“A Hero of Our Time” is the first major socio-psychological novel in Russian literature. The main problem of the novel “Heroes of Our Time” is determined by M.Yu. Lermontov in the preface: he draws “ modern man“as he understands it,” his hero is not a portrait of one person, but “a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation.” In the image of Pechorin, the fundamental features of the post-Decembrist era were expressed, in which, according to Herzen, on the surface “only losses were visible,” but inside “the great work... deaf and silent, but active and continuous.”
Pechorin himself, reflecting on his life, finds in it much in common with the fate of an entire generation: “We are no longer capable of great sacrifices, either for the good of humanity, or even for our own happiness, because we know its impossibility and indifferently move from doubt to doubt "
Pechorin, how evil spirit, brings suffering to everyone who meets on his way: Bela and her loved ones, the family of “honest smugglers” Mary, Grushnitsky. At the same time, he is the strictest judge of himself. He calls himself a “moral cripple” and more than once compares himself to an executioner. No one understands better than Pechorin how empty and meaningless his life is. Remembering the past before the duel, he cannot answer the question: “Why did I live? For what purpose was I born? Life torments Pechorin: “I am like a man yawning at a ball who does not go to bed only because his carriage is not yet there.” But still alive soul Pechorina also manifests himself in the shock of Bela’s death, in tears of despair when he realized that he had lost Faith forever, in the ability to surrender to the charm of nature even before a duel, in the ability to look at himself from the outside.
In Mary's confession, Pechorin accuses society of becoming a “moral cripple.” Pechorin repeatedly talks about his duality, about the contradiction between his human essence and existence. He confesses to Dr. Werner: “There are two people in me: one lives in the full sense of the word, the other thinks and judges him...” To live for Pechorin, and this is precisely the function of the first person - “to be always on the alert, to catch every glance, meaning every word, guess intentions, destroy conspiracies, pretend to be deceived and suddenly, with one push, overturn the entire huge and laborious edifice of tricks and plans...”
Pechorin differs from the other characters in the novel precisely in that
that he is worried about questions of consciousness human existence- about the purpose and meaning of a person’s life, about his purpose. He is worried that his only purpose is to destroy the hopes of others.
“A Hero of Our Time” is the first major socio-psychological novel in Russian literature. The main problem of the novel “Heroes of Our Time” is determined by M.Yu. Lermontov in the preface: he paints “modern man as he understands him,” his hero is a portrait not of one person, but “a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation.” In the image of Pechorin, the fundamental features of the post-Decembrist era were expressed, in which, according to Herzen, on the surface “only losses were visible,” but inside “great work was being accomplished... deaf and silent, but active and continuous.”
Pechorin himself, reflecting on his life, finds in it much in common with the fate of an entire generation: “We are no longer capable of great sacrifices, either for the good of humanity, or even for our own happiness, because we know its impossibility and indifferently move from doubt to doubt "
Pechorin, like an evil spirit, brings suffering to everyone who meets on his way: Bela and her loved ones, the family of “honest smugglers” Mary, Grushnitsky. At the same time, he is the strictest judge of himself. He calls himself a “moral cripple” and more than once compares himself to an executioner. No one understands better than Pechorin how empty and meaningless his life is. Remembering the past before the duel, he cannot answer the question: “Why did I live? For what purpose was I born? Life torments Pechorin: “I am like a man yawning at a ball who does not go to bed only because his carriage is not yet there.” But nevertheless, Pechorin’s living soul manifests itself in the shock of Bela’s death, in tears of despair when he realized that he had lost Faith forever, in the ability to surrender to the charm of nature even before a duel, in the ability to look at himself from the outside.
In Mary's confession, Pechorin accuses society of becoming a “moral cripple.” Pechorin repeatedly talks about his duality, about the contradiction between his human essence and existence. He confesses to Dr. Werner: “There are two people in me: one lives in the full sense of the word, the other thinks and judges him...” To live for Pechorin, and this is precisely the function of the first person - “to be always on the alert, to catch every glance, meaning every word, guess intentions, destroy conspiracies, pretend to be deceived and suddenly, with one push, overturn the entire huge and laborious edifice of tricks and plans...”
Pechorin differs from the other characters in the novel precisely in that
that he is concerned about questions of conscious human existence - about the purpose and meaning of human life, about his purpose. He is worried that his only purpose is to destroy the hopes of others.
/ / / What is the inconsistency of Pechorin’s character?
