The Bridegroom Essay, Research Paper
The Bridegroom
The Bridegroom is a short story depicting the unfair treatment towards women. This story starts out by describing a woman who has disappeared and has obviously witnessed something horrible. She is afraid to tell anyone because she is a girl and it is obvious that no one will believe her. So, she concocts a plan and explains to everyone in the town that she had a strange dream. The people, obviously fascinated by her strange dream, listen to what she has to say. When she ends her story, she accuses her rich, would-be bridegroom of murder, and it is apparent to everyone that he was responsible for the death of a young lady. This story s main focus is the injustice of society towards women, and the overwhelming power of the rich.
The theme to this story can probably be associated with the way the author was raised. The story s author, Aleksandr Pushkin (considered one of Russia s most influential writers of all time), was always a strong believer in social reform, and he was no stranger to discrimination. Pushkin’s father came of an old boyar family, but his mother was the granddaughter of Abram Hannibal. Abram Hannibal was an Abyssinian princeling bought as a slave at Constantinople. During early childhood Pushkin spent summers at his grandmother’s estate near Moscow. He talked to the peasants and spent hours alone, living in the dream world of a precocious, imaginative child. So he obviously understood the problems of the lower class ( Eiermann pg. 1 ). Another example of Pushkin s want for social reform can be seen in his political verses and epigrams for the ideas and aspirations of those who were to take part in the Decembrist rising of 1825. Pushkin also wrote The Bronze Horseman. This story depicts the problem of the “lower class” whose happiness is destroyed by the great leader in pursuit of ambition ( Eiermann pg. 3 ).
A long time ago, women were not taken seriously. They were treated a lot differently. They were the little man and no one took them seriously. They were true minorities and they needed someone to help fight for their rights. Pushkin probably saw this as unfair and decided to help them out. He wasn t caught up in the women s rights movement either; he was just doing what was right. But most likely, his main focus was the unfairness of the rich. His background shows many instances in which he has fought for the little man and he has gotten into major trouble for it, including exile to a few countries ( Britannica pg. 1 ).
All these examples of Pushkin s life convince me that the short story, The Bridegroom, was written to support Pushkin s belief that the upper class had too much power ( Gould pg.1 ). It seems that he was trying to get this message across to the public through his short story. It does a good job of showing how a simple town would believe a rich stranger over a young girl who has been with them all their lives. Pushkin shows the trouble the girl had to go through to tell her story so her close friends and even family would believe her. Her father doesn t even question who this man is, he just wants to give her away so he can get rich off of it. No one seems to care too much about this girl except for the girl herself. So, Pushkin decided to make a heroine out of her to show the world that the upperclass isn t always right.