Russian literature

Viktor Eremin

Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin

Let's start with a letter that is not known to the general reader, but in many respects determined the fate of M.Yu. Lermontov*.

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* Biography of M.Yu. Lermontov, see "100 Great Poets".

"13/25<июня 1840 г.>10 1/2. I have worked and read the entire Hero, which is well written.<...>

14/26... 3 p.m. I worked and continued to read Lermontov's work; I find the second volume less successful than the first*.
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* Recall that the first part of the novel includes "Bela", "Maxim Maksimych" and "Taman", the second part - "Princess Mary" and "The Fatalist". The idea of ​​the novel was finally formed by M.Yu. Lermontov presumably in 1838; and the “Hero of Our Time” was completed in 1839, and the work was repeatedly edited by the author and reworked, new chapters were added - “Fatalist” and “Taman”. Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin first appeared in the story "Princess Ligovskaya" (1836), which was not included in the novel. The final version of A Hero of Our Time was published in its entirety as a separate book in 1840. Lermontov wrote and published the famous preface to it in 1841.

7 pm ... During this time I have read to the end of "Hero" and find the second part disgusting, quite worthy of being in vogue. This is the same depiction of despicable and incredible characters that is found in modern foreign novels. Such novels spoil the morals and harden the character. And although you read these feline sighs with disgust, they nevertheless produce a painful effect, because in the end you get used to believing that the whole world consists only of such individuals, in whom even seemingly good deeds are committed only by vile and dirty motives. . What result can this give? Contempt or hatred for humanity! But is this the purpose of our existence on earth? People are too prone to become hypochondriacs or misanthropes anyway, so why should such writings arouse or develop such inclinations! So, I repeat, in my opinion, this is a pathetic gift, it indicates the perverted mind of the author. The character of the captain is sketched well. Starting the story, I hoped and rejoiced that he would be the hero of our day, because in this category of people there are much more real people than those who are so indiscriminately awarded this epithet. Undoubtedly, the Caucasian Corps has a lot of them, but rarely anyone can see them. However, the captain appears in this work both as a hope and an unfulfilled one, and Mr. Lermontov failed to follow this noble and so simple character; he replaces him with contemptible, very uninteresting faces, who, rather than inducing boredom, would do better if they remained in obscurity - so as not to cause disgust. Good luck, Mr. Lermontov, let him, if possible, clear his head in an environment where he will be able to complete the character of his captain, if at all he is able to comprehend and describe it.
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* M.Yu. Lermontov in the memoirs of contemporaries. M.: Hood. lit., 1989.

Without suspecting it, Lermontov replied to this letter from Emperor Nicholas I in the Preface to the novel: “... The Hero of Our Time, my dear sirs, is like a portrait, but not of one person; it is a portrait composed of the vices of our whole generation, in their full development ...

... Enough people were fed with sweets; their stomachs have deteriorated because of this: bitter medicines, caustic truths are needed. But do not think, however, after this, that the author of this book would ever have a bitter dream of becoming a corrector of human vices. God save him from such ignorance! It was just fun for him to draw modern man as he understands him and, to his misfortune and yours, met him too often. It will also happen that the disease is indicated, but God knows how to cure it!
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* M.Yu. Lermontov. Sobr. op. in 4 volumes. T. 4. M .: Hood. lit., 1958.

Mikhail Yurjevich Lermontov

Youthfully flirting in front of the reader, the poet lied for the sake of fashionable delusions, but criticism picked up this chatter and cheerfully exaggerates it to this day. Of course, there is no question of any vices of the Lermontov generation in the novel - the author talks about the vices of specific individuals who have been, are and will certainly be in any people and at every time. Lermontov's maximalism in relation to his compatriot contemporaries is well known, fully justified by his character, but still dishonestly exploited by liberals in order to discredit Russia's past.

The “Hero of Our Time” and his main character, Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin, turned out to be a stumbling block between two great people of our Motherland, who, of course, performed in different “weight categories” during their lifetime, but for history this no longer matters.

In the above letter to his wife, Emperor Nicholas I implicitly explained why M.Yu. Lermontov could not count on a quick return from the Caucasus, and at the same time he unwittingly assumed a significant share of the blame for the early death of Russia's greatest mystical poet. The powerful statesman lived with dreams of creating a worthy society, while the poet was immersed in real life, saw real people and talked about their true spiritual existence. As a result, the poet was swallowed up by everyday prose, and the romantic sovereign, in his dreams about heroes, led the country to the Crimean catastrophe, in which the enemy - both external and even more internal - mercilessly used and exterminated real heroes - Maxim Maksimychev, and among them and the emperor-knight himself. One example. Let us recall how the institution of sisters of mercy arose in Russia. When the great Russian surgeon N.I. Pirogov (1810-1881) cried out to those in power that in the Crimean War the people died more because medicines and food did not reach hospitals, but were stolen by a huge pack of bureaucratic marauders, enthusiastic noblewomen created a control body for public monitoring of supplies to hospitals. active troops. They could not watch indifferently how the wounded were tormented and undertook to help the doctors - they became sisters of mercy. However, those of them who still tried at the same time to control the supply to the army, on the orders of Nicholas I, under various pretexts, were recalled to the rear. The trouble was that the theft turned out to be of such gigantic proportions that it was easier to allow the heroes of Sevastopol to die without help than to start persecuting the looters - in this case, the king was afraid of a coup d'état. It sounds terrible, but such was the result of that spiritual decay that engulfed all the ruling classes of Russia already in the 1830s and 1840s. and which is latent and created the general atmosphere of Lermontov's "Hero of Our Time". The tsar felt that some kind of danger lurked in the novel, but he did not understand what it was, and therefore he blamed everything on the aristocrat Pechorin, demoted to ensign, since he gave many reasons for this.

