"Eugene Onegin"(1823-1831) - a novel in verse by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, one of the most significant works of Russian literature.
History of creation
Pushkin worked on the novel for over seven years. The novel was, according to Pushkin, "the fruit of the mind of cold observations and the heart of sad remarks." Pushkin called work on it a feat - from all his creative heritage only "Boris Godunov" he characterized with the same word. Against the broad background of pictures of Russian life, the dramatic fate of the best people of the noble intelligentsia is shown.
Pushkin began work on Onegin in 1823, during his southern exile. The author abandoned romanticism as a leading creative method and began to write a realistic novel in verse, although the influence of romanticism is still noticeable in the first chapters. Initially, it was assumed that the novel in verse would consist of 9 chapters, but later Pushkin reworked its structure, leaving only 8 chapters. He excluded from the work the chapter "Onegin's Journey", which he included as an appendix. After that, the tenth chapter of the novel was written, which is an encrypted chronicle from the life of future Decembrists.
The novel was published in verse in separate chapters, and the release of each chapter became a big event in contemporary literature. In 1831 the novel in verse was finished and in 1833 it was published. It covers events from 1819 to 1825: from the foreign campaigns of the Russian army after the defeat of Napoleon to the Decembrist uprising. These were the years of the development of Russian society, during the reign of Tsar Alexander I. The plot of the novel is simple and well known. At the center of the novel is a love affair. A main problem is eternal problem feelings and duty. The novel "Eugene Onegin" reflected the events of the first quarter XIX century, that is, the time of creation, and the time of the novel approximately coincide. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin created a novel in verse like Byron's poem Don Juan. Having defined the novel as a “collection of motley chapters”, Pushkin emphasizes one of the features of this work: the novel is, as it were, “opened” in time, each chapter could be the last, but it can also have a continuation. And thus the reader draws attention to the independence of each chapter of the novel. The novel became an encyclopedia of Russian life in the 20s of the century before last, since the breadth of the novel shows readers the whole reality of Russian life, as well as the multi-plot and description different eras. This is what gave grounds to V. G. Belinsky in his article "Eugene Onegin" to conclude:
“Onegin can be called an encyclopedia of Russian life and in the highest degree folk art."
In the novel, as in the encyclopedia, you can learn everything about the era: about how they dressed, and what was in fashion, what people valued most, what they talked about, what interests they lived. "Eugene Onegin" reflected the whole of Russian life. Briefly, but quite clearly, the author showed the serf village, lordly Moscow, secular Petersburg. Pushkin truthfully portrayed the environment in which the main characters of his novel live - Tatyana Larina and Eugene Onegin. The author reproduced the atmosphere of the city noble salons, in which Onegin spent his youth.
Plot
The novel begins with a squeamish speech by the young nobleman Eugene Onegin, dedicated to the illness of his uncle, which forced him to leave St. Petersburg and go to the patient's bed in the hope of becoming the heir to the dying. The narrative itself is conducted on behalf of the nameless author, who introduced himself as a good friend of Onegin. Having marked the plot in this way, the author devotes the first chapter to the story of the origin, family, life of his hero before receiving news of the illness of a relative.
Eugene was born "on the banks of the Neva", that is, in St. Petersburg, in the family of a typical nobleman of his time -
“Having served excellently - nobly, His father lived with debts. Gave three balls annually And finally squandered. The son of such a father received a typical upbringing - first the governess Madame, then the French tutor, who did not bother his pupil with an abundance of sciences. Here Pushkin emphasizes that the upbringing of Yevgeny from childhood was carried out by strangers for him, besides foreigners.
Onegin's life in St. Petersburg was full of love affairs and secular amusements, but now he will be bored in the countryside. Upon arrival, it turns out that the uncle has died, and Eugene has become his heir. Onegin settles in the village, and soon the blues really take possession of him.
Onegin's neighbor turns out to be eighteen-year-old Vladimir Lensky, a romantic poet, who came from Germany. Lensky and Onegin converge. Lensky is in love with Olga Larina, the daughter of a landowner. Forever cheerful Olga her thoughtful sister Tatyana is not like her. Having met Onegin, Tatyana falls in love with him and writes him a letter. However, Onegin rejects her: he is not looking for a calm family life. Lensky and Onegin are invited to the Larins. Onegin is not happy about this invitation, but Lensky persuades him to go.
"[...] He pouted and, indignantly, swore to infuriate Lensky, And to take revenge in order." At a dinner at the Larins', Onegin, in order to make Lensky jealous, suddenly begins courting Olga. Lensky challenges him to a duel. The duel ends with the death of Lensky, and Onegin leaves the village.
Two years later, he appears in St. Petersburg and meets Tatyana. She is an important lady, the wife of a prince. Onegin burned with love for her, but this time he was already rejected, despite the fact that Tatyana also loves him, but wants to remain faithful to her husband.
