V.N. Katasonov
Pushkin's entire last story is so imbued with the spirit of mercy that it could be called a story about mercy. The central plot line of the story - the history of the relationship between Grinev and Pugachev is, first of all, a story of mercy. In all four meetings, mercy is, as it were, the nerve of the relationship between our heroes. This story begins with mercy and ends with it. We can now recall Grinev’s first meeting with the future impostor, which was omitted above when analyzing other meetings. Pugachev led Grinev, who had gotten lost during a snowstorm, to the inn. Here the frozen Grinev enters the hut. “Where is the counselor?” I asked Savelich. “Here, your honor,” the voice from above answered me. I looked at the Polati and saw a black beard and two sparkling eyes. “What, brother, are you cold?” - “How not to vegetate in one thin armyak! There was a sheepskin coat, but let’s be honest? I laid down the evening at the tselo-valnik: the frost did not seem too great.” Already in this address - brother - from a nobleman to a tramp, a tramp - social conventions and class “subordination” are violated. People who have just experienced a rather unpleasant, dangerous adventure feel a special community that suddenly united them: everyone is mortal, everyone’s life is fragile, without distinction of rank or age, we all walk under God... However, a word is needed, a name is needed for this special the spirit of community would be embodied, from a naked subjective feeling it would turn into an objective fact of joint existence. And Grinev finds this word - in the element of everyday Russian language, a sign of the test of the highest Christian virtues - brother, brotherhood... And the word is heard. To the invitation to the brotherhood and the corresponding response: Pugachev immediately opened up and complained - “what a sin to hide? arranged the evening with the kisser,” - he almost confessed! - there is a sin, they say, because of the passion for drinking, you will take the latter off yourself, and then you yourself will suffer... Grinev offers Pugachev tea, and then, at the latter’s request, a glass of wine. But the thread of sympathy, pity, and gratitude does not end there. The next morning, Grinev thanks Pugachev again and wants to give him half the money for vodka. The tight-fisted Savelich, the faithful guardian of the lord’s property, grumbles. Then Grinev comes up with the idea of giving Pugachev his hare sheepskin coat. Savelich is amazed. And it’s not just that the sheepskin coat is expensive. The gift is meaningless - with the callous directness of a person who “knows the value of things” and “calls a spade a spade,” Savelich openly declares: “Why does he need your hare sheepskin coat? He will drink it, the dog, in the first tavern." And this youthful sheepskin coat will not fit on Pugachev’s “damned shoulders”! And Savelich is right; the sheepskin coat is bursting at the seams when Pugachev puts it on... However, writes Pushkin, “the tramp was extremely pleased with my gift.” It’s not about the sheepskin coat... Here, for the first time, something else flashed between officer Grinev and the fugitive Cossack Pugachev... And, by contrast, it was Savelich who helped this. Two attitudes towards a person: for one – “dog”, “rabid drunkard”, for the other – “brother”... And the first is very offensive, especially because you yourself know the sin behind you (“what’s the sin to hide? I laid the evening at the kisser..."). But Pugachev does not dispute the truth of Savelich’s words - they say, he will drink the donated new sheepskin coat “in the first tavern” just like the old one: he knows about himself that he is weak, passionate and sometimes not responsible for himself... However: “This, old lady, “It’s not your sadness,” said my tramp, whether I drink or not. His nobility grants me a fur coat from his shoulder: it is his lordly will...” Two truths: one boorishly points a finger at the sinful nakedness of the other, the other, seeing everything, seems to say: but he is also a man... And how important it is for someone to insist on the second truth, when there is so little strength to challenge the first ... Grinev’s gratitude is not just gratitude. There's more here. There is pity, mercy and... respect. Respect for a person, for his dignity. And the man is cold. But a person should not be cold. Because he is the image of God. And if we indifferently walk past a person who is cold, then this, generally speaking, is blasphemous... Pugachev felt all this. That’s why he is so happy about the gift. That’s why such a warm farewell to Grinev. “Thank you, your honor! May the Lord reward you for your virtue. I will never forget your mercies."
And a mysterious relationship began between our heroes, where the superior and the inferior are one, where there is neither master, nor slave, nor Greek, nor Jew, neither man nor woman, where enemies are brothers... How can one respond to mercy, to mercy? ? How to measure it? - Only through mercy. Moreover, in a strange way it turns out to be immeasurable. If something is done not out of self-interest, not out of calculation, not “bang for bash”, but for the sake of God, then reciprocal mercy once, twice, and more times, as if it cannot cover everything, pay for the first... Strange properties of mercy: it is not of this world and always brings with it the laws of the heavenly world... .
And through all the other meetings between Grinev and Pugachev, the main theme is precisely the theme of mercy. During the occupation of the Belogorsk fortress, Pugachev, recognizing Grinev, immediately pardoned him and saved him from the death penalty. In the evening, in a private conversation, Pugachev says: “... I pardoned you for your virtue, for the fact that you did me a favor when I was forced to hide from my enemies.” But how disproportionate the service and reward are: a glass of wine, a hare's sheepskin coat and... a life given to an officer of the opposing army, with whom a merciless war is being waged! What are the rules for bartering? What strange law governs Pugachev's behavior? - The unearthly law, the heavenly law; the law of mercy, which is foolishness for this world, but which is not higher and nobler in this world. Grinev once saw the man in Pugachev, turned to this inner man, and Pugachev could no longer forget this. He is simply forced to have mercy on Grinev, since to forget, to cross out that touch of souls that was in the first meeting, would mean to suicidally destroy in himself something dearest, most sacred... Because there, in this silent dialogue of the inner man with another, individuals with individuals, we are all one, although we think a lot differently. There is light and love, and - immeasurable - it partially overflows into this twilight and cruel world with pity and mercy... Therefore, at the end of a tense and dramatic dialogue, in which Pugachev invites Grinev to join the rebels, and Grinev, following his conscience and honor, refuses, desperately risking! – at the end of this dialogue there is a reconciling ending. All difficult conditions, all obstacles, all the metaphysical tightness of historical existence are overcome by those who have touched the truth of communication in loving, merciful freedom.
