The Marriage of the Young Bagrov

This chapter describes the marriage of Stepan Mikhailovich Bagrov's son, Aleksei Stepanych. Aleksei Stepanych was living and serving very peacefully in Ufa, two hundred and forty versts from Bagrovo, and he came to visit his parents twice a year. He then fell in love with Sofya Nikolavna Zubina and decided to marry her. However, Aleksei Stepanych's marriage, no matter to whom, would have displeased everyone in Stepan Mikhailovich's family. His sisters thought that Sofya Nikolavna was lowborn, poor, a proud woman, and a witch who used magic to keep all the men running after her. Lacking a strong will, brought up in blind obedience to his family, and terrified of his father, Aleksei Stepanych did not know what to do. Stepan Mikhailovich refused to give his blessing, but he eventually did after Aleksei Stepanych expressed his intention to shoot himself if his parents did not allow him to marry Sofya Nikolavna. Finally, they were wed at the Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God on May 10, 1788.