[1][2] The four-act play, set in 1830s St. Petersburg aristocratic society, highlights the rebellious spirit and noble mind of the protagonist, Yevgeny Arbenin.

[2] The hero of the drama, Arbenin, is a wealthy middle-aged man endowed with a rebellious spirit and a strong will.

He lives by the laws of his society, and, in trying to defend his honor while blinded by jealousy and pride, ends up murdering his wife.

In Act III, Arbenin mixes poison (which he had obtained years earlier after a financial setback, but never taken) into his wife's ice cream at a ball.

He loves her madly but, blinded by jealousy, is unable to hear the cries and protestations of innocence of his fatally poisoned wife.

Lermontov, hoping to see the play produced, presented it to the office of the literary censor, which at that time was under the chief of Section Three (the secret police), Alexander von Benckendorff.

Wishing to avoid radical changes in the text, Lermontov added a fourth act and introduced a new character, The Unknown.

Lermontov then undertook a major redaction of the play, including a title change from "Masquerade" to "Arbenin".

This is evidenced by the fact that Nina is called by the more formal name Nastasia Pavlovna - only once in the entire play, but through all versions and alterations.