"Hero of our time." Briefly

The history of the creation of the novel “A Hero of Our Time,” probably like all other works of any author, went through three stages. The first stage was the idea of ​​the novel. The very idea of ​​​​creating a future masterpiece came to Lermontov in 1836. And he even made some sketches. Following Pushkin’s idea that he created his contemporary in the image of Onegin, Lermontov wanted to create his own hero of his time, so the decision was made to portray officer Pechorin among Moscow life.

The history of the creation of Hero of Our Time Lermontov

It seems that there is an idea, the author has decided on the main character, but then events occur that influenced the plan of the novel. After Pushkin's death, he dedicated a poem to him, for which he was exiled to the Caucasus. At this time, Lermontov stopped working on the work, and after the end of his exile, he no longer wanted to write what he had started, because now he saw the novel in a different light. During his exile, Lermontov saw a lot of things, received a lot of impressions, there were mountains, there were Cossack villages, the Black Sea coast, smugglers, Decembrists. All these meetings turned the author’s consciousness upside down and he decided to create living images of his contemporaries in his novel. This is how they were determined characters mi and the plot of the novel. Thus, the second stage of creating my novel was completed.

The third stage in the history of the creation of Lermontov’s “Hero of Our Time” was directly in the writing itself. It is believed that the author worked on the novel from 1837 to 1840. The novel consists of a “long chain of stories” that were combined into one novel. Individual works were also united by common heroes Pechorin and Maxim Maksimych. The sequence of writing the stories itself has not been established, but there are assumptions that “Taman” was written first, then “Fatalist” was seen by the world, followed by “Bela” and “Maksim Maksimych”. Lermontov published each of the stories separately, and after seeing their success, it was decided in 1840 to combine “A Hero of Our Time” in one novel.

Many literary scholars argue about who was the prototype of Pechorin. One of the assumptions is the idea that Pechorin is Lermontov himself. But, be that as it may, no matter what controversy flared up, the novel became a classic. This is a novel that introduces us to the life of people of the century before last.

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Novel structure

The novel consists of several parts, chronological order which is violated. This arrangement serves as a special artistic tasks: in particular, Pechorin is first shown through the eyes of Maxim Maksimych, and only then we see him from the inside, according to entries from the diary.

• Preface
• PART ONE
  • I. Bela
  • II. Maxim Maksimych
• Pechorin's Journal
  • Preface
  • I. Taman
• PART TWO ( End of Pechorin's journal)
  • II. Princess Mary
  • III. Fatalist

Chronological order of parts

1. Taman
2. Princess Mary
3. Fatalist
4. Maxim Maksimych
5. Preface to "Pechorin's Journal"

Five years pass between the events of “Bela” and Pechorin’s meeting with Maxim Maksimych in front of the narrator’s eyes in “Maksim Maksimych”.

Also, in some scientific publications, “Bela” and “Fatalist” change places.

Plot

"Bela"

It is a nested story: the narration is led by Maxim Maksimych, who tells his story to an unnamed officer who met him in the Caucasus. Bored in the mountain wilderness, Pechorin begins his service by stealing someone else's horse (thanks to the help of Azamat) and kidnapping Bela, the beloved daughter of the local prince (also with the help of Azamat in exchange for the horse Kazbich), which causes a corresponding reaction from the mountaineers. But Pechorin doesn’t care about this. The careless act of the young officer is followed by a collapse of dramatic events: Azamat leaves the family forever, Bela and her father die at the hands of Kazbich.

"Maksim Maksimych"

This part is adjacent to “Bela” and has no independent novelistic significance, but is entirely important for the composition of the novel. The reader is here with Pechorin the only time meets face to face. The meeting of old friends did not take place: it was more of a fleeting conversation with the desire of one of the interlocutors to end it as soon as possible.

The narrative is built on the contrast of two opposing characters - Pechorin and Maxim Maksimych. The portrait is given through the eyes of the officer-narrator. This chapter makes an attempt to unravel the “inner” Pechorin through external “speaking” features.

