Victor Marie Hugo is a famous writer. Victor Hugo short biography

Hugo Victor Marie - French writer, poet, bright representative romantic literary movement - was born in Besançon on February 26, 1802. His father was a high-ranking military man, therefore, as a child, Hugo managed to visit Corsica, Elba, Marseille, Madrid, which later played a certain role in his formation as a romantic writer. His mother’s monarchist and Voltairean views had a noticeable impact on the formation of his personality. After the divorce, she took Victor, and in 1813 they settled in Paris. His education continued in the capital: in 1814, Hugo became a student at the private boarding school Cordier, and from 1814 to 1818 he was a student at the Lyceum of Louis the Great.

Hugo began writing at the age of 14. His first publications - debut poems and the novel "Byug Zhargal" - date back to 1821. Victor was 19 when the death of his mother forced him to look for a source of livelihood, and he chose the craft of a writer. The collection of poems “Odes and Miscellaneous Poems” (1822) attracted the attention of Louis XVIII and brought the author an annual annuity. In the same year, Hugo married Adele Fouché, with whom he became the father of five children.

The preface to the drama "Cromwell", written in 1827, attracted everyone's attention to Hugo, since it became a real manifesto of a new - romantic - direction in French drama. Thanks to him, as well as the story “The Last Day of the Convict” (1829) and the collection of poems “Oriental Motifs” (1829), the author gained enormous fame. The year 1829 marked the beginning of an extremely fruitful period in his creative biography, which lasted until 1843.

In 1829, Hugo wrote another work that became resonant - the drama "Hernani", which put an end to literary disputes, marking the final victory of democratic romanticism. Dramatic experiments made Hugo not only a famous but also a wealthy author. In addition, active cooperation with theaters brought another acquisition: the actress Juliette Drouet appeared in his life, who was his muse and mistress for more than three decades. In 1831, one of Hugo's most popular novels, Notre Dame de Paris, was published.

In 1841, the writer became a member of the French Academy, which meant official recognition of his merits in the field of literature. The tragic death of his daughter and son-in-law in 1843 forced him to abandon active social life in favor of creative pursuits: it was at that time that the idea of ​​a large-scale social novel arose, which Hugo tentatively called “Adversity.” However, the revolution of 1848 returned the writer to the fold of social and political activity; in the same year he was elected to the National Assembly.

In December 1851, after a coup d'etat, Victor Hugo, who opposed the self-proclaimed Emperor Louis Napoleon III Bonaparte, was forced to flee the country. He spent almost two decades in a foreign land, living in the British Isles, where he wrote works that became extremely famous, in particular, the lyrical collection “Contemplations” (1856), the novels “Les Miserables” (1862, revised “Adversity”), “Toilers” sea" (1866), "The Man Who Laughs" (1869).

In 1870, after the overthrow of Napoleon III, Hugo, who for many years served as the personification of the opposition, made a triumphant return to Paris. In 1871 he was elected to the National Assembly, but the conservative policies of the majority led the writer to refuse his deputy post. During this period Hugo continued literary activity, however, he did not create anything that would increase his glory. He experienced the death of Juliette Drouet in 1883 as a severe loss, and two years later, on May 22, 1885, the 83-year-old Victor Hugo himself passed away. His funeral became a national event; the ashes of the great writer rest in the Pantheon - in the same place where the remains of Voltaire are buried.

Biography from Wikipedia

Victor Marie Hugo(French Victor Marie Hugo; February 26, 1802, Besançon - May 22, 1885, Paris) - French writer (poet, prose writer and playwright), one of the main figures of French romanticism. Member of the French Academy (1841).

Life and art

Childhood

Victor Hugo was the youngest of three brothers (the elders were Abel (1798-1865) and Eugene (1800-1837)). The writer's father, Joseph Leopold Sigisbert Hugo (1773-1828), became a general in the Napoleonic army, his mother Sophie Trebuchet (1772-1821), the daughter of a Nantes shipowner, was a Voltairian royalist.

Hugo's early childhood took place in Marseille, Corsica, Elba (1803-1805), Italy (1807), Madrid (1811), where his father worked, and from where the family returned to Paris each time. Traveling left a deep impression on the soul of the future poet and prepared his romantic worldview.

In 1813, Hugo's mother, Sophie Trebuchet, who had love affair with General Lagorie, separated from her husband and settled with her son in Paris.

Youth and the beginning of literary activity

From 1814 to 1818, Hugo studied at the Lycee Louis the Great. At the age of 14 he started creative activity: writes his unpublished tragedies - “ Yrtatine”, which he dedicates to his mother; And " Athelie ou les scandinaves", drama " Louis de Castro", translates Virgil. At the age of 15, he already received an honorable mention at the Academy competition for the poem “ Les avantages des études", in 1819 - two prizes at the competition "Jeux Floraux" for the poem "The Maidens of Verdun" ( Vierges de Verdun) and an ode “For the restoration of the statue of Henry IV” ( Rétablissement de la statue of Henri IV), which laid the foundation for his “Legend of Ages”. Then he prints the ultra-royalist satire " Telegraph”, which first drew the attention of readers to him. In 1819-1821 he published Le Conservateur littéraire, a literary supplement to a royalist Catholic magazine Le Conservateur. Filling out his publication himself under various pseudonyms, Hugo published there “ Ode on the Death of the Duke of Berry”, which secured his reputation as a monarchist for a long time.

In October 1822, Hugo married Adele Foucher (1803-1868), and five children were born to this marriage:

• Leopold (1823-1823)
• Leopoldina, (1824-1843)
• Charles, (1826-1871)
• Francois-Victor, (1828-1873)
• Adele (1830-1915).

In 1823, Victor Hugo's novel "Gan the Icelander" was published. Han d'Island), which received a reserved reception. Well-reasoned criticism of Charles Nodier led to a meeting and further friendship between him and Victor Hugo. Soon after this, a meeting was held in the library of the Arsenal - the cradle of romanticism, which had a great influence on the development of Victor Hugo's work.

The friendship of Hugo and Nodier would last from 1827 to 1830, when the latter began to speak out more and more critically about the writer’s works. Somewhat earlier, Hugo resumes relations with his father and writes the poem “Ode to My Father” ( Odes a mon père, 1823), " Two Islands"(1825) and "After the Battle" ( Après la bataille). His father died in 1828.

