The novel "Oblomov", written by the author, presents to the reader versatile characters. The female images in the work are complete opposites. and Agafya Pshenitsyna are antipodes. Literary scholars note life position Olga, the desire for self-improvement and constant development. The inner beauty of the heroine in the work is contrasted with the bourgeois love for the home and family of Agafya Pshenitsyna.
Agafya received negative reviews from the writer’s contemporaries and the public, who subsequently became acquainted with the novel. Pshenitsyna is close to the main character in spirit, but the sympathies of the audience always turned out to be on the side of Ilyinskaya. At the same time, the image of the second character is no less deep and multifaceted. The illusory happiness and love that he sought to find overtook him in his marriage to Agafya.
Biography and plot
Agafya Matveevna Pshenitsyna is the widow of an official and the illegitimate wife of the protagonist. The character's description begins with external description. She looked no more than 30 years old. The figure was distinguished by its fullness and whiteness of skin. The face did not stand out in anything remarkable: the eyebrows were inconspicuous, the eyes were unattractive, the expression did not reflect emotions. Only the woman’s hands betrayed her penchant for work. Until the appearance of Oblomov, her life was monotonous and devoid of bright events. The housewife had no education, talents or interests. Main value was a house that she kept immaculately.
Agafya fanatically managed her household affairs, realizing that there would always be work. Her activity prevented anyone from getting bored and wasting time. The character of the heroine and selfless devotion to ideals awakened love in Oblomov. Having become a lodger, Ilya Ilyich demonstrated how he could influence female nature. Laziness did not become an obstacle to the emergence new story love. Pshenitsyna was transformed. She not only became thoughtful, but also tried in every possible way to please her lover. Oblomov's clothes were always clean, the table was set in accordance with his wishes, and during moments of Ilya's illness, Agafya Matveevna did not leave the sick bedside.
The author wrote that with the advent of love in Pshenitsyna’s life, the entire household, like an organism, acquired a new meaning of life. The specificity of the image of Agafya Pshenitsyna is that she turns out to be the only decisive and unselfish person among Oblomov’s acquaintances. The heroine is ready to make sacrifices to help out her husband: she pawns jewelry, borrows from the family of her late husband, breaks ties with her brother, who is trying to involve Oblomov in intrigue.
In the union of Pshenitsyna and Oblomov, a son is born. The boy is not like Agafya Matveevna’s other children. He has no place in the family and, realizing this, after Oblomov’s death the child is transferred to foster care.
A woman’s love did not need material reinforcements and did not require changes in Ilya Ilyich’s personality. He was the best man for her. The connection between the characters was built not on fictitious attachments, but on the conscious similarity of characters and worldview.
Goncharov, describing the heroine, presents a dual image. This is a narrow-minded woman without ambitions or interests, whose social circle is servants and merchants. A weak-willed character, ready to live someone else’s life in the absence of his own ideals and ambitions. On the other hand, Pshenitsyna appears as a savior in the situation in which he found himself main character. This is a quiet housewife trying to hide her illiteracy, a believing home woman who protects Oblomov’s peace. Capable of sacrifice, she gives herself completely, showing natural femininity and finding happiness from the opportunity to be close to her loved one.
Relations with Agafya Matveevna become a healing balm for Oblomov after the vicissitudes of his relationship with Ilyinskaya. He receives the long-awaited peace and harmony. He is idolized and loved despite his nature and habits. The character of Pshenitsyna, depending on the reader’s perception of the main character of the work, evokes different feelings. Oblomov the lazy man provokes the appearance negative image Agafya, pandering to his shortcomings. Oblomov, an ordinary man who is not looking for movement and development, is happy with Agafya. For a simple bourgeois existence, Pshenitsyna turns out to be a suitable passion.
A comparison of Pshenitsyna and Ilyinskaya shows that the first is a character demonstrating Christian love. When wondering why it was not the brave Olga, but the quiet Agafya, who turned out to be closer to Oblomov, it is easy to get the answer:
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush".
