“The symbolic meaning of the title of A. Grin's story “Scarlet Sails.
He created more than 400 works, invented a whole world inhabited by brave and noble heroes. His fairy tale "Scarlet Sails" enjoys special popular love and popularity.
It was 1916. A lanky man with a heavy gaze wandered the Petersburg streets. He stopped at one of the windows and looked at a toy boat with sails of white silk for a long time. The ship was beautiful, light and swift, but something was missing in it. If the sails were a different color. What? Perhaps scarlet, the color of love and hope! So in the imagination of the writer Alexander Grin, the "Scarlet Sails" first appeared.
This extravaganza was finally created in the harsh and hungry December of 1920. An excerpt from the work was published in the Evening Telegraph newspaper six months later, and the entire Scarlet Sails was published as a separate publication in 1923. The writer dedicated the fairy tale to his second wife Nina, who is considered the prototype of Assol.
"Scarlet Sails" is a story about a dream come true. From childhood, Assol believed that the prince would sail for her on a white ship with scarlet sails. Arthur Gray dreamed of the sea and wanted to be a captain. Their wishes came true, life gave the heroes a meeting and love. But how many beautiful pages, how many movements of the soul fit in this romantic story!
Green deliberately creates a contrast between the gray routine in a small fishing village and the rich inner world of the young heroine. Assol's dreams, her pure and beautiful soul arouse suspicion among the townsfolk. They consider the girl weak-minded and mock her belief in a miracle. These people are mired in everyday affairs, do not sing songs and do not tell fairy tales. Their courtship of women is crude and primitive. Everything that does not fit into the usual framework is rejected by the inhabitants of Kaperna, so the brave and fair Longren and his dreamer-daughter become outcasts in the village.
The childhood of the heroine cannot be called cloudless. Having lost his mother at five months old, Assol grows up in poverty. She has to manage the housework and help her father make toys. This is the only source of income for a small family. Assol has no girlfriends, and her peers reward her with insults and ridicule. A beautiful dream of a ship with scarlet sails, presented by an old storyteller, becomes a support for a lonely girl for many years.
When meeting with Egle, the writer creates a portrait of Assol with large strokes: "washed many times cotton dress", "dark thick hair", "thin, tanned legs". The description of the heroine at a meeting with Gray, when Assol is already seventeen years old, is not much different: a dress made of cheap muslin, an old scarf, an expressive face, eyes too serious for her age. Green does not consider Assol a beauty, he calls her "living poetry".
In the image of Longren, the writer embodied his ideas about the ideal father. He, in fact, devotes his whole life to his daughter. In order not to part with the baby, the sailor stays on the shore and finds a way to earn money when he can often be at home. Longren teaches Assol to read and write, tells her about his travels, takes care of her.
Arthur Gray is a dreamer and a romantic. Therefore, he understands Assol so well. The young man is not attracted by the wealthy life of an aristocrat. He does not want, as parents, to become "an arrogant slave of his position." Gray is inspired by the sea, freedom and the wind of travel. Arthur does not take firmness and perseverance in achieving the goal, he is not afraid of difficulties. Nobility, generosity, a sense of justice and leadership qualities attract people to him.
Mother allowed Arthur a lot, but the boy did not grow up spoiled. As a child, Gray demonstrated kindness and empathy. Let us recall how he tested the pain from the burn on himself, smeared the nails on the crucifix with paint and helped the poor maid without a dowry. Overcoming the elements and oneself became Arthur Gray's way of life. "He was born a captain, wanted to be one and became".
The sail has always been considered a symbol of freedom, courage and hope, and the white ship under scarlet sails turned into Green's embodiment of love, happiness and joy. It is no coincidence that the name of the galliot is “Secret”. Not a secret, not a mystery, but a secret for two.
The language of the work is amazing. Green manages to find phrases that literally bloom on the pages of the story in a bright, incredibly fresh and imaginative pattern: "happy brilliance of the morning", "flaming blue distance", "golden coal star", "fiery needle of a distant planet", "the sea outlined on the horizon with a golden thread", "scattering fun", "happiness sat in her like a fluffy kitten". The whole story is permeated with images that create a unique atmosphere from a mixture of fantasy and reality. Here the old trees speak in bass and "kindly creak", flowers have "special faces", and the day "full of inevitability".
