The Image of Matryona Korchagina in the Poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" The fate of matryona timofeevna from the poem "Who should live well in Russia" The image of the peasant woman matryona
Korchagina Matrena Timofeevna
TO WHOM IN RUSSIA LIVE WELL
Poem (1863-1877, unfinished)
Korchagina Matrena Timofeevna is a peasant woman, the third part of the poem is entirely devoted to her biography. “Matryona Timofeevna / A portly woman, / Broad and thick, / Thirty-eight years old. / Beautiful; gray hair, / Large, stern eyes, / The richest eyelashes, / Harsh and swarthy. / She has a white shirt on, / Yes, a short sundress, / Yes, a sickle over her shoulder "; The glory of a lucky woman leads wanderers to her. M. agrees to "lay out her soul" when the peasants promise to help her in the harvest: the suffering is in full swing. The fate of M. was largely prompted by Nekrasov, published in the 1st volume of "Lamentations of the Northern Territory", collected by E. V. Barsov (1872), the autobiography of the Olonets wailer I. A. Fedoseeva. The narrative is based on her laments, as well as other folklore materials, including "Songs collected by P. N. Rybnikov" (1861). The abundance of folklore sources, often almost unchanged included in the text of "Peasant Woman", and the very title of this part of the poem emphasize the typical fate of M.: this is the usual fate of a Russian woman, convincingly indicating that the wanderers "started / It's not a deal - between women / Looking for a happy one." In the parental home, in a good, non-drinking family, M. lived happily. But, having married Philip Korchagin, a stove-maker, she ended up “from a girl’s will to hell”: a superstitious mother-in-law, a drunkard father-in-law, an older sister-in-law, for whom the daughter-in-law must work like a slave. True, she was lucky with her husband: only once it came to beatings. But Philip only returns home from work in winter, and in the rest of the time there is no one to intercede for M., except for grandfather Savely, father-in-law. She has to endure the harassment of Sitnikov, the master's manager, which ceased only with his death. Her first-born Demushka becomes a consolation in all troubles for a peasant woman, but due to Savely's oversight, the child dies: he is eaten by pigs. An unrighteous judgment is being carried out over a heartbroken mother. Not guessing in time to give a bribe to the boss, she becomes a witness to the abuse of the body of her child.
For a long time K. cannot forgive Savely for his irreparable oversight. Over time, the peasant woman has new children, "there is no time / Neither to think nor be sad." The heroine's parents, Savely, are dying. Her eight-year-old son Fedot is threatened with punishment for feeding someone else's sheep to a she-wolf, and his mother lies under the rod instead of him. But the most difficult trials fall on her lot in a lean year. Pregnant, with children, she herself is likened to a hungry she-wolf. Recruitment deprives her of her last intercessor, her husband (he is taken out of turn). In delirium, she draws terrible pictures of the life of a soldier, soldier's children. She leaves the house and runs to the city, where she tries to get to the governor, and when the porter lets her into the house for a bribe, she throws herself at the feet of the governor Elena Alexandrovna. With her husband and newborn Liodo-rushka, the heroine returns home, this incident cemented her reputation as a lucky woman and the nickname "governor". Her further fate is also full of troubles: one of her sons has already been taken to the soldiers, "They burned twice ... God anthrax ... visited three times." In the "Woman's Parable" her tragic story is summed up: "The keys to a woman's happiness, / From our free will / Abandoned, lost / God Himself!" Part of the criticism (V. G. Avseenko, V. P. Burenin, N. F. Pavlov) met the "Peasant Woman" with hostility, Nekrasov was accused of implausible exaggerations, false, fake common people. However, even ill-wishers noted some successful episodes. There were also reviews about this chapter as the best part of the poem.
All characteristics in alphabetical order:
The image of Matryona Timofeevna, a Russian peasant woman, is surprisingly realistic and vivid. In it, the author combined all the qualities and features characteristic of Russian women - representatives of this segment of the population. In many ways, the fate of this heroine is similar to the fate of other peasant women in Russia.
