Daughter of a Captain

Author: Pushkin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Oh, if you have never experienced the burning of love, then look at her—get to know love. If your heart has grown cold, then look at her: the fire of love will surely be rekindled. —Pushkin, "To M××× the Svevo"
This book tells the story of Peter Andreevich Goryoukov, the son of a nobleman in Simbirsk, Russia, who owned three hundred serfs. His father, Andrei Petrovich, had once served as a lieutenant colonel in the army. Even before Peter was born, his father registered him as a non-commissioned officer in the guard. At the age of five, he was entrusted to the care of the coachman Savelyich. At seventeen, his father sent him to serve as a soldier in southern Russia, Orenburg, accompanied by Savelyich as his guardian. On parting, his father advised him to be loyal to his duty and remember the saying: "Take care of your clothes when they are new, and take care of your reputation when you are young."
In the city, Peter met Ivan Ivanovich Zulin, a lieutenant colonel of the dragoons, who had come to Simbirsk to recruit new soldiers. Zulin invited Peter to drink and gamble at billiards, and as a result, Peter lost one hundred rubles. He demanded that Savelyich pay the debt, but Savelyich refused. Peter then scolded him, saying, "I am your master, and you are my servant. The money is mine. I lost it because I chose to. I advise you not to be too clever. Do as you are told." For this, Savelyich cried. Later, Peter also felt guilty toward this loyal guardian.
Peter's sleigh was heading toward a "desert-like wasteland." Suddenly, a blizzard broke out. They lost their way in the storm. A passing stranger appeared in the blizzard, and Peter asked him for directions. The man jumped onto the sleigh and led them to a safe cottage. There was an inn, and the stranger and the Cossack innkeeper communicated in whispers. Peter found the stranger "impressive in appearance, about forty years old, of medium height, thin, but with broad shoulders." To thank him for his guidance, Peter bought him drinks. On the day they parted, he also gave him his rabbit fur coat. The stranger was none other than the peasant rebel leader Pugachev, who was in hiding. He told Peter, "Thank you; I will never forget your kindness."
Peter arrived in Orenburg and was assigned as an officer to the White Mountain Fortress. The fortress commander, Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Kuzmich Mironov, was a lively, tall old man. His wife, Vasilya Yegorovna, assisted him in his work and even took an interest in military matters, as she was more capable than him. They had an eighteen-year-old daughter, Maria Ivanovna, nicknamed Masha. She had "a round face, rosy cheeks, and light yellow hair neatly combed behind her reddish ears." They had lived in the frontier region for over twenty years. On the day Peter arrived, the lieutenant colonel invited him to dinner, and thus he became acquainted with the family.
One of the lieutenant colonel's young officers, Stepanov, had recently transferred from another guard regiment after participating in a duel. He was quite clever and witty, with sharp and amusing conversations. He was pursuing Masha and, in front of Peter, called her a foolish girl. Soon, Peter and Masha grew close and fell in love with each other. One day, Peter recited a love poem to Stepanov. Stepanov mocked him and teased him about his love for the lieutenant colonel's daughter. As a result, they quarreled and came to blows. During the duel, Peter was initially in the lead, but just as Savelyich arrived to stop them, Peter turned around and was severely wounded by Stepanov. Peter was gravely injured and did not regain consciousness for five days. He was nursed back to health at the lieutenant colonel's home, with Masha constantly tending to him and worrying for his sake. Their feelings grew even closer. Stepanov was locked in the bakery by the lieutenant colonel's wife as punishment. Later, at Peter's request, he was released.
Peter wrote to his father, asking for his parents' consent to marry Maria. However, his father refused, and Stepanov secretly reported him to the authorities, who had already learned about Peter's duel. Masha, hearing this, "paled." She said that without her parents' blessing, they could not be happy and that she could not marry Peter. She tried to suppress her inner pain and avoided him.
In October 1773, Pugachev led a rebellion of serfs and Cossacks in southern Russia. Flyers bearing Pugachev's message appeared in the White Mountain Fortress. The Cossack soldiers in the fortress began to stir. The officers captured a Bashkir distributing the flyers. He was an elderly man over seventy, without a nose and ears, which had been cut off by the tsarist government during a past uprising. During interrogation, he could not speak, as his tongue had also been cut off. Soon after, Pugachev led his troops to besiege the White Mountain Fortress. Riding on a white horse, dressed in red, and with his sword drawn, he was surrounded by his men. The lieutenant colonel, Mironov, opened the fortress gates, ordering the garrison to retreat, but the soldiers stood frozen. Pugachev easily captured the White Mountain Fortress. The residents brought out salt and bread (according to Russian custom, gifts for honored guests) to welcome Pugachev. The officers captured in the fortress, except for Stepanov who surrendered, were put on trial. The lieutenant colonel and his wife refused to surrender and were hanged.
