What new do we learn about Pechorin in the chapter Princess Mary? Pechorin’s last conversation with Princess Mary (based on Lermontov’s novel “A Hero of Our Time”) Where Pechorin met Mary.

End of Pechorin's journal. Princess Mary

Before us is Pechorin’s diary, in which the days of recording are marked. On May 11, Pechorin records his arrival in Pyatigorsk. Having found an apartment, he headed to the source. On the way, he was called out by an acquaintance with whom he had once served. It was cadet Grushnitsky. Pechorin saw him like this: “He has only been in service for a year, and wears, out of a special kind of dandyism, a thick soldier’s overcoat. He has a soldier's cross of St. George. He is well built, dark and black-haired; he looks like he might be twenty-five years old, although he is hardly twenty-one.

He throws his head back

When he speaks, he constantly twirls his mustache with his left hand, because he leans on a crutch with his right. He speaks quickly and pretentiously: he is one of those people who have ready-made pompous phrases for all occasions, who are not touched by simply beautiful things and who are solemnly draped in extraordinary feelings, sublime passions and exceptional suffering. Making an effect is their pleasure.”

Grushnitsky tells Pechorin

about the people who make up the Pyatigorsk public on the waters - the “water society” - and calls the most interesting of all the Princess of Lithuania and her daughter Mary. To attract the girl’s attention, Grushnitsky drops the glass from which he drank healing water. Seeing that due to his bad leg he cannot lift the glass, Mary helps him. Grushnitsky is happily confident that Mary is showing him signs of attention, Penorin dissuades his friend, he is unpleasant that it was not him who was distinguished, but someone else.

Two days later, Pechorin meets with Doctor Werner, an interesting and intelligent man, but extremely ugly: he “was short and thin. And weak as a child; one of his legs was shorter than the other, like Byron; in comparison with his body, his head seemed huge: he cut his hair into a comb... His small black eyes, always restless, tried to penetrate your thoughts. Taste and neatness were noticeable in his clothes; his thin, wiry and small hands showed off in light yellow gloves. His coat, tie and vest were always black.” Although, in Pechorin’s own words, he did not know how to be friends, he and Werner became friends. In a conversation with the insightful Werner, it turned out that the doctor perfectly understands the intentions of Pechorin, who was going to dispel boredom on the waters by playing a “comedy”. It turned out that the princess, intrigued by Grushnitsky’s appearance, decided that he had been demoted for a duel, and the princess remembered the face of Pechorin, whom she had met in St. Petersburg. Werner told Pechorin in detail about both ladies, about the illnesses and character of the mother, about the habits and affections of her daughter. He also mentioned that today he saw their relative at the Litovskys; from the description of her appearance, Pechorin guessed in her the one for whom his heart was in love “in the old days.”

In the evening on Pechorin Boulevard again

sees Mary. Young people revolve around her and her mother, but Pechorin, entertaining the officers he knows, gradually gathers everyone around him. Mary becomes bored, and Pechorin assumes that tomorrow Grushnitsky, not taking his eyes off the girl, will look for a way to get to know her.

Pechorin notes that he has aroused Mary’s hatred, that his cunning behavior, when he pretends not to notice her and hinders her in every possible way - for example, in front of her eyes he repurchases a carpet she likes - is bearing fruit. Mary becomes more and more affectionate with Grushnitsky, who only dreams of putting on epaulettes as soon as possible. Pechorin dissuades his friend, explaining to him that in a soldier’s overcoat he is mysterious and attractive to the princess, but Grushnitsky does not want to understand anything. Pechorin instructively explains to Grushnitsky how to behave with the young princess, who, like all Russian young ladies, loves to be entertained. Grushnitsky is excited, and Pechorin realizes that his friend is in love - he even got a ring on which the princess’s name and the date they met were engraved. Pechorin harbors plans to become Grushnitsky’s confidant in his affairs of the heart and then “enjoy himself.”

