Presentation - The first psychological novel in Russian literature “A Hero of Our Time. "A Hero of Our Time" as the first deeply psychological work in Russian literature of the 19th century Municipal educational institution

Lesson 1

"Hero of our time" M.Yu. Lermontov - the first psychological

novel in Russian literature.

The purpose of the lesson:- arouse interest in the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov.

Tasks:

to remind students about the main characteristic features of the life of Russian society in the 30s of the XIX century, about the fate of the younger generation of this time;

to acquaint with the ideological concept of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" and the subsequent literary-critical reviews on the release of the work;

comment on the most important features of the work: the psychologism of the novel and its composition (lack of a single plot, violation of the chronological order in the arrangement of parts of the work, the presence of three narrators in the novel - the author, Maxim Maksimovich and Pechorin).

Lesson type- a lesson in the assimilation of new knowledge.

During the classes

Epigraph to the lesson:

"Hero of Our Time, my gracious sirs,

exactly a portrait, but not of one person: it is a portrait,

made up of the vices of our entire generation,

in its full development

M.Yu.Lermontov

I. Opening speech of the teacher.

Roman M.Yu. Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time" was conceived by the author at the end of 1837. The main work took place in 1838, and the novel was fully completed in 1839. Soon, his first chapters appeared in the Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine: the story “Bela” was published in 1838 with the subtitle “From the Notes of an Officer from the Caucasus”, at the end of 1839 the following story, “The Fatalist,” was published, and then the story was published. Taman".

To his new novel M.Yu. Lermontov first gave the name "One of the heroes of the beginning of the century." However, in 1940 a separate edition of the novel was published already under the title "Hero of Our Time".

The 1830-1840s in the history of Russia, when the action of the work unfolds, are dark years, marked in history as the years of the Nikolaev reaction, the years of the most severe police regime. First of all, the situation of the people was unbearable; the fate of advanced thinking people was especially tragic. Feelings of sadness in young Lermontov were caused by the fact that "the future generation has no future." Passivity, disbelief, indecision, loss of purpose in life and interest in it are the main features of the young contemporaries of the writer.

Lermontov in his work wanted to show what the Nikolaev reaction doomed the younger generation to. The very title of the novel, A Hero of Our Time, is a testament to its importance.

Assessing the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov, A.I. Herzen wrote: “In the image of Pechorin, Lermontov gave an expressive realistic and psychological portrait of “modern man, as he understands him and, unfortunately, met him too often.”

Pechorin is a richly gifted nature. The hero does not overestimate himself at all when he frankly says about himself: "I feel immense strength in my soul." With his novel, Lermontov answers the question: why do energetic and intelligent people not find application for their remarkable abilities and thus “wither without a struggle” at the very beginning of their life path? The author pays the closest attention to the main character, to the disclosure of his complex and contradictory nature.

In his preface to Pechorin's Journal, Lermontov writes: "The history of the human soul, even the smallest soul, is almost more curious and more useful than the history of a whole people ...". Thus, the author explains the peculiarity of his work: “A Hero of Our Time” is the first Russian psychological novel.

vocabulary work

The dictionary of literary terms gives the following definition of a psychological novel:a psychological novel can be called such a novel, where the attention of the author and the reader is focused on the knowledge of the human soul in all its manifestations.

- Name the defining characteristics of the psychological novel.

Methods for creating psychologism can be self-analysis of the hero, assessment of the hero's actions from the positions of other characters, author's analysis of character. In his work, Lermontov uses all these techniques, which makes the work deeper.

A bit of literary theory.

Remember, please, what is the plot of the work and the plot.

Plot(French sujet - subject) - an event or set of events in epic and dramatic works, the development of which allows the writer to reveal the characters of the characters and the essence of the phenomena depicted in accordance with the author's intention.

plot (lat. fabula - story) - a chain, a series of events in an epic or dramatic work, which is the basis of the plot in chronological order.

II. Finding out the initial impressions of students about the novel "A Hero of Our Time".

Conversation with the class

Which of the stories you read that make up the work made the greatest impression on you?

Tell us about your relationship with the main character.

What events from the life of Grigory Pechorin did we learn about after reading the chapter “Bel”?

On whose behalf is this chapter being narrated? What role does this play in the story itself?

Who is Maksim Maksimych, on behalf of whom the narration is being conducted in the chapter "Bela"? What can you tell about it?

Is Maxim Maksimych the person who is able to understand Grigory Pechorin?

III. Features of the composition of the novel

Questions:

1. What is the plot of a work of art?

2. What elements of the plot do you know?

3. What is called the composition of a work of art? What compositional techniques have you met before while studying the works?

4. What is the peculiarity of the composition of the "Hero of Our Time"? Is it possible to highlight elements of the plot that you already know in it?(A feature of the composition of the novel is the absence of a single storyline. The novel consists of five parts or stories, each of which has its own genre, its own plot and its own title. But it is the image of the protagonist that becomes unifying: he connects all these parts into a single novel.)

5. Consider the difference between the chronological and compositional order that is observed in the novel.

The chronological order is as follows: Pechorin goes to his place of service, but on the way he stops in Taman, then on the way to his place of service he visits Pyatigorsk, where he was exiled to a fortress for a quarrel and a duel with Grushnitsky. In the fortress, events take place with him, which are described in the stories "Bela" and "The Fatalist". A few years later, Pechorin meets with Maxim Maksimych.

Chronologically, the stories should be arranged as follows:

1. "Taman".

2. "Princess Mary".

3. "Bela".

4. "Fatalist".

5. "Maxim Maksimych".

However, M.Yu. Lermontov in his work violates the order of the stories. In the novel they follow this way:

1. "Bela".

2. "Maxim Maksimych".

