The theme of love in the poetry of A.S. Pushkin.
© Aksenovskaya Z.E.
"The Captain's Daughter"
In 1836, at the end of his life, A.S. Pushkin wrote one of the most beautiful works - “The Captain's Daughter”. He seems to be fulfilling his promise given in the lyrical digressions of the 3rd chapter of Eugene Onegin:
Perhaps, by the will of heaven,
I will stop being a poet
A new demon will possess me...
I will stoop to despicable prose;
Then a novel in the old way
It will take my cheerful sunset.
But I’ll just tell you
Traditions of the Russian family,
Love's captivating dreams
Yes, the morals of our antiquity.
(Wrote A.S. Pushkin in 1824).
Pushkin is married. He now has a large family, for whose well-being he is responsible to God. Now life has presented him with new questions: what should be the relationship between family members? What is the role of the father in the family? what is the role of the mother? how to raise children? What is the family for, its purpose?
He answered all these questions in The Captain's Daughter. But even before this novel, there was a book that gave detailed answers to many of these questions - this is “Domostroy”. And we feel that Pushkin studied it. The poet wrote the words: “Genius reveals the truth at one glance.” And with the insight of a genius, having seen its essence, its rational grains and, consequently, the Orthodox point of view on the family (Domostroi is based on the teaching of the Holy Fathers about the family and economy), he creates his own view of the family in the work “The Captain's Daughter”.
G. Fedotov in one of his articles he said that “the longer Pushkin lives, the deeper the Christian seeds grow in him.” He wrote the novel “The Captain's Daughter” on the eve of his death (three months), and it seems to me that this is the “most Orthodox” work of A. S. Pushkin.
Theme of the Father.
It is impossible not to notice that one of the most important themes in “The Captain's Daughter” is the theme of the Father, his role in the family.
Let's turn to Christianity, how does it talk about the father?
The Heavenly Father acts, first of all, as a merciful Father, endlessly loving and forgiving. People also say this: He is long-suffering and abounding in mercy.
“The Lord is not slack in fulfilling his promise, as some count slackness; but he bears with us long, not wanting anyone to perish, but for all to come to repentance.”
God is a loving Father. He is unusually close to us, but we must approach Him with complete reverence and awe - Thy will be done! Christianity speaks of the vertical relationship of the Creator to creation, to man.
It is precisely this attitude that we see in the Grinev family from the father to the household members: what the father said is a final and irrevocable decision, and is not subject to discussion. Moreover, it is accepted in advance as the only correct and fair one by both the son and the mother. Without his father's blessing, Peter does not undertake a single fateful act. (No leaving for service, no marriage).
And in another family - the Mironovs - it’s the same. When it became clear to everyone that the matter brewed by Pugachev was taking a sharp turn, Vasilisa Egorovna said: “Ivan Kuzmich, God is free in life and in death: bless Masha. Masha, come to your father.” And in this family the father is the head. They don't start lunch without it.
Both families in this work have vertical relationships. Exactly the way they should be, according to Pushkin. An interesting fact is that after A.S. Pushkin’s wedding, his mother-in-law, Natalya Ivanovna, tried to take control of his family into her own hands. But she failed, and thus Pushkin proved that a man is the master of the house. He also believed that the father's blessing was especially important.
Why is the father's blessing absolutely necessary? What does it mean?
In the book of Sirach we read;
“The father’s blessing establishes the children’s homes” (Sirach 3:9).
"Do not seek glory in the dishonor of your father, for the dishonor of your father is not your glory. A man's glory comes from the honor of his father." (Sirach 3:10).
The father's blessing, as we see, has enormous power.
So, Pushkin’s opinion coincides with the truths of the Bible.
The husband is the head of the family not because he is a man, but because he is the image of Christ in the family. A father must present an image of boundless love, devoted, selfless love, love that is ready to do anything to save, protect, console, delight, and educate his family.
Misunderstanding of the role of the father as the deputy of the Heavenly Father, responsible before God for the family, leads to a distortion of the entire spiritual life, and as a consequence, the family life.
"The Captain's Daughter" also answers the question of what is the role of the mother in the family.
Mother's theme.
If the father is the Vicar of God on earth, then the prototype for a woman is the Mother of God. This was the understanding among the people.
Pushkin’s attitude towards the Mother of God was complex. I remember the creative spring of 1821. It occupies a special place, in my opinion, in the history of his work.
Holy Week 1821 fell between April 5-11. It was an alarming week: the poet wrote "Rebekah" and the program of a blasphemous poem, full of sensuality and shamelessness. This poem is known as "Gavriliad" since its hero is the Archangel Gabriel. The poem has 500 lines, part of it is carefully finished, which means it was not written all at once, although there is not a single draft, not a single autograph has reached us. The poet then destroyed everything. He will write: “An incomprehensible emotion attracted me to the evil one.”
The demons swirled around and tormented the poet during this fateful Holy Week. Although at the same time he wrote the bright “Muse” and suddenly, interrupting “important hymns inspired by the gods”, drowning out “love for the lofty”, other, giggling voices burst into his singing, small demons flash around him.
A year and a half later I sent this joke to P. Vyazemsky among other “dirty tricks”. Vyazemsky was delighted with “Gavriliad” and wrote: “Pushkin sent me one of his wonderful pranks.” And he is not alone, but many enthusiastic Russian readers of Voltaire's flat, obscene "Virgin", "Amorous Adventures in the Bible" and "War of the Gods." The guys accepted and approved of "Gavriliad" as a funny joke. They would not tolerate jokes about liberal ideas, but they were allowed to make fun of the Mother of God.
