Lermontov, “Hero of Our Time”: description of heroes. Grigory Pechorin from the novel M

Grigory Pechorin - central character M. Yu. Lermontov’s novel “A Hero of Our Time,” which appeared in the late 30s and early 40s of the 19th century and caused ambiguous and very diverse reactions among readers. This is the first socio-psychological novel in Russian classical literature and all the plot twists, events and minor characters shown in order to fully reveal Pechorin’s character and personal characteristics.

The novel includes five stories, representing some stages in the development of Pechorin's personality and revealing all the depths of his complex and ambiguous character to the reader.

Characteristics of the hero

Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin is a young attractive aristocrat and officer from St. Petersburg, a typical representative of the youth of the 30s of the nineteenth century. He has received proper education and upbringing, is rich and independent, has an attractive appearance and is popular with people of the opposite sex. At the same time, he is dissatisfied with his life and is spoiled by luxury. He quickly gets bored with everything and sees no opportunity for himself to become happy. Pechorin is in perpetual motion and in search of himself: now he is in a Caucasian fortress, now on vacation in Pyatigorsk, now with smugglers in Taman. Even death awaits him when he travels from Persia to his homeland.

With the help of a detailed description of the hero's appearance, the author tries to reveal his character to us. Pechorin is not deprived of masculine attractiveness, he is strong, slender and fit, the military uniform suits him very well. He has curly blond hair, expressive brown eyes, cold and arrogant, they never laugh and it is impossible to read thoughts from their expression. Blonde hair combined with a dark mustache and eyebrows give his appearance individuality and originality.

(Pechorin on horseback, drawing)

Pechorin's soul burns with a thirst for activity, but he does not know where to apply himself and therefore, wherever he appears, he sows evil and sadness around him. Because of a stupid duel, his friend Grushnitsky dies, through his fault the daughter of the Caucasian Circassian prince Bela dies, for the sake of entertainment he falls in love with himself, and then leaves Princess Mary without regret. Because of him, the only woman he loved, Vera, suffers, but he also cannot make her happy and she is doomed to suffer.

The image of the main character

Pechorin is drawn to people, longs for communication, but does not see a response in their souls, because he is not like them, their thoughts, desires and feelings do not coincide at all, which makes him strange and unlike others. Pechorin, like Pushkin’s Evgeny Onegin, is burdened by his calm and measured life, but unlike Pushkin’s hero, he is constantly looking for ways to add spice to his life, and not finding it, he suffers greatly from it. His own whims have always been and will be in first place for him, and he is ready to do anything to satisfy his desires. He likes to manipulate people and subjugate them, he enjoys power over them.

At the same time, Pechorin also has positive qualities and, in addition to reproaches and censure, he fully deserves sympathy and sympathy. He is distinguished by a sharp mind and, judging others, is quite self-critical and demanding of himself. Pechorin is no stranger to poetry and lyrical moods; he subtly feels nature and admires its beauty. During a duel, he shows enviable courage and bravery, he is not a coward and does not retreat back, his cold-bloodedness is at its best. Despite his own egoism, Pechorin is capable of real feelings, for example in relation to Vera; it turns out that he can also be sincere and knows how to love.

(M.A. Vrubel "Duel of Pechorin with Grushnitsky" 1890-1891)

Pechorin's personality is so complex and ambiguous that it is impossible to say with certainty what feelings he evokes in readers: sharp condemnation and hostility, or sympathy and understanding. The main features of his character are the inconsistency between his thoughts and actions, opposition to surrounding circumstances and turns of fate. The hero is seething with desires to act, but most often his actions result either in empty and useless actions, or, on the contrary, bring pain and misfortune to his loved ones. Having created the image of Pechorin, a unique hero of his time, whose prototypes Lermontov met at every step, the author wanted to focus on the moral responsibility of each person for his thoughts and actions, for life choices and how they can affect the people around him.

"Hero of Our Time" - last great work Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, which was published in full in the year of his death. However, taking into account the whole logic of the development of the writer’s genius, it can be assumed that if his life had not been cut short so early, this would have been only the beginning. Lermontov promised to grow into the greatest Russian prose writer, since nothing equal to this work existed in Russian literature at that time.

