A summary of “A Hero of Our Time” will help you better know and understand this novel, even if you yourself have read it in full. This is the first psychological novel in the history of Russian literature, the author of which is Mikhail Lermontov. Refers to the classics of Russian literature. The novel was first published in 1840, when it was published in the printing house of Ilya Glazunov. The circulation of the first edition was one thousand copies. Lermontov wrote this work over several years, from 1838.
Publication history
“Fatalist” and “Taman” were also published there, in 1839 and 1840, respectively. But the chapters “Princess Mary” and “Maksim Maksimych” were not published separately; readers were able to get acquainted with them only after the publication of the first separate edition. The preface that precedes the modern version of the novel was written only in 1841 in St. Petersburg. It was included only in the second edition of the work.
Chapter "Bela"
The very first chapter is called "Bela". From it we learn about how the narrator travels through the Caucasus. He himself is an officer, so it is not surprising that he gets along with the already elderly staff captain Maxim Maksimych, from whom he learns about Pechorin. Once upon a time, Maxim Maksimych was the commandant of a fortress located in the south of Russia. Grigory Pechorin many years ago arrived to serve under his command. Then he was a young, but already experienced and experienced officer. He was exiled to the Caucasus after some unpleasant story, about which Maxim Maksimych either does not want to tell, or he himself does not know all the details.
Events begin to develop rapidly when a local mountain prince living nearby invites them to his daughter’s wedding. It is there that Pechorin meets Bela, the heroine who gives the title to this chapter of the novel. This turns out to be an amazingly beautiful girl, a classic mountain girl, who is radically different from the secular beauties he knew before. The young officer sets out to steal her from her parents' house by any means necessary.
The novel “A Hero of Our Time” (a chapter-by-chapter summary will allow you to pass an exam or test if you need to remember the main events of the work) says that he was prompted to this idea by the words of Maxim Maksimych. He accidentally witnessed a conversation between brother Bela and Kazbich, who was also a guest at the celebration. The latter, like Pechorin, really liked this girl. The brother even agreed to steal his sister for him if he gave in return his horse, which was considered the best in those places. But Kazbich did not agree to this. Pechorin considered this a definite sign.
In the chapter "Bela" ("Bella") of "A Hero of Our Time", a summary of which you are now reading, Pechorin invites the girl's brother to help steal a horse from Kazbich, and as a reward he will help him get closer to his sister. Maxim Maksimych does not approve of this idea, but Lermontov’s main character still achieves what he wants.
The brother of the desired girl brings her to the fortress, and while Pechorin distracts Kazbich with conversations, takes the horse, disappearing forever from those places, since he understands that the punishment will be cruel and inevitable. Kazbich is angry, he is having a hard time with the deception and loss of his horse, now wanting only one thing - revenge.
Bela at this time finds herself in a Russian fortress, where Pechorin is trying to win her favor. From the summary of the chapters of Lermontov's "Hero of Our Time", we can trace the main events that are described in more detail in the novel itself. The girl yearns for her home, ignoring the Russian officer in every possible way. He showers her with gifts and loving promises, but to no avail. Over time, she still gives in to his onslaught and falls in love with her kidnapper, but at the same moment Bela becomes uninteresting and indifferent to Pechorin. He grows cold towards her and is burdened by her company.
Pechorin begins to be overcome by boredom. The reader will be convinced more than once that this is the faithful companion of the protagonist. She also attacks him in the chapter “Bel” of “Hero of Our Time”. The summary, like the novel, describes the signs of this. He constantly disappears somewhere, hunting all day long, and all this time the girl yearns alone in the fortress.
Over time, Kazbich appears and brazenly kidnaps Bela. Hearing her plaintively calling for help, Maxim Maksimych and Pechorin rush to the rescue. Kazbich realizes that he cannot escape persecution and mortally wounds Bela. Two days later she dies in the arms of the protagonist. He takes this loss hard, but pushes the grief deep inside. After the funeral, he is transferred to another unit, and they part with Maxim Maksimych for several years.
Chapter "Maksim Maksimych"
Soon the narrator meets Maxim Maksimych again. This is the only chapter in which the actions take place in the present tense, while the remaining chapters are based on memories of Pechorin or his notes. They meet at a roadside hotel, and Pechorin also stops here, whom the narrator meets face to face. He is on his way to Persia.
Maxim Maksimych is filled with joyful feelings; he is happy to see an old friend, whom he always treated with special warmth. He immediately asks the footman to report that he is waiting for Pechorin at his place. Surprisingly, he does not come either in the evening or at night. The old officer is absent-minded, he cannot understand why his old friend does not want to see him.
Finally, Pechorin appears, behaves coldly, greeting his old colleague and friend only in passing. At the same time, he quickly gets ready to set off. From the chapter “Maksim Maksimych” of “A Hero of Our Time,” a summary of which is described in detail in this publication, we can find out how upset the old officer was. Finally, he asks Pechorin what to do with his journal, which he has kept all these years. Pechorin is indifferent here too, he doesn’t care.
After the main character leaves, Maxim Maksimych gives the notes to the narrator. This is how this novel is born from travel notes, which the author decides to publish after learning about Pechorin’s death in distant Persia. It is in this chapter that we learn the history of the manuscript, invented by the author; it is also given in the summary of “A Hero of Our Time” (“Maksim Maksimych”).
Chapter "Taman"
This chapter tells how Pechorin arrives in Taman on official business. He stays in a house on the seashore, next to which suspicious events occur at night, and immediately feels that something is unclean here. The gloomy house itself, in which a blind boy and a deaf old woman live, suggests dark thoughts.
The main character decides to follow them. It turns out that the boy goes to the seashore almost every night. There he meets a girl, and together they wait until someone arrives.
When a boat appears on the shore, a man gets out of it and leaves some cargo. The girl and boy help him in every possible way. Pechorin is at a loss what it is.
In the morning, he directly asks the girl about the night’s incident, but she answers in riddles, laughs and avoids a direct and frank conversation in every possible way.
The solution to Taman
In the chapter "Taman" of "A Hero of Our Time" (a summary is presented to your attention), Pechorin has to be threatened by the authorities when he solves this riddle. The mysterious people he saw at night turn out to be ordinary smugglers who are engaged in the illegal transportation of goods. The main character threatens them, but soon regrets it; his long tongue almost costs him his life.
It was like this. A girl once called him to the sea for a date. Pechorin was immediately wary of this proposal, but went anyway. Together they sailed out to sea on a boat. A summary of the chapters of “A Hero of Our Time” gives a complete picture of their date. In the midst of the voyage, the girl attacked the officer, trying to throw him into the water from the boat. It was with great difficulty that he managed to hold on. Pechorin threw the smuggler into the sea and returned to shore.
After some time, he again met the smugglers at the old place. But this time the man and woman swam away from these places forever, leaving the blind boy to the mercy of fate. Already in the morning, Pechorin also left Taman forever, regretting that he had disturbed the peace of these people.
Chapter "Princess Mary"
The largest chapter of this work is called “Princess Mary”. A chapter-by-chapter summary of “A Hero of Our Time” gives an idea of this story.
Pechorin comes to Pyatigorsk to receive treatment. On the waters, he meets his old friend Grushnitsky, who also came to recover after being wounded. There were friendly relations between them, but Pechorin himself admitted to himself that he always felt that they would have to collide on a narrow path.
At this time, there were many respectable aristocratic audiences in Pyatigorsk, among whom Princess Ligovskaya and her daughter Mary stood out. Grushnitsky was almost immediately captivated by the young princess; he decided for himself that he must certainly become the hero of her novel. From the first day he was looking for a reason to meet Mary. But the Ligovskys were in no hurry, although Grushnitsky looked very romantic, wearing an old shabby soldier’s overcoat. It seemed that this was an officer exiled to the Caucasus because of a duel.
Pechorin acted with the complete opposite. He was in no hurry to introduce himself to the princess, which greatly surprised her and the surrounding society. In the chapter “Princess Mary” of “A Hero of Our Time” (the summary tells about this), Pechorin manages to become friends with Doctor Werner.
In a provincial town, the hero is again overcome by boredom, and in order to dispel it, he decides to win the girl’s heart. At the same time, he is fully aware that Grushnitsky will immediately begin to be jealous. It only adds to the pleasure of adding intrigue to what is happening.
Visit to the Ligovskys
The princess in “A Hero of Our Time” (in the summary you can find signs of this) appears as a young and romantic girl who will not be difficult to charm such an experienced womanizer as Pechorin.
Meanwhile, Werner tells him that a distant relative has come to visit the princess, in whom the main character immediately recognizes his longtime lover named Vera. When they see each other, long-standing and already forgotten feelings awaken in them again.