In "Gavriliad" the remnants of the original French literary influences and frivolous atheism, among which Pushkin spent his bookish youth, were reflected for the last time.
The last lines of this poem sound like an eerie prophecy. These lines are especially terrible for us, who know what kind of death awaited the poet:
But the days pass, and time turns gray
My head will be silently silvered
And an important marriage with a kind wife
Before the altar he will unite me;
Joseph is a wonderful comforter!
I beg you, on bended knee,
Oh, horned protector and guardian,
Please bless me then.
Grant me blessed patience
I pray you, send it to me again and again
Peaceful sleep, confidence in your spouse,
There is peace in the family and love for one's neighbor.
Like demons, grimacing and laughing, in a magic mirror they vaguely outlined his own future before the poet. And he laughed with them, not knowing that he was laughing at himself. But, as you know, “what you laugh at, you will serve.”
In 1828, the case of "Gavriliad" arose and there is something terrible in the fact that the blasphemous poem forced the sincere, honest Pushkin to lie, humiliate himself, and renounce - Pushkin, who never renounced political poems, even the most harsh ones.
In 1826, when the poet had already created "Prophet" he suddenly writes, “You are the Mother of God, there is no doubt...” Not without wit, he plays on the image of a woman who has aroused love for herself. She gives birth to cupid, the god of love, and therefore becomes the “Mother of God.” And then again playful thoughts addressed to the true Mother of God. Why such insensitivity? Why does the poet, who had a “classical sense of proportion and an unerring artistic taste” (I.A. Ilyin) there was no desire to stop. Unfortunately, there is still no true reverence when thinking about God, about the spiritual. Although in the fairy tale “About the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights” the princess “has the character of such a meek one.”
In a poem "Madonna"(1830) Pushkin paints the Virgin Mary and Her Child like this:
She with greatness, He with reason in his eyes -
We looked, meek, in glory and rays
My wishes came true. Creator
Sent you to me, you, my Madonna.
Yes, he loves Natalya Nikolaevna Goncharova. Yes, she is beautiful, but in her comparison comparison
makes almost blasphemous. The final line of the sonnet rings false:
The purest beauty, the purest example
The word "lovely" in the dictionary V.I. Dahl is given in the following interpretation:
seduction, charm that seduces to the highest degree; deception, temptation, cunning, deceit, deceit, seduction from an evil spirit.
In Pushkin, the word “charm” sounds in a positive sense.
This is the background to this issue. But in “The Captain’s Daughter” Pushkin’s view of the Mother of God is that of an absolutely Orthodox person. To be convinced of this, let us turn to the Life of the Mother of God.
The Mother of God possessed many Virtues, but the highest of them are three: the deepest humility, fiery love for God, physical and spiritual purity.
If the mother possesses these qualities, then peace, tranquility, prosperity, and order will reign in the house. According to Domostroi, there was a clear division of responsibilities in the family, a division of labor between spouses. In “Domostroy” she is the mistress of the house, so many women were characterized by “strong courage and immutable intelligence - qualities that are certainly masculine, which is why they could firmly rule another home - Russia. Russian history shows the strong Russian character of both Princess Olga and Martha Posadnitsy But the last word in the family was still with the father. He had the right to punish and exercised general leadership in the house.
There are two families in the novel. Let's see what the role of the mother is in the family.
The Grinev family.
In the Grinevs' house, the mother takes care of the housework. We find her making jam, literally on the very first pages.
When a husband needs his son’s passport, he turns to his wife, she knows where and what is, there must be order in the house.
The basis of life was work, hence the sharp condemnation of laziness, idleness, drunkenness - everything that distracts from work.
Peter is seventeen years old, and he is still chasing pigeons and playing with a kite. His father dramatically changes his lifestyle: “so as not to hang himself.”
The thought of imminent separation “struck mother so much that she dropped the spoon into the saucepan, and tears streamed down her face.” She knew her husband’s character well: “he did not like to change his intentions or postpone their implementation.” But, as we see, Peter also knew this, he knew and respected his father for it. “His word did not diverge from his deed.” The day of Petrusha’s departure was also set. As expected, everything was prepared for him for the journey; his mother took care of it. Seeing off her son, she “in tears” ordered him to take care of his health. This shows us her humility.
When Pyotr Andreich "loaded up" in the Simbirsk tavern, Savelich read him an instruction: "... And who did you go to? It seems that neither the father nor the grandfather were drunkards; there is nothing to say about mother: ... from birth, except for kvass, they didn’t deign to take anything from their mouths...” Savelich’s remark is also a characteristic of Peter’s parents.
Let us recall another episode where we see the role of the mother in the Grinevs’ house: “The washerwoman Palashka... and the cowwoman Akulka,” as Pyotr Grinev writes in his memoirs, “complaining with tears about the monsieur who had seduced their inexperience, they threw themselves at mother’s feet, apologizing in criminal weakness." And he continues: “Mother didn’t like to joke about this and complained to the priest” (remember, only the father could punish). To remain silent in such a situation and not to punish is to indulge immorality. This is how the image of Pyotr Grinev’s mother emerges quite clearly from individual strokes. Every family has children. Raising children is a difficult task. The theme of education is also in the Gospel.
We know four Gospels, but in them there are only a few phrases belonging to the Mother of God.
First episode. When Jesus was 12 years old, they came to Jerusalem for a feast. Upon completion
holidays were returning home. He was not among his relatives and friends. Not finding Him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him. They found Him three days later "in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking Him; ... And His Mother said to Him: Child! What have You done to us? Behold, Your father and I have been looking for You with great sorrow" [Lk . 2,45,48].
