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Analysis of the story "station master". A.S

The plot of the story "The Stationmaster" is based on a case from ordinary life. For the reader, the situation is simple and recognizable: a postal station located in the middle of nowhere, a monotonous, tiresome bustle, endless people passing by. Pushkin chooses as an epigraph a playful poetic statement of his friend, the poet Prince P.A. Vyazemsky:

collegiate registrar,

Post station dictator.

However, this epigraph emphasizes the serious tone of the story, expressing deep sympathy for the fate of the stationmaster, an official of the lowest - fourteenth - class Samson Vyrin. The plot intrigue of the story is that the passing hussar takes with him the only daughter of Vyrin, the light and meaning of his whole bleak life - Dunya. This incident was very ordinary, not distinguished by anything from among the same innumerable misfortunes that await a person. However, the purpose of the story is different: not to capture one of them, but to show the fate of the father and daughter in a changing time.

Pushkin called his story "The Stationmaster", wanting to emphasize that its main character is Samson Vyrin and that the idea of the story is connected primarily with him. The image of Samson Vyrin opens the theme of the “little man” in Russian classical literature, later developed by Pushkin himself in the poem “The Bronze Horseman” (1833) and continued by N.V. Gogol, first of all, in the story "The Overcoat" (1842). The theme of the “little man” was further developed in Russian literature in the prose of I.S. Turgenev and F.M. Dostoevsky, gradually replacing the literature of the nobility and creating the basis for works about the hero - a representative of the general population, "the man of the majority". Therefore, the author, describing the low social status of the hero on the first pages of the story, calls for paying close attention to him as a person. This caused an ironic discussion about “what would happen to us if, instead of the generally convenient rule, honor the rank of rank, another was introduced, for example: honor the mind of the mind? What controversy would arise!

The name of the hero - Samson Vyrin - was compiled by the author in order to express his attitude to the personality and character of this person. The combination of the heroic biblical name Samson, who accomplished outstanding feats, and the ordinary, inexpressive surname Vyrin expresses the author's idea that, despite the low origin of the hero, he is characterized by high, noble feelings. He selflessly loves his daughter, while caring only about her well-being. It also preserves pride and dignity. Let us recall what his natural reaction was when the hussar shoved money into the cuff of his sleeve, as if paying off the old man.

The events of the story "The Stationmaster" by Pushkin do not take place in front of the reader, he learns them from the narrator, who acts both as a narrator and as a hero of the work. The exposition, or prologue, of the work includes two parts: the narrator's reasoning about the fate of the stationmasters, which allows the writer to use it both to characterize the time, the state of the roads, morals, and to represent a specific place of action. Three times the hero-narrator arrives at the station, which was located on the "road, now destroyed", as well as the memory of the people who once lived there. Thus, the story itself about the main events consists of three parts, like a triptych - a three-part pictorial picture. The first part is an acquaintance with the inhabitants of the postal station, a picture of a peaceful, unclouded life; the second is the sad story of the old man about the misfortune that befell him, and about the fate that fell to Dunya; the third part conveys a picture of a rural cemetery, which performs the function of an epilogue. Such a composition gives the story a philosophical character.

An important role in the story "The Stationmaster" is played by the seasons. This is how the story of the events begins: “In the year 1816, in the month of May, I happened to pass through the *** province ...” This is how the narrative is introduced, as if the beginning of life is depicted. The description of the weather also corresponds to this, everything around is full of strength and energy: “It was a hot day. Three miles from the station, *** began to drip, and a minute later the pouring rain soaked me to the last thread. And here is the last arrival of the hero-narrator, the end of the story: “It happened in the fall. Greyish clouds covered the sky; a cold wind blew from the reaped fields, blowing red and yellow leaves from oncoming trees. This landscape sketch symbolizes the past life, dying. So the epilogue becomes a philosophical commentary on the story.

The content of the story "The Stationmaster" correlates with the parable of the prodigal son. The narrator sees pictures depicting this plot on the walls of Vyrin's room. The story of the prodigal son from the Bible tells us about the eternal situation in the life of a person who leaves his parental home without a blessing, makes mistakes, pays for them and returns to his father's house. Pushkin describes this story with light humor, but humor serves not to express a mocking attitude, but to focus on the right moments. For example, "... a venerable old man in a cap and dressing gown releases a restless young man, who hastily accepts his blessing and a bag of money." In this scene, Pushkin draws the reader’s attention to two circumstances: the young man “hurriedly” accepts everything from his father, as he is in a hurry to start an independent and cheerful life as soon as possible, and the young man with equal haste accepts “a blessing and a bag of money”, as if they are equivalent to a person. Thus, the whole story is built on a wise and eternal story about human life, the irreversible flow of time and the inevitability of change.

History of creation

Boldin autumn in the work of A.S. Pushkin became truly "golden", since it was at this time that he created many works. Among them is Belkin's Tales. In a letter to his friend P. Pletnev, Pushkin wrote: "... I wrote 5 stories in prose, from which Baratynsky neighs and beats." The chronology of the creation of these stories is as follows: on September 9, "The Undertaker" was completed, on September 14 - "The Stationmaster", on September 20 - "The Young Lady-Peasant Woman", after almost a month's break, the last two stories were written: "Shot" - October 14 and "Snowstorm " - The 20th of October. The Belkin Tales cycle was Pushkin's first completed prose work. Five stories were united by the fictional face of the author, about which the "publisher" spoke in the preface. We learn that P.P. Belkin was born "of honest and noble parents in 1798 in the village of Goryukhino." “He was of medium height, had gray eyes, blond hair, a straight nose; his face was white and thin. “He led the most moderate life, avoided all kinds of excesses; it never happened ... to see him tipsy ... he had a great inclination towards the female sex, but his bashfulness was truly girlish. In the autumn of 1828, this sympathetic character "fell ill with a catarrhal fever, which turned into a fever, and died ...".

At the end of October 1831, The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin were published. The preface ended with the words: “Considering it a duty to respect the will of our author's venerable friend, we express our deepest gratitude to him for the news brought to us and hope that the public will appreciate their sincerity and good nature. A.P. The epigraph to all the stories, taken from Fonvizin's "Undergrowth" (Ms. Prostakova: "That, my father, he is still a hunter of stories." Skotinin: "Mitrofan is for me"), speaks of the nationality and simplicity of Ivan Petrovich. He collected these “simple” stories, and wrote them down from different narrators (“The Overseer” was told to him by the titular adviser A.G.N., “The Shot” by Lieutenant Colonel I.L.P., “The Undertaker” by the clerk B.V., "Snowstorm" and "Young lady" by the girl K.I.T.), having processed them according to his skill and discretion. Thus, Pushkin, as a real author of stories, hides behind a double chain of simple-minded storytellers, and this gives him great freedom of narration, creates considerable opportunities for comedy, satire and parody, and at the same time allows him to express his attitude to these stories.

With the full designation of the name of the real author, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, they were published in 1834. Creating in this cycle an unforgettable gallery of images living and acting in the Russian provinces, Pushkin talks about modern Russia with a kind smile and humor. While working on Belkin's Tales, Pushkin defined one of his main tasks as follows: "Our language needs to be given more will (of course, in accordance with its spirit)." And when the author of the stories was asked who this Belkin was, Pushkin replied: “Whoever he is, you need to write stories like this: simply, briefly and clearly.”

