Did Gerasim do the right thing with Mumu? So did Gerasim drown Mumu? About the benefits of careful reading

Turgenev's story "Mumu" amazed the entire public who read it. No one could understand why Gerasim drowned Mumu. This picture brings all readers to tears to this day. 155 years have passed since the story was written, but as soon as you mention it, this terrible scene pops up in your head. It was noticed that the population who read Turgenev’s story is really concerned about the question: “Why did Gerasim drown Mumu?” Really, why? After all, Gerasim loved Mumu, she was irreplaceable to him and true friend! There are a lot of answers and assumptions, let’s look at some of them.

The main thing is the plot. The story is read in one breath, everything goes easily and naturally. The reader develops a feeling of compassion for Gerasim, who is deprived of fate. But the deaf-mute janitor of the capricious and arrogant lady had a big and sympathetic heart. And so main character meets a dog whom he begins to love with all his soul. The dog becomes Gerasim's only true comrade. What happens next? Why did Gerasim drown Mumu? According to the story, the lady ordered her servant to get rid of the dog. First, Mumu is kidnapped, but she chews through the ropes and returns to her owner, and the second time she is ordered to be killed. And this assignment is taken on by none other than Gerasim himself. After Gerasim drowns Mumu in the river, he leaves the lady for the village.

Actually, the question arises: “Why did Gerasim drown Mumu?” He could easily go with her to the village. Some suspect that this is a life attitude brought up by the serfdom - in the sense that there is no need to rebel, one should follow the order and move on with life. Others say that Turgenev walked through life with Oscar Wilde’s phrase “We always kill those we love.” Still others believe that Turgenev himself was honest, decent person, and if he were ordered to do something of this kind, he would do it without hesitation.

There is a version that Turgenev wrote a story, between the lines of which he was embodied biblical story, telling the story of Abraham and Isaac. This is the story of how God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham is already in old age, understands that he will not have any more children and loves his son Isaac excessively. Despite all this, Abraham and his son go to the mountain so that his father sacrifices him. The story with Gerasim and Mumu is very similar. Gerasim plays the role of Abraham, and Mumu plays the role of Isaac; the lady is presented in the role of God. One way or another, there are similarities, and you can think about it.

Today, both great philologists and all Turgenev’s readers cannot understand why Gerasim drowned Mumu. This work is quite cruel and unfair. Not every adult can stand such prose, and even less so for children. After all, the plot centers on two friends, and one of them kills the other. Mumu believed Gerasim, she ran away from the thieves to him. The dog would give his life for his owner, but he decided to get rid of her in this way. The interesting thing is that Gerasim didn’t care whether he would be punished or not if he disobeyed. The main thing was to carry out the order! He did it without even thinking. Deep philosophy This work will excite more than one generation of readers.

This article is devoted to the work of I.S. Turgenev. It will carefully analyze the motives of behavior of the main character of the story “Mumu” ​​- the janitor Gerasim. Probably, those who read, but did not have sufficient psychological insight, were tormented since school by the question of why Gerasim drowned Mumu. During the “investigation” the answer will be given.

Personality of Gerasim

The mighty mute Gerasim was uprooted from his native hut in the village and transplanted into the alien urban soil of Moscow. He was two meters tall. He had an abundance of natural power. A Moscow lady took an eye on him and ordered him to be transported from the village to her home. She identified him as a janitor, for he was a noble worker.

No matter how far this information may seem to the reader from answering the question of why Gerasim drowned Mumu, it is very important and is directly related to him. This is the foundation for understanding inner world hero.

Love triangle: Gerasim, Tatiana and Kapiton

The lady served alone ordinary girl- Tatyana (she worked as a laundress). Gerasim liked the young woman, although both the other servants and the mistress herself understood that such a marriage was hardly possible for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, Gerasim tenderly cherished within himself a timid hope, firstly, for reciprocity, and secondly, that the lady would consent to the marriage.