In order to see each other more often and at the same time not arouse suspicion among others, Vera invites Pechorin to come to Ligovskaya as often as possible and start caring for Mary. This way, no one will guess about the true reasons for his visit, and suspicious rumors will not spread in the city. Pechorin readily agrees, because this is at least some kind of entertainment for him.
Meeting at the ball
The romance between Pechorin and Mary begins to develop rapidly when, at a ball, he saves a girl from the advances of a drunken and obsessive officer. The grateful princess invites him to visit their home.
At first, Pechorin is deliberately cold and indifferent to the girl, which angers Mary a lot. In the summary of “A Hero of Our Time” you will find confirmation that this behavior of the main character only added fuel to the fire of their relationship. Pechorin acts strictly according to his plan to seduce the young lady.
He successfully achieves his goal. All the girl’s thoughts are occupied only with him. Meanwhile, Grushnitsky does not lose hope of awakening feelings in the princess, which bores her quite a bit. Every day she becomes more and more indifferent to him. Grushnitsky begins to suspect the true reason for what is happening, blaming Pechorin for everything. He is jealous and deliberately avoids his friend.
In Lermontov's "Hero of Our Time", a summary of which will help you out if you have not read the work itself, Pechorin mocks Grushnitsky's feelings. He decides to knock him down, planning to provoke him into a duel by giving his opponent an unloaded pistol. Pechorin quite by chance witnesses this conversation, he becomes unpleasant and offended for his old friend, and in revenge he decides to make him a laughing stock.
At this time, Mary becomes more and more interested in Pechorin, declaring her love for him on one of her walks. But Pechorin is deliberately indifferent to everything, he does not understand why they need this relationship. But at the same time he is proud that he managed to achieve his goal by falling in love with this girl.
The culmination of this chapter, and perhaps the entire novel, is the duel between Pechorin and Grushnitsky. This is one of the most memorable events of A Hero of Our Time. From the summary that is in this article, you can learn about it.
Rumors begin to circulate around the city that Pechorin plans to marry Mary. He denies everything, declaring that he values freedom more than anything else, but at the same time suspects who is starting these conversations.
At the same time, he continues to see Vera. Going on a secret date with his beloved, he finds himself opposite the windows of the princess, who remains at home. Pechorin looks into the house, then jumps onto the grass and stumbles upon Grushnitsky and his comrades. They start a fight, Pechorin goes into hiding.
The next day, Grushnitsky officially declares that Pechorin is Mary’s lover who goes on dates with her. The main character challenges him to a duel. Pechorin admits to Werner what Grushnitsky wants to do with the pistols. Werner agrees to become his second.
At the appointed place, Grushnitsky, acting according to a pre-agreed scenario, suggests shooting from six steps. The most intense moment of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" begins. A summary of the chapters will help you quickly recall it.
Pechorin, in turn, suggests shooting on the edge of a cliff, so that even a slight wound turns into a fatal one. In this case, there will be no problems covering your tracks. The deceased will be attributed to the machinations of the Circassians.
Participants in the duel Grushnitsky gets to shoot first. He faces a difficult choice: admit to a low act that is not worthy of a Russian officer, or turn into an ordinary killer. At the last moment, he decides to shoot and wounds Pechorin in the leg. He prepares to answer, advising his friend to pray one last time. But, without noticing even a shadow of remorse on the young officer’s face, he informs his second that they forgot to load his pistol. The second second is indignant that the rules are being violated; it is impossible to change pistols along the way, but Grushnitsky nobly admits that Pechorin is right.
Pechorin's shot turns out to be fatal. As planned, the murder is blamed on the Circassians, and all participants in the duel get away with it.
A summary of the chapters of “A Hero of Our Time” allows you to arrange all the events that happened in a logical chain. Vera hastily leaves Pyatigorsk with her husband, to whom, in a fit of feelings, having learned about the duel, she confesses her love for Pechorin. The main character rushes after her, hoping to catch up, but to no avail. Only at this moment does he realize that Vera is the only woman he loves.
At this time, his superiors still begin to suspect that Grushnitsky’s death was the result of a duel. Therefore, Pechorin is quietly transferred to a small fortress in the Caucasus, where he later meets Maxim Maksimych. Finally, Grigory visits the Ligovskys. The princess thanks him for saving her daughter's good name, wondering why he doesn't propose to a girl who is attractive, rich and madly in love with him. Pechorin asks for a private conversation with the princess, during which he admits that he is not interested in her, and all this time he has been mocking her.
Chapter "Fatalist"
The chapter "Fatalist" is the final one in the novel "A Hero of Our Time". The summary will immediately remind you what it is about. This part of the work tells about Pechorin’s service in one of the Cossack villages.
The officers spend all their evenings playing cards. One day they start talking about fate. Is human life or death predetermined? Or is every person his own master?
Officer Vulich, a fatalist and gambler, offers to test in practice whether a person can control his own destiny. He makes a bet with Pechorin. The chapter “Fatalist” of “A Hero of Our Time” (the summary will not replace the original work) tells how Vulich takes a pistol, and at this moment the main character thinks that he sees death in the eyes of his opponent, which he informs him about. Vulich shoots himself in the temple, but the weapon misfires. He fires the next shot to the side, and the bullet pierces the cap that is hanging on the wall. It turns out that the gun was loaded after all. Everyone around is stunned. Most of all - Pechorin, who does not understand why he saw death in Vulich’s eyes.
The answer comes in the morning. Pechorin learns that he is found hacked to death with a saber. He is killed by a drunken Cossack when he returns home. The sobered Cossack, realizing what he had done, locked himself in the hut and was not going to surrender to the authorities, threatening to open fire. Nobody dares to break it, for fear of running into a bullet.
Pechorin has the idea of trying his luck. He climbs into the house through the window, the Cossack shoots, but only hits the protagonist’s epaulette. The villagers who came running to help arrest the Cossack and take him away. Pechorin is now treated like a hero.
And from now on he is overcome by thoughts of whether he should become a fatalist. Everything in life turns out to be not as simple as it seemed to him before. Arriving from the fortress, Pechorin tells everything to Maxim Maksimych, asking if he believes in fate and predestination. Staff Captain - He notes that the pistol often misfires, and it was apparently destined for that officer to die at the hands of a Cossack. This ends their conversation, and indeed the entire novel, which became one of the key works of Russian literature of the first half of the 19th century.
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Other materials on the works of Lermontov M.Yu.
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The novel was written in 1839-1840. Lermontov began working on it based on the impressions of his first exile to the Caucasus, in 1839. Two stories were published in the magazine “Notes of the Fatherland” under the heading “Notes of an Officer in the Caucasus” - “Bela” and “Fatalist”, in 1840. - “Taman”. In April 1840 the novel was published in full, two more chapters were added to it - “Maxim Maksi-mych” and “Princess Mary”. The arrangement of the chapters did not correspond to the order of publication in the journal. The preface to the entire novel appeared only in the second edition of 1841, this was the author’s response to criticism.
Preface
The novel begins with a preface explaining the purpose of the essay: readers are indignant that they are given an example of such an immoral person as Pechorin. But the novel is not a portrait of one person, but a portrait of all the vices of a generation in their development. There is more truth in Pechorin than readers would like, so they do not believe in him. The reader has been fed sweets for too long, but needs bitter medicine, caustic truths. The author points out a disease of society, but God knows how to cure it!
Events take place during the conquest of the Caucasus.
Part 1.BELA
In the chapter “Bela,” the narrator-officer talks about how, on the way from Tiflis, he met staff captain Maxim Maksimych. Because of a snowstorm, they stop for a forced overnight stay in a hut, the captain tells his fellow traveler about Pechorin. Grigory Pechorin was then twenty-five years old, and the staff captain was the commandant of the guard fortress. Pechorin, according to Maxim Maksimych, was a nice fellow, although strange, he did not take care of himself. They lived on friendly terms for about a year, during which Pechorin caused trouble. Not far from their fortress lived a prince. His son Azamat often came to them, they spoiled him, but the boy was too greedy for money. One day the prince invited them to the wedding of his eldest daughter, and there the youngest daughter, Bela, sang a compliment to Pechorin. She was pretty, and Pechorin and the gloomy Kazbich, an acquaintance of the staff captain with the appearance of a robber, admired her. This time he was wearing chain mail under a beshmet. Maxim Maksimych thought that he was planning something. Coming out of the stuffiness into the street, he hears that Azamat likes Kazbich’s horse. The owner praises his horse, which has saved him more than once, and calls him comrade. Azamat says that he would give a herd of a thousand mares for him, but Kazbich doesn’t want to. Azamat cannot get his way and offers to steal his sister Bela for him. Kazbich laughs, he is tired of Azamat, and he impatiently drives him away. Azamat rushes at him with a dagger. Kazbich pushes him away, Azamat shouts that Kazbich wanted to stab him. Kazbich slipped away. Maxim Maksimych recalls that the devil pulled him to tell this to Pechorin: he laughed and thought of something. Under Azamat, he constantly talked about Kazbich’s horse, promising to deliver it in exchange for Bela. In the absence of his father, Azamat took his sister away, and when Kazbich brought sheep to sell, with the help of Pechorin, he took away his horse Karagez. Kazbich killed his father in revenge. Pechorin tamed the timid beauty Bela, the Circassian girl fell in love with him, got used to the fact that she belonged to him, but soon he became bored with her. Pechorin said that not a single woman loved him like that; the captain got used to her as a daughter. One day he found her sad: Grigory Alexandrovich went hunting yesterday and did not return. Bela accepts the advice not to keep it near her skirt and to be cheerful, but cannot follow it. Kazbich arrives on Bela's father's horse, and a sentry shoots at him. Maxim Maksimych expresses concern to the returning Pechorin. Pechorin caresses Bela less and less, and then, when the friends leave to hunt a wild boar, the girl becomes the prey of Kazbich, who hits her with a dagger and runs away. Bela suffered for two days, then died, deliriously speaking about her love for Pechorin. Maxim Maksimych says that it is good that she died: otherwise Pechorin would have abandoned her sooner or later, but she would not have endured it. They didn’t talk to him about Bel anymore. Then Pechorin left for Georgia.
