Nikolai Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is replete with various characters, including Yermil Girin. The characteristics of this hero are very important for the entire work, since the author makes him one of the likely contenders for the title of a happy person.

About the poem

Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov created a poem about the hardships of peasant life, trying to depict all the torments that befall the village peasant. And at the same time, illustrate the life of former serfs. One of these village people is Ermil Girin. The character's characteristics are not the least important in understanding the way of life of that time. And Nekrasov himself sets him apart from others. We'll talk about how it does it and why below.

Ermil Girin: characteristics

This character appears already in the first part of the poem. However, the reader does not get to know him personally, but only hears a story about him. Yermil Girin (the characterization according to the plan must include this point) is the chairman of the village, who is nominated as a candidate for the lucky ones. Ermila was elected to his position for his honesty and intelligence by the mayor. And the man fully justified the hopes placed on him, performing his duty regularly and fairly for seven years, for which he earned the respect and love of the entire community.

Only once did Girin abuse his power. When they came for his younger brother to recruit him, he gave the son of a local peasant woman instead. But even here the best moral qualities of the hero appeared. His conscience began to torment him. And he brought himself to the point that he almost hanged himself. The situation was saved by the master, who returned his son, who had been unfairly sent to serve, to his mother.

But after this incident he no longer felt entitled to be chairman, so he left the service and then became a miller. However, despite everything, Girin continued to enjoy the trust and respect of other peasants. The case of the sale of the mill is illustrative in this regard. The fact is that he rented the mill where Yermil worked. And so the owner decided to sell his property. The bidding began, and Girin won it. However, he did not have the required amount of deposit with him. Then some men came to his aid, and in half an hour they managed to collect a rather large sum - a thousand rubles. Only their help saved Girin from ruin.

However, this joyful story ends when Yermil was arrested for refusing to pacify the riot that happened in his village.

Nekrasov specifically shows the strength and height of the hero’s moral principles (the quotation from Ermila Girin confirms this). However, the injustice of power does not allow even such a person to live happily.

Hero prototype

Ermil Girin, whose characteristics were outlined above, was not invented out of nowhere by Nekrasov. The prototype was A.D. Potanin, a native of peasants who managed the estate of the Counts Orlovs. This man became famous for his selflessness, justice and honesty. Potanin and Girin are related, for example, by the following quotes from the poem: “It takes a bad conscience to extort a penny from a peasant to a peasant,” “He became more loved than ever by all the people.”

This is the measure of happiness, for which, according to Nekrasov, it is necessary to be honest, fair, selfless and respected by the people.

In the story about Ermil Girin and his sad fate, the high ethical and topical political meaning of the men's dispute about happiness acquires greater clarity and poignancy. Already the compositional isolation of the episode with Yermil (he is included after the remark: “Hey, peasant happiness!..”) prepares the reader for the fact that his happiness is fundamentally different from the “holey and patched” peasant. The story about Girin depicts a high ideal of happiness according to popular ideas:

Yes! There was only one man!

He had everything he needed

For happiness...

Yermil has the material wealth that, from a man’s point of view, is necessary for a happy life. “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is not an everyday story, it is a “philosophy of people’s life,” a work where the truth of life is revealed with the help of artistic conventions. Therefore, the author does not say anything about how, in what ways Yermil came to this “wealth.” To solve the social and moral problem that truth-seekers are struggling with, it is given: Girin is rich and he has nothing to be ashamed of, since everything he has was acquired by honest labor.

Yermil also has another necessary condition for happiness: honor.

An enviable, true honor,

Not bought with money,

Not with fear: with strict truth,

With intelligence and kindness!

With his many years of selfless activity (“At seven years old, he didn’t squeeze a worldly penny / Under his fingernail”), with his “intelligence and kindness,” Yermil earned the deep respect and trust of the people, which was manifested in the scene with the purchase of the mill. Girin gained power “over the surrounding area” “not through witchcraft, but through truth,” his appearance embodies the love of truth of the people, their moral demands. Only life based on strict truth can give a person a feeling of joy - this is the meaning of Fedosei’s story.

This was the case with Yermil, until he put his personal well-being above “truth”, above the interests of another person, until he recruited the old woman Vlasyevna’s son instead of his brother Mitri. However, Yermil’s deep repentance for his action, the inability for him to live with the consciousness of his guilt before the “world” make this image even more attractive. It’s not for nothing that after everything that happened, he became “more than ever / Loved by all the people.”

