I. S. Turgenev wrote the story "Mumu" in 1852. The work was first published in 1854 in the Sovremennik magazine. The story was created within the literary direction of critical realism. "Mumu" is the first work in which Turgenev shows the vices of serfdom, denounces and condemns this social order.

main characters

Gerasim- the janitor, "a man twelve inches tall, built by a hero and deaf-mute from birth," loved Tatyana. By order of the mistress, he killed his dog Mumu.

Lady- an elderly woman, a widow with a bad temper. Her children had long since departed, and the old lady met her old age alone.

Other characters

Tatyana- a laundress, "a woman of about twenty-eight, small, thin, blond", Gerasim's beloved, who became Klimov's wife.

Kapiton Klimov- a bitter drunkard, Tatyana's husband.

Gavrila- the head butler of the lady.

Stepan- lackey, "hefty guy."

On one of the remote streets of Moscow, a widowed lady lived in a gray house with white columns, surrounded by numerous servants. Among her servants, the janitor Gerasim, a deaf-mute man from birth, stood out especially. He was gifted with extraordinary, heroic strength, worked for four, and any business "argued in his hands."

Once the lady brought Gerasim from the village. At first he yearned for his native places, but soon got used to city life. The yard people respected and feared Gerasim. The man lived in a closet allotted for him above the kitchen, which he arranged in his own way and always locked.

A year later, the old lady decided to marry the bitter drunkard Kapiton to the laundress Tatyana, hoping that marriage would be able to fix him.

Tatyana was a girl of unfortunate fate, from an early age she worked hard for pennies, she was afraid of everyone and everything. Especially Tatyana was frightened by the "huge" Gerasim. Laughing at her fearfulness, the man soon fell in love with the girl. Since then, Gerasim tried to always be with her, gave her gifts, helped her to do difficult work, and did not let the courtyards laugh at the quiet Tatyana. The man was already going to marry the girl, but he was waiting for a new caftan to be sewn for him in order to appear with his request before the mistress in a decent form.

Butler Gavrila, whom the lady instructed to arrange the wedding of Tatiana and Kapiton, was afraid that, having learned about the upcoming wedding, Gerasim, in a fit of anger, could destroy the whole house. After consulting with the courtyards, the butler decided to deceive the deaf-mute. Knowing that Gerasim could not stand drunks, Gavrila persuaded Tatyana to walk past him, pretending to be "drunk". Seeing the girl drunk, Gerasim immediately took her to Kapiton, and he himself went to his closet and did not leave there for a whole day, after which he became even more gloomy.

A year after the wedding, Kapiton completely drank himself, and the lady sent him along with his wife to a distant village. In parting, Gerasim gave Tatyana a red paper handkerchief. The woman shed a tear and kissed the man three times like a Christian.

Gerasim accompanied them to the Crimean Ford and, already returning home, noticed a puppy floundering in the water. The man took the dog with him, made a couch of straw for her in his closet and fed her with milk. As it turned out, it was a Spanish breed dog with long ears and expressive eyes. The man became very attached to her and called her Mumu. All the people in the house loved the dog, but Gerasim tried not to let anyone near her, apparently he was jealous.

Once the lady noticed Mumu lying under a bush and ordered to bring the dog to her. Mumu was very frightened by the new environment, so when the woman tried to stroke her, she bared her teeth. The lady's mood immediately deteriorated, and she ordered Gavrila to get rid of the animal as quickly as possible. While Gerasim was busy, the footman Stepan, on the orders of the butler, took Mumu to Okhotnichiy Ryad, where he sold her to a buyer, asking him to keep the dog on a leash for a week. After the disappearance of the dog, Gerasim's face "already lifeless, like that of all deaf-mutes, now seems to have turned to stone." However, one night, Mumu herself ran to him with a piece of rope around her neck.

From that moment on, Gerasim began to hide the dog in his closet. Everyone heard the sounds coming from his room, but out of pity they did not report the appearance of Mumu to the mistress. However, somehow, at night, the dog began to bark loudly at the stray drunkard. The lady woke up from the barking, was indignant at what was happening and again demanded to get rid of the dog.

Sensing danger, Gerasim locked himself in the closet with Mumu and opened the door to the butler only in the morning. Gavrila signaled the order of the mistress. Gerasim, realizing what was required of him, in response made it clear that he himself would resolve the issue with Mumu.

