Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, "The Captain's Daughter": analysis, theme, main characters. The history of the creation of the novel Pushkin's Captain's Daughter

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, which required patience and multiple efforts.

In connection with the work on the story, Pushkin has a very bold idea. He takes on the mission of writing a historical research article on the topic of the Pugachev uprising. Having barely received the long-awaited permission, the writer is deeply and for a very long time studying archival materials, trying not to lose sight of anything. To consolidate what he started, he also goes to the place where the uprising once took place. Long conversations with eyewitnesses and walks around the neighborhood are bearing fruit. Already in 1834, he finally manages to put an end to it and show the world his remarkable 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 original idea of ​​​​the plot arises from Alexander Sergeevich before he began to study the "History of Pugachev". This happens at a time when he was still working on Dubrovsky. Work on the story has been going on for several years. In the course of the process, both the names of the characters and the idea as a whole change. If initially the writer represented a businesslike officer as the main character, then after a while the vision of such a round of events seemed to Pushkin not the most successful.

To give the effect of realism to his characters, the author carefully studied the numerous historical materials about Pugachev's accomplices. Not surprisingly, the heroes have prototypes that previously existed. The way the author's thoughts are rapidly changing indicates a difficult period in his life. The confrontation between the two classes in the political sphere has a very negative effect on the state of mind of a 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 embarrass the great writer. Skillful techniques, by contrasting one character with another, help the work to successfully pass all stages of censorship checks. The talent and efforts that the writer put so diligently into the process itself were appreciated.

Option 2

The idea of ​​this work came to Alexander Sergeevich at the beginning of 1833. At that time he was still working on "Dubrovsky" and the historical essay "History of Pugachev". To better understand what is happening during the uprising, Pushkin travels through the Urals and the Volga region. There he spends a lot of time in conversations with eyewitnesses of those events. And it was thanks to these testimonies 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 make his work meet the stringent requirements that censorship of those times imposed.

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

A little about the characters. It is believed that several real-life personalities could be the prototype of the main character at the same time. Among them are Shvanvich and Vasharin. After all, the author conceived him as a young man of a noble family, who, under the pressure of circumstances, would take the side of the rebels. And the first really once 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 a semantic load. It is known that such a person actually consisted in a gang. After a 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 people belong to the same social class, the author contrasts them with each other. It was this that gave the work a certain political poignancy and helped to overcome the censorship restrictions of those years.

An interesting fact is that Alexander Sergeevich had to cut out a whole chapter from the latest edition of the novel. Most likely, he took this step to please censorship. Indeed, in that chapter it was 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 "The Missing Chapter" on it and kept them in this form. It was published after the death of the writer 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 edition was the last to be published during Pushkin's lifetime. According to the requirements of censorship, the work had to be published omitting some places 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 great prose writer, known 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 the Pugachev uprising began, which later became a real peasant or even civil war. The author personally visits all places, battlefields, in order to accurately and reliably describe what is happening. He inspects 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 older people who were eyewitnesses of the events. He carefully collects all the collected information, which he then uses in the story, he does it quite professionally and scrupulously. The collected material was quite multifaceted and made it possible to display different aspects of personalities that develop against the backdrop of what is happening.

The events of the work begin in 1770, namely, when a fierce confrontation broke out under the leadership of Pugachev, who decided to take power into his own hands and turn the tide of historical events. The author accurately describes externally and internally the steppe fortresses that are built in order to protect the region from enemy attacks. He clearly describes the position of the Cossacks, who are constantly dissatisfied with the authorities, which leads to the maturing 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, how they will surrender during a fierce battle. A story about real people becomes part of the story. He reveals their personalities, shows what motives drove them during the struggle against the existing state system, why did they go over to the side of Pugachev? What drove them? They wanted a better life for themselves and their loved ones, so they fought with all their might for happiness and the opportunity to live fully.

Pushkin pays special attention to the appearance and portrait of Pugachev, who is a fugitive Don Cossack. He is ready to gather around him a large number of rebels. The author shows that a man is ready to charm people with his outward charisma and fight for people's attention so that they follow him. His authoritarian nature and desire to promote his own idea does the trick.

Thanks to the ingenious approach of the author, he was able to subtly intertwine a real historical narrative with a fictional story. Not every author with such accuracy and clarity approached writing works that became the cultural heritage of the whole country, as well as world culture. "The Captain's Daughter" is a 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 in any way. Despite the lack of a systematic approach to education, his parents gave him an excellent moral education. As soon as he breaks free, he cannot control himself, he is rude to the servant, but then his conscience makes him apologize. He was taught to be friends, to show the best feelings and qualities, but at the same time, the systematic nature of his father makes him constantly work and think only about his own interests.

Alexey Shvabrin. The main character is the exact opposite of Peter. He can show neither courage nor nobility. He even goes to the service of 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 honor from a young age." She is the daughter of the head of the Belgorod fortress. Her courage and courage help her to be a brave girl, ready to fight for her own feelings, to go to the empress if necessary. She is ready to give even her life in order to achieve her goal or to 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 characters. Initially, the author conceived him as a hero who, for the sake of the title of a nobleman, became Pugachev's henchman on a voluntary basis.

But after a series of studies, Pushkin stops his eyes on another historical figure - Basharin. Basharin was captured by Pugachev. He became the main prototype of the protagonist, brave and brave, able to fight for his own worldviews and promote them to the masses. The surname of the main character changed periodically, and Grinev became the final version.

Shvabrin becomes simply the antipode of the protagonist. The author contrasts each of his positive qualities with each of Shvabrin's negative qualities. Thus, it makes ying and yang, against this background, readers were able to evaluate and compare in general. Thus, the reader understands who is the real good and who is the embodiment of evil. But is evil always such? Or is it such only against the backdrop of goodness? And what can be considered good? And whether the actions of Shvabrin and Shrinev can always be divided into black and white, or can actions never be attributed to one category or another, and they can only be evaluated in comparison with the morality and morality of another person who is nearby.

Masha Mironova is a mystery to the reader. Pushkin does not fully reveal where he got the image of a pleasant-looking girl, 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 a 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 the ball. She was a rather modest and pleasant person, her appearance captivated the people around her, as well as her charm.

