The early work of M. Gorky is a vivid example of new romanticism. The writer resurrects the principles that have remained in the past, in the middle of the 19th century. Again, an exceptional hero with some special qualities becomes relevant. This is exactly the image of the old woman Izergil.

The work "Old Woman Izergil" is a narrative in stories. It begins with a description of nature and the general situation. The narrator is talking to the old woman Izergil, it was she who told him two interesting legends.

Legend of Larra

This is the story of how a shadow appeared on Earth. Once from a tribe of strong people, an eagle kidnapped a girl, he lived with her as with his wife, and after his death she returned home. The young man, who first caused everyone's fear, was no different from people. But he was very proud and despised everyone. He wanted to get the elder's daughter, but she rejected him. Enraged, Larra killed her in cold blood. No one could think of a better punishment than expelling Larra. After a while, it turned out that he was immortal. Time and wandering drained his flesh, eventually turning him into a shadow. The image of the old woman Izergil clearly emerges through the story. She tells about the events with special rapture, it seems that she really believes in the authenticity of this story.

History of Izergil

There are no fictitious events in this part of the work, only the real life story of an old woman who has gone through many trials and seen a lot in life. The image of the old woman Izergil is very contradictory. There were so many men in her life that she can easily be judged. However, the author listens with pleasure to her story, because there is so much life and energy in it. She worked as a spinner in her youth, but such a life could not please an agile girl. As a result, she ran away from home with her lover, but then she left him for another. She lived with a Hutsul, a military man, Russians and Poles, with a young Turkish boy ... She loved everyone, but did not want to see anyone. , be open to her. Therefore, the life of modern youth seems wrong to her.

Legend of Danko

The most important in the story is the image of Danko. The old woman Izergil talks about him last, speaking with obvious admiration, solemnly and sonorously. Danko was from a tribe of strong people. Once they were attacked, people were forced to go to the swamp, on one side of which there were enemies, and on the other - Fearing for their covenants, people did not go to war. They had the idea of ​​surrendering. But the brave young man Danko led the people through the forest. The hardships of the path were beyond the strength of the tribe, they began to grumble at Danko, threatened to kill him. But he loved people so much that he could not bear their reproaches. He tore open his chest and took out a burning heart (it caught fire from the desire to help). Lighting the way, Danko led the tribe out of the forest, and he himself fell dead. But no one noticed. Some "cautious" person stepped on a still burning heart, sparks from it are still visible in the steppe before a thunderstorm. This legend is a hymn to human bravery and courage. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this particular story is the central one in the work.

Appearance Izergil

It is impossible to analyze the image of the old woman Izergil without describing her appearance. She was so old that her skin was wrinkled and dry, it seemed that she could just tear into shreds, her wrinkles cut so deep. Gorky mentions more than once that her voice sounded hoarse, like a creak, even he was old. All this suggests that the old woman Izergil is an example of experience and worldly wisdom.

The meaning of the image

The image of the old woman Izergil is significant for understanding the ideological intent of the story. Gorky sought to find something special in a person; he was not satisfied with the way his contemporaries live. He was upset by a certain inertia, coupled with the desire to achieve benefits, arrange for himself a "warm" place and a quiet life. He puts his thought into the mouth of the old woman, who says that there is no longer the former heroism and, moreover, the old woman does not understand the Russians because of their gloom and seriousness. It is no coincidence that the writer does not just retell the legend, but introduces the image of the old woman Izergil. In the stories of M. Gorky of the early period, such heroes were not uncommon. Makar Chudra, the hero of the story of the same name, expresses a similar opinion about life. He is also old, has seen a lot in his lifetime and has formed his own idea of ​​the meaning of human life.

Artistic originality of the story

The image of the old woman Izergil is significant both for the structure and for the form of the work. Indeed, thanks to this heroine, the narrative becomes heterogeneous, multi-layered. First, we hear the voice of the narrator, who communicates with Izergil. In this case, it is used. But when the heroine enters into business, everything changes. New style, different speech turns. Gorky surprisingly accurately manages to copy the manner of conversation of an old simple woman. Precisely because the legends are told by Izergil herself, they become even more interesting. Do not forget that almost all the principles of romanticism are observed in the story. The landscape that opens the work is the sea and the steppe, a place where strong nature can roam, they symbolize freedom. Night, shadows, sparks give the situation a certain mystery. And the main sign of romanticism is three unusual heroes. Izergil is the embodiment of vital energy. Larra combined in himself all human vices. And Danko is the personification of courage, kindness and philanthropy.

So, what role does the image of the old woman Izergil play in the story of the same name? The most important thing is that Gorky's idea of ​​a correct human life, in which there is no place for narrow limits, narrow-mindedness, boredom and idleness, was put into her mouth.

