Matrena Timofeevna image and description according to plan
1. General characteristics. Matryona Timofeevna is the main female heroine of the poem a "", to whom the part "Peasant Woman" is entirely devoted.
The age of Matrena Timofeevna is approaching forty years, but she still retains traces of her former beauty. Hard peasant labor did not break the woman. She carries herself with great dignity and gravity.
Matrena Timofeevna is not afraid and loves her work, realizing that it is the key to all peasant life.
2. Typical image. The fate of Matryona Timofeevna is similar to thousands of the same ordinary peasant women. From a very early age, the girl began to help her parents with the housework. Youth and an excess of strength allowed Matryona not only to manage her work, but also to have time to sing and dance, in which she became a real master.
Life in the parental home as a whole was a very happy time for Matryona. As was customary at that time, the groom for Matryona was found by her parents. It was very difficult for a cheerful and lively girl to part with her native hearth. Life in a strange house at first seemed unbearable to her. In the absence of her husband, the girl was reproached at every step. It was at this time that she fell in love with her Philip, who became her protector.
The tragic position of a woman of that era is best expressed in the saying: "Beats - it means she loves." Matrena Timofeevna believes that she was very lucky with her husband. However, her story of an undeserved beating suggests otherwise. If Philip hit Matryona several times just because she did not have time to answer him in time, then the woman had to meekly fulfill any of his orders. The narrator calls this situation - "we always have frets."
3. Tragedy. Matrena Timofeevna received the strongest stimulus to life after the birth of her son. It was no longer so hard for her among her husband's relatives. She established a warm, trusting relationship with her grandfather Saveliy. The trouble crept up imperceptibly. Infant mortality was generally very high at that time, mainly due to inadequate child care.
For a modern person, the death of Demushka, gnawed alive by pigs, looks simply monstrous. The attitude of Matryona Timofeevna herself is very characteristic. She is ready to come to terms with the death of her son ("God took away the baby"), but she almost goes crazy during the autopsy, considering this the greatest sin and abuse of an innocent child.
4. Black stripe. Misfortunes never come alone. Matrena only had time to move away a little from the death of her first-born, as her parents died. After that, the woman completely devoted herself to work and raising other children. Another blow awaited her ahead: her husband was illegally taken into the soldiers. The loss of the head of the family could lead to starvation. Philip's relatives and fellow villagers could not count on the help.
5. Women's happiness. Matryona Timofeevna was incredibly lucky. Thanks to the governor's wife, she got her husband back. Ordinary peasants very rarely sought justice. But does this isolated case allow Matryona to be considered "lucky"? Her whole past life was filled with suffering, humiliation and hard work. At present, anxiety for the fate of grown-up children has been added to the previous problems. Matrena herself answers this question: "The keys to female happiness ... are abandoned, lost."
Composition on the topic: Matrena Timofeevna. Composition: Who lives well in Russia
Matrena Timofeevna Korchagina is a peasant woman. The third part of the poem is dedicated to this heroine.
M.T. - “A portly woman, Broad and dense, 38 years old. Beautiful; hair with gray hair, Big strict eyes, Eyelashes of the richest, Harsh and swarthy.
Among the people about M.T. the glory of the lucky woman is coming. She tells the strangers who come to her about her life. Her story is told in the form of folk laments and songs. This emphasizes the typical fate of M.T. for all Russian peasant women: "It's not a matter of looking for a happy woman among women."