"Taman"

The story does not tell about Pechorin’s reflection, but shows him from the active, active side. Here Pechorin unexpectedly becomes a witness to bandit activity. At first he thinks that the person who sailed from the other side is risking his life for something truly valuable, but in fact he is just a smuggler. Pechorin is very disappointed by this. But still, when he leaves, he does not regret having visited this place.

The main point in final words hero: “And why did fate throw me into a peaceful circle honest smugglers ? Like a stone thrown into a smooth spring, I disturbed their calm and, like a stone, I almost sank to the bottom!”

"Princess Mary"

The story is written in the form of a diary. In terms of life material, “Princess Mary” is closest to the so-called “secular story” of the 1830s, but Lermontov filled it with a different meaning.

The story begins with Pechorin's arrival in Pyatigorsk to the medicinal waters, where he meets Princess Ligovskaya and her daughter, called Mary in English. Moreover, here he meets his ex-love Vera and friend Grushnitsky. Junker Grushnitsky, a poser and secret careerist, acts as a contrasting character to Pechorin.

During his stay in Kislovodsk and Pyatigorsk, Pechorin falls in love with Princess Mary and quarrels with Grushnitsky. He kills Grushnitsky in a duel and refuses Princess Mary. On suspicion of a duel, he is again exiled, this time to the fortress. There he meets Maxim Maksimych.

"Fatalist"

It happens in a Cossack village, where Pechorin arrives. He is visiting and the company is playing cards. Soon they get tired of this, and a conversation ensues about predestination and fatalism, in which some believe, some do not. A dispute ensues between Vulich and Pechorin: Pechorin says that he sees obvious death on Vulich’s face. As a result of the argument, Vulich takes a pistol and shoots himself, but it misfires. Everyone goes home. Soon Pechorin learns of Vulich’s death: he was hacked to death by a drunken Cossack with a saber. Then Pechorin decides to try his luck and catch the Cossack. He breaks into his house, the Cossack shoots, but misses. Pechorin grabs the Cossack, comes to Maxim Maksimych and tells him everything.

Main characters

Pechorin

Pechorin is a Petersburger. A military man, both in his rank and in his soul. He comes to Pyatigorsk from the capital. His departure to the Caucasus is connected with “some adventures.” He ends up in the fortress where the action of Bela takes place after a duel with Grushnitsky, at the age of twenty. three years. There he holds the rank of ensign. He was probably transferred from the Guards to the Army Infantry or Army Dragoons.

The meeting with Maxim Maksimych takes place five years after the story with Bela, when Pechorin is already 28.

The surname Pechorin, derived from the name of the Pechora River, has semantic similarities with the surname of Onegin. Pechorin is the natural successor of Onegin, but Lermontov goes further: like R. Pechora north of the river.  Onega, and the character of Pechorin is more individualistic than the character of Onegin.

Image of Pechorin

The image of Pechorin is one of artistic discoveries Lermontov. The Pechorinsky type is truly epoch-making, and primarily because in it the features of the post-Decembrist era received concentrated expression, when on the surface “only losses and cruel reactions were visible,” while inside “the great work... deaf and silent, but active and continuous...” (Herzen, VII, 209-211). Pechorin is an extraordinary and controversial personality. He can complain about the draft, and after a while he jumps with his saber drawn at the enemy. Image of Pechorin from the chapter “Maksim Maksimych”: “He was of average height; his slender, thin figure and broad shoulders proved a strong constitution, capable of enduring all difficulties nomadic life and climate changes, not defeated by debauchery metropolitan life, nor spiritual storms...”

