Saltykov-Shchedrin is a great artist in creating the figurative system of the novel. Members of the Golovlyov family, this ugly product of the serf era - but crazy in the full sense of the word, but damaged by the combined effect of physiological and social foundations. The inner life of these unfortunate, mangled people is depicted with such relief, which both our and Western European literature rarely achieves.

Saltykov-Shchedrin, calling his novel "The Golovlev Gentlemen", and not "The Golovlev Family", deliberately emphasizes the significance of the events taking place not in one noble family, but within the entire ruling class.

The Golovlevs are "a small noble fry", "scattered over the face of the Russian land." They are initially captured by the idea of ​​acquisition, material well-being and prosperity of the family. Property for them is the cornerstone of the universe. Property is even an object of self-sacrifice: “... they used to assemble a peasant cart, tie some kind of kibitchonka on it, harness a couple of horses - I trudge ... two from Rogozhskaya to Solyanka Prue!

Saving unites the warring forces in the family. Even the outcast Styopka the dunce takes part in it, although he knows in advance that nothing will fall to him.

Money relations are the only real thread connecting fathers and children. “Iudushka knew that there was a man listed according to the documents as his son, to whom he owes known dates send the agreed ... salary and from which, in return, he has the right to demand respect and obedience.

Only twice in the novel do true human relationships appear. In the first case - between strangers, in the second - between feral relatives. I remember the good attitude towards Styopka the booby of the serf "compassionate innkeeper Ivan Mikhailych", who disinterestedly, out of compassion, leads the beggar Styopka home. After that, spiritual intimacy between people arises when Porfiry Vladimirych pities the orphan Anninka.

On the whole, the measure of a person's value in a novel is his ability to provide for "his family not only" necessary, but also superfluous ". Otherwise, the person is "an extra mouth."

The head of the family, Vladimir Mikhailovich Golovlev, at the beginning of the novel looks almost decent: “a nobleman by birth, belonged to the old Golovlev family”, “led an idle and idle life”, like many of the nobles, “was engaged in writing so-called“ free poems ”, which was common among the people of their circle. He married for<...>in order to have a listener at hand for my poems, ”on a young lady of merchant origin Arina Petrovna. Such a marriage among the nobility was not uncommon. However, Shchedrin does not narrate a romantic relationship, a honeymoon, but, explaining the picture of the established relationship of the spouses, he gives some details from their family life after some living together.

The young wife "immediately did not fall in love with her husband's poems, called them foul play and clownery." On this basis, a quarrel occurred, which soon ended “on the part of the wife with a complete and contemptuous attitude towards her jester husband; on the part of the husband - sincere hatred for his wife, which, however, included a significant amount of cowardice.

After some time, the relationship was finally determined: “the husband called his wife “witch” and “devil”, the wife called her husband - “ windmill” and “stringless balalaika”.

However, generalizing these unnatural relations between husband and wife, the writer nevertheless notes that, “being in such a relationship, they enjoyed life together for more than forty years, and it never occurred to either one or the other that such a life would conclude there is something unnatural about it."

The contemptuous attitude of the spouses towards each other, the author notes, did not cause protest from either side, or from the other, as evidenced by the fact that they have four children.

Initiating us into the marital relationship of the Golovlevs at a later stage of their married life, Saltykov-Shchedrin again does not show the onset of balance and wisdom in them, but, on the contrary, speaks of a further aggravation of family discord. The head of the family, Vladimir Mikhailovich, continued to show himself to be a “disorderly”, “frivolous and drunken” person, leading an “idle and idle life”, closing himself in his office, where he imitated birdsong and was engaged in writing, completely showing no interest in the family. However, Arina Petrovna, by the age of 60, “set herself up like that” that no one in the family “dared to contradict her”, calling herself “neither a widow, nor a husband’s wife”, although the word “family” did not “leave her lips”.

There are no moral principles in the Golovlev family. According to critic A.A. Zhuk, the “spiritual principle” of each of its members is “driven and distorted”, and if it attempts to break through, it is “in a propensity to fly insane fantasies” or in the pursuit of “eccentricity and buffoonery ”, or “in need of communication (at least to eat and play cards)” Zhuk A.A. Afterword to the novel by Lord Golovlyov. M., 1986. S.280..

The scoundrel-purple very subtly felt the mother's weak point - her love for herself, and, constantly influencing him, not only achieved his own benefit, but also contributed to the further corruption of Arina Petrovna's soul.

In the “noble nest” of the Golovlyovs, the concepts of true relations are being replaced by false ones. The lack of a spiritual beginning in Vladimir Mikhailovich and Arina Petrovna, her passion for property entails the degradation of all the offspring of the Golovlevs.

Drawing the image of the mother, wife, mistress of the village of Golovleva, Shchedrin shows Arina Petrovna as a victim of objective relations, endows her image with a tragic content. “She,” Pokusaev believes, “is deceived that acquisitiveness is not an end in itself for her, but only a heavy cross” Pokusaev E.I. "Gentlemen Golovlevs" M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. P.65..

Saltykov-Shchedrin, characterizing Arina Petrovna from the point of view of motherhood, writes: “... 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 affect one string of her inner being…”. Arina Petrovna's lack of maternal tender feelings, loveless attitude towards children were marked in Golovlev's heirs as a kind of inferiority in their spiritual development. It is this unnatural process that Shchedrin considers one of the main reasons for the appearance of degraded personalities in the family and the breakdown of family relations.

Arina Petrovna, the satirist notes, had her own methods and methods of raising children, developed by herself: children were divided into “favorites” and “hateful”. She herself divided the children into categories: “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. However, Porfiry was the favorite. But, speaking of Arina Petrovna as a mother, the writer, as if casually, clarifies: “She had too independent<...>single nature, so that she could see in children anything but an extra burden.<...>She only breathed freely when she was alone with her accounts and economic enterprises. Arina Petrovna's maternal feelings were supplanted by the desire to accumulate capital, and this, as Shchedrin shows, did not upset Vladimir Mikhailovich.

The eldest son, Stepan Vladimirovich, “early fell into the number of“ hateful ”for his mother, but he was known as a favorite of his father, to whom he came at the moments of his mother’s departure and read poems with his father, and also“ the witch got it ”- the father did not embarrass himself in the presence of his son in an indelicate attitude towards his wife and the mother of his son, in which Stepan supported him. The writer, drawing the personal relationships of a married couple, writes that Arina Petrovna in such cases “instinctly guessed their occupations; silently drove up to the porch and<...>overheard funny speeches. This was followed by an immediate and brutal beating of Styopka the Stooge.

"I need to kill you! -<...>Arina Petrovna repeated to him, “I’ll kill you and I won’t answer!” And the king will not punish me for this.

Saltykov-Shchedrin never spoke about Arina Petrovna's emotional experiences about the children. He seems to see some expediency, replacing the word "soul" with the word "heart" when he talks about Arina Petrovna, and most often when it comes to the actions of Porfisha's pet.

With caustic irony, he notices: despite the fact that the mother’s heart foresaw something was wrong, suspected insincerity in her favorite, but still “... no matter how strong the confidence spoke in her that Porfishka is a scoundrel only fawns with his tail, but his eyes still loop throws, but in view of such selflessness, her heart could not stand it. And involuntarily, her hand was looking for the best piece on the platter, "to pass it on to his affectionate son, despite the fact that the mere sight of this son raised a vague alarm:" ... she would look, look, it happened, Arina Petrovna would look at him, and her maternal heart … ».

Distorted ideas about good and evil disfigured the soul of the mother, the keeper of the family hearth, and were indicated in the fact that the happiness and pride of Arina Petrovna began to amount not to the successes and joys of the children, but to the tenfold fortune that she had collected over the course of forty years. And the more intensively the state grew, which she would like to “take to the next world, but it’s impossible” after death, the more power-hungry and tougher she became, the further she moved away from children, from her God-given destiny of a woman and wife. Practicality, oblivion of spiritual values, connections and relationships based on utilitarian material interest become the basic laws of the existence of the Golovlev family, in which Arina Petrovna plays a leading role.

Arina Petrovna herself ousted the most valuable thing from herself, which was considered such by people of all times and peoples - maternal feelings. “In the Golovlev house, she alone has the privilege to act,” she deprived all other family members of this opportunity. All her children are passive and apathetic, they did not have a desire for creative activity since childhood, since it was “mother's prerogative” Turkov A.M. M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. M., 1965. S. 222. . The activity of Arina Petrovna was determined by a one-sided orientation, in which she "single-handedly and uncontrollably managed the vast Golovlev estate, lived alone, almost sparingly, did not make friends with her neighbors ...".

Arina Petrovna selflessly directs her life energy to increase capital and seems to be achieving success: the power of the Golovlev family is undeniable (“what a colossus she built” - she herself proudly realizes). However, the abolition of serfdom - a "catastrophe" - undermined the autocratic system, the noble-landlord economy, and also knocked the ground out from under Arina Petrovna's feet.

