Lord Golovlyov" by Saltykov-Shchedrin as a socio-psychological novel. Three generations in a novel

Saltykov-Shchedrin's socio-psychological novel The Golovlevs is dedicated to three generations of a landowner's family. Initially, the author did not plan to write a novel: for several years he published short stories, which later formed the basis of it. The novel was published as a separate book in 1880.

For better preparation for the literature lesson, as well as for the reader's diary, we recommend reading the online summary of the Golovlev Family chapter by chapter.

Main characters

Arina Petrovna Golovleva- a wealthy landowner, a hardworking, powerful and determined woman.

Vladimir Mikhailovich Golovlev- the head of the family, a soft and careless person.

Stepan- the eldest son of the Golovlevs, an irresponsible joker, not adapted to life.

Anna- a daughter who dishonored the family by marrying without parental consent. Mother of two twin girls - Anninka and Lubinka.

Porfiry- the son of Arina Petrovna, a vile and two-faced person who thinks only about his own benefit.

Paul- the youngest son, a closed, unsociable person.

Other characters

Anninka and Lubinka- granddaughters of Arina Petrovna, orphans.

Petenka and Volodenka- the sons of Porfiry Vladimirovich, who died early.

Evprakseyushka- a young housekeeper in the house of Porfiry Vladimirovich.

Chapter 1 Family Court

The manager of one of the estates of Arina Petrovna Golovleva comes to the mistress with a report. Having transferred all the cases, he reluctantly tells her important news - her son, Stepan Vladimirovich Golovlev, sold the Moscow house for debts. Arina Petrovna is depressed by what she heard - "this news, apparently, took away her consciousness."

Coming to her senses, the lady is indignant, because only two years ago she paid for this house "twelve thousand, like one penny", and now the police have sold it much cheaper.

Arina Petrovna has the reputation of a formidable, determined woman, accustomed to living according to her will. She "solely and uncontrollably manages the vast Golovlev estate", and even demands unquestioning obedience and submission from her own children.

Arina Petrovna's husband, Vladimir Mikhailovich Golovlev, is "a frivolous and drunken man." Unlike his serious and businesslike wife, from a young age he was distinguished by a careless character.

Arina Petrovna "had four children: three sons and a daughter." She did not even want to talk about her daughter and eldest son. The eldest son - Styopka - had the fame of a family jester because of his overly mischievous character. He is completely unsuited to life: he can play cards to the nines, get into exorbitant debts.

Daughter Annushka not only did not justify the hopes of Arina Petrovna, but also “made a scandal for the whole county” - she ran away from the family and, without parental blessing, married a young cornet. Deciding to get rid of her willful daughter, Arina Petrovna gave her the most seedy village and five thousand rubles. Two years later, Annushka's husband fled, leaving her alone "with two twin daughters: Anninka and Lyubinka". Three months later, Annushka herself died, and Arina Petrovna, against her will, was forced to shelter two orphans.

The third child of the Golovlevs, "Porfiry Vladimirych was known in the family under three names: Judas, blood-drinking and frank boy." From an early age, he fawned over his mother, and often lied to her. Arina Petrovna, being a not stupid woman, saw all his tricks, and the very sight of her son "raised in her heart a vague alarm of something mysterious, unkind."

The complete opposite of Porfiry was the youngest child in the family - Pavlusha. From an early age, he did not show interest in anything, he avoided everyone, "he loved to live apart, in alienation from people." Over time, Pavel Vladimirovich formed an "apathetic and mysteriously gloomy personality", completely devoid of the desire for any actions.

Arina Petrovna understands that the eldest son, after selling the Moscow house for a pittance, plans to return to the parental estate. However, the inevitable human gossip haunts her, and she decides to "convene a family council to decide the booby's fate."

Upon the arrival of her sons, at first she “complained and was touched by herself,” but after that she got down to business. Pavel did not condemn his brother, while Porfiry offered his mother to allow him to live in Golovlev, but not to allocate anything else to him.

According to the decision made at the family council, Stepan settles in the parental estate, but not in the house itself, but in a separate office. He does not dine at a common table, but with the servants, eating leftovers from the master's kitchen. A gray and dull life leads to the fact that Stepan finally becomes an inveterate drunkard and falls into a gloomy, painful state. Some time later, Stepan dies, and the mother, with hypocritical sadness, reports to her sons about his rich and magnificent burial.

Chapter 2

After ten years, Arina Petrovna became "a modest host in the house of her youngest son." Hardly survived her husband and, especially, the abolition of serfdom, she lost her former firmness and determination. The old lady divided the estate between the two brothers, while "Porfiry Vladimirych was allocated the best part, and Pavel Vladimirych the worse."

At first, Arina Petrovna lived with Porfiry in the Golovlevo estate he inherited as a manager. But, unable to withstand the exorbitant greed of her son, she moved to Pavel in Dubrovino.

Pavel Vladimirovich accepted his mother and orphans-nieces, but only on the condition that they did not interfere either in his life or in the management of the household.

Pavel Vladimirovich's addiction to drinking becomes the cause of a fatal illness. After examining the patient, the doctor declares that he has no more than two days to live. Arina Petrovna hopes that Pavel will sign a will for the benefit of the orphans, but the doctor says that he is in such a state that "he cannot sign names by way." The woman is in despair - after the death of Paul, all his property, according to the law, will pass to the scoundrel Porfiry.

Judas arrives in Dubrovino with his sons Petenka and Volodenka. He is interested in his brother's health, expressing hypocritical concern with his whole appearance. The boys tell their grandmother about the terrible nature of their impossibly stingy father.

With the death of Pavel Vladimirovich, all his property passes to Judas. Arina Petrovna with her granddaughters is forced to move to the poor village of Pogorelka, which she once gave to her daughter Anna.

Chapter 3

In Pogorelka, Arina Petrovna tries to take on the household with the same zeal, but "senile infirmities" noticeably dampen her ardor. The hateful autumn evenings in the village are increasingly suggesting to the sisters - "by all means leave the hateful Pogorelka." They leave for Kharkov and become actresses.

With the departure of the girls, "the Pogorelkovsky house plunged into some kind of hopeless silence." The old lady, in order to save money, dismisses almost all the servants. Arina Petrovna's permanent companions are "helpless loneliness and dull idleness".

A fatal mistake - the separation of her sons and complete trust in Judas - leads to the fact that Arina Petrovna, once a strong and powerful woman, is ready to come to terms with the miserable fate of the accustomer.

