Shvabrin Alexey Ivanovich is one of the negative characters this work. In the novel, he is the image of a young officer from a fairly wealthy family of a noble family. As an officer, he was demoted to the Belgorod fortress, due to the murder of his comrade.

Shvabrin Aleksey Ivanovich did not differ in sufficiently beautiful features, however, notes of liveliness were traced in him. He also did not differ in height and, moreover, suffered from excessive thinness.

From personal qualities, Shvabrin had a fairly good mind, quick wit and wit. His dialogues are filled with poignant and engaging themes that keep the reader even more drawn in. But since he was a negative character, Shvabrin was endowed with such qualities as slander and fiction. So, for example, he described Maria Mironova as an absolute fool, but in fact she was a very smart and good-natured girl.

In many scenes, he retained his importance and very pompous appearance. He constantly made inappropriate and rude jokes that were alien to his environment. Shvabrin always loved to laugh at someone and got great pleasure from it. This man had nothing sacred. He completely refused to believe in God, and therefore it was all the same to him that he was ranked among the murderers.

A deceitful, impudent, besides, a vile person who betrayed his army and then calmly transferred to the detachments of the impostor Pugachev. After that, Shvabrin received in the Pugachev detachment, the post of head of the Belgorod fortress. And taking advantage of his position, he kidnaps Masha and holds her by force, thus trying to win favor from her. But as a result, there is justice in everything and Shvabrin is arrested for committing treason.

Composition The image and characteristics of Shvabrin

Alexey Ivanovich Shvabrin is a secondary and negative hero of the story " Captain's daughter". This is a young, educated officer from a wealthy family. He was not tall, his face was swarthy and ugly. He knew French and skillfully wielded a sword.

He once served in the Guards. There he stabbed a lieutenant with a sword and was sent to serve in a remote Belogorsk fortress.

In the fortress, Shvabrin meets Pyotr Grinev, who has arrived for military service. At first, he seems to be a very friendly and witty person who is interesting and fun to spend time with.

But, in later hero opens up on the other side. He was in love with the daughter of Captain Mironov, but she did not reciprocate. Being a vindictive, cowardly and vile person, he began to spread bad rumors about her and her family.

He quarrels with Pyotr Grinev because of jealousy for Masha Mironova and wants to fight him in a duel. During the duel, he strikes in the back, for a moment the opponent turned away. He writes a false letter to Grinev's father, after which Peter's mother falls ill.

Aleksey Shvabrin is a dishonest and unscrupulous person. During the attack of Pugachev's gang on the fortress, he betrays his own and immediately goes over to the side of the villains. Then the impostor Pugachev appoints him commandant of the fortress. His appearance changes, he becomes important, dresses in Cossacks and grows a beard.

He takes advantage of his new position and forcibly holds captain's daughter Masha. He mistreats her, keeps her locked up, humiliates her in every possible way and starves her. But all his attempts to force Masha Mironova to become his wife are in vain.

At the end of the story, Alexei Shvabrin is arrested. He looks thin and exhausted, his face becomes pale, and his once black hair turns gray. From the impotence and anger that overwhelms him, he tries to annoy his rival Pyotr Grinev. Shvabrin gives false testimony about him. He assures that Grinev joined the ranks of Pugachev and is a traitor to the motherland. He manifests himself as a vile, hypocritical and deceitful person.

Shvabrin's character does not cause any respect and compassion.

Option 3

Shvabrin Alexey Ivanovich is a minor hero, an aristocrat, a nobleman who, for one reason or another, ended up in the Belgorod fortress. He is a young officer of average height. He is well educated and can speak. There is always a joke and wit in his speech. Once upon a time, he was in love with Masha Mironova, the only daughter of the head of the fortress, but was refused, which he was not particularly pleased with. He has been serving in the Belgorod fortress for the fifth year.

After the refusal of Masha Mironova, Shvabrin begins to spread dirty rumors about her in the fortress and beyond. Given this circumstance, we can say with confidence that this is not a very honest person.

