adolescence
Immediately after arriving in Moscow, Nikolenka feels the changes that have taken place with him. In his soul there is a place not only for his own feelings and experiences, but also for compassion for the grief of others, the ability to understand the actions of other people. He is aware of all the inconsolability of his grandmother's grief after the death of his beloved daughter, rejoices to tears that he finds the strength to forgive his older brother after a stupid quarrel. Another striking change for Nikolenka is that he bashfully notices the excitement that the twenty-five-year-old maid Masha arouses in him. Nikolenka is convinced of his ugliness, envies Volodya's beauty, and tries with all his might, although unsuccessfully, to convince himself that a pleasant appearance cannot make up all the happiness of life. And Nikolenka tries to find salvation in thoughts of proud loneliness, to which, as it seems to him, he is doomed.
Grandmother is informed that the boys are playing with gunpowder, and although this is just harmless lead shot, the grandmother blames Karl Ivanovich for the lack of supervision of the children and insists that he be replaced by a decent tutor.
Nikolenka is having a hard time parting with Karl Ivanovich.
Nikolenka does not get along with the new French tutor, he himself sometimes does not understand his impudence towards the teacher. It seems to him that the circumstances of life are directed against him. The incident with the key, which he inadvertently breaks, for some unknown reason, trying to open his father's briefcase, finally brings Nikolenka out of balance. Deciding that everyone deliberately took up arms against him, Nikolenka behaves unpredictably....
Immediately after arriving in Moscow, Nikolenka feels the changes that have taken place with him. In his soul there is a place not only for his own feelings and experiences, but also for compassion for the grief of others, the ability to understand the actions of other people. He is aware of all the inconsolability of his grandmother's grief after the death of his beloved daughter, rejoices to tears that he finds the strength to forgive his older brother after a stupid quarrel. Another striking change for Nikolenka is that he bashfully notices the excitement that the twenty-five-year-old maid Masha arouses in him. Nikolenka is convinced of his ugliness, envies Volodya's beauty, and tries with all his might, although unsuccessfully, to convince himself that a pleasant appearance cannot make up all the happiness of life. And Nikolenka tries to find salvation in thoughts of proud loneliness, to which, as it seems to him, he is doomed.
Grandmother is informed that the boys are playing with gunpowder, and although this is just harmless lead shot, the grandmother blames Karl Ivanovich for the lack of supervision of the children and insists that he be replaced by a decent tutor. Nikolenka is having a hard time parting with Karl Ivanovich.
Nikolenka does not get along with the new French tutor, he himself sometimes does not understand his impudence towards the teacher. It seems to him that the circumstances of life are directed against him. The incident with the key, which he inadvertently breaks, for some unknown reason, trying to open his father's briefcase, finally brings Nikolenka out of balance. Deciding that everyone has deliberately turned against him, Nikolenka behaves unpredictably - she hits the tutor, in response to her brother's sympathetic question: "What is happening to you?" - shouts, as all are disgusting to him and disgusting. They lock him in a closet and threaten to punish him with rods. After a long confinement, during which Nikolenka is tormented by a desperate feeling of humiliation, he asks his father for forgiveness, and convulsions are made with him. Everyone fears for his health, but after a twelve-hour sleep, Nikolenka feels good and at ease and is even glad that his family is worried about his incomprehensible illness.
After this incident, Nikolenka feels more and more lonely, and his main pleasure is solitary reflections and observations. He observes the strange relationship between the maid Masha and the tailor Vasily. Nikolenka does not understand how such a rough relationship can be called love. Nikolenka's circle of thoughts is wide, and he often gets confused in his discoveries: “I think what I think, what I think about, and so on. The mind went beyond the mind ... "
Nikolenka rejoices at Volodya's admission to the university and is envious of his maturity. He notices the changes that happen to his brother and sisters, watches how an aging father develops a special tenderness for children, experiences the death of his grandmother - and he is offended by talk about who will get her inheritance ...
Before entering the university, Nikolenka is a few months away. He is preparing for the Faculty of Mathematics and studies well. Trying to get rid of many of the shortcomings of adolescence, Nikolenka considers the main one to be a tendency to inactive reasoning and thinks that this tendency will bring him much harm in life. Thus, it manifests attempts at self-education. Friends often come to Volodya - adjutant Dubkov and student Prince Nekhlyudov. Nikolenka talks more and more often with Dmitry Nekhlyudov, they become friends. The mood of their souls seems to Nikolenka the same. Constantly improving himself and thus correcting all of humanity - Nikolenka comes to such an idea under the influence of his friend, and he considers this important discovery the beginning of his youth.