When in the morning Pechorin

I came to the source later than usual, the audience had already dispersed. Alone, he began to wander through the alleys and unexpectedly ran into Vera, whose arrival Werner had told him about. Vera shuddered when Pechorin appeared. He learned that she was married again, that her husband, a relative of the Lithuanians, was rich, and Vera needed this marriage for the well-being of her son. Pechorin did not be sarcastic about the old man, “she respects him like a father, and will deceive him like a husband...” He gave Vera his word that he would meet the Lithuanians and would look after Mary, so that Vera could not be suspected of anything.

Because of the thunderstorm, Pechorin and Vera

They remained in the grotto for some time, and a familiar feeling arose in Pechorin’s soul again: “Is it really youth with its beneficial storms that wants to return to me again, or is this just her farewell glance...” After parting with Vera, Pechorin returned home and jumped on his horse and went to the steppe: “There is no woman’s gaze that I would not forget at the sight of curly mountains illuminated by the southern sun, at the sight of the blue sky or listening to the sound of a stream falling from cliff to cliff.”

Concluding the trip, Pechorin

unexpectedly came across a cavalcade of riders, ahead of whom were Grushnitsky and Mary. Grushnitsky hung a saber and a pair of pistols over his soldier’s overcoat, and in such “heroic attire” he looked funny. He was having a serious conversation with the girl about the dangers that lie in wait in the Caucasus, about the empty secular society that is alien to him, but Pechorin, who unexpectedly rode out to meet them, prevented him. Mary was frightened, thinking that this was a Circassian in front of her, but Pechorin boldly answered the girl that he was no more dangerous than her gentleman, and Grushnitsky was dissatisfied. In the evening, Pechorin ran into Grushnitsky, who enthusiastically told his friend about Mary’s virtues. Pechorin, in order to tease Grushnitsky, assured him that he would spend tomorrow evening with the Litovskys and would pursue the princess.

Pechorin wrote in his journal that he still had not met the Litovskys. Vera, whom he met at the source, reproached him for not going to the only house, the Lithuanians, where they could meet openly.

Pechorin describes the ball that took place in the hall of the Noble Assembly. Mary made a great impression with her clothes and poise. Local “aristocrats” could not forgive her for this, and one of them expressed displeasure to her gentleman. Pechorin invited Mary to dance, and the girl barely hid her triumph. They waltzed for a long time, Pechorin started a conversation with Mary about his recent insolence, for which he immediately apologized. Suddenly, laughter and whispering were heard in one of the groups of local men. One of the gentlemen, very tipsy, tried to invite Mary to dance, but Pechorin, reading the incredible fear on her face, firmly took the drunken man by the hand and asked him to leave, saying that the princess had promised him a dance. Mary looked gratefully at her savior and immediately told her mother about everything. Princess Lithuania, having found Pechorin, thanked him, reproaching him that they still did not know each other.

The ball continued, Mary and Pechorin again had the opportunity to talk. In this conversation, as if by chance, Pechorin told the girl that Grushnitsky was a cadet, and she was disappointed by this.

Grushnitsky, having found Pechorin on the boulevard, rushed to thank him for his help at the ball and asked to be his assistant in the evening: Grushnitsky wanted a friend, more experienced when it came to women, to “notice everything” in order to unravel Mary’s attitude towards him, Grushnitsky. Pechorin spent the evening with the Litovskys, studying mainly Vera. He listens to the princess's singing absent-mindedly, and from her disappointed appearance he understands that she is already bored with Grushnitsky's philosophies.

dedicated to the further implementation of his “system”. He entertains Mary with amazing incidents from his life, and she grows increasingly cold towards Grushnitsky, responding to his tender words with a skeptical smile. Pechorin deliberately leaves them alone as soon as Grushnitsky approaches the girl. Finally, Mary can’t stand it: “Why do you think that I have more fun with Grushnitsky?” I answered that I was sacrificing my friend’s happiness with my pleasure. “And mine,” she added.” Pechorin, with an artificially serious look, stops talking to Mary and decides not to talk to her for a few more days.