His cunning, deceit is proved by the fact that he took advantage of the fact that during the duel Grinev was distracted by Savelich, namely Alexei Ivanovich shot him. Further, Shvabrin writes a letter about the duel to Grinev's father, knowing that this could aggravate the position of Grinev Jr.

At the moment of the capture of the Belgorod fortress, seeing that Pugachev and his associates are winning. Shvabrin, without thinking about anything, goes over to the side of the barbarian and the robber. In the service of Pugachev, Grinev continues to lie and commit all sorts of tricks and meanness. Upon learning that Masha Mironova was alone in the fortress and no one could protect her, he decided to use his power. He rudely harasses the daughter of the murdered fortress commandant, which does not speak of his love for Masha Mironova.

When Shvabrin saw that Grinev was under the protection of Pugachev, he fell down before the feet of the sovereign, forgetting about his dignity and honor. He does not honor anyone or anything. He fears only for his skin, which is worth nothing. But do not forget that Shvabrin is a nobleman, and it is disgusting to see a nobleman lying on the ground.

When Grinev took Maria Ivanovna with him, Shvabrin felt anger and a desire to take revenge on him. He wanted to take revenge not from love for Maria Mironova, but from rivalry and personal vileness and flattery. In the end, Aleksey Ivanovich Shvabrin is arrested for treason.

When Shvabrin is arrested, he will slander Grinev, although he will know that he did not swear allegiance to Pugachev and did not participate in his robbery deeds.

When characterizing the image of Shvabrin, it should be noted that Pushkin introduced this villain not only to diversify the plot, but also to remind the reader that, in life, there are real bastards who can ruin the lives of the people around them.

Shvabrin in Pushkin's story

In the work of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin "The Captain's Daughter", the main villain and anti-hero is not the robber Pugachev with his henchmen, but the young Russian officer - Alexei Ivanovich Shvabrin. This is a young man with an absurd disposition, originally from an aristocratic family, with an inflated opinion of himself and his own actions. This character does not have the concept of honor and duty, because after the capture of the Belgorod fortress, without hesitation, he took the side of the enemy, without even remembering that he had taken the most important oath - to defend his homeland.

True love is not known to Alexei Ivanovich. The daughter of the commandant of the fortress, Masha, really liked him, so in a fit of his feelings, Shvabrin proposed marriage to her. The girl refused the young officer, as she felt bad intentions and deceit from him. After the refusal, Alexei did not reconcile himself and decided that he would take revenge on Mary, calling her names and spreading inappropriate rumors about the life of a poor girl. But Masha steadfastly endured Shvabrin's attacks, while Shvabrin himself grew angrier. When capturing the fortress, Alexei Ivanovich managed to get closer to Mary, he put her under lock and key, did not give normal food, but only bread and water, hoping thereby to knock out consent to marriage from the exhausted Masha. This act shows that Alexey does not have mercy and sympathy, he does not feel sorry for the girl, he only thinks about his own benefit and enrichment.

Shvabrin also did not seek to create true and sincere friendship. His meanness and cowardice hurts people. In a duel with Pyotr Grinev, Alexei Shvabrin behaved low and dishonestly, he pierced Pavel in the back when he was distracted. So your cowardly and dishonorable act Shvabrin defeated Peter. Alexei also often slandered Grinev, exposing his comrade in a not the best light.

Even when a righteous trial took place over the robbers of Pugachev, Shvabrin did not admit his guilt, but only looked for an excuse to evade justice and shift his guilt onto others.

The image of the dishonest, envious and cowardly Shvabrin is very carefully conveyed by the author, so A. S. Pushkin wanted to show what an officer of the Russian army should not be, and what lies, envy, meanness and cowardice can lead to.

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    Without the image of Shvabrin, Pushkin's novel The Captain's Daughter would have been deprived of confidence in the triumph of justice. It is thanks to this hero that we can fully appreciate the nobility of Grinev and the truth of Masha's love.

    Origin and occupation of Shvabrin

    Alexei Ivanovich Shvabrin is a man of aristocratic origin. His family was rich and influential in aristocratic circles.

    Alexey Ivanovich, like all nobles, received a good education, he knew several foreign languages ​​​​and was distinguished by an extraordinary mind.

