Description of Eugene Onegin. Composition “Who is Eugene Onegin in the novel of the same name by Pushkin Who was Eugene Onegin by status


One of the most famous works of A. S. Pushkin both in Russia and abroad is his novel in verse "Eugene Onegin", written in the period from 1823 to 1830 of the 19th century. In many ways, the enduring popularity of the novel is due to its status as an integral part of the compulsory school curriculum. To write a high-quality essay on a work, we advise you to read the novel, perhaps at first not in one gulp, excerpts, but use quotes from Eugene Onegin to show that you really know the material.

Eugene Onegin. Explanation with Tatyana in the village

The story is told on behalf of a friend of the protagonist of the novel, who is Eugene Onegin, a native of St. Petersburg, 26 years old:

“... Onegin, my good friend, was born on the banks of the Neva ...”

"... having lived without a goal, without labor, until the age of twenty-six ..."

Onegin was born into a noble family, which gradually went bankrupt due to the fault of the head of the family, who strove to live beyond his means, but provided his son with a decent upbringing, by the standards of that time:

“... His father lived in debt, gave three balls annually, and finally squandered”

“... first Madame followed him, then Monsieur replaced her”

"... having fun and luxury a child ..."

The result of Eugene's upbringing and education was his knowledge of languages ​​(French, Latin, Greek), history, the basics of philosophy and economics, good manners, the ability to dance:

“He was perfectly able to speak and write in French, he danced the mazurka easily and bowed at ease”

"... a philosopher at eighteen..."

“He knew enough Latin to parse epigraphs, talk about Juvenal, put vale at the end of the letter, but he remembered, though not without sin, two verses from the Aeneid”

“... days of the past, anecdotes from Romulus to the present day he kept in his memory”

"... read Adam Smith and was a deep economy ..."

Eugene does not like and does not understand poetry; on occasion, he can easily compose an epigram on the topic of the day:

“... He could not distinguish an iambic from a chorea, no matter how hard we fought, to distinguish. Scolded Homer, Theocritus ... "

"... He had a happy talent ... to excite the smile of ladies with the fire of unexpected epigrams."

Onegin is distinguished by restlessness, in principle he cannot do anything for a long time:

"... hard work was sickening to him ..."

"... cut in the latest fashion, like a London dandy dressed ..."

“... There was a pedant in his clothes, and what we called a dandy. He spent at least three hours in front of the mirrors ... "

All these qualities of the character become the key to a favorable attitude towards him in the world:

“Onegin was in the opinion of many ... a small scientist, but a pedant ...”

"The light decided that he was smart and very nice"

A life full of entertainment quickly bores the protagonist, for some time Eugene's only passion is love adventures, but they gradually bother him:

“But in what he was a true genius, what he knew more firmly than all sciences, what was for him from childhood and labor, and torment, and joy, what occupied his yearning laziness all day, was the science of tender passion ... "

“... The beauties were not for long the subject of his usual thoughts, they managed to tire the betrayals ...”

“... He no longer fell in love with beauties, but dragged himself somehow ...”

“Similar to the English spleen, in short: the Russian melancholy took possession of him little by little ...”

Despite the fact that society as a whole is bored with the protagonist, he takes into account his rules, which ultimately cost Lensky his life, because even realizing the senselessness and uselessness of the duel, Onegin cannot refuse it:

"...but wildly secular enmity is afraid of false shame..."

“... but the whisper, the laughter of fools ... And here is public opinion! Spring of honor, our idol!

At the time of the story, the young man is the last heir to the family, to which he and his uncle belong:

"... Heir to all his relatives ..."

Despite the father’s squandered fortune, the material values ​​​​remaining in the family are apparently enough to provide the protagonist with a comfortable existence without the need to serve, lead a secular lifestyle:

“Lagging in the inactivity of leisure, without service, without a wife, without work, he did not know how to do anything ...”

"... three houses are calling for the evening ..."

"... an honorary citizen backstage ..."

Onegin is rather prudent. Upon learning of the imminent death of his uncle, Onegin does not feel sympathy for him, but he is quite ready to pretend to be such in order to receive an inheritance:

“After reading the sad message, Evgeny immediately galloped headlong to the rendezvous by mail and already yawned in advance, getting ready, for the sake of money, for sighs, boredom and deceit.”

His behavior in society becomes more and more distant and impolite:

“... when he wanted to destroy his rivals, as he sarcastically slandered ...”

"... to his caustic dispute, and to the joke, with bile in half, and the anger of gloomy epigrams ..."

“... he pouted and, indignantly, swore Lensky to infuriate and take revenge in order ...”

Gradually, the opinion of society about Onegin is transformed:

"... cold and lazy souls ..."

"...this cloudy eccentric..."

"... an eccentric sad and dangerous ..."

“Our neighbor is ignorant; crazy; he is a pharmacist…”

“He doesn’t fit the ladies’ hand…”

He perceives himself as a gloomy and indifferent person, even trying to exaggerate, speaking about his own person:

“... always frowning, silent, angry and coldly jealous! That's me"

“... Start crying: your tears will not touch my heart, but will only infuriate it ...”

“... No matter how much I love you, once I get used to it, I will immediately stop loving you ...”

However, in this image there is a lot of ostentation, panache. Onegin knows how to understand people and appreciate them:

“... although he, of course, knew people, and generally despised them, but (there are no rules without exceptions) he distinguished others very much and respected the feelings of others ...”

