is Count Nulin in old age ^[11] .

Zinaida Moskalyova

Researchers compare Zinaida Moskalyova with Tatyana Larina - they are related by a romantic attitude to the world and a tendency to sacrifice. Having fallen in love with the once poor, unhealthy Vasily, a relationship with which caused a wave of rumors in Mordasov, Zinaida could not become his wife, but she remained faithful to the "district school" until his last minutes. Later, she, like the heroine of “ Eugene Onegin ”, freed herself from her youthful dreams and married the Governor General - “an old warrior with two stars and with a white cross around her neck” ^[6] . The girl considered even a possible marriage with Prince K. as a manifestation of mercy - first in relation to her future husband, who needs a cordial participation, then - in relation to Vasya, who could die with consumption , who could be cured with the help of her money ^[12] .

According to researchers, the probable prototype of Zinaida Moskalyova (as well as Natasha Ikhmeneva from the novel “ Humiliated and Insulted ”) was Maria Dmitrievna Isaeva , the first wife of Dostoevsky, who was sympathetic to both Fedor Mikhailovich and teacher Nikolai Vergunov ^[13] .

Other characters

Maria Alexandrovna Moskaleva, whom the narrator calls “the first lady in the city,” resembles the character of the novel “Demons,” Varvara Petrovna Stavrogin: both heroines are prone to spontaneous decisions, powerful, energetic. If one of them decided to marry her daughter to Prince K., the other just as suddenly decided to arrange the personal life of Daria’s pupil ^[9] . According to Aleksey Pleshcheyev, the image of the provincial “Napoleon” and at the same time “the first gossip in the world” is one of the most successful in “Uncle's Dream” ^[6] .

The most complete embodiment of “Mordasian wisdom”, the best-selling Moskalev turns his life into a complete confrontation with everything and everyone, even, in her words, the “fool” Shakespeare , personifying the high and bright beginnings of being inaccessible to the “first lady”. In Marya Aleksandrovna, the energy of the devilish evil, covered by a mask of pseudo-Christian decency and self-serving maternal false virtue, is concentrated ^[6] .

Twenty-five-year-old Pavel Aleksandrovich Mozglyakov, calling himself the nephew of Prince K., is ridiculous and miserable at the same time. He tries in vain to gain the favor of Zinaida Moskaleva, accuses the girl of either coldness or frivolity, and eventually upsets her wedding. Literary scholars see him as a representative of the gallery of “ little people ” and believe that author’s sympathy gives him a chance for a better fate: in the final story, Mozglyakov, having experienced the bitterness of meeting with aristocrat Zinaida at the ball, “fresh and healthy” moves to a new life ^[6] .

In addition to the characters directly involved in the plot, in “Uncle's Dream” there is a narrator whose task is to represent the characters, and then step aside, giving them the opportunity to act independently ^[14] . His image, on the one hand, is close to Makar Devushkin from the novel “Poor People”, and on the other hand, to the chronicler from “Demons”. The storyteller is distinguished by the ability to notice details and “artlessly turn the darkened life of the deep province inside out” ^[6] .

Researchers give different definitions of the Uncle's Dream genre. According to the literary critic Nikolai Chirkov, in this work Dostoevsky for the first time in his literary practice turned to the form of a “dramatized novel” ^[15] . Konstantin Mochulsky wrote that the original plan of the author was connected with the play; for various reasons, this idea has remained unrealized, but traces of a certain theatricality have survived: "Uncle's Dream" is a vaudeville , hastily remade into a story. " The evidence that Fedor Mikhailovich planned to create a work for the stage is not only dialogues and remarks, but also a composition in which the denouement of the plot looks “theatrically expressive” ^[16] . Gregory Friedlander, noting the closeness of the work to a provincial chronicle, filled with everyday problems, at the same time finds features and comedy and tragedy in the story ^[8] .

Judging by the memoirs of contemporaries, in the 1850-1860s, Dostoevsky was very interested in vaudeville; in one of the letters he said that he would like to "write a comedy." Vaudeville influence can be seen even in the title of the story: “Uncle's Dream” correlates, according to Moses Altman, with such works as “Uncle on Three Legs” by Peter Karatygin , “Uncle Secret” by Dmitry Lensky , “Comedy with Uncle” by Peter Grigoryev and some other ^[17] .