Prototypes of heroes, interesting facts (history of writing)

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Russian poet, playwright and prose writer, who laid the foundations of the Russian realistic trend, critic and literary theorist, historian, publicist; one of the most authoritative literary figures of the first third of the 19th century.

Pushkin, in his work, which is an artistic encyclopedia of Russian reality, not only supported some of the ideas of the Decembrists, but also touched upon the fundamental social problems of his time: the autocracy and the people, the individual and the state, the tragic loneliness of the advanced noble intelligentsia of the Golden Age.

Even during the life of Pushkin, his reputation as the greatest national Russian poet developed. Pushkin is regarded as the founder of the modern Russian literary language.

"Captain's daughter"

A historical novel (or story) by A. S. Pushkin, which takes place during the uprising of Emelyan Pugachev. First published without indicating the name of the author in the 4th book of the Sovremennik magazine, which went on sale in the last decade of 1836.

The Captain's Daughter belongs to the range of 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 as early as the 1820s (see "Arap of Peter the Great"). The first of the historical novels on the Russian theme was published "Yuri Miloslavsky" by M. N. Zagoskin (1829). Grinev's meeting with the counselor, according to Pushkin scholars, goes back to a similar scene in Zagoskin's novel.

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

The story was published a month before the death of the author in the journal Sovremennik, which he published, under the guise of notes by the late Pyotr Grinev. From this and subsequent editions of the novel, for censorship reasons, a chapter about the peasant riot in the village of Grineva was released, which was preserved in a draft manuscript. Until 1838, no printed reviews of the story followed, but Gogol in January 1837 noted that it "produced a general effect."

"Captain's daughter" characters

Pyotr Andreevich Grinev- A 17-year-old undergrowth, from childhood recorded in the guards of the Semyonovsky regiment, during the events described in the story - an ensign. It is he who leads the story for his descendants during the reign of Alexander I, sprinkling the story with old-fashioned maxims. The draft version contained an indication 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.

Alexey Ivanovich Shvabrin - Grinev's antagonist is "a young officer of short stature with a swarthy and remarkably 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 for five years. He is reputed to be a freethinker, knows French, understands literature, but at the decisive moment changes his oath and goes over to the side of the rebels. In essence, a purely romantic scoundrel (according to Mirsky, this is generally “Pushkin’s only scoundrel”).

Maria Ivanovna Mironova -“a girl of about eighteen, chubby, ruddy, with light blond hair, combed smoothly behind her ears”, the daughter of the commandant of the fortress, who gave the name to the whole story. "Dress simply and cute." To save his beloved, he travels to the capital and throws himself at the feet of the queen. According to Prince Vyazemsky, the image of Masha falls on the story with a “pleasant and bright shade” - as a kind of variation on the theme of Tatyana Larina. At the same time, Tchaikovsky complains: "Maria Ivanovna is not interesting and characteristic enough, because she is an impeccably kind and honest girl and nothing more." “The empty place of any first love,” Marina Tsvetaeva echoes him.

Arkhip Savelich - Grinev's stirrup, from the age of five he was assigned to Peter as an uncle. He treats a 17-year-old officer like a minor, remembering the order to "look after the child." "A faithful serf", but devoid of moral servility - directly expressing uncomfortable thoughts in the face of both the master and Pugachev. The image of a selfless servant is usually attributed to the most successful in the story. In his naive worries about a hare sheepskin coat, traces of the type of a comic servant, characteristic of the literature of classicism, are noticeable.

Vasilisa Egorovna Mironova - the wife of the commandant, "an old woman in a padded jacket and a scarf on her head", the owner of the only serf girl Palashka. She has a reputation as a "brave lady." “She looked at the affairs of the service as if they were her master’s, and ruled the fortress as precisely as she did her house.” She preferred to die next to her husband rather than leaving for a safe provincial town. According to Vyazemsky, this image of marital fidelity is "successfully and faithfully captured by the master's brush."

“The captain's daughter” summary of the story

The novel is based on the memoirs of the fifty-year-old nobleman Pyotr Andreevich Grinev, written by him during the reign of Emperor Alexander and dedicated to the “Pugachevshchina”, in which the seventeen-year-old officer Pyotr Grinev, due to a “strange chain of circumstances”, took an involuntary part.

Pyotr Andreevich recalls his childhood with slight irony, the childhood of a noble undergrowth. His father Andrey Petrovich Grinev, in his youth, “served under Count Munnich and retired as prime minister in 17…. Since then, he lived in his Simbirsk village, where he married the girl Avdotya Vasilyevna Yu., the daughter of a poor local nobleman. The Grinev family had nine children, but all Petrusha's brothers and sisters "died in infancy." “Mother was still my belly,” recalls Grinev, “as I was already enrolled in the Semyonovsky regiment as a sergeant.”

From the age of five, Petrusha has been looked after by the stirrup Savelich, “for sober behavior” granted to him as uncles. “Under his supervision, in the twelfth year, I learned Russian literacy and could very sensibly judge the properties of a greyhound male.” Then a teacher appeared - the Frenchman Beaupré, who did not understand the "meaning of this word", since he was a hairdresser in his own country, and a soldier in Prussia. Young Grinev and the Frenchman Beaupré quickly got along, and although Beaupré was contractually obliged to teach Petrusha "in French, German and all sciences", he preferred to soon learn from his student "to chat in Russian." Grinev's upbringing ends with the expulsion of Beaupre, convicted of debauchery, drunkenness and neglect of the duties of a teacher.

Until the age of sixteen, Grinev lives "undersized, chasing pigeons and playing leapfrog with the yard boys." In the seventeenth year, the father decides to send his son to the service, but not to St. Petersburg, but to the army "to smell gunpowder" and "pull the strap." He sends him to Orenburg, instructing him to serve faithfully "to whom you swear", and to remember the proverb: "take care of the dress again, and honor from youth." All the "brilliant hopes" of the young Grinev for a cheerful life in St. Petersburg collapsed, "boredom in the deaf and distant side" awaited ahead.

