Why Pechorin is such a character. Grigory Pechorin from M. Yu. Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time": characteristics, image, description, portrait. Both Onegin and Pechorin, disappointed in the life around them, go to a duel. However, everyone has their own reason. Oneg

Pechorin is an ambiguous personality

The image of Pechorin in the novel "A Hero of Our Time" by Lermontov is an ambiguous image. It cannot be called positive, but it is not negative either. Many of his actions are worthy of condemnation, but it is also important to understand the motives of his behavior before making an assessment. The author called Pechorin a hero of his time, not because he recommended to be equal to him, and not because he wanted to ridicule him. He simply showed a portrait of a typical representative of that generation - " extra person”- so that everyone can see what the social structure that disfigures the personality leads to.

Qualities of Pechorin

Knowledge of people

Can such a quality of Pechorin as an understanding of the psychology of people, the motives of their actions, be called bad? Another thing is that he uses it for other purposes. Instead of doing good, helping others, he plays with them, and these games, as a rule, end tragically. This was the end of the story with the mountain girl Bela, whom Pechorin persuaded her brother to steal. Having achieved the love of a freedom-loving girl, he lost interest in her, and soon Bela fell victim to the vengeful Kazbich.

Playing with Princess Mary also did not lead to anything good. Pechorin's intervention in her relationship with Grushnitsky resulted in broken heart princesses and death at the duel of Grushnitsky.

Ability to analyze

Pechorin demonstrates a brilliant ability to analyze in a conversation with Dr. Werner (chapter "Princess Mary"). He absolutely logically calculates that Princess Ligovskaya was interested in him, and not her daughter Mary. “You have a great gift for thinking,” Werner notes. However, this gift again does not find a worthy application. Pechorin, perhaps, could make scientific discoveries, but he was disappointed in the study of sciences, because he saw that no one needed knowledge in his society.

Independence from the opinions of others

The description of Pechorin in the novel "A Hero of Our Time" gives many a reason to accuse him of spiritual callousness. It would seem that he acted badly towards his old friend Maxim Maksimych. Upon learning that his colleague, with whom they ate more than one pood of salt together, stopped in the same city, Pechorin did not rush to meet him. Maksim Maksimych was very upset and offended by him. However, Pechorin is to blame, in fact, only for not living up to the old man's expectations. "Am I not the same?" - he reminded, nevertheless embracing Maxim Maksimych in a friendly way. Indeed, Pechorin never tries to portray himself as someone he is not, just to please others. He prefers to be rather than seem, always honest in the manifestation of his feelings, and from this point of view, his behavior deserves all approval. He also does not care what others say about him - Pechorin always does as he sees fit. In modern conditions, such qualities would be invaluable and would help him quickly achieve his goal, to fully realize himself.

Bravery

Courage and fearlessness are character traits due to which one could say “Pechorin is the hero of our time” without any ambiguity. They also appear on the hunt (Maxim Maksimych witnessed how Pechorin “went on a boar one on one”), and in a duel (he was not afraid to shoot with Grushnitsky on conditions that were obviously losing for him), and in a situation where it was necessary to pacify the raging drunken Cossack (chapter "Fatalist"). “... nothing will happen worse than death - and you can’t escape death,” Pechorin believes, and this conviction allows him to move forward more boldly. However, even the mortal danger that he faced daily in the Caucasian War did not help him cope with boredom: he quickly got used to the buzz of Chechen bullets. It's obvious that military service was not his vocation, and therefore Pechorin's brilliant abilities in this area did not find further application. He decided to travel in the hope of finding a remedy for boredom "through storms and bad roads."

pride

Pechorin cannot be called conceited, greedy for praise, but he is proud enough. He is very hurt if a woman does not consider him the best and prefers another. And he strives by all means, by any means, to win her attention. This happened in the situation with Princess Mary, who at first liked Grushnitsky. From the analysis of Pechorin, which he himself does in his journal, it follows that it was important for him not so much to achieve the love of this girl as to recapture her from a competitor. “I also confess that an unpleasant, but familiar feeling ran lightly at that moment through my heart; this feeling - it was envy ... it is unlikely that there will be a young man who, having met a pretty woman who riveted his idle attention and suddenly clearly distinguishes another, who is equally unfamiliar to her, I say, there is hardly such a young man (of course, who lived in high society and accustomed to indulge his vanity), who would not be unpleasantly struck by this.

