Matryona Vasilievna- the main character of the story by A.I. Solzhenitsyn "Matrenin Dvor". She was about sixty years old. She lived in the village of Talnovo, which was not far from the peat extraction.
I believe that Matrena Vasilievna was the right person in the village, because she always came to everyone's aid. And most importantly, there was some help from her help. After all, you can help without any result, just to show off. But Matrena Vasilievna is not like that. Her help is sincere, pure heart, which means it's useful.
best sides The character of Matryona Vasilievna is revealed by several episodes. First of all, this is the episode in which Thaddeus and his sons break down the upper room of Matryona Vasilievna, which she decided to give to Kira. The author says: “Matryona never spared her labor or her goodness.”
There are also such small, but important episodes for revealing the character of the heroine, such as the request of the chairman's wife to help the collective farm, the request of a neighbor to dig up potatoes. And in all the episodes, Matryona is asked to help in some way, to do something. But she does not refuse, she helps, even if she is sick, and does not take anything in return, she has not taken a single penny for all her work.
Matrena Vasilievna was "at odds with her conscience." Her soul was open to everyone, internally she was pure, like a child. The author said about such people that they "always have good faces", that is, they are kind, sincere, accessible to others.
And this kindness brought Matryona Vasilievna to her death. People couldn't understand her, her inner world, soul. They used her help, her desire for work to achieve their personal goals, without even trying to give anything in return. No, not money, not food, but understanding, respect - that's what Matryona Vasilievna was waiting for, but she didn't wait.
She did not tell anyone about her difficult life, afraid, I think, of appearing weak in front of people. All her children died, her husband disappeared in the war. She had no love, no one loved her. And she devoted herself to work, caring for others. And I believe that the author is right in calling Matryona a righteous man, because she "is ... the same righteous man without whom ... the village does not stand."
The meaning of the title of the story, I think, is that without Matryona Vasilievna, there will be no normal life in the village of Talnovo. She was the center of everything that happened, she added a particle of herself to the whole village life, work. She can rightfully be considered a hostess, because even the authorities, who, in fact, should help everyone, I turn to Matryona for help, “not a single plowing of the garden could do without Matryona,” nothing could do without Matryona.
And you can also say that Matryona's yard is her home, after the destruction of which her life is destroyed, the yard of selflessness, righteousness.
Without such people, Rus' will perish.
To the number the best works A. I. Solzhenitsyn, undoubtedly, refers to the story "Matryona Dvor" about a simple Russian woman with a difficult fate. Many trials fell to her lot, but the heroine until the end of her days retained in her soul love of life, boundless kindness, readiness to sacrifice herself for the well-being of others. The article offers the reader a description of the image of Matryona.
"Matrenin Dvor": the real basis of the work
He wrote his own in 1959 and at first called it “A village is not worth without a righteous man” (for censorship reasons, the title was subsequently changed). Prototype main character became Matrena Timofeevna Zakharova, a resident of the village of Miltsevo, located in the Vladimir region. The writer lived with her during the years of his teaching after returning from the camps. Therefore, the feelings and thoughts of the narrator largely reflect the views of the author himself, from the first day, according to his confession, he felt something familiar and familiar in the house of a woman he did not know. close to heart. Why this became possible will help to explain the characteristics of Matryona.
"Matrenin Dvor": the first acquaintance with the heroine
The narrator was brought to Grigorieva's house, when all the options for apartments for the settlement had already been considered. The fact is that Matryona Vasilievna lived alone in an old house. All her property was a bed, a table, benches and ficuses beloved by the hostess. Yes, even a rickety cat, which a woman picked up on the street out of pity, and a goat. She did not receive a pension, since on the collective farm she was given sticks instead of workdays. I could no longer work for health reasons. Then, however, with great difficulty she issued a pension for the loss of her husband. At the same time, she always silently came to the aid of everyone who turned to her, and did not take anything for her work. This is the first characteristic of Matryona in the story "Matryona's Yard". To this we can add that the peasant woman also did not know how to cook, although the tenant was picky and did not complain. And a couple of times a month she was attacked by a severe illness, when the woman could not even get up. But even at that moment she did not complain, and even tried not to moan, so as not to disturb the tenant. The author emphasizes Blue eyes and a radiant smile - a symbol of openness and kindness.