Thus, the "Hero of Our Time" should be considered not so much and not only from the standpoint of the state of Russian society in the early 1840s, but primarily as a harbinger of the national catastrophe of 1853-1856. and the cataclysms that followed at the beginning of the 20th century. In The Hero of Our Time, Lermontov prophesied the future, for which Nicholas I was angry with him, demanding not foresight, but creation. This is the essence of the conflict between the king and the poet. But after all, everyone should do their own thing, and it is senseless and fraught to demand that a true poet serve the current needs of the state.

The conflict between the emperor and the poet over Pechorin is often discussed in critical literature, although it is considered more as a problem of the individual and society than as a problem of the existence of the individual. And the difference here is fundamental, because in it lies the mystical secret of the poet and his hero. Better than Lermontov himself, it is impossible to reveal the soul of Pechorin. And it is described in the following lines:

I go out alone on the road;
Through the mist the flinty path gleams;
The night is quiet. The desert listens to God
And the star speaks to the star.
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* M. Yu. Lermontov. Sobr. op. in 4 volumes. T. 1. M .: Hood. lit., 1957.

Loneliness, which happened not because of a person’s position in society, but generated by personal complexes that arose mainly on the basis of book fantasies, the desire to correspond to the “advanced” literature and philosophy of the 18th and early 19th centuries, sucked from the finger of zaum, to be not real, but “like in books”, not to be natural, but to play an invented role - this loneliness gave Russia an infinite number of crippled young destinies and a whole crowd of so-called “superfluous people” in literature.

Where the concept of “extra person” came from is unknown. There are a number of versions, but we will not analyze them here. The proposed criteria for it are far-fetched to the point of obscenity and can be applied even to any of us, people of the 21st century, the restriction gives only a class sign - an “extra person” can only be a nobleman, preferably from the rich. All the “superfluous people” in Russian literature (of course, in addition to the dearest Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, who is forcibly drawn into their number) are united by the main, indisputable property - they do not live, but in reality they play a role invented by them. And the brightest actor from this host of “lonely” is Pechorin.

You should not think that the images of the so-called "superfluous people" are inherent only in Russian literature. There are also quite a few of them in Western European prose, only they are defined differently and their social framework is wider. The same Werther, for example. But the closest thing to Pechorin in world literature is Flaubert's Emma Bovary! True, with the difference that it is initially vicious, and Pechorin forcibly cultivates vice in himself.

So we have come to the main point in the discussion about Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin. The reader draws knowledge of his depravity primarily from Pechorin's Journal, in other words, the hero's diary. For some reason, it is customary to take it as an absolute revelation of the author to himself. However, it is much more natural to assume that Pechorin's Journal is not a document about a person's exploration of himself, but a document about a person's description of how he wants to see himself. The real Pechorin is not the Pechorin who invents himself from the "Journal ...". And every fact of his everyday life testifies to this. He, the true Pechorin, performs an act, and then, analyzing it in the "Journal ...", tries to give his action a completely different, often unnatural character, in order to show himself how bad he really is. It can even be said that Pechorin is engaged not so much in baseless self-flagellation as in self-education from an ordinary person into a most disgusting scoundrel, since he believes that in this way he elevates himself above the crowd. Paradoxically, with his character, being a scoundrel turned out to be much more difficult than remaining a decent person! This, apparently, is the mystery of Pechorin.

So, the key to understanding the image of the Hero of our time is pride, expressed in self-abasement! And following her really plunged Pechorin into the abyss of moral and physical collapse.

The true causes of this life catastrophe were revealed by the author in "The Fatalist", where the disgraced ensign tried to understand what is the true purpose of man and what is the meaning of being. Reasoning about freedom, fate and faith led Pechorin to the actual denial of the moral precepts of Christianity! He turned out to be a man who lost God in the name of his own vanity. In this regard, Pechorin can be considered as a Luciferian type of god-fighter, which is why Lermontov gave him the features of a genius. By the way, it is they who are so greedily exploited by critics who are trying to justify the uselessness of a person in a “rotten” society.

In the end, it is necessary to say about the narrowly mystical interpretation of the image of Pechorin, which is closest to the nature of this book. I will refer to V.I. Levina: “In a well-known oriental tale, a genie, imprisoned in a bottle, inhabits the person who freed him and subjugates him. Something similar happened with Lermontov: leaving the pages of the novel, Pechorin seems to begin to influence the actions and worldview of the author.
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* IN AND. Levin. Duel Lermontov. Journal "Libraries of educational institutions", issues No. 19, 20. M .: 2006.

In other words, it was not N.S. who allegedly killed Lermontov. Martynov, the poet died at the hands of a hero invented and described by him, who moved into his creator and pushed him to commit suicide. It seems that it was the latter that Nicholas I intuitively understood, refusing to severely punish Martynov.

The novel was repeatedly illustrated by the greatest Russian artists - M.A. Vrubel, I.E. Repin, E.E. Lansere, V.A. Serov, D.A. Shmarinov and others.

