Composition
One must appreciate the entire atmosphere of French social life in the mid-70s in order to understand what significance the appearance of this novel had for French literature. The bourgeois reaction, frightened by the Commune, organized during these years such an orgy of obscurantism and misanthropy that it is impossible to compare with any of the previous periods in the history of French literature. Historians, writers, publicists of bourgeois France competed in spitting on the people, in praising everything that was most reactionary from France’s past, in mocking the shrines of the country’s national history - and above all, the revolutionary traditions of the French people.
In the vile atmosphere of the triumph of reaction, so mercilessly depicted in the book of the remarkable satirist Saltykov-Shchedrin “Abroad,” schools and schools of bourgeois decadence proliferated, together with the bourgeois press, denigrating the best traditions of French art and French thought.
One of the special objects of the pogrom perpetrated by the French reaction against French culture in the mid-70s was the French Revolution of 1789, more precisely, its Jacobin traditions, the Jacobin dictatorship. Reminder of 1793-1794 again caused a fit of rage among the French bourgeoisie, since, like the leading figures of 1848, the Communards in their press and speeches spoke to the French people about the policy of the Jacobins and its successes.
And in response to this campaign of slander and lies undertaken against the French people, against French culture, Hugo’s voice was heard - a novel was published, called so simply and harshly - “The Year 93”.
The most important thing in this novel is, first of all, the recognition of the historical pattern of revolutionary violence, destroying the old doomed historical system, exterminating those who are trying to protect this obsolete system and delay the development of their people, the development of history. Never before, until the 70s, did Hugo speak about revolutionary violence as he does in the novel “The Year 93.” There are many contradictions in this novel, but the key to understanding Hugo’s changing attitude to revolutionary violence lies not even in the scene of the last conversation between Gauvin and Cimourdain, but in the behavior of the beggar Telmarch, so reminiscent of the philosopher Ursus. Telmarch, a simple loving and bleeding heart, a man who has withdrawn from people, because he cannot help their suffering - and does not want to see people, so as not to feel his powerlessness - saves the life of the old Vendee wolf, the aristocrat Lantenac. But, having learned whose life he saved, Telmarch repents for the first time of his generosity; he understands that, thinking of doing a good deed, he committed a crime against those whom he loves and pities so much - against the simple oppressed people of his homeland.
The legitimacy of revolutionary violence is proven by the entire Picture of the War in the Vendée. This is a war of the advanced forces of humanity against reaction, which is using the deceived backward, dark French peasantry.
The camp of reaction, whose defeat is captured in the heroic flails of the storming of the old feudal nest - Turgi, is contrasted with the camp of revolution, punishing the rebels in the name of France and the future, a camp merciless and humane at the same time, merciless in the name of humanity.
Never before “The Year 93” had a writer risen to such an inspired image of a people building a new life, heroically fighting for the future of their country, defeating the FORCES of the old world. The picture of the collapse of feudal France, the picture of the triumph of the masses demolishing the foundations of feudalism, drawn in the novel, is imbued with enormous optimism.
What is the nature of Hugo's hyperbole? Why does it grow precisely at this stage of his work, coinciding in time with his journalism, with his careful study of the liberation struggle going on all over the world? This hyperbolism is not a subjective quality of Hugo’s aesthetics, but an attempt to reflect the titanic forces of the people, awakened to struggle by the events of the 40s, an attempt to express faith in the colossal power of these forces, unusual for the bourgeois idea of reality. Before such exploits of people from the people, bourgeois writers stopped in bewilderment and fear - and either remained silent about these exploits or slandered the heroes.
In his large cycle of poems, “Legends of the Ages,” Hugo sought to poeticize the great events of the past, forever remembered by humanity. In his novels of the 60s. he captured the legend in the making of the 19th century. the heroism of the masses rising up against the exploiting classes. In the heroism of romantic hyperbole, precious real features of modernity were sometimes lost, and the verisimilitude of typical circumstances was violated. But Hugo’s romantic images also had their own great poster power, addressed to the reader, who caught in these hyperboles the sharply outlined contours of the ideas of justice and democracy, opposed to the disgusting vices of bourgeois society.
The author’s greatest work was a novel called “The Ninety-Third Year.” The robot has gained great popularity throughout Europe and the CIS countries. In 1847, the work entered the world of literature and made its first positive impression on readers. The action of this work by the author takes place against the backdrop of military actions by France against the whole of Europe.
The action takes place in the Sodrey forest, where the French army meets on its way the peasant woman Georgette, with her three children and nothing else. Evil fate took almost everything from her, her husband and home. Now she wanders through the forest, in search of a new life. Thanks to the inclination of the senior sergeant, the army takes her under its care in order to improve the life of the poor woman.
Meanwhile, on the coast of England, the ship Claymore is preparing to depart. His goal is to deliver an important person to the shores of France. This mysterious person is a secret old man with the appearance of a nobleman and the bearing of a prince. Not far from the shore, the ship suffers damage from an incorrectly installed cannon. But thanks to the courage and resourcefulness of this old man, the cannon falls into place. For which he was awarded the Great Cross of St. Louis, but was immediately killed. The old man himself is the future leader of the rebellious Vendée. And only knowing this, the crew secretly tries to lower the boat into the water in order to save his life. Another soldier is sent to accompany him, who does not even suspect that the murder at the hands of this mysterious old man was just retribution.
