The captain's daughter is a writer. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, "The Captain's Daughter": analysis, theme, main characters

Year of writing:

1836

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Description of the work:

Work by Alexander Pushkin " Captain's daughter", a summary of which we invite you to read, was written by the famous Russian writer in 1836. This is one of his last works.

To more accurately describe historical events, Pushkin went to the Urals, where the Pugachev uprising took place, and talked with the Pugachevites. It is also known that Alexander Pushkin worked hard on “The Captain’s Daughter”, because as many as five versions of the story have survived to this day.

Read the summary of "The Captain's Daughter" below.

The basis of the novel is the memoirs of one person who wrote them when Emperor Alexander occupied the throne. This man is a nobleman, now he is fifty years old, and his name is Pyotr Andreevich Grinev. At the time he recalls, he was seventeen years old, and due to very strange circumstances, he became an involuntary participant in the events associated with the “Pugachevism.” This is what the novel is dedicated to.

Grinev is somewhat ironic in his childhood memories. He was a noble undergrowth. His father Andrei Petrovich Grinev was awarded the title of retired prime minister, and he remained to live in the village, marrying the daughter of an impoverished nobleman. Petrusha had many brothers and sisters, but none of them survived. Grinev writes that before he was born, he was already listed as a sergeant in the Semenovsky regiment.

From the age of five, Petrusha was entrusted to the supervision of the eager Savelich, who, thanks to his sober behavior, began to be called the boy’s uncle. Savelich supervised Petrusha's studies well, and he quickly learned both the Russian language with all its literacy and the intricacies of hunting. Soon Grinev got along with the new French teacher, whose name was Beaupre. This same Frenchman was engaged in another craft in his homeland - cutting hair, and in Prussia he was a military service. And although Beaupre had a contract according to which he had to learn young student French, German languages and to help comprehend other sciences, the Frenchman himself learned Russian from Petrusha. It ended with Beaupre being caught in drunkenness, dissolute behavior and failure to fulfill his teaching duties, as a result of which he was expelled.

Early years Pyotr Grinev is having fun - chasing birds, playing with the neighbor's kids in the yard, racing leapfrog. But at the age of sixteen, his father decided to send Petrusha to serve the Fatherland. Moreover, it was not about St. Petersburg - that’s too simple, but about the army in Orenburg. Let the young man find out what gunpowder is, and “pull the strap.” Of course, Grinev did not like such an idea, because his dreams were about have a fun life in the capital, and now boring days lay ahead in remote and remote Orenburg. Let's continue the summary of "The Captain's Daughter", because the most interesting things are just beginning.

Grinev goes to Orenburg together with Savelich, however, at the entrance to the city, they are caught by a strong snowstorm. On the way, they meet a man who helps the wagon get to the level, and at that time Pyotr Andreevich sees a dream that frightened him, where now Grinev, from the age of fifty, sees some prophetic features. And then he dreamed of a black-bearded man, who, according to Petrusha’s mother, was “the imprisoned father” and Andrei Petrovich, and he was lying in his father’s bed. This same man wants to give the young man a hand to kiss and then bless him. Then he begins to swing the ax, bloody puddles appear, but he tells the frightened Grinev that there is no need to be afraid, come on, they say, I will bless you.

The tent gets out of the snowstorm thanks to a random counselor, and Grinev wants to thank him. Moreover, the counselor is dressed lightly. Therefore, Pyotr Grinev treats him to wine and gives him clothes - a hare sheepskin coat, to which he hears words of gratitude and respect in response. Grinev remembered his appearance: age - forty years or so, thin build with broad shoulders, average height, black beard.

In Orenburg, Grinev must find Belogorsk fortress to serve there. But the fortress is just a name. There are no formidable bastions, towers and ramparts there. It is a simple village surrounded by a wooden fence. There are several disabled people living there who cannot distinguish right side from the left, and all the artillery is an old cannon, and it’s filled with rubbish.

The commandant of the fortress is called Ivan Kuzmich Mironov. Although he is not educated, he is honest and kind. The commandant's wife, Vasilisa Egorovna, has taken over the management of affairs and even manages the service independently, as if running a household. Grinev fits in well with the Mironov family, and they almost consider him one of their own. The Mironovs have a daughter, Masha, a prudent and sensitive girl in the eyes of Pyotr Grinev.