Well, so what? Is there a standard of life to which one should strive? No, the author had a different goal when introducing an episode with Yermil Girin into the poem. Having given the men the opportunity to listen to Fedosei’s story (with the additions of the gray-haired priest), the author, through the content of this story, leads to the idea that the high ideal of happiness, conceived as a free, prosperous working life, is utopian, unattainable under the modern social system. Firstly, in these conditions, the prosperity of the peasant (if he is not a world-eater) can only be a happy exception. We don’t even know how Yermil managed to get rich, while none of the residents of the villages of Bosovo, Gorelovo, Neelovo and others managed to achieve this... And secondly... Fedosei’s story is interrupted for the second time by the “gray-haired priest”, reporting that Yermil Girin was in prison. This remark immediately moves the narrative from the ethical and somewhat speculative to an acutely political plane.

This is reality! Poor peasant Rus' is rebelling in the struggle for justice. Rebels “in excess of gratitude” to the liberators. Even the most downtrodden are rising from an unbearable life to fight, even the patrimony has risen

Landowner Obrubkov,

Frightened province,

Nedykhanev County,

Village Tetanus...

And although the narrator, the peasant Fedosey, says that the cause of the rebellion “remained unknown,” Nekrasov, using the symbolism of the names, reveals it: the landowner cut off the peasant plots to such an extent that the men of the frightened province for centuries, who did not dare to breathe under serfdom (Nedykhanyev Uyezd), frozen in an age-old stupor (Tetanus!) - and they rebelled. With a careful mention of the riot in Tetanus, the author makes it clear to the reader that the people's patience is coming to an end, that the struggle that the peasantry is rising up to is the only way to achieve that ideal of life that so captivates listeners in the story about Yermil.

Why Yermil ended up in prison is not directly stated in the poem, but even from hints it is not difficult to guess: during a riot in the village of Stolbnyaki, Girin apparently takes the side of the rebels. A person with such a heightened sense of justice could not have acted otherwise. Yermil consciously sacrifices personal well-being in the name of the idea of ​​general justice, prefers “truth” to “richness” and ends up in prison. Under the conditions of the landowner state, his everyday well-being turned out to be fragile, temporary, illusory.

Compositionally separating the story about Girin from the depiction of the fate of other “lucky ones” and thereby emphasizing the exclusivity of his fate, Nekrasov, however, left it within the chapter “Happy”, for the ironic meaning of its title can be extended to the fate of a man who ended his life in prison .

In Fedosei’s story, the moral concepts and demands of the peasant masses emerge with no less clarity than the spiritual appearance of the hero. The men of Adovshchina value Yermil for his honesty, selflessness, and strict straightforwardness. The sympathetic peasant heart pays a hundredfold for kindness, as evidenced by the episode with Yermil’s purchase of the mill. Nekrasov based it on a genuine fact described by P.I. Melnikov-Pechersky. The wealthy Nizhny Novgorod schismatic Pyotr Ivanovich Bugrov, half an hour before the renegotiation of a government contract for the transportation of salt, “rushed headlong to the lower bazaar and there, telling the traders: “Brothers, give us money quickly,” he took off his malakhai in front of them, into which 20,000 were thrown in a quarter of an hour later. rubles in silver." With the money, Bugrov managed to resell the contract. Nekrasov used this, perhaps exceptional, fact to show not only the boundless trust and respect of the men for Yermil, but also (and this is the main thing!) a sense of comradeship, a feeling of peasant solidarity, moreover, social solidarity, since the merchant Altynnikov is socially hostile to them and supporting Ermil is essentially tantamount to protecting one’s own interests. It is significant that the theme of popular solidarity begins (the purchase of the mill) and ends (the riot in Stolbnyaki) the story of Ermil Girin. .

