The outstanding novelist Nikolai Semenovich Leskov at the very beginning of his career was more known as Stebnitsky. It was his literary pseudonym. A summary of the "Old Genius" will present to the reader another famous work of this author. It was written in 1884.
What helps people help
How often many people have heard the phrase: "Do not do good - you will not get evil." It happened in this work of Leskov. It is from this case that the summary of The Old Genius begins. An elderly landowner mortgaged her home to lend money to a certain high society dandy.
At first glance, this person had an impeccable reputation. He wore one of the most famous surnames, held an excellent position in society and had a good rank with a considerable salary. Moreover, the woman knew well the mother of this dandy. This was the last compelling reason that prompted the landowner to lend him money.
Return money or stay homeless
Having received a considerable amount, the debtor went to Petersburg. But when the time came to repay the borrowed money, he began to hide from an elderly landowner. The unfortunate woman tried her best to return the borrowed amount, but all to no avail. It was time to buy the house she mortgaged, and there was nothing to do.
Together with the old landowner lived her daughter, who was an invalid, and her granddaughter. And the whole family was now in danger of being left without a roof over their heads. Of course, they did not have money to buy their own, stupidly mortgaged house. And the debtor himself continued to hide. So begins his work Leskov N. S. "The Old Genius" - this is a story describing the behavior and actions of people, which can often be found in everyday life.
Where to find justice, or a trip to St. Petersburg
In order not to stay in the open air, the poor old woman had to go to Petersburg in search of her debtor. She asked her neighbor to look after her sick daughter and granddaughter. Arriving in the city, she immediately went to court. At first, everything went very well. The decision was made in her favor, and the old woman was glad that she would soon receive her money back. But from this moment, another difficulty began.
In order to enforce the court decision, it was necessary to force the debtor to sign on some official paper. And since he had great connections, no one could do this. And everyone explained that it was better for the old landowner to forget about this duty altogether. As it turned out, the unfortunate grandmother was not the first victim to fall into the dexterous networks of this fraudster. But she did not believe these stories, thinking that in fact her debtor was a good person. It just happened in his life. What will the summary of the "Old Genius" tell you later?
Time is running out, or meeting with a genius
Grandmother did not lose hope and continued to upholster the thresholds of other instances. But all told her the same thing: catch your debtor, let him sign the paper, and the matter will be decided. But how to do that? And here a new character appears. It will be further described by a summary.
Leskov, whose old genius is a certain Ivan Ivanovich, begins to talk about him quite superficially. This man suggested that her grandmother, for five hundred rubles, solve her problem, that is, force a fraudster to sign a paper. And who he is, where he works and what position he holds, while the reader is not aware. He himself considered himself a genius, and an elderly landowner believed him. But still I decided to wait a little longer.
Time is up, or Stranger's Help
A brief summary of the "Old Genius" continues to describe the torment of an old woman who no longer has time. She found out that her house is for sale. Once she nevertheless caught her debtor, but this did not lead to anything. He did not sign the paper. But the landowner was informed that the next day this dandy was sent abroad with his girlfriend. The woman had no choice but to pay Ivan Ivanovich for help.
What events are described below in summary? Leskov, whose old genius came up with a cunning plan, did not leave the poor old woman penniless. Ivan Ivanovich with an elderly landowner went in search of some mysterious assistant. Allegedly, without his help it was impossible to do in this matter.
The old woman could not understand anything at first and simply trusted the old genius. Having diligently traveled around several places where the person they needed could be located, Ivan Ivanovich finally found a suitable candidate and sent him to the bathhouse. And the exhausted old woman sent to rest.
How does the full content end? "The Old Genius" (Leskov N. S.): the last pages of the work
Waking up the next morning, the old genius watered the found assistant with vodka. And after a while the three of them went to the station, from where the fraudster, who had deceived the old woman, was supposed to leave. Soon the landowner saw how he appeared with his girlfriend and began to drink tea with pleasure. The old genius (a brief summary of the chapters will describe precisely this fragment as detailed as possible) ordered his assistant to act.
This man began to walk around the tea-drinking crook. First forward, then back. And so several times. Finally, stopping by the old woman’s debtor, he grossly asked him why he was looking so oddly. To this, the fraudster very calmly said that he was just busy drinking tea. But the assistant did not lag behind, diligently trying to provoke a scandal. And then, quite unexpectedly, he gave the unlucky dandy three slaps in the face.
Naturally, they called the police, and then they presented this scammer, who had deceived the unfortunate landowner, the paper that he had to sign. The debtor needed to go abroad, but with such a debt he would not have been released. Therefore, he preferred to pay immediately.
Thus, Leskov N. S. restored justice in his work. The old genius, who came up with such a cunning plan in a seemingly hopeless situation, can rightfully be admired. And not only with the old landowner, but also with any reader who carefully followed the story.