The genre of the work is the captain's daughter. Genre and artistic idea of the novel “The Captain's Daughter”
What is the genre of The Captain's Daughter? Is this a novel or a historical story?
“The Captain's Daughter” has signs of both genres.
Pushkin himself defined it as historical novel, however, many researchers believe that this is a story. Pushkin wrote to the censor, handing him the manuscript: “The name of the girl Mironova is fictitious. My novel is based on legend...” Pushkin explained what a novel is: “In our time, by the word novel we mean historical era, developed in fictional narrative" That is, Pushkin considered his work a historical novel.
How to determine the genre of a work? Captain's daughter"? Is this a story or a novel? “The Captain's Daughter” tells the story of the life of Pyotr Andreevich Grinev from childhood until his wedding, and the epilogue also talks about his later life. Family history included in a wide-ranging depiction of historical events, covering great circle phenomena. The theme of Pugachev's uprising is presented, despite the conciseness of the story, quite fully and completely: from the beginning of the uprising (hints of preparation for it are already in the sayings of a passer-by and the owner of the inn) to the defeat and death of Pugachev.
An artistic depiction in epic form of any private or public life in all their development from beginning to completion - covering a wide range of life - the main sign of romance. "The Captain's Daughter" meets these genre requirements. Therefore, before us is a novel. Since its main theme is the image important events history, we'll call it a historical novel.
Let us recall Pushkin’s definition, given already in introductory conversation: “...By the word novel we mean a historical era developed in a fictional narrative.” However, due to the small volume, "The Captain's Daughter" is often called a story. This cannot be seen as some kind of gross mistake, since the novel and the story are related genres, and the exact boundary cannot always be established. Signs of the story - the event is in the center, the volume is medium, chronicle story, minimal number of side storylines.
Let us pay attention to the form of Pushkin’s novel: “family notes” (Pushkin’s expression), memoirs. The story is told from the perspective of the hero. Why did this turn out to be convenient for the author? Because a whole series The author can attribute judgments and thoughts to his hero and relieve himself of responsibility for them. This is convenient for working on such a political hot topic. This is important for us because, when analyzing a novel, we must keep in mind two angles, two points of view on the events described: the point of view of the narrator and the point of view of the author.
The genre of “The Captain's Daughter” is a historical novel (since throughout the entire novel a narrative of historical events is presented and real historical figures are involved in the plot)
The genre of A. S. Pushkin’s work “The Captain’s Daughter” is difficult to define unambiguously: some researchers believe that it is a story, others, on the contrary, define it as a novel. The author himself believed that “The Captain's Daughter” is a description of a historical era in a fictional narrative. However, such a definition does not provide an indication of a specific genre.
So, let's try to answer the question of whether “The Captain's Daughter” is a novel or a story.
Synthesis of genres
As you know, A. S. Pushkin worked in different genres. However, in this work, the level of his skill goes beyond our understanding. We cannot unequivocally answer the question of whether “The Captain's Daughter” is a novel or a story.
The opinions of researchers of the writer’s creativity contradict each other. It is quite difficult to understand what “The Captain's Daughter” is - a novel or a story. Having determined the genre of a work, we are faced with the question of its character. After all, a novel and a story can be love, historical or family.
So, let's try to look at how this book shows signs of different genres.
“The Captain's Daughter” is a story?
Most researchers who define a work as a story rely primarily on the fact that it is very small in volume and its events cover a short time period. Those who share this point view, also indicate the mediocrity of the personality of Pyotr Grinev and his entourage: such characters cannot be heroes of the novel.
Indeed, this work is much shorter than the usual novels written by the classics. However, we are again faced with the question of what its character is, and the small volume of the narrative still cannot exclude the possibility that this is a novel. Let's consider all possible definitions of genre.
Historical nature of the work
Undoubtedly, “The Captain's Daughter” is a novel or story of a historical nature. Pushkin tells us about the period of the reign of Catherine the Great, namely about the events of the rebellion led by To write “The Captain's Daughter,” the author did a lot of work: he got acquainted with historical documents, talked with surviving witnesses of that time. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin wrote the story “The Captain's Daughter” very painstakingly. Summary works rarely convey how accurate the author is in describing the life of the small nobility, how expressive the speech of Emelyan Pugachev is, full of sayings, allegories characteristic of the Cossacks.
