Voynich gadfly summary of chapters. Ethel lilian voynich the gadfly

Ethel Lilian Voynich was born on May 11, 1864 in Ireland, the city of Cork, County Cork, in the family of the famous English mathematician George Boole (Boole). Ethel Lilian did not know her father. He died when she was only six months old. His name, as a very prominent scientist, is included in the Encyclopædia Britannica.

Her mother is Mary Everest, the daughter of a professor of Greek, who helped Boole a lot in her work and left interesting memories of her husband after his death. Ethel's orphan childhood was not easy, five little girls spent all the meager funds left to her mother after George's death. Mary Bull gave math lessons and wrote articles for newspapers and magazines. When Ethel was eight years old, she became seriously ill, but her mother could not provide the girl with good care and preferred to send her to her father's brother, who worked as a mine manager. This gloomy, fanatically religious man sacredly observed the puritanical British traditions in raising children.

In 1882, having received a small inheritance, she graduated from the conservatory in Berlin, but a hand illness prevented her from becoming a musician. Simultaneously with her music studies, she listened to lectures on Slavic studies at the University of Berlin. Despite this, Ethel became the author of a number of musical works, including the oratorio "Babylon" (1948) dedicated to the overthrow of the autocracy in Russia.

In her youth, she became close to political exiles who took refuge in London. Among them were Russian and Polish revolutionaries. The romance of the revolutionary struggle in those days was the most fashionable hobby of the intelligentsia. As a sign of mourning for the unfortunately unjust world order, Ethel Lilian dresses only in black. At the end of 1886, she met with an emigrant living in London - the writer and revolutionary S. M. Stepnyak-Kravchinsky, the author of the book Underground Russia. Acquaintance with the book prompted her to travel to this mysterious country in order to see with her own eyes the struggle of the Narodnaya Volya against the autocracy.

In the spring of 1887, the young Englishwoman went to Russia. In St. Petersburg, she immediately found herself surrounded by revolutionary-minded youth. The future writer witnessed the terrorist actions of the "Narodnaya Volya" and its defeat. Wanting to get to know Russian reality better, she agreed to take the place of a governess in the family of E.I. Venevitinova in the Novozhivotinny estate. Where, from May to August 1887, she taught the children of the owner of the estate music lessons and of English language. In her own words, Ethel Lilian and her pupils could not stand each other.

In the summer of 1889, Ethel Lilian returned to her homeland, where she took part in the “Society of Friends of Russian Freedom” created by S.M. Kravchinsky, worked in the editorial office of the emigrant magazine “Free Russia” and in the free Russian press fund.

After a trip to Russia, E.L. Voynich began work on the novel The Gadfly. It was published in England in 1897, and at the beginning of the next year it was already translated into Russian. It was in Russia that the novel gained the greatest popularity.

The novel Jack Raymond was written in 1901. The restless, mischievous boy Jack, influenced by the upbringing of his uncle, the vicar, who wants to beat out of him “bad heredity” (Jack is the son of an actress, according to the vicar, a dissolute woman), becomes secretive, withdrawn, vengeful. The only person who for the first time took pity on the “inveterate” boy, believed in his sincerity and saw in him a kind and beautiful nature sympathetic to everything, was Elena, the widow of a political exile, a Pole whom the tsarist government rotted in Siberia. Only this woman, who had a chance to see with her own eyes in the Siberian exile "the naked wounds of mankind", managed to understand the boy, to replace his mother.

The heroic image of a woman occupies a central place in the novel "Olivia Letham" (Olive Latham, 1904), which has, to some extent, an autobiographical character.
E.L. Voinich was also engaged in translation activities. She translated the works of N.V. Gogol, M.Yu. Lermontov, F.M. Dostoevsky, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, G.I. Uspensky, V.M. Garshina and others.

In 1910, "An Interrupted Friendship" appears - a completely spontaneous thing, to some extent written under the influence of the inexplicable power of literary images over the author. This book was first translated into Russian in 1926 under the title "The Gadfly in Exile" (translation edited by S. Ya. Arefin, Puchina Publishing House, Moscow)
After "Interrupted Friendship" Voynich again turns to translations and continues to acquaint the English reader with the literature of the Slavic peoples. In addition to the collections of translations from Russian mentioned above, she also owns a translation of the song about Stepan Razin, included in the novel Olivia Letham. In 1911, she published the collection Six Lyrics from Ruthenian of Taras Shevchenko, to which she prefaces a detailed sketch of the life and work of the great Ukrainian poet. Shevchenko was almost unknown in England at the time; Voynich, who sought, in her words, to make "his immortal lyrics" available to Western European readers, was one of the first propagandists of his work in England. After the publication of Shevchenko's translations, Voynich moved away from literary activity and devotes himself to music.

