A summary of the work of M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin “Lord Golovleva”
Chapter 1
“Family Court” The
rich lady Arina Petrovna Golovleva receives the news that her son Stepan, nicknamed in the family Stepkoff, sold the house in Moscow for 8 thousand rubles. This house, the “parental blessing”, Arina Petrovna once bought for 12,000 and “threw her son a piece,” hoping to get rid of his further claims for inheritance and security.
“Arina Petrovna is a woman of about sixty, but still cheerful and accustomed to live on her own will.” She keeps herself threatening: she alone and uncontrollably runs a vast estate of the head, lives alone, prudently, almost sparingly, does not lead friends with neighbors, the local authorities do well, and from the children demands that they be in such obedience to her, so that each time they ask themselves:
Her husband is a frivolous and drunkard; They part in the service in St. Petersburg, in part they went to their father and as a “hateful”
Stepash-stubble studied at the university, tried to get a job, at the insistence of his mother, was determined in a court, but three years later already does not work there, he gets a piece from his mother, burns up, sells the house, Stepan goes to the militia, loses the last hundred rubles, takes on the fact that he lends money and feeds the well-to-do peasants of Arina Petrovna.
The daughter of Arina Petrovna and Vladimir Mikhailovich The heads of the left, Anna, fled the house and married an officer. Arina Petrovna, who did not justify her daughter’s hopes, also “throws out a piece” – a small village Pogorelka. Soon Anna’s husband “disappears”, Anna herself dies, leaving her twin daughters, whom Arina Petrovna is compelled to shelter herself.
The middle son, Porphyry, who served in St. Petersburg, was married, widowed, known in the family under three names: Judas, the “bloodsucker”, “frank boy”, proved himself to be a sycophant, a mean and hypocritical man. He loved to inform the family
The younger son of Golovlevs Pavel – “the most complete personification of a man deprived of any kind of actions,” an apathetic, morose man.
Arina Petrovna learns that the burnt-out Stepan-stubby will come to live with her. Not wishing to give him anything, but at the same time fearing condemnation of neighbors, Arina Petrovna summons two younger sons from Petersburg to decide how to deal with the elder. Arina Petrovna once again tells her sons how she collected and saved her wealth, how much she “suffered”, gaining in small things, denying everything herself: “she will not jump in and out of her nose.” Paul refuses to judge his brother, and Judas in his inherent sycophantic manner discourages his mother from giving Stepan a small village and convinces her to leave Stepan to live in Golovlyovo. “Arina Petrovna did not answer. She looked at him and thought: is it really in the business itself that such bloodthirst that the brother of his family will drive out into the street?”
After the “family council” Judas and Paul return to St. Petersburg.
In Golovlev Stepan is kept in a black body, he lives not in the house, but in the office, eats scraps from the table of Arina Petrovna, gradually dries, falls ill, one day disappears from Golovlyov. Arina Petrovna sends after her son the chase, Stepan return. From that day, he stops talking: “It seemed that he was plunged into a dull gloom, in which there is no place not only for reality but also for fantasy.” His brain worked out something, but this something had nothing to do with the past or the present, nor to the future. ” A few days later Stepan dies. Arina Petrovna writes a hypocritical letter to Judas about her grief and honored dear prayers.
