The article clarifies that most of Panas Myrnyi’s works depict the life of serfdom and express the idea of social liberation and the struggle against any form of exploitation and slavery. The author also portrays the situation of the peasants before and after the reform of 1861. It is noted that Panas Myrnyi structures the timeline representing the reform of 1861 as a turning point in the history of the Ukrainian people. It was a propelling force of dynamic changes and social transformations and determined the logic of reformatting the life of those days. It is stated that the phenomenon of serfdom and torture machines for peasants are interpreted as «a mischief of old times». In contrast, the contradictions between social estates, illegal activities of country councils (zemstvo), unemployment, landlessness, and the dominance of Jewish tavern-keepers during the peasant emancipation are identified as «a starving freedom» or «a mischief of current days». It is emphasized that the writer comprehends various forms of protest against arbitrariness and cruelty, models the image of fighters for the truth and people’s avengers, and artistically depicts the events of Koliivshchyna, referring to folklore and ethnographic sources. The main attention is focused on the different types of peasants represented in Myrnyi’s works. They include the images of serfs, who are aware of their own slavish position but do not actively resist; supporters of spontaneous and angry protest, prone to violent methods of struggle against exploitation; potential rebels gradually realizing the need to join the social liberation movement.