Russian literature
Viktor Eremin
Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin
Let's start with a letter that is not known to the general reader, but in many respects determined the fate of M.Yu. Lermontov*.
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* Biography of M.Yu. Lermontov, see "100 Great Poets".
"13/25<июня 1840 г.>10 1/2. I have worked and read the entire Hero, which is well written.<...>
14/26... 3 p.m. I worked and continued to read Lermontov's work; I find the second volume less successful than the first*.
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* Recall: the first part of the novel includes "Bela", "Maxim Maksimych" and "Taman", the second part - "Princess Mary" and "The Fatalist". The idea of the novel was finally formed by M.Yu. Lermontov presumably in 1838; and the “Hero of Our Time” was completed in 1839, and the work was repeatedly edited by the author and reworked, new chapters were added - “Fatalist” and “Taman”. Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin first appeared in the story "Princess Ligovskaya" (1836), which was not included in the novel. The final version of A Hero of Our Time was published in its entirety as a separate book in 1840. Lermontov wrote and published the famous preface to it in 1841.
7 pm ... During this time I have read to the end of "Hero" and find the second part disgusting, quite worthy of being in vogue. This is the same depiction of despicable and incredible characters that is found in modern foreign novels. Such novels spoil the morals and harden the character. And although you read these feline sighs with disgust, they nevertheless produce a painful effect, because in the end you get used to believing that the whole world consists only of such individuals, in whom even seemingly good deeds are committed only by vile and dirty motives. . What result can this give? Contempt or hatred for humanity! But is this the purpose of our existence on earth? People are too prone to become hypochondriacs or misanthropes anyway, so why should such writings arouse or develop such inclinations! So, I repeat, in my opinion, this is a pathetic gift, it indicates the perverted mind of the author. The character of the captain is sketched well. Starting the story, I hoped and rejoiced that he would be the hero of our day, because in this category of people there are much more real people than those who are so indiscriminately awarded this epithet. Undoubtedly, the Caucasian Corps has a lot of them, but rarely anyone can see them. However, the captain appears in this work both as a hope and an unfulfilled one, and Mr. Lermontov 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. Good luck, Mr. Lermontov, let him, if possible, clear his head in an environment where he will be able to complete the character of his captain, if at all he is able to comprehend and describe it.
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* M.Yu. Lermontov in the memoirs of contemporaries. M.: Hood. lit., 1989.
Without suspecting it, Lermontov replied to this letter from Emperor Nicholas I in the Preface to the novel: “... The Hero of Our Time, my dear sirs, is like a portrait, but not of one person; it is a portrait composed of the vices of our whole generation, in their full development ...
... Enough people were fed with sweets; their stomachs have deteriorated because of this: bitter medicines, caustic truths are needed. But do not think, however, after this, that the author of this book would ever have a bitter dream of becoming a corrector of human vices. God save him from such ignorance! It was just fun for him to draw modern man as he understands him and, to his misfortune and yours, met him too often. It will also happen that the disease is indicated, but God knows how to cure it!
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* M.Yu. Lermontov. Sobr. op. in 4 volumes. T. 4. M .: Hood. lit., 1958.
Mikhail Yurjevich Lermontov
Youthfully flirting in front of the reader, the poet lied for the sake of fashionable delusions, but criticism picked up this chatter and cheerfully exaggerates it to this day. Of course, there is no question of any vices of the Lermontov generation in the novel - the author talks about the vices of specific individuals who have been, are and will certainly be in any people and at every time. Lermontov's maximalism in relation to his compatriot contemporaries is well known, fully justified by his character, but still dishonestly exploited by liberals in order to discredit Russia's past.
The “Hero of Our Time” and his main character, Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin, turned out to be a stumbling block between two great people of our Motherland, who, of course, performed in different “weight categories” during their lifetime, but for history this no longer matters.
In the above letter to his wife, Emperor Nicholas I implicitly explained why M.Yu. Lermontov could not count on a quick return from the Caucasus, and at the same time he unwittingly assumed a significant share of the blame for the early death of Russia's greatest mystical poet. The powerful statesman lived with dreams of creating a worthy society, while the poet was immersed in real life, saw real people and talked about their true spiritual existence. As a result, the poet was swallowed up by everyday prose, and the romantic sovereign, in his dreams about heroes, led the country to the Crimean catastrophe, in which the enemy - both external and even more internal - mercilessly used and exterminated real heroes - Maxim Maksimychev, and among them and the emperor-knight himself. One example. Let us recall how the institution of sisters of mercy arose in Russia. When the great Russian surgeon N.I. Pirogov (1810-1881) cried out to those in power that in the Crimean War the people died more because medicines and food did not reach hospitals, but were stolen by a huge pack of bureaucratic marauders, enthusiastic noblewomen created a control body for public monitoring of supplies to hospitals. active troops. They could not watch indifferently how the wounded were tormented and undertook to help the doctors - they became sisters of mercy. However, those of them who still tried at the same time to control the supply to the army, on the orders of Nicholas I, under various pretexts, were recalled to the rear. The trouble was that the theft turned out to be of such gigantic proportions that it was easier to allow the heroes of Sevastopol to die without help than to start persecuting the marauders - in this case, the king was afraid of a coup d'état. It sounds terrible, but such was the result of that spiritual decay that engulfed all the ruling classes of Russia already in the 1830s and 1840s. and which is latent and created the general atmosphere of Lermontov's "Hero of Our Time". The tsar felt that some kind of danger lurked in the novel, but he did not understand what it was, and therefore he blamed everything on the aristocrat Pechorin, demoted to ensign, since he gave many reasons for this.
Thus, the "Hero of Our Time" should be considered not so much and not only from the standpoint of the state of Russian society in the early 1840s, but primarily as a harbinger of the national catastrophe of 1853-1856. and the cataclysms that followed at the beginning of the 20th century. In The Hero of Our Time, Lermontov prophesied the future, for which Nicholas I was angry with him, demanding not foresight, but creation. This is the essence of the conflict between the king and the poet. But after all, everyone should do their own thing, and it is senseless and fraught to demand that a true poet serve the current needs of the state.
