The main character in the assessment of criticism. Composition “The image of Romashov in the story of Kuprin“ Duel Romashov’s internal contradictions in the story of the duel

Romashov's self-education

But the main thing in the story is still the image of George (Yuri) Romashov. The basis of the whole work is the history of the internal development, self-education of the lieutenant.

Romashov, of course, is a positive image, but not at all idealized, having both strengths and weaknesses. His character is contradictory, and he can in no way serve as some kind of scheme, an example to follow. This image is absolutely vital and truthful, and this truthfulness is achieved by Kuprin's high artistic skill in creating psychologically correct human characters.

Romashov is a young man whose character and life position have not yet developed, therefore we see him in constant movement, development, we follow his spiritual growth, the process of self-education, which takes place rapidly, within some two months (the events in the story unfold from early April to early June).

We practically do not know Romashov’s past, the writer leaves him outside the scope of the story, except for some necessary information that is important for understanding this image.

We know that for the past year and a half he has been serving in the regiment, that is, half of the mandatory period of service after the school has passed. At the beginning of her Romashov dreamed of fame, a military career. He outlined a strict life program for himself: “In the first two years - a thorough acquaintance with classical literature, the systematic study of French and German, music lessons. In the last year - preparation for the academy. It was necessary to follow social life, literature and science, and for this Romashov subscribed to a newspaper and a monthly popular magazine. For self-education were acquired: "Psychology" by Wundt, "Physiology" by Lewis, "amateur activity" by Smiles ... "(IV, 28).

But these undertakings were never put into practice due to the lack of will of the lieutenant: the books lie unread, and only the batman occasionally sweeps the dust off them.

And their owner drinks a lot of vodka, has a dirty relationship with a regimental lady, plays cards and is bored, cursing the service. But the dreams of exploits and glory have not yet left Romashov, a year and a half was not enough to understand their failure.

His dreams are vengeful, fantastic, intoxicating: “Here, to spite them all, tomorrow morning I will sit down for books, prepare and enter the academy” (IV, 21).

Romashov sees himself as an officer of the general staff, correcting the mistakes of Colonel Shulgovich, then pacifying the revolt of the workers at the plant with the help of shooting. Sometimes he dreams of how he will go as a spy to Germany and, having obtained valuable information, will die heroically, and sometimes about how during the war, being a colonel, he will captivate the soldiers with personal courage and thereby decide the outcome of the battle. Dreams are colorful, but reality is grey, dull and depressing. lack of will and daydreaming are the main character traits of Romashov. In addition, he is kind, gentle, fair. In this he differs from all other officers of the regiment.

At the beginning of the story, this person is embarrassed, baggy, timid, to some extent even funny because of his awkwardness. It is no coincidence that Kuprin fixes attention on the nondescript appearance of his hero / constantly reminds of the glasses that Romashov corrects in moments of confusion (“Romashov ...., unnecessarily adjusting his glasses and clearing his throat, intervened in the conversation” (IV, 23)). His speech is confused, he is immersed in his petty personal dreams and experiences, he is constantly confused, he cannot decide anything definitively. Ridiculous is his habit of thinking about himself in the third person with the words of tabloid novels: “His kind, expressive eyes turned into a cloud of sadness ...” (IV, 18).

Throughout the story, we see how the main character changes, how he learns to think, how his natural qualities develop, how he becomes nobler and better, how the distance between him and other officers increases more and more (there is a fruitful process of self-education).

It all starts with self-contradictions: in Romashov's soul, a humane person and a vain officer who dreams of glory, even at the cost of other people's lives (execution of workers), collide. Sitting under house arrest, he reflects on himself and suddenly realizes that he is a personality, unique, different from everyone else: “He was suddenly stunned and shocked by an unexpectedly bright consciousness of his individuality ...” (IV, 60). This discovery is contrary to military discipline, based on unquestioning obedience to orders, on the rule, to be like everyone else. Realizing himself as a person, Romashov recognizes the individuality of others, their right to respect, and rebels against the depersonalization of a person in military service, begins to treat his subordinates, soldiers differently: “There are a hundred of them in our company. And each of them is a person with thoughts, with feelings, with his own special character, with worldly experience, with personal attachments and antipathies. Do I know anything about them? No - nothing but their physiognomies ... What did I do to touch their souls with my hand, my I to their I? - Nothing" (IV, 64).