But, unfortunately, the hopes of the main character were not destined to come true. The quarrelsome and self-centered lady decided in her own way: the drunken shoemaker, who had gotten out of hand, was appointed Tatyana’s husband by the lord’s permission. He himself is not against it, but he was afraid of Gerasim’s reaction to this news. Then the master's servants resorted to a trick: knowing that the dumb janitor could not stand drunkards, the servants forced Tatyana to walk in front of Gerasim drunk. The trick was a success - the janitor himself pushed his sweetheart into Kapiton’s arms. True, the lady’s experiment did not end well. Her shoemaker drank himself to death even in the hands of a hardworking and, one might say, gentle to the point of slavery washerwoman. Days unhappy couple flowed joylessly in a remote village.

The love triangle is important in the context of answering the question of why Gerasim drowned Mumu, since it reveals the “chemistry” of the janitor’s future attachment to his dog.

Gerasim and Mumu

When Gerasim suffered from unspent love, he found the dog. She was only three weeks old. The janitor rescued the dog from the water, brought him to his closet, organized a rookery for the dog (it turns out it was a girl), and fed it milk.

In other words, now the love of a simple Russian mute man, unclaimed by a woman, is completely invested in the creature who unexpectedly appeared in his life. He names the dog Mumu.

The ending of the story

The main character's problems arose when the lady, who had not seen the dog before, suddenly discovered it. Mumu has lived with Gerasim like Christ in his bosom for more than a year. The owner was delighted with the dog. She asked to be immediately brought to the master's chambers. When the dog was delivered, she behaved warily and aggressively in an unfamiliar environment. She didn’t drink the owner’s milk, but began barking at the lady.

Of course, the lady could not bear such an attitude and ordered the dog to be removed from her possession. And so they did. Gerasim looked and looked for her, but never found her. But Mumu returned to her owner one fine day with a chewed leash around her neck. Gerasim realized that the dog did not run away from him on its own, and began to hide it from prying eyes in his closet, and he only took it out into the street at night. But on one such walking night, a drunk lay down near the fence of the owner’s estate. Mumu did not like drunkards, just like her owner, and began to bark hysterically and shrilly at the drunkard. She woke up the whole house, including the lady.

As a result, the dog was ordered to be disposed of. The servants took this too literally and decided to take Mumu’s life. Gerasim volunteered to move his beloved pet to better world with his own hand. Then, unable to withstand the mental anguish, the janitor returned (actually fled) to his place. native land- to the village, again becoming an ordinary man. At first they looked for him, and when they found him, the lady said that “she doesn’t need such an ungrateful worker for nothing.”

Thus, if someone (most likely a schoolboy) decides to write an essay “Why Gerasim drowned Mumu,” he should answer this question in the context of the entire story, so that the author’s narrative acquires depth and richness.

Moral of the story

Turgenev specifically paints Gerasim so powerful in order to show in contrast his spiritual indecisiveness and timidity, one might say, slavery. The janitor drowned his dog not because he felt sorry for her: he imagined how she would wander around other people’s yards without him in search of food. He killed her because he could not resist the master's order and the pressure of other servants. And when the reader understands the whole essence of Gerasim’s inner world, he is shocked by two things: the skill of the writer and the deep tragedy of the story. After all, no one stopped Gerasim from escaping with the dog, in general, so to speak, from preparing the escape in advance when he realized that things were bad. But he didn’t do this, and all because of servile psychology.

Thus, to the question of why Gerasim drowned Mumu, the answers do not imply diversity. The key to understanding the work of I.S. Turgenev - in the slave psychology of Russian people, which the classic masterfully embodied in the image of a dumb janitor.

Every year, the eyes of younger schoolchildren are clouded with tears. In schools, gymnasiums and lyceums they read “Muma” by Turgenev. And since this story was published in the Sovremennik magazine in 1854, “all progressive humanity” has condemned the hard-hearted Gerasim.
Moreover, his condemnation is absolutely in vain. No, unlike Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago, Turgenev’s “creatiffcheg” was read. But they read, firstly, with pre-brainwashed, and secondly, extremely inattentively. Thirdly, illustrators of children's literature have been freeloading for almost 160 years.

Typical "tear" pattern.

