Old man Pimen is one of the minor characters in the famous tragedy "Boris Godunov" by Alexander Pushkin, written in 1825. However, this does not make it less bright. The author has collected this image of “a meek and humble old man” from “History ...” by N.М. Karamzin, as well as from the literature of the XVI century.

This hero is a monk-chronicler of the Chudov Monastery, the wisest and most respectable elder, under whose leadership the young monk G. Otrepiev was.

Character characteristics

(People's Artist of the RSFSR Alexander Iosifovich Baturin as Pimen from the opera Boris Godunov)

The character of the elder Pimen, as the author himself admitted, is not his own invention. In it, the author combined the characteristic features of his favorite heroes from the Old Russian chronicles. Therefore, his hero possesses meekness, simplicity, diligence, piety in relation to the royal power (it was believed that it was given from God), wisdom. And although the author devoted very little space to the characterization of the elder, you can see how reverently he relates to his hero. Pimen is not an ordinary warrior monk who is imbued with deep religious feelings. He has an excellent education and is intelligent. In every event, the elder sees God's finger, therefore he never condemns anyone's actions. Also, the hero has some poetic gift, which connects him with the author himself - he writes a chronicle.

Image in the work

The hero of one of the scenes of the tragedy, old Pimen, got a seemingly insignificant role. But this character performs an important function in the development of storylines, in the cohesion of fundamental images and ideas. In the first picture, from the story of Shuisky, it becomes known about the regicide, which was committed in Uglich, the culprit of which is called Boris Godunov. However, Shuisky himself is an indirect witness who found “fresh tracks” at the crime scene. Old man Pimen, in fact, is the only real eyewitness among the other characters who personally saw the stabbed Tsarevich Dimitri.

The fact of the death of the tsarevich is trivial for Shuisky, like any other murder associated with politics, because at that time there were no such numbers. Pimen's assessment has a completely different tone. The old man is convinced that the sin of the murderer falls on everyone, for "we have named the regicide our ruler."

(V.R. Petrov, opera "Boris Godunov", photographer and artist K.A., Fischer)

The words of the wise old man are far from the usual moral assessment. Pimen does believe that responsibility for one man's crime falls on them all.

Pimen still does not even know about the consequences that this event will bring, but the monk has a unique ability - to anticipate trouble, which makes him humble and merciful. He calls upon his descendants to be humble. It is here that the symmetrically opposite difference from the “judgment” of the Holy Fool, who refused Godunov's prayer, is manifested.

Pimen tries to explain to Grigory Otrepyev that even for such people as tsars, for whom life on earth seems to be developing in the best way, they cannot find their peace, and find it only in the schema. The story of Demetrius, in particular, the mention that he was the same age as Gregory, provoke a thought that determines the further development of events. Pimen makes Gregory an impostor, and he has no intention of doing so. As a result of this fundamental twists and turns, the plot of the work is drawn into its dramatic knot.

The idea of ​​Pimen is inseparable from the monastery cell - these are precisely the circumstances in which the character of the hero is revealed. The poet emphasized the impenetrability of Pimen's spiritual world to those around him, the inaccessibility of his understanding and the young Gregory, who often wanted to guess what he was writing about. The chronicler who bowed over his work reminds Gregory the clerk, but this comparison is more external.

Psychologically, Pimen is completely different. No, he is not indifferent to what he is talking about, especially to "good and evil." For him, evil is evil, and good is the greatest human happiness. With pain, he tells Gregory about the Bloody sin that he witnessed. As "grief" Pimen perceives the perfect contrary to the laws of divine and human "wedding" of Boris to the throne.

The highest destiny of the life of the chronicler Pimen sees in telling the descendants the truth of history.

The wise Pimen finds true "bliss" in deep meditation, in his concentrated writing. The highest wisdom of life is contained for Pimen in his inspired work, filled with genuine poetry for him. The draft preserved a prosaic record containing Pimen's heartfelt confession: "I am approaching the time when it should be interesting for me." In his declining years, there was only one thing “interesting” for Pimen: his “last say”. The peculiarity of the internal appearance of the chronicler is his stately calmness. Majesty in Pimen's sacred work, performed in the name of lofty goals. Dignity and greatness - from the consciousness of a fulfilled duty.