Years of living in a family
Matrena Timofeevna was born into a large family. The first years of her life were truly happy. Matryona will often remember the carefree time when she was surrounded by the care and love of her parents. However, peasant children grow up very quickly. As soon as the girl grew up, she began to help her parents in everything. The games were gradually forgotten, as there was less time left for them, the peasant hard work came out on top. But still, youth takes its toll, and the girl found time to relax even after a hard day's work.
The life of Matrena Timofeevna in her husband's house
Matrena Timofeevna recalls her youth. This heroine was hardworking, pretty, active. Such is the image of Matryona Timofeevna in This peasant woman, which is not surprising, was looked at by many guys. But then a betrothed appeared, and the girl's parents give our heroine in marriage to him. The new position means the end of the free and free life of Matryona Timofeevna. She will now live in a strange family, in which the attitude towards this one is far from the best. Giving her daughter in marriage, the mother worries about her fate, grieves for her. The parent understands perfectly well all the upcoming hardships of life, which are destined to fall to the lot of her beloved Matryona. No one in a strange family will show concern for the girl, the husband himself will also never stand up for his wife.
Difficult relationship with husband and family
Matryona Timofeevna shares sad thoughts. He did not want to change the free life in his own home for an unfamiliar, alien family. This heroine understood from the very first days of living in a new environment how hard it would be for her now.
Relationships with sisters-in-law, mother-in-law and father-in-law were very difficult. Matryona in the new family had to work hard, while not hearing a kind word addressed to her. But even in this difficult life, the peasant woman had simple, uncomplicated joys: her husband gave her a silk scarf, gave her a ride on a sleigh ...
The relationship between the heroine of interest to us and her husband was not at all cloudless. The husband at that time had the right to beat his wife if something in her behavior did not suit him. At the same time, no one will take the side of the girl, on the contrary, in the family of the spouse, all relatives will only be happy to look at the suffering of Matryona Timofeevna.
Birth of the first child
The life of this peasant woman after marriage became difficult. Gray, monotonous, similar to each other days dragged on: quarrels, hard work, reproaches from relatives ... But a peasant woman has angelic patience. She endures all hardships without complaining. The event that turned her life around is the birth of a child. Through it, the image of Matryona Timofeevna is revealed more clearly. Now this woman is no longer so embittered because her love for the baby pleases and warms.
baby death
The peasant woman's joy at the birth of her son did not last long. A lot of time and effort is taken away by work in the field, and here a baby is still in her arms. At first, this heroine took him to the field with her. But then the mother-in-law began to reproach her, since it is impossible to work with a child with full dedication. And the poor woman was forced to leave her baby with grandfather Savely. Once this old man overlooked - and the child died.
Tragic events after the death of a baby
His death was a terrible tragedy for our heroine. But the peasants have to put up with the fact that their children often die. For Matryona, this death turned out to be a difficult test because the child was the firstborn. For all the troubles, the police, the camp officer and the doctor come to the village, who accuse the peasant woman of having killed the child in collusion with grandfather Saveliy, a former convict. Matryona Timofeevna begs not to perform an autopsy, so that she can bury the child without scolding the body. But no one listens to the peasant woman. From what happened, she almost
Mother stands up for her son
The death of a child and other hardships of peasant life are not able to break this woman. The image of Matrena Timofeevna is an example of perseverance and patience. Time passes, every year her children are born. And the peasant woman continues to live, to do her hard work, to raise children. The most important thing that a peasant woman possesses is love for children. Matryona Timofeevna, whose characteristics are presented in our article, is ready for anything, just to protect her children. This is evidenced by the episode when Fedot, her son, wanted to be punished for an offense. Throws herself at the feet of the landowner, Matryona, who was passing by, so that he would help save the boy from punishment. He orders Fedot to be released, and the "daring woman" to be punished.
Matrena Timofeevna saves her husband from recruitment
Why does this peasant woman have to endure punishment? Only for the love for children that knows no boundaries, for the willingness to sacrifice oneself for the sake of others. This readiness is manifested in the way Matrena Timofeevna rushes to the defense of her husband, who is expected to be recruited. She manages to get to the governor's wife and ask her for help. She frees Philip from recruitment.