However, having determined that this work has a historical orientation, we cannot answer unambiguously the question of whether “The Captain's Daughter” is still a story or a novel.
A work of educational nature
Of course, "The Captain's Daughter" has the characteristics of a work educational character.
At the beginning of the story, the young nobleman Grinev appears before us as a kind of undergrowth, a noble son, treated kindly by his parents. At the end of the book in front of them - a real man, who has experienced a lot and has changed a lot over short period time. He learned to overcome dangers and emerge with dignity difficult situations. For most of the work, Pyotr Grinev is on the road, which is very typical for a work of an educational nature.
So, “The Captain's Daughter” is a novel or an educational story?
“The Captain's Daughter” - a work about love
It should be noted that love line, of course, is present in the plot of the book. The main character falls in love with Masha Mironova, he has a rival - Shvabrin. However, the theme of love is not the main one; the relationship between Peter Grinev and Maria, rather, serves as a background against which the author shows how the personality of the main character changes.
Psychological component of the work
Huge value A. S. Pushkin gives inner world the main character, his experiences, feelings, emotions. It is Petro Grinev who help us understand the reasons for certain of his actions and evaluate the changes in his personality.
The memoir form of presentation does an excellent job of helping the reader appreciate how much the main character’s worldview changes by the end of the work.
So, here we can conclude that this book describes certain historical events, shows the main character, while the narrative is very psychological and tells us touching story love.
However, we did not respond to main question: "The Captain's Daughter" - is it a novel or a story?
It must be said that, as in the case of clarifying the nature of this narrative, it is impossible to draw an unambiguous conclusion when determining its genre. On the one hand, "The Captain's Daughter" is to a greater extent focusing on a rather short period of the life of the main character, which characterizes the work as a story. However, the fates of the heroes of this book are connected with historical events, which is typical for the novel. In addition, it is known that Pushkin wrote “The Captain's Daughter” under the impression of current events and tried to see the problems that united the recent past and the present, which also allows us to define the work as a novel.
The significance of the contribution of A.S. Pushkin in Russian culture difficult to overestimate. It is for this reason that many articles and monographs are devoted to the study of his work.
As you know, the outstanding Russian writer worked in different genres. He is the author of novels, fairy tales, and poems.
The genre of the work “The Captain's Daughter” cannot be defined unambiguously. There are reasons for this, as we will see later. Some researchers claim, others define it as a novel. So, let's try to understand what the genre of the work “The Captain's Daughter” is.
Why is it necessary to determine the genre of this work?
The most popular judgments about the genre of this book contradict each other. This applies equally to both the definition of the main genre (story or novel) and its characteristics. It’s easier to say, if you still characterize this work as a novel, then you need to understand what it is: historical, family, love.
So, let's try to analyze how this book combines the features of different genres. We will also try to come to a certain conclusion that will allow you to feel more knowledgeable if someone suddenly asks you: “Indicate the genre of the work “The Captain's Daughter.”
Understanding “The Captain's Daughter” as a story
So, we need to understand what genre the work “The Captain's Daughter” is. Let's try to figure out whether it's a novel or a story. Researchers who adhere to the first opinion proceed from the fact that this work is small in volume and covers a short period. The first adherent of this point of view is considered to be V.G. Belinsky, who finds Grinev and his entourage mediocre and colorless.
Definition of "The Captain's Daughter" as a novel of education
"The Captain's Daughter" can be considered a kind of novel of education. The main character changes a lot in a relatively short period of time. Constantly facing dangers, Grinev learns to overcome them. According to literary traditions, the presence of an adventure at the beginning of the work and the road motif (the symbol are characteristic of an educational novel. If you review the work again, make sure that most of time main character is on the move.
So, the genre of the work “The Captain's Daughter” by A.S. Pushkin can rightfully be defined as a novel of education.
Features of a love story in "The Captain's Daughter"
It should be noted that in the novel there is love affair. In addition, at of this work There is an invariable feature of this genre - a love triangle.
However, the theme of love in the work is not the leading one, although, undoubtedly, it shows the emergence of feelings between Peter and Masha, the duel for the beloved, separation, and the union of Grinev and Maria at the end of the book. Nevertheless, the love theme in the book rather takes a back seat. She is not the main one.
So, the genre of the work “The Captain's Daughter” cannot be defined as a love story, although the theme of love is present in the work.
