All about the hero Eugene Onegin. The image of Eugene Onegin in the novel “Eugene Onegin” by Pushkin: description of the hero in quotes

>Characteristics of the heroes Eugene Onegin

Characteristics of the hero Eugene Onegin

Evgeny Onegin is the main character of the novel of the same name by A. S. Pushkin, a young nobleman, a man with a complex and contradictory character. Onegin was born and raised in St. Petersburg. He did not have a mother, and his father, although a rich man, was frivolous and quickly squandered his fortune. After his death, all property went to creditors. Eugene was raised by French tutors who did not devote much time to science. In return, they taught him to speak French, understand Latin, dance the mazurka and recite epigrams. Well and quickly he mastered the “science of tender passion.”

Onegin grew up quite selfish, incapable of work, and easily hurting the feelings of other people. Every day he attended theaters, balls and feasts. The next morning I lazed in bed, and then again prepared to go out into the world. Soon, from such monotony, the young man developed melancholy. In order to somehow diversify his life, he tried to read books and engage in literary creativity. But he also soon became bored with this. Going to the village to visit his dying uncle, who bequeathed him a rich inheritance, he hoped to rest there from the bustle of the capital. He liked the change of environment, but even here he soon began to get bored. Such was the nature of the young nobleman.

In the village, Onegin met Lensky, who later became his best friend, as well as the Larin family. The meeting with Lensky opened up in him the opportunity for true friendship, hidden behind cold egoism. And the meeting with young Tatyana Larina touched something in his impoverished soul, but seeing the girl’s romantic nature, he did not dare to play with her feelings. In response to her letter of confession, he said that he could love her with the love of a brother and that family ties were not for him. Despite the fact that he was friendly towards these two people, this did not bring him happiness. He accidentally killed Lensky in a duel, and Tatyana was married off to someone else and became a princess. At the end of the novel, he saw her in a different light and fell in love with her, but this time she refused him. This refusal entailed a revolution in all his thoughts and emotional feelings.

Evgeny Onegin as a character

The novel in verse “Eugene Onegin” is considered one of the most important works that significantly influenced Russian literature. The famous poetess Anna Akhmatova called the novel “Onegin’s Airy Community.” But who is he, Evgeny Onegin?

Onegin is the main character of the novel, a young dandy with a rich inheritance, “Heir to all his relatives,” as Pushkin himself says about him. Onegin is shown by Pushkin himself as a person with a very complex and contradictory character. Pushkin himself speaks about it very contradictorily: the entire novel is filled with light irony. Pushkin ironically savors Onegin’s learning, his “goodness”, somehow: manners, ability to conduct a conversation, all these positive qualities are given somehow ironically. The author, with some uniquely correct relish, praises Onegin, but at the same time there is always a drop of subtle irony that does not disappear almost until the very end. But at the same time, Pushkin himself, as he says in the first chapter, became friends with Onegin, that the poet liked his features, that he spent nights with Onegin on the Neva embankment, talks about how they shared with each other memories of days gone by.. .

To me, Onegin seemed like a complete egoist, which in principle is not surprising: my father paid almost no attention to him, completely and completely devoted himself to his affairs, entrusting him to the wretched tutors - “Monsieur and Madame”, and they, in turn, groomed the guy only (“ they scolded him slightly for pranks”, “they didn’t bother me with strict morals”), which is natural, the boy grew up into a person who thinks only about himself, about his desires and pleasures, who does not know how, and does not want to be able to pay attention to the feelings, interests, suffering of others , capable of easily offending a person, insulting, humiliating - causing pain to a person without even thinking about it. His sharp tongue and meanness of character caused the death of Lensky. Pushkin said well about his evil and sharp tongue: “At first Onegin’s language confused me; but I’m used to his caustic argument, and his bile jokes, and the anger of his gloomy epigrams.”

Contradictions in Onegin’s character, a combination of unconditionally positive traits with sharply negative ones, are revealed throughout the entire novel; Onegin's changes are clearly visible: he is tired of the life of a city dandy, he is bored with this role and he moves to the estate left to him as an inheritance from his uncle. There he finds interesting activities for a certain period of time, but he gets bored with them after a couple of days. The events taking place in the last chapters have the strongest effect on him: his first change - the change from habitual selfishness and passive inattention to others comes with the death of his friend, Lensky, which occurs through the fault of Onegin. At this moment, he is no longer that arrogant person, standing above all life’s impressions, sometimes only dissatisfied with himself, a cold egoist. He is literally horrified by his terrible and senseless crime. The murder of Lensky turns his whole life upside down. He cannot bear the memories of this ominous crime that familiar places bring, he rushes around the world in search of oblivion, but these searches are not crowned with success. He returns after a long journey through Russia. He experiences all the torments of love while sitting locked in his office. Onegin can no longer, as before, go through life, completely ignoring the feelings and experiences of people with whom he encountered in the past, he thought only about himself...