Another young girl is Matryona Timofeevna, but she has already had to go through a lot. This is the death of a son, and beatings, and reproaches, and a time of hunger.
Can Matryona Timofeevna be called happy?
One cannot call a happy peasant woman, who was Matryona Timofeevna, in any way. The characterization of this heroine is entirely based on the struggle with misfortunes. All the difficult trials and difficulties that fall to her lot can lead a person not only to spiritual death, but also to physical, break him. This is often what happens. Rarely does a peasant woman live long. Often these women die in the prime of their lives. The lines that tell about the life of this heroine are not easy to read. But at the same time, one cannot help but admire this woman, her spiritual strength. After all, this heroine went through many different trials and at the same time was not broken, which Nekrasov shows us.
The image of Matrena Timofeevna is surprisingly harmonious. This woman at the same time appears patient, hardy, strong and caring, loving, tender. She is forced to cope on her own with the troubles and difficulties that fall to the lot of the family, and not wait for help from anyone.
However, despite this, Matrena Timofeevna finds the strength to work, live, continue to enjoy the modest joys that sometimes fall to the lot of this woman. And let her honestly admit that it is impossible to call her happy, this woman does not fall into the sin of despondency for a minute. In the struggle for survival, she manages to emerge victorious.
The image of Matrena Timofeevna was briefly considered by us. You can talk about this woman for a very long time. She is admired. The third part of the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" is dedicated to this woman. Korchagina Matrena Timofeevna, whose image was presented in our article, is described in some detail in the work. You can turn to Nekrasov's poem and get to know this peasant woman better.
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 in the first place as the author of “To whom it is good to live 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 came out 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.
Nikolay Alekseevich, relying on his own experience and on the experience of his predecessor colleagues, planned to create a huge epic work about the life and destinies of various people belonging to the most diverse strata of society, to show their differentiation. At the same time, he certainly 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 death of Nikolai Alekseevich, 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 together with the self-assembled tablecloth they found, they first meet a lordly family headed 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 kind, and smart, and happy - which is the main thing, but it is precisely in the latter that Matryona 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 Matryona 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 Matrena 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 in herself 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 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.”
Almost every writer has a secret theme that excites him especially strongly and passes through all his work as a leitmotif. For Nekrasov, the singer of the Russian people, the fate of the Russian woman became such a topic. Simple serfs, proud princesses and even fallen women who have sunk to the social bottom - the writer had a warm word for each. And all of them, so different at first glance, were united by complete lack of rights and unhappiness, which were considered the norm at that time. Against the background of universal serfdom, the fate of a simple woman looks even worse, because she is forced to “submit to a slave to the grave” and “be the mother of a son-slave” (“Frost, red nose”), i.e. she is a slave in the square. “The keys to the happiness of women”, from their “free will” have long been lost - this is the problem the poet tried to draw attention to. This is how the incredibly bright and strong image of Matryona Timofeevna appears in Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Russia”.
The story of the fate of Matryona is set out in the third part of the poem, which is called: "Peasant Woman".
A rumor leads the wanderers to the woman, stating that if any of the women can be called lucky, then only the “governor” from the village of Klin. However, Matrena Timofeevna Korchagina, a “dignified”, beautiful and strict woman, having heard the question of the peasants about her happiness, “twirled, thought” and did not even want to talk about anything initially. It was already dark, and the month with the stars went up into the sky, when Matrena nevertheless decided to “open her whole soul.”
Only at the very beginning, life was kind to her, Matrena recalls. Mother and father took care of their daughter, called "kasatushka", cherished and cherished. Let us pay attention to the huge number of words with diminutive suffixes: late, sun, crust, etc., characteristic of oral folk art. Here, the influence of Russian folklore on Nekrasov's poem is noticeable - in folk songs, as a rule, the time of carefree girlhood is sung, which contrasts sharply with the subsequent difficult life in the husband's family. The author uses this plot to build the image of Matryona and almost verbatim transfers the description of the girl's life with her parents from the songs. Some of the folklore is introduced directly into the text. These are wedding songs, lamentation over the bride and the song of the bride herself, as well as a detailed description of the matchmaking ceremony.
