Who was Gavrila in the story of Mumu. The main characters of "Mumu": a brief description

Answers to school textbooks

3. How does the author describe Gerasim and is it possible to judge the author's attitude towards the hero based on this description? How did Gerasim work and why did his new classes seem like a “joke” to him?
The writer claims that "a person gets used to everything, and Gerasim finally got used to city life."
How did Gerasim get used to a new life? Tell about it close to the text.
What was his closet like and why does Turgenev describe it in such detail?

Turgenev calls Gerasim "the most delightful face" of all the servants. Gerasim was the tallest man of heroic build and deaf-mute from birth. The creator writes: “Gifted with extraordinary strength, he worked for four - the matter was arguing in his hands, and it was funny to look at him when he either plowed and, leaning his large palms on the plow, it seemed, alone, without the help of a horse, cut the elastic chest of the earth or, O Petrov, the scythe acted so crushingly that even a young birch grove was brushed off its roots, or agilely and unceasingly thrashed with a three-foot-long flail, and like a lever, the oblong and hard muscles of his shoulders lowered and raised. An unchanging silence gave solemn significance to his indefatigable work. He was a nice man and, if it were not for his misfortune, every girl would willingly marry him ... "

According to this description, one can judge the attitude of the creator to his own hero: Turgenev seems to be admiring Gerasim, his strength and stinginess to work. Turgenev speaks of the solemnity of Gerasim's incessant work, in other words, of his indefatigability and industriousness.

Peasant work is very languid, and the duties of a janitor in the town seemed to Gerasim comic, light after village labors. He is used to doing more.

Gerasim took a long time to get used to the new life. He could not fully talk to people because of his own dumbness, and communication with nature replaced human warmth for him. Gerasim was bored and was perplexed, as a young, healthy bull is perplexed, who had just grazed in a field where juicy grass grew, but he was put on a railway carriage. All around, everything rumbles, squeals, and the train rushes to no one knows where.

Gerasim coped with the new obligations of the janitor jokingly, for half an hour, later for a long time he stood and looked at all the passers-by, waiting for an answer to his unspoken questions, or he threw a broom and a shovel and went off somewhere into a corner, threw himself face down on the ground and lay on the ground for whole hours. breasts like a captured animal. Gradually, Gerasim got used to city life.

Gerasim's konurka was small and placed above the kitchen. “... he arranged it for himself, according to his own taste: he built in it a bed of oak planks on 4 logs, a truly heroic bed; 100 pounds could be put on it - it would not bend; under the bed was a hefty chest; in the corner stood a table of the same strong character, and near the table there was a chair with 3 legs, so strong and stocky that Gerasim himself used to pick it up, drop it and grin. The konurka was closed with a lock, reminiscent of a kalach, only dark; Gerasim always carried the key to this lock with him on his belt. He didn't like to be visited."

Turgenev so carefully describes Gerasim's kennel so that with the help of this description he can show in more detail the character of the hero: unsociable, taciturn, strong.

4. Why are other heroes interesting - Kapiton (as he himself says to himself?), Gavrila, Tatyana (why did beauty soon “jump off” from her?)? How did Gerasim treat Tatyana? Tell the story of her marriage. What are the characters like in it?

Kapiton Klimov, "a bitter drunkard," was a shoemaker for an old lady. Turgenev writes: “Klimov considered himself an offended and unappreciated creature, an educated and metropolitan person who would not live in Moscow, idle, in some backwater, and if he drank, as he himself put it with an arrangement and pounding his chest , then he drank specifically from grief. When Gavrila told him that he only eats bread for nothing, Kapiton replied offendedly: “In this case, Gavrila Andreevich, there is only one arbiter for me: the Lord God himself, and no one else. He alone knows what kind of person I am in this world and whether I eat bread for free. He states that he is, "however, a man, and not some, in truth, pathetic pot." He calls himself a miser. In marriage, Kapiton sees only pleasure for himself and does not feel his own responsibility for Tatyana. A year after the wedding, Kapiton completely drank himself and was sent to the village together with his wife by the mistress.

Gavrila is the chief butler of the lady, a man "who, judging by one of his yellowish eyes and duck nose, fate itself seemed to have determined to be a commanding person." In communication with the mistress, he constantly says “s”: marry, sir, you can, sir, well, sir, of course, sir, if you like. When Gavrila speaks with Kapiton and other servants, he does not use "s". He is ready to do all the desires of the mistress, humiliates himself in front of her and humiliates other people to please her, and he, together with his senior companion Lyubov Lyubimovna, steals tea, sugar and other groceries from the mistress.

