The old woman Izergil brief exact content. M
Very briefly, the old Romanian woman recalls her turbulent youth and tells two legends: about the son of an eagle, doomed to eternal loneliness for his pride, and about the young man who sacrificed himself to save his native tribe.
The chapter titles are arbitrary and do not correspond to the original. The story is told from the point of view of the narrator, whose name is not mentioned in the story. The memoirs of the old woman Izergil are presented on her behalf.
The narrator met the old woman Izergil while picking grapes in Bessarabia. One evening, while relaxing on the seashore, he talked with her. Suddenly the old woman pointed to the shadow of a low-floating cloud, called it Larra and told “one of the glorious tales told in the steppes.”
The Legend of Larra
Many thousands of years ago, in the “land of the big river” there lived a tribe of hunters and farmers. One day, one of the girls of this tribe was carried away by a huge eagle. They looked for the girl for a long time, did not find her and forgot about her, and twenty years later she returned with an adult son, whom she gave birth to from an eagle. The eagle itself, sensing the approach of old age, committed suicide - it fell from a great height onto sharp rocks.
The eagle's son was a handsome guy with cold, proud eyes. He did not respect anyone, but treated the elders as equals. The elders did not want to accept the guy into their tribe, but this only made him laugh.
He approached a beautiful girl and hugged her, but she pushed him away because she was the daughter of one of the elders and was afraid of her father’s wrath. Then the eagle's son killed the girl. They tied him up and began to come up with an “execution worthy of the crime.”
One wise man asked why he killed the girl, and the eagle's son replied that he wanted her, but she pushed him away. After a long conversation, the elders realized that the guy “considers himself the first on earth and sees nothing but himself.” He didn't want to love anyone and wanted to take what he wanted.
For everything a person takes, he pays with himself: with his mind and strength, sometimes with his life.
The elders realized that the eagle’s son was dooming himself to terrible loneliness, decided that this would be the most severe punishment for him, and released him.
The eagle's son was named Larra - the outcast. From then on, he lived “free as a bird,” came to the tribe and kidnapped cattle and women. They shot at him, but could not kill him, because Larra’s body was covered with the “invisible veil of the highest punishment.”
This is how Larra lived for many decades. One day he approached people and did not defend himself. People realized that Larra wanted to die and retreated, not wanting to ease his fate. He hit himself in the chest with a knife, but the knife broke, he tried to smash his head on the ground, but the earth pulled away from him, and people realized that Larra could not die. Since then, he has been wandering the steppe in the form of an ethereal shadow, punished for his great pride.
Memoirs of the old woman Izergil
The old woman Izergil dozed off, and the narrator sat on the shore, listening to the sound of the waves and the distant songs of the grape pickers.
Suddenly waking up, the old woman Izergil began to remember those whom she loved in her long life.
She lived with her mother in Romania on the banks of a river, weaving carpets. At fifteen she fell in love with a young fisherman. He persuaded Izergil to leave with him, but by that time she was already tired of the fisherman - “he just sings and kisses, nothing more.”
Having abandoned the fisherman, Izergil fell in love with a Hutsul - a cheerful, red-haired Carpathian youth from a band of robbers. The fisherman could not forget Izergil and also pestered the Hutsuls. So they were hanged together - both the fisherman and the Hutsul, and Izergil went to watch the execution.
Then Izergil met an important and rich Turk, lived in his harem for a whole week, then got bored and ran away with his son, a dark-haired, flexible boy much younger than her, to Bulgaria. There she was wounded with a knife in the chest by a certain Bulgarian woman, either for her fiance or for her husband - Izergil no longer remembers.
Izergil left at the convent. The Polish nun who looked after her had a brother in a nearby monastery. Izergil fled to Poland with him, and the young Turk died from an excess of carnal love and homesickness.
The Pole was “funny and mean”; he could hit people with words like a whip. One day he greatly offended Izergil. She took him in her arms, threw him into the river and left.
I never met those I once loved. These are not good meetings, as if they were with the dead.
People in Poland turned out to be “cold and deceitful”; Izergil found it difficult to live among them. In the city of Bochnia, a Jew bought it, “not for himself, but to trade.” Izergil agreed, wanting to earn money and return home. “Rich gentlemen” came to feast with her and showered her with gold.
