The main character says goodbye to her mother. Analysis of the story “Farewell to Matera” by Rasputin

And again spring came, its own in its endless series, but the last for Matera, for the island and the village that bear the same name. Again, with a roar and passion, the ice rushed through, piling up hummocks on the banks, and the Angara opened freely, stretching out into a mighty sparkling stream. Again, on the upper cape, the water rustled vigorously, rolling down the river on both sides; The greenery of the earth and trees began to glow again, the first rains fell, swifts and swallows flew in, and the awakened frogs croaked lovingly to life in the evenings in the swamp. All this happened many times, and many times Matera was within the changes taking place in nature, not lagging behind or getting ahead of each day. So now they have planted vegetable gardens - but not all of them: three families left in the fall, went to different cities, and three more families left the village even earlier, in the very first years, when it became clear that the rumors were true. As always, they sowed grain - but not in all the fields: they didn’t touch the arable land across the river, but only here, on the island, where it was closer. And now they poked potatoes and carrots in the gardens not at the same time, but as they had to, whenever they could: many now lived in two houses, between which there were a good fifteen kilometers of water and a mountain, and were torn in half. That Matera is not the same: the buildings stand still, only one hut and a bathhouse were dismantled for firewood, everything is still in life, in action, the roosters are still crowing, the cows are roaring, the dogs are ringing, and the village has withered, it’s clear that it has withered, like a felled tree, it took root and left its usual course. Everything is in place, but not everything is the same: the nettles grew thicker and more impudent, the windows in the empty huts froze dead and the gates to the courtyards dissolved - they were closed for the sake of order, but some evil force opened them again and again, so that the draft, creaking and slamming became stronger ; fences and spinning mills were askew, flocks, barns, sheds were blackened and stolen, poles and boards were lying around uselessly - the owner’s hand, straightening them for long service, no longer touched them. Many of the huts were not whitewashed, not tidied up and halved, some had already been taken to new housing, revealing gloomy, shabby corners, and some were left for the needy, because there was still a lot to run into and mess around with here. And now only old men and old women remained in Matera all the time, they looked after the garden and the house, looked after the cattle, fussed with the children, maintaining a living spirit in everything and protecting the village from excessive desolation. In the evenings they got together, talked quietly - and all about one thing, about what would happen, sighed often and heavily, glancing cautiously towards the right bank beyond the Angara, where a large new settlement was being built. Various rumors came from there.

That first man, who more than three hundred years ago decided to settle on the island, was a keen-sighted and watchful man, who correctly judged that he could not find a better land than this. The island stretched for more than five miles and not as a narrow ribbon, but as an iron - there was room for arable land, and forest, and a swamp with a frog, and on the lower side, behind a shallow crooked channel, another island approached Matera, which was called Podmoga, then Podnogoy. Help is understandable: what was lacking on their land, they took here, and why Podnoga - not a single soul could explain, and now it won’t explain, even more so. Someone's stumbling tongue fell out, and off it went, and the tongue knows that the weirder it is, the sweeter it is. In this story there is another name that came from nowhere - Bogodul, that’s what they called the old man who wandered from foreign lands, pronouncing the word in the Khokhlatsky manner as Bokhgodul. But here you can at least guess where the nickname began. The old man, who pretended to be a Pole, loved Russian obscenities, and, apparently, one of the visiting literate people, having listened to him, said in their hearts: blasphemy, but the villagers either didn’t understand it, or deliberately twisted their tongue and turned it into a blasphemy. It’s impossible to say for sure whether it was like this or not, but this hint suggests itself.

The village has seen everything in its lifetime. In ancient times, bearded Cossacks climbed past it up the Angara to set up the Irkutsk prison; merchants, scurrying in this and that direction, turned up to spend the night with her; they carried the prisoners across the water and, seeing the inhabited shore right in front of them, they also rowed towards it: they lit fires, cooked fish soup from fish caught right there; For two full days the battle rumbled here between the Kolchakites, who occupied the island, and the partisans, who went in boats to attack from both banks. The Kolchakites left in Matera a barrack they had cut down on the upper edge near Golomyska, in which in recent years, during the red summers, when it was warm, Bogodul lived like a cockroach. The village knew floods, when half the island went under water, and above Podmoga - it was calmer and more level - and terrible funnels were spinning, it knew fires, hunger, robbery.