Preface that changed the perception of the work

Lermontov began to think about prose in the late thirties. In the forties, the first edition of the novel “A Hero of Our Time” was published, and a year later - the second. They differed in the preface, which Mikhail Yuryevich added in the second version. In it he expressed several important thoughts. First of all, all suspicions about the identification of the author with the character of the work that Lermontov wrote - “A Hero of Our Time” are swept aside here. "Pechorin is not me!" - says Mikhail Yurievich. He emphasizes that he is writing a novel not about himself, but about a hero of his time.

The second commentary, contained in the preface, also shifted many of the accents in the perception of the work. Lermontov mentions the naivety of the public, which always expects direct conclusions or morality. Who is the "hero of our time"? Pechorin or someone else? Here Mikhail Yuryevich openly mocks those who hope to see answers to their questions at the end of the work.

"Hero of our time." Pechorin's analysis and his understanding of the meaning of life

In this work, Lermontov makes an attempt - consistent, clear and very large-scale - to answer the question of what type of personality or character is the bearer of the key properties of time. And how are such qualities motivated by external conditions? Why is Pechorin a “hero of our time” and why does he live in this particular period?

The work contains a very complex meaning. The fact is that the “hero of our time” Pechorin is not so much motivated by external conditions, but, on the contrary, resists them. The novel contains a minimum of facts, references to history, to the large national scale of events.

The character seems to exist separately from the events taking place at this time. And he lives a very incomprehensible life. It's not clear what he's aiming for. Is he making a career, does he want to get another rank, meet true love. There are no answers to these questions.

The image of the main character created by others

How the personality of this character differs from other images of the work “A Hero of Our Time” shows him as a person constantly contradicting himself. And yet, the reader still understands his logic, and what kind of person he is, in principle. The difficulties of the character of the main character, this elusive "hero of the time", correspond to the entire complexity of the view of him.

Mikhail Yuryevich creates a very complex system, combining different narrators and witnesses who describe events. As a result, the reader does not get closer to the answers to his questions, but, on the contrary, seems to move away from them.

There are descriptions of the events seen by Maxim Maksimovich, a rather simple-minded officer. He lives next to Pechorin and treats him with deep sympathy, but sees in him not the person he really is. The complex, contradictory image of the main character is presented throughout the novel through the eyes of various characters, including himself.

Lonely and self-absorbed personality

Not only the main, but also a rather complex character in the work “Hero of Our Time” is Pechorin. The characteristics of his personality are created with the help of the people around him. And when they analyze this person from the outside, sometimes their opinions do not coincide with his own point of view. Since, for example, Maxim notices much more in him than he does himself. Observes those properties that are not visible to him.

And this happens to every person who, like the character in the novel “Hero of Our Time” Pechorin, is deep in himself. He has almost no friends, with the exception of Dr. Werner. And it is very important that to see the main thing in this person, her best qualities maybe just an outside observer.

The mystery of the main character's character

What are you always doing? chief Pechorin? He is absorbed in constant search for himself. And in most cases they turn out to be a search for love, passion, truly close, cordial, friendly relationships with a woman.

Alone with himself, this is very Any of his actions gives rise to reaction. Any action does not turn out to be the result that he expected. He’s like a director who builds his life and sees himself constantly from the outside. And all this is painful and destructive for the individual. After all, it is unnatural to constantly think about yourself.

The author's special intention in the work

Mikhail Yuryevich is absolutely original. Relying on familiar literary patterns, he offers the reader something completely unusual. Each event in the novel is seen from different points of view, and none is dominant.

To understand Lermontov’s work, it is necessary to arrange the stories included in the novel “A Hero of Our Time” in sequence real events. Mikhail Yuryevich builds his own author’s chronology, which is different from the reality of what is happening. This sets a special artistic logic for the development of the concept of depicting a “hero of our time” - a person who embodies the essence of that period.

What else is characteristic of the work “A Hero of Our Time”? Pechorin's quotes, present throughout the novel, are filled with deep meaning and reveal the essence of the character's character. Unable to apply his energy and talent externally, to direct his aspirations to some external object, he turns them on himself. And every time he acts as the executioner of those people he loves.

Key to the main character's character

The reader analyzes why Pechorin is a “hero of our time” throughout the entire work, but the philosophical key to his image is found precisely in the story “Fatalist.” It is no coincidence that it encapsulates the entire novel. Here lies the confidence that fate cannot be contradicted, everything is predetermined. And the predictions in the story strangely come true. And at the same time, Pechorin, every time, being confident in the fatality of the events taking place, resists them.