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Grinev is not at all burdened by service, quite the contrary. He reads a lot, translates and writes poetry. In the fortress there is Lieutenant Shvabrin - the only person, in fact, who is educated in the same way as Grinev, of the same age and does the same thing. At first, the young people become close, but not for long. Soon there is a considerable quarrel. It turns out that Shvabrin made attempts to gain the favor of Masha Mironova, tried to woo her, but the girl refused him. Grinev did not know this, and earlier showed Shvabrin small poems with a love theme, dedicated to Masha. The lieutenant, of course, reacted in a peculiar way - he criticized the poems, and even expressed his opinion about Masha’s “mores and customs” with dirty hints. As a result, Shvabrin and Grinev fought in a duel, in which Grinev was wounded.

While Masha is caring for a patient after being wounded Grinev's relationship young people grow stronger, and feelings of sympathy are mutual. They even admitted this to each other, and Grinev had already decided to ask for his father’s consent to the wedding, for which he wrote him a letter. However, the father turned out to be against this marriage, because the Grinevs have three hundred peasants, and the Mironovs are poor - there is only one girl Palashka. The priest’s prohibition is strict, and he even threatens to knock the “stupid” out of Petrusha’s head by transferring him to serve in another place.

Grinev experiences this letter from his father painfully, the environment around him seems dreary and unbearable, he is gloomy, and wants to be alone all the time. Suddenly, everything changes, because events occur that greatly change his life, as Grinev himself notes in his memoirs. You can’t tell everything in the summary of “The Captain’s Daughter,” but we will try to accurately convey the essence of the following events.

In October 1773, the commandant received a notification that the Don Cossack Emelyan Pugachev was impersonating the deceased emperor. Peter III. Having gathered a gang of villains, he caused unrest in the surrounding settlements, destroyed more than one fortress, which is why the commandant must be ready to repel Pugachev’s attack if the impostor shows up.

Pugachev was already on everyone’s lips, and soon they managed to capture one Bashkir man who had “outrageous sheets” with him, but he couldn’t be interrogated because the poor guy’s tongue was torn out. Everyone is waiting for Pugachev to attack the Belogorsk fortress.

Eventually, the rebels show up, but the fortress did not expect to see them so soon. Masha didn’t even have time to leave for Orenburg. The first attack - and the fortress is in the hands of Pugachev. The prisoners must swear allegiance to the impostor, for which they are lined up in the square. Grinev was also captured. First, the commandant is hanged, who refuses the oath, then Vasilisa Yegorovna is killed with a saber. It’s Grinev’s turn, but Pugachev leaves him alive. As it turned out later, there was a reason for mercy - Savelich told Pyotr Andreevich that the same tramp who met them on the way and helped them get out of the snowstorm was Pugachev, and yet Grinev gave him a sheepskin coat and wine.

In the evening, Grinev is received by the “great sovereign.” He reminds Peter of the mercy shown and asks if he is ready to serve him. However, here too Grinev refuses the robber, because his loyalty belongs to the empress. Moreover, Grinev even honestly admits that perhaps he will fight against Pugachev. The impostor is so surprised by the sincerity of the young officer that he decides to let him go home. Grinev goes to Orenburg to ask for help - he really wants to save Masha, who remains in the fortress. Popadya said that this was her niece, so no one touched Masha. But the most unpleasant thing is that now the commandant of the fortress is Shvabrin, who swore an oath to serve the rebel.

Orenburg soon also finds itself surrounded by Pugachev’s troops, a siege begins, and they refuse to help the Belogorsk fortress. Grinev accidentally reads a letter where Masha writes that Shvabrin threatens to tell the whole truth if she does not agree to become his wife. Unsuccessfully, Grinev asks the military commandant to help, but he again refuses him.

Grinev and Savelich have their own plan in mind, so they themselves go to help Masha, but the rebels manage to capture them. Pugachev and Grinev, by chance, come together again, and when the impostor learns the whole essence of the story, he himself becomes determined to free Masha and punish Shvabrin. While the officer and the captor are driving, they have an open conversation. It turns out that Pugachev understands that he is doomed and expects his comrades to betray him. He recalls a Kalmyk tale, from which it follows that it is better for an eagle to drink living blood at once than to be an ordinary scavenger for years. Grinev and Pugachev have different views on the moral side of this issue, because, according to the officer, it is precisely those who live by robbery who peck at carrion. Our portal site does not give ratings, leaving this for the reader to think about, read the summary of “The Captain's Daughter” to the end.

Be that as it may, Masha is freed, Shvabrin tries to show all his cards to Pugachev, but he calmly lets Grinev go, and Pyotr Andreevich decides to send the girl, as his bride, to her parents. The young officer himself remains in service for now in order to fulfill his “duty of honor.”

The military campaign ends, but Grinev is arrested, although at the trial he is calm and confident, because he has many excuses. Here Shvabrin comes forward with false accusations of espionage against Grinev - allegedly Pugachev sent him to Orenburg. The court accepts these arguments and condemns Grinev, who now, disgraced, must go to Siberia.

