The story of Old Woman Izergil begins with the story of Larra, the young and strong son of an eagle, who did not want to put up with human laws and became an outcast. In the image of Larra, Gorky describes embodied pride and arrogance, this man (Larra) fancies himself above all other people, and this is his main tragedy, as Gorky says through the lips of one of the elders in this story.
Of course, Gorky teaches his readers quite edifyingly to give up pride and look for humility in their own souls, but he does not give the necessary answers why exactly this should be done. After all, Larra is the son of an eagle, he is initially different from people, he is initially more dexterous, strong and can take possession of everything he wants. Therefore, he claims the recognition of the girl, and then claims other benefits that the tribe possesses and takes the right one.
A dialogue takes place between the elder and Larra, in which he asks him about attracting a girl to himself and Larra asks if people don’t own more than they originally have and isn’t it normal to want something more than their own body and their own speech, which given to everyone. The elder quite wisely answers about the payment that each person makes, for any benefit he receives, he pays with strength or intelligence, sometimes with himself. At the same time, Gorky misses a completely obvious development of this idea.
After all, Larra can pay for all this and, moreover, can pay better than many, he is rightfully proud. Don't the best, and sometimes just the strongest, those who decide to usurp power not become rulers in the tribe? Such is the human order, so why would people not make Larra their ruler if they are guided by a reasonable payment for various benefits.
After all, Larra could pay for his own power better than others, and perhaps he would be a very worthy ruler, since who, if not the ruler, imagines himself better than the rest, rise above them and keep pride in his soul? However, people reject him, dooming him to an eternal existence in solitude and oblivion. Such a result turns out to be tragic for the proud son of the eagle, and he seeks death, but is doomed to eternal wanderings.
Of course, Gorky created the antithesis of Danko, who completes the story and made a moralizing story. However, in my opinion, some elements of this story are not quite finalized and contradictory. I really want to learn some lesson from the story of the proud Larra, although in the end only doubts appear.
Practical experience speaks of the benefits of imitating such a hero, for someone Larra can even become a kind of ideal, since, unlike Danko, he does not deny himself anything and really rises above people in many respects. Isn't it the feeling of superiority over others that most people seek? Is it not pride that governs their actions?
Although, of course, if we consider the essence of such people in more detail, then they really are a punishment for themselves. They carry within themselves their own vices, which they can never part with.
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A summary of Gorky's "Old Woman Izergil" is read in just 5-10 minutes. This makes it possible to quickly get acquainted with the work in conditions of acute lack of time (for example, before the exam), but does not eliminate the need to still read it in full later.
Gorky's story "Old Woman Izergil" is compositionally constructed in such a way that a connection is established between reality and legends. There are two of them in the work. They illuminate completely opposite ideas about life. A summary of Gorky's "Old Woman Izergil", of course, will not allow you to fully experience this. Nevertheless, it can serve as a good additional material, anticipating the reading of the work in its entirety. The image of the old woman, on whose behalf the story is being told, is rather contradictory. She tells about herself only what she remembers for the rest of her life. Events are also described on behalf of the author himself.
M. Gorky "Old Woman Izergil": summary Chapter I
Somehow the author happened to work in Bessarabia. When the Moldovans dispersed and only the ancient old woman Izergil remained, she told him a legend about how people were punished by God for their pride. The event took place in a rich, distant country. During the general feast, the eagle suddenly carried away the girl. The search was unsuccessful and soon everyone forgot about her. But after two decades, she, all exhausted, returned home with her son from an eagle. The young man was very proud and behaved arrogantly even with the elders of the tribe. Having been refused by the daughter of one of them, Larra beats the girl, steps on her chest and she dies. It seems to the inhabitants of the tribe that no punishment is worthy of it. Even the mother does not want to stand up for her son. In the end, he was doomed to freedom and loneliness. Thunder sounded from the sky and Larra became immortal. Since then, he wandered the earth for so long that he already dreamed of dying. But no one touched him, and he could not kill himself either. So Larra continues to wander in anticipation of death around the world. And there is no place for him either among the living or among the dead.
A beautiful song is coming from somewhere. Izergil, hearing her, smiles and remembers his young years. During the day she weaved carpets, and at night she ran to her loved ones. When she was 15, she started dating a handsome sailor. But soon she was bored with monotonous relationships, and a friend introduces her to the Hutsul. He was a cheerful, affectionate and hot fellow. Soon both the sailor and the Hutsul were executed. Then Izergil fell in love with a Turk and lived in a harem. True, the girl could not stand it for more than a week. She fled to Bulgaria with the 16-year-old son of a Turk, but he soon died, either from longing or from love. One woman was jealous of Izergil for her husband and stabbed her right in the chest with a knife. She was cared for by a Polish woman in a monastery. She had a monk brother, with whom Izergil later went to his homeland. After the first insult, she drowned him. It was not easy for her in Poland, because she did not know how to do anything and simply passed from one man to another. When she was 40 years old, she met a wonderful nobleman who quickly abandoned her. Izergil realized that she was old. The gentry went to war with the Russians. She followed him. Upon learning that he is a prisoner, Izergil saves him. In gratitude, the gentry promises to love her always. Now Izergil pushes him away. After that, she finally gets married and has been living in Bessarabia for 30 years. A year ago, Izergil became a widow. Seeing the flames of a fire far in the steppe, she says that these are the sparks of Danko's heart.
