The history of the creation of the story "The Captain's Daughter"
Author: Pushkin A.S.
From mid-1832, A.S. Pushkin began work on the history of the uprising led by Emelyan Pugachev. The king gave the poet the opportunity to familiarize himself with secret materials about the uprising and the actions of the authorities to suppress it. Pushkin turns to unpublished documents from family archives and private collections. His “Archival Notebooks” contain copies of Pugachev’s personal decrees and letters, extracts from reports on military operations with Pugachev’s detachments.
In 1833, Pushkin decides to go to those places in the Volga and Urals regions where the uprising took place. He looks forward to meeting eyewitnesses of these events. Having received permission from Emperor Nicholas I, Pushkin leaves for Kazan. “I’ve been in Kazan since the fifth. Here I was busy with old people, contemporaries of my hero; I traveled around the outskirts of the city, examined the battle sites, asked questions, wrote down notes, and was very pleased that it was not in vain that I visited this side,” he writes to his wife Natalya Nikolaevna on September 8. Next, the poet goes to Simbirsk and Orenburg, where he also visits the battle sites and meets with contemporaries of the events.
The “History of Pugachev”, written in Boldin in the fall of 1833, was formed from materials about the riot. This work of Pushkin was published in 1834 under the title “The History of the Pugachev Rebellion,” which was given to him by the emperor. But Pushkin had a plan work of art about the Pugachev uprising of 1773-1775. It arose while working on Dubrovsky in 1832. The plan of the novel about a renegade nobleman who found himself in Pugachev’s camp changed several times. This is also explained by the fact that the topic that Pushkin addressed was ideologically and politically acute and complex. The poet could not help but think about the censorship obstacles that had to be overcome. Archival materials, stories of living Pugachevites, which he heard during a trip to the site of the uprising of 1773-1774, could be used with great caution.
According to the original plan, the hero of the novel was to be a nobleman who voluntarily went over to Pugachev’s side. His prototype was second lieutenant of the 2nd Grenadier Regiment Mikhail Shvanovich (in the plans of the novel Shvanvich), who “preferred a vile life to an honest death.” His name was mentioned in the document “On the death penalty for the traitor, rebel and impostor Pugachev and his accomplices.” Later, Pushkin chose the fate of another real participant in Pugachev’s events - Basharin. Basharin was captured by Pugachev, escaped from captivity and entered the service of one of the suppressors of the uprising, General Mikhelson. The name of the main character changed several times until Pushkin settled on the surname Grinev. In the government report on the liquidation of the Pugachev uprising and the punishment of Pugachev and his accomplices dated January 10, 1775, Grinev’s name was listed among those who were initially suspected of “communication with the villains,” but “as a result of the investigation they turned out to be innocent” and were released from arrest. As a result, instead of one hero-nobleman in the novel, there were two: Grinev was contrasted with a nobleman-traitor, the “vile villain” Shvabrin, which could make it easier to carry the novel through censorship barriers.
Pushkin continued to work on this work in 1834. In 1836 he reworked it. October 19, 1836 is the date of completion of work on The Captain's Daughter. “The Captain’s Daughter” was published in the fourth issue of Pushkin’s Sovremennik at the end of December 1836, a little over a month before the poet’s death.
What is the genre of The Captain's Daughter? Pushkin wrote to the censor, handing him the manuscript: “The name of the girl Mironova is fictitious. My novel is based on legend...” Pushkin explained what a novel is: “In our time, by the word novel we mean historical era, developed in a fictional narrative." That is, Pushkin considered his work a historical novel. And yet “The Captain's Daughter” - a small work in size - is more often called a story in literary criticism.

“The Captain's Daughter” is a historical novel, which A.S. worked on. Pushkin worked for three years (1833-1836). The writing of the work was preceded by long and painstaking textual and historical work.

Initially, Pushkin, who was interested in the history of the Pugachev uprising, intended to create a documentary work. The poet received permission from Nicholas I to access unpublished materials and documents about the uprising, as well as family archives. In 1833, Pushkin went to the Urals and Volga region, where the main actions of the uprising took place. There he questioned Pugachev’s contemporaries, participants and witnesses of the uprising. It was these unique materials that formed the basis of Pushkin’s historical work “The History of the Pugachev Rebellion.”

However, the work on materials about the uprising was not completed: at the same time, the idea of ​​a work of art about the Pugachev rebellion was born. The bright and certainly noteworthy figure of Pugachev interested Pushkin not only as a historian, but also as a poet. In addition, the acute political and social conflict of the uprising prompted the idea of ​​​​creating a novel. However, this is precisely what could have caused difficulties for publication due to censorship, which became stricter under Nicholas I. Because of this, Pushkin rewrote it many times - drafts with several plans for the work have been preserved. The first version was written back in 1833, but the revision of the novel lasted until October 1836. The editions that have reached us prove the complexity of working on the work.

