Researchers have repeatedly noted the detail, detail and psychologism of the character portraits created by M.Yu. Lermontov. B. M. Eikhenbaum wrote that the basis portrait painting writer “laid out a new idea about the connection between a person’s appearance and his character and psyche in general - an idea in which echoes of new philosophical and natural science theories, which served as a support for early materialism."
Let's try to look at the portraits of characters in the novel “A Hero of Our Time.” The most detailed description appearance in the novel is a portrait of Pechorin, given in the perception of a passing officer. It gives a detailed description of the hero's physique, his clothes, face, gait, and each of these details of appearance can tell a lot about the hero. As V.V. Vinogradov notes, external details are interpreted by the author in physiological, social or psychological aspect, a kind of parallelism is established between the external and the internal.
Thus, Pechorin’s aristocratic origin is emphasized by such details in his portrait as “a pale, noble forehead”, “a small aristocratic hand”, “dazzling white teeth”, a black mustache and eyebrows, despite light color hair. ABOUT physical strength Pechorin, his agility and endurance are indicated by “broad shoulders” and “a strong build, capable of enduring all the difficulties of nomadic life.” The hero's gait is careless and lazy, but he does not have the habit of waving his arms, which indicates a certain secrecy of character.
But most of all, the narrator is struck by Pechorin’s eyes, which “did not laugh when he laughed.” And here the narrator openly connects the portrait of the hero with his psychology: “This is a sign of either an evil disposition or deep, constant sadness,” the narrator notes.
His cold, metallic gaze speaks of the hero’s insight, intelligence and at the same time indifference. “Because of the half-lowered eyelashes, they [the eyes] shone with some kind of phosphorescent shine, so to speak. It was not a reflection of the heat of the soul or the playful imagination: it was a shine, similar to the shine of smooth steel, dazzling, but cold, his gaze was short, but penetrating and heavy, leaving an unpleasant impression of an indiscreet question and could have seemed impudent if not for was so indifferently calm.”
The contradictory nature of Pechorin is revealed by the opposite features in his portrait: “strong build” and “nervous weakness” of the whole body, a cold, penetrating gaze - and a childish smile, an indefinite impression of the hero’s age (at first glance, no more than twenty-three years old, on closer acquaintance - thirty).
Thus, the composition of the portrait is built as if narrowing,< от более внешнего, физиологического к психологическому, характеристическому, от типического к индивидуальному»: от обрисовки телосложения, одежды, манер к обрисовке выражения лица, глаз и т.д.
Other characters are depicted in less detail in the novel. For example, a description of the appearance of Maxim Maksimych: “Behind my cart, four bulls were dragging another... Its owner walked behind it, smoking from a small Kabardian pipe, trimmed in silver. He was wearing an officer's frock coat without epaulettes and a Circassian shaggy hat. He seemed to be about fifty years old; his dark complexion showed that he had long been familiar with the Transcaucasian sun, and his prematurely gray mustache did not match his firm gait and cheerful appearance.”
Maxim Maksimych is a physically strong person with good health, cheerful and resilient. This hero is simple-minded, sometimes awkward and seems funny: “He did not stand on ceremony, even hit me on the shoulder and curled his mouth like a smile. Such a weirdo!” However, there is something childish about him: “...he looked at me in surprise, grumbled something through his teeth and began rummaging through the suitcase; so he took out one notebook and threw it with contempt on the ground; then the second, third and tenth had the same fate: there was something childish in his annoyance; I felt funny and sorry..."
Maxim Maksimych is a simple army captain; he does not have Pechorin’s insight, his intellect, his spiritual needs. However, this hero has kind hearted, youthful naivety, integrity of character, and the writer emphasizes these traits by depicting his manners and behavior.
In Pechorin's perception, the novel gives a portrait of Grushnitsky. This is a portrait-essay that reveals not only the appearance of the hero, but also his manners, habits, lifestyle, and character traits. Grushnitsky appears here as a certain human type. We find this kind of portrait-essays in Pushkin and Gogol. However, it is worth noting that all descriptions of Lermontov’s appearance are accompanied by the author’s commentary - conclusions that the author draws when outlining this or that detail of appearance (in this case, all the conclusions are made by Pechorin). Pushkin and Gogol have no such comments. We find similar comments when depicting appearance in Tolstoy, however, Tolstoy does not comment on the initial portrait of the hero, but on the dynamic descriptions of the character’s states.