Izergil loved many, and most of all the handsome nobleman Arcadek. He was young, and Izergil had already lived for four decades. Then Izergil broke up with the Jew and lived in Krakow, she was rich - a big house, servants. Arcadek sought it for a long time, and having achieved it, he abandoned it. Then he went to fight the Russians and was captured.
Izergil, pretending to be a beggar, killed the sentry and managed to rescue her beloved Arkadek from Russian captivity. He promised to love her, but Izergil did not stay with him - she did not want to be loved out of gratitude.
After that, Izergil went to Bessarabia and stayed there. Her Moldavian husband died, and now the old woman lives among the young grape pickers, telling them her tales.
A thundercloud drifted in from the sea, and blue sparks began to appear in the steppe. Seeing them, Izergil told the storyteller the legend of Danko.
The Legend of Danko
In the old days, between the steppe and the impenetrable forest lived a tribe of strong and brave people. One day, stronger tribes appeared from the steppe and drove these people deep into the forest, where the air was poisoned by the poisonous fumes of the swamps.
People began to get sick and die. It was necessary to leave the forest, but behind there were strong enemies, and ahead the road was blocked by swamps and giant trees, creating a “ring of strong darkness” around the people.
People could not return to the steppe and fight to the death, because they had covenants that should not disappear.
Nothing - neither work nor women - exhausts the bodies and souls of people as much as they exhaust melancholy thoughts.
Heavy thoughts created fear in the hearts of people. The cowardly words that we must return to the steppe and become slaves of the strongest sounded louder and louder.
And then the handsome young man Danko volunteered to lead the tribe out of the forest. People believed and followed him. Their path was difficult, people died in the swamps and every step was difficult for them. Soon the exhausted tribesmen began to grumble against Danko.
One day a thunderstorm began, impenetrable darkness fell over the forest, and the tribe lost heart. People were ashamed to admit their own powerlessness, and they began to reproach Danko for his inability to manage them.
Tired and angry people began to judge Danko, but he answered that the tribesmen themselves were unable to maintain strength for the long journey and simply walked like a flock of sheep. Then people wanted to kill Danko, and there was no kindness or nobility in their faces anymore. Out of pity for his fellow tribesmen, Danko’s heart flared up with the fire of desire to help them, and the rays of this mighty fire sparkled in his eyes.
Seeing how Danko’s eyes were burning, people decided that he was furious, became wary and began to surround him in order to capture and kill him. Danko understood their intention and felt bitter, and his heart burned even brighter. He “teared his chest with his hands,” tore out his flaming heart, raised it high above his head and led the enchanted people forward, illuminating their path.
Finally, the forest parted and the tribe saw a wide steppe, and Danko laughed joyfully and died. His heart was still burning next to his body. Some cautious person saw this and, frightened by something, “stepped on the proud heart with his foot.” It scattered into sparks and died out.
Sometimes blue sparks appear in the steppe before a thunderstorm. These are the remains of Danko's burning heart.
Having finished the story, the old woman Izergil dozed off, and the narrator looked at her withered body and wondered how many more “beautiful and powerful legends” she knew. Covering the old woman with rags, the narrator lay down next to her and looked for a long time at the sky covered with clouds, while the sea rustled “dullly and sadly” nearby.
Full version 0.5-1 hour (≈10 A4 pages), summary 3-5 minutes.
Main characters
Old woman Izergil, Danko, Larra
“The Old Woman Izergil” is a short story by Maxim Gorky, written in 1894. The story is a dialogue between the author and an old woman who tells three stories. The story touches on the themes of life values and freedom of choice.
First chapter
The author tells stories that he heard in Bessarabia, when he worked as a grape picker with the Moldovans. One evening, when all the workers went to the sea, only the author and an elderly woman remained under the grapes - old woman Izergil. She noticed one unusual shadow of a cloud on the steppe and called it Larra, and then told the story - the ancient legend about Larra.