We see that Onegin, who returned from his trip, is not like the former Onegin. He became much more serious, more attentive to others. Now he is able to experience the most powerful feelings that touch him to the core. Returning, Onegin meets Tatyana again. And now he, struck by her intelligence, nobility, strong spiritual qualities, restraint in expressing feelings, falls in love with Tatyana, like a patient falling ill with an illness. How far is this man experiencing his love from Onegin, from the first chapters of the novel!

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Eugene Onegin from the novel of the same name by A.S. Pushkin is a unique character, in whom positive and negative character traits coincide in equal parts. That is why his image, despite all the drama and negative impact on the destinies and lives of other characters, is attractive.

Onegin's age and marital status

Evgeny Onegin is a young nobleman of hereditary origin. In other words, his noble title was passed down to him from his ancestors, and was not earned by Onegin himself. Evgeniy was born in St. Petersburg, where he spent most of his life. Onegin’s parents had already died by the time of the story, the exact date of death of the parents is unknown, the only thing that can be said is: at the time of the death of his parents, Onegin was not a small child - in the novel there are references to the fact that his parents took part in the process of his upbringing and education.

His parents had no other children. Onegin also has no cousins ​​- his closest relatives are childless. Onegin was “the heir of all his relatives.”

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After the death of his father, Eugene became the heir not only to the title of nobility, but also to numerous debts. An accident helped put an end to his debts - his uncle was seriously ill, and according to all forecasts he was soon to die. Since the uncle had no heirs, the owner of the uncle's estate had to become the closest relative. In this case it was Onegin.

Evgeny comes to his dying uncle, but Onegin is not guided by a feeling of affection for his uncle or love for a relative - in the case of Onegin it was a tactical move.

Evgeny only created the appearance of bitterness of loss; in fact, he is indifferent to his uncle’s person, and courting a dying man makes the young man melancholy and despondent.

After his uncle's death, Eugene gives his father's estate to the creditors and thus gets rid of his debts. Thus, the young 26-year-old single nobleman has the opportunity to start life over with a new leaf.

Education of Evgeny Onegin and occupation

Eugene Onegin, like all nobles, was an educated man. However, his basic knowledge wants to be better - Onegin's teacher Monsieur L'Abbe was not a strict teacher, he often made concessions for Eugene and tried not to complicate Onegin's life with science, so the quality of Eugene's knowledge, given his natural potential, could be better. Nothing is known about whether Onegin received his education in educational institutions. Despite such an obvious disregard for science, Onegin, like all nobles, knew French well (He knew French perfectly / Could express himself and wrote), knew a little Latin (He knew enough Latin / To parse epigraphs). He really didn’t like history: “He had no desire to rummage / In the chronological dust / History of the earth.”

Pushkin in the novel says that Evgeny lived carefree and did not experience any difficulties in life. He also had no goals in life - Onegin lived one day at a time, indulging in entertainment. Evgeniy was not in military or civil service. This was quite likely due to his whim, and not due to the inability to begin service.

Evgeny Onegin leads an active social life - he is a regular at balls and dinner parties.

Attachment to fashion trends in clothing

Evgeny Onegin is a real dandy. "Cut in the latest fashion."

His suit always follows the latest fashion trends. Evgeny spends a lot of time on hygiene procedures, dresses for a long time, examining his outfit from all sides: “He spent at least three hours / Spent in front of mirrors.”

It is unacceptable for him to have anything less than ideal in his appearance. Onegin does not look ridiculous in his suit; he is comfortable in such clothes. His plastic movements are successfully emphasized with the help of certain elements of clothing.

Onegin and society

Going out into society became everyday entertainment for Onegin - therefore, soon all types of behavior of aristocrats became well known to him, and the appearances that had once captivated him began to tire and bore him.

Evgeny rarely gets carried away with anything - he is tired of everything: the theater, and balls, and dinner parties - everything bores the young dandy. That is why Evgeniy tries to distance himself from any communication - he is too tired of society and prefers solitude.” He was tired of the noise of the world... and in the village the boredom is the same.

In general, Eugene did not like either society or people. The only person he envied and respected was Vladimir Lensky:
Although he knew people, of course
And in general he despised them, -
/ But (there are no rules without exceptions)
He distinguished others very much
And I respected someone else’s feelings.

