It is already interesting that the purely visual perception of the image of the great poet by fans of his work does not coincide with the description of his appearance in the memoirs of his contemporaries. From portraits and book pages, the face of a handsome young man with huge eyes that encompass all the world's sorrow, with a beautiful smooth face, black well-groomed hair, looks out. And contemporaries say that Lermontov was extremely ugly, small in stature, bent-legged and even lame, according to some reports, was hunchbacked, with sparse hair, and a head too big. What they write about its poisonous character is a different story. Read about these and other interesting facts about Lermontov in this article.
Childhood
The great Russian poet, according to biographers, was not entirely Russian, he had Scottish roots, and his ancestors bore the name of Lerma. His grandmother Elizabeth Arsenyeva, the maid of honor of Her Majesty, did not approve of her daughter’s marriage with Yuri Lermontov, considering him uneven. Mikhail was born on October 3 (15), 1814, and lived incomplete 27 years. He grew up sickly, and grandmother literally nursed her grandson in her estate in Tarkhany, drove to healing waters, where he received first impressions of the Caucasus, which had a huge impact on his life and work. At the age of 12, according to the facts of Lermontov’s biography, he was brought back to Moscow with the aim of entering a boarding school for noble noble children. He studied there for two years, and there he showed his abilities in reading and poetry.
Birth curse
Many biographers, describing the facts about Lermontov, invariably mention that the Lermontov family was pursued by evil rock. His grandfather, M.V. Arseniev, drank deadly poison right at the family table. To which his wife reacted in a peculiar way: "To the dog - dog death." Could she know that at one time the emperor would repeat the same words upon learning of the death of her beloved grandson ...
The family doctor recalled that at the time of the birth of Mikhail, the midwife said for some reason: "This child will not die his death." And many more ominous signs and omens hovered over the family. Lermontov’s mother died at 21, when he was still a three-year-old child, she simply went to the grave from her unhappy life and betrayal of her husband. And my father washed down and died at the age of 41 years. These are tragic and interesting facts about Lermontov, largely predetermining his fate and explaining much in his image.
From his whole life, from every line he breathed mortal longing and unwillingness to live. He foresaw an imminent and tragic death and wrote about it more than once in verses: “I would like to forget and fall asleep ...”, “I foreknew my lot, my end, and sadness early print on me”. Of course, early orphanage affected his character, and is it because he grew up as a bile and inconvenient person for everyone? There are interesting facts about Lermontov left in letters and articles of friends. Even loved ones mentioned his inanimate character, his temper and that he himself always looked for reasons for a duel, as if deliberately going towards his death.
Sad demon, spirit of exile
The Caucasus, where Lermontov was exiled after the impudent poem "Death of the Poet", became a source of his inspiration. He recognized and loved the manners of the highlanders, who still consider him their poet. So, like Lermontov, nobody glorified this beautiful and severe land. Impressed by the Caucasian events and legends, his main work was written - “The Hero of Our Time”. Pechorin, bored and seeking adventure, not sparing anyone in his cold passion, is himself, poet Mikhail Lermontov. And even sincerely loving, he involuntarily brings misfortune to all who love him.
No matter how far these two works are, the “Demon” also echoes the “Hero of Our Time”. And again, the reader sees the features of the “sad demon” itself - the author.
He is a fatalist, and his contemporaries and later biographers recognized this. At the same time, he did not wait for the rock to overtake him, but walked towards him. That fateful day, spurred by himself, was that fateful day of July 15, 1841. What was it? Lermontov threw fifty dollars for good luck: to return to the duty station or take a walk in Pyatigorsk? Walked. There he met an old friend Martynov, quarreled with him and provoked a duel. Years later, Martynov admits that Mikhail Yuryevich himself substituted himself under the bullets, that was rock, and that fate, Martynov, chose him as an instrument of malice.
The history of his duels is some interesting facts about Lermontov. Even in his last hour, as eyewitnesses recalled, he rode to a fateful meeting joyful and enthusiastic. As if at last he found what he was looking for ...