In my essay-reflection I try to understand the heroes of the story by A. S. Pushkin “ Queen of Spades”, their actions, motives of behavior, consider interesting, in my opinion, phenomena that occur at the behest of fate and the flow of life.
The basis of my analysis and reasoning was the eternal problem of greed, passion, money and lies. While working on the work, I pursued the goal of analyzing the actions of the characters, their thoughts and feelings, and explaining to the reader mysterious and fantastic phenomena.
My report examines the most, in my opinion, interesting and exciting problems for the reader that are still relevant today, such as: fleeting love, the ghost of an old woman, the loss of the main character, despite knowing the secret of three cards, etc.
I undertook to analyze this particular work, without turning to any critical sources, because I want to better understand the actions of the heroes, the essence of the story “The Queen of Spades.” Pushkin created something that is filled with irony, heavy truth and at the same time dark secret; it is very difficult to solve it, but I had a wonderful opportunity to try to do it myself and present my work to your judgment.
Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin is a writer and poet who shocked the world of literature with his genius and superiority. We know many of Pushkin’s works, after reading which we feel delighted. Getting acquainted with the work of a man who devoted his life to literature, we believe that Pushkin gave us more than just works, he gave us a huge world and its mirror image, not embellished, but truthful. We can look at our lives from the outside, understand the mistakes we make, see the absurdity and sometimes stupidity of them, and enjoy the most beautiful feelings that people can experience.
Pushkin's creativity is varied. Even in the Lyceum lyrics, along with following the tradition of classicism, the original Pushkin line is clearly defined. The main thing for him is to glorify human feelings and passions in their diversity of life. Alexander Sergeevich is characterized by realistic aspiration. One of Pushkin’s greatest achievements, his fundamental principle is the depiction of a person’s personality in inextricable connection with the social environment, the depiction of a person’s personality in the process of its development, depending on public, social conditions of life. Pushkin shows that in his realistic works the line of poetic expression is clearly revealed - socio-historical, concrete everyday content, characteristics of social phenomena. This tendency is manifested in the work “The Queen of Spades”.
Here, along with the socio-historical story, Pushkin cultivates a socio-psychological novel. Social richness in the work “The Queen of Spades” is combined with psychological acuity and tension, dramatic force in the development of action. The desire for expressiveness of psychological experiences, developed on the basis of the disclosure of a large socio-historical, philosophical problem, determines the creation special type works in which the hero with his experiences is put forward to the most important place. Such a work is “The Queen of Spades”. Let's look through this story together and try to understand all its splendor and beauty.
Heroes and their actions. Life and destiny.
Three, seven, ace.
The main character of the work is Hermann, a young officer “engineer”, the central character of the socio-philosophical story. He is, first of all, prudent and reasonable; This is also emphasized by his German origin. Each of the characters in this story is associated with a specific theme: For example, Tomsky - with the theme of undeserved happiness.
Tomsky Pavel Alexandrovich - young prince, grandson of the old countess; at first seems to be a minor figure, something like the player Narumov, who “mediates” between the main character
Hermann and the world of card players. Tomsky's role in the plot is truly insignificant. However, by connecting the image of Tomsky with the idea of undeserved luck, Pushkin hastens to complicate the problem. The social structure of life is such that random success is too natural, it almost automatically falls to some and bypasses others. Tomsky, unlike Hermann, belongs to the well-born and not the serving nobility; From birth he is built into the aristocratic ranks, into the endless series of “lucky ones.” The mysterious connection of the Tomsky family with luck is emphasized by the inexplicable “increase” of his class status in comparison with his grandmother: she is a countess, he is a prince. For what exceptional merits Tomsky’s father could have been awarded the new “title” is not said. This was done, obviously, because there were no “merits”. Tomsky is “advanced” one step up metaphysically, not socially. In addition, whether by chance or not, Pushkin “by mistake” three times calls the Countess herself a princess; if this is done consciously, then for one purpose: to completely “confuse the cards”, to separate the topic of social luck from any rational basis.
Tomsky appears in the first chapter only to tell the gambling community the story of three cards, the secret of which was revealed to his grandmother by Saint-Germain (a famous adventurer of the eighteenth century) and which she, having recouped, only once entrusted to a certain Chaplitsky. In the second chapter, Tomsky appears at the grandmother’s house - and again only so that the poor pupil Lizaveta Ivanovna “could” let slip about the military engineer who interested her.
Lizaveta Ivanovna is associated with the theme of social humility. The image of a young girl is placed in a plot ring; from beginning to end, her life rotates around an axis; the social scenario remains the same - only the performers of the roles change; people move from one “cell” to another - like cards on a playing table. Whether there is a pattern or a predetermination in this movement is not entirely clear; The contrasting example of the “unhappy” Hermann and the “happy” Tomsky confirms this, while the example of Lizaveta Ivanovna partly refutes it. Due to her position in the world, she could not hope for happy marriage; her personal fate is atypical and unpredictable in advance. This is all the more noticeable the more typical and predictable the life “model” itself, which Lizaveta Ivanovna reproduces in her future fate: a rich housewife and a poor relative. Her position in the big world is pathetic; she is not taken to a society of “equals”; The old woman is selfish and is not involved in arranging Lisa’s marriage.
The Old Countess is associated with the theme of fate. Anna Fedotovna is an eighty-year-old old woman, in whose house her poor relative Lizaveta Ivanovna is being raised; Countess - keeper of the secret of the “three cards”; personification of fate. Appears before the reader for the first time in the form of a young domineering beauty, in the haze of the legendary “anecdote” sixty years ago, behind which, according to Nashchokin, there is a legend about the “real” adventure of Princess Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna, who “revealed” to her grandson the secret of three cards, once told to her by Saint Germain.
In his work, Pushkin vividly describes St. Petersburg - the capital of the empire, a breed of ghostly absurd life, a city of fantastic events, incidents, ideals, a city that dehumanizes people, disfiguring their feelings, desires, thoughts, their lives.
Hermann first appears on the pages of the story in an episode with the horse guard Narumov, but, sitting until 5 in the morning in the company of players, he never plays - “I am not able to sacrifice what is necessary in the hope of acquiring what is superfluous.” Ambition, strong passions, and fiery imagination are suppressed in him by the strength of his will.
After listening to Tomsky's story about three cards, the secret of which was revealed to his grandmother Countess Anna Fedotovna 60 years ago by the legendary spirit seer
Saint Germain, he exclaims: not “Chance,” but “Fairy Tale!” - because it eliminates the possibility of irrational success.
Herman is a passionate man, obsessed with the idea of wealth. On his way he stops at nothing. Ready to play with other people's feelings, he charms Lisa, a girl living in the house of the old countess, in order to master the secret of the “three cards”, which guarantees him big win. And this is true, because Hermann at first wanted to achieve wealth in an honest way, but as soon as he learned about the secret of the three cards, he became a completely different person. He began to chase this secret, and was ready to “sell” his soul to the devil. The thought of money clouded this man's mind.
