“Despotism will still suffocate from the smell of our corpses…. Armenkova O

Georges Danton and Herault-Sechelle, his colleague in the National Convention, play cards with the ladies, among them Julie, Danton's wife. Danton apathetically talks about women, their charm and deceit, about the impossibility of knowing and understanding each other. To the soothing words of Julie Danton melancholy remarks that he loves her, as they love the "grave", where you can find peace. Ero flirts with one of the ladies.

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hall a storm of applause, the meeting is postponed. It is not in the interests of the judges to hear that at one time it was Danton who declared war on the monarchy, that his voice "forged weapons for the people from the gold of aristocrats and the rich." Then Danton appeals to the people, demanding the creation of a commission to accuse those because of whom freedom "walks over the corpses." Prisoners are taken out of the hall by force.

A crowd hums in the square in front of the Palace of Justice. There is no unanimity in the cries and exclamations, some for Danton, others for Robespierre.

The last hours in the cell. Camille longs for his wife Lucille, who stands in front of the cell window and sings. He is afraid of death, suffers from the fact that his wife is going crazy. Danton, as usual, is ironic and mocking. It is bitter for everyone to recognize themselves as “pigs”, beaten to death with sticks, so that “at the royal feasts it would be tastier”.

At the moment when the convicts are taken out of the cell, Julie takes poison in her and Danton's house. The convicts who sing the Marseillaise are taken in wagons to the Revolution Square to the guillotine. From the crowd, mocking cries of women with hungry children in their arms are heard. The convicts say goodbye to each other. The executioners take them away. Its end.

Lucille appears at the guillotine, singing a song about death. She seeks death in order to unite with her husband. A patrol approaches her, and in a sudden insight, Lucille exclaims: "Long live the king!" In the name of the Republic, a woman is arrested.

retold

O. A. Armenkova
Saint Petersburg State University

DRAMA BY GEORGE BUCHNER "DANTON'S DEATH"
IN THE CONTEXT OF WESTERN EUROPEAN HISTORICAL DRAMA

http://conf.phil.spbu.ru/Archives/book/2005/foreign_lit/

In the work of the outstanding German playwright Georg Buchner (1813-1837), there is an active interaction with the tradition of the Western European theater. In the drama The Death of Danton (1835), written in the historical genre, Georg Buchner showed himself to be a daring experimenter and innovator, rethinking the motives, images and poetics of the historical drama in a peculiar way. "The Death of Danton" is organically integrated into the evolutionary series of Western European historical drama of the late 18th - first third of the 19th centuries, while demonstrating the new possibilities of this genre.

Buchner's drama immerses the reader in the history of France in 1794 - the time of the establishment of the Jacobin terror. Historical events in the drama are revealed through the depiction of individual characters - the inspirers of the revolution. A similar way of depicting history (also based on the material of revolutionary events) is carried out in the tradition of the early romantic French historical drama, namely, the drama of Victor Hugo "Cromwell" (1827).

Western European historical drama in the form in which it developed by the 30s of the 19th century was the so-called "drama for reading", characterized by an epic narrative and a breadth of coverage of the events depicted. An example of this is the French early romantic drama chronicle of Prosper Mérimée about the peasant war of 1348 "Jacquerie" (1828) with the subtitle "Scenes from feudal life", and Goethe's first play in the tradition of German historical drama "Getz von Berlichingen with an iron hand" ( 1771-1773).

Traditionally, historical drama was committed to depicting historical scenes in chronological order, it was characterized by epic character and the depiction of the main characters against a broad historical background. For Georg Buchner, historical events do not serve as a background, but appear as fragmentary paintings interspersed with dramatic action associated with the fate of the main protagonists. Buchner seems to snatch from the flow of events the scenes of the private lives of the heroes, sketches of the life of Paris along with the scenes of the main historical action.

In the drama of Christian Dietrich Grabbe (1801-1836) "Napoleon, or 100 days" (1831), a similar device is used, but Grabbe's main way of depicting historical events remains epic scenes connected in chronological sequence. Thus, in a compact, concentrated way of depicting historical events and the way they are fragmented into a single whole, Georg Buchner's innovation undoubtedly manifested itself.

Buechner tries in his drama to create characters that are adequate to their historical prototypes. As the author himself admits, these are not the ideal heroes of romantic plays “with pink-blue noses and artificial pathos, but people of flesh and blood” 1 - they cynically wit, joke obscenely, spend time in the company of courtesans. “I had to observe historical truth,” the author writes, “and show the leaders of the revolution as they were: with all the blood, debauchery, energy and cynicism. I consider my drama as a historical canvas, which must exactly correspond to the original ... ”(293).