Historical novel "The Captain's Daughter"
A significant part of literary scholars define this work as a “historical novel.” Indeed, it is dedicated to a specific historical event, namely the uprising of Emelyan Pugachev. The work contains historical characters: Catherine the Great and When writing the novel, Pushkin turned to documents and talked with eyewitnesses of that time. The author certainly managed to convey the atmosphere of this historical period.
For this reason, if there is a task “Indicate the genre of the work “The Captain's Daughter”,” it is quite possible to answer that this is a historical novel. However, Pushkin’s creation differs in a number of features from other works of this type.
As B. Tomashevsky, a researcher of the writer’s work, notes, Pushkin created his novel under the impression of the events of the present time, trying to see and convey what united the two eras.
It is worth noting one more feature of this work. Pushkin wrote “The Captain's Daughter” in memoir form. The main reason According to which he decided to narrate on behalf of Grinev, most researchers believe that he wanted to bypass censorship.
V.I. Lavretskaya notes that this form of presentation helped the author hide his attitude towards There is also an opinion that Pushkin, using the memoir method of presentation, sought to show Grinev’s controversial position. This allowed the writer to reveal the complexity of the image of Emelyan Pugachev and emphasize not only his mercilessness, but also the nobility of his soul.
The third reason why the author chooses the memoir form, as Lotman points out, is the writer’s desire to show historical characters in ordinary life. For example, he depicts the Empress as a lady “in a nightcap.” Pugachev is also shown by the author in a relaxed atmosphere.
The genre of the work “The Captain's Daughter” cannot be a story. This is a novel, because it depicts the background of which are historical events that are important for Russia.
Thus, the work combines the characteristics of an educational novel, a novel about love, and a historical novel. The memoir form gives this work an everyday flavor.
Events of the story by A.S. Pushkin's "The Captain's Daughter" takes place against the backdrop of the uprising of Emelyan Pugachev. The narration is told on behalf of the main character, Pyotr Grinev, who was a participant in those events and managed to preserve the honor and courage of a real officer, having gone through a severe life test. We invite you to familiarize yourself with brief analysis works according to the plan "The Captain's Daughter". This material can be used for work in literature lessons in the 8th grade, and in preparation for the Unified State Exam.
Brief Analysis
Year of writing– 1883 – 1836
History of creation– Pushkin worked on the story during the period from 1833 to 1836. At first the poet wanted to create a documentary work, but in the process of studying historical materials, he came up with the idea of creating a work of art.
Subject– The main theme of “The Captain’s Daughter” is considered to be moral choice in difficult conditions, preservation of honor and dignity. The text also contains themes of love and education.
Composition– The story is structured in the form of notes from a young nobleman, in which he talks about the Pugachev uprising.
Genre- It still remains open question about the genre of "The Captain's Daughter". The work covers a large period of time, the phases of the main character’s growing up, historical documentary data, all this allows us to attribute this essay to the novel genre. At the time of the writer, multi-volume works were considered novels, and “The Captain’s Daughter” received the genre of a story.
Direction– Realism and romanticism.
History of creation
The history of the creation of “The Captain's Daughter” has many motives, some of which the writer drew from the novels of Walter Scott, in whose works there were historical facts. The poet studied history a lot Russian state, and the figure of Emelyan Pugachev aroused his great interest. Pushkin collected historical facts, had conversations with participants in the events Pugachev's rebellion. Initially, his decision was to create a documentary historical work. The writer had collected a lot of material, and he came up with the idea of writing an artistic narrative, where the image of Pugachev was more clearly expressed. The author began work on “The Captain's Daughter” in 1833, the final year of writing the story was 1836.
In “The Captain's Daughter”, analysis of the work requires revealing the main idea of this narrative. Any government acts to suppress the individual using a harsh regime. The poet comes to the conclusion that: “God forbid we see a Russian rebellion, senseless and merciless.” This is the whole point of his story.
Subject
Subject peasant revolution covers the huge problems of that troubled time. Main problems"The Captain's Daughter" is a problem of power, moral choice a person, his place in history, and, as one of the components, the problem of education.