Pechorin loves to achieve victory in everything. He managed to switch Mary's interest to his own person, make the proud Bela his mistress, get a secret date from Vera, and outplay Grushnitsky in a duel. If he had a worthy cause, this desire to be the first would allow him to achieve tremendous success. But he has to give vent to his leadership in such a strange and destructive way.

selfishness

In the essay on the topic “Pechorin - the hero of our time”, one cannot fail to mention such a trait of his character as selfishness. He does not really care about the feelings and fates of other people who have become hostages of his whims, for him only the satisfaction of his own needs matters. Pechorin did not even spare Vera, the only woman whom he believed he really loved. He put her reputation at risk by visiting her at night in the absence of her husband. A vivid illustration of his dismissive, selfish attitude is his beloved horse, driven by him, who did not manage to catch up with the carriage with the departed Vera. On the way to Essentuki, Pechorin saw that “instead of a saddle, two ravens were sitting on his back.” Moreover, Pechorin sometimes enjoys the suffering of others. He imagines how Mary, after his incomprehensible behavior, "will spend the night without sleep and will cry", and this thought gives him "immense pleasure". “There are moments when I understand the Vampire…” he admits.

Pechorin's behavior is the result of the influence of circumstances

But can this bad character trait be called innate? Is Pechorin flawed from the very beginning, or was the living conditions made him so? Here is what he himself told Princess Mary: “... such was my fate from 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 - they accused me of slyness: I became secretive ... I was ready to love the whole world - no one understood me: and I learned to hate ... I spoke the truth - they did not believe me: I began to deceive ... I became a moral cripple.

Finding himself in an environment that does not correspond to his inner essence, Pechorin is forced to break himself, to become what he is not in reality. This is where this internal inconsistency comes from, which left its mark on his appearance. The author of the novel draws a portrait of Pechorin: laughter with unlaughing eyes, a daring and at the same time indifferently calm look, a straight frame, limp, like a Balzac young lady, when he sat down on a bench, and other "inconsistencies".

Pechorin himself realizes that he makes an ambiguous impression: “Some revere me worse, others better than I really am ... Some will say: he was a kind fellow, others a bastard. Both will be false." But the truth is that under the influence of external circumstances, his personality has undergone such complex and ugly deformations that it is no longer possible to separate the bad from the good, the real from the false.

In the novel A Hero of Our Time, the image of Pechorin is a moral, psychological portrait of a whole generation. How many of its representatives, having not found a response in the surrounding “soul to wonderful impulses”, were forced to adapt, become the same as everyone around, or die. The author of the novel, Mikhail Lermontov, whose life ended tragically and prematurely, was one of them.

Artwork test

Describes only some episodes from the adult life of the hero, when his character was already formed. First impression - Gregory strong personality. He is an officer, a physically healthy man of attractive appearance, active, purposeful, and has a sense of humor. Why not a hero? Nevertheless, Lermontov himself calls the main character of the novel such a bad person that it is even difficult to believe in his existence.

Pechorin grew up in a wealthy aristocratic family. Since childhood, he did not need anything. But material abundance also has a downside - the meaning of human life is lost. The desire to strive for something, to grow spiritually, disappears. This also happened to the hero of the novel. Pechorin finds no use for his abilities.

He quickly got tired of the metropolitan life with empty entertainment. The love of secular beauties, although it comforted pride, did not touch the heart strings. The thirst for knowledge also did not bring satisfaction: all sciences quickly got bored. Even at a young age, Pechorin realized that neither happiness nor glory depended on the sciences. “The happiest people are ignorant, and fame is luck, and to achieve it, you just need to be dexterous”.

Our hero tried to compose and travel, which many young aristocrats of that time did. But these studies did not fill the life of Gregory with meaning. Therefore, boredom constantly pursued the officer and did not allow him to escape from himself. Although Gregory tried his best to do it. Pechorin is always in search of adventure, daily testing his fate: in the war, in pursuit of smugglers, in a duel, breaking into the killer's house. He tries in vain to find a place in the world where his sharp mind, energy and strength of character could be useful. At the same time, Pechorin does not consider it necessary to listen to his heart. He lives by the mind, guided by a cold mind. And it always fails.

But the saddest thing is that people close to him suffer from the actions of the hero: Vulich, Bela and her father are tragically killed, Grushnitsky is killed in a duel, Azamat becomes a criminal, Mary and Vera suffer, Maxim Maksimych is offended and offended, smugglers flee in fright, leaving the fate of a blind boy and an old woman.

