One of the important secondary characters in A. S. Pushkin’s story “The Captain’s Daughter” is the young officer Shvabrin. This is a classic negative hero, in which the author has collected all imaginable vices. Mean, vindictive and unprincipled, Shvabrin appears in the work as an evil genius. The characterization of Shvabrin is necessary in order to more fully reveal the image of the main character, the young nobleman Pyotr Grinev. The author deliberately pits antagonistic characters in difficult life situations in order to demonstrate their characters and moral values.
a brief description of
Before reading this analysis, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the work The Captain's Daughter itself.
Full name : Alexey Ivanovich Shvabrin.
Age : young man, no older than 30 years.
Occupation : combat officer.
Family - not married.
Social status : nobleman.
Origin - comes from a noble noble family.
Upbringing is typical for noble families.
Education is typical for noble families.
Appearance - a short young man, dark, with an ugly but expressive face.
Character - smart, cunning, mean, vengeful, selfish, hot-tempered, cowardly.
Positive traits - smart, sophisticated, well-mannered and educated.
Negative traits - mean, calculating, vengeful, capable of betrayal.
The work is “The Captain's Daughter”.
Author - Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.
Quote characteristic
A description of Shvabrin with quotes will allow you to reveal his image, demonstrate not only his appearance, but also character traits, behavioral characteristics, and attitude to life.
Portrait
The artistic portrait of Shvabrin is based on the fact that he is a guards officer, a nobleman by birth.
"...young officer..."
Source: Chapter III
“...it was an officer discharged from the guard...”
Source: Chapter III
“...Alexey Ivanovich, of course, is a smart man, has a good family name, and has a fortune...”
Source: Chapter IV
The full name of the hero is Alexey Ivanovich Shvabrin.
“Shvabrin Alexey Ivanovich...”
Source: Chapter III
Shvabrin has been in the Belogorsk fortress for several years as punishment for a murder committed during a duel.
has been transferred to us for murder for five years now . God knows what sin befell him; As you can see, he went out of town with one lieutenant, and they took swords with them, and, well, they stabbed each other; and Alexey Ivanovich stabbed the lieutenant, and in front of two witnesses!”
Source: Chapter III
Appearance
Shvabrin is a young man.
"...young officer..."
Source: Chapter III
Alexey Ivanovich's appearance does not evoke a feeling of favor.
“...short in stature, with a dark and distinctly ugly face, but extremely lively ...”
Source: Chapter III
After Shvabrin swore allegiance to Pugachev, his hairstyle and clothes changed.
“...I saw among the rebel elders Shvabrin, with his hair cut in a circle and in a Cossack caftan ...”
Source: Chapter VII
“ He was dressed as a Cossack and grew a beard.”
Source: Chapter XII
Life's trials seriously affected the appearance of Shvabrin, who lost his former self-confidence.
“...and Shvabrin came in. I was amazed at his change. He was terribly thin and pale . His hair, recently jet black, was completely grey; his long beard was unkempt. He repeated his accusations in a weak but bold voice.”
Source: Chapter XIV
Character traits and actions
Shvabrin is a sophisticated nobleman, accustomed to communicating with people of his circle. Life in the Belogorsk fortress among uneducated soldiers is unbearable for him.
“Yesterday I learned about your arrival; The desire to finally see a human face took such hold of me that I could not stand it. You will understand this when you live here a little more time...”
Source: Chapter III
Alexey Ivanovich is distinguished not only by his natural intelligence, but also by his excellent sense of humor and wit.
“Shvabrin was not very stupid . His conversation was witty and entertaining. With great gaiety, he described to me the commandant’s family, his society and the region where fate had brought me. I laughed from the bottom of my heart..."
Source: Chapter III
“...he is such a mocker !..”
Source: Chapter IV
Shvabrin lacks any moral principles. He is ready to spread the most vile gossip about people.
“...to Ivan Ignatich, the crooked garrison lieutenant, about whom Shvabrin invented that he was in an impermissible relationship with Vasilisa Yegorovna, which did not have a shadow of credibility; but Shvabrin didn’t worry about that ...”
Source: Chapter IV
“...but hour by hour his conversation became less pleasant for me. I really didn’t like his constant jokes about the commandant’s family
Source: Chapter IV
Shvabrin is ready to throw mud at even Masha Mironova, whom he was going to marry. The reason for this is wounded pride.
“ Shvabrin’s shamelessness almost enraged me; but no one except me understood his crude innuendos..."
Source: Chapter IV
“I understood the persistent slander with which Shvabrin pursued her. He probably noticed our mutual inclination and tried to distract us from each other. The words that gave rise to our quarrel seemed even more vile to me when, instead of rude and obscene ridicule, I saw in them deliberate slander .”
Source: Chapter IV
“In his slander I saw the annoyance of offended pride ...”
Source: Chapter IV
Shvabrin is characterized by condescending behavior; he feels superior to all the inhabitants of the fortress.
“Shvabrin, usually condescending ...”
Source: Chapter IV
Grinev’s feelings towards Masha Mironova cause jealousy in Shvabrin, and at the same time a desire to take revenge, to prick, to hurt his opponent.
“Then he took the notebook from me and began to mercilessly analyze every verse and every word, mocking me in the most caustic way ...”
Source: Chapter IV
Shvabrin has a sense of self-esteem. At the same time, he is a vindictive and vindictive person.
“Shvabrin’s face changed. “ This won’t work out for you ,” he said, squeezing my hand. “You will give me satisfaction...”
Source: Chapter IV
“... you will answer me with your blood for your insolence...”
Source: Chapter IV
Shvabrin is a skilled swordsman.
“Shvabrin was more skillful than me, but I am stronger and braver... Shvabrin did not expect to find such a dangerous opponent in me...”
Source: Chapter IV
Fearing for his fate, Shvabrin apologizes to Grinev, whom he wounded in a duel. In fact, all his apologies were complete hypocrisy.
“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.”
Source: Chapter V
To save his own life, Shvabrin becomes a traitor and goes over to the side of Pugachev’s gang.
“...I saw among the rebellious elders Shvabrin , with his hair cut in a circle and wearing a Cossack caftan.”
Source: Chapter VII
“What is Shvabrin like, Alexey Ivanovich? After all, he cut his hair into a circle and now he’s feasting with them right there! Agile, nothing to say!
Source: Chapter VII
Shvabrin managed to gain the trust of Pugachev so much that he appointed him the new commandant of the fortress.
“Then he turned to the people and said, pointing to Shvabrin: “Here is a new commander for you, kids: obey him in everything, and he answers to me for you and for the fortress .”
Source: Chapter IX
Having gained full power into his own hands, Shvabrin becomes a real despot in relation to Marya, who is dependent on him. He keeps her in custody, feeds her meagerly, threatens her, and only so that the girl agrees to become his wife.
“I live in our house under guard. Alexey Ivanovich is forcing me to marry him . He says he saved my life..."
Source: Chapter X
“He treats me very cruelly and threatens that if I don’t come to my senses and agree, he will bring me to the camp to the villain.”
Source: Chapter X
“Shvabrin is guilty,” I answered. “He is holding in captivity that girl you saw, sick, at the priest’s house, and he wants to forcefully marry her.”
Source: Chapter XI
Shvabrin is an experienced liar and hypocrite.
“You're lying, you bastard! “I cried in rage, “you are lying in the most shameless way .”
Source: Chapter IV
“The traitor helped Pugachev to get out of the wagon, expressing his joy and zeal in vile terms.”