The role of the savior is Masha, who firmly intends to ask the queen for mercy, for which she goes to St. Petersburg. In Tsarskoe Selo, when Masha is walking along the paths of the garden, she meets a middle-aged lady. The lady finds out what Masha is doing here and invites her to tell her about everything, which the girl does. It turns out that this lady is the empress herself, she shows mercy to Grinev in the same way as some time ago Pugachev showed mercy to both Masha and Grinev.

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“The Captain's Daughter” is a historical novel, which A.S. worked on. Pushkin worked for three years (1833-1836). The writing of the work was preceded by long and painstaking textual and historical work.

Initially, Pushkin, who was interested in the history of the Pugachev uprising, intended to create documentary work. The poet received permission from Nicholas I to access unpublished materials and documents about the uprising, as well as family archives. In 1833, Pushkin went to the Urals and Volga region, where the main actions of the uprising took place. There he questioned Pugachev’s contemporaries, participants and witnesses of the uprising. It is these unique materials that formed the basis historical work Pushkin “The History of the Pugachev Rebellion.”

However, the work on materials about the uprising was not completed: then the idea was born work of art about the Pugachev rebellion. The bright and certainly noteworthy figure of Pugachev interested Pushkin not only as a historian, but also as a poet. In addition, the acute political and social conflict The uprising gave rise to the idea of ​​creating a novel. However, this is precisely what could have caused difficulties for publication due to censorship, which became stricter under Nicholas I. Because of this, Pushkin rewrote it many times - drafts with several plans for the work have been preserved. The first version was written back in 1833, but the revision of the novel lasted until October 1836. The editions that have reached us prove the complexity of working on the work.

To create the main character, Pushkin studied historical data about the accomplices of Emelyan Pugachev. Two people are considered prototypes: second lieutenant Shvanvich, who went over to the side during the uprising, and Pugachev’s captive Basharin, who managed to escape and join the army that was trying to suppress the uprising. The surname Grinev (in the first editions - Bulanina) was also not chosen by chance. A certain Grinev was on the list of people who were suspected of involvement in organizing the riot, but were later acquitted as innocent. The originally planned controversial figure of the protagonist-nobleman in recent editions was replaced by two completely different characters: in the novel we see the noble, honest Grinev and the immoral traitor Shvabrin. This technique of contrasting the antagonist with the main character eliminated difficulties when passing censorship.

It is known that the impetus for Pushkin’s creation of a historical novel was the appearance in the 30s. XIX century in Russia, translations of Walter Scott's novels. Having caught it correctly genre essence a work of fiction based on real historical data, Pushkin plausibly recreated the era in his novel and revealed the personality of an important historical figure with the help of the artist’s unique style and skill.

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Working on a piece

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin worked on his story “The Captain's Daughter” for three years - from 1833 to 1836, and its writing was preceded by painstaking work on research historical facts. Initially, the author’s goal was to create a documentary work, but gradually the idea was born to write fiction story about the Pugachev rebellion.

In order for the work to be useful to future generations, the author relied on the facts set out in documents about the uprising, which lasted from 1773 to 1774, as well as family archives, permission to use which he received from Nicholas II.

Dear readers! We invite you to read the story “The Captain's Daughter” by A. S. Pushkin.

But this was not enough, and Alexander Sergeevich went to the Urals and Volga region - the places where the main events of the Pugachev uprising took place. A huge contribution to the work was made by eyewitness accounts - direct participants, as well as witnesses of the Pugachev War.

Prototypes of the main characters of the work

It is important that the prototypes of the work of A.S. Pushkin's "Captain's Daughter" real people. Studying historical data about who were Pugachev’s accomplices, the author of the work decided to create the image of Shvabrin, using facts about second lieutenant Shvanich, who during the war went over to the side of the rebel Emelyan Pugachev. Main character Pyotr Grinev's story was based on a man named Basharin.

He, being a prisoner, was able to escape and join the army, which was trying to suppress the uprising of the rebel and his followers. The surname Grinev was also not chosen by Alexander Sergeevich by chance: someone with the same surname was on the list of people who were initially considered guilty of organizing the riot, but were later acquitted.

Working on the images of the main characters

Initially, the author planned to create a main character with contradictory features character, but later his plan changed, and Pushkin decided that the plot of the novel would feature two characters completely opposite in character and views - Pyotr Grinev and Alexey Shvabrin. These antipodes create the basis of the work, and the character of each of them is revealed in relation to one person - the girl Masha Mironova. But in order to draw correct conclusions about the role of these heroes, you need to consider the behavior of each in the context of the story.

