Mark miracle summary. Maxim Gorky, "Makar Chudra": analysis, main characters

A damp, cold wind blew from the sea, carrying across the steppe the thoughtful melody of the splash of a wave running onto the shore and the rustling of coastal bushes. Occasionally, his gusts brought with them wrinkled, yellow leaves and threw them into the fire, fanning the flames; the darkness of the autumn night that surrounded us shuddered and, timidly moving away, revealed for a moment the boundless steppe on the left, the endless sea on the right, and directly opposite me - the figure of Makar Chudra, an old gypsy - he was guarding the horses of his camp, spread out about fifty steps from us.

Not paying attention to the fact that the cold waves of wind, having opened the checkmen, exposed his hairy chest and beat it mercilessly, he reclined in a beautiful, strong pose, facing me, methodically sipped from his huge pipe, released thick clouds of smoke from his mouth and nose and, motionless, looking somewhere over my head into the dead silent darkness of the steppe, he talked to me, without stopping and without making a single movement towards protection from the sharp blows of the wind.

- So are you walking? This is good! You have chosen a glorious fate for yourself, falcon. That’s how it should be: go and look, you’ve seen enough, lie down and die - that’s all!

- Life? Other people? – he continued, skeptically listening to my objection to his “That’s how it should be.” - Hey! What do you care about that? Are you not life yourself? Other people live without you and will live without you. Do you think that someone needs you? You are not bread, not a stick, and no one needs you.

– Study and teach, you say? Can you learn to make people happy? No you can not. You turn gray first, and say that you need to teach. What to teach? Everyone knows what they need. Those who are smarter take what they have, those who are dumber get nothing, and everyone learns on their own...

- They're funny, those people of yours. They’re huddled together and crushing each other, and there’s so much room on the ground,” he waved his hand broadly toward the steppe. - And everyone works. For what? To whom? No one knows. You see how a man plows, and you think: drop by drop with sweat, he will drain his strength onto the ground, and then lie down in it and rot in it. There will be nothing left for him, he sees nothing from his field and dies as he was born - a fool.

- Well, was he born then, perhaps, to dig up the earth, and die, without even having time to dig out his own grave? Does he know his will? Is the expanse of the steppe clear? Does the sound of the sea wave make his heart happy? He is a slave - as soon as he was born, he is a slave all his life, and that’s it! What can he do with himself? He'll only hang himself if he grows a little wiser.

“And look, at the age of fifty-eight I have seen so much that if I wrote it all on paper, it wouldn’t fit into a thousand bags like yours.” Come on, tell me, what parts have I not been to? You can't tell. You don’t even know the places where I’ve been. This is how you need to live: go, go - and that’s all. Don't stand in one place for a long time - what's in it? Just as they run day and night, chasing each other, around the earth, so you run away from thoughts about life, so as not to stop loving it. And if you think about it, you will stop loving life, this always happens. And it happened to me. Hey! It was, falcon.

– I was in prison, in Galicia. “Why do I live in the world?” - I thought out of boredom, - it’s boring in prison, falcon, oh, how boring! - and longing took me by the heart, as I looked out of the window at the field, took it and squeezed it with pincers. Who can say why he lives? No one will say, falcon! And you don’t need to ask yourself about this. Live, and that's it! And walk around and look around you, and the melancholy will never take over. Then I almost strangled myself with my belt, that’s how it happened!

- Heh! I spoke with one person. A strict man, one of your Russians. You need, he says, to live not the way you want, but the way it is said in God’s word. Submit to God, and he will give you everything you ask of him. And he himself is full of holes, torn. I told him to ask God for new clothes. He got angry and drove me away, cursing. And before that he said that we need to forgive people and love them. He would have forgiven me if my speech offended his lordship. Also a teacher! They teach them to eat less, but they themselves eat ten times a day.

