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 completely unsuitable for characterizing the work of N. S. Leskov. The 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 heroes, which speaks not only of the extraordinary talent of the writer, but also of a fantastic psychological instinct and intellectual intuition. What can be seen, even after reading this or that work only a brief summary. The Non-Deadly Golovan is a brilliantly written short story.
The appearance of the protagonist
The duration of the action described in the story is the middle of the 19th century, the scene is the city of Oryol.
Golovan’s warehouse was heroic: growth in it was over 2 meters. Big hands, big head (hence, probably, the nickname). There was not a drop of fat in him, he was muscular and yet wide. Most of all, blue eyes stood out in his face , they were framed by large features and a large nose. Golovan was a brunette. His beard and hair on his head were always trimmed neatly.
Profession and environment 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 a serf, but free.
His affairs went so well that after he became free, Golovan freed his three sisters and mother from the yoke of slavery, and also settled in his house Pavel, a girl who was not his kin, nevertheless she lived with those closest to him. a hero by women under one roof. Evil tongues said that Paul is "the sin of Golovan."
How did Golovan become “non-lethal”?
An epidemic was rampant in Orel, it was scary: cattle died, then, after being infected by cattle, people died. And nothing could be done, only one yard and some animals did not touch the terrible ailment: the yard of Golovan and his bull and cows. In addition, the main character of the tale earned the respect of local residents by walking around the homes of the dying and giving them milk. Milk did not help from the disease, but people at least did not die alone, abandoned by all. And the daredevil himself did not get sick. This is how heroic deeds look in brief, if the reader is only interested in their brief content. “The Non-Fatal Golovan” is a story about an extraordinary man.
The creation of the myth of the "non-fatal" Golovan was also influenced by what the pupil of the shepherd Pank saw one morning. He drove the cattle fasting closer to the Orlik River, and the time was earlier, Panka fell asleep. Then he suddenly woke up and saw that a man from the opposite shore was walking along the water, like on the ground. The shepherd marveled, and this man was Golovan. But it turned out that he was not walking with his feet in the water, but riding on the gates, leaning on a long pole.
When Golovan crossed over to the other side, Panka himself wanted to ride on the gate to that shore and look at the house of the famous local resident. The shepherd only got to the desired point when Golovan shouted that the one who stole his collar would return them. Panka was a coward and, with fear, found shelter and lay there.
Golovan thought and thought, there was nothing to do, undressed, tied all his clothes in a knot, placed on his head and swam to the house. The river was not very deep, but the water in it had not warmed up yet. When Golovan got ashore, he already wanted to start dressing, when he suddenly noticed something under his knee on his calf. Meanwhile, a young mower came ashore. Golovan shouted to him, asked to give him a scythe, and he sent the boy himself to pick up burdocks. 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 has stopped. And of course, there was a rumor that Golovan did not just cripple himself, but with a high purpose: he brought ailments to the victim.
Of course, N. S. Leskov wrote his story with great brilliance. The Non-Deadly Golovan, however, is a work that is best read in the original source, and not in a summary.
Golovan - agnostic
After that, Golovan became a healer and a sage. They went to consult him if there were any difficulties in the household or in family affairs. Golovan did not refuse anyone and gave everyone soothing answers. It is not known whether they helped or not, but people left him with the hope of an early resolution of their problems. Moreover, no one could say for sure whether Golovan believes in the Christian God, whether he observes the canon.
When asked what church he belongs to, Golovan answered: "I am from the parish of the creator-almighty." Of course, such a church was not in the city. But at the same time, the hero of the tale behaved in the same way as a true Christian: he refused no help and even made friends with a lover of stars, whom everyone in the city considered a fool. These are the virtues of Golovan, their summary. “The Non-Fatal Golovan” is a story about the bright ideal of a righteous man who was not burdened with any particular religious affiliation.
The answer to the mystery of Golovan
The author of the story (N. S. Leskov), after retelling folk legends, so as not to torment the reader and independently find out the truth, turns to the person who personally knew the non-fatal Golovan - for his grandmother. And she answers him all the questions that he posed in the work "Non-Fatal Golovan." The story ends with a conversation between grandmother and grandson.
- Pavel was not Golovan’s mistress, they lived with him in a spiritual, “angelic” marriage.
- And he chopped off his leg, because he noticed the first signs of the disease on the calf and, knowing that there was no escape from it, he solved the problem radically.
Of course, if you read such a brilliant story as “The Deadly Golovan”, a brief summary, you can miss a lot of things, for example, the details of the story or the magic and charm of Leskov’s unique language. Therefore, all readers of this article need to familiarize themselves with the work in full to feel the rhythm, "taste" and "color" of Leskov's prose. This is the summary. “The Non-Fatal Golovan” is a story by N. S. Leskov, arousing interest in other works of the author.