Other characters
Malyuta Skuratov is the favorite guardsman and assistant of Ivan the Terrible.
Maxim Skuratov is the 17-year-old son of Malyuta, an opponent of the oprichnina.
Fyodor Basmanov is a guardsman, a favorite of Ivan the Terrible.
Boris Fedorovich Godunov - boyar, confidant of Ivan the Terrible.
Afanasy Ivanovich Vyazemsky is the head of the guardsmen, the tsar’s favorite.
Ring is a brave chieftain of robbers.
Korshun is an old robber chieftain.
Mikheich is Prince Serebryany’s groom and his tutor.
The miller is a local healer and sorcerer.
Onufrevna is the old mother of Ivan the Terrible.
History of creation
The source of inspiration for the writer was the reign of Emperor Nicholas I, which was hard to perceive by the intelligentsia of that time as a time of tyranny. In the images of people of the sixteenth century, the writer wanted to depict the situation that he saw around him with a cruel sovereign, vile hangers-on around him and silent people suffering from tyranny.
Work on the novel “Prince Silver” began in the forties. In 1850, Tolstoy was already reading the first passages to Gogol. The exact date of completion of the work is unknown; Tolstoy was in no hurry to both write and publish his creation, fearing censorship. Only after Alexander II became emperor did the writer decide to present his novel to the general public. In 1861, “Prince Silver” was publicly read in the Winter Palace, and in 1862 it was published without cuts.
The history of writing the novel “Prince Silver” includes other interesting facts:
- As a historical source, the author used the famous scientific work of N.M. Karamzin “History of the Russian State”, therefore many of the details and situations depicted in the book are confirmed.
- To portray the history of that period from several angles, the writer used Tales of Prince Kurbsky, a collection of letters from a disgraced nobleman who openly opposed Ivan the Terrible and criticized his methods of government.
- The novel “Prince Silver” became one of the first books in Russia to be published with illustrations.
- The Empress really liked the novel, and she awarded the author a valuable gift - a gold keychain in the shape of a book.
- Tolstoy tried, as much as possible, to soften historical details from chronicles and letters, so as not to traumatize the reader with descriptions of bloody events. In the preface he wrote:
When reading the sources, the book more than once fell out of the author’s hands, and he threw down the pen in indignation, not so much from the thought that John IV could exist, but from the fact that there could be a society that looked at him without indignation. This heavy feeling constantly interfered with the objectivity necessary in an epic work and was part of the reason that the novel, begun more than ten years ago, was completed only this year.
Summary
Preface
The author sees his task as depicting in the novel “an entire era and the reproduction of concepts, beliefs, morals and the degree of education of Russian society in the second half of the 16th century.”
Chapter 1. Oprichniki
In the summer of 1565, the “young boyar Prince Nikita Romanovich Serebryany” returned to his native village of Medvedevka after a five-year stay in Lithuania, where he tried in vain to “sign peace for many years” with King Zhigimont.
Suddenly the village is attacked by guardsmen, whom the prince mistakes for robbers. He manages to repel the attack, and from local residents he learns that the oprichniki are “the tsar’s people”, whom the tsar himself allowed to “rob and fleece” the common people.
Chapter 2. New comrades
The prince gives orders to his soldiers to take the captive guardsmen to the governor, and he himself, together with the stirrup Mikheich, continues on his way. In the forest they are attacked by real robbers, but the prince and his companion are saved from certain death by Vanyukha Ring and Korshun - prisoners of the guardsmen, whom the prince set free.
Chapter 3. Witchcraft
Prince Silver stops for the night with a miller. At night, the head of the guardsmen, Prince Afanasy Vyazemsky, comes to the owner and demands from the “sorcerer” a love potion for his sweetheart.
Chapter 4. Druzhina Andreevich and his wife
The wife of the boyar Druzhina Andreevich Moroz was the first Moscow beauty - “twenty-year-old Elena Dmitrievna.” The girl was forced to marry an old but kind boyar, because she was afraid of Prince Vyazemsky, who was persistent in his passion. Elena herself loved Prince Serebryany, and even promised to become his wife, but he stayed in Lithuania for a long time.
