Who created Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk district. Analysis of the work "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" (N. S. Leskov). Performances in the theater

Nikolay Leskov

Lady Macbeth Mtsensk district

"Blushing to sing the first song."

Proverb

Chapter first

Sometimes in our places such characters are set that no matter how many years have passed since meeting with them, some of them will never be remembered without spiritual trepidation. Among these characters is the merchant's wife Katerina Lvovna Izmailova, who played out a once terrible drama, after which our nobles, from someone's easy word, began to call her Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk district.

Katerina Lvovna was not born a beauty, but she was a very pleasant woman in appearance. She was only twenty-four years of age; She was short, but slender, with a neck as if carved from marble, round shoulders, a strong chest, a straight, thin nose, black, lively eyes, a high white forehead and black, almost blue-black hair. They gave her in marriage to our merchant Izmailov with Tuskari from the Kursk province, not out of love or any attraction, but because Izmailov was courting her, and she was a poor girl, and she did not have to sort out suitors. The Izmailovs' house was not the last in our city: they traded grain, kept a large mill in the district for rent, had a profitable garden near the city and a good house in the city. In general, the merchants were wealthy. Moreover, their family was quite small: father-in-law Boris Timofeevich Izmailov, a man already in his eighties, had long been a widow; his son Zinovy ​​Borisych, Katerina Lvovna's husband, a man also in his fifties, and Katerina Lvovna herself, and nothing more. Katerina Lvovna had no children for the fifth year since she married Zinovy ​​Borisych. Zinovy ​​Borisych had no children even from his first wife, with whom he lived for twenty years before he was widowed and married Katerina Lvovna. He thought and hoped that God would give him, even from his second marriage, an heir to the merchant's name and capital; but again he had no luck in this and with Katerina Lvovna.

This childlessness distressed Zinovy ​​Borisych very much, and not only Zinovy ​​Borisych alone, but old Boris Timofeyitch, and even Katerina Lvovna herself, was very sad. Since the unreasonable boredom in the locked merchant’s chamber with a high fence and lowered chain dogs more than once made the young merchant’s wife feel melancholy, reaching the point of stupor, and she would be glad, God knows how glad she would be to babysit the little girl; and the other - and she was tired of reproaches: “What did she go for and why did she get married; why did she bind a man’s fate, nerd, ”as if in fact she had committed a crime against her husband, and before her father-in-law, and before all their honest merchant family.

With all the contentment and kindness, Katerina Lvovna's life in her mother-in-law's house was the most boring. She did not go to visit much, and even then, if she and her husband go along with her merchant class, it will not be a joy either. The people are all strict: they watch how she sits down, but how she passes, how she gets up; and Katerina Lvovna had an ardent character, and, living as a girl in poverty, she got used to simplicity and freedom: she would run with buckets to the river and swim in a shirt under the pier, or sprinkle sunflower husks through the gate of a passer-by; but here everything is different. The father-in-law and her husband would get up early, drink tea at six o'clock in the morning, and go about their business, and she alone wanders the elephants from room to room. Everywhere is clean, everywhere is quiet and empty, the lamps are shining in front of the images, and nowhere in the house is there a living sound, not a human voice.

Like, like, Katerina Lvovna walks through the empty rooms, begins to yawn out of boredom and climbs the stairs to her matrimonial bedchamber, arranged on a high small mezzanine. Here, too, she will sit, stare, how they hang hemp or grains at the barns, pour them down - she will yawn again, she is glad: she will take a nap for an hour or two, and wake up - again the same Russian boredom, the boredom of a merchant's house, from which it is fun, they say, even strangle yourself. Katerina Lvovna was not a huntress to read, and besides, there were no books in the house, except for the Kyiv patericon.

Katerina Lvovna lived a boring life in a rich mother-in-law's house for five whole years of her life with an unkind husband; but no one, as usual, paid her the slightest attention to this boredom.

Chapter Two

On the sixth spring of Katerina Lvovna's marriage, the mill dam broke through at the Izmailovs. At that time, as if on purpose, a lot of work was brought to the mill, and a huge gap arose: the water went under the lower bed of the idle cover, and it was not possible to capture it with an ambulance. Zinovy ​​Borisych drove the people to the mill from the whole district, and he himself sat there incessantly; the affairs of the city were already managed by one old man, and Katerina Lvovna toiled at home for whole days all alone. At first it was even more boring for her without her husband, but then it seemed to be even better: she became freer alone. Her heart for him had never been especially laid, and without him at least one commander over her was less.

Once Katerina Lvovna was sitting on the tower under her little window, yawning and yawning, thinking of nothing in particular, and she finally began to yawn ashamed. And the weather outside is so wonderful: warm, light, cheerful, and through the green wooden lattice of the garden you can see how different birds fly from knot to knot through the trees.

“What am I really yawning? thought Katerina Lvovna. “Sam-well, at least I’ll get up in the yard and take a walk or go into the garden.”

Katerina Lvovna threw on an old damask coat and went out.

Out in the yard one breathes so brightly and strongly, and in the gallery by the barns there is such cheerful laughter.

- What are you so happy about? Katerina Lvovna asked her father-in-law clerks.

“But, mother Katerina Ilvovna, they hanged a live pig,” the old clerk answered her.

