Assol – main character story " Scarlet Sails" Assol is a girl whose dream has come true. Assol lost her mother early and was raised by her father, the stern and reserved Longren. Their fellow villagers avoided them, since, according to the tavern owner, Longren was a cruel and heartless person. He didn't save him when he was being carried out to sea. And the tavern owner kept silent about the fact that Mary, Assol’s mother, died because of it. Since then, Assol and her father were disliked in the village and were avoided. In addition, Assol was considered crazy after her story about a meeting with a wizard who promised that one day a brave prince would come for her on a ship with scarlet sails. For this she was called nothing less than “ship’s Assol.”

By nature, this was a girl with a sensitive imagination and a kind heart. She could speak to trees and bushes as if they were alive, take care of her little brothers, and sincerely dream. When she grew up, she became a real beauty. Everything Assol put on seemed new and charming. Her face was childishly naive and radiant. She never for a moment forgot about her dream and vividly imagined it. Even Longren thought that time would pass and she would forget the words of the storyteller Egle.

The ability to dream selflessly and ignore the evil ridicule of others benefited the girl. In fact, someone special came into her life and put a ring on her finger while she slept. After this, she became even more confident that “he” would soon appear in her life. Soon the same ship with scarlet sails appeared in the village of Kaperna, and with it Arthur Gray - the captain of the ship, a brave sailor, a noble man who heard the story about Assol and made it come true.

Presentation of the heroine. My own composition, including, of course, quotes from the one and only work of A. Green “Scarlet Sails”. I apologize for the speech, spelling and punctuation errors and inaccuracies, this is an unedited text...
Assol is the main character of Alexander Green's story "Scarlet Sails". We know the whole story of her life. Assol's mother died when she was still a baby, so the girl lived with her father Longren in Kapern. He tried in every possible way to protect the sensitive, impressionable girl from the influence of the rude inhabitants of this city. They did not love either father or daughter, remembering how Longren left the drowning Menners to die when he could have helped him. But he had his own reasons for this, which the residents of Kaperna could not understand.
Well, the girl had no friends. “One after another, her naive attempts at rapprochement ended in bitter crying, bruises, scratches and other manifestations of public opinion.”
But the father, who was always withdrawn and taciturn, loved his little Assol very much. Therefore, in the evenings she climbed onto his lap and listened to the stories and fables of the old sailor. “The girl listened to all this more attentively than perhaps she listened to Columbus’s story about the new continent for the first time.” What wonderful pictures Assol must have drawn from her childhood imagination!
One day, on the way to Liss (a city neighboring Kaperna), the girl met Egl/ya/, a traveling “collector of songs, legends, tales and fairy tales.” He, enchanted by the sweet girl, told Assol that a wonderful future awaited her, that one day, when she grew up, a ship with Scarlet Sails would sail for her, and a prince would meet her on board, who would take her to his kingdom. Of course, Aigle was not telling the truth. He hoped that Assol would soon forget his words. But this fairy tale settled so deeply in her imagination that the girl believed and never forgot that someday this would happen.

Assol has grown up. Now it was
“a thin, short girl. The half-childish, lightly tanned face was mobile and expressive; Beautiful, somewhat serious eyes for her age looked with the timid concentration of deep souls. Her irregular face could touch one with its subtle purity of outline; every curve, every bulge of this face, of course, would have found a place in many female forms, but their totality, their style, was completely original - originally sweet; We'll stop there. The rest is beyond words, except for the word “charm.”
Even seven years after Egle told Assol amazing story, she continued to believe in her. She knew for sure that the ship would come for her and take her away from these evil people who insulted her, called her “touched,” “out of her mind.” Assol was sure that the prince whom she had so often imagined would still come.
“More than once, worried and timid, she went to the seashore at night, where, after waiting for dawn, she quite seriously examined the ship with the Scarlet Sails. These minutes were happiness for her; It’s hard for us to escape into a fairy tale like that; it would be no less difficult for her to get out of her power and charm.”
Assol believed that the fairy tale would certainly happen. And when one day she found on her finger the ring that Gray had put on her in a dream, she was not at all surprised, she felt that the dream was beginning to come true. “There were no explanations for what happened, but without words or thoughts she found them in her strange feeling, and the ring already became close to her.”
Her fairy tale came true. And when Assol boarded the long-awaited ship,
she was happy. The very prince that Aigle told her about was waiting for her. Everything was so magical that she was afraid that everything would disappear like a dream. But it was not a dream, it was the truth.

Assol always dreamed, despite the ridicule and insults of her neighbors. Having believed in magic as a child, she had no doubt about its existence. She lived a dream and believed in the inevitability of what would happen to her someday. And the ship with Scarlet Sails found her, because Assol believed in a dream, and dreams, as we know, come true.