The village had its own church, as it should be, on a high, clean place, clearly visible from a distance from both channels; This church was converted into a warehouse during the collective farm period. True, she lost her service due to the lack of a priest even earlier, but the cross at the head remained, and the old women bowed to him in the morning. Then the cover was shot down. There was a mill on the upper nasal groove, as if specially dug for it, with grinding, although not selfish, but not borrowed, enough for one’s own bread. In recent years, twice a week a plane landed on the old cattle, and whether in the city or in the region, people got used to flying by air.

This is how the village lived, at the very least, holding its place in the ravine near the left bank, meeting and seeing off the years like water along which they communicated with other settlements and near which they eternally fed. And just as there seemed to be no end to the running water, there was no end to the village: some went to the graveyard, others were born, old buildings collapsed, new ones were cut down. So the village lived, enduring all times and adversity, for more than three hundred years, during which half a mile of land was washed up on the upper cape, until one day a rumor broke out that the village would not live or exist any further. Down the Angara they are building a dam for a power plant; the water along the river and streams will rise and spill, flooding many lands, including, first and foremost, of course, Matera. Even if you put five of these islands on top of each other, it will still flood to the top, and then you won’t be able to show where people were struggling there. We'll have to move. It was not easy to believe that this would actually be the case, that the end of the world, which the dark people were afraid of, was now really close for the village. A year after the first rumors, an assessment commission arrived by boat, began to determine the wear and tear of the buildings and set money for them. There was no longer any doubt about Matera’s fate; she survived in her last years. Somewhere on the right bank a new village for a state farm was being built, into which all nearby and even non-neighboring collective farms were brought together, and it was decided to put the old villages under fire, so as not to bother with rubbish.

But now it was the last summer: the waters would rise in the fall.

The three old women sat at the samovar and then fell silent, pouring and sipping from the saucer, then again, as if reluctantly and tiredly, they began to carry on a weak, infrequent conversation. We sat with Daria, the oldest of the old women; None of them knew their exact years, because this accuracy remained at baptism in church records, which were then taken somewhere - the ends cannot be found. They talked about the old woman’s age like this:

- Girl, I was already carrying Vaska, my brother, on my back when you were born. - This is Daria Nastasya. – I was already in my memory, I remember.

“You, however, will be three years older than me.”

- But, on three! I was getting married, who were you - look around! You were running around without a shirt. You should remember how I came out.

- I remember.

- Well, okay. Where should you compare? Compared to me, you are very young.

The third old woman, Sima, could not participate in such long-standing memories, she was a newcomer, brought to Matera by a random wind less than ten years ago - to Matera from Podvolochnaya, from the Angarsk village, and there from somewhere near Tula, and She said that she saw Moscow twice, before the war and during the war, which in the village, due to the eternal habit of not really trusting what cannot be verified, was treated with a chuckle. How could Sima, some kind of unlucky old woman, see Moscow if none of them saw? So what if she lived nearby? – I guess they don’t let everyone in to Moscow. Sima, without getting angry, without insisting, fell silent, and then said the same thing again, for which she earned the nickname “Moskovishna.” By the way, it suited her: Sima was all clean and tidy, knew a little literacy and had a songbook, from which she sometimes drew melancholy and drawn-out songs about her bitter fate when she was in the mood. Her fate, it seems, was certainly not a sweet one, if she had to suffer so much, leave her homeland where she grew up during the war, give birth to her only and dumb girl, and now, in her old age, be left with a young grandson in her arms, whom no one knows when or how to raise. But Sima, even now, has not lost hope of finding an old man, next to whom she could warm herself and whom she could follow - wash, cook, serve. It was for this reason that she ended up in Matera at one time: having heard that grandfather Maxim remained a bore and having waited for the sake of decency, she left Podvolochnaya, where she then lived, and went to the island for happiness. But happiness did not emerge: grandfather Maxim became stubborn, and the women, who did not know Sima well, did not help: although no one needed his grandfather, it would be a shame to put his own grandfather under someone else’s side. Most likely, Maxim’s grandfather was frightened by Valka, Simina’s mute girl, who was already big at that time, mooing in a particularly unpleasant and loud manner, constantly demanding something, nervous. Regarding the failed matchmaking in the village, they scoffed: “Even though Sima was there, but by the way,” but Sima was not offended. She did not swim back to Nodvolochnaya, and remained in Matera, settling in a small abandoned hut on the lower edge. I planted a little garden, put up a garden, and wove paths for the floor from rag shingles—and that’s how I supplemented my income. And Valka, while she lived with her mother, went to the collective farm.