    We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the poem by A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin"

    Like most young people, Shvabrin chose a military career. Alexei Ivanovich began his military path in the elite troops - in the guard. At first, his service was not difficult, but the recklessness of Alexei Ivanovich ruined everything.

    Despite the ban on duels, Shvabrin still defies the official ban. The duel ended quite successfully for him, which cannot be said about his opponent, the lieutenant. The wound he received led to his death. The fact of the duel became known and Shvabrin, as a punishment, was sent to the Belogorodsk fortress, where he had served for about five years: “God knows what sin beguiled him; he, if you please, went out of town with one lieutenant, and they took swords with them, and, well, they stab each other; and Alexey Ivanovich stabbed the lieutenant to death, and even with two witnesses.

    Appearance of Shvabrin

    Alexei Ivanovich did not have a pleasant appearance - he was not tall, his face was absolutely ugly, it was difficult to single out at least any pleasant facial features, his face was distinguished by mimic liveliness, which was even more repulsive. His skin was dark, to match his hair. Hair - this is perhaps one of the few things that were attractive in Shvabrin - they were deep black and beautifully framed his face.

    After the capture of the fortress by Pugachev, Shvabrin's appearance changed significantly - he changed his usual suit to Cossack clothes, let go of his beard.

    The arrest by the official authorities also affected his appearance - once beautiful hair turned gray, and his beard strayed and lost its attractiveness. “He was terribly thin and pale. His hair, which had recently been jet black, had turned completely gray; long beard was disheveled.

    In general, his appearance corresponded to a man awaiting a sentence - he was depressed and discouraged.

    Characteristics of personal qualities

    Alexei Ivanovich had an extremely hot-tempered character, which repeatedly became the cause of his misfortunes. Intemperance towards the lieutenant deprived him of the opportunity to carelessly serve in the elite troops. Hot temper towards Grinev became the reason for the transition to the side of the rebels and, as a result, hard labor.

    In general, Shvabrin is not a stupid person, he is endowed with quick wit and ingenuity, but in moments of emotional instability, his mental abilities fade into the background - emotions decide everything. “Shvabrin was not very stupid. His conversation was sharp and entertaining.

    Alexei Ivanovich is a dishonest person. His habits include deceit and slander. Sometimes he does it out of boredom, sometimes to get some personal benefit.

    One way or another, this repels others from Shvabrin - no one wants to communicate with a daring and treacherous person.

    Shvabrin and Grinev

    The appearance of Grinev in the fortress brought some revival to her sleepy and boring life. There were not so many employees here, so there were no problems with choosing a company to spend time with. Grinev says about Shvabrin: “I really didn’t like his constant jokes about the commandant’s family, especially his caustic remarks about Marya Ivanovna. There was no other society in the fortress, but I didn’t want another.” The noble and kind Grinev managed to win over everyone in the fortress, in particular the daughter of the commandant - Masha. Eaten by jealousy, Shvabrin challenges the young opponent to a duel. Shvabrin was practically convinced of his victory - he believed that a person of such an age as Grinev could not have exceptional fencing abilities, but it turned out to be the opposite - chance decided the course of the duel -

    Not getting rid of the enemy in a duel, Shvabrin resorts to deceit. He writes an anonymous letter to Grinev's father about the events. Alexey Ivanovich hopes that the angry father will take his son from the fortress and the path to his beloved Masha will again be free, but this does not happen. Shvabrin had to lie low and wait for a more suitable opportunity.

    Some time later, such an opportunity arose - after the arrests of the participants in the uprising, to which Alexei Ivanovich belonged, legal proceedings began. It is here that Shvabrin recalls his long-standing grudge against Grinev and attributes to him a game on two fronts. However, this time Shvabrin's hopes did not come true: thanks to Masha, Grinev was pardoned by the Empress.

    Shvabrin and Marya Ivanovna Mironova

    Aleksey Ivanovich Shvabrin was by nature an amorous person. Once in the fortress, he immediately spotted a pretty girl - the daughter of the commandant of the fortress. Marya Ivanovna was not distinguished by exceptional beauty, she could hardly compete with the first beauties, but still she had pleasant features. Over time, Alexey Ivanovich begins to show interest in the girl. It seems to him that if he does not arouse Marya's sympathy, then her parents will convince the girl to reciprocate - the Shvabrin family is provided, and the Mironovs drag out a miserable existence on the verge of poverty.