The story "Boyhood" by L. N. Tolstoy was written in 1852 - 1853, becoming the second work in the author's pseudo-autobiographical trilogy. The story belongs to the literary direction of realism. In "Boyhood" Tolstoy describes events in the life of a teenager - how he reacts to the world around him and how he feels in relation to loved ones. Together with the main character, the reader overcomes the difficult path of personality formation and maturation.
Main characters
Nikolai (Nikolenka) Irteniev- an emotional young man, subtly experiencing his adolescence, the story is being told from his face. At the time of the beginning of the events he was fourteen years old.
Volodya (Vladimir)- the elder brother of Nikolai, "was ardent, frank and fickle in his hobbies."
Maternal grandmother of Nicholas- Nikolai's family lived in Moscow with her.
Other characters
Nikolai's father.
Katya (Katya), Lyubochka Nicholas' sisters.
Karl Ivanovich- the first tutor in the family of Nikolai.
Saint-Jerome- French, the second tutor in the family of Nikolai.
Masha- a maid of twenty-five years, Nikolay liked.
Basil- a tailor, beloved of Masha.
Dmitry Nekhlyudov- a friend of Vladimir, and then a close friend of Nikolai.
Summary
Chapter 1
The Nikolenka family moves to Moscow. During the four days of the trip, the boy saw many "new picturesque places and objects." When the driver allowed Nikolenka to drive the horses for some time, he felt completely happy.
Chapter 2
On one of the hot evenings on the road they were caught by a strong thunderstorm. Nikolenka is delighted and at the same time afraid of the violence of the elements, he is overwhelmed with emotions: “My soul smiles just like refreshed, cheerful nature.”
Chapter 3
Sitting in the britzka, Nikolenka and Katya discuss that upon arrival in Moscow they will live with their grandmother. It seems to the boy that his sister is moving away from them, to which Katya replies: “You can’t always remain the same; you have to change sometime."
Nikolenka understands for the first time in his life that there is another life for people who do not even know about the existence of his family.
Chapter 4
The Nikolenka family came to Moscow. Seeing an aged grandmother, the boy feels compassion for her. The father practically did not take care of the children, living in the wing.
Chapter 5
Nikolenka "was only a year and a few months younger than Volodya", but it was at this time that the boy began to understand the differences between him and his brother. Volodya “was superior in everything” to Nikolenka, the brothers gradually move away from each other.
Chapter 6
Nikolenka begins to pay attention to the twenty-five-year-old Masha. However, being very shy and considering himself ugly, the boy does not dare to approach her.
Chapter 7
Grandmother learns that the boys were playing with gunpowder. The woman believes that this is a defect in education and, having fired the German tutor Karl Ivanych, replaces him with a "young dandy Frenchman."
Chapters 8-10
Before leaving, Karl Ivanovich told Nikolenka that his fate had been unhappy since childhood. Gouverneur was the illegitimate son of Count von Somerblanc, so his stepfather did not like him. At the age of 14, Karl was sent to study with a shoemaker, and then he had to go to the soldiers instead of his brother. The man was taken prisoner, from where he managed to escape. Then Karl worked for a long time at the rope factory, but, having fallen in love with the owner's wife, he left his usual place.
In Ems, Karl Ivanovich meets General Sazin, who helps him leave for Russia. After the general's death, Nikolenka's mother hired him as a tutor. During the years of service, Karl Ivanovich became very attached to his pupils.
Chapter 11
On Lyubochka's birthday, "Princess Kornakova and her daughters, Valakhina and Sonechka, Ilenka Grap and the two younger Ivin brothers" came to visit them. In the morning, Nikolenka gets a unit in history.
Chapter 12
At dinner, the father asked Nikolenka to bring sweets from the wing for the birthday girl. In the boy's father's room, he was attracted by a small key from a briefcase. By negligence, Nikolenka, closing the lock, breaks the key.
Chapter 13
After the festive dinner, the children play games. Nikolenka always gets into a couple or a sister or ugly princesses, which annoys him.
Chapter 14
The tutor Saint-Jerome learns about the unit received by the boy in the morning and tells him to go upstairs. Nikolenka shows the teacher the language. The indignant tutor threatens to punish the boy with rods, but Nikolai not only disobeyed, but also hit the teacher. Saint-Jerome locks the boy in a closet.
Chapter 15
Sitting in the closet, Nikolenka feels very unhappy. The boy imagines that he is not the son of his parents, and how the tutor will cry if Nikolai suddenly dies.
Chapters 16-17
Nikolenka spent the whole night in the closet, and only the next day was he transferred to a small room. Soon St.-Jérôme took the boy to his grandmother. A woman makes her grandson ask for forgiveness from the tutor. However, Nikolenka, bursting into tears, refuses to apologize, which brings her grandmother to tears.
The boy who ran out from his grandmother was met by an indignant father - he noticed a broken key. Nikolai, complaining about the tutor, tries to explain everything, but his sobs turn into convulsions and he loses consciousness. Concerned about the boy's health, the family forgave him. However, after what happened, Nicholas hated Saint-Jerome.
Chapter 18
Nikolenka is watching the "entertaining and touching romance" of Masha and Vasily. The girl's uncle forbids them to marry, which makes the lovers suffer greatly. Nikolenka sincerely sympathized with Masha's sadness, but "he could not comprehend how such a charming creature,<…>could love Vasily.
Chapter 19
Nikolenka spends a lot of time thinking about the purpose of man, the immortality of the soul, human happiness, death, and the ideas of skepticism.
Chapter 20
Volodya is preparing to enter the university. Nikolenka is jealous of her brother. Volodya does well in exams, becomes a student. Now he "already leaves the yard alone in his own carriage, receives his acquaintances, smokes tobacco, goes to balls."
Chapter 21
Nikolenka compares Katenka and Lyubochka, noting how the girls have changed. “Katya is sixteen years old; she has grown up”, she seems to the boy more “like a big one”. Lyubochka is completely different - she is "simple and natural in everything."
Chapter 22
Nikolai's father wins a large amount, begins to visit his grandmother more often. On one of the evenings, when Lyubochka was playing “mother's piece” on the piano, Nikolenka especially sharply notices the similarity between her sister and mother.
Chapter 23
Grandma is dying. "Despite the fact that the house is full of mourning visitors, no one regrets her death", except for the maid Gasha. Six weeks later, it became known that her grandmother had left her estate to Lyubochka, appointing not her father, but Prince Ivan Ivanovich, as a guardian.
Chapter 24
Nikolenka has a few months left before entering the university at the Faculty of Mathematics. He becomes more mature, begins to respect the tutor. Nikolai asks his father for permission to marry Vasily and Masha, and they marry.
Chapters 25-26
Nikolai liked to spend time in the company of Volodya's acquaintances. The attention of the young man is especially attracted by Prince Dmitry Nekhlyudov, with whom Nicholas develops friendly relations.
Chapter 27
Nikolay and Dmitry make "a word to themselves never to anyone and never to say anything about each other." The young man very quickly adopted the idealized views of Nekhlyudov - he considered it possible to "correct all of humanity, destroy all human vices and misfortunes."
“But God alone knows whether these noble dreams of youth were really ridiculous, and who is to blame for the fact that they did not come true? ..”
Conclusion
In the story "Adolescence" Tolstoy masterfully analyzed and depicted the process of growing up the soul of the protagonist. Nikolai's adolescence begins after a serious loss - the death of his mother, followed by not only significant external (moving to Moscow), but also internal changes in the hero's life. The hero's perception of the world around him changes, he is in constant reflection about the meaning of what is happening, he tries to know all the diversity of life. Through the image of Nikolai, the author conveyed the subtle psychology of adolescents, so the brilliant work remains relevant today.
His father, brother Volodya, sister Lyubochka and governess Mimi with their daughter Katenka leave the Petrovsky estate for Moscow. Tolstoy describes their long journey in a cart and carriage, from one inn to another.
Chapter II. On the way, the Irtenev family is overtaken by a strong thunderstorm, which excites horror and happiness in Nikolenka's soul at the same time.
Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy. Photo 1897
Chapter III. In a road conversation with Katenka, Nikolenka suddenly finds out: she is not too happy about moving to Moscow. The girl is afraid that she and her mother, poor people, will not get along and get along with the rich grandmother of the Irtenevs. A conversation with Katya gives Nikolenka A New Look on the difference in the social status of people, about which he did not even think about in childhood.
Chapter IV. The Irtenievs live with their grandmother in Moscow. The whole family involuntarily behaves more strictly and ceremoniously here than in the village.
Chapter V Nikolenka increasingly notices that his older brother Volodya is behaving more and more like an adult. Between the two of them, an invisible line that did not exist in childhood is formed. Nikolenka even begins to quarrel with her brother, suspecting that he looks down on him, but these quarrels quickly end in reconciliation.
Lev Tolstoy. Adolescence. audiobook
Chapter VI. Having matured himself, Nikolenka for the first time draws attention to the fact that their beautiful maid Masha is not only a servant, but also woman. Not indifferent to Masha and Volodya. Hiding under the stairs, Nikolenka witnesses Volodya's pestering Masha on the landing.
