In his novel “Eugene Onegin,” A.S. Pushkin recreated all the ideas about the ideal Russian girl, creating the image of Tatyana, who was his favorite heroine. He conveys the idea that a Russian girl should be sincere, with a rich spiritual world, selfless.
The reader first meets Tatyana at her parents' estate. Since childhood, she was distinguished by her calmness and thoughtfulness. In this way, the girl was not like other children, and even with her sister they were not at all similar in character, children's pranks did not attract her, she preferred to be alone with herself. It is not for nothing that Pushkin compares Tatyana to a forest deer, who is wary of everything and prefers to hide. She loved books, because since childhood her nanny read fairy tales and legends to her, and since her parents’ estate was located far from the bustle of the city, Tatyana was very fond of nature.
Tatyana is notable not for her external beauty, but for the fact that she is very natural, thoughtful and dreamy. It is difficult for her to find a person who understands her inner world.
Having matured, Tatyana is really looking forward to great love, therefore, having met Onegin, she immediately falls in love with him. He attracts her with his mystery. Love consumes Tatiana, she cannot find a place for herself, therefore, she decides to tell Evgeniy about her feelings. Pushkin sheds tears together with Tatyana, because he knows that this story will end sadly.
Naive Tatiana sincerely hopes that her feelings are reciprocated, but Onegin rejects her feelings. Tatyana's letter touched him very much, but it did not awaken great feelings in him. He says that even if he falls in love with Tatyana, he will stop loving her, because he will quickly get used to the fact that she is around. And Tatyana continues to love him.
Later Tatyana gets married and becomes famous in the world. She ceased to be a naive girl, she grew spiritually, but she did not lose the main thing. Although Tatyana’s appearance has changed, inside she remains just as natural and simple. When she meets Onegin again, she does not betray her feelings in any way. She behaves reservedly and sternly with him, although she still loves him very much. She cries when she reads his letter because happiness is so close, but now she has a husband to whom she will be faithful.
Essay about Tatyana Larina with quotes
“I’m writing to you, what more…” - every schoolchild probably knows these lines. But only a young girl will sigh languidly, remembering the heroine of her favorite novel. Tatyana Larina is the embodiment of simplicity and modesty.
How inconspicuously, but tastefully, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin compares two sisters: Tatyana and Olga.
Olga is open, flirtatious, graceful and beautiful. It is worth noting that it is with this sister that the author begins his story. And only then, as if by the way, he says: “her sister was called Tatyana.” Here, the creator finally draws attention to the young lady, who was not distinguished by her beauty and freshness of eyes.
It is interesting that Pushkin does not write a word about the appearance of Tatyana herself. The reader does not know how she is built, what color her eyes are. The reader only imagines in his imagination a girl completely opposite to the beautiful Olga. But this is no worse, because at the very beginning of the novel Olga does not give the impression of a well-mannered girl.
“She seemed like a stranger in her own family” - probably, it is after this phrase that the reader develops a greater disposition towards the girl who did not know happiness in her own family.
As you can see, another misfortune appears on the girl’s path. Eugene Onegin. The first naive real feelings force the girl, without thinking, to write a letter to her chosen one. Oh, how wrong this was for a girl of that time. And yet, the letter captivates the reader with touching speeches, silent prayer, love that is read between the lines.
“I am writing to you...” - the first line of the letter describes her seemingly humiliating position as accurately as possible. It’s not for nothing that when reading, you should put logical emphasis on the first word. It was she who dared to do this. Probably, Tatyana thought that this would quickly win Evgeniy’s affection towards her. How did she miscalculate? Rejected by her boyfriend, she was soon forced to marry someone else.
It is impossible to separate Tatiana and Evgeniy in this work, since only with the passage of time did he perhaps realize the irony of the situation that happened so long ago. And how the years change dear Tatiana. In public, she behaves gracefully and proudly. Her gaze reveals the femininity that has come to her over the years. There is still no coquetry, no affectation, no desire to please. However, Evgeny no longer needs this. But throwing himself at Tatyana’s feet, the hero hears the well-known phrase: “I love you. (Why lie?) But I was given to another; I will be faithful to him forever."
This is how the love story that changed Russian classics forever ended.
Option 3
A.S. Pushkin is an artist of female images in literature of the 19th century. Portraits of contemporaries are found in almost every work of the writer. The search for the female ideal for Pushkin is one of the leading themes in his works.
