The tragic story of the artist Chartkov began in front of a bench in the Shchukinsky yard, where, among many paintings depicting peasants or landscapes, he saw one and, Having given the last two kopecks for it, he brought it home. This is a portrait of an old man in Asian clothes, seemingly unfinished, but captured with such a strong brush that the eyes in the portrait looked as if they were alive. At home, Chartkov learns that the owner came with a quarterly bill, demanding payment for the apartment. The annoyance of Chartkov, who has already regretted the two-kopeck piece and is sitting, due to poverty, without a candle, is multiplying. He reflects, not without bile, on the fate of a young talented artist, forced to a modest apprenticeship, while visiting painters “only use their habitual manner” they make noise and collect a fair amount of capital. At this time, his gaze falls on the portrait, which he has already forgotten, and the completely alive eyes, even destroying the harmony of the portrait itself, frighten him, giving him some kind of unpleasant feeling. Having gone to sleep behind the screens, he sees through the cracks a portrait illuminated by the moon, also staring at him. In fear, Chartkov covers it with a sheet, but then he imagines eyes shining through the linen, then it seems that the sheet has been torn off, and finally he sees that the sheets really are no, but the old man moved and crawled out of the frames. The old man comes behind the screen to him, sits down at his feet and begins to count the money, which he takes out of the bag he brought with him. One package with the inscription “1000 chervonets” rolls to the side, and Chartkov grabs it unnoticed. Desperately clutching the money, he wakes up; the hand feels the heaviness that was just in it. After a series of successive nightmares, he wakes up late and hard. The quartermaster who came with the owner, having learned that there is no money, offers to pay with work. The portrait of an old man attracts his attention, and, looking at the canvas, he carelessly squeezes the frames - a bundle known to Chartkov with the inscription “1000 chervonets” falls on the floor.
On the same day, Chartkov pays the owner and, consoled by stories about treasures, drowning out the first impulse to buy paints and lock himself in the workshop for three years, rents a luxurious apartment on Nevsky, dresses like a dandy, advertises in a popular newspaper, and the very next day he accepts the order. An important lady, having described the desired details of the future portrait of her daughter, takes her away when Chartkov, it seemed, had just signed and was ready to capture something important in her face. The next time she remains dissatisfied with the revealed resemblance, the yellowness of the face and the shadows under the eyes and, finally, takes it for a portrait old job Chart-kova, Psyche, slightly updated by the annoyed artist.
IN a short time Chartkov is becoming fashionable: grasping one general expression, he paints many portraits, satisfying a variety of demands. He is rich, accepted in aristocratic houses, and speaks harshly and haughtily about artists. Many who knew Chartkov before are amazed how his talent, so noticeable at the beginning, could disappear. He is important, reproaches young people for immorality, becomes a miser, and one day, at the invitation of the Academy of Arts, coming to look at a canvas sent from Italy by one of his former comrades, he sees perfection -stvo and understands the entire abyss of his fall. He locks himself in the workshop and plunges into work, but is forced to stop every minute due to ignorance of elementary truths, the study of which he neglected at the beginning of his career. Soon he is overcome by terrible envy, he begins to buy up the best works of art, and only after his imminent death from a fever combined with consumption, it becomes clear that the masterpieces, for the acquisition of which he used all his enormous fortune, were cruelly destroyed by his wife. His death is terrible: scary eyes The old man seemed to him everywhere.
The story of Chartkov had some explanation a short time later at one of the auctions in St. Petersburg. Among the Chinese vases, furniture and paintings, the attention of many is attracted by an amazing portrait of a certain Asian man, whose eyes are painted with such art that they seem alive. The price increases almost fourfold, and then the artist B. comes forward, declaring his special rights to this canvas. To confirm these words, he tells a story that happened to his father.
Having first outlined a part of the city called Kolomna, he describes a usurer who once lived there, a giant of Asian appearance, capable of lending any amount to anyone he wanted, from an old woman’s niche. to wasteful nobles. His interest seemed small and the payment terms were very favorable, but with strange arithmetic calculations the amount to be returned increased incredibly. Worst of all was the fate of those who received money from the hands of the sinister Asian. The story of a young, brilliant nobleman, whose disastrous change in character brought upon him the wrath of the empress, ended with his madness and death. The life of a wonderful beauty, for the sake of her wedding with whom her chosen one made a loan from a moneylender (for the bride’s parents saw an obstacle to marriage in the upset state of affairs of the groom), a life poisoned in one year by the poison of jealousy , impatience and whims, suddenly revealing the previously noble character of her husband. Having even attempted the life of his wife, the unfortunate man committed suicide. Many not so noticeable stories, since they happened in the lower classes, are also connected with the name of the moneylender.
