What a terrible person this Pechorin is. Why is Pechorin a strange person? Relationship to other characters

(383 words) In the novel by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time" Pechorin plays the main role. Other characters serve as a frame for his character. They cannot be called secondary, each of them in its own chapter has a great influence on the fate of Gregory.

Maksim Maksimych is a kind and simple person, staff captain. He is completely devoted to his work - service. The hero will never understand the worldview of his beloved friend, but despite this, after many years of separation from Pechorin, he is glad to embrace him. Maxim Maksimych has a simpler attitude to life, has nothing against society. But even such a good-natured person could not win over Gregory for a long time. The hero of that time is cold as ice.

One of the main characters in the chapter "Princess Mary" is Grushnitsky, who pretends to be a demoted officer. Initially, the cadet participates in a love triangle: Grushnitsky - Mary - Pechorin, but soon Grigory pushes him into the background as an unsuccessful rival.

Lermontov portrays Grushnitsky as a romantic person. He loves to make an effect, tries to create a veil of secrecy around himself, but in reality he is just a copycat who puts on the Pechorin mask, but cannot cope with his role.

The closest person to Pechorin was Dr. Werner. Their life paths are somewhat similar: they did not develop relationships with society, and a rather skeptical outlook on life appeared early. The only thing that distinguishes them: Werner is poor, dreams of money, but does nothing for this, while Pechorin seeks to get at least a drop of pleasure without raising funds.

Gregory is also surrounded by ladies. First we meet Bela, a Circassian princess who was kidnapped by Pechorin. She is modest, proud and has a sense of her own dignity, but she could not resist the charms of the kidnapper. Of all the women, she is the only victim who instilled guilt in the hero. Lermontov considers Vera to be a very special type of strong, intelligent and independent heroine. One she was able to understand Pechorin's worldview and bind him to herself. She lived with love for Gregory all her life and was able to prove to him that he is also capable of love. And, thanks to Mary, the reader can observe how Pechorin's main vice is revealed: the desire for power. Mary is an educated and romantic person, but Pechorin notices in her two opposite principles: naturalness and secularity. Lermontov leaves her at a crossroads, and the reader remains in the dark whether she is broken or will still find the strength to overcome the lesson.

Analyzing Pechorin's environment, we see that he is flesh of the flesh of the society in which he revolves. It gave birth to him, it will destroy him.

Pechorin is the protagonist of the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov's "A Hero of Our Time". One of the most famous characters in Russian classics, whose name has become a household name. The article provides information about the character from the work, quotation characteristics.

Full name

Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin.

His name was ... Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin. Nice was the guy

Age

Once, in the fall, a transport came with provisions; there was an officer in the transport, a young man of about twenty-five

Relationship to other characters

Pechorin treated almost everyone around him with disdain. The only exceptions are, whom Pechorin considered his equal, and female characters who aroused any feelings in him.

Pechorin's appearance

A young man of about twenty-five. A striking feature is never laughing eyes.

He was of medium height; his slender, slender waist and broad shoulders proved a strong build, capable of enduring all the difficulties of a nomad; his dusty velvet frock-coat, buttoned only with two lower buttons, made it possible to discern dazzlingly clean linen that exposed the habits of a decent person; his soiled gloves seemed to be deliberately stitched over his small aristocratic hand, and when he took off one glove, I was surprised at the thinness of his pale fingers. His gait was casual and lazy, but I noticed that he did not wave his arms - a sure sign of a certain reticence of character. When he sat down on the bench, his straight stump bent over, as if he had not a single bone in his back; the position of his entire body displayed a kind of nervous weakness: he sat like a thirty-year-old balzac's coquette. At first glance on his face, I would not have given him more than twenty-three years, although after that I was ready to give him thirty. There was something childish about his smile. His skin had a kind of feminine tenderness; naturally curly blond hair, so picturesquely outlined his pale, noble forehead, on which, only after long observation, one could notice traces of wrinkles. Despite the light color of his hair, his mustache and eyebrows were black - a sign of breed in a person, just like the black mane and black tail of a white horse. He had a slightly upturned nose, teeth of dazzling white, and brown eyes; I must say a few more words about the eyes.
First, they didn't laugh when he laughed! This is a sign - either of an evil disposition, or of deep constant sadness. They shone with a kind of phosphoric sheen from their half-down eyelashes. It was a shine of steel, dazzling but cold; his glance - short, but penetrating and heavy, left an unpleasant impression of an immodest question and might have seemed insolent if he had not been so indifferently calm. In general, he was very good-looking and had one of those original physiognomies that are especially popular with women of the world.