Source: Chapter XII
For all his arrogance, Shvabrin is a cowardly man who, in order to save his own life, is ready to endure humiliations unimaginable for a nobleman.
“He didn’t seem himself. With his usual intelligence, he, of course, guessed that Pugachev was dissatisfied with him. He cowered in front of him and looked at me with distrust.”
Source: Chapter XII
“Shvabrin fell to his knees... At that moment, contempt drowned out all feelings of hatred and anger in me. I looked with disgust at the nobleman lying at the feet of the runaway Cossack.”
Source: Chapter XII
Upbringing
Being a hereditary nobleman, Shvabrin received a good education. He speaks fluent French, is polite, and knows the rules of etiquette.
“Excuse me,” he said to me in French , “for coming to meet you without ceremony.”
Source: Chapter III
“Shvabrin had several French books...”
Source: Chapter IV
Shvabrin is well versed in poetry and has a delicate taste. It is to him that Pyotr Grinev brings his poems to court.
“... having rewritten my song, I took it to Shvabrin, who alone in the entire fortress could appreciate the works of the poet ...”
Source: Chapter IV
Enemy for one's own state
For Shvabrin, the concept of honor and duty to the homeland does not exist.
When Pugachev captured the fortress, he went over to the side of the rebels. The traitor looks at all the atrocities committed by Pugachev’s gang without a drop of regret. Shvabrin occupies the place that belonged to the father of Maria Mironova. He keeps Masha locked up on bread and water and threatens her with violence. When the leader of the peasant war demands to release the girl, Shvabrin will tell whose daughter she is, putting at great risk the one to whom he recently declared his love. This proves that sincere feelings are alien to him.
Even after a while, when fate separates him from Grinev, the traitor to his homeland will remember him in order to stab him in the back again. He will accuse Peter of aiding Pugachev when he himself is tried for all his misdeeds.
Alexey Shvabrin is one of the heroes of the story “The Captain's Daughter”. This young officer was exiled to the Belogorsk fortress for a duel in which Shvabrin’s opponent was killed. When Shvabrin meets Grinev, one notices that Alexey treats the inhabitants of the fortress with contempt and arrogance. Shvabrin gets closer to Grinev in order to “finally see a human face.”
However, it is not only arrogance that determines the character of this hero. The author characterizes Shvabrin as a cynical empty person, capable of slandering a girl only because she refused to reciprocate his feelings. Shvabrin commits a number of vile acts that characterize him as a low person, capable of treason, cowardice, and betrayal. Grinev and Shvabrin arrange a duel over the commandant's daughter, and, taking advantage of Grinev's inattention, Shvabrin wounds him.
The list of Alexei’s further actions is crowned by the scenes of the assault and capture of the Belogorsk fortress. Realizing that the siege of a poorly fortified fortress could not be withstood, Shvabrin went over to Pugachev’s side. When the false emperor holds court, sitting on the porch of the commandant's house, Shvabrin finds himself among the rebel elders. In order to save his life, Shvabrin grovels before Pugachev. In truth, Alexei’s fate is unenviable: he is doomed to forever remain a stranger among his own, a friend among strangers. Probably, Shvabrin simply tried to forget about such important concepts for a Russian officer as duty to the fatherland, honor and loyalty to the oath. Here is one example of the behavior of a traitor: “Shvabrin fell to his knees... At that moment, contempt drowned out all feelings of hatred and anger in me. I looked with disgust at the nobleman lying at the feet of the runaway Cossack.”
Through torture and hunger, Shvabrin tried to force Masha to become his wife. This episode is resolved safely thanks to the intervention of Pugachev himself. Alexey Shvabrin remains one of the most striking images of a traitor in Russian literature. Pushkin was very interested in the topic of betrayal. It is not for nothing that the hero of his other famous historical work - the poem "Poltava" - is the rebellious hetman Ivan Mazepa, who committed treason against Peter the Great. However, Alexey Shvabrin is, first and foremost, the embodiment of a petty traitor. From the history of the Pugachev era, it is known that officers often went over to the side of the rebels. After Pugachev's defeat, the trial of such people was merciless and harsh.
Betrayal comes in many forms. Common to all types of betrayal is the abuse of another person's trust. Alexey Shvabrin betrayed his homeland, his beloved girl, his friend, and all the inhabitants of the Belogorsk fortress. This is quite enough to be tormented by pangs of conscience for the rest of your life. Did Alexey Shvabrin, this low and two-minded hero who found himself between the integral and self-loyal characters in the story “The Captain's Daughter”, experience them?
Shvabrin is given as the direct opposite of Grinev. He is more educated, maybe even smarter than Grinev. But there is no kindness, no nobility, no sense of honor and duty in him. His transfer to the service of Pugachev was caused not by high ideological motives, but by low selfish interests. The attitude of the author of the “notes” and the writer towards him is completely clear, and in the reader he evokes a feeling of contempt and indignation. In the composition of the novel, Shvabrin plays an important and very traditional (see, for example, the novels of V. Scott) role of the antagonist of the hero in love and in public life; without him, the storyline of Grinev and Masha would be difficult to construct. In addition, the image of Shvabrin is a kind of censorship “barrier” for Grinev, as if separated from his image during the work on the novel (at first there was one hero). Under his “cover” it was easier to write about Grinev, who sometimes admired Pugachev.
Alexey Ivanovich Shvabrin is not only a negative character, but also the opposite of Pyotr Andreevich Grinev, the narrator on whose behalf the narration in “The Captain's Daughter” is told. Grinev and Shvabrin are not the only characters in the story who are in one way or another compared to each other: similar “pairs” are formed by almost all the main characters of the work: Empress Catherine - false emperor Pugachev, Masha Mironova - her mother Vasilisa Egorovna - which allows us to say about comparison as one of the most important compositional techniques used by the author in the story. It is interesting, however, that not all of the named heroes are absolutely opposed to each other. Thus, Masha Mironova, rather, is compared with her mother and displays as much devotion to her chosen one and courage in the fight for him as captain Mironova, who was not afraid of the villains and accepted death with her husband. The contrast between the “couple” Ekaterina and Pugachev is not as clear as it seems at first glance. These hostile and warring characters have many similar traits and similar actions. Both are capable of cruelty and of showing mercy and justice. In the name of Catherine, supporters of Pugachev (a mutilated Bashkir with his tongue cut out) are brutally persecuted and brutally tortured, and Pugachev commits atrocities and executions together with his comrades. On the other hand, both Pugachev and Ekaterina show mercy towards Grinev, saving him and Marya Ivanovna from trouble and ultimately arranging their happiness. And only between Grinev and Shvabrin nothing but antagonism is revealed. It is already indicated in the names with which the author calls his heroes. Grinev bears the name Peter, he is the namesake of the great emperor, for whom Pushkin, of course, had the most enthusiastic feelings. Shvabrin is given the name of the traitor to his father’s cause, Tsarevich Alexei. This, of course, does not mean at all that every character in Pushkin’s work who bears one of these names should be correlated in the reader’s mind with the named historical figures. But in the context of the story, where the problem of honor and dishonor, devotion and betrayal is so important, such a coincidence seems no coincidence. It is known how seriously Pushkin took the concept of family noble honor, what is commonly called roots. It is no coincidence, of course, that this is why the story tells in such detail and detail about the childhood of Petrusha Grinev, about his family, in which the traditions of centuries-old noble upbringing are sacredly preserved. And even though these “habits of dear old times” are described not without irony, it is obvious that the author’s irony is full of warmth and understanding. And in the end, it was the thought of the impossibility of disgracing the honor of the clan and family that did not allow Grinev to commit betrayal against his beloved girl and violate the officer’s oath. Shvabrin is a man without a family, without a tribe. We know nothing about his origin, about his parents. Nothing is said about his childhood or upbringing. He doesn’t seem to have that spiritual and moral baggage behind him. who supports Grinev. Apparently, no one gave Shvabrin the simple and wise instruction: “Take care of your honor from a young age.” And therefore he easily neglects it to save his own life and simply for his personal well-being. At the same time, we note that Shvabrin is an avid duelist: it is known that he was transferred to the Belogorsk fortress for some kind of “villainy,” probably for a duel. He challenges Grinev to a duel, and in a situation where he himself is entirely to blame: he insulted Maria Ivanovna, vilely slandering her in front of the lover Pyotr Andreevich. It is important that none of the honest heroes approve of duels in the story: not Captain Mironov, who reminded Grinev. that “fights are formally prohibited in the military article.” neither Vasilisa Yegorovna, who considered them “murder” and “murder,” nor Savelich. Grinev accepts the challenge, defending the honor of his beloved girl. Shvabrin - because he was rightly called a liar and a scoundrel. This is the last time we see Shvabrin. when he, arrested for his connection with Pugachev, shackled in chains, makes a last attempt to slander and destroy Grinev. He had changed greatly in appearance: “his hair, recently black as pitch, had completely turned grey,” but his soul was still black: he pronounced his accusations, albeit in a “weak but bold voice” - so great was his anger and hatred of his opponent’s happiness. Shvabrin will end his life as ingloriously as he lived: loved by no one and loved by no one, serving no one and nothing, but only adapting all his life. He was like a tumbleweed, a plant without a root, a man without a clan, without a tribe, he did not live, but rolled down until he fell into the abyss...
