Genre of the work "Hero of our time". Psychological novel by Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The novel by M. Yu. Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time" was published in 1840. The writer composed the main work of his life for two years, publishing it on the pages of the popular magazine Otechestvennye Zapiski. This essay became a landmark not only in his work, but also in Russian literature as a whole, because this book was the first bold and at the same time successful experience of a detailed psychological analysis of the main character. The very composition of the narrative, which turned out to be broken, was also unusual. All these features of the work attracted the attention of critics, readers, and also made it a standard in its genre.

Design

Lermontov's novel did not appear from scratch. The author relied on both foreign and domestic sources that inspired him to create an ambiguous character and an unusual plot. Mikhail Yuryevich's book, in its idea, is very similar to Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin", although it is written in a more dramatic style. In addition, the writer relied on foreign experience in creating the inner world of the hero. The psychological novel was already known in Europe. Genre of the work "Hero of ourtime" can be defined as a psychological novel due to the author's close attention to the behavior and mood of Pechorin.

Such features were especially evident in the work of the French educator Rousseau. You can also draw parallels between the author's work and the works of Byron, Bestuzhev-Marlinsky. Creating his original work, the author focused primarily on the realities of his time, which is reflected in the title. According to the writer himself, he sought to create a general portrait of his generation - young intelligent people who cannot occupy themselves with anything and spend their energy on useless activities that harm both themselves and those around them.

Features of composition

Lermontov's novel has an unusual construction compared to other works of a similar kind. First, it violates the chronological sequence of events; secondly, the narration is conducted from several characters, including the main character himself. This technique was chosen by the author not by chance. He deliberately began the story from the middle of Pechorin's life. The reader gets an idea about him from the words of an outsider, his former colleague Maxim Maksimych. Then the writer shows him through the eyes of the narrator, who has seen him briefly, but nevertheless managed to get a generally correct idea of \u200b\u200bit.

Hero picture

Since the psychological novel involves a detailed analysis of the inner world of the character, the last two partswritten on behalf of Pechorin himself in the form of diary entries. Thus, the reader sees the character at different moments of his life, which outwardly seem to be in no way connected with each other. So Lermontov achieved the effect of time fragmentation, trying to show the aimlessness of the existence of his character, who at different periods of his life does not show himself from the best sides.

Comparison with Onegin

The genre of the work "A Hero of Our Time" is a psychological novel. This work, as mentioned above, was the first experience in Russian literature in creating a new type of character - the so-called superfluous person. However, even before Lermontov, some writers created a character who did not fit into the established socio-political framework of Russian reality in the first half of the 19th century. The most striking example is Eugene Onegin, who, like Pechorin, was a nobleman and just as unsuccessfully tried to find at least some use for his strengths and abilities. However, if Pushkin portrayed his character with good-natured humor, then Lermontov focused on the dramatic component. Mikhail Yurievich's psychological novel became one of the most significant works of that time.

Feature of Pechorin's image

Through the lips of his hero, he criticizes the vices of his contemporary society, bitterly ridicules the shortcomings of the world around him. This is a characteristic feature of the image of Pechorin - he does not spend time idly, like Onegin in the village, his attitude to life is quite active, he not only criticizes the negative aspects of thata society where it rotates, but also acts, exposing others to a kind of psychological test.

First part

The genre of the work "A Hero of Our Time" also determined the peculiarity of the construction of the text of the novel. The author set out to break the tradition of Russian literature, laid down by Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, which assumed an adventurous plot and a dynamic narrative. Lermontov focused on a detailed analysis of the internal state of his hero. First of all, he was interested in explaining the reasons for the strange, unusual, contradictory behavior of Pechorin. The first attempt to clarify the nature of the young officer was made by Maxim Maksimych, the commander of the Caucasian fortress where Pechorin served.

The good captain sincerely tried to give at least some explanation for the eccentric actions of his colleague: the abduction of Bela, his love for her and the rapid cooling of feelings, his apparent, seeming indifference to her terrible death. However, Maxim Maksimych, a very simple and ingenuous person, could not understand the reason for Pechorin's mental turmoil. He only tells the narrator that the latter seemed to him a very strange person, since with his appearance a whole chain of strange and tragic events followed.