Rasputin first published the story “Farewell to Matera” in 1976. The story takes place in the 1960s. In the story, the author reveals themes of relationships between fathers and children, continuity of generations, the search for the meaning of life, issues of memory and oblivion. Rasputin contrasts people of the old and new eras: those who cling to the traditions of the past, have a close connection with their small homeland, and those who are ready to burn huts and crosses for the sake of a new life.

Main characters

Pinigina Daria Vasilievna- a native resident of Matera, mother of Pavel, grandmother of Andrei. She was “the oldest of the old women,” “tall and lean” with a “stern, bloodless face.”

Pinigin Pavel– Daria’s second son, a fifty-year-old man, lives in a neighboring village with his wife Sophia. “I worked as a foreman on a collective farm, then as a supervisor.”

Other characters

Pinigin Andrey- grandson of Daria.

Bohodul- a stray “blessed” old man, “passed himself off as a Pole, loved Russian swearing,” lived in a barracks “like a cockroach.”

Sima- an old woman who came to Matera less than 10 years ago.

Catherine- one of the residents of Matera, Petrukha’s mother.

Petrukha- “dissolute” son of Catherine.

Nastya and Egor- old people, residents of Matera.

Vorontsov- Chairman of the village council and council in the new village.

Master of the Island, “royal foliage”.

Chapter 1

“And spring has come again” - “the last for Matera, for the island and the village that bear the same name.” Matera was created three hundred years ago.

Down the Angara, they began to build a dam for a power plant, because of which the water along the river was supposed to rise and soon flood Matera - the last summer remained, then everyone had to move.

Chapter 2

Old women Nastya and Sima often sat at Daria’s samovar. “Despite the years, the old woman Daria was still on her own two feet,” managing the household herself.

Nastasya, having lost her sons and daughter, lived with her husband Yegor. An apartment was already waiting for them in the city, but the old people were still delaying the move.

Sima arrived in Matera relatively recently; she had no one here except her grandson Kolya.

Chapter 3

The sanitary brigade was “cleaning up the area” at the cemetery - men removed crosses, bedside tables and fences from the graves in order to then burn them. The old women drove the brigade away and put the crosses in place until late at night.

Chapter 4

The next day after the incident, Bogodul came to Daria. Talking to him, the woman shared that it would be better for her not to live to see everything that was happening. Walking then around the island, Daria recalled the past, thinking that although she had lived a “long and toll-laden life,” she “didn’t understand anything about it.”

Chapter 5

In the evening, Pavel arrived, Daria’s second son, “the first was taken away by the war,” and the third “found death in a logging camp.” Daria couldn’t imagine how she would live in an apartment - without a garden, without a place for a cow and chickens, or her own bathhouse.

Chapter 6

“And when night came and Matera fell asleep, a small animal, slightly larger than a cat, unlike any other animal, jumped out from under the bank on the mill channel - the Master of the Island.” “No one had ever seen or met him, but here he knew everyone and knew everything.”

Chapter 7

It was time for Nastasya and Yegor to leave. The night before leaving, the woman did not sleep. In the morning the old people packed their things. Nastasya asked Daria to look after her cat. The old people took a long time to get ready - it was very difficult for them to leave their home, Matera.

Chapter 8

At night, one of the villagers, Petrukha, set fire to his hut. His mother, Katerina, moved her modest belongings to Daria in advance and began to live with the old woman.

“And while the hut was burning, the owner looked at the village. In the light of this generous conflagration, he clearly saw the faded lights above the still living huts,<…>noting in what order the fire will take them.”

Chapter 9

Arriving in Matera, Pavel did not stay here for long. When Ekaterina moved to Daria, he “became calmer,” since now his mother would have help.

Pavel “understood that it was necessary to move from Matera, but did not understand why it was necessary to move to this village, although it was richly constructed<…>Yes, it was put in such an inhumane and awkward manner.” “Paul was surprised, looking at Sonya, at his wife”: how she entered the new apartment – “as if she had always been here. I got used to it within a day." “Pavel understood well that his mother would not be used to this. This is someone else's paradise for her."

Chapter 10

After the fire, Petrukha disappeared somewhere. Catherine’s samovar burned down in a fire, without which the woman “was completely orphaned.” Katerina and Daria spent all their days talking; life was easier for them together.

