Grigory Pechorin from the novel by M. Yu
”, perhaps one of the most outstanding works of Mikhail Lermontov. The author has long been worried about the fate of young and educated people during the "gloomy decade". At that time, any manifestation of dissent or the expression of new ideas was persecuted and severely punished. Lermontov writes his novel with deliberate violation chronological order. This allows you to draw the reader's attention to the inner experiences of the main characters, and not to the outside world. In fact, "A Hero of Our Time" can be safely called a psychological novel.
The main character of Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time" is a young nobleman Grigory Pechorin.
Pechorin was a man who lived without love, without aspiration, he had no purpose in life, the world bored him. The protagonist even treats himself with contempt. He says that if he dies, it will not be a great loss either for the world or for himself. These words, according to Pechorin, reflect his wasted life. The main character often wonders why he was born, what is his purpose, what is his mission? He feels that he was created for something high, something necessary, but, having been led by worldly passions, he lost his purpose.
It must be said that Grigory Alexandrovich was not always such a gloomy and disillusioned person in life. In younger years main character was filled with ardent hopes and hobbies. He was ready for action, for accomplishing a feat. His internal ideals pushed him to the movement, to their implementation. Therefore, young Pechorin decided to fight for them. But soon it broke down. One felt only "one fatigue, as after a night battle with a ghost, and a vague memory full of regrets ...". The outside world did not accept him. Pechorin was alien to the old, but, unfortunately, he did not know the new. This conflict of internal and outside world causes apathy in Pechorin, with young years it is doomed to decay and aging. The main character finally loses the meaning of life. Closing in on himself, he gets angry at the world becomes selfish. Pechorin becomes an instrument of evil in the hands of fate. He begins to chase after life, but this only leads to tragic consequences for the people around him. So, the smugglers are forced to flee to another place, leaving the old woman and the blind boy behind; and dies; stays with broken hearted, and - offended.
But still, Pechorin remains a strong, strong-willed and gifted nature. He notes to himself that he is moral cripple". Pechorin was a very controversial nature. This can be seen both in his appearance and in his actions. Showing us the appearance of his protagonist, Lermontov writes that Pechorin's eyes "did not laugh when he laughed", his gait "was careless and lazy, but I noticed that he did not wave his arms - a sure sign of some secrecy of character." Although Pechorin was about thirty years old, his smile remained childish.
The strangeness and inconsistency of the character of the protagonist was also noticed by Maxim Maksimych. He noted that, while hunting in the pouring rain, Pechorin felt good, while others were freezing and shivering, and being at home, he was afraid of drafts, knocking windows, although he had previously hunted a wild boar alone.
In this inconsistency of Pechorin's character, Lermontov sees the illness of the then younger generation. Pechorin himself will later say that his life consisted of such contradictions, the struggle of the heart and mind.
The contradictory nature of the protagonist is also manifested in relations with the opposite sex. Pechorin sought the location of women, forced them to love themselves only for the sake of satisfying their ambition. But at the same time, the main character is capable of a sharp impulse, a manifestation own feelings. When Grigory Alexandrovich receives last letter from Vera, he immediately decides to go to Pyatigorsk. “With the possibility of losing her forever,” he writes, “Vera has become dearer to me than anything in the world,” dearer than life, honor, happiness!
It is this inconsistency of character that does not allow Pechorin to live to the fullest. This is what makes him a "moral cripple."
The tragedy of the protagonist was emphasized by the fact that two people lived in his soul. The first performs actions, and the second condemns for them. The fact that he cannot find application for his knowledge, skills and ideas.
Why did Pechorin, being an educated young nobleman, become an "extra" person? The protagonist answered this question as follows: "In my soul, the light is corrupted." Thus, Pechorin became a hostage to his environment, his laws and customs, from which he could not get rid.
Pechorin became another "superfluous" person in Russian literature and in Russian society of the 19th century, standing on a par with Chatsky and Onegin.
Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin, the protagonist of Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time", is an ambiguous figure and very interesting for analysis. A person who destroys other people's destinies, but who is respected and loved, cannot but be interested. The hero cannot be called unequivocally positive or negative, it seems that he is literally woven from contradictions.
Grigory Pechorin, a young man of more than twenty years old, immediately attracts attention with his appearance - neat, handsome, smart, he makes a very favorable impression on the people around him and almost immediately inspires deep trust. Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin was also famous for his developed physical data and could easily spend almost a whole day hunting and practically not get tired, but often preferred to do it alone, not being dependent on the need to be in human society.
If we talk about the moral qualities of Pechorin and directly about his character, then you can see how amazingly white and black are combined in one person. On the one hand, he is certainly a deep and wise person, rational and reasonable. But on the other hand, it does absolutely nothing to develop the data strengths- Grigory Pechorin is biased towards education, believing that it is essentially meaningless. Among other things, Grigory Alexandrovich is a brave and independent person, capable of making difficult decisions and defending his opinion, but these positive aspects of his personality also have a downside - selfishness and a tendency to narcissism. It seems that Pechorin is not capable of selfless love, to self-sacrifice, he simply strives to get from life what he wants in this moment without thinking about the consequences.
However, Grigory Pechorin is not alone in the specifics of his image. No wonder they say that his image can be called cumulative, reflecting a whole generation of people with broken destinies. Forced to adapt to the conventions and submit to the whims of other people, their personalities seemed to be divided into two parts - natural, given by nature, and artificial, the one that was created by social foundations. Perhaps this is the reason for the internal contradiction of Grigory Alexandrovich.
