The Queen of Spades read the summary itself. Pushkin “The Queen of Spades” – read online. The meaning of the story in Russian literature

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin

Queen of Spades

Queen of Spades

The Queen of Spades means secret malevolence.
The newest fortune telling book.

And on rainy days
They were going
Often;
They bent - God forgive them! --
From fifty
One hundred
And they won
And they unsubscribed
Chalk.
So, on rainy days,
They were studying
Business.

One day we were playing cards with horse guard Narumov. The long winter night passed unnoticed; We sat down to dinner at five o'clock in the morning. Those who were the winners ate with great appetite, others, absentmindedly, sat in front of their empty cutlery. But the champagne appeared, the conversation became livelier, and everyone took part in it. -What did you do, Surin? - asked the owner. - Lost, as usual. I must admit that I am unhappy: I play with myrrandole, I never get excited, nothing can confuse me, but I keep losing! “And you’ve never been tempted?” never put it on rue?.. Your firmness is amazing to me. - What is Hermann like? - said one of the guests, pointing to the young engineer, - he hasn’t picked up cards in his life, he hasn’t forgotten a single password in his life, and until five o’clock he sits with us and watches our game! “The game occupies me greatly,” said Hermann, “but I am not able to sacrifice what is necessary in the hope of acquiring what is superfluous.” - Hermann is German: he is calculating, that’s all! - Tomsky noted. - And if anyone is unclear to me, it’s my grandmother, Countess Anna Fedotovna. -- How? What? - the guests shouted. “I can’t understand,” continued Tomsky, “how my grandmother doesn’t show off!” “What’s so surprising,” said Narumov, “that an eighty-year old woman doesn’t show off?” - So you don’t know anything about her? -- No! right, nothing! - Oh, listen: You need to know that my grandmother, about sixty years ago, went to Paris and was in great fashion there. People ran after her to see la Venus moscovite; 1) Richelieu trailed after her, and the grandmother assures that he almost shot himself because of her cruelty. At that time, ladies played pharaoh. Once at court, she lost something very much to the Duke of Orleans at his word. Arriving home, the grandmother, peeling the flies off her face and untying her hoops, announced to her grandfather that she had lost and ordered him to pay. My late grandfather, as far as I remember, was my grandmother's butler. He feared her like fire; however, upon hearing about such a terrible loss, he lost his temper, brought the bills, proved to her that in six months they had spent half a million, that they had neither a village near Moscow nor Saratov near Paris, and completely refused payment. The grandmother slapped him in the face and went to bed alone, as a sign of her disfavor. The next day she ordered to call her husband, hoping that the home punishment had an effect on him, but she found him unshakable. For the first time in her life, she reached the point of reasoning and explanation with him; I thought to reassure him, condescendingly proving that debt is different and that there is a difference between a prince and a coachman. -- Where! grandfather rebelled. No, yes and only! Grandma didn't know what to do. She was briefly acquainted with a very remarkable man. Have you heard about Count Saint-Germain, about which they tell so many wonderful things. You know that he pretended to be the Eternal Jew, the inventor of the life elixir and the philosopher's stone, and so on. They laughed at him as a charlatan, and Casanova in his Notes he says that he was a spy; however, Saint-Germain, despite his mystery, had a very respectable appearance and was a very amiable person in society. Grandmother still loves him deeply and gets angry if people talk about him with disrespect. Grandmother knew that Saint Germain could have a lot of money. She decided to resort to him. She wrote him a note and asked him to come to her immediately. The old eccentric appeared immediately and found him in terrible grief. She described to him in the darkest colors the barbarity of her husband and finally said that she placed all her hope in his friendship and courtesy. Saint Germain thought about it. “I can serve you with this amount,” he said, “but I know that you will not be calm until you pay me off, and I would not want to introduce you into new troubles. There is another way: you can recoup.” “But, dear Count,” answered the grandmother, “I tell you that we have no money at all.” “Money is not needed here,” objected Saint-Germain: “if you please listen to me.” Then he revealed to her a secret for which any of us would give dearly... The young players doubled their attention. Tomsky lit his pipe, took a drag and continued. That same evening the grandmother appeared at Versailles, au jeu de la Reine 2). Duke of Orleans metal; Grandma slightly apologized for not bringing her debt, weaved a little story to justify it and began to pontificate against him. She chose three cards, played them one after another: all three won her Sonic, and the grandmother won back completely. - Chance! - said one of the guests. -- Fairy tale! - Hermann noted. - Maybe powder cards? - picked up the third. “I don’t think so,” Tomsky answered importantly. -- How! - said Narumov, - you have a grandmother who guesses three cards in a row, and you still haven’t learned her cabalistics from her? - Yes, the hell with it! - answered Tomsky, - she had four sons, including my father: all four were desperate players, and she did not reveal her secret to any of them; although it would not be bad for them and even for me. But this is what my uncle, Count Ivan Ilyich, told me, and what he assured me of on his honor. The late Chaplitsky, the same one who died in poverty, having squandered millions, once lost in his youth - I remember Zorich- about three hundred thousand. He was desperate. Grandmother, who was always strict with the pranks of young people, somehow took pity on Chaplitsky. She gave him three cards so that he would play them one after another, and took his word of honor never to play again. Chaplitsky appeared to his winner: they sat down to play. Chaplitsky bet fifty thousand on the first card and won Sonic; I bent the passwords, passwords, - I won back and still won... However, it’s time to sleep: it’s already a quarter to six. In fact, it was already dawn: the young people finished their glasses and left.

II paraît que monsieur est décidément pour les suivantes.
Que voulez-vous, madame? Elles sont plus fraîches 3) .
Small talk.

