My uncle of the most honest rules,
When I fell ill in earnest,
He forced himself to respect
And I couldn't think of a better one.
His example to others is science;
But my god, what a bore
With the sick to sit day and night,
Not leaving a single step away!
What low deceit
Amuse the half-dead
Fix his pillows
Sad to give medicine
Sigh and think to yourself:
When will the devil take you!

Analysis of "My uncle has the most honest rules" - the first stanza of Eugene Onegin

In the opening lines of the novel, Pushkin describes Uncle Onegin. The phrase "the most honest rules" is taken from him. Comparing the uncle with a character from a fable, the poet hints that his "honesty" was only a cover for cunning and resourcefulness. Uncle knew how to skillfully adjust to public opinion and, without arousing any suspicion, turn his dark deeds. Thus he earned a good name and respect.

The uncle's serious illness was another reason to attract attention. The line “I couldn’t think of anything better” reveals the idea that even from an illness that can cause death, Uncle Onegin is trying (and he succeeds) to derive practical benefit. Those around him are sure that he fell ill due to a neglect of his health for the sake of his neighbors. This seemingly selfless service to people becomes the cause of even greater respect. But he is unable to deceive his nephew, who knows all the ins and outs. Therefore, in the words of Eugene Onegin about the disease there is irony.

In the line "his example to others is science," Pushkin again uses irony. Representatives of high society in Russia have always made a sensation out of their illness. This was mainly due to issues of inheritance. A crowd of heirs gathered around the dying relatives. They tried their best to achieve the favor of the patient in the hope of a reward. The merits of the dying man and his imaginary virtue were loudly proclaimed. This is the situation the author sets as an example.

Onegin is the heir of his uncle. By the right of close kinship, he is obliged to spend "both day and night" at the head of the patient and provide him with any assistance. The young man understands that he must do this if he does not want to lose his inheritance. Do not forget that Onegin is just a "young rake." In his sincere reflections, he expresses real feelings, which are aptly indicated by the phrase "low deceit." And he, and his uncle, and everyone around him understands why the nephew does not leave the bed of a dying man. But the real meaning is covered with a false coating of virtue. Onegin is incredibly bored and disgusted. A single phrase constantly turns on his tongue: “When the devil takes you!”.

The mention of the devil, and not God, further emphasizes the unnaturalness of Onegin's experiences. In reality, uncle's "fair rules" do not deserve a heavenly life. Everyone around, led by Onegin, is looking forward to his death. Only by doing this will he render society a real invaluable merit.

Hello dear.
Not so long ago, I asked your opinion on whether it is worthwhile for us to analyze together one of my most favorite poetic works, not only “Our Everything” (c), but in general, in principle, and on the whole, I received a satisfactory answer: And this so you should, at least, at least try :-) And, although, as the smart and respected by me aptly noted in his comment eulampij I can’t even compare with Nabokov, much less with Yuri Lotman (whose work I consider excellent), but I will try to tell you at least a little about those things that are perhaps not entirely clear, which we can find in the lines immortal work. I want to note right away that I will not analyze the impulses, the essence, the system of relationships and the psychological nuances of the characters. Theoretically, I could, but I'm not a literary critic or a psychologist. My hobby is history, and for me a great work, it is also a great opportunity to plunge into the era.

Well, and most importantly, we will read it together again, and perhaps for someone I will even discover the clarity, beauty and grandeur of this novel, written, by the way, in a special language - the “Onegin stanza” - which Pushkin himself came up with, mixing the style of classical English and Italian sonnet. The same 14 lines, but with their own rhythm and rhyming system. Literally, it looks like this: AbAb CCdd EffE gg (capital letters indicate a feminine rhyme, lowercase letters indicate a masculine one). For me, the design is openwork, giving ease of reading and pleasantness in assimilation. But it is extremely difficult. And you understand why it took Pushkin so much time to create the whole novel (almost 8 years)
In general, if anything - do not judge strictly :-)

Or like this...

