One of the best stories by Pushkin is considered "The Captain's Daughter", which describes the events of the peasant revolt of 1773-1774. The writer wanted to show not only the mind, heroism and talent of the leader of the rebels, Pugachev, but also to depict how the character of people changes in difficult life situations. The characterization of Maria Mironova from "The Captain's Daughter" allows us to follow the transformation of a girl from a country coward into a wealthy, brave and selfless heroine.
Poor dowry, resigned to fate
At the very beginning of the story, a timid, cowardly girl who is afraid even of a shot appears before the reader. Masha - the commandant's daughter She always lived alone and withdrawn. There were no suitors in the village, so the mother was worried that the girl would remain an eternal bride, and she did not have a special dowry: a broom, a comb and an altyn of money. The parents hoped that there would be someone who would marry their homeless woman.
The characterization of Maria Mironova from "The Captain's Daughter" shows us how the girl gradually changes after meeting Grinev, whom she loved with all her heart. The reader sees that this is a disinterested young lady who wants simple happiness and does not want to marry for convenience. Masha refuses Shvabrina's offer, because although he is a smart and rich man, his heart does not lie with him. After a duel with Shvabrin, Grinev is seriously injured, Mironova does not leave him a single step, nursing the patient.
When Peter confesses his love to a girl, she also reveals her feelings to him, but demands from her lover to receive a blessing from his parents. Grinev did not receive approval, so Maria Mironova began to move away from him. The captain's daughter was ready to give up her own happiness, but not go against the will of her parents.
Strong and courageous personality
The characterization of Maria Mironova from The Captain's Daughter reveals to us how the heroine has radically changed after the execution of her parents. The girl was captured by Shvabrin, who demanded that she become his wife. Masha firmly decided that death is better than life with the unloved. She managed to send a message to Grinev, and he, together with Pugachev, came to her aid. Peter sent his beloved to his parents, and he himself remained to fight. The captain's daughter Masha liked Grinev's father and mother, they loved her with all their hearts.
Soon the news came about the arrest of Peter, the girl did not show her feelings and worries, but constantly thought about how to free her beloved. A timid, uneducated country girl turns into a self-confident person, ready to fight to the end for her happiness. It is here that the characterization of Maria Mironova from The Captain's Daughter reveals to the reader the cardinal changes in the character and behavior of the heroine. She goes to Petersburg to the Empress to ask for pardon for Grinev.
In Tsarskoe Selo, Masha meets a noble lady, to whom during a conversation she told about her misfortune. She talks to her on an equal footing, even dares to object and argue. A new acquaintance promised Mironova to insert a word for her to the empress, and only at the reception did Maria recognize her interlocutor in the ruler. The thoughtful reader, of course, will analyze how the character of the captain's daughter changed throughout the story, and the timid girl was able to find the courage and fortitude in herself to stand up for herself and her fiancé.
Vedernikova Ekaterina
In the course of work on the project, the author examined the image of Maria Mironova from the story by A.S. Pushkin's "The Captain's Daughter", traced all the changes that happened to the main character, explained their reason. The student also examined the reviews of critics about this literary work.
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MBOU TsO No. 44 named after G.K. Zhukova.
« "The image of Masha Mironova in the story of Alexander Pushkin" The Captain's Daughter "
Completed by a student of grade 8A
Vedernikova Ekaterina
Teacher
Solovieva Anna Dmitrievna
Tula
2017
Objective : to trace all the changes that have occurred with Masha Mironova, to explain their reason.
Work tasks : 1. The image of Masha Mironova.
2. Reviews of critics about Maria Mironova as a literary heroine.
Introduction
- The image of the captain's daughter
- The character of Masha Mironova
- The evolution of the image of Masha Mironova
Conclusion
Introduction
Historical works of fiction - one of the ways of knowing a particular era. Any historical work is cognitive. The main purpose of a historical work is to try to connect the past and the present, to look into the future.
Our work is relevant, because interest in Pushkin's work has not waned for more than two hundred years, and each time researchers find new sources for creating a particular literary image. Writers of different eras for different reasons turned to the past, in the past they tried to find answers to the questions of the present. This way of finding the truth remains relevant to this day. Modern man is still worried about philosophical problems: what are good and evil? how does the past affect the future? what is the meaning of human life ?. Therefore, the appeal of the modern reader to historical prose is natural.