Mercy, once bestowed, nourishes hope even then in the most difficult circumstances and, once done, constantly calls to itself, as to itself - to its best, true hypostasis. Where there is life, there is mercy. And vice versa: mercy is life-giving. Pugachev does not believe in pardon for himself, and in this unbelief there is already the beginning of death, a prophecy about it... Grinev - on the contrary - is the very faith, the very hope in the good principles that are alive in Pugachev’s soul. “You are my benefactor. Finish as you began: let me go with the poor orphan, where God will show us the way. And we, wherever you are, and no matter what happens to you, every day we will pray to God for the salvation of your sinful soul...” Who can resist such a plea? Unless the heart is very wild in evil... Pushkin’s Pugachev, a criminal and a believer, joyfully returns to his merciful self, to his true self. “It seemed that Pugachev’s stern soul was touched. “Have it your way!” - he said. - Execute like this, execute like this, favor like this: this is my custom. Take your beauty; take her wherever you want, and God give you love and advice!” .
And if such miracles are possible, then it seems that everything is possible! One more small effort of a believer in the mercy of man and God - the heart, and all the horror, all the blood and pain of the civil war will recede, fade away, like a painful, feverish dream... And this enemy, the leader of enemies, the enemy-friend will cease to be an enemy and forever will already be only a friend, perhaps the most dear, - after all, he proved his loyalty in such difficult circumstances... Let us quote this wonderful passage again: “I cannot explain what I felt when parting with this terrible man, monster, villain for everyone except me. Why not tell the truth? At that moment, strong sympathy attracted me to him. I ardently wanted to snatch him from among the villains whom he led, and save his head while there was still time.” But Grinev’s desire alone is not enough. It is necessary that Pugachev himself really wants and believes in the possibility of mercy...
But if it is impossible to save from violent death, then at least let it be easy and quick. Grinev is relentlessly haunted by the thought of his strange friend-enemy and, especially, after the latter’s capture, with the end of the war. “But meanwhile, a strange feeling poisoned my joy: the thought of a villain, spattered with the blood of so many innocent victims, and of the execution awaiting him, involuntarily disturbed me: “Emelya, Emelya! - I thought with annoyance, - why didn’t you stumble on a bayonet or turn under buckshot? You couldn’t think of anything better.” What do you order me to do; the thought of him was inseparable in me with the thought of the mercy he gave me in one of the terrible moments of his life, and of the deliverance of my bride from the hands of the vile Shvabrin.” And vice versa: the thought of mercy and sympathy that Pugachev showed relentlessly returns Grinev to the thought of him, but not as an impostor, not as an ataman of the rebels, but as that inner man, open to the influence of good forces, unwilling - no matter how It’s strange - and in the eyes of people to be a bloodsucker... What do you order me to do? - we will repeat after Pushkin, - if we are made in such a way that none of our sins and crimes are capable of completely distorting and erasing the image of God in the human soul, and as long as a person lives, hope for salvation remains in a loving and believing heart...
Pushkin in his story touches on one of the most cherished strings of the Russian soul, one of the defining themes of Russian culture. The entire story was written with a constant sense of the possibility of repentance for Pugachev, as if in the prospect of turning him into a prudent thief of the Gospel. In the Gospel, two thieves were crucified on both sides of Jesus Christ. The one crucified on the left hand blasphemed the Lord and repeated the Pharisees: “if you are the Christ, save yourself and us.” The other, crucified on the right hand, reproached his comrade, saying: “...we are condemned justly, because we have received what is worthy of our deeds; but He did nothing bad. And he said to Jesus: remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom!” And Jesus Christ answers him: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:39-43). Christian tradition firmly adheres to the idea that the first to enter heaven with the Lord was a prudent thief (named Pax). The theme of the prudent robber is extremely significant for Russian culture. We can find it in various spheres of national culture. Thus, in the 16th-18th centuries, Russian icon painting of the central regions of Russia (Tambov, Yaroslavl provinces, etc.) paid a lot of attention to the image of a prudent robber. In Old Believer icon painting, this theme played a big role throughout the 19th century. The subjects of the complete icons “Resurrection” and “Descent into Hell” strive to reveal and express the meaning of the story of the miraculous salvation of the prudent thief. His figure, naked to the waist, in white ports, carrying a large, heavy cross, appears on the northern doors of the altars, that is, in the place where traditionally, before and after this period, the High Priest Aaron, the First Martyr Archdeacon Stephen, the Archangels are depicted. The iconographic tradition is based on apocryphal writings such as, for example, “The Words of Eusebius on the Entry of John the Baptist into Hell.”
For our topic, it is not so important that the popular Orthodoxy of the apocrypha seeks to rationalize and profane the mystery of the conversion of the prudent robber: either as a child he was breastfed by the Mother of God Herself (on the way to Egypt), or the cross on which the robber is crucified turns out to be made of paradise tree, etc. It is important that people’s attention focuses on this seemingly private Gospel story, recognizing in it something of universal significance for Russian life: we are all, somewhere, robbers...