Leisure of Onegin

Since Evgeny Onegin is not in the service and is actually not busy with anything, he has a lot of free time in his arsenal. However, despite all the accompanying factors, he toils for a long time, not knowing what to do with himself. Onegin is not interested in anything - neither science, nor travel.

On our website you can read the story “The Queen of Spades” by A. S. Pushkin.

From time to time, Onegin whiles away his time by reading books. These are mainly works on economic topics, for example, the works of Adam Smith, but this did not last long “as women, he left books.” Evgeny himself loves to philosophize, although he does not have deep knowledge in any branch of science or culture.

Evgeny Onegin and women

Onegin was a prominent personality in the eyes of aristocrats. His youth, natural beauty and good manners allowed him to become a favorite in female society. At the beginning, such attention to his person flattered Onegin, but soon Eugene got tired of it.


Onegin notes that basically all women are fickle - they easily change their minds and this leaves a negative imprint on relationships with women.

The beauties didn't last long
The subject of his usual thoughts;
The betrayals have become tiresome

After arriving in the village, Onegin meets a young landowner - the romantic poet Vladimir Lensky. It is thanks to Lensky that Evgeny ends up in the Larins’ house.

Olga, the younger sister, was Lensky's fiancée, but the eldest, Tatyana, did not have a groom. Despite the fact that Tatyana is noticeably different from other female representatives, her person does not arouse interest in Onegin. However, the same trend does not work in the case of Tatyana - the girl falls in love with a young man and decides to be the first to admit her feelings. However, Onegin does not feel in love with the girl; he tries to give her advice and behaves rudely with her, which brings her significant mental anguish and disappointment.

Evgeny Onegin and Lensky

After moving to the village, Evgeniy gets rid of numerous debts, but he never managed to escape from society and boredom. As in any other village located at a remote distance from large cities, the arrival of any new person causes a stir. Therefore, Onegin’s hopes for a solitary life could in no way be justified. This sad trend was further strengthened by the fact that Eugene was young, wealthy and single, which means he was a potential groom.

Interest in the person of Onegin arose not only among young unmarried girls and their parents. In Onegin, Vladimir Lensky expected to find a friend. Evgeniy was not at all similar in temperament and character to Vladimir. Such differences in views and personal qualities attracted the young poet. Over time, Onegin became a friend of Lensky, despite the fact that friendship, like love, was already quite boring and disappointing to him: “friends and friendship are tired.”


It cannot be said that Onegin and Lensky are connected by the true concept of friendship, at least on the part of Eugene. He maintains his communication with the young poet solely out of boredom and the lack of other company.

During the celebration of Tatyana Larina's name day, where Lensky brought him against his wishes, Onegin is quite bored and is angry at Tatyana's behavior. Soon, Evgeniy decides to take revenge on Vladimir for bringing him here by force - he dances with Olga, Lensky’s fiancée, which causes an attack of jealousy in his friend. This was not the end of the incident - a duel followed the attack of jealousy. Evgeniy understands perfectly well that he was wrong, but he does not dare to explain himself to his friend - Evgeniy deliberately neglects some of the rules of the duel (he is late, takes a servant as a second), hoping that because of this Lensky will postpone the duel, but this does not happen. As we see, Onegin is not a hopeless person, but he is unable to publicly admit his mistake, which leads to tragedy - Lensky was mortally wounded and died on the spot:

Killed!.. With this terrible exclamation
Smitten, Onegin with a shudder
He leaves and calls people...

Characteristics of the personal qualities of Evgeny Onegin

From his infancy, Evgeny Onegin was not deprived of attention. He grew up in affluence and permissiveness, so as an adult he was a selfish and spoiled person.

Onegin has enormous potential for the development of his personality - he has an extraordinary mind, he is smart and attentive, but he neglects all this. He does not want to do anything useful that would bring him positive results in the future - he likes to go with the flow.

Onegin knows how to impress people - he knows how to talk about any topic, despite the superficiality of his knowledge. Onegin is not an emotional and unromantic person. He has a “sharp, chilled mind.”

Onegin “Always frowning, silent, / Angry and coldly jealous!” He seems strange and eccentric to those around him, and this attracts people to him even more.

Thus, Evgeny Onegin is an unusual character - he has every opportunity to change his life and bring a lot of positive things into the lives of his family, but he neglects this due to his lack of restraint and inability to force himself to do necessary but uninteresting things. His life is like an endless holiday, but, like any other activity, constant entertainment bored Onegin and became the cause of his blues.

