Critics have praised "The Stationmaster" as a masterpiece of the short story genre. Generally regarded as the "father of Russian literature," Pushkin was a great innovator in many mediums, including poetry, drama, and the novel, in addition to the short story. The Realist school of Russian literature owes much to Pushkin, and "The Stationmaster" exemplifies a realistic depiction of Russian life in the time of the author.

Analysis of the story really began in 1919, when M. O. Gershenzon became the first critic to analyze the symbolic significance of the pictures depicting the Biblical parable of the Prodigal Son. While he may not have been the first to notice the parallels between the pictures and the story itself, Gershenzon was the first to speculate on the affect the pictures may have had on the story's characters.

Gershenzon contends that the stationmaster allowed the pictures to dictate his...