Let's start with the epigraph. You know, in my school years, I did not pay much attention to epigraphs, considering them to be unnecessary show off. However, time has passed, and for me it is not only an inseparable part of the work itself, but sometimes even its concentrated essence. Maybe I'm getting old, but now I myself don't mind using epigraph tools even in my posts. It brings me some joy :-)
In "Eugene Onegin" there is an epigraph before the work itself. Plus, there's also the dedication. Well, separate epigraphs, before each chapter. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we don't.
The first epigraph is written in French and can be translated something like this: “ Imbued with vanity, he possessed, moreover, a special pride, which prompts him to confess with equal indifference to his good and bad deeds - a consequence of a sense of superiority, perhaps an imaginary one.". It is allegedly taken from a private letter, and serves to make the reader believe that the author and Eugene Onegin are good friends, that the author, as it were, is directly involved in the events.

drawing of the torch of Russian literature

The dedication is more multi-line, its meaning is not fully given, but it was made to Pyotr Aleksandrovich Pletnev. The rector of the Department of Literature of my Alma mater, Pyotr Alexandrovich, had a sensitive and gentle character, wrote poetry and was a critic. But he criticized so courteously and delicately that he managed to be a friend of almost all the literary "stars" of that time. Including Pushkin.

P. Pletnev

The epigraph before the first chapter consists of one line: " And live in a hurry and feel in a hurry". And the signature of Prince. Vyazemsky. This is part of the work of Pyotr Andreevich Vyazemsky, a brilliant and most interesting friend of Alexander Sergeevich. The work is called “First Snow” and I don’t see any point in bringing it here in full - if you wish, you can find it yourself. Vyazemsky himself was also a poet, but in a way unique - he wrote only one collection of poems, even towards the end of his life.

P. Vyazemsky

But at the same time, he was a real "Renaissance man" (that's what I call multilaterally developed personalities), because he did a lot of things, from a translator to state affairs. A real "golden fund of the nation". Too bad not many people remember him these days. He was a very interesting and witty man. Book. is short for prince. The Vyazemskys are actually Rurikovichs, and they received their surname from the inheritance - the city of Vyazma. And the coat of arms of the city, by the way, is taken from their family coat of arms.

coat of arms of princes Vyazemsky

Well, the meaning of the epigraph ... Here - at your discretion. Moreover, I think it is better to draw conclusions after you read the entire first chapter in its entirety :-)
Perhaps it's time to move on to the text itself.
« My uncle of the most honest rules,
When I fell ill in earnest,
He forced himself to respect
And I couldn't think of a better one.
His example to others is science;
But my god, what a bore
With the sick to sit day and night,
Not leaving a single step away!
What low deceit
Amuse the half-dead
Fix his pillows
Sad to give medicine
Sigh and think to yourself:
When the hell will you!»

This piece is probably remembered by everyone who went to the Soviet, Russian, Ukrainian, and other schools of the post-Soviet space. For most, this is literally all they know and remember about the novel :-) In general, recognizable.
For me, in the above passage, the main lines are these:
What low deceit
Amuse the half-dead
I think they should be used as a motto by the opponent of the use of drugs for male erectile dysfunction like Viagra :-))))

But let's go further.
So thought the young rake,
Flying in the dust on postage,
By the will of Zeus
Heir of all his relatives.
Friends of Lyudmila and Ruslan!
With the hero of my novel
Without preamble, this very hour
Let me introduce you:
Onegin, my good friend,
Born on the banks of the Neva
Where might you have been born?
Or shone, my reader;
I once walked there too:
But the north is bad for me.

Postal, they are also "transfer" - this is a state-owned, state-owned carriage, in fact a taxi. Keeping your own carriage was not very profitable, and the carriage and horses were generally ruinous. Therefore, they used "translations". Moreover, the order of use was very carefully regulated and monitored by a special official - the stationmaster. Since Onegin did not serve, he stood quite low in the Table of Ranks, so the number of horses for the whole trip, Eugene had few, namely only 3. He rode in a troika. Therefore, he can’t “fly in the dust” in any way, since he could not change his horse at every postal station, which means he was forced to take care of them and give them a rest. Moreover, there might not have been free horses, which means that the trip could be thoroughly delayed. By the way, the time interval of the trip can be approximately calculated. Uncle's estate was in the Pskov region, Eugene lived in St. Petersburg. From St. Petersburg to, say, Mikhailovsky, about 400 kilometers. Convert to versts and get about 375 versts. In summer, horses walked at a speed of 10 miles per hour, and about 100 miles a day. Eugene was forced to take care of his horses and I think he traveled no more than 70 miles a day. And this means that even if he did not wait for horses during the shift, and rode almost non-stop, he got somewhere around 4-5 days one way in any direction. And even more.

post station

By the way, as you understand, you had to pay for such a “taxi”. Eugene was driving, most likely along the Vitebsk tract. In Pushkin's time, the fee (running fee) on this tract was 5 kopecks per verst, which means that a one-way trip cost about 19 rubles. Not so much (a stagecoach to Moscow cost 70 rubles, and renting a box in the theater for a year was 500), but not a little, because for 10-15 rubles you could buy a serf.