About renburg

Approaching Orenburg, Grinev and Savelich fell into a snowstorm. A random person who met on the road leads a wagon lost in a snowstorm to a litter. While the wagon was “quietly moving” towards the dwelling, Pyotr Andreevich had a terrible dream in which the fifty-year-old Grinev sees something prophetic, connecting it with the “strange circumstances” of his later life. A man with a black beard lies in the bed of Father Grinev, and mother, calling him Andrei Petrovich and “an imprisoned father,” wants Petrusha to “kiss his hand” and ask for blessings. A man swings an ax, the room is filled with dead bodies; Grinev stumbles over them, slips in bloody puddles, but his "terrible man" "calls affectionately", saying: "Do not be afraid, come under my blessing."

In gratitude for the rescue, Grinev gives the “counselor”, dressed too lightly, his hare coat and brings a glass of wine, for which he thanks him with a low bow: “Thank you, your honor! God bless you for your goodness." The appearance of the “counselor” seemed “wonderful” to Grinev: “He was about forty, medium height, thin and broad-shouldered. Gray hair showed in his black beard; living large eyes and ran. His face had a rather pleasant, but roguish expression.

The Belogorsk fortress, where Grinev was sent to serve from Orenburg, meets the young man not with formidable bastions, towers and ramparts, but turns out to be a village surrounded by a wooden fence. Instead of a brave garrison - disabled people who do not know where the left and where the right side is, instead of deadly artillery - an old cannon clogged with garbage.

I van Kuzmich Mironov

The commandant of the fortress Ivan Kuzmich Mironov is an officer "from soldiers' children", an uneducated man, but an honest and kind one. His wife, Vasilisa Egorovna, manages him completely and looks at the affairs of the service as if they were her own business. Soon, Grinev becomes “native” to the Mironovs, and he himself “invisibly ‹…› became attached to a good family.” In the daughter of the Mironovs, Masha, Grinev "found a prudent and sensitive girl."

The service does not burden Grinev, he became interested in reading books, practicing translations and writing poetry. At first, he becomes close to Lieutenant Shvabrin, the only person in the fortress who is close to Grinev in terms of education, age and occupation. But soon they quarrel - Shvabrin mockingly criticized the love "song" written by Grinev, and also allowed himself dirty hints about the "custom and customs" of Masha Mironova, to whom this song was dedicated. Later, in a conversation with Masha, Grinev will find out the reasons for the stubborn slander with which Shvabrin pursued her: the lieutenant wooed her, but was refused. “I do not like Alexei Ivanovich. He is very disgusting to me, ”admits Masha Grinev. The quarrel is resolved by a duel and wounding Grinev.

Masha takes care of the wounded Grinev. Young people confess to each other "in a heartfelt inclination", and Grinev writes a letter to the priest, "asking for parental blessings." But Masha is a dowry. The Mironovs have “only one girl Palashka”, while the Grinevs have three hundred souls of peasants. The father forbids Grinev to marry and promises to transfer him from the Belogorsk fortress "somewhere far away" so that the "nonsense" will pass.

After this letter, life became unbearable for Grinev, he falls into gloomy thought, seeks solitude. "I was afraid to either go crazy or fall into debauchery." And only “unexpected incidents,” Grinev writes, “which had an important impact on my whole life, suddenly gave my soul a strong and good shock.”

1773

At the beginning of October 1773, the commandant of the fortress received a secret message about the Don Cossack Emelyan Pugachev, who, posing as "the late Emperor Peter III", "gathered a villainous gang, made an outrage in the Yaik villages and already took and ruined several fortresses." The commandant was asked to "take appropriate measures to repulse the aforementioned villain and impostor."

Soon everyone was talking about Pugachev. A Bashkir with "outrageous sheets" was captured in the fortress. But it was not possible to interrogate him - the Bashkir's tongue was torn out. From day to day, the inhabitants of the Belogorsk fortress expect an attack by Pugachev,

The rebels appear unexpectedly - the Mironovs did not even have time to send Masha to Orenburg. At the first attack, the fortress was taken. Residents greet the Pugachevites with bread and salt. The prisoners, among whom was Grinev, are taken to the square to swear allegiance to Pugachev. The first to die on the gallows is the commandant, who refused to swear allegiance to the "thief and impostor." Under the blow of a saber, Vasilisa Yegorovna falls dead. Death on the gallows awaits Grinev, but Pugachev pardons him. A little later, Grinev learns from Savelich "the reason for mercy" - the ataman of the robbers turned out to be the tramp who received from him, Grinev, a hare sheepskin coat.

In the evening, Grinev was invited to the “great sovereign”. “I pardoned you for your virtue,” Pugachev says to Grinev, “‹…› Do you promise to serve me with diligence?” But Grinev is a “natural nobleman” and “sweared allegiance to the empress”. He cannot even promise Pugachev not to serve against him. “My head is in your power,” he says to Pugachev, “let me go - thank you, execute me - God will judge you.”

Grinev's sincerity amazes Pugachev, and he releases the officer "on all four sides." Grinev decides to go to Orenburg for help - after all, Masha remained in the fortress in a strong fever, whom the priest passed off as her niece. He is especially worried that Shvabrin, who swore allegiance to Pugachev, was appointed commandant of the fortress.

But in Orenburg, Grinev was denied help, and a few days later the rebel troops surrounded the city. Long days of siege dragged on. Soon, by chance, a letter from Masha falls into Grinev's hands, from which he learns that Shvabrin is forcing her to marry him, threatening otherwise to extradite her to the Pugachevites. Again, Grinev turns to the military commandant for help, and is again refused.

Blogora fortress

Grinev and Savelich leave for the Belogorsk fortress, but they are captured by the rebels near Berdskaya Sloboda. And again, providence brings Grinev and Pugachev together, giving the officer a chance to fulfill his intention: having learned from Grinev the essence of the matter on which he is going to the Belogorsk fortress, Pugachev himself decides to free the orphan and punish the offender.

On the way to the fortress, a confidential conversation takes place between Pugachev and Grinev. Pugachev is clearly aware of his doom, expecting betrayal, first of all, from his comrades, he knows that he can’t wait for the “mercy of the empress”. For Pugachev, as for an eagle from a Kalmyk fairy tale, which he tells Grinev with “wild inspiration”, “rather than eating carrion for three hundred years, it is better to drink living blood once; and then what God will give!”. Grinev draws a different moral conclusion from the tale, which surprises Pugacheva: “To live by murder and robbery means for me to peck at carrion.”

