The genre of the work "Hero of Our Time". Psychological novel by Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov

The novel by M. Yu. Lermontov "The Hero of Our Time" was published in 1840. The writer composed the main work of his life for two years, publishing it on the pages of the popular magazine Otechestvennye zapiski. This work has become a landmark not only in his work, but also in Russian literature in general, because this book was the first bold and at the same time successful experience of a detailed psychological analysis of the main character. The composition of the narrative itself, which was torn apart, was also unusual. All these features of the work attracted the attention of critics, readers, and also made it a standard in their genre.

Purpose

Roman Lermontov did not arise from scratch. The author relied on both foreign and domestic sources, which inspired him to create an ambiguous character and an unusual story. Mikhail Yurievich's book is very similar to Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin", although it is written in a more dramatic style. In addition, the writer relied on foreign experience in creating the hero's inner world. Psychological novel was already known in Europe. The genre of the work "Hero of Our Time" can be defined as a psychological novel due to the author's close attention to the behavior and mood of Pechorin.

Especially vividly, such features were manifested in the work of the French Enlightener Russo. You can also draw parallels between the author's composition and the works of Byron, Bestuzhev-Marlinsky. Creating his original composition, the author was guided primarily by the realities of his time, which was reflected in the title. According to the writer himself, he sought to create a general portrait of his generation - young intelligent people who can not occupy themselves and spend their energy on useless pursuits that harm themselves and others.

Features of the composition

Lermontov's novel has an unusual construction in comparison with other works of a similar kind. Firstly, the chronological sequence of events is broken; Secondly, the narrative is conducted from several actors, including, and from the main character. This method was chosen by the author not accidentally. He deliberately began the story from the middle of Pechorin's life. The reader gets an idea about him from the words of an outsider, his former colleague Maxim Maksimych. Then the writer shows it through the eyes of the narrator, who saw him briefly, but nevertheless managed to compose a correct idea about him as a whole.

Image of the hero

Since the psychological novel assumes a detailed analysis of the character's inner world, the last two parts are written in the name of Pechorin himself in the form of diary entries. Thus, the reader sees the character at different moments in his life, which seemingly are not connected in any way. So Lermontov sought the effect of the disruption of time, trying to show the purposelessness of the existence of his character, who at different periods of his life shows himself not on the very best sides.

Comparison with Onegin

The genre of the work "Hero of Our Time" is a psychological novel. This work, as already mentioned above, was the first experience in Russian literature in creating a new type of character - the so-called superfluous person. However, even before Lermontov, some writers created a character that did not fit into the established social and political framework of Russian reality of the first half of the 19th century. The most striking example - Eugene Onegin, who, just like Pechorin, was a nobleman and just as unsuccessfully tried to find at least some application of his powers and abilities. However, if Pushkin portrayed his character with good-humored humor, Lermontov emphasized the dramatic component. The psychological novel of Mikhail Yurievich became one of the most significant works of that time.

Feature of Pechorin's image

By the lips of his hero, he angrily criticizes the vices of his society, choosely ridicules the shortcomings of the surrounding world. This is a characteristic feature of the image of Pechorin - he does not spend idle time like Onegin in the countryside, his attitude to life is quite active, he not only criticizes the negative aspects of the society where he rotates, but also acts by exposing the people to some kind of psychological tests.

First part

The genre of the work "The Hero of Our Time" also determined the peculiarity of constructing the text of the novel. The author set out to break the tradition of Russian literature, laid down Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, suggesting an adventurous story and dynamic narrative. Lermontov focused on a detailed analysis of the internal state of his hero. First of all, he was interested in explaining the reasons for Pechorin's strange, unusual, contradictory behavior. The first attempt to clarify the character of the young officer was undertaken by Maxim Maksimych, the commander of the Caucasian fortress, where Pechorin was serving.

The kind captain sincerely tried to give at least some explanation to the eccentric actions of his colleague: Bela's abduction, his love for her and the rapid cooling of feelings, his visible, seeming indifference to her terrible death. However, Maxim Maksimych, a very simple and simple man, could not understand the cause of Pechorin's emotional throwing. To the narrator he only says that the latter seemed to him a very strange man, since with his appearance a whole chain of strange and tragic events followed.

