What is the innovative significance of Pechorin’s portrait. Essay “General characteristics of the portrait of Pechorin (based on the novel “Hero of Our Time”)

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A person is always driven by the desire to know his purpose. Should you go with the flow or resist it? What position in society would be correct, should all actions comply with moral standards? These and similar questions often become the main ones for young people who are actively comprehending the world and human essence. Youthful maximalism demands to give for these problematic issues clear answers, but it is not always possible to give an answer.

It is precisely this seeker of answers that M.Yu. tells us about. Lermontov in his novel “Hero of Our Time”. It should be noted that Mikhail Yuryevich was always on good terms when writing prose, and his same position remained until the end of his life - all the prose novels he started were never finished. Lermontov had the courage to bring the matter with “Hero” to its logical conclusion. This is probably why the composition, the manner of presentation of the material and the style of narration look, compared to other novels, quite unusual.

“Hero of Our Time” is a work imbued with the spirit of the era. Characteristics of Pechorin - central figure novel by Mikhail Lermontov - allows you to better understand the atmosphere of the 1830s - the time the work was written. It is not for nothing that “A Hero of Our Time” is recognized by critics as the most mature and ambitious in philosophical sense novels by Mikhail Lermontov.

Of great importance for understanding the novel is historical context. In the 1830s Russian history was reactive. In 1825, the Decembrist uprising occurred, and subsequent years contributed to the development of a mood of loss. The Nikolaev reaction unsettled many young people: young people did not know which vector of behavior and life to choose, how to make life meaningful.

This caused the emergence of restless individuals, extra people.

Origin of Pechorin

Basically, the novel singles out one hero, who is centrally in the story. It seems that this principle was rejected by Lermontov - based on the events told to the reader, the main character is Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin - a young man, an officer. However, the style of the narration gives the right to doubt - the position in the text of Maxim Maksimovich is also quite weighty.

In fact, this is a misconception - Mikhail Yuryevich repeatedly emphasized that in his novel main character- Pechorin, this corresponds to the main purpose of the story - to talk about typical people generations, point out their vices and mistakes.

Lermontov provides rather scant information about childhood, conditions of upbringing and the influence of parents on the process of formation of Pechorin’s positions and preferences. Several fragments of it past life lift this veil - we learn that Grigory Alexandrovich was born in St. Petersburg. His parents, according to existing orders They tried to give their son a proper education, but young Pechorin did not feel the burden of science, he “quickly got bored” with them and he decided to devote himself to military service. Perhaps such an act is not connected with the emerging interest in military affairs, but with the special disposition of society towards military people. The uniform made it possible to brighten up even the most unattractive actions and character traits, because the military was loved for what they were. It was difficult to find representatives in society who did not have a military rank - military service was considered honorable and everyone wanted to “try on” honor and glory along with the uniform.

As it turned out, military affairs did not bring proper satisfaction and Pechorin quickly became disillusioned with it. Grigory Alexandrovich was sent to the Caucasus because he was involved in a duel. The events that happened to the young man in this area form the basis of Lermontov's novel.

Characteristics of Pechorin's actions and deeds

The reader gets his first impressions of the main character of Lermontov’s novel after meeting Maxim Maksimych. The man served with Pechorin in the Caucasus, in a fortress. It was the story of a girl named Bela. Pechorin treated Bela badly: out of boredom, while having fun, the young man kidnapped a Circassian girl. Bela is a beauty, at first cold with Pechorin. Gradually, the young man kindles the flame of love for him in Bela’s heart, but as soon as the Circassian woman fell in love with Pechorin, he immediately lost interest in her.

Pechorin destroys the destinies of other people, makes those around him suffer, but remains indifferent to the consequences of his actions. Bela and the girl's father die. Pechorin remembers the girl, feels sorry for Bela, the past resonates with bitterness in the hero’s soul, but does not cause Pechorin to repent. While Bela was alive, Grigory told his comrade that he still loved the girl, felt gratitude to her, but boredom remained the same, and it was boredom that decided everything.

