Already at the first acquaintance with Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time", the characterization of the characters, the analysis of their images become necessary for understanding the work.
Pechorin - the central image of the novel
The protagonist of the novel Grigory Pechorin, an extraordinary personality, the author drew " modern man as he understands him, and met him too often. Pechorin is full of apparent and real contradictions in relation to love, friendship, he is looking for the true meaning of life, he decides for himself the questions of the destiny of a person, the choice of a path.
Sometimes main character unattractive for us - he makes people suffer, destroys their lives, but there is a force of attraction in him, forcing others to obey his will, sincerely love him and sympathize with the lack of purpose and meaning in his life.
Each part of the novel is a separate story from the life of Pechorin, each has its own characters, and all of them, from one side or another, reveal the secret of the soul of the “hero of time”, making him a living person. Who are the characters who help us see "a portrait made up of the vices of the entire generation, in their full development"?
Maksim Maksimych
Maksim Maksimych, "a man worthy of respect," as the young officer-narrator says about him, open, kind, in many ways naive, content with life. We listen to his story about the history of Bela, we watch how he strives to meet Grigory, whom he considers an old friend and to whom he is sincerely attached, we clearly see why he suddenly "became stubborn, grumpy." Sympathizing with the staff captain, we involuntarily begin to be hostile towards Pechorin.
At the same time, with all his ingenuous charm, Maxim Maksimych is a limited person, he does not know what drives a young officer, and he does not even think about it. It will be incomprehensible for the staff captain and the coldness of his friend at the last meeting, which offended to the depths of his soul. “What does he have in me? I’m not rich, I’m not official, and in terms of years I’m not at all a match for him. ” The characters have completely different characters, views on life, worldview, they are people of different eras and different origins.
Like other main characters of Lermontov's "A Hero of Our Time", the image of Maxim Maksimych pushes us to think about the cause of Pechorin's selfishness, indifference and coldness.
Grushnitsky and Werner
The images of the characters are completely different, but both of them are a reflection of Pechorin, his “twins”.
Very young Junker Grushnitsky- an ordinary person, he wants to stand out, to impress. He belongs to the type of people who “have ready-made pompous phrases for all occasions, who are simply not touched by the beautiful and who are importantly draped in extraordinary feelings, sublime passions and exceptional suffering. To produce an effect is their delight.”
This is the counterpart of the main character. Everything that Pechorin experienced sincerely and through suffering - discord with the world, unbelief, loneliness - in Grushnitsky is just a pose, bravado and following the fashion of the time. The image of the hero is not just a comparison of the true and the false, but also the definition of their boundaries: in his desire to stand out, to have weight in the eyes of society, Grushnitsky goes too far, becomes capable of meanness. At the same time, it turns out to be “more noble than my comrades”, his words “I despise myself” before Pechorin’s shot are like an echo of the very disease of the era that Pechorin himself is afflicted with.
Dr. Werner it seems to us at first very similar to Pechorin, and this is true. He is a skeptic, insightful and observant, “studied all the living strings of the human heart” and has a low opinion of people, an “evil tongue”, under the guise of mockery and irony hides his true feelings, his ability to sympathize. The main similarity that Pechorin notes, speaking of a friend, is “we are rather indifferent to everything, except ourselves.”
The difference becomes apparent when we compare the descriptions of the characters. Werner turns out to be a cynic more in words, he is passive in his protest against society, limiting himself to ridicule and caustic remarks, he can be called a contemplative. The egoism of the hero is completely conscious; inner activity is alien to him.
His dispassionate decency betrays Werner: the doctor is not looking for changes in the world, much less in himself. He warns his friend about rumors and conspiracy, but does not shake hands with Pechorin after the duel, not wanting to take his own share of responsibility for what happened.
The character of these heroes is like a unity of opposites, both Werner and Grushnitsky set off the image of Pechorin and are important for our understanding of the entire novel.
Female images of the novel
On the pages of the novel, we see women with whom Gregory's life brings. Bela, Undine, Princess Mary, Vera. They are all completely different, each with its own character and charm. It is they who are the main characters in the three parts of the novel, telling about Pechorin's attitude to love, about his desire to love and be loved and the impossibility of this.
Bela
Circassian Bela, "a nice girl," as Maxim Maksimych calls her, opens a gallery of female images. Goryanka brought up on folk traditions, customs. The impetuosity, passion, ardor of the "wild" girl, living in harmony with the outside world, attract Pechorin, resonating in his soul. Over time, love awakens in Bela, and she gives herself to her with all the power of the natural openness of feelings and spontaneity. Happiness does not last long, and the girl, resigned to her fate, dreams only of freedom. "I myself will leave, I am not his slave - I am a princess, a prince's daughter!" Strength of character, desire for freedom, inner dignity do not leave Bela. Even grieving before her death that her soul would never meet with Pechorin again, she answers the offer to accept another faith that she “will die in the faith in which she was born.”
Mary
Image Mary Ligovskaya, princesses from high society, is written out, perhaps, in the most detail of all the heroines. Belinsky's quote about Mary is very accurate: “This girl is not stupid, but not empty either. Her direction is somewhat ideal, in the childish sense of the word: it is not enough for her to love a person to whom her feelings would be attracted, it is imperative that he be unhappy and walk in a thick and gray soldier's overcoat. The princess seems to live in an imaginary world, naive, romantic and fragile. And, although she feels and perceives the world subtly, she cannot distinguish between a secular game and genuine spiritual impulses. Mary is a representative of her time, environment and social status. At first, paying attention to Grushnitsky, then he succumbs to Pechorin's game, falls in love with him - and receives a cruel lesson. The author leaves Mary without telling whether she is broken by the experiment for the sake of exposing Grushnitsky, or, having survived the lesson, she will be able not to lose faith in love.
faith
About Mary, the author tells a lot and in detail, Faith but we, the readers, see only in love for Pechorin. “She is the only woman in the world who would not be able to deceive” the hero, the one who understood him “perfectly, with all the petty weaknesses, bad passions.” “My love has grown together with my soul: it has darkened, but has not died out.” Faith is love itself, accepting a person as he is, she is sincere in her feelings, and perhaps such a deep and open feeling could change Pechorin. But love, like friendship, requires self-giving, for the sake of it you have to sacrifice something in life. Pechorin is not ready, he is too individualistic.
The main character of the novel reveals the motives of his actions and motives largely thanks to the images of Mary and Vera - in the story "Princess Mary" you can examine in more detail the psychological portrait of Gregory.
Conclusion
In the various stories of the novel A Hero of Our Time, the characters not only help us to understand the most diverse features of Pechorin and, as a result, allow us to penetrate the author’s intention, follow the “history of the human soul”, and see the “portrait of the hero of the time”. The main characters of Lermontov's work represent different types of human characters and therefore paint the image of the time that created Grigory Pechorin.
Artwork test
Mikhail Lermontov combined rare talents: virtuoso versification and the skill of a prose writer. His novel is known no less than his lyrics and drama, and maybe more, because in "A Hero of Our Time" the author reflected the illness of a whole generation, historical features of his era and the psychologism of a romantic hero who became the voice of his time and an original manifestation of Russian romanticism.
The creation of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" is shrouded in mystery. There is not a single documentary confirmation of the exact date when the writing of this work began. In his notes and letters, the writer is silent about this. It is generally accepted that the end of work on the book dates back to 1838.
The first were "Bela" and "Taman". The date of publication of these chapters is 1839. They, as independent stories, were published in the literary journal Otechestvennye Zapiski and were in great demand among readers. In February 1840, The Fatalist appears, at the end of which the editors promise the imminent release of Lermontov's entire book. The author completed the chapters "Maxim Maksimych" and "Princess Mary" and in May of the same year released the novel "A Hero of Our Time". Later, he once again published his work, but with a "preface", in which he gave a kind of rebuff to criticism.
Initially M.Yu. Lermontov did not conceive this text as something integral. These were a kind of travel notes, with their own history, inspired by the Caucasus. Only after the success of the stories in Otechestvennye Zapiski did the writer finish 2 more chapters and connect all the parts with a common plot. It should be noted that the writer very often visited the Caucasus, since from childhood his health was poor, and his grandmother, fearing the death of her grandson, often brought him to the mountains.
The meaning of the name
The title already brings the reader up to date, revealing the true intentions of the artist. Lermontov foresaw from the very beginning that critics would consider his work a personal revelation or banal fiction. Therefore, he decided to immediately identify the essence of the book. The meaning of the title of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" is to state the theme of the work - the image of a typical representative of the 30s of the 19th century. The work is not dedicated to the personal drama of some fictional character, but to what an entire generation felt. Grigory Pechorin absorbed all the subtle, but authentic for young people of that era, characteristics that make it possible to understand the atmosphere and tragedy of the personality of that time.
What is this book about
In the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov tells about the life of Grigory Pechorin. He is a nobleman and an officer, we first learn about him “from the lips” of Maxim Maksimych in the chapter “Bel”. The old soldier told the reader about the eccentricity of his young friend: he always achieves his goals, no matter what it costs him, while he is not afraid of public condemnation and even more serious consequences. Having kidnapped the beautiful mountain girl, he longed for her love, which over time was born in the heart of Bela, another question is that Gregory no longer needs this. With his reckless act, he signed the girl’s death sentence in an instant, because later Kazbich, in a fit of jealousy, decides to take the beauty away from the kidnapper, and when he realizes that he cannot leave with a woman in his arms, he mortally wounds her.
The chapter "Maxim Maksimych" reveals the coldness and sensual barrier of Gregory, which he is not ready to cross. Pechorin very restrainedly greets his old friend - the staff captain - which greatly upsets the old man.
The chapter "Taman" lifts the veil of the hero's conscience. Gregory sincerely repents that he got into the affairs of "honest smugglers." The strong-willed strength of character is also shown in this fragment at the time of the struggle in the boat with Ondine. Our hero is inquisitive and does not want to remain in ignorance of the affairs taking place around him, which is why he follows the blind boy in the middle of the night, interrogates the girl about the nightly deeds of her badna.
The secrets of Pechorin's soul are truly revealed in the part "Princess Mary". Here he, like Onegin, who, out of boredom, "dragged" after the ladies, begins to play an ardent lover. The ingenuity and sense of justice of the hero at the time of the duel with Grushnitsky amaze the reader, because pity lives in a cold soul, Grigory gave his comrade a chance to repent, but he missed it. The main line in this chapter is love. We see the hero as loving, yet he knows how to feel. Faith melted all the "ice", forcing the old feelings to ignite even brighter in the heart of the chosen one. But his life is not created for the family, his way of thinking and love of freedom indirectly affect the outcome of relations with his beloved. All his life, Pechorin broke the hearts of young ladies, and now he receives a “boomerang” from fate. She did not prepare family happiness and the warmth of the hearth for the secular dandy.
The chapter "The Fatalist" discusses the destiny of human life. Pechorin again shows courage, penetrating into the house of the Cossack, who hacked Vulich with a saber. Here we are presented with Gregory's reflections on fate, predestination and death.
Main themes
Extra person. Grigory Pechorin is a smart, intelligent young man. He does not show emotionality, no matter how much he wants it. Coldness, prudence, cynicism, the ability to analyze all his actions - these qualities distinguish the young officer from all the characters in the novel. He is always surrounded by some society, but always there is a "stranger". And the point is not that the hero is not accepted by the high society, by no means, he becomes the object of everyone's attention. But he pushes himself away from the environment, and the reason lies in his development, which has gone beyond "this age." A penchant for analysis and sober reasoning is what truly betrays a personality in Gregory, and, therefore, an explanation of his failures in the “social” sphere. People who see more than we want to show will never please us.
Pechorin himself admits that he is spoiled by the high society, and this is the reason for satiety. After being released from parental care, Gregory, like many young people of any time, begins to explore the pleasures of life available for money. But our hero quickly gets bored with these entertainments, the mind is gnawed by boredom. After all, he also falls in love with Princess Mary for fun, he did not need it. Out of boredom, Pechorin begins to play big "games", involuntarily destroying the fate of people around him. So, Mary is left with a broken heart, Grushnitsky is killed, Bela became a victim of Kazbich, Maxim Maksimych is "disarmed" by the coldness of the hero, "honest" smugglers have to leave their beloved shore and leave the blind boy to the will of fate.
The fate of a generation
The novel was written during a timeless period. Then the bright ideals of active and active people who dreamed of changing the country for the better lost their meaning. The state, in response, outraged these good intentions and punished the Decembrists in a revealing manner, so after them came the lost generation, disillusioned with serving the motherland and fed up with secular amusements. They could not be satisfied with innate privileges, but they saw perfectly well that all other classes vegetated in ignorance and poverty. But the nobles could not help them, their opinion was not considered. And in the person of his hero Grigory Pechorin M.Yu. Lermontov collects the vices of that apathetic and idle era, it is no coincidence that the novel is called "The Hero of Our Time".
Boys and girls received proper upbringing and education, but it was impossible to realize their potential. Because of this, their youth passes not for the satisfaction of ambitions by achieving goals, but for constant fun, hence satiety originates. But Lermontov does not reproach his hero for his actions, the task of the work is different - the writer tries to show how Grigory came to this state of affairs, he tries to show the psychological motives for which the character acts in one way or another. Of course, the answer to the question is the era. After the failures of the Decembrists, the executions of the best representatives of society, young people, in front of whom this happened, did not trust anyone. They were accustomed to coldness of mind and feelings, to doubt everything. People live, looking around, but at the same time, without showing a mind. These qualities were absorbed by the hero of the novel M.Yu. Lermontov - Pechorin.
What's the point?
