A. S. Pushkin, "The Stationmaster": a brief retelling

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In 1830, Pushkin completed the cycle of stories “The Tale of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin”. “The Stationmaster” (the main idea of which is to make the reader think about the image and timeliness of warm relations with loved ones on the example of a loving father and a “prodigal” daughter) is one of the five works of the famous collection. At the very beginning, the author talks about the unfortunate lot of the "little" person - the stationmaster. "The real martyrs of the fourteenth grade" - that's what Pushkin calls them. All travelers who are dissatisfied with the road and the weather seek to scold and offend them.

A. S. Pushkin, "The Stationmaster". Intro

It happened in 1816. At that time, the narrator was passing through a certain well-known province. On the way, the rain overtook the traveler, and he decidedwait it out at the station. There he changed and drank hot tea. The table was set by a girl of about fourteen. Her name was Dunya. It was the daughter of the caretaker Samson. The cottage was clean and comfortable. The narrator invited the host and his daughter to share his meal with him. That's how they met. Soon the horses were given, and the traveler set off again.

A. S. Pushkin, "The Stationmaster". Developments

Several years have passed since then. The narrator happened to pass through the same station again. When he entered the hut, he was struck by the fact that little was left of the former situation: everywhere there was "dilapidation and neglect." Dunya's girl was nowhere to be found. The aged caretaker met the traveler. He was uncommunicative. Only when the traveler offered him a glass of punch did the host agree to tell him his story of how it happened that he was left completely alone.

It happened three years ago. Then a young captain Minsky was passing through the station. He was angry and shouted for the horses to be served faster. And when he saw Dunya, he relented and decided to stay for dinner. In the evening it turned out that the guest was ill. A doctor was called to him, who prescribed bed rest for the patient. Three days later, the captain felt better, and he got ready to go, offering Duna to take her to the church. Her father allowed her to go there with a guest. He didn't feel anything wrong. Mass was over, but Dunya did not return. Then the old man Samson ran to the church and learned there that his daughter was not there. And in the evening the coachman returned to the station, who was carrying a young officer. He told the caretaker that his daughterhe left with him. Upon learning of this, the old man fell ill. And as soon as he recovered, he was going to St. Petersburg to return his Dunya.

A. S. Pushkin, "The Stationmaster". Ending

Arriving in the city, the caretaker found Minsky's house and came to him. But the young officer did not listen to the old man. He shoved him some crumpled banknotes and escorted him out into the street. The poor father really wanted to see his beloved daughter Dunya again, but he did not know how to do it. Helped the caretaker case.

One day, a smart droshky rushed past him, in which he recognized the kidnapper of his daughter. They stopped near a three-story house. Minsky quickly ran up the stairs. The old man went up to the house and asked if Evdokia Samsonovna lived here. He was told that he was here. Then he asked to let him through to her, hinting that he had news for the young lady.

Entering the house, Samson saw the following picture through the ajar door: Minsky was sitting in an armchair, thinking. Next to him was Dunya in a luxurious dressing room. She looked at the young hussar with tenderness. The old man had never seen his daughter so beautiful. He involuntarily fell in love with her. And Dunya, raising her head and seeing her father, screamed and fell unconscious on the carpet. An angry officer kicked the old man out.

Many years have passed since that time. The narrator happened to pass through these places again. He learned that the station no longer exists, the caretaker drank himself and died. And in his house lives a brewerwith his wife. Having visited his grave, the narrator learned that several years ago a beautiful lady with three small barchats had passed by here. When she heard that the caretaker had died, she wept bitterly. And then Dunya (it was she) lay for a long time on her father's grave, clasping her in her arms. Pushkin ended his story with this episode.

"The Stationmaster" is one of the most striking works of the great master from the cycle of stories "Tales of Belkin". The ending of the story is both mournful and at the same time happy: the hard lot and death of the old caretaker, on the one hand, and the happy life and fate of his daughter, on the other. The moral of the story is: Parents should be loved and cared for while they are alive.

Pushkin's story "The Stationmaster" was filmed several times, the last time in 1972.