One of the most famous works of A. S. Pushkin both in Russia and abroad is his novel in verse “Eugene Onegin”, written between 1823 and 1830 of the 19th century. Much of the novel's enduring popularity is due to its status as an integral part of the compulsory school curriculum. To write a high-quality essay on a work, we advise you to read the novel, perhaps not at first in one gulp, in excerpts, but to use quotes from “Eugene Onegin” to show that you really know the material.

Eugene Onegin

Eugene Onegin. Explanation with Tatyana in the village

The narration is told on behalf of the friend of the main character of the novel, who is Evgeny Onegin, a native of St. Petersburg, 26 years old:

“...Onegin, my good friend, was born on the banks of the Neva...”

“... having lived without a goal, without work, until the age of twenty-six...”

Onegin was born into a noble family, which gradually went bankrupt due to the fault of the head of the family, who sought to live beyond his means, but provided his son with a decent upbringing, by the standards of that time:

“...His father lived in debt, gave three balls every year, and finally squandered it.”

“... at first Madame followed him, then Monsieur replaced her”

"...fun and luxury child..."

The result of Eugene’s upbringing and training was his knowledge of languages ​​(French, Latin, Greek), history, the foundations of philosophy and economics, rules of good manners, and the ability to dance:

“He could express himself and write in French perfectly, danced the mazurka easily and bowed at ease.”

“...a philosopher at eighteen years old...”

“He knew enough Latin to parse epigraphs, talk about Juvenal, put vale at the end of a letter, and he remembered, although not without sin, two verses from the Aeneid.”

“...he kept in his memory the anecdotes of days gone by from Romulus to the present day”

“...read Adam Smith and was a deep economist...”

Eugene does not like or understand poetry; on occasion, he can easily compose an epigram on the topic of the day:

“...He could not distinguish iambic from trochee, no matter how hard we fought. Scolded Homer, Theocritus..."

“...He had the lucky talent...to excite the smiles of ladies with the fire of unexpected epigrams.”

Onegin is distinguished by restlessness; in principle, he cannot do anything for a long time:

“... he was sick of persistent work...”

“...He has his hair cut in the latest fashion, like a London dandy is dressed...”

“...In his clothes there was a pedant, and what we called a dandy. He spent at least three hours in front of mirrors..."

All these qualities of a character become the key to a favorable attitude towards him in the light of:

“Onegin was, in the opinion of many... a learned fellow, but a pedant...”

“The world decided that he was smart and very nice”

A life full of entertainment quickly gets boring for the main character; for a while, Eugene’s only passion remains love adventures, but they gradually bore him:

“But what was his true genius, what he knew more firmly than all the sciences, what was for him from childhood and labor, and torment, and joy, what occupied his melancholy laziness all day - was the science of tender passion...”

“...Beauties were not the subject of his habitual thoughts for long, they managed to tire of betrayals...”

“...He no longer fell in love with beauties, but was somehow attracted ...”

“Similar to the English spleen, in short: the Russian melancholy took possession of him little by little...”

Despite the fact that society as a whole is boring to the main character, he takes into account its rules, which ultimately costs Lensky his life, because even realizing the meaninglessness and uselessness of the duel, Onegin cannot refuse it:

“...but wildly secular enmity is afraid of false shame...”

“...but the whispers, the laughter of fools... And here is public opinion! Spring of honor, our idol!

At the time of the story, the young man is the last heir of the family, whose representatives include himself and his uncle:

“...Heir to all his relatives...”

Despite the fact that his father squandered his fortune, the material assets remaining in the family are apparently enough to provide the main character with a comfortable existence without the need to serve or lead a secular lifestyle:

“languishing in idle leisure, without service, without a wife, without business, I did not know how to do anything...”

“...three houses are calling for the evening...”

“...honorary citizen of the scenes...”

Onegin is quite calculating. Having learned about his uncle’s imminent death, Onegin does not feel sympathy for him, but is quite ready to pretend to be so in order to receive an inheritance:

“Having read the sad message, Evgeny immediately galloped headlong to the post office date and was already yawning in advance, preparing himself for the sake of money, for sighs, boredom and deception.”

His behavior in society becomes more and more distant and discourteous:

“...when he wanted to destroy his rivals, how he sarcastically slandered...”

“...to his caustic argument, and to his joke, with bile in half, and the anger of gloomy epigrams...”

“... he pouted and, indignant, vowed to enrage Lensky and take revenge in order...”

Gradually, society’s opinion about Onegin is transformed:

“...a cold and lazy soul...”

“...this gloomy eccentric...”

“...a sad and dangerous eccentric...”

“Our neighbor is ignorant; crazy; he's a pharmacist..."

“He doesn’t suit ladies’ arms...”

