Old woman Anna lies motionless, without opening her eyes; it has almost frozen, but life still glimmers. The daughters understand this by raising a piece to their lips broken mirror. It fogs up, which means mom is still alive. However, Varvara, one of Anna’s daughters, believes it is possible to mourn, to “voice her back,” which she selflessly does first at the bedside, then at the table, “wherever it is more convenient.” At this time, my daughter Lucy is sewing a funeral dress tailored in the city. Sewing machine chirps in time with Varvara's sobs.
Anna is the mother of five children, two of her sons died, the first, born one for God, the other for the soar. Varvara came to say goodbye to her mother from the regional center, Lyusya and Ilya from nearby provincial towns.
Anna can't wait for Tanya from distant Kyiv. And next to her in the village was always her son Mikhail, along with his wife and daughter. Gathering around the old woman on the morning of the next day after her arrival, the children, seeing their mother revived, do not know how to react to her strange revival.
“Mikhail and Ilya, having brought vodka, now did not know what to do: everything else seemed trivial to them in comparison, they toiled, as if passing through every minute.” Huddled in the barn, they get drunk with almost no snacks, except for the food that Mikhail’s little daughter Ninka carries for them. This causes legitimate female anger, but the first glasses of vodka give men a feeling of genuine celebration. After all, the mother is alive. Ignoring the girl collecting empty and unfinished bottles, they no longer understand what thought they want to drown out this time, maybe it’s fear. “The fear from the knowledge that the mother is about to die is not like all the previous fears that befall them in life, because this fear is the most terrible, it comes from death... It seemed that death had already noticed them all in the face and had already won't forget again."
Having gotten thoroughly drunk and feeling the next day as if they had been put through a meat grinder, Mikhail and Ilya are thoroughly hungover the next day. “How can you not drink?” says Mikhail. “Laziness, second, even for a week, it’s still possible. And if you don’t drink at all until your death? Just think, there’s nothing ahead. It’s all the same thing. How many ropes are holding us and at work and at home, you can’t help but groan, you should have done so much and didn’t do it, you should, should, should, should, and the further you go, the more you should - let it all go to waste. He did what he needed to do. And what he didn’t do, he shouldn’t have done, and he did the right thing in what he didn’t do.” This does not mean that Mikhail and Ilya do not know how to work and have never known any other joy than from drunkenness. In the village where they all once lived together, there was a common work - “friendly, inveterate, loud, with a discord of saws and axes, with the desperate hooting of fallen timber, echoing in the soul with enthusiastic anxiety with the obligatory banter with each other. Such work happens. Once during the firewood harvesting season - in the spring, so that they have time to dry over the summer, yellow pine logs with thin silky skin, pleasant to the eye, are placed in neat woodpiles." These Sundays are organized for oneself, one family helps another, which is still possible. But the collective farm in the village is falling apart, people are leaving for the city, there is no one to feed and raise livestock.
Remembering her former life, the city dweller Lyusya with great warmth and joy imagines her beloved horse Igrenka, on which “slam a mosquito, he will fall down,” which in the end happened: the horse died. Igren carried a lot, but couldn’t handle it. Wandering around the village through the fields and arable land, Lucy realizes that she does not choose where to go, that she is being guided by some outsider who lives in these places and professes her power. ...It seemed that life had returned back, because she, Lucy, had forgotten something here, had lost something very valuable and necessary for her, without which she could not...
While the children drink and indulge in memories, the old woman Anna, having eaten the children's semolina porridge specially cooked for her, cheers up even more and goes out onto the porch. She is visited by her long-awaited friend Mironikha. “Oti-moti! Are you, old lady, in any way alive? - says Mironikha. - Why is death not taking you?
Anna grieves that among the children gathered at her bedside there is no Tatyana, Tanchora, as she calls her. Tanchora was not like any of the sisters. She stood, as it were, between them with her special character, soft and joyful, human. Without waiting for her daughter, the old woman decides to die. “She had nothing more to do in this world and there was no point in postponing death. While the guys are here, let them bury them, carry them out, as is customary among people, so that they don’t have to return to this concern another time. Then, you see, Tanchora will come too.. The old woman thought about death many times and knew it as herself. last years they became friends, the old woman often talked to her, and death, sitting somewhere on the side, listened to her reasonable whisper and sighed knowingly. They agreed that the old woman would go away at night, first fall asleep, like all people, so as not to frighten death with open eyes, then she will quietly snuggle, take away her short worldly sleep and give her eternal peace." And so it all turns out.