Hugo's play "Cromwell" Cromwell), written specifically for the great actor of the French Revolution, François-Joseph Talme, and published in 1827, caused heated controversy. In the preface to the drama, the author rejects the conventions of classicism, especially the unity of place and time, and lays the foundations of romantic drama.

The Hugo family often holds receptions in their home and establishes friendly relations with Sainte-Beuve, Lamartine, Merimee, Musset, and Delacroix.

From 1826 to 1837, the writer's family often lived at the Château de Roches, in Bièvres, the estate of Louis-François Bertin, editor Journal des débats. There Hugo meets Berlioz, Liszt, Chateaubriand, Giacomo Meyerbeer; compiles collections of poems “Oriental Motifs” ( Les Orientales, 1829) and " Autumn leaves» ( Les Feuilles d'automne, 1831). The theme of "Oriental Motifs" is the Greek War of Independence, with Hugo speaking in support of Homer's homeland.

In 1829, “The Last Day of a Person Condemned to Death” was published ( Dernier Jour d'un condamné), in 1834 - “Claude Gue” ( Claude Gueux). In these two short novels, Hugo expresses his negative attitude towards the death penalty.

Novel " Notre Dame Cathedral"was published between these two works, in 1831.

Years dedicated to the theater

From 1830 to 1843, Victor Hugo worked almost exclusively for the theater. However, he published several collections of poetry at this time:

• "Autumn leaves" ( Les Feuilles d'automne, 1831),
• "Twilight Songs" ( Les chants du crépuscule, 1835),
• "Inner Voices" ( Les Voix interiors, 1837),
• "Rays and Shadows" ( Les Rayons et les Ombres, 1840).

In Songs of Twilight, Victor Hugo exalts with great admiration July Revolution 1830.

Scandal during the first production " Hernani"(1830). Lithograph by J.-I. Granville ( 1846)

Already in 1828 he staged his early play " Amy Robsart" 1829 is the year of the creation of the play “Ernani” (first staged in 1830), which became the reason for literary battles between representatives of old and new art. An ardent defender of everything new in dramaturgy was Théophile Gautier, who enthusiastically accepted this romantic work. These disputes remained in the history of literature under the name “ Battle of Ernani" The play Marion Delorme, banned in 1829, was staged at the Port-Saint-Martin theater; and “The King Amuses himself” - at the Comedy Française in 1832 (removed from the repertoire and banned immediately after the premiere, the show was resumed only 50 years later).

The ban on the latter prompted Victor Hugo to write the following preface to the original 1832 edition, which began: " The appearance of this drama on the theater stage gave rise to unprecedented actions on the part of the government. The day after the first performance, the author received a note from Monsieur Juslin de la Salle, stage director at the Théâtre-France. Here is its exact content: “It is now ten o’clock and thirty minutes, and I have received orders to stop the performance of the play “The King Amuses himself.” Monsieur Taylor conveyed this order to me on behalf of the Minister».

It was November 23rd. Three days later - November 26 - Victor Hugo sent a letter to the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Le National, which said: “ Monsieur, I was warned that a part of the noble students and artists are going to come to the theater this evening or tomorrow and demand a showing of the drama “The King Amuses himself,” and also to protest against the unheard-of act of arbitrariness, because of which the play was closed. I hope, monsieur, that there are other means to punish these illegal actions, and I will use them. Let me use your newspaper to support the friends of freedom, art and thought, and prevent violent demonstrations that could lead to the riot so desired by the government for a long time. WITH deep respect, Victor Hugo. November 26, 1832».

The plot conflict in all of Hugo's dramas is based on a brutal duel between a titled despot and a powerless plebeian. This is the clash between the unknown young man Didier and his girlfriend Marion and the all-powerful minister Richelieu in the drama “Marion Delorme” or the exile Hernani with the Spanish king Don Carlos in “Hernani”. Sometimes such a clash is brought to a grotesque point, as in the drama “The King Amuses himself,” where the conflict plays out between the darling of fate, invested with power, the handsome and heartless egoist King Francis, and the hunchbacked freak, offended by God and people, the jester Triboulet.

In 1841, Hugo was elected to the French Academy, in 1845 he received the title of peer, and in 1848 he was elected to the National Assembly. Hugo was an opponent of the coup d'état of 1851 and was in exile after Napoleon III was proclaimed emperor. In 1870 he returned to France, and in 1876 he was elected senator.

Death and funeral

Victor Hugo died on May 22, 1885, at the age of 84, from pneumonia. The funeral ceremony of the famous writer lasted ten days; About a million people took part in it.

On June 1, Hugo's coffin was displayed for two days under the Arc de Triomphe, which was covered with black crepe.

After a magnificent national funeral, the writer's ashes were placed in the Pantheon.

Works

Quasimodo(hero of the novel " Notre Dame Cathedral") - Luc-Olivier Merson. Engraving from Alfred Barbu's book " Victor Hugo and his time"(1881)

Like many young writers of his era, Hugo was greatly influenced by François Chateaubriand, a famous figure in literary movement romanticism and outstanding - in France at the beginning of the 19th century. As a young man, Hugo decided to be " Chateaubriand or no one", and also that his life should correspond to the life of his predecessor. Like Chateaubriand, Hugo would promote Romanticism, figure prominently in politics as a leader of republicanism, and be exiled because of his political views.

The early passion and eloquence of his first works brought Hugo success and fame back in early years life. His first poetry collection"Odes and Various Poems" ( Odes et poésies diverses) was published in 1822, when Hugo was only 20 years old. King Louis XVIII granted an annual allowance for the writer. Hugo's poems were admired for their spontaneous fervor and fluency. This collection of works was followed by a collection of “Odes and Ballads” ( Odes et Ballades), written in 1826, four years after the first triumph. It presented Hugo as a magnificent poet, a true master of lyricism and song.