An hour later, Gerasim, dressed in a festive caftan, took the dog to a tavern, where he fed him cabbage soup with meat. While Mumu was eating, "two heavy tears suddenly rolled out of his eyes." After that, Gerasim led the dog to the Crimean ford, took two bricks and sat down with Mumu in one of the boats standing on the shore. Having sailed far from the shore, he “with some kind of painful anger on his face” wrapped the bricks around with a rope, attached a noose and tied it around the dog’s neck. Unsuspecting Mumu looked at him trustingly. “He turned away, closed his eyes and unclenched his hands ... Gerasim did not hear anything, neither the quick squeal of the falling Mumu, nor the heavy splash of water.”

After that, Gerasim left the yard and returned to his native village. Upon learning of the loss of the man, the lady at first became angry and ordered to find him, but when she was told that the deaf-mute had returned to her native village, “she announced that she did not need such an ungrateful person at all.”

"And Gerasim still lives as a bean in his lonely hut." Since his return from Moscow, he has completely stopped hanging out with women, does not even look at them, and does not keep a single dog with him.

Conclusion

The protagonist of the story "Mumu", the deaf-mute serf Gerasim, is the embodiment of Turgenev's ideas about the freedom-loving, brave Russian people in the work. By the will of the lady, Gerasim first lost his homeland, then his beloved Tatyana and even his favorite Mumu - all this led to an internal rebellion inside the hero. At the end of the work, the man breaks the bonds of serfdom. He returns home and becomes a man of his own free will.

A brief retelling of "Mumu" allows you to get acquainted with the plot of the work, however, for a better understanding of the work, we recommend reading it in full.

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Brief retelling: by order of the lady, the dumb Gerasim is brought from the village to Moscow. He works as a janitor. This is a hero who is afraid of the servants. He likes the washerwoman Tatyana. But the lady decides to marry her to the drunkard Kapiton and send her to the village.

Gerasim finds Mumu, becomes attached to her. But the irritable lady orders Mumu to be drowned. Gerasim drowns Mumu and arbitrarily leaves for the village, for his homeland.

Everything was taken away from Gerasim, he had nothing to lose, and he was able to leave. But he left as a winner, leaving hope for a better life with his action.

Characteristics of the main characters:

Gerasim is strong, hardworking, honest, kind, humane, knows how to keep his word, deeply feels nature, is capable of protest.

The lady is stingy, angry, capricious, wayward, heartless. Has a complex character. She thinks only of herself, selfish. Wants to be at the epicenter of all events.

Butler Gavrila is helpful, obsequious, cowardly.

Kapiton is a drunkard, useless, weak-willed.

Tatyana is modest, disenfranchised, downtrodden.

The theme of the work: the condemnation of serfdom, which cripples the fate of people.

The idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe work: condemning serfdom, the humiliation of human dignity, Turgenev, using the example of Gerasim, shows the strength, talent of his native people, the ability to overcome any obstacles.

Impression about the book: this work will not leave anyone indifferent.

And, perhaps, there is no person who, at least a little bit, does not imagine the plot of this story. It touchingly describes the story of a man's love for a dog. This sincere love for an animal that can become a best friend, unlike evil and cruel people. The main character is Gerasim, an ordinary janitor who served with the mistress. The author shows us that even such a powerful person as Gerasim is capable of showing love.

Turgenev also showed that even in the conditions of serfdom, a person is capable of protest. I admire the moral qualities of Gerasim, the strength of his spirit. If you haven't read it yet, I definitely recommend doing so. The story is extremely instructive.

Updated: 2017-11-05

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Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev

"Mu Mu"

“In one of the remote streets of Moscow, in a gray house with white columns, a mezzanine and a crooked balcony, there once lived a lady, a widow, surrounded by numerous servants ...

Of all her servants, the most remarkable person was the janitor Gerasim, a man of twelve inches tall, built by a hero and deaf-mute from birth. The lady took him from the village, where he lived alone, in a small hut, apart from his brothers, and was considered perhaps the most serviceable draft peasant. Gifted with extraordinary strength, he worked for four ... ".

But Gerasim was brought to Moscow, given a broom and a shovel in his hands, and appointed as a janitor. “At first he did not like his new life strongly. From childhood, he got used to field work, to village life. Finally he got used to city life.

The old lady kept numerous servants. Once she took it into her head to marry her shoemaker, the bitter drunkard Kapiton.