The plot of V. Rasputin's story is built around the preparation for the death of the old woman Anna. Almost all her children gathered at her bedside. Only her beloved daughter Tatyana, whom her mother affectionately calls Tanchora, did not arrive.
Anna wants all her children to have time to say goodbye to her. Unexpectedly for those around her, the old woman feels better. She can now leave the house and eat. Anna's children, who expected the worst, feel bewildered. Sons Ilya and Mikhail decide to get drunk so that the vodka prepared for the funeral does not “stand idle.” Intoxicated, the brothers begin to talk about life. It turns out that she stopped bringing them joy. Work is no longer fun. Hopes for a bright future have long been abandoned; routine absorbs more and more every day. Mikhail and Ilya love and know how to work. But for some reason, right now, work does not bring the desired satisfaction. Their sister Lyusya, taking advantage of the fact that her mother temporarily ceased to need outside help, goes for a walk around the neighborhood. She remembers her childhood and her favorite horse. Having become an adult, the woman left her native place. It seems to Lucy that she left something very important in her native village, without which it is impossible to live.
Anna continues to wait for her beloved daughter Tanchora. She is saddened that Tanya did not come. Tanchora was sharply different from her sisters Vari and Lucy. My beloved daughter had a very kind and gentle character. Without waiting, the old woman decides to die. She doesn't want to linger in this world. Anna does not find a place for herself in her new life.
Old woman Anna
The elderly woman lived a long and difficult life. A mother of many children raised her children worthy people. She is confident that she has fully fulfilled her purpose.
Anna - a real mistress own life. And not only life, but also death. The old woman herself made the decision about when to leave this world. She does not tremble before death, does not beg her to prolong her earthly existence. Anna awaits death as a guest, and does not feel any fear of it.
Old woman Anna considers children her main asset and pride. The woman does not notice that she has long become indifferent to them. Each of them has their own life, each is busy with themselves. What upsets the old woman most of all is the absence of her beloved daughter Tanchora. Neither the main character nor the reader knew the reason why she did not come. Despite everything, Tanya remains her mother’s beloved daughter. If she couldn't come, then there were good reasons for that.
Invisible girlfriend
Death is Anna's invisible and silent interlocutor. The reader feels her presence throughout the entire story. Anna does not see death as an enemy from which she needs to hide or defend. The old woman managed to make friends with her constant companion.
Death as a natural phenomenon
Death is presented without the slightest horror or tragedy. Its arrival is as natural as the arrival of winter after autumn. This inevitable phenomenon in the life of every person cannot be assessed positively or negatively. Death serves as a conductor between two worlds. Without it, it is impossible to move from one state to another.
The invisible friend shows mercy to the one who does not reject or curse her. She agrees to make concessions to each of her new friends. Wise Anna understands this. Friendship with the most terrible phenomenon for every person gives the old woman the right to choose. Anna chooses how to leave this world. Death willingly agrees to come to her in a dream and carefully replace the worldly dream with an eternal dream. The old woman asks for a delay so she can say goodbye to her beloved daughter. Death again yields to the old woman and gives required amount time.
Despite the fact that every reader understands how the story will end, the author leaves one of the main participants in his work behind the scenes, which further emphasizes the lack of tragedy of death.
Anna's children
Anna's sons and daughters have long lived their own lives. The approaching death of the old woman forces attention to the mother. However, none of the children were able to maintain this attention for too long. Noticing that Anna is feeling better, they strive to return to their thoughts and activities. The brothers immediately drink the vodka left for the wake and begin to complain to each other about life. The sisters, who shared the inheritance at the dying woman’s bedside, disperse in different directions to also plunge into their own worries.
Anna's children try to conscientiously fulfill their duties to their mother. Lucy sews a funeral dress for the old woman. Varvara mourns her mother, as Anna herself wanted. The sons are also ready to do everything necessary to see off the old woman on her final journey. In the depths of their souls, each of them is waiting for that moment when the most unpleasant things will remain in the past and they can return to their daily affairs and responsibilities. Ilya and Mikhail are not so much saddened by the upcoming death of their mother as they are concerned about their own. After their parents pass away, they will be the next generation to pass away. This thought horrifies the brothers so much that they empty one bottle of vodka after another.
main idea
There are no good or bad events in life. A person himself gives one or another assessment to each event. Despite her difficult existence, full of suffering and hardship, Anna does not seek to exaggerate. She intends to leave this world calm and peaceful.
