“Where wilt thou gallop, haughty steed,
And where wilt thou plant thy foot?”
— Alexander Pushkin, The Bronze Horseman
The Bronze Horseman is a narrative poem divided into an introduction and two main parts. It tells the tragic story of a poor clerk, Yevgeny, whose life is destroyed by a catastrophic flood in St. Petersburg, and his subsequent descent into madness after confronting the city’s symbolic monument—Peter the Great’s equestrian statue.
Introduction
The poem opens with a majestic ode to St. Petersburg, founded by Peter the Great. Pushkin praises the city’s grandeur, built upon the swampy Neva River delta, as a triumph of human will over nature. The introduction establishes the central tension between imperial ambition and the forces of nature.
Part One
Yevgeny, a low-ranking clerk, returns to his small rented room, dreaming of marrying his beloved Parasha. A violent storm brews, and the Neva River swells, flooding the city. Yevgeny barely survives by clinging to a lion statue as the waters destroy entire neighborhoods, including Parasha’s home. The flood symbolizes nature’s indifference to human suffering.
Part Two
After the flood recedes, Yevgeny learns Parasha and her mother perished. Grief-stricken, he wanders the city in madness. In a feverish delirium, he blames Peter the Great’s statue (the Bronze Horseman) for founding the city in such a vulnerable location. The statue seemingly comes to life, chasing Yevgeny through the streets. The poem ends with Yevgeny’s corpse found near Parasha’s ruined home.
Key Ideas
- The conflict between human ambition and nature’s power
- The suffering of the individual under imperial authority
- Madness as a response to overwhelming tragedy
- The duality of progress—St. Petersburg as both glorious and perilous
- The symbolic weight of monuments in shaping national identity
Who should read this book?
- Readers interested in Russian Romanticism and Pushkin’s poetic mastery
- Those exploring themes of state power vs. individual fate
- Fans of symbolic, mythic storytelling with historical roots