The narrator’s father, a self-taught artist, when planning to portray the spirit of darkness, often thought about his terrible neighbor, and one day he himself appears to him and demands to draw a portrait of himself in order to remain in the picture “perfectly alive.” The father happily gets down to business, but the better he manages to capture the old man’s appearance, the more lively his eyes appear on the canvas, the more painful a feeling takes over him. No longer having the strength to endure the increasing aversion to work, he refuses to continue, and the pleas of the old man, explaining that after death his life will be preserved in the portrait with supernatural power, they completely frighten him. He runs away, the old man’s maid brings him the unfinished portrait, and the moneylender himself dies the next day. Over time, the artist notices changes in himself: feeling envious of his student, he harms him, the eyes of a usurer appear in his paintings. When he is about to burn a terrible portrait, a friend asks him out. But he too is forced to soon sell it to his nephew; his nephew also got rid of him. The artist understands that part of the moneylender’s soul has entered the terrible portrait, and the death of his wife, daughter and young son finally assures him of this. He places the eldest in the Academy of Arts and goes to a monastery, where he leads a strict life, seeking all possible degrees of self-denial. Finally he takes up his brush and whole year writes the birth of Jesus. His work is a miracle, filled with holiness. To his son, who came to say goodbye before traveling to Italy, he communicates many of his thoughts about art and, among some instructions, telling the story of the moneylender, he conjures find a portrait passing from hand to hand and destroy it. And now, after fifteen years of futile searches, the narrator finally found this portrait - and when he, and with him the crowd of listeners, turned to the wall, the portrait on it not anymore. Someone says: "Stolen." Maybe you are right.
One of greatest works Russian classic of the 19th century is the novel by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov “Hero of Our Time”, the main character of which is Grigory Pechorin - a young Russian officer, coming from a wealthy family, a typical collective image « extra person"in the surrounding society.
The image of Pechorin can be most fully analyzed by considering all of his love affairs and adventures, because it is the ability or inability to love that most fully characterizes each person. There were three women in Pechorin's life: Bela, Princess Mary and Vera. To each he had special treatment, and he ruined everyone’s life.
The young Circassian Bela was just a passing hobby in Gregory’s life, despite the fact that at first it seemed to him that he had met the love of his life.
Initially, the young savage attracted him with her purity and sincerity, but it soon became clear that their relationship was based only on passion, but not on love. Getting it from a girl intimacy, Grigory soon loses interest in her, not at all bothered by the fact that the unfortunate woman can no longer imagine life without him.
Soon the girl dies at the hands of a Circassian who is in love with her, but this is the best outcome of this relationship, because she is already devastated and disgraced. However, Pechorin explains his indifference to the girl by saying that he was simply tired of her simplicity and spontaneity. In his opinion, this justifies a lot.
The officer's second passion was Princess Mary, with whom he began an affair only to spite his comrade Grushnitsky. The charming young man easily managed to turn the head of the young beauty, and after a short period of time she was already crazy about him. However, after the princess confesses his feelings, Pechorin tells her that he does not love her and has never loved her. As a result, the princess’s love is disgraced, and the latter is left with nothing.
The third woman in Pechorin’s life was Vera. Only she was able to truly love her, but his love brought her nothing but tears and suffering. Despite all this, Vera also sincerely loves Gregory, but their further relationship is impossible, because Vera is married, and Pechorin does not want to make the slightest effort to find his love. In addition, Grigory was afraid of responsibility; he was more impressed by the status eternal bachelor. However, parting with Vera brought him great pain.
Having analyzed Pechorin’s relationships with women, it should be noted that Grigory not only does not know how, but also does not want to love. He brings nothing but bitterness and heartache to all his beloved ones, not thinking at all that with his indifference and composure he has broken many destinies.
Love... Such a beautiful and sublime feeling, which Pechorin treats so thoughtlessly. He is selfish, and beautiful girls who see their ideal in him suffer from this. Bela and Princess Mary, Vera and Undine are so different, but equally painfully hurt by Pechorin, who himself admits: “And what do I care about human joys and troubles...”.
When Pechorin saw the beautiful Circassian Bela for the first time, he thought that love for her would bring him healing from melancholy and disappointment. Bela was endowed with more than just beauty. She was a passionate and tender girl, capable of deep feelings. Proud and bashful Bela is not devoid of consciousness of her dignity. When Pechorin lost interest in her, Bela, in a fit of indignation, says to Maxim Maksimych: “If he doesn’t love me, who’s stopping him from sending me home? . If this continues like this, then I will leave myself: I am not a slave, I am a prince’s daughter!” .
The story with Bela showed Pechorin that in female love he sought happiness in vain." “I was wrong again,” says Pechorin, “the love of a savage is little better than the love of a noble lady; the ignorance and simple-heartedness of one is just as annoying as the coquetry of the other.”