A long time ago, in a wonderful and beautiful country, there lived a tribe of people. People tended flocks of sheep, went hunting, sang songs and had fun. One day, during a feast, an eagle flew in and carried away one of the girls. The girl returned only twenty years later and not alone - she brought with her a handsome young man. As it turned out, the girl had been living with the eagle in the mountains all this time, and the young man was their son!
The eagle grew old and threw itself from a height onto the rocks and died, and the woman returned home.
The son of the king of birds looked no different from people, only his eyes were cold and proud.
He spoke disrespectfully to the elders and looked down on other people, saying:
there is no one else like me
The elders got angry and ordered Larra to go wherever he wanted - he had no place in the tribe. Then the young man approached the daughter of one of them and hugged her. The girl, fearing her father's anger, pushed the young man away. The eagle's son hit the girl, she fell and died. The young man was grabbed and tied up. The tribesmen thought for a long time about what punishment to choose. After listening to the sage, people realized that the best punishment was in himself and simply released the young man.
Since then, the hero was nicknamed Larra - an outcast. Larra lived for many years, living freely near the tribe: he stole cattle, stole girls. The arrows of people did not take him, covered with the invisible veil of supreme punishment. But one day Larra approached the tribe, making it clear to the people that he would not defend himself. People guessed that Larra wanted to die - and no one began to attack him, not wanting to ease his fate. Seeing that he would not die at the hands of people, the young man wanted to kill himself with a knife, but it broke. The ground against which Larra was beating his head was moving away from under him. Having made sure that the eagle's son could not die, the people of the tribe rejoiced and left. Since then, left completely alone, the proud young man wanders around the world, no longer understanding the language of people and not knowing what he is looking for. He has no life, and death does not smile on him.
This is how the man was punished for his exorbitant pride.
Wonderful singing was heard from the shore to the interlocutors.
Chapter two
Old woman Izergil said that only those who are in love with life can sing so beautifully. She “had enough blood” to live to her age precisely because love was the essence of her life.
Izergil told the author about her youth. Before him passed one after another the images of the old woman Izergil’s loved ones: a fisherman from the Prut, the heroine’s first love, Hutsul, hanged by the authorities for robbery, a rich Turk, with whose sixteen-year-old son Izergil escaped from the harem “out of boredom” to Bulgaria, a little Pole monk, “ funny and vile”, whom the heroine picked up and threw into the river for offensive words, “A worthy gentleman with a hacked-up face”, who loved exploits (for his sake Izergil refused the love of a man who showered her with gold coins), a Hungarian who left Izergil (he was found in the field with a bullet through his head), Arcadek, a handsome nobleman rescued from captivity by the heroine, the last love of forty-year-old Izergil.
After talking about her “Greedy Life,” the old woman decided to start a family and came here. Here, in Moldova, she got married and has been living for about thirty years. By the time the author met her, her husband had been dead for about a year, and she lived with Moldovans - grape pickers. They need her and she feels good with them.
The old woman finished her story. The interlocutors sat and watched the night steppe. In the distance blue lights like sparks were visible. Having asked whether the author saw them, Izergil said that these were sparks from “Danko’s burning heart”, and began to tell another ancient legend.
Chapter Three
In ancient times, proud, cheerful people who knew no fear lived in the steppe. Their camps were surrounded on three sides by wild forests. One day, foreign tribes came to the land of people and drove them into the depths of the old impenetrable forest, where there were swamps and eternal darkness. From the stench rising from the swamp, people who were accustomed to the expanses of the steppe died one after another. Strong and brave, they could go fight their enemies, but
they could not die in battles, because they had covenants, and if they died, then the covenants would disappear with them from life
People sat and thought about what to do - but from painful thoughts they weakened in spirit and fear settled in their hearts. They were ready to surrender to the enemy, but their comrade Danko “saved everyone alone.” Danko turned to the people, urging them to go through the forest - after all, somewhere the forest had to end. There was so much living fire in the young man’s eyes that people believed and went with him.