In the Belogorsk fortress, Grinev, with the help of Pugachev, frees Masha. And although the enraged Shvabrin reveals the deceit to Pugachev, he is full of generosity: “Execute, execute like this, favor, favor like that: this is my custom.” Grinev and Pugachev part "friendly".

Grinev sends Masha as a bride to his parents, and he remains in the army due to his “debt of honor”. The war "with robbers and savages" is "boring and petty." Grinev's observations are filled with bitterness: "God forbid to see a Russian rebellion, senseless and merciless."

The end of the military campaign coincides with the arrest of Grinev. Appearing before the court, he is calm in his confidence that he can be justified, but Shvabrin slanders him, exposing Grinev as a spy sent from Pugachev to Orenburg. Grinev is condemned, shame awaits him, exile to Siberia for an eternal settlement.

Grinev is saved from shame and exile by Masha, who goes to the queen to "beg for mercy." Walking through the garden of Tsarskoye Selo, Masha met a middle-aged lady. In this lady, everything "involuntarily attracted the heart and inspired confidence." Having learned who Masha was, she offered her help, and Masha sincerely told the lady the whole story. The lady turned out to be the empress, who pardoned Grinev in the same way that Pugachev had pardoned both Masha and Grinev in his time.

Source - All the masterpieces of world literature in brief. Plots and characters. Russian literature of the 19th century and Wikipedia.

« Captain's daughter"- one of the first and most famous works of Russian historical prose, a story by A. S. Pushkin, dedicated to the events of the Peasant War of 1773-1775 led by Emelyan Pugachev.

It was first published in 1836 in the Sovremennik magazine without the author's signature. At the same time, the chapter on the peasant revolt in the village of Grinyov remained unpublished, which was explained by censorship considerations.

The plot of the story echoes Europe's first historical novel, Waverley, or Sixty Years Ago, which was published without an author's name in 1814 and was soon translated into the main languages ​​​​of Europe. Separate episodes date back to the novel by M. N. Zagoskin "Yuri Miloslavsky" (1829).

The story is based on the notes of the fifty-year-old nobleman Pyotr Andreevich Grinev, written by him during the reign of Emperor Alexander and dedicated to the “Pugachevshchina”, in which the seventeen-year-old officer Pyotr Grinev, due to a “strange chain of circumstances”, took an involuntary part.

Pyotr Andreevich recalls with slight irony his childhood, the childhood of a noble undergrowth. His father Andrey Petrovich Grinev, in his youth, “served under Count Munnich and retired as prime minister in 17 ... year. Since then, he lived in his Simbirsk village, where he married the girl Avdotya Vasilyevna Yu., the daughter of a poor local nobleman. The Grinev family had nine children, but all Petrusha's brothers and sisters "died in infancy." “Mother was still my belly,” Grinev recalls, “as I was already enrolled in the Semyonovsky regiment as a sergeant.” From the age of five, Petrusha has been looked after by the stirrup Savelich, “for sober behavior” granted to him as uncles. “Under his supervision, in the twelfth year, I learned Russian literacy and could very sensibly judge the properties of a greyhound male.” Then a teacher appeared - the Frenchman Beaupré, who did not understand the "meaning of this word", since he was a hairdresser in his own country, and a soldier in Prussia. Young Grinev and the Frenchman Beaupré quickly got along, and although Beaupre was contractually obliged to teach Petrusha "in French, German and all sciences", he preferred to soon learn from his student "to chat in Russian." Grinev's upbringing ends with the expulsion of Beaupre, convicted of debauchery, drunkenness and neglect of the duties of a teacher.

Until the age of sixteen, Grinev lives "undersized, chasing pigeons and playing leapfrog with the yard boys." In the seventeenth year, the father decides to send his son to the service, but not to St. Petersburg, but to the army "to smell gunpowder" and "pull the strap." He sends him to Orenburg, instructing him to serve faithfully "to whom you swear", and to remember the proverb: "take care of the dress again, and honor from youth." All the "brilliant hopes" of the young Grinev for a cheerful life in St. Petersburg were destroyed, "boredom in the deaf and distant side" awaited ahead.

Approaching Orenburg, Grinev and Savelich fell into a snowstorm. A random person who met on the road leads a wagon lost in a snowstorm to a litter. While the wagon was “quietly moving” towards the dwelling, Pyotr Andreevich had a terrible dream in which the fifty-year-old Grinev sees something prophetic, connecting it with the “strange circumstances” of his later life. A man with a black beard lies in the bed of Father Grinev, and mother, calling him Andrei Petrovich and “an imprisoned father,” wants Petrusha to “kiss his hand” and ask for blessings. A man swings an ax, the room is filled with dead bodies; Grinev stumbles over them, slips in bloody puddles, but his "terrible man" "calls affectionately", saying: "Do not be afraid, come under my blessing."

In gratitude for the rescue, Grinev gives the “counselor”, dressed too lightly, his hare coat and brings a glass of wine, for which he thanks him with a low bow: “Thank you, your honor! God bless you for your goodness." The appearance of the “counselor” seemed “wonderful” to Grinev: “He was about forty, medium height, thin and broad-shouldered. Gray hair showed in his black beard; living large eyes and ran. His face had a rather pleasant, but roguish expression.

The Belogorsk fortress, where Grinev was sent to serve from Orenburg, meets the young man not with formidable bastions, towers and ramparts, but turns out to be a village surrounded by a wooden fence. Instead of a brave garrison - disabled people who do not know where the left and where the right side is, instead of deadly artillery - an old cannon clogged with garbage.

The commandant of the fortress Ivan Kuzmich Mironov is an officer "from soldiers' children", an uneducated man, but an honest and kind one. His wife, Vasilisa Egorovna, manages him completely and looks at the affairs of the service as if they were her own business. Soon Grinev becomes “native” to the Mironovs, and he himself “insensibly [...] became attached to a good family.” In the daughter of the Mironovs, Masha, Grinev "found a prudent and sensitive girl."