2. MAXIM MAKSIMYCH
The fellow travelers parted, but met again a few days later. Unexpectedly, Maxim Maksimych meets Pechorin, who has retired and is heading to Persia. He lets Pechorin know about himself, but Pechorin is in no hurry. Frustrated, Maxim Maksimych tossed and turned all night. When Pechorin arrived, the narrator told his fellow traveler about this. The narrator draws us a portrait of Pechorin, sees in him a sign of his breed: he has a face that women like, he is of average height, slender, and cleanly dressed. The absence of gestures indicates a secretive character. Pechorin’s eyes do not laugh, his gaze is cold, penetrating and heavy. Pechorin is already getting ready to leave, Maxim Maksimych barely has time to come running. But Pechorin does not stay for a minute, no matter how much his old enemy begs him. Maxim Maksimych gives the papers to the author.
Pechorin's journal. Preface
After Pechorin's death (he died returning from Persia), the author publishes Pechorin's journal with a preface. In it, he explains the reasons for the publication: he was convinced of the sincerity of Pechorin, who exposed his vices. This history of the human soul, written without vanity, seems to him more useful than the history of the entire people. He cites passages relating to Pechorin’s stay in the Caucasus.
1. TAMAN
In the chapter "Taman" Pechorin appears as a hunter of dangerous adventures. At night he arrives in the city and suspects that the blind boy with whom he spends the night is not so simple. He tracks him down, sees that the blind man has met a girl and they are waiting on the shore for some Yanko. Pechorin is convinced that Yanko has brought some bundles, and during the day he tries to find out from the boy what it is. He recognizes that girl by her voice, she flirts with him, he says that she was on the shore at night. Soon she comes to him and suddenly kisses him. In the evening he goes to the pier, telling the Cossack to rush to him if he shoots. A girl meets him, they are sailing on a boat, the girl takes away the pistol and tries to push him, who cannot swim, into the water, fearing that he will report about the knots. Instead of eFogo, Pechorin threw her into the waves. She swam out and left with Yanko forever, since the smuggled goods he brought had become a dangerous business. The blind man stole Pechorin's things and gave them to Yanko. It turned out that the boy robbed the hero, and the girl almost drowned. He disturbed the peace of honest smugglers, almost getting hurt himself. In the morning Pechorin left Taman.
Part 2. (End of Pechorin's journal)
2. PRINCESS MARY
The chapter “Princess Mary” is Pechorin’s story about a meeting in Pyatigorsk with the romantic cadet Grushnitsky. Pechorin characterizes him as a rather sharp, kind person, but one who flaunts his suffering. He says that he figured it out and if they meet on a narrow path, Grushnitsky will be in trouble. He drew attention to the young girl, Princess Mary of Lithuania, dropped the glass on purpose and ostentatiously tried to get it, Mary helped him and ran away. Pechorin tells him that he was not touched by Mary’s participation, he is jealous because he is sure that everything should belong only to him, he speaks of Mary (according to Grushnitsky) as an English horse. Pechorin wants to piss off the cadet only because of his passion to contradict.
He meets Doctor Werner, a malicious-tongued skeptic by nature, whom the youth nicknamed Mephistopheles. They got along great. Werner said that Mary thinks that Grushnitsky was demoted as a soldier for the duel. Werner understands that Grushnitsky will be a victim of Pechorin, says that he told about him and Mary became interested, now she sees him as the hero of the novel. Werner characterizes the Ligovsky mother and daughter for him. Pechorin learns from him by description that the woman he loved before, Vera, came to the waters. She married a relative of the Ligovskys. Pechorin asks Werner not to talk about him or speak badly about him. Sadness took possession of him, the past has great power over him, he has not forgotten anything. Pechorin quickly achieves the princess's hatred: it seems strange that he avoids making acquaintance. He buys the carpet from under her nose. Mary preaches a militia against Pechorin in society. He tells Grushnitsky that the princess is probably in love with him, but she is one of those who flirts a lot and in two years, out of obedience to her mother, will marry a freak. Grushnitsky is outraged. Soon a ring with the name Mary appears on his hand. Pechorin is waiting for her to choose him as her confidant and for him to enjoy himself.
Unexpectedly for himself, Pechorin meets Vera. She still loves him, but her husband watches her everywhere except in the Ligovskys' living room. They kiss, and Pechorin promises her to pursue Mary in order to divert the attention and suspicion of her husband. Pechorin argues in his journal that he no longer wants to love, but to be loved, but he has never been a slave to the woman he loves. He loved one woman with a strong will, but they parted as enemies; he does not like women with character. Vera again unconditionally trusts him, he is sure that they will part this time too, but the memory of her will always be in his soul. After the meeting, he mounted a horse and galloped mindlessly across the steppe, exhausting it. Suddenly emerging from behind a bush, he scares Mary and tells her that he is no more dangerous than Grushnitsky. Grushnitsky tells him that after this trick it will be difficult for him to enter their house, but Pechorin argues: if I want, tomorrow evening I will be with the princess and will begin to drag after the princess. A week has passed, Vera wants to see him at the Ligovskys. He goes to the ball and dances with Mary, then protects her from the drunken captain, who vulgarly tries to invite the princess to a mazurka, saving her from fainting at the ball. In gratitude, the princess invites him to her place at any time. He tells Mary that she is surrounded by a crowd of admirers and that is why he did not want to meet her. She replies that they are all very boring, even Grushnitsky. Grushnitsky is madly in love. They go to the princess, Vera comes for them. She says that she needs to please the princess, thinks about her imminent death from consumption and asks to meet only here, wants to save her reputation. Pechorin says about Vera that she alone accepted him with all his minor weaknesses and bad passions.
Pechorin seduces the princess, not understanding why he is doing this: out of envy of Grushnitsky? Under the influence of passion, he is unable to act; ambition is suppressed by circumstances. Grushnitsky was promoted to official, Werner does not congratulate him, since now he will look not like an exception, but like a general rule. He does not want to show himself to Mary until the uniform is ready. Society is heading towards failure under Mashuk. Pechorin slanders, Mary says that he is worse than a murderer. He notices that everyone saw bad traits in him - and they appeared, he became a moral cripple. With his words, he brings Mary to tears. He expects her to reward him tomorrow, and he is bored. Pechorin is increasingly attracted to the princess, she shares with Vera, who tells Pechorin that Mary is in love with him and is jealous, asks him to promise not to marry her, promising a night date alone. He rents an apartment next to the Ligovskys for a date. At the Ligovskys' party, he dances with Mary, she listens to him with tender attention, Vera is sad. Then Pechorin presents their story to the public with fictitious names, vividly depicting his tenderness, worries and delights. Vera perked up and sat closer. The company dispersed only at two o'clock in the morning.
Before the ball, Grushnitsky asks Pechorin if it is true that all these days He has been dragging after his princess? Pechorin thinks: is it really his purpose on earth to destroy other people's hopes? Mary is bored with Grushnitsky and is waiting for Pechorin. Grushnitsky is angry, and a hostile gang is formed against Pechorin. In the morning, Pechorin goes to Mary and asks if she is angry with him, asks for forgiveness, plays a role. Werner said that the whole city knows that Pechorin is marrying Mary. He refutes the rumor, says that he is leaving tomorrow for Kislovodsk. Werner warns him. In Kislovodsk, he sees Vera. Grushnitsky stops bowing to him, the princess expects Pechorin to ask her for her daughter’s hand. On a horse ride, Mary’s head began to spin, Pechorin held her back and kissed her on the cheek: he was interested in her reaction. She demands to know. what he feels for her, asks whether she should confess his love first? Pechorin says that there is no need. The next day, to the princess’s passionate speeches, he responds that he does not love her. He reasons in the magazine that he sometimes despises himself; , is afraid to seem ridiculous to himself, but he values freedom most of all, he is afraid of marriage; the fortune teller told his mother that he would die from an evil wife.