In the parental home of M.T. life was good: she had a friendly non-drinking family. But, having married Philip Korchagin, she ended up "from a girl's will to hell." The youngest in her husband's family, she worked for everyone like a slave. The husband loved M.T., but often went to work and could not protect his wife. The heroine had one intercessor - grandfather Savely, her husband's grandfather. M.T. she has seen a lot of grief in her lifetime: she endured the harassment of the manager, survived the death of the first-born Demushka, who, due to Savely's oversight, was bitten by pigs. M.T. failed to retrieve the son's body and he was sent for an autopsy. Later, another son of the heroine, 8-year-old Fedot, was threatened with a terrible punishment for feeding someone else's sheep to a hungry she-wolf. Mother, without hesitation, lay down under the rod instead of her son. But in a lean year, M.T., pregnant and with children, is likened to a hungry she-wolf herself. In addition, the last breadwinner is taken away from her family - her husband is shaved into soldiers out of turn. In desperation, M.T. runs into the city and throws himself at the feet of the governor's wife. She helps the heroine and even becomes the godmother of the born son M.T. - Liodora. But the evil fate continued to haunt the heroine: one of the sons was taken to the soldiers, "they burned twice ... God anthrax ... visited three times." In the "Woman's Parable" M.T. sums up his sad story: “The keys to female happiness, From our free will, Abandoned, lost From God himself!”
The image of Matryona Timofeevna (based on the poem by N. A. Nekrasov “Who should live well in Russia”)
The image of a simple Russian peasant woman Matrena Timofeevna is surprisingly bright and realistic. In this image, Nekrasov combined all the features and qualities characteristic of Russian peasant women. And the fate of Matrena Timofeevna is in many ways similar to the fate of other women.
Matrena Timofeevna was born into a large peasant family. The very first years of life were truly happy. All her life, Matryona Timofeevna remembers this carefree time, when she was surrounded by the love and care of her parents. But peasant children grow up very quickly. Therefore, as soon as the girl grew up, she began to help her parents in everything. Gradually, the games were forgotten, there was less and less time left for them, hard peasant work took the first place. But youth still takes its toll, and even after a hard day's work, the girl found time to relax.
Matrena Timofeevna recalls her youth. She was pretty, hardworking, active. It's no wonder the boys were looking at her. And then the betrothed appeared, for whom the parents give Matrena Timofeevna in marriage. Marriage means that now the free and free life of the girl is over. Now she will live in a strange family, where she will not be treated in the best way. When a mother gives her daughter in marriage, she grieves for her, worries about her fate:
The mother was crying
“... Like a fish in a blue sea
You yell! like a nightingale
Flutter from the nest!
Someone else's side
Not sprinkled with sugar
Not watered with honey!
It's cold there, it's hungry there
There is a well-groomed daughter
Violent winds will blow,
Shaggy dogs bark,
And people will laugh!”
In these lines, the sadness of a mother is clearly read, who perfectly understands all the hardships of life that will fall to the lot of her married daughter. In a strange family, no one will show interest in her, and the husband himself will never stand up for his wife.
Matrena Timofeevna shares her sad thoughts. She did not want to change her free life in her parents' house for life in a strange, unfamiliar family.
From the very first days in her husband's house, Matryona Timofeevna realized how hard it would be for her now:
The family was big
Grumpy... I got it
From girlish holi to hell!
Relations with the father-in-law, mother-in-law and sister-in-law were very difficult, in the new family Matryona had to work hard, and at the same time no one said a kind word to her. However, even in such a difficult life that the peasant woman had, there were simple and simple joys:
Filippushka came in winter,
Bring a silk handkerchief
Yes, I took a ride on a sled
On Catherine's day
And there was no grief!
Sang like I sang
In the parental home.
We were one-year-olds
Don't touch us - we have fun
We are always fine.
The relationship between Matryona Timofeevna and her husband did not always develop smoothly. A husband has the right to beat his wife if something does not suit him in her behavior. And no one will stand up for the poor thing, on the contrary, all relatives in the husband's family will only be happy to look at her suffering.
Such was the life of Matrena Timofeevna after marriage. The days dragged on monotonous, gray, surprisingly similar to each other: hard work, quarrels and reproaches from relatives. But a peasant woman has truly angelic patience, therefore, without complaining, she endures all the hardships that have fallen to her lot. The birth of a child is the event that turns her whole life upside down. Now the woman is not so embittered at the whole wide world, love for the baby warms and pleases her.
Philip on the Annunciation
He left, but on Kazanskaya
I gave birth to a son.