Chapter 5. Meeting
Elena is sitting in the garden with the girls. Suddenly, a dashing horseman appears behind the palisade - Prince Serebryany. Noticing “the pearl kokoshnik on Elena’s head,” Nikita Romanovich turns pale - his beloved is married.
Chapter 6. Reception
Prince Serebryany enters Morozov's chambers. He “knew the prince as a child, but they had long lost sight of each other.” Meanwhile, Elena Dmitrievna enters, but at the sight of her lover she is unable to control herself, and her husband notices her excitement.
The boyar tells the guest about denunciations, oprichnina and terrible executions. Having learned that Serebryany is heading to the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda to see the Tsar, Morozov dissuades him from this trip, which promises death for the young prince. However, Nikita Romanovich sets off on a journey.
Chapter 7. Alexandrova Sloboda
On the way to Sloboda, the prince observes a picture of terrible changes. In place of churches and luxurious mansions, there are now gallows and scaffolds everywhere, poverty and robbery are rampant, and honest people have no life at all from the guardsmen.
At the royal court, Nikita becomes the victim of a bear, which, for the sake of fun, was set on him by the favorite of Ivan IV, young Fyodor Basmanov. The prince is saved from certain death by young Maxim Skuratov, the son of Malyuta.
Before meeting with the Tsar, Serebryany “prepared for everything and mentally read a prayer.”
Chapter 8. Feast
Nikita Romanovich expects the tsar’s wrath for tying up his guardsmen in his native village. However, he shows his mercy to the prince, since he does not yet know about his outrage.
At the table, Ivan the Terrible tells Vyazemsky a fairy tale, thereby hinting at his permission to take Elena from Morozov by force.
Chapter 9. Court
Meanwhile, the tsar is informed about the events in Medvedevka. Having learned about Serebryany’s arbitrariness, the angry Ivan IV is going to immediately execute him. And only one guardsman - Maxim Skuratov - stands up for the prince. The Tsar calms down and, remembering that Nikita has always shown himself to be a “good servant,” cancels the execution.
Chapter 10. Father and son
Impressed by the act of Serebryany, who “defeated the Tsar’s guardsmen for murder and did not lock himself up in front of the Tsar in his rightful cause,” Maxim Skuratov decides to leave his father and go “wherever his eyes look.”
Chapter 11. Night procession
The Tsar’s mother, Onufrevna, was still alive, and she was “almost in her twenties.” Due to her age and special position, she fearlessly reproaches the king for the sins he has committed. Ivan the Terrible sees “a picture of future retribution” before his eyes and is frightened by his fate. After getting all his servants out of bed, he goes to church to serve matins.
Chapter 12. Slander
The next morning, the king is ashamed of his nightly fears, and decides to “continue to punish the traitors and put to death his villains, although there would be thousands of them.”
Meanwhile, Malyuta, who is no longer able to endure the endless bullying from the cruel Tsarevich John, decides to take revenge on him for all the insults. He slanderes his son to Ivan the Terrible, and he orders him to be killed during a hunt.
Chapter 13. Vanyukha Ring and his comrades
A gang of robbers gathers in the forest, among them Kite and Ring. They accept into their ranks a man whose family was massacred by the guardsmen, and the young, clumsy strongman Mitka, from whom the guardsmen “took his bride.”
Chapter 14. Slap
In a conversation with Godunov, Serebryany does not understand how he, seeing all the injustice of the tsar’s rule, will not tell him about it. To which Godunov replies that “it’s good to stand for the truth, but one in the field is not a governor.”
Mikheich comes running and says that Malyuta and the guardsmen are taking the captive prince somewhere. Silver immediately gives chase. Having caught up with Malyuta, he slaps him in the face and enters into battle. Soon robbers come to his aid. Together they manage to defeat the guardsmen and save the prince from death, but Malyuta manages to escape.
Chapter 15. Kissing ritual
Vyazemsky and his retinue appear at the Morozov house under a plausible pretext. Morozov arranges a feast. He suspects Elena of treason, but does not know exactly who his rival is. To confirm his guess, Morozov starts a “kiss ritual.” When the prince kissed Elena, “she trembled as if in a fever, her legs gave way under her.”