The woman immediately proceeds to a story about cheerful, kind people whom other tribes drove into such depths of the forest, where there was never sun and the stench of the swamp was drawn. People began to die one by one. They decide to leave the forest, but do not know which path to take. The brave guy Danko volunteered to help them. On the way, a thunderstorm started. Everyone began to grumble at Danko, reproach him. He replied that he was leading them, because the only one dared to do so, and the rest followed him like a herd. People were completely furious and decided to kill Danko. Then he, out of great love and pity for everyone, tore his chest, took out his heart and raised it above his head. Lighting their path, Danko led the people of his tribe out of the forest. Seeing space, he dies, but no one notices. Only one person accidentally stepped on the young man's heart, it crumbled into sparks and went out. The old woman falls asleep immediately after the story, and the author continues to reflect on what he happened to hear.
Very short content (in a nutshell)
The old woman Izergil told a story-legend to a random storyteller. Many years ago, an eagle kidnapped a girl from one tribe, who returned after 20 years with a son from an eagle named Larra. He was very arrogant, so the tribe did not accept him, saying to leave. Then the son of an eagle approached one of the beautiful girls and wanted to take her with him, but she refused, and for this he killed her. The tribe already wanted to kill him, but one of the wise men offered to let Larra go, deciding that this would be the biggest punishment for him. And so it happened, and until now the shadow of Larra walks around the world and cannot find peace.
In the second story, the old woman Izergil told about her turbulent life. From the age of 15, she began dating men, having experienced numerous love affairs and dramas. He was thrown around the world, she was in the harem of a Turk, and was wounded by a knife from a jealous woman, and even traded in her body. Only at the age of 40 did she calm down and settle down in this place, where she grew old.
In the third story, the Old Woman Izergil told the legend of Danko. In ancient times, one of the camps had to go into the swamp, as they came to their lands strong people. The swamp was surrounded by impenetrable forest on three sides. In the swamp, they began to slowly die, and then Danko decided to lead people out of the swamp through the forest jungle. They walked for a long time, the hope of the people began to disappear, and they wanted to kill Danko. Then he tore his flaming heart out of his chest, illuminated the dense forest with it, and led the people into the valley. But they did not even notice his death after leaving the forest, and one even, just in case, stepped on his heart.
This story will help to understand what is the essence of the eternal search for the meaning of life. Three chapters: each with its own story and its own hero. Three destinies intertwined as one thread, putting everything in its place.
Chapter 1
The meeting between the author and the old woman took place after a hard day at work. The workers went to the sea, they remained alone under the grape bush, fleeing from the hated heat. Seeing the clouds, Izergil suggested that it was Larra circling over the steppe. Seeing genuine interest in the eyes of the interlocutor, the elderly woman decided to tell a beautiful ancient legend, which served as a start for the rest.
Legend of Larry. Larra is the son of a young girl and an eagle. Being very young, she was abducted by a bird of prey and carried off into the distance. For several years, nothing was known about her fate. Many thought she was dead. Twenty years later, she returned to her native village. The woman looked terrible. Dry, emaciated. There is no trace left of the former beauty.
Larra her son was proud and freedom-loving, like his father. Brash with those around him, he put himself above everyone else, making it clear that he had no equal. Even the elders are no authority for him. Tired of enduring his antics, he was ordered to leave the village.
The guy, wanting to prove that he can do anything, grabbed one of the girls, wanting to hug. The wayward beauty pushed the insolent away, for which she paid with her life. He kills her in front of the villagers.
People thought for a long time how to punish the murderer. The method for revenge was chosen strange. They decided to let the guy go, giving him complete freedom. Loneliness has become faithful companion Larry. He wandered around the earth, annoying people, stealing cattle and girls, but did not receive punishment. Arrows flew through him, and bullets passed right through without hurting him.
Larra soon realized that he was tired of such a life. He was ready to die when he understood its meaning, but it was too late. Immortality and loneliness is his punishment for pride. Now he has no place either in the world of the living or in the world of the dead. So he wanders in the hope of finding eternal peace, but to no avail.
The old woman paused for a moment. Her attention was diverted by a sad, beautiful song, which served as the beginning of a second story, no less interesting and instructive than the first.
Chapter 2
Love story. Young, beautiful Izergil, always enjoyed the success of the opposite sex. The men loved her. She reciprocated. In each she saw the hero of her novel, hoping that the mutual feeling would be eternal, but disappointment awaited her.