How written was Demushka
Beauty taken from the sun
The snow is white
Poppies have scarlet lips
The eyebrow is black in sable,
The Siberian sable
The falcon has eyes!
All the anger from my soul is my handsome
Driven away with an angelic smile,
Like the spring sun
Drives snow from fields...
I didn't worry
Whatever they say, I work
No matter how they scold - I am silent.
The joy of a peasant woman from the birth of her son did not last long. Work in the field requires a lot of effort and time, and then there is a baby in her arms. At first, Matrena Timofeevna took the child with her into the field. But then the mother-in-law began to reproach her, because it is impossible to work with a child with full dedication. And poor Matryona had to leave the baby with grandfather Savely. Once the old man overlooked - and the child died.
The death of a child is a terrible tragedy. But peasants have to put up with the fact that very often their children die. However, this is Matryona's first child, so his death turned out to be too difficult a test for her. And then there is an additional misfortune - the police come to the village, the doctor and the camp officer accuse Matryona of having killed the child in collusion with the former convict grandfather Saveliy. Matryona Timofeevna begs not to do an autopsy in order to bury the child without desecration of the body But no one listens to the peasant woman. She almost goes crazy from everything that happened.
All the hardships of a difficult peasant life, the death of a child still cannot break Matryona Timofeevna. Time passes, she has children every year. And she continues to live, raise her children, do hard work. Love for children is the most important thing that a peasant woman has, so Matrena Timofeevna is ready for anything to protect her beloved children. This is evidenced by an episode when they wanted to punish her son Fedot for an offense.
Matryona throws herself at the feet of a passing landowner to help save the boy from punishment. And the landowner said:
“Guardian of a minor
By youth, by stupidity
Forgive ... but a daring woman
Approximately punish!”
Why did Matrena Timofeevna suffer punishment? For his boundless love for his children, for his willingness to sacrifice himself for the sake of others. Readiness for self-sacrifice is also manifested in the way Matryona rushes to seek salvation for her husband from recruitment. She manages to get to the place and ask for help from the governor, who really helps Philip free himself from recruitment.
Matrena Timofeevna is still young, but she has already had to endure a lot, a lot. She had to endure the death of a child, a time of hunger, reproaches and beatings. She herself says what the holy wanderer told her:
“The keys to female happiness,
From our free will
abandoned, lost
God himself!”
Indeed, a peasant woman can by no means be called happy. All the difficulties and difficult trials that fall on her lot can break and lead a person to death, not only spiritual, but also physical. Very often this is exactly what happens. The life of a simple peasant woman is rarely long, very often women die in the prime of life. It is not easy to read the lines that tell about the life of Matryona Timofeevna. Nevertheless, one cannot help but admire the spiritual strength of this woman, who endured so many trials and was not broken.
The image of Matrena Timofeevna is surprisingly harmonious. The woman appears at the same time strong, hardy, patient and gentle, loving, caring. She has to cope on her own with the difficulties and troubles that fall to the lot of her family, Matryona Timofeevna does not see help from anyone.
But, despite all the tragic that a woman has to endure, Matrena Timofeevna causes genuine admiration. After all, she finds the strength in herself to live, work, continues to enjoy those modest joys that from time to time fall to her lot. And let her honestly admit that she cannot be called happy in any way, she does not fall into the sin of despondency for a minute, she continues to live.
The life of Matrena Timofeevna is a constant struggle for survival, and she manages to emerge victorious from this struggle.
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The image of a simple Russian peasant woman Matrena Timofeevna is surprisingly bright and realistic. In this image, Nekrasov combined all the features and qualities characteristic of Russian peasant women. And the fate of Matrena Timofeevna is in many ways similar to the fate of other women.
Matrena Timofeevna was born into a large peasant family. The very first years of life were truly happy. All her life, Matryona Timofeevna remembers this carefree time, when she was surrounded by the love and care of her parents. But peasant children grow up very quickly. Therefore, as soon as the girl grew up, she began to help her parents in everything. Gradually, the games were forgotten, there was less and less time left for them, hard peasant work took the first place. But youth still takes its toll, and even after a hard day's work, the girl found time to relax.
