Read the hero of our time summary. "Hero of our time"

Very briefly

From a new acquaintance, Maxim Maksimovich, the narrator learns the story of Pechorin. Gregory came to serve in the Caucasus, he is surprised at the morals of the highlanders. At a local wedding, he meets a beautiful girl Bela, who later, in collusion with her brother, steals. Despite admonitions, he tries to "tame" her, but when Bela falls in love with him, she becomes boring to him. Her ex-fiance kills her in the back, Bela dies, loving Pechorin. To the horror of the touched Maxim, he hears Pechorin's laughter.

the main idea

Lermontov's story is about a man unhappy in his egoism, because not only does he make everyone around him unhappy, using it in his own interests, he himself does not receive joy from this.

Read the summary of Lermontov Bela

Pechorin came to serve in dangerous Caucasian mountains. locals from birth thugs, deceivers, also drunkards. As Grigory later admits, he thought under the bullets to forget his longing. It’s always like this with him: he is fond of something, and after that he gets sick of it. He tried teaching, women, secularism ...

Invited by a wedding guest, he sees young daughter owner. Maxim Maksimovich hears in the garden how her selfish brother is selling her to a bandit for a horse. But there is a quarrel, a brawl, a feast turns into a massacre. Maxim tells Pechorin about the conspiracy, and he takes advantage of the situation. He steals a horse from a bandit, and already promises this horse to his brother for Bela. Everything is going according to plan, the beauties are already in the Russian fortress. She is too proud, shy, does not agree to be a prisoner. But Gregory talks to her, gives gifts, looks after ... As a result, she falls in love with him, however, she fell in love with him at first sight. But now Pechorin is no longer interested, he often goes hunting.

One day the sad Bela is killed by that bandit. The unfortunate woman dies for two days, but she only cares that she is of a different faith, therefore she will not be able to be with her beloved egoist after death. After her death, Pechorin, plunging Maxim into horror, laughs.

Picture or drawing of Bel

Maksim Maksimych

The narrator again saw Maxim Maksimych. It turns out that Gregory himself is a guest in the same hotel. Maxim Maksimych is glad to have the opportunity to see his old friend again, he sends Pechorin to report that he is waiting for a meeting. But the young man does not come either in the evening or at night.

Finally, the hero appears, but instead of a warm friendly greeting, only disappointment awaited Maxim Maksimych. Having dryly greeted his former colleague, Pechorin immediately got ready to leave. The saddened friend finally asks Grigory about his magazine, the interlocutor replies that the fate of the magazine does not bother him. On this sad note, Pechorin leaves his friend.

Maksim Maksimych decides to give Pechorin's journal to the narrator. When death nevertheless overtakes Gregory, the narrator decides to make a novel out of his notes. The following describes the events from the diary, the narration is conducted on behalf of the author of the entries.

Taman

Having gone to work in Taman, Pechorin remains to spend the night in strange house where the grandmother and her blind boy live. One night the boy goes to the sea, and the guest, out of curiosity, goes to follow him.

Near the shore, Pechorin sees the figure of a young girl waiting for a boy. Soon a man (Yanko) swam up to them on a boat, he unloaded some things and handed them to the heroine. In the morning Grigory met her and tried to ask her what kind of mysterious visitation there was on the shore at dusk, but she only spoke in riddles. Then Gregory promised her an exposure. He called her Undine to himself. Later, she lured the guest and even kissed him. In the evening, a stranger calls Pechorin to the shore.

They board the boat, the hero is looking forward to a romantic adventure. But as soon as they set sail, the girl attacked Grigory and tried to drown him, but nothing came of it, she herself fell into the water, and the man swam to the shore and overheard the conversation of the Tatar, who brought the cargo, and his bride, who almost killed an officer. After sunrise, the smugglers left the blind boy alone on the coast and fled to escape punishment. Pechorin comes to the conclusion that he does not care about them, and in vain he excited them.

Princess Mary

Pechorin comes to be treated at the waters in Pyatigorsk. The author introduces us to the new environment of the hero - rich and idle people. Princess and Princess Ligovsky, young, instantly fell in love with. Juncker did his best to attract the attention of the girl, but she was indifferent to his efforts.

Pechorin, on the contrary, did not seek the company of the Ligovskys, was indifferent to the princess. Therefore, society began to be intensely interested in him, discuss him and be perplexed in every possible way. Grigory, by his nature, decided to spin the intrigue and fall in love with the object of adoration of his friend Grushnitsky.

From the doctor (his friend), Pechorin heard that the former beloved of Grigory, a married lady, was visiting the Ligovskys. When she realized that her lover's feelings had not lost their former ardor, she advised him to enter the princess's inner circle and portray interest in the beautiful Mary so that no one would suspect anything.

At the ball, Pechorin attracts Mary's attention, drives away unwanted admirers from her, but still demonstrates indifference and coldness. The officer was more and more interested in the inexperienced princess. She tried her best to interest him, but Pechorin played the game professionally and kept his distance.

Over time, Mary stopped responding to Grushnitsky's courtship, she became more and more indifferent. All the girl's thoughts were occupied only by Pechorin. Grushnitsky realized who was taking his beloved away from him, and decides to teach a former friend a lesson for such rudeness.

Grushnitsky challenges Pechorin and invites him to a duel, but incites acquaintances to cheat - to leave the gun unloaded. Grigory hears their conversation and thinks about the need to teach the junker a lesson

The princess's feelings for Pechorin are becoming stronger, as is Vera's jealousy. Mary confesses her love to Gregory, but does not receive the desired answer.

Gossip begins to circulate around the city about the possible marriage of Pechorin and Mary. Vera and Gregory continue their secret meetings. One day she invites him on a date with her. By an unfortunate coincidence, Pechorin finds himself in front of the princess's window. Grushnitsky and his friends saw him near the Ligovskys' house, and the young decided to take advantage of this. The next morning, Grushnitsky announced that he had seen Mary's lover - this is Pechorin. The duel is inevitable. Grigory tells Werner about his plan and about the conspiracy of the junker's friends, the doctor agrees to be a second.

The duelists meet at the appointed place at the appointed time. Pechorin suggests moving to a cliff so that every wound can become fatal.

The first was to shoot Grushnitsky. Juncker did not want to admit the truth of the vile conspiracy, but did not want to kill Pechorin, so he only wounded him in the leg.

Pechorin's turn comes, in the hope of Grushnitsky's repentance, he gives him time to think and confess his meanness. There was no answer, and Grigory fired a shot. The opponent dies, the murder is attributed to the Circassians.

But Pechorin's superiors suspected his involvement in the duel. Before leaving, he receives a note from his beloved Vera, where she admits that she told her husband everything and leaves with him. The hero understands that he always loved only Vera, only she was always needed by him and always remained on his side. He tries to catch up with her, but only drives his horse, falls and sobs.

Pechorin visits the Ligovskys' house in last time to talk to Mary. The girl only shows him all her hatred and demands to disappear from her life.