Personality of Peter Grinev

This young man received moral education at home, the father tried to control the boy’s behavior as much as possible. Finally, he sent him to serve in the Belogorodskaya fortress in the hope that his son would receive important life lessons. There, Pyotr Grinev showed himself to be kind and noble, not tolerating meanness and arrogance. He boldly stands up for the honor of his beloved girl Maria, asking to be released from captivity, even despite the fact that he himself is in danger from Emelyan Pugachev. Grinev is characterized by an unmistakable moral sense. He knows how to quickly recognize the characters of the people around him. So, finding himself in the Belogorodskaya fortress and meeting new people, the hero was able to appreciate the spiritual purity of Masha Mironova and recognize the vile and base nature of Alexei Shvabrin.

But in the formidable rebel Emelyan Pugachev, it would seem negative character, Peter was able to consider an extraordinary person who, along with negative traits Character is characterized by such qualities as the breadth of the Russian soul, intelligence and resourcefulness. Despite the normal attitude towards the rebel, Grinev could never become a traitor. He preferred to accept death by hanging than to swear allegiance to the impostor, but Savelich saved his master. And the sacrifice of Peter, who gave a simple peasant (whom Grinev later recognized in Pugachev) a hare sheepskin coat, after a while, paid off handsomely.

Description of the character of Alexey Shvabrin

Alexey Shvabrin is the complete opposite of Pyotr Grinev, a vile, impudent, arrogant and narcissistic person. Having killed his acquaintance while playing with swords, even being transferred to a fortress as punishment, he did not change his way of thinking, but again showed his bad character.. Not knowing how to make friends, out of envy he slanderes his friend Pyotr Grinev, ridiculing his talent for writing poetry. Despite his noble title, Alexey in his pride does not even shun betrayal and meanness, and commits bad deeds repeatedly. The first time Alexey shows himself to be an extreme scoundrel is in a duel with Pyotr Grinev, when, taking advantage of the fact that he turned away at the servant’s shout, he seriously wounds him.

We invite you to read the story “The Captain's Daughter” by A. S. Pushkin.

We see a vivid betrayal after the capture of the Belogorodskaya fortress by the rebels, when, in a moment of danger, he, saving his own skin, cowardly runs over to the side of the impostor Pugachev! And how despotic Shvabrin treated Maria Mironova! Despite the fact that the girl was left an orphan on the day of Pugachev’s attack on the fortress, he locked her in a hut and kept her on bread and water, forcing her to marry.

The image of Emelyan Pugachev

“Execute like this, execute like this, favor like this: this is my custom” - these words were spoken by Emelyan Pugachev, the leader of the peasant uprising, described in the story by A. S. Pushkin “The Captain's Daughter”. The image of this hero caused a lot of controversy and indignation at that time, because for the first time the troublemaker and rebel, who was the leader of the peasant uprising, appeared before the reader not in the role of a cruel, bloodthirsty killer, but as a talented and brave leader of the people who managed to lead the peasant uprising thanks to ingenuity, intelligence, inexhaustible energy and outstanding abilities.

He saw exclusively evil in the nobility and brutally dealt with those who, in his opinion, oppressed the simple poor people, the peasants. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, in the person of Pugachev, created the image of a man who, in spite of everything, remembers the good done to him. Out of gratitude for the hare sheepskin coat and a glass of vodka, which Pyotr Grinev shared during the snowstorm, Emelyan Pugachev repeatedly saves his life. Peter is more than once convinced that this man is not as terrible as he presents him to people royal power.

Alexander Pushkin describes Pugachev in his story not only as the leader of the peasant war, but also in the image a simple Cossack. In his speech one can hear sayings, proverbs, sayings, and allegories. He forces people to call themselves “Tsar-Father,” and explains this requirement by the fact that faith in a good Tsar will always live in Rus'. In relations with subordinates one can notice democracy and a lack of respect for rank. Everyone has the right to express own opinion and disagree with the point of view of the “sovereign”.

The history of the creation of the story “The Captain's Daughter” by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin

The most famous brainchild of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, "The Captain's Daughter", was completed in 1836. Then he was assigned the genre of historical novel. But few people know that before writing such a great work, there was a long preparation ahead, which required patience and multiple efforts.

In connection with the work on the story, Pushkin had a very bold idea. He takes on the mission to write a historical research article on the topic of Pugachev's uprising. Having barely received the long-awaited permission, the writer deeply and for a very long time studies archival materials, trying not to lose sight of anything. To consolidate what he started, he also goes to the place where there once was an uprising. Long conversations with eyewitnesses and walks around the neighborhood are bearing fruit. Already in 1834, he finally managed to put an end to it and show the world his wonderful result. It was this long and painstaking work that became one of the main factors in writing The Captain's Daughter.