3. "Taman".

4. "Princess Mary".

5. Fatalist.

The last three stories are the protagonist's diary, which shows the story of his life, written by himself.

Questions:

1) Why does Lermontov build his novel this way?

2) What does such a composition of the work make the reader think about?

3) In what form are the first two stories written? What is special about the next three stories?

Conclusions. “Pechorin is the main character of the novel. The actors are located in contrast. The point is to emphasize: Pechorin is the center of the story, the Hero of his time. The composition of the work (change of narrators, violation of the chronology of events, genre of travel and diary notes, grouping of characters) helps to reveal the character of Pechorin, to identify the reasons that gave rise to him.

Thus, the chosen composition of the novel provides the author with the following opportunities:

To interest the reader as much as possible in the fate of Pechorin;

Will trace the history of his inner life;

The image of Pechorin in the novel is revealed in two ways: from the point of view of an outside observer and in terms of his inner disclosure.

IV. Literary and critical reviews of M. Yu. Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time".

1. S. Burachek : Pechorin - "monster", "slander on a whole generation."

2. S. Shevyrev : "Pechorin - there is only one ghost thrown at us by the West."

3. V. Belinsky : "Pechorin ... the hero of our time."

4. A. Herzen : "Pechorin is" the younger brother of Onegin ".

Questions:

1) Which of the literary critics, in your opinion, is more objective in assessing Grigory Pechorin?

Reading the preface.

(“... The Hero of our Time, my gracious sirs, is like a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation, in their full development ...”)

Homework

one . The stories "Bela", "Maxim Maksimych". (Heroes, content, features of composition and genre, attitude to Pechorin.)

2. Make a plan for the story "Bela", title all its parts.

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A Hero of Our Time is the first psychological novel in Russian literature. The work was completed by 1839, and in it Lermontov sums up his thoughts about what a “modern man” is, what role the generation of the 30s will play in the history of Russia. And in the image of Pechorin, M.Yu. Lermontov generalized the typical features of the younger generation of his era, creating the image of a man of the 30s of the XIX century. Despite many similarities between the author and the hero, Lermontov strives for maximum objectivity of the narrative. The author compares himself to a doctor who diagnoses a diseased eyelid:

Sadly, I look at our generation!

His future is either empty or dark,

Meanwhile, under the burden of knowledge and doubt,

It will grow old in inaction.

A psychological novel is not only an interest in the inner world of a person. Psychologism starts where the controversy begins where a struggle arises between the inner life of a person and the circumstances in which he is placed.

M.Yu. Lermontov himself spoke like this about his work : “the history of the human soul". This is the theme, the essence of the novel.

Turning to this topic, M.Yu. Lermontov continued Pushkin's traditions. Belinsky remarked, that Pechorin “is the Onegin of our time”, thus, emphasizing the continuity of these images and their difference, due to the era. Following A.S. Pushkin, M.Yu. Lermontov revealed the contradiction between the inner abilities of his hero and the possibility of their realization. However, in M.Yu. Lermontov this contradiction is exacerbated, since Pechorin is an extraordinary personality, endowed with a powerful will, high intelligence, insight, and a deep understanding of true values.

Note the unusual composition of the novel. It consists of five separate stories arranged in such a way that the chronology of the hero's life is clearly violated. In each story, the author places his hero in a new environment, where he encounters people of a different social status and mentality: highlanders, smugglers, officers, noble “water society”. Thus, M.Yu. Lermontov leads the reader from Pechorin's actions to their motives, gradually revealing the hero's inner world. Vladimir Nabokov, in an article on Lermontov's novel, writes about the complex system of narrators:

Pechorin through the eyes of Maxim Masimych ("Bela")

Pechorin with his own eyes ("Pechorin's Journal")

In the first three stories(“Bela”, “Maxim Maksimych”, “Taman”) only the actions of the hero are presented, which demonstrate examples of Pechorin's indifference, cruelty to the people around him: Bela became a victim of his passions, Pechorin did not spare the poor smugglers. The conclusion involuntarily suggests itself that its main psychological feature is imperiousness, selfishness: “What business is it for me, a wandering officer, to human joys and misfortunes?”

But this opinion turns out to be wrong. In the story "Princess Mary" we see a vulnerable, deeply suffering and sensitive person. We learn about Pechorin's love for Vera, and the reader's attitude towards the hero changes, becomes more sympathetic. Pechorin understands the hidden mechanism of his psychology: “There are two people in me: one lives in the full sense of the word, and the other thinks and judges him.” One should not think that everything written by Pechorin in the diary is the truth of his character. Pechorin is not always sincere with himself, and does he understand himself to the end?

Thus, the character of the hero is revealed to the reader gradually, as if reflected in many mirrors, and none of these reflections, taken separately, gives an exhaustive description of Pechorin. Only the totality of these arguing voices creates a complex and contradictory character of the hero.

When in an orchestra we hear not each instrument separately, but simultaneously all their voices, this is called polyphony. By analogy, such a construction of a novel, where neither the author nor any of the characters directly express the main idea of ​​the work, but it grows out of the simultaneous sounding of several voices, is called polyphonic. This term was introduced by M. Bakhtin, a major connoisseur of world literature. Roman Lermontov has polyphonic character. Such a construction is characteristic of a realistic novel.

A trait of realism there is something else: in the novel there are no clearly positive and negative characters. Lermontov creates psychologically plausible portraits of living people, in each of which, even the most repulsive, like Grushnitsky, there are attractive and touching features, and the main characters are as complex as life itself.