Pechorin asks himself the question why he “so persistently seeks the love of a young girl” whom he will never marry, and does not find an answer.

Grushnitsky was promoted to officer, and he decides to quickly put on epaulettes, hoping to impress Mary. Werner dissuades him, reminding him that many officers are crowding around the princess. In the evening, when the company went for a walk to the failure, Pechorin began to slander those around him, which frightened Mary. She made a remark, and in response Pechorin told her the story of his life: “I became a moral cripple... one half of my soul did not exist, it dried up, evaporated, died, I cut it off...” Mary was shocked, she felt sorry for Pechorin. She took his hand and did not let go. The next day Pechorin saw Vera, who was tormented by jealousy. Pechorin tried to convince her that he did not love Mary, but Vera was still sad. Then in the evening at the princess’s table, Pechorin told the whole dramatic story of their love, calling the characters by fictitious names, describing in detail how he loved her, how worried, how delighted he was. Finally, Vera sat down with the company, began to listen and, it seems, forgave Pechorin for his coquetry with the princess.

Grushnitsky came running to Pechorin, beside himself with happiness. He was in a new uniform, preening in front of the mirror, dousing himself in perfume, getting ready for the ball. Grushnitsky ran to meet Mary, and Pechorin, on the contrary, came to the ball later than everyone else. He hid between those standing, watching as Mary reluctantly talked with Grushnitsky. He was in despair, begged her to be more kind, asked him about the reason for the change, but then Pechorin approached. He did not agree with Mary that a soldier’s overcoat suited Grushnitsky more, and to Grushnitsky’s displeasure, he noticed that the new uniform made him look younger. Mary danced with various gentlemen, but Pechorin only got the mazurka. Finally, Pechorin realized that Grushnitsky had formed a conspiracy around him, in which the officers offended by Pechorin at the last ball were participating. Accompanying Mary to the carriage, Pechorin, unnoticed by everyone, kissed her hand. The next day, June 6, Pechorin writes that Vera left with her husband for Kislovodsk. He paid a visit to the Lithuanians, but the princess did not come to him, saying she was ill.

When Pechorin finally saw Mary

She was paler than usual. They talked about Pechorin’s attitude towards her, and he asked for forgiveness for not saving the girl from what “was happening in his soul.” The conversation with Pechorin upset Mary to tears. When Pechorin returned home, Werner came to him asking if it was true that he was marrying Mary. Pechorin with a smile dissuaded Werner, but realized that rumors were spreading about him and the princess and that this was the work of Grushnitsky. Pechorin, following Vera, moves to Kislovodsk, where he often sees his former lover. Soon the Ligovskys also come here. On one of the horse rides, Mary became dizzy from the height and felt sick. Pechorin, supporting the princess, hugging her waist, touched her cheek with his lips. The princess cannot understand his attitude towards herself. “Either you despise me or you love me very much,” she says to Pechorin and is the first to confess her love. Pechorin amazes her with his coldness.

Grushnitsky, desperate to regain love

Mary incites the officers insulted by Pechorin to take revenge on him. Grushnitsky had to find an excuse and challenge Pechorin to a duel. For the duel, it was decided to load only one pistol. Pechorin becomes an accidental witness to this conversation and decides to teach Grushnitsky a lesson. Mary, meeting Pechorin again, tells him of her love and promises that she will persuade her family not to interfere with their marriage. Pechorin explains to Mary that there is no love for her in his soul. She asks him to leave her alone. Later, thinking about what he feels for women, Pechorin explains his indifference by the fact that a fortune teller once predicted his death from his evil wife.