But as you know, the initial idea for the plot arose from Alexander Sergeevich before he began to study “The History of Pugachev.” This happens during the period when he was still working on Dubrovsky. Work on the story continues for several years. As the process progresses, both the names of the characters and the idea as a whole change. If initially the writer imagined a businesslike officer as the main character, then after a while the vision of such a turn of events did not seem the most successful to Pushkin.

To give the effect of realism to his characters, the author carefully studied numerous historical materials about Pugachev’s accomplices. It is not surprising that the heroes have prototypes that previously existed. The way the author’s train of thought rapidly changes indicates to us a difficult period in his life. Confrontation between two classes political sphere have a very negative impact on state of mind person. At such moments it is very difficult to tune in to inspiration, but also to find it. But even the turbulent situation in the country did not bother the great writer. Skillful techniques by contrasting one character with another help the work successfully pass all stages of censorship testing. The talent and effort that the writer so diligently put into the process itself were appreciated.

Option 2

The idea for this work came to Alexander Sergeevich at the beginning of 1833. At that time he was still working on Dubrovsky and historical sketch"The History of Pugachev". To better understand what was happening during the uprising, Pushkin travels through the Urals and the Volga region. There he spends a lot of time talking with eyewitnesses of those events. And it was thanks to this evidence that he was able to reproduce this historical event in more detail in his works.

Nowadays, there are 5 editions of The Captain's Daughter. From this we can conclude that the writer worked very carefully on the novel and tried to ensure that his work met the strict requirements imposed by the censorship of those times.

Unfortunately, the first version of the novel, presumably written at the end of the summer of 1833, has not survived. Work on it did not stop for the next three years. It is generally accepted that the work was completely completed on October 19, 1836.

A little about the characters. There is an opinion that the prototype of the main character could be several real-life personalities at the same time. Among them are Shvanvich and Vasharin. After all, the author intended it as young man noble family, who, under the pressure of circumstances, would side with the rebels. And the first one actually went over to the rebels. While Vasharin, after escaping from Pugachev’s captivity, joined General Mikhelson, an ardent fighter against Pugachevism. The main character first received the surname Bulanin, and then was renamed Grinev. The choice of surname also carries meaning. It is known that such a person actually belonged to the gang. After the riot he was acquitted.

Pushkin came up with a very interesting literary move - to divide the originally conceived image between two characters. As a result, one hero (Grinev) is one hundred percent positive, and the second (Shvabrin) is his complete opposite - petty and evil. Despite the fact that both young men belong to the same social class, the author contrasts them with each other. This is what gave the work a certain political urgency and helped overcome censorship restrictions those years.

An interesting fact is that Alexander Sergeevich had to cut out an entire chapter from the latest edition of the novel. Most likely, he took this step to please the censors. After all, in that chapter we were talking about the uprising in the settlement of Grinev. Fortunately, this part of “The Captain’s Daughter” was not lost; the poet carefully put the pages in a separate cover, wrote “Missed Chapter” on it and kept them in that form. It was published after the writer’s death on the pages of the Russian Archive magazine in 1880.

The work itself was first published on the pages of the Sovremennik magazine in 1836 in the fourth book. This issue of the publication was the last one published during Pushkin’s lifetime. According to censorship requirements, the work had to be published omitting some passages and without the writer’s signature.

Option 3

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin became known in Russian culture not only as a poet, but also as a magnificent prose writer, famous for his prose works. One of them is the work "The Captain's Daughter", which also contains a detailed historical aspect.

As soon as Pushkin takes up his pen, he first of all studies the available historical sources and archives, he carefully collects various information, and also visits two provinces, from which Pugachev’s uprising began, which later became a real peasant or even civil war. The author personally visits all the places and battlefields in order to accurately and reliably describe what is happening. He examines the fortresses, makes sketches and saves them in a single archive in order to use them when writing his own work.

He also communicates with elderly people who were eyewitnesses to the events taking place. He carefully collects all the collected information, which he then uses in the story; he does this quite professionally and scrupulously. Collected material was quite multifaceted and made it possible to display different aspects of personalities that develop against the background of what is happening.

The events of the work begin in 1770, namely when a brutal confrontation broke out under the leadership of Pugachev, who decided to take power in own hands and turn the tide historical events. The author accurately describes the externally and internally of the steppe fortresses, which are built in order to protect the region from enemy attacks. He clearly describes the situation of the Cossacks, who are constantly dissatisfied with the authorities, which leads to the maturation of a rebellious spirit. One day he boils. And the real uprising begins.