The story “The Captain's Daughter” can be considered one of the pinnacle works of A. S. Pushkin, written in prose. More than once, even the author of this work himself said that it is historical, since it is based on peasant uprisings led by Pugachev. The author managed to recreate the atmosphere that was characteristic of those times. He amazingly portrayed the characters of the main characters and ordinary people who lived in that difficult time.
The work is a kind of narrative, which is told on behalf of the main character - P. Grinev. He became a witness and participant in all the events described by the author. But the work would be incomplete if there were no place in it for a hero who is the complete opposite of Grinev. We are, of course, talking about Shvabrin. With its help, the author managed to make the plot of the story more vivid and exciting. This is probably why the image of Shvabrin and Grinev are considered only together. But in this review we should take a closer look at the main anti-hero of the story.
Characterization of Shvabrin by other heroes
Grinev
At the very beginning of their acquaintance, Grinev admires Shvabrin’s intelligence, intelligence and sense of humor.
“Shvabrin was not very stupid . His conversation was witty and entertaining . With great gaiety, he described to me the commandant’s family, his society and the region where fate had brought me. I laughed from the bottom of my heart..."
Source: Chapter III
Grinev is deeply outraged by Shvabrin’s shameless jokes and barbs towards Marya Mironova.
“...but hour by hour his conversation became less pleasant for me. I really didn’t like his constant jokes about the commandant’s family, especially his caustic remarks about Marya Ivanovna .”
Source: Chapter IV
“ Shvabrin’s shamelessness almost enraged me; but no one except me understood his crude innuendos..."
Source: Chapter IV
“... “And because,” he answered with a hellish grin, “I know her character and customs from experience.
- You're lying, you bastard! “I cried in rage, “ you are lying in the most shameless way .
Source: Chapter IV
Shvabrin is a vile person. It was he who wrote a letter to Peter’s parents, in which he told them about the duel that had taken place.
“My suspicions settled on Shvabrin. He alone had the benefit of denunciation , the consequence of which could have been my removal from the fortress and a break with the commandant’s family.”
Source: Chapter V
Shvabrin is used to being a hypocrite. Instead of openly expressing all his complaints to Peter, he secretly hates him.
“I met Shvabrin rarely and reluctantly, especially since I noticed in him a hidden hostility towards himself...”
Source: Chapter V
Grinev, who was already well aware of the vileness of Shvabrin’s personality, was concerned about his appointment to the post of commandant of the fortress. From now on, Masha was in the hands of a scoundrel, from whom one could expect anything.
“With horror I heard these words: Shvabrin became the commander of the fortress; Marya Ivanovna remained in his power! God, what will happen to her!
Source: Chapter IX
“Shvabrin, Shvabrin tormented my imagination most of all. Invested with power from the impostor, leading the fortress where the unfortunate girl remained - the innocent object of his hatred, he could decide on anything.”
Source: Chapter IX
In the eyes of Grinev, Shvabrin sinks to the very bottom when on his knees he asks for mercy from the leader of the rebel Cossacks.
“Shvabrin fell to his knees... At that moment, contempt drowned out all feelings of hatred and anger in me. I looked with disgust at the nobleman lying at the feet of the runaway Cossack.”
Source: Chapter XII
At the trial, Shvabrin acted as the prosecutor of Pyotr Grinev. However, he could not celebrate the victory over his opponent - life’s trials did not affect him in the best way.
“...I quickly turned to the door, waiting for my accuser to appear. A few minutes later the chains rattled, the doors opened, and Shvabrin walked in. I was amazed at his change. He was terribly thin and pale. His hair, recently jet black, was completely grey; his long beard was unkempt. He repeated his accusations in a weak but bold voice.”
Source: Chapter XIV
Detailed characteristics of Grinev.
Masha Mironova
Masha Mironova considers Shvabrin a mocker and does not see any positive traits in him.
“...he is such a mocker! I don't like Alexey Ivanovich. He is very disgusting to me..."
Source: Chapter IV
Shvabrin is so unpleasant to Masha Mironova that she talks about him with disgust. Most of all, the girl is afraid of becoming his wife, although Shvabrin is considered an eligible groom.
“What do you think, Marya Ivanovna? Does he like you or not?
Marya Ivanovna stuttered and blushed.
“I think,” she said, “I think I like you.”
- Why do you think so?
“Because he wooed me.”
Source: Chapter IV
“Alexei Ivanovich, of course, is a smart man, and has a good family name, and has a fortune ; but when I think that it will be necessary to kiss him under the aisle in front of everyone... No way! not for any well-being!”
Source: Chapter IV
Shvabrin is a vile person who, taking advantage of Masha Mironova’s defenselessness, forces her into marriage by all available means.
“I live in our house under guard. Alexey Ivanovich is forcing me to marry him . He says he saved my life..."
Source: Chapter X
“But it would be easier for me to die than to become the wife of such a man as Alexey Ivanovich. He treats me very cruelly and threatens, if I don’t come to my senses and agree, he will bring me to the camp to the villain...”
Source: Chapter X
Detailed description of Masha Mironova.
General
The general knows very well what a vile person Shvabrin is, and does not intend to give him any more chances to improve.
“Oh, this great Shvabrin Schelm {rogue. (German)}, and if he falls into my hands, then I will order him to be tried within 24 hours, and we will shoot him on the parapet of the fortress ... "
Source: Chapter X
Origin and occupation of Shvabrin
Alexey Ivanovich Shvabrin is a man of aristocratic origin. His family was rich and influential in aristocratic circles.
Alexey Ivanovich, like all nobles, received a good education, he knew several foreign languages and was distinguished by an extraordinary mind.