This is a person who interferes with events, tries to change them, being at the same time convinced that this is an absolutely useless activity. A completely incomprehensible personality, every action of which guarantees the opposite result, and the desire for activity ultimately contains powerlessness.

The invisible presence of the author in the novel

Thanks to the novel, contemporaries could rethink situations, facts, and everyday details. For example, the duel with Grushnitsky, which is of great importance in the context of the work. Such a duel for the nineteenth century is a significant attribute noble life. And the rethinking of the dueling code, which is given in the novel “A Hero of Our Time,” is very important.

This wonderful work was written a year before the poet’s death, but one can’t help but think that it describes the story of an upcoming duel. The author himself is invisibly present in the image of the hero, but he also endowed Grushnitsky with the character and appearance traits of Nikolai Solomonovich Martynov.

The novel "A Hero of Our Time" became the beginning of an entire literary tradition. Without this work and those artistic discoveries that Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov came to, there might not have been best novels Turgenev, Tolstoy. It is this work that begins new era in Russian literature, where prose and especially the genre of the novel dominate.

Grigory Pechorin - main character novel. A unique personality that no one has been able to fully understand. Such heroes are found in every time. Any reader will be able to recognize himself in him with all the vices characteristic of people and the desire to change the world.

The image and characterization of Pechorin in the novel “A Hero of Our Time” will help you understand what kind of person he really is. How the long-term influence of the surrounding world was able to leave its mark on the depth of character, turning the complex inner world main character.

Pechorin's appearance

Looking at a young, handsome man, it is difficult to determine how old he really is. According to the author, no more than 25, but sometimes it seemed that Gregory was already over 30. Women liked him.

“...he was generally very handsome and had one of those original physiognomies that are especially popular with secular women...”

Slim. Superbly built. Athletic build.

“...of medium height, his slender, thin figure and broad shoulders proved his strong build...”

Blond. The hair was slightly curled. Dark mustache and eyebrows. When meeting him, everyone paid attention to his eyes. When Pechorin smiled, the gaze of his brown eyes remained cold.

"...they didn't laugh when he laughed..."

It was rare that anyone could bear his gaze; he was too heavy and unpleasant for his interlocutor.

The nose is slightly turned up. Snow-white teeth.

“...a slightly upturned nose, dazzling white teeth...”

The first wrinkles have already appeared on the forehead. Pechorin's gait is imposing, slightly lazy, careless. The hands, despite the strong figure, seemed small. The fingers are long, thin, characteristic of aristocrats.

Gregory dressed immaculately. The clothes are expensive, clean, well ironed. Pleasant aroma of perfume. The boots are cleaned to a shine.

Gregory's character

Gregory's appearance completely reflects the inner state of his soul. Everything he does is imbued with a precise sequence of steps, cold prudence, through which emotions and feelings sometimes try to break through. Fearless and reckless, somewhere weak and defenseless, like a child. It is entirely created from continuous contradictions.

Grigory promised himself that he would never show his real face, forbidding him to show any feelings for anyone. He was disappointed in people. When he was real, without guile and pretense, they could not understand the depth of his soul, accusing him of non-existent vices and making claims.

“...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...”

Pechorin is constantly searching for himself. He rushes about, looking for the meaning of life, and does not find it. Rich and educated. A nobleman by birth, he is used to hanging out in high society, but he doesn’t like that kind of life. Gregory considered her empty and worthless. A good expert on female psychology. I could figure out each one and understand from the first minutes of the conversation what it was. Exhausted and devastated by social life, he tried to delve into science, but soon realized that power does not lie in knowledge, but in dexterity and luck.

Boredom was eating away at the man. Pechorin hoped that the melancholy would go away during the war, but he was wrong. Caucasian War brought another disappointment. Lack of demand in life led Pechorin to actions that defied explanation and logic.

Pechorin and love

The only woman he loved was Vera. He was ready for anything for her, but they were not destined to be together. Vera is a married woman.

Those rare meetings that they could afford compromised them too much in the eyes of others. The woman was forced to leave the city. It was not possible to catch up with my beloved. He only drove the horse to death in an attempt to stop and bring her back.

Pechorin did not take other women seriously. They are a cure for boredom, nothing more. Pawns in a game where he set the rules. Boring and uninteresting creatures made him even more despondent.

Attitude towards death

Pechorin is firmly convinced that everything in life is predetermined. But this does not mean that you need to sit and wait for death. We must move forward, and she herself will find the one she needs.