Hermann's life and consciousness are instantly and completely subordinated to a mysterious game of numbers, the meaning of which the reader does not understand for the time being. Pondering how to take possession of the secret, Hermann is ready to become the lover of the eighty-year-old countess - for she will die in a week; winnings can triple, seventeen his capital; 2 days later he appears under Lisa’s windows for the first time; 7 days later she smiles at him for the first time. Even Hermann's surname now sounds like a strange, German echo of the French name Saint-Germain, from whom the countess received the secret of the three cards. Hermann appeared near the countess's house, simply wandering through the streets of St. Petersburg, two times in a row, as if some force led him to this place. It can hardly be argued that Hermann’s mysterious appearance at the house of the old woman who knew the secret of the three cards was an accident. With such an irresistible desire of the “prankster of fate” to bring our hero to this house, Pushkin, in my opinion, pursued the goal of showing the triumph of Hermann’s subconscious, which sought to bring his master closer to the possible place of realization of his obsession, over his mind.
It is easy to notice that the main character of the work does not have a name (or perhaps a surname). Let's prove that "Hermann" is a surname. Let "Hermann" be the name. But in this case, contradictions arise: firstly, in the word “Herman”, denoting the name, there is only one letter “N”, in contrast to what was written by Pushkin; secondly, based on the dialogues, we can conclude that gentlemen use a person’s last name when addressing each other or talking about someone in the third person: Why did Pushkin deprive his “prudent German” of a name? It can be assumed that the author did this without any subtext: Chaplitsky, Narumov, Chekalinsky - by analogy. But this reason is unlikely to be true, since the named characters play episodic roles, while Hermann is the main character.
It seems to me that Pushkin refused to give his hero a name, with the goal of emphasizing the mystery associated with the hero: a passionate gambler at heart, a man with the “profile of Napoleon” and the “soul of Mephistopheles,” Hermann never played and did not show social activity at all. The only activity due to his gambling nature was his constant presence near the card table as an observer of the game.
Having obtained consent from her for a date (and therefore having received detailed plan home and advice on how to get into it), Hermann sneaks into the countess’s office, waits for her to return from the ball - and, scaring her half to death, tries to find out the desired secret.
“He became petrified, like a dead statue.”
Realizing that the countess is dead, Hermann sneaks into Lizaveta Ivanovna’s room - not in order to repent to her, but in order to untie the knot of the love plot, which is no longer needed.
But still, did Hermann love Lisa?
It seems to me that he did not love. Although he may have been in love with her for some time, there is no talk of long and passionate love. I'll try to prove it. Hermann writes declarations of love to Lisa, simply copied from German novels, since the countess’s pupil does not know German. But suddenly he did this not on the principle of “just to get an “audience” with the countess,” but only because he was a layman in love affairs: he could not imagine methods of meeting girls different from those described in novels. This argument is convincing. Indeed, many people first read about love, and only then establish relationships with their lovers, and in these cases, if a person does not have eloquence and similar emotional traits, their dates become very similar to scenes from the novels they read. But you can pay attention to Hermann’s dedication, referring to the fact that the hero was freezing outside in the cold just to see Lizaveta’s face. Everything is true, but this does not deny that Hermann stood in the cold not out of love for the girl, but out of love for the countess’s secret.
After the old woman’s death, our hero somehow casually tells the deceased’s former pupil the terrible news, without trying to somehow shield her from this news or console her. But in contrast to this, the following can be stated: firstly, Lisa was a house prisoner of the old countess and the death of the old woman would have freed the pupil from this torment; secondly, Hermann can be justified by the fact that he himself was in a pre-shock state and could not adequately analyze the situation. But I want to remind you that Lizaveta lived at the expense of the countess and was financially dependent on her. So the score is equal. The imaginary opponent responded to all my arguments with his own counterarguments. So is the argument lost? I hope no. I still have one more fact in my reserve: after Hermann learned the secret of the three cards, he stopped meeting with Lisa, stopped thinking about her. And already sitting in the Obukhov hospital, he completely forgot about her. Here one can argue that he had no time for that, and in general he went crazy - but this only emphasizes the statement: With the development of Hermann’s insanity, what had occupied his imagination in the previous time spilled out. As you can see, this set consisted entirely of the thought of cards: “three, seven, ace!” three, seven, queen!. “, and there is not even a hint of “former” love here.
But the following hypothesis also has a right to exist. Perhaps Hermann initially did not think of using Lisa as an involuntary assistant for a personal acquaintance with the Countess. Hermann’s possible love for Lizaveta Ivanovna does not in the least contradict his main goal, so it is possible that two “love” stories developed in parallel: between Hermann and the secret and Hermann and Liza.
But while thinking about love, real or absent, Hermann was completely lost for Lisa no less interest Ask about Lizaveta Ivanovna’s feelings for the hero. I dare say that there was no love here either. Liza, a “stranger among her own” at the balls and terrorized at home by the countess, fell in love with the first young man who paid attention to her. Just as quickly, she “abandoned” her recent chosen one, seeing in him previously unnoticed negative, in her opinion, traits. In my opinion, if she really loved Hermann, then at least their separation would have been more romantic.
Twice during one chapter (IV) the author leads the reader to compare the cold Hermann with Napoleon, who for the people of the first half of the 19th century V. embodied the idea of romantic fearlessness in playing with fate? First, Lisa recalls a conversation with Tomsky (Hermann has a “truly romantic face” - “the profile of Napoleon, but the soul of Mephistopheles”), then follows a description of Hermann, sitting on the window with his arms folded and surprisingly reminiscent of a portrait of Napoleon. First of all, Pushkin, in my opinion, depicts a new, bourgeois world. Although all the passions, symbolized by cards in the story, remained the same, evil has lost its “heroic” appearance. Napoleon thirsted for glory - and boldly went to fight with the entire Universe; Hermann craves money - and wants to cheat his fate with the bills that have filled his mind. Napoleon wanted to bend the whole world to his feet, while the “current” Mephistopheles is only capable of intimidating the old countess to death with an unloaded pistol. Funny, but true. The comparison of Napoleon with Hermann is due to the stinginess of the protagonist’s imagination and the inability to exquisitely intimidate and subsequently kill defenseless old women.
In the episode of Hermann’s “date” with the countess, who returned from the ball at two in the morning, she will repeatedly move from the realm of death to the space of life and back. At first, the yellowness of her face, the “otherworldliness” of her appearance (she sits, “moving her drooping lips, swaying right and left”) naturally suggests the action of “hidden galvanism.” That is, about the demonic revival of the dead body of the Moscow Venus. However, at the sight of Hermann, “her dead face changed inexplicably”; it was as if she had returned to this side of the border between life and death. And then it turns out that such
Only two feelings have “revitalizing” power over her: fear and memory. Hermann’s half-crazy proposals and requests do not make any impression on her, for the fear has subsided, and only the name of the late Chaplitsky again brings her out of her deathly indifference. However, the author’s remark about the “strong movement of the soul” that occurred in her is obviously ambiguous: therefore, this is the movement of the soul leaving the body. The old countess again plunges into the “intermediate” insensibility, only to fall from it into death as soon as Hermann points his unloaded pistol.