The drama "The Death of Danton" is characterized not by a static depiction of historical characters, but by their dynamic development within a dramatic action. This is not just a kind of recreation of the speeches and actions of a historical character, but a reconstruction of his character, psychology, when, through fiction, historical relativity, the hero’s autonomy is achieved: he reacts to what is happening, moves and inevitably comes to a certain finale. As a result, the prerequisites, the reasons for the depicted historical events, the role of historical persons in them, the meaning of what happened2 become clear.

In the tradition of both German and French historical drama, the character is depicted, albeit contradictory, but endowed with one dominant feature, the “center” (as Hegel put it) 3 . In German drama of the 30s of the XIX century. (for example, in Grabbe) the incarnation of the dramatic hero is transformed, he is depicted in the fullness of his psychology. However, in Grabbe, only the image of Napoleon is endowed with such psychological depth - the rest of the characters continue to be carriers of a given characterological line. Buchner's innovation at the level of character building lies in the "natural", adequate to the history and life of the depiction of characters.

The entire dramatic canvas of Danton's Death is permeated by the author's providentialism, based on a historical perspective, which makes it possible to comprehend the philosophy of history of Georg Buchner. For him, history is a kind of progressive process that develops over time, subject to external laws, a kind of "iron law of history", based, in turn, on natural law. A person inevitably obeys this universal, inevitable law, fulfilling the role assigned to him. Having imagined himself capable of controlling the course of events, being at the top of the wheel of history, he inevitably falls under it, perishes under the "millstones of history." In a letter to his fiancée about the concept of his first drama, Buechner writes: “I study the history of the French Revolution and am completely crushed by the diabolical fatalism of history. In human nature, I discovered a terrifying uniformity, in human destinies an inevitability, before which everything and everything is insignificant. The individual is only foam on the wave, greatness is pure chance, the dominance of genius is a puppet theater, a ridiculous attempt to fight the iron law; the only thing in our power is to know it, it is impossible to master it” (274).

These reflections bring the historical drama of Georg Buchner to a new, philosophical level of comprehension of historical events. The author touches on existential questions of being: the question of the existence of God, the justification of violence, punishment, the nature of evil in man, the role of personality in the historical process. A key image of a puppet, a puppet, appears, symbolizing the theatricality of everything that happens and revealing the self-awareness of the Dantonists on the eve of their execution. Danton wonders who they are, and he answers it himself: “Puppets ... Puppets suspended on ropes of unknown forces ... Nowhere, in nothing, are we ourselves!” (112).

With the image of a puppet, Shakespeare's metaphor of a man - a musical instrument in the wrong hands, a man-flute, turns out to be organically connected. Danton says at the beginning of the drama: “To be a miserable instrument with one string that always makes only one sound, is that life?” (101). In the end, this image grows and expresses Danton's sense of self: "We are just miserable organ grinders, and our bodies are instruments" (146).

The interaction of Buechner's dramaturgy with the legacy of Shakespeare is indisputable, as well as the enthusiasm for the work of the English genius of drama on the part of many German and French playwrights, which was especially pronounced in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Buechner's admiration for the work of Shakespeare is illustrated by his statement in a letter to his publisher Gutzkow from Darmstadt dated February 21, 1835: ".. I console myself with the thought that all poets, with the exception of Shakespeare, bow their heads before history and nature, like shamed students" ( 289). A little later, in a letter to his relatives, justifying his “flesh and blood” heroes, Buchner wrote: “... in a word, I am for Goethe and Shakespeare, but not for Schiller” (299). In Buechner's drama there are many allusions to the works of the great English playwright, the folk scenes of the drama are imbued with the Shakespearean spirit, generalized characters act in them: "the first, second citizen, first, second woman, first, second driver." They speak in the drama in a colloquial language full of obscenities, daring jokes. In the speech of characters from the people, moreover, images that are monstrous in their cruelty arise: “Second citizen: We will skin their thighs and make ourselves trousers out of it, we will scrape off all the fat and put it in our soup” (80). The two women in the scene of the execution of the Dantonists strive to squeeze closer with their children to the scaffold in order to "feed the hungry children" with a terrible sight. In the speech of the only individualized hero from the crowd, Simon the prompter, there is a direct quotation from Shakespeare's Hamlet: “Who insulted Laertes? Hamlet? No, poor Hamlet himself is at enmity with madness” (82). In the spirit of Shakespeare, the female images (Julie and Lucille) are also written out. The first, as if having heard her husband's call "just not to go alone", takes poison and dies at the hour of Danton's execution, and Lucille cannot realize the impending death of Camille and goes crazy. Her image embodies the theme of madness, the irrational - present in the drama and in the form of states of delirium, dreams, visions of Danton, Robespierre and other characters. This plan allows the playwright to bring out in the drama not only external, but also internal action, the movement of the soul.

