A brief summary of Aitmanov’s “Mother Field”
Memorial Day (the end of summer, the beginning of autumn). The aged Tolgonai comes to the field to pour out his soul. This strong woman has no one to complain about her life.
In childhood, during the harvest, Tolgonai was led to the field by the hand and put into the shade under the mop. The girl was left with a hunk of bread so that she would not cry. Later, when Tolgonay grew older, she resorted to guarding crops from cattle, which in spring were driven past the fields to the mountains. At that time she was a quick-haired shaggy girl. It was a freakish and carefree time.
Tolgonay never wore silk dresses, but all the same she grew up as an observant girl. At the age of seventeen she met in the harvest of the young Suvankul, and between them flared up love. Together they built their lives. Suvankul was trained as a tractor driver, then became a foreman of the collective farm. Their family was respected.
Tolgonai regrets that she gave birth to three sons in a row.
Everything was fine, until the news came to the collective farm about the war. The men began to call in the army. So left Suvankul and Kasym. When Suvankul died in the offensive near Moscow, Tolgonai, along with Aliman’s daughter-in-law, became widows at the same time. She could not complain and cursed fate, she needed to support the grief-stricken daughter-in-law. Together they worked in the field. Before the end of the war, Tolgonai was a foreman. Aliman lived with her and took care of her mother-in-law.
Maselbek went to the army from the city, and Tolgonai
The collective farm was in a bad situation, there was not enough food. Tolgonai tried her best. She obtained permission to sow the wasteland. From all houses, the remains of grain were scraped to seeds, but he was stolen by Jenshenkul, who hid from the army and was engaged in robbery. Tolgonay went in pursuit of her son, but could not return the grain – he shot and killed her horse. When Genshenkul was caught, Tolgonai was a witness. The wife of the son-criminal wanted to dishonor Tolgonay, take revenge, and at all said about the pregnancy Aliman.
Tolgonai was sad for her daughter-in-law. She was young and resigned to her fate. Her mother-in-law became attached to her as to her daughter, and thought that after the war she would find her husband. At that time a beautiful, young shepherd appeared in their land. Once Aliman came home drunk. She cried and begged forgiveness from Tolgonai, whom she called mother. Later it turned out that Aliman was pregnant. The neighbors secretly went to the village of this guy, hoping that he would marry, and Tolgonai’s family would escape shame, but he turned out to be a family man, and his wife drove them away.
Aliman died during childbirth, leaving her son. He was called the Zhanbolot. The old man’s darling, Jorobek, reared the baby. Neighbors helped. Bektash, the son of Aisha’s neighbor, taught the boy and later took to work as a horseman on a combine.
Tolgonai promises to the field that as long as she is alive, she will never forget her family, and when Jeanbolot grows older, she will tell him everything. Tolgonay hopes that he will understand.
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