Why readers ordered prayers and wore mourning for book heroes: What is the phenomenon of Senkevich's novel "With Fire and Sword"

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Alas, it's not a secret for anyone that almost every literary work has its own time, which rushes headlong into eternity. Only a few creations, having become classics, can count on the understanding and recognition of both current and future generations. In readers' circles and among critics since publication the legendary novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz "With Fire and Sword" there were heated debates over whether he would suffer the fate of one-day novels, or would he become a classic. But, only time is able to put everything in its place - the creation of the Polish writer is still read to book lovers all over the world. But about what an incredible resonance this novel made on readers more than 135 years ago, then - in our review.

Henryk Sienkiewicz is a talented Polish writer, as well as a historian to some extent, because not every author is given the ability to process so much historical information by lifting heaps of archives, and to give dry material bright colors and rich shades, as well as fill it with fascinating content. At one time, the writer made a breakthrough in the genre of adventure and historical literature. And readers, thirsty for adventure, deep feelings and unforgettable impressions, plunged headlong into the events of the exciting pages of his novel.

With "Fire and Sword" - the overwhelming success of a novice writer

Initially, the author planned that the first part of the "Trilogy" "With Fire and Sword" would consist of 60 parts, as a result there were 206 parts. he just had no choice.

His novel was read everywhere: in the gentry estates, in craft workshops, offices and post offices … begged the author not to kill any of the heroes of the book. When the character of the novel, Longinus Podbipyatka, nevertheless died at the hands of the Tatars near Zbarazh, mourning began in the country, prayers were ordered in churches for the repose of his soul.

Not a single part of the novel, not a single significant event remained without a response from the reading public. A contemporary of Henryk Sienkiewicz, literary historian Stanislav Tarnovsky, recalled that at that time every conversation began and ended with a discussion about the novel, and its characters were spoken of as living real people.

Initially, the writer had the idea to show the love triangle between the main characters of the novel - Jan Skshetusky, the beautiful Princess Elena Kurtsevich and Colonel Ivan Bohun as the main storyline of the work. And the audience, with bated breath, watched the development of their relationship. However, the novel soon began to acquire episodes in which the reader began to read the description of battles, escapes, chases, fights, the romance of steppe life and many others, which are now an integral part of the book. And the theme of chivalry and patriotism, which literally permeated the work, awakened a very deep sense of national pride among the Poles.

The main goal of the work, as the author himself argued, was to raise the national spirit of the Poles at the time of internecine strife within the country and a popular uprising. And he certainly succeeded with interest.

What the critic said

Of course, such a success of the novel did not remain without critical, harsh remarks from literary scholars, one of whom noted:

So, some connoisseurs of history let go of the writer stinging reproaches for falsification and the absence in his works of a real picture of historical events and social phenomena, over-idealization of historical characters (to a greater extent, this concerned Prince Jeremiah Vishnevetsky). Other critics found signs of other genres in Senkevich's novel: fairy tales, westerns, stories from folk life.

However, the main complaint about the novel was that its author was characterized by a one-sided look, and a sort of hypertrophied one. When some characters were idealized, while others were the devil. That is, the Cossacks are disgusting and terrible, always drunk, bloodthirsty, stupid and their whole goal is to kill, and in contrast to them, noble gentry were shown. Of course, Senkevich's nationality made itself felt very concretely. Nevertheless, although the author was with all his heart and soul on the side of his people, he nevertheless tried to maintain maximum objectivity, perfectly understanding

Most readers quite easily forgave Senkevich for his sympathies - how could one judge and demand historical objective reliability from a work of art when the author had the right to his own personal point of view. And from the purely artistic point of view, whatever one may say, Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel is magnificent. The main composition, the rhythm of the narration, the structure of the plot, the selection of characters, the colorful writing language - everything is verified almost perfectly.

A few words about the plot of the novel

Noble arrogance and Cossack prowess, once again converged on the battlefield, each defending his own truth. The bloody war, which began as an uprising of the Cossacks of the Zaporozhye army, reached unprecedented proportions. Intrigues, exploits and cowardice, negotiations, victories and defeats, personal grievances of Bohdan Khmelnitsky and what it turned into for the Commonwealth and for Ukraine - all this taken together and laid down on the pages of the famous novel.

In a word - from the pen of the writer came out a novel that told about the events of the middle of the 17th century, when the uprising of the Cossacks under the leadership of Colonel Bohdan Khmelnitsky took place together with the Tatars against the Polish gentry. The novel faithfully reflects the images of very many historical characters who actually existed in that era.

The action "With Fire and Sword" unfolds according to the laws of adventure literature and, of course, there was a romantic thread here: two gentlemen are fighting for the heart of a Polish beauty amid bloody clashes, abductions, escapes, and chases. However, this storyline is secondary in the book. A special view of the author was aimed at battles, the character of the heroes, their strength and valor. The author vividly, with great skill, described the dialogues of the characters, which are characterized by humor, irony and dignity.

Now it is difficult to judge who was right and who was wrong almost five centuries ago: everyone always had their own shirt closer to the body. But, traditionally in the history of Soviet times, the image of Bohdan Khmelnytsky was elevated to the rank of a national hero, which, incidentally, is not surprising, because as a result of the uprising he led, vast Ukrainian territories passed into Russian citizenship.