“... my Eugene, not respecting the heart in him, loved both the spirit of his judgments and a common sense about this and that”

“I would choose another when I was like you, a poet ...”

Even his “rebuke” to young Tatyana is caused by his unwillingness to cause her even more suffering than the pain of refusal:

“... but he did not want to deceive the gullibility of an innocent soul ...”

He tries to be delicate with her and tries to warn the girl against careless impulses in the future, although there is still a share of panache and narcissism in his words:

“Learn to rule yourself; not everyone will understand you like me; inexperience leads to trouble ... "

In fact, he is quite capable of experiencing compassion and tenderness:

"... her embarrassment, fatigue in his soul gave birth to pity"

“... the gaze of his eyes was wonderfully gentle ...”

In relations with Lensky, realizing that they are too different for true friendship, Onegin for the time being spares the feelings of the poet and does not try to ridicule his enthusiastic ideas about life:

“... He tried to keep a cooling word in his mouth ...”

In his character there is both nobility and self-esteem, and those around him recognize this:

"... I know: in your heart there is both pride and direct honor"

“How can your heart and mind be the feelings of a petty slave?”

“... in that terrible hour you acted nobly ...”

“... not for the first time he showed his soul direct nobility here ...”

In the course of the work, it becomes obvious that Eugene knows how to love and suffer:

"... Eugene is in love with Tatyana like a child ..."

“... Onegin dries up - and almost suffers from consumption”

“... He drives up every day; he follows her like a shadow…”

“... but he is stubborn, does not want to lag behind, still hopes, is busy ...”

Onegin can be really strict with himself:

“…alone with his soul, he was dissatisfied with himself…”

“... in a strict analysis, calling himself to a secret court, he accused himself of many things ...”

"In the anguish of heart remorse ..."

Able to admit his mistakes:

"... how wrong I was, how punished"

Tatyana Larina


Tatyana Larina. Explanation with Onegin in St. Petersburg

A girl from a noble family living in the provinces:

"...in the wilderness of a forgotten village..."

The family is poor:

“… we don’t shine with anything…”

"...a simple, Russian family..."

“…oh, my father, the income is not enough…”

“Neither the beauty of her sister, nor the freshness of her ruddy face, would she have attracted the eyes”

In childhood, she was very different from her peers and behavior:

“Dika, sad, silent, like a forest doe is timid, she seemed like a stranger in her own family”

“She didn’t know how to caress ...”

“Child herself, in a crowd of children she didn’t want to play and jump ...”

“But even in these years Tatyana did not take dolls in her hands ...”

“And there were childish pranks alien to her ...”

In her youth she is dreamy and thoughtful:

"Reverence, her friend ... adorned the flow of rural leisure with dreams"

“... terrible stories in winter in the darkness of nights captivated her heart more ...”

“She liked novels early…”

“She loved to warn the sunrise on the balcony ...”

She keenly feels her otherness:

"Imagine: I'm alone here, no one understands me..."

The girl is quite smart, though wayward:

"... With the mind and will of the living ..."

"... And a wayward head..."

Tatyana has a very developed intuition, to the point that she has prophetic dreams:

“... suddenly Eugene grabs a long knife, and Lensky is instantly defeated ...”

Romantic and enthusiastic, she fell in love with Onegin at first sight only because:

"The time has come, she fell in love"

"The soul was waiting ... for someone"

Her letter to Eugene is written in French, in a very exalted tone, with grandiloquent "book" turns:

“I know you were sent to me by God, until the grave you are my keeper…”

“That in the highest council is destined ... That is the will of heaven: I am yours ...”

“Your wonderful look tormented me…”

“Who are you, my guardian angel, or an insidious tempter…”

In fact, she writes not to a living person, but to an invented image, and in the depths of her soul she herself understands this:

“Perhaps this is all empty, a deception of an inexperienced soul!”

"But your honor is my guarantee..."

However, credit must be given to her courage. She writes, despite the fact that she is infinitely afraid:

“I’m dying of shame and fear…”

Over time, it turns out that the love that Tatyana feels for Eugene is not an easy, quickly passing love:

"... Tatyana loves not jokingly ..."

She not only cherishes unhappy love in her soul, but tries to understand Onegin's character, comes to his abandoned village house, reads his books:

"Can't you see the manor's house?"

“Then I took up books”

“... the choice of them seemed strange to her”

“And little by little my Tatyana begins to understand ... the one for whom she is condemned to sigh by the fate of the imperious”

They marry her, but all suitors are refused:

“Buyanov got married: refusal. Ivan Petushkov - too. Hussar Pykhtin visited us ... "

At the family council, it was decided to go to Moscow, to the "fair fair of brides", but Tatyana remains indifferent to social life there:

“... Tanya, just like in a dream, she hears their speeches without participation ...”

“... Tatyana looks and does not see, the excitement of the world hates; she's stuffy here...

Far from everyone, and she herself seems an attractive bride:

“... they find her something strange, provincial and cutesy, and something pale and thin, but, by the way, very good-looking ...”

“Archival young men in a crowd look at Tanya stiffly and speak unfavorably about her among themselves”

The girl does not at all strive for general attention, but she is noticed:

“One sad jester finds her perfect…”

“... somehow Vyazemsky sat down with her ...”

