The events described by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin in one of his most famous works are the history of a large-scale uprising of peasants (1773-1774). The image of Pugachev in the story “Captain's Daughter” caused a lot of controversy and indignation at that time. After all, for the first time the leader of the uprising appeared before the reader’s eyes not in the role of the bloodthirsty killer, as the historians of that era portrayed him, but as a brave, talented leader of the people.
Leader
Savvy, mind, inexhaustible energy and outstanding abilities of the personality of the leader allowed him to lead one of the most striking peasant uprisings. The image of Pugachev in the story “The Captain's Daughter” is the image of a man who managed to gather around him people from all over the country. Among them were Bashkirs, Belogorsk Cossacks, Chuvashs, Tatars, and workers from the Ural factories.
Pugachev, on the other hand, brutally cracked down on everyone who, in his opinion, oppressed ordinary people, peasants. In the person of nobles, he saw only enemies, and good representatives of power and landowners did not exist for him at all. It is for this reason that he is so cruel to Captain Mironov, as well as his subordinates.
The man who remembers good
Nevertheless, the image of Pugachev in the story “The Captain's Daughter” is a person who does not forget about the good ever made for him. So, he saves Grinev’s life for a glass of vodka and a hare sheepskin coat, which he once shared with the “leader” during a snowstorm. Pyotr Grinev three times tried his luck, and all three times Pugachev pardoned him. The generosity of the leader of the uprising is also evidenced by the fact that it was he who rescued Masha from the hands of Shvabrin, despite the fact that she is the daughter of the captain, and it was he who released Grinev with her. At the same time, he punishes Shvabrina.
View from the outside
The image of Pugachev in the novel “The Captain's Daughter” is also revealed through the prism of perception of Peter Grinev himself. He repeatedly had the opportunity to make sure that this man was not at all as terrible as the tsarist authorities described him.
During their first meeting, Pugachev acts as a “counselor”. Grinev at that time was extremely impressed by the composure and prudence of a new acquaintance. The “counselor” leaves the impression of a simple person, whose appearance, no matter what, seems wonderful. Slim build, broad shoulders, medium height, black beard with gray hair and large lively eyes - these are the features that attracted the attention of Grinev. As he himself describes the appearance of the hero, "... his face had an expression rather pleasant, but roguish."
Simple cossack
Pugachev’s description in “The Captain’s Daughter” is not only the image of the leader of the uprising, but also the guise of a simple Cossack. Yemelyan’s speech contains folk proverbs, sayings, sayings, various allegories, which for people from a different environment seem incomprehensible. So, he forces himself to be called the “king-father”, explaining this by the fact that “faith in a good king” has always lived and will live in Russia. His relations with his subordinates are built on democracy, they lack any respect for them, and each person has every right to disagree with the opinion of his “sovereign”.
Closer to the finale of the work, Pugachev begins to sharply feel that he is only an impostor, he becomes face to face with a sense of doom and continues to live only with hope for a bright future. “At the first failure, they [subordinates and associates] will redeem their neck with my head,” such words break from his lips in a moment of frankness.
Be an eagle and die with dignity
However, the main features of the image of Pugachev remain his heroism and greatness. This is reflected in the symbolic tale of the raven and the eagle. The hero believes that it is better to live a short, but dignified life, rather than eking out for many years and "eat carrion." Pugachev compares himself to the eagle, that he lives only 33 years, but he "drinks living blood."
The story “The Captain's Daughter”, in which Pugachev’s image is one of the main ones, made it possible to look at the historical figure from a completely unusual angle. Emphasizing in his hero mind, ingenuity, heroism and courage, Pushkin makes him a collective image of the whole Russian people and its best qualities.
Nevertheless, the author himself is of the opinion that reform is always better than a bloody revolution, and more than once recalls this in his work. In particular, it is in “The Captain's Daughter” that there are words that later became widely known - “Do not bring God to see the Russian rebellion, meaningless and merciless!” However, Pushkin did not set out to portray Pugachev and his associates as villains and criminals. He sought to reflect in his narrative the history of the uprising and the identity of the peasant leader. And he succeeded in this truly masterfully.