Ruble of 1825.

About the line " But the north is bad for me", I think everyone knows everything :-) So Pushkin subtly trolled the authorities about his exile.
Well, let's end this today.
To be continued….
Have a nice time of the day

Chapter first

Chapter one consists of fifty-four stanzas: I–VIII, X–XII, XV–XXXVIII, and XLII–LX (gaps indicate missing stanzas, of which the existence of XXXIX–XLI was never known). The main characters are the author's "I" (more or less stylized Pushkin) and Eugene Onegin. The center of the chapter, its bright and rapidly unwinding core, is contained in twelve stanzas (XV–XVII, XXI–XXV, XXVII–XXVIII, XXXV–XXXVI), describing sixteen hours of the city life of Onegin, a twenty-four-year-old dandy. Historical time - winter 1819, place - St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia. It is the eighth year of Onegin's secular life, he still loves to dress smartly and dine luxuriously, but he is already tired of the theater, and he has left violent love pleasures. The day of the St. Petersburg dandy, interrupted three times (XVIII-XX, XXVI, XXIX-XXXIV) by Pushkin's memoirs and reflections, is introduced between the story of Onegin's education and the description of his spleen. The story about education is preceded by a brief sketch in which Onegin is depicted going by post to his uncle's estate (in May 1820), and the description of the spleen is followed by a story about Pushkin's friendship with Onegin and about the latter's arrival in the village, where his uncle had already died. The chapter ends with several stanzas (LV–LX) in which the author speaks of himself.

Development of the themes of the first chapter

I: Onegin's internal monologue on the way from St. Petersburg to his uncle's estate.

II: Traditional transition: "Thus thought the young rake." Pushkin introduces his hero (this "unofficial" presentation will later be supplemented by an "official", parodic belated "introduction" in the last stanza of the seventh chapter). Stanza II also contains some references to "professional" topics, namely: the mention of "Ruslan and Lyudmila" (1820) and the expression "the hero of my novel" (this expression will be repeated with some changes in ch. 5, XVII, 12, where Tatyana in excitement, he sees in a dream "the hero of our novel" hosting a feast of ghosts). The autobiographical motif is presented in II, 13–14 as a playful reminder of the expulsion of the author himself from the capital.

III–VII: The description of Eugene's childhood and youth, permeated with the theme of superficial education, is given in a more or less continuous presentation. A philosophical note is heard in various witty judgments about Onegin's upbringing (V, 1–4: "we are all"; IV, 13: "What do you need more?"; VI, 2: "So, if you tell the truth"), and " "professional" remark is introduced in stanza VII quatrain, where "we" could not teach Onegin the secrets of prosody. The theme of Onegin's indifference to poetry will be raised again in the six final verses of stanza XVI, Ch. 2 (when Lensky reads Ossian to Onegin), and in ch. 8, XXXVIII, 5-8 Onegin, finally, will almost master the “Russian mechanism of poetry”. In his youth, Onegin appears as a Frenchized Russian in the dress of an English dandy, who began his social life at the age of sixteen or seventeen. Before us is a salon doll. The fire of his epigrams is noted, but not a single one is quoted in the chapter, and later specimens of his wit have also not been worthy of description.

VIII, X-XII: The rhetorical transition from the formation of the intellectual to the sensual is introduced by the union "but" of the third verse of the eighth stanza. "The science of tender passion" in verse 9 leads to Ovid, and there is an obvious autobiographical reminiscence in the form of an introductory digression about the exile of the Roman poet to Moldavia, which ends stanza VIII. Pushkin reduced Onegin's dragging to three stanzas (X-XII).

XV-XXXVI: Here is the central part of the chapter, the story (interrupted by digressions) about one day of Onegin's life in the capital. The absence of any formally expressed transition between the story of Onegin's attitude towards women and the beginning of his day in XV is surprisingly compensated by an artificial pause that arises due to the absence of two stanzas between XII and XV. This circumstance leads to a proper change of themes in the narrative, when the story of the hero's day is introduced by the word "it happened."