But there is a similar episode in the Grinev family. Having learned about his injury in a duel with Shvabrin, the father writes in a letter to his son: “Your mother, having learned about your duel, fell ill and is now lying down.” And also the lines: “What will become of you? I pray to God that you will improve, although I have no hope for His great mercy.”
The mother fell ill at the thought that her son could have been killed. Perhaps an equally terrible thought flashed through: “Have I gone astray from the true path?” Peter's parents also probably mentally exclaimed: “Child! What have you done to us?”
We see great maternal love, but also filial love. Having received a letter from his father, Peter says: “... what upset me most of all was the news of my mother’s illness.” He always says the word "mother" in relation to her. And her father calls her that, which means he loves her and feels sorry for her, despite all the severity, even the severity of his character.
The entire life of the Mother of God was spent in anxiety for her Son. Let us remember the following episode from Her life.
After fasting for forty days, the Lord returned to Galilee. He taught in synagogues and was glorified. He also came to Nazareth, where he was raised, and also taught in the synagogue. But the envious scribes and Pharisees began to reason among themselves: what kind of new teaching is this? We know this Teacher. He is the son of a carpenter, a Galilean. Ridicule and curses rained down on Him. Jesus rebuked them. Their hearts were filled with rage, they drove Jesus out of the city and took him to the top of the mountain to overthrow Him from there. At this time, the Mother of God was in Nazareth, she hurried there. From the furious screams and angry faces of the Nazarenes, the Mother of God understood what horrors threatened Her Son. But His hour had not yet come. Jesus passed unharmed among them and left Nazareth.
Tradition also indicates the location of the event: this mountain is located on the southern side of Nazareth. And on the upper ledge, through the zeal of the first Christians, in memory of the torment endured here by the Mother of God, the “Church of the Frightened Mother” was built.
Each mother can be given one such “Church of the Frightened Mother”. Including the mother of Peter Grinev.
The most terrible event in the entire life of the Virgin Mary is the crucifixion of the Son, Her presentation to the Cross. The Gospel of John says: “At the Cross of Jesus stood His Mother and His Mother’s sister...” There is no indication anywhere that she uttered a word. Numb with suffering, she remained silent and watched. Are there words with which She could console Her Son? Moreover, She knew that He was born for this hour. But church poetry says that the Mother’s lips whispered: “The world rejoices, accepting deliverance from You, and My womb lit at form, How crucified You... » The Mother of God always suffered in silence. To suffer in silence was her lot on earth. Sometimes they talk about the cause of death like this: he bled to death. So the Mother of God had an eternal procession of invisible martyrdom.
Every mother has her own Golgotha, for the Grinev family this is the news of their son’s betrayal.
When the Grinevs' parents received the news that Peter had been arrested for participating "in the plans of the rebels" and that only "out of respect for the merits and advanced years of his father" Catherine II pardoned Peter and ordered him to be exiled "to the remote region of Siberia for an eternal settlement, everyone suffered. The rumor about him The arrest “struck the whole... family,” and my father “this unexpected blow almost killed.”
Peter's mother cries silently, in front of her father she “didn’t dare to cry,” “in order to restore his cheerfulness,” “frightened by his despair.” When the pain of the heart is unbearable, you really want to scream, moan, cry out loud. And here the situation is such that the mother cannot even cry. Then at such moments you burn with an unquenchable fire.
Precisely the words of the Mother of God "My womb is burning" best and most accurately reflect the state of Pyotr Grinev’s mother.
As we see, the correlation between the life of the Mother of God and a simple Russian woman is obvious.
Mironov family.
The story shows another family - the Mironov family.
Pyotr Andreevich Grinev came to serve in the Belogorsk fortress, came to Captain Mironov to introduce himself and report on his arrival: “I entered a clean room, decorated in the old-fashioned way.”
It was as if he had found himself in his native element. The captain was not there, and Vasilisa Egorovna, his wife, ordered everything. For her, the fortress is home. She manages all household affairs: “She looked at the affairs of the service as if they were her master’s, and managed the fortress as accurately as her own house.” She ordered the constable to be called and ordered: “Maksimych! Give the mister officer an apartment, and a cleaner one... Take Pyotr Andreevich to Semyon Kuzov.” Immediately she turns to him with a question: “Well, Maksimych, is everything all right?”
“Everything, thank God, is quiet,” the Cossack answered, “only Corporal Prokhorov got into a fight in the bathhouse with Ustinya Negulina over a bunch of hot water.” Here he immediately asks:
Ivan Ignatyich! - the captain said to the crooked old man. - Sort out Prokhorov and Ustinya, who is right and who is wrong. Punish both of them.
The advice is correct: in a quarrel, both are always to blame.
She herself punishes Grinev and Shvabrin for the duel. Ivan Ignatich says: “She ordered everything without the knowledge of the commandant.”
Shvabrin calmly noted that only Ivan Kuzmich could judge them, “that’s his business.” The commandant objected: “... aren’t husband and wife one spirit and one flesh?”
Grinev was received... “like family.” In the fortress there is a domestic hierarchy of values. The rhythm of everyday life is dictated by “cabbage soup” and “guests”. Vasilisa Yegorovna says to Palashka: “Tell the master: the guests are waiting, the cabbage soup will catch a cold.” They don't start dinner without their father. The head of the house here is the father. During dinner, Vasilisa Yegorovna did not stop talking for a minute and said to Pyotr Grinev: “And here, my father, we only have one girl, Palashka; thank God, we live small. One problem: Masha; a dowry? a fine comb, a broom, and an altyn of money (God forgive me!), with which to go to the bathhouse. It’s good if you find a kind person; It seems that they live very calmly, but this is apparent calm. Vasilisa Egorovna said out loud what her soul ached about every day. And she, as we see, lived in constant anxiety for the fate of her daughter.