Storylines
- Onegin and Tatyana:
- Acquaintance with Tatyana
- Conversation with the nanny
- Tatyana's letter to Onegin
- Explanation in the garden
- Dream of Tatyana. name day
- Visit to Onegin's house
- Departure for Moscow
- Meeting at a ball in St. Petersburg in 2 years
- Letter to Tatiana (explanation)
- Evening at Tatyana's
- Onegin and Lensky:
- Acquaintance in the village
- Conversation after the evening at the Larins
- Lensky's visit to Onegin
- Tatyana's name day
- Duel (Death of Lensky)
Characters
- Eugene Onegin- the prototype Pyotr Chaadaev, a friend of Pushkin, is named by Pushkin himself in the first chapter. Onegin's story is reminiscent of Chaadaev's life. An important influence on the image of Onegin had Lord Byron and his "Byron Heroes", Don Juan and Childe Harold, who are also mentioned more than once by Pushkin himself.
- Tatyana Larina- the prototype of Avdotya (Dunya) Norova, Chaadaev's girlfriend. Dunya herself is mentioned in the second chapter, and at the end of the last chapter, Pushkin expresses his grief over her untimely death. Due to the death of Dunya at the end of the novel, Anna Kern, Pushkin's lover, acts as the prototype of the princess, the matured and transformed Tatyana. She, Anna Kern, was the prototype of Anna Kerenina. Although Leo Tolstoy copied the appearance of Anna Karenina from eldest daughter Pushkin, Maria Hartung, but the name and history are very close to Anna Kern. So, through the story of Anna Kern, Tolstoy's novel "Anna Karenina" is a continuation of the novel "Eugene Onegin".
- Olga Larina, her sister is a generalized image of a typical heroine of a popular novel; beautiful in appearance, but devoid of deep content.
- Vladimir Lensky- Pushkin himself, or rather his idealized image.
- nanny Tatiana- probable prototype - Yakovleva Arina Rodionovna, Pushkin's nanny
- Zaretsky, duelist - among the prototypes they called Fyodor Tolstoy-American
- Tatyana Larina's husband, not named in the novel, "important general", General Kern, Anna Kern's husband.
- Author of the work- Pushkin himself. He constantly intervenes in the course of the story, reminds of himself, makes friends with Onegin, in his lyrical digressions shares with the reader his reflections on a variety of life issues, and expresses his ideological position.
The novel also mentions the father - Dmitry Larin - and the mother of Tatyana and Olga; "Princess Alina" - the Moscow cousin of Tatyana Larina's mother; uncle Onegin; a number of comical images of provincial landowners (Gvozdin, Flyanov, "Skotinins, a gray-haired couple", "fat Pustyakov", etc.); Petersburg and Moscow light.
The images of provincial landlords are mostly literary background. So, the image of the Skotinins refers to Fonvizin's comedy "Undergrowth", Buyanov is the hero of the poem "Dangerous Neighbor" (1810-1811) by V. L. Pushkin. “Among the guests, there were also “important Kirin”, “Lazorkina - a widow-vostrushka”, “fat Pustyakov” was replaced by “fat Tumakov”, Pustyakov was called “skinny”, Petushkov was a “retired clerk”.
Poetic Features
The novel is written in a special "Onegin stanza". Each such stanza consists of 14 lines of iambic tetrameter.
The first four lines rhyme crosswise, the lines from the fifth to the eighth - in pairs, the lines from the ninth to the twelfth are connected by a ring rhyme. The remaining 2 lines of the stanza rhyme with each other.
The lyrical-epic novel in verse "Eugene Onegin" is considered a masterpiece of Russian literature. According to Belinsky, this work is an "encyclopedia of Russian life" of that time, and it significantly influenced the growth of the self-awareness of Russian high society on the eve of the Decembrist uprising.
Everyone knows who wrote this novel - the great Russian poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. This article will describe the history of the creation of the novel "Eugene Onegin", summary by chapters, as well as the characteristics of the characters.
In contact with
History of creation
First of all, let's briefly describe the history of the creation of "Eugene Onegin". To write this work with Pushkin it took over seven years. He, in his own words, decided to go on a "feat" and, imitating Byron's "Don Juan", in the period 1823-1831. closely engaged in the creation of a novel in verse. Alexander Sergeevich decided to write realistic work, abandoning romanticism as a fundamental creative method.
Initially, Pushkin decided to create a novel of 9 chapters. Later, the chapter "Onegin's Journey" was excluded from the main text, excerpts from which were included in the main text as an appendix. The novel tells about the dramatic fate of the Russian nobles of that time.
And although the plot of "Eugene Onegin" is quite simple - here described love story - nevertheless, this work reflects the entire Russian reality of the first quarter of the 19th century. It concisely, but quite clearly, shows the manners, fashions and values of secular St. Petersburg, aristocratic Moscow and the serf village.
Important! To write a novel in verse Pushkin used a special "Onegin stanza", which includes 14 lines of iambic tetrameter. True, an exception was made for the letters of Larina and Evgeny.