Russian literature of the 19th century treats the theme of the prudent robber with particular sensitivity. Moreover, this topic is implemented as relevant - “Crime and Punishment” by F.M. Dostoevsky, first of all, and potentially, as in “The Captain’s Daughter” by A.S. Pushkin. In general, Dostoevsky, as is well known, dreamed all his life of writing a great work, “The Life of a Great Sinner.” In the writer’s archives there remain sketches of the plan for this work, and Dostoevsky’s famous novels turn out to be only attempts to realize this grandiose plan. The main theme of this work should have been precisely the story of repentance and correction of a person who experienced a deep moral fall and rejected God. N.V. Gogol’s persistent attempts to resurrect “dead souls” in the continuations of his “Poem” are also attempts to artistically realize the idea of a prudent robber. ON THE. Nekrasov in his poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” (part of “A Feast for the Whole World”) gave his embodiment of the idea of the repentant robber Kudeyar:
I amused myself with my lover during the day,
At night he made raids,
Suddenly the fierce robber
The Lord awakened the conscience.
Despite the poisonous populist-revolutionary ending of Nekrasov’s “Kudeyar,” the magnificent poems, and most importantly, the fundamental significance of this topic for Russian spirituality, did their job: these poems turned into a folk song, into “The Legend of the Twelve Thieves.”
Why is the plot of the prudent robber so attractive to Russian culture, to the Russian soul? The basis for this, in our opinion, is the historically deepest - to the point of heresy - compassion of Russian people towards people in general. The image of God reflected in man gives the latter the possibility of infinite nobility. In the face of this possibility, all earthly boundaries, hierarchies, and assessments become conditional. The last Divine truth can cancel them all at once. No matter how low a person may fall morally, he cannot measure the abyss of God’s mercy. “...Let my malice not overcome Your unspeakable goodness and mercy,” John of Damascus teaches us to pray in his prayers for the coming sleep. For the God of Christianity is so high. And to this height he draws those who believe in Him. The attitude towards man that arises from this is extremely anti-Pharisee. All natural and social hierarchies become conditional, plastic and, as it were, transparent. Sometimes almost to the point of nihilism... The most important thing appears everywhere - the face. And, despite all the historical costs of the Russian version of this Christian personalism, it is here that Russian culture finds the true measure of man. Next to the height of the divine calling, we are all robbers and wild animals in relation to our neighbors... And everyone is worthy of pity, and the Lord expects repentance from all of us... The theme of the prudent robber, sounding louder and quieter, accompanies all the dialogues of Pugachev and Grineva. Grinev, by the very fact of his communication with Pugachev, seems to constantly invite the latter to repent. This annoyingly open possibility is painful for Pugachev, like a bleeding wound... But paradoxically, it simultaneously brings with it a relieving peace.
So, again and again: what is the meaning of the story? We can now formulate it as follows: the relationship between man and man in the fullness of historical and moral determinations in the face of Truth, in the face of God. The particular drama and poignancy of these relationships is due to the fact that their subjects are two opposing personalities: one is the moral laws of “those who have managed to transgress”, the other is firmly adhering to honor and conscience. And the main, decisive mode of these relationships - the moral idea that guides the entire narrative - is mercy (caritas, agape) - that cardinal, Christian virtue, the central position of which in Russian culture was deeply realized by Pushkin and brilliantly depicted. In terms of the degree of author's consciousness in depicting the theme of mercy, the story “The Captain's Daughter” is one of the most Christian works in world literature. It is from “The Captain’s Daughter,” as has already been noted, that the tradition of heartfelt dialogues of “saints and criminals” standing “in infinity” - in the face of God - comes in Russian literature.
Pushkin carefully selects illustrations of the main theme of the story. This is also supported by the story of the mutilated Bashkir. He was caught in the Belogorsk fortress as a spy sent by Pugachev to distribute leaflets inciting the Cossacks to revolt. The commandant of the fortress, Ivan Kuzmich Mironov, begins to interrogate him, but the Bashkir does not answer.
“Yakshi,” said the commandant, “you will speak to me. Guys! Take off his stupid striped robe and stitch his back. Look, Yulay: give him a good time!
Two disabled people began to undress the Bashkirs. The unfortunate man's face showed concern. He looked around in all directions, like an animal caught by children. When one of the invalids took his hands and, putting them near his neck, lifted the old man onto his shoulders, and Yulay took the whip and swung it, - then the Bashkir groaned in a weak, pleading voice and, nodding his head, opened his mouth, in which instead of a tongue a short stump was moving." Pushkin needed this scene not only to condemn the cruel old custom of torture during interrogation. His intention is deeper. The Belogorsk fortress was taken by Pugachev’s rebels. Among them is a Bashkir who escaped earlier. Pugachev orders the fortress commandant Mironov to be hanged. In spare, laconic phrases, Pushkin notes the whole drama of “meetings and recognition” of these two people - the nameless Bashkir, mutilated during the suppression of the last uprising, and captain Mironov: “Several Cossacks grabbed the old captain and dragged him to the gallows. On its crossbar found himself riding a mutilated Bashkir, who had been interrogated the day before. He held a rope in his hand, and a minute later I saw poor Ivan Kuzmich suspended in the air.” The world, lying in evil, goes its own ways, the paths of revenge and unmercifulness. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” - this is his ancient law.