One of the most beautiful Pushkin heroines is Tatyana Larina from the novel “Eugene Onegin”. The author embodied the true ideal of a girl in this image. The beauty of the Russian soul, moral principles, the ability to love - all are intertwined with thin threads in the girl’s characteristics.
In the very outward description of Tatiana one can feel the Russian nationality. Despite her noble origins, the village way of life is close to her. No social balls or the luxury of St. Petersburg can replace for her the silence of the forest, the sunrise, and harmony with nature. Larina herself is like a “fearful doe”; she is silent, wild, and sad.
Growing up on the estate, she absorbed the national character from childhood through fairy tales, folk songs, traditions and beliefs. The proof is the heroine’s belief in dreams. Filipyevna is for Tatyana, like nanny Arina Radionovna is for the poet, an inexhaustible spring of folk wisdom. With her mother's milk, the heroine absorbed a sense of duty and decency; for her, the concept of good and evil is clearly delineated.
Tatyana is far from stupid; the author has endowed her with a bright personality. She is not like city noble girls; there is no feigned coquetry or stupid affectation in her. Her love for Onegin is sincere and for life. She opens up to him in a purely feminine way through a letter. Only in it can she openly talk about her feelings. The touching nature of the confession once again emphasizes the sensitive nature of the heroine. Pushkin loves his heroine, he “sheds tears” with her, knowing about the participation prepared for her.
Rejected by Evgeny, Tatyana finds the strength to move on with her life. The author shows us a different Larina. The girl got married, her intellectual development and strict upbringing easily allowed her to become a real society lady. Having met Evgeny, Tatyana highly and arrogantly denies him love. The feeling is long above the love still remaining in the soul. Pushkin shows the heroine growing up, but at heart she is still the same pure and sincere girl. High society has not spoiled her individuality; she does not strive to appear better than she really is. Human values also remain the highest law for the heroine.
Having now received a letter from Onegin declaring his love for her, she does not condemn him. Love has not passed through her heart and happiness is close, but there is a sense of honor and duty. For Larina it is more important than her own happiness.
More than one generation of young girls grew up on the image of Pushkin’s Tatiana. Strong in spirit, faithful in heart - she has always served and serves as an example of the boundless purity of the fair sex of humanity.
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Women whose behavior and appearance differ from the generally accepted canons of the ideal have always attracted the attention of both literary figures and readers. The description of this type of people allows us to lift the curtain of unknown life quests and aspirations. Tatyana Larina's image is ideal for this role
Family and childhood memories
Tatyana Larina belongs to the nobility by origin, but all her life she was deprived of an extensive secular society - she always lived in the village and never strived for an active city life.
Tatiana's father Dmitry Larin was a foreman. At the time of the actions described in the novel, he is no longer alive. It is known that he died young. “He was a simple and kind gentleman.”
The girl's mother's name is Polina (Praskovya). She was extradited as a girl under duress. For some time she was depressed and tormented, experiencing a feeling of attachment to another person, but over time she found happiness in family life with Dmitry Larin.
Tatyana also has a sister, Olga. She is not at all similar in character to her sister: cheerfulness and coquetry are a natural state for Olga.
An important person for Tatyana’s development as a person was her nanny Filipyevna. This woman is a peasant by birth and, perhaps, this is her main charm - she knows many folk jokes and stories that so captivate the inquisitive Tatyana. The girl has a very reverent attitude towards the nanny, she sincerely loves her.
Name selection and prototypes
Pushkin emphasizes the unusualness of his image at the very beginning of the story, giving the girl the name Tatyana. The fact is that for the high society of that time the name Tatyana was not characteristic. This name at that time had a pronounced folk character. In Pushkin's drafts there is information that initially the heroine had the name Natalya, but later Pushkin changed his intention.
Alexander Sergeevich mentioned that this image is not without a prototype, but did not indicate who exactly played such a role for him.
Naturally, after such statements, both his contemporaries and researchers of later years actively analyzed Pushkin’s environment and tried to find the prototype of Tatyana.
Opinions on this issue are divided. It is possible that multiple prototypes were used for this image.
One of the most suitable candidates is Anna Petrovna Kern - her similarity in character with Tatyana Larina leaves no doubt.
The image of Maria Volkonskaya is ideal for describing the tenacity of Tatyana's character in the second part of the novel.
The next person who bears a resemblance to Tatyana Larina is Pushkin’s sister Olga. In terms of her temperament and character, she ideally matches the description of Tatyana in the first part of the novel.