The conflict between the emperor and the poet over Pechorin is often discussed in critical literature, although it is considered more as a problem of the individual and society than as a problem of the existence of the individual. And the difference here is fundamental, because in it lies the mystical secret of the poet and his hero. Better than Lermontov himself, it is impossible to reveal the soul of Pechorin. And it is described in the following lines:
I go out alone on the road;
Through the mist the flinty path gleams;
The night is quiet. The desert listens to God
And the star speaks to the star.
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* M. Yu. Lermontov. Sobr. op. in 4 volumes. T. 1. M .: Hood. lit., 1957.
Loneliness, which happened not because of a person’s position in society, but generated by personal complexes that arose mainly on the basis of book fantasies, the desire to correspond to the “advanced” literature and philosophy of the 18th and early 19th centuries, sucked from the finger of zaum, to be not real, but “like in books”, not to be natural, but to play an invented role - this loneliness gave Russia an infinite number of crippled young destinies and a whole crowd of so-called “superfluous people” in literature.
Where the concept of “extra person” came from is unknown. There are a number of versions, but we will not analyze them here. The proposed criteria for it are far-fetched to the point of obscenity and can be applied even to any of us, people of the 21st century, the restriction gives only a class sign - an “extra person” can only be a nobleman, preferably from the rich. All the “superfluous people” in Russian literature (of course, in addition to the dearest Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, who is forcibly drawn into their number) are united by the main, indisputable property - they do not live, but in reality they play a role invented by them. And the brightest actor from this host of “lonely” is Pechorin.
You should not think that the images of the so-called "superfluous people" are inherent only in Russian literature. There are also quite a few of them in Western European prose, only they are defined differently and their social framework is wider. The same Werther, for example. But the closest thing to Pechorin in world literature is Flaubert's Emma Bovary! True, with the difference that it is initially vicious, and Pechorin forcibly cultivates vice in himself.
So we have come to the main point in the discussion about Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin. The reader draws knowledge of his depravity primarily from Pechorin's Journal, in other words, the hero's diary. For some reason, it is customary to take it as an absolute revelation of the author to himself. However, it is much more natural to assume that Pechorin's Journal is not a document about a person's exploration of himself, but a document about a person's description of how he wants to see himself. The real Pechorin is not the Pechorin who invents himself from the "Journal ...". And every fact of his everyday life testifies to this. He, the true Pechorin, performs an act, and then, analyzing it in the "Journal ...", tries to give his action a completely different, often unnatural character, in order to show himself how bad he really is. It can even be said that Pechorin is engaged not so much in groundless self-flagellation as in self-education from an ordinary person into a most disgusting scoundrel, since he believes that in this way he elevates himself above the crowd. Paradoxically, with his character, being a scoundrel turned out to be much more difficult than remaining a decent person! This, apparently, is the mystery of Pechorin.
So, the key to understanding the image of the Hero of our time is pride, expressed in self-abasement! And following her really plunged Pechorin into the abyss of moral and physical collapse.
The true causes of this life catastrophe were revealed by the author in "The Fatalist", where the disgraced ensign tried to understand what is the true purpose of man and what is the meaning of being. Reasoning about freedom, fate and faith led Pechorin to the actual denial of the moral precepts of Christianity! He turned out to be a man who lost God in the name of his own vanity. In this regard, Pechorin can be considered as a Luciferian type of god-fighter, which is why Lermontov gave him the features of a genius. By the way, it is they who are so greedily exploited by critics who are trying to justify the uselessness of a person in a “rotten” society.
In the end, it is necessary to say about the narrowly mystical interpretation of the image of Pechorin, which is closest to the nature of this book. I will refer to V.I. Levina: “In a well-known oriental tale, a genie, imprisoned in a bottle, inhabits the person who freed him and subjugates him. Something similar happened with Lermontov: leaving the pages of the novel, Pechorin seems to begin to influence the actions and worldview of the author.
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* IN AND. Levin. Duel Lermontov. Journal "Libraries of Educational Institutions", issues No. 19, 20. M .: 2006.
In other words, it was not N.S. who allegedly killed Lermontov. Martynov, the poet died at the hands of a hero invented and described by him, who moved into his creator and pushed him to commit suicide. It seems that it was the latter that Nicholas I intuitively understood, refusing to severely punish Martynov.
The novel was repeatedly illustrated by the greatest Russian artists - M.A. Vrubel, I.E. Repin, E.E. Lansere, V.A. Serov, D.A. Shmarinov and others.
There are no significant musical works on the theme of the novel. The most famous: the opera by A.Sh. Melik-Pashayeva* "Pechorin" and ballet by I.A. Demutsky** "A Hero of Our Time".
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* Alexander Shamilevich Melik-Pashaev (1905-1964) - a famous Soviet conductor and composer, the auto of two operas - "Pechorin" and "Twelfth Night".
** Ilya Alexandrovich Demutsky (b. 1983) - one of the most sought-after composers of the Russian liberal Russian-hating party; constantly represents national culture at international forums and competitions. Winner of several prestigious international awards. He was especially famous for his symphonic poem "The Last Word of the Defendant" - in support of the Pussy Wright group. The ballet "A Hero of Our Time" was created in 2014 by order of the Bolshoi Theater management, and was staged in 2015.
In the cinema, "A Hero of Our Time" was filmed mainly as separate stories.
The first films - "Princess Mary", "Maxim Maksimych" and "Bela" - were staged in 1926-1927. director V.G. Barsky*. The role of Pechorin was played by N.P. Prozorovsky**.
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* Vladimir Grigoryevich Barsky (1889-1936) - Soviet actor, director. He worked mainly in Georgian cinema.