The story of the constable Maksimych also serves to highlight the same theme of mercy. The figure, although sparsely outlined, is complex and ambiguous. Even before the attack on the Belogorsk fortress, Commandant Mironov did not trust Maksimych too much. Maksimych secretly meets with Pugachev. After being exposed in the Belogorsk fortress, he is put under arrest; but he runs. Together with Pugachev he enters the fortress. It is Maksimych who indicates to Pugachev who the commandant of the fortress is. And so, when Grinev and Savelich, released by Pugachev, wander along the road leading them away from the fortress, the first personal meeting takes place, a personal touch between Grinev and Maksimych.
“I was walking, busy with my thoughts, when I suddenly heard the clatter of a horse behind me. Looked back; I see a Cossack galloping from the fortress, holding a Bashkir horse in the reins and making signs to me from afar. I stopped and soon recognized our constable. He jumped up, got off his horse and said, giving me the reins of another: “Your Honor! Our father gives you a horse and a fur coat from his shoulder (a sheepskin coat was tied to the saddle). Moreover,” the constable said, stammering, “he’s giving you... half a sum of money... but I lost it on the way; forgive me generously." Savelich looked at him askance and grumbled: “I lost him on the way!” What's rattling in your bosom? Unscrupulous!". “What’s rattling in my bosom? - the constable objected, not at all embarrassed. - God be with you, old lady! It’s a bridle that jingles, not a half-ruble.” “Okay,” I said, interrupting the argument. - Thank the one who sent you for me; and try to pick up the lost half on the way back and take it for vodka.” “I am very grateful, your honor,” he answered, turning his horse, “I will forever pray to God for you.” At these words he galloped back, holding his bosom with one hand, and in a minute he disappeared from sight.” And it was this Maksimych, during the battle near Orenburg (Grinev - on the side of the city’s defenders, Maksimych - on the opposite side, among the attacking Cossacks of Pugachev), who gives Grinev a letter from the Belogorsk fortress from Marya Ivanovna. Their meeting was marked by Pushkin with some amazing warmth. Here it is literally, a meeting during a battle between two soldiers of hostile armies: “Once, when we managed to somehow disperse and drive away a rather dense crowd, I ran into a Cossack who had lagged behind his comrades; I was ready to hit him with my Turkish saber, when suddenly he took off his hat and shouted: “Hello, Pyotr Andreich!” How does God have mercy on you? I looked and recognized our constable. I was incredibly happy about him.
“Hello, Maksimych,” I told him. - How long have you been from Belogorskaya?
- Recently, Father Pyotr Andreich; I just returned yesterday. I have a letter for you.
- Where is it? – I cried, all flushed.
“With me,” answered Maksimych, putting his hand in his bosom. I promised Pasha that I would somehow deliver it to you. “Then he handed me a folded piece of paper and immediately galloped off.”
Of course, behind Maksimych we feel Pasha, “a lively girl who makes even a police officer dance to her tune,” Marya Ivanovna’s servant. But, nevertheless, there is already a certain personal element in the relationship between the policeman and Grinev - perhaps in the special goodwill of the tone - which cannot be reduced only to external circumstances. Where is it from? From the same source from which Grinev’s relationship with Pugachev originated. Grinev forgave Maksimych for the stolen half of his money, forgave him without any calculation, out of pure mercy, and, strangely, it was this concession, a loss on the external, material level of existence that turns out to be a gain on the spiritual level. It was this that touched Maksimych’s soul, and an event occurred: one person, suddenly breaking free from the tragic and bloody bustle of everyday life, appeared face to face with another. Looking into the eyes, understanding everything, I forgave... So, as if he said: yes, you, of course, are wrong, but every person is weak, but I know, nevertheless, I believe, that you are capable of good... And this faith in man, contained in mercy, probably touched Maksimych’s heart... And I remember the words of the Gospel: “Go and learn what it means: “I want mercy, not sacrifice”? for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”68 And miracles begin. Former constable Maksimych, a traitor, a thief, apparently a “grateful” man, insidious and cunning, suddenly begins to carry love notes across the front line to an officer of a hostile army... And miraculously from the same pocket into which the stolen half-ruble went a long-awaited, so dear letter to my beloved appears... .
Everything in the story is full of mercy. The very love of Pyotr Andreevich Grinev and Marya Ivanovna Mironova is also, basically, love-mercy. Not love-passion, not the relationship between a knight and a lady, not love-admiration - from below up, but from above down, Christian love-mercy, pity - Russian love par excellence... He loves and tearfully pities Marya Ivanovna, an orphan who has no no one close to you in the whole world, Grinev. Marya Ivanova loves and saves her knight from the terrible fate of dishonor. It is depicted in the story, in our opinion, rather conventionally. But the basic Christian virtues are emphasized: loyalty, gratitude, sacrifice, obedience, the ability to love deeply.
The theme of mercy towards the enemy (to Shvabrin) is quite consistent in The Captain's Daughter. After the duel, Grinev, pacified by Marya Ivanovna’s reciprocity, forgives Shvabrin all his insults, and they reconcile. “I was too happy to keep a feeling of hostility in my heart. I began to plead for Shvabrin, and the good commandant, with the consent of his wife, decided to release him. Shvabrin came to me; he expressed deep regret for what happened between us; admitted that he was all to blame and asked me to forget about the past. Being by nature not vindictive, I sincerely forgave him both our quarrel and the wound I received from him. In his slander I saw the annoyance of offended pride and rejected love and generously excused my unfortunate rival.” In the Belogorsk fortress, having snatched Marya Ivanovna from the hands of Shvabrin with the help of Pugachev, Grinev has enough reason to hate the traitor and rapist. However, this is how the chapter “Orphan” ends. With parting words from the good priest, Grinev and his beloved depart from the fortress. “We went. At the window of the commandant’s house I saw Shvabrin standing. His face depicted gloomy anger. I did not want to triumph over the destroyed enemy and turned my eyes in the other direction.”
