Historical novel " Captain's daughter"Was completed by Pushkin and appeared in print in 1836. The creation of the novel was preceded by a lot of preparatory work. The first evidence of the novel's intention dates back to 1833.
In the same year, in connection with the work on the novel, Pushkin had the idea to write a historical study on the Pugachev uprising. Having received permission to familiarize himself with the investigation file about Pugachev, Pushkin deeply studies archival materials, and then travels to the area where the uprising unfolded [Volga region, Orenburg region), examines the places of events, asks old people, eyewitnesses of the uprising. As a result of this work, in 1834, The History of Pugachev appeared, and two years later - The Captain's Daughter.
In a small novel, close in volume to a story, Pushkin raises before us one of the brightest pages of Russian history - the period of the Pugachev era (1773-1774) full of violent unrest. The novel acquaints us with the dull ferment among the population of the Volga region, which foreshadowed the proximity of the uprising, and with the formidable appearance of the leader of the uprising, Pugachev, and with his first military successes. At the same time, the novel depicts the life of various strata of Russian society of the second half of XVIII V.: the patriarchal life of the noble estate of the Grinevs, the modest life of the family of the commandant of the Belogorsk fortress, Captain Mironov, etc.
The idea of "The Captain's Daughter" came to Pushkin even before the start of work on "The History of Pugachev", at the time when he was writing "Dubrovsky". Remember the conflict underlying Dubrovsky and the main characters. In Dubrovsky, the theme of the struggle of the serf peasantry against the feudal-landlord state and its order is touched upon, but not developed. The young nobleman Dubrovsky becomes the leader of the rebellious peasants. In chapter XIX of the novel, as we remember, Dubrovsky dissolves his "gang". He cannot be the real leader of the peasants in their struggle against the masters; he has not been given the opportunity to fully understand the motives of the "rebellion" of the serfs against the landlords.
Pushkin leaves Dubrovsky unfinished. He could not depict a genuine peasant uprising on the basis of contemporary material. Without finishing the "robber" novel, he turns to the grandiose liberation movement of the huge masses of peasants, Cossacks and small oppressed peoples of the Volga region and the Urals, which shook the very foundations of the empire of Catherine II. In the course of the struggle, the people brought forward from their midst a bright and original figure of a real peasant leader, a figure of great historical significance.
Work on the story has been going on for several years. The plan, the plot structure, the names of the characters are changing. At first, the hero was a nobleman who went over to the side of Pugachev. Pushkin studied the true affairs of the well-born officer Shvanvich (or Shvanovich), who voluntarily went over to Pugachev, officer Basharin, who was taken prisoner by Pugachev. Finally, two actors- officers, one way or another connected with Pugachev. Shvanovich, to a certain extent, served to convey the history of Shvabrin, and the poet's name Grinev was taken from the actual history of an officer arrested on suspicion of having connections with Pugachev, but then acquitted. Numerous changes in the plan of the story indicate how difficult and difficult it was for Pushkin to cover the acute political theme of the struggle between two classes, topical in the 30s of the XIX century.
In 1836, The Captain's Daughter was completed and published in the IV volume of Sovremennik. Pushkin's long-term study of Pugachev's movement led to the creation of both a historical work ("The History of Pugachev"), and artwork("Captain's daughter"). Pushkin appeared in them as a historian and artist who created the first truly realistic historical novel.
After the brutal suppression of the rebellious uprising of military settlers in Staraya Russa in the early 30s of the 19th century, Pushkin drew attention to the "troubled" times in the history of the fatherland. This is where the story of the creation of "The Captain's Daughter" begins. The image of the rebel Pugachev bewitches and attracts the poet's attention. And this theme runs at once in two works of Pushkin: the historical work "The Story of Pugachev" and "The Captain's Daughter". Both works are dedicated to the events of 1773-1775 under the leadership of Yemelyan Pugachev.
