In the famous Boldinsky autumn of 1830, A.S. For 11 days, Pushkin wrote an amazing work - “Belkin's Tale,” which included five independent stories told to one person (his name is in the title). In them, the author managed to create a gallery of provincial images, truthfully and without embellishment to show life in the modern writer of Russia.
A special place in the cycle is occupied by the novel "Station Warden". It was she who laid the foundations for the development of the theme of the “little man” in 19th-century Russian literature.
Meet the heroes
The story of station supervisor Samson Vyrin was told to Belkin by a certain I.L.P., a titular adviser. His bitter reflections on how he relates to people of this rank, from the very beginning, set the reader to a not-so-funny mood. Everyone who stops at the station is ready to scold them. Either the horses are bad, the weather and the road are bad, or even the mood didn’t go right — the station warden is to blame. The main idea of the story is to show the plight of a simple person without a high rank and rank.
Samson Vyrin, a retired soldier, a widower who raised his fourteen-year-old daughter Dunechka, calmly demolished all the claims of those passing by. He was a fresh and peppy man of about fifty, sociable and sensitive. So the titular adviser saw him at the first meeting.
The house was clean and comfortable, with balsamins growing on the windows. And everyone stopping to drink tea from the samovar Dunya, who early learned to farm. She, with her meek appearance and smile, subdued the anger of all those who were not satisfied. In the society of Vyrina and the “little coquette”, time passed for the adviser unnoticed. The guest said goodbye to the owners, as to old acquaintances: their society seemed so pleasant to him.
How has Vyrin changed ...
The story "Station Warden" continues with a description of the storyteller’s second meeting with the main character. A few years later, fate again threw him into those lands. He drove up to the station with alarming thoughts: everything could have happened during this time. The premonition was not really deceived: instead of a peppy and cheerful person, a gray-haired, long-unshaven, hunched old man appeared before him. It was all the same Vyrin, only now very taciturn and gloomy. However, a glass of punch did its job, and soon the narrator learned the story of Dunya.
Three years ago, a young hussar rode past. The girl liked him, and for several days he pretended to be sick. And when he got mutual feelings from her, he took away secretly, without blessing, from his father. So misfortune has changed the long-established life of the family. The heroes of the Station Warden, father and daughter, will no longer meet. The old man’s attempt to return Dunya ended in nothing. He reached St. Petersburg and was even able to see her, richly dressed and happy. But the girl, looking at her father, fell without feelings, and he was simply kicked out. Now Samson lived in longing and loneliness, and the bottle became his main companion.
The Story of the Prodigal Son
Even at his first visit, the narrator noticed pictures with signatures in German on the walls. They depicted the biblical story of the prodigal son, who took his share of the inheritance and squandered it. In the last picture, the humble youth returned to his home to his forgiving parent.
This legend is very reminiscent of what happened with Vyrin and Dunya, because it is no coincidence that it is included in the story "Station Warden". The main idea of the work is connected with the idea of helplessness and defenselessness of ordinary people. Vyrin, who was well acquainted with the foundations of high society, could not believe that his daughter could be happy. The scene seen in St. Petersburg was not convinced - everything could still change. He waited for Dunya to return to the end of his life, but their meeting and forgiveness did not take place. Perhaps Dunya simply did not dare to appear before her father for a long time.
The return of the daughter
On his third visit, the narrator learns about the death of an old acquaintance. And the boy accompanying him to the cemetery will tell him about the lady who arrived after the station warden died. The content of their conversation makes it clear that Dunya was doing well. She arrived in a carriage with six horses, accompanied by a nurse and three barchat. But Dun didn’t find her father alive, and therefore repentance of the “lost” daughter became impossible. The lady lay for a long time on the grave - so traditionally they asked for forgiveness from the deceased person and said goodbye to him forever - and then left.
Station ranger: the main idea of the story
Why did the daughter's happiness bring unbearable mental suffering to her father?
Samson Vyrin always believed that life without blessing and as a lover is a sin. And the fault of Duni and Minsky, probably, first of all, was that their departure (the caretaker himself convinced his daughter to lead the hussar to the church) and misunderstanding at a meeting in Petersburg only strengthened him in this belief, which, in the end, would bring the hero to the grave . There is another important point - what happened undermined faith in the father. He sincerely loved his daughter, which was the meaning of his existence. And suddenly such ingratitude: for all the years, Dunya has never made itself known. She seemed to have deleted her father from her life.
Having depicted a poor man of the lowest rank, but with high moral values and a sensitive soul, A.S. Pushkin drew the attention of contemporaries to the situation of people who were at the lowest level of the social ladder. Failure to protest and humility with fate make them defenseless against life circumstances. This is also the station caretaker.
The main idea that the author wants to convey to the reader is to be sensitive and attentive to each person, regardless of their nature and social status. Only this will help to change the indifference and bitterness that reign in the world of people.