Sailing to the shore, the sailor learns about the plans of the great old man, and tries to express his opinion to him. Talk about unknown underground passages that no one knows about. About the castle "Turg", which was simply rumored among local residents. Having listened to the sailor to the end, the old man puts forward a bunch of arguments to him, to which the sailor practically cannot find words. Having approached the shore, they disperse in different directions, and each of them remains with his own thoughts. Despite this, the sailor carries out the old man’s instructions to notify all residents of their gathering at the destination of the Turg castle. And the old man himself goes to the nearest settlements. Without thinking or guessing, the old man meets a man on his way who tells him about his purpose on this earth. From his words, he learns that there is a large reward for his head. But, despite this, a kind man hides it in his house.
Gaven was the commander-in-chief of the local army. This name makes a strong impression on the old man, and in the morning, in this shack, many soldiers already appear and shoot all the prisoners without mercy. By some miracle, three children and a woman with a bullet through her collarbone remain alive. By order of Gaven, the soldiers take her with them.
The outbreak of revolution raises the whole city's ears. Everyone rejoices and discusses what is happening. Against all this background, you can see a former sacred servant who distinguished himself from everyone else. His name was Cimourden. He was a good priest until he was 93. In 93, the priest changed his activities to political ones, due to the prevailing circumstances in the country. Walking down the street of disputes and scandals, Simurdain finds a secret meeting taking place almost unnoticeably. At this meeting, he makes his contribution and finds himself in high ranks. But due to his kindness, he is fraught with executions and murders. The plan he proposed crushes the thoughts of that same Gaven, and on his orders, a decree is created on the radical punishment of the enemy by guillotine. A soldier who would release a prisoner with a weapon in his hands was considered an enemy.
After a while, the riot is over, the residents scatter. And so the siege of the castle of Turg begins, where Lantenac himself hid with his allies. Commander-in-Chief Gaven participates in the collapse of the castle. He learns that there are children on the upper floors of the castle, despite this, he makes an assault and learns about the existing underground passage in the castle, which was previously simply rumored. The children at the top of the building are on fire. Their mother gets caught up in this action. A cry for help pushes the formidable commander to a noble act, which will ultimately deprive him of his head. After such an execution, Gwwen's head falls under the blow of the guillotine. Having fulfilled this “terrible” duty to citizens, Simurden does not want to live and shoots himself.
Victor Hugo is one of the famous writers of French literature. He was a member of the French Academy. Due to his character, Hugo wrote his works in the style of romanticism. The author himself came from an influential family, the father of an army general, and the mother, whose father was not the last person in the shipping company. The family had three children, one of them was this great writer.
Picture or drawing Ninety-third year (93)
Other retellings and reviews for the reader's diary
- Summary of Magus Fowles
The main character of the novel is Nicholas Erfe, and the story is told on his behalf. After serving in the army, he enters Oxford and loses his parents early in a plane crash. With the few savings left from his parents, he buys a used car.
- Brief summary of the Hotel “At the Dead Climber” Strugatskys
Police Inspector Peter Glebski arrives on vacation at a remote mountain hotel named after a guest who died while climbing.
- Summary of The Quiet American Graham Greene
In the mid-20th century, two comrades work in a Vietnamese town: Alden Pyle, a representative of the American humanitarian mission, and Thomas Fowler, a journalist from England. Young people are the complete opposite of each other.
- Summary of Kuprin Sapsan
The story begins with the introduction of the narrator, whose name is Peregrine Thirty-Six, and, as we later learn, is a dog. At the very beginning, the dog talks about his noble ancestors
- Summary of Fadeev The defeat in chapters
Morozka was sent by commander Levinson to Shadaba’s detachment in order to deliver a package there. He categorically does not want to go, and persuades the commander to send another. But Levinson replies that if Morozka doesn’t do that
Hugo Victor
Ninety-third year
Victor Hugo
Ninety-third year
NINETY-THIRD YEAR
Translation by N. M. Zharkova
Part one AT SEA
Book One SODREY FOREST
Sodrey Forest 7
Book two CORVETTE "CLAYMORE"