An attempt to find satisfaction and happiness pushes the young man to experiments that the hero performs on living people. Psychological games, meanwhile, turn out to be useless: the same emptiness remains in the hero’s soul. The same motives accompany Pechorin’s exposure of “honest smugglers”: the hero’s act does not bring good results, only leaving the blind boy and the old woman on the brink of survival.

The love of a wild Caucasian beauty or a noblewoman - it does not matter for Pechorin. Next time, the hero chooses an aristocrat, Princess Mary, for the experiment. Handsome Gregory plays with the girl, arousing love for him in Mary’s soul, but then leaves the princess, breaking her heart.

The reader learns about the situation with Princess Mary and the smugglers from the diary that the main character kept, wanting to understand himself. In the end, even Pechorin gets tired of his diary: any activity ends in boredom. Grigory Alexandrovich does not complete anything, unable to bear the suffering of losing interest in the subject of his former passion. Pechorin's notes accumulate in a suitcase, which falls into the hands of Maxim Maksimych. The man experiences a strange attachment to Pechorin, perceiving the young man as a friend. Maxim Maksimych keeps Grigory’s notebooks and diaries, hoping to give the suitcase to a friend. But the young man does not care about fame, fame, Pechorin does not want to publish the entries, so the diaries turn out to be unnecessary waste paper. This secular disinterest of Pechorin is the peculiarity and value of Lermontov’s hero.

Pechorin has one important feature - sincerity towards himself. The hero’s actions evoke antipathy and even condemnation in the reader, but one thing needs to be recognized: Pechorin is open and honest, and the touch of vice comes from weakness of will and the inability to resist the influence of society.

Pechorin and Onegin

After the first publications of Lermontov’s novel, both readers and literary critics began to compare Pechorin from Lermontov's novel and Onegin from Pushkin's work with each other. Both heroes are related similar features character, certain actions. As researchers note, both Pechorin and Onegin were named according to the same principle. The surname of the characters is based on the name of the river - Onega and Pechora, respectively. But the symbolism doesn't end there.

Pechora is a river in the northern part of Russia ( modern republic Komi and Nanetsky autonomous region), by its nature it is a typical mountain river. Onega is located in the modern Arkhangelsk region and is calmer. The nature of the flow has a relationship with the characters of the heroes named after them. Pechorin's life is full of doubts and active searches for his place in society; he, like a seething stream, sweeps away everything without a trace in his path. Onegin is deprived of such a scale of destructive power; complexity and inability to realize himself cause him to feel a state of dull melancholy.

Byronism and the “extra man”

In order to holistically perceive the image of Pechorin, understand his character, motives and actions, it is necessary to have knowledge about the Byronic and superfluous hero.

The first concept came to Russian literature from England. J. Bynov in his poem “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” created unique image endowed with the desire to active search their purpose, the characteristics of egocentrism, dissatisfaction and desire for change.

The second is a phenomenon that arose in Russian literature itself and denotes a person who was ahead of his time and therefore alien and incomprehensible to those around him. Or someone who, based on his knowledge and understanding of everyday truths, is higher in development than the rest and, as a result, he is not accepted by society. Such characters become the cause of suffering for female representatives who love them.

Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin is a classic representative of romanticism, who combined the concepts of Byronism and the superfluous man. Dejection, boredom and spleen are the product of this combination.

Mikhail Lermontov considered the history of life individual more interesting than the history of the people. Circumstances make Pechorin a “superfluous man.” The hero is talented and smart, but the tragedy of Grigory Alexandrovich lies in the lack of a goal, in the inability to adapt himself, his talents to this world, in the general restlessness of the individual. In this, Pechorin’s personality is an example of a typical decadent.

Powers young man They go not to find a goal, not to realize themselves, but to adventure. Sometimes literary critics compare images Pushkinsky Evgeniy Onegin and Lermontov's Grigory Pechorin: Onegin is characterized by boredom, and Pechorin is characterized by suffering.

