Episode 34: The Queen of Spades by Aleksandr Pushkin

Aleksandr Pushkin Aleksandr Sergeyeviçh Pushkin was a Russian poet, playwright and novelist. He was born in 1799 in Moscow and died aged on 37 in St Petersburg. Hie was fatally wounded on a duel fought with his brother in law, a soldier who had attempted to seduce Pushkin’s wife. Pushkin’ great-grandfather was African, kidnapped from Africa, probably Cameroon, by the Turks and taken to Russia where he became the favourite of Peter the Great and rose to be a famous military engineer. Pushkin is rightly considered to be one of the greats of Russian literature and he was massively talented. He was a supporter of greater political freedom and so came under the surveillance of the Russian Tsar’s secret police, leading to his exile. The Queen of Spades story is very well written and there seems no superfluous detail or incident. The first scene of the gamblers sets up the story and Herman, who Pushkin leaves in the background while the story of the mystical St Germain and his grandmother’s magic secret of winning at cards is discussed. We realise, that though Herman is strangely quiet during this sequence it is because he is taking it all in.  Herman begins to stalk the Countess and his sly plot is to get at her by the seduction of her young companion Lisa. Herman is so sly that he persists against Lisa’s initial refusal and Pushkin comments wryly that Herman knows the female heart. Be persistent, boys, is the message, and you will win her round.  Many legal cases of stalking and harassment have begun with this mentality, of course. There is nothing admirable about Herman at all, which is important because we as readers know right from wrong and we want the villain to get his just rewards. I have a memory that some versions of the Queen of Spades have her winking, and so her wink, which might otherwise be comic, is sinister here. I also wonder who commands the grandmother to give the secrets of the cards to Herman against her will from beyond the grave? Is the ghost just saying this, o