Kislovodsk society is busy with funny news: the magician Apfelbaum is coming. The Princess of Lithuania is going to the performance without her daughter. Pechorin receives a note from Vera that her husband has left for Pyatigorsk, and spends the night with Vera. Leaving her, Pechorin looks into Mary’s window, but Grushnitsky and the captain, whom Pechorin once offended at a ball, see him here. Already in the morning the town is full of talk that the Litovskys’ house was attacked by the Circassians, but Grushnitsky loudly talks about Pechorin’s night visit to Mary. At that moment, when he had already given his word of honor that it was Pechorin who was in Mary’s room at night, Pechorin himself entered. He very calmly demanded that Grushnitsky retract his words: “I don’t think that a woman’s indifference to your brilliant virtues deserves such terrible revenge.” But Grushnitsky’s “struggle of conscience with pride” “was short-lived.” Supported by the captain, he confirmed that he had told the truth. Pechorin announces that he will send his second to Grushnitsky.

Pechorin instructed Werner, his second, to arrange the duel as quickly and secretly as possible. Werner, who returned from Grushnitsky, told Pechorin that he heard the officers trying to persuade Grushnitsky to scare Pechorin, but not to risk his life. Werner and Grushnitsky's second discussed the terms of the fight. Werner warns Pechorin that only Grushnitsky’s pistol will be loaded, but Pechorin asks the doctor not to show that they know this.

The night before the duel Pechorin

ponders his life and compares it with the state of a person who is bored at a ball and “... does not go to bed only because his carriage is not yet there.” He talks about the meaning of his life: “Why did I live? For what purpose was I born?.. And, it’s true, it existed, and, it’s true, I had a high purpose, because I feel immense powers in my soul... But I didn’t guess this purpose, I was carried away by the lures of empty and ungrateful passions; I came out of their crucible hard and cold as iron, but I lost forever the ardor of noble aspirations - the best color of life... My love did not bring happiness to anyone. Because I didn't sacrifice anything for those I loved; I loved for myself, for my own pleasure; greedily devouring their feelings, their tenderness, their joys and sufferings - and could never get enough.”

He didn't sleep a wink the whole night before the fight.

The next morning, having calmed down, he took a bath with Narzan and became cheerful, as if he was going to a ball. Werner carefully asked Pechorin if he was ready to die and whether he had written a will, to which he replied that on the eve of death he remembered only himself. Having met the enemy, Pechorin feels calm. Grushnitsky, on the contrary, is worried and whispers with the captain. Pechorin proposes conditions under which seconds could not be punished for a duel. The condition stated that they would shoot in a gorge and Werner would take a bullet from the body of the dead man in order to attribute the corpse to an attack by the Circassians. Grushnitsky was faced with a choice: kill Pechorin, refuse to shoot, or be on equal terms with him, risking being killed. Werner tried to persuade Pechorin to say that they knew about Grushnitsky’s vile intent, but Pechorin was determined to see whether Grushnitsky could commit vileness by shooting at an unarmed man.

Grushnitsky was the first to shoot. He fired and lightly wounded Pechorin in the knee. It was Pechorin’s turn and, looking at Grushnitsky standing in front of him, he experienced mixed feelings: he was angry, annoyed, and despised the one standing, who could have hurt him more and then Pechorin would have been lying at the foot of the cliff. Finally, calling the doctor to him, he clearly demanded to load his pistol, thereby revealing that he knew in advance about the conspiracy against him. The captain shouted that this was against the rules and that he was loading the pistol, but Grushnitsky stood gloomy and ordered Pechorin’s request to be fulfilled, admitting that they were preparing meanness. Pechorin for the last time invited Grushnitsky to admit to lying, recalling that they were friends, but he replied: “Shoot! I despise myself, and I hate you. If you don’t kill me, I’ll stab you at night from around the corner. There is no place for the two of us on earth..."

Pechorin fired

When the smoke cleared, Grushnitsky was no longer on the cliff. His bloody corpse lay below. Arriving home, Pechorin receives two notes. One was from Werner, who informed him that the body had been brought to the city and that there was no evidence against Pechorin. “You can sleep peacefully... if you can...” Werner wrote. Pechorin opened the second note, very worried. It was from Vera, who reported that she had confessed to her husband her love for Pechorin and was leaving forever. Realizing that he could lose Vera forever, Pechorin rushed on his horse after her, drove the horse to death, but never caught up with Vera.