There are no significant musical works on the theme of the novel. The most famous: the opera by A.Sh. Melik-Pashayeva* "Pechorin" and ballet by I.A. Demutsky** "A Hero of Our Time".
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* Alexander Shamilevich Melik-Pashaev (1905-1964) - a famous Soviet conductor and composer, the auto of two operas - "Pechorin" and "Twelfth Night".
** Ilya Alexandrovich Demutsky (b. 1983) - one of the most sought-after composers of the Russian liberal Russian-hating party; constantly represents national culture at international forums and competitions. Winner of several prestigious international awards. He was especially famous for his symphonic poem "The Last Word of the Defendant" - in support of the Pussy Wright group. The ballet "A Hero of Our Time" was created in 2014 by order of the Bolshoi Theater management, and was staged in 2015.

In the cinema, "A Hero of Our Time" was filmed mainly as separate stories.

The first films - "Princess Mary", "Maxim Maksimych" and "Bela" - were staged in 1926-1927. director V.G. Barsky*. The role of Pechorin was played by N.P. Prozorovsky**.
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* Vladimir Grigoryevich Barsky (1889-1936) - Soviet actor, director. He worked mainly in Georgian cinema.
** Nikolai Petrovich Prozorovsky (Brzhezitsky-Prozorovsky) (1905-1935) - famous actor of Soviet silent cinema; filmed since 1924

In 1955, director I.M. Annensky* shot the brilliant film "Princess Mary". A.V. acted as Pechorin. Verbitsky**.
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* Isidor Markovich Annensky (1906-1977) - a classic of Russian film directing; the creator of such illustrious and timeless film adaptations as "The Bear" (1938), "The Man in the Case" (1939), "The Wedding" (1944), "Anna on the Neck" (1954) and others.
** Anatoly Vsevolodovich Verbitsky (1926-1977) - since 1947, actor of the Moscow Art Theater; due to life's failures and the lack of roles, he committed suicide by poisoning himself with gas.

The films of 1965 and 1966 became national classics. director S.I. Rostotsky * "Hero of Our Time" ("Maxim Maksimych", "Taman") and "Bela". In both films, the actor V.S. starred in the role of Pechorin. Ivashov**.
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* Stanislav Iosifovich Rostotsky (1922-2001) - a famous Soviet film director; People's Artist of the USSR (1974); author of the films “It was in Penkovo”, “We'll live until Monday”, “The dawns here are quiet ...”, “White Bim Black Ear” and others.
** Ivashov Vladimir Sergeevich (1939-1995) - world-famous Soviet film actor; his starring role is Alyosha Skvortsov in the film by G.N. Chukhrai "Ballad of a Soldier".

A classic of the world theater direction A.V. Efros* filmed several TV shows, incl. in 1974, Pechorin's Journal Pages (Princess Mary) appeared on the screens. O.I. acted as Pechorin. Dal**.
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* Anatoly Vasilievich Efros (real name Natan Isaevich Efros) (1925-1987).
** Oleg Ivanovich Dal (1941-1981) - Soviet theater and film actor. He starred in so many outstanding domestic films that it is not possible and necessary to list them here. Dal was Efros's favorite actor in the theater on Malaya Bronnaya.

The TV series "A Hero of Our Time" (6 episodes) was the first attempt at a full film adaptation of the novel. It was filmed in 2006 by director A.K. Kott*. The screen adaptation is successful, it can only be welcomed. The performer of the role of Pechorin is the actor I.P. Petrenko**.
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* Alexander Konstantinovich Kott (b. 1973) - Russian film director, creator of the eight-episode television series Convoy PQ-17.
** Igor Petrovich Petrenko (b. 1977) is a popular actor in Russian cinema.

In 2011 director R.B. Khrushch undertook to fantasize about Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin, who was dying in distant Persia, and made the film Pechorin. The leitmotif of the film was the memories of the protagonist - fragments of the novel. The title role was played by actor St.V. Ryadinsky.
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* Roman Borisovich Khrushch (b. 1960) - domestic film director; shoots a little, his most famous film is Pechorin.
** Stanislav Veniaminovich Ryadinsky (b. 1981) - actor of the theater. Lenin Komsomol; now quite a sought-after actor of domestic cinema.

Oleg Dal
Igor Petrenko Information Nickname Occupation

Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin- a fictional character, an officer of the Russian Imperial Army, the protagonist of the novel A Hero of Our Time, written by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov. Combines the features of the Byronic hero of the era of romanticism and the "superfluous person" who has not found any use for himself.

Biography

	Pechorin at Wikiquote

Mikhail Lermontov developed Pushkin's character. In his 1840 article, Belinsky called Pechorin "The Onegin of our time". According to him, "their dissimilarity among themselves is much less than the distance between Onega and Pechora". Pushkin, discovering Onegin in the reality surrounding him, began to criticize her; Lermontov, on the other hand, exposed the selfish hero.

Tatyana Alexandrovna Ivanova, the author of a number of books dedicated to Lermontov, believes that when writing “A Hero of Our Time”, the image of Onegin stood before his eyes. She points to a slip in the manuscript - instead of the name of the hero of his novel, he wrote "Eugene", and subsequently corrected the mistake.