We invite you to read the poem by A.S. Pushkin “Eugene Onegin”
Like most young people, Shvabrin chose a military career. Alexey Ivanovich began his military path in the elite troops - in the guard. At first his service was not difficult, but Alexei Ivanovich’s recklessness ruined everything.
Despite the ban on dueling, Shvabrin still disregards the official ban. The duel ended quite successfully for him, which cannot be said about his opponent, the lieutenant. The wound he received led to his death. The fact of the duel became known and Shvabrin, as punishment, was sent to the Belogorodskaya fortress, where he served for about five years: “God knows what sin befell him; As you can see, he went out of town with one lieutenant, and they took swords with them, and, well, they stabbed each other; and Alexey Ivanovich stabbed the lieutenant, and in front of two witnesses.”
Shvabrin's appearance
Alexey Ivanovich did not have a pleasant appearance - he was short, his face was absolutely ugly, it was difficult to identify any pleasant facial features, his face was distinguished by facial liveliness, which was even more repulsive. His skin was dark in color, matching his hair. His hair was perhaps one of the few things that was attractive about Shvabrin - it was deep black and framed his face beautifully.
After Pugachev captured the fortress, Shvabrin’s appearance changed significantly - he changed his usual suit to Cossack clothes, and grew a beard.
The arrest by the official authorities also affected his appearance - his once beautiful hair turned gray, and his beard became matted and lost its attractiveness. “He was terribly thin and pale. His hair, recently jet black, was completely grey; his long beard was disheveled.”
In general, his appearance corresponded to a man awaiting sentencing - he was depressed and discouraged.
Characteristics of personal qualities
Alexey Ivanovich had an extremely hot temper, which repeatedly became the cause of his misfortunes. Intemperance towards the lieutenant deprived him of the opportunity to serve carefree in the elite troops. His temper towards Grinev became the reason for going over to the side of the rebels and, as a consequence, hard labor.
In general, Shvabrin is not a stupid person, he is endowed with intelligence and ingenuity, but in moments of emotional instability, his mental abilities fade into the background - emotions decide everything. “Shvabrin was not very stupid. His conversation was sharp and entertaining.”
Alexey Ivanovich is a dishonest person. His habits include deceiving people and slander. Sometimes he does this out of boredom, sometimes to gain some personal benefit.
One way or another, this pushes those around him away from Shvabrin - no one wants to communicate with a daring and insidious person.
Shvabrin and Grinev
Grinev's appearance in the fortress brought some revival to her sleepy and boring life. There weren't that many employees here, so there were no problems choosing a company to hang out with. Grinev says about Shvabrin: “I really didn’t like his constant jokes about the commandant’s family, especially his caustic remarks about Marya Ivanovna. There was no other society in the fortress, but I didn’t want anything else.” The noble and kind Grinev managed to win over everyone in the fortress, in particular the commandant’s daughter, Masha. Eaten by jealousy, Shvabrin challenges the young opponent to a duel. Shvabrin was practically convinced of his victory - he believed that a person of Grinev’s age could not have exceptional fencing abilities, but it turned out to be the opposite - an accident decided the course of the fight -
Unable to get rid of his opponent in a duel, Shvabrin resorts to deceit. He writes an anonymous letter to Grinev's father about the events that took place. Alexey Ivanovich hopes that the angry father will take his son from the fortress and the path to his beloved Masha will again be clear, but this does not happen. Shvabrin had to hide and wait for a more suitable opportunity.
After some time, such an opportunity arose - after the arrests of the participants in the uprising, to which Alexei Ivanovich belonged, legal proceedings began. It is here that Shvabrin recalls his long-standing grudge against Grinev and attributes to him a game on two fronts. However, this time Shvabrin’s hopes were not realized: thanks to Masha, Grinev was pardoned by the empress.
Shvabrin and Marya Ivanovna Mironova
Alexey Ivanovich Shvabrin was by nature an amorous person. Once in the fortress, he immediately noticed a pretty girl - the daughter of the commandant of the fortress. Marya Ivanovna was not exceptionally beautiful; she was unlikely to be able to compete with the first beauties, but she still had pleasant facial features. Over time, Alexey Ivanovich begins to show interest in the girl. It seems to him that even if he does not arouse Marya’s sympathy, then her parents will convince the girl to reciprocate - the Shvabrin family is wealthy, and the Mironovs eke out a miserable existence on the brink of poverty.
Most likely, Shvabrin does not truly love the girl - for him it is a game, entertainment. Marya realizes this and therefore avoids the dishonest and unattractive man, which causes indignation and irritation in Shvabrin. The appearance of Grinev in the fortress further strained the relationship between Alexei Ivanovich and Maria Ivanovna. Mironova falls in love with a sweet and kind young man, and Shvabrin is unable to rejoice at their mutual feeling, and all the time tries to find a way to defend his illusory right to the girl’s love. Shvabrin's attempts do not lead to anything good: Masha only becomes more convinced of his dishonesty and hypocrisy.
After the fortress is captured by the rebels, Shvabrin locks the girl up and starves her - he hopes that in this way he can break her and get what he wants, but Marya is helped to escape, and Alexey Ivanovich is left with nothing.
Shvabrin and Pugachev
Shvabrin's transition to the side of the rebels seems illogical and absurd. For him, as a representative of the aristocracy, a rich and wealthy person, supporting the rebellion is absolutely unnecessary and unjustifiably risky.
The first objective thought that explains such an act is fear for one’s life. Pugachev and the rebels are very categorical with people who do not want to serve them, but, as further developments show, Shvabrin was not only motivated by the desire to stay alive. Shvabrin was disdainful of other people's lives, but was in no hurry to part with his own. Seeing how decisively the rebels deal with the rebellious, Shvabrin takes an oath to faithfully serve Pugachev.
He faithfully serves him and his cause - he cuts his hair in the Cossack manner and dresses in Cossack clothes. Shvabrin behaves freely and uninhibitedly in company with the rebels; he has become so accustomed to the role that it is difficult to recognize him as an aristocrat.
It is likely that Shvabrin’s behavior was just a game for the public - it is unlikely that a person like Alexei Ivanovich truly shared the views and desires of Pugachev.
On our website you can read the poem “Eugene Onegin” by A. S. Pushkin.
The image of Shvabrin did not inspire much confidence in Pugachev - Alexey Ivanovich was a traitor who went over to his side. The fact of betrayal should have alerted Pugachev and cast doubt on the sincerity of his intentions, but, in spite of everything, Pugachev makes Shvabrin the new commander of the fortress; it is likely that this choice was influenced by Shvabrin’s military past.
Thus, the negative image of Shvabrin becomes the background for displaying the actions and characteristics of other characters. A.S. Pushkin uses contrast to achieve a vivid portrayal of the importance of morality and integrity. Alexey Ivanovich Shvabrin was always a dishonest, greedy person and as a result suffered for his temper, anger and self-interest - for his involvement in the activities of the rebels he was sent to hard labor.
