Vsevolod Garshin (Russian: 袙褋械胁芯谢芯写 袦懈褏邪泄谢芯胁懈褔 袚邪褉褕懈薪) is considered one of Russia's masters of short fiction. The son of a wealthy army officer, he served in the last of the Russo-Turkish Wars (1877 to 1878) and wrote his first story, "Four Days" (1877), while recovering from battle wounds. His subsequent stories, which were praised by Ivan Turgenev and Anton Chekhov, often dealt with the subject of evil. Garshin suffered from recurring bouts of mental illness and his masterpiece, "The Scarlet Flower" (1883), was based on his confinement in an asylum. He committed suicide at 33. His collected works were translated into English as "The Signal and Other Stories" (1912).
This russian short story is by all means perfect! Wreathed in allegory, it explores the mind of a madman and his obsessions in an insane asylum. I don't think it could be done more masterfully and brilliantly. Not much can be said about it. Not much should be said about it. You can download it and read it for free and, by all means, do!
A wonderful short story by the great Russian writer Vsevolod Grarshin that is a dense, artistic and dramatic work, full of symbolism! It鈥檚 the story of an asylum patient who is fascinated with the liberation of mankind from the evil, which according to him resides in three poppies in the hospital鈥檚 garden. The story includes metaphysical dimension (liberation and rebirth of mankind), coupled with the conflict between darkness and light (the opposite forces). The patient perceives himself as the redeemer of mankind, the warrior, who is going to help humanity from the universal evil that lies in the three flowers, and at the end of the story he dies along with the last flower (both are united). There are very sad scenes, and the depiction of the patient鈥檚 mental world, his obsessions and hallucination, and the life in the hospital shows the mastery of Garshin at writing great stories. What I appreciated in particular is the subjective experience and semi-autobiographical element in the story, and how Garshin, who himself suffered from many mental bouts and spent few month in a mental institution- he even experienced being taken their straightjacketed- could invest his painful personal experience in writing is touching story.
Extra帽o e inquietante relato donde el protagonista tiene alterada su mente y crea una atm贸sfera cada vez m谩s oscura hasta el inevitable desenlace. Recomendable lectura, con toques de poes铆a y magn铆ficas ilustraciones.
Si tratta di un brevissimo racconto in cui un folle vuole redimere l'umanit脿 dal Male. Chiuso in un manicomio 猫 convinto che tutto il male del mondo sia racchiuso in tre papaveri rossi che crescono nel giardino della casa di cura. Ogni papavero estirpato indebolisce il folle che si convince che in questa lotta tra il Bene e il Male solo uno dei due possa sopravvivere. La malattia peggiora, deliri e allucinazioni aumentano, gli inserviente non si allontanano un attimo, eppure non perde le speranze e riesce a sradicare anche l'ultimo fiore per morire sereno. Il racconto 猫 tragico e lo si percepisce sin dalle prime parole; le descrizioni sono dettagliate e intense nonostante la brevit脿 della storia. La tragicit脿 non sta soltanto in questa lotta inutile e nella descrizione del manicomio, ma anche nella disperazione morale del folle che pensa di essere l'unico a poter salvare l'umanit脿.
I was totally absorbed by this short little book. The symbolism seems to me to be representative of a saviour figure. The troubled soul felt it his obligation to redeem the world from evil. The third flower was essential. It is difficult not to draw parallels with Christ's redemption on behalf of the world. The three flowers echo for me the triune God: Father, son and Holy Spirit: a treasure of a find.