"Maybe he'll settle down," she said to her chief butler, Gavrila.

"Why not get married, sir! You can, sir," replied Gavrilo, and it will be very good, sir.

Immediately the lady ordered to marry the drunkard washerwoman Tatyana.

Tatyana, “a woman of about twenty-eight, small, thin, blond, with moles on her left cheek. Moles on the left cheek are revered in Russia as a bad omen - a portent of an unhappy life ... Tatyana could not boast of her fate. From early youth, she was kept in a black body: she worked for two, but she never saw any affection; dressed her badly; she received the smallest salary ”... (But she,“ as a skilled and learned laundress, was entrusted with only thin linen ”).

“Once she was known as a beauty, but her beauty very soon jumped off. Her disposition was very meek, or, rather, frightened; she felt complete indifference to herself, she was mortally afraid of others; she only thought about how to finish the work by the deadline, never spoke to anyone and trembled at the mere name of the mistress, although she almost did not know her in the eyes.

And now about Gerasim's love for Tatyana. “She fell in love with him: whether with a meek expression on her face, or with timidity of movements ...”. Once he met her in the courtyard, he grabbed her by the elbow and, lowing affectionately, handed her a gingerbread - a cockerel with gold leaf on the tail and wings. “From that day on, he didn’t give her rest: wherever she went, he was already right there, walking towards her, smiling, mooing, waving his arms, he would suddenly pull out the ribbon from his bosom and hand it to her, with a broom in front of her clear the dust. The poor girl simply did not know how to be and what to do. Soon the whole house learned about the tricks of the dumb janitor; ridicule, jokes, biting words rained down on Tatyana. However, not everyone dared to mock Gerasim: he did not like jokes; And yes, they left her alone. The Rada is not happy, but the girl fell under his protection.

Seeing once that the drunkard Kapiton “was somehow too graciously breaking up with Tatyana, Gerasim called him to him with his finger, took him to the carriage house, and seizing the drawbar that was standing in the corner by the end, slightly, but significantly threatened him with it. Since then, no one has spoken to Tatyana.

Now Gerasim wanted to ask the mistress for permission to marry Tatyana, he was only waiting for a new caftan, promised to him by the butler: he wanted to appear in decent form before the mistress. He was deeply afraid of her for all his fearlessness.

This is how one stupid, empty old woman controlled human destinies. Gerasim, Tatyana, Kapiton and others ... They have no education, no development, no meaning in life! The social environment of people cripples.

The drunkard Kapiton liked the bride very much, but everyone knew that Gerasim was not indifferent to her.

"- Yes, for mercy, Gavrilo Andreevich! After all, he will kill me, by God, he will kill me, like he will swat some fly; after all, he has a hand, because you kindly see what kind of hand he has; after all, he just has Minin and Pozharsky's hand ".

"Well, get out," Gavrilo interrupted him impatiently...

Kapiton turned away and trudged out.

“Let’s suppose he didn’t exist,” the butler called after him, “do you agree yourself?”

“I do,” Kapiton objected, and left.

Eloquence did not leave him even in extreme cases.

Then the butler called Tatyana. The girl is sweet, beautiful, a hard worker. Kind, gentle soul. But to what extent she is downtrodden and humiliated!

"What do you order, Gavrilo Andreevich?" she said in a low voice.

The butler looked at her intently.

“Well,” he said, “Tanyusha, do you want to get married?” The lady has found a groom for you.

— Yes, Gavrilo Andreevich. And who does she appoint me as a suitor? she added with hesitation.

— Kapiton, the shoemaker.

- I'm listening.

“He's a frivolous man, that's for sure. But in this case, the lady is counting on you.

- I'm listening.

- One problem ... after all, this capercaillie, Geraska, he is looking after you. And how did you bewitch this bear to yourself? But he will kill you, perhaps, a kind of bear.

"He'll kill you, Gavrilo Andreevich, he'll certainly kill you."

- Kill ... Well, we'll see. As you say: kill. Does he have the right to kill you, judge for yourself.

“But I don’t know, Gavrilo Andreevich, whether he has or not.

— Ekaya! You didn't promise him anything...

- What do you want, sir?

The butler paused and thought:

"You unrequited soul!"

It was necessary to fulfill the fleeting whim of the old lady, but in such a way as not to disturb her with some kind of incident.