175 years ago, the magazine "Sovremennik" first published the story of Alexander Pushkin "The Captain's Daughter". The work is relevant to this day. It is called "the most Christian work of Russian literature."
The idea of a historical story from the Pugachev uprising arose in Pushkin under the influence of the social situation of the early 1830s. The story is based on historical facts - the uprising of Yemelyan Pugachev. When creating "The Captain's Daughter" Pushkin used a huge number of sources. On the basis of classified materials, he compiled a biography of the Pugachev ataman Ilya Aristov.
“In The Captain's Daughter, the story of the Pugachev rebellion, or the details about it, are somehow more vivid than in the story itself. In this story, you briefly acquaint yourself with the situation in Russia at this strange and terrible time. "P. A. Vyazemsky
Pushkin's story is dedicated to a major historical event, and the title does not seem to be associated with this event. Why is Masha Mironova becoming the title character? The choice of the name suggests that the image of Masha is very important, the author wanted to show how the fate of the heroes evolved in the cycle of historical events. Therefore, the author chooses her and Petrusha, and shows their characters in development, in the process of personality formation. The female images of A.S. Pushkin are almost an ideal, pure, innocent, lofty, spiritualized. The author treats this heroine with great warmth. Masha is a traditional Russian name, it emphasizes the simplicity, naturalness of the heroine. This girl does not have any original, outstanding features, the definition of "nice girl" fits her perfectly. And at the same time, this image is poetic, sublime and attractive. Masha Mironova is the embodiment of harmonious clarity. It exists in order to bring light, love into everything. This is a simple Russian girl with the most ordinary appearance, but this simplicity hides real moral wealth. In The Captain's Daughter, a love story and a fairy tale, the interests of the state, the class and the individual are closely intertwined. At the request of the censor PA Korsakov: "Did the maiden Mironova exist and was there really at the late Empress's?" Pushkin gave a written answer on October 25, 1836: “The name of the girl Mironova is fictitious. My novel is based on the legend, once heard by me, that one of the officers who betrayed their duty and went over to the Pugachev gangs was pardoned by the empress at the request of her elderly father, who threw himself at her feet. The novel, as you will see, has gone far from the truth. "
1. The image of the captain's daughter
Pushkin is laconic when portraying the main character. “A girl of about eighteen, round-faced, ruddy, with light-blond hair, combed smoothly behind her ears, came in, and her ears were on fire,” says Pushkin, the daughter of Captain Mironov. She was not beautiful. It can be noted that the heroine is shy, modest and always silent. Masha at first does not make any impression on Grinev. But soon Grinev's opinion about Maria changes. “Marya Ivanovna soon ceased to be shy with me. We met. I found in her a sensible and sensible girl. " What do these words mean in Ozhegov's dictionary: “Prudence is prudence, deliberation in actions. Sensitive - having an increased susceptibility to external influences. "
We guess that in the soul of Grinev, some kind of feeling wakes up ... And in Chapter 5, Pushkin calls us this feeling - love. Let's pay attention to Masha's concern for Grinev during her illness after the fight with Shvabrin. The simplicity and naturalness of its manifestation go unnoticed by most readers. During his illness, Grinev realizes that he loves Masha and makes a marriage proposal. But the girl does not promise him anything, but makes it clear that she also loves Pyotr Andreyevich. Grinev's parents do not consent to the marriage of their son with the captain's daughter, and Maria refuses to marry Grinev, sacrificing her love. Researcher A.S. Degozhskaya claims that the heroine of the story was "brought up in patriarchal conditions: in the old days, marriage without parental consent was considered a sin." Captain Mironov's daughter knows “that Pyotr Grinev’s father is a man of tough disposition,” and he will not forgive his son for marrying against his will. Masha does not want to hurt her beloved, to interfere with his happiness and agreement with his parents. This is how the firmness of her character, sacrifice is manifested. We see that it is hard for Mary, but for the sake of her beloved she is ready to give up her happiness.
2. The character of Masha Mironova
After the hostilities and the death of her parents, Masha is left alone in the Belogorsk fortress. Here the decisiveness and firmness of her character is revealed to us. Shvabrin puts the girl in a punishment cell, not letting anyone in to the prisoner, giving her only bread and water. All this torture was necessary to obtain consent to marriage. In the days of trials and in the face of danger, Marya Ivanovna retains her presence of mind and unshakable fortitude, she does not lose the strength of faith. Maria is no longer a shy, fearful coward, but a brave girl, firm in her convictions. We could not have thought that Masha, the former quiet girl, said the following words: "I will never be his wife: I had better decided to die and die if they do not deliver me."