Chapter 11

Haymaking has begun. “Half the village has returned to Matera.” Soon Petrukha arrived in a new suit - he received a lot of money for the burned estate, but gave only 25 rubles to his mother.

Chapter 12

Daria's grandson came to see him - Andrei, Pavel's youngest son. Andrey worked at a factory, but quit and now wanted to go “to a big construction site.” Daria and Pavel found it difficult to understand their grandson, who reasoned: “Now the time is such that it is impossible to sit in one place.”

Chapter 13

Petrukha got ready for the construction site with Andrey. In mid-September, Vorontsov arrived and ordered “not to wait for the last day and gradually burn everything that is located unless absolutely necessary.”

Chapter 14

Daria, talking with her grandson, expressed that people now began to live too quickly: “I galloped in one direction, looked around, didn’t look back - in the other direction.” “Only you and you, Andryushka, will remember after me how exhausted you are.”

Chapter 15

Daria asked her son and grandson to move the graves of their relatives. It scared Andrei, it seemed creepy. Pavel promised to do this, but the next day he was summoned to the village for a long time. Soon Andrei also left.

Chapter 16

Gradually, people began to “evacuate small animals from the village,” and buildings were burned. “Everyone was in a hurry to move out, to get away from the dangerous island. And the village stood deserted, bare, deaf.” Soon Daria took Sima and Kolya to her place.

Chapter 17

A fellow villager said that Petrukha “is engaged in burning abandoned houses” for money. “Katerina, having come to terms with the loss of her hut, could not forgive Petrukha for burning strangers’.”

Chapter 18

Pavel, taking the cow Mike, wanted to immediately take his mother, but Daria firmly refused. In the evening, the woman went to the cemetery - Pavel never moved the graves - to his father and mother, to his son. She thought that “who knows the truth about a person, why does he live? For the sake of life itself, for the sake of the children, so that the children leave the children, and the children’s children leave the children, or for the sake of something else? "

Chapter 19

“Matera, the island and the village, could not be imagined without larch on the cattle.” “The Royal Foliage” “eternally, powerfully and imperiously stood on a hillock half a mile from the village, noticeable from almost everywhere and known to everyone.” “And as long as he stands, Matera will stand.” Old people treated the tree with respect and fear.

“And then the day came when strangers approached him.” The men were unable to cut down or burn the old tree; not even a chainsaw could take it. In the end, the workers left the larch alone.

Chapter 20

Daria, despite the fact that her hut was to be burned very soon, whitewashed the house. In the morning I lit the stove and cleaned the house. “She was tidying up and felt how she was thinning out, being exhausted with all her strength - and the less there was to do, the less she had left.”

Chapter 21

The next day Nastya returned to Matera. The woman said that her husband Yegor died.

Chapter 22

After the huts were burned, the old women moved to the barracks. Having learned about this, Vorontsov was outraged and forced Pavel and Petrukha to urgently go pick up the women. The men left in the middle of the night and wandered for a long time in thick fog.

...At night Bogodul opened the doors of the barracks. “The fog rolled in and a distant melancholy howl was heard - it was the Master’s farewell voice.” “From somewhere, as if from below, came the faint, barely discernible noise of an engine.”

Conclusion

In the story “Farewell to Matera,” V. G. Rasputin, as a representative of the literary direction of “village prose,” pays special attention to descriptions of the nature of the island, conveying the mood of the characters through landscapes. The author introduces characters of folklore origin into the work - the Master of the Island and Bogodul, symbolizing the old, passing world, which the old people continue to hold on to.

In 1981, the story was filmed (directed by L. Shepitko, E. Klimov) under the title “Farewell.”

Test on the story

Check your memorization of the summary content with the test:

Retelling rating

Average rating: 4.3. Total ratings received: 1474.

The story was published in 1976. In 1981, the work was filmed by two Russian directors Elem Klimov and Larisa Shepitko (participated only in the preparatory stage of the film adaptation, died in 1979).

The village of Matera had an ancient history. It was located on one of the islands of the Angara River. Perhaps the settlement would have existed for more than one year, but the unexpected happened. Construction of a dam began on the Angara, during which it was planned to flood several surrounding villages. Matera was supposed to be among them.