Tatyana also has a certain similarity with Natalya Fonvizina. The woman herself found a great resemblance to this literary character and expressed the opinion that she was the prototype of Tatyana.
An unusual suggestion about the prototype was made by Pushkin’s lyceum friend Wilhelm Kuchelbecker. He found that the image of Tatiana was very similar to Pushkin himself. This similarity is especially evident in chapter 8 of the novel. Kuchelbecker states: “the feeling with which Pushkin is filled is noticeable, although he, like his Tatyana, does not want the world to know about this feeling.”
Question about the heroine's age
In the novel, we meet Tatyana Larina during her growing up period. She is a girl of marriageable age.
The opinions of researchers of the novel on the question of the girl’s year of birth differed.
Yuri Lotman claims that Tatyana was born in 1803. In this case, in the summer of 1820 she just turned 17 years old.
However, this opinion is not the only one. There is an assumption that Tatyana was much younger. Such thoughts are prompted by the nanny’s story that she was married off at the age of thirteen, as well as the mention that Tatyana, unlike most girls her age, did not play with dolls at that time.
V.S. Babaevsky puts forward another version about Tatyana’s age. He believes that the girl should be much older than Lotman’s supposed age. If the girl had been born in 1803, then the girl’s mother’s concern about the lack of options for her daughter’s marriage would not have been so pronounced. In this case, a trip to the so-called “bride fair” would not yet be necessary.
Appearance of Tatyana Larina
Pushkin does not go into a detailed description of Tatyana Larina’s appearance. The author is more interested in the heroine's inner world. We learn about Tatyana's appearance in contrast to the appearance of her sister Olga. The sister has a classic appearance - she has beautiful blond hair and a ruddy face. In contrast to this, Tatyana has dark hair, her face is excessively pale, devoid of color.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the heroes of A. S. Pushkin’s poem “Eugene Onegin”
Her look is full of despondency and sadness. Tatyana was too thin. Pushkin notes, “no one could call her beautiful.” Meanwhile, she was still an attractive girl, she had a special beauty.
Leisure and attitude towards needlework
It was generally accepted that the female half of society spent their free time doing needlework. The girls, in addition, also played with dolls or various active games (the most common was burners).
Tatiana does not like to do any of these activities. She loves listening to the nanny's scary stories and sitting by the window for hours.
Tatyana is very superstitious: “She was worried about omens.” The girl also believes in fortune telling and that dreams don’t just happen, they carry a certain meaning.
Tatyana is fascinated by novels - “they replaced everything for her.” She likes to feel like the heroine of such stories.
However, Tatyana Larina’s favorite book was not a love story, but a dream book “Martyn Zadeka became later / Tanya’s favorite.” Perhaps this is due to Tatyana’s great interest in mysticism and everything supernatural. It was in this book that she could find the answer to the question that interested her: “he gives her joy / in all her sorrows / and sleeps with her without leaving.”
Personality characteristics
Tatyana is not like most girls of her era. This applies to external data, hobbies, and character. Tatyana was not a cheerful and active girl who was easily given to coquetry. “Wild, sad, silent” is Tatyana’s classic behavior, especially in society.
Tatyana loves to indulge in daydreams - she can fantasize for hours. The girl has difficulty understanding her native language, but is in no hurry to learn it; in addition, she rarely engages in self-education. Tatyana gives preference to novels that can disturb her soul, but at the same time she cannot be called stupid, rather the opposite. Tatyana's image is full of “perfections”. This fact is in sharp contrast to the rest of the characters in the novel, who do not possess such components.
Due to her age and inexperience, the girl is too trusting and naive. She trusts the impulse of emotions and feelings.
Tatyana Larina is capable of tender feelings not only in relation to Onegin. With her sister Olga, despite the striking difference between the girls in temperament and perception of the world, she is connected by the most devoted feelings. In addition, she develops a feeling of love and tenderness towards her nanny.
Tatiana and Onegin
New people coming to the village always arouse interest among the permanent residents of the area. Everyone wants to meet a newcomer, learn about him - life in the village is not distinguished by the variety of events, and new people bring with them new topics for conversation and discussion.
Onegin's arrival did not go unnoticed. Vladimir Lensky, who was lucky enough to become Evgeniy’s neighbor, introduces Onegin to the Larins. Evgeny is very different from all the inhabitants of village life. His manner of speaking, behaving in society, his education and ability to conduct a conversation pleasantly amaze Tatyana, and not only her.
