S. N. Nosov, in his article "Literature and the Game" published in Novy Mir (1992, No. 2), speaking about Tatyana Tolstoy's short story "Sweet Shura", comes to the conclusion that the author in it "is silent about the essence of being" and narrates only " at the level of a secular game, charming ease", cultivating which is contraindicated to think too much about " the damned questions of being, too sad, indignant or even laugh too loudly." According to the critic, the story only " offers an aesthetically charming game." In the editorial afterword, it is noted that T. Tolstoy's story "not only "plays" with us, but also deeply touches". This conclusion seems legitimate. To check the validity of S. No's conclusion- page 35 sova, it is necessary "to see how the verbal text correlates with the chosen subject" (Novy Mir, 1992, No. 2, pp. 236, 237). "Sweet Shura" is written in the first person, the author is replaced by the narrator, for whom it is primarily important to "see and portray" everything. At the same time, the authenticity of the narrative is emphasized ("I myself watched this woman, I communicated with her"). The narrator looks at an old woman she met in the early morning on a Moscow street, peers into the world around her, listens to the heroine's story about herself, and then passes on her impressions to the reader. These impressions are sometimes presented harshly and ironically, and the more ruthlessly Alexandra Ernestovna is described, the more compassion the reader feels for her physical infirmity and lonely old age. Alexandra Ernestovna no longer lives, but lives out her life. Here's a direct indication of her age: "She's ninety years old," I thought. But she was mistaken for six years" (Tolstaya T. N. On the golden porch sat. Moscow, 1987. P. 29; further - only p.). The objects of the heroine's toilet, the realities of her life are described with the help of vocabulary containing the seme "inanimate". So, the ornaments on her hat wooden tap: "The four ... Read more