She begins to visit Golovlevo more and more often, and Porfiry, although he is not happy with these visits, does not dare to refuse his mother, fearing her curse. It is this fear that stops "him from many dirty tricks, of which he was a great master".

With age, Porfiry Petrovich's bad inclinations become even more aggravated. He refuses to help his son Peter when he, having spent state money, is under the threat of Siberian exile. In desperation, Peter reminds his father of Volodya, who was driven to suicide by his father's greed. Arina Petrovna, being a witness to this conversation, curses Judas.

Chapter 4

Despite all expectations, Porfiry Vladimirovich "endured the mother's curse quite calmly" and did nothing to help Peter. The day after her grandson's departure, "Arina Petrovna left for Pogorelka and never returned to Golovlevo." The old lady quickly fades away and dies alone. All her capital goes to the full disposal of Judas.

Peter tries for the last time to ask his father for money, for which he is refused and advised to humbly endure a just punishment. Soon Porfiry Vladimirovich receives news of the death of his son.

Anninka unexpectedly arrives in Golovlevo - a beautiful young woman who involuntarily admires even Porfiry Vladimirovich with her appearance.

At grandma's grave, Anninka is seized with a desire to live a little in a quiet, God-forgotten Pogorelka. Her dissolute life as an actress flashes before her eyes, and the girl wants to live a little in silence, away from the vulgarity surrounding her.

But, remembering that terrible longing from which she and her sister had fled, Anninka changes her mind and intends to return to Moscow. The uncle persuades the girl to stay with him, but such a prospect frightens her. The housekeeper shares with Anninka that when looking at her, the owner's "shameless eyes just run around." The girl leaves Golovlevo with great relief and promises her uncle that she will never return here again.

Chapter 5

Shortly before the sad story with Peter, Arina Petrovna notices that his housekeeper Evprakseyushka is in an interesting position. She asks the young woman in detail about her well-being, gives good advice.

The lady is trying to talk to her son on such a sensitive topic, but he avoids talking in every possible way. Yudushka is very glad that "he is not disturbed and that Arina Petrovna took an ardent part in the difficult circumstances for him."

However, the hopes of Judas were not destined to come true because of the death of his mother. Fearing gossip, he stops all communication with Evpraksia. After the birth of his son Vladimir, he thinks for several days about what to do so that everything is "good".

While "the young mother was rushing about in the heat and delirium," Judas gave the order to send her newborn son to a Moscow foster home.

Chapter 6

Porfiry understands that he was left completely alone - "some died, others left." The only person connecting him with the outside world is Evprakseyushka. But after the vile removal of her child, her attitude towards the owner changed.

For the first time she realized that her youth was irretrievably leaving in the company of an old boring old man. Evpraksinya began to walk with young guys, to ignore her duties at home. In her "hatred appeared, the desire to annoy, spoil life, lime" the master.

Recently, Porfiry Vladimirovich has gone completely wild, and only wanted one thing - that he "would not be disturbed in his last refuge - in the office." Only here he could enthusiastically indulge in his fantasies - "mentally torture, ruin, deprive, suck blood."

Chapter 7. Calculation

Anninka unexpectedly appears in Golovlev. But there was no trace of the former beauty and freshness - it was "some kind of weak, frail creature with a hollow chest, sunken cheeks, with an unhealthy blush." After the suicide of her sister, who could not stand the humiliating life of a cheap courtesan, Anninka decides to return to her uncle. She is very ill and has very little time left to live.

Immeasurably lowered, miserable, sick, she walks around her uncle's house, remembering her former life. Passionately wanting to forget herself, she soon begins to drink, and after a while her uncle joins her.

At the end of the journey of life, Judas "conscience woke up, but fruitlessly." He realized how much harm he had caused to his loved ones, but there was no one to ask for forgiveness. Porfiry Vladimirovich died on the way to his mother's grave. Anninka did not survive him long, being caught in a fever.

All the tragedies in the Golovlyov family are closely monitored by Nadezhda Ivanovna, their distant relative and the only legitimate heir.

Conclusion

In his work, Saltykov-Shchedrin reveals many important topics, including the lack of love and understanding in the family, stinginess, meanness and betrayal of the closest people, drunkenness and idleness. Together, all these vices lead to the complete destruction of the once large and prosperous family.

After a brief retelling of "Lord Golovlev", we recommend reading Saltykov-Shchedrin's novel in its entirety.

Novel test

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Subject: Three generations of the Golovlyov family. Image of Judas.

Target: 1) on the example of the images of the Golovlev family, show how the writer reveals the process of spiritual degradation of the personality; 2) to develop the ability to analyze the actions of the heroes of the work, to draw conclusions; 3) foster respect for family values.

Equipment : presentation, excerpt from the film - the play "Golovlevs" (Maly Theater 1978)

Lesson type : lesson-seminar

During the classes:

organizational stage. Theme and purpose of the lesson -slide 1

Introduction by the teacher. In the previous lesson, we talked about the history of the creation of the novel "Golovlevs". And they learned that the work was published in separate stories, episodes: “Family Court”, “Family Joys”, “In a Kindred Way”, “Family Results”. All the titles of the chapters are directly connected with family thought, and the head of the family, Arina Petrovna, does not leave the word "family" on her lips.

Compilation of an associative series to the word "family". What associations arise about you when you hear this word? (notebook entry)

So what is a family? A family is a small group based on marriage or consanguinity, whose members are connected by common life, mutual assistance, moral and legal responsibility.

And what, in your opinion, is the formula for family happiness? The formula of family happiness is love between spouses + love between parents and children + material well-being ...

What does the Golovlev family lack according to this formula? Shchedrin shows the destruction of the Golovlev family, doomed to extinction. What brings the Golovlyov family to a tragic end? Let's try to figure this out.

And we will begin our work by getting acquainted with the life history of each member of the Golovlev family. Who are gentlemen? Does this meaning of the word correspond with our heroes?

Arina Petrovna Golovleva(student's message) - slide 2. (p. 9 text) Students make up a cluster, reflecting in it the character traits of the heroine, her life position.

Arina Petrovna: a sovereign mistress, despotic, acquisitive, rude, used to commanding everyone and everyone, a hypocrite, a hypocrite, an “extra mouth”, a creature alien to everyone, leading a hateful, useless life. - slide 3.

