Summary: "Non-lethal Golovan" N. S. Leskov. Analysis of the work

About artists, writers, scientists, when they want to show their isolation from ordinary citizens, they say: "They are terribly far from the people". This phrase is absolutely not suitable for characterizing the creativity of NS Leskov. Russian classic, on the contrary, is extremely close to ordinary citizens of his time - peasants (ordinary peasants and women).

He very accurately and in detail reproduces the inner world of his characters, which speaks not only of the outstanding talent of the writer, but also of a fantastic psychological flair and intellectual intuition. In what you can be sure, even after reading a work, only a brief summary. "Non-lethal Golovan" is a brilliantly written story.

Appearance of the main character

The time of action described in the story is the middle of the 19th century, the place of action is the city of Orel.

Warehouse Golovan was heroic: the growth in it was for 2 meters. Big hands, big head (hence, probably, a nickname). There was not a drop of fat in him, he was muscular and at the same time wide. Most of all, blue eyes stood out in his face , they were framed by large features and a large nose. His head was brunette. His beard and hair on his head were always neatly trimmed.

Occupation and environment of Golovan

Golovan had one bull and several cows. He lived by selling milk, cheese and cream to the masters. He himself was a peasant, but not serf, but free.

His affairs went so well that after he became free, Golovan freed three of his sisters and mother from the yoke of slavery, and he also placed in his house Pavel, a girl who did not belong to him, nevertheless she lived with the relatives closest to him Heroes of women under one roof. Evil tongues said that Paul is "the sin of Golovan."

How did Golovan become "non-lethal"?

In Orel, an epidemic was rampant, it was scary: cattle died, then, after getting infected from cattle, people died. And it was impossible to do anything, only one yard and some terrible animals did not touch terrible animals: the yard of Golovan and his bull and cows. In addition, the main character of the story earned the respect of local residents by walking around the houses of dying people and giving them milk. Milk did not help with the disease, but people at least did not die alone, all abandoned. And the daredevil himself did not fall ill with this. This is how the hero's exploits look in brief, if the reader is only interested in their brief content. "Nonfatal Golovan" is a story about an extraordinary person.

The creation of the myth of the "non-lethal" Golovan was influenced also by the fact that one day saw the pupil of the shepherd Panka. He drove the cattle to fast closer to the Orlik River, and the time was earlier, Panka fell asleep. Then he suddenly woke up and saw that the person from the opposite shore is walking on the water, as on the ground. The shepherd boy was surprised, and Golovan was the man. But it turned out that he was not walking on the water, but was riding at the gate, leaning on a long pole.

When Golovan crossed to the other shore, Panka wanted to ride on the gates to that shore and look at the house of the famous local resident. The shepherd just got to the desired point, as Golovan shouted that the one who led away his collar returned them. Panka was a coward and found shelter with fear and lay down there.

Golovan thought, thought, nothing to do, undressed, tied all his clothes in a knot, placed it on his head and swam to the house. The river was not very deep, but the water in it did not heat up yet. When Golovan climbed ashore, he already wanted to start dressing, when he suddenly noticed something under his knee on the calf. Meanwhile, a young mower appeared on the bank of the river. Golovan shouted to him, asked him to give him a scythe, and he himself sent the boy himself to pick him mugs. When the mower tore the mugs, Golovan in one fell swoop grabbed his calf on his leg and threw a piece of his body into the river. Believe it or not, but after that the epidemic stopped. And naturally, it was rumored that Golovan had not only maimed himself, but with a high purpose: he brought the victim to the disease.

Of course, N. S. Leskov wrote his story with great brilliance. "Non-lethal Golovan," however, is a work that is better read in the original, rather than in a concise statement.

Golovan is an agnostic

After that Golovan became a sorcerer and a wise man. To him went to consult, if there were any difficulties in the economy or in family matters. Golovan did not deny anyone and gave everyone calming answers. It is not known whether they helped or not, but people left him with the hope of an early resolution of their problems. At the same time no one could say for sure whether Golovan believes in the Christian God, whether he observes the canon.

When asked what kind of church he belongs to, Golovan answered: "I am from the parish of the Creator-Almighty." Of course, there was no such church in the city. But at the same time the hero of the tale behaved the same way as a true Christian: he did not refuse to help anyone, and even led a friendship with a star lover, whom everyone in the city thought was a fool. Such are the virtues of Golovan, their brief content. "Non-lethal Golovan" is a story about the bright ideal of a righteous man, not burdened with any particular belonging to a religious denomination.

The solution of the secret of Golovan

The author of the narrative (NS Leskov) after recounting the folk legends, in order not to torment the reader and independently to find out the truth, turns for truthful information to that person who personally knew the non-lethal Golovan - to his grandmother. And she answers him with all the questions that he set out in the work "The Unfading Head". The story ends with a conversation between my grandmother and grandson.

1. Paul was not the lover of Golovan, they lived with him in a spiritual, "angelic" marriage.
2. He cut off his leg because he noticed the first signs of the disease on the caviar and, knowing that there was no salvation from it, solved the problem radically.

Of course, if you read such a brilliant story as "The Unfatigable Golovan", a brief summary, then you can skip a lot, for example, the details of history or the magic and charm of the unique language of Leskov. Therefore, all readers of this article should familiarize themselves with the work in full, in order to feel the rhythm, "taste" and "color" of Leskov's prose. This is the summary. "Non-lethal Golovan" is the story of NS Leskov, which arouses interest in other works of the author.