The image of Onegin ... How many times have completely different people taken and will take up his coverage? .. Probably not even hundreds of thousands (given the school curriculum and special areas of higher education). Most likely, millions of times, Russians and residents of foreign countries tried to write about him. This iconic image not only captivates with its artistry and aesthetics; he at one time really inspired the intelligentsia of the beginning of the 19th century to lead Russia out of the impasse of social development onto the pillar road of social and industrial progress.
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Place "Eugene Onegin" in the works of Pushkin
I recall the words of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin: âI erected a miraculous monument to myself ...â The classic himself considered his classic seven-year work on the novel in verses âEugene Oneginâ a feat. It was an extremely honest look of the "poet, the first in Russian Parnassus" at the surrounding Russian society, including the upper world. He wrote about his generation, and this gave him strength ... For the first time, a Russian writer climbed Calvary's realism and tried to honestly and highly artistically imagine what worried the most advanced people of Russia at that time. This was his favorite creation. Especially for him, Pushkin came up with a specific âOneginâ stanza - 14 lines of a four- foot iamba with rhyming according to the CCddEffEgg formula.
Objectivity in showing the nobility of the beginning of the XIX century
Alexander Sergeevich, following the principles of realism, honestly and frankly showed that the social layer of the nobility, in fact - the governing Russian power, has ceased to be the driving force of progress. The nobility of the last century â people who formed in the Catherineâs era, in which both hot blood and determination to perform actions and feats for the Fatherland were visible â it degenerated. The glorious time of victories and assertion of the glory of Russia of the golden XVIII century has sunk into oblivion. Service in the officer rank no longer enticed the nobles. Representatives of high society were fascinated by the race for ranks and awards. They enthusiastically engaged in various intrigues, intrigues. Often the nobles put personal well-being and their private life above the interests of society. In addition, they were the main political force interested in maintaining serfdom. After all, it was precisely the right to rule the fate of millions of people that formed the basis of their influence in the state.
Onegin's passivity is a product of high-society education
Eugene Onegin is a representative of another, undeserving generation of the nobility of the sample of the beginning of the XIX century. Onegin is an officer in the past, but he became disappointed and quit (according to Pushkin, he was bored with âswearing, and sabers, and leadâ). Serving the Fatherland as an idea of ââcreating a layer of society close to the monarch that is characteristic of the golden XVIII century, a hundred years later, ceased to be relevant for nobles. Although these were the most educated people at that time.
This just helps the readers of the novel to realize the extremely honest image of Onegin.
An obvious attempt by Pushkin, this amazing master of the word, creating the image of Eugene, to capture, to convey to the readers the typical features of a controversial contemporary from the educated youth of Russia, in which seething forces, sparkles of thought, which, in the end, has a certain capital and connections that are sufficient to to realize something progressive and necessary. However, he is passive. He took on the role of a smart observer of the surrounding life, and not its participant. It somewhat resembles a marble boy from Andersen's fairy tale The Little Mermaid. His charm, beauty, mind are cold. Perhaps that is why the image of Onegin is tragic ...
Where could Eugene put in his strength?
This person with his economic knowledge, based on the historical situation, really had a lot to do. The Russian economy was lagging behind. There were no railways. Capitalist enterprises were in their infancy. Serfdom fettered the human resource of a vast country. However, he is inactive and, amazingly, society does not push, does not mobilize him (a person, undoubtedly, an advanced one) to solve these important tasks. Russian society is amorphous, it is subject to the influence of the upper world. Noble youth receiving a European education (more precisely, professional French) is completely socially disoriented from the very beginning! How deeply sucked on her artificial, ephemeral world torn from Russian reality!
Gendarme suppression of the Decembrist movement
And the high society, by and large, is subordinated to the personal egoistic interests of individual specific people. As we see - the circle is closed. The real "trick - 22"! Was this the impetus for the creation of the Decembrist movement? In response to the excitement of progressive thought, Emperor Nicholas I, and then Alexander I (the latter, to a lesser extent) chose a plan for building a police power, a plan that was alien to the interests of the Russians. The victim of this type of state was Pushkin, who was exiled to the south. âOnegin,â a poetic novel, began to be created precisely in the poetâs southern exile, thanks to friends, his stay in Siberia for âoutrageous verses that flooded Russiaâ was replaced at the last moment, mitigating punishment.