Lermontov in his work “Hero of Our Time” shows Pechorin as a very contradictory nature. On the one hand, the character is noble, on the other hand, he loves to make fun of the same Grushnitsky. The man constantly pisses off his friend with impudent conversations about Mary. The officer, as if by chance, informs the girl herself that Grushnitsky is just a cadet. This means that the princess’s expectations do not coincide with reality and she is disappointed in her boyfriend. This is a very low act on the part of Pechorin towards his comrade.
There is also a contradiction when the young man admits to Dr. Werner that he does not consider him a friend. But in another situation, he tells the man details from his life and even asks to be his second in a duel with Grushnitsky. Thus, he trusts the military doctor with the most important secrets from his biography.
Werner is also aware of Pechorin’s relationship with. He knows what the man was doing that evening near the Ligovskys’ house, and why he was accused of going after Mary.
Grigory Alexandrovich is not a coward, and on the day of the fight with Grushnitsky he calmly prepares for battle. When former comrade missed, the man calmly demanded to reload his musket, due to the fact that they forgot to put a bullet in it. But meanwhile, he does not want his “opponent” to die.
By challenging Grushnitsky to a duel, he wanted first of all to scare him. But at the same time, he demanded such conditions that only one should leave the “battlefield”. Another, even if he is slightly wounded, will definitely stumble and fall off the cliff.
Pechorin's character was complex and contradictory in his relationships with women. He liked Bela, but the man felt sad with her. He would have married, but for some reason he was afraid to offend Vera. And the relationship with the woman he loves was not easy. He led double play, when he tried to date both Ligovskaya and Vera, but in the end, he remained lonely.
One day Mary confessed her love to him. Not to say that the man was not ready to hear such a thing. On the contrary, he wanted it. However, he did not even show that the words were pleasant to him and that there was reciprocity between them. Before this, he opened his soul to the princess. In his story, the man was extremely honest and frank. This gave rise to the girl’s confidence that Pechorin was in love with her and wanted to marry her.
So sometimes a man deceived himself. He searched for happiness for a long time, and when he found it, he abandoned it. He did not believe in fate, but managed to discern the sign of death on Vulich’s face. He did not want to suffer and love, but every time he threw himself into the “pool headlong” at the sight of a worthy woman.
The man was born to conquer. He proved to himself and those around him that for him the word “no” does not exist. This is how he satisfied his vanity and pride. But on the other hand, he sometimes hated himself for his outright cruelty. The man compared himself to a vampire who feeds on other people’s emotions, but at the same time, he despised those who provoke scandals and get involved in conspiracies.
But in the end, such a complex person as, with a rich “biography”, suffers from melancholy and boredom. What is this, a paradox, or an attempt to justify one’s irresponsibility?
The central character of the novel M.Yu. Lermontov "Hero of Our Time" - Pechorin - a complex and deep person, inner world which is contradictory and unpredictable. Having described him in his actions and views from the outside, the author endowed his hero with those qualities that were inherent in a man of that time, making him a product of his era. The character turned out to be bright and deep in his tragedy, which caused a lot of gossip and condemnation; many labeled Pecherin immoral and selfish, but is he really like that?
Being collectively, a kind of bright representative of the time in which he was born, Pecherin is ambiguous. His behavior can be interpreted in different ways, but in all the actions and words of the hero one can read a certain duality. Delving into his inner world, it becomes obvious that Pecherin is not evil and, to some extent, even a kind person, but his actions and words bring pain to those around him, and for some heroes they are even fatal. At the same time, he shows detachment and dispassion towards everything that happens to him in life, and the next moment he lives greedily and insatiably. Pecherin himself calls himself either a moral cripple, or a person bored at the ball, or even completely admits the duality of nature. He talks about the combination of two people in one body, one of whom commits actions, and the other only contemplates and condemns the first.
It would seem that incompatible things are combined in Pecherin: a fatalist who understands the futility of everything in life and a person who lives with enviable thirst and determination, who gets what he wants, despite obstacles and not counting losses. But this is the tragedy of the image - he did not think about the life and feelings of those around him, he was too deep in himself. Doing soul-searching and searching for meaning to questions that had no answers, Pecherin did not notice the people nearby and did not try to make anyone happy.
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Cruel times make people cruel. Proof of this - main character Lermontov's novel "Hero of Our Time" by Grigory Pechorin, in which the author reproduced, in his words, "a portrait, but not of one person: it is a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation in their full development." Pechorin is the image of a nobleman of the 30s, the era of the “dark decade”, the Nicholas reaction that came after the defeat of the Decembrist uprising, when any free thought was persecuted and every living feeling was suppressed. Pechorin is the bitter truth about an era of timelessness, in which all the best people of Russia, instead of directing their minds, energy and remarkable strength to achieve a high goal, became “moral cripples”, since they simply had no goal: time did not allowed it to arise.
