A summary of "The Golovlyov Family" by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin

This book is a grim chronicle of the decline of a noble family, published in 1880. Greed, hypocrisy, and spiritual emptiness methodically destroy the landowner family, transforming the wealthy family seat into a den of death and progressive madness. The work’s grim realism attracted the attention of filmmakers. A well-known Soviet film directed by Alexander Ivanovsky was released in 1933. The film stunned audiences with Vladimir Gardin’s powerful performance as the protagonist and its meticulously conveyed atmosphere of universal decay.

Family Court and the Return of the Hated Son

Arina Petrovna Golovleva, a powerful landowner, controls her vast estate with a firm hand. She imposes strict management on all members of her household, demanding unquestioning obedience and meticulous reporting. Her husband, Vladimir Mikhailovich, has long since degenerated. He hides in his study, drinks, and recites obscene poetry. Arina Petrovna contemptuously calls him a "windmill." The children receive meager financial support from their mother. Arina Petrovna considers them an unnecessary burden. Her daughter, Anna, runs away from home and marries against her mother’s wishes. Anna soon dies, leaving Arina Petrovna with two young daughters, Anninka and Lyubinka.

His mother buys her eldest son, Stepan, nicknamed "Stepka the Blockhead," a house in Moscow for twelve thousand rubles. This move is a cynical attempt to rid herself of an undesirable heir. Stepan, completely unsuited to life and work, quickly squanders the property. The house is auctioned off for debt.

Stepan returns to his family estate on foot. He wears a tattered militia coat. He is completely broken and braces himself for the worst. Arina Petrovna greets him with an icy gaze. She assigns her son a tiny room in the office and orders him to be fed scraps from the master’s table. Arina Petrovna convenes a family council to discuss Stepan’s fate. Her younger sons arrive: Porfiry, known by the nickname "Judas," and the silent, apathetic Pavel.

Porfiry resorts to his favorite Byzantine bureaucratic tactics. He delivers long, unctuous speeches about filial duty, constantly appeals to God, and shifts responsibility to his mother. Judas cajole Arina Petrovna into not giving Stepan a new village, citing the risk of further embezzlement. Arina Petrovna succumbs to his persuasion. Stepan sinks into a deep apathy. He begins drinking cheap moonshine at night, obtained through the servants. Hopelessness finally overwhelms him. He runs away from the estate. The peasants find him in the forest and bring him back. After his escape, Stepan falls into a stupor and soon dies in his room without receiving communion.

Redistribution of property and the death of Paul

Years pass. On the eve of the abolition of serfdom, Arina Petrovna loses her former confidence. Fear of the unknown and new economic realities paralyzes her will. Judas unerringly senses his mother’s weakness. He masterfully negotiates, frightening the old woman with impending reforms, and convinces her to divide the family assets. Porfiry takes the best share of the estates, while Arina Petrovna retains a modest fortune.

Having lost her power, Arina Petrovna moves to the village of Dubrovino to live with her youngest son, Pavel. Once a formidable manager, she is now content to be a sponger. Pavel lives secluded in the attic, drinks constantly, and fiercely hates his bloodthirsty brother. His mother tries to organize a household audit, but Pavel rudely thwarts her efforts. The manager, Ulita, openly steals sugar and food. Arina Petrovna witnesses the brazen theft but has no authority to intervene.

Pavel falls fatally ill. The local doctor declares his condition hopeless and predicts his imminent death. Arina Petrovna begs her son to leave his fortune to his orphaned nieces, Anninka and Lyubinka, to protect them from Porfiry’s greed. Pavel stubbornly remains silent and refuses to sign the documents. Ulita, acting as Judas’s spy, secretly informs him of her brother’s critical condition.

Porfiry Vladimirovich immediately arrives in Dubrovino. He settles into the house like a master, tormenting the dying man with hypocritical prayers, false consolations, and affectionate taunts. Pavel dies in terrible agony, screaming at his brother, "Go away, bloodsucker!" Judas immediately takes control. He takes all the deceased’s property as the legal heir. Arina Petrovna hastily packs her belongings. She moves to Pogorelka, a dilapidated estate belonging to orphans.

The illusion of freedom and disappointment

Anninka and Lyubinka flatly refuse to live in a remote village. The girls dream of creative independence and metropolitan fame. They leave for a provincial town to work as actresses in a provincial theater. The theater scene draws the sisters into a whirlwind of illusory success, gifts, and dubious patrons. They perform in a lighter genre, performing playful operettas and romances.