** Nikolai Petrovich Prozorovsky (Brzhezitsky-Prozorovsky) (1905-1935) - famous actor of Soviet silent cinema; filmed since 1924
In 1955, director I.M. Annensky* shot the brilliant film "Princess Mary". A.V. acted as Pechorin. Verbitsky**.
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* Isidor Markovich Annensky (1906-1977) - a classic of Russian film directing; the creator of such illustrious and timeless film adaptations as "The Bear" (1938), "The Man in the Case" (1939), "The Wedding" (1944), "Anna on the Neck" (1954) and others.
** Anatoly Vsevolodovich Verbitsky (1926-1977) - since 1947, actor of the Moscow Art Theater; due to life's failures and the lack of roles, he committed suicide by poisoning himself with gas.
The films of 1965 and 1966 became national classics. director S.I. Rostotsky * "Hero of Our Time" ("Maxim Maksimych", "Taman") and "Bela". In both films, the actor V.S. starred in the role of Pechorin. Ivashov**.
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* Stanislav Iosifovich Rostotsky (1922-2001) - a famous Soviet film director; People's Artist of the USSR (1974); author of the films “It was in Penkovo”, “We'll live until Monday”, “The dawns here are quiet ...”, “White Bim Black Ear” and others.
** Ivashov Vladimir Sergeevich (1939-1995) - world-famous Soviet film actor; his starring role is Alyosha Skvortsov in the film by G.N. Chukhrai "Ballad of a Soldier".
A classic of the world theater direction A.V. Efros* filmed several TV shows, incl. in 1974, Pechorin's Journal Pages (Princess Mary) appeared on the screens. O.I. acted as Pechorin. Dal**.
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* Anatoly Vasilievich Efros (real name Natan Isaevich Efros) (1925-1987).
** Oleg Ivanovich Dal (1941-1981) - Soviet theater and film actor. He starred in so many outstanding domestic films that it is not possible and necessary to list them here. Dal was Efros's favorite actor in the theater on Malaya Bronnaya.
The TV series "A Hero of Our Time" (6 episodes) was the first attempt at a full film adaptation of the novel. It was filmed in 2006 by director A.K. Kott*. The screen adaptation is successful, it can only be welcomed. The performer of the role of Pechorin is the actor I.P. Petrenko**.
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* Alexander Konstantinovich Kott (b. 1973) - Russian film director, creator of the eight-episode television series Convoy PQ-17.
** Igor Petrovich Petrenko (b. 1977) is a popular actor in Russian cinema.
In 2011 director R.B. Khrushch undertook to fantasize about Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin, who was dying in distant Persia, and made the film Pechorin. The leitmotif of the film was the memories of the protagonist - fragments of the novel. The title role was played by actor St.V. Ryadinsky.
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* Roman Borisovich Khrushch (b. 1960) - domestic film director; shoots a little, his most famous film is Pechorin.
** Stanislav Veniaminovich Ryadinsky (b. 1981) - actor of the theater. Lenin Komsomol; now quite a sought-after actor of domestic cinema.
"A Hero of Our Time" is read in one breath. The life of an officer of the tsarist army, Grigory Pechorin, captivates with events seasoned with the mental anguish of the character. The author created the image of an "extra person" in society who does not know in which direction to direct energy and vitality.
History of creation
The unusualness of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" lies in the fact that he opened the list of psychological works in Russian literature. Mikhail Lermontov spent three years on the work - the story of a representative of a new generation was born from 1838 to 1940.
The idea arose from the writer in the Caucasian exile. The time of the Nikolaev reaction reigned, when, after the suppressed Decembrist uprising, intelligent youth were lost in search of the meaning of life, purpose, ways to use their abilities for the benefit of the Fatherland. Hence the title of the novel. Plus, Lermontov was an officer in the Russian army, walked the military paths of the Caucasus and managed to get to know the life and customs of the local population. The restless character of Grigory Pechorin was revealed far from his homeland, surrounded by Chechens, Ossetians and Circassians.
The work was sent to the reader in the form of separate chapters in the journal Domestic Notes. Seeing the popularity of his literary work, Mikhail Yuryevich decided to combine the parts into a whole novel, which was published in two volumes in 1840.
Five stories with their own titles make up a composition where the chronological order is violated. First, Pechorin is presented to readers by an officer of the tsarist army, a close friend and boss Maxim Maksimych, and only then does it become possible to “personally” get acquainted with the emotional experiences of the protagonist through his diaries.
According to writers, when creating the image of the character, Lermontov relied on the famous hero of his idol -. The great poet borrowed his surname from the calm Onega River, and Mikhail Yuryevich named the hero in honor of the stormy mountain Pechora. And in general, it is believed that Pechorin is an “extended” version of Onegin. In the search for prototypes, writers also stumbled upon a typo in Lermontov's manuscript - in one place the author mistakenly named his character Eugene.
Biography and plot
Grigory Pechorin was born and raised in St. Petersburg. In his youth, he quickly abandoned the tedious study of the sciences and hit the secular life with revels and women. However, this quickly got boring. Then the hero decided to pay his debt to the Fatherland by going to serve in the army. For participating in a duel, a young man was punished with a real service, sent to the Caucasus to the active troops - this is the starting point of the narrative of the work.
In the first chapter, entitled "Bela", Maxim Maksimych tells an unknown listener a story that happened to Pechorin and revealed the nature of an egoist in him. The young officer even managed to get bored in the war - he was used to the whistle of bullets, and the remote village in the mountains made me sad. With the help of the Circassian prince, the greedy and unbalanced Azamat, he stole first the horse, and then the daughter of the local prince Bela. Feelings for the young lady quickly cooled down, giving way to indifference. The thoughtless actions of the Russian officer led to a series of dramatic events, including the murder of a girl and her father.
The chapter "Taman" takes the reader to the pre-army events, when Pechorin meets with a group of smugglers, mistaking its members for people acting in the name of something great and valuable. But the hero was disappointed. In addition, Grigory comes to the conclusion that he brings only misfortunes to the environment, and goes to Pyatigorsk to the healing waters.