He will decide to ask her for forgiveness - but even here he will act for reasons of moral gain, and not for actual reasons. moral principles. The deceased may have a harmful influence on his life - and it is better to mentally repent to her in order to get rid of this influence.
But just as during her life the Countess was involved in death, so after her death she is not going to leave the limits of life.
During the funeral service the following happened. “At that moment it seemed to him that the dead woman looked at him mockingly, squinting with one eye. Hermann hastily backed up, stumbled and fell backwards on the ground. They picked him up. At the same time, Lizaveta Ivanovna was carried out fainting to the porch” - without a doubt, a similar thing could have happened at a funeral, but Pushkin, in my opinion, introduces this element into the work in order to emphasize the uncertain, nervous atmosphere that reigned in the souls of Lisa and, especially, Hermann.
Describing the funeral service, the narrator, who usually uses his words sparingly, emphasizes that Anna Fedorovna lay in the coffin “with folded arms” - although she could not lie in any other way; but on the night of the countess’s death, Hermann and Lizaveta Ivanovna also sat opposite each other, with their arms crossed - he proudly, in a Napoleonic way, she humbly, like Mary Magdalene. The cross-crossed hands of the old countess are not a sign of pride or a sign of humility, it is not even just a sign of death (as soon as Hermann approaches the body of the “deceased”, the old woman squints mockingly with one eye). Her crossed hands are a sign of a new “genre registration”. She appeared before the reader in the role of the young heroine of a historical anecdote told by Tomsky; in the form of a still portrait; she was a decrepit character in a social story about a poor pupil. Now she, who during her lifetime preferred old French novels, “where the hero would not crush either father or mother, and where there would be no drowned bodies,” will have to become like the “dead” heroes of “horror novels” and Russian ballads, who so loved to appear to the world of the living in the funeral image of the dead.
And here is the author, who consistently changes the literary registration of his hero (in the first chapter he is a potential character in an adventure novel; in the second - the hero of a fantasy story; in the third - actor social story, the plot of which gradually returns to its adventurous origins), again sharply “switches” the tone of the narrative.
Rhetorical clichés from the funeral sermon of the young bishop themselves are superimposed on the events of the terrible night. In Hermann, this “angel of death” and “midnight bridegroom”, parodic features suddenly appear; his image continues to flicker and decline; he seems to melt before the reader’s eyes. And even the “revenge” of the dead old woman, which makes the hero faint, can make the reader smile: she “looked at him mockingly, squinting with one eye.”
A historical anecdote about three cards, a detailed description of everyday life, fantasy - everything is confused, covered with a scratched helmet of irony and ambiguity, so that neither the hero nor the reader can make out whether the dead old woman, shuffling with slippers, all in white, really appears to Hermann that same night ? Or is this a consequence of nervous exhaustion and drunk wine? What are the three cards named by her -
“three, seven, ace” - the otherworldly mystery of numbers to which Hermann is subject from the moment he decided to take possession of the secret of the cards, or the simple progression that Hermann deduced for himself a long time ago “I will triple, I will seventeen the capital. "(that is, I will become an ace). And what explains the dead countess’s promise to forgive her unwitting murderer if he marries a poor pupil, about whom she had nothing to do with during her life? Is it because the old woman was forced to “become kinder” by an unknown force that sent her to Hermann, or because in his diseased consciousness all the same echoes of conscience are heard that once woke up in him at the sound of Lisa’s steps? Without noticing it, Hermann found himself in an “intermediate” space, where the laws of reason no longer apply, he is on the path to madness. Hermann, who valued independence, even if it was material, and for its sake entered into a game with fate, completely loses his independence. He is ready to completely repeat
"Parisian" episode of the life of the old countess and go to play in Paris.
Reflecting on the work, I would like to ask the question: “Why is the story called “The Queen of Spades” and not “Life and Fate”, or even better “Three, Seven, Ace” or maybe “Blank Shot”, as he had previously planned to call his story? In my opinion, the title of the work “The Queen of Spades” characterizes death, but not of a person, but the death of the protagonist’s aspiration and confidence, personifying the deafening crash of loss. It is this card that displays the chuckling face of the old countess, because the Queen of Spades was fatal for Hermann.
As you know, the secret of the three cards was told to the Countess of Saint-Germain. But how did he himself know this secret? Let's speculate. Perhaps Hermann's assumption about the devil's pact was correct. The events of the work do not contradict this hypothesis, which gives the right to consider it a possible reality. This assumption can be developed in two directions. Following the first, Saint Germain made a deal with the Devil and then “out of the kindness of his heart (he had already sold his soul)” gave this secret to the countess. Another version is that the contract with the chairman of the opposition to God was concluded by the Countess herself, and Saint-Germain was only a “gift of fate” sent by the Devil. This version, in my opinion, is more plausible, since when considering the countess as a clot of dark forces, many points related to the secret of the cards are quite simply explained, which can be attributed to manifestations of the will of the ruler of the Underworld. A hint expressed in Hermann’s speech to the countess: “Perhaps the secret is associated with a terrible sin, with the destruction of eternal bliss, with a devilish pact. Think: you are old; You don’t have long to live, - I’m ready to take your sin on my soul,” gives the right to assume that the Countess sold her soul to the Devil and became the bearer of a terrible secret.
In the scenes of the “duel” with Chekalinsky, the former Hermann appears before the reader - cold and even more calculating.
Hermann lost, despite knowing the secret of the three cards. The following possible reasons for this can be mentioned. Firstly, from the fact that the countess sold her soul to the devil, it may follow that she, helping her new master, the Devil, gave Hermann deliberately incorrect cards in order to get his soul without paying for it. This version is also confirmed by the fact that the countess came to Hermann “to fulfill his request” “not of her own free will.”
Secondly, sharing a secret with the hero, she made a reservation: “so that you marry my pupil Lizaveta Ivanovna. " Hermann had no intention of marrying Lisa. Because of this, the countess, who acquired the ability to examine the souls of people, punished our hero. Thirdly, it is possible that in such a very peculiar way God tried to save Hermann’s soul from falling to his enemy, quickly taking it to himself (this method is somewhat reminiscent of the betrayal of Christ by Judas, who tried, in my opinion, in the surest way to protect his teachers from people who pseudo-love him).
The mechanism for such a strange error may be as follows. Firstly, Hermann could have been nervous and simply mixed up the cards. But this version is implausible. Secondly, the map already put aside by Hermann could be replaced by “dark forces”. And the third, technically most complex version is the following. These “dark forces” somehow acted on Hermann in such a way that he saw the lady as an ace. And only after the tag was lost, and the Devil had done his dirty deed, did our hero see the mistake that had cost him so dearly.
