Analysis of the episode of the duel between Lensky and Onegin: what significance does it have in the novel? About Eugene Onegin number three How the main character is revealed in this scene.

In A. S. Pushkin's novel "Eugene Onegin" one of the saddest scenes is the duel between Lensky and Onegin. But why did the author decide to bring them together in a duel? What motivated the young people? Could this situation have been avoided? Below we will present an analysis of the episode of the duel between Lensky and Onegin.

Before moving on to the discussion, let's compose the duels of Onegin and Lensky. This is necessary so that the review of the scene proceeds sequentially, and the reader can understand why this episode was introduced into the novel.

Reasons for the fight

Why did Lensky challenge his friend to a duel? Readers remember that Vladimir was a man of a soft, romantic disposition, unlike Evgeniy - a world-weary, always bored, cynical person. The reason for the duel is banal - jealousy. But who was jealous and why?

Lensky brought Onegin to Larina. If Vladimir had his own interest (he was the groom of the birthday girl’s sister, Olga), then Evgeniy was bored. Added to this is the attention of Tatyana, who is in love with him. All this only irritates the young man, and he chose Lensky as the reason for his bad mood.

Onegin decides to take revenge on his friend for ruining the evening and begins to court his fiancee. Olga was a flighty girl, so she happily accepted Evgeniy’s advances. Lensky does not understand what is happening, and, deciding to put an end to it, invites her to dance. But Olga ignores his invitation and continues to waltz with Onegin. Humiliated, Lensky leaves the celebration and challenges his only friend to a duel.

Brief description of the duel between Onegin and Lensky

Evgeniy receives a call through Zaretsky, an acquaintance of Lensky. Onegin understands that he was to blame, that such stupidity is not worth shooting over. best friends. He repents and realizes that the meeting could have been avoided, but proud young people do not refuse the fateful meeting...

When analyzing the episode of the duel between Lensky and Onegin, it is necessary to note Eugene’s attempts to provoke Vladimir’s refusal to duel: he is an hour late, appoints a servant as his second. But Lensky prefers not to notice this and waits for his friend.

Zaretsky counts down the required number of steps, the young people are preparing to shoot. While Lensky takes aim, Onegin shoots first. Vladimir dies instantly, Evgeniy, shocked by this, leaves. Zaretsky, having taken Lensky's body, goes to the Larins.

Could there have been a different outcome of the fight?

Analyzing the episode of the duel between Lensky and Onegin, it should be noted what role Zaretsky played in this story. If you read the novel carefully, you can find lines that hint that it was he who persuaded Lensky to challenge Onegin to shoot himself.

It was also within Zaretsky’s power to prevent the fight. After all, Evgeniy realized his guilt and no longer wanted to participate in this farce. And according to the rules, Levin’s second should have tried to reconcile the rivals, but this was not done. Zaretsky could cancel the duel simply because Onegin was late for it, and his second was a servant, although according to the rules of the duel, only people of equal social status could be seconds. Zaretsky was the only commander of the duel, but he did nothing to prevent the fatal duel.

Result of the duel

What happened to Onegin after the duel? Nothing, he just left the village. In those days, duels were prohibited, so it is obvious that the cause of Lensky’s death was presented to the police in a completely different way. A simple monument was erected to Vladimir Lensky, his bride Olga soon forgot about him and married someone else.

How is the main character revealed in this scene?

When schoolchildren write an essay analyzing the episode of the duel between Onegin and Lensky, they pay great attention to the side from which Eugene is revealed. It seems that he does not depend on the opinions of society and is tired of the circle of aristocrats with whom he carouses and has fun. But is it because he does not refuse a duel that he is actually afraid of what society will say about him? What if he is considered a coward who did not defend his honor?

Analysis of the episode of the duel between Lensky and Onegin presents a slightly different image before the reader’s eyes: Eugene is a weak-willed person who is guided not by his own judgments, but by the opinion of the world. To please his egoism, he decided to take revenge on Vladimir, without thinking about what would hurt his feelings. Yes, he tried to avoid the fight, but still he did not apologize and did not explain anything to his friend.

At the end of the analysis of the episode of the duel between Lensky and Onegin, one should write about the significance of the scene for the novel. It is in this fight that Eugene’s true character is revealed. Here his spiritual weakness and duality of nature are manifested. Zaretsky can be compared to secular society, whose condemnation the hero is so afraid of.

Lensky's death suggests that people of fine spiritual organization cannot survive in deceit. They are too sublime, sensitive and sincere. It is worth noting that Eugene Onegin is a collective character who has absorbed the typical features of secular society.

But as readers know, the author did not spare Onegin, and in literature he is considered a cynical hero with a hard heart. He rejected Tatyana's love, destroyed his friend, and played with human feelings. And when I repented and realized that I was doing wrong, it was already too late. Onegin never found his happiness, his destiny is loneliness among people who are not interesting to him...