After the Decembrists were exiled, progressive trends and tendencies also succumbed to persecution. For Pechorin, a progressive-minded person, this meant the onset of a period of stagnation. Onegin has every opportunity to take the side of the people's cause, but refrains from doing so. Pechorin, having a desire to reform society, finds himself deprived of such an opportunity. Grigory Alexandrovich wastes his wealth of spiritual strength on trifles: he hurts girls, Vera and Princess Mary suffer because of the hero, Bela dies...

Pechorin was ruined by society and circumstances. The hero keeps a diary, where he notes that, as a child, he spoke only the truth, but adults did not believe in the boy’s words.

Then Gregory became disillusioned with life and his previous ideals: the place of truth was replaced by lies. As a young man, Pechorin sincerely loved the world. Society laughed at him and this love - Gregory’s kindness turned into anger.

The hero quickly became bored with his secular surroundings and literature. Hobbies were replaced by other passions. Only travel can save you from boredom and disappointment. Mikhail Lermontov unfolds on the pages of the novel the entire evolution of the protagonist’s personality: Pechorin’s characterization is revealed to the reader by all the central episodes in the formation of the hero’s personality.

The character of Grigory Alexandrovich is accompanied by actions, behavior, and decisions that more fully reveal the characteristics of the character’s personality. Pechorin is also appreciated by other heroes of Lermontov’s novel, for example, Maxim Maksimych, who notices the inconsistency of Grigory. Pechorin is a strong young man with a strong body, but sometimes the hero is overcome by a strange physical weakness. Grigory Alexandrovich turned 30 years old, but the hero’s face is full of childish features, and the hero looks no more than 23 years old. The hero laughs, but at the same time one can see sadness in Pechorin’s eyes. Opinions about Pechorin expressed different characters novel, allow readers to look at the hero, respectively, with different positions.

Pechorin's death expresses the idea of ​​Mikhail Lermontov: a person who has not found a goal remains superfluous, unnecessary for those around him. Such a person cannot serve for the benefit of humanity and is of no value to society and the fatherland.

In “Hero of Our Time,” the writer described the entire generation of contemporaries - young people who have lost the purpose and meaning of life. Just as Hemingway’s generation is considered lost, so Lermontov’s generation is considered lost, superfluous, restless. These young people are susceptible to boredom, which turns into a vice in the context of the development of their society.

Pechorin's appearance and age

At the time the story begins, Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin is 25 years old. He looks very good, well-groomed, so in some moments it seems that he is much younger than he actually is. There was nothing unusual about his height and build: average height, strong athletic build. He was a man with pleasant features. As the author notes, he had a “unique face,” one that women are madly attracted to. Blonde, naturally curly hair, a “slightly upturned” nose, snow-white teeth and a sweet, childish smile - all this complements his appearance favorably.

His eyes, brown in color, seemed to live a separate life - they never laughed when their owner laughed. Lermontov names two reasons for this phenomenon - either we have in front of us a person of evil disposition, or someone who is in a state of deep depression. Lermontov does not give a direct answer which explanation (or both at once) is applicable to the hero - the reader will have to analyze these facts themselves.

His facial expression is also incapable of expressing any emotion. Pechorin does not restrain himself - he simply lacks the ability to empathize.

This appearance is finally blurred by a heavy, unpleasant look.

As you can see, Grigory Alexandrovich looks like a porcelain doll - his cute face with childish features seems like a frozen mask, not a face real person.

Pechorin's clothes are always neat and clean - this is one of those principles that Grigory Alexandrovich follows impeccably - an aristocrat cannot be an unkempt slob.

While in the Caucasus, Pechorin easily leaves his usual outfit in the closet and dresses in the national men's attire of the Circassians. Many note that these clothes make him look like a true Kabardian - sometimes people who belonged to this nationality do not look so impressive. Pechorin looks more like a Kabardian than the Kabardians themselves. But even in these clothes he is a dandy - the length of the fur, the trim, the color and size of the clothes - everything is chosen with extraordinary care.

