At the blackboard, the following questions were answered orally:
Biography of Turgenev
Literary portrait of Gerasim
1. Appearance
2. Character, disposition
3. The fate of Gerasim
4. Relationships with other people 
An excerpt from the story of I.S. Turgenev:
"From among all her servants the most wonderful facethere was a janitor Gerasim,
a man of twelve inches tall, built by a hero and deaf-mute from
birth. The lady took him from the village where he lived alone, in a small hut,
apart from the brothers, and was considered almost the most serviceable draft man.
Endowed with extraordinary strength, he worked for four - the case was arguing in his
hands, and it was fun to look at him when he either plowed and,
huge palms on the plow, it seemed, alone, without help. horses,
cut open the elastic chest of the earth, or about Peter's day so crushing
acted obliquely, so that at least a young birch forest could be brushed off the roots
down with, or nimbly and non-stop threshing with a three-arshin flail, and how
the lever lowered and raised the oblong and hard muscles of his shoulders.
The constant silence gave solemn importance to his restless work.
He was a fine man, and if it weren't for his misfortune, every girl would gladly go
marry him ... "
"In general, Gerasim was strict and serious temper, loved order in everything; even the roosters did not dare with him
fight, and that's the trouble! will see, immediately grab the legs, turn it ten times on
in the air with a wheel and throw it apart. There were also geese in the lady's yard; but
the goose is known to be an important and reasonable bird; Gerasim felt for them
respect, went after them and fed them; he himself looked like a staid gander.
He was taken over the kitchen closet; he arranged it for himself, according to his taste:
made a bed of oak planks in it on four blocks, truly
heroic bed;
a hundred pounds could have been put on it - would not have bent;
there was a hefty chest under the bed; in the corner there was a table of the same
strong properties, and near the table there is a chair on three legs, but so strong and
stocky, that Gerasim himself used to pick him up, drop him and grin.
The closet was locked with a lock that resembled a kalach, only black;
Gerasim always carried the key to this lock on his belt. He didn't love
to go to him. "
Tatyana
1. Position
2. How old is she?
3. The nature (disposition) of Tatiana
Tatyana, who, as we said above, was a washerwoman (however,
she, as a skilled and learned washerwoman, was entrusted with one delicate linen), was
a woman of about twenty axes-mi, small, thin, blond, with moles on
left cheek. Moles on the left cheek are revered in Russia as a bad omen -
foreshadowing an unhappy life ... Tatiana could not boast of her fate.
From an early age she was kept in a black body; she worked for two, and caress
I've never seen one; dressed her badly, she received the most
small; she didn't have any relatives: one old housekeeper,
left for disrepair in the village, it happened to her uncle and other uncles at
her peasants consisted, that's all. Ode was once known as a beauty, but beauty
she jumped off very soon. She had a very meek disposition, or, better
say, intimidated, she felt complete indifference to herself, other
she was mortally afraid; I thought only about how to finish the work by the deadline,
never spoke to anyone and trembled at the very name of the lady, although she
almost did not know.
"... a man of twelve inches tall, built as a hero and deaf and dumb from birth"
"... His face, already lifeless, like all deaf and dumb people ..."
"... the oblong and hard muscles of his shoulders ..."
"... stretched out his huge hand ..."
The man is tall, powerful physique.
Gerasim's attitude from "Mumu" to work
“... was considered almost the most serviceable draft man. ... almost the most serviceable draft man. - Tax is a serf duty that landlords levied on their peasants. A conditional family (two adult workers, a man and a woman, sometimes with the addition of a half-worker - a teenager) was taken as a unit of taxation with corvee or quitrent. Turgenev emphasizes that Gerasim was a full-fledged worker who bore all the peasant duties.
Gifted with extraordinary strength, he worked for four - the matter was arguing in his hands, and it was fun to look at him ... "
“... Gerasim’s occupation in his new position seemed to him a joke after hard peasant labor; in half an hour everything was ready for him ... "
"... he diligently fulfilled his duty: he never had chips lying around in his yard, not a copy ..."