To triumph over a destroyed enemy, according to Christian morality, which Grinev is guided by, is shameful. Because while a person is alive, God hopes for him, for his correction. All the more, a person should have hope. And organizing a “feast of the victors” over a defeated enemy is still the same rudeness, self-confident, dumb... That’s why Grinev turns away. And this again is the mercy of the chastity of the soul.
Finally, at the trial, Shvabrin turns out to be the main - and, in fact, the only - accuser of Grinev. Shvabrin erects a conscious and monstrous slander against Grinev, threatening the latter with the worst. Grinev’s reaction is interesting. “The general ordered us to be taken out. We went out together. I looked calmly at Shvabrin, but didn’t say a word to him. He grinned with an evil grin and, lifting his chains, got ahead of me and quickened his steps.” Somewhere words are already powerless... And not only words, but also any gestures, whether threatening or condemning. So deeply can evil poison the human soul... And it is so important here to contrast the disease of evil with a calm, sober look, the inflamed passion of villainy - the dispassion of chastity. The latter, by the very nobility of its restraint, reproaches and condemns more powerfully than any words... And maybe - God knows! – this calm human gaze can serve as a support for a restless, obsessed, criminal soul that has lost itself, it will help to stop and not fall into the last hellish abyss of despair...
Grinev’s rehabilitation is also a consequence of mercy. It is not the law, not the formal proceedings that save him from shame (and the death penalty), but the personal command of the empress. According to the story, of course, Catherine II decides to pardon only after she learns from Marya Ivanovna all the circumstances of the case. Apparently, truth, justice, legality are winning. However, with the ending of his story, Pushkin seems to be trying to convince us that generally accepted legal proceedings, by their very nature, are not capable of resolving the issue of guilt in such delicate circumstances. This is precisely why, in fact, Grinev refuses to talk in court about the role of his bride in his story! ...). Justice alone is not enough, it is necessary - necessary! - and mercy... And here Pushkin expresses, of course, a deeply Christian, on the one hand, and, on the other, a specifically Russian - with all its pros and cons - view of justice.
The mercy acquired by Grinev, no matter how unexpected it may be in itself, is, nevertheless, mercy expected, mercy sought. The entire natural-moral universe in which Grinev feels himself (and his bride, who shares these views), is a cosmos governed by a merciful Providence, a cosmos in which the advice “Knock and it will be opened to you...” comes true. With the knowledge and tact of a person raised in Orthodoxy, Pushkin gives a description of Grinev’s behavior in prison. “The hussars handed me over to the guard officer. He ordered to call the blacksmith. They put a chain on my legs and shackled me in a cramped and dark kennel, with only bare walls and a window blocked by an iron grate.
This beginning did not bode well for me. However, I did not lose either courage or hope. I resorted to the consolation of all those who were grieving and, for the first time tasting the sweetness of prayer poured out from a pure but torn heart, I calmly fell asleep, not caring about what would happen to me.”
In this calm resignation, in this hope for the best, there is a reflection of the most essential worldview ideas of the late Pushkin. The happy ending of “The Captain's Daughter” is not a sweet sop to the reader of a romantic story, but a logical consequence of a holistic ideological position that asserts that the world and history have their own meaning, that the world “lying in evil” stands on good.
Grinev's pardon occurs in two stages. First, even before Marya Ivanovna’s trip to St. Petersburg, Catherine II, “out of respect for her father’s merits and advanced years,” replaces Grinev’s death penalty with eternal settlement in Siberia. Then, after a conversation with Marya Ivanovna, the empress, now convinced of Grinev’s innocence, relieves the latter from exile. Here again the theme of honor comes up. The important thing is that Grinev’s honor is restored through a pardon. In the value hierarchy to which The Captain's Daughter is oriented, honor is not autonomy, not a self-sufficient value. It depends on mercy, both human and, in a broad sense, God’s. We have already noted this point above. But it is important to emphasize the need for honor in the ethical hierarchy of The Captain's Daughter. This is not just about loyalty to class prejudices, but about a special ontology of honor. Mercy comes from the individual and is directed, in fact, only towards him (in relation to animals, for example, pity, not mercy, is appropriate). From the point of view of mercy and love, all individuals are equal. Mercy seems to dissolve all physical, social, psychological differences and determinants. We must love everyone, and even, as the Gospel teaches, our enemies. However, evasion is possible here. Christian love is not irresponsible forgiveness. To love does not mean to agree with the untruth of a loved one; to forgive does not mean to justify a crime. Pushkin deeply felt and brilliantly depicted this sobriety of Christian charity. If the element of mercy dissolves all facets, makes everything permeable, everything “ours,” fills everything with the sunlight of the Kingdom of God, “which is within us,” then honor soberly reminds us of the natural conditions of existence, which we cannot cancel with one desire, and, specifically, about historically established social structures that have their own – relative – truth. Behind the theme of mercy - honor is the theme of the Kingdom of God - the Kingdom of Earth, the state. In the story, Pushkin gives exactly that interpretation of this theme, which is characteristic of the entire thousand-year Russian history. In Pushkin, honor is not simply subordinated to mercy (love, conscience), finding sanctification and support for itself in the latter. Honor, in a sense, is necessary for mercy, as it gives the latter the opportunity, “space” for its manifestation. Mercy sanctifies honor, but honor gives mercy concreteness and historicity. Any existing inequality and social norms are, as it were, “material” for mercy. Mercy and conscience do not violate honor, as we have already said, but internally ennoble, transform and support it. But being merciful in the story is understood not in a pietist, not sectarian way - in the spirit of the dreamy and irresponsible “all people are equal” or “all people are good” - but in a traditional Orthodox way: mercy must be “sighted”, must soberly take into account the realities of the world, all its tragic contradictions. The path of mercy is not the path of complacent and, at its core, nihilistic-indifferent forgiveness, but the path of sacrificial self-sacrifice, the path of Christian achievement.