The romantic story "Scarlet Sails" became business card its author. The heroine of this work is a girl who lost her mother. She lives with her father, who is honest and kind. Her whole world is fantasies and dreams, once inspired by the prediction of a song collector. Such a romantic image as Assol became the embodiment of a dream that will come true if you just believe in it. The characterization of the heroine is the topic of this article.

Extravaganza

Authors literary works sometimes they use various elements of a fairy tale in their work. This technique allows you to reveal the plot, characters, give the work a lyrical or philosophical meaning. He called his story an extravaganza. In this work, realism is combined with magic, and fantasy with reality. And perhaps thanks to the use of such artistic means became the most touching and sublime image of a girl named Assol in Russian literature.

The characteristics of this heroine once seemed consonant with the adherents of the socialist idea with their main postulates. That is why Green’s work was widely popular in the Soviet Union. Today the passions for “Scarlet Sails” have subsided. And the image of the main character of this story took its rightful place in literature. But what inspired the author to write such a romantic story?

Creating the image of Assol

The characteristics of this character include traits that were also characteristic of its author. Since childhood, Alexander Grinevsky dreamed of the seas and distant countries. But the romantic personality was increasingly faced with harsh reality. In his dreams he saw beautiful things in reality - a coaster. Grinevsky strove for sublime friendship, but experienced only contempt and ridicule from professional sailors. The desire to defeat rudeness and skepticism arose in the soul of a romantic man, but outwardly reminiscent of the hero of his main book - Longren, Assol's father.

The characteristics of an unlucky sailor, but a talented writer, according to the memoirs of contemporaries, are as follows: rather gloomy, ugly person, unable to win over the interlocutor at the first meeting. The writer's fate was also unlike a fairy tale. But it is known that it was precisely in the years when he had nowhere to lay his head that he created one of the most famous literary heroines - the girl Assol.

“Scarlet Sails” was written by Green at a time when all the foundations of life were collapsing around him. The writer sometimes even went hungry, since his creativity did not bring him any income. But he carried a manuscript with him everywhere, which later became one of greatest works V Russian literature. He put all his aspirations and hopes into the plot of this story and believed, like Assol: “Scarlet Sails” will one day be seen by Petrograd. This was during the period of revolutionary events, but the color of the banner on the treasured ship had nothing to do with the red rebel banner. These were only his “Scarlet Sails”. Assol’s characterization echoed the characteristics of the author’s own mental make-up. And it was extremely difficult to exist with them in the world of ordinary people and skeptics.

Do scarlet sails exist?

The characterization of Assol is used by the author only to the extent necessary. The main topic in the story is hope. The character of the main character is not decisive. It is known that she is a reserved, modest and dreamy girl. She lost her mother very early, and since her father lost his job, the only source of food for their family was the sale of wooden toys.

The girl was lonely, although her father loved her dearly. One day she met the storyteller Egle, who predicted the arrival of a magical ship with sails. There would be a prince on board, and he would certainly take Assol with him.

The girl believed in the fairy tale, but those around her laughed at her and thought she was crazy. And yet the dream came true. One day Assol saw scarlet sails.

Characteristics of the heroine from a romantic fairy tale

There is an artistic movement in literature, which is characterized by the affirmation of spiritual and almost unattainable values. It's called romanticism. The works of this direction contain fairy-tale and mythological motifs. And their heroes are in a constant search for some ideal. German romantics dreamed of a blue flower. Scarlet sails became a similar ideal for Assol. The characterization of Alexander Greene's heroine in this regard includes typical

Arthur Gray image

The prince, whose appearance the storyteller predicted, was an ordinary young man, although from a wealthy family. Since childhood, like the author of the story, he dreamed of becoming a captain. An irresistible desire to comprehend the wisdom of marine science pushed him to leave his home. At first he was a simple sailor, but years later his dream came true. Gray acquired his own ship and became captain. And one day he heard stories about the crazy dreams of a girl who couldn’t wait for a prince on a fairy-tale ship. He was touched by Assol's dream, and he decided to make it come true.

Dreams Come True…

The captain ordered the scarlet sails to be raised. The ship entered the port, and a girl was waiting for him on the shore. Everything happened exactly as good Egle prophesied. And it doesn’t matter that Assol Gray learned about the dream in advance. The main thing is faith and hope. After all, they can save a person even in the most difficult times. The characterization of Assol and Gray was compiled by the author based on his personal worldview and life experience. The main feature of these characters is the ability to believe in a dream. And this is precisely what, perhaps, saved the writer when he was in exile. A. Green's life was quite difficult, but he always found a place for miracles in his heart. Even when those around him did not understand and condemned him.

The appearance of the heroine

The appearance and character of a girl with beautiful name Assol. The characterization of the heroine, as already mentioned, is less significant than her ability to believe in a dream. But still, a little should be said about the appearance of this character.