But what does Pechorin waste his spiritual wealth, his immense strength on?? For love affairs, intrigues, skirmishes with Grushnitsky and dragoon captains. Pechorin feels the discrepancy between actions and high, noble aspirations. Constant attempts to understand the motives of his actions, constant doubts lead to the fact that he loses the ability to simply live, feel joy, fullness and strength of feeling. The feeling of the world as a mystery, a passionate interest in life in Pechorin are replaced by alienation and indifference.

However, Pechorin can not be called an inhuman cynic, after all, performing “the role of an executioner or an ax in the hands of fate,” he suffers from this no less than his victims. Yes, he always comes out victorious, but this does not bring him any joy or satisfaction. The whole novel is a hymn to a courageous, free personality and at the same time a requiem to a gifted person who could not “guess his high purpose”.

Another feature of the hero's personality makes this novel a serious psychological work - this is the hero's desire for self-knowledge. He constantly analyzes himself, his thoughts, actions, desires, his likes and dislikes, trying to uncover the roots of good and evil in himself.

An in-depth introspection of the hero has a universal significance in the novel, revealing an important stage in the life of every person. Pechorin, and the author along with him, speak of self-knowledge as the highest state of the human soul.

The main goal of the novel - the disclosure of the "history of the human soul" - is also served by such artistic means, like a portrait of a hero and a landscape. Since the hero lives in a world of broken ties, you feel an inner split, this is also reflected in his portrait. The description of the hero's appearance is built on antitheses: a young, physically strong man, but in his appearance one can feel "nervous weakness", fatigue. There is something childish in Pechorin's smile, but his eyes look cold and never laugh. With similar details, the author brings us to the conclusion: the soul of an old man lives in the body of a young man. But in the hero there is not only the innocence of youth, but also the wisdom of old age. Physical strength, spiritual depth, giftedness of the hero remain unrealized. His pallor resembles that of a dead man.

Pictures of nature in the novel are not only consonant with the psychological states of the characters, but are also filled with philosophical content. The images of nature are symbolic and inherited from the lyrics. The novel opens with a description of the majestic Caucasian nature, which should create a special attitude. The natural world in the novel is characterized by integrity, all the beginnings in it are harmoniously mated: snow-capped mountain peaks, stormy rivers, day and night, the eternally cold light of stars. The beauty of nature is life-giving and capable of healing the soul, and the fact that this does not happen testifies to the depth of the hero's mental illness. More than once the hero writes inspired lines about nature in his diary, but, unfortunately, the power of natural beauty, like that of women, is fleeting, and again the hero returns to the feeling of the emptiness of life.

Having created the character of Pechorin, a strong, proud, controversial, unpredictable hero, Lermontov contributed to the comprehension of man. The author sincerely regrets the bitter fate of his contemporaries, forced to live as superfluous people in their country. His moral appeal to the reader is that one should not go with the flow of life, that one should appreciate the good that life gives, expanding and deepening the possibilities of one's soul.

The beginning of a new century is usually characterized by changes in the life and worldview of people, gives rise to reflection and reflection on future life. Often, to solve personal problems, we turn to psychologists, hoping to get help and an opportunity to better understand both ourselves and other people. But besides psychologists, you can also turn to books for help. One of these works is the first psychological novel of Russian literature, A Hero of Our Time.

"A Hero of Our Time" is the first lyric-psychological novel in Russian prose. Lyrical because the author and the hero have "one soul, the same torments." Psychological because the ideological and plot center is not events, but the personality of a person, his spiritual life. Therefore, the psychological richness of the novel lies, first of all, in the image of the “hero of time”. Through the complexity and inconsistency of Pechorin, Lermontov affirms the idea that it is impossible to fully explain everything: in life there is always a high and secret, which is deeper than words, ideas. Hence, one of the features of the composition is the increase in the disclosure of secrets. Lermontov leads the reader from Pechorin's actions (in the first three stories) to their motives (in the 4th and 5th stories), that is, from riddle to riddle. At the same time, we understand that the secret is not Pechorin's actions, but his inner world, psychology.

In the first three stories ("Bela", "Maxim Maksimych", "Taman") only the actions of the hero are presented. Lermontov demonstrates examples of Pechorin's indifference, cruelty to the people around him, shown either as victims of his passions (Bela) or as victims of his cold calculation (poor smugglers). The conclusion involuntarily suggests itself that Pechorin’s psychological nerve is power and selfishness: “what does it matter to me, a wandering officer, to human joys and misfortunes?”

But not everything is so simple. It's not the same character at all. Before us is at the same time a conscientious, vulnerable and deeply suffering person. In "Princess Mary" Pechorin's sober report sounds. He understands the hidden mechanism of his psychology: "There are two people in me: one lives in the full sense of the word, the other thinks and judges him." And later, Grigory Alexandrovich openly formulates his life credo: “I look at suffering for the joy of others only in relation to myself, as food that supports my spiritual strength ...” Based on this rule, Pechorin develops a whole theory of happiness: “To be for someone the cause of suffering and joy, without having any positive right to it - is this not the sweetest food of our pride? And what is happiness? Intense pride." It would seem that smart Pechorin, who knows what happiness consists in, should be happy, because he is constantly and tirelessly trying to satiate his pride. But for some reason there is no happiness, and instead of it, fatigue and boredom ... Why is the fate of the hero so tragic? The answer to this question is the last story "The Fatalist". Here problems are already being solved not so much psychological as philosophical and moral. . The story begins with a philosophical dispute between Pechorin and Vulich about the predestination of human life. Vulich is a supporter of fatalism. Pechorin, on the other hand, asks the question: “If there are definitely predestinations, then why are we given the will, reason?” This dispute is tested by three examples, three deadly fights with fate. First, Vulich's attempt to kill himself with a shot to the temple ended in failure; secondly, the accidental murder of Vulich in the street by a drunken Cossack; thirdly, Pechorin's courageous throw at the Cossack killer. Without denying the very idea of ​​fatalism, Lermontov leads to the idea that it is impossible to humble yourself, to be submissive to fate. With this turn of the philosophical theme, the author saved the novel from a gloomy ending. Pechorin, whose death is unexpectedly announced in the middle of the story, in this last story not only escapes from seemingly certain death, but also for the first time commits an act that benefits people. And instead of a mourning march at the end of the novel, congratulations are heard on the victory over death: “the officers congratulated me - and there was definitely something for it.”