The image and characteristics of Shvabrin in the novel “The Captain's Daughter” by Pushkin: description of appearance and character in quotes
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CAPTAIN'S DAUGHTER
Shvabrin Alexey Ivanovich
- nobleman, antagonist of the main character of Grinev’s story. Having conceived a novel (story) from the era of the Pugachev rebellion, connected by the genre tradition with the “Scottish novels” of W. Scott, where the hero finds himself between two camps, “rebels” and “conquerors,” Pushkin at first hesitated who to put at the center of the narrative. Or, as was the case in Dubrovsky, a nobleman who went over to the side of the peasants (here the prototype could be the Pugachevo nobleman Shvanvich). Or a Pugachev prisoner who managed to escape. In the end, Pushkin seemed to “divide” the historical hero in two, distributing him into two plot roles. One of them went to Grinev, the other to Sh. (in whose surname one can clearly hear echoes of the surnames of Shvanvich and Basharin).
Sh. is dark, ugly, animated; serves in the Belogorsk fortress for the fifth year; transferred here for “murder” (stabbed a lieutenant to death in a duel). In itself, this biographical detail does not mean anything; just as Sh.’s contempt does not mean anything (during the first meeting with Grinev, he describes the Belogorsk people very mockingly). All these are typical features of the novel's image of a young officer; for the time being, does not fall out of the traditional scheme; What is unusual for this type of literary hero is only his “intellectuality” (Sh. is undoubtedly smarter than Grinev; he was even associated with V.K. Trediyakovsky). Even when he speaks caustically about the poems of the lover Grinev, this corresponds to the stereotype and does not make the reader wary. Only when he, with a “hellish grin,” invites Grinev to give his beloved, the daughter of the local commandant Marya Ivanovna, instead of a love song earrings (“I know her character and customs from experience”), does this suggest his spiritual dishonor. It soon becomes known that Sh. once wooed Marya Ivanovna and was refused (which means that his reviews of her as a complete fool are revenge; a nobleman who takes revenge on a woman is a scoundrel).
And then the “ready-made” image of Sh. does not develop, but is consistently revealed in a given direction. During a duel, to which Grinev challenges him, offended by the review of Masha, Sh. strikes with a sword at the moment when the enemy looks back at the unexpected call of the servant (that is, informally stops the fight). Formally, this is a blow to the chest, but essentially it is a blow to the back of an opponent who is not going to run - that is, a sneaky blow. Then the reader has the most serious reasons to suspect Sh. of secretly denouncing Grinev’s parents about the fight (due to which the father forbids his son to even think about marriage with Marya Ivanovna). The complete loss of ideas about honor also predetermines the social betrayal of Sh. As soon as the fortress goes to Pugachev, he goes over to the side of the rebels, becomes one of their commanders and by force tries to persuade Masha, who lives under the guise of a niece with the local priest, to an alliance. The climax of the “Shvabrin” plot line is the scene when an angry Pugachev appears in the fortress, having learned from Grinev that III. holds the girl: the nobleman is lying at the feet of the fugitive Cossack. Meanness turns into shame.
Sh. ends by saying that, having fallen into the hands of government troops, he points to Grinev as a traitorous Pugachevite; Only the innocence of the main character prevents you from guessing that III. he keeps silent about Marya Ivanovna during interrogation only because he is afraid of her testimony in favor of Grinev, and not because he wants to protect her from trouble. (Nothing prevented Sh., in a moment of personal danger, from revealing her secret to Pugachev and putting both the daughter of the hanged commandant and the priest who hid the noblewoman under mortal blow.)
Portraying such a “motionless” hero (despite the importance of his figure, shading and balancing the image of Grinev) is uninteresting. Therefore, Pushkin often resorts to the technique of indirect narration: Sh. himself remains outside the scope of the story, and the reader learns about him from the conversations of other characters.
Everything was mixed up in Alexander Pushkin’s historical novel “The Captain’s Daughter” - honesty, nobility, betrayal, meanness, love. And the Pugachev rebellion, which formed the basis of the work, turned out to be a real test for the main characters - Pyotr Grinev and Alexei Shvabrin.
Life's difficulties affect people differently: some are strengthened, others are broken - it all depends on the strength of character, upbringing, and moral principles.
Biography
Alexey Ivanovich Shvabrin is a young Russian officer. He served in the elite guard troops, but due to his hot temper he was forced to leave them. Shvabrin's brilliant military career was ruined after he killed a man in a duel. As punishment, the officer was exiled to the Belogorsk fortress, where at the time of the story he had been staying for five years in the company of poorly educated garrison soldiers.
Shvabrin is a representative of a noble noble family. He is smart, eloquent, well-mannered and educated. That is why Shvabrin quickly found a common language with Pyotr Grinev, who was his equal in everything.
Garrison boredom was the reason that Shvabrin decided to propose to the young daughter of Captain Mironov. Accustomed to easy victories in the world, he was deeply offended by Masha’s refusal. As revenge, he began to spread the dirtiest gossip about the girl.
Grinev, having learned about Shvabrin’s meanness, did not remain silent. The young people agreed on a duel, in which they turned out to be opponents of equal strength. It was only due to an unfortunate accident that Grinev was wounded in the shoulder. Not wanting to once again become the hero of a scandal, Shvabrin was forced to apologize to his hated rival.
During the capture of the Belogorsk fortress, Shvabrin showed cowardice and swore allegiance to Pugachev. After the execution of Captain Mironov, he was declared the new commandant of the fortress. Masha Mironova was in his power, whom he treated very cruelly, forcing her into marriage. By this act, Shvabrin undermined the trust of Pugachev, who wanted to hang him for mocking a defenseless orphan.
As a result, Shvabrin, who experienced many hardships during the riot, ended up in prison with Grinev. Out of a sense of revenge, he slandered his long-time enemy, but he himself ended his days very badly - for aiding the robbers he faced execution or lifelong exile.
Characteristics of the hero
Shvabrin acts as the antagonist of the main character - Grinev. And in everything. Grinev is poorly educated - Shvabrin is well educated. Grinev is conscientious and rather modest, Shvabrin seeks profit in everything and is daring. Grinev, without a drop of doubt, is faithful to his word and oath, even at the cost of his life. Shvabrin thinks only about himself and is ready to sell or buy even his homeland, even love, and for the sake of his own life he will commit any meanness and crime.
You can judge Shvabrin by his first words spoken to Grinev at the meeting: “Yesterday I learned about your arrival; the desire to finally see a human face
took possession of me so much that I could not stand it...” In two words, Alexey Ivanovich expresses his attitude towards the inhabitants of the Belogorsk fortress and at the same time characterizes himself: a noble, strong man, with a really deep mind, will never call everyone around him animals, but himself a man. He is possessed by a petty demon of pride, but his pride is very cheap, it is a vulgar counterfeit of honor and aristocracy.
This is confirmed further when Shvabrin takes revenge on Masha Mironova for refusing matchmaking and denigrates her in the eyes of Grinev: “... if you want Masha Mironova to come to you at dusk, then instead of tender poems, give her a pair of earrings.” His lies are monstrously disgusting, because Masha is an example of modesty, purity and fidelity.
As the story progresses, the character of the hero does not change, only exacerbating the properties already known to us. Shvabrin wounds Grinev in a duel at the moment when Peter turns to Savelich’s cry. Then he informs Grinev’s father about the duel, for which Peter falls into severe disgrace with his parent: the priest is determined to transfer Peter to an even greater wilderness. Next, Shvabrin swears allegiance to Pugachev and it turns out that he was in preliminary correspondence with the “robber” in order to save his life in the event of the capture of the fortress.
Shvabrin tries to take possession of Masha by force, locks her in a closet “for bread and water.” When this attempt fails, Shvabrin tells Pugachev that Masha is actually the daughter of Captain Mironov and should either be executed or imprisoned.