Cosette- heroine of the novel Les Miserables" Illustration by Emil Bayard

First mature work Victor Hugo in the genre of fiction, “The Last Day of a Man Condemned to Death” ( Le Dernier jour d'un condamné), was written in 1829 and reflected the writer's keen social consciousness, which continued in his subsequent works. The story had a great influence on such writers as Albert Camus, Charles Dickens and F. M. Dostoevsky. Claude Gueux, a short documentary story about a real-life murderer executed in France, was published in 1834 and was subsequently regarded by Hugo himself as a harbinger of his magnificent work on social injustice - the epic novel " Les Misérables" (Les Miserables). But Hugo's first full-fledged novel will be incredibly successful Notre-Dame de Paris (« Notre Dame Cathedral"), published in 1831 and quickly translated into many languages ​​throughout Europe. One of the effects of the novel's appearance was to subsequently draw attention to the desolate Notre-Dame Cathedral, which began to attract thousands of tourists who read the popular novel. The book also contributed to a renewed respect for old buildings, which were immediately actively preserved.

"The Man Who Laughs"

"The Man Who Laughs"(French L "Homme qui rit) - one of the most famous novels by Victor Hugo, written in the 60s years XIX century. The starting point in the plot of the novel is January 29, 1690, when a child is abandoned in Portland under mysterious circumstances.

Hugo began work on the novel in July 1866 in Brussels. In a letter to Lacroix's Parisian publisher, Victor Hugo suggests the title of the work " By order of the king", but later, on the advice of friends, he settles on the final title " The man who laughs».

• The French Post Office issued postage stamps dedicated to Victor Hugo in 1933, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1985.
• House-Museum of Victor Hugo in Paris.
• Monument at the Sorbonne by Laurent Marquest.
• House-Museum of Victor Hugo in Luxembourg.
• Bust of Hugo by Auguste Rodin.
• Monument to Hugo in the Hermitage Garden. Created by Laurent Marquest, the bronze bust was created in 1920. Gift of the City Hall of Paris to Moscow, established on May 15, 2000.
• V. Hugo Street in Kaliningrad.
• Victor Hugo Street in Tver, approved by the decision of the Tver City Duma on September 20, 2011.
• A crater on Mercury is named after Victor Hugo.
• Hugo is canonized in the Vietnamese Cao Dai religion.
• Victor Hugo metro station in Paris on line 2.

Works of Hugo in other forms of art

Victor Hugo began drawing at the age of 8. Now private collectors and museums have about 4,000 works by the writer; they are still successful to this day and are sold at auctions). Most of the works were written in ink and pencil between 1848 and 1851. He made sketches with pen and black ink on plain paper. Delacroix declared to Hugo: “If you became an artist, you would eclipse all the painters of our time” (Delacroix made costume sketches for Hugo’s first play “Amy Robsart”).

Hugo knew many artists and illustrators, the Deveria brothers, Eugene Delacroix, and Louis Boulanger was his close friend. Admiration for the writer and poet resulted in deep mutual friendship; visiting Hugo’s house every day, Boulanger left a lot of portraits of people grouped around the writer.

He was attracted to fantastic plots, inspired by the same poems by Hugo: “The Phantom”, “Lenore”, “The Devil’s Hunt”. The lithograph “Night Sabbath” was masterfully executed, where devils, naked witches, snakes and other things rush in an eerie and rapid round dance. devilry", featured in Hugo's ballad. A whole series of lithographs was inspired by Boulanger's novel Notre Dame. Of course, it is impossible to exhaust Boulanger's work with the all-encompassing influence of Hugo. The artist was inspired by the history of the past and present, the Bible, Italian literature... But the best works are those inspired by the art of Hugo. The writer's talent was akin to that of an artist; in his work he found the most faithful support for his quest. Their devoted friendship, which lasted throughout their lives, was the subject of admiration for their contemporaries. “Monsieur Hugo has lost Boulanger,” said Baudelaire upon learning of the artist’s death. And in a review of the “Salon of 1845” (a brochure of about 50 pages published in the same year, signed “Baudelaire-Dufay”). Baudelaire gives the following characterization of Louis Boulanger: “before us are the last fragments of old romanticism - this is what it means to live in an era when it is believed that the artist has enough inspiration to replace everything else; This is the abyss into which Mazepa’s wild leap carries him. Mr. Victor Hugo, who destroyed so many, also destroyed Mr. Boulanger - the poet pushed the painter into the pit. Meanwhile, Mr. Boulanger writes quite well - just look at his portraits; but where the hell did he get a diploma as a historical painter and inspired artist? Perhaps in the prefaces and odes of your famous friend?

In March 1866, the novel “Toilers of the Sea” was published with illustrations by Gustave Doré. “Young, gifted master! “Thank you,” Hugo writes to him on December 18, 1866. “Today, despite the storm, I came across an illustration for “Toilers of the Sea” that was no less powerful than it. In this drawing you depicted a shipwreck, a ship, a reef, a hydra, and a man. Your octopus is scary. Your Gilliatt is great.”

Rodin received the order for the monument to Hugo in 1886. The monument was planned to be installed in the Pantheon, where the writer was buried a year before. Rodin's candidacy was chosen, among other things, because he had previously created a bust of the writer, which was received positively. However, Rodin's work, when it was completed, did not meet the customers' expectations. The sculptor depicted Hugo as a mighty naked titan, leaning on a rock and surrounded by three muses. The nude figure seemed out of place in the tomb, and the project was eventually rejected. In 1890 Rodin revised original plan, removing the figures of the muses. A monument to Hugo was erected in the garden of the Palais Royal in 1909.

The most famous illustrator Hugo's books are probably the artist Emile Bayard ("Les Misérables"). The emblem of the musical “Les Misérables” is a painting in which the abandoned Cosette sweeps the floors in Thénardier’s tavern. In the musical, this scene corresponds to the song "Castle on a Cloud" ( Castle on the cloud). Typically a cropped version of the painting is used, where only the girl's head and shoulders are visible, often with a waving French flag woven into the background. This image is based on an engraving by Gustav Brion, who in turn based a drawing by Emile Bayard.

In the USSR, his books were designed by P. N. Pinkisevich, the last book of which was illustrated by A. I. Kravchenko. famous master engravings, was “Notre Dame Cathedral” (1940). Also famous are the illustrations of the contemporary French artist Benjamin Lacombe ( Benjamin Lacombe) (born in 1982). (Victor Hugo, Notre-Dame de Paris, Part 1 - 2011, Part 2 - 2012. Editions Soleil).