He perceives himself as a gloomy and indifferent person, even trying to exaggerate when speaking about his own person:

“...always frowning, silent, angry and coldly jealous! That's how I am"

“...You will start crying: your tears will not touch my heart, but will only enrage it...”

“... No matter how much I love you, once I get used to it, I will immediately stop loving you...”

However, in this image there is a lot of ostentation and panache. Onegin knows how to understand people and appreciate them:

“...even though he knew people, of course, and generally despised them, but (there are no rules without exceptions) he distinguished others very much and respected the feelings of others...”

“... my Eugene, not respecting the heart in him, loved both the spirit of his judgments and his common sense about this and that”

“I would choose another if I were like you, a poet...”

Even his “rebuke” to young Tatyana is caused by his reluctance to cause her even greater suffering than the pain of rejection:

“...but he did not want to deceive the gullibility of an innocent soul...”

He tries to be delicate with her and tries to warn the girl against careless impulses in the future, although a share of panache and narcissism is still present in his words:

“Learn to control yourself; Not everyone will understand you like I do; inexperience leads to disaster..."

In fact, he is quite capable of experiencing compassion and tenderness:

“...her embarrassment and fatigue gave birth to pity in his soul”

“...the gaze of his eyes was wonderfully tender...”

In his relationship with Lensky, realizing that they are too different for true friendship, Onegin for the time being spares the poet’s feelings and does not try to ridicule his enthusiastic ideas about life:

“...He tried to keep the cooling word in his mouth...”

There is nobility and self-esteem in his character, and those around him recognize this:

“...I know: in your heart there is both pride and direct honor”

“How can your heart and mind be a petty slave to feelings?”

“...in that terrible hour you acted nobly...”

“...not for the first time here he showed the soul direct nobility...”

As the work progresses, it becomes obvious that Eugene knows how to love and suffer:

“...Eugene is in love with Tatiana like a child...”

“...Onegin is drying up - and almost suffering from consumption”

“... He drives up every day; he chases after her like a shadow..."

“...but he is stubborn, doesn’t want to fall behind, still hopes, works hard...”

Onegin can be truly strict with himself:

“...alone with my soul I was dissatisfied with myself...”

“...in a strict analysis, calling himself to a secret trial, he accused himself of many things...”

“In the anguish of heartfelt remorse...”

Able to admit his mistakes:

“...how I made a mistake, how I was punished”

Tatyana Larina


Tatyana Larina. Explanation with Onegin in St. Petersburg

A girl from a noble family living in the province:

“...in the wilderness of a forgotten village...”

Poor family:

“...we don’t shine with anything...”

“...a simple, Russian family...”

“...oh, my father, I don’t have enough income...”

“Neither her sister’s beauty, nor the freshness of her ruddy complexion would have attracted the eye.”

As a child, she was very different from her peers in behavior:

“Wild, sad, silent, timid as a forest deer, she seemed like a stranger in her own family.”

“She didn’t know how to caress...”

“The child herself, she didn’t want to play and jump in a crowd of children...”

“But even in these years Tatyana did not pick up dolls...”

“And children’s pranks were alien to her...”

In her youth she is dreamy and thoughtful:

“Thoughtfulness, her friend... the flow of rural leisure adorned her with dreams”

“...terrible stories in the winter in the dark of night captivated her heart more...”

“She liked novels early on...”

“She loved to warn the sunrise on the balcony...”

She acutely feels her difference:

“Imagine: I’m here alone, no one understands me...”

The girl is quite smart, although capricious:

“... Alive in mind and will...”

“...And a wayward head...”

Tatyana has very developed intuition, to the point that she has prophetic dreams:

“...suddenly Evgeniy grabs a long knife, and Lensky is instantly defeated...”

Romantic and enthusiastic, she fell in love with Onegin at first sight only because:

“It’s time, she fell in love”

“The soul was waiting for... someone”

Her letter to Eugene is written in French, in a very exalted tone, with pompous “bookish” turns:

“I know you were sent to me by God, you are my keeper until the grave...”

“It’s destined in the highest council... Then it’s the will of heaven: I’m yours...”

“Your wonderful gaze tormented me...”

“Who are you, my guardian angel, or an insidious tempter...”

In fact, she writes not to a living person, but to an invented image, and deep down in her soul she understands this:

“Perhaps this is all empty, a deception of an inexperienced soul!”

“But your honor guarantees me...”

However, one should pay tribute to her courage. She writes, despite the fact that she is endlessly scared:

“I’m frozen with shame and fear...”

Over time, it turns out that the love that Tatyana feels for Evgeniy is not an easy, quickly passing love:

“...Tatiana loves seriously...”