At the beginning of the story, Pushkin addresses the reader with a brief description of his work.
Chapter first
In chapter 1, the reader meets a young nobleman, a resident of St. Petersburg, Eugene Onegin. His father was often in debt, loving to live in a big way, which later led to ruin.
However, the young man received a fairly tolerable education for a representative high society that time. In other words, Eugene acquired superficial knowledge in many subjects. He knew French and etiquette. Onegin was taught dancing and even a little Latin.
All this was more than enough for the young man to be a welcome guest at numerous balls and receptions.
Pushkin describes in detail one day of Eugene Onegin, letting the reader understand that all the days of the hero were exclusively of the same type. The young man woke up around noon, so that, having brought himself into perfect appearance, go for a walk along the boulevard. In the evenings, he visited theaters or luxurious salons, from where he returned already before dark.
The young man preferred exclusively short love affairs, for the most part with married ladies, whom, by the way, he quickly got fed up with. He became bored in society. Eugene sat down to write a novel, but he did not have enough zeal.
Important! It was the blues and boredom that turned the hero into a real cynic.
The young man was delighted with the new environment, but the rural life soon bored him as well, and the hero again plunged into the blues.
Chapter Two
Evgeny, of course, considers his landowner neighbors boring, and therefore shuns their society. This is not surprising, because the newly-made heir was known as a considerable eccentric - he replaced the corvee with dues.
To have some fun Onegin became friends with Lensky. Who is Lensky? - This is a young romantic eighteen-year-old gentleman who has just returned to his estate. What was Lensky's name in the novel? - Pushkin called him a beautiful Russian name Vladimir.
Eugene Onegin and Vladimir Lensky "became inseparable", despite their completely different worldviews. "A fan of Kant" read his verses to the newly minted comrade, and tried to talk with him in philosophical themes. Onegin listened to Lensky, but refrained from criticism, believing that life itself would do it for him later.
Vladimir was in love with his neighbor Olga Dmitrievna Larina, a sweet and cheerful girl who lived with her mother Polina and sister Tatyana. Unlike sister, Tatyana was thoughtful and thoughtful. She loved to read a lot, help the poor and pray. Larins were distinguished by hospitality. In this family, it was customary to adhere to Russian customs and traditions in everything.
Chapter Three
Vladimir told his comrade about the Larins every day, so that Yevgeny, in the end, himself wished to make acquaintance with them. Arriving at the bride of Lensky, Onegin was surprised that his friend chose Olga, and not a different spiritual qualities Tatyana.
There was a rumor among the neighbors that Yevgeny had views of Tatyana. Larina was delighted, because she herself was fascinated by Onegin. The girl became even sadder and more thoughtful. She imagined her chosen one as the hero of the novels she read, dreaming about him alone with nature. In the end, the love longing of the young princess resulted in a letter addressed to her lover. After three days Onegin came to the Larins for an explanation with Tatyana.
This is interesting: Pushkin's poem: a summary
Chapter Four
Onegin and Tatyana meet in the garden. Eugene opened his soul to the girl: He explained that he was a man who was disappointed in love, who did not consider marriage to be the standard of human happiness, and therefore, not created "for bliss."
But out of respect for the purity and innocence of a young lady who dared to explain in a letter, he will always have brotherly feelings for her.
In the following days Tatyana experienced deep stress. Vladimir was almost constantly in Olga's company. Onegin, on the other hand, spent time in solitude. One winter, Lensky visits him and invites Tatyana to a name day.
Chapter Five
One evening at Christmas time, Tatyana Larina, who loved to guess, put a mirror under her pillow before going to bed. This night The girl saw a strange vision. She is helped to cross the river with a shaky bridge by a bear. Larina tries to run away from the "shaggy man", but he overtakes him and takes him to some kind of hut, where the monsters were feasting.
Onegin led this feast. Seeing the girl come in, the young man drives out the monsters. But to replace them in the hut are Olga and Vladimir. Eugene swears with the guests who have arrived. The dream ends with the owner of the hut inflicting a mortal wound on Lensky with a knife. The next few days, Larina walked under the impression of sleep.
Here comes the name day. Many guests came to the Larins. It was noisy. Everyone had fun. Onegin was angry with Lensky that he brought him to such a noisy feast. He became in revenge defiantly look after Olga, the latter, while not showing any displeasure. Frustrated, Vladimir leaves the party in a hurry with the thought of a duel.
Chapter Six
After Vladimir left, Olga and Yevgeny got bored. Late in the evening, Eugene went home. And in the morning, Lensky's comrade Zaretsky visited him as a second in the upcoming duel. Onegin reluctantly accepted the challenge, realizing that retreating is like tarnishing your honor.
The next day, before dawn, the heroes of the duel met at the mill to shoot with pistols. This duel turned out to be fatal for Vladimir, since a bullet fired at random by Yevgeny became fatal. Lensky was buried by the stream, erected a small monument to him.