Princess Mary, like Bela, is a victim of the restless Pechorin. This proud and reserved aristocrat became deeply interested in the “army ensign” and decided not to take into account the prejudices of her noble relatives. She was the first to admit her feelings to Pechorin. But at the moment of decisive explanation with Princess Pechorin, he felt unable to give up his freedom to anyone. Marriage would be a “quiet haven.” And he himself rejects Mary’s love. Offended in her feelings, the sincere and noble Mary withdraws into herself and suffers.
Love for Vera was Pechorin's deepest and most lasting affection. Among his wanderings and adventures, he abandoned faith, but returned to it again. Pechorin caused her a lot of suffering. “Since we have known each other,” Vera said, “you have given me nothing but suffering.” And yet she loved him. Ready to sacrifice both her self-esteem and the opinion of the world to her loved one, Vera becomes a slave of her feelings, a martyr of love. Parting with her, Pechorin realized that Vera was the only woman who understood him and continued to love him, despite his shortcomings. Pechorin experiences the final separation from Vera as a catastrophe: he gives in to despair and tears. Nowhere is Pechorin's hopeless loneliness and the suffering it generates, which he hid from others under his usual firmness and composure, so clearly revealed.
The relationship with the undine was simply an exotic adventure for Pechorin. She is an undine, a mermaid, a girl from a forgotten fairy tale. This is what attracts Pechorin. Undoubtedly, his interest was influenced by the mysterious situation. For him, this is one of the turns of fate; for her, this is life where everyone fights for their place, for their business.
Thus, Pechorin did not know how to truly love. He could only make those who treated him so devotedly and reverently suffer. She was just another toy for him
The theme of love in “A Hero of Our Time” is one of central themes which the author explores. There really are a lot of love conflicts in the novel. Even main character- outwardly cold and selfish Pechorin is looking for love, he finds it in the hearts of three women Vera, Mary Ligovskaya and Bela, but the love of these beautiful women does not bring Pechorin happiness.
In this novel, love generally does not bring joy to anyone; it is a test for each of the heroes, and often they love experiences end tragically.
Let's try to consider the main love lines of this work.
Pechorin – Bela – Kazbich
One of the literary scholars, analyzing the content of this work, rightly noted that compositional structure The novel is built on endless love triangles.
Indeed, there are a lot of love triangles here.
In the first part of the novel "Bela" we learn that Pechorin kidnaps own father young Circassian Bela and makes her his mistress. Proud Bela is smart, beautiful and kind. She fell in love with the Russian officer with all her heart, but realized that in his soul there was no reciprocal feeling for her. Pechorin kidnapped her for fun and soon lost all interest in his captive.
As a result, Bela is unhappy, her love brought her nothing but deep sorrow.
During one of her walks near the fortress in which she lives with Pechorin, she is kidnapped by the Circassian Kazbich, who is in love with her. Seeing the chase, Kazbich mortally wounds Bela, and she dies two days later in the fortress in the arms of Pechorin.
As a result, this love triangle does not bring satisfaction or joy to any of the characters. Kazbich, having seen his beloved, is tormented by remorse; Pechorin understands that Bela’s love could not awaken him to life and realizes that he destroyed the young girl in vain, driven by a sense of pride and selfishness. In his diary he later wrote: “I was wrong again, the love of a savage is few better than love noble lady; the ignorance and simple-heartedness of one is just as annoying as the coquetry of the other.”
Pechorin – Mary – Grushnitsky
The theme of love in the novel “A Hero of Our Time” is represented by another love triangle, in which there are Pechorin, Princess Mary Ligovskaya and Grushnitsky, who is in love with her, whom Pechorin, unwittingly, kills in a duel.
This love triangle is also tragic. It leads all its participants either to endless grief, or to death, or to the realization of their spiritual worthlessness.
We can say that the main thing actor This triangle is Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin. It is he who constantly makes fun of the young man Grushnitsky, who is in love with Mary, which ultimately leads the latter to jealousy and a fatal challenge to a duel. It is Pechorin, having become interested in Princess Ligovskaya, who brings this proud girl to the point that she herself confesses her love to him. And he rejects her proposal, which causes on her part a feeling of melancholy and disappointed hopes.
Pechorin is dissatisfied with himself, but, trying to explain the motives for his behavior, he only says that freedom is more valuable to him than love, he simply does not want to change his life for the sake of another person, even such a girl as Princess Mary.
Pechorin - Vera - Vera's husband
Love in Lermontov's work “A Hero of Our Time” finds its expression in another passionate love triangle.
It includes Pechorin, a secular married lady Vera and her husband, whom the novel only mentions. Pechorin met Vera back in St. Petersburg, he was passionately in love with her, but her marriage and fear of the world placed further development their romance.
In Kislovodsk, Vera and Pechorin meet by chance, and the old relationship flares up again with its former strength.