“Thought, thought and finally invented. It was repeatedly noted that Gerasim could not stand drunkards ... They decided to teach Tatyana so that she would pretend to be drunk and stagger and sway past Gerasim. The poor girl did not agree for a long time, but she was persuaded ... The trick was a success as well as possible. Gerasim lost all interest in Tatyana, although he experienced a strong shock: he did not leave his closet for a whole day and the postilion Antipka saw through the gap how Gerasim, sitting on the bed, putting his hand to his cheek, quietly, measuredly and only occasionally lowing - sang, that is, swayed , closed his eyes and shook his head like coachmen or barge haulers when they sing their mournful songs. Antipka became terrified and he moved away from the gap. When Gerasim left the closet the next day, no particular change could be noticed in him. He only seemed to become more gloomy, and did not pay the slightest attention to Tatiana and Kapiton.

And a year later, when Kapiton completely drank himself and was sent to a distant village with his wife, Gerasim, at the time of their departure, “came out of his closet, approached Tatyana and gave her a red paper handkerchief, bought by him for her a year ago ". And she, shedding tears, and "sitting down in the cart, in a Christian way kissed Gerasim three times." He wanted to see her off, but then he suddenly stopped, "waved his hand and went along the river."

It was evening. Suddenly he noticed that a white puppy with black spots was floundering in the mud near the shore and could not get out. Gerasim picked up the “unfortunate little dog”, “put it into his bosom”, and laid it at home on his bed, brought a cup of milk from the kitchen. “The poor dog was only three weeks old, she still did not know how to drink from a cup and only trembled and squinted. Gerasim took her head lightly with two fingers and bent her muzzle to the milk. The dog suddenly began to drink greedily, snorting, shaking and choking. Gerasim looked, and how suddenly he laughed ... All night he fiddled with her, laid her down, wiped her and fell asleep, finally, he himself was near her in some kind of joyful and quiet sleep.

No mother takes care of her child the way Gerasim took care of his pet.” Gradually, the weak, frail, ugly puppy turned into "a very fine dog." “She passionately became attached to Gerasim and did not lag behind him a single step.” He named her Mumu.

Another year has passed. And suddenly, “one fine summer day,” the lady saw Mumu through the window and ordered her to be brought. The footman rushed to fulfill the order, but only with the help of Gerasim himself did he manage to catch her.

“Mumu, Mumu, come to me, come to the mistress,” said the lady: “come, silly ... don’t be afraid ...

“Come, come, Mumu to the mistress,” the accusers repeated: “come.” But Mumu looked around melancholy and did not budge.

They brought a saucer of milk, but Mumu did not even sniff it, "and kept trembling and looking around as before."

- Oh, what are you! said the lady, going up to her, bent down and wanted to stroke her, but Mumu convulsively turned her head and bared her teeth. The lady deftly withdrew her hand ...

“Take her out,” the old woman said in a changed voice. - Bad dog! How evil she is!"

The next morning she said:

“And what is a dumb dog to do with it? Who allowed him to keep dogs in my yard? ..

“Don’t let her be here today… do you hear?” she ordered Gavrila.

Having received an order from the butler, the footman Stepan caught Mumu at the moment when Gerasim brought a bundle of firewood into the manor's house, and the dog, as usual, remained outside the door to wait for him. Stepan immediately got into the first cab he came across, galloped to Okhotny Ryad and sold the dog to someone for fifty dollars. At the same time, he agreed that she would be kept on a leash for a week.

How Gerasim was looking for her! Until the very night. The whole next day he did not show himself, the next morning he left his closet for work, but his face seemed to be petrified.

"The night has come, moonlit, clear." Gerasim was lying in the hayloft and “suddenly felt as if he was being pulled by the floor; he trembled all over, but did not raise his head, he even closed his eyes, but here it is again ... ". In front of him was Mumu with a piece of paper around her neck, he “squeezed her in his arms”, and she instantly licked his whole face.

The only being he loved and who loved him so much. People had already explained to him with signs how his Mumu had “snarled” at the mistress, he understood that they had decided to get rid of the dog. Now he began to hide her: he kept her locked up in the closet all day, and took her out at night.

But when some drunkard lay down for the night behind the fence of their yard, Mumu burst into loud barking during the night. A sudden barking woke the mistress.

"- Again, again this dog! .. Oh, send for the doctor. They want to kill me ...".