The story "The Stationmaster" occupies a significant place in the work of A.S. Pushkin and is of great importance for all Russian literature. It is almost the first time that life's hardships, pain and suffering of the one who is called the "little man" are depicted in it. The theme of “humiliated and offended” begins with it in Russian literature, which will introduce you to kind, quiet, suffering heroes and will allow you to see not only meekness, but also the greatness of their souls and hearts. The epigraph is taken from a poem by P.A. Vyazemsky’s “Station” (“College registrar, / Postal station dictator”), Pushkin changed the quote, calling the station superintendent a “college registrar” (the lowest civil rank in pre-revolutionary Russia), and not a “provincial registrar”, as it was in the original , since this rank is higher.

Genus, genre, creative method

"The Tales of the late Ivan Petrovich Belkin" consists of 5 stories: "Shot", "Snowstorm", "The Undertaker", "The Stationmaster", "The Young Lady-Peasant Woman". Each of Belkin's Tales is so small in size that one could call it a story. Pushkin calls them stories. For a realist writer reproducing life, the forms of the story and the prose novel were especially suitable. They attracted Pushkin with their much greater than poetry, intelligibility to the widest circles of readers. “Tales and novels are read by everyone and everywhere,” he noted. Belkin's Tale" are, in essence, the beginning of Russian highly artistic realistic prose.

Pushkin took the most typical romantic plots for the story, which in our time may well be repeated. His characters initially find themselves in situations where the word "love" is present. They are already in love or just crave this feeling, but it is from here that the deployment and pumping of the plot begins. Belkin's Tales was conceived by the author as a parody of the genre of romantic literature. In the story "The Shot", the main character Silvio came from the outgoing era of romanticism. This is a handsome strong brave man with a solid passionate character and an exotic non-Russian name, reminiscent of the mysterious and fatal heroes of Byron's romantic poems. The Blizzard parodies Zhukovsky's French novels and romantic ballads. At the end of the story, a comic confusion with suitors leads the heroine of the story to a new, hard-won happiness. In the story "The Undertaker", in which Adrian Prokhorov invites the dead to visit him, Mozart's opera and the terrible stories of romantics are parodied. The Young Lady Peasant Woman is a small elegant sitcom with disguise in the French style, unfolding in a Russian noble estate. But she kindly, funny and witty parodies the famous tragedy - "Romeo and Juliet" by Shakespeare.

In the Belkin Tales cycle, the center and peak are The Stationmaster. The story laid the foundations of realism in Russian literature. In essence, in terms of its plot, expressiveness, complex capacious theme and tenial composition, in terms of the characters themselves, this is already a small, concise novel that influenced subsequent Russian prose and gave rise to Gogol's story "The Overcoat". The people here are simple, and their history itself would be simple if various everyday circumstances had not intervened in it.

Subject

In Belkin's Tales, along with the traditional romantic themes from the life of the nobility and estate, Pushkin reveals the theme of human happiness in its broadest sense. Worldly wisdom, rules of everyday behavior, generally accepted morality are enshrined in catechisms, prescriptions, but following them does not always and does not always lead to good luck. It is necessary that fate give a person happiness, so that circumstances successfully converge. The Tales of Belkin shows that there are no hopeless situations, one must fight for happiness, and it will be, even if it is impossible.

The story "The Stationmaster" is the saddest and most difficult work of the cycle. This is a story about the sad fate of Vyrin and the happy fate of his daughter. From the very beginning, the author connects the modest story of Samson Vyrin with the philosophical meaning of the entire cycle. After all, the stationmaster, who does not read books at all, has his own scheme for perceiving life. It is reflected in the pictures "with decent German verses", which are hung on the walls of his "humble, but tidy monastery." The narrator describes in detail these pictures depicting the biblical legend of the prodigal son. Samson Vyrin looks at everything that happened to him and his daughter through the prism of these pictures. His life experience suggests that misfortune will happen to his daughter, she will be deceived and abandoned. He is a toy, a small man in the hands of the powerful of the world, who have turned money into the main measure.

Pushkin declared one of the main themes of Russian literature of the 19th century - the theme of the "little man". The significance of this topic for Pushkin was not in exposing the downtroddenness of his hero, but in discovering in the “little man” a compassionate and sensitive soul, endowed with the gift of responding to someone else’s misfortune and someone else’s pain.

From now on, the theme of the "little man" will be constantly heard in Russian classical literature.

Idea

“None of the Tales of Belkin has an idea. You read - nice, smooth, smoothly: you read - everything is forgotten, there is nothing in your memory but adventures. "Belkin's Tales" are easy to read, because they do not make you think" ("Northern Bee", 1834, No. 192, August 27).
“True, these stories are entertaining, they cannot be read without pleasure: this comes from a charming style, from the art of telling, but they are not artistic creations, but simply fairy tales and fables” (V. G. Belinsky).

“How long have you been re-reading Pushkin's prose? Make me a friend - read all of Belkin's Tale first. They should be studied and studied by every writer. I did this the other day and I cannot convey to you the beneficent influence that this reading had on me ”(from a letter from L.N. Tolstoy to P.D. Golokhvastov).

Such an ambiguous perception of the Pushkin cycle suggests that there is some secret in Belkin's Tales. In "The Stationmaster" it is contained in a small artistic detail - wall paintings telling about the prodigal son, which were a frequent part of the station environment in the 1920s and 1940s. The description of those pictures takes the narrative out of the social and everyday plane into the philosophical one, makes it possible to comprehend its content in relation to human experience, and interprets the “eternal story” about the prodigal son. The story is imbued with the pathos of compassion.

The nature of the conflict

In the story "The Stationmaster" - a humiliated and sad hero, the ending is equally sad and happy: the death of the stationmaster, on the one hand, and the happy life of his daughter, on the other. The story is distinguished by the special nature of the conflict: there are no negative characters who would be negative in everything; there is no direct evil - and at the same time, the grief of a simple person, a stationmaster, does not become less from this.

A new type of hero and conflict entailed a different system of narration, the figure of a narrator - the titular adviser A. G. N. He tells a story heard from others, from Vyrin himself and from a “red-haired and crooked” boy. The abduction of Dunya Vyrina by a hussar is the beginning of a drama, followed by a chain of events. From the post station the action is transferred to Petersburg, from the caretaker's house to the grave outside the outskirts. The caretaker is unable to influence the course of events, but before bowing to fate, he tries to turn back the story, save Dunya from what seems to the poor father to be the death of his “child”. The hero comprehends what happened and, moreover, descends into the grave from a powerless consciousness of his own guilt and the irreparable misfortune.

“Little man” is not only a low rank, the absence of a high social status, but also a loss in life, fear of it, loss of interest and purpose. Pushkin was the first to draw the attention of readers to the fact that, despite his low origin, a person still remains a person and he has all the same feelings and passions as people of high society. The story "The Stationmaster" teaches you to respect and love a person, teaches you the ability to sympathize, makes you think that the world in which the stationmasters live is not arranged in the best way.

Main heroes

The author-narrator sympathetically speaks of "real martyrs of the fourteenth grade", stationmasters accused of all sins by travelers. In fact, their life is a real hard labor: “The traveler takes out all the annoyance accumulated during a boring ride on the caretaker. The weather is unbearable, the road is bad, the coachman is stubborn, the horses are not driven - and the caretaker is to blame ... You can easily guess that I have friends from the respectable class of caretakers. This story is written in memory of one of them.