“...I like to doubt everything. I always go forward when I don't know what awaits me. Since there is nothing worse than death, and it can happen - and death cannot be avoided!..”

“A Hero of Our Time” is read in one sitting. An officer's life tsarist army Grigory Pechorin is captivated by events seasoned with the character’s mental torment. The author created the image " extra person"in a society that does not know in what direction to direct energy and vitality.

History of creation

The unusual thing about the novel “A Hero of Our Time” is that it opened a list psychological works in Russian literature. Mikhail Lermontov spent three years on the work - the story about a representative of a new generation was born from 1838 to 1940.

The idea arose from the writer in Caucasian exile. The time of Nikolaev reaction reigned when, after the suppressed Decembrist uprising, intelligent youth were lost in search of the meaning of life, purpose, and ways to use their abilities for the benefit of the Fatherland. Hence the title of the novel. Plus, Lermontov was an officer in the Russian army, walked the military paths of the Caucasus and managed to become closely acquainted with the life and customs of the local population. The restless character of Grigory Pechorin was revealed far from his homeland, surrounded by Chechens, Ossetians and Circassians.

The work was sent to the reader in the form of separate chapters in the journal Otechestvennye zapiski. Seeing the popularity of his literary work, Mikhail Yuryevich decided to combine the parts into a whole novel, which was published in two volumes in 1840.

Five stories with their own titles make up a composition where the chronological order is disrupted. First, Pechorin is introduced to the readers by an officer of the tsarist army, close friend and boss Maxim Maksimych, and only then does the opportunity arise to “personally” get to know the emotional experiences of the protagonist through his diaries.

According to writers, when creating the image of the character, Lermontov relied on the famous hero of his idol -. Last name great poet borrowed from the calm Onega River, and Mikhail Yuryevich named the hero in honor of the stormy mountain Pechora. And in general, it is believed that Pechorin is an “extended” version of Onegin. In their search for prototypes, the writers also came across a typo in Lermontov’s manuscript - in one place the author mistakenly called his character Evgeniy.

Biography and plot

Grigory Pechorin was born and raised in St. Petersburg. In his youth, he quickly abandoned the tedious study of science and plunged into social life with carousing and women. However, this quickly became boring. Then the hero decided to repay his debt to the Fatherland by going to serve in the army. For participating in a duel, the young man was punished with real service, sent to the Caucasus to join the active troops - this is the starting point of the story of the work.

In the first chapter, entitled “Bela,” Maxim Maksimych tells an unknown listener a story that happened to Pechorin and revealed the nature of an egoist in him. The young officer managed to get bored even during the war - he got used to the whistling of bullets, and the remote village in the mountains made him sad. With the help of the Circassian prince, the selfish and unbalanced Azamat, he stole first a horse, and then the daughter of the local prince Bela. Feelings for the young lady quickly cooled, giving way to indifference. The thoughtless actions of the Russian officer led to a series of dramatic events, including the murder of a girl and her father.

The chapter “Taman” takes the reader to pre-army events, when Pechorin meets with a group of smugglers, falsely mistaking its members for people acting in the name of something great and valuable. But the hero was disappointed. In addition, Grigory comes to the conclusion that he brings nothing but misfortune to those around him, and goes to Pyatigorsk to the healing waters.

Here Pechorin intersects with his past lover Vera, who still has tender feelings for him, his friend Junker Grushnitsky and Princess Mary Ligovskaya. The quiet life again did not work out: Grigory won the princess’s heart, but refused the girl, and then, because of a quarrel, fought a duel with Grushnitsky. For the murder of a cadet, the young man again found himself in exile, but now he was assigned to serve in the fortress, where he met Maxim Maksimych.

IN last chapter novel "Fatalist" Lermontov placed the hero in Cossack village, where a conversation about fate and predestination begins between the participants while playing cards. Men are divided into two camps - some believe in the predestination of life events, others deny this theory. In a dispute with Lieutenant Vulich, Pechorin stated that he saw the imprint of imminent death on his opponent’s face. He tried to prove his invulnerability using Russian roulette, and indeed, the gun misfired. However, that same evening Vulich died at the hands of an over-drinking Cossack.

Image

The hero of his time is unable to find a sphere of application for his boundless young energy. Energy is wasted on insignificant trifles and heart dramas; society does not benefit from either one. The tragedy of an individual who is doomed to inertia and loneliness is the ideological core of Lermontov’s novel. The author explains:

“... exactly a portrait, but not of one person: it is a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation, in their full development.”

