"Eugene Onegin" rightfully stands apart among the works of Russian literature of the 19th century. This is one of the most harmonious in composition and rich in content of Pushkin's works. Alexander Sergeevich devote more than 8 years to his offspring: having started work on a novel in verse in the spring of 1823, he completed the work only by the autumn of 1831. This was the most painstaking and lengthy work on a work in his life.
He then quit work on "Eugene Onegin", then again proceeded to it. Conventionally, the work on the novel can be divided into four stages, during which many events happened in Pushkin's life: the southern exile, the Boldin autumn, and a series of stormy novels. All chapters were published gradually, as they were written, one after another. The last author's version saw the light in 1837. According to the description, the actions in the novel cover a period of time for 6 years. In the process of narration, the characters grow up, go through some life path and turn from dreamy boys and girls into mature, accomplished personalities.
Thanks to the expression of the emotions of the characters through the poetic form, the novel gets more lyricism and expressiveness, thus, the reader becomes understandable and accessible to the whole palette of feelings that the author laid in the foundation. In addition, Pushkin introduces himself into the novel as one of the heroes of the story, he keeps Tatyana's letter and meets with Onegin in St. Petersburg. The novel has many digressions, where Pushkin shares his thoughts and experiences with the reader, as if alienating himself from the course and the main line of the story.
Analysis of the work
The main plot of the work
The plot is based love line: young Tatyana Larina falls in love with the bright extraordinary personality of Eugene Onegin. Still quite young, he is already tired of the noisy fuss and tinsel surrounding him, and calls his soul cooled. A young girl in love decides to take a desperate step and writes a letter of confession, where, with the ardor characteristic of her youthful nature, she pours out her soul to Eugene and expresses hope for the opportunity romantic relationship between them. The hero does not reciprocate Tatyana, which hurts her very much. A decisive explanation takes place between the young people, and Onegin gently tells Tatyana that his callous soul is no longer able to love, even such a young and beautiful girl as Tatyana. Later, when Larina becomes married woman and, it would seem, finds a quiet family happiness, the paths of the heroes intersect again. Onegin understands what a terrible mistake he made, but, unfortunately, it is no longer possible to fix anything. Tatyana pronounces her famous "... but I am given to another, and I will be faithful to him for a century ...", which puts an end to the failed love story.
Many mistakes that people tend to make, especially in youth, prevented young heroes from being together, despite their mutual love. Only after going through a series of emotional upheavals, Onegin realizes that Tatyana is the same girl with whom he could be very happy, but, as usual, he understands this too late. All this, of course, makes the reader think about whether he is making a similar mistake. And, perhaps, it immerses you in memories of past sad experiences or makes you relive passionate and tender first feelings.
Main characters
One of the main characters is Eugene Onegin. A reserved young man with a complex character. The author deliberately does not idealize his image, endowing him with all the shortcomings that are usually inherent in real person. Since childhood, he did not know the need for anything, being the son of a St. Petersburg nobleman. His soul did not gravitate to work, was pampered by novels, balls and scientific works of his favorite authors. His life was as empty as that of a million of the same lordly offspring of that time, filled with revelry and debauchery, senseless burning of life. As usual, as a result of this lifestyle, Eugene became a real callous egoist, thinking only about his own pleasures. He does not put a penny on other people's feelings and easily offends a person if he does not like him or utters a phrase that is inappropriate in his opinion.
Meanwhile, our hero is not without positive traits: for example, throughout the novel, the author shows us how much Onegin gravitates towards science and knowledge. He is constantly in search of what can replenish and expand his consciousness, studies the works of philosophers, conducts intellectual conversations and disputes. In addition, unlike his peers, he very quickly gets bored with the fuss of balls and senseless pastime. Very soon, the reader can observe his personal growth, while his friends inevitably degrade one by one, turning into flabby landowners.
Despite his disappointment and dissatisfaction with the way of life that he is forced to lead, he lacks the mental strength and motivation to break this vicious circle. He did not grab onto that saving straw that the pure and bright girl Tatyana holds out to him, declaring her love.
The turning point in his life is the murder of Lensky. At this moment, Onegin's eyes open, he understands how insignificant all his former existence is. From a sense of shame and remorse, he is forced to flee, and sends him to conquer the expanses of the country in the hope of hiding from the “bloody shadow” of his murdered friend.
