Perhaps, one of the most "fabulous" and magicalRussian writers - P.P. Bazhov. "Malachite Box" is a book that everyone knows: from very young children to serious researchers-literary critics. And it is not surprising, because there is everything: from the fascinating plot and subtly prescribed images to unobtrusive morality and a lot of allusions and reminiscences.
Biography
Russian Soviet writer, famousfolklorist, a man who was one of the first to treat Uralic tales - all this Pavel Petrovich Bazhov. "Malachite box" was just the result of this literary processing. He was born in 1879 in Polevskoy, in the family of a mountain master. He graduated from the factory school, studied in the seminary, was a teacher of the Russian language, traveled the Urals. These trips were intended to collect folklore, which later will form the basis of all his works. The first book of Bazhov was called "The Urals were" and was published in 1924. Around the same time the writer got a job in the "Peasant newspaper" and began to publish in a variety of magazines. In 1936, the magazine published the tale "The Maid of Azovka", signed by the surname "Bazhov". The "Malachite Box" first saw the light in 1939 and was subsequently reprinted several times, constantly replenishing with new stories. In 1950, the writer P.P. Bazhov.
"Malachite Box": the poetics of the title
The unusual title of the work is explainedquite simply: a casket of a beautiful Ural stone, filled with marvelous ornaments from gems, presents his beloved Nastenka with the central character of the story, the ore-bearing Stepan. He, in turn, receives this box not from anyone, but from Mistress Copper Mountain. What is the hidden meaning hidden in this gift? Larchik, subtly worked out of green stone, gently transferred from generation to generation, symbolizes the hard work of miners, the delicate craftsmanship of cutters and stone cutters. Simple people, masters of mining, workers - they make their heroes Bazhov. "Malachite box" is named so also because each fairy tale of a writer resembles a finely cut, shimmering, shining precious stone.
P.P. Bazhov, Malachite Casket: a brief summary
After the death of Stepan, the casket continues to be keptat Nastasya, however the woman does not hurry to flaunt in the presented ornaments, feeling that they are not meant for her. But her younger daughter, Tanyusha, is sticking to the contents of the casket with all her heart: the decorations seem to have worked especially for her. The girl grows up and earns a living by embroidery with beads and silk. The rumor of her art and beauty goes far beyond her native places: the baron Turchaninov himself wants to marry Tanya. The girl agrees, provided that he will take her to St. Petersburg and show the malachite chamber in the palace. Once there, Tanyusha leans against the wall and disappears without a trace. The image of the girl in the text becomes one of the personifications of the Mistress of the Copper Mountain, an archetypal keeper of precious rocks and stones.