This is a big step forward for a hero. From a keen sense of justice, intercession for the soldier Sharafutdinov at the beginning of the story, Romashov comes to the fact that he sees in the soldier a man equal to himself, a brother. From resentment for scolding in the presence of colleagues, which he considers a humiliation of his own dignity, to a true understanding of the value of a person, to action.

To Plum’s reasoning that soldiers should be beaten “like Sidor goats”, Romashov answers openly and already unshyly: “It’s dishonorable to beat a soldier! .. It’s shameful!” (IV, 105). And all this speech, endured, suffered, no longer reminds us of the stumbling objections of the hero at the beginning of the story; he finds the clearest and most precise words for his phrase. Moreover, Romashov dares to threaten Captain Plum with a report, forbids Corporal Shapovalenko to beat soldiers, and saves the downtrodden soldier Khlebnikov from suicide. Romashov works! And this most clearly proves his spiritual growth, in spite of that. that the wild prejudices and absurd traditions of the officers are still alive in him.

If initially the very process of thinking depresses Romashov, then the opportunity to think gives rise to joyful sensations in the young officer: “Before, he did not even dare to suspect what joys, what power and what deep interest are hidden in such a simple, ordinary thing as human thought” (IV , 173).

What is Romashov thinking about? About military service. About the fact that it is meaningless and aimless, and everyone hates it: both soldiers and officers, and himself: “All this military prowess, and discipline, and servility, and honor of the uniform, and all military science - everything is based only on the fact that humanity does not want or does not know how, or does not dare to say “I do not want!” (IV, 62).

Romashov's naive reasoning that wars can be ended if everyone says: "I don't want to fight!" - and they will drop their weapons, and in case of unrest, volunteers will go to fight, and not the regular army, which is not needed at all, are far from understanding the foundations of life, the causes of war, although thoughts his beautiful and extremely humane.

The hero thinks that he needs to retire as soon as possible (as soon as the mandatory three years are over), chooses a new occupation for himself (writes the story “The Last Fatal Debut”), and then comes to the conclusion that the existence of the military class is generally illegal: “ How can an estate exist, Romashov asked himself, which in peacetime, without bringing a single crumb of benefit, eats someone else's bread and someone else's meat, dresses in other people's clothes, lives in other people's houses, and in wartime goes senselessly to kill and maim people like themselves” (IV. 174).

Choosing a new profession for himself, he could not stop at one of them and came to the conclusion that a huge number of intelligent professions are based on distrust of human honesty. People in this category quickly harden and sink, encounter difficulties and become indifferent formalists. And people who have to make their outward life comfortable serve only wealth.

Rejecting professions born of distrust of a person or wealth, Romashov comes to the conclusion that “there are only three proud vocations of a person: science, art and free physical labor” (IV, 174). He begins to dream of literary activity, he is drawn to write a story or a novel about boredom, the horror of military life. But he fails: in his mind everything worked out perfectly, but on paper it came out clumsy, pale, stereotyped. “And although he does not have the necessary data to serve science and art, and he does not know the path to winning the right to free human labor, the very desire of Romashov to work for the benefit of man, his rejection of ambitious thoughts about a military career, with which he entertained himself at the beginning stories are indicative” 55 , - notes the researcher of Kuprin's creativity V. Afanasiev.

We see how throughout the story a spirit of protest grows in Romashov, but this state is not permanent. Now he is full of determination and defends Khlebnikov, then, standing in front of Colonel Shulgovich, he again feels helpless and pathetic when he doubted the veracity of his words about his mother's illness. The previously meek and quiet Romashov dares to grumble even at God, accusing him of injustice to people: “You! Old liar!!!" (IV, 171), But by nature he is a calm person, such impulses are unusual for him, therefore they are very quickly replaced by apathy, indifference, depression, and then he groans, complains, convinces himself that his actions will not correct anything, or even puts cross on your life. Now Romashov believes that a protest is necessary (people should say “I don’t want” a war), but that’s later, and when something needs to be decided now, to change the existing one, he advises to endure: “Khlebnikov, are you feeling bad? And I'm not well, my dear, I'm not well either, believe me. I don't understand anything of what is going on in the world. Everything is some wild, senseless, cruel nonsense! But you have to endure, my dear, you have to endure ... This is necessary! (IV, 170).