- What pig?

“But the pig Aksinya, who gave birth to a son, Vasily, didn’t invite us to the christening,” the young man said boldly and cheerfully with a bold, beautiful face framed by jet-black curls and a barely breaking beard.

At that moment, the fat mug of Aksinya, a ruddy-faced cook, peeped out of the flour caddy, which was hung on a weighted yoke.

“Damn, smooth devils,” the cook cursed, trying to grab hold of the iron yoke and get out of the swinging cady.

“It pulls eight pounds before dinner, and the fir will eat hay, and the weights will be missing,” the handsome fellow explained again and, turning the cad, threw the cook onto a sack folded in the corner.

Baba, jokingly cursing, began to recover.

- Well, how much will I have? - Katerina Lvovna joked and, holding the ropes, stood on the board.

“Three poods, seven pounds,” answered the same handsome fellow Sergei, throwing a weight on the weight bench. - Curiosity!

- Why are you surprised?

- Yes, three pounds in you pulled, Katerina Ilvovna. You, I argue, must be carried all day in your arms - and then you won’t get tired, but only for pleasure you will feel it for yourself.

- Well, I'm not a man, or what? I suppose you’ll get tired too, ”said Katerina Lvovna, blushing slightly, weaned from such speeches, feeling a sudden surge of desire to talk and talk a lot of cheerful and playful words.

- Oh my God! I would bring it to Arabia happy, ”Sergey answered her to her remark.

“That’s not how you, well done, argue,” said the man who was sleeping. - What is this heaviness in us? Does our body pull? our body, dear man, means nothing in weight: our strength, strength pulls - not the body!

“Yes, I had a strong passion in girls,” said Katerina Lvovna, again unable to bear it. - Even a man did not overcome me.

“Come on, let me have a pen, if it’s true,” asked the handsome fellow.

Katerina Lvovna was embarrassed, but held out her hand.

- Oh, let the ring go: it hurts! cried Katerina Lvovna, when Sergei squeezed her hand in his hand, and with her free hand pushed him in the chest.

The good fellow released his mistress's hand and from her push flew off two steps to the side.

We bring to your attention a summary of "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" - an essay by N. Leskov, first published in 1864. At the beginning of the story, the author notes that sometimes one can meet such a character that even after a while one cannot remember without emotional excitement. These include the heroine of the work, who was given such a nickname after the tragic events that happened to her.

main character

Katerina Lvovna, the wife of the merchant Izmailov, was a pleasant woman of twenty-three. She was given in marriage to a fifty-year-old, but prosperous Zinovy ​​Borisovich due to poverty. The old father-in-law, Boris Timofeevich, also lived in the new family. The husband was already married, but he had no children - they had lived with Katerina Lvovna for five years already.

The Izmailovs kept a mill, and the head of the family was rarely at home. His wife suffered from loneliness. She didn’t like to visit, because she was brought up in a simple family and got used to freedom, and here everyone watched her behavior. The accusations of childlessness were also depressing. So sadly lived the future "Lady Macbeth" Leskova.

AT summary it should also be said that the father-in-law and husband got up early, drank tea and went about their business. And Katerina Lvovna wandered about the house and yawned. If he falls asleep for an hour, then after the same boredom, from which he wanted to hang himself. This continued until the dam burst. There was a lot of work at the mill, and for a long time Zinovy ​​Borisovich did not appear at all at home. At first, the wife was bored, but soon she felt freer - she never loved her husband and did not feel affection for him. Since that time, changes began in the fate of the heroine.

Acquaintance and love affair with the clerk: a summary

"Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" continues with a description of the meeting with Sergei. Once the hostess decided to go out into the yard, where she heard laughter. It turned out that they decided to weigh the cook Aksinya here. A handsome young man cheerfully entered into the conversation. And then he fulfilled the desire of the hostess to find out her weight, saying: "Three pounds." And he added that you can carry it all day in your arms and you won’t get tired. The woman felt amused and decided to continue the conversation, which ended with Sergey hugging her. The reddened hostess came out of the barn and asked Aksinya how long this fellow had been serving with them. It turned out that Sergei was expelled by the former owner for having a relationship with his wife.

And one evening - the husband still did not return - the clerk knocked on the door of Katerina Lvovna. First he asked for a book, then he began to complain of boredom. Finally, he grew bolder and hugged the frightened hostess. From that time on, Sergei spent all his nights in Katerina Lvovna's bedroom.

First Crime Summary

"Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" Leskov wrote based on real events: the daughter-in-law poured boiling sealing wax into the old man's ear, which caused him to die.

Katerina Lvovna did not have to hide from her father-in-law for long. A week later, Boris Timofeevich saw through the window how someone was going down the chimney from the daughter-in-law's window. Jumping out, he grabbed the clerk by the legs, unfastened him in order and locked him in the pantry. Upon learning of this, the daughter-in-law began to ask the old man to let Sergei go. However, after hearing the threats, she made a decision. By morning, Boris Timofeevich was gone: he ate mushrooms prepared by the hostess the day before and got poisoned. And his death was the same as that of poisoned rats. The story with mushrooms was common, so the old man was buried without waiting for his son - he left the mill somewhere on business. The young mistress and her lover again began to live in peace.

The path to happiness

One crime often leads to another. This will be told by the summary of “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District”.