Film adaptations

• L’Homme qui rit (“The Man Who Laughs”; 2012)
• "Les Miserables" Les Miserables"; USA-UK, 2012)
• Quasimodo d'El Paris (1999) (novel " Notre Dame de Paris")
• Les misérables (" Les Miserables"; 1998)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) (novel “Notre Dame de Paris”)
• Les misérables (" Les Miserables"; 1995)
• Mest shuta (1993) (novel “Le Roi s’Amuse”)
• Les misérables (" Les Miserables"; 1988)
• Días difíciles (1987) (novel)
• La conscience (1987) (short story)
• Le dernier jour d'un condamné (1985) (novel)
• Les misérables (" Les Miserables"; 1982)
• Rigoletto (1982) (play “Le roi s’amuse”)
• Kozete (based on the novel " Les Miserables"; 1977)
• Le scomunicate di San Valentino (1974) (loosely inspired by a drama by)
• Sefiller (based on the novel " Les Miserables"; 1967)
• L’uomo che ride (based on the novel “The Man Who Laughs”; 1966) (uncredited in Italian version)
• Jean Valjean (1961) (based on the novel " Les Miserables"; 1961)
• Les misérables (" Les Miserables"; 1958)
• La déroute (1957) (story)
• Nanbanji no semushi-otoko (1957) (novel "Notre Dame de Paris")
• Notre Dame de Paris (1956) (novel)
• Sea Devils (1953) (novel "Les Travailleurs de la mer")
• La Gioconda (1953) (novel "Angelo, tyran de Padoue")
• Les miserables (1952) (novel)
• Re mizeraburu: kami to jiyu no hata (1950) (novel)
• Re mizeraburu: kami to akuma (1950) (novel)
• Ruy Blas (1948) (play)
• I miserabili (1948) (novel “Les Misérables”)
• Il tiranno di Padova (1946) (story)
• Rigoletto (1946) (novel)
• El rey se divierte (1944/I) (play)
• El boassa (1944) (novel "Les Misérables")
• Los miserables (1943) (novel)
• Il re si diverte (1941) (play)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) (novel)
• Les pauvres gens (1938) (writer)
• Gavrosh (1937) (novel “Les Misérables”)
• Toilers of the Sea (1936) (novel "Les Travailleurs de la mer")
• Les misérables (1935) (novel)
• Les misérables (1934) (novel)
• Jean Valjean (1931) (novel “Les Misérables”)
• Aa mujo: Kohen (1929) (novel)
• Aa mujo: Zempen (1929) (novel)
• The Bishop's Candlesticks (1929) (novel "Les Misérables")
• The Man Who Laughs (1928) (novel “L’Homme Qui Rit”)
• Rigoletto (1927) (play "Le Roi s'Amuse")
• Les misérables (1925) (novel)
• The Spanish Dancer (1923) (novella)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923/I) (novel “Notre-Dame de Paris”)
• Toilers of the Sea (1923) (novel "Les Travailleurs de la mer")
• Aa mujô - Dai nihen: Shichô no maki (1923) (story)
• Aa mujô - Dai ippen: Hôrô no maki (1923) (story)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923/II) (novel)
• Tense Moments with Great Authors (1922) (novel “Les Misérables”) (segment “Miserables, Les”)
• Tense Moments from Great Plays (1922) (novel "Notre Dame de Paris") (segment "Esmeralda")
• Esmeralda (1922) (novel “Notre Dame de Paris”)
• Das grinsende Gesicht (1921) (novel “L’homme e qui rit”)
• Der rote Henker (1920) (novel)
• Quatre-vingt-treize (1920) (novel)
• The Toilers (1919) (novel "Les Travailleurs de la mer")
• Marion de Lorme (1918) (play)
• Les travailleurs de la mer (1918) (novel)
• Der König amüsiert sich (1918) (novel “Le Roi s’Amuse”)
• Les misérables (1917) (novel)
• Marie Tudor (1917) (play)
• The Darling of Paris (1917) (novel “Notre Dame de Paris”)
• Don Caesar de Bazan (1915) (novel "Ruy Blas")
• The Bishop's Candlesticks (1913) (novel "Les Misérables")
• Les misérables - Époque 4: Cosette et Marius (1913) (novel)
• Les misérables - Époque 3: Cosette (1913) (novel)
• Les misérables - Époque 2: Fantine (1913) (novel)
• Les misérables - Époque 1: Jean Valjean (1913) (novel)
• La tragedia di Pulcinella (1913) (play)
• Marion de Lorme (1912) (writer)
• Ruy-Blas (1912) (play)
• Notre-Dame de Paris (1911) (novel “Notre Dame de Paris”)
• Ernani (1911) (writer)
• Hugo the Hunchback (1910) (novel)
• Hernani (1910) (writer)
• Les misérables (1909) (novel)
• Rigoletto (1909/I) (writer)
• Les misérables (Part III) (1909) (novel “Les Misérables”)
• Le roi s'amuse (1909) (play)
• Les miserables (Part II) (1909) (novel)
• Les Miserables (Part I) (1909) (novel "Les Misérables")
• The Duke's Jester or A Fool's Revenge (1909) (novel "Le Roi s'Amuse")
• A Fool’s Revenge (1909) (novel “Le Roi s’Amuse”)
• Ruy Blas (1909) (play)
• Rigoletto (1909/II) (play)
• Esmeralda (1905) (novel “Notre Dame de Paris”)

Musical Theatre

• 1830 - “Ernani” (opera), composer V. Bellini
• 1836 - “Esmeralda” (opera), composer L. Bertin
• 1839 - “Esmeralda” (ballet), composer C. Pugni
• 1839 - “Esmeralda” (opera), composer A. Dargomyzhsky
• 1844 - “Ernani” (opera), composer G. Verdi
• 1851 - “Rigoletto” (opera), composer G. Verdi
• 1862 - “Marion Delorme” (opera), composer G. Bottesini
• 1869 - “Ruy Blas” (opera), composer F. Marchetti
• 1876 ​​- “Angelo” (opera), composer Ts. Cui
• 1885 - “Marion Delorme” (opera), composer A. Ponchielli
• 80s - “Marion Delorme” (opera), composer P. Makarov
• 1880 - “La Gioconda” (opera), composer A. Ponchielli
• 1914 - “Notre Dame” (ballet), composer F. Schmidt
• 1980 - “Les Miserables” (musical), composer K.-M. Schoenberg
• 1998 - “Notre-Dame de Paris” (musical), composer P. Cocciante

French literature

Victor Hugo

Biography

HUGO, VICTOR (1802−1885), great French poet, novelist, playwright; leader of the romantic movement in France. Born on February 26, 1802 in Besançon, Victor Marie was the third son of Captain (later General) J. L. S. Hugo (originally from Lorraine) and Sophie Trebuchet (originally from Brittany). The parents were completely unsuitable for each other and often separated; On February 3, 1818, they received official permission to live separately. The boy was brought up under the strong influence of his mother, a strong-willed woman who shared royalist and Voltairian views. After the death of his wife in 1821, the father managed to return his son's love.