In 1931, in the United States, where Voynich moved, a collection of Chopin's letters was published in her translations from Polish and French. Only in the mid-1940s did Voynich again appear as a novelist.

The novel “Take off your shoes” (Put off Thy Shoes, 1945) is a link in that cycle of novels, which, in the words of the writer herself, was the companion of her whole life.
The writer N. Tarnovsky, who lived in America, visited E. L. Voynich in the autumn of 1956. He tells the curious story of the writing of the last novel. One day Ann Neill. who lived with Ethel Lillian, went to Washington for three weeks to work in the local libraries. When she returned, she was struck by the exhausted appearance of the writer. To her anxious questions, the writer replied that it was “Beatrix who haunted her,” that she “talked to Beatrice,” and explained that she always thinks about Arthur’s ancestors and that “they are asking to be born.”

“- If so, then there will be a new book! said Miss Neill.

- Oh no! I'm old enough to write books! - answered E.L. Voinich.

However, the book has been written.

Take Off Your Shoes was published in New York by Macmillan in the spring of 1945.
Ethel Lilian Voynich died on July 28, 1960 at the age of 96. And according to the will, she was cremated, and the ashes were scattered over the central park of New York.

Gadfly - 1

I express my deepest gratitude to all those in Italy who helped me to collect materials for this novel. I remember with special gratitude the courtesy and benevolence of the employees of the Maruccellian Library in Florence, as well as the State Archives and Civic Museum in Bologna.

“Leave; what do you care about us

Jesus the Nazarene?

Part one

Chapter I

Arthur sat in the library of the theological seminary in Pisa and looked through a stack of handwritten sermons. It was a hot June evening. The windows were wide open, the shutters half closed. The rector's father, Canon Montanelli, stopped writing and looked lovingly at the black head bent over the sheets of paper.

Can't find it, carino? Leave. Will have to write again. I have probably torn this page myself, and you have lingered here in vain.

Montanelli's voice was quiet, but very deep and resonant. The silvery purity of tone gave his speech a special charm. It was the voice of a natural orator, flexible, rich in nuances, and there was a caress in it whenever the father rector addressed Arthur.

No, padre, I will. I'm sure she's here. If you write again, you will never be able to restore everything as it was.

Montanelli continued the interrupted work. Somewhere outside the window, a cockchafer buzzed monotonously, and from the street came the long, mournful cry of a fruit seller: “Fragola! Fragola!

- "On the healing of a leper" - here it is!

Arthur approached Montanelli with soft, inaudible steps, which always irritated his family so much. Small in stature, fragile, he looked more like an Italian from a portrait of the 16th century than a young man of the 30s from an English bourgeois family. Everything in him was too elegant, as if carved: long arrows of eyebrows, thin lips, small arms, legs. When he sat quietly, he could be mistaken for a pretty girl dressed in a man's dress; but with flexible movements he resembled a tamed panther - however, without claws.

Did you find it? What would I do without you, Arthur? I would lose everything forever ... No, enough writing. Let's go to the garden, I'll help you sort out your work. What didn't you understand there?

They went out into the quiet, shady monastery garden. The seminary occupied the building of an old Dominican monastery, and two hundred years ago its square courtyard was kept in perfect order. Smooth borders of boxwood bordered neatly trimmed rosemary and lavender. The white-clad monks who once cared for these plants were long buried and forgotten, but the fragrant herbs were still fragrant here on mild summer evenings, although they were no longer collected for medicinal purposes. Now tendrils of wild parsley and columbine made their way between the stone slabs of the paths. The well in the courtyard is overgrown with ferns. The neglected roses have run wild; their long tangled branches stretched along all the paths. Large red poppies gleamed among the bushes. Tall shoots of foxglove leaned over the grass, and barren vines swayed from the boughs of the hawthorn, which nodded dejectedly from its leafy top.

In one corner of the garden rose a branched magnolia tree, its dark foliage sprinkled here and there with a spray of milky white flowers. There was a rough wooden bench by the trunk of the magnolia tree. Montanelli sank down on her.

Arthur studied philosophy at the university. On that day, he encountered a difficult passage in the book and turned to the padre for clarification. He did not study at the seminary, but Montanelli was a true encyclopedia for him.

Well, I guess I'll go, - said Arthur, when the incomprehensible lines were explained. - However, maybe you need me?

No, I've finished work for today, but I would like you to stay with me for a while if you have time.