The hero has an ambivalent attitude to the fatalism of the ancestors: on the one hand, he is ironic about their naive faith in the heavenly bodies, on the other hand, he is openly jealous of their faith, because he understands that any faith is good. But rejecting the former naive faith, he realizes that in his time of the 1930s there is nothing to replace the lost ideals. Pechorin's misfortune is that he doubts not only the necessity of the good in general; for him, not only there are no shrines, he laughs “at everything in the world” ... And unbelief gives rise to either inaction or empty activity, which are torture for an intelligent and energetic person.

Showing the courage of his hero, Lermontov at the same time affirmed the need to fight for the freedom of the individual. Grigory Alexandrovich values ​​his freedom very much: “I am ready for all sacrifices, except for this one: I will put my life on the line twenty times, but I will not sell my freedom.” But such freedom without humanistic ideals is connected with the fact that Pechorin is constantly trying to suppress the voice of his heart: "I have long been living not with my heart, but with my head."

However, Pechorin is not a smug cynic. Fulfilling "the role of an executioner or an ax in the hands of fate", he himself suffers from this no less than his victims, the whole novel is a hymn to a courageous, prejudice-free personality and at the same time a requiem to a gifted, and maybe a brilliant person who could not "guess his high purpose."

M.Yu. Lermontov was the first in Russian literature to use psychological analysis as a means to reveal the character of the hero, his inner world. Deep penetration into the psychology of Pechorin helps to better understand the severity of the social problems posed in the novel. The main idea of ​​the novel is connected with its central image - Pechorin; everything is subordinated to the task of a comprehensive and deep disclosure of the character of this hero. Belinsky very accurately noticed the originality of the description by the author of Pechorin. Lermontov, but in the words of a critic, depicted the “inner essence of a person”, acting as a deep psychologist and realist artist. This means that Lermontov, for the first time in Russian literature, used psychological analysis as a means to reveal the character of the hero, his inner world. Deep penetration into the psychology of Pechorin helps to better understand the severity of the social problems posed in the novel.

The unusual composition of the novel draws attention, which also helps to understand its deep psychologism. The novel consists of separate works in which there is not a single plot, no permanent characters, not a single narrator. These five stories are united only by the image of the main character - Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin. They are located in such a way that the chronology of the hero's life is clearly violated. In this case, it was important for the author to show Pechorin in different situations in communication with a variety of people, to choose the most important, significant episodes of his life for description. In each story, the author places his hero in a new environment, where he encounters people of a different social status and mentality: highlanders, smugglers, officers, noble "water society". And each time Pechorin opens up to the reader from a new side, revealing new facets of character.

Recall that in the first story "Bela" we are introduced to Pechorin by a man who served with Grigory Alexandrovich in the fortress and was an involuntary witness to the story of Bela's abduction. The elderly officer is sincerely attached to Pechorin, takes his actions to heart. He draws attention to the external oddities of the character of the “thin ensign” and cannot understand how a person who easily endures both rain and cold, who went one on one against a wild boar, can shudder and turn pale from the accidental knock of a shutter. In the story with Bela, the character of Pechorin seems unusual and mysterious. The old officer cannot comprehend the motives of his behavior, as he is unable to comprehend the depths of his experiences.

The next meeting with the hero takes place in the story "Maxim Maksimych", where we see him through the eyes of the narrator. He no longer acts as the hero of some story, utters a few meaningless phrases, but we have the opportunity to look closely at the bright, original appearance of Pechorin. The sharp, penetrating look of the author notes the contradictions of his appearance: a combination of blond hair and black mustaches and eyebrows, broad shoulders and pale thin fingers. The attention of the narrator is captured by his gaze, the strangeness of which is manifested in the fact that his eyes did not laugh when he laughed. “This is a sign of either an evil disposition, or a deep constant sadness,” the author notes, revealing the complexity and inconsistency of the hero’s character.

But most of all, Pechorin's diary, which combines the last three stories of the novel, helps to understand the psychology of this extraordinary nature. The hero writes about himself sincerely and fearlessly, not being afraid to expose his weaknesses and vices. In the preface to Pechorin's Journal, the author notes that the history of the human soul is almost more useful and no more interesting than the history of a whole people. In the first story "Taman", which tells about the hero's accidental encounter with "peaceful smugglers", the complexities and contradictions of Pechorin's nature seem to be relegated to the background. We see an energetic, courageous, resolute person who is full of interest in the people around him, craves action, tries to unravel the mystery of the people with whom his fate accidentally confronts. But the ending of the story is banal. Pechorin's curiosity destroyed the well-established life of "honest smugglers", dooming a blind boy and an old woman to a beggarly existence. Pechorin himself writes with regret in his diary: “Like a stone thrown into a smooth spring, I disturbed their calm.” In these words, pain and sadness are heard from the realization that all Pechorin's actions are petty and insignificant, devoid of a lofty goal, do not correspond to the rich possibilities of his nature.