Social status

An officer exiled to the Caucasus for some bad story, possibly a duel.

Once, in the fall, a transport came with provisions; there was an officer in the transport

I explained to them that I was an officer, I was going to the active detachment for government needs.

And what do I care about the joys and disasters of men, me, a wandering officer

I said your name ... She knew it. It seems that your story made a lot of noise there ...

At the same time, he was a wealthy aristocrat from St. Petersburg.

strong build ... not defeated by the debauchery of metropolitan life

and besides, I have lackeys and money!

they looked at me with tender curiosity: the Petersburg cut of the frock coat misled them

I noticed to her that she must have met you in Petersburg, somewhere in the world ...

an empty road carriage; its easy movement, comfortable device and dandy appearance had some kind of foreign imprint.

Further destiny

He died returning from Persia.

Recently I learned that Pechorin died on his way back from Persia.

Pechorin's personality

To say that Pechorin is an unusual person is to say nothing. It intertwines the mind, the knowledge of people, the utmost honesty to oneself and the inability to find a goal in life and low morality. Because of these qualities, he constantly finds himself in tragic situations. His diary amazes with the sincerity of his assessment of his actions and desires.

Pechorin about himself

He speaks of himself as an unhappy person who cannot get away from boredom.

I have an unhappy character; Whether my upbringing made me so, whether God created me that way, I don't know; I only know that if I am the cause of the misfortune of others, then I myself am no less unhappy; of course, this is a bad consolation for them - only the fact is that it is so. In my first youth, from the minute when I left the care of my relatives, I began to enjoy madly all the pleasures that money could get, and of course, these pleasures made me sick. Then I set off into the big world, and soon the company bothered me too; I fell in love with secular beauties and was loved - but their love only irritated my imagination and pride, and my heart remained empty ... I began to read, study - science was also tired; I saw that neither fame nor happiness depends in the least on them, because the happiest people are ignorant, and fame is good luck, and in order to achieve it, you just need to be clever. Then I got bored ... Soon they transferred me to the Caucasus: this is the happiest time of my life. I hoped that boredom did not live under the Chechen bullets - in vain: after a month I got so used to their buzzing and the proximity of death that, really, I paid more attention to mosquitoes - and I became more bored than before, because I had almost lost my last hope ... When I saw Bela in my house, when for the first time, holding her on my knees, I kissed her black locks, I, a fool, thought that she was an angel sent to me by a compassionate fate ... I was wrong again: the love of a savage is little better than the love of a noble lady; the ignorance and simplicity of one is as annoying as the coquetry of the other. If you want, I still love her, I am grateful to her for a few rather sweet minutes, I will give my life for her - only I am bored with her ... Whether I am a fool or a villain, I don’t know; but it is true that I am also very deserving of pity, perhaps more than she: my soul is corrupted by light, my imagination is restless, my heart is insatiable; Everything is not enough for me: I get used to sadness as easily as to pleasure, and my life becomes empty day by day; I have only one remedy left: to travel. As soon as possible, I will go - just not to Europe, God forbid! - I'll go to America, to Arabia, to India - maybe I'll die somewhere on the road! At least I am sure that this last consolation will not soon be exhausted with the help of storms and bad roads. "

About your upbringing

Pechorin blames his behavior on improper upbringing in childhood, non-recognition of his true virtuous principles.