Here Pechorin intersects with his past lover Vera, who still has tender feelings for him, a friend of the Junker Grushnitsky and Princess Mary Ligovskaya. A quiet life did not work out again: Grigory won the heart of the princess, but refused the girl, and then, because of a quarrel, fought in a duel with Grushnitsky. For the murder of a cadet, the young man again ended up in exile, but now he is being put to serve in the fortress, where he met Maxim Maksimych.
In the last chapter of the novel The Fatalist, Lermontov placed the hero in a Cossack village, where, while playing cards, a conversation is started between the participants about fate and predestination. Men are divided into two camps - some believe in the predestination of life events, others deny this theory. In a dispute with Lieutenant Vulich, Pechorin said that he saw the imprint of imminent death on the opponent's face. He tried with the help of "Russian roulette" to prove his invulnerability, and indeed - the gun misfired. However, on the same evening, Vulich died at the hands of a drunken Cossack.
Image
The hero of his time is not able to find a scope for the boundless young energy. Forces are wasted on insignificant trifles and heartfelt dramas, society does not benefit from either one or the other. The tragedy of a person who is doomed to inertia and loneliness is the ideological core of Lermontov's novel. The author explains:
"... exactly a portrait, but not of one person: it is a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation, in their full development."
Gregory has existed since his youth “for the sake of curiosity” and admits: “For a long time I have been living not with my heart, but with my head.” "Cold mind" pushes the character to do things that only make everyone feel bad. He interferes in the affairs of smugglers, plays with the feelings of Bela and Vera, takes revenge. All this brings continuous disappointment and spiritual devastation. He despises high society, in which he was born and raised, but it is his idol that becomes after winning a duel over Grushevsky. And this turn of events depresses Gregory even more.
The characteristic of Pechorin's appearance conveys his inner qualities. Mikhail Yurievich painted an aristocrat with pale skin and thin fingers. When walking, the hero does not swing his arms, which speaks of a closed nature, and while laughing, his eyes are devoid of a cheerful spark - by this the author tried to convey a character prone to analysis and drama. Moreover, even the age of Grigory Alexandrovich is not clear: he looks 26, but in fact the hero celebrated his 30th birthday.
Screen adaptations
The star of "A Hero of Our Time" ignited in cinema in 1927 - director Vladimir Barsky shot a trilogy of black-and-white silent films, where actor Nikolai Prozorovsky played the role of Pechorin.
Once again, the work of Lermontov was recalled in 1955: Isidor Annensky presented the audience with the film "Princess Mary", in which Anatoly Verbitsky got used to the image of a restless young man.
After 10 years, he appeared in the image of Pechorin. All these pictures did not receive recognition from critics, who felt that the directors did not sufficiently reveal the character of Lermontov's character.
And the following adaptations turned out to be successful. This is a 1975 teleplay of the year "Pechorin's Magazine Page" (starring) and the 2006 series of the release "Hero of Our Time" ().
Grigory Pechorin also appears in Lermontov's unfinished novel "Princess Ligovskaya", but here the hero is not a Petersburger, but a Muscovite.
The script for the series, which was released on television in 2006, was written by Irakli Kvirikadze. The work is close to the textbook source, but the main difference is that the chronology of actions is observed. That is, the chapters are rearranged. The picture begins with the events described by the classic of literature in the part "Taman", followed by the chapter "Princess Mary".
Quotes
“Of two friends, one is always the slave of the other, although often neither of them admits this to himself. I'm stupidly created: I don't forget anything - nothing!
"Women love only those they don't know."
“What began in an extraordinary way must end in the same way.”
"We must do justice to women: they have an instinct for spiritual beauty."
“To be the cause of suffering and joy for someone, without having any positive right to do so, is this not the sweetest food of our pride? And what is happiness? Intense pride."
“This has been my fate since childhood. Everyone read on my face signs of bad feelings, which were not there; but they were supposed - and they were born. I was modest - I was accused of slyness: I became secretive. I deeply felt good and evil; no one caressed me, everyone insulted me: I became vindictive; I was gloomy - other children are cheerful and talkative; I felt myself superior to them - I was placed below. I became envious. I was ready to love the whole world - no one understood me: and I learned to hate. My colorless youth flowed in the struggle with myself and the light.
"My love brought happiness to no one, because I did not sacrifice anything for those whom I loved."
“Tomorrow she will want to reward me. I already know all this by heart - that's what's boring!
Grigory Pechorin is the main character of the novel. A unique personality that no one has been able to fully understand. Such heroes are found in every time. Any reader will be able to recognize himself in him with all the vices inherent in people and the desire to change the world.
The image and characterization of Pechorin in the novel "A Hero of Our Time" will help to understand what kind of person he really is. How the long-term influence of the outside world could leave an imprint on the depth of character, turning the complex inner world of the protagonist upside down.
Pechorin's appearance
Looking at a young, handsome man, it is difficult to determine how old he really is. According to the author, no more than 25, but sometimes it seemed that Grigory was already over 30. Women liked him.
“... he was generally very good-looking and had one of those original physiognomies that secular women especially like ...”
Slim. Superbly complex. Athletic physique.
"... of medium height, his slender, thin frame and broad shoulders proved a strong build ...".
Blond. Her hair curled slightly. Dark mustache, eyebrows. When meeting with him, everyone paid attention to his eyes. When Pechorin smiled, his brown eyes remained cold.
“…they didn’t laugh when he laughed…”
Rarely, who could endure his look, he was too heavy and unpleasant for the interlocutor.
The nose is slightly upturned. White teeth.
"... a slightly upturned nose, teeth of dazzling whiteness ..."
The first wrinkles have already appeared on the forehead. Pechorin's gait is imposing, slightly lazy, careless. Hands, despite a strong figure, seemed small. The fingers are long, thin, characteristic of aristocrats.