Such a desperate “parade of baseness” and dishonor may seem far-fetched. Doesn't realism teach us that there is both good and bad in everyone? But Pushkin, as if in spite of reality, ends Shvabrin’s fate with the main betrayal: Shvabrin writes a denunciation to the government against Grinev.
Shvabrin's image
In the story “The Captain's Daughter,” Alexey Ivanovich Shvabrin is the antagonist of Pyotr Grinev. In this image the author put the worst qualities that can be found in a person.
Despite his noble origin, refined upbringing and excellent education, Shvabrin is a vile, petty, selfish person, capable of achieving his goal using the dirtiest means.
Shvabrin demonstrates his own superiority in every possible way and treats even Grinev and the Mironovs with poorly concealed contempt. He doesn’t know what true friendship, spiritual affection, love is. Wounded pride pushes the hero to outright meanness towards Masha, who flatly refused to marry him.
But Shvabrin’s vile nature is most clearly revealed during the capture of the Belogorsk fortress. An officer and a nobleman, he forgets about honor and dignity when he swears allegiance to the ruthless robber Pugachev. Shvabrin is ready to fight on the side of the rebel, just to save his own life. Pursuing selfish interests, he violates all conceivable moral laws and thereby dooms himself to inevitable fair punishment.
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Summary of “The Captain's Daughter”
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Reader's diary "The Captain's Daughter"
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The author’s attitude to the image that was revealed in the person of Shvabrin
Alexey Ivanovich Shvabrin, devoid of any moral principles, is shown in the story as a guards officer corrupted by intrigues and conspiracies, court morals. He despised domestic reality quite strongly and even spoke exclusively French. But Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin did not deprive the image of Shvabrin in the story “The Captain's Daughter” of positive qualities. The author endowed him with a sharp mind, resourcefulness and good education.
The author shows a negative attitude towards this hero. If you look at his assessment, you can say with great accuracy that it is quite negative. This can be seen at least in the fact that in the story he is mentioned only by his last name. Also, in some places in the work only the initials of this antihero are indicated.
Conclusion
A minor character in A. S. Pushkin’s story “The Captain’s Daughter” Shvabrin plays a great role in the work. It is thanks to him that the relationship between Grinev and Masha Mironova develops: because of Shvabrin’s meanness, the lovers are forced to constantly overcome life’s obstacles, but their feeling only grows stronger from this.
The role of the hero is to demonstrate against his background the high moral qualities of Pyotr Grinev, based on ideas about duty, honor, and dignity. The quotation description of Shvabrin will allow you to better prepare for a literature lesson in the 8th grade, briefly describe the character, write an essay or report on a given topic.
The collected material, which includes quotes from the text, allows you to independently characterize the character according to plan, help you compose a detailed written work or write an essay on a given topic.
On the pages of the novel, Alexey Shvabrin appears not only as the antipode of Pyotr Grinev, but also as the anti-standard of behavior of a nobleman. All the base qualities of a person are manifested in him as an example of how unnecessary and unworthy a natural nobleman should behave. Since the presence of the author in the text merges with the consciousness of the hero-narrator, Alexey Shvabrin is only part of the picture of the world that appears before the eyes of Pyotr Grinev in all its diversity of types and characters. Shvabrin is a certain type of nobleman who exhibits an unworthy example of behavior; This is a nobleman formally (by class), but not by spirit and moral principles. Actually, there are absolutely no principles in it. The main feature of his personality becomes only one quality - meanness, which manifests itself in everything, including speech behavior. It should be noted that in the context of a speech portrait, extralinguistic (non-verbal) characteristics are also important to us, such as facial expressions, intonation (prosody), pauses, gestures of characters, etc. They also add additional features to the description of a linguistic personality, reflect her relationship with the world and her sense of herself in the world.
The first mention of Alexei Shvabrin’s stay in the Belogorsk fortress appears in Chapter III of the story. From the words of Vasilisa Egorovna, we learn that the reason for his transfer here is extremely unseemly: “Aleksey Ivanovich Shvabrin has been transferred to us for murder for the fifth year now. God knows what sin befell him; As you can see, he went out of town with one lieutenant, and they took swords with them, and, well, they stabbed each other; and Alexey Ivanovich stabbed the lieutenant, and in front of two witnesses! What do you want me to do? There is no master of sin” [Pushkin, 1987, p. 247-248]. From the lips of Vasilisa Yegorovna there is already a negative assessment: the commandant is pious and simple, hence the abundance in her speech of folk proverbs and sayings (“There is no master for sin”) and religious evaluative vocabulary (“God knows him,” “sin has beguiled”) . In addition, murder itself is implicitly defined as a mortal sin. Such an intratextual presentation of the new hero from “other people’s” words prepares the reader for the perception of his image: there is a bad rumor following Shvabrin.
The first speech situation in which Grinev and Shvabrin collide coincides with the moment of their personal acquaintance. It is also very remarkable in terms of the speech characteristics of Alexei Shvabrin: “The next morning I had just begun to get dressed when the door opened, and a young officer of short stature, with a dark and distinctly ugly face, but extremely lively, came in to see me. “Excuse me,” he told me in French, “for coming to meet you without ceremony. Yesterday I learned about your arrival; The desire to finally see a human face took such hold of me that I could not stand it. You will understand this when you live here some more time.” I guessed that it was an officer who had been discharged from the Guards for the duel. We met immediately. Shvabrin was not very stupid. His conversation was witty and entertaining. With great gaiety, he described to me the commandant’s family, his society and the region where fate had brought me. I was laughing from the bottom of my heart when the same invalid who was mending his uniform in the commandant’s front room came in and called me to dine with them on behalf of Vasilisa Yegorovna. Shvabrin volunteered to go with me” [Pushkin, 1987, p. 248 - 249].
What immediately attracts attention is that Shvabrin speaks French. He, of course, speaks Russian perfectly like any native speaker, but in this case the use of a foreign language as the main spoken language indicates that he is doing this demonstratively: he wants to emphasize that in spirit he is not involved in everything Russian. Of course, taking into account the cultural context of that era, we remember that among the nobility there was a passion for foreign languages (most of all, French), and fluency in them was considered a sign of good taste and a mandatory attribute of a good noble education. However, communication in French presupposed the presence of a certain speech situation. The language presupposed the appropriateness of use - it was used to communicate at social events or when conducting an intellectual conversation. Otherwise, the passion for everything foreign turned into mania - into gallomania. Excessive admiration for everything French was a sign of bad taste and subservience to foreign culture. This is what happens to Shvabrin. Before us is a typical gallomaniac. Firstly, using French is not only posing, but also a conscious desire to express contempt for one’s native language through speech. Secondly, the speech situation of acquaintance is everyday, everyday, and therefore the use of French here is inappropriate and stupid. Thirdly, in this way, Shvabrin wants to demonstrate to his interlocutor that he does not belong to the circle of Vasilisa Yegorovna and Ivan Kuzmich, whom he considers unequal to himself. The latter, as you know, belong to the category of very poor nobles - immigrants from former soldiers. This tells us that their nobility is not a pillar one, but was granted to them for some special services to the Fatherland. This practice was common since the reign of Peter I. Their poverty is evidenced by the fact that they had only one serf soul as servants.
The further development of Shvabrin’s greeting phrase only strengthens the opinion of his disrespectful and arrogant attitude towards the local inhabitants. He imagines himself higher, better, more educated than them; and them - an unworthy environment for themselves. Another amazing feature of “The Captain’s Daughter” is that Pushkin can convey everything in a laconic manner: we have just one remark from the hero, but how much we learn through it. It reflects all the qualities of Shvabrin’s character. He characterizes himself and seems to understand his true nature: “Excuse me... that I unceremoniously come to meet you.”