Fatalist

Once Pechorin was in the service in one Cossack village. The officers of his battalion liked to pass the time playing cards. In the course of one game, a dispute arose about fate: is a person himself free to determine the course of his life, or is it predetermined for him. One of the officers, Vulich, offered a bet, which Pechorin agreed to. If Vulich is destined to die, then so be it.

Taking the first pistol that came to hand, Vulich shot himself in the temple, but a misfire occurred. However, when the man pointed the gun to the side, the bullet still flew out. The dispute was considered resolved, but Pechorin felt that Vulich would not live to see the next morning.

This turned out to be true. In the morning the news came of the death of Vulich from the checker of a drunken Cossack. The killer was found, but he barricaded himself in a barn and threatened with a weapon, not wanting to give up without a fight. Pechorin, having decided to test Vulich's theory, crept into the barn, but the Cossack's shot did not even wound him. The criminal was captured, and Gregory was honored as a hero.

Pechorin decided to tell this to staff captain Maxim Maksimych, to which he only shook his head and said that there were accidents.

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The novel "A Hero of Our Time" is one of the most significant creations of M.Yu. Lermontov. The compositional originality of the work is such that each chapter and its location in the narrative contain a certain value for revealing the image of the protagonist. And the head of "Bel" Lermontov opens the novel, summary which we will consider.

The novel "A Hero of Our Time"

The novel was published in parts. The first to see the light was the chapter of "Bela", published in the journal "Notes of the Fatherland" (1839). Then came "Fatalist" and "Taman". The new work of Mikhail Yurievich was ambiguously received by critics. Belinsky and his supporters openly admired the novel, but there were those who found in the cruel caricature of modern society. The only character who did not cause protests from the opposition is Maksim Maksimych. It was he who was initially mistaken for the "hero of our time" by Nicholas I and was very annoyed, realizing that he was mistaken. This controversy forced Lermontov to write a preface to the next edition of the novel, where he refutes the opinion about irony and mockery of modernity.

In the article, we will not consider the entire novel, but only the first chapter - "Bela" (Lermontov), its summary and analysis.

The peculiarity of the composition of the novel

The main task of the unusual compositional structure of the novel is to reveal the image of Pechorin. When reading the work, it seems that with each chapter, like frame by frame, Lermontov brings the "camera" closer to his character, and at the end the reader hears Pechorin's voice. A brief retelling helps to feel this unusual structure well.

Lermontov, Bela and other characters for whom they were only a way to explain the character of Pechorin, approach the creation of the images of their heroes very seriously. And they appear not as empty templates, but as people with their own thoughts and experiences. That is why it makes sense to analyze not only the image of the protagonist, but also the images of other characters in the novel.

Lermontov. "Hero of our time". Heroes of the chapter "Bela"

Who are the characters in the first chapter? Its main characters are as follows:

narrator,
Maxim Maksimych - staff captain,
Pechorin,
Bela - princess,
Kazbich is a robber,
Azamat is the son of a prince.

"Bela" Lermontov: a summary. Acquaintance

On one of the mountain roads of the Caucasus, the paths of the narrator, traveling from Tiflis, and staff captain Maxim Maksimych converge. The new acquaintance is a man of fifty years or so, knows the area well and is well acquainted with the language and traditions of the highlanders. The narrator immediately understands that in front of him is someone who has been living in the Caucasus for a long time and perfectly understands the peculiarities of this region. In the evening, at a halt, Maxim Maksimych recalls his service in a fortress near the Terek. There, with his friend, Pechorin Grigory Alexandrovich, a fascinating story happened.

Maxim Maksimych's story

The image of Pechorin first appears before the reader precisely in the chapter "Bela" by Lermontov. A summary of the story of Maxim Maksimych can be started with the trip of Pechorin and the staff captain to the wedding eldest daughter Chechen prince. Here the fatal meeting of the protagonist with the youngest daughter of the owner of the house, Bela, takes place. Pechorin is smitten with her beauty and cannot take his eyes off her. But he was not the only one who noticed the charm of the young princess. Kazbich, a bandit and a dashing rider, whose horse (Karagez) is known throughout Kabarda, also does not take his fiery eyes off the girl.

Maxim Maksimych during the holiday goes outside to get some air and hears Azamat's conversation with Kazbich. The prince's son wants to get the robber's horse and is even ready to steal Bela for him. But the bandit does not agree. But Pechorin, who learned about this conversation, offers Azamat to steal a horse for him in exchange for a girl. The young man agrees and brings Bela Pechorin at night. The next morning, Kazbich brings the rams to the fortress for sale. And while they are talking with the staff captain, Azamat leads the horse away.

Maxim Maksimych appeals to Pechorin's honor, but main character replies that if he now returns Bela, the prince will sell her into slavery or kill her. And the staff captain agrees with this argument.

The image of Bela begins to unfold at the moment of her appearance in the fortress. The girl is locked in a room, only a Tatar comes to her and hands over Pechorin's gifts. The princess behaves incredulously, but gradually succumbs to the charm of the protagonist. He declares that Bela will not be able to love, and is ready to let the girl go and leave. The princess stops Pechorin and confesses her love. At the same time, Kazbich, convinced that Azamat stole his horse with the permission of his father, kills the prince.

Maxim Maksimych becomes attached to the girl, and Pechorin grows cold. The protagonist goes hunting, and the staff captain, trying to entertain Bela, takes her for a walk. Here they see a rider, whom they recognize as Kazbich. The bandit rides Bela's father's horse.

Gradually, Pechorin finally loses interest in the princess. Maxim Maksimych again calls the main character for a conversation. Pechorin says that his destiny is to cause grief to others. And he himself cannot find his happiness. FROM young years he tried to find his destiny, to find a place in society, but failed. This is where one of the key issues novel "A Hero of Our Time". The head of "Bel" illustrates the restlessness of a whole generation for which there was no worthy occupation in Russia during the time of Lermontov.

For Pechorin, Bela became the hope for happiness and love, but the expectations were not met. He was again overcome by boredom and indifference. One day Maxim Maksimych and Pechorin go hunting. On the way back, they hear a gunshot and see Kazbich. The bandit galloped at full speed, and a white bundle was thrown over the saddle of his horse. Pechorin gave chase and shot Kazbich's horse. Then it became clear that the robber had kidnapped Bela. And not wanting to part with her, Kazbich hit her with a dagger.

Pechorin brought Bela to the fortress, where she suffered for another two days, and then died. Main character for a long time I was ill, I was sad, and three months later I left for Georgia.

Chapter Analysis

Analysis literary work allows you to reveal all its semantic facets. It is especially interesting to consider texts like the novel A Hero of Our Time. The chapter "Bela" tells about the love of Pechorin and Bela, the Circassian princess. Lermontov does not give an unequivocal answer whether his hero loved the girl or was just having fun. Pechorin himself cannot understand how strong his feelings were.

Perhaps he was seduced by novelty, Bela's difference from the usual secular coquettes. Pechorin admits that he is attracted by the passion and pride of the highlanders. This is what the protagonist could look for in a girl, but perhaps he was trying to find sincere affection and feelings.

