He did not carry a heart in his chest,
Who did not shed tears over you!
ON THE. Nekrasov
In the work of N.A. Nekrasov, many works are devoted to a simple Russian woman. The fate of a Russian woman has always worried Nekrasov. In many of his poems and poems, he speaks of her plight. Starting with the early poem “On the Road” and ending with the poem “Who Lives Well in Russia”, Nekrasov spoke about the “female share”, about the dedication of the Russian peasant woman, about her spiritual beauty. In the poem “In full swing the village suffering”, written shortly after the reform, a true reflection of the inhuman hard work of a young peasant mother is given:
Share you! - Russian woman's share!
Hardly harder to find...
Talking about the hard lot of the Russian peasant woman, Nekrasov often in her image embodied high ideas about the spiritual power of the Russian people, about its physical beauty:
There are women in Russian villages
With calm gravity of faces,
With beautiful strength in movements,
With a gait, with the eyes of queens.
In the works of Nekrasov, the image of a “majestic Slav” appears, pure in heart, bright in mind, strong in spirit. This is Daria from the poem "Frost, Red Nose", and a simple girl from the "Troika". This is Matrena Timofeevna Korchagina from the poem "Who in Russia should live well."
The image of Matrena Timofeevna, as it were, completes and unites the group of images of peasant women in Nekrasov's work. The poem recreates the type of “stately Slav”, a peasant woman of the Central Russian strip, endowed with restrained and strict beauty:
stubborn woman,
Wide and dense.
Thirty-eight years old.
Beautiful; gray hair,
The eyes are large, stern,
Eyelashes are the richest
Stern and swarthy.
She, smart and strong, the poet entrusted to tell about his fate. “Peasant Woman” is the only part of the poem “Who Lives Well in Russia”, all written in the first person. Trying to answer the question of the men-truth-seekers, can she call herself happy, Matrena Timofeevna tells the story of her life. The voice of Matrena Timofeevna is the voice of the people themselves. That's why she sings more often than she talks, poeg folk songs. “The Peasant Woman” is the most folklore part of the poem, it is almost entirely built on folk poetic images and motifs. The whole life story of Matrena Timofeevna is a chain of continuous misfortunes and suffering. No wonder she says about herself: “I have a downcast head, I carry an angry heart!” She is convinced: "It's not a matter of looking for a happy woman between women." Why? After all, there was love in the life of this woman, the joy of motherhood, the respect of others. But with her story, the heroine makes the peasants think about the question of whether this is enough for happiness and whether all those life hardships and hardships that fall to the lot of the Russian peasant woman will outweigh this cup:
Silent, invisible to me
Passed mental storm,
Will you show her?
For me insults are mortal
Gone unpaid
And the whip passed over me!
Slowly and unhurriedly Matrena Timofeevna leads her story. She lived well and freely in parental home. But, having married Philip Korchagin, she ended up with a "maiden's will to hell": a superstitious mother-in-law, a drunkard father-in-law, an older sister-in-law, for whom her daughter-in-law had to work like a slave. With her husband, she, however, was lucky. But Philip only returned from work in the winter, and the rest of the time there was no one to intercede for her, except for grandfather Savely. A consolation for a peasant woman is her first-born Demushka. But due to Savely's oversight, the child dies. Matrena Timofeevna becomes a witness to the abuse of the body of her child (in order to find out the cause of death, the authorities perform an autopsy of the child's corpse). For a long time she cannot forgive Savely's "sin" that he overlooked her Demushka. But the trials of Matrena Timofeevna did not end there. Her second son Fedot is growing up, and misfortune befalls him. Her eight-year-old son is facing punishment for feeding someone else's sheep to a hungry she-wolf. Fedot took pity on her, he saw how hungry and unhappy she was, and the wolf cubs in her den were not fed:
Looking up, head up
In my eyes ... and howled suddenly!
In order to save her little son from the punishment that threatened him, Matryona herself 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. A recruiting set deprives her of her last intercessor, her husband (he is taken out of turn):
...Hungry
Orphans are standing
In front of me... Unkindly
The family looks at them
They are noisy in the house
On the street pugnacious,
Gluttons at the table...
And they began to pinch them,
Bang on the head...
Shut up, soldier mother!
Matrena Timofeevna decides to ask the governor for intercession. She 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:
How do I throw
At her feet: “Stand up!
Deception, not godly
Provider and parent
They take from children!
The governor took pity on Matryona Timofeevna. The heroine returns home with her husband and newborn Liodorushka. This incident cemented her reputation as a lucky woman and the nickname "governor".
The further fate of Matrena Timofeevna is also full of troubles: one of the sons has already been taken to the soldiers, "they burned twice ... God anthrax ... visited three times." The "Baby Parable" sums up her tragic story:
Keys to female happiness
From our free will
abandoned, lost
God himself!
The life history of Matryona Timofeevna showed that the most difficult, unbearable conditions of life could not break a peasant woman. Harsh living conditions honed a special female character, proud and independent, accustomed to relying on his own strength everywhere and in everything. Nekrasov endows his heroine not only with beauty, but with great spiritual strength. Not resignation to fate, not stupid patience, but pain and anger are expressed in the words with which she ends the story of her life:
For me insults are mortal
Gone unpaid...
Anger accumulates in the soul of a peasant woman, but faith remains in the intercession of the Mother of God, in the power of prayer. After praying, she goes to the city to the governor to seek the truth. Saved by her own spiritual strength and will to live. Nekrasov showed in the image of Matryona Timofeevna both a readiness for self-sacrifice when she stood up for her son, and strength of character when she does not bow to formidable bosses. The image of Matrena Timofeevna is, as it were, woven from folk poetry. Lyrical and wedding folk songs, lamentations have long told about the life of a peasant woman, and Nekrasov drew from this source, creating the image of his beloved heroine.
Written about the people and for the people, the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" is close to the works of oral folk art. The verse of the poem - artistic discovery Nekrasov - perfectly conveyed the lively speech of the people, their songs, sayings, sayings, which absorbed centuries-old wisdom, sly humor, sadness and joy. The whole poem is true folk work and therein lies its great significance.