Chapter Seven
In speed, Olga is fascinated by the lancer. After the wedding, the newlyweds go to the regiment. Many suitors woo Tatyana, but everyone is refused. The elder princess Larina often visits Onegin's house, namely, the library.
According to the books of her lover, the girl is trying to understand: who is Eugene, what are his ideals and life principles. The heroine discovers the truth about the "parody" of her chosen one.
Wishing to arrange the happiness of her daughter, the princess Polina is taking Tatyana to Moscow, where at the “bride fair” she meets the “fat general”.
Chapter Eight
Several years pass. After long and, of course, boring travels, already 26-year-old Eugene Onegin, again begins to rotate in high society St. Petersburg.
At one of the receptions, our hero meets his distant relative Prince N. and is surprised to find that he has long been married to Tatyana Larina. Often coming to visit N., Eugene notices that Tatyana has turned from an innocent girl into a "careless legislator of the hall." She behaved under Onegin exclusively tactfully, without any hint of past feelings. Eugene fell in love with Tatyana, but she did not respond to his attentions. He wrote to her a lot, but the princess did not answer.
Tormented almost all winter by the "cruel blues", Onegin goes to N. without an invitation. He managed to find a young woman at home alone. The hero throws himself at her feet, but Tatyana orders him to get up. The princess does not believe Yevgeny.
She believes that he wants to take advantage of her moral decline in order to earn "seductive honor" for himself in the world. After all, now that she got married, began to rotate in high society, and even appear at court, everyone would notice her “shame”.
Tatyana's words were like thunder for Eugene. He had to leave his beloved so didn't say anything.
Characteristics of heroes
Distinctive feature this novel is that all of his characters, whether major or minor, have clear, concise characteristics.
Eugene Onegin
Main character - offspring of ruined nobles with a controversial character, which is adjusted in the course of the novel. Eugene received a "superficial" "French" education. He spent more than seven years moving in high society. What did this give Onegin:
- the hero is disappointed in love;
- became passive, cynical, bilious towards everything;
- in the end, he just got depressed and bored from the monotony.
But ... In the village, on the estate of the late unloved uncle, after a couple of reforms regarding the way of life of the landowner, he also became bored. Subsequent travels also did not bring positive emotions to the young nobleman.
Attention! Belinsky writes that the hero was strangled by the "vulgarity of life."
Onegin had no idea what he would like. He did not even try to figure it out in order to improve his life. But Eugene firmly understood that he did not want what constitutes the subject of happiness "arrogant mediocrity."
Returning to the capital, after wandering and meeting Tatyana again, the young nobleman might have won happiness in love, but the refusal of the princess plunged Onegin into an even greater depression.
Illustration for the novel "Eugene Onegin"
Tatyana Larina
17-year-old provincial noblewoman Tatyana Larina was distinguished by many positive qualities:
- sincerity and immediacy of judgments;
- constancy of beliefs;
- love for all household members, including the nanny;
- elevation;
- sentimentality.
The very name of the heroine speaks of an exceptional commitment to everything Russian, pure, bright - she loved Russian nature, church holidays, steadily observed many folk traditions.
Larina's thoughtfulness and taciturnity was explained by the presence of a deep inner world of the princess, as well as the considerable influence of Richardson, Rousseau and other authors of numerous sentimental novels.
All this subsequently affected her feelings. to Onegin, helped to subsequently reveal the "parody", and to remain an honest woman after marriage.
Tatyana Larina
Vladimir Lensky
A young provincial landowner who had just returned from Germany Vladimir Lensky is distinguished by the following features:
- newfangled German romanticism;
- freethinking;
- craving for philosophizing;
- poetry;
- idealization of others.
The last quality was the cause of all the troubles Lensky. The idealization of beloved Olga led to betrayal. The idealization of comrade Yevgeny became the cause of Vladimir's death.
Here is a brief description of the hero.
Olga Larina
Tatiana's younger sister was an ordinary frivolous country girl, which was burdened by the role of the Muse "an admirer of Kant and a poet." After the death of a fan, she almost immediately completely consoled herself in the company of a lancer.
Love Theme
The love story of the main characters in this work is very sad.
In the first part of the novel, we see how an innocent 17-year-old girl Tatyana Larina, who knows about love only through sentimental novels, folk dowry, and even the stories of the nurse, pours out his feelings in a letter to the hardened ladies' man Eugene Onegin, who was finally tired of his adventures. Honor must be commended young man, who not only did not discredit the first writer, but also honestly warned about the likely and very unfortunate consequences of their tandem.
Onegin respected Larina's naturalness, but treated her exclusively in a brotherly way. After the duel and the departure of her lover, Tatyana, through notes in books, reveals the true face of the sweetheart. Larina marries the "fat general" without hesitation.
A few years later, the reader no longer sees a village simpleton, but a refined and impeccable high-society lady, whom Onegin, who returned to the capital, hopelessly fell in love with. He wrote to her, she did not answer.