The next victim was Zinoviy Borisovich. Having heard about his wife's fornication (Katerina Lvovna did not hide her connection with the clerk), he arrived at night, unnoticed by anyone. The young woman, who could no longer imagine life without a lover, made a second desperate decision. Sergey pushed the hostess to him, repeating more than once that if he were a merchant, then their relationship would become equal. On the night of his return, the deceived husband was brutally murdered by his lovers and buried in the cellar.

The traces of blood in the house were washed away. The coachman who drove Zinovy ​​Borisovich that evening said that he had taken the merchant to the bridge - he wished to go further on foot. As a result, they announced mysterious disappearance Izmailov, and his widow won the right to manage property and was expecting a child.

The summary of “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District” is a story about another crime. A few months later, they learned that Izmailov had another heir - a minor nephew. And soon Boris Timofeevich's cousin brought Fedya to a relative's house. And again Sergey began to repeat that now it is necessary to divide the inheritance, and the decrease in capital will affect their happiness. And Katerina Lvovna, who was soon to become a mother herself, decided on another murder. It just didn't work to hide it.

The parishioners, gathered for Vespers in the Izmailovo Church, started talking about the hostess and her lover. The most curious saw a narrow gap in the window of the room where the sick boy lay, and decided to peep what was going on there. This happened at the very moment when Sergei was holding Fedya, and Katerina Lvovna covered his face with a pillow. The whole district came running to the screams. And soon the clerk told about the murder of the merchant, who was immediately removed from the cellar.

On the way to Siberia

The summary of the book "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" ends with a description of the last weeks of the heroine's life. She left the born child as an heir to her husband's relative. She herself, along with Sergei, was flogged and sentenced to hard labor. But the woman was pleased with the very fact that her lover was in the same party with her. She gave small jewels and money taken out of the house to the guards and received short visits, although she began to notice that Sergei had lost interest in her. New acquaintances put an end to the relationship.

AT Nizhny Novgorod they were joined by a party from Moscow, in which Fiona and the young Sonetka turned out to be eager for men. From the first, Katerina Lvovna caught Sergei during one of their dates. But a serious relationship began between the clerk and Sonetka. Soon it got to the point that Sergei began to openly mock Izmailova and declared that he had never loved her. And now, when Katerina Lvovna is no longer a merchant's wife, he doesn't need her for a long time.

When the party was loaded onto the ferry, the heroine, distraught with grief and humiliation, grabbed her rival, who was standing nearby and laughing at her, by the leg and fell overboard. It was not possible to save the women: Katerina Lvovna did not give Sonetka the opportunity to swim up to the hook lowered into the water and drowned with her.

The story "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" by Leskov was written in 1864 and published in January of the following year in the literary magazine Epoch. According to the writer's idea, the story was to lead the cycle dedicated to the characters of Russian women. However, Leskov's plans were not destined to come true due to the closure of Epoch.

main characters

Katerina Lvovna Izmailova- an imperious, decisive woman who laid the lives of three people on the altar of her own passion.

Sergey- the clerk in the Izmailovs' house, a young, handsome guy, an experienced seducer.

Other characters

Zinovy ​​Borisovich Izmailov- merchant, elderly husband of Katerina.

Boris Timofeevich Izmailov- father of Zinovy ​​Borisovich.

Fedya – a little boy, nephew of Zinovy ​​Borisovich and his only legitimate heir.

Soldier Fiona- a prisoner, a beautiful, kind and reliable woman.

Sonetka- a pretty 17-year-old prisoner, vile and mercantile.

Chapter first

Katerina Lvovna Izmailova, although "not born a beauty", but had a pleasant appearance. Her husband was a merchant from the Kursk province, whom she married not for love, but because she was poor and "she did not have to sort out suitors."

Katerina Lvovna lived in a rich merchant's house with her husband, Zinovy ​​Borisovich, who was "more than fifty years old", and with his father, Boris Timofeevich. The Izmailovs did not have children, and this fact upset them very much.

Chapter Two

Once a mill dam owned by the merchants Izmailov broke through. Zinovy ​​Borisovich went to solve this problem, and Katerina Lvovna "toiled at home for whole days alone."

During the walk, Katerina joined the company of cheerful clerks, and for fun, she measured her strength with the handsome young servant Seryoga.

In the meantime, the cook told the hostess that the handsome Seryoga, without a twinge of conscience, would "flatter" any woman and bring her to sin.

Chapter Three

On a serene evening, Katerina Lvovna is bored alone: ​​her husband stayed at the mill, and her father-in-law went to a name day. Suddenly, Sergei comes to her under a plausible pretext. From his passionate declarations of love, the young woman is dizzy. Sergei is not lost, and takes her to the bedroom.

Chapter Four

All week, while Zinovy ​​Borisovich was not at home, his wife walked with the handsome Sergei until the morning. But one day, the father-in-law, who suffered from insomnia, noticed how the servant climbed out of the window. Boris Timofeevich whipped the shameless lover, and he himself sent people for his son.

Katerina Lvovna begged the old man to let Sergei go, but he firmly decided to punish the traitor and send her lover to jail.

Chapter Five

That's just in vain the old man Izmailov did not listen to his daughter-in-law. Having eaten “fungi with gruel at night”, by morning he died in terrible agony, just like “the way rats died in his barns”.