I. England and France - mixed 20
II. Ship and passenger hidden in darkness 23
III. Nobles and commoners - mixed 25
IV. Tormentum belli 32
V. Vis et vir 35
VI. The scales are at 40
VII. He who hoists the sail casts lots 43
IX. Someone is saved 51
X. Will he be saved? 53
Book three GALMALO
I. The word is a verb 56
II. A man's memory is worth the knowledge of a commander 61
Book Four TELMARCH
I. From the top of dune 71
II. Aures alphabet et non auditet 74
III. When is large font useful? 76
IV. Rogue 78
V. Signed: "Gauvain" 84
VI. The vicissitudes of the civil war 88
VII. Show no mercy (motto of the Commune), give no quarter (motto of the princes) 93
Part two IN PARIS
Book one SIMURDEN
I. Streets of Paris of those times 101
II. Simurdain 108
III. What the waters of the Styx did not wash away 115
Book Two Zucchini on Peacock Street
I. Minos, Aeacus and Rhadamanthus 118
II. Magna testantur voce per umbras 120
III. Secret strings tremble 135
Book Three CONVENT
I. Convention 146
XIII. Marat behind the scenes 171
Part three IN VENDEE
Book one VENDEE
II. People 181
III. Complicity between people and forests 183
IV. Their life underground 185
V. Their life in the war 187
VI. The soul of the earth enters into man 192
VII. Vendee finished off Brittany 195
Book two THREE CHILDREN
I. Plus quam civilia bella 197
II. Dol 204
III. Small armies and big battles 210
IV. For the second time 217
V. Drop of cold water 220
VI. Healed wound and bleeding heart 222
VII. Two poles of truth 228
VIII. Dolorosa 234
IX. Provincial Bastille
1. La Tourgue 237
2. Breach 238
3. Casemate 239
4. Castle on the bridge 240
5. Iron door 243
6. Library 245
7. Attic 245
X. Hostages 246
XI. Anciently formidable 251
XII. Hope for salvation 255
XIII. What does Marquis 257 do?
XIV. What does Imanus 259 do?
Book Three EXECUTION OF ST. BARTHOLMEY
Book Four MOTHER
I. Death is being transported 278
II. Death speaks 280
III. The peasants are grumbling 284
IV. Error 288
V. Vox in deserto 290
VI. State of affairs 292
VII. Negotiations 295
VIII. Speech and Roar 299
IX. Titans vs Giants 302
X. Radub 306
XI. Doomed 313
XII. Savior 316
XIII. Executioner 318
XIV. Imanus leaves too 320
XV. About the fact that you should not put a watch and a key in the same pocket 323
Book five In daemone deus
I. Found but lost 327
II. From stone door to iron door 334
III. In which sleeping children wake up 336
Book Six AFTER VICTORY, THE BATTLE BEGINS
I. Lantenac in captivity 341
II. Gauvin reflects 343
III. Commander's Cloak 355
Book seven FEUDALISM AND REVOLUTION
I. Ancestor 358
P. Military Field Court 365
IV. To replace Simurden the judge - Simurden the teacher 373
V. In prison 375
VI. Meanwhile the sun rose 383
Comments by A. I. Molok 393
PART ONE IN MOPE
PART ONE
Book one
SODREAN FOREST
In the last days of May 1793, one of the Parisian battalions sent to Brittany under the command of Santerre conducted reconnaissance in the formidable Saudrey forest near Astille. This detachment now numbered about three hundred people, more than half melted in the crucible of the harsh war. That was after the battles of Argonne, Jemappes and Valmy, when in the first Parisian battalion of six hundred volunteers there were only twenty-seven people left, in the second - thirty-three and in the third - fifty-seven people. Memorable time of heroic battles.
In all the battalions sent from Paris to the Vendée there were nine hundred and twelve men. Each battalion was given three guns. They were formed hastily. On April 25, when Goyer was Minister of Justice and Bouchotte Minister of War, the Bon-Conseil section proposed sending several battalions of volunteers to the Vendée; a member of the Luben commune made a corresponding presentation; On the first of May, Santerre could already send twelve thousand soldiers, thirty field guns and a battalion of gunners to their destination. The formation of these battalions, which arose with lightning speed, turned out to be so reasonable that even now it still serves as a model for determining the composition of linear companies; it was then that the traditional ratio between the number of soldiers and the number of non-commissioned officers changed for the first time.
On April 28, the Commune of the City of Paris gave its volunteers a short order: “No mercy, no leniency!” By the end of May, of the twelve thousand men who had left Paris, eight thousand had fallen in battle.
The battalion, deep into the Sodrey forest, was ready for any surprises. We moved slowly. They looked vigilantly around to the right and left, forward and backward; No wonder Kleber said: “A soldier even has eyes in the back of his head.” They've been walking for a long time. How long could it have been? Is it day or night? It is unknown, for in such dense thickets the evening darkness reigns supreme and the Sodrean forest is always in twilight.
The Sodrean Forest acquired tragic fame. Here, among the forest thickets, in November 1792, the first atrocity of the Civil War took place. From the disastrous wilds of Sodrey came the ferocious lame Musqueton; the long list of murders committed in the local forests and copses causes an involuntary shiver. There is no scarier place in the whole world. Going deeper into the thicket, the soldiers remained on their guard. Everything around was in bloom; I had to make my way through the trembling curtain of branches, pouring out the sweet freshness of young foliage; the sun's rays had difficulty breaking through the green haze; underfoot, swordfish, iris, field daffodils, spring saffron, nameless flowers - harbingers of warmth, as if with silk threads and braiding, colored the lush carpet of grasses, into which moss was woven in a variety of patterns; here he scattered his stars, there he wriggled like green worms. The soldiers walked slowly in complete silence, cautiously parting the bushes. Birds chirped over the points of the bayonets.
In the depths of the Sodrey forest, once upon a time, in times of peace, bird hunts were organized, but now there was a hunt for people here.
Birches, elms and oaks stood like a wall; the flat ground lay beneath your feet; thick grass and moss absorbed the sound of human footsteps; not a path, and if there was a random path, it immediately disappeared; thickets of holly, thorns, ferns, trellises of thorny bushes, and ten steps away it is impossible to see a person. A heron or water hen sometimes flying over the tent of branches indicated the proximity of a swamp.
Current page: 1 (book has 29 pages in total)
Font:
100% +
Part one
In the sea
Book one
Sodrey Forest
In the last days of May 1793, one of the Parisian battalions sent to Brittany under the command of Santerre conducted reconnaissance in the formidable Saudrey forest near Astille. This detachment now numbered about three hundred people, more than half melted in the crucible of a harsh war. That was in the days when, after the battles of Argonne, Jemappes and Valmy, only twenty-seven people remained in the first Parisian battalion of six hundred volunteers, in the second - thirty-three and in the third - fifty-seven people. Memorable time of heroic battles.