    Most likely, Shvabrin does not feel true love for the girl - for him this is a game, entertainment. Marya is aware of this and therefore eschews a dishonest and unattractive person, which causes indignation and irritation in Shvabrin. The appearance of Grinev in the fortress further inflamed relations between Alexei Ivanovich and Maria Ivanovna. Mironova falls in love with a sweet and kind young man, and Shvabrin is unable to rejoice at their mutual feeling, but all the time he tries to find a way to defend his illusory right to love a girl. Shvabrin's attempts do not lead to anything good: Masha is only more convinced of his dishonesty and hypocrisy.

    After the capture of the fortress by the rebels, Shvabrin locks the girl and starves her - he hopes that in this way he can break her and get what he wants, but Marya is helped to escape, and Alexey Ivanovich is left with nothing.

    Shvabrin and Pugachev

    Shvabrin's move to the side of the rebels seems illogical and absurd. For him, as a representative of the aristocracy, a rich and wealthy person, supporting the rebellion is an absolutely unnecessary and unjustifiably risky business.


    The first objective thought that explains such an act is fear for one's life. Pugachev and the rebels are very categorical with people who do not want to serve them, but, as shows further development events, Shvabrin was not only guided by the desire to stay alive. Shvabrin was disdainful of other people's lives, but he was in no hurry to part with his own. Seeing how resolutely the rebels crack down on the recalcitrant, Shvabrin takes an oath to faithfully serve Pugachev.

    He faithfully serves him and his cause - he cuts his hair in the manner of the Cossacks and dresses in Cossack clothes. Shvabrin behaves freely and not constrained in company with the rebels, he has become so accustomed to the role that it is difficult to recognize him as an aristocrat.

    It is likely that such behavior of Shvabrin was just a game for the public - it is unlikely that such a person as Alexei Ivanovich truly shared the views and desires of Pugachev.

    On our website you can find in the poem "Eugene Onegin" by A. S. Pushkin.

    The image of Shvabrin did not inspire much confidence in Pugachev - Alexei Ivanovich was a traitor who went over to his side. The fact of betrayal should have alerted Pugachev and cast doubt on the sincerity of his intentions, but, in spite of everything, Pugachev makes Shvabrin the new head of the fortress, it is likely that this choice was influenced by Shvabrin's military past.

    Thus, the negative image of Shvabrin becomes the background for displaying the actions and characteristics of other characters. A.S. Pushkin, with the help of opposition, achieves a vivid image of the importance of morality and integrity. Aleksey Ivanovich Shvabrin was always a dishonorable, greedy person and as a result suffered for his temper, anger and self-interest - he was sent to hard labor for his involvement in the activities of the rebels.

    Literary and critical remarks about the "Captain's Daughter"

    Reading "The Captain's Daughter", condemning the behavior of Shvabrin, the reader - for sure - does not think about the fact that this work is unique in its own way in Russian literature. The problem of artistic psychologism is one of the most complex and least studied. This problem arose, in fact, together with the literature and, consequently, went through a number of stages in its development. In the 20-30s of the 19th century, Russian literature had already acquired real maturity. First of all, in the work of Pushkin, who thus became the founder of Russian literature. Artistry has found the most complete expression in the creation of characters - as the most stable, multifaceted and dynamic psychological structures, embodying the uniqueness of individuality. It was on this basis that the formation of psychologism as one of the leading principles of reflection was completed. This happened in close interaction with romanticism and critical realism. After all, their pathos consisted primarily in displaying human individuality, in asserting its independence, in showing its heyday and, at the same time, the injuries caused by the socio-historical conditions of life.

    So, it must be assumed that Russian literature first half of XIX century there were at least three forms of psychologism. First of all, this is the psychologism that arose when the subject of literature was considered a person in general, and the dogmas of normative poetics still weighed on writers to one degree or another. However, here it was no longer "high" and "low" that were opposed, but "sensitivity" and "coldness" ...