The famous magician and magician Apfelbaum comes to Kislovodsk. The whole city, except Mary and Vera, is there. Pechorin disappears from the performance, goes to Vera, and on the way back he sees Mary in the window. Grushnitsky and the dragoon track him down in the Litovsky garden and think that he is going on a date with Mary and make a fuss. Pechorin breaks free, goes to his room and pretends to be asleep. Grushnitsky spreads rumors about the princess, says that Pechorin was under the window. Pechorin challenges him to a duel. Werner and dragoon are seconds. Before the duel, Pechorin ponders: why was he born and lived, what is his purpose? He was an instrument of execution for doomed victims, his love did not bring happiness to anyone. He loved only for himself and could not get enough. Maybe tomorrow he will die, and there is no being who would understand him. Some say he is a kind fellow, others say he is a scoundrel. He's funny and annoyed. He rejoices in the morning that Werner offers a truce, but Grushnitsky refuses, he does not want to apologize. Pechorin says that it is better to shoot on the edge of a cliff, then even a minor injury will result in a fall into the abyss.
On the advice of the dragoon, Grushnitsky suggests shooting “at six steps” without loading the pistols. Pechorin first wants to test him by providing all the benefits - what if generosity awakens in him? Werner hurries him to say that they know the truth, and Pechorin tells him that maybe he wants to be killed. But Grushnitsky’s plan is dying. Pechorin advises him to pray and asks if his conscience is telling him anything. He calls the doctor and says that the gentlemen forgot to put a bullet in his gun. Dragoon says that it probably rolled out, and he will not change the pistol. Grushnitsky contradicts him. After his unsuccessful shot, Pechorin again offers peace, but Grushnitsky says that if he doesn’t kill him, he will stab him from around the corner. Pechorin kills. The murder of Grushnitsky is attributed to the Circassians. Vera is taken away by her husband; she was so worried when she found out about the duel that she confessed to her husband that she loved Pechorin. Pechorin reads her farewell note and gallops after her, driving his horse. He realizes that Vera is dearer to him than anything in the world, but he cannot catch up with her. Upon returning, he learns that Grushnitsky’s death has aroused suspicion and he will be sent to another place. He goes to the Lithuanians to say goodbye. The princess says that he saved her daughter from slander and invites him to marry Mary. But Pechorin, in a few minutes alone with Mary, makes her hate him as much as she was in love with him before. He tells her that he laughed at her, which means she should despise him, but she cannot love him. An hour later he leaves, feeling that he could not live with such a lot.
3. FATALIST
In “Fatalist,” the final chapter of the novel, it is said that Pechorin spends two weeks in a Cossack village. Major V***'s company of officers is arguing about the fate of a person. They are discussing the Muslim belief that “the fate of a person is written in heaven.” Some people think this is nonsense, others are convinced that it is true. The major says there are no witnesses to this. Lieutenant Vulich, a Serb, stands up and offers to end the empty argument and try the evidence on him. He is a fatalist, according to Pechorin - a special creature, unable to share thoughts and passions with others. He says that if the hour of his death has not yet struck, then a pistol put to his forehead will not fire. Nobody wants to argue, only Pechorin agrees to the bet. Vulich puts a pistol to his forehead, and Pechorin sees the stamp of death on the lieutenant’s face and tells him that he will die today. The pistol misfires, and immediately Vulich shoots a second time, to the side. Everyone is arguing about why the pistol did not fire the first time. Pechorin notices that the lieutenant is lucky in the game, Vulich replies that this is the first time. Pechorin says that it still seemed to him that he should die today. Vulich gets embarrassed and flares up, leaving. Soon everyone else disperses. Pechorin walks through the alleys, firmly believing in predestination. He stumbles and sees a pig lying on the road, cut to pieces by a saber. People are looking for the drunken Cossack who was chasing her. Early in the morning, Pechorin was awakened by officers: Vulich was killed by that same Cossack. Maybe he wouldn’t have noticed him, but Vulich asked: “Who are you looking for, brother?” The Cossack replied that he was, and cut him from the shoulder to the heart. Vulich said before his death: “He’s right.” These words referred to Pechorin, who involuntarily read his fate.
The killer locked himself in the house and did not want to come out. Pechorin decided to try his fate, like Vulich. The Cossack was distracted towards the door, and Pechorin rushed towards him through the window. The Cossack fired back, but Pechorin grabbed his hands, and the Cossacks tied him up. Grigory Alexandrovich was not even wounded. After this, one could become a fatalist, but Pechorin likes to doubt everything. Maxim Maksimych, to whom he tells this story, at first does not understand the definition of fatalism, then he says that pistols and rifles often misfire. Later he adds that it’s a pity for the poor fellow, apparently it was written that way. Pechorin got nothing more from him; Maxim Maksimych was not a fan of metaphysical debates.
About “A Hero of Our Time” is a socio-psychological novel. The hero is shown through the perception of his contemporaries, of whom Werner is closest to him. We can also judge Pechorin from his diary. The chapters are not chronological, but the novel has a circular composition, and this allows the hero to be revealed to the reader gradually. Through the fate of his hero, wise but devoid of faith, the author shows the dramatic nature of the romantic’s worldview; his life turns into torture due to selfishness, and the hero never finds meaning in it. His duality splits his inner self, which causes pain to Pechorin himself and those around him.
A Russian traveler was traveling through the mountains from Tiflis. The cart with his luggage was carried by oxen, driven by hired mountaineers. Near the foot of the Koishaur Mountain he met another similar compatriot - an officer of about fifty, still of a cheerful appearance, named Maxim Maksimych. They turned out to be fellow travelers. During the difficult road through the passes near the abysses, Maxim Maksimych began to remember his service in Chechnya.
He told his companion that once an officer of about 25 years old, Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin, a rich man with a strong and independent character, came to serve in their fortress. His behavior seemed somewhat strange at first. Pechorin would spend entire cold days hunting, going out alone and hunting wild boar, or he could not even stand a draft in the room. He often sat alone in his room for whole days, looking bored.
Near the fortress lived a prince allied with the Russians, who had a son, Azamat, a brave young man, but unbalanced and dissolute. The prince invited officers from the fortress to the wedding of his eldest daughter. During the dances and songs at this feast, the owner’s youngest daughter, Bela, sang something like a compliment to Pechorin: “Our young horsemen are slender, and their caftans are lined with silver, and the young Russian officer is slimmer than them.” Pechorin really liked Bela (see the article Pechorin and women), but the highlander Kazbich, known for his desperate disposition, also looked greedily at her.
Lermontov. Hero of our time. Bela, Maxim Maksimych, Taman. Feature film
While the wedding was going on, Maxim Maksimych went out into the yard - and heard a quiet conversation between Kazbich and Azamat. Azamat admired Kazbich’s horse, Karagyoz, which was indeed unusually good. The young man asked Kazbich to give him the horse, promising to steal it from his father and give his best rifle or saber for it. Having separated, he offered to kidnap and give his sister Bela for a horse.
Kazbich did not agree. A quarrel and a fight broke out between him and Azamat. Other guests came running to the screams, and the wedding almost turned into a massacre. The officers left. Maxim Maksimych retold the whole story to Pechorin.
Kazbich often came to their fortress. Azamat also came. Pechorin began to start a conversation with Azamat every now and then about Kazbich’s horse. He promised help in her abduction, but demanded Bela in return. Maxim Maksimych convinced Pechorin that he had started a bad business, but Grigory Alexandrovich answered: the wild Circassian woman should be happy, having a husband like me.
One day Kazbich brought a dozen sheep to the fortress for sale. Pechorin detained him, warning Azamat, and he drove away Karagyoz. Hearing the neighing of his horse, Kazbich ran after the kidnapper with shots, but he galloped away. In terrible grief, Kazbich fell to the ground and lay there until the morning. Azamat, who gave up his sister to Pechorin, disappeared to an unknown location.
Maxim Maksimych wanted to return Bela to her father, but Pechorin told him that the prince could, in anger, kill his daughter, who had been with foreigners. Shy Bela was silent all the time at first. Pechorin treated her kindly, gave her rich gifts, swore his love. For a long time without receiving reciprocity, he finally said: “Bela, you are free! You can return to your father, but out of melancholy I will now go somewhere to seek death...” Hearing this, the mountain woman threw herself on his neck.