XV–XVII: Without interruption, the narration flows on various topics (XV, 9-14 - morning walk; XVI - lunch; XVII - departure to the theater).

XVIII–XX: An element of Pushkin's participation. A nostalgic digression about the theater opens stanza XVIII, which ends with a lyrical recollection of the author's time behind the scenes in the now forbidden city for him (“there, there ... my young days rushed by” - echoing in a more melancholic key the final couplet in II). The autobiographical stanza XIX follows with a nostalgic resurrection of theatrical goddesses and a premonition of change and disappointment. In stanza XX, these theatrical memories seem to crystallize. Pushkin is ahead of Onegin and enters the theater first, where he watches Istomina's performance, which ends by the time Onegin appears in the next stanza. Here the technique of "overtaking" is used (it will be repeated in XXVII). The natural transition from Pushkin to Onegin receives an amazing temporal and intonational expression.

XXI–XXII: The enumeration of Onegin's actions continues. The theater bored him. French cupids and Franco-Chinese dragons are still jumping around the stage with might and main, and only Onegin leaves and goes home to change clothes.

XXIII–XXVI: Pushkin, still in the form of a disembodied character, explores Onegin's office. This topic is formally introduced by the time-tested rhetorical question “Will I portray ...?”. Rousseau is mentioned in the introductory part of playful philosophizing in XXIV, 9-14, then the same theme appears in the quatrain of the next stanza ("The custom of a despot among people", a banality that breaks through in various formulations here and there in the course of the novel). Stanza XXVI contains a "professional" digression, which refers to the highly condemned use of foreign words in Russian. The poet's conscious predilection for Gallicisms will be mentioned again in the remarks preceding Tatyana's Letter to Onegin, in ch. 3 and in ch. 8, XIV, 13-14.

XXVII: The “overtaking” technique is repeated. Pushkin lingered too long in the study of our dandy, describing him to the reader, and Onegin goes ahead of him to the mansion, where the ball is already in full swing. A rhetorical transition sounds: “We’d better hurry to the ball,” and Pushkin rushes there silently, like a bat, and, having overtaken his hero (XXVII, 5-14), he is the first to be in the lighted house, just like he was the first to find himself recently in theater.

XXVIII: Therefore, Onegin is. His presence at the ball is mentioned only here, and also - retrospectively - in stanza XXXVI.

XXIX-XXXIV: These six stanzas, full of stylized autobiography, contain the most striking digression of the first canto. Let's call it "retreat about the legs." A natural transition leads to it from XXVIII, 10-14, where two themes are outlined. (1) fiery eyes following pretty legs, and (2) whispers of fashionable wives. Pushkin in XXIX first turns to the second theme and develops it in a rather traditional sketch of a love affair in a ballroom. After nostalgic reminiscences of Petersburg balls, the actual theme of legs rises in XXX, 8 and can be traced to XXXIV, with references to oriental rugs (XXXI), Terpsichore's legs (XXXII, 2–8), women's legs in various settings (XXXII, 9–14) , with the famous description of the sea (XXXIII), the lucky stirrup (XXXIV, 1–8) and the angry ironic conclusion (XXXIV, 9–14).

XXXV: The leg retreat is closed. "What about my Onegin?" is an example of a typical rhetorical transition. Pushkin is in a hurry to follow his hero, who is returning home from the ball, but he cannot help but stop to describe the beautiful frosty morning.

XXXVI In the meantime, Onegin got to bed and fell sound asleep. At 9-14 follows the rhetorical and didactic question: "But was my Eugene happy?" The negative answer is given in the first line of the next stanza.

XXXVII–XLIV: A string of five stanzas (XXXIX–XLI are missing) describes the Onegin spleen. The gap left by the omitted stanzas XXXIX-XLI gives the impression of a long, dreary yawn. Onegin lost interest in secular beauties (XLII) and courtesans (XLIII, 1–5). He has locked himself at home today and is trying to write (XLIII, 6-14) and read (XLIV) to no avail. Onegin, unable to compose poetry, is not inclined to prose, and therefore did not get into the fervent workshop of people to whom Pushkin belongs. Onegin's reading circle, outlined by several names in Ch. 1, V and VI (Juvenal, two verses from the Aeneid, Adam Smith), is characterized in ch. I, XLIV in a generalized way, without names or titles, attention will be drawn to it again in ch. 7, XXII and 8, XXXV.