The main character in the story "The Stationmaster" is Samson Vyrin, a man of about 50 years old. The caretaker was born around 1766, in a peasant family. The end of the 18th century, when Vyrin was 20-25 years old, was the time of the Suvorov wars and campaigns. As is known from history, Suvorov developed initiative among his subordinates, encouraged soldiers and non-commissioned officers, promoting them in their service, instilling camaraderie in them, demanded literacy and ingenuity. A man from the peasantry under the command of Suvorov could rise to the rank of non-commissioned officer, receive this title for faithful service and personal courage. Samson Vyrin could be just such a person and served, most likely, in the Izmailovsky regiment. The text says that, having arrived in St. Petersburg in search of his daughter, he stops at the Izmailovsky regiment, in the house of a retired non-commissioned officer, his old colleague.

It can be assumed that around 1880 he retired and received the post of stationmaster and the rank of collegiate registrar. This position gave a small but constant salary. He got married and soon had a daughter. But the wife died, and the daughter was the father's joy and consolation.

Since childhood, she had to shoulder all the women's work on her fragile shoulders. Vyrin himself, as he is presented at the beginning of the story, is “fresh and cheerful”, sociable and unembittered, despite the fact that undeserved insults rained down on his head. Just a few years later, driving along the same road, the author, stopping for the night at Samson Vyrin's, did not recognize him: from "fresh and vigorous" he turned into an abandoned, flabby old man, whose only consolation was a bottle. And the whole point is in the daughter: without asking for parental consent, Dunya - his life and hope, for the sake of which he lived and worked - fled with a passing hussar. The act of his daughter broke Samson, he could not bear the fact that his dear child, his Dunya, whom he protected from all dangers as best he could, was able to do this with him and, even worse, with himself - she became not a wife, but a mistress.

Pushkin sympathizes with his hero and deeply respects him: a man of the lower class, who grew up in need, hard work, did not forget what decency, conscience and honor are. Moreover, he puts these qualities above material goods. Poverty for Samson is nothing compared to the emptiness of the soul. It is not in vain that the author introduces into the story such a detail as pictures depicting the story of the prodigal son on the wall in Vyrin's house. Like the father of the prodigal son, Samson was ready to forgive. But Dunya did not return. The father’s suffering was aggravated by the fact that he knew well how such stories often end: “There are a lot of them in St. Petersburg, young fools, today in satin and velvet, and tomorrow, you see, they are sweeping the street along with the barren tavern. When you sometimes think that Dunya, perhaps, immediately disappears, you involuntarily sin and wish her a grave ... ". An attempt to find a daughter in the vast Petersburg ended in nothing. This is where the stationmaster gave up - he took to drinking completely and after a while he died without waiting for his daughter. Pushkin created in his Samson Vyrin an amazingly capacious, truthful image of a simple, small person and showed all his rights to the title and dignity of a person.

Dunya in the story is shown as a jack of all trades. No one better than her could cook dinner, clean the house, serve the passerby. And the father, looking at her agility and beauty, could not get enough. At the same time, this is a young coquette, knowing her strength, entering into a conversation with a visitor without shyness, "like a girl who has seen the light." Belkin in the story sees Dunya for the first time, when she is fourteen years old - an age at which it is too early to think about fate. Dunya knows nothing about this intention of the visiting hussar Minsky. But, breaking away from her father, she chooses her female happiness, albeit, perhaps, not for long. She chooses another world, unknown, dangerous, but at least she will live in it. It's hard to blame her for choosing life over living, she took a risk and won. Dunya comes to her father only when everything she could only dream of has come true, although Pushkin does not say a word about her marriage. But six horses, three children, a nurse testify to the successful completion of the story. Of course, Dunya herself considers herself guilty of the death of her father, but the reader will probably forgive her, as Ivan Petrovich Belkin forgives.

Dunya and Minsky, the inner motives of their actions, thoughts and experiences, throughout the story, the narrator, the coachman, the father, the red-haired boy are described from the outside. Maybe that's why the images of Dunya and Minsky are given somewhat schematically. Minsky is noble and rich, he served in the Caucasus, the rank of captain is not small, and if he is in the guard, then he is already big, equal to an army lieutenant colonel. The kind and cheerful hussar fell in love with the ingenuous caretaker.

Many actions of the heroes of the story are incomprehensible today, but for Pushkin's contemporaries they were natural. So, Minsky, having fallen in love with Dunya, did not marry her. He could do this not only because he was a rake and a frivolous person, but also for a number of objective reasons. First, in order to marry, an officer needed the permission of the commander, often marriage meant resignation. Secondly, Minsky could depend on his parents, who would hardly have liked the marriage with the dowry and non-noblewoman Dunya. It takes time to resolve at least these two problems. Although Minsky was able to do it in the final.

Plot and composition

The compositional construction of Belkin's Tales, which consists of five separate stories, has been repeatedly addressed by Russian writers. He wrote about his intention to write a novel with a similar composition in one of his letters to F.M. Dostoevsky: “The stories are completely separate from each other, so that they can even be put on sale separately. I believe Pushkin was thinking of a similar form for the novel: five tales (the number of Belkin's Tales) sold separately. Pushkin's stories are indeed separate in all respects: there is no cross-cutting character (as opposed to the five stories of Lermontov's Hero of Our Time); no common content. But there is a general technique of mystery, "detective", which lies at the basis of each story. Pushkin's stories are united, firstly, by the figure of the narrator - Belkin; secondly, by the fact that they are all told. Narrativeness was, I suppose, the artistic device for which the whole text was started. Narrativeness, as common to all stories, simultaneously allowed them to be read (and sold) separately. Pushkin thought of a work that, being whole as a whole, would be whole in every part. I call this form, using the experience of subsequent Russian prose, a novel-cycle.

The stories were written by Pushkin in the same chronological order, but he arranged them not according to the time of writing, but on the basis of a compositional calculation, alternating stories with "unfavorable" and "prosperous" endings. Such a composition communicated to the entire cycle, despite the presence of deeply dramatic provisions in it, a general optimistic orientation.

Pushkin builds the story "The Stationmaster" on the development of two destinies and characters - father and daughter. The stationmaster Samson Vyrin is an old honored (three medals on faded ribbons) retired soldier, a kind and honest man, but rude and simple-hearted, is at the very bottom of the table of ranks, at the lowest rung of the social ladder. He is not only a simple, but a small person whom every passing nobleman can insult, shout, hit, although his lowest rank of the 14th class still gave the right to personal nobility. But all the guests were met, calmed down and given tea by his beautiful and lively daughter Dunya. But this family idyll could not continue forever and ended, at first glance, badly, because the caretaker and his daughter had different fates. A passing young handsome hussar Minsky fell in love with Dunya, deftly acted out the illness, achieved mutual feelings and took away, as befits a hussar, a crying but not resisting girl in a troika to Petersburg.

The little man of the 14th grade did not reconcile himself with such an insult and loss, he went to St. Petersburg to save his daughter, whom, as Vyrin, not without reason, believed, the insidious seducer would soon leave, drive out into the street. And his very reproachful appearance was important for the further development of this story, for the fate of his Dunya. But it turned out that the story is more complicated than the caretaker imagined. The captain fell in love with his daughter and, moreover, turned out to be a conscientious, honest man, he blushed with shame at the unexpected appearance of his father, deceived by him. And the beautiful Dunya answered the kidnapper with a strong, sincere feeling. The old man gradually drank himself from grief, longing and loneliness, and contrary to the moralizing pictures about the prodigal son, the daughter never came to visit him, disappeared, and was not even at her father's funeral. The rural cemetery was visited by a beautiful lady with three small barchats and a black pug in a luxurious carriage. She silently lay down on her father's grave and "lay for a long time." This is the folk custom of the last farewell and commemoration, the last "forgive". This is the greatness of human suffering and repentance.