He spat into the fire and fell silent, filling his pipe again. The wind howled plaintively and quietly, horses neighed in the darkness, and a tender and passionate song-thought floated from the camp. This was sung by the beautiful Nonka, daughter of Makar. I knew her voice with a thick, chesty timbre, always sounding somehow strange, dissatisfied and demanding - whether she was singing a song or saying “hello.” The arrogance of the queen froze on her dark, matte face, and in her dark brown eyes, veiled by some kind of shadow, the consciousness of the irresistibility of her beauty and contempt for everything that was not herself sparkled.

Makar handed me the phone.

- Smoke! Does the girl sing well? That's it! Would you like someone like you to love you? No? Fine! That's the way it should be - don't trust the girls and stay away from them. Kissing a girl is better and more pleasant than smoking a pipe for me, but if you kissed her, the will in your heart died. She will tie you to her with something that is not visible, but cannot be broken, and you will give her your whole soul. Right! Watch out girls! They always lie! I love her, he says, more than anything in the world, come on, prick her with a pin, she will break your heart. I know! Hey, how much do I know! Well, falcon, do you want me to tell you a true story? And you remember it and, as you remember it, you will be a free bird throughout your life.

“There was once Zobar, a young gypsy, Loiko Zobar. All of Hungary, and the Czech Republic, and Slavonia, and everything around the sea knew him - he was a daring fellow! There wasn’t a village in those parts where five or two residents had not sworn an oath to God to kill Loiko, but he lived for himself, and if he liked the horse, even if you put a regiment of soldiers to guard that horse, Zobar would still prance on it! Hey! Was he afraid of anyone? Yes, if Satan had come to him with all his retinue, if he had not thrown a knife at him, he would probably have had a strong fight, and what the devil would have given a kick in the snout - that’s just it!

And all the camps knew him or heard about him. He loved only horses and nothing else, and even then only for a short time - he would ride and sell, and whoever wants the money, take it. He didn’t have what he cherished - you need his heart, he himself would tear it out of his chest and give it to you, if only it would make you feel good. That's what he was, a falcon!

Our camp was roaming around Bukovina at that time - about ten years ago. One spring night we were sitting: I, Danilo the soldier who fought with Kossuth, and old Nur, and all the others, and Radda, Danilo’s daughter.

Do you know my Nonka? Queen girl! Well, Radda cannot be compared with her - a lot of honor to Nonke! You can’t say anything about her, this Radda, in words. Perhaps its beauty could be played on a violin, and even then to someone who knows this violin like his own soul.

She dried out a lot of young people’s hearts, wow, a lot! On Morava, one magnate, an old, brown-haired man, saw her and was dumbfounded. He sits on a horse and looks, trembling, as if in a fire. He was as handsome as the devil on a holiday, the zhupan was embroidered with gold, the saber on his side sparkled like lightning, the horse barely stamped his foot, this whole saber was covered in precious stones, and the blue velvet on his cap was like a piece of the sky - he was an important old ruler! He looked and looked and said to Radda: “Hey! A kiss, I’ll give you a wallet of money.” And she turned to the side, and that’s all! “Forgive me if I offended you, look at least kindly,” the old tycoon immediately lowered his arrogance and threw a wallet at her feet - a big wallet, brother! And she seemed to accidentally kick him into the dirt, and that’s all.

- Eh, girl! - he groaned, and hit the horse with a whip - only dust rose in a cloud.

And the next day he appeared again. "Who is her father?" - thunder thunders through the camp. Danilo left. “Sell your daughter, take what you want!” And Danilo tell him: “It’s only the gentlemen who sell everything, from their pigs to their conscience, but I fought with Kossuth and don’t trade anything!” He began to roar, and for his saber, but one of us put a lit tinder into the horse’s ear, and he carried away the young man. And we filmed and went. We walked for a day or two, we looked - we caught up! “You are gay,” he says, before God and you my conscience is clear, give the girl to me as a wife: I will share everything with you, I am very rich!” It burns all over and, like a feather grass in the wind, sways in the saddle. We thought about it.

- Come on, daughter, speak up! – Danilo said into his mustache.

Maxim Gorky’s short story “Makar Chudra” is a great work about love and lack of will.