And why now it is necessary to endure, but it will be possible to say "no" later? Romashov does not know this. He is not prepared and unfit for the fight, too weak-willed and weak in spirit, often doubts and cannot decide anything definitively. The only firm decision is to resign, but even this can be realized only in a year and a half.

Romashov's dreams, his reflections reflected the search for ways to truth, justice, to a reasonable, beautiful life, and they certainly testify to the spiritual maturity of the hero. But this process is stopped by a sudden and senseless death, it does not allow to carry out the plan.

Romashov's internal monologues, in which such basic problems of the "Duel" as the upbringing of a young officer, the relationship between the individual and society, the meaning and purpose of human life, are posed, are remarkable, in them we see the position of the author himself. They are filled with accusatory pathos and contain the unvarnished truth not only about the life of the army, but also about the entire state and social system of Russia.

The main character in the assessment of criticism

In critical literature, researchers often raise the question of who is Romashov after all: a hero in the true sense of the word or a small, pitiful, humiliated person, incapable of any decisive and courageous actions? Opinions on this matter differ. So, the critic of the Novy Mir magazine L. Mikhailova, in her review of the three-volume collected works of Kuprin, wrote in the early 50s: “If Romashov wore not the shoulder straps of an infantry lieutenant, but the green jacket of a student, we would most likely see him gathering, in the circle of revolutionary youth" 56 .

A.K. Pavlovskaya expresses a directly opposite point of view: “... Romashov's characterization emphasizes the unviability of such people, the failure of their struggle for individual freedom. Kuprin realized that the Romashovs were no longer needed in life.

A. Volkov notes: “Throughout the story, Romashov appears as a loser, as a weak person. Meanwhile, he is not a coward, only his will is paralyzed, for he belongs to a generation of tired and disillusioned intelligentsia.

We do not agree with these points of view. Romashov is clearly not a revolutionary type, he lacks character and determination, but he fights as best he can. And if we take the position of Pavlovskaya, then we would distort the author's intention. After all, if the Romashovs are not needed, then the story turns out to be without a positive hero, without an example, but what about the ideas that are associated with this image? After all, a small protest entails a big one!

We are closest to the point of view of V. Afanasiev, who believes that Romashov “is by no means a hero, but an average, in many ways an ordinary person, and if even this average, ordinary person’s environment causes a feeling of protest, then his whole way of life is incompatible with the principles of humanity and humanity. The very death of Romashov at the moment when he made an attempt to break out of this environment speaks of its active hostility to anyone who in one way or another comes into conflict with it.

Romashov Georgy Alekseevich - the main character in A. I. Kuprin's story "Duel", a young officer. For two years now he has been serving in the regiment and still cannot come to terms with the rough mores of regimental life. By nature, Romashov is very romantic, kind and a little shy. It organically combines weakness of spirit and willpower. Shurochka often reproaches him for weakness and cowardice. For her, in the first place is a “big” name and an advantageous position in society, which is why Romashov considers himself just a “grain of sand”.

Romashov was of average height, thin, but strong build. He was a little clumsy and stiff in actions. He could blush in conversation with officers, but immediately stand up for some soldier in front of the regimental commander. For this, commander Shulgovich often got angry with him and reprimanded him. Romashov was a romantic at heart. He wrote novels, but was embarrassed to show them. In his free time, he liked to walk along the station and dream of a completely different life. He also dreamed of a feat. If he could graduate and enter the academy, then everyone would understand what a hero he is.

To the wife of Lieutenant Nikolaev, Shurochka, he has the most tender, sincere feelings. At the same time, Officer Peterson's wife pesters him. Offended by the fact that Romashov does not pay due attention to her, she threatens him with reprisal and begins to send anonymous letters to Nikolaev, in which she reveals the relationship between Romashov and Shurochka. Shurochka herself soon confesses her love to Romashov, but reproaches him for his weakness and asks him not to come to them again. However, before the fight, she herself comes to ask not to shoot her husband. At the end of the story, Romashov dies at the hands of Nikolaev.

The story of A. I. Kuprin The duel was published in 1905. She immediately attracted everyone's attention and made her author famous. Indeed, it is difficult to name another work where the state of the army of that time and the morals reigning in it are shown with such force and skill.

The material for the duel was given to Kuprin by life itself. The writer studied at the cadet corps and at the cadet school, then served in an army infantry regiment for almost four years. The accumulated impressions formed the basis of the story, allowed the writer to truthfully depict pictures of provincial army life and create a whole gallery of portraits of officers and soldiers.