In the collection of “weak people” of the Golovlev family, Arina Petrovna Golovlyova is an exception. An imperious and energetic woman, she flashed like an “accidental meteor” against the backdrop of “hopeless trouble”, “badness” and the drunken turmoil of the Golovlev family. The sovereign mistress of the house, she despotically and uncontrollably governs the peasants and households. Her whole life is devoted to acquisition. All her life the word "family" did not leave her tongue, but in the end it turns out that she never had a family. Her husband, a careless and mischievous man, led an idle life and was completely alien to her. She did not call him otherwise than "windmill" and "stringless balalaika." Children for her are a burden, they "did not affect any side of her inner being." She feeds her orphan granddaughters with rotten corned beef, pursues them with reproaches: hateful, beggars, parasites, insatiable wombs. She tyrannizes the yard, eats food; households tremble before her. Golovlevo, owned by Arina Petrovna, appears to her son Stepan as a "coffin". “She will seize me,” he thinks of his mother ... There is no one to say words to, nowhere to run - she is everywhere, domineering, numbing, despising. Rudeness and the habit of commanding are perfectly expressed in her speech, in an effort to give others nicknames, offensive nicknames. “Speak! don't wag your tail... a lot of money!" she orders the steward. “What am I going to do without my toadstools?” - she worries at the first rumors about the abolition of serfdom. To the steward, who reports that Stepan Vladimirovich is “not good,” she replies: “Probably, he will catch his breath, he will outlive us with you! what will happen to him, the lanky stallion! Coughing! another has been coughing for thirty years in a row, and it’s the same as water off a duck’s back!” Rudeness is combined in her character with hypocrisy and hypocrisy. Fearing bad fame, condemnation from neighbors, she takes orphaned granddaughters to her house and at the same time says: “God has a lot of mercy ... orphans of bread God knows what they will eat, but in my old age - consolation. God took one daughter, gave two! And at the same time he writes to his son Porfiry: “As your sister lived dissolutely, she died, leaving her two puppies on my neck ...” The image of Arina Petrovna is a typical image. Such characters inevitably arose and developed in the conditions of the estate economy, the uncontrolled disposal of the lives and property of hundreds and thousands of serfs. Such natures could not adapt to the new conditions of life. With the abolition of serfdom, “the family stronghold erected by the tireless hands of Arina Petrovna” collapses, and she herself becomes a host in the house of her youngest son. This change also affected her appearance: “Her head drooped, her back hunched, her eyes went out, her tread became lethargic, the impetuousness of her movements disappeared.” The nature of her speech is also changing, which has now become flattering, pleading. The former sovereign mistress of a huge estate becomes an "extra mouth", a creature alien to everyone, leading a hateful, useless life. After the performance - checking the clusters.

Let's see who the family of Arina Petrovna consists of. The story of Vladimir Mikhailovich ( student message) – slide 4. (p. 10 text) Building a cluster. Vladimir Mikhailych: careless, idler, mischievous character, composed "free poems", "windmill", "stringless balalaika" - slide 4

The head of the Golovlev family, Vladimir Mikhailovich, was known from a young age for his careless and mischievous character .... He led an idle and idle life, most often locked himself in his office, imitated the singing of starlings, roosters, etc. and was engaged in composing the so-called "free poems", which Arina Petrovna did not like and called clowning. He called his wife “witch” and “devil”, his wife called her husband “windmill” and “stringless balalaika” ... “Being in such a relationship, they enjoyed life together for more than forty years, and never either one or the other it never occurred to me that such a life contained anything unnatural. (Checking the cluster)

"A little happier was Arina Petrovna in children." She had four children: three sons and a daughter. “She didn’t even like to talk about her eldest son and daughter; she was more or less indifferent to her youngest son, and only the middle one, Porfish, she did not really love, but seemed to be afraid. The story of Stepan Vladimirych(student's message) - slide 6. Cluster: Stepan Vladimirych: Styopka-stupid, Styopka-mischievous, jester,accustomed, hateful, gifted fellow, impressionable, intelligent man.

(checking the cluster - slide 7) Text page 11

Stepan Vladimirych, the eldest son, was known in the family under the names of Styopka the Stooge and Styopka the mischievous. He very early fell into the number of "hateful" and from childhood he played the role of a jester in the house. He was a gifted fellow, too eager and quick to perceive impressions. Of the young Golovlevs, he is the most gifted, impressionable and intelligent person who received a university education and a Ph.D. A capable young man receives a university degree, but does not want to work, becomes a homestay and a beggar for rich peasants in his mother's serf town. He squandered the profitable house given to him as an inheritance, and joined the militia. But even there it turned out to be unsuitable. All this physically and morally wore him out, made him a man who lives with the feeling that he, like a worm, is about to "die of hunger." And in front of him is the only fatal road - to his native, but hateful Golovlevo, to bow to his mother. On this slide, we see how a hateful person walks through Golovlev's land, along that hateful land that gave birth to him hateful, nurtured him hateful, let him out hateful, and accepts the hateful again into his bosom. “Stepan Golovlev is not yet forty years old, but in appearance he cannot be given less than fifty. Life has worn him out to such an extent that he did not leave any sign of a noble son on him. Stepan's fate is a half-starved existence, loneliness, complete oblivion ("he has no one to say words to, nowhere to run"), the absence of at least some faith, spiritual strength, hard drinking and death.

A story about Anna, the eldest in the family after Stepan. Text page 13. – read.

After Stepan Vladimirovich, the eldest member of the Golovlev family was a daughter, Anna Vladimirovna, about whom Arina Petrovna did not like to talk.

“The fact is that Annushka not only did not live up to her hopes, but instead of that, she created a scandal for the whole county: one fine night, she fled from Golovlev with the cornet Ulanov and married him.

So without parental blessing, as the dogs got married! - Arina Petrovna complained about this occasion ... And Arina Petrovna acted with her daughter just as decisively as with her hateful son: she took it and "thrown her a piece." She separated her capital of five thousand and the village of Pogorelka in thirty souls fell O I was an estate in which there was a draft from all the windows and there was not a single living floorboard. Two years later, the young capital lived, and the cornet fled to no one knows where, leaving Anna Vladimirovna with two daughters - twins: Anninka and Lyubinka. Then Anna Vladimirovna herself died three months later, and Arina Petrovna, willy-nilly, had to shelter the orphans at home. Which she did by placing the little ones in the wing.”