Yes, this has been my fate since childhood. Everybody read on my face the signs of bad feelings that were not there; but they were supposed - and they were born. I was modest - I was accused of cunning: I became secretive. I deeply felt good and evil; no one caressed me, everyone insulted me: I became rancorous; I was gloomy - other children are cheerful and talkative; I felt superior to them - they put me lower. I became envious. I was ready to love the whole world - no one understood me: and I learned to hate. My colorless youth passed in the struggle with myself and the light; my best feelings, fearing ridicule, I buried in the depths of my heart: they died there. I spoke the truth - they did not 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 without art were happy, using the gift of those benefits that I so tirelessly sought. And then despair was born in my chest - not that despair that is cured with the barrel of a gun, 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 abandoned it - 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 her half; but now you have awakened in me the memory of her, and I read you her epitaph. To many, all epitaphs in general seem ridiculous, but I do not, especially when I remember what lies beneath them. However, I am not asking you to share my opinion: if my trick seems ridiculous to you, please laugh: I warn you that this will not upset me in the least.

About passion and pleasure

Pechorin often philosophizes, in particular, about the motives of actions, passions and true values.

But there is immense pleasure in the possession of a young, barely blossoming soul! She is like a flower whose best fragrance evaporates towards the first ray of the sun; it must be ripped off at that moment and, having breathed its fill, toss it on the road: maybe someone will pick it up! I feel this insatiable greed in me, consuming everything that comes my way; I look at the sufferings and joys of others only in relation to myself, as food that supports my spiritual strength. I myself am no longer able to go mad under the influence of passion; my ambition is suppressed by circumstances, but it manifested itself in a different form, for ambition is nothing more than a thirst for power, and my first pleasure is to subordinate everything that surrounds me to my will; arouse feelings of love, devotion and fear to oneself - isn't it the first sign and the greatest triumph of power? To be the cause of suffering and joy for someone without having any positive right to do so - isn't this the sweetest food of our pride? What is happiness? Saturated pride. If I considered myself better, more powerful than anyone else in the world, I would be happy; if everyone loved me, I would find in myself endless sources of love. Evil begets evil; the first suffering gives the concept of the pleasure of torturing another; the idea of ​​evil cannot enter a person's head without the fact that he does not want to apply it to reality: ideas are organic creatures, someone said: their birth already gives them a form, and this form is an action; the one in whose head more ideas were born, that one acts more than others; from this, a genius, chained to the bureaucratic table, must die or go insane, just as a person with a powerful physique, with a sedentary life and modest behavior, dies from an apoplectic stroke. Passions are nothing more than ideas at their first development: they belong to the youth of the heart, and a fool is the one who thinks to worry about them a whole life: many calm rivers begin with noisy waterfalls, and none of them jumps and foams to the sea. But this calmness is often a sign of great, though latent strength; the fullness and depth of feelings and thoughts does not allow frantic impulses; the soul, suffering and enjoying itself, gives a strict account of everything and is convinced that it should be so; she knows that without thunderstorms the constant heat of the sun will dry her out; she is imbued with her own life - she cherishes and punishes herself as a beloved child. Only in this highest state of self-knowledge can a person appreciate the justice of God.