It seems that in search of new adventures, Pechorin cannot stop at nothing. He breaks hearts and destroys people's destinies. He is aware of the suffering of those around him, but he does not refuse the pleasure of deliberately torturing them. Hero calls "sweet food for pride" the ability to be the cause of happiness or suffering for someone without having the right to do so.

Pechorin is disappointed in life, in social activities, in people. A feeling of despondency and despair, uselessness and uselessness lives in him. In the diary, Gregory constantly analyzes his actions, thoughts and experiences. He tries to understand himself, exposing real reasons deeds. But at the same time, society blames everything, and not itself.

True, episodes of repentance and a desire to adequately look at things are not alien to the hero. Pechorin was able to self-critically call himself "moral cripple" and, in fact, he was right. And what is the passionate impulse to see and explain to Vera. But these minutes are short-lived, and the hero, again absorbed by boredom and introspection, shows spiritual callousness, indifference, and individualism.

In the preface to the novel, Lermontov called the protagonist a sick person. By this he meant the soul of Gregory. The tragedy lies in the fact that Pechorin suffers not only because of his vices, but also positive qualities, feeling how much strength and talent perishes in vain in him. Not finding the meaning of life in the end, Gregory decides that his only purpose is to destroy people's hopes.

Pechorin is one of the most controversial characters in Russian literature. In his image, originality, talent, energy, honesty and courage strangely coexist with skepticism, unbelief and contempt for people. According to Maxim Maksimovich, Pechorin's soul consists of nothing but contradictions. He has a strong physique, but it shows an unusual weakness. He is about thirty years old, but there is something childish in the face of the hero. When Gregory laughs, his eyes remain sad.

According to Russian tradition, the author experiences Pechorin with two main feelings: love and friendship. However, the hero does not withstand any test. Psychological experiments with Mary and Bela show Pechorin a connoisseur human souls and a cruel cynic. The desire to win the love of women, Gregory explains solely by ambition. Gregory is not capable of friendship either.

The death of Pechorin is indicative. He dies on the way, on the way to distant Persia. Probably, Lermontov believed that a person who brings only suffering to loved ones is always doomed to loneliness.

  • "A Hero of Our Time", a summary of the chapters of Lermontov's novel
  • The image of Bela in Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time"

). As its very title shows, Lermontov depicted in this work typical an image that characterizes his contemporary generation. We know how low the poet valued this generation ("I look sadly ..."), - he takes the same point of view in his novel. In the "preface" Lermontov says that his hero is "a portrait made up of the vices" of the people of that time "in their full development."

However, Lermontov is in a hurry to say that, speaking about the shortcomings of his time, he does not undertake to read moralizing to his contemporaries - he simply draws a "story of the soul" " modern man as he understands him and, to his misfortune and the misfortune of others, met him too often. It will also be that the disease is indicated, but God knows how to cure it!

Lermontov. Hero of our time. Bela, Maxim Maksimych, Taman. Feature Film

So, the author does not idealize his hero: just as Pushkin executes his Aleko, in The Gypsies, so Lermontov, in his Pechorin, removes from the pedestal the image of a disappointed Byronist, an image that was once close to his heart.

Pechorin speaks about himself more than once in his notes and in conversations. He tells how disappointments haunted him since childhood:

“Everyone read on my face the signs of bad qualities that 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 superior to them—I was placed inferior. I became envious. I was ready to love the whole world - no one understood me: and I learned to hate. My colorless youth passed in the struggle with myself and the light; my best feelings, fearing ridicule, I buried in the depths of my heart; they died there. I told the truth - they did not believe me: I began to deceive; knowing well the light and springs of society, I became skilled in the science of life and saw how others without art were happy, enjoying the gift of those benefits that I so tirelessly sought. And then despair was born in my chest - not the despair that is cured at the muzzle of a pistol, but cold, powerless despair, hidden behind courtesy and a good-natured smile. I became a moral cripple."

He became a "moral cripple" because he was "mutilated" by people; they not understood him when he was a child, when he became a youth and an adult ... They forced his soul duality,- and he began to live two halves of life - one ostentatious, for people, the other - for himself.

“I have an unhappy character,” says Pechorin. “Whether my upbringing created me this way, whether God created me this way, I don’t know.”