5) Younger children: Pavel and Porfiry. The story of Paul student's message )

Text p. 15. Cluster: Pavel: “didn’t offend anyone”, “didn’t say a rude word to anyone”, “didn’t look askance at anyone”, he was afraid of his mother like fire” (checking the cluster-slide 8)

The youngest son Pavel “as a boy did not express the slightest inclination either for learning, or for games, or for sociability, but he loved to live apart, in estrangement from people.” Maybe he was kind, but did no good to anyone, maybe he was not stupid, but in his whole life he did not commit a single smart deed. To top it off, he often snapped at his mother and at the same time was afraid of her like fire. After Arina Petrovna moved to him in Dubrovino, Pavel Vladimirych received her rather tolerably, that is, he undertook to feed and water her and her orphans - nieces. But Pavel Vladimirovich drank. Passion received that terrible development which was bound to lead to an inevitable end. Secluded with himself, Pavel Vladimirych began to hate the company of living people and created for himself a special fantastic reality ... He drank and remembered. He recalled all the insults and humiliations that he had to endure thanks to Porfiry's claim to headship in the house. In particular, he remembered the division of property, counted every penny, compared every piece of land and hated it. In this way day after day passed, until, at last, Pavel Vladimirovich found himself face to face with a mortal illness. During his lifetime, no one paid attention to Pavel Vladimirych, with his death, everyone felt sorry for him. It was recalled that he “didn’t offend anyone”, “didn’t say a rude word to anyone”, “didn’t look at anyone askance”. It is very possible that in the worldly assessment of the qualities of the late Paul, the comparison with Porphyry was also unclear. How does this person make you feel? Why?

The favorite son of Arina Petrovna is Porfiry Vladimirych Golovlev, the prototype of which was the brother of M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin Dmitry . The Story of Porfiry(student's message) - slide 9. Text p. 14. Cluster: Porfiry Golovlev: Judas, blood-drinking, frank boy, hypocrite, idle talker, liar, predator, "well-bred son", "caring brother", "child-loving father". (checking the cluster - slide 10). This man has chosen hypocrisy as his weapon. Under the guise of a sweet and sincere person, he achieves his goals, collects tribal property around him. His low soul rejoices at the troubles of his brothers and sisters, and when they die, he takes sincere pleasure in dividing property. In relations with his children, he also thinks about money first of all - and his sons cannot stand it. At the same time, Porfiry never allows himself to say rudeness or causticity. He is polite, feignedly sweet and caring, endlessly reasoning, spreading honeyed speeches, weaving verbal intrigues. People see his deceit, but succumb to it. Even Arina Petrovna herself cannot resist them. But at the end of the novel, Judas also comes to his fall. He becomes incapable of anything but idle talk. For days on end, he gets bored with all the conversations that no one listens to. If the servant turns out to be sensitive to his "verbiage" and nit-picking, then he tries to run away from the owner. The tyranny of Yudushka is becoming more and more petty, he also drinks, like the deceased brothers, for entertainment, he remembers petty offenses or minimal miscalculations in the economy all day long in order to “talk” them. Meanwhile, the real economy does not develop, falls into disrepair and decline. At the end of the novel, a terrible insight descends on Judas: “We need to forgive everyone ... What ... what happened?! Where is…everyone?!” But the family, divided by hatred, coldness and the inability to forgive, has already been destroyed.

Fragment from the film-performance "Lord Golovlyovs" (Maly Theater 1978) "Judas at the bedside of the dying Pavel" (46 minutes) What are your impressions? It seems that Porfiry came to his brother with kindness and consolation, trying to cheer him up, kneeling down, praying, but in fact he is interested in one question: did the brother make an order about the estate? Who will get the capital?

The role of the portrait of Judas in revealing the image:

His face "was bright, tender, breathing with humility and joy", sometimes it "turned pale and took on a menacing expression."

His eyes "shone", "exuded bewitching poison", "throw a noose".

The look "the gaze seemed enigmatic".

Name secret: Judas - the one who hides the accumulation of vices (hypocrisy, meanness, idle talk, ruthlessness, worthlessness) under the guise of virtue.

"Behind the Mask of Virtue". Three masks of Judas

"A BEAUTIFUL SON": Feigned respect as a way to get a tasty morsel - this is the simplest truth that sunk into the childish soul of Porfishy, ​​developing more and more in the future, made him a hypocrite-predator. If in childhood Yudushka received the best pieces at the table for filial devotion, then later he received the “best part” for this when dividing the estate. He became the owner of Golovlev, took all the capital of his mother into his hands, doomed this once formidable and powerful mistress to abandonment and lonely dying, while remembering Christ through every word and accompanying his vile deeds with prayers and pious speeches. He became the master of all Golovlev's riches.

"CARING BROTHER": The most selfless champion of justice, a peacemaker in words, calling for everything to be resolved “smoothly and peacefully”, Judas incites civil strife in the family, acting “kindred”, “divinely”, “according to the law”. He is a hypocrite, an idle talker, covering up his insidious plans against relatives with feigned affectionate chatter about trifles. At the same time, he does not say what he thinks, he does not say what he does. Striking is the contradiction between the well-intentioned reasoning and the dirty aspirations of Judas. He pretends to be a loving brother - and watches with pleasure the death of Stepan and Pavel, taking their capital into his hands. The blood-drinker keeps the relatives around him in fear, dominates them, defeats them and brings them death.

"CHILD-LOVING FATHER": Judas Golovlyov was incapable of "not only affection, but also simple regret." His moral stiffness was so great that, without the slightest shudder, he dooms each of his three sons in turn to death. The eldest son Vladimir committed suicide, marrying without his father's consent. Peter dies in Siberia, having not received help from his father in paying off a gambling debt. He sends the youngest son, born from a maid, to an orphanage, to which the child, most likely, did not reach. Judas throws the guys into life like puppies into the water, and leaves them to "swim up", not caring about their future fate.

Working with a table which reflects the character traits of Judas, which are not inherent in him, this is just a mask. I propose to indicate the true face of the protagonist of the novel.

Reference words: selfishness; immorality; cruel and inhuman, absolutely unjust and wrong acts of thought; neglect of the most important Christian commandments; empty breeze; loafer; anger, indifference .