Henryk Sienkiewicz in his novel "With Fire and Sword" shows events from the other, from the "Polish" side. His Khmelnitsky is a madman and a drunkard who started a riot because of a personal resentment. In fact, the gap between the Cossacks and the Polish gentry was caused by an incident that completely changed the life of the Cossack colonel, and finally turned against the Polish state.

The Polish old man Daniel Chaplinsky destroyed his farm, stole his beloved and ordered the colonel's son to be brutally beaten. Turning to the king for help, Khmelnytsky received only advice: it is better to defend their lands. That, he did, raising an armed rebellion and, over time, annexing most of Ukraine to Russia. The price of Khmelnitsky's personal grievance for the Polish gentry turned out to be too high. But, it will be much later …

And according to Senkevich's novel, a spark of hostility that flared up ignited the conflagration of the war, from which the Rzeczpospolita emerged victorious - the novel ends with a description of the battle at Berestechko in 1651, in which the Polish army inflicted a crushing defeat on the Cossack-Crimean army.

Interesting facts from the life of the writer Henryk Sienkiewicz

And in conclusion, I would like to turn over a few pages from the biography of Henryk Sienkiewicz, so that our reader could learn more about the vicissitudes of the writer's life and his literary activity.

Childhood and youth

Henryk Adam Alexander Pius Sienkiewicz was born in May 1846 in the village of Wola-Oksheyska, in the Kingdom of Poland, where his father's estate was. Curiously, his relatives in the priest were Tatars who converted to the Catholic faith and moved to Poland. The maternal lineage came from Belarusian nobles. However, Henryk's parents considered themselves full-fledged Poles and, of course, passed on this perception to their six children.

The Senkevich family suddenly went bankrupt and found themselves in a difficult financial situation. Therefore, my father was forced to sell his estates for debts, and when the last one was sold, the Senkevich family moved to the capital of Poland, Warsaw. Despite the plight, parents did their best to give their children a good education. Thanks to this, young Henryk graduated from the Warsaw gymnasium and successfully passed the exams at the local university at the medical faculty, but soon, due to lack of interest in the subject, he switched to the history and philology.

However, in 1871, Henryk was forced to leave the university altogether, now due to a banal lack of money. While studying at the university, the young man was a rather mediocre student, but at the same time he excelled well in literature and the Polish language. It was these subjects that helped the novice talent to express itself and in the near future to achieve considerable success. Inspired by the novels of Walter Scott and Alexandre Dumas, while still a student, he composed his first story "Sacrifice", which was never published.

Senkevich - journalist

Not dwelling on bad experiences, Henryk tries himself in journalism. The poor student took the pseudonym Litvos and began writing articles, essays and essays for several periodicals in Warsaw (Niva, Gazeta Polska and others). His talented works were noticed and published. The young Senkevich had an innovative approach to writing and an easy style, which was quickly appreciated in journalistic circles, so Henryk decided to quit his studies at the university and devote all his time to work.

In the circle of the Polish intelligentsia, he soon acquired a reputation as almost the best journalist in Warsaw. Already in 1872, Sienkiewicz made his first debut when he wrote the story "The Beginning". Inspired by his success, the newcomer continued to actively compose his own works and publish.

In the second half of the 70s, at the expense of the newspaper's editorial board, he traveled a lot around Europe, visited America, where, gaining impressions and being inspired by travel and his unseen foreign life, the young man wrote many short stories, essays, and reports that regularly appeared in the Polish press.

So, traveling in Italy, he meets the Polish woman Maria Shenkevich. Two years later, the young got married. The marriage turned out to be successful, happy, but, alas, short-lived. In 1882, the Senkevichs had a son, Henryk Josef, a year later, a daughter of Jadwiga. After the birth of her daughter, the wife's health deteriorated, and in 1885 she died of tuberculosis. Senkevich was left with two children in his arms. After the death of his wife, the writer married twice more.

Senkevich - novelist of the historical genre

A resounding success erupted around the name of the writer after the first novel of the Trilogy, With Fire and Sword (1883-1884), which was followed by The Deluge (1884-1886) and Pan Volodyevsky (1887-1888). All of these novels were greeted with enthusiasm and are considered classics of Polish literature today.

After the unprecedented success of The Trilogy, several more historical works of fiction came out from the pen of the writer, but they achieved less popularity. Once again, the writer was at the zenith of fame, having published the novel "Kamo Gryadeshi" (1894-1896), translated from the Old Slavonic "Where Are You Going". This fundamental work of the master became famous far beyond the borders of Poland, was translated into more than 50 languages and noted by the Pope himself. By the way, it was thanks to this novel that Senkevich received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905.

An interesting fact is that it was this novel that was filmed most often, namely seven times. In total, over 20 works of the outstanding writer who worked at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries have been filmed in the history of cinema.

By the way, in 1999 the Polish film director Jerzy Hoffman filmed the novel With Fire and Sword. In the next review, you will learn about the background of the creation of the four-part historical film, about interesting facts and what is left behind the scenes.

Continuing the theme of films based on historical works of art, where the writers reflected the uneasy relations between Poland and Ukraine during the time of the Cossacks, read: Behind the scenes of the film "Taras Bulba": Why Bogdan Stupka considered this picture the most terrible in his acting career