Publication

The novel has appeared in print in parts since 1838. The first complete edition was published in

• “Bela” was written in the city. The first publication was in “Domestic Notes”, March, vol. 2, no. 3.
• “The Fatalist” was first published in Otechestvennye zapiski in 1839, vol. 6, no. 11.
• “Taman” was first published in Otechestvennye zapiski in 1840, vol. 8, no. 2.
• “Maksim Maksimych” first appeared in print in the 1st separate edition of the novel in the city.
• “Princess Mary” first appeared in the 1st edition of the novel.
• The “Preface” was written in St. Petersburg in the spring of this year and first appeared in the second edition of the novel.

Illustrations

The book has been illustrated many times famous artists, including Mikhail Vrubel (1890-1891), Ilya Repin, Evgeny Lansere, Valentin Serov (1891), Leonid Feinberg, Mikhail Zichy (), Pyotr Boklevsky, Dementy Shmarinov (1941), Nikolai Dubovsky (1890) and Vladimir Bekhteev ( 1939).

Origins and predecessors

• Lermontov deliberately overcame the adventurous romantic tradition novels on Caucasian theme, given by Alexander Bestuzhev-Marlinsky.
• Alfred de Musset's novel “Confession of a Son of the Century” was published in 1836 and also talks about “illness,” meaning “the vices of a generation.”
• The Rousseauist tradition and the development of the motive of the European’s love for the “savage”. For example, in Byron, as well as Pushkin’s “Gypsies” and “Prisoner of the Caucasus”.
• Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin", " Caucasian prisoner», « Captain's daughter"and so on.

Related works by Lermontov

Geography of the novel

The action of the novel takes place in the Caucasus. The main place is Pyatigorsk. And also some heroes are in Kislovodsk.

Caucasian peoples in the novel

Lermontov, being an officer of the Russian army, led fighting in the Caucasus, he was very closely acquainted with both army life and the life and customs of the local population. When writing the novel, this knowledge was widely used by the writer; the picture of life in the Caucasus in the 1830s was reproduced in great detail, both by describing the traditions of the local population and the relations between Russians and Caucasians. Already at the beginning of "Bela" Maxim Maksimych shows characteristic look Russian officer to the local population as “Asian rogues who extract money for vodka from people passing by.” Kabardians and Chechens are defined by Maxim Maksimych as “robbers and naked people, but desperate heads,” while they are contrasted with the Ossetians, whom the captain characterizes as “stupid people, incapable of any education, in whom you won’t even see a decent dagger on anyone.” .

In “Bel” Lermontov dwells on the life of the Circassians in more detail; in fact, almost the entire chapter is devoted to this.

Film adaptations

But in 1837, for the poem “The Death of a Poet,” Lermontov was arrested and exiled to the Caucasus, and after exile, he no longer wanted to return to his previous plan.

Lermontov visited Pyatigorsk and Kislovodsk, in Cossack villages on the Terek, drove along the battle line; in the town of Taman, on the Black Sea coast, smugglers who suspected him of being a detective wanted to drown him. From the Black Sea coast Lermontov went to Georgia, and on the way back, in Stavropol, he met with the exiled Decembrists. Meetings with new people and new impressions inspired him to create living images of his contemporaries.

The novel was written by Lermontov from 1837 to 1840. The sequence of writing the stories has not been precisely established, but it is assumed that “Taman” was written earlier than the others (in the fall of 1837), then “Fatalist”, “Bela”, “Maksim Maksimych”; but it is possible that “Taman” was written last, and “Fatalist” - after “Maksim Maksimych”.

The first works were conceived as individual fragments from the officer’s notes, but then they became “a long chain of stories”, not united in a novel, but connected by common heroes - Pechorin and Maxim Maksimych.

"Bela" was the first to be published in "Notes of the Fatherland" (1839, No. 3) with the subtitle "From the notes of an officer about the Caucasus" - this emphasized the connection of the novella with the romantic " Caucasian literature", popular in the 1830s. However, the work was, contrary to the tradition of pictorial and rhetorical descriptions, stylistically oriented towards A. S. Pushkin's "Journey to Arzrum". This feature of "Bela" was noted by V. G. Belinsky: " The simplicity and artlessness of this story are inexpressible, and every word in it is so in its place, so rich in meaning. We are ready to read such stories about the Caucasus, about wild mountaineers and the attitude of our troops towards them, because such stories introduce the subject, and do not slander it. Reading Mr. Lermontov’s wonderful story may also be useful to many as an antidote to reading Marlinsky.”