But what does Pechorin waste his spiritual wealth, his immense strength on? For love affairs, intrigues, skirmishes with Grushnitsky and dragoon captains. Yes, he always comes out the winner, as in the story with Grushnitsky and Mary. But this does not bring him any joy or satisfaction. Pechorin feels and understands the discrepancy between his actions and high, noble aspirations. This leads the hero to a split personality. He focuses on his own actions and experiences. Nowhere in his diary will we find even a mention of his homeland, people, political problems of modern reality. Pechorin is only interested in his own inner world. Constant attempts to understand the motives of his actions, eternal merciless introspection, constant doubts lead to the fact that he loses the ability to simply live, feel joy, fullness and strength of feeling. From himself he made an object for observation. He is no longer able to experience excitement, because, as soon as he feels it, he immediately begins to think that he is still capable of worrying. This means that a merciless analysis of one's own thoughts and actions kills the immediacy of perception of life in Pechorin, plunges him into a painful contradiction with himself.

Pechorin is completely alone in the novel, since he himself repels those who are able to love and understand him. But still, some entries in his diary say that he needs a loved one, that he is tired of being alone. Lermontov's novel leads to the conclusion that the tragic discord in the hero's soul is caused by the fact that the rich forces of his soul did not find a worthy application, that the life of this original, extraordinary nature was wasted and completely devastated.

Thus, the story of Pechorin's soul helps to better understand the tragedy of the fate of the young generation of the 30s of the XIX century, makes you think about the causes of this "disease of the century" and try to find a way out of the moral impasse.

In connection with the author's desire to reveal the "history of the human soul", Lermontov's novel turned out to be rich in deep psychological analysis. The author explores the "soul" not only of the protagonist, but also of all other characters. Lermontov's psychologism is specific in that it acts not as a form of self-expression of the writer, but as an object of artistic representation. The external appearance of the hero, and his customs, and his actions, and his feelings are also analyzed. Lermontov is attentive to the shades of experiences, the state of a person, his gestures and postures. The author's style can be called psychological-analytical.

Pechorin's self-analysis is very deep, every state of mind is written out in detail and in detail, his own behavior and psychological reasons, motives and intentions of actions are analyzed. Pechorin admits to Dr. Werner: “There are two people in me: one lives in the full sense of the word, the other thinks and judges him ...” Behind the visible in the work, the essential is revealed, behind the external - the internal. Psychologism serves here as a way of discovering and knowing what, at first perception, seems mysterious, mysterious and strange. An important place in the novel, where the action takes place at different geographical points (by the sea, in the mountains, in the steppe, in the Cossack village), is occupied by the landscape. The perception of nature in the work helps to reveal the inner world of the hero, his condition, his susceptibility to beauty. “I remember,” Pechorin writes in his journal, “this time more than ever before, I loved nature.” The hero of the novel is close to nature with all its diversity, and it affects his inner world. Pechorin is convinced that the soul depends on nature and its forces. The landscape of each part of the novel is subject to the idea that is realized in it. Thus, in “Bel” Caucasian nature is depicted (rocks, cliffs, Aragva, snowy mountain peaks), which is opposed to northern nature and a disharmoniously arranged society.

Beautiful and majestic nature contrasts with the petty, unchanging interests of people and their suffering. The restless, capricious element of the sea contributes to the romanticism in which the smugglers from the chapter "Taman" appear before us. The morning landscape, full of freshness, including golden clouds, is the exposition of the chapter "Maxim Maksimych". Nature in "Princess Mary" becomes a psychological means of revealing Pechorin's character. Before the duel - in contrast - the radiance of sunlight is introduced, and after the duel the sun will seem dim to the hero, and its rays no longer warm. In The Fatalist, the cold light of shining stars on a dark blue vault leads Pechorin to philosophical reflections on predestination and fate.

In general, this work is a socio-psychological and philosophical novel, akin to a travel novel, close to travel notes. The psychological novel genre required the creation of a new novel structure and a special psychological plot, where Lermontov separated the author from the hero and arranged the stories in a special sequence. The Pechorin's Journal reveals the character of the hero as if "from the inside", it reveals the motives of his strange actions, his attitude towards himself, self-esteem.

For Lermontov, not only the actions of a person were always important, but their motivation, which for one reason or another could not be realized.

Lermontov was the first to raise the “important modern question about the inner man”, “the history of the human soul”, and not the external, albeit eventful biography of the character, is the plot and ideological center of the work. The author's gaze captures the subtlest transitions of thoughts, shades of mood, the subtleties of the experiences of his characters, often consisting of multidirectional psychological movements. The innovation of Lermontov's creative manner lies in the fact that he does not hide from the reader the very ways, "mechanisms" of comprehending these inner depths of the human "I" hidden from prying eyes.

Lermontov speaks of the complexity of the human character, of its complex and contradictory structure. In Pechorin's personality, he singles out the primary basis - good inclinations laid down by nature: the hero is always sincere (even when it is not beneficial for him), inquisitive, capable of compassion, energetic, and has high intelligence. However, in real life, in which the social position of a person, upbringing and conventions that must be taken into account mean so much, good easily coexists with evil: vanity, insatiable pride, the desire to rule over others and assert one's superiority by any means.

We see all this in the character of the central character, built on the principle of exposure and convergence of psychological polarities. It is no coincidence that Pechorin is called a "strange" person. This strangeness is based on the unexpectedness and inconsistency of his habits and behavior: the funny seems sad, the sad causes laughter, compassion and cruelty coexist in the soul at the same time.

The original and purely personal “invention” of the writer is the “cross” characterization of the characters, which was first used in the novel, expressed in the fact that the central figure of Pechorin, as it were, shines through through comparison with the equally independent, but still “passing” images of the highlanders, Maxim Maksimych, Werner , Grushnitsky, Vera, Princess Mary. Living their own lives, these and other characters of the novel set off important character traits of the protagonist. So, Grushnitsky, without knowing it, acts as a caricature likeness of Pechorin, and he, seeing himself in this distorted "mirror", gets the opportunity to more objectively evaluate his actions. But, losing or yielding to others in something, the main character simultaneously wins in another.

