There are a lot of heroes in the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia". Some of them pass by. They are mentioned in passing. For others, the author spared no space and time. They are presented in detail and comprehensively.

The image and characterization of Matrena Korchagina in the poem “Who Lives Well in Russia” is one of such characters. Women's happiness - that's what the wanderers wanted to find in Matryona.

Biography of the main female character

Matrena Timofeevna Korchagina grew up in a family of simple peasants. When she meets the wanderers, she is only 38 years old, but for some reason she calls herself an "old woman". So quickly flies the life of a peasant woman. God gave the woman children - she has 5 sons. One (first-born) died. Why are only sons born? Probably, this is a belief in the appearance in Russia of a new generation of heroes, honest and strong as a mother.

According to Matryona, she was happy only in the father's family. They took care of her, guarded her sleep, did not force her to work. The girl appreciated the care of her relatives, answered them with kindness and labor. Songs at the wedding, lamentations over the bride and the crying of the girl herself are folklore that conveys the reality of life.

Things have changed in my husband's family. There were so many sufferings that not every woman could endure them. At night, Matrena shed tears, during the day she spread like grass, her head was lowered, anger hid in her heart, but accumulated. A woman understands that everyone lives like that. Philip treats Matryona well. But it is difficult to distinguish a good life from cruelty: he flogs his wife with a whip until she bleeds, goes to work, leaves her alone with her children in a hated family. The girl does not require much attention to herself: a silk scarf and sleigh rides return her to cheerful singing.

The vocation of a Russian peasant woman is to raise children. She becomes a real heroine, courageous and strong. Grief is on the heels. The first son - Demushka dies. Grandfather Savely could not save him. The authorities mock the mother. They torment the body of a child in front of her eyes, the pictures of horror remain in her memory for life. Another son gave a sheep to a hungry she-wolf. Matryona protected the boy, standing in his place for punishment. Mother's love is strong:

"To whom to endure, so mothers!".

Korchagina came to the defense of her husband. The pregnant woman went to the governor with a request not to take him into the soldiers.

The appearance of a woman

Nekrasov describes Matryona with love. He recognizes her beauty and amazing attractiveness. Some features for the modern reader are not characteristic of beauty, but this only confirms how attitudes towards appearance have changed over the centuries:

• "impressive" figure;
• "wide" back;
• "dense" body;
• Holmogory cow.

Most of the characteristics are a manifestation of the tenderness of the author. Beautiful dark hair with gray hair, large expressive eyes with the "richest" lush eyelashes, swarthy skin. Ruddy cheeks and clear eyes. What bright epithets are chosen by those around for Matryona:

• "written kralechka";
• "filling berry";
• "good ... comely";
• "white face".
• The woman is neat in her clothes: a white cotton shirt, a short embroidered sundress.

Matryona's character

The main character trait is diligence. Since childhood, Matrena loves work and does not hide from it. She knows how to put haystacks, ruffle flax, thresh on the barn. The woman's household is large, but she does not complain. She gives all the strength that she received from God to work.

Other features of the Russian beauty:

Frankness: telling the wanderers her fate, she does not embellish or hide anything.

Sincerity: a woman does not prevaricate, she opens her whole destiny from her youth, shares her experiences and "sinful" deeds.

Love of freedom: the desire to be free and free remains in the soul, but the rules of life change the character, make one be secretive.

Courage: often a woman has to become a "brash woman." She is punished, but "arrogance and obstinacy" remain.

Loyalty: the wife is devoted to her husband, in all situations strives to be honest and faithful.

Honesty: Matryona herself leads an honest life and teaches her sons to be like that. She asks them neither to steal nor to cheat.

Woman sincerely believes in God. She prays and comforts herself. It becomes easier for her in conversations with the Mother of God.

Happiness Matryona

Wanderers are sent to Korchagina because of the nickname - the governor's wife. Rarely could anyone from a simple peasant woman become famous in the district with such a title. But did the nickname bring true happiness? No. The people slandered her as a lucky woman, but this is only one case in the life of Matryona. Courage and perseverance returned her husband to the family, life became easier. The children no longer had to go to beg in the villages, but it is impossible to say that Korchagina is happy. Matrena understands this and tries to explain to the peasants: among ordinary Russian women there are no happy women, and cannot be. God Himself denied them this - he lost the keys to joy and will. Her wealth is lakes of tears. The tests were supposed to break the peasant woman, the soul was supposed to become callous. The poem is different. Matryona does not die either spiritually or physically. She continues to believe that there are keys to female happiness. She rejoices every day and admires men. She cannot be considered happy, but no one dares to call her unhappy either. She is a real Russian peasant woman, independent, beautiful and strong.

In the image of Matryona Timofeevna, Nekrasov embodied the fate of all Russian peasant women. A lot of folklore elements surround this image, the heroine goes through all the stages typical for a married woman who lives in her husband's family and is a serf. The fate of Matryona is full of troubles and misfortunes, a rare joy, a warm human attitude brings the woman back to life and she again becomes cheerful and cheerful, as in her youth.