When the reader first meets Pechorin, he develops an antipathy towards the hero. In the future, this hostility decreases, new facets of Grigory's soul are revealed to us. His actions are evaluated not by the author, but by the narrators, but they do not judge the young officer either. Why? The answer to this question is the meaning of the novel "A Hero of Our Time". M.Yu. Lermontov, with his work, rebuffs the Nikolaev time, and through the image of an extra person shows what a person is led to by "a country of slaves, a country of masters."
In addition, in the work, the author described in detail the romantic hero in Russian realities. Then this direction was popular in our country, so many word artists tried to embody the latest trends in art and philosophical trends in literature. A distinctive feature of the innovative motive was the psychologism for which the novel became famous. For Lermontov, the image of Pechorin and the depth of his image became an extraordinary creative success. We can say that the idea of the book is the psychoanalysis of his generation, fascinated and inspired by romanticism (the article "" will tell you more about this).
Characteristics of the main characters
- Princess Mary is a girl not deprived of beauty, an enviable bride, loves male attention, although it does not betray this desire, is moderately proud. Arrives with his mother in Pyatigorsk, where he meets Pechorin. Falls in love with Gregory, but unrequited.
- Bela is a Circassian, the daughter of a prince. Her beauty is not like the beauty of the girls of high society, it is something unbridled and wild. Pechorin notices the beautiful Bela at the prince's wedding and secretly steals her from the house. She is proud, but after Gregory's long courtship, her heart thawed, allowing love to take possession of him. But she was no longer interested in him, because only the forbidden fruit is really sweet. Dies at the hands of Kazbich. we described in the essay.
- Vera is the only person who loves Pechorin for who he is, with all the flaws and oddities. Once Grigory loved her in St. Petersburg, and, having met her again in Pyatigorsk, he again feels warm and strong feelings for Vera. She has a son and has been married twice. In a fit of emotions, she tells her second husband about Pechorin's duel with Grushnitsky about her relationship with Grigory. The husband takes Vera away, and the lover burns to death in fruitless attempts to catch up with his beloved.
- Pechorin is a young officer, a nobleman. Gregory was given a brilliant education and upbringing. He is selfish, cold in heart and mind, analyzes every action, smart, handsome and rich. He trusts only himself, he is disappointed in friendship and marriage. Unhappy. It is discussed in more detail in an essay on this topic.
- Grushnitsky is a young cadet; emotional, passionate, touchy, stupid, conceited. His acquaintance with Pechorin takes place in the Caucasus, the details of this are silent in the novel. In Pyatigorsk, he again runs into an old friend, this time the young people have one narrow road that someone will have to get off. The reason for Grushnitsky's hatred for Grigory was Princess Mary. Even a vile plan with an unloaded pistol does not help the junker get rid of his opponent, and he dies himself.
- Maxim Maksimych - staff captain; very kind, open and smart. He met Pechorin while serving in the Caucasus and sincerely fell in love with Grigory, although he did not understand his oddities. He is 50 years old, single.
Doppelgangers in the novel
In the novel "A Hero of Our Time" there are 3 doubles of the main character - Grigory Pechorin - Vulich, Werner, Grushnitsky.
The author introduces us to Grushnitsky at the beginning of the chapter "Princess Mary". This character is always in the game of the "tragic performance". For each question, he always has a prepared beautiful speech, accompanied by gestures and a life-affirming posture. Oddly enough, this is precisely what makes him a counterpart of Pechorin. But the junker's behavior is more like a parody of Gregory's behavior than an exact copy of it.
In the same episode, the reader is introduced to Werner. He is a doctor, his views on life are very cynical, but they are not based on internal philosophy, like Pechorin’s, but on medical practice, which clearly speaks of the mortality of any person. The thoughts of the young officer and the doctor are similar, which gives rise to friendship between them. The doctor, like Grigory, is a skeptic, and his skepticism is much stronger than Pechorinsky. What can not be said about his cynicism, which is only "in words". The hero treats people rather coldly, he lives according to the principle “what if you die tomorrow”, in communication with the environment he acts as a patron. He often has in his hands the “cards” of a person, the alignment of which he should do, because he is responsible for the patient’s life. In the same way, Gregory plays with the fate of people, but puts his life on the line.
Problems
- The problem of finding the meaning of life. Throughout the novel, Grigory Pechorin is looking for answers to the questions of life. The hero feels that he has not achieved something high, but the question is, what? He tries to fill his life interesting moments and intriguing acquaintances, to experience the full range of their capabilities, and in these aspirations for self-knowledge, it destroys other people, therefore it loses the value of its own existence and wastes the allotted time ineptly.
- The problem of happiness. Pechorin writes in his journal that pleasure and a real feeling of happiness are saturated pride. He does not accept easy accessibility. Despite the fact that he has all the aspects to saturate his pride, he is unhappy, so the hero embarks on all sorts of adventures, hoping at least this time to amuse his pride enough to become happy. But it becomes only satisfied, and then not for long. True harmony and joy elude him, since Gregory is cut off by circumstances from creative activity and does not see the value in life, as well as the opportunity to prove himself, to benefit society.
- The problem of immorality. Grigory Pechorin was too zealous a cynic and an egoist to stop himself in the game with human lives. We see the hero's constant thoughts, he analyzes every action. But he finds that he is not capable of either love happiness or strong long-term friendship. His soul is filled with incredulity, nihilism and fatigue.
- Social issues. For example, the problem of an unjust political system is obvious. Through his hero M.Yu. Lermontov conveys to his descendants an important message: a person does not develop under conditions of constant restrictions and rigid despotic power. The writer does not judge Pechorin, his goal is to show that he became such under the influence of the time in which he was born. In a country with a huge number of unresolved social issues, such phenomena are not uncommon.
Composition
The stories in the novel "A Hero of Our Time" are not arranged in chronological order. This was done in order to more deeply reveal the image of Grigory Pechorin.
So, in "Bel" the story is told on behalf of Maxim Maksimych, the staff captain gives his assessment to the young officer, describes their relationship, events in the Caucasus, revealing one part of the friend's soul. In Maxim Maksimych, the narrator is an officer, in a conversation with whom the old soldier remembered Bela. Here we get descriptions of the hero's appearance, because we see him through the eyes of a stranger, who, naturally, first encounters the "shell". In "Taman", "Princess Mary" and "The Fatalist" Gregory himself tells about himself - these are his travel notes. These chapters describe in detail his spiritual upheavals, his thoughts, feelings and desires, we see why and how he comes to certain actions.
It is interesting that the novel begins with a story about the events in the Caucasus and ends in the same place - a circular composition. The author first shows us the assessment of the hero through the eyes of others, and then reveals the features of the structure of the soul and mind, found as a result of introspection. The stories are arranged not in chronological, but in psychological order.
Psychologism
Lermontov opens the eyes of readers to the inner components of the human soul, masterfully analyzing the personality. With an unusual composition, a change in the narrator, and twin characters, the author reveals the secrets of the hero's innermost world. This is called psychologism: the narrative is aimed at depicting a person, and not an event or phenomenon. The focus shifts from the action to the one who does it and to why and why he does it.
Lermontov considered the timid silence of people frightened by the consequences of the Decembrist uprising to be a misfortune at the beginning of the 19th century. Many were dissatisfied, but took down the offense and more than one. Someone patiently suffered, and someone did not even suspect about their misfortunes. In Grigory Pechorin, the writer embodied the tragedy of the soul: the lack of realization of his ambitions and the unwillingness to fight for it. The new generation was disappointed in the state, in society, in itself, but did not even try to change something for the better.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!The only completed novel by Lermontov, standing at the origins of Russian psychological prose. The author called his complex, dangerous and incredibly attractive hero the embodiment of the vices of his generation, but readers notice in Pechorin, first of all, a unique personality.
comments: Lev Oborin
What is this book about?
About an exceptional person who suffers and brings suffering to others. Lermontovsky Pechorin, according to the author's preface, is a collective image, "a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation, in their full development." Despite this - or because of this - Lermontov managed to create one of the most lively and attractive characters in Russian literature: in the eyes of readers, his narcissism and love of manipulation overshadow neither deep intelligence, nor courage, nor sexuality, nor honest introspection. In an era that has almost parted with romanticism, Lermontov writes the “story of the soul” of a romantic hero and selects suitable extras and impressive scenery for his actions.
Alexander Klunder. Portrait of M. Yu. Lermontov. 1839 Institute of Russian Literature RAS. Saint Petersburg
When was it written?
In 1836, Lermontov began to write the novel (“secular story”) “Princess Ligovskaya”, the main character of which is 23-year-old Grigory Pechorin. Work on the novel is delayed, it is interrupted by Lermontov's exile to the Caucasus after writing the poem "The Death of a Poet". In the end, Lermontov abandons the original plan (the unfinished "Princess Ligovskaya" will be published only in 1882, 41 years after the death of the author). Probably, in 1838, during a vacation, he starts to "A Hero of Our Time", where he transfers not only the hero, but also some of the motives of the previous novel. The years 1838-1839 were very eventful for Lermontov: several editions of Demon, Mtsyri, Song about the merchant Kalashnikov, two dozen poems, including Poet, Duma, Three palm trees belong to the same period , "Prayer". On the eve of sending the "Hero of Our Time" to print, Lermontov will take part in a duel with the son of the French ambassador, Ernest de Barante, and for this he will be transferred to serve in the Caucasus, where he will die a year later - in another duel.
It can be seen that Russia is so created that everything in it is renewed, except for such absurdities. The most magical of fairy tales we can hardly escape the reproach of attempted personal insult!
Mikhail LermontovHow is it written?
The “Hero of Our Time” has a unique composition for its era: it consists of five separate stories, unequal in terms of the volume of text and the amount of action and arranged not in chronology: we first learn a long history from the life of the protagonist (“Bel”), then we meet him face to face (“Maxim Maksimych”), then we learn about his death (foreword to Pechorin’s Journal) and, finally, through his notes (“Taman”, “Princess Mary”, “Fatalist”) we restore earlier episodes of his biographies. Thus, the romantic conflict of a person with the environment and with fate itself unfolds almost like a detective story. Mature Lermontov's prose, inheriting Pushkin's, is calm in temperament (in contrast to Lermontov's early experiences, such as the unfinished novel Vadim). It is often ironic - a romantic pathos, which Pechorin resorts to more than once ("I, like a sailor, born and raised on the deck of a robber brig: his soul got used to storms and battles, and, thrown ashore, he misses and languishes ..."), it is verified by introspection, introspection, and romantic clichés are exposed at the plot level - this is how Taman is arranged, where instead of a love affair with a wild "undine", the well-read Pechorin almost becomes a victim of smugglers. At the same time, “A Hero of Our Time” contains all the components of a classic romantic text: an exceptional hero, exotic setting, love dramas, a game with fate.
What influenced her?
To a large extent - "Eugene Onegin". The recently emerged tradition of the Russian "secular" story - from Pushkin to Nikolai Pavlov Nikolai Filippovich Pavlov (1803-1864) - writer. As the illegitimate son of a landowner and a concubine, he was a serf, but as a child he was granted freedom. Pavlov graduated from Moscow University, after studying he worked in the Moscow court. In the 1820s he published poetry. In 1835, Pavlov published a collection of three stories "Name Day", "Yatagan" and "Auction", which brought him fame and recognition. In the 1840s, the house of Pavlov and his wife, the poetess Karolina Pavlova (nee Janisch), became one of the centers of cultural life in Moscow. and Vladimir Odoevsky. The already existing "Caucasian text" of Russian literature - super-romantic stories Bestuzhev-Marlinsky Alexander Alexandrovich Bestuzhev (1797-1837) - writer, literary critic. From 1823 to 1825, together with Kondraty Ryleyev, he published the journal Polar Star, in which he published his literary reviews. For participation in the Decembrist uprising, Bestuzhev, who was in the rank of staff captain, was exiled to Yakutsk, then demoted to a soldier and sent to fight in the Caucasus. Since 1830, Bestuzhev's novels and stories under the pseudonym Marlinsky began to appear in print: "The frigate" Nadezhda "," Ammalat-bek "," Mulla-Nur "," Terrible Fortune-telling "and others. , Pushkin's poems. Famous travel notes (the genre that is now called travelogue) - first of all, Pushkin's "Journey to Arzrum» 1 Vinogradov VV Style of Lermontov's prose // Literary heritage. T. 43/44: M. Yu. Lermontov. Book. I. M.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1941. S. 580-586. . Of course, my own experience of life and military service in the Caucasus. Western adventure prose (Walter Scott, Fenimore Cooper), which at that time was the latest example of prose as such: “Lermontov was captured by the whirlwind of the cultural revolution.<…>The adventure genre gave him the opportunity to summarize the romantic experience, create a Russian novel, introduce it into the general European mainstream and make it the property of professional literature and mass media. reader" 2 Vail P. L., Genis A. A. Native speech. M.: Hummingbird, 2008. C. 111. . European romantic literature in general, including the prose of the French romantics, where a disappointed, restless hero acts: René by Chateaubriand, Musset's Confessions of a Son of the Century, works frenetic school , it is necessary to speak separately about the influence of Benjamin Constant's earlier novel "Adolf" (however, according to researchers, all these influences were mediated Pushkin 3 Eikhenbaum BM Articles about Lermontov. M., L.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1961. S. 227-228. . Finally, Byron and Shakespeare: according to the remark of the philologist Anna Zhuravleva, through the poetry and biography of Byron in the novel “Shakespearean (Hamletian) is clearly cut through”: for example, when Pechorin unexpectedly makes it clear that he knows Grushnitsky’s conspiracy with the captain, this refers to “a play in play" "The Mousetrap" from Shakespeare's tragedy 4 Zhuravleva A. I. Lermontov in Russian literature. Problems of Poetics. M.: Progress-Tradition, 2002. C. 209. .
