Mikhail Sholokhov wrote a truly brilliant work about such an estate in Russia as the Cossacks. This is the novel "Quiet Don". The heroes of the book are ordinary people with their difficulties and problems. Female images in this work are revealed on the basis of traditional ideas about what the purpose of the Cossack is, which should be a good mother and guardian of the hearth. The female image in the novel âQuiet Donâ helps to reveal the personality of the main character, Grigory Melekhov. Before proceeding to the analysis of the female images of this famous novel, let's say a few words about how it was created.
History of creation: "Quiet Don"
The idea of ââwriting a novel about the revolution and ordinary people came to Sholokhov in the mid-20s of the last century.
Since the fall of 1925, the author began to work on the novel "Donshchina". Initially, the writer did not assume that his work would unfold so broadly.
Sholokhov was puzzled by the need to write a novel so as to explain the historical conditions that led to the revolution. The author writes about the life of people, their way of life, difficulties, trying to show the growth of revolutionary sentiments. The change of concept led to the fact that the novel received a new name - "Quiet Don".
The life of the characters in the work personifies, according to the authorâs intention, the life of different layers of the population during the war and revolution.
In addition, Sholokhov sets himself the task of telling about the tragic fate of people who fell into the maelstrom of events from 1914 to 1921.
The idea of ââthe novel "Quiet Don", which, as can now be seen, differed from the original idea of ââthe author, matured in the last days of 1926. The collection of material for the work began.
To this end, the writer moved to Veshenskaya stanitsa, making trips to nearby villages and talking with participants in the war and revolution. To study the folklore of the Cossacks well, the author visits the archives of Rostov and Moscow.
As he wrote, Sholokhov published parts of his novel. Reviews of this work did not leave the press. Work on the fourth book did not go very quickly, which prompted readers who were worried about the fate of the heroes to write numerous letters to Sholokhov.
It is known that rumors spread among writers that the novel was written not by Sholokhov, but by a certain killed officer, from whose bag the manuscript was removed. The author was forced to go to Rostov and collect a commission to refute the libel.
However, the novel written by Sholokhov, stood the test of time. Many generations of people continue to read it, admiring the original characters of the main characters and experiencing the difficulties of life with them.
So, now we know the story of the creation of "Quiet Don". We turn to the consideration of the main female images of the novel.
Love triangle
A classic romance is characterized by a love triangle. The main characters of the novel "Quiet Don" are also doomed to this. In this work, two women, Natalya and Aksinya, love one Cossack - Grigory Melekhov. Natalia is his legal wife, Aksinya is the wife of the Melekhovs neighbor, Stepan Astakhov. In the novel âQuiet Flows the Donâ, Aksinya ardently loves Gregory for forbidden sensual love. It is not surprising that her sincere attitude deeply touched the heart of the Cossack.
Axinha
The image of this woman is central to the novel. She is independent, strong, beautiful. Aksinya is capable of deep feelings. She personifies the ability of a Cossack woman to be independent and passionately love, sacrificing herself.
The character and fate of the heroine
Aksinyaâs life was not easy. The connection with Gregory, about which the whole farm was chatting, became known to her husband, Stepan Astakhov. Asked whether this was true, Aksinya admitted to him without hesitation. Her willingness to bear responsibility for her actions betrays a strong personality in her . What happened between her and Melekhov for Aksinya is not a simple affair, but a deep feeling.
She, like Gregory, did not lie, did not pretend. Both were firmly convinced that the relationship between them was not an accidental affair. The inhabitants of the farm perceived such behavior as immoral.
Life at the behest of the heart
In the novel âQuiet Flows the Don,â Aksinya personifies a sensual nature who wants to live of her own free will, obeying only the command of her heart. She is even bolder than her lover, Grigory Melekhov. It is Aksinya who offers Gregory to leave with his native farm, breaking with conventions.
This woman always followed her lover, without asking where they were going, her feeling was so hopeless.
Weaknesses and vices
The heroes of the novel "Quiet Don", like any people, have their own shortcomings. Aksinya - a woman who is capable of strong feelings, passion controls her life, which brings a lot of grief to those around her and herself. Her love for Melekhov in many ways became the reason for his discord with his wife Natalia. Aksinya does not retreat even when Gregory and Natalia have children. The temperament of this woman also became the reason for her betrayal to Melekhov and Listnitsky. Nevertheless, it is worth recognizing that Aksignyâs infidelity further shows her strong feelings for Gregory.
The hopelessness of love Aksinya and Gregory
Aksinya loves Gregory passionately, her feeling sweeps away everything in her path. She follows him everywhere. People who are able to feel so much, as a rule, are rarely happy, they want to be with their loved ones everywhere, to occupy their lives completely. The author emphasizes the doom of these relations by the fact that the children of Aksinya and Gregory could not survive. Their union is not harmonious, because such a passion violates the natural balance.
Natalya
Unlike Aksigny, Natalya has a completely different character. âQuiet Donâ in the images of these two women shows different types of Cossacks. If Aksinya is freedom-loving, sensual, strong, then Natalia is completely different. She is a faithful wife, a good mistress, mother, the keeper of the hearth. This woman is beautiful, kind, hardworking, but deeply unhappy. She is the dream of any Cossack, but something in her character does not reach her husband, who, in his own way, of course, loves her.
Natalia's love for Gregory
Natalia before the wedding was very in love with Gregory. Upon learning that the Melekhovs should marry her, the girl declares that she does not want to marry anyone else.