Gerasim is a hardworking, responsible, diligent and obedient worker, loves order in everything, does nothing somehow.
Gerasim had a strict and serious disposition, he loved order in everything; even the cocks did not dare to fight with him.
Economic and hard-working.
The attitude of Gerasim from "Mumu" to Baryna
Gerasim was quite afraid of her, but nevertheless he hoped for her mercy ... "
Gerasim is afraid of the lady, because he is a serf, a forced man.
The attitude of Gerasim from "Mumu" to Tatiana
"... Gerasim<…> he began to chuckle when he came across her, then he began to look at her, at last, and did not take his eyes off her at all. She fell in love with him ... "" ... From that day on, he did not give her rest: wherever she went, he was right there ... "
Deaf-and-dumb Gerasim likes Tatiana.
“… After all, this wood grouse, Garaska, he is looking after you…”
"... goes to meet her, smiles, hums, waves his hands, suddenly pulls the ribbon out of his bosom and hands it to her, clears the dust in front of her with a broom ..."
Gerasim looks after Tatiana.
Laughing stupidly and humming affectionately, he held out a gingerbread cock to her ... "
"... Glad not happy, but the girl came under his protection ..."
Feels tender and touching feelings.
Gerasim suddenly raised himself, stretched out his huge hand, put it on the head of the castellan and looked into her face with such gloomy ferocity that she bent down to the table itself.
Gerasim becomes Tatyana's patron. He protects her from other peasants.
"... noticing that Kapiton<…> somehow too kindly he got hot with Tatyana, Gerasim called him over with his finger, took him to the coach shed, and, grabbing the end of the drawbar in the corner, threatened him slightly, but meaningfully. Since then, no one has spoken to Tatiana ... "
Gerasim is jealous of Tatiana for the drunkard Kapiton.
“… I was about to go to her with a request if she would allow him to marry Tatiana. He was only waiting for a new caftan, promised to him by the butler, in order to appear in a decent form before the lady ... "
Gerasim wants to marry the washerwoman Tatiana.
Gerasim stood for a while, looked at her, waved his hand, grinned and went, stepping heavily, into his closet ... He did not leave there for a whole day.
In Tatyana, Gerasima is attracted by her hard work, responsibility, patience, meek character and sincerity. After the episode with "drunkenness", he is deeply disappointed and offended that the woman he fell in love with did not live up to his expectations, is disappointed in love. He is suffering. This can be judged by the individual details (glance, grin).
"... Gerasim came out of his closet, approached Tatiana and presented her with a red paper handkerchief, which he had bought for her a year ago ..."
Gerasim is generous. He did not hate Tatiana, but treats her kindly, takes pity on her, went out to say goodbye and support in a difficult moment of parting with home. At parting he gives Tatiana a gift.
The attitude of Gerasim from "Mumu" to the courtyards
"... but he also knew his rights, and no one dared to sit in his place in the table ..."
Gerasim behaves with dignity, knows his rights.
“Yes, you are deceiving,” Gavrila waved back at him. Gerasim looked at him, grinned contemptuously, hit his chest again and slammed the door. "
“… He will do if he promised. He's like that ... If he promises, it's probably. He's not like our brother. What is true is true. "
Gerasim despises fake, insincere, deceitful and cruel people. He is disgusted with the evil, callousness and indifference of the servants - the lady's faithful slaves.
The attitude of the lady from "Mumu" to Gerasim
“… The next day I sent a ruble to Gerasim. She favored him as a faithful and strong watchman
"... Madam," he thought, sitting by the window, "of course, favors Gerasim (Gavrila knew this well ..."
The lady favored Gerasim as a loyal and strong watchman.
The attitude of Tatyana from "Mumu" to Gerasim
"... When Gerasim was brought from the village, she almost froze from horror at the sight of his huge figure ..."
Tatyana is not encouraged, but frightened by signs of attention from Gerasim.
"... He just became, as it were, sullen and did not pay the slightest attention to Tatyana and Kapiton ..."
To "scare away" Gerasim, Tatiana once pretends to be drunk. Gerasim does not like drunk people. He stops caring for Tatiana.