Matrena Timofeevna recalls her youth. She was pretty, hardworking, active. It's no wonder the boys were looking at her. And then the betrothed appeared, for whom the parents give Matrena Timofeevna in marriage. Marriage means that now the free and free life of the girl is over. Now she will live in a strange family, where she will not be treated in the best way. When a mother gives her daughter in marriage, she grieves for her, worries about her fate:
The mother was crying
“... Like a fish in a blue sea
You yell! like a nightingale
Flutter from the nest!
Someone else's side
Not sprinkled with sugar
Not watered with honey!
It's cold there, it's hungry there
There is a well-groomed daughter
Violent winds will blow,
Shaggy dogs bark,
And people will laugh!”
In these lines, the sadness of a mother is clearly read, who perfectly understands all the hardships of life that will fall to the lot of her married daughter. In a strange family, no one will show interest in her, and the husband himself will never stand up for his wife.
Matrena Timofeevna shares her sad thoughts. She did not want to change her free life in her parents' house for life in a strange, unfamiliar family.
From the very first days in her husband's house, Matryona Timofeevna realized how hard it would be for her now:
The family was big
Grumpy... I got it
From girlish holi to hell!
Relations with the father-in-law, mother-in-law and sister-in-law were very difficult, in the new family Matryona had to work hard, and at the same time no one said a kind word to her. However, even in such a difficult life that the peasant woman had, there were simple and simple joys:
Filippushka came in winter,
Bring a silk handkerchief
Yes, I took a ride on a sled
On Catherine's day
And there was no grief!
Sang like I sang
In the parental home.
We were one-year-olds
Don't touch us - we have fun
We are always fine.
The relationship between Matryona Timofeevna and her husband did not always develop smoothly. A husband has the right to beat his wife if something does not suit him in her behavior. And no one will stand up for the poor thing, on the contrary, all relatives in the husband's family will only be happy to look at her suffering.
Such was the life of Matrena Timofeevna after marriage. The days dragged on monotonous, gray, surprisingly similar to each other: hard work, quarrels and reproaches from relatives. But a peasant woman has truly angelic patience, therefore, without complaining, she endures all the hardships that have fallen to her lot. The birth of a child is the event that turns her whole life upside down. Now the woman is not so embittered at the whole wide world, love for the baby warms and pleases her.
Philip on the Annunciation
He left, but on Kazanskaya
I gave birth to a son.
How written was Demushka
Beauty taken from the sun
The snow is white
Poppies have scarlet lips
The eyebrow is black in sable,
The Siberian sable
The falcon has eyes!
All the anger from my soul is my handsome
Driven away with an angelic smile,
Like the spring sun
Drives snow from fields...
I didn't worry
Whatever they say, I work
No matter how they scold - I am silent.
The joy of a peasant woman from the birth of her son did not last long. Work in the field requires a lot of effort and time, and then there is a baby in her arms. At first, Matrena Timofeevna took the child with her into the field. But then the mother-in-law began to reproach her, because it is impossible to work with a child with full dedication. And poor Matryona had to leave the baby with grandfather Savely. Once the old man overlooked - and the child died.
The death of a child is a terrible tragedy. But peasants have to put up with the fact that very often their children die. However, this is Matryona's first child, so his death turned out to be too difficult a test for her. And then there is an additional misfortune - the police come to the village, the doctor and the camp officer accuse Matryona of having killed the child in collusion with the former convict grandfather Saveliy. Matryona Timofeevna begs not to do an autopsy in order to bury the child without desecration of the body But no one listens to the peasant woman. She almost goes crazy from everything that happened.
All the hardships of a difficult peasant life, the death of a child still cannot break Matryona Timofeevna. Time passes, she has children every year. And she continues to live, raise her children, do hard work. Love for children is the most important thing that a peasant woman has, so Matrena Timofeevna is ready for anything to protect her beloved children. This is evidenced by an episode when they wanted to punish her son Fedot for an offense.