Pechorin shows Vera tenderness when she suddenly leaves Kislovodsk, he drives his horse to death in order to keep up with her, which, however, he fails. However, this love relationship does not bring happiness to either Vera or Pechorin. This is confirmed by the words of the heroine: “Since we have known each other,” she said, “you have given me nothing but suffering.”
In fact, this love triangle anticipates the love conflict described in the novel by L.N. Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. There, too, a secular married lady meets a young officer, falls in love with him and understands that her husband has become unpleasant to her. Unlike Vera, Anna Karenina breaks up with her husband, goes to her lover, but finds only misfortune, which leads her to suicide.
Pechorin – Ondine – Yanko
And finally, the last love triangle of the novel is the story that happened to Pechorin in Taman. There he accidentally uncovered a gang of smugglers, who almost took his life for this.
This time the participants love triangle became Pechorin, the girl whom he nicknamed “undine,” that is, the mermaid, and her beloved smuggler Yanko.
However, this love conflict was more of an adventure in which Pechorin decided to escape from his experiences. Ondine was not in love with him, but lured him only in order to drown him as an unwanted witness. The girl took such a dangerous step, obeying a feeling of love for Yanko.
Pechorin realized the danger of his position and came to the conclusion that he had exposed himself to such a risk in vain.
As we see, love theme in the novel “A Hero of Our Time” is presented quite clearly. However, there are no examples in the work happy love. And this is not surprising, because love and friendship in Lermontov’s works are always tragic themes. According to the writer and poet, on earth a person will never be able to gain true love, because he himself bears the stamp of imperfection. Therefore, people will love and suffer from the fact that their love cannot bring them happiness, joy, or peace.
With a description of the main love lines It will be useful for 9th grade students to read the novel before writing an essay on the topic “The Theme of Love in the Novel “A Hero of Our Time”.”
Work test
Endowed with intelligence and knowledge of life, protected by his skepticism from passion and illusions - Lermontov’s Pechorin (see full text, summary and analysis of “A Hero of Our Time”, as well as a description of the image and characteristics of Pechorin) knows people, their passions are in weakness, knows how to play people as pawns (cf. his relationship to Grushnitsky, to Maxim Maksimych). He knows women especially well. Like Onegin, he has perfectly studied the “science of tender passion,” and plays his game for sure, like Lovelace, this experienced hunter of women’s hearts.
Lermontov. Princess Mary. Feature Film, 1955
“Will belong to no one but me! - he says decisively about Bela, “she will be mine!” “Women only love those they don’t know”; “If you do not gain power over her, then even her first kiss does not give you the right to a second.” "There is nothing more paradoxical female mind; It’s difficult to convince women of anything - you need to bring them to the point where they convince themselves,” these are examples of those aphorisms, rules and observations that Pechorin learned from his knowledge of women.
He himself admits that “he loves nothing in the world except them.” This, of course, is again a “phrase”, but an interesting one. Pechorin’s attitude towards Bela, Princess Mary and Vera gives us examples of various “techniques” that he developed during his practice. He bribed women by making himself look “unlucky”; He fascinated them because he was mysterious and interesting - they were attracted to look into his soul, like looking into an abyss... He conquered them with the power of his soul.
He captured Vera more than any other woman, and in a letter to him, she explained that her love grew out of pity for him, out of interest in him (she found something mysterious in him), and finally, on a woman’s desire for submission (she found in him “invincible power”). “No one knows how to constantly want to be loved; evil in no one is so attractive!” - says Vera. She realizes that he is an egoist (“you loved me like property”); she was convinced that her pity would not warm his heart, but this did not kill her love - her love darkened, but did not fade away. In her company, Pechorin does not break down - he does not say “phrases” to her - on the contrary, he is simple and sincere with her, because he can be like that. Vera is an example of a woman who is full of love and selfless.
Princess Mary, a romantically inclined girl, was carried away by the “mystery” of Pechorin, because even Grushnitsky managed to impress her with this! Pechorin, having understood her, poses in front of her, tells her “phrases”, thickens the shadows and colors in his autobiographical confessions - and Princess Mary gets lost, confused, - she gets dizzy, she is pulled into this mysterious foggy abyss...
Bela is conquered by Pechorin's power; for her, a savage who grew up in an atmosphere of Eastern slavery, a man, first of all, is a master, she is a slave before him, and she became a slave of Pechorin, who did not recognize any other relationship to a woman.
“I never became the slave of the woman I loved; on the contrary, I always acquired invincible power over their will and heart, without trying at all.” “Why is this?” - Pechorin asks himself a question, and with the interest of a natural scientist-observer he tries to understand the psychological riddle posed: “Is it because I never value anything very much, and that they were every minute afraid to let me out of their hands? or is it the magnetic influence of a strong organism? Or have I just never met a woman with a stubborn character?
