The main characters of "Mumu": brief description. Question: Characteristics of Gavrila from Mumu Who was Gavrila in the story of Mumu

06.12.202327.05.2017

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was a brave author, whose works often came under careful review by censorship authorities. The story “Mumu,” known to every schoolchild today, was banned from publication for a long time. And if it weren’t for the author’s diplomatic skills, the world would never have known about this touching and tragic story.

History of creation

In the mid-50s of the XIX century. Turgenev was under house arrest, and then sent into exile for writing an obituary on the death of Gogol. While under the supervision of private bailiffs, in the spring of 1855 Turgenev wrote the story “Mumu”. He shares this thing with the family of the publisher Aksakov, who react positively to the work, but cannot publish it due to censorship protests. A year later, “Mumu” still appears in the Sovremennik magazine, which becomes the reason for the report of the official and the official reviewer of the magazine. Representatives of the censorship authorities are unhappy that the audience can feel compassion for the characters, and therefore do not allow the story to be distributed to other publications. And only in the spring of 1956, in the main department of censorship, after numerous petitions from Turgenev’s friends, a decision was made to include the decision to include “Muma” in the collected works of Ivan Sergeevich.

Analysis of the work

Story line

The story is based on real events that took place in the house of Turgenev’s mother in Moscow. The author tells about the life of a lady in whose service is the deaf-mute janitor Gerasim. The servant begins to court the washerwoman Tatyana, but the lady decides to marry her to her shoemaker. To resolve the situation, the lady’s butler invites Tatyana to appear drunk before Gerasim in order to turn him away from her. And this trick works.

A year later, the washerwoman and shoemaker leave for the village on the orders of the lady. Gerasim brings with him a puppy caught from the water and gives him the nickname Mumu. The lady is one of the last to learn about the presence of a dog in the yard and cannot establish a relationship with the animal. Having received an order to get rid of the dog, the butler tries to secretly sell Mumu, but she runs back to Gerasim. When the janitor receives information that the lady is unhappy, he goes to the pond, where he drowns the dog, and he decides to return to his village, and not to the lady’s house in the capital.

Main characters

The real prototype of the character was Varvara Turgeneva's servant Andrei Nemoy. The author paints an image of a reserved person who is unusually hardworking and has a fairly positive attitude towards people. This village peasant was capable of the most real feelings. Despite his external power and gloominess, Gerasim retained the ability to love and keep his word.

Tatiana

This portrait of a young servant includes all the features of a typical woman from a 19th century Russian estate. Downtrodden, unhappy, without her own opinion, this heroine receives protection only during the period of Gerasim’s love. Having no moral right and no real opportunity to contradict her mistress, Tatyana with her own hands ruins her chances for a happy destiny.

Gavrila

(The butler Gavrila on the right in the illustration)

The butler in the story appears as a simple-minded and stupid little man who, through ingratiation, strives to stay in the black and find benefits for himself. It cannot be said that Turgenev portrays Gavrila’s character as evil, but his direct role in the death of the dog and the destruction of the lives of Tatyana and Gerasim leaves a significant negative imprint on the perception of him as a person.

Kapiton

(The footman Kapiton in the illustration stands on the left next to the seated Gavrila)

The image of a shoemaker can be described as a portrait of an educated lackey. This person considers himself smart, but at the same time does not have the proper willpower and high aspirations in life. Ultimately, he turns into a drunkard and a slacker, whom even marriage cannot change.

Of all the characters in Mumu, the elderly lady is the main negative character. It is her actions and decisions that lead to a series of suffering and irreversible tragedies. Turgenev describes this heroine as a capricious and hot-tempered woman who is stubborn and capricious in her desire to decide the destinies of other people. The only positive traits of the lady can be considered her thriftiness and ability to manage the house.

Conclusion

The story “Mumu” by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev cannot be considered a simple work about the hardship of peasant life. This is a philosophical text that helps the reader understand the issues of good and evil, hatred and love, unity and separation. The writer pays great attention to the issue of human attachment and the importance of the presence of loved ones, both in the lives of the rich and in the lives of the poor.

Numerous servants live in the lady's house. Most of the time, the servants sleep, drink, gossip, hang around the yard, or fulfill the whims of their mistress, trying to curry favor with her.

Characteristics of Kapiton Klimov in the story “Mumu” by Turgenev

Kapiton Klimov is one of the brightest representatives of the lordly servants. He's lazy. He serves as a shoemaker for the lady. By the fact that he himself walks around in holey boots, one can understand that he is a bad craftsman. Kapiton is a “bitter drunkard.” He explains his behavior by saying that he is not appreciated by his lady. Kapiton has a very high opinion of himself. He considers himself an educated person, and the work he is doing is unworthy of himself. Through the eyes of other people, he appears as a degraded creature, loitering around idle, in a shabby, tattered frock coat and “patched trousers.” Like the rest of the courtiers, Kapiton knows how to flatter and please those who are higher in position than him. Having married Tatyana, he remains indifferent to her. His character and lifestyle do not change. Kapiton finally becomes an alcoholic.