MASK

TRUE FACE

Anger, indifference

Love for others, kindred feelings

"Correct" and "fair" reasoning

cruel and inhuman, absolutely unfair and wrong actions

high moral morality

immorality

Religious, God-fearing person

disregard for the most important Christian commandments

Worker (eternal and indefatigable)

idler, idler

Conclusion: Judas is prone to idle talk, he is overcome by acquisitiveness, hoarding, combined with eternal pretense, a passion for tormenting his victims. In Yudushka one can discern the monstrous stinginess of Plyushkin, and the predatory fight of Sobakevich, and the miserable hoarding of Korobochka, and the sugary idle talk of Manilov, and the shameless lies of Nozdryov, and even the picaresque ingenuity of Chichikov. But his main weapon is hypocrisy. He lies endlessly and immediately assures with an oath: "I love the truth." He is vindictive and vindictive, but claims: "I forgive everyone." Causing evil to everyone around him, he declares: "I wish good to everyone." Belated conscience returned to Porfiry Vladimirovich, and the author proves this with his attitude towards the hero. Toward the end of the novel, he practically does not call him Judas. The hero sincerely understands that with the death of his mother, the last thread connecting him with the outside world breaks. All the dead relatives pass before his eyes, and human feelings manifest themselves to the last creature from the Golovlev family - Anninka. “You must forgive me! for everyone… And for myself… for those who don’t exist!” The author could not allow reconciliation with evil. Evil cannot go unpunished, and the worst punishment is a belated conscience. That is why this satirical novel has tragic motives. These problems are eternal, the more a person forgets the true values ​​of life: kindness, love, mutual assistance, honest work - the more irrevocably the conscience leaves him, the more terrible is the retribution for the past.

A story about the young generation of the Golovlyov family: Volodenka, Petenka, Anninka, Lyubinka(student messages) - slide 11Yudushka's nieces are representatives of the last generation of the Golovlevs. They try to escape from the oppressive atmosphere of the family, at first they succeed. They work, play in the theater and are proud of it. But they were not accustomed to consistent, persistent activity. Nor were they accustomed to moral stamina and firmness in life. Lubinka is ruined by her cynicism and prudence, taken from her grandmother, and she herself pushes her sister into the abyss. From actresses, the “Pogorelsky sisters” become kept women, then almost prostitutes. Anninka, morally purer, more sincere, disinterested and kind-hearted, stubbornly clings to life. But she, too, breaks down, and after Lyubinka's suicide, sick and drinking, she returns to Golovlevo, "to die."

How does the composition of the novel help to understand its ideological content?

Each chapter ends with the death of one of the Golovlevs. “Family Court” - Stepan Vladimirovich dies, “By Kindred” - Pavel Vladimirovich and Vladimir Mikhailovich die, “Family Results” - the suicide of Volodya, the son of Porfiry Golovlev, “Niece” - Arina Petrovna and Peter, the last son of Porfiry, die, “Calculation ”- Porfiry Golovlev dies, Lyubinka commits suicide, the last of the Golovlev family, Anninka, dies. The circular composition of the novel ends with the fact that Nadezhda Ivanovna Galkina, the daughter of Aunt Varvara Mikhailovna, was vigilantly watching the Golovlev estate, and the author speaks about this with pain in his soul, since we can assume that the passion for hoarding will destroy the following characters.

What impression did this work make on you?

Is the novel relevant today? How?

The problem of human relations, posed in the novel, is relevant at all times, especially today, when money becomes the main value. People are in such conditions in which they are forced to put conscience, shame and pride in the background in order to survive in this cruel world.

Stage of information about d / z: write an essay“What lessons did you get by passing through your soul the story of the heroes of the novel“ Lord Golovlyov ”

In Shchedrin's novel, three generations of the Golovlev family pass before the reader: Arina Petrovna, her children and grandchildren. In the first generation, the family still seems strong. Arina Petrovna, with her characteristic energy and enterprise, lays the foundations of Golovlev's prosperity. But even then, natural human relations are violated in the family. The abolition of serfdom accelerates the process of decomposition - and in the second generation the traits of "escheat", doom become more noticeable. The children of Arina Petrovna turn out to be unsuitable for life. Annushka, Stepan, a talented man in his own way, who even graduated from the university, but did not have the internal strength to resist the rotten environment surrounding him, are dying, his brother Pavel dies ...

Arina Petrovna herself was forced to admit that her exclusive service to the family was in fact a service to a ghost, which she herself created: “All her life she arranged something, she was killing herself over something, but it turns out that she was killing herself over a ghost. All her life the word "family" did not leave her tongue, in the name of the family she executed some, rewarded others; in the name of the family, she subjected herself to hardships, tortured herself, mutilated her whole life - and suddenly it turns out that she doesn’t have a family!”

Even more clearly the seal of doom is manifested in the third generation, which perishes very young. Against this background, the sinister figure of the middle son of Arina Petrovna, Porfiry, nicknamed Judas, grows. The image of Judas is the personification of predation, greed, hypocrisy. He, who killed all his loved ones - mother, brothers, children, nieces, dooms himself to inevitable death. Shchedrin shows how law, law, morality, religion served Judas and others like him as a screen. Porfiry is hypocritical all the time - not only in front of others, but also in front of himself, he is hypocritical even when it does not bring him any practical benefit. Shchedrin specifically emphasized that this was not the hypocrisy of Molière's Tartuffe. Tartuffe lies consciously, pursuing his definite and specific goal, and Judas "is not so much a hypocrite as a dirty trick, a liar and an empty talker."

The example of Yudushka clearly shows what role Shchedrin's speech characteristic plays in creating a satirical image. So, appearing to the dying brother Pavel, Judas literally plagues him with his sickening and unctuous idle talk - all the more disgusting because it is seasoned with "related" words formed with the help of diminutive suffixes: "mother", "friend", "cushion". ”,“ some water ”and even“ wooden butter.

In real life, Judas was by no means always able to fully quench his thirst for money-grubbing, his tendency to tyranny. Then he creates for himself a kind of fantastic world in which he “invariably reached the point of intoxication; The ground disappeared from under his feet. material from the site

Just before his death, “the terrible truth lit up his conscience, but it lit up late, to no avail, even when there was only an irrevocable and irreparable fact before his eyes. So he grew old, went wild, stands with one foot in the grave, and there is no creature in the world that would approach him, would “pity” him. Why is he alone? Why does he see around him not only indifference, but also hatred? Why did everything that touched him die? There is an awakening of a feral conscience, which is a tragic element. It is no coincidence that while working on The Golovlevs, Shchedrin admitted that he "would like to try the tragic." The motive of insight became the leading one in the novel. The insight that overtakes each member of the Golovlev family becomes a kind of judgment of conscience, moral retribution.