However, “the feelings in him cooled down early,” Onegin “has completely lost interest in life,” he is already bored with beautiful girls and their attention, but Larina has no idea about this.
Onegin instantly becomes the hero of Tatiana's novel. She idealizes the young man; he seems to her like he came straight out of the pages of her books about love:
Tatiana loves seriously
And he surrenders unconditionally
Love like a sweet child.
Tatyana suffers for a long time in languor and decides to take a desperate step - she decides to confess to Onegin and tell him about her feelings. Tatyana writes a letter.
The letter carries a double meaning. On the one hand, the girl expresses indignation and grief associated with Onegin’s arrival and her love. She has lost the peace in which she lived before and this leads the girl to bewilderment:
Why did you visit us
In the wilderness of a forgotten village
I would never have known you.
I wouldn't know bitter torment.
On the other hand, the girl, having analyzed her position, sums up: Onegin’s arrival is salvation for her, it is fate. Due to her character and temperament, Tatyana could not become the wife of any of the local suitors. She is too alien and incomprehensible for them - Onegin is another matter, he is able to understand and accept her:
It is destined in the highest council...
That is the will of heaven: I am yours;
My whole life was a pledge
The faithful date with you.
However, Tatiana’s hopes were not justified - Onegin does not love her, but was just playing with the girl’s feelings. The next tragedy in the girl’s life is the news of the duel between Onegin and Lensky, and the death of Vladimir. Evgeniy is leaving.
Tatyana falls into a blues - she often comes to Onegin’s estate and reads his books. Over time, the girl begins to understand that the real Onegin is radically different from the Eugene she wanted to see. She just idealized the young man.
This is where her unfulfilled romance with Onegin ends.
Tatiana's dream
Unpleasant events in the girl’s life, associated with the lack of mutual feelings for the object of her love, and then death, two weeks before the wedding of Vladimir Lensky’s sister’s fiancé, were preceded by a strange dream.
Tatyana always attached great importance to dreams. This same dream is doubly important for her, because it is the result of Christmas fortune-telling. Tatyana was supposed to see her future husband in a dream. The dream becomes prophetic.
At first, the girl finds herself in a snowy clearing, she approaches a stream, but the passage through it is too fragile, Larina is afraid of falling and looks around for an assistant. A bear appears from under a snowdrift. The girl gets scared, but when she sees that the bear is not going to attack, but on the contrary, he offers her his help, extends his hand to him - the obstacle has been overcome. However, the bear is in no hurry to leave the girl; he follows her, which scares Tatyana even more.
The girl tries to escape from her pursuer - she goes into the forest. Tree branches catch her clothes, take off her earrings, tear off her scarf, but Tatyana, gripped by fear, runs forward. The deep snow does not allow her to escape and the girl falls. At this time, a bear overtakes her; he does not attack her, but picks her up and carries her further.
A hut appears ahead. The bear says that his godfather lives here and Tatyana can warm up. Once in the hallway, Larina hears the sound of fun, but it reminds her of a wake. Strange guests - monsters - are sitting at the table. The girl is overcome with both fear and curiosity; she quietly opens the door - the owner of the hut turns out to be Onegin. He notices Tatyana and heads towards her. Larina wants to run away, but she can’t - the door opens and all the guests see her:
... Fierce laughter
It sounded wild; everyone's eyes
Hooves, trunks are crooked,
Tufted tails, fangs,
Mustaches, bloody tongues,
Horns and fingers are bone,
Everything points to her
And everyone shouts: mine! my!
The imperious owner calms the guests - the guests disappear, and Tatyana is invited to the table. Olga and Lensky immediately appear in the hut, causing a storm of indignation on the part of Onegin. Tatyana is horrified by what is happening, but does not dare to intervene. In a fit of anger, Onegin takes a knife and kills Vladimir. The dream ends, it’s morning already.
Tatyana's marriage
A year later, Tatiana’s mother comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to take her daughter to Moscow - Tatiana has every chance of remaining a virgin:
At Kharitonya's alley
Cart in front of the house at the gate
Has stopped. To the old aunt
The patient has been suffering from consumption for four years,
They have arrived now.
Aunt Alina joyfully received the guests. She herself was unable to get married at one time and lived alone all her life.
Here, in Moscow, Tatyana is noticed by an important, fat general. He was struck by Larina’s beauty and “meanwhile he couldn’t take his eyes off her.”
Pushkin does not reveal the general’s age, as well as his exact name, in the novel. Alexander Sergeevich calls Larina’s admirer General N. It is known that he took part in military events, which means that his career advancement could occur at an accelerated pace, in other words, he received the rank of general without being at an advanced age.