From a three-year voyage, he returns a completely different person, mature and conscious. Having met Tatyana again, who was already married at that time, he realizes that he has feelings for her. He sees in her an adult intelligent woman, an excellent companion and a holistic mature nature. He is amazed at her grandeur and secular coldness, not recognizing in her that timid and gentle country girl, as he knew her before. Now she is a loving wife, tactful and benevolent, restrained and calm. He falls in love with this woman without memory, and he is mercilessly rejected by her.
This was the end of the novel. future life Onegin and Tatyana remain unknown to the reader. Pushkin does not give any answer to questions about whether Eugene was able to reconcile and forget his love and how did he spend his subsequent days? Was Tatyana happy in the future married to an unloved man? All this remained a mystery.
No less important image described in the novel is the image of Tatyana Larina. Pushkin describes her as a simple noblewoman from the provinces. A modest young lady, not endowed with special beauty and external attractiveness, however, she has a surprisingly deep, multifaceted inner world. Her romantic poetic nature captivates the reader and makes her sympathize and empathize with her suffering from the first to the last line. Pushkin himself more than once confesses his love for his fictional heroine:
« Forgive me: I love so much
My dear Tatiana!
Tanya grows up as a rather closed, immersed in her own feelings, closed girl. Her best friends books became very early, in them she looked for answers to all questions, through the pages of novels she learned life. All the more strange for the reader is Tatyana's unexpected impulse and her frank letter to Onegin. Such behavior is not at all characteristic of her character and indicates that the feelings that flared up for Eugene were so strong that they overshadowed the mind of a young girl.
The author makes us understand that even after the refusal, and after the long departure of Onegin, and even after marriage, Tanya does not stop loving him. However, the great nobility and self-esteem does not give her the opportunity to throw herself into his arms. She respects her husband and protects her family. Renouncing Onegin's feelings, she manifests herself as an exceptionally reasonable, strong and wise woman. Duty is above all for her, and this decision of hers makes the reader feel deep respect for the heroine. The suffering and later repentance of Onegin is the natural ending of his lifestyle and actions.
(Illustration by K. I. Rudakov "Eugene Onegin. Meeting in the garden", 1949)
In addition to the main characters, the novel describes many minor characters, however, no one else receives such a vivid characteristic as Tatyana and Onegin. Unless the author pays some attention to Lensky. Bitterly he describes it tragic fate with an unfair ending. Pushkin characterizes him as an exceptionally pure young man, with an unsullied reputation and high moral character. He is talented and impetuous, but at the same time very noble.
Conclusion
The description of nature in the novel stands apart: the author devotes a lot of time to it. We can find beautiful pictures on the pages of the novel that recreate before our eyes Moscow, St. Petersburg, Crimea, Odessa, the Caucasus and, of course, the wonderful nature of the Russian hinterland. Everything that Pushkin describes is ordinary pictures of the Russian village. At the same time, he does it so masterfully that the pictures created by him literally come to life in the reader's imagination, fascinate him.
Despite the disappointing ending of the novel, it cannot be called pessimistic at all. On the contrary, the abundance of bright living moments makes the reader believe in a wonderful future and look into the distance with hope. There are so many bright, real feelings, noble impulses and pure love that the novel is more capable of bringing the reader to positive emotions.
The whole composition of the novel is built surprisingly harmoniously, which is surprising, given the long breaks with which the author again began to work on it. The structure has a clear, slender and organic structure. Actions flow smoothly from one another, throughout the whole novel, Pushkin's favorite technique is used - a ring composition. That is, the place of initial and final events coincides. The reader can also track the specularity and symmetry of the events taking place: Tatyana and Evgeny find themselves in similar situations several times, on one of which (Tatyana's refusal) the action of the novel is interrupted.
It is worth noting that not a single love story in the novel has a successful ending: like her sister Tatyana, Olga Larina was not destined to find happiness with Lensky. The difference between the characters is shown through the opposition: Tatyana and Olga, Lensky and Onegin.
Summing up, it is worth noting that "Eugene Onegin" is truly a confirmation of Pushkin's remarkable poetic talent and lyrical genius. The novel is read literally in one breath and captures from its first line.