The path was long and difficult, and people had less and less strength and faith in Danko. One day, during a severe thunderstorm, people despaired. But they could not admit their weakness; instead, they accused Danko of his inability to lead them out of the forest. Like wild animals, they were ready to rush at him and kill him. The young man felt sorry for them, realizing that without him his fellow tribesmen would die. His heart burned with the desire to save people - after all, he loved them. Danko tore his heart out of his chest and raised it high above his head - it blazed brighter than the sun itself. The hero walked forward and forward, illuminating the road with “the torch of great love for people.” Suddenly the forest ended - there was an expanse of steppe in front of the people. Danko looked with joy at the free land - and died. People did not pay attention to the death of the young man, nor did they see the heart that was still burning near the hero’s body. Only one person noticed the heart, and, fearing something, stepped on it with his foot. The proud heart, splashing sparks around, faded away. Since then, those blue lights that the author saw have appeared in the steppe.
Old woman Izergil finished the story. Everything around became quiet, and it seemed to the author that even the steppe was enchanted by the nobility of the brave Danko, who did not expect a reward for his heart burned for the sake of people.
1
The author heard these stories in Bessarabia. The Moldovans with whom he worked dispersed, leaving only the old woman Izergil. “Time bent her in half, her once black eyes were dull and watery. Her dry voice sounded strange, it crunched, as if the old woman was speaking with bones.” Pointing to the shadow of the cloud, the old woman claims that it is JIappa walking across the steppe. “He lives for thousands of years, the sun dried his body, blood and bones, and the wind scattered them.” The old woman tells a tale about how God punished a man for his pride.
In a distant and rich country lived a tribe of powerful and cheerful people. One day, during a feast, an eagle carried away a beautiful girl. She was not found and was soon forgotten. She returned twenty years later, exhausted and aged, and brought with her a handsome young man, her son by the eagle. The young man was proud and arrogant: his eyes were cold, he talks to the elders of the tribe as equals, he does not want to honor them, because he is the only one of his kind. Lappa goes to a beautiful girl, his daughter. one of the elders. She pushes him away because she is afraid of her father. The young man beats her, puts his foot on her chest, and the girl dies. Those around him stand dumbfounded for a while, but then they grab him and decide to come up with an execution worthy of the crime. No execution seems worthy to them. Even the mother does not dare to stand up for Larra. Larra is then asked why he killed the girl. He replies that he killed her because she pushed him away. The elders object that “for everything a person takes, he pays with himself: with his mind and strength, sometimes with his life.” Larra considers himself the first on earth and sees nothing but himself. People condemn Larra to freedom and loneliness. Thunder sounds from the sky, the young man becomes immortal. For decades he wandered the earth and finally wanted to die by the hand of man. But people guess
about his intentions and do not kill him, but laugh at him. Lappa cannot commit suicide himself. Since then he has been walking around, free, yearning, awaiting death. “He has no life, and death does not smile on him. And there is no place for him among people...”
2
A beautiful song is heard from afar. The old woman smiles and begins to talk about herself. In her youth, she spent whole days weaving carpets, although “she was alive like a ray of sunshine.” And at night she ran to the one she loved. At the age of 15 she met a handsome, tall, black-moustached, cheerful fisherman. A feeling flares up between them. But soon Izergil gets bored with the monotony of their relationship (he only “sang and kissed”). She asks her friend to introduce her to the Hutsuls. She introduced her to a red-haired, curly-haired young man, affectionate and hot (once he hit her in the face, she responded by biting him on the cheek. A hole subsequently formed in this place, and the guy loved it when Izergil kissed him in this hole). Then both the fisherman and the Hutsul were hanged. Izergil was present at the execution. The fisherman was afraid of death, and the Hutsul joked and smoked a pipe. Izergil also loved a Turk and lived in his harem for a week, but she became bored with women and ran away from the Turk with his 16-year-old son to Bulgaria. The boy died “from homesickness or love.” One Bulgarian woman stabbed Izergil in the chest for her lover. Izergil was treated by a young Polish woman in a convent. Her brother, also a monk, came to visit the Polish woman. When Izergil recovered, she went with him to Poland. One day he insulted her and she drowned him. It was difficult for Izergil to live in Poland, since she did not know how to do anything. So she goes from man to man. Izergil greatly respected one of them, a gentleman with a face cut in battles, since this man “loved exploits.” “In life, you know, there is always room for exploits.” In Poland, Izergil met a handsome nobleman, proud and spoiled by women. Izergil was already 40 years old by that time. He left her, and she realized that she was already old. Shlyakhtich went to war with the Russians, Izergil went after him. Having reached the place, she learns that the nobleman was captured. Izergil deceives the sentry: he says that her son was captured, that she would just look at him, falls to his knees, knocks the soldier to the ground and strangles him. Izergil saves the nobleman and his comrades. Shlyakhtich, in gratitude for saving her, promises to love her. But proud Izergil pushes him away. Shlyakhtich and his friends leave. Izergil starts a family and lives in Bessarabia for 30 years. A year ago, her husband died and she was left alone.