George Byron. Byron's poetry and biography influenced the entire corpus of Russian romantic literature, including The Hero of Our Time, which is already overcoming the romantic tradition.
At first, the novel was published in parts in "Domestic Notes" A literary magazine published in St. Petersburg from 1818 to 1884. Founded by writer Pavel Svinin. In 1839, the journal passed to Andrei Kraevsky, and Vissarion Belinsky headed the critical department. Lermontov, Herzen, Turgenev, Sollogub were published in Otechestvennye Zapiski. After part of the staff left for Sovremennik, Kraevsky handed over the magazine to Nekrasov in 1868. After the death of the latter, the publication was headed by Saltykov-Shchedrin. In the 1860s, Leskov, Garshin, Mamin-Sibiryak published in it. The magazine was closed by order of the chief censor and former employee of the publication Evgeny Feoktistov. . This was in the order of things in the 19th century, but the relative autonomy of the parts of A Hero of Our Time made the first readers perceive them not as a "novel with a sequel", but as separate stories about Pechorin. At the same time, the parts did not come out in the order in which we read them now: the first came out "Bela", the second - "The Fatalist" (both - in 1839), the third, in 1840 - "Taman". Following in the same year, a separate edition of the novel appeared in two books: Maxim Maksimych, the preface to Pechorin's Journal and Princess Mary were first published here. Finally, in 1841, a second separate edition was published: after the addition of a two-page preface - "In any book, the preface is the first and at the same time the last thing ..." - the novel acquired a canonical form.
The text of "The Hero of Our Time" (chapter "Taman"), written down by Akim Shan-Giray under the dictation of Lermontov in 1839
Manuscript of "A Hero of Our Time" (chapters "Maxim Maksimych", "Fatalist", "Princess Mary"). 1839 White autograph with corrections, exceptions and insertions, preceding the final edition
Russian National Library
How was it received?
"A Hero of Our Time" immediately interested the public, he was discussed in private correspondence and salon conversations. Already after the first journal publications, Belinsky wrote in the Moscow Observer that Lermontov's prose was "worthy of his high poetic talent", and contrasted it with Marlinsky's flowery Caucasian prose - this opposition became a classic. Subsequently, Belinsky returned to The Hero of Our Time several more times, and his articles became key in the canonization of Lermontov. It is Belinsky who subsequently proposes a generally accepted interpretation of the composition of the novel. It is Belinsky who shifts the critical focus to the hero’s introspection (“Yes, there is nothing more difficult than to parse the language of one’s own feelings, how to know oneself!”) and defines it as a reflection, in which “a person breaks up into two people, of which one lives, and the other is watching him and judging him." It is Belinsky, echoing the author himself, who explains why Pechorin is not a vicious unique person, not an egoist, but a living, passionate and gifted person, whose actions and inaction depend on the society in which he lives; Lermontov's words about "a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation" must be understood in this sense.
Of course, there were other assessments. One of the first reactions to the book edition is an article by a critic Stepan Burachka Stepan Onisimovich Burachok (1800-1877) - shipbuilder, publicist, publisher. Burachok graduated from the School of Naval Architecture and was hired by the St. Petersburg Admiralty. Managed the Astrakhan Admiralty, taught at the Naval Cadet Corps. Burachok designed and built ships, developed a submarine project. From 1840 to 1845 he published the Mayak magazine, where he published his articles on literature. The magazine often became the subject of ridicule among the metropolitan writers. , which he published anonymously in his Mayak magazine. Burachok placed above all novels, which, in contrast to the French frenetic school An artistic movement that emerged in France in the 1820s. At this time, the country was fond of "northern" literature: gloomy English and German novels filled with mysticism. She also influenced French writers: Victor Hugo, Honore de Balzac, Gerard de Nerval, Theophile Gauthier. The program text of "frantic literature" was Jules Janin's novel "The Dead Ass and the Guillotine Woman". Interest in dark and violent literature arose as a counterbalance to classic and sentimentalist novels that idealized reality. , depicted "the inner life, the inner work of the human spirit, led by the spirit of Christianity to perfection, through the cross, destruction and struggle between good and evil." Not finding a trace of the “path of the cross” in “A Hero of Our Time”, the critic also denied the novel the depiction of “inner life” (that is, what seems obvious today): for Burachok, the novel turned out to be “low”, built on false romantic promises . Pechorin disgusts him (his soul “rolls in the mud of romantic frenzy”), and the simple and kind Maksim Maksimych sympathizes. Subsequently, Burachok wrote the story "Heroes of Our Time", polemical in relation to Lermontov's romanticism.
You will tell me again that a person cannot be so bad, but I will tell you that if you believed in the possibility of the existence of all tragic and romantic villains, why do you not believe in the reality of Pechorin?
Mikhail Lermontov
In the assessment of Maksim Maksimych, Burachok was not alone: the staff captain liked both the democrat Belinsky and the leading Slavophile critic Stepan Shevyrev Stepan Petrovich Shevyryov (1806-1864) - literary critic, poet. He participated in the circle of "Lyubomudrov", the publication of the magazine "Moskovsky Vestnik", was a close friend of Gogol. From 1835 to 1837 he was a critic of the Moscow Observer. Together with Mikhail Pogodin, he published the Moskvityanin magazine. Shevyryov was known for his conservative views, it is he who is considered the author of the phrase "decaying West." In 1857, a quarrel broke out between him and Count Vasily Bobrinsky due to political differences, which ended in a fight. Because of this incident, Shevyryov was fired from service and expelled from Moscow. , who wrote in his generally unfriendly review: “What an integral character of a native Russian good man, into whom the subtle infection of Western education has not penetrated ...” Nicholas I himself, having begun to read “A Hero of Our Time” at the request of his wife, was in joyful confidence that the true “The hero of our time” is Maksim Maksimych: “However, the captain appears in this work as a hope that has not come true, and Mr. Lermontov has failed to follow this noble and so simple character; he replaces him with contemptible, very uninteresting faces, who, rather than inducing boredom, would do better if they remained in obscurity - so as not to cause disgust. At this time, the fate of Lermontov is decided after a duel with Barant; the tsar did not hesitate to approve the decision to send the poet to the Caucasus: "Good luck, Mr. Lermontov, let him, if possible, clear his head in an environment where he can complete the character of his captain, if at all he is able to comprehend and describe it."
Conservative criticism, confusing the hero with the author and stigmatizing the author for immorality, offended Lermontov - probably, it was after Burachok's review that the author's preface appeared in A Hero of Our Time: “... apparently, Russia was so created that everything in it is renewed, except for such absurdities. The most magical of fairy tales in our country can hardly escape the reproach of an attempted insult to a person! It is all the more curious that the critic who still embodies the idea of Russian protection - Faddey Bulgarin - spoke enthusiastically about "Hero": "I have not read the best novel in Russian"; however, for Bulgarin, "A Hero of Our Time" is a moralizing work, and Pechorin is an unambiguously negative hero.
Critic Vissarion Belinsky (Kirill Gorbunov. 1876. The All-Russian Museum of A. S. Pushkin) praised the novel highly
Shipbuilder and publisher of Mayak magazine Stepan Burachok called the novel "low"
Emperor Nicholas I (Franz Kruger. 1852. Hermitage) considered that the true "hero of our time" is Maxim Maksimych
The later assessments of critics, mainly from the democratic camp, were fixed on the image of Pechorin as an “extra person” - a natural representative of the 1830s, who was opposed to the “new people” of the 1860s. For Herzen, Chernyshevsky, Pisarev, Pechorin becomes a type, he is called in the plural along with his predecessor: "Onegins and Pechorins." One way or another, all the critics of the 19th century consider the question of the national in Pechorin. Significant here is the change in attitude Apollon Grigoriev Apollon Alexandrovich Grigoriev (1822-1864) - poet, literary critic, translator. In 1845, he began to study literature: he published a book of poems, translated Shakespeare and Byron, and wrote literary reviews for Otechestvennye Zapiski. From the late 1950s, Grigoriev wrote for the Moskvityanin and headed a circle of its young authors. After the closure of the magazine, he worked at the "Library for Reading", "Russian Word", "Vremya". Due to alcohol addiction, Grigoriev gradually lost influence and practically ceased to be published. . In the 1850s, he considered Pechorin a Byronic hero alien to the Russian spirit: for a critic, he is “the impotence of personal arbitrariness put on stilts.” In the 1860s, mixing romantic aestheticism with soil ideas, Grigoriev wrote something else: “Maybe this, like a woman, a nervous gentleman, would be able to die with the cold calmness of Stenka Razin in terrible agony. The disgusting and funny sides of Pechorin in him are something pretense, something mirage, like all our high society in general ... the foundations of his character are tragic, perhaps scary, but not funny at all.
Readers of the 19th century never forget about Pechorin, many take him as a model in everyday life, in behavior, in personal relationships. As philologist Anna Zhuravleva writes, “in the mind of an ordinary reader, Pechorin is already somewhat simplified: the philosophic nature of Lermontov’s novel is not perceived by the public and is relegated to the shadows, but the disappointment, cold restraint and negligence of the hero, interpreted as a mask of a subtle and deeply suffering person, become the subject of imitations" 5 Zhuravleva A. I. Lermontov in Russian literature. Problems of Poetics. M.: Progress-Tradition, 2002. C. 218. . The phenomenon of “pechorinism” appears, which was actually predicted by Lermontov himself in the figure of Grushnitsky. Saltykov-Shchedrin writes in "Provincial Essays" about the "provincial Pechorins"; novel is published in Sovremennik Mikhail Avdeev Mikhail Vasilievich Avdeev (1821-1876) - writer, literary critic. After his retirement from service, he began to study literature: he published stories and novels in the magazines Sovremennik, Otechestvennye Zapiski, and St. Petersburg Vedomosti. The novels Tamarin (1852) and Pitfall (1862) brought him fame. In 1862, Avdeev was arrested for ties with the revolutionary Mikhail Mikhailov and deported from St. Petersburg to Penza. In 1867 he was released from supervision. "Tamarin", where the appearance of the hero is written off from Pechorin, although Tamarin belongs to the "people of action". Ultra-conservative fiction is walking at Pechorin's address: odious Viktor Askochensky Viktor Ipatievich Askochensky (1813-1879) - writer, historian. He received a theological education, studied the history of Orthodoxy in Ukraine. In 1848 he published the first book dedicated to the biographies of Russian writers. Askochensky became famous for his anti-nihilistic novel Asmodeus of Our Time, published in 1858. From 1852 he published the ultra-conservative journal Domashnaya Conversation. He spent the last two years of his life in a mental hospital. publishes the novel "Asmodeus of Our Time", the main character of which is a caricature of Pechorin with the speaking surname Pustovtsev. At the same time, "A Hero of Our Time" became the subject of serious reflection in subsequent Russian literature: Dostoevsky is most often called here. His heroes - Raskolnikov, Stavrogin - are close to Pechorin in many ways: like Pechorin, they claim to be exclusive and fail in different ways; like Pechorin, they experiment on their own lives and the lives of others.
The presence of an enthusiast gives me the coldness of Epiphany, and I think frequent intercourse with a listless phlegmatic would make me a passionate dreamer.
Mikhail Lermontov
Symbolists, mainly Merezhkovsky, saw in Pechorin a mystic, a messenger of otherworldly power (Dostoevsky’s heroes, like Pechorin, are immoral “not from impotence and vulgarity, but from an excess of strength, from contempt for the miserable earthly goals of virtue”); Marxist critics, on the contrary, developed Belinsky's idea that Pechorin was a characteristic figure of the era, and raised the entire novel to class issues (thus, Georgy Plekhanov Georgy Valentinovich Plekhanov (1856-1918) - philosopher, politician. He headed the populist organization "Land and Freedom", the secret society "Black Redistribution". In 1880 he emigrated to Switzerland, where he founded the Union of Russian Social Democrats Abroad. After the Second Congress of the RSDLP, Plekhanov disagreed with Lenin and headed the Menshevik Party. He returned to Russia in 1917, supported the Provisional Government and condemned the October Revolution. Plekhanov died a year and a half after returning from an exacerbation of tuberculosis. considers it symptomatic that in the "Hero" the peasant question) 6 Naiditsch E. E. “A Hero of Our Time” in Russian Criticism // Lermontov M. Yu. A Hero of Our Time. M.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1962. S. 193. .
A Hero of Our Time is one of the most translated Russian novels. Extracts from it were translated into German as early as 1842, into French in 1843, and into Swedish, Polish and Czech in 1844. The first, rather free and incomplete English translation of A Hero of Our Time appeared in 1853; of subsequent English editions, of which there were more than twenty, it is worth mentioning the translation by Vladimir and Dmitry Nabokov (1958). Early translators often sacrificed "Tamanya" or "Fatalist". All these translations were actively read and influenced; one of the French translations was published in Le Mousquetaire by Alexandre Dumas; it is noteworthy that young Joyce, while working on the first version of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Stephen the Hero, called A Hero of Our Time "the only book I know of that resembles mine" 7 Potapova G. E. The study of Lermontov in the UK and the USA // Creativity of M. Yu. Lermontov in the context of modern culture. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2014. S. 234. .
In the USSR and Russia, A Hero of Our Time was filmed six times and staged many times — up to the ballet at the Bolshoi Theater (2015, libretto by Kirill Serebrennikov, composer — Ilya Demutsky). The latest novelties in the field of paraliterature, no worse than the votes of our experts, prove that “A Hero of Our Time” remains within the orbit of actual texts: in one of the Russian horror series, the novel “The Fatalist” was released, where Pechorin is confronted by zombies.
Mountain peak Adai-Khokh. 1885 From the album "Journey of Moritz Deschies in the Caucasus"
What does the title of the novel mean? Why is Pechorin a hero?