Matryona throws herself at the feet of a passing landowner to help save the boy from punishment. And the landowner said:
“Guardian of a minor
By youth, by stupidity
Forgive ... but a daring woman
Approximately punish!”
Why did Matrena Timofeevna suffer punishment? For his boundless love for his children, for his willingness to sacrifice himself for the sake of others. Readiness for self-sacrifice is also manifested in the way Matryona rushes to seek salvation for her husband from recruitment. She manages to get to the place and ask for help from the governor, who really helps Philip free himself from recruitment.
Matrena Timofeevna is still young, but she has already had to endure a lot, a lot. She had to endure the death of a child, a time of hunger, reproaches and beatings. She herself says what the holy wanderer told her:
“The keys to female happiness,
From our free will
abandoned, lost
God himself!”
Indeed, a peasant woman can by no means be called happy. All the difficulties and difficult trials that fall on her lot can break and lead a person to death, not only spiritual, but also physical. Very often this is exactly what happens. The life of a simple peasant woman is rarely long, very often women die in the prime of life. It is not easy to read the lines that tell about the life of Matryona Timofeevna. Nevertheless, one cannot help but admire the spiritual strength of this woman, who endured so many trials and was not broken.
The image of Matrena Timofeevna is surprisingly harmonious. The woman appears at the same time strong, hardy, patient and gentle, loving, caring. She has to cope on her own with the difficulties and troubles that fall to the lot of her family, Matryona Timofeevna does not see help from anyone.
But, despite all the tragic that a woman has to endure, Matrena Timofeevna causes genuine admiration. After all, she finds the strength in herself to live, work, continues to enjoy those modest joys that from time to time fall to her lot. And let her honestly admit that she cannot be called happy in any way, she does not fall into the sin of despondency for a minute, she continues to live.
The life of Matrena Timofeevna is a constant struggle for survival, and she manages to emerge victorious from this struggle.
Explores various strata of Russian society: peasants, landowners, clergy. The fate of the Russian peasant woman becomes a special topic, for it turns out to be even harder than the fate of the other peasants. “It’s not a matter between women / to look for a happy one,” Matrena Timofeevna, the head of the Peasant Woman, directly answers the wanderers who turned to her. But a peasant woman, enslaved by both serfdom and the despotism of her husband's family, excites Nekrasov more.
This type was most fully revealed by Nekrasov in the poem “Who Lives Well in Russia” in the image of Matryona Korchagina. The bitter fate of a peasant woman, eternally humiliated by poverty, overworking and not seeing, causes deep sympathy in the soul of the poet, but at the same time, he notes in her character both human dignity, and pride, and unshakable moral purity. The image of Matrena Timofeevna is given in the poem in dynamics, in development.
The heroine had a happy, carefree early life, and from the age of five she began to become involved in feasible work: “she brought her father to breakfast, she grazed ducklings”, “teared hay”, etc. Moreover, she got a good husband. Matryona did not have to, like many other peasant women, live with the “hateful”, endure beatings. Matryona lived with her husband in love and harmony. It was this harmony in the family that helped the heroine endure troubles and misfortunes. Philip was a stove-maker, constantly leaving to work in St. Petersburg. Matryona was very upset by constant separation. She had to adapt to life in a strange family. A young beautiful woman, in the absence of her husband-protector, was pursued by the master's manager. None of the relatives, except for the hundred-year-old grandfather Savely, the heroine did not find support.
The character of Matrena Timofeevna is tempered precisely in severe trials. This is a smart, selfless, strong-willed, resolute woman. This is the image of a peasant woman not only strong in spirit, but also gifted and talented. Matryona about her life is a story about the fate of any peasant woman, a long-suffering Russian woman. The chapter itself is not named after her, but "Peasant Woman". This emphasizes that the fate of Matryona is not at all an exception to the rule, but the typical fate of millions of Russian peasant women. The best spiritual qualities - willpower, the ability to love, fidelity - make Matryona related to the heroines of the poem "Russian Women". Matryona Timofeevna's long story about her (still quite prosperous and extremely lucky!) fate is both an ode to the beauty of the soul of a Russian peasant woman and an accusation to those who doomed her to terrible torment.