The reform of 1861 presented by Shchedrin in the novel, in the perception of the owners of the land, looks like a natural disaster, similar to an earthquake. Arina Petrovna anxiously awaits the coming "catastrophe". “The first blow to Arina Petrovna’s authority was dealt not by the abolition of serfdom itself, but by the preparations that preceded this abolition,” the satirist explains, “Arina Petrovna somehow suddenly let go of the reins of government and for two years only did what she exclaimed : “If only one thing - pan or gone! and then: the first call! Second call! Not a candle to God, not a poker to hell! Shchedrin calls the state of expectation of the next push "preparations" that will subsequently destroy the usual way of life.

In this state, Arina Petrovna's imagination paints gloomy pictures. “... Then she will imagine walking around an empty house, and little people have climbed into the people's room and are eating! You get tired of eating - they throw it under the table! It will seem that she looked into the cellar, and there Yulia and Feshka pee on both cheeks, pee in such a way! She wanted to make a reprimand for them - and choked ... ". Arina Petrovna is oppressed by trifles, trifles , which she invents for herself: the range of her interests does not go beyond the limits of hoarding.

Shchedrin shows Arina Petrovna "not a figure", but only a master of "prudent profitable combinations", and in general, Arina Petrovna, by her nature, is not a creator, but rather a destroyer. The writer portrays her as a predator, looking out for prey, which, during the preparation of the reform, itself falls into her hands. And although the abolition of serfdom in the minds of the Golovlevs is a tragedy, Arina Petrovna even in this Time of Troubles able to take advantage of himself.

Arina Petrovna sees her plans for existence even in new circumstances in trifles, wanting to grow "cabbage" and "potatoes" next to "daddy's grave." Even when she is widowed, she does not seek to become closer to her children, she does not even remember them, she is indifferent to the deeds and concerns that her sons and daughter will live in other living conditions. Even at critical moments in life, the best maternal qualities do not awaken in Arina Petrovna. The death of her father and husband did not unite the Golovlev family. The fate of children and grandchildren, which people usually live in old age, did not affect the widowed heart of Arina Petrovna.

Narrating about Anna Vladimirovna, the daughter of Arina Petrovna, who, wanting to start a family, “one fine night fled from Golovlev with the cornet Ulanov and got married to him, the author pays more attention to the reaction that followed from the mother to the fact of marriage. Arina Petrovna was violently indignant about this: “So without parental blessing, like dogs, they got married! Yes, it’s good that the hubby circled around the lectern! Another would have used it - and it was like that! Look for him later, but whistle!

The writer, giving special drama to this event, draws the indifference and cruelty of the mother, who nevertheless, despite the unfavorable circumstances of the marriage of her only daughter, “took” and “thrown away a piece” to the newlyweds in the form of a village, calling it “parental blessing”. But she has no idea about moral support, maternal parting words, about what close people say to each other in such situations. Arina Petrovna sees parental blessing only in pinching off a certain part from her huge fortune, and besides, not the best, but the worst.

Having become a grandmother, Arina Petrovna does not experience natural tender feelings, she does not feel the eventfulness in this phenomenon, which becomes clear after her words about her granddaughters, whom she venomously calls “puppies”.

The novel shows the immediate enterprise of the active nature of Arina Petrovna, who managed to extract material benefits for herself from this tragic situation. Trying to squeeze as much as possible out of a small estate, she put aside "the squeezed out to the board of trustees", taking care of increasing her capital, although she herself said about this that she incurs large material costs for the maintenance and upbringing of orphans.

Arina Petrovna created the power of the Golovlev family. But along with this, she has some kind of feeling of deceived hopes caused by the children, their "disrespect", inability to "please" their parents. The whole rich life of Arina Petrovna is poor in joys.

And in the end, it is not shortcomings that oppress her in Pogorelka, but "a feeling of emptiness."

Real life in the Golovlyov's house acts as an arena of the most serious conflicts, the first victim of which is the eldest son of the Golovlevs, Stepan. The writer notes with bitterness that having no means and therefore unable to support himself due to his lack of money, Stepan is forced to become a freeloader and a home for wealthy university students. Until the age of forty, he led a careless lifestyle, did not marry, did not start a family, squandered a house in Moscow, did not play any role in the militia, where he enrolled, begged for a long time for rich merchant peasants who belonged to his mother and, descending to the most extreme points of human existence, returned to Golovlevo.

Shchedrin does not accuse Stepan of being a lost soul in an empty and imaginary reality. The writer states that there was simply no place for high motives in Stepan to come from, because for him, who grew up in Golovlev's walls, there is no experience of survival.

Lies, games, unnatural behavior of parents have done their dark work in the formation of the destinies of their children. Already in the first scenes of the novel, the author tells about how unnatural and false Arina Petrovna was seen by her children: “... she loved in the eyes of the children to play the role of a respectable and dejected mother, and in these cases she dragged her legs with difficulty and demanded that she be supported under the arms of the girls . And Styopka the dunce called such solemn receptions - bishop's service, his mother - archbishop, and the girls Polka and Yulka - archbishops with baton-bearers. Children saw unnatural actions in the behavior of the mother, exposed their essence. Stepan did not skimp on sarcastic assessments of his mother's behavior. Even during the period of his life in Golovlevo, being young, he called his mother either an archbishop, or a minister, or a witch.

Shchedrin's comparison of Stepan Vladimirovich with the gospel prodigal son, whom his father met with joy and exultation on the threshold of his house, sounds like a gloomy irony. Here, instead of a merciful father meeting his erring son, Stepan Vladimirovich is met by an “evil old woman”, numb in the “apathy of authority”, from whom Stepan does not expect good.

This mirror image of the gospel parable performs the same function as the epigraph in Anna Karenina: in both cases Holy Bible becomes that "plane of symmetry" through which the Grace of the highest truth is refracted as the gracelessness of earthly existence. This plot will be played in the novel by Saltykov-Shchedrin again, when Porfiry Vladimirovich will already meet his son.

The terrible, depressing atmosphere that exists around the family, in which a person ceases to think and realize himself, is depicted by Shchedrin in the Golovlevs' manor. This is exactly what happens to Stepan, which is why he does not seek to think and realize what is happening, “the signs of moral sobering that appeared in those hours while he was approaching Golovlev along the country road disappeared somewhere again. Frivolity again came into its own, and at the same time, reconciliation with the "mother's position" followed. Now, in this atmosphere, one thought occupied his head most of all: “And where does she put such an abyss of money! he wondered<...>- brothers, I know, not so hot how much she sends, she lives stingily, feeds her father with salty sheets ... To the pawnshop! there’s nowhere else to put it in a pawnshop.”

Later, this same thought of Stepan would receive some development, and since he was starving from morning to evening and only thought about how to eat something and “whatever means to soften the mother’s heart so that she does not look for souls in him,” he became discuss this idea with Zemsky. On the advice of the zemstvo, such a “word” had to be found for the mother, and this word exists, only for this you need “... or put a curse on yourself,<...>Or sell your soul to hell. As a result, there was nothing left to do but live in a "mother's position."

And this "mother's position" continued to turn Stepan into a creature descending to the most extreme, lowest level of life. The writer sympathizes with Stepan, while noting that only his animal organization remained in him. Mental suffering, prayers to God in captivity does not occur in the eldest son of Arina Petrovna, he, like the simplest animal, retained only a grasping reflex in order to survive.

“- Yesterday's soup, polotok and lamb - this, brother, is hateful! he said to the cook, “I suppose they won’t give me a pie either!”

It's as your mother pleases, sir.

Ehma! And there was a time that I also ate snipes! eat, bro!<...>

Now, would you like to eat again?

Will not give<...>. It will rot, but will not give!

The writer shows Stepan's memories when moments of "moral sobering" happened to him and the fate of his predecessors, the regularity of his position in his own family were resurrected in his memory: to his daughter in Golovlevo, where he lived in the servants' quarters and ate from the same cup with Trezorka. Here is Aunt Vera Mikhailovna, who, out of mercy, lived in the Golovlevskaya estate with her brother Vladimir Mikhailovich, who died of "moderation", because Arina Petrovna reproached her with every piece eaten at dinner, and every log of firewood used to heat her room ... ".

Stepan, realizing his hopelessness and doom, runs away from the bathhouse that has bothered him. It can hardly be called a conscious protest. But even at a critical moment in the life of a son who escaped from his mother's prison, we do not see feelings of compassion and repentance in Arina Petrovna, Shchedrin shows only her cold calculation and enterprise.

A string of "prodigal children" returning to Golovlevo was discovered by Stepan Vladimirovich. Children return to their native corner only to die.

Ten years later, the Dubrovinsky master Pavel Vladimirovich Golovlev, a familyless, drinking and sick man, returned to die from St. Petersburg to Golovlev's estate.