Tatyana, a young lady of 20-eight years old, was a laundress with the mistress. She was assigned to wash only thin linen. She had no relatives, except for uncles who lived in the village, and everyone humiliated her and overwhelmed her with work. Turgenev writes: “She was of a very meek disposition, or, rather, downtrodden, she felt complete indifference to herself, she was mortally afraid of others; she only thought about how, it would seem, to finish the work by the deadline, she never spoke to anyone and trembled at the mere name of the mistress.

We read an excerpt from Nekrasov's poem "Frost, Reddish Nose", dedicated to a Russian lady. According to Nekrasov, a lady is truly beautiful when her beauty is combined with a sense of pride and self-respect. Tatyana was forced to work for two from her youth, she had no pride, no conviction within herself, and therefore beauty soon “fell off” from her.

Gerasim was mute from birth, but he was not unresponsive, he had a sense of his own pluses. Tatyana was unresponsive, she never talked to anyone, in other words, she was mute as a person. Gerasim wanted to help someone, to protect someone, and he saw that Tatyana needed protection. He gave her gifts and protected her from the ridicule of the servants.

She married by order of the lady, who was not interested in whether Tatyana Kapiton loves. The butler forced Tatiana to pretend to be intoxicated. Gerasim did not like drunken people and pushed Tatyana straight to Kapiton. A year after the marriage, Kapiton drank himself, and he and his wife were sent to the village. Tatyana kissed goodbye in a Christian way with Gerasim. This was the only person in her life who felt sorry for her and fussed about her.

5. It is known that this story is based on a really real incident that happened to a janitor in Spassky, but after the death of a dog, he remained faithful to his mistress and served her until his death. Do you think the writer did the right thing by coming up with a completely different ending to the story? What goal did he pursue, what did he achieve?

After the marriage of Tatyana and Kapiton, the only creature that Gerasim adored was a Spanish breed dog. Gerasim rescued a small puppy, went out and called him Mumu. When, at the behest of the mistress Gavrila, he gave the order to Gerasim to strangle Mumu, the janitor complied with the will of the mistress, but after which he left on foot for his native village. Gerasim wanted to prove that there is a limit to human patience, and he is not the kind of person who will allow himself to be humiliated and take away his right to free choice.

Turgenev wanted to arouse in readers compassion for Gerasim, a protest against the arbitrariness of the ladies and all landowners in general, who appropriated for themselves the right to dispose of people's destinies. The writer says that even a dumb, speechless person has a sense of dignity that must be respected.

6. Prepare a brief retelling of the entire text and an artistic retelling (that is, with the maximum introduction of the artistic features of the work) of any episode (optional).

When Turgenev wrote this story, he recalled a real life incident that happened to a janitor in Spasskoye-Lutovinovo. That janitor remained faithful to his mistress. But in Turgenev's story, Gerasim leaves the mistress. The Creator wanted to show that any person has the right to respect. Gerasim personifies the entire Russian people who have endured suppression for a long time, but the moment will come when this patience will come to an end. Turgenev achieved that many noble readers, who also had their own serf farmers, began to treat the people differently.

7. A short retelling of the entire text of Mumu.

One ancient lady who lived in Moscow took a dumb peasant named Gerasim from the village and made him a janitor. At first, Gerasim felt bad in the town, but later he got used to it and did his job neatly. In the middle of the household was the washerwoman Tatyana, a lady downtrodden and unresponsive. Gerasim fell in love with Tatyana, courted her and wanted to marry.

But the mistress took it into her head to marry Tatyana to the drinker Kapiton. Gerasim could not stand the drunk, and Tatyana was persuaded to walk around the yard, pretending to be drunk. Gerasim pushed Tatyana to Kapiton, after which the desire of the mistress was fulfilled. A year later, Kapiton drank himself, and he was sent to the village along with his wife.

Gerasim was bitter, but he rescued a small puppy from the river, fed him and became attached to him with all his heart. The dog was named Mumu. She adored Gerasim and was always with him, during the day she woke him up, and at night she guarded the house. At one fine moment, the lady saw the dog and ordered her to be brought into the rooms. When the mistress held out her hand to her, Mumu growled. The mistress gave the order that the dog should not be in the yard at once. Stepan, a servant, kidnapped the dog and sold it. Gerasim found her for a number of days, later Mumu escaped and returned to Gerasim. The lady found out about this and again gave the order to remove her from the house. The butler ordered Gerasim to strangle Mumu. Gerasim drowned his dog, returned to the house, collected his things, and left Moscow on foot for his village. The mistress at first ordered him to be returned, but later changed her desire. She soon died. Gerasim remained to live in the village as a bean.