The service does not burden Grinev, he became interested in reading books, practicing translations and writing poetry. At first, he becomes close to Lieutenant Shvabrin, the only person in the fortress who is close to Grinev in terms of education, age and occupation. But soon they quarrel - Shvabrin mockingly criticized the love "song" written by Grinev, and also allowed himself dirty hints about the "custom and customs" of Masha Mironova, to whom this song was dedicated. Later, in a conversation with Masha, Grinev will find out the reasons for the stubborn slander with which Shvabrin pursued her: the lieutenant wooed her, but was refused. “I do not like Alexei Ivanovich. He is very disgusting to me, ”admits Masha Grinev. The quarrel is resolved by a duel and wounding Grinev.

Masha takes care of the wounded Grinev. Young people confess to each other "in a heartfelt inclination", and Grinev writes a letter to the priest, "asking for parental blessings." But Masha is a dowry. The Mironovs have “only one girl Palashka souls”, while the Grinevs have three hundred souls of peasants. The father forbids Grinev to marry and promises to transfer him from the Belogorsk fortress "somewhere far away" so that the "nonsense" will pass.

After this letter, life became unbearable for Grinev, he falls into gloomy thought, seeks solitude. "I was afraid to either go crazy or fall into debauchery." And only “unexpected incidents,” Grinev writes, “which had an important impact on my whole life, suddenly gave my soul a strong and good shock.”

At the beginning of October 1773, the commandant of the fortress received a secret message about the Don Cossack Emelyan Pugachev, who, posing as "the late Emperor Peter III", "gathered a villainous gang, made an outrage in the Yaik villages and already took and ruined several fortresses." The commandant was asked to "take appropriate measures to repulse the aforementioned villain and impostor."

Soon everyone was talking about Pugachev. A Bashkir with "outrageous sheets" was captured in the fortress. But it was not possible to interrogate him - the Bashkir's tongue was torn out. From day to day, the inhabitants of the Belogorsk fortress expect an attack by Pugachev.

The rebels appear unexpectedly - the Mironovs did not even have time to send Masha to Orenburg. At the first attack, the fortress was taken. Residents greet the Pugachevites with bread and salt. The prisoners, among whom was Grinev, are taken to the square to swear allegiance to Pugachev. The first to die on the gallows is the commandant, who refused to swear allegiance to the "thief and impostor." Under the blow of a saber, Vasilisa Yegorovna falls dead. Death on the gallows awaits Grinev, but Pugachev pardons him. A little later, Grinev learns from Savelich "the reason for mercy" - the ataman of the robbers turned out to be the tramp who received from him, Grinev, a hare sheepskin coat.

In the evening, Grinev was invited to the “great sovereign”. “I pardoned you for your virtue,” Pugachev says to Grinev, “... Do you promise to serve me with zeal?” But Grinev is a “natural nobleman” and “sweared allegiance to the empress”. He cannot even promise Pugachev not to serve against him. “My head is in your power,” he says to Pugachev, “let me go - thank you, execute me - God will judge you.”

Grinev's sincerity amazes Pugachev, and he releases the officer "on all four sides." Grinev decides to go to Orenburg for help - after all, Masha remained in the fortress in a strong fever, whom the priest passed off as her niece. He is especially worried that Shvabrin, who swore allegiance to Pugachev, was appointed commandant of the fortress.

But in Orenburg, Grinev was denied help, and a few days later the rebel troops surrounded the city. Long days of siege dragged on. Soon, by chance, a letter from Masha falls into Grinev's hands, from which he learns that Shvabrin is forcing her to marry him, threatening otherwise to extradite her to the Pugachevites. Again Grinev turns to the military commandant for help, and is again refused.

Grinev and Savelich leave for the Belogorsk fortress, but they are captured by the rebels near Berdskaya Sloboda. And again, providence brings Grinev and Pugachev together, giving the officer a chance to fulfill his intention: having learned from Grinev the essence of the matter on which he is going to the Belogorsk fortress, Pugachev himself decides to free the orphan and punish the offender.

I. O. Miodushevsky. "Presenting a letter to Catherine II", based on the plot of the story "The Captain's Daughter", 1861.

On the way to the fortress, a confidential conversation takes place between Pugachev and Grinev. Pugachev is clearly aware of his doom, expecting betrayal, first of all, from his comrades, he knows that he can’t wait for the “mercy of the empress”. For Pugachev, as for an eagle from a Kalmyk fairy tale, which he tells Grinev with “wild inspiration”, “than eating carrion for three hundred years, it is better to drink living blood once; and then what God will give!”. Grinev draws a different moral conclusion from the fairy tale, which surprises Pugachev: “To live by murder and robbery means for me to peck at carrion.”

In the Belogorsk fortress, Grinev, with the help of Pugachev, frees Masha. And although the enraged Shvabrin reveals the deceit to Pugachev, he is full of generosity: “Execute, execute like this, favor, favor like that: this is my custom.” Grinev and Pugachev part "friendly".

Grinev sends Masha as a bride to his parents, and he himself remains in the army due to his “debt of honor”. The war "with robbers and savages" is "boring and petty." Grinev's observations are filled with bitterness: "God forbid to see a Russian rebellion, senseless and merciless."

The end of the military campaign coincides with the arrest of Grinev. Appearing before the court, he is calm in his confidence that he can be justified, but Shvabrin slanders him, exposing Grinev as a spy sent from Pugachev to Orenburg. Grinev is convicted, shame awaits him, exile to Siberia for an eternal settlement.

Grinev is saved from shame and exile by Masha, who goes to the queen "to ask for mercy." Walking through the garden of Tsarskoye Selo, Masha met a middle-aged lady. In this lady, everything "involuntarily attracted the heart and inspired power of attorney." Having learned who Masha was, she offered her help, and Masha sincerely told the lady the whole story. The lady turned out to be the Empress, who pardoned Grinev just as Pugachev pardoned both Masha and Grinev in his time.

Screen adaptations

The story has been filmed many times, including abroad.