Returning to Kislovodsk,

Pechorin fell into a heavy sleep. He was woken up by Werner, who had just visited the Ligovskys. He was gloomy and, contrary to usual, did not shake hands with Pechorin. Werner warned him: the authorities guessed that Grushnitsky died in a duel. The next day, Pechorin receives an order to leave for fortress N. He goes to the Ligovskys to say goodbye. The princess decides to talk to him: she invites him to marry Mary. Left alone with the girl, Pechorin bitterly tells her that he was just laughing at her, she should despise him, and, therefore, he cannot marry her. He rudely said that the princess should explain this to her mother, Mary replied that she hated him.

Having taken his leave, Pechorin left the city and not far from Essentuki he noticed the corpse of his driven horse. Seeing the birds already sitting on her rump, he sighed and turned away.

Pechorin remembers the story with Mary in the fortress. He compares his fate with the life of a sailor who is accustomed to the difficulties of his craft and languishes with idleness on the shore, looking for a sail on the sea surface, “approaching a deserted pier...”

Pechorin sought the love of Princess Mary out of boredom, and also because he wanted to annoy Grushnitsky. A kind of game in which Pechorin wanted to achieve his victory just like that, because winning is nice.

Pecherin got bored on the waters. It was customary to follow young ladies, and Princess Mary was just as proud and unapproachable. Pecherin chose her out of principle. Moreover, he wanted to annoy Grushnitsky.

He was running away from boredom and the emptiness of his life. Even at some point, if I remember correctly, it seemed to him that love could help him feel the fullness of life. But, alas, everything is in vain. For if the heart and soul are empty, nothing can fill them.

Certainly not because he was not in love. He loved only himself. And, seeking the favor of Princess Mary, he exclusively indulged his male vanity. He didn’t particularly care about her feelings, at least his own feelings were much more important to him. Competing with Grushnitsky, breaking an unapproachable beauty - for him this is only entertainment, an attempt to brighten up monotonous everyday life. And although everyone traditionally feels sorry for Mary, it seems to me that Pechorin was a bright event in her life. He gave her what he wanted for himself.

To annoy Grushnitsky, who was in love with the princess.

At the same time, test your strength to see if you can charm and make a girl who may be attracted to someone else fall in love with you.

Out of pure sporting interest. He directly admitted his complete indifference to her during the decisive meeting with the princess, when the final points were drawn in this strange relationship. He even admitted himself that he deserved her contempt. Poor, poor princess. One can only sympathize with her.

Most likely, Pechorin had one main goal - sporting interest. This person is simply not used to giving up something; on the contrary, he is used to achieving his goal. And of course, he wanted to test his strength and amuse his male pride.

He was bored, and he also had a reputation for always getting his way. It seemed funny to him to achieve Mary’s love, because she was unapproachable, and besides, a friend was in love with her. Pechorin was an egoist and respected only his own desires and whims.

Firstly, Pechorin simply had nothing to do, he was bored. Secondly, he wanted to make fun of Grushnitsky. Well, thirdly, Pechorin was used to getting his way, winning, so for him it was just a game in which he wanted to win, because he had nothing to do, that’s all.

In general, all the works of Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov are absolutely stunning and exciting. This is reflected in youth, and some opposition to the current government, as well as the influence of such famous literary figures, such as A.S. Pushkin.

By the way, Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin was a fictional character, which already brings into the work a certain semblance of imagery, partly inherited from Onegin (A.S. Pushkin), partly the fruit of his own experiences.

The famous novel A Hero of Our Time was written by M.Yu. Lermontov in 1838-1840, and the film adaptation of the novel, in our time, was carried out in the feature film Princess Mary in 1955 by the no less famous director Isidore Annensky.

In the novel, as in many of the writer’s works, the characters are tormented by contradictions. Sometimes the power of torment reached such intensity that people were ready to go to the end, and even lose everything in this life, which was not the least of the members of secular society.

As always, at the center is the relationship between a man and a woman, between friends, and between participants in the legal field, which is the state. Again dueling and injured and dead people. Everything that was inherent in that time, because then questions and concepts of honor very clearly played the leading role of everything that happened.