Makar Chudra is an old gypsy. He sits on the shore of the already cold autumn sea by the fire and tells his story that love is dangerous, love is lack of will and shackles that destroy freedom. One writer listens to this long and interesting story. His story is about the once famous in Eastern Europe cunning horse thief Loiko Zobar. Zobar was handsome, young, hot and free. Nothing could drive him crazy, neither girls, nor money, except maybe horses. He loved horses, adored their freedom and passion.

That year the camp was in Bukovina. The gypsies lived well, there were endless fields nearby, beauty, warmth and joy in their souls. Radda, a girl of unearthly beauty, lived there. Her father was the soldier Danila. You can’t count the men that Radda conquered, you can’t count their wounded hearts. They called her as a wife and offered to make her rich, but the beauty was adamant. She refused everyone. She often spent time with people. So on the day when Loiko Zobar came to the camp, Radda was there.

The young gypsy was handsome both in body and face, he arrived on a beautiful horse, smiling from ear to ear so that others, looking at him, involuntarily began to smile. Zobar took out a violin and played it. His performance was so heartfelt that many began to cry. And then Radda praised the gypsy’s performance. He told her that the strings of the violin were made from the heart of a young girl, to which Radda said that the gypsy was stupid. Their short skirmish bore fruit - Loiko drew attention to the girl and fixed his gaze on her.

I was visiting a gypsy in Radda’s house with her father Danila, and suddenly in the morning he appeared in front of everyone with a bandaged head. He said that his horse was an accident, but the people immediately understood: Radda had killed the guy so as not to interfere. There was talk and gossip. Everyone was talking about only one thing: Loiko was good for a girl, but she was too narrow-minded.

Zobar was a favorite of the gypsies, smart, handsome, and how he sang! One day he sang a song, everyone liked it, and only Radda laughed, not finding anything special in it. The gypsy then asked the girl’s father to give her to him as a wife. Danilo agreed if the girl said yes, and the gypsy could tame her. Zobar then opened up to Radda, told her about his feelings, and instead of answering, he was thrown to the ground with a whip by the legs in front of everyone. Everyone gasped. Radda seemed to laugh at him and at his feelings, then walked away calmly and lay down in the grass. A smile painted her lips. She didn’t care at all, and Loiko turned purple with anger.

The guy jumped up and rushed as fast as he could into the steppe, where he sat motionless for several hours until Radda approached him. A young man in love pointed a knife at her, but she took out a gun, pointed it at him and said that she didn’t want to quarrel and came to talk, to make peace. The girl promised to love him, but on one condition. This condition was humiliation and torture for the gypsy, but he accepted it. She won his soul with her inaccessibility, pride and beauty, Loiko ceased to be himself. In his heart there were no longer any free expanses of the steppes, no majestic horses, but only one dark-haired girl who drove the men around him crazy.

Loiko Zobar decided to fulfill Radda’s will, and her request was this: he needed to kneel in front of her, as before an eldest, and kiss her right hand. This had to be done in front of everyone. For freedom-loving gypsies, kneeling could only be a humiliating position. Once in their lives, for example, at a wedding, they knelt before their elders, but otherwise it was a shame.

In front of everyone, Loiko went to Radda and said that he would now fulfill her request for the sake of love for her, and at the same time he would check whether her heart was as strong as she said. At these words, the gypsy took out his sharp knife and plunged it into the heart of the beautiful Radda. Everything happened so quickly that no one had time to think that a tragedy could happen. Then Zobar knelt before his beloved and kissed her right hand, fulfilling the decree.

Seeing that his daughter was killed, Danilo rushed to Loiko and also plunged a knife into his chest. This is how the story of two lovers who mistook a high feeling for steel shackles or chains ended tragically. Pride is a dangerous feeling that runs in the blood of gypsies.

Old man Makar finished his story. It was already cold in the steppe, a tired herd of horses wandered nearby, and a fire smoldered. The writer who listened to the story was impressed. He still couldn’t fall asleep, he looked at the sea, and before his eyes were Radda and Loiko. Here he is, Loiko, floating in the depths of the sea, and in front of him is Radda’s body. Both of them are young and beautiful, and the gypsy still cannot catch up with his beloved.