Characteristics of Tatyana in the story “Mumu” by Turgenev

In complete contrast to Kapiton, Turgenev shows another man living in the lady’s house. This is Tatyana, a twenty-eight-year-old woman who is a laundress for a lady. Unlike the servants loitering around idle, Tatyana, one of the few, is distinguished by her hard work. She is so skilled in her work that she is assigned to wash only delicate linen. Once upon a time, blond Tatyana “was reputed to be a beauty,” but hard work and constant humiliation lead to the fact that “her beauty slipped off very quickly,” “she received the smallest salary,” “they dressed her poorly.” Tatyana is a downtrodden and intimidated creature with no self-esteem, trembling “at the very name of the lady.” She is so indifferent to her fate that she endures without words when she is humiliated and spanked. At the request of the lady, Tatyana meekly agrees to marry Kapiton, a man who is completely indifferent to her. She doesn’t even have the thought of disobeying the lady’s order. Tatyana herself makes sure that her possible happiness with Gerasim does not take place.

Characteristics of the butler Gavril in the story “Mumu” by Turgenev

Maybe the person looking after the servants will have high human qualities? In the lady’s house, the chief butler is Gavrila, a man “who, judging by his yellowish eyes and duck nose alone, fate itself seemed to have determined to be the person in charge.” Appearance betrays the insincerity inherent in Gavril. Although close to the lady, Gavrila, like any other serf, is afraid of her, never argues with her and obeys her in everything. Afraid of losing his place, he constantly curries favor, humiliates himself in front of her, speaks in an ingratiating tone, using words such as “okay,” “maybe,” “anything,” thereby showing ostentatious servility. Gavrila never does anything without her own benefit. And since his responsibilities include accounting for products, he takes the opportunity to take part of them for himself, which characterizes him as a fraudulent, dishonest person. And in relation to Gerasim and Tatyana, Gavrila does not show himself in the best way. He is cowardly and indifferent to their fate, does not bother to tell the lady about them, and makes every effort to make this wedding take place. The resourceful Gavrila is so inventive that he comes up with a way to get Gerasim away from Tatiana.

The serfs, who differ in character, occupation and position, have in common the lack of their own opinion, the desire to curry favor, cowardice and laziness. They do not have that core that every free person should have: self-esteem.

When retelling any work, you should give a brief description and name who its main characters are. “Mumu” is a story by the famous Russian writer I. Turgenev, which was written by him in 1852 and published two years later in the then popular magazine “Sovremennik”. An interesting fact is that this is one of the author’s most famous works, created during the period of his arrest. He had difficulty publishing and including the story in his collected works.

Gerasim

The success of the work largely depends on how well the main characters turned out to be lifelike and truthful. “Mumu” is a story based on a real incident in the writer’s family, or rather, in his mother’s house. Gerasim had his own prototype - the servant Andrei, nicknamed Mute. The same story happened to him as with his literary incarnation. This hero is a closed, unsociable person who, however, is distinguished by his hard work and efficiency. On the estate he is considered the best worker, his work skills are appreciated by everyone, including the old lady herself. This outwardly unsociable man had one weakness - he had sympathy for the maid Tatyana, whom he even wanted to marry.

Dog story

In many ways, the course of development of the plot of the work determines how the main characters behave in various situations. “Mumu” is a work whose meaning depends on the characters of the characters. Gerasim suffered his first loss when Tatyana, on the orders of the lady, was married to the drunken shoemaker Kapiton. After some time, he found some consolation in the fact that he had rescued and released a small puppy, whom he named Mumu. She was a very smart and devoted dog, whom everyone loved, but she was especially strongly attached to her owner, who was in her. The blow was even stronger for him when the old lady ordered to get rid of the dog because it once ruined her mood without obeying her. Gerasim carried out the order and drowned the dog, but after that he left his mistress’s Moscow house for his native village.

Tatiana

Half the success of the work is provided by the main characters. "Mumu" is a story that presents all the types of characters that were observed in a typical Russian estate of the mid-nineteenth century. The image of the young woman Tatiana in this regard is no exception. She is a poor, downtrodden servant who constantly suffers humiliation and mockery, from which only Gerasim’s protection saves her. In the lady's house she works as a laundress. The poor woman is so downtrodden that she unquestioningly follows the butler’s orders and pretends to be drunk in front of Gerasim so that he himself will abandon her. The trick was a success, but the janitor still retains sympathy for her and, when she leaves for the village, gives her a red scarf.

Gavrila

In the author's work, the main characters present a striking contrast to each other. “Mumu” by Turgenev is a story that is interesting because it presents a complete gallery of characters. The butler Gavrila is a simple, roguish man who is ready for any trick to achieve his goal. He is not an evil person in himself, but at the same time, in order to maintain calm in the house and please his mistress, he is ready for any tricks. So, it was he who came up with a trick, thanks to which he was able to separate Gerasim from Tatyana. He orders the janitor to drown the poor dog. These actions make him appear in the eyes of the readers.