A product of his age, a cold egoist who only causes suffering to everyone - this is how Pechorin became, and yet we see what a brilliant mind, extraordinary willpower, talent and energy this man possesses. Pechorin is an extraordinary personality, one of the best people of his time, so what: having refused to serve society, in the possibility of which he had completely lost faith, having not found use for his powers, Lermontov’s hero wastes his life aimlessly. Pechorin is too deep and original a nature to become only a reflective intellectual. Distinguished by his independence of mind and strength of character, he cannot stand vulgarity and routine and is certainly above his surroundings. He wants nothing - no ranks, no titles, no benefits - and he does nothing to achieve success. This alone makes him stand above his surroundings. And besides, his independence was the only possible form of expression of disagreement with the structure of life. There is a hidden protest in this position. Pechorin should not be reproached for inaction, since it stems from an unwillingness to serve “the Tsar and the Fatherland.” The tsar is a tyrant who does not tolerate the manifestation of thought and hates freedom, the fatherland is officials mired in slander, envy, careerism, idly spending their time, pretending to care about the good of the fatherland, but in fact are indifferent to it.
In his youth, Pechorin was overwhelmed with ideas, hobbies and aspirations. He was sure that he was born for a reason, that he was destined for some important mission, that with his life he would make a significant contribution to the development of his fatherland. But very quickly this confidence passed, over the years they dissipated and last hopes, and by the age of thirty there was “only fatigue, as after a night battle with a ghost, and a vague memory full of regrets...”. The hero lives without a goal, without hope, without love. His heart is empty and cold. Life has no value; he despises it, as well as himself: “Perhaps I’ll die somewhere on the road! Well? To die like that. The loss for the world is small; and I’m already pretty bored myself.” These words contain tragedy from a meaningless life and bitterness from hopelessness.
Pechorin is smart, resourceful, insightful, but these qualities bring only misfortune to the people with whom fate brings him together. He took away from Kazbich the most precious thing he had - a horse, made Azamat a homeless abrek, he is guilty of the death of Bela and her father, he disturbed the peace in the soul of Maxim Maksimych, he disturbed the peaceful life of "honest smugglers." He is selfish, but he himself suffers from it. His behavior deserves condemnation, but one cannot help but feel sympathy for him; in the society where he lives, the forces of his rich nature do not find real use. Pechorin seems either a cold egoist or a deeply suffering person, deprived of his a decent life, possibilities of action. Discord with reality leads the hero to apathy.
Speaking of tragedy extraordinary personalities, about the impossibility of finding a use for their powers, the author also shows how detrimental their withdrawal into themselves and distance from people is.
A strong will and a brilliant mind do not prevent Pechorin from becoming, as he himself puts it, a “moral cripple.” Having accepted such life principles Due to individualism and egoism, Lermontov's hero gradually lost all the best in his character. In the story "Maksim Maksimych" Pechorin is not at all the same as he was in the first stories, in the first days of his appearance in the Caucasus. Now he lacks attention and friendliness, he is overcome by indifference to everything, there is no former activity, no desire for sincere impulses, no readiness to discover “endless sources of love” in himself. His rich nature is completely empty.
Pechorin is a contradictory personality. This manifests itself in character, behavior, and attitude to life. He is a skeptic, a frustrated man who lives “out of curiosity,” and at the same time he thirsts for life and activity. And his attitude towards women - isn’t this where the contradictory nature of his nature is revealed? He explains his attention to women only by the need for ambition, which “is nothing more than a thirst for power, and my first pleasure is to subordinate to my will everything that surrounds me: to arouse feelings of love, devotion and fear for myself - isn’t that the first sign and the greatest triumph of power?", At the same time, having received last letter from Vera, he rushes like crazy to Pyatigorsk, says that she is “more precious to him than anything in the world,” more valuable than life, honor, happiness!” Having lost his horse, he even “fell on the wet grass and cried like a child.”
Lermontov's hero is inherent in highest degree introspection. But it is painful for him. Since Pechorin made himself an object for observation, he almost lost the ability to surrender to direct feeling, to fully feel the joy of living life. Being analyzed, the feeling weakens or goes out altogether. Pechorin himself admits that two people live in his soul: one commits actions, and the other judges him. This strict judgment of himself does not allow Pechorin to be content with little, deprives him of peace, does not allow him to come to terms with the life that is determined for him by social conditions.
“The tragedy of Pechorin,” wrote V. G. Belinsky, “is primarily in the contradiction between the loftiness of nature and the pitifulness of actions.” Who is to blame for it? Pechorin himself answers this question like this: “My soul is spoiled by the light,” that is, by the environment, the society in which he happened to live.