Fatal destiny

Pechorin knows what brings misfortune to people. He even considers himself an executioner:

I run through all my past in my memory and ask myself involuntarily: why did I live? for what purpose was I born? .. And, surely, it existed, and, probably, there was a high assignment for me, because I feel immense strength in my soul ... But I did not guess this assignment, I was carried away by the lures of empty and ungrateful passions; from their furnace I came out hard and cold as iron, but I have lost forever the ardor of noble aspirations - the best light of life. And since then, how many times have I played the role of an ax in the hands of fate! As an instrument of execution, I fell on the head of doomed victims, often without malice, always without regret ... My love did not bring happiness to anyone, because I did not sacrifice anything for those whom I loved: I loved for myself, for my own pleasure: I only satisfied a strange need of the heart, greedily absorbing their feelings, their joys and sufferings - and could never get enough. So, tormented by hunger in exhaustion, he falls asleep and sees in front of him luxurious dishes and sparkling wines; he devours with delight the airy gifts of the imagination, and it seems to him easier; but just woke up - the dream disappears ... there remains double hunger and despair!

I felt sad. And why would fate have thrown me into a peaceful circle of honest smugglers? Like a stone thrown into a smooth spring, I disturbed their calmness and, like a stone, I almost sank myself!

About women

The unflattering side of Pechorin and women, their logic and feelings does not pass by. It becomes clear that he avoids women with a strong character for the sake of his weaknesses, because such are not able to forgive him for indifference and mental stinginess, to understand and love him.

How to be? I have a premonition ... When I met a woman, I always guessed unmistakably whether she would love me or not ....

What a woman will not do to upset her rival! I remember one fell in love with me because I loved another. There is nothing more paradoxical than the female mind; it is difficult to convince women of anything, they must be brought to the point that they convince themselves; the order of evidence with which they destroy their warnings is very original; in order to learn their dialectics, you must overturn in your mind all the school rules of logic.

I must admit that I definitely do not like women with character: is it their business! .. True, now I remembered: once, only once I loved a woman with a strong will that I could never defeat ... We parted as enemies - and then maybe, if I had met her five years later, we would have parted differently ...

About the fear of getting married

At the same time, Pechorin honestly admits to himself that he is afraid to marry. He even finds the reason for this - as a child, a fortuneteller predicted his death from an evil wife

I sometimes despise myself ... isn't that why I despise others too? .. I became incapable of noble impulses; I'm afraid to seem ridiculous to myself. Anyone else in my place would have offered the princess son coeur et sa fortune; but over me the word “marry” has some kind of magical power: no matter how passionately I love a woman, if she only lets me feel that I must marry her, forgive love! my heart turns to stone and nothing will warm it up again. I am ready for all sacrifices except this one; twenty times my life, I will even put my honor on the line ... but I will not sell my freedom. Why do I value her so much? What do I have in it? .. where am I preparing myself? what do I expect from the future? .. Really, absolutely nothing. This is some kind of innate fear, an inexplicable premonition ... After all, there are people who are unconsciously afraid of spiders, cockroaches, mice ... Should I confess? .. When I was still a child, one old woman wondered about me to my mother; she predicted me death by an evil wife; it struck me deeply then; an irresistible aversion to marriage was born in my soul ... Meanwhile, something tells me that her prediction will come true; at least I will try to make it come true as late as possible.

About enemies

Pechorin is not afraid of enemies and even rejoices when they are.

Very glad; I love enemies, although not in a Christian way. They amuse me, excite my blood. To be always on the alert, to catch every glance, the meaning of every word, guess intentions, destroy conspiracies, pretend to be deceived, and suddenly, with one push, topple the entire huge and difficult building of their tricks and designs - that's what I call life.

about friendship

According to Pechorin himself, he cannot be friends:

I am incapable of friendship: of two friends, one is always a slave of the other, although often neither of them admits it to himself; I cannot be a slave, and in this case it is a tedious work to command, because at the same time it is necessary to deceive; and besides, I have lackeys and money!

About handicapped people

Pechorin speaks badly of the disabled, seeing in them the inferiority of the soul.

But what to do? I am often prone to prejudice ... I confess, I have a strong prejudice against all blind, crooked, deaf, dumb, legless, armless, hunchback, etc. I noticed that there is always some strange relationship between a person's appearance and his soul: as if with the loss of a member, the soul loses some feeling.