Tortured by needs, Oblomov’s essence felt comfortable in bliss and adoration. The hero, incapable of fighting, turned out to be inclined to a simple way of existence.
Actresses
The role of Agafya Matveevna in films was performed by diverse artists. In the 1965 film of the same name, the role last love Oblomov was performed by Tamara Aleshina. Main role The character of the film “Heavenly Slug” - Masha Svetlova - became an actress in her career. The performer's appearance was conducive to her appointment to the role. Director Alexander Belinsky relied on the dramatic talent of the artist theater stage, thanks to which the image turned out to be deep and reliable.
Tamara Aleshina as Pshenitsyna In 1966, Italian film director Claudio Fino released a project called OBLOMOV. The role of Agafya Pshenitsyna went to Pina Chei. The artist is known for singing the title female roles in projects on classical literature.
In 1972, Soviet directors Oscar Remez and Galina Kholopova began filming the novel. The image of Agafya Pshenitsyna was embodied by Marina Kuznetsova.
The actresses who played the role of the named wife of Oblomov were distinguished by pleasant, but typical features faces. This matched the description of the heroine in the novel. The subtle nuance of the director’s plan emphasized Goncharov’s idea that for Oblomov, Pshenitsyna was not a simple housewife. She was more of a guardian angel who took responsibility for someone else's life and well-being.
- Agafya Pshenitsyna is not a random character in the novel. Its prototype is the image invented by the author to depict Oblomov’s mother. Avdotya Matveevna, like Agafya, has Old Russian name and a similar patronymic. A believer and kind woman personified caring for her son and home.
- Despite the desire to interpret Pshenitsyna’s character as negative, it is noteworthy that he is described in the traditions of Russian beauty. Overweight woman, which keeps the family hearth, is a symbol of the fertility of the Russian land and everything that attracts Oblomov in his native country.
- The system of images in the novel is curious: two men and two women opposed to each other find happiness based on the similarity of characters. Educated intellectuals find each other, guided by ambitions and aspirations. Their happiness seems feigned and incomplete. At the same time, ordinary people find peace and harmony in a family where respect for each other reigns.
Ivan Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov” was published in 1859, almost immediately exciting the writer’s contemporaries and interested critics in the complexity of the characters described and the ambiguity of the questions raised by the author. One of the leitmotifs of the novel is the theme of love, most clearly revealed through the image of the main character - Ilya Ilyich Oblomov. The reader is introduced to the character at the very beginning of the work as a dreamy, apathetic, lazy person who does not want to do anything. And if it weren’t for the feeling that suddenly flared up for Olga Ilyinskaya, most likely nothing significant would have happened in the hero’s fate. Oblomov’s love for Olga in his life became the turning point when a person must choose: to move on or leave everything as it is. Ilya Ilyich was not ready to change, so their relationship ended in separation. But spontaneous feelings were replaced by a quiet, peaceful life in the house of Agafya Pshenitsyna, which, nevertheless, led to early death Ilya Ilyich.
Oblomov’s two loves in Goncharov’s novel embodied two female images, two examples of the realization of feelings for to a loved one and two paths for the main character that had a tragic ending. Why was not a single woman able to pull Ilya Ilyich out of the swamp of “Oblomovism”? The answer lies in the characteristics of the characters of the heroines and the life priorities of Oblomov himself.
Oblomov and Olga Ilyinskaya
Olga and Oblomov’s feelings developed rapidly, almost from their first acquaintance the characters felt attracted to each other: Ilya Ilyich was fascinated by harmony, intelligence and inner beauty Ilyinskaya, and the girl was attracted by the kindness, complaisance and tenderness of the man. And it would seem strong feelings that flared up between the heroes could develop and become a help to a happy family life. However, differences in the characters' characters and different visions of an ideal life together led to the quick separation of Oblomov and Olga.