In fact, Gerasim did not drown Mumu . He simply broke up with her as a human being. Don't believe me? We open the official publication of I.S. Turgenev and read carefully together, interrupting from time to time to reason.

I will quote the author's text from the Collected Works in ten volumes, Goslitizdat, Moscow, 1961 OCR Konnik M.V.
To begin with, let’s decide, what size was Mumu?
Helpful illustrators vying with each other to offer their drawings.

Drawing by V. Kozhevnikova.

In 1949, the filmstrip "Mumu" was published. Do you remember such a rare entertainment from childhood? Wikipedia helpfully suggests that filmstrips were widely used in the USSR "for educational, artistic, entertainment (children's fairy tales and cartoon footage), lectures and propaganda goals." I’ll leave a lot to the conscience of the propagandists. But not “Mumu.”

Having been impressed by the “cute-cute” dog, let’s carefully read the end of the second line of text on the frame of the filmstrip. Let's look at the picture. Do you feel cognitive dissonance?

Word by I.S. Turgenev: " ...turned into a very nice dog spanish breed, With long ears, a fluffy tail in the shape of a trumpet and large expressive eyes."And now, squinting my eye mockingly, I’ll ask: So what breed was Mumu? Spanish? And now what is this breed called? How do you say “Spanish” in English? Spanish. And in German? Spanisch. You can tell for yourself modern name breed or should I tell you what it is spaniel?
While Mumu is growing in size from a “tiny little cute” dog into a dog with a height at the withers of 40-60 centimeters, weighing up to 30-35 kilograms (French and German spaniels), the illustrators hiccup in unison, and we will note that there is one less childhood misconception .

Read on.
Having promised to “destroy Mumu” ​​(by the way, is it possible to take a deaf-mute at his word?!), Gerasim, according to witness Eroshka, left the yard “ entered the tavern with the dog". He is there " asked myself cabbage soup with meat". "They brought cabbage soup to Gerasim. He crumbled some bread into it, finely chopped the meat and placed the plate on the floor."The role of carbohydrates, in particular polysaccharides, present in excess in bread, as sources of quickly released energy for a living organism, was discovered later, but natural ingenuity suggested to Gerasim the optimal balance of nutrients in Mumu's food for the upcoming situation. By the way, Turgenev also notes there general grooming of the dog: " Her fur was so shiny..."Have you ever seen a dog with shiny fur living from hand to mouth? I haven't.

We continue to read carefully.
"Mumu ate half a plate and walked away, licking her lips.“It seems to me that the only authentic synonym is that Mumu ate her fill. That is, the dog was full and didn’t want to eat anymore. For better digestion of food, the deaf-mute janitor, again guided by his innate intelligence, walked the dog: “ Gerasim walked slowly and did not let Mumu off the rope."While Walking" On the road, he went into the courtyard of a house to which an outbuilding was attached, and carried out two bricks under his arm."
Let's take a break from Gerasim's actions and dive a little into the history of architecture. When determining the time of bricklaying, scientists, along with other evidence, use the dimensions of the bricks. Each era has its own dimensions. Before there was no uniform standard, bricks were made “to hand” so that it would be convenient for the mason to take the brick. The Bureau of Standardization at the Supreme Economic Council in 1925 recorded the “normal” size of a brick: 250x120x65 mm. The weight of such a product cannot exceed 4.3 kg. Today this standard is enshrined in GOST 530-2007. Take a modern brick in your hand. Too big? Inconvenient? Have you seen authentic uniforms of that era? For the most part they are sewn on skinny people height 160-170 centimeters. Do you think their hands were larger than they are now? Or did people make bricks for themselves that were not convenient to work with?
Still don't believe me? Try to take two bricks under the arm of one hand and walk 300 meters with them. Why, unlike you, did Gerasim succeed? Yes because the bricks were smaller !

Let's continue reading. "Gerasim straightened up, hastily , with some kind of painful anger on his face, wrapped in rope The bricks he took, he attached a loop..."If you want to make sure that under the influence of gravity, bricks wrapped (not tied, but shrouded!) in rope will fall to the ground, take care of your feet. Or better yet, take a literature textbook and anthology, wrap them with rope, and take the rope by the free end The force of gravity cannot be deceived, the load, without being attached to the rope, will fall, and the rope will simply remain in your hand. Turgenev, in turn, does not note anywhere that Mumu or Gerasim could control gravity.