“Makar Chudra” is the same story that made Alexei Peshkov famous under the pseudonym Maxim Gorky. He first appeared on the pages of the Kavkaz newspaper in 1892. This story was written based on a story told to him in Tiflis by a certain Alexander Kalyuzhny. Gorky said that Kalyuzhny himself suggested that he write down and publish these tales. The creative activity of the great writer began with this story.

The story "Makar Chudra", the analysis of which is given in this article, is one of the most famous works of the Soviet writer Maxim Gorky. It was first published in 1892 in the newspaper "Caucasus". Signed under the pseudonym M. Gorky.

History of creation

The story "Makar Chudra", the analysis of which you can read in this article, was written by Alexei Peshkov in 1892, when he was in Tiflis. At that time, the writer was actively communicating with members of the revolutionary movement, primarily with Alexander Kalyuzhny.

Kalyuzhny always listened attentively to the young man’s stories about his travels, each time inviting him to write them down so that they could later be turned into a story or story. Kalyuzhny became one of the first to whom Peshkov showed the manuscript of the story “Makar Chudra”. The revolutionary took advantage of his acquaintances among journalists and included the work in the magazine "Caucasus". The publicist Tsvetnitsky played a decisive role in this.

Many years later, in 1925, Gorky recalled his literary debut with warmth in a letter to Kalyuzhny. He noted that he owed him a lot, that he received an impetus, thanks to which he has been faithfully and devotedly serving Russian art for 30 years.

The story "Makar Chudra" begins with a description of a romantic night by the sea. A fire is burning on the shore, and an old gypsy, whose name is Makar Chudra, is sitting near the fire. It is he who tells the writer a fascinating story about the free gypsy people. At the same time, Makar strongly encourages those around him to beware of love. According to him, having fallen in love once, a person loses his will forever. To confirm his words, he tells a story, which formed the basis of this story.

In the story "Makar Chudra" the main character is a young gypsy named Loiko Zobar. He was known in many European countries, where he was known as a noble horse thief. In the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia, many dreamed of taking revenge on him for the stolen horses and even killing him. Horses were his main passion in life; he earned money easily, did not value it, and could immediately give it to anyone in need.

Events began to develop around the camp, which stopped in Bukovina. There was a beautiful girl, Radda, who had already broken more than one heart. Her beauty could not be described in words, many young people dreamed of her, and one rich man even threw wads of money at her feet, begging her to marry him. It was all in vain. Radda always said only one thing. An eagle has no place in a crow's nest.

Zobar arrives at the camp

From this article you will learn the plot of the story "Makar Chudra". The content is described in sufficient detail. One day Zobar came to this camp. He was handsome. Gorky writes that his mustache lay on his shoulders, mixed with curls, and his eyes burned like clear stars, and his smile was like the sun. It seemed as if he had been forged from a piece of iron. He also played the violin, so much so that many immediately began to cry.

And this time he played, amazing everyone around him, even Radda. She praised his abilities, and he responded by saying that his violin was made from the breast of a young girl, and the strings were set by the best craftsmen from her heart. The girl was not at all imbued with this romantic comparison, noting only that people were obviously lying when talking about Zobar’s intelligence. The young man had no choice but to marvel at this girl’s sharp tongue.

The gypsy stayed overnight with Danila, Radda's father. In the morning, he amazed everyone around him by coming out with a rag tied on his head. He answered all questions that he was killed by a horse. But everyone around them believed that the matter was completely different, it was all Rudd’s fault.

Meanwhile, Loiko remained to live with the camp, in which at that time things were going very well. He conquered everyone with his wisdom, as if he had lived for decades, and he played the violin so that everyone’s heart sank. In the camp he came to the court so much that, at times, it seemed that people were ready to give their lives for him, they loved him and appreciated him. Everyone except Radda. And Zobar fell in love with the girl deeply. So much so that I couldn’t think about anything else. The surrounding gypsies saw everything, understood, but could not do anything. They just remembered the words of their ancestors that if two stones roll onto one another, then it is better not to stand between them, otherwise you may be maimed.