I believe that in the work "A Hero of Our Time" Lermontov sought to show his readers how terrible it is to become a person crippled morally. In fact, Pechorin's mild form you can observe what we would now call a split personality, and this, of course, is a serious personality disorder which you can't handle on your own. Therefore, the life of Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin is like the life of a certain creature that rushes about in search of a home or shelter, but cannot find it in any way, just as Pechorin cannot find harmony in his own soul. This is the problem with the protagonist. This is the trouble of a whole generation, and if you think about it, then not just one.
Option 2
The protagonist of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" M.Yu. Lermontov - Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin. According to the author himself, Pechorin is a collective image of a representative of the generation of the 30s of the 19th century.
Pechorin is an officer. He is a gifted person, he tries to act in order to find a scope for his talents, but he does not succeed. Pechorin constantly asks himself the question why he lived, for what purpose he was born.
An important role is played by the portrait of Pechorin, written by the author himself. How sharp is the contrast between the appearance of the protagonist and his eyes (and the eyes are the mirror of the soul)! If in the whole appearance of Pechorin the childish freshness is still preserved, then the eyes betray an experienced, sober, but ... unfortunate person. They do not laugh when their owner laughs; Isn't this a sign of the inner tragedy of loneliness?..
Pechorin's soulless attitude towards Maxim Maksimych, who has become attached to him with all his heart, once again convinces us of the inability of the main character to experience real human feelings.
Pechorin's diary is not just a statement of daily events, but a deep psychological analysis. Reading these notes, we, oddly enough, think that Pechorin has the right to be indifferent to others, because he is indifferent ... to himself. Indeed, our hero is characterized by a strange split personality: one lives normal life, the other judges this first and all those around him.
Perhaps, fuller image the main character is revealed in the story "Princess Mary". It is here that Pechorin expresses his views on love, friendship, the meaning of life; here he explains each of his actions, and not biased, but objectively. “My soul is corrupted by light,” says Pechorin. This is the explanation of the character of the "hero of our time" as a "superfluous person." Dr. Werner Pechorin is not a friend, but a friend - because they have a lot in common; both are burdened by light, both have unconventional views on life. But Grushnitsky cannot even be a friend of our hero - he is very ordinary. The duel of heroes is also inevitable - the legitimate finale of the clash of philistine romanticism in the person of Grushnitsky and the outstanding character of Pechorin. Pechorin claims that he "despises women so as not to love them," but this is a lie. They play a big role in his life, take, for example, the fact that he sobbed from impotence and inability to help Vera (after writing to her), or his confession to Princess Mary: he let her into his soul so deeply, as he did not let anyone in explaining the reason and the essence of their actions. But this was a trick: he aroused compassion in the soul of the girl, and through this - love. What for?! Boredom! He didn't love her. Pechorin brings misfortune to everyone: Bela dies, Grushnitsky is killed, Mary and Vera suffer, smugglers leave their home. But at the same time, he himself suffers.
Pechorin - strong, bright and at the same time tragic personality. The author is completely sure that such a person is too extraordinary to live in a common "grave". Therefore, Lermontov had no choice but to "kill" Pechorin.
Essay 3
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov - a blinding star in the sky domestic literature. His works raise the problems of the meaning of life, loneliness and love. No exception and the novel "Hero of Our Time", main character which Pechorin reflects with amazing accuracy the author's philosophical reflections about life. But what is the most sinking into the soul of the reader after reading the novel? I will answer this question in my essay.
Pechorin is a character in which all the vices of the society of the Nikolaev era are collected. He is ruthless, indifferent, vicious and caustic. But why does the reader have a warm spiritual sympathy for Grigory Alexandrovich. Everything, oddly enough, is simple. Each of us sees a part of ourselves in Pechorin, which is why it is obvious negative character is seen by readers to some extent even as a hero. From an objective point of view, his decisions are so ridiculous that they arouse the approval of the reading public, at least his attitude towards the Faith.
Loving her and having the opportunity to be with her, Pechorin loses the only thing he was not indifferent to. Why? This question can be answered in two ways: the motive of eternal loneliness and spiritual emptiness - these are the main motives of Lermontov's work, but look into the very depths of the work? Pechorin cannot be with Vera for the reason that he is a real egoist. It is the egoist, and with his egoist and cold attitude towards her, he gives her pain, and his decision not to be with her is Noble act, because he could always call her, and he would come - Vera herself said so.
But at the same time, Pechorin loves faith. How can this happen? It's an obvious contradiction. But the book reflects life, and life is full of duality and contradictions, both internal and external, and since Lermontov was able to reflect this lousy, but at the same time wonderful essence of the world, he is rightfully considered a classic!
Every page of the novel shocked me, unimaginably deep knowledge human soul captured on every page of the work, and the closer to the end of the book, the more you can admire the image that Lermontov created.
Composition Image of Pechorin
Mikhail Yurjevich Lermontov - brightest star Russian poetry 19th century, his works are filled with motifs such as loneliness, fate and unrequited love. The works of Lermontov very well reflected the spirit of the time. One of these is the novel "A Hero of Our Time", the key character of which is a collection of the main, prominent people of the Nikolaev era.
Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin - a young officer wandering around Russian Empire on duty. For the first time before the reader, he appears as the hero of the story of Maxim Maksimovich, and after from his own notes about life path. Lermontov endowed Pechorin with an irresistibly strong indifference to life and coldness to everything that happens around him. One of his main life beliefs is fatalism. This is especially well manifested in Pechorin's decision to go to war in Persia and in agreement to go to a deliberately dishonest duel with Grushnitsky.
careless attitude towards own fate- this is one of the brightest vices of Pechorin. The feeling of love is also inaccessible to Pechorin: he not only cannot love someone with strong human love, but also have a long-term interest in something. Experiencing definitely positive feelings to Vera, Pechorin cannot afford to stay with her for a long time, although it seems to the reader that Grigory Alexandrovich wants to be with Vera. But why is this happening? The thing is that Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin is an undisguised personification of loneliness, it is not fate that makes him lonely, but he prefers to remain alone with his conscious decisions.