"Honest" smugglers, without hesitation, leave a blind boy to the mercy of fate; Bela does not notice the devotion of Maxim Maksimych, which hurts him to the core, Azamat easily agrees to betray his sister, preparing her for an untimely death; even Maxim Maksimych, the “heart of gold,” reconciles with evil when he sees the impossibility of fighting it. Pechorin intellectually rises above the environment, but the deviation from the ideals of humanity has become universal. Therefore, the loss of "noble aspirations", "the bait of passions, empty and ungrateful" condemn Pechorin to the "greedy role of an executioner and a traitor."

It can also be considered that Lermontov was the first to use the principle of stepped composition as a means of psychological analysis. First, the image of the hero is given through the perception of Maxim Maksimych: this is an assessment coming from a person of other social and moral ideas, as if from outside.

Then there is a direct meeting between Pechorin and the publisher, who not only notices the "strange" in the appearance and behavior of the character, but also seeks to explain it.

Finally, the last three stories ("Taman", "Princess Mary", "Fatalist"), which are Pechorin's "confession", give the floor to the character himself. By crossing different points of view, different positions, somewhat coinciding, but even more not coinciding with each other, the versatility of the inner world of the individual is recreated.

Psychological analysis is important for Lermontov not in itself, but as a way of solving moral and philosophical problems. A person's knowledge of the inner "I" is a necessary moment of self-knowledge of the personality, expresses the desire to find the meaning and purpose of life, to become better and morally purer.

Roman M.Yu. Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time" is the first "analytical" novel in Russian literature, in the center of which is not the biography of a person, but his personality, that is, spiritual and mental life as a process. This artistic psychologism can be considered a consequence of the era, since the time when Lermontov lived was a time of deep social upheaval and disappointment caused by the failed Decembrist uprising and the era of reactions that followed. Lermontov emphasizes that the time of heroic figures has passed, a person seeks to withdraw into his own world and plunges into introspection. And since introspection becomes a sign of the times, then literature should also turn to the consideration of the inner world of people.

In the preface to the novel, the main character - Pechorin - is characterized as "a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation in their full development." Thus, the author was able to trace how the environment affects the formation of personality, to give a portrait of the entire generation of young people of that time. But the author does not relieve the hero of responsibility for his actions. Lermontov pointed to the "disease" of the century, the treatment of which is to overcome individualism, struck by unbelief, bringing deep suffering to Pechorin and destructive to those around him. Everything in the novel is subordinated to the main task - to show the state of the hero's soul as deeply and in detail as possible. The chronology of his life is broken, but the chronology of the narrative is strictly built. We comprehend the world of the hero from the initial characterization that Maxim Maksimovich gives through the author's characterization to the confession in Pechorin's Journal.

The "Napoleonic problem" as the central moral and psychological problem of the novel reveals the essence of the extreme individualism and egoism of the central character. A person who refuses to judge himself according to the same laws by which he judges others loses moral guidelines, loses the criteria of good and evil.

Saturated pride - this is how Pechorin defines human happiness. He perceives the suffering and joy of others as food that supports his spiritual strength. In the chapter "The Fatalist" Pechorin reflects on faith and unbelief. Man, having lost God, has lost the main thing - the system of moral values, morality, the idea of ​​spiritual equality. Respect for the world and people begins with self-respect, humiliating others, he elevates himself; triumphing over others, he feels stronger. Evil begets evil. The first suffering gives the concept of the pleasure of torturing another, Pechorin himself argues. The tragedy of Pechorin is that he accuses the world, people and time of his spiritual slavery and does not see the reasons for the inferiority of his soul. He does not know the true freedom, he is looking for it in solitude, in wanderings. That is, in external signs, so it turns out to be superfluous everywhere.

Lermontov, conquering with psychological truth, vividly showed a historically specific hero with a clear motivation for his behavior. It seems to me that he was the first in Russian literature to be able to accurately reveal all the contradictions, complexities and the whole depth of the human soul.

Raising the question of the tragedy of the fate of outstanding people and the impossibility for them to find application for their forces in the conditions of the thirties, Lermontov at the same time showed the perniciousness of withdrawing into oneself, closing in "proud loneliness". Departure from people devastates even an outstanding nature, and the individualism and selfishness that appear as a result of this bring deep suffering not only to the hero himself, but to everyone he encounters. M.Yu. Lermontov, having depicted, in the words of Belinsky, "the inner man", turned out to be in the description of Pechorin both a deep psychologist and a realist - an artist who "objectified modern society and its representatives."

In the 30s of the last century, in Russian literature, there was a desire for a truthful study of the inner world of the human soul, for a psychological image of a person.

Before us is not just a portrait of the hero of the era. Before us, as stated in the preface to Pechorin's Journal, is "the history of the human soul." For Lermontov, not only the actions of a person were always important, but also their motivation, and most importantly, the hidden possibilities of a person, which for one reason or another could not be realized.

With the creation of the novel A Hero of Our Time, Lermontov made a huge contribution to the development of Russian literature, continuing Pushkin's realistic traditions. Like his great predecessor, A.S. Pushkin Lermontov generalized in the image of Pechorin the typical features of the younger generation of his era, creating a vivid image of a man of the 30s of the XIX century. The main problem of the novel was the fate of an outstanding human personality in an era of stagnation, the hopelessness of the situation of gifted, intelligent, educated young nobles. The Hero of Our Time is one of the central works of Russian classics of the 19th century. Its author is a poet and writer, a great creator of his time. His novel was written in the period 1837-1839, when literature was faced with the task of finding a new hero who embodies new trends in social development. Lermontov stood at that time in the face of a different society, something that was captured in Pushkin's Eugene Onegin. Belinsky wrote about this in an introductory article to the collection Physiology of Petersburg (1845): “In Onegin you will study Russian society at one of the moments of its development, in A Hero of Our Time you will see the same society, but in a new form." .