Another possible development of events could be the following. There was Something that could somehow influence people's lives. It was this Something that “made happy” the secret of Saint-Germain, the countess and Chaplitsky. When did this Something become aware of the possibility that someone else (in in this case- Hermann) finds out the secret, then it decided that enough people had already become rich thanks to this and changed the conditions for playing the cards. It informed the Countess of the change, but did not explain the new rules. When the owner of the secret told Hermann about her, she was not entirely sure of the correctness of the tactics, but, succumbing to the persuasion on the verge of threats from our hero, she changed the rules at random. Apparently, she guessed wrong. This version is supported by the fact that the Countess and Chaplitsky placed cards one after another, while Hermann was told: “Three, seven and ace will win you in a row, but so that you do not place more than one card per day and so that he doesn’t play for the rest of his life.”
A natural question arises: why, in fact, did Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin undertake to write such a unique work?
Let's try to answer this question. It should immediately be noted that “The Queen of Spades” was written in 1833, that is, no longer by a young writer. Perhaps this work was a continuation of the study of human behavior under the influence of external factors. “The Queen of Spades” is interesting from the point of view of the variety of storylines and problems, no less complex, reflected in the work. In "Eugene Onegin" the author kills Lensky, citing the predetermined fate of the hero. Why then does he leave Hermann alive? Perhaps, already working on the work, Pushkin himself became interested in this not entirely ordinary character and decided to trace his fate.
True, it is also possible that “The Queen of Spades” was a kind of cry from the poet’s soul. Now it’s no secret to anyone that Pushkin himself was a gambler (this explains such an exact detailed description the game itself). It could have happened that the author himself lost a large sum at that time and decided to create a work reflecting the vicissitudes of card life.
If I’m not mistaken, “The Queen of Spades” was the first work in Russian literature that so clearly illuminated the problems of the relationship between passion, money, love, and social life.
III. Conclusion
“The people’s path to it will not be overgrown.”
Pushkin’s work “The Queen of Spades” is filled with irony and at the same time seriousness; it is written with elements of fantasy, but at certain moments the story is believable. “The Queen of Spades” includes contradictions of circumstances and events, characters and feelings. This work is a contrast, filled with a picturesque, original and unique way of conveying reality to the reader. In his story, Pushkin focused on the deepest psychological analysis of the human soul, completely consumed by some kind of selfish passion, be it stinginess, envy or pride. These passions subjugate strong and strong-willed people, but they are selfish in nature and therefore lead them to moral degradation and crime. Pushkin’s “Queen of Spades” captivates with the purity and depth of the feelings experienced.
Gogol said about Pushkin and his story: “At the very beginning, Alexander Sergeevich was national, because true nationality does not lie in the description of the sundress, but in the very spirit of the people. A writer may even be national when he describes a completely foreign world, but he looks at it through the eyes of his national element, through the eyes of his people, when he feels and speaks in such a way that it seems to his compatriots that they themselves are saying and feeling it. It is unlikely that any writer can be said to have contained as much greatness, simplicity and power in a short story as Pushkin. »
In my opinion, reading “The Queen of Spades” should have a strong effect on the education, development and formation of an elegant psychological feeling in a person.
Yes! It will not be said in anger to our literary Old Believers, our dry moralists, our callous, anti-aesthetic reasoners, no one, absolutely no one of the Russian writers has acquired such an indisputable right to be an educator of both the young and the mature, and even the old (if they still have the grain in them). aesthetic and human feeling) readers like Pushkin, because we do not know in Rus' more moral, with great talent, like this writer.
“The Queen of Spades” is a story whose main task is to reach our minds, in order to curb the dashing horses of our desire for excitement and money. In general, everything written by Pushkin looks not only capacious and meaningful, but also unusually elegant. Try to swap a few words on any of the pages of “The Queen of Spades” - and you will understand that in Pushkin’s prose the words are arranged in the only correct order.
When we say that Pushkin is outdated, we are mistaken. Read the wonderful works of this beautiful man, find something close and understandable to you. I always return to the work of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. I believe that “the people’s path to him will not be overgrown.” I think there will be plenty of food for the soul and mind for my lifetime. With this I finish my work, in the hope that I was able to convey to you a piece of the semantic reflection of truth in Pushkin’s story “The Queen of Spades”.
Ticket 21
"Queen of Spades". It was written in 1833. Subtitle "Petersburg story".
Pushkin raises the question of ends and means. He does not dramatize the narrative; there is always an ironic, degrading element. It's already in the title. The lines from the “Newest Fortune Telling Book” are used as an epigraph: “The Queen of Spades means extreme malevolence.”
At the end of the work, the motive of returning to square one arises. Lizaveta Ivanovna takes the position of an old countess - she takes a poor relative into her house to raise. The reader can assume a repeating pattern of a person’s struggle for a goal by unacceptable means.
The theme of the Queen of Spades is an unquenchable thirst for money, profit, enrichment as a desire for personal independence and power. The idea of the story is to expose the class-privileged aristocratic nobility and the terrible power of money, which disfigures and dehumanizes people.
The main idea of the story is personified in the image of the engineering officer Hermann.
New "hero of time"
New hero modernity - Hermann. What makes it different? Napoleonic character. Moreover, Napoleon’s features distinguish both his external and internal appearance. In the words of Paul Tomsky (the character), “This Hermann is a truly romantic person: he has the profile of Napoleon, and the soul of Mephistopheles. I think that he has at least three atrocities on his conscience.” The second time he reminds Lisa of Napoleon: “He sat on the window, arms folded and frowning menacingly. In this position, he surprisingly resembled a portrait of Napoleon.” Hermann – Napoleon and soul. He is a money-grubbing predator and has a demonic-egoistic character. He is obsessed with the passion of exaltation, for which money is needed. He doesn't play because he doesn't have much money, although he is a passionate gambler at heart and is calculating. Playing at random, not knowing whether you will be able to win, is not his thing. He wants to act for sure when he knows exactly the secret of a win-win game. A man of “strong passions and fiery imagination,” Hermann is secretive, ambitious, passionate in his soul, but prudent and thrifty almost to the point of stinginess. To achieve wealth, he is ready to do anything: to seduce a young girl whom he does not really love, to become the lover of an eighty-year-old woman, and even to commit murder. Hermann is the forerunner of Raskolnikov.
Pushkin realized that there is a relationship between the accidental and the necessary in the life of every person. Regardless of whether the hero is aware of his life attitudes or not, an accident can turn into a certain pattern for a person. The relationship between the random and the natural is especially important for characters belonging to the adventurous-heroic archetype (Hermann). That is why the relationship between randomness and regularity is so important for him. This archetype is characterized by the attitude of being a winner in any situation, at any cost.