Tatyana does not feel even a shadow of love towards this man, but still agrees to the marriage.
The details of their relationship with her husband are not known - Tatyana came to terms with her role, but she did not have a feeling of love for her husband - it was replaced by affection and a sense of duty.
Love for Onegin, despite the debunking of his idealistic image, still did not leave Tatyana’s heart.
Meeting with Onegin
Two years later, Evgeny Onegin returns from his journey. He does not go to his village, but visits his relative in St. Petersburg. As it turned out, during these two years, changes occurred in the life of his relative:
“So you're married! I didn’t know before!
How long ago?” - About two years. -
"On whom?" - On Larina. - “Tatyana!”
Onegin, who always knows how to restrain himself, succumbs to excitement and feelings - he is overcome by anxiety: “Is it really her? But exactly... No...".
Tatyana Larina has changed a lot since their last meeting - they no longer look at her as a strange provincial girl:
The ladies moved closer to her;
The old women smiled at her;
The men bowed lower
The girls walked by more quietly.
Tatyana learned to behave like all secular women. She knows how to hide her emotions, is tactful towards other people, there is a certain amount of coolness in her behavior - all this surprises Onegin.
Tatyana, it seems, was not at all stunned, unlike Evgeny, by their meeting:
Her eyebrow didn't move;
She didn't even press her lips together.
Always so brave and lively, Onegin was at a loss for the first time and did not know how to speak to her. Tatyana, on the contrary, asked him with the most indifferent expression on her face about the trip and the date of his return.
Since then, Evgeniy has lost peace. He realizes that he loves a girl. He comes to them every day, but feels awkward in front of the girl. All his thoughts are occupied only with her - from the very morning he jumps out of bed and counts the hours remaining until they meet.
But the meetings do not bring relief either - Tatyana does not notice his feelings, she behaves with restraint, proudly, in a word, just like Onegin himself towards her two years ago. Consumed by excitement, Onegin decides to write a letter.
Noticing a spark of tenderness in you,
“I didn’t dare believe her,” he writes about the events of two years ago.
Evgeniy confesses his love to a woman. “I was punished,” he says, explaining his past recklessness.
Like Tatyana, Onegin entrusts her with the solution to the problem that has arisen:
Everything is decided: I am in your will
And I surrender to my fate.
However, there was no answer. The first letter is followed by another and another, but they remain unanswered. Days pass - Evgeniy cannot lose his anxiety and confusion. He comes to Tatyana again and finds her sobbing over his letter. She was very similar to the girl he met two years ago. Excited Onegin falls at her feet, but
Tatyana is categorical - her love for Onegin has not yet faded, but Eugene himself ruined their happiness - he neglected her when she was unknown to anyone in society, not rich and not “favored by the court.” Evgeny was rude to her, he played with her feelings. Now she is the wife of another man. Tatyana does not love her husband, but she will “be faithful to him forever,” because it cannot be any other way. Another scenario is contrary to the girl’s life principles.
Tatyana Larina as assessed by critics
Roman A.S. Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin” has become the subject of active research and scientific-critical activity for several generations. The image of the main character Tatyana Larina became the cause of repeated controversy and analysis.
- Yu. Lotman in his works he actively analyzed the essence and principle of writing Tatiana’s letter to Onegin. He came to the conclusion that the girl, having read novels, recreated “a chain of reminiscences primarily from the texts of French literature.”
- V.G. Belinsky, says that for Pushkin’s contemporaries the release of the third chapter of the novel became a sensation. The reason for this was Tatyana’s letter. According to the critic, Pushkin himself until that moment did not realize the power produced by the letter - he calmly read it, just like any other text.
The writing style is a little childish, romantic - this touches, because Tatyana was not yet aware of the feelings of love “the language of passions was so new and inaccessible to the morally dumb Tatyana: she would not have been able to understand or express her own feelings if she had not resorted to to the help of the impressions left on her.” - D. Pisarev I wasn’t so inspired by Tatyana’s image. He believes that the girl’s feelings are fake - she inspires them herself and thinks that it is the truth. While analyzing the letter to Tatiana, the critic notes that Tatiana is still aware of Onegin’s lack of interest in her person, because she suggests that Onegin’s visits will not be regular; this state of affairs does not allow the girl to become a “virtuous mother.” “And now, by your grace, I, a cruel man, must disappear,” writes Pisarev. In general, the image of a girl in his concept is not the most positive and borders on the definition of a “hillbilly”.