The difficult fate of the heroine
The history of life helps to better understand a person. Without it, the characterization of Matryona in the story "Matryona's Yard" will also be incomplete.
The peasant woman had no children of her own: all six died in infancy. She did not marry for love: she waited for a groom from the front for several years, and then agreed to become his wife younger brother- the time was hard, and there were not enough hands in the family. Shortly after the wedding of the young, Thaddeus returned, who never forgave Yefim and Matryona. It was believed that he put a curse on them, and later the heroine's husband would perish in World War II. And the woman will take Kira to bring up, youngest daughter Thaddeus, and give her love and care. The narrator learned about all this from the hostess, and she suddenly appeared before him in a new guise. Even then, the narrator realized how far from the real his first characterization of Matryona was.
Matrenin's court, meanwhile, began to attract the eyes of Thaddeus more strongly, who wished to take the dowry assigned to Kira by her adoptive mother. This part of the chamber will cause the death of the heroine.
Live for others
Matrena Vasilievna had long foreseen trouble. The author describes her suffering when it turned out that during the baptism someone took away her pot of holy water. Then all of a sudden And before the parsing of the room, the hostess did not go at all herself. The collapse of the roof meant the end of her life. Such trifles formed the whole life of the heroine, which she lived not for herself, but for the sake of others. And when Matryona Vasilievna went along with everyone else, she also wanted to help. Sincere, open, not embittered by the injustices of life. She accepted everything as appointed by fate and never grumbled. The characteristic of Matryona leads to this conclusion.
Matrenin Dvor ends with a description of the heroine's funeral scene. She plays important role in understanding how this peasant woman differed from the people who surrounded her. The narrator notes with pain that the sisters and Thaddeus immediately began to divide the meager property of the hostess. And even a friend, as if sincerely experiencing the loss, managed to snip off her blouse. Against the background of everything that was happening, the narrator suddenly remembered the living Matryona, so unlike everyone else. And I realized: she is the righteous man, without whom not a single village stands. Why is there a village - the whole land is ours. This is proved by the life and characteristics of Matryona.
"Matryona Dvor" contains the author's regret that during his lifetime he (as, indeed, others) could not fully understand the greatness of this woman. Therefore, one can perceive the work of Solzhenitsyn as a kind of repentance before the heroine for one's own and others' spiritual blindness.
Another point is indicative. On the mutilated body of the heroine, the bright face and right hand. “He will pray for us in the next world,” said one of the women in the story “Matryona Dvor”. The characteristic of Matryona, thus, makes us think about the fact that people live nearby who are able to preserve human dignity, kindness, humility. And partly thanks to them, there are still in our world filled with cruelty, such concepts as sympathy, compassion, mutual assistance.
For a long time it was believed that the Russian land rests on the righteous. Real righteous people lived without money, selflessly helped other people and did not envy anyone. This description fits perfectly. Matryona from Solzhenitsyn's story "Matryona Dvor".
Matrena Vasilievna is a righteous and pure woman who lived in a small village near a railway crossing. In his youth, Fadey wooed her, but he was taken to the war. Matryona was waiting for his return, but three years later Efim, Fadey's brother, wooed her. Suddenly Fadey returned from captivity - and worried for a long time. He said that he would have killed his fiancee if she had not been his brother's wife.
Matryona lived well, but she was not lucky with her children. Her children died one by one - and none of the babies survived. In 1941, her husband was drafted into the active army - and he never returned home. At first, Matrena waited for her husband, and then resigned herself to his death. To brighten up her loneliness, Matryona Vasilievna took herself to be raised by Fadeya's youngest daughter, Kira. She unselfishly looked after the girl. When Kira grew up, she married her off to a neighboring village to a train driver.
After the departure of the pupil in Matryona's house, it became empty and dreary, and only ficuses brightened up the loneliness of the poor woman. She selflessly loved these plants - and even during a fire she saved not a hut, but ficuses. Out of pity, Matryona sheltered a rickety cat that lived with her long years.
It was noteworthy that Matryona worked all her life on the collective farm for the ticks that the brigadier put in the report card. Because of this, she did not receive a labor pension. Only after long labors did Matryona manage to secure a pension for herself. As soon as she had money, it turned out that Matrena Vasilievna had three sisters.
After some time, Fadey arrived - and asked for a room for Kira. Matrena gave her room for construction - and also diligently helped to take out the logs.
