Quotes from the story “The Queen of Spades”
The collection includes quotes from the story “The Queen of Spades”, written by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in 1833. The story has been filmed several times.
At that time, ladies played pharaoh. Once at court, she lost something very much to the Duke of Orleans at his word. Arriving home, the grandmother, peeling the flies off her face and untying her hoops, announced to her grandfather that she had lost and ordered him to pay.
The Countess was so old that her death could not strike anyone and that her relatives had long looked at her as if she had become obsolete.
Calculation, moderation and hard work: these are my three true cards, this is what will triple, seventeen my capital and give me peace and independence!
The Queen of Spades means secret malevolence.
The game occupies me greatly,” said Hermann, “but I am not able to sacrifice what is necessary in the hope of acquiring what is superfluous.
Midnight is approaching, but Herman is still not there.
Having little true faith, he had many prejudices.
The slender leg of a young beauty, the rattling jackboot, the striped stocking and diplomatic shoe were constantly stretched out of the carriages.
Lizaveta Ivanovna looked at him, and Tomsky’s words resounded in her soul: this man has at least three crimes in his soul! Hermann sat down on the window next to her and told everything.
Two immovable ideas cannot exist together in moral nature, just as two bodies cannot occupy the same place in the physical world.
The weather was terrible: the wind howled, wet snow fell in flakes; the lanterns glowed dimly; the streets were empty.
Hermann has gone crazy. He sits in the Obukhov hospital in room 17, does not answer any questions, and mutters unusually quickly: “Three, seven, ace!” Three, seven, queen!..
Three, seven, ace - did not leave his head and moved on his lips.
Returning home, she ran to her room and took out a letter from behind her glove: it was not sealed. Lizaveta Ivanovna read it. The letter contained a declaration of love: it was tender, respectful and taken word for word from a German novel.
The whole day Hermann was extremely upset. While dining in a secluded tavern, he, contrary to his custom, drank a lot, in the hope of drowning out his inner excitement. But the wine fired his imagination even more. Returning home, he threw himself onto the bed without undressing and fell fast asleep.
I am not able to sacrifice what is necessary in the hope of acquiring what is superfluous.
The next evening Hermann appeared again at the table. Everyone was expecting him. Generals and privy councilors abandoned their whist to see such an extraordinary game. The young officers jumped off the sofas; all the waiters gathered in the living room. Everyone surrounded Hermann.
Indeed, Lizaveta Ivanovna was a very unhappy creature. Someone else’s bread is bitter, says Dante, and the steps of someone else’s porch are heavy, and who knows the bitterness of dependence if not the poor pupil of a noble old woman?
Hermann is German: he is calculating, that’s all!
Quotes from the story, book “The Queen of Spades” - Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.
Quotes from the story “The Queen of Spades” (A.S. Pushkin)
Quotes and characteristics of Hermann:
Hermann is a young engineer, officer:
“...And what is Hermann like! - said one of the guests, pointing to the young engineer..." "... I saw a young engineer..."
Hermann is German by birth:
“...Hermann is a German...”
“...Hermann was the son of a Russified German...”
Hermann looks like Napoleon:
“...he sat on the window, arms folded and frowning menacingly. In this position, he surprisingly resembled a portrait of Napoleon...”
Hermann has black eyes and a pale face:
“...He stood at the very entrance, covering his face with a beaver collar: his black eyes sparkled from under his hat...”
“...a quick blush covered his pale cheeks every time their eyes met...”
Hermann’s three main qualities are prudence, moderation and hard work:
"…No! calculation, moderation and hard work: these are my three true cards, this is what will triple, seventeen my capital and give me peace and independence!..”
“...Hermann is a German: he is calculating, that’s all! - Tomsky noted..."
Hermann is not a rich man. He passionately wants to get rich:
“...Hermann was the son of a Russified German, who left him a small capital...”
“...Money—that’s what his soul yearned for!”
Hermann is an economical, thrifty person:
“...Being firmly convinced of the need to strengthen his independence, Hermann did not even touch interest, lived on his salary alone, and did not allow himself the slightest whim. However, he was secretive and ambitious, and his comrades rarely had the opportunity to laugh at his excessive frugality..."
