In this article, we will consider a work written by A.S. Pushkin in 1836: we will describe its brief content and analyze it. "Captain's daughter" by genre - a historical novel. Recall the summary of the work.
It narrates on behalf of Pyotr Andreyevich Grinev, a 50-year-old man. He recalls the time when he met Emelyan Pugachev, leader of the peasant uprising.
The origin and childhood of Peter Grinev
Peter was born and raised in the family of a poor nobleman. The boy received almost no education - only by the age of 12 he learned to read and write with the help of Savelych. Peter led the life of a typical undergrowth until the age of 16. He played with the boys from the village and dreamed of a fun life in St. Petersburg, as he was enlisted in the Semenovsky regiment as a sergeant, even when he was in the womb of his mother.
However, his father decided differently - he sent Petrush, a 17-year-old boy, to the army, and not to St. Petersburg, so that he "smell the gunpowder." Saying goodbye, he gave instruction to Peter, which was placed in the epigraph of "The Captain's Daughter": "Take care of the honor from a young age." So Grinev was in the Orenburg fortress. Together with Peter, Savelich, his tutor, went here.
Way to the fortress
Savelich with Peter at the entrance to the city got lost, falling into a snowstorm. They were saved only by the help of a stranger, who brought the heroes to the road to housing. Petrusha, in gratitude for his salvation, gave this stranger a hare sheepskin coat, and also treated him with wine.
Acquaintance with Belogorsk fortress
Here Peter comes to the Belgorod fortress to serve. It did not look like a fortified structure. Only a few "invalids" make up the army, its only weapon is a cannon. Mironov Ivan Kuzmich runs the fortress. He is an honest and kind person, although not distinguished for his education. Vasilisa Yegorovna, his wife, conducts all affairs in the fortress. Grinev converges quite closely with the commandant's family. He spends a lot of time with him.
Relations Grinev with Shvabrin
At first, Officer Shvabrin, who serves in this fortress, also becomes his friend. However, they soon quarrel over the fact that Shvabrin spoke unflattering about Masha, Mironov’s daughter, whom Grinev likes (the image of the captain’s daughter will be discussed below). Peter challenges Shvabrin to a duel and is injured. Masha, caring for him, tells Grinev that Shvabrin had once asked for her hand, but she refused him. Grinev decides to marry this girl and writes a letter to his father asking for blessings. But he does not agree to such a marriage, since the captain’s daughter is a dowager. The main characters of the work, therefore, can not get married. Masha does not want to marry without her father’s blessing.
Pugachevtsy in the Belogorsk fortress
In 1773, in October, Mironov receives a letter. It reports on Pugachev, who pretends to be the deceased Peter III. He had already assembled a large army of peasants, was able to capture several fortresses. Preparing to meet Pugachev and Belogorsk fortress. The commandant is going to send his daughter to Orenburg, but does not have time to do it - the Pugachevites are already here. The villagers greeted the invaders with bread and salt. All those who serve in the fortress are captured. They must swear allegiance to Pugachev. However, the commandant refuses to take the oath, they hang him. His wife also perishes. But Grinev is suddenly at large. Savelich tells him that Pugachev is the stranger who once gave Grinev a hare sheepskin coat.
The fate of Masha after arriving at the Pugachev fortress
Despite the fact that the main character openly swears an oath to Emelyan, he releases him. Grinev leaves the fortress, but the captain’s daughter remains in it. The main characters who love each other can not reunite. The girl is sick and hides under the guise of a niece of a local horse. Shvabrin was appointed commandant of the fortress. He swore allegiance to Pugachev. This worries Grinev. In Orenburg, the protagonist asks for help, but does not find it. He receives a letter from Masha soon. The girl writes that Schwabrin forces her to marry him. In case of refusal, he promises to tell the people of Pugachev that she is a captain's daughter. The description of all these events in the work is given in detail - we highlighted only the main points.
Pugachev frees Masha
Grinev and Savelich go to the Belogorsk fortress. But they are captured along the way to the Pugachevites and meet again with their leader.
Peter honestly tells Emelyan where he goes and why; and unexpectedly for Grinev, Pugachev decides to help him "punish the offender of the orphan." Pugachev in the fortress frees Masha. He does not stop even the story of Shvabrin about who she really is.