She not only cherishes unhappy love in her soul, but tries to understand Onegin’s character, comes to his abandoned village house, reads his books:

“Is it possible to see the manor’s house?”

“Then I started reading books”

“...their choice seemed strange to her”

“And little by little my Tatyana begins to understand... the one for whom she was condemned to sigh by the imperious fate”

They woo her, but all the suitors are refused:

“Buyanov wooed: refusal. Ivan Petushkov too. Hussar Pykhtin visited us..."

At the family council, it was decided to go to Moscow, to the “bride fair,” but Tatyana remains indifferent to social life there:

“...Tanya, just like in a dream, hears their speeches without sympathy...”

“...Tatyana looks and doesn’t see, she hates the excitement of the light; she feels stuffy here...

Not everyone thinks she herself is an attractive bride:

“...they find her somewhat strange, provincial and cutesy, and somehow pale and thin, but, by the way, very pretty...”

“A crowd of young men look at Tanya primly and speak unfavorably about her among themselves.”

The girl doesn’t strive for everyone’s attention at all, but she gets noticed:

“Some sad jester finds her ideal...”

“... somehow Vyazemsky sat down with her...”

“...the old man inquires about her, straightening his wig.”

“Meanwhile, some important general keeps his eyes on her.”

She gets married at the insistence of her family, without love, to a man she doesn’t like very much:

"Who? Is this general fat?”

Since her marriage, the social manners of the already reserved Tatyana acquire a shade of even friendliness towards everyone, which is impossible to look behind:

“...She was leisurely, not cold, not talkative...”

“... sweet with carefree charm...”

Not participating in any intrigues, not competing with anyone, Tatyana commands the respect of society, her husband is very proud of her:

“The ladies moved closer to her; the old women smiled at her; the men bowed lower..."

“...and the general who entered with her raised everyone’s nose and shoulders higher...”

In the time that has passed since her first meeting with Onegin, Tatyana has learned, on his advice, to control herself:

“And no matter what troubled her soul, no matter how much she was surprised and amazed, nothing changed her: she retained the same tone, her bow was just as quiet.”

“...she sits calm and free”

Her true feelings will appear only in the final scene, when she, suffering, expresses her painful feelings to Onegin, reproaching him for the past and pointing out to him the real motives of his current feelings for her:

“The princess is in front of him, alone, sitting, not dressed, pale, reading some letter and quietly shedding tears like a river.”

“Why do you have me in mind? Is it not because I must now appear in high society; that I am rich and noble?... Is it because my shame would now be noticed by everyone, and could bring you a tempting honor in society?”

Now she is showing nobility of character. Admitting that she continues to love Onegin, Tatiana reminds both him and herself that she must remain faithful to her husband:

“I love you (why lie?), but I am given to someone else; I will be faithful to him forever"

Vladimir Lensky


Vladimir Lensky

A young nobleman, 18 years old, attractive in appearance, rich:

“...Almost eighteen years old...”

“...Handsome, in full bloom...”

“...And shoulder-length black curls...”

“...rich, good-looking...”

Parents died:

“...and there, with the inscription of a sad father and mother, in tears, he honored the patriarchal ashes...”

Philosopher and poet:

“...an admirer of Kant and a poet...”

An enthusiastic nature, even to the point of exaltation, not fully formed:

“...and a mind still unsteady in judgment, and an eternally inspired gaze...”

“...freedom-loving dreams, an ardent and rather strange spirit, always an enthusiastic speech...”

He came from Germany straight to the village, because he does not accept the rules by which high society exists:

“...he brought the fruits of learning from foggy Germany...”

“...I hate your fashionable world, I prefer the home circle...”

Trusting and simple-minded:

“...he innocently exposed his trusting conscience...”

Believes in friendship and loyalty:

“...he believed that his friends were ready to accept his chains for honor...”

“...there are sacred friends chosen by the destinies of people...”

Rural society perceives him as an eligible bachelor:

“...Lensky was accepted everywhere as a groom...”

However, since childhood, Vladimir was engaged to the youngest daughter of the Larins’ neighbors, Olga, and at the time of the story he was in love with her and was going to marry her:

“And the children were destined for crowns by their friends and neighbors, their fathers...”

“...the admirer Olga has arrived...”

“Oh, he loved, as in our years people don’t love anymore...”

“...he believed that his dear soul should unite with him, that, languishing joylessly, she was waiting for him every day...”

“...in two weeks the happy date was appointed”

His love is platonic in nature:

“...he was a dear ignoramus at heart...”

“... in the confusion of tender shame, he only sometimes dares, encouraged by Olga’s smile, to play with his developed curl or kiss the hem of his clothes...”