Portrait

In school lessons on literature, it is very important that students understand the genre of the work "Hero of Our Time". This book is a psychological portrait of Pechorin, which, in turn, is a collective portrait of a modern writer of the younger generation. The second part of the work is interesting because in it the reader sees Pechorin through the eyes of a man with his social status, age, education and upbringing. Therefore, the description given to this character by the narrator deserves special attention, because, despite the fluency of the examination and the brevity of the meeting, it is more true than the explanation of the captain. Important is the fact that the narrator describes not only the exterior, but also tries to guess the state of mind of Pechorin, and it partly succeeds. This explains why the novel "Hero of Our Time" is called psychological. The narrator notices in the nature of Pechorin such features as thoughtfulness, relaxation and fatigue. And he notes that it was not a physical, but a spiritual decline. The author pays special attention to the expression of his eyes, which shone with some sort of phosphoric light and did not smile when he laughed.

A meeting

The culmination of this part is the description of Pechorin's meeting with the captain. The latter yearned for this meeting, he hurried to the young officer as an old friend, but met a rather cool reception. The old captain was very offended. However, the author, who subsequently published Pechorin's diary entries, noted that after reading them he understood a lot about the character of the character who analyzed in detail his own actions and shortcomings. This is what makes it possible to understand why the novel "The Hero of Our Time" is called psychological. However, in the scene of a meeting with Maxim Maksimych, the reader may be surprised and even reproach the character for such indifference. In this episode, the sympathy is entirely on the side of the old captain.

The story "Taman"

This work opens the beginning of the diary entries of Pechorin. In it, the young officer not only narrates about the eccentric adventure in a small seaside town, but also analyzes his behavior. He himself is surprised by his irrepressible thirst for life, noting that he purposely and senselessly intervened in the life of smugglers.

The desire of the character to participate in the life of the surrounding people, even if not in addition to their will, is, in this case, the main theme. "Hero of Our Time" is a novel that focuses not so much on describing external events as on a detailed analysis of the internal state of actors. In the second part, Pechorin witnesses the smuggling of smugglers and rather inadvertently reveals his secret. As a result, he was nearly drowned, and the gang was forced to flee from its raging place. Thus, Pechorin's attempt to understand his own inappropriate behavior is in the second part the main theme. "Hero of Our Time" is interesting in that it consistently reveals the character's image from the most diverse and unexpected sides.

"Princess Mary"

This, perhaps, is the most important and interesting part in the work. It is in this part of the character is fully disclosed. The action takes place in the healing waters of the Caucasus.

A young officer, in order to tease his friend Grushnitsky, falls in love with the young Princess Mary. Despite the fact that he himself is not indifferent to it, nevertheless he is not able to love her for real. Pechorin in the novel "The Hero of Our Time" in this novel shows himself from the most disadvantageous side. He not only deceives the girl, but also kills Grushnitsky in a duel. At the same time, it is in this part that Grigory Alexandrovich reveals his shortcomings in the most merciless manner. Here he explains his character: according to him, an aimless pastime, lack of friends, sympathy and understanding led to the fact that he became bilious, spiteful and unsociable. At the same time he concludes that "the human heart in general is strange". He attributes his statement not only to others, but to himself.

Pechorin in the novel "The Hero of Our Time" is revealed in this story in full. The most interesting is his record of thinking on the eve of the duel with Grushnitsky, in which he sums up his life. The young officer claims that his life certainly made sense, but that he never managed to understand him.

Love line

It is better to understand the hero helped by his relationship with women. In the novel there are three love stories, each of which reveals the identity of the young officer from different sides. The first one is connected with the Bela line. By nature, she was a freedom-loving girl, because she grew up in the mountains among the Caucasian tribes.

Therefore, the rapid cooling to it Pechorin actually killed her. The novel "Hero of Our Time", whose female characters allow a better understanding of the psychological portrait of the character, is devoted to a detailed explanation of the behavior of the young officer. The second part also has a love line, but it is rather superficial.

Nevertheless, it was this story that served as the basis for the intrigue in the second story. The hero himself does not know how to evaluate his own actions: "I'm a fool or a villain, I do not know," he says of himself. The reader sees that Pechorin is well versed in the psychology of people around him: he immediately discerns the character of a stranger. However, he is prone to adventurous adventures, which he admits himself, which led to a strange denouement.

The work "Hero of Our Time", whose female characters are interesting in that somehow influenced the fate of Pechorin, ends with the last love line of the officer and the princess. The latter became interested in Pechorin's original character, but failed to fully understand it. In the same story, there is a description of the relationship of Grigory Alexandrovich with Princess Vera, who, above all others, understood his character. So, the first psychological novel in Russian literature was the work "Hero of Our Time". Quotes of the main character show him as a complex and controversial person.