    Pushkin's words in the context of psychologism

    The main form was psychologism, which arose with the recognition of the value of human individuality. This contributed to the fact that psychologism finally turned into one of the leading principles of literature (and culture, perhaps), along with humanism. At that time, fundamental changes were taking place in social psychology in connection with the awakening of self-consciousness in society, with the advent of an analytical approach to the existing way of life. More and more writers of the 20s and especially of the 30s came to this form of psychologism.

    "The Captain's Daughter" is the last word of the author. Our writer began his creative way when literature directly reproduced the process of awakening public self-consciousness, and with it the recognition of the value of individual uniqueness. Thus, “domestic free-thinking” was reflected, according to Yuri Lotman, which was clearly manifested in “violence”, as well as “hussarism”, “Epicureism”, romantic attitude, etc. All these are different manifestations of self-affirmation of the individual. And it is from this point of view that the hero of Pushkin's work interprets such forms of the psyche as "character" and "passion".

    Thus, psychologism finally took shape as a principle of reflection in connection with the reproduction of a special state of social psychology: the awakening of the self-consciousness of the individual and the recognition of the value of individual uniqueness. Thus arose the form that reached highest development in the works of Pushkin and Gogol. Of course, these authors realized this form in different ways, because Pushkin and Gogol adhered to far from the same concepts of humanism and, moreover, they dealt with different life material. With the spread of reflection, in particular skepticism, a transition began to a new form of psychologism, which was already discovered by Lermontov. The next step is the psychologism of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy... And, as we see, everything begins in many ways with Pushkin.

    Modern receptions of The Captain's Daughter and the image of Shvabrin

    Above, we analyzed the image of Shvabrin in isolation. However, one cannot but recognize the fact that literature is a series of receptions and reincarnations. So, we offer an original look at how the image of Shvabrin migrated to contemporary literature. In particular, we are talking about the work of Viktor Pelevin. In his novel, Pelevin uses the plot of Pushkin's The Captain's Daughter, namely, Grinev's duel with Shvabrin. This duel takes place through a heartfelt verse to Masha, written by the enamored Grinev and the ridiculed Shvabrin. In Pelevin's "Empire B" the duel actually takes place in poems of different genres. Mitra writes a sycophantic madrigal, Roma-Rama writes an invective of a socio-political sound.

    Pushkin and Pelevin carefully describe the rules of the duel as a knightly code of honor ("The Captain's Daughter") and as its verbal imitation ("Empire B"). The duel (the struggle between the characters for Masha's heart in The Captain's Daughter) and the dispute for Hera's commitment (in Empire B) becomes the reason for further self-characterization of the characters. Shvabrin, like Mitra, reveals meanness and sycophancy. Grinev, like Roma-Rama, reveals, in turn, historical insight, wisdom, honesty, and patriotism. Pelevin's hero's historical insight continues Pushkin's reflections on the causes of Russian national-historical "non-identity", inconsistency with oneself at various stages of social development. Thoughts about the tragic consequences of the Russian historical chaos, which is based on "violent upheavals", are continued by the hero of the postmodern era, Roma-Rama, for almost two centuries. So, the "eternal youth of Russia" is provided by the previous history torn to the ground.

    Pushkin's intertext in Pelevin's novel thus acts as a consolidating cultural factor that continues the original Russian literary tradition, creates a dialogue of modernity with the golden age of Russian literature, thereby embodying the saving continuity of eras.

    Another accent: Shvabrin as a two-hearted person

    Pushkin's system is a classic system of antitheses, when negative characters correspond to positive characters. Shvabrin, as we have seen from our analysis, embodies those characteristics that are associated with negative figures. Meanness, dishonesty, a tendency to treason and betrayal, cunning, cruelty, lack of principle - all this is about Shvabrin.