Like Yermil Girin, Matryona is known throughout the district. But in the poem she tells about her life herself, and only seven wanderers listen to her. The veracity of the story is emphasized by the request of the wanderers: “Ata lay out your soul to us!” And the heroine of the chapter herself promises: "I will not hide anything."
Matryona Timofeevna's extraordinary creative talent allows her not only to keep folklore in her memory, but also to update it. The story is replete with elements of folklore works dedicated to the bitter fate of a woman: songs, proverbs, sayings, lamentations, lamentations.
Songs play a special role in describing the life of a Russian woman (it is no coincidence that the second chapter of this part of the poem is called "Songs"). Nekrasov depicts the life of a peasant woman in its entirety, from childhood, until the moment when she meets with the seekers of a happy person. There are several moments in the life of Matrena Timofeevna when those feelings that could lead her to decisive action are about to burst out. The first time - when, despite her pleas, the doctors begin the autopsy of Demushka's body. But the guard then orders to bind the mother. The second - when the headman decides to punish her son Fedotushka, who took pity on the hungry she-wolf.
The master decides to forgive the child, but to punish the "impudent woman" herself. And Nekrasov shows a very important feature of the strong-willed character of the heroine: she proudly lies down. under the rod, without stooping to ask for forgiveness, endures the pain and shame of public punishment. And only the next day she cried out her grief over the river. The only time when Matrena Timofeevna decides to fight for her happiness is when her husband is taken to the soldiers. She turns with a frantic prayer to the Mother of God, and this prayer, apparently, gives her strength: Matryona Timofeevna finds the courage to turn to the governor, who not only helps the peasant woman, but also becomes the godmother of her child. After this incident, Matryona begins to be called happy. This, it turns out, is the happiness of a peasant woman: not to become a soldier, to find the strength to remain silent and endure and raise children.
The keys to women's happiness, - From our free will, Abandoned, lost ... - such is the gloomy result of Matrena Timofeevna's conversation with seven wanderers. External, cordiality, quick wits, the glory of the lucky woman make it possible to speak of Matryona Timofeevna as a unique, exceptional personality.
By depicting the fate of Matrena Timofeevna, the author makes deep generalizations: Russian women live in constant work, the joys and sorrows of motherhood, in the struggle for a family, for a home. The theme of the female share in the poem merges with the theme of the homeland. The female characters of Nekrasov's heroines speak of the strength, purity and incorruptibility of the common people. Those inhuman conditions of life, against which these images emerge, point to the urgent need for changes in the order, style and way of life in the villages and cities of old-regime Russia.
Need a cheat sheet? Then save - "Matryona Timofeevna as a bright representative of a peasant woman. Literary writings!One of the works of Russian literature studied in Russian schools is Nikolai Nekrasov's poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" - perhaps the most famous in the writer's work. A lot of research is devoted to the analysis of this poem and its main characters. Meanwhile, there are minor characters in it, which are by no means less interesting. For example, the peasant woman Matrena Timofeevna.
Nikolai Nekrasov
Before talking about the poem and its heroes, it is necessary to dwell at least briefly on the personality of the writer himself. The man, known to many primarily as the author of “Who Lives Well in Russia”, wrote many works in his life, and began to create from the age of eleven - from the moment he crossed the threshold of the gymnasium. While studying at the institute, he wrote poems to order - saving money for the publication of his first collection of poems. Having been published, the collection failed, and Nikolai Alekseevich decided to turn his attention to prose.
He wrote stories and novels, published several magazines (for example, Sovremennik and Otechestvennye Zapiski). In the last decade of his life, he composed such satirical works as the already repeatedly mentioned poem “Who Lives Well in Russia”, “Contemporaries”, “Russian Women” and others. He was not afraid to expose the sufferings of the Russian people, whom he deeply sympathized with, writing about their troubles and destinies.