In quiet times, the fortress was “ruled” by Vasilisa Egorovna. But when the fortress was besieged by Pugachev, when things took a sharp turn and when bullets began to whistle past her ears, she calmed down, turned to her husband and said: “Ivan Kuzmich, in life and death God is free: bless Masha. Masha, come.” Then she says: “Let’s send Masha. Don’t even ask me in a dream: I won’t go. There’s no point in me parting with you in my old age and looking for a lonely grave on a foreign side. Live together, die together.”
AnthonySurozhsky wrote that for the sake of the husband and wife she must “leave everything, forget everything, break away from everything out of love for him and follow him wherever he goes, if necessary, even to suffering, if necessary - to the Cross.”
That’s what Vasilisa Egorovna did.
So, in The Captain's Daughter there are two families.
In both, the parents' marriages were for love. Vasilisa Egorovna and Avdotya Vasilievna were women, wives, housewives, mothers.
Peter Grinev's father "married the girl Avdotya Vasilyevna Yu., the daughter of a poor nobleman." People usually don’t marry a poor woman under duress. We lived in harmony. Married a girl. Pushkin emphasized. He has every word in its place.
Blessing his daughter, Captain Mironov said: “If there is a kind person, God give you love and advice. Live as Vasilisa Egorovna and I lived.” And in this family love, peace reigned, they held on to their love for each other.
But this family world began with the image of a girl who later becomes a faithful wife. Let's see how and how the author of the work draws the image of a girl.
For the first time we see Masha Mironova through the eyes of Pyotr Grinev: “Then a girl of about eighteen came in, chubby, ruddy, with light brown hair, combed smoothly behind her ears, which were on fire.” Flaming ears indicate her modesty. Next we read: “At first glance, I didn’t really... like her.” Grinev, because Shvabrin described her as “a complete fool.” She came in, “sat down in the corner and began to sew.” And Masha was not raised to be a slacker. And his words sound like a conclusion: “I found in her a prudent and sensitive girl.” By that time he had formed his own view of the girl. “Prudence,” according to Dahl, is prudence in words and deeds, worldly wisdom, useful caution and prudence. “Sensitive” - impressionable, who has keen feelings, highly developed moral feelings, again according to Dahl.
Pyotr Andreevich takes a dowry-free woman as his wife. But Savelich is right when he says, “that such a bride does not need a dowry.” Her prudence, her purity, chastity, the fire of her love for God - this is her best dowry.
The saints greatly extol the purity of the body. It is no coincidence that “the Lord, Jesus Christ wanted to have His Pure Mother, putting on Her pure flesh, as in royal purple,” according to the church fathers.
The feat of virginity, chastity, about which the venerable SeraphimSarovsky spoke as about the highest feat, today it acquires special beauty. “Virginity is the highest virtue of all virtues. And even if they had a lack of other good deeds, then this alone would be enough to replace all other virtues - virginity is an equally angelic state,” Masha possessed purity of soul and body - these are the features of the Mother of God. She also has a burning love for God.
Marya Ivanovna is as firm in her faith as flint. The poor girl is wooed by Shvabrin, “a smart man, with a good family name, and has a fortune.” But she doesn’t marry him. Why? Here is her answer: “... but when I think that it will be necessary to kiss him under the aisle in front of everyone... No way! not for any well-being!” She, a beggar, does not want to get material well-being at such a price. In the face of God, people lie that they love the unloved! She does not want impurity, insincerity of heart. She wants to be clean not only in body and soul, but also with her lips. At first, Peter’s father did not give his blessing to his son to marry the captain’s daughter: he did not know then what kind of treasure this girl was. And she refused to marry Grinev without the blessing of his parents, keeping Peter from sin. Then she tells him: “If you love someone else... I will pray for you.” Note “for you”, not “for you”. This is an example of pure, high Christian love. She never spoke a word against her parents. Pushkin emphasizes her humility, meekness, spiritual and physical purity, chastity, ardent love for God, that is, Masha possesses the traits of the Mother of God. And for her purity, the Lord rewards her with prudence - prudence, and the gift of reasoning is given to those “who are pure in heart, body and lips” (“The Ladder”). The Fathers of the Church say that “humility is the ability to see the truth.” And she was given this. She gives a correct assessment of Shvabrin, saying about him: “He is very disgusting to me, but it’s strange: I wouldn’t want for anything in the world if he didn’t like me the same way.” She saw his anger.
Pushkin thereby wants to say that Masha Mironova’s parents fulfilled their task, their parental destiny, raising a wonderful daughter.
Pushkin, when he was about to marry Natalya Nikolaevna, also asked his parents for their blessing:
"I ask for your blessing not as a mere formality, but because it necessary for our happiness. May the second half of my life bring you more comfort than my sad youth."
As we see, he came to understand the need for this. But he also understood something else: the power of his mother’s prayer. His letters to his wife very often ended with the words:
"Christ is with you, my children... I kiss and baptize Masha, Red Sashka and you. The Lord is with you... Farewell, all mine. Christ is risen, Christ is with you... I hug you, I bless the children, you too. Everyone Every day you pray, standing in the corner." (July 14, 1834)
“I thank you for praying to God on your knees in the middle of the room. I pray to God little and hope that your pure prayer is better than mine both for me and for us” (August 3, 1834).
And these were not just ritual words, but an expression of genuine feelings. With relatives and dear people, Pushkin did not play with words, especially with such words: he knew their value too well.