Kapiton

It was a shoemaker on the old lady's estate. He turned out to be as colorful and vital as all the other main characters. “Mumu” by Turgenev is a story in which each character is remembered by the reader thanks to carefully written characters. Kapiton is, in his own way, a smart person; at one time he was even considered an educated person, but over the years he became an alcoholic and turned into a bitter drunkard. The lady tried to somehow rectify the situation by marrying him to Tatyana, but this does not save the situation. Kapiton finally becomes an alcoholic, and he and his wife are sent to the village.

Lady

In the work under consideration, the main characters play a large role. “Mumu” by Turgenev (the characterization of the story must necessarily include psychological portraits of the characters) is an essay that is based on the gradual disclosure of the inner world of the characters. In this regard, the old lady causes the most criticism, since her whims became the cause of the tragedy. According to the author, she was capricious, quick-tempered, and in addition, she had frequent mood swings. At the same time, she cannot be denied some thriftiness and management. So, she recognized Gerasim as a capable and hardworking worker, tried to somehow correct Kapiton, but her despotic habits did not lead to the desired result, since she was too stubborn and willful.

So, the main characters of Turgenev’s “Mumu” turned out to be very truthful and lifelike. The peasant has always been at the center of his work, and this work is the most convincing proof of this.

Among writers, Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was distinguished by great courage, and his works were often subjected to severe censorship. Turgenev's story "Mumu", which is taught to 5th grade students, was banned for a long time. And only thanks to the diplomatic character of the writer, the world learned about this tragic and incredibly touching story. Among the main characters of “Mumu” there are not only people, but also a small dog, after which this work is named.

Characteristics of the heroes of “Mumu”

Main characters

Lady	The main negative character: a capricious, stubborn, wayward old woman with frequent mood swings, on whose whim the tragic events of the story played out. At the same time, she is very economical and demanding, and manages a large house well. Her main feature is her passionate desire to control the destinies of people who are in her complete power. Because of the despotic habits of the old lady, many human destinies were ruined.
Gerasim	A closed, unsociable middle-aged man, whose difficult character is explained by a congenital illness, Gerasim has been deaf and mute since birth. This is a real Russian hero, possessing remarkable strength, diligence and hard work. He is connected by invisible threads to the earth, Mother Nature, but at the whim of his mistress he is forced to live in a city he does not understand and hate. Calm and flexible by nature, he dares to show rebellion after all the misfortunes that happened to him through the fault of his lady.
Mu Mu	An affectionate and devoted dog, saved by Gerasim from certain death. The only consolation of the main character in his joyless life. Enjoying the great love of all the servants, Mumu fears and openly dislikes only the old angry lady. Having accidentally caught her eye, Mumu refuses to obey her and thereby incurs terrible anger. By order of the lady, Gerasim is forced to drown his pet, and this event leaves a big imprint on his future fate.

Minor characters

Tatiana	A young laundress, a poor and unrequited girl who is forced to endure endless humiliation and bullying. Unexpectedly for herself and all the courtyard servants, she becomes an object of care and tender affection on the part of the janitor Gerasim. However, by the will of the lady, the girl is forced to marry the drunkard Kapiton, which completely ruins her already joyless life.
Kapiton	A shoemaker at the lady's court, a bitter drunkard. Being an intelligent and even educated man in his youth, over time he quickly became an alcoholic. Wanting to set him on the right path, the old lady forcibly marries her shoemaker to the washerwoman Tatyana. However, this does not change the situation, and Kapiton drinks even more. The lady gets rid of the drunkard, sending him and his young wife to the village.
Gavrila	The lady's butler, a simple peasant, ready to resort to extreme cunning for his own benefit. Being by nature a good-natured person, he is nevertheless capable of committing outright meanness, just to please his extravagant mistress. At his instigation, the lady separates Gerasim from Tatyana, and it is he who orders the janitor to deal with Mumu. This is how the negative essence of this character manifests itself.

In Turgenev's story "Mumu" the characters are presented very vividly and vividly, with complete characteristics that will be most useful when writing an essay on a given topic. For the reading diary of inquisitive students, it will be useful to know that in the creative piggy bank of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev there are not only novels and short stories, but also wonderful fairy tales for children.

Characteristics of Gavrila from Mumu

Answers:

Gavrila carried out all the orders of his mistress and handed the muma to Stepan. I was drawing up advice on how to make Gerasim fall in love with Tatyana. All her slightest whims were fulfilled. He is quick-witted, organized, responsible, obedient to his lady. Stepan is merciless, cruel and unable to understand all of Gerasim’s deep feelings. He is like a traitor towards the dog: he sells it, helps and tells him how to get Gerasim out of the closet. Cunning, arrogant, that's all. I don't like him.

History of creation

Analysis of the work

Story line