For a long time, Hugo's education was unsystematic. He spent several months at the Nobles College in Madrid; in France, the former priest Father de la Rivière became his mentor. In 1814 he entered the Cordier boarding school, from where the most capable students moved to the Lyceum of Louis the Great. His earliest poetic experiments date back to this period - mostly translations from Virgil. Together with his brothers, he undertook the publication of the magazine “The Literary Conservator” (“Le Conservateur littraire”), where his early works were published. poetic works and the first version of the melodramatic novel Bug Jargal (1821). He was accepted into the royalist "Society of Fine Literature". The infatuation with childhood friend Adele Foucher met with her mother’s decisive disapproval. After her death, her father allowed the lovers to meet, and this period of courtship was reflected in Letters to the Bride (Lettres la fiance). Hugo's first book of poetry, Odes et posies diverses (1822), was noticed by King Louis XVIII, who liked the odes in the royalist spirit. The mature poet was given an annual pension of 1,200 francs, which allowed Victor and Adele to get married on October 12, 1822.

The definition of “melancholy romantic” does not in any way fit Victor Hugo of the 1820s. Happy husband loving father and an unusually successful writer, he did not know the sorrows that are perpetuated in prose or poetry. In 1823 he published his second novel, Han d'Islande, a Gothic-style narrative in the tradition of H. Walpole and M. Lewis's The Castle of Otranto. In 1828, the canonical edition of Odes et ballades was published; the vivid imagery of the ballads testified to the strengthening of romantic tendencies in his work.

Among Hugo's friends and acquaintances were such writers as A. de Vigny, A. de Saint-Valry, C. Nodier, E. Deschamps and A. de Lamartine. Having formed the Cenacle group (French for “community”, “commonwealth”) at the magazine “French Muse”, they often met in the salon of Nodier, the keeper of the Arsenal library. Hugo had a particularly close relationship with C. Sainte-Beuve, who wrote a laudatory review of Odes and Ballads in the Globe.

In 1827 Hugo published the play Cromwell, which was too long to be staged; its famous Preface became the culmination of all the debates that were raging in France about the principles dramatic art. Having given enthusiastic praise to Shakespeare's theater, Hugo attacked the unity of time, place and action so dear to the French, spoke out in favor of a more flexible system of versification and advocated for combining the sublime with the grotesque. This manifesto, as well as the poignantly human story The Last Day of a Man Condemned to Death (Le dernier jour d'un condamn, 1829) and the poetry collection Oriental Motifs (Les Orientales, 1829) brought Hugo fame.

The period from 1829 to 1843 was extremely productive in Hugo's work. In 1829, a play by Marion de Lorme appeared, banned by censorship for its impartial portrait of Louis XIII. In less than a month, Hugo wrote the romantic drama Hernani. The scandalous premiere (February 25, 1830) was followed by other equally noisy performances. “The Battle of Hernani” ended not only with the triumph of the author of the play, but also with the victory of romanticism, which was finally consolidated by the success of Notre-Dame de Paris (1831). In a novel depicting Paris in the 15th century. and the great creation of Gothic, Hugo first appeared as a prose writer.

Marion Delorme was nevertheless installed on August 11, 1831; behind her they saw the light of the footlights The King Amuses himself (Le Roi s'amuse, 1832), Lucrezia Borgia (Lucrce Borgia, 1833), Marie Tudor (Marie Tudor, 1833), Angelo (Angelo, 1835), Ruy Blas (Ruy Blas, 1838) and the Burgraves (Les Burgraves, 1843). All of them, including the best of them, Ruy Blas, embodied the principles formulated in the “Preface” to “Cromwell.”

Important events occurred in Hugo's personal life. Sainte-Beuve fell in love with his wife, and the former friends went their separate ways. Hugo himself developed a passion for the actress Juliette Drouet, whom he met at the beginning of 1833. Their relationship continued until her death in 1883. The collections of lyric poems published from 1831 to 1840 were largely inspired by the poet’s personal experiences. Autumn Leaves (Les Feuilles d'automne, 1831) alternates themes of nature and childhood. Songs of Twilight (Les Chants du crpuscules, 1835) included several poems of a political nature, the rest were inspired by feelings for Juliette. Melancholic in tone are Inner Voices (Les Voix intrieures, 1837), with their unusually touching poem dedicated to Brother Eugene, who died in a mental hospital. Thematically diverse, Rays and Shadows (Les Rayons et les ombres, 1840) reveal a craving for the acquisition of faith. An act of humanity was Hugo's novel Claude Gueux (1834), which was not only directed against the death penalty, but also saw the root of all evil in the problem of poverty. In 1834, a collection of critical essays, Literary and Philosophical Mixture (Littrature et philosophie mles), previously published in full or in fragments, was also published.

In 1841, Hugo's merits were recognized by the French Academy, which elected him as a member. In 1842 he published a book travel notes Rhine (Le Rhin, 1842), in which he sets out his program international relations, calling for cooperation between France and Germany. In 1843, the poet experienced a tragedy: his beloved daughter Leopoldina and her husband Charles Vacry drowned in the Seine. Having retired from society for a while, Hugo went to work on the great novel Misfortunes (Les Misre), interrupted by the revolution of 1848. Hugo entered politics and was elected to the National Assembly; after the coup d'etat on December 2, 1851, he fled to Brussels, from there he moved to the island. Jersey, where he spent three years, and then (1855) settled on the island of Guernsey.