Let's remember the next episode. Marya Ivanovna went to St. Petersburg “to seek protection and help from strong people, like the daughter of a man who suffered for his loyalty.” Peter's mother prayed for her son, for the successful completion of the matter. There is nothing higher than a mother's prayer. And she helps her son. It is said: a mother’s prayer will reach you from the bottom of the sea. This is what they say only about a mother’s prayer. He transferred his understanding of his mother’s prayer to the pages of the story.
AND. A. Ilyin writes:
“Pushkin searched and studied all his life... And what he found, he found not as abstract reflection, but as his own being. Himself was becoming what he taught to be. He taught not by teaching, and not by wanting to teach, but by becoming and embodying.”
Let us remember: “marriage is a kind of asceticism, renunciation. A strict, religious, moral marriage is only a slightly softened monasticism - monasticism alone or with children as disciples,” wrote K. Leontyev.
In church, crowns are worn over the heads of those getting married; these crowns are symbols of martyrdom. Martyrdom because a person decides to live for another, stepping over his egoism and giving up life for himself. And this is not for one day, but for life.
After all, love is a desire, a desire to give oneself everything to another. This is exactly how Pushkin understood marriage.
This is exactly what the outstanding Russian philosopher emphasizes in his article about Pushkin IN. WITH. Soloviev.
ABOUT education.
In "The Captain's Daughter" the theme of education is clearly visible. Let's listen to what the Church Fathers say about this.
“Everything for parents should be secondary in comparison with caring about raising children,” taught JohnZlatoust.
A. S. Pushkin wrote from Mikhailovsky to his brother:
“Do you know my activities? Before lunch I write notes, I have lunch late; after lunch I ride horseback, in the evening I listen to fairy tales - and thereby compensate for the shortcomings of my damned upbringing. What a charm these fairy tales are.” (1824, November). We know that Pushkin did not receive proper education as a child.
He will say again: “Lack of education is the root of all evil.” (He apparently judges this from his own experience).
But in the story, the parents work and raised their children to be hardworking. The Mironovs’ house is always clean, daughter Masha knew how to sew.
In the Grinevs' house, the mother is always at work, but they did not spoil their son either, they did not want him to grow up as a slacker, and they sent him to the service.
“Education... must impart to the child a new way of life. Its main task is not to fill the memory and not to educate the intellect, but to ignite the heart,” he said AND. A. Ilyin, wonderful Russian philosopher, about the purpose of education.
The parents in both families were believers and raised their children like this: they lit the hearts of their children with the fire of great love for God. In all difficult moments, all members of the Grinev family live, trusting in the mercy of God. But Pushkin, at the end of his life, came to the same thought: main task families is education children V God, believers And living By laws God.
UpbringingatGrinev plays a very important role. The head of the family is the father (as already noted), and his order is part of the upbringing of Pyotr Grinev. Pyotr Andreevich never disobeys his parents, and this shows us his prudence. An excellent example for his son is his father himself, who was a “respectable man,” as the general calls him. His parents took care of raising their son from early childhood. They hire him a French teacher so that he is brought up no worse than others. But, having learned about the tricks of Monsieur Beaupré, the father immediately removes him from the teenager. In this way he intuitively follows the truth of the Gospel: “Do not be deceived: bad communities corrupt good morals. .
We again find clear examples that raising children in the Grinev and Mironov families was truly successful in the story:
When Peter was arrested, they put a chain on his feet and shackled it tightly, he realized that such a beginning did not bode well, and therefore, “he resorted to the consolation of all those who mourned and, for the first time tasting the sweetness of prayer poured out from a pure but torn heart, calmly I fell asleep, not caring what would happen to me." Completely relied on the will of God. Peter always relies only on God at critical moments. When Pugachev occupied the fortress and hanged the commandant of the fortress, Ivan Ignatievich, it was Peter’s turn. When Pugachev gave the command: “Hang him!”, Peter “began to read a prayer to himself, bringing to God sincere repentance for all sins and begging Him for the salvation of all those close to my heart.” Peter loves his father very much. He has a dream: he arrived “to the master’s courtyard ... of the estate.” He even worries in his sleep: “My first thought was the fear that my father would be angry with me for my involuntary return to my parents’ roof and would consider me for deliberate disobedience.” This is not a fear of punishment, it is a fear of losing the love of a father.
Peter Grinev, when he sent Masha to his family, was not worried about her fate, since he knew that she would be accepted by his parents “with that sincere cordiality that distinguished the people of the old century. They saw the grace of God in the fact that they had the opportunity to shelter and caress the poor orphan." He speaks so highly of his parents. Being away from home, he realized what his parents were like.
The Mironov family also loves God. Blessing his daughter, the father gives Masha an order: “Pray to God: he will not leave you.”
After the death of her father and mother, left homeless, without a piece of bread, “having neither relatives nor patrons,” she writes in a note to Pyotr Grinev: “God was pleased to suddenly deprive me of my father and mother”... We, the present, when trouble happens to us, we perceive everything differently - as punishment, and only ask: “Lord, why did you punish me?! Why me?” We grumble, but she thanks God for the suffering. Maria Ivanovna believes in God so much that she always relies on His love in everything, knowing that He does everything for the good of man. This often strikes the modern reader. Pushkin understood everything correctly: we must thank God for both sorrow and joy.
When Ivan Kuzmich was late for dinner, Vasilisa Yegorovna said to him: “... I should have sat at home and prayed to God, it would have been better that way...”
That is, just faith is enough and everything will be fine - it was Pushkin who first expressed this idea. It will be expressed later F. M. Dostoevsky as a result of his thoughts:
“The Russian people are all in Orthodoxy. They don’t have anything else in them - and they don’t need to, because Orthodoxy is everything.”