The closeness of one's own soul from the outside world is the very part of oneself that Lermontov laid in his main character. Such a conclusion can be drawn by reading such poems by Lermontov as "I go out alone on the road", "Sail", "I look at the future with fear", "Both boring and sad."
But who is Pechorin? Why is the novel called "A Hero of Our Time"? Lermontov, seeing the frank, undisguised vices of society, mercilessly puts them in Pechorin. It was in the era of spiritual extinction, the prosperity of egoism and the tyranny of Nicholas that the novel was born. That is why many critics positively assessed Pechorin, they saw in him not only society, but also themselves. Also in Pechorin sees himself and everyone common man of our society, which indicates that with the growth of technology, the change in the structure of society, human relations and the person himself do not change.
Option 5
In the novel by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time" one of the main characters is Pechorin Grigory Alexandrovich. Studying the text, we learn that he came from St. Petersburg. All that is known about his appearance is that he has brown eyes, blond hair, and a dark mustache and eyebrows. A man of average height, broad-shouldered. He is attractive and women like him. Pechorin knows them especially well, which, perhaps, is already boring. Lermontov allows his hero to meet Bela and Princess Mary. His fate turns out to be rather complicated. In his journal, the character describes the events and feelings at the time of his stay in the Caucasus.
Grigory Alexandrovich has both positive traits, as well as negative ones. We see that he is educated but doesn't really like to read books.
In the chapter Princess Mary, he meets his old lover. He gives in to feelings, and also, for fun, falls in love with Princess Ligovskaya. At first, he wanted to do this only because of his pride, and also, this would cause the jealousy of his "buddy". He hurt the innocent Mary. The punishment for this act was Vera's departure from Pyatigorsk. Pechorin was no longer able to catch up with her. On the other hand, in the duel, he gave Grushnitsky a chance to retract his words. We see that the hero is aware of the consequences.
After all the events with the Ligovskys and Grushnitskys in the chapter Bela, Grigory exchanges the princess for a horse. For him, she is like a thing. Not only does he destroy the family, he also evaluates her life as a horse. A person's life is priceless, and he takes such a step. The hero loved her, although, perhaps, it was only love, and soon it bored him. He understands that it is already impossible to fix anything and more and more often leaves her alone. The result was the tragic death of Bela. Fortunately, he gave the last glass of water to the dying heroine. This situation shocked him greatly.
Grigory Alexandrovich suffered from the fact that he brought misfortune to the people around him. He was looking for his joy, but he could not find it in any way. On the one hand, we scold him for everything that happened, but on the other hand, he himself understands this and suffers. In his example, you can see a person who could not achieve his happiness. He was confused, torturing himself with thoughts. In some situations, his character is weak, in others - strong. However, Gregory tried in any way to achieve his inner satisfaction. It's a pity that innocent girls suffered because of this. The reader can only understand him and, perhaps, forgive him.
Sample 6
The publication of the work "A Hero of Our Time" received different opinions among the reading public.
The image of Pechorin was unusual for them. The author has set for himself the main goal - to reveal this image. And although the stories are located in the novel not according to certain order, they accurately and vividly show all kinds of features of the Pechorin character. So, in Maxim Maksimych, Pechorin is shown in his original position, he has tried and exhausted everything. In Bel, everything is revealed negative traits character of our hero. By placing the character in different conditions, Lermontov wants to reveal to us the alienation of Pechorin. A young man, a renegade of society, did not obey the moral principles of the circle from which he came. He craves adventure and danger, as he is full of extraordinary energy.
And yet our hero is a richly gifted nature. Evaluating sensibly his own actions and the actions of others, he has the mind of an analyst. His diary is a self-disclosure. Pechorin has a warm heart, which is able to love passionately, hiding his truth under the guise of indifference. This is especially evident in the episodes of Bela's death and meeting with Vera. Our character is still a strong-willed and active person, and he is capable of action. But all his actions are destructive. In all the short stories, Pechorin acts as a destroyer of destinies. He is guilty of incidents with many people who met on his way. But, one cannot blame Pechorin for becoming such an immoral person. The people around him and the world are to blame here, where it was impossible to adequately apply the best qualities.
So, he learned to deceive, began to hide everything, and he buried his feelings in his heart long ago.
It seems to me that if Pechorin was born in a completely different time, he would be able to use his abilities for the benefit of himself and those around him. Therefore, this hero occupies the main place among literary characters"superfluous people". After all, in order for these people not to lose themselves in this world, we must try to understand them and help them.
For grade 9
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Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov - a poet and prose writer - is often compared with Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Is this comparison accidental? Not at all, these two lights marked with their work the golden age of Russian poetry. Both of them were worried about the question: “Who are they: the heroes of our time?” Brief analysis, you see, will not be able to answer this conceptual question, which the classics tried to thoroughly understand.
Unfortunately, the life of these talented people. Fate? Both of them were representatives of their time, divided into two parts: before and after. Moreover, as you know, critics compare Pushkin's Onegin and Lermontov Pechorin, presenting readers comparative analysis heroes. "A Hero of Our Time", however, was written after
The image of Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin
Analysis of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" clearly defines its main character, which forms the entire composition of the book. Mikhail Yurievich displayed in him an educated young nobleman of the post-Decembrist era - a person struck by unbelief - who does not carry good in himself, does not believe in anything, his eyes do not burn with happiness. Fate carries Pechorin like water autumn leaf, on a disastrous trajectory. He stubbornly "chases ... for life", looking for her "everywhere". However, the noble concept of honor in him is rather associated with selfishness, but not with decency.