Lermontov himself is ambiguous about his hero. Bela, the analysis of whose image is very remarkable, embodies sincerity and emotionality. It was these qualities, combined with beauty, that could attract Pechorin. But the interest of the protagonist is short-lived. Cooling down to a sincerely in love girl, he destroys her.

Bela

Bela's characterization is largely determined by her origin: she is a Circassian and the daughter of a prince. Her sincerity, openness and wildness are explained national characteristics highlanders. Bela is close to nature, has inner pride and desire for freedom.

Once in captivity, she becomes isolated and rejects gifts. But gradually love awakens in her, to which she gives herself entirely, without hesitation and without doubt. But as soon as Pechorin cools down to her, Bela is ready to leave herself: “I am not his slave. I am a prince's daughter!"

Thus, the characterization of Bela speaks of her as a victim of various cultural and historical communities. The heroine's belonging to the highlanders determined her death at the hands of Kazbich, who was guided by the laws of his ancestors.

Bela and Pechorin

As noted above, Lermontov does not give an unambiguous assessment of his heroes. “A Hero of Our Time” (we have already considered the heroes of the first chapter) is a novel that reflects many of the contradictions of the human character. The writer portrays two characters who are completely opposite in their origin and views.

The love story of the characters is built on contradictions. First, the reader sees Pechorin's passion and the indifference that Bela embodies. The characteristics of the heroes are gradually changing to the opposite: feelings flare up in the girl, and Pechorin cools down. The inconsistency of the characters leads their love to tragedy.

Conclusion

Lermontov's story "Bela" introduces the reader to the main character and reveals one of the main features of his character. Pechorin appears thirsty for new sensations, striving to find his place in life, but not understanding what he is looking for, and unable to bear responsibility for his actions.

About the hero: the public took him with irritation. Some because they are given such an immoral person as an example, others because the author allegedly painted his own not very attractive portrait.

A portrait, but not of one person, but a portrait composed of the vices of all our time. The task of the writer is to indicate the disease, but God knows how to cure it.

Pechorin came to the fortress beyond the Terek to serve. The character is contradictory, mysterious (“in the rain, in the cold all day hunting; everyone will get cold, tired - but nothing to him. And another time he sits in his room, the wind smells, assures that he has caught a cold, knocks with a shutter, he shudders and turns pale, and with me he went to the boar one on one ... ")

A local prince lived next to the fortress. His son, fifteen years old, Azamat, got into the habit of going to the fortress. Azamat was very hot-tempered, despite his age, and many teased him on purpose. Once the old prince invited Pechorin and Maxim Maksimych to his wedding: he married off his eldest daughter. At the wedding, Pechorin saw the prince's youngest daughter, Bela, and he liked her. Kazbich was also present at the wedding (who, as they said, was engaged in not entirely clean affairs: he went with abreks beyond the Terek, stole cattle, etc. - there were many suspicions). Kazbich had a horse, Karagez, of extraordinary beauty. Because of the horse, many envied Kazbich and tried to steal more than once.

He goes out into the air and accidentally hears a conversation between Kazbich and Azamat. Azamat praises the horse, Kazbich in response tells how the horse saved his life when he was running away from the Cossacks. Azamat says that he will do whatever Kazbich wants for his horse. He even offers to steal his sister Bela for him. Kazbich refuses, although he likes Bela, makes fun of Azamat. Azamat is angry, a skirmish arises. Azmat screams that Kazbich wanted to kill him. There is a noise, Kazbich jumps on his horse and runs away. Maxim Maksimych and Pechorin are returning. Maxim Maksimych tells Pechorin about the overheard conversation. Pechorin begins to tease Azamat, during his visits specially starting a conversation about Kazbich's horse, brings the boy to a frenzy. Then he arranges for Azamat to give him his sister Bela in exchange for a horse. In the evening, Azamat brings his sister. The next day, Kazbich arrives in the morning, brings ten rams for sale. While he is sitting in the house, Azamat jumps on his horse and hides. Kazbich, heartbroken, lay on the road for almost a day, then learned the name of the kidnapper and went to the village to take revenge. Maxim Maksimych tries to persuade Pechorin, but in vain (“What can I do with myself if I like her?”). Pechorin makes gifts to Bela every day, says that he loves, but in vain. Maxim Maksimych makes fun of Pechorin, he offers a bet that in a week Bela will be his. I bought new gifts, but this did not help either. Then Pechorin pretends to leave forever. Bela throws herself on his neck, admits that she also loves him. Kazbich, meanwhile, kills Bela's father to avenge the stolen horse.

Maxim Maksimych got used to Bela, like a daughter. They hid her father's death from her for a long time, then they told her. She “cried for two days and then forgot.” Meanwhile, Pechorin increasingly begins to leave the fortress for a long time (to hunt). Bela suffers from this. Walking along the fortress wall, Maxim Maksimych and Bela see Kazbich. When Pechorin returns, Maxim Maksimych tells him about it. Pechorin says that one must be more careful and forbids Bela to leave the fortress. Maxim Maksimych reproaches Pechorin for losing interest in Bela. Pechorin replies that he has an unhappy character - he himself is unhappy and brings misfortune to others. In his youth, he "enjoyed the pleasures that you can get for money," and they got sick of him, got into high society, and he also got tired of him, "the love of secular beauties inflamed pride and imagination, but left his heart empty." Pechorin began to study, but he soon lost interest in the sciences, because he realized that “neither glory nor happiness depend on them at all. You just have to be smart to be successful." Then he got bored. I went to the Caucasus, but after a month I got used to the whistle of bullets. When he saw Bela, "it seemed to him that it was an angel." But then he realized that "the love of a savage few better than love noble lady. The ignorance and simple-heartedness of one are just as annoying as the coquetry of another.

Soon Pechorin and Maxim Maksimych are leaving to hunt wild boar. On their way back, they hear a shot. Kazbich made his way into the fortress and kidnapped Bela. The pursuit. Kazbich, realizing that he cannot escape on a wounded horse, wounds Bela with a dagger. Bela died 2 days later. She was very tormented, called Pechorin, asked him to kiss her before his death, regretted that in the next world they would not be together, because they were of different faiths. Maxim Maksimych loved her like a daughter, but she never thought of him before her death ("And who am I to remember me before death?"). After the death of Bela, Maxim Maksimych and Pechorin go out onto the ramparts. Maxim Maksimych tries to console Pechorin, who unexpectedly laughs in response. Bela was buried. Pechorin was unwell for a long time, and soon he was transferred to Georgia.

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plot plan

1. Preface to the novel.

2. "Bela":

- the narrator's journey, his meeting with Maxim Maxi-mych;
- the first part of Maxim Maksimych's story about Bela;
- moving through Cross Pass;
- the second part of the story of Maxim Maksimych;
- the denouement of "Bela" and the beginning of the further story about Pechorin.

3. "Maxim Maksimych":

— meeting of the narrator with Maxim Maksimych;
- a psychological portrait of Pechorin (observations of the narrator).

4. "Journal of Pechorin":

- Preface to the "Journal ...";
- "Taman";
- "Princess Mary";
- Fatalist.