Kazbich, meanwhile, killed Bela’s father, believing that Azamat had stolen the horse in conspiracy with him. Bela and Pechorin lived in passionate love for some time, but then the mountain woman began to bother him. He increasingly left her to hunt. Bela was sad, often cried, and complained about Pechorin to Maxim Maksimych. Once he was walking with her along the ramparts - and they suddenly saw Kazbich in the distance on the horse of Bela’s father. The sentry shot at him, but missed. Kazbich galloped off.
Bela. Artist M. Zichy, 1902
Maxim Maksimych began to blame Pechorin for his indifference to Bela. In response, he told the old man about his life. (See.) In his early youth, Pechorin caroused a lot, but he soon got tired of it. Then he began to visit the big world - but did not find anything attractive there either; secular beauties quickly began to seem empty to him. He went to “dispel the boredom of the Chechen bullets,” but soon “got used to their buzzing.” The sight of Bela revived his last hope for a strong feeling, but it soon gave way to disappointment. “The love of a savage,” said Pechorin, “is little better than the love of a noble lady; the ignorance and simple-heartedness of one are just as annoying as the coquetry of the other.” Now he was thinking about going on a trip: “to America, to Arabia, to India - maybe I’ll die somewhere on the road!”
Soon Pechorin and Maxim Maksimych went hunting. Returning, they suddenly heard a shot near the fortress, and then saw Kazbich, who was taking Bela away on a horse. The officers ran after him, shooting. They were already catching up with Kazbich, but at the last moment he stabbed Bela in the back with a dagger, and he jumped off his horse, climbed the cliff and disappeared. It turned out that Kazbich waylaid the girl by the river, where she went to get water.
The wounded Bela died in agony in Pechorin’s arms. Pechorin stood over the body of the mountain woman with his usual impenetrable face, but when Maxim Maxim came up to console him, he suddenly burst out laughing - and this laughter filled with extreme despair sent a chill down his spine.
Three months later, Pechorin was transferred to serve in Georgia, and Maxim Maksimych no longer had news of him.
The minimum content of the novel is only 350 words.
Bela
The author meets him in the Caucasus, and he tells him about the incident with. Pechorin liked a local girl, and he, in agreement with her, steals her in exchange for stealing Kazbich's horse. Not immediately, but Bela falls in love with Pechorin, who is already tired of her.
Soon, out of revenge, Bela is kidnapped and wounded, and she dies, and Pechorin leaves.
Maxim Maksimych
Pechorin's journal. Preface
Taman
Pechorin spends the night in Taman and follows the smugglers: a blind boy, a girl and Yanko.
In the morning he meets a girl and threatens to expose them. In response, he calls Pechorin to the beach and unsuccessfully tries to drown him.
Soon Pechorin learns that because of him, Yanko and the girl are sailing away, and the blind man is left alone.
Princess Mary
Pechorin meets in Pyatigorsk and becomes close with. Grushnitsky communicates with, pretending to be a victim, but soon tires of her, and Pechorin, on the contrary, for the sake of meeting with, gets close to the princess, saving her from a drunk at the ball. Pechorin understands that the princess has unrequitedly fallen in love with him, but is in no hurry to stop playing with her.
Grushnitsky and several officers are preparing a conspiracy against Pechorin - a comic duel is planned to scare him.
Soon Pechorin kisses and immediately admits to the princess that he does not love her. Later, he is almost caught by Grushnitsky after a secret meeting with Vera. In response to the accusation of this, Pechorin challenges Grushnitsky to a duel. Werner becomes Pechorin's second, and the conspirators decide to load only Grushnitsky's pistol. Pechorin finds out about this, but does not reveal the plot.
In the duel, Grushnitsky shoots first, but cannot shoot to death and only scratches Pechorin’s leg. In response, Pechorin loads his pistol and kills the enemy.
Afterwards, Pechorin receives a farewell note from Vera and rushes after her, but does not catch up. Pechorin is expelled due to a duel.
Here you will find summary of Lermontov's novel “Hero of Our Time”. It should be said that the public perceived the hero of the novel with irritation. Some because they were given such an immoral person as an example, others because, in their opinion, the author painted a not very attractive portrait.
Part one – BELA – summary
The narration is told in the first person. The narrator travels on the stage to Tiflis. On the road he meets a fellow traveler, staff captain Maxim Maksimych.
He seemed to be about fifty years old; his dark complexion showed that he was familiar with the Transcaucasian sun, and his prematurely gray mustache did not match his firm gait and cheerful appearance.
New acquaintances stop for the night in one of the villages. After talking, Maxim Maksimych tells the author a story Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin.
Pechorin, a young officer of about twenty-five, came to the fortress beyond the Terek to serve.
He was a nice fellow, I dare to assure you; just a little strange. After all, for example, in the rain, in the cold, hunting all day; everyone will be cold and tired - but nothing to him. And another time he sits in his room, smells the wind, assures him that he has a cold; If he knocks with a shutter, he will tremble and turn pale, but with me he went to hunt a wild boar one on one; It happened that you wouldn’t get a word for hours at a time, but sometimes as soon as he started talking, you’d burst your stomach with laughter... Yes, sir, with great oddities, and he must have been a rich man: he had so many different expensive things!..
Not far from the fortress lived a local Circassian prince. His son Azamat, a boy of about fifteen, began to visit the fortress quite often. Despite his young age, Azamat had a hot temper. Many people loved to tease him - at the same time his eyes became bloodshot and he grabbed the dagger.
One day the old prince invited Pechorin and Maxim Maksimych to the wedding of his eldest daughter. There Pechorin saw the prince's youngest daughter Belu, and he really liked the girl.
She was beautiful: tall, thin, eyes black, like those of a mountain chamois, and looked into your soul.
Someone was present at the wedding Kazbich- a rather dark personality. There were rumors about him that he was engaged in cattle theft, walking beyond the Terek with abreks, and so on. Kazbich had a horse, Karagez, an animal of extraordinary beauty, which they tried to steal from its owner more than once.
Maxim Maksimych goes out into the air and accidentally overhears a conversation between Kazbich and Azamat. The boy admires the horse, and Kazbich tells how the horse saved his life when he was fleeing from the Cossacks. Azamat really wants to get this horse, and he offers to do whatever Kazbich wants. The boy cries and even offers to steal his sister Bela for Kazbich. But although Kazbich likes Bela, he refuses and makes fun of the young horseman. Azamat gets angry and a clash occurs between them. The boy screams that Kazbich wanted to stab him. There is a noise, Kazbich jumps on his horse and disappears. Pechorin and Maxim Maksimych return. Maxim Maksimych tells his friend about the conversation he overheard.
During Azamat’s visits, Pechorin begins to deliberately start a conversation about Kazbich’s horse, thereby teasing the boy. Pechorin negotiates with the boy that he will get Karagez for him in exchange for Bela. Azamat brings his sister in the evening. The next day, early in the morning, Kazbich arrived and brought with him sheep for sale. He tied the horse at the fence, and he began to drink tea at Maksim Maksimych’s. At this moment, Azamat jumps on his horse and disappears. Kazbich shoots at him, but misses. When Kazbich realized that he could not return his horse, he “fell to the ground and sobbed like a child” . He lay, grief-stricken, on the road for almost a day. When he found out the name of the kidnapper, he decided to take revenge.
Maxim Maksimych goes to Pechorin to rebuke him. But the efforts are in vain - Pechorin replies that he likes the girl. Bela “He sits in the corner, wrapped in a blanket, and doesn’t speak. doesn’t look: timid, like a wild chamois.” .
In vain Pechorin gives her gifts, says that he loves her - she remains unapproachable. Maxim Maksimych makes fun of Pechorin, then he offers a bet that in a week she will be his. He bought many new gifts, but his efforts were in vain. Then Pechorin pretends that he is leaving forever. Bela was shocked by this news, she throws herself on Pechorin’s neck and admits that she loves him too. Bela's father had by this time been killed by Kazbich out of revenge for the stolen horse.
In the morning, Maxim Maksimych and the narrator set off on their journey. They admire the nature of the Caucasus - lush, wild, beautiful. Maxim Maksimych tells the ending of this story.
Maxim Maksimych became attached to Bela, loved her like his own daughter. They hid from her for a long time that her father had died, but then they told her. Bela cried for two days, but soon forgot. Pechorin increasingly begins to leave the fortress. He disappears while hunting. Pechorin's frequent absences hurt Bela. She complains to Maxim Maksimych that she is tired of her lover. One day, while walking along the fortress wall, Maxim Maksimych and Bela see Kazbich. When Pechorin returns, Maxim Maksimych tells him about this. Pechorin says that CAUTION must be observed and forbids Bela to leave the fortress.