- F. Dostoevsky believes that Pushkin should have named his novel not after Evgeniy, but after Tatiana. Since this heroine is the main character in the novel. In addition, the writer notes that Tatyana has a much greater intelligence than Evgeniy. She knows how to act correctly in current situations. Her image is noticeably firm. “A firm type, standing firmly on its own soil,” Dostoevsky says about her.
- V. Nabokov notes that Tatyana Larina has become one of her favorite characters. As a result, her image turned “into the ‘national type’ of the Russian woman.” However, over time, this character was forgotten - with the beginning of the October Revolution, Tatyana Larina lost her significance. For Tatyana, according to the writer, there was another unfavorable period. During Soviet rule, the younger sister Olga occupied a much more advantageous position in relation to her sister.
Tatyana Larina symbolizes the image of a Russian girl. It is difficult to understand the soul of a Russian without being a Russian. It is Tatyana who appears before us as a symbol of the mysterious Russian soul.
From childhood she was distinguished by her difference from others. Her originality, sometimes wildness, seems to some like pride, affectation. But that's not true. A gentle disposition, but strength of character is manifested and even more emphasized against the background of his sister Olga. It would seem that a young girl in a noble family could be worried. Are deep thoughts, the ability to reason and analyze inherent in such a greenhouse environment? Lightness and carelessness should have become her companions, but everything turned out differently. The desire for study and self-development made the girls strong in character, deeply thinking, and empathetic. Frequent solitudes contributed to deep immersion and self-knowledge.
The first feeling that washed over Tatyana absorbed her completely. She was ready to meet love. Reading novels contributed to this. And so, the image of a person who corresponded to her fictional hero appeared in reality.
Tatyana, a pure and open person, went towards the feeling. She accepted it and decided to take a difficult but necessary step - recognition.
Having overcome her maiden pride, she dared to take the first step. What did she get in return? Condescension on the part of the brilliant Onegin towards a provincial girl, a humane act of refusal. First love often breaks young hearts. But this defeat made Tatyana stronger. The feeling did not fade away, but only hid somewhere in the depths of my soul. Nothing could stop her from loving Evgeniy, neither his indifference, nor cruelty, nor cynicism, nor the murder of Lensky. You cannot love for something, you can love in spite of it. Only then is it love.
Tatyana is a sensual but proud person. She did not humiliate herself and ask for Onegin’s love. She tried to move away and forget. Only she herself knows what was going on in her soul, what kind of struggle was raging between her mind and her heart. Reason allowed a provincial savage girl to turn into a sedate lady, the owner of a salon. An unloved husband cannot doubt his wife’s tenderness and fidelity even for a second.
The power of love, its beauty is most colorfully revealed in tragedy. Tatyana is not destined to be with Onegin. Love is alive in her heart, and perhaps has only intensified over time. But, alas. A sacrifice of love for the sake of honor and the promised oath at the altar.
Tatyana Larina, one of the central characters in Pushkin’s poem “Eugene Onegin,” occupies an important place in this work, because it was in her image that the brilliant poet concentrated all the best feminine qualities that he had ever encountered in his life. For him, “Tatyana, dear Tatiana” is a concentration of ideal ideas about what a real Russian woman should be and one of the most beloved heroines, to whom he himself confesses his passionate feelings: “I love my dear Tatiana so much.”
Pushkin describes his heroine with great tenderness and trepidation throughout the entire poem. He sincerely empathizes with her about unrequited feelings for Onegin and is proud of how nobly and honestly she acts in the finale, rejecting his love for the sake of duty to her unloved, but God-given husband.
Characteristics of the heroine
We meet Tatyana Larina in the quiet village estate of her parents, where she was born and raised, her mother is a good wife and caring housewife, giving all of herself to her husband and children, her father is a “kind fellow”, a little stuck in the last century. Their eldest daughter appears before us as a very little girl, who, despite her young age, has unique, extraordinary character traits: calmness, thoughtfulness, silence and some external detachment, which distinguish her from all other children and in particular from her younger sister Olga.
(Illustration for the novel "Eugene Onegin" by artist E.P. Samokish-Sudkovskaya)
“Tatiana, Russian at heart” loves the nature surrounding her parents’ estate, subtly senses its beauty and experiences real pleasure from being united with it. The vast expanses of the secluded little Motherland are sweeter and closer to her heart than the “hateful life” of the St. Petersburg high society, which she never wants to exchange for what has forever become a part of her soul.