History of creation
Pushkin began work on Onegin in 1823, during his southern exile. The author abandoned romanticism as a 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 contemporary 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. A main problem is eternal problem feelings 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. Reading the book, we (readers) understand that the novel is unique, because earlier in the world literature there was not a single novel in verse. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin created a novel in verse like Byron's poem Don Juan. Defining the novel as "a collection colorful chapters”, Pushkin emphasizes one of the features of this work: the novel is, as it were, “open” 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 St. 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.
Lotman
"Eugene Onegin" is a difficult work. The very lightness of the verse, the familiarity of the content, familiar to the reader from childhood and emphatically simple, paradoxically create additional difficulties in understanding Pushkin's novel in verse. The illusory idea of the "comprehensibility" of the work hides from the consciousness of the modern reader a huge number of incomprehensible words, expressions, phraseological units, allusions, quotations. Thinking about a verse that you know from childhood seems to be unjustified pedantry. However, it is worth overcoming this naive optimism of an inexperienced reader in order to make it obvious how far we are even from a simple textual understanding of the novel. The specific structure of the Pushkin novel in verse, in which any positive statement of the author can be imperceptibly turned into an ironic one, and the verbal fabric seems to slip, passing from one speaker to another, makes the method of forcible extraction of quotations especially dangerous. In order to avoid this threat, the novel should be viewed not as a mechanical sum of the author's statements on various issues, a kind of anthology of quotations, but as an organic art world, parts of which live and receive meaning only in relation to the whole. A simple list of problems that Pushkin "poses" in his work will not introduce us into the world of Onegin. artistic idea implies a special type of transformation of life in art. It is known that for Pushkin there was a "devilish difference" between poetic and prosaic modeling of the same reality, even while maintaining the same themes and problems.
Comments on the novel
One of the first comments on the novel was a small book by A. Volsky, published in 1877. Comments by Vladimir Nabokov, Nikolai Brodsky, Yuri Lotman, S. M. Bondi became classics.
Psychologists about the work
Influence on other works
- Type " extra person”, introduced by Pushkin in the image of Onegin, influenced all subsequent Russian literature. From the closest illustrative examples - surname "Pechorin" in Lermontov's "Hero of Our Time", as well as the name of Onegin is formed from the name of the Russian river. Many psychological characteristics are also close.
- In the modern Russian novel "The Onegin Code" written under a pseudonym Brain Down, we are talking about the search for the missing chapter of Pushkin's manuscript.
- In Yesenin's poem "Anna Snegina".
Notes
Links
- Pushkin A. S. Eugene Onegin: A novel in verse // Pushkin A. S. Complete works: In 10 volumes - L .: Science. Leningrad. department, 1977-1979. (FEB)
- "Eugene Onegin" with full commentary by Nabokov, Lotman and Tomashevsky on the website "Secrets of the Craft"
- Lotman Yu. M. The novel in Pushkin's verse "Eugene Onegin": Special course. Introductory lectures in the study of the text // Lotman Yu. M. Pushkin: Biography of the writer; Articles and notes, 1960-1990; "Eugene Onegin": Commentary. - St. Petersburg: Art-SPB, 1995. - S. 393-462. (FEB)
- Lotman Yu. M. Roman A. S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin": Commentary: A guide for the teacher // Lotman Yu. M. Pushkin: Biography of the writer; Articles and notes, 1960-1990; "Eugene Onegin": Commentary. - St. Petersburg: Art-SPB, 1995. - S. 472-762. (FEB)
- Onegin Encyclopedia: In 2 volumes - M .: Russian way, 1999-2004.
- Zakharov N.V. Onegin Encyclopedia: thesaurus of the novel (Onegin Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. / Edited by N. I. Mikhailova. M., 2004) // Knowledge. Understanding. Skill. - 2005. - No. 4. - S. 180-188.
- Fomichev S. A. "Eugene Onegin": The movement of the idea. - M.: Russian way, 2005.
- Bely A.A. "Génie ou neige" Literature Issues No. 1, . P.115.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .
A. S. Pushkin wrote the novel in verse "Eugene Onegin" intermittently for about nine years. He is the most famous work poet. Why? Perhaps because it was included in the school curriculum, and all the children, before and after, crammed “I am writing to you, what more”, or maybe because of the abundance of aphoristic lines that have become catchphrases: “all ages are submissive to love”, “we all learned little by little”; it is also stated that "Eugene Onegin" is "the most important part of our cultural code, the one that allows us to speak the same language, equally understand the same jokes, allusions and comparisons." Is this so, otherwise, everyone has their own opinion, but the fact remains - "Eugene Onegin" is a great work of a great poet.The plot of "Eugene Onegin"
Anything literary work unthinkable without love story. In "Eugene Onegin" she is in the relationship between Onegin and Tatyana Larina. First, the girl falls in love with Eugene, but turns out to be unnecessary to him, then he seeks reciprocity, but Tatyana is already married
Another storyline of the novel is the conflict between friends Onegin and Lensky, which ended in a duel.