“... an old man inquires about her, straightening his wig”

“Meanwhile, some important general keeps his eyes on her”

She marries at the insistence of the family, without love, for a man whom she does not like very much:

"Who? is this general fat?

From the time of marriage, the secular manners of the already closed Tatiana take on a shade of even friendliness towards everyone, beyond which it is impossible to look:

“... She was leisurely, not cold, not talkative…”

"... sweet careless charm ..."

Not participating in any intrigues, not competing with anyone, Tatyana commands the respect of society, her husband is very proud of her:

“Ladies moved closer to her; the old women smiled at her; the men bowed lower…”

“... and all above and nose and shoulders were raised by the general who entered with her ...”

During the time that has passed since the first meeting with Onegin, Tatyana learned, on his advice, to control herself:

“And whatever confused her soul, no matter how much she was surprised, amazed, nothing changed her: the same tone was preserved in her, her bow was just as quiet”

"... she sits calm and free"

Her true feelings will appear only in the final scene, when she, suffering, will tell Onegin what is sore, reproaching him for the past and pointing out to him the real motives of his current feelings for her:

“The princess in front of him, alone, sits, not cleaned, pale, reads some letter and quietly pours tears like a river”

“Why do you have me in mind? Is it not because I must now appear in the highest society; that I am rich and noble? ... Is it not because my shame would now be noticed by everyone, and could bring you seductive honor in society?

Now she shows nobility of character. Recognizing that she continues to love Onegin, Tatyana reminds both him and herself that she must remain faithful to her husband:

“I love you (why dissemble?), But I am given to another; I will be faithful to him forever"

Vladimir Lensky


Vladimir Lensky

Young nobleman 18 years old, attractive appearance, rich:

“... At almost eighteen years old ...”

"...Handsome, in full bloom of years..."

"... And black curls to the shoulders ..."

"... rich, good-looking ..."

Parents died:

“... and there, with an inscription of a sad father and mother, in tears, he honored the patriarchal ashes ...”

Philosopher and Poet:

"... an admirer of Kant and a poet ..."

Enthusiastic nature, up to exaltation, not fully formed:

"... and the mind, still in unsteady judgments, and eternally inspired gaze ..."

“... free-spirited dreams, an ardent and rather strange spirit, always enthusiastic speech ...”

He came from Germany immediately to the village, because he does not accept the rules according to which the high society exists:

"... he brought fruits of learning from foggy Germany ..."

“... I hate your fashionable light, dearer to me is the home circle ...”

Trusting and Ingenuous:

“... he innocently exposed his trusting conscience ...”

Believes in friendship and devotion:

“... he believed that his friends were ready to accept his chains for honor ...”

“... there are sacred friends chosen by the fate of people ...”

Rural society is perceived as an enviable groom:

“... Lensky was accepted everywhere as a groom ...”

However, from childhood, Vladimir was engaged to the youngest daughter of the neighbors Larins, Olga, and at the time of the story he was in love with her and was going to marry her:

“And friends-neighbors, their fathers predicted crowns for the children…”

"... Holguin's adorer has arrived..."

“Ah, he loved, as in our summer they no longer love ...”

“... he believed that his soul should unite with him, that, languishing despondently, she was waiting for him every day ...”

"... in two weeks a happy date was appointed"

His love is platonic.

"... he had a sweet heart, an ignoramus ..."

“... in the confusion of tender shame, he only dares sometimes, encouraged by Olga’s smile, to play with a developed curl or kiss the edge of clothes ...”

“... and meanwhile, two, three pages ... he skips, blushing ...”

After being challenged to a duel, seeing Olga and realizing that she does not even understand what happened, Lensky forgives her and no longer takes revenge on Onegin, but only wants to protect the bride from the corrupting influence:

“... I will be her savior. I will not tolerate a corrupter tempting a young heart with fire and sighs and praises ... "

Olga Larina


Vladimir Lensky and Olga Larina

Tatiana's younger sister:

"Are you in love with a smaller one?"

Charming chubby ruddy blonde doll appearance:

"... full of innocent charms ..."

"... linen curls ..."

"... Eyes like the sky are blue ..."

"Round, red-faced, she ..."

“Ah, dear, how prettier Olga’s shoulders are, what a chest!”

According to Onegin, she is beautiful, but absolutely uninteresting:

“Olga has no life in features. Exactly the same in the Vandykova Madonna "

The mind of the younger Larina is not particularly developed, she is simple-minded, to the point of stupidity:

"... how the life of a poet is simple-minded ..."

“Before this clarity of sight, before this tender simplicity, before this frisky soul!”

Because of this, the girl cannot appreciate the nature of Lensky and his attitude towards her:

“Vladimir would have written odes, but Olga did not read them”

Olga is the bride of Vladimir Lensky, willingly spends time with him and encourages his courtship, but is hardly capable of a strong feeling, which she speaks quite directly

“In her rest, they sit in the dark, two ...”

“They are in the garden, hand in hand, walking in the morning time ...”

“… Encouraged by Olga’s smile…”

“He was loved… or so he thought…”

Windy, does not know how to behave in society, compromises both himself and his fiancé, flirting with another:

"... and a blush brighter blazed in her proud face"

"Flirty, windy child!"

“She already knows the trick, she’s already taught to change!”