After the wedding, for her, as for an exemplary wife, the husband and children become the only happiness. Her love for Gregory is submissive and moral.
This is the image of Natalia. The Quiet Don embodies the ideal of the highest female virtue in this heroine.
Rivals
So, the epic novel "Quiet Don" tells us about the love of two women who competed with each other.
The difference in their characters is very pronounced during their meetings with each other.
At the first meeting, Natalia prays to Aksinho to leave Gregory. Beloved Gregory shows contempt for his lawful wife. Natalia is defeated.
The second meeting between women takes place five years later. Natalia becomes stronger, she protects her son and daughter. Both rivals have matured: they have more self-esteem, they do not stoop to abuse and abuse, giving Gregory the opportunity to choose.
The death of Natalia and Aksigny
The novel "Quiet Don", whose heroes formed such a love triangle typical for works of this type, describes the death of many heroes. During the civil war, in fact, countless people died.
The fate of Grigory Melekhov, who lost his beloved women: Axinho, whom he loved passionately, and Natalia, turned out to be very difficult. He also loved her in his own way, although he did not admit it.
As for Natalia, this female image in the novel âQuiet Donâ helps our imagination imagine a beautiful, God-fearing, but nervous Cossack. Her husbandâs infidelity drove her to a suicide attempt, after which a scar remained on her neck forever.
Long before her death, Natalya thought to leave the Melekhovs in her parents' house to give her husband the opportunity to live with Aksinya, but Grigory's mother dissuaded her from this.
Later, Natalia killed the child Gregory, whom she was bearing. This caused the death of a woman. After the death of Natalia Aksinya takes care of her children, they even call her mom.
Gregory is experiencing the death of his wife. At the sight of a telegram that informed him of this, he feels a pain in his heart. He became even more painful when he found out that Natalya was prompted by such a terrible step to talk with Aksinya, whose female image in the novel âSilent Donâ which embodies selfless passionate love. However, her feeling is subordinate to reason, Aksinya has enough strength to fight for Gregory. His wife, Natalya, loved him only with her heart, she was too pure, her ideas about people's relationships were too exalted. Aksinya told Grigory's wife about her relationship with him, after which Natalia decided on a fatal step. It is not known whether lover Melekhova had any idea what this would turn out for her rival.
Having learned the truth, Gregory for some time feels hostility towards Aksinya. He recalls Natalia, stroking and caressing the children for a long time, imagining how she kissed and baptized them before her death. It becomes even more painful when he learns from Ilyinichna that Natalya has forgiven him for everything, loving until the last minute of her unhappy life.
The death of Aksigny also causes deep suffering in the soul of Gregory. Beloved dies right in the arms of Melekhov. Blood flows from her mouth, bubbling in her throat. This strong Cossack understands that the worst happened in his life.
Loneliness of Grigory Melekhov
The death of Aksigny led to the fact that the life of Gregory almost lost its meaning. He himself bury her, thinking that their separation would be short-lived.
The death took away from Grigory Melekhov the people closest and dearest to his heart. By the end of the work, he remains only with his son Mishatka.
The death of women dear to his heart, according to the author, deepens the loneliness of the protagonist.
The female image in the novel "Quiet Don", whether it be Natalia, Aksinya or other heroines of the novel, is something that gives strength. Having lost such support, the main character ceases to understand the meaning of his existence.
Other female images in the novel "Quiet Don"
The central female images in the novel are, of course, Aksinya and Natalya. However, in this article we cannot ignore other female images.
Gregory's mother, Ilyinichna, deserves special attention. This is a middle-aged Cossack woman who devoted her life to the well-being of children, family. Its author portrays with warmth. This is a real keeper of the hearth. In his youth, Ilyinichna was distinguished by the beauty of the article, but quickly grew old from hard work. She drank a lot of grief from her husband, Pantelei Prokofievich, who had a very steep disposition, and reached anger in unconsciousness.
The whole life of this wise woman is filled with troubles and worries about the family, she tries to isolate them from adversity and trouble. That is her characteristic. âQuiet Donâ portrays Ilyinichna as a good housewife, prudent and economical.
She regards Grigoryâs relations with Aksinya negatively. However, during the war, Ilyinichna draws close to her amid worries about her son.
This elderly woman loves her daughter-in-law Natalia, worries about her, tries to shift part of her work to Daria. She feels pain from the fact that Gregory is cheating on her. The death of Natalia shocked Ilyinichna.
No less interesting is the wife of Gregory's older brother, Daria. The "Quiet Don" in her image presents to our attention a dissolute, lazy, cunning heroine. She is beautiful, lives for sensual pleasures. Daria loves to attract the attention of men and knows how to do it. She likes gatherings and holidays. After the death of her husband, Daria tried to make up for lost years, twisted novels, which led her to illness and death.
The reader gets acquainted with Dunyasha Melekhova even at that time when she was a long-armed teenager with big eyes. Later, she becomes a slender Cossack with a obstinate character. The matured Dunyasha is presented in the novel as a smart self-sufficient girl who achieves her goal by marrying Mikhail Koshevoy. She fell in love with him despite the fact that her chosen one had committed many bloody crimes.
We examined the main female images of the novel "Quiet Don". They help to comprehend the author a new milestone in the life of the Don Cossacks. The woman in the work of Sholokhov occupies a central place. The author connects with her questions about the meaning of life, the concepts of happiness and love.