• The Captain's Daughter (film, 1928)
• The Captain's Daughter - a film by Vladimir Kaplunovsky (1958, USSR)
• Captain's Daughter - teleplay by Pavel Reznikov (1976, USSR)

• Volga en flames (fr.) Russian (1934, France, dir. Viktor Tourjansky)
• Captain's daughter (Italian) Russian (1947, Italy, directed by Mario Camerini)
• La Tempesta (Italian) Russian (1958, directed by Alberto Lattuada)
• The Captain's Daughter (1958, USSR, dir. Vladimir Kaplunovsky)
• The Captain's Daughter (animated film, 2005), director Ekaterina Mikhailova

Notes

Links

Year of writing:

1836

Reading time:

Description of the work:

The work of Alexander Pushkin "The 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.

In order 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 that time, which he recalls, he was seventeen years old, and due to very strange circumstances, he became an unwitting participant in the events associated with the "Pugachevshchina". This is what the novel is about.

Grinev is somewhat ironic in his childhood memories. He was a nobleman. 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 he did not have time to be born, but was already listed as a sergeant in the Semyonovsky regiment.

From the age of five, Petrusha was entrusted with the care of the aspiring 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 his literacy, and the tricks of hunting. Soon Grinev got along with a new French teacher, whose name was Beaupre. This same Frenchman in his homeland was engaged in a different craft - cutting his hair, and in Prussia he was in military service. And although Beaupre had a contract, according to which he had to teach the young student French, German and help comprehend other sciences, the Frenchman himself studied Russian with Petrusha. It ended with the fact that Beaupre was convicted of drunkenness, dissolute behavior and failure to fulfill his teaching duties, as a result of which he was expelled.

Pyotr Grinev spends his early years having fun - chasing birds, playing with the neighbor's guys around the yard, chasing leapfrog. But at the age of sixteen, his father took it into his head to send Petrusha to serve the Fatherland. Moreover, it was not about St. Petersburg - it's too simple, but about the army in Orenburg. Let the young man learn what gunpowder is, and “pull the strap.” Of course, Grinev did not like such an idea, because his dreams were about a fun life in the capital, and now boring days were ahead in the deaf and remote Orenburg. Let's continue the summary of "The Captain's Daughter", because the most interesting is 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 to get to the floor, 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 peasant, who, according to Petrusha's mother, was "an imprisoned father" and Andrei Petrovich, and he was lying in his father's bed. This same man wants to give the young man a kiss on his hand and then bless him. Then he starts swinging an ax, bloody puddles appear, but he says to the frightened Grinev that there is no need to be afraid, come on, they say, I will bless you.

The wagon gets out of the blizzard thanks to a random leader, and Grinev wants to thank him. Moreover, the counselor is dressed lightly. Therefore, Pyotr Grinev treats him with wine and gives him clothes - a hare 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, medium height, black beard.

In Orenburg, Grinev must find the Belogorsk fortress in order to serve there. But the fortress is one name. There are no formidable bastions, towers and ramparts there. This is a simple village surrounded by a wooden fence. Several disabled people live there, unable to distinguish the right side from the left, and all the artillery is an old cannon, and then garbage is stuffed into it.

The name of the commandant of the fortress is Ivan Kuzmich Mironov. Although he is not educated, he is honest and kind. The wife of the commandant, Vasilisa Yegorovna, took over the management of affairs, and even manages the service independently, as if she were a household. Grinev fits well into the Mironov family, and they consider him almost like a native. 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 the service, on the contrary. He reads a lot, translates and writes poetry. There is a lieutenant Shvabrin in the fortress - the only, in fact, person who is educated in the same way as Grinev, about the same age and does the same. At first, young people get close, but not for long. Soon there is a big fight. It turns out that Shvabrin made attempts to get the location 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 subjected the poems to criticism, and even expressed his opinion about Masha's "morals and customs" with dirty hints. As a result, Shvabrin and Grinev met in a duel in which Grinev was wounded.

During the courtship of Masha for the patient after being wounded by Grinev, the relationship of young people is getting stronger, and feelings of sympathy are mutual. They even confessed this to each other, and Grinev had already decided to ask for the 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 ban is strict, and he even threatens to beat the "nonsense" out of Petrusha's head by transferring him to serve in another place.

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

In October 1773, the commandant received a notice that the Don Cossack Yemelyan Pugachev was impersonating the deceased Emperor Peter III. Having gathered a gang of villains, he caused confusion 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 is already on everyone's lips, and soon they managed to grab one Bashkir who had "outrageous sheets" with him, but he could not be interrogated, because the poor fellow had his tongue torn out. Everyone is waiting that Pugachev is about to attack the Belogorsk fortress.

In the end, the rebels are announced, but the fortress did not expect to see them so soon. Masha did not even have time to leave for Orenburg. The first attack - and the fortress 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 taken prisoner. First, the commandant is hanged, who refuses the oath, then Vasilisa Yegorovna is also killed with a saber. Grinev's turn comes, but Pugachev leaves him alive. As it turned out later, mercy was not just like that - Savelyich told Pyotr Andreevich that the very tramp who met them on the way and helped them get out of the snowstorm was Pugachev, and after all, Grinev granted 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, even here Grinev refuses the robber, because his loyalty belongs to the empress. Moreover, Grinev even honestly admits that he might fight against Pugachev. The impostor is so surprised by the sincerity of the young officer that he decides to let him go. Grinev goes to Orenburg to ask for help - he really wants to save Masha, who has remained 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 to serve the rebel.

Orenburg soon also finds itself surrounded by Pugachev's troops, the siege began, 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, he again refuses him.

Grinev and Savelich have their own plan, so they themselves go to help Masha, but the rebels manage to grab them. By chance, Pugachev and Grinev converge again, and when the impostor finds out the whole essence of the story, he himself is determined to release Masha and punish Shvabrin. While the officer and the invader are driving, they have a candid 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 a time than to be an ordinary scavenger for years. Grinev and Pugachev look differently at the moral side of this issue, because, according to the officer, it is those who live by robbery that peck at the carrion. Our portal site does not give an assessment, leaving it for the reader to think, read the summary of "The Captain's Daughter" to the end.

Be that as it may, Masha is released, Shvabrin tries to reveal all the 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 is still in the service in order to observe the "duty of honor".