Assol is presented in the story as the owner of a thick head of hair, tied up in a headscarf. Her smile was gentle, and her gaze seemed to contain some sad question. The figure of the heroine is depicted by A. Green as fragile and thin. The girl worked diligently, helping her father create miniature ships from wood.

Assol is the personification of gentle beauty, spiritual meekness and hard work. And this is not surprising, because this is precisely the typical heroine of many well-known romantic fairy tales, who spends a long time waiting for a handsome prince. As it should be according to the laws of the genre, at the end of the magical story all Assol’s dreams come true.

Alexander Green created “Scarlet Sails” in those years when the world order around him was collapsing. He wrote a fairy tale about a poor girl, offended by everyone and seemingly homeless, when he himself was almost poor and hungry.

The writer took the notebook with the manuscript of this book with him to the front when he, a thirty-nine-year-old, sick, exhausted man, was called up to fight the White Poles (1919). He carried the treasured notebook with him to hospitals and typhoid barracks. And despite everything, he believed that “Scarlet Sails” would take place. The story itself is permeated with this faith.

Her idea was born back in 1916, seemingly by accident. From a childhood dream (the sea) and a random impression (a toy boat with a sail seen in a store window), Greene gave birth to the main images of the story, which he called “an extravaganza.” This is what is usually called a theatrical performance with a fairy tale content. But “Scarlet Sails” is not a play or a fairy tale, but the real truth. After all, villages like Kaperna are not at all uncommon. The heroes of the story are not like those in fairy tales, even those like Egle, only little Assol could mistake him for a wizard. And yet, despite the realism of the characters and paintings, “Scarlet Sails” is an extravaganza.

The image of Assol in the story “Scarlet Sails”

The main characters are Assol and Gray. First, the author introduces Assol. The unusual nature of the girl is indicated by her name - Assol. It has no "literal meaning". But “it’s good that it’s so strange,” Egle will say.

Assol’s “strangeness” is not only in his name, but also in his words and behavior. This is especially noticeable against the background of the inhabitants of Kaperna. They lived ordinary life- traded, fished, delivered coal, slandered, drank. But, as Egle noted, they “tell no tales... do not sing songs.” “Scarlet Sails” were mentioned by them only as a “mockery” of the one who believed in them. And when they saw real scarlet sails, they looked at them “with nervous and gloomy anxiety, with evil fear,” “the dumbfounded women flashed like a snake hiss,” and “poison crept into their heads.” It is noteworthy that not only adults became embittered, but also children... This means that anger and cruelty are not traits of individual people, but a disease that affects everyone, regardless of age.

Assol was completely different... She is a stranger in Kapern. The girl could go at night to the seashore, “where... she looked out for a ship with scarlet sails.” In nature she felt like she belonged.

And it was also filled with love. “I would love him,” said little Assol to Eglu, who predicted scarlet sails and a prince for her. She loves her father and consoles him with her feelings. Love separated her from the inhabitants of Kaperna, united by anger and poverty of soul.

The image of Gray in the story “Scarlet Sails”

Gray's story also begins in childhood. His surroundings are his parents and ancestors, who are present, however, only in portraits. Gray was supposed to live according to a “pre-drawn plan.” The logic and course of his life were predetermined by his family. Actually, like Assol’s life. The only difference was that he was ordered to flourish, and she was to vegetate in an atmosphere of rejection and even hatred of the people around her. But the life program drawn up for Gray failed very early. It did not take into account his lively and independent character.

It all started with the fact that Gray wanted to choose the role of “knight”, “seeker” and “miracle worker” in life. In childhood, this role manifested itself in a childish way. Gray covered up the nails in the painting of the crucified Christ. Then, in order to feel the pain of the maid who had scalded her hand, he scalded his own hand. He slipped her his piggy bank, supposedly from Robin Hood, so that she could get married. The picture on the library wall and his rich imagination helped Gray decide on his future. He decided that he should become a captain. Green gave Gray his dream.

Thus, both Assol and Gray saw their future in childhood. Only Assol simply waited patiently, and Gray immediately began to act. At the age of fifteen, he secretly leaves home and enters the unknown life of a sailor. The contrast between domestic and sea life is striking. There is the mother’s love, indulgence in all his quirks, and here there is rudeness and physical activity. But Gray “silently endured ridicule, mockery and inevitable abuse until he became captain.”

This hero is subtle nature. He is able to understand the signs of fate. When he first saw sleeping Assol, “everything moved, everything smiled in him.” And he put the ring on the finger of the sleeping Assol.

After hearing her story, Gray already knew what he would do. Green in more detail describes how he selects silk for sails to show how important what he is about to do is to him.