It was brief analysis episode of the duel between Onegin and Lensky, which reveals the essence of this scene in the work.

In the very first lines of the novel main character, Eugene Onegin, is characterized as a selfish person, caring only about his comfort and well-being, because it is a burden for him to care for his dying uncle, to pretend to be attentive and caring:

Having arrived in the village and buried a relative, Onegin after some time meets Lensky, a local young landowner who recently returned from Germany. They spend a lot of time together: they go for horse rides, argue on various topics, becoming “nothing to do” friends, as the author writes. What about friends?

Evgeniy, who in every possible way avoided communication with local landowners, became close to Lensky. The reason for the rapprochement is the same age of the heroes, the fact that both of them “the gentlemen of the neighboring villages... did not like feasts,” perhaps even the fact that in other respects they were completely different people. Evgeniy has long been disillusioned with secular friendship, he does not love, but only plays with feelings, he is tired of social life, he has not found his favorite thing. But Lensky perceives life enthusiastically, sincerely (since childhood) loves Olga, believes in true friendship, and writes poetry. The author writes:

This dissimilarity brought the heroes together, but it also led to the death of Vladimir Lensky. The usual misunderstanding, as well as excessive selfishness of Onegin, who, having believed Lensky, who said that only close people would be at Tatyana’s name day, upon arrival discovered the entire “village world” and decided to take revenge on Lensky. And he takes revenge in accordance with his character: he begins to show signs of attention to Olga, who favorably, not noticing how wounded her fiancé is, accepts Evgeniy’s advances.

Unable to hide his feelings, Lensky challenges his “friend” to a duel. Vladimir does not understand the changes in Onegin, and does not try to analyze his behavior and the reasons for his action. He does not so much defend his honor as save Olga from Evgeniy. “He thinks: “I will be her savior. I will not tolerate the corrupter tempting a young heart with fire and sighs and praises...” It doesn’t even occur to him that this is another game of Onegin, a way of taking revenge for the irritation he experienced at the sight of numerous guests. After all, Lensky is a romantic, for him the world is divided into black and white, and he takes Onegin’s courtship of his bride at face value.

Onegin understands that he was wrong, even feels remorse: “And rightly so: in a strict analysis, calling himself to a secret trial, He accused himself of many things...”. But the rules of secular society are merciless, and Onegin, fearing to be accused of cowardice, accepts the challenge: “An old duelist intervened; He is angry, he is a gossip, he is talkative... Of course, there should be contempt at the cost of his funny words, But the whisper, the laughter of fools...”

The behavior of the heroes before the duel once again convinces the reader of their “differences”: Lensky worries that he “discovered Schiller,” but cannot help but think about Olga and writes love poems. Onegin “slept like a dead sleep at that time” and almost overslept.

According to the rules of that time, Onegin could prevent the duel by apologizing to Lensky and explaining the reasons for his behavior; or shoot into the air.

But he doesn’t even think about it. I believe that perhaps he would even consider it humiliating for himself.

Lensky's death was a tragic accident also because Evgeniy fired a few moments earlier:

And Lensky, squinting his left eye, also began to aim - but Onegin just fired... Eugene is amazed by the death of his friend: Killed!.. Smitten by this terrible exclamation, Onegin walks away with a shudder and calls people. Remorse forces the hero to leave the village and go traveling.

Considering himself a friend of Lensky, Onegin could not stand the test of friendship, again putting his own feelings and interests above all else.

“First of all, it should be noted that the duel was scheduled secretly. As follows from chapter six of the novel, Lensky, having left the ball, turned to his friend Zaretsky with a request to be his second in the duel and take his challenge to Onegin.

Short call or cartel:

Courteously, with cold clarity

Lensky invited his friend to a duel.

(stanza IX)

A secret, rather than a public challenge to a duel, was chosen by Lensky precisely because he could not explain to the world, without revealing Tatyana’s secrets and his fears about Olga, the reason for his behavior. We find further confirmation of this in stanza XVIII of chapter six:

If only Tatyana knew,

When would she have known

What tomorrow Lensky and Evgeniy

They will argue about the grave canopy;

Oh maybe her love

I would unite my friends again!

From stanza X of the same chapter it follows that Onegin doubts whether he should complete his plan, but then, frightened by gossip in the world from Zaretsky (“He is angry, he is a gossip, he is talkative,” stanza XI), he accepts the challenge.

But the most interesting thing is that the murder of Lensky in a duel was also secret and was passed off as suicide. This is understandable. It was difficult for Onegin, like Lensky, to explain the incident without giving away the essence of the conflict. It is much easier to imagine this death as the suicide of a rejected lover. But everything is in order. So,

“Well, should we start?” - Let's start, perhaps -

Vladimir said. And let's go

For the mill. While away

We entered into an important agreement.