Song of Zobar

One evening Zobar performed a new song, which everyone was delighted with and began to praise him. But Radda remained in her repertoire - she made fun of Zobar. Her father already intended to teach her a lesson with a whip, but Loiko himself did not allow him to do so. Instead, he asked Danila to give her to him as his wife.

Although he was surprised by this request, he agreed, saying, take it if you can. After this, Zobar approached the girl and admitted that she had won his heart and now he was taking her as his wife. The only condition of their family life is that she should never, under any circumstances, contradict his will. Zobar stated that he is a free man and will always live the way he wants. At first, Radda pretended to resign herself, but then she quietly wrapped a whip around Loiko’s legs and pulled sharply. Zobar fell as if knocked down. She just smiled sarcastically, stepped aside and lay down on the grass.

On the same day, upset Zobar fled to the steppe. Makar went after him, afraid that in such a state he might do something stupid. He watched Loiko from afar, without giving himself away. But he did nothing at all, but only sat motionless for three hours. After this time, Radda appeared in the distance. She approached Zobar. The offended Loiko immediately tried to stab her with a knife, but in response she put a gun to his head and announced that she had not come here to quarrel, but to make peace, because she also loved him. But at the same time she admitted that even more than Zobara, she loves freedom.

The girl promised Loiko a night of love and hot caresses, but only on one condition. If he is in public, in front of the entire camp he will kneel before her and kiss her right hand, recognizing her seniority in the family. Frustrated, Zobar shouted in helplessness throughout the steppe, but his love for the girl was so great that he agreed to this condition, which was supposed to put an end to his love of freedom and respect in society.

Return to the camp

When Zobar returned to the camp, he approached the elders and admitted that he looked carefully into his own heart, but did not see there the former free and free life, nothing at all. There was only Radda in it. Therefore, he accepts her condition and will soon bow at her feet in front of the entire camp and kiss her right hand. In conclusion, he only noted that he would check whether the girl really had such a strong heart, which she so loves to show off to everyone.

Neither the elders nor the rest of the gypsies had time to understand what these last words of Zobar meant. He grabbed the knife and stuck it right into the beauty’s heart, up to the hilt. Radda immediately tore the knife out of her chest, covered the bleeding wound with her long and beautiful hair, saying that she had expected just such a death.

The knife was picked up by her father Danilo and stabbed Loiko right in the back, opposite his heart. Radda remained on the ground, clutching her wound with her hand, from under which blood was rapidly oozing, and the body of the dying Zobar was stretched out at her feet. This concluded the story that Makar Chudra told the writer.

The story ends with the writer admitting that after hearing what he heard, he couldn’t sleep all night. He could not close his eyes and looked without interruption at the sea stretched out in front of him. Soon it began to seem to him that he saw the royal Radda walking along the waves, and behind her, with outstretched arms, Loiko Zobar was swimming right on his heels. They seemed to be spinning in the darkness of the night, silently, slowly and smoothly. But no matter how hard Loiko tried, he could not catch up with Radda, remaining behind her all the time.

Story Analysis

First of all, it should be noted that the story “Makar Chudra,” the analysis of which is given in this article, is the first printed work published by Alexei Peshkov. He signed it with a pseudonym, under which he eventually became known throughout the world. Now everyone knows that the author of the story “Makar Chudra” is Gorky.

Before publishing his first work, Peshkov wandered around the country for several years. He sought to get to know Russia better, to meet and communicate with as many people as possible. He set himself an ambitious task, to understand the mystery of a huge country in which there are so many poor and disadvantaged people. He dreamed of understanding why the Russian people were suffering.

By the end of this journey, he had dozens of fascinating stories, which he willingly shared with numerous fellow travelers and people who met along his way. Moreover, during the journey itself, the future writer’s knapsack did not always contain even a loaf of bread, not to mention something more substantial. But there was always a thick notebook in which he kept notes and observations about everything he saw and heard. He wrote down his meetings with interesting people, the events that happened, the stories they told him. Later, it was from these notes that the writer’s numerous stories and poems were born, many of which he managed to publish. This is how Gorky’s “Makar Chudra” appeared.