In all the battalions sent from Paris to the Vendée there were nine hundred and twelve men. Each battalion was given three guns. They were formed hastily. On April 25, when Goyer was Minister of Justice and Bouchotte Minister of War, the Bon-Conseil section proposed sending several battalions of volunteers to the Vendée; a member of the Luben Commune made a corresponding representation; On the first of May, Santerre could already send twelve thousand soldiers, thirty field guns and a battalion of gunners to their destination. These battalions, formed with such lightning speed, turned out to be so successfully formed that to this day they still serve as a model for determining the composition of line companies; it was then that the traditional ratio between the number of soldiers and the number of non-commissioned officers changed for the first time.
On April 28, the Commune of the City of Paris gave its volunteers a short order: “No mercy, no leniency!” By the end of May, of the twelve thousand men who had left Paris, eight thousand had fallen in battle.
The battalion, deep into the Sodrey forest, was ready for any surprises. We moved slowly. They looked vigilantly around to the right and left, forward and backward; No wonder Kleber said: “A soldier even has eyes in the back of his head.” They've been walking for a long time. How long could it have been? Is it day or night? It is difficult to say, for in these remote thickets the evening darkness reigns supreme, and in the Sodrean forest there is always twilight.
The Sodrean Forest acquired tragic fame. Here, among the forest thickets, in November 1792, the first atrocity of the Civil War took place. From the disastrous wilds of Sodrey came the ferocious lame Musqueton; the long list of murders committed in the local slums causes an involuntary shiver. There is no scarier place in the whole world. Going deeper into the forest, the soldiers remained on their guard. Everything was in bloom; I had to make my way through the trembling curtain of branches, pouring out the sweet freshness of young foliage; the sun's rays only pierced the green haze in places; underfoot, swordfish, iris, field daffodils, spring saffron, nameless flowers - harbingers of warmth, as if with silk threads and braiding, colored the lush carpet of grasses, into which moss was woven in a variety of patterns: here it scattered its stars, there it wriggled like green worms. The soldiers walked slowly in complete silence, cautiously parting the bushes. Birds chirped over the points of the bayonets.
In the depths of the Sodrey forest, once upon a time, in times of peace, night hunts for birds were organized, now there was a hunt for people here.
Birches, elms and oaks stood like a wall; The flat ground lay beneath your feet; thick grass and moss absorbed the sound of human footsteps; not a path, and if there was a random path, it immediately disappeared; thickets of holly, thorns, ferns, trellises of thorny stolnik - and ten steps away it is impossible to see a person.
A heron or waterhen sometimes flying over the tent of branches indicated the proximity of a swamp.
And people walked. They walked towards the unknown, waiting with fear and anxiety for the appearance of the one they were looking for.
From time to time there were signs of a halt: scorched earth, trampled grass, a cross hastily knocked together from sticks, a pile of bloody branches. This is where dinner was prepared, where Mass was celebrated, where the wounded were bandaged. But the people who were here disappeared without a trace. Where are they now? Maybe it's already far away? Perhaps, very close by, they were lying in ambush with a blunderbuss in their hand? The forest seemed to have died out. The battalion moved forward with redoubled caution. Desertion is a sure sign of danger. No one is visible - all the more reason to beware. No wonder the Sodrey Forest had a bad reputation.
In such places, an ambush is always possible.
Thirty grenadiers, sent as scouts under the command of a sergeant, went far from the main part of the detachment. The battalion canteen also went with them. The sutlers generally willingly follow the lead detachment. Let danger lurk at every step, but there is so much to see... Curiosity is one of the manifestations of female courage.
Suddenly the soldiers of the small advanced detachment felt that familiar thrill to the hunter, which warns him of the proximity of an animal’s lair. It was as if a faint breath swept through the branches of the bush, and something seemed to move in the foliage. Those walking ahead signaled to the others.
The officer has no reason to command the actions of the spy when tracking is combined with search; what needs to be done gets done of its own accord.
In the blink of an eye, the suspicious place was surrounded and closed in a ring of raised guns: the black depths of the thicket were taken on all four sides, and the soldiers, keeping their finger on the trigger, without taking their eyes off the target, were only waiting for the sergeant’s command.
But the sutler bravely looked under the tent of branches, and when the sergeant was ready to give the command “fire!”, her cry was heard: “Stop!”
She dove into the bushes. The soldiers followed her.
And indeed there was someone there.
In the very thick of the bushes, on the edge of a round pit, where lumberjacks burn old rhizomes into charcoal, as if in a furnace, in the gap of parted branches, as if in a green chamber, half-hidden, like an alcove, by a curtain of foliage, a woman was sitting on moss; a baby clung to her bare chest, and on her lap rested two blond heads of sleeping children.
It was an ambush!
- What are you doing here? - the sutler exclaimed.
The woman silently raised her head.
“You’re obviously crazy for getting here!” – the sutler exclaimed angrily. And she concluded: “Another minute, and you would have been killed on the spot!” Turning to the soldiers, she explained: “This is a woman!”
– As if we don’t see it ourselves! – one of the grenadiers responded.
But the sutler didn’t let up:
- To go into the forest like that and have them kill you right there - you have to come up with such stupidity!
The woman, numb with fear, looked with amazement, as if half asleep, at the guns, sabers, bayonets, at the ferocious faces.
The children woke up and whimpered.
“I’m hungry,” said one.
“I’m scared,” said the second one.
Only the baby continued to calmly suck the mother's breast.
It was to him that the sutler turned to him:
“You’re the only one we’ve done well.”
The mother was speechless with horror.