The pardon of Grinev by the Empress
The historical story "The Captain's Daughter" ends with the following events. Grinev takes the girl to his parents. He himself returns to the army. Pugachev’s performance fails, but Grinev is arrested, as Shvabrin says in court that Peter is Pugachev’s spy. The main character is sentenced to exile in Siberia, and only a visit to the empress, who Masha makes, helps to obtain pardon of Grinev. But Shvabrina sent to hard labor.
Subject of the work "Captain's Daughter"
The problems considered in the work are very numerous. The most important of these, of course, is the issue of honor. In general, in terms of the breadth of reality, the significance of the theme posed by the author, and the artistic perfection of the work, the story "The Captain's Daughter" is the pinnacle achievement, a masterpiece created by the realist Pushkin. It was completed 3 months before the death of the author. Thus, became his last major work, "Captain's Daughter."
The problems posed by the author, in many respects, concern a very important topic for that time - the theme of a peasant war, a peasant uprising. The study of the history of the Pugachev uprising gave Pushkin the opportunity to truthfully and accurately tell about the events depicted in the story. The meaning of the "Captain's Daughter" was, in particular, to show the psychology of its participants.
Peter's father, Andreyev Grinev
Grinev Andrei Petrovich negatively regarded dishonest and easy ways to make a career at court. Therefore, he did not want to send his son Peter to serve in the Guard in Petersburg. He wanted him to "smell the gunpowder" and become a soldier, not a slacker. It is he who pronounces the words that are made in the epigraph of "The Captain's Daughter": "Take care of the honor from a young age."
Grinev-father is not without the negative features inherent in the representative of that time. Let us recall, for example, his harsh treatment of his meek and loving wife, Peter's mother, the reprisal he committed against a French teacher, the outrageously rude tone of a letter to Savelich, in which he calls him an "old dog." Before us in these episodes appears a typical noble serf. However, there are positive qualities in Grinev's father. This is a strength of character, straightforwardness, honesty. These traits evoke the reader’s natural and involuntary sympathy for him — for this severe person, severe for others and for himself.
The character of Peter Grinev
The character of Peter Grinev, a 16-year-old boy, is shown by the author in a movement, a development that occurred under the influence of the living conditions in which he found himself. At first, parsley was a frivolous and careless landlord's son, an undergrowth loafer, and practically a Phonvisian Mitrofanushka. He dreams of the pleasures of the easy life of a guard officer in the capital.
In Peter Grinev, the loving, kind heart of his mother was combined with the courage, directness, honesty inherent in his father. Grinev-father strengthened these qualities in him with a firm parting words to serve faithfully, obey his superiors and, most importantly, protect his honor from a young age.
The kindness of the protagonist was manifested in a generous gift to the “little man”, who showed him the way during the storm and played a decisive role in the fate of the hero. And then, risking everything, Grinev rushed to the rescue of Savelych, captured. The depth of his nature was reflected in the pure and great feeling that arose in him to Masha Mironova.
Honor in “The Captain's Daughter” is a very important personality trait. And Pyotr Grinev, by his behavior, proved loyalty to his father’s covenants, did not change what he considered his honor and his duty. The good inclinations and traits characteristic of him were tempered, strengthened and triumphed completely under the influence of the harsh school of life, to which his father gave him, sending him to a remote steppe outskirts instead of Petersburg. Major events of history, to which Grinev became a participant, did not allow him to go down and lose heart after personal grief (his father did not agree to marry with Masha), the soul of the young man was told "a strong and good shock."
Shvabrin Alexey Ivanovich
“The Captain's Daughter” is a book in which among the main characters we will find Alexey Ivanovich Shvabrin, Grinev’s rival - the exact opposite of direct and honest Peter. The author and this character does not deprive of positive features. He is observant, intelligent, educated, an interesting conversationalist, sharp on the tongue. However, for personal goals, Alex is ready to commit a dishonorable act. He slandered Masha Mironova, casts a shadow also on her mother. Shvabrin delivers a treacherous blow to Grinev in a duel and writes, in addition, a false denunciation of Peter to his father. Aleksey Ivanovich, not on ideological convictions, goes over to the side of Pugachev: he thereby hopes to save his life, and if successful, hopes to make a career under Emelyan. But most importantly, he wants to deal with Grinev and marry forcibly Masha, who does not love him.