Shchedrin, initiating us into the world of Pavel Vladimirovich, with heartache draws the non-existence into which he constantly goes. The world of illusions created by Pavel takes away his strength, devastates and exhausts him, turning him into a kind of dummy mechanism, devoid of any feelings, including related ones: neither reverence for his mother, nor sympathy for his nieces - orphans, whom he robbed along with Arina Petrovna Judas, Paul did not test in this world. Only the housekeeper Ulitushka, who once cohabited with Yudushka, could enter his mezzanine, where she brought him food and vodka. Even in the face of his death, Paul does not think about possible repentance, about inner self-purification, he has no desire to turn to God, he does not want to see either his mother or his nieces.

Indifference to the dying Paul reigns throughout the house. It is no coincidence that the house seems to Pavel Vladimirovich filled with shadows: “Loneliness, helplessness, dead silence - and in the middle of this shadow, a whole swarm of shadows. It seemed to him that these shadows were coming, coming, coming... Together with these "shadows" Shchedrin brings his brother Porfiry Vladimirovich to Pavel Vladimirovich, but not in order to make things easier. last moments dying, as Konstantin Levin does for his brother Nikolai, and all for the same reason of taking possession of the inheritance. Shchedrin paints a terrible scene in which Judas, emerging from a swarm of shadows like a vampire, takes the last remnants of his life from his unprotected and helpless brother.

The whole scene of Porfiry's visit to brother Paul is built by the writer in such a way that the state of Paul is almost physically palpable, who is suffocating and writhing in impotent rage.

With the death of the owner of the village of Dubrovin, Pavel, the writer repeats almost the entire ritual of Stepan's funeral. This repetition in Shchedrin intensifies the feeling of doom, lack of progress. The author, intensifying the tension in the novel, turns his gaze to the ever-increasing emptiness that, after Pavel's death, filled the space of Golovlev's estate.

For Shchedrin, Judas is now the focus of close attention, because since the moment of Pavel's funeral, he is one of the second generation of Golovlevs and has been the main owner of the estate. The next victim for him, who does not let up even at the wake of his brother, is Arina Petrovna herself, who raised him with her special “heartfelt predilection”. And Yudushka, having chosen a “decent plot”, immediately, without delay, begins to tyrannize Arina Petrovna with scraps of funeral idle talk, “hopeless rigmarole” about this and that, empty theological disputes.

The meaning of the nickname "Judas" has been discussed more than once in Shchedrin studies. According to E. Pokusaev, the diminutive suffix “immediately, as it were, earthly lands the hero, takes him out of the sphere of significant social and moral deeds and transfers him to another area, to the area of ​​\u200b\u200beveryday relations and deeds, ordinary existence” Pokusaev E.I. "Gentlemen Golovlevs" M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. P.87.. Judas is Judas, "somewhere here, nearby, at the side of the family, committing everyday betrayal." For D.P. Nikolaev, the hero’s nickname is another hint at his hypocrisy: “The very word “Judas” seems to contaminate two concepts - “Judas” and “darling”, of which the second denotes who the hero pretends to be, and the first - who he really is” Nikolaev D.P. Saltykov - Shchedrin and realistic grotesque. M., 1977. S. 65.

S.Telegin's remark seems to be more accurate: “Judas betrayed Christ at the instigation of Satan himself, who entered into him. [...] But Porfisha is too small for such a great tragedy, and therefore he is only Judas, and not Judas, a petty demon, but he is terrible with this pettiness of his” Telegin S.M. “The devil is not so terrible as his babies”: [analysis of the novel by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin "Lord Golovlevs"] // Rus. literature. - M., 1997. - No. 5. S. 120 ..

In literary criticism, the phenomenon of Judas hypocrisy-idle talk has been repeatedly analyzed (the precedent was created by the writer himself, who spoke in detail about the differences between Judas and Tartuffe). The image of Porfiry is clearly built on the contrast of two images: who Judas is, and who he appears to be, trying to be known. But the fact that both of these images are equally mythologized and equally based on biblical images remained unnoticed. One and the same act, one and the same word is interpreted differently by Judas and the narrator, but the basis for interpretations is the same.

During the “family trial” of brother Stepan, “Porfiry Vladimirych was ready to tear the robes on himself, but he was afraid that in the village, perhaps, there would be no one to repair them.” To tear the robes means, from the point of view of the faithful (Jew), to testify to blasphemy. And in fact, the act of a brother who “thrown his mother’s “labor money” into the garbage pit” must seem to Judas blasphemy (it doesn’t matter what Porfiry really thinks).

Judas imagines himself to be a righteous man (in a letter to his nieces, he “called himself a Christian, and they called them ungrateful”) and, probably, even a messenger from heaven. Who he really is has already been pointed out many times in literary criticism: Judas is “Satan”, “spider”, “serpent”, “blood drinker”, etc. S. Telegiin finds in the image of Judas the features of a basilisk Ibid. P. 121 .. Two plans - "sacred" and "infernal" - collide within the boundaries of a paragraph and even a sentence. “His face was pale, but breathed spiritual enlightenment; a blissful smile played on his lips; his eyes looked kindly, as if forgivingly [...] Snail, however, from the first glance at Judas’ face, she realized that betrayal had been decided in the depths of his soul.

Porfiry Golovlev is one of those universal types like Iago, Tartuffe, Harpagon, who for many centuries have served as common names for representing the most extreme distortion of human nature. The personalities surrounding Porfiry Golovlev are ridiculous, insignificant, disgusting in their own way, but they arouse deep, mournful pity in you when you see them in the hands of this Judas and the looper. Even the patriarch of the Golovlev clan herself, Arina Petrovna, who was portrayed so formidable before us in the “Family Court”, in her pre-reform grandeur, is in the last essay crushed by the new order, knocked down from her pedestal, robbed by her son, the same Judas. How she humiliates herself in front of him, fawning, how indignant and moaning in her some remnants human feelings before the unshakable inhumanity of Judas, who has crossed all possible limits of hypocritical callousness. How she desperately clutches at the last attribute of her trampled patriarchal power - her parental curse, of course, in order to experience the failure of this last straw. The spectacle of what a terrible distortion of human nature Saltykov-Shchedrin painted before us, that he could make even old Golovleva, this ruin of humanity, horrified by this spectacle.

A distinctive feature of Judas - idle talk is very clearly described by the author in the text, for example, in this quote from a tea party in Golovlevka:

“The cups are filled with tea in turn, and the samovar begins to subside. And the blizzard is played out more and more; now it will strike the glass of the windows like a whole snow shower, then it will roll along the stove hog with some inexpressible cry. - A snowstorm, apparently, really came from, - notices Arina Petrovna: - squeals and squeals! - Well, let him squeal. She squeals, and we drink tea here - that's it, my friend, mama! - responds Porfiry Vladimirovich. - Oh, it’s not good now in the field, if such an anger of God catches! - Who is not well, but we have little goryushka. Who is dark and cold, but we are light and warm. We sit and drink tea, and with sugar, and with cream, and with lemon. And we want with rum, and we will drink with rum... - Yes, if-if now ... - Excuse me, mama. I say: now it is very bad in the field. No road, no path - everything is covered. Again, wolves. And here we are both light and cozy, and we are not afraid of anything. Let's sit here and sit, in peace and harmony. I wanted to play cards - let's play cards; I wanted to drink tea - let's drink tea, we won't drink more than we need, but we'll drink as much as we need. And why is this so? Because, dear friend, mother, that the mercy of God does not leave us. If it were not for Him, the Heavenly King, maybe we would be wandering in the field now, and it would be dark and cold for us ... In some kind of zipunishka, a poor little sash, laptishki ... - Something, really laptishki! Chai, were you also born into the rank of nobility? Whatever it is, we still wear boots! - Do you know, mother, why we were born in the rank of nobility? All because the mercy of God to us was. If it weren't for her, we'd be sitting in the hut now, but instead of a candle burning, we'd have a splinter, and as for tea and coffee, we wouldn't even dare to think about it now! They would have sat, I would have picked bast shoes, you would have gathered some empty cabbages for supper there, Evprakseyushka was weaving red ... And, perhaps, unfortunately, the tenth would have kicked out with a cart ... - Well, the tenth at that time with underwater will not dress up! - How to know, dear friend, mother! And suddenly the shelves are coming! Maybe there is a war or indignation - so that there are regiments on time in the field! Here, the other day, the officer told me that Napoleon III died - believe me, now the French will start playing tricks! Naturally, ours are now forward - well, come on; man, eyeliner. Yes, in shame, but in a snowstorm, and off-road - they won’t look at anything: go, little man, if the authorities tell you! And for the time being they will take care of us, they won’t kick us out with a cart! - That's what to say! great is the mercy of God for us, etc., etc.

What is important here is not the hypocritically religious form in which Judas clothes his cynical boasting, but the very abomination of this boasting, practiced in various forms, no less cynical, over the entire surface the globe. And here is another scene showing how Judas, having robbed his mother, as much as possible, taking away from her the estate of her deceased brother Pavel, escorts her to a run-down estate almost to starvation and cold.

