Q. Why did Pyotr’s friend ask for a stag party? From where did people get the idea that Pyotr was getting married? (5marks) (2016)
-> Because Pyotr’s friend had come to know that Pyotr was getting married.
People get the idea that Pyotr was getting married with Kondrakshin’s daughter Anastasia. Everyone knew that he spent the whole day with her. He dined there, sang ballads and walked with Nastya. He also gave a bunch of flowers to her. Nastya was fully smitten. He was a frequent visitor to the Kondrakshin’s family. All these things led people to get the idea that Pyotr was courting Nastya. Even Nastya’s father also talked about their soon to be marriage.
Q. Attempt a character sketch of Councillor Kondrashkin. (5marks) (2019)
-> Councillor Kondrashkin was the father of seven daughters. He was very much fond of his daughters and wanted them to marry a suitable person. He allowed pyotr to come to his house and meet Anastasia because he was in the hope that Pyotr would marry her and loved her. When Pyotr did not pay any heed to the issue of marriage, Kondrashkin confronted young Pyotr about his reticence and accused him, for evading the issue and being dishonest as Pyotr wanted to leave the place without getting married to Anastasia. He tried to convince Pyotr as they had developed relations between them. In fact Kondrashkin did not bother when he heard that Pyotr was a runaway convict. In fact Kondrashkin was very cool and calm with a good sense of humor.