Am I still not convinced? In case gravity is canceled and the bricks don’t fall, let’s remember Archimedes’ law. Around 250 BC. in the treatise “On Floating Bodies,” an authoritative Greek wrote: “ Bodies heavier than the liquid, lowered into this liquid, will sink until they reach the very bottom, and in the liquid will become easier by the weight of the liquid in a volume equal to the volume of the immersed body". Let us again remember the real sizes of Mumu and bricks of that era. And just like spaniels, being hunting dogs, find shot game in the reeds and bring it to the hunters, often by swimming. How much does an undressed goose weigh?

Still in doubt? Especially for you, I.S. Turgenev wrote 160 years ago: " ...and when he opened his eyes again, small waves were still rushing along the river, as if chasing each other, they were still splashing against the sides of the boat, and just far back to the shore some wide circles scattered. “That is, Mumu swam out and came to land, so the circles were near the shore.

I hope I have whitewashed the image of Gerasim in your eyes? Because of his dumbness, he had a hard time during his life. Let us remember how the washerwoman Tatyana abandoned him with his marriage. And then the lady got annoyed with Mumu. That’s why, going into complete obscurity, not wanting the dog to suffer with him, he let her go, staging her death for the servants spying on him.

Knowledge, as we know, is power. Having given you power, I ask you to be careful with it. My daughter, armed with this knowledge, drove her literature teacher into a stupor for a long time. Have pity on the teachers.

The tragic story of Ivan Turgenev “Mumu” ​​is one of the examples classical literature, which vividly describes the tragedy and lawlessness of the existence of serfs in Russia. Cruelty and touching affection are closely intertwined in the plot of this story, describing the realities of life for serfs and the unlimited power of their owners - landowners - over them. Schoolchildren write entire essays on the topic “Why Gerasim drowned Mumu,” trying to find an answer and justification for the cruel act of the main character.

Turgenev's story "Mumu". What did the author write about?

Heroes of the story:

• Central hero story - a deaf-mute serf janitor Gerasim who has nothing in life: neither home, nor loved ones. The only thing that brightened up his monotony hard life, there was love for the laundress Tatiana.
• Laundress Tatiana- a quiet and downtrodden creature, aware and accepting of its lack of rights.
• The mistress of Gerasim and Tatiana is domineering and capricious lady, whose cruel whims had to be fulfilled immediately. She does not consider serfs to be people, and her cruel attitude towards Tatyana, whom she forcibly orders to marry the alcoholic Kapiton, is an example of this.
• Mu Mu - little mongrel, saved by the main character of the story from imminent death and who was his only close and devoted being.

One day, Gerasim accidentally saves a drowning puppy. He gives the dog the nickname Mumu and keeps it for himself. Why is he doing this? Touching care and tenderness, which the main character showed towards Mumu, can only be compared with the care of a mother for her own child. Having no relatives or friends, Gerasim finds a kindred soul who understands him in this little devoted dog.

This is a very unusual behavior of the main character - during the times of serfdom, the attitude towards animals was exclusively consumerist. Dogs were not particularly loved by their owners and were intended only to guard the yard.

For a selfish lady who thought only about herself, only her own peace was important. Therefore, hearing Mumu barking at night, she orders to get rid of the dog. The animal is kidnapped and taken away, but the devoted dog gnaws through the bonds and returns to its beloved owner. And when the lady discovers Mumu in the yard for the second time, she orders the unfortunate animal to be drowned.

Of course, the lady’s order could be carried out by any of the courtyard servants, but Gerasim himself volunteers to deal with Mumu.

So why did Gerasim drown Mumu instead of taking some action to save his dear dog? Why didn’t he release her, thereby saving her life? The answer to this question lies in the very essence of cruel serfdom.

Why did Gerasim drown Mumu?