Description of the novel "Eugene Onegin"
The ruler is weak and cunning
Bald dandy, enemy of labor
Inadvertently warmed by fame
Then ruled over us
…………………….
History of creation. "Eugene Onegin", the first Russian realistic novel, is Pushkin's most significant work, which has a long history of creation, covering several periods of the poet's work. According to Pushkin's own calculations, work on the novel lasted for 7 years, 4 months, 17 days - from May 1823 to September 26, 1830, and in 1831 "Onegin's Letter to Tatiana" was also written. The publication of the work was carried out as it was created: at first, separate chapters came out, and only in 1833 did the first complete edition come out. Until that time, Pushkin did not stop making certain adjustments to the text.The novel was, according to the poet, "the fruit of the mind of cold observations and the heart of sorrowful remarks."
Completing work on the last chapter of the novel in 1830, Pushkin sketched out his draft plan, which looks like this:
Part one. Preface. 1st song. Khandra (Kishinev, Odessa, 1823); 2nd song. Poet (Odessa, 1824); 3rd song. Young lady (Odessa, Mikhailovskoye, 1824).
Part two. 4th song. Village (Mikhailovskoe, 1825); 5th song. Name days (Mikhailovskoe, 1825, 1826); 6th song. Duel (Mikhailovskoe, 1826).
Part three. 7th song. Moscow (Mikhailovskoye, Petersburg, 1827, 1828); 8th song. Wandering (Moscow, Pavlovsk, Boldino, 1829); 9th song. Great Light (Boldino, 1830).
In the final version, Pushkin had to make certain adjustments to the plan: for censorship reasons, he excluded Chapter 8 - "The Journey". Now it is published as an appendix to the novel - "Excerpts from Onegin's Journey", and the final chapter 9 - "Big Light" - became, respectively, the eighth. In this form, in 1833, the novel was published as a separate edition.
In addition, there is an assumption about the existence of chapter 10, which was written in the Boldin autumn of 1830, but on October 19 it was burned by the poet , as it was devoted to depicting the era of the Napoleonic wars and the birth of Decembrism and contained a number of dangerous political allusions. Insignificant fragments of this chapter (16 stanzas) encrypted by Pushkin have been preserved. The key to the cipher was found only at the beginning of the 20th century by the Pushkinist NO. Morozov, and then other researchers supplemented the deciphered text. But disputes about the legitimacy of the assertion that these fragments really represent parts of the missing chapter 10 of the novel still do not subside.
Direction and genre. "Eugene Onegin" is the first Russian realistic socio-psychological novel, and, what is important, not prose, but a novel in verse. For Pushkin, it was fundamentally important when creating this work to choose an artistic method - not romantic, but realistic.
Starting work on the novel during the period of southern exile, when romanticism dominates the poet's work, Pushkin soon becomes convinced that the features of the romantic method do not make it possible to solve the problem. Although in terms of genre the poet is to some extent guided by Byron's romantic poem Don Juan, he refuses the one-sidedness of the romantic point of view.
Pushkin wanted to show in his novel a young man, typical of his time, against the broad background of the picture of his contemporary life, to reveal the origins of the characters being created, to show their inner logic and relationship with the conditions in which they find themselves. All this has led to the creation of truly typical characters that manifest themselves in typical circumstances, which is what distinguishes realistic works.
This also gives the right to call "Eugene Onegin" social novel, since in it Pushkin shows the noble Russia of the 20s of the XIX century, raises the most important problems of the era and seeks to explain various social phenomena. The poet does not simply describe events from the life of an ordinary nobleman; he gives the hero a bright and at the same time typical for secular society character, explains the origin of his apathy and boredom, the reasons for his actions. At the same time, events unfold against such a detailed and carefully written material background that “Eugene Onegin” can also be called a social and everyday novel.