Thus, a comparison of the historical drama of Georg Buchner's "The Death of Danton" with the tradition of Western European historical drama demonstrates their active dialogue: continuity, interaction with it, on the one hand, and the playwright's innovation, on the other.

Buechner creates a new type of historical drama, where, along with the main action, which develops in the form of a chain of fragmentary scenes, there is an internal action, embodied in visions, dreams, and internal monologues of the characters. These internal reflections bring the drama to a new level of comprehension of historical events, while raising existential questions of human Existence.

Notes

1 Buchner G. Plays. Prose. Letters. M., 1972. S. 299. Further cited according to this edition with page indication in brackets.

2 Anikst A. A. Drama Theory from Hegel to Marx. M., 1983. S. 48.

3 Reizov BG Theory of the historical novel. L., 1965. S. 285.

Yu.Yu. Danilkova

POETICS OF INTERTEXTUALITY IN G. BUCHNER'S DRAMA "DANTON'S DEATH"

The article is devoted to the study of the role of allusions, reminiscences and quotations, dating back to ancient culture and the Gospel, and related to the themes of sacrifice, suicide. The general context of the attitude of heroes to antiquity is also considered. The article shows how a system of leitmotifs containing different connotations, from parodic to tragic, is set in the drama thanks to the "foreign word".

Key words: allusion, reminiscence, quotation, antiquity, Gospel.

Before turning to the main issue of the article, the analysis of the role of the “foreign” word in the drama of G. Buchner, let us turn to the biographical and historical context necessary for understanding the meaning of the drama.

"The Death of Danton" (1835) - the only one of the three dramatic works of G. Buchner - saw the light with a number of censorship edits and cuts during the author's lifetime (1835)1. More than sixty years passed between the writing and the first production in 1902. The lack of demand for the drama on the stage was largely explained, on the one hand, by the fact that for a long time G. Buechner was perceived as a person of too harsh radical convictions, on the other hand, by its special genre of “drama for reading”.

A primary role in the perception of the legacy of Georg Buchner was played by his biography. Georg Buchner was the elder brother of Ludwig Buchner, the author of the treatise Force and Matter (1855), which was reprinted many times in pre-revolutionary Russia. One of the remarkable episodes in the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky's "Demons" is associated with the personality of Buechner Jr. The sixth chapter tells about the strange deeds of one second lieutenant, one of which

he began as follows: “I threw out, for example, two master images from my apartment and chopped one of them with an ax; in his own room he laid out on stands, in the form of three layers, the works of Focht, Moleschott and Buchner, and before each layer he lit wax church candles. The described episode reflects the fact of the great popularity of the works of L. Buchner in Russia.

Radicalism of the 30s 19th century does not bypass its influence and Georg Buchner. It was then that he headed the Human Rights Society, wrote several political pamphlets. He has to hide and secretly even go to Strasbourg (1835), and then to Zurich. The revolutionary activity at that stage overshadows the study of medicine, for which Georg Büchner always felt called.

But it was in 1835, shortly before leaving for Strasbourg, that an unmotivated, as it seems to us now, transition to literary creativity takes place.

The action of the drama "The Death of Danton" is attributed to the times of the French Revolution. G. Buechner describes the events that took place between March 24 and April 5, 1794, when, in the wake of revolutionary terror, the Ebertists were first executed, then the Dantonists.

The article is devoted to the consideration of the range of allusions, quotations and reminiscences in the drama by H. Buchner "The Death of Danton" and to the identification of their meaning. Among the many such, we will be especially interested in cases where the characters use a “foreign” word, which appeals for the most part to ancient culture and is associated with such topics as sacrifice, suicide.

G. Buechner made an attempt to reconstruct the discourse at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. The author was faced with the task of restoring, according to A.V. Mikhailov, the “mythoretic system” itself, which underlies the speech culture of the finished word, as it was, including at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries.3

The ancient tradition, with its heroic past, was the main starting point in the question of self-determination of the French Republicans. Antique images and motifs became part of their worldview, the basis for rhetorical skills. The drama mentions such combinations as “the cup of Socrates”, “dagger of Brutus”, “sword of Cato”, there are likenings of the heroes of the drama to the heroes who committed heroic suicide. The ability to commit suicide is understood as one of the traits of an outstanding personality. At the same time, quotations and allusions in the drama are a kind of “texts in the text”. Analyzing the role of the "foreign" word, we will follow the concept of Yu.M. Lotman, who understood such

construction (“text in text”) as a “specific rhetorical construction”4.