(Chapter Six, Stanza XXVII)

Killed...! With this terrible exclamation

Smitten, Onegin with a shudder

He leaves and calls people.

Zaretsky carefully puts

There is a frozen corpse on the sleigh;

It is clear that the duel took place in winter. But! Any forensic expert will tell you that even in twenty-degree frost, a dead person (mind you, dressed for the weather) will not immediately become frozen. What did Onegin, Zaretsky and Monsieur Guillier do near the ossified, frozen corpse of Lensky for several hours before he became numb? What did they agree on? Why did Lensky's corpse lie on the ground for so long? Why wasn’t the murdered Lensky immediately loaded into a cart and taken to a doctor or to the estate?

Perhaps the idea to present Lensky’s death as suicide did not come to them right away. (We will return to the substantiation of this version later). Now I will say that such an interpretation of events made it possible, firstly, to hide the very fact of the duel, secondly, to hide its cause, thirdly, to avoid trial and criminal punishment for Onegin, if not for premeditated murder committed in order to hide another crime, then for murder in a duel. Perhaps the whole trio deliberately waited for Lensky’s corpse to cool down, so that in society they could present the event as if they had found Lensky behind the mill, having already shot himself and frozen in the cold.

So why should we believe that Lensky's death was presented as a suicide? Let us remember where Lensky was buried. Pushkin devotes as many as two stanzas (XL and XLI) of chapter six to such an insignificant, at first glance, fact:

There is a place: to the left of the village,

Where did the pet of inspiration live?

Two pine trees have grown together by their roots;

The streams twisted beneath them

Streams of the neighboring valley.

There by the stream in the thick shade

A simple monument was erected.

And one more, the last evidence of the crimes committed by Onegin. In stanza XIV of chapter seven, Pushkin describes Tatyana Larina’s condition after Olga’s wedding:

Her passion burns more intensely,

And about distant Onegin

Her heart speaks louder.

She won't see him;

She must hate him

The murderer of his brother;

The poet died...

In light of the above, the denouement of the novel is interesting. During our school years, we wrote essays in which we tried to explain the cold meeting between Tatiana and Onegin as her duty to her husband. But is it really that simple? First of all, let's calculate the age of the heroes of our novel at this moment. The easiest way to do this is by analyzing the data reported by Pushkin about Tatyana Larina. So, at the time of her meeting with Onegin, she was 13 years old. In winter, January was her name day. She turned 14. Then Lensky’s death, Olga’s marriage in the spring. And the next winter, when Tatyana turns 15, she and her mother go to Moscow, where at the ball “that fat general” draws attention to her (stanza LIV of chapter seven). At the time of her meeting with Onegin, Tatyana had already been married to the general for two years (stanza XVIII, chapter eight). In total, at the time of her last meeting with Onegin, she was somewhere around 18 years old. Tatyana has become an adult. Accordingly, Onegin is about 30. About the age of the general, Tatyana’s husband, we can only say that he is much older than Tatyana. Pushkin describes it this way in stanza XXIX of chapter eight:

At the turn of our years,

The dead trace of passion is sad:

So the storms of autumn are cold

A meadow is turned into a swamp

And they expose the forest around.

And he raised his nose and shoulders

The general who came in with her.

(stanza XV of chapter eight)

How firmly she stepped into her role!

Like an oppressive rank

Accepted appointments soon!

Let's remember how Tatyana Onegina receives her:

There is not a single soul in the hallway.

He opened the door. What about him

Does it strike with such force?

The princess is in front of him, alone,

Sits, not dressed, pale.

(stanza XL of chapter eight)

As if struck by thunder.

But a sudden ringing sound rang out,

And Tatyana's husband showed up

(stanza XLVIII of chapter eight)