The old Countess *** was sitting in her dressing room in front of the mirror. Three girls surrounded her. One was holding a jar of rouge, another a box of hairpins, the third a tall cap with fiery-colored ribbons. The Countess did not have the slightest pretension to beauty, which had long since faded, but she retained all the habits of her youth, strictly followed the fashions of the seventies and dressed just as long, just as diligently, as she had done sixty years ago. At the window, a young lady, her pupil, was sitting at the hoop. “Hello, grand”maman 4), said the young officer as he entered. “Bon jour, mademoiselle Lise 5). Grand”maman, I come to you with a request. - What is it, Paul? 6) -- Let me introduce one of my friends and bring him to your place on Friday for the ball. “Bring him to me straight to the ball, and then introduce him to me.” Were you at ***'s yesterday? - Of course! it was a lot of fun; They danced until five o'clock. How good Yeletskaya was! - And, my dear! What's good about it? Was this what her grandmother, Princess Daria Petrovna, was like?.. By the way: I guess she’s gotten very old, Princess Daria Petrovna? - How have you aged? - Tomsky answered absentmindedly, - she died about seven years ago. The young lady raised her head and made a sign to the young man. He remembered that the death of her peers was hidden from the old countess, and he bit his lip. But the countess heard the news, new to her, with great indifference. - She died! - she said, - but I didn’t even know! Together we were granted maid of honor, and when we introduced ourselves, the empress... And the countess told her grandson her anecdote for the hundredth time. “Well, Paul,” she said later, “now help me get up.” Lizanka, where is my snuff box? And the countess and her girls went behind the screens to finish their toilet. Tomsky stayed with the young lady. -Who do you want to introduce? - Lizaveta Ivanovna asked quietly. - Narumova. Do you know him? -- No! Is he a military man or a civilian? - Military. -- Engineer? -- No! cavalryman Why did you think he was an engineer? The young lady laughed and did not answer a word. --Paul! - the countess shouted from behind the screens, - send me some new novel, but please, not one of the current ones. - How is this, grand "maman? - That is, a novel where the hero would not crush either his father or mother and where there would be no drowned bodies. I am terribly afraid of drowned people! - There are no such novels today. Don’t you want Russians? - Are there really Russian novels?.. They came, father, please come! - Sorry, grand "maman: I'm in a hurry... Sorry, Lizaveta Ivanovna! Why did you think that Narumov was an engineer? And Tomsky left the restroom. Lizaveta Ivanovna was left alone: ​​she left work and began to look out the window. Soon a young officer appeared on one side of the street from behind a coal house. A blush covered her cheeks: she began to work again and bent her head just above the canvas. At this time the Countess entered, fully dressed. “Order, Lizanka,” she said, “to lay the carriage, and we’ll go for a walk.” Lizanka stood up from the hoop and began to clean up her work. - What are you talking about, my mother! Deaf or something! - the countess shouted. - Tell them to lay the carriage as soon as possible. -- Now! - the young lady answered quietly and ran into the hall. The servant entered and handed the countess books from Prince Pavel Alexandrovich. -- Fine! “Thank you,” said the countess. - Lizanka, Lizanka! where are you running to? -- Dress. - You will have time, mother. Sit here. Open the first volume; read aloud... The young lady took the book and read a few lines. - Louder! - said the countess. - What's wrong with you, my mother? Did you sleep with your voice, or what?.. Wait: move the bench closer to me... well! Lizaveta Ivanovna read two more pages. The Countess yawned. “Throw away this book,” she said, “what nonsense!” Send this to Prince Pavel and tell him to thank him... But what about the carriage? “The carriage is ready,” said Lizaveta Ivanovna, looking at the street. - Why aren’t you dressed? - said the countess, - we must always wait for you! This, mother, is unbearable. Lisa ran to her room. Less than two minutes later, the Countess began ringing with all her might. Three girls ran through one door, and the valet through another. - Why can’t you get through? - the countess told them. “Tell Lizaveta Ivanovna that I’m waiting for her.” Lizaveta Ivanovna came in wearing a hood and a hat. - Finally, my mother! - said the countess. - What kind of outfits! Why is this?..who should I seduce?..What’s the weather like? - it seems like the wind. - No, sir, your Excellency! very quiet, sir! - answered the valet. -You always speak at random! Open the window. That's right: wind! and very cold! Put aside the carriage! Lizanka, we won’t go: there was no point in dressing up. "And this is my life!" - thought Lizaveta Ivanovna. Indeed, Lizaveta Ivanovna was a very unhappy creature. Someone else’s bread is bitter, says Dante, and the steps of someone else’s porch are heavy, and who knows the bitterness of dependence if not the poor pupil of a noble old woman? Countess ***, of course, did not have an evil soul; but she was capricious, like a woman spoiled by the world, stingy and immersed in cold selfishness, like all old people who have fallen out of love in their age and are alien to the present. She took part in all the vanities of the big world, dragged herself to balls, where she sat in the corner, flushed and dressed in ancient fashion, like an ugly and necessary decoration of the ballroom; Arriving guests approached her with low bows, as if according to an established ritual, and then no one took care of her. She hosted the whole city, observing strict etiquette and not recognizing anyone by sight. Her numerous servants, having grown fat and gray in her hallway and maid's room, did what they wanted, vying with each other to rob the dying old woman. Lizaveta Ivanovna was a domestic martyr. She spilled tea and was reprimanded for wasting too much sugar; she read novels aloud and was to blame for all the author’s mistakes; she accompanied the countess on her walks and was responsible for the weather and the pavement. She was given a salary that was never paid; and yet they demanded that she dress like everyone else, that is, like very few others. In the world she played the most pathetic role. Everyone knew her and no one noticed; at balls she danced only when there was a lack of vis-à-vis 7), and the ladies took her arm every time they needed to go to the restroom to fix something in their outfit. She was proud, keenly aware of her position and looked around her, impatiently awaiting a deliverer; but the young people, calculating in their flighty vanity, did not deign to pay her attention, although Lizaveta Ivanovna was a hundred times sweeter than the arrogant and cold brides around whom they hovered. How many times, quietly leaving the boring and luxurious living room, she went to cry in her poor room, where there were screens covered with wallpaper, a chest of drawers, a mirror and a painted bed, and where a tallow candle burned darkly in a copper candlestick! Once - it happened two days after the evening described at the beginning of this story, and a week before the scene on which we stopped - one day Lizaveta Ivanovna, sitting under the window at her embroidery hoop, accidentally looked out onto the street and saw a young engineer standing motionless and with his eyes fixed on her window. She lowered her head and went back to work; Five minutes later I looked again - the young officer was standing in the same place. Not having the habit of flirting with passing officers, she stopped looking at the street and sewed for about two hours without raising her head. They served dinner. She stood up, began to put away her embroidery hoop, and, accidentally looking at the street, saw the officer again. This seemed rather strange to her. After lunch, she went to the window with a feeling of some anxiety, but the officer was no longer there, and she forgot about him. .. Two days later, going out with the countess to get into the carriage, she saw him again. He stood at the very entrance, covering his face with a beaver collar: his black eyes sparkled from under his hat. Lizaveta Ivanovna was frightened, without knowing why, and got into the carriage with inexplicable trepidation. Returning home, she ran to the window - the officer stood in the same place, fixing his eyes on her: she walked away, tormented by curiosity and excited by a feeling that was completely new to her. From that time on, not a day passed without a young man, at a certain hour, appearing under the windows of their house. Unconditional relations were established between him and her. Sitting in her place at work, she felt him approaching; she raised her head and looked at him longer and longer every day. The young man seemed to be grateful to her for this: she saw with the sharp eyes of youth how a quick blush covered his pale cheeks every time their gazes met. A week later she smiled at him... When Tomsky asked permission to introduce his friend to the countess, the poor girl’s heart began to beat. But having learned that Narumov was not an engineer, but a horse guardsman, she regretted that she had expressed her secret to the flighty Tomsky with an indiscreet question. Hermann was the son of a Russified German, who left him a small capital. Firmly convinced of the need to strengthen his independence, Hermann did not even touch interest, lived on his salary alone, and did not allow himself the slightest whim. However, he was secretive and ambitious, and his comrades rarely had the opportunity to laugh at his excessive frugality. He had strong passions and a fiery imagination, but firmness saved him from the ordinary delusions of youth. So, for example, being a gambler at heart, he never took cards in his hands, because he calculated that his condition did not allow him (as he said) sacrificing what is necessary in the hope of acquiring what is superfluous,- and meanwhile he spent entire nights sitting at the card tables and followed with feverish trepidation the various turns of the game. The anecdote about the three cards had a strong effect on his imagination and did not leave his head the whole night. “What if,” he thought the next evening, wandering around St. Petersburg, “what if the old countess reveals her secret to me! - or assigns me these three true cards! Why not try your luck?.. Introduce yourself her, to win her favor, - perhaps, to become her lover - but all this takes time - and she is eighty-seven years old, - she can die in a week, - in two days!.. And the most anecdote?.. Can he be trusted?.. No! calculation, moderation and hard work: these are my three true cards, this is what will triple, seventeen my capital and give me peace and independence! Reasoning in this way, he found himself in one of the main streets of St. Petersburg, in front of a house of ancient architecture. The street was lined with carriages; one after another, the carriages rolled towards the illuminated entrance. The slender leg of a young beauty, the rattling jackboot, the striped stocking and diplomatic shoe were constantly stretched out of the carriages. Fur coats and cloaks flashed past the stately doorman. Hermann stopped. -- Whose is this house? - he asked the corner guard. “Countesses ***,” answered the guard. Hermann trembled. The amazing anecdote again presented itself to his imagination. He began to walk around the house, thinking about its owner and her wonderful ability. He returned late to his humble corner; He could not fall asleep for a long time, and when sleep took possession of him, he dreamed of cards, a green table, piles of banknotes and piles of ducats. He played card after card, bent the corners decisively, won constantly, and raked in gold and put banknotes in his pocket. Waking up already late, he sighed about the loss of his fantastic wealth, went back to wandering around the city and again found himself in front of the house of Countess ***. An unknown force seemed to attract him to him. He stopped and began to look at the windows. In one he saw a black-haired head, probably bent over a book or at work. The head rose. Hermann saw a fresh face and black eyes. This minute decided his fate.