Maria Mironova is a person of strong will. Hard trials fall to her lot, and she withstands them with honor. When Grinev is taken to prison, this modest, shy girl, left without parents, considers it her duty to save him. Marya Ivanovna goes to Petersburg. In a conversation with the empress, she confesses: "I have come to ask for mercy, not justice." During Masha's meeting with the Empress, “the character of the captain's daughter is really revealed to us, a simple Russian girl, in essence, without any education, who, however, found in herself at the necessary moment enough“ mind and heart ”, firmness of spirit and unshakable determination, to justify his innocent bridegroom ”D. Blagoy.
Masha Mironova, one of those heroes of "The Captain's Daughter", in which, according to Gogol, "the simple greatness of ordinary people" was embodied. Despite the fact that Masha Mironova was stamped with a different time, a different environment, a backwater where she grew up and formed, she became a bearer of those character traits in Pushkin that are organic to the indigenous nature of a Russian woman. Characters like her are free from ecstatic heat, from ambitious impulses to self-sacrifice, but they always serve a person and the triumph of truth and humanity. "Delight is short-lived, fickle, and therefore not in power to produce true great perfection," wrote Pushkin.
3.The evolution of the character of Masha Mironova
With great sympathy, Pushkin described the family of Captain Mironov. Pushkin shows that it was in such a family, patriarchal, kind-hearted, with a Christian attitude to people and the world, that a wonderful Russian girl Masha Mironova could grow up with her simple, pure heart, high moral requirements for life, with her courage.
At the beginning of the work, a timid, timid girl appears before us, about whom her mother says that she is a "coward". A dowry woman who only has that "a frequent comb, and a broom, and an altyn of money." Over time, the character of Mary is revealed to us. She is capable of deep and sincere love, but nobility does not allow her to compromise her principles. A.S. Pushkin subjects his heroine to the test of love, and she passes this test with honor. To achieve well-being, Masha had to endure many heavy blows: her beloved was wounded in a duel, then the groom's parents do not give their blessing for a legal marriage, her own parents die. The Pugachev revolt bursts into Masha's measured life. Ironically, this event, instead of separating the two lovers, brought them together.
Masha Mironova has a highly developed sense of duty and spiritual nobility. Her notion of duty develops into a notion of fidelity. Masha Mironova remained faithful to her heartfelt affection despite fear. She is her father's true daughter. Mironov in life was a gentle and good-natured person, but in an extreme situation he showed a decisiveness worthy of a Russian officer. Likewise Masha: she was timid and impressionable, but when it came to her honor, she was ready, like her father, to die rather than do anything contrary to her conscience. The tests that fell to the lot of Marya Ivanovna made her stronger. She was not broken by the death of her parents, the harassment of Shvabrin, the arrest of Grinev. Masha has grown up in these tests.
Thus, throughout the novel, the character of this girl gradually changes.
A.S. Pushkin makes his heroine suffer because he treats her with trepidation and tenderness. He knows that she will endure these sufferings, revealing in them the most beautiful sides of her soul. The spiritual qualities of Masha Mironova are wonderful: morality, faithfulness to the word, decisiveness, sincerity. And as a reward she gets a well-deserved happiness.
Conclusion
Meeting with Masha Mironovathroughout the entire work, one cannot help but admire her responsiveness, her ability to compassion, love and forgive, her willingness to make any sacrifices and perform the most daring deeds for the sake of love and friendship. I am sure that the charming image of the captain's daughter, created by A.S. Pushkin, is a worthy example to follow in our days.
Masha Mironova is one of those heroes of "The Captain's Daughter", in which, according to Gogol, "the simple greatness of ordinary people" was embodied. Masha is a man of strong will. From a timid, wordless "coward" she grows into a bold and decisive heroine, able to defend her right to happiness. That is why the novel is named "The Captain's Daughter" after her. She is a true heroine. Her best features will develop and appear in the heroines of Tolstoy and Turgenev, Nekrasov and Ostrovsky.