A cloud rises from the sea, small blue lights flash in the steppe. Izergil says that these are sparks from Danko’s burning heart.
3
Izergil tells a fairy tale. In the old days there lived cheerful, strong and brave people. Foreign tribes drove them deep into the forests. It was dark there, and foul fumes rose from the swamps. People died one after another. They decide to leave the forest, but don't know which way to go. From long thoughts people weaken, fear settles in their souls. Many are already ready to go to the enemy and agree to the fate of slaves. But Dan-ko appears and saves everyone alone. Danko was handsome, brave and decisive. His fellow tribesmen believe him and follow him. The road turns out to be difficult, people complain about Danko’s youth and inexperience. A thunderstorm begins. Tired people lose heart and, in anger and anger, begin to reproach Danko. Danko replies that he leads them because he has the courage to lead people, and the rest follow obediently, like a flock of sheep. Enraged people decide to kill Danko. “There was no nobility on their faces; he could not expect mercy from them. Then indignation boiled in his heart, but out of pity for the people it went out. He loved people and thought that maybe they would die without him.” Danko tears his chest with his hands, tears out his heart and lifts it above his head. “It burned as brightly as the sun, and brighter than the sun, and the whole forest fell silent, illuminated by this torch of great love for people...” Danko again calls on people to follow him, shocked people rush forward, “carried away by the wonderful spectacle of a burning heart.” Danko leads people out of the forest, joyfully looks at the free land, laughs proudly, falls and dies. People do not notice his death, only one cautious man, “fearing something, stepped on his proud heart with his foot. And so it, scattered into sparks, faded away...”
Old woman Izergil, having finished the story, falls asleep, the author reflects on what he heard.
One evening, after harvesting the grapes, the narrator and the old woman Izergil looked at the silhouettes of people who went to the sea. The old woman told him an amazing story.
Once upon a time there lived a tribe of people. They went hunting, and after it they had a feast.
During the festivities, an eagle flew in, grabbed and carried away the black-haired girl. They searched for her, but to no avail.
Two decades later, the exhausted girl appeared with the eagle's son. He was handsome and had an arrogant and proud character. For this, the tribe drives him away. As he leaves, he kills the elder's daughter.
The people of the tribe tie him up and gather at a council to come up with an execution for him for such a daring act.
They nicknamed him Larra, released him and doomed him to a lonely existence.
Once he came to people and tried to kill himself, but he failed to do it.
He lay on the ground, sadness was visible in his eyes. From then on he became like a shadow.
Thus he was punished for his pride, the old woman said and fell silent.
Then Izergil began to remember her men.
She loved a fisherman, then left him for a Hutsul. These two men were hanged by the Romanians. They took revenge on him and he became poor.
The old woman also said that she lived with a Turk, but she was bored there and she ran away with his son to Bulgaria, and he later died.
In Bulgaria she was injured by a woman out of jealousy. While undergoing treatment at a monastery, she met a monk and went with him to Poland. He often offended her and she threw him into the river.
Then she lived with a Jew and sold herself. There was also a Magyar, he left her, and later they found him killed.
She loved a nobleman, he left her. And when he went to war, she saved him from captivity by killing a sentry, but she did not want to stay with him.
The old woman got married, her Moldovan husband died and now she lives alone.
Then she told the narrator a story about the brave Danko.
A long time ago, people lived in the steppe, but others came and drove them into the forest. People began to die, Danko came and led the people with him to lead them out of the forest. The road was difficult, people began to weaken and get angry with him. They wanted to kill him. Then he tore out his heart with his hands and raised it above his head.