After the collapse of Napoleon III's regime in 1870, at the very beginning of the Franco-Prussian War, Hugo returned with Juliette to Paris. For many years he resisted the empire and became a living symbol of the republic. His reward was a deafeningly solemn meeting. Having the opportunity to leave the capital before the advance of enemy troops, he chose to remain in the besieged city. Elected to the National Assembly in 1871, Hugo soon resigned as a deputy in protest against the policies of the conservative majority. The death of his son Charles and the worries associated with caring for his grandchildren explain his absence from Paris during the Commune and the Civil War. Evidence of his patriotism and loss of illusions regarding Germany, to an alliance with which he called on France since 1842, was the collection The Terrible Year (L "Anne terrible, 1872). In 1874, indifferent to the successes of the naturalistic school, Hugo again turned to the historical novel, writing the novel Ninety-third year (Quatre-vingt-treize). At the age of 75, he published not only the second part of the Legend of the Ages, but also the collection The Art of Being a Grandfather (L"Art d'tre grand-pre), the creation of which was inspired by Charles's children. The final part of the Legend of the Ages was published in 1883. In the same year, Juliette Drouet died. After this, Hugo began to noticeably lose control. In May 1885, Hugo fell ill and died at home on May 22. The state funeral became not only a tribute to a great man, but also the apotheosis of the glorification of Republican France. Hugo's remains were placed in the Pantheon, next to Voltaire and J.-J. Rousseau. Posthumous publications of Hugo: The End of Satan (La Fin de Satan, 1886), Theater and Freedom (Thtre et libert, 1886), Experiences (Choses vues, 1887), Amy Robsart (Amy Robsart, 1889), Alps and Pyrenees (Alpes et Pyrnes) , 1890), God (Dieu, 1891), France and Belgium (France et Belgique, 1892), Full set(Toute la lyre, 1888, 1893), Ocean (Ocan, 1897), The Last Sheaf (Dernire gerbe, 1902), Afterword to my life (Postscriptum de ma vie, 1895), Sinister Years (Les Annes funestes, 1898), Stones (Pierres, 1951), Personal memories (Souvenirs personnels, 1952).

Victor Hugo - famous French romantic writer, playwright (1802−1885) Born on February 26, 1802 in Besançon. Victor was the third son of a captain, and later a general, of Napoleonic army. His parents often quarreled and periodically lived separately and, ultimately, they divorced permanently in 1818. Victor Hugo's upbringing was greatly influenced by his mother. Her royalist and Voltairean views left a deep imprint on Victor. His father was able to return his son's love only after the death of his wife in 1821. For a long time, Hugo's education remained unsystematic. Only in 1814 did he enter the Cordier boarding school, and then move to the Lyceum of Louis the Great.

In 1821, after graduating from the Lyceum, Victor Hugo and his brothers published the magazine “Literary Conservator”, in which his first poetic works were published. King Louis XVIII drew attention to Hugo's first collection of poems, published in 1822. Victor Hugo was given a pension of 1,200 francs annually, thanks to which he was able to marry his beloved Adele on October 12, 1822.

In 1831, Victor Hugo’s work “Notre Dame Cathedral” was published and occupied a special place in his work. In this novel, Hugo brilliantly described 15th-century Paris and the great creation of Gothic art.

In 1841, Hugo received recognition from the French Academy for his services and became its member. In 1843, a tragedy occurred in the poet's family: his beloved daughter Leopoldine drowned in the Seine along with her husband Charles Vacry. With the onset of the revolution in 1848, Hugo began to engage in politics and was elected to the National Assembly. In December 1851, after the coup d'etat, he fled to Brussels, and in 1855 settled on the island of Guernsey. With the collapse of Napoleon III's regime in 1870, Victor Hugo returned to Paris.

In 1872, Hugo resigned as a deputy of the National Assembly due to protest against the policies of the conservative majority and the loss of illusions regarding Germany, with which he had been calling for an alliance with France since 1842.

Hugo died in 1885. After his death, he was given a state funeral and his remains were placed in the Pantheon.

In May 1885, Paris said goodbye to the famous writer, poet and playwright. On the way of the funeral procession from Arc de Triomphe Many people lined up before the Pantheon. They paid their last respects to the creator of Guimplen, Cosette, Jean Valjean and Quasimodo, noble man with old-fashioned manners and oratorical pathos. His name was Victor Marie Hugo.

Childhood

He was born on February 26, 1802 in Besançon. Hugo's childhood was accompanied by family political discussions between his Bonapartist father and royalist mother.

His father, a peasant descendant, rose to the rank of brigadier general in Napoleonic's army. He dreamed of raising his son to be cheerful and active. The mother raised dreaminess in the child and instilled in every possible way a love of literature.

In his first collection of poetry, “Odes,” Victor exalted royal power. However, soon the young man, with his ardent soul and thirst for justice, became imbued with hatred of tyranny and unsightly portrayed King Louis XIII in the play “Marion Delorme.”

Connoisseur of the French people

In 1827, Hugo published the drama Cromwell. At that time, controversy was raging in France about the principles of dramatic art. The preface to the drama “Cromwell” became a manifesto of the romantic movement in all French drama. According to Hugo, life should be depicted in contrasts, showing the beautiful next to the ugly.

The writer spoke to the people in their language, boldly combining flowery comparisons and metaphors with colloquial expressions. He had every reason to claim that he knew French the best.

The tragic injustice of life and unhappy but selfless love were embodied by the writer in the image of the ugly and kind hunchback Quasimodo, a character in the novel Notre Dame Cathedral.

Hugo's heroes endure the vicissitudes of fate. The tramp Jean Valjean from the novel Les Misérables turns into a mayor and a manufacturer, and then, of his own free will, again into an outcast. Traveling actor Guimplen, "The Man Who Laughs", learns of his aristocratic origins. But in any situation, Hugo's heroes are always kind, generous and true to themselves.

Political career and exile

The 39-year-old writer was happy when he became a member of the French Academy, a count and a peer, which, however, he did not have to stay for long. After the fall of the monarchy, he lost his title, but managed to retain the respect of his fellow citizens. The writer even became the mayor of one of the districts of Paris, and in 1848 - a member of the National Assembly.