Chronological plan

1. "Taman".
2. "Princess Mary".
3. "Fatalist".
4. The first part of the events of the story "Bela".
5. The second part of the events of the story "Bela".

6 Journey of the narrator, his meeting with Maxim Maksimych.
7. Crossing the Cross Pass.
8. The denouement of the story of Bela, told by Maxim Maksimych, and the beginning of the further story about Pechorin.
9. Meeting of the narrator with Maxim Maksimych and Pechorin.
10. Preface to Pechorin's Journal.
11. Preface to the novel.

retelling

The preface was made by the author to the second edition of the novel in response to the irritated reaction of the public. “Some were terribly offended ... that they were given as an example such an immoral person as the Hero of Our Time; others remarked very subtly that the writer painted his own portrait and the portraits of his acquaintances... An old and pitiful joke!... A Hero of Our Time... a portrait, but not of one person: their development... Enough people were fed with sweets... bitter medicines, caustic truths are needed.” The author "had fun drawing modern man, as he understands it ... It will also be that the disease is indicated, but God knows how to cure it.

Part I

Chapter 1. Bela

On a picturesque mountain road on the way from Tiflis, the narrator meets the elderly staff captain Maxim Maksimych. They stop for the night in an Ossetian sakla. Maksim Maksimych tells a story central figure which is a young officer Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin. (Pechorin was sent to the fortress, as it turned out later, for a duel with Grushnitsky.) “He was a nice fellow, only a little strange: in the rain, in the cold, hunting all day; everyone will get cold, tired - but nothing to him. And another time he sits in his room, the wind smells, he assures that he has caught a cold; when the shutters knock, he shudders and turns pale, but in my presence he went to the boar one on one ... There are such people whose family is written that various unusual things must happen to them!

Not far from the fortress lived a local prince. His fifteen-year-old son Azamat, nimble, dexterous and greedy for money, Pechorin teased, provoked: “Once, for a laugh ... he promised to give him a gold piece if he steals the best goat from his father's herd; and what do you think? The next night he dragged him by the horns. Once the prince invited Pechorin and Maxim Maksimych to the wedding of his eldest daughter. Youngest daughter the prince - Bela - liked Pechorin. “Only not only Pechorin admired the pretty princess: from the corner of the room two other eyes, motionless, fiery, looked at her.” It was Kazbich: “his mug was the most robbery: small, dry, broad-shouldered ... He was dexterous, like a devil! .. His horse was famous in the whole Kabarda.” Maxim Maksimych accidentally overheard a conversation between Kazbich and Azamat about this horse, Karagez. Azamat persuaded him to sell the horse, even offered to steal his sister Bela for him. “In vain Azamat begged him, ... and wept, and flattered him, and swore.” Finally, Kazbich pushed Azamat away. The boy ran into the hut, “saying that Kazbich wanted to kill him. Everyone jumped out, grabbed their guns - and the fun began!

Maxim Maksimych told Pechorin about this conversation: “He laughed - so cunning! "But I've thought of something." Pechorin began to tease Azamat on purpose, praising Kazbich's horse. This went on for almost three weeks: "Grigory Alexandrovich teased him so much that even into the water." Azamat was already ready for anything, and Pechorin easily persuaded the boy to "exchange" Karagez for his sister, Bela: "Karagez will be her bride price." Pechorin, with the help of Azamat, stole Bela, and the next morning, when Kazbich arrived, he distracted him with conversations, and Azamat stole Karagez. Kazbich jumped out, began to shoot, but Azamat was already far away: “For a minute he remained motionless, .. then he squealed, hit the gun on a stone, smashed it to smithereens, fell to the ground and sobbed like a child ... he lay like that until night and all night". Kazbich remained unavenged: Azamat ran away from home: “So since then he disappeared: it’s true, he stuck to some gang of abreks, and he laid down a violent head ...”

The captain tried to persuade Pechorin, but in vain: he easily persuaded Maxim Maksimych to leave Bela in the fortress. “What are you going to do? There are people with whom you must certainly agree. Pechorin at first asked Bela, "but she silently proudly pushed away the gifts ... Grigory Alexandrovich fought with her for a long time ... Little by little she learned to look at him, at first frowningly ... and she was sad." Pechorin uses all his eloquence, but Bela was adamant. Annoyed, Pechorin makes a bet with Maxim Maksimych: “I give you my word of honor that she will be mine ... - in a week!”

“Gifts worked only half; she became more affectionate, more trusting - and nothing more; so he decided on the last resort. “I decided to take you away, thinking that you ... will fall in love; I was wrong: sorry! Remain the complete mistress of everything that I have ... Maybe I won’t be chasing a bullet or a checker blow for a long time: then remember me and forgive me. Pechorin had already taken a few steps towards the door, when Bela "sobbed and threw herself on his neck."

Maxim Maksimych tells about the fate of Bela's father: he was guarded and killed by Kazbich.

The next morning, the narrator and the staff captain again set off on a journey that runs through the wild and majestic nature of the Caucasus. The picture of the landscape instills in the narrator “some kind of gratifying feeling”: “it was somehow fun for me that I was so high above the world - a childish feeling, I don’t argue, but moving away from the conditions of society and approaching nature, we involuntarily become children: everything acquired falls away from the soul, and it becomes again such as it once was and, surely, will someday be again. The description of the peaceful landscape of the Gud-mountain is replaced by a picture of an element hostile to man: “nothing is visible around, only fog and snow; just look that we will fall into the abyss ... ”The travelers had to wait out the bad weather in the mountain shakla. Maxim Maksimych concludes the story of Bela's story: “Finally, I got used to her as much as to my daughter, and she loved me ... For four months everything went as well as possible.” Then Pechorin "began to think again", more and more often he disappeared on the hunt. This tormented Bela, she imagined various misfortunes, it seemed that Pechorin had fallen out of love with her: “If he does not love me, then who is stopping him from sending me home? I am not his slave - I am a prince's daughter!

Wanting to console Bela, Maxim Maksimych called her for a walk. Sitting on the ramparts, they noticed a rider in the distance. It was Kazbich. Pechorin, learning about this, forbade Bela to go to the ramparts. Maxim Maksimych began to reproach Pechorin that he had changed to Bela. Pechorin answered: “I have an unhappy character ... if I become the cause of the misfortune of others, then I myself am no less unhappy. In my early youth ... I began to enjoy madly all the pleasures that can be obtained for money, and, of course, these pleasures disgusted me ... soon I also got tired of society ... the love of secular beauties only irritated my imagination and pride, and my heart remained empty... I began to read, to study - the sciences were also tired... Then I became bored. I hoped that boredom did not live under Chechen bullets - in vain. When I saw Bela, ... I thought that she was an angel sent to me by compassionate fate ... I was mistaken again: the love of a savage woman is not much better than the love of a noble lady ... I'm bored with her ... I have only one means left: to travel.