Katerina freed her lover and, having laid him on her husband's bed, began to look after him.

In the meantime, Zinovy ​​Borisovich went a hundred miles away to buy timber, not learning about the domestic tragedy. So without waiting for him, on the orders of the hostess, they hastily "buried Boris Timofeich."

Katerina Lvovna was a “woman of a non-timid dozen” - she became so insolent that she openly demonstrated her connection with Sergei.

Chapter six

Katerina is overwhelmed by a midday dream, and she dreams of a “glorious, gray, tall and fat-fat” cat, which rubs between her and Sergey. The woman unsuccessfully tries to drive away the uninvited guest, who "passes past her fingers like fog."

Katerina pulls confessions of love from Sergey, but he is not at all cheerful - the owner will soon return, and then their love joys will end. A smart guy hints that he is ready to marry her, and, drugged by his sweet words, the woman decides to settle the problem with her husband.

Chapter Seven

Katerina again dreams of the “previous cat”, but only this time his head is not the usual, feline one, but the head of the deceased father-in-law. He caresses the woman and reproaches her for her heavy death.

Katerina lies "with open eyes and suddenly hears" someone making noise in the yard. She understands that the old unloved husband has returned. Sergei quickly left the bedchamber and hid under the window.

Enters Zinovy ​​Borisovich, who already knows everything about the adventures of an unfaithful wife. However, his just accusations only provoke Katerina. She calls Sergei and kisses him passionately in front of her husband. Zinovy ​​Borisovich can't stand it and gives her a strong slap in the face.

Chapter Eight

Katerina throws herself at her husband and with all her might pushes him to the floor. Zinovy ​​Borisovich understands that his wife "decided on everything, just to get rid of him."

The lovers kill the merchant and take his body to the cellar. Having destroyed the traces of the crime, Katerina turns to Sergei: "Well, now you are a merchant."

Chapter Nine

The neighbors can't figure out where Zinovy ​​Borisovich has gone. The search for the merchant began, but they did not give anything - "the merchant has sunk into the water."

A few months later, Katerina felt that she was pregnant. She managed to transfer all the affairs in her name and personally engage in the management of a large economy.

Unexpectedly, Katerina Lvovna found out that most of the capital of the late husband belongs to his little nephew Fedya. And a week after the news, an “old woman with a little boy” came to visit her.

Chapter Ten

Fedya falls ill with chickenpox. He is alternately cared for by his grandmother and Katerina. Looking at Fedya, she wonders "how much harm this boy causes her and how good it would be if he weren't there."

When the grandmother goes to church for the vigil, and the sick Fedya is left alone, the lovers decide to take advantage of the opportunity.

Chapter Eleven

Sergei held the unfortunate boy's arms and legs, while Katerina Lvovna "covered the baby's face with a single movement" with a large pillow and leaned on it with her whole body. A few minutes later, "grave silence" reigned in the room.

Frightened, Sergei began to run, but then terrible blows were heard at the windows. With a firm hand, Katerina opened "the doors through which a bunch of people were breaking."

Chapter Twelve

People, returning from the service, discussed the merchant Izmailova and her love affair with Sergei. Everyone came to a unanimous opinion - Katerina was so "perverted that she is not afraid of either God, or conscience, or human eyes."

Passing by the Izmailovsky house and seeing the light in the window, they decided to see what was going on there. At that moment, the curious became unwitting witnesses to the murder of a child.

During the investigation, Katerina Lvovna denied everything, while Sergei “burst into tears and sincerely confessed” to all the murders committed. At the trial, the criminals were sentenced - "to punish with whips on the market square of their city and then send both to hard labor." In due time, Katerina gave birth "in a prison hospital" to a child, which she immediately abandoned.

Chapter Thirteen

The child of Katerina Lvovna was given to the upbringing of an old woman who had previously nursed Fedya. He became "the sole heir to the entire now Izmailovsky fortune."

Katerina easily parted with the baby - all her thoughts were occupied by Sergei, whom she hoped to see on the way to hard labor. She gave the guards all her money so that she could occasionally see her lover. During this time, Sergei has changed a lot and reacted with irritation to Katerina's caresses.

To the party in which there were lovers, another one joined. Two women especially stood out in it: the loving and unpretentious beauty-soldier Fiona, and the young pretty blonde Sonetka, who in love affairs "had a taste, had a choice."

Chapter Fourteen

"The languid beauty Fiona" came to Sergey's taste and he managed to quickly win her favor. Once Katerina found her lover with Fiona. After the humiliation she had endured, she tried to instill in herself an aversion to the insidious traitor, but to no avail.

While Katerina was angry with Sergei, he "began to play dumb and flirt with little white Sonetka." Noticing his flirting, Katerina decided to forget about her pride and make peace with her lover.

Sergei, pretending to be ill, asked Katerina to get him woolen stockings. Fearing for his health, she gave him her only warm stockings.

Chapter fifteen

In the morning, Katerina saw Sonetka in the blue woolen stockings she knew so well. Unable to bear such humiliation, she went up to Sergei and spat in his face. On the same night, two prisoners counted fifty lashes to Katerina - this was Sergei's revenge, which continued in the following days: he openly kissed Sonetka, joked and openly insulted his former mistress.