So, ancient heroics became for the revolutionaries, on the one hand, an ideal model, examples from ancient times served the purpose of justifying their actions and for persuasion. On the other hand, as can be seen from the first act of the drama, to answer the simple question "who are we?" it is clearly not enough for the Dantonists to resort to the images of antiquity. Its perception in the time of Buchner followed in many respects the views of I.I. Winckelmann, who saw in antiquity the ideal embodiment of the aesthetics of beauty. But for Danton, as well as for his entourage, antiquity is an unattainable ideal, and the bloody reality of the then France is shown in opposition to this era: “The incomparable Epicurus and the divine buttocks of Venus will become the pillars of our republic, and not the saints Marat and Challier,” says Camille5 . Thus, the heroic antiquity of Brutus and Cato is opposed to another antiquity, manifested in a female image - the image of the goddess Venus. Antiquity is beautiful for Danton and his supporters, it is not associated with aggression and violence, but it is also recognized as an ideal unattainable in the conditions of France.

At the very beginning of the drama, antiquity is contrasted with “real” antiquity and its pathetic imitation by French contemporaries: “These were real republicans! Where are we before them with our guillotine romance!

The events of the present, when the beautiful turns out to be mutilated and desecrated, are perceived in Buchner's drama as an attempt at a pitiful imitation of antiquity. The image of Venus, mentioned at the very beginning of the drama, appears later in the text. It is said about Danton as follows: “Probably, he collects Venus Medicea piece by piece from the grisettes of the Palais Royal ... Insidious nature dismembered beauty, like Medea’s brother, and gave each body only a miserable particle”7. This ironic statement about Danton by Lacroix sheds light on the latter's hidden aspirations: his desire to stop the course of the revolution, to get away from it, and most importantly, his craving for beauty.

The idea of beauty unattainable, beauty destroyed is also present in the description of one of the grisettes: “And Mademoiselle Rosalia looks like a restored torso, in which only legs and hips are antique”8. Modernity is completely devoid of beauty and harmony.

In drama, such a figure as a comparison is often used. At the same time, from the world of ancient imagery,

mythological, often zoomorphic characters, carrying the horror of destruction - Gorgon Medusa, Minotaur, Saturn. “... the people are like the Minotaur. If they don't give him fresh corpses every week, he'll devour them," says the revolutionaries. "The revolution, like Saturn, devours its own children." Ancient mythology is designed to illustrate the ideas of revenge and violence, but that heroic and beautiful world of antiquity, which has become an ideal, is lost forever in the understanding of Danton and his supporters.

Thus, antiquity creates a certain matrix, a pattern of behavior, despite the fact that many heroes are convinced of the complete inconsistency of reality with the past. To show the discrepancy between reality and the ideal was also part of Buchner's plan: this is evidenced by the abundance of mass scenes in which the author uses "low" vocabulary.

Another attempt to correlate revolutionary modernity with the historical or cultural past lies in the field of Christianity. Here is what Camille says about Robespierre: “This bloody messiah Robespierre<...>arranges Golgotha not for himself, but for others. This statement could be interpreted as follows: Robespierre is not a Christian, he is an "anti-Christian", a Christian "on the contrary." Buechner often treats a mythological pattern with a negative sign. Danton himself will later be compared with the keratinized Siegfried, but a reservation is made that Danton became invulnerable, washing himself with the blood of not a dragon, but innocent victims.

As it turns out, any attempt to identify oneself with the heroes of ancient or Christian traditions inevitably fails. Modernity does not give a clear reflection in the mirror of history, analogies are lame. To the question "who are we?" it is extremely difficult to answer. The question "who are we?" for Robespierre it is translated into an existential plane about the being and essence of man: “What is it in us that commits adultery, steals and lies?”12.

One of the ways to refer to antiquity in drama is the “theatrical” behavior of its characters, because, according to Yu.M. Lotman, "the people of the Revolution behave in life as on the stage"13.

So, Robespierre is likened to Brutus, he "frowned like Brutus sacrificing his sons"14. The heroes themselves are aware of the theatricality of what is happening, this is how they say about Danton: “He makes such a face as if he is now turning to stone, so that descendants will unearth him like an antique statue. You can, of course, put on an important look, blush and speak in a well-trained voice. But if we thought of taking off our masks at least once, we would, as in a room with

mirrors, they saw everywhere only countless, indestructible, immortal rams - no more, no less.

The ideal itself is sometimes ridiculed. According to Herault, feeling pain, the Romans and the Stoics "made heroic faces"16. And in the original text such combinations as "...machten die heroische Fratze", "Er suchte eine Miene zu machen, wie Brutus, der seine Söhne opfert", "Er zieht ein Gesicht, als solle es versteinern" are constantly repeated.