About fatalism

It is difficult to say for sure whether Pechorin believes in fate. Most likely he does not believe and even argued about it with. However, on the same evening he decided to try his luck himself and almost died. Pechorin is passionate and ready to say goodbye to life, he tests himself for strength. His determination and steadfastness, even in the face of mortal danger, are amazing.

I like to doubt everything: this disposition of the mind does not interfere with the decisiveness of character - on the contrary, as for me, I always go forward more boldly when I do not know what awaits me. After all, nothing worse than death will happen - and death cannot be avoided!

After all this, how does it seem not to become a fatalist? But who knows for sure whether he is convinced of what or not? .. and how often do we mistake deception of feelings or a blunder of reason for conviction! ..

At that moment, a strange thought flashed through my head: like Vulich, I decided to try my luck.

The shot rang out near my ear, the bullet tore off the epaulet

About death

Pechorin is not afraid of death. According to the hero, he has already seen and experienced everything possible in this life in dreams and dreams, and now he wanders aimlessly, spending the best qualities of his soul on fantasies.

Well? die so die! small loss to the world; and I'm pretty bored myself. I am like a man yawning at a ball, who does not go to sleep just because his carriage is not yet there. But the carriage is ready ... goodbye! ..

And maybe I will die tomorrow! .. and not a single creature will remain on earth that would understand me completely. Some esteem me worse, others better than I really ... Some will say: he was a good fellow, others - a scoundrel. Both will be false. Is it worth living after that? and all you live - out of curiosity: expecting something new ... Funny and annoying!

Pechorin has a passion for fast driving

Despite all the internal contradictions and oddities of character, Pechorin is able to truly enjoy nature and the power of the elements, he, like M.Yu. Lermontov is in love with mountain landscapes and seeks salvation in them from his restless mind

Returning home, I sat on horseback and galloped into the steppe; I like to ride a hot horse on the tall grass, against the desert wind; eagerly I swallow the fragrant air and direct my gaze into the blue distance, trying to catch the hazy outlines of objects that are becoming clearer and clearer every minute. Whatever sorrow lies on the heart, whatever anxiety torments the thought, everything will dissipate in a minute; the soul will become easy, the fatigue of the body will defeat the anxiety of the mind. There is no female 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 a cliff onto a cliff.

So, “Hero of Our Time” is a psychological novel, that is, a new word in Russian literature of the nineteenth century. This is a really special work for its time - it has a truly interesting structure: a Caucasian short story, travel notes, a diary…. But all the same, the main goal of the work is to reveal the image of an unusual, at first glance, strange person - Grigory Pechorin. This is indeed an extraordinary, special person. And the reader traces this throughout the entire novel.

Who is Pechorin,

and what is its main tragedy? We see the hero from the side of a variety of people, and can thus compose his psychological portrait. In the first chapters of the novel, you can see Grigory Pechorin through the eyes of Maxim Maksimych - a retired officer, a friend of the hero. “He was a strange man,” he says. But an elderly officer lives in a different time, in a different world and cannot give a complete and objective characterization. But already at the beginning of the novel, from the words of Maxim Maksimych, we understand that this is a special person. The next stage in the disclosure of the image is the description of Pechorin by an itinerant officer. He is closer to him both in age and in views,

and in the circle of communication, therefore, he can better open his inner world.