Vous m"écrivez, mon ange, des lettres de quatre pages plus
vite que je ne puis les lire 8) .
Correspondence.

Only Lizaveta Ivanovna had time to take off her hood and hat when the countess sent for her and ordered the carriage to be brought again. They went to sit down. At the same time that two footmen lifted the old woman and pushed her through the door, Lizaveta Ivanovna saw her engineer at the very wheel; he grabbed her hand; She could not recover from her fright; the young man disappeared: the letter remained in her hand. She hid it behind her glove and didn’t hear or see anything the whole way. The Countess used to ask every minute in the carriage: who met us? - what is the name of this bridge? - what does it say on the sign? This time Lizaveta Ivanovna answered at random and out of place and angered the countess. - What happened to you, my mother! Did you get tetanus, or what? You either don’t hear me, or don’t understand?.. Thank God, I’m not lisping and haven’t lost my mind yet! Lizaveta Ivanovna did not listen to her. Returning home, she ran to her room and took out a letter from behind her glove: it was not sealed. Lizaveta Ivanovna read it. The letter contained a declaration of love: it was tender, respectful and taken word for word from a German novel. But Lizaveta Ivanovna did not speak German and was very pleased with it. However, the letter she received worried her extremely. For the first time she entered into secret, close relations with a young man. His impudence horrified her. She reproached herself for her careless behavior and did not know what to do: should she stop sitting at the window and, by inattention, cool the young officer’s desire for further persecution? - Should I send him a letter? Should I answer coldly and decisively? She had no one to consult with, she had neither a friend nor a mentor. Lizaveta Ivanovna decided to answer. She sat down at the desk, took a pen and paper, and began to think. Several times she began her letter and tore it up: sometimes the expressions seemed to her too condescending, sometimes too cruel. Finally she managed to write a few lines with which she was satisfied. “I am sure,” she wrote, “that you have honest intentions and that you did not want to offend me with a rash act; but our acquaintance should not begin in this way. I return your letter to you and hope that in the future I will not have reasons to complain to undeserved disrespect." The next day, seeing Hermann walking, Lizaveta Ivanovna stood up from behind the hoop, went out into the hall, opened the window and threw the letter onto the street, hoping for the agility of the young officer. Hermann ran up, picked it up and entered the candy store. Having broken the seal, he found his letter and Lizaveta Ivanovna’s answer. He expected this and returned home, very busy with his intrigue. Three days after that, a young, quick-eyed mamzel brought Lizaveta Ivanovna a note from a fashion store. Lizaveta Ivanovna opened it with anxiety, anticipating monetary demands, and suddenly recognized Hermann’s hand. “You are mistaken, darling,” she said, “this note is not for me.” - No, definitely to you! - answered the brave girl, without hiding a sly smile. - Please read it! Lizaveta Ivanovna scanned the note. Hermann demanded a meeting. -- Can't be! - said Lizaveta Ivanovna, frightened by both the haste of the demands and the method he used. - This is written, it’s true, not for me! - And tore the letter into small pieces. - If the letter is not for you, why did you tear it up? - said Mamzel, - I would return it to the one who sent it. - Please, darling! - said Lizaveta Ivanovna, flushing at her remark, - don’t bring notes to me in advance. And tell the one who sent you that he should be ashamed... But Hermann did not calm down. Lizaveta Ivanovna received letters from him every day, now in one way or another. They were no longer translated from German. Hermann wrote them, inspired by passion, and spoke in a language characteristic of him: they expressed both the inflexibility of his desires and the disorder of his unbridled imagination. Lizaveta Ivanovna no longer thought of sending them away: she reveled in them; She began to answer them, and her notes became longer and more tender hour by hour. Finally, she threw the following letter to him through the window: “Today is the ball of the *** envoy. The Countess will be there. We will stay until two o’clock. Here’s a chance for you to see me alone. As soon as the Countess leaves, her people will probably disperse in the entryway the doorman will remain, but he usually goes to his closet. Come at half past eleven. Go straight to the stairs. If you find someone in the hall, you will ask if the countess is at home. They will tell you no, and there is nothing to do. You will have to come back. But you probably won’t meet anyone. The girls are sitting at home, all in the same room. From the front, go left, go all the way straight to the countess’s bedroom. In the bedroom behind the screens you will see two small doors: on the right to the office, where the countess never enters; on the left into the corridor, and immediately there is a narrow twisted staircase: it leads to my room." Hermann trembled like a tiger, waiting for the appointed time. At ten o'clock in the evening he was already standing in front of the countess's house. The weather was terrible: the wind howled, wet snow fell in flakes; the lanterns glowed dimly; the streets were empty. From time to time Vanka stretched out on his skinny nag, looking out for a belated rider. Hermann stood in only his frock coat, feeling neither wind nor snow. Finally the countess's carriage was delivered. Hermann saw how the footmen carried out a hunched old woman, wrapped in a sable fur coat, and how after her, in a cold cloak, with her head covered with fresh flowers, her pupil flashed. The doors slammed shut. The carriage rolled heavily through the loose snow. The doorman locked the doors. The windows went dark. Hermann began to walk around the empty house: he went to the lantern, looked at his watch - it was twenty minutes past eleven. He remained under the lantern, fixing his eyes on the hour hand and waiting for the remaining minutes. Exactly at half past twelve Hermann stepped onto the countess's porch and entered the brightly lit entryway. There was no doorman. Hermann ran up the stairs, opened the doors to the hallway and saw a servant sleeping under a lamp in an old, stained armchair. With a light and firm step, Hermann walked past him. The hall and living room were dark. The lamp dimly illuminated them from the hallway. Hermann entered the bedroom. In front of the ark, filled with ancient images, a golden lamp glowed. Faded damask armchairs and sofas with down pillows, with faded gilding, stood in sad symmetry near the walls covered with Chinese wallpaper. On the wall hung two portraits painted in Paris m-me Lebrun 9 ) . One of them depicted a man of about forty, ruddy and plump, in a light green uniform and with a star; the other - a young beauty with an aquiline nose, combed temples and a rose in her powdered hair. Porcelain shepherdesses, table clocks made by the famous Leroy 10), boxes, roulettes, fans and various ladies' toys, invented at the end of the last century together with the Montgolfier ball and Mesmerian magnetism, stuck out in all corners. Hermann went behind the screen. Behind them stood a small iron bed; on the right was a door leading to the office; on the left, the other - into the corridor. Hermann opened it and saw a narrow, twisted staircase that led to the poor pupil’s room... But he turned back and entered the dark office. Time passed slowly. Everything was quiet. Twelve struck in the living room; in all the rooms the clocks, one after another, rang twelve - everything fell silent again. Hermann stood leaning against the cold stove. He was calm; his heart beat evenly, like that of a man who had decided to do something dangerous, but necessary. The clock struck one and two o'clock in the morning, and he heard the distant knock of a carriage. Involuntary excitement took possession of him. The carriage drove up and stopped. He heard the sound of the running board being lowered. There was a fuss in the house. People ran, voices were heard, and the house lit up. Three old maids ran into the bedroom, and the countess, barely alive, entered and sank into the Voltaire chairs. Hermann looked through the crack: Lizaveta Ivanovna passed by him. Hermann heard her hurried steps along the steps of her stairs. Something like remorse responded in his heart and fell silent again. He was petrified. The Countess began to undress in front of the mirror. They broke off her cap, decorated with roses; They took off the powdered wig from her gray and closely cropped head. Pins rained down around her. A yellow dress embroidered with silver fell to her swollen feet. Hermann witnessed the disgusting mysteries of her toilet; finally the countess remained in her sleeping jacket and nightcap: in this outfit, more characteristic of her old age, she seemed less terrible and ugly. Like all old people in general, the countess suffered from insomnia. Having undressed, she sat down by the window in a Voltaire chair and sent the maids away. The candles were taken out, the room was again illuminated by one lamp. The Countess sat all yellow, moving her drooping lips, swaying left and right. Her dull eyes depicted a complete absence of thought; looking at her, one would think that the swaying of the terrible old woman occurred not from her will, but from the action of hidden galvanism. Suddenly this dead face changed inexplicably. The lips stopped moving, the eyes perked up: an unfamiliar man stood in front of the countess. - Don't be scared, for God's sake, don't be scared! - he said in a clear and quiet voice. “I have no intention of harming you; I have come to beg you for one favor. The old woman looked at him silently and did not seem to hear him. Hermann imagined that she was deaf, and, bending over her ear, repeated the same thing to her. The old woman remained silent as before. “You can,” continued Hermann, “make up the happiness of my life, and it will not cost you anything: I know that you can guess three cards in a row...” Hermann stopped. The Countess seemed to understand what was required of her; she seemed to be searching for words for her answer. “It was a joke,” she said at last, “I swear to you!” it was a joke! “There’s nothing to joke about,” Hermann objected angrily. - Remember Chaplitsky, whom you helped to win back. The Countess was apparently embarrassed. Her features depicted a strong movement of the soul, but she soon fell into her former insensibility. “Can you,” continued Hermann, “assign me these three correct cards?” The Countess was silent; Hermann continued: “For whom should you keep your secret?” For grandchildren? They are rich without that; They don’t even know the value of money. Your three cards won't help Mot. He who does not know how to take care of his father's inheritance will still die in poverty, despite any demonic efforts. I'm not a spendthrift; I know the value of money. Your three cards will not be lost to me. Well!.. He stopped and waited with trepidation for her answer. The Countess was silent; Hermann knelt down. “If ever,” he said, “your heart knew the feeling of love, if you remember its delights, if you ever smiled when your newborn son cried, if anything human ever beat in your chest, then I beg you with the feelings of your wife, lover, mother - everything that is sacred in life - do not refuse me my request! - tell me your secret! - what do you want in it?.. Perhaps it is associated with terrible sin, with the destruction of eternal bliss, with a devilish pact... Think: you are old; You don’t have long to live—I’m ready to take your sin upon my soul. Just tell me your secret. Think that a person's happiness is in your hands; that not only me, but my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will bless your memory and honor it like a shrine... The old woman did not answer a word. Hermann stood up. -- Old witch! - he said, gritting his teeth, - so I’ll make you answer... With that word, he took a pistol out of his pocket. At the sight of the pistol the Countess had a strong feeling for the second time. She nodded her head and raised her hand, as if shielding herself from the shot... Then she rolled backwards... and remained motionless. “Stop being childish,” said Hermann, taking her hand. “I’m asking for the last time: do you want to assign me your three cards?” -- Yes or no? The Countess did not answer. Hermann saw that she had died.