In Belinsky's works about Lermontov, full of love for the poet, contempt and hatred for his political enemies and literary "critics", there was a well-grounded and comprehensive concept of his worldview and creativity, which in its main features was accepted, confirmed, and then developed by such outstanding figures of our literature, social thought, like A.I. Herzen, N.G. Chernyshevsky, N.A. Dobrolyubov, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.

Agreeing with the opinion of V. G. Belinsky, I want to say that "A Hero of Our Time" is truly a great work that gave rise to a new direction in literature, called a psychological novel.

Bibliography

• 1. Roman M.Yu. Lermontov "Hero of Our Time", comments, Leningrad, publishing house "Enlightenment", 1975
• 2. Korovin V.I., The creative path of M.Yu. Lermontov, Moscow, publishing house "Prosveshchenie", 1973
• 3. M.Yu. Lermontov. Biography of the writer, Leningrad, publishing house "Prosveshchenie", 1976
• 4. M.Yu. Lermontov in Russian Criticism, Moscow, Sovetskaya Rossiya Publishing House, 1985
• 5. M.Yu. Lermontov in the memoirs of contemporaries, Moscow, publishing house "Fiction", 1989
• 6. M.Yu. Lermontov. Hero of our time. Poems, Moscow, publishing house "Children's Literature", 1986
• 7. Maksimov D.A., Lermontov's work, Leningrad, publishing house "Soviet Writer", 1959

In the novel “A Hero of Our Time”, Lermontov poses a question that excites everyone: why do the most worthy, intelligent and energetic people of his time not find application for their remarkable abilities and wither at the very beginning of a vital impulse without a struggle? The writer answers this question with the life story of the main character Pechorin. Lermontov masterfully draws the image of a young man who belongs to the generation of the 30s of the XIX century and in which the vices of this generation are summarized.

The era of reaction in Russia left its mark on the behavior of people. The tragic fate of the hero is the tragedy of the entire generation, the generation of unrealized opportunities. The young nobleman had to either lead the life of a secular idler, or be bored and wait for death. The character of Pechorin is revealed in relationships with various people: mountaineers, smugglers, Maksim Maksimych, “water society”.

In clashes with the highlanders, the “strangeness” of the character of the protagonist is revealed. Pechorin has much in common with the people of the Caucasus. Like the highlanders, he is determined and brave. His strong will knows no barriers. The goal set by him is achieved by any means, by all means. “Such was the man, God knows him!” - Maxim Maksimych says about him. But Pechorin's goals are small in themselves, often meaningless, always selfish. Among ordinary people living according to the customs of their ancestors, he brings evil: he pushes Kazbich and Azamat on the path of crimes, mercilessly destroys the mountain girl Bela only because she had the misfortune to please him.

In the story "Bela" the character of Pechorin still remains a mystery. True, Lermontov slightly reveals the secret of his behavior. Pechorin admits to Maxim Maksimych that his "soul is corrupted by light." We begin to guess that Pechorin's egoism is the result of the influence of secular society, to which he belongs from birth.

In the story "Taman" Pechorin again interferes in the lives of strangers. The mysterious behavior of the smugglers promised an exciting adventure. And Pechorin embarked on a dangerous adventure with the sole purpose of "getting the key to this riddle." The dormant forces woke up, the will, composure, courage and determination were manifested. But when the secret was revealed, the aimlessness of Pechorin's decisive actions was revealed.

And again boredom, complete indifference to the people around. “Yes, and I care about human joys and misfortunes, me, a wandering officer, and even with a traveler for official needs!” Pechorin thinks with bitter irony.

The inconsistency and duality of Pechorin stand out even more clearly in comparison with Maxim Maksimych. The staff captain lives for others, Pechorin - only for himself. One instinctively reaches out to people, the other is closed in himself, indifferent to the fate of others. And it is not surprising that their friendship ends dramatically. Pechorin's cruelty towards the old man is an external manifestation of his character, and under this external lies a bitter doom to loneliness.

The social and psychological motivation of Pechorin's actions is clearly seen in the story "Princess Mary". Here we see Pechorin in the circle of officers and nobles. “Water society” is the social environment to which the hero belongs.

Pechorin is bored in the company of petty envious people, insignificant intriguers, devoid of noble aspirations and elementary decency. An aversion to these people, among whom he is forced to stay, is ripening in his soul.

Lermontov shows how a person's character is influenced by social conditions, the environment in which he lives. Pechorin was not born a "moral cripple." Nature gave him a deep, sharp mind, a kind, sympathetic heart, and a strong will. However, in all life's encounters, good, noble impulses eventually give way to cruelty. Pechorin learned to be guided only by personal desires and aspirations.

Who is to blame for the fact that the wonderful makings of Pechorin died? Why did he become a "moral cripple"? The society is to blame, the social conditions in which the young man was brought up and lived are to blame. “My colorless youth flowed in the struggle with myself and the world,” he admits, “my best qualities, fearing ridicule, I kept in the depths of my heart; they died there.”

But Pechorin is an outstanding personality. This person rises above others. “Yes, in this man there is fortitude and power of will, which you do not have,” Belinsky wrote, referring to critics of Lermontov’s Pechorin. Something magnificent flashes in his very vices, like lightning in black clouds, and he is beautiful, full of poetry even in those moments when human feeling rises up against him: he has a different destination, a different path than you. His passions are storms that purify the realm of the spirit...”