Pushkin in The Captain's Daughter seems to us not just a master artist, but also a very wise man with deep moral experience. In the story, Pushkin was able to pose the most important problem - the problem of freedom, which later played a decisive role in Dostoevsky’s work and, one can say with confidence, became the central problem of human philosophy in the 20th century. But Pushkin also gave his answer to the question posed. This answer is due to a deep reception of traditional Orthodox spirituality, a true return of Pushkin to the roots of national culture. When discussing the topic “Pushkin and Christianity”, not only historical evidence about the poet’s visits to Russian monasteries or his studies “Cheti-Menei” is important, but, perhaps most of all, the very content of his works, especially the latter. Not on historical events in themselves, not on the psychological characteristics of the heroes - the main attention of the author of “The Captain's Daughter” is aimed at discovering the inner man in a person, in the depths of his freedom in the face of God and another person, solving the last “damned” issues. The heartfelt dialogues of the main characters of the story represent the history of the search for that conciliar truth, which serves at the same time as a measure of truth, an assessment of a person and events, and a path to salvation... And the key to this kingdom of truth in Pushkin is the theme of mercy.
Mercy... Often all that is required is to forgive, without benefits or coercion... Mercy is the main representative of human freedom. It doesn't need a reason; rushing into a world where everything is causally determined, this act of freedom itself begins a new causal chain, as the philosopher Kant taught us. Therefore, any act of mercy is news about another - higher - world, there is a piece of the higher world in our earthly vale... And we clearly feel this presence of another, higher reality: the roar and bustle of passionate earthly life falls silent, peace and silence descend on us, and coolness, and in this “subtle coolness” we feel the presence of God himself and at the same time we recognize our destiny to a higher life...
Finishing “Gypsy” in 1824, during a period of deep spiritual crisis, Pushkin wrote:
And fatal passions are everywhere,
And there is no protection from fate.
How to live in this world of the fiercest passions nesting in your own heart, how to escape from the inevitable, merciless fate created by these passions?.. After 12 years in “The Captain's Daughter”, in all the wonderful turns of its action, in concentrated and blissful silence of her dialogues, in the mysterious all-conquering power of such a fragile, such unworldly feeling - mercy - as if the answer had been found... As if the gospel sounds: know the truth, and the truth will make you free.
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All of Pushkin’s works are the highest expression of universal human values: love, friendship, honor, conscience, justice, human dignity, mercy.
Pushkin's story "The Captain's Daughter" is especially imbued with the spirit of mercy. It can be called a story about mercy. The central plot line of the story - the history of the relationship between Grinev and Pugachev - is, first of all, a story of mercy. This story begins with mercy and ends with it. Let's remember Grinev's first meeting with Pugachev, when Grinev orders Pugachev to give his sheepskin coat. Savelich is amazed. And it’s not just that the sheepskin coat is expensive. The gift is meaningless. “Why does he need your hare sheepskin coat? He will drink it, dog, in the first tavern.” Let this youthful sheepskin coat not climb onto Pugachev’s “damned shoulders!” And Savelich is right: the sheepskin coat is bursting at the seams when Pugachev puts it on... However, Pushkin writes: “The tramp was extremely pleased with my gift.” It’s not about the sheepskin coat... Here, for the first time, something else flashed between officer Grinev and the fugitive Cossack Pugachev... Grinev’s gratitude is not just gratitude. There is pity, mercy and... respect. Respect for the person and his dignity. And the man is cold. But a person should not be cold. Because he is the image of God. And we should not indifferently pass by a person who is cold, because this is blasphemy. Pugachev felt all this. That is why such a warm farewell to Grinev: “Thank you, your honor! God reward you for your virtue. I will never forget your mercies!” And a relationship began between the heroes, where the superior and the inferior are united, where there is neither master nor slave, where enemies are brothers. How can you respond to mercy, to mercy? How to measure it? -Only through mercy.
And through all the other meetings between Grinev and Pugachev, the main theme is precisely the theme of mercy. During the occupation of the Belogorsk fortress, Pugachev, recognizing Grinev, immediately pardoned him and saved him from the death penalty. “I pardoned you for your virtue,” for the fact that you did me a favor...” Pugachev says to Grinev. But how disproportionate the service and reward are: a glass of wine, a hare’s sheepskin coat and... a life given to an officer of the opposing army, with which the war is being waged.