8. Did you like the characters and their actions? Tell us about one of the characters in the story.

There are many different characters in this story. In the main, this is the servants of an old lady: servants and accustomers. All of them, not counting Gerasim, think only about one thing: to please the mistress, as if not to anger her. One of these characters is the bartender Uncle Tail, "to whom everyone respectfully turned for advice, although they only heard from him that: that's how it is, yes: yes, yes, yes." He is called for advice when they decide how to marry Tatyana and Kapiton. When it was necessary to take Mumu away from Gerasim, the barman looked out of the window "and gave orders, in other words, just shrugged it off." When Gerasim opened the door, Uncle Tail locked the window; when Gerasim slammed the door, Uncle Tail unlocked the window. At the end of the story, Uncle Khvost reasoned with Gavrila, telling him: "Well!" In the Russian language there is a word "henchman". Turgenev not in vain gives this hero the nickname "Uncle Tail". By this, he emphasizes that the barman has no idea of ​​his own, his actions are completely dependent on the team of those who are above him.

9. Why is the story called “Mumu”?

Turgenev called the story "Mumu" because that was the name of the dog that the protagonist adored. Love for this dog made his life content, and the order to strangle her led to a protest and Gerasim's departure from Moscow to the village.

10. The main character of the story is the mute Gerasim. What are his character traits? Tell us about it, confirming your words with quotes from the text of the work.

The main features of Gerasim's character are a sense of one's own pluses, compassion for the unfortunate, sensitivity, fundamentalism, accuracy, seriousness, diligence.

Gerasim forces the gentry to treat him with respect: “they communicated with him with signs, and he was aware of them, he followed all the orders exactly, but he also knew his rights, and no one dared to sit in his place in the capital.”

Gerasim condoled with the unfortunate and offended. At first he was sorry, and later fell in love with the unrequited Tatyana, rescued and left the ill-fated drowning puppy.

Gerasim's sensitivity helped him to realize what he could not hear because of his own dumbness. When the butler gathered advice in his own room, "Gerasim looked angrily and swiftly at everyone, did not walk away from the girl's porch and seemed to think that something unkind was being planned for him." Gerasim himself guessed that Mumu disappeared not for herself, but at the order of the mistress. Turgenev writes how he tried to save Mumu, "having sensed something unkind in his heart."

Gerasim Turgenev especially emphasizes the thoroughness and accuracy when he tells how the janitor arranged a kennel for himself and how painstakingly he always cleaned the yard.

Gerasim was a stern person, he did not like drinking and was responsible for his obligations. He was a hardworking and strong man. Turgenev repeatedly mentions "the heroic strength of the mute."

Describing the power of Gerasim, Turgenev uses hyperbole, in other words, strong exaggerations. About the bed, the writer says: "a hundred pounds could be put on it, it would not bend." When Gerasim mowed, he could "brush a young birch forest down with its roots." He hit two thieves with their foreheads so that "at least don't take them to the police later."

In order to highlight the character of Gerasim, the writer compares him with a young, healthy bull, "who had just been taken from the field, where juicy grass grew up to his belly," and settled in a city where the peasant feels like a "caught animal." These juxtapositions help highlight his love of a free life.

Literature and fine arts

To page 224

Look at the illustrations for the story in the textbook. Why are they interesting? Prepare and you illustrations or a description (oral) of the picture for the story.

Many painters illustrated the story of I.S. Turgenev "Mumu". A sketch by the artist P. Boklevsky depicts Gerasim with a broom in his hands in a narrow courtyard of a capital house. Mumu is sitting at the janitor's feet. This sketch conveys the strength of Gerasim and his determined disposition.

The illustrations by S. Boym depict two episodes of the story: Mumu's behavior in the mistress's room and the episode of Mumu's treats in the tavern. The first sketch is fascinating in that the movement of the lady is shown when she says: “Mumu, Mumu, come to me, come to the lady ...” At this moment, the hangers-on fold their hands and say: “Come, come, Mumu, to lady...” The second illustration shows a capital tavern. Gerasim sits at the table and looks sadly at his beloved dog. Mumu is eating cabbage soup with meat, and the sex officer looks at this scene in surprise.