In "Scarlet Sails" the miracle is quite real. To create it, Arthur Gray needed white paint, an orchestra of wandering musicians, a barrel of century-old wine and two thousand square meters of scarlet silk. But the crew of the Secret, the crew of the military cruiser, and the musicians of the orchestra are imbued with a sense of belonging to the fairy tale. A real miracle makes their eyes shine, their hearts open, it awakens the desire to do something equally unusual, kind, bright. And then the cruiser salutes from all the guns, and the stern assistant to the captain Panten goes to put up with the sailor.
The author called his work extravaganza. This theatrical term refers to performances with a fairy tale plot in lush scenery. Arthur Gray created an extravaganza for Assol, and Alexander Green for all grateful readers.
There are not many works in our literature that have such a strong impact on society and can compete in popularity with Scarlet Sails. A bright attitude, a surge of energy, pure impulses of the heart arise not only among young people, but also among mature people who meet for the first time or reread Green's extravaganza with pleasure.
According to one version, the idea of the story "Scarlet Sails" arose during Alexander Grin's walk along the Neva embankment in St. Petersburg. Passing by one of the shops, the writer saw an incredibly beautiful girl. He looked at her for a long time, but did not dare to meet her. The beauty of the stranger so excited the writer that after some time he began to create a story.
An introverted, gloomy man named Longren lives a solitary life with his daughter Assol. Longren makes model sailboats for sale. For a small family, this is the only way to make ends meet. Countrymen hate Longren because of one incident that happened in the distant past.
Once Longren was a sailor and went on a voyage for a long time. Returning once again from swimming, he learned that his wife was no longer alive. Having given birth to a child, Mary had to spend all the money on medicines for herself: the birth was very difficult, and the woman needed urgent treatment.
Mary did not know when her husband would return and, left without a livelihood, went to the innkeeper Menners to borrow money. The innkeeper made an obscene offer to Mary in exchange for help. The honest woman refused and went into town to pawn the ring. On the way, the woman caught a cold and subsequently died of pneumonia.
Longren was forced to raise his daughter on his own and could no longer work on the ship. The former sea knew who destroyed his family happiness.
One day he had a chance to take revenge. During a storm, Menners was swept out to sea on a boat. Longren was the only witness to what happened. The innkeeper called in vain for help. The former sailor stood calmly on the shore and smoked a pipe.
When Menners was already far enough from the coast, Longren reminded him of what he had done with Mary. A few days later, the innkeeper was found. Dying, he managed to tell who was "guilty" of his death. Fellow villagers, many of whom did not know what Menners really was, condemned Longren for his inaction. The former sailor and his daughter became outcasts.
When Assol was 8 years old, she accidentally met the collector of fairy tales Egl, who predicted the girl that years later she would meet her love. Her lover will sail on a ship with scarlet sails. At home, the girl told her father about the strange prediction. Their conversation was overheard by a beggar. He is a retelling of what Longren's countrymen heard. Since then, Assol has become the object of ridicule.
The noble origin of the young man
Arthur Gray, unlike Assol, did not grow up in a miserable hut, but in a castle and came from a rich and noble family. The boy's future was predetermined: he would live the same prim life as his parents. However, Gray has other plans. He dreams of being a brave sailor. The young man secretly left home and entered the Anselm schooner, where he went through a very harsh school. Captain Gop, noticing good inclinations in the young man, decided to make a real sailor out of him. At the age of 20, Gray bought a three-masted galliot "Secret", on which he became the captain.
After 4 years, Gray accidentally finds himself in the vicinity of Liss, a few kilometers from which was Caperna, where Longren lived with his daughter. By chance, Gray meets Assol, sleeping in the thickets.