The news that the island and the village will be flooded horrifies the small population of the village. The majority of residents of the village are elderly. Young people moved to the city a long time ago. Old people who have given their whole lives to Matera cannot imagine how they can live somewhere else. The ancestors of the current inhabitants are buried on the island. The cemetery, sacredly revered by the elderly, will also be flooded. Old woman Daria is trying to resist “blasphemy.” The woman is sure that for the destruction of the cemetery, not only those who participated in it will be punished, but also those who allowed this to happen. Daria expects that after her death her relatives will judge her.

Despite the spontaneous uprising led by Daria, the island's inhabitants were evicted from their homes. Matera is subject to flooding.

Characteristics

Older generation

The older generation is represented, first of all, by the old woman Daria. She is the keeper of the island’s traditions and the memory of departed ancestors. Daria truly loves her small homeland and is sincerely attached to it with all her soul. To the old woman, not only nature, but also the houses seem alive in her native village. The scene of the old woman saying goodbye to her hut makes those around her shudder. Daria “washes” and whitewashes her house as if she plans to live in it for many years to come. The old woman is preparing her hut for the “last journey”, like a deceased person. Moving for Daria is not just leaving for a new life. This is a real betrayal, for which, as the old woman herself believes, her deceased relatives will judge her after death.

Old Daria's son, Pavel, can also be considered a member of the older generation, despite the fact that Pavel left his native village. The young man is forced to recognize the power of progress. He humbly measures himself and tries to react calmly to the changes taking place. Pavel doesn't like life in the city, but Matera has no future. The younger generation does not have the opportunity to stay in their native village to build their life. Pavel is embarrassed to see his mother’s despair. At the same time, he does not understand her request to move the graves of his ancestors and save them from flooding.

A generation completely cut off from its native roots is represented by Andrey, Daria’s grandson. Some residents of Matera can also be classified as a new generation, for example, Klavka, Daria’s neighbor. Klavka is happy about the upcoming changes and the comfortable housing that she will receive in the city. Andrey is a city dweller. He doesn't understand his grandmother's suffering. Resistance to progress seems ridiculous and stupid to him.

The younger generation wants to live in a new way. It despises everything outdated and laughs at traditions. Young people consider the new world, which has replaced the traditional one, to be more perfect. The younger generation has long lost touch with nature, which their ancestors idolized. The man-made world created by man has replaced the natural habitat.

main idea

Technical progress can be considered a natural process that will sooner or later come to any society. However, without knowing your past it is impossible to build your own future. The loss of the familiar is the loss of moral guidelines.

The writer Valentin Rasputin set himself a difficult task. “Farewell to Matera,” a brief summary of which was turned into a script for a film, was the author’s attempt to look at the same event through the eyes of different generations. Rasputin tries to justify each side, without condemning anyone, but without justifying anyone either.

In his story, he tried to show that the passing of an old man is a summing up of his life, and should not be overshadowed by inconsolable tragedy.

You will also be interested in Rasputin's story, in which the author reveals the characters of people who react differently to the need and grief of another person.

The old generation is certainly right in its own way. No good goals can justify the destruction of the graves of loved ones. Old people who dreamed of living out their lives in their native village are forced to watch how what has always served as an invisible support for them is destroyed. Not all the elderly inhabitants of the island were able to safely endure the change of place of residence. No one takes into account the elderly, no one takes into account their interests. The authorities are confident that they have fulfilled their duty to them only because they have provided them with comfortable housing. However, the residents of Matera feel deceived. They were given a new life that they don't need. Old Daria has no idea why she will need all her household utensils in the city: grips, tubs, etc.

The younger generation is also right in its own way. The age of technological progress has arrived. The everyday life of a modern person cannot be the same as the everyday life of his ancestor who lived a hundred years ago. Refusal of progress can easily be called regression. It is impossible to refuse the further development of civilization in the same way as it is impossible to stop the change of day and night. The younger generation is not able to understand why the elders refuse comfortable apartments, where they do not have to heat the stoves with wood and carry water from the well. New people want more comfort with less effort. They see no point in preserving traditions. With the advent of the century of technological progress, the experience of more than a dozen generations of predecessors loses all meaning.

Unfortunately for the author, the two opposing generations were never able to find a common language. A compromise, despite the efforts of the parties, could not be found. Old people and new people remain unchanged in their opinion and are not going to change it to please anyone. The author strives to show the arrival of a new world in the place of the old one, while avoiding glorifying the triumph of scientific progress over the “dark ignorance” and superstitions of the elderly inhabitants of Matera. The scenes of the old people’s struggle for their native village and the opportunity to spend the allotted time in it cannot but arouse the compassion of readers. Daria's farewell to her beloved home, which she considers a living being, is permeated with deep sorrow and sadness.