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, it also has minor characters, 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 departure of Nikolai Alekseevich from life, 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 tablecloth they found, they first meet a lordly family led 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 almost the only (and at the same time very important) female character works.

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 Matryona 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 peasants, 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 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, one 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 strength of mind 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 stayed strong man, 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.

1. Nikolai Alekseevich did not study well at school.
2. By inheritance, he inherited a love of cards and hunting.
3. 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.”

There are a lot of heroes in the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia". Some of them pass by. They are mentioned in passing. For others, the author spared no space and time. They are presented in detail and comprehensively.

The image and characterization of Matrena Korchagina in the poem “Who Lives Well in Russia” is one of such characters. Women's happiness - that's what the wanderers wanted to find in Matryona.

Biography of the main female character

Matrena Timofeevna Korchagina grew up in a family of simple peasants. When she meets the wanderers, she is only 38 years old, but for some reason she calls herself an "old woman". So quickly flies the life of a peasant woman. God gave the woman children - she has 5 sons. One (first-born) died. Why are only sons born? Probably, this is a belief in the appearance in Russia of a new generation of heroes, honest and strong as a mother.

According to Matryona, she was happy only in the father's family. They took care of her, guarded her sleep, did not force her to work. The girl appreciated the care of her relatives, answered them with kindness and labor. Songs at the wedding, lamentations over the bride and the crying of the girl herself are folklore that conveys the reality of life.

Things have changed in my husband's family. There were so many sufferings that not every woman could endure them. At night, Matrena shed tears, during the day she spread like grass, her head was lowered, anger hid in her heart, but accumulated. A woman understands that everyone lives like that. Philip treats Matryona well. But distinguish good life from cruelty it is difficult: he flogs his wife with a whip until she bleeds, goes to work, leaves her alone with her children in a hated family. The girl does not require much attention to herself: a silk scarf and sleigh rides return her to cheerful singing.

The vocation of a Russian peasant woman is to raise children. She becomes a real heroine, courageous and strong. Grief is on the heels. The first son - Demushka dies. Grandfather Savely could not save him. The authorities mock the mother. They torment the body of a child in front of her eyes, the pictures of horror remain in her memory for life. Another son gave a sheep to a hungry she-wolf. Matryona protected the boy, standing in his place for punishment. Mother's love strong:

"To whom to endure, so mothers!".