The reader is provided detailed description the suffering of a belated lover. At last dateTatyana intelligibly and harshly explains to Evgeny that will not part with either her spouse or her own honor, in spite of any temptations.
Friendship Theme
Onegin and Lensky, probably, simply could not help becoming friends, since in the nearby villages only the two of them were familiar with the secular customs that young people preferred to adhere to while living here. However, this friendship had an exclusively external, ostentatious character.
Disillusioned with people and life in general, Evgeny did not touch the odes and philosophizing on the subject of his beautiful comrade. Onegin did not understand why Lensky fell in love with Olga so much, and did not prefer Tatyana, who was close in spirit to her.
Vladimir, on the other hand, was saddened by Yevgeny's gloom, his composure and misanthropy. This is how Onegin and Lensky communicated, friendship through boredom and misunderstanding.
Eugene Onegin - summary
Conclusion
Numerous critics of "Eugene Onegin" recognize this work as a masterpiece of Russian literature, since in terms of the drama of the plot, the depth and brevity of the characteristics of the characters, and the peculiarities of writing, little can be compared with this novel. Therefore, the material briefly presented here will not be enough for a complete understanding of the work. The whole depth of Pushkin's ideas, the reader can fully comprehend by reading it great romance in verse "Eugene Onegin".
The history of the creation of "Eugene Onegin" - "the fruit of the mind of cold observations and the heart of sad remarks" - by the outstanding Russian classic Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin does not resemble a blitzkrieg. The work was created by the poet in an evolutionary way, marking his formation on the path of realism. The novel in verse as an event in art was a unique phenomenon. Prior to that, in world literature, only one analogue was written in the same genre - romantic work George Gordon Byron's Don Juan.
The author decides to brainstorm
Pushkin went further than the great Englishman - to realism. This time, the poet set himself the most important task - to show a person who can serve as a catalyst further development Russia. Alexander Sergeevich, sharing the ideas of the Decembrists, understood that huge country should be moved, like a locomotive, from a dead end path that led the whole society to a systemic crisis.
The history of the creation of "Eugene Onegin" is determined by the titanic poetic work in the period from May 1823 to September 1830, the creative rethinking of Russian reality in the first quarter of the 19th century. The novel in verse was created during four stages of Alexander Sergeevich's work: southern exile (1820 - 1824), stay "without the right to arbitrarily leave the Mikhailovskoye estate" (1824 - 1826), the period after exile (1826 - 1830), Boldinskaya autumn (1830)
A.S. Pushkin, "Eugene Onegin": the history of creation
Young Pushkin, a graduate in the words of Emperor Alexander I, “who flooded Russia with the most outrageous verses,” began writing his novel while in exile in Chisinau (thanks to the intercession of friends, transfer to Siberia was avoided). By this time he was already the idol of Russian educated youth.
The poet sought to create the image of a hero of his time. In the work, he painfully searched for an answer to the question of what should be the bearer of new ideas, the creator of the new Russia.
Socio-economic situation in the country
Consider public environment in which the novel was created. Russia won the War of 1812. This gave a tangible impetus to public aspirations for liberation from feudal fetters. First of all, the people thirsted for. Such his release inevitably entailed the restriction of the powers of the monarch. The communities of guards officers that formed immediately after the war in 1816 in St. Petersburg form the Decembrist Union of Salvation. In 1818, the "Union of Welfare" was organized in Moscow. These Decembrist organizations actively contributed to the formation of the liberal public opinion and waited for an opportune moment for a coup d'état. There were many friends of Pushkin among the Decembrists. He shared their views.
Russia by that time had already become a recognized European power with a population of about 40 million people, within it the sprouts of state capitalism were ripening. However, her economic life still determined the rudiments of feudalism, the nobility and the merchant class. These social groups, gradually losing social weight, were still powerful and enjoyed influence on the life of the state, prolonging feudal relations in the country. They were champions of a society built according to the outdated Catherine's noble principles inherent in Russia XVIII century.
There were characteristics social and whole society. Many people lived in the country educated people who understand that the interests of development require big changes and reforms. The history of the creation of "Eugene Onegin" began with the poet's personal rejection of the environment, in the words of Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky, the "dark kingdom"
Rising after a powerful acceleration, set and dynamism during the reign of Empress Catherine II, Russia at the beginning of the 19th century slowed down the pace of development. At the time of writing by Pushkin famous novel has not yet been in the country railways, even steamboats did not sail along its rivers, thousands and thousands of its hardworking and talented citizens were bound hand and foot by the bonds of serfdom.
The history of "Eugene Onegin" is inextricably linked with the history of Russia early XIX century.
Onegin stanza
Alexander Sergeevich, “Russian Mozart from poetry”, treated his work with special attention. He developed a new line of poetry specifically for writing a novel in verse.
The words of the poet do not flow in a free stream, but in a structured way. Every fourteen lines are combined into a specific Onegin stanza. At the same time, rhyming is unchanged throughout the novel and has next view: CCddEffEgg (where capital letters denote feminine endings, lowercase denote masculine endings).