Sincerely does not understand the problems of the situation:

“Olenka jumped from the porch to meet the poor singer, like a windy hope, frisky, carefree, cheerful, well, exactly the same as she was”

“Why did the evening disappear so early?” Was the first Olenkin question "

In the parting scene before the duel, Olga, looking into the face of Lensky, whose heart is breaking with longing, only asks, “What is the matter with you?” and having received the answer "So", without further questions, he lets him go.

After the death of the groom in a duel, the girl quickly falls in love with another and marries him:

"She didn't cry for long..."

Eugene Onegin is the hero of the novel of the same name in verse, created by. The character has become one of the most striking, colorful types of Russian classical literature. The character of the hero merges dramatic experiences, cynicism, ironic perception of the world. The line of relationships with revealed the inner world of the hero, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the nobleman.

Character Creation History

The Russian classic began to work on the essay in 1823, while in exile in Kishinev. By that time, there was a departure from romantic traditions in Pushkin's work - the author turned to a realistic manner of writing. The novel describes events from 1819 to 1825, the late period of the emperor's reign. The critic called Pushkin's work "an encyclopedia of Russian life." The protagonists of the poetic work authentically depict the social strata - the nobility, the landlords, the peasantry - characteristic of the beginning of the 19th century, and the atmosphere of this time is conveyed with incredible accuracy.

While working on the creation of the novel, the author planned to present to the public the image of a hero typical of a secular noble society, contemporary to himself. At the same time, in the story of Yevgeny, one can find features that bring Onegin closer to romantic characters, “superfluous people” who have lost interest in life, who are bored, prone to bouts of the blues. Alexander Pushkin wanted to make the hero a supporter of the Decembrist movement in the future, but due to strict censorship he abandoned this idea.

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The characterization of the main character is carefully thought out by the writer. Pushkinists find in the description of Onegin's character features of Alexander Chaadaev, Alexander Griboedov and the author himself. The hero has become a set of distinctive features of several prototypes and a collective image of the era. Researchers are still arguing over whether the hero was an “alien” and “superfluous” person in the era or was an idle thinker who lived his life happily.

For the genre of the novel in verse, the Russian classic chose a special stanza, called "Onegin". Alexander Sergeevich also introduced lyrical digressions on various topics into the composition. It cannot be said that the poet defines one main idea in the text - there are many of them, since the novel touches on many problems.

The fate and image of Eugene Onegin

Alexander Sergeyevich tells in detail about the childhood and youthful years of the hero's biography. Onegin is a nobleman who was born in St. Petersburg. From childhood, the boy receives an upbringing characteristic of noble children. The child is brought up by invited French tutors madamé, monsieur l "Abbé. Their lessons are not particularly strict - the knowledge gained by Eugene is enough to shine in the world with wit over the years, demonstrating "readiness", manners, the ability to maintain secular conversation.

The character is a real dandy who knows a lot about fashion. Onegin dresses like an English dandy, and in his office there are “Combs, steel files, / Straight scissors, curved / And brushes of thirty kinds / Both for nails and teeth. Ironically over the narcissism of the hero, the narrator compares the St. Petersburg dandy with the windy Venus.

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Eugene Onegin and Tatyana Larina

Eugene leads an idle life, is a regular guest at St. Petersburg balls, attends ballets and performances. The young man is surrounded by the attention of the ladies, but over time, endless novels, the love of "note coquettes" begin to burden the hero, like the whole St. Petersburg world. Onegin's father, living in debt, squanders his fortune. Therefore, a letter from a rich uncle, who is dying and calling his nephew to the village, which came to the character in the midst of the blues, becomes an opportunity for Onegin to try something new in life.

Soon the hero becomes the heir to his uncle's village estate. For some time everything here seemed new to the young man, inspired by its beauty, but on the third day the familiar views already bored Evgenia. Neighbors-landlords at first came to visit the new owner, but after finding him cold and strange, they left the visits. At the same time, a young nobleman Vladimir Lensky arrives in the village. Having studied abroad, filled with freedom-loving speeches and having an ardent soul, the young man becomes interesting to Onegin.

Different, like poetry and prose, young people become friends “from nothing to do”. Soon, the St. Petersburg dandy is already bored in the company of a young romantic, whose speeches and ideas seem ridiculous. Among other things, Vladimir shares his feelings for the neighbor's daughter with a friend, and invites a friend to go to visit the Larins to introduce his beloved. Having no hope of seeing something interesting in the house of the village landowner, Eugene, nevertheless, agrees.

Olga and her older sister Tatyana evoke conflicting feelings in the character. On the way home, he shares his thoughts with Lensky, surprised that of the two girls he chose Olga, who was not interesting in anything but beauty. Tatyana Larina seemed to Eugene an interesting nature, not like those ladies that the young man had previously seen in the world. The appearance of the capital's guest in their house made a strong impression on Tatyana herself. Brought up on French novels, an inexperienced girl immediately saw her betrothed in Eugene.

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Eugene Onegin and Vladimir Lensky

Captured by strong feelings, Tatyana writes a letter to the hero. Onegin, having experience in love affairs, decides not to play with the girl, not to deceive her feelings, but to teach the young landowner a lesson. Arriving again to the Larins, the young man frankly tells his sister Olga that he was not created for family life. The nobleman also advises the heroine to learn to control herself, because a dishonest person could be in his place: “Not everyone will understand you, like me; / Inexperience leads to trouble.