A little about the author:

The real name in the biography of M. Gorky is Alexei Maksimovich Peshkov. Parents died early, so Gorky spent his childhood in harsh, difficult conditions, living with his grandfather.

In Gorky's life, only two years were devoted to studying at the Nizhny Novgorod School. Then, due to poverty, he went to work, but was constantly self-taught. The year 1887 was one of the most difficult in the biography of Maxim Gorky. Because of the troubles that had piled up, he tried to commit suicide, however, he survived.

Traveling around the country, Gorky propagated the revolution, for which he was taken under police supervision and arrested. Gorky's first printed story was published in 1892. Then, published in 1898, Gorky's library of two volumes, Essays and Stories, brought fame to the writer. He was awarded the title of member of the Academy of Sciences, but by order of Nicholas II, he was soon declared invalid.

After that, the writer emigrated to the United States, then to Italy. Even there, Gorky's work defended the revolution. The return to Russia in Gorky's biography took place in 1913. He works in publishing houses, conducts social activities. After 12 years of living in Italy, he returns to Moscow again.

Gorky's famous works include "At the Bottom", "Petty Bourgeois", "Childhood", "The Life of Klim Samgin", as well as many cycles of stories.

The main characters of the work "Old Woman Izergil":

• Izergil:

She can be called the main character of the story. It is from her lips that the legends about Danko and Larra sound. In the second part, I. tells about his life. She recalls episodes of meetings with her beloved, argues that "in life there is always a place for a feat." This is confirmed by her fate, bright, full of love, adventure and freedom. In her youth she was very beautiful, but now, after so many years, she looks like a terrible reminder of the transience of life. The author clearly feels sympathy for I., who was able to kill the sentry in order to save her beloved. But over time, she repented of her reckless courage and thirst for carnal pleasures.

• Danko:

The character of the second fairy tale of the old woman Izergil. This is a romantic hero who sacrificed himself for the sake of people. D. was "the best of all, because in his eyes a lot of strength and living fire shone." He led the people through the forest with calls to defeat the darkness. But weak people began to lose heart and die along the way. Then they accused D. of ineptly managing them. D. overcame his indignation and, in the name of his great love for people, tore his chest, took out his burning heart and ran forward, holding it like a torch. People ran after him and overcame a difficult road. And then they forgot their hero. And D. died.

• Larra:

This is the son of a woman and an eagle. He grew up out of people, proud, accustomed to consider himself the best. He comes into sharp conflict with the tribe where his mother was from. L. kills the girl who refused him. For this, people expel him from their midst and pray to heaven for punishment for the proud. Heaven heard the prayers. L. is punished by loneliness and immortality. He tried many times to commit suicide, but to no avail. Now he has turned into a wandering shadow, reminiscent of the sin of pride.

Plot:

The story of M, Gorky "Old Woman Izergil" tells about the author, to whom the old woman tells about her life. About how she loved many, about how they died. She talked about how she saved her last love from death. Also she told two legends - about the son of an eagle Larr, who was punished with eternal life for his pride. And the legend about the brave Danko, who lit the way with his heart. He selflessly saved people from death, and then died, giving them his heart.

I liked the courage and courage of Danko. I feel sorry for Larra, I think he realized his mistake.

Writing history:

“I saw these stories near Akkerman, in Bessarabia, on the seashore,” this is how Maxim Gorky begins one of his best works. The story “Old Woman Izergil” reflects the author’s unforgettable impressions of his wanderings in southern Bessarabia in the early spring of 1891. The story belongs to the early works of M. Gorky and continues the romantic line (the stories "Makar Chudra" and "Chelkash"), which most strongly reflected the author's admiration for a whole and strong human personality.

The composition of the story is quite complex. The narrative of Izergil, who told a lot in her lifetime, is divided into three, as it were, independent parts (the legend of Larra, Izergil's story about his life, the legend of Danko), each of which is entirely subordinated to one goal - to most fully create the image of the protagonist. Therefore, all three parts are a single whole, permeated with a common idea, which is the author's desire to reveal the true value of human life. The composition is such that two legends, as it were, frame the story of the life of Izergil, which constitutes the ideological center of the work. Legends reveal two concepts of life, two ideas about it.

The system of images is completely subordinated to the author's desire to best reveal the theme of the work, since the question of freedom and lack of freedom of a person haunts him throughout his creative life. The most vivid images of the story, bearing the main ideological load, include the images of Larra, Danko and the old woman Izergil.