A lively, integral, individual human character is a fusion of traits, sometimes unexpected and contradictory. The combination of qualities that seem to be incompatible is noted by Pushkin in the chronicler: “something infantile and at the same time wise ...” In the draft, the last word was read as “old”. It seemed to the author, however, important to highlight not so much the chronicler's weakness as his ingenuity combined with the spontaneity of perception.

The image of the chronicler created in the tragedy of Pushkin is a collective image of the poet of Ancient Rus, a type of poetic consciousness in general. The poet always appears as an echo of his time. And it is precisely this combination of the historically real and the poetically fictional that the author saw in Pimen: "It seemed to me that this character is all new and familiar to the Russian heart." "Sign" - because there were many such chroniclers in Russia. "New" - because it was created by the imagination of the artist, who brought into this image a creative principle so close to him.

Impostor image

Before us is the character of a hero, whose main quality is political adventurism. He lives endless adventures. A whole string of names stretches behind this hero: Grigory, Grigory Otrepiev, Pretender, Dimitri, False Dmitry. He knows how to speak pathetically. Sometimes, having begun to play a role, he is so included in it that he himself begins to believe in his lies.

The impostor is sincerely jealous of the moral purity of Prince Kurbsky. The clarity of the soul of Kurbsky, who fights for the just cause, who also takes revenge for his insulted father, makes the Pretender realize that he himself is deprived of this precious property. A true patriot of the fatherland, inspired by the realization of his dream, Kurbsky and the Pretender, playing a role insignificant in his egoistic aspirations - such is the contrast of characters.

On the eve of the battle on the Lithuanian border, remorse awakens in the Pretender:

Russian blood, oh Kurbsky, will flow!

You raised your sword for the king, you are pure.

I'm leading you to the brothers; I am Lithuania

I called to Russia, I to red Moscow

I show my enemies the cherished path! ..

The remorse of a bad conscience must be stifled, and the Pretender finds a way for this, blaming Boris for what he does himself: "But let my sin fall not on me - But on you, Boris the Tsar-killer!" if in the mouth of the chronicler Pimen the accusation against Boris sounded like a verdict of conscience, the words of the Pretender about Godunov's crime are only self-deception with the aim of imaginary self-assertion.

The impostor skillfully plays the role he has taken on, plays carelessly, without thinking about what this may lead to. Only once does he take off his mask: when he is captured by the feeling of love, he is no longer able to pretend:

No, I'm full of pretending! I will say

The whole truth ...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I lied to the world; but not for you, Marina,

Execute me; I'm right in front of you.

No, I couldn't deceive you.

You were my only shrine

Before her, I did not dare to pretend ...

"I could not deceive ...", "I did not dare ..." - The Pretender is capable of thoughtless frankness.

The character of the Pretender is not at all as simple as it might seem: different facets of him appear in different circumstances.

One of the secondary characters in the work is the elderly monk Pimen, who lives in the cell of the Chudovo monastery located in Moscow.

Pimen appears as a poet in the form of a chronicler describing the most important events in the country. The monk is depicted as a gray-haired old man in a strict cassock with a high brow of a humble, stately appearance, reminiscent of a clerk, distinguished by a humble, meek disposition. In the image of Pimen, the combined features of infancy and wisdom are noted, endowed with a certain creative talent.

Pimen's stormy youth passes in noisy fun and joy at the royal court, where the young man manages to enjoy the delights of life, even participating in military battles. However, Pimen feels the long-awaited bliss only by taking a monastic vow, realizing all the pettiness of worldly vain life.

During his long life, Pimen is a direct participant in many historical events in Russia, having found the period of the reign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, becoming an unwitting witness to the murder of the young Tsarevich Dmitry in Uglich and the accusation of Boris Godunov of an attempt on the life of the Tsarevich, participating in the battles under the Kazan towers and repelling the attack of the Lithuanians during the Shuya battle.

The poet characterizes Pimen as a caring person who understands well the consequences of evil insidious deeds and considers good as the greatest human happiness. He has a negative attitude towards Boris Godunov, claiming that his ascent to the royal throne is an act committed against the will of God and the people of the people by a man who stepped over the murder. Displaying tragic events in the annals, Pimen tries to describe them as truthfully and restrainedly as possible.

