A summary of Gorky's “Old Woman Izergil” is read in just 5-10 minutes. This makes it possible to quickly get acquainted with the work in conditions of acute lack of time (for example, before the exam), but it does not eliminate the need to still read it in full later.
Gorky's story “The Old Woman Izergil” is compositionally constructed in such a way that a connection is established between reality and legends. There are two of them in the work. They illuminate completely opposite ideas about life. The summary of Gorky's “Old Woman Izergil”, of course, will not allow us to feel this fully. Nevertheless, it can serve as a good additional material, preceding the reading of the work in full. The image of the old woman, on behalf of whom the narrative is being conducted, is rather controversial. About herself, she tells only what she remembered for a lifetime. Events are also presented on behalf of the author himself.
M. Gorky “The Old Woman Izergil”: Summary of Chapter I
Once, the author happened to work in Bessarabia. When the Moldovans dispersed and one ancient old woman, Isergil, remained, she told him a legend about how people were punished by God for pride. The event took place in a rich, distant country. During the general feast, the eagle suddenly took the girl away. The search was unsuccessful and soon everyone forgot about it. But after two decades, she, exhausted, returned home with her son from the eagle. The young man was very proud and behaved arrogantly even with the elders of the tribe. Having received a refusal from the daughter of one of them, Larra beats the girl, steps her foot on her chest and she dies. It seems to the inhabitants of the tribe that no punishment is worthy of him. Even the mother does not want to intercede for her son. In the end, he was doomed to freedom and loneliness. Thunder came from the sky and Larra became immortal. Since then, he wandered the earth for so long that he already dreamed of dying. But no one touched him, and he could not kill himself either. So Larra continues to roam in anticipation of death around the world. And there is no place for him, neither among the living, nor among the dead.
Summary of Gorky's “Old Woman Isergil”: II chapter
A beautiful song comes from somewhere. Isergil, hearing her, smiles and recalls his young years. During the day, she weaved carpets, and at night she ran to her beloved ones. When she was 15 years old, she began dating a beautiful sailor. But soon she was bored with a monotonous relationship, and her friend introduced her to the Hutsul. He was a cheerful, affectionate and ardent young man. Soon both the sailor and the gutsula were executed. Then Isergil fell in love with the Turk and lived in a harem. True, the girl could not stand it for more than a week. She fled to Bulgaria with the 16-year-old son of a Turk, but he soon died, either from longing, or from love. One woman was jealous of Isergil to her husband and stabbed her directly in the chest. Nursed her polka in the monastery. She had a monk brother, with whom later Isergil left for his homeland. After the first insult, she drowned him. In Poland, it was not easy for her, since she did not know how to do anything and simply switched from one man to another. When she was 40 years old, she met a beautiful nobleman who quickly abandoned her. Isergil realized that she was old. Shlyakhtich went to war with the Russians. She went after him. Learning that he is in captivity, Yzergil saves him. In gratitude, the nobleman promises to love her always. Now Isergil pushes him away. After that, she finally gets married and has been living in Bessarabia for 30 years. A year ago, Isergil became a widow. Seeing the lights of the fire far in the steppe, she says that these are sparks of Danko’s heart.
Summary of Gorky's “Old Woman Isergil”: Chapter III
The woman immediately proceeds to the story of cheerful, kind people whom other tribes drove into such a depth of the forest where there was never sun and was drawn by the stench from the swamp. People began to die one by one. They decide to leave the forest, but do not know which way to choose. Helping them volunteered guy Danko. During the way, a thunderstorm began. Everyone began to murmur against Danko, reproach him. He replied that he was leading them, because the only one dared to do this, and the rest followed him like a herd. People were completely furious and decided to kill Danko. Then, with great love and pity for everyone, he tore his chest, pulled out his heart and lifted it above his head. Lighting their path, Danko led the people of his tribe out of the woods. Seeing the vastness, he dies, but no one notices it. Only one person accidentally stepped on the heart of a young man, it crumbled into sparks and went out. The old woman falls asleep immediately after the story, and the author continues to reflect on what he happened to hear.