Gregory dressed with a needle. Clothes are expensive, clean, well ironed. Nice perfume scent. Boots are polished to a shine.
The character of Gregory
The appearance of Gregory fully reflects the inner state of the soul. Everything he does is imbued with an exact sequence of steps, cold prudence, through which emotions and feelings sometimes try to break through. Fearless and reckless, somewhere weak and defenseless, like a child. It is all made up of continuous contradictions.
Gregory promised himself that he would never show his real face, forbidding him to show any feelings for anyone. He was disappointed in people. When he was real, without cunning and pretense, they could not understand the depth of his soul, blaming him for non-existent vices and making claims.
“... everyone read signs of bad feelings on my face that were not there; but they were supposed - and they were born. I was modest - I was accused of slyness: I became secretive. I deeply felt good and evil; no one caressed me, everyone insulted me: I became vindictive; I was gloomy - other children are cheerful and talkative; I felt myself superior to them - I was placed below. I became envious. I was ready to love the whole world - no one understood me: and I learned to hate ... "
Pechorin is constantly in search of himself. She rushes about, looking for the meaning of life, and does not find it. Wealthy and educated. A nobleman by birth, he is used to spinning in high society, but he does not like such a life. Gregory considered it empty and useless. A good connoisseur of female psychology. I could figure out each and understand from the first minutes of the conversation what it is. Exhausted and devastated by social life, he tried to delve into science, but soon realized that the power is not in knowledge, but in dexterity and luck.
Boredom consumed the man. Pechorin hoped that the melancholy would go away in the war, but he was mistaken. The Caucasian war brought another disappointment. Lack of demand in life led Pechorin to actions that defy explanation and logic.
Pechorin and love
Vera was the only woman he loved. For her, he was ready for anything, but they were not destined to be together. Vera is a married woman.
Those rare meetings that they could afford compromised them too much in the eyes of others. The woman was forced to leave the city. It was not possible to catch up with the beloved. He only drove his horse to death in an attempt to stop and return her.
Pechorin did not take other women seriously. They are a cure for boredom, nothing more. Pawns in a game where he made the rules. Boring and uninteresting creatures made him even more depressed.
Attitude towards death
Pechorin is firmly convinced that everything in life is predetermined. But that doesn't mean you have to sit and wait for death. We must go forward, and she herself will find the one she needs.
“…I like to doubt everything. I always go ahead when I don't know what's in store for me. Since there is nothing more terrible than death, and it can happen - and death cannot be bypassed! .. "
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov - a poet and prose writer - is often compared with Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Is this comparison accidental? Not at all, these two lights marked with their work the golden age of Russian poetry. Both of them were worried about the question: “Who are they: the heroes of our time?” A brief analysis, you see, will not be able to answer this conceptual question, which the classics tried to thoroughly understand.
Unfortunately, the life of these most talented people ended early from a bullet. Fate? Both of them were representatives of their time, divided into two parts: before and after. Moreover, as you know, critics compare Pushkin's Onegin and Lermontov's Pechorin, presenting readers with a comparative analysis of the characters. "A Hero of Our Time", however, was written after
The image of Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin
Analysis of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" clearly defines its main character, which forms the entire composition of the book. Mikhail Yuryevich portrayed in him an educated young nobleman of the post-Decembrist era - a person struck by unbelief - who does not carry good in himself, does not believe in anything, his eyes do not burn with happiness. Fate carries Pechorin, like water on an autumn leaf, along a disastrous trajectory. He stubbornly "chases ... for life", looking for her "everywhere". However, the noble concept of honor in him is rather associated with selfishness, but not with decency.
Pechorin would be happy to find faith by going to the Caucasus to fight. It has natural spiritual strength. Belinsky, characterizing this hero, writes that he is no longer young, but he has not yet acquired a mature attitude to life. He rushes from one adventure to another, painfully wanting to find an "inner core", but he does not succeed. Invariably, dramas take place around him, people die. And he rushes on like the Eternal Jew, Ahasuerus. If for Pushkin the key is the word "boredom", then for understanding the image of Lermontov's Pechorin the key is the word "suffering".
Composition of the novel
At first, the plot of the novel brings together the author, an officer sent to serve in the Caucasus, with a veteran who has passed and now quartermaster Maxim Maksimovich. Wise in life, scorched in battles, this man, worthy of all respect, is the first, according to Lermontov's plan, to begin an analysis of the heroes. The hero of our time is his friend. The author of the novel (on whose behalf the narration is being conducted) Maxim Maksimovich tells about the "glorious little" twenty-five-year-old ensign Grigory Alekseevich Pechorin, a former colleague of the narrator. The narration of "Bela" follows first.
Pechorin, having resorted to the help of the brother of the mountain princess Azamat, steals this girl from her father. Then she bored him, experienced in women. With Azamat, he pays off with the hot horse of the horseman Kazbich, who, angry, kills the poor girl. The scam turns into a tragedy.
Maxim Maksimovich, remembering the past, became agitated and handed over to his interlocutor the travel diary left by Pechorin. The following chapters of the novel are separate episodes of Pechorin's life.
The short story "Taman" brings Pechorin with smugglers: a flexible, like a cat, girl, a pseudo-blind boy and a "smuggling getter" sailor Yanko. Lermontov presented here a romantic and artistically complete analysis of the characters. "A Hero of Our Time" introduces us to a simple smuggling business: Yanko crosses the sea with cargo, and the girl sells beads, brocade, ribbons. Fearing that Grigory will reveal them to the police, the girl first tries to drown him by throwing him off the boat. But when she fails, she and Yanko swim away. The boy is left to beg without a livelihood.