Human connection with nature
Another important topic touched upon by the author in the story is the unity of man and nature. The old people had not yet lost touch with the force that once gave birth to them. The younger generation considers this connection old-fashioned. Man is the master of nature. He should order her, and not dialogue with her as with an equal.

Royal foliage is one of the personifications of nature on the island. He embodies an indestructible natural force that does not succumb to man until the last moment. Attempts to cut down the tree did not bring the desired results. In the end, it was decided to burn the royal foliage. The bright flame from a burning tree is like a signal to the coming generation, a desire to make them come to their senses and understand: man is as much a part of nature as this foliage. And nature is capable of destroying humanity just as people destroyed an innocent tree.

V. G. Rasputin

Farewell to Matera

But now it was the last summer: the waters would rise in the fall.

- Girl, I was already carrying Vaska, my brother, on my back when you were born. - This is Daria Nastasya. – I was already in my memory, I remember.

“You, however, will be three years older than me.”

- But, on three! I was getting married, who were you - look around! You were running around without a shirt. You should remember how I came out.

- I remember.

- Well, okay. Where should you compare? Compared to me, you are very young.

In this article we will turn to the work of the outstanding writer of the 20th century - Valentin Grigorievich Rasputin. More precisely, we will analyze the author’s programmatic story and its summary chapter by chapter. “Farewell to Matera,” as you will see, is a work with a deep moral and philosophical meaning.

About the book

The story was published in 1976. The plot centers on village life. But Rasputin described not just an idyllic picture and the delights of Russian nature, he touched on much more pressing topics. The reader is presented with a picture of the death of the village. Along with the disappearance of a place where more than one generation of people lived, the memory of our ancestors and connection with our roots also disappears. Rasputin depicts the gradual degradation of man, the desire for the new at the expense of the old. According to the author, the destruction of morality and nature for the sake of industrialization will inevitably lead humanity to death. It is this idea that is illustrated by the story “Farewell to Matera.”

Summary of chapters: “Farewell to Matera”

Matera is the name of the village and the island on which it is located. But the settlement does not have long to live - it will soon be flooded. Spring. Many families left, others did not plant gardens and sow fields. And the houses have been neglected: they are not whitewashed, they are not cleaned, things are taken away from them.

Only the old people live their old lives, as if they had no intention of leaving anywhere. In the evenings they get together and talk for a long time. The village has been through a lot, there have been good times and bad times. However, invariably people were born and died, life did not stop for a minute. But now the dam for the power plant will be completed in the fall, the water will rise and flood Matera.

Chapters 2-3

The story “Farewell to Matera” (a summary of the chapters in particular) tells about the evenings over tea that the village old women spent. We gathered at the oldest one - Daria. Despite her age, she was tall and competent, managed the house and coped with a lot of work. Her son and daughter-in-law managed to leave and now visited Daria occasionally.

Sima, who settled in Matera only ten years ago, also came here. They nicknamed her Moskovishna because she talked about how she saw Moscow. Her fate was difficult. In addition, she gave birth to a mute girl. And in her old age, her grandson Kolka remained in her care. Due to the fact that Sima does not have her own home, she must be sent to a nursing home and her grandson must be taken away. But the old woman is trying in every possible way to delay this moment.

Elderly Nastasya and Yegor, who signed up to move to the city, are constantly being rushed and asked to move out quickly.

They began to dismantle the cemetery: cutting down bedside tables, removing monuments. This caused righteous anger among the old people. Bohodul even called the workers “devils.”

Chapters 4-5

Valentin Rasputin pays great attention to representatives of the older generation. “Farewell to Matera” (a summary of the chapters allows you to see this) is replete with such characters. One of them is Bogodul. No one remembered how the old man appeared in the village. At one time he was a money changer, periodically bringing goods to Matera, and then he stayed here forever. Bogodul looked like a very old man, but over the years he did not change.

He is not going to leave the village - they have no right to drown the living. However, he is worried about how he will justify himself to his ancestors for the destruction of Matera. Bogodul believes that he is appointed to look after the village, and if it is flooded, the fault is on him.

