Even if you read the book in the original, you should not think that the preparation for the lesson is over. Alas, important, but small details from the work are easily erased from memory, therefore, a brief summary of the chapters is an indispensable tool for high-quality literary training. Enjoy reading!
Chapter first
Katerina Lvovna, a pretty girl from a poor family, is married to Izmailov Zinovy Borisovich, a wealthy widower, whose family sells grains.
Katerina does not receive proper attention from her husband, who, together with her father Boris Timofeevich, leaves every day from early morning to do business. The young girl is also saddened by the childlessness of Zinovy Borisovich, she cannot use her strength in raising a child and is forced to spend her days in boredom in a large merchant's house.
Chapter two
Katerina Lvovna continues to sadly while away her time. One of the spring days, the dam breaks, and Zinovy Borisovich and his father throw all their strength into the repair of the mill. Katerina Lvovna walks around the yard and notices a young clerk Sergei, who, along with other workers, makes fun of the cook.
Sergey offers Katerina to weigh herself on the scales and then, in a playful manner, firmly presses the merchant's wife to her. Katerina Lvovna is very embarrassed, the cook tells her that Sergey had just recently come to the service of Zinovy Borisovich, before that he worked with neighboring merchants and allegedly had a love affair with the owner’s wife.
Chapter three
This evening, the husband of Katerina Lvovna lingers at the mill, and his father leaves for a birthday celebration. Sergey comes to Katerina’s house with a request to lend him some book, but translates the topic and immediately declares his love.
Katerina Lvovna is ready to fall without feelings, but Sergey picks her up and takes her to the bedroom ...
Chapter Four
Katerina Lvovna after the ill-fated evening continues to meet with Sergei. Every night, he crawls through the window of a merchant's house, and after that leaves as well. Father Zinovy Borisovich notices how Sergey climbs the gallery pillar, grabs him and drags him into the pantry. Father-in-law of Katerina Lvovna mercilessly flogged an uninvited guest, closed him in the pantry and sent people for his son, who had still not returned from the mill.
Katerina Lvovna finds out about this case and begs Boris Timofeevich to let Sergey go. But he is adamant - he despises the unfaithful wife of his son and threatens to flog Katerina, and send her lover to prison.
Chapter five
All the same evening, Boris Timofeevich suffers from nausea after an eaten dinner, which Katerina Lvovna poisons in advance. The tormented old man dies from rat poison, and Katerina rescues her lover from the pantry.
People sent for Zinovy Borisovich do not find that at the mill. Katerina Lvovna buries her father-in-law and draws closer even closer to Sergei.
Chapter six
Katerina has a dream: she sees a big gray cat, which rubs between her and Sergey. Katerina tries to drive him away, but her attempts are in vain - a gray cat, like fog, passes through her fingers. Katerina wakes up and sees only Sergei lying nearby.
The merchant’s wife spends all her free time with the young clerk, they confess their love to each other, Sergey expresses his fears: he is afraid that the merchant Zinovy Borisovich will arrive soon, and everything will collapse in an instant. Katerina assures Sergei that she knows how to make him a merchant himself, and that no husband is an obstacle to this.
Chapter seven
Katerina again dreams of a gray cat, but this time instead of a cat's head, she sees the head of her late father-in-law. Katerina wakes up screaming and hears a dog barking. She realizes that Zinovy Borisovich has returned, and he is about to be at home.
Katerina Lvovna hides Sergey and, as if she had just woken up, is waiting for her husband. Zinovy Borisovich complains about his buried father, he finds Sergey’s belt and informs Katerina that he knows about her love affairs. She dares to her husband in response, suddenly enters Sergey’s room and kisses him tightly. A wounded husband in the fuse hits Katerina Lvovna on the cheek.
Chapter eight
A fierce struggle ensues: Katerina knocks her husband to the floor, and Sergey tries to strangle him. Zinovy Borisovich receives a heavy blow to the head and dies in a few moments.
Sergei is horrified by the committed sin, but helps the new mistress to carefully hide the body of the murdered in the cellar. Katerina erases blood stains and informs her lover that he has finally become a new merchant.
Chapter nine
Perplexity in the merchant yard: where did Zinovy Borisovich stock up? His searches do not lead to anything. Katerina Lvovna rewrites her husband’s capital to herself, but finds out that a certain part of the property belongs to Fedor’s nephew Zinovy Borisovich. Along with this news comes another - Katerina Lvovna is pregnant.
Fyodor comes to the estate with his elderly cousin Boris Timofeevich. Doubts torment Sergey, he is afraid to lose so easily got money.
Chapter ten
Katerina Lvovna is not happy with this state of affairs, she is not ready to share the acquired wealth with her young nephew Zinovy Borisovich. In connection with the pregnancy, Katerina is getting fat, and unambiguous rumors begin to circulate in the city about her relationship with Sergey.
Meanwhile, Fedya gets sick with chickenpox, and his grandmother asks Katerina to look after the boy. Sergey and Katerina gather at Fedor’s room and, exchanging glances, enter the patient.
Chapter eleven
The boy, as if understanding his fate, is frightened by the people who entered. Katerina pinches Fedor's mouth and orders Sergey to hold the boy lying in bed tightly. Katerina puts a pillow on Fedor’s face and holds it tightly. The boy is dying.
At this moment, the house shakes with the strongest blows. Sergei in a fit of panic runs away, it seems to him that the dead Zinovy came for him. Katerina neatly rests her head on Fedor and unlocks the door. A crowd of people rushes into the house, almost sweeping Katerina off the threshold.
Chapter twelve
People return from service in the church, discussing rumors of a clerk and a young widow. They see the light in the house of the merchant and peep out the window - there they watch the scene of the murder. Katerina and her accomplice were immediately seized and detained.
Sergei repents and confesses to all the killings. People dig out the corpse of Zinovy Borisovich from the cellar, and the merchant, together with her lover, goes to hard labor. In the hospital, Katerina gives birth, but immediately abandons her child.
Chapter thirteen
On the way to hard labor, Katerina Lvovna spends all her money on being allowed to go alongside her lover. Sergey is dissatisfied with this, he often scolds his passion, which greatly upsets her.
On the way, they adjoin another group of convicts, among them - a soldier Fiona, as well as a young and nimble Sonnet.
Chapter fourteen
Sergei without any hesitation takes care of Fiona. Katerina Lvovna finds her lover lying with a soldier. She hits Sergey in the face and runs away.
Katerina suffers from such an attitude, and the next day she sees how Sergey is already talking with Sonnet, which wounds her heart even more. Sergei asks for a meeting with Katerina, and she seems that everything is returning to its place. Beloved complains of leg pain and begs Katerina for stockings. She cannot refuse Sergey and with great zeal gives them to him.
Chapter fifteen
The next day, Katerina Lvovna sees Sonnet in the stockings that she gave to Sergei the other day. Katerina spits in the face of the traitor, the whole stage laughs at the grief of the convict. At night, two people enter the barracks of Katerina and beat a young girl with a rope. Katerina recognizes Sergey in one of them, but the next day she does not say a word to anyone. Sergey is bold and laughs at his ex-lover.
At the Volga convicts are taken by ferry, where Sergey continues to scoff at Katerina: asks to buy vodka, defiantly kisses Sonnetka. Katerina Lvovna sees in the water the heads of people who died at her hands. She falls into exhausted rage, grabs Sonnet and jumps overboard with her. The whole ferry is closely watching the turbulent waves: at one moment people see the Sonnet pop up, but then Katerina appears from behind her and drags the girl to the bottom with a predatory movement.