The story "Fatalist" was published in "Notes of the Fatherland" (1839, No. 11). According to Lermontov’s biographer P. A. Viskovatov (1842-1905), “The Fatalist” was “written off from an incident that happened in the village of Chervlenaya with A. A. Khastatov,” Lermontov’s uncle: “At least the episode where Pechorin rushes into the hut a drunken, enraged Cossack, happened to Khastatov." The historian and collector of Lermontov's manuscripts V.Kh. Khokhryakov pointed to the story of Lermontov's friend S.A. Raevsky that the Fatalist depicted a real incident, the participants of which were Lermontov himself and his friend A.A. Stolypin (Mongo). It was also suggested that Lermontov found the theme of the short story in Byron’s memoirs, which contained a story about an amazing incident that happened to the author’s school friend: “... taking a pistol and not asking whether it was loaded, he put it to his forehead and pulled the trigger, leaving chance to decide whether the shot would follow or not.”

In November 1839, an editorial note to the publication of “Fatalist” said: “With particular pleasure we take this opportunity to announce that M. Yu. Lermontov will soon publish a collection of his stories, both printed and unprinted. This will be a new, wonderful gift to the Russian literature".

By the time Taman was published (Otechestvennye zapiski, 1840, No. 2), work on the novel was completed. According to memoirists, the plot of the story is based on actual events in which Lermontov himself was a participant during his stay in Taman in the fall of 1837. Lermontov’s comrade at the School of Junkers and later in the Life Guards Grodno Regiment M.I. Zeidler, who visited Taman a year after him, in his notes about the Caucasus in the 1830s. described in detail the days spent in this “small, nondescript town,” and could not help but note the similarity of his description with the “poetic story about Taman in “Hero of Our Time”: “With difficulty they allocated me an apartment, or, better said, a hut, on a high rocky shore with a cape facing the sea. This hut consisted of two halves, in one of which I fit... in all likelihood, I was destined to live in the same house where he lived; the same blind boy and the mysterious Tatar served as the plot for his story. I even remember that when I returned and told a circle of comrades about my infatuation with my neighbor, Lermontov drew on a piece of paper with a pen the rocky shore and the house I was talking about." The drawing has been preserved.

In April 1840 "The Work of M. Yu. Lermontov (as it stood on the cover of the book) Hero of Our Time" was published, consisting of a number of separate short stories, opening with "Bela" and ending with "Fatalist". The following year, 1841, the second edition of the novel took place, which included a preface placed according to technical reasons not at the beginning, but before the second part. The preface contains a response to criticism of the novel by S. P. Shevyrev, who saw in Pechorin a vicious phenomenon that is not characteristic of Russian life, but introduced from the West, and by S. A. Burachk, who in the magazine "Mayak" (1840, part IV, ch. IV) defined Pechorin as “aesthetic and psychological absurdity”, slander “on an entire generation of people.”

The original title of the novel, known from the manuscript - “One of the heroes of the beginning of the century” - is associated with the novel by A. Musset that appeared in 1836 (the exact translation is “the confession of one of the children of the century”).