Arina Petrovna is left completely alone. The old woman is rapidly declining, losing her former energy and pride. Melancholy pushes her into a humiliating reconciliation with Judas. She begins making frequent trips to Golovlevo to eat well, play cards, and listen to her son’s idle chatter.

Porfiry lives with his young housekeeper, Evpraksia. She is distinguished by her large build, easygoing personality, and a complete lack of independent thought. Judas constantly bullies the servants with tedious lectures. Soon, his son, Peter, who is serving in the army, arrives at the estate. The young man gambled away three thousand state-issued rubles and found himself on the brink of hard labor.

Peter desperately begs his father to pay his debt. Judas delivers a lengthy moral lecture to his son about the perniciousness of passions, cites providence as the will of Providence, and categorically refuses financial assistance. Arina Petrovna tries to intercede for her grandson. Peter directly accuses his father of the death of Volodya, his older brother, who had previously committed suicide due to lack of money and his parent’s indifference. Porfiry remains adamant, hiding behind hypocritical phrases.

Arina Petrovna rises heavily from her chair and loudly curses her son. The next day, she leaves Golovlevo forever. Pyotr leaves for his post, receives a harsh sentence, and is sent on a prison tour to Siberia. En route, he dies in the prison hospital. Arina Petrovna takes to her bed in Pogorelka, lapses into unconsciousness, and quietly fades away. Judas carefully takes her meager savings, snatching a tarantass and two cows along the way.

Moral bankruptcy and the frenzy of idle thought

Porfiry gives birth to a son named Volodya. Judushka is terrified of publicity and scandal. He secretly orders Ulita to take the baby to a Moscow orphanage. This decision completely breaks the housekeeper. Eupraxia is filled with a fierce hatred for Judushka. She openly rebels, stops looking after the house, is rude, and openly begins affairs with the servants.

Porfiry Vladimirovich cowardly retreats and locks himself in his study. He rapidly becomes wild. He begins a binge of idle thought. He sits at his desk for days, making fantastic calculations. He assesses astronomical fines on the peasants for fictitious felled birch trees and hypothetically trampled oats. Judushka mentally sues his neighbors, takes cruel revenge on long-dead relatives, and hoards virtual millions. His mind completely detaches from reality. The estate falls into disrepair. The servants indulge in uncontrolled debauchery. Judushka hears their drunken cries but is afraid to leave his refuge.

Anninka temporarily returns to Golovlevo, but quickly flees the stifling atmosphere of her uncle’s moralizing. The sisters’ acting career turns into a disaster. Their performances are reduced to vulgar verses sung in front of drunken officers and merchants. The sisters engage in prolonged drinking bouts with local businessmen Lyulkin and Kukishev. Kukishev commits massive embezzlement and is brought to trial. Lyulkin shoots himself. The girls become objects of public scorn. They perform in filthy taverns, enduring beatings and humiliation. The sisters descend into deep poverty. Lyubinka drinks an infusion of phosphorus matches and dies. At the last minute, Anninka becomes frightened of death and remains alive.

The Last Days and Belated Repentance

Anninka finally returns to Golovlevo, ill, broken, and dependent on alcohol. Uncle and niece are left alone in the huge, empty house. In the evenings, they lock themselves in the dining room and drink vodka. Terrible, drunken conversations begin. The past weighs heavily on the shoulders of the last representatives of the defunct family. Anninka mercilessly reopens old wounds. She remembers her deceased relatives, blames her uncle for their deaths, screams and cries. At first, Judushka is angry and defends himself with familiar phrases, but gradually he gives in. The wine and painful memories awaken his long-dormant conscience.

During Holy Week, Judas listens to the Gospel readings. The story of Christ’s suffering deeply shakes him. He suddenly understands the unimaginable depth of his fall and acknowledges his guilt. That night, Porfiry Vladimirych goes to his niece’s room. He tearfully asks her forgiveness for all the harm he has done and forgives her in return. Overcome by a surge of remorse, the old man decides to immediately go to his mother’s grave.

An icy March snowstorm rages outside. Judushka sneaks out of the house, wearing only his robe. He trudges through the deep snow toward the village churchyard. In the morning, the peasants find the frozen body of the Golovlevskoye landowner a few steps from the road. Anninka lies feverish in her room, unconscious. News arrives that the Golovlevskoye estate has been transferred to a distant relative, Nadezhda Galkina.