Characteristics of character qualities

Pechorin is a classic representative of the aristocracy. He himself comes from noble family, who received a decent upbringing and education (knows French, dances well). All his life he lived in abundance, this fact allowed him to begin his journey of searching for his destiny and an activity that would not let him get bored.

At first, the attention shown to him by women pleasantly flattered Grigory Alexandrovich, but soon he was able to study the types of behavior of all women and therefore communication with ladies became boring and predictable for him. The impulses of creation are alien to him own family, and as soon as it comes to hints about the wedding, his ardor for the girl instantly disappears.

Pechorin is not assiduous - science and reading push him even more than secular society, blues. A rare exception in this regard is provided by the works of Walter Scott.

When social life became too burdensome for him, and travel, literary activity and science did not bring the desired result, Pechorin decides to start military career. He, as is customary among the aristocracy, serves in the St. Petersburg Guard. But he doesn’t stay here for long either - participation in a duel dramatically changes his life - for this offense he is exiled to serve in the Caucasus.

If Pechorin were a hero folk epic, then it permanent epithet the word would be "strange". All the heroes find something unusual in him, different from other people. This fact is not due to habit, mental or psychological development– here the point is precisely in the ability to express one’s emotions, to adhere to the same position – sometimes Grigory Alexandrovich is very contradictory.

He likes to cause pain and suffering to others, he is aware of this and understands that such behavior does not look good not only on him specifically, but on any person. And yet he doesn’t try to restrain himself. Pechorin compares himself to a vampire - the realization that someone will spend the night in mental anguish is incredibly flattering to him.

Pechorin is persistent and stubborn, this creates many problems for him, because of this he often finds himself in not the most pleasant situations, but here courage and determination come to his rescue.

Grigory Alexandrovich becomes the cause of destruction life paths many people. By his mercy, the blind boy and the old woman are left to their fate (the episode with the smugglers), Vulich, Bella and her father die, Pechorin’s friend dies in a duel at the hands of Pechorin himself, Azamat becomes a criminal. This list can still be replenished with many names of people to whom the main character insulted and became a reason for resentment and depression. Does Pechorin know and understand the full gravity of the consequences of his actions? Quite, but this fact does not bother him - he does not value his life, let alone the destinies of other people.

Thus, the image of Pechorin is contradictory and ambiguous. On the one hand, it is easy to find positive traits character, but on the other hand, callousness and selfishness confidently reduce all his positive achievements to “no” - Grigory Aleksandrovich destroys with his recklessness both his fate and the fates of the people around him. He is a destructive force that is difficult to resist.

Psychological portrait of Grigory Pechorin

Lermontov helps to imagine the character's character traits by referring to the hero's appearance and habits. For example, Pechorin is distinguished by a lazy and careless gait, but at the same time the hero’s gestures do not indicate that Pechorin is a secretive person. The young man’s forehead was marred by wrinkles, and when Grigory Alexandrovich sat, it seemed that the hero was tired. When Pechorin's lips laughed, his eyes remained motionless, sad.

Pechorin's fatigue was manifested in the fact that the hero's passion did not linger for long on any object or person. Grigory Alexandrovich said that in life he is guided not by the dictates of his heart, but by the orders of his head. This is coldness, rationality, periodically interrupted by a short-term riot of feelings. Pechorin is characterized by a trait called fatality. The young man is not afraid to go wild and seeks adventure and risk, as if testing fate.

The contradictions in Pechorin’s characterization are manifested in the fact that with the courage described above, the hero is frightened by the slightest cracking of window shutters or the sound of rain. Pechorin is a fatalist, but at the same time convinced of the importance of human willpower. There is a certain predetermination in life, expressed at least in the fact that a person will not escape death, so why then are they afraid to die? In the end, Pechorin wants to help society, to be useful by saving people from the Cossack killer.