Since his youth, Grigory has existed “for the sake of curiosity” and admits: “I have long lived not with my heart, but with my head.” “Cold mind” pushes the character to actions that only make everyone feel bad. He interferes in the affairs of smugglers, plays with the feelings of Bela and Vera, and takes revenge. All this brings complete disappointment and spiritual devastation. He despises the high society in which he was born and raised, but it is his idol that he becomes after winning a duel over Grushevsky. And this turn of events depresses Gregory even more.

The characteristics of Pechorin's appearance convey his inner qualities. Mikhail Yurievich painted an aristocrat with pale skin and thin fingers. When walking, the hero does not swing his arms, which speaks of a withdrawn nature, and when laughing, his eyes lack a cheerful sparkle - with this the author tried to convey a character prone to analysis and drama. Moreover, even Grigory Alexandrovich’s age is not clear: he looks 26, but in fact the hero celebrated his 30th birthday.

Film adaptations

The star of “A Hero of Our Time” lit up in cinema in 1927 - director Vladimir Barsky shot a trilogy of black-and-white silent films, where actor Nikolai Prozorovsky played the role of Pechorin.

Once again we remembered Lermontov’s work in 1955: Isidor Annensky presented the audience with the film “Princess Mary”, in which Anatoly Verbitsky got used to the image of a restless young man.

10 years later he appeared in the image of Pechorin. All these films did not receive recognition from critics, who felt that the directors did not sufficiently reveal the character of Lermontov’s character.

And the following film adaptations turned out to be successful. This is the 1975 teleplay “Pechorin’s Magazine Page” (starring) and the 2006 TV series “Hero of Our Time” ().

Grigory Pechorin also appears in Lermontov’s unfinished novel “Princess Ligovskaya,” but here the hero is not a St. Petersburger, but a Muscovite.

The script for the series, released on television in 2006, was written by Irakli Kvirikadze. The work is close to the textbook source, but the main difference is that the chronology of actions is observed. That is, the chapters have been rearranged. The picture begins with the events described by the classic of literature in the part “Taman”, followed by the chapter “Princess Mary”.

Quotes

“Of two friends, one is always the slave of the other, although often neither of them admits it to himself. I was created stupidly: I don’t forget anything - nothing!”

“Women only love those they don’t know.”

“What began in an extraordinary way must end in the same way.”

“We must give justice to women: they have an instinct for spiritual beauty.”

“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? Intense pride."

“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 light.”

“My love did not bring happiness to anyone, because I did not sacrifice anything for those I loved.”

“Tomorrow she will want to reward me. I already know all this by heart - that’s what’s boring!”

In the novel “Hero of Our Time” M.Yu. Lermontov created the image of his contemporary, “a portrait made up of the vices of the entire... generation.”

The main character of the novel is the nobleman Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin, an extremely complex and contradictory character, furthermore paradoxical. The inconsistency and “strangeness” of Pechorin is masterfully noted in the very portrait of the hero. “At first glance at his face, I would not have given him more than twenty-three years, although after that I was ready to give him thirty,” the narrator notes. He describes Pechorin’s strong physique and at the same time immediately notes the “nervous weakness” of his body. A strange contrast is presented by the hero’s childish smile and his cold, metallic gaze. Pechorin’s eyes “didn’t laugh when he laughed... This is a sign of either an evil disposition or deep, constant sadness,” the narrator notes. The hero's gaze seems impudent to the passing officer, producing "the unpleasant impression of an immodest question" and at the same time this gaze is "indifferently calm."

Maxim Maksimovich also mentions Pechorin’s “oddities”: “He was a nice guy, I dare to assure you; just a little strange. After all, for example, in the rain, in the cold, hunting all day; everyone will be cold and tired - but nothing to him. And another time he sits in his room, smells the wind, assures him that he has a cold; the shutter knocks, he shudders and turns pale; and with me he went to hunt wild boar one on one; It used to be that you wouldn’t get a word out for hours at a time, but once you started talking, you’d burst your stomach with laughter...”

What is behind this “strangeness” of the hero? What is he really like? Let's try to analyze this character.

