Herman, a young officer, is a German-Russian. Once when he was watching people play cards, he heard that Countess fedotov lost a lot of money in French gambling, and then she turned all her money back with the help of three mysterious cards. In order to get this secret, Herman madly pursued his wife's adopted daughter Lisa Vita. Lisa Vita lives in a sponsor's house and always fantasizes that someone will come to save her, so she reacts quickly. One day, she made an appointment with Herman to meet her in her boudoir after she and her wife came back from the dance. Herman took the opportunity to hide in the countess's room in advance. Mrs Herman suddenly appeared and asked her to tell him three cards, but she refused. In desperation, Herman took out a pistol and threatened her, and his wife died of fright. Herman immediately told Lisa Vita what had just happened. Lisa Vita was frightened and immediately realized that he was "fanatically pursuing" his despicable intentions and regretted it. Three days later, Herman went to his wife's funeral. When he woke up in the middle of the night, he couldn't sleep any more. He recalled his wife's funeral. At this moment, he suddenly felt that the door opened and the old lady came in! She told Herman that the three cards were three, seven and a. One day, Herman came to a famous casino. Sure enough, he won a lot of money with these three cards and won again the next day. On the third day, just when Herman thought he was going to win again, he found that the "A" he played in the bet became the "Queen of Spades". He couldn't believe his eyes. He seems to see the Queen of Spades leering at him. He was so scared that he finally went crazy.
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As soon as Lisa Vita Ivanovna took off her coat and hat, the countess sent for her and ordered the carriage to be prepared. They went out to take a bus. Just as two servants helped the old lady into the carriage and sent her into the gate, Lisa Vita Ivanovna found the engineer officer next to the cab. He grabbed her hand and she was stunned. Before she came to her senses, the young man had left and left her a letter. She hid the letter in her gloves and was in a daze all the way. She heard nothing and saw nothing. The countess has a habit of sitting in a carriage and asking something from time to time: Who did they meet? What's the name of this bridge? What does the sign over there say? This time, Lisa Vita Ivanovna always answered casually, and the countess was very angry every time she got the wrong answer.
"What's the matter with you, my mother! Are you crazy or something? Did you not hear or understand me? ..... Glory to God, and I made it clear that I am not crazy! "
Lisa Vita Ivanovna didn't listen to her. As soon as she got home, she ran into her room and took out the letter from her glove: it was not sealed. Lisa Vita Ivanovna read it all at once. This is a letter expressing her love, affectionate and polite, copied verbatim from a German novel. Lisa Vita Ivanovna is very happy because she doesn't know German.
However, this letter made her fidgety. For the first time in her life, she established a secret and intimate relationship with a young man. His bold behavior frightened her. She blamed herself for being too careless and didn't know what to do: should she stop sitting at the window, should she ignore him, and let him stop pursuing in the future? Do you want to write him a letter? Do you want to reject him coldly and flatly? She has no one to discuss, no little sister, and no one to guide her. Lisa Vita Ivanovna decided to write him a reply.
She sat down at the desk, picked up a pen and paper and meditated. She started several times, and then tore up the letter: at one moment she thought her tone was too tolerant, and at the other she thought it was too blunt. She finally wrote a few words, and she was satisfied. She wrote: "I believe your intention is sincere, and you don't want to insult me with reckless actions;" But we shouldn't meet in this way. I am replying to this letter now, hoping that I won't blame you for not respecting me in the future. "
The next day, when Lisa Vita Ivanovna saw Herman coming, she got up from the embroidery rack, walked into the hall, opened the transom and threw the letter into the street, hoping that young officers could pick it up quickly. Herman ran over, picked up the letter and walked into a grocery store. Opening the envelope, he saw his letter and Lisa Vita Ivanovna's reply. This is what he expected. When he got home, he devoted himself to planning courtship.
Three days later, a young seamstress with flexible eyes sent a note to Lisa Vita Ivanovna from the fashion shop. Lisa Vita Ivanovna thought she was here to collect debts. She opened the note in fear and trembling, but immediately recognized Herman's handwriting.
"Honey, you are mistaken," she said. "This note is not for me."
"No, it's really for you!" The bold girl replied without hiding her mysterious smile. "Please have a look!"
Lisa Vita Ivanovna read the note quickly. Herman asked for a date with her.
"impossible!" Lisa Vita Ivanovna said that Herman couldn't wait to make this request and adopted this method, which surprised her greatly. "This note is really not addressed to me!" She tore the letter to pieces.