As happened more than once in the history of Russian literature, it was not the author who proposed the exceptionally successful title. At first, the novel was titled "One of the Heroes of the Beginning of the Century": in comparison with "A Hero of Our Time", this title is cumbersome, compromise, takes the novel's problems away from the present. The name "Hero of Our Time" was proposed by the publisher of "Domestic Notes" Andrey Kraevsky Andrei Alexandrovich Kraevsky (1810-1889) - publisher, editor, teacher. Kraevsky began his editorial career in the Journal of the Ministry of National Education, after the death of Pushkin he was one of the co-editors of Sovremennik. He headed the newspaper "Russian invalid", "Literaturnaya gazeta", "St. Petersburg Vedomosti", the newspaper "Voice", but he gained the greatest fame as the editor and publisher of the journal "Domestic Notes", in which the best publicists of the middle of the 19th century were involved . In the literary environment, Kraevsky had a reputation as a mean and very demanding publisher. , one of the most successful journalists of the 19th century. His intuition did not let him down: the title immediately became scandalous and determined his attitude to the novel. It seemed to brush aside objections beforehand: the critic Alexander Skabichevsky Alexander Mikhailovich Skabichevsky (1838-1911) - literary critic. He began to print in the 1860s. Since 1868, he became an employee of Otechestvennye Zapiski. Skabichevsky also edited the Slovo and Novoye Slovo magazines, wrote literary feuilletons in Birzhevye Vedomosti and Son of the Fatherland. In 1891, his book "The History of Modern Russian Literature" was published, which was a success with readers. in vain he regretted that Lermontov “agreed to change Kraevsky, since the original title was more in line with the meaning in the life of that time Pechorin, who did not at all personify the entire intelligentsia of the 30s, but was precisely one of its heroes" 8 Skabichevsky A. M. M. Yu. Lermontov. His life and literary activity. M.: Direct-Media, 2015. C. 145. .
The word "hero" has two intersecting meanings: "a person of exceptional courage and nobility, performing feats in the name of a great goal" and "the central character." The first readers of the novel about Pechorin did not always distinguish between these meanings, and Lermontov points out this ambivalence at the end of the preface: “Maybe some readers will want to know my opinion about the character of Pechorin? My answer is the title of this book. “Yes, this is an evil irony!” they will say. - I do not know". Characteristically, Lermontov evades assessment: the very fact of choosing such a hero as Pechorin lies outside the “moralistic tradition of the previous literature" 9 Arkhangelsky A.N. Heroes of the classics: an extension for adults. M.: AST, 2018. C. 373. .
I get used to sadness just as easily as to pleasure, and my life becomes emptier day by day; I have only one option: to travel
Mikhail Lermontov
In the preface, Lermontov directly indicates that the "Hero of Our Time" is a collective image: "a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation, in their full development." And then he contradicts himself, pointing out that Pechorin is not just a walking allegory of all vices, but a plausible, living personality, a real diary author: “You will tell me again that a person cannot be so bad, but I will tell you that if you believed in the possibility of the existence of all tragic and romantic villains, why do you not believe in the reality of Pechorin? After all, the romantic hero-villain who destroys people dear to him is not at all an invention of Lermontov: Pechorin here inherits Byron's Giaura and Conrad. In turn, fatal boredom, satiety with the world is the disease of another Byron hero, Childe Harold.
If between readers and romantic pirates there was too clear a gulf, then Childe Harold and the hero of Musset's Confessions of a Son of the Century were more understandable to them. However, it was not easy for a significant part of readers to see the heroic in Pechorin. And the point here is precisely in his dual position: Pechorin is unique, but at the same time he is interested in earthly things, he has earthly ideas about protecting honor. Readers must recognize that Pechorin is their contemporary, part of their society, and this poses a problem for them that does not have an unambiguous solution.
V. A. Polyakov. Fatalist. Illustration for "A Hero of Our Time". 1900
Why is the order of events mixed up in A Hero of Our Time?
The strangeness of the composition is the first thing that people pay attention to when talking about the "Hero of Our Time". The later adventures of the hero precede the earlier ones, we learn about his death in the middle of the novel, the story is told from several points of view, the parts of the novel are unequal in volume and significance. At the same time, "A Hero of Our Time" is not a collection of individual stories: the novel has an internal plot that any reader restores. In his preface to A Hero of Our Time, Vladimir Nabokov even ties the sequence of events to precise dating: Taman takes place in the summer of 1830; in the spring and summer of 1832, Pechorin falls in love with Princess Mary and kills Grushnitsky in a duel, after which he is transferred to serve in a fortress in Chechnya, where he meets Maxim Maksimych; in December 1832, the action of "The Fatalist" takes place, in the spring and summer of 1833 - "Bela", in the autumn of 1837 the narrator and Maxim Maksimych meet Pechorin in Vladikavkaz, and a year or two later Pechorin dies on the way from Persia. In relation to this clear plot, the composition of A Hero of Our Time is indeed confused; according to Nabokov, "the whole trick of such a composition is to bring Pechorin closer to us over and over again, until finally he himself speaks to us." This "trick" is presented very naturally - we get acquainted with the story of Pechorin in the same order in which it is recognized by the main, "framework" narrator - "author-publisher" (not equal to the author - Lermontov!). First, we are shown Pechorin through the eyes of the ingenuous Maxim Maksimych, then through the eyes of a more insightful narrator, who, however, sees the hero for only a few minutes, and finally through the eyes of Pechorin himself: we gain access to his innermost thoughts, penetrate into his inner world, where he no longer shows up in front of anyone. According to Alexander Arkhangelsky, the logic of the composition of the novel is “from the external to the internal, from the simple to the complex, from the unambiguous to the ambiguous. From plot to psychology hero" 10 Arkhangelsky A.N. Heroes of the classics: an extension for adults. M.: AST, 2018. C. 353. . And although, according to Boris Tomashevsky, Lermontov’s decision to turn the cycle of stories about Pechorin into a novel could have been influenced by the structure of Balzac’s “Thirty-year-old Woman” mentioned in “A Hero of Our Time” (this novel was at first “a collection of independent short stories") 11 Tomashevsky BV Lermontov's prose and Western European literary tradition // Literary heritage. T. 43/44: M. Yu. Lermontov. Book. I. M.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1941. S. 469-516. (Lit. heritage; T. 43/44). C. 508. , it is clear that it is precisely the considerations of the gradual disclosure of the hero that outweigh here.
View of Pyatigorsk. Mid 19th century
Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images
Why do the narrators change in A Hero of Our Time? Which one is the main one?
The question of the narrator and the change of points of view in A Hero of Our Time is directly related to the question of composition. There are three narrators in the novel - the "author-publisher", Maxim Maksimych and Pechorin himself; as the Czech philologist Miroslav Drozda notes, “even the “author” does not represent a single, unchanged “mask”, but appears in different, contradictory guises”: in the preface to the novel, he is a literary critic and critic of morals, then a traveler and listener , then - the publisher of someone else's manuscript. These authorial incarnations and the audience differ: the addressees of the author's preface are the entire reading public, already familiar with the history of Pechorin; the addressee of Maxim Maksimych is the "author-publisher" (and the addressees of "Maxim Maksimych" are hypothetical readers waiting in vain for an ethnographic essay); finally, Pechorin's diary is designed only for him most 12 Drozda M. The narrative structure of the "Hero of Our Time" // Wiener Slawistischer Almanach. bd. XV. 1985. S. 5-6. . All this play is needed to gradually "bring" Pechorin closer to us, and also to reflect him from different points of view, as in different optical filters: the impressions of Maxim Maksimych and the "author-publisher" are ultimately superimposed on how Pechorin sees himself.
This set of optics is not consistent with the traditional understanding of the speech structure of the characters. Many researchers of "A Hero of Our Time" note inconsistencies here. The same Maksim Maksimych, conveying the monologues of Pechorin or Azamat, falls into a tone completely uncharacteristic of him - and yet, it would seem, quoting others, a person adjusts their style of speech to suit his own. But, despite this, the biography and life philosophy of Pechorin, as presented by Maxim Maksimych, is noticeably poorer than in the presentation of Pechorin himself - the authority closest to the author's.
And here, of course, there is the question of the personality and style of the final "author-publisher" who puts the whole story together. He is similar to Pechorin in many ways. Like Pechorin, he also wanders on the chaise, he also keeps travel notes, he also perceives nature subtly and is able to rejoice, comparing himself with it (“... some kind of gratifying feeling spread through all my veins, and I was somehow amused that I'm so high above the world..."). In a conversation with Maxim Maksimych, he competently speaks of Pechorin's melancholy and generally shares with Pechorin "a paradoxical perception reality" 13 Vinogradov VV Style of Lermontov's prose // Literary heritage. T. 43/44: M. Yu. Lermontov. Book. I. M.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1941. S. 588. . The striking remark about Pechorin's death - "This news made me very happy" - echoes the wild laughter with which Pechorin meets Bela's death. Perhaps it is precisely by feeling a kinship with Pechorin that he undertakes to judge him and publishes his notes, which undoubtedly influenced him. However, a serious distance separates him from Pechorin. He prints Pechorin's notes, thinking that this "history of the human soul" will benefit people. Pechorin would never have done this, and not for fear of confession: he, who has an excellent style, is indifferent to his diary; he tells Maksim Maksimych that he can do whatever he wants with his papers. This is an important point: after all, in the drafts of the "Hero of Our Time" Lermontov not only leaves Pechorin alive, but also makes it clear that he was preparing his notes for publications 14 Eikhenbaum BM Articles about Lermontov. M., L.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1961. C. 246-247. . This means that Lermontov wanted to increase the distance between the hero and the "author-publisher", who treats literature much more respectfully. Kazbich's song, given to him by prose, he transcribes into verse and asks for forgiveness from the readers: "habit is second nature." So we learn that the compiler of the "Hero of Our Time" is a poet.
Georgian checker. 1860s
Wikimedia Commons
Does Pechorin look like Lermontov himself?
Many contemporaries of Lermontov spoke about the similarity and even identity of Pechorin with his author. “There is no ... doubt that if he did not portray himself in Pechorin, then at least the ideal that greatly disturbed him at that time, and which he very much desired to resemble,” writes Ivan Panaev Ivan Ivanovich Panaev (1812-1862) - writer, literary critic, publisher. He was in charge of the critical department of Otechestvennye Zapiski. In 1847, together with Nekrasov, he began publishing Sovremennik, for which he wrote reviews and feuilletons. Panaev is the author of many stories and novels: "Meeting at the Station", "Lions in the Province", "The Grandson of a Russian Millionaire" and others. He was married to the writer Avdotya Panaeva, after ten years of marriage she went to Nekrasov, with whom she lived in a civil marriage for many years. , recalling the "Pechorinsky" character traits of Lermontov: "piercing glances, poisonous jokes and smiles, a desire to show contempt for life, and sometimes even the arrogance of a bully." “It is known that to some extent he portrayed himself in Pechorin,” Turgenev echoes Panaev. “Pechorin is himself, as he is,” he declares with complete confidence in a letter. Vasily Botkin Vasily Petrovich Botkin (1811-1869) - literary critic, publicist. In the mid-1830s, he became close with Belinsky, participated in Stankevich's circle, published in the magazines Telescope, Domestic Notes, and Moscow Observer. In 1855 he became an employee of Nekrasov's Sovremennik. Botkin traveled a lot; after a trip to Spain, he published the cycle "Letters about Spain" in Sovremennik. In the late 1850s, the critic parted ways with the Democrats and began to defend the aesthetic approach to art. Belinsky 15 Shchegolev P. E. The book about Lermontov: In 2 editions. Issue. 2. L.: Surf, 1929. C. 19, 23, 45. . Ekaterina Sushkova, with whom Lermontov was in love, called him “prudent and mysterious”: she had the right to a more unflattering characterization, because Lermontov, wanting to avenge her indifference, a few years later played with her approximately the same game that Pechorin is playing with Princess Mary. “Now I don’t write novels—I make them,” he wrote to a friend in 1835. — So you see that I have well avenged the tears that mlle S.'s coquetry made me shed 5 years ago; O!" However, Pechorin does not take revenge on the princess for the love she once rejected, but starts an intrigue out of boredom.
Literary critic Dmitry Ovsyaniko-Kulikovskiy wrote about Lermontov’s “egocentrism of nature”: “When such a person thinks or creates, his “I” does not drown in the process of thought or creativity. When he suffers or enjoys, he clearly feels his suffering or enjoying "I am" 16 Ovsyaniko-Kulikovskii D. N. M. Yu. Lermontov. To the centenary of the birth of the great poet. St. Petersburg: Book "Prometheus" by N. N. Mikhailov, (1914). C.6. . Pechorin “is rightly recognized as the most subjective creation of Lermontov: this, one might say, is his self-portrait,” states bluntly researcher 17 Ovsyaniko-Kulikovskii D. N. M. Yu. Lermontov. To the centenary of the birth of the great poet. St. Petersburg: Book "Prometheus" by N. N. Mikhailov, (1914). C. 72. . It's not just about external similarities ( military service in the Caucasus, courage, playing cards, readiness for duels). We are talking about secret experiences - the best feelings “buried in the depths of the heart”, the desire to be accepted by the world and rejection. Pechorin’s conflicting feelings (“The presence of an enthusiast gives me Epiphany cold, and I think frequent intercourse with a sluggish phlegmatic would make me a passionate dreamer”) find a parallel in Lermontov’s relationship with Belinsky (“He began to answer Belinsky’s serious opinions with various jokes”). It is obvious at the same time that both Pechorin and Lermontov are capable of reflection: they realize that they are sick with the “disease of the century”, boredom and satiety.