The "Uncle's Dream" reflected the impressions Dostoevsky received during his stay in Siberia; Mordasov in his story is “the kingdom of gossip, rumors, intrigue, ladies' wars for primacy in society” ^[18] ; it is a city in which any eccentric act becomes a big, long-debated event ^[19] .

Ethnopsychological basis of the development serves him [Dostoevsky] real observations of Omsk , Semipalatinsk and Barnaul philistine types and customs of the 1850s.

"Uncle's Dream" was created in Gogol's traditions. Researchers believe that the direct influence of Nikolai Vasilievich is found both in choosing a common theme (everyday life in pre-reform provincial Russia) ^[8] and in style (Dostoevsky’s work ironically “echoes” the story of how Ivan Ivanovich quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich ”) ^[16] . The anecdotal plot of the story telling that the appearance of an old man who had lost his memory made a lot of turmoil in the life of a small town, also goes back to Gogol's comedies - “ Marriage ” and “The Examiner ” ^[6] .

Literary roll-over is also observed when Dostoevsky chose surnames for the characters of "Uncle's Dream" - almost all of them are "Gogol-speaking" ^[6] . For example, the distant relative of Maria Alexandrovna living in her house, the author gave not only the name of Zyablov, but also the name of the heroine of “ Dead Souls ” Korobochka - Nastasya Petrovna ^[20] . From the Gogol arsenal, the names of other characters were also “borrowed”: Paskudin, Mozglyakov, Farpukhina, Zalivatsky, Boroduev, Zaushin ^[6] .

Talk about a possible staging of "Uncle's Dream" began during the life of Dostoevsky. However, the author reacted to them without enthusiasm. In one of the letters dated 1873, he explained why he did not see the need to create a stage version of his work: “I do not dare and cannot accept the amendments. For 15 years I have not re-read my story “Uncle's Dream”. Now, having re-read it, I find it bad ” ^[21] .

"Uncle's Dream" appeared in the repertoires of theaters after decades. So, in January 1927, the troupe of the Moscow Art Theater began to stage a performance based on Dostoevsky’s work. Director Nemirovich-Danchenko wrote to Stanislavsky that the performance “turned out to be not bad”, noted that Knipper-Chekhov , who played Maria Alexandrovna Moskalyova, was “sometimes brilliant”, Mozglyakov performed by Vladimir Andreyevich Sinitsyn turned out to be “magnificent”, and Nikolai Khmelev , despite the problems during rehearsals, in the end "formed into a good Prince" ^{[22] [23]} .

In 1964, the image of Moskaleva embodied on the stage of the Mossovet Theater Fain Ranevskaya . According to the memoirs of Konstantin Mikhailov , who observed how the actress worked on the role of “provincial Napoleon in a crinoline, ” Ranevskaya managed to create the image of an assertive and seductive heroine, in the character of which impudence was combined with grace ^[24] . Among 21st-century productions, reviewers single out the play "Uncle's Dream" at the Mayakovsky Theater (director Ekaterina Granitova , Olga Prokofieva as Moskalyova Sr.) ^[25] , as well as a stage version at the G. Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater (director Temur Chkheidze , Moskaleva - Alisa Freindlikh , Prince - Oleg Basilashvili ) ^[26] .

The story was repeatedly filmed. In 1966, the film “ Uncle's Dream ” by Konstantin Voinov was released, in which the role of the Prince was played by Sergey Martinson , the image of Moskaleva was created by Lidia Smirnova , Zinaida was played by Zhanna Prokhorenko ^[27] . According to the film expert Pyotr Bagrov , the picture, despite the skill of the actors, was not included in Voinov’s creative successes: “The theater can be“ adapted ”for cinema, but literature cannot be“ adapted ”: here it is already necessary to look for a cinematic equivalent” ^[28] .

In November 1981, the USSR television released the two-part television play " Uncle's Dream ", the script and director of which was Alexander Orlov . The role of the Prince in it was played by Mark Prudkin , one of the “great old people of the Moscow Art Theater”, the role of Zina was young Elena Mayorova . ^{[29] [30]}

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