“Everyone stood up and prayed; then Arina Petrovna kissed everyone, blessed everyone ... in a kindred way, and, stepping heavily with her feet, went to the door. Porfiry Vladimirovich, at the head of all the household, accompanied her to the porch, but then, at the sight of the tarantass, he was embarrassed by the demon of wisdom ... “And the tarantass, after all, brothers!” flashed through his mind. - So see you, good friend, mother! - he said, helping his mother and looking askance at the tarantass. - If God commands ... why not see each other! - Oh, mother, mother! naughty you, right! Tell the tarantass to be put aside, but with God to the old nest ... right! - fawned Judas. Arina Petrovna did not answer; she had already sat down completely and had even made the sign of the cross, but the orphans were slowing down. And Yudushka, meanwhile, looked and looked at the tarantass. - So, mother, how can you deliver the tarantass yourself, or will you order to send for it? - finally, he could not stand it. Arina Petrovna even shook all over with indignation. - My tarantass! she shouted in such a painful cry that everyone felt embarrassed and ashamed. - My! my! my tarantass! I... I have evidence... there are witnesses! And you... and you... well, I'll wait... I'll see what happens next from you! Children! how long? - Have mercy, mother! I'm not in a complaint ... even if the tarantass was Dubrovinsky ... - My tarantass, mine! Not Dubrovinsky, but mine! hear! - I'm listening, mama ... So you, my dear, do not forget us ... simply, you know, without fantasies! We to you, you to us ... in a kindred way! - Sat down, right? Touch! shouted Arina Petrovna, barely restraining herself. The tarantass trembled and rolled at a shallow trot along the road. Yudushka stood on the porch, waving his handkerchief, and, until the tarantass was completely out of sight, shouted after him: - In a kindred way! We to you, you to us ... in a kindred way!

Judas' idle talk leads to the fact that not only for him, but also for those around him, the line between the two worlds is blurred. In Shchedrin's ethical system, this is one of the biggest sins. Petenka talks about his father’s intention to deprive his children of their inheritance: “The other day, it’s not for nothing that he talked with the priest: what, he says, father, if you build the Tower of Babel, will it take a lot of money? [...] he has some kind of project. Not for the Tower of Babel, so he will donate to Athos, and he won’t give it to us! S. Telegin rightly asserts that Porfiry's intention to build "the most godless and satanic invention of mankind, who wished to reach heaven and sit in the place of God" is by no means accidental. A similar “feat” was intended to be accomplished by the Foolovites. But the main thing in this episode is not the satanic pride of Judas, but his complete indifference to what exactly to use the money for: the construction of the Tower of Babel or the Athos Monastery.

The natural next step is the blurring of the boundaries between the sacred and the infernal. Judas “prayed not because he loved God and hoped through prayer to enter into communion with him, but because he was afraid of the devil and hoped that God would deliver him from the evil one.” Compare: "Judas spits and looks at the image, as if seeking protection from the evil one." In the drafts, Porfiry “according to routine, appealed to the deity: hurry up! - but if the deity hesitated, then he did not hesitate to resort to another mysterious force, which, according to experienced people, sometimes even more successfully contributes to everyday affairs. Judas, despite his piety, realizes that “if mother begins to trust in God, this means that there is some flaw in her existence.” So, trust in God is a sign of disorder in the system of Golovlev's life. It is not for nothing that Shchedrin calls Judas an "idolater." Almost the only case when Porfiry Golovlev imagines an angry God is also associated with a ritual - a ritual of a possible mother's curse.

Saltykov followed the path of deepening one definition of a psychological trait in a multifaceted disclosure, in various life situations. In each specific case, the episode opens up a new side, some new shades of the hypocritical nature of Judas. Passion for an idle word is not an individual belonging of Porfiry. The satirist elevated it to the general and social category. Conscious hypocrisy causes, the satirist said, "indignation and fear", and unconscious hypocrisy, lies and idle talk - boredom and disgust.

In modern Russia, the satirist noted the spread of various forms of hypocrisy. He put this historical fact in direct dependence on the processes of decline and decomposition that took place in the landlord class after the abolition of serfdom. In the chapter "Calculation" it was written about this specifically. On the one hand, entire broods of dexterous and agile people are pushed into life from noble families, who sensitively guess new trends, adapt to them, putting on, as needed, now in a new, now in an old “skin”, and soon become, as the satirist ironically says, true "workers of this world."

On the other hand, the ill-fated landlord nests are thrown into life, and the closer to the inglorious end, the more often, entire collections of losers, idlers, skinny "scumbags". Saltykov writes about the Golovlevs: “For several generations, three characteristic features passed through the history of this family: idleness, unsuitability for any business, and hard drinking. The first two led to empty talk, empty thinking and emptiness, the last one was, as it were, an obligatory conclusion to the general turmoil of life.

In Shchedrin's characterization of Judas, as it were, he concentrated in himself the features of Golovlev's, that is, the landlord's, degeneration, decay. In idle talk, in hypocrisy, the satirist saw a special form of social and spiritual decomposition of a class that has historically outlived itself, poisoning the atmosphere with a miasma of decay. Autocommentaries, like the entire artistic history of the Golovlev family, give reason to assert that Saltykov himself understood the type of Judas so broadly.

Dirty, hypocrite and idle talker Judas is an artistic type of world scale.

That's why out of the many options At the end of the novel, he chose the most complex and difficult, precisely in psychological terms. Saltykov showed how in the disgusting personality of Judas, mired in the vulgarity of meanness, having reached the extreme limits of moral decline, something “human” awakens, something similar to remorse.

The author made Judas at the end of his life look into his devastated soul and shudder. At the same time, of course, there can be no talk of any sympathy or pity for the “blood drinker”. The author's position has remained unchanged: the endless string of crimes of Judas, his predatory habits, his heartlessness and cruelty, sophisticated methods of oppression, his cynicism and hypocrisy - all this in the soul of the author, humanist and revolutionary democrat, causes a natural feeling of disgust and indignation. He shows Yudushka as a hated hypocrite and a "blood drinker", who all his life only tormented, tyrannized, tortured both his own and others, not sparing anyone who got in his way. And yet, despite this, a tragic intonation appears at the end of the novel. The final pages of the Golovlyovs are written in such a way that there is no doubt that something similar to remorse of conscience, or, as the author says, “wild conscience”, awakens in Judas. His decision to say goodbye to his mother's grave was made after a long, painful reflection. Judas behavior changes dramatically. At the end of his life, he seemed to be transformed, became different, suffering features appeared in him.

The author could end the novel with the natural death of his hero. But such a decision did not satisfy Saltykov. It was necessary to come up with a more terrible end for Judas. The sense of justice required that Judas, before passing away, experience the moral anguish and torment that he inflicted on others, so that he would, to some extent, realize his guilt, all the enormity of the crimes he had committed, all the worthlessness, senselessness, gloomy emptiness his miserable existence. Saltykov and on the last pages of the novel is merciless to the hypocrite and "blood drinker".

Judas awakened "wild conscience" only when he was on the edge of the grave, when he became weak, decrepit and could no longer commit new atrocities.

A variety of gestures, intonation shades of speech characterize Judas. At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish between scenes where the author fixes the reader's attention on the pretense and hypocrisy of Judas, and those cases when Judas does not play a role and in him, albeit weakly, albeit vaguely, some glimpse of human emotions appears.

Judas is a complex psychological type. He is endowed not only with features that characterize him as a landlord predator, as a representative of the degrading nobility, he is also the bearer of universal human vices.

As we have already noted, the Golovlev family has three generations, and the third is the grandchildren of Arina Petrovna and Vladimir Mikhailovich. As you know, Porfiry had a family in St. Petersburg, but his wife died, leaving two sons in the care of Judas: Petenka, who “like any prodigal noble son”, “who did not give himself any account of life goals, somehow instinctively pulls into his place, ”and Volodenka, unable, like all the Golovlevs, to do anything and support himself and his family on his own, in addition, her granddaughters Anninka and Lyubinka also lived with Arina Petrovna.

In a moment of despair, Petenka arrives in Golovlevo, as in the last "his place", where only he could come with such a load inside: he lost government money in cards and was waiting for prison.

The writer, moving away from the ongoing events, wonders about such an appearance in Golovlev of the grandson of Arina Petrovna and the son of Porfiry Vladimirovich: what does he hope for? what is he looking for? “Something will come from this trip? will a miracle be performed that should turn stone into bread, or won't it happen?"