“Reading Pushkin, we read the truth about Russian people, the complete truth and just about the complete truth about ourselves we hardly hear now, or we hear so rarely that they probably would not have believed Pushkin, had it not brought it out and put he before us these Russian people is so tangible and indisputable that it is absolutely impossible to doubt or dispute them. "
“And what a lovely Maria! Whatever it is, it belongs to the Russian epic about Pugachev. She incarnated with her, and shines on her with a gratifying and light shade. She is another Tatiana of the same poet. P.A. Vyazemsky. A.S. Pushkin, creating the image of Misha Mironova, put his soul, his love, his desire to see in a woman the embodiment of those high spiritual qualities that are so valued at all times. And Masha Mironova rightfully decorates the gallery of images of Russian women created by our classics.
A.S. Pushkin, creating the image of Misha Mironova, put his soul, his love, his desire to see in a woman the embodiment of those high spiritual qualities that are so valued at all times. And Masha Mironova rightfully decorates the gallery of images of Russian women created by our classics.
Bibliography:
1.D.D. Good. From Cantemir to the present day. 2 volume. - M .: "Fiction", 1973
2.D.D. Good. A novel about the leader of a popular uprising ("The Captain's Daughter" by A.S. Pushkin) // Tops. A book about the outstanding works of Russian literature. - M., 1978
3. Petrunina N.N. Pushkin's Prose: Ways of Evolution. - L., 1987
4. Pushkin in the memoirs of contemporaries: In 2 volumes. - M., 1985
5.Russian criticism about Pushkin. - M., 1998
Maria Mironova is the main character of Alexander Pushkin's story "The Captain's Daughter" and is her main mystery. Unremarkable, simple, modest, without any talents, alas - ugly - a country girl suddenly becomes the title character of Pushkin's last major work, in which he manifests himself as a deep thinker, philosopher, historian. What is the reason for such an amazing literary role?
In the story, the events related to Masha take a little time: we see her when we meet Grinev, at the bedside of the wounded Grinev, on the fortress rampart, at the moment when the main character picks up the girl from Belogorskaya, on a date with the empress. In all episodes, except for the last one, her role is accompanying. She is the heroine of a secondary love affair, the meaning of which in the 19th century was defined as "enticing the reader" in order to tell him about the main thing. Only at the moment of meeting with Catherine II Masha's request becomes fateful for Grinev.
Why does Pushkin call the novel (this is the genre of the work, according to some critics) "The Captain's Daughter", read - "Masha Mironova"? What author's idea does this almost fabulous, ideal and therefore completely inconspicuous heroine express?
Characteristics of the heroine
(Masha "Illustration by artist Dmitrieva G.S.)
Masha is truly a fabulous heroine. She is endowed with all the textbook virtues - modest, bashful, always doing what is right, honoring her parents and her husband (man) whom she loves. Nothing betrays a deep mind in her, because the heroine speaks and acts according to the written laws that are instilled in every peasant girl from birth.
Probably, to aggravate the impression of insignificance, Pushkin makes Masha also ugly. Her portrait at the first meeting with Grinev is eloquent: "... about eighteen years old, chubby, ruddy, with light blond hair, combed smoothly behind her ears, which burned like that." These are the words of Grinev himself, and if a man sees a beauty, then he will remember the ears that are not flaming at all and the round face.
(Iya Arepina as Masha from the movie "The Captain's Daughter" 1958, USSR)
Since childhood, Masha's social circle is narrow and closed: parents, village girls, old soldiers ("disabled"). Suddenly, Shvabrin appears in the fortress - a young officer who was exiled from St. Petersburg to "tmutarakan" for a duel. As it turns out, before Grinev's arrival, he courted Masha and even wooed her, but without result.
The girl did not rush to him out of longing and lack of people, and in this act is a manifestation of the mind, even the wisdom of Masha. Shvabrin turned out to be "rotten" in his essence: vindictive and petty (denigrated the girl in front of Grinyov, calling him "a perfect fool"), cowardly and unfaithful (broke the oath, betrayed his comrades, going over to Pugachev's side), cruel - forced Masha to cohabitation, closet.
(from the lines of the novel: " Masha sobbed, clinging to my chest")
Masha's wisdom lies in the fact that she chooses Grinev's heart - a worthy, noble person. In love, the heroine does not flirt, does not play: "She, without any pretense, confessed to me her heartfelt inclination ...". This act contains deep respect for a man, a guarantee of future purity of relations, when the wife does not cheat, hide something.