I have an innate passion to contradict; my whole life was only a chain of sad and unfortunate contradictions of heart or mind
Mikhail Lermontov
Like Pushkin's Onegin, Pechorin clearly belongs to the same circle as his author. He is educated, he quotes Pushkin, Griboyedov, Rousseau. Finally, there is one more important thing, due to the very device of the “Hero of Our Time”. Peter Vail and Alexander Genis write: “Do not forget that Pechorin is a writer. It is his pen that belongs to Taman, on which our prose of nuances is based - from Chekhov to Sasha Sokolov. And "Princess Mary" was written by Pechorin. Lermontov entrusted him with the most difficult task - to explain himself: “There are two people in me: one lives in the full sense of the word, the other thinks and judges his" 18 Vail P. L., Genis A. A. Native speech. M.: Hummingbird, 2008. C. 114. .
This statement by Pechorin echoes another memoir evidence - Prince Alexander Vasilchikov, writer and second Lermontov in a duel with Martynov: “In Lermontov (we are talking about him as a private person) there were two people: one good-natured for a small circle of his closest friends and for those few persons for whom he had special respect, the other - arrogant and perky for all his other acquaintances" 19 Shchegolev P. E. The book about Lermontov: In 2 editions. Issue. 2. L.: Surf, 1929. C. 188. . So, unlike Pechorin, Lermontov had an inner circle with whom he could be quite frank; in turn, Pechorin did not behave arrogantly with everyone: for example, his relationship with Dr. Werner is quite respectful.
So, Pechorin is not Lermontov's literary alter ego, but, of course, the character most intelligible and close to him. The philologist Efim Etkind generally believes that “the real Pechorin without a mask” is a romantic poet, able to subtly, with tenderness to experience and perfectly describe nature 20 Etkind E. G. "Inner Man" and External Speech: Essays on the Psychopoetics of Russian Literature of the 18th-19th Centuries. M.: Languages of Russian culture, 1998. C. 106-107. (“the constant, sweetly soporific noise of icy streams, which, meeting at the end of the valley, run together and finally rush into Podkumok” - here the streams are likened to children; “like a kiss of a child” Caucasian air is fresh and clean for Pechorin, and so on). Landscapes are something that is often left out of the discussion of novels; meanwhile, in the poet's prose, they should be given special attention.
Mikhail Lermontov. Engraving from a watercolor by Kirill Gorbunov in 1841
Are Pechorin from "Princess Ligovskaya" and Pechorin from "A Hero of Our Time" the same Pechorin?
No, these are different characters, between which, of course, there is continuity. Pechorin from the unfinished "Princess Ligovskaya" "tries to read the hidden feelings of other characters with the help of careful observation and analysis, but these attempts turn out to be barren" 21 Kahn A., Lipovetsky M., Reyfman I., Sandler S. A History of Russian Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. P. 426. . This useful skill will also come in handy for Pechorin from "A Hero of Our Time" - but he has no doubts about anything: he does not read other people's characters, but knows them in advance. The first Pechorin has a sister whom he dearly loves; the second does not seem to have any close relatives. Pechorin from "Princess Ligovskaya" is a man of unattractive appearance; the portrait of Pechorin in A Hero of Our Time, for all its inconsistency (which should emphasize demonicity), depicts a beautiful person who knows about his beauty. In "Princess Ligovskaya", "in order to brighten up his appearance a little in the opinion of strict readers," Lermontov announces that Pechorin's parents have three thousand souls of serfs; "A Hero of Our Time" is devoid of such irony in relation to the hero (although it retains irony in relation to the reader). The first Pechorin compromises the girl, just to pass for a dangerous seducer; the actions of the second Pechorin are due not so much to idleness as to the fatal and deep inconsistency of character.
In A Hero of Our Time, some Petersburg story is dully mentioned, which forced Pechorin to leave for the Caucasus, but there is no evidence that this is the outcome of the conflict outlined in Princess Ligovskaya. In the drafts of The Hero, Pechorin speaks of the "terrible story of the duel" in which he participated. Boris Eikhenbaum believes that the reasons for leaving were political and Pechorin could be associated with the Decembrists (that is why the "author-publisher", having at his disposal a whole notebook describing Pechorin's past, refuses for the time being her publish) 22 Eikhenbaum BM Articles about Lermontov. M., L.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1961. C. 254-265. . In any case, there is no trace of all this secret biography in "Princess Ligovskaya".
The point, in the end, is simply that “Princess Ligovskaya” and “A Hero Two of Our Time” are very different works. In Eikhenbaum's words, Russian prose of the 1830s is doing the "rough" work preparing the appearance of the real Russian novel. In terms of style, "Princess Ligovskaya" is strongly influenced by Gogol, and its secular content is associated with such texts as the stories of Bestuzhev-Marlinsky and Odoevsky, reconciling the romantic approach to reality with moral descriptiveness, in which there is already more foreshadowing of the natural school than the influence of European prose of the XVIII century. Having stopped moving in this direction, Lermontov makes a leap forward and creates an innovative text at the end of the romantic tradition - the experiment of the "Hero of Our Time" with the novel form and the deepening of the romantic hero are so convincing that they give rise to a whole train of imitations, although, it would seem, the era of romanticism is already behind .
At the same time, it is unfair to consider “Princess Ligovskaya” as a completely unsuccessful experience: the scene alone of Pechorin’s explanation with the poor and proud official Krasinsky offended by him is quite worth Dostoevsky. Lermontov will convey some features and thoughts of Krasinsky to Pechorin from A Hero of Our Time.
Mikhail Lermontov. Ruins on the banks of the Aragva in Georgia. 1837
Mikhail Lermontov. An officer on horseback and an Amazon. 1841
Why is Pechorin so disappointed?
If you believe Pechorin himself, the reasons for his condition must be sought in his early youth and even childhood. He confesses first to Maxim Maksimych, and then to Princess Mary, complaining to one of the satiety of worldly pleasures, womanly love, military dangers, the other about the tragic misunderstanding that he met with people all his life. “I get used to sadness just as easily as to pleasure, and my life becomes emptier day by day; I have only one means left: to travel, ”says Pechorin in the presentation of Maxim Maksimych. Before us is a typically Byronic biography and a recipe for boredom: they fit, for example, in the canvas of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. But in Pechorin's disappointment they see not only the "fashion to be bored" that the British have brought. Of course, Byronic blues and rejection impressed Pechorin, who knew Byron well. In Soviet and Russian literary criticism, there is a tradition to consider the behavior of Lermontov's hero as a consequence of the apathy that gripped society after the failure of the Decembrist uprising, in the "terrible" years, as he called them. Herzen 23 Gurevich A. M. The dynamics of realism (in Russian literature of the 19th century): A guide for the teacher. M.: Gardarika, 1995. C. 34; Ginzburg L. Ya. Lermontov's creative path. L.: Hood. lit., 1940. S. 162. . There is some truth in this: even Herzen raised Lermontov’s ideas to Decembristism, and historical trauma is a characteristic justification for the “diseases of the century” (in Musset, the hero of “Confession of the Son of the Century” refers to the wounds of 1793 and 1814). But Pechorin, even less than Eugene Onegin, is concerned about the ideals of freedom: he opposes himself, among other things, to society in which these ideals can be in demand. These ideals, of course, were important for Lermontov - and perhaps here lies the reason for the similarity between the author and the hero: Lermontov tells Pechorin his feelings, his sense of hopelessness, but does not give him his motivation. Perhaps, in order to compensate for this, he gives the portrait of Pechorin contrasting, contradictory features: “There was something childish in his smile. His skin had some kind of feminine tenderness", but on the "pale, noble forehead" one can notice with effort "traces of wrinkles that crossed one another and, probably, were much more pronounced in moments of anger or mental unrest." Pechorin's eyes "did not laugh when he laughed," and his body, "not defeated by either the debauchery of metropolitan life or spiritual storms," can "depict some kind of nervous weakness" in a moment of rest. Such a contrasting appearance, according to the ideas of the XIX century about physiognomy Determination of a person's personality, his physical and mental health by facial features. Today, physiognomy is considered a pseudoscientific discipline. , exposes the contradictions in the character of the hero: indeed, when reading Pechorin's Journal, we can see constant changes in his mood, punctuated by experiences of deep introspection.
Why is Pechorin called an extra person?
"Superfluous people" are called characters who do not fit into society due to their exclusivity: the environment is not able to find a use for them. Pechorin, along with Onegin, is considered the founder of "superfluous people" in Russian literature. In the interpretation of traditional Soviet literary criticism, Pechorin cannot reveal his social potential and is therefore busy with intrigues, games, and the seduction of women. This point of view existed even before the October Revolution. So, in 1914 Ovsyaniko-Kulikovskiy Dmitry Nikolaevich Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky (1853-1920) - literary critic, linguist. He taught at Novorossiysk, Kharkov, St. Petersburg and Kazan universities. From 1913 to 1918 he edited the journal Vestnik Evropy. He studied the works of Gogol, Pushkin, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Chekhov. The most famous work of Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky was The History of the Russian Intelligentsia, published in 1907. He studied the syntax of the Russian language, as well as Sanskrit and Indian philosophy. writes about Pechorin: “Like many egocentric natures, he is a person with a pronounced and very active social instinct. To balance his hypertrophied "I", he needs living ties with people, with society, and this need would be best satisfied by a lively and meaningful social activity, for which he has all the data: practical mind, fighting temperament, strong character, the ability to subordinate people to their will, and finally, ambition. But the conditions and the spirit of the times did not favor any broad and independent social activities. Pechorin involuntarily remained out of work, whence his eternal dissatisfaction, longing and boredom" 24 Ovsyaniko-Kulikovskii D. N. M. Yu. Lermontov. To the centenary of the birth of the great poet. St. Petersburg: Book "Prometheus" by N. N. Mikhailov, (1914). C. 78. .
Another interpretation is also possible, more of an existential rather than a social nature. “I have an innate passion to contradict; my whole life was just a chain of sad and unsuccessful contradictions to the heart or mind, ”Pechorin says about himself. Here it is easy to recognize the characteristics of another type of Russian literature - Dostoevsky's "underground man", who lives at the expense of negative self-affirmation. The psychologism of Lermontov's prose lies precisely in the understanding of the possibility of such a character, deeply individualistic, frustrated by the impressions of childhood. Pechorin, in the end, can be considered “superfluous” in a positive sense: no other hero of the novel is capable of such “intense self-deepening” and “exceptional strength of subjective memory" 25 Ovsyaniko-Kulikovskii D. N. M. Yu. Lermontov. To the centenary of the birth of the great poet. St. Petersburg: Book "Prometheus" by N. N. Mikhailov, (1914). C. 83. . “I was stupidly created: I don’t forget anything,” says Pechorin; this property, in turn, makes him related, if not with Lermontov, then with a writer in general - with a person who is able to invent and organize the world, putting his own experience into it. Despite the fact that Pechorin, as Lermontov suggests, is a portrait of a typical person of his generation, who has collected all the vices of the time, in fact he is unique - and that is why he is attractive.
Does Grushnitsky look like Pechorin?
The time of action of "A Hero of Our Time" is the peak of the passion for romantic art and romantic clichés in Russian aristocratic society. The emotional trail from this hobby will stretch for many more decades, but the end of the 1830s is the time when romanticism, already problematized in literature and even overcome (primarily through the efforts of Pushkin), "goes to the people." Hence the epigone, demonstrative behavior of Grushnitsky (for example, his exaggerated and vulgar courtesy). Pechorin feels that Grushnitsky is a caricature of the person he himself is: Grushnitsky “importantly drapes himself in extraordinary feelings, sublime passions and exceptional suffering”, which “loves romantic provincials” (the last statement is a stone in the garden of Pechorin himself); he "was busy all his life with himself alone." Pechorin also has “magnificent” words in stock, but he does not pronounce them in front of others, trusting them only to his diary, ”notices Ovsyaniko-Kulikovskiy 26 Ovsyaniko-Kulikovskii D. N. M. Yu. Lermontov. To the centenary of the birth of the great poet. St. Petersburg: Book "Prometheus" by N. N. Mikhailov, (1914). S. 94. . It is quite possible that Grushnitsky irritates Pechorin not only by the fact that he makes a monkey of his behavior, but also by the fact that he exaggerates and flaunts his unsightly sides - thus becoming not a caricature, but rather a crooked mirror. If we assume a moralizing component in A Hero of Our Time, then the figure of Grushnitsky is much stronger than the figure of Pechorin, denouncing a typical romantic way of life. The next iteration of the reduced romantic figure in Russian literature is Aduev Jr. from Ordinary History. Goncharova 27 Ginzburg L. Ya. About psychological prose. About a literary hero. St. Petersburg: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2016. P. 130. . However, it is worth considering Goncharov's ambivalent attitude towards his character: as we will now see, Grushnitsky is also ambiguous in the eyes of the author.
Of course, Lermontov emphasizes the difference between Pechorin and Grushnitsky - down to the smallest detail. For example, the motif of stars, important for the novel, appears in Princess Mary only twice: Grushnitsky, promoted to officer, calls the stars on epaulettes "guiding stars", while Pechorin, before the duel with Grushnitsky, worries that his star "finally will cheat on him." “A simple comparison of these exclamations more convincingly than any commentary draws the characters of the characters and the author’s attitude towards them,” writes philologist Anna Zhuravleva. For both, the high motive of the stars arises, as it were, for a similar everyday occasion. But Grushnitsky has a “guiding star” of his career, Pechorin has a “star fate" 28 Zhuravleva A. I. Lermontov in Russian literature. Problems of Poetics. M.: Progress-Tradition, 2002. C. 203. .