XLV-XLVIII: Here more details of Onegin's "spleen" are given, but the main compositional significance of these stanzas lies in the convergence of the two main characters of the first song. It is here (XLV) that their friendship begins. Prior to this stanza, Pushkin was only an incorporeal shadow sweeping through the novel, but did not act as a character. Pushkin's voice was heard, his presence was felt when he flew from one stanza to another in a ghostly atmosphere of memories and nostalgia, but Onegin did not even suspect that his rake friend was present both at the ballet and in the ballroom. From now on, Pushkin will be the full-fledged hero of the novel, and together with Onegin they will, in fact, appear as two characters in the space of four stanzas (XLV-XLVIII). Their common features are emphasized in XLV (the differences will be noted later - although we already know that Onegin is not a poet); Onegin's attractive sarcasm is described in XLVI, and in XLVII-XLVIII both characters enjoy the clear northern night on the Neva embankment. Nostalgic memories of former loves and the sounds of a horn from the Neva lead from here to a retreat of rare beauty in two stanzas.

XLIX–L: This is the third extensive lyrical digression (see my commentary on Venetian allusions). In the oncoming, like waves, verses, it enhances the notes of nostalgia and exile II, VIII and XIX stanzas. In addition, it emphasizes in a new way the difference between the two heroes - between the dry, prosaic hypochondria of the 18th century, inherent in the free Onegin, and the rich, romantic, inspired longing of the exiled Pushkin (his spiritual thirst, different from the dyspepsia of a hypochondriac rake). Of particular note is Pushkin's impulse to rush off to an exotic free country, a fabulous land, fabulous Africa with the sole purpose of painfully regretting gloomy Russia there (the very country he left), thus combining new experience and preserved memories in a synthesis of artistic reappraisal. In Odessa, 1823, Pushkin (see his own note on L, 3) still dreams of visiting Venice (XLIX) and Africa (L), as he apparently dreamed earlier during his walks with Onegin in the first week of May 1820 g., judging by the very natural transition that opens LI: “Onegin was ready with me / To see foreign countries; But…"

LI–LIV: Now it's time to return to topic I-II. Pushkin and Onegin part, and we, enriched with information about Onegin's childhood, youth and scattered life in St. Petersburg, rejoin him on the way from the capital to the uncle's estate. “And with that I began my novel,” Pushkin notes in a “professional” remark “aside” (LII, 11). Onegin arrives at the estate, where he learns of the death of the old man (LII, 12–14). Settles in the village (LIII, 9). At first, rural life occupies him, then boredom again begins to overcome him. The rural delights listed in LIV as the cause of Onegin's blues provide a natural transition to an autobiographical and "professional" digression in the six stanzas that close the chapter (LV-LX).

LV–LVI: Pushkin contrasts his friend's backbone with his own, saturated with creativity, love for the countryside, which he extols as the best abode for his Muse. In LVI, the difference between the stylized Pushkin dreaming blissfully in idyllic oak forests and Onegin indulging in the melancholy in the countryside is used to emphasize that our author does not share Byron's whim of identifying himself with the hero. The reference to the "mocking reader" and publisher of the "intricate slander" is another touch on the "professional" theme in this stanza.

LVII-LIX, 1-12: Semi-lyrical, semi-literary digression, during which Pushkin explains how his inspiration creates. Stanza LVII (which will find a magnificent response and will be strengthened in ch. 8, IV and in Onegin's Journey, XIX) includes two more bibliographic references in the narrative - to the "Prisoner of the Caucasus" and "The Fountain of Bakhchisarai", composed by Pushkin in the years between the creation poems "Ruslan and Lyudmila" (finished in 1820) and "Eugene Onegin" (begun in 1823).

LIX, 13–14 and LX, 1–2: Somewhat unexpected "professional" remark "aside". Pushkin promises to write a great poem unrelated to EO(a similar promise - this time to write a novel in prose - will be given in ch. 3, xiii-xiv).

LX, 3-14: Meanwhile, the poet has finished the first chapter of this novel and, to the pseudo-classical accompaniment of parting words and forebodings, sends it north, to the "Neva shores", the remoteness of which has already been mentioned in II. Thus ends the song elegantly.