The Captain's Daughter Sparknotes

As Imperial Russia continued to expand, Serfdom took its place as a commonality in Russian culture. While social classes grew more and more apart, peasants were hit with the harsh reality of this class separation. As Kizhanich mentions in the source book; Medieval Russia, “in the middle of the fifteenth century, conditions of Russian peasants deteriorated rapidly. By the early seventeenth century the majority had become serfs of one kind to another.” Serfs did not live the best life, this can be seen in Alexander Pushkin’s The Captain’s Daughter, a story of a young Russian noble who ends up in the middle of the Pugachev rebellion fighting for his life . Serfs are mentioned throughout the story as the book does a good job illustrating the different …show more content…
Serfs did not receive a real income for their work, instead they were supplied a place to stay, food, and protection; courtesy of their lord. It was very challenging for Serfs to progress in society and it widely ranged on how generous their master was. Serfs were often punished for wrongdoing and were looked down upon by their owners, “I am your master, and you are my servant. The money is mine… I advise you not to be too clever and to do as you’re told.” Conditions were so bad that many serfs attempted to escape for a chance to live out the rest of their lives as a free individual. These attempts to escape became so frequent that new laws were established. These laws and the overall issue of serfs created more chaos and classes began to clash as everyone had their own opinion on the …show more content…
New serf laws had been established in 1661 which, “prohibited the harboring of runaway peasants and specified penalties for violators.” As serfs escaped, they went to new owners in hope of better treatment. This new law cracked down on this strategy as both peasants and owners were punished if caught. As hopes dwindled, rebellions in an unorganized Russia began to accumulate. Although most of the time rebellions were started by the Cossack people, serfs joined in on the matter to try and better their lives. In The Captain’s Daughter, serfs joined in on the Pugachev rebellion to do just the same’ “You see good sir, we’re rebelling”. Rebellions were a big problem for Russia in the late 1600s and early 1700s as many lives and towns were lost. Due to the poor condition of serfs, they really didn’t have anything to lose by joining in on the rebellion. As illustrated above, there were numerous problems concerning serfdom in Russia throughout a span of a few hundred years. No person should have to experience that type of life as it was very inhumane. Despite this, there were a few advantages for Russia that serfdom contributed