Burton Arthur - a student of Anglo-Italian origin, a member of the Italian national liberation movement "Young Italy". Betrayed by a confessor who violated the secrecy of confession, he turns out to be the unwitting culprit in the arrest of his colleague in business and at the same time a rival in love. Having lost the love of the girl Gemma, who considers him a traitor, having become disillusioned with religion, and to top it all off, having learned that his real father is the elder friend and patron of the canon (later Cardinal) Montanelli, A., having faked his death, goes to South America. Returning 13 years later to Italy as a stern and outwardly disfigured Rivares, a revolutionary and pamphleteer, writing his anti-church articles under the pseudonym "Gadfly", he eventually ends up in prison after an armed incident. He agrees to accept help in escaping from the cardinal, who recognized him as his son, only at the cost of the latter's renunciation of dignity and religion, which he is unable to do. The gadfly is shot, and Montanelli dies after a passionate and half-mad sermon, in which, depicting the suffering of God the Father, who gave Christ to be crucified, he mourns himself and his own son. The hero V. repeats the path of many young people from the novels of the 19th century, who disappeared from life after a tragic incident, seemingly forever, but returned unrecognized and under a different name in order to restore justice and pay tribute to the enemies. Most a prime example Edmond Dantes, Count of Monte Cristo at Dumas, serves this kind. But similar characters can be found in Dickens. Characterized by a spectacular contrast of the image of the hero in the past and during his second appearance (often, as in Dickens, the identity of both is revealed only at the end). A. at the beginning of the novel is an exalted romantic youth, immersed in the elements of Catholicism and experiencing a crisis of faith, the Gadfly of his main part is also a romantic hero, but already a disappointed lonely cynic and atheist, who has only one of his revolutionary deeds left in his life and is cherished in depth soul old love. The 'disillusioned' motif, very characteristic of the 'story of a young man' of the 19th century, is also present here. Gadfly A. made primarily disappointment in the values ​​of religion. The worldview revolution in Voynich's novel is based on specific private facts concerning specific ministers of the church, one of whom violated the secrecy of confession, and the other - the vow of celibacy. The last of these facts is associated with a characteristic melodramatic device rooted in folklore - the disclosure of the secret of kinship, which occurs twice: in the first part A. learns about his sonship, in the third part A. learns his son in Gadfly Montanelli.

Ethel Lilian Voynich

"Gadfly"

Part one

Nineteen-year-old Arthur Burton spends a lot of time with his confessor Lorenzo Montanelli, rector of the seminary. Arthur idolizes padre (as he calls a Catholic priest). A year ago, the young man's mother, Gladys, died. Now Arthur lives in Pisa with his stepbrothers.

The young man is very handsome: “Everything in him was too elegant, as if carved: long eyebrows, thin lips, small arms, legs. When he sat quietly, he could be mistaken for a pretty girl dressed in a man's dress; but with flexible movements it resembled a tamed panther - however, without claws.

Arthur trusts his mentor with his secret: he became part of the "Young Italy" and will fight for the freedom of this country with his comrades. Montanelli feels trouble, but cannot dissuade the young man from this idea.

The organization also includes Arthur's childhood friend Gemma Warren, Jim, as Burton calls her.

Montanelli is offered a bishopric and leaves for Rome for a few months. In his absence, the young man at the confession of the new rector talks about his love for the girl and jealousy for his fellow party member Bolle.

Arthur is soon arrested. He spends his time in the cell with fervent prayers. During interrogations, he does not betray his comrades. Arthur is released, but he learns from Jim that the organization considers him guilty of Bolla's arrest. Realizing that the priest has violated the secrecy of confession, Arthur unconsciously confirms the betrayal. Jim rewards him with a slap in the face, and the young man does not have time to explain himself to her.

At home, the brother's wife makes a scandal and tells Arthur that his own father is Montanelli. The young man breaks the crucifix and writes a suicide note. He throws his hat into the river and swims illegally to Buenos Aires.

Part two. Thirteen years later

1846 In Florence, members of Mazzini's party are discussing ways to fight power. Dr. Riccardo offers to ask for help from the Gadfly - Felice Rivares, a political satirist. The sharp word of Rivares in the pamphlets is what you need.

At a party at the party of Grassini, Gemma Bolla, the widow of Giovanni Bolla, sees Gadfly for the first time. “He was swarthy, like a mulatto, and, despite his lameness, agile like a cat. With all his appearance, he resembled a black jaguar. His forehead and left cheek were disfigured by a long crooked scar - apparently from a saber strike ... when he began to stutter, a nervous spasm twitched on the left side of his face. The gadfly is impudent and does not consider decency: he appeared at Grassini with his mistress, the dancer Zita Reni.

Cardinal Montanelli arrives in Florence. Gemma saw him for the last time just after Arthur's death. Then, as if petrified, the dignitary said to the girl: “Calm down, my child, it was not you who killed Arthur, but I. I lied to him and he found out about it." That day the padre fell in the street in a fit. Signora Bolla wants to see Montanelli again and goes with Martini to the bridge where the cardinal will ride.