"To whom in Russia it is good to live": the history of creation
It is not known for certain when exactly Nekrasov began to create a poem that brought him great fame. It is believed that this happened around the beginning of the sixties of the nineteenth century, however, long before writing the work, the writer began to make sketches - therefore, there is no need to talk about the time of the idea of the poem. Despite the fact that the year 1865 is indicated in the manuscript of its first part, some researchers are inclined to believe that this is the date of completion of the work, and not of its beginning.
Be that as it may, the prologue of the first part was published in Sovremennik at the very beginning of the sixty-sixth year, and the entire first part was published intermittently for the next four years. The poem was difficult to print due to censorship disputes; however, censorship "vetoed" many other publications of Nekrasov, and in general on his activities.
Nikolai Alekseevich, relying on his own experience and on the experience of his fellow predecessors, planned to create a huge epic work about the life and fate of various people belonging to the most diverse strata of society, to show their differentiation. At the same time, he definitely wanted to be read, heard by the common people - this is the reason for the language of the poem and its composition - they are understandable and accessible to the most ordinary, the lowest strata of the population.
According to the original intention of the author, the work was to consist of seven or eight parts. Travelers, having passed through their entire province, had to reach Petersburg itself, meeting there (in order of priority) with an official, merchant, minister and tsar. This plan was not given to be realized due to the illness and death of Nekrasov. However, the writer managed to create three more parts - in the early and mid-seventies. After the departure of Nikolai Alekseevich from life, there were no instructions left in his papers on how to print what he wrote (although there is a version that Chukovsky found in Nekrasov’s documents a record that after “Last Child” there is a “Feast for the whole world”) . The last part saw the light only three years after the death of the author - and then with censorship blots.
It all starts with the fact that seven simple village peasants met “on the pillar path”. We met - and started a conversation among themselves about their lives, joys and sorrows. They agreed that the life of an ordinary peasant is by no means fun, but they didn’t decide who had fun. Having expressed various options (from the landowner to the king), they decide to look into this issue, talk to each of the voiced people and find out the right answer. And until then - not a step home.
Having set off on a journey with a self-assembled tablecloth they found, they first meet a lordly family led by a mad owner, and then - in the city of Klin - a peasant woman named Matryona Korchagina. The peasants were told about her that she was both kind, and smart, and happy - which is the main thing, but it is precisely in the latter that Matrena Timofeevna dissuades unexpected guests.
Characters
The main characters of the poem are ordinary peasant men: Prov, Pakhom, Roman, Demyan, Luka, Ivan and Mitrodor. On their way, they managed to meet both the same peasants as themselves (Matryona Timofeevna Korchagina, Proshka, Sidor, Yakov, Gleb, Vlas and others), and landowners (Prince Utyatin, Vogel, Obolt-Obolduev and so on). Matrena Timofeevna is perhaps the only (and at the same time very important) female character in the work.
Matrena Timofeevna: characterization of the hero
Before talking about Matryona Korchagina, one must remember that Nikolai Alekseevich was worried about the fate of a Russian woman throughout his life. Women in general - and even more so peasant, because she, not only was a disenfranchised serf, she was also a slave to her husband and her sons. It was to this topic that Nekrasov sought to attract public attention - this is how the image of Matrena Timofeevna appeared, into whose mouth the writer put the main words: that “the keys to women's happiness” had long been lost.
Readers get acquainted with Matryona Korchagina in the third part of the poem. Wandering men are led to her by a rumor - they say, it is this woman who is happy. The characteristic of Matrena Timofeevna is immediately manifested in her friendliness to strangers, in kindness. From her subsequent story about her life, it becomes clear that she is a surprisingly persistent person, patiently and courageously enduring the blows of fate. The image of Matrena Timofeevna is given some heroism - and her children, whom she loves with all-consuming maternal love, contribute a lot to this. She is, among other things, hardworking, honest, patient.