7 May 18**.
Homme sans mœurs et sans religion! eleven)
Correspondence.

Lizaveta Ivanovna was sitting in her room, still in her ball gown, immersed in deep thoughts. Arriving home, she hurried to send away the sleepy girl who was reluctantly offering her her service - she said that she would undress herself, and with trepidation she entered her room, hoping to find Hermann there and wishing not to find him. At first glance she was convinced of his absence and thanked fate for the obstacle that had prevented their meeting. She sat down without undressing and began to recall all the circumstances that had carried her so far in such a short time. Less than three weeks had passed since she first saw the young man through the window - and she was already in correspondence with him - and he managed to demand a night meeting from her! She knew his name only because some of his letters were signed by him; I never spoke to him, I never heard his voice, I never heard about him... until this very evening. Strange affair! That very evening, at the ball, Tomsky, sulking at the young princess Polina ***, who, contrary to usual, was not flirting with him, wanted to take revenge, showing indifference: he called Lizaveta Ivanovna and danced an endless mazurka with her. All the time he joked about her passion for engineering officers, assured that he knew much more than she could have imagined, and some of his jokes were so well directed that Lizaveta Ivanovna thought several times that her secret was known to him. -Who do you know all this from? - she asked laughing. “From a friend of a person you know,” answered Tomsky, “a very wonderful person!” -Who is this wonderful man? - His name is Hermann. Lizaveta Ivanovna did not answer, but her arms and legs were frozen... “This Hermann,” Tomsky continued, “has a truly romantic face: he has the profile of Napoleon, and the soul of Mephistopheles.” I think he has at least three crimes on his conscience. How pale you are!.. - My head hurts... What did Hermann tell you, - or whatever you call it?.. - Hermann is very dissatisfied with his friend: he says that in his place he would have acted completely differently ... I even believe that Hermann himself has designs on you, but at least he listens very keenly to the loving exclamations of his friend. - Where did he see me? - In church, maybe - for a walk!.. God knows! maybe in your room, during your sleep: it will make him... Three ladies approached them with questions - oubli ou regret? 12) - interrupted the conversation, which was becoming painfully curious for Lizaveta Ivanovna. The lady chosen by Tomsky was Princess *** herself. She managed to explain herself to him by running an extra circle and spinning around in front of her chair one more time. Tomsky, returning to his place, no longer thought about Hermann or Lizaveta Ivanovna. She certainly wanted to resume the interrupted conversation; but the mazurka ended, and soon after the old countess left. Tomsky’s words were nothing more than mazurochka chatter, but they sank deeply into the soul of the young dreamer. The portrait sketched by Tomsky was similar to the image she had drawn up herself, and, thanks to the latest novels, this already vulgar face frightened and captivated her imagination. She sat with her bare arms folded in a cross, her head, still adorned with flowers, bowed on her open chest... Suddenly the door opened and Hermann entered. She trembled... - Where have you been? - she asked in a frightened whisper. “In the old countess’s bedroom,” answered Hermann, “I’m leaving her now.” The Countess died. “My God!.. what are you saying?..” “And it seems,” continued Hermann, “I am the cause of her death.” Lizaveta Ivanovna looked at him, and Tomsky’s words resounded in her soul: This man has at least three evil deeds in his soul! Hermann sat down on the window next to her and told everything. Lizaveta Ivanovna listened to him with horror. So, these passionate letters, these fiery demands, this daring, persistent pursuit, all this was not love! Money—that’s what his soul yearned for! It was not she who could satisfy his desires and make him happy! The poor pupil was nothing more than the blind assistant of the robber, the murderer of her old benefactress!.. She cried bitterly in her late, painful repentance. Hermann looked at her in silence: his heart was also tormented, but neither the poor girl’s tears nor the amazing beauty of her grief disturbed his stern soul. He felt no remorse at the thought of the dead old woman. One thing terrified him: the irretrievable loss of a secret from which he expected enrichment. - You are a monster! - Lizaveta Ivanovna finally said. “I didn’t want her to die,” answered Hermann, “my pistol is not loaded.” They fell silent. Morning was coming. Lizaveta Ivanovna extinguished the dying candle: a pale light illuminated her room. She wiped her tear-stained eyes and raised them to Hermann: he was sitting on the window, arms folded and frowning menacingly. In this position, he surprisingly resembled a portrait of Napoleon. This similarity struck even Lizaveta Ivanovna. - How do you get out of the house? - Lizaveta Ivanovna finally said. “I thought I’d take you up the secret staircase, but I have to go past the bedroom, and I’m afraid.” “Tell me how to find this secret staircase; I `ll exit. Lizaveta Ivanovna stood up, took a key from the chest of drawers, handed it to Hermann and gave him detailed instructions. Hermann shook her cold, unresponsive hand, kissed her bowed head and left. He went down the winding staircase and entered the countess's bedroom again. The dead old woman sat petrified; her face expressed deep calm. Hermann stopped in front of her and looked at her for a long time, as if wanting to ascertain the terrible truth; Finally he entered the office, felt behind the wallpaper the door and began to go down the dark stairs, agitated by strange feelings. Along this very staircase, he thought, perhaps sixty years ago, into this very bedroom, at the same hour, in an embroidered caftan, combed by Yu l "oiseau royal 13), clutching his triangular hat to his heart, a young lucky man, long ago already decayed in the grave, and the heart of his elderly mistress stopped beating today... Under the stairs, Hermann found a door, which he opened with the same key, and found himself in a through corridor that led him out onto the street.