The author describes with historical accuracy how the fortresses will be taken and how they will surrender during a fierce battle. The story about reality also becomes part of the story. existing people. It reveals their personalities, shows what motives drove them during the struggle against the existing state system, why did they go over to Pugachev’s side? What motivated them? They wanted better life for themselves and their loved ones, so they fought with all their might for happiness and the opportunity to live fully.

Pushkin Special attention draws attention to appearance and a portrait of Pugachev, who is a fugitive Don Cossack. He is ready to gather around himself a large number of rebels. The author shows that a man is ready to charm people with his external charisma and fight for people’s attention so that they will follow him. His authoritarian character and desire to promote his own idea does its job.

Thanks to the author's ingenious approach, he was able to subtly intertwine the real historical narrative with a fictional story. Not every author approached writing works with such precision and clarity that became the cultural heritage of an entire country, as well as world culture. "Captain's daughter" - historical work worthy of attention.

Prototypes of the heroes of the Captain's Daughter:

Peter Grinev. He constantly strives for self-improvement and tries to improve himself by any means. Despite the lack of a systematic approach to education, his parents gave him excellent moral education. As soon as he breaks free, he cannot control himself, he is rude to the servant, but then his conscience forces him to apologize. He was taught to be friends, to show best feelings and qualities, but at the same time, his father’s systematism forces him to constantly work and think only about his own interests.

Alexey Shvabrin. The main character is the direct opposite of Peter. He can show neither courage nor nobility. He even goes to serve Pugachev, because in this way he can satisfy his base motives. The author himself feels a certain contempt for him, which the reader sees between the lines.

Masha Mironova. Maria Mironova is the only girl and character who exactly follows the phrase “take care of your honor from a young age.” She is the boss's daughter Belgorod fortress. Her courage and bravery help her to be a brave girl who is ready to fight for own feelings, go to the Empress if necessary. She is ready to give even her life in order to achieve her goal or preserve her best qualities for further struggle.

One surprising feature of the hero prototypes is that the personalities of Peter and Alexei are taken from the personality of one person. Shvanvich became the prototype for both. But at the same time, they are completely different heroes. Initially, the author conceived him as a hero who, for the sake of the title of nobleman, became Pugachev’s henchman on a voluntary basis.

But after a series of studies, Pushkin sets his sights on another historical figure- Basharine. Basharin was captured by Pugachev. He became the main prototype of the main character, brave and courageous, capable of fighting for his own worldviews and promoting them to the masses. The surname of the main character changed periodically, and the final version was Grinev.

Shvabrin simply becomes the opposite of the main character. The author contrasts each of his positive quality to each negative quality Shvabrina. Thus, it constitutes yin and yang, against the background of which readers were able to evaluate from the outside and generally compare. Thus, the reader understands who is truly good and who is the embodiment of evil. But is evil always such? Or is it such only against the backdrop of good? And what can be considered good? And can the actions of Shvabrin and Srinev always be divided into black and white, or can actions never be classified into one category or another, and can only be assessed in comparison with the morality of another person nearby.

Masha Mironova is a mystery for the reader. Pushkin does not fully reveal where he got the image of a girl who is pleasant in appearance, but at the same time strong and courageous, ready to fight for her principles. On the one hand, some say that the prototype of her character is Georgian guy who was captured.

He showed all the courage of character and dedication to get out of the situation in which he found himself. On the other hand, he talks about a girl he met at a ball. She was a rather modest and pleasant person; her appearance captivated the people around her, as did her charm.

Prototypes of heroes, Interesting Facts(writing history)

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« Captain's daughter" - a historical novel (or story) by Alexander Pushkin, the action of which takes place during the uprising of Emelyan Pugachev. First published without indicating the author's name in the 4th book of the Sovremennik magazine, which went on sale in the last decade of 1836.

Plot

In his declining years, landowner Pyotr Andreevich Grinev narrates the turbulent events of his youth. He spent his childhood on his parents’ estate in the Simbirsk province, until at the age of 16 his strict father, a retired officer, ordered him to be sent to serve in the army: “He’s done running around the maidens and climbing dovecotes.”

By the will of fate, on the way to his place of duty, the young officer meets Emelyan Pugachev, who was then just a runaway, unknown Cossack. During a snowstorm, he agrees to take Grinev and his old servant Savelich to the inn. As a token of gratitude for the service, Peter gives him his hare sheepskin coat.