Chapter 16. Kidnapping
At the end of the feast, Morozov reproaches Elena for treason and reminds her “of the punishment for adultery.” Suddenly, Vyazemsky bursts into the bedchamber with his faithful guardsmen and kidnaps Elena, and then sets fire to all the “roofs of human services.” However, Serebryany manages to seriously wound Vyazemsky, but he himself is captured by his guardsmen.
Chapter 17. Blood Plot
Vyazemsky tirelessly gallops all night to have time to “transport Elena to his Ryazan patrimony.” From the wounds inflicted, he loses consciousness and falls to the ground, and the horse carries the frightened Elena to the miller.
He quickly “realized what was going on”: recognizing Vyazemsky’s horse, he realized who the girl was too. He barely has time to hide Elena when horsemen with the wounded Vyazemsky appear near his house. The miller manages to stop the blood from the prince’s terrible wounds and direct the uninvited guests to the inn.
Chapter 18. Old acquaintance
The next morning, Mikheich appears at the miller and asks him for advice on how to free Serebryany, who stood up for the truth. The miller shows him the way to the robber's den, and hints at a certain firebird, for which the “proceeds” will need to be divided in half.
Chapter 19. Russian people remember good things
Having found the refuge of the robbers, Mikheich asks Ring and Korshun for help. Mitka joins them, and together they go to Sloboda to rescue Serebryany from prison.
Chapter 20. Merry people
While falconry, the king comes across blind storytellers who manage to amuse the king. He orders them to go to the royal chambers and wait for his return, while he continues the hunt.
Chapter 21. Fairy tale
When meeting with the king, Onufrevna says that the storytellers he sent are very suspicious. It seems to her “that they are up to no good,” and the king should be very careful with them.
Listening to the tales of blind men, Ivan the Terrible pretends to be asleep. Korshun decides to take advantage of this and take the prison keys that were lying near the king.
At this moment the king opens his eyes and calls the guards. The guardsmen grab Korshun, but Ring manages to escape. He hurries to the prison and takes the prince away by force.
Chapter 22. Monastery
Maxim Skuratov, having left his father's house, comes to the monastery. He confesses and asks the Lord for forgiveness for his dislike for the king and disrespect for his own father.
Chapter 23. The Road
After staying briefly in the monastery with the good abbot, Maxim sets off on his journey. His road lies through the forest, where he is soon attacked by robbers.
Chapter 24. The revolt of the villagers
The robbers, having learned that their favorite Kite was in the royal captivity, rebelled. They demand that Ring transfer his atamanship to Prince Serebryany, and he leads them to Sloboda for robbery.
Seeing Maxim tied up, the prince convinces the robbers to let the young man go, since he is “the same enemy of the oprichnina” as all of them. Instead of going to Sloboda, he convinces the villagers to go against the Tatars - to destroy the “Basurman tribe.”
Chapter 25. Preparing for battle
Ring shares with Serebryany his cunning plan on how to cut off the Tatars. Knowing the resourcefulness of the robber leader, the prince “let him act according to his thoughts.”
Chapter 26. Twinning
Maxim thanks Prince Nikita for saving him and confesses his sincere sympathy for him. Before the battle with the Tatars, he asks the prince to fraternize “according to the ancient Christian custom,” and the brothers exchange pectoral crosses.
Thanks to Ring’s cunning invention, the robbers initially manage to kill a lot of Tatars, but the forces are too unequal. Only thanks to Fyodor Basmanov’s army, who came to the rescue in time, is it possible to defeat the enemy. Maxim dies on the battlefield.
Chapter 27. Basmanov
In honor of the victory over the Tatars, Basmanov organizes a feast. He himself is “a strange mixture of guile, arrogance, unpampered debauchery and careless prowess.” He is surprised to learn that Silver decides to return to the king and throw himself at his mercy.
Chapter 28. Parting
Some of the robbers also go to Sloboda with Serebryany, while the rest, led by Ring and Mitka, decide to join Ermak.
Chapter 29. Confrontation
“A week after the defeat of the Tatars,” the tsar receives Basmanov, who wants to appropriate all the laurels of the winner to himself. Wanting to slander the tsar’s favorite, Prince Vyazemsky, Basmanov accuses him of witchcraft.