The whole house was raised to its feet. Gerasim, seeing the flickering lights and shadows in the windows, grabbed his Mumu and locked himself in the closet. Already pounded on his door. Gavrilo ordered everyone to watch until the morning, and he himself “through the senior companion Lyubov Lyubimovna, with whom he stole and accounted for tea, sugar and other groceries, ordered to report to the lady that the dog would not be alive tomorrow, so that the lady would do a favor, not be angry and calmed down."

The next morning, "a whole crowd of people moved across the yard in the direction of Gerasim's closet." Screams, knocking did not help. There was a hole in the door plugged with an Armenian. Pushed a stick in there...

Suddenly, “the closet door quickly swung open - all the servants immediately rolled head over heels down the stairs ... Gerasim stood motionless on the threshold. The crowd had gathered at the foot of the stairs. Gerasim looked at all these people in German coats from above, with his hands slightly at his sides; in his red, peasant shirt, he seemed like some kind of giant in front of them. Gavrilo took a step forward.

“Look, brother,” he said, “don’t be naughty at my place.

And he began to explain to him with signs that the lady, they say, would certainly demand

your dog: give it, they say, now ...

Gerasim looked at him, pointed to the dog, made a sign with his hand at his neck, as if tightening a noose, and looked at the butler with an inquiring face.

“Yes, yes,” he objected, nodding his head, “yes, absolutely.

Gerasim lowered his eyes, then suddenly shook himself, again pointed to Mumu, who had been standing beside him all the time, innocently wagging her tail and moving her ears curiously, repeated the sign of strangulation over his neck and struck himself significantly in the chest, as if announcing that he himself was taking on to destroy Mumu.

“Yes, you will deceive,” Gavrilo waved him back.

Gerasim looked at him, smiled contemptuously, struck his chest again and slammed the door...

"Leave him alone, Gavrilo Andreevich," said Stepan, "he'll do it if he promised."

He's so... Well, if he promises, it's probably. He is not like our brother. What's true is true. Yes".

An hour later, Gerasim, leading Mumu on a rope, left the house. First, in a tavern, he took cabbage soup with meat, “crumbled bread into it, finely chopped the meat and put the plate on the floor. Mumu began to eat with her usual politeness, barely touching the food with her muzzle. Gerasim looked at her for a long time; two heavy tears suddenly rolled out of his eyes... He shielded his face with his hand. Mumu ate half a plate and walked away, licking her lips. Gerasim got up, paid for the cabbage soup, and went out.”

He walked slowly, without letting Mumu off the rope. Passing by a wing under construction, I took a couple of bricks from there. Then from the Crimean Ford he reached the place where two boats stood and jumped together with Mumu into one of them. He “began to row so hard, albeit against the current of the river, that in an instant he sped away a hundred fathoms ... He threw the oars, bowed his head to Mumu” ​​...

The only being he loved and who loved him so much. Kill this creature with your own hands! But it did not even occur to him to violate the order of the mistress. It was possible at least not to give the dog for torment into the wrong hands.

Finally, he straightened up, “wrapped the bricks he had taken with a rope, attached a noose, put it on Mumu’s neck, lifted her over the river, looked at her for the last time ... She looked at him trustingly and without fear and waved her tail slightly. He turned away, closed his eyes and unclenched his hands ... ".

“In the evening, some giant walked non-stop on the highway with a bag over his shoulders and with a long stick in his hands. It was Gerasim. He hurried away from Moscow, to his village, to his homeland, although no one was waiting for him there.

“The summer night that had just come was quiet and warm; on the one hand, where the sun had set, the edge of the sky was still white and faintly fogged by the last reflection of the vanishing day; on the other hand, a blue, gray twilight was already rising. The night went on from there. Hundreds of quail rattled all around, corncrakes called to one another ... Gerasim could not hear them, he could not hear the sensitive night whispering of trees either. but he felt the familiar smell of ripening rye, which wafted from the dark fields, felt how the wind flying towards him - the wind from the homeland - gently hit him in the face ... ".

Two days later he was already in his hut, prayed before the images and went to the elder. The headman was surprised, but haymaking was coming and "Gerasim, as an excellent worker, was immediately given a scythe in his hands."

And in Moscow, the lady became angry and at first ordered him to be returned immediately, and then declared that "she does not need such an ungrateful person at all."