Chapter 2
“In a relationship”
After the death of Vladimir Mikhailovich Golovlev, Arina Petrovna divides the property between Judas and Paul, with the first part being the best part – the estate of Golovlyovo. At the request of Judas, she still for some time conducts all the business in Golovlyov, buying land for her money on her own money. Her money is very little, and at this moment Judas sends her “a whole batch of accounting forms,” which takes into account every penny, every berry from a bush of gooseberry. Even Arina Petrovna is struck by the stinginess of Judas, and she realizes that her further life in the son’s house becomes impossible. Arina Petrovna moves to live in Pavel’s estate Dubrovino. At his house, the housekeeper Ulita is in charge, everything is stolen, and Ulita informs Paul of Judas. Paul lives in isolation, “on the mezzanine,” with his mother almost does not communicate, begins to drink a lot, falls ill. Arina Petrovna is talking about inheritance. Paul replies: “Only not a bloodsucker.” I’ll throw the dogs away, not him! ” In the presence of Arina Petrovna, Paul does not make a will. Mother is in despair, because she knows that after Paul’s death all his possessions will pass to Judas. When Judas comes to “see his brother” before his death, the grandsons of Arina Petrovna Petya and Volodya tell grandmother about his father, his stinginess, exhausting the soul of teaching, pharisaism, a tendency to eavesdrop. From grandsons Arina Petrovna learns that Judas is greatly afraid of her mother’s curse. Paul dies, all property passes to Judas. After the funeral, Arina Petrovna, along with Anninka and Lyubinka, leaves to live in Pogorelka, the village of orphans. Judas notes that the mother and nieces are leaving in the tarantas, owned by Paul, and now – to him,
Chapter 3
“Family Results”
A few years later, Arina Petrovna, aged for the first time in her life, feels like a disgusting “superfluous mouth.” An-zinka and Lyubinka are leaving Pogorelka, exhausted by the deadly boredom. The house is dipped in a “hopeless silence”. Arina Petrovna greatly saves, dissolves almost all the servants, her thoughts are increasingly turning to Golovlev, and, already ready for the fate of the prizhivalka, she increasingly begins to visit Judas. “Bored with a prolonged widowhood,” Judas takes a girl in the housekeeper Evprakseyushka. In time, the character of Judas becomes even more unbearable: “He is much older, faded and faded, but heats up, lies and empty-voiced even more than the old one, because now he has almost always a good friend, mamma, who, for the sake of a sweet old woman’s piece, became an obligatory listener of his empty talk. .. If he was a hypocrite, then a hypocrite of a purely Russian posit, that is, just a person deprived of any moral measure and knowing no other truth than that which appears in the alphabet. He was ignorant without borders, a mean man, a liar, a vain talker, and on top of all he feared the trait. “
Judas conducts his days in the audits of complex reporting, writes complaints, interrupts all communication with the outside world. Judas “had all the qualities of a hardened departmental official.”
Arina Petrovna receives a letter from which she learns that Anninka and Lyubinka acted as actresses. Judas condemns them. From the regiment comes Peter, the son of Judas, who lost 3,000 state rubles, asks his father to pay, since he is threatened by Siberia. Judas refuses, while prudently instructing his son to rely on God in everything and stoically accept punishment. Peter recalls that some time ago Judas had also refused to support his elder son Volodya, who married without his father’s consent, and he committed suicide. Judas does not admit guilt, will idle talk, pharisaic. Peter calls him the Assassin, proposes to serve a moleben “for the murdered Vladimir.” Present at the last scene, Arina Petrovna curses Judas.
Chapter 4
“The Nephew”
The “trick” of Arina Petrovna does not produce the expected impression on Judas.
The day after Petr Arin left, Petrovna left for Pogorelka and no longer returned to Golovlyovo, fell ill. Judaizing. ka comes “to see his mother,” she does not talk with him, does not blah-bless, than even a little puzzles and scares Judas. He is not yet ready for the death of his mother, since he did not have time to reckon how much he will receive income from its capital. After the death of Arina Petrovna, Judas declares himself the sole heir, distributes the wardrobe to his mother, takes all that can take him, and leaves the peasants to wait for the arrival of the owners of Pogorelka – An-ninka and Lubinka. Peter sends a letter in which he asks if his father will send him the contents in exile. Judas answers with a hypocritically wrathful letter about the justice of retribution and the benefits of humility. A month later, Judas receives a notice of the death of his son.
Annyinka comes to Golovlyovo, a prettier young woman, to whom Judas looks with lust. Anninka visits Pogorelka, Arina Petrovna’s grave, and blames Judas for taking even his grandmother’s image. Yudushka strongly opposes her return to the stage.
Looking back at her stage life, Anninka acknowledges to herself that “instead of a quiet life of work, she found a turbulent existence filled with endless revelries, insolent cynicism and disorderly, to no avail.” Instead of the hardships and the harsh external environment with which she once lived, she was reconciled, she was met with relative contentment and luxury, of which she, however, could not now recall without paint on her face. ” Not satisfied with the situation of the provincial actress, upon her arrival in Golovlyovo, “she suddenly felt like a” lady. “She remembered that she had something of her own: her own house, her graves, and wanted to see her old situation again… But the impression was immediate It was supposed to break in a collision with reality, which I met in Golovlyov. ” Anninka hastens to leave Golovlyov for Moscow – to negotiate on admission to the state stage. Judas invited her to stay with him. Fearing to die with boredom, living with a pharisee-minded uncle, the girl refuses. All the inhabitants of Golovlev from the priest to the servant one way or another imagine the life of actresses as “obscenity”, which Annin-ku is constantly asking. Having registered the possession of Pogorelka, Anninka literally runs from Ludushka to Moscow; sitting down in a wagon, screams that he will not return. Having registered the possession of Pogorelka, Anninka literally runs from Ludushka to Moscow; sitting down in a wagon, screams that he will not return. Having registered the possession of Pogorelka, Anninka literally runs from Ludushka to Moscow; sitting down in a wagon, screams that he will not return.
