Summary of the story “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District” NS Leskov
Chapter first
Katerina Lvovna was very attractive by appearance, a woman of the twenty-fourth year. The girl was married to a wealthy merchant Izmailov. Their family consisted of the widowed father-in-law of Boris Timofeevich, the husband of Katerina Zinovy Borisovich and Katerina Lvovna herself. Children of the couple were not. Boredom in the merchant’s house more than once made one yearn for a woman, her childlessness upset her. Katerina Lvovna was a passionate woman and was used to simplicity and freedom. Read Katerina Izmailova did not like, and almost no books in the house. For five years she lived the most boring life with an unsavory husband, but no one paid attention to this boredom.
Chapter Two
On the sixth year of Catherine’s marriage, Izmailov broke through the mill dam, and the woman yearned for homes all alone. Once she drew attention to the merchant steward Sergei. He was handsome and when he met he began to shower Katerina Lvovna
Chapter Three
Sergei comes to Katerina and says that without love his life is boring. The clerk tries to hug Catherine, but she fights weakly. Unable to resist the hot kisses, a woman betrays her husband.
Chapter Four
Boris Timofeevich sees the clerk when he descended the column from the window of Katerina Lvovna. He takes Sergei into the pantry and beats him with a whip. The clerk did not even groan, but half of the sleeve of his shirt had eaten his teeth. Boris Timofeevich decides to lock up the man in the pantry until his back is healed. Katerina begs Sergei to leave for Sergei, he gets angry even more and promises to whip the woman in the stables when his son arrives.
Chapter Five
Katerina Lvovna pours a beetroot into the porridge with mushrooms, rat poison, after which the old man dies. All believed in the natural death of Boris Timofeevich and hastily buried. Sergei woman rescues from the pantry and already
Chapter Six
In a dream, Katerina Izmaylova imagines that between them and Sergei, a big cat is climbing.
A woman asks Aksinya what this dream means. The cook answers that someone will kill her or “something else will come out”. Sergei continues to win the heart of the hostess, convincing her of his sincere and ardent love. Katerina Lvovna tells the beloved that if he ever changes her, she will not part with him alive.
Chapter Seven
Katerina again dreams of a cat, who this time begins to talk with her: “What is it,” he says, “I’m a cat! Why should you? You are very clever, Katerina Lvovna, you are arguing that I’m not a cat at all, but I’m an eminent merchant Boris Timofeich “. The woman hears someone climb over the gate and bark the dogs. She hides Sergei in a hurry in the bedroom. Zinovy Borisovich approaches the door leading to the matrimonial bedroom and listens. Not catching any rustle, he decides to knock.
Chapter eight
The husband informs, that before it there were hearings about changes of the wife. Katerina together with Sergei beat Zinoviy Borisovich with a heavy cast candlestick on the head, and then strangled him. The killed are hidden in the cellar and destroy all traces of the crime.
Chapter Nine
The courage of Katerina Lvovna’s husband was enough, but all the searches were unsuccessful. Katerina Izmailova announces that she is expecting a child from her husband, and she is allowed to inherit, stopping the search for Zinovy Borisovich. But another heir is being announced – Izmailov’s nephew Fedor La min, who turned out to be a small boy and came with his old aunt. Sergei starts complaining to his beloved that because of this boy he became the most unhappy man.
Chapter Ten
The young merchant begins to understand that the boy is very hampering her upcoming happy life with her beloved: “How is it that I really need to lose capital through it?” How much I suffered, how much sin I took on my soul… and he without all the hassle came and takes from me… And a person would be kind, or a child, a boy… “
Chapter eleven
On the holiday, the old woman goes to church, and Katerina Izmailova coolly strangles the boy with a pillow.
Chapter twelve
Murder is observed in the gap between the shutters of several men, and the crowd begins to break into the house. Sergei admits all the murders and associates his partner Catherine. The woman admits everything and says that she killed for the sake of her beloved. Zinovy Borisovich is removed from the cellar and buried. Criminals are punished with whips and sent to penal servitude. Having given birth to a child in an acute hospital, Katerina Izmaylova refuses him.
Chapter Thirteen
The child is given up for education by Boris Timofeevich’s sister, since he is considered to be the legal heir of the Izmailovs. Sergei was going to penal servitude in the same party as the landlady, which was inexpressibly cheerful. She gives money to the unders in order to spend a little time with her lover, to talk with him. Sergei calls this stupidity and behaves towards Katerina rather cold. Together with the heroes in the party are a luxurious woman Fiona and seventeen-year-old blonde Sonnetka.
Chapter Fourteen
Sergei is changing Katerina Lvovna with Fiona. The deceived woman learns about this and feels that she loves the traitor even more. Fiona says that they have no love with Sergei, and they confirm this with his courtship for Sonnetka. Sergei makes an attempt to reconcile with Katerina and complains of the cold. The woman gives her favorite spare woolen stockings.
Chapter fifteen
Katerina Izmaylova sees her stockings on Sonnetka. Sergei hugs and kisses a new object of adoration before the eyes of the whole party. Katerina Lvovna became the subject of ridicule, but Fiona stands up for her. When the prisoners drenched in the snow expected the ferry, Katerina sees the faces of the people she killed in the Volga. Grabbing the Sonnetka by the feet, she tosses with her over the side of the ferry. For a while, both women appear in waves, but then they drown.
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