People were fascinated by this and followed him again. He led them to free land and died.
After telling these instructive stories, the old woman got tired and dozed off.
Summary of Old Woman Izergil according to Gorky's chapters
Chapter 1
The text of Maxim Gorky’s work “The Old Woman Izergil” takes the reader to Bessarabia, to a time when Gorky picked grapes with other workers, enjoyed life in the steppe and was not a famous Soviet writer. One evening he and an elderly lady were sitting in the shade of a grapevine, at the same time when other grape pickers were swimming in the gentle evening sea. The lady's name was Izergil. It was in the evenings that old woman Izergil told him her legends. And Maxim Gorky at these moments completely surrendered to the will and fantasy of the narrator, because he had never heard anything like this in his life. He was very pleased to listen to the smooth and melodious speech of his interlocutor.
So, the first legend that Izergil told Gorky was the legend of Larra. It tells about a land in which people live happily and carefree. One fine day people were feasting. In the midst of the fun, an eagle flew in and carried away the most beautiful girl of this tribe in its talons. And this girl became the eagle’s wife and bore him a son, and they lived in inaccessible rocks. It so happened that the eagle died. This girl found her tribe twenty years later, but she returned not alone, but with a beautiful and proud son. The girl told the elders about her life with the eagle, and that the eagle could not bear the fact that he was getting old and committed suicide. Then she did not live alone in the rocks and returned to the people. People approved of her action and accepted them into their tribe.
If we talk about the son of an earthly woman and an eagle, it is worth noting that outwardly he was like everyone else, but his eyes were full of pride. With all his behavior and speeches, he expressed a disrespectful attitude towards people, especially old men and girls. This is basically unacceptable behavior. We are People!
The eagle's son decided that everyone should obey his will. One day, during a conversation, the young man tried to hug one of the girls. She showed disobedience, and the eagle’s son hit her, so much so that the girl died on the spot. Then the wise elders decided to expel the proud man from the tribe.
At this, the gray-haired sages consulted for a long time and decided that the best punishment would be for himself. Then they released the boy. They came up with his name Larra, which means outcast. Larra wandered the earth for many years. Death did not accept him. His mother’s fellow tribesmen rejoiced at this fact. Since then, Larra has been wandering around the world, but there is no death for him. This is a punishment for his pride. Now he looks like a shadow.
Chapter 2
Old woman Izergil noticed in the conversation that those who love life sing beautifully. She attributes her longevity to the presence of love in her life. She is flattered that she has experienced a lot of love. Then she tells Gorky about her lovers. So different and desirable for Izergil.
Her first boyfriend was Hutsul, a robber who was soon executed. Then the son of a rich Turk, a Pole monk drowned by her, a gentleman with a disfigured face, a Hungarian who left Izergil without permission, a Pole Arcadek - the old woman's swan song.
The old woman talks about love. About the fact that I understood the need for family in the life of every person. And that he has been living in Bessarabia for almost 30 years.
Of course, the abundance of men and their attention in Izergil’s life can be condemned, but she was happy with them, and this is the most important thing for any person at any age. No wonder they say: “All ages are submissive to love.”
Izergil finished talking about love in her life late, when it began to get dark. Blue sparkles became visible in the darkness and then the old woman told the story of the brave Danko. Thus the steppe evening turned the course of her narrative.
Chapter 3
A very, very long time ago, brave people lived in the steppe region. Their tribes were surrounded by impenetrable dark forests. It so happened that foreigners came to their territory and pushed the tribe into a dark, inaccessible thicket. And it was always dark there and there was a swamp nearby. Many strong and proud people died from swamp gas, because they were steppe inhabitants, accustomed to open spaces and winds. They began to think about what to do. They became very scared. It was so scary that they were ready to go under the yoke of foreigners just to breathe in the native steppe air. And then Danko began to urge the people to go through the forest in order to regain their native steppe, and with it the desired freedom. So vividly did he call with him, so burned was the fire of life in his eyes that his fellow tribesmen believed him and went with him through the gloomy and damp forest.
