Daughter of a Captain

Author: (Russian) Pushkin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: This book tells the story of Peter Andreevich Griboyov, 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 Orenburg in southern Russia to serve in the army, accompanied by Savelyich as his protector. On parting, his father advised his son 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 of the dragoons. He had come to Simbirsk to recruit new soldiers. Zulin invited Peter to drink, play billiards, and gamble. As a result, Peter lost one hundred rubles. He demanded that Savelyich pay the gambling 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 clever beyond your station. Do as you are told." This made Savelyich cry. Later, Peter also felt guilty toward this loyal guardian.
Peter's sleigh drove 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 guided them to a safe cottage. There was an inn, and the stranger and the Cossack innkeeper communicated in code. 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 the stranger his rabbit fur coat. This 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 vigorous, tall old man. His wife, Vasilya Yegorovna, assisted him in his work and even took an interest in military affairs, as she was more capable than him. They had an eighteen-year-old daughter, Maria Ivanovna, nicknamed Masha. She had "round cheeks, rosy cheeks, and light yellow hair neatly combed behind her reddish ears." They had lived in the border region for over twenty years. The day Peter arrived, the lieutenant colonel invited him to dinner, and thus he met the family. Among the lieutenant colonel's subordinates was a young officer named Svetlalin, who had recently transferred from another guard unit after participating in a duel. He was quite clever and witty, with sharp and amusing conversations. He was pursuing Masha, so he portrayed her as a foolish girl in front of Peter. Soon, Peter and Masha grew close and fell in love with each other.
One day, Peter recited a love poem to Svetlalin. Svetlalin mocked him and teased him about falling in love with the lieutenant colonel's daughter. This led to an argument, which escalated into a duel. Peter was initially in the lead, but just as Savelyich arrived to stop the fight, Peter turned around and was severely wounded by Svetlalin with a sword. The injury was serious, and it took five days for Peter to regain consciousness. He was nursed back to health at the lieutenant colonel's home, with Masha constantly tending to him and worrying for him day and night. Their feelings grew even closer. Svetlalin 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 Svetlalin secretly reported him for the duel. As a result, Peter's father discovered that he had been involved in a duel. Masha, hearing this, "paled." She said that without her parents' blessing, she could not be happy and 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 or ears, having been mutilated 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. He rode on a white horse, wearing a red robe, and holding a drawn sword, with his followers swarming around him. 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 him. The officers captured in the fortress, except for Svetlalin 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 home. Svetlalin wanted to have her but did not report her. Pugachev sent soldiers to bring 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 in rebellion have four close companions:
The night, the broadsword, the swift horse, and the strong bow."
Pugachev, seeing Peter, expressed gratitude and said, "You helped me when I had to hide from my enemies." He urged Peter to serve him and promised to give him a position. But Peter refused, having already sworn allegiance to Empress Catherine II. Thus, Pugachev granted him freedom. He said, "Reward or punishment—go wherever you wish!"
Pugachev's rebel forces were preparing to depart. He appointed Svetlalin 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 and asked her to send messages if anything important happened.
Peter arrived in Orenburg. He wanted to ask the general to send troops to recapture the White Mountain Fortress. However, the officials at the military meeting said, "The army is unreliable, success is uncertain—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 Svetlalin 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 her. But the general refused. Peter had no choice but to leave Orenburg secretly and go to the White Mountain Fortress.
Not far from the city, he was captured by Pugachev's soldiers. Pugachev interrogated him and learned that he was going to the White Mountain Fortress to rescue an orphan girl. Pugachev was astonished and said, "Who dares to bully an orphan among my people? Those who act arbitrarily and bully the people shall 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 and rescued Masha. Pugachev planned to marry Peter himself. At this moment, Svetlalin, desperate, exposed Masha as the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Mironov. Pugachev asked Peter why he had not told him. Peter replied, "If I had told him that Masha was the lieutenant colonel's daughter, could she have lived to this day?" Pugachev agreed, and ordered Svetlalin to give Peter a pass. Peter could take Masha wherever he wished. Then, he and Peter parted, returning 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; Masha could be escorted home by Savelyich. Peter agreed. Soon after, the Duke of Golitsyn defeated Pugachev, lifting the siege of Orenburg. However, 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 in his estate had also rebelled, locking his parents and Masha in the barn. As Peter was about to rescue them, Svetlalin arrived with his troops. Peter was surrounded. Svetlalin demanded that Peter and his family surrender, but Peter refused. Svetlalin then ordered the barn to be set on fire. As Peter tried to escape, he was struck by a burning brick and fell. Svetlalin then bound Peter and his family and ordered them to be hanged.
At that critical moment, Zulin received news from Savelyich and arrived with his troops, rescuing Peter and his family and capturing Svetlalin.
In 1774, Pugachev's army was defeated. Peter, due to his relationship with Pugachev and his unauthorized departure from Orenburg, was reported by Svetlalin. He was arrested, tried, and sentenced to life exile in Siberia. Masha, 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.