Hermann and his role in the main plot
Hermann is not a clear-cut figure in the story. Firstly, we don’t know for sure that Hermann is the first or last name of the hero, since the author does not say: “his name was Hermann.” And his appearance is conveyed only through the impressions of Lizaveta Ivanovna. Secondly, there are always two feelings in him, which are difficult to be together. These feelings are the calculation and passion of the player. Hermann persistently sent letters to Lizaveta Ivanovna, when she did not answer or threw them back to him, he did not stop there, but continued to write to her. It all started with a plan and ends with him writing letters, “inspired by passion, and speaking in a language characteristic of him: they expressed both the inflexibility of his desires and the disorder of his unbridled imagination.” (11) Throughout the entire narrative, Hermann is laconic and silent. His first phrase is not only short, but also memorized. When the hero speaks alone with the Countess, we hear him, we understand his essence. He came to beg for one favor. He persuaded the old woman, asked her to tell him a secret, appealed to her to the tender feelings of love of his wife, lover, mother. “If ever,” he said, “your heart knew the feeling of love, if you remember its delight, if you ever smiled when your newborn son cried, if anything human ever beat in your chest, then I beg you ..." (12).Hermann begged her on his knees! This is the hero's longest speech. But with the words “Old witch!” “- he said, gritting his teeth, “so I’ll make you answer...” (13) all his efforts become useless. Here he is, impatient Hermann, real and thirsty for his goal, prudently approaching it. Why did Hermann say for the first time after listening to Tomsky’s story that it was a fairy tale, but then sincerely believed in it? Fantasy mixes with reality in the hero’s mind. “He had strong passions and a fiery imagination, but firmness saved him from the ordinary delusions of youth.” (14) For the first time, his severity with himself failed him.
Queen of Spades
“Once we were playing cards with the horse guard Narumov.” After the game Tomsky said amazing story her grandmother, who knows the secret of three cards, allegedly revealed to her by the famous Saint Germain, which will certainly win if you bet on them in a row. After discussing this story, the players went home. This story seemed implausible to everyone, including Hermann, a young officer who had never played, but without stopping, followed the game until the morning.
Tomsky's grandmother, the old countess, sits in her dressing room, surrounded by maids. Her pupil is also here behind the hoop. Tomsky comes in, he starts it up small talk with the Countess, but quickly leaves. Lizaveta Ivanovna, the countess's pupil, left alone, looks out the window and sees a young officer, whose appearance makes her blush. She is distracted from this activity by the Countess, who gives the most contradictory orders and at the same time demands their immediate execution. Lizanka's life in the house of a wayward and selfish old woman is unbearable. She is literally to blame for everything that annoys the Countess. Endless nagging and whims irritated the proud girl, who was eagerly awaiting her deliverer. That is why the appearance of the young officer, whom she had seen for several days in a row standing on the street and looking at her window, made her blush. This young man was none other than Hermann. He was a man with strong passions and a fiery imagination, whom only strength of character saved from the delusions of youth. Tomsky's anecdote fired his imagination, and he wanted to know the secret of the three cards. This desire became an obsession, which involuntarily led him to the house of the old countess, in one of the windows of which he noticed Lizaveta Ivanovna. This minute became fatal.
Hermann begins to show signs of attention to Lisa in order to enter the Countess's house. He secretly gives her a letter declaring his love. Lisa answers. Hermann demands a meeting in a new letter. He writes to Lizaveta Ivanovna every day and finally gets his way: Liza makes an appointment for him in the house at the time when her mistress is at the ball, and explains how to get into the house unnoticed. Having barely waited for the appointed time, Hermann enters the house and makes his way to the countess’s office. Having waited for the countess to return, Hermann goes to her bedroom. He begins to beg the countess to tell him the secret of the three cards; Seeing the old woman’s resistance, he begins to demand, turns to threats and finally pulls out a pistol. Seeing the gun, the old woman falls from her chair in fear and dies.
Lizaveta Ivanovna, returning from the ball with the countess, is afraid to meet Hermann in her room and even experiences some relief when there is no one in it. She indulges in reflection when Hermann suddenly enters and reports the death of the old woman. Lisa learns that it is not her love that is Hermann’s goal and that she became the unwitting culprit in the death of the Countess. Remorse torments her. At dawn, Hermann leaves the Countess's house.
Three days later, Hermann attends the funeral service of the Countess. When saying goodbye to the deceased, it seemed to him that the old woman looked at him mockingly. He spends the day upset, drinks a lot of wine and falls asleep soundly at home. Waking up late at night, he hears someone entering his room and recognizes the old countess. She reveals to him the secret of three cards, three, seven and ace, and demands that he marry Lizaveta Ivanovna, after which she disappears.
Three, seven and ace haunted Hermann's imagination. Unable to resist temptation, he goes to the company of the famous gambler Chekalinsky and bets a huge amount on three. His card wins. The next day he bet on seven, and again he won. The next evening, Hermann is again standing at the table. He placed a card, but instead of the expected ace, he had a queen of spades in his hand. It seems to him that the lady narrowed her eyes and grinned... The image on the card strikes him with its resemblance to the old countess.
Hermann has gone crazy. Lizaveta Ivanovna got married.
In this lesson you will analyze the work of A.S. Pushkin’s “The Queen of Spades”, learn the history of the creation of the story, consider the most complex philosophical problems that Pushkin raises in this story, you will learn the role of epigraphs in “The Queen of Spades”, and you will analyze the theme of madness in Pushkin’s works.
Quite by accident, Hermann learned the story of the three true cards - cards that promise good luck (Fig. 2). However, he is not able to sacrifice what is necessary in the hope of acquiring what is superfluous. Hermann would have allowed himself to play if he was confident in the result. But he does not take risks, since the game involves both winning and losing.
Strongly impressed by Tomsky’s story, Hermann indulges in daydreaming. A “fixed idea” settles in his imagination - the desire to win at any cost. He strives to win, he tries to calculate its possibility.
Rice. 2. A.N. Benoit "Anecdote about three cards" ()
The story captivates the reader immediately, just like Hermann's idea. But let's talk about the rules of the card game.
You need to understand that the term "fixed idea" does not exist in psychology.
In 1892, a mental disorder was first described by the German psychiatrist Karl Wernicke (Fig. 3). It was then that the term appeared "superidea" or "idea fix". But Pushkin described this phenomenon 60 years earlier.
Rice. 3. Karl Wernicke ()
Card games involve two people: banker And punter. The punter thinks of a card and bets money on it, then waits for the same card to appear in the ATM deck. The banker lays out the cards, and if the hidden card falls to the right, then the banker wins, if it falls to the left, the punter wins (Fig. 4).
Rice. 4. A.N. Benoit "Secular Society at the Game" ()
So our hero seems to be laying out cards in his head (right or left). Remember what he thinks:
“What if the old countess reveals her secret to me! - or assign me these three correct cards! Why not try your luck?..”
However, another thought is born in Hermann’s head, the opposite of the first:
“And the joke itself?.. Can I trust it?.. No: calculation, moderation and hard work: these are my three true cards, this is what will triple, seventeen my capital and give me peace and independence!”
Doubting, he abandons his happiness in favor of calculation, moderation and hard work. Please note that Hermann puts calculation first. But by the will of fate, he ends up near the countess’s house. And again Hermann is trying to calculate everything (Fig. 5). Then he goes home.