Morozov comes to the Tsar and asks to call Vyazemsky, and he agrees to a confrontation. Ivan the Terrible decides - let the opponents be tried “by the court of God” and fight in Sloboda in front of witnesses. Whoever loses will be executed.
Chapter 30. Conspiracy for iron
Fearing that victory will fall to the still strong Morozov, Vyazemsky goes to the miller to make “his blows irresistible through witchcraft.”
Approaching the mill, he, unnoticed by anyone, finds Basmanov. He asks the miller for grass in order to enter “again into the royal favor.”
Having spoken with the saber, at the request of Vyazemsky, the miller begins to cast a spell and sees pictures of terrible executions.
Chapter 31. God's Judgment
On the day of the fight, two opponents meet on the square - Vyazemsky and Morozov. Weakened by recent wounds, Vyazemsky falls from his horse and asks to be replaced by another warrior. This is against the rules, but Ivan the Terrible allows him to nominate Matvey Khomyak in his place. Morozov refuses to fight with the hireling. Mitka emerges from the crowd to “stand up for the truth.” He refuses to fight with sabers and kills Hamster with his shafts.
Chapter 32. Vyazemsky's amulet
The Tsar accuses Vyazemsky of witchcraft against himself. He orders that his former favorite be thrown into prison and the miller brought to testify.
Chapter 33. Basmanov's amulet
During the terrible interrogation, Vyazemsky does not utter a word “out of pride, out of contempt, or because life disgusts him.” Basmanov is glad that his main rival is in disgrace. He doesn’t yet know that the caught miller, under torture, spoke about Basmanov’s desire to “spoil the state’s health.”
Chapter 34. Jester's caftan
Morozov receives an invitation to come to the royal table, where Ivan the Terrible invites him to sit below Godunov. Morozov angrily refuses. Those present are waiting to see how the royal wrath will manifest itself.
The Tsar orders Morozov to be dressed in a jester's caftan and thereby publicly humiliate him. In accordance with the legal rights of the jester, he expresses to his face everything that he thinks about him and the methods of his rule.
Ivan the Terrible orders Morozov to be thrown into prison and “not to be tortured, lest he die before his time.”
Chapter 35. Execution
On the day of the general execution, people gather “in a large shopping area inside Kitai-Gorod” and terrible torture instruments are built. The Tsar presents to the public Morozov, Vyazemsky, Basmanov, the miller, Korshun - terrible criminals “who wanted to betray the state to the enemies.” All convicts are tortured and executed.
Chapter 36. Return to Sloboda
Having horrified Moscow with cruel executions, “the tsar wanted to appear merciful and magnanimous” and released all those convicted.
Meanwhile, Serebryany appears at Godunov’s place - “the disgrace of the sovereigns, condemned to death.” He has no choice but to announce to the king the return of the disgraced prince.
Chapter 37. Forgiveness
Nikita Romanovich explains to the Tsar that he was taken from prison against his will. He also talks about the victory over the Tatars and asks for mercy for the robbers who now want to serve the Tsar, but not in the ranks of the guardsmen.
Silver, despite the tsar’s tempting offer, also refuses to serve him among the guardsmen. Then Ivan the Terrible appoints him commander of a guard regiment, to which all his robbers are assigned.
Chapter 38. Departure from Sloboda
Faithful Mikheich tells the prince how he found Elena Dmitrievna at the mill. The girl refused to go to Morozov’s estate, and Mikheich, at her request, “left her in the hands of the abbess” of the convent.
Having learned about this, Silver asks the servant to gallop at full speed to the monastery and beg Elena not to take monastic vows before meeting him.
Chapter 39. Last date
The prince is already looking forward to a happy life next to his beloved, but the returning Mikheich reports that Elena Dmitrievna is no more, and “there is only sister Evdokia” - Elena managed to become a nun.
In deep sadness, the prince goes to the monastery to say goodbye to Elena. His only consolation is “the knowledge that he has fulfilled his duty in life” and has not committed a single meanness.
Chapter 40. Ermak's Embassy
After many years, Ivan the Terrible still continues to execute “the best, most famous citizens.” However, his power is weakening: on the borders the tsar increasingly suffers defeats, and only in the east does his domain expand thanks to the efforts of Ermak and Ivan Kolts, a former robber chieftain nicknamed Ring.