During the crossing on the ferry, Katerina peered intently into the waves, and images of the souls she had ruined flashed before her eyes. Unexpectedly, she "grabbed Sonetka by the legs and in one fell swoop threw her over the side of the ferry." After a couple of moments, both rivals disappeared from sight.

Conclusion

The main theme of the story is love. The writer clearly demonstrates that a strong passion can not only elevate a person's soul, but also plunge it into the abyss of vice.

After reading a brief retelling of "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District", we recommend reading Leskov's story in full version.

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Retelling rating

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Leskov began to write "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" in the autumn of 1864, defining the genre of the work as an essay. The story was first published in January 1865 in the Epoch magazine under the title “Lady Macbeth of our county” as “the 1st number of a series of essays exclusively on typical female characters of our (Oka and part of the Volga) area”. The final name appeared when it was published in 1867 in the collection "Tales, Essays and Stories by M. Stebnitsky" after a significant stylistic revision of the magazine version. Leskov himself called his story a gloomy story, in strict tones, a sustained study of a strong and passionate female character. The story was supposed to be the beginning of a cycle about the characters of Russian women. “Lady Macbeth” was to be followed by “Graziella” (noblewoman), “Mayorsha Polivodova” (old-world landowner), “Fevronya Rokhovna” (peasant schismatic) and “Grandmother Flea” (midwife). However, the cycle was never written, apparently partly due to the fact that the Epoch magazine, where it was supposed to be published, soon closed.

The title contains an allusion to I. S. Turgenev's story "Hamlet of the Shchigrovsky district" (1849).

title accent

Despite the fact that the correct accent in the name of Shakespeare's character is Macbeth, in the title of Leskov's story, the stress traditionally falls on the first syllable for a number of reasons. First, in Leskov's time, Shakespeare's translations emphasized the first syllable:

Secondly, when Macbeth is stressed, the rhythm of the title is lost, which is impossible for Leskov with his commitment to the language game and syllabic-tonic metrization in his texts. The title in the first publication, "Lady Macbeth of Our County," with the same rhythm, also speaks in favor of the stress on the first syllable.

Plot

The main character is a young merchant's wife Katerina Lvovna Izmailova. Her husband is constantly at work, away. She is bored and lonely in the four walls of a big rich house. The husband is barren, but together with his father he reproaches his wife. Katerina falls in love with a young handsome clerk Sergei, gradually her passion turns into passion, the lovers spend the night together. She is ready for anything for her lover. A series of murders begins: first, Katerina Lvovna poisons her father-in-law in order to save Sergei, whom the father-in-law locked in the cellar, then, together with Sergei, she kills her husband, and then strangles her underage nephew Fedya with a pillow, who could challenge her rights to the inheritance. However, at that moment, a crowd of idle men bursts in from the yard, one of whom looked out the window and saw the scene of the murder. An autopsy proves that Fedya died of asphyxiation. Sergei confesses everything after the words of the priest about the Last Judgment. Investigators find the corpse of Zinovy ​​Borisovich buried in the basement. The murderers are put on trial and, after being punished with whips, they go to hard labor. Sergei instantly loses interest in Katerina as soon as she ceases to be a rich merchant's wife. He is infatuated with another prisoner, takes care of her in front of Katerina and laughs at her love. In the finale, Katerina grabs her rival Sonetka and drowns with her in the cold waters of the river.

Critics of the story

The heroine of the story, Katerina Izmailova, is compared by critics (P. P. Gromov, B. M. Eikhenbaum, etc.) with Katerina Kabanova, the heroine of A. N. Ostrovsky's play "Thunderstorm":

The heroine of Leskov's story is clearly opposed by the author Katerina Kabanova from Ostrovsky's Thunderstorm. The heroine of Ostrovsky's brilliant drama does not merge with everyday life, her character is in sharp contrast with the prevailing everyday skills ... Based on the description of Katerina Izmailova's behavior, no one would under any circumstances determine which particular young merchant's wife is being told about. The drawing of her image is a household template, but a template drawn with such thick paint that it turns into a kind of tragic popular print.

Both young merchant wives are burdened by "bondage", the frozen, predetermined way of life of the merchant family, both are passionate natures, going to the limit in their feelings. In both works, the love drama begins at the moment when the heroines are seized by a fatal, illegal passion. But if Katerina Ostrovsky perceives her love as terrible sin, then something pagan, primitive, “decisive” wakes up in Katerina Leskova (it is no coincidence that her physical strength is mentioned: “there was a strong passion in girls ... even a man did not overcome every one”). For Katerina Izmailova, there can be no opposition, even hard labor does not frighten her: “with him (with Sergei) her hard labor blooms with happiness.” Finally, the death of Katerina Izmailova in the Volga at the end of the story brings to mind the suicide of Katerina Kabanova. Critics also rethink the characterization of the Ostrov heroine " a ray of light in the dark kingdom", Given by Dobrolyubov:

“About Katerina Izmailova, one could say that she is not a ray of the sun falling into the darkness, but lightning generated by darkness itself and only more clearly emphasizing the impenetrable darkness of merchant life” (V. Gebel).