And the officer notices some features of appearance that are directly related to character. Much attention is paid to the description of gait, eyes, hands, figure. But gaze plays a key role. “His eyes didn't laugh when he laughed — a sign of either evil temper or overwhelming sadness.” And it is here that we are approaching the answer to the question: what is the hero's tragedy? The most complete answer is presented in the part of the novel illustrating the psychology of secular society - "Princess Mary". It is written in the form of a diary. And that is why we can talk about the real sincerity and genuineness of the story, because in the diary a person expresses feelings only for himself, and, as you know, it is pointless to lie to himself. And here Pechorin himself tells the reader about his tragedy. The text contains a large number of monologues in which the hero himself analyzes his actions, philosophizes about his purpose and inner world. And the main problem is that Pechorin constantly turns inward, evaluates his actions, words, which contributes to the discovery of his own vices and imperfections. And Pechorin says: "I have an innate passion to contradict ..." He fights with the world around him. It may seem that this is an angry and indifferent person, but this is by no means the case. His inner world is deep and vulnerable. He is tormented by the bitterness of misunderstanding by society. “Everyone read the signs of bad qualities on my face ...” Perhaps this is the main tragedy. He deeply felt good and evil, could love, but those around him did not understand, and his best qualities were stifled. All feelings were hidden in the most distant corners of the soul. He became a “moral cripple”. And he himself writes that half of his soul has died, and the second is barely alive. But she's alive! True feelings still live in Pechorin. But they are strangled. In addition, the hero is tormented by boredom and loneliness. However, feelings break through in this person, when he runs after Vera, he falls and cries - it means that he is still really a person! But suffering is an unbearable test for him. And you can see that the tragedy of Pechorin echoes the tragedy of Pushkin's Onegin - Pechorin cannot find recognition in life, he is not interested in science, the service is boring ...

Thus, there are several main problems: lack of understanding of society, lack of self-realization. And the society did not understand Grigory Pechorin. He thought that he was destined for higher goals, but the misunderstanding turned into a tragedy for him - he broke his life and divided his soul into two halves - dark and light.

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1. Pechorin and his entourage. Disclosure of the character of the hero.
2. Pechorin and Maxim Maksimych.
3. Pechorin and Grushnitsky.
4. The role of Werner in the narrative.

Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin, the main character in the novel "A Hero of Our Time" by M. Yu. Lermontov, throughout the story revolves in different circles, among different strata of society. He is shown surrounded by secular society - his environment by position (in the chapter "Princess Mary"), among the highlanders ("Bela"), falls into the circle of smugglers ("Taman"), and does not find a suitable environment for himself. This is a lone hero. The author characterizes Pechorin through the lips of secondary heroes-storytellers, his contemporaries. All these people perceive Grigory Alexandrovich and judge him differently, each from the height of his life experience. As a result, we have the opportunity to look at it from different angles. A portrait of the hero of the time is gradually formed before the reader. Who tells us about him? This is an unnamed officer, Maksim Maksimych and Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin himself, speaking to the reader through his diary.

Undoubtedly, he himself has the most accurate information about the hero, and a diary is a way to write down his thoughts, can tell a lot about his master. How does Pechorin characterize himself? He admits that he cannot swim and has a prejudice against crippled people - he is frightened by "a strange relationship between a person's appearance and his soul: as if, with the loss of a member, the soul loses some feeling." The incident with the smugglers helps us evaluate the hero as an inquisitive, risky, determined person. But, having left the peaceful smugglers, he is no longer interested in them, he does not care "about the joys and disasters of men." In "Princess Mary" Pechorin appears before us as an experimenter over those around him. He first arouses hatred in the princess, then kindling her love. Pechorin notes his passion to contradict, this is what drives him - noticing that Mary singled out Grushnitsky, he envies and wants to anger him. "Ever since I live and act, fate has somehow always led me to the denouement of other people's dramas, as if without me no one could either die or despair!" - Pechorin says about himself, thinking that his purpose is to destroy other people's hopes.

We also learn that the hero is capable of a strong feeling. On the waters, he meets a woman whom Pechorin used to love. He calls her "the only woman in the world whom he would not be able to deceive", this is the only woman who accepted and understood Pechorin "with all the minor weaknesses, bad passions."

