The Bronze Horseman: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Bronze Horseman: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the dynamic interplay between historical and fictional figures within Aleksandr Pushkin's poem, set against the backdrop of Peter the Great's transformative reign in Russia. Central to the narrative is Peter the Great, a towering figure known for his ambitious reforms that aimed to modernize Russia and reposition it on the European stage. His establishment of St. Petersburg symbolizes both his vision and the human cost of progress, encapsulating the conflict between imperial aspiration and personal tragedy.
The poem also introduces Evgeny, a relatable character representing the struggles of the common man amid the sweeping changes instigated by Peter. As a clerk from a once-noble lineage, Evgeny embodies the tension between ambition and resignation, his modest dreams crushed by the catastrophic flood of 1824. The loss of his beloved Parasha precipitates his descent into grief and madness, highlighting the profound personal impacts of larger historical events. Parasha, though absent in the narrative, serves as a poignant reminder of love and loss, underscoring Evgeny’s tragic transformation. Together, these characters illustrate the complexities of human experience amidst the relentless tide of history, inviting reflection on the costs of progress and the indelible marks it leaves on individual lives.
The Bronze Horseman: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Alexander Pushkin
First published: Medniy vsadnik, 1837 (English translation, 1899)
Genre: Poetry
Locale: St. Petersburg, Russia
Plot: Historical realism
Time: 1703 and 1824
Peter the Great (the Bronze Horseman), the historical figure Peter the First, known in the West as Peter the Great. He ruled Russia from 1682 until his death in 1725. An enormous man of vast talents and brutal rages, he set out to make Russia a truly European power by sheer force of will and imperial decree. His reforms affected every aspect of government—military, administrative, and fiscal—and every aspect of society and culture. This meant that, among other changes, centuries-old habits of dress and manner sanctified by religious custom were ordered cast aside in favor of Western styles. The czars hitherto had been perceived as God's righteous, anointed rulers, the embodiment of all that was Orthodox Russia. Such decrees as Peter's therefore led many to believe that he was an impostor, perhaps even the Antichrist himself. No act was more symbolic of the cataclysmic changes Peter brought on Russia than was his founding of a new capital, St. Petersburg, in 1703, the act with which the poem begins. In his role as creator and conqueror, he chooses a site well suited to his strategic and political aims but utterly unsuited to human habitation. The marshy delta of the Neva River is un-formed, unstable land, a floodplain that will claim thousands of lives as the capital is being built and later thousands more from disease and natural disaster. What Peter sees is a fortress, a port, an elegant city, a “window hacked through to Europe.” One hundred years later, the Bronze Horseman, French sculptor Falconet's equestrian statue that stands on the granite-faced bank of the conquered Neva, takes over for the flesh-and-blood emperor. Commissioned by Catherine the Great as a tribute to Peter, it stands on a single piece of Finnish granite sculpted to suggest a wave. The statue's only flicker of reaction to human concerns comes when crazed Evgeny turns to threaten it, and it descends—or seems to descend—from its pedestal to pursue the man through the deserted city streets for one long terrifying night.
Evgeny, a poor clerk in the machinery of government introduced by Peter. The author gives him no last name, and he might well be no more than an anonymous drudge, like thousands of others in the imperial capital, except that he is descended from an ancient and noble family whose glory days have long since ended, thanks in part to Peter's reforms. Evgeny, however, is neither bitter nor ambitious, though he vaguely regrets not being smarter or better connected. His hopes are much more modest than his lineage, and he dreams of making enough money to settle down with his beloved Parasha and rear a family. Even these humble dreams, however, are swept away by the great flood of 1824. Although Evgeny escapes with his life, the loss of Parasha drives him to madness. His brief spark of rebellion against Peter and his city is quickly extinguished.
Parasha, the girl Evgeny intends to marry. She and her mother live in a tiny house on one of the Neva's many islands, home to the humbler folk of the city. She is neither seen nor heard directly, but both her presence in Evgeny's thoughts and her sudden, shocking absence are crucial. Her disappearance in the flood sends Evgeny into grief and madness.