The Queen of Spades

Captain Herman Suvorin watches others play faro with a cool, calculating eye, but he never wagers his own money. His aversion to risk marks him as methodical and controlled in the bustling gambling culture of 1806 St. Petersburg. This stance sets up the tension between restraint and temptation that drives the plot.

Herman overhears rumors that Countess Ranevskaya possesses a secret to winning at cards. He buys a sensational book, The Strange Secrets of the Count de Saint Germain, hoping it will reveal the true stories of those who sold their souls for wealth. A chapter claims a 'Countess R***' learned the method decades earlier, which Herman identifies with Countess Ranevskaya.

Andrei, a noble-born military officer and Herman's friend, encounters Lizaveta Ivanovna in a bustling bird market and decides to pursue her as a suitor. The meeting sparks a competing romantic interest and complicates Herman's schemes. The market setting grounds their relationships in St. Petersburg.

Herman starts sending love letters to Lizaveta to win her trust and to pry into the countess's house. He hides his real motive behind romance, hoping proximity will grant him the coveted secret. The plan tightens the net between the lovers and the aging countess.

Andrei discovers Herman's manipulation and warns Lizaveta that Herman is dangerous and capable of exploiting her. Lizaveta rejects the warning, continuing to question whom to trust. The rift between old friendship and new romance deepens.

Herman gains access to the countess's house and confronts her, demanding the secret in exchange for taking on her sin. He threatens the elderly woman with a pistol, and she dies of fright rather than from the shot. The crime marks a turning point in his arc from restraint to ruthless ambition.

Herman escapes to Lizaveta's apartment and confesses that he frightened the countess to death. He claims the pistol was unloaded to justify his actions, but Lizaveta remains disgusted by his greed. She helps him flee but distances herself emotionally.

Herman attends the countess's funeral and is terrified when the corpse seems to open its eyes in the coffin, as if accusing him. The eerie moment amplifies the moral peril of his actions and foreshadows consequences to come.

That night, Herman reads a chapter titled The Dead Will Give Up Their Secrets and is visited by the countess's ghost. The apparition reveals the secret of the three cards—three, seven, ace—and binds it to a demand that Herman marry Lizaveta. The supernatural encounter seals his fate with a perilous choice.

The next day Herman tries to reconcile with Lizaveta, hoping to salvage his plan through affection. She rejects him again, maintaining her distance from a man driven by greed. The rejection deepens his isolation and desperation.

Herman brings his entire savings to a gaming salon and accepts Andrei's dare to play faro. In the first round, he bets on the three of spades and wins, taking a step deeper into reckless fortune. The crowd's energy heightens as his fortune seems to turn in his favor.

In the second round, Herman wagers on the seven of spades and wins again, inflating his confidence and further blurring his judgment. Andrei watches with a wary sense of inevitability as the stakes rise. The duel of fates tightens around the two men.

The third round hinges on a misread card: Herman spots the ace of spades in his hand but discovers the revealed card is the queen of spades. He bets on the ace, only to lose everything when the cards are shown. The loss shatters his plans and leaves him crushed and exposed.

Andrei escorts a distraught Herman from the gambling table, offering quiet, practical mercy even as Herman mutters the whispered sequence three, seven, ace — three, seven, queen — as though naming fate. The moment marks the end of Herman's financial ascent that day.

Lizaveta and Andrei celebrate their future together by purchasing every bird in the market and setting them free. Their act is a symbol of liberation and hope contrasting Herman's downfall. The scene closes the arc with a hopeful, humane note in the same city of Saint Petersburg.