The illustration by the artist V. Taburin depicts an episode when Gerasim drowns Mumu. For the last time he crushed the dog to himself, looks at her with bitterness and says goodbye to her. And in the left hand, a stone has already been prepared.

K. Trutovsky's painting "The Benefactor" is not an illustration of this story, but it depicts a scene from the life of a house, similar to the house of an old lady. The same ancient lady lies and sleeps in armchairs, the host takes care of her around. On the right, a young woman is sitting, a pupil or a poor relative of a rich lady, and reading a thick book aloud. It is evident that this book does not interest her. Only a girl who sits on the floor and strokes a dog is interested in a book. She listens intently. This picture is great for the property of an old lady from Turgenev's story.

Creative task

To page 244

Why did Gerasim go to the village? What did Turgenev want to tell readers (to evoke sympathy, protest against the willfulness of the landowners, to show the strength of character and dignity of the hero)? Prepare a discussion on this topic.

Gerasim was a serf, later a janitor in the Moscow house of a mistress. But he retained the best spiritual and moral qualities of a person, inner stamina and fortitude. Especially expressively Turgenev writes about this in the episode of persecution of Gerasim. When Stepan began to dangle his stick in the hole in the door, the janitor himself opened the door: “Gerasim stood motionless on the threshold. The crowd 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 own reddish farmer's shirt, he looked like some kind of giant in front of them. They didn't have their own desires. They did only the wishes of the mistress. Gerasim no longer wished to live with these people in the lady's house. He went to the village and began to live an orphan, but honestly.

Phonochrestomathy

Page 224-225

1. As an actor reads the first lines of the story, telling about the old house with rickety balconies and about the fate of its mistress. What does he want to say about the fate of the old lady? Does the music that accompanies the reading match the nature of the story?

The actor reads the first lines of the story with a certain sadness and compassion, because he knows about greedy and yearning old age, loneliness. Yes, the music accompanying the reading corresponds to the nature of the story.

2. How does the intonation of the actor change when he talks about Gerasim? How does the actor convey the attitude of the author to the hero of the work?

When the story reaches Gerasim, the voice cheers up: it is immediately clear that Gerasim is a good man, a fascinating person, unlike the lady. The actor reads about him with enthusiasm and some care.

3. What new colors, tones does the reader find in order to convey to us the state of mind of Gerasim caring for the puppy?

When the actor reads the episodes in which Gerasim takes care of the dog, a special softness appears in his voice, he is touched by the tiny creature together with Gerasim, laughs along with him.

The creator and the actor have a negative attitude towards the hangers-on, in some way they even mock him. This is expressed in the way the actor portrays their voices, in all their striving to please the mistress with her changeable mood.

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was a bold author, whose works often came under scrutiny by censorship authorities. The story "Mumu", known today to every schoolchild, was banned for publication for a long time. And if it were not for the diplomatic abilities of the author, the world would never have known about this touching and tragic story.

History of creation

In the middle of the 50s of the XIX century. Turgenev was under house arrest, and then was sent into exile for an obituary on Gogol's death. Being under the supervision of private bailiffs, in the spring of 1855 Turgenev wrote the story "Mumu". He shares this item with the family of the publisher Aksakov, who react positively to the work, but cannot publish it due to censorship protest. A year later, in the Sovremennik magazine, Mumu nevertheless appears, which causes a report by an official and an official reviewer of the magazine. Representatives of the censorship authorities are unhappy that the audience can feel compassion for the characters, and therefore does not allow the story to be distributed to other publications. And only in the spring of 1956, after numerous petitions from Turgenev's friends, the decision was made to include the decision to include "Muma" in the collected works of Ivan Sergeevich in the main department of censorship.

Analysis of the work

Story line

The story is based on real events that took place in the house of Turgenev's mother in Moscow. The author tells about the life of a mistress, in whose service is the deaf-mute janitor Gerasim. The servant begins to take care of the washerwoman Tatiana, but the lady decides to marry her to her shoemaker. To resolve the situation, the butler of the lady invites Tatyana to appear drunk before Gerasim in order to turn him away from herself. And this trick works.