Undoubtedly, the history of the creation of the novel "Eugene Onegin" is the history of the creation of the Onegin stanza. It is with the help of varying stanzas that the author succeeds in creating an analogue of prose sections and chapters in his work: moving from one topic to another, changing the style of presentation from reflection to the dynamic development of the plot. Thus, the author creates the impression of a casual conversation with his reader.
Roman - "collection of motley chapters"
What makes people write works about their generation and about their native land? Why, at the same time, do they devote themselves to this work completely, working as if they were possessed?
The history of the creation of the novel "Eugene Onegin" initially obeyed the author's intention: to create a novel in verse, consisting of 9 separate chapters. Experts on the work of Alexander Sergeevich call it "open in time" due to the fact that each of its chapters is independent, and can, in its own way, internal logic complete the work, although it finds its continuation in the next chapter. His contemporary, Professor of Russian Literature Nikolai Ivanovich Nadezhdin, gave classic description"Eugene Onegin" is not as a work with a rigid logical structure, but rather as a kind of poetic notebook filled with direct iridescent overflows of bright talent.
About the chapters of the novel
The chapters of "Eugene Onegin" were published from 1825 to 1832. as they were written and published in literary almanacs and magazines. They were expected, each of them became a real event in cultural life Russia.
However, one of them, dedicated to the journey of the protagonist to the area of the Odessa pier, containing critical judgments, the disgraced author preferred to withdraw in order to avoid reprisals against himself, and then destroyed its only manuscript.
In the same way, fully devoting himself to work, Boris Leonidovich Pasternak later worked on his Doctor Zhivago, Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov also wrote about his generation. Pushkin himself called his more than seven years of work on this novel in verse a feat.
Main character
The description of Eugene Onegin, according to literary critics, resembles the personality of Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadaev, the author of the Philosophical Letters. This is a character with powerful energy, around which the plot of the novel unfolds and other characters manifest themselves. Pushkin wrote about him as a "good friend." Eugene received a classical noble education, completely devoid of "Russianness". And although a sharp but cold mind burns in him, he is a man of light, following certain opinions and prejudices. The life of Eugene Onegin is poor. On the one hand, the morals of the world are alien to him, he sharply criticizes them; and on the other hand, he is subject to its influence. The hero cannot be called active; rather, he is an intelligent observer.
Features of the image of Onegin
His image is tragic. First, he failed the test of love. Eugene listened to reason, but not to his heart. At the same time, he acted nobly, respectfully treating Tatiana, letting her know that he was not able to love.
Second, he failed the test of friendship. Having challenged his friend, the 18-year-old romantic youth Lensky, to a duel, he blindly follows the concepts of light. It seems to him more decent not to provoke the slander of the old note duelist Zaretsky than to stop a completely stupid quarrel with Vladimir. By the way, Pushkin scientists consider the young Kuchelbecker to be the prototype of Lensky.
Tatyana Larina
The use of the name Tatyana in the novel Eugene Onegin was a know-how from Pushkin. Indeed, at the beginning of the 19th century, this name was considered common and irrelevant. Moreover, dark-haired and not ruddy, thoughtful, uncommunicative, she did not correspond to the ideals of the beauty of the world. Tatyana (like the author of the novel) loved folk tales, which her nanny generously told her. However, her particular passion was reading books.
Heroes of the novel
In addition to the aforementioned plot-forming main characters, secondary ones pass before the reader. These images of the novel "Eugene Onegin" do not form the plot, but complement it. This is Tatyana's sister Olga, an empty secular young lady with whom Vladimir Lensky was in love. The image of the nanny Tatyana, a connoisseur folk tales, has a clear prototype - the nanny of Alexander Sergeevich himself, Arina Rodionovna. Another nameless hero of the novel is Tatyana Larina's newfound husband after a quarrel with Eugene Onegin - an "important general".
The host of landowners seems to be imported into Pushkin's novel from other Russians. classical works. These are the Skotinins (“Undergrowth” by Fonvizin), and Buyanov (“Dangerous Neighbor” by V. L. Pushkin).
Folk work
The highest praise for Alexander Sergeevich was the assessment given to the first chapter of "Eugene Onegin" by the man whom the poet considered his teacher - Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky. The opinion was extremely laconic: “You are the first in Russian Parnassus ...”
The novel in verse encyclopedically correctly reflected the Russian reality of the beginning of the 19th century, showed the way of life, character traits, social role various strata of society: the Petersburg high society, the nobility of Moscow, landowners, peasants. Perhaps this is why, and also because of the all-encompassing and subtle display by Pushkin in his work of the values, customs, views, fashion of that time literary critic gave him such an exhaustive description: "a work of the highest degree folk" and "an encyclopedia of Russian life."