The dichotomous situation between love, friendship, devotion and rivalry has never led to anything good.

Why was he trying?

Of course, as in all centuries, the stumbling block or grain of discord was the attention of a noble person, her location. We live and act intuitively at times, and if we feel that we need to do just that, although common sense tells us not to do so, we still, despite everything, often sometimes commit irreversible actions.

So it is here, brain chemistry, as Herzen once said.

Most likely, bored Pechorin sought Mary’s love simply for the sake of interest and curiosity - what would come of it? Will he be able to win the favor of this unapproachable beauty? So he had no love for Mary.

. Princess Mary.)

Lermontov. Princess Mary. Feature film, 1955

...Our conversation began with slander: I began to sort through our acquaintances who were present and absent, first showing their funny, and then their bad sides. My bile became agitated. I started jokingly and ended with sincere anger. At first it amused her, and then it scared her.

– You are a dangerous person! “- she told me, “I would rather fall under a murderer’s knife in the forest than to get caught on your tongue... I ask you not jokingly: when you decide to speak ill of me, you better take a knife and stab me to death - I think this is It won't be very difficult for you.

– Do I look like a murderer?..

- You are worse...

I thought for a minute and then said, looking deeply moved:

– Yes, this has been my lot since childhood. Everyone read on my face signs of bad feelings that were not there; but they were anticipated - and they were born. I was modest - I was accused of guile: I became secretive. I felt good and evil deeply; no one caressed me, everyone insulted me: I became vindictive; I was gloomy, - other children were cheerful and talkative; I felt superior to them - they put me lower. I became envious. I was ready to love the whole world, but no one understood me: and I learned to hate. My colorless youth passed in a struggle with myself and the world; Fearing ridicule, I buried my best feelings in the depths of my heart: they died there. 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 and saw how others were happy without art, freely enjoying the benefits that I so tirelessly sought. And then despair was born in my chest - not the despair that is treated with the barrel of a pistol, but cold, powerless despair, covered with courtesy and a good-natured smile. I became a moral cripple: one half of my soul did not exist, it dried up, evaporated, died, I cut it off and threw it away - while the other moved and lived at the service of everyone, and no one noticed this, because no one knew about the existence of the deceased its halves; but now you have awakened in me the memory of her, and I read her epitaph to you. To many, all epitaphs seem funny, but not to me, especially when I remember what lies underneath them. However, I do not ask you to share my opinion: if my prank seems funny to you, please laugh: I warn you that this will not upset me in the least.

At that moment I met her eyes: tears were running in them; her hand, leaning on mine, trembled; cheeks were burning; she felt sorry for me! Compassion, a feeling that all women so easily submit to, let its claws into her inexperienced heart. During the entire walk she was absent-minded and did not flirt with anyone - and this is a great sign!

Acquaintance

The first meeting of Pechorin and Princess Mary took place in Pyatigorsk, where Grigory was sent after completing another military mission. The princess and her mother underwent a course of treatment with the mineral waters of Pyatigorsk.

The princess and Pechorin constantly moved in secular society. A common circle of friends brought them together at one of the meetings. Grigory stirred up interest in his person, deliberately teasing the girl, ignoring her presence. He saw that she paid attention to him, but Pechorin was much more interested in watching how she would behave next. He knew women very well and could calculate several steps ahead how the acquaintance would end.

He took the first step. Pechorin invited Mary to dance, and then everything had to go according to the scenario he had developed. It gave him unprecedented pleasure to lure his next victim, allowing her to get carried away. The girls fell in love with the handsome military man, but quickly got bored and he, pleased with himself, with a feeling of complete self-satisfaction, put another tick on his record of love affairs, happily forgetting about them.