Rice. 5. Hermann at the entrance to the Countess’s house ()
At night he has a dream, and it seems to him that he is already playing:
“... he dreamed of cards, a green table, piles of banknotes and piles of chervonets. He played card after card, bent the corners decisively, won constantly, and raked in gold and put banknotes in his pocket.”
Waking up, Hermann does not believe his dream:
“Waking up already late, he sighed about the loss of his fantastic wealth, went back to wandering around the city and again found himself in front of the countess’s house<…>
Hermann saw a fresh face and black eyes. This minute decided his fate."(Fig. 6) .
Rice. 6. Hermann saw Lisa ()
So, the fresh face of a young girl decided Hermann’s fate. A plan matured in his head. Now he knows how to achieve his goal, how to meet with the Countess. For this, Hermann needs Lisa. Without her, the plot of the story would not have developed.
A.S. Pushkin accidentally learned the story that formed the basis of the story “The Queen of Spades.” The young Prince Golitsyn lost at cards and turned to his grandmother, Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna. First he asked her for money. But she did not give money, but in return offered the secret of the three correct cards, which seemed to have been told to her by the Count of Saint-Germain (Fig. 7). Prince Golitsyn remembered these three cards and won back.
Rice. 7. Count Saint-Germain ()
But, unlike the prototype, Hermann is not the grandson of the countess; there is a class gap between them.
Hermann is spelled with a double letter -nn- because it's not a first name, it's a surname.
Hermann (German: hermann) - warrior. It is no coincidence that in the story he is presented as a military engineer.
But there is another interpretation, which says that Hermann is the namesake of Saint Germain, who told the countess the story of three cards.
Hermann is a German, a military engineer. Hermann receives a salary. He has a sum of money of 47 thousand, but it is not significant in order to break into elite. This is exactly what Lisa is for. She will help Hermann meet the Countess.
Lisa is a domestic martyr, a most unfortunate creature. She endures the countess's whims. She is looking for a deliverer. But she is proud (as Pushkin says about her):
“... the young people, calculating in their flighty vanity, did not deign to pay her attention, although Lizaveta Ivanovna was a hundred times sweeter than the arrogant and cold brides around whom they hovered.”
It should be noted that this is not the opinion of the author himself, this is the opinion of Lisa.
So, Lisa enters into a love game. Lisa is also a player, she also puts everything on the line. But in Hermann she sees a savior. It’s hard to imagine how much the world would discuss Lisa’s date with Hermann: in the bedroom, at night, by a man. But Lisa, unlike Hermann, plays honestly, so she wins and gets married:
“Lizaveta Ivanovna married a very kind young man; he serves somewhere and has a decent fortune: he is the son of a former steward of the old countess.”
As always, Pushkin has irony. You remember, earlier he wrote that all the household members were quietly robbing the countess. Apparently, Lisa's husband's father did the same.
For Hermann, Lisa is only a tool in the implementation of his plan. He enters into a love game. Letters, glances and finally a date. Lisa will lead him to the Countess (Fig. 8).
Rice. 8. Countess and Lisa ()
“Hermann trembled like a tiger, waiting for the appointed time.”
This is how Pushkin describes the state of the main character in Chapter III. Quite a strange comparison. Pushkin knew ancient symbolism very well. We can judge this by reading his tales, we can talk about this prophetic dreams that his heroes dream about. IN ancient mythology animals such as a lion, a tiger, a panther are unique symbols that speak of human vices: deceit, arrogance, greed (Fig. 9).
Rice. 9. Tiger. Aberdeen Bestiary ()
Speaking about the impatience that gripped Hermann, Pushkin compares him to a tiger. The author seems to be warning us that lies and betrayal await the countess’s house.
Remember that Hermann does not come to the Countess’s bedroom via a direct route:
“Go straight to the stairs. If you find someone in the hallway, you will ask if the countess is at home. They will tell you “No!” and there is nothing to do. You will have to turn back. But you probably won't meet anyone. The girls are sitting at home, all in one room. From the hall, go left, go straight all the way to the Countess's bedroom. In the bedroom behind the screens you will see two small doors: on the right to the office, where the Countess never enters; on the left into the corridor, and then there is a narrow twisted staircase, it leads to my room.”
The betrayal will also soon be exposed. Lisa will see this. She will immediately understand why Hermann needed her.
“Money is what his soul yearned for”, says Lisa (Fig. 10).
Rice. 10. In Lisa’s room ()
There is another explanation for Pushkin’s unexpected comparison: Hermann trembled like a tiger. The fact is that in 1831 the French writer Stendhal (Fig. 11) wrote the novel “Red and Black”. The main character of this work is trying to break into secular society with the help of a lady. The author uses the expression: “Julien looked at his lady with the eyes of an angry tiger.”.
Rice. 11. Stendhal ()
It can be said for sure that Pushkin read this work by Stendhal. And perhaps the use of such a comparison in “The Queen of Spades” correlates these two works.
Nevertheless, Hermann ends up in the countess's house. It seems to him that she should tell him the secret of the three cards. But the Countess suddenly dies (Fig. 12).
Rice. 12. Death of the Countess ()
The death of the Countess seems to push Hermann away from the implementation of his ideas. And it seems to him that he is forever moving away from his dream and that he will continue to have to live with the same pitiful salary, with the same capital.
The fixed idea of winning is replaced by another: Hermann is now afraid that the dead countess may now somehow influence his future fate. And he again enters the game, now with the dead countess. The dead old woman comes to Hermann:
“I came to you against my will,” she said in a firm voice, “but I was ordered to fulfill your request.”
The Countess reveals to Hermann the secret of the three cards. Now he knows that three, seven, ace will probably win (Fig. 13).
But Hermann does not know that the roles have shifted and that he is turning from an attacker into an object of attack. Someone is clearly watching him. It’s as if someone tells him two correct cards and one wrong one, or at the last moment suddenly gives him some wrong card. Be that as it may, someone puts Hermann on a pedestal and throws him down. Our hero does not yet know what fate is playing with him.
Hermann turned around. He does not understand that two immovable ideas cannot exist in moral nature. Hermann is in captivity of a fixed idea. Hermann’s consciousness seems to be losing the ability to maneuver and enter into cause-and-effect relationships. He is moving only towards the implementation of his idea, so he completely forgot about the conditions that the Countess set for him:
“...don’t bet more than one card per day and don’t play for the rest of your life.”
It was these two conditions that Hermann remembered very well, because they were discussed in the anecdote told by Tomsky. But he did not remember the third condition - to marry Lizaveta. After all, Hermann is captive of a fixed idea. He loses the ability to hold both the image of the countess and the secret of the three cards (Fig. 14).
Rice. 14. Three true cards ()
Being in captivity of a fixed idea, Hermann cannot remember the third condition. He must remember three cards. This is the displacement of two ideas.
Remember, at the beginning of the story, when Hermann hears the story about the three cards, he calls it all a fairy tale.
This is truly a fairy tale, because Hermann at some point loses his sense of reality. And “The Queen of Spades” itself in some places is very reminiscent of a fairy tale.