Pavel, Daria's son, arrives. He talks about a village where villagers are being resettled. It turns out that this place is completely unsuited for peasant life.

Chapters 6-7

We continue to describe the summary chapter by chapter (“Farewell to Matera”). Rasputin also introduces mythological images into his work. So, at night the Master of the forest appears - a small animal, unlike anyone else. He knows everything that is happening in the village, he knows about everyone, but no one has ever seen him. The owner anticipates the imminent end of Matera and his existence, but humbly accepts it. And he also knows for sure that Bogodul will die along with him.

Trinity passes, and Yegor and Nastasya leave. They have to give up their utensils - everything they have acquired over many years. Old people walk around the hut as if lost. At parting, Nastasya asks Daria to look after her and gives her the keys to the house.

Chapters 8-9

Petrukha burns her hut - the same fate awaits the rest of the mothers at home.

Pavel's visits become rare. Now he has been appointed as a foreman at the state farm - his work has increased greatly. Pavel was perplexed about the construction of a new village - awkward, strange, not for human life. He also did not understand why it was necessary to move to live there. And more and more often he was visited by memories of the well-groomed Matera, in which several generations of his ancestors lived.

Chapters 10-11

The destruction of not only the village, but also human lives is depicted in the story “Farewell to Matera.” A summary of the chapters (analysis of the work can confirm this) depicts the broken life of Katerina, who was left with her son Petrukha on the street after the burning of the house. The heroine has nothing left of her former life. And the blame for her improperly raised son falls on her shoulders.

The onset of haymaking seemed to revive Matera. The village came to life again. Life returned to normal, and people worked with incredible joy.

Chapters 12-13

It's starting to rain. Pavel comes to Daria with Andrei, his youngest son. A representative of the younger generation does not regret having to leave Matera. On the contrary, he is glad to have the opportunity to see the world and try himself in a different business. Andrey is sure that a person should manage his own life. It turns out that he is going to participate in the flooding of the village.

The chairman from the Pasenny district arrives and demands that by mid-September (in just a month and a half) the village be cleared of all buildings. Therefore, it is recommended to start setting fire to empty houses now.

Chapters 14-15

The conflict between the older and younger generations is one of the main themes of the story “Farewell to Matera.” A chapter-by-chapter summary describes in detail Daria's relationship with her grandson. Andrey is convinced that a person controls his own destiny. He is confident that the future lies in technology and progress, and that the past can be forgotten. Daria, on the other hand, feels sorry for modern man who is destroying himself by cutting off his connection with his roots, with nature.

Pavel is called to work - one of his subordinates drunkenly stuck his hand into the machine, and the foreman is responsible for this. Andrei also leaves after his father.

Chapters 16-17

Next, it tells about the arrival of a group of city residents, a brief chapter-by-chapter summary. “Farewell to Matera” is a work that points to the lack of income and immorality of people who have lost touch with the past. That is why the townspeople who came to burn village buildings are portrayed as unbridled and soulless creatures. Their behavior scares all the inhabitants of Matera to death.

The villagers slowly begin to gather, and fires break out throughout the area. The first victim was the mill. Among the mothers, Petrukha takes special care in destruction. Katerina is tormented and does not know how to react to her son’s actions.

Chapters 18-19

Harvesting and harvesting are coming to an end. The townspeople go back, finally staging a terrible fight. The villagers did not know what to do with their own harvest - they took away little by little, but it did not decrease. I had to sell. The transportation of livestock began.

A summary of the chapters (“Farewell to Matera”) depicts a picture of a gradually fading life. The village is gradually emptying. And only the old people do not want to leave their homes, they are worried about the graves that will have to be flooded - and only non-humans are capable of this. Daria goes to the cemetery, thinking that now her great-grandchildren, having lost touch with their roots, will not even know why they were born.

Chapters 20-22

The story “Farewell to Matera” is coming to an end (chapter summary). The author paints a picture of desolation - there are no buildings left in the village except for the Bogodul barracks, where the old women and Sima’s granddaughters have now gathered. Nastasya also returned - her old man did not survive the move.

Pavel decides to return for the rest in two days. But the boss Vorontsov sends him on the night to Matera - tomorrow there is a commission, and there should not be a single person on the island.

Pavel, Petrukha and Vorontsov board the boat and set sail. They are covered by a cloud of thick fog, in which it is impossible to see anything. Matera is also covered in fog.