At the same time, the moment of existence, the ultimate, near-death state, highlights in Grushnitsky the depth that Pechorin, putting his opponent in a stalemate, could not have suspected in him before. Grushnitsky refuses to continue the dishonest game offered to him by the hussar captain, and sacrifices himself, perhaps in order to atone for his earlier meanness. Peter Vail and Alexander Genis write: “Grushnitsky ... before his death, shouts out words that do not correspond to the dueling code: “Shoot! .. I despise myself, but I hate you. If you do not kill me, I will stab you at night from around the corner. This is a piercing confession from a completely different novel. Perhaps from the one that Dostoevsky will write so soon. The miserable clown Grushnitsky at the last second suddenly tears off the mask imposed on him by Pechorin scenario" 29 Vail P. L., Genis A. A. Native speech. M.: Hummingbird, 2008. C. 116. . It is noteworthy that in 1841, Lermontov's friend Emilia Shan-Giray, whom Lermontov "found special pleasure" in teasing, returns Grushnitsky's threat to him: "I flared up and said that if I were a man, I would not challenge him to a duel, but killed take it around the corner in emphasis " 30 Shchegolev P. E. The book about Lermontov: In 2 editions. Issue. 2. L.: Surf, 1929. C. 192. . It is noteworthy, finally, that by ridiculing and killing Grushnitsky, Lermontov takes Pechorin out of the blow. Grushnitsky's life goal - to become the hero of a novel - really comes true when Grushnitsky gets into Pechorin's notes and Lermontov's novel. But Pechorin, joking about this, thereby rejects possible accusations of literary 31 Eikhenbaum BM Articles about Lermontov. M., L.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1961. C. 268. : he is a living person, and not some kind of hero of the novel.
V. A. Polyakov. Princess Mary. Illustration for "A Hero of Our Time". 1900
Rock of Lermontov in Kislovodsk. 19th century postcard
Why do women like Pechorin so much?
When the heroine of Ian Fleming's novel From Russia with Love, Russian spy Tatyana Romanova, needs to come up with a legend about why she supposedly fell in love with James Bond (she will really fall in love with him later), she will say that he reminds her of Pechorin . “He liked to play cards and did nothing but get into fights,” this is how Bond’s boss characterizes Pechorin from hearsay. The reputation of a dangerous man certainly favors the interest of the opposite sex, especially if physical beauty is added to it. “He was generally very good-looking and had one of those original physiognomies that secular women especially like” - this is how the “author-publisher” finishes the portrait of Pechorin. “Pechorin is simply impossible not to admire - he is too handsome, elegant, witty,” say Weil and Genis; as a result of this admiration, “generations of schoolchildren come to the conclusion that an intelligent scoundrel is better than a respectable fool" 32 Vail P. L., Genis A. A. Native speech. M.: Hummingbird, 2008. C. 115. .
Pechorin's "scoundrel" is manifested primarily in the way he behaves with women. This applies not so much to Bela as to Princess Mary, where he follows Pushkin’s maxim “The less we love a woman, / The easier she likes us” and acts as an expert on women (“There is nothing more paradoxical than a woman’s mind; women are hard to convince in something, they must be brought to the point where they convince themselves). He annoys and at the same time intrigues Princess Mary, then reveals her soul in confession - as if sincere in content, but pronounced with calculation (Pechorin says, "taking a deeply touched look") - and achieves a declaration of love. This game with the naive princess is quite romantic: Pechorin becomes a “secular version of the Demon”, “sowing evil without pleasures" 33 Etkind E. G. "Inner Man" and External Speech: Essays on the Psychopoetics of Russian Literature of the 18th-19th Centuries. M.: Languages of Russian culture, 1998. C. 105. . He revels in the effect: “Everyone noticed this extraordinary gaiety. And the princess inwardly rejoiced, looking at her daughter; and my daughter just has a nervous attack: she will spend the night without sleep and will cry. This thought gives me immense pleasure: there are moments when I understand the Vampire ... And I also have a reputation for being a good fellow and I strive for this title!
A modern psychologist could find in Pechorin the features of a perverse narcissist: a person who idealizes himself and feels the need to subordinate others to his will. Such a person confuses and exhausts his partner, who is unable to part with him. He creates a kind of psychological force field around himself and is confident in his irresistibility - remember how easily Pechorin buys into the trick that the smuggler in Taman does with him (although she takes precautions). Pechorin's complex personality is not limited to these traits (perverted narcissists tend to choose one victim for a long time). In many other respects he is noble, and in his unseemly deeds he is aware. It is difficult for him to understand why Vera loves him, who alone understood him to the end, with all the vices and weaknesses. Meanwhile, Vera loves him "just like that" - and this is the only inexplicable and genuine love in the novel.
How independent are Lermontov's women?
“In general, female images did not work out for Lermontov. Mary is a typical young lady from novels, completely devoid of individual features, except for her "velvet" eyes, which, however, are forgotten by the end of the novel. Vera is completely invented with an equally invented mole on her cheek; Bela is an oriental beauty from a box of Turkish delight” – this is how, in his usual manner, Nabokov certifies the heroines of the novel. Belinsky didn’t like Vera either: “Vera’s face is especially elusive and vague. It's more of a satire of a woman than a woman. As soon as you begin to be interested and fascinated by her, the author immediately destroys your participation and charm with some completely arbitrary trick.
This "arbitrary trick" is a significant slip of the tongue: Belinsky is not ready to see in the "arbitrariness" of a woman a conscious decision of the author. Meanwhile, Vera is the most “subjective” heroine of Lermontov. It is she who “leads” in relations with Pechorin, it is she who helps start the intrigue with Mary, and finally, it was she - one of all - who understood Pechorin “completely, with all ... weaknesses, bad passions.” Vera sacrifices herself, hoping that Pechorin will someday understand that her love for him "did not depend on any conditions"; having lost Vera, Pechorin loses his temper, almost goes crazy, instantly parting with his brilliant composure.
Other women in A Hero of Our Time are much more "objective". The researcher Jeanne Guyt calls the heroine, who is rejected by the “extra person” in a romantic work, an “obligatory woman”: she is always present near the hero and determines his qualities. In this case, Bela and Mary are necessary for the plot to show Pechorin's inability to love and fidelity 34 Kahn A., Lipovetsky M., Reyfman I., Sandler S. A History of Russian Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. pp. 476-477. . “I have never become a slave to the woman I love; on the contrary, I have always acquired an invincible power over their will and heart, without even trying to do so.<…>I must admit that I definitely don’t like women with character: is it their business! .. ”Pechorin boasts; “not trying” is, let’s say, not true, but the attitude of the hero towards women from these phrases is clear. Let's see how it is implemented.
There is nothing more paradoxical than the female mind; women are difficult to convince of anything, they must be brought to the point that they convince themselves
Mikhail Lermontov
Bela's description is included in the "full standard kit" 35 Vail P. L., Genis A. A. Native speech. M.: Hummingbird, 2008. C. 112. romantic cliches about the Caucasus: before us is a “tall, thin” savage, whose “eyes are black, like those of a mountain chamois, and looked into our souls.” It cannot be said that Bela is completely passive: she herself sings something “like a compliment” to Pechorin, in a moment of pride and anger at Pechorin she recalls: “I am not his slave - I am a prince's daughter! ..”; she is ready to avenge her father. “And in you, darling, the robber blood is not silent!” - thinks Maxim Maksimych - the only person whose eyes we see Bela. “We don’t know how Bela is perceived by Azamat or Pechorin ...,” recalls Alexander Arkhangelsky, “we are not allowed into her inner world and can only guess about the depth of her joy and the strength of her suffering.” It is characteristic that the only time when the conquered Bela does something of her own free will - having disobeyed Pechorin, leaves the fortress - ends with her death.
However, if Bela had not disobeyed, she would have died anyway, completely bored by Pechorin, who had so sought her. Today, Pechorin's persuasion could be included in a feminist textbook as examples victimblaming From the English victim - "victim" and blame - "blame". Victimblaming is understood as a situation where the responsibility for violence, physical or psychological, is assigned not to the rapist, but to the victim. and gaslighting Psychological manipulation designed to make the victim doubt their own adequacy. The origin of the term comes from the Hollywood film Gaslight (1944), which depicts this type of psychological abuse. : “... After all, you know that sooner or later you must be mine - why are you only torturing me?<…>Believe me, Allah is the same for all tribes, and if he allows me to love you, why will he forbid you to reciprocate?<…>…I want you to be happy; and if you are sad again, then I will die ”; finally, he offers her freedom, but at the same time he tells her that he is going to expose himself to a bullet or a blow from a checker. Poor Bela has no choice but to give up.
At first, Princess Mary is objectified in the same way (“If it were possible to merge Bela and Mary into one person: that would be the ideal of a woman!” exclaims the critic Shevyryov). Pechorin's remarks about her are cynical - even the empty Grushnitsky remarks: "You talk about a pretty woman, like an English horse." There is nothing unusual in this: Pechorin declares in Taman that “breed in women, as in horses, is a great thing.” Even more cynical is the game he plays with Mary. But as this game draws to a close, Mary manages to outgrow her assigned role:
- ... You see, I'm low in front of you. Isn't it true that even if you loved me, you despise me from this moment on?
She turned to me pale as marble, only her eyes sparkled wonderfully.
“I hate you…” she said.
But in Taman, Pechorin’s confidence that any woman will submit to him plays a cruel joke with him. Pechorin is not only confident in his victory - he also interprets the oddities in the behavior of the smuggler, which could inspire him with doubts, in the spirit of romantic literature: the “wild” girl seems to him either Ondine from Zhukovsky’s ballad, or Goethe’s Mignon. The collapse of a love adventure is presented, as usual with Lermontov, ironically, but it seems that this irony masks disappointment here.
V. A. Polyakov. Bela. Illustration for the novel by M. Yu. Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time". 1900
Why is Maxim Maksimych in the novel?
Playing with the cliché "an extra person", we can come to the conclusion that, in fact, Maxim Maksimych deserves such a name in the novel. He is consistently ignored: the dying Bela does not remember him before her death, and this annoys him; Pechorin, meeting with him again, offends him with rudeness and coldness. He is absent from the active movement of the plot in much the same way as the "author-publisher" of the novel, who is deliberately (but not completely) excluded from the text.
But, like the "author-publisher", the "small" and "extra" person Maxim Maksimych is actually the most important element in the system of characters. It is he who launches the mechanism of narration and plays an important role in the fate of the heroes (tells Pechorin about Kazbich's conversation with Azamat, leads Bela to take a walk on the shaft, where Kazbich will see her). Moreover, at some point, the fate of the entire history of Pechorin is in his hands: offended by the meeting, he is ready to put Pechorin's manuscripts into patrons.
I entered this life, having already experienced it mentally, and I became bored and disgusting, like someone who reads a bad imitation of a book he has known for a long time.
Mikhail Lermontov
Both supporters and opponents of Lermontov noted that Maxim Maksimych was an exceptionally successful image. Belinsky wrote about “the type of an old Caucasian serviceman, hardened in dangers, labors and battles, whose face is as tanned and stern as his manners are rustic and rude, but who has a wonderful soul, a heart of gold” and said that this type is “purely Russian who, by the artistic merit of creation, resembles the most original of the characters in the novels of Walter Scott and Cooper, but who, in his novelty, originality and purely Russian spirit, is not like any of them”; The critic concludes his apology by wishing the reader “to meet more on the path of your life Maksimov Maksimychey". Critics noted the similarity of Maxim Maksimych with one of the first "little people" in Russian literature - Samson Vyrin from "The Stationmaster"; the reader's sympathy for Vyrin is also transferred to Lermontov's staff captain.
But in addition to the plot and typology, Maxim Maksimych has two more important functions. First, he is the main source of ethnographic information in Bel. He understands the languages of the mountain peoples and knows their customs and customs very well, although he interprets them from the position of a condescending European, up to “These Asians are terrible beasts!”. His experience of the “old Caucasian”, in which Lermontov summarized his own observations and the knowledge of senior comrades in the service, guarantees the reliability of the information - while Lermontov, of course, is aware of the colonial optics of his character, forcing him to utter maxims like: “The same mountains were visible from the fortress that from the village - and these savages do not need anything else. Secondly, Maksim Maksimych, like Dr. Werner, in the system of characters in "A Hero of Our Time" serves as a counterbalance to the figure of Pechorin; the author's clearly tangible sympathy for both characters (communicated to Pechorin and the nameless narrator) means not only that they are kind and honest people, but the fact that they are necessary for the plot harmonizes it. “That’s why this character was introduced into the story, so that against his background the complex, confusing, but large-scale “Pechorinsky” beginning came out especially brightly,” Alexander notes. Arkhangelsk 36 Arkhangelsky A.N. Heroes of the classics: an extension for adults. M.: AST, 2018. C. 362. .
V. A. Polyakov. Maksim Maksimych. Illustration for the novel by M. Yu. Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time". 1900
What is the essence of the dispute between Pechorin and Vulich about predestination?
The motive of fate somehow appears in all parts of the "Hero of Our Time". In The Fatalist, the question of whether everyone is destined for their fate is posed with a "final sharpness" 37 Arkhangelsky A.N. Heroes of the classics: an extension for adults. M.: AST, 2018. C. 359. . Pechorin's wager with Vulich is as follows: Vulich claims that predestination exists, Pechorin - that it does not; Vulich brings the gun to his temple and pulls the trigger: the gun misfires, which means that Vulich is not destined to die this time, and he could easily try his luck. It is easy to see that this bet has strange conditions: if the gun had fired, one could say that it should have happened and Vulich guessed his fateful moment. The matter is complicated by the fact that Pechorin, who puts against predestination, actually secretly believes in it: he sees that the seal of death lies on Vulich's face, "a strange imprint of inevitable fate." Thus, by offering Vulich a bet, he is actually ready to become an instrument of this fate and bring death to his rival.
