Characteristics of Pechorin in the chapter "Bela" (based on the novel "A Hero of Our Time")

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

The novel "A Hero of Our Time" by M. Yu. Lermontov can be attributed to the first socio-psychological and philosophical work in prose. In this novel, the author tried to display the vices of the entire generation in one person, to create a multifaceted portrait.

Pechorin is a complex and controversial person. The novel includes several stories, and in each of them the hero opens up to the reader from a new side.

The image of Pechorin in the chapter "Bela"

Pechorin's characterization in the chapter "Bela" is revealed to the reader from the words of another hero of the novel - Maxim Maksimych. This chapter describes the life circumstances of Pechorin, his upbringing and education. Here, too, the portrait of the protagonist is revealed for the first time.

Reading the first chapter, we can conclude that Grigory Alexandrovich is a young officer, has an attractive appearance, at first glance pleasant in any respect, he has good taste and a brilliant mind, an excellent education. He is an aristocrat, an esthete, one might say, a star of the secularsociety.

Pechorin is the hero of our time, according to Maxim Maksimych

Elderly staff captain Maxim Maksimych is a gentle and good-natured person. He describes Pechorin as rather strange, unpredictable, not like other people. Already from the first words of the staff captain, one can notice the internal contradictions of the protagonist. He can be in the rain all day and feel great, and another time he can freeze from a warm breeze, he can be frightened by the cotton of window shutters, but he is not afraid to go to the wild boar one on one, he can be silent for a long time, and at some point a lot talk and joke.

Pechorin's characterization in the chapter "Bel" has practically no psychological analysis. The narrator does not analyze, evaluate or even condemn Gregory, he simply conveys many facts from his life.

The tragic story of Bela

When Maxim Maksimych tells the wandering officer a sad story that happened before his eyes, the reader gets acquainted with the incredible cruel egoism of Grigory Pechorin. By virtue of his whim, the protagonist steals the girl Bela from her home, without thinking about her future life, about the time when she finally gets tired of her. Bela later suffers from Gregory's coldness, but can't do anything about it. Noticing how Bela suffers, the staff captain tries to talk to Pechorin, but Grigory's answer causes only misunderstanding in Maxim Maksimych. It doesn’t fit in his head how a young man, for whom everything is going very well,can still complain about life. It all ends with the girl's death. The unfortunate woman is killed by Kazbich, who had previously killed her father. Having fallen in love with Bela like his own daughter, Maxim Maksimych was struck by the coldness and indifference with which Pechorin suffered this death.

Pechorin through the eyes of a wandering officer

The characterization of Pechorin in the chapter "Bela" differs significantly from the same image in other chapters. In the chapter “Maxim Maksimych”, Pechorin is described through the eyes of a wandering officer who was able to notice and appreciate the complexity of the character of the protagonist. The behavior and appearance of Pechorin are already attracting attention. For example, his gait was lazy and careless, but at the same time he walked without waving his arms, which is a sign of some secretiveness in character.

The fact that Pechorin experienced spiritual storms is evidenced by his appearance. Gregory looked older than his years. In the portrait of the protagonist there is ambiguity and inconsistency, he has delicate skin, a childish smile, and at the same time deep wrinkles on his forehead. He has light blond hair but a black mustache and eyebrows. But the complexity of the hero's nature is most emphasized by his eyes, which never laugh and seem to scream about some hidden tragedy of the soul.

Diary

Pechorin's comparative characteristic arises by itself after the reader encounters the thoughts of the hero himself, which he wrote down in his personal diary. In the chapter “Princess Mary”, Grigory, having a cold calculation, makes the young princess fall in love with him. According to the development of events, he destroys Grushnitsky firstmentally and then physically. All this Pechorin writes down in his diary, every step, every thought, accurately and correctly evaluating himself.

Pechorin in the chapter "Princess Mary"

Pechorin's characterization in the chapter "Bela" and in the chapter "Princess Mary" is striking in its contrast, since Vera appears in the second mentioned chapter, who became the only woman who managed to truly understand Pechorin. It was her that Pechorin fell in love with. His feeling for her was unusually quivering and tender. But in the end, Grigory loses this woman as well.

It is at the moment when he realizes the loss of his chosen one that a new Pechorin opens up before the reader. The characteristic of the hero at this stage lies in despair, he no longer makes plans, he is ready for stupid and rash acts. Unable to save the lost happiness, Grigory Alexandrovich cries like a child.

Last chapter

In the chapter "The Fatalist" Pechorin is revealed from one more side. The main character does not value his life. Pechorin is not even stopped by the possibility of death, he perceives it as a game that helps to cope with boredom. Gregory risks his life in search of himself. He is courageous and brave, he has strong nerves, and in a difficult situation he is capable of heroism. You might think that this character is capable of great things, having such a will and such abilities, but in reality it all came down to the "thrill", a game between life and death. As a result - a strong, restless, rebellious nature of the protagonistbrings people only misfortune. This thought is gradually emerging and developing in the mind of Pechorin himself.

Pechorin is a hero of our time, a hero of his own, and of any time. This is a person who knows the habits, weaknesses and feelings of people. To some extent, he is selfish, because he thinks only of himself and does not show concern for others. But in any case, this hero is romantic, he is opposed to the world around him. There is no place for him in this world, life is wasted, and the way out of this situation is death, which overtook our hero on the way to Persia.