Criticism

The image of Pechorin in cinema

In 1913, Bela was filmed by Khanzhankov's studio, the role of Pechorin was played by A. Gromov, who directed the film. In -1927, Vladimir Barsky at the studio "Goskinprom of Georgia" based on the work staged three films - "Princess Mary", "Bela" and "Maxim Maksimych" with Nikolai Prozorovsky in the title role. Although the film received negative reviews from critics, Prozorovsky's performance was positively evaluated by them. After the advent of sound cinema, the novel was repeatedly filmed by the Gorky Studio. In 1955, the color film "Princess Mary" was released by director and screenwriter Isidor Annensky, the main role in it went to Anatoly Verbitsky. In 1967, "A Hero of Our Time" was released, consisting of three short stories ("Bela", "Taman" and "Maxim Maksimych"), filmed by Stanislav Rostotsky. Pechorin was played by Vladimir Ivashov. According to Soviet critics, due to the illustrative nature of the picture, its authors failed to recreate the character and reveal the inner world of the hero. In 1975, the Central Television staged a teleplay " Pages of Pechorin's Journal ". The director was Anatoly Efros, and the performer of the role of Pechorin was Oleg Dal. In the 8-episode television series by Alexander Kott "A Hero of Our Time" (2006), which was rather coolly received by critics, the role of Pechorin was played by actor Igor Petrenko, whose performance was recognized as successful.

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing Pechorin

It was an autumn, warm, rainy day. Sky and horizon were the same color of muddy water. Now it seemed to fall like a mist, then suddenly it allowed a slanting, heavy rain.
On a thoroughbred, thin horse with tucked-up sides, in a cloak and hat, from which water flowed, Denisov rode. He, like his horse, which squinted its head and pursed its ears, frowned at the slanting rain and peered anxiously ahead. His face, emaciated and overgrown with a thick, short, black beard, looked angry.
Next to Denisov, also in a cloak and hat, on a well-fed, large bottom rode a Cossack esaul - Denisov's employee.
Esaul Lovaisky, the third, also in a cloak and hat, was a long, flat, white-faced, fair-haired man, with narrow bright eyes and a calmly self-satisfied expression both in his face and in his seat. Although it was impossible to say what was the peculiarity of the horse and the rider, but at the first glance at the esaul and Denisov it was clear that Denisov was both wet and awkward - that Denisov was a man who mounted a horse; whereas, looking at the esaul, it was clear that he was just as comfortable and at ease as always, and that he was not a man who mounted a horse, but a man together with a horse, one being increased by double strength.
A little ahead of them walked a sodden peasant conductor, in a gray caftan and white cap.
A little behind, on a thin, thin Kyrgyz horse with a huge tail and mane and with bloody lips, rode a young officer in a blue French overcoat.
A hussar rode next to him, carrying a boy in a tattered French uniform and a blue cap behind him on the back of a horse. The boy held on to the hussar with his hands, red from the cold, moved, trying to warm them, his bare feet, and, raising his eyebrows, looked around him in surprise. It was the French drummer taken in the morning.
Behind, in threes, fours, along a narrow, limp and rutted forest road, hussars were drawn, then Cossacks, some in a cloak, some in a French overcoat, some in a blanket thrown over their heads. The horses, both red and bay, all looked black from the rain streaming from them. The necks of the horses seemed strangely thin from wet manes. Steam rose from the horses. And clothes, and saddles, and reins - everything was wet, slippery and slushy, just like the earth and the fallen leaves with which the road was laid. People sat ruffled, trying not to move in order to warm the water that had spilled to the body and not to let in the new cold water that was leaking under the seats, knees and necks. In the middle of the stretched-out Cossacks, two wagons on French and saddled Cossack horses rumbled over the stumps and branches and grunted along the water-filled ruts of the road.
Denisov's horse, bypassing a puddle that was on the road, stretched to the side and pushed him with his knee against a tree.
Denisov shouted angrily and, baring his teeth, hit the horse three times with a whip, spattering himself and his comrades with mud. Denisov was out of sorts: both from rain and hunger (no one had eaten since morning), the main thing is that so far there has been no news from Dolokhov and the one sent to take the language has not returned.
“It is unlikely that there will be another such case as today, to attack transport. It is too risky to attack alone, and to postpone until another day - one of the big partisans will capture the booty from under their noses, ”thought Denisov, constantly looking ahead, thinking to see the expected messenger from Dolokhov.
Having reached a clearing, along which one could see far to the right, Denisov stopped.
“Someone is coming,” he said.
Esaul looked in the direction indicated by Denisov.
- Two people are coming - an officer and a Cossack. Only it is not supposed that there was a lieutenant colonel himself, ”said the esaul, who liked to use words unknown to the Cossacks.
The riders, having gone downhill, disappeared from view and reappeared a few minutes later. In front, at a weary gallop, urging on with a whip, rode an officer - disheveled, soaked through and with pantaloons fluffed up above the knees. Behind him, standing on stirrups, a Cossack trotted. This officer, a very young boy, with a broad ruddy face and quick, cheerful eyes, galloped up to Denisov and handed him a wet envelope.
“From the general,” the officer said, “sorry that it’s not quite dry ...
Denisov, frowning, took the envelope and began to open it.
“They said everything that is dangerous, dangerous,” the officer said, turning to the esaul, while Denisov read the envelope given to him. “However, Komarov and I,” he pointed to the Cossack, “got ready. We have two pistols each ... And what is this? he asked, seeing the French drummer, “a prisoner?” Have you already been in a fight? Can I talk to him?
- Rostov! Petya! Denisov shouted at that time, running through the envelope handed to him. “Why didn’t you say who you are?” - And Denisov, with a smile, turning around, held out his hand to the officer.
This officer was Petya Rostov.
All the way Petya was preparing himself for how, as a big and officer should, without hinting at his previous acquaintance, he would behave with Denisov. But as soon as Denisov smiled at him, Petya immediately beamed, blushed with joy and, forgetting the formality he had prepared, began to talk about how he drove past the French, and how glad he was that he had been given such an assignment, and that he was already in battle. near Vyazma, and that one hussar distinguished himself there.
“Well, I’m hell to see you,” Denisov interrupted him, and his face again took on a worried expression.
“Mikhail Feoklitich,” he turned to the esaul, “after all, this is again from a German. He is pg "and he is a member." And Denisov told the esaul that the content of the paper brought now consisted in a repeated demand from the German general to join in attacking the transport. "Wow," he concluded.
While Denisov was talking to the esaul, Petya, embarrassed by Denisov's cold tone and assuming that the position of his pantaloons was the reason for this tone, so that no one would notice this, adjusted his fluffy pantaloons under his overcoat, trying to look as militant as possible.
“Will there be any order from your high nobility?” - he said to Denisov, putting his hand to his visor and again returning to the game of adjutant and general, for which he had prepared, - or should I remain with your honor?
“Orders?” Denisov said thoughtfully. - Can you stay until tomorrow?
- Oh, please ... Can I stay with you? Petya screamed.
- Yes, how exactly were you ordered from the geneg "ala - now to get out"? Denisov asked. Petya blushed.
Yes, he didn't say anything. I think it is possible? he said inquiringly.
“Well, all right,” said Denisov. And, turning to his subordinates, he made orders that the party go to the designated resting place near the guardhouse in the forest and that the officer on a Kyrgyz horse (this officer acted as adjutant) went to look for Dolokhov, find out where he was and whether he would come in the evening . Denisov himself, with the esaul and Petya, intended to drive up to the edge of the forest, overlooking Shamshev, in order to look at the location of the French, which was supposed to be attacked tomorrow.

