Collection of essays: Similarities and differences between the images of Onegin and Pechorin
The images of Pechorin and Onegin are similar not only in semantic similarity. V.G. noted the spiritual kinship of Onegin and Pechorin: “Their dissimilarity is much less than the distance between Onega and Pechora... Pechorin is the Onegin of our time.”
The novels “Eugene Onegin” and “Hero of Our Time” were written at different times, and the duration of these works is different. Eugene lived in an era of rising national and social self-awareness, freedom-loving sentiments, secret societies, and hopes for revolutionary changes. Pechorin is a hero of the timeless era, the period of reaction, the decline of social activity. But the problems of both works are the same - the spiritual crisis of the noble intelligentsia, which critically perceives reality, but does not try to change or improve the structure of society. The intelligentsia, which is limited to passive protest against the lack of spirituality of the surrounding world. The heroes withdrew into themselves, wasted their strength aimlessly, realized the meaninglessness of their existence, but had neither a social temperament, nor social ideals, nor the ability for self-sacrifice.
Onegin and Pechorin were brought up in the same conditions, with the help of fashionable French tutors. Both received a fairly good education for those times; Onegin communicates with Lensky, talks on a wide variety of topics, which indicates his high education:
...Tribes of past treaties,
The fruits of science, good and evil,
And age-old prejudices,
And the grave secrets are fatal,
Fate and life...
Pechorin freely discusses with Dr. Werner the most complex problems of modern science, which indicates the depth of his ideas about the world|and breadth of interests.
However, both of them did not have the habit of independent systematic work - the habit of idleness [corrupted their souls. Onegin, “devoted to idleness, (languishing with spiritual emptiness... he set up a shelf with a group of books, read, read, but all to no avail: there is boredom, there is deception and delirium; there is no conscience in that, there is no point in that.” Pechorin took up books just as zealously and just as easily left them: “I began to read, study - I was also tired of science.” The inability to purposeful, concentrated work on oneself, caused by the accessibility, ease of everything received from life, the lack of clear ideas about social ideals - all this led them to denial “empty light” and deep dissatisfaction with one’s life.
But before denying secular pleasures, both heroes willingly indulged in them, not at all embarrassed by idle pastime. Both were very successful in the “science of tender passion, which Nazon sang.” Onegin was coldly calculating in the love game:
How he knew how to seem new,
Jokingly amaze innocence,
Frighten with despair
To amuse with pleasant flattery...
Beg and demand recognition
Listen to the first sound of the heart,
Pursue love, and suddenly
Achieve a secret date...
Pechorin also prudently, in full accordance with the secular rules of seduction, treated women: “... when meeting a woman, I always unmistakably guessed whether she would love me... I never became a slave to the woman I loved, on the contrary, I always acquired over their will and invincible power in my heart... is that why I never value anything very much..."
However, in my opinion, Onegin is much softer, more humane than Pechorin. Realizing the vanity of social life, he, having met a beautiful girl, nobly did not take advantage of the inexperience and sincerity of an inexperienced soul. Although “the language of girlish dreams disturbed his thoughts with a swarm,” Onegin, mentally devastated by social life, realizing that “there is no return to dreams and years,” delicately rejects Tatyana’s love: “I love you with the love of a brother and, perhaps, even more tenderly.”
Pechorin shamelessly takes advantage of the love of dear Bela, infinitely devoted to him, provokes the love of Princess Mary, who is indifferent to him, just to annoy the empty and arrogant Grushnitsky and once again be convinced of his power over women. Ruthlessly trampling someone else's feelings, Pechorin no longer evokes compassion, but hostility.
Both heroes are selfish and incapable of true friendship.
Onegin “vowed to infuriate Lensky and take revenge,” succumbing to a momentary impulse of mental weakness. He regrets the duel, recognizes its meaninglessness, but cannot overcome the false idea of noble honor. “Having killed a friend in a duel,” Onegin suffers painfully and, restless, tries to escape from himself.
Pechorin deliberately provokes Grushnitsky to challenge, and almost does not regret the ruined life of an empty, vain, not very decent, but still quite harmless person. He admits: “I lied, but I wanted to defeat him. I have an innate passion to contradict..."
Subsequently, Onegin turns out to be capable of real feeling. He punishes himself for being afraid of losing his “hateful freedom” and refusing great love:
I thought: freedom and peace are a substitute for happiness.
My God! How wrong I was, how I was punished...
Evgeny is passionately and selflessly in love, and Tatiana’s refusal is perceived as a life tragedy, the collapse of his hopes for ordinary human happiness.