Theatricality is also the specificity of the drama itself, when “the text acquires the features of increased conventionality, its playful nature is emphasized: ironic, parodic, theatrical meaning, and so on”18. Much has been written about Büchner's "theater within the theater" approach, which is traced back to Shakespeare's. It was noted that the image of the prompter Simon goes back to the image of a jester in carnival culture, however, one cannot agree with the statement that the prompter is a parody of Robespierre20.

Let us proceed to the consideration of the main themes and motifs introduced by quotations and allusions. We will be interested in the very situation of “playing in the text” (Yu.M. Lotman’s term), “switching from one system of semiotic awareness of the text to another”21.

We have mentioned several main themes, given by quotations, related to the theme of death and introduced with the help of a “foreign” word, these are the themes of sacrifice and suicide in the name of the Revolution. The theme of sacrifice appears at the very beginning of the drama and is also presented through the prism of antiquity, but the intermediary text plays a significant role here. Such for Buechner is Shakespeare's tragedy "Julius Caesar".

Here it is appropriate to make a small digression. Buechner was a great admirer of Shakespeare. In a letter dated February 21, 1835, to his publisher Gutzkow from Darmstadt, Büchner writes: “... I take comfort in the thought that all poets, with the exception of Shakespeare, bow their heads before history and nature, like shamed disciples”22. A little later, in a letter to his family, justifying his “flesh and blood” heroes, Buechner again expressed his respect to the English playwright: “... in a word, I am for Goethe and Shakespeare, but not for Schiller”23. The passion for the work of Lenz, a well-known figure in Sturm und Drang and an admirer of Shakespeare, who became the hero of Buchner's fragment of the same name, also influenced.

Shakespeare's tragedy "Julius Caesar" was first translated into German in 1741 by von Bork, and later by Wieland and Schlegel. Buchner could have known all these translations, but it is very difficult to say which one he used. G. Buechner knew very well

French, as evidenced by his translations from V. Hugo (“Lucretia Borgia”, “Mary Tudor”), but nothing is known about his degree in English.

An allusion to the text of "Julius Caesar" by A.V. Karelsky considers the remark about Danton Saint-Just, a supporter of Robespierre: "We must bury the precious corpse with honors - like priests, not like murderers"24. In relation to the murder of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare's heroes also have a similar maxim: "As a sacrifice for the gods, we will stab him, but we will not chop him up for food for dogs" ("Julius Caesar" act 2, scene 1). The key word here is “priests” (“sacrificers”, “wie Priester, nicht wie Mörder”), in the role of which the killers see themselves, in two texts there is the idea of a victim, which gives meaning to the murder.

This is where the similarity ends. Any comparison of Danton with Julius Caesar inevitably fails. Before the execution, Buchner's Danton feels tired of life, his private space is more important for him. As a historical figure, Danton is shown in the stage of descent, while Julius Caesar in tragedy, on the contrary, appears as a strong politician.

The drama describes Danton's "departure" from the revolution, which at that time was tantamount to a death. As you know, Danton was convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal and executed for a moderate, insufficiently radical political position.

As A.V. Karelsky, “... the primary and initial impulse and through current of Buchner's drama comes from one trait of its protagonist - a trait that was noted by all historians of that time. According to their testimonies, at this last stage of his life, on the eve of the guillotine, Danton was seized by a strange feeling of apathy, indifference not only to the fate of the revolution, but also to his own.

The sacrificial motif introduced by this allusion becomes even more actual towards the end of the drama. The rhetorical pathos of Saint-Just's maxim about the "priests" and the victim is ironically reduced by the remark of Camille, a supporter of Danton, before the execution: "Gentlemen, I want to serve myself according to all the rules of taste. This is a classic meal; each one lies on his bed and lets a little blood in sacrifice to the gods. The idea of death as a sacrifice is reduced by a material and crude metaphor.

An unexpected interpretation of this motif arises from the introduction of biblical quotations into the drama.

So, in the last scenes of the drama before his death, the revolutionary Camille curses the onlookers who gathered to stare at the execution: “Damn you witches! You still beg "Fall

the mountains are upon us!”, to which the women answer: “But the mountain has fallen on you! Or you have fallen from it.”27

The significance of such a play of meanings is analyzed in detail by Ziss in his work28. On the one hand, the quoted quote in the mouth of Camillus is nothing but the words of Christ (Gospel of Luke 23:30), led to execution. To the women accompanying his mournful procession, Christ predicts the coming of future terrible times (Gospel of Luke 23:27). On the other hand, the concept of "mountain" is associated with the political situation, the Mountain is a wing of the Convention, representing the Jacobins. In the opinion of the scoffing women, Camille's prophecy has already been fulfilled, "the mountain has fallen" on the revolutionaries themselves. In addition, J. Ziss also sees an erotic connotation in the words of women, explicated a little earlier by Camille himself ("Venshche") and set in the drama (likening the Tarpeian rock to the Mount of Venus). The latter interpretation emphasizes the motive of lust, the Mount of Venus, which “fell” on Danton and his associates, becomes in the eyes of the common people a punishment for fornication30.