Girin Ermil Ilyich (Ermila)- one of the most likely candidates for the title of lucky. The real prototype of this character is the peasant A.D. Potanin (1797-1853), who managed by proxy the estate of Countess Orlova, which was called Odoevshchina (after the surnames of the former owners - the Odoevsky princes), and the peasants were baptized into Adovshchina. Potanin became famous for his extraordinary justice. Nekrasovsky Girin became known to his fellow villagers for his honesty even in those five years that he served as a clerk in the office (“A bad conscience is necessary - / A peasant should extort a penny from a peasant”). Under the old Prince Yurlov, he was fired, but then, under the young Prince, he was unanimously elected mayor of Adovshchina. During the seven years of his “reign”, he only once betrayed his soul: “... from the recruiting / He shielded his younger brother Mitri.” But repentance for this offense almost led him to suicide. Only thanks to the intervention of a strong master was it possible to restore justice, and instead of Nenila Vlasyevna’s son, Mitriy went to serve, and “the prince himself takes care of him.” Girin quit his job, rented a mill, “and he became more powerful than ever / Loved by all the people.” When they decided to sell the mill, Girin won the auction, but he did not have the money with him to make a deposit. And then “a miracle happened”: Girin was rescued by the peasants to whom he turned for help, and in half an hour he managed to collect a thousand rubles in the market square.

Girin is driven not by mercantile interest, but by a rebellious spirit: “The mill is not dear to me, / The resentment is great.” And although “he had everything he needed / For happiness: peace, / And money, and honor,” at the moment when the peasants start talking about him (chapter “Happy”), Girin, in connection with the peasant uprising, is in prison. The speech of the narrator, a gray-haired priest, from whom it becomes known about the arrest of the hero, is unexpectedly interrupted by outside interference, and later he himself refuses to continue the story. But behind this omission one can easily guess both the reason for the riot and Girin’s refusal to help in pacifying it.

Saveliy, Holy Russian hero(Part III, Chapter 3).

Savely- the Holy Russian hero, “with a huge gray mane, / Tea, not cut for twenty years, / With a huge beard, / Grandfather looked like a bear.” Once in a fight with a bear, he injured his back, and in his old age it bent. Saveliy’s native village, Korezhina, is located in the wilderness, and therefore the peasants live relatively freely (“The zemstvo police / Haven’t come to us for a year”), although they endure the atrocities of the landowner. The heroism of the Russian peasant lies in patience, but there is a limit to any patience. Savely ends up in Siberia for burying a hated German manager alive. Twenty years of hard labor, an unsuccessful attempt to escape, twenty years of settlement did not shake the rebellious spirit in the hero. Having returned home after the amnesty, he lives with the family of his son, Matryona’s father-in-law. Despite his venerable age (according to revision tales, his grandfather is a hundred years old), he leads an independent life: “He didn’t like families, / didn’t let them into his corner.” When they reproach him for his convict past, he cheerfully replies: “Branded, but not a slave!” Tempered by harsh trades and human cruelty, Savely’s petrified heart could only be melted by Dema’s great-grandson. An accident makes the grandfather the culprit of Demushka's death. His grief is inconsolable, he goes to repentance at the Sand Monastery, tries to beg for forgiveness from the “angry mother.” Having lived one hundred and seven years, before his death he pronounces a terrible sentence on the Russian peasantry: “For men there are three roads: / Tavern, prison and penal servitude, / And for women in Rus' / Three nooses... Climb into any one.” The image of Savely, in addition to folklore, has social and polemical roots. O. I. Komissarov, who saved Alexander II from the assassination attempt on April 4, 1866, was a Kostroma resident, a fellow countryman of I. Susanin. Monarchists saw this parallel as proof of the thesis about the love of the Russian people for kings. To refute this point of view, Nekrasov settled the rebel Savely in the Kostroma province, the original patrimony of the Romanovs, and Matryona catches the similarity between him and the monument to Susanin.

Yakim Nagoy, Ermil Girin, Matryona Timofeevna, Savely - one feels that Nekrasov is looking for a positive hero among the peasants. Of course, Savely deserves special attention, who is able to express his protest and fight against serfdom.. It is important for Nekrasov to show that popular self-awareness is growing, that the death of the “slave” system is inevitable. It is no coincidence that along with the image of Savely the poem presents other rebel heroes: each in their own way rebels against their “masters” Agap Petrov, ataman Kudeyar, a whole fiefdom, which Yermil Girin had to pacify - because of this he ended up in prison.

At the same time, Nekrasov does not simplify or schematize what is happening in real life. No reform could change people's consciousness in just a few years. The author truthfully shows how strong the habit of serfdom is among a certain part of the peasants, who can be called people of the “servile rank”. These images are presented satirically by Nekrasov. The author is both annoyed and funny that slave of Prince Peremetyev licks the plates behind the master, saying that he has a “noble” disease, gout. It's tragicomic that peasant Sidor, sitting in prison, he sends his master a quitrent of alms. By means of satire, Nekrasov expresses his attitude towards people of the “servile rank”, as well as to the main “enemy” of the peasants - the landowners.