The tribe’s path was very long and thorny. People were losing faith. One day a wild thunderstorm began. She aggravated people's despair and they began to blame Danko for all failures. Then the young man tore open his chest, took out his quivering heart, raised it above his head and led the people. The heart shone so brightly that the road was visible even better than the most powerful flashlight. People walked and walked, and here it was, the long-awaited freedom! The forest is gone, and ahead is the native steppe. Danko felt joy from leading the people to their native open spaces. He fell to the ground and died. The people did not pay attention to this. Only one person from the tribe noticed this. He also saw a heart near Danko’s body, stepped on it with his foot, and it went out, because although it was kind, it was proud and rebellious, like its owner. The heart crumbled into blue sparks. But blue sparkles appear every now and then in the night. Gorky saw them during a conversation with Izergil late in the summer evening
Night has fallen. Izergil completed her stories. There was silence, so much so that Gorky realized that even nature was capable of appreciating the nobility of such a person as Danko.
Thus, in his romantic work, Maxim Gorky solves many important universal issues. They touch the eternal, what to do? Who's to blame? Why live? What is freedom?
Picture or drawing of the Old Woman Izergil
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- Summary Turgenev Biryuk
In the forest, the hero is caught in heavy rain. The hunter suddenly sees a man - tall and broad-shouldered. It turns out that this is the forester Thomas, about whom the hero has heard a lot. This forester was popularly nicknamed Biryuk, which means a lone wolf.
The romantic story “Old Woman Izergil” by Maxim Gorky was written in 1894. The composition of the work is “a story within a story.” The narration is told on behalf of the author and the heroine of the story, the old woman Izergil. The three parts are subordinated to a general idea: reflection on the true value of human life, the meaning of life, and human freedom.
The story “Old Woman Izergil” is studied in the 11th grade literature course. To get acquainted with the works of Gorky’s early work, you can read a summary of “The Old Woman Izergil” chapter by chapter.
Main characters
Old woman Izergil– an elderly woman, the author’s interlocutor. He talks about the story of his life, the legend of Danko and Larra. He believes that “everyone is their own destiny.”
Larra- son of a woman and an eagle. He despised people. Punished by people with immortality and loneliness.
Danko- a young man who loves people, “the best of all.” He saved people at the cost of his own life, lighting their way out of the forest with his heart torn out of his chest.
Other characters
Narrator– retold the stories he had heard, worked with the Moldovans during the grape harvest.
Chapter 1
The stories that the author tells his readers, he heard in Bessarabia, working together with the Moldovans in the grape harvest. One evening, having finished working, all the workers went to the sea, and only the author and an elderly woman named Izergil remained to rest in the shade of the grapes.
Evening came, shadows of clouds floated across the steppe, and Izergil, pointing to one of the shadows, called her Larra, and told the author an ancient legend.
In one country, where the land is generous and beautiful, a human tribe lived happily. People hunted, herded herds, rested, sang and had fun. One day during a feast, an eagle carried away one of the girls. She returned only twenty years later and brought with her a handsome and stately young man. It turned out that all the past years the stolen tribeswoman had lived with the eagle in the mountains, and the young man was their son. When the eagle began to grow old, it rushed from a height onto the rocks and died, and the woman decided to return home.
The son of the king of birds did not differ in appearance from people, only “his eyes were cold and proud.” He spoke disrespectfully to the elders, and looked down on other people, saying that “there are no more people like him.”
The elders got angry and ordered him to go wherever he wanted - he had no place in the tribe. The young man approached the daughter of one of them and hugged her. But she, fearing her father’s anger, pushed him away. The eagle's son hit the girl, she fell and died. The young man was grabbed and tied up. The tribesmen thought for a long time about what punishment to choose. After listening to the sage, people realized that “the punishment is in himself” and simply released the young man.
The hero began to be called Larra - “outcast”. Larra lived for many years, living freely near the tribe: he stole cattle, stole girls. The arrows of people did not take him, covered with the “invisible veil of the highest punishment.” But one day Larra approached the tribe, making it clear to the people that he would not defend himself. One of the people guessed that Larra wanted to die - and no one began to attack him, not wanting to ease his fate.