The episode with the execution of the Dantonists, creating allusions to the episode of the execution of Christ, repeats in a reduced form the symbolic details of the Gospel. If Christ is accompanied on a mournful journey by weeping women, then here we see women mocking the executed, considering the punishment just. The idea of a "heroic" death, death as a sacrifice, appears here in the form of a travesty.

Buchner's appeal to gospel motifs related to the theme of sacrificial death does not end there. A notable figure who appears in the first act is a certain Simon, a half-drunk theater prompter whose speech consists of fragments of shouted out quotations. In addition to the carnival background, we note that the very name Simon is significant for the gospel story, that was the name of the man who carried the cross for Jesus (Gospel of Luke 23:26). But we are again faced with a situation that is close to parodic. Simon considers himself and those around him to be "Romans", which creates a comic effect. "Will you forgive me, Portia?" Simon shouts to his own wife. This is an allusion to the tragedy "Julius Caesar" (act 4, scene 3), these words are spoken by Brutus, who learned about the death of his wife. Portia is the wife of Brutus, the daughter of Cato Utica, who committed suicide after the death of her husband. In the drama, references to antiquity reappear. The mention of Portia is very important, not only because Buechner deliberately creates references to Shakespeare's text: the mention of Portia continues a series of ancient heroes who committed suicide.

Why does Buechner, describing the last days of people who neglected human and divine laws, who do not have the very idea for which one can die and who do not see any meaning in their lives, turn to biblical quotations and allusions? Perhaps he seeks to separate sacred history from profane, emphasizing the insignificance of the latter? Why does the image of Portia appear in the mouth of a drunken prompter with a gospel name?

Here we need to turn to the finale of the drama. The fact is that the condemned before death are met not only by mocking women. At the end of the drama, the image of Lucille, the wife of one of the convicts, Camille, is especially vivid. She also accompanies the mournful procession.

The image of Portia in the drama "Death of Danton" corresponds to the image of Lucille, who passes away voluntarily, following her husband, and her act can be understood as suicide because of love. Thus, the Shakespearean tragedy and the text of the Gospel reorient Büchner's text as well: if ancient heroes who committed suicide are mentioned during the drama, then Lucille commits it at the end. This act is nothing but death for love, which is not done by revolutionaries, but is done for the sake of one of them. The final scenes of the drama associated with Lucille are devoid of any kind of parody: these scenes complete the drama in lyrical and tragic tones, unusual for drama.

Lucille performs her act freely and voluntarily, and it can be interpreted as suicide, while the theme of impotence and absolute lack of freedom of a person before history, revolution sounded like a refrain in the monologues and dialogues of the characters.

This most important theme, the theme of lack of freedom, is connected for Buechner's heroes with another circle of allusions and quotations - from the Gospel and the tragedy "Hamlet".

Much has been written about the fact that G. Buechner finds a rethinking of the idea of romantic anthropocentrism32. At the heart of the universe, and hence history, according to G. Buchner, is not a person, but a set of cause-and-effect relationships that determine the course of history. The role of personality in history turns out to be practically leveled. There is a kind of "wheel of history": those at the top at any moment can be at the bottom.

Shakespeare's metaphor of a man - a musical instrument in the hands of others, a man-flute, is organically connected with the image of a puppet. Danton says at the beginning of the drama: “To be a miserable instrument with one string that always makes only one sound, is that life?”33. At the end, this image expresses Danton's self-awareness: “We are just miserable organ grinders, and our bodies are

tools"34. If the first paraphrase from Shakespeare is a rhetorical question, then the second is a statement.

It is interesting that here, too, the appeals to someone else's text are intended to illustrate an idea that is opposite to that stated in the original. After all, Hamlet just proves that he is not an instrument that can be played.

Danton is sure that a person does not have free will, all actions are subject to one need to protect oneself. In order to explain the need for killing in self-defense, Danton quotes from the Gospel: “For temptations must come; but woe to the man through whom the offense comes!” (Gospel of Matthew 28:7)35. Robespierre and Danton are precisely those people through whom "temptation comes." The idea of unfreedom is metaphorically present in the drama also due to the motive of all-consuming corporality. As for the Greeks and Romans, the world for the revolutionaries is nothing but a "sensible cosmos"36, but for the latter it is absolutely disharmonious, since in this world there is nothing but corporeality.