This complex game of fate is yet another confirmation of the duality of the hero. In Vulich, for the first time, he meets his equal: a fearless and demonic man. Like the parody Grushnitsky, this double must be eliminated, and his death must confirm Pechorin's ability to know everything in advance. The salvation of Vulich strikes him, he begins to believe in predestination consciously - although his entire skeptical philosophy opposes this:
... It became funny to me when I remembered that there were once wise people who thought that the luminaries of heaven take part in our insignificant disputes for a piece of land or for some fictitious rights! ..<…>And we, their pitiful descendants, wandering the earth without conviction and pride, without pleasure and fear, except for that involuntary fear that squeezes the heart at the thought of the inevitable end, we are no longer capable of great sacrifices, either for the good of mankind, or even for our own happiness. Therefore, we know its impossibility and indifferently pass from doubt to doubt...
The idea of predestination is also unpleasant for Pechorin from a pragmatic point of view: after all, he “always goes forward more boldly when he does not know what awaits him.” Soon after the bet, Vulich really dies at the hands of a drunken Cossack - and Pechorin is amazed at such an unexpected resolution of the dispute about predestination: Vulich, who thought he should live, actually had to die. After that, Pechorin risks his life helping to capture Vulich's killer. This act again has a double motivation: on the one hand, Pechorin decides, just like Vulich, to try his luck - and surpass his double, to stay alive where Vulich died. On the other hand, he helps to make retribution - and thus pays tribute to the murdered.
Kuchenreuther dueling pistol. Around 1830
The colonial novel, born within romanticism, is closely related to the adventure genre. In some cases, it suggests a civilizing, exploitative, arrogant attitude of the European hero towards the native population: perhaps the most famous text of this kind is Henry Haggard's King Solomon's Mines (1885). In other cases, a representative of civilization makes friends with the "natives", participates in their adventures, even takes their side; examples are the novels of Fenimore Cooper, familiar to Lermontov. Both types of novel are built on myths - about the "terrible savage" and about the "noble savage". "Hero of Our Time" is difficult to attribute to one of these types. For example, Maxim Maksimych's civilizing indulgence towards "Asians" and "Tatars" is set off by the ironic characterization of Maxim Maksimych himself, and the "author-publisher" shares clichés about Caucasians quite passively: it is characteristic that, having fallen into a saklya full of poor travelers, he calls them "miserable people", and Maksim Maksimych - "stupid people".
The Russian “Caucasian text” of the first half of the 19th century meets the romantic requirement of a national content for literature, which goes back to Schelling. National literature should also have its own exotic; Naturally, for Lermontov, following Pushkin and Marlinsky, the Caucasus becomes an exotic training ground. Exoticism is more important here than reliable ethnography - already in 1851 the Sovremennik magazine looked back at Russian romantic prose with the words: in Russian literature" 38 Vinogradov VV Style of Lermontov's prose // Literary heritage. T. 43/44: M. Yu. Lermontov. Book. I. M.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1941. S. 565. . According to Viktor Vinogradov, the "Caucasian" lexicon of Maxim Maksimych "does not go beyond the most characteristic everyday names and formulas: peaceful prince ... kunak, kunatskaya; dzhigitovka ... saklya, dukhanshchitsa, beshmet, giaour, kalym»; and this despite the fact that Maxim Maksimych is a frontier character who either “takes the point of view of the natives, or, on the contrary, translates the local concepts and designations into the Russian language human" 39 Vinogradov VV Style of Lermontov's prose // Literary heritage. T. 43/44: M. Yu. Lermontov. Book. I. M.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1941. S. 571-572. . Lermontov’s ethnonyms are conditional: the indistinguishability between Circassians, Chechens, “Tatars” gives commentators a headache Lermontov 40 Durylin S. N. "A Hero of Our Time" by M. Yu. Lermontov. Comments. M.: Uchpedgiz, 1940. . Unconscious neglect is also visible in the speeches of Pechorin, who calls Bela a peri - that is, a character of Persian demonology that has nothing to do with the Caucasus.
There is a lot of duality in Lermontov's descriptions of the Caucasus. On the one hand, he speaks with amazing skill about mountain peaks, rivers, gorges; an excellent connoisseur of the Caucasus, he clearly conveys his own admiration for Caucasian nature. His descriptions strikingly, sometimes almost word for word, coincide with Pushkin's "Journey to Arzrum", but much more colorful, richer; the same impressions were reflected in Demon and Mtsyri. On the other hand, he is able, lowering the register, to recall “a cast-iron teapot is my only consolation in travels” or even, as if afraid of being mistaken for Marlinsky, defiantly refuse to follow the genre: “I will save you from describing mountains, from exclamations that express nothing , from pictures that depict nothing, especially for those that were not there, and from statistical remarks that absolutely no one will read. All this duality is a sign of Lermontov's unsettled attitude towards Caucasian exoticism and romantic mythology. To remove this problem, he, as always, will resort to irony - this is how Taman will appear, where, according to Boris Eikhenbaum, "a touch of naive "Russoism" 41 Eikhenbaum BM Articles about Lermontov. M., L.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1961. C. 279. . If the conquest of a woman for Pechorin is in some way parallel to the conquest of the Caucasus, then in Taman the pursuit of another “savage woman” ends in a comic disaster.
Map of the Caucasus region until 1832
How is the "Hero of Our Time" connected with "Eugene Onegin"?
The first similarity between the heroes of Pushkin and Lermontov is visible at the most external level: both names, Onegin and Pechorin, did not exist in reality and come from the names of the rivers - Onega and Pechora. Based on this, Belinsky wrote that "their dissimilarity among themselves is much less than the distance between Onega and Pechora": Pechorin - "this is the Onegin of our time." It is characteristic that in the drafts of "Princess Ligovskaya" Lermontov once mistakenly calls his Pechorin Eugene. The plot parallels are also obvious: Princess Mary's love for Pechorin, in which she herself confesses, reminds us of Tatyana's confession to Onegin; the duel with Grushnitsky, Pechorin's younger friend, echoes Onegin's duel with Lensky even in the motivation: Onegin, in order to annoy Lensky, dances with Olga; Pechorin is bored, and he plays a comedy with Grushnitsky for his own amusement. In the figure of Grushnitsky, the reference "vulgar romantic", there are many similarities with Lensky:
He speaks quickly and pretentiously: he is one of those people who have pompous phrases ready for all occasions, who simply do not touch the beautiful and who importantly drape themselves in extraordinary feelings, lofty passions and exceptional suffering. To produce an effect is their delight; romantic provincial women like them to the point of madness.<…>His goal is to become the hero of the novel.
<…>... I am sure that on the eve of his departure from his father's village, he spoke with a gloomy look to some pretty neighbor that he was not going like that, just to serve, but that he was looking for death, because ... here, he must have covered his eyes with his hand and continued like this: “No, you (or you) should not know this! Your a pure soul shudder! Yes, and why? What am I to you! Will you understand me?" - etc.
All this, isn’t it, reminiscent of Lensky’s “dark and sluggish” verses, in which Pushkin parodies the current poetic romanticism, and his excessive affectation in personal relationships (subsequently, these outpourings to a pretty neighbor are parodied by Goncharov in “Ordinary History”). The word "parody" is repeated here not in vain: "Princess Mary" herself is with "Eugene Onegin" in partly parodic
relations
42
Svyatopolk-Mirsky D.P. History of Russian literature. Novosibirsk: Svinin and Sons Publishing House, 2014. C. 253.
which do not cancel Lermontov's admiration for Pushkin. To understand this, let's look at how Lermontov's heroes differ from Pushkin's. In their psychological portraits there is a duality, a kind of underlined dark beginning. Returning to the hydronymic similarity, we can recall the remark of Boris Eikhenbaum: “The Onega flows smoothly, in one direction towards the sea; the channel of the Pechora is changeable, ornate, it is a stormy mountain
river"
43
Eikhenbaum BM Articles about Lermontov. M., L.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1961. C. 235.
. Lensky, of course, is not capable of meanness in the spirit of Grushnitsky, who first spreads dirty gossip about Pechorin and Mary, who rejected him, and then wants to fool Pechorin by not loading his gun on the advice of a comrade. The same with Pechorin: as the philologist Sergei Kormilov writes, “it is impossible to imagine Onegin on the balcony of someone else’s house peeping out Tatyana’s window, and Pechorin, getting out in this way from Vera, someone else’s wife, satisfies his curiosity by looking into the room
How is "A Hero of Our Time" related to Lermontov's poetry?
Parallels between the novel and Lermontov's lyrics have been noted more than once, including at the structural level. Anna Zhuravleva believes that Lermontov's novel is united not only by the plot, but also by "verbal and semantic motifs characteristic of Lermontov's poetry ... in the way that lyrical cycle" 46 Zhuravleva A. I. Lermontov in Russian literature. Problems of Poetics. M.: Progress-Tradition, 2002. C. 204. . Even earlier, Nabokov noticed that the nesting of dreams and the change of points of view in the poem "Dream" ("In the midday heat in the valley of Dagestan ...") "is akin to the interweaving of five stories that made up Lermontov's novel."
The psychological proximity of Pechorin to Lermontov makes the novel's overlap with Lermontov's lyrics inevitable. So, already in the early poem "1831, June 11th day" you can see the motives of Pechorin's confessional monologues, his duality, misunderstanding on the part of others:
My soul, I remember from childhood
Was looking for a great one. I loved
All the seductions of light, but no light,
In which I only lived for minutes ...No one cares about me on earth
And I am a burden to myself, as to others;
Anguish wanders on my forehead.
I am cold and proud; and even evilI seem to the crowd; but is she
Should I penetrate boldly into the heart?
Why does she need to know what's in it?
Fire or dusk there - she doesn't care.
Only in nature does the hero of the poem find solace, and Pechorin's descriptions of the nature of the Caucasus echo Lermontov's lyrics. Compare: “It is fun to live in such a land! Some kind of gratifying feeling is poured into all my veins. The air is pure and fresh, like the kiss of a child…” and “The air there is pure, like the prayer of a child; / And people, like free birds, live carefree. The relationship of the hero with people against this background is a product of irritation: being among them, Pechorin cannot show "his real self." So the hero of Lermontov’s poem, recalling a wonderful childhood (as a child he was “the kingdom of the wondrous almighty lord”), irritates the society in which he is forced to be: “Oh, how I want to embarrass their cheerfulness / And boldly throw an iron verse in their eyes, / Filled with bitterness and anger! .. "
Sadly, I look at our generation!
His future is either empty or dark,
Meanwhile, under the burden of knowledge and doubt,
It will grow old in inaction.
We are rich, barely from the cradle,
The mistakes of the fathers and their late mind,
And life is already tormenting us, like a smooth path without a goal,
Like a feast at someone else's holiday.
“I entered this life, having already experienced it mentally, and I became bored and disgusted, like someone who reads a bad imitation of a book he has known for a long time,” agrees Pechorin.
Here the “author-publisher” turns in his thoughts to the howling blizzard: “And you, exile, cry about your wide, spacious steppes!”, But Lermontov writes about the clouds of heaven: “You rush, as if like me, exiles, / C sweet north towards south." Here Pechorin destroys Bela, and the Demon - Tamara. In the poem "Izmail Bay" we will find descriptions of Caucasian customs, similar to descriptions from the novel ... Examples of roll calls can still be multiplied, but it is clear that there is a strong connection between the "Hero of Our Time" and Lermontov's poetry. In the end, there are poems in the novel itself: the "author-publisher" out of habit translates Kazbich's song into Russian, and Pechorin writes down the smuggler's song. Both songs are distinguished by the stylization of folk poetry: Kazbich's song uses a typical folklore formula ("Gold will buy four wives, / A dashing horse has no price"), and in the last line, the rhythmic variation - the release of one syllable - creates the impression of free, non-bookish poetic speech. The “authentic” song of the smuggler is written in a completely diverse folk verse (“Like on a free will - / On the green sea, / All the boats go / White-sailers ...”) with
What did Pechorin do in Persia?
Pechorin dies while returning from Persia. So the prophecy of Maxim Maksimych comes true that he will end badly. Pechorin himself in “Bel” says: “As soon as possible, I will go - just not to Europe, God forbid! - I'll go to America, to Arabia, to India - maybe I'll die somewhere on the road! This is what happens; Pechorin, who was predicted to die "from an evil wife," predicts another death for himself.
In his article “Why Pechorin went to Persia? 47 Ermolenko S.I. Why did Pechorin go to Persia? // Philological class. T. V. No. 17. 2007. S. 41-48. philologist Svetlana Ermolenko summarizes the possible answers to this question. Commentator of the novel Sergei Durylin believes that for Pechorin, a trip to Persia, which is in the zone of Russian diplomatic interests, is a comfortable way to "quench the craving for the East, gleaned from Byron", and at the same time escape from the "barracks of Nikolaev". Boris Eikhenbaum, in accordance with his theory of Pechorin’s Decembrism, sees in this not a whim, but an expression of “characteristic post-Decembrist sentiments” (Venevitinov wants to go to Persia shortly before his death, Izhorsky, the hero of Kuchelbeker’s drama, seeks happiness “in Arabia, in Iran with gold” ). Yermolenko objects to Durylin: compared to Griboedov's time, the political situation in Persia has become even more complicated - these places were "a theater of uninterrupted, from the beginning of the 19th century, hostilities." Thus, Pechorin could consciously seek death. Let's not forget that in direct chronology the events of Bela are Pechorin's last adventure. It is quite possible that it broke his Byronic character: when Maxim Maksimych reminds him of Bela, Pechorin turns pale and turns away. He no longer worries about the fate of his notes, which, as he once believed, should have become for him a "precious memory"; he now has only one road - to death.