Pechorin is adamant, declaring: “...twenty times I will put my life, even my honor, on the line, but I will not sell my freedom.”
Both Onegin and Pechorin, wasting themselves, suffer failure in life. Without seeing social goals for themselves, they never find meaning in life. Both regret their wasted youth. These are thinking, suffering, albeit selfish heroes.
Onegin is hopelessly tired of life and exclaims:
Why wasn't I pierced by a bullet?
Why am I not a frail old man?..
Pechorin calls himself a “moral cripple,” realizing that “my best qualities, fearing ridicule, I buried in the depths of my heart.” Both heroes, we repeat, suffer failure in life and both realize this. And yet Pechorin is more active, active, and Onegin is more humane, responsive. Pechorin seeks death and dies; Onegin, with a restless soul, looks joylessly into the future. The remarkable powers of these heroes do not find use; their suffering, selfishness does not allow them to open up to others or devote their lives to society.
(387 words, table at the end of the article) The “extra person” type is quite popular in Russian literature. Our writers abound in presenting us with heroes who are disappointed in life and have not found their destiny. These people can be completely different: ardent intellectuals, like Chatsky, or bored and tired of life, sensualists, like Onegin and Pechorin. The last two form one type of person, because there are few differences between them. If you make a comparative description, you will notice that one of the heroes is a new version of the other, because it is not for nothing that Belinsky calls Pechorin “Onegin of our time.”
The similarity can be traced already at the level of names. Lermontov names Pechorin according to the same principle as Pushkin: based on the name of the river. The Pechora is a stormy, noisy mountain river, while the Onega is calm and smooth, which to some extent reflects the characters’ characters.
Studying the sciences “quickly bored” Pechorin, as did Onegin, who “had no desire to rummage / in the chronological dust,” and both set out to enjoy social life to dispel boredom, but just as quickly became disillusioned with these joys. One “got bored with the noise of the world” and he “completely lost interest in life,” while the other “shies away” from society and considers himself “a small loss for the world.” Pechorin experiences this much more tragically than Onegin, due to the fact that the heroes live in different eras, but a general disappointment in themselves and the world around them is inherent in both heroes, so they quickly become cynical egoists. Those around them treat them with interest because they see them as a mystery, women love them, since both have skillfully mastered the “science of tender passion.” But, despite their cynicism, both have their only beloved, with whom they are not destined to be together. So, Onegin loses Tatiana, and Pechorin loses Vera. Friends suffer next to them: for similar reasons, Lensky and Grushnitsky die at their hands.
These are “Byronic heroes” who have lost the flair of romanticism that idealized them. Onegin is one of those young people who believed in the ideals of the revolution, while Pechorin is a man of a different time, when these ideals were not only shaken, but destroyed due to the collapse of Decembrism. The characters are similar in many ways, but the results of their similarities are different. Onegin is an idle rake, sharply fed up with life due to laziness. Pechorin is not like that at all, who is looking for himself, “chasing madly after life,” not believing in a meaningless destiny. We can say that Onegin remained in the “water society”, from which Pechorin hastened to escape.
Pushkin and Lermontov showed two typical representatives of successive decades, so the images of the heroes could not be radically different. They complemented each other, and the authors created a real picture of the reality of that time, which changed under the influence of crisis circumstances.
The undoubted similarity of the images of Eugene Onegin and Grigory Pechorin was one of the first to be noted by V.G. Belinsky. “Their dissimilarity is much less than the distance between Onega and Pechora... Pechorin is the Onegin of our time,” the critic wrote.
The life span of the heroes is different. Onegin lived in the era of Decembrism, freethinking, and rebellion. Pechorin is a hero of the timeless era. What the great works of Pushkin and Lermontov have in common is the depiction of the spiritual crisis of the noble intelligentsia. The best representatives of this class turned out to be dissatisfied with life and removed from public activities. They had no choice but to waste their strength aimlessly, turning into “superfluous people.”
The formation of characters and the conditions of education of Onegin and Pechorin are, without a doubt, similar. These are people of the same circle. The similarity of the heroes is that both of them went from agreement with society and themselves to denial of light and deep dissatisfaction with life.
“But the feelings in him cooled down early,” writes Pushkin about Onegin, who “sick” with the “Russian blues.” For Pechorin, too, very early... despair was born, covered with courtesy and a good-natured smile.”
These were well-read and educated people, which placed them above other young people in their circle. Onegin's education and natural curiosity are revealed in his disputes with Lensky. One list of topics is worth it:
...Tribes of past treaties,
The fruits of science, good and evil,
And age-old prejudices,
And the grave secrets are fatal,
Fate and life...