On this walk they meet the Gadfly. Gemma recoils in horror from Rivares: she saw Arthur in him.

Rivares becomes very ill. He is tormented by severe pain, party members take turns on duty at his bedside. During his illness, he does not let Zita near him. Leaving him after duty, Martini runs into a dancer. Suddenly, she bursts into reproaches: “I hate you all! .. He allows you to sit by him all night and give him medicines, and I don’t even dare to look at him through the crack in the door!” Martini is dumbfounded: "This woman loves him in earnest!"

The gadfly is on the mend. During Gemma's duty, he tells her how in South America he was beaten with a poker by a drunken sailor, about working in a circus as a freak, how he ran away from home in his youth. Senora Bolla reveals her grief to him: through her fault, the man "whom she loved more than anyone in the world" died.

Gemma is tormented by doubts: what if the Gadfly is Arthur? So many coincidences… “And those blue eyes and those nervous fingers?” She tries to find out the truth by showing a portrait of ten-year-old Arthur Gadfly, but he does not give himself away.

Rivares asks Signora Ball to use her connections to smuggle weapons into the Papal States. She agrees.

Zita showers Rivares with reproaches: he never loved her. The person whom Felice loves more than anything in the world is Cardinal Montanelli: “Do you think I didn’t notice how you looked after his stroller?” And the Gadfly confirms this.

In Brisigella, he, disguised as a beggar, receives the necessary note from accomplices. There, Rivarez manages to talk to Montanelli. Seeing that the wound of the padre has not healed, he is ready to open himself to him, but, remembering his pain, he stops. “Oh, if only he could forgive! If only he could erase the past from his memory - a drunken sailor, a sugar plantation, a traveling circus! What suffering can you compare to this?

Returning, the Gadfly learns that Zita has left with the camp and is going to marry a gypsy.

Part Three

The man involved in the transport of weapons was arrested. The gadfly decides to go to rectify the situation. Before he leaves, Gemma tries once again to get recognition from him, but at that moment Martini enters.

In Brisigella, Rivares is arrested: in a shootout, the Gadfly lost his temper when he saw Montanelli. The colonel asks the cardinal for consent to a military court, but he wants to see the prisoner. At the meeting, the Gadfly insults the cardinal in every possible way.

Friends organize an escape for the Gadfly. But a new attack of illness happens to him, and already being in the courtyard of the fortress, he loses consciousness. He is shackled and fastened with belts. Despite the persuasion of the doctor, the colonel refuses Rivarez opium.

Gadfly asks for a meeting with Montanelli. He visits the prison. Knowing about the serious illness of the prisoner, the cardinal is horrified by the cruel treatment of him. The gadfly does not stand up and the padre opens. The dignitary realizes that his carino did not drown. Arthur confronts Montanelli with a choice: either he or God. The cardinal leaves the cell. The gadfly shouts after him: “I can’t stand this! Radre, come back! Come back!"

The cardinal agrees to a military court. The soldiers, who managed to fall in love with the Gadfly, shoot past. Finally Rivares falls. At this moment, Montanelli appears in the courtyard. Arthur's last words to the cardinal are: "Radre... is your god... satisfied?"

Gadfly's friends learn about his execution.

During the festive service, Montanelli sees blood in everything: the rays of the sun, roses, red carpets. In his speech, he accuses the parishioners of the death of his son, who was sacrificed by the cardinal for their sake, as the Lord sacrificed Christ.

Gemma receives a letter from the Gadfly, written before the execution. It confirms that Felice Rivares is Arthur. “She lost him. Lost again! Martini brings news of Montanelli's death from a heart attack.

І

The novel "The Gadfly" begins with a description of the life of Arthur Burton - an attractive young man of 19 years old. He communicates a lot with his confessor and friend Lorenzo Montanelli. Arthur calls the priest Padre and idolizes him.

In the next conversation, Arthur tells his mentor that he joined the Young Guard and is going to fight for the freedom of Italy together with his childhood friend Gemma Warren. The priest anticipates trouble, but cannot convince the young man.

Montanelli receives an offer to become a bishop and leaves for Rome for several months. At this time, Arthur confesses to the new rector of the seminary, talking about his feelings for the girl and how he is jealous of her party comrade Bolle.

Very soon, Arthur is imprisoned. The young man does not betray fellow party members during interrogations. However, after his release, he learns from Gemma that members of the Young Guard blame him for Bolla's arrest. The young man understands that his confessor has violated the secrecy of confession, and unconsciously confirms his betrayal, for which he receives a slap in the face from his girlfriend. He still can't explain to her what really happened.

At home, during a scandal arranged by his brother's wife, Arthur learns that Montanelli is his real father. He breaks the crucifix, fakes suicide and escapes to Buenos Aires.

