The Road to the Great Playwrights – Ostrovsky's Early Life and Creation

Text/Ma Jiajun

Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky was born on April 12, 1823 (March 3I in the Russian calendar) to the home of a senate clerk in OldenkaStraße, Henan District, Moscow.

The Henan district of Moscow is a merchant's residential area, and ostrovsky's later works are many based on the life of the Henan district. Recalling his childhood, he wrote: "At that time, the Henan district of Moscow was still very quiet, and the inhabitants were all solid merchants and ordinary rich people, and it was a special world. There, in the large dwellings surrounded by various outbuildings and large gardens, the peaceful inhabitants lived a completely solitary family life".

Little Odenka Street, now renamed Ostrovsky Street. In a house near the church, the great dramatist of the future was born there.

Ostrovsky's father, Nikolai Fedorovich, came from a monastic class and was educated in Orthodox secondary schools and seminaries. This commoner intellectual, instead of engaging in religious work, worked as a clerk in the Senate.

Ostrovsky's mother, Liubov Ivanovna, unfortunately died on 8 January 1832 (27 December 1831 in the Russian calendar). She left behind four children. Ostrovsky was the eldest, only nine years old at the time. Later, his father continued, and his stepmother was named Emilia Andreevna.

Ostrovsky's primary education was received in the family. He was educated by his aunt Kutusova, tutors Giryalov, Smirnov, Skovoldov and others. Ostrovsky loved to read more than he finished his homework. His father had a large library with many books and ordered various magazines. From reading, he loved Russian literature and began to work on writing.

In September 1835, Ostrovsky was promoted to the First Moscow Provincial Secondary School. Among the outstanding teachers who taught him at this school were Popov, who taught Russian language and literature, Koyanjel, a historian who taught history, Groman, a doctor of philosophy who taught ancient Greek, and A. Smirnov, who taught Latin.

For the school curriculum, Ostrovsky preferred literature, language, and history. Other courses did not interest him. What attracted him the most was the off-campus drama performance. At that time, the Small Theater in Moscow was the center of Russian performing arts and a frequented art hall of Ostrovsky. At that time, the Small Theater in Moscow performed plays by famous writers such as Shakespeare and Gogol. This theater is home to Russia's first-class theatrical performers. The outstanding actor Xie Qianpujin (1788-1863) was a close friend of Pushkin and Gogol, and his performances such as "Chincha Chancellor" brought the art of comedy to the pinnacle. Tragedies such as Hamlet played by another outstanding actor, Mochalov (1800-1848), reached the point of innocence. They were both praised by the authoritative critic of the time, Belinsky. The performance of the Small Theater in Moscow not only cultivated Ostrovsky's interest in theater, but he also drew the nourishment of art from this "art school", laying a solid foundation for his subsequent life to engage in theatrical work.

In 1840, Ostrovsky's father gave up his official job to open a private law firm to carry out legal matters and handle civil disputes. As a result, he ordered his son to prepare for the study of law. In the autumn of 1840, Ostrovsky was promoted to the faculty of law at Moscow University.

Ostrovsky had no interest in studying law. During his university years, he was interested in listening to philosophy and literature lectures taught by famous scholars and professors Granovsky, Pgokkin, Schevylyov, Krylov, etc. He was not satisfied with the academic homework of the law department, and still often went to the theater and read literature books outside of class. In 1843, he stopped school halfway and left the university without graduating. According to his wishes, he wanted to go to work in the theater. But his father, who was a lawyer, ordered him to work in the "court of conscience." The "Court of Conscience" was established in the second half of the eighteenth century during the reign of Tsar Yekajlina II of Russia. This kind of court mainly hears property disputes and family conflicts between relatives within the family, the court keeps the private life of the parties on behalf of the parties, and the parties should treat the contradictions with the relatives "according to conscience". Most of the people litigating the lawsuit are businessmen and small citizens. In court, washiba exposed privacy and property disputes within the family. Ostrovsky worked as a clerk in the "Court of Conscience, so that he learned about the family life of many merchants and small townspeople." Two years later, in 1845 he moved to the Moscow Commercial Court. This court specializes in economic cases. From these cases, Ostrovsky learned about the various evil deeds of businessmen who cheated, blackmailed, devoured, and denied each other. Some pretend to be bankrupt to rely on accounts, some set traps to let the other party be deceived, and some are very cunning to escape the pursuit and legal net, and so on. All of this provided a rich theme for Ostrovsky's later theatrical creations. Ostrovsky's family lived in Henan District, a place where merchants gathered, and he knew many merchants and small citizens. These people come to his father or him for a lawsuit, and he is familiar with this kind of person. He also had many friends who were engaged in commercial trade and some friends of the small citizens, who told him many anecdotes about the merchant world. At that time, Russia was still under the rule of feudal serfdom, but merchants had begun to rise. Although the feudal patriarchal ideas in their minds are still very stubborn, they know the importance and power of money and wealth very clearly.