The point is that meaning of the name“The Captain's Daughter” contains the essence of the entire work. In the background love theme goes through the entire action of the story. It was Maria Mironova who became the catalyst for all of Grinev’s actions; for her sake, he is ready for heroic deeds. The feeling of love experienced by Grinev plays big role in the development of his character, this is expressed both in the conflict with Shvabrin, when Grinev, without hesitation, defends the girl’s honor, and in the episode with Pugachev, when the nobleman again tries to protect Maria and save her life.
Pugachev, having seen such dedication and courage of Grinev, adequately evaluates his behavior. And Maria herself, this timid and defenseless girl, for the sake of love for Grinev, dared to turn to Catherine the Second herself for help.
Thanks to the feeling of love that awakened in him, Grinev was able to demonstrate high moral principles, he opposed himself to Pugachev, but was able to maintain his honor and dignity, important role The young man’s decent upbringing also played a role in this.
Shvabrin, with his lack of spirituality and petty, vile character, was unable to withstand the test, and easily committed betrayal. His resourceful nature is ready only to save his life by any means.
Composition
The compositional features used by the writer allowed him to overcome censorship barriers. With his expressive artistic means, as if outlining the essence of the events taking place through the mouth of Grinev, the author reliably and consistently presents the historical facts of the peasant revolution.
IN compositional construction the stories are described two opposing camps, between which there is a war going on. At the head of the people's camp is Emelyan Pugachev, and at the head of the nobles is Catherine the Second.
Using the method of contrast, the great Russian poet makes it clear what these opposing forces actually are. Descriptions of landscapes are of great importance in the story. Drawn with maximum precision, they fully correspond to the events taking place, giving them greater expressiveness and significance.
Comparing all the above facts of analysis, we can conclude that a person’s moral maturity comes through the tests to which his beliefs are subjected. Much in the development of character depends on upbringing, on the environment where a person lived and was raised. An important role in this is played by the personal example of senior comrades, their dedication and courage, firm conviction that they are right, determination and unshakable will.
Understanding what this work teaches, it becomes clear that the author calls for the fact that a person’s honor is brought up with youth, and only strong beliefs, And strong will, provide the opportunity to make the right moral choice.
Main characters
Genre
Many critics praised genre originality Pushkin's stories.
The poet's contemporaries were convinced that his book belonged to the direction of realism, reflecting real events, but descriptions using historical materials central figure which is romantic hero Pugachev, give him the characteristics of romanticism.
Both the historical line and romantic plot, all this makes the story “The Captain's Daughter” popular today.
Therefore, it would be more correct to call “The Captain’s Daughter” a novel? It could also be a story. But only if we take into account that a story is a novel formation, albeit a small one - “medium”, as researchers call it, of form. (Although, in my opinion, when defining a particular genre, it is strange to approach it with a tailor’s tape measure, or with a school ruler, or even with a modern engineering calculator!)
- “Pushkin wrote: “By the word “novel” we mean a historical era developed in a fictional narrative,” thereby emphasizing this synthetic nature of the large epic form and the fact that it depicts precisely a complex life process - an era.” But isn’t the historical era developed in the narrative of “The Captain’s Daughter”? Isn't this story itself fictitious? It turns out that L.I. Timofeev first confidently called “The Captain’s Daughter” a story, and then indirectly - through Pushkin’s definition of the genre - a novel!
- “Usually in short stories combined into one novel, they are not content with the commonality of one main character, and episodic persons also move from short story to short story (or, in other words, are identified). A common technique in the romance technique is cameo roles at certain moments, entrust it to a person already used in the novel (compare the role of Zurin in “The Captain’s Daughter”...).”
- “The middle epic form is most often called a story. IN ancient literature the term “story” had more broad meaning, denoting a narrative in general, for example: “The Tale of Bygone Years.” A story is also called a “chronicle” - a work that is a statement of events in chronological order: “The Tale of the Days of My Life” Volnova. IN early XIX century, the term “story” corresponded to what is now called a story. Tale (as middle epic form) differs from a story in that it gives a series of episodes united around the main character, which already constitute a period of his life. This is a different type life process. In this regard, the story is larger in volume, it includes more wide circle characters; the beginning, the denouement, the apex point (culmination) are formed by more developed events; characters interacting with the main character are more broadly drawn. An example of a story is “The Captain’s Daughter” by Pushkin, which compositionally forms a series of episodes from the life of Grinev, making up certain period his life."
