Of course, one of the most prominent writers of the nineteenth century is Mikhail Lermontov. "The hero of our time", the brief content of which is distinguished by the mismatch of the plot order of actions with the plot, is considered to be one of his most significant works. And there are reasons for that.
The novel expresses the main thoughts that Lermontov experiences with the generation of his contemporaries. “A hero of our time”, the brief content of which is compositionally constructed in such a way as to most fully reveal to us the character of the main character, has gained integrity and completeness precisely thanks to this arrangement of parts of the work.
In the storyline, that is, chronological, the tales should be arranged as follows: first Taman, then Princess Mary, followed by Fatalist, then Bela, followed by Maxim Maksimych and, finally, Preface to the journal Pechorin. " But the author chose to change the order of the narrative in order to facilitate the reader's understanding of his thoughts. Such a distorted order was not accidentally chosen for this work, because the genre of a psychological novel is intended to show us the soul of a hero. Lermontov chose the appropriate form for this. The “hero of our time”, the analysis of which has been repeatedly undertaken by many critics, even in our century is considered one of the most profound psychological novels.
So, the story begins with the head of “Bela”, in which the narrator on the way to Tiflis meets a fellow traveler, Maxim Maksimych, who told the story of his joint service with Grigory Pechorin in the Chechen watchtower. The center of his memories is the story of how Pechorin, a young ensign, laid eyes on the daughter of a local prince and stole her with cunning with the help of her younger brother named Azamat. Having “tamed” the beauty and falling in love with herself, the officer soon becomes tired of relations with her. Maxim Maksimych already foresees trouble. And in fact, Belba is kidnapped by Kazbich, left by Pechorin without a horse during an adventure, after which he kills the girl.
The following is the chapter "Maxim Maksimych." The narrator witnesses the meeting of Grigory Pechorin with the head-captain, during which he makes a psychological portrait of a young man. Maxim Maksimych, angry at Gregory for being cold, gives the narrator travel notes of Pechorin, which make up most of the novel.
In the chapter "Taman", Gregory himself already acts as the narrator, who arrives in the city of the same name and demonstrates his inclination for adventures, tracking the night routes of the blind boy living "on Vater". Because of this, the hero almost dies in a fight with a girl - an assistant to a smuggler.
The chapter “Princess Mary” illustrates Pechorin’s passion for experimentation and analysis of his actions. Gregory out of obstinacy decides to win the heart of an intelligent girl named Mary, in order to hurt the pride of his friend Grushnitsky. In the end, a duel took place between them, on which the latter dies. In this chapter, we can most vividly observe the stubbornness of the hero and his penchant for thinking, which Lermontov endowed with his character. The “hero of our time”, a brief summary of which will help us understand the causes of the character’s actions, gradually reveals to us the world of his soul.
In the last story, Fatalist, the author expresses his hope that his generation has not lost everything: Pechorin captures a Cossack killer. This concludes the novel written by Lermontov, “Hero of Our Time”. A brief summary of this psychological work should clarify the thoughts that the author put into it.