"…Tatyana<…> sitting in the cart, in a Christian way I kissed Gerasim three times ... "
Tatiana warmly says goodbye to Gerasim. After all, this is the only person to whom she is not indifferent.
The attitude of Kapiton from "Mumu" to Gerasim
“… Yes, have mercy, Gavrilo Andreevich! after all, he will kill me, by God, he will kill me like a fly will swat some ... "
Kapiton is afraid of Gerasim, who is also in love with Tatiana.
The attitude of the servants from "Mumu" to Gerasim
“... With all the rest of the servants, Gerasim was in a relationship not so much friendly, - they were afraid of him, - but short; he considered them to be his ... "
People around are afraid of Gerasim.
- What a wonderful Gerasim! - the fat washerwoman squeaked, - is it possible to get screwed because of the dog !.
They consider him an eccentric and make fun of him for the eyes.
Gerasim's attitude to Mum
"... Gerasim looked at the unfortunate dog, grabbed it with one hand, thrust it into his bosom and set off with long strides home ..."
Gerasim is kind and sensitive to someone else's misfortune.
"... All night long he fiddled with her, laid her down, wiped her off and finally fell asleep by his side in some kind of joyful and quiet sleep ..."
"... No mother cares for her child as well as Gerasim courted his pet ..."
“… The wool on her was so shiny; it was evident that it had recently been combed out ... "
Caring, affectionate, treats Mumu with tenderness.
“... She was extremely smart, she was affectionate to everyone, but she loved only Gerasim. Gerasim himself loved her without memory ... "
Gerasim loves Mumu. Thanks to her, his life is filled with joy and meaning.
"... he significantly hit himself in the chest, as if announcing that he himself takes it upon himself to destroy Mumu ..."
He drowns Mumu with his hands so that someone else does not do it.
“... Gerasim looked at her for a long time; two heavy tears suddenly rolled out of his eyes: one fell on the dog's steep forehead, the other into the cabbage soup. He covered his face with his hand ... "
Gerasim cries when he goes to drown his beloved Mumu.
Reply left the guest
The story began when an old capricious lady took Gerasim as a janitor to her Moscow house from the village. Gerasim was a man of twelve inches in height, almost two meters in height by modern standards, built as a hero and deaf and dumb from birth. In the village, he worked for four, easily doing any hard work. He plowed the land, mowed hay, and threshed grain with a hand three-arshin flail. When Gerasim was brought to Moscow and given a broom and a shovel in his hands, he did not understand what was happening to him, how perplexed a young healthy bull, which had just been taken from a field where juicy grass grew up to his belly, was taken, put on an iron car roads and rush, pouring smoke and dust on his body, and where they rush is not clear. Gerasim was bored and bewildered. The job of a janitor seemed to him a joke after hard peasant labor. He did it for half an hour, and then he went somewhere in the corner of the courtyard, threw himself on the ground with his face and lay motionless on his chest for hours. Everyone in the yard was afraid of him. Once two thieves came to their yard. Gerasim took it and hit them with their foreheads. Since then, not a single thief has appeared in their yard. Gerasim also hated drunks. But gradually Gerasim got used to urban life. He was given a small room above the kitchen, in which he arranged everything for himself, according to his taste: he made a bed, a table and a chair from oak boards. He locked his closet with a lock, he always carried the key with him on his belt and did not like to be visited. All the lady’s workers explained to him by signs, he understood them and carried out all orders, but he also knew his rights.
