“What's the mystery?” You ask. Who is Herman, what is midnight and what is it all about? In fact, everything is simple: this is a catch phrase from the Pushkin's “Queen of Spades”. Is it Pushkinskaya, is it only him?
A bit of history
Back in 1833, Alexander Sergeyevich wrote a short prose story, with an unfinished plot, which brought him, however, great fame and was repeatedly published abroad. Mystical intrigue, the theme of rock, fortune, gambling excitement, a game of passions - all this was very popular in secular society. Young people are not rich, but ambitious dreamed of "making a fortune" thanks to the game. Tired life-goers tickled their nerves and received new sensations, staking huge sums of money. Emotions beating over the edge, secrets and intrigues, the search for treasured combinations promising a 100% win, secret love, seduced innocence, human unscrupulousness - this is the atmosphere filled with the story in which the famous sounds: “Midnight is approaching, but Herman’s all no!"
Plot and heroes
The hero of the story is a young man, a German by birth, by the name of Hermann. He is passionate, but poor, saves money, does not pick up cards, although he dreams of breaking a bank and becoming a rich man overnight. His friend once talks about his grandmother, who supposedly knows the secret of the “three cards”, with which you can earn millions. The old countess has a poor pupil - Lisa. Having seduced her, the hero tries to get close to the old woman. The phrase "it is already midnight, but Herman is still gone" just says Lisa, expecting an imaginary lover. However, everything ends sadly. The countess, frightened by Hermann, is dying. He seems to recognize the treasured cards, even twice he gets a big win. However, for the third time it is played outright and goes crazy. Now, more about the mysterious phrase “midnight is approaching, but Herman is still gone” and some “mistakes” in spelling.
Two "Queen of Spades"
In early December 1890, viewers of the famous Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg attended the premiere of the opera, which for the third century has not left the most prestigious stages in the world. This is The Queen of Spades, the music of which was written by the great P.I. Tchaikovsky. The work was created based on the very story of Pushkin, as well as using poems by Derzhavin and Ryleev, Zhukovsky and Batyushkov. The author of the libretto is Modest Tchaikovsky, the composer's brother. Apparently, he came up with a future aphorism: "Midnight is approaching, but Herman is still gone."
Two Hermans
Why Tchaikovsky? Because in the Pushkin text there is no such proposal. This is not the original poet, successfully used by the librettist. As well as the main character in the opera - not a direct double of the hero of the story. German ("Queen of Spades" -operator) is the name of the character, it is written with one letter "n", and this is absolutely correct; patronymics, derivatives from it - Germanovna, Germanovich. In the story, we read: "Hermann was the son of an Russified German ...". That is, this is the German surname of the hero, the Russian version of the spelling of the modern German word "Hermann" from "her Mann", ie man, man, husband. Thus, Pushkin’s poetry, as well as his prose, clearly demonstrate how creatively the author approached the language, masterfully playing out certain linguistic phenomena. But if you do not know such subtleties, you can be mistaken in the spelling and interpretation of the word.
The meaning of the phrase
As for the meaning of the phrase, it has become winged, phraseologism. In which case its use will be out of place? Suppose if we are talking about a late person. And you want to not just emphasize the fact of the absence of anyone, but to do it ironically. Or when you want to express annoyance about this delay. Then defiantly look at your watch and deliberately with a dramatic voice say: “Already midnight is approaching, but Herman is still gone!”