Why critics called the tale of Masonic initiation the fairy tale "The Black Chicken" by Pogorelsky

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

The first author's fairy tale for children in Russian was written back in 1829. In this story, researchers in different centuries have found very diverse motives - up to an accurate description of the ceremonies of the Freemasons. The story was accused of excessive morality and infernality, however, 200 years later, "The Black Hen, or Underground inhabitants" remains the same exciting and still teaches children simple and eternal truths.

The book was published under the authorship of Anthony Pogorelsky. Alexey Perovsky, the eldest illegitimate son of Count Alexei Razumovsky, was hiding under this pseudonym. Despite the dubious origin, the young man was brought up in his father's house and received an excellent education: in 1807 he defended his doctorate in philosophy and verbal sciences at Moscow University. In those years, Alexei's hobby was natural sciences. The young man admired Karl Linnaeus's classification system, and his first works were devoted to botany.

At the age of 20, the young man translated Karamzin's "Poor Liza" into German and thanks to this he entered the close circle of the eminent author, met Peter Vyazemsky and Vasily Zhukovsky. Later, by the way, fate will bring him together with Pushkin, who will admire the fantastic stories of his friend.

In 1812, Perovsky, not listening to his father, went to the front in the Cossack regiment. He participated in many battles and earned himself the fame of a real brave man. After the war, staying for several years in Dresden, Perovsky became interested in German romanticism. Until now, this author, who created not so many works, is called the Russian Hoffmann.

In the 1820s, Perovsky began to engage in the upbringing and education of his nephew Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy. It was for the future writer (not to be confused with Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy!) That Perovsky wrote an instructive and a bit gloomy story about the misadventures of the boy Alyosha, who wanted to achieve success not by honest labor, but with the help of magic. It is believed that this story is largely autobiographical, because little Alyosha Perovsky had the experience of being in a private boarding school.

The Black Chicken was a piece that was unique for its time. A fantastic story for the first time addressed the inner world of a child, told in detail how resisting temptations and trials educate the soul. Today, some researchers find in Pogorelsky's story a deeper context, considering it in fact a story about Masons in Russia.

It is known that the writer's father, Count Alexei Kirillovich Razumovsky, was an influential Freemason, who in different years was a member of the workshops of St. Petersburg and Moscow. However, apparently, he opposed his son, seeking to get into a secret society. The reason could be the unsuccessful experience of the legitimate son of Constantine, who "became obsessed with the Illuminati abroad," or the fact that Freemasonry in Russia in 1822 was strictly prohibited by the decree of Alexander I. Nicholas I in 1826 confirmed this decision and began to vigilantly monitor suspicious free masons.

However, Alexei Perovsky still became a member of several lodges (though not those in which his father was): the modern historian of Russian Freemasonry A. Serkov notes his belonging to the lodges of Moscow (Lodge of Welfare), St. Petersburg (Lodge of Elizabeth to virtue) and Dresden (Lodge of three swords). The writer was a master of hoaxes and often joked with friends about belonging to secret organizations.

In his amazing tale, according to some researchers, Pogorelsky created a real double bottom, laid the second layer of information, understandable only to a select few. So, for example, an important point is that the time of the story's action was postponed forty years ago, during the reign of Catherine II and at the time of the beginning of the Great French Revolution. One popular theory is that it was almost entirely trained by Freemasons.

If we adhere to this view, then the community of underground inhabitants who were forced to leave the world resembles Freemasonry, which was banned in Russia seven years before the publication of the book:

According to the supporters of the Masonic version of "Black Hen", it is no coincidence that the author places the action in St. Petersburg, the center of Russian Freemasonry, and repeatedly emphasizes in the text that important changes have taken place in the city in recent years: at that time, St. Petersburg, etc.

But the main thing in the tale is the trials through which the main character goes. He must visit the world, hidden from prying eyes, and maintain a vow of silence. He has a patron who vouches for him and subsequently bears punishment for the boy's mistake. According to many researchers, all this is very reminiscent of the Masonic initiation rite. The main virtues that Alyosha has to learn from his own sad example are honesty, modesty and hard work. It is possible that these commandments are Masonic, but in any case they help children on the difficult path of growing up, and thanks to a beautiful old fairy tale, they come to life again every time.

For lovers of conspiracy theories, it may be interesting how Masons appeared in Russia, and what is known about them today