"Since this letter is not addressed to you, why did you tear it up?" The seamstress said, "I can return it to the sender!" " "
"Go ahead, dear!" Lisa Vita Ivanovna said that the seamstress turned red because she revealed her secret. "Don't send me text messages in the future. Please tell the man who told you to send the note that he should be ashamed ... "
But Herman didn't stop. Lisa Vita Ivanovna receives letters from him in various ways every day. The contents of this letter have not been translated from German. Herman wrote these letters to her enthusiastically, using his own unique language: in the letters, he expressed his unswerving desire and poured out his inexplicable and uncontrollable fantasies. Lisa Vita Ivanovna didn't want to reply: she was intoxicated by these letters; She began to answer his letters, which became longer and more affectionate. One day, she finally threw him the following letter from the window:
"The minister of a country will hold a dance today. The countess will go there. We will stay there until two o'clock. Now you have a chance to see me alone. As soon as the countess leaves, her servant will go away, leaving only a doorman on the porch, but he usually goes back to his room. You can come at half past eleven. Go straight up the stairs. If you meet anyone in the hall, ask the countess if she is at home. They will tell you that you are not here-then you have no choice but to go back. But you probably won't meet anyone. The maids all stayed in their rooms. Cross the hall and turn left until you come to the countess's bedroom. Behind the screen in the bedroom, you will see two small doors: the right leads to the study, where the countess never goes; The left leads to the corridor, where there is a narrow spiral staircase with my room above it. "
Herman trembled and waited anxiously for the appointed time. At ten o'clock in the evening, he has come to the door of the countess's mansion. The weather was terrible: the wind roared and wet snow fell in chunks; Street lamps emit dim light; The street is empty. The driver in a carriage pulled by a thin horse occasionally craned his neck to see if any passengers came home late. Herman stood there in ordinary clothes, feeling nothing about strong winds and snowstorms. The countess's carriage is finally ready. Herman saw several servants helping a hunchbacked old woman wrapped in a mink coat, and then her adopted daughter was wearing a thin cloak and shining flowers. The car door slammed shut. The carriage labored out of the soft snow. The janitor closed the door. The light in the window went out. Herman walked around the empty apartment: he approached the street lamp and looked at his watch-1120. He stood under the street lamp, staring at the pointer on his watch and waited for a few minutes. At half past eleven, Herman walked up the steps in front of the countess's residence and entered the brightly lit porch. The doorman is not here. Herman climbed the stairs, opened the front door and saw a servant sleeping in a dirty and old round-backed chair under the lamp. Herman walked past him gently, but did not hesitate. The hall and living room are dark. Only the light in the front hall shines faintly on these two halls. Herman went into the bedroom. A golden lamp was lit in front of a shrine full of ancient gods. A few faded satin round-backed armchairs and gold-plated sofas with down cushions are symmetrically leaning against the wall with China wallpaper, which looks desolate. There are two portraits of Mrs. LeBron painted in Paris on the wall. One of them depicts a man of about forty years old. He is ruddy and fat, wearing a light green uniform and a medal. Another picture shows a beautiful young woman with a long nose, her hair at the temples is combed back, and a rose is inserted in her powdered hair. All the corners are filled with porcelain statues of shepherdess, famous desk clocks made by Leroy, small boxes, roulette wheels for gambling, fans and female toys invented at the end of last century with Mongolifeiel balloons and mesmer hypnosis. Herman went behind the screen. There is a small iron bed behind the screen; On the right is a door leading to the study; The other door on the left leads to the corridor. Herman opened the door on the left and saw a narrow spiral staircase leading to the adopted daughter's room ... but he turned and walked into the dark study.
How time flies. The room is quiet. The clock in the living room struck twelve; The clocks in all the rooms struck twelve, and then the room was silent again. Herman stood leaning against the unlit stove. He is not anxious at all; The heart is beating calmly, like all people who are determined to take risks for a certain need. The clock struck one o'clock and two o'clock, when he heard the clatter of a carriage in the distance. He couldn't help getting excited. The carriage drove to the door and stopped. He heard the sound of stepping on the pedal. The building is busy. The servants ran and shouted, and the lights were on in the room; Three old maids ran into the bedroom, and then the countess came in weakly and sat on the high-backed couch. Herman saw Lisa Vita Ivanovna pass him through the gap. He heard her hurried footsteps on the stairs. He seemed to feel guilty, but he was completely calm in a moment. His heart became as hard as a stone.