Raised, like Pushkin, by a simple woman from the people, from childhood she was in love with Russian fairy tales, legends and traditions, and was prone to mysticism, to mysterious and enigmatic folk beliefs and ancient rituals. Already in adulthood, a fascinating world of novels opened up to her, which she read avidly, forcing her to experience dizzying adventures and various life vicissitudes with her heroes. Tatyana is a sensitive and dreamy girl, living in her secluded little world, surrounded by dreams and fantasies, completely alien to the reality around her.
(K. I. Rudakova, painting "Eugene Onegin. Meeting in the Garden" 1949)
However, having met the hero of her dreams, Onegin, who seemed to her to be a mysterious and original personality, noticeably standing out from the surrounding crowd, the girl, discarding shyness and uncertainty, passionately and sincerely tells him about her love, writing a touching and naive letter, full of sublime simplicity and deep feelings. This act reveals both her willfulness and openness, as well as the spirituality and poetry of a subtle girl’s soul.
The image of the heroine in the work
Pure in soul, sincere and naive, Tatyana falls in love with Onegin, being very young, and carries this feeling throughout her life. Having written this touching letter to her chosen one, she is not afraid of condemnation and anxiously awaits an answer. Pushkin is tenderly touched by the bright feelings of his heroine and asks readers for indulgence for her, because she is so naive and pure, so simple and natural, and it is precisely these qualities for the author of the poem, who has been burned more than once at the stake of his feelings, that play a very important role in life .
Having received a bitter lesson that Onegin taught her, who read her painful moral teachings and rejected her feelings for fear of losing freedom and tying the knot, she experiences her unrequited love hard. But this tragedy does not embitter her; she will forever retain in the depths of her soul these sublime, bright feelings for the person with whom she will never be together.
Having met Onegin a few years later in St. Petersburg, already being a brilliant high-society lady with feelings and reason shackled in the impenetrable armor of secular decency and love for him hidden deep in her soul, she does not revel in her triumph, does not want to take revenge on him or humiliate him. The inner purity and sincerity of her soul, the shine of which has not dimmed in the least in the dirt of metropolitan life, does not allow her to stoop to empty and false social games. Tatyana still loves Onegin, but cannot tarnish the honor and reputation of her elderly husband and therefore rejects his such ardent, but too late love.
Tatyana Larina is a person of high moral culture with a deeply conscious sense of self-worth; literary critics call her image “the ideal image of a Russian woman,” which Pushkin created to glorify the nobility, fidelity and great purity of their unsullied life of the Russian soul.
The image of Tatyana in the novel “Eugene Onegin” by A.S. has conceptual significance. Pushkin. Firstly, because the poet in his work created the unique, unique character of the Russian woman. And secondly, this image embodied an important principle of Alexander Sergeevich - the principle of realistic art. In one of his articles, Pushkin explains and analyzes the reasons for the emergence of “literary monsters” with the emergence and development of romantic literature, which replaced classicism. Let's take a closer look at the image of Tatyana in the novel "Eugene Onegin".
Pushkin's main idea
The poet agrees that the depiction of not a moral teaching, but an ideal - the general trend of contemporary literature - is correct in its essence. But, according to Alexander Sergeevich, neither the past idea of human nature as a kind of “cute pomposity”, nor today’s image of vice triumphant in the hearts are essentially deep-seated. Pushkin, thus, affirms new ideals in his work (stanzas 13 and 14 of the third chapter): according to the author’s plan, the novel, built primarily on a love conflict, should reflect the most stable and characteristic signs of the way of life adhered to by several generations of the noble family in Russia .
Pushkin's heroes therefore speak in a natural language, their experiences are not monotonous and schematic, but multifaceted and natural. Describing the feelings of the characters in the novel, Alexander Sergeevich tests the veracity of the descriptions with life itself, relying on his own impressions and observations.
Contrast between Tatiana and Olga
Taking into account this concept of Alexander Sergeevich, it becomes clear how and why the image of Tatyana in the novel “Eugene Onegin” is compared with the character of another heroine, Olga, when the reader gets acquainted with the first. Olga is cheerful, obedient, modest, sweet and simple-minded. Her eyes are blue, like the sky, her curls are flaxen, her figure is light, yet she does not stand out in any way from a number of similar provincial young ladies in the novel “Eugene Onegin.” The image of Tatyana Larina is built on contrast. This girl is not as attractive in appearance as her sister, and the heroine’s hobbies and behavior only emphasize her originality and difference from the others. Pushkin writes that in her family she seemed like a strange girl, she was silent, sad, wild, timid, like a doe.