Artistic originality

All the features of the poetics and style of Pushkin's artistic prose were revealed in relief in Belkin's Tales. Pushkin appears in them as an excellent novelist, who is equally accessible to a touching story, a short story sharp in plot and twists and turns, and a realistic sketch of manners and life. Artistic requirements for prose, which were formulated by Pushkin in the early 1920s, he now implements in his own creative practice. Nothing unnecessary, one thing necessary in the narrative, accuracy in definitions, conciseness and conciseness of the syllable.

"Tales of Belkin" are distinguished by the extreme economy of artistic means. From the very first lines, Pushkin introduces the reader to his heroes, introduces him into the circle of events. The characterization of the characters is just as stingy and no less expressive. The author almost does not give an external portrait of the characters, almost does not dwell on their emotional experiences. At the same time, the appearance of each of the characters emerges with remarkable relief and distinctness from his actions and speeches. “A writer needs to study this treasure without ceasing,” Leo Tolstoy advised a familiar writer about Belkin’s Tales.

The meaning of the work

In the development of Russian artistic prose, a huge role belongs to Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Here he had almost no predecessors. Prosaic literary language was also at a much lower level compared to poetry. Therefore, Pushkin faced a particularly important and very difficult task of processing the very material of this area of verbal art. Of Belkin's Tales, The Stationmaster was of exceptional importance for the further development of Russian literature. The very truthful image of the caretaker, warmed by the author's sympathy, opens the gallery of “poor people” created by subsequent Russian writers, humiliated and offended by the social relations of the then reality that were the most difficult for the common man.

The first writer who opened the world of “little people”* to the reader was N.M. Karamzin. Karamzin's word echoes Pushkin and Lermontov. Karamzin's story "Poor Lisa" had the greatest influence on subsequent literature. The author laid the foundation for a huge cycle of works about "little people", took the first step into this hitherto unknown topic. It was he who opened the way for such writers of the future as Gogol, Dostoevsky and others.

A.S. Pushkin was the next writer, whose sphere of creative attention began to include the whole of vast Russia, its open spaces, the life of villages, Petersburg and Moscow opened not only from a luxurious entrance, but also through the narrow doors of poor people's houses. For the first time, Russian literature so poignantly and clearly showed the distortion of the individual by a hostile environment. Pushkin's artistic discovery was directed to the future, it was paving the way for Russian literature into the still unknown.

In the famous Boldin autumn of 1830, A.S. Pushkin wrote an amazing work in 11 days - Belkin's Tales - which included five independent stories told to one person (his name is in the title). In them, the author managed to create a gallery of provincial images, truthfully and without embellishment to show life in contemporary Russia for the writer.

A special place in the cycle is occupied by the story "". It was she who laid the foundation for the development of the theme of the "little man" in Russian literature of the 19th century.

Getting to know the characters

The story of the stationmaster Samson Vyrin was told to Belkin by a certain I.L.P., a titular adviser. His bitter thoughts about the attitude towards people of this rank set the reader in a not very cheerful mood from the very beginning. Anyone stopping at the station is ready to scold them. Either the horses are bad, or the weather and the road are bad, or the mood is not good at all - and the stationmaster is to blame for everything. The main idea of the story is to show the plight of a simple person without a high rank and rank.

Samson Vyrin, a retired soldier, a widower who raised his fourteen-year-old daughter Dunechka, calmly endured all the claims of those passing by. He was a fresh and cheerful man of about fifty, sociable and sensitive. This is how the titular adviser saw him at the first meeting.

The house was clean and comfortable, with balsams growing on the windows. And all those who stopped by were given tea from a samovar by Dunya, who had learned to housekeeping early. She, with her meek look and smile, subdued the anger of all the dissatisfied. In the company of Vyrin and the “little coquette”, time for the adviser flew by unnoticed. The guest said goodbye to the hosts as if they were old acquaintances: their company seemed so pleasant to him.

How has Vyrin changed…

The story "The Stationmaster" continues with a description of the second meeting of the narrator with the main character. A few years later, fate again threw him into those parts. He drove up to the station with disturbing thoughts: everything could happen during this time. The premonition did not really deceive: instead of a cheerful and cheerful person, a grey-haired, long-shaven, hunched old man appeared before him. It was still the same Vyrin, only now very taciturn and sullen. However, a glass of punch did its job, and soon the narrator learned the story of Dunya.

About three years ago, a young hussar passed by. He liked the girl, and for several days he pretended to be sick. And when he got mutual feelings from her, he secretly took away, without blessing, from his father. So the misfortune that fell down changed the long-established life of the family. The heroes of The Stationmaster, father and daughter, no longer see each other. The old man's attempt to return Dunya ended in nothing. He got to St. Petersburg and was even able to see her, richly dressed and happy. But the girl, looking at her father, fell unconscious, and he was simply kicked out. Now Samson lived in anguish and loneliness, and the bottle became his main companion.

The story of the prodigal son

Even during his first visit, the narrator noticed pictures with captions in German on the walls. They depicted the biblical story of the prodigal son who took his share of the inheritance and squandered it. In the last picture, the humble lad returned to his home to the parent who forgave him.

This legend is very reminiscent of what happened to Vyrin and Dunya, therefore it is no coincidence that it is included in the composition of the story "The Stationmaster". The main idea of the work is connected with the idea of helplessness and defenselessness of ordinary people. Vyrin, who is well acquainted with the foundations of high society, could not believe that his daughter could be happy. The scene seen in St. Petersburg did not convince either - everything can still change. He waited for the return of Dunya until the end of his life, but their meeting and forgiveness never took place. Perhaps Dunya simply did not dare to appear before her father for a long time.

Daughter's return

On his third visit, the narrator learns about the death of an old acquaintance. And the boy accompanying him to the cemetery will tell him about the mistress, who came after the stationmaster had died. The content of their conversation makes it clear that everything went well for Dunya. She arrived in a carriage with six horses, accompanied by a nurse and three barchettes. But Dunya did not find her father alive, and therefore the repentance of the “lost” daughter became impossible. The lady lay on the grave for a long time - this is how, according to tradition, they asked for forgiveness from a deceased person and said goodbye to him forever - and then left.

Why did the happiness of the daughter bring unbearable mental suffering to her father?

Samson Vyrin always believed that life without blessing and as a mistress is a sin. And the fault of Dunya and Minsky, probably, first of all, is that both their departure (the caretaker himself convinced his daughter to take the hussar to the church) and misunderstanding when meeting in St. Petersburg only strengthened him in this conviction, which, in the end, will bring the hero to the grave . There is another important point - what happened undermined the father's faith. He sincerely loved his daughter, who was the meaning of his existence. And suddenly such ingratitude: in all the years, Dunya has never made herself known. She seemed to have cut her father out of her life.

Having portrayed a poor man of the lowest rank, but with a high and sensitive soul, A.S. Pushkin drew the attention of contemporaries to the position of people who were on the lowest rung of the social ladder. The inability to protest and resignation to fate make them defenseless against life's circumstances. So is the stationmaster.

The main idea that the author wants to convey to the reader is that it is necessary to be sensitive and attentive towards each person, regardless of his character, and only this will help change the indifference and anger that reign in the world of people.

The story "The Stationmaster" is included in Pushkin's cycle of stories "Belkin's Tale", published as a collection in 1831.

Work on the stories was carried out in the famous "Boldino autumn" - the time when Pushkin arrived at the Boldino family estate to quickly resolve financial issues, and stayed for the whole autumn because of the cholera epidemic that broke out in the vicinity. It seemed to the writer that there would be no more boring time, but inspiration suddenly appeared, and the stories began to come out from under his pen one after another. So, on September 9, 1830, the story “The Undertaker” ended, on September 14, “The Stationmaster” was ready, and on September 20, he finished “The Young Lady-Peasant Woman”. Then a short creative break followed, and in the new year the stories were published. The stories were republished in 1834 under the original authorship.