The countess began to take off her makeup in front of the mirror. The maids took off their hats with roses from her head; Take the wig off her head and cut her silver hair very short. Pins rained down on her. The yellow dress embroidered with silver thread fell on her swollen feet. Herman saw with her own eyes the disgusting secret covered by her clothes; Finally, the countess was left with only a nightgown and a hair-pressing hat: this dress was more suitable for her eighties, so she didn't look so terrible and ugly.
Like ordinary old people, the countess suffers from insomnia. She took off her makeup, sat on the high-backed sofa by the window and sent the maid away. The candle was taken away, leaving only a lamp in the room. The countess sat there, her face sallow, her drooping lips quivered slightly, and her whole body kept swinging from side to side. Her cloudy eyes are very dull. Looking at her, I can really think that this terrible old woman's swing is not out of her will, but a potential current in her body is at work.
Suddenly, this lifeless face changed dramatically. His lips stopped trembling and his eyes moved nervously: a strange man stood in front of the countess.
"Please don't be afraid, for God's sake, please don't be afraid!" He spoke very clearly in a low voice. "I don't want to kill you; I just came to ask for your grace. "
The old woman looked at him silently, as if she didn't hear what he was saying. Herman thought she was hard of hearing, so he bent down and repeated what he had just said in her ear. The old woman remained silent.
"You can make me happy all my life," Herman continued. "It's easy for you: I know you can guess three cards in a row ..."
Herman didn't say more. The countess seems to understand his request, and she seems to be considering what appropriate words to answer him.
"This is a joke," she finally said. "I can swear to you! This is a joke! "
"There's nothing to joke about," Herman replied angrily. "Do you remember Chapliki, right? You helped him turn over a new leaf. "
The countess was obviously nervous. Her look reflected her intense agitation, but she quickly fell into the previous numbness.
"Can you tell me these three winning cards?" Herman asked again.
The countess was silent, Herman went on to say:
"Who do you keep this secret for? For your grandson? Even if they don't master the secret, they are rich enough. They don't know the value of money. Your three cards can't help those who spend money like water. Those who don't cherish their parents' heritage, even if they try their best like the devil, can't help dying of poverty. I am not a spendthrift, I know the value of money. I won't waste these three cards. Tell me! ……"
He stopped, trembling all over, waiting for her answer. The countess remained silent; Herman knelt down.
"If your heart has ever felt the feeling of love," he said, "if you still remember the joy of love, if you smiled even once when your newborn son cried, if human feelings have stirred in your chest, then I will beg you with my wife, lover and mother. In short, all the sacred feelings that may exist in a person's life, don't refuse my request! -Tell me your secret! What do you want it for? ..... Perhaps, it will cause appalling crimes and make people lose happiness all their lives. What agreement should they make with the devil? .. think about it: you are old and will not live long. I am willing to bear your sins with my soul. You just have to tell me your secret. You think about it, a person's happiness is in your hands, not only me, but also my son, grandson and great-grandson should cherish your great kindness and regard your kindness as sacred ... "
The old woman didn't answer a word.
Herman stood up.
"Old hag!" He gritted his teeth and said, "I have to force you to answer ..."
Say that finish, he took out a pistol from his pocket.
At the sight of the pistol, the countess got excited again. She shook her head and raised a hand as if to block his camera ... then she fell back ... motionless.
"Don't be silly," Herman said, grabbing her hand. "I want to ask you for the last time. Do you want to tell me three cards? "
The countess did not answer. Herman found her dead.
Lisa Vita Ivanovna sat in her room, still dressed for the ball, lost in thought. As soon as she got home, she hurried away the sleepy maid who didn't want to serve her. She told the maid that she could undress herself, and then walked into her room trembling, hoping to meet Herman there instead of seeing him. She concluded at a glance that he didn't come, so she thanked fate for setting obstacles for their tryst. When she sat down and took off her clothes, she remembered all the situations that made her so obsessed in such a short time. It has been less than three weeks since she first saw the young man at the window, but she has already communicated with him and he has got her permission to meet at night! She only learned his name from several letters signed by him; Before this evening, she had never spoken to him, never heard his voice, never heard of him ... what a strange thing! At the dance tonight, Tomsky was very angry with the young Duchess Polina. Because she was uncharacteristically unwilling to flirt with him, he invited Lisa Vita Ivanovna to dance endless Mazzuca to express her indifference to Paulina, hoping to get back at her. Throughout the evening, Tomsky always joked with Lisa Vita Ivanovna, making fun of her infatuation with engineer officers and telling her that he knew much more than she thought. Several of his jokes hit her hard, so Lisa Vita Ivanovna thought several times that he must know her secret.