This is what he talks about NikolayVasilievichGogol in "Selected places from correspondence with friends":
“This (Orthodox) Church... alone is able to resolve all... our questions.”
The love of Masha and Peter has passed the test of life. For Masha’s sake, he travels from Orenburg to Pugachev’s camp to rescue her from Shvabrin. But she also agreed that it would be better to die, but not to be Shvabrin’s wife. They went through all the trials that befell everyone with dignity, and deserved each other, because people say that a good husband or wife must be earned.
The parents of Masha and Peter fulfilled their duty, but they, in turn, raised good children.
"Their descendants prosper in the Simbirsk province."
This is how it should be, for the Lord Himself instills faith in a person with the words:
“I was young and old, and I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging for bread: he has mercy every day and lends, and his descendants will be a blessing.”
[Ps. 36, 25-26]
The epilogue of the novel speaks specifically about the prosperity of descendants. Peter and Masha had children, and the serfs - only three hundred souls, which are now owned by ten people, but they live together and prosper.
Grandchildren continue to develop the traditions of their fathers. They were kind and offered the author his grandfather’s diary themselves, having heard that he was going to write about those times. They also keep Catherine’s letter, which praises “the mind and heart of the captain’s daughter.” One can be proud of Catherine’s praise, for she was a good judge of people (according to IN. ABOUT. Klyuchevsky).
Conclusions.
So, in The Captain's Daughter there are three images of women. In three images - the fate and example of the Russian woman in the concept of Pushkin. From the bride (Masha Mironova) to the wife who will go to Calvary for her husband (Vasilisa Egorovna). Isn’t this his view of a woman, a family, the upbringing and future of children?
"The Captain's Daughter", in my opinion, is Pushkin's great repentance before the Mother of God and his last forgiveness to his already departed mother.
Pushkin once said about the Gospel: “There is a book in which every word is interpreted, explained, preached to all ends of the earth, applied to all possible circumstances of life and events of the world.” In the story, he showed us the correlation between the fate of a Russian woman and the fate of the Mother of God, the main milestones, stages of Her life are also milestones, stages of the fate of any woman: a girl, pure in soul and body, modest; when she gets married, becoming a wife and mother, she begins her eternal journey through martyrdom with invisible blood: “Child! What have you done to us!”, “My Womb is Burning!”, “Church of the Frightened Mother.”
And this correlation is obvious, moreover, it is one of the criteria for assessing women's destinies.
Final thoughts on the topic.
The poet and I experienced pure youthful love with its heart frozen with fear and trembling with delight; And numbness of the lips from the great grief of unrequited love; but also the fullness of happiness, where
And deity and inspiration,
And life, and tears, and love;
And also jealousy to the point of gnashing of teeth and self-denial in the name of the happiness of your beloved: “...God grant that your beloved be different” the way you were loved by me.
Life is complicated, it confronted the poet with the problem of a love triangle, that is, “freedom of feelings.” Pushkin told us that freedom of feelings will always color life in tragic tones, and offered a solution to the problem, salvation: “I will be faithful to him forever,” that is, fulfillment of duty. The decision is correct, because the poet suffered through torment, in the struggle with his conscience, with his passionate heart.
He is against such love when only the lust of the body is satisfied, when “everything goes into the body,” he is for real, pure, high love. Beauty is purity.
In recent years, he has been glorifying girlish purity. Moreover, he warns readers that love, which serves only to satisfy lust, perverts human nature, his nature, which we are witnessing today.
How modern Pushkin is! We all want to put it somewhere on a distant shelf, but it just won’t disappear into the academic wilderness. He is alive, always modern and, in his versatility and genius, our eternal companion and mentor.
The writer, with his brilliant story “The Captain's Daughter,” answered many questions (they are indicated at the beginning of the work). But I would like to draw attention to the fate of the Russian woman in the work. We clearly see its correlation with the life of the Mother of God and Her destiny. The milestones and stages of Her life are the milestones and stages of the life of an earthly woman: girlhood with its mental and physical purity, meekness and humility; life in marriage, almost equal to monastic asceticism, full of anxiety, tragedy, when lips, parched with grief, often whisper: “Child! What have you done to us?”, “My womb is burning...” Every woman has her own Golgotha, and every woman can have her own Church of the Frightened Mother.
Of course, we all understand that the Son of the Mother of God atoned for the sins of the world and the suffering of the Mother of God is immeasurable. It is blasphemous to even compare the torment of the Mother of God and the torment of an ordinary woman. We carry only our sins, but due to our weakness, this burden seems terrible and unbearable to us.
The words spoken by the Mother of God at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee: “What will He say, That do it” is a crown, a reward for any mother. But not every mother can say them about her son, but only the one who raised a wonderful person.
“The Captain’s Daughter,” I think, is Pushkin’s great and modest repentance to the Mother of God, and his last “forgiveness.”
References:
Hieromonk Philadelph "The Zealous Intercessor", M., Russian Spiritual Center, 1992 ..
Goricheva T. Christianity and the modern world. St. Petersburg, "Aletheia", 1996
Ilyin I.A. "Pushkin's prophetic calling" (article)
Nepomnyashchiy V. Poet and fate. M., "Soviet Writer", 1983
A.A. Akhmatova Article about Pushkin
Story by A.S. Pushkin's "The Captain's Daughter" reveals many themes. One of the most important is the theme of love. At the center of the story are the mutual feelings of the young nobleman Pyotr Grinev and the captain's daughter Masha Mironova.
The first meeting of Peter and Masha
Masha Mironova represents the ideal of A.S. Pushkin, expressing fortitude, honor and dignity, the ability to defend one’s love, to sacrifice much for the sake of feelings. It is thanks to her that Peter gains true courage, his character is tempered, and the qualities of a real man are cultivated.