Time passes, Onegin no longer visits the Larins' house. Tatyana's name day is approaching. On the eve of the celebration, the girl sees a strange dream. She dreams that a bear is chasing her in the forest. The predator picks up the heroine, insensibly submissive, brings her to the house and leaves her on the threshold. In the meantime, there is a feast of evil spirits in the house, and Eugene himself sits at the head of the table. The presence of the girl becomes obvious to the feasting guests - everyone wants to take possession of Tatyana. But suddenly all the evil spirits disappear - Onegin himself leads Larina to the bench.

At this moment, Lensky and Olga enter the room - their arrival angers the hero. Suddenly, the character takes out a long knife and kills Vladimir. Tatyana's dream becomes prophetic - her name day is colored by tragic events. Local landowners arrive at the Larins' house, Lensky and Onegin are also invited here. Soon the poet's wedding with the beautiful Olga is to take place, and the young hero is looking forward to this event. Eugene, seeing Tatiana's quivering eyes, gets annoyed and decides to entertain himself by flirting with his younger sister.

The history of the creation of "Eugene Onegin" - "the fruit of the mind of cold observations and the heart of sad remarks" - by the outstanding Russian classic Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin does not resemble a blitzkrieg. The work was created by the poet in an evolutionary way, marking his formation on the path of realism. The novel in verse as an event in art was a unique phenomenon. Prior to that, only one analogue was written in the same genre in world literature - the romantic work of George Gordon Byron "Don Juan".

The author decides to brainstorm

Pushkin went further than the great Englishman - to realism. This time, the poet set himself the most important task - to show a person who can serve as a catalyst for the further development of Russia. Alexander Sergeevich, sharing the ideas of the Decembrists, understood that a huge country should be moved, like a locomotive, from a dead end path that led the whole society to a systemic crisis.

The history of the creation of "Eugene Onegin" is determined by the titanic poetic work in the period from May 1823 to September 1830, the creative rethinking of Russian reality in the first quarter of the 19th century. The novel in verse was created during four stages of Alexander Sergeevich's work: southern exile (1820 - 1824), stay "without the right to arbitrarily leave the Mikhailovskoye estate" (1824 - 1826), the period after exile (1826 - 1830), Boldinskaya autumn (1830)

A.S. Pushkin, "Eugene Onegin": the history of creation

Young Pushkin, a graduate in the words of Emperor Alexander I, “who flooded Russia with the most outrageous poems,” began writing his novel while in exile in Chisinau (thanks to the intercession of friends, transfer to Siberia was avoided). By this time he was already the idol of Russian educated youth.

The poet sought to create the image of a hero of his time. In the work, he painfully searched for an answer to the question of what should be the bearer of new ideas, the creator of the new Russia.

Socio-economic situation in the country

Consider the social environment in which the novel was created. Russia won the War of 1812. This gave a tangible impetus to public aspirations for liberation from feudal fetters. First of all, the people thirsted for. Such his release inevitably entailed the restriction of the powers of the monarch. The communities of guards officers that formed immediately after the war in 1816 in St. Petersburg form the Decembrist Union of Salvation. In 1818, the "Union of Welfare" was organized in Moscow. These Decembrist organizations actively contributed to the formation of liberal public opinion and waited for an opportune moment for a coup d'état. There were many friends of Pushkin among the Decembrists. He shared their views.

Russia by that time had already become a recognized European power with a population of about 40 million people, within it the sprouts of state capitalism were ripening. However, its economic life was still determined by the rudiments of feudalism, the nobility and the merchant class. These social groups, gradually losing their social weight, were still powerful and enjoyed influence on the life of the state, prolonging feudal relations in the country. They were champions of a society built according to the obsolete Catherine's noble principles, inherent in Russia in the 18th century.

There were characteristic signs of the social and the whole society. There were many educated people living in the country who understood that the interests of development required great changes and reforms. The history of the creation of "Eugene Onegin" began with the poet's personal rejection of the environment, in the words of Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky, the "dark kingdom"

Rising after a powerful acceleration, set and dynamism during the reign of Empress Catherine II, Russia at the beginning of the 19th century slowed down the pace of development. At the time of Pushkin's famous novel, there were no railways in the country, no steamboats sailed along its rivers, thousands and thousands of its hardworking and talented citizens were bound hand and foot by the bonds of serfdom.

The history of "Eugene Onegin" is inextricably linked with the history of Russia at the beginning of the 19th century.

Onegin stanza

Alexander Sergeevich, “Russian Mozart from poetry”, treated his work with special attention. He developed a new line of poetry specifically for writing a novel in verse.

The poet's words do not flow in a free stream, but in a structured way. Every fourteen lines are combined into a specific Onegin stanza. At the same time, rhyming is unchanged throughout the novel and has the following form: CCddEffEgg (where uppercase letters denote female endings, and lowercase letters denote male endings).

Undoubtedly, the history of the creation of the novel "Eugene Onegin" is the history of the creation of the Onegin stanza. It is with the help of varying stanzas that the author succeeds in creating an analogue of prose sections and chapters in his work: moving from one topic to another, changing the style of presentation from reflection to the dynamic development of the plot. Thus, the author creates the impression of a casual conversation with his reader.

Roman - "collection of motley chapters"

What makes people write works about their generation and their native land? Why, at the same time, do they devote themselves to this work completely, working as if they were possessed?