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

Masha acts as a savior, who is determined to ask the queen for mercy, for which she goes to St. Petersburg. In Tsarskoye 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 about everything that the girl does. It turns out that this lady is the empress herself, she pardons Grinev in the same way as some time ago Pugachev showed mercy to both Masha and Grinev.

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In 1836, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin wrote the story "The Captain's Daughter", which was a historical description of the Pugachev uprising. In his work, Pushkin was based on real events of 1773-1775, when, under the leadership of Emelyan Pugachev (Liar Tsar Pyotr Fedorovich), the Yaik Cossacks, who took fugitive convicts, thieves and villains as servants, began a peasant war. Pyotr Grinev and Maria Mironova are fictitious characters, but their fates very truthfully reflect the sad time of the brutal civil war.

Pushkin designed his story in a realistic form in the form of notes from the diary of the protagonist Pyotr Grinev, made years after the uprising. The lyrics of the work are interesting in their presentation - Grinev writes his diary in adulthood, rethinking everything he experienced. At the time of the rebellion, he was a young noble loyal to his Empress. He looked at the rebels as if they were savages who fought with particular cruelty against the Russian people. In the course of the story, it is clear how the heartless ataman Pugachev, executing dozens of honest officers, eventually, by the will of fate, wins favor in Grinev's heart and acquires sparks of nobility in his eyes.

Chapter 1. Sergeant of the Guard

At the beginning of the story, the main character Peter Grinev tells the reader about his young life. He is the only survivor of 9 children of a retired major and a poor noblewoman, he lived in a middle-class noble family. The upbringing of the young master was actually engaged in the old servant. Peter's education was low, since his father, a retired major, hired the French hairdresser Beaupré as a tutor, leading an immoral lifestyle. For drunkenness and depraved actions, he was expelled from the estate. And 17-year-old Petrusha, his father decided, through old connections, to send him to serve in Orenburg (instead of St. Petersburg, where he was supposed to go to serve in the guards) and attached an old servant Savelich to him for supervision. Petrusha was upset, because instead of parties in the capital, a dull existence in the wilderness awaited him. During a stopover on the way, the young gentleman made an acquaintance with the rake-captain Zurin, because of whom, under the pretext of training, he got involved in playing billiards. Then Zurin offered to play for money and as a result, Petrusha lost as much as 100 rubles - a lot of money at that time. Savelich, being the keeper of the master's "treasury", is against Peter paying the debt, but the master insists. The servant is indignant, but gives the money back.

Chapter 2

In the end, Piotr is ashamed of his loss and promises Savelich not to gamble again. There is a long road ahead of them, and the servant forgives the master. But because of the indiscretion of Petrusha, they again get into trouble - the impending snowstorm did not embarrass the young man and he ordered the driver not to return. As a result, they lost their way and almost froze. For luck, they met a stranger who helped the lost travelers to go to the inn.

Grinev recalls how then, tired from the road, he had a dream in a wagon, which he called prophetic: he sees his house and his mother, who says that his father is dying. Then he sees an unfamiliar man with a beard in his father's bed, and his mother says that he is her named husband. The stranger wants to give a "father's" blessing, but Peter refuses, and then the man takes up the ax, and corpses appear around. He does not touch Peter.

They drive up to the inn, reminiscent of a thieves' haven. A stranger, frozen in a cold in one Armenian coat, asks Petrusha for wine, and he treats him. A strange conversation took place between the peasant and the owner of the house in the language of thieves. Peter does not understand the meaning, but everything he hears seems very strange to him. Leaving the rooming house, Peter, to Savelich's next displeasure, thanked the escort by granting him a hare sheepskin coat. To which the stranger bowed, saying that the age would not forget such mercy.

When Peter finally gets to Orenburg, his father's colleague, having read the cover letter with the order to keep the young man "in tight rein", sends him to serve in the Belgorod fortress - even more wilderness. This could not but upset Peter, who had long dreamed of a guards uniform.

Chapter 3

The owner of the Belgorod garrison was Ivan Kuzmich Mironov, but his wife, Vasilisa Yegorovna, actually ran everything. Simple and sincere people immediately liked Grinev. The elderly Mironov couple had a daughter, Masha, but so far their acquaintance has not taken place. In the fortress (which turned out to be a simple village), Peter meets a young lieutenant Alexei Ivanovich Shvabrin, who was exiled here from the guards for a duel that ended in the death of the enemy. Shvabrin, having a habit of speaking unflatteringly about those around him, often spoke caustically about Masha, the captain's daughter, exposing her as a complete fool. Then Grinev himself gets acquainted with the daughter of the commander and questions the statements of the lieutenant.

Chapter 4

By nature, the kind and benevolent Grinev began to become friends with the commandant and his family more and more, and moved away from Shvabrin. The captain's daughter Masha did not have a dowry, but turned out to be a charming girl. Shvabrin's caustic remarks did not please Peter. Inspired by thoughts of a young girl in quiet evenings, he began to write poems for her, the content of which he shared with a friend. But he ridiculed him, and even more began to humiliate Masha's dignity, assuring that she would come at night to the one who would give her a pair of earrings.

As a result, the friends quarreled, and it came to a duel. Vasilisa Yegorovna, the wife of the commandant, found out about the duel, but the duelists pretended to have reconciled, deciding to postpone the meeting the next day. But in the morning, as soon as they had time to draw their swords, Ivan Ignatich and 5 invalids were led out under escort to Vasilisa Yegorovna. Having reprimanded, as it should, she let them go. In the evening, Masha, disturbed by the news of the duel, told Peter about Shvabrin's unsuccessful matchmaking for her. Now Grinev understood his motives for his behavior. The duel did take place. The confident swordsman Peter, taught at least something worthwhile by the tutor Beaupre, turned out to be a strong opponent for Shvabrin. But Savelich appeared at the duel, Peter hesitated for a second and was eventually wounded.

Chapter 5

The wounded Peter was nursed by his servant and Masha. As a result, the duel brought the young people closer, and they were inflamed with mutual love for each other. Wanting to marry Masha, Grinev sends a letter to his parents.

