The Stone Guest is the tale ending in heroic tragedy. Interestingly enough, Pushkin named this play after the Commander rather than his story's protagonist, Don Juan. It serves to foreshadow the appearance of the Stone Statue at some point in the story from the very beginning. The Commander seems to haunt the story from almost immediately when Dona Anna enters Scene I to offer her prayer and grievances to her fallen husband. (Evdokimova, 194)Pushkin’s own life is very aptly portrayed in this story as the character Don Juan. A victim of political imprisonment, Pushkin was exiled and had secret hopes of returning to his home one day and escaping his banishment. Don Juan, similar to Pushkin's, was renounced as a man who does not believe in god; multiple times throughout the play, he is described using the term “godless.” This parallels Pushkin’s own life and beliefs as he was often accused of being an atheist throughout his time. (Evdokimova, 45) His character Don Juan follows this same path and we also discover that Don Juan is a poet after Laura recites his words in a song. When Don Juan meets his fateful death, it offers the impression that all heroes must parish and be removed from this earth. The Commander returns from his grave in the form a statue and as a jealous husband to protect his wife from the hands of Don Juan. We also discover that she did not even marry him for love, but was arranged to be married.The Stone Guest was the only of The Little Tragedies that Pushkin did not publish as he felt it gave too much insight into his feelings of distraught and unhappiness. From this poem we are given a taste of Pushkin’s inner personality and can see his tormented soul from the view of Don Juan.
This video offers a great dramatized version of The Stone Guest using only music and acting:
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