dramatizations

• plays:
  • - staged by Lazar Petreiko
  • 1970s - staged by A. Wiener
• - opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" (in a later version - "Katerina Izmailova") by D. D. Shostakovich
• 1970s - musical drama "My Light, Katerina" by G. Bodykin
• 2001 - staged by Oleg Bogaev

Performances in the theater

• - Dikoy Studio, Moscow, director Alexey Dikiy
• 1970s - Reading performance by A. Vernova and A. Fedorinov (Moskontsert)
• - Prague Youth Theater Rubin, director Zdeněk Potužil
• - Moscow Academic Theatre. Vl. Mayakovsky, in the role of Katerina - Natalya Gundareva
• - Yekaterinburg State Academic Drama Theater, staged by O. Bogaev, director Valery Pashnin, in the role of Katerina - Irina Ermolova
• - Theater "MEL" Makhonina Elena, director and performer of the role of Katerina - Elena Makhonina
• - , director Anna Babanova, in the role of Katerina - Yulia Poshelyuzhnaya
• - Moscow theater under the direction of O. Tabakov, director A. Mokhov
• - MTYUZ, Moscow, director Kama Ginkas, in the role of Katerina - Elizaveta Boyarskaya
• 2014 - Pridnestrovian State Drama and Comedy Theater named after. Aronetskaya, director Dmitry Akhmadiev
• 2016 (October 21) - Moscow Musical Theater GELIKON-OPERA under the direction of Dmitry Bertman

Screen adaptations

• - “Katerina the gas chamber”, director A. Arkatov (the film has not been preserved)
• - "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District", directed by Cheslav Sabinsky, starring Elena Egorova (Katerina), Nikolai Simonov (Sergey)
• - Siberian Lady Macbeth, directed by Andrzej Wajda, starring Olivera Markovic (Katerina), Luba Tadic, Miodrag Lazarevich
• - Katerina Izmailova, director Mikhail Shapiro, starring Galina Vishnevskaya, Artem Inozemtsev, Nikolai Boyarsky, Alexander Sokolov, Tatyana Gavrilova, Roman Tkachuk, Vera Titova, Lyubov Malinovskaya, Konstantin Adashevsky
• - Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk district, directed by Roman Balayan, starring Natalya Andreichenko (Katerina Izmailova), Alexander Abdulov (Sergey), Nikolai Pastukhov (Zinovy ​​Borisovich).
• - Moscow Nights, director Valery Todorovsky

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Literature

• Anninsky L. A. world celebrity from the Mtsensk district // Anninsky L. A. Leskovskoe necklace. M., 1986
• Guminsky V. Organic interaction (from "Lady Macbeth ..." to "Cathedrals") // In the world of Leskov. Digest of articles. M., 1983

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An excerpt characterizing Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk district

- C "est un roturier, vous aurez beau dire, [This is a rogue, no matter what you say,] - said Prince Hippolyte.
Monsieur Pierre did not know to whom to answer, looked around at everyone and smiled. His smile was not the same as other people's, merging with an unsmile. On the contrary, when a smile came, his serious and even somewhat gloomy face suddenly disappeared and another appeared - childish, kind, even stupid, and as if asking for forgiveness.
It became clear to the viscount, who saw him for the first time, that this Jacobin was not at all as terrible as his words. Everyone fell silent.
- How do you want him to answer all of a sudden? - said Prince Andrew. - Moreover, in the actions of a statesman, it is necessary to distinguish between the actions of a private person, a commander or an emperor. It seems to me.
“Yes, yes, of course,” Pierre picked up, delighted at the help that was coming to him.
“It’s impossible not to confess,” continued Prince Andrei, “Napoleon as a man is great on the Arkol bridge, in the hospital in Jaffa, where he gives a hand to the plague, but ... but there are other actions that are difficult to justify.
Prince Andrei, apparently wanting to soften the awkwardness of Pierre's speech, got up, getting ready to go and giving a sign to his wife.

Suddenly, Prince Hippolyte got up and, stopping everyone with signs of his hands and asking them to sit down, spoke:
- Ah! aujourd "hui on m" a raconte une anecdote moscovite, charmante: il faut que je vous en regale. Vous m "excusez, vicomte, il faut que je raconte en russe. Autrement on ne sentira pas le sel de l" histoire. [Today I was told a charming Moscow anecdote; you need to cheer them on. Excuse me, viscount, I'll tell you in Russian, otherwise the whole point of the joke will be lost.]
And Prince Hippolyte began to speak Russian with such a pronunciation as the French, who have spent a year in Russia, speak. Everyone paused: so animatedly, Prince Hippolyte urgently demanded attention to his history.
- In Moscou there is one lady, une dame. And she is very stingy. She had to have two valets de pied [footman] per carriage. And very large. It was her taste. And she had an une femme de chambre [maid] still tall. She said…
Here Prince Hippolyte fell into thought, apparently having difficulty thinking.
- She said ... yes, she said: "girl (a la femme de chambre), put on a livree [livery] and go with me, behind the carriage, faire des visites." [make visits.]
Here Prince Ippolit snorted and laughed much before his listeners, which made an unfavorable impression for the narrator. However, many, including the elderly lady and Anna Pavlovna, smiled.
- She went. Suddenly there was a strong wind. The girl lost her hat, and her long hair was combed ...
Here he could no longer hold on and began to laugh abruptly, and through this laughter he said:
And the whole world knows...
That's where the joke ends. Although it was not clear why he was telling it and why it had to be told without fail in Russian, Anna Pavlovna and others appreciated the secular courtesy of Prince Hippolyte, who so pleasantly ended Monsieur Pierre's unpleasant and ungracious trick. The conversation after the anecdote crumbled into small, insignificant talk about the future and the past ball, the performance, about when and where someone will see each other.