Ilya Ilyich saw in the girl the ideal of an “Oblomov” woman, capable of creating for him a calm home comfort, a life in which every day would be similar to the other, and that would be good - no shocks, misfortunes or worries. For Olga, this state of affairs was not only unacceptable, but also terrifying. The girl dreamed of changing Oblomov, eradicating all apathy and laziness in him, making him a bright, forward, active person. For Olga, the feelings themselves gradually faded into the background, while the leading role in the relationship became duty and the “highest” goal - to make Oblomov some semblance of her ideal. But Ilya Ilyich, perhaps due to his sensitivity, and perhaps because he was much older than the girl, was the first to understand that he could become a burden for her, a ballast that would pull her towards the hated “Oblomovism” and would not be able to give her that happiness which she dreams of.
The relationship between Oblomov and Olga Ilyinskaya was a spontaneous but fleeting feeling, as evidenced by the fact that they met in the spring and separated in late autumn. Their love was truly like a fragile lilac branch, which, having given the world its beauty, inevitably fades.
Oblomov and Agafya Pshenitsyna
The relationship between Oblomov and Agafya Pshenitsyna had a completely different character than the stormy, bright, memorable love between Ilya Ilyich and Olga. For the hero, the care of the soft, quiet, kind and thrifty Agafya acted as a healing balm, helping to restore mental strength after the tragic break with Ilyinskaya. Gradually, without noticing it, Oblomov fell in love with Pshenitsyna, and the woman fell in love with Ilya Ilyich. Unlike Olga, Agafya did not try to idealize her husband, she adored him for who he was, she was even ready to pawn her own jewelry so that he would not need anything, would always be well-fed and surrounded by warmth and comfort.
The love of Agafya and Oblomov became the very reflection of the hero’s illusions and dreams, to which he devoted many years, lying on the sofa in his apartment. Peace and tranquility, bordering on personality degradation, complete detachment from the world around us and gradual dying, were the hero’s main life goal, Oblomov’s “paradise” without which he felt unfulfilled and unhappy, but which ultimately destroyed him.
Oblomov, Agafya and Olga: the intersection of three destinies
Olga and Agafya in the novel “Oblomov” are two female characters contrasted by the author. Ilyinskaya is the image of a modern, future-oriented, feminized girl who has her own personal opinion on everything, while Pshenitsyna is the embodiment of a truly Russian woman, a homemaker who obeys her husband in everything. For Olga, love was closely connected with a sense of duty, the obligation to change Oblomov, while Agafya adored Ilya Ilyich, without even thinking that she might not like anything about him.
Oblomov’s love for two important women in his life was also different. The hero felt a really strong feeling for Olga, completely enveloping him, which forced him to even temporarily abandon his usual, lazy way of life and begin to act. For Agafya, he had a completely different love - similar to a feeling of gratitude and respect, calm and not disturbing the soul, like their whole life together.
Love for Olga was a challenge for Oblomov, a kind of test, having passed which, even if the lovers had separated anyway, perhaps he could have changed, freed from the shackles of “Oblomovism” and begun to live a full life, active life. The hero did not want to change, did not want to give up his dreams and illusions, and that is why he remains with Pshenitsyna, even when Stolz offers to take him with him.
Conclusion
The main reason for Ilya Ilyich’s wallowing in “Oblomovism” and the gradual disintegration of him as a person lie not in Agafya’s excessive concern, but in the hero himself. Already at the beginning of the work, he does not behave like a person interested in the world around him, his soul has long lived in the world of dreams, and he himself does not even try to return to real life. Love, as a reviving feeling, should have awakened the hero, freed him from Oblomov’s half-asleep, however, it was already too late (remember the words of Olga, who said that he had long since died). Depicting Oblomov’s love for Olga, and then for Agafya, Goncharov provides the reader with a wide field for reflection on the nature and meaning of love in the life of every person, the importance of this feeling in the fate of the reader himself.