But Grinev's father categorically forbids even thinking about marriage. And if Peter is ready to marry Masha even without his father's blessing, then she categorically refuses: “No, Pyotr Andreich,” answered Masha, “I will not marry you without the blessing of your parents. Without their blessing, you will not be happy. Let's submit to the will of God ... "
This is not fear, not stupidity. This is an extraordinary respect for traditions, parents, that piety on which the world rests, a family in which true happiness is the only one possible. And this act also speaks of Masha's maximalism: all or nothing. This is the property of natures, not simple, not limited, but passionate, concealing a lot of strength and desires in the soul.
And from his story, the young man did not form a very good opinion of the captain's daughter. He saw her at the captain's house. Pushkin describes her portrait on the pages of "The Captain's Daughter" as follows: "a girl of about eighteen years old, chubby, ruddy, with light blond hair, combed smoothly behind her ears, which burned with her." The girl's burning ears betrayed the incipient first feeling, and at the same time, embarrassment, which he did not notice, being under the influence of Shvabrin's words that Masha was "a complete fool." At the first meeting, she did not make any impression on him.
On the same day, Grinev learned from the captain that Masha was a dowry. The captain did not look at the young man as a potential groom, and even Pyotr Andreyevich was young for matchmaking. I started talking to him about the dowry simply because my soul was sick for my daughter, and there was no one to talk to in particular in the fortress.
Maria Ivanovna grew up in the Belogorsk fortress. Her entire social circle was made up of her parents, Palashka, priest, and disabled soldiers. In such conditions, it is not difficult to remain undeveloped and limited. But having got to know Masha better, Grinev saw in her a prudent and sensitive girl. Masha was humble and virtuous. Despite the absence of suitors, she did not throw herself on the neck of the first Shvabrin she met, although he was an enviable groom for a dowry woman. With some kind of inner instinct, she made out his dark soul. She told Grinev that Shvabrin had wooed her with touching, almost childish naivete. “Alexey Ivanovich, of course, is a smart man, and of a good 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! "
How much chastity and virtue are in this one phrase.
Unlike her energetic and active mother, Masha was fearful, afraid of loud shots. But she was hardworking. Every time Grinev found her doing some homework.
Waking up after being wounded, Grinev learned that Masha had been caring for him all the days of his unconsciousness. He was so moved by her presence near his bed, by her tender, timid kiss, that he decided to propose to her. To which Masha replied that she would marry him only with the blessing of his parents. This speaks of her high, pure nature, of a beautiful soul.
We remember that in the story the commandant described Masha as a complete coward. However, left alone, without parents "in the enemy camp", she showed real courage and resilience. She was ready for any hardships, even death, just not to marry Shvabrin, whom she hated.
When Grinev, with assistance, freed Masha and sent her along with her to her father's estate, his parents, with all provincial hospitality, received Captain Mironov's daughter. They liked Masha for her modesty and virtue. Mother, without any doubt, appreciated her hard work and thrift.
But from a completely different side, the image of Masha Mironova is revealed to us after receiving the news of the imprisonment of Pyotr Andreevich, the whole family hoped that this was a misunderstanding, and that it would soon be resolved. Not resolved. From a letter from Prince B. Grinev and Masha learned that Pyotr Andreevich was declared a rebel and a traitor. This news nearly killed my father. And Masha said that she had to go to Petersburg.
This fragile girl, who was afraid of rifle shots in the fortress, decided to go, accompanied by Savelich and Palashka, to an unfamiliar distant capital in order to protect her beloved and restore justice.
Fate favored her. She met with the empress and told about Grinev's misadventures. The girl's modesty and courage captivated the Empress, she believed Masha.
Tatyana Larina, Maria Troekurova, Liza Muromskaya, Lyudmila and others. However, one of the most unusual women in his prose was the main character of The Captain's Daughter. How did the image of Masha Mironova differ from others? Let's figure it out.
A little about the background of writing the story "The Captain's Daughter"
Although the story is named after the main character, the plot is centered on her lover - Peter Grinev and the rebel Emelyan Pugachev. Moreover, initially much more space was given to Pugachev's rebellion in the work, and the main character was to be an officer who joined the rebels (Shvabrin).
However, this plot structure represented rebellion on the positive side. And in Tsarist Russia during the time of Pushkin, censorship was very strict, and the story, in fact, praising the anti-monarchist uprising, could remain unpublished.
Knowing this, Alexander Sergeevich changed the mood of the protagonist, reduced references to the riot and its reasons, and focused the plot on a love story. As a result of all these alterations, the image of Masha Mironova was at the center of all events. Although the story is named in honor of this heroine, nevertheless, a lot of attention is paid to Grinev and his relationship with Pugachev in the work.