“About the exemplary slave - Yakov the Faithful” says in the chapter “A Feast for the Whole World”: “People of the servile rank are / Real dogs sometimes: / The more severe the punishment, / The dearer the Lord is to them.” Yakov was like that until Mr. Polivanov, having coveted his nephew’s bride, forced him into recruiting. The exemplary slave took to drinking, but returned two weeks later, taking pity on the helpless master. However, his enemy was already “torturing him.” Yakov takes Polivanov to visit his sister, halfway turns into the Devil's Ravine, unharnesses the horses and, contrary to the master's fears, does not kill him, but hangs himself, leaving the owner alone with his conscience for the whole night. This method of revenge (“carrying dry misfortune” - hanging yourself in the possessions of the offender in order to make him suffer for the rest of his life) was indeed known, especially among the eastern peoples. Nekrasov, creating the image of Yakov, turns to the story that A.F. told him. Koni (who, in turn, heard it from the watchman of the volost government), and only slightly modifies it. This tragedy is another illustration of the destructiveness of serfdom. Through the mouth of Grisha Dobrosklonov, Nekrasov summarizes: “No support - no landowner, / Driving a zealous slave to the noose, / No support - no servant, / Taking revenge on his villain by suicide.”

Each of the depicted peasants went through a chain of trials and tribulations in life, but they did not break the integrity of his character. The peasants of post-reform Russia understand that they live unhappily and who is to blame for their plight, but this does not prevent them from maintaining their inner dignity, honesty, sense of humor and their inner rightness. The fate of women in Rus' has always been especially difficult, so the chapter “Peasant Woman” is given a special place in the poem. All the heroes protest against the current way of life, they are capable of fighting, they have the will and energy. The character of Yakim Nagov shows spontaneous protest, while other characters are capable of conscious struggle. The strength of Yermil Girin lies in his connections with the people's community, in his inner freedom and unbrokenness - the charm of Savely's appearance, which even hard labor did not force him to resign himself to.

The image of Yermil Girin in Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is one of the most colorful, since in this character the author embodied his vision of the best traits in the Russian people: honesty, directness, selflessness and love of truth. At the same time, Nekrasov described his hero very plausibly, putting the story about him into the mouths of peasants who tell wanderers about him. It is not for nothing that the poet conveys the story about him to strangers, thus trying to emphasize the veracity of the story.

General characteristics

The image of Yermil Girin is very symbolic in a philosophical sense. The whole essence of the poem lies in the search of seven wanderers for a happy man in Rus'. And in the chapter “Happy,” the author, through the mouths of the common people, talks about people who, in the opinion of the peasants, by their moral and moral qualities deserve to be known by everyone. But before talking about the heroes, it is necessary to note some facts about the creation and writing of the poem. Nekrasov began writing what is perhaps his most famous work in the first half of the 1860s, although he may have begun sketching earlier. The creation of the text and its publication lasted for several years and continued until the death of the author. At first he wanted to write eight parts, but due to illness he reduced the number of parts, and the final version included four parts.

Peculiarities

The image of Ermil Girin embodies the author’s general plan - to create a wide panorama of folk life in Rus'. In a conventionally fairy-tale form, Nekrasov narrates the journey of seven wanderers who are looking throughout the country for a truly happy person. A characteristic feature of this work is that it has become a real epic canvas of the folk life of Rus'. The poet tried to cover the main spheres of public and social life, to show the strata of the population, and for this purpose he chooses as heroes representatives of various social strata, each of whom presents his own story to the wanderers and tells about his misfortunes and problems. It was not without reason that the author followed this path, since it was in this way that the narrative received particular persuasiveness and truthfulness. He himself, as it were, deliberately distanced himself from the narrative and acts only as an observer, leaving his characters to talk about themselves.

Heroes

The images of Yakim Nagogo and Ermil Girin occupy one of the central places in the narrative for several reasons. Firstly, these are ordinary people from the people, ordinary peasants. Secondly, they are mentioned in the chapter “Happy”, which immediately distinguishes them from other characters, since the title of the chapter suggests that they are the ones the wanderers are looking for during their journey through Rus'. Thirdly, they do not talk about themselves, but the reader learns about them from the words of the village residents who knew them well. Thus, the author follows the folk tradition, according to which the rumor about a kind and good person spreads throughout the earth, the whole world learns about him and his life becomes known to many people.