II

Events develop 13 years later in Florence. When members of the Mazzini party are discussing ways to fight power, Dr. Riccardo makes a proposal to enlist the help of the political satirist Felice Rivares, known to the public as the Gadfly.

Gemma Bolla, at that time already the widow of Giovanni Bolla, first sees the Gadfly at an evening at Grassini's. The man is swarthy, his face is disfigured by a terrible scar, he limps. But, despite this, he is extremely impudent and spits on decency, which confirms his appearance with his mistress Zita.

Cardinal Montanelli arrives in the city. The last time Gemma met him was after Arthur's death. The woman wants to see the cardinal again and, together with Martini, goes to the bridge over which Montanelli must pass. There they meet Rivares, and Gemma recognizes him as Arthur.

The gadfly becomes very ill, and the party members look after him. Gemma is also on duty at Rivares. He tells her about his life, she - that she once became the culprit of the death of a man "whom she loved more than anyone else in the world." The woman is trying to find out if she mistakenly thinks that the Gadfly is Arthur. But he doesn't give himself away.

Rivares persuades Signora Ball to help with the transportation of weapons to the Papal States. Zita accuses Gadfly of not loving her, and the only person he appreciates is Cardinal Montanelli. Rivarez does not refute her words.

He manages to meet the padre in Brisigella. Seeing that the priest is still suffering because of Arthur, he almost reveals his identity to him, but stops, remembering the pain he had to experience.

Upon his return, Rivares is informed that Zita is going to marry a gypsy and has left with the camp.

III

The man who carried the weapon was arrested. To correct the situation, the Gadfly goes to him. Before leaving, Gemma again tries to get the truth from him, but the arrival of Martini prevented her.

After a shootout in Brisighella, Gadfly is arrested. Friends tried to rescue Rivares, but during the escape he had an attack of the disease, and he lost consciousness. The man is shackled and refuses to give painkillers.

Rivarez requests a meeting with Montanelli. It opens with Padre. The cardinal wants to help his carino, but Arthur agrees to accept his help, if only he renounces religion and dignity. Montanelli is unable to do so and agrees to a court martial.

The gadfly is shot. His last words are: "Padre... is your god... satisfied?"

Gemma receives a letter from Gadfly, which he wrote before his execution, confirming that he is Arthur. "Lost again!"

Montanelli dies of a heart attack after a semi-mad and impassioned sermon in which she mourns for herself and her son.

On the 17th floor of a large gloomy house on 24th Street in New York, the old English writer Ethel Lilian Voynich lived until recently. She lived with her friend Anna Neill. Anna worked in the library, and Voynich was alone for most of the days. The windows of her room face east. For hours she sat in an armchair by the window and remembered ...

Behind a long, difficult, difficult life. Many countries, cities, people and unceasing work.

And the book she created has its own destiny.

Met with outrage in America, indifference in England, her novel The Gadfly was enthusiastically received in Russia.

She wrote her novel only for adults, believing that it was in no way suitable for young people, but it was the young reader who passionately fell in love with her hero.

All her peers died, she was almost alone. She did not know anything about how her novel is now treated in Russia, in the USSR. She carefully kept a small book in a yellow cover - a cheap edition of The Gadfly in Russian, published in 1913. She believed that this was the last edition of her novel in Russia.

But then one day, at the end of the summer of 1955, they brought her the April issue of the Soviet magazine Ogonyok. An article was published in it - "The novel" Gadfly "and its author." Excited to the depths of her soul, the old writer saw in a magazine a photograph of herself fifty years ago, a portrait of her father, her husband.

It means that she was not forgotten, she is loved in that huge beautiful country - in that country where she herself visited in her youth, for the freedom of which she once fought!

It turns out that by 1955 her novel The Gadfly had been translated into twenty languages ​​of the peoples of the USSR. The circulation of his publications exceeded two million! Movies were staged twice according to its plot, thousands of spectators in many cities watch the play "The Gadfly".

Shaken, she could not sleep for a long time that night.

“I told you about Russia,” she shares with Anna. They couldn't stop reading my book.

Since then, the Ogonyok magazine has always been lying on her desk.

After some time, she learned that a delegation of Soviet journalists was coming to America. They wanted to see the author of The Gadfly, and E.L. Voynich invited them to visit her.

And now they found themselves in front of her - living people of the country of socialism. She, a contemporary of Marx and Engels, saw with her own eyes the people of the future. And this future came first in Russia.

Soviet journalists brought her flowers. She stroked the delicate pink petals of the chrysanthemums with thin, withered fingers. She loved flowers...

Soviet journalists told her again about the love of the people for her novel ... Yes, they read, probably, but so loved! In twenty languages, over two million! This seemed unbelievable to her, and she shook her head in disbelief.