Romanticism of the writer

It is worth noting that the key direction in the story “Makar Chudra” is romanticism. This is typical for all the early works of Alexei Peshkov. In the center of the story we see a typical romantic hero - Loiko Zobar. For him, as for the narrator Makar, the most important thing in this life is freedom. Personal freedom, which he is never ready to exchange for anything.

In his work, Gorky describes the typical view of life and the world around him of the majority of gypsies who met along his path. They sincerely believed that peasants were slaves who were born only to pick at the ground, and at the end of their lives die, without even having time to dig their own grave.

Their maximalist desire for freedom is embodied in the heroes of this legend, which is given on the pages of the story “Makar Chudra”. Analysis of this work helps to better understand this people, for whom freedom at a certain moment became more valuable than even life itself.

Heroes of the story

The main female character in the story "Makar Chudra" is Radda. This is a young, charming and beautiful gypsy. Loiko Zobar, a famous violinist and horse thief, is also crazy about her. Young people love each other, but cannot afford to be together. Because in this case they will lose the most important thing they have. Their personal freedom. In a relationship, you still have to choose which partner will be the leader and who will remain the follower. In this story, love and freedom are the main themes. Makar Chudra himself adheres to the same position in life, therefore, like most of the other residents of the camp, he understands young people well.

Personal freedom means so much to them that they even look at their pure love as a chain that will still fetter their independence. Each of them, declaring their love, sets conditions and tries to dominate.

As a result, all this leads to a fatal conflict, which ends in the tragic death of both heroes. They sort out their relationship in front of the whole camp. At first, Loiko obeys the girl, kneels before her, recognizing her dominance, and among the gypsies this is considered, perhaps, the most terrible humiliation. But as soon as he recognizes her independence, he immediately grabs a dagger and kills his beloved. Zobar himself, a minute later, dies at the hands of the girl’s father, for whom this loss becomes a heavy and irreparable blow. Freedom and love in the story “Makar Chudra” become what distinguishes the heroes from most of those around them, sets them apart from the crowd, but at the same time destroys them ahead of time.

Features of the composition

The main feature of the composition of this work is that the author puts the story into the mouth of the main character, who leads the narrative. The events of a romantic legend unfold before us, which helps to better understand the inner world of the heroes and their value system.

In the story "Makar Chudra" problems are raised that are relevant both at that time and now. What is more important for a person - love or personal freedom? For most of the characters in this work, freedom turns out to be more important than even their own lives.

The narrator Makar is convinced that love and pride are two wonderful feelings. But when they reach their highest expression, they are no longer able to reconcile with each other. In his view, a person must necessarily preserve his personal freedom, even at the cost of his life.

Another compositional feature is the narrator, who is almost invisible. We only know that Makar Chudra tells his story to him. The meaning that the author puts into this feature of the composition is that he does not agree with his hero. At the same time, he does not directly object to the gypsy. But at the end of the story, when he admires the sea, he shows his own opinion on this matter. He admires the pride and independence of the heroes, but at the same time he cannot come to terms with the fact that these traits mean loneliness and the inability to be happy for them. The writer, and after him the author himself, believe that they are slaves of freedom.

Artistic techniques

To better convey his ideas to readers, the author uses a large arsenal of artistic techniques. For example, a seascape frames the entire storyline of the story. The image of the sea is directly related to the mental state of the characters. At the beginning of the story, it is calm and peaceful, but over time everything changes, and when it starts to rain, the sea really rumbles. Deaf and angry.

A striking feature of this work is its musicality. Throughout the story, Zobar plays the violin, captivating everyone around him.

In which he addresses the life of Eastern European gypsies.

The focus is on the life of “free people”. Free from our usual moral principles and rules. The story begins with a description of wild nature, a discussion about the endless expanses of the steppe and the raging sea.

Makar Chudra is an old gypsy whom the narrator meets. The author has a crush on his daughter, but Makar says that “you shouldn’t trust love.” To confirm his words, he tells a story that happened as if in reality.