Love

Mary truly fell in love. The girl did not understand that the toy was in his hands. Part of the insidious heartthrob's plan. Pechorin benefited from meeting her. New emotions, sensations, a reason to distract the public from an affair with Vera, a married woman. He loved Vera, but they could not be together. Another reason to hit on Mary, to make Grushnitsky jealous. He was truly in love with the girl, but his feelings remained unanswered. Mary did not love him and was unlikely to love him. In the current love triangle, he is clearly superfluous. In retaliation for unrequited feelings, Grushnitsky spread dirty rumors about the affair between Pechorin and Mary, ruining her reputation. He soon paid for his vile act. Pechorin challenged him to a duel, where the bullet reached its target, killing the liar outright.

Final

After what happened, Mary began to love Pechorin even more. She believed that his action was noble. After all, he defended her honor, making it clear that she had been slandered. The girl was waiting for confessions from Gregory, tormented by love and the feelings that gripped her. Instead, he hears the bitter truth that he never loved her and certainly had no intention of marrying her. He achieved his goal by breaking the heart of another victim of his love spells. She hated him. The last phrase heard from her was

“...I hate you...”

Once again, Pechorin acted cruelly towards loved ones, stepping over their feelings and trampling on love.

In “Princess Mary” the human soul is revealed to us. We see that Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin is a contradictory, ambiguous person. Before the duel, he himself says: “Some will say: he was a good fellow, others - a scoundrel. Both will be false." And indeed, this story shows us both the good qualities of a young man (poetic nature, extraordinary intelligence, insight) and the bad traits of his character (terrible selfishness). And indeed, a real person is not exclusively bad or good.

The chapter “Princess Mary” shows the confrontation between Pechorin and Grushnitsky.
Both heroes meet like old friends. Pechorin is self-confident, reasonable, selfish, mercilessly sarcastic (sometimes beyond measure). At the same time, he sees right through Grushnitsky and laughs at him. Their dissimilarity and rejection of each other do not prevent them from communicating and spending a lot of time together.
They saw Princess Mary for the first time almost simultaneously. From that moment on, a thin crack lay between them, which eventually turned into an abyss. Grushnitsky, a provincial romantic, is seriously infatuated with the princess. Pechorin's eternal enemy - boredom - forces him to infuriate the princess with various petty antics. All this is done without a shadow of hostility, but solely out of a desire to entertain oneself.

Pechorin makes the princess fall in love with him out of a desire to dispel boredom, to annoy Grushnitsky, or God knows what else. After all, even he himself does not understand why he is doing this: Pechorin believes that he does not love Mary. The main character is true to himself: for the sake of entertainment, he invades the life of another person.

“Why am I bothering? “- he asks himself and answers: “There is immense pleasure in possessing a young, barely blossoming soul! “This is selfishness! And besides suffering, he can bring nothing to Pechorin or those around him.

The more the princess becomes interested in Pechorin (after all, she is much more interested in him than with the simple-minded boy), the wider the gap between him and Grushnitsky becomes. The situation is heating up, mutual hostility is growing. Pechorin’s prophecy that they will someday “collide on a narrow road” begins to come true.

A duel is the denouement of the relationship between two heroes. It was approaching inevitably, as the road became too narrow for two.

On the day of the duel, Pechorin experiences cold anger. They tried to deceive him, but he cannot forgive it. Grushnitsky, on the contrary, is very nervous and tries with all his might to avert the inevitable. He had recently behaved unworthily, spreading rumors about Pechorin, and tried in every possible way to cast him in a black light. You can hate a person for this, you can punish him, despise him, but you cannot deprive him of his life. But this does not bother Pechorin. He kills Grushnitsky and leaves without looking back. The death of a former friend does not awaken any emotions in him.
Pechorin admits to Mary that the Grushnitskys’ society has made him a “moral cripple.” It is clear that this “disease” is progressing: a debilitating feeling of emptiness, boredom, and loneliness increasingly takes possession of the main character. At the end of the story, already in the fortress, he no longer sees those bright colors that made him so happy in the Caucasus. “Boring,” he concludes.
“Princess Mary” shows us the true tragedy of Grigory Pechorin. After all, he spends such a remarkable nature and enormous energy on trifles, on petty intrigues.