Chapter VII. Mimi's governess finds a gunshot at Nikolenka and Volodya's. Thinking it is explosive gunpowder, she complains about the boys to their father and grandmother. Grandmother asks her father to fire the incapable German teacher Karl Ivanovich and replace him with a young, educated Frenchman.
Chapter VIII. Frustrated by the dismissal, Karl Ivanovich tells Nikolenka the story of his life - it is not known how true, but how fantastic. He assures that an almost impoverished mother gave birth to him from Count von Zomerblat, who later arranged her to marry one of his poor tenants. The stepfather did not love Karl, giving all his care to his own son, Johann. Karl felt like a stranger in his own family. When the call to the army was announced on the occasion of the Napoleonic Wars, the lot fell to Johann to go to the service. But Karl, who was not needed by anyone in his own home, volunteered to replace him.
Chapter IX. Karl Ivanovich claims that he participated in the famous battles of Ulm, Austerlitz and Wagram. Under Wagram, he was taken prisoner, but one compassionate French sergeant helped him escape. On the way to Frankfurt, Karl met the owner of the rope factory and liked him. Fabrikant took him in and gave him a job. But the owner's wife began to make love proposals to Karl. Not wanting to harm his benefactor, he fled from his house.
Chapter X Karl came to his hometown and found out that his mother and stepfather now run a liquor store. His parents did not recognize him when he entered their tavern and ordered a glass of liquor. Carl told him who he was, and his mother fell unconscious into his arms. But his happiness in the parental home was short-lived. A government spy overheard his free speeches about Napoleon's policy in a coffee shop - and in the evening he came to arrest him. Karl Ivanovich tore his sword off the wall, hit the spy, jumped out the window and fled to the location of the Russian troops, where General Sazin sheltered him. Together with him, he later came to Russia and began to teach noble children there.
Chapter XI. The new tutor - the strict Frenchman St.-Jérôme - reprimands Nikolenka for poor studies with the history teacher Lebedev and threatens to punish him if he gets a deuce again. However, Nikolenka does not teach a new lesson either. Angry Lebedev gives him not even a deuce, but a one.
Chapter XII. On this day, Lyubochka's name day is celebrated. The father, who forgot a gift in the office - a bonbonniere, sends Nikolenka with a bunch of keys for her. Unlocking the box with the bonbonniere in the study, the boy, out of curiosity, opens his father's briefcase with documents with a small key. However, when trying to close it, the key breaks and remains in the lock of the briefcase. Nikolenka is in despair because this new fault has been added to the unit in history.
Chapter XIII. Relative children come to the Irtenevs for lunch. After dinner, teenagers start a game in which young "ladies" choose their "cavaliers". Almost none of the girls wants to choose the ugly Nikolenka. His old love, Sonechka (see chapters XX-XXIV of "Childhood"), prefers Seryozha Ivin (see chapter XIX of "Childhood"). Nikolenka notices how they furtively kiss - and is indignant at traitor Sonechka.
Chapter XIV. St.-Jérôme approaches Nikolenka, annoyed to the depths of his soul. As punishment for a unit in history, he requires him to leave the general game and go to his room to do his homework. In the hearts of Nikolenka, he refuses to leave and shows his tongue to the tutor. St.-Jérôme threatens him with rods. No longer in control of himself, Nikolenka beats the Frenchman with all his might. He, as if in a vise, squeezes his hands, drags him down, locks him in a closet and orders Uncle Vasily to bring the rods.
Chapter XV. Locked in a closet, Nikolenka falls into a frenzied half-forgetfulness. It seems to him that those around him deliberately conspired to torture him - because he is probably not the real son of his parents, but a foundling taken out of mercy. He dreams of confounding his enemies with heroic deeds in the war and then begging the Sovereign to allow him to kill St.-Jérôme. Nikolenka imagines how in the morning he will die in a closet, and his relatives will regret that they brought him to death ...
Chapter XVI. They don't let Nikolenka out of the closet all day long, although punishment with rods is as it should be. The next day, St.-Jérôme opens the closet door and leads the boy to his grandmother. She reproaches him for his impudent behavior, demands to apologize to the tutor, but seeing the uncontrollable and sincere despair of her grandson, she herself begins to cry. Nicholas is released. On the stairs, his father grabs him and sternly asks how he dared to open a briefcase with documents without asking. Nikolenka's sobs turn into convulsions. He is carried to bed, and he falls asleep until evening.
Chapter XVII. Waking up, Nikolenka burns with a fierce hatred for the frivolous and arrogant St.-Jérôme, who is so unlike the former good-natured and simple teacher Karl Ivanovich.