鈥極nun su莽u ne? Onu 枚ld眉rm眉艧 olsam da benim su莽um ne? Su莽um ne?鈥� . 1877-1878 Osmanl谋- Rus Sava艧谋, daha 莽ok bildi臒imiz ad谋yla 93 Harbi. 脟etin bir sava艧 ve Osmanl谋鈥檔谋n hezimete u臒ramas谋. Tuna鈥檔谋n kar艧谋s谋ndan dinliyoruz bu sava艧谋. Gar艧in anlat谋yor. Ve 艧枚yle diyor asl谋nda: 鈥樏秎d眉rd眉臒眉m眉z kimdi? 脰ld眉rd眉klerimizi neden 枚ld眉rd眉k鈥� ve yukar谋daki dizelerle somutla艧谋yor hisleri. 陌艧lenen su莽 ve bunun tonlarca a臒谋rl谋臒谋 alt谋nda kalmak. 鈥極lmas谋 gereken oldu鈥� deyip s谋yr谋labilir miyiz i艧in i莽inden? Ya艧and谋 ve bitti, iki taraf da 鈥榓c谋鈥� kay谋plar verdi, sanki 鈥榯atl谋鈥� bir kay谋p varm谋艧 gibi. . 脟ehov鈥檜n 枚nc眉l眉 olarak g枚r眉nen, erken ya艧ta bu d眉nyaya veda eden Vsevolod Mihaylovi莽 Gar艧in ile tan谋艧mam olduk莽a kanl谋 oldu (ki Gar艧in annesine bir mektubunda kandan nefret etti臒ini ancak her yerin kanla kapl谋 oldu臒unu s枚yl眉yordu). Kendisi pasifizme inan谋rken bir yandan da sava艧谋n i莽inde buluyor kendini. Tan谋k olduklar谋n谋 da kalemine bo艧alt谋yor. Bu kitaptaki dokuz 枚yk眉 de sava艧谋n ayr谋 bir yan谋n谋 y眉z眉m眉ze vuruyor. Dokuz 枚yk眉 direkt olmasa da birbirine de ba臒l谋.. En 莽ok etkilendi臒im ise D枚rt G眉n oluyor.. Vurulan bir asker d眉艧眉n眉n, ormanda yaln谋z ba艧谋na kal谋yor, biraz 枚tesinde 枚ld眉rd眉臒眉 T眉rk asker yat谋yor. Zaman a臒谋r a臒谋r ak谋yor, 枚nce 枚lmek istemiyor 鈥� 莽abal谋yor, sonra sava艧t谋klar谋yla y眉zle艧mekten korkuyor ve son nokta: 枚l眉m眉 arzuluyor. O d枚rt g眉n 枚yle duru anlat谋l谋rken nas谋l bu kadar can yak谋c谋 olabilir? Sava艧mam谋艧, bug眉ne kadar yara almam谋艧 olan ben, neden g枚zlerimin dolmas谋na engel olam谋yorum? Ac谋 dedi臒imizin dili yok 莽眉nk眉. Birbirini tan谋mayan 莽ocuklar谋n birbirini 枚ld眉rmesinin manas谋 olmad谋臒谋 gibi鈥� Zweig鈥櫮眓 Mecburiyet鈥檌nde de bunu duyumsam谋艧t谋m. Frantz filminin o siyah beyazl谋臒谋nda da.. Kimleri 枚ld眉r眉yoruz? Neden 枚l眉yoruz? Geride kalanlar, gelecekten 莽al谋nanlar ne olacak? Velhas谋l sadece 93 Harbi鈥檔i de臒il, t眉m ge莽mi艧 sava艧lar谋 ve olas谋 sava艧lar谋 sorgulatan 枚yk眉ler bunlar. Silahlar谋 de臒il- stratejileri ve co臒rafyan谋n kaderini de臒il; bizzat sava艧an bedenleri d眉艧眉nd眉ren 枚yk眉ler..
. Kitaptaki 枚yk眉ler kadar kapak resmi de etkiledi beni. 陌lya Repin鈥檌n Gar艧in portresi. Gar艧in鈥檌n bak谋艧lar谋ndaki yorgunluk, kitaplar谋 aras谋nda masadan g眉莽 almaya 莽al谋艧谋rcas谋na duru艧u.. 脰yk眉leriyle bile 艧ekillendirebilirdim bu y眉z眉.. (akl谋ma The Pianist鈥檛eki Adrien Brody performans谋n谋 getirdi ayr谋ca..) Esra Ar谋鈥檔谋n ak谋c谋 莽evirisiyle.. Ve Gar艧in鈥檌 dilimizle bulu艧turan i莽in Ketebe鈥檔in 枚zenli 莽al谋艧mas谋yla..
This is a short story of a madman in an asylum. He has many halluciations and obsesses over the evil of mankind. This story is filled with haunting imagery of the insane asylum and symbolism of the poppy (for corruption and evil) that is hard to get out if your head. Overall a very compelling tale by Garshin.