Grigory Pechorin from the novel by M. Yu. Lermontov “Hero of Our Time”: characteristics, image, description, portrait

Roman M.Yu. Lermontov's "Hero of Our Time" was written in 1840. This is the first psychological novel in Russian literature, exploring inner world the main character is a young nobleman, military officer Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin.

Revealing the image

The image of Pechorin is revealed gradually. At first we see him through the eyes of Maxim Maksimych, a fifty-year-old staff captain. The old man tells the author that he had the pleasure of knowing very strange man G.A. Pechorina. He, in his words, is not a simple “guy” who has a number of inexplicable contradictions: he could hunt all day in the drizzling rain, or he could catch a cold because of an open window; capable of going after a wild boar one on one, but at the same time being frightened by the sound of a closing window. Maxim Maksimych was surprised by his ability to remain silent for hours, and sometimes talk in such a way that “you’ll tear your stomach with laughter.”

We also learn about Pechorin’s wealth, about his special purpose: “There are these people who are destined to have extraordinary things happen to them!”

Pechorin's problem

Pechorin's main problem is that he quickly gets bored with everything. In his youth he turned to the light, but high society He quickly became bored; Pechorin saw no point in the education he had been receiving for years. The hope of gaining interest in life in the Caucasus also turns out to be false: the whistling of bullets worries him no more than the buzzing of mosquitoes. Bela, a young Circassian, was last chance for Pechorin. But it turned out that “the love of a savage is a little better than love noble lady."

The hero's internal contradictions are also expressed in his appearance, presented to the reader through the eyes of a traveling officer - the author-storyteller, close to the hero by age and social status.

In the chapter “Maksim Maksimych” we see the main character as a slender, stately retired officer, dressed in latest fashion. He is of average height, fair-haired, but with a black mustache and eyebrows. The author sees the secrecy of character in the carelessness of his gait and the absence of waving his arms. At first glance, Pechorin’s face seems youthful, but upon closer examination, the author notices traces of wrinkles, and there is something childish in his smile. It is significant that the hero's eyes did not laugh when he laughed. This speaks of an evil disposition or a great and difficult life experience.

Pechorin's trials

Like many others literary heroes, Pechorin undergoes tests of love and friendship, but does not withstand them: he kills a friend in a duel, causing pain to all those who love him and loved ones. He himself says that he is only capable of causing people suffering, since “he did not sacrifice anything for those he loved.” He is an individualist by nature, he does not need anyone to realize his life goals, he is able to solve all his problems on his own.

Indeed, Pechorin is cruel to many close people. Take even his meeting after a long separation with Maxim Maksimych - he treated the old man, who considered him his son, as a stranger. But it should be noted that he is also cruel to himself. There is not a single requirement for others that he would not fulfill himself. Many of his misfortunes and clashes with society occur due to his maximalism, demanding everything from life at once, but the impossibility of receiving proper satisfaction.

In my opinion, Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin is a worthy, intelligent, spiritually strong person. But he cannot find application for his immense powers and capabilities in the conditions of his contemporary society, which does not have any spiritual values.

"Hero of Our Time" - the most famous work M.Yu. Lermontov. At one time, it gained considerable fame, mainly thanks to its main character, Grigory Pechorin. Lermontov himself spoke of it as “a portrait, but not of one person: it is a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation, in the canvas of their development.” So who really was Pechorin - a villain or a personality unique for his time?

The novel has five fragments, five story episodes, united by one common hero.

Each of them helps to better understand his nature, and in each one can be traced the most main feature Pechorina - inconsistency. Pechorin is contradictory: in love and life, in his thoughts and actions. He's like the Demon from work of the same name Lermontov - always rushes about and finds no peace.

Pechorin is bored with life. He is constantly looking for new entertainment and gets angry when he doesn't find it. For the sake of fulfilling his own whim, Pechorin is even ready to risk his life and not only his own. He destroys everyone who gets in his way. This happened with Bela, with Mary, with Grushnitsky. Their destinies were ruined... And for what? A moment of peace of mind?