And he lives alone in his village hut. The soul of this tall hero is tender, vulnerable. Therefore, he no longer looks at women and does not keep a single dog at his place.

The power of some people over others. How she cripples both of them.

For the time being, people are still so (in the vast majority) that they need a bridle? And the less perfect these people, the stronger, apparently, the bridle should be. Over them, power is usually what they deserve. If all or the vast majority had turned out to be like Gerasim - honest, sincere, selfless, hard-working, some completely different order would have arisen, a different social system. But so far, of all the domestics, only a person “not of this world”, a deaf-mute, who almost does not perceive all the information, all the signals of “this world”, has turned out to be so.

And Tatyana, a bright soul in essence, is crushed by this life and is completely obedient. It can be rotated and adjusted as you like. She can be manipulated, like the whole crowd.

It turned out to be a sad, sometimes touching and quite real (and scary!) picture of life.

Volskaya Inna Sergeevna, born in 1999

The main character of the story, the deaf-mute Gerasim, lived in the village before coming to the city. He was engaged in ordinary peasant activities. This occupation not only helped him earn a living, but also brought pleasure. He independently, without the help of horses, plowed the land, and his appearance resembled a hero from folk tales. Then he was brought to the city. Naturally, this could not please the peasant. Having resorted to pictures of nature, the author displayed how strong feelings overcame the hero of the work. Either he is like a bull being driven in an unknown direction, or he lies for a long time, like a hunted animal. The characteristic features of Gerasim are also manifested in the interior of his dwelling. He had a heroic bed, standing on four logs, a small table and a chair. He did all this with his own hands. Gerasim smiled when he saw how the chair did not break, even after hitting the ground.

He was a serf, the property of a lady. This is an important point in his characterization. He should bring his mistress only benefit, and not express his desires. He is interested in Tatyana, a laundress from numerous servants. But the hostess is not interested at all.

Gerasim liked Tatyana, because at the behest of his heart, he feels that the girl needs protection most of all. On the day of the move, he finds a small puppy and develops a special attachment to the animal. Having hidden his find from the eyes of the hostess, he fell asleep in a joyful mood. Mumu answers him the same. The dog is very attached to the new owner. However, Gerasim had to fulfill the will of the eccentric mistress. Since he is a serf, he was obliged to fulfill the order of the mistress without wrangling. Drowning Mumu, he lost the most precious thing he had in life. HE decides on an act and leaves the mistress back to the village, without her knowledge. This shows the will of a brave and determined personality. In the image of the hero of the story, the author reflected the idea that every person has self-esteem, and this does not depend on his origin. The image of Gerasim is imbued with poetic sympathy.

His mistress is described as a quarrelsome, bossy woman. She often has mood swings and whims. When doing her actions, a woman does not think about the consequences. For her own amusement, she decided to marry Tatyana and Kapiton. Then she realizes that nothing good came of it, and sends them to the village, away from her eyes. Interested in Mumu, she quickly changes her mind and is eager to get rid of the dog quickly. The hostess believes that she alone is given to control someone else's fate. Departure of Gerasim, she regards as ingratitude and does not order to find a fugitive serf.

Seeing the fate of the heroes of the work, you involuntarily imagine the life of serfs in Russia, of that period. The writer showed the reader that the right to serfs has a very bad effect not only on them, but also on the owners themselves. The fact that Gerasim was deaf and mute can be understood in such a way that the author tried to convey to the reader about the impossibility of expressing his thoughts in order to be heard.

What are the best qualities of the Russian folk character embodied by I. S. Turgenev in Gerasim, the hero of the story "Mumu"? (Plan) Emotional assessment of Gerasim's protest in the story "Mumu"

On a deaf Moscow street stands the house of an old lady-widow. It is decorated with columns, and its former splendor is seen. The lady has several daughters, but they are all married for a long time, so she lives completely alone, except for many servants.

Here we meet the janitor Gerasim, perhaps the most prominent person at court. Everyone is a little afraid of him. He has a powerful physique, but was born deaf and mute. The lady liked him because he was a good worker, so she took him from the village and hired him. It was not easy for Gerasim to get used to the city and the noisy life, because he grew up in the countryside. But he works perfectly here, too, in the service of the mistress, and even petty thieves are afraid to climb into the yard, knowing that Gerasim is looking after the household there. The janitor settled not far from the kitchen, where he has a separate closet. Let's continue the summary of "Mumu".