Once Pechorin persuaded Maxim Maksimych to go hunting. Returning, they heard a shot, galloped to its sound and saw Kazbich holding Bela on the saddle. Pechorin's shot broke the leg of Kazbich's horse, and he, realizing that he could not escape, hit Bela with a dagger. She died two days later, “only she suffered for a long time,” she was delirious, she called Pechorin. It occurred to Maksim Maksimych "to baptize her before her death," but Bela "answered that she would die in the faith in which she was born." Bela died soon after. “We went to the ramparts; his face did not express anything special, and I became vexed: if I were in his place, I would have died of grief. I... wanted to console him... he raised his head and laughed... I had a chill run down my skin from this laughter...” Bela was buried. “Pechorin was unwell for a long time, emaciated, poor thing; only since then we have never talked about Bel, ”and three months later he was transferred to Georgia. "We haven't met since."

The narrator also broke up with Maxim Maksimych: “We never hoped to meet again, but we met, and if you want, I will tell you: this is a whole story.”

Chapter 2

Soon the narrator and Maxim Maksimych met again at the hotel, "like old friends." They saw a smart carriage drive into the courtyard of the hotel. The footman who followed her, a "spoiled servant," reluctantly replied that the carriage belonged to Pechorin and that he "stayed overnight with Colonel N." Rejoiced, the staff captain asked the footman to tell his master that "Maxim Maksimych is here," and remained to wait outside the gate, but Pechorin did not appear. “The old man was upset by Pechorin’s negligence,” because he was sure that he “would come running as soon as he heard his name.”

The next morning, Pechorin appeared at the hotel, ordered the carriage to be loaded, and, bored, sat down on a bench by the gate. The narrator immediately sent a man for Maxim Maksimych, and he himself began to examine Pechorin. “Now I must draw his portrait”: “He was of medium height; his slender, thin frame and broad shoulders proved a strong build, a dusty velvet frock coat, dazzlingly clean linen, a small aristocratic hand, thin pale fingers. The gait is careless and lazy, but he did not wave his arms - sure sign some secrecy of character ... At first glance - no more than twenty-three years, although after that I was ready to give him thirty. There was something childish in the smile, the skin had a kind of feminine tenderness; curly blond hair picturesquely outlined a pale, noble forehead, traces of wrinkles, and black mustaches and eyebrows - a sign of the breed. His eyes "didn't laugh when he laughed! This is a sign - or an evil disposition, or a deep constant sadness. They shone with some kind of phosphorescent brilliance, dazzling, but cold. The look, penetrating and heavy, “left the unpleasant impression of an indiscreet question and could have seemed impudent if it had not been so indifferently calm.”

The narrator saw Maksim Maksimych running across the square as fast as he could, "he could hardly breathe." “He wanted to throw himself on Pechorin’s neck, but he coldly, although with a friendly smile, extended his hand to him. Maxim Maksimych, worried, asks Pechorin, persuades him to stay: “But where are you in such a hurry? .. Do you remember our life in the fortress? .. And Bela? ..” “Pechorin turned a little pale and turned away ...” When asked what he was doing all this time, he answered: “I was bored ... However, goodbye, I’m in a hurry ... Thank you for not forgetting ...” “The old man frowned ... He was sad and angry.” Pechorin was about to drive off, when Maxim Maksimych cried out: “Wait, wait! I still have your papers ... What should I do with them? "What do you want! Pechorin answered. "Goodbye..."

Tears of annoyance sparkled in Maxim Maksimych's eyes: “What is in me for him? I’m not rich, I’m not official, and besides, he’s not at all a match for his years ... Well, what demon is carrying him to Persia now? ... Oh, really, it’s a pity that he will end badly ... good for someone who forgets old friends! .. ”The narrator asked Maxim Maksimych to give him Pechorin’s papers. He contemptuously threw several notebooks on the ground. The captain was deeply offended by Pechorin’s behavior: “Where can we, uneducated old people, chase you! ... You are young secular, proud: still here, under Circassian bullets, so you go back and forth ... and then you will meet, so be ashamed to stretch out your hand to our brother.”
Having dryly said goodbye, the narrator and Maxim Maksimych parted: the narrator left alone. The story ends with an expression of sympathy for Maxim Maksimych: “It is sad to see when a young man loses his best hopes and dreams ... But what can replace them in the summer of Maxim Maksimych? Involuntarily, the heart will harden and the soul will close ... "

Pechorin's Journal

Foreword

“Recently, I learned that Pechorin, returning from Persia, died. This news made me very happy: it gave me the right to print these notes ... I was convinced of the sincerity of the one who so mercilessly exposed his own weaknesses and vices. The history of the human soul, even the smallest soul, is almost more interesting and useful than the history of a whole people, especially when it is the result of the observations of a mature mind over itself and when it is written without a vain desire to arouse interest or surprise ... I placed in this the book only that related to Pechorin's stay in the Caucasus ... My opinion about the character of Pechorin ... is the title of this book. They will say: “Yes, this is an evil irony!” - Don't know.

I. Taman

The further story is conducted on behalf of Pechorin.

“Taman is the nastiest little town of all the coastal cities of Russia. I almost died of hunger there, and besides, they wanted to drown me. I arrived there on a bedchamber late at night.”

Posing as an officer traveling "on official business", Pechorin demanded an apartment, but all the huts were occupied. The foreman, who saw off Pechorin, warned: “There is one more fater, only your nobility will not like it; it's unclean there." Pechorin was taken to a miserable hut on the very shore of the sea. “A boy of about fourteen crawled out of the passage ... He was blind, completely blind by nature ... a barely perceptible smile ran across his thin lips, it made the most unpleasant impression on me ... A suspicion was born that this blind man was not so blind, as it seems." It turned out that the boy was an orphan.

In the hut "not a single image on the wall - a bad sign!". Soon Pechorin noticed a shadow. Following her, he saw that it was a blind man with some kind of bundle sneaking onto the seashore, Pechorin began to follow the blind man. On the shore, a wiry figure approached the boy. "What, blind? - said female voice, - the storm is strong; Yanko will not. The blind man answered without the Little Russian accent with which he spoke with Pechorin. After some time, a boat sailed, loaded to capacity, a man in a Tatar ram's hat got out of it, "all three began to pull something out of the boat", then with knots "set off along the coast." Pechorin was alarmed, "he could hardly wait for the morning."

In the morning, the Cossack orderly conveyed to Pechorin the words of the police officer about the hut where they were staying: “It’s unclean here, brother, unkind people! ..” An old woman and some girl appeared. Pechorin tried to talk the old woman, but she did not answer, pretending to be deaf. Then he grabbed the blind man by the ear: “Where did you go with the bundle at night?” But the blind man did not confess, wept, groaned, the old woman stood up for him. Pechorin firmly decides to find out everything.