Hermann is a secretive and ambitious person:
“...he was secretive and ambitious...”
Hermann has passions boiling in his soul, but he pacifies them with the firmness of his character:
“...He had strong passions and a fiery imagination, but firmness saved him from the ordinary delusions of youth...”
Hermann is a gambler at heart, but he had never played cards in his life before the story with the Countess:
“...So, for example, being a gambler at heart, he never took cards in his hands..., and meanwhile he spent entire nights sitting at the card tables and followed with feverish trepidation the various turns of the game...”
“...he hasn’t picked up cards in his life, he hasn’t forgotten a single password in his life, and until five o’clock he sits with us and watches our game!..” G
Ermann is a purposeful person who is ready to do anything for his goal. For example, he is ready to become the lover of an 80-year-old woman for the sake of money:
“...Why not try your happiness?.. Introduce yourself to her, win her favor, perhaps become her lover, but all this takes time - and she is eighty-seven years old...”
Hermann is a monster at heart:
“...You are a monster! - Lizaveta Ivanovna finally said..."
Hermann has the soul of Mephistopheles, that is, a demon:
“...This Hermann,” Tomsky continued, “has a truly romantic face: he has the profile of Napoleon, and the soul of Mephistopheles...”
Hermann believes little in God, but he has many prejudices:
“...Having little true faith, he had many prejudices. He believed that the dead countess could have a harmful influence on his life - and decided to appear at her funeral to ask her forgiveness ... "
Hermann uses Lisa to meet the Countess:
“...So, these passionate letters, these fiery demands, this daring, persistent pursuit, all this was not love! Money - that’s what his soul yearned for! It was not she who could satisfy his desires and make him happy! The poor pupil was nothing more than the blind assistant of the robber, the murderer of her old benefactress!..”
Hermann does not feel sorry for either Lisa or the late old woman. He only feels sorry for the card secret, which the old woman takes with her to the grave:
“...his heart was also tormented, but neither the tears of the poor girl nor the amazing charm of her grief disturbed his stern soul. He felt no remorse at the thought of the dead old woman. One thing terrified him: the irretrievable loss of a secret from which he expected enrichment...”
After the death of the old woman, her ghost appears to Hermann. This ghost tells him three treasured cards:
“...the white woman, gliding, suddenly found herself in front of him - and Hermann recognized the countess!..”
“...I was ordered to fulfill your request. Three, seven and ace will win you in a row..."
Finally, Hermann decides to play cards for the first time in his life. He bets on three, seven and ace. But instead of an ace, he ends up with a queen of spades. He loses all his money and goes crazy:
“...Hermann shuddered: in fact, instead of an ace, he had a queen of spades. He couldn't believe his eyes..."
“...Hermann has gone crazy. He is sitting in the Obukhov hospital..."
Quotes and characteristics of Anna Fedotovna Tomskaya:
The Countess's name is Anna Fedotovna Tomskaya:
"…that's all! - Tomsky noted. “And if anyone is unclear to me, it’s my grandmother, Countess Anna Fedotovna...”
The Countess's age is 87 years. She is so old that her relatives have long considered her obsolete, dying:
“...and she is eighty-seven years old...”
“...The Countess was so old that her death could not strike anyone and that her relatives had long looked at her as if she had become obsolete...”
"...robbing a dying old woman..."
Appearance of the Countess:
“...The Countess did not have the slightest pretension to beauty, which had long since faded, but she retained all the habits of her youth, strictly followed the fashions of the seventies and dressed just as long, just as diligently, as she did sixty years ago...”
“...sitting in the corner, flushed and dressed in ancient fashion, like an ugly and necessary decoration of the ballroom...”
“...the lackeys carried out a hunched old woman, wrapped in a sable fur coat...”
“...The Countess began to undress in front of the mirror. They broke off her cap, decorated with roses; They took off the powdered wig from her gray and closely cropped head. Pins rained down around her. A yellow dress embroidered with silver fell to her swollen feet... finally, the Countess remained in her sleeping jacket and nightcap: in this outfit, more characteristic of her old age, she seemed less terrible and ugly..."