In Gentlemen of the Golovlevs, Shchedrin almost never uses the techniques characteristic of The History of a City. Instead of satirical grotesque, hyperbole, fantasy, the writer uses the method of psychological analysis, closely examines the inner world of his characters, especially Yudushka Golovlev. Psychological analysis is carried out with the help of a complex interweaving of the characters' speech structure with the author's assessment of their thoughts and experiences. The author's beginning is invariably felt throughout the book.

For all its concreteness, the image of Judas has become the broadest artistic generalization.

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The Golovlev family in the novel by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin "The Golovlevs"

The novel by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin was not originally conceived as an independent work, but was included in the series of satirical essays “Well-meaning Speeches”. When working on this work, the writer's attention was focused on the individual psychological characteristics of the characters, behind which social class characteristics are hidden. Some literary critics define the genre of this work as a family chronicle. But... Reading the novel, we see how gradually, from chapter to chapter, the fate of the Golovlevs takes shape: Arina Petrovna, her husband, daughter and sons, children of Judas, nieces. Each chapter of the novel has a capacious speaking title: "Family Court", "According to Kindred", "Family Results", "Niece", "Unlawful Family Joys", "Eschema", "Calculation". Of the seven titles, the first five are directly related to the theme of the family, family relations, but in fact contain a hidden ironic, satirical allusion to the collapse of the Golovlev family.

The novel begins with a “truly tragic cry” from Arina Rodionovna: “And for whom did I store up! .. for whom? .. And into whom did I turn such monsters!” Arina Petrovna, an independent, domineering woman, with an uncompromising character, not accustomed to listening to other people's opinions. Her whole life is devoted to rounding off the Golovlevsky estate, to hoarding. Her stinginess borders on greed: despite the fact that barrels of food disappear in the cellars, her son Stepan eats leftovers, she feeds her orphan granddaughters with sour milk. Everything that Arina Petrovna does, she, in her opinion, does in the name of the family. The word "family" does not leave her tongue, but in fact it turns out that she lives incomprehensibly even for what and for whom. Her husband "led an idle and idle life", and for Arina Petrovna, "always distinguished by seriousness and efficiency, he did not represent anything pretty."

The relationship between the spouses ended with “complete and contemptuous indifference to the jester husband” on the part of Arina Petrovna and “sincere hatred for his wife” with a significant amount of cowardice on the part of Vladimir Mikhailovich. She called him “windmill” and “stringless balalaika”, he called her “witch” and “devil”. But this did not prevent Arina Petrovna from giving birth to four children: three sons and one daughter. But even in children, she saw only a burden: “in her eyes, children were one of those fatalistic life situations, against the totality of which she did not consider herself entitled to protest, but which, nevertheless, did not touch a single string of her inner being ...” The author sees wearing in her "too independent" and "bachelor nature". Children were not allowed to any family affairs, “she did not even like to talk about her eldest son and daughter; she was more or less indifferent to her youngest son, and only the middle one, Porfish, was not so much loved, but seemed to be afraid.

The eldest son, Stepan, "was known in the family under the name Styopka the Stooge and Styopka the mischievous one." “... He was a gifted fellow, too willingly and quickly perceived the impressions that the environment produced. From his father, he adopted inexhaustible mischief, from his mother - the ability to quickly guess the weaknesses of people. "Constant humiliation" on the part of his mother caused in his soft nature "not anger, not protest, but formed a slavish character, accommodating to buffoonery, not knowing a sense of proportion and devoid of any forethought." We meet Stepan on the pages of the novel at the moment when the estate allocated to him by his mother is sold for debts, and he himself has a hundred rubles in his pocket. “With this capital, he went up to speculation, that is, to play cards, and in a short time lost everything. Then he began to walk around the wealthy peasants of his mother, who lived in Moscow on their own farm; from whom he dined, from whom he begged for a quarter of tobacco, from whom he borrowed little things. But finally, I had to return to Golovlevo, to my mother. Stepan's way home is the way of a man doomed to death. He understands that his mother will "seize" him now; “one thought fills his entire being to the brim: three or four more hours - and there will be nowhere to go further ...”; “It seems to him that the doors of a damp basement are dissolving before him, that as soon as he steps over the threshold of these doors, they will now slam shut - and then it will all be over.” The sight of the manor's estate, peacefully looking out from behind the trees, reminded Stepan of a coffin.

A distinctive feature of Arina Petrovna (and later of Judas) was that she tried her best to keep outward decorum. Therefore, after the arrival of Stepan, she calls the rest of her sons, Pavel and Porfiry, to the family court. It is absolutely clear that she needs the presence of her sons only to create the illusion that the decision that will be made at the family court is collective: “... what position they will advise you among themselves - so I will do with you. I don’t want to take sin on my soul, but as the brothers decide, so be it!”). All of this is a farce designed to justify her further actions. From the very beginning, a comedy is played out: “Arina Petrovna met her sons solemnly, dejected by grief. Two girls held her by the arms; gray hair was knocked out from under a white cap, his head drooped and swayed from side to side, his legs barely dragged. By decision of the “family” court, Stepan was left to live in the wing, he ate what was left from dinner, received “papa’s old robe” and slippers from clothes. Loneliness, idleness, malnutrition, forced sitting within four walls, drunkenness - all this led to a clouding of the mind. When Arina Petrovna was once informed that Stepan Vladimirovich disappeared from the estate at night, only then did she see the conditions in which her son lived: “The room was dirty, black, slushy ... The ceiling was sooty, the wallpaper on the walls cracked and hung in many places shredded, the window sills blackened under a thick layer of tobacco ash, the pillows lay on the floor covered with sticky mud, a crumpled sheet lay on the bed, all gray from the sewage that had settled on it. Until that moment, even reports that Stepan was “not good” “slip past her ears, leaving no impression in her mind”: “I suppose she will catch her breath, she will outlive us with you! What is he, a lanky stallion, doing! ..». While the search continued, Arina Petrovna was more angry that “there was such a mess because of the dunce” than she was worried about where her son could go in November, in just a dressing gown and shoes. After Stepan was brought in “in a semi-conscious state”, with only cuts, “with a blue and swollen face”, Arina Petrovna “felt so emotional that she almost ordered him to be transferred from the office to the manor’s house, but then calmed down and again left the dunce in office..."