After some time, Pechorin heard “something like a song ... singing strange, sometimes drawn out and sad, sometimes fast and lively ... a girl stood on the roof of my hut ... a real mermaid (it was this girl that Pechorin saw last beach at night). All day she hung around near Pechorin's hut, flirting with him. " Strange creature! Her eyes with lively insight rested on me, and these eyes seemed to be endowed with some kind of magnetic power ... But as soon as I started talking, she ran away, smiling slyly. She was charming: “There was a lot of breed in her ... Unusual flexibility of the waist, long blond hair, a correct nose ...” In the evening, Pechorin stopped her at the door and tried to start a conversation, but she answered all questions evasively. Then Pechorin said, wanting to embarrass her: “I found out that you went ashore last night,” but the girl “only laughed at the top of her lungs:“ We saw a lot, but you know little; and what you know, keep it under lock and key. After some time, the girl came into the room to Pechorin. “Sela quietly and silently fixed her eyes on me; her chest now rose high, then it seemed she was holding her breath ... Suddenly she jumped up, threw her arms around my neck, and a moist, fiery kiss sounded on my lips ... My eyes darkened, I squeezed her in my arms, but she like a snake slipped between my hands, whispering in my ear: “Tonight, when everyone is asleep, go ashore,” and jumped out of the room like an arrow.

At night, Pechorin, taking a pistol with him, went out, warning the Cossack: "If I fire a pistol, then run ashore."
The girl took Pechorin by the hand, and they went down to the sea and got into the boat. When the boat sailed away from the shore, the girl hugged Pechorin: “I love you ...” “I felt her fiery breath on my face. Suddenly, something fell noisily into the water: I grabbed my belt - there was no gun. I look around - we are about fifty sazhens from the shore, but I don’t know how to swim! Suddenly, a strong jolt almost threw me into the sea... a desperate struggle began between us... “What do you want? I shouted. “You saw,” she answered, “you will tell!” The girl tried to throw Pechorin into the water, but he, having contrived, threw her overboard himself. Having somehow reached the shore, Pechorin hid in the grass of the cliff and saw that a girl had swum ashore. Soon a boat sailed with Yanko, a few minutes later a blind man appeared with a sack. "Listen, blind man! - Said Yanko, - things went badly, I'll go look for work elsewhere. She will go with me; and tell the old woman that, they say, it's time to die. "And I?" said the blind man in a plaintive voice. "What do I need you for?" - was the answer. Yanko threw a coin to the blind man, who did not pick it up. “They raised a small sail and quickly rushed off ... the blind man was still sitting on the shore, I heard something like a sob ... I felt sad. And why did fate throw me into the peaceful circle of honest smugglers? Like a stone thrown into a smooth spring, I disturbed their calmness and, like a stone, I almost sank myself!”

Returning to the hut, Pechorin found that his box, saber, and dagger had disappeared. “There was nothing to do ... And wouldn't it be ridiculous to complain to the authorities that a blind boy robbed me, and an eighteen-year-old girl almost drowned me? .. I left Taman. What became of the old woman and the poor blind man I do not know. Yes, and what do I care about human joys and misfortunes, me, a wandering officer, and even with a traveler for official needs.

Part two (end of Pechorin's magazine)

II. Princess Mary

May 11th. Yesterday I arrived in Pyatigorsk, rented an apartment on the edge of the city... The view from three sides is wonderful. To the west, the five-headed Beshtu turns blue, like "the last cloud of a scattered storm"; Mashuk rises to the north, like a shaggy Persian hat ... It's fun to live in such a land! The air is pure and fresh, like the kiss of a child; the sun is bright, the sky is blue - what would seem more? Why are there passions, desires, regrets? ..

Pechorin went to the Elisabeth spring, where the "water society" gathered. Along the way he noticed bored people(fathers of families, their wives and daughters, dreaming of suitors), overtook a crowd of men who “drink - but not water, dragging only in passing; they play and complain of boredom.” At the source, Pechorin called out to Grushnitsky, a friend from the active detachment. “Grushnitsky is a cadet. He has only been in the service for a year, wears, in a special kind of foppery, a thick soldier's overcoat, He has a St. George soldier's cross ... He is hardly twenty-one years old. He speaks quickly and pretentiously: he is one of those people who have ready-made magnificent phrases for all occasions ... To produce an effect is their pleasure. Grushnitsky is not used to listening to his interlocutor, he does not know people, because he is busy only with himself. “I understood him, and he doesn’t love me for it ... I don’t love him either: and I feel that someday we will collide with him on a narrow road ...”

Grushnitsky tells Pechorin that the only interesting people here is the Princess of Lithuania with her daughter, but he does not know them. At this moment, the Lithuanians pass by, and Pechorin notes the beauty of the young lady. “Grushnitsky managed to take a dramatic pose with the help of a crutch” and uttered a pretentious phrase, so that the young lady, turning around, looked at him with curiosity. Pechorin teases Grushnitsky: “This Princess Mary is very pretty, she has velvet eyes ... I advise you to appropriate this expression ... But why are her teeth white?” A little later, passing by, Pechorin saw how Grushnitsky dropped a glass on the sand, and pretended that he could not pick it up because of his wounded leg. Mary "lighter than a bird jumped up, bent down, picked up a glass and gave it to him." Grushnitsky is inspired, but Pechorin skeptically upsets him: “I wanted to annoy him. I have an innate passion to contradict.

May 13th. In the morning, Dr. Werner came to Pechorin, “a skeptic and a materialist, and at the same time a poet. He studied all the living strings of the human heart, as one studies the veins of a corpse... He was poor, dreamed of millions, but for money he would not take an extra step... He had an evil tongue... He was short and thin, and weak ... one leg was shorter than the other, like Byron's, his head seemed huge ... His small black eyes ... tried to penetrate your thoughts ... His coat, tie and waistcoat were constantly black. The youth nicknamed him Mephistopheles ... We soon understood each other and became friends, because I am not capable of friendship: of two friends, one is always the slave of the other.

Pechorin remarked: “We are rather indifferent to everything, except ourselves ...” Werner said that the princess was interested in Pechorin, and Princess Mary was interested in Grushnitsky. She is sure that he was demoted to the soldier for a duel. Werner also saw their relative at the Lithuanians: “medium height, blonde, a black mole on her right cheek.” Pechorin recognizes from this mole “one woman whom he loved in the old days ...” “A terrible sadness cramped my heart. Did fate bring us together again in the Caucasus, or did she come here on purpose, knowing that she would meet me? .. There is no person in the world over whom the past would acquire such power as over me. I’m stupidly created: I don’t forget anything, nothing!”

In the evening, Pechorin saw the Lithuanians on Boulevard. He began to tell funny stories and anecdotes to familiar officers, and soon even those who surrounded the princess gathered around him. “Several times her look ... expressed annoyance, trying to express indifference ... Grushnitsky watched her like a predatory beast ...”