Arriving for service at the border Belogorsk fortress, Peter falls in love with the daughter of the commandant of the fortress, Masha Mironova. Grinev’s colleague, officer Alexei Shvabrin, whom he met already in the fortress, also turns out to be partial to captain's daughter and challenges Peter to a duel, during which he wounds Grinev. Peter's father becomes aware of the fight and refuses to bless the marriage with the dowry.

Meanwhile, the Pugachevism flares up, which Pushkin himself characterized as “a Russian revolt, senseless and merciless.” Pugachev and his army advance and capture fortresses in the Orenburg steppe. He executes the nobles, and calls the Cossacks into his army. Masha's parents die at the hands of rebels; Shvabrin swears allegiance to Pugachev, but Grinev refuses. Savelich saves him from certain execution by turning to Pugachev. He recognizes the person who helped him in the winter and gives him life.

Grinev does not agree to the offer to join Pugachev’s army. He leaves for Orenburg, besieged by rebels, and fights against Pugachev, but one day he receives a letter from Masha, who remained in the Belogorsk fortress due to illness. From the letter he learns that Shvabrin wants to forcefully marry her. Grinev leaves his service without permission, arrives at the Belogorsk fortress and, with the help of Pugachev, saves Masha. Later, following Shvabrin’s denunciation, government troops arrest him. Grinev is sentenced to execution, replaced by exile to Siberia for eternal settlement. After this, Masha goes to Tsarskoe Selo to see Catherine II and begs for forgiveness to the groom, telling everything she knew and noting that P. A. Grinev could not justify himself before the court only because he did not want to involve her.

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"The Captain's Daughter" is one of the works with which Russian writers of the 1830s responded to the success of Walter Scott's translated novels. Pushkin planned to write a historical novel back in the 1820s (see “Arap of Peter the Great”). The first of historical novels on a Russian theme, “Yuri Miloslavsky” by M. N. Zagoskin (1829) was published. Grinev’s meeting with the counselor, according to Pushkin scholars, goes back to a similar scene in Zagoskin’s novel.

The idea for a story about Pugachev's era matured during Pushkin's work on historical chronicle- “The history of the Pugachev rebellion.” In search of materials for his work, Pushkin traveled to Southern Urals, where he talked with eyewitnesses of the terrible events of the 1770s. According to P. V. Annenkov, “the compressed and only apparently dry presentation he adopted in “History” seemed to find a complement in his exemplary novel, which has the warmth and charm of historical notes,” in a novel “that represented the other side of the subject - side of the morals and customs of the era."

"The Captain's Daughter" was written casually, among work on the Pugachev era, but in it more history than in "History" Pugachev's rebellion", which seems like a long explanatory note to the novel.

In the summer of 1832, Pushkin intended to make the hero of the novel an officer who went over to Pugachev’s side, Mikhail Shvanvich (1749-1802), uniting him with his father, who was expelled from the life campaign after he cut Alexei Orlov’s cheek with a broadsword in a tavern quarrel. Probably, the idea of ​​​​a work about a nobleman who joined the bandits because of a personal grudge was eventually embodied in the novel “Dubrovsky”, the action of which was transferred to modern era.

Catherine II on an engraving by N. Utkin

Later, Pushkin gave the story the form of a memoir, and made the narrator and main character a nobleman who remained faithful to his duty, despite the temptation to go over to the side of the rebels. The historical figure of Shvanvich, thus, split into the images of Grinev and his antagonist - the “frankly conventional” villain Shvabrin.

The scene of Masha’s meeting with the Empress in Tsarskoe Selo was obviously suggested by a historical anecdote about Joseph II’s mercy to “the daughter of a captain.” The non-standard, “homey” image of Catherine, drawn in the story, is based on an engraving by N. Utkin from the famous portrait of Borovikovsky (performed, however, much later than the events depicted in the story).

Walterscott motifs

Many of the plot points of “The Captain’s Daughter” echo the novels of Walter Scott, as pointed out, in particular, by N. Chernyshevsky. In Savelich, Belinsky also saw the “Russian Caleb”. Comic episode with Savelich's account to Pugachev has an analogue in “The Adventures of Nigel” (1822). In the Tsarskoye Selo scene, “the daughter of Captain Mironov is placed in the same position as the heroine of the Edinburgh Dungeon” (1818), A.D. Galakhov once pointed out.