Trying to answer and clarify the situation, Shchedrin emphasizes the senseless appearance of Golovlev’s offspring on the estate: “Of course, Petenka may not have understood his father, but in any case he did not know a single feeling behind him, not a single weak string that he had the opportunity to grab onto. and, exploiting which, one could achieve something, "" he felt only one thing: that in the presence of his father he was face to face with something inexplicable, elusive." Shchedrin depicts his father's reaction to the unexpected arrival of his son almost as Arina Petrovna met her first son. The spiritual emptiness of Judas, anxiously felt by Petenka, makes her father and grandmother related. Arina Petrovna with the arrival of Petenka recalls her own upheavals associated with the return of her son "stupid". “And it seems to her that she hears the same familiar story, which began a long time ago, and can’t remember when. This story was completely closed, but here again, no, no, it will take it and open it on the same page. Arina Petrovna's presentiment came true. The ending of the stories also coincided: “not a single muscle trembled on the wooden face of Porfiry Vladimirovich, not a single note in his voice sounded anything like an appeal to the prodigal son.”

The humble request of the son, his hysterical plea for help, and finally, the angry accusations of cruelty come up against a blank wall, composed of affectionate questions and touching rantings. Shchedrin, remembering the folk wisdom that said: “An apple will not roll far from an apple tree” or “what you sow, you will reap,” exposes Porfiry Vladimirovich, who, like Arina Petrovna in her time, dooms her own son to death, thereby breaks the connecting chain of times, without thinking about the continuation of the Golovlev family.

A terrible death sentence for his son reveals the meaning of his father's parting words, who, as always, spoke in an affectionate voice: “Leave, brother! Hey, who's there? Tell me to lay a wagon for the young master. Yes, a fried chicken, yes, caviar, and something else ... testicles, or something ... wrap it in a piece of paper ... At the station, brother, and have a snack while the horses are being fed. With God blessing!".

Two sons of Porfiry Vladimirovich die not without his participation (“... at Shchedrin,” as N.K. Mikhailovsky wrote, “both of these outcomes take place behind the scenes” Mikhailovsky N.K. Shchedrin // M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin in Russian criticism . M., 1959. P. 443.), and Judas will see the light by the end of his life, realize his terrible crimes, as is happening with Arina Petrovna now. There. S. 444.

“The darkest and most uncomfortable side of life turned to the granddaughters of Arina Petrovna Anninka and Lyubinka,” writes Shchedrin; creating realistic pictures of their lives, he paints them gloomily and severely.

Without material support, without parental blessings, Anninka and Lubinka set off in search of happiness in a world that seemed better to them than their home situation.

Shchedrin, defending the granddaughter of Arina Petrovna, notes that Anninka, who did not receive a full-fledged upbringing, had no idea about the significance in her fate of the unity of two vital principles - the spirit and the flesh, about that destructive force of evil that can enter into her and destroy her, since "the position of the Russian actresses are very close to the position of a public woman.

In this situation, the author shares Tolstoy's position on the "unity of spirit and flesh." The slippery path that the granddaughters of the Golovlevs set foot on, earning their living on their own, ends in tragedy for both. Shchedrin shows the beginning creative activity” Anninka as a delusion, which at first seemed to her cheerful and rosy. Having an idea only of the outer side of the profession of an actress, Anninka made her life something like a “entry house”, at the gate of which “everyone who felt himself cheerful, young, rich could knock.” The life of the actress excited her. Lonely, “without leadership training, without a created goal, with only one temperament, thirsting for noise, brilliance and praise,” she did not immediately see and realize herself, “circling in some kind of chaos, in which an infinite number of faces crowded, without any connection replacing one another." This is where the dark drama lurks.

Shchedrin speaks directly and openly about Anninka's artistic activity, revealing the cruel essence of what is happening. "Holy art," he claims, "led her into a cesspool, but her head immediately became so dizzy that she could not distinguish it."

Comparing Anninka's life with a carousel rushing along its predetermined trajectory, confusing her in the den of pleasures from a reasonable human existence, the writer does not give the heroine time to look around, listen to public opinion, stop ... And stops her only at the very edge of the abyss.

For Shchedrin, the “depressing monotony” with which illness appears in all members of the family, the departure of Golovlev’s offspring one after another from the life of Shchedrin, becomes some kind of strange doom, an “ominous fate”.

Shchedrin translates everyday sketches from the life of the sisters into a psychological plane. And now other pictures rise before their eyes, pictures of the carbon monoxide past, in which it was exposed in their memory in “iron vitality”, quickly floated out and, contrary to desire and spiritual efforts, to forget everything, mercilessly poisoned the heart: stinking hotels, rooms, ober - officers, chief officers, chief officers; then other memories began: an inn, drunken and pugnacious nights, passing landowners, merchants, cheering the actors almost with a whip in their hands. And in the morning - headache, nausea and longing, longing without end. It turned out to be impossible to get on their feet and start a measured life after the nativity scene, the carousel threw them into a terrible dead end of life, where there is nothing but shame and poverty.

Anninka and Lyubinka, the literary critic M.S. Goryachkina Goryachkina M.S. Satire of Saltykov-Shchedrin. M., 1965. From 109., at the beginning of the novel, “according to the main features of their character, they are typical heroines of noble writers” Ibid. P. 110 .., because Shchedrin gives Anninka the opportunity, as was customary in the novels of that time, to go to her small homeland, look around, realize and start living in a new way.

However, after visiting Pogorelka, to which she went with some secret hope of reassurance, Anninka realizes that there is the same thing as everywhere else, only covered up by kindred benevolence.

However, Anninka did not find the strength in herself to do as her sister Lyubinka decided - "to die of herself", but "came to die" in Golovlevo.

As you can see, the writer creates pictures of a reality close to a person, everyday life, mastering it here not as a deliberately “low prose”, but as a place of the most serious conflicts.

The system of images of the novel, in addition to the characters, also includes the image of the Golovlevo estate itself as the center of the world. We see that gradually it ceases to depend on the external world and, on the contrary, begins to dictate its own laws to it. Therefore, everything that is outside Golovlev turns out to be its continuation. Not only the Golovlevs, but also the surrounding landowners “could not properly distinguish the angelic region from the aggel region, and throughout their lives they were confused in clarifying to themselves the question of what it is appropriate to ask God for and what to ask the devil for.” The conclusion about Judas was made by his neighbors is absolutely correct: “a man who never left the tongue of the divine, was so entangled in his own aphorisms that, without noticing it, he found himself at the bottom of hell.”

And not only in the vicinity of the Golovlev estate, but throughout the country, according to Arina Petrovna, “neither a candle to God, nor a poker to hell!” Moreover, if Golovlevo seemed to Stepan to be a "coffin", then in the eyes of Judas "the whole world [...] is a coffin that can only serve as an excuse for endless idle talk." The crazy activity of Judas in the world of his dreams is only special case or, perhaps, the most complete embodiment of the practice that dominates the outside world: "[...] the world of business idleness, - the author notes, - is so mobile that there is not the slightest difficulty in transferring it anywhere, into any sphere."

If we compare the novel and The History of a City, it should be noted that although both Golovlevo and Foolov are in the "center of the world", the difference between them is significant. After all, Foolov is not only the center of the world of the "History of a City", but, in fact, in general, the only real geographical feature(all others, including Petersburg, are clearly mythological or imaginary). Not so in "Mr. Golovlyov". The world cannot be reduced to a family estate and surrounding villages. All cities and villages mentioned are St. Petersburg, Moscow, Sergiev Posad, etc. - exist on their own, without turning into metaphors. But Golovlevo and the Golovlevs exclude themselves from the world, from life; if at the beginning of the novel this is not yet so noticeable, then in the last chapters it becomes obvious. “All communication with the outside world was finally severed. He did not receive any books, newspapers, or even letters,” says the author about the life of Judas, if it can be called life.

A. Zhuk drew attention to the fact that the action of the novel only once leaves Golovlev's limits - in order to be transported into an imaginary, untrue, theatrical world. literally words world of bohemia. Zhuk A.A. Afterword to the novel by Lord Golovlyov. M., 1986. S.278. Capitals are the past of heroes; Sergiev Posad - the subject of Arina Petrovna's fantasies, the place where she is supposedly going to leave before her death; As usual with Shchedrin, these dreams are accompanied by the author's restrained and sarcastic commentary about their impracticability. Subsequently, the same intention in the same expressions will be expressed by Judas.

Golovlevo can be called the center of the universe that Shchedrin describes, the determining factor in all events. The very image of the estate is a materialized metaphor of family fate. “There are families over which, as it were, obligatory predestination weighs. [...] In the life of these miserable families, both success and failure - everything is somehow blind, not guessed, not thought. [...] It was such an ill-fated fate that weighed heavily on the Golovlev family.”

However, Golovlevo is not only a faceless fate, but also an active figure. It simultaneously has limits - and does not have them. Stepan, crossing the boundary post and finding himself on the "hateful" native land, sees "endless Golovlev fields." "Endlessly spreading distance" opens up to the eye in another estate of the Golovlevs, Pogorelka. But if the Pogorely fields awaken "remnants of feelings" in Arina Petrovna, then the Golovlyov fields can only lead to despair. This is no longer a space, a place where heaven and earth merge and disappear: “the gray, ever-watery autumn sky crushed him [Stepan]. It seemed that it was hanging directly above his head and threatened to drown him in the gaping abysses of the earth. The last words - a deliberate contrast with the expected idiom "heavenly abyss" - another sign of the "inversion" of Golovlev's world. Even the picture of the "spring revival" in Golovlev is permeated with images of darkness, rot, slime.