When, due to the greed of the tractor driver and Fadey, the second wagon got stuck at the crossing, Matryona rushed to help. She always helped others disinterestedly, so she could not accumulate much good. Surrounding and relatives considered Matryona sloppy and mismanaged. And, unfortunately, no one appreciated the honesty, kindness and sacrifice of this righteous woman.
Matryona is a symbol of kindness and sacrifice, which is very rare in modern people. In our world, business acumen, the ability to make money, are valued, and such good-natured people die with a smile on their pretty face. They know true price life, so for them wealth play no role. Our land rests on the righteous, but we do not appreciate it.
to Central Russia. Thanks to new trends, the recent prisoner is not denied to become school teachers in the Vladimir village of Miltsevo (in the story - Talnovo). Solzhenitsyn settles in the hut of a local resident, Matryona Vasilievna, a woman of about sixty, who is often ill. Matryona has neither a husband nor children. Her loneliness is brightened up only by the ficuses planted everywhere in the house, and the rickety cat picked up out of pity. (See description of Matrona's house.)
With warm, lyrical sympathy, AI Solzhenitsyn describes the difficult life of Matryona. For many years she did not have a single ruble of earnings. On the collective farm, Matrena works "for the sticks of workdays in the filthy accountant's book." The law that came out after Stalin's death finally gives her the right to seek a pension, but even then not for herself, but for the loss of her husband, who went missing at the front. To do this, you need to collect a bunch of certificates, and then take them to the social security and the village council many times, 10-20 kilometers away. Matrona's hut is full of mice and cockroaches that cannot be bred. From living creatures, she keeps only a goat, and eats mainly “kartovy” (potatoes) no larger than chicken egg: a sandy, unfertilized garden does not give a larger size. But even with such a need, Matryona remains bright person, with a beaming smile. A good mood helps her to maintain work - hiking for peat in the forest (with a two-pound bag over her shoulders for three kilometers), mowing hay for a goat, chores around the house. Due to old age and illness, Matryona has already been released from the collective farm, but the formidable wife of the chairman now and then orders her to help at work for free. Matryona easily agrees to help her neighbors in the gardens without money. Having received a pension of 80 rubles from the state, she puts on new felt boots, a coat from a worn railway overcoat - and believes that her life has noticeably improved.
"Matrenin Dvor" - the house of Matryona Vasilievna Zakharova in the village of Miltsevo, Vladimir Region, the scene of the story by A. I. Solzhenitsyn
Soon Solzhenitsyn also learns the story of Matrena's marriage. In her youth, she was going to marry her neighbor Thaddeus. However, in 1914 he was taken to the German war - and he disappeared without a trace for three years. So without waiting for news from the groom, in the belief that he was dead, Matryona married Thaddeus' brother, Yefim. But a few months later, Thaddeus returned from Hungarian captivity. In his hearts he threatened to chop Matryona and Yefim with an ax, then he cooled off and took another Matryona, from neighboring village. They lived next door to her. Thaddeus was known in Talnovo as an imperious, stingy peasant. He constantly beat his wife, although he had six children from her. Matryona and Yefim also had six, but not one of them lived more than three months. Yefim, having gone to another war in 1941, did not return from it. Friendly with his wife Thaddeus, Matryona begged her youngest daughter, Kira, raised her for ten years as her own, and shortly before Solzhenitsyna appeared in Talnovo, she married her to a locomotive driver in the village of Cherusti. The story of her two fiancés Matryona told Alexander Isaevich herself, being worried at the same time, like a young one.
Kira and her husband in Cherusty had to get a piece of land, and for this they had to quickly put up some kind of building. Old Thaddeus proposed in winter to move there the upper room, attached to matryona home. Matryona was already going to bequeath this room to Kira (and three of her sisters were marking the house). Under the persistent persuasion of the greedy Thaddeus, after two sleepless nights, Matryona agreed during her lifetime, breaking part of the roof of the house, dismantling the upper room and transporting it to Cherusti. Before the eyes of the hostess and Solzhenitsyn, Thaddeus with his sons and sons-in-law came to matrenin yard, clattered with axes, creaked with torn off boards and dismantled the upper room into logs. The three sisters of Matryona, having learned how she succumbed to the persuasion of Thaddeus, unanimously called her a fool.