Another great psychological short story. A real feast for the fans of Russian short fiction. Its amazing how these authors use objects to symbolize the soul of their stories. Here it was this insignificant red flower, nobody cares about it except the protagonist , who sees all the evil in this world through it. Really enjoyable story.
This is a short masterpiece about a Patient in a mental hospital and his attempts to defeat the evil of the world. It's based on Garshin's personal experience in a mental hospital (as he suffered from a mental disorder throughout his life).
For its length, the story is well thought out and incredibly detailed. I especially enjoyed Garshin's imagery and the almost reeling feeling one gets while reading. I'm not sure that I would read this style in a longer form, but its concise format works well.
Escritor ucraniano del que no ten铆a ninguna referencia; ni de 茅l, ni de su obra y que me ha fascinado no solo por su prosa, sino por todo lo que llega a trasmitir en tan pocas p谩ginas听
Con un trasfondo social y humano, la historia trata el tema de las obsesiones y la angustia a partir de un enfermo mental que llega a un psiqui谩trico y lo 煤nico que motiva su existencia es acabar con tres flores rojas que crecen en una planta en los jardines del hospital y que para 茅l significan los males de la humanidad听
La grandeza de la mente y su poder, nos convence y nos motiva a vivir por un ideal, a luchar por lo que creemos hasta el punto de dirigir nuestras acciones y no importarnos morir por ellas aunque esa sea una realidad distorsionada听
Llama la atenci贸n las descripciones, la ambientaci贸n, lo as茅ptico y lo oscuro del lugar, las personas que lo habitan y trabajan en el, una gama de grises desde el blanco de las batas m茅dicas hasta lo negro del pozo donde se oculta la raz贸n; el 煤nico punto de color es "la flor roja"
Dans cette nouvelle de 1885, et d猫s la premi猫re ligne, Garchine nous plonge dans la folie d'un homme, un sujet qu'il conna卯t bien en ayant 茅t茅 lui-m锚me la victime. Son 茅criture lyrique et pr茅cise, haletante, donne un attrait inqui茅tant 脿 son texte sans qu'aucune des actions ne le justifie r茅ellement, lui conf茅rant ainsi une puissance incroyable qui captive le lecteur. Le fou d茅borde d'humanit茅, il est attachant dans ses questions existentielles, dans la destin茅e qu'il se cr茅e pour donner un sens 脿 sa pr茅sence en ce lieu. Il se voit comme un 茅lu, l'homme qui doit sauver le monde du Mal absolu repr茅sent茅 par trois petites fleurs dans le jardin de l'h么pital. Mais sa mission, primordiale, est toujours entrav茅e par les m茅decins, au c艙ur dur, qui apportent une certaine violence 脿 ce texte. Ainsi, trois points de vue sont mis en valeur dans ces 50 pages : le regard du fou, 茅mouvant, celui des m茅decins, froid et distant, et celui du narrateur, cynique, ce qui conf猫re 脿 cet h么pital une atmosph猫re 茅trange et inqui茅tante qui est d'autant plus visible que ce lieu contraste avec la beaut茅 de ces trois fleurs qui exacerbent la folie du personnage. Finalement, Garchine nous pousse 脿 r茅fl茅chir sur la folie, l'isolement, la fa莽on dont ces personnes sont per莽ues et trait茅es par la soci茅t茅.
I came across this very short story while reading where the girl, the main character, was reading Garshin's 'A Red Flower'. And she liked the protagonist so much that she would have liked to read more about him and his twisted world in a Russian asylum. To write much more about is to spoil it, as the story itself is just over 40 pages. But I have to say that Garshin's writing is so beautiful and flowing that I too, would have liked to read more about 'the madman' or 'our patient' as Garshin wants us to know him as. The Scarlett Flower or A Red Flower (1883) was based on his own confinement in asylum.>He committed suicide at the age of 33.
I enjoyed this quick read despite its sad tone; "A red flower" tells of the tribulations of a madman incarcerated in a mental asylum in the year 18--. Aside from the beautiful descriptions, both of the mans condition and of the asylum itself, Garshin layers the work with plenty of symbolism. The patient convinces himself that it is he who must save mankind, absorbing, as it were...the poison from a red flower, found in the garden of the hospital.
Beautifully written, such an eloquent description of mental illness in the pre- medication era. The author has poured both his own fears and his own empathy into this tale. A truly human look at mental illness.