It is enough to recall the symbolism of numbers: three, seven. Every fairy tale has certain conditions, compliance with the agreement.
In 1833, Pushkin wrote the fairy tale “The Golden Cockerel” (Fig. 15). The main character of this tale, King Dadon, also did not fulfill the terms of the agreement, for which he was punished.
“The fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it!
A lesson to good fellows"
Pushkin ends his tale with these words.
Rice. 15. “Golden Cockerel” ()
However, in The Queen of Spades he does not intend to moralize. In general, he believed that literature is not a pedagogical activity. He expresses his point of view with small hints and irony. These hints are hidden in the epigraphs in the story “The Queen of Spades”.
Epigraph to Chapter I of the story:
And on rainy days
They were going
Often;
They bent - God forgive them! -
From fifty
One hundred
And they won
And they unsubscribed
Chalk.
So, on rainy days
They were studying
Business.
This epigraph echoes the anecdote told by Tomsky at the beginning of the story.
Pushkin understands that young people are unlikely to listen to him. So he simply regrets: “...God forgive them...”. Please note that they were engaged in business on rainy days. Here this can be understood as a bad time.
Epigraph to Chapter II:
“You seem to strongly prefer chambermaids.
- What to do? They are fresher” (translated from French).
A chambermaid is a servant in a rich noble house.
At the beginning of the story, Hermann even wanted to be the countess's lover. But Lisa’s fresh face makes him think about how he can achieve what he wants.
“You write me, my angel, four-page letters faster than I can read them” (translation from French).
This epigraph anticipates Chapter III and speaks of the speed with which events unfold in this chapter.
Hermann bombards Lisa with letters; breaks into the countess's house, attacks her with his eloquence, appeals to the feelings of his wife, mistress, mother; promises to forever honor her memory (Fig. 16).
Rice. 16. At the Countess's ()
But in the end he calls the Countess " old witch" We are convinced of the falsity of Hermann's intentions.
“May 7, 18**. A man who has no moral rules and nothing sacred!” (translation from French)
This is the epigraph to Chapter IV of the story. Most likely, this is the characterization that Lisa gives to Hermann. The date is no coincidence - May. You remember that the events of the story take place in winter. And, apparently, by May Lisa was finally convinced of Hermann’s moral qualities.
It should be noted that three of the seven epigraphs are given by Pushkin in French. Again the numbers: three and seven.
“That night the deceased Baroness von V*** appeared to me. She was all white and said to me: “Hello, Mr. Councilor!”
Swedenborg"
Emmanuel Swedenborg is a Swedish mystic of the 18th century (Fig. 17).
Rice. 17. Emmanuel Swedenborg ()
This epigraph precedes fantastic events. But something else is interesting here. There is a word in circulation advisor, but it is not specified which councilor we are talking about: a titular councilor, who occupies the lowest rung of the social ladder, or a state councilor, the highest rank. Hermann is obsessed with getting rich, not moving up the social ladder. However, he believes that wealth will open the doors to high society for him.
In Chekalinsky's living room they sat completely different people. The situation was much more magnificent than what Hermann had noticed in the countess’s house. Several generals and state councilors were present. Wealth equalizes ranks (Fig. 18).
Rice. 18. In the gambling house ()
“- Atande!
- How dare you say “Atande!” to me?
“Your Excellency, I said atande, sir!”
The final chapter VI begins with this dialogue.
Atande (from French) - wait. But the shift in stress turns this word into a card term, a slang word. In Dahl's dictionary we find the following explanation of this word:
Atande - in fatal (gambling) games: wait, wait, no more swords, I bet.
Particle -With stands for abbreviation sir. This is how they addressed people who occupied a higher social level. Although Hermann does not strive to climb the social ladder, he has the profile of Napoleon and the soul of Mephistopheles. And he felt Napoleon within himself:
“He began to think about retirement and travel. He wanted to force the treasure from the enchanted fortune in the open houses of Paris.”
Perhaps someone is trying to protect Hermann from taking a rash step. Narumov says at the last moment: "Yes, he's crazy". But Hermann doesn’t hear anyone or anything. He is obsessed with the idea, he feels his power, he feels his confidence, so you need to contact such a person "atande-s".
“The Queen of Spades means secret malevolence.”
This epigraph precedes the story, but speaks of the ending of this work.
This epigraph was taken from the newest fortune-telling book. Here again is the irony of Pushkin. There was no new fortune-telling book.
Hermann lost in this game with fate. It was Hermann who lost, and not the ace he bet on. Ace just won - he went to the left. But Hermann turned around: quite by accident, instead of an ace, he took out the queen of spades (Fig. 19).
Rice. 19. Queen of Spades ()
In the language of cards the word turned around This is exactly what it means. The most surprising thing is that in the punter’s deck and in the banker’s deck, both the ace and the queen of spades were next to each other. This just confirms the confusion of the two ideas.
“Hermann has gone crazy. He sits in the Obukhov hospital in room 17, not answering any questions and muttering unusually quickly: “Three, seven, ace! Three, seven, queen!..”(Fig. 20).
Rice. 20. Hermann's Madness ()
Hermann is punished in the most cruel way, from Pushkin’s point of view. In 1833, Pushkin wrote the poem “God forbid I go crazy.” He considers madness the most terrible thing that can happen to a person. But madness, as Pushkin says, is not scary in itself. The horror lies in the fact that a person finds himself cut off from society. At the end of the poem he writes:
Yes, here's the problem: go crazy,
And you will be terrible as the plague,
They'll just lock you up
They'll put a fool on a chain,
And through the bars, like an animal,
They will come to tease you.
Hermann was sent to the Obukhov hospital. He is separated from people. He's a real monster. This is exactly what Lisa calls Hermann.
Please note that the word monster is the same root as the words miracle, miracles, wonderful. But among words with the same root, this word has a negative connotation. In Dahl's dictionary we find the following definition of this word:
Monster- an animal, a monster of an unprecedented type; a moral freak, a monster, a ferocious villain.
Pushkin equates the beast with a man like Hermann. Miracles don't happen to monsters. In reality, unlike fairy tales, they do not turn into handsome princes.
At the ball that precedes Hermann’s appearance at the Countess’s house, Tomsky says to Lisa:
“I think he has at least three crimes on his conscience.”
First: betrayal of love. Second: the death of the Countess. Third: your own death.
At the same ball, two ladies approach Tomsky and Lisa and ask: "Forgetfulness or Regret?". In 1833, Pushkin wrote the poem “ Bronze Horseman" The hero of this poem, Eugene, is also a madman, he is also going crazy. But his madness is associated with a collision with the injustice of the world. Such madness causes regret, and Hermann's madness causes oblivion.
Bibliography
- Korovina V.Ya. and others. Literature. 8th grade. Textbook in 2 hours - 8th ed. - M.: Education, 2009.
- Merkin G.S. Literature. 8th grade. Textbook in 2 parts. - 9th ed. - M.: 2013.
