The Traveling Frog. Tales

Vsevolod Mikhailovich Garshin (1855–1888) — a Russian writer, poet, and art critic. He was born in the estate of Pleasant Valley in the Yekaterinoslav Governorate (territory of modern Ukraine) to an officer who participated in the Crimean War. A significant influence on Garshin's life and worldview came from a family drama he experienced at the age of five. His mother fell in love with P. V. Zavadski, who was involved in the upbringing of the older children in the Garshin family. Zavadski was the organizer of a secret political society, and when he was exiled to Petrozavodsk, Garshin's mother left the family and moved to St. Petersburg to be able to visit the exile. After graduating from gymnasium in 1874, Garshin entered the Mining Institute, but the beginning of the Russo-Turkish War in 1877 interrupted his studies — Garshin enlisted as a volunteer in the active army. His personal impressions of the war formed the basis of the story “Four Days” (1877), which was published in the journal “Fatherland Notes” — this is how Garshin's name became known throughout Russia. In 1878, he retired, and literature became his main pursuit. Garshin's stories were often referred to by critics as prose poems. The writer was distinguished by a special talent for creating vivid and imaginative metaphors, transforming everyday situations into philosophical tales. One confirmation of this is the story of the creation of “The Tale of the Frog and the Rose” (1884). Once, Garshin was visiting his friend, the poet Y. Polonsky, where the famous composer of that time A. Rubinstein was playing. Opposite the musician sat a poorly-looking official, who was observing A. Rubinstein with discontent. Under the influence of this contrast between the creator and the unpleasant person, the image of the confrontation between the repugnant frog and the beautiful rose was born in the writer's mind. The story “The Red Flower” (1883) is equally metaphorical, in which the protagonist, a mentally ill man, fights against the evil of the world, embodied for him in a bright scarlet poppy. And although he did not succeed in actually eradicating all evil on the planet, his act is indeed heroic. The tale “The Traveling Frog” (1887) is the writer's last work. The basis of this instructive story is the fable of the famous French fabulist La Fontaine.