The beauty of the girl impressed him so much that he took off the old ring from his finger and put it on Assol. Then Gray heads to Kaperna, where he tries to find out at least something about an unusual girl. The captain wandered into the Menners tavern, where his son was now in charge. Hin Menners told Gray that Assol's father is a murderer, and the girl herself is crazy. She dreams of a prince who will sail to her on a ship with scarlet sails. The captain doesn't trust Menners too much. His doubts were finally dispelled by a drunk coal miner, who said that Assol was indeed a very unusual girl, but not crazy. Gray decided to make someone else's dream come true.
Meanwhile, old Longren decides to return to his former occupation. As long as he is alive, his daughter will not work. Longren set sail for the first time in many years. Assol was left alone. One fine day, she notices a ship with scarlet sails on the horizon and realizes that he has sailed for her...
Character characteristics
Assol is the main character of the story. In early childhood, the girl is left alone because of the hatred of others for her father. But loneliness is habitual for Assol, it does not depress and does not frighten her.
She lives in her own fictional world, where the cruelty and cynicism of the surrounding reality do not penetrate.
At the age of eight, a beautiful legend comes into the world of Assol, in which she believed with all her heart. The life of a little girl takes on a new meaning. She starts to wait.
Years go by, but Assol remains the same. Ridicule, offensive nicknames and hatred of fellow villagers for her family did not embitter the young dreamer. Assol is still naive, open to the world and believes in prophecy.
The only son of noble parents grew up in luxury and prosperity. Arthur Gray is a hereditary aristocrat. However, aristocracy is completely alien to him.
Even as a child, Gray was distinguished by courage, audacity and the desire for absolute independence. He knows that he can truly prove himself only in the fight against the elements.
Arthur is not attracted to high society. Social events and dinner parties are not for him. The picture hanging in the library decides the fate of the young man. He leaves home and, having passed the ordeal, becomes the captain of the ship. Audacity and courage, reaching recklessness, do not prevent the young captain from remaining a kind and sympathetic person.
Probably, among the girls of the society in which Gray was born, there would not have been a single one capable of captivating his heart. He does not need stiff ladies with refined manners and a brilliant education. Gray is not looking for love, she finds it herself. Assol is a very unusual girl with an unusual dream. Arthur sees before him a beautiful, bold and pure soul, similar to his own soul.
At the end of the story, the reader has a feeling of a miracle, a dream come true. Despite all the originality of what is happening, the plot of the story is not fantastic. There are no wizards, fairies, or elves in Scarlet Sails. The reader is presented with a completely ordinary, unadorned reality: poor people forced to fight for their existence, injustice and meanness. Nevertheless, it is precisely for its realism and lack of fantasy that this work is so attractive.
The author makes it clear that a person himself creates his dreams, he believes in them and he himself embodies them into reality. It makes no sense to wait for the intervention of some otherworldly forces - fairies, wizards, etc. To understand that a dream belongs only to a person and only a person decides how to dispose of it, you need to trace the entire chain of creating and embodying a dream.
Old Egle created a beautiful legend, apparently to please a little girl. Assol believed in this legend and cannot even imagine that the prophecy will not come true. Gray, falling in love with a beautiful stranger, makes her dream come true. As a result, an absurd, divorced from life fantasy becomes part of reality. And this fantasy was embodied not by creatures endowed with supernatural abilities, but by the most ordinary people.
Faith in a miracle
A dream, according to the author, is the meaning of life. Only she is able to save a person from the daily gray routine. But a dream can become a big disappointment for someone who is inactive and for someone who is waiting for the embodiment of their fantasies from outside, because help from “above” can never be expected.
Gray would never have become a captain by staying in his parent's castle. The dream must turn into a goal, and the goal, in turn, into energetic action. Assol did not have the opportunity to take any action to achieve his goal. But she had the most important thing, something that, perhaps, is more important than action - faith.
According to one version, the idea of the story "Scarlet Sails" arose during Alexander Grin's walk along the Neva embankment in St. Petersburg. Passing by one of the shops, the writer saw an incredibly beautiful girl. He looked at her for a long time, but did not dare to meet her. The beauty of the stranger so excited the writer that after some time he began to create a story.