As early as the age of twenty, Ostrovsky wrote a novella, "The Chief of Police Leaves to Dance, or from Great to Ridiculous only — The Difference Between Steps" (1843), showing his ironic talent. Soon, however, he turned to the dramatic depiction of the merchant world. In the fall of 1846, Ostrovsky began writing the comedy The Bankrupt. It was then that he met the actor Sadowski (1818-1872) of the Moscow Little Theater. Sadowski had an influence on Ostrovsky's theatrical activities, and the two became good friends. By the time of Sadowski's death in 1872, he had played thirty roles in a play written by Ostrovsky. Ostrov's comedy and Sadowski's performance brought Russian theater into a new era from the gogol and Shempkin periods.

In 1847, the 7th issue of the Moscow City News published several plays from Ostrovsky's comedy The Bankrupt, entitled "The Bankrupt Creditor." The comedy "Family Happiness Map" was published in the 60th issue, and the novella "Moscow Henan District - Notes of the Residents" was published in the 119-121 issue. All three of these works are about the family life of merchants in Henan District. The third work was the only novel he published during his lifetime, after which he specialized in theatrical creation, becoming the only writer in Russia to write only plays. In February 1847, Professor Sevylov invited Ostrovsky to his family's literary and artistic gathering, which included many well-known writers, poets and critics. Ostrovsky recited his comedy at the meeting and was praised. Seviliev said: "Gentlemen, a new superstar has emerged in Russian literature! The poetess Rastopchina said: "What a charm 'The Bankrupt'! This is Russia's "Hypocrite" – Ulla! The continent produced its own dramatic literature". Ostrovsky later recalled: "From this day on, I began to consider myself a Russian writer". On December 15, 1849 (December 3 in the Russian calendar), at a literary and artistic gathering at the Pigeonin family, Ostrovsky and Sadowski recited "The Bankrupt" that had just been written in the autumn of this year. Gogol was present with many of the guests, and when Gogol listened, he left Ostrovsky a note as he left, praising the young playwright for "being talented above all, and his talent is felt everywhere." Ostrovsky has always treasured this note from the great writer Gogol. In March 1850, the Bankrupt was renamed "The Man Himself - Good Fortune Telling" and published in the sixth issue of the magazine "The Muscovite", and Ostrovsky became famous. The famous writer Foo Odoevsky said: "I thought there were only three comedies in Russia: "The Stupid Boy", "Clever Mistake", and "The Iron Difference Minister" (1), but now I want to add a fourth one: "The Bankrupt". However, due to the expository and critical power of "Own People - Good Accounting", Tsar Nicholas I ordered that the play be banned. It was not until eleven years later, after the abolition of serfdom in 1861, that "The Man Who Settles The Good Account" was staged. But, after all, in the 1850s, a new star was born, shining on the Russian theater scene. Ostrovsky, through unremitting efforts, embarked on the path of a great dramatist.

(1) The authors of these three scripts are: Von Wessing, Gribaudorf, and Gogol

(Note: The author of this article has authorized this headline)

(Ma Jiajun, a native of Qingyuan, Hebei, born on October 5, 1929, is currently a professor at the College of Literature of Shaanxi Normal University, a member of the Chinese Writers Association, a member of the Chinese Dramatists Association, a member of the Chinese Filmmakers Association, an honorary president (former president) of the Shaanxi Foreign Literature Society, a principle of the Chinese Foreign Literature Society, a principle of the Chinese Russian Literature Research Society, a former president of the Shaanxi Provincial Higher Education Drama Research Society, a former consultant of the Shaanxi Poetry Society, and a former executive director of the Shaanxi Provincial Federation of Social Science Societies. Shaanxi Province to build socialist spiritual civilization advanced individuals, Shaanxi Province to teach and educate advanced teachers, etc., enjoy special allowances from the State Council.

He is the author of 12 kinds of "Nineteenth Century Russian Literature", "The New Stage of Aesthetic History", "Poetry Exploration", "Exploration of World Literature", etc.; 4 kinds of "The Essence of World Literature" and "History of Western Drama" co-authored with his daughter Ma Xiaoyi; 9 kinds of "History of World Literature" (3 volumes) and "Research on Gorky's Creation"; edited 4 kinds of "30 Lectures on European and American Modernist Literature"; co-edited and co-authored "100 Topics of Marxism-Leninism", "Cultural Research Methods", "50 Lectures on Oriental Literature", "Western Literature in the Twentieth Century", etc. and more than 40 kinds.

It has been listed in more than 40 kinds, such as the Dictionary of Chinese Writers, the Dictionary of Chinese Poets, the Dictionary of Chinese Social Science Scholars, the Cambridge Dictionary of International Biographies (27th Edition in English), the Directory of Experts in Russian Studies Abroad (Russian Edition) of the Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Classics of Shaanxi Century of Literature and Art. ）