Roman Pushkin - a harbinger of change
Recall with what words the famous trilogy novel written by Professor Tolkien begins. It begins with an exhilarating thought that all over the world there are changes, in all its elements, that these changes are close, that they are about to come.
It seems to us that Alexander Sergeyevich felt the same a century earlier, on the eve of the creation of his outstanding work. The means of expressing and letting the forty-millionth Russia feel the need for reform was the image of Onegin in a novel in verse, an iconic artistic and realistic work of Russia at the beginning of the 19th century.
Pushkinâs novel was a powerful intellectual blow to obsolete serfdom.
"Onegin" - a folk work
There is another aspect in the work of Pushkin. Recall that for Alexander Sergeyevich, âEugene Oneginâ was a favorite work. The poet, following the adventures of his main character, creates an extremely broad picture of the Russian state. In the book we meet the characters of the upper world, and local nobles, and the peasantry. In addition to the actual display of all walks of life, Alexander Sergeevich demonstrates the tastes, fashion of that time, the direction of social thought.
That is why Peter Pletnev, a friend of the poet, called the novel a âpocket mirrorâ, and Vissarion Grigorievich Belinsky - a highly popular work. And this is despite the fact that the image of Onegin in the novel is largely tied to the upper world. On the one hand, he despises him, neglecting his conventions, showing the reader very clearly that people "from there" are not distinguished by either deep knowledge or selfless work for the Fatherland. On the other hand, he cannot move away from him enough to completely neglect his opinions and assessments. Alexander Sergeyevich wrote about his hero that the high-society "spleen ... ran after him ... like a faithful wife."
Onegin becomes a local nobleman
We meet Eugene at the very beginning of the novel, when he, a poor nobleman, suddenly in the winter of 1819 becomes the heir to the late landowner, who is his uncle. The image of Onegin in the novel by Pushkin, brought up by a French tutor, is indifferent to everything that the poet himself loved: the Russian language, Russian nature, folk culture, folklore. He is fluent in French, knows how to graciously conduct a conversation, owns "the science of tender passion." Alexander Sergeevich picturesquely talks about Onegin visiting theaters and restaurants.
Prior to
accepting the inheritance, he led a life usual for the youth of his circle, wasting it at salons, balls, receptions, theaters. However, salon manners abhorred him. He began to avoid invitations.
The image of Onegin in Pushkinâs novel is a type of educated nobleman who is aware of the corruption of serfdom. He is distinguished by a cold logical mind and the nobility of the soul. It is characteristic that, having entered into the possession of the estate, he replaced the corvĂ©e that was difficult for peasants with âeasy rentâ. However, he did not become an active owner of the peasant economy. As a typical representative of the ruling class, he does not feel the slightest need for any work useful to society. Trying to engage in literary work, he soon lost interest in this occupation, as Pushkin sarcastically wrote. Onegin, becoming a local nobleman, remained a high society man. All previous education did not instill in Eugene adaptation to any activity. For him, the whole way of life of people creating public goods is alien, does not cause interest, nor the desire to participate in it actively. This remarkable, deep mind man, like the Greek hero Antei, deprived of contact with his native land, looks powerless and useless, without any purpose in life.
Love test
It was during the stay of Eugene in the village that his character manifests. On the one hand, he avoids the society of empty and limited surrounding landowners. On the other hand, as the analysis of Onegin shows, he does not stand the test of love.
The inner inconsistency of the protagonist of the novel is most vividly displayed in his relationship with Tatyana Larina. Tatyana is the most beloved character for Alexander Sergeyevich himself among all that he has ever created. She brought up on novels, saw in Eugene "the same" type of romantic hero and sincerely fell in love with him. Her letter of recognition, written in the summer of 1820, is a masterpiece of the literary expression of human feelings.