Pugachev had to pardon Grinev, because once Grinev saw a man in Pugachev, and Pugachev could no longer forget this. Everything in the story is full of mercy. The very love of Pyotr Andreevich Grinev and Marya Ivanovna Mironova is not love - passion, not love - admiration, but Christian love, pity. Grinev loves and tearfully pities Marya Ivanovna, an orphan who has no one close to her in the whole world. Marya Ivanovna loves and saves her knight from the terrible fate of dishonor.
Grinev is merciful to his enemy (to Shvabrin). When Grinev, with the help of Pugachev, snatches Marya Ivanovna from the hands of Shvabrin, Grinev has enough reason to hate the traitor and rapist. However, this is how the chapter "Orphan" ends. Encouraged by the good priest, Grinev and his beloved depart from the fortress. “We drove off. At the window of the commandant’s house I saw Shvabrin standing. His face depicted gloomy anger. I did not want to triumph over the humiliated enemy and turned my eyes in the other direction.” To triumph over a destroyed enemy, according to Christian morality, which Grinev is guided by, is shameful. Because while a person is alive, God hopes for him, for his correction. All the more, a person should have hope. And organizing a “feast of the victors” over a defeated enemy is rudeness. That’s why Grinev turns away. And this again is the mercy of a chaste soul.
“Compassion is the most important and, perhaps, the only law of existence of all mankind” (A. Schopenhauer)
Compassion is the most important moral quality, manifested as a tendency to help others, selflessness, generosity, the ability to forgive, and tolerance. These traits are necessary qualities of the human personality that help a person in a critical situation.
There are many examples of this in fiction. Let us remember the novel by A.S. Pushkin "The Captain's Daughter". The theme of mercy, generosity, responsiveness is one of the most important themes of Pushkin's novel. Let us remember the history of the relationship between the main characters of the novel, Grinev and Pugachev. Here is an unfamiliar peasant who saves Grinev during a snowstorm: he shows him and Savelich the way to the inn. In gratitude, Grinev brings him a glass of wine, and then gives him his hare sheepskin coat. From a practical point of view, the gift is meaningless: the sheepskin coat does not suit the man, it is narrow for him and bursting at the seams when he tries it on. However, Pugachev remains “extremely pleased.” “God reward you for your virtue. I will never forget your mercies,” he says to Grinev. It is here that understanding, a feeling of mutual gratitude, and perhaps sympathy, first arises between the characters.
Here is the second meeting of heroes. The rebels take the Belogorsk fortress, and are about to hang Grinev, like the rest of the officers, but Pugachev suddenly recognizes Savelich and saves the young man’s life. In the evening, in a private conversation, Pugachev says: “... I pardoned you for your virtue, for the fact that you did me a favor when I was forced to hide from my enemies.”
And then the writer seems to begin to experience this generosity in Pugachev, offering him more and more new situations, more and more difficult tasks. So Grinev refuses Pugachev’s offer to join the rebels. “I am a natural nobleman; I swore allegiance to the empress: I cannot serve you,” he says “firmly.” So Grinev comes to Pugachev with a request to help Masha Mironova. The young man hopes not only for mercy, but also for help, for the restoration of justice. And in this act there is respect for Pugachev. Grinev does not deny the murderer and the hanged man goodness and humanity. And the impostor felt it. And therefore, even after learning that Masha is the daughter of the commandant of the Belogorsk fortress, Pugachev behaves with dignity. He helps free her, releases the young people: “Execute like this, execute like this, favor like that: this is my custom. Take your beauty; take her wherever you want, and God give you love and advice!”
We know that Pushkin’s attitude towards the Pugachev rebellion was unambiguous. “God forbid we see a Russian rebellion - senseless and merciless. Those who are plotting impossible coups in our country are either young and do not know our people, or they are hard-hearted people, for whom someone else’s head is worth nothing, and their own neck is worth a penny,” says Grinev in the story. And the author agrees with this statement. However, Pushkin does not deny his Pugachev mercy, a feeling of pity and compassion. This is very important in the context of a philosophical understanding of the work, since here we are led to a conclusion about Pushkin’s understanding of human nature: no matter how villainous a person is, there is goodness hidden in his soul, you just need to be able to find it, you need to be able to reach him.
The same feeling of compassion lives in Grinev’s soul in relation to Masha Mironova. Researchers have noted that the hero’s love itself is Russian love, not love-passion, but love-pity (V.N. Katasonov. Thus, Grinev saves Masha from Shvabrin’s captivity, sends her to his parents, caring for the safety of his bride, remains silent about her during the trial.
The whole behavior of Savelich, Uncle Peter, is imbued with a feeling of tolerance, kindness, and great affection for his pupil. Thus, he shows tolerance in the episode with Zurin (Grinev’s billiard loss), saves his pupil from death by throwing himself at Pugachev’s feet.
The motive of mercy also appears at the end of the novel, in the episode of Masha Mironova’s appeal to the empress with a request to save her groom. Grinev was pardoned by order of the Empress.
Thus, the motive of compassion permeates the entire plot of Pushkin’s novel. According to the author, this is the quality that a person needs in life. As A. Schopenhauer noted, compassion “is the only law of existence for all humanity.”
The theme of mercy and honor was fundamental for Pushkin. It was closely connected with another, deeper question: how to live in history? What to hold on to? In The Captain's Daughter, completed a few months before his death, this question was answered. In the novel, honor does not contradict conscience anywhere.