It is also important that Pushkin carefully analyzes not only the external circumstances of the characters' lives, but also their inner world. On many pages, he achieves extraordinary psychological mastery, which makes it possible to deeply understand his characters. That is why "Eugene Onegin" can rightfully be called a psychological novel.
His hero changes under the influence of life circumstances and becomes capable of real, serious feelings. And let happiness pass him by, it often happens in real life, but he loves, he worries - that is why the image of Onegin (not a conventionally romantic, but a real, living hero) so struck Pushkin's contemporaries. Many in themselves and in their acquaintances found his features, as well as the features of other characters in the novel - Tatyana, Lensky, Olga - the image of typical people of that era was so true.
At the same time, in "Eugene Onegin" there are features of a love story with a love story traditional for that era. The hero, tired of the world, travels, meets a girl who falls in love with him. For some reason, the hero either cannot love her - then everything ends tragically, or she reciprocates, and although at first circumstances prevent them from being together, everything ends well. It is noteworthy that Pushkin deprives such a story of a romantic connotation and gives a completely different solution. Despite all the changes that have taken place in the lives of the heroes and led to the emergence of a mutual feeling, due to circumstances they cannot be together and are forced to part. Thus, the plot of the novel is given a clear realism.
But the innovation of the novel lies not only in its realism. Even at the beginning of work on it, Pushkin in a letter to P.A. Vyazemsky noted: "Now I am not writing a novel, but a novel in verse - a diabolical difference." The novel, as an epic work, implies the author's detachment from the events described and objectivity in their assessment; the poetic form enhances the lyrical beginning associated with the personality of the creator. That is why "Eugene Onegin" is usually referred to as lyric-epic works, which combine the features inherent in the epic and lyrics. Indeed, in the novel "Eugene Onegin" there are two artistic layers, two worlds - the world of "epic" heroes (Onegin, Tatyana, Lensky and other characters) and the world of the author, reflected in lyrical digressions.
Pushkin's novel written Onegin stanza , based on the sonnet. But the 14-line four-foot iambic Pushkin had a different rhyme scheme -abab vvgg deed lj :
"My uncle of the most honest rules,
When I fell ill in earnest,
He forced himself to respect
And I couldn't think of a better one.
His example to others is science;
But my god, what a bore
With the sick to sit day and night,
Not leaving a single step away!
What low deceit
Amuse the half-dead
Fix his pillows
Sad to give medicine
Sigh and think to yourself:
When will the devil take you?"
composition of the novel. The main technique in the construction of the novel is mirror symmetry (or ring composition). The way of its expression is the change of the positions occupied by the characters in the novel. First, Tatyana and Eugene meet, Tatyana falls in love with him, suffers because of unrequited love, the author sympathizes with her and mentally accompanies her heroine. At the meeting, Onegin reads a “sermon” to her. Then there is a duel between Onegin and Lensky - an event whose compositional role is the denouement of a personal storyline and determining the development of a love affair. When Tatyana and Onegin meet in Petersburg, he is in her place, and all events repeat in the same sequence, only the author is next to Onegin. This so-called ring composition allows us to return to the past and creates the impression of the novel as a harmonious, complete whole.
Also an essential feature of the composition is the presence digressions in the novel. With their help, the image of a lyrical hero is created, which makes the novel lyrical.
Heroes of the novel . The protagonist, after whom the novel is named, is Eugene Onegin. At the beginning of the novel, he is 18 years old. This is a young metropolitan aristocrat who received a typical secular education. Onegin was born into a wealthy but bankrupt noble family. His childhood was spent in isolation from everything Russian, national. He was brought up by a French tutor who,
So that the child is not exhausted,
Taught him everything jokingly
I did not bother with strict morality,
Slightly scolded for pranks
And he took me for walks to the Summer Garden.”
Thus, Onegin's upbringing and education were rather superficial.
But Pushkin's hero nevertheless received that minimum of knowledge that was considered mandatory in the nobility. He “knew Latin enough to understand epigraphs”, remembered “jokes of the past from Romulus to the present day”, had an idea about the political economy of Adam Smith. In the eyes of society, he was a brilliant representative of the youth of his time, and all this thanks to impeccable French, elegant manners, wit and the art of holding a conversation. He led a lifestyle typical of the youth of that time: he attended balls, theaters, restaurants. Wealth, luxury, enjoyment of life, success in society and among women - that's what attracted the protagonist of the novel.