That night the deceased Baroness von V*** appeared to me.
She was all in white and told me:
"Hello, Mr. Councilor!"
Swedenborg.

Three days after the fateful night, at nine o’clock in the morning, Hermann went to the *** monastery, where the funeral service for the body of the deceased countess was to be held. Without feeling repentance, he could not, however, completely drown out the voice of his conscience, which kept telling him: you are the murderer of the old woman! Having little true faith, he had many prejudices. He believed that the dead countess could have a harmful influence on his life, and decided to attend her funeral to ask her forgiveness. The church was full. Hermann could force his way through the crowd of people. The coffin stood on a rich hearse under a velvet canopy. The deceased lay in it with her hands folded on her chest, wearing a lace cap and a white satin dress. Her household stood around: servants in black caftans with coat of arms ribbons on their shoulders and with candles in their hands; relatives in deep mourning - children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Nobody cried; tears would be -- une affectation 14) . The Countess was so old that her death could not strike anyone and that her relatives had long looked at her as if she had become obsolete. The young bishop delivered the funeral eulogy. In simple and touching terms, he presented the peaceful dormition of the righteous woman, for whom many years had been a quiet, touching preparation for her Christian death. “The angel of death found her,” said the speaker, “watchful in good thoughts and in anticipation of the midnight bridegroom.” The service was performed with sad decorum. The relatives were the first to go to say goodbye to the body. Then the numerous guests moved, who had come to bow to the one who had been a participant in their vain amusements for so long. After them, everyone is home. Finally, an old noble lady, the same age as the deceased, approached. Two young girls led her by the arms. She was unable to bow down to the ground, and alone shed a few tears, kissing her mistress’s cold hand. After her, Hermann decided to approach the coffin. He bowed to the ground and lay for several minutes on the cold floor strewn with spruce trees. Finally he stood up, as pale as the dead woman herself, climbed onto the steps of the hearse and bent down... At that moment it seemed to him that the dead woman looked at him mockingly, squinting with one eye. Hermann, hastily leaning back, stumbled and fell backwards on the ground. They picked him up. At the same time, Lizaveta Ivanovna was carried out, fainting, to the porch. This episode disturbed for several minutes the solemnity of the gloomy ritual. A dull murmur arose among the visitors, and the thin chamberlain, a close relative of the deceased, whispered in the ear of the Englishman standing next to him that the young officer was her natural son, to which the Englishman answered coldly: Oh? The whole day Hermann was extremely upset. While dining in a secluded tavern, he, contrary to his custom, drank a lot, in the hope of drowning out his inner excitement. But the wine fired his imagination even more. Returning home, he threw himself on the bed without undressing and fell fast asleep. He woke up at night: the moon illuminated his room. He looked at his watch: it was a quarter to three. His sleep passed; he sat down on the bed and thought about the funeral of the old countess. At this time, someone from the street looked at him through the window and immediately walked away. Hermann did not pay any attention to this. A minute later he heard the door in the front room being unlocked. Hermann thought that his orderly, drunk as usual, was returning from a night walk. But he heard an unfamiliar gait: someone was walking, quietly shuffling their shoes. The door opened and a woman in a white dress entered. Hermann mistook her for his old nurse and wondered what could have brought her to such a time. But the white woman, gliding, suddenly found herself in front of him - and Hermann recognized the countess! “I came to you against my will,” she said in a firm voice, “but I was ordered to fulfill your request.” Three, seven and ace will win you in a row, but so that you do not bet more than one card per day and so that you do not play for the rest of your life. I forgive you my death, so that you marry my pupil Lizaveta Ivanovna... With this word, she quietly turned around, went to the door and disappeared, shuffling her shoes. Hermann heard the door slam in the hallway and saw that someone was looking out the window at him again. For a long time Hermann could not come to his senses. He went into another room. His orderly was sleeping on the floor; Hermann forcibly woke him up. The orderly was drunk as usual: it was impossible to get any sense out of him. The door to the hallway was locked. Hermann returned to his room, lit a candle and wrote down his vision.

-- Atande!
- How dare you tell me atande?
- Your Excellency, I said atande!