Korchagina came to the defense of her husband. The pregnant woman went to the governor with a request not to take him into the soldiers.

The appearance of a woman

Nekrasov describes Matryona with love. He recognizes her beauty and amazing attractiveness. Some features for the modern reader are not characteristic of beauty, but this only confirms how attitudes towards appearance have changed over the centuries:

• "impressive" figure;
• "wide" back;
• "dense" body;
• Holmogory cow.

Most of the characteristics are a manifestation of the tenderness of the author. Beautiful dark hair with gray hair, large expressive eyes with the "richest" lush eyelashes, swarthy skin. Ruddy cheeks and clear eyes. What bright epithets are chosen by those around for Matryona:

• "written kralechka";
• "filling berry";
• "good ... comely";
• "white face".
• The woman is neat in her clothes: a white cotton shirt, a short embroidered sundress.

Matryona's character

The main character trait is diligence. Since childhood, Matrena loves work and does not hide from it. She knows how to put haystacks, ruffle flax, thresh on the barn. The woman's household is large, but she does not complain. She gives all the strength that she received from God to work.

Other features of the Russian beauty:

Frankness: telling the wanderers her fate, she does not embellish or hide anything.

Sincerity: a woman does not prevaricate, she opens her whole destiny from her youth, shares her experiences and "sinful" deeds.

Love of freedom: the desire to be free and free remains in the soul, but the rules of life change the character, make one be secretive.

Courage: often a woman has to become a "brash woman." She is punished, but "arrogance and obstinacy" remain.

Loyalty: the wife is devoted to her husband, in all situations strives to be honest and faithful.

Honesty: Matryona herself leads an honest life and teaches her sons to be like that. She asks them neither to steal nor to cheat.

Female sincerely believes in God. She prays and comforts herself. It becomes easier for her in conversations with the Mother of God.

Happiness Matryona

Wanderers are sent to Korchagina because of the nickname - the governor's wife. Rarely could anyone from a simple peasant woman become famous in the district with such a title. But did the nickname bring true happiness? No. The people slandered her as a lucky woman, but this is only one case in the life of Matryona. Courage and perseverance returned her husband to the family, life became easier. The children no longer had to go to beg in the villages, but it is impossible to say that Korchagina is happy. Matrena understands this and tries to explain to the peasants: among ordinary Russian women there are no happy women, and cannot be. God Himself denied them this - he lost the keys to joy and will. Her wealth is lakes of tears. The tests were supposed to break the peasant woman, the soul was supposed to become callous. The poem is different. Matryona does not die either spiritually or physically. She continues to believe that there are keys to female happiness. She rejoices every day and admires men. She cannot be considered happy, but no one dares to call her unhappy either. She is a real Russian peasant woman, independent, beautiful and strong.

In many of his works, Nekrasov reflects on the fate of the Russian peasant woman: in the poem "Frost, Red Nose", the poems "Troika", "The village suffering is in full swing ...", "Orina, the soldier's mother" and in many others. In the gallery of wonderful female images a special place is occupied by the image of Matrena Timofeevna Korchagina - the heroine of the poem "Who should live well in Russia".

Popular rumor brings the truth-seekers to the village of Klin, where they hope to meet a happy peasant woman. How much severe suffering befell this "happy" woman! But such beauty and strength emanates from her whole appearance that it is impossible not to admire her. As she recalls the type of "stately Slav", about which Nekrasov wrote with enthusiasm in the poem "Frost, Red Nose".

In trouble - it will not fail, it will save:
Stop a galloping horse
Will enter the burning hut!

Matrena begins her unhurried story about her own fate, this is a story about why the people consider her happy. Matryona Timofeevna, according to her, was lucky as a girl:

I was lucky in the girls:
We had a good
Non-drinking family.

The family surrounded their beloved daughter with care and affection. In the seventh year, the peasant's daughter began to be taught to work: "she herself ... ran to the herd for a dumpling, brought breakfast to her father, grazed the ducklings." And this work was her joy. Matrena Timofeevna, having worked out in the field, will wash herself in the bathhouse and is ready to sing and dance:

And a good worker
And sing and dance the huntress
I was young.