“... and meanwhile, two, three pages... he skips, blushing...”

After the challenge to a duel, seeing Olga and realizing that she doesn’t even understand what happened, Lensky forgives her and no longer takes revenge on Onegin, but only wants to protect the bride from the corrupting influence:

“...I will be her savior. I will not tolerate the corrupter tempting a young heart with fire and sighs and praises...”

Olga Larina


Vladimir Lensky and Olga Larina

Tatyana's younger sister:

“Are you really in love with the smaller one?”

Charming chubby, ruddy blonde with doll-like appearance:

"...full of innocent charm..."

“...flax curls...”

“...Eyes as blue as the sky...”

“She’s round and red-faced...”

“Oh, darling, how prettier Olga’s shoulders are, what a chest!”

According to Onegin, she is beautiful, but absolutely uninteresting:

“Olga has no life in her features. Exactly like Vandice's Madonna"

The younger Larina’s mind is not particularly developed; she is simple-minded, to the point of stupidity:

“...how the life of a poet is simple-minded...”

“Before this clarity of vision, before this tender simplicity, before this playful soul!”

Because of this, the girl cannot appreciate Lensky’s nature and his attitude towards her:

“Vladimir would have written odes, but Olga would not have read them”

Olga is the fiancée of Vladimir Lensky, willingly spends time with him and encourages his advances, but is unlikely to be capable of strong feelings, which she says quite directly

“In her chamber they sit in the dark, the two of them...”

“They are in the garden, hand in hand, walking in the morning...”

“...Encouraged by Olga’s smile...”

“He was loved... or so he thought...”

Vetrena, does not know how to behave in society, compromises both herself and her fiancé by flirting with another:

“...and the blush in her proud face glowed brighter”

“Coquette, flighty child!”

“She knows cunning, she’s already learned to change!”

Sincerely does not understand the problematic situation:

“Olenka jumped from the porch to meet the poor singer, like a windy hope, playful, carefree, cheerful, well, exactly the same as she was.”

“Why did you disappear so early tonight?” There was Olenka’s first question.”

In the farewell scene before the duel, Olga, looking into the face of Lensky, whose heart is breaking with melancholy, simply asks, “What’s the matter with you?” and having received the answer “Yes,” he releases him without further questions.

After the death of the groom in a duel, the girl quickly falls in love with another and marries him:

“She didn’t cry for long...”

“Ulan knew how to captivate her, we love her with our souls...”

Based on the novel in verse by A. S. Pushkin, several films were made, P. I. Tchaikovsky wrote an opera, which is staged on many stages around the world, and a musical was also created. Of course, it is difficult to compare them with the original, but they will also be interesting for getting to know the great work.

In the novel “Eugene Onegin”, next to the main character, the author depicts other characters who help to better understand the character of Eugene Onegin. Among such heroes, first of all, Vladimir Lensky should be named.

According to Pushkin himself, these two people are absolutely opposite: “ice and fire,” as the author writes about them. And yet they become inseparable friends, although Pushkin notes that they become such because there is “nothing to do.”

Let's try to compare Onegin and Lensky. Are they that different from each other?

Why did they get together? It is better to present the comparison of heroes in the form of a table:

Eugene Onegin Vladimir Lensky
Education and upbringing
Traditional noble upbringing and education - in childhood he is looked after by a mamzel, then a monsieur, then he receives a good education. Pushkin writes: “We all learned a little something and somehow,” but the poet, as we know, received an excellent education at the elite Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. Studied in Germany. The author does not say anything about who raised him at an earlier age. The result of such education is a romantic worldview; it is no coincidence that Lensky is a poet.
State of mind, attitude to human values
Onegin feels tired of life, disappointed in it, for him there are no values ​​- he does not value love, friendship, or rather, does not believe in the sincerity and strength of these feelings.
>No: his feelings cooled down early
He was tired of the noise of the light.
And then the author “makes a ‘diagnosis’ of his hero’s condition - in short: the Russian melancholy has taken possession of him little by little...”
Having returned to his homeland, Lensky expects happiness and miracles from life - therefore his soul and heart are open to love, friendship and creativity:
The purpose of our life is for him
Was a tempting mystery
He puzzled over her
And he suspected miracles.
Eugene Onegin Vladimir Lensky
Life in the village, relationships with neighbors
Arriving in the village, Onegin is looking for an application to his strengths, a way out of his aimless existence - he is trying to replace corvée with an “easy quitrent”, and strives to find people close to him in outlook and spirit. But not finding anyone, Onegin himself separated himself with a sharp line from the surrounding landowners.
And they, in turn, considered him an “eccentric,” a “farmazon,” and “they stopped their friendship with him.” Soon boredom and disappointment take hold of him again.
Lensky is distinguished by an enthusiastic and dreamy attitude towards life, spiritual simplicity and naivety.
He had not yet had time to fade “from the cold depravity of the world,” he “was an ignoramus at heart.”
Idea of ​​purpose and meaning of life
Doesn't believe in any lofty goal. I am sure that there is some higher purpose in life, he just doesn’t know it yet.
Poetic creativity and the attitude of heroes towards it
Onegin “could not... distinguish iambic from trochee...,” had neither the ability to compose nor the desire to read poetry; Lensky, like A.S. Pushkin, treats Lensky’s works with slight irony. Lensky is a poet. He wandered through the world with a lyre Under the skies of Schiller and Goethe With their poetic fire, the Soul ignited in him. Lensky is inspired by the work of German romantic poets and also considers himself a romantic. In some ways he is similar to Pushkin’s friend Kuchelbecker. Lensky's poems are sentimental, and their content is love, “separation and sadness, and something, and the foggy distance, and romantic roses...”
Love story
Onegin does not believe in the sincerity of female love. Tatyana Larina, upon first meeting, does not evoke any feelings in Onegin’s soul, except perhaps pity and sympathy. Only after several years has passed, the changed Onegin understands what happiness he gave up by rejecting Tatyana’s love. Onegin's life has no meaning, since there was no place for love in it. Lensky, as a romantic poet, falls in love with Olga. For him, the ideal of female beauty, fidelity - everything is in her. He not only loves her, he is passionately jealous of Olga for Onegin. He suspects her of treason, but as soon as Onegin leaves the evening dedicated to Tatiana’s name day, Olga again sincerely shows her affection and love for Lensky.

Friendship

With all the differences in characters, temperaments and psychological types between Onegin and Lensky, one cannot help but notice a number of similarities:

They are opposed to the nobility, both in the city and in the countryside;

They strive to find the meaning of life, not limited to the “joys” of the circle of secular youth;

Broad intellectual interests - history, philosophy, moral issues, and reading literary works.

Duel

The duel becomes a particularly tragic page in the relationship between Onegin and Lensky. Both heroes perfectly understand the meaninglessness and uselessness of this fight, but neither was able to step over the convention - public opinion. It was the fear of judgment from others that forced the two friends to stand at the barrier and aim the muzzle of a gun at the chest of their recent friend.

Onegin becomes a murderer, although according to the rules he does not commit murder, but only defends his honor. And Lensky goes to a duel in order to punish universal evil, which at that moment, in his opinion, was concentrated in Onegin.

After the duel, Onegin leaves, he goes to travel around Russia. He is no longer able to remain in a society whose laws force him to commit acts that are contrary to his conscience. It can be assumed that it was this duel that became the starting point from which serious changes in Onegin’s character began.

Tatyana Larina

The novel is named after Eugene Onegin, but in the text of the novel there is another heroine who can fully be called the main one - this is Tatyana. This is Pushkin's favorite heroine. The author does not hide his sympathy: “forgive me... I love my dear Tatyana so much...”, and, on the contrary, at every opportunity he emphasizes his affection for the heroine.

This is how you can imagine the heroine:
What distinguishes Tatyana from representatives of her circle Tatiana in comparison with Onegin
. She is not like all the secular girls. There is no coquetry, affectation, insincerity, or unnaturalness in it.
. She prefers solitude to noisy games, does not like to play with dolls, she prefers to read books or listen to her nanny's stories about antiquity. She also amazingly feels and understands nature; this spiritual sensitivity makes Tatyana closer to the common people than to secular society.
. The basis of Tatiana's world is folk culture.
. Pushkin emphasizes the spiritual connection of a girl who grew up in a “village” with beliefs and folklore traditions. It is no coincidence that the novel included an episode in which Tatyana’s fortune-telling and dream are told.
. There is a lot of intuitive and instinctive in Tatyana.
. This is a discreet and deep, sad and pure, believing and faithful nature. Pushkin endowed their heroine with a rich inner world and spiritual purity:
What is gifted from heaven
With a rebellious imagination,
Alive in mind and will,
And wayward head,
And with a fiery and tender heart...
He believes in ideal happiness, in love, and creates in his imagination, under the influence of the French novels he read, the ideal image of a lover.
Tatyana is somewhat similar to Onegin:
. The desire for loneliness, the desire to understand oneself and understand life.
. Intuition, insight, natural intelligence.
. The author's good disposition towards both heroes.
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