Pechorin is a Russian nobleman, one of those whose “youth was spent in the world.” However, he soon became disgusted with secular pleasures. Science, reading books, self-education - all these activities also very quickly revealed their meaninglessness and uselessness in life. Pechorin realized that a person’s position in society, respect and honor are not determined by his true merits - education and virtue, but depend on wealth and connections. Thus, the ideal order of the world was disrupted in his mind at the very beginning life path. This led to Pechorin's disappointment, boredom, and contempt for aristocratic society.

Disappointment gave rise to aggression in him towards others. And all yours positive qualities- courage, determination, willpower, determination, energy, activity, enterprise, insight and the ability to understand people - the hero “turned into his opposite”, using them “on the path of evil.” I would especially like to dwell on one of the features of Grigory Alexandrovich.

Pechorin is very active, energetic, in his soul there are “immense forces.” However, what does he spend his energy on? He kidnaps Bela, kills Grushnitsky, starts a meaningless, cruel affair with Princess Mary.

Moreover, Pechorin is well aware that he brings suffering to other people. He is inclined to explain his behavior by upbringing, social environment, “the uniqueness of his divine nature,” fate, which invariably led him to “the outcome of other people’s dramas” - anything, but not a manifestation of his personal, free will. The hero seems to be abdicating responsibility for his actions.

At the same time, he is always active, active, he consistently brings his plans to life. Critics have repeatedly noted a certain unity of Pechorin's behavior, the unity of introspection and action. And the hero himself refuses blind faith in predestination in the story “Fatalist”.

Let's try to analyze Pechorin's psychology and behavior by turning to his life philosophy. Happiness for him is only satisfied ambition, “saturated pride,” the main passion is to subjugate the will of others. Life for Grigory Aleksandrovich is “boring and disgusting”; he views the feelings of others “only in relation to himself”, as food that supports his mental strength. These feelings themselves do not bother him. “What do I care about human joys and misfortunes...” - this is the leitmotif of Pechorin’s image.

The basis of the behavior of Lermontov's hero is egocentrism, which, according to D.N. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky, gave rise to excessive impressionability in Pechorin, an emotionally painful susceptibility to all phenomena of life and the actions of others. The researcher notices that Grigory Alexandrovich is not able to forget his past feelings, including the most bitter and joyless ones. They control his soul just as much as real feelings. Hence Pechorin’s inability to forgive, the impossibility of an objective assessment of the situation.

However, it seems that the hero’s feelings are very selectively manifested in action. According to the remark of A.I. Revyakin, “Pechorin is not devoid of good impulses.” At an evening at the Ligovskys’, he took pity on Vera. During last date with Mary he feels compassion, ready to throw himself at her feet. During a duel with Grushnitsky, he is ready to forgive his enemy if he admits to his own meanness.

However, Grigory Alexandrovich’s good impulses always remain only “impulses.” And Pechorin always brings his “atrocities” to their logical conclusion: he kills Grushnitsky, ruins Bela, makes Princess Mary suffer. The hero’s impulses for good remain only his personal feelings, which never turn into actions and about which other people know virtually nothing.

The unity of thought and action is preserved in Pechorin’s behavior only in relation to his “villains” - here, apparently, the feelings of the hero are not present (Pechorin is not a villain by nature), here he acts, guided only by reason, reason. And vice versa, we observe in the hero’s mind a tragic gap between feeling and action. Where reason is not present, Pechorin is “powerless” - the sphere of feelings is closed to him. This is what determines the hero’s emotional immobility, his “fossilization.” Hence the impossibility of love for him, his failure in friendship. Hence, I think, the impossibility of repentance for Pechorin.

Belinsky believed that Pechorin’s spiritual appearance was disfigured by secular life, that he himself suffered from his lack of faith, and “Pechorin’s soul is not rocky soil, but earth dried up from the heat of a fiery life: let suffering loosen it and water it with gracious rain, and it will grow from itself.” lush, luxurious flowers of heavenly love..." However, Pechorin’s “suffering” itself is precisely impossible for him. And this is the “mental impotence” of the hero.

Of course, one of the reasons for such a depiction of the image by the writer is Lermontov’s certain loyalty to the traditions of romanticism. Pechorin - romantic hero, opposed to the surrounding world. Hence his demonism and loneliness among people. As a romantic hero, Pechorin largely reflects the worldview of the poet himself, his gloomy moods, melancholy thoughts, skepticism and sarcasm, and secretive character. It is characteristic that Pushkin’s Onegin still acquires fullness of feelings and a lively flow of life in his love for Tatyana. Pechorin dies while returning from Persia. And this is all Lermontov.