When she saw Gerasim for the first time, she was so scared of him that then for a long time she tried not to meet with him. Gerasim at first did not pay attention to her, then he began to chuckle when she walked past him in fright, and then he began to look at her, treated her to gingerbread, gave her a ribbon, cleared the dust in front of her with his broom, smiled at her and gently hummed. The poor girl simply did not know what to do or what to do. Gerasim began to intercede for Tatyana and made sure that no one offended her. Everyone in the house knew that Gerasim fell in love with Tatyana and was going to ask the lady for permission to marry Tatyana, but he was waiting for a new caftan, which they promised to sew for him for the summer. Once the lady's talk about the shoemaker Kapiton - a bitter drunkard - with Gavrila Andreevich, her butler, a man who, judging by his yellow eyes and duck nose, seemed destined to be a commanding person. The lady regretted the spoiled morality of Kapiton, whom she had just found somewhere on the street the day before. They talked about how to wean Kapiton from drunkenness. And in the end, the lady decided to marry Tatyana and Kapiton. Tatyana was a meek, unrequited soul, and she agreed with every word of the lady. And when she found out that they wanted to marry her to Kapiton, she did not say a word. All the serfs wanted Gerasim not to know about this wedding. Gavrila decided to persuade Tatyana to pretend to be drunk, so that Gerasim would stop loving Tatyana, since he hated drunkards. The washerwoman did not agree for a long time, but then agreed. One evening Gerasim, as always, stood guard at the door and saw Tatiana. At first he smiled and, as always, gently hummed, but when he looked closely he saw that Tatyana was staggering and guessed that she was drunk. Gerasim pushed her to Kapiton and left. Tatiana almost died of fear. The insidious plan worked. Soon Tatyana and Kapiton got married. After a year, Tatyana and Kapiton had to leave for the village, because Kapiton was completely drunk. Before leaving, Tatiana kissed Gerasim three times. He decided to accompany them to the outpost. As soon as they reached the river, Gerasim was about to turn around and go back, when he suddenly saw a small puppy. He carefully took it in his hands and ran home with it. As they arrived, Gerasim opened the door to his closet, put the puppy on the bed, ran to the hayloft for hay and into the kitchen for a saucer of milk. I brought it all to a little, poor puppy. Gerasim hardly slept all night, only in the morning, when the dog fell asleep next to him, he could sleep peacefully. Gerasim, as I said, was dumb and therefore named the dog Mumu. When he called her, he just hummed affectionately. No mother cares about her child as much as Gerasim took care of Mumu. Suddenly Gerasim felt that someone was pulling on his floor. Gerasim trembled all over, but did not look. Then he was pulled even harder. He raised his head. A drawn-out cry of joy escaped his silent chest. Mumu spun at his feet with a piece of tape not around his neck. Gerasim squeezed her in his arms. She licked his mustache, mouth, nose and beard in an instant. Gerasim looked around, saw that there was no one and went to his closet. ... Gerasim went home, entered his little room, packed his things and went to the village. He remembered the road well then. He lived for a long time, worked for four, and the neighbors did not even wonder why he lived alone, even thieves were afraid to come to his yard.
(Figure I.I. Pchelko)
The serf peasant Tatiana appears before the readers at the beginning of the work.
At first, casually, between descriptions of other characters.
Then her image comes to life, supplemented and it becomes clear that this is one of the key characters not only in the book, but also in the fate of the main character, Gerasim.
The character and appearance of Tatiana
In her youth, she was pretty pretty, even had a reputation for beauty. She has blonde hair, slender, short stature. But she not only did not flourish, but by the age of 28 she turned into a nondescript woman who became a laundress in the mistress's household.
She was a diligent worker. It seemed that the whole meaning of her life is precisely in the impeccable fulfillment of the duties assigned to her.
No matter how strange it may seem at the present time, a mole on her left cheek influenced the fate of a pretty girl. In Russia, this mark was considered a bad sign. They believed that such women and their entourage would certainly face an unhappy life.
Apparently, therefore, Tatiana was not particularly welcome. She did not know affection. She had to work a lot, and she was paid extremely poorly. Even relatives, if they were, did not communicate with the unfortunate woman.
Tatiana never contradicted not only the lady, but also the rest of the inhabitants of the estate. She was quiet, meek and unrequited. No matter how painful and sad she was, she never showed it in public. If she cried, then only when no one saw.
She was insanely afraid of the lady, although she did not practically see her. Resignedly, she accepted instructions in her work, and discontent and decisions concerning her personal life.
