In 1830, Pushkin completed the cycle of short stories “Tales of the late Ivan Petrovich Belkin”. “Station caretaker” (the main idea of which is to make the reader think about the manner and timeliness of warm relations with close people by the example of a loving father and “prodigal” daughter) is one of the five works of the famous collection. At the very beginning, the author discusses the unfortunate share of the "small" man - the station warden. “Existing martyrs of the fourteenth class,” is what Pushkin calls them. All travelers who are dissatisfied with the road and the weather seek to curse and offend them.
A. S. Pushkin, “Station Warden”. Introduction
It happened in 1816. The narrator drove at that time through a certain well-known province. On the way, the traveler overtook the rain, and he decided to wait for him at the station. There he changed clothes and drank hot tea. A girl of about fourteen was setting the table. Her name was Dunya. It was the daughter of ranger Samson. The hut was clean and comfortable. The narrator invited the owner and his daughter to share his meal with him. So they met. Soon horses were handed over, and the traveler set off again.
A. S. Pushkin, “Station Warden”. Development of events
Several years have passed since then. It happened to the storyteller to again drive through the same station. When he entered the hut, he was struck by the fact that little was left of the previous situation: everywhere there was "dilapidation and neglect." Dunya's girl was nowhere to be found. The traveler met an aged ranger. He was taciturn. Only when the traveler offered him a glass of punch, the owner agreed to tell him his story, as it happened that he was left completely alone.
It happened three years ago. Then a young captain Minsky drove through the station. He was angry and shouted to feed the horses more lively. And when he saw Dunya, he softened and decided to stay for dinner. In the evening it turned out that the guest was sick. A doctor was called to him, who prescribed the patient bed rest. Three days later, the captain felt better, and he set off on the road, inviting Duna to take her to church. Her father allowed her to get there with a guest. He did not feel anything bad. The dinner ended, but Dunya did not return. Then old Samson ran to church and found out that his daughter was not there. In the evening, the coachman returned to the station, carrying a young officer. He informed the caretaker that his daughter had left with him. Learning about this, the old man lay down. And as soon as he got better, he gathered in Petersburg to return his Dunya.
A. S. Pushkin, “Station Warden”. Ending
Arriving in the city, the caretaker found the house of Minsky and appeared to him. But the young officer did not listen to the old man. He shoved some crumpled bank notes to him and led him out into the street. The poor father really wanted to see his beloved daughter Dunya once again, but he did not know how to do this. The case helped the caretaker.
Once a nimble shiver rushed past him, in which he recognized his daughter's kidnapper. They stopped near a three-story house. Minsky quickly ran up the stairs. The old man went to the house and asked if Evdokia Samsonovna lives here. He was told that here. Then he asked to let him go to her, hinting that he had news for the young lady.
Entering the house, Samson through the ajar door saw the following picture: Minsky was sitting in an armchair, thinking. Near him was Dunya in a luxurious toilet. She looked at the young hussar with tenderness. The old man never saw his daughter so beautiful. He involuntarily admired her. But Dunya, raising her head and seeing her father, cried out and fell on the carpet without feelings. An angry officer drove the old man out into the street.
Many years have passed since then. It happened to the narrator to drive through these places again. He learned that the station was no longer there, the caretaker drank too much and died. And in his house lives a brewer with his wife. Having visited his grave, the narrator found out that a beautiful lady with three small dugouts passed here a few years ago. Hearing that the caretaker died, she wept bitterly. And then Dunya (it was she) lay for a long time on the grave of her father, clasping her hands. With this episode, Pushkin finished his story.
"Station Warden" is one of the most striking works of the great master from the series of short stories "Belkin's Tales". The finale of the story is both mournful and happy at the same time: the difficult fate and death of the old caretaker, on the one hand, and the happy life and fate of his daughter, on the other. Its moral is this: parents need to be loved and taken care of while they are alive.
Pushkin’s novel “Station Warden” was filmed several times, the last time in 1972.