- Kritarova Zh.N. Analysis of works of Russian literature. 8th grade. - 2nd ed., rev. - M.: 2014.
- Rarebook-spb.ru ().
- Lit-helper.com ().
- Bibliofond.ru ().
Homework
- What incident became the basis for the work of A.S. Pushkin's "Queen of Spades"?
- Explain what Hermann’s “fixed idea” is. In what ways is he trying to implement it?
- Write a miniature essay “What did A.S.’s story make me think about?” Pushkin's "Queen of Spades"?
The second Boldino autumn inspired Pushkin to create several prose works. Among them - "Queen of Spades". The story of the three cards became known to Alexander Sergeevich from the young Prince Golitsyn. In 1828, he told the poet about his grandmother, who in her youth shone in Parisian society and lost greatly. The famous alchemist and occultist Count Saint-Germain helped the princess by revealing to her the secret of the three cards. The woman took advantage of the forbidden information and was able to win back. This story served as the basis for the work written by Pushkin in October - November 1833.
Difficult to determine and genre works. “The Queen of Spades” contains elements of fantasy, characteristic features of the Gothic style: mystery, old house, fatal coincidence, funeral, mysterious steps, ghost. At the same time, the mysticism here is subjective, if you look at the events from the point of view of Hermann's obsession, which leads him to madness. After all, all fantastic fragments are described exclusively through his perception: the look of a deceased woman in a coffin, the appearance of a dead countess, the wink of the Queen of Spades. If all the mystical episodes are “attributed” to the hero’s painful state, then “The Queen of Spades” will be a completely realistic story on the theme of “crime and punishment.”
The work consists of six parts and a brief conclusion. Each part is preceded by an epigraph, which helps the reader understand the author’s point of view and sets up a certain perception. Compositionally, the first part represents the beginning of the plot, in the third there comes the climax - the scene of the death of the Countess, in the sixth part there is a denouement.
In The Queen of Spades, Pushkin often uses unexpected, random turns of events that intrigue the reader and give the story a plot edge. By chance, Hermann ends up at the Countess's house and sees Lisa. Suddenly he hands the girl a letter. On the fateful night, Hermann goes not to Lisa, but to the countess’s chambers. The death of the old woman also comes as a surprise to the hero, as does her mystical night visit. Hermann does not expect “betrayal” from the cherished cards when a queen appears instead of an ace. A brief conclusion is unexpected for the reader: the hero’s madness, Tomsky’s marriage, Lisa’s marriage.
The main characters of “The Queen of Spades” belong to different generations and have their own status in society. The old Countess Anna Fedotovna is rich and lives in the past. She dresses in an old-fashioned way, goes to balls, where she calmly sits in the corner and greets the guests. Her daily entertainment is to pester her poor pupil Lisa with her whims. Anna Fedotovna is a cold, domineering and selfish lady. Hermann's pleas and persuasion do not make any impression on her. She revives only from fear or memories.
Pushkin subtly uses historical contrast in the story: the aristocratic 18th century, where the laws of honor rule, and the 19th century, in which money already rules. Hermann is a man of a new era. The desire to get rich at any cost leads him to a tragic ending. In a conversation with Lisa, Tomsky characterizes the main character with these words: “he has the profile of Napoleon, and the soul of Mephistopheles.” Hermann himself values peace and independence most of all. For this he needs solid capital.
It is worth noting that Hermann is not poor at all, because he bets 47 thousand rubles. The hero calls calculation, moderation and hard work his “sure cards,” which will certainly win and take him to the very top of the social ladder. Wanting to get rich, Hermann moves towards his goal with unbending perseverance. At heart he is a passionate gambler, but he picks up cards with great caution, terribly afraid of losing.
Lisa looks like a victim of tragedy, but the poor girl is not so innocent. For the sake of money, she tolerates the whims of the evil old woman, and views Hermann from the point of view of her own benefit. Lisa strives to get married successfully and dramatically improve her position in society. She is close to Hermann in spirit, but the sincerity of her feelings is doubtful. It is no coincidence that at the end of the story Pushkin reports that a poor pupil lives in Lisa’s house. Did not the prosperous Lizaveta become the same tormentor for another poor girl as the countess was for her? Pushkin is almost sure that evil begets evil.
“The Queen of Spades” was published in the magazine “Library for Reading” in 1834 and immediately gained enormous popularity. This is one of the first works of Russian literature that was a great success in Europe. “The Queen of Spades” has been translated many times into foreign languages by classics of European literature. For example, the author of the French translation was Prosper Merimee.
In its ideological and artistic orientation, “The Queen of Spades” is completely in line with Pushkin’s ideas regarding the existence of a moral law and punishment for its violation.
Hermann is an individualistic hero who craves personal enrichment. Despite the fact that he mentally understands the unreliability of the card game and the fragility of hopes based on the random loss of cards, Hermann internally strives for quick and easy enrichment. It is no coincidence that Pushkin notes that he did not have a firm faith, but had many prejudices. And for a person without faith and strong principles there are no moral principles. It is no coincidence that Pushkin also points to the “three atrocities” that Hermann has in his soul. “Three atrocities” is, in fact, that critical mass, after which there follows not a warning, but punishment for the evil committed. Unbelief is the fertile soil on which evil settles. The rest is an inevitable consequence of this root cause. Hermann pretends to be in love with Lisa, using her for his selfish plans. This is the first crime. He is ready to do anything just to get the old woman’s secret - humiliation, the actual sale of his soul (he promises to worship her as a deity), and in the end he takes out a pistol - as a result of which the old woman dies. This is the second crime. And the third crime is that Hermann does not repent of what he did. He does not feel sorry for Lisa, he comes to the old woman’s funeral only out of superstitious fear that the deceased might somehow take revenge on him. Divine providence sends him punishment, peace, the unshakable law of which he violated (it is no coincidence that the old woman says that she came to Hermann to reveal the secret not of her own free will). It is typical that Hermann is given three attempts (three cards), according to the number of atrocities. If the first two atrocities can still be redeemed with your future life, then the third (lack of repentance) cannot. This idea is illustrated for us by the image of an old woman who paid with her life for the secret that was once revealed to her, gradually losing her human appearance and turning into what she is now. It seems that the old woman cannot die on her own without passing on her terrible secret, her curse, to anyone else. In this regard, it is no coincidence that the motif of the Eternal Jew appears in the work (in relation to Count Saint-Germain), who, cursed by God, could not die and forever wandered homelessly around the world. All the old woman’s acquaintances have long since died, only she lives alone for no apparent reason (changing clothes, empty eyes while sitting in a chair). It is characteristic that the secret revealed to her by Saint Germain did not make her any happier. Punishment for her unrighteous life overtakes her too.
In this regard, another motive appears in the work - the danger that knowledge can bring with it for an unprepared person, for someone who does not have firm convictions, in whom the moral law has not settled forever. Saint Germain is named (and depicted) as a sentimental old man who, taking pity on the young countess, reveals one of his secrets to her. The consequences of this led precisely to what is described in the work.