The estate, therefore, not only dominates the lives of its owners, but also organizes the space-time of their existence. An analysis of the text makes it possible to single out four planes in which (more precisely, between which) the life of the Golovlevs takes place.

The first plan is the so-called "reality". So-called, because it is she who turns out to be the most shaky. Judas, ultimately, is one of the "shadows", a product of darkness, which "moved so mysteriously" in front of the dying Paul. Golovlevo is a kind of metaphysical dead end that destroys space and time (it is typical for Shchedrin's poetics that all events in Golovlev's timelessness can be accurately dated).

“Today Golovlev” is “a series of sluggish, ugly days, one after another immersed in a gray, gaping abyss of time.” Gradually, even the "meager sense of the present" disappears. "Twilight" covers not only the present, but also the past (in the memoirs of Arina Petrovna, "all some kind of twilight"), and the future ("The twilight, which already shrouded Judas, had to thicken more and more every day"). There was "only a minute to live."

In literary criticism, attention has already been drawn to the fact that the writer likens the Golovlev estate to the kingdom of death. Telegin S.M. “The devil is not so terrible as his babies”: [analysis of the novel by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin “Lord Golovlevs”] // Rus. literature. - M., 1997. - No. 5. More precisely, the writer allows some of the heroes of the novel to see and understand this. Indeed, “Golovlevo is death itself, vicious, hollow; it is death, always waiting for a new victim. The view of the manor's estate produced on Stepan "the effect of the Medusa's head. There he saw a coffin. Coffin! coffin! coffin! he repeated unconsciously to himself. As we have seen, the whole world becomes a coffin for Judas. But Judas himself becomes the coffin. He “did not understand that the grave [of his mother] that opened before his eyes was taking away his last connection with the living world, the last living being with whom he could share the dust that filled him. And that from now on, this dust, not finding a source, will accumulate in it until it finally suffocates it ”(allusion to the hanging of Judas). Further, it is directly said about Judas: “a coffin filled with ashes” - this is how Evprakseyushka sees him. The logical result: for Porfiry, with the departure of his niece, "all connection with the world of the living was broken." Moreover, Yudushka is convinced that the unnatural being of a person is the most natural for him: “But a person has arranged everything for himself so that he has nothing natural, and therefore he needs a lot of mind.”

To create the image of Golovlev as the kingdom of death, one of Porfiry's conversations with his niece is important. Anninka complains to her uncle: “What are you doing! Get up in the morning - go drink tea, think about tea: they’ll serve breakfast! at breakfast - they will cover dinner! at dinner - soon tea again? And then have dinner and sleep ... you will die with you! “And everyone, my friend, does this,” Judas says the honest truth. Everyone does this - that is, they die.

From the point of view of the Golovlevs, deaths are “ordinary, universally recognized facts, for the assessment of which there was also a generally recognized, primordially conditioned environment.” Thus, death is, as it were, forced out of consciousness. “During the long empty life of the womb, Judas never even allowed in his thoughts that right there, side by side with his existence, the process of death was taking place.” Precisely because they still cannot forget about death, the Golovlevs - Arina Petrovna can serve as an example - experience a constant “desire for life. Or, to put it better, not so much the desire for life as the desire to feast, coupled with a complete absence of the idea of ​​death. Judas remarks with some malice that the dying brother “wants to live! want very much! want very much!". He himself, apparently, is not afraid of death (he is not afraid even in the finale, although for completely different reasons): “If it pleases the Lord God to call me to him, even now he is ready!” Arina Petrovna's response is not surprising: "It's good, how to God, but what if you please Satan?"

Golovlevo is also endowed with the features of an "unclean place", a dwelling of evil spirits. Stepan Golovlev is looking for a way out of a hopeless situation - and does not find it: “That's it - either you had to put a curse on yourself, or sell your soul to the devil. As a result, there was nothing left to do but live in a "mother's position." So Golovlevo - albeit indirectly - is equated with a "cursed (enchanted) place" from which the heroes cannot escape. “One thought to the brim overwhelms his [Stepan's] being: another three or four hours - and there is nowhere to go further. He recalls his old Golovlev life, and 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's all over. And further: "There is no one to speak words with, nowhere to run - everywhere she [Arina], domineering, numbing, despising." Even those who manage to leave the geographic boundaries of Golovlev either perish (sons of Judas, Lyubinka) or return (Anninka).

As is often the case with Shchedrin, important characteristics and ratings are presented as if by accident; established language metaphors, curses, jokes return to direct meaning. Porfiry Golovlev, in metaphysical terms, is in fact "Judas", "Satan" ("God forgive me, Satan," as Arina Petrovna says), "Pharisee", at best - "brownie"; according to the neighbors, he "find himself at the bottom of hell", and besides, "he had some kind of diabolical scent about the dead."

It is not for nothing that her husband calls Arina Petrovna a "witch"; Stepan Golovlev is sure that his mother will "eat" him, Vladimir Mikhailovich says bluntly: "He will eat it! eat! eat!”, and Pavel mockingly advises “tear it into pieces... grind it in a mortar...”. The image of the witch has been created.

Of course, all the Golovlevs readily notice the devil in others, but not in themselves. Judas considers his fornication to be a "demonic temptation", that is, something external, "although he allowed adultery to the extent of strict necessity." Judas does not want to admit his sins: “Only here, too, it is necessary to prove that we are definitely not acting in the way of God.” The devil, of course, does not sit in him, but in the Snail: “You are an ulcer, an ulcer! - he said, - the devil is sitting in you, damn it ... pah! Ugh! Ugh!".

All such comparisons and metaphors in the novel become reality. “When Yudushka entered, the priest hurriedly blessed him and pulled his hand even more hastily, as if he was afraid that the bloodsucker would bite her.” This is, of course, not about the fact that Judas could actually bite the priest, but about the “materialization” of the nickname “blood drinker”. Likewise, before his death, Judas’ brother Pavel “felt that he was laid alive in a coffin, that he lay as if chained, in a lethargic sleep, could not move a single member and listened to how the blood-drinker swears over his body.” Another author's "reservation" directly indicates that Golovlevo is the swamp that breeds devils: "At night, Arina Petrovna was afraid; she was afraid of thieves, ghosts, devils, in a word, everything that was the product of her upbringing and life. Evil spirits are a natural "product" of Golovlev's life, and it, in turn, gives rise to a whole "cycle of legends" "about Golovlev's lord." No wonder Judas's "anger (not even anger, but rather moral ossification), covered with hypocrisy, always inspires some kind of superstitious fear"; and in the depopulated estate there is "a dead silence, filling the being with superstitious, aching melancholy."

Here we again observe a combination of opposites: for many heroes, Golovlevo appears not as a cursed place, but as something like the Promised Land. Petenka - because he has nowhere else to go. Pavel - out of envy: “Clouds are walking around - is Golovlevo far? The blood drinker had a torrential yesterday! - but we have no yes no! Arina Petrovna - for nostalgic reasons: she "every minute remembered Golovlevo, and, as these recollections, it became something like a luminous point in which good life was concentrated." Judas, in a fit of idle talk, paints the harvests of past years in such a way that his mother is forced to remark: “I have not heard that in our side ... You may have read about the land of Canaan - they say it really happened there.” So, Golovlevo (if only in the speech of Judas) is Canaan, a land endowed with "God's blessing", but at the same time, if we recall the biblical context, a pagan country that must be turned into the Promised Land by the effort of faith and will.

The name Golovlev itself combines opposite or, at least, not quite compatible meanings. V.V. Prozorov D.P. Prozorov The works of M.E. Saltykov - Shchedrin in school studies. L., 1979. S. 116. wrote out similar-sounding words from Dahl's dictionary: “lead” - to be the head, manage, command (let's not forget about the “imperial” connotations of the name “Porfiry”); "golovnichestvo" - a crime and a penalty for it; “to starve” - to become poor, to become impoverished gradually, etc. Of course, these meanings are relevant for the novel; but it is no less important that they are all combined in one word that Shchedrin created: another example of combining mutually exclusive meanings.

The great Russian writer M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin was engaged in writing the novel "Lord Golovlevs" in the period from 1875 to 1880. According to literary critics, the work consists of several separate works, which over time were combined into one whole. Some of the short stories that later became the basis of the work were published in the journal Otechestvennye Zapiski. However, only in 1880 the novel was created by the writer in its entirety.