May 16th. “In the course of two days, my affairs advanced terribly. The princess absolutely hates me. It’s strange for her ... that I don’t try to get to know her ... I use all my strength to distract her admirers ... ”Pechorin bought the Persian carpet that the princess wanted to purchase, and ordered his horse covered with this carpet to be led , past the windows of the princess. Pechorin continued to tease Grushnitsky, assuring him that the princess was in love with him. “It is clear that he is in love, because he has become even more trusting than before ... I do not want to force confessions from him; I want him to choose me as his attorney himself - and then I will enjoy ... "

Walking, remembering a woman with a mole on her cheek, Pechorin went to the grotto and saw a sitting woman ... “Vera! I cried out involuntarily. She shuddered and turned pale... A long-forgotten thrill ran through my veins at the sound of that sweet voice...' It turned out that Vera was married for the second time. "Her face expressed deep despair, tears sparkled in her eyes..." I gave her my word to get acquainted with the Litovskys and to follow the princess in order to divert attention from her. Thus, my plans were not in the least upset, and I will have fun ... I have never become a slave to a beloved woman; on the contrary, I have always acquired an invincible power over their will and heart, without even trying about it. Faith "did not make me swear allegiance, and I will not deceive her: she is the only woman in the world whom I would not be able to deceive." “Returning home, I sat on horseback and galloped into the steppe: “There is no female gaze that I would not forget at the sight of curly mountains ... I think the Cossacks, yawning on their towers, ... mistook me for a Circassian.” Pechorin really looked like a Circassian - both in clothes and in a mountain seat in the saddle. He was proud of his "art in riding in the Caucasian way."

Already in the evening, Pechorin noticed a noisy cavalcade, in front of which Grushnitsky and Mary rode, and heard their conversation: Grushnitsky was trying to impress the princess as a romantic hero. Pechorin, waiting for them to catch up with him, unexpectedly rode out from behind a bush, which frightened the princess: she mistook him for a Circassian, as he expected. That same evening, Pechorin met Grushnitsky, who was returning from the Lithuanians. Juncker was almost happy, inspired with hope, I am sure that Pechorin envies him and regrets his impudent behavior. Pechorin, continuing his game, answered Grushnitsky that if he wanted, he would be with the princess tomorrow and even begin to drag the princess ...

May 21st. “Almost a week has passed, and I have not yet met the Lithuanians. I'm waiting for an opportunity. Grushnitsky, like a shadow, follows the princess everywhere ... when will he get bored with her? Tomorrow is a ball, and I will dance with the princess ... "

May 22nd. The Lithuanians were among the last to arrive at the ball. Grushnitsky did not take his eyes off "his goddess." Pechorin heard one of those fat ladies who envied the princess say to her cavalier, the dragoon captain: “This princess of Lithuania is an obnoxious girl! .. And what is she proud of? She should be taught a lesson...” The dragoon captain volunteers to do so.

Pechorin invited the princess to a waltz, and after "with the most submissive look" he asked her forgiveness for his impudent behavior. At this time, the captain of the dragoon persuaded one drunken gentleman to invite the princess to the mazurka. The whole company watched with interest how the frightened princess would get out of an awkward situation. She is rescued by Pechorin, who escorted the drunk. "I was rewarded with a deep, wonderful look." The mother of the princess thanked Pechorin and invited her to her place. In a conversation with Princess Pechorin, continuing to fulfill his plan, he behaved respectfully, made it clear that he had liked her for a long time. In passing, he noticed that Grushnitsky was just a cadet, which dissuaded the princess: she believed that Grushnitsky was a demoted officer.

May 23rd. In the evening, Grushnitsky, meeting Pechorin on the boulevard, began to thank him for helping the princess, as if he had the right to do so. He admitted that he loved the princess to the point of madness, and she suddenly changed towards him. Then they went together to the Lithuanians. There he was introduced to Vera, not knowing that they had known each other for a long time. Pechorin tried to please the princess, he joked. Vera was grateful to Pechorin: she thought that in order to meet her, he began to drag the princess. Mary was annoyed that Pechorin was indifferent to her singing, and spoke to Grushnitsky. For the sophisticated Pechorin, her intention is clear, he thinks: “You want to repay me in the same coin, prick my pride, you won’t succeed! And if you declare war on me, then I will be merciless.

May 29th. “All these days, I have never deviated from my system.” The princess "begins to see in me an extraordinary person." “Every time Grushnitsky comes up to her, I take on a humble air and leave them alone.” Pechorin habitually leads his role: he is either attentive to Mary, or indifferent to her. He managed to force the princess to confess her sympathy for him. Pechorin understands: "Grushnitsky is tired of her."

June 3rd. “I often ask myself why I so stubbornly seek the love of a young girl whom I do not want to seduce and whom I will never marry? .. But there is immense pleasure in the possession of a young, barely blossoming soul! .. I look at suffering and joy others ... as food that supports my spiritual strength ... My first pleasure is to subordinate everything that surrounds me to my will ... I would be happy if everyone loved me. Evil begets evil; the first suffering gives the concept of the pleasure of torturing another ... "

Grushnitsky has been promoted to officer and hopes to impress the princess by this. In the evening, on a walk, Pechorin slandered his acquaintances. Mary is frightened by his sarcasm: "You a dangerous person!., I would rather be caught in the forest under the knife of a murderer than on your tongue ... "Pechorin, taking on a touched look, says that since childhood he was credited with inclinations that he did not have:" I was modest - I was accused in deceit; I became secretive ... I was ready to love the whole world - no one understood me: and I learned to hate ... I became a moral cripple: one half of my soul did not exist, it dried up, evaporated, died - while the other stirred and lived at the service of everyone. “At that moment I met her eyes: tears ran in them; she felt sorry for me! Compassion... has sunk its claws into her inexperienced heart." To Pechorin’s question: “Did you love?” the princess “shaked her head and fell into thought again”: “She is dissatisfied with herself, she accuses herself of coldness ... Tomorrow she will want to reward me. I already know all this by heart - that's what's boring!

June 4th. The princess confided her secrets of the heart to Vera, and she tortured Pechorin with jealousy. He promised her to move after the Lithuanians to Kislovodsk. In the evening at the Lithuanian Pechorin noticed how Mary had changed: “she listened to my nonsense with such deep, intense, even tender attention that I felt ashamed ... Vera noticed all this: deep sadness was depicted on her face ... I felt sorry for her ... Then I told the whole dramatic story ... of our love, of course, covering it all with fictitious names. Pechorin spoke in such a way that Vera should have forgiven his coquetry with the princess.

June 5th. Before the ball, Grushnitsky appeared to Pechorin "in the full radiance of an army infantry uniform ... His festive appearance, his proud gait would make me burst out laughing if it were in accordance with my intentions." Going to the ball, Pechorin thought: "Is it really my only purpose on earth - to destroy other people's hopes ?., involuntarily I played the pitiful role of an executioner or a traitor." At the ball, Pechorin overheard Grushnitsky's conversation with Mary: he reproached her for indifference. Pechorin did not fail to prick Grushnitsky: “he is even younger in uniform,” which caused him to become furious: “like all boys, he has a claim to be an old man.” All evening Grushnitsky annoyed the princess, and "after the third quadrille she already hated him." Grushnitsky, having learned that Mary promised the mazurka to Pechorin, wants to take revenge on the “coquette”.

After the ball, escorting the princess to the carriage, Pechorin kissed her hand: "It was dark, and no one could see it." He returned to the hall "very pleased with himself." “When I entered, everyone was silent: apparently, they were talking about me ... it seems that a hostile gang is being formed against me ... I am very glad; I love enemies, although not in a Christian way. They amuse me, excite my blood. To be always on the alert... to guess the intention, to destroy conspiracies, to pretend to be deceived, and suddenly with one push to topple the whole huge and laborious edifice of cunning and designs - that's what I call life.