The officers of the N-th regiment have common features due to the similarity of service, life, and living conditions. Their everyday life consists of attending military exercises and studying military regulations, attending an officer's meeting, drinking alone or in a company, relationships with other people's wives, playing cards.

However, each of the officers is distinguished by its originality, some of its own, characteristic features. Here we have the unpretentious, good-natured lieutenant Vetkin. He is used to not thinking about anything, to live everyday life. Despite his relative harmlessness, Vetkin gives the impression of a frivolous and narrow-minded person. The company commander, Captain Plum, is a stupid campaigner, a rude and heavy fragment of the former cruel discipline that has receded into the realm of tradition, is not interested in anything that goes beyond the limits of the company, formation and charter. Therefore, it is not surprising that in the whole world he has only two attachments: the combatant beauty of his company and the quiet, solitary daily drunkenness in the evenings. Lieutenant Bek-Agamalov cannot cope with outbursts of wild bloodthirsty instincts; Captain Osadchy became famous for his cruelty. He sings of a ferocious merciless war and inspires inhuman awe in his subordinates. This gallery of portraits is continued by the melancholic and passive Staff Captain Leshchenko, who is capable of inspiring melancholy by his very appearance; veil and dummy Bobetinsky, who imagines himself to be an elegant high-society man; a young old man, a handsome lieutenant Olizar and many others. The impoverished widowed lieutenant Zegrzht, who lacks a tiny salary to feed four children, evokes sincere pity.

Fleeing from boredom and routine, officers try to come up with some kind of occupation for themselves, a means to get away from the heavy nonsense of military service. So, Lieutenant Colonel Rafalsky, nicknamed Brem, takes his soul away in his home menagerie. Among his comrades, he is known as a sweet, glorious eccentric, kind soul. But one day the kindest man, enraged that the bugler, due to extreme fatigue, had incorrectly carried out his order, hit him so hard that the soldier spat out his broken teeth on the ground along with blood.

A true military man by vocation is Captain Stelkovsky. He takes care of his soldiers, he has the best company in the regiment: The people in it were all right, well-fed, lively, looking meaningfully and boldly into the eyes of any superiors ... In his company, they didn’t fight and didn’t even swear ... his company magnificent appearance and training would not have yielded to any guards unit. During a military review, the captain proves to be an excellent commander, resourceful, quick-witted and proactive. However, outside the service, Stelkovsky cannot boast of nobility and high spiritual qualities: he seduces young peasant girls, and this has become a kind of entertainment for him.

The story of the duel reveals the inhumanity, the spiritual devastation of people in the conditions of army life, their grinding and vulgarization. The army environment, with its inert officer caste and soldiers driven to stupefaction, is opposed by Lieutenant Romashov and his senior friend officer Nazansky. These characters personify the humanistic principle in the story.

F. Levin notes that many critics and literary historians believe that Romashov has many autobiographical features of Kuprin: Like the writer himself, Romashov comes from the city of Narovchat, Penza province, he only has a mother, he does not remember his father, he spent his childhood in Moscow , he studied at the cadet corps, and then at the military school. All this coincides with the circumstances of Kuprin's life.

For the reader, Romashov is, first of all, a charming young man who attracts with his nobility and spiritual purity. However, precisely because of these qualities, it is difficult for Romashov to get along in an army environment. He is kind and simple-hearted, has a vivid imagination, childish reverie. Surrounding him, for the most part, are degraded vicious people who have forgotten how to think. It is not surprising that Romashov feels like a stranger and lonely among them: This is not the first time in a year and a half of his officer service that he has experienced this painful consciousness of his loneliness and being lost among strangers, unfriendly or indifferent people ... He does not like rough army habits, maps , drinking parties, vulgar connections, mockery of soldiers.

Readers are especially sympathetic to his responsiveness, compassion for the misfortune of others. So, Romashov stands up for the Tatar Sharafutdinov, who hardly understands Russian and cannot understand what the colonel wants from him. He keeps the soldier Khlebnikov, driven to despair by bullying and beatings, from committing suicide. Romashov, unlike other officers of the regiment, understands that the gray Khlebnikovs with their monotonously submissive and senseless faces are actually living people, and not mechanical quantities ...