The presented material will be useful to 10th grade students before writing an essay on the topic “Love in the life of Oblomov.”
Work test
Introduction
In the novel “Oblomov,” Goncharov portrayed two contrasting and completely different female images – Olga Ilyinskaya and Agafya Pshenitsyna. And if Olga, from the very publication of the work, attracted critics with her active position, continuous self-development and inner beauty, Agafya received unjustified condemnation from both her contemporaries and the writer’s descendants. However, the image of Pshenitsyna in Oblomov has no less depth than the image of Ilyinskaya, because according to the plot of the novel, it was with her that Ilya Ilyich found his long-awaited, albeit illusory, happiness.
The importance of Agafya in the system of characters in the novel is also indicated by the fact that the prototype of the heroine was Goncharov’s own mother, Avdotya Matveevna, who was just as kind, a believer, and with all her nature aimed at caring for the family. Pshenitsyna attracts with her truly Russian beauty: full elbows, curvaceous forms that could serve as a model for a painter or sculptor for a masterpiece, greyish-simple eyes and a bright blush on her full cheeks. She is like the ideal of a Russian peasant woman, straight out of artists’ paintings.
Peculiarities of the image of Agafya in “Oblomov”
The characterization of Pshenitsyna in the novel “Oblomov,” as well as the other characters, is ambiguous. On the one hand, the author portrays to readers a simple, uneducated woman whose interests are limited to housekeeping, cooking and communication with servants and food sellers. It’s as if she doesn’t have her own opinion, inner core and strong will - for Agafya, the opinion of her brother, and then Oblomov, replaces her own and she begins to live as a different person, completely devoting herself to him. To any question that concerned a sphere of life that was distant to her, the woman answered with a grin or silence - they were the accepted form for her, behind which Pshenitsyna covered up her ignorance and lack of education.
On the other hand, Agafya is portrayed by Goncharov as a kind of bright angel, protecting her lover from any adversity, grief and sorrow. Pshenitsyna is a wonderful housewife, a kind, modest, quiet and deeply religious woman, but not in the Christian, but in the truly Orthodox sense. For Agafya, the main happiness in life is Oblomov’s well-being, for which she continues to live, essentially sacrificing herself to another person, his ideals and ideas about happiness. But it is precisely this sacrifice and dedication of herself to another that is true happiness for the heroine, allowing her feminine nature to reveal itself and find the meaning of her life. It is noteworthy that of all the characters, only Pshenitsyna finds true, not illusory happiness, while neither Stolz with his calculations, nor Olga with her high requirements to his beloved, neither the dreamy Oblomov finds it or does not live it to the fullest. Goncharov seems to lead the reader to a paradox: smart, educated, successful people in society and career are inferior to a simple believing woman who lives with an all-encompassing feeling of love.
Is Pshenitsyna's love destructive?
The relationship between Oblomov and Pshenitsyna becomes for the hero after the break with Olga a safe haven, finding peace, tranquility and that “Oblomov” happiness that he had dreamed of for many years. Agafya surrounded him with care and love, unquestioningly fulfilling all his wishes and ready to do anything for her husband. Her love was not based on friendship or respect for Oblomov, but on his complete adoration, almost deification. The woman loved him not for something (as was the case in her relationship with Olga, who loved only certain traits in Oblomov, not accepting others), but simply for the fact that she could be close to her husband and feel his gratitude for her care.