Seeing that he would not die at the hands of people, the young man wanted to kill himself with a knife, but it broke. The ground against which Larra was beating his head was moving away from under him. Having made sure that the eagle's son could not die, the people of the tribe rejoiced and left. Since then, left completely alone, the proud young man wanders around the world, no longer understanding the language of people and not knowing what he is looking for. “He has no life, and death does not smile on him.” This is how the man was punished for his exorbitant pride.
Wonderful singing was heard from the shore to the interlocutors.
Chapter 2
Old woman Izergil said that only those who are in love with life can sing so beautifully. She “had enough blood” to live to her age precisely because love was the essence of her life. Izergil told the author about her youth. One after another, images of the old woman Izergil’s beloved passed before him.
Fisherman from the Prut, the heroine’s first love. Hutsul, hanged by the authorities for robbery. A rich Turk, with whose sixteen-year-old son Izergil escaped from the harem “out of boredom” to Bulgaria. A little Pole monk, “funny and mean,” whom the heroine picked up and threw into the river for offensive words. “A worthy gentleman with a hacked-up face,” who loved exploits (for his sake, Izergil refused the love of a man who showered her with gold coins). A Hungarian who left Izergil (he was found in a field with a bullet through his head). Arcadek, a handsome nobleman rescued from captivity by the heroine, is the last love of forty-year-old Izergil.
The woman told her interlocutor about different moments of her “greedy life.” The time came when she realized it was time to start a family. Having left for Moldova, she got married and has been living here for about thirty years. By the time the author met her, her husband had been dead for about a year, and she lived with Moldovans - grape pickers. They need her, she feels good with them.
The woman finished her story. The interlocutors sat watching the night steppe. In the distance blue lights like sparks were visible. Having asked whether the author saw them, Izergil said that these were sparks from “Danko’s burning heart”, and began to tell another ancient legend.
Chapter 3
In ancient times, proud, cheerful people who knew no fear lived in the steppe. Their camps were surrounded on three sides by wild forests. One day, foreign tribes came to the land of people and drove them into the depths of the old impenetrable forest, where there were swamps and eternal darkness. From the stench rising from the swamp, people who were accustomed to the expanses of the steppe died one after another.
Strong and brave, they could have gone to fight with enemies, “but they could not die in battle, because they had covenants, and if they had died, then the covenants would have disappeared from their lives.” People sat and thought about what to do - but from painful thoughts they weakened in spirit and fear settled in their hearts. They were ready to surrender to the enemy, but their comrade Danko “saved everyone alone.” Danko turned to the people, urging them to go through the forest - after all, somewhere the forest had to end. There was so much living fire in the young man’s eyes that people believed and went with him.
The path was long and difficult, people had less and less strength and faith in Danko. One day, during a severe thunderstorm, people despaired. But they could not admit their weakness; instead, they accused Danko of his inability to lead them out of the forest. Like wild animals, they were ready to rush at him and kill him. The young man felt sorry for them, realizing that without him his fellow tribesmen would die. His heart burned with the desire to save people - after all, he loved them. Danko tore his heart out of his chest and raised it high above his head - it blazed brighter than the sun itself. The hero walked forward and forward, illuminating the road with “the torch of great love for people.” Suddenly the forest ended - there was an expanse of steppe in front of the people. Danko looked with joy at the free land - and died.
People did not pay attention to the death of the young man, nor did they see the heart that was still burning near the hero’s body. Only one person noticed the heart, and, fearing something, stepped on it with his foot. The proud heart, splashing sparks around, faded away. Since then, those blue lights that the author saw have appeared in the steppe.
Old woman Izergil finished the story. Everything around became quiet, and it seemed to the author that even the steppe was enchanted by the nobility of the brave Danko, who did not expect a reward for his heart burned for the sake of people.
Conclusions
Like any classic work, Gorky’s story leads the reader to think about the most important questions: why does a person live, how should he live, and what life principles should he follow, what is freedom? The retelling of “Old Woman Izergil” gives an idea of the plot, idea, and characters of the work. Reading the full text of the story will allow the reader to plunge into the bright and expressive world of Gorky’s heroes.
Story test
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Retelling rating
Average rating: 4.3. Total ratings received: 4294.
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