The connection of Persia with death should have reminded any secular reader of Griboyedov's death in Tehran. One of the main episodes of Journey to Arzrum, on which Lermontov clearly relies, is Pushkin's meeting with the dead Mushroom Eater, and thus we have another reference to Pushkin's work (Boris Eikhenbaum believes that in this way Lermontov pays tribute to "half-disgraced" Pushkin). It is known that Lermontov was going to take up new novel"from Caucasian life", "with the Persian war"; in this novel, he wanted to describe the death of Griboyedov. Yermolenko draws attention: Pushkin complained that Griboyedov "did not leave his notes"; Pechorin, who is not at all like Griboedov, just left his notes, allowing others to read his "story of the soul."
Finally, one more consideration. “America, Arabia, India”, and even Persia, where Pechorin aspires to, are not just exotic spaces for a Russian person, but not at all known. This is a kind of "other world", the other world. It turns out that Persia for Pechorin is the same sign of death as America is for the heroes of Dostoevsky, the successor of Lermontov's psychological and existential tradition.
bibliography
- Arkhangelsky A.N. Heroes of the classics: an extension for adults. M.: AST, 2018.
- Vinogradov VV Style of Lermontov's prose // Literary heritage. T. 43/44: M. Yu. Lermontov. Book. I. M.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1941. S. 517–628.
- Ginzburg L. Ya. About psychological prose. About a literary hero. St. Petersburg: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2016.
- Gurevich A. M. The dynamics of realism (in Russian literature of the 19th century): A guide for the teacher. M.: Gardarika, 1995.
- Drozda M. The narrative structure of the "Hero of Our Time" // Wiener Slawistischer Almanach. bd. XV. 1985. S. 5–34.
- Durylin S. N. "A Hero of Our Time" by M. Yu. Lermontov. Comments. M.: Uchpedgiz, 1940.
- Ermolenko S.I. Why did Pechorin go to Persia? // Philological class. T. V. No. 17. 2007. P. 41–48.
- Zhuravleva A. I. Lermontov in Russian literature. Problems of Poetics. Moscow: Progress-Tradition, 2002.
- Kiyko E. I. Lermontov's "Hero of Our Time" and psychological tradition in French literature // Lermontov's collection. L.: Nauka, 1985. S. 181–193.
- Kormilov S. I. M. Yu. Lermontov // Russian literature of the XIX–XX centuries: In 2 vols.
- Naiditsch E. E. “A Hero of Our Time” in Russian Criticism // Lermontov M. Yu. A Hero of Our Time. Moscow: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1962, pp. 163–197.
- Ovsyaniko-Kulikovskii D. N. M. Yu. Lermontov. To the centenary of the birth of the great poet. St. Petersburg: Book "Prometheus" by N. N. Mikhailov, .
- Perlmutter L. B. The prose language of M. Yu. Lermontov // Life and work of M. Yu. Lermontov: Research and materials: Sat. first. Moscow: OGIZ; GIKHL, 1941, pp. 310–355.
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All bibliography
The novel, titled A Hero of Our Time, became one of the most popular works of its era. It was written in the 30s years XIX century. By describing one personality, Lermontov managed to present a collective image of a man of his time. In different chapters, the author confronts his main character with different heroes. However, he still remains alone. There are complex relationships between him and the people he meets.
Pechorin and his attitude towards women
Grigory Pechorin is the main character in the work "A Hero of Our Time". The description of the hero should begin with his difficult relationship with women. He immediately warns that he is not ready for any serious connections. Pechorin is a young officer who easily wins the hearts of young aristocrats. Most of his lovers are women from secular circles. The only exception is a Circassian named Bela, a real savage, a true inhabitant of the Caucasus. In St. Petersburg, he meets a married Vera, whose relationship ends in a break.
Failures in love Pechorin
In the description of Pechorin in the novel "A Hero of Our Time" it is worth including a story about his other meetings with women. Then he meets "Ondine" in Taman, and she turns out to be a smuggler. She makes an attempt to drown him and on the same night tries to escape with her beloved - also a smuggler. In Pyatigorsk, the hero decides to "drag" after the young beauty Mary in order to get rid of boredom. Pechorin takes care of both Mary and Vera at the same time. Mary falls in love, but Pechorin leaves her. Then Pechorin enters the service in fortress N, where he meets Bela. He steals it, and for four months they live well, until the hero's feelings for the Circassian cool down. Bela is kidnapped by the robber Kazbich, wounds her, and she dies.
Contradictory image
Pechorin is a smart and educated young man. In himself, he feels great forces, which, however, are wasted. Entering into life, Pechorin says, he feels as if he is reading a dull parody of a book he has long known. The description of Pechorin in "A Hero of Our Time" also contains his physical characteristics, through which the spiritual qualities of the character are manifested. He is aristocratic, which is manifested through the thinness of his hands. When walking, he will never wave his arms - so Lermontov sought to emphasize the secrecy of his nature. When Pechorin laughs, his eyes remain empty and sad, and this is a sign that he is constantly experiencing emotional drama.
Lermontov himself says this about his character: “He is definitely a portrait ... However, not one person, but a whole generation. Pechorin is made up of his vices in all their development. At the same time, it is impossible to call the main character of the work “A Hero of Our Time” completely positive or negative. The description of the hero must contain all the characteristics that Lermontov gives him. The inconsistency of the hero lies in the fact that, although he loves women, he does not want to marry. His love does not bring happiness to him or his beloved.
faith
It is also necessary to mention Vera, Pechorin's mistress in "A Hero of Our Time". The description of the heroes of this work will be interesting to every reader who is seriously interested in this work. Vera is a woman to whom Pechorin once had feelings. She is a distant relative of Mary and Princess Ligovskaya. Lermontov writes about Vera's appearance that she is "pretty, but very sick, it seems." Her face expresses a feeling of deep sadness. But while relaxing in the Caucasus, Vera is gradually recovering. She has a son from her first marriage. Vera loves Pechorin sincerely and accepts all his shortcomings, while sacrificing herself. She meets Pechorin secretly from her first husband, and then from her second.
Mary
Lermontov, on the pages of his novel, gradually introduces the reader to the new characters of the "Hero of Our Time". The description of the heroes, which is considered in this article, is continued by the characteristics of another female character - Mary. The image of this heroine is practically inseparable from her relationship with Pechorin. It was the protagonist who drew her into the story, which she might have avoided if she had other character traits.
Or these events could happen, but with much less sad consequences. Mary loves love stories with a romantic flair. Lermontov notes that she is fond of Grushnitsky as the owner of a "grey soldier's overcoat". Mary felt that he was demoted for a duel - and it is this fact that arouses romantic feelings in her. As a person, he is indifferent to her. Having learned that Grushnitsky is an ordinary cadet, she begins to avoid him. But in the same way, her interest in Pechorin arises.
The experience of the protagonist, shown in interaction with Mary
Mary has no doubts about her attractiveness. Pechorin speaks of her as a "pretty" princess, but immediately notices her inner emptiness. Despite the fact that Mary reads English and knows mathematics, this is not her natural inclination, but only an attempt to fit in with fashion. Pechorin is in no hurry to speak flatteringly about Mary, and this offends her. Having identified her weak point, he begins to hit at this point, slowly getting to know her. Pechorin frightens her with his impudent trick, tries to arouse hatred for himself. But then, as soon as he pays attention to her, she will feel like a winner. The protagonist of the work “A Hero of Our Time” already knows all this by heart. The description of the heroes discussed in this article gives a brief description of them and helps to get an impression of the main actors story.
Bela
A young Circassian and daughter of the prince, Bela immediately attracts Pechorin with her beauty. At first, she is shy of her admirer, does not want to accept gifts. But the main character does not leave his attempts and finally reaches the goal. The description of Bela in A Hero of Our Time is as follows: Bela is only 16 years old, she has beautiful eyes and black hair. According to her religion, the girl is a Muslim. She practically does not speak Russian, although she is studying the language. She is poorly educated, although she is good at needlework. She reciprocates Pechorin, however, as was indicated, soon his passion cools. Bela starts to languish. She is stolen by a robber, and she tragically dies.
Description of Grushnitsky in the novel "A Hero of Our Time"
This character, as Lermontov describes him, is mediocre, but he loves pathos very much. For any situation, he will find magnificent phrases. Grushnitsky is a young military man and a poor nobleman. His age is about 20 years old. All that is known about his appearance is that he is handsome and has expressive features. Grushnitsky loves to produce an effect, he is a kind of parody of the main character - that is why Pechorin hates him so much. Going crazy with jealousy when Mary falls in love with the protagonist, Grushnitsky becomes dangerous.
Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin is the main character of the novel "A Hero of Our Time", who is an extremely controversial person. Lermontov describes him as a fearless and tireless hero, sometimes sitting all day in his room, shuddering at the slightest noise. Either a silent man, from whom a word cannot be pulled out, or a wonderful speaker and interlocutor. We meet Pechorin when he is 25 years old and he arrives with the rank of ensign to serve in one of the fortresses in the Caucasus.
One of the most interesting characters in the novel. Lermontov draws him as poor, low in status, and not very educated. But, having served only as an ordinary officer, he managed to tell a lot and gain a lot of life experience. Devotion to duty, altruism and humanity - these are the main features of Maxim Maksimych, which have established themselves in him as an officer.
A separate chapter of the same name is devoted to this heroine.The princess is quite young, and therefore romantic. An important moment that betrays the absolute instability of the princess's seemingly strong position in society, and in the world, is the situation at the ball, when a drunken gentleman in a tailcoat tried to invite the girl to dance.
The princess is the daughter of a peaceful prince and the sister of young Azamat. Kidnapped by her own brother at the request of officer Pechorin. Bela - main character the first story of the novel. Maksim Maksimych told about her. Bela is a highlander who has retained the natural simplicity of feelings, the desire for will and the free expression of feelings.
Lieutenant, fatalist and hero of the last chapter. He is presented to the reader by an unusual and mysterious person. The appearance of this character is quite consistent with his character: tall, big nose, dark skin, black hair and eyes, and his smile is sad and cold ... All these characteristics seem to suggest that this creature is special.
The hero of the chapter "Princess Mary". He introduces himself to the reader as a cadet who, while on the Caucasian waters, pretends to be an officer demoted to the soldiers. Grushnitsky wants to play the role of a special person - he stubbornly dresses in an old soldier's overcoat, diligently plays the role of a sufferer who was unfairly taken out of the first echelon of the military.
A minor, but very important character in the chapter "Princess Mary"; the woman whom Pechorin once loved; a distant relative of Princess Ligovskaya. Vera is a married lady of the world. She and her husband are staying with the Ligovskys in Pyatigorsk and are being treated at the same time when they meet Pechorin again.
A minor character in the novel, who occupies a special position due to his resemblance to Pechorin. This is a friend of Pechorin, whom they met in the Caucasus during his trip to Pyatigorsk. Werner was a middle-aged military medic. He treated wealthy clients who came to be treated at the waters.
Azamat
The hero of the head of "Bela", the fifteen-year-old son of the local prince and brother of Bela. I really wanted to get Kazbich's horse. Pechorin, having learned about this, offered Azamat help in stealing a horse, and he promised to steal his sister for him. They soon got it right. Azamat immediately left his home, knowing that his father would not forgive him. And the father and Bela were killed by Kazbich.
Kazbich
The hero of the head of "Bel", one of the local highlanders who traded sheep, and also steals everything that is bad. He had a horse, named Karagez, who was considered the best in the region. Azamat, the son of a local prince, constantly asked to be sold, but for Kazbich Karagyoz was like a brother. Azamat even offered his own sister Bela, whom Kazbich loved, in exchange for a horse, but he was relentless. But Pechorin still helped steal Azamat's horse. Unable to bear the loss, Kazbich first killed the father of Azamat and Bela, and then Bela herself.
Karagyoz
The horse of Kazbich, which was the most dear creature for him. When Azamat stole it, Kazbich cried like a child. It was one of the most intelligent and dashing horses in the area.
prince
The episodic character of the head of "Bela", the father of Azamat and Bela. He was killed by Kazbich, because he thought that Azamat stole his horse with the permission of his father.
blind boy
Orphan, the hero of the chapter "Taman", helping the smuggler Yanko. He loves and respects him, even stole jewelry from Pechorin for him. Despite this, he ruthlessly abandons him and swims away with the girl.
Janko
A smuggler, the hero of the chapter "Taman", a brave, but completely without feelings man. He left the blind boy to his fate, sailing away with the girl when it turned out that their activities had been discovered by Pechorin.
Young woman
The heroine of the chapter "Taman", a friend of the smuggler Yanko. She is 18 years old, although she is not beautiful, she is still pretty and has a beautiful voice. In addition, she is strong and brave. Having lured Pechorin to the boat, she nearly drowned him.
Old woman
The episodic character of the chapter "Taman", an old and almost deaf woman, the mistress of the house where Pechorin stayed. She lives with a blind boy, an orphan.
Princess
The heroine of the chapter "Princess Mary", Mary's mother. She loves her only daughter very much and is ready to do anything for her. She does not like Grushnitsky, so she immediately favors Pechorin. Immediately after the duel with Grushnitsky, she throws everything at his feet, only for him to marry Mary, but he refuses.
Dragoon Captain
Hero of the chapter "Princess Mary", Grushnitsky's second in a duel. It was he who constantly urged Grushnitsky to challenge Pechorin to a duel in order to punish him, according to the captain, for cowardice. However, he was afraid, then the captain offered to charge only one pistol so that Pechorin had no chance. Pechorin found out about this conspiracy and revealed it. The result was the death of Grushnitsky.
Efimych
The hero of the chapter "Fatalist", a drunken Cossack who killed Vulich. He locked himself in the barn and did not want to give up. Pechorin decided to check his fate, and alone, through the window, climbed into the barn, where he disarmed him.
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