PEASANT WIVES

Peasant Wives

There's a lot of cruelty in this story.

There's actually two stories intertwined.

The first one deals with Dyudya, a merchant and his family. His son, Fyodor, an engineer living in the factory,  has thrown his wife out. And his other son is a spaced out hunchback who they've married to a good looking woman from a poor family.

And then there is Matvey Savitch, a traveler, who relates how how he wound up taking care of the ten year old orphan, Kuzka.

So where's the cruelty?

Let's start with the boys. This Matvey Savitch, is pretty harsh with Kuzka. The boy appears malnourished and when he misplaces his little hat -- Matvey Savitch wants to pull his ear off. There doesn't seem to be much affection and Matvey Savitch is taking care of him out of duty -- but not out of love.

The other boy in question is Sofya's son -- Sofya is the discarded wife of Fyodor, Dyudya's son. Fyodor has kept their son, Grishutka with him in the factory and we are told that Grishutka is being poorly treated.

Then of course -- there are the wives.

Matvey Savitch tells us the story of how years ago he fell in love with a woman named Mashenka.  Mashenka was alone because her husband had been sent out to war.

Matvey Savitch seduces Mashenka and they begin to shack up -- but after a couple of years he tires of her and is looking to get married with an "honest" woman. Thankfully for him -- Mashenka's husband, Vasya, comes back from the war.

Matvey Savitch concocts a plan to save his skin. He wants to apologize to Vasya and have Mashenka return to her husband. But the problem is Mashenka is truly in love with Matvey Savitch and she refuses to go along with his scheme. She doesn't want to go back to her husband -- she wants to continue to live in sin with her lover.

Matvey Savitch is not a lover. He has had his fun and wants to get rid of this pest. He manipulates religion to try to justify his actions -- but in truth -- he only believes in himself.  (Just wondering: Savitch = Savage).   When Mashenka finally sees the light -- it is too late -- her life is destroyed.

And then there is Varvara -- the pretty young wife of the hunchback, Alyoshka. She is forced to marry a feeble minded drunkard -- who spends his time playing the concertina and carousing with his buddies. Her only form of companionship are the travelers and her affairs. She is shacking up with the priest's son -- and receiving a bit of monetary and spiritual compensation.

Varvara doesn't worry about sin. She knows the notion of sin is just a way of controlling her and making her follow the rules which only enslave her. She is free from the constrains of a corrupted society and therefore she is also free to dream up ways to make herself  happier. And that might include murder.

As the Bob Dylan songs goes -- "When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose"

And then there is love. Or the lack of it.

Mashenka loved with all her heart and soul and what did it get her? Her own demise.

Love in this society has become a poison that needs to be avoided.

And that's the real cruelty of this story.