Pushkin's poems are of great interest notonly from the artistic, but also from the point of view of studying the evolution of his literary tastes. In particular, at one time the poet was very fond of Byron's work and wrote several works in imitation of the famous Englishman. Among them, the “Bakhchisarai Fountain” is a work dedicated to, as the poet himself later admitted, his beloved, whose name remains a mystery to his biographers to this day.
History of creation of the work
Some researchers note that PushkinI heard a romantic legend about the Crimean Khan back in Petersburg. However, most likely, he recognized her during a visit to Bakhchisarai together with the family of General Rayevsky in the early autumn of 1820. And neither the palace nor the fountain itself made an impression on him, since they were in extreme desolation.
Work on the poem "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai"(the content is presented below) was begun in the spring of 1821, but the main part of the poet wrote during 1822. In addition, it is known that the entry was created in 1823, and Vyazemsky completed the final decoration and preparation for printing.
Who became the prototypes of the heroes of the poem “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”?
One of the main characters of this workKhan Giray is, more precisely, Kyrym Gerai, the ruler of the Crimea, who ruled from 1758 to 1764th. It was under him that the Fountain of Tears and many other structures appeared in the Bakhchisarai Palace. Among them, the mausoleum was particularly notable, in which, according to legend, the last love of Khan was buried - Dilara-bikech, who died at the hands of the poisoner. By the way, some researchers thought that it was in memory of this girl that the mournful marble monument was built, exuding drops of water. Thus, it is possible that the real heroine to whom the poem “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai” is dedicated, the summary of which is given below, was not at all a Polish girl named Maria. Where did this legend about the princess come from? Perhaps he was thought up in the family of Sofia Kiseleva, nee Pototskaya, with whom the poet was very friendly.
"The Fountain of Bakhchisarai", Pushkin. Summary of the first part
In his palace the sad Khan Giray forgot about peaceand pleasures. He is not interested in either war or the machinations of his enemies. He goes to the female half, where his beautiful wives languish in longing for his caresses, and hears the song of the slaves, which they sing to the glory of Georgian Zarema, calling her the beauty of the harem. However, the master's favorite pet no longer smiles, since the khan stopped loving her, and now young Mary reigns in his heart. This Pole just recently became a inhabitant of the harem of the Bakhchisarai Palace and cannot forget her father’s house and her position as an adorable daughter of an old father and an enviable bride for many well-born nobles who were looking for her hands.
How did this daughter of the gentry become the slave of KhanGiray? The hordes of Tatars rushed to Poland and ravaged her father’s house, and she herself became their prey and precious gift to her master. In captivity, the girl began to grieve, and now her only consolation is the prayers in front of the image of the Blessed Virgin, who illuminates day and night the inextinguishable lamp. Mary is the only one who is allowed to keep symbols of the Christian faith in her cell-room in the Khan’s palace, and even Giray himself does not dare to disturb her peace and loneliness.
The scene of the meeting of Mary and Zarema
Further, the narration is interrupted, and the action is transferred to that part of the palace, where Mary's chambers are located.
The night has come.However, Zarema is not sleeping, who sneaks into the room to the Polish girl and sees the image of the Virgin Mary. The Georgian woman remembers her faraway homeland for a second, but then her gaze falls on sleeping Maria. Zarema kneels before the Polish princess and asks her to return her heart to Giray. When Maria awakes, she asks Khan's beloved wife what she needs from an unhappy captive who dreams only of going to her heavenly father. Then Zarema tells her that she does not remember how she turned out to be in the Bakhchisarai Palace, but she didn’t become bondage because she fell in love with Giray. However, the appearance of Mary destroyed her happiness, and if she did not return her heart to Khan, she would stop at nothing. Having finished her speech, the Georgian woman disappears, leaving Maria to mourn her bitter share and to dream of death, which she thinks is preferable to the fate of the Khan's concubine.
The final
Some time has passed.Maria went to heaven, but Zarema could not return Giray. Moreover, on the same night, when the princess left this sinful world, the Georgian woman was thrown into the depths of the sea. Khan himself indulged in the pleasures of war in the hope of forgetting about the beautiful Polish girl, who did not respond to him in return. But he did not succeed in this, and, returning to Bakhchisarai, Girey orders to erect a fountain in memory of the princess, which the Tavrid girls, who learned this sad story, called the “Fountain of Tears”.
“The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”: analysis of characters
As already mentioned, one of the centralThe characters of the poem is Han Giray. Further, the author sins before the story. After all, his hero is disturbed by “the machinations of Genoa,” that is, he did not live any later than 1475, and the famous fountain was built in the 1760s. However, literary scholars consider such a separation from historical realities as quite natural and inherent in romanticism.
As well as in some poems of Byron,“Eastern hero” has its own European antagonist. However, they have Pushkin himself Girey, who fell in love with the Christian Mary, retreated from their Eastern principles and habits. So, he is no longer the passionate love of Zarema, who has become a Mohammedan in the harem. In addition, he respects the feelings of the Polish princess, including religious ones.
As for female images, the easternto beautiful Zarema, for whom the most important thing in life is sensual love, Pushkin contrasts the immaculate Princess Mary. Of all the three characters that are represented in the poem "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai" (a summary gives only a weak idea of the original) Zarema is most interesting. Her image balances the “east” of Khan Giray and the “westness” of the Pole, who dreams only of the kingdom of heaven. Following the Byron tradition, Pushkin (the summary of this work read above) leaves many omissions in the plot of the poem "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai". In particular, the reader is informed that Mary is dead, but as well as why he can only guess.
Another but inanimate hero of the poem"The Fountain of Bakhchisarai" is itself a marble monument, erected by Giray. It is as if the tears shed by Mary before the icon of the Blessed Virgin and the waters of the abyss, in which poor Zarema died, merge into one whole. Thus, the poem “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai” (the analysis of this work is still becoming the subject of discussion by literary critics) became Pushkin’s second Byronic poem and its tribute to romanticism.
Edition History
Poem “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”, a summarywhich you already know, was first published on March 10, 1824 in St. Petersburg. Moreover, the author of her preface was Vyazemsky, who wrote it in the form of a dialogue between "Classic" and "Publisher". In addition, following the text of his poem "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai" (you already know the summary of this work) Pushkin ordered Vyazemsky to print a story about a journey through the Tauris of the writer I. M. Muravyev-Apostol. In it, the father of three famous Decembrists described his visit to the palace of Khan Giray and mentioned the legend concerning his love for Maria Pototskaya.
Ballet "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai"
In 1934, the famous Soviet composerB. Astafyev had the idea to write music for the choreodrama based on the work of A. S. Pushkin. The fact is that the poem “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”, the brief content of which is presented above, has long attracted attention, as fertile ground for creating a spectacular musical performance. Soon, in collaboration with the librettist N. Volkov, director S. Radlov and choreographer R. Zakharov B. Astafyev, a ballet was created that has not been removed from the scenes of many theaters in Russia and the world for over 80 years.
Now you know what the Fountain of Bakhchisarai is about - Pushkin's poem, created by him in imitation of Byron during the southern exile.