Years passed in search of love. Men changed like the cities in which she sought her destiny. She lived with emotions that overwhelmed her soul and heart. The woman believed that if love, then for life. If love is over, then you should not continue the relationship, trying to save what is not.
For the sake of love, a woman was ready for anything, even for murder. Izergil was hated by the wives of her boyfriends. One of them, in the heat of wild jealousy, wounds her in the chest. Miraculously, she survived. She was saved by a Polish nun who lives at the monastery, imbued with pity for the poor fellow. Instead of gratitude, as soon as she gets stronger, she runs away with her brother to Poland
Life didn't work out for him. The guy was rude. The woman was not going to tolerate such an attitude. Pushing him into the river, she safely forgot about him, instantly carried away by another. Soon she realized that it was time to make her nest. Start a family, give birth to children, devote yourself completely to home and loved ones.
She got married, living with her husband long years. Recently, the old woman was widowed and now often recalls her former youth, when everything could be corrected and life could be changed. But fate so desires that she will have to live out her life in complete solitude.
The story is over. It's time to go home, but suddenly the narrator's attention was attracted by the blue lights that appeared in the distance. Like sparks they sparkled in the evening darkness. This is Danko, the old woman said aloud, starting the third story about a beautiful guy with a kind heart.
Chapter 3
Danko is a romantic with a big soul and a kind heart. Handsome, strong, courageous, he was a leader by nature. He knew how to solve any problems without getting lost in difficult life situations.
In those distant times, people lived close to impenetrable forests. One day they accidentally ended up in the very center of the forest thicket. Fear and panic washed over them in waves. They understood that death was near, but they were afraid to speak their assumptions out loud.
Danko volunteered to help them, promising that he would definitely lead them out of the forest. It took them a long time to go. Forces were running out. Tension hung in the air, ready to break out of exhausted, tortured people. Only Danko was cheerful and cheerful, as if he had not walked tens of kilometers with them.
A sudden thunderstorm made matters worse. The crowd began to make claims to the leader, accusing him of the current situation and false promises. It was a shame to him for such speeches. Didn't they voluntarily go after him when everyone cowardly turned their tails. No one volunteered to go forward, and what is the result?
Then he tears the heart out of his chest, raising it high above his head and illuminating the path for people. On the illuminated road, he led them out of the forest, but his strength left him. Danko is dying. Ungrateful people, not noticing the loss, accidentally step on the heart that fell out of his hands. On impact, it shattered into a bunch of small sparks.
Since that time, the sparks have not been extinguished, reminiscent of a fearless young man who did not spare his heart for the sake of love for people, but they turned out to be too cruel and ungrateful to appreciate a courageous deed.
Tired of long conversations, the old woman suddenly dozed off, giving the author the opportunity to think about what he heard, drawing the right conclusions so as not to repeat the mistakes made by the main characters of her legends.
This is where it ends brief retelling story "Old Woman Izergil", which includes only the most important events from full version works!
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The story "Old Woman Izergil" refers to the early romantic works of A.M. Gorky. In form, this work represents three short stories connected by a common idea, or rather by the question: what does a person live for?
Gorky begins an attempt to answer this question with the legend of Larra, the son of a woman and an eagle. The mother brought a handsome and strong young man to the people in the hope that he would live happily among his own kind. Larra was the same as everyone else, "only his eyes were cold and proud, like those of the king of birds." Gradually, the author, using the words of an old storyteller, paints a portrait of an arrogant egoist and a proud man with an exorbitant craving for personal freedom.
Larra was sure that he, the son of an eagle, was higher than other people and everything was permitted to him: “... they talked to him, and he answered if he wanted, or was silent, and when the oldest tribes came, he spoke to them as equals yourself. It offended them..." Larra's selfishness and cruelty are fully revealed in the episode when he does not hesitate to kill a girl who does not want to be with him. “She pushed him away, and went away, and he hit her and, when she fell, stood with his foot on her chest, so that blood splashed from her mouth to the sky, the girl, sighing, coiled like a snake and died.” Killing the "obstinate" girl in front of the whole tribe, Larra believes that everything is allowed to him, the son of an eagle, and no one and nothing can limit his personal freedom. The angry people of the tribe did not debunk his delusions, deciding that: “The punishment for him is in himself!”. They released Larra, gave him freedom, complete and limitless, but outside of human society. This sentence turned out to be so severe that Larra eventually became weary of priceless gifts - freedom and immortality. By his behavior, he doomed himself to eternal torment, and when Larra wanted to die, even the earth did not accept him: “... he fell to the ground and beat his head against it for a long time. But the earth moved away from him.
Telling the legend of Larr, Gorky leads readers to the idea that individualism and selfishness will lead to a dead end in life path. Larra had both strength, and beauty, and courage, but he repelled him with pride and coldness. He did not respect anyone, did not listen to anyone, behaved arrogantly and proudly, lived for himself and for his own sake. The price of such an attitude towards people is loneliness, which has become a cross for Larra, from which there is no escape.
See also: Video lesson on the story of M. Gorky "Old Woman Izergil".