Pushkin's entire last novel is imbued with the spirit of mercy. The central plotline of the novel - the history of the relationship between Grinev and Pugachev - is, first of all, a story of mercy. Let's remember the first meeting of the heroes. Pugachev led Grinev, who had gotten lost during a snowstorm, to the inn. People who have just experienced an unpleasant, dangerous adventure feel a special community that has suddenly united them. Grinev offers Pugachev tea, and then, at the latter’s request, a glass of wine. The next morning, Grinev thanks Pugachev again. Here, for the first time, something else flashed between officer Grinev and the fugitive Cossack Pugachev... That’s why the counselor rejoices at the gift, and that’s why such a warm farewell: “Thank you, your honor! I will never forget your mercies."
And through all the other meetings between Grinev and Pugachev, the main theme is precisely the theme of mercy. During the occupation of the Belogorsk fortress, Pugachev, recognizing Grinev, immediately pardoned him and saved him from the death penalty. But how disproportionate is the service and reward: a glass of wine and a hare's sheepskin coat and... a life given to an officer of the opposing army. Grinev once saw the man in Pugachev, turned to this inner man - and Pugachev cannot forget this.
And at the third meeting, in all the vicissitudes of the frank and risky dialogue that the heroes conduct, mercy again appears. “What, your honor, did you deign to think about? “How can I not think about it,” I answered him. - I am an officer, a nobleman; Yesterday I fought against you, and today I’m riding with you in the same tent, and the happiness of my whole life depends on you.”
The story of the constable Maksimych also serves to highlight the same theme of mercy. The character is sketched sparingly. Captain Mironov does not trust the constable. It is Maxim Ych who will indicate to Pugachev who the commandant of the fortress is. And it was this sergeant, who fought among the attacking Cossacks of Pugachev, who during the battle near Orenburg would give Grinev, who fought on the opposite side, a letter from Marya Ivanovna. Grinev forgave Maksimych for the stolen half of the money, forgave him without any calculation, out of pure mercy, and he repaid him a hundredfold.
The theme of mercy towards the enemy, towards Shvabrin, is quite consistent in The Captain's Daughter. After the duel, Grinev forgives Shvabrin for all his insults. In the Belogorsk fortress, having snatched Marya Ivanovna from the hands of the traitor with the help of Pugachev, Grinev does not want to triumph over the defeated enemy. The rehabilitation of Grinev, accused on the basis of false testimony from Shvabrin, at the end of the novel is also a consequence of mercy. It is not the law, not formal legal proceedings that save the hero from shame, but the personal command of the empress.
Everything in the novel is full of mercy and emphasizes the basic Christian virtues: fidelity, nobility, sacrifice, obedience, the ability to love deeply.
Essay on the topic “mercy in the work “The Captain’s Daughter”
Probably everyone knows the aphorism “The human soul is dark,” and probably many will hasten to agree with its meaning. But really, what do we know about the soul of another person, we can only guess about the reasons for his actions and actions. Perhaps we evaluate their actions deviating from our own point of view on this matter. How many years have passed, and humanity still has not been able to find the key to the human soul. Maybe it's for the better. because this is how we have the opportunity to be real and alive, at least inside our thoughts.
There are a large number of values and knowledge that have changed over time. But there are also unchangeable things in our world; here I will include feelings. Each of us is their owner, this is the whole human essence. We constantly experience joy, pain, and remorse. They help us live and at the same time can ruin our destinies. But there are feelings that are not typical for some people. This happens due to the fact that they dull them in the bud. Here I can also include mercy, a quality that a small number of people possess. Mercy in our time seems unreal and very rare. It happens that an unpleasant-looking person, rude and sometimes angry, turns out to be merciful to others, and we will never be able to distinguish the person who possesses this quality. To be merciful means to help people and forgive their actions.
The theme of mercy is very broad, it has been discussed by poets and writers, artists have resorted to it, and musicians have composed songs about it. But, of course, writers described it more extensively and colorfully in their works. One of these was the well-known A.S. Pushkin, his works are always history and morality, which are intertwined with each other with an inseparable thread. In his story “The Captain's Daughter” he raises many problems, but one of the main ones remains the theme of mercy. He managed to reveal it in several characters at once, thereby showing what kind of people are capable of possessing this rare quality. The meeting between Grinev and Pugachov begins and ends with mercy. The first to show it is Pugachev, at that time still a tramp, he helps lost travelers get out of a natural trap. In gratitude to him, Grinev decides to give the man his sheepskin coat; here we also see glimpses of mercy, of which the good heart of the protagonist is capable. But as we know from the story, the story of these two does not end there. They will never run into each other again.
When Pugachev already begins his rebellion and gets to the fortress where Grinev serves, he commits an act not typical of robbers and murderers. Seeing his old acquaintance, he decides to have mercy on him and suffers a refusal to accept Pugachev’s greatness. and even though Grinev once helped Pugachev out, he is not a man of high morality and he does not have respect and a sense of duty. In this case, Pugachev shows mercy, which is not at all characteristic of his image, he lets the guy go. But Pugachev’s mercy does not end there. When Shvabrin encroaches on the honor of Maria Mironova, Pugachev himself personally snatches her from the hands of his ward and gives her to Grinev. He cannot forget the guy’s actions, because Grinev was able to see the soul in him, understand his feelings and fears.
Pushkin managed to show mercy in a formidable and ruthless killer. He made people understand that every person can have this quality, regardless of their appearance. Whether he is cruel or evil, mercy is a bright ray that buries love for people in his heart. It is very difficult to understand how another person lives, but there are things that immediately catch our eye. Mercy is a gift from God that every person should have. After all, it is not difficult to be kind and at times sacrifice oneself for the good of other people.