An introverted, gloomy man named Longren lives a solitary life with his daughter Assol. Longren makes model sailboats for sale. For a small family, this is the only way to make ends meet. Countrymen hate Longren because of one incident that happened in the distant past.
Once Longren was a sailor and went on a voyage for a long time. Returning once again from swimming, he learned that his wife was no longer alive. Having given birth to a child, Mary had to spend all the money on medicines for herself: the birth was very difficult, and the woman needed urgent treatment.
Mary did not know when her husband would return and, left without a livelihood, went to the innkeeper Menners to borrow money. The innkeeper made an obscene offer to Mary in exchange for help. The honest woman refused and went into town to pawn the ring. On the way, the woman caught a cold and subsequently died of pneumonia.
Longren was forced to raise his daughter on his own and could no longer work on the ship. The former sea knew who destroyed his family happiness.
One day he had a chance to take revenge. During a storm, Menners was swept out to sea on a boat. Longren was the only witness to what happened. The innkeeper called in vain for help. The former sailor stood calmly on the shore and smoked a pipe.
When Menners was already far enough from the coast, Longren reminded him of what he had done with Mary. A few days later, the innkeeper was found. Dying, he managed to tell who was "guilty" of his death. Fellow villagers, many of whom did not know what Menners really was, condemned Longren for his inaction. The former sailor and his daughter became outcasts.
When Assol was 8 years old, she accidentally met the collector of fairy tales Egl, who predicted the girl that years later she would meet her love. Her lover will sail on a ship with scarlet sails. At home, the girl told her father about the strange prediction. Their conversation was overheard by a beggar. He is a retelling of what Longren's countrymen heard. Since then, Assol has become the object of ridicule.
The noble origin of the young man
Arthur Gray, unlike Assol, did not grow up in a miserable hut, but in a castle and came from a rich and noble family. The boy's future was predetermined: he would live the same prim life as his parents. However, Gray has other plans. He dreams of being a brave sailor. The young man secretly left home and entered the Anselm schooner, where he went through a very harsh school. Captain Gop, noticing good inclinations in the young man, decided to make a real sailor out of him. At the age of 20, Gray bought a three-masted galliot "Secret", on which he became the captain.
After 4 years, Gray accidentally finds himself in the vicinity of Liss, a few kilometers from which was Caperna, where Longren lived with his daughter. By chance, Gray meets Assol, sleeping in the thickets.
The beauty of the girl impressed him so much that he took off the old ring from his finger and put it on Assol. Then Gray heads to Kaperna, where he tries to find out at least something about an unusual girl. The captain wandered into the Menners tavern, where his son was now in charge. Hin Menners told Gray that Assol's father is a murderer, and the girl herself is crazy. She dreams of a prince who will sail to her on a ship with scarlet sails. The captain doesn't trust Menners too much. His doubts were finally dispelled by a drunk coal miner, who said that Assol was indeed a very unusual girl, but not crazy. Gray decided to make someone else's dream come true.
Meanwhile, old Longren decides to return to his former occupation. As long as he is alive, his daughter will not work. Longren set sail for the first time in many years. Assol was left alone. One fine day, she notices a ship with scarlet sails on the horizon and realizes that he has sailed for her...
Character characteristics
Assol is the main character of the story. In early childhood, the girl is left alone because of the hatred of others for her father. But loneliness is habitual for Assol, it does not depress and does not frighten her.
She lives in her own fictional world, where the cruelty and cynicism of the surrounding reality do not penetrate.
At the age of eight, a beautiful legend comes into the world of Assol, in which she believed with all her heart. The life of a little girl takes on a new meaning. She starts to wait.
Years go by, but Assol remains the same. Ridicule, offensive nicknames and hatred of fellow villagers for her family did not embitter the young dreamer. Assol is still naive, open to the world and believes in prophecy.
The only son of noble parents grew up in luxury and prosperity. Arthur Gray is a hereditary aristocrat. However, aristocracy is completely alien to him.