But secular entertainment was terribly tired of Onegin, who had already "yawned among the fashionable and ancient halls for a long time." He is bored both at balls and in the theater: “... He turned away, and yawned, and said: “It’s time for everyone to change; I endured ballets for a long time, but I was tired of Didlo” ”. This is not surprising - the hero of the novel took about eight years to go to social life. But he was smart and stood well above the typical representatives of secular society. Therefore, over time, Onegin felt disgust for an empty, idle life. “A sharp, chilled mind” and satiety with pleasures made Onegin disappointed, “the Russian melancholy took possession of him.”
“Planning in spiritual emptiness,” this young man fell into a depression. He tries to find the meaning of life in any activity. The first such attempt was literary work, but “nothing came out of his pen”, since the education system did not teach him to work (“hard work was sickening to him”). Onegin "read, read, but all to no avail." True, our hero does not stop there. On his estate, he makes another attempt at practical activity: he replaces corvée (obligatory work on the landowner's field) with quitrent (cash tax). As a result, the life of the serfs becomes easier. But, having carried out one reform, and that one out of boredom, “just to pass the time,” Onegin again plunges into the blues. This gives V. G. Belinsky reason to write: “The inactivity and vulgarity of life choke him, he doesn’t even know what he needs, what he wants, but he ... knows very well that he doesn’t need it, that he doesn’t want it. what is so satisfied, so happy selfish mediocrity.
At the same time, we see that Onegin was not alien to the prejudices of the world. They could only be overcome by contact with real life. Pushkin shows in the novel the contradictions in Onegin's thinking and behavior, the struggle between the "old" and the "new" in his mind, comparing him with other heroes of the novel: Lensky and Tatiana, intertwining their destinies.
The complexity and inconsistency of the character of the Pushkin hero is revealed especially clearly in his relationship with Tatiana, the daughter of the provincial landowner Larin.
In the new neighbor, the girl saw the ideal that had long been formed in her under the influence of books. The bored, disappointed nobleman seems to her romantic hero He is not like other landlords. “The whole inner world of Tatyana consisted in a thirst for love,” writes V. G. Belinsky about the condition of a girl who was left to her secret dreams all day long:
For a long time her imagination
Burning with grief and longing,
Alkalo fatal food;
Long hearted languor
It pressed her young breast;
The soul was waiting ... for someone
And waited ... Eyes opened;
She said it's him!
All the best, pure, bright awoke in Onegin's soul:
I love your sincerity
She got excited
Feelings long gone.
But Eugene Onegin does not accept Tatiana's love, explaining that he is "not created for bliss", that is, for family life. Indifference to life, passivity, “desire for peace”, inner emptiness suppressed sincere feelings. Subsequently, he will be punished for his mistake by loneliness.
In Pushkin's hero there is such a quality as "the soul of direct nobility." He sincerely becomes attached to Lensky. Onegin and Lensky stood out from their environment with their high intelligence and disdain for the prosaic life of their neighbors-landlords. However, they were completely opposite people in character. One was a cold, disappointed skeptic, the other an enthusiastic romantic, an idealist.
They get together.
Wave and stone
Poetry and prose, ice and fire...
Onegin does not like people at all, does not believe in their kindness, and destroys his friend himself, killing him in a duel.
In the image of Onegin, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin truthfully portrayed an intelligent nobleman who stands above secular society, but does not have a goal in life. He does not want to live like other nobles, he cannot live otherwise. Therefore, disappointment and longing become his constant companions.
A. S. Pushkin is critical of his hero. He sees both trouble and Onegin's guilt. The poet blames not only his hero, but also the society that formed such people. Onegin cannot be considered an exception among the youth of the nobility, this is a typical character for the 20s of the XIX century.
Tatyana Larina
- Pushkin's favorite heroine - is a vivid type of Russian woman of the Pushkin era. Not without reason, among the prototypes of this heroine, the wives of the Decembrists M. Volkonskaya, N. Fonvizina are mentioned.
The very choice of the name "Tatiana", not illuminated by the literary tradition, is associated with "remembrance of antiquity or girlish". Pushkin emphasizes the originality of his heroine not only by choosing a name, but also by her strange position in her own family: “She seemed like a stranger in her own family.”
Two elements influenced the formation of Tatyana's character: bookish, associated with French romance novels, and folk-national tradition. "Russian soul" Tatyana loves the customs of "dear old times", she has been captivated by scary stories since childhood.