Many characters in the story “Princess Mary,” according to memoirists, had their own prototypes. The generally accepted prototype of Grushnitsky was Nikolai Petrovich Kolyubakin (1811-1868). Hot-tempered, foppish, a lover of pretentious phrases and an inveterate duelist. A wound in the leg during the expedition served as the reason for a trip to the waters, where his meeting with Lermontov took place. It is possible that Grushnitsky also reflected some features of N. S. Martynov (1815-1875), Lermontov’s opponent in the fatal duel that took place in July 1841, and formerly his comrade at the School of Guards Ensigns and Cavalry Junkers. The prototype of Vera, obviously, was V. A. Lopukhina-Bakhmeteva; The opinions of contemporaries regarding the prototype of Princess Mary differ: some named the name of N. S. Martynova, the sister of N. S. Martynov, others - E. A. Klinberg, a Pyatigorsk acquaintance of Lermontov, later the wife of A. P. Shan-Girey, a friend and relative of the poet . Doctor Werner was copied from the medic of the headquarters of the Caucasian troops in Stavropol N.V. Mayer, Vulich - from the horse guardsman I.V. Vuich.

The prototype of Pechorin, as E.G. Gershtein convincingly proved, was to a large extent the poet’s friend in the “circle of 16,” Count Andrei Pavlovich Shuvalov. He "fought bravely in the Caucasus, where he received... a slight wound in the chest. He was tall and thin; he had beautiful face... poorly concealed the nervous movements inherent in his passionate nature... Women really liked him thanks to the contrast between his appearance, which seemed gentle and fragile, his low pleasant voice, on the one hand, and the extraordinary strength that this fragile shell hid - on the other."

In 1836, Lermontov decided to write a novel about St. Petersburg high society life. Following the example of Pushkin, who showed his contemporary - Eugene Onegin - against the backdrop of St. Petersburg life in the 1820s. , Lermontov wanted to portray his contemporary, the guards officer Pechorin, against the broad background of metropolitan life.
The year 1837 arrived. For the poem “The Death of a Poet,” Lermontov was arrested and exiled to the Caucasus. Work on the novel was interrupted. After the exile, he no longer wanted to return to his previous plan. Was conceived in the Caucasus new novel.
Lermontov visited Pyatigorsk and Kislovodsk, the Cossack villages on the Terek, traveled along the battle line, and almost died in the town of Taman, on the Black Sea coast. The smugglers wanted to drown him, who suspected that the young officer had been sent to track them down. From the Black Sea coast Lermontov went to Georgia. On the way back, in Stavropol, he met and became friends with the exiled Decembrists. All this enriched him with many extraordinary, vivid impressions. Meetings with new people inspired him to create living images of his contemporaries.
The novel was written by Lermontov from 1837 to 1840.
The sequence of writing the stories is not precisely established. It is believed that “Taman” was written earlier than others (in the fall of 1837) (see the memoirs of P.S. Zhigmont), then “Fatalist”, “Bela”, “Maksim Maksimych. “It is possible that “Taman” was written last, and “Fatalist” - after “Maksim Maksimych”. The first works were conceived as separate fragments from the officer's notes. Then the idea of ​​a “long chain of stories” arose, not yet united into a novel, but already connected by common heroes - Pechorin and Maxim Maksimych.
“Bela” was published first in Otechestvennye zapiski (1839, No. 3) with the subtitle “From an officer’s notes about the Caucasus,” which emphasized the novel’s connection with the romantic “Caucasian literature,” popular in the 1830s. Meanwhile, Lermontov’s work was written in a fundamentally different artistic manner- contrary to the tradition of pictorial and rhetorical descriptions; stylistically it was focused on “Journey to Arzrum” by A. S. Pushkin. This feature of “Bela” was noted by V. G. Belinsky: “The simplicity and artlessness of this story are inexpressible, and every word in it is so in its place, so rich in meaning. We are ready to read such stories about the Caucasus, about wild mountaineers and the attitude of our troops towards them, because such stories introduce the subject, and do not slander it. Reading Mr. Lermontov’s wonderful story may also be useful to many as an antidote to reading Marlinsky.”
The story “Fatalist” was published in Otechestvennye zapiski (1839, No. 11). There is no consensus regarding the plot source of the novella. According to Lermontov’s biographer P. A. Viskovatov (1842-1905), “The Fatalist” was “written off from an incident that happened in the village of Chervlenaya with A. A. Khastatov,” Lermontov’s uncle: “At least the episode where Pechorin rushes into the hut a drunken, enraged Cossack, happened to Khastatov.” The historian and collector of Lermontov's manuscripts V.Kh. Khokhryakov pointed to the story of Lermontov's friend S.A. Raevsky that the Fatalist depicted a real incident, the participants of which were Lermontov himself and his friend A.A. Stolypin (Mongo). It was also suggested that Lermontov found the theme of the short story in Byron’s memoirs, which contained a story about an amazing incident that happened to the author’s school friend: “... taking a pistol and not asking whether it was loaded, he put it to his forehead and pulled the trigger, leaving chance to decide whether the shot would follow or not.”

