“Irrevocable Words,” or Why Maria Kirilovna “Deceived” Dubrovsky

Abstract

The features of the plot behaviour of Maria Kirilovna Troekurova, the main character of the novel “Dubrovsky,” are discusses. The relevance of the study is due to the lack of works explaining one of the main mysteries of Pushkin’s text - the discrepancy between the description of the wedding ceremony and the story of the main character about this event. The novelty of the study is seen in the fact that Maria Kirilovna’s actions (and in particular, her refusal to take any decisive steps to upset her marriage with Prince Vereysky) are analyzed in the context of the socio-psychological conditions in which the heroine was brought up and passed her formation. Particular attention is paid to the episodes of the novel, which allow to reveal the motives of the key actions of the main character. In the course of the study, it was found that the central event of the novel - the marriage of Maria Kirilovna with Prince Vereysky - was determined not only by the indecision of Vladimir Dubrovsky and his willingness in no way to contradict the will and desires of his beloved, but also the desire of the main character to radically change hers life, choosing a spouse, although not a beloved, but the most promising candidate. The author comes to the conclusion that the interpretation of Maria Kirilovna’s actions allows to comprehend love conflict of the novel in a new way, to correct essentially representation of characters and motives of behaviour of the central characters.

Keywords

• pushkin
• prose
• dubrovsky
• mystery
• deception
• gender semantics
• love strategies
• animalistic symbolism
• suicidal motives