Pechorin would be happy to find faith by going to the Caucasus to fight. It has a natural mental strength. Belinsky, characterizing this hero, writes that he is no longer young, but he has not yet acquired a mature attitude to life. He rushes from one adventure to another, achingly longing to find " inner rod', but he fails. Invariably, dramas take place around him, people die. And he rushes on like the Eternal Jew, Ahasuerus. If for Pushkin the key is the word "boredom", then for understanding the image of Lermontov's Pechorin the key is the word "suffering".
Composition of the novel
At first, the plot of the novel brings together the author, an officer sent to serve in the Caucasus, with a veteran who has passed and now quartermaster Maxim Maksimovich. Wise in life, scorched in battles, this man, worthy of all respect, is the first, according to Lermontov's plan, to begin an analysis of the heroes. The hero of our time is his friend. The author of the novel (on whose behalf the narration is being conducted) Maxim Maksimovich tells about the "glorious little" twenty-five-year-old ensign Grigory Alekseevich Pechorin, former colleague narrator. The narration of "Bela" follows first.
Pechorin, having resorted to the help of the brother of the mountain princess Azamat, steals this girl from her father. Then she bored him, experienced in women. With Azamat, he pays off with the hot horse of the horseman Kazbich, who, angry, kills the poor girl. The scam turns into a tragedy.
Maxim Maksimovich, remembering the past, became agitated and handed over to his interlocutor the travel diary left by Pechorin. The following chapters of the novel are separate episodes of Pechorin's life.
The short story "Taman" brings Pechorin with smugglers: a flexible, like a cat, girl, a pseudo-blind boy and a "smuggling getter" sailor Yanko. Lermontov presented here a romantic and artistically complete analysis of the characters. "A Hero of Our Time" introduces us to a simple smuggling business: Yanko crosses the sea with cargo, and the girl sells beads, brocade, ribbons. Fearing that Grigory will reveal them to the police, the girl first tries to drown him by throwing him off the boat. But when she fails, she and Yanko swim away. The boy is left to beg without a livelihood.
The next fragment of the diary is the story "Princess Mary". Bored Pechorin is being treated after being wounded in Pyatigorsk. Here he is friends with the Junker Grushnitsky, Dr. Werner. Bored, Grigory finds an object of sympathy - Princess Mary. She rests here with her mother - Princess Ligovskaya. But the unexpected happens - Pechorin's longtime sympathy, a married lady Vera, comes to Pyatigorsk, along with her aging husband. Vera and Gregory decide to meet on a date. They succeed in this, because, fortunately for them, the whole city is at the presentation of a visiting magician.
But the cadet Grushnitsky, wanting to compromise both Pechorin and Princess Mary, believing that it was she who would be on a date, follows the main character of the novel, enlisting the company of a dragoon officer. Having caught no one, the junker and the dragoons spread gossip. Pechorin "according to noble concepts" challenges Grushnitsky to a duel, where he kills him by shooting the second.
Lermontov's analysis acquaints us with pseudo-decency in the officer's milieu and frustrates Grushnitsky's dastardly plan. Initially, the pistol handed to Pechorin was unloaded. In addition, having chosen the condition - to shoot from six steps, the cadet was sure that he would shoot Grigory Alexandrovich. But excitement prevented him. By the way, Pechorin offered his opponent to save his life, but he began to demand a shot.
Verin's husband guesses what's the matter, and leaves Pyatigorsk with his wife. And Princess Ligovskaya blesses his marriage to Mary, but Pechorin does not even think about the wedding.
The action-packed short story "The Fatalist" brings Pechorin to Lieutenant Vulich in the company of other officers. He is confident in his luck and, for a dispute, warmed up by a philosophical argument and wine, he plays “hussar roulette”. And the gun does not shoot. However, Pechorin claims that he has already noticed the "sign of death" on the lieutenant's face. He really and senselessly dies, returning to wait.
Conclusion
Where did they come from Russia XIX century "Pechorina"? Where has the idealism of youth gone?
The answer is simple. The 30s marked an era of fear, an era of suppression of everything progressive by the III (political) gendarmerie police department. Born by the fear of Nicholas I of the possibility of a remake of the Decembrist uprising, it "reported on all matters", was engaged in censorship, perusal, and had the widest powers.
Hopes for development political system societies have become sedition. Dreamers began to be called "troublemakers." Active people aroused suspicion, meetings - repressions. It's time for denunciations and arrests. People began to be afraid to have friends, to trust them with their thoughts and dreams. They became individualists and painfully tried to gain faith in themselves in Pechorin's way.
Almost everyone who wrote about Lermontov's novel mentions its special playful nature, which is associated with experiments and experiments conducted by Pechorin. The author (probably, this is his own idea of life) encourages the hero of the novel to perceive real life in its natural course of life in the form of a theatrical game, a stage, in the form of a performance. Pechorin, chasing funny adventures that should dispel boredom and amuse him, is the author of the play, the director who always puts on comedies, but in the fifth acts they inevitably turn into tragedies. The world is built, from his point of view, like a drama - there is a plot, a climax and a denouement. Unlike the author-playwright, Pechorin does not know how the play will end, just as the other participants in the performance do not know this, although they do not suspect that they are playing certain roles, that they are artists. In this sense, the characters of the novel (the novel involves the participation of many individualized persons) are not equal to the hero. The director fails to equalize the protagonist and the involuntary "actors", to open the same opportunities for them, while maintaining the purity of the experiment: the "artists" go on stage only as extras, Pechorin turns out to be the author, director, and actor of the play. He writes and sets it for himself. At the same time, with different people he behaves differently: with Maxim Maksimych - friendly and somewhat arrogant, with Vera - lovingly and mockingly, with Princess Mary - presenting himself as a demon and condescendingly, with Grushnitsky - ironically, with Werner - coldly, rationally, friendly to a certain limit and quite harshly, with an “undine” - interested and wary.