“Don’t be afraid,” the sergeant shouted to her, “we are from the Red Cap battalion!”
The woman trembled all over. She timidly looked at the sergeant: on this stern face, only a thick mustache, thick eyebrows and eyes that glowed like coals stood out.
“Former Red Cross battalion,” explained the sutler.
-Who are you, madam?
The woman, frozen in horror, did not take her eyes off him. She was thin, pale, still young, in miserable rags; She, like all Breton peasant women, threw a huge hood over her head, and a woolen blanket tied at the neck with a rope over her shoulders. With the indifference of a savage, she did not even bother to cover her bare breasts. There were no stockings or shoes on my bleeding legs.
- Looks like a beggar? - the sergeant decided.
The waitress again intervened in the conversation, and although her question sounded rude like a soldier, there was a feminine softness in it.
- What’s your name?
The woman muttered indistinctly in response:
– Michelle Flechard.
Meanwhile, the canteen tenderly stroked the baby’s head with her rough palm.
- How much time do we have? – she asked.
The mother did not understand the question. The sutler repeated:
– I ask: how old is he?
“Ah,” answered the mother. - One and a half years old.
- Look how grown up we are! - the sutler exclaimed. “It’s a shame to suck something like that.” Apparently I'll have to wean him off the breast. We'll give him soup.
Mother calmed down a little. The two older children, who by this time had already completely woken up, looked around with curiosity, having forgotten about the recent fright. The grenadiers' plumes were very magnificent.
“Oh,” the mother sighed, “they are completely hungry.” “And she added: “I’ve run out of milk.”
“They’ll be given food now,” the sergeant shouted, “and you too.” That's not what we're talking about. Tell us, what are your political beliefs?
The woman looked at the sergeant silently.
– Don’t you hear, or what?
She muttered:
– I was sent to a monastery very young, and then I got married, I’m not a nun. The holy sisters taught me to speak French. Our village was burned. So we ran away in what we were wearing, I didn’t even have time to put on my shoes.
– I ask you: what are your political beliefs?
- Don't know.
But the sergeant did not let up:
- Understand, now many spies have divorced. And spies are shot. Understood? So answer. Aren't you a gypsy? Where is your homeland?
The woman looked at the sergeant as if not understanding his words. The sergeant repeated:
- Where is your homeland?
“I don’t know,” the woman answered.
- How come you don’t know? Don't know where you're from?
-Where were you born? I know.
- Well, tell me where you were born.
The woman replied:
- At the Siscoignard farm in the parish of Azay.
Then it was the sergeant’s turn to be surprised. He fell silent for a minute. Then he asked again:
- What did you say?
- Siscoignar.
- So is Siscoignar your homeland?
- Yes, this is my region.
And the woman, after thinking for a minute, said:
“Now I understand, sir.” You are from France and I am from Brittany.
- So what?
- These are different regions.
- But we have one homeland! - the sergeant shouted.
The woman stubbornly repeated:
- We are from Siscoignar.
- Well, okay, Siscoignar is Siscoignar! – the sergeant picked up. – Is your family from there?
– What are your relatives doing?
- Everyone died! I do not have anyone.
The sergeant, apparently a lover of conversation, continued the interrogation:
- Everyone has relatives or had relatives, damn it. Who are you? Well, speak quickly.
The woman listened in numbness to these “or were”, more like an animal growl than human speech.
The canteen realized that it was time to intervene in the conversation again. She stroked the infant's head and affectionately patted the two older ones on the cheeks.
-What is the baby's name? – she asked. - In my opinion, she is our girl.
The mother replied:
- Georgette.
- And the older one? This tomboy is apparently a gentleman.
- Rene-Jean.
- And the youngest? After all, he is also a real man, look how cheeky he is.
“Gro-Alain,” answered the mother.
“Pretty kids,” remarked the sutler, “just look how important they are.”
But the sergeant did not let up:
- Answer me, madam. Do you have a house?
- There was a house.
-Where were you?
- Why don’t you stay at home?
- Because it was burned.
- Who burned it?
- Don't know. The war burned.
- Where are you going from now?
- From there.
-Where are you going?
- Don't know.
- Speak clearly. Who are you?
- Don't know.
– Don’t know who you are?
- Yes, we’re just running, saving ourselves.
– Which party do you sympathize with?
- Don't know.
-Are you blue? White? With whom you are?
- With kids.
There was silence. The waitress broke it.
“But I don’t have children,” she sighed. - There was no time for everything.
The sergeant began the interrogation again:
- And your parents? Come on, madam, tell us about your parents. My name, for example, is Radub, I am a sergeant myself, from Cherche-Midi Street, I had a mother and father, I can tell who my parents are. And tell me about yours. Tell me, who were your parents?
- Flashers. Just Flashers.
– Flashers are Flashers, and Radubs are Radubs. But a person doesn’t only have a last name. What did they do, your parents? What they were doing? What are they doing now? What have they been up to, your Flashers?
- They are plowmen. The father was crippled and could not work after the lord ordered him to be beaten with sticks; so ordered the lord, his lord, our lord; he, our good senor, ordered my father to be beaten because my father shot a rabbit, and this is punishable by death, but our lord had mercy on my father, he said: “A hundred sticks will be enough for him,” and my father has been since then and became a cripple.
- Well, what else?
“My grandfather was a Huguenot. Mister curé sent him to the galleys. I was still very little then.
“My father-in-law was involved in smuggling - he sold salt. The king ordered him to be hanged.
– What did your husband do?
- Now he was at war.
- For whom?