Even as a child, Gray was distinguished by courage, audacity and the desire for absolute independence. He knows that he can truly prove himself only in the fight against the elements.
Arthur is not attracted to high society. Social events and dinner parties are not for him. The picture hanging in the library decides the fate of the young man. He leaves home and, having passed the ordeal, becomes the captain of the ship. Audacity and courage, reaching recklessness, do not prevent the young captain from remaining a kind and sympathetic person.
Probably, among the girls of the society in which Gray was born, there would not have been a single one capable of captivating his heart. He does not need stiff ladies with refined manners and a brilliant education. Gray is not looking for love, she finds it herself. Assol is a very unusual girl with an unusual dream. Arthur sees before him a beautiful, bold and pure soul, similar to his own soul.
At the end of the story, the reader has a feeling of a miracle, a dream come true. Despite all the originality of what is happening, the plot of the story is not fantastic. There are no wizards, fairies, or elves in Scarlet Sails. The reader is presented with a completely ordinary, unadorned reality: poor people forced to fight for their existence, injustice and meanness. Nevertheless, it is precisely for its realism and lack of fantasy that this work is so attractive.
The author makes it clear that a person himself creates his dreams, he believes in them and he himself embodies them into reality. It makes no sense to wait for the intervention of some otherworldly forces - fairies, wizards, etc. To understand that a dream belongs only to a person and only a person decides how to dispose of it, you need to trace the entire chain of creating and embodying a dream.
Old Egle created a beautiful legend, apparently to please a little girl. Assol believed in this legend and cannot even imagine that the prophecy will not come true. Gray, falling in love with a beautiful stranger, makes her dream come true. As a result, an absurd, divorced from life fantasy becomes part of reality. And this fantasy was embodied not by creatures endowed with supernatural abilities, but by the most ordinary people.
Faith in a miracle
A dream, according to the author, is the meaning of life. Only she is able to save a person from the daily gray routine. But a dream can become a big disappointment for someone who is inactive and for someone who is waiting for the embodiment of their fantasies from outside, because help from “above” can never be expected.
Gray would never have become a captain by staying in his parent's castle. The dream must turn into a goal, and the goal, in turn, into energetic action. Assol did not have the opportunity to take any action to achieve his goal. But she had the most important thing, something that, perhaps, is more important than action - faith.
Writing
“When the days start gathering dust and the colors fade, I take Green. I open it on any page, so in the spring they wipe the windows in the house. Everything becomes light, bright, everything mysteriously excites again, as in childhood. Greene is one of the few who should be in the first aid kit against heart fat and fatigue. With him you can go to the Arctic and virgin lands, go on a date. He is poetic, he is courageous." This is how the writer Daniil Granin expressed the beneficial power of Green's influence on the reader.
Thinking about Alexander Grin, we, first of all, remember his fairy tale story "Scarlet Sails". This fabulous extravaganza has become a symbol of his work. She absorbed all the best that is in other works of Green: a beautiful dream and a true reality, love for a person and faith in his strength, hope for the best and love for the beautiful.
The title of the story is ambiguous. In order for a sailing ship to move, its sails must be filled with wind. And a person's life should be filled with deep content, then it makes sense. If life is boring and bleak, its meaning becomes a dream. A dream can remain a beautiful, unfulfilled fairy tale. But it can come true.
Green's "Scarlet Sails" is a symbol of a dream that has become a reality. Assol's dream "came to life" because the girl "knew how to love," as her father taught, knew how to "wait in spite of everything." And she was able to maintain her faith in beauty, living among people who "did not know how to tell fairy tales and sing songs."
The scarlet color of silk, chosen by Gray for the sails of the Secret, became the color of joy and beauty, which was so lacking in Caperna.
A white sailboat under scarlet sails is a symbol of love and new life for Assol, who waited for her happiness.
Green's "Scarlet Sails" is also a statement of the right way to achieve happiness: "do miracles with your own hands." So thought Captain Gray, who fulfilled the dream of a girl he did not know. So thought the sailor Longren, who once made a toy yacht with scarlet sails, which brought happiness to his daughter.
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