Loiko and Radda

B In ancient times there was a certain camp that stood in Bukovina. Along with the gypsies, the soldier Danilo lived there, who had a beautiful but wayward daughter, Radda. And at the same time there lived a free gypsy, Loiko Zobar, who was also very handsome, and in addition sang songs soulfully and played the violin. Loiko valued nothing except horses; he didn’t even have money and didn’t try to earn money.

He noticed Radda and fell in love. He spoke warm words to her, played the violin, but she only made fun of him. At the same time, a certain rich tycoon also had feelings for the girl, who offered Danila to buy her out. But the father was a proud man and would never agree, saying that only shepherds could sell their pigs, but not fathers and daughters. The tycoon tried to get his way with threats and weapons, but he was driven away. For a long time he begged his father to give him his daughter, promising him any riches, but everything was in vain.

Loiko Zobar again tried to ask Danila for his daughter’s hand in marriage. To this the father replied - take it if you can. Then the gypsy went to Radda and said that she should go with him, but he would live the way he wanted, and would not have any obligations to her. After all, for him, a gypsy, freedom is most valuable. Radda laughed at him, knocked him down with her whip and drove him away.

Loiko ran into the steppe and sat on a rock for a long time, completely motionless. There he was seen by Makar, who was sent on a search. He sees that Radda has come to Loiko. The gypsy wanted to stab her, but she put a gun to his head. The girl said that she also loved him very much and was even ready to become his wife. However, will is also dear to her. If he wants to become her husband, he must pass the test: on the appointed day, in front of the whole camp, bow at her feet and kiss her hand. Loiko roared and protested, but was forced to agree. The agreed upon day arrived, people gathered, and Loiko approached Radda, who had already “put her legs up.” And the gypsy wanted to check whether her heart was so strong. He pulled out a knife and stuck it in her chest - right in her heart. The girl pulled the knife out of the wound and covered it with her hair. She said she expected this kind of death. She threw the knife away. Danilo picked him up and, without hesitation, stabbed Loiko to death. Zobar and Radda died together, the young gypsy prostrated himself on the chest of the proud girl.

The work ends the same way it began - with a description of the sea raging at night. The narrator, unable to sleep, remembers the story of Makar Chudra, and it seems to him that Loiko and Radda are spinning on the waves, the gypsy is running after the girl and cannot catch up with her.

Thoughts of an old gypsy

The meaning of the story has several layers:

1. On the one hand, it shows “gypsy morality” - the rules by which nomadic people have long lived;

2. On the other hand, he depicts the humanistic ideals characteristic of Gorky the romantic.

Makar Chudra, like the heroes of other Gorky stories, believes that a person should live only for himself. No one else needs a person in this life, “after all, he is neither a stick nor bread.” The old gypsy lived a stormy life, full of adventures, was in prison, and he does not regret the past at all. In his opinion, there is no need to ask why to live, you just need to live. And the story he told is a kind of illustration of his words.

Radda and Loiko are two freedom-loving gypsies who resist any attempt to deprive them of their will, even if it happens out of love. If love deprives one of freedom, then they prefer not to marry and live alone, they even agree to die, but not show weakness. The story ends tragically, but for Makar his characters are real heroes who lived their lives with dignity and parted with it just as worthily.

Main characters

Loiko Zobar– a young gypsy who played the violin beautifully; fell in love with Radda.

Radda- Danila’s daughter, a proud and arrogant girl who valued her will most of all.

Other characters

Makar Chudra- a 58-year-old gypsy, told the narrator a story about Rudd and Loiko.

Danilo– soldier “who fought together with Kossuth”, Radda’s father.

Narrator- the man to whom Makar Chudra told the story about Radda and Loiko.

“A damp, cold wind was blowing from the sea.” The narrator was sitting by the fire with the old gypsy Makar Chudra. The gypsy was reclining, sipping his pipe. The men were talking. Chudra believed that people are funny because they see nothing except their field, where they work all their lives. The gypsy visited different places, even spent time in prison in Galicia. He advises the narrator: “run away from thoughts about life so as not to stop loving it.”