One of the most striking early works of Gorky, in which he also rethinks the traditional ideas about good and evil, beauty and strength, but in a slightly different aspect, is the story “The Old Woman Izergil”. This story consists of three parts: the legend about Larra, Izergil's story about her own life and the legend about Danko, framed by the narration of the author-narrator. These three parts are made whole by the main idea of ​​the work - the desire to reveal the true value of the human personality.
“In life, you know, always

There is a place for exploits. And those who do not find them for themselves - ... do not understand life, because if people understood life, everyone would like to leave behind their shadow in it. And then life would not devour people without a trace,” says Izergil, wise with life experience.
These words of hers, addressed to the narrator, sound like a reproach to the boring, vulgar life of many generations of people who disappeared from the face of the earth without a trace. At the same time, these words explain the meaning of the legend about Larra (his name means “outcast, thrown out”), help to better understand the rebellious soul of Izergil herself, who is frightened by the fate of the outcast son of the eagle, casting a shadow on her own life (after all, Izergil herself from number of proud and freedom-loving heroes). From these words, a thread stretches to the legend of Danko's immortal feat.
The author’s thought in the story “Old Woman Izergil” moves from the image of the strong and beautiful egoist Larra, who lives only for herself, from the image of Izergil herself, who lives only with her passions, to the image of Danko, who lives and performs a feat for other people. Both Larra and Danko are strong personalities, but Larra, in the spirit of Nietzsche's "superman", considers himself a man-god, to whom "everything is allowed", he wants to have everything and keep himself whole without sacrificing anything. Danko, on the other hand, performs the feat of self-sacrifice for the sake of people who resigned themselves, “scared of death”, and were already ready to accept a slave life, to bring the most precious thing - their will as a gift to the enemy. Larra's loneliness turns into a terrible punishment for him, since it is unnatural for any person. Larra has been living for thousands of years, and loneliness withered his soul, as the sun "puffed out his body, blood and bones."
The author condemns Larra as the bearer of the egoistic idea, at the same time he condemns the old woman as the bearer of the idea of ​​life in order to satisfy her passions. But the feat of Danko is also not appreciated by people at its true worth. Driven by a feeling of compassion and love for people, he purposefully moves forward, but his impulse is to a large extent emotional, he lacks the mighty power of the mind, and therefore the hero’s feat is not enough to transform imperfect people and awaken high spirituality in them. II, nevertheless, the author sympathizes with Danko. Because his deed was done out of great love for people, and, despite the fact that a “cautious” person was found who put out a burning heart, his sparks glow, they have not faded. Because Danko's proud heart was "a torch of great love for people."
Against the background of these legends, the life story of the old woman Izergil, a bright and self-willed woman in love, also acquires the meaning of a parable. This image contains no less freedom, the flight of the soul than the images of Loiko and Radda, Larra, Danko and many others. Izergil's life, filled with "greedy love", was subject to this insatiable passion. But in love, she was freer and did not allow herself to be humiliated or subjected to anyone's will.
The motive of insight is associated with the image of the listener (author-narrator), to whom the truth is revealed.
The story is framed by his requests to Izergil to tell, about which he has no idea yet. And in the end, he “thought about the great burning heart of Danko and the human fantasy that created so many beautiful and powerful legends.” Gorky's works kindle our hearts with a great love for people, a desire for freedom, a thirst for a living, fulfilling life. And the role of the author himself, especially in his early works, comes down to becoming a kind of guiding star that reveals to a person his own soul, illuminating his life path, filling it with special meaning. Through the captivating beauty of romantic images, the writer leads a person to spiritual transformation, through the wonderful stories of beautiful, proud, courageous heroes, Gorky reveals to us the story of our own life, our aspirations, our destiny.
A person needs beauty - otherwise will he understand his destiny? A man needs a feat - otherwise will he understand that the heart must burn? A man needs a Falcon - otherwise he will lie like that, sprawled on the bed of his fate ... Gorky gives us this beauty, this feat, sends us this Falcon.

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The main characters of Gorky's story "Old Woman Izergil"

The main character of the story, the narrator of three stories-legends about the life of her people and her own. She is very old at the moment. Her hair is gray, her hands and face are wrinkled, her eyes can hardly see. As a child, she lived with her mother and had to work hard. Being a very mobile person, she had to sit still and weave carpets, which was torture for her.

The protagonist of the first chapter of the story, the son of an eagle and a woman he kidnapped from a tribe. This young man, outwardly no different from other people, is shown by the author as a symbol that opposes life itself. Initially inherent qualities of the hero: beauty and pride are completely depreciated in his soulless following of instinct, the desire to achieve his goal by any means, in his very existence, which is devoid of both past and future.

The protagonist of the third chapter of the story, a resident of the camp in ancient times. Danko had a very strong-willed character. He possessed spiritual stamina, inner wealth and true perfection, we can read about such qualities of people in biblical legends. This man lived for the sake of the people of his camp, he did not want them to return to a slave life. That is why he decided to lead them out of the impenetrable thicket of the forest and save them from inevitable death.