But how few bright moments in her life! One of them is an engagement to his beloved Filippushka. Matryona did not sleep all night, thinking about the upcoming marriage: she was afraid of "bondage". And yet love turned out to be stronger than fears of falling into slavery.

Then it was happiness
And hardly ever again!

And then, after marriage, she went "from a girl's holi to hell." Exhausting work, "mortal insults", misfortunes with children, separation from her husband, who was illegally recruited, and many other hardships - such is the bitter life path Matryona Timofeevna. With pain she says about what is in her:

No broken bone
There is no stretched vein.

I am amazed at the steadfastness, the courage with which this wonderful woman endured suffering without bowing her proud head. Your heart bleeds when you read the lines of a poem about the inconsolable grief of a mother who lost her first-born son Demushka:

I rolled around with a ball
I twisted like a worm
Called, woke Demushka
Yes, it was too late to call! ..

The mind is ready to be clouded by a terrible misfortune. But a huge spiritual strength helps Matryona Timofeevna to survive. She sends angry curses to her enemies, the camp and the doctor, who torment the “white body” of her son: “Villains! Executioners! Matrena Timofeevna wants to find "their justice," but Savely dissuades her: "God is high, the tsar is far ... We cannot find the truth." "But why, grandfather?" - asks the unfortunate. "You are a serf woman!" - and this sounds like a final verdict.

And yet, when misfortune happens to her second son, she becomes “impudent”: she decisively knocks down the elder Silantius, saving Fedotushka from punishment, taking his rods on herself. Matryona Timofeevna is ready to endure any trials, inhuman torments in order to defend her children, her husband from everyday troubles. Which great power a woman must have the will to go alone

One of the main characters of Nekrasov's poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" - Savely - the reader will recognize when he is already an old man who has lived a long and difficult life. The poet draws a colorful portrait of this amazing old man: With a huge gray ...

In the poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia,” N. A. Nekrasov shows the life of the Russian peasantry in post-reform Russia, their difficult situation. The main problem of this work is the search for an answer to the question, "who lives happily, freely in Russia",...

“The burning anxiety felt by Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov, thinking about the fate of a peasant woman, was also reflected in the poem “Who should live well in Russia”. Everyone knows that the image of a Russian woman is sung by the poet in many works. On the fate of Matryona ...

The poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" is the result of the author's thoughts about the fate of the country and people. To whom in Russia to live well? - the poem begins with this question. Its plot, like the plot folk tales, built as a journey of old peasants in search of ...

1. New!

"To whom in Russia to live well" was written more than a century ago. The poem gives a vivid description of the troubles and trials that the Russian people had to go through, and draws what happiness looks like for ordinary men. The work is titled with the eternal question that has tormented each of us for centuries.

The narrative invites the reader to familiarize themselves with the original story. Its main characters were the peasants, who gathered to determine the class in which they live. happy man. Analyzing all the ranks, the men got acquainted with the stories of the characters, the happiest among whom was the seminarian. The meaning of the hero's surname in this case is important. Happiness for the student was not material well-being, but peace and quiet on the lands of the motherland and the well-being of the people.

History of creation

The poem was created in the period from 1863 to 1877, and in the course of work, the characters and the plot of the work repeatedly changed. The work was not completed, since the author died in 1877, but "To whom it is good to live in Russia" is considered an integral literary opus.

Nekrasov is famous for his clear civic position and speeches against social injustice. He repeatedly raised in his work the problems that disturb the Russian peasantry. The writer condemned the treatment of landlords with serfs, the exploitation of women and the forced labor of children. After the abolition of serfdom in 1861, the long-awaited happiness for ordinary people did not come. The problem of unfreedom was replaced by other questions concerning the prospects for independent peasant life.

The images revealed in the poem help to penetrate into the depth of the question asked by the author. Nekrasov demonstrates the difference between happiness in the understanding of a landowner and a simple peasant. The rich are sure that the main thing in life is material well-being, and the poor consider the absence of unnecessary troubles as happiness. The spirituality of the people is described by means of Grisha Dobrosklonov, who dream of universal contentment.

Nekrasov in "To whom it is good to live in Russia" defines the problems of estates, revealing the greed and cruelty of the rich, illiteracy and drunkenness among the peasants. He believes that, realizing what true happiness is, all the heroes of the work will make efforts to achieve it.