The oppressive materiality of the world is perceived by the characters as a prison from which it is impossible to escape during life. “The Creator was not too lazy to fill everything, he left no empty space anywhere, there is hustle and bustle everywhere,” says Danton37. The description of the vision that came to Camillus before his execution is noteworthy: “And suddenly the ceiling disappeared, and the moon sank into the room, quite low, and I grabbed it with my hand. Then the sky descended with all the luminaries, I felt it everywhere, felt the stars and, like a drowning man, floundered under the ice edge.

It is noteworthy that in this passage the celestial sphere, traditionally understood as ether, as a step into the world that is not subject to our direct sensations, turns out to be something material for Camillus, something that can be grasped, felt (“betasten”). It is no coincidence that the word “Decke” is repeated three times in one phrase (in the meaning of “cover” - “Decke”, “Himmelsdecke”, “Eisdecke”). In the original, the sunken month is called "completely dense" ("ganz dicht"). The image of a hard covering, a "lid" appeals to Danton's words about people buried alive. The upper world cannot be seen because of the almost impenetrable corporeality of the earthly world.

Of course, references to antiquity are also nothing more than a decoration for the ideas of French sensationalism and emerging atheism. Nevertheless, matter, physicality for heroes is an absolute evil. Danton himself dreams of joining the incorporeal, ethereal world: “Nevertheless, I would like to die differently, easily and

silently like a falling star<...>like a sunbeam sinking in a transparent stream"39.

In the last act, the sky seems to “open” for the heroes: “Rejoice, Camille, such a beautiful night awaits us. Clouds hang in the quiet evening sky, like a burned-out Olympus with fading, melting gods,” says Ero40. Here we see a completely different picture, "fading, melting", that is, the dying gods dissolve and, as it were, "give way" to open space.

Be that as it may, "The Death of Danton" is a tragedy of an unawakened spirit, the impossibility of self-sufficiency and self-knowledge; if in the understanding of the heroes there is a higher world, beyond the visible world, then its inhabitants (“Götter”) are hostile to people who appear as puppets or “mirror carps”.

So, we have traced the existence and role of quotations and allusions associated with ancient and Christian cultures, developing the themes of sacrifice, self-sacrifice, suicide. The problem of intertextuality was considered by us taking into account the poetics of the game, the atmosphere of theatricality inherent in the text itself. We have shown the regularity of the appearance of individual images in the text, lines, their development - from scenes, parodic reduced, to scenes created by Buchner in a completely tragic style, devoid of any irony.

Notes

1 History of Western European Literature. XIX century: Germany, Austria, Switzerland. St. Petersburg: Faculty of Philology, St. Petersburg State University; M.: Academy, 2005. S. 123.

2 Dostoevsky F.M. Demons. St. Petersburg: SPIKS, 1993. S. 311.

3 Mikhailov A.V. Antiquity as an ideal and cultural reality of the 18th-19th centuries. // Antiquity as a type of culture. M.: Nauka, 1988. S. 312.

4 Lotman Yu.M. Text within the text // Lotman Yu.M. Selected articles: In 3 volumes. Vol. 1. Articles on semiotics and typology of culture. Tallinn: Alexandra, 1992, p. 155.

5 Buechner G. Decree. op. S. 77.

6 Ibid. S. 75.

7 Ibid. S. 87.

8 Ibid. S. 91.

9 Ibid. S. 87.

10 Ibid. S. 92.

11 Ibid. S. 98.

12 Ibid. S. 111.

13 Lotman Yu.M. Conversations about Russian culture. St. Petersburg: Art - St. Petersburg, 1997. S. 183.

14 Buchner G. Decree. op. S. 92.

15 Ibid. S. 145.

16 Ibid. S. 146.

17 Büchner G. Dantons Tod: Crit. Studienaus. des Orig. mit Quellen, Aufsätzen u. Materialien / Hrsg. von P. von Becker. Frankfurt am/M.: Syndikat, 1985. S. 43.

18 Lotman Yu.M. Text within text. S. 155.

19 Moskvina E.V. The artistic world of G. Buchner. M.: Prometheus, 2007. S. 169.

20 Ibid. S. 169.

21 Lotman Yu.M. Text within text. S. 155.

22 Buchner G. Decree. op. S. 289.

23 Ibid. S. 299.

24 Ibid. S. 97.

25 Karelsky A.V. From hero to man. S. 100.

26 Buchner G. Decree. op. S. 148.

27 Ibid. S. 148.

28 SiessJ. Op. cit. S. 12.

31 Krivonos V.Sh. Parody // Poetics: Dictionary of actual terms and concepts / Ch. scientific ed. N.D. Tamarchenko. Moscow: Kulagina Publishing House; Intrada, 2008, p. 159.

