What did Rasputin write about in his autobiographical work and why is the story called "French Lessons"?

The author's works are always a kind of diary, which captures the innermost thoughts, experiences and events that happened to him in life. The story of Valentin Rasputin, which will be discussed, to a greater extent than his other works, is autobiographical. Let's see why. The story is called "French Lessons". It is based on a real story - as a teenager, the writer was forced to leave his home in order to continue his studies at the secondary level of a comprehensive school: in his native village there was only an elementary one. Not surprisingly, the story is told in the first person. Even the name of the teacher - Lydia Mikhailovna - is by no means fictitious.

Post-war childhood

The protagonist of the story “French Lessons”, just like once Valentin Rasputin, ended up in the city, settled with his aunt. It was 1948, the time of famine. Here the boy had a very difficult time, the meager supplies that his mother sent him from the village disappeared in a matter of days: one of the aunt's children got into the habit of carrying food. Often the hero had to be content with one boiling water. It was even harder for him to be separated from his relatives, and there was not a single person around who was ready to say a kind word to the boy. The little boy suffered from anemia, every day he needed at least a cup of milk. His mother sometimes sent him a little money for this very milk, and the boy bought it at the market. One day he decided to invest coins in a game called "chika", practiced for a long time and finally began to win. He needed only a ruble to buy milk, so the boy, having won it, left the game. The boys beat the cautious and lucky player. This circumstance gave impetus to events that changed the thinking of the hero. And the reader begins to understand why the story is called “French Lessons”.

Extraordinary teacher

Lidia Mikhailovna is a young beautiful woman from the Kuban. To the hero, she seemed to be a celestial. Everything in her delighted and surprised him: the mysterious language that she taught, the unearthly smell of her perfume, softness, freedom and confidence. She didn't look like a teacher at all and seemed to wonder herself: why was she here?

human involvement

Lidia Mikhailovna quickly and carefully looked at each student to make sure that everything was in order with the children. No wonder she immediately noticed bruises and abrasions on the boy's face. Upon learning that he was playing for money, she did not drag the boy to the director, as was customary, but decided to talk heart to heart with him. Hearing that the child does not buy sweets, but milk, she thought. The conversation ended with the boy promising not to gamble again. But hunger forced him to trade in this way again. He was beaten up again. The teacher understood that the little boy was surviving as best he could. She really wanted to help him somehow. For classes, Lidia Mikhailovna began to invite the ward to her home, communicated with him in a friendly and sympathetic way, tried to feed him. But the timid and proud boy could not be seated at the dinner table. Then the teacher left a parcel with food in the name of the boy at school, as if from his mother. It contained pasta, sugar and hematogen. The outlandish set betrayed the benefactor with a head: the boy guessed from whom the package was from, and flatly refused to take it. Wanting to make life easier for the child, Lidia Mikhailovna commits a pedagogical "crime": she plays with the student in the "wall" for money, contriving to "cheat" not in her favor. This climax in the story makes Rasputin's story very dramatic and human.

French lessons

In parallel with these, marked by a deep moral content, the relationship between the teacher and the student, the French language is being taught. The boy succeeded in everything except pronunciation. But the daily lessons awakened in him an interest and ability in the language. The purposeful hero overcame difficulties step by step. Gradually, instead of torture, learning the language became a pleasure for him. But, of course, this is not the only answer to the question of why the story is called “French Lessons”.

The science of kindness

Living compassion, mercy without formalism - this is what this amazing teacher enriched the inner world of the hero. Formally, playing with a student for money is an immoral act, but when we understand why a young woman does this, it takes on a completely different spiritual meaning. Recalling the teacher, Rasputin wrote that she had some special independence that protected her from hypocrisy. She did not need to utter educational monologues about nobility, honesty and kindness. It’s just that everything she did naturally and naturally became the best life lessons for her young wards.

There were, of course, other good teachers in the author's life. But the childhood memory of a French teacher, who, together with the wisdom of a foreign dialect, revealed the subtleties of ethics not prescribed in textbooks, forever determined the spiritual makeup of the writer. That is why the story is called "French Lessons".

The players were caught by the director, Lidia Mikhailovna was fired, and she went to her place in the Kuban. And soon the boy received a parcel in which ruddy Antonov apples lay under the pasta.