Godunov, who became the “brother-in-law of Tsarevich Fyodor,” is gaining strength at court every year. But the unprecedented royal mercy did not give Godunov “neither arrogance nor arrogance.”
Prince Serebryany seventeen years ago was “killed by the Tatars, and his entire squad died along with him.”
Prince Silver
Beginning the narrative, the author announces that his main goal is to show the general character of the era, its morals, concepts, beliefs, and therefore he allowed deviations from history in detail - and concludes that his most important feeling was indignation: not so much against John as at a society that is not indignant at him.
Next, an old song is woven into the narrative, interpreting the same event. Having caught up with Malyuta, Serebryany slaps him in the face and enters into battle with the guardsmen, and robbers come to his aid. The guardsmen were beaten, the prince was safe, but Malyuta and Khomyak fled. Soon Vyazemsky comes to Morozov with his guardsmen, supposedly to announce that his disgrace has been lifted, but in reality to take Elena away. Silver, who was invited for such joy, also comes. Morozov, who heard his wife’s love speeches in the garden, but did not see his interlocutor, believes that it is Vyazemsky or Serebryany, and starts a “kissing ceremony,” believing that Elena’s embarrassment will give her away. Silver penetrates his plan, but is not free to avoid the ritual. Kissing Silver, Elena faints. In the evening, in Elena’s bedchamber, Morozov reproaches her for betrayal, but Vyazemsky breaks in with his henchmen and takes her away, however, severely wounded by Serebryany. In the forest, weakened from his wounds, Vyazemsky loses consciousness, and a maddened horse brings Elena to the miller, and he, guessing who she is, hides her, guided not so much by his heart as by calculation. Soon the guardsmen bring the bloodied Vyazemsky, the miller charms him with blood, but, having frightened the guardsmen with all sorts of devilry, he turns them away from spending the night. The next day Mikheich arrives, looking for Vanyukha’s ring to be sewn up for the prince, who was thrown into prison by the guardsmen. The Miller shows the way to the Ring, promising Mikheich a certain firebird upon his return. After listening to Mikheich, Ring with Uncle Korshun and Mitka set off for Sloboda.
Malyuta and Godunov come to Serebryany’s prison for interrogation. Malyuta, insinuating and affectionate, amused by the prince’s disgust, wants to return the slap in the face, but Godunov holds him back. The Tsar, trying to distract himself from thoughts about Serebryany, goes hunting. There his gyrfalcon Adragan, who at first distinguished himself, falls into a rage, destroys the falcons themselves and flies away; Trishka is equipped to search with appropriate threats. On the road, the king meets blind songwriters and, anticipating the fun and boredom of the former storytellers, orders them to appear in their chambers. This is the Ring with the Kite. On the way to Sloboda, Korshun tells the story of his crime, which has deprived him of sleep for twenty years, and foreshadows his imminent death. In the evening, Onufrevna warns the king that the new storytellers are suspicious, and, having placed guards at the doors, he calls them. Ring, often interrupted by John, starts new songs and fairy tales and, having begun the story about the Dove Book, notices that the king has fallen asleep. There are prison keys at the head of the room. However, the supposedly sleeping king calls for the guards, who, having grabbed the Kite, let the Ring go. He, running away, stumbles upon Mitka, who opened the prison without any keys. The prince, whose execution is scheduled for the morning, refuses to run, remembering his oath to the king. He is taken away forcibly.
About this time, Maxim Skuratov, wandering, comes to the monastery, asks to confess, accuses himself of dislike for the sovereign, disrespect for his father, and receives forgiveness. Soon he leaves, intending to repel the raids of the Tatars, and meets Tryphon with the captured Adragan. He asks him to bow to his mother and not tell anyone about their meeting. In the forest, Maxim is captured by robbers. A good half of them rebels, dissatisfied with the loss of Korshun and the acquisition of Silver, and demands a trip to Sloboda for robbery - the prince is incited to do this. The prince frees Maxim, takes command of the villagers and convinces them to go not to Sloboda, but to the Tatars. The captive Tatar leads them to the camp. With the cunning invention of the Ring, they manage to crush the enemy at first, but the forces are too unequal, and only the appearance of Fyodor Basmanov with a motley army saves Serebryany’s life. Maxim, with whom they fraternized, dies.