Analysis of the work

Genre, theme, composition

The researchers note that The Stationmaster is written in the genre of sentimentalism, but there are many moments in the story that demonstrate the skill of Pushkin as a romantic and realist. The writer deliberately chose a sentimental manner of narration (more precisely, he put sentimental notes into the voice of his hero-narrator, Ivan Belkin), in accordance with the content of the story.

Thematically, The Stationmaster is very multifaceted, despite the small content:

the theme of romantic love (with an escape from the father's house and following the beloved against the parental will),
the theme of fathers and children,
the theme of the "little man" is the greatest theme for the followers of Pushkin, the Russian realists.

The thematic multilevel nature of the work allows us to call it a miniature novel. The story is much more complex and expressive in terms of meaning than a typical sentimental work. There are many issues raised here, in addition to the general theme of love.

Compositionally, the story is built in accordance with the rest of the stories - a fictional narrator talks about the fate of the stationmasters, people downtrodden and in the lowest positions, then tells a story that happened about 10 years ago, and its continuation. The way it starts

“The Stationmaster” (reasoning-beginning, in the style of a sentimental journey), indicates that the work belongs to the sentimental genre, but later at the end of the work there is a severity of realism.

Belkin reports that station employees are people of a difficult lot who are treated impolitely, perceived as servants, complained and rude to them. One of the caretakers, Samson Vyrin, was sympathetic to Belkin. He was a peaceful and kind person, with a sad fate - his own daughter, tired of living at the station, ran away with the hussar Minsky. The hussar, according to his father, could only make her a kept woman, and now, 3 years after the escape, he does not know what to think, because the fate of seduced young fools is terrible. Vyrin went to St. Petersburg, tried to find his daughter and return her, but could not - Minsky sent him out. The fact that the daughter does not live with Minsky, but separately, clearly indicates her status as a kept woman.

The author, who personally knew Dunya as a 14-year-old girl, empathizes with his father. Soon he learns that Vyrin has died. Even later, visiting the station where the late Vyrin once worked, he learns that his daughter came home with three children. She cried for a long time at her father's grave and left, rewarding a local boy who showed her the way to the old man's grave.

Heroes of the work

There are two main characters in the story: a father and a daughter.

Samson Vyrin is a diligent worker and a father who tenderly loves his daughter, raising her alone.

Samson is a typical “little man”, who has no illusions both about himself (he is perfectly aware of his place in this world) and about his daughter (neither a brilliant party nor sudden smiles of fate shine like her). Samson's life position is humility. His life and the life of his daughter are and should be on a modest corner of the earth, a station cut off from the rest of the world. Beautiful princes do not meet here, and if any are shown on the horizon, they promise the girls only a fall and danger.

When Dunya disappears, Samson cannot believe it. Although matters of honor are important to him, love for his daughter is more important, so he goes to look for her, pick her up and return her. Terrible pictures of misfortune are drawn to him, it seems to him that now his Dunya is sweeping the streets somewhere, and it is better to die than to drag out such a miserable existence.

In contrast to his father, Dunya is a more determined and steadfast being. The sudden feeling for the hussar is rather a heightened attempt to break out of the wilderness in which she vegetated. Dunya decides to leave her father, even if this step is not easy for her (she allegedly delays the trip to church, leaves, according to witnesses, in tears). It is not entirely clear how Dunya's life turned out, and in the end she became the wife of Minsky or someone else. Old man Vyrin saw that Minsky rented a separate apartment for Dunya, and this clearly indicated her status as a kept woman, and when meeting with her father, Dunya looked at Minsky “significantly” and sadly, then fainted. Minsky pushed Vyrin out, preventing him from communicating with Dunya - apparently, he was afraid that Dunya would return with his father, and apparently she was ready for this. One way or another, Dunya achieved happiness - she is rich, she has six horses, servants and, most importantly, three "barchats", so for her justified risk, one can only rejoice. The only thing she will never forgive herself is the death of her father, who brought his death closer with a strong longing for his daughter. At the grave of the father, come belated repentance to the woman.

The story is riddled with symbolism. The very name "station guard" in Pushkin's time had the same shade of irony and slight contempt that we put into the words "conductor" or "watchman" today. This means a small person, capable of looking like servants in the eyes of others, working for a penny, not seeing the world.

Thus, the stationmaster is a symbol of a “humiliated and insulted” person, a bug for the mercantile and powerful.

The symbolism of the story manifested itself in the picture that adorns the wall of the house - this is "The Return of the Prodigal Son". The stationmaster longed for only one thing - the embodiment of the scenario of the biblical story, as in this picture: Dunya could return to him in any status and in any form. Her father would have forgiven her, would have humbled himself, as he had humbled himself all his life under the circumstances of a fate that was merciless to "little people."

"The Stationmaster" predetermined the development of domestic realism in the direction of works that defend the honor of the "humiliated and insulted." The image of Vyrin's father is deeply realistic, strikingly capacious. This is a small man with a huge range of feelings and with every right to respect for his honor and dignity.

collegiate registrar,
Post station dictator.

Prince Vyazemsky.