His general attitude towards all the characters is due to two principles: firstly, no one should be allowed into the secret of the secret, into his own inner world, for no one can open the soul wide open; secondly, a person is interesting for Pechorin insofar as he acts as his antagonist or enemy. Faith, which he loves, he devotes the fewest pages in his diary. This happens because Vera loves the hero, and he knows about it. She won't change and always will. On this score, Pechorin is absolutely calm. Pechorin (his soul is the soul of a disappointed romantic, no matter how cynic and skeptic he may present himself), people are interested only when there is no peace between him and the characters, there is no agreement, when there is an external or internal struggle. Tranquility brings death to the soul, unrest, anxiety, threats, intrigues give it life. This, of course, contains not only strong, but also weak point Pechorin. He knows harmony as a state of consciousness, as a state of mind and as behavior in the world only speculatively, theoretically and dreamily, but by no means practically. In practice, harmony for him is a synonym for stagnation, although in his dreams he interprets the word "harmony" differently - as a moment of merging with nature, overcoming contradictions in life and in his soul. As soon as calmness, harmony and peace sets in, everything becomes uninteresting to him. This also applies to himself: outside the battle in the soul and in reality, he is ordinary. His destiny is to look for storms, to look for battles that feed the life of the soul and can never satisfy the insatiable thirst for reflection and action.
Due to the fact that Pechorin is a director and actor on the stage of life, the question inevitably arises about the sincerity of his behavior and words about himself. The opinions of the researchers strongly differed. As for the recorded confessions to himself, the question is, why lie if Pechorin is the only reader and if his diary is not intended for publication? The narrator in the "Preface to Pechorin's Journal" has no doubt that Pechorin wrote sincerely ("I was convinced of sincerity"). The situation is different with Pechorin's oral statements. Some believe, referring to the words of Pechorin (“I thought for a minute and then said, taking on a deeply moved look”), that in the famous monologue (“Yes! That was my fate since childhood”) Pechorin acts and pretends. Others believe that Pechorin is quite frank. Since Pechorin is an actor on the stage of life, he must put on a mask and must play sincerely and convincingly. The “deeply touched look” “adopted” by him does not mean that Pechorin is lying. On the one hand, acting sincerely, the actor speaks not for himself, but for the character, so he cannot be accused of lying. On the contrary, no one would have believed the actor if he had not stepped into his role. But the actor, as a rule, plays the role of an alien and fictional person. Pechorin, putting on various masks, plays himself. Pechorin the actor plays Pechorin the man and Pechorin the officer. Under each of the masks he himself is hidden, but not a single mask exhausts him. Character and actor merge only partially. With Princess Mary Pechorin plays a demonic personality, with Werner he is a doctor to whom he advises: “Try to look at me as a patient obsessed with a disease that is still unknown to you - then your curiosity will be aroused to the highest degree: you can now do several important physiological things on me. observations… Isn’t the expectation of a violent death already a real illness?” So he wants the doctor to see him as a patient and play the part of the doctor. But even before that, he put himself in the place of the patient and, as a doctor, began to observe himself. In other words, he plays two roles at once - the patient who is sick, and the doctor who observes the disease and analyzes the symptoms. However, in playing the role of a patient, he is pursuing the goal of impressing Werner ("The thought startled the doctor, and he cheered"). Observation and analytical frankness in the game of the patient and the doctor are combined with cunning and tricks that allow one or another character to be placed in their favor. At the same time, the hero sincerely admits this every time and does not try to hide his pretense. Pechorin's acting does not interfere with sincerity, but it shakes and deepens the meaning of his speeches and behavior.
It is easy to see that Pechorin is woven from contradictions. He is a hero whose spiritual needs are limitless, boundless and absolute. His strength is immense, his thirst for life is insatiable, his desires too. And all these needs of nature are not Nozdrevskaya bravado, not Manilovian daydreaming and not Khlestakov's vulgar boasting. Pechorin sets a goal for himself and achieves it, straining all the forces of the soul. Then he ruthlessly analyzes his actions and fearlessly judges himself. Individuality is measured by immensity. The hero correlates his fate with infinity and wants to solve the fundamental mysteries of life. Free thought leads him to knowledge of the world and self-knowledge. These properties are usually endowed precisely with heroic natures, who do not stop in front of obstacles and are eager to realize their innermost desires or plans. But in the title "hero of our time" there is, of course, an admixture of irony, as Lermontov himself hinted at. It turns out that the hero can look and looks like an anti-hero. In the same way, he seems extraordinary and ordinary, an exceptional person and a simple army officer in the Caucasian service. Unlike the ordinary Onegin, a kind fellow who knows nothing about his inner rich potential forces, Pechorin feels and recognizes them, but life lives, like Onegin, usually. The result and meaning of adventures each time turn out to be below expectations and completely lose their halo of extraordinaryness. Finally, he is nobly modest and feels “sometimes” sincere contempt for himself and always for “others”, for the “aristocratic herd” and for the human race at all. There is no doubt that Pechorin is a poetic, artistic and creative person, but in many episodes - a cynic, insolent, snob. And it is impossible to decide what constitutes the grain of the personality: the wealth of the soul or its evil sides - cynicism and arrogance, what is a mask, whether it is consciously put on the face and whether the mask has become a face.
To understand where are the sources of disappointment, cynicism and contempt that Pechorin carries in himself as a curse of fate, the hints scattered in the novel about the hero’s past help.