The basis of bliss for Pimen lies in faithful service to the divine principle, reflecting on eternal peace and concentrating on writing the chronicle, in the creation of which he sees his true human destiny, since Orthodox descendants should know the fate of their native land. Pimen creates his chronicle with special inspiration, experiencing extraordinary creative joy.

In the image of Pimen, the poet reveals the collective features of the Russian chroniclers, characterized by innocence, touching meekness, touching good nature, piety, creating breathing precious monuments of the past for grateful descendants.

Option 2

Pimen is an important character in the work of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin "Boris Godunov". This is a humble old man, a monk with a noble origin. In his youth, Pimen probably served in the army of Ivan the Terrible, since in the drama you can see the words that Pimen at one time had a chance to see "the court and luxury of John."

Pimen, in all likelihood, was not a simple warrior. Education markedly distinguished him from others. The abbot says that Pimen is a literate man, who read the monastic chronicles, wrote canons to the saints. All this directly tells the reader that he is a difficult person, educated, intelligent, with a talent for writing.

Pimen is busy with the chronicle, the writing of which he considers his duty to the Lord. However, the chronicle remains unfinished, ending with the legend of the death of Tsarevich Dmitry. Conscience and kind-heartedness do not allow the monk to write further, since he little, in his own words, "delved into worldly affairs." And Pimen does not agree to trust the rumors.

Pimen is filled with love for his work, thanks to her he seemed to come to life again, felt a certain new meaning of life in his old years. And, of course, he is worried about the further fate of the chronicle, he would like to give it to skillful hands for continuation. And the choice falls on Gregory. Pimen gives him instructions, advice on how to continue his chronicle, but Gregory is not happy with his position. Pimen, in a fatherly way, calms the novice, they say, luxury and wealth can captivate people only from afar, true peace cannot be found in the world.

Pimen is a deeply religious person, and this feeling is perfectly combined with his inner meekness. He is not angry with anyone, does not condemn anyone. In everything he sees the desire for that of God. Pimen does not condemn sinful kings with their cruel deeds, he, on the contrary, prays to the Lord for leniency towards them. Pimen sees the cause of the calamities occurring during the reign of Boris Godunov in the punishment of the Almighty, they say, it was not worth choosing a regicide as ruler. But at the same time, according to Pimen, the king is the anointed of God, then a man, above whom is only God. And if so, then who dares to tell the Tsar? The king can do anything.

Pushkin gave Pimen a minor role. But the author hit the mark - the image of a monk remains in the reader's memory for a long time.

Composition Image of the monk Pimen

From the earliest times on our land there were people who wrote down all the events taking place in the country, and these people were called chroniclers. Pushkin, according to him, was very worried about the character of these people: a humble, simple-minded, sincere character. So he tried to realize such a person in his tragedy "Boris Godunov".

Our chronicler's name is Pimen. Pimen is an old monk who has long abandoned his former life and humbly, as Pushkin spoke of the character of all chroniclers, writes his works. Pimen lives in the Chudovoy monastery in Moscow. Pimen considers it his duty to write the chronicle, he writes it even at night, without falling asleep at all.

It is noteworthy that Pimen's appearance hides the characteristic of Pushkin, which he wanted to give: Pimen is humble, in his face it is not clear what he thinks about, what views he is and in what state. The old monk is so, as if neutral to everything, indifferent, that in him the outbursts of emotions are not visible at all, he is on his own mind.

As I said earlier, Pimen came to the monastery not from a young age, but already in adulthood, when he outlived a large part of his life in the "world." In his youth, he was by no means a novice or a theologian. His youth was on the contrary, stormy and trembling. The monk-chronicler served in the royal army and was even close to the royal court. He went through the war and the military regime in his life, which often appears in his dreams, as a reminder of his past adventures. Pimen himself believes that in his past life he saw many blessings and pleasures, but he truly found happiness when he came to the monastery, when God brought him to his further monastery and gave him a vector in life, gave a new meaning to this life, allowed to touch the great - to faith and religion.

Pimen really had a stormy youth, because he found both the reign of Ivan the Terrible, which he warmly talks about, and the murder of Tsarevich Dmitry, which is an integral part of the main plot, because it is Pimen who is appointed mentor to Grigory Otrepiev. Pimen tells his student that Boris Godunov killed Tsarevich Dmitry with his accomplices. And Gregory decides to take advantage of this, and due to the fact that he was the same age as Dmitry, he declares himself the surviving prince.