Thanking Anna Pavlovna for her charmante soiree, [a charming evening] the guests began to disperse.
Pierre was clumsy. Fat, taller than usual, broad, with huge red hands, he, as they say, did not know how to enter the salon and even less how to get out of it, that is, before leaving, to say something especially pleasant. Besides, he was scattered. Rising, instead of his hat, he grabbed a triangular hat with a general's plume and held it, pulling the sultan, until the general asked to return it. But all his absent-mindedness and inability to enter the salon and speak in it were redeemed by an expression of good nature, simplicity and modesty. Anna Pavlovna turned to him and, with Christian meekness expressing forgiveness for his outburst, nodded to him and said:
“I hope to see you again, but I also hope that you will change your mind, my dear Monsieur Pierre,” she said.
When she told him this, he did not answer, only leaned over and showed everyone once more his smile, which said nothing, except this: "Opinions are opinions, and you see what a kind and nice fellow I am." And everyone, including Anna Pavlovna, involuntarily felt it.
Prince Andrey went out into the ante-room and, leaning his shoulders on the footman who was putting on his cloak, listened indifferently to the chatter of his wife with Prince Hippolyte, who also went out into the ante-room. Prince Hippolyte stood beside the pretty, pregnant princess and stubbornly looked straight at her through his lorgnette.
“Go, Annette, you will catch a cold,” said the little princess, saying goodbye to Anna Pavlovna. - C "est arrete, [Done,]" she added quietly.
Anna Pavlovna had already managed to talk to Lisa about the matchmaking she was planning between Anatole and the sister-in-law of the little princess.
“I hope for you, dear friend,” Anna Pavlovna said, also quietly, “you will write to her and tell me, comment le pere envisagera la chose.” Au revoir, [How the father will look at the matter. Goodbye,] - and she left the hall.
Prince Hippolyte went up to the little princess and, bending his face close to her, began to say something to her in a whisper.
Two lackeys, one the princess, the other, waiting for them to finish talking, stood with a shawl and a redingote and listened to them, incomprehensible to them, French dialect with such faces as if they understood what was being said, but did not want to show it. The princess, as always, spoke with a smile and listened with a laugh.
“I am very glad that I didn’t go to the envoy,” Prince Hippolyte said: “boredom ... It’s a wonderful evening, isn’t it, wonderful?”
“They say that the ball will be very good,” answered the princess, twitching her sponge with her mustache. “All the beautiful women of society will be there.
- Not all, because you will not be there; not all,” said Prince Hippolyte, laughing joyfully, and, grabbing the shawl from the footman, even pushed him and began to put it on the princess.
From embarrassment or deliberately (no one could make it out), he did not lower his arms for a long time when the shawl was already put on, and seemed to be hugging a young woman.
She gracefully, but still smiling, pulled away, turned and looked at her husband. Prince Andrei's eyes were closed: he seemed so tired and sleepy.
- You are ready? he asked his wife, looking around her.
Prince Hippolyte hurriedly put on his coat, which, according to the new, was longer than his heels, and, tangled in it, ran to the porch after the princess, whom the footman was putting into the carriage.
- Princesse, au revoir, [Princess, goodbye,] - he shouted, tangling his tongue as well as his legs.
The princess, picking up her dress, sat down in the darkness of the carriage; her husband was adjusting his saber; Prince Ippolit, under the pretext of serving, interfered with everyone.
- Excuse me, sir, - Prince Andrei dryly unpleasantly turned in Russian to Prince Ippolit, who prevented him from passing.
"I'm waiting for you, Pierre," said the same voice of Prince Andrei affectionately and tenderly.
The postilion moved off, and the carriage rattled its wheels. Prince Hippolyte laughed abruptly, standing on the porch and waiting for the viscount, whom he promised to take home.