It should be recognized that the female images in the novel "Eugene Onegin", and in particular Tatyana Larina, are much more natural than the main character of the novel, divorced from the real folk reality, soaring in his thoughts. She, unlike the main character, has such a personality trait as proximity to the people's perception of the world, sincerity. She calls the noise and bustle of light "a rag of masquerade." Vissarion Belinsky called this show "Russianness" in the image of Tatiana (which was completely absent in Eugene) - a feat.
Indeed, before Pushkinâs Tatiana in art, people and representatives of the nobility were rather opposed, but not associated in principle.
Friendship test
The literary hero Onegin is distinguished by "souls by direct nobility." As Pushkin writes about him, Eugene is a "good fellow" and his personal friend. Moreover, in one of his own illustrations for the novel, he shows himself next to Onegin at the railing of the Nevsky Bridge. Eugene is attached with soul to friends. An example is his friendship with Vladimir Lensky, an enthusiastic eighteen-year-old poet. He, having been educated in Germany, was imbued with the spirit of romanticism there. As a poet, he is energetic, briskly composes enthusiastic poems. However, the analysis of Onegin shows that this friendship stems from the laws of the upper world. In addition to having a good time together at balls and visiting, as well as friendly advice to each other, such friendship implied a huge ego of each of the young people. This fully allowed for the nurturing of mutual insults, and the opportunity to take revenge on a friend for some minor and temporary inconvenience.
The story of the duel of Onegin and Lensky on January 14, 1821, which ended tragically for the latter, looks completely stupid from the point of view of elementary common sense. Following the concepts of light, fearing to be known as a coward, Eugene Onegin, possessing a cold sharp mind, did not cancel the duel. The heroes of the novel, of course, could settle their relations without resorting to weapons. The morals of the upper world imposed on them from the outside a depressing and inadequate behavior pattern.
Eugene Onegin after a duel
In the winter of 1821, Onegin sets off on a journey. This was the case with the duelists - to leave, so that later, upon arrival, the gossip subsided. And Tatyana is getting married at the same time. Onegin, in 1823/1824, lives in Odessa (the chronology coincides with the stay of Pushkin himself there). And in the winter of 1824/1825 he returned to St. Petersburg.
Here he meets Tatyana. He is already sincere. The ice of his heart is melted. Eugene declares his love ... However, Tatyana is already different ... Mother of the family, husband's wife, guardian of the hearth. Above the movements of her soul, she feels a personal responsibility for the preservation of her family.
Pushkin ... Onegin ... Tatyana ... What a wonderful picture of feelings the great master of words portrayed!
Sign character
Starting with Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, in Russian literature there is a tradition of depicting "heroes of the time." Classics, starting with Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, began to wonder about who he is - a typical person for a given time, who determines the progress of society. Following the Pushkin hero, Lermontov Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin appeared at the court of the public. The comparative characteristics of Onegin and Pechorin show that both of them are nobles, their skepticism, disbelief in many respects are the fruits of Russia's internal gendarme policy after the events of December 14, a policy of distrust of people. The essence of both of these personalities is a protest against the surrounding reality, the desire to find and realize themselves.
Conclusion
The image of Onegin is a landmark for Pushkinâs work. His juiciness and artistry was admired and admired. This is not a gray person, he is a textured character. It is distinguished by a deep mind, the ability to analyze and determine the real motives and levers of the process. He is well versed in people. Various images in the novel "Eugene Onegin" as if attracted by the magnetism of the protagonist of the novel.
It also has autobiographical features. However, the poet does not completely associate himself with Onegin. He does not idealize Eugene, pointing out the inherent flaws. He calls him his friend. Alexander Sergeyevich associates himself with the âvoice from the authorâ.
Pushkinâs novel, as you know, ends in unfinished action. Therefore, each reader himself has the right to independently conjecture whether Eugene can find himself, or whether he will live his life, aimlessly.