To create the main character, Pushkin studied historical data about the accomplices of Emelyan Pugachev. Two people are considered prototypes: second lieutenant Shvanvich, who went over to the side during the uprising, and Pugachev’s captive Basharin, who managed to escape and join the army that was trying to suppress the uprising. The surname Grinev (in the first editions - Bulanina) was also not chosen by chance. A certain Grinev was on the list of people who were suspected of involvement in organizing the riot, but were later acquitted as innocent. The originally planned controversial figure of the nobleman protagonist was replaced in recent editions by two completely different characters: in the novel we see the noble, honest Grinev and the immoral traitor Shvabrin. This technique of contrasting the antagonist with the main character eliminated difficulties when passing censorship.

It is known that the impetus for Pushkin’s creation of a historical novel was the appearance in the 30s. XIX century in Russia, translations of Walter Scott's novels. Correctly capturing the genre essence of a work of art based on real historical data, Pushkin plausibly recreated the era in his novel and revealed the personality of an important historical figure with the help of the artist’s unique style and skill.

The history of the creation of the story "The Captain's Daughter"

From mid-1832, A.S. Pushkin began work on the history of the uprising led by Emelyan Pugachev. The king gave the poet the opportunity to familiarize himself with secret materials about the uprising and the actions of the authorities to suppress it. Pushkin turns to unpublished documents from family archives and private collections. His “Archival Notebooks” contain copies of Pugachev’s personal decrees and letters, extracts from reports on military operations with Pugachev’s detachments.

In 1833, Pushkin decides to go to those places in the Volga and Urals regions where the uprising took place. He looks forward to meeting eyewitnesses of these events. Having received permission from Emperor Nicholas I, Pushkin leaves for Kazan. “I’ve been in Kazan since the fifth. Here I was busy with old people, contemporaries of my hero; I traveled around the outskirts of the city, examined the battle sites, asked questions, wrote down notes, and am very pleased that I did not visit this side in vain,” he writes to his wife Natalya Nikolaevna on September 8. Next, the poet goes to Simbirsk and Orenburg, where he also visits the battle sites and meets with contemporaries of the events.

The “History of Pugachev”, written in Boldin in the fall of 1833, was formed from materials about the riot. This work of Pushkin was published in 1834 under the title “The History of the Pugachev Rebellion,” which was given to him by the emperor. But Pushkin conceived the idea of ​​a work of art about the Pugachev uprising of 1773–1775. It arose while working on Dubrovsky in 1832. The plan of the novel about a renegade nobleman who found himself in Pugachev’s camp changed several times. This is also explained by the fact that the topic that Pushkin addressed was ideologically and politically acute and complex. The poet could not help but think about the censorship obstacles that had to be overcome. Archival materials, stories of living Pugachevites, which he heard during a trip to the site of the uprising of 1773–1774, could be used with great caution.

According to the original plan, the hero of the novel was to be a nobleman who voluntarily went over to Pugachev’s side. His prototype was second lieutenant of the 2nd Grenadier Regiment Mikhail Shvanovich (in the plans of the novel Shvanvich), who “preferred a vile life to an honest death.” His name was mentioned in the document “On the death penalty for the traitor, rebel and impostor Pugachev and his accomplices.” Later, Pushkin chose the fate of another real participant in Pugachev’s events - Basharin. Basharin was captured by Pugachev, escaped from captivity and entered the service of one of the suppressors of the uprising, General Mikhelson. The name of the main character changed several times until Pushkin settled on the surname Grinev. In the government report on the liquidation of the Pugachev uprising and the punishment of Pugachev and his accomplices dated January 10, 1775, Grinev’s name was listed among those who were initially suspected of “communication with the villains,” but “as a result of the investigation they turned out to be innocent” and were released from arrest. As a result, instead of one hero-nobleman in the novel, there were two: Grinev was contrasted with a nobleman-traitor, the “vile villain” Shvabrin, which could make it easier to carry the novel through censorship barriers.

Pushkin continued to work on this work in 1834. In 1836 he reworked it. October 19, 1836 is the date of completion of work on The Captain's Daughter. “The Captain’s Daughter” was published in the fourth issue of Pushkin’s Sovremennik at the end of December 1836, a little over a month before the poet’s death.