The next fragment of the diary is the story "Princess Mary". Bored Pechorin is being treated after being wounded in Pyatigorsk. Here he is friends with the Junker Grushnitsky, Dr. Werner. Bored, Grigory finds an object of sympathy - Princess Mary. She rests here with her mother - Princess Ligovskaya. But the unexpected happens - Pechorin's longtime sympathy, a married lady Vera, comes to Pyatigorsk, along with her aging husband. Vera and Gregory decide to meet on a date. They succeed in this, because, fortunately for them, the whole city is at the presentation of a visiting magician.
But the cadet Grushnitsky, wanting to compromise both Pechorin and Princess Mary, believing that it was she who would be on a date, follows the main character of the novel, enlisting the company of a dragoon officer. Having caught no one, the junker and the dragoons spread gossip. Pechorin "according to noble concepts" challenges Grushnitsky to a duel, where he kills him by shooting the second.
Lermontov's analysis acquaints us with pseudo-decency in the officer's milieu and frustrates Grushnitsky's dastardly plan. Initially, the pistol handed to Pechorin was unloaded. In addition, having chosen the condition - to shoot from six steps, the cadet was sure that he would shoot Grigory Alexandrovich. But excitement prevented him. By the way, Pechorin offered his opponent to save his life, but he began to demand a shot.
Verin's husband guesses what's the matter, and leaves Pyatigorsk with his wife. And Princess Ligovskaya blesses his marriage to Mary, but Pechorin does not even think about the wedding.
The action-packed short story "The Fatalist" brings Pechorin to Lieutenant Vulich in the company of other officers. He is confident in his luck and, for an argument, warmed up by a philosophical argument and wine, he plays “hussar roulette”. And the gun doesn't fire. However, Pechorin claims that he has already noticed the "sign of death" on the lieutenant's face. He really and senselessly dies, returning to wait.
Conclusion
Where did Pechorins come from in 19th century Russia? Where has the idealism of youth gone?
The answer is simple. The 30s marked an era of fear, an era of suppression of everything progressive by the III (political) gendarmerie police department. Born by the fear of Nicholas I of the possibility of a remake of the Decembrist uprising, it "reported on all matters", was engaged in censorship, perusal, and had the widest powers.
Hopes for the development of the political system of society became sedition. Dreamers began to be called "troublemakers." Active people aroused suspicion, meetings - repressions. It's time for denunciations and arrests. People began to be afraid to have friends, to trust them with their thoughts and dreams. They became individualists and painfully tried to gain faith in themselves in Pechorin's way.
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Man is always driven by the desire to know his destiny. Should you go with the flow or resist it? What position in society will be correct, should all actions comply with moral standards? These and similar questions often become the main ones for young people who actively comprehend the world and the human essence. Youthful maximalism requires clear answers to these problematic questions, but it is not always possible to give an answer.
M.Yu. tells us about such a seeker of answers. Lermontov in his novel A Hero of Our Time. It should be noted that with the writing of prose, Mikhail Yuryevich was always on "you" and the same position remained until the end of his life - all the novels he started in prose were never completed. Lermontov had the courage to bring the matter with the "Hero" to its logical conclusion. Perhaps that is why the composition, the manner of presentation of the material and the style of narration look, against the background of other novels, rather unusual.
"A Hero of Our Time" is a work imbued with the spirit of the era. The characterization of Pechorin, the central figure in Mikhail Lermontov's novel, makes it possible to better understand the atmosphere of the 1830s, the time when the work was written. "A Hero of Our Time" is not in vain recognized by critics as the most mature and philosophically large-scale novels by Mikhail Lermontov.
Of great importance for understanding the novel is the historical context. In the 1830s, Russian history was reactive. In 1825, the Decembrist uprising took place, and the following years contributed to the development of a mood of loss. The Nikolaev reaction unsettled many young people: young people did not know which vector of behavior and life to choose, how to make life meaningful.
This was the reason for the emergence of restless personalities, superfluous people.
Origin of Pechorin
Basically, in the novel, one hero is singled out, who is the central image in the story. It seems that this principle was rejected by Lermontov - based on the events told to the reader, the main character is Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin - a young man, an officer. However, the style of narration gives the right to doubt - the position in the text of Maxim Maksimovich is also quite weighty.
In fact, this is a delusion - Mikhail Yuryevich repeatedly emphasized that in his novel the main character is Pechorin, this corresponds to the main goal of the story - to talk about typical people of the generation, to point out their vices and mistakes.
Lermontov gives rather scarce information about childhood, upbringing conditions and the influence of parents on the process of forming Pechorin's positions and preferences. Several fragments of his past life open this veil - we learn that Grigory Alexandrovich was born in St. Petersburg. His parents, according to existing orders, tried to give their son a proper education, but young Pechorin did not feel a burden for the sciences, they “quickly got bored” with him and he decided to devote himself to military service. Perhaps such an act is not connected with the emerging interest in military affairs, but with the special disposition of society towards military people. The uniform made it possible to brighten up even the most unattractive deeds and character traits, because the military was loved already for what they are. In society, it was difficult to find representatives who did not have a military rank - military service was considered honorable and everyone wanted to “try on” honor and glory along with their uniform.
As it turned out, military affairs did not bring due satisfaction, and Pechorin quickly became disillusioned with her. Grigory Alexandrovich was sent to the Caucasus, as he was involved in a duel. The events that happened to a young man in this area form the basis of Lermontov's novel.
Characteristics of the actions and deeds of Pechorin
The reader gets his first impressions of the protagonist of Lermontov's novel by meeting Maxim Maksimych. The man served with Pechorin in the Caucasus, in the fortress. It was the story of a girl named Bela. Pechorin did badly with Bela: out of boredom, while having fun, the young man stole a Circassian girl. Bela is a beauty, at first cold with Pechorin. Gradually, the young man kindles a flame of love for him in Bela's heart, but as soon as the Circassian fell in love with Pechorin, he immediately lost interest in her.
Pechorin destroys the fate of other people, makes others suffer, but remains indifferent to the consequences of his actions. Bela and the girl's father die. Pechorin remembers the girl, regrets Bela, the past resonates in the hero’s soul with bitterness, but does not cause repentance in Pechorin. While Bela was alive, Gregory told his friend that he still loves the girl, feels gratitude for her, but boredom remains the same, and it is boredom that decides everything.