June 6th. “This morning Vera left with her husband for Kislovodsk.” Mary is sick and can't come out. Grushnitsky is waiting for an opportunity to take revenge on Pechorin. “Returning home, I noticed that I was missing something. I didn't see her! She is ill! Have I really fallen in love?.. What nonsense!

June 7th. In the morning Pechorin walked past the Lithuanian house. The princess was alone. “Without a report, taking advantage of the freedom of local customs, I made my way into the living room ...” Pechorin explains his insolence to the offended princess (he kissed her hand after the ball): “Forgive me, princess! I acted like a madman ... this will not happen another time ... Why do you need to know what has been going on in my soul so far? You will never know. Farewell". “When I left, I think I heard her crying.” In the evening, Werner told Pechorin about the rumors that he was going to marry the princess. Pechorin is sure that Grushnitsky started the rumor and decided to take revenge on him.

June 10th. “It's been three days since I've been in Kislovodsk. Every day I see Vera at the well and on a walk ... Grushnitsky and his gang rage every day in the tavern and hardly bow to me.

June 11th. Finally the Lithuanians arrive. "Am I in love? I am so stupidly created that this can be expected of me. “I dined with them. The princess looks at me very tenderly and does not leave her daughter ... bad! But Vera is jealous of the princess: I have achieved this well-being! What will a woman not do so as not to upset her rival? .. There is nothing more paradoxical than the female mind ... Women should wish that all men knew them as well as I do, because I love them a hundred times more since then, how I am not afraid of them and comprehended their petty weaknesses.

June 12th. On horseback riding while fording the river, the princess felt dizzy, Pechorin took advantage of the moment: “I quickly leaned towards her, wrapped my arm around her flexible waist ... my cheek almost touched her cheek; a flame blew from her ... I did not pay attention to her trembling and embarrassment, and my lips touched her tender cheek; she started, but said nothing; we were driving behind; no one took it out. I vowed not to say a word... I wanted to see her extricate herself from this predicament. “Either you despise me, or love me very much! she said at last. "Perhaps you want to laugh at me... Are you silent?" ... maybe you want me to be the first to tell you that I love you? .. ”I was silent ...“ Do you want this? “…There was something terrible in the determination of her gaze and voice. "Why?" I replied with a shrug. “She hit her horse with a whip and set off at the top of her lungs ... All the way to the house she spoke and laughed every minute.” Pechorin understands: it was "a nervous attack: she will spend the night without sleep and will cry": "This thought gives me immense pleasure: there are moments when I understand the Vampire ..."

In the evening, returning home, Pechorin overheard how the dragoon captain offered Grushnitsky to challenge Pechorin because of “some stupidity” to a duel: “Only here is where the squiggle is: we will not put bullets in pistols. I’ll tell you that Pechorin is a coward.” “I waited with trepidation for Grushnitsky's answer; cold anger took possession of me at the thought that if it were not for chance, then I could become the laughingstock of these fools. After some silence, Grushnitsky agreed. “I returned home with two different feelings. The first was sadness. Why do they all hate me?.. And I felt that poisonous anger filled my soul ... Beware, Mr. Grushnitsky! .. I did not sleep all night. "In the morning I met the princess at the well." She pleads: “... tell the truth ... only sooner ... I can sacrifice everything for the one I love ...” “I will tell you the whole truth,” I answered the princess, “I will not make excuses, deeds; I do not love you". “Her lips paled a little... Leave me alone,” she said, barely intelligible. I shrugged my shoulders, turned around and left."

June 14th. “Sometimes I despise myself ... isn’t that why I despise others too?.. No matter how passionately I love a woman, if she only makes me feel that I must marry her, forgive love! I am ready for all sacrifices, but I will not sell my freedom.”

June 15th. Pechorin receives a note from Vera, in which she makes an appointment with him: she will be at home alone. Pechorin triumphs: "Finally, it turned out my way." After a love date, Pechorin, descending from the upper balcony to the lower one, looked into Mary's room: "She sat motionless, her head bowed to her chest." At that moment, someone grabbed him by the shoulder. "They were Grushnitsky and the dragoon captain." Pechorin broke free and ran away: "A minute later I was already in my room." Grushnitsky and the dragoon captain knocked on Pechorin's door, but he replied that he was sleeping, depriving them of suspicion of evidence.

June 16th. In the morning, Pechorin overheard Grushnitsky swearing that he had almost caught Pechorin leaving the princess last night. Pechorin challenged Grushnitsky to a duel. Werner agreed to be a second and went to negotiate the terms of the duel with Grushnitsky. There he overheard the dragoon captain insisting that only one pistol be loaded, Grushnitsky's. The doctor retold this to Pechorin, who had a new plan.

On the night before the duel, Pechorin cannot sleep. "Well? die, so die! The loss to the world is small; and I myself am quite bored... Why did I live? For what purpose was I born? ... but it is true, I had a high appointment, because I feel immense strength in my soul ... But I did not guess this appointment. .. How many times have I played the role of an ax in the hands of fate!... My love has not brought happiness to anyone, because I... loved for myself, for my own pleasure.

And maybe I'll die tomorrow!... Some will say: he was a kind fellow, others - a scoundrel. Both will be false. Is it worth living after this? And you still live - out of curiosity: you expect something new ... Ridiculous and annoying!

“It’s already been a month and a half since I’ve been in fortress N. Maxim Maksimych went hunting ... I’m alone ... Boring! .. I’ll continue my journal ...

I thought to die; it was impossible: I have not yet drained the cup of suffering ... "

Pechorin recalls the events of the duel. Along the way, he admired the scenery: “I don’t remember a deeper and fresher morning! ... I remember - this time, more than ever before, I loved nature. Werner asked Pechorin about the will, he replied: “The heirs will be found on their own ... Do you want me, doctor, to reveal my soul to you? I have long been living not with my heart, but with my head. There are two people in me: one lives in the full sense of the word, the other thinks and judges him ... "

Opponents met at the rock. Werner is worried: Pechorin does not want to show that he knows the conspiracy. But Pechorin has his own calculations: he offered to shoot at the top: "even a slight wound will be fatal", insists that the lot decide who to shoot first. Grushnitsky was nervous: "Now he had to shoot into the air or become a murderer ... At that moment I would not want to be in his place ... I wanted to test him."

It fell to Grushnitsky to shoot first: “He was ashamed to kill an unarmed man... His knees were trembling. He aimed straight at my forehead... Suddenly he lowered the muzzle of his pistol and, turning white as a sheet, turned to his second. "I can not!" he said in a hollow voice. "Coward!" replied the captain. “The shot rang out. The bullet scratched my knee ... And now he was left alone against me. In Pechorin's chest, "both the annoyance of offended pride, and contempt, and anger" boiled. “Think carefully: doesn’t your conscience tell you anything?” - he