"Who did you hear these things?" She asked him with a smile.
"From a friend of an acquaintance of yours," Tomsky replied, "that's a very good person."
"Who is this wonderful person?"
"His name is Herman."
Lisa Vita Ivanovna didn't answer anything, but her hands and feet were as cold as ice. ...
"This Herman," Tomsky continued, "has the typical face of the characters in the novel: his profile is like Napoleon, and his soul is like Mephisto fellers. In my opinion, he should feel guilty about at least three crimes. Why are you so pale! ……"
"I have a headache ... what did Herman say to you? What do you think of him? "
"Herman is not satisfied with his friend. He said that if he were you, he would take another approach ... I even think Herman is seducing you, at least when he hears his friend's loving admiration, his heart is not calm. "
"Where on earth has he seen me?"
"Maybe in the church, or when walking! ..... Who knows! Maybe you were in your room when you slept: he ... "
Three ladies came up to him and asked him "Forgot or Sorry", interrupting Lisa Vita Ivanovna's earnest conversation.
The lady chosen by Tomsky is the Duchess of Polina. She danced with him again and then turned around in front of her chair. During this time, she and he made up again. When Thomas Key returned to his seat, he no longer thought of Herman and Lisa Vita Ivanovna. Lisa Vita Ivanovna wanted to continue the conversation she had just interrupted, but the Mazzuca was over, and then the old countess left.
Thomas base's words are just a casual sentence when dancing Mazuka, but they are deeply imprinted in the heart of this dreamy girl. Moschi's casual portrait coincides with what she imagined in her mind; After listening to the latest story, this tacky face made her feel uneasy and addicted to fantasy. She sat with her arms crossed, wearing flowers on her head and hanging over her naked chest ... Suddenly, the door opened and Herman came into the room. She trembled all over. ...
"Where the hell were you just now?" She asked softly in fear.
"In the old countess's bedroom," Herman replied, "I just came from her. The countess is dead. "
"Oh, my God! ..... What are you talking about? ……"
"It seems that I scared her to death." Herman continued.
Lisa Vita Ivanovna glanced at him and couldn't help but hear Tomsky's words: "He should commit at least three crimes!" Herman sat on the windowsill next to her and told her all about it.
Lisa Vita Ivanovna listened to his words in horror. It turns out that these passionate letters, these fiery demands, and this rude pursuit are not out of love! Money-this is what his heart craves! Not that she can satisfy his desire and make him happy! The poor adopted daughter is just a blind accomplice of a murderer and a robber who killed his old benefactor! ..... She was so sad that she burst into tears. Herman looked at her silently: he was heartbroken, too, but neither the poor girl's tears nor her amazing charm under her painful appearance could touch his heart of stone. He was not condemned by his conscience at the thought of the old woman's death. There was only one thing that made him angry: he would never get the secret again, and he had hoped to make a fortune from it.
"You are a devil!" Lisa Vita Ivanovna finally said to him.
"I don't want to kill her," Herman replied. "My pistol is not loaded."
They were all silent.
It's dawn Lisa Vita Ivanovna blew out the dying candle: a faint light shone into her room. She dried her tearful eyes and looked up at Herman: he was sitting on the windowsill, copying his hands and frowning violently. That looks exactly like Napoleon's portrait. The two men are so alike that even Lisa Vita Ivanovna is surprised.
"How did you leave this mansion?" Lisa Vita Ivanovna finally said. "I want to take you out of the secret stairs, but I'm afraid to pass the countess's bedroom."
"Please tell me how to find this secret staircase, and I will go out by myself."
Lisa Vita Ivanovna stood up, took out the key from the cupboard, handed it to Herman, and told him the way out in detail. Herman shook her cold, unresponsive hand, kissed her drooping head and went out.
