Genre of the Hero of Our Time. Psychological novel of Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov

Roman M. Yu. Lermontov's “Hero of Our Time” was released in 1840. The writer composed the main work of his life for two years, publishing it on the pages of the popular journal "Domestic Notes". This work became significant not only in his work, but also in Russian literature as a whole, 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 turned out to be torn, was also unusual. All these features of the work attracted the attention of critics, readers, and also made him the standard in his genre.

The idea

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 plot. Mikhail Yuryevich’s book is very similar in concept to Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin, although it was written in a more dramatic style. In addition, the writer relied on foreign experience in creating the inner world of the hero. The 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 work and the works of Byron, Bestuzhev-Marlinsky. Creating his original composition, the author focused primarily on the realities of his time, which was reflected in the title. According to the writer himself, he strove to create a common portrait of his generation - young intelligent people who cannot occupy themselves with anything and spend their energy on useless activities that harm both themselves and others.

Features of the composition

Roman Lermontov has an unusual construction compared to other works of a similar kind. Firstly, the chronological sequence of events is disrupted in it; secondly, the narration is from several actors, including the main character. This technique was not chosen by the author by chance. He deliberately began the story from the middle of Pechorin's life. The reader gets an idea of ​​him from the words of an outsider, his former colleague Maxim Maksimych. Then the writer shows him through the eyes of the narrator, who caught a glimpse of him, but nevertheless managed to compose a correct idea about him as a whole.

Hero image

Since the psychological novel involves a detailed analysis of the character’s inner world, the last two parts are written on behalf of Pechorin in the form of diary entries. Thus, the reader sees the character at different points in his life, which seemingly are not connected in any way with each other. So Lermontov achieved the effect of time fragmentation, trying to show the pointlessness of the existence of his character, who at different periods of his life shows himself not from the 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 extra person. However, even before Lermontov, some writers created a character who did not fit into the established socio-political framework of Russian reality in the first half of the 19th century. The most striking example is Eugene Onegin, who, like Pechorin, was a nobleman and just as unsuccessfully tried to find at least some use for his powers and abilities. However, if Pushkin portrayed his character with good-natured humor, then Lermontov emphasized the dramatic component. The psychological novel of Mikhail Yurievich became one of the most significant works of that time.

The peculiarity of the image of Pechorin

Through the mouth of his hero, he criticizes evil the vices of his contemporary society, and desperately ridicules the flaws of the world around him. This is a characteristic feature of the image of Pechorin - he does not spend idle time, like Onegin in the village, his attitude to life is quite active, he not only criticizes the negative sides of the society where he rotates, but also acts, subjecting others to peculiar psychological tests.

First part

The genre of the work “Hero of Our Time” also determined the peculiarity of the text of the novel. The author set out to break the tradition of Russian literature laid down by Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, which suggested an adventurous plot and dynamic narrative. Lermontov emphasized 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 made by Maxim Maksimych, the commander of the Caucasian fortress, where Pechorin served.

The kind captain sincerely tried to give at least some explanation to the eccentric actions of his colleague: the abduction of Bela, his love for her and the quick cooling of feelings, his apparent, apparent indifference to her terrible death. However, Maxim Maksimych, a man who is very simple and unsophisticated, could not understand the reason for Pechorin's emotional throwing. He only tells the storyteller that the latter seemed to him to be a very strange person, since with his appearance a whole chain of strange and tragic events followed.

Portrait

At school literature lessons, it is very important that students understand the genre of the hero of our time. This book is a psychological portrait of Pechorin, which, in turn, is a collective portrait of the modern writer of the young generation. The second part of the work is interesting in that the reader sees Pechorin through the eyes of a person of the same social status, age, education and upbringing. Therefore, the description given by the narrator to this character deserves special attention, because despite the fluency of inspection and the brevity of the meeting, it is more true than the captain’s explanations. It is important that the narrator describes not only the appearance, but also tries to guess the emotional state of Pechorin, and this is partially possible for him. This explains the fact why the novel “Hero of Our Time” is called psychological. The narrator observes features such as thoughtfulness, relaxation, and fatigue in Pechorin's character. Moreover, he notes that this was not physical, but mental decline. The author pays special attention to the expression of his eyes, which shone with a kind of phosphoric light and did not smile when he laughed.

A meeting

The culmination of this part is the description of the meeting of Pechorin with the captain. The latter longed for this meeting, he hurried to the young officer as an old friend, but he met a rather cool welcome. The old captain was very offended. However, the author, who subsequently published Pechorin’s diary notes, noted that after reading them, he understood a lot in the character’s character, who analyzed his own actions and shortcomings in detail. This is what allows us to understand why the novel “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, sympathy is entirely on the side of the old captain.

The story "Taman"

This work opens the beginning of Pechorin's diary entries. In it, a young officer not only tells of an eccentric adventure in a small sea town, but also analyzes his behavior. He himself is surprised at his irrepressible thirst for life, noting that he intervened aimlessly and meaninglessly in the life of smugglers.

The character’s desire to participate in the lives of those around him, even if beyond their will, is the main theme in this case. “The hero of our time” is a novel that focuses not so much on the description of external events as on a detailed analysis of the internal state of the characters. In the second part, Pechorin becomes a witness to the machinations of smugglers and rather inadvertently reveals his secret. As a result, he was almost drowned, and the gang was forced to flee from its place of residence. Thus, the attempt by Pechorin to understand his own inappropriate behavior is the main topic in the second part. The “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 is perhaps the most important and interesting part in the work. It is in this part that the character is fully revealed. The action takes place on medicinal Caucasian waters.

The 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 her, nevertheless he is not able to fall in love with her for real. Pechorin in the novel “A Hero of Our Time” in this story shows himself from the most disadvantageous side. He not only deceives the girl, but also kills Grushnitsky in a duel. At the same time, in this part, Grigory Aleksandrovich most mercilessly reveals his shortcomings. Here he explains his character: according to him, aimless pastime, lack of friends, sympathy and understanding led him to become bile, angry and unsociable. However, he concludes that "the human heart in general is strange." He relates his statement not only to others, but also to himself.

Pechorin in the novel “Hero of our time” is revealed in this story in full. Most interesting is his recording of thoughts on the eve of a duel with Grushnitsky, in which he sums up his life. The young officer claims that his life undoubtedly made sense, but that he still could not understand him.

Love line

A better understanding of the hero helps his relationship with women. In the novel there are three love stories, each of which reveals the personality of the young officer from different angles. The first of them is connected with the Bela line. By her nature, she was a freedom-loving girl, as she grew up in the mountains among the Caucasian tribes.

Therefore, the quick cooling to her of 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. In the second part, there is also a love line, however, it is quite superficial.

Nevertheless, it was this plot 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 am a fool or a villain, I don’t know,” he says about himself. The reader sees that Pechorin is well versed in the psychology of the people around him: he immediately guesses the character of the stranger. However, he is inclined to adventurous adventures, which he himself admits, which led to a strange denouement.

The work “Hero of Our Time”, whose female heroes are interesting in that they somehow influenced the fate of Pechorin, ends with the last love line of the officer and the princess. The latter became interested in the original character of Pechorin, but failed to fully understand him. In the same story there is a description of the relationship of Grigory Alexandrovich with Princess Vera, who understood his character better than anyone else. 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 ambiguous person.