Initial stage: collecting information, creating the "History of Pugachev"
The history of the creation of "The Captain's Daughter" takes more than 3 years. Pushkin was the first to write the work "The History of Pugachev", for which he carefully collected facts and evidence. He had to go around several provinces in the Volga region and the Orenburg region, where the uprising took place and witnesses of those events still lived. By decree of the tsar, the poet was given access to secret documents related to the uprising and its suppression by the authorities. Family archives and private collections of documents constituted a large part of the sources of information. In Pushkin's "Archival Notebooks" there are copies of the personal decrees and letters of Emelyan Pugachev himself. The poet communicated with old people who knew Pugachev and passed on legends about him. The poet questioned, wrote down, examined the places of the battles. He scrupulously and punctually recorded all the information he had gathered in the historical work “The History of Pugachev”. A short novel reveals to us one of the most exciting pages in Russian history - the Pugachev era. This work was called "The History of the Pugachev Revolt" and was published in 1834. Only after the creation of a historical work, the poet began to write a fictional one - "The Captain's Daughter".
Prototypes of heroes, building a storyline
The novel is narrated on behalf of the young officer Pyotr Grinev, who is serving in the Belogorsk fortress. Several times the author changed the plan of the work, built the plot in different ways and renamed the heroes. At the beginning, the hero of the work was a young nobleman who went over to the side of Pugachev. The poet studied the history of the nobleman Shvanvich, who voluntarily went over to the side of the rebels, and the officer Basharin, who was captured by Pugachev. On the basis of their true deeds, two characters were formed, one of whom was a nobleman who became a traitor, whose image required passing through the moral and censorship barriers of that time. We can say that Officer Shvanovich served as the prototype for Shvabrin. This surname was mentioned in the tsar's decree "On the punishment by death of the traitor, rebel and impostor, Pugachev and his accomplices." And the main character of "The Captain's Daughter" Grinev was created by the author on the basis of the actual story of an officer taken into custody by the authorities. He was suspected of having links with, but later this was not confirmed, the officer was found not guilty and released.
Publication and history of the creation of "The Captain's Daughter" by Pushkin
For Pushkin, covering such an acute political topic was not an easy job, as the story of the creation of The Captain's Daughter speaks about: numerous changes in the construction of the work plan, change of the names of the heroes and the storyline.
The story "The Captain's Daughter" was first mentioned in the middle of 1832. The work itself appeared in print in December 1836 in the Sovremennik magazine without the author's signature. However, the censorship banned the publication of the chapter on the riot of the peasants in the village of Grineva, which the poet himself later called "The Missed Chapter". Pushkin's creation of "The Captain's Daughter" took last years his life, after the publication of the work, the poet died tragically in a duel.
Alexander Sergeevich had to work hard to create the characters. He turned to unpublished documents, family archives, vehemently studied the history of the uprising led by Yemelyan Pugachev. Pushkin visited many cities of the Volga region, including Kazan and Astrakhan, where the "exploits" of the rebel began. He even found the relatives of the participants in order to more reliably study all the information. From the materials received, historical work"The story of Pugachev", which he also used to create his own Pugachev for "The Captain's Daughter". I had to simultaneously think about censorship and a character who contradicted not only the moral and ethical values of that time, but also raised political discussions. His renegade nobleman was initially supposed to side with Pugachev, but in the course of the plan the plan was changed many times.
As a result, the character had to be divided into two - "light" and "dark", that is, the defender of Grinev and the traitor Shvabrin. Shvabrin has absorbed all the worst qualities, from betrayal to cowardice.
The world of heroes "The Captain's Daughter"
The poet managed to describe on the pages of the story truly Russian qualities and character traits. Pushkin very clearly and colorfully manages to convey the opposites of the characters of people from the same class. In the work "Onegin" he vividly described the opposite types of the nobility in the images of Tatyana and Onegin, and in "The Captain's Daughter" he managed to show the opposite of the characters of the types of the Russian peasantry: prudent, loyal to the owners, judicious and prudent Savelich and rebellious, violent, rebellious Pugachev. In the story "The Captain's Daughter", the characterization of the characters is given very plausibly and expressively.
Nobleman Grinev
The main characters deserve special attention in our story. The hero of The Captain's Daughter, the young officer Grinev, on whose behalf the story is being told, was brought up in old traditions. He was given from an early age to the care of Savelich, whose influence only increased after the expulsion of the Frenchman Beaupre from the teachers. Not yet born into the world, Peter was registered as a sergeant, which determined his entire future.