Pushkin wanted to change the plot
The final idea of the work was formed by the author only in 1830. He was clumsy and worn out. In order to give a traditional solid look to his creation, Alexander Sergeevich decided to either send Eugene Onegin to fight in the Caucasus, or turn him into a Decembrist. But Eugene Onegin - the hero of the novel in verse - was created by Pushkin on one inspiration, as "a collection colorful chapters', and that's the beauty of it.
Conclusion
The work "Eugene Onegin" is the first in Russian history realistic novel in verse. It is emblematic of the 19th century. The novel was recognized by society as deeply folk. The encyclopedic description of Russian life is side by side with high artistry.
However, according to critics, the main character of this novel is not Onegin at all, but the author of the work. This character has no definite form. It's peculiar White spot for the reader.
Alexander Sergeevich, in the text of the work, hints at his exile, saying that the North is "harmful" to him, etc. Pushkin is invisibly present in all actions, summarizes, makes the reader laugh, enlivens the plot. His quotes hit not in the eyebrow, but in the eye.
By the will of fate, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin reviewed the second complete edition of his novel in verse in 1937 (the first was in 1833), being already mortally wounded on the Black River near the Komendantskaya dacha. A circulation of 5,000 copies was planned to be sold throughout the year. However, readers bought it out in a week. In the future, the classics of Russian literature, each for its time, continued the creative search for Alexander Sergeevich. They all tried to create a hero of their time. And Mikhail Lermontov in the image of Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin ("A Hero of Our Time"), and Ivan Goncharov in the image of Ilya Oblomov ...
"Eugene Onegin" rightfully stands apart among the works of Russian literature of the 19th century. This is one of the most harmonious in composition and rich in content of Pushkin's works. Alexander Sergeevich devote more than 8 years to his offspring: having started work on a novel in verse in the spring of 1823, he completed the work only by the autumn of 1831. This was the most painstaking and lengthy work on a work in his life.
He then quit work on "Eugene Onegin", then again proceeded to it. Conventionally, the work on the novel can be divided into four stages, during which many events happened in Pushkin's life: the southern exile, the Boldin autumn, and a series of stormy novels. All chapters were published gradually, as they were written, one after another. The last author's version saw the light in 1837. According to the description, the actions in the novel cover a period of time for 6 years. In the process of narration, the characters grow up, go through some life path and turn from dreamy boys and girls into mature, accomplished personalities.
Thanks to the expression of the emotions of the characters through the poetic form, the novel gets more lyricism and expressiveness, thus, the reader becomes understandable and accessible to the whole palette of feelings that the author laid in the foundation. In addition, Pushkin introduces himself into the novel as one of the heroes of the story, he keeps Tatyana's letter and meets with Onegin in St. Petersburg. The novel has many digressions, where Pushkin shares his thoughts and experiences with the reader, as if alienating himself from the course and the main line of the story.
Analysis of the work
The main plot of the work
The plot is based love line: young Tatyana Larina falls in love with the bright extraordinary personality of Eugene Onegin. Still quite young, he is already tired of the noisy fuss and tinsel surrounding him, and calls his soul cooled. A young girl in love decides to take a desperate step and writes a letter of confession, where, with the ardor characteristic of her youthful nature, she pours out her soul to Eugene and expresses hope for the possibility of a romantic relationship between them. The hero does not reciprocate Tatyana, which hurts her very much. A decisive explanation takes place between the young people, and Onegin gently tells Tatyana that his callous soul is no longer able to love, even if such a young and lovely girl like Tatiana. Later, when Larina becomes married woman and, it would seem, finds a quiet family happiness, the paths of the heroes intersect again. Onegin understands what a terrible mistake he made, but, unfortunately, it is no longer possible to fix anything. Tatyana pronounces her famous "... but I am given to another, and I will be faithful to him for a century ...", which puts an end to the failed love story.
Many mistakes that people tend to make, especially in youth, prevented young heroes from being together, despite their mutual love. Only after going through a series of emotional upheavals, Onegin realizes that Tatyana is the same girl with whom he could be very happy, but, as usual, he understands this too late. All this, of course, makes the reader think about whether he is making a similar mistake. And, perhaps, it immerses you in memories of past sad experiences or makes you relive passionate and tender first feelings.
Main characters
One of the main characters is Eugene Onegin. A reserved young man with a complex character. The author deliberately does not idealize his image, endowing him with all the shortcomings that are usually inherent in real person. Since childhood, he did not know the need for anything, being the son of a St. Petersburg nobleman. His soul did not gravitate towards work, was pampered by novels, balls and scientific works favorite authors. His life was as empty as that of a million of the same lordly offspring of that time, filled with revelry and debauchery, senseless burning of life. As usual, as a result of this lifestyle, Eugene became a real callous egoist, thinking only about his own pleasures. He does not put a penny on other people's feelings and easily offends a person if he does not like him or utters a phrase that is inappropriate in his opinion.