Portrait

In school literature lessons it is very important that students understand the genre of the work “A Hero of Our Time”. This book is a psychological portrait of Pechorin, which, in turn, is a collective portrait of the young generation of contemporary writers. The second part of the work is interesting in that itthe reader sees Pechorin through the eyes of a person of the same social status, age, education and upbringing. Therefore, the description given by the narrator to this character deserves special attention, because, despite the fluency of inspection and the brevity of the meeting, it is more true than the explanations of the captain. It is important that the narrator describes not only the appearance, but also tries to guess Pechorin's state of mind, and he partially succeeds. This is what explains the fact why the novel "A Hero of Our Time" is called psychological. The narrator notices in the character of Pechorin such features as thoughtfulness, relaxation and fatigue. Moreover, he notes that it was not a physical, but a mental decline. The author pays special attention to the expression of his eyes, which shone with some kind of phosphorescent light and did not smile when he himself laughed.

Meeting

The culmination of this part is the description of Pechorin's meeting with the staff captain. The latter longed for this meeting, he hurried to the young officer as to an old friend, but met with a rather cool reception. The old captain was very offended. However, the author, who subsequently published Pechorin's diary entries, noted that after reading them, he understood a lot in the character of the character, who analyzed in detail his own actions and shortcomings. This is what makes it possible to understand why the novel "A Hero of Our Time" is called psychological. However, in the scene of the meeting with Maxim Maksimych, the reader may be surprised and even reproach the character for such indifference. In this episode, sympathy is entirely on the side of the old captain.

The story "Taman"

This work opens the beginning of Pechorin's diary entries. In it, a young officer not only tells about an eccentric adventure in a small sea town, but also analyzes his behavior. He himself is surprised at his irrepressible thirst for life, noting that he aimlessly and senselessly intervened in the lives of smugglers.

The character's desire to participate in the lives of the people around him, even against their will, is the main theme in this case. "A Hero of Our Time" is a novel that focuses not so much on the description of external events as on a detailed analysis of the internal state of the characters. In the second part, Pechorin becomes a witness to the machinations of smugglers and rather carelessly reveals his secret. As a result, he was almost drowned, and the gang was forced to flee from their homes. Thus, Pechorin's attempt to understand his own inappropriate behavior is the main theme in the second part. "A Hero of Our Time" is interesting in that it consistently reveals the image of the character from various and unexpected sides.

Princess Mary

This is perhaps the most important and interesting part of the piece. It is in this part that the character is fully revealed. The action takes place on the healing waters of the Caucasus.

A young officer, to tease his friend Grushnitsky, falls in love with the young princess Mary. Despite the fact that he himself is not indifferent to her, nevertheless he is not capable oflove her for real. Pechorin in the novel "A Hero of Our Time" in this story shows himself from the most disadvantageous side. He not only deceives the girl, but also kills Grushnitsky in a duel. At the same time, it is in this part that Grigory Alexandrovich most mercilessly denounces his shortcomings. Here he explains his character: according to him, aimless pastime, lack of friends, sympathy and understanding led to the fact that he became bilious, vicious and unsociable. At the same time, he concludes that "the human heart in general is strange." He relates his statement not only to others, but also to himself.

Pechorin in the novel "A Hero of Our Time" in this story is fully revealed. Most interesting is his recording of reflections on the eve of the duel with Grushnitsky, in which he sums up his life. The young officer claims that his life certainly had meaning, but that he never understood it.

Love line

Better understanding of the hero helps his relationship with women. There are three love stories in the novel, each of which reveals the personality of a young officer from different angles. The first of these is connected with the Bela line. By nature, she was a freedom-loving girl, as she grew up in the mountains among the Caucasian tribes.

Therefore, Pechorin's rapid cooling towards her actually killed her. The novel "A Hero of Our Time", whose female characters make it possible to better understand the psychological portrait of the character, is devoted to a detailed explanation of the behavioryoung officer. There is also a love line in the second part, but it is rather superficial.

Nevertheless, it was this story that served as the basis of the intrigue in the second story. The hero himself does not know how to evaluate his own actions: “Am I a fool or a villain, I don’t know,” he says about himself. The reader sees that Pechorin is well versed in the psychology of the people around him: he immediately guesses the character of the stranger. However, he is adventurous, which he himself admits, which led to a strange denouement.

The work “A Hero of Our Time”, whose female characters are interesting because they somehow influenced the fate of Pechorin, ends with the last love line of the officer and the princess. The latter became interested in the original character of Pechorin, but failed to fully understand him. In the same story there is a description of the relationship of Grigory Alexandrovich with Princess Vera, who understood his character better than anyone else. So, the first psychological novel in Russian literature was the work "A Hero of Our Time". Quotes of the main character show him as a complex and ambiguous person.