- For the king.
- And for whom else?
- Of course, for your lord.
- And for whom else?
- Of course, for Mister curé.
- May you all be struck by thunder! – one of the grenadiers suddenly shouted.
The woman jumped in fear.
“You see, madam, we are Parisians,” the canteen kindly explained.
The woman folded her hands in fear and exclaimed:
– Oh Lord Jesus!
- Well, well, no superstitions! – the sergeant shouted.
The canteen sat down next to the woman on the grass and sat the older children on her lap, who willingly went to her. In a child, the transition from fear to complete trust occurs in the blink of an eye and without any apparent reason. There is some kind of infallible inner instinct at work here.
“My poor little Breton, your children are so cute, just adorable.” Now I’ll tell you how old they are. The bigger one is four years old, and the youngest is three. And this girl, look at how she sucks, you can immediately see that she is a distinguished glutton. Oh, you such a monster! You're really going to eat up your mother. That's it, madam, don't be afraid of anything. Come join our battalion. You'll be like me. My name is Gusarsha. This is my nickname. But for me it’s better to call Hussarsha than Mamzel Two-horned, like my mother. I am a canteen, and canteens are the name given to those who carry water when people are shooting and killing people all around. Even if everything in the world turns upside down. You and I have the same foot, I’ll give you my shoes. On the tenth of August I was in Paris and served Westerman himself a drink. Well, let me tell you, it happened! I saw with my own eyes how Louis the Sixteenth, Louis Capet, as he is now called, was guillotined. Wow, he didn’t want to die! Yes, listen to me, damn it! Just think, back on the thirteenth of January they were roasting chestnuts for him, and he was sitting with his family and laughing! When they forcibly laid him “on the board,” as we say in Paris, he was without a frock coat or shoes, only in a shirt, a pique waistcoat, gray woolen trousers and gray silk stockings. I saw it with my own eyes. The carriage in which he was transported was painted green... Listen to me, come with us, we have all the good guys in our battalion, you will be the number two canteen, I will quickly teach you the business. There is nothing simpler - they will give you a large flask and a bell, and you walk around calmly, go into the thick of it. Bullets are flying, guns are blaring, the noise is hellish, and you know how to shout: “Come on, sons, who wants to drink, well?” I'm telling you, it's no big deal. For example, I serve drinks to everyone. By God, it's true. And blue and white, although I myself am blue. And the real blue one. And I serve everyone a drink. After all, every wounded person wants to drink. Everyone dies, blue and white, regardless of their beliefs. Before death, people should make peace. This is a ridiculous thing to do - to fight. Come with us. If they kill me, the case will go to you. Don’t judge by my appearance, I’m not an evil woman, and I would make a good soldier. Don't be afraid of anything.
When the sutler finished her speech, the woman muttered:
“Our neighbor’s name was Marie-Jeanne, and our maid’s name was Marie-Claude.”
Meanwhile, Sergeant Radub scolded the grenadier:
- You should be silent! You see, he completely scared the lady. Is it possible to swear in front of ladies?
“But for an honest person to listen to such words is like a knife in the heart,” the grenadier justified himself, “it’s easier to die on the spot than to admire these very monsters from overseas: the lord crippled his father, their grandfather was sent to the galleys because of the priest, their father-in-law was hanged by the king, and they, foolish heads, fight, organize rebellions, are ready to let themselves be killed for the sake of their lord, curé and king!
The sergeant commanded:
- Don’t talk while in formation!
“We don’t talk anyway, sergeant,” answered the grenadier, “but it’s still sickening to watch such a pretty woman put herself in front of bullets to please some priest!”
“Grenadier,” the sergeant interrupted him, “we are not in the Peak section club here.” Don't rant.
He turned to the woman again:
-Where is your husband, madam? What is he doing? What happened to him?
“Nothing happened because he was killed.”
-Where were they killed?
- In the forest.
- When did you kill?
- The third day.
-Who killed?
- Don't know.
– Don’t know who killed your husband?
- No, I do not know.
- Did the blue ones kill? Whites killed?
- The gun killed me.
- The day before yesterday, you say?
- Near Erne. My husband fell. That's all.
- And when your husband was killed, what did you do?
– I went with the children.
- Wherever your eyes look.
-Where do you sleep?
- On the ground.
- What are you eating?
- Nothing.
He made a classic soldier's grimace, raising his bushy mustache right up to his nose.
- Nothing at all?
– They picked blackberries, last year’s thorns, they still survived in some places on the bushes, they ate blueberries, fern shoots.
- So. It turns out that nothing.
The older boy, having obviously understood what was being said, repeated: “I want to eat.”
The sergeant pulled a crust of bread from his pocket—his daily allowance—and handed it to the woman. She broke the crust in half and gave a piece each to the older children. They greedily began to gobble up the bread.
“But I didn’t keep it for myself,” the sergeant grumbled.
“Because I’m not hungry,” said the soldier.
“Because mother,” said the sergeant.
The boys stopped chewing.
- I am thirsty! - said one.
- I am thirsty! - said another.
“And there’s not even a stream in this damn forest!” - exclaimed the sergeant.
The canteen took off the copper glass that hung on her belt next to the bell, unscrewed the lid of the jug she was carrying over her shoulder, poured a few drops and brought the glass to the child’s lips.
The elder drank and made a grimace.
The younger one drank and spat.
“But it’s so delicious,” said the sutler.
– What did you treat them to, vodka or what? - the sergeant inquired.
- And what the best! Why, they are hillbillies.