In the story “Bela”, Pechorin explains his character to Maxim Maksimych in response to his reproaches: “Listen, Maxim Maksimych,” he answered, “I have an unhappy character; Whether my upbringing made me that way, whether God created me that way, I don’t know; I only know that if I am the cause of the unhappiness of others, then I myself am no less unhappy; Of course, this is a bad consolation for them - only the fact is that this is so.
At first glance, Pechorin seems to be a worthless person, spoiled by light. In fact, his disappointment in pleasures, in the "big world" and "secular" love, even in the sciences, does him credit. The natural, natural soul of Pechorin, not yet processed by family and secular education, contained high, pure, one might even assume ideal romantic ideas about life. IN real life Pechorin's ideal romantic ideas were wrecked, and he was tired of everything and became bored. So, Pechorin admits, “in my soul is spoiled by light, my imagination is restless, my heart is insatiable; everything is not enough for me: I get used to sadness just as easily as to pleasure, and my life becomes emptier day by day ... ". Pechorin did not expect that bright romantic hopes upon entering the social circle would come true and come true, but his soul retained purity of feelings, ardent imagination, insatiable desires. They are not satisfied. The precious impulses of the soul need to be embodied in noble actions and good deeds. This nourishes and restores the mental and spiritual strength spent on achieving them. However, the soul does not receive a positive response, and it has nothing to eat. It is fading, exhausted, empty and dead. Here the contradiction characteristic of the Pechorin (and Lermontov) type begins to clear up: on the one hand, immense mental and spiritual strength, a thirst for boundless desires (“everything is not enough for me”), on the other, a feeling of complete emptiness of the same heart. D. S. Mirsky compared the devastated soul of Pechorin with an extinct volcano, but it should be added that inside the volcano everything boils and bubbles, on the surface it is really deserted and dead.
In the future, Pechorin unfolds a similar picture of his upbringing in front of Princess Mary.
In the story “The Fatalist”, where he does not need to either justify himself to Maxim Maksimych or arouse the compassion of Princess Mary, he thinks to himself: “... I have exhausted both the heat of the soul and the constancy of the will necessary for real life; I entered this life, having already experienced it mentally, and I became bored and disgusted, like someone who reads a bad imitation of a book he has known for a long time.
Each statement by Pechorin does not establish a rigid relationship between education, bad character traits, developed imagination, on the one hand, and life's fate, on the other. The reasons that determine the fate of Pechorin still remain unclear. All three of Pechorin's statements, interpreting these reasons in different ways, only complement each other, but do not line up in one logical line.
Romanticism, as you know, assumed a dual world: a collision of the ideal and real worlds. The main reason for Pechorin's disappointment lies, on the one hand, in the fact that the ideal content of romanticism is empty dreams. Hence the merciless criticism and cruel, to the point of cynicism, persecution of any ideal idea or judgment (comparisons of a woman with a horse, a mockery of Grushnitsky's romantic attire and recitation, etc.). On the other hand, mental and spiritual impotence made Pechorin weak in the face of imperfect reality, as the romantics correctly claimed. The perniciousness of romanticism, speculatively assimilated and abstractly experienced ahead of time, lies in the fact that a person does not meet life fully armed, fresh and youthful of his natural forces. It cannot fight on equal terms with hostile reality and is doomed to defeat in advance. When entering into life, it is better not to know romantic ideas than to learn and worship them in youth. A secondary encounter with life gives rise to a feeling of satiety, fatigue, melancholy and boredom.
Thus, romanticism is subjected to decisive doubt in its good for the individual and its development. The current generation, Pechorin reflects, has lost its foothold: it does not believe in predestination and considers it a delusion of the mind, but it is incapable of great sacrifices, of exploits for the glory of mankind and even for the sake of its own happiness, knowing about its impossibility. “And we…,” continues the hero, “indifferently move from doubt to doubt…” without any hope and without experiencing any pleasure. Doubt, which signifies and ensures the life of the soul, becomes the enemy of the soul and the enemy of life, destroying their fullness. But the opposite thesis is also valid: doubt arose when the soul awakened to an independent and conscious life. Paradoxical as it may seem, life has given birth to its enemy. No matter how much Pechorin wants to get rid of romanticism - ideal or demonic - he is forced in his reasoning to turn to him as the starting point of his thoughts.
These discussions end with considerations about ideas and passions. Ideas have content and form. Their form is action. The content is passions, which are nothing but ideas in their first development. Passions are short-lived: they belong to youth and at this tender age usually break out. In maturity, they do not disappear, but acquire fullness and go into the depths of the soul. All these reflections are a theoretical justification for egocentrism, but without a demonic flavor. Pechorin's conclusion is as follows: only by plunging into the contemplation of itself and imbued with itself, the soul will be able to understand the justice of God, that is, the meaning of being. One's own soul is the only object of interest for a mature and wise man who attained philosophical calm. Or in other words: one who has reached maturity and wisdom understands that the only worthy subject of interest for a person is his own soul. Only this can provide him with philosophical peace of mind and establish agreement with the world. Evaluation of the motives and actions of the soul, as well as of all being, belongs exclusively to it. This is the act of self-knowledge, the highest triumph of the self-conscious subject. However, is this conclusion final, the last word of Pechorin the thinker?