Gerasim was a serf from birth. A powerless position seemed natural to him. The thought that he can make decisions about his fate on his own, doesn't even occur to him. At first, at the whim of the lady, he was taken from the village to the estate. The next loss of the main character of the story was the washerwoman Tatyana, the unrequited deep love which was the meaning of his life.

When Gerasim decided to drown Mumu, he already understood that his attachment to this little dog made him addicted to feelings. Each loss in the life of the main character caused him unbearable suffering, and he did not want to experience this pain anymore. So why did he personally decide to take the life of the dog to which he was so touchingly attached? Why did he submit to the will of the eccentric old woman, without even making an attempt to somehow save the creature dear to him?

Birth and life as a serf also played a role. Having been raised as a serf, our hero psychologically realized and accepted the lady’s unlimited power over himself and his life. He understood that disobeying the order could lead to more severe punishment for both Mumu and Gerasim himself. And, fearing the suffering of himself and his only close being, he decided to carry out the cruel order himself, choosing for this the easiest, in Gerasim’s opinion, way of killing the dog.

Eventually Gerasim lost everything that was dear to him in life. And the only independent act that the main character does in despair is to go to the village.

The author writes at the end of the story that Gerasim never had dogs again and lived his life as a male dog. He understood that feelings of love and affection make him vulnerable, and no longer wanted to get close to anyone, to let anyone into my soul and heart. And he saw the only salvation from the seemingly inevitable losses in solitude.

Perhaps in this way the main character tried to protect himself from mental pain and suffering when losing creatures dear to him.

// / Why did Gerasim drown Mumu? (based on Turgenev’s story “Mumu”)

The scene in which Mumu is drowned is the most famous in Turgenev's story. It evokes tears and pity for both characters. Many readers have a logical question: “Why did Gerasim drown Mumu?” The dog was the mute janitor's faithful friend; did it really anger him?

A deaf and mute man saved a dog when it was three weeks old. The puppy was very weak and ugly. The man fattened him up and left. The well-groomed dog turned out to be not only very beautiful, but also loyal. So Gerasim found a true friend, whom he could not find among people. The friendship between man and dog did not last long. The lady found out about Mumu. The old woman really liked it, but after the animal did not obey the landowner, she was ordered to get rid of it.

The butler decided to take out and sell the dog so that Gerasim would not even guess about it. The butler knew how expensive it was for the deaf-mute and was afraid of his anger. The janitor could not understand where his favorite had gone, who had never left a single step before. He guessed that one of the servants was involved in her disappearance. When Mumu, having escaped from the new house, ran to the owner, he decided to hide her.

She found out about the dog again and ordered it to be removed so that it could not return. This time the servants had to storm the janitor's closet. He “held the defense” for a long time, and when he came out, he showed that he would get rid of the animal himself.

Gerasim's decision is explained simply. He realized that the lady was very cruel and now his dog would not only be sold, it would be taken very far away, where it would be sad without its owner or tortured to death. The mute realized that the dog would be better off if he killed it. In addition, he realized that no one would protect his favorite. This was already proven when Tatyana was married to someone else. Apparently, the loss of his beloved also influenced the decision to drown the animal.

The fact that Gerasim’s act was not dictated by evil or fear of the lady is proven by the episode of preparation for the terrible deed. The man properly groomed his pet and fed her cabbage soup from a human plate. He understood that he would soon say goodbye to his only true friend forever, so “two heavy tears suddenly rolled out of his eyes.” To prevent the dog from suffering while trying to get out of the water, the man tied bricks to its neck. When Gerasim threw Mumu into the water, he turned away so as not to look at what he was doing. His state after the deed is described in the words of the fat washerwoman: “What a wonderful Gerasim!... is it possible to get laid like that because of a dog!...”

After the loss of his friend, Gerasim said goodbye forever to the lady’s court, where he learned what grief was. Why couldn't he leave with Mumu? Everything is explained artistic design Turgenev. The scene in which a man drowns Mumu shows what the arbitrariness of the landowners led to. With its help, the author exposes the cruelty that destroyed the fate of the serfs.

Thus, Gerasim drowned his beloved dog to save it from the cruelty of the landowner. He realized that it was better to kill Mumu than to leave her fate to the lady.