Pyotr Alekseevich Grinev, the protagonist of The Captain's Daughter, was created in the image of a real person, information about whom Pushkin found in archival documents of the Pugachev era. Grinev's prototype is Officer Basharin, who was captured by the rebels and fled from him. The creation of the story "The Captain's Daughter" was accompanied by a change in the name of the hero. It changed several times (Bulanin, Valuev), until the author settled on Grinev. Mercy is associated with the image of the protagonist, " family thought", Free choice in difficult and tough circumstances.
Describing the terrible consequences of the Pugachevism through the mouth of Grinev, Pushkin calls the rebellion senseless and merciless. Mountains of dead bodies, a heap of people chained, whipped and hanged - these are the terrible consequences of the uprising. Seeing the robbed and devastated villages, fires, innocent victims, Grinev exclaims: "God forbid to see a Russian rebellion, senseless and merciless."
Serf Savelich
The creation of the story "The Captain's Daughter" would have been impossible without a vivid image of a native of the people. The serf Savelich firmly believed that he was born only to serve his master. He could not even imagine another life. But his service to the masters is not servility, he is full of self-esteem and nobility.
Savelich is rich in inner disinterested affection and self-sacrifice. He loves his young master in a fatherly way, takes care of him and suffers from unfair reproaches against him. This old man suffers from loneliness, because he devoted his whole life to serving the masters.
Rebel Pugachev
The poet managed to convey another vivid image of the Russian character through Emelyan Pugachev. This hero of "The Captain's Daughter" is viewed by Pushkin from two different angles. One Pugachev is an intelligent, with great ingenuity and perceptive man, whom we see as a simple person, described in personal relations with Grinev. He remembers the kindness shown to him and is deeply grateful. Another Pugachev is a cruel and merciless executioner who sends people to the gallows and executed the elderly widow of the commandant Mironov. This side of Pugachev is disgusting, striking in its bloody cruelty.
The story "The Captain's Daughter" makes it clear that Pugachev is an unwilling villain. He was chosen for the role of "counselor" by the elders and was later betrayed by them. Pugachev himself believed that Russia was destined to be punished through his curse. He understood that he was doomed, that he was only a leading player in a rebellious element. But at the same time, Pugachev is not a soulless puppet in the hands of the elders, he exerts all his courage, perseverance and mental strength for the success of the uprising.
The main character's antagonist is Shvabrin
The nobleman Shvabrin, the hero of "The Captain's Daughter", another a real man, a mention of which was found by Pushkin in archival documents. In contrast to the noble and honest Grinev, Shvabrin is a scoundrel with a dishonorable soul. He easily goes over to the side of Pugachev as soon as he captured the Belgorod fortress. By force, he tries to achieve the Machine's disposition.
But at the same time, Shvabrin is far from stupid, he is a witty and entertaining interlocutor who ended up serving in the Belgorod Fortress for his love of duel fights. It is because of Shvabrin that Grinev falls under suspicion of treason and almost loses his life.
Captain's daughter Maria Mironova
The story "The Captain's Daughter" also tells about love in a difficult time of the popular uprising. main character"The Captain's Daughter" - Maria Mironova, brought up on French novels without a dowry, the daughter of the captain of the Belogorsk fortress. It is because of her that Grinev and Shvabrin fight in a duel, although she cannot belong to either of them. Parents forbade Petrusha to even think about marrying a homeless woman, and the scoundrel Shvabrin, who practically won the duel, has no place in the girl's heart.
She did not give in to him during the capture of the fortress, when he tried to force her to favor her. Masha contains all the best traits of a Russian woman's character - innocence and purity of character, warmth, patience and readiness for self-sacrifice, fortitude and the ability not to change her principles. To save Masha from the hands of Shvabrin, Grinev goes to Pugachev to ask him for the release of his beloved.
Description of events in the story
The description of events is based on the memoirs of a fifty-year-old nobleman Petr Alekseevich Grinev. They were written during the reign of Emperor Alexander and are dedicated to the peasant uprising led by Yemelyan Pugachev. By the will of fate, the young officer had to take an involuntary part in it.
Childhood of Petrusha
The story of "The Captain's Daughter" begins with Pyotr Andreyevich's ironic memories of his childhood. His father is a retired prime major, his mother is the daughter of a poor nobleman. All eight brothers and sisters of Petrusha died in childhood, and the hero himself was registered as a sergeant in his mother's womb. At the age of five, the boy is assigned the stirrup Savelych, who is given to Petrusha as an uncle. Under his supervision, he learned Russian literacy and "could reasonably judge the properties of a greyhound dog." Afterwards, the young master was discharged as a teacher by the Frenchman Beaupré, whose teaching ended in a shameful exile for drunkenness and spoilage of courtyard girls.