Maxim Maksimych reproaches Pechorin for falling out of love with Bela. To this Pechorin replies that this is his unhappy character: he is unhappy himself and brings misfortune to others. He confesses to Maxim Maksimych:
In my early youth... I began to madly enjoy all the pleasures that money could get, and, of course, these pleasures disgusted me. Then I ventured out into the big world, and soon I was also tired of society: I fell in love with society beauties and was loved. - but their love only irritated my imagination and pride, and my heart remained empty... I began to read, study - I was also tired of science; I saw that neither fame nor happiness depended on them at all, because the happiest people are ignorant, and fame is luck, and to achieve it, you just need to be clever. Then I got bored...
Pechorin says that “ savage love “little better than the love of a society lady. He still loves Bela, but he is bored with her.
The ignorance and simple-heartedness of one are just as annoying as the coquetry of the other.
Soon Maxim Maksimych and Pechorin go hunting. As they return, they hear a shot. Kazbich kidnapped Bela from the fortress. Kazbich is being pursued and his horse is wounded. He realizes that he won’t get far and wounds Bela with a knife. After suffering for two days, Bela dies.
In her dying delirium, she called Pechorin, asked him to kiss her, and regretted that in the next world they would not be together because they belonged to different faiths. Although Maxim Maksimych loved Bela very much, she never thought about him before her death. After she died, Maxim Maksimych and Pechorin go out onto the ramparts. Maxim Maksimych tries to find words of consolation for Pechorin, but he laughs in response. Bela was buried. Pechorin was ill for a long time, and then was transferred to Georgia.
Part two - Maxim Maksimych - summary
The narrator and Maxim Maksimych part, but after a while they meet again at the inn. They are sitting at the samovar. Another carriage approaches the inn. The author and Maxim Maksimych ask the footman whose she is. The footman replies that this is Pechorin’s carriage, and he himself is at dinner with the local colonel. Maxim Maksimych tells the footman to go to Pechorin and tell him that Maxim Maksimych is here. The footman leaves.
Maxim Maksimych
Maxim Maksimych is waiting for Pechorin, but he never comes. The next morning, Maxim Maksimych goes to the commandant and tells the narrator that if Pechorin appears, then let them send for him. The narrator soon sees Pechorin together with the colonel and sends for Maxim Maksimych.
Portrait of Pechorin through the eyes of the narrator:
He was of average height; his slender, slender coat and broad shoulders proved his strong build, his ability to endure all the difficulties of nomadic life and climate change... His dusty velvet frock coat, fastened only by the two lower buttons, made it possible to see the dazzlingly clean linen that revealed the habits of a decent man; his stained gloves seemed deliberately tailored to his small aristocratic hand... His gait was careless and lazy, but I noticed that he did not swing his arms - a sure sign of some secretiveness of character...
At first glance at his face, I would not have given him more than 23 years, although after that I was ready to give him 30. There was something childish in his smile. His skin had some kind of feminine tenderness; his blond hair, naturally curly, so picturesquely outlined his pale, noble forehead, on which only after long observation one could notice traces of wrinkles flowing into one another and, probably, becoming much more clearly visible in moments of anger or mental anxiety. Despite the light color of his hair, his mustache and eyebrows were black - a sign of the breed in a person... He had a slightly upturned nose, dazzling white teeth and brown eyes...
(The eyes) did not laugh when he laughed!.. This is a sign of either an evil disposition or deep, constant sadness. Because of his half-lowered eyelashes, they shone with some kind of phosphorescent shine... His gaze, short, but penetrating and heavy, left the unpleasant impression of an indiscreet question and could have seemed impudent if it had not been so indifferently calm.
Pechorin is getting ready to go on the road - the horses have already been laid. The author asks him to wait, since Maxim Maksimych should appear soon. Pechorin says: “Oh, yes, they told me yesterday.” Maxim Maksimych comes running, out of breath.
He is ready to throw himself on his old friend’s neck, but Pechorin is cold, he extends his hand to the staff captain with a pleasant smile. Maxim Maksimych asks Pechorin to stay, but he says that he needs to leave - he is going to Persia. Maxim Maksimych asks him what he has been doing all this time, and Pechorin replies that he was bored. When talking about Bela, Pechorin deliberately yawns. Before Pechorin leaves, Maxim Maksimych asks him what he should do with the papers belonging to Pechorin. “Whatever you want,” Pechorin answers and leaves. Maxim Maksimych is upset by this reception.
He's about to leave. Maxim Maksimych says goodbye to the narrator rather dryly, saying that he is going to go to the commandant. That is, he had not gone to the commandant before, but, apparently, was looking for Pechorin.
PECHORIN'S MAGAZINE
Re-reading these notes, I became convinced of the sincerity of the one who so mercilessly exposed his own weaknesses and vices. The history of the human soul, even the smallest soul, is perhaps more curious and useful than the history of an entire people, especially when it is the result of observations of a mature mind over itself and when it is written without a vain impulse to arouse sympathy or surprise... So, one desire for benefit made me print excerpts from a magazine that I got by chance... I included in this book only what related to Pechorin’s stay in the Caucasus... Maybe some readers will want to know my opinion about Pechorin’s character. My answer is the title of this book. “Yes, this is a cruel irony!” - they will say. - Don't know.
Taman
The narration is told in the first person (on behalf of Pechorin). Late at night, Pechorin arrives in Taman on a crossroads. He is taken to a hut on the very shore of the sea, since there are no government apartments. There is an orphan in the house - a blind boy. He says that the owner died, and her daughter went overseas with a boatman from Kerch, a Crimean Tatar.
Pechorin goes to bed, but an hour later he notices that the boy is taking some kind of knot. Pechorin is watching him. The blind man sneaks to the seashore with his bundle. On the shore, a girl approaches the blind man and says that Yanko will not be there, since there is a strong storm today. But the blind man objects that Yanko will definitely come, because he is a brave man. And indeed, after some time a boat appears, completely loaded with something. In the boat there is a man in a Tatar lamb cap.
Pechorin returns to the house. In the morning he goes to the commandant to find out about his departure to Gelendzhik, but due to the lack of ships, it is not yet possible to leave Taman. Pechorin returns to the hut, and the orderly tells him that an old woman has come, and with her a girl. Pechorin tries to find out from the blind man where he went at night, but he does not admit. Later, Pechorin hears a song being sung by a girl.
It was this girl that Pechorin saw on the shore last night. Describing the girl, Pechorin notes her free and cheerful character. She tries to flirt with him. In the evening, Pechorin tries to ask her about who she is and what her name is. But the girl limits herself to mocking answers and says nothing about herself.
Then Pechorin declares that he saw her last night. The girl laughs at this:
You've seen a lot, but you know little, and what you know, keep it under lock and key !
Pechorin threatens her that he will inform the commandant, but his threats are not serious. Some time passes, and the girl comes into Pechorin’s room, sits down opposite him, and silently looks. Then she begins to kiss Pechorin and makes an appointment with him at night on the seashore. Two hours later, Pechorin goes to the sea, takes a pistol with him and warns the orderly that if he hears a shot, he should run to the shore. The girl is already waiting on the shore. They get into the boat and sail away from the shore. The girl hugs Pechorin and says that she loves him, and then pulls out his gun and pushes Pechorin into the water. He can't swim, and the girl is trying to drown him. A fight ensues between them. The girl says: “You saw it, you will report it” . Pechorin manages to throw her overboard. He rows to the shore, there he climbs onto a cliff, from where he sees a girl crawling ashore, and soon Yanko’s boat arrives. The girl tells Yanko that everything is lost. A few minutes later a blind man arrives with a bag.
The Tatar and the girl inform him that they are leaving. The blind man asks: “And me?” The Tatar replies that he does not need him. He throws a few coins to the blind man “for gingerbread”, but he does not pick them up. As the boat sails away, the blind man sobs. Pechorin:
And why did fate throw me into the peaceful circle of honest smugglers? Like a stone thrown into a smooth spring, I disturbed their calm and, like a stone, I almost sank to the bottom myself.
When Pechorin returns, he realizes that the blind man was carrying in the bag: a saber with a silver frame, a box, a Dagestan dagger - things that belonged to Pechorin. But complaining to his superiors that he was robbed by a blind boy and almost drowned by a young girl, in Pechorin’s opinion, is ridiculous. In the morning Pechorin leaves for Gelendzhik. “I don’t know what happened to the old woman and the poor blind man. And what do I care about human joys and misfortunes?
(End Pechorin magazine) Princess Mary
The story is told in diary form.
Grushnitsky is a cadet. He's only been in the service for a year. He is well-built, dark-skinned and black-haired, and looks about twenty-five years old. He throws his head back when he speaks, and constantly twirls his mustache with his left hand because he leans on a crutch with his right. He speaks quickly and pretentiously: he is one of those people who have ready-made pompous phrases for all occasions.
Grushnitsky tells Pechorin about the “water society.” He considers the only interesting people here to be the Princess of Lithuania and her daughter Mary, but he does not know them personally.