According to literary critics, the character of Pshenitsyna’s love can have different shades of definition depending on how the reader relates to Oblomov and what he sees the meaning of his life. If we consider Ilya Ilyich as a prototype of a true Russian person, that mythical “Emelya” who sits on the stove and waits for a breakthrough that can turn his life around, then, of course, Agafya’s love is a negative phenomenon in the hero’s life. The pacifying, pseudo-happy atmosphere of “Oblomovism” and inaction that reigns in Pshenitsyna’s house becomes the reason for the quick death of the hero, who refuses even to follow the doctor’s recommendations, plunging more and more into the illusory, beautiful world dreams and half-asleep. However, Oblomov can also be considered as a typical person, an everyman, to whom the aspirations and need to constantly develop, inherent in Stolz and Olga, are actually alien, but are close to the familiar family values, routine calm and well-being. In this case, Agafya is the very woman Oblomov always dreamed of, and her love becomes a healing balm for the hero, exhausted after his relationship with Olga.
Conclusion
Agafya Matveevna Pshenitsyna in the novel “Oblomov” is the kindest and most Christian loving character. Despite her simplicity and lack of education, a woman is the bearer of an infinitely tender, all-encompassing feeling that does not require anything in return, which has become the main meaning of her life. At the end of the work, the author does not make final conclusions about the image of Agafya, but it is obvious that for Goncharov she is an attractive and undeniably positive character, introduced into the novel to contrast with Oblomov, Stolz and Olga, who are constantly looking for something within themselves or in the world around them.
Work test
The minor character of Agafya Matveevna Pshenitsyna is one of the characteristic female images works and is the complete opposite of the main character of the novel, Olga Ilyinskaya.
The author portrays the heroine as a real Russian woman of curvaceous figure, deeply religious. Agafya is described as a beautiful housewife who loves cleanliness and home comfort, a kind, modest, submissive wife of the main character Oblomov.
The woman is not educated at all and is not informed about many life issues; she has a very narrow outlook, but at the same time she knows how to skillfully hide it, preferring either to remain silent or to smile sweetly. Agafya's interests are limited to housekeeping, working in the kitchen, communicating with servants or merchants.
The writer focuses on positive qualities a heroine who surrounded her husband with love and constant care, protecting him from any problems and worries. This is exactly that quiet, calm haven, the long-awaited, peaceful happiness that Oblomov has dreamed of all his life.
Agafya's love for Oblomov is significantly different from the feeling that Olga had for him. Pshenitsyna loves her husband not for anything, but for the opportunity to be next to him and feel his sincere gratitude for her self-sacrifice for him.
The main character, exhausted by his relationship with Olga Ilyinskaya, finds calm well-being with his devoted Agafya, plunging into the routine of his illusory dreamy world. On the other hand, the image of Pshenitsyna illustrates and reveals the drama life ideals Oblomov, stuck in the abyss of inaction and laziness. It's the calming atmosphere family life, created by Agafya for her beloved husband, and at the end of the novel leads to sudden death Oblomov, who refuses to follow doctors’ recommendations. The couple gives birth to a son, whom Agafya adores, but decides to give Oblomov’s friends Stolts to raise, because she believes that only they can give the child of an extraordinary person the necessary upbringing and education.
Narrating the life of Oblomov with Agafya, the writer involuntarily compares Pshenitsyna with Ilyinskaya and reveals the paradoxical truth that an ordinary believing woman, embraced by a comprehensive feeling of love, is superior in everything to a successful, educated, intelligent career woman, and can be completely happy in her selfless love.
Essay Characteristics and image of Agafya Pshenitsyna
In the novel “Oblomov” by Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov, Agafya Matveevna Pshenitsyna is a minor character. female character. Agafya Matveevna is a simple Russian woman, she is uneducated and very often communicates with servants and food vendors. Pshenitsyna is very kind and gives herself entirely to her loved ones. Until she became Oblomov’s wife, she devotes herself entirely to her brother and it may even seem that Agafya Matveevna does not have her own opinion and is living someone else’s life.
Goncharov decided to make a contrast between the heroines Olga and Agafya, if Olga values more material goods, then Pshenitsyna more people mental organization. If Agafya Matveevna did not know the answer to some question, she simply remained silent or smiled sweetly at her interlocutor.