This article is devoted to the novel "A Hero of Our Time". The history of its creation is very interesting and mysterious. We still do not know the details of Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov’s direct work on the text of this work. This is explained by the fact that the materials that have come down to us are few: there are few white and draft manuscripts, as well as testimonies from the poet’s contemporaries and the author himself.

Despite this, by collecting the necessary information and materials bit by bit, we can, with some degree of hypotheticalness, recreate the main stages and some details of Mikhail Yuryevich’s writing of the work “A Hero of Our Time.” The history of the creation of this novel, which is considered the pinnacle of the poet’s work, will be considered by us on the basis of this information.

Memories of Shan-Girey

A.P. Shan-Girey, with his memoirs, provides us with some information about the time the poet worked on this work. This relative and friend of the poet argued that “Hero of Our Time,” the history of whose creation interests us, was begun after Lermontov’s return from his first exile, in St. Petersburg, in 1838. Most Lermontov scholars adhere to this point of view. But there is evidence that suggests that already in 1837 a draft of “Tamani” was written. Today an authorized copy of this novella is known with a note from Viskovaty, who says that this manuscript was written by Shan-Girey, cousin Lermontov, to whom the latter sometimes dictated his works. Apparently, "Taman" was dictated from draft, and not impromptu (this is evidenced by the purity of the copy).

This assumption is confirmed by a number of testimonies from the poet’s relatives and contemporaries. For example, Grigorovich, who saw a rough autograph of this work, wrote in his memoirs that the story “Taman” sounds from beginning to end with a single harmonic chord. But if you take the first manuscript, you can note that it is full of inserts, it is smeared, it has many marks on pieces of paper pasted with wafers.

Memoirs of Zsigmont

Grigorovich, unfortunately, did not report anything about the location this autograph, as well as who owns it. But today another memory has become known that echoes the story of this contemporary. In 1947, they published correspondence with P. S. Zhigmont, a relative of the poet, his first biographer, P. A. Viskovaty. Zhigmont reported that it seems that in 1839 in Stavropol the poet sketched “Taman”, and then gave the sketch to the Petrovs, who could have preserved it.

This dating was made, therefore, half a century after this event, and the author of the memoirs himself wrote that he was not sure of this date. A.V. Popov noted that S.O. Zhigmont and Lermontov met in 1837 in Stavropol, and in 1839 none of them were in this city. Consequently, the draft "Tamani" should be dated to 1837.

Lermontov's location during the period of work on the work

As is known, this short story is based on an incident experienced by Mikhail Yuryevich in September 1837. In November he was already in Tiflis. His very curious sketch entitled “I am in Tiflis” also dates back to this period. Therefore, he very convincingly claims that it contains the embryos of “Fatalist” and “Taman”. One might think that due to the fact that the “syncretistic plan” was overloaded and complex in plot, the writer decided to divide it into two works, first sketching “Taman”, during the period of wandering in November-December 1837, and then “Fatalist”. This is where the creation story of the work “Hero of Our Time” begins. The plot and composition of the novel underwent significant changes in the future, only later it was replenished with these two, initially separate, works. In December, returning to St. Petersburg, the poet stopped briefly in Sevastopol, where he met with S. O. Zhigmont and Petrov, his relatives. At this time, having rewritten “Taman,” Mikhail Yuryevich apparently left its draft to Petrov. It was him who Grigorovich then saw.