Now let's see what impression the hero makes on those around him. How does Maxim Maksimych perceive him? Pechorin is incomprehensible to him: “He was a nice fellow, I dare to assure you; only a little strange ... there really are some kind of people who are written in their own family that various extraordinary things should happen to them. " Head-captain Maksim Maksimych is the complete opposite of Pechorin, he is a man of a different era, a different upbringing and temperament, position. He can harbor warm, sincere feelings for the hero, as for an old acquaintance, but he tries in vain to understand him. Pechorin and Maxim Maksimych perceive what surrounds them from completely opposite points of view. Maxim Maksimych will never challenge the orders of his superiors and think about them, and one of Pechorin's properties is to weigh everything. Maksim Maksimych speaks of him as a person "with whom one must certainly agree." The captain-captain agrees with the customs of the mountaineers, while Pechorin does not limit himself to any limits, as soon as he left the care of his relatives, he wanted to experience all the pleasures: “My soul is spoiled by light, my imagination is restless, my heart is insatiable; everything is not enough for me; I get used to sadness as easily as to pleasure, and my life becomes empty day after day; I have only one means left: to travel. " A chance meeting with Pechorin pleases Maxim Maksimych, he is ready to throw himself on his neck, but the coldness and indifference of Pechorin surprises the captain, although Grigory Alexandrovich tells him that he has remained the same.

How does the officer, the witness of his meeting with Maksim Maksimych, see Pechorin? He notices a careless lazy gait - a sign of some secrecy of character, Grigory Alexandrovich's eyes did not laugh when he laughed. This is, as the narrator says, "a sign of either an evil disposition or deep, constant sadness." His look is indifferently calm.

The officer is much closer to Pechorin in age than Maksim Maksimych, so for him the hero is more understandable. What the captain does not understand in Pechorin's behavior is for an officer the characteristic features of his contemporaries. After reviewing Pechorin's magazine, an unnamed officer tells the reader that “he became convinced of the sincerity of the one who so mercilessly exposed his own weaknesses and vices,” because the story of a hero of our time is written without vanity.

Junker Grushnitsky is a dandy young man who speaks with elaborate pompous phrases, who loves to declaim. This young man expects to produce an effect and looks like a parody of Pechorin. What are the only words of Pechorin that Grushnitsky is reputed to be a brave man, but this is not Russian bravery - he rushes forward with a sword, closing his eyes. The reason for his arrival in the Caucasus "will remain an eternal secret between him and heaven." Pechorin does not like him and feels the inevitability of a collision. Not only did Grushnitsky provoke him to a clash, taking Princess Mary from Pechorin from under his nose. Grushnitsky is arrogant and self-righteous, while Pechorin behaves simply, naturally, like a spectator in a theater, where the play is played out according to his scenario and ends with a duel. In a duel, Grushnitsky is not honest - knowing that Pechorin's pistol is not loaded, he refuses reconciliation in order to make Pechorin a coward. Pechorin, however, shows himself to be a courageous and noble person. He invites Grushnitsky to remember that they were friends and give up slander. This infuriates the cadet - he demands to shoot, says that he despises himself and hates the hero, he will kill him at night from around the corner if he does not kill him now.

Dr. Werner, whose prototype was Lermontov's acquaintance, Dr. Mayer, can be called the person who understands Pechorin best of all. Pechorin himself characterizes Werner as "a wonderful man for many reasons." The skeptic, materialist and poet Werner, who studies the strings of the human heart, said that he would rather do a favor to an enemy than to a friend; was nicknamed Mephistopheles for his appearance. It is easy with Werner Pechorin, they could become friends, but the fact is that neither one nor the other considers friendship to be an equal relationship. Here, everyone is for himself: "The sad is funny to us, the funny is sad, but in general, in truth, we are pretty indifferent to everything, except ourselves." They are fenced off from society by their union, it is easy for the two of them. They do not cause rejection from each other, while those around them turn away from them. Having started a story with Grushnitsky and Princess Mary together, they expect entertainment out of boredom.