Mironov family and Ivan Ignatievich
We will briefly get acquainted with the characters of other characters that Pushkin created in the work "The Captain's Daughter." The heroes in question belong to the rank and file officers, as does Schwabrin. They are closely related to the mass of soldiers. We are talking about Ivan Ignatievich, the crooked garrison lieutenant, and Captain Mironov himself, who by origin was not even a nobleman - he left the soldiers' children as officers. And Vasilisa Yegorovna, his wife, and the captain himself, and the crooked lieutenant from the Captain's Daughter production, these heroes were uneducated people with a limited outlook who did not allow them to figure out the goals and causes of the popular uprising.
They were not without the flaws typical of that time. Let us recall at least the “justice” of the captain. She says that you can’t figure out who is right, who is to blame — Prokhor or Ustinya. Both should be punished. However, the Mironovs were kind and simple people, devoted to duty, ready to die fearlessly for "the shrine of their conscience."
The image of Masha Mironova
We continue the analysis. The captain's daughter (after whom the work of interest to us was named) is a very bright heroine. Pushkin with special warmth and sympathy creates the image of Masha Mironova. In it lurking under the tenderness of the external appearance, strength and resilience are revealed in love for Grinev, resistance to Shvabrin, her trip to St. Petersburg to the empress in order to save her fiancé. Such is in the work that Pushkin created, the captain's daughter. Analyzing the actions of this heroine, Alexander Sergeyevich clearly sympathizes with her.
Savelich, uncle Grinev
The author very truthfully shows the image of Savelich, uncle Grinev, a serf. His devotion to the masters is far from simple slavish affiliation, as our analysis shows. "The Captain's Daughter" is a story in which Savelich is not shown as a servant humiliating before the gentlemen. So, in response to the unjust and gross reproaches of Grinev’s father, in his letter he calls himself “your faithful servant”, “slave”, as was customary at that time when addressing the serfs. However, the tone of the letter of this hero is imbued with a sense of human dignity. The spiritual wealth, the inner nobility of his nature is fully revealed in the deeply human and completely disinterested attachment of a lonely, poor old man to his pet.
The image of Emelyan Pugachev in the work
Pushkin (Captain's Daughter) analyzed the image of Emelyan Pugachev. In 1830, he intensively studied the history of his rebellion. The image of Emelyan created in the work of interest to us differs sharply from the previous images of Pugachev. Without any embellishment, Pushkin showed this leader of the popular rebellion. His image is given in all harsh reality, sometimes cruel.
In the author’s image, Emelyan is distinguished by “sharpness” - a rebellious and free spirit, clarity of mind, heroic spirit and composure, breadth of nature. He tells Grinev a tale of a raven and an eagle. Its meaning is that the moment of a bright and free life is better than long years of living. Pugachev says of himself that his custom is "to execute so to execute, to have mercy so to have mercy."
Compositional concurrency
Alexander Sergeevich called the story "The Captain's Daughter." In the last chapter of the work, we are again transferred to the noble estate of the Grinevs, in the same setting. Such parallelism of the beginning and end of the composition of the story gives completeness and harmony. However, Pushkin adds new touches to the description of the situation. So, Grinev-father scans his calendar absentmindedly, his mother does not cook honey jam this time, but knits a sweatshirt for Petrusha, who should be sent to the eternal settlement in Siberia. A heavy family drama has been replaced by a family idyll.
Language features
The language in which the work is written is a wonderful part of the story. Each character Pushkin endows with a special linguistic manner, which corresponds to the level of his development, mental horizons, character, social status. Therefore, unusually lively and convex human images arise from the replicas of the characters, their statements in front of readers. They summarize the characteristic aspects of the life of Russian society of that time.
This completes the analysis. "The Captain's Daughter" is a work that can be written about for a very long time. He, as N.V. Gogol put it, is characterized by "purity and artlessness," raised to such an extent that reality seems caricatured and artificial in front of him. Gogol noted that all Russian novels and novels seem to be just a "cloying mess" before the work "The Captain's Daughter", a description of which was presented in this article.