The guests asked her hundreds of questions. She spoke to them in Russian. She hasn't spoken Russian in such a long time. Sometimes she forgot a word, but after a moment's silence she remembered it. She was very fond of the Russian language and the beautiful literature created in this language.

E.L. Voynich talked about her Russian friends and, above all, about the famous revolutionary and writer - Sergei Mikhailovich Stepnyak-Kravchinsky, the author of wonderful books: "Underground Russia", "Andrei Kozhukhov", "House on the Volga" and others.

“We young people called him a guardian,” said E.L. Voynich. “He helped me become a writer.

The guests were ready to listen to her stories all day, but she soon got tired, because she is already 91 years old ...

A special correspondent for the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper asked her to write a few words of greetings to the Soviet youth.

E.L. Voynich thought: a few words, but you have to say the most important thing! Oh, she knew very well what was most important for the country of socialism, and with a confident hand she drew out the words:

“To all the children of the Soviet Union: a happy future in the world of peace” and signed “E.L. Voynich. New York. November 17, 1955".

From that day on, the life of E.L. Voynich. She began to receive hundreds of letters from the USSR. Many visitors came to her: Soviet writers, artists, actors, diplomats. She was shown the Soviet film "The Gadfly" at home, she was sent editions of her books, theater posters of the performances "The Gadfly" ...

High and enviable is the fate of the writer, who during his lifetime earned the love of millions of readers around the world. Millions - this is not an exaggeration: after all, the novel "The Gadfly" has been translated into almost all European languages. The novel "The Gadfly" is known and loved in the countries of people's democracy: it is published and republished in China, Romania, the GDR, Poland, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. But this novel received truly nationwide fame in the USSR: during the years of Soviet power, the novel "The Gadfly" was published in our country 140 times in 24 languages ​​with a total circulation of about six million copies!

The novel "The Gadfly" was translated into Russian in 1898, immediately after its appearance in America and England, and immediately became the favorite book of the progressive Russian youth.

This book captivated the youth, in the words of V.G. Belinsky, "an example of lofty actions" of the young hero of the book.

They read and reread it, wept over it at night, clenching their fists, and in the morning they went out into life with dry eyes and burning hearts, ready to fight and die for the happiness and freedom of their native people. She gave courage to the prisoners, she made the weak strong, she turned the strong into heroes.

The Gadfly entered the consciousness of the Russian reader in the era of the preparation of the first Russian revolution. This book helped to implement one of the most important tasks of the proletarian movement, proclaimed by V.I. Lenin in 1900 in the first issue of Iskra: “We must prepare people who devote not only their free evenings to the revolution, but their whole lives.”

The image of the Gadfly was an example of a revolutionary hero who gave his whole life to the revolution, and a book about him became one of the favorites in underground circles, among progressive young men and women throughout Russia.

The novel "The Gadfly" was loved, appreciated and distributed by prominent figures of our party at the time of the struggle against the autocracy: G.M. Krzhizhanovsky, E.D. Stasova, Ya.M. Sverdlov, M.I. Kalinin, I.V. Babushkin and others. Later, "The Gadfly" became the favorite book of the heroes of the civil war - G.I. Kotovsky and N.A. Ostrovsky; Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya read the Gadfly, Alexey Maresyev highly appreciates the Gadfly.

This book was loved by M. Gorky, A. Fadeev, V. Mayakovsky.

And today, thousands of young men and women, reading the story of the struggle and death of the brave Gadfly, learn to be faithful to their ideas, learn heroism and courage.

No wonder "The Gadfly" is one of the favorite books of the first cosmonauts: Yuri Gagarin, Andrian Nikolaev and Valentina Tereshkova.

The Gadfly is a novel written by English writer Ethel Lilian Voynich, published in 1897. This novel depicts the activities of members of the Italian underground revolutionary organization "Young Italy" in the 30s and 40s of the XIX century.

At that time, after the defeat of the Napoleonic army, all of Italy was divided into eight separate states and actually captured by the Austrian troops. The head of the Catholic Church - the Pope - supported the Austrian invaders. Under their double yoke, the Italian people were suffocating and in poverty. The fragmentation of the country was beneficial to the Austrians, and they in every possible way fanned the discord between the individual Italian states. The Kingdom of Sardinia with the main city of Turin, the Duchy of Tuscany with the main city of Florence, the Papal States with the main city of Rome and other Italian states were separated from each other by borders, customs, each state had its own monetary system, its own measures. There were often wars between individual states.

The advanced people of Italy understood the need to unite the country into an integral state and fought for national independence against the domination of the Austrians.

