The Queen of Spades

“Two fixed ideas can no more exist together in the moral world than two bodies can occupy one and the same place in the physical world.””

— Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin

“Le jeu m’intéresse beaucoup, dit Hermann, mais, dans l’espoir du superflu, je ne puis risquer le nécessaire.””

— Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin

“...oamenii, nefiind niciodată mulțumiți de prezent, și învățând să aibă puține speranțe în viitor, înfrumusețează cu toate florile închipuirii tot ce a trecut și nu se mai întoarce.””

— Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin

“For whom are you preserving your secret? For your grandsons? They are rich enough without it; they do not know the worth of money. Your cards would be of no use to a spendthrift. He who cannot preserve his paternal inheritance, will die in want, even though he had a demon at his service. I am not a man of that sort; I know the value of money. Your three cards will not be thrown away upon me. Come!” ... He paused and tremblingly awaited her reply. The Countess remained silent; Hermann fell upon his knees. “If your heart has ever known the feeling of love,” said he, “if you remember its rapture, if you have ever smiled at the cry of your newborn child, if any human feeling has ever entered into your breast, I entreat you by the feelings of a wife, a lover, a mother, by all that is most sacred in life, not to reject my prayer. Reveal to me your secret. Of what use is it to you? . . . May be it is connected with some terrible sin, with the loss of eternal salvation, with some bargain with the devil.... Reflect,”

— Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin

“Herman stood before her. She drew back at sight of him, trembling violently. "Where have you been?" she asked in a frightened whisper. "In the bedchamber of the Countess. She is dead," was the calm reply. "My God! What are you saying?" cried the girl. "Furthermore, I believe that I was the cause of her death." The words of Tomsky flashed through Lisa's mind. Herman sat down and told her all. She listened with a feeling of terror and disgust. So those passionate letters, that audacious pursuit were not the result of tenderness and love. It was money that he desired. The poor girl felt that she had in a sense been an accomplice in the death of her benefactress. She began to weep bitterly. Herman regarded her in silence. "You are a monster!" exclaimed Lisa, drying her eyes. "I didn't intend to kill her; the pistol was not even loaded.””

— Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin

“Though a gamester at heart, he never touched a card, for he considered his position did not allow him”

— Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin

“Lizaveta listened to him in terror. So all those passionate letters, those ardent desires, this bold obstinate pursuit”

— Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin

“Бабушка, которая всегда была строга к шалостям молодых людей, как-то сжалилась над Чаплицким.””

— Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin