Matrena Timofeevna as a bright representative of a peasant woman. Description of the character: Matryona Timofeevna Korchagina in the poem “Who in Russia should live well

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 Matryona 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.

Matrena Timofeevna: the story of the character

The composition “To whom it is good to live in Russia” 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 peasants. 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 a happy person lives. 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 "Who Lives Well 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 is a character 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's wife", because not every woman dared to take 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, the wrath of the landowners, anger from their husbands and relatives, and the vicissitudes of fate fall to their lot. Matrena believes that there are no lucky women among women:

"The keys to female happiness,
From our free will
abandoned, lost

The image of the peasant woman Matrena Timofeevna in Nekrasov's poem "Who should live well in Russia". //

  1. In the exceptional female image of Matryona Timofeevna, Nekrasov showed the full severity of the female share. This theme can be traced throughout Nekrasov's work, but nowhere has the image of a Russian peasant woman been described with such tenderness and participation, so truthfully and subtly. And it is this heroine who will answer in the poem the eternal question about the female share, why the keys to female happiness are abandoned, lost from God himself.

    Matrena Timofeevna Korchagina is a smart, selfless woman, the bearer of an angry heart, remembering unrequited grievances. The fate of Matrena Timofeevna is typical for a Russian peasant woman: after marriage, she ended up in hell from a girl's holi, various sorrows fell upon her one after another. As a result, Matrena is forced to take on overwhelming male labor in order to feed her large family.

    Being a governor, Matryona still remains a man of the working peasant masses. She, smart and strong, the poet entrusted herself to tell about his fate. The peasant woman is the only part in Nekrasov's poem, all written in the first person. However, this story is not only about Matryona's female share. Her voice is the voice of the people themselves. That is why Matrena Timofeevna sings more often, and the Peasant Woman is a chapter permeated with folklore motifs, almost entirely built on folk poetic images. The fate of the Nekrasov heroine is constantly expanding to the limits of the all-Russian. Nekrasov managed to combine the personal fate of the heroine with mass life, without identifying them. Because, unlike most peasant women, whose marriage was determined by the will of their parents, Matryona Timofeevna marries her beloved.

    Further, a picture of traditional family life in a peasant environment unfolds before us, the whole common life. As soon as Matryona entered her husband's family, all household duties immediately fell on her shoulders. Like any other Russian peasant woman, Matrena Timofeevna was brought up in respect for the older generation, so in the new family she unquestioningly obeyed the will of her husband and his parents. The seemingly unbearable work in the harsh peasant life becomes her everyday business, and the women's business.

    As you know, beatings in a peasant family were also quite common, however, the heroine of the play is by no means a downtrodden slave. For the rest of her life, the only case of a beating by her husband crashes into her memory. At the same time, a song was put into the heroine's mouth when telling about this, which, without distorting the heroine's individual biography, gives the phenomenon a broad typicality.

    Let us also recall the terrible tragedy of the loss of a child that Matryona Timofeevna experienced. Matryona was very upset by the death of her child, despite the ignorant aristocratic convictions that the peasants do not care about their children, because there are at least a dozen of them in each family. However, to the simple Russian heart of Matrena, like any other woman, all her children are dear, she wishes each of them a better life, she cares about everyone equally.

    Nekrasov constantly in his poem emphasizes the truly Christian humility of a simple Russian woman, who sometimes faces terrible, unbearable trials. However, Matryona Timofeevna relies on the will of God in everything, like thousands of other women with difficult fates. The heroine takes her life for granted, which is why she pronounces the answer to the question about the female share with deep worldly wisdom: the keys to female happiness are lost from God himself. So, we have before us a collective image of the majority of Russian women, devoted to their family with all their hearts, courageously carrying on their shoulders a huge burden of caring for their relatives and friends, and they carry their burden with incredible humility to fate, relying only on God and on themselves. Such is the female share of the Russian peasant woman, embodied in the person of Matryona Korchagina.

  2. Thank you, it helped, but you need to carefully write off, they can catch.
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/ / / The image of Matryona Timofeevna in Nekrasov’s poem “Who should live well in Russia”

The journey of the seven wanderers of the poem "" leads them to one of the estates of the landowner, which is completely ruined. The owner himself is away, abroad, and the manager of these territories is dying. The peasants, who have been serving all their lives, and now they are free, do not know at all what to do and where to go. Therefore, they slowly begin to disassemble and distribute the master's goods. And such a sad state of affairs was repeatedly observed by peasant peasants during their tour of Russian lands.

The whining and despair of the yard peasants is replaced by the sound of a song that comes from the lips of the reapers. It is here that the wanderers meet Matrena Timofeevna.

Before us, a beautiful woman of Slavic appearance. With gorgeous hair, with big eyes, with lush eyelashes. She is dressed in a clean, white outfit and a short sundress.

The image of Matrena Timofeevna is not often found among the population. Fate "rewarded" her with many trials. Living in places where men very often went to the city, the woman was forced to take on her shoulders an unbearable burden. And carry it with confidence! Such work brought her up strong, proud and independent.

Part of the poem "Peasant Woman" is narrated in the first person. Literary critics notice that Matrena Timofeevna speaks not only about herself, but about the entire Russian people. Her speech flows in the form of a song. And this once again confirms the inseparability of the people and folklore.

In the first chapter, Nekrasov introduces the reader to the matchmaking ceremony, which uses the original texts of folk songs. Using the example of the marriage of Matrena Timofeevna, Nikolai Alekseevich tried to convey a description of the events that sooner or later took place in the life of any girl.

In the second chapter, the heroine very often uses, sings songs, the text of which was not invented by the author, but smoothly borrowed from the creator - from the people themselves. And, again, the fate of the heroine concerns not only her, but is nationwide.

And with such a constant comparison, Matrena Timofeevna does not cease to exist as a separate character, with her own customs and character. With the efforts made, the heroine nevertheless achieved the release of her husband. However, further recruitment awaits him, which greatly upset the woman.

In the image of Matrena Timofeevna, Nikolai Nekrasov was able to combine all the conditions and situations that an ordinary Russian woman could fall into, and boldly survive them.

He did not carry a heart in his chest,
Who did not shed tears over you.

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 their 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 the “dignified 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 is why she sings more often than talks, sings folk songs. "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
The storm has passed,
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 her parents' house. 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, then misfortune happens to 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. The harsh conditions of life honed a special female character, proud and independent, accustomed to relying on her 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. Saves 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 - Nekrasov's artistic discovery - 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 a truly folk work, and this is its great significance.