In 1831, the famous Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872), expelled from his native country, founded the underground revolutionary organization Young Italy. It included the advanced Italian intelligentsia - writers, lawyers, students. Constantly persecuted by the police, "Young Italy", however, played a large role in the struggle of the Italian people, who only in 1870 finally achieved the unification of the country.

The action of the novel "The Gadfly" begins in 1833. At that time, armed uprisings took place in different regions of Italy. The Austrian police, acting in concert with the local authorities, suppressed these uprisings with unheard-of cruelty. The struggle intensified especially later, before 1848, when a revolutionary wave arose throughout Western Europe.

In 1846, frightened by the public upsurge, the Pope of Rome pretended to meet popular demands: some political prisoners were released from prisons, censorship did not so fiercely pursue every free word, but all this, of course, did not improve the situation of the country in the least.

In the second and third parts of the novel, the action takes place just in these days.

E.L. Voynich shows the contradictions that arise within the "Young Italy" itself. The heroes of the novel - Gadfly, Gemma, Martini - are the most active members of the organization; perfectly understanding the hypocritical nature of the pope's activities, they expose the oppressors and boldly fight against them, while others - the moderate ones - limit themselves to fruitless conversations and petitions.

However, we will not find in the novel "The Gadfly" images of popular uprisings, armed uprisings, which were characteristic of this stage of the national liberation movement in Italy.

Obviously, the writer did not set herself the goal of creating historical paintings of that time. None of the characters in The Gadfly is a real historical person. The names of historical figures - Mazzini, Orsini, Renzi and others - are only mentioned in the novel.

E.L. Voynich focused on portraying the heroic nature of the revolutionary.

The Gadfly shows the greatest heroism in fights with gendarmes, in that most difficult section of the struggle, where the fighter is deprived of the support of his comrades and where his only weapon is ideology.

Indeed, in an active struggle, in open action with weapons in hand, everyone feels the support of his comrades-in-arms, and at the same time, a perfect feat finds an instant response, captivates followers; the falling fighter sees those going to change, sees those who pick up the fallen banner and carry it further forward. In prison, the feat remains invisible, none of the friends will know about it, but a true revolutionary, even in these conditions, without expecting any reward, remains true to himself!

Creating the heroic image of a revolutionary, E.L. Voynich, at the same time, with great force, rips the halo of holiness from religion and its ministers. She exposes all their lies, hypocrisy, hypocrisy, she claims that religion serves the enemies of the people.

Young and naive Arthur Burton, a student of philosophy, decides to devote his life to the struggle for the liberation of Italy from foreign invaders. The motto of the secret revolutionary party "Young Italy", which he joined, was the words: "In the name of God and the people, now and forever and ever!" Arthur follows this motto. Of course, he thinks, God will help the people. Christ gave his life to save the people. However, at the first encounter with reality, these illusions are destroyed. Arthur realized that religion is a lie, that it helps the oppressors. From now on, he, Arthur, is an enemy of the church, of any religion; the enemy of religious thinking, which requires blind worship from a person. And in the name of the people he fights against God.

He fights religion in every way - with a pen and a sword. He is no longer the timid Arthur, but the merciless, strong, courageous Felice Rivares, who took the nickname Gadfly. He ridicules the church in scathing pamphlets, he participates in popular uprisings. He refuses any deals with the church, even if it could save his life. Before the most difficult trials, he remains true to his convictions. The terrible fire of struggle tempered his will.

With great skill E.L. Voynich creates a majestic image of a revolutionary hero and contrasts it with the image of Christ, who for almost two millennia the clergy proclaimed the highest symbol of meekness and humility, the savior of mankind.

It is not for nothing that the writer takes a phrase from the gospel as an epigraph to the novel - the words of a man addressed to Christ: “Leave; what have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” It is clear how this phrase reinforces the anti-religious tone of the book.

The writer claims that the revolutionary is higher, more powerful than Christ. Not by humility and humility will humanity gain freedom and happiness, but will win them in the struggle.

E.L. Voynich challenges the teachings of the churchmen about the immortality of Christ and sings of the immortality of a revolutionary, a fighter for freedom, who lives in the deeds of his successors, in his great feat.

The gadfly continues to win even after death. His ideological opponent, Cardinal Montanelli, renounces his faith. Friends receive a letter from the Gadfly, written before the execution. It sounds like a battle anthem. It is permeated with militant optimism, confidence in victory, a call to fight. And after death, the voice of the Gadfly, the image of the Gadfly leads forward. He is alive!

And the novel ends with a notice of Montanelli's death. This one won't come back!

E.L. Voynich deeply, correctly caught and managed to convey in the images of her novel the growing forces of the revolution, she was able to show the doom, the inevitability of the death of the forces of reaction.

Each character in the novel "The Gadfly" is unique and memorable for a long time.

The whole novel is permeated with great love for people, respect for the human person.