I believe that Stepan was ruined by the whole family: Pavel, by his non-interference in the fate of his brother: “Well, to me! Will you listen to me?"; Judas - by betrayal (he dissuaded his mother from throwing out another "piece"), Arina Petrovna by cruelty. The mother does not understand that her son is seriously ill, but only worries about how Stepan would not burn down the estate. His death gives her a reason to once again teach life: “... Since the evening before, he was completely healthy and even had dinner, and the next morning he was found dead in bed - such is the transience of this life! And what is most regrettable for a mother’s heart: so, without parting words, he left this vain world ... Let this serve as a lesson to all of us: whoever neglects family ties should always expect such an end for himself. And failures in this life, and vain death, and eternal torment in the next life - everything comes from this source. For, no matter how high-minded and even noble we are, if we don’t honor our parents, then they will turn our arrogance and nobility into nothing ... ".

Daughter Anna Vladimirovna not only did not live up to the hopes of her mother, who hoped to “make a gifted house secretary and accountant out of her”, but also “made a scandal for the whole county”: “one fine night she fled from Golovlev with cornet Ulanov and married him.” Her fate is also sad. Her mother gave her "a village of thirty souls with a fallen estate, in which there was a draft from all the windows and there was not a single living floorboard." Having lived all the capital in two years, the husband fled, leaving Anna with two twin daughters. Anna Vladimirovna died three months later, and Arina Petrovna “willy-nilly had to shelter the complete orphans at home,” about which she wrote in a letter to Porfiry: “As your sister lived dissolutely, she died, leaving me on the neck of her two puppies "... If Arina Petrovna could have foreseen that she herself, in her old age, all alone, would happen to live in that estate!

Arina Petrovna is a complex nature. Her greedy acquisitive passion drowned out everything human in her. Talking about the family has become just a habit and self-justification (so that it doesn’t hurt you yourself, and so that evil tongues don’t reproach you). The author's sympathy for the once omnipotent landowner is felt in the depiction of her greatly changed position, in the transmission of previously unknown feelings: “All her life she arranged something, she was killing herself over something, but it turns out that she was killing herself over a ghost. All her life the word "family" did not leave her tongue; in the name of the family, she executed some, rewarded others; in the name of her family, she subjected herself to hardships, tortured herself, disfigured her whole life - and suddenly it turns out that she doesn’t have a family! the greasy collar of an old cotton blouse. It was something bitter, full of hopelessness and, at the same time, powerlessly obstinate... Anguish, mortal anguish seized her whole being. Nauseous! bitterly! - that's the only explanation she could give to her tears.

The youngest, Pavel, was a man devoid of any deeds, showing not the slightest inclination either for learning, or for games, or for sociability, who loved to live apart and fantasize. Moreover, these were absolutely delusional fantasies: “that he ate oatmeal, that his legs became thin from this, and he does not study,” etc. Over the years, that apathetic and mysteriously gloomy personality was formed from him, from which the result is a person devoid of deeds. Maybe he was kind, but did no good to anyone; maybe he was not stupid, but in his whole life he did not commit a single smart deed. From his mother, he inherited obstinacy, sharpness in judgments. Paul was not a master at weaving words (unlike Porphyry). In his mother’s letters, he is short to the point of sharpness, straightforward to the extreme and tongue-tied: “Money, so much for such and such a period, dear parent, I received, and, according to my calculation, I should receive six and a half more, in which I ask you to honor me sorry." Just like his father and brother Stepan, Pavel was prone to alcoholism. Perhaps, against the background of drunkenness, he developed a hatred for the "society of living people", and especially for Porfiry, who, after the division of property, got Golovlevo, and he had a worse estate - Dubrovino. “He himself did not fully realize how deep his hatred for Porfishka lay in him. He hated him with all his thoughts, with all his insides, he hated him incessantly, every minute. As if alive, this foul image rushed about before him, and tearful hypocritical idle talk was heard in his ears ... He hated Judas and at the same time was afraid of him. The last days of Pavel's life were devoted to remembering the insults inflicted on him by his brother, and he mentally took revenge, creating entire dramas in his alcohol-fuelled mind. The obstinacy of character and, perhaps, a misunderstanding that death is close, became the reason that the estate was inherited by Porfiry. However, there was never much love between the members of this family. Perhaps the reason for this was the upbringing received in the family.

Among all the gentlemen of the Golovlevs, the most striking personality is Porfiry, known in the family under three names: Judas, blood-drinking, and an outspoken boy. “From infancy, he loved to caress his dear friend mother, furtively kiss her on the shoulder, and sometimes poof.” Arina Petrovna, in her own way, singled out Porfiry among all the children: “And involuntarily her hand was looking for the best piece on the platter to pass it to his affectionate son ...”, “No matter how strong her confidence was that Porfiry the scoundrel only fawns with his tail, and throws a noose with his eyes ... "," despite the fact that the mere sight of this son raised in her heart a vague alarm of something mysterious, unkind, "she could not determine in any way what" exudes "his look: poison or filial piety ? Porfiry, among the rest of the family, stands out primarily for his verbosity, which has grown into idle talk, meanness of character. The letters of Porfiry, which he sends to his mother, are characterized by a combination of clerical accuracy with immoderate pomp, grandiosity, lisp, self-deprecating subservience; in the flow of the narrative, he can, as it were, inadvertently cast a shadow on his brother: “Money, so much and for such and such a period, mother’s invaluable friend, from your trusted ... received ... I only feel sad and tormented by doubt: not too much Are you bothering your precious health with unceasing concerns about satisfying not only our needs, but also our whims?! I don’t know about my brother, but I…”

The author repeatedly compares this hero with a spider. Pavel was afraid of his brother and even refused to see him, because he knew “that the eyes of Judas exude a bewitching poison, that his voice, like a snake, crawls into the soul and paralyzes the will of a person.” The sons of Porfiry also complain that their father is very annoying: “Just talk to him, he won’t get rid of him later.”