The entire household understands that the lady has immense power over the servants. Among them there is another notable character - this is the shoemaker Kapiton Klimov. Everyone knows that he drinks heavily, so the lady somehow decided to marry him to the timid and downtrodden washerwoman Tatyana. Thus, the lady believes, Kapiton will grow cold. No one dares to object to her, and the butler Gavril, on behalf of the hostess, begins to prepare the wedding. By that time, Gerasim had been living with the mistress for about a year.

Tatyana is twenty-eight years old, she is slender in figure and has blond hair. Gerasim is imbued with sympathy for her, and in his own way begins courtship - somewhat clumsy and timid. Gerasim finally decides to turn to the mistress with a request to marry Tatyana to him, and for this occasion he hopes to get a new caftan in order to appear before the mistress in the proper manner.

Do not forget that the summary of "Mumu" is presented by the literary portal site

Gavrila's butler is now in trouble. What to do, after all, although the mistress Gerasim likes, what kind of couple can become a deaf-mute for a young girl? The "groom" Kapiton is also uncomfortable - he is clearly afraid of Gerasim. There is a chance, the butler thinks, that, as often happens, the lady will get this idea out of her head, but everything turns out the other way around - she is daily interested in the wedding preparations of Kapiton and Tatyana.

And now Gavrila has matured his cunning plan, how to upset the relationship between Gerasim and Tatyana. The fact is that the janitor does not tolerate drunkards, and therefore, as soon as he sees the intoxicated Tatyana, the butler decided, he himself will refuse her. The plan works, and Kapiton's wedding with the laundress took place.

After a year, Kapiton almost drank himself, so the lady decides to send him and Tatyana from the city to the village. Seeing off Tatyana, Gerasim presents her with a red handkerchief, which he bought for the girl about a year ago. We are approaching the culmination of the story "Mumu", a summary of which you are reading.

Gerasim is walking back along the river bank, and suddenly notices how the puppy is drowning. Having caught the dog, he brings it to his home. The puppy turns out to be remarkably well-behaved, he has a fluffy tail, big eyes and long ears. Gerasim calls the puppy Mumu.

Now Mumu is everywhere with a janitor - he helps guard the household at night, does not wake anyone up by barking, and all the servants love him. Another year passes. The lady paces around the living room, and, looking out into the yard, sees Mumu. The mood of the lady is upbeat, although the accustomers of such a mood are very afraid, because after such a “fun hour” she falls into melancholy and anger. There is a sad story: the old woman orders to bring the dog to the house, but Mumu is frightened of the mistress and therefore not only growls at her, but also grins. Instantly changing her mood, the old woman tells Mumu to get out.

At night, the mistress is not up to sleep, she is furious, and in the morning she complains to everyone that she could not sleep because of the barking of dogs. After that, the lackey receives an order to remove Mumu from the house. The footman does not dare to disobey, and goes to Okhotny Ryad to sell it. For Mumu they give fifty kopecks. Gerasim is not himself, he leaves everything, looking for his friend, but he cannot find, however, a day later, Mumu herself finds Gerasim, and a broken rope is visible around her neck. It is a pity that the summary of "Mumu" on our website cannot contain all the colors of the story, for this it is worth reading the story in full.

The janitor guesses who is guilty of the loss of the dog, besides, with the help of gestures, his assumption is confirmed by telling about the incident in the manor house. Gerasim hides Mumu, but this does not help - the lady hears her barking at night and beats in hysterics, after which the butler promises to get rid of Mumu for good.

The butler conveys the command of the mistress to poor Gerasim, and the deaf-mute janitor himself decides to take on this task. He puts on his best clothes, generously feeds the dog, and then sails with her in a boat to the middle of the river. In the boat they say goodbye, and Gerasim, having tied bricks to Mumu's neck, drowns his only friend.

After that, Gerasim, having collected his things, leaves the manor house and returns to his village. Gerasim spends several days on foot, but he is welcome in the village. First, the old lady is looking for him in Moscow, but when she finds out that he has returned to the village, she decides not to write him back. Why does she need a man with such an ungrateful heart?

Gerasim has a dilapidated hut in the village, and so he lives in it. He is not interested in women, and he never got a dog.

You have read the summary of "Mumu". Be sure to regularly visit our section Summaries, because hundreds of expositions of a wide variety of literary works are collected there.