From this follows another feature of Pechorin - his selfishness.

He understands that he makes those around him suffer, but does nothing to stop. On the contrary, for him it’s just another form of entertainment. Take the same Mary - Pechorin did not like, but achieved her only because he liked the difficulty of the task. And after that the princess became uninteresting to him.

Yes, Pechorin can be called an egoist. But never insensitive. Despite all his coldness and prudence, Pechorin was able to fall in love with Vera. But ironically, these feelings again bring only suffering.

So who is Pechorin? His personality is ambiguous. She evokes admiration and dislike. And this duality haunts Pechorin throughout his life, making him a lost man and suffering from his own tossing.

Updated: 2017-05-15

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Useful material on the topic

The novel “A Hero of Our Time” was a continuation of the theme of “extra people”. This theme became central to the novel in verse by A. S. Pushkin “Eugene Onegin”. Herzen called Pechorin Onegin's younger brother. In the preface to the novel, the author shows his attitude towards his hero. Just like Pushkin in Eugene Onegin (“I am always glad to notice the difference between Onegin and me”), Lermontov ridiculed attempts to equate the author of the novel with his main character.

Lermontov did not consider Pechorin positive hero, from which we should take an example. The author emphasized that in the image of Pechorin a portrait is given of not just one person, but artistic type, which absorbed the features of a whole generation of young people at the beginning of the century. Lermontov’s novel “A Hero of Our Time” shows a young man suffering from his restlessness, in despair asking himself a painful question: “Why did I live. For what purpose was I born? He does not have the slightest inclination to follow the beaten path of secular young people. Pechorin is an officer. He serves, but is not cured. Pechorin does not study music, does not study philosophy or military affairs. But we cannot help but see that Pechorin is head and shoulders above the people around him, that he is smart, educated, talented, brave, and energetic. We are repelled by Pechorin's indifference to people, his inability to true love, to friendship, his individualism and selfishness.

But Pechorin captivates us with his thirst for life, the desire for the best, and the ability to critically evaluate his actions. He is deeply unsympathetic to us because of his “pathetic actions,” the waste of his strength, and the actions by which he brings suffering to other people. But we see that he himself suffers deeply. Pechorin's character is complex and contradictory. The hero of the novel says about himself: “There are two people in me: one lives in the full sense of the word, the other thinks and judges him...”. What are the reasons for this duality? “I told the truth - they didn’t believe me: I began to deceive; Having learned well the light and springs of society, I became skilled in the science of life...” admits Pechorin. He learned to be secretive, vindictive, bilious, ambitious, became, in his words, moral cripple. Pechorin is an egoist. Belinsky also called Pushkin’s Onegin a “suffering egoist” and a “reluctant egoist.” The same can be said about Pechorin. Pechorin is characterized by disappointment in life and pessimism. He experiences constant duality of spirit. In the socio-political conditions of the 30s of the 19th century, Pechorin could not find a use for himself. He is wasted on petty adventures, exposes his forehead to Chechen bullets, and seeks oblivion in love. But all this is just a search for some way out, just an attempt to unwind.

He is haunted by boredom and the consciousness that such a life is not worth living. Throughout the novel, Pechorin shows himself as a person accustomed to looking “at the suffering and joys of others only in relation to himself” - as “food” that supports him mental strength, it is on this path that he seeks consolation from the boredom that haunts him, tries to fill the emptiness of his existence. And yet Pechorin is a richly gifted nature. He has an analytical mind, his assessments of people and their actions are very accurate; he has a critical attitude not only towards others, but also towards himself. His diary is nothing more than self-exposure. He is endowed with a warm heart, capable of deeply feeling (the death of Bela, a date with Vera) and worrying greatly, although he tries to hide his emotional experiences under the mask of indifference.

