Women are delicate creatures, but they cannot be surpassed in treachery. This is confirmed by examples from life. And the geniuses of dramaturgy and prose devoted their creations to this topic. The first to speak of female cunning and cruelty was William Shakespeare. Nikolai Leskov used the dramatic image in creating the essay “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk”. An analysis of this work, however, suggests that the Russian classic revealed the topic more deeply. After all, he devoted his uncontrollable female love, which is stronger than reason and moral laws.
History of creation
Leskov defined his work as an essay. This genre is a cross between fiction and journalism. By the nature of his activity, the writer had some relation to judicial criminal cases. And, perhaps, one of them formed the basis of the plot. Although there is no direct evidence for this.
The Epoch Magazine is a periodical in which Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk County first appeared. The analysis of this work of art is necessary, first of all, in order to understand how the author saw the power of the female Russian character. After all, the writer later planned to devote a number of works to this topic. However, the essay in question in this article was the first and last.
The title of the work is an allusion to the name of the Turgenev story “Hamlet of Shchigrovsky Uyezd”.
Katerina Izmailova
Who is Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk? An analysis of this heroine allows us to conclude that this is a woman who is devoid of any moral foundation, and blind passion takes predominant place in her life. Her name is Izmailova Katerina Lvovna.
She is twenty-three years old, and by origin she is a peasant. Five years before the events described in the sketch, Katerina successfully married a middle-aged man, a representative of the merchant estate. Her life is impossibly boring, because there is nothing in her soul - one void. For five years, the Izmailov’s child did not make money. The narrator, however, mentions that Katerina’s husband did not have children either from his first marriage.
A woman who is completely devoid of any attractive spiritual qualities is Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. The analysis of this character should be done on the basis of her actions and events, which are depicted in the work, as well as on the basis of the artistic means that the author uses to more deeply reveal her character. But first, it should be said about the main feature of this nature - it is poorly educated and far from the Christian religion. This gives reason to believe that crazy passion took possession of it because of mental ugliness, moral inferiority.
Sergei
Katerina Lvovna’s husband left for a long time and left her in the house with his father Boris Timofeevich. The young woman in the absence of her husband liked the impudent handsome worker. She had not seen him before, but learned some facts from his biography from the cook. It turns out that Sergey just appeared at the Izmailovs recently. And in the same place I could not stay for a long time because of a love affair with the hostess there. But Katerina Lvovna is not only not embarrassed by this information, but even, on the contrary, is intriguing, which does not speak in favor of her moral character.
First kill
Between Sergey and Izmaylova the kind of relationship is quickly established, because of which Sergey was recently expelled from his former home. And Katerina Lvovna experiences happiness for the first time in her life. She had never thought about this before. She lived with her unloved middle-aged husband and was unbearably bored. But man cannot lead an aimless existence. And if after a long stagnation he suddenly acquires the meaning of life, he is afraid of losing it above all.
And therefore, when the father-in-law found out about Katerina’s love affair with Sergey, she, without thinking twice, poisoned Boris Timofeevich with rat poison. He and Sergey hid the body in the cellar.
Second kill
As it was said by the great English playwright - "He who began with evil will be mired in him." Sergei, realizing that all the actions of Katerina Lvovna now depend only on him, convinces her that he cannot continue to be in unlawful communication with her. He wants her to become his wife. It should be said that a young man knows how to influence the human soul. It belongs to the type of immoral men who live off their talent to fall in love with women. Playing the role of a jealous lover and convincing her that he wants to become her legal husband, he clearly realizes himself in subsequent events.
When her husband returns and accuses Katerina of “cupids,” she, not embarrassed at all, calls to Sergei and confesses to the criminal connection. And then begins to choke him. Sergei, of course, comes to her aid. What feelings does Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk feel after the atrocity? Analysis of the work can be carried out in parallel with the characterization of Shakespeare's heroine. If you compare these characters, you can find common features: coldness, restraint and determination. But Izmaylova commits atrocity not out of selfish considerations and ambition, but solely because of her painful passion.
Sergey and Katerina
Surprisingly, the reaction of the accomplices is different. After the murder, Sergey seems to have ghosts. Katerina does not feel any remorse. During the murder, his lips tremble, he beats a fever. She is calm, although later she sees disturbing dreams. However, this does not say at all that Sergey has a more subtle mental order.
Katerina Lvovna violated the law of morality. She lost her spiritual beginning and is no longer able to stop. Izmailov and after the murder of her husband is capable of anything to keep happiness. To love and be loved at all costs is now the great goal of her life. And the state of her soul is on the verge of madness. Sergei is a scoundrel. His actions are not led by feeling, but by calculation. His life, unlike the life of his accomplice, will not stop after the atrocities committed. And therefore, he discovers a certain anxiety, which, however, is by no means a consequence of remorse.
Life without a husband
The second murder does not overshadow Katerina’s happiness. They are looking for Zinovy Borisovich, but meanwhile she is not particularly keen to create the image of a inconsolable widow. This distinguishes the heroine of the essay "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk County" from similar characters. Analysis of the work can be briefly done on the basis of final events. Already in the first days of meeting with Sergey, her spiritual world radically changed. She is led exclusively by the call of the flesh. The state of the heroine of the story of Leskov resembles a serious illness, mental disorder. And when later, in hard labor, Sergei rejects her, she takes her life.
But returning to the events preceding the arrest, we should continue the analysis of the story “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk County”, comparing the main character with a new character - Feday. This hero is opposed to Katerina, represents the image of a martyr, almost an angel, whose destruction means committing the most terrible sin.
Fedya
The boy is the only legal heir to the murdered husband. At the time when he arrives at the Izmailov’s house, Katerina is already expecting a baby. But even this fact does not deter her from murder. However, it should be said that this time Sergey is the initiator. Persuading an accomplice that the boy was the only obstacle to their great happiness, he expresses the idea of the need to get rid of him. And only for a moment the soul of the expectant mother comes to life. The decisive role is played in the plot of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by love.
An analysis of this work leads to the idea of how ambiguous this word is. The term “love” is understood as an extremely wide range of feelings. And for Katerina Lvovna, it means crazy blind passion, which leads not only to killings. She destroys the soul of the heroine. And most importantly - it kills a woman and mother in her.
Fedya is a God-fearing boy. On the day of the murder, he reads the life of one of the saints. His image is a symbol of the final moral death of Izmailova. And after his murder, a woman is deprived not only of freedom, but also of maternal feelings. A child born before being sent to hard labor does not cause any response in her soul.
A very peculiar assessment of the Russian female soul gave Leskov. “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk County” (the analysis is presented in this article) is a work based on the author’s idea of the nature of a commoner. At the end of the story, the heroine dies, while destroying her rival. This does not make her image more attractive.
The essay provoked a negative reaction in society. The idea of the character of a Russian woman did not harmonize with the mood prevailing in Russia in the second half of the nineteenth century.
According to revolutionary democratic ideas, the “simple man” was a deliverer, possessing all kinds of virtues. The writer, however, insisted that the psychological type depicted by him in the essay cannot be ignored, because he still exists. Animal simplicity, stupidity and lack of spirituality can make a person a criminal. Just one spark is enough. For the heroine of the essay, love became this spark. But there are others — revenge, resentment, desire for profit or the desire to assert oneself.