“Eh bien, mon cher, votre petite princesse est tres bien, tres bien,” said the viscount, getting into the carriage with Hippolyte. - Mais tres bien. He kissed the tips of his fingers. – Et tout a fait francaise. [Well, my dear, your little princess is very cute! Very nice and perfect French.]
Hippolyte laughed with a snort.
“Et savez vous que vous etes terrible avec votre petit air innocent,” continued the viscount. - Je plains le pauvre Mariei, ce petit officier, qui se donne des airs de prince regnant.. [Do you know, you are a terrible person, despite your innocent appearance. I feel sorry for the poor husband, this officer who poses as a possessive person.]
Hippolyte snorted again and said through laughter:
- Et vous disiez, que les dames russes ne valaient pas les dames francaises. Il faut savoir s "y prendre. [And you said that Russian ladies are worse than French ones. You have to be able to take it.]
Pierre, arriving ahead, like a domestic person, went into Prince Andrei's office and immediately, out of habit, lay down on the sofa, took the first book that came across from the shelf (these were Caesar's Notes) and began, leaning on his elbows, to read it from the middle.
– What did you do with m lle Scherer? She will be completely ill now,” said Prince Andrei, entering the office and rubbing his small, white hands.
Pierre turned his whole body so that the sofa creaked, turned his animated face to Prince Andrei, smiled and waved his hand.
“No, this abbot is very interesting, but he just doesn’t understand the matter like that ... In my opinion, eternal peace is possible, but I don’t know how to say it ... But not by political equilibrium ...
Prince Andrei was apparently not interested in these abstract conversations.
- It is impossible, mon cher, [my dear,] everywhere to say everything that you think. So, have you finally decided on something? Will you be a cavalry guard or a diplomat? asked Prince Andrei after a moment's silence.
Pierre sat down on the sofa, tucking his legs under him.
You can imagine, I still don't know. I don't like either one.
“But you have to make a decision, don’t you? Your father is waiting.
Pierre, from the age of ten, was sent abroad with the tutor abbot, where he stayed until the age of twenty. When he returned to Moscow, his father released the abbot and said to the young man: “Now you go to Petersburg, look around and choose. I agree to everything. Here's a letter for you to Prince Vasily, and here's some money for you. Write about everything, I will help you in everything. Pierre had been choosing a career for three months and did nothing. Prince Andrei told him about this choice. Pierre rubbed his forehead.
“But he must be a Freemason,” he said, referring to the abbot whom he had seen at the party.
- All this is nonsense, - Prince Andrei stopped him again, - let's talk about the case. Were you in the Horse Guards?
- No, I wasn't, but that's what came to my mind, and I wanted to tell you. Now the war against Napoleon. If it was a war for freedom, I would understand, I would be the first to enter military service; but help England and Austria against the greatest man in the world... it's not good...

Leskov's story "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District" is an interesting story that is read in one breath, however, for those who do not have time to read the full version, we suggest that you get acquainted with Leskov's work "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District" in summary. An abridged version of Leskov's work "Lady Macbeth" will allow us to analyze the story.

Leskov Lady Macbeth summary

So, Lady Macbeth Leskova is the main character. "A pleasant-looking woman," who was twenty-three years old. She is married to a fifty-year-old merchant Zinovy ​​Borisovich Izmailov, with whom they live in a prosperous house. Father-in-law Boris Timofeevich lives with them. She and her husband have been together for five years, but they did not have children, and with all the contentment, Lady Macbeth's life with her unloved husband was the most boring. The husband went daily to the mill, the father-in-law was also busy with his own affairs, and Lady Macbeth had to wander around the house, suffering from loneliness. And only in the sixth year of life together with her husband did Ekaterina Lvovna change. She met Sergei. This happened at a time when the mill dam broke through and the husband had to spend there not only daytime, but also nighttime.

Further, Leskov’s work “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District” continues with the acquaintance of the hostess with Sergei, whom the previous owner expelled from the service because of his relationship with his wife. Now he served with Izmailov. Having met by chance, the hostess could not resist Sergey's compliments, and when he came to her in the evening, she could not resist kisses. A romance began between them.

But Ekaterina Lvovna did not manage to hide her relationship with Sergei for long, because a week later her father-in-law noticed the clerk descending the pipe. Boris Timofeevich grabbed Sergei, whipped him and locked him in the pantry. The daughter-in-law threatened that she would tell everything to her husband. Further, in the work of Leskov, Lady Macbeth decides to take a desperate step. She decided to poison her father-in-law by adding rat poison to the mushrooms. By morning, the father-in-law was gone. Boris Timofeevich was buried, and the hostess and her lover continued their relationship. However, it is not enough for Sergei to be a lover and he begins to tell Catherine how much he would like to become her husband. Catherine promises to make him a merchant.

Just then, the husband comes home, who begins to accuse his wife of treason, because the whole district is talking about this. Catherine is not embarrassed, and in front of her husband kisses the clerk, after which they kill Zinovy ​​Borisovich, burying him in the cellar. The whole district is looking for the owner, but they never find it, and Catherine, as a widow, begins to manage the estate and is expecting a child who will be the heir.

The next victim of Sergei and the merchant's wife was Izmailov's six-year-old nephew, in whom Catherine saw a rival for her unborn child. After all, only her child was to become the sole heir. But the problem was quickly resolved. She could not allow her to “lose her capital” because of some boy, so on a holiday, after waiting for her aunt to go to church, she and Sergey strangle the child. Only this time they failed to do everything without noise and witnesses.

Sergei was taken to the unit, where he confessed to all the crimes, calling Ekaterina Lvovna his accomplice. At the confrontation, the merchant confessed to her deed.

The story ends with the fact that Lady Macbeth gave birth to a child and abandoned him, giving the heir to be raised by a relative of her husband. After, the criminals were sent to Siberia for hard labor. But, Ekaterina Lvovna was still happy because they were in the same party with Sergei. But Sergei became cold to Catherine, and then there were new girls who came to them with a new batch. Among them was Fiona, with whom Sergey cheated on Catherine, and then the guy started a relationship with the second girl Sonetka, while Sergey began to declare to the merchant's wife that he had never loved her and was with her for the sake of money. The whole party begins to mock Ekaterina Lvovna.