    When the reader first meets this hero, he finds him in the fortress. Shvabrin is serving a sentence "for murder". Of course, negative characters are usually endowed with a powerful mind, wit, attractive appearance, liveliness of character, and entertaining speech. Pushkin collects in the image of Shvabrin all those features that are inherent in typical villains. The reader becomes a witness to the unfolding drama - not jealousy, but the triumph of a sense of ownership. Shvabrin is opposed to Grinev, a positive character. Grinev gets what Shvabrin could not get. That is the love of a girl. Dissatisfaction - almost in the Freudian sense - pushes Shvabrin to vile deeds: denigrating the name of Masha (the same girl, as we remember), wounding Grinev in a duel, finally recognizing the impostor Pugachev as sovereign, disguising, betrayal ... Shvabrin captivates Masha, trying to force her to leave marry him. Of course, the story ended happily, and Masha was released from the fortress. However, Pushkin's logic unfolds in the vein of "misdemeanor - punishment", in literary work justice has triumphed, but in life it would probably have happened differently. Shvabrin, after a series of losses, is still trying to console himself with revenge. However, he receives only devastation and the final loss of dignity - as a person.

    "The Captain's Daughter" is the pinnacle prose work of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. The author himself called his story historical, since it was based on the true events of the peasant uprising led by Emelyan Pugachev. The author recreates the atmosphere of those times, depicts characters typical of that era.

    The story is a memoir, "family notes", the narration in which is conducted on behalf of Pyotr Grinev, a witness and participant in the events described. In the work, the main characters are: the Grinev family, Savelich, the Mironov family, Pugachev and rebellious peasants, as well as Shvabrin. It is on it that I want to dwell in more detail.

    This hero in the story is the direct opposite of Grinev. The latter “preserves honor from a young age”, embodies the best features of a Russian person: breadth of soul, resourcefulness, courage, readiness to help. Shvabrin, on the contrary, is petty and selfish, cowardly and vile. Only one thing unites them - love for Masha Mironova.

    Shvabrin is an aristocrat who previously served in the guard. He is smart, educated, eloquent, witty, resourceful. He has been serving in the Belogorsk fortress for the fifth year, transferred to it for murder - in a duel he stabbed a lieutenant. Shvabrin once proposed to Masha Mironova, was refused, and therefore often insulted the girl. This was the reason for his duel with Grinev. But a fair duel is not for Shvabrin. Cunningly, he wounds Peter when he looks back at the servant's unexpected call.

    To everything that does not concern his personal interests, Shvabrin is deeply indifferent. The concepts of honor and duty are alien to the hero. As soon as the Belogorsk fortress is captured by Pugachev, Shvarin goes over to the side of the rebels and becomes one of their commanders. He went over to the side of Pugachev, not out of high ideological impulses, but to reprisal Grinev and marry Masha, who lived under the guise of a niece at a local priest.

    A morally devastated person, Shvabrin evokes a sharply negative attitude in Pushkin. The author's assessment of this character is sharply negative, in the story he is called by his last name, or only his initials are indicated: A.I.

    What, in the end, does the neglect of male and official honor turn out for the hero? Pugachev, who learned from Grinev that Shvabrin is holding the girl, is angry. A traitor aristocrat is literally lying at the feet of a runaway Cossack in search of mercy and forgiveness. Meanness, thus, turns into shame, which, unfortunately, did not teach the hero anything. Having fallen into the hands of government troops, Shvabrin points to Grinev as a traitor Pugachev.

    Probably, you should not condemn this hero, but pity and sympathize with him. Personally, he does not cause any feelings in me, except for pity. A person who has not been able to overcome his fears, who cannot see anything beyond his own nose, is weak and insignificant. It's not even about an aristocratic origin and a brilliant education, but about the lack of spiritual qualities. What could be worse than constantly being dependent on someone because of the fear of expressing your thoughts and desires directly, because of the habit of going with the flow? Why fight Pugachev when it is easier to take his side? Why do you need to wait until you fall in love, because you can force a girl to marry!
    What honor can we talk about if a person thinks in this way?

    Unfortunately, there are a lot of people like Shvabrin around us. Because of them, others suffer, similar in spiritual qualities to Grineva and Masha. But, as a rule, committed meanness and betrayal turn against the mop. This is their trouble: fear breeds lies and hypocrisy, and they, in turn, are the causes of failure.