Young Petrusha lives a carefree life until the age of sixteen, chases pigeons and plays leapfrog. At the age of seventeen, his father decides to send the ignoramus to the service, but not to the Semyonovsky regiment, but to the active army, so that he can smell gunpowder. This was the reason for the disappointment of the young nobleman, who hoped for a fun and carefree life in the capital.
Service officer Grinev
On the way to Orenburg, the master and his servant fall into a strong blizzard, and they were already completely lost when a black-bearded gypsy came across them, who brought them to the office. On the way to housing, Pyotr Andreevich has a prophetic and terrible dream. Grateful Grinev gives his rescuer a hare sheepskin coat and treats him to a glass of wine. After mutual thanks, the Gypsies and Grinev part.
Arriving at the place, Peter was surprised to find that the Belgorod fortress did not at all look like an impregnable bastion - it was just a cute little village behind a wooden fence. Instead of daring soldiers - military invalids, and instead of formidable artillery - an old cannon, into the mouth of which old garbage is hammered.
The head of the fortress, an honest and kind officer, Mironov, is not strong in education and is completely under the influence of his wife. The wife runs the fortress as her own household. The Mironovs accept the young Petrusha as their own, and he himself becomes attached to them and falls in love with their daughter Maria. The lightweight service is conducive to reading books and writing poetry.
At the beginning of the service, Pyotr Grinev feels friendly sympathy for Lieutenant Shvabrin, who is close to him in education and occupation. But Shvabrin's causticity, with which he criticized Grinev's poems, served as a pretext for a quarrel between them, and dirty hints towards Masha - a reason for a duel, during which Grinev was meanly wounded by Shvabrin.
Mary takes care of the wounded Peter, and they confess to each other their mutual feelings. Peter writes a letter to his parents asking for their blessing on the marriage. However, upon learning that Mary has no dowry, the father forbids his son to think about the girl.
The uprising of Pugachev
The creation of "The Captain's Daughter" is associated with a popular uprising. In the story, events developed as follows. A mute Bashkir was caught in a fortress village with outrageous messages. Residents fearfully await an attack by the insurgent peasants led by Pugachev. And the attack of the rebels happened unexpectedly, at the first military attack the fortress surrendered its positions. Residents came out to meet Pugachev with bread and salt, and they are taken to the city square to swear allegiance to the new "sovereign". The commandant and his wife die, refusing to swear allegiance to the impostor Pugachev. Grinev is waiting for the gallows, but later Emelyan himself pardons him, recognizing in him the fellow traveler whom he saved in the blizzard and received a hare coat as a gift from him.
Pugachev lets the officer go, and he goes for help in the direction of Orenburg. He wants to save the sick Masha from captivity, whom the priest passes off as his niece. He is very worried about her safety, because Shvabrin was appointed commandant, who went over to the side of the rebels. In Orenburg, they did not take his reports seriously and refused to help. And soon the city itself was in a long siege. By chance, Grinev gets a letter from Masha asking for help, and he goes to the fortress again. There, with the help of Pugachev, he frees Masha, and he himself falls under suspicion of espionage at the suggestion of the same Shvabrin.
Final analysis
The main text of the story is compiled from the notes of Pyotr Andreevich Grinev. The critics gave the following characteristic to the story "The Captain's Daughter": it is a historically important story. The era of the Pugachev era is seen through the eyes of a nobleman who took an oath of allegiance to the Empress and faithfully followed his duty as an officer. And even in a difficult situation, among the mountains of dead bodies and the sea of people's blood, he did not break this word and saved the honor of his uniform.
The popular uprising led by Pugachev is viewed in The Captain's Daughter as a national tragedy. Pushkin opposes people and power.
Critics call the story "The Captain's Daughter" the pinnacle of Pushkin's fictional prose. Truly Russian characters and types have healed in the work. All of Pushkin's poetry is permeated by a rebellious spirit, he transcends the boundaries of everyday life. And in the story, in the story of Pugachev's rebellion, the poet glorifies liberty and rebellion. Russian classics gave a positive response to the story "The Captain's Daughter". Another masterpiece was enriched with Russian literature.