The images of the revolutionaries are especially vivid: the Gadfly and his associates. E.L. Voynich shows the difference in their views, characters, contrasts genuine revolutionaries with eloquent talkers. The writer managed to convey the high spirit of camaraderie characteristic of freedom fighters, their personal modesty, gentle severity in relations with each other, their high ideological, purposefulness, adherence to principles; their willingness to give their lives for the people.

Gadfly is a man of strong and whole feelings. Precisely because he loves Montanelli, his father, so much, he cannot forgive his deceit, cannot reconcile with him. Precisely because he loves Gemma so much, he can't forgive her slap. The point is not the insult itself, the point is that she doubted his honesty, his courage, his loyalty to his convictions, and he cannot forgive anyone for this.

E.L. Voynich deeply and comprehensively reveals the image of the Gadfly. He is witty, he has an evil, mocking tongue, he does not part with a joke. But how differently in different conditions he uses this formidable weapon! His taunts startle enemies, irritate liberals, and give strength and vigor to friends. Enemies hate him, liberals are angry with him, the common people adore him.

The writer especially emphasizes the Gadfly's love for life. He loves nature, animals, trees, flowers. He dearly loves children. Grief and severe trials made him severe, tempered his will, but did not make him callous. If young Arthur carelessly and affectionately played with a little peasant girl, then the iron Rivares is touchingly gentle with a hungry ragamuffin.

The gadfly loves life passionately, cherishes it, appreciates it, but, despite this, he goes to his death, because ideas for him dearer than life, and confidence in the final triumph of his ideas gives him strength.

Full of deep meaning and the very nickname of Arthur, which became his name and is the title of the novel - "The Gadfly". The author has in mind the story of the famous Greek sage Socrates. The rulers of Athens sentenced him to death because he denounced their vices. Defending himself in court against an unjust sentence, Socrates compares himself to a gadfly that bothers a leisurely horse, prompting him to act. Sentenced to death, Socrates could have been saved if he had made a deal with his conscience, would have renounced his beliefs, but he preferred death. Giving her hero the nickname Gadfly, the writer reminds us of Socrates, thereby emphasizing his main quality - loyalty to his convictions.

The writer showed us the Gadfly as a living person, with weaknesses and oddities, with a rich inner world, with many shortcomings, but she managed to shade the main thing in him - his integrity, courage, unbending will, unshakable loyalty to his convictions, his sharp mind, devotion to friends, passionate love to the people.

The whole life of the Gadfly and his death were devoted to the struggle for the liberation of the motherland. This struggle was his only and great passion. All his personal life, all his aspirations were devoted to this great goal. Despite the exclusivity of his personal fate, this is a typical image of a revolutionary, a fighter for freedom.

The image of the Gadfly is one of the most striking images of a revolutionary in all world literature.

The best way to describe him is in the following inspirational words:

“... Among the kneeling crowd, he alone holds his proud head high, ulcerated by so many lightnings, but never bowed before the enemy.

He is beautiful, formidable, irresistibly charming, as he combines both the highest types of human greatness; martyr and hero.

He is a martyr. From the day when, in the depths of his soul, he swore to free his homeland, he knows that he doomed himself to death. He exchanges glances with her on his turbulent journey. Fearlessly, he goes to meet her when necessary, and knows how to die without flinching, but no longer like a Christian. ancient world, but as a warrior accustomed to looking death straight in the face...

And this all-consuming struggle, this greatness of the task, this confidence in the final victory give him that cold, calculating enthusiasm, that almost inhuman energy that astonishes the world. If he was born a daredevil, in this struggle he will become a hero; if he was not denied energy, here he will become a hero; if he has fallen to the lot of a strong character, here he will become iron ... "

These words belong to S.M. Stepnyak-Kravchinsky. This is how he characterized the Russian revolutionary. But they are entirely applicable to the Gadfly! They fully express its essence and our attitude towards it. And this is no coincidence: the writer embodied in her hero the features of many freedom fighters different countries and peoples. It is not for nothing that Polish literary scholars categorically assert that the real prototypes of the Gadfly were the leaders of the Polish social revolutionary party "Proletariat"; Russian readers, immediately after the release of the Russian translation of The Gadfly, recognized in it the familiar features of Russian revolutionaries. Other researchers believe that the basis of the image of the Gadfly is easy to detect features of Garibaldi and Mazzini. Obviously, they are all right: the Gadfly is an international type of revolutionary. After all, the writer herself does not emphasize his national features: Gadfly is half English, half Italian.

Neither contemporaries nor today's readers perceive the novel "The Gadfly" as a historical work. Not the history of the national liberation movement, but the image of a revolutionary calling to fight is the main content of the novel The Gadfly.

Eugene Taratuta.