Name Tatyana
Alexander Sergeevich gives a note in which he indicates that names such as Thekla, Fedora, Filat, Agrafon and others are used among us only among common people. Then, in the author's digression, Pushkin develops this idea. He writes that the name Tatyana will sanctify the “tender pages” of this novel for the first time. It merged harmoniously with the characteristic features of the girl’s appearance, her character traits, manners and habits.
The character of the main character
The village world, books, nature, scary stories that the nanny told on dark winter nights - all these simple, sweet hobbies gradually form the image of Tatyana in the novel "Eugene Onegin". Pushkin notes what was most dear to the girl: she loved to meet the “sunrise of dawn” on the balcony, to watch the dance of stars disappear on the “pale horizon.”
Books played a big role in shaping the feelings and views of Tatyana Larina. Novels replaced everything else for her, providing her with the opportunity to find her dreams, her “secret heat.” Passion for books, acquaintance with other, fantastic worlds that were filled with all kinds of colors of life, was not just entertainment for our heroine. Tatyana Larina, whose image we are considering, wanted to find in them something that she could not find in the real world. Perhaps that is why she suffered a fatal mistake, the first failure in her life - her love for Eugene Onegin.
Perceiving the alien surroundings as contrary to her poetic soul, Tatyana Larina, whose image stands out among all others in the work, created her own illusory world, where love, beauty, goodness, and justice ruled. To complete the picture, only one thing was missing - a unique, only hero. Therefore, Onegin, shrouded in mystery, thoughtful, seemed to the girl the embodiment of her secret girlish dreams.
Tatiana's letter
Tatyana's letter, a touching and sweet declaration of love, reflects the entire complex range of feelings that gripped her restless, immaculate soul. Hence such a sharp, contrasting opposition: Onegin is “unsociable”, he is bored in the village, and the members of Tatyana’s family, although “simply happy” to have a guest, do not shine in any way. This is where the excessive praise of the chosen one comes from, conveyed, among other things, through the girl’s description of the indelible impression that she received at the first meeting with the hero: she always knew him, but fate did not give the lovers a chance to meet in this world.
And then came this wonderful moment of recognition, meeting. “I recognized it instantly,” writes Tatiana. For her, whom no one around her understands, and this brings suffering to the girl, Eugene is a deliverer, a savior, a handsome prince who will revive her and disenchant Tatiana’s unfortunate heart. It would seem that dreams have come true, but reality sometimes turns out to be so cruel and deceptive that it is impossible even to imagine.
Evgeniy's answer
The girl’s tender confession touches Onegin, but he is not yet ready to bear responsibility for other people’s feelings, fate, and hope. His advice is simple in everyday life, reflecting the life experience he has accumulated in society. He urges the girl to learn to control herself, since inexperience leads to trouble and not everyone will understand her the way Eugene understood.
New Tatiana
This is just the beginning of the most interesting thing that the novel “Eugene Onegin” tells us about. Tatiana's image is significantly transformed. The girl turns out to be a capable student. She learned to “control herself” by overcoming mental pain. In the careless and stately, indifferent princess, it is now difficult to recognize that former girl - in love, timid, simple and poor.
Have Tatyana's life principles changed?
Is it fair to assume that if significant changes have occurred in Tatyana’s character, then the heroine’s life principles have also changed significantly? If we interpret Tatyana’s behavior in this way, then in this we will follow Eugene Onegin, who was inflamed with passion for this unapproachable goddess. Tatyana accepted the rules of this game that was alien to her, but her sincerity, moral purity, inquisitiveness of mind, directness, understanding of duty and justice, and the ability to courageously and with dignity to meet and overcome difficulties that arose along the way did not disappear.
The girl responds to Onegin’s confession that she loves him, but is given to another, and will be faithful to him forever. These are simple words, but how much resentment, bitterness, mental pain, and suffering they contain! The image of Tatyana in the novel is vital and convincing. He evokes admiration and sincere sympathy.
Tatyana's depth, height, and spirituality allowed Belinsky to call her a “genius.” Pushkin himself admired this image, created so skillfully. In Tatyana Larina, he embodied the ideal of a Russian woman.
We looked at this complex and interesting image. Tatiana Onegina was not in the novel, and could not have been, according to Pushkin. The heroes' attitudes to life were too different.