Biography of Maria Mironova
Before considering in detail the image of Masha Mironova, it is worthwhile to briefly learn about the content of the story "The Captain's Daughter". At the same time, it is more expedient to present the events not from the point of view of Grinev the narrator, but as part of the heroine's biography.
Maria Ivanovna Mironova was the only daughter of the captain of the Belgorod garrison Ivan Kuzmich and his strong-willed wife, Vasilisa Yegorovna.
A little earlier, when she met Pyotr Grinev, officer Alexei Shvabrin wooed her. Considering that Mironova was a dowry, the young man was an excellent party for the girl financially and socially. However, Maria did not love him, so she refused.
The offended officer, holding a grudge, began to spread false rumors about the girl. These slander contributed to the fact that Grinev initially treated Masha negatively. But having got to know her better, he became interested in the girl, challenged the slanderous Shvabrin to a duel and was wounded.
Nursing him, Masha Mironova sincerely falls in love with Grinev, and he offers her his hand and heart. Having received the consent of his beloved, he sends a letter to his father, informing him of his intention to marry and asking for blessings.
But on the path of happiness for Masha and Peter, Shvabrin again becomes, who informs Grinev's family about the duel and its reason. Now the father is refusing the blessing to his son. Masha does not want to quarrel between her beloved and his family and refuses to secretly marry him.
Meanwhile, Emelyan Pugachev raises a riot, declaring himself Peter II. His army is moving towards the Belgorod fortress. The commandant, realizing that they are doomed, tries to save Masha: he dresses her in peasant clothes and hides her in the priest's house. When Pugachev's troops take the fortress, most of its inhabitants go over to the side of the rebel. However, several officers remain loyal to the oath. For this they will be executed.
The only one who manages to survive is Grinev, who once helped Pugachev, not knowing at the time who he was. Together with his faithful servant, Peter goes to the Orenburg fortress. But he has no opportunity to take Maria, left an orphan, with him, as she became seriously ill.
Shvabrin, who swore allegiance to Pugachev and was appointed commandant of the Belgorod fortress, becomes aware of Maria's shelter. The officer locks the girl up and demands that she marry him. Having received another refusal, he starves her.
The girl manages to convey the letter to her beloved, and he hurries to her aid. Although Grinev is again captured by Pugachev's supporters, the "resurrected Peter II" once again pardons the young man and helps him to reunite with his beloved.
Having overcome a lot of obstacles, Masha and Peter get home to the Grinevs. Personal acquaintance with the young man's bride had a beneficial effect on Andrei Grinev, and he agreed to the marriage.
But until the rebellion is suppressed, Peter considers it his duty to fight. Soon the riot is pacified. Among those arrested is Shvabrin, who, in order to take revenge on Grinev, slanders him. Peter was also arrested and sentenced to exile. Fearing for Masha's fate, he says nothing about the reasons for his relationship with Pugachev.
Upon learning of this, Masha travels to the capital on her own to tell the truth and save Grinev. Fate turns out to be merciful to her: she accidentally meets Tsarina Catherine. Not knowing who her interlocutor is, the girl tells the whole truth, and the empress has mercy on the young man. Then the lovers go home and get married.
The image of Masha Mironova in the story "The Captain's Daughter"
Having dealt with the biography, it is worth paying more attention to the character of the heroine. Throughout the story, Pushkin presents the image of Masha Mironova as the image of a girl from the people. It is for this reason that an epigraph from folk songs has been selected for each chapter in which she appears.
At the time of the beginning of the action, Masha was already 18 years old, and by the standards of those times, she had already sat up in girls. Despite this, the pretty creature did not turn into a greedy seeker for her husband. Masha does not try to preen herself, but dresses simply. He brushes his blond hair smoothly into a regular hairstyle, and does not construct intricate compositions out of them, as was customary among the noble young ladies of those times.
Humility and adventurism - two sides of the character of Maria Mironova
Although some researchers call Mironova a variation of the image of Tatyana Larina, this is a controversial statement. After all, girls are very different. So, Tatyana at first actively fights for her love, violating certain norms of decency (she confesses her love to a man first), but later she resigns herself, marries a rich and noble man chosen by her parents and refuses Onegin.
Everything is different with Maria Mironova. Having fallen in love, she is full of humility and is ready to give up her happiness for the benefit of Grinev. But when her beloved is threatened with exile, the girl shows unprecedented courage and goes to ask the queen herself for him.