At this time, the Lithuanians pass by. Mary is very pretty and dressed according to strict rules of taste. She has velvet eyes and long eyelashes. Pechorin witnesses a curious scene: Grushnitsky dropped the glass from which he was drinking a mineral ode onto the sand and tried to pick it up, but his sore leg did not allow him to do this. Princess Mary, “with a body movement filled with inexpressible charm,” raised the glass and handed it to Grushnitsky. He didn’t have time to say anything - the princess quickly left. Grushnitsky considers her action to be a sign of favor towards him. But Pechorin, out of a sense of contradiction and some envy, upsets the lover Grushnitsky.
In the morning, a Russian doctor named Werner comes to Pechorin.
He is a skeptic and a materialist... and at the same time a poet... Usually Werner secretly mocked his patients, but I once saw him cry over a dying soldier... He was poor, dreamed of millions, but for money he would not take an extra step... he had an evil tongue...
Werner is ugly, he is short, and thin, and weak, like a child; one leg is shorter than the other. The youth called him Mephistopheles. Werner and Pechorin understand each other without words. Werner talks about how Princess Litovskaya remembers Pechorin from St. Petersburg. The princess, according to the doctor, is interested in Grushnitsky, since the girl is sure that he was demoted to soldier for a duel. Werner says that a relative came to visit the Litovskys. He describes her appearance, and from the description Pechorin understands that this is Vera - the woman with whom he was once in love.
After lunch, Pechorin goes to the boulevard. There are also Lithuanians, around whom there is a crowd of young people. Pechorin sees familiar officers among them. He strikes up a conversation with them, tells jokes and little by little lures them into his circle. The princess is angry about this - she is deprived of the attention of fans. All subsequent days Pechorin behaves in the same spirit. He makes Mary angry and annoying with his actions. For example, he buys a Persian carpet that Mary wanted to buy. Grushnitsky, on the contrary, tries in every way to get to know the princess and interest her in his person. Pechorin convinces Grushnitsky that Mary will never take him seriously - she will fool him, and then she will marry a rich freak and begin to assure Grushnitsky that she will love him all her life. But Grushnitsky does not listen to Pechorin, he is madly in love with Mary. Pechorin sees that Grushnitsky is behaving annoyingly towards Mary, and understands that the princess will very soon get tired of him. Grushnitsky buys a ring on which he engraved Mary's name.
Near the source, Pechorin meets Vera. She married a second time. Her new husband is a distant relative of the Lithuanians, a rich, lame old man. Vera respects him “like a father, and will deceive him like a husband.” In order to be able to meet with Vera in the Ligovskys’ house, Pechorin decides to “drag” behind the princess as a cover. Having said goodbye to Vera, Pechorin gallops into the mountains.
On the way, he meets horsemen, in front of whom Grushnitsky and Vera are galloping. Mary thinks of Grushnitsky as a romantic hero. He talks tragically about his future. Pechorin decides to make Mary fall in love with him when she gets tired of Grushnitsky.
Ball in a restaurant. Pechorin waltzes with Mary. He asks her forgiveness for his behavior. Moreover, he saves her from the advances of a drunken gentleman. Gradually, Mary's hostility towards Pechorin disappears.
Pechorin reports casually that Grushnitsky is not at all a demoted officer and a “romantic hero,” but an ordinary cadet.
Pechorin receives an invitation to the Lithuanians. He spends almost the entire evening talking with Vera, paying very little attention to Mary. He doesn't listen to her singing. Mary, in revenge, tries to be nice to Grushnitsky, although she is no longer interested in him at all. Pechorin understands that his plans are beginning to come true and very soon the princess will fall in love with him. Grushnitsky is sure that the princess loves him, he behaves very stupidly. But Pechorin needs the love of Princess Pechorin only in order to feel power over her. He is aware that he is not capable of deep feeling.
I feel this insatiable greed within me, devouring everything that comes my way; I look at the sufferings and joys of others only in relation to myself, as food that supports my spiritual strength. I myself am no longer capable of going mad under the influence of passion; ambition is nothing more than a thirst for power, and my first pleasure is to subordinate to my will everything that surrounds me; to arouse feelings of love, devotion and fear - isn’t this the first sign and the greatest triumph of power?
Grushnitsky was finally promoted to officer. He is unusually happy and expects to impress the princess with his new epaulettes. But Werner tells Grushnitsky that now he will get lost in the crowd of Mary’s admirers, since in a soldier’s overcoat he was an exception. However, Grushnitsky does not want to hear anything.
Walking in the evening at a rest stop. Pechorin is slandering his mutual acquaintances. Mary is frightened by his sarcasm, and she asks him not to talk about her in that spirit. Pechorin says that from childhood he was credited with qualities that he did not possess.
I was modest - I was accused of guile: I became secretive. I felt good and evil deeply; No one caressed me, everyone insulted me: I became vindictive... I was ready to love the whole world - no one understood me: and I learned to hate. My colorless youth passed in a struggle with myself and the world; Fearing ridicule, I buried my best feelings in the depths of my heart; they died there... I became a moral cripple: one half of my soul did not exist, it dried up, evaporated, died, I cut it off and threw it away - while the other moved and lived at the service of everyone, and no one noticed this, because they did not know about the existence of her dead half...
The princess admits that she has never loved before. She accuses herself of being cold towards Pechorin. Pechorin is bored - he has long learned all the stages of such relationships by heart.
The next day Pechorin meets Vera. She is tormented by jealousy - Princess Mary began to confide her heartfelt secrets to her. Pechorin calms her down and says that he will follow her to Kislovodsk.
Grushnitsky is going to the ball. He put on a new uniform and doused himself with perfume. Grushnitsky meets with Mary, but she rejects him. Grushnitsky understands that Pechorin is somehow involved in the fact that the princess began to hate him. A hostile atmosphere is developing around Pechorin. "gang" which is headed by Grushnitsky. Grushnitsky spreads rumors around the city that Pechorin is going to marry the princess. Pechorin goes to Kislovodsk, where he often meets with Vera. This is followed by a description of the outskirts of Kislovodsk and Pechorin’s reflections on women’s logic, or more precisely, on the lack thereof.
Lithuanians also come to Kislovodsk. On Pechorin and Mary's horseback ride, while fording a mountain river, the princess becomes ill. Pechorin supports her by the waist and kisses her. The princess says that she does not understand whether he loves her or hates her. She confesses her love to him. But Pechorin reacts rather coldly to the confession.
Pechorin is annoying "water society" with his arrogance, and Grushnitsky and his comrades decide to teach him a lesson. Grushnitsky plans to challenge Pechorin to a duel, and the dragoon captain, who will be a second, undertakes to arrange everything so that the pistols will not be loaded. Pechorin overhears this conversation quite by chance. He decides to take revenge on Grushnitsky.
In the morning, Pechorin meets the princess at the well. She confesses her love to him and says that she will be able to convince her family not to interfere with them. Pechorin answers Mary that he does not love her and will not explain the reasons for his actions. Pechorin reflects that he is ready to do a lot for the sake of a woman, but he will never marry, because one fortune teller predicted to him death from an “evil wife.”
A magician comes to Kislovodsk, and the entire “water society” goes to the show. Pechorin comes to Vera at this time, where he spends the evening and night. Vera lives in the same house with the Litovskys, and, leaving her, Pechorin looks into Mary’s window. Unexpectedly, Grushnitsky and the dragoon officer, who were guarding the fence, try to grab him. Pechorin breaks free, hits a dragoon officer on the head, and runs home. In the morning, rumors spread in the city that at night the Lithuanian house was attacked by Circassians. For the second time, fate provides Pechorin with the opportunity to hear Grushnitsky speak about him. Grushnitsky says that the Circassians did not attack at night - it was Pechorin, who left the princess. During this story, Pechorin entered, and Grushnitsky, trying not to lose himself in front of society, repeats this lie already in the presence of Pechorin.
He challenges him to a duel. Pechorin's second is Werner, who suspects that only Grushnitsky's pistol will be loaded. But Pechorin decides to go to the end.
The night before the duel, Pechorin does not sleep. He is not afraid to die - he is bored with living. He thinks about what he lives for.
Why did I live? for what purpose was I born?.. And, it’s true, it existed, and, it’s true, there was a high purpose for me, because I feel immense strength in my soul... But I didn’t guess this purpose... My love didn’t bring happiness to anyone, because I did not sacrifice for those I loved: I loved only for myself, for my own pleasure... And maybe I will die tomorrow!.. and there will not be a single creature left on earth who would understand me completely... Some will say: he was a good guy, others are a scoundrel. Is it worth living after this? but you still live out of curiosity...
The next morning Pechorin expects a duel.
The area where we had to fight depicted an almost perfect triangle. They measured six steps from the prominent corner and decided that the one who would be the first to meet enemy fire would stand at the very corner, with his back to the abyss; if he is not killed, the opponents will switch places.