“...The Countess sat all yellow, moving her drooping lips, swaying left and right. Her dull eyes depicted a complete absence of thought...”
In her youth, the Countess was a maid of honor at the imperial court:
“...I didn’t even know! Together we were granted maid of honor, and when we introduced ourselves, the Empress...”
The Countess is a noble woman, spoiled by life in high society:
“...the poor pupil of a noble old woman?..”
“...like a woman spoiled by the light...”
An old woman lives in the center of St. Petersburg in an old house:
“... Reasoning in this way, he found himself in one of the main streets of St. Petersburg, in front of a house of ancient architecture...”
The old countess still attends social evenings and gives balls:
“...She took part in all the vanities of the big world, dragged herself to balls, where she sat in the corner... She hosted the whole city, observing strict etiquette and not recognizing anyone by sight...”
“...Let me...bring him to you on Friday for the ball...”
The Countess keeps many servants who constantly steal from her:
“...Her numerous servants, having grown fat and gray in her hallway and maid’s room, did what they wanted, vying with each other to rob the dying old woman...”
The Countess has a difficult character. She is not evil, but willful and selfish:
“...Countess ***, of course, did not have an evil soul; but she was willful, like a woman spoiled by the world, stingy and immersed in cold selfishness, like all old people who have fallen out of love in their age and are alien to the present ... "
Her pupil, the poor girl Lisa, lives with the countess:
“...At the window, a young lady, her pupil, was sitting at the hoop...”
The Countess tyranns Lisa, turning her life into torture:
“...Lizaveta Ivanovna was a domestic martyr. She spilled tea and was reprimanded for wasting too much sugar; she read novels aloud and was to blame for all the author’s mistakes; she accompanied the countess on her walks and was responsible for the weather and the pavement..."
According to legend, the Countess knows a secret that allows you to win a game of cards:
“... about sixty years ago... <...> ... she lost something very much on the word of the Duke of Orleans. <…> Grandma didn’t know what to do. <…> Have you heard about Count Saint-Germain... <...> ...he revealed to her a secret for which any of us would give dearly... <...> She chose three cards, put them one after another: all three won her sonic, and grandma played completely..."
The Countess does not reveal her secret to anyone, except for one time, when she allegedly helps one young man, Chaplitsky:
“... she had four sons... and she didn’t reveal her secret to any of them... Grandmother... somehow took pity on Chaplitsky. She gave him three cards so that he would play them one after another..., Chaplitsky... recouped and still won..."
The young engineer Hermann hopes that the Countess will reveal her secret to him. Arriving at the old woman, he begs her to help him, and then threatens her with a pistol. The frightened old woman dies on the spot:
“...I ask for the last time: do you want to assign me your three cards? - Yes or no? The Countess did not answer. Hermann saw that she died..."
Soon the ghost of the Countess appears to Hermann and tells him three treasured cards:
“...I came to you against my will,” she said in a firm voice, “but I was ordered to fulfill your request. Three, seven and ace will win you in a row..."
Hermann bets on the indicated cards. However, during the game something strange happens: instead of the prepared ace, he ends up with the queen of spades in his hands. Hermann blames the late Countess for everything. Because of the loss, Hermann goes crazy:
“...Hermann shuddered: in fact, instead of an ace he had the queen of spades......it seemed to him that the queen of spades narrowed her eyes and grinned. The extraordinary resemblance struck him... - Old woman! - he screamed in horror..."
Quotes and characteristics of Lizaveta Ivanovna:
The full name of the heroine is Lizaveta Ivanovna:
“...Sorry, Lizaveta Ivanovna!..”
Lisa is a poor pupil of the old Countess Anna Fedotovna Tomskaya:
“...At the window, a young lady, her pupil, was sitting at the hoop...”
The following is known about Lisa's appearance:
“...he saw a black-haired head, probably bent over a book or at work. The head rose. Hermann saw a fresh face and black eyes..."