When Pugachev ordered Peter to be hanged, Savelyich stepped forward to beg for mercy. Only then did Pugachev recognize Peter as the young officer who had given him the rabbit fur coat at the inn. He pardoned Peter and extended his hand for Peter to kiss it, but Peter, true to his oath of loyalty to the tsar, did not kiss his hand. Pugachev smiled and had Peter helped to his feet. The residents swore allegiance to Pugachev. Masha hid in the priest's house. Stepanov wanted to claim her but did not report her. Pugachev sent soldiers to fetch Peter to his residence. There, Peter saw Pugachev and his men conversing freely. Peter's "handsome and pleasant face showed no signs of cruelty." He sang Russian folk songs with the soldiers, mocking the tsar sharply. They sang:
The people of the uprising have four close companions with the tsar:
The night, the broadsword, the swift horse, and the strong bow.
Pugachev, grateful for Peter's help when he had to hide from his enemies, urged Peter to serve him and promised to give him a high-ranking position. But Peter refused, as he had already sworn allegiance to Empress Catherine II. Pugachev then granted him freedom, saying, "Reward or punishment, go wherever you wish!"
As Pugachev's rebel forces prepared to depart, he appointed Stepanov as the commander of the White Mountain Fortress. Peter was to go to Orenburg, where the tsar's troops were stationed. Pugachev sent him a horse and his own sheepskin coat. Before leaving, Peter secretly visited Masha, who was seriously ill. He entrusted her care to the priest's wife, asking her to send messages if anything important happened.
Peter arrived in Orenburg and wanted to ask the general to send troops to recapture the White Mountain Fortress. However, the officials at the military conference said, "The army is unreliable, success is uncertain, and it is better to defend behind strong walls." Soon after, Pugachev besieged the city. During a battle, a soldier from the White Mountain Fortress who had surrendered to Pugachev gave Peter a letter. It was from Masha, saying that Stepanov was forcing her to marry him within three days, or he would report her. Peter took the letter to the general, asking him to send troops to rescue Masha. But the general refused. Peter had no choice but to leave Orenburg secretly and head to the White Mountain Fortress.
Not far from the city, Peter was captured by Pugachev's soldiers. Pugachev interrogated him and learned that Peter was going to the White Mountain Fortress to rescue an orphan girl. Pugachev was astonished, saying, "Who dares to bully an orphan among my people? Those who act arbitrarily and bully the people will be hanged." Peter told him that the orphan girl was his fiancée. Pugachev decided to accompany him to the White Mountain Fortress. On the way, Pugachev told him a fable about a crow and an eagle. The crow could live for three hundred years by eating corpses, while the eagle could only live for thirty-three years by drinking fresh blood. Once, the crow advised the eagle to eat a dead horse. The eagle pecked at it and said, "No, little crow! It's better to drink fresh blood once and for all than to live for three hundred years on corpses." Pugachev praised the eagle's spirit of freedom and courage.
They arrived at the White Mountain Fortress and rescued Masha. Pugachev planned to marry Peter and Masha himself. At this moment, Stepanov, desperate, exposed Masha as the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Mironov. Pugachev asked Peter why he had not told him. Peter replied, "If I had said that Masha was the lieutenant colonel's daughter, would she be alive today?" Pugachev, thinking it made sense, ordered Stepanov to give Peter a pass to take Masha wherever he wished. Then, he and Peter parted and returned to the battlefield in Orenburg.
Peter decided to take Masha to his father's estate. On the way, he met Zulin, who had been promoted to major of the dragoons. Zulin persuaded Peter to join his army and not return home, while Masha could be escorted home by Savelyich. Peter agreed. Soon after, Count Golitsyn defeated Pugachev, lifting the siege of Orenburg. But Pugachev reappeared in Siberia, gathered more troops, captured Kazan, and advanced toward Moscow. The villages along the Volga River rebelled, and the landlords hid in the forests. Zulin's army received orders to cross the Volga River. Peter crossed first, intending to return home and see Masha. But the peasants at his estate had also rebelled, locking his parents and Masha in the barn. Just as Peter was about to rescue them, Stepanov arrived with his troops. Peter was surrounded. Stepanov demanded that Peter and his family surrender, but Peter refused. Stepanov then ordered the barn to be set on fire. As Peter tried to escape, he was struck by a burning brick and fell. Stepanov then bound Peter and his family and ordered them to be hanged.
At that critical moment, Zulin received a message from Savelyich and arrived with his troops, rescuing Peter and his family and capturing Stepanov.
In 1774, Pugachev's army was defeated. Peter, due to his association with Pugachev and his unauthorized departure from Orenburg, was reported to the authorities by Stepanov. He was arrested, tried, and eventually sentenced to life exile in Siberia. Masha, presenting herself as the daughter of the lieutenant colonel, went to St. Petersburg to seek an audience with Empress Catherine II. She told the empress the whole story of her relationship with Peter and their experiences. As a result, Peter received the empress's clemency and pardon. He married Masha.
Pugachev was sentenced to death by hanging. On the day of his execution, Peter was also present. Pugachev recognized him in the crowd and nodded at him. He then died with composure.