When was "Taman" ("Hero of Our Time") written?

The story of creation (we will briefly look at all parts of the story) continues. The collected information, therefore, allows us to say that the work on the draft “Taman” dates back to the period from September to December 1837, since in September the poet was in Taman, and at the end of December Mikhail Yuryevich left Sevastopol. In this regard, it would seem that it can be established that it was in this year, and not in 1838, as many researchers believe, that the implementation of the plan for the work “A Hero of Our Time” began. The history of its creation, therefore, opens from September to December 1837.

Is "Taman" involved in the original concept of the novel?

Meanwhile, this conclusion is hasty, since there is evidence that “Taman” was initially not involved in the concept of the novel, which arose later, just as the hero of this short story was not involved in the image of Pechorin.

Firstly, the name of the main character of the work is never mentioned in Taman. Secondly, it is known from “Princess Mary” that this character was exiled to the Caucasus for a certain “story”. But the hero of "Taman" does not look like an exile who has just arrived from St. Petersburg.

Thirdly, in all stories and short stories, Maxim Maksimych, a “cross-cutting character” who is the antipode of Pechorin, is certainly mentioned or shown. Only in "Taman" is it missing.

There is also reason to believe that “Fatalist” was written separately, following “Tamanya”, without connection with this novel, apparently, at the beginning of 1838, upon Mikhail Yuryevich’s return to St. Petersburg.

Features of Lermontov's creative process

Feature creative process This author has the parallelism of working on several works at once. Along with the development of the initial versions of the novel “A Hero of Our Time,” the history of which is described in this article, the poet also worked on the final editions of “The Demon.” The sixth was completed in September 1838, the seventh in December, and the eighth in January 1839.

First editions

In August of the same year, the poem “Mtsyri” was completed, and around this time intensive preparations for “A Hero of Our Time” began for publication. Then the composition of the novel was significantly changed - the short story "Fatalist" was included in it. Thus the story of creation continues. "A Hero of Our Time" is already undergoing its second edition during this period. There is quite a bit of information about the first, but we can conclude that it consisted only of the works “Maksim Maksimych”, “Bela” and “Princess Mary”.

The inclusion of "Fatalist" turned out to be organic, primarily because there was an internal closeness between Pechorin and the author. In addition, this short story touched on the most important generations contemporary to Lermontov.

Let's continue to consider the work "Hero of Our Time". The history of the creation of the novel, briefly outlined, is represented by the following further events.

The second edition of the work dates back to 1839, the period from August to September. It then consisted of two short stories and two stories “A Hero of Our Time”. The history of creation and composition of the novel in the final version will be described below. In this edition, the work was divided into the following two parts: notes from the officer who is the narrator, and notes from the hero. The first included the story "Bela" and the story "Maksim Maksimych", and the second included the story "Fatalist" and the story "Princess Mary".

Final edition of the work

We continue to talk about the creation history of this work. "A Hero of Our Time" underwent significant changes at the end of 1839 while preparing the novel for release. separate publication. At this stage, already the final one, “Taman” was introduced into it, in which the functions of the narrator, as in “Fatalist,” were transferred to the hero from the author-narrator. There were already six “chapters” in this edition. This also included a “Preface” to the hero’s notes - “Pechorin’s Journal” - which Belinsky called a “chapter”, given its significance. In this edition, the poet divided the novel into two parts, which was only implied in the first two. Also included in this final stage of creation is the determination of the final title of the work.

Publication of the final version of the novel "A Hero of Our Time"

The story of the creation of the novel ends as follows. In February, censorship permission was received to release this work. The book went on sale in April 1840, and a year later came out in a second edition, which included a preface to the work as a whole, created by Lermontov, apparently in February 1841.

Thus, finally, the “canonical” composition of the novel “A Hero of Our Time” was determined. The history of the creation of this work, which is one of the best in the 19th century, ends here.