"Without ceremony" is the same as 'unceremoniously'. Unceremoniousness, impudence, arrogance, impoliteness are another of Shvabrin’s traits. His speech shows snobbery and emphasized disrespect, which is manifested in the intonation and semantic structure, in the intention of the statement, such as:
- “the desire to finally see a human face has so mastered me” - the range of meanings is constructed using the “by contradiction” method: it is implied that everyone else “has an inhuman face” (i.e. servile, dark, uneducated, unpleasant), evil irony is formed;
- “you will understand this when you live here a little more time” - an appeal to the interlocutor with the intention of finding a like-minded person in him, support for one’s views.
This is where Shvabrin’s “live” speech in this fragment of the text ends, turning into indirect dialogical speech of the interlocutors. Grinev tells us the direction of that conversation (“Shvabrin was not very stupid. His conversation was witty and entertaining”), its emotional mood (“with great gaiety”) and content (“he described to me the commandant’s family, his society and the region where he took me fate"). Apparently, Grinev is still inexperienced in communicating with people, so he does not see mockery in this story due to his spiritual simplicity and natural purity of heart. An incorrect perception of the content of the conversation with Shvabrin and an inability to analyze the speech intentions of the interlocutor are indicated by his simple-minded reaction: “I laughed from the bottom of my heart...”. For him, Shvabrin’s story is just a reason to laugh, and not a reason to discover a catch in the personality of his interlocutor. Grinev is not yet perspicacious and has a poor understanding of people. Shvabrin is cunning, sharp-tongued and cynical.
“Frenchness” becomes the leitmotif of Shvabrin’s personality. The author mentions it a second time, and this is no coincidence: “Shvabrin had several French books” [Pushkin, 1987, p. 251]. This hobby realizes a chain of meanings that characterize Alexey Ivanovich: 'Frenchness' = 'non-Russianness' → 'unpatriotic' → 'propensity for betrayal'. He is so absorbed by his passion for foreign languages and culture that everything domestic does not represent any spiritual value for him. His compatriots also cause him unspoken contempt. His views and guts will subsequently determine his fate. Without passing the test of severe tests, he will betray the fortress, going over to the side of the rebels, cowardly swearing allegiance to the impostor Pugachev, fearing for his life, despotically keeping Masha Mironova locked up, starving the poor orphan in the hope that he will force her to marry him. In a word, they will trample upon all the postulates of the noble “code of honor.”
This awaits him ahead, as well as cruel retribution for all his meanness. Over time, Grinev acquires an acute spiritual vision and intuitively begins to understand the true essence of his friend: “I imperceptibly became attached to a good family, even to Ivan Ignatyich, the crooked garrison lieutenant, about whom Shvabrin invented that he was in an impermissible relationship with Vasilisa Egorovna , which did not have even a shadow of plausibility; but Shvabrin didn’t worry about that <...> I saw A.I. Shvabrin, of course, every day; but hour by hour his conversation became less pleasant for me. I really didn’t like his constant jokes about the commandant’s family, especially his caustic remarks about Marya Ivanovna” [Pushkin, 1987, p. 251 -252].
The hero-narrator descriptively tells us that Shvabrin likes to spread implausible rumors, which means he is very talkative. This reveals in him the nature of a gossip (gender linguistic aspect: a passion for gossip is a trait of not male, but female speech behavior) and a liar, slanderer. In addition, his caustic jokes set the teeth on edge, become boring and the interlocutor no longer likes him. This means that they become a constant feature of Shvabrin’s speech behavior: he is poor-minded because he cannot make an impression in any other way. His speech activity is limited to a fixed range of topics and cannot be interesting because it reveals Shvabrin’s malevolent character.
Grinev’s communication with Shvabrin is becoming more and more tense. A challenge to a duel is a completely natural outcome. There was also a reason. Hoping to find the approval of a friend, Grinev inadvertently shows Shvabrin his poems addressed to Masha Mironova. A conflicting dialogue takes place between them:
- How do you find this? - I asked Shvabrin, expecting praise, like a tribute, which was certainly due to me. But, to my great chagrin, Shvabrin, usually condescending, decisively declared that my song was not good.
- Why is that? — I asked him, hiding my annoyance.
“Because,” he answered, “such poems are worthy of my teacher, Vasily Kirilych Tredyakovsky, and his love couplets remind me very much.”
Then he took the notebook from me and began to mercilessly analyze every verse and every word, mocking me in the most caustic way. I couldn’t bear it, I snatched my notebook from his hands and said that I would never show him my writings. Shvabrin laughed at this threat too. “Let's see,” he said, “if you keep your word: poets need a listener, like Ivan Kuzmich needs a decanter of vodka before dinner. And who is this Masha, to whom you express your tender passion and love misfortune? Isn’t it Marya Ivanovna?”
“It’s none of your business,” I answered, frowning, “whoever this Masha is.” I don’t ask for your opinion or your guesses.
- Wow! Proud poet and modest lover! - continued Shvabrin, irritating me more and more hour by hour, - but listen to friendly advice: if you want to be on time, then I advise you not to act with songs.
- What does this mean, sir? Please explain.
- With pleasure. This means that if you want Masha Mironova to come to you at dusk, then instead of tender poems, give her a pair of earrings.
My blood began to boil.
- Why do you have such an opinion about her? - I asked, barely containing my indignation.
“And because,” he answered with a hellish grin, “I know her character and customs from experience.”
- You're lying, you bastard! - I cried in rage, - you are lying in the most shameless way.
Shvabrin's face changed.
“This won’t work out for you,” he said, squeezing my hand. - You will give me satisfaction.
— If you please; when you want to! - I answered, delighted. At that moment I was ready to tear him to pieces [Pushkin, 1987, p. 252-253].
With arrogant ridicule, Shvabrin denigrates not so much Grinev’s naive, youthful poems as Peter’s very bright feeling for Masha. The expected communication in a positive way fails: Grinev, hoping for leniency, receives a moral slap in the face from Shvabrin and therefore, in geometric progression, annoying emotions begin to grow in his soul, which are fueled by Shvabrin’s meanness. Alexey Ivanovich's remarks contain caustic sarcasm. For him there are no authorities even in the world of poetry and art: he ironically calls the poems of V.K. Tredyakovsky love couplets. The word “kupletets” (from “verse”) is deliberately used in a derogatory colloquial form; The suffix –ets gives it a derogatory tone, which here has the semantics of something “insignificant, petty, cheap, mediocre.” Thus, the entire phrase increases negative, mocking connotations.
Further, in the dialogical situation, descriptive details of an aggressive nature appear, expressed in the impulsive actions of the interlocutors, namely, snatching a notebook with poems from each other (extralinguistic factors of communication): “Then he took the notebook from me and began to mercilessly analyze each verse and each word, mockingly me in the most caustic way. I couldn’t bear it, I snatched my notebook from his hands and said that I would never show him my writings. Shvabrin laughed at this threat too.” Shvabrin, with deliberate calm, takes the notebook from Grinev (“ took the notebook from me and began to mercilessly analyze each verse): the verb “took” marks a neutral, non-intensive action. His behavior has a clearly formed goal (intention) - to provoke, to anger the interlocutor with his calm corrosiveness and pickiness (“he began to dismantle mercilessly”). But most of all, he is interested in the true motives for writing a lyric poem: Shvabrin wants to bring Grinev to an emotional explosion, force him to justify his sentimental mood with love for Masha Mironova. His speech weapon becomes consistent mockery with the placement of the accents he needs to achieve his goals. As a result, he achieves a response impulse from the listener. Grinev betrays his feelings with an emotional and intense gesture - he snatches the notebook from his hands (to snatch - 'to make an effort and pull out the object').