A year later, the laundress and shoemaker leave for the village on the orders of the mistress. Gerasim brings with him a puppy caught from the water and gives him the nickname Mumu. The mistress learns about the presence of a dog in the yard one of the very last and cannot establish relations with the animal in any way. Having received an order to get rid of the dog, the butler tries to secretly sell Mumu, but she runs back to Gerasim. When information reaches the janitor that the lady is dissatisfied, he goes to the pond, where he drowns the dog, and he decides to return to his village, and not to the lady's house in the capital.

main characters

The real prototype of the character was the servant of Varvara Turgeneva Andrey Nemoy. The author draws the image of a closed person who is unusually hardworking and has a rather positive attitude towards people. This village peasant was capable of real feelings. Despite external power and sullenness, Gerasim retained the ability to love and keep his word.

Tatiana

This portrait of a young maid has all the features of a typical 19th century Russian estate woman. Downtrodden, unhappy, without her own opinion, this heroine receives protection only during the period of Gerasim's love. Having no moral right and no real opportunity to argue with her mistress, Tatyana ruins her chances for a happy fate with her own hands.

Gavrila

(Butler Gavrila on the right in the illustration)

The butler in the story appears as a rustic and stupid peasant who seeks to stay in the black at the expense of flattering and find benefits for himself. It cannot be said that Turgenev draws the character of Gavrila as evil, but his direct role in the death of the dog and the destruction of the life of Tatyana and Gerasim leaves a significant negative imprint on the perception of him as a person.

Kapiton

(Footman Kapiton in the illustration stands on the left next to the seated Gavrila)

The image of a shoemaker can be described as a portrait of an educated footman. This person considers himself smart, but at the same time does not have the proper willpower and high life aspirations. In the end, he turns into a drunkard and a loafer, whom even marriage cannot change.

Of all the characters in Mumu, the elderly lady is the main negative character. It is her actions and decisions that lead to a series of suffering and irreversible tragedies. Turgenev describes this heroine as a capricious and quick-tempered woman who is stubborn and capricious in her desire to decide the fate of other people. The only positive features of the lady can be considered her housekeeping and ability to manage the house.

Conclusion

The story "Mumu" by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev cannot be considered a simple work about the severity of peasant life. This is a philosophical text that helps the reader understand the issues of good and evil, hatred and love, unity and separation. The writer pays great attention to the issue of human attachment and the importance of the presence of loved ones, both in the lives of the rich and in the lives of the poor.

Among the writers, Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was distinguished by great courage, and often his works were subjected to the most severe censorship. Turgenev's story "Mumu", which is passed by 5th grade students, was banned for a long time. And only thanks to the diplomatic nature of the writer, the world learned about this tragic and incredibly touching story. Among the main characters of "Mumu" are not only people, but also a small dog, after which this work is named.

Characteristics of the heroes of "Mumu"

main characters

Minor characters

In Turgenev's story "Mumu" the characters are presented very brightly and vividly, with full characteristics that will be most useful when writing an essay on a given topic. It will be useful for the reader's diary of inquisitive students to know that in the creative piggy bank of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev there are not only novels and stories, but also wonderful fairy tales for children.

(Figure I.I. pchelko)

The simplicity and irony of the images of Turgenev's heroes almost immediately reveals to the reader the character of each - whether it be the main character, or indirect. One of the secondary, but rather prominent characters in I.S. Turgenev's story "Mumu" is a certain Gavrila - the main butler, proudly in charge of all the servants, a faithful subject of his mistress. The old lady, before whom almost all the servants trembled, trusts her butler in solving everyday issues. But the butler, in turn, treats her, like everyone else, not without timidity. Her first dialogue with Gavrila indicates this clearly. She orders and commands not without the quirks inherent in advanced age. He, of course, restrainedly subdued.

Gavrila Andreevich as the image of a crafty butler

(Butler Gavrila on the right in the illustration)

In the whole appearance of the serf, his destiny for managerial affairs is read. The author created it as a classic image of a servant with high duties - a thin duck nose, yellow eyes with cunning. An arrogant attitude, behind which, however, hides the cowardly and indecisive disposition of a simple peasant. And yet, Gavrila "Andreevich" is quite strict with his subordinates. He has to weigh where and how it is profitable to act, where to prove himself to the mistress, where to apply his powers. But, unfortunately, they let him down - the death of an innocent little dog was, to a greater extent, his fault.

In one of the episodes, he cunningly gets out in a situation where, on the orders of his mistress, he solves a dilemma with the marriage of servants - the meek washerwoman Tatyana and the drunkard shoemaker Kapiton. Gavrila understands that the dumb Gerasim is not indifferent to the poor woman, and this task is not easy for him.

Negative and positive traits of the hero

(Soviet filmstrip "Mumu", 1949)

Solving issues of the economy, Gavrila is very practical. He has a wife - Ustinya Fedorovna. They live in a separate outbuilding. Using his rights, which are also related to accounting for products, he simply provides for his family beyond measure, stealing “... tea, sugar, and other groceries” from the kitchen. In his room in the wing there are forged chests, which probably contain the lady's things, he carefully watches them. This character is diligent in everything, daily reports to the bored lady about the affairs in the house, goes to her by the time with a report.

Compared to others, of course, this hero creates a negative impression. However, even in this negative image, human soulfulness is easily, barely noticeable. His experiences are deeply hidden from the reader, they can only be guessed by looking between the lines. Initially, all the affairs of the master were entrusted to Gavrila. Many cases have to be solved by him alone, without asking unnecessary questions to the old lady, indulging her in everything. And not every case he manages to do everything smoothly and well. He is mainly responsible for the result, for the order in the entire yard, and, perhaps, this is primarily for his own peace. Sacrificing the feelings of others, the butler decides the fate of the Chelyadins, often resorting to deceit, but this is his role, which fate predetermined for him.

Numerous servants live in the lady's house. Most of the time, the courtyards sleep, drink, gossip, hang out around the yard or fulfill the whims of their mistress, trying to curry favor with her.

Characteristics of Kapiton Klimov in the story "Mumu" by Turgenev

Kapiton Klimov is one of the brightest representatives of the lordly servants. He is lazy. At the mistress, he serves as a shoemaker. By the fact that he himself walks in holey boots, one can understand that he is a bad artisan. Kapiton - "bitter drunkard". He explains his behavior by the fact that he is not appreciated by the lady. Captain has a very high opinion of himself. He considers himself an educated person, and the business he is engaged in is unworthy of himself. Through the eyes of other people, he appears as a degenerate creature, loitering around idle, in a tattered, tattered frock coat and "patched pantaloons." Like the rest of the courtyards, Kapiton knows how to flatter and please those who are higher than him in position. Having married Tatyana, he remains indifferent to her. His character and way of life do not change. Capito finally falls asleep.

Characteristics of Tatyana in the story "Mumu" by Turgenev

In complete contrast to Kapiton, Turgenev shows another person living in the lady's house. This is Tatyana, a twenty-eight-year-old woman who is a laundress with a mistress. In contrast to the wandering servants, Tatyana, one of the few, is diligent. She is so skilled in her craft that she is only assigned to wash delicate linen. Once the fair-haired Tatyana was "reputed to be a beauty", but hard work and constant humiliation lead to the fact that "beauty jumped off her very soon", "she received the smallest salary", "they dressed her badly." Tatyana is a downtrodden and frightened creature without self-respect, trembling "at the mere name of a mistress." She is so indifferent to her fate that she blows away without words when she is humiliated and spoofed. At the request of the mistress, Tatiana meekly agrees to marry Kapiton, a man to whom she is completely indifferent. She does not even have in her thoughts to disobey the order of the mistress. Tatyana herself makes it so that her possible happiness with Gerasim did not take place.

Characteristics of the butler Gavril in the story "Mumu" by Turgenev

Maybe a person who looks after the servants will have high human qualities? In the house of the mistress, Gavrila serves as the main butler - a man "who, judging by one of his yellowish eyes and duck nose, fate itself seemed to have determined to be a commanding person." Appearance betrays the insincerity inherent in Gavril. Although close to the mistress, but, like any other serf, Gavrila is afraid of her, never argues with her and obeys in everything. Afraid of losing his place, he constantly curtsies, humiliates himself in front of her, speaks in an ingratiating tone, using words such as “okay”, “you can”, “please”, thereby showing ostentatious servility. Gavrila never does anything without her own benefit. And since his responsibilities include accounting for products, then, taking the opportunity, he takes some of them for himself, which characterizes him as a rogue, dishonest person. And in relation to Gerasim and Tatyana, Gavrila does not show himself in the best way. He is cowardly and indifferent to their fate, does not bother to tell the mistress about them, makes every effort to make this wedding take place. The dodgy Gavrila is so inventive that he comes up with a way to ward off Gerasim from Tatyana.

Different in character, occupation and position, serfs are related by the lack of their own opinion, the desire to curry favor, cowardice and laziness. They do not have the core that every free person should have: self-esteem.