Monk chronicler.

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PIMEN is the central character of the tragedy of Alexander Pushkin "Boris Godunov" (1825), the monk-chronicler of the Chudov Monastery, "the meek and humble old man", under whose leadership is the young monk Grigory Otrepiev, the future Pretender. The material for this image (as well as for others) Pushkin drew from "History ..." by N.M. Karamzin, as well as from the epistolary and hagiographic literature of the 16th "Shv. (For example, P.'s story about the death of Fyodor Ioannovich is based on the work of Patriarch Job.) Pushkin wrote that P.'s character is not his invention: "In him I collected the features that captivated me in our old chronicles." To these features the poet attributed touching meekness, innocence, something childish and at the same time wise, zeal, piety in relation to the power of the king, given from God. P. is the hero of one scene, the fifth scene of the tragedy. P.'s role is relatively small. However, the function of this character in the development of the plot, in the cohesion of ideas, images is important and significant. The collision of the tragedy in the scene with P. receives significant clarifications. From the story of Shuisky in the first picture, it is known about the regicide committed in Uglich, its culprit is named - Boris Godunov. But Shuisky is an indirect witness who found "fresh traces" at the scene. P. is the only eyewitness among the characters who saw with his own eyes the stabbed prince, heard with his own ears how "the villains repented under the ax and named Boris." For Shuisky, the death of Demetrius is trivial, like any political murder, of which there is no number. Vorotynsky also thinks in the same terms, although his reaction is more emotional: "Awful villainy!" A completely different (in tonality, in meaning) assessment of P.: "Oh terrible, unprecedented grief!" This grief is terrible and unprecedented because Boris's sin falls on everyone, everyone is involved in it, for “we have named the regicide our ruler”. P.'s words are not just a moral assessment, which cannot be denied to Godunov himself (the pangs of conscience torment him too). P. judges existentially: the crime was committed by one person, and everyone has to answer. There is an unprecedented grief coming to Russia, "a real misfortune for the Moscow state." ("A comedy about the real misfortune of the Moscow state ..." is one of the rough titles of Pushkin's tragedy.) P. does not yet know how this grief will manifest itself, but his foreboding makes the monk merciful. Therefore, he punishes the descendants to be humble: let them, remembering their kings, "for sins, for dark deeds, humbly beg the Savior." This reveals a significant difference from the "court" of the Holy Fool, who refused to pray to Boris. The symmetry of these images, P. and the Holy Fool, has long been noticed and investigated, in particular, by V.M. Nepomnyashchy. However, the closeness of the characters does not mean that they equally express the "voice of the people", "the voice of God." Pushkin's realism lies in the fact that each of his heroes has his own "voice". The dramaturgy of the scene in the cell of the Chudov Monastery is based on the contrast between P.'s calmness (constant epithet: "the past was calm and silent," "his calm appearance", "calmly looks at the right and the guilty") and the confusion of Gregory, whose "peace was disturbed by demonic dreams." In the continuation of the entire scene, P. tries to convince Otrepiev of the futility of worldly pleasures and the bliss of monastic service. However, his memories of a joyfully spent youth, noisy feasts and battles only inflame Gregory's imagination. The story about Demetrius, especially the careless mention of “he would be your age”, provokes a “wonderful thought” that will determine the further course of events. P., as it were, makes Gregory an impostor, and quite unintentionally. In the theory of drama, such an action is called twists and turns (according to Aristotle, "changing what is done in the opposite"). As a result of the twists and turns, the plot of the tragedy is pulled into a dramatic knot. In the opera by M.P. Mussorgsky "Boris Godunov" (1868-1872), the role of P. was expanded. The composer (and the author of the libretto) conveyed to him the story of the Patriarch (the fifteenth scene of the tragedy - "The Tsar's Duma") about the miraculous insight of a blind shepherd in front of the tomb of Tsarevich Dimitri. In the opera, this story follows after the scene with the Holy Fool (in the tragedy - in front of her) and becomes the final blow of fate punishing the infanticide. The most famous performers of the role of P. - I. V. Samarin (Maly Theater, 1880), V. I. Kachalov (Moscow Art Theater, 1907); in the opera - V.R. Petrov (1905) and M.D. Mikhailov (1936).