Evidence of Onegin’s high education is his extensive personal library. Pechorin said this about himself: “I began to read, study - I was tired of science too.” Possessing remarkable abilities and spiritual needs, both failed to realize themselves in life and squandered it on trifles.
In their youth, both heroes were fond of a carefree social life, both succeeded in the “science of tender passion”, in the knowledge of “Russian young ladies”. Pechorin says about himself: “... when meeting a woman, I always unmistakably guessed whether she would love me... I never became a slave to the woman I loved, on the contrary, I always acquired invincible power over their will and heart... Is this why I have never been very I treasure..." Neither the love of the beautiful Bela, nor the serious passion of the young Princess Mary could melt Pechorin’s coldness and rationality. It only brings misfortune to women.
The love of the inexperienced, naive Tatyana Larina also leaves Onegin indifferent at first. But later, our hero, upon meeting again with Tatyana, now a society lady and general’s wife, realizes what he has lost in the person of this extraordinary woman. Pechorin turns out to be completely incapable of great feeling. In his opinion, “love is satiated pride.”
Both Onegin and Pechorin value their freedom. Evgeniy writes in his letter to Tatyana:
Your hateful freedom
I didn't want to lose.
Pechorin directly states: “... twenty times I will put my life, even my honor, on the line, but I will not sell my freedom.”
The indifference to people inherent in both, disappointment and boredom affect their attitude towards friendship. Onegin is friends with Lensky “there is nothing to do.” And Pechorin says: “... I am not capable of friendship: of two friends, one is always the slave of the other, although often neither of them admits this to himself; I cannot be a slave, and in this case, commanding is tedious work, because at the same time you have to deceive...” And he demonstrates this in his cold attitude towards Maxim Maksimych. The words of the old staff captain sound helplessly: “I’ve always said that there is no use in those who forget old friends!”
Both Onegin and Pechorin, disillusioned with the life around them, are critical of the empty and idle “secular mob.” But Onegin is afraid of public opinion, accepting Lensky’s challenge to a duel. Pechorin, shooting with Grushnitsky, takes revenge on society for unfulfilled hopes. Essentially, the same evil prank led the heroes to a duel. Onegin “swore to infuriate Lensky and take some revenge” for the boring evening at the Larins’. Pechorin says the following: “I lied, but I wanted to defeat him. I have an innate passion for contradiction; my whole life was only a tribute to sad and unfortunate contradictions of the heart or mind.
The tragedy of the feeling of one’s own uselessness is deepened for both by the understanding of the uselessness of their lives. Pushkin exclaims about this bitterly:
But it's sad to think that it's in vain
We were given youth
That they cheated on her all the time,
That she deceived us;
What are our best wishes?
What are our fresh dreams
Decayed in quick succession,
Like rotten leaves in autumn.
Lermontov’s hero seems to echo him: “My colorless youth passed in a struggle with myself and the world; Fearing ridicule, I buried my best qualities in the depths of my heart: they died there... Having learned well the light and springs of life, I became a moral cripple.”
Pushkin's words about Onegin, when
Having killed a friend in a duel,
Having lived without a goal, without work
Until twenty-six years old,
Languishing in the inactivity of leisure.,
he “began wandering without a goal,” which can also be attributed to Pechorin, who also killed his former “friend,” and his life continued “without a goal, without work.” Pechorin reflects during the trip: “Why did I live? For what purpose was I born?
Feeling “immense forces in his soul,” but completely wasting them, Pechorin seeks death and finds it “from a random bullet on the roads of Persia.” Onegin, at twenty-six, was also “hopelessly tired of life.” He exclaims:
Why wasn't I pierced by a bullet?
Why am I not a frail old man?
Comparing the description of the heroes' lives, one can be convinced that Pechorina is a more active person with demonic traits. “To be the cause of suffering and joy for someone, without having any positive right to do so, is not this the sweetest food of our pride?” - says Lermontov’s hero. As a person, Onegin remains a mystery to us. No wonder Pushkin characterizes him this way:
The eccentric is sad and dangerous,
The creation of hell or heaven,
This angel, this arrogant demon,
What is he? Is it really imitation?
An insignificant ghost?
Onegin image Pechorin intelligentsia
Both Onegin and Pechorin are selfish, but thinking and suffering heroes. Despising an idle secular existence, they do not find ways and opportunities to freely and creatively resist it. In the tragic outcomes of the individual destinies of Onegin and Pechorin, the tragedy of “superfluous people” shines through. The tragedy of the “superfluous man,” no matter what era he appears, is at the same time the tragedy of the society that gave birth to him.