Who hasn't cursed the stationmasters, who hasn't scolded them? Who, in a moment of anger, did not demand from them a fatal book in order to write in it their useless complaint of oppression, rudeness and malfunction? Who does not revere them as monsters of the human race, equal to the deceased clerks, or at least Murom robbers? Let us, however, be fair, let us try to enter into their position and, perhaps, we will begin to judge them much more condescendingly. What is a station attendant? A real martyr of the fourteenth grade, protected by his rank only from beatings, and even then not always (I refer to the conscience of my readers). What is the position of this dictator, as Prince Vyazemsky jokingly calls him? Isn't it real hard labor? Peace of day or night. All the annoyance accumulated during a boring ride, the traveler takes out on the caretaker. The weather is unbearable, the road is bad, the driver is stubborn, the horses are not driven - and the caretaker is to blame. Entering his poor dwelling, the traveler looks at him as an enemy; well, if he manages to get rid of the uninvited guest soon; but if there are no horses? .. God! what curses, what threats will fall on his head! In rain and sleet he is forced to run around the yards; in a storm, in the Epiphany frost, he goes into the canopy, so that only for a moment can he rest from the screams and pushes of the irritated guest. The general arrives; the trembling caretaker gives him the last two triples, including the courier. The general goes without saying thank you. Five minutes later - a bell! .. and the courier throws his road trip on the table! .. Let us delve into all this thoroughly, and instead of indignation, our heart will be filled with sincere compassion. A few more words: for twenty years in a row I traveled all over Russia; almost all postal routes are known to me; several generations of coachmen are familiar to me; I don’t know a rare caretaker by sight, I didn’t deal with a rare one; I hope to publish a curious stock of my travel observations in a short time; for the time being, I will only say that the class of stationmasters is presented to the general opinion in the most false form. These so-slandered overseers are generally peaceful people, naturally obliging, prone to cohabitation, modest in their claims to honors and not too fond of money. From their conversations (which gentlemen passing by inappropriately neglect) one can learn a lot of curious and instructive things. As for me, I confess that I prefer their conversation to the speeches of some official of the 6th class, following on official business. You can easily guess that I have friends from the respectable class of caretakers. Indeed, the memory of one of them is precious to me. Circumstances once brought us closer, and I now intend to talk about it with my kind readers. In the year 1816, in the month of May, I happened to pass through the *** province, along the highway, now destroyed. I was in a small rank, rode on chaises and paid runs for two horses. As a result of this, the wardens did not stand on ceremony with me, and I often took with a fight what, in my opinion, followed me by right. Being young and quick-tempered, I was indignant at the meanness and cowardice of the superintendent when this latter gave the troika prepared for me under the carriage of the bureaucratic gentleman. It took me just as long to get used to the fact that a choosy lackey carried me a dish at the governor's dinner. Now both seem to me in the order of things. Indeed, what would happen to us if, instead of the generally convenient rule: rank rank read, another came into use, for example, honor the mind mind? What controversy would arise! and servants with whom would they start serving food? But back to my story. The day was hot. Three versts from the station, *** began to drip, and a minute later the pouring rain soaked me to the last thread. Upon arrival at the station, the first concern was to change clothes as soon as possible, the second to ask yourself for tea, “Hey, Dunya! - the caretaker shouted, - put the samovar on and go for cream. At these words, a girl of fourteen years old came out from behind the partition and ran into the passage. Her beauty struck me. "Is this your daughter?" I asked the caretaker. "Daughter, sir," he replied with an air of contented pride, "but such a reasonable, such a nimble mother, all dead." Here he began to rewrite my travelogue, and I busied myself with examining the pictures that adorned his humble but tidy abode. They depicted the story of the prodigal son: in the first, a respectable old man in a cap and dressing gown releases a restless young man, who hastily accepts his blessing and a bag of money. In another, the depraved behavior of a young man is depicted in vivid features: he sits at a table, surrounded by false friends and shameless women. Further, a squandered young man, in rags and a three-cornered hat, tends pigs and shares a meal with them; deep sadness and remorse are depicted in his face. Finally, his return to his father is presented; a kind old man in the same cap and dressing gown runs out to meet him: the prodigal son is on his knees; in the future, the cook kills a well-fed calf, and the elder brother asks the servants about the reason for such joy. Under each picture I read decent German verses. All this has been preserved in my memory to this day, as well as pots of balsam, and a bed with a colorful curtain, and other objects that surrounded me at that time. I see, as now, the owner himself, a man of about fifty, fresh and vigorous, and his long green coat with three medals on faded ribbons. Before I had time to pay off my old coachman, Dunya returned with a samovar. The little coquette noticed at a second glance the impression she made on me; she lowered her large blue eyes; I began to talk to her, she answered me without any timidity, like a girl who has seen the light. I offered her father a glass of punch; I gave Dunya a cup of tea, and the three of us began to talk, as if we had known each other for centuries. The horses were ready for a long time, but I still did not want to part with the caretaker and his daughter. At last I said goodbye to them; my father wished me a good journey, and my daughter accompanied me to the cart. In the passage I stopped and asked her permission to kiss her; Dunya agreed ... I can count many kisses,

Ever since I've been doing this

But no one has left such a long, such a pleasant memory in me.