The portrait of Grushnitsky indirectly characterizes Pechorin himself, emphasizing his intelligence and insight, ability to understand human psychology and at the same time - subjectivity of perception.
“Grushnitsky is a cadet. He has only been in the service for a year, and wears, out of a special kind of dandyism, a thick soldier’s overcoat... He is well built, dark-skinned and black-haired; he looks like he might be twenty-five years old, although he is hardly twenty-one. He throws his head back when he speaks, and constantly twirls his mustache with his left hand, because he leans on a crutch with his right. He speaks quickly and pretentiously: he is one of those people who have ready-made pompous phrases for all occasions, who are not touched by simply beautiful things and who are solemnly draped in extraordinary feelings, sublime passions and exceptional suffering. To produce an effect is their delight; Romantic provincial women like them crazy.”
Here, the hero’s appearance is first described, then his characteristic gestures and manners. Then Lermontov outlines Grushnitsky’s character traits, emphasizing what is common and typical in the character. In describing the appearance of the hero, Lermontov uses the technique of facial characterization (“He throws his head back when he speaks and constantly twirls his mustache with his left hand”), which was then used by Tolstoy (the jumping cheeks of Prince Vasily in the novel “War and Peace”).
In Pechorin's mind, Grushnitsky is seen as certain type personality, in many ways the opposite of himself. And this is exactly the balance of power in the novel. Grushnitskaya, with his demonstrative disappointment, is a caricature, a parody of the main character. And this caricature of the image, the vulgarity of Grushnitsky’s inner appearance is constantly emphasized in the description of his appearance. “Half an hour before the ball, Grushnitsky appeared to me in the full glory of an army infantry uniform. Fastened to the third button was a bronze chain on which hung a double lorgnette; epaulettes of incredible size were curved upward in the shape of cupid's wings; his boots creaked; in his left hand he held brown kid gloves and a cap, and with his right hand he whipped his curled crest into small curls every minute.”
If the first portrait of Grushnitsky is a detailed sketch of appearance, behavior and character, then his second portrait is a specific, fleeting impression of Pechorin. Despite the contempt he feels for Grushnitsky, Grigory Alexandrovich tries to be objective here. However, it is worth noting that he does not always succeed.
Grushnitsky is in many ways still a boy, following fashion, wanting to show off and in the heat of youthful ardor. However, Pechorin (with his knowledge of human psychology) does not seem to notice this. He considers Grushnitsky as a serious opponent, while the latter is not one.
The portrait of Doctor Werner, also given in the perception of Pechorin, is magnificent in the novel. “Werner was short, and thin, and weak, like a child; one of his legs is shorter than the other, like Byron; in comparison with his body, his head seemed huge: he cut his hair into a comb, and the irregularities of his skull, exposed in this way, would strike a phrenologist with a strange interweaving of opposing inclinations.”
Werner is neat and has good taste: “Taste and neatness were noticeable in his clothes; his thin, wiry and small hands showed off in light yellow gloves. His coat, tie and vest were always black.”
Werner is a skeptic and a materialist. Like many doctors, he often makes fun of his patients, but he is not cynical: Pechorin once saw him cry over a dying soldier. The doctor is well versed in female and male psychology, but never uses his knowledge, unlike Pechorin. At Werner's evil tongue, his small black eyes, penetrating into the thoughts of his interlocutor, speak of his intelligence and insight.
However, for all his skepticism and evil mind, Werner is a poet in life, he is kind, noble, and has a pure, childish soul. Despite his outward ugliness, the hero is attracted by his nobility of soul, moral purity, and brilliant intellect. Lermontov notes that women fall madly in love with such men, preferring their ugliness to the beauty of “the freshest and pinkest endymions.”
Thus, the portrait of Dr. Werner is also a portrait-sketch, revealing the features of the hero’s appearance, his character traits, way of thinking, and behavior. This portrait indirectly characterizes Pechorin himself, conveying his powers of observation and penchant for philosophical generalizations.
Great in the novel and female portraits. Thus, the author “entrusts” the description of Bela’s appearance to Maxim Maksimych, who here becomes a poet: “And for sure, she was good: tall, thin, black eyes, like a mountain chamois, and looked into your soul.”