"The Captain's Daughter": Genre Affiliation
Can we assume that the story "The Captain's Daughter" has the genre of a historical novel? After all, the poet himself believed that having illuminated an entire historical era in his work, he could consider it a novel. However, in terms of the volume adopted in literary criticism, the work is classified as a story. Few critics admit that The Captain's Daughter is a novel, more often it is called a story or a story.
"The Captain's Daughter" in the theater and at performances
To date, many theatrical and film performances of the story "The Captain's Daughter" have been performed. The most popular became Feature Film Pavel Reznikov with the same name. The picture was released in 1978 and is essentially a movie performance. The roles of the main characters were given to famous and familiar actors for TV viewers. The singularity of acting is that no one gets used to the image, no special makeup is applied to anyone, and there is nothing at all that would connect the actors and the book, except for the text. It is the text that creates the mood, makes the viewer feel, and the actors just read it with their own voice. Despite all the originality of the production of the story "The Captain's Daughter", the film received amazing reviews. Many theaters still follow the principle of just reading Pushkin's text.
This, in general terms, is the history of the creation of the story "The Captain's Daughter" by Alexander Pushkin.
Interest in the history of the native state. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was very attracted by the past of Russia. He wrote a huge number of essays, articles. Nicholas I's permission to access all kinds of documents and archives concerning the rebellion of 1773-1774 prompted him to write the work "The History of the Pugachev Rebellion". The tsar himself determined the title of the work, since the original did not suit him at all. The history of the creation of Pushkin's novel "The Captain's Daughter" is very closely connected with these works.
A trip to the cities where the rebel and impostor Emelyan Pugachev left his bloody trail
In addition to reading many documents about the Pugachev region, the writer had a desire to visit those places where important battles took place. He again, having enlisted the support of the sovereign, having received his permission, is going on the road. Pushkin will visit Simbirsk, Orenburg, Kazan. He will meet with a few aged eyewitnesses of past events, visit the battlefields, see the places where the landowners were executed.
Active writing on the Boldinsky estate
The author writes a work about the Don Cossack in the Boldino estate, when he stays there due to an epidemic of a terrible disease. The ban on leaving the village will last for about a month. He will go there to settle some business before the upcoming wedding. Fruitful work will bear fruit. Even then, there is a desire to create a work of art, where the Pugachevshchina will be described quite realistically, and literary heroes, their actions will outline to the reader everything in a more accessible form.
Controversy over the genre
The author argued that despite the small volume, "The Captain's Daughter" is precisely a novel. He wrote to the censors that his creation reflects the historical time frame, which was acceptable to the novel of that time. Until now, many writers are of the opinion that Pushkin's work on the events peasant war XVIII century is still a story.
Censorship and corrections. Choice in favor of Grinev
Alexander Sergeevich has been working on the work for about three years. He often made corrections, was not completely sure whether he correctly presented the heroes, their behavior, way of life to the reader. Even in those days it was impossible to disclose many facts of the uprising with special truthfulness.
In the archives, the author got acquainted with the orders stating that charges of aiding the rebel Pugachev were dropped from many people. The list included the surname Grinev. For a long period, the writer changed the main character to Valuev, Basharin. In the last chapter, which was rarely published, he initially appears with the surname Bulanin.
After reading in the documents about Second Lieutenant Schwanvich, who embarked on the path of betrayal and service to the impostor, Pushkin decided to use his personality as a prototype for Peter, who bravely fights against the enemy who proclaimed himself tsar.
Peer approval. Publication in a journal without an author's signature
Contemporaries highly appreciated literary efforts. The creator managed to very harmoniously depict the events of the Pugachev uprising not only with the help historical facts and individuals, but also thanks to the skillfully presented images of the main characters. Some have argued that he used the methods of Walter Scott, who was a master of the historical novel.
The history of the creation of the story "The Captain's Daughter"
From the middle of 1832, A.S. Pushkin began work on the history of the uprising led by Yemelyan Pugachev. The tsar gave the poet the opportunity to familiarize himself with secret materials about the uprising and the actions of the authorities to suppress it. Pushkin refers to unpublished documents from family archives and private collections. In his "Archive Notebooks" copies of personal decrees and letters of Pugachev, extracts from reports on hostilities with Pugachev's troops have been preserved.