It is worth noting that such an act for a young lady of the 19th century. was a real insolence. After all, not having the necessary connections in society, an unmarried girl, who has lived all her life in a remote province, goes to St. Petersburg. And in those days, except for the queen, the rest of the empire's women were not particularly allowed to interfere in "men's" affairs like politics. It turns out that Masha's act is a gamble.
Sometimes researchers compare this image with another Pushkin's heroine (Masha Mironova - "The Captain's Daughter"). We are talking about the heroine of the novel "Dubrovsky" Masha Troekurova, who in the very finale did not find the courage to achieve her happiness and surrendered to the will of circumstances.
Some literary scholars argue that the image of Masha Mironova is inconsistent. After all, showing a constantly docile nature and prudence, in the finale she takes extraordinary courage from nowhere, although logically she should have meekly gone into exile, like the wives of the Decembrists or Sonechka Marmeladov from Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment. Such a change in disposition can be explained by the fact that the girl lost her beloved parents in a short time, experienced a lot of upheavals, and in order to survive, she was forced to change and become brave.
Masha's relationship with her parents
Considering the image of Masha Mironova, it is worth paying attention to her relationship with her family. The girl's parents were sincere and honest people. For this reason, his father's career did not work out particularly well, and the Mironovs did not manage to accumulate a fortune. Although they did not live in poverty, they did not have money for a dowry for Mashenka. Therefore, the girl had no special prospects in terms of marriage.
Ivan Kuzmich and Vasilisa Yegorovna, although they raised their daughter as a decent girl with a noble soul, did not provide her with either education or position in society.
On the other hand, they always took their daughter's opinion into account. After all, when she refused a wonderful groom (Shvabrin), who could provide for her future, the Mironovs did not reproach and bondage the girl.
The captain's daughter and Shvabrin
Relations with Alexei Ivanovich characterize Masha. Although this hero was ugly, he was sufficiently educated (spoke French, understood literature), was courteous and knew how to charm. And for a young provincial simpleton (who, in essence, was the heroine), he could seem like an ideal at all.
His matchmaking with Mironova looked like a great success for the "aged" woman without a dowry. But the girl suddenly refused. Perhaps Masha felt the vile essence of the failed groom or learned some rumors about his behavior. After all, he once offered Grinev to seduce a girl for a pair of earrings, which means he could have had the experience of similar seduction of other young ladies. Or maybe Shvabrin just didn't like the young and romantic Masha. Such naive girls tend to fall in love with handsome and slightly silly guys like Grinev.
Why did her refusal hurt the man so much? Perhaps he wanted to marry her in order to become the successor of her father in the future. And since the bride was without a dowry and had an agreeable disposition, the hero hoped that she would be grateful to him until the end of her days. But the provincial homeless woman suddenly refused, ruining his ambitious plan.
The image of Masha Mironova, in particular, her high morality, is revealed in more detail in the light of further relationships with the failed groom. She never made excuses when he spread gossip about her. And once in his power, when Shvabrin tried to morally break her, she bravely stood the test.
Masha Mironova and Petr Grinev
The relationship of these characters is also very revealing. Their love story looks very traditional: poetry, a duel, parental prohibition and overcoming a lot of obstacles on the way to their happiness. But through this story, the whole depth of Masha's spiritual nobility is shown. Her feelings are more meaningful and profound than those of Grinev. In particular, loving her parents very much, the girl does not want a quarrel between Peter and his father.
She endures the first parting more stoically than Grinev, who rushes about and finds himself on the verge of either losing his mind or indulging in debauchery.
After the capture of the fortress by Pugachev and the murder of Masha's parents, the love of the heroes only grows stronger. At some point, each of them, risking their lives, saves the other.
Captain's daughter prototypes
Masha Mironova had several prototypes, on the basis of which Pushkin created this image. So, in those days, a joke was spread about the meeting of the German ruler Joseph II with the daughter of an unknown captain. Subsequently, Alexander Sergeevich adapted it to the story of the meeting with Catherine II and even called the story “The Captain's Daughter”.
Mironova owes her simplicity and closeness to the people to the heroine of Walter Scott - Jeanie Deans ("Edinburgh Dungeon"). To save her sister, this modest and noble Scottish peasant woman went to the capital and, having achieved an audience with the Queen, saved the unfortunate woman from the death penalty. By the way, from the same novel, Pushkin borrowed the idea of using the words of folk songs as epigraphs.