In the story The Fatalist, Pechorin argued that doubt dries up the soul, that the movement from doubt to doubt exhausts the will and is generally detrimental to a person of his time. But here he is, a few hours later, called to pacify the drunken Cossack who hacked Vulich. The prudent Pechorin, who took precautions so as not to become an accidental and vain victim of a raging Cossack, boldly rushes at him and, with the help of the bursting Cossacks, ties up the killer. Being aware of his motives and actions, Pechorin cannot decide whether he believes in predestination or is an opponent of fatalism: “After all this, how would it seem not to become a fatalist? But who knows for sure whether he is convinced of something or not? .. And how often do we take for belief a deception of feelings or a mistake of reason! .. ”The hero is at a crossroads - he cannot but agree with the Muslim belief,“ in heaven," nor reject it.
Therefore, the disappointed and demonic Pechorin is not yet Pechorin in the full extent of his nature. Lermontov reveals other sides to us in his hero. Pechorin's soul has not yet cooled down, has not faded away and has not died: he is poetically, without any cynicism, ideal or vulgar romanticism, to perceive nature, enjoy beauty and love. There are moments when Pechorin is peculiar and dear to the poetic in romanticism, cleansed of rhetoric and declarativeness, of vulgarity and naivety. Here is how Pechorin describes his arrival in Pyatigorsk: “I have a wonderful view from three sides. To the west, the five-headed Beshtu turns blue, like “the last cloud of a scattered storm”, to the north, Mashuk rises like a shaggy Persian hat, and covers this entire part of the sky; it is more fun to look to the east: down below, in front of me, a clean, brand new town is full of colors; healing springs rustle, a multilingual crowd rustles, - and there, further, mountains are piled up like an amphitheater, bluer and foggier, and on the edge of the horizon stretches a silver chain of snowy peaks, starting with Kazbek and ending with the two-headed Elbrus. It's fun to live in such a land! A kind of comforting feeling flows through all my veins. The air is pure and fresh, like the kiss of a child; the sun is bright, the sky is blue - what would seem more? – why are there passions, desires, regrets?”
It is hard to believe that this was written by a person disappointed in life, prudent in experiments, coldly ironic towards those around him. Pechorin settled on the highest place so that he, a romantic poet in his soul, was closer to heaven. It is not without reason that a thunderstorm and clouds are mentioned here, to which his soul is related. He chose an apartment in order to enjoy the entire vast realm of nature 94 .
In the same vein, the description of his feelings before the duel with Grushnitsky is sustained, where Pechorin opens his soul and admits that he loves nature passionately and indestructibly: “I don’t remember a deeper and fresher morning! The sun barely emerged from behind the green peaks, and the merging of the first warmth of its rays with the dying coolness of the night inspired a kind of sweet languor on all the senses. A joyful ray has not yet penetrated into the gorge young day: he gilded only the tops of the cliffs hanging on both sides above us; thick-leaved bushes growing in their deep cracks showered us with silver rain at the slightest breath of wind. I remember - this time, more than ever before, I loved nature. How curiously I peered into every dewdrop fluttering on a wide grape leaf and reflecting millions of rainbow rays! how greedily my gaze tried to penetrate the smoky distance! There the path kept getting narrower, the cliffs bluer and more terrifying, and finally they seemed to converge like an impenetrable wall. In this description, one feels such love for life, for every dewdrop, for every leaf, which seems to look forward to merging with it and complete harmony.
There is, however, one more indisputable proof that Pechorin, as others have painted him and as he sees himself in his reflections, does not reduce either anti-romanticism or a secular Demon.
Having received a letter from Vera with a notice of an urgent departure, the hero “ran like crazy onto the porch, jumped on his Circassian, who was led around the yard, and set off at full speed on the road to Pyatigorsk.” Now Pechorin was not chasing adventures, now there was no need for experiments, intrigues, - then the heart spoke, and a clear understanding came that the only love was dying: “With the opportunity to lose her forever, Vera became dearer to me than anything in the world, dearer than life, honor, happiness! At these moments, soberly thinking and clearly, not without aphoristic grace, expounding his thoughts, Pechorin is confused by his overwhelming feelings (“one minute, one more minute to see her, say goodbye, shake her hand ...”) and unable to express them (“I prayed , cursed, cried, laughed ... no, nothing will express my anxiety, despair! ..”).
Here, a cold and skillful experimenter on other people's destinies turned out to be defenseless in front of his own sad fate - the hero is brought out bitterly crying, not trying to hold back tears and sobs. Here the mask of an egocentrist is removed from him, and for a moment his other, perhaps real, true face is revealed. For the first time, Pechorin did not think about himself, but thought about Vera, for the first time he put someone else's personality above his own. He was not ashamed of his tears (“However, I am pleased that I can cry!”), and this was his moral, spiritual victory over himself.
Born before the term, he leaves before the term, instantly living two lives - speculative and real. The search for truth undertaken by Pechorin did not lead to success, but the path he followed became the main one - this is the path of a free thinking person who hopes for his own natural forces and believing that doubt will lead him to the discovery of the true destiny of man and the meaning of being. At the same time, Pechorin's murderous individualism, fused with his face, according to Lermontov, had no life prospects. Lermontov everywhere makes it feel that Pechorin does not value life, that he is not averse to dying in order to get rid of the contradictions of consciousness that bring him suffering and torment. A secret hope lives in his soul that only death is the only way out for him. The hero not only breaks other people's destinies, but - most importantly - kills himself. His life is spent on nothing, goes into the void. He wastes his life force in vain, achieving nothing. The thirst for life does not cancel the desire for death, the desire for death does not destroy the feeling of life.
Considering the strong and weak, "light" and " dark sides» Pechorin, it cannot be said that they are balanced, but they are mutually conditioned, inseparable from each other and capable of flowing one into another.
Lermontov created the first psychological novel in Russia in line with emerging and victorious realism, in which the process of self-knowledge of the hero played a significant role. In the course of introspection, Pechorin tests for strength all spiritual values that are the inner property of a person. Such values in literature have always been considered love, friendship, nature, beauty.