Two immovable ideas cannot exist together in moral nature, just as two bodies cannot occupy the same place in the physical world. Three, seven, ace - soon obscured the image of the dead old woman in German's imagination. Three, seven, ace - did not leave his head and moved on his lips. Seeing a young girl, he said: “How slim she is!.. A real three of red.” They asked him: “What time is it?”, he answered: “It’s five minutes to seven.” Every pot-bellied man reminded him of an ace. Three, seven, ace - haunted him in a dream, taking on all possible forms: the three bloomed in front of him in the form of a lush grandiflora, the seven seemed like a Gothic gate, the ace like a huge spider. All his thoughts merged into one - to take advantage of a secret that cost him dearly. He began to think about retirement and travel. He wanted to force the treasure from the enchanted fortune in the open houses of Paris. The incident spared him the trouble. In Moscow, a society of rich gamblers was formed, under the chairmanship of the famous Chekalinsky, who spent his entire century playing cards and once made millions, winning bills and losing pure money. His long-term experience earned him the trust of his comrades, and his open house, good cook, affection and cheerfulness gained the respect of the public. He arrived in St. Petersburg. Young people rushed to him, forgetting balls for cards and preferring the temptations of the pharaoh to the seductions of red tape. Narumov brought Hermann to him. They passed a series of magnificent rooms filled with courteous waiters. Several generals and privy councilors were playing whist; young people sat lounging on damask sofas, eating ice cream and smoking pipes. In the living room, at a long table, around which about twenty players were crowded, the owner was sitting and throwing a bank. He was a man of about sixty, of the most respectable appearance; the head was covered with silver gray hair; his plump and fresh face portrayed good nature; his eyes sparkled, enlivened by his ever-present smile. Narumov introduced Hermann to him. Chekalinsky shook his hand in a friendly manner, asked him not to stand on ceremony and continued to throw. Talya lasted a long time. There were more than thirty cards on the table. Chekalinsky stopped after each throw to give the players time to decide, wrote down the loss, politely listened to their demands, and even more politely folded back the extra corner that had been bent by an absent-minded hand. Finally the tallya is over. Chekalinsky shuffled the cards and prepared to throw another. “Let me put down a card,” said Hermann, extending his hand from behind the fat gentleman, who was immediately punting. Chekalinsky smiled and bowed, silently, as a sign of submissive consent. Narumov, laughing, congratulated Hermann on the permission of a long-term fast and wished him a happy start. - It's coming! - said Hermann, writing a jackpot with chalk above his card. -- How much? - asked the banker, squinting, - sorry, sir, I can’t see it. “Forty-seven thousand,” answered Hermann. At these words, all heads turned instantly, and all eyes turned to Hermann. "He's gone crazy!" - thought Narumov. “Let me tell you,” said Chekalinsky with his constant smile, “that your game is strong: no one has ever played more than two hundred and seventy-five samples here.” -- Well? - objected Hermann, - are you hitting my card or not? Chekalinsky bowed with the same look of humble agreement. “I just wanted to report to you,” he said, “that, having been awarded the power of attorney of my comrades, I cannot gamble otherwise than with pure money.” For my part, I am, of course, sure that your word is enough, but for the order of the game and the accounts, I ask you to put money on the card. Hermann took a bank note out of his pocket and handed it to Chekalinsky, who, after briefly looking at it, put it on Hermann’s card. He began to throw. The nine went to the right, the three to the left. - I won! - said Hermann, showing his card. Whispers rose among the players. Chekalinsky frowned, but the smile immediately returned to his face. - Would you like to receive it? - he asked Hermann. - Do me a favor. Chekalinsky took several bank notes out of his pocket and immediately paid. Hermann accepted his money and walked away from the table. Narumov could not come to his senses. Hermann drank a glass of lemonade and went home. The next day in the evening he again appeared at Chekalinsky’s. The owner is metal. Hermann approached the table; The punters immediately gave him a place, Chekalinsky bowed to him affectionately. Hermann waited for the new tag, placed a card, putting his forty-seven thousand and yesterday's winnings on it. Chekalinsky began to throw. The jack fell to the right, the seven to the left. Hermann opened a seven. Everyone gasped. Chekalinsky was apparently embarrassed. He counted out ninety-four thousand and handed it to Hermann. Hermann received them with composure and left at that very moment. The next evening Hermann appeared again at the table. Everyone was expecting him. Generals and privy councilors abandoned their whist to see such an extraordinary game. The young officers jumped off the sofas; all the waiters gathered in the living room. Everyone surrounded Hermann. The other players didn't play their cards, eagerly waiting to see how he would end up. Hermann stood at the table, preparing to punt alone against the pale, but always smiling Chekalinsky. Everyone printed out a deck of cards. Chekalinsky shuffled. Hermann removed and placed his card, covering it with a pile of bank notes. It looked like a duel. Deep silence reigned all around. Chekalinsky began to throw, his hands were shaking. The queen went to the right, the ace to the left. - Ace won! - said Hermann and opened his card. “Your lady has been killed,” Chekalinsky said affectionately. Hermann shuddered: in fact, instead of an ace, he had a queen of spades. He couldn’t believe his eyes, not understanding how he could have gotten away with it. At that moment it seemed to him that the Queen of Spades squinted and grinned. The extraordinary resemblance struck him... - Old woman! - he shouted in horror. Chekalinsky pulled the lost tickets towards him. Hermann stood motionless. When he left the table, a noisy conversation arose. - Nicely sponsored! - said the players. - Chekalinsky shuffled the cards again: the game went on as usual.

CONCLUSION

Notes
(S.M. Petrov)

Queen of Spades
(Page 233)

1) Moscow Venus (French). 2) to a card game at the queen's (French). 3) You seem to have a strong preference for maids. What to do? They are fresher (French). 4) grandmother (French). 5) Hello Lisa (French). 6) Paul (French). 7) couples (French). 8) You write me, my angel, four-page letters, faster than I can read them. (French). 9) Ms. Lebrun (French). 10) Leroy (French). 11) 7 May 18**. A man who has no moral rules and nothing sacred! (French) 12) oblivion or regret (French). 13) "royal bird" (French). 14) pretense (French).

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin is one of the greatest Russian writers. His stories are studied by schoolchildren and students to this day.

Using the summary presented below, you can learn about the history of the creation of the work “The Queen of Spades”, the main characters and the plot of the book. This will be useful for retelling in class or creating a reading diary.

The story “The Queen of Spades” - description and history of creation

First, let’s figure out what year the work “Pikovaya dama” was written. The author wrote his brainchild in 1833, and the very next year after writing, in 1834, it was published. The text was created over five years.

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin (1799-1837)

Pushkin took as a basis the life of Prince Golitsyn, his story about how his grandmother showed him three cards with which he could get his money back.

The story was published in the Reading Library. Readers rated the work well, but were still skeptical about it because of the other achievements of this writer. Alexander Sergeevich managed to put into his work the greatest plot, into which readers immersed themselves headlong.

The main characters and their characteristics

List of primary characters:

1. Hermann- the main character of the poem, the plot revolves around him. He is German and is a military engineer by training. The man has light skin and black eyes. Possesses distinctive qualities such as secrecy, prudence and frugality. History says that Hermann was left with a small inheritance. Because of his character, he wants to get rich no matter what.
2. The countess is the old woman Anna Fedotovna Tomskaya. Despite his age (87 years old), he organizes balls and loves to wear luxurious clothes. Has a selfish character. Expensive things cannot hide her old sagging skin. High society made her a spoiled girl. She owns the secret of three cards, with the help of which she once won back her big loss.
3. Lizaveta Ivanovna is a pupil of Anna Fedotovna. She fell in love with Hermann, and he, in turn, uses the modest girl to get closer to the old woman and get the secret of the three cards. Lizaveta is lonely and tolerates the old woman.

Minor characters

The following persons are also present:

1. Tomsk- is the grandson of the old countess. He also wants to get the secret of victory. Due to unsuccessful attempts, he predicts Anna Fedotovna's death.
2. Count Saint Germain- the man who told the old woman about the combination of three cards.
3. Chaplitsky– a man who lost a huge amount of money. Out of pity, the old woman tells him about the three cards.

The work is presented in abbreviation. For better perception and forming your own opinion, it is recommended to read “The Queen of Spades” in the original.

Many schoolchildren ask how many pages are in a work? In fact, there are not many of them - only six chapters, you can read them in one evening.

Chapter I

The novel begins at an evening at Narumov's. The guests played cards and only Hermann, the son of a German, simply watched what was happening.

The military engineer explained this by the fact that only a small inheritance remained in his possessions, which he did not want to lose. Countess Anna Fedotovna did not play either.