Remarkable and picturesque psychological picture“undines”, given in the perception of Pechorin. In this description, the author acts as a true expert female beauty. The reasoning here takes on the character of generalizations. The first impression made by this girl is charming: extraordinary flexibility of the figure, “long brown hair”, “golden tint of tanned skin”, “correct nose”, eyes “gifted with magnetic power”. But the “undine” is the smugglers’ assistant. Hiding the traces of her crimes, she tries to drown Pechorin. She has cunning and deceit, cruelty and determination unusual for women. These features are also conveyed in the description of the heroine’s appearance: in her indirect glances there is “something wild and suspicious,” in her smile there is “something vague.” However, all the behavior of this girl, her mysterious speeches, her oddities remind Pechorin of “Gethe’s Mignon,” and the true essence of the “undine” eludes him.
Thus, Lermontov appears before us as a real master of portraiture. The portraits created by the writer are detailed and detailed; the author is well versed in the physiognomy and psychology of people. However, these portraits are static, just like the characters themselves are static. Lermontov does not depict heroes in their dynamics states of mind, in changing moods, feelings and impressions, and usually gives one large sketch of the character’s appearance throughout the entire narrative. The static nature of the portraits distinguishes Lermontov from Tolstoy and brings him closer to Pushkin and Gogol.
In the novel “A Hero of Our Time,” Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov touches on the same problems that are often heard in his lyrics: why smart and energetic people cannot find a place for themselves in life, why do they “grow old in inaction”? The novel consists of five parts: “Bela”, “Maksim Maksimych”, “Taman”, “Princess Mary”, “Fatalist”. Each of them represents an independent work and at the same time is part of the novel. The central place in all the stories is occupied by the image of the young officer Pechorin. It is no coincidence that the novel takes place in the Caucasus, where at that time people who were critical of autocracy were exiled. As you know, Pushkin and Lermontov were exiled there. Pechorin belongs to this category of people.
Revealing the complex and controversial nature Pechorin, the author shows us him in different life situations, in encounters with people of different social strata and nationalities: with smugglers, with highlanders, with a young aristocratic girl, with representatives of noble youth and others actors. Before us appears the image of a lonely, disappointed man who is at enmity with secular society, although he himself is part of it.
In Lermontov’s poems, the image of such a person is painted in romantic tones; the poet did not reveal in his lyrics the reasons for the appearance of such a hero. And in the novel “Hero of Our Time” Lermontov portrays Pechorin realistically. The writer is trying to show how a person’s character is influenced by the environment in which he lives. Pechorin has a lot in common with Evgeny Onegin from the novel of the same name in Pushkin’s poems. However, Pechorin lives in a different time, he is a man of the thirties of the 19th century, and this man’s disappointment in the society around him is stronger than that of Onegin.
Pechorin was born and raised in an aristocratic family. Nature endowed him with a sharp mind, a responsive heart and a strong will. But best qualities This person was not needed by society. “Fearing ridicule,” says Pechorin, “I buried my best feelings in the depths of my heart.” He fell in love and was loved; took up science, but soon realized that it did not give him fame and happiness. And when he realized that in society there was no selfless love, no friendship, no fair humane relations between people, he became bored.
Pechorin is looking for thrills and adventures. His mind and will help him overcome obstacles, but he realizes that his life is empty. And this increases his feeling of melancholy and disappointment. Pechorin is well versed in the psychology of people, so he easily wins the attention of women, but this does not bring him a feeling of happiness. He, like Onegin, “was not created for bliss family life. He cannot and does not want to live like the people of his circle.”
In the story of Princess Mary, whom Pechorin fell in love with himself and subjugated to his will, he appears both as a “cruel tormentor” and as a deeply suffering person. Exhausted Mary evokes a feeling of compassion in him. “It was becoming unbearable,” he recalls, “another minute and I would have fallen at her feet.”
Lermontov created a true image of his young contemporary, which reflected the features of an entire generation. In the preface to the novel, he wrote that Pechorin is “a portrait made up of the vices of our generation, in their full development.”
The title of the novel sounds the writer's irony over his generation and over the time in which it lives. Pechorin, of course, is not a hero in the literal sense of the word. His activities cannot be called heroic. A person who could benefit people wastes his energy on empty activities.
The author does not seek to condemn Pechorin, nor to make him better than he is. It should be noted that M. Yu. Lermontov revealed the psychology of his hero with great skill. The critic N. G. Chernyshevsky noted that “Lermontov was interested in himself psychological process, its form, its laws, the dialectic of the soul...” L. N. Tolstoy also highly appreciated Lermontov’s role in the development of the socio-psychological novel.