Chapter 5
“Unauthorized family joys”
The story of the concubine Judas Evprakseyushki. Excursion to the past.
Shortly before Petr’s arrival, Arina Petrovna discovered that Evprakseyushka was pregnant. Mother’s questions answered evasively. Contrary to expectations, Arina Petrovna is preparing with enthusiasm for the forthcoming appearance of a child, conceived “for a fast day,” calling the midwife Ulita. But Arina Petrovna dies and, fearful of accusations of adultery, Judas removes Evprakseyushka from herself, communicates with her through Ulita, calls Evprakseyushka “sick”, denies her involvement in the child, and after the birth and baptism of the boy, secretly sends Ulita with a newborn to Moscow to give the child to educational home.
Chapter 6
“Escheat”
“The agony of Judas began with the fact that the resource of idle talk, which he so willingly abused, apparently began to shrink.” Everything around him was empty, some died, others left. ” To top off all his “troubles”, deprived of the full-fledged motherhood and comfort of youth, Evprakseyushka begins to “riot”: walking with young guys, ignoring Judas, throwing up the economy, harassing the master with petty quibbles, wants to leave Golovlev for his son or his parents. Judas is wild: “In his study alone, with himself, he felt himself a full master, having the opportunity to idly think as much as he likes.” Just as both his brothers died, possessed by drinking, so surely he suffered the same disease. a breeze of a different kind – a binge of idle talk… From morning till night, he wailed over fantastic work: he built all kinds of unrealizable assumptions, took into account himself, talked with imaginary interlocutors… could freely entangle the whole world with a network of slander, oppression and resentment. He loved to mentally torture, ruin, disinherit, suck blood. “A half-crazed Judas is dreamed of by long-dead people who appear to praise him or contribute to the multiplication of his wealth.” Judas gives the peasants a loan at a huge interest, while baptizing and complaining of ingratitude. Half-crazed Judas are dreamed of long-dead people who appear to praise him or contribute to the multiplication of his wealth. Judas gives the peasants a huge amount of money, while crossing themselves and complaining of ingratitude. Half-crazed Judas are dreamed of long-dead people who appear to praise him or contribute to the multiplication of his wealth. Judas gives the peasants a huge amount of money, while crossing themselves and complaining of ingratitude.
Chapter 7
“Calculation”
To Judas comes the ruined, dangerously ill Anninka. From her Judas learns that Lyubinka poisoned, unable to withstand shame and understanding the futility and meaninglessness of her life. Of Anninka’s troubles about the admission of the central business scene, nothing comes of it. They are forced to live “with the sextons” in the “stolen” of the rich merchants, who then go to court for embezzlement. All the property and gifts from the sisters are selected. They are increasingly “sorted by the hand,” for a moderate fee is carried on the hotels to the passing masters. They do not have success on the stage. Lubinka offers her sister suicide, prepares poison and drinks it. Mortally frightened Anninka does not drink and remains alive. In Golovlev Anninka is haunted by memories from her past life of the actress, where she fled from the headless despair. Accustomed to their “patrons” to vodka,
There is an author’s digression about the fate that gravitates over the Golovlevs’ family: “For several generations, three characteristic traits passed through the history of this family: idleness, unfitness to any kind of business and drunkenness.” The first two resulted in empty talk, empty-mindedness and emptiness, the latter was a kind of compulsory conclusion of a general life disorder… so that the head family would probably have grown thin if Arina Petrovna had not flashed in the midst of this drunken disorder. the woman, thanks to her personal energy, brought the level of the family’s well-being to the highest point, but for all that, her work was in vain, because she not only did not pass on her qualities to any of the children, but, on the contrary, she died, entangled on all sides by idleness, empty talk and empty womb. “
After drinking, Anninka constantly reminds Judas how many of his relatives he took to the grave. Judas finally realizes that “he grew old, wild, with one foot in the grave, and there is no creature in the world that would approach him,” would have regretted him. “Why is he alone? Why does he see not only indifference but hatred around “Why did everything that touched him – all perish?” His “conscience awoke, but fruitless.” Judas is angry and drinks more. One day he suddenly turns to his niece with words of participation, she rushes to him, sincerely embracing him. Judas asks him to forgive – “and for himself… and for those who are no more…” At night, Judas goes to the grave of his mother “say goodbye”, because he feels that his days are numbered. The next day a dead body was found near the road.
From his estate in the left is going to “sister” “Nadezhda Ivanovna Galkina,” which has been keeping an eye on everything that happened in Golovlyovo since last autumn. “
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