I decided to provide all the benefits to Grushnitsky; I wanted to experience it; a spark of generosity could awaken in his soul, and then everything would work out for the better; but pride and weakness of character should have triumphed... I wanted to give myself the full right not to spare him, if fate had mercy on me: Who has not entered into such conditions with his conscience?
Cast lots, doctor,” said the captain.
“You’re happy,” I said to Grushnitsky, “you should shoot first!” But remember that if you don’t kill me, then I won’t miss - I give you my word of honor.
He blushed; he was ashamed to kill an unarmed man; I looked at him intently; for a minute it seemed to me that he would throw himself at my feet, begging for forgiveness; but how can he admit to such a vile intention?.. He had only one remedy left - to shoot into the air; I was sure that he would shoot into the air!<…>
It’s time,” the doctor whispered to me, tugging at my sleeve, “if you don’t say now that we know their intentions, then everything is lost... Look, he’s already charging... if you don’t say anything, then I myself...”
No way in the world, Doctor! - I answered.<…>
Meanwhile, the captain loaded his pistols, handed one to Grushnitsky, whispering something to him with a smile, and the other to me.
I stood on the corner of the platform, firmly resting my left foot on the stone and leaning forward a little so that in case of a slight wound I would not tip back.
Grushnitsky stood against me and, at this sign, began to raise his pistol. His knees were shaking. He aimed straight at my forehead...
An inexplicable rage began to boil in my chest.
Suddenly he lowered the muzzle of the pistol and, turning white as a sheet, turned to his second.
Coward! - answered the captain.
The shot rang out. The bullet grazed my knee.
I involuntarily took a few steps forward to quickly move away from the edge.
Well, brother Grushnitsky, it’s a pity that I missed,” said the captain: “now it’s your turn, stand up!” Hug me first: we won't see each other again! - They hugged; the captain could hardly restrain himself from laughing: “Don’t be afraid,” he added, looking slyly at Grushnitsky, “everything is nonsense in the world... Nature is a fool, fate is a turkey, and life is a penny!”
After this tragic phrase, spoken with decent importance, he retreated to his place.<…>
I am still trying to explain to myself what kind of feeling was seething in my chest at that time; it was the annoyance of offended pride, and contempt, and anger, born at the thought that this man, now looking at me with such confidence, with such calm insolence, two minutes ago, without exposing himself to any danger, wanted to kill me, as dog; for if I had been wounded in the leg any more, I would certainly have fallen off the cliff.
I looked closely at his face for several minutes, trying to notice at least the slightest trace of repentance. But it seemed to me that he was holding back a smile.<…>
And you do not renounce your slander? don’t ask me for forgiveness?.. Think carefully: isn’t your conscience telling you something?
Mr. Pechorin! - shouted the dragoon captain, - you are not here to confess, let me tell you... Finish quickly; No matter if someone drives through the gorge, they will see us.
Fine. Doctor, come to me.
The doctor came up. Poor doctor, he was paler than Grushnitsky ten minutes ago.
I pronounced the following words deliberately with emphasis, loudly and clearly, as a death sentence is pronounced.
Doctor, these gentlemen, probably in a hurry, forgot to put a bullet in my pistol: I ask you to load it again - and well!
Can't be! - the captain shouted, “it can’t be!” I loaded both pistols, except that a bullet rolled out of yours... It's not my fault! - And you have no right to re-dress... no right... this is completely against the rules; I won't allow...
“Okay,” I told the captain, “if so, then we will shoot under the same conditions...
He hesitated.
Grushnitsky stood with his head bowed to his chest, embarrassed and gloomy.
Leave them! - he finally said to the captain, who wanted to snatch my pistol from the doctor’s hands... After all, you yourself know that they are right.
In vain the captain made various signs to him - Grushnitsky did not even want to look.
Meanwhile, the doctor loaded the pistol and handed it to me.
Seeing this, the captain spat and stamped his foot:
You’re a fool, brother,” he said, “a vulgar fool!.. You’ve already relied on me, so obey in everything... Serves you right! kill yourself like a fly... - He turned away and, walking away, muttered: But still, this is completely against the rules.
Grushnitsky! - I said, - there is still time, renounce your slander, and I will forgive you everything; you didn’t manage to fool me, and my pride is satisfied, remember, we were once friends...
His face flushed, his eyes sparkled.
Shoot,” he answered, “I despise myself, but I hate you.” If you don't kill me, I'll stab you at night from around the corner. There is no place for the two of us on earth...
I fired. When the smoke cleared, Grushnitsky was not on the site. Only the dust still curled in a light column on the edge of the cliff.
Finita la comedy! - I told the doctor.
Pechorin returns home. He receives two notes. One is from Werner, where it says that everything is settled, the other is from Vera (she writes that she confessed to her husband that she loves Pechorin, and is now leaving forever).
Pechorin tries to catch up with her, he gallops after her, drives the horse to death, but does not catch up with Vera. Returns to Kislovodsk. Werner says that a duel is suspected in the city. He says goodbye to Pechorin rather coldly. The next day Pechorin receives a new appointment. He goes to the Ligovskys to say goodbye. The princess invites him to marry her daughter because Mary loves him. Pechorin, having asked permission to talk with Mary in private, tells the princess that he laughed at her and asks to disabuse the princess of her misconception about him. Mary tells Pechorin that she hates him. Pechorin thanks her, bows respectfully and leaves.
Part last – Fatalist – summary
Cossack village. Having finished the card game, the officers discuss the Muslim belief that a person's fate is written in heaven. Among those present is Lieutenant Vulich, a Serb.
Tall stature and dark complexion, black hair, black penetrating eyes, a large but correct nose, belonging to his nation, a sad and cold smile that always wandered on his lips - all this seemed to agree in order to give him the appearance of a special being, unable to share thoughts and passions with those whom fate gave him as comrades. He was brave, spoke little, but sharply; He didn’t confided his spiritual and family secrets to anyone, he hardly drank wine at all, he never pursued young Cossack girls, whose beauty is difficult to comprehend without seeing them.
Vulich experienced only one passion - passion for the game. He played once even during a fight and gave back the money he lost. Vulich suggests testing whether a person can know about death in advance. Pechorin claims that there is no predestination. Vulich takes a pistol, which is unknown whether it is loaded or not, puts it to his temple and shoots. Misfire. The next shot is in the air. It turns out that the gun is loaded after all. Vulich’s face bears the imprint of imminent death. Pechorin tells him: "You are going to die today" .
The moon, full and red, like the glow of a fire, began to appear from behind the jagged horizon of houses; the stars calmly shone on the dark blue vault, and I felt funny when I remembered that there were once wise people who thought that the heavenly bodies took part in our insignificant disputes over a piece of land or for some fictitious rights!.. And what? and? these lamps, lit, in their opinion, only to illuminate their battles and celebrations, burn with the same brilliance, and their passions and hopes have long died out with them, like a light lit at the edge of the forest by a careless wanderer.
But what strength of will was given to them by the confidence that the whole sky, with its countless inhabitants, was looking at them with sympathy, albeit mute, but unchanging!.. And we, their pitiful descendants, wandering the earth without convictions and pride, without pleasure and fear, Apart from that involuntary fear that squeezes the heart at the thought of the inevitable end, we are no longer capable of making great sacrifices, either for the good of humanity, or even for our own happiness, because we know its impossibility, and we indifferently move from doubt to doubt, as our ancestors rushed from one delusion to another, having, like them, neither hope nor even that vague, although true, pleasure that the soul encounters in every struggle with people or with fate.
Pechorin sees a pig on the road, which was cut in half by a drunken Cossack. This Cossack is caught by his comrades. At night, Pechorin was awakened - Vulich was hacked to death by a drunken Cossack. Vulich's last words were: "He's right." The killer has locked himself in an empty hut on the outskirts of the village, and no one can lure him out of there. Pechorin decides to try his luck in the same way as Vulich. He wants to take the killer alive. Esaul distracts the Cossack, Pechorin enters the house through the window. The Cossack shoots at Pechorin, but misses.
After all this, how can one not become a fatalist? but who knows for sure whether he is convinced of anything or not? and how often do we mistake for a belief a deception of the senses or an error of reason!.. I love to doubt everything: this disposition of the mind does not interfere with the decisiveness of character - on the contrary; As for me, I always move forward more boldly when I don’t know what awaits me. After all, nothing worse can happen than death - and you can’t escape death!
I hope this summary of A Hero of Our Time helped you prepare for the lesson or remember the main plot points of this work.
“The Hero of Our Time... is a portrait, but not of one person: it is a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation, in their full development.” The author did not set the goal of “becoming a corrector of human vices,” “he simply had fun drawing modern man as he understands him, and to his and your misfortune, he met him too often.”