The humanity of the second lieutenant is also reflected in many other things: in the discussion of officer massacres with shpaks, in the way he treats his batman Cheremis Gainan and, by the way, to his pagan beliefs, in how Romashov, risking his life, was left alone in front of the distraught Beck -Agamalov and protected a woman from him, in how painfully Romashov was weighed down by a vulgar affair with Raisa Peterson, in how, finally, he fell in love with Alexandra Petrovna purely and selflessly.

Creating images of the heroes of the story, Kuprin shows amazing powers of observation in describing everyday details, inconspicuous but important trifles. He knows how to characterize a person with a well-aimed word so that you immediately imagine him. For example, Romashov has a naive youthful habit of thinking about himself in the third person in the words of novels that he has had time to read. And now, as if alive, the image of a young man appears before us, a little funny, impressionable and insecure, who wants to seem significant.

Nazansky occupies a special place among the heroes of the Duel. This is the least vital character in the story. Apparently, the writer introduces it to express his cherished thoughts and worldview. It would seem why they cannot be put into the mouth of such a wonderful person as Romashov. I think that Kuprin considered the second lieutenant too young and insufficiently educated to become an exponent of such a philosophy. At the same time, Nazansky successfully complements the image of Romashov.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Nazansky feels happy and free only in a drunken stupor, when the next binge comes. And now this time comes for me, which they call such a cruel name, he shares with Romashov. This is the time of my freedom... freedom of spirit, will and mind. I then live, perhaps, a strange, but deep, wonderful inner life. Such a full life!

But, in spite of everything, Nazansky has a great love of life.

"Duel", like many of Kuprin's works, leaves a nagging feeling of sadness. The poetic dreams, the thirst for life of the young lieutenant Yuri Alekseevich Romashov are wasted. His impatient desire for happiness is nourished by the painful and meager army situation in a non-commissioned regiment. And painful disappointments come for the same reason. The bitter thought of the unacceptable power of the dead bureaucracy over the blooming youth evokes deep sympathy. But in this situation, the essence of the first pore of "adulthood", of human self-consciousness, is more clearly and sharply manifested.

The story helps to remember all the impressions that have ever been characteristic of everyday life. In the familiar, seemingly familiar, flowering of spring, thanks to Romashov's perception, the eternally living nature is unraveled: passionate ferment." Romashov's experiences stop, for a wonderful, always fleeting moment.

In anticipation of the first loving embrace, the young man is already entering "a strange, seductive, at the same time alive and magical fairy tale." Then such a quivering state develops, gives "unbearable bliss", but is also dramatized. Great bewitching power of the artist? Undoubtedly. Just don't think about it. It bewitches something else. Suddenly, the ordinary life of a modest person turns out to be rich.

One word persistently sounds: “strange” (the aroma of the night), “strange” (a fairy tale of love), “strange” (one's own attitude). Strange or just everything around and in it? Romashov cannot answer. He only touched the complex world and naively expects joys from it. Lonely, shocked by questions, having barely taken a step towards independence, a person perishes.

The image of Romashov is already significant by this one facet. However, his role in the story is incomparably larger. Immediate and pure Romashov is drawn into the gray everyday life. At first, he thoughtlessly chooses "brilliant" officers as an example for himself. Soon, with acute pain, he begins to understand their devastated and vicious - therefore, his own! - existence. The author does not describe, the hero does not observe what is happening: it is felt by its active participant. Reality is measured by a heart languishing in beauty. Not just immorality, bitterness of others, but their hidden melancholy, unclaimed abilities, forced out by the service, were discovered. The senselessness, sometimes idiocy of military practice and leisure, the unattainability of love, spiritual intimacy are unbearable for Romashov.

Kuprin chose an inconspicuous immature young man as the main character of the story, of course, not by chance. The half-childish, awakening perception contained a reflection of the most diverse, in fact, almost non-intersecting spheres of life. Not only the author's interest in the fate of such a person as Romashov, but the generalization of impressions from heterogeneous phenomena was the choice of the writer. The energy of artistic exploration of themes, however, was not satisfied. Throughout the story, a certain commentary that expands the hero's experience is noticeable. The author's voice imperceptibly joins in an objective story about the numerous tragic contradictions of existence. A terrible picture (given through the eyes of Romashov) of the “general, ugly revelry” of officers. This is where wise reflection sounds “from the outside” about people who see “in a confused and oppressed mind some mysterious spark of horror, longing and madness.” The fact of the death of one of the soldiers activates "someone's" memory of the same case in the past. The boundaries of plot time and space are being pushed apart.