Observing Werner, we can conclude that a little younger he was the same as the hero of our time: the same intellect, the same ironic mindset. What did time do to him? He became a disappointed skeptic about everything. After the duel, Werner and Pechorin part coldly. Werner believes that Pechorin committed a deliberate murder of Grushnitsky, the hero himself is not disappointed - it has become habitual for him that people “know in advance all the bad sides of an act ..., even approve of it ... and then wash their hands and turn away with indignation. who had the courage to take on all the burden of responsibility ”. Werner is interested in experiments on people only as a passive observer, while Pechorin is active and always goes to the end, analyzing everything that happened.

Pechorin is a hero of his time, but is the time ready for such a hero? Alas, not yet. What would have happened to Pechorin is unknown. Would he be the same as Werner, surrendering without a fight? The life of a hero of our time was interrupted on his way from Persia, leaving us no answer to this question.

So, "A Hero of Our Time" is a psychological novel, that is, a new word in Russian literature of the nineteenth century. This is a really special work for its time - it has a truly interesting structure: a Caucasian short story, travel notes, a diary…. But nevertheless, the main goal of the work is to reveal the image of an unusual, at first glance, strange person - Grigory Pechorin. This is indeed an extraordinary, special person. And the reader traces this throughout the entire novel. Who is Pechorin, and what is his main tragedy? We see the hero from the side of a variety of people, and can thus compose his psychological portrait. In the first chapters of the novel, you can see Grigory Pechorin through the eyes of Maxim Maksimych, a retired officer, a friend of the hero.

“He was a strange man,” he says. But an elderly officer lives in a different time, in a different world and cannot give a complete and objective characterization. But already at the beginning of the novel, from the words of Maxim Maksimych, we understand that this is a special person. The next stage in the disclosure of the image is the description of Pechorin by an itinerant officer. He is closer to him both in age, and in views, and in the circle of communication, therefore, he can better reveal his inner world. And the officer notices some features of appearance that are directly related to character. Much attention is paid to the description of gait, eyes, hands, figure. But gaze plays a key role. "His eyes didn't laugh when he laughed — this is a sign of either an evil disposition or overwhelming sadness." And it is here that we are approaching the answer to the question: what is the hero's tragedy? The most complete answer is presented in the part of the novel illustrating the psychology of secular society - "Princess Mary". It is written in the form of a diary. And that is why we can talk about the real sincerity and genuineness of the narrative, because in the diary a person expresses feelings only for himself, and, as you know, it makes no sense to lie to himself. And here Pechorin himself tells the reader about his tragedy. The text contains a large number of monologues in which the hero himself analyzes his actions, philosophizes about his purpose and inner world. And the main problem is that Pechorin constantly turns inward, evaluates his actions, words, which contributes to the discovery of his own vices and imperfections. And Pechorin says: "I have an innate passion to contradict ..." He fights with the world around him. It may seem that this is an angry and indifferent person, but this is by no means the case. His inner world is deep and vulnerable. He is tormented by the bitterness of misunderstanding by society. "Everyone read the signs of bad qualities on my face ..." Perhaps this is the main tragedy. He deeply felt good and evil, he could love, but those around him did not understand, and his best qualities were stifled. All feelings were hidden in the most distant corners of the soul. He became a "moral cripple." And he himself writes that half of his soul has died, and the second is barely alive. But she's alive! True feelings still live in Pechorin. But they are strangled. In addition, the hero is tormented by boredom and loneliness. However, feelings break through in this person, when he runs after Vera, he falls and cries - it means that he is still really a person! But suffering is an unbearable test for him. And you can see that Pechorin's tragedy echoes the tragedy of Pushkin's Onegin - Pechorin cannot find recognition in life, science is not interesting to him, service is boring ... Thus, there are several main problems: lack of understanding of society, lack of self-realization. And the society did not understand Grigory Pechorin. He thought that he was intended for higher goals, but the misunderstanding turned into a tragedy for him - he broke his life and divided his soul into two halves - dark and light.