An attempt to find satisfaction, happiness pushes the young man to experiments that the hero puts on living people. Psychological games, meanwhile, turn out to be useless: the same emptiness remains in the soul of the hero. The same motives accompany the exposure of the "honest smugglers" by Pechorin: the hero's act does not bring good results, only leaving the blind boy and the old woman on the verge of survival.
The love of a wild Caucasian beauty or a noblewoman does not matter to Pechorin. The next time, for the experiment, the hero chooses an aristocrat - Princess Mary. The handsome Grigory plays with the girl, evoking love for him in Mary's soul, but then leaves the princess, breaking her heart.
The reader learns about the situation with Princess Mary and the smugglers from the diary that the main character started, wanting to understand himself. In the end, even the diary bothers Pechorin: any activity ends in boredom. Grigory Alexandrovich does not bring anything to the end, not enduring the suffering from the loss of interest in the subject of his former passion. Pechorin's notes accumulate in a suitcase, which falls into the hands of Maxim Maksimych. The man has a strange affection for Pechorin, perceiving the young man as a friend. Maxim Maksimych keeps Grigory's notebooks and diaries, hoping to give the suitcase to a friend. But the young man is indifferent to fame, fame, Pechorin does not want to publish notes, so the diaries turn out to be unnecessary waste paper. In this secular disinterest of Pechorin is the peculiarity and value of the hero Lermontov.
Pechorin has one important feature - sincerity towards himself. The actions of the hero arouse antipathy and even condemnation in the reader, but one thing needs to be recognized: Pechorin is open and honest, and the touch of vice comes from weakness of will and the inability to resist the influence of society.
Pechorin and Onegin
Already after the first publications of Lermontov's novel, both readers and literary critics began to compare Pechorin from Lermontov's novel and Onegin from Pushkin's work among themselves. Both characters are related by similar character traits, certain actions. As the researchers note, both Pechorin and Onegin were named according to the same principle. The names of the heroes are based on the name of the river - Onega and Pechora, respectively. But the symbolism does not end there.
The Pechora is a river in the northern part of Russia (the modern Komi Republic and the Nanets Autonomous Okrug), by its nature it is a typical mountain river. Onega - located in the modern Arkhangelsk region and more calm. The nature of the flow has a relationship with the characters of the heroes named after them. Pechorin's life is full of doubts and active searches for his place in society, he, like a seething stream, sweeps away everything without a trace in his path. Onegin is deprived of such a scale of destructive power, complexity and inability to realize himself cause in him a state of dull melancholy.
Byronism and the "Extra Man"
In order to holistically perceive the image of Pechorin, to understand his character, motives and actions, it is necessary to have knowledge about the Byronic and superfluous hero.
The first concept came to Russian literature from England. J. Baynov in his poem "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" created a unique image endowed with the desire to actively search for one's destiny, the characteristics of egocentrism, dissatisfaction and desire for change.
The second is a phenomenon that arose in Russian literature itself and denotes a person who was ahead of his time and therefore alien and incomprehensible to others. Or one who, based on his knowledge and understanding of worldly truths, is higher in the development of the others and, as a result, he is not accepted by society. Such characters become the cause of suffering for the female representatives who fell in love with them.
Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin is a classic representative of romanticism, who combined the concepts of Byronism and the superfluous person. Despondency, boredom and spleen are the product of such a combination.
Mikhail Lermontov considered the life history of an individual more interesting than the history of a people. Pechorin's "superfluous person" is made by circumstances. The hero is talented and intelligent, but the tragedy of Grigory Alexandrovich lies in the absence of a goal, in the inability to adapt himself, his talents to this world, in the general restlessness of the individual. In this, Pechorin's personality is an example of a typical decadent.
The forces of a young man are not spent in search of a goal, not in self-realization, but in adventure. Sometimes, literary critics compare the images of Pushkin's Eugene Onegin and Lermontov's Grigory Pechorin: Onegin is characterized by boredom, and Pechorin - suffering.
After the Decembrists were exiled, progressive trends and trends also succumbed to persecution. For Pechorin, a progressive-minded person, this meant the onset of a period of stagnation. Onegin has every opportunity to take the side of the people's cause, but refrains from doing so. Pechorin, having a desire to reform society, is deprived of such an opportunity. Grigory Alexandrovich ruins the wealth of spiritual forces for trifles: he hurts girls, Vera and Princess Mary suffer because of the hero, Bela dies ...
Pechorin was ruined by society and circumstances. The hero keeps a diary, where he notes that, as a child, he spoke only the truth, but adults did not believe in the boy's words.
Then Gregory became disillusioned with life and former ideals: the place of truth was replaced by lies. As a young man, Pechorin sincerely loved the world. Society laughed at him and this love - Grigory's kindness turned into malice.
The secular environment, literature quickly bored the hero. Hobbies were replaced by other passions. Only travel saves from boredom and disappointment. Mikhail Lermontov unfolds on the pages of the novel a whole evolution of the protagonist's personality: Pechorin's characteristic is revealed to the reader by all the central episodes of the formation of the hero's personality.
The character of Grigory Alexandrovich is accompanied by actions, behavior, decisions that more fully reveal the personality of the character. Pechorin is also evaluated by other heroes of Lermontov's novel, for example, Maxim Maksimych, who notices the inconsistency of Grigory. Pechorin is a strong, strong-bodied young man, but sometimes the hero is overcome by a strange physical weakness. Grigory Alexandrovich turned 30 years old, but the hero's face is full of childish features, and the hero looks no more than 23 years old. The hero laughs, but at the same time sadness is visible in Pechorin's eyes. Opinions about Pechorin, expressed by different characters in the novel, allow readers to look at the hero, respectively, from different positions.