Tasks and tests on the topic “Pechorin - a portrait of his generation (based on the novel “A Hero of Our Time”)”
- Changing past tense verbs by gender and number
Lessons: 1 Assignments: 9 Tests: 1
- Orthoepy - Important Topics to repeat the Unified State Exam in Russian
Lessons: 1 Tasks: 7
- Basics of past tense verbs. Spelling the letter before the suffix -l - Verb as part of speech grade 4
"Hero of Our Time" - the most famous work M.Yu. Lermontov. At one time, it gained considerable fame, mainly thanks to its main character, Grigory Pechorin. Lermontov himself spoke of it as “a portrait, but not of one person: it is a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation, in the canvas of their development.” So who really was Pechorin - a villain or a personality unique for his time?
The novel has five fragments, five story episodes, united by one common hero.
Each of them helps to better understand his nature, and in each one can be traced the most main feature Pechorina - inconsistency. Pechorin is contradictory: in love and life, in his thoughts and actions. He's like the Demon from work of the same name Lermontov - always rushes about and finds no peace.
Pechorin is bored with life. He is constantly looking for new entertainment and gets angry when he doesn't find it. For the sake of fulfilling his own whim, Pechorin is even ready to risk his life and not only his own. He destroys everyone who gets in his way. This happened with Bela, with Mary, with Grushnitsky. Their destinies were ruined... And for what? A moment of peace of mind?
From this follows another feature of Pechorin - his selfishness.
He understands that he makes those around him suffer, but does nothing to stop. On the contrary, for him it’s just another form of entertainment. Take the same Mary - Pechorin did not like, but achieved her only because he liked the difficulty of the task. And after that the princess became uninteresting to him.
Yes, Pechorin can be called an egoist. But never insensitive. Despite all his coldness and prudence, Pechorin was able to fall in love with Vera. But ironically, these feelings again bring only suffering.
So who is Pechorin? His personality is ambiguous. She evokes admiration and dislike. And this duality haunts Pechorin throughout his life, making him a lost man and suffering from his own tossing.
Updated: 2017-05-15
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Useful material on the topic
The novel “Hero of Our Time” by M. Yu. Lermontov can be considered the first socio-psychological and philosophical work in prose. IN this novel the author tried to display the vices of an entire generation in one person, to create a multifaceted portrait.
Pechorin is a complex and contradictory person. The novel includes several stories, and in each of them the hero reveals himself to the reader from a new side.
The image of Pechorin in the chapter “Bela”
In the chapter “Bela” it opens to the reader from the words of another hero of the novel - Maxim Maksimych. This chapter describes Pechorin’s life circumstances, his upbringing and education. Here the portrait of the main character is also revealed for the first time.
Reading the first chapter, we can conclude that Grigory Alexandrovich is a young officer, has an attractive appearance, at first glance pleasant in any respect, he has good taste and a brilliant mind, an excellent education. He is an aristocrat, an esthete, one might say, a star of secular society.
Pechorin is a hero of our time, according to Maxim Maksimych
The elderly staff captain Maxim Maksimych is a gentle and good-natured man. He describes Pechorin as quite strange, unpredictable, and unlike other people. From the first words of the staff captain, one can notice the internal contradictions of the protagonist. He can be in the rain all day and feel great, and another time he can freeze from a warm breeze, he can be frightened by the slam of window shutters, but he is not afraid to go to the wild boar one on one, he can be silent for a long time, and at some point a lot talk and joke.
The characterization of Pechorin in the chapter “Bela” has practically no psychological analysis. The narrator does not analyze, evaluate or even condemn Gregory, he simply conveys many facts from his life.
The tragic story of Bel
When Maxim Maksimych tells the traveling officer sad story which happened before his eyes, the reader becomes acquainted with the incredible cruel egoism of Grigory Pechorin. Due to his whim, the main character steals the girl Bela from her home, without thinking about her later life, about the time when he will finally get tired of her. Later, Bela suffers because of Gregory’s emerging coldness, but cannot do anything about it. Noticing how Bela is suffering, the staff captain tries to talk to Pechorin, but Grigory’s answer causes only misunderstanding in Maxim Maksimych. He can’t wrap his head around how a young man, for whom everything is going very well, can still complain about life. It all ends with the girl's death. The unfortunate woman is killed by Kazbich, who previously killed her father. Who fell in love with Bela my own daughter, Maxim Maksimych is amazed by the coldness and indifference with which Pechorin suffered this death.