Like most of the works of Saltykov-Shchedrin, the novel “Lord Golovlev”, a brief summary of which we recall today, is riddled with a kind of melancholy and hopelessness. True, this does not prevent one from easily perceiving the confident and clear literary style of the writer.

difficult time

In part, such “sadness-longing” is attributed by critics to the fact that the described events of the novel do not occur at the best time for Russia. The brilliant age of strong emperors has already ended, the state is experiencing a certain decline. In addition, the abolition of serfdom is coming - an event with which neither the landlords nor the majority of the peasants know what to do. Both those and others do not really imagine the future way of life. Undoubtedly, this adds some wariness to society, which is reflected in the novel.

However, if you look at the events described from a slightly different angle, it becomes obvious that it is not a matter of a radical change in the historical era and the usual way of life. There are all signs of the usual decomposition of certain social strata (and this does not have to be precisely the noble caste). If you carefully study the literature of that time, you can clearly see: as soon as the primary accumulation of capital ended, subsequent generations of craft, trade and noble families squandered it uncontrollably. This is exactly the story that Saltykov-Shchedrin told in the novel “Lord Golovlevs”.

This phenomenon was associated with a more or less stable economic system, the absence of global wars, as well as the rule of rather liberal emperors. In other words, the efforts that were required from the ancestors in order to survive, earn capital and give birth to viable offspring were no longer required. Such trends were observed in the history of all the once powerful world empires, the existence of which was nearing decline.

nobles

Saltykov-Shchedrin in the novel “Lord Golovlevs” (a summary, of course, does not convey the true moods of the author), using the example of a single noble family, tries to describe precisely this order of things. The once powerful Golovlev noble family is experiencing the first signs of confusion and uncertainty about the future in connection with the impending abolition of serfdom.

But in spite of everything, the capital of the family and possessions are still multiplying. The main merit in this belongs to the hostess - Arina Petrovna Golovleva, a wayward and tough woman. With an iron fist, she rules over her many estates. However, not everything is in order in the family itself. Her husband is Vladimir Mikhailovich Golovlev, an extremely careless person. He practically does not engage in extensive farming, devoting himself all day to the dubious muse of the poet Barkov, running after yard girls and drunkenness (still secret and dimly expressed). This is how the older characters, the Golovlevs, are briefly characterized in the novel.

Arina Petrovna, tired of fighting the vices of her husband, devotes herself entirely to economic affairs. She does this so enthusiastically that she even forgets about her children, for the sake of which, in essence, wealth is increased.

Styopka-stupid

The Golovlevs have four children - three sons and a daughter. In the novel "Lord Golovlevs" chapters are devoted to describing the fate of noble descendants. The eldest son, Stepan Vladimirovich, was an exact copy of his father. He inherited from Vladimir Mikhailovich the same eccentric character, mischief and restlessness, for which he was nicknamed Styopka the Stupid in the family. From his mother, the eldest son inherited a rather interesting trait - the ability to find the weaknesses of human characters. Stepan used this gift exclusively for buffoonery and mocking people, for which he was often beaten by his mother.

Entering the university, Stepan showed an absolute unwillingness to study. Stepan devotes all his free time to revelry with richer students, who take him to their noisy companies exclusively as a jester. Considering that the mother sent a rather meager amount of support for his education, this way of spending time helped the eldest offspring of the Golovlevs to exist quite well in the capital. Having received a diploma, Stepan begins long ordeals in various departments, but he still does not find the desired job. The reason for these failures lies in the same unwillingness and inability to work.

The mother nevertheless decides to support the unlucky son and gives him a Moscow house as a possession. But it did not help. Soon Arina Petrovna learns that the house has been sold, and for very little money. Stepan partially mortgaged it, partially lost it, and now he humiliates himself to the point of begging for wealthy peasants who live in Moscow. Soon he realizes that there are no more prerequisites for his further stay in the capital. On reflection, Stepan returns to his native estate so as not to think about a piece of bread.

Runaway Anna

Happiness did not smile at Anna's daughter either. The Golovlevs (the analysis of their actions is quite simple - they talk about the desire to give the children a foundation for building their lives) sent her to study. Her mother hoped that after graduation, Anna would successfully replace her in household matters. But even here the Golovlevs made a mistake.

Unable to bear such betrayal, Anna Vladimirovna dies. Arina Petrovna is forced to give shelter to the two remaining orphans.

younger children

The middle son - Porfiry Vladimirovich - was the exact opposite of Stepan. From a young age, he was very meek and affectionate, helpful, but he liked to gossip, for which he received from Stepan the unpleasant nicknames Yudushka and Kropivushka. Arina Petrovna did not particularly trust Porfiry, treating him more with caution than with love, but she always gave him the best pieces during meals, appreciating devotion.

The younger one, Pavel Vladimirovich, is presented in the novel as a lethargic and infantile man, not like the rest of the Golovlevs. An analysis of his character reveals a certain kindness, although, as emphasized later in the novel, he did not do good deeds. Pavel was rather intelligent, but he did not show his mind anywhere, living gloomy and unsociable in a world known to him alone.

The bitter fate of Stepan

So now we know who the Golovlevs are. Summary We will continue to remember the novel from the moment when Stepan, having failed in the capital, returns to his native estate for a family court. It is the family that must decide the fate of the unlucky eldest son.

But the Golovlevs (Saltykov-Shchedrin quite vividly describes the discussions on this topic) almost withdrew themselves and did not develop a common opinion to solve the problem that had arisen. The first to rebel was the head of the family, Vladimir Mikhailovich. He showed extreme disrespect to his wife, calling her a "witch", and refused any discussion of Stepan's fate. The main motive for this reluctance is that it will still be the way Arina Petrovna wants. The younger brother Pavel also avoided solving this problem, saying that his opinion definitely does not interest anyone in this house.

Seeing complete indifference to the fate of his brother, Porfiry enters the game. He, allegedly pitying his brother, justifies him, says a lot of words about his unfortunate fate and begs his mother to leave his older brother under supervision in Golovlev (the name of the estate gave the surname to the noble family). But not just like that, but in exchange for Stepan's refusal of the inheritance. Arina Petrovna agrees, not seeing anything wrong in this.

This is how the Golovlevs changed Stepan's life. Roman Saltykov-Shchedrin continues with a description of the further existence of Stepan, saying that this is a living hell. He sits all day in a dirty little room, eats meager food and is often applied to alcohol. It seems that, being in the parental home, Stepan should return to normal life, but the callousness of relatives and the lack of basic amenities gradually drive him into gloomy melancholy, and then into depression. The absence of any desires, longing and hatred, with which memories of his unhappy life come, bring the eldest son to death.

After years

The work of "Lord Golovlev" continues ten years later. Much is changing in the leisurely life of a noble family. First of all, everything is turned upside down by the abolition of serfdom. Arina Petrovna is at a loss. She doesn't know how to keep housekeeping. What to do with the peasants? How to feed them? Or maybe you need to let them go on all four sides? But they themselves seem to be not yet ready for such freedom.

At this time, Vladimir Mikhailovich Golovlev quietly and peacefully passes away. Arina Petrovna, despite the fact that she clearly did not love her husband during her lifetime, falls into despondency. Porfiry took advantage of this state of hers. He persuades his mother to share the estate fairly. Arina Petrovna agrees, leaving herself only the capital. The younger gentlemen Golovlevs (Judushka and Pavel) divided the estate among themselves. An interesting fact is that Porfiry managed to bargain for himself the best part.

Wanderings of an old woman

The novel “Lord Golovlevs” tells how, continuing to follow her usual way of life, Arina Petrovna tried to further increase her filial estate. However, the mediocre management of Porfiry leaves her without money. Offended by the ungrateful and mercenary son, Arina Petrovna moves to the youngest. Pavel undertook to feed and water his mother along with his nieces in exchange for complete non-interference in the affairs of the estate. The aged Mrs. Golovleva agrees.

But the estate was run very badly because of Paul's penchant for alcohol. And while he "safely" quietly drank himself, finding consolation in intoxicating himself with vodka, the estate was plundered. Arina Petrovna could only silently observe this disastrous process. In the end, Pavel finally lost his health and died, without even having time to write off the remains of his mother's estate. And once again Porfiry took possession of the property.

Arina Petrovna did not wait for mercy from her son and, together with her granddaughters, went to a wretched village, once “abandoned” by her daughter Anna. Porfiry, it seems, did not drive them away, on the contrary, having learned about the departure, he wished good luck and invited them to visit him more often in a relative way, writes Saltykov. Gentlemen Golovlevs are not famous for affection for each other, but education obliges.

The grown-up granddaughters of Arina Petrovna Anninka and Lyubinka, having left for a remote village, very quickly cannot stand her monotonous life. After arguing a little with their grandmother, they rush to the city, looking for a better life, as it seems to them. After grieving alone, Arina Petrovna decides to return to Golovlevo.

Children of Porfiry

And how do the remaining gentlemen of the Golovlevs live? The summary of the description of how they while away their days is depressing. Once blooming, today the huge estate is deserted; there are almost no inhabitants left in it. Porfiry, having become a widow, got himself a consolation - the deacon's daughter Evprakseyushka.