Matrena Vasilievna Zakharova - the prototype of the main character of the story
A tractor was brought in from Cherusti. The logs of the chamber were loaded onto two sledges. The thick-faced tractor driver, in order not to make an extra trip, announced that he would pull two sleds at once - so it turned out to be more profitable for him in terms of money. The disinterested Matryona herself, fussing, helped to load the logs. Already in the dark, the tractor with difficulty pulled a heavy load from the mother's yard. The restless worker did not sit at home here either - she ran away with everyone to help along the way.
She was no longer destined to return alive ... railway crossing the cable of the overloaded tractor broke. The tractor driver with his son Thaddeus rushed to get along with him, and Matryona was carried along with them. At this time, two coupled locomotives approached the crossing, backwards and without turning on the lights. Unexpectedly flying in, they smashed to death all three who were busy at the cable, mutilated the tractor, fell off the rails themselves. A fast train with a thousand passengers almost got into the wreck, approaching the crossing.
At dawn, everything that was left of Matryona was brought from the crossing on a sled under a dirty bag thrown over. The body had no legs, no half of the torso, no left arm. And the face remained intact, calm, more alive than dead. One woman crossed herself and said:
- The Lord left her the right hand. There will be prayers to God...
The village began to gather for the funeral. Women relatives lamented over the coffin, but self-interest was visible in their words. And it was not hidden that Matryona's sisters and her husband's relatives were preparing for a fight for the inheritance of the deceased, for her old house. Only the wife of Thaddeus and the pupil of Cyrus sobbed sincerely. Thaddeus himself, who lost his once beloved woman and son in that catastrophe, clearly thought only of how to save those scattered during the crash. railway logs of the upper room. Asking for permission to return them, he continually rushed from the coffins to the station and village authorities.
AI Solzhenitsyn in the village of Miltsevo (in the story - Talnovo). October 1956
On Sunday Matryona and son Thaddeus were buried. The memorials are over. In the coming days, Thaddeus pulled out a barn and a fence from his mother's sisters, which he immediately dismantled with his sons and transported on a sled. Alexander Isaevich moved in with one of Matryona's sister-in-laws, who often and always with contemptuous regret spoke of her cordiality, simplicity, how she was "stupid, helped strangers for free", "didn't chase after the equipment and didn't even keep a pig." For Solzhenitsyn, it was precisely from these disdainful words that the new look Matryona, which he did not understand her, even living side by side with her. This stranger to her sisters, ridiculous to her sister-in-law, a non-possessive woman who did not accumulate property for death, buried six children, but did not like her sociable disposition, felt sorry for the rickety cat, and once at night, during a fire, she rushed to save not the hut, but her beloved ficuses - and there is the same righteous man, without which, according to the proverb, the village does not stand.
In 1963, one of the stories of the Russian thinker and humanist Alexander Solzhenitsyn was published. Based on events from the biography of the author. The publication of his books has always caused a huge response not only in the Russian-speaking society, but also among Western readers. But the image of Matryona in the story "Matryona Dvor" is unique. Nothing like this before village prose did not have. And therefore the work took special place in domestic literature.
Plot
The story is told from the perspective of the author. A certain teacher and former camper goes in the summer of 1956 at random, wherever his eyes look. His goal is to get lost somewhere in the Russian dense hinterland. Despite the ten years he spent in the camp, the hero of the story still hopes to find a job as a teacher. He succeeds. He settles in the village of Talnovo.
The image of Matryona in the story "Matryona Dvor" begins to take shape even before her appearance. A casual acquaintance helps the protagonist find shelter. After a long and unsuccessful search, he offers to go to Matryona, warning that "she lives in the wilderness and is sick." They are heading towards her.
Matrena's domain
The house is old and rotten. It was built many years ago big family, but now only one woman of about sixty lived in it. Without a description of the poor village life, the story "Matryona's Dvor" would not be so penetrating. The image of Matryona - the very heroine of the story - fully corresponds to the atmosphere of desolation that reigned in the hut. Yellow sickly face, tired eyes...
The house is full of mice. Among its inhabitants, in addition to the hostess herself, there are cockroaches and a crooked cat.
The image of Matryona in the story "Matryona Dvor" is the basis of the story. Based on it, the author reveals his spiritual world and depicts specific traits other characters.
From the main character, the narrator learns about her difficult fate. She lost her husband at the front. She has lived all her life in solitude. Later, her guest learns that for many years she has not received a penny: she works not for money, but for sticks.