Grinev reconciled with Shvabrin. Peter's father, having learned about the duel and not wanting to hear about the marriage, became furious and sent an angry letter to his son, where he threatened to be transferred from the fortress. At a loss as to how his father could find out about the duel, Peter attacked Savelich with accusations, but he himself received a letter with the owner's displeasure. Grinev finds only one answer - Shvabrin reported the duel. Father's refusal to bless does not change Peter's intentions, but Masha does not agree to secretly marry. For a while they move away from each other, and Grinev understands that unhappy love can deprive him of his mind and lead to debauchery.

Chapter 6

Unrest begins in the Belgorod fortress. Captain Mironov receives an order from the general to prepare the fortress for an attack by rebels and robbers. Emelyan Pugachev, who called himself Peter III, escaped from custody and terrified the neighborhood. According to rumors, he had already captured several fortresses and was approaching Belgorod. It was not necessary to count on victory with 4 officers and army "disabled". Alarmed by rumors about the capture of a nearby fortress and the execution of officers, Captain Mironov decided to send Masha and Vasilisa Yegorovna to Orenburg, where the fortress is stronger. The captain's wife speaks out against the departure, and decides not to leave her husband in difficult times. Masha says goodbye to Peter, but she fails to leave the fortress.

Chapter 7

Ataman Pugachev appears at the walls of the fortress and offers to surrender without a fight. Commandant Mironov, having learned about the betrayal of the constable and several Cossacks who joined the rebel clan, does not agree to the proposal. He orders his wife to dress Masha as a commoner and take the priest to the hut, and he himself opens fire on the rebels. The battle ends with the capture of the fortress, which, together with the city, passes into the hands of Pugachev.

Right at the commandant's house, Pugachev perpetrates reprisals against those who refused to take the oath to him. He orders the execution of Captain Mironov and Lieutenant Ivan Ignatich. Grinev decides that he will not swear allegiance to the robber and will accept an honorable death. However, here Shvabrin comes up to Pugachev and whispers something in his ear. The chieftain decides not to ask for the oath, ordering all three to be hanged. But the old faithful servant Savelyich rushes at the feet of the ataman and he agrees to pardon Grinev. Ordinary soldiers and residents of the city take the oath of allegiance to Pugachev. As soon as the oath ended, Pugachev decided to dine, but the Cossacks dragged Vasilisa Yegorovna naked from the commandant's house, where they robbed property, by the hair, who was crying for her husband and cursing the convict. Ataman ordered to kill her.

Chapter 8

Grinev's heart is out of place. He understands that if the soldiers find out that Masha is here and alive, she cannot escape reprisals, especially since Shvabrin took the side of the rebels. He knows that his beloved is hiding in the priest's house. In the evening the Cossacks came, sent to take him to Pugachev. Although Peter did not accept the False Tsar's offer of all honors for the oath, the conversation between the rebel and the officer was friendly. Pugachev remembered the good and now gave Peter freedom in return.

Chapter 9

The next morning, Pugachev, in front of the people, called Peter to him and told him to go to Orenburg and report on his offensive in a week. Savelich began to fuss about the plundered property, but the villain said that he would let him go on sheepskin coats for such impudence. Grinev and his servant leave Belogorsk. Pugachev appoints Shvabrin as a commandant, and he himself goes on another feat.

Pyotr and Savelich are on foot, but one of Pugachev's gang caught up with them and said that His Majesty would grant them a horse and a sheepskin coat, and fifty, but he supposedly lost it.
Masha fell ill and lay delirious.

Chapter 10

Arriving in Orenburg, Grinev immediately reported on the deeds of Pugachev in the Belgorod fortress. A council met, at which everyone except Peter voted for defense, not attack.

A long siege begins - hunger and want. Peter, on another sortie into the camp of the enemy, receives a letter from Masha, in which she prays to save her. Shvabrin wants to marry her and keeps her in captivity. Grinev goes to the general with a request to give half a company of soldiers to save the girl, which is refused. Then Peter decides to help out his beloved alone.

Chapter 11

On the way to the fortress, Pyotr falls into Pugachev's guard and is taken for interrogation. Grinev honestly tells everything about his plans to the troublemaker and says that he is free to do whatever he wants with him. Pugachev's thug-advisers offer to execute the officer, but he says, "pardon, so pardon."

Together with the robber ataman, Peter goes to the Belgorod fortress, on the way they are talking. The rebel says that he wants to go to Moscow. Peter in his heart pities him, begging him to surrender to the mercy of the empress. But Pugachev knows that it is already too late, and says, come what may.

Chapter 12

Shvabrin keeps the girl on water and bread. Pugachev pardons the arbiter, but learns from Shvabrin that Masha is the daughter of an unsworn commandant. At first he is furious, but Peter, with his sincerity, this time also achieves favor.

Chapter 13

Pugachev gives Peter a pass to all outposts. Happy lovers go to their parents' house. They confused the army convoy with the Pugachev traitors and were arrested. In the head of the outpost, Grinev recognized Zurin. He said he was going home to get married. He dissuades him, assuring him to remain in the service. Peter himself understands that duty calls him. He sends Masha and Savelich to their parents.

The fighting of the detachments that arrived in time to rescue broke the robber plans. But Pugachev could not be caught. Then there were rumors that he was rampant in Siberia. Zurin's detachment is sent to suppress another outbreak. Grinev recalls the unfortunate villages plundered by savages. The troops had to take away what people could save. The news came that Pugachev had been caught.

Chapter 14

Grinev, on Shvabrin's denunciation, was arrested as a traitor. He could not justify himself with love, fearing that Masha would also be interrogated. The Empress, taking into account the merits of her father, pardoned him, but sentenced him to life exile. The father was in shock. Masha decided to go to Petersburg and ask the Empress for her beloved.

By the will of fate, Maria meets the Empress in the early autumn morning and tells her everything, not knowing who she is talking to. On the same morning, a cab was sent for her to the house of a secular lady, where Masha got a job for a while, with an order to deliver Mironov's daughter to the palace.

There Masha saw Catherine II and recognized her as her interlocutor.

Grinev was released from hard labor. Pugachev was executed. Standing on the chopping block in the crowd, he saw Grinev and nodded.

The reunited loving hearts continued the Grinev family, and in their Simbirsk province, under glass, was kept a letter from Catherine II pardoning Peter and praising Mary for her intelligence and kind heart.