32 Karelsky A.V. From hero to man. M .: Soviet writer, 1990. S. 45.

33 Buchner G. Decree. op. S. 101.

34 Ibid. S. 146.

35 Ibid. S. 111.

36 Losev A.F. History of ancient aesthetics. M.: Art, 1992. S. 314.

37 Buchner G. Decree. op. S. 134.

38 Ibid. S. 141.

Hérault-Sechelle was an associate of Georges Danton in the National Convention, they play cards with the ladies, among them Julie, who is Danton's wife. Danton apathetically talks about women, their cunning and charm, about the ability to understand and know each other. To reassurance from Julie, Danton quite melancholy notes that he loves her, as they can love the "grave", in which everyone finds peace. Herault-Sechel hit on one of these women.
Comrades, other deputies of the Convention drop in on them.

One of them, named Camille Desmoulins, immediately engages everyone in a conversation about the romance of the guillotine. In the second year, the revolution begins to demand new deaths and victims. Ero thinks it's time to end the revolution and start a republic. After all, everyone should enjoy life, but this should not be at the expense of others. Camille, on the other hand, believes that the power of the country should be open to the people, and be a "transparent tunic" on the body.

He knows that Danton has an excellent oratorical gift, and asks him to start speaking in the Convention, defending freedom and human rights, thereby launching an attack. Danton, in turn, is not very interested, but at the same time he does not refuse, this case still needs to be lived up to. He leaves everyone, while showing that he is tired of politics.

A storm of applause in the hall and the meeting was postponed. It is not in the interests of the judges to hear that Danton once declared war on the monarchy, and his voice from the gold of the rich and aristocrats forged weapons for the people. After which Danton turns to the people, he demands that a commission be created to accuse the people walking on the corpses. Then the prisoners are taken away by force from the courtroom.
In front of the Palace of Justice, a crowd is noisy in the square. In exclamations and cries there is no common opinion, some are for Robespierre, while others are for Danton.

Last moments in the cell. Camille misses his wife, Lucille, who in turn sings next to the camera. He is afraid of death and is very worried that his wife is starting to go crazy. Danton is as usual mocking and ironic. It is difficult for everyone to realize themselves as "pigs" who were beaten to death with sticks so that everything on the table of the kings was tasty.

As the prisoners are taken out of their cell, Julie drinks poison in the house where she lived with Danton.
The convicts sing "La Marseillaise" as they are being taken to the guillotine in Revolution Square. From the crowd of people, screams with mockery are heard from women who have hungry children in their arms. The prisoners say goodbye to each other. The executioners are trying to pull them apart. Lucille came up to the guillotine, she sings about death. She is looking for her to be with her husband. A patrol approaches her, and Lucille breaks out: "Long live the king!" She is arrested in the name of the Republic.

The summary of the drama "The Death of Danton" was retold by Osipova A.S.

Please note that this is only a summary of the literary work "The Death of Danton". This summary omits many important points and quotations.

Death of Danton

Friends come, other deputies of the Convention. Camille Desmoulins immediately engages everyone in a conversation about "guillotine romance." In its second year, the revolution demands daily new sacrifices. Herault believes that with the revolution it is necessary to "end" and "begin" the republic. Everyone has the right to enjoy life as best they can, but not at the expense of others. Camille is sure that state power should be open to the people, a "transparent chiton" on his body. Knowing Danton's magnificent oratorical gift, he urges him to launch the attack by speaking at the Convention in defense of true freedom and human rights. Danton does not seem to refuse, but does not show the slightest enthusiasm, because until this moment one still needs to "survive". He leaves, showing everyone how tired of politics. hall a storm of applause, the meeting is postponed. It is not in the interests of judges to hear that it was Danton who declared war on the monarchy in his time, that his voice "forged weapons for the people from the gold of aristocrats and the rich." Then Danton appeals to the people, demanding the creation of a commission to accuse those because of whom freedom "walks over the corpses." Prisoners are taken out of the hall by force.

A crowd hums in the square in front of the Palace of Justice. There is no unanimity in the cries and exclamations, some for Danton, others for Robespierre.

The last hours in the cell. Camille longs for his wife Lucille, who stands in front of the cell window and sings. He is afraid of death, suffers from the fact that his wife is going crazy. Danton, as usual, is ironic and mocking. It is bitter for everyone to recognize themselves as "pigs" beaten to death with sticks, so that "at the royal feasts it would be tastier."

At the moment when the convicts are taken out of the cell, Julie takes poison in her and Danton's house. Singing "La Marseillaise" convicts are taken in wagons to the Revolution Square to the guillotine. From the crowd, mocking cries of women with hungry children in their arms are heard. The convicts say goodbye to each other. The executioners take them away. Its end.