"A Hero of Our Time" is read in one breath. The life of an officer of the tsarist army, Grigory Pechorin, captivates with events seasoned with the mental anguish of the character. The author created the image of an "extra person" in society who does not know in which direction to direct energy and vitality.

History of creation

The unusualness of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" lies in the fact that he opened the list of psychological works in Russian literature. Mikhail Lermontov spent three years on the work - the story of a representative of a new generation was born from 1838 to 1940.

The idea arose from the writer in the Caucasian exile. The time of the Nikolaev reaction reigned, when, after the suppressed Decembrist uprising, intelligent youth were lost in search of the meaning of life, purpose, ways to use their abilities for the benefit of the Fatherland. Hence the title of the novel. Plus, Lermontov was an officer in the Russian army, walked the military paths of the Caucasus and managed to get to know the life and customs of the local population. The restless character of Grigory Pechorin was revealed far from his homeland, surrounded by Chechens, Ossetians and Circassians.

The work was sent to the reader in the form of separate chapters in the journal Domestic Notes. Seeing the popularity of his literary work, Mikhail Yuryevich decided to combine the parts into a whole novel, which was published in two volumes in 1840.

Five stories with their own titles make up a composition where the chronological order is violated. First, Pechorin is presented to readers by an officer of the tsarist army, a close friend and boss Maxim Maksimych, and only then does it become possible to “personally” get acquainted with the emotional experiences of the protagonist through his diaries.

According to writers, when creating the image of the character, Lermontov relied on the famous hero of his idol -. The great poet borrowed his surname from the calm Onega River, and Mikhail Yuryevich named the hero in honor of the stormy mountain Pechora. And in general, it is believed that Pechorin is an “extended” version of Onegin. In the search for prototypes, writers also stumbled upon a typo in Lermontov's manuscript - in one place the author mistakenly named his character Eugene.

Biography and plot

Grigory Pechorin was born and raised in St. Petersburg. In his youth, he quickly abandoned the tedious study of the sciences and hit the secular life with revels and women. However, this quickly got boring. Then the hero decided to pay his debt to the Fatherland by going to serve in the army. For participating in a duel, a young man was punished with a real service, sent to the Caucasus to the active troops - this is the starting point of the narrative of the work.

In the first chapter, entitled "Bela", Maxim Maksimych tells an unknown listener a story that happened to Pechorin and revealed the nature of an egoist in him. The young officer even managed to get bored in the war - he was used to the whistle of bullets, and the remote village in the mountains made me sad. With the help of the Circassian prince, the greedy and unbalanced Azamat, he stole first the horse, and then the daughter of the local prince Bela. Feelings for the young lady quickly cooled down, giving way to indifference. The thoughtless actions of the Russian officer led to a series of dramatic events, including the murder of a girl and her father.

The chapter "Taman" takes the reader to pre-army events, when Pechorin meets with a group of smugglers, mistaking its members for people acting in the name of something great and valuable. But the hero was disappointed. In addition, Grigory comes to the conclusion that he brings only misfortunes to the environment, and goes to Pyatigorsk to the healing waters.

Here Pechorin intersects with his past lover Vera, who still has tender feelings for him, a friend of the Junker Grushnitsky and Princess Mary Ligovskaya. A quiet life did not work out again: Grigory won the heart of the princess, but refused the girl, and then, because of a quarrel, fought in a duel with Grushnitsky. For the murder of a cadet, the young man again ended up in exile, but now he is being put to serve in the fortress, where he met Maxim Maksimych.