In a moment that is evil for him,

Reader, we will now leave,

Onegin and Lensky became friends only because in their environment there were no more people of the appropriate age, education, and position. “Friends with nothing to do” met almost every day and spent time together. They needed each other: Lensky needed Onegin as a listener, a connoisseur of his poetry, as interesting conversationalist, having his own original point of view, like an image, mysterious and romantic, which he would certainly have embodied in his future poem if he had time... Why Onegin needed Lensky is more difficult to answer. Perhaps he, disappointed in life, was interested in watching how an enthusiastic and ardent poet would lose faith in his ideals, what this romantic, constantly in the clouds, would be like when he met the first blows of fate. But time passed and everything remained the same: Lensky, in love, spoke enthusiastic nonsense, and Onegin became angry and irritated more and more. The reason for his bad mood was his recent conversation with Tatyana and also the fact that Lensky, feeling and seeing nothing but his happiness, does not even try to understand his friend’s mood and persistently persuades him to attend the Larins’ party. The desire to teach the young egoist a lesson becomes stronger due to the feeling of the absurdity of the situation: he refused Tatyana and suddenly showed up to her on her name day, as if he had come to his senses, as if he was allowing the unfortunate girl to relive her vain hopes. Courting Olga is also a desire to take revenge on Lensky, returning him from heaven to earth, and a desire to escape forever from new explanations with Tatyana. Did Onegin imagine that Lensky would challenge him to a duel? Of course yes. How could the groom have acted differently at a time when a friend compromised his bride Olga in front of the entire Larin family and invited guests. The fact that the duel took place was largely due to the dependence of both friends on the “opinions of the world.” None of them wanted to “discover feelings, and not bristle like an animal,” simply fearing that these feelings would be regarded as cowardice. Onegin, who knows how to shoot perfectly, shot at the inexperienced duelist Lensky first. How many generations of readers have been breaking spears in disputes about why he did not shoot in the air - the noble Lensky in this case would have had no choice but to do the same. Maybe this is a subconscious desire to survive in order to experience a real feeling? Or maybe a conscious desire to be a fatal “demonic” hero in the eyes of others? Did the poet want to punish his hero with the eternal torments of remorse or reward him with the newfound ability to suffer and love that redeems him? It's difficult to answer. The genius of the work is that it makes you think, worry, and everyone searches for their own answers to many controversial questions.

Lensky's death is described differently than all the others. This is the culmination of the plot, an event that decides the fate of all the main characters. You can treat Lensky condescendingly, notice all the ironic maxims about him, generously scattered by Pushkin, but you cannot ignore the fact that the death of the young poet is in the author, and in his heroes (even at first in Olga, who personifies the human and literary standard), and in readers-characters (for example, in “Young City Woman”), and simply in the readers constantly resonates with bitterness and compassion. V.G. Belinsky, despite serious reasons, in vain considered Lensky’s death the most worthy way out of the inevitable vulgarization in the future. The vulgarization is problematic, and, moreover, it seems to us that Pushkin left Lensky’s possible fate unpredictable and at the same time set a small trap for readers, inviting them to solve the alternative to stanzas XXXVII and XXXIX of the sixth chapter from the position of “superiority, perhaps imaginary.” Lensky's death, of course, is a great misfortune, which occurred primarily due to the irreparable mistake of the protagonist. In this regard, let us recall the first reaction of the culprit of the bloody drama:

* In the anguish of heart remorse,
*Clenching the pistol in my hand,
* Evgeniy looks at Lensky.
* “Well, what then? killed,” the neighbor decided.
* Killed!.. With this terrible exclamation
* Smitten, Onegin with a shudder
* He leaves and calls people.
* (VI, 132)

Zaretsky pronounces his remark in a deliberately registering tone, but his even “killed” echoes in Onegin’s soul with a “terrible exclamation.”

Lensky's death takes up virtually the entire second half of the novel. It can be said to be multiplied in the text, paradoxically repeated. If we hardly remember cursory remarks about the death of many characters, then the murder of Lensky clearly occurs twice: Onegin kills him with a “long knife” in Tatyana’s dream and kills him with a pistol in a duel. After all, in poetic world dream and reality are equally real (12)*. The death of the poet is also described in the philistine mode. Lensky is, as it were, killed once in advance, twice for real, and once again dies posthumously. An absolute event, on the one hand, is strengthened by these repetitions, and on the other hand, it becomes probabilistic. Hidden behind the text in the missing stanza XXXVIII of the sixth chapter is the heroic mode of death:

* He could make a formidable journey,
* So that last time die
* In view of the ceremonial trophies,
* Like our Kutuzov or Nelson,
* Or in exile, like Napoleon,
* Or be hanged like Ryleev.

By the way, the high mode of stanza XXXVII is preceded by stanza XXXVI, which is quoted much less frequently. In it, the death of the poet is given in reminiscences of many mournful elegiac lamentations with a characteristic exclamation “where”:

* Withered! Where is the hot excitement?
* Where is the noble aspiration
* And the feelings and thoughts of the young,
* Tall, gentle, daring?
* Where are the wild desires of love...

So, the death of Lensky, with its various echoes throughout the second half of the novel (only the fourth chapter remains completely outside the motive, although there are “overtones” in it) receives much more weight than all the other deaths combined. Our initial impression of death as a natural moment in the cycle of existence suddenly shifts sharply along a large amplitude of meaning. At first life and death are almost equated with each other, and then death turns out to be a dramatic event. Pushkin calmly allows this antithesis to remain, and the two assessments of death give rise to structural and semantic tension with their irreducible contradiction.