    Why did I like the image of Shvabrin? Perhaps the fact that on his example you can clearly see what meanness and submission to circumstances lead to. Each of our actions has a consequence, so the epigraph to the story "Take care of honor from a young age" after analyzing the image of Shvabrin acquires a new meaning. Once having sacrificed honor, a person dooms himself to lifelong failures.

    Shvabrin is given as a direct contrast to Grinev. He is more educated, maybe even smarter than Grinev. But there is no kindness, no nobility, no sense of honor and duty in him. His transition to the service of Pugachev was caused not by high ideological motives, but by low selfish interests. The attitude of the author of the "notes" and the writer towards him is quite clear, and in the reader he evokes a feeling of contempt and indignation. In the composition of the novel, Shvabrin plays an important and very traditional (see, for example, the novels of W. Scott) role of the hero's antagonist in love and in public life, without him storyline Grinev and Masha would be difficult to build. In addition, the image of Shvabrin is a kind of censorship "barrier" for Grinev, as if separated from his image in the course of work on the novel (at first there was one hero). Under his "cover" it was easier to write about Grinev, who sometimes admired Pugachev.

    Aleksey Ivanovich Shvabrin is not only a negative character, but also the opposite of Pyotr Andreevich Grinev, the narrator on behalf of whom the story is told in The Captain's Daughter. Grinev and Shvabrin are not the only characters in the story who are somehow compared with each other: such “pairs” form almost all the main characters. characters works: Empress Catherine - the false emperor Pugachev, Masha Mironova - her mother Vasilisa Yegorovna - which allows us to talk about comparison as one of the most important compositional techniques used by the author in the story. It is interesting, however, that not all of these heroes are absolutely opposed to each other. So, Masha Mironova, rather, is compared with her mother and shows as much devotion to her chosen one and courage in the struggle for him as captain Mironova, who was not afraid of the villains and accepted death with her husband. The opposition of the "couple" Ekaterina - Pugachev is not as unambiguous as it seems at first glance. These warring and warring characters have many close traits and similar actions. Both are capable of both cruelty and the manifestation of mercy and justice. In the name of Catherine, the supporters of Pugachev (a mutilated Bashkir with a cut off tongue) are cruelly persecuted and subjected to brutal torture, and Pugachev commits atrocities and executions along with his comrades. On the other hand, both Pugachev and Ekaterina show mercy towards Grinev, saving him and Marya Ivanovna from trouble and finally arranging their happiness. And only between Grinev and Shvabrin nothing but antagonism is found. It is already indicated in the names by which the author calls his heroes. Grinev bears the name of Peter, he is the namesake of the great emperor, for whom Pushkin, of course, had the most enthusiastic feelings. Shvabrin was given the name of a traitor to his father's business, Tsarevich Alexei. This, of course, does not mean at all that every character in Pushkin's work bearing one of these names should be correlated in the mind of the reader with the named characters. historical figures. But in the context of the story, where the problem of honor and dishonor, devotion and betrayal is so important, such a coincidence seems to be no coincidence. It is known how seriously Pushkin took the concept of ancestral honor of the nobility, to what is usually called roots. It is no coincidence, of course, that is why the story tells in such detail and in detail about the childhood of Petrusha Grinev, about his family, in which the traditions of centuries-old noble education are sacredly preserved. And although these “habits of dear old times” are not described without irony, it is obvious that the author’s irony is full of warmth and understanding. And in the end, it was the thought of the impossibility of dishonoring the honor of the family, that did not allow Grinev to commit betrayal against his beloved girl, to violate the officer's oath. Shvabrin is a man without a clan, without a tribe. We do not know anything about his origin, about his parents. Nothing is said about his childhood, about his upbringing. Behind him, it seems, there is no spiritual and moral baggage. who supports Grinev. Shvabrin, apparently, no one gave a simple and wise instruction: "Take care of honor from a young age." Therefore, he easily neglects her for salvation. own life and just for personal well-being. At the same time, we note that Shvabrin is an avid duellist: it is known that he was transferred to the Belogorsk fortress for some kind of "villainy", probably for a duel. He challenges Grinev to a duel, moreover, in a situation where he himself is to blame: he insulted Maria Ivanovna, vilely slandering her in front of the lover Pyotr Andreevich. It is important that none of the honest heroes approve of duels in the story: neither Captain Mironov, who resembled Grinev. that "duels are formally prohibited in the military article." neither Vasilisa Yegorovna, who considered them "murder" and "murder," nor Savelich. Grinev accepts the challenge, defending the honor of his beloved girl. Shvabrin, on the other hand, from the fact that he was rightly called a liar and a scoundrel. The last time we see Shvabrin. when he, arrested for ties with Pugachev, chained, undertakes one last try slander and destroy Grinev. Outwardly, he changed a lot: “his hair, recently jet-black, has completely turned gray,” but his soul is still black: he uttered his accusations, albeit in a “weak, but bold voice” - so great were his anger and hatred for the happiness of his opponent. Shvabrin will end his life as ingloriously as he lived: loved by no one and loved no one, serving no one and nothing, but only adapting all his life. He is like a tumbleweed, a plant without a root, a man without a family, without a tribe, he did not live, but rolled down until he fell into the abyss ...