Several years passed, and circumstances led me to that very road, to those very places. I remembered the old caretaker's daughter and was glad at the thought of seeing her again. But, I thought, the old caretaker may have already been replaced; probably Dunya is already married. The thought of the death of one or the other also flashed through my mind, and I approached the station *** with a sad foreboding. The horses stood at the post house. Entering the room, I immediately recognized the pictures depicting the story of the prodigal son; the table and bed were in their original places; but there were no more flowers on the windows, and everything around showed dilapidation and neglect. The caretaker slept under a sheepskin coat; my arrival woke him up; he got up... It was definitely Samson Vyrin; but how old he is! While he was about to rewrite my road trip, I looked at his gray hair, at the deep wrinkles of his long unshaven face, at his hunched back - and could not be surprised how three or four years could turn a cheerful man into a frail old man. “Did you recognize me? - I asked him, - you and I are old acquaintances. - “It may happen,” he answered sullenly, “there is a big road here; I have had many passers-by." - “Is your Dunya healthy?” I continued. The old man frowned. “God only knows,” he replied. - "So she's married?" - I said. The old man pretended not to have heard my question, and continued to read my travelogue in a whisper. I stopped my questions and ordered the kettle to be put on. Curiosity began to bother me, and I hoped that the punch would resolve the language of my old acquaintance. I was not mistaken: the old man did not refuse the proposed glass. I noticed that the rum cleared up his sullenness. At the second glass he became talkative: he remembered or pretended to remember me, and I learned from him a story that at that time greatly occupied and touched me. “So you knew my Dunya? he began. Who didn't know her? Oh, Dunya, Dunya! What a girl she was! It used to be that whoever passes by, everyone will praise, no one will condemn. The ladies gave her, the one with a handkerchief, the other with earrings. Gentlemen, the travelers stopped on purpose, as if to dine or supper, but in fact only to look at her longer. Sometimes the gentleman, no matter how angry he was, would calm down in her presence and talk graciously to me. Believe me, sir: couriers, couriers talked to her for half an hour. She kept the house: what to clean up, what to cook, she managed to do everything. And I, the old fool, do not look enough, it used to be, I do not get enough; did I not love my Dunya, did I not cherish my child; did she not have a life? No, you can’t get rid of trouble; what is destined, that cannot be avoided. Then he began to tell me his grief in detail. - Three years ago, once, on a winter evening, when the caretaker was lining up a new book, and his daughter was sewing a dress behind the partition, a troika drove up, and a traveler in a Circassian hat, in a military overcoat, wrapped in a shawl, entered the room, demanding horses. The horses were all running. At this news the traveler raised his voice and whip; but Dunya, accustomed to such scenes, ran out from behind the partition and affectionately turned to the traveler with the question: would he like to eat something? Dunya's appearance had its usual effect. The wrath of the traveler has passed; he agreed to wait for the horses and ordered supper for himself. Taking off his wet, shaggy hat, untangling his shawl and pulling off his overcoat, the traveler appeared as a young, slender hussar with a black mustache. He settled down at the caretaker, began to talk cheerfully with him and with his daughter. Served dinner. In the meantime, the horses came, and the keeper ordered that immediately, without feeding, they were harnessed to the carriage of the traveler; but returning, he found a young man lying almost unconscious on a bench: he became ill, his head ached, it was impossible to go ... What to do! the superintendent gave him his bed, and it was necessary, if the patient did not feel better, the next morning to send to S *** for a doctor. The next day the hussar became worse. His man went on horseback to the city for a doctor. Dunya tied a handkerchief soaked with vinegar around his head and sat down with her sewing by his bed. The sick man groaned in front of the caretaker and did not say almost a word, but he drank two cups of coffee and, groaning, ordered himself dinner. Dunya did not leave him. He constantly asked for a drink, and Dunya brought him a mug of lemonade prepared by her. The sick man dipped his lips and every time he returned the mug, as a token of gratitude, he shook Dunyushka's hand with his weak hand. The doctor arrived at lunchtime. He felt the patient's pulse, spoke to him in German, and announced in Russian that all he needed was peace of mind and that in two days he could be on the road. The hussar gave him twenty-five rubles for the visit, invited him to dine; the doctor agreed; both ate with great appetite, drank a bottle of wine, and parted very pleased with each other. Another day passed, and the hussar completely recovered. He was extremely cheerful, incessantly joking with Dunya, then with the caretaker; he whistled songs, talked to the passers-by, entered their wayfarers in the post book, and so fell in love with the kind caretaker that on the third morning he was sorry to part with his kind guest. The day was Sunday; Dunya was going to dinner. The hussar was given a kibitka. He said goodbye to the caretaker, generously rewarding him for his stay and refreshments; he also said goodbye to Dunya and volunteered to take her to the church, which was located on the edge of the village. Dunya stood in perplexity ... “What are you afraid of? - her father said to her, - after all, his nobility is not a wolf and will not eat you: take a ride to the church. Dunya got into the wagon next to the hussar, the servant jumped on the pole, the coachman whistled, and the horses galloped off. The poor caretaker did not understand how he himself could allow his Duna to ride with the hussar, how he was blinded, and what happened to his mind then. In less than half an hour, his heart began to whine, whine, and anxiety took possession of him to such an extent that he could not resist and went himself to mass. Approaching the church, he saw that the people were already dispersing, but Dunya was neither in the fence nor on the porch. He hastily entered the church: the priest was leaving the altar; the deacon was extinguishing the candles, two old women were still praying in the corner; but Dunya was not in the church. The poor father forcibly decided to ask the deacon whether she had been at Mass. The deacon replied that she had not been. The caretaker went home neither alive nor dead. One hope remained for him: Dunya, due to the windiness of her young years, took it into her head, perhaps, to ride to the next station, where her godmother lived. In excruciating excitement, he expected the return of the troika, on which he let her go. The coachman did not return. Finally, in the evening, he arrived alone and tipsy, with the deadly news: "Dunya from that station went further with a hussar." The old man did not bear his misfortune; he immediately fell into the same bed where the young deceiver had lain the day before. Now the caretaker, considering all the circumstances, guessed that the illness was feigned. The poor man fell ill with a strong fever; he was taken to S *** and another was appointed in his place for a while. The same doctor who came to the hussar treated him too. He assured the caretaker that the young man was quite healthy and that at that time he still guessed about his malicious intention, but was silent, fearing his whip. Whether the German was telling the truth, or just wishing to boast of far-sightedness, he did not in the least console the poor patient. Hardly recovering from his illness, the superintendent begged S*** the postmaster for a vacation of two months and, without saying a word to anyone about his intention, went on foot to fetch his daughter. He knew from the traveler that Captain Minsky was on his way from Smolensk to Petersburg. The coachman who drove him said that Dunya was crying all the way, although she seemed to be driving on her own accord. “Perhaps,” thought the caretaker, “I will bring home my lost lamb.” With this thought he arrived in Petersburg, stayed in the Izmailovsky regiment, in the house of a retired non-commissioned officer, his old colleague, and began his search. He soon learned that Captain Minsky was in St. Petersburg and was living in the Demutov tavern. The caretaker decided to come to him. Early in the morning he came to his hall and asked him to report to his honor that the old soldier asked to see him. The military footman, cleaning his boot on the block, announced that the master was resting and that before eleven o'clock he did not receive anyone. The caretaker left and returned at the appointed time. Minsky himself came out to him in a dressing gown, in a red skufi. "What, brother, do you want?" he asked him. The old man’s heart boiled, tears welled up in his eyes, and he only said in a trembling voice: “Your honor! .. do such a divine favor! ..” Minsky glanced at him quickly, flushed, took his hand, led him into the office and locked him behind him door. “Your honor! - continued the old man, - what fell from the cart is gone: give me at least my poor Dunya. After all, you have enjoyed it; don't waste it in vain." “What has been done cannot be returned,” said the young man in extreme confusion, “I am guilty before you and glad to ask your forgiveness; but do not think that I could leave Dunya: she will be happy, I give you my word of honor. Why do you want her? She loves Me; she had lost the habit of her former state. Neither you nor she - you will not forget what happened. Then, thrusting something into his sleeve, he opened the door, and the caretaker, without remembering how, found himself in the street. For a long time he stood motionless, at last he saw a roll of papers behind the cuff of his sleeve; he took them out and unfolded several crumpled banknotes of five and ten rubles. Tears welled up again in his eyes, tears of indignation! He squeezed the papers into a ball, threw them on the ground, stamped them down with his heel, and went... After walking a few steps, he stopped, thought... and turned back... but there were no banknotes anymore. A well-dressed young man, seeing him, ran up to the cab, sat down hurriedly and shouted: "Go! .." The caretaker did not chase him. He decided to go home to his station, but first he wanted to see his poor Dunya at least once. For this day, after two days, he returned to Minsky; but the military lackey told him sternly that the master was not receiving anyone, forced him out of the hall with his chest and slammed the door under his breath. The caretaker stood, stood - and went. On that same day, in the evening, he walked along Liteinaya, having served a prayer service for All Who Sorrow. Suddenly a smart droshky rushed past him, and the caretaker recognized Minsky. Drozhki stopped in front of a three-story house, at the very entrance, and the hussar ran onto the porch. A happy thought flashed through the caretaker's head. He turned back and, having caught up with the coachman: “Whose, brother, is the horse? - he asked, - is it Minsky? - “Exactly so,” answered the coachman, “but what about you?” - “Yes, this is what: your master ordered me to take a note to his Dunya, and I forget where Dunya lives.” “Yes, right here on the second floor. You are late, brother, with your note; now he is with her." - "There is no need," the caretaker objected with an inexplicable movement of his heart, "thanks for the thought, and I'll do my job." And with that word he went up the stairs. The doors were locked; he called, several seconds passed in painful expectation for him. The key rattled, they opened it. “Is Avdotya Samsonovna standing here?” - he asked. “Here,” answered the young maid, “why do you need her?” The caretaker, without answering, entered the hall. “No, no! the maid shouted after him, “Avdotya Samsonovna has guests.” But the caretaker, not listening, went on. The first two rooms were dark, the third was on fire. He walked to the open door and stopped. In the room, beautifully decorated, Minsky sat in thought. Dunya, dressed in all the luxury of fashion, sat on the arm of his chair, like a rider on her English saddle. She looked tenderly at Minsky, winding his black curls around her glittering fingers. Poor caretaker! Never had his daughter seemed to him so beautiful; he reluctantly admired her. "Who's there?" she asked without raising her head. He remained silent. Receiving no answer, Dunya raised her head ... and fell on the carpet with a cry. Frightened, Minsky rushed to pick it up and, suddenly seeing the old caretaker at the door, left Dunya and went up to him, trembling with anger. “What do you need? - he said to him, clenching his teeth, - why are you sneaking around me like a robber? Or do you want to kill me? Go away!" - and with a strong hand, grabbing the old man by the collar, pushed him onto the stairs. The old man came to his apartment. His friend advised him to complain; but the caretaker thought, waved his hand, and decided to retreat. Two days later he went from Petersburg back to his station and again took up his post. “For the third year already,” he concluded, “how I live without Dunya and how there is neither a rumor nor a spirit about her. Whether she is alive or not, God knows. Anything happens. Not her first, not her last, was lured by a passing rake, but there he held it and left it. There are many of them in St. Petersburg, young fools, today in satin and velvet, and tomorrow, you'll see, sweeping the street along with the barn's tavern. When you sometimes think that Dunya, perhaps, immediately disappears, you will inevitably sin, but wish her a grave ... " Such was the story of my friend, the old caretaker, a story repeatedly interrupted by tears, which he picturesquely wiped away with his coat, like the zealous Terentyich in Dmitriev's beautiful ballad. These tears were partly excited by the punch, of which he drew out five glasses in the continuation of his story; but be that as it may, they touched my heart greatly. Having parted with him, for a long time I could not forget the old caretaker, for a long time I thought about poor Dunya ... Not long ago, while passing through a place ***, I remembered my friend; I learned that the station he commanded had already been destroyed. To my question: "Is the old caretaker still alive?" - no one could give me a satisfactory answer. I decided to visit the familiar side, took free horses and set off for the village of N. It happened in the fall. Greyish clouds covered the sky; a cold wind blew from the reaped fields, blowing the red and yellow leaves from the trees on the way. I arrived at the village at sunset and stopped at the post house. In the hallway (where poor Dunya had once kissed me) a fat woman came out and answered my questions, "that the old caretaker had died a year ago, that a brewer had settled in his house, and that she was the brewer's wife. I felt sorry for my wasted trip and the seven rubles spent for nothing. Why did he die? I asked the brewer's wife. “He drank himself, father,” she answered. "Where was he buried?" - "Beyond the outskirts, near his late mistress." - "Can't you take me to his grave?" - “Why not. Hey Vanka! it's enough for you to mess with the cat. Take the gentleman to the cemetery and show him the caretaker's grave. At these words, a ragged boy, red-haired and crooked, ran out to me and immediately led me beyond the outskirts. - Did you know the dead man? I asked him dear. - How not to know! He taught me how to cut pipes. It used to happen (God rest his soul!) coming from the tavern, and we followed him: “Grandfather, grandfather! nuts! - and he gives us nuts. Everything has been messing with us. Do passers-by remember him? - Yes, there are few travelers; unless the assessor wraps up, but that is not up to the dead. Here in the summer a lady passed by, so she asked about the old caretaker and went to his grave. - What lady? I asked curiously. - A beautiful lady, - answered the boy; - she rode in a carriage with six horses, with three small barchats and with a nurse, and with a black pug; and as she was told that the old caretaker had died, she wept and said to the children: "Sit quietly, and I will go to the cemetery." And I volunteered to bring her. And the lady said: "I myself know the way." And she gave me a nickel in silver - such a kind lady! .. We arrived at the cemetery, a bare place, unenclosed by anything, dotted with wooden crosses, not overshadowed by a single tree. Never in my life have I seen such a sad cemetery. “Here is the grave of the old caretaker,” the boy told me, jumping onto a pile of sand, into which a black cross with a copper image was dug. - And the lady came here? I asked. - She came, - answered Vanka, - I looked at her from a distance. She lay down here and lay there for a long time. And there the lady went to the village and called the priest, gave him money and went, and she gave me a nickel in silver - a glorious lady! And I gave the boy a nickel and no longer regretted either the trip or the seven rubles I had spent.