Lermontov. Hero of our time. Princess Mary. Feature film, 1955

Insulted by the vulgarity and distrust of people, Pechorin withdrew into himself; he despises people and cannot live by their interests - he experienced everything: like Onegin, he enjoyed both the vain joys of the world and the love of numerous admirers. He also studied books, looked for strong impressions in the war, but admitted that all this was nonsense, and “under Chechen bullets” is as boring as reading books. He thought to fill his life with love for Bela, but, like Aleko was mistaken in Zemfira , - so he did not manage to live one life with a primitive woman, unspoiled by culture.

“I am a fool or a villain, I do not know; but it is true that I am also very pitiful,” he says, “perhaps more than she: in me the soul is corrupted by light, the imagination is restless, the 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; I have only one remedy: to travel.

In these words, an outstanding person is depicted in full size, with a strong soul, but without the possibility of applying his abilities to anything. Life is petty and insignificant, but there are many forces in his soul; their meaning is unclear, since there is nowhere to attach them. Pechorin is the same Demon, who was confused by his wide, free wings and dressed him in an army uniform. If the main features of Lermontov’s soul were expressed in the Demon’s moods, his inner world, then in the image of Pechorin he portrayed himself in the sphere of that vulgar reality, which like lead oppressed him to the earth, to people ... No wonder Lermontov-Pechorin is drawn to the stars - more than once he admires the night sky - it’s not for nothing that only free nature is dear to him here, on earth...

“Thin, white,” but strongly built, dressed like a “dandy”, with all the manners of an aristocrat, with well-groomed hands, he made a strange impression: strength was combined in him with some kind of nervous weakness. On his pale noble forehead there are traces of premature wrinkles. His beautiful eyes"didn't laugh when he laughed." “This is a sign of either an evil temper, or a deep, constant sadness.” In these eyes “there was no reflection of the heat of the soul, or the playful imagination, it was a brilliance, like the brilliance of smooth steel, dazzling, but cold; his gaze is short, but penetrating and heavy. In this description, Lermontov borrowed some features from his own appearance. (See Pechorin's appearance (with quotes).)

With contempt for people and their opinions, Pechorin, however, always, out of habit, broke down. Lermontov says that even he "sat as Balzakova sits a thirty-year-old coquette on her feather chairs after a tiring ball."

Having taught himself not to respect others, not to reckon with the world of others, he sacrifices the whole world to his own. selfishness. When Maxim Maksimych tries to offend Pechorin's conscience with careful allusions to the immorality of Bela's abduction, Pechorin calmly answers with the question: "Yes, when do I like her?" Without regret, he “executes” Grushnitsky not so much for his meanness, but because he, Grushnitsky, dared to try to fool him, Pechorin! .. Ego was indignant. To make fun of Grushnitsky (“without fools it would be very boring in the world!”), He captivates Princess Mary; a cold egoist, he, for the sake of his desire to "have fun", brings a whole drama into Mary's heart. He ruins the reputation of Vera and her family happiness, all from the same immeasurable selfishness.

“What do I care about human joys and misfortunes!” he exclaims. But not one cold indifference causes these words in him. Although he says that “sad is funny, funny is sad, but, in general, in truth, we are rather indifferent to everything except ourselves” - this is just a phrase: Pechorin is not indifferent to people - he takes revenge, evil and merciless.

He recognizes his "minor weaknesses and bad passions." He is ready to explain his power over women by the fact that "evil is attractive." He himself finds in his soul “a bad but invincible feeling,” and he explains this feeling to us in the words:

“There is an immense pleasure in the possession of a young, barely blossoming soul! She is like a flower, whose best fragrance evaporates towards the first ray of the sun, it must be picked at this moment and, after breathing it to the full, throw it along the road: maybe someone will pick it up!

He himself is aware of the presence of almost all the “seven deadly sins” in himself: he has an “insatiable greed”, which absorbs everything, which looks at the suffering and joys of others only as food that supports spiritual strength. He has a mad ambition, a thirst for power. "Happiness" - he sees in "saturated pride." “Evil begets evil: the first suffering gives an idea of ​​the pleasure of torturing another,” says Princess Mary and, half jokingly, half seriously, tells him that he is “worse than a murderer.” He himself admits that "there are moments" when he understands "Vampire". All this indicates that Pechorin does not have perfect "indifference" to people. Like the "Demon", he has a large supply of malice - and he can do this evil either "indifferently", or with passion (the feelings of the Demon at the sight of an angel).