Matryona's life before marriage

Matryona tells the wanderers about her girlish life, using vocabulary with a diminutive connotation. Father and mother spoiled their daughter, they didn’t force her to work, she didn’t hear a bad word. Only at that time the girl got enough sleep and enjoyed the caress and care of her relatives. Later, when she was sent to a strange village after her wedding, she learned how hard a woman's life can be, even if her husband loves and pities her. Matryona describes her fate as follows: “Now there is only one richness: three lakes are weeping with burning tears.” The heroine of the poem is a strong woman, not only physically (“Kholmogory cow”), but also morally: she experienced a lot of grief, but life did not break her. The poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” contains the most beautiful folklore traditions, which are introduced directly into the text of the work. It is the chapter describing the life of Matryona that is especially rich in oral folk art.

Appearance of Matryona Timofeevna

The surname of the heroine is Korchagina, she lives in the village of Klin. Matryona is 38 years old, she calls herself an old woman, realizing that youth and beauty are lost due to hard work. The author lovingly describes his heroine of the poem: “Beautiful; gray hair, large, stern eyes, rich eyelashes, stern and swarthy. She has a white shirt on, and a short sundress, and a sickle over her shoulder ... ”.

The words that the author uses are taken from folk songs: “written kralechka”, “poured berry”, “girl's eyes”, “ruddy face”, “pretty”, “beloved”, “white face”. The beauty of Matryona is the beauty of a Russian woman, strong, strong, hardworking. Describing Matryona at work, the author draws every stroke with pleasure: the heroine evokes sincere sympathy from the reader. She is honest, straightforward, patient, caring, smart, savvy, and a little brash.

Characteristics of Matryona, her life philosophy

Matryona Timofeevna has five children, she is ready to give her life for each of them. When trouble happened - the youngest son overlooked the herd of sheep entrusted to him, she came to the master instead of her son to save the child from whipping. The very first son, Dyomushka, died when he was very young, he was instructed to watch his grandfather Savely, but then he fell asleep. The child got into the corral, where there were pigs, they ate him alive. The authorities insisted on an autopsy, accusing Matryona of colluding with her convict grandfather in killing the child. The woman had to endure a monstrous spectacle that she will never forget. Husband Philip loves Matryona, but sometimes he still dissolves his hands. When he brings her a gift and rides on a sleigh, the heroine feels happy again. She knows that many women got a fate even more difficult than hers: “It’s not a matter of looking for a happy woman between women ...”, “The keys to female happiness, from our free will are abandoned, lost from God himself! ..

". Matryona is frank with strangers, she found her woman's happiness in children, in work. The harsh mother-in-law, the bad attitude of her husband’s relatives led to the fact that a lot of pain, resentment and longing accumulated in her soul: “There is no unbroken bone in me, there is no unstretched vein, there is no unspoiled blood ...”

Matryona teaches her children to be honest, not to steal. She is a believing woman: “the more I prayed, the easier it became…”. It was faith that helped Matryona survive the most difficult moments in her life.

Our article contains quotes from Matryona Timofeevna, which characterize her image most clearly. The material will be useful in the analysis of the poem and writing creative works on the topic.

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Characteristics of the hero

Matrena Timofeevna Korchagina is a peasant woman. The third part of the poem is dedicated to this heroine.

M.T. - “A portly woman, Broad and thick, 38 years old. Beautiful; hair with gray hair, Big strict eyes, Eyelashes of the richest, Harsh and swarthy.

Among the people about M.T. the glory of the lucky woman is coming. She tells the strangers who come to her about her life. Her story is told in the form of folk laments and songs. This emphasizes the typical fate of M.T. for all Russian peasant women: “It’s not a matter of looking for a happy woman among women.”

In the parental home of M.T. life was good: she had a friendly non-drinking family. But, having married Philip Korchagin, she ended up "from a girl's will to hell." The youngest in her husband's family, she worked for everyone like a slave. The husband loved M.T., but often went to work and could not protect his wife. The heroine had one intercessor - grandfather Savely, her husband's grandfather. M.T. she has seen a lot of grief in her lifetime: she endured the harassment of the manager, survived the death of the first-born Demushka, who, due to Savely's oversight, was bitten by pigs. M.T. failed to retrieve the son's body and he was sent for an autopsy. Later, another son of the heroine, 8-year-old Fedot, was threatened with a terrible punishment for feeding someone else's sheep to a hungry she-wolf. Mother, without hesitation, lay down under the rod instead of her son. But in a lean year, M.T., pregnant and with children, is likened to a hungry she-wolf herself. In addition, the last breadwinner is taken away from her family - her husband is shaved into soldiers out of turn. In desperation, M.T. runs into the city and throws himself at the feet of the governor's wife. She helps the heroine and even becomes the godmother of the born son M.T. — Liodora. But the evil fate continued to haunt the heroine: one of the sons was taken to the soldiers, "they burned twice ... God anthrax ... visited three times." In the "Woman's Parable" M.T. sums up his sad story: “The keys to female happiness, From our free will, Abandoned, lost From God himself!”