The writer described Agafya Matveevna Pshenitsa as an angel and savior for her men, brother and Oblomov. She is a very thrifty and wise woman who has always tried to protect her man and create comfort and coziness for him. She liked that Oblomov felt comfortable next to her, because that’s what she tried for.
Oblomov was a very lazy person who loved to eat, Agafya Matveevna prepared all sorts of goodies for Oblomov and tried to please him in this. Perhaps it was this sacrifice and giving of oneself entirely to Oblomov that made Pshenitsyna truly happy.
Agafya Matveevna was happy next to such an unusual person like Oblomov, she devoted herself entirely to him and it touched her. She protects him from any grief and adversity and takes on all the work that she can. Agafya Matveevna is a believing woman and this faith helped her to be happy.
Ivan Aleksandrovich emphasized that, despite the heroine’s lack of education, she became happy, which cannot be said about the other characters in the novel. We can definitely say that Agafya Matveevna Pshenitsyna positive character. Pshenitsyna sets an example of endless love for people and everything that surrounds her. Unlike the other heroes of the novel, she did not chase money and found her happiness. Ivan Aleksandrovich uses as an example an ordinary Russian woman who has an infinite soul and is ready to sacrifice herself for the sake of love.
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Few people think about the future since childhood, but not me. My parents constantly pour love into me and instill the right values in me. Thanks to them, I am dreamy and know exactly what I want.
After some time, Oblomov meets another woman who loves him with selfless, sacrificial love, and takes all care of him - this is the widow Agafya Matveevna. What role does she play in Oblomov’s life? Remembering her image, we can say with confidence that she is the living embodiment of his ideal. She attracts Oblomov with her continuous activity. She has some kind of Russian beauty. Agafya Matveevna, unlike Olga, does not shine with a special mind and does not know how to sing “Casta Diva” so wonderfully, but, having fallen in love
Oblomov once, she is ready to give him her whole life. Agafya Matveevna is much simpler than Olga, but only with this woman does Oblomov find his human happiness. In the house on the Vyborg side, Agafya Matveevna takes on all the household chores of Ilya Ilyich. For Ilya Ilyich, this was the fulfillment of his dream. He begins to live the way he likes: lying on the sofa, eating, drinking, sleeping has become much more pleasant and convenient than always “spinning” in the service, like Sudbinsky, than writing accusatory articles, like Penkin. His life flowed calmly, without external worries and worries.
“It’s as if an invisible hand planted it, like a precious plant, in the shade from the heat, under a roof from the rain, and is caring for and nurturing it.”
In essence, we can say that the house on the Vyborg side is the same Oblomovka. And Agafya Matveevna is the same Zakhar.
“The trusty eye of the housewife looked after the fish so that, God forbid, it would not be overcooked; the greens in the salad were the freshest. The dust has been swept away from the mirror and chairs. The room was always clean with a fresh morning smell.”
What could make the master fall in love with a simple woman, the widow of a college assessor, who knew nothing but how to make the life of her loved one very comfortable? It seems to me that after Ilya Ilyich broke up with Olga Ilyinskaya, Ilya Oblomov’s heart was broken. But it would be unfair to say that Oblomov died for all noble and great purposes, burying himself alive on the Vyborg side. Everything seemed to be overgrown, flooded, covered with the patina of time in it. Only one thing remained untouched in Ilya, pure and clear, as it had been for many years. This miracle was Oblomov’s soul, not dusty and transparent, like a crystal vessel, inside of which living water. Love in Oblomov’s life was both tragic and beautiful. The tragedy lies in his break with Olga Ilyinskaya, who led him to inner experiences. And she is beautiful because he finally found happiness with Agafya Matveevna, but his happiness lies in peace and humility. As a result of their love, little Andryushka is born, whom Stolz takes into his upbringing, and, probably, will make him the “future” Stolz, directing all his strength to mechanical labor, which Oblomov was so afraid of.