Indifference, callousness is a mask of self-defense. Pechorin is still a strong-willed, strong, active person, “lives of strength” lie dormant in his chest, he is capable of action. But all his actions carry not a positive, but a negative charge; all his activities are aimed not at creation, but at destruction. In this, Pechorin is similar to the hero of the poem “The Demon”. Indeed, in his appearance (especially at the beginning of the novel) there is something demonic, unsolved. In all the short stories that Lermontov combined in the novel, Pechorin appears before us as a destroyer of the lives and destinies of other people: because of him, the Circassian Bela loses her home and dies, Maxim Maksimovich is disappointed in friendship, Mary and Vera suffer, Grushnitsky dies at his hand, forced to leave home « honest smugglers", the young officer Vulich dies. Belinsky saw in Pechorin’s character “a transitional state of spirit, in which for a person everything old is destroyed, but the new is not yet there, and in which a person is only the possibility of something real in the future and a perfect ghost in the present.”

Pechorin was of average height, slender, of strong build. Quite a decent man, about thirty years old. Despite his strong build, he had a “small aristocratic hand.” His gait was careless and lazy. He had a hidden character. “His skin had a kind of feminine tenderness; his blond hair, naturally curly, so picturesquely outlined his pale, noble forehead, on which, only after long observation, one could notice traces of wrinkles. Despite light color hair, his mustache and beard were black."

he had a slightly upturned nose, dazzling white teeth and brown eyes. His eyes did not laugh when he laughed. Their shine was like the shine of “smooth steel,” dazzling and cold. He was very good-looking and had one of those “original faces that are especially popular with secular women.” Pechorin – “ inner man" His personality is dominated by inherent in heroes Lermontov's romantic complex, dissatisfaction with reality, high anxiety and a hidden desire for better life. Poetizing these qualities of Pechorin, his sharp critical thought, rebellious will and ability to fight, revealing his tragically forced loneliness, Lermontov also notes the sharply negative, frank manifestations of Pechorin’s individualism, without separating them from the personality of the hero as a whole. The novel clearly expresses Pechorin's selfish individualism.

The moral inconsistency of Pechorin’s behavior towards Bela, Mary and Maxim Maksimovich. Lermontov highlights the destructive processes occurring in Pechorin: his melancholy, fruitless tossing, and fragmentation of interests. Comparing the “hero” of Pechorin’s era with those who could not at all claim this title - with “ natural person"Beloy and s" a simple person“Maxim Maksimovich, deprived of Pechorin’s intellect and his vigilance, we see not only intellectual superiority, but also the spiritual ill-being and incompleteness of the main character. Pechorin's personality in its egoistic manifestations, arising primarily from the conditions of the era, is not exempt from its individual responsibility, the judgment of conscience.

Pechorin treats people cruelly. So, for example: first he kidnaps Bela and tries to please her. But when Bela falls in love with Pechorin, he leaves her. Even after Bela’s death, his face does not change and he laughs in response to Maxim Maksimovich’s consolations.

After a long separation, a cold meeting with Maxim Maksimovich, who considers Pechorin his best friend, and is very upset by this attitude towards himself.

With Princess Mary he acts almost the same way as with Bela. Just to have fun, he begins to court Mary. Seeing this, Grushnitsky challenges Pechorin to a duel, they shoot, and Pechorin kills Grushnitsky. After this, Mary confesses her love to Pechorin and asks to stay, but he coldly says: “I don’t love you.”

And the trial leading to retribution is carried out on Pechorin, in which evil, breaking away largely from its “good” sources, destroys not only what it is aimed at, but also his own personality, which is naturally noble and therefore cannot withstand its internal evil. Retribution falls on Pechorin from the people.

Portrait as a way of creating an image. Analysis of the portrait characteristics of Pechorin in the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov "Hero of Our Time".

You can start by outlining how to create an image. It is no coincidence that the portrait follows immediately after the subject. This is a very important and effective technique.