Tatiana and Gerasim
(Nina Grebeshkova and Afanasy Kochetkov, film "Mumu", 1959)
Probably, it was the humility to fate and circumstances that Tatiana Gerasim loved so much. Or maybe he felt a kindred spirit in her. In fact, she was also an outcast in society, like him. Only Gerasim was not taken seriously because of his illness - he was deaf and dumb, and Tatyana - from her unfortunate mole on her left cheek.
Be that as it may, but he loved her selflessly and unrequitedly. His girlfriend was afraid. She was so afraid that she succumbed to Gavrila's persuasion to portray drunkenness in front of Gerasim. Everyone knew that he did not like drunks very much. Only by pretending to be drunk did she finally get rid of the man's courtship. On that day, Gerasim was disappointed in his chosen one, and never gave the red scarf, which he had in store for her as a gift. Since then, he has become even sullen and unhuman.
Tatiana was married to the drunkard Kapiton. The lady hoped that marriage would force him to settle down. But the plan failed. The shoemaker drank himself completely. A year after the wedding, the couple was expelled from Moscow.
On the day of departure Gerasim went out to see Tatiana off. He gave her a red handkerchief, which he saved a year ago. Tatiana burst into tears and kissed him.
What was Tatiana crying about?
(Elena Korikova as Tatyana, film "Mumu", 1998)
Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is that she regretted that she was so afraid of Gerasim that she chose the hopeless Kapiton as her husband. Or maybe she realized that it was impossible to make any decision of the hostess so blindly. After all, the butler Gavrila tried to get an answer from her, who is more dear to her, the janitor or the shoemaker. But, seeing in her only humility to the lady's decision, he began to think about how to drive Gerasim away from Tatyana, and not dissuade the lady from changing her decision. Who knows, if the girl had sympathy for the janitor and would have said about it, everything could have turned out differently.
Tatiana's influence on Gerasim
Be that as it may, the story of Tatyana's play of drunkenness made an indelible impression on the hero of the work of I.S. Turgenev. After leaving the estate, he never communicated with any other woman. Who knows if he was disappointed in women, believing the girl's intoxication, or realized that it was a joke. Perhaps he decided that since Tatyana was so frightened by the gigantic growth and heroic strength, or his illness, that she decided to expose herself in a light that was deliberately unacceptable to him, it is not worth trying to build relationships with others. And it is possible that he continued to love this quiet, unrequited, but just as hardworking as he is, Tatiana ...
Janitor Gerasim is the protagonist of Turgenev's story "Mumu". The author describes him as a unique person with remarkable strength and at the same time extremely modest, almost shy. An important role in the work is played by the relationship between the hero and other servants in the manor house. Let's analyze them.
Gerasim's relations with other courtyards
Other serfs are initially wary of the hero. On the one hand, they know that he is a good worker and always helps others, on the other hand, they are frightened by Gerasim's dumbness and his complete unpredictability. In general, according to the principle of attitude towards the janitor, three types of characters can be distinguished:
- Those who are afraid of the janitor (for example, the drunkard Kapiton, who knows that Gerasim hates alcohol).
- Those who use the hero for their own purposes (for example, the butler Gavril).
- Those who treat him kindly (Tatiana will be included in this group).
Of these groups, the last is the most important. It is the attachment to Tatiana that becomes the beginning of a series of events that will eventually lead to Gerasim's departure from the lady.
Gerasim's attitude to Tatiana
Tatiana is one of the laundresses in the manor house. Turgenev speaks of her as a kind and honest, but absolutely downtrodden girl who resigned herself to her bitter fate and does not even try to fight.
Gerasim is attached to the heroine and, one might say, in love with her. He awkwardly, in his own way, takes care of Tatyana, brings her sweets and other small gifts. At the same time, the janitor does not require any reciprocal feelings from the girl in return. His love is purely platonic in nature and is childishly naive, like the hero himself.
Unfortunately, Gerasim's story of affection ends sadly. The lady, during the next attack of tyranny, decides to marry Tatyana to another. But even saying goodbye to his beloved, who is leaving for a distant village, the janitor continues to feel sympathy for her. His last gift - a red handkerchief - is the only thing that makes Tatiana cry and regret her bitter share. Gerasim, even after returning from the noble house to his native village, never again looks after other girls.