Matrena Korchagina is a believer, she is humble, but at the same time resolute and courageous. She is ready to sacrifice herself for the sake of others - and not just to sacrifice, but even, if necessary, to give her life. Thanks to her courage, Matrena saves her husband, who was taken into the soldiers, for which she receives universal respect. No other woman dares to do such things.
Appearance
The appearance of Matryona Timofeevna is described in the poem as follows: she is about thirty-eight years old, she is tall, "important", of a dense build. The author calls her beautiful: big strict eyes, thick eyelashes, swarthy skin, in her hair - gray hair that has already appeared early.
History of Matrena
The story of Matrena Timofeevna is told in the poem in the first person. She herself opens the veil of her soul in front of the men, who so passionately want to know if she is happy and if so, what is her happiness.
The life of Matrena Timofeevna could only be called sweet in girlhood. Her parents loved her, she grew up "like in God's bosom." But peasant women are married off early, so Matryona, in fact, as a teenager, had to leave her father's house. And in her husband's family, she was not treated too kindly: her father-in-law and mother-in-law disliked her, and the husband himself, who promised not to offend her, changed after the wedding - once he even raised his hand to her. The description of this episode once again emphasizes the patience of the image of Matryona Timofeevna: she knows that husbands beat their wives, and does not complain, but humbly accepts what happened. However, she respects her husband, perhaps even partly loves him - it’s not without reason that she saves him from military service.
Even in a difficult married life, where she has many responsibilities, and unfair reproaches are pouring in like a bucket, Matryona finds a reason for joy - and she also tells her listeners about this. Whether her husband arrived, whether he brought a new handkerchief, whether he took a ride on a sled - everything delights her, and insults are forgotten. And when the first child is born, true happiness comes to the heroine. The image of Matryona Timofeevna is the image of a real mother, recklessly loving her children, dissolving in them. It is all the more difficult for her to survive the loss when her tiny son dies by an absurd accident.
This peasant woman had to go through a lot in her life by her thirty-eight years. However, Nekrasov shows her to a fate that did not give up, a strong spirit that stood against everything. The mental strength of Matryona Korchagina seems truly incredible. She alone copes with all the misfortunes, because there is no one to pity her, she has no one to help - her husband's parents do not love her, her own parents live far away - and then she loses them too. The image of Matryona Timofeevna (who, by the way, according to some sources, was written off from one of the author’s acquaintances) causes not only respect, but also admiration: she does not give in to despondency, finding the strength not only to live on, but also to enjoy life - although rarely .
What is the happiness of the heroine
Matrena herself does not consider herself happy, directly declaring this to her guests. In her opinion, you cannot find lucky women among the “women” - their life is too hard, they get too many difficulties, sorrows and insults. Nevertheless, people's rumor speaks of Korchagina precisely as a lucky woman. What is the happiness of Matrena Timofeevna? In her fortitude and stamina: she steadfastly endured all the troubles that fell to her lot, and did not grumble, she sacrificed herself for the sake of people close to her. She raised five sons, despite the constant humiliation and attacks, she did not become embittered, did not lose her self-esteem, retained such qualities as kindness and love. She remained a strong person, and a weak person, eternally dissatisfied with his life, cannot be happy by definition. This definitely does not apply to Matryona Timofeevna.
Criticism
The censorship perceived the works of Nikolai Alekseevich "with hostility", but colleagues spoke of his works more than favorably. He was called a person close to the people - and therefore knowing how and what to tell about this people. They wrote that he "knows how to work miracles", that his material is "skillful and rich." The poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" was called a new and original phenomenon in literature, and its author himself was the only one who has the right to be called a poet.
- Nikolai Alekseevich did not study well at school.
- By inheritance, he inherited a love of cards and hunting.
- He loved women, throughout his life he had many hobbies.
This poem is a truly unique work in Russian literature, and Matryona is a synthesized image of a real Russian woman with a wide soul, of those about whom they say - “she will enter a burning hut and stop a galloping horse.”