Much brings this heroine closer to Onegin: she is alone in society - he is unsociable; her dreaminess and strangeness are his originality. Both Onegin and Tatyana stand out sharply against the background of their environment.
But not the "young rake", namely Tatyana becomes the embodiment of the author's ideal. The inner life of the heroine is determined not by secular idleness, but by the influence of free nature. Tatyana was brought up not by a governess, but by a simple Russian peasant woman.
The patriarchal way of life of the “simple Russian family” of the Larins is closely connected with traditional folk rites and customs: there are pancakes for Shrovetide, singalong songs, and round swings.
The poetics of folk divination is embodied in Tatyana's famous dream. He, as it were, predetermines the fate of the girl, foreshadowing a quarrel between two friends, and the death of Lensky, and an early marriage.
Endowed with an ardent imagination and a dreamy soul, Tatyana at first glance recognized in Onegin the ideal, the idea of which she had drawn from sentimental novels. Perhaps the girl intuitively felt the similarity between Onegin and herself and realized that they were made for each other.
The fact that Tatyana was the first to write a love letter is explained by her simplicity, gullibility, ignorance of deceit. And Onegin’s rebuke, in my opinion, not only did not cool Tatyana’s feelings, but strengthened them: “No, poor Tatyana burns more with a desolate passion.”
Onegin continues to live in her imagination. Even when he left the village, Tatyana, visiting the master's house, vividly feels the presence of her chosen one. Here everything reminds of him: the cue forgotten on the billiards, "and the table with the faded lamp, and the pile of books", and Lord Byron's portrait, and the cast-iron figurine of Napoleon. Reading Onegin's books helps the girl to understand the inner world of Eugene, to think about his true essence: “Isn't he a parody?”
According to V.G. Belinsky, "Visits to Onegin's house and reading his books prepared Tatyana for rebirth from a village girl into a secular lady." It seems to me that she has ceased to idealize "her hero", her passion for Onegin has subsided a little, she decides to "arrange her life" without Yevgeny.
Soon they decide to send Tatyana to Moscow - "to the fair of brides." And here the author fully reveals to us the Russian soul of his heroine: she touchingly says goodbye to the "merry nature" and "sweet, quiet light." Tatyana is stuffy in Moscow, she strives in her thoughts “to the life of the field”, and the “empty world” causes her sharp rejection:
But everyone in the living room takes
Such incoherent, vulgar nonsense;
Everything in them is so pale, indifferent,
They slander even boringly...
It is no coincidence that, having married and becoming a princess, Tatyana retained the naturalness and simplicity that distinguished her so favorably from secular ladies.
Having met Tatyana at the reception, Onegin was amazed at the change that had happened to her: instead of "a timid girl, in love, poor and simple," there was an "indifferent princess", "a stately, careless legislator of the hall."
But internally, Tatyana remained as internally pure and moral as in her youth. That is why she, despite her feeling in Onegin, refuses him: “I love you (why dissemble?), But I am given to another; I will be faithful to him forever.
Such an ending, according to the logic of Tatyana's character, is natural. Whole by nature, faithful to duty, brought up in the traditions of folk morality, Tatyana cannot build her happiness on the dishonor of her husband.
The author cherishes his heroine, he repeatedly confesses his love for his "sweet ideal". In the duel of duty and feeling, reason and passion, Tatyana wins a moral victory. And no matter how paradoxical the words of Küchelbecker sound: “The poet in the 8th chapter looks like Tatyana himself,” they have a lot of meaning, because the beloved heroine is not only the ideal of a woman, but rather a human ideal, the way Pushkin wanted to see him.
The action in the work takes place from 1819 to 1825. The novel opens with a dedication to Pletnev. This is followed by the first chapter, beginning with Onegin's lamentations that he had to go to the village to a seriously ill uncle in order to care for him, show participation, and think for himself: "when the devil takes you."
Onegin at the beginning of the novel is a young rake, a handsome man, a "dandy". He received a typical noble upbringing and education, studied a little of everything, spoke excellent French, "knew how to dance a mazurka and bowed at ease." The hero is especially skilled in the "science of tender passion", he skillfully flirted, attended balls, theaters, restaurants. The day was scheduled by the hour, but all the time was occupied by social events, which soon bored the young man. We continue the summary of "Eugene Onegin" by Pushkin.