Hugo's authority played a role in the election of Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, the emperor's nephew, as president of the republic. But soon the writer had to regret it. After the monarchical coup, Hugo and his sons, as supporters of democratic reforms, were expelled from the country. The family settled on the island of Jersey, located between England and France. The expulsion was a heavy blow for Hugo and his loved ones.

Homecoming

The French Revolution of 1830 and public executions awakened in the writer an aversion to murder. In the story “The Last Day of a Man Condemned to Death,” Hugo discussed whether one person has the right to take the life of another. The writer did not change his ideals even after the amnesty declared by Napoleon III in 1857, declaring that he would return to French soil only when freedom returned there. The fall of the regime had to wait another 14 long years.

Compatriots greeted their favorite with applause and enthusiastic shouts. The writer sided with the Paris Communards. One of the cannons was cast with his money and named “Victor Hugo”. Every Monday, the writer organized lunches for poor children.

Last disappointment

But bloody terror, this eternal companion of the revolution, led Hugo to another disappointment. He tried to reconcile the Commune and Versailles. For his willingness to speak out in defense of justice, Hugo was called the conscience of France. In the last years of his life he himself suffered from unbearable heartache. His beloved eldest daughter drowned, his youngest lost her mind and died in his arms. A serious illness claimed both sons. But the final blow was the death of his muse, Juliette Drouet, French actress, who was his companion throughout his entire adult life.

French writer, playwright and poet Victor Marie Hugo, almost the same age XIX century, was not only a witness, but also a participant in the most significant events of this century. His state funeral was not only a tribute to the services of a great man, but also the apotheosis of the glorification of the French Republic. The remains of the writer were placed in the Pantheon, next to the great thinkers Voltaire and J.-J. Rousseau.

Biography, life story of Hugo Victor

Childhood and youth

Victor Marie Hugo was born on February 26, 1802 in the city of Besançon, located in the south of France.

Victor's father was Joseph Leopold Sigisbert Hugo, a former general, and the boy was born by Sophie Trebuchet, who was the daughter of a shipowner and, unlike her husband, held royalist and Voltairian views. Victor was the youngest in this family; he had three older brothers.

IN early childhood Victor had to live in different places: in Marseille, on the Elbe, and also in Corsica. The family spent a long time outside the borders of France: in Italy and Spain, as this was required by the service of the father of the family, but each time they returned to Paris. These travels and relocations left deep impressions in the soul of the future poet and formed the basis for his romantic worldview.

In 1813, Victor's mother, who was the mistress of General Victor Claude Alexandre Fannot de Lagorie, separated from her husband and settled in Paris, taking little Hugo with her. Here, in the period 1814-18, the teenager took a course in science at the Lyceum of Louis the Great.

Beginning of literary activity

The first work that demonstrated the maturity of Victor Hugo, written in the genre of fiction, was a story called “The Last Day of a Man Condemned to Execution.” Completed in 1829, but published only in 1834, this short documentary story about a real-life murderer who was executed in France reflected the acute social consciousness of the young writer and laid the excellent foundation for his subsequent books.

Subsequently, Hugo himself regarded this work as a harbinger of his magnificent and world-famous epic novel about the social injustice of his contemporary society, which was called “Les Miserables” and was published in 1862.

Success with the reading public

CONTINUED BELOW

To others the most famous novel Victor Hugo became the novel he wrote in 1866-68 in Brussels, called by the writer “The Man Who Laughs.” It began with the date January 29, 1690, when, under mysterious circumstances, a small child was abandoned in Portland. Having completed the work on 08/23/1868, Hugo handed over the manuscript to the Lacroix publishing house, which published it in parts during the period 04/19–05/08/1869. The action in the novel covers the years 1688-1705. In preparation for writing this book, Victor Hugo spent many months collecting various materials, relating to the history of England and relating to the end of the 17th and the very beginning of the 18th century.

Tribute to poetic creativity

Early-born passion and eloquence brought success and fame to the young poet in his early years of creativity. Already in 1822, when Victor was only twenty, the first collection of his poems entitled “Odes and Various Poems” was published. King Louis XVIII of France then granted the young talent an annual allowance. All of France admired the new poet’s poems, paying a well-deserved tribute to their spontaneous, truly youthful ardor and fluency. The first collection of poetic works was soon followed by a second. Written in 1826, “Odes and Ballads” introduced Victor Hugo to the reading public as a magnificent poet who proved that he was a true master of lyricism and song poetry.

Already in his declining years, Victor Hugo gave a lot mental strength poetry. Collections of his poems were published one after another at this time. In 1883, the great writer completed his work on a truly grandiose epic, the fruit of his many years of work called “The Legend of the Ages.” However, work on the collection, called “All the Strings of the Lyre” by Hugo, was interrupted by death. According to the writer’s plan, this unfinished work should have presented his full poetic repertoire.

Dramaturgy

Victor Hugo also made his mark as a popular playwright. He worked in the period 1830-34 almost exclusively for the theater. In 1830, audiences enthusiastically accepted his play Ernani, although it caused a lot of controversy among theater critics, some of whom did not accept the innovative approach implemented by Hugo in this work. Hugo's plays were even banned, such as the famous "Marion Delorme" or "The King Amuses himself", but later they were performed with constant success at the Comedy Française.

Social activity

In 1841, Victor Hugo became a full member of the French Academy, received a peerage in 1845, and in 1848 the writer was elected to the French National Assembly. Victor Hugo did not accept the restoration coup that took place in 1851. The writer left France and was in exile for a long time. Victor returned to his homeland only in 1870, and already in 1876 he was elected to the Senate.

Personal life

In 1822, Victor Hugo married Adele Fouché, with whom he lived in complete harmony and love until the end of his days. The family had three boys and two girls. The first son, Leopold, was born in 1823, but died as an infant. Leopoldina, born in 1824, like her two brothers Charles and François-Victor, who were born in 1824 and 1828, although they lived for quite a long time, also did not survive their father, and only the last daughter Adele, born in 1830, lived until 1915.

Death and memory

In the spring of 1885, when May was blooming outside, Victor Marie Hugo became seriously ill and died in his own home on the 22nd. The French state arranged a magnificent funeral for this great man. They were not only a sublime tribute to the respect of their fellow citizens, but also represented the apotheosis of the glorification of the traditions of the French Republic. Hugo's ashes were buried in the Pantheon.