Matrena Timofeevna Korchagina - actor in the work. In her youth, she was truly happy, as this time of her life was truly carefree. Parents loved the girl, and she sought to help her family in everything. Like other peasant children, Matryona was early accustomed to work. Games were gradually supplanted by household worries and chores, but the rapidly maturing girl did not forget about leisure.

This peasant woman is hardworking and active. Her appearance pleased the eye with stateliness and real Russian beauty. Many guys had views of the girl, and one day the groom wooed her. On this young and happy life before marriage came to an end. The will was replaced by the way of life that reigns in a strange family, about which Matryona's parents grieve. The girl's mother, realizing that her husband will not always protect her daughter, mourns her future.

Life in the new house really did not work out right away. The sisters-in-law and the spouse's parents forced Matryona to work hard and did not indulge her with a kind word. The only joys of the beauty were a silk scarf given by her husband and a sleigh ride.

Relations in marriage could not be called smooth, because at that time husbands often beat their wives, and girls had no one to turn to for help and protection. Matrona's everyday life was gray and monotonous, full of hard work and reproaches from relatives. Personifying the ideal of the majestic Slav, the girl meekly endured all the hardships of fate and showed mighty patience.

The born son revealed Matryona from a new side. A loving mother, she gives her child all the tenderness she is capable of. The girl's happiness was short-lived. She tried to spend as much time with the baby as possible, but the work took every minute, and the child was a burden. Grandfather Saveliy looked after the son of Matryona and once did not look after. The child died. His death was a tragedy for the young mother. In those days, such cases occurred often, but became an incredible test for women.

The police, the doctor and the camp officer who arrived at the house decided that Matryona, in collusion with her grandfather, a former convict, had deliberately killed the baby. It was decided to conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of the boy's death. For a girl, this becomes a great grief, because now a child cannot be buried without scolding.

The image of Matrena is a portrait of a real Russian woman, persistent, strong-willed and patient. A woman who is not able to break life's vicissitudes. After a while, Matryona again has children. She loves and protects them, continuing to work for the good of her family.

The maternal instinct of Matrena Timofeevna is so strong that for the sake of children the heroine is ready for anything. This emphasizes the episode when the son of Fedotushka wanted to be punished by the landowner. A portly woman lay down under the rods, sacrificing herself instead of her own child. With the same zeal, she stands up for her husband, whom they want to recruit. The people's intercessor grants salvation to the Matryona family.

The life of a simple peasant woman is not easy and full of grief. She survived more than one hungry year, lost her son, constantly worried about people dear to her heart. The whole existence of Matryona Timofeevna is based on fighting the misfortunes that stand in her way. The difficulties that fell to her lot could break her spirit. Often, women like Matryona died early because of hardships and troubles. But those who remained alive aroused pride and respect. The image of a Russian woman in the face of Matryona is also sung by Nekrasov.

The writer sees how hardy and patient she is, how much strength and love her soul keeps, how caring and gentle a simple hard-working woman can be. He is not inclined to call the heroine happy, but he is proud that she does not lose heart, but emerges victorious in the struggle for life.

Quotes

In Tsarist Russia, the life of a woman was extremely difficult. By the age of 38, the strong and majestic Matrena Timofeevna was already calling herself an old woman. Many troubles fell to her lot, with which the woman coped on her own, so she condemns the men who started looking for lucky women among the women:

“And what you started

It's not a matter - between women

Happy looking!"

For stamina and fortitude, the heroine was called the “governor”, ​​because not every woman dared such heroic actions that Matryona took. The woman rightfully deserved the new nickname, but this name did not bring happiness. The main joy for Korchagina is by no means in the glory of the people:

"They glorified the lucky one,

Nicknamed the governor

Matryona since then ...

What's next? I rule the house

Grove of children ... Is it for joy?

You need to know too!

The chapter in which the heroine opens the eyes of the peasants to a mistake is called "The Woman's Parable". Matrena Timofeevna admits that she is not able to recognize herself and other peasant women as happy. Too much oppression, trials, anger of landowners, anger from husbands and relatives, vicissitudes of fate falls to their lot. Matrena believes that there are no lucky women among women:

"The keys to female happiness,

From our free will

abandoned, lost