Many claimed that she lost her fortune many years ago, then went to borrow money from Saint Germain, but he did not give her anything other than a combination of three cards. If you match three specific cards in a row, then luck will certainly come.

Few people believed this. Only Hermann, who wanted to get rich, decided to reveal the secret. His goal was to get the secret of wealth.

Chapter II

The main character tries by any means to learn about the cards that bring good luck. The entire chapter is devoted to the acquaintance of Hermann and Lizaveta. They look at each other through the window. Only a week later the young girl answers the engineer with a smile.

In parallel with this, Tomsky is going to bring his friend to the old woman’s house. Lisa asks him if Hermann is that friend. But it turns out that this is not a military engineer.

Chapter III

Having not received the secret of the three cards, the engineer writes letters to a beautiful girl every day. She reciprocates, after which the couple has a date.

Lizaveta talked about how Hermann would be able to get into the countess’s house while she was feasting.

Having entered the mansion, the main character hid in the old woman's closet. After her arrival, threatening with a pistol, the military engineer begged the frightened countess for a secret combination.

Anna Fedotovna died from fright.

Chapter IV

After the crime, Hermann came to Lisa’s room. All this time, the girl in love was waiting for him. The engineer said that he was responsible for the death of the countess.

Lizaveta understands that the young man betrayed and took advantage of her feelings. Hermann is tormented by his conscience that he deceived an innocent man.

Chapter V

At Anna Fedotovna's funeral, Hermann experiences visions. It seems to him that the Countess is looking at him from the coffin and laughing. That same night, the old woman comes in a dream. The Countess talks about the secret of the three cards. No more than once a day, with a sequential combination of three, seven and ace, you can win the game and earn big money.

The main condition was that after this you could not play cards for money. The old woman also told the engineer to marry Lizaveta.

Chapter VI

Without wasting time, Hermann goes to St. Petersburg. He is going to play cards with Chekalinsky, a man who practically never loses.

Hermann forgets about the condition of the late old woman to take Lisa as his wife.

On the first day, the main character puts everything on a three, on the second on a seven. And on the third day, instead of an ace, he gets the queen of spades. The engineer believes that Anna Fedotovna grinned at him.

After losing his fortune, Hermann ends up in a psychiatric hospital. Lizaveta marries a rich man.

Brief analysis of the story “The Queen of Spades”

This book is written in several genres. This is a story, a story, and even a novel. There is mysticism here. All chapters contain philosophical statements.

The main character committed three atrocities:

1. He renounced his principles, renounced his Christian beliefs, the main driving force is greed.
2. He deceived the poor orphan, gained trust in her, seduced her, forced her to believe him and help him get into the house. After the order of the old countess, Hermann did not marry the deceived girl.
3. Through deception and cunning, intimidation, threats and illegal entry into someone else's home, Hermann tries to get what he wants.

The main idea is that evil begets evil. Pushkin tried to convey that a person should not cause harm for his own benefit.

Many contemporaries compare Hermann with modern youth who are ready to take risks for the sake of wealth. And only an adult can say that there are no easy ways to make a fortune.

The work has been filmed many times. This first happened in 1910, when Pyotr Chardynin directed silent films. Due to the plot, this feature film was close to the libretto of Tchaikovsky's opera.

The latest film adaptation is the 2016 film by Pavel Lungin called “The Queen of Spades.”

One day Tomsky told an amazing story at the card table about his eighty-year-old grandmother, the Countess. While in Paris, she lost badly, but she was rescued by Count Saint-Germain, who told her the secret about three cards and she won back. Nobody took this story seriously except Hermann. He began to court Lizaveta, the countess's maid. Soon, she invited him home. But he did not go to her, but to the countess and tried to find out her secret with a pistol. She died of fear. After her funeral, the Countess came to him at night and revealed the secret of the three cards, but on the condition that he marry Lisa. These cards were three, seven and ace. He agreed and soon the rich gambler Chekalinsky arrived in the city. Hermann came to him and bet a very large sum of money. At first everything went smoothly, a three came up and he won. The next day he bet all his money again and a seven came up. But on the third day, although an ace came up, there was a queen in his hand that looked like an old woman and he lost everything. Hermann went crazy, and Lisa soon married a worthy man.

Summary (details)

“The Queen of Spades” is a St. Petersburg story by A.S. Pushkin - first appeared in print in 1834. The exact time of work on the work is unknown, since the manuscript was not found, however, according to literary scholars, the author began and completed its creation in the village of Boldino, that is, in the fall of 1833. The idea of ​​writing came to the writer after one of his meetings with Prince Golitsyn, at which a rather entertaining story was told, the plot of which formed the basis of “The Queen of Spades.” One day the prince visited a rich society of gamblers and got so carried away that he lost a very large sum of money. The next day, upset, Golitsyn went to his grandmother, Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna, to complain about the loss and ask for money. She didn’t help him with money, but she named a combination of three cards suggested by the famous “magician” Saint-Germain. Golitsyn bet money on these cards and won back that same evening. Of course, everything is different in the book, but you will learn how from a brief chapter-by-chapter retelling. The many-wise Litrekon reflected the main events from the story in abbreviation.

Hermann sits on the sidelines, watching the game, but he himself does not give in to the persuasion of his comrades and does not join it, for fear of losing. He inherited a small capital from his father and firmly decided not to touch it. By nature he was a born gambler, but fear of risk and cramped circumstances held him back.

There is a lively conversation at the gambling table, during which Tomsky talks about the remarkable win of his grandmother, the countess: she lived in Paris and in one evening lost an impressive amount of money to the Duke of Orleans. Her husband refused to pay the debt, citing the fact that their expenses significantly exceeded their income. Then the lady remembered her old friend Count Saint-Germain, with whom she was in love and who was quite rich. The count agreed to help, but did not offer money, but a combination of cards that would ensure a win. That same evening, Tomsky’s grandmother won back by betting on three cards that Saint-Germain suggested to her.

Everyone found it difficult to believe this joke. But what surprised everyone most was why Tomsky himself still doesn’t know this magical secret!? But no one knew her... Until Polya’s uncle told him another story - about the late Chaplitsky, who squandered millions and died in poverty. In his youth, he lost about three hundred thousand, which is why he was in despair. The Countess took pity on him and gave him three cards so that he would play them one after the other. But he agreed that this was his last game. Chaplitsky bet 50 thousand on the first map, and all three won in a row. I bent the passwords, passwords, and was able to remain a winner.

Narumov’s guests did not believe in the veracity of this story, they joked, laughed and left.

Chapter II

The action of the story is transferred to the house of the old countess (Tomsky's grandmother). She is making a marafet in front of the mirror, and Lizanka, a young lady taken in by the mistress of the house for her upbringing, is sitting at the window, embroidering. Tomsky enters the room and asks permission to bring Narumov to the Friday ball. During the conversation, the countess asks her grandson to send her some new novel and is very surprised to hear about the existence of Russian novels. The old woman decides to go for a walk, but then changes her decision several times, scolding Lisa for her sluggishness, who simply does not understand what the patroness wants - to walk, read the book she just brought, or walk again.

Lizanka complains about her fate, which really was not easy: “Lizaveta Ivanovna was a domestic martyr,” she carried out all the orders of the countess, always followed her to all the balls and celebrations, where “everyone knew her and no one noticed her,” in the world “ she played the most pitiful role,” and therefore humbly waited for the appearance of her “deliverer.”

