Article

Name: The Plot of Misericordia and Clementia in “The Captain’s Daughter” by A. S. Pushkin

Authors: Tatyana V. Zvereva

Udmurt State University, Izhevsk, Russian Federation

In the section The Plot in Literature and Folklore

Abstract:

“The Captain’s Daughter” by A. S. Pushkin is considered in the context of ideological disputes related to the most important concepts of the Russian state system, such as: “spravedlivost’” (fairness), “pravosudiye” (justice), and “milost’” (mercy). It was identified that the latter novel was a part of the controversy about the release of the “Complete Collection of the Laws of the Russian Empire” by M. Speransky (1832–1833). In Russia, the focus on justice issues intensified after the events of 1825 and the execution of the Decembrists. The novel demonstrates the author’s extensive reflection on the issues of Christian mercy (misericordia) and the mercy of the government (clementia). The analysis of historical documents showed that Pugachev in his Manifestos followed the principles of Christian mercy, while for Catherine the Second the mercy was a part of the political strategy. These two poles are sometimes attracted to each other, sometimes repelled from each other in “The Captain’s Daughter”, revealing the most complex dialectic of the author’s thought. It is concluded that the moral instinct coming from I. Kant’s “categorical imperative” proves to be saving in Pushkin’s artistic world.

Keywords: A. Pushkin, Pugachev, Catherine II, I. Kant, a historical novel, a family chronicle, an author, the plot

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