And she wiped the glass.
The sergeant got down to business again:
- So, madam, you are saving yourself?
- I had to.
- So you're running straight across the fields?
“At first I ran as much as I could, then I walked, and then I fell.
“Oh, you poor thing,” sighed the sutler.
“People keep fighting,” the woman muttered. “Everywhere you look, they’re shooting everywhere.” And I don’t know what anyone wants. My husband was killed. This is what I understood.
The sergeant loudly hit the ground with his butt and shouted angrily:
- What a bastard this war is, take its ashes!
The woman continued:
– Last night we slept in a hollow.
- All four?
- All four.
“We slept,” the sergeant repeated, “we slept standing up.” “And he turned to the soldiers: “Guys, the local savages call a hollow tree a large, hollow tree into which a person can squeeze, as if into a sheath.” Yes, what demand is there from them? After all, they are not Parisians.
“Sleep in a hollow,” repeated the sutler, “and with three more children!”
“And when the kids started roaring,” said the sergeant, “passers-by must have been surprised, it seemed like no one was visible, - there was a tree standing and shouting: “Dad, mom.”
“Thank God, it’s at least summer now,” the woman sighed.
She lowered her resigned gaze, and her eyes reflected endless surprise at the incomprehensible burden of catastrophes.
The soldiers stood around silently, stunned by the sight of the disaster.
Widow, three little orphans, flight, confusion, loneliness; war, with a menacing roar covering the entire horizon; hunger, thirst, the only food is grass, the only shelter is the sky!
The sergeant came closer to the woman and looked at the girl, clinging to her mother's breast. The little one released her nipple from her mouth, turned her head, stared with her beautiful blue eyes at the scary, furry face bending over her, and suddenly smiled.
The sergeant quickly straightened up, a large tear crawled down his cheek and, like a pearl, hung on the tip of his mustache.
“Comrades,” he said loudly, “from all of the above, it turns out that the battalion cannot avoid becoming a father.” What should we do? Let's go ahead and adopt three kids.
- Long live the Republic! - shouted the grenadiers.
“It’s decided,” the sergeant concluded.
And he stretched out both hands over the mother and children.
“So,” he said, “from now on these are the children of the Red Cap battalion.”
The waitress even jumped for joy.
– Three heads under one cap! – she shouted.
- And the little one is already, apparently, a naughty girl!
- Long live the Republic! – the grenadiers shouted again.
The sergeant turned to his mother:
- Let's go, citizen.
After the publication of the famous novel Les Misérables in 1862, Victor Hugo decided to write another, no less large-scale work. This book was created over ten long years. Hugo touched on current issues of his time in the novel “93.” A brief summary of the last work of the great French writer is presented in this article.
History of creation
What did Hugo talk about in his novel “93”? A summary of the work is presented below. However, before getting started, a few words should be said about the history of the novel. It was based on 1793. However, they were presented under the author’s impression of what happened in France in the second half of the nineteenth century, namely the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune. Thus, in the work of art “The Ninety-Third Year,” Victor Hugo partially expressed his views on the political situation that developed in his homeland in 1870-1871.
What happened during the period when the writer completed his last After the conclusion of a peace treaty with Prussia, unrest began, which resulted in a revolution and led to the establishment of self-government. This lasted seventy-two days. As already mentioned, the idea of the novel “Ninety-Third” came to the writer’s mind ten years before the above events. Perhaps it was precisely due to the difficult situation in the country that the creation of the next creation was delayed for a long time. The idea of the novel, which at the initial stage did not have clear outlines, was finally formed after the social and political upheavals of 1870-1872.
A masterpiece of historical prose
When it comes to such a category as books about the Great French Revolution, first of all, not only the work of the patriarch of French romanticism is mentioned. I once wrote about these events. Many foreign and Russian researchers devoted their works to them. However, the book “93” by Hugo is of enormous historical and literary value. The summary of this work is, of course, not only a listing of important political events that served as material for creating the plot. It is also a condensed story about the fates of the main characters. So, where does Hugo’s novel “93” begin?
The novel takes place at the end of May 1793. The Parisian battalion, conducting reconnaissance in the Sodrey forest, was prepared for any surprises. After all, these places have acquired tragic fame. The author called the Sodrey Forest the most terrible place in the world. Because it was here, six months before the events described in the novel “Ninety-Three,” that the first atrocity of the civil war took place. Once upon a time, a completely peaceful bird hunt took place in the Sodrey Forest. Due to political events in Paris, everything changed. The novel “Ninety-Third” depicts a time when a brutal hunt for people was carried out in these picturesque places.
The soldiers and the marking woman accompanying them heard a suspicious rustling in the bushes. They were already ready to shoot. However, it turned out that a woman of peasant origin and her three young children were hiding in the bushes. According to the laws of war, the unfortunate woman was interrogated. It was necessary to find out what political beliefs the single mother adheres to. The stranger was not able to answer all the questions clearly. The soldiers nevertheless found out that Michelle Flechard's husband - that was the woman's name - had died. And the hut where they lived was burned. As a result, the peasant woman found herself in dire straits. Since then, she wandered through the forest randomly, not realizing how great the danger she was exposing herself and her children to.
Having heard the sad story of the peasant woman, a battalion sergeant named Raduba proposed to adopt Rene-Jean, Gros-Alain and Georgette.
Corvette Claymore
The writing of the novel was preceded by a deep study by the author of the history of the counter-revolutionary movement of the Chouans. The writer studied a number of historical works. And the events that took place in Paris at the time when he created the historical work influenced the plot and images of the main characters.