Shvabrin is doing everything possible to cause Grinev as much pain as possible, to hit his pride, to trample his bright, heartfelt feelings into the dirt. Grinev does not yet know the origins of this behavior. Later it turns out that Shvabrin himself once wooed Masha Mironova, but was refused. It speaks of his wounded pride, his inability to survive defeat with dignity, to cope with himself. He is angry at the whole world, and his soul is black and vicious. Therefore, he cynically calls Grinev “a proud poet and a modest lover.” He unconsciously projects his own qualities onto the interlocutor - narcissism and arrogance. This is a kind of emotional attack, a speech irritant with the intention of developing a conflict.
Having failed to cope with his past resentment, Shvabrin also discredits Masha Mironova, attributing to her supposedly exclusively mercantile interests and provoking Grinev: “... give her a pair of earrings.” Earrings are a material item, a luxury item, while poetry will not surprise anyone. This is Shvabrin’s opinion about his former lover. In his eyes, this is some kind of “good” advice given to a more successful opponent. Such cynical statements bring Grinev to the extreme boiling point, which is expressed in the description of his emotional state: “my blood boiled,” “I cried out in rage.” Shvabrin's words are perceived by the offended Grinev as the speech of an impudent scoundrel.
The culmination of the speech situation occurs - Grinev demands satisfaction from Shvabrin, challenges him to a duel. Shvabrin clearly did not expect such a turn of events: he only planned to mock, show off his interlocutor and believed that he could easily get away with it. He believes that Grinev is a cowardly youth (again, Shvabrin evaluates others only by himself), incapable of retaliating. This is the main flaw in his speech strategy: for him, the end of the dialogue is a complete surprise, which is why he suddenly “changed his face.” Thus, the deception of expectations is realized: Grinev turns out to be not who Shvabrin took him for. Pyotr Grinev is a strong and valiant man. Whereas Shvabrin is a weak, cowardly and malicious person.
As V.E. Kalganova writes, until the end of the 18th century they did not shoot at duels, but chopped and stabbed. A duel with swords (A. Pushkin called such a duel “lousy”) or sabers threatened the lives of opponents much less than an exchange of pistol shots. When analyzing the fight in The Captain's Daughter, the ironic shade of its depiction becomes obvious. However, the reason for the duel remains serious. Grinev goes with an offer to be his second to the garrison lieutenant Ivan Ignatievich. “Negotiations” with the second end with the latter’s refusal, and the entire subsequent narrative looks more like a parody than the story of a duel. With this plot, Pushkin presented a clash of eras. Grinev’s ardent attitude towards the fight seems boyish because it clashes with the opinion of people from the provinces. Provincial inhabitants perceived the duel as a metropolitan whim and approached it from a position of common sense [Kalganova, p. 35 -43].
It is difficult to say whether Grinev himself could explain the difference between a duel and an armed fight, but he was a man of a different era, who latently felt his right to a duel. On the other hand, Grinev’s knightly, albeit unclear, ideas about the duel did not at all coincide with the guards’ cynicism of Shvabrin, for whom it was important to kill the enemy (which he had already done once!), and not to observe certain rules of honor. He calmly offers to do without seconds, although this was against the rules. Perhaps this is because Pushkin wanted to present Shvabrin as a special villain, or perhaps because the writer shows the situation that existed at that time: the dueling code was blurred and not yet defined.
So Shvabrin continues to justify the title of a scoundrel and a coward. Seriously serving Pugachev after the siege of the fortress, he reveals an exclusively derogatory veneration. An escaped convict, a native of the people, shows much more nobility, humanity and honor than this “named” nobleman. Indicative in this regard is the behavior of Shvabrin upon the arrival of Pugachev together with Grinev with the aim of rescuing Masha Mironova to the Belogorsk fortress:
“He didn’t seem himself. With his usual intelligence, he, of course, guessed that Pugachev was dissatisfied with him. He cowered in front of him, and looked at me with distrust. Pugachev inquired about the state of the fortress, about rumors about enemy troops and the like, and suddenly asked him unexpectedly:
- Tell me, brother, what kind of girl are you keeping under your guard? Show it to me.
Shvabrin turned pale as death.
“Sire,” he said in a trembling voice... “Sir, she’s not on guard... she’s sick... she’s lying in the room.”
...Shvabrin stopped on the stairs.
- Sovereign! - he said. “You have the power to demand from me whatever you want; but do not order a stranger to enter my wife’s bedroom.
...At the door of the little room, Shvabrin stopped again and said in a broken voice:
“Sir, I warn you that she is in delirium tremens and has been raving incessantly for three days now” [Pushkin, 1987, p. 303 - 304].
In the speech of the hero-narrator, preceding the dialogue between Shvabrin and Pugachev, the internal emotional state of Alexei Ivanovich is described. He is not himself, because his excesses have come to an end, and now the only thing that interests him is possible options for saving himself. He is facing imminent punishment, and he is feverishly trying to cope with the situation, looking for a way out. He turns pale, stammers, his voice trembles, which indicates the extreme degree of his excitement. Having served the wrong person, in the wrong place, at the wrong hour, he understands perfectly well that he has fallen into his own network. Being insidious, Shvabrin at the same time turns out to be an extremely short-sighted person: now he finds himself at the mercy of a person whose command is still valid. Once dreaming of his own benefit, he went over to Pugachev’s side, but never gained his favor, since he never possessed a natural mind, concepts of honor and conscience.
The syntax of his speech almost stenographically captures his inner fear and cowardice: his phrases are ragged, intermittent, as if his own dying breath. This is expressed by a parceled grammatical structure, graphically designed with multiple ellipses (default figures). In a fit of despair, a pompous phrase escapes his lips: “Sir! You have the power to demand from me whatever you please; but do not order a stranger to enter my wife’s bedroom.” With his characteristic servility, he calls Pugachev “sovereign” (in the hope of pacifying his anger, this time fair and righteous), and hypocritically declares his commitment to the power of the impostor.
Finally, when his deception is revealed, Shvabrin shamefully falls on his face in search of mercy: “Shvabrin fell to his knees... At that moment, contempt drowned out all feelings of hatred and anger in me. I looked with disgust at the nobleman lying at the feet of the runaway Cossack” [Pushkin, 1987, p. 304].
So it was over with Shvabrin. He forever stained the conscience and honor of the nobleman with his obscene, cynical behavior. He is humiliated, trampled and killed. He does not know the moral ideals of a truly valiant person: Shvabrin is cowardly, petty, insidious, and vindictive. Neither his character, nor his actions, nor his words are an example of the life of a true nobleman by blood. His worldview represents the decline of morals and honor in one individual soul. This is typical and realistic because it needs to be eradicated and condemned as objectionable and wrong. The image of Shvabrin was created by Pushkin to identify and expose the vices that took place among the nobility. However, this was done with the sole purpose that, through this negative example, opposite moral values would be instilled in the younger generation - courage, boldness, prudence, valor, a sense of duty, humanism, noble and pure impulses worthy of ardent and loving hearts.