At the first meeting in the Belogorsk fortress, the girl did not make much of an impression on Grinev; she seemed to the young man a simpleton, especially since his friend Shvabrin spoke very unflatteringly about her.
The inner world of the captain's daughter
But very soon Peter realizes that Masha is a deep, well-read, sensitive girl. A feeling is born between young people, which imperceptibly develops into true, all-conquering love, capable of overcoming all the difficulties encountered along its path.
Trials on the path of heroes
For the first time, Masha shows her steadfastness and reasonableness of character when she does not agree to marry Petya without the blessing of her lover’s parents, because without this, simple human happiness will be impossible. For the sake of Grinev’s happiness, she is even ready to give up the wedding.
The girl’s second ordeal falls during the capture of the fortress by Pugachev’s rebels. She loses both parents and is left alone surrounded by enemies. Alone, she withstands Shvabrin’s blackmail and pressure, preferring to remain faithful to her lover. Nothing - neither hunger, nor threats, nor serious illness - can force her to marry another person, whom she despises.
Happy ending
Pyotr Grinev finds an opportunity to save the girl. It becomes obvious that they will be together forever, that they are destined for each other. Then the young man’s parents accept her as their own, recognizing the depths of her soul and inner dignity. After all, it is she who saves him from slander and reprisals before the court.
This is how they save each other. In my opinion, they play the role of guardian angel for each other. I think that for Pushkin, the relationship between Masha and Grinev is the ideal of a relationship between a man and a woman, headed by love, mutual respect and absolute devotion.
The last major work by A.S. Pushkin’s novel “The Captain’s Daughter” was short in volume but incredibly deep in meaning. The classic himself, who devoted more than one year to writing it, admitted in his diaries that the work became his philosophical and creative testament, in which he was able to reflect all the thoughts that worried him.
The novel itself primarily contains Christian didacticism. He refers the reader to the Gospel of Matthew, to the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ and to his covenant to be a true righteous man, to do nothing for show and to carry love for his neighbor in his heart, to remain merciful even with the enemy, to take care of honor and dignity. This has been noted many times by literary scholars.
Historian G. Fedotov, for example, called “The Captain’s Daughter” the most Christian work in the entire history of Russian literature. He noted that this is a story about “quiet righteousness.” There is no doubt that the heroine of the novel, Masha Mironova, becomes the bearer of this righteousness.
Despite the fact that the main semantic load falls on the idea of Christian love, Pushkin does not lose sight of romantic love. This is perhaps the most striking and interesting storyline in the work, which makes “The Captain’s Daughter” so attractive even to the modern reader.
The main character of the story, Petrusha Grinev, grew up as a teenager: he chased pigeons, listened to the stories of the poultry woman and rudely scolded his uncle Savelich. Tired of his son’s sloppiness, Grinev Sr. sends him to “serve, smell gunpowder” to the provincial Belogorsk fortress. Surprisingly, it is there that colossal historical events will unfold, which will play an important role in the life of Petrusha and other heroes. And it is here, in the Belogorsk fortress, that a spoiled but honest, noble young man will be lucky enough to meet his true love.
At first, Marya Ivanovna, the daughter of Captain Mironov, the girl who will be able to win Grinev’s heart, will not attract his attention. She was not pretty, had poor health and a sensitive heart. The mother, Vasilisa Egorovna, called her daughter a coward to her face and warned her that she was afraid of a gun shot.
It is interesting that the heroes, who initially appear not in the most favorable light, ultimately unite and change each other for the better. Their souls desperately grow stronger, and the love that arose between them leads them to true happiness and salvation.
The love line in the novel “The Captain's Daughter” is complicated by dramatic twists and turns. Thus, for the first time Masha shows her character when she finds herself marrying her lover without the blessing of his parents. She tells Grinev that without their approval, he, Petrusha, will not be happy. This reveals the amazing nobility of the heroine, ready to sacrifice her own happiness for the sake of the happiness of her loved one.
Later, the trials will become much more terrible: Masha Mironova’s parents die at the hands of vile rebels, and the girl herself is miraculously saved by the priest - in this episode the Christocentric motifs of Pushkin’s works also appear. Grinev finds himself separated from his beloved. Soon she is captured and finds herself in the clutches of the traitor Shvabrin. He demands that the girl agree to marry him, but Masha, observing Christ’s commandment from the Sermon on the Mount “do not commit adultery in your heart,” remains faithful to another. The nobility of her soul appears in the episode where she frantically admits that she is ready to die rather than sell herself to save her body.
The captain's daughter has to seek protection from the rebel Pugachev himself, despite her previous “cowardice.” Love for Grinev enormously changed the character of Masha Mironova. Against her will, she had to become courageous, strong and brave, devoted to her lover. When he needs help, it is she, a weak woman, who goes to the capital to do everything in her power to save Pyotr Andreich.
It’s interesting that love in “The Captain’s Daughter” takes on a tinge of... belligerence! Alexander Sergeich takes his heroes through many difficult tests and subjects them to the need to make difficult moral choices. And in the conditions of historical drama, the senseless and merciless Russian rebellion, Masha and Peter seem to deserve spiritual cleansing. The author seems to be arranging for them the circles of Hell and Purgatory in order to ultimately lead the heroes through pain and suffering to heavenly life on earth.
It seems that in this novel A.S. Pushkin creates a somewhat exaggerated image of an ideal relationship between a man and a woman - a relationship where harmony, mutual respect and selfless devotion to each other reign, the willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of a loved one. The historical background against which this love story unfolds is needed only in order to more strikingly show the contrast between base feelings - the thirst for power, cruelty, etc. - and true love, which every person on earth should strive for.