Romashov saw "dead emptiness" everywhere, although it stood out for him in the army version. The author, on the other hand, purposefully connects the officers with all people with one tragedy of "a confused and oppressed consciousness." But the enlightened thought of the protagonist is also regarded not as a private, personal, but as a universally significant discovery.

The end-to-end "motif of youth" in "Duel" is given a capacious meaning. Romashov's youth intensifies his torment from the widespread "absurdity, confusion, incomprehensibility." At the same time, the age of the hero evokes a different association - renewal, the transformation of life. Therefore, the ending of the story is perceived as tragic - the senseless, unexpected death of Romashov in a duel. This last chord is filled not only with pain, compassion. It contains a condemnation of selfish people who have not noticed, have not yet appreciated the slightly, but beautifully blossoming youth.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to switch attention from the works of one writer to those of another. Very bright, original creative individuality of contemporaries. Poetic, agitated narration by Kuprin.

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The story "Duel" was published in 1905 and immediately made A. I. Kuprin popular. This is not at all surprising, because not a single work of that time described the army and its customs with such a degree of skill. In this article we will talk about the heroes of the mentioned work, and also reveal the image of Romashov in the story "Duel" by Kuprin.

Essay idea

The material for this work was given to the author by life itself. The writer graduated from the cadet school, and then served in an infantry regiment for four years. The story is based on all the impressions accumulated during this time. Therefore, the author managed to depict the episodes of army life so realistically and enrich the work with a whole gallery of soldier and officer portraits. The image of Romashov in the story "Duel" will be revealed a little later, but for now we will briefly talk about other heroes.

officers

Life and service of officers of the N-th regiment has common features. Their life is a daily routine, consisting of studying army regulations, drills, officer meetings, drinking with friends, gambling and adultery with other people's wives.

On the other hand, each officer is endowed with individuality and stands out in some way from the general background. For example, the good-natured and unpretentious lieutenant Vetkin. He does not think about the future and lives only army everyday life. Company Commander Plum is a rude, stupid campaigner with a difficult character and a craving for harsh discipline. He is not interested in anything that is outside the charter, formation and company. Plum has only two attachments: solitary drunkenness in the evenings and the military beauty of her own company. Lieutenant Bek-Agamalov constantly struggles with outbursts of bloodthirsty instincts and cannot cope with them. Captain Osadchy is somewhat reminiscent of the image of Romashov in the story "Duel", but, unlike Yuri, he is excessively cruel. The captain literally sings of a merciless war, thus inspiring awe in his subordinates. The gallery of characters is continued by the passive and melancholic captain Leshchenko, who makes melancholy with his appearance; empty and fat Bobetinsky, who considers himself a high society man with elegant manners; a young old man, lieutenant Olizar and others. I sincerely feel sorry for the poor widowed lieutenant Zegrzht, who barely has enough salary to feed four children. Before we reveal the image of Romashov in the story "Duel", we will briefly talk about two colorful characters.

Lieutenant Colonel Rafalsky

To escape from routine and boredom, each officer came up with a certain occupation for himself, which helped to get away from the heavy nonsense of army service. Lieutenant Colonel Rafalsky, nicknamed Brem, had a pet menagerie. Among his colleagues, he was known as a man of the kindest soul, a glorious and sweet eccentric. But one day, a tired bugler did not follow his order as expected, and this good-natured man simply went berserk, hitting the soldier in the jaw with such force that he lost several teeth.

Captain Stelkovsky

The military was his calling. He took care of his own soldiers, so his company was the best in the regiment: all the people in it seemed to be specially selected. They walked well-fed, lively, soberly assessed the environment and were not afraid to look into the eyes of any superiors. In the company of Stelkovsky they did not swear and did not fight. In terms of training and appearance, it was in no way inferior to any guards unit. At military reviews, the captain showed himself to be an enterprising, quick-witted and resourceful commander. However, outside the service, there is no nobility in his actions: he seduces young peasant women. This became a kind of entertainment for the captain.

Two main characters

Be patient, a little more - and we will describe the image of Romashov. "Duel" reveals to us the spiritual devastation, inhumanity, vulgarization and refinement of people in the conditions of military service. Whom does the author oppose to the officer environment with its stubborn officer caste? Lieutenant Romashov and his senior friend - officer Nazansky. They personify the humanistic principle in the work. Let's dwell on them in more detail. And let's start, of course, with the first. So, how does the author draw the image of Romashov in the story "Duel"?