The author skillfully uses visual and artistic means. There are a lot of diminutive and endearing words in Judas's speech, but no kindness or warmth is felt behind them. Sympathy, kind attention, cordial responsiveness and affection turn into a ritual, into a dead form. Suffice it to recall Porfiry’s visit to Paul, his comedy in front of the dying man: “Meanwhile, Judas approached the icon, knelt down, was touched, made three bows to the earth, got up and again found himself at the bedside ... Pavel Vladimirych finally realized that in front of him was not a shadow, and the bloodsucker himself in the flesh ... Judas' eyes looked bright, in a kindred way, but the patient saw very well that in these eyes there was a "loop" that was about to jump out and overwhelm his throat. It can be said that by his appearance Porfiry hastened the death of his brother. He is also the culprit of the death of his sons: he left Volodya without maintenance only because he did not ask permission to marry; He also did not support Petenka in difficult times, and his son died in one of the hospitals on the way to exile. The meanness that Judas shows towards his own children is striking. In response to Volodya’s letter, in which he says that he wants to get married, he replies that “if you want, get married, I can’t interfere,” without saying a word that this “I can’t prevent” does not mean permission at all. And even after the son, driven to despair by poverty, asks for forgiveness, nothing faltered in his heart (“I asked for forgiveness once, he sees that dad does not forgive - and ask another time!”). One can admit that Judas was right when he refuses to contribute the lost public money for Peter (“You messed it up yourself - and get out yourself”). The horror lies in the fact that Judas diligently performed the rite of farewell (knowing that, most likely, he was seeing his son for the last time) and “not a single muscle trembled on his wooden face, not a single note in his voice sounded anything like an appeal prodigal son."

Judas is pious, but his piety stems not so much from love for God as from the fear of devils. He “excellently studied the technique of prayerful standing: ... he knew when to gently move his lips and roll his eyes, when to fold his hands with his palms inward and when to keep them raised, when to be touched and when to stand decorously, making moderate signs of the cross. Both his eyes and nose turned red and moistened at certain moments, which prayer practice pointed out to him. But prayer did not renew him, did not enlighten his feelings, did not bring any ray into his dim existence. He could pray and do all the necessary body movements and at the same time look out the window and notice if anyone goes to the cellar without asking, etc. Moreover, he creates all his “killed” with the name of God on his lips. After praying, he sends his son Volodya, adopted from Yevprakseyushka, to an orphanage. This scene is described satirically, but the laughter freezes, prompting the reader to seriously think about the terrible consequences that the “moral ossification” of the hero leads to. In it lies the key to the acquisitive zeal and predatory betrayal of Porfiry, and in this is his tragedy. The author is convinced that conscience is inherent in everyone, and therefore it should have awakened in Judas as well. It just happened too late: “Here he grew old, went wild, stands with one foot in the grave, and there is no creature in the world that would approach him, “pity” him ... From everywhere, from all the corners of this hateful house, it seemed crawled out "killed" ... Porfiry ends his life by walking at night, undressed, to his mother's grave and freezes. Thus ends the story of the "escheated" family of Golovlevs.

The author believes that an ill-fated fate weighed on the Golovlev family: “for several generations, three characteristics passed through the history of this family: idleness, unsuitability for any business and hard drinking”, which entailed “idle talk, empty thinking and empty womb”. To the above, you can also add a dull atmosphere of life, a passionate desire for profit and absolute lack of spirituality.

A large place is occupied by the work of "Lord Golovlev". The central character of the novel, Porfiry Golovlev (Judas), became a model of a liar and idle talk, whose highest pleasure lies in hypocrisy and endless mockery of others.

2. History of creation. The idea to write a large work about the life of landowners arose from Saltykov-Shchedrin in the late 50s. XIX century. The novel is based on individual stories about the Golovlev family, which are included in the cycle "Well-meaning Speeches". During 1875-1876. chapters of the work are published one after another. The end of the writer's work dates back to 1880.

3. The meaning of the name. "Lord Golovlevs" are three generations of a landowner's family described in the novel. The title itself contains a subtle irony of the author, who hated the way of life of the provincial landowners. "Lords" are depicted as a dying class that does not bring any benefit. To the gradual inevitable "mortification" of them leads to idle talk or hard drinking.

4. Genre. Social psychological novel

5. Theme. The central theme of the novel is the doom of the landlord class. Life at the expense of peasants who are in slavish dependence cannot develop anything good in a person. A gradual degeneration begins, most clearly manifested in the image of Porfiry Golovlev.

In the third generation, the craving for some other life is still noticeable. The sons of Porfiry, the orphans Lyubinka and Anninka, are striving to leave the family estate at all costs. But "Golovlev pus" follows them everywhere. The main culprit in the death of young people is Judas, who, like a spider, throws his nooses on everyone.

6. Issues. The main problem of the novel is that all its characters are doomed to suffering from birth. There is no love and respect between members of the same family. In Porfiry, these feelings are replaced by an innate craving for the acquisition and accumulation of wealth, which is hidden behind the most vile hypocrisy.

Arina Petrovna spent her whole life on "rounding off" her household, but in the end she ended up with nothing. Even in the relationship of Lubinka and Anninka, who love each other passionately, there comes a period when they stop communicating. The stumbling block is again the money of wealthy fans. In the Golovlev family, kindred feelings are remembered only in case of serious danger and imminent death. But this glimpse of humanity always comes too late.

Another all-Russian problem described in the novel is hard drinking. To him, family members are led by an idle lifestyle and the absence of any clear goals. The most terrible fall occurs with Anninka and Lubinka, who dreamed of high art, but also sank into drunkenness and debauchery.

7. Heroes. Arina Petrovna, Porfiry, Stepan, Pavel, Anninka and Lyubinka, Petenka and Volodenka.

8. Plot and composition. The novel begins with a rather favorable time for the Golovlev family. Arina Petrovna is a wealthy and intelligent landowner who profitably manages the family's economic affairs. She is upset only by her son - Styopka the Stupid. Arina Petrovna has some misgivings about Porfiry. She already notices that his flattering speeches are outright hypocrisy.

Stepan's death becomes the beginning of a chain of disasters that befall the family. The Golovlevs are dying one by one. Against this background, the only satisfied person is Judas, who even tries to benefit from the death of loved ones. He could well save his sons, but greed outweighed all kindred feelings in his soul. Left alone, Porfiry gradually begins to go crazy. He, too, plunges into a binge, but not from alcohol, but from fruitless fantasies.

The arrival of the mortally ill Anninka at some point awakens kindred feelings in the uncle and niece. But it's too late: the last Golovlevs plunge headlong into hard drinking. In the soul of Judas, just before death, there is a desire to visit the grave of his mother. Driven by this impulse, he dies on the road. Anninka is also doomed, being in the strongest fever. The novel ends with a return to the theme of insatiable greed. The closest relative of the Golovlevs, the "sister" of N. I. Galkina, is extremely interested in the "killing" of the whole family ...

9. What does the author teach? Saltykov-Shchedrin shows that the death of the provincial nobility is inevitable. Nobody needs their useless life in "ashes" and "pus". The landlords themselves contribute to their destruction, trying to wrest the last piece from the hands of dying relatives.