A special place in the cycle is occupied by the story "The Stationmaster". It was she who laid the foundation for the development of the theme of the "little man" in Russian literature of the 19th century.

Getting to know the characters

How has Vyrin changed…

The story of the prodigal son

Even during his first visit, the narrator noticed pictures with signatures in German on the walls. They depicted the biblical story of the prodigal son who took his share of the inheritance and squandered it. In the last picture, the humble lad returned to his home to the parent who forgave him.

Daughter's return

Why did the happiness of the daughter bring unbearable mental suffering to her father?

Pushkin's story "The Stationmaster" was written in 1830 and entered the cycle "Tales of the late Ivan Petrovich Belkin". The leading theme of the work is the theme of the "little man", represented by the image of the stationmaster Samson Vyrin. The story belongs to the literary direction of sentimentalism.

A concise presentation of The Stationmaster will be of interest to students in grade 7, as well as to anyone who is interested in classical Russian literature. On our website you can read a summary of The Stationmaster online.

Main characters

Narrator- an official who "traveled around Russia for twenty years in a row", on his behalf the narration is conducted in the work.

Samson Vyrin- a man of about fifty, a stationmaster "from the respectable class of stationmasters", Dunya's father.

Other heroes

Avdotya Samsonovna (Dunya)- Vyrin's daughter, a very beautiful girl, at the beginning of the story she is about 14 years old - a "little coquette" with big blue eyes.

Captain Minsky- a young hussar who deceived Dunya away.

Brewer's Son- a boy who showed the narrator where Vyrin's grave is.

The story begins with the narrator's reflections on the fate of the stationmasters: “What is a stationmaster? A real martyr of the fourteenth class, protected by his rank only from beatings, and even then not always. At the same time, according to the narrator’s observations, “caretakers in general are peaceful people, naturally helpful.”

In May 1816, the narrator was passing through the *** province. The man was caught in the pouring rain and stopped at the station to change clothes and drink tea. The caretaker's daughter, Dunya, set the table, striking the narrator with her beauty.

While the owners were busy, the narrator examined the room - pictures depicting the story of the prodigal son hung on the walls. The narrator with the caretaker and Dunya drank tea, pleasantly talking "as if they had known each other for a century." Leaving, the narrator kissed Dunya in the hallway with her permission.

A few years later, the narrator visited this station again. Entering the house, he was struck by the carelessness and dilapidation of the furnishings. The caretaker himself, Samson Vyrin, has aged a lot and turned gray. At first, the old man did not want to answer questions about his daughter, but after two glasses of punch he began to talk.

Vyrin said that three years ago a young hussar came to see them. At first, the visitor was very angry that they did not give him horses, but when he saw Dunya, he softened. After dinner, the young man allegedly became ill. Having bribed a doctor called the next day, the hussar stayed at the station for a couple of days. On Sunday, the young man recovered and, leaving, offered to give the girl a lift to the church. Vyrin let his daughter go with the hussar.

“Has not even half an hour passed,” as the caretaker began to worry and went to the church himself. Vyrin learned from a deacon acquaintance that Dunya was not at the Mass. In the evening, a coachman arrived, carrying an officer, and said that Dunya had gone with a hussar to the next station. The old man realized that the hussar's illness was feigned. From grief, Vyrin "fell ill with a severe fever."

"Barely recovering from his illness," the caretaker took a leave of absence and went on foot to look for his daughter. Samson knew from Minsky's guide that the hussar was on his way to Petersburg. Having found out the address of the captain in St. Petersburg, Vyrin comes to him and in a trembling voice asks to give him his daughter. Minsky replied that he asked Samson for forgiveness, but he would not give Dunya to him - “she will be happy, I give you my word of honor.” Having finished speaking, the hussar put the caretaker out into the street, slipping several banknotes up his sleeve.

Seeing the money, Vyrin burst into tears and threw it away. A couple of days later, walking along Liteinaya, Vyrin noticed Minsky. Having found out from his coachman where Dunya lives, the caretaker hurried to his daughter's apartment. Entering the rooms, Samson found Dunya and Minsky sumptuously dressed there. Seeing her father, the girl fainted. Angry, Minsky “grabbed the old man by the collar with a strong hand and pushed him onto the stairs.” Two days later, Virin drove back to the station. For the third year he knows nothing about her and is afraid that her fate is the same as the fate of other "young fools".

After some time, the narrator again passed through those places. Where the station used to be, the brewer's family now lived, and Vyrin, having drunk himself, "died a year ago." The narrator asked to be taken to Samson's grave. The boy, the brewer's son, told him on the way that in the summer a "beautiful lady" "with three little barchats" came here, who, having come to the caretaker's grave, "lay down here and lay for a long time."

Conclusion

In the story « Stationmaster ”A.S. Pushkin outlined the special nature of the conflict, which differs from that depicted in traditional works of sentimentalism - the conflict of choice between Vyrin’s personal happiness (father’s happiness) and the happiness of his daughter. The author emphasized the moral superiority of the caretaker ("little man") over the rest of the characters, depicting an example of a parent's selfless love for his child.

A brief retelling of The Stationmaster is intended to quickly familiarize you with the plot of the work, therefore, for a better understanding of the story, we advise you to read it in full.