No matter how hard Matryona tries to prolong her free life, she is still married to a man who is also a stranger, not from her native village. Soon the girl, together with her husband Philip, leaves the house and goes to an unfamiliar land, to a large and unfriendly family. There she goes "from a girl's holi" to hell, which is also transmitted with the help of a folk song. “Drowsy, drowsy, messy!
"- so they call Matryona in the family, and everyone tries to give her more work. There is no hope for the intercession of her husband: although they are of the same age, Philip treats his wife well, but sometimes he beats (“the whip whistled, blood splashed”) and does not think to make her life easier. In addition, he spends almost all his free time on earnings, and there is “no one to love” Matryona.
In this part of the poem, the extraordinary character and inner spiritual stamina of Matryona become clearly visible. Another would have despaired long ago, but she does everything as ordered and always finds a reason to rejoice at the most simple things. Her husband returned, “he brought a silk handkerchief / Yes, he took a ride on a sled” - and Matryona sang joyfully, as she used to sing in her parents' house.
The only happiness of a peasant woman is in her children. So the heroine of Nekrasov has her firstborn, whom she can’t get enough of: “How hand-written was Demushka!”. The author very convincingly shows: it is the children who do not allow the peasant woman to become embittered, they support truly angelic patience in her. The great vocation - to raise and protect her children - raises Matryona above the gray everyday life. The image of a woman turns into a heroic one.
But the peasant woman is not destined to enjoy her happiness for a long time: work must continue, and the child, left in the care of the old man, dies due to a tragic accident. The death of a child at that time was not a rare event, this misfortune often fell upon the family. But Matryona is harder than the others - not only is this her first-born, but also the authorities who came from the city decide that it was the mother herself, in collusion with the former convict grandfather Savely, who killed her son. No matter how much Matryona cries, she has to be present at the autopsy of Demushka - he was “splashed”, and this terrible picture was forever imprinted in her mother’s memory.
The characterization of Matryona Timofeevna would not be complete without another important detail - her willingness to sacrifice herself for others. Her children are what remains the most sacred for a peasant woman: “Just don’t touch the little ones! I stood up for them…” Indicative in this regard is the episode when Matryona takes upon herself the punishment of her son. He, being a shepherd, lost a sheep, and he was to be flogged for this. But the mother threw herself at the feet of the landowner, and he "mercifully" forgave the teenager, ordering in return to flog the "impudent woman." For the sake of her children, Matrena is ready to go even against God. When a wanderer comes to the village with a strange demand not to breastfeed her children on Wednesdays and Fridays, the woman is the only one who did not listen to her. “To whom to endure, so mothers” - in these words of Matryona the whole depth of her maternal love is expressed.
Another key feature of a peasant woman is her determination. Submissive and compliant, she knows when to fight for her happiness. So, it is Matryona from the whole huge family who decides to stand up for her husband when he is taken into the soldiers and, falling at the feet of the governor, brings him home. For this act, she receives the highest award - people's respect. Hence her nickname "Governor". Now the family loves her, and in the village they consider her lucky. But the hardships and "storm of the soul" that have passed through Matryona's life do not give her the opportunity to speak of herself as happy.
A resolute, selfless, simple and sincere woman and mother, one of the many Russian peasant women - this is how the reader of Matryona Korchagin's “Who Lives Well in Russia” appears before the reader.
The description of the image of Matrena Korchagina and her characterization in the poem will help 10th grade students before writing an essay on the topic “The Image of Matryona Timofeevna in “Who Lives Well in Russia””.
Artwork test
Matrena Timofeevna image and description according to plan
1. General characteristics. Matrena Timofeevna is the main female heroine of the poem by N. A. Nekrasov and "Who lives well in Russia", to which 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."