Porfiry's sons also did not work out. The eldest, Vladimir, desperate to get part of the inheritance from his stingy father for food, committed suicide. The second son - Peter - serves as an officer, but dejected by the lack of money and complete indifference of his father, he loses government money in the capital. In the hope that now, finally, Porfiry will help him, he arrives in Golovlevo and throws himself at his feet, begging him to save him from dishonor. But the father is adamant. He is not at all interested in either the dishonor of his son or the requests of his own mother, writes Saltykov-Shchedrin. Messrs. Golovlevs, and Porfiry in particular, do not waste energy on relatives. Being in frank stupidity and idle talk, Judas reacts exclusively to the priest's daughter, with whom she is forbidden to amuse herself.

Arina Petrovna, completely despairing, curses her son, but even this did not make any impression on Porfiry, however, like the subsequent death of his mother.

Porfiry diligently counts the remaining crumbs of money bequeathed to him by his mother, and again he thinks of nothing and no one except Evprakseyushka. The arrival of Anninka's niece slightly melted his stony heart. However, she, having lived for some time with a crazy uncle, decides that the life of a provincial actress is still better than rotting alive in Golovlev. And pretty quickly leaves the estate.

The worthlessness of existence

The remaining gentlemen of the Golovlevs dispersed to different places. The problems of Porfiry, whose life is again going on as usual, now concern his mistress Eupraxia. The future is seen by her as completely bleak next to such a stingy and angry person. The situation is aggravated by Evpraksia's pregnancy. Having given birth to a son, she is completely convinced that her fears were not groundless: Porfiry gives the baby to an orphanage. Evpraksia, on the other hand, hated Golovlev with a fierce hatred.

Without thinking twice, she declares a real war of nit-picking and disobedience to the evil and unbalanced master. What is most interesting, Porfiry really suffers from such tactics, not knowing how to spend time without his former mistress. Golovlev finally withdraws into himself, spending time in his office, hatching some terrible and known only to him plans for revenge on the whole world.

Without heirs

The pessimistic picture is complemented by the suddenly returned niece Anna. Completely exhausted by a beggarly existence and endless drinking with officers and merchants, she falls ill with an incurable disease. The fatal point in her life is the suicide of her sister Lubinka. After that, she no longer thinks of anything but death.

But before her death, Anninka set a goal for herself: to bring to the attention of her uncle all the meanness and filthiness of his essence. Drinking with him all night long in an empty estate, the girl drove Porfiry crazy with endless accusations and reproaches. Judas, in the end, realizes how worthless he lived his life, hoarding, humiliating and offending everyone around him. In an alcoholic frenzy, it begins to reach him simple truth that there is simply no place for people like him on this earth.

Porfiry decides to ask for forgiveness at his mother's grave. He is going on the road and goes into the bitter cold to the cemetery. The next day he was found frozen on the side of the road. Everything is bad with Anna. A woman is unable to fight a deadly disease that takes her strength every day. Soon she falls into a fever and loses consciousness, which no longer returns to her. And so a horse courier was sent to the neighboring village, where the second cousin of the Golovlyovs lived, who vigilantly followed the latest events on the estate. The Golovlevs no longer had direct heirs.

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 family history. 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 weak sides 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 manor house, but then she calmed down and again left the dunce in the 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. Last days Paul's life was devoted to remembering the insults inflicted on him by his brother, and he mentally took revenge, creating whole 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.

In Saltykov-Shchedrin's novel The Golovlevs, a whole gallery of images of one family, the landowners Golovlevs, is displayed. This family goes to degradation and destruction, it breaks up, and then its members physically disappear into non-existence.

The image of Arina Petrovna: this is the only outstanding person in the Golovlev family. She is the mother and head of the family. “A powerful woman and, moreover, to a great extent gifted with creativity,” characterizes her author. Arina Petrovna manages the household, manages all the affairs of the family. She is cheerful, strong-willed, energetic. But the sense of this is only in the economy. Arina Petrovna suppresses her sons and her husband, who hates her for it. She never loved her husband, she considered him a jester, a weakling, unable to manage the household. “The husband called his wife “witch” and “devil”, the wife called her husband “windmill” and “stringless balalaika”.

In fact, having lived for forty years in a family, Arina Petrovna remains a bachelor who is only interested in money, bills and business conversations. She does not have warm feelings for her husband and children, no sympathy, which is why she punishes loved ones so terribly when they are irresponsible about property or do not obey her.

The image of Stepan Golovlev: this is a "gifted guy" with a mischievous character, with a good memory and learning abilities. However, he was brought up in idleness, all his energy was spent on pranks. After studying, Stepan is unable to make a career as an official in St. Petersburg, since he has neither the ability nor the desire for it. He once again confirms the nickname "Stepka the Stooge", leads a wandering life for a long time. By the age of forty, he is terribly afraid of his mother, who will not support, but, on the contrary, will seize. Stepan comes to the realization that he “cannot do anything”, because he never tried to work, but wanted to get everything for free, snatch a piece from a greedy mother, or someone else. He becomes an inveterate drunkard in Golovlev and dies.

The image of Pavel Golovlev. This is a military man, but also a man suppressed by his mother, colorless. Outwardly, he snaps and is rude to his mother. But inside he is afraid of her and finds fault with her, resisting her influence. “He was a gloomy man, but behind the gloominess there was a lack of deeds - and nothing more.” Having moved to Golovlevo, he entrusts the affairs to his housekeeper - Ulita. Pavel Golovlev himself becomes an inveterate drunkard, consumed by hatred for his brother Judas. They die in this hatred, embittered, with curses and curses.

Image of Judas, Porfiry Golovleva. This man is the quintessence of the Golovlev family. He chose 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.

The image of Anna and the image of Lyuba from the "Gentlemen of the Golovlevs." Yudushka'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."

At the very beginning of the book, we get acquainted with Stepan Golovlev, Styopka the Stooge. This "prodigal son" returned to his home, realizing that death awaited him here.

The man is down, drinking. The dwelling, a cluttered room, erodes all signs of life from Stepan. It turns into something without thought and feeling.

Mother, Arina Petrovna, is trying to appease her son after an unsuccessful escape from Golovlev, but "the dunce seemed to be petrified", fell silent, wandered around the room for days on end.

The mother was afraid that her son would burn down the estate. He didn't even think about it. “It seemed that he was completely plunged into a dawnless mist, in which there is no place not only for reality, but also for fantasy.”

On this man is the seal of degeneration. What can come of a drunkard and a parasite who has lost himself. Stepan became apathetic and weak-willed, he could not do anything even for himself.

Arina Petrovna, the mother of the family, all her life sought to increase her property, which turned against her and her children.

Son Paul turned into a gloomy "man without deeds."

Main character works, Porfiry Golovlev, is the personification of the most terrible thing in man.

Styopka the dunce gave him three nicknames in his childhood: Judas, blood-drinking, frank boy. The very word Judas Saltykov-Shchedrin skillfully disguised: sort of like "Judas", but at the same time "darling". Porfiry always pretended to be a good boy: he liked to caress his mother, to tinker. Even for Arina Petrovna, his "look seemed ... mysterious." Mom wanted obedience and devotion, and he played such a good boy.

Porfiry Vladimirovich grew up, but did not change his virtuous, affectionate habits. The role of a caring uncle, worried about the children of his sister, he also played skillfully.

In fact, it was a "blood drinker", ready for the sake of ownership of everything, completely ruthless.

Porfiry is cunning, he constantly weaves a web for someone. Here he came to the house of his dying brother Pavel, where he even tries to joke with his relatives. Shchedrin writes about this: “Everyone smiled, but somehow sourly, as if everyone was talking about himself: well, now the spider has gone to weave a web!”

To the bed of Porfish's dying mother, “like a snake, he slipped ...” This is how he behaves in relation to all relatives. There are no dear people for him. Anninka, the niece, is the last to get into the web of the uncle. Shchedrin writes that Porfiry Vladimirovich met her "with the usual benevolence, in which it was impossible to distinguish whether he wanted to caress a person or intend to suck blood out of him."

The life of Judas is subject to property. It was she who killed the human in him, corrupted the soul that once existed. The scary thing is that he acts “legally”. Do not call the scoundrel to account!

Shchedrin wants to show in his novel that moral poverty awaits everyone who steps on the path of sacrilege.

Horrible is the hypocrisy of Judas, who tries to look better than he really is!

Pretending to be caring, he kicks his mother out of the estate, dooms his sons to death, and appropriates the property of his brothers.

Reading the novel "Lord Golovlev", we laugh and are horrified, and sometimes it becomes just creepy. The writer uses the word "comedy" several times. After all, acquisitiveness, and hypocrisy, and idle talk are comical in their nature. And how terrible is this landowner's world, where hatred reigns, the process of moral and physical decay is in full swing!