“I love enemies,” says Pechorin, “although not in a Christian way. They amuse me, excite my blood. To be always on guard, to catch every glance, the meaning of every word, to guess the intention, to destroy conspiracies, to pretend to be deceived, and suddenly, with one push, overturn the whole huge and laborious edifice of cunning and designs - that's what I call life».

Of course, this is again a “phrase”: not all of Pechorin’s life was spent on such a struggle with vulgar people, there is a better world in him, which often makes him condemn himself. At times he is “sad,” realizing that he is playing “the miserable role of an executioner, or a traitor.” He despises himself,” he is burdened by the emptiness of his soul.

"Why did I live? for what purpose was I born?.. And, it is true, it existed, and, it is true, it was a high purpose for me, because I feel immense powers in my soul. But I did not guess this destination - I was carried away by the lures of passions, empty and ungrateful; from their furnace I came out hard and cold as iron, but I lost forever the ardor of noble aspirations - the best color of life. And since then, how many times have I played the role of an ax in the hands of fate. As an instrument of execution, I fell on the heads of doomed victims, often without malice, always without regret. My love did not bring happiness to anyone, because I did not sacrifice anything for those whom I loved; I loved for myself, for my own pleasure; I satisfied the strange need of the heart, greedily devouring their feelings, their tenderness, their joys and sufferings - and could never get enough. The result is "double hunger and despair."

“I am like a sailor,” he says, born and raised on the deck of a robber brig: his soul has become accustomed to storms and battles, and, thrown ashore, he is bored and languishing, no matter how beckoning his shady grove, no matter how the peaceful sun shines on him ; he walks all day long on the coastal sand, listens to the monotonous murmur of the oncoming waves and peers into the misty distance: will not there, on the pale line separating the blue abyss from the gray clouds, the desired sail. (Compare Lermontov's poem " Sail»).

He is weary of life, ready to die and not afraid of death, and if he does not agree to commit suicide, it is only because he still “lives out of curiosity”, in search of a soul that would understand him: “maybe I will die tomorrow! And there will not be a single creature left on earth who would understand me completely!”

"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 unusual novel "Hero of Our Time" is that he opened the list 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. 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 -. Surname great poet borrowed 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 social life with carousing 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 young man punished with 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 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 said that he saw an imprint 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 "Pechorin's Journal Page" (in leading role) and the 2006 series "A 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!

Pechorin

PECHORIN - main character novel by M.Yu. Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time" (1838-1840). Contemporaries, including Belinsky, largely identified P. with Lermontov. Meanwhile, it was important for the author to dissociate himself from his hero. According to Lermontov, P. is a portrait made up of the vices of a whole generation - "in their full development." It is quite understandable why the "Journal P." for Lermontov - "someone else's work." If not the best, then the central part of it is P.'s diary entries, entitled "Princess Mary". Nowhere does P. so correspond to the image disclosed by the author in the preface. "Princess Mary" appeared later than all other stories. The preface, which Lermontov wrote for the second edition of the novel, is primarily associated with this story with its critical poignancy. The hero, whom he introduces to the reader, is exactly the P., as he is shown on the pages of "Princess Mary". The critical pathos of the last period of Lermontov's life in this story manifested itself especially clearly. The nature of the protagonist, obviously, was influenced by the different times of writing stories. Lermontov's consciousness changed very quickly. His character also changed. P. in “Princess Mary” is no longer quite the same as that which appears first in “Bel”, then in “The Fatalist”. At the end of the work on the novel P.

acquired the expressiveness that was supposed to complete the promised portrait. Indeed, in "Princess Mary" he appears in the most unattractive light. Of course, this is a strong-willed, deep, demonic nature. But this way it can be perceived only through the eyes of the young Princess Mary and Grushnitsky blinded by him. He imperceptibly imitates P., because he is so vulnerable and ridiculous for P. Meanwhile, even this Grushnitsky, a nonentity, according to P., causes him a feeling of envy. And at the same time, how much courage P. showed at the climax of the duel, knowing that his own pistol was not loaded. P. indeed shows miracles of endurance. And the reader is already lost: who is he - this hero of our time? The intrigue came from him, and when the victim got confused, he seemed not to blame.

