Perhaps Evgenii is not Peter's enemy at all. According to Newman, “ is too small for that.” Instead, the heroic conflict of the poem is between Peter the Great and the elements while Evgenii is merely its “impotent victim." As Evgenii becomes more and more distressed at the disappearance of his fiancée, his increasing anxiety is juxtaposed with the indifference of the ferryman who rows him across the river. Newman thus calls into question whether or not Evgenii is justified in these feelings and how these feelings reflect his non-threatening position in relation to the statue.