What is the genre of The Captain's Daughter? Pushkin wrote to the censor, handing over the manuscript: “The name of the girl Mironova is fictitious. My novel is based on legend...” Pushkin explained what a novel is: “In our time, by the word novel we mean a historical era developed in a fictional narrative.” That is, Pushkin considered his work a historical novel. And yet, “The Captain’s Daughter”, a small work, is more often called a story in literary criticism.

The history of the creation of "The Captain's Daughter" may be of interest to anyone who has read this historical novel by Pushkin or in its entirety.

"The Captain's Daughter" writing history

From the middle 1832 A. S. Pushkin begins work on the history of the uprising led by Emelyan Pugachev. The king gave the poet the opportunity to familiarize himself with secret materials about the uprising and the actions of the authorities to suppress it. Pushkin turns to unpublished documents from family archives and private collections. His “Archival Notebooks” contain copies of Pugachev’s personal decrees and letters, extracts from reports on military operations with Pugachev’s detachments.

IN 1833 year, Pushkin decides to go to those places in the Volga and Urals regions where the uprising took place. He looks forward to meeting eyewitnesses of these events. Having received permission from Emperor Nicholas I, Pushkin leaves for Kazan. “I’ve been in Kazan since the fifth. Here I tinkered with the old people, my hero’s contemporaries; traveled around the city, examined the battle sites, asked questions, wrote down notes, and was very pleased that it was not in vain that he visited this side,” he writes to his wife Natalya Nikolaevna on September 8. Next, the poet goes to Simbirsk and Orenburg, where he also visits the battle sites and meets with contemporaries of the events.

From materials about the riot, “The History of Pugachev” was formed, written in Boldin in the fall of 1833. This work of Pushkin was published in 1834 entitled “The History of the Pugachev Rebellion”, which was given to him by the emperor. But Pushkin conceived the idea of ​​a work of art about the Pugachev uprising of 1773–1775. The plan of the novel about a renegade nobleman who found himself in Pugachev’s camp changed several times. This is also explained by the fact that the topic that Pushkin addressed was ideologically and politically acute and complex. The poet could not help but think about the censorship obstacles that had to be overcome. Archival materials, stories of living Pugachevites, which he heard during a trip to the site of the uprising of 1773–1774, could be used with great caution.

According to the original plan, he was supposed to become a nobleman who voluntarily went over to Pugachev’s side. His prototype was second lieutenant of the 2nd Grenadier Regiment Mikhail Shvanovich (in the plans of the novel Shvanvich), who “preferred a vile life to an honest death.” His name was mentioned in the document “On the death penalty for the traitor, rebel and impostor Pugachev and his accomplices.” Later, Pushkin chose the fate of another real participant in Pugachev’s events - Basharin. Basharin was captured by Pugachev, escaped from captivity and entered the service of one of the suppressors of the uprising, General Mikhelson. The name of the main character changed several times until Pushkin settled on the surname Grinev. In the government report on the liquidation of the Pugachev uprising and the punishment of Pugachev and his accomplices dated January 10, 1775, Grinev’s name was listed among those who were initially suspected of “communication with the villains,” but “as a result of the investigation they turned out to be innocent” and were released from arrest. As a result, instead of one hero-nobleman in the novel, there were two: Grinev was contrasted with a nobleman-traitor, the “vile villain” Shvabrin, which could make it easier to carry the novel through censorship barriers.

Working on a historical novel, Pushkin relied on the creative experience of the English novelist Walter Scott (among his many admirers in Russia was Nicholas I himself) and the first Russian historical novelists M.N. Zagoskin, I.I. Lazhechnikov. “In our time, the word novel means a historical era developed in a fictional narrative” - this is how Pushkin defined the main genre feature of the novel in historical topic. The choice of era, heroes, and especially the style of “fictional narrative” made “The Captain’s Daughter” not only the best among the novels of V. Scott’s Russian followers. According to Gogol, Pushkin wrote “a one-of-a-kind novel” - “in its sense of proportion, in its completeness, in its style and in its amazing skill in depicting types and characters in miniature...” Pushkin the artist became not only a rival, but also a “winner” of Pushkin -historian. As the outstanding Russian historian V.O. Klyuchevsky noted, “The Captain’s Daughter” has “more history than “The History of the Pugachev Rebellion,” which seems like a long explanatory note to the novel.”

Pushkin continued to work on this work in 1834. In 1836 he reworked it. October 19, 1836 year – the date of completion of work on “The Captain’s Daughter”. “The Captain’s Daughter” was published in the fourth issue of Pushkin’s Sovremennik at the end of December 1836, a little over a month before the poet’s death.

Now you know the history of the writing and creation of Pushkin’s novel “The Captain’s Daughter” and can understand the entire historicism of the work.