Belinsky said about Pechorin: “This is the Onegin of our time, the hero of our time.
Their dissimilarity is much less than the distance between Onega and Pechora.”
Herzen called Pechorin “Onegin’s younger brother.”
The similarities of the heroes.
Representatives of secular society.
What is common in the life story of the heroes is: first the pursuit of secular pleasures, then disappointment in them and this way of life.
Then an attempt to find an application for one’s spiritual powers in some activities: reading books, housekeeping, but disappointment in this too.
The heroes are overcome by boredom (spleen).
They are critical not only of the people around them, but also mercilessly judge themselves and their actions.
How does Pechorin differ from Onegin?
Pechorin is a man of the 30s (reaction time). A gifted, extraordinary personality, which manifests itself in intelligence, strong passions, and will. His character and behavior are distinguished by inconsistency: in him rationality struggles with the demands of the senses of the mind and heart. Capable of deep love (attitude towards Faith). A typical hero of his time.
What a short time separates Pushkin’s Onegin and Lermontov’s Pechorin! The first quarter and forties of the 19th century. And yet these are two different eras, separated by an unforgettable event for Russian history - the Decembrist uprising. Pushkin and Lermontov managed to create works that reflected the spirit of these eras, works that touched upon the problems of the fate of the young noble intelligentsia, who did not know how to find application for their strengths.
Herzen called Pechorin “Onegin’s younger brother,” so what do these people have in common and how do they differ?
Onegin, before becoming a “young rake,” received a traditional upbringing and an extensive, but rather superficial education. Because he could eventually speak French “perfectly,” dance the mazurka easily, and “bow easily,” “the world decided that he was smart and very nice.” However, quickly fed up with the fruitless bustle of social life, Onegin begins to be burdened by it, but finds nothing in return. Realizing the worthlessness of the existence of secular people, Onegin begins to despise them, withdraws into himself, and indulges in the “Russian blues.” Living only by himself, without taking into account the feelings and experiences of other people, Onegin commits a whole series of unworthy acts. By the time he met him, Pushkin noted in Onegin “inimitable strangeness,” “a sharp, chilled mind,” “involuntary devotion to dreams,” an internal gap and misunderstanding between him and the people around him. Despite his deep contempt for the “society,” Onegin remains dependent on public opinion, and as a result kills his friend Lensky. Selfishness leads the “rake of the ardent” to severe spiritual drama and discord with himself.
We don’t know much about Pechorin’s past, mainly from the pages of his own diary, from his conversations with other people. We learn that Pechorin’s “soul is spoiled by light”: “From childhood, everyone read on my face signs of bad qualities that were not there; but they were anticipated - and they were born.” Now, those around him often do not understand either Pechorin’s thoughts or his actions, and he (and often quite justifiably) considers himself head and shoulders above those around him. Unlike Onegin, Pechorin does not shy away from people, does not avoid contact with them, but, on the contrary, becomes an extremely subtle psychologist, capable of understanding not only other people’s actions and thoughts, but also feelings. Unfortunately, communication with him most often brings people and even himself only suffering and dissatisfaction. Unlike Onegin, Pechorin is not yet tired of life, he interferes in everything, is interested in many things, but he is not capable of truly loving and making friends. And if only Tatyana suffers from Pushkin’s love for Onegin (and later from Onegin’s love), then Pechorin brings misfortune to all the women he encounters: Bela, Vera, Princess Mary, even the smugglers’ friend. Material from the site
Onegin's problem is his inability to make his life interesting, bright, and fill it with significant events. Pechorin is concerned about the question of the purpose of his own life, its meaning. The consciousness of lost opportunities constantly haunts him, since his belief in his “high purpose” does not find real confirmation. Both one and the other value their freedom, liberty, but it turns out that they too often sacrifice to it what is truly dear to them.
The differences in the destinies and characters of the heroes are explained by differences in eras: the life of Russia on the eve of the December uprising (Onegin) and the severe political reaction after the defeat of the Decembrists (Pechorin). Both Onegin and Pechorin belong to the type of “superfluous people,” that is, people for whom there was neither place nor work in the society around them. And yet, even despising their surroundings, Onegin and Pechorin were children of this society, that is, heroes of their time.
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On this page there is material on the following topics:
- How does Pechorin differ from Onegin?
- Onegin and Pechorin value their freedom and not being attached to anything
- What is the difference between Rudin and Onegin, Pechorin and Oblomov?
- differences between Pechorin and Onegin
- comparative characteristics of Onegin and Pechorin