In the last chapter of the novel The Fatalist, Lermontov placed the hero in a Cossack village, where, while playing cards, a conversation is started between the participants about fate and predestination. Men are divided into two camps - some believe in the predestination of life events, others deny this theory. In a dispute with Lieutenant Vulich, Pechorin stated that he saw the imprint of imminent death on the opponent's face. He tried with the help of "Russian roulette" to prove his invulnerability, and indeed - the gun misfired. However, on the same evening, Vulich died at the hands of a drunken Cossack.

Image

The hero of his time is not able to find a scope for the boundless young energy. Forces are wasted on insignificant trifles and heartfelt dramas, society does not benefit from either one or the other. The tragedy of a person who is doomed to inertia and loneliness is the ideological core of Lermontov's novel. The author explains:

"... exactly a portrait, but not of one person: it is a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation, in their full development."

Gregory has existed since his youth “for the sake of curiosity” and admits: “For a long time I have been living not with my heart, but with my head.” "Cold mind" pushes the character to do things that only make everyone feel bad. He interferes in the affairs of smugglers, plays with the feelings of Bela and Vera, takes revenge. All this brings continuous disappointment and spiritual devastation. He despises high society, in which he was born and raised, but it is his idol that becomes after winning a duel over Grushevsky. And this turn of events depresses Gregory even more.

The characteristic of Pechorin's appearance conveys his inner qualities. Mikhail Yurievich painted an aristocrat with pale skin and thin fingers. When walking, the hero does not swing his arms, which speaks of a closed nature, and while laughing, his eyes are devoid of a cheerful spark - with this, the author tried to convey a character prone to analysis and drama. Moreover, even the age of Grigory Alexandrovich is not clear: he looks 26, but in fact the hero celebrated his 30th birthday.

Screen adaptations

The star of "A Hero of Our Time" ignited in cinema in 1927 - director Vladimir Barsky shot a trilogy of black-and-white silent films, where actor Nikolai Prozorovsky played the role of Pechorin.

Once again, the work of Lermontov was recalled in 1955: Isidor Annensky presented the audience with the film "Princess Mary", in which Anatoly Verbitsky got used to the image of a restless young man.

After 10 years, he appeared in the image of Pechorin. All these pictures did not receive recognition from critics, who felt that the directors did not sufficiently reveal the character of Lermontov's character.

And the following adaptations turned out to be successful. This is a 1975 teleplay of the year "Pechorin's Magazine Page" (starring) and the 2006 series of the release "Hero of Our Time" ().

Grigory Pechorin also appears in Lermontov's unfinished novel "Princess Ligovskaya", but here the hero is not a Petersburger, but a Muscovite.

The script for the series, which was released on television in 2006, was written by Irakli Kvirikadze. The work is close to the textbook source, but the main difference is that the chronology of actions is observed. That is, the chapters are rearranged. The picture begins with the events described by the classic of literature in the part "Taman", followed by the chapter "Princess Mary".

Quotes

“Of two friends, one is always the slave of the other, although often neither of them admits this to himself. I'm stupidly created: I don't forget anything - nothing!

"Women love only those they don't know."

“What began in an extraordinary way must end in the same way.”

"We must do justice to women: they have an instinct for spiritual beauty."

“To be the cause of suffering and joy for someone, without having any positive right to do so, is this not the sweetest food of our pride? And what is happiness? Intense pride."

“This has been my fate since childhood. Everyone read on my face signs of bad feelings, which were not there; but they were supposed - and they were born. I was modest - I was accused of slyness: I became secretive. I deeply felt good and evil; no one caressed me, everyone insulted me: I became vindictive; I was gloomy - other children are cheerful and talkative; I felt myself superior to them - I was placed below. I became envious. I was ready to love the whole world - no one understood me: and I learned to hate. My colorless youth flowed in the struggle with myself and the light.

"My love brought happiness to no one, because I did not sacrifice anything for those whom I loved."

“Tomorrow she will want to reward me. I already know all this by heart - that's what's boring!

HERO OF OUR TIME

(Novel, 1839-1840; published as a separate ed. without preface - 1840; 2nd ed. with preface - 1841)

Pechorin Grigory Alexandrovich - the protagonist of the novel, in its type associated with the characters of psychological novels by R. Chateaubriand ("Rene, or Consequences of the Passions"), B. Constant ("Adolf"), E. Senancourt ("Oberman"), A. de Musset (“Confession of the son of the century”), the unfinished novel by N. M. Karamzin “The Knight of Our Time” and the novel in verse by A. S. Pushkin “Eugene Onegin” (the origin of the surname “Pechorin” from the name of the Pechora River, as well as the surname “Onegin” - from the name of the Onega River, noted by V. G. Belinsky). The history of his soul is the content of the work. This task is directly defined in the Preface to Pechorin's Journal. The history of the disappointed and dying Pechorin soul is set forth in the confessional notes of the hero with all the ruthlessness of introspection; being both the author and the hero of the "magazine", P. fearlessly speaks of his ideal impulses, and the dark sides of his soul, and the contradictions of consciousness. But this is not enough to create a three-dimensional image; Lermontov introduces other narrators into the narrative, not of the "Pechorinsky" type - Maxim Maksimych, a wandering officer. Finally, Pechorin's diary contains other reviews about him: Vera, Princess Mary, Grushnitsky, Dr. Werner. All descriptions of the hero's appearance are also aimed at displaying the soul (through the face, eyes, figure and clothing details). Lermontov treats his hero not ironically; but the very type of Pechorin's personality, which arose at a certain time and in certain circumstances, is ironic. This sets the distance between the author and the hero; Pechorin is by no means an alter ego of Lermontov.