The history of the creation of the novel "Eugene Onegin" initially obeyed the author's intention: to create a novel in verse, consisting of 9 separate chapters. Experts on the work of Alexander Sergeevich call it “open in time” due to the fact that each of its chapters is independent, and can, according to its internal logic, complete the work, although it finds its continuation in the next chapter. His contemporary, professor of Russian literature, Nikolai Ivanovich Nadezhdin, gave a classic description of "Eugene Onegin" not as a work with a rigid logical structure, but rather as a kind of poetic notebook filled with direct iridescent overflows of bright talent.

About the chapters of the novel

The chapters of "Eugene Onegin" were published from 1825 to 1832. as they were written and published in literary almanacs and magazines. They were expected, each of them became a real event in the cultural life of Russia.

However, one of them, dedicated to the journey of the protagonist to the area of ​​the Odessa pier, containing critical judgments, the disgraced author preferred to withdraw in order to avoid reprisals against himself, and then destroyed its only manuscript.

In the same way, fully devoting himself to work, Boris Leonidovich Pasternak later worked on his Doctor Zhivago, Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov also wrote about his generation. Pushkin himself called his more than seven years of work on this novel in verse a feat.

Main character

The description of Eugene Onegin, according to literary critics, resembles the personality of Pyotr Yakovlevich Chaadaev, the author of the Philosophical Letters. This is a character with powerful energy, around which the plot of the novel unfolds and other characters manifest themselves. Pushkin wrote about him as a "good friend." Eugene received a classical noble education, completely devoid of "Russianness". And although a sharp but cold mind burns in him, he is a man of light, following certain opinions and prejudices. The life of Eugene Onegin is poor. On the one hand, the morals of the world are alien to him, he sharply criticizes them; and on the other hand, he is subject to its influence. The hero cannot be called active; rather, he is an intelligent observer.

Features of the image of Onegin

His image is tragic. First, he failed the test of love. Eugene listened to reason, but not to his heart. At the same time, he acted nobly, treating Tatyana with respect, letting her know that he was not able to love.

Second, he failed the test of friendship. Having challenged his friend, the 18-year-old romantic youth Lensky, to a duel, he blindly follows the concepts of light. It seems to him more decent not to provoke the slander of the old note duelist Zaretsky than to stop a completely stupid quarrel with Vladimir. By the way, Pushkin scientists consider the young Kuchelbecker to be the prototype of Lensky.

Tatyana Larina

The use of the name Tatyana in the novel Eugene Onegin was a know-how from Pushkin. Indeed, at the beginning of the 19th century, this name was considered common and irrelevant. Moreover, dark-haired and not ruddy, thoughtful, uncommunicative, she did not correspond to the ideals of the beauty of the world. Tatyana (like the author of the novel) loved folk tales, which her nanny generously told her. However, her particular passion was reading books.

Heroes of the novel

In addition to the aforementioned plot-forming main characters, secondary ones pass before the reader. These images of the novel "Eugene Onegin" do not form the plot, but complement it. This is Tatyana's sister Olga, an empty secular young lady with whom Vladimir Lensky was in love. The image of the nanny Tatyana, a connoisseur of folk tales, has a clear prototype - the nanny of Alexander Sergeevich himself, Arina Rodionovna. Another nameless hero of the novel is Tatyana Larina's newfound husband after a quarrel with Eugene Onegin - an "important general".

The host of landowners seems to be imported into Pushkin's novel from other Russian classical works. These are the Skotinins (“Undergrowth” by Fonvizin), and Buyanov (“Dangerous Neighbor” by V. L. Pushkin).

Folk work

The highest praise for Alexander Sergeevich was the assessment given to the first chapter of "Eugene Onegin" by the man whom the poet considered his teacher - Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky. The opinion was extremely laconic: “You are the first in Russian Parnassus ...”

The novel encyclopedically correctly reflected the Russian reality of the beginning of the 19th century in verse, showed the way of life, characteristic features, the social role of various strata of society: the St. Petersburg high society, the nobility of Moscow, landowners, peasants. Perhaps that is why, and also because of the all-encompassing and subtle display by Pushkin in his work of the values, customs, views, fashion of that time, the literary critic gave him such an exhaustive description: "a work of the highest degree folk" and "an encyclopedia of Russian life."

Pushkin wanted to change the plot

The history of the creation of "Eugene Onegin" is the evolution of a young poet who, at the age of 23, took up global work. Moreover, if such sprouts already existed in prose (recall Alexander Radishchev's incognito book “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”), then realism in poetry at that time was an undoubted innovation.

The final idea of ​​the work was formed by the author only in 1830. He was clumsy and worn out. In order to give a traditional solid look to his creation, Alexander Sergeevich decided to either send Eugene Onegin to fight in the Caucasus, or turn him into a Decembrist. But Eugene Onegin - the hero of the novel in verse - was created by Pushkin on one inspiration, as a "collection of motley chapters", and this is his charm.

Conclusion

The work "Eugene Onegin" is the first realistic novel in verse in Russian history. It is emblematic of the 19th century. The novel was recognized by society as deeply folk. The encyclopedic description of Russian life is side by side with high artistry.

However, according to critics, the main character of this novel is not Onegin at all, but the author of the work. This character has no specific appearance. This is a kind of blind spot for the reader.

Alexander Sergeevich, in the text of the work, hints at his exile, saying that the North is "harmful" to him, etc. Pushkin is invisibly present in all actions, summarizes, makes the reader laugh, enlivens the plot. His quotes hit not in the eyebrow, but in the eye.