Pechorin through the eyes of a traveling officer
The characterization of Pechorin in the chapter “Bela” differs significantly from the same image in other chapters. In the chapter “Maksim Maksimych” Pechorin is described through the eyes of a traveling officer who was able to notice and appreciate the complexity of the protagonist’s character. Behavior and appearance Pechorin is already attracting attention. For example, his gait was lazy and careless, but at the same time he walked without swinging his arms, which is a sign of a certain secrecy in his character.
The fact that Pechorin experienced mental storms is evidenced by his appearance. Gregory looked older than his years. The portrait of the main character contains ambiguity and inconsistency; he has delicate skin, a childish smile, and at the same time deep. He has light blond hair, but a black mustache and eyebrows. But the complexity of the hero’s nature is most emphasized by his eyes, which never laugh and seem to scream about some hidden tragedy of the soul.
Diary
Pechorin appears by itself after the reader encounters the thoughts of the hero himself, which he wrote down in his personal diary. In the chapter “Princess Mary,” Grigory, having a cold calculation, makes the young princess fall in love with him. As events unfold, he destroys Grushnitsky, first morally, and then physically. Pechorin writes all this in his diary, every step, every thought, accurately and truly assessing himself.
Pechorin in the chapter “Princess Mary”
The characterization of Pechorin in the chapter “Bela” and in the chapter “Princess Mary” is striking in its contrast, since in the second mentioned chapter Vera appears, who became the only woman who managed to truly understand Pechorin. It was her that Pechorin fell in love with. His feeling for her was unusually reverent and tender. But in the end, Gregory loses this woman too.
It is at the moment when he realizes the loss of his chosen one that a new Pechorin is revealed to the reader. Characteristics of the hero on at this stage lies in despair, he no longer makes plans, is ready for stupid ones, and having failed to save his lost happiness, Grigory Alexandrovich cries like a child.
Final chapter
In the chapter “Fatalist,” Pechorin reveals one more side. Main character doesn't value his life. Pechorin is not stopped even by the possibility of death; he perceives it as a game that helps to cope with boredom. Grigory risks his life in search of himself. He is courageous and courageous, he has strong nerves, and in a difficult situation he is capable of heroism. You might think that this character was capable of great things with such a will and such abilities, but in reality it all came down to " thrills", to the game between life and death. As a result, the strong, restless, rebellious nature of the protagonist brings people only misfortune. This thought gradually arises and develops in the mind of Pechorin himself.
Pechorin is a hero of our time, a hero of his own, and of any time. This is a person who knows habits, weaknesses and, to some extent, he is an egoist, because he thinks only about himself and does not show concern for others. But in any case, this hero is romantic, he is opposed to the world around him. There is no place for him in this world, his life is wasted, and the way out of this situation is death, which overtook our hero on the way to Persia.
is a work written by. We got acquainted with this work in class and learned a lot of interesting things about the past and about those people who had to live in advanced times for Russia. In the work we meet the main character Pechorin. At the same time, in each story we learn more and more about him, his image is revealed each time from a different side. Today we will look at the portrait of Pechorin, which the author creates in the chapter Maxim Maksimych, and quotes from the work will help us with this.
Psychological portrait of Pechorin
Psychological portrait of Pechorin the best way shown in the chapter Maxim Maksimych. In addition, this is where the description of the hero’s appearance appears. By studying this chapter, we can find a portrait created by the writer. As the author writes, his gait was careless and lazy, and he did not wave his arms, which indicated a certain secrecy. Right away, looking at Pechorin, you will say that he is a young man, about twenty-three years old, but after looking closer, you will say that he is thirty. Although his smile was somewhat childish, his eyes did not radiate this smile. His gaze was cold, there was no soulful imagination in it. Moreover, his gaze was piercing and heavy.
In this chapter we see the duality of the hero’s nature. And he himself says that two people live in it. One person lives life to the fullest, and the second constantly judges him for his actions and actions. Reading the chapter Maxim Maksimych, Pechorin reveals himself to us as an indifferent, impudent person, a person who can easily hurt others.