In 1833, Pushkin decides to go to those parts of the Volga and Ural regions, where the uprising took place. He expects to meet with eyewitnesses of these events. Having received the permission of Emperor Nicholas I, Pushkin leaves for Kazan. “I have been in Kazan since the fifth. Here I was busy with old people, contemporaries of my hero; I went around the outskirts of the city, examined the places of battles, questioned, wrote down and was very pleased that I had not visited this side in vain, ”he wrote to his wife Natalya Nikolaevna on September 8. Further, the poet goes to Simbirsk and Orenburg, where he also visits the places of battles, meets with contemporaries of the events.
From the materials about the riot, the "History of Pugachev" was formed, written in Boldino in the fall of 1833. This work of Pushkin was published in 1834 under the title "History of the Pugachev revolt", which was given to him by the emperor. But Pushkin matured the idea of a work of art about the Pugachev uprising of 1773-1775. It arose while working on Dubrovsky in 1832. The plan of the novel about a renegade nobleman who found himself in Pugachev's camp changed several times. This is also explained by the fact that the topic to which Pushkin was addressing was acute and complex in terms of ideology and politics. The poet could not help but think about the censorship obstacles that had to be overcome. Archival materials, stories of living Pugachevites, which he heard during a trip to the places of the uprising of 1773-1774, could be used with great care.
According to the original plan, the hero of the novel was to become a nobleman who voluntarily sided with Pugachev. Its prototype was the second lieutenant of the 2nd Grenadier Regiment Mikhail Shvanovich (in the plans of the novel Shvanovich), who "preferred a vile life to an honest death." His name was mentioned in the document "On the punishment by death of a traitor, rebel and impostor Pugachev and his accomplices." Later, Pushkin chose the fate of another real participant in the Pugachev events - Basharina. Basharin was taken prisoner by Pugachev, escaped from captivity and entered the service of one of the suppressors of the uprising, General Mikhelson. The name of the protagonist changed several times, until Pushkin settled on the surname Grinev. In the government message on the liquidation of the Pugachev uprising and the punishment of Pugachev and his accomplices dated January 10, 1775, Grinev's name was listed among those who were initially suspected of “communicating with the villains”, but “were innocent by investigation” and were released from arrest. As a result, instead of one hero-nobleman, the novel turned out to be two: Grinev was opposed by a traitorous nobleman, a "vile villain" Shvabrin, which could facilitate the passage of the novel through censorship barriers.
Pushkin continued to work on this work in 1834. In 1836 he reworked it. October 19, 1836 - the date of completion of work on "The Captain's Daughter". "The Captain's Daughter" was published in the fourth issue of Pushkin's Sovremennik at the end of December 1836, a little over a month before the poet's death.
What is the genre of The Captain's Daughter? 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 like this: "In our time, by the word novel, we mean the historical era developed in a fictional narration." That is, Pushkin considered his work to be a historical novel. And yet "The Captain's Daughter" - a small work - in literary criticism is often called a story.
The most famous brainchild of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, "The Captain's Daughter", was completed in 1836. Then he was assigned the genre of the 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 to write a historical research article on the Pugachev uprising. Having barely received the long-awaited permission, the writer has been 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 in the vicinity are bearing fruit. Already in 1834, he finally managed to put an end to it and show the world his remarkable result. It is this long and painstaking work became one of the main factors in the writing of "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 during the period 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 heroes and the idea as a whole change. If initially the writer represented a businesslike officer in the role of the protagonist, then after a while the vision of such a turn of events seemed to Pushkin not the most successful.
To give the effect of realism to his characters, the author carefully studied numerous historical materials about Pugachev's accomplices. It's no surprise that heroes have prototypes that previously existed. How the author's train of thought is 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 with the help of opposing one character to another, help the work successfully pass all the stages of the censorship check. The talent and effort that the writer so diligently put into the process itself was 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 The History of Pugachev. To better understand what is happening during the uprising, Pushkin travels across the Urals and the Volga region. There he spends a lot of time talking 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 of the censorship of those times.
Unfortunately, the first version of the novel, written presumably at the end of the summer of 1833, has not survived. Work on it did not stop for the next three years. It is generally accepted that the work was completely finished on October 19, 1836.