Eugene Onegin in the countryside
He comes to the village, no longer finds his uncle alive and decides that nature and new image life will help dispel boredom. But after three days he gets bored with the village. Onegin mopes, reads books, does not maintain relations with neighbors, as he is tired of their "prudent conversation about haymaking, about wine, about the kennel, about his relatives."
At the same time, Vladimir Lensky, an eighteen-year-old poet, a romantic dreamer who graduated from the University of Göttingen, arrives at his estate. He believes in love, in friendship, in the happiness of life, although he composes typically romantic poems about melancholy and withering.
Onegin and Lensky became friends, while they were completely different. They often come together, argue, talk, share their thoughts. Lensky tells a friend about his beloved Olga, the daughter of a neighbor, Larina.
One day, friends go on a visit to the Larins. On the way back, Onegin tells Lensky that the older sister Tatyana is more interesting than the younger, because Olga is beautiful, but ordinary, like an ordinary heroine of a novel. Lensky is offended. Summary of "Eugene Onegin" by Pushkin is presented by the literary portal site
The love affair gets complicated
Young people do not suspect that Tatyana is in love with Onegin. She suffers, does not sleep at night, confesses everything to an old nanny. She tells her about her fate, remembers her husband, mother-in-law and a difficult life. Tatyana decides to write to Onegin and confess her feelings. Her letter is reminiscent of romantic confessions from the sentimental novels of the XVIII, which the girl loved. The beloved appears as a kind of ideal that Tatyana was waiting for and immediately felt in her heart that it was he who was destined for her by fate. Having sent a letter, she waits a long time for an answer, she is tormented, but Onegin does not write to her.
Pushkin talks about Tatyana's unusualness, her love for solitude, reading books, and Russian nature. She especially liked winter, fortune-telling, rituals, fairy tales and nurse's scary stories for a long time. winter evenings. Tatyana with her Russian soul is the author's "sweet ideal".
Finally Onegin arrives and an explanation takes place in the garden. The hero was tempted in female love, but did not want to deceive Tatyana, seeing in her letter the sincerity of first love. Therefore, he honestly admits that he is not ready to share her feelings, family life is not for him at all and gives advice to continue to be more careful, not to speak so frankly about his feelings.
Soon Tatyana has a terrible dream where she sees herself in the forest, a bear is chasing her, and then she is overtaken and carried to a hut in which monsters sit, and Onegin presides between them. He takes Tatyana, at this moment Lensky and Olga enter, Onegin does not like the appearance of uninvited guests, he kills the young poet. The dream turns out to be real.
Then name days are depicted main character. Prior to this, Lensky invites Onegin to a holiday with the Larins, promising that there will be no other guests there. However, many landlord neighbors come to the house. Eugene is angry and wants to take revenge on Lensky. To do this, he several times invites Olga to dance, causing the jealousy of her lover. Vladimir decides that his friend wants to seduce Olga. In the end, in the evening, Onegin receives a challenge to a duel and accepts it.
Duel and final - a summary of "Eugene Onegin"
Before the duel, the hero thinks that it would be more correct to tell Lensky about his offense and make peace with him, but does not do this, fearing to be branded a coward. Lensky, before the fateful event, reflects on the uncertainty of the "day to come" and on Olga's love.
The next morning, Onegin comes to the duel much later than the appointed time, but the duel took place, and Lensky was killed. Shocked Onegin leaves these places.
Six months pass, Olga marries a lancer and leaves. Tatyana wanders around the surrounding fields and accidentally comes to Onegin's house. There, in his office, she reads books, sees what marks their owner left in the margins and concludes that Onegin is just an imitation of the fashionable type of Byronic hero. After a while, her mother persuades her to go to Moscow to the “bride fair”. There she is noticed by an important general, she is getting married.
A few years later, Onegin returns from a trip to St. Petersburg. At the ball, he meets Tatyana and does not immediately recognize: she has changed, has become a majestic, calm secular lady, causing universal respect and reverence. The author notes that Tatyana's unusual charm conquers Onegin, he falls in love and confesses his feelings to her in a letter. Having received no answer, he sends two more messages, but in vain. Then Onegin comes to Tatyana and finds the crying heroine reading a letter. Tatyana says that she loves Onegin, but "she has been given to another" and will be "faithful to him for a century."
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