The death of Pechorin expresses the idea of Mikhail Lermontov: a person who has not found a goal remains superfluous, unnecessary for the environment. Such a person cannot serve for the benefit of mankind, is of no value to society and the fatherland.
In "A Hero of Our Time", the writer described the entire generation of his contemporaries - young people who have lost the purpose and meaning of life. Just as the Hemingway generation is considered lost, so the Lermontov generation is considered lost, superfluous, restless. These young people are subject to boredom, which turns into a vice in the context of the development of their society.
Appearance and age of Pechorin
At the time the story begins, Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin is 25 years old. He looks very good, well-groomed, so in some moments it seems that he is much younger than he really is. There was nothing unusual about his height and build: average height, strong athletic build. He was a man with pleasant features. As the author notes, he had a "unique face", one that women are madly in love with. Light, naturally curly hair, a “slightly upturned” nose, snow-white teeth and a sweetly childish smile - all this favorably complements his appearance.
His brown eyes seemed to have a life of their own—they never laughed when their owner laughed. Lermontov names two reasons for this phenomenon - either we have a person of an evil disposition, or one who is in a state of deep depression. Which explanation (or both at once) is applicable to the hero Lermontov does not give a direct answer - the reader will have to analyze these facts for himself.
The expression on his face is also incapable of expressing any emotion. Pechorin does not restrain himself - he is simply deprived of the ability to empathize.
The heavy, unpleasant look finally lubricates this appearance.
As you can see, Grigory Alexandrovich looks like a porcelain doll - his sweet face with childlike features seems to be a frozen mask, and not the face of a real person.
Pechorin's clothes are always neat and clean - this is one of those principles that Grigory Alexandrovich follows impeccably - an aristocrat cannot be an untidy slob.
Being in the Caucasus, Pechorin easily leaves his usual outfit in the closet and puts on the national male attire of the Circassians. Many note that this clothing makes him look like a true Kabardian - sometimes people who belonged to this nationality do not look so impressive. Pechorin is more like a Kabardian than the Kabardians themselves. But even in these clothes he is a dandy - the length of the fur, the trim, the color and size of the clothes - everything is chosen with extraordinary care.
Characteristics of character traits
Pechorin is a classic representative of the aristocracy. He himself comes from a noble family, who received a decent upbringing and education (he knows French, dances well). All his life he lived in abundance, this fact allowed him to start his journey of searching for his destiny and such an occupation that would not let him get bored.
At first, the attention paid to them by women pleasantly flattered Grigory Alexandrovich, but soon he was able to study the behavioral patterns of all women and therefore communication with the ladies became boring and predictable for him. He is alien to the impulses of creating his own family, and as soon as it comes to hints about the wedding, his ardor for the girl instantly disappears.
Pechorin is not diligent - science and reading make him even more depressed than secular society. A rare exception in this regard is given to the works of Walter Scott.
When secular life became too painful for him, and travel, literary activity and science did not bring the desired result, Pechorin decides to start a military career. He, as is customary among the aristocracy, serves in the Petersburg guard. But even here he does not stay long - participation in a duel dramatically changes his life - for this offense he is exiled to serve in the Caucasus.
If Pechorin were the hero of a folk epic, then his constant epithet would be the word "strange". All the characters find in him something unusual, different from other people. This fact is not related to habits, mental or psychological development - it's just the ability to express one's emotions, to adhere to one and the same position - sometimes Grigory Aleksandrovich is very contradictory.
He likes to bring pain and suffering to others, he is aware of this and understands that such behavior does not paint not only him specifically, but also any person. And yet he does not try to restrain himself. Pechorin, compares himself with a vampire - the realization that someone will spend the night in mental anguish is incredibly flattering to him.
Pechorin is persistent and stubborn, this creates many problems for him, because of this he often finds himself in not the most pleasant situations, but here courage and determination come to his rescue.
Grigory Alexandrovich becomes the cause of the destruction of the life paths of many people. By his grace, a blind boy and an old woman remain abandoned to their fate (an episode with smugglers), Vulich, Bella and her father die, Pechorin's friend dies in a duel at the hands of Pechorin himself, Azamat becomes a criminal. This list can still be replenished with many names of people whom the main character insulted, became a reason for resentment and depression. Does Pechorin know and understand the full severity of the consequences of his actions? Quite, but this fact does not bother him - he does not value either his own life, or the fate of other people.
Thus, the image of Pechorin is contradictory and ambiguous. On the one hand, it is easy to find positive character traits in him, but on the other hand, callousness and selfishness confidently reduce all his positive achievements to “no” - Grigory Alexandrovich destroys his own fate and the fate of those around him with his recklessness. He is a destructive force that is difficult to resist.
Psychological portrait of Grigory Pechorin
Lermontov helps to present the character traits of the character by referring to the appearance and habits of the hero. For example, Pechorin is distinguished by a lazy and careless gait, but at the same time, the hero’s gestures do not indicate that Pechorin is a secretive person. The forehead of the young man was marred by wrinkles, and when Grigory Alexandrovich sat, it seemed that the hero was tired. When Pechorin's lips laughed, his eyes remained motionless, sad.
Pechorin's fatigue was manifested in the fact that the hero's passion did not linger for a long time on any object or person. Grigory Alexandrovich said that in life he is guided not by the dictates of the heart, but by the orders of the head. This is coldness, rationality, periodically interrupted by a short-term riot of feelings. Pechorin is characterized by a trait called fatality. The young man is not afraid to go to the wild boar, looking for adventure and risk, as if trying his luck.
The contradictions in Pechorin's characterization are manifested in the fact that, with the courage described above, the hero is frightened by the slightest crackling of window shutters or the sound of rain. Pechorin is a fatalist, but at the same time convinced of the importance of human willpower. There is a certain predestination in life, expressed at least in the fact that a person will not escape death, so why then are they afraid to die. In the end, Pechorin wants to help society, to be useful by saving people from a Cossack killer.