At the feast in Basmanov's tent, Serebryany reveals all the duplicity of Fyodor, a brave warrior, a crafty slanderer, an arrogant and low Tsar's henchman. After the defeat of the Tatars, the bandit gang is divided in two: part goes into the forests, part, together with Serebryany, goes to Sloboda for royal forgiveness, and Ring with Mitka, through the same Sloboda, to the Volga, to Ermak. In Sloboda, the jealous Basmanov slanderes Vyazemsky and accuses him of witchcraft. Morozov appears, complaining about Vyazemsky. At the confrontation, he declares that Morozov himself attacked him, and Elena left of her own free will. The Tsar, wishing Morozov to die, assigns them “God’s judgment”: to fight in Sloboda with the condition that the defeated one will be executed. Vyazemsky, fearing that God will give victory to old Morozov, goes to the miller to speak with a saber and, remaining unnoticed, finds Basmanov there, who has come to buy tirlich grass in order to enter into the royal favor. Having spoken with the saber, the miller casts a spell in order to find out, at Vyazemsky’s request, his fate, and sees pictures of terrible executions and his impending death. The day of the duel arrives. Among the crowd are Ring and Mitka. Having ridden against Morozov, Vyazemsky falls from his horse, his previous wounds open, and he tears off Melnikov’s amulet, which should ensure victory over Morozov. He nominates Matvey Khomyak instead. Morozov refuses to fight the hireling and looks for a replacement. Mitka is called, recognizing Khomyak as the bride kidnapper. He refuses the saber and kills the Hamster with the shaft given to him for fun.
Links
Poems The Sinner (1858) • John of Damascus (1859) • The Alchemist (1867) • Popov's Dream (1873) • Portrait (1874) • Dragon (1875) Dramaturgy Fantasia (1850) • Don Juan (1862) • The Death of Ivan the Terrible (1865) • Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich (1868) • Tsar Boris (1870) • Posadnik (1871) Prose The Ghoul Family (1839, in French ) • Meeting after three hundred years (1839,
in French
) • Blagovest (
in French
) • Ghoul (1841) • Wolf's foster child (1843) • Amena (1846) •
Prince Silver (1862)Journalism Project for staging the tragedy “The Death of Ivan the Terrible” (1866) • Project for staging the tragedy “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich” (1868) Bibliography of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy
Notes
- [dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/litheroes/237/%D0%9A%D0%9D%D0%AF%D0%97%D0%AC PRINCE SILVER]
- [az.lib.ru/t/tolstoj_a_k/text_0220.shtml Lib.ru/Classics: Tolstoy Alexey Konstantinovich. A.K. Tolstoy: a brief chronicle of life and creativity]
- ↑ 123
Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin. “Prince Silver” Tale of the times of Ivan the Terrible. Op. gr. A.K. Tolstoy, 2 volumes. St. Petersburg, 1863 First published: Sovremennik, 1863, No. 4.
Genre and direction
“Prince Silver” was created during the border period for Russian literature of the transition from novelism to realism, and therefore absorbed features characteristic of both of these directions. The romantic element plays a significant role. Let's look at the main features of romanticism:
- The main conflict of the entire work lies in the confrontation between a highly moral individual and a vicious society. As a result, the main character is unable to either change the unjust order of things or come to terms with it, and therefore he is forced to leave society and retire to distant lands where the vicious civilization has not yet penetrated.
- The author chose for his creation a setting typical of romanticism: a historical context, and in the finale - exotic landscapes.
- The image of the rebel protagonist corresponds to the canons of romanticism.
However, elements of realism add ambiguity to the conflict: the images created by the writer are ambiguous and are as close to reality as possible. As a result, there is no division into black and white in the novel; the reader can choose for himself which side to take and which characters to empathize with. In addition, Tolstoy depicted real historical details and did extensive archival work so that authenticity would not suffer.
The genre of the work “Prince Silver” can be defined as a historical novel. The narrative covers a long period of time and includes a large number of characters. Events unfold against the backdrop of large-scale and important events. The plot is tightly intertwined with real history; real historical figures take an active part in the events described in the novel; the names of real places and phenomena are used.