Creating the “Hero of Our Time”, unlike his previous works, Lermontov no longer imagined life, but painted it as it really was. Before us is a realistic novel. The writer found new artistic means of depicting persons and events. Lermontov demonstrates the ability to build an action in such a way that one character is revealed through the perception of another.

So, the author of travel notes, in which we guess the features of Lermontov himself, tells us the story of Bela from the words of Maxim Maksimych, and he, in turn, conveys Pechorin's monologues. And in “Pechorin’s journal” we see the hero in a new light - the way he was alone with himself, the way he could appear in his diary, but would never open up in public.

Only once do we see Pechorin, as the author sees him. The ingenious pages of "Maxim Maksimych" leave a deep imprint in the heart of the reader. This story evokes deep sympathy for the deceived staff captain and at the same time indignation against the brilliant Pechorin.

The illness of the protagonist's duality makes one think about the nature of the time in which he lives and which feeds him. Pechorin himself admits that two people live in his soul: one does things, and the other judges him. The tragedy of the suffering egoist is that his mind and his strength do not find a worthy application. Pechorin's indifference to everything and everyone is not so much his fault as a heavy cross. “The tragedy of Pechorin,” wrote Belinsky. - first of all, in the contradiction between the loftiness of nature and the pitifulness of actions.

One cannot fail to say that the novel "A Hero of Our Time" has the properties of high poetry. Accuracy, capacity, brilliance of descriptions, comparisons, metaphors distinguish this work. The writer's style is distinguished by brevity and sharpness of aphorisms. This style is brought to a high degree of perfection in the novel.

The descriptions of nature in the novel are unusually plastic. Depicting Pyatigorsk at night, Lermontov first describes what he notices in the darkness with his eyes, and then he hears with his ear: “The city was sleeping, only lights flickered in some windows. On three sides blackened the ridges of the cliffs, the branches of Mashuk, on the top of which lay an ominous cloud; the moon rose in the east; in the distance the snow-capped mountains glittered like a silver fringe. The calls of sentries were interspersed with the noise of hot springs lowered for the night. Sometimes the sonorous stomp of a horse was heard along the street, accompanied by the creak of a Nagai cart and a mournful Tatar refrain.

Lermontov, having written the novel "A Hero of Our Time", entered world literature as a master of realistic prose. The young genius revealed the complex nature of his contemporary. He created a truthful, typical image, which reflected the essential features of a whole generation. “Watch what the heroes of our time are like!” - tells everyone the contents of the book.

The novel "A Hero of Our Time" became a mirror of the life of Russia in the 30s, the first Russian socio-psychological novel.

The whole novel was perceived as a deeply realistic work. Lermontov himself emphasized precisely this nature of his novel, opposing his hero to "romantic villains" and noting that there is "more truth" in him. The realism of Lermontov's idea is reinforced by the ironic interpretation of the lofty romantic Grushnitsky. The very word "romantic", which occurs several times in the text of the novel, is always used by the author with an ironic tinge.

The realism of Lermontov's novel differs from Pushkin's, it has its own characteristics. Lermontov focuses the reader's attention on the psyche of the characters, on their internal struggle. The genre also leaves its mark on the composition of the work - that is why Lermontov violated the chronology of events in order to deeply reveal the inner world of Pechorin. Therefore, Pechorin is first shown to us as Maxim Maksimych saw him, whose horizons predetermined the incomplete disclosure of the appearance of the hero (“Bela”). Then the author briefly tells us about Pechorin (“Maxim Maksimych”). After this, the narration is already being conducted on behalf of Pechorin himself.

First, he writes down in his diary the adventure that happened to him in Taman. Only then does the image, which intrigues us more and more with each story, becomes understandable (“Princess Mary”). The last of the stories brings clarifying touches to the strong-willed image of the character ("Fatalist"). In this chapter, Lermontov discusses the existence of a predestination of a person's fate.

After the events of December 14, this problem worried many representatives of the Russian intelligentsia as a question of socio-political struggle or passive submission to circumstances. Lermontov in "The Fatalist" uniquely substantiates the belief that "a person must be active, proud, strong, courageous in struggle and danger, not subject to and rebellious circumstances." "This is a position of defiance, intransigence, relentless denial." As a result, The Fatalist not only more clearly reveals the strong-willed character of Pechorin, but also more clearly defines the progressive meaning of the entire novel.

This original composition is in connection with the basic principles of revealing the character of the hero. Lermontov deliberately confines himself to the most meager data about Pechorin's past. Everyday painting also turns out to be almost completely eliminated: Pechorin says very little about the conditions of his life, the objects around him, and his habits. This manner of depiction differs significantly from the one to which Pushkin taught readers.

All attention is focused on the inner world of the character. Even a portrait sketch of him, for all its thoroughness, does not so much strive to give a complete image of the hero's appearance, but through this appearance to show the contradictions of his inner world.
Portrait characteristics given from the face of the hero differ in great depth. The description of the appearance, the play of the eyes, and the characteristic movements of Mary of Lithuania are distinguished by a special richness and diversity. As if anticipating the portraiture of L. Tolstoy, Lermontov, through his hero, shows the inner world of the poor princess, who tries to hide her love with feigned coldness.

The entire central part of the novel, Pechorin's Diary, is characterized by a particularly in-depth psychological analysis.
The novel is the first time in the history of Russian literature so deeply its personality. His experiences are qualified with "the severity of a judge and a citizen." A single stream of sensations is decomposed into its component parts: “I still try to explain to myself what kind of feelings were seething then in my chest: it was the annoyance of offended pride, and contempt, and malice.”

The habit of introspection is complemented by the skills of constant observation of others. All Pechorin's interactions with other characters in the novel are only psychological experiments that amuse the hero with their complexity.