In the silence of the night, from the side of the camp, a “tender and passionate song-thought” was heard - Makar’s daughter sang. The gypsy gave advice to the narrator: “don’t trust the girls and stay away from them,” “he kissed her and the will in your heart died.” And Chudra told the narrator “one true story.”

There was a young gypsy in the world, Loiko Zobar. “All of Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slavonia, and everything around the sea” knew him. He was not afraid of anyone, “he loved only horses and nothing else.”

Chudra’s camp was wandering around Bukovina then, about ten years ago. Among the nomads were Danilo the soldier and his daughter Radda. Radda was a wayward girl: “she dried up a lot of young people’s hearts.” Even an old rich tycoon wooed her, but the girl only answered him: “If the eagle entered the raven’s nest of her own free will, what would she become?” .

Once they were sitting in a camp by the fire and heard the sounds of good music: “the blood lit up in the veins from it.” Loiko Zobar rode out of the darkness on a horse. Rudd praised Loiko’s playing and asked who made him such a violin. Zobar replied that he made it himself “from the breast of a young girl whom he loved dearly, and the strings from her heart were entwined.” But his words did not make an impression on Radda, she just yawned and said: “They also said that Zobar was smart and dexterous - that’s how people lie!”

Loiko spent the night with Danila. In the morning Zobar was seen with a bandaged head. The young man said that a horse had killed him, but everyone understood: it was Radda’s doing. Loiko remained with the camp. Everyone “loved him deeply, only Radda is the only one who doesn’t look at the guy,” and also makes fun of him.

One day, Zobar, at Danila’s request, started a song. Everyone “liked” her, only Radda said: “You wouldn’t fly so high, Loiko, you’d fall unequally.” Suddenly Zobar threw his hat to the ground and asked Danil to give him Radda as his wife. The man didn’t mind, as long as the girl agreed.

Zobar, turning to Radda, said that she had captivated his soul: “There is no horse on which one could gallop away from oneself!.. I take you as my wife.<…>But look, my will cannot be contradicted - I am a free person and I will live the way I want! Loiko just wanted to approach Radda, when he suddenly fell - the girl knocked him down with a belt whip. Zobar silently stood up and went into the steppe. Chudra went to follow him.

Loiko sat by the stream for a long time. Radda came to him and put her hand on his shoulder. The young man jumped up sharply, pulled out a knife, but saw that the girl had pointed a pistol at him and aimed at his forehead. Hiding the pistol, Radda said that she had come to make peace and confessed her love to Loiko: “I have never loved anyone, Loiko, but I love you. And I also love freedom! Will, Loiko, I love more than you.” The girl wanted him to become her “soul and body,” but she agreed to be his wife only if Loiko bowed at her feet in front of the entire camp and kissed her right hand (although this was not customary among the gypsies). Zobar agreed.

The next evening everyone gathered around the fire. Standing in front of the camp, Zobar said: “I looked into my heart that night and found no place in it for my old free life. Radda only lives there - and that’s it!<…>She loves her will more than me, and I love her more than my will, and I decided to bow at Radda’s feet, as she ordered.” Suddenly Loiko approached Radda and plunged a curved knife into her chest. Radda pulled out a knife, threw it to the side and, holding the wound with a strand of hair, smiling, said: “Goodbye, Loiko! I knew you would do this!” , and died. Loiko “pressed his lips to the feet of the dead Radda and froze.” Danilo picked up the knife that the girl had thrown away, walked up to Zobar and “stuck the knife in his back, right against his heart.” “Radda was lying with her hand with a lock of hair pressed to her chest, and her open eyes were in the blue sky, and the daring Loiko Zobar was stretched out at her feet.”

After hearing what he heard, the narrator did not want to sleep. He looked into the darkness of the steppe and before his eyes “floated the royally beautiful and proud figure of Radda,” “and at her heels floated the daring fellow Loiko Zobar.” “They both circled in the darkness of the night smoothly and silently, and the handsome Loiko could not keep up with the proud Radda.”

Conclusion

In the story “Makar Chudra,” Gorky develops the theme of the desire for will and freedom, characteristic of many of his books. The heroes of the work could not make a choice between love, pride and love of freedom, so both died.

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