Characters

The image of Yermil Girin is distinguished by the greater truthfulness and expressiveness that wanderers all over the world are told about him. What features do peasants highlight when characterizing him? First of all, truthfulness: Yermil is an honest person who never used his position for his own benefit. Working as a clerk, he always helped the peasants, did not take bribes, and acted in their interests. For this, everyone in the village loved and respected him, and elected him mayor.

When he urgently needed money to buy back the mill, he turned to all the people for help, and everyone present at the fair helped him: everyone, even people he didn’t know, gave money to buy back the mill. It is in this episode that, perhaps, the image of Yermil Girin is most clearly revealed. Briefly about him in connection with this episode, the following can be said: he is a truly people's man in spirit, and therefore the peasants help him all over the world. And only once did he abuse his power: he sent the son of a poor peasant woman as a recruit instead of his brother. However, being by nature a conscientious and truthful person, he repented of his actions, resigned from his position, and repented before all the people. So, the image of Ermila Girin, which is briefly described in this section, is one of the most striking in the poem.

Yakim Nagoy is also a simple peasant, whose whole life is spent in hard physical labor. He drinks a lot, and at first glance it seems that he is a goner. However, Yakim is a man with a rich inner world. He has a sense of beauty: for example, he buys beautiful pictures, which have become his only consolation, so that during a fire he saves them. So, in his poem, Nekrasov convincingly showed the images of simple peasants, each of which is touching and sympathetic to the reader.

Ermil Girin image and characteristics

1. General characteristics. Ermil Ilyich Girin is one of the minor characters in N. A. Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'.”

This is a simple serf, another candidate for the title of a happy person.

Traveling men learn about Yermil from the stories of Fedosei and the old priest. Both consider his main virtues to be justice and kindness towards the common people. For this, Girin enjoys “enviable, true honor” among the peasants.

2. The story of Ermil. At the age of twenty, Yermil was appointed clerk to the chief manager of the estate of Prince Yurlov. An insignificant position could spoil a young man who received a certain amount of power over the peasants. However, Yermil tried with all his might to help the common people. Giving poor people advice and, as far as possible, helping them out of trouble, he never took payment for his services. Thanks to his selfless activities, Yermil earned the love of all the peasants on the estate.

On the other hand, his kindness most likely became the reason for his dismissal from his position. The peasants immediately appreciated the change, as the new clerk demanded a reward for his labors. The heir of the deceased prince kicked out the stealing manager and his entire staff. He invited the peasants to choose their own headman (burgist). The entire estate unanimously announced the choice of Girin as the new manager. For seven years, Yermil honestly and fairly managed the princely estate, enjoying unquestioned authority.

3. Sin of Girin. In Tsarist Russia, peasants were drafted into the army according to a strict order. The headman monitored the observance of order. Girin took advantage of the situation and sent Nenila Vlasyevna’s son as a recruit instead of his brother Mitri. The abuse could have remained without consequences, but Yermil himself felt bitter remorse. He almost hanged himself and on his knees asked the recruit’s mother for forgiveness. Thanks to the intervention of the prince, Nenila’s son was returned, sending Mitrius instead. In the eyes of the peasants, Yermil atoned for his guilt. However, he himself continued to feel like a criminal and voluntarily resigned from the position of headman.

4. People's respect. Yermil rented a mill and became even more beloved by the peasants for his honesty in payments. Soon, the court decided to sell the mill at auction. Yermil was able to “outbid” his competitors, but the court demanded that he immediately provide a deposit in the amount of a thousand rubles. Girin did not have such a sum with him and he decided for the first time to turn to the “world” for help. Going out to the market square, Yermil told people about his misfortune. No one could refuse the national intercessor. In less than an hour, Yermil collected the necessary amount and was able to buy the mill. A week later, on the same square, Girin settled accounts with everyone and even gave the last ruble, which had no owner, to the beggars.

5. Misfortune Ermil. A long honest life allows us to call Ermil a lucky man. However, at the end of the story, the wanderers learn about his sad fate. Yermil is in prison, probably because he refused to persuade the rebel peasants to surrender.