Victor Marie Hugo (Hugo) is a great French writer and poet. Born February 26, 1802 in Besançon, died May 22, 1885 in Paris. The son of an officer, Sigisbert Hugo, who later became a general and count of the first empire, and the daughter of a Nantes shipowner, royalist Sophie Trebuchet. Getting ready for military career, Victor accompanied his father on his various business trips around Italy. Already at the age of 15, he received a commendable review for the didactic poem “Les avantages de l"étude”, submitted to an academic competition, then received a prize three times at the “Festival of Flowers” ​​(jeux floraux) in Toulouse for the poems “The Virgins of Verdun”, “ To restore the statue of Henry IV" and " Moses on the Nile" (1819 - 21) and finally wrote "Odes and Ballads" (1822 - 1828, 4 volumes), which aroused extreme interest. In form, they still deviated little from established models, but the captivating rise of speech, the boldness of the paintings and the unusually fluent command of verse exposed the future reformer of poetry.

Victor Hugo in his youth

Having received from the king Louis XVIII a pension of 1000 (later 2000) francs, Hugo married Adele Fouché and in the near future published two novels: “Gan the Icelander” (1823) and “Bug-Jargal” (1825), in which he already more decisively deviated from academic direction and, as yet only by introducing into poetry the element of the terrible, the ugly (grotesque) and the monstrous, gave the signal to the great romantic movement, of which he was destined to remain the supreme leader for the next twenty years.

This was followed by: a more bookish than stage tragedy “Cromwell” (1827), in the preface to which he outlined his then aesthetic and philosophical beliefs; “Oriental Motifs” (1828), poems glorifying the uprising of Greece and glorifying in picturesque stanzas the enchanting beauty of the East; dramas: “Marion Delorme” (1829), an idealization of a courtesan purified and saved by love, and “Ernani,” which was staged for the first time in 1830 and served as the reason for a real battle between supporters of classicism and romantics. This play can serve as an example of all of Hugo’s dramas, with all their shortcomings and oddities, but also with the fascination of the dialogue, which makes you forget about its aesthetic, historical and psychological inconsistency in many respects.

Victor Hugo. Biography

Dramas followed one after another with varying success: “The King Amuses himself” (1832), banned after the first performance; "Mary Tudor" and "Lucretia Borgia" (1833); "Angelo, Tyrant of Padua" (1835); "Ruy Blas" (1838) and the trilogy "Burggraves" (1843). The latter was such a complete failure that the poet completely stopped writing for the stage. Other works from this period include the novel “Notre Dame de Paris” (1831), which, despite the too abundant presence of “grotesque” in it, presents an excellent cultural picture of medieval Paris: “The Last Day of a Man Condemned to Death” (1829), an eloquent sermon against the death penalty, with the trend adjacent to it “Claude Gueux” (1834); “Autumn Leaves” (1831) – a collection of sincere lyrical poems; essay “Study of Mirabeau” (1834); the poetic collection “Songs of Twilight” (1835), with the famous cycle of songs for the Vendôme Column; the following collections - “Inner Voices” (1837); “Rays and Shadows” (1840) and travel memoirs “Rhine” (1842, 2 vols.). In 1841, Hugo was elected a member of the French Academy, and in 1845 King Louis Philippe granted him a peerage of France.

Politically, Hugo gradually moved from the conservative way of thinking of the Restoration era to liberal views and became a Bonapartist, who revered in the great emperor not only a glorious commander, but also a “man of destiny” who embodied new ideas and carried the fruits of the French Revolution with his eagles throughout Europe. As a member of the constituent national assembly of 1848, he nevertheless at first joined the right side and belonged to the party of order, but then boldly moved to the camp of the extreme left, and from here, in a series of fiery philippics, he smashed all reactionary measures. After the coup on December 2, 1851, Hugo was one of the first to be expelled. He retired with his family to the island of Jersey, after a while to Guernsey, and here he published in 1852 a destructive pamphlet against Napoleon III, “Napoleon the Small,” and a cycle of poems, “Retribution,” written in the merciless style of Juvenal, which, despite the strict prohibitions of the imperial government, spread in countless copies throughout France and gave the poet the almost unprecedented popularity that he subsequently enjoyed.

In exile, Hugo's lyrics took a predominantly philosophical, strongly pantheistic direction, which he since then expressed in numerous poems of uneven quality. These include: “Contemplations” (1856, 2 vols.); “Songs of Streets and Forests” (1865); "The Legend of Ages", embracing in bold, often dark visions all eras and forms of human civilization (1859, second series 1877, third 1883); "Daddy" (1878); essay "Fanatics and Religion" (1879); "Revolution" (1880) (all written during the years of exile). In the novels of this time “Les Miserables” (1862, 10 vols.), “Toilers of the Sea” (1866, 3 vols.), “The Man Who Laughs” (1869, 4 vols.) Hugo developed social issues. In addition, the book “William Shakespeare” (1864) was written at the same time.

He returned to Paris only after the fall of the empire of Napoleon III in 1870, donated two guns to the city besieged during the Franco-Prussian War, and in February 1871 he was elected to the national assembly in Bordeaux, where he protested against the conclusion of peace, but soon resigned. During his second candidacy in Paris, in 1872, he was not elected due to his sympathies for Commune, but in 1876 he passed from Paris to the Senate. Upon returning to France, in addition to the above-mentioned lyric-didactic works, he published: the collection of poems “The Terrible Year” (1872), full of thirst for revenge and angry attacks on Napoleon III and Germany; “The Ninety-Third Year” is a historical novel from the era of the Vendée uprising (1874); essay “My Sons,” in memory of his early deceased sons (1874); “Before the expulsion”, “During the exile”, “After the expulsion” (1875 - 76, 3 vols.); “The History of a Crime” - a description of the coup d’etat on December 2 based on personal memories (1877); cycle of poems “The Art of Being a Grandfather”, lyric family picture(1877) and "Supreme Pity" (1879), the final speech for amnesty for convicted Communards. After Hugo's death, the following poems were published: “The Four Winds of the Spirit”, “The End of Satan”, the cycle of plays “Free Theater”, the journalistic work “What I Saw” and several other small works.