He went down the spiral staircase and went into the countess's bedroom again. The dead old woman is still sitting, stiff; Her face looks calm. Herman stood in front of her and looked at her for a long time, as if to see if this terrible thing was true again; Finally, he went into the study, touched the secret door behind the wallpaper and walked down the dark stairs. A strange feeling excited him. He thought, maybe 60 years ago, there was a lucky young man who wore an embroidered robe, combed his hair like a crane, and held a triangular hat in his hand and clung to his chest. At this time, he also slipped into this bedroom from this staircase. The young man has rotted in the grave, and the old mistress's heart stopped beating today. ...
Herman found a door under the stairs. He unlocked the lock with a key, walked into the corridor and walked from here to the street.
(Translated by Feng Chun and Zhang Hui)
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The Queen of Spades describes the life of gamblers in Petersburg's upper class, portrays the image of Herman, an individualistic adventurer, profoundly exposes his ugly soul, and reflects the greedy ambition of upper class people and the abomination of unscrupulous means to achieve this goal when Russian capitalism comes.
The third and fourth chapters selected here describe the story of Herman's crazy pursuit of Lisa Vita, and cruelly forcing the old lady to death in order to achieve his ulterior motives.
In order to satisfy his desire for money, Herman did not hesitate to cheat the girl's love. His sanctimonious appearance and deep-rooted meanness and selfishness have been fully demonstrated in the process of pursuing Lisa Vita. Pushkin highlights the beauty pursued by Herman by describing Lisa Vita's various psychological activities. Lisa Vita, as the adopted daughter of the old lady, has heard and witnessed the affair between men and women all day, but her status often sidelined her, and her lust was ruthlessly suppressed, so she was naturally full of yearning for a charming gentleman. Herman is a sophisticated and treacherous veteran in love, and the young woman Lisa Vita is naturally no match for him. "He boldly grabbed Lisa Vita's hand and put the letter in her hand." This sudden physical contact really shocked Lisa Vita: she was almost out of her wits and read Herman's letter in one breath. Knowing that Lisa Vita knew nothing about German, he copied a love letter from a German novel and teased her with the novelist's brilliant pen. Lisa Vita's electric shock reaction and hesitation in answering fully reflect the contradiction between her inner lust and reason. On the surface, it seems that she refused directly, but her less "straightforward" answer clearly told Herman that she was reluctant. Experienced Herman forced a date while the iron was hot. It is difficult for Lisa Vita to resist this offensive, so it is reasonable to fall into Herman's clever trap.
The novel does not directly reveal Herman's ugly mind, but reveals Herman's multiple characters distorted by money to Lisa Vita through the countess's grandson Tomsky. Tomsky thinks that Herman's soul has been absorbed by the demon Mephistopheles, and his thoughts are sinful. Herman cruelly played with Lisa Vita's feelings and finally got a chance to meet the old lady. In order to get these "three cards", he tried his best, threatened to seduce, wronged and begged, and when he failed to achieve his goal, he even brutally threatened the old lady with a gun, scaring her half to death. After the old lady died, "he was not condemned by his conscience." There is only one thing that makes him angry: he will never get the secret again, and he had expected to make a fortune from it. " Pushkin really showed the reader a demonic figure.
Pushkin also described Lisa Vita, a girl who fell in love for the first time, and successfully created an image of a little person who was eager to change her destiny. Young Lisa Vita is the adopted daughter of the old lady, selfish, cold and eccentric. Lisa Vita is often scolded by her and fantasizes about changing her destiny with love. The cunning Herman saw the hope of realizing her dream in Lisa Vita. Herman, an experienced lover, fully understands the complex psychology of women. Under his affectionate entanglement, Lisa Vita's psychological defense line was completely broken. Finally, one day she secretly asked Herman to meet her room, and Herman finally found a golden opportunity to get close to the countess. Although Moschi's words made Lisa Vita realize that Herman's love letter and tangled pursuit may not be out of love, but out of some despicable and ulterior attempt, she was glad that she was intoxicated with love. Until Herman came to her room and told her the news of the old lady's death, she finally realized that Herman was "a devil", and only the secret of the old lady was what Herman longed for. She unconsciously became an accomplice of the robber who killed her old benefactor. Lisa Vita, who longs for peace, happiness and a loving life, plays a tragic role in reality.
In The Queen of Spades, Pushkin shows his skills as an excellent realistic writer. He pioneered the "Petersburg novel" through dramatic plots such as confessions, dreams and incisive psychological descriptions of the characters, which had a great influence on the "social psychological novels" created by later writers such as lermontov and Dostoevsky.
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