P. is called a strange person by all the characters in the novel. Lermontov paid much attention to human oddities. In P. he sums up all his observations. The strangeness of P., as it were, eludes the definition, because the opinions of those around him are polar. He is envious, angry, cruel. At the same time, he is generous, sometimes kind, that is, able to succumb to a good feeling, nobly protects the princess from the encroachments of the crowd. He is impeccably honest with himself, smart. P. is a talented writer. Lermontov attributes the wonderful "Taman" to his careless pen, generously sharing with the hero the best part of his soul. As a result, readers, as it were, get used to a lot of excuses” Shv., and some things they don’t notice at all. Belinsky defends P. and actually justifies him, since "something great flashes in his very vices." But all the criticism's arguments skim the surface of Pechorin's character. Illustrating the words of Maxim Maksimych: "A nice fellow, I dare to assure you, just a little strange ...", Lermontov looks at his hero as an exceptional phenomenon, so the original title of the novel - "One of the heroes of our century" - was discarded. In other words, P. should not be confused with anyone, especially with the poet himself, as I. Annensky categorically formulated: "Pechorin - Lermontov." A.I. Herzen, speaking on behalf of the "Lermontov" generation, argued that P. expressed "the real sorrow and fragmentation of the then Russian life, the sad fate of an extra, lost person." Herzen put the name of P. here with the same ease with which he would write the name of Lermontov.

The hero goes through the whole book and remains unrecognized. A man without a heart - but his tears are hot, the beauties of nature intoxicate him. He does bad deeds, but only because they are expected of him. He kills the person he has slandered, and before that the first one offers him peace. Expressing multiple features, P. is actually exceptional. Anyone can do bad things. To recognize oneself as an executioner and a traitor is not given to everyone. The role of the ax, which P. recognizes among people, is not at all a euphemism, not a veiled world sorrow. It is impossible to discount that this is stated in the diary. Confessing, P. is horrified by his "pathetic" role of being an indispensable participant in the last act of comedy or tragedy, but in these words there is not even a shadow of repentance. All his complaints are reminiscent of the "pathetic" style of Ivan the Terrible, lamenting over another victim. The comparison does not seem exaggerated. The goal of P. is undivided power over others. All the more insistently, he emphasizes that he suffers from boredom and is "very pitiful." The poet of the Lermontov school Ap.Grigoriev tried to poeticize and develop Pechorin boredom, and the result was a Moscow melancholy with gypsy guitars. P. says bluntly that he is bored - his life is “emptier day by day”, he says, as if in the tone of a tyrant who calls himself “a stinking dog”. Of course, the victims of P. are not so bloody, they are primarily destroyed morally. The decoding of the idea of ​​a hero of our time must be sought in individual demonism: "The collection of evils is his element." Lermontov placed at the forefront of Pechorin's worldview the thirst for power that destroys the individual. Of course, this is only outlined by Lermontov, and therefore his hero does not have sharp outlines. There is nothing predatory in it, on the contrary, a lot of feminine. Nevertheless, Lermontov had every reason to call P. the hero of the future. It's not that scary that P. sometimes "understands the vampire." A field of activity has already been found for P.: the philistine environment, in fact, is this field - the environment of dragoon captains, princesses, romantic phrase-mongers - the most favorable soil for nurturing all kinds of "executioner gardeners." This will be exactly what Lermontov called the complete development of vices. To yearn for power, to find the highest pleasure in it, is not at all like unwittingly destroying the life of "honest" smugglers. This is the evolution made by the image of P. from "Bela" and "Taman" to "Princess Mary". When Belinsky admires the sparks of the greatness of P.'s vices, he thereby, as it were, seeks to cleanse his image of petty interpretations. After all, P. so picturesquely likens himself to a sailor, born and raised on the deck of a robber brig. In this reading, P. is bad, because the rest are even worse. Belinsky softens Pechorin's features, not noticing the question asked by the hero to himself: "Is evil so attractive?" The attractiveness of evil - this is how Lermontov accurately described the disease of his century.

The image of P. is written in more than one black paint. In the end, P. lost his worst half. He is like a man from a fairy tale who has lost his shadow. Therefore, Lermontov did not turn P. into a vampire, but left him a man capable of even composing Taman. It was this man, so similar to Lermontov, who blocked the shadow of P. And it is already impossible to make out whose steps sound on the flinty path. Lermontov sketched a portrait consisting not of vices, but of contradictions. And most importantly, he made it clear that the thirst that this person suffers cannot be quenched from a well with mineral water. Disastrous for everyone except himself, P. is like Pushkin's Anchar. It is difficult to imagine him among the yellowing fields, in the Russian landscape. He is more and more somewhere in the east - the Caucasus, Persia.