The history of P.'s soul is not presented sequentially chronologically (the chronology is just fundamentally shifted), but is revealed through a chain of episodes and adventures; The novel is built as a cycle of short stories. The plot is closed by a ring composition: the action begins in the fortress (the story "Bela"), and ends in the fortress (the story "The Fatalist"). A similar composition is characteristic of a romantic poem: the reader's attention is focused not on the external dynamics of events, but on the character of the hero, and does not find a worthy goal in life, returning to the starting point of his moral quest. Symbolically - from fortress to fortress.

P.'s character is set from the very beginning and remains unchanged; he does not grow spiritually, but from episode to episode, the reader plunges deeper into the psychology of the hero, whose inner appearance, as it were, has no bottom, is fundamentally inexhaustible. This is the story of the Pechorin soul, its mystery, strangeness and attractiveness. Equal to itself, the soul cannot be measured, does not know the limits of self-deepening and has no development prospects. Therefore, P. constantly experiences “boredom”, dissatisfaction, feels the impersonal power of fate over himself, which puts a limit to his mental activity, leads him from catastrophe to catastrophe, threatening both the hero himself (“Taman”) and other characters (“Bela” , "Princess Mary"). P. himself seems to be a demonic creature, an evil instrument of unearthly will, a victim of its curse. Therefore, the “metaphysical” self-awareness of the hero, his human qualities are more important for Lermontov than P.’s “social registration”; he does not act like a nobleman, a secular person, an officer, but like a person in general.

Feeling life as a banality, P. nevertheless every time hopes that the next love adventure will refresh his feelings and enrich his mind. But the corrosive, skeptical mind of P. destroys the immediacy of feeling. Love for the mountain girl Bela and Vera is mutual, but short-lived; falling in love with the “undine” remains unanswered, and Princess Mary P., who is in love with him, does not love himself. In the end, power over a woman turns out to be more important to him than the sincerity of feelings. Love turns into a game guided by the mind, and ultimately into a game with the fates of women who must sacrifice themselves, experience "loyalty and fear" and thus deliver "the food of our pride." The hero is also ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of women (he embarks on a life-threatening adventure in the Taman, shoots with Grushnitsky, defending the honor of Mary, taking the risk of capturing the Cossack), but refuses to sacrifice his freedom for the sake of someone else's happiness. For the same reason He is incapable of friendship. To Werner P., only a friend who maintains a distance in a relationship. He also makes Maxim Maksimych feel his outsiderness, avoiding friendly embraces. So P. involuntarily, unconsciously becomes an egoist.

Free will, which develops into individualism, serves for P. as the principle of life behavior. She attracts the hero to new and new impressions, makes P. risk himself, immerse himself in self-reflection; she distinguishes P. from the environment, informs his personality and character of the scale. And she also disperses P.'s enormous spiritual potential, provokes him to think about death, which can break the vicious circle in which the hero is closed. Only P.'s intransigence with himself, with his share in the present, gives rebelliousness, restlessness and significance to his personality. The novel tells about a new attempt to find food for the soul - P. goes to the East; but Lermontov makes it clear that in Russia his hero is doomed to his former state, and a trip to exotic, unknown countries is also imaginary, because P. cannot escape from himself. Sudden death saves him from torment.

"A Hero of Our Time" is the most famous prose work of Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov. In many respects, it owes its popularity to the originality of the composition and plot and the inconsistency of the image of the protagonist. We will try to figure out why Pechorin's characteristic is so unique.

History of creation

The novel was not the first prose work of the writer. Back in 1836, Lermontov began a novel about the life of St. Petersburg high society - "Princess Ligovskaya", where the image of Pechorin first appears. But because of the exile of the poet, the work was not completed. Already in the Caucasus, Lermontov again takes up prose, leaving the former hero, but changing the scene of the novel and the title. This work was called "The Hero of Our Time".

The publication of the novel begins in 1839 in separate chapters. Bela, Fatalist, Taman are the first to be published. The work caused a lot of negative reviews from critics. They were connected primarily with the image of Pechorin, which was perceived as a slander "for a whole generation." In response, Lermontov puts forward his own characterization of Pechorin, in which he calls the hero a collection of all the vices of the society contemporary to the author.

Genre originality

The genre of the work is a novel that reveals the psychological, philosophical and social problems of the Nikolaev era. This period, which came immediately after the defeat of the Decembrists, is characterized by the absence of significant social or philosophical ideas that could inspire and unite the progressive society of Russia. Hence the feeling of uselessness and the impossibility of finding one's place in life, from which the younger generation suffered.

The social side of the novel already sounds in the title, which is saturated with Lermontov's irony. Pechorin, despite his originality, does not correspond to the role of a hero; it is not for nothing that he is often called an anti-hero in criticism.

The psychological component of the novel is in the great attention that the author pays to the inner experiences of the character. With the help of various artistic techniques, the author's characterization of Pechorin turns into a complex psychological portrait, which reflects all the ambiguity of the character's personality.