After reading this sad story now, you probably thought why Gerasim decided to dispose of his only friend in this way? Was it really impossible to come up with something, for example, to run away to your village with Mumu? Difficult question, and Turgenev here for a reason touches on this topic, so painful for his era. We have prepared an article "Why did Gerasim drown Mumu", read the answer to this question.

And besides, when reading the summary of "Mumu", you most likely wondered why Gerasim agreed to live with the mistress, why the whole household was so afraid of the old woman, and she even commanded the wedding, leaving no choice to ordinary people. You will find answers to these and other questions in the article.

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev wrote Mumu, according to his sister Varvara, based on a real drama that happened before their eyes. She claimed that their mother became the prototype of the lady, and Gerasim was her janitor Andrei, also dumb, as in the work.

In one of the old houses on the very outskirts of Moscow, a lady once lived. She went out into the world very rarely, her sons remained in the service in St. Petersburg, her daughters got married, her husband died. The mistress was surrounded only by a numerous household. The most interesting of her servants was the janitor Gerasim, deaf and mute from birth. Once he lived in a village, in a hut separate from his brothers. This tall hero possessed extraordinary strength, it was pleasant to watch how any work in his hands argues. If not for his vice, any girl would marry him. But then they took Gerasim to Moscow, dressed him up, shod him in boots and assigned him to serve as a janitor. He did not like the new life very much, but, like any person, he gradually got used to it.

Summary of "Mumu" Turgenev: Tatyana's wedding

A year after moving to the city, one incident happened to him. The lady decided to ward off her shoemaker Kapiton Klimov from wine by marriage. Choosing a bride for him, she settled on the washerwoman Tatyana. She was a twenty-eight-year-old shy, thin, small woman. More than anyone in the world, Tatyana was afraid of Gerasim, although he was affectionate with her, sometimes even gave her a ribbon or a candy. After her marriage, he became even gloomier and stopped paying attention to her. Marriage did not help Kapiton. Exactly a year later, he completely drank himself. The mistress ordered to send him and his wife to a remote village. Gerasim gave a red handkerchief to Tatyana as a farewell gift and saw them off for a bit.

When he returned to the estate along the river in the evening, he noticed how something was floundering near the shore. Gerasim bent down and saw a white puppy with black spots in the water. The little dog could not get out on land. Gerasim pulled it out, put it in his bosom and went home. Watching the puppy greedily, choking, drinking milk, the deaf-mute even laughed. Gerasim looked after the dog better than any other mother takes care of her child. At first she was ugly and weak. But when she grew up, she turned into a pretty, Spanish breed dog. Gerasim called her Mumu. She became so attached to the owner that she followed him on his heels. Everyone in the house fell in love with Mumu, not to mention the janitor.

Summary of "Mumu" Turgenev: the hatred of the lady

Another year has passed. The lady was in an excellent mood, but this frightened the servants, as it was replaced by a very bad mood. She looked out the window into the courtyard and noticed Mumu, who was lying under a rose bush. The lady was surprised and ordered the dog to be brought to her.

When she wanted to pet her, the frightened Mumu growled. The lady, of course, withdrew her hand and became angry. She summoned Gavrila, the butler, to her, and said that this dog should not be in the estate and spirit. When Gerasim was busy, Mumu was caught and sold at the market for fifty dollars. For a long time the deaf-mute was looking for his favorite, but to no avail. The next day he worked stone-faced. However, after a few days, Mumu ran home again: she ran away from the new owners. After this event, Gerasim began to hide her in his room during the day, and took her out only at night. Once, during such a walk, Mumu barked at a drunken passer-by and thereby woke up the lady, who was just beginning to fall asleep. She got angry and ordered to drown this dog. This order was hardly explained to the janitor. Having figured out what was the matter, he made it clear that he would do it himself.

A brief retelling of "Mumu" Turgenev: the execution of the order

Gerasim dressed up in a festive way and went with Mumu to the tavern. There he fed her cabbage soup with meat and went to the river. Gerasim jumped into the first boat that came across and swam in it to the middle of the river. The janitor lifted Mumu up and looked at her for the last time. She still trusted him, not afraid. Gerasim screwed up his eyes, turned away and unclenched his hands. It is clear that he did not hear a splash of water or a squeal of a dog. In the evening, the janitor gathered his belongings in a bag, threw it on his shoulders and walked along the road outside the city. Gerasim without looking back returned home to his village.