And the “savior,” as it seemed to Lizanka, had been found: one day she looked out the window and saw a young engineer standing on the street and constantly looking at her. It was none other than Hermann, who was so fascinated by the story of the three cards that he decided to find out the secret from the old woman at any cost.

Chapter III

The Countess nevertheless decides to go for a walk and calls Lisa. When the girl leaves the house, the engineer grabs her by the hand and gives her a note, which contains a confession of tender feelings. Lizaveta decides to answer and send the letter back, but three days later she receives another note, then another and another... The young lady falls in love and finally invites the engineer on a secret date.

Under the cover of darkness, the young man enters the house, but does not go to Lizaveta’s bedroom, but to the chambers of the old countess. Hermann comes to her with the sole purpose of forcing the noblewoman to tell him the three treasured cards. But Anna Fedotovna is silent, does not react to his words, then Hermann grabs a pistol, points it straight at the frightened woman’s face, threatening to shoot if she does not reveal the secret, but the old woman dies of fear. Without naming the three magic cards.

Chapter IV

Lizaveta is patiently waiting for Hermann in her room: she longs for this date, since at the ball Tomsky jokingly noted that the engineer was breathing unevenly towards the young lady, and Lisa, of course, believes this “Mazurka chatter.”

Finally, Hermann reaches Lizaveta’s chambers and informs her of the death of the old countess. He also tells Lisa that he wrote love letters to her for the sole purpose of being able to sneak into the house and find out from the hostess the secret of the three cards. As he leaves, he stops in front of the countess’s bedroom and looks at her motionless body for a long time, as if wanting to make sure that she is really dead.

Chapter V

After three days, the old woman’s funeral takes place, and Hermann goes there to “ask her forgiveness.” When he climbs the steps of the hearse and leans towards the coffin, it seems to him as if the deceased “looked at him mockingly.” The young man recoils and falls. To come to his senses, he drinks a lot of wine during dinner at a tavern.

Returning to his apartment, Hermann throws himself on the bed and falls asleep. Suddenly waking up in the middle of the night, he sees someone looking into his window, and a little later a woman dressed in a white dress enters the room. The hero understands that the Countess visited him. She gives him a combination of three cards - three, seven, ace - and sets two conditions for him: not to bet more than one card in one evening (and then quit the game altogether) and to take Lizaveta Ivanovna as his wife.

Chapter VI

Hermann is completely fixated on the recently learned secret, he is overcome by a single desire - to use the secret of the cards told to him. One evening, when the rich and gambling gambler Chekalinsky appeared in society, the hero arrives with Narumov, writes a jackpot of forty-seven thousand over the card and wins by betting on three. The next evening, Hermann bets on seven and breaks the bank again. Finally, the last evening comes, the young man bets all his money on the ace, but pulls out the queen of spades, in whose image he sees the sinister old countess who has placed a curse on him. He is stunned and devastated.

Conclusion: Hermann goes crazy from the horror he experienced. He is sent to the Obukhov hospital, where he sits all day and mutters: “Three, seven, ace! Three, seven, queen!..”

Lizaveta found herself a husband and took in a girl with whom she was distantly related.

Tomsky received the rank of captain and took Princess Polina as his wife.

ACT ONE

Scene one

Petersburg. There are a lot of people walking in the Summer Garden, children playing under the supervision of nannies and governesses. Surin and Chekalinsky talk about their friend German: he spends all night long, gloomy and silent, in a gambling house, but does not touch the cards. Count Tomsky is also surprised by Herman’s strange behavior. Herman reveals a secret to him: he is passionately in love with a beautiful stranger, but she is rich, noble, and cannot belong to him. Prince Yeletsky joins his friends. He announces his upcoming marriage. Accompanied by the old Countess, Lisa approaches, in whom Herman recognizes his chosen one; in despair, he becomes convinced that Lisa is Yeletsky’s fiancée.

At the sight of the gloomy figure of Herman, his gaze blazing with passion, ominous forebodings overwhelm the Countess and Lisa. Tomsky dispels the painful numbness. He tells a secular joke about the Countess. In her youth, she once lost her entire fortune in Paris. At the cost of a love date, the young beauty learned the secret of the three cards and, betting on them, returned her loss. Surin and Chekalinsky decide to play a joke on German - they invite him to learn the secret of the three cards from the old woman. But Herman’s thoughts are absorbed in Lisa. A thunderstorm begins. In a violent outburst of passion, Herman vows to achieve Lisa’s love or die.

Scene two

Lisa's room. It's getting dark. The girls entertain their saddened friend with a Russian dance. Left alone, Lisa tells the night that she loves Herman. Suddenly Herman appears on the balcony. He passionately confesses his love to Lisa. A knock on the door interrupts the date. The old Countess enters. Hiding on the balcony, Herman remembers the secret of the three cards. After the Countess leaves, the thirst for life and love awakens in him with renewed vigor. Lisa is overwhelmed by the response.

ACT TWO

Scene three

A ball in the house of a rich metropolitan dignitary. A royal person arrives at the ball. Everyone greets the empress with enthusiasm. Prince Yeletsky, alarmed by the bride’s coldness, assures her of his love and devotion.

Herman is among the guests. The disguised Chekalinsky and Surin continue to make fun of their friend; their mysterious whispers about magic cards have a depressing effect on his frustrated imagination. The performance begins - the pastoral “The Sincerity of the Shepherdess”. At the end of the performance, Herman runs into the old Countess; again the thought of the wealth that three cards promise takes possession of Herman. Having received the keys to the secret door from Lisa, he decides to find out the secret from the old woman.

Scene four

Night. The Countess's empty bedroom. Herman enters; he peers with excitement at the portrait of the Countess in her youth, but, hearing approaching steps, hides. The Countess returns, accompanied by her hangers-on. Dissatisfied with the ball, she indulges in memories of the past and falls asleep. Suddenly Herman appears in front of her. He begs to reveal the secret of the three cards. The Countess is silent in horror. Enraged Herman threatens with a pistol; the frightened old woman falls dead. Herman is in despair. Close to madness, he does not hear the reproaches of Lisa, who came running in response to the noise. Only one thought dominates him: the Countess is dead, and he has not learned the secret.

ACT THREE

Scene five

Herman's room in the barracks. Late evening. Herman rereads Lisa’s letter: she asks him to come at midnight for a date. Herman again relives what happened, and pictures of the death and funeral of the old woman arise in his imagination. In the howling of the wind he hears funeral singing. Herman is terrified. He wants to run, but he sees the ghost of the Countess. She tells him the treasured cards: “Three, seven and ace.” Herman repeats them as if in delirium.

Scene six

Winter groove. Here Lisa must meet with Herman. She wants to believe that her beloved is not guilty of the death of the Countess. The tower clock strikes midnight. Lisa is losing her last hope. Herman arrives very late: neither Lisa nor her love no longer exists for him. In his distraught brain there is only one picture: a gambling house where he will get riches.
In a fit of madness, he pushes Lisa away from him and shouts: “To the gambling house!” - runs away.
Lisa throws herself into the river in despair.

Scene seven

Gambling house hall. Herman puts two cards, called Countess, one after another, and wins. Everyone is stunned. Intoxicated with victory, Herman puts all the winnings on the line. Prince Yeletsky accepts Herman's challenge. Herman announces an ace, but... instead of an ace, he has the queen of spades in his hands. In a frenzy, he looks at the map, in it he imagines the devilish grin of the old Countess. In a fit of madness, he commits suicide. At the last minute, a bright image of Lisa appears in Herman’s mind. With her name on his lips he dies.