Why did Assol and Gray, so distant from each other both by distance and position, still manage to meet? Fate? Yes, definitely. And Gray admits this: “How closely fate, will and character traits are intertwined here.” He put “Fate” first. But there are patterns in their history. All Gray’s actions after he learned about the prediction for Assol are absolutely in character: “I understood one simple truth. It’s about doing so-called miracles with your own hands.”

Of course, A. Green embellished life. He showed what he would like to see in her, and not what is. But his tale supports our faith in miracles that happen in life. And already for many people.

Scarlet sails are a symbol of hope, with which it all began...

Main features of the story “Scarlet Sails”:

  • genre: extravaganza story;
  • plot: prediction and its fulfillment;
  • contrast of “worlds”: the “brilliant world” of Assol and Gray and the everyday world of Kaperna and the sailors;
  • the ideal hero at the center of the story;
  • presence of symbols;
  • the concept of a “miracle” created with one’s own hands;
  • the meeting of two spiritually close people as the semantic center of the extravaganza.

​​

Perhaps, no less than Gray, Assol inspires faith in success and brings the glow of good luck. Two people coexisted in Gray's soul. And in Assol’s soul there lived two Assols, “mixed in a wonderful, beautiful irregularity.” One was the daughter of a sailor, an artisan, who knew how to make toys, diligently sew, cook, and wash floors. The other, the one that Green called a living poem “with all the wonders of its consonances and images,” was itself the embodiment of poetry. Trembling and worrying, Assol lived in anticipation of a miracle. And in this reciprocity of shadows and light, in this beautiful irregularity, there was, like Gray’s, its own correctness, there was something inherent in both of them. high art transform the world, with inspiration make many amazing discoveries “ethereal-subtle”, “inexpressible”, “but important, like purity and warmth.”
Everything that Assol saw around her, everything that she lived with, became “a lace of secrets in the image of everyday life.” The very sound of her name, as strange and unusual to the ear as the tender name Suok in “Three Fat Men,” foreshadowed a meeting with a creature unlike the others. Aigle, for example, likes that the name is so strange, so monotonous, musical, like the whistle of an arrow or the noise of a sea shell. “What would I do,” he says thoughtfully to Assol, “if you were called one of those euphonious, but unbearably familiar names that are alien to the Beautiful Unknown? Moreover, I don’t want to know who you are, who your parents are and how you live. Why break the spell?”
What is the source of Assol's charm? Greene is not going to ask us any riddles about this. There is so much purity, spontaneity, naturalness in her soul, such a readiness to see the world with eyes in which nothing adult remains - the big eyes of a child, that together with her we are imbued with the expectation of the Beautiful Unknown. Assol enthusiastically promises his friend, the coal miner Philip, that one day, when Philip fills his basket with coal, it will turn into a fragrant bush. And Philip really begins to imagine that buds are creeping out of the old twigs and leaves are splashing across the basket. Trembling and worrying, Assol goes to the seashore, intensely looking for a white ship with a scarlet sail on the horizon. And we, too, not believing that we believe, are waiting for his appearance.
“These minutes were happiness for her,” Green wrote about his heroine, “it’s difficult for us to escape into a fairy tale, it would be no less difficult for her to get out of her power and charm.” And what a triumph over the prosaic, rough, one-dimensional, flat and philistine idea of ​​life, devoid of any flight of fancy, does the author of the book experience together with his heroes, when, in front of the shocked residents of Kaperna, a ship suddenly appears with the very sails whose name is still for a time it sounded like mockery.
The heroine of “Scarlet Sails” at one time seemed to some critics of the book to be a character, although poetic, but passive and inactive. This reproach was addressed to Green more than once. Is he really that fair? Gray was given the strength, opportunity, and desire to make Assol’s dream come true. But let us remember that it was none other than Assol who inspired Gray to do his act! Assol helped Gray understand one simple truth. Understand and have faith in it: you need to do so-called miracles with your own hands. And maybe that’s why Gray didn’t want anyone else but Assol.
Here, it turns out, how in Green’s extravaganza, fate, will and character traits are ultimately happily, almost fabulously, and at the same time irreversibly, inevitably intertwined. The meeting of the storyteller Egle with Assol determines the purpose of her existence. The painting depicting a ship rising on the crest of a sea wall, which Gray loved to look at for a long time as a child, became for him “that necessary word in the conversation of the soul with life, without which it would be difficult for him to understand himself.” A huge sea gradually settled inside the little boy. He got along with it...
But isn't that fleeting vision of a miniature boat that Greene once saw in a toy store window somewhere in the same category? This insignificant impression turned out to be very necessary and very important for the writer.

Essay on literature on the topic: Image and characteristics of Assol in the extravaganza “Scarlet Sails”

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Image and characteristics of Assol in the extravaganza “Scarlet Sails”