Portraits are always used in literature as one of the main ways to create an image. But it can be recreated in different ways:

1. portrait of passport signs, when appearance is conveyed sequentially, feature by feature (Turgenev, Nekrasov “Troika”);
2. a portrait with interpretation, when the author, reporting some detail of appearance, immediately reports what character trait or personality this detail represents (Lermontov); most often this is a complete and integral portrait (all in one place, as much as possible full description appearance),
3. portrait with a dominant, when the few are communicated and persistently emphasized characteristic features appearance (Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, romantics). Such a portrait is often fragmented and scattered.

According to the time of presentation, the portrait can be anticipatory (Bazarov), at the moment of acquaintance (Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov), delayed (Pechorin, Raskolnikov).

By volume - complete or fragmentary.

By location - whole or fragmented.

Features: special attention eyes, mouth.

Figure (height, build)

Facial expressions - special attention - smile

Gesticulation

Dressing style

When meeting a hero, we always wait for a description of him, but in Lermontov’s novel the first mention of the hero’s appearance is given in passing by Maxim Maksimych, and he detailed portrait will appear much later. This is like a compositional repetition of the structure of the novel itself - a gradual approach to the hero.

In the novel "A HERO OF OUR TIME" exclusively great value has a portrait of Pechorin, drawn by an observant author travel notes. The narrator is not Lermontov. Although many characteristics are the same. But we cannot say here that the portrait was given by Lermontov. This portrait precedes “Pechorin’s Journal” and prepares the reader’s perception, explaining a lot about the complex and contradictory nature of Pechorin, with whom he is already familiar from Maxim Maksimych’s story. But Maxim Maksimych, loving Pechorin, does not understand much about him, so the portrait (the first psychophysiological portrait of a hero in Russian literature) is given through the eyes of the narrator - a person of the same circle with Pechorin, the same upbringing, the same (or at least similar) value system, one (or commensurate) depth of nature, perception of the world...

The main thing in the portrait of Pechorin is not to show internal state, but the essence of personality.

Lermontov openly admires the hero (later in the Journal Pechorin will also admire himself), and at the beginning the masculinity of his beauty is emphasized: “ broad shoulders", "strong build". Then rather feminine features appear - an outlet for the inconsistency of nature: “a small aristocratic hand,” “thinness of pale fingers,” “feminine tenderness of skin,” and finally a comparison with “Balzac’s Thirty-Year-Old Coquette.”

The contrasts continue:

gloves “deliberately sewn” to fit the hand - and dirty;

the gait is “careless and lazy, but... a sure sign of a secretive character”;

"the ability to endure all difficulties nomadic life" - and "nervous weakness";

age at first glance - 23, at second - 30;

“childish smile” - and traces of wrinkles;

blond hair with black eyebrows and mustache.

The latter, according to Lermontov, is “a sign of the breed in a person,” by analogy with horses—a remark of a cavalryman. But in this context, “breed” is a sign of aristocracy, or, in general, a sign of belonging to a certain group that is different from others. better side group. And all other contrasts are also signs of a special breed, only in a different context. What kind of breed of people is this - Pechorin’s eyes explain

The main “strangeness,” according to Lermontov, is that “they didn’t even laugh when he laughed.” The narrator's hypotheses are “an evil disposition or deep, constant sadness.” What the reader knows about Pechorin so far allows us to assume both. “Phosphoric shine,... similar to the shine of smooth steel, dazzling, but cold” - the comparison does not shock with its originality, this is also a reference to Byron, and other heroes of Lermontov’s eyes were compared to a dagger and other bladed weapons. But here, because Pechorin’s eyes “shine” “from behind his half-lowered eyelashes,” combined with a penetrating, heavy and calm gaze, there is a feeling of enormous, unostentatious depth and scale of this man. The scale exceeds the author's hypotheses: anger, sadness, emotional heat, playing imagination. Further, the author can apologize as much as he likes, saying that “he would have made a completely different impression on someone else” - the claim to exceptional nature has been made.