"The Bridegroom" is a short story depicting the unfair treatment towards women. This story starts out by describing a woman who has disappeared and has obviously witnessed something horrible. She is afraid to tell anyone because she is a girl and it is obvious that no one will believe her. So, she concocts a plan and explains to everyone in the town that she had a strange dream. The people, obviously fascinated by her strange dream, listen to what she has to say. When she ends her story, she accuses her rich, would-be bridegroom of murder, and it is apparent to everyone that he was responsible for the death of a young lady. This story's main focus is the injustice of society towards women, and the overwhelming power of the rich.
             The theme to this story can probably be associated with the way the author was raised. The story's author, Aleksandr Pushkin (considered one of Russia's most influential writers of all time), was always a strong believer in social reform, and he was no stranger to discrimination. Pushkin's father came of an old boyar family, but his mother was the granddaughter of Abram Hannibal. Abram Hannibal was an Abyssinian princeling bought as a slave at Constantinople. During early childhood Pushkin spent summers at his grandmother's estate near Moscow. He talked to the peasants and spent hours alone, living in the dream world of a precocious, imaginative child. So he obviously understood the problems of the lower class ( Eiermann pg. 1 ). Another example of Pushkin's want for social reform can be seen in his political verses and epigrams for the ideas and aspirations of those who were to take part in the Decembrist rising of 1825. Pushkin also wrote The Bronze Horseman. This story depicts the problem of the "lower class" whose happiness is destroyed by the great leader in pursuit of ambition ( Eiermann pg. 3 ).
             A long time ago, women were not taken seriously
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