The main theme of the story is the passing of an elderly person, summing up the results. However, there are other topics in the work that the author prefers to talk about less openly.
Valentin Rasputin wants to tell the reader not only about the personal feelings of the characters. "Deadline", summary which tells only about how each character relates to death, this is, first of all, a story about the change of historical eras. Anna and her children observe the destruction of the old order. Collective farms cease to exist. Young people are forced to leave the village due to lack of work and go in search of work in an unknown direction.
The story contains at the heart of the plot the idea of human relationships, mutual assistance and indifference, which are especially clearly manifested in the grief of others.
Another wonderful work talks about human kindness, fortitude and patience.
Humane socialism will be replaced by ruthless capitalism. Previous values have been devalued. Anna's sons, accustomed to working for the common good, must now work for the survival of their families. Not accepting the new reality, Ilya and Mikhail try to drown out their pain with alcohol. Old woman Anna feels superior to her children. Her death has already come to her and is just waiting for an invitation to enter the house. Mikhail, Ilya, Lyusya, Varvara and Tatyana are young. They will have to live for a long time in a world unfamiliar to them, which is so different from the one in which they were once born. They will have to become different people, abandon their previous ideals, so as not to perish in the new reality. None of Anna's four children expresses a desire to change. Only Tanchora’s opinion remains unknown to the reader.
People's dissatisfaction new life unable to change the course of events. The merciless hand of history will put everything in its place. The younger generation is obliged to adapt in order to raise their offspring differently than they themselves were raised. The old generation will not be able to accept the new rules of the game. He will have to leave this world.
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Old woman Anna lies motionless, without opening her eyes; it has almost frozen, but life still glimmers. The daughters understand this by raising a piece of a broken mirror to their lips. It fogs up, which means mom is still alive. However, Varvara, one of Anna’s daughters, believes it is possible to mourn, to “voice her back,” which she selflessly does first at the bedside, then at the table, “wherever it’s more convenient.” At this time, my daughter Lucy is sewing a funeral dress tailored in the city. The sewing machine chirps to the rhythm of Varvara’s sobs.
Anna is the mother of five children, two of her sons died, the first, born one for God, the other for the soar. Varvara came to say goodbye to her mother from the regional center, Lyusya and Ilya from nearby provincial towns.
Anna can't wait for Tanya from distant Kyiv. And next to her in the village was always her son Mikhail, along with his wife and daughter. Gathering around the old woman on the morning of the next day after her arrival, the children, seeing their mother revived, do not know how to react to her strange revival.
“Mikhail and Ilya, having brought vodka, now did not know what to do: everything else seemed trivial to them in comparison, they toiled, as if passing through every minute.” Huddled in the barn, they get drunk with almost no snacks, except for the food that Mikhail’s little daughter Ninka carries for them. This causes legitimate female anger, but the first glasses of vodka give men a feeling of genuine celebration. After all, the mother is alive. Ignoring the girl collecting empty and unfinished bottles, they no longer understand what thought they want to drown out this time, maybe it’s fear. “The fear from the knowledge that the mother is about to die is not like all the previous fears that befall them in life, because this fear is the most terrible, it comes from death... It seemed that death had already noticed them all in the face and would no longer will forget."
Having gotten thoroughly drunk and feeling the next day “as if they had been put through a meat grinder,” Mikhail and Ilya are thoroughly hungover the next day. “How can you not drink? - says Mikhail. - Day, two, even a week - it’s still possible. What if you don’t drink at all until your death? Just think, there is nothing ahead. It's all the same thing. There are so many ropes that hold us both at work and at home that we can’t groan, there’s so much you should have done and didn’t do, you should, should, should, should, and the further you go, the more you should - let it all go to waste. And he drank, as soon as he was released, he did everything that was necessary. And what he didn’t do, he shouldn’t have done, and he did the right thing in what he didn’t do.” This does not mean that Mikhail and Ilya do not know how to work and have never known any other joy than from drunkenness. In the village where they all once lived together, there was a common work - “friendly, inveterate, loud, with a discord of saws and axes, with the desperate hooting of fallen timber, echoing in the soul with enthusiastic anxiety with the obligatory banter with each other. Such work happens once during the firewood harvesting season - in the spring, so that the yellow pine logs with thin silky skin, pleasant to the eye, have time to dry over the summer, are placed in neat woodpiles.” These Sundays are organized for oneself, one family helps another, which is still possible. But the collective farm in the village is falling apart, people are leaving for the city, there is no one to feed and raise livestock.
Remembering her former life, the city dweller Lyusya with great warmth and joy imagines her beloved horse Igrenka, on which “slam a mosquito, and it will fall down,” which in the end happened: the horse died. Igren carried a lot, but couldn’t handle it. Wandering around the village through the fields and arable land, Lucy realizes that she does not choose where to go, that she is being guided by some outsider who lives in these places and professes her power. ...It seemed that life had returned back, because she, Lucy, had forgotten something here, had lost something very valuable and necessary for her, without which she could not...
While the children drink and indulge in memories, the old woman Anna, having eaten the children's semolina porridge specially cooked for her, cheers up even more and goes out onto the porch. She is visited by her long-awaited friend Mironikha. “Ochi-mochi! Are you, old lady, alive? - says Mironikha. “Why doesn’t death take you?.. I’m going to her funeral, I think she was kind enough to console me, but she’s still a tut.”
Anna grieves that among the children gathered at her bedside there is no Tatyana, Tanchora, as she calls her. Tanchora was not like any of the sisters. She stood, as it were, between them with her special character, soft and joyful, human. Without waiting for her daughter, the old woman decides to die. “She had nothing more to do in this world and there was no point in postponing death. While the guys are here, let them bury them, carry them out as is customary among people, so that they don’t have to return to this concern another time. Then, you see, Tanchora will come too... The old woman thought about death many times and knew it as herself. In recent years they had become friends, the old woman often talked to her, and Death, sitting somewhere on the sidelines, listened to her reasonable whisper and sighed knowingly. They agreed that the old woman would go away at night, first fall asleep, like all people, so as not to frighten death with open eyes, then she would quietly snuggle, take her short worldly sleep away and give her eternal peace.” This is how it all turns out.
Rasputin ("The Deadline") tests the village's moral strength in his story. An analysis of the work is presented in this article. The action here lasts only three days: this is the time given by God to the dying village old woman Anna in order to see the children who came to their native village to say goodbye to their weakened mother before her death.
Old woman Anna, whose prototype is the writer’s own grandmother, is the personification of folk wisdom, spirituality, and generous maternal love. This is the key character of the peasant universe. “I am especially struck by old women’s calm attitude towards death, which they take as a matter of course,” said the writer in an interview with the magazine “Voprosy Liieratura” (1970. No. 9). A village person perceives the fact of his own death as a natural withering. Shukshin was also interested in the attitude of a village person to death (“How the old man died”). The heroes of both writers “sense” their hour of death and are in a hurry to finish their worldly affairs without unnecessary fuss. And at the same time, they are uniquely individual - even at their last feature: the old man in Shukshin’s story represents death soberly and visibly; Old woman Anna is poetic in a feminine way, moreover, sometimes death seems to her like her own double.
The image of Anna in the story is associated with eternal problems (death, the meaning of life, the relationship with nature, the relationship between fathers and children), and the images of children are topical (city and countryside, the moral essence of the younger generation, loss of connection with the earth).
Half of the text of the story is occupied by images of children: they are revealed through action, speech, and the author’s assessments. Lucy is a firm, consistent, but tough person, living according to the laws of reason, not feelings; Varvara is kind, but stupid, she has no emotional tact. Son Mikhail is a rude man and a drunkard, but his mother lives with him and his wife. The spineless Ilya, who traveled a lot around the world, never acquired either intelligence or experience. But Tanchora, who was the most affectionate child in childhood, did not come at all. The author does not explain her action in any way, hoping that a kind reader will justify her by finding his own evidence for this, and a bad reader will condemn her. Before us is an attempt to apply the variable principle in depicting the actions of characters, which in different shapes V. Rasputin and A. Bitov experienced this in their work in the 70s.
The author shows that the moral potential of the generation replacing the village elders is much lower: leaving the village is fraught with irreversible consequences for it. The global process of change is also affecting those few young people who remain in the countryside: their attachment to the land and responsibility towards it are decreasing, and family ties are weakening. These are elements of the phenomenon that will later be called de-peasantization.
Valentin Grigorievich Rasputin is one of the most talented and famous writers modern Russian literature. Fundamental to many of his works is the theme of the perception of morality today.