By the will of fate, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin reviewed the second complete edition of his novel in verse in 1937 (the first was in 1833), being already mortally wounded on the Black River near the Komendantskaya dacha. A circulation of 5,000 copies was planned to be sold throughout the year. However, readers bought it out in a week. In the future, the classics of Russian literature, each for its time, continued the creative search for Alexander Sergeevich. They all tried to create a hero of their time. And Mikhail Lermontov in the image of Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin ("A Hero of Our Time"), and Ivan Goncharov in the image of Ilya Oblomov ...

"Eugene Onegin"(1823-1831) - a novel in verse by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, one of the most significant works of Russian literature.

History of creation

Pushkin worked on the novel for over seven years. The novel was, according to Pushkin, "the fruit of the mind of cold observations and the heart of sad remarks." Pushkin called the work on it a feat - of all his creative heritage, only Boris Godunov he described with the same word. Against the broad background of pictures of Russian life, the dramatic fate of the best people of the noble intelligentsia is shown.

Pushkin began work on Onegin in 1823, during his southern exile. The author abandoned romanticism as the leading creative method and began to write a realistic novel in verse, although the influence of romanticism is still noticeable in the first chapters. Initially, it was assumed that the novel in verse would consist of 9 chapters, but later Pushkin reworked its structure, leaving only 8 chapters. He excluded from the work the chapter "Onegin's Journey", which he included as an appendix. After that, the tenth chapter of the novel was written, which is an encrypted chronicle from the life of future Decembrists.

The novel was published in verse in separate chapters, and the release of each chapter became a big event in modern literature. In 1831 the novel in verse was finished and in 1833 it was published. It covers events from 1819 to 1825: from the foreign campaigns of the Russian army after the defeat of Napoleon to the Decembrist uprising. These were the years of the development of Russian society, during the reign of Tsar Alexander I. The plot of the novel is simple and well known. At the center of the novel is a love affair. And the main problem is the eternal problem of feeling and duty. The novel "Eugene Onegin" reflected the events of the first quarter of the 19th century, that is, the time of creation and the time of the novel approximately coincide. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin created a novel in verse like Byron's poem Don Juan. Having defined the novel as a “collection of motley chapters”, Pushkin emphasizes one of the features of this work: the novel is, as it were, “opened” in time, each chapter could be the last, but it can also have a continuation. And thus the reader draws attention to the independence of each chapter of the novel. The novel has become an encyclopedia of Russian life in the 20s of the century before last, since the breadth of the novel shows readers the whole reality of Russian life, as well as the multi-plot and description of different eras. This is what gave grounds to V. G. Belinsky in his article "Eugene Onegin" to conclude:
“Onegin can be called an encyclopedia of Russian life and an eminently folk work.”
In the novel, as in the encyclopedia, you can learn everything about the era: about how they dressed, and what was in fashion, what people valued most, what they talked about, what interests they lived. "Eugene Onegin" reflected the whole of Russian life. Briefly, but quite clearly, the author showed the serf village, lordly Moscow, secular Petersburg. Pushkin truthfully portrayed the environment in which the main characters of his novel live - Tatyana Larina and Eugene Onegin. The author reproduced the atmosphere of the city noble salons, in which Onegin spent his youth.

Plot

The novel begins with a squeamish speech by the young nobleman Eugene Onegin, dedicated to the illness of his uncle, which forced him to leave Petersburg and go to the patient's bed in the hope of becoming the heir to the dying. The narrative itself is conducted on behalf of the nameless author, who introduced himself as a good friend of Onegin. Having marked the plot in this way, the author devotes the first chapter to the story of the origin, family, life of his hero before receiving news of the illness of a relative.

Eugene was born "on the banks of the Neva", that is, in St. Petersburg, in the family of a typical nobleman of his time -

“Having served excellently - nobly, His father lived with debts. Gave three balls annually And finally squandered. The son of such a father received a typical upbringing - first the governess Madame, then the French tutor, who did not bother his pupil with an abundance of sciences. Here Pushkin emphasizes that the upbringing of Yevgeny from childhood was carried out by strangers for him, besides foreigners.
Onegin's life in St. Petersburg was full of love affairs and secular amusements, but now he will be bored in the countryside. Upon arrival, it turns out that the uncle has died, and Eugene has become his heir. Onegin settles in the village, and soon the blues really take possession of him.

Onegin's neighbor turns out to be eighteen-year-old Vladimir Lensky, a romantic poet, who came from Germany. Lensky and Onegin converge. Lensky is in love with Olga Larina, the daughter of a landowner. Her thoughtful sister Tatyana does not look like the always cheerful Olga. Having met Onegin, Tatyana falls in love with him and writes him a letter. However, Onegin rejects her: he is not looking for a quiet family life. Lensky and Onegin are invited to the Larins. Onegin is not happy about this invitation, but Lensky persuades him to go.

"[...] He pouted and, indignantly, swore to infuriate Lensky, And to take revenge in order." At a dinner at the Larins', Onegin, in order to make Lensky jealous, suddenly begins courting Olga. Lensky challenges him to a duel. The duel ends with the death of Lensky, and Onegin leaves the village.
Two years later, he appears in St. Petersburg and meets Tatyana. She is an important lady, the wife of a prince. Onegin burned with love for her, but this time he was already rejected, despite the fact that Tatyana also loves him, but wants to remain faithful to her husband.