Narrator

From his face the story is told in the work. It was he who sat on the seashore in Bessarabia and listened to the legends from the lips of the old woman Izergil.

Larra's mother

The heroine of the first chapter and the legend about Larra. As a girl, she was kidnapped by an eagle from a human tribe and began to live with her as a husband. They had a son whom they named Larra. When he was 20 years old, the eagle's father died, and she decided to return to her tribe.

Eagle

The hero of the first chapter, Larra's father. He kidnapped Larra's mother from the tribe and began to live with her. Soon they had a son, Larra. When he was 20 years old, the eagle realized that he would die soon. He flew high into the air, folded his wings and crashed against the rocks.

Daughter of one of the elders

The heroine of the first chapter and the legend of Larra, whom he killed by stepping on his chest with force for telling him to go away.

Fisherman

The hero of the second chapter, seduced Izergil at the age of 15, her first love. He offered her to leave, he knew how to sing beautifully. He was hanged for joining a gang of Hutsuls.

Hutsul

The hero of the second chapter, the second beloved Izergil. One of the gang of Hutsuls. Once Izergil hit, for which she bit him on the cheek. He was hanged along with the fisherman.

Turk

The hero of the second chapter, the owner of the harem, kidnapped Izergil when he saw her in the market. Ran away from him a week later with his sixteen year old son.

Turk's son

The hero of the second chapter, the guy is 16 years old. Izergil fled with him from the harem to Bulgaria when she was 2 times his age. Died in Bulgaria.

Pole

The hero of the second chapter, a monk, the brother of a girl who looked after Izergil in the monastery after she was wounded with a knife. He fled with Izergil to Poland, where she threw him off the mountain into the sea. Stayed alive.

The hero of the second chapter bought Izergil to sell to others. Paid off him after a lot of money.

Shlyakhtich Arkadek

The hero of the second chapter, the last love of Izergil. He courted her beautifully, and after he achieved his goal, he began to scoff. After being captured, she saved him, but immediately after the rescue, she abandoned him.

Before conducting a small analysis of "The Old Woman Izergil" - the work of Maxim Gorky, we will briefly consider the main facts about this story. Maxim Gorky travels around Bessarabia, and upon returning home he immediately writes this wonderful story. The year of writing the story "Old Woman Izergil" is 1891.

According to literary critics, this work belongs to Gorky's early work, but the author's style and notes of romanticism are already well traced. It is important that the author himself believed that this particular story was the most successful of all the others. Thanks to the analysis of "The Old Woman Izergil" one can better understand the idea and the course of Gorky's reasoning.

The main characters of the story "Old Woman Izergil"

There are three novellas in the story, the plot of which is not connected to each other, but instead they have a pronounced common idea. Using three completely different plots, Maxim Gorky conveys to readers how truly valuable a person's life is. Of course, the main characters of the story "The Old Woman Izergil" will help to convey this idea - these are Danko, Larra, the old woman Izergil. Having made an analysis of the image of each of these heroes, we will see what the author means by true freedom.

First, we will analyze the first short story of the story "Old Woman Izergil", which tells about Larra. His nature is saturated with selfishness, he thinks only of himself, so the reader sees Larra in an unsightly light. Others, looking at Larra's behavior, also experience only disappointment - someone is simply afraid of him, and someone even hates him. Larra's father is an eagle, and his mother is a woman, and although outwardly he looks like a man, with his actions he reveals his essence of an animal. To achieve his goal, Larra goes to all lengths and for everyone, he has no values.

The analysis of "Old Woman Izergil" would not be accurate if we miss such a character as Danko. Gorky completely opposes him to Larra. What are the main qualities in Danko? He is merciful, compassionate and kind. Danko puts others above himself, and he values ​​\u200b\u200btheir own dignity of others much higher than his own. He is ready to make sacrifices and sees no other way in life.

The image of Danko in the story "Old Woman Izergil" conveys the course of Gorky's reasoning that any person can develop ardent and selfless love in himself, without even thinking about the consequences.

Now let's talk about the third character - the old woman Izergil. It is very ambiguous to analyze this hero of the story. Izergil differs from Larra and Danko in that she is not within the boundaries of the legend, she comes out of reality. When the old woman Izergil tells about her love story, the reader cannot believe that she sincerely experienced the feelings she talks about. Although, I must say that this woman acted at the behest of her heart. The novel about this old woman is very similar to the part of the story where Larra was the main character.

Maxim Gorky does not decide for the reader how exactly the actions of the main character should be interpreted, which suggests the idea: in real life, after all, human behavior is also often ambiguous. Taking into account all three characters in the story "Old Woman Izergil", we understand what topic Gorky wanted to discuss - this is the topic of the meaning of human life.