The story "The Deadline", a brief summary of which we present to your attention, was named by the creator himself in his work main job. He began working on it in 1969, and in 1970, the work “The Deadline” was published in the magazine “Our Contemporary”.
Old woman Anna lies without opening her eyes, motionless. Life still glimmers in her, but the woman herself is almost frozen. Her daughters understand this and bring the piece to their lips. It fogs up, which means the mother is still alive. But Varvara, one of the daughters, believes that she can already mourn, “cast off her voice,” and does this selflessly, first at the bedside, and then at the table, since it is more convenient there. Lyusya, the other daughter, is at this time sewing a mourning dress, tailored in the city. Chirping sewing machine in time with Varvara’s sobs.
Children's arrival at the funeral
Anna had five children. Two of her sons died, the firstborn, who were born one for God, and the second for the king. Varvara came to say goodbye to her parent from the regional center, and Ilya and Lyusya came from provincial towns nearby.
We continue to describe the work “The Deadline”. The following further events are summarized. Anna is waiting for Tanya to arrive from distant Kyiv. In the village, next to her, Mikhail was always with his daughter. The children, gathered around the old woman the day after their arrival, do not know how to react to their resurgent mother, to her strange rebirth.
Ilya and Mikhail get drunk
Ilya and Mikhail, having dragged the boat, cannot now decide what to do. Compared to the upcoming event, everything else seemed trivial, and they toiled, letting every minute pass through them. The sons get drunk with almost no snacks, huddled in the barn, snacking only on food that Ninka, Mikhail’s little daughter, carries for them. This circumstance provokes the legitimate anger of women, but shots of vodka give the two brothers a feeling of celebration. The mother is alive after all. They no longer understand that they are collecting unfinished and empty bottles girl, what thought do they want to drown out this time. Perhaps fear from the knowledge that their parent will soon die. It is not like other fears; it is most terrible, since it comes from death itself, which, it seemed, had noticed them all in the face and would not forget them.
The work "The Deadline" continues. A summary of further events is as follows. Feeling bad the next day after drinking, the brothers get hungover again. Ilya and Mikhail do not know how to work. They never knew any other joy than from drinking. General work happened in a village where everyone once lived together - inveterate, friendly, loud, with a discord of axes and saws. It was in the spring, during the firewood harvesting season. But now people are leaving for the city, the collective farm in the village is falling apart, and there is no one to raise and feed livestock.
Daughter Lucy remembers her former life
City dweller Lyusya, remembering her former life, with great joy and warmth remembers Igrenka, her beloved horse, who was very weak and eventually died. Igren carried a lot, but couldn’t handle it. Lyusya, wandering through the arable land and fields around the village, understands that she does not choose where to go, but is led by some force, an outsider, living in these places. Life seemed to come back, because Lucy had lost something valuable, necessary, forgot something that she couldn’t live without...
Anna is on the mend
We continue to describe the summary of the book "Deadline". While the children indulge in memories and drink, Anna, having eaten semolina porridge specially prepared for her, cheers up more and more and goes out onto the porch. Her friend Mironikha visits her. Anna grieves that Tatiana is not among the children gathered at the bedside, Tanchora, as the old woman calls her. She was very different in character from her sisters. Her disposition was somehow special, joyful and soft, human.
The old woman decides to die
Let us describe further events; Valentin continues them as follows. Anna decides to die without waiting for Tatiana, since there is nothing more to do in this world and there is no point in postponing death. While the guys are gathered here, let them see him off and bury him, as is customary among people, so that later they won’t return to this concern. Then, maybe Tanchora will come too... Many times the old woman thought about death, she already knew it as herself. They had become friends in recent years, the old woman often talked to her, and Death listened to her whisper, sitting on the sidelines, and sighed knowingly. They agreed that Anna would go away at night, first, like all people, she would fall asleep, so as not to frighten death with her open eyes, and she would snuggle quietly, take the worldly short sleep from the woman and provide her with eternal peace. That's how it all happened.
Valentin Rasputin finishes his work “The Deadline”. A summary was presented in our article. It does not describe the details, does not give an idea of characteristic features works. This story, meanwhile, is very interesting. Therefore, we recommend that you turn to the work itself and familiarize yourself with it in the original. We tried to convey only a brief summary. “The Last Term” (Rasputin Valentin Grigorievich) is a work, after reading which you will not remain indifferent.