Meanwhile, our hero is not without positive traits: for example, throughout the novel, the author shows us how much Onegin gravitates towards science and knowledge. He is constantly looking for something to replenish and expand his consciousness, studies the works of philosophers, conducts intellectual conversations and disputes. In addition, unlike his peers, he very quickly gets bored with the fuss of balls and senseless pastime. Very soon, the reader can watch it personal growth, while his friends inevitably degrade one by one, turning into flabby landowners.
Despite his disappointment and dissatisfaction with the way of life that he is forced to lead, he lacks the mental strength and motivation to break this vicious circle. He did not grab onto that saving straw that the pure and bright girl Tatyana holds out to him, declaring her love.
The turning point in his life is the murder of Lensky. At this moment, Onegin's eyes open, he understands how insignificant all his former existence is. From a sense of shame and remorse, he is forced to flee, and sends him to conquer the expanses of the country in the hope of hiding from the “bloody shadow” of his murdered friend.
From a three-year voyage, he returns a completely different person, mature and conscious. Having met Tatyana again, who was already married at that time, he realizes that he has feelings for her. He sees in her an adult intelligent woman, an excellent companion and a holistic mature nature. He is amazed at her grandeur and secular coldness, not recognizing in her that timid and gentle country girl, as he knew her before. Now she loving wife, tactful and benevolent, restrained and calm. He falls in love with this woman without memory, and he is mercilessly rejected by her.
This was the end of the novel. future life Onegin and Tatyana remain unknown to the reader. Pushkin does not give any answer to the questions about whether Eugene was able to reconcile and forget his love and how did he spend his subsequent days? Was Tatyana happy in the future married to an unloved man? All this remained a mystery.
No less important image described in the novel is the image of Tatyana Larina. Pushkin describes her as a simple noblewoman from the provinces. A modest young lady, not endowed with special beauty and external attractiveness, however, possessing a surprisingly deep multifaceted inner world. Her romantic poetic nature captivates the reader and makes her sympathize and empathize with her suffering from the first to the last line. Pushkin himself more than once confesses his love for his fictional heroine:
« Forgive me: I love so much
My dear Tatiana!
Tanya grows up quite withdrawn, immersed in own feelings, Closed Girl. Her best friends books became very early, in them she looked for answers to all questions, through the pages of novels she learned life. All the more strange for the reader is Tatyana's unexpected impulse and her frank letter to Onegin. Such behavior is not at all characteristic of her character and indicates that the feelings that flared up for Eugene were so strong that they overshadowed the mind of a young girl.
The author makes us understand that even after the refusal, and after the long departure of Onegin, and even after marriage, Tanya does not stop loving him. However, great nobility and feeling dignity does not give her the opportunity to throw herself into his arms. She respects her husband and protects her family. Having renounced Onegin's feelings, she manifests herself as exceptionally reasonable, strong and wise woman. Duty is above all for her, and this decision of hers makes the reader feel deep respect for the heroine. The suffering and later repentance of Onegin is the natural ending of his lifestyle and actions.
(Painting by K. I. Rudakova "Eugene Onegin. Meeting in the garden" 1949)
In addition to the main characters, the novel describes many secondary characters, however, no one else receives such a vivid characteristic as Tatyana and Onegin. Unless the author pays some attention to Lensky. Bitterly he describes it tragic fate with an unfair ending. Pushkin characterizes him as an exceptionally pure young man, with an unsullied reputation and high moral character. He is talented and impetuous, but at the same time very noble.
Conclusion
The description of nature in the novel stands apart: the author devotes a lot of time to it. We can find in the pages of a novel beautiful pictures recreating before our eyes Moscow, St. Petersburg, Crimea, Odessa, the Caucasus and, of course, the wonderful nature of the Russian hinterland. Everything that Pushkin describes is ordinary pictures of the Russian village. At the same time, he does it so masterfully that the pictures created by him literally come to life in the reader's imagination, fascinate him.
Despite the disappointing ending of the novel, it cannot be called pessimistic at all. On the contrary, the abundance of bright living moments makes the reader believe in a wonderful future and look into the distance with hope. There are so many bright, real feelings, noble impulses and pure love that the novel is more capable of bringing the reader to positive emotions.
The whole composition of the novel is built surprisingly harmoniously, which is surprising, given the long breaks with which the author again began to work on it. The structure has a clear, slender and organic structure. Actions flow smoothly from one another, throughout the whole novel, Pushkin's favorite technique is used - a ring composition. That is, the place of initial and final events coincides. The reader can also track the specularity and symmetry of the events taking place: Tatyana and Evgeny find themselves in similar situations several times, on one of which (Tatyana's refusal) the action of the novel is interrupted.
It is worth noting that not a single love story in the novel has a successful ending: like her sister Tatyana, Olga Larina was not destined to find happiness with Lensky. The difference between the characters is shown through the opposition: Tatyana and Olga, Lensky and Onegin.
Summing up, it is worth noting that "Eugene Onegin" is truly a confirmation of Pushkin's remarkable poetic talent and lyrical genius. The novel is read literally in one breath and captures from its first line.