Chapter XVIII. The maid Masha, meanwhile, falls in love with the lackey Vasily without memory. However, their uncle, Nikolai, who considers Vasily “a man, is opposed to their marriage.” inconsistent and unbridled". From grief, Vasily drinks from time to time, and these manifestations of longing further strengthen Masha's love for him. Sad Vasily goes to sit with Masha in the maid's room, but another maid, Gasha, drives him out of there. Pitying the unfortunate lovers, Nikolenka dreams of growing up quickly and becoming the owner of the estate: then he will allow his serfs Masha and Vasily to get married and give them a thousand rubles.
Chapter XIX. Moving from childhood to adolescence, Nikolenka begins to show a penchant for philosophical reflections about the meaning of life, about the essence of happiness, about whether there are objects of the world apart from our imagination. He considers himself the discoverer of many well-known thoughts about morality and being, but in the end he gets confused in his polysyllabic reasoning.
Chapter XX. Nikolenka's older brother, Volodya, diligently studies with teachers and soon successfully passes the entrance exam to the university. The line separating the already almost adult Volodya from Nikolenka is now becoming even more noticeable. Volodya is visited by smart comrades, with whom he has serious conversations. Between him and Katenka, in addition to childhood friendship, some other, mysterious relationship appears.
Chapter XXI. Katenka and Lyubochka are no longer girls, but girls. Both of them are changing a lot - externally and internally. In this case, the difference between their characters becomes more pronounced. Lyubochka is simple and natural in everything, while Katenka is prone to ceremony, affectation and coquetry.
Chapter XXII. With the transition from childhood to adolescence, Nikolenka's view of his father also changes. The former unconditional admiration for him disappears. Nikolenka begins to notice that his father has many weaknesses and shortcomings.
Chapter XXIII. Grandmother falls seriously ill and soon dies, leaving the entire estate in her will to Lyubochka and entrusting custody until her marriage not to the player-father, but to Prince Ivan Ivanovich.
Chapter XXIV. Nikolenka is preparing to enter the university. Science comes easily to him. Nikolenka is encouraged by the words of his father that he has smart mug. The maid Masha is finally allowed to marry Vasily, and they are married.
Chapter XXV. Of all the friends, Volodya is most often visited by adjutant Dubkov and Prince Nekhlyudov. The first is a limited person, but cheerful and self-confident. Nekhlyudov, on the other hand, is silent and bashful. Nikolenka likes his thoughtfulness. He would like to get closer to Nekhlyudov, but at first he does not pay much attention to him.
Chapter XXVI. Nekhlyudov and Dubkov pick up Volodya to go to the theater with him. But they only have two tickets for the three of them. Nekhlyudov gives Volodya his ticket, and he himself stays with Nikolenka and starts a conversation with him about pride and other properties of the human soul. Nikolenka's reasoning seems to Nekhlyudov very intelligent. Both of them feel a lot in common in their characters.
Chapter XXVII. Nekhlyudov and Nikolenka become friends. In order to eliminate any shadow of indiscretion among themselves, they even decide to confess to each other the most vile thoughts that come into each head. Nikolenka feels a certain superiority of Nekhlyudov over himself, but is still very glad to be friends with him.
© Author of the summary - Russian Historical Library. Read also Tolstoy's article "Childhood" - a summary of the chapters. Links to materials about other works of Leo Tolstoy - see below, in the block "More on the topic ..."
Title of the work: adolescence
Year of writing: 1854
Genre: story
Main characters: Nicholas, his grandmother, Brother, father, Dmitry Nekhlyudov
Plot
Arriving in Moscow at his grandmother's house, having grown up after the death of his mother, Nikolai begins to realize and better understand the feelings of those around him: grandmother, brother, father. He associates this change in himself with the process of growing up. And at the same time, this is still an unpredictable teenager who defends his independence with all his might.
He can quarrel rudely with a teacher - tutor, annoy his father, quarrel over nonsense with his brother. He is worried about the beauty of the maid and at the same time, he, watching the courtship of the footman Vasily, cannot understand how such a simple and rude relationship can be called love.
A teenager is constantly thinking, he cares a lot and he wants to understand a lot. He envies his older brother that he is already a student and almost an independent person. He notes the aging of his father and grandmother, is deeply worried about her death and is offended to the core by conversations about money and inheritance.
Under the influence of his friend Dmitry, Nikolai comes to the conclusion that the main thing for a person is to improve himself and try to correct his environment.
Conclusion (my opinion)
This story is the second in the trilogy "Childhood. Adolescence. Youth”, in which the author examines the complex process of growing up, the transition from one state to another, the change of feelings and beliefs in the soul, first of a child, then a teenager, and, finally, a young man.