Courage manifests itself in all areas of human activity, in all situations. But is courage needed in love? It seems to me that the answer to this question is obvious.
A person in love will never take the first step towards his soul mate without courage. When people are about to get married, it seems like there’s nothing wrong with it, because it’s just a wedding and nothing special. But in fact, this is a huge act that requires courage from a person.
After all, you will spend the rest of your life with this person. But I want to say more: love is the reason for courage.
In the work "The Captain's Daughter" Petrusha risks herself to save her beloved Masha from Pugachev's gang. All that moved him at that moment was love. When a person loves, he is capable of enormous feats.
Another example is Gogol’s work “Taras Bulba”. The main character Taras responded to the cry of his son, who was executed. Yes, Taras risked himself, but he couldn’t even help his son, at first glance. But in reality this is not the case. Ostap needed his father's support. And Taras Bulba showed it to his son, showing his boundless love for his son.
Courage isn't just needed to do great things. But also to love.
Updated: 2017-10-23
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Useful material on the topic
- Does it take courage to embrace something new? Courage and cowardice Essay Unified State Examination. Arguments, examples from literature
Alexander Pushkin himself knew firsthand numerous examples of courage and cowardice, because he lived in an era when it was almost impossible to hide manifestations of character. Duels, military service, hunting, cards - all the entertainment of the nobility required a demonstration of courage and defense of honor. Maybe that is why the writer invested his energy in creating a historical mirror of a bygone era, where the moral virtues and imperfections of man were even more obvious. On the pages of the work, he tried to give a lesson to his generation and those who would come to replace him, to teach people the true virtue of the soul. In particular, in “The Captain's Daughter” you can find convincing arguments on the topic “Courage and Cowardice”, which will help graduates in writing the final essay in this area.
- An example of a brave person is the main character of Pushkin’s story “The Captain’s Daughter”. He shows his courage in defending the fortress when it is attacked by rebels. Peter was eager to fight and did not disgrace the honor of the nobleman. But what is much more shocking is his refusal to swear allegiance to Pugachev, which promises martyrdom. However, Grinev is not one of the timid, and he does not consider himself a traitor. Even his enemy respects this trait in him. Therefore, the next heroic act falls to his lot after liberation from the fortress. The young man helps Masha out, and at the same time disobeys the command. As a result, they want to condemn him for formal “treason.” But even in this situation, Grinev does not justify himself and does not regret his action, because courage in a person often coexists with conscientiousness, honor and dignity.
- Pushkin portrays phenomenal cowardice in his story “The Captain's Daughter.” Shvabrin becomes a traitor to the core due to his all-consuming fear. Alexey is ready to do anything to avoid danger. For example, he loses his dignity by using dishonest tactics in a duel with Peter. To avoid competition from him, he also acts meanly: he denigrates Masha in the eyes of his gentleman. But his lowest act was the oath to the rebel Pugachev, for which he had prepared in advance, anticipating defeat. Thus, cowardice became the cause of moral decay of the individual.
- It's not just men who demonstrate courage. The heroine of Pushkin’s story “The Captain’s Daughter” became brave thanks to tragic circumstances: her family was killed by rebels during the capture of the fortress. She was left alone in the enemy camp, and even alone with a vile traitor who was forcibly forcing her to marry him. In such a situation, not every girl could cope with her feelings. But Marya patiently endured the trials until decisive action was required from her. When Peter was arrested for going to her rescue, she went to the empress and risked asking for the “traitor.” The young heroine, without connections or help at court, went to seek the salvation of her beloved. The queen was touched by her story and pardoned Grinev. This is how the city takes courage.
- Savelich, the minor hero of the story “The Captain's Daughter,” is also an example of courage in the work. Although he is a slave, he does not fear his master, but respects him. When Grinev loses at cards, his servant scolds him in a fatherly manner and gets angry. The young master is insolent and answers passionately, but the peasant is famous for his grip: he still convinces the young man that he is right, without fear of punishment, which any nobleman could apply. But the hero’s most courageous act is saving Peter from Pugachev’s wrath. It is Savelich who seeks Grinev’s pardon by reminding Pugachev of the service rendered to him by the master. The serf is not afraid of death and opposes the stern rebel, overshadowing the owner. But he could betray him by defecting to those who defended his interests in the political arena. This way he would gain freedom. But courage elevates a person, making him also honest towards others.
- Shvabrin demonstrates cowardice in love, trying to win Marya's heart through cunning and dishonest behavior. He is afraid to appear before her as he is, without falsehood and endless meanness. The hero is also incapable of frank confession. He only hurts the girl in every possible way, instead of showing attention and care. His feelings are also saturated with fear, like himself, and the heroine feels this, so she gives preference to another person. It is not surprising, because people quite rightly do not like a person’s fearfulness and uncertainty in actions, words and feelings. Therefore, lack of courage can harm not only on the battlefield, but also in your personal life.
- Cowardice is to some extent manifested in the behavior of Grinev's father, who denies his son a blessing. His fear can be understood: his son could have been deceived for selfish reasons. Still, Marya’s condition was incomparable to Peter’s wealth. The girl hardly had any reason to claim such an unequal marriage. The hero was afraid that she was just a selfish and hypocritical person who wanted to get out “from rags to riches.” But he feared for the fate of the heir - this feeling can be understood and justified, so it cannot be said that this or that cowardly act is always dictated by the baseness of a person. Sometimes such behavior is quite forgivable, because we are talking about the people dearest to our hearts. Interesting? Save it on your wall!