And the philosophical in the novel is represented by a number of eternal human questions: why does a person exist, what is he like, what is the meaning of his life, etc.

What is a romantic hero?

Romanticism as a literary movement emerged in the 18th century. His hero is, first of all, an extraordinary and unique personality who is always opposed to society. A romantic character is always lonely and cannot be understood by others. It has no place in the ordinary world. Romanticism is active, it strives for accomplishments, adventures and unusual scenery. That is why Pechorin's characterization is replete with descriptions of unusual stories and no less unusual actions of the hero.

Portrait of Pechorin

Initially, Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin is an attempt to typify young people of the Lermontov generation. How did this character turn out?

A brief description of Pechorin begins with a description of his social position. So, this is an officer who was demoted and exiled to the Caucasus because of some unpleasant story. He is from an aristocratic family, educated, cold and prudent, ironic, endowed with an extraordinary mind, prone to philosophical reasoning. But where to apply his abilities, he does not know and is often exchanged for trifles. Pechorin is indifferent to others and to himself, even if something captures him, he quickly cools down, as was the case with Bela.

But the fault that such an outstanding personality cannot find a place for himself in the world lies not with Pechorin, but with the whole society, since he is a typical "hero of his time." The social environment gave birth to people like him.

Quotation characteristic of Pechorin

Two characters speak about Pechorin in the novel: Maxim Maksimovich and the author himself. Also here you can mention the hero himself, who writes about his thoughts and experiences in his diary.

Maxim Maksimych, a simple-hearted and kind person, describes Pechorin as follows: "A nice fellow ... just a little strange." In this oddity, the whole Pechorin. He does illogical things: he hunts in bad weather and sits at home on clear days; goes to the boar alone, not cherishing his life; it can be silent and gloomy, or it can become the soul of the company and tell funny and very interesting stories. Maxim Maksimovich compares his behavior with the behavior of a spoiled child who is used to always getting what he wants. This characteristic reflected mental throwing, experiences, inability to cope with their feelings and emotions.

The author's quotation of Pechorin is very critical and even ironic: “When he sank onto the bench, his figure bent ... the position of his whole body depicted some kind of nervous weakness: he sat like a thirty-year-old Balzac coquette sits on her downy chairs ... There was something childish in his smile ... ”Lermontov does not idealize his hero at all, seeing his shortcomings and vices.

Attitude towards love

Bela, Princess Mary, Vera, "undine" made Pechorin his beloved. The characterization of the hero would be incomplete without a description of his love stories.

Seeing Bela, Pechorin believes that he has finally fallen in love, and this is what will help brighten up his loneliness and save him from suffering. However, time passes, and the hero realizes that he was mistaken - the girl only entertained him for a short time. In Pechorin's indifference to the princess, all the selfishness of this hero, his inability to think about others and sacrifice something for them, manifested itself.

The next victim of the character's restless soul is Princess Mary. This proud girl decides to step over social inequality and is the first to confess her love. However, Pechorin is afraid of family life, which will bring peace. The hero does not need this, he longs for new experiences.

A brief description of Pechorin in connection with his attitude to love can be reduced to the fact that the hero appears as a cruel person, incapable of constant and deep feelings. He only causes pain and suffering to both the girls and himself.

Duel Pechorin and Grushnitsky

The protagonist appears as a contradictory, ambiguous and unpredictable personality. The characteristic of Pechorin and Grushnitsky indicates another striking feature of the character - the desire to have fun, to play with the fate of other people.

The duel in the novel was Pechorin's attempt not only to laugh at Grushnitsky, but also to conduct a kind of psychological experiment. The main character gives his opponent the opportunity to do the right thing, to show the best qualities.

Comparative characteristics of Pechorin and Grushnitsky in this scene are not on the side of the latter. Since it was his meanness and desire to humiliate the protagonist that led to the tragedy. Pechorin, knowing about the conspiracy, is trying to give Grushnitsky the opportunity to justify himself and retreat from his plan.

What is the tragedy of Lermontov's hero

Historical reality dooms all Pechorin's attempts to find at least some useful use for himself. Even in love, he could not find a place for himself. This hero is completely lonely, it is difficult for him to get close to people, open up to them, let them into his life. Sucking melancholy, loneliness and the desire to find a place in the world - this is Pechorin's characteristic. "A Hero of Our Time" has become a novel-personification of the greatest human tragedy - the inability to find oneself.

Pechorin is endowed with nobility and honor, which manifested itself during the duel with Grushnitsky, but at the same time, egoism and indifference predominate in him. Throughout the story, the hero remains static - he does not evolve, nothing can change him. Lermontov seems to be trying to show by this that Pechorin is practically a half-corpse. His fate is predetermined, he is no longer alive, although he is not yet completely dead. That is why the main character does not care about his safety, he fearlessly rushes forward, because he has nothing to lose.

The tragedy of Pechorin is not only in the social situation, which did not allow him to find application for himself, but also in the inability to simply live. Introspection and constant attempts to comprehend what is happening around led to throwing, constant doubts and uncertainty.

Conclusion

An interesting, ambiguous and very contradictory characterization of Pechorin. "A Hero of Our Time" became Lermontov's landmark work precisely because of such a complex hero. Having absorbed the features of romanticism, social changes of the Nikolaev era and philosophical problems, Pechorin's personality turned out to be timeless. His throwing and problems are close to today's youth.