Earnestly? But in the same manual we reach the “large epic form”, which “gives both a number of periods and a number of characters shown in many ways, which allows it to reflect the most complex shapes life contradictions not in their individual manifestation in one event or in connection with one character, but in the complex relationships of people.” We get to genre definition: « Larger form most often called a novel." And suddenly:
And so it went. Belinsky always calls “The Captain’s Daughter” a story, and the first Pushkin biographer P.V. Annenkov - a novel. For Chernyshevsky, Pushkin’s work is a story, for A.M. Skabichevsky - novel. The author of the first major work on “The Captain’s Daughter” N.I. Chernyaev confidently calls it a novel, and Chernyaev’s contemporary, the famous literary critic Yu.I. Aikhenvald, - a story. M. Gorky is convinced that Pushkin wrote a historical novel, and V.B. Shklovsky - what a story. We will find the same genre differences in the works of Soviet literary scholars. So it is not at all surprising that in two editions of “The Captain’s Daughter”, published in the series “ Literary monuments", Pushkin's work is called a novel, and the commentary by M.I. Gillelson and I.B. Mushina, which we have already quoted here, is called “The Tale of A.S. Pushkin’s “The Captain’s Daughter”.
In other words, our great theorist completely confirmed our greatest practitioner: “new experience” modern look the past is the artist’s imagination, it is the creator’s subjective attitude to the past (in a broader sense - to time, to the era), to known and therefore undistorted historical facts.
Let us remember Pushkin’s interpretation of the novel, which was quoted by L.I. Timofeev. Literally it reads like this: “In our time, by the word novel we mean a historical era developed in a fictional narrative.” And let’s compare it with what M.M. writes about the novel. Bakhtin: “The depiction of the past in the novel does not at all imply the modernization of this past. On the contrary, a truly objective depiction of the past as the past is possible only in the novel. Modernity with its new experience remains in the very form of vision, in the depth, sharpness, breadth and liveliness of this vision..."
How many storylines are there in The Captain's Daughter? It seems that for the first time N.N. Strakhov in an article dedicated not even Pushkin's work, and “War and Peace” by L. Tolstoy, began to insist on only one line on which the entire plot of Pushkin’s work is strung: ““The Captain’s Daughter” is the story of how Pyotr Grinev married the daughter of Captain Mironov.” The title of the article by G.P. Makogonenko " Historical novel O people's war"testifies to another - and also only one! - storyline. Finally, V.G. Marantzman calls The Captain's Daughter "a story about the Pugachev rebellion."
Who is right? We read in a special study:
B.V. Tomashevsky, calling small form narrative prose work a short story, and a large one - a novel, stipulated that the boundary between them cannot be firmly established: “So in Russian terminology, for a medium-sized narrative, the name of a story is often assigned”14. But later he does not return to the story. Having laid the short story as the basis of narrative prose as a unit of measure, he distinguishes between a collection of short stories (for example, the adventures of Sherlock Holmes) and short stories combined into a novel. In the latter case, according to B.V. Tomashevsky, the endings of the short stories are cut off, their motives are confused, i.e. everything is being done to turn the novella from independent work V plot element novel:
What is ultimately important is not the size, but the number of plot lines developed in the narrative. If there are several such lines, we are dealing with a novel or (let’s not break the usual, established, but, in my opinion, absurd idea about the connection between the genre of a literary work and its volume) with a story - a small novel. If there is one, we have a story or a short story (explaining their differences is beyond the scope of our author’s task).
About the role of Zurin in “The Captain’s Daughter” and how B.V. understands it. Tomashevsky, we will have the opportunity to talk in more detail. And as for combining short stories into a novel, or, as B.V. also put it. Tomashevsky, to link them together there, then, according to the fair remark of the commentator of Tomashevsky’s book S.N. Broitman, such a formalistic explanation of the novel genre is not accepted modern science and has long been rejected by her. Back in the 20s of the 20th century, our outstanding scientist M.M. Bakhtin wrote about the inconsistency of such an explanation of the genre nature of the novel, whose works on the novel and the novel word have not lost their relevance today.
Pushkin himself, having sent first the first part of “The Captain’s Daughter” (late September 1836), and then its entire text (October 1836) to the censor P.A. Korsakov, invariably calls his work a novel. But the very first response to “The Captain’s Daughter,” just published in Sovremennik, belongs to V.F. Odoevsky, recorded that Pushkin’s friend perceives this work as a story.