Publication and first reviews

“The Captain’s Daughter” was published a month before the author’s death in the magazine “Sovremennik”, which he published, under the guise of notes from the late Pyotr Grinev. From this and subsequent editions In the novel, for censorship reasons, a chapter about a peasant revolt in the village of Grineva was released, preserved in a draft manuscript. Until 1838, there were no printed reviews of the story, but Gogol noted in January 1837 that it “produced a universal effect.” A. I. Turgenev wrote on January 9, 1837 to K. Ya. Bulgakov:

Pushkin's story... became so famous here that Barant, not jokingly, suggested to the author, in my presence, to translate it into French with his help, but how would he express the originality of this style, this era, these Old Russian characters and this girlish Russian charm - which were sketched in the whole story? The main charm is in the story, and it is difficult to retell the story in another language.

Traditional Walterscott motifs were successfully transferred by Pushkin to Russian soil: “The size is no more than one-fifth of the average Walter Scott novel. The manner of the story is concise, precise, economical, although more spacious and leisurely than in Pushkin’s stories,” notes D. Mirsky. In his opinion, “The Captain’s Daughter” more than other works of Pushkin influenced the development of realism in Russian literature - it is “realism, economical in means, restrainedly humorous, devoid of any pressure.”

Discussing the style of the story, N. Grech wrote in 1840 that Pushkin “with amazing art knew how to capture and express the character and tone of the middle of the 18th century.” If Pushkin didn’t sign the story, “one might actually think that it was actually written by some ancient person who was an eyewitness and hero of the events described, the story is so naive and artless,” F. Dostoevsky agreed with him. N. V. Gogol left an enthusiastic review about the novel:

Definitely the best Russian work in a narrative manner. Compared to The Captain's Daughter, all our novels and stories seem like cloying rubbish.<...>For the first time, truly Russian characters appeared: a simple commandant of the fortress, a captain’s wife, a lieutenant; the fortress itself with a single cannon, the confusion of time and the simple greatness of ordinary people.

Foreign critics are far from being as unanimous in their enthusiasm for The Captain's Daughter as Russians are. In particular, the harsh review of the work is attributed to Irish writer James Joyce:

There is not an ounce of intelligence in this story. Not bad for its time, but nowadays people are much more complex. I can’t understand how one can get carried away by such primitive products - fairy tales that could amuse someone in childhood, about fighters, villains, valiant heroes and horses galloping across the steppes with a beautiful maiden of about seventeen years old hidden in a corner, who is just waiting that she will be rescued at the right moment.

Characters

• Pyotr Andreevich Grinev, a 17-year-old teenager, while still in the womb, enlisted in the Semenovsky Guard Regiment; during the events described in the story - ensign. It is he who leads the story for his descendants during the reign of Alexander I, peppering the story with old-fashioned maxims. The draft version indicated that Grinev died in 1817. According to Belinsky, this is an “insignificant, insensitive character” that the author needs as a relatively impartial witness to Pugachev’s actions. However, according to Yu. M. Lotman, in Pyotr Andreevich Grinev “there is something that attracts the sympathies of the author and readers to him: he does not fit into the framework of the noble ethics of his time, for this he is too human”: 276.
• Colorful figure Emelyan Pugacheva, in which M. Tsvetaeva saw “the only actor" of the story, somewhat overshadows Grinev. P. I. Tchaikovsky for a long time conceived the idea of ​​an opera based on The Captain's Daughter, but abandoned it due to fears that censorship “would find it difficult to miss such a stage performance, from which the viewer leaves completely enchanted by Pugachev,” because Pushkin portrayed him as “essentially a surprisingly sympathetic villain.”
• Alexey Ivanovich Shvabrin, the antagonist of Grinev, is “a young officer of short stature with a dark and distinctly ugly face” and hair that is “black as pitch.” By the time Grinev appeared in the fortress, he had already been transferred from the guard for a duel five years ago. He is reputed to be a freethinker, knows French, understands literature, but at the decisive moment he betrays his oath and goes over to the side of the rebels. In essence, a purely romantic scoundrel (according to Mirsky’s remark, this is generally “Pushkin’s only scoundrel”).
• Marya Ivanovna Mironova, “a girl of about eighteen, chubby, ruddy, with light brown hair combed smoothly behind the ears”; the daughter of the commandant of the fortress, who gave the title to the whole story. “I dressed simply and sweetly.” To save his lover, he goes to the capital and throws himself at the feet of the queen. According to Prince Vyazemsky, the image of Masha fits into the story “pleasant and light shade" - as a peculiar variation on the theme of Tatyana Larina. At the same time, Tchaikovsky complains: “Maria Ivanovna is not interesting and characterful enough, for she is an impeccably kind and honest girl and nothing more.” " Empty place every first love,” echoes Marina Tsvetaeva.
• Arkhip Savelich, stirrup Grinev, from the age of five assigned to Peter as a uncle. Treats a 17-year-old officer like a minor, remembering the order to “look after the child”