“...following her, in a cold cloak, with her head adorned with fresh flowers, flashed her pupil...”
“...Lizaveta Ivanovna came in wearing a hood* and a hat...” (*hood - cape with a hood)
Lisa is a sweet girl:
“...Lizaveta Ivanovna was a hundred times sweeter than the arrogant and cold brides around whom they hung around...” Liza is a modest girl. She is not used to flirting:
“...Not having the habit of flirting with passing officers...”
Lisa is an unhappy creature. She tolerates the difficult character of the countess because she supports her:
“...Indeed, Lizaveta Ivanovna was a very unhappy creature. ...who would know the bitterness of dependence if not the poor pupil of a noble old woman? Countess ***, of course, did not have an evil soul; but she was willful, like a woman spoiled by the world, stingy and immersed in cold selfishness ... "
Lizaveta Ivanovna - the Countess’s “domestic martyr”:
“...Lizaveta Ivanovna was a domestic martyr. She spilled tea and was reprimanded for wasting too much sugar; she read novels aloud and was to blame for all the author’s mistakes; she accompanied the countess on her walks and was responsible for the weather and the pavement..."
Lisa is very lonely. She has no friends or mentors, and she has no one to consult with:
“...she had neither a friend nor a mentor...”
Lisa plays a pitiful role in the world because of her position as a “hanger-on”:
“...She played the most pathetic role in the world. Everyone knew her, and no one noticed; at balls she danced only when there was a lack of vis-a-vis*, and the ladies took her arm every time they needed to go to the restroom to fix something in their outfit...” Lisa is a proud girl. She understands her pitiful position in society, but still hopes to meet her “savior”:
“...She was proud, keenly aware of her position and looked around her, impatiently awaiting a deliverer; but the young people, calculating in their flighty vanity, did not deign to pay her attention...”
Lisa - a young dreamer:
“...they sank deeply into the soul of the young dreamer...”
Lisa is a naive, inexperienced girl:
“...For the first time she entered into secret, close relations with a young man. His insolence horrified her...” Lisa is not spoiled by luxury. She lives in a “poor room,” although the Countess herself is rich. Apparently, this is due to the old woman’s stinginess:
“...How many times, quietly leaving the boring and luxurious living room, she went to cry in her poor room, where there were screens covered with wallpaper, a chest of drawers, a mirror and a painted bed, and where a tallow candle burned darkly in a copper shandal!..”
The story of Lisa and Hermann in the story “The Queen of Spades”
One day, sitting by the window, Lisa notices a young officer (Hermann) looking at her. Every day he comes to the window and they look at each other:
“...From that time on, not a day passed without a young man, at a certain hour, appearing under the windows of their house. Unconditional relations were established between him and her. Sitting in her place at work, she felt him approaching - she raised her head, looked at him longer and longer every day ... "
Lisa and Hermann secretly correspond. Finally, Lisa makes an appointment with Hermann in her room. She explains to him how to secretly enter the house at night:
“...Come at half past eleven. Go straight to the stairs. <…> From the hall, go left, go all the way straight to the countess’s bedroom...”
Once in the house, Hermann goes not to Lisa, but to the old woman. He begs the Countess to tell him the three treasured cards. When he threatens the old woman with a pistol, she suddenly dies:
“...The Countess did not answer. Hermann saw that she died..."
That same night, Hermann confesses to Lisa about his scam:
“...Hermann sat down on the window next to her and told everything. Lizaveta Ivanovna listened to him with horror..."
Lisa understands that Hermann used her to find out the old woman’s secret:
“... these passionate letters, these fiery demands, this daring, persistent pursuit, all this was not love! Money - that’s what his soul yearned for! <...> The poor pupil was nothing more than the blind assistant of the robber, the murderer of her old benefactress!..”
Lisa and Hermann break up forever. Eventually Hermann goes crazy after his loss.
Lisa successfully marries another man:
“...Lizaveta Ivanovna married a very kind young man; he serves somewhere and has a decent fortune: he is the son of a former steward of the old countess. Lizaveta Ivanovna is raising a poor relative...”