Storylines

  1. Onegin and Tatyana:
    • Acquaintance with Tatyana
    • Conversation with the nanny
    • Tatyana's letter to Onegin
    • Explanation in the garden
    • Dream of Tatyana. name day
    • Visit to Onegin's house
    • Departure for Moscow
    • Meeting at a ball in St. Petersburg in 2 years
    • Letter to Tatiana (explanation)
    • Evening at Tatyana's
  2. Onegin and Lensky:
    • Acquaintance in the village
    • Conversation after the evening at the Larins
    • Lensky's visit to Onegin
    • Tatyana's name day
    • Duel (Death of Lensky)

Characters

  • Eugene Onegin- the prototype Pyotr Chaadaev, a friend of Pushkin, is named by Pushkin himself in the first chapter. Onegin's story is reminiscent of Chaadaev's life. An important influence on the image of Onegin had Lord Byron and his "Byron Heroes", Don Juan and Childe Harold, who are also mentioned more than once by Pushkin himself.
  • Tatyana Larina- the prototype of Avdotya (Dunya) Norova, Chaadaev's girlfriend. Dunya herself is mentioned in the second chapter, and at the end of the last chapter, Pushkin expresses his grief over her untimely death. Due to the death of Dunya at the end of the novel, Anna Kern, Pushkin's lover, acts as the prototype of the princess, the matured and transformed Tatyana. She, Anna Kern, was the prototype of Anna Kerenina. Although Leo Tolstoy wrote off the appearance of Anna Karenina from Pushkin's eldest daughter, Maria Hartung, the name and history are very close to Anna Kern. So, through the story of Anna Kern, Tolstoy's novel "Anna Karenina" is a continuation of the novel "Eugene Onegin".
  • Olga Larina, her sister is a generalized image of a typical heroine of a popular novel; beautiful in appearance, but devoid of deep content.
  • Vladimir Lensky- Pushkin himself, or rather his idealized image.
  • nanny Tatiana- probable prototype - Yakovleva Arina Rodionovna, Pushkin's nanny
  • Zaretsky, duelist - among the prototypes they called Fyodor Tolstoy-American
  • Tatyana Larina's husband, not named in the novel, "important general", General Kern, Anna Kern's husband.
  • Author of the work- Pushkin himself. He constantly intervenes in the course of the story, reminds of himself, makes friends with Onegin, in his lyrical digressions shares with the reader his reflections on a variety of life issues, and expresses his ideological position.

The novel also mentions the father - Dmitry Larin - and the mother of Tatyana and Olga; "Princess Alina" - the Moscow cousin of Tatyana Larina's mother; uncle Onegin; a number of comical images of provincial landowners (Gvozdin, Flyanov, "Skotinins, a gray-haired couple", "fat Pustyakov", etc.); Petersburg and Moscow light.
The images of provincial landlords are mainly of literary origin. So, the image of the Skotinins refers to Fonvizin's comedy "Undergrowth", Buyanov is the hero of the poem "Dangerous Neighbor" (1810-1811) by V. L. Pushkin. “Among the guests there were also “important Kirin”, “Lazorkina - a widow-vostrushka”, “fat Pustyakov” was replaced by “fat Tumakov”, Pustyakov was called “skinny”, Petushkov was a “retired clerk”.

Poetic Features

The novel is written in a special "Onegin stanza". Each such stanza consists of 14 lines of iambic tetrameter.
The first four lines rhyme crosswise, the lines from the fifth to the eighth - in pairs, the lines from the ninth to the twelfth are connected by a ring rhyme. The remaining 2 lines of the stanza rhyme with each other.

Eugene Onegin is the main character of the novel of the same name by A. S. Pushkin, written in the first half of the 19th century. The author gives not only a vivid and accurate description of the image of the character, but also an assessment of the entire secular society of that time.

Below is a description of Eugene Onegin from the novel by A. S. Pushkin.

What is he: Onegin

In the very first chapter, already in the opening lines, the poet tells the reader who Eugene is. The hero seems to be a somewhat frivolous person, devoid of any predilections, and in his young years already tired of life. He was given a superficial upbringing, brought up in "high circles", he knew how and knew exactly what was valued by his environment, it is written about this here:

He could speak and write in perfect French, danced the mazurka with ease, and bowed unconstrainedly...

And what else does a person need to be able to do, whose pastime includes balls, going to the theater and friendly gatherings? This is the kind of urban dweller Onegin ends up in the village, after he received an inheritance from his deceased uncle.

And here, the already bored young man is waiting for the stories of local mothers about jams and the quiet measured course of life.

Another world

Eugene, who had no special attachments, does not understand the feelings of his acquaintance - Lensky, who has a tender but deep passion for Olga. He does not understand the revelations of the pure and thoughtful Tatyana, all Onegin's answers remind her of excerpts from French novels that were popular at that time.

And now, it's time for a duel. Of course, Lensky missed, but what prevented Onegin from doing the same? But no, his hand is firm and he kills the one who was closest to him in this world.

In the end, Onegin comes to complete dissatisfaction with life, not understanding it. Awareness will come much later, during confessions to Tatyana, he will finally understand that "liberty and peace" is not a "replacement for happiness." After all, happiness does not imply loneliness, attachments are extremely important for a person: friends and loved ones.

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