Pechorin’s analysis and introspection concerns three types of love: for a girl who grew up in a conditionally natural mountain environment (Bela), for a mysterious romantic “mermaid” living near the free sea element (“undine”) and for an urban girl of “light” (Princess Mary) . Each time love does not give true pleasure and ends dramatically or tragically. Pechorin is again disappointed and bored. A love game often creates a danger for Pechorin that threatens his life. It outgrows the limits of a love game and becomes a game of life and death. This is what happens in Bel, where Pechorin can expect an attack from both Azamat and Kazbich. In "Taman" "undine" almost drowned the hero, in "Princess Mary" the hero shot with Grushnitsky. In the story "The Fatalist" he tests his ability to act. It is easier for him to sacrifice life than freedom, and in such a way that his sacrifice turns out to be optional, but perfect for the satisfaction of pride and ambition.
Embarking on another love adventure, Pechorin each time thinks that it will turn out to be new and unusual, refresh his feelings and enrich his mind. He sincerely surrenders to a new attraction, but at the same time he turns on the mind, which destroys the immediate feeling. Pechorin's skepticism sometimes becomes absolute: it is not love that matters, not the truth and authenticity of feelings, but power over a woman. Love for him is not a union or a duel of equals, but the subordination of another person to his will. And therefore, from each love adventure, the hero endures the same feelings - boredom and longing, reality opens up to him with the same banal, trivial - sides.
In the same way, he is incapable of friendship, because he cannot give up part of his freedom, which would mean for him to become a "slave." With Werner, he maintains a distance in a relationship. Maxim Maksimych also makes himself feel his sidelines, avoiding friendly embraces.
The insignificance of the results and their repetition forms a spiritual circle in which the hero is closed, hence the idea of death grows as the best outcome from a vicious and bewitched, as if predetermined, circulation. As a result, Pechorin feels infinitely unhappy and deceived by fate. He courageously bears his cross, not reconciling with it, and making more and more attempts to change his fate, to give a deep and serious meaning to his stay in the world. This intransigence of Pechorin with himself, with his share, testifies to the restlessness and significance of his personality.
The novel tells about the hero's new attempt to find food for the soul - he goes to the East. His developed critical consciousness was not completed and did not acquire harmonic wholeness. Lermontov makes it clear that Pechorin, like the people of that time, from whose features the portrait of the hero is composed, is not yet able to overcome the state of spiritual crossroads. Traveling to exotic, unknown countries will not bring anything new, because the hero cannot escape from himself. In the history of the soul of a noble intellectual in the first half of the 19th century. duality was initially concluded: the consciousness of the individual felt free will as an immutable value, but took painful forms. The personality opposed itself to the environment and faced such external circumstances that gave rise to a boring repetition of norms of behavior, similar situations and responses to them that could lead to despair, make life meaningless, dry up the mind and feelings, replace the direct perception of the world with cold and rational. To Pechorin's credit, he is looking for positive content in life, he believes that it exists and only it has not been revealed to him, he resists negative life experience.
Using the method “from the contrary”, it is possible to imagine the scale of Pechorin’s personality and guess in him the hidden and implied, but not manifested positive content, which is equal to his frank thoughts and visible actions.
Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin is the protagonist of Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov's novel A Hero of Our Time. This is a young, "thin, white", slender, medium-sized young man. Grigory Alexandrovich - retired officer (at the time of the action in the chapter "Maxim Maksimovich"), in a velvet frock coat, clean linen and brand new elegant gloves. Pechorin has blond hair, a black mustache and eyebrows, an upturned nose, brown eyes, and white teeth. Grigory Alexandrovich is a very rich man and has many expensive things. He does not need special education and any useful occupation. He believes that there is neither happiness, nor glory, nor pleasure from them. This person likes to be in the center of common interest, tries to subjugate everyone, and therefore does not like girls with character. In general, it seems that Pechorin loves only himself, and even if sometimes someone else, he does not sacrifice anything for this. Grigory Alexandrovich himself cannot be friends, and others do not particularly want to fit into his circle of friends.
From the very beginning of the work, we see Pechorin as an indifferent, at times inquisitive person who wants to get a lot out of life. His actions surprise, even amaze the reader. He steals the girl, not realizing what this act will entail. He is sure that his love for this girl will open the way to new life. Then he nevertheless understands that he hastened with actions, but nothing can be corrected.
In the course of a futile struggle with society, Pechorin loses his ardor, becomes cold, indifferent. We have seen something similar. reading the novel "Eugene Onegin". Only the departure of Vera, his beloved woman, could briefly kindle a fire in him again, return the desire for a new one, a better life. But this was again just a passing infatuation, the passion for this woman was gone. Or, in any case, Pechorin tried to convince himself of this.
A man is disappointed in himself, in life. He remains to while away his life traveling. He will never return home.
Pechorin is " an extra person". His ideas, thoughts, opinions and ideas are very different from the generally accepted ones. Throughout the novel, we have never seen him busy with any official business. Is it possible that in the chapter "Fatalist" Pechorin manages to deceive and arrest the Cossack killer (although this, strictly speaking, is none of his business.) But this person sets himself specific goals and questions.
One of them is understanding the possibilities and psychology of people. This can explain his various "experiments" on himself and others.
Lermontov experiences Pechorin with two feelings: love and friendship. He couldn't handle any of them. Grigory Alexandrovich was disappointed in love. He cannot be friends, because he believes that one of the friends must necessarily be a slave for the other.
Pechorin is a man who, because of his principles, his vision of life, always brings grief to people. Even with all his desires to be reborn, his true essence does not allow it. He is doomed to loneliness.