She was not happy with the tenant, persuaded him for some time to find a house cleaner and more comfortable. But the guest's desire to find a quieter place determined the choice: he stayed with Matryona.
During the time that the teacher lodged with her, the old woman got up before dark, prepared a simple breakfast. And it seemed that a certain meaning appeared in Matryona's life.
peasant image
The image of Matryona in the story "Matryona Dvor" is an amazingly rare combination of disinterestedness and diligence. This woman has been working for half a century, not in order to make good, but out of habit. Because there is no other existence.
It should be said that the fate of the peasantry always attracted Solzhenitsyn, since his ancestors belonged to this class. And he believed that it was diligence, sincerity and generosity that distinguished representatives of this social stratum. Which confirms the sincere, truthful image of Matryona in the story "Matryona Dvor".
Fate
In intimate conversations in the evenings, the hostess tells the tenant the story of her life. Efim's husband died in the war, but before that his brother wooed her. She agreed, was listed as his bride, but during the Second World War he went missing, and she did not wait for him. She married Yefim. But Thaddeus returned.
None of Matryona's children survived. And then she got widowed.
Its end is tragic. She dies because of her naivete and kindness. This event ends the story "Matryona Dvor". The image of the righteous Matryona is sadder because, with all her good qualities it remains misunderstood by fellow villagers.
Loneliness
Matryona lived in a big house all her life alone, except for a short female happiness, which was destroyed by the war. And also those years during which she raised her daughter Thaddeus. He married her namesake and they had six children. Matryona asked him to bring up a girl, which he did not refuse. But also stepdaughter left her.
The image of Matryona in A. I. Solzhenitsyn's story "Matryona's Yard" is amazing. Neither eternal poverty, nor resentment, nor all kinds of oppression destroy it. the best way for a woman return good location spirit became work. And after the labors, she became contented, enlightened, with a kind smile.
The Last Righteous
She knew how to rejoice in someone else's happiness. Having not accumulated goodness in her whole life, she did not harden, she retained the ability to sympathize. Not a single hard work in the village was complete without her participation. Despite her illness, she helped other women, harnessed to the plow, forgetting about her old age and an illness that tormented her for more than twenty years.
This woman never denied anything to her relatives, and her inability to preserve her own "good" led to the fact that she lost her upper room - her only property, not counting the old rotten house. The image of Matryona in the story by A. I. Solzhenitsyn personifies selflessness and virtue, which for some reason did not evoke either respect or response from others.
Thaddeus
righteous female character opposed to her failed husband Thaddeus, without whom the system of images would be incomplete. "Matryona Dvor" is a story in which, in addition to the main character, there are other faces. But Thaddeus is a striking contrast to the main character. Returning from the front alive, he did not forgive his fiancee for treason. Although, it should be said that she did not love his brother, but only felt sorry for him. Realizing that it is difficult for his family without a mistress. The death of Matryona at the end of the story is a consequence of the stinginess of Thaddeus and his relatives. Avoiding unnecessary expenses, they decided to move the room faster, but they did not have time, as a result of which Matryona fell under the train. Only the right hand remained intact. But even after terrible events Thaddeus looks at her dead body indifferent, indifferent.
There are also many sorrows and disappointments in the fate of Thaddeus, but the difference between the two characters is that Matryona was able to save her soul, but he was not. After her death, the only thing he cares about is Matrenino's meager possessions, which he immediately drags into his house. Thaddeus does not come to the wake.
The image of holy Rus', which poets so often sang, dissipates with her departure. A village cannot stand without a righteous person. The image of Matryona, the heroine in Solzhenitsyn's story "Matryona Dvor", is the remnants of a Russian pure soul, which is still alive, but already on its last legs. Because righteousness and kindness are less and less valued in Russia.
The story, as already mentioned, is based on real events. The difference is only in the name locality and some little things. The heroine was actually called Matryona. She lived in one of the villages of the Vladimir region, where the author spent 1956-1957. It was planned to make a museum in her house in 2011. But Matryona's yard burned down. In 2013, the house-museum was restored.
The work was first published in the literary magazine " New world". Solzhenitsyn's previous story evoked a positive response. The story of the righteous woman gave rise to many disputes and discussions. And yet the critics had to admit that the story was created by a great and truthful artist, able to return to the people his native language and continue the traditions of Russian classical literature.