A little about the characters. It is believed that the prototype of the protagonist could be simultaneously several real-life personalities. Among them are Shvanvich and Vasharin. After all, the author conceived it as young man a noble family that, under the pressure of circumstances, would side with the rebels. And the first really once went over to the rioters. While Vasharin, after escaping from Pugachev's captivity, joined General Michelson, an ardent fighter against the Pugachevism. The main character first received the surname Bulanin, and then was renamed into Grineva. The choice of a surname also carries a semantic load. It is known that such a person was actually in the gang. After the riot, he was acquitted.
Pushkin came up with a very interesting literary move - to divide the originally conceived image between two characters. As a result, one hero (Grinev) is one hundred percent positive, and the second (Shvabrin) is his complete opposite - petty and evil. Despite the fact that both young people belong to the same social class, the author opposes them to each other. It was this that gave the work a certain political acuteness 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 last edition of the novel. Most likely, he took this step to please the 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 "Missed 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 issue of the publication was the last one that came out during Pushkin's lifetime. According to the requirements of the censorship, the work had to be published omitting some places and without the signature of the writer.
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 afterwards 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 elderly people who were eyewitnesses of the events taking place. He carefully collects all the information he has collected, 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 background 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 historical events... The author accurately describes externally and internally steppe fortresses, which are built in order to protect the region from the attacks of enemies. He clearly describes the situation of the Cossacks, who are constantly dissatisfied with the government, which leads to the brewing of a rebellious spirit. One day he boils. And a real uprising begins.
The author describes with historical accuracy how the fortresses will be taken, how they will surrender in the course of a fierce battle. The narration of real-life people also becomes part of the story. He reveals their personalities, shows what motives drove them during the struggle with the existing state system, why did they go over to the side of Pugachev? What drove them? They wanted better life for themselves and loved ones, therefore they fought with all our 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 external charisma and fight for people's attention, so that they follow him. His authoritarian nature and desire to promote his own idea is doing its job.
Thanks to the author's ingenious approach, he was able to subtly weave a real historical narrative with a fictional story. Not every author with such precision and clarity approached the writing of 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.
Captain's Daughter prototypes:
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 systematism of his father makes him constantly work and think only about his own interests.
Alexey Shvabrin. The main character is the direct opposite of Peter. He can show neither courage nor nobility. He even goes to the service of Pugachev, because in this way he can satisfy his base motives. The author himself feels a kind of contempt for him, which the reader sees between the lines.
Masha Mironova. Maria Mironova is the only girl and character who exactly follows the phrase “take care of your honor from a young age”. She is the daughter of a boss Belgorod fortress... Her courage and courage help her to be a brave girl, ready to fight for her own feelings, to go, if necessary, to the empress. She is ready to give even her life in order to achieve her goal or keep her best qualities for further struggle.
One surprising feature of the prototypes of the heroes is that the personalities of Peter and Alexei are taken from the personality of one person. Shvanvich became the prototype for both. But at the same time, they are completely different heroes. Initially, the author conceived him as a hero who, for the sake of the title of nobleman, became Pugachev's henchman on a voluntary basis.
But after a series of studies, Pushkin stops his gaze on another historical personality- Basharine. Basharin was captured by Pugachev. He became the main prototype of the protagonist, brave and brave, able to fight for his own worldview and promote them to the masses. The surname of the protagonist himself periodically changed, and Grinev became the final version.
Shvabrin becomes just the opposite of the protagonist. The author contrasts each of it positive quality every negative quality of Shvabrin. Thus, it makes up yin and yang, against the background of this, readers were able to evaluate from the outside and, in general, compare. Thus, the reader understands who is real good and who is the embodiment of evil. But is evil always, is it? Or is it only against the background of good? And what can be considered good? And can the actions of Shvabrin and Shrinev 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 disclose 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 he found himself in. On the other hand, he talks about the 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.
Hero prototypes, Interesting Facts(writing history)
Everyone says that the most boring vacation days are when it rains. But I disagree with that. For me, the most boring day was the hottest. When there was unbearable stuffiness
Ivan Stepanovich has the title of hetman, lives on the territory of Ukraine. A man aged, gray-haired. It can be noted that the author's work not only raises the topic of disputes and strife between states and their leaders