The novel reveals Hugo's attitude towards the revolutionary movement. The writer sincerely sympathized with the defeated Communards, but at the same time was critical of their methods of struggle. This contradictory attitude towards the revolutionary movement shaped the attitude towards the events reflected in the novel “The Ninety-Third Year”. Hugo's heroes are men of action. However, they are devoted to ideals and sacrifice their lives for a high goal. Sometimes the price of such sacrifices is too high.
On the first of June, a frigate disguised as a merchant ship sails from the coast of England. In fact, the Claymore carries a very important passenger. The author describes him as follows: “a tall old man, dressed in peasant attire, but possessing the bearing of a prince.” The frigate dies in battle with the French squadron. The fault is with the gunner, who, on the orders of a man dressed in simple peasant clothes, is then shot. The majestic old man, rescued by the royalists, is the future leader of the rebellious Vendée. However, one of the sailors - a young man named Galmalo - decides to take revenge on the old man for killing the gunner. After all, he was his brother. However, Galmalo refuses to commit this murder in time.
Marquis de Lantenac
This is the name of the mysterious old man who miraculously escaped while traveling on a frigate. On land, he learns the news of the destroyed Republican detachment. Lantenac orders the execution of all prisoners. However, he does not make an exception even for two women. He orders the three children whom he is informed about to be taken with him, without having a clear plan about their future fate. One of the women, meanwhile, turns out to be alive: she was only shot in the collarbone.
Revolutionary spirit
There is an atmosphere of struggle in Paris. Hugo depicts the French capital as a city in which even children smile heroically. Everything here breathes revolution. Among the preachers these days, the priest Simurden stands out. He is fierce and cold-blooded. After the revolution broke out, Simurden renounced his rank and devoted his life to the liberation movement. This man, appreciated by Robespierre, subsequently becomes a commissioner of the Vendée Convention.
In the first days of July, a lonely traveler stops near the city of Dolya, at one of the inns. From the owner of the inn, this man, who later turns out to be none other than Simurdain, learns about the battles taking place nearby. Gauvin and the Marquis de Lantenac are fighting. Moreover, the battles might not have been so bloody if not for the act of the royalist leader. Lantenac allegedly ordered the woman to be shot, and kept her children somewhere in the fortress. Simurdain goes to the battlefield, where he almost dies from a sword, the blow of which is intended for Gauvain. This young man is a descendant of a noble family. Cimourdain has known him since he was a child.
Terror and Mercy
Gauvin was once a pupil of Cimourdain. In addition, he is the only person to whom this middle-aged and cruel man feels affection. Both Cimourdain and Gauvin dream of the triumph of the Republic. However, the first believes that the goal can only be achieved through terror. The second prefers to be guided by mercy. Gauvin, however, is very uncompromising towards Lantenac. He is ready to destroy the Marquis at any cost.
Children of Michelle Fleshar
Lantenac is doomed to death. In order to save his life, he uses the children of the peasant woman Fleshar as hostages. But the fact is that in the castle where Lantenac is hiding, there is an underground exit. The royalists free their leader, and before leaving the shelter, he starts a fire, thereby dooming the children to certain death. However, at the last moment, Lantenac, hearing his mother's cry, returns and saves his little prisoners.
Execution
Gauvin is a character who personifies justice and mercy. And therefore he frees Lantenac. The Republic, according to Gauvin, should not tarnish itself by killing a person who committed self-sacrifice. For his generous deed, the young commander is sentenced to execution. The cruel sentence is pronounced by none other than Simurdain. But as soon as Gauvin loses his head from the blow of the guillotine, the former priest commits suicide. Hugo's "Ninety-third" ended with such a tragic outcome.
Analysis
This historical work testifies to the author's contradictory attitude towards the revolution in the broad sense of the word. The novel was written during the events and could not help but become a response to the situation that developed in the French capital in 1871-1872. The writer sang the significance of the revolution, which swept not only over his homeland, but over the whole world. But at the same time, the author remained true to his previous idea, according to which society can change for the better only as a result of the rebirth of a person’s inner world. It is no coincidence that the novel contains a contrast between such images as Cimourdain and Gauvin. Terror and mercy - these are the features of the revolutionary movement, according to Hugo.
“Ninety-third year”: reviews
One of the literary critics called this creation a wide artistic canvas that depicts the greatest events of the late nineteenth century. Of course, critics of the Soviet era saw in Hugo’s novel what the censorship demanded, namely: the struggle of the working people of Paris, the glorification of revolutionaries and angry attacks against the emigrant nobles. In fact, the novel discussed in this article is not only the greatest creation of classical prose, but also Hugo's most controversial work.
The work of the French writer was highly valued by the geniuses of Russian literature Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. The most famous work outside of France was the novel Les Misérables. However, the essay, dedicated to the contradictory spirit of the revolution, also did not go unnoticed by readers. This novel, according to fans of Victor Hugo's work, is the best work of historical prose of the nineteenth century.
Translation from French into Russian was first carried out at the end of the nineteenth century. Revolutionary ideas, as is known, occupied the minds of students and members of the intelligentsia at that time. However, this topic is always relevant. More than a hundred years later, interest in the novel has not waned. Today, the best translation from French into Russian, according to readers and critics, belongs to Nadezhda Zharkova.
The disastrous consequences of the revolution are an important part of Russian history. That’s why Victor Hugo’s great novel is still popular among readers in our country today.