    Fate will point to the enemy. War brings pain and loss. In terrible life circumstances, it becomes clear who the acquaintances and close people really are.

    The image and characterization of Shvabrin in the story "The Captain's Daughter" will reveal to the reader the cruel truth about how easily a person betrays others, his own homeland. Life punishes traitors, so it will happen with the hero of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.



    The appearance of Alexei Ivanovich Shvabrin

    He was no longer young. From his figure and short stature, it was impossible to tell that he had a military bearing. The swarthy face did not attract at all, but rather repelled. When he was already standing among the rebels, Peter noticed his changes. “Cropped in a circle, in a Cossack caftan”.

    In the service of Pugachev, he turned into a thin and pale old man, his hair turned gray. Only grief and worries could change so quickly appearance person. But there is no going back.

    First opinion is deceptive

    Officer Shvabrin ended up in the Belogorsk fortress because he stabbed a familiar lieutenant with a sword. Lives here for the fifth year. Being with people for so long, he can easily betray, slander, insult them. His deceit manifests itself in many ways. As soon as he met Grinev, he immediately began to tell him unpleasant things about Ivan Kuzmich's daughter. "He described Masha as a complete fool." Prior to this, a new acquaintance made a good impression on Peter. “Shvabrin was not very stupid. His conversation was entertaining.".

    He wooed Masha, and was refused. The young lady intelligently described the reason why she could not become his wife. She simply could not imagine life with someone to whom you do not have feelings.

    The honor of the beloved is hurt. Duel

    When Peter read poems to Shvabrin dedicated to the daughter of the commandant Mironov, the officer advised her to give her expensive gifts so that she would come to him at night. It was a cruel, baseless insult, and the young man in love challenged the offender to a duel.

    In the duel, the officer showed himself low. Grinev recalls that the enemy overtook him at the moment when he was distracted.

    “I looked around and saw Savelich running down the path. At this time, I was strongly pricked in the chest, I fell and lost my senses.

    It was dishonest, unmanly.

    Deceit and duplicity

    Shvabrin cannot come to terms with the fact that Masha has chosen his opponent. He understands that the lovers are planning to get married. Then the liar decides to interfere with them once again. He reports to Peter's parents about everything that happened in the fortress: the duel, Grinev's injury, his upcoming wedding with the daughter of the impoverished commandant. Before committing this act, he pretended to be an honest, sincere friend who regretted what he had done.

    “He expressed deep regret about what happened, admitted that he was to blame, and asked to forget about the past”

    .

    Enemy for own state

    For Shvabrin, there is no concept of honor and duty to the motherland. When Pugachev captured the fortress, he went over to the side of the rebels. The traitor, without a drop of regret, looks at all the atrocities committed by the Pugachev gang.

    Shvabrin takes the place that belonged to the father of Maria Mironova. He keeps Masha under lock and key on bread and water, threatening her with violence. When the leader peasant war will demand to let the girl go, then Shvabrin will tell whose daughter she is, putting at great risk the one to whom he recently declared his love. This proves that sincere feelings are alien to him.