Yuri Romashov

Many literary historians and critics agree that Kuprin put his autobiographical features into the image of the protagonist: Yuri was born in the city of Narovchata, he does not remember his father (only his mother), spent his childhood in Moscow, studied in the cadet corps, and then went to the military school. All this corresponds to the circumstances of Kuprin's life.

Yuri Romashov appears to the reader as a charming young man who attracts with his spiritual purity and nobility. It is these qualities that do not allow the lieutenant to adapt to the army environment. Yuri is simple-hearted and kind, has a childish dreaminess and a vivid imagination. And almost all the people in his environment are vicious and have forgotten how to think. Therefore, the lieutenant feels lonely and alien among the soldiers: for a year and a half of officer service, he was constantly tormented by a feeling of being lost and alone among indifferent and unfriendly people. Yuri did not like the rude habits of the military, vulgar connections, drinking parties, cards, mockery of the soldiers.

The image of Romashov in the story "Duel" by Kuprin was thought out in such a way as to arouse the reader's compassion and sympathy for someone else's misfortune. So, Yuri stood up for the Tatar Sharafutdinov, who does not know Russian well and practically does not understand the orders of the colonel. He also kept Khlebnikov from committing suicide (the soldiers drove him to despair with beatings and bullying). Unlike other military men, Yuri understands that no matter how monotonously submissive and nondescript Khlebnikov is, he is actually a living person, and not a mechanical quantity.

The lieutenant's humanity was also manifested in other ways: in the discussion of the soldiers' reprisals against civilians, in relation to the batman Gainan and his pagan beliefs, in his feelings about the vulgar affair with Raisa Peterson, etc.

The image of Romashov in the story "Duel" (with quotes)

After A.I. was published and gained popularity, the most beloved phrases of the protagonist immediately began to appear in publications on literary subjects. We also decided to choose from the story the best quotes by Yuri Romashov, which most accurately reveal his character. We invite you to familiarize yourself with them.

About love for Alexandra Petrovna:

“Love is the most amazing and wonderful feeling. It is a great happiness just to see your beloved at least once a year. For her and for her every whim, I am ready to give my life.

About soldiers:

“The officers are embittered and stupid, but at the same time they are proud of the “honor of the uniform.” Every day they beat the rank and file, turning them into submissive and faceless slaves. No matter who they were before the army, she made them indistinguishable from each other.

About calling:

“It becomes clearer and clearer for me the idea that a person has only three proud vocations: free physical labor, art and science.”

Nazan

The image of Romashov in the story "Duel" (quotes characterizing the hero, you could read above) is the main thing in the work. But it is impossible not to note Nazansky as the least vital character in the work. Apparently, the author introduced it to express his worldview and cherished thoughts. You ask, why not embody all this in the image of the main character? We think that the author considered the lieutenant too uneducated and young to express this philosophy. And Nazansky came up perfectly and very successfully complemented the image of Romashov. Kuprin's "duel" is good because it contains many characters that complement each other.

Philosophy of Nazansky

Nazansky is alien to the gospel instruction about love for one's neighbor. He believes that over time, love for humanity will be replaced by love for oneself: one’s mind, body and an infinite variety of feelings ... “Everyone should be the king of the world, his pride and adornment, and take whatever he wants. There is no need to be afraid of anyone, you have no equal. The time will come, and faith in one's own Self will overshadow all people. And then there will be no envy, no malice, no vices, no pity, no colleagues, no masters, no slaves. People will turn into gods." This position of the character echoes the theory of the superman in the spirit of Nietzsche. It was quite popular in the early 20th century. Apparently, the author of the work was also carried away by it.

Conclusion

So, we gave a description of the main characters of the story and, we hope, fully covered the topic: “Kuprin. "Duel": the image of Romashov. And the last…

Although the lieutenant listened to Nazansky with admiration, Nietzsche's teachings were alien to him. He does not accept contempt for the weak and defenseless. Suffice it to recall how kind Yuri was to Gainan and how carefully he treated Khlebnikov. Despite the brilliance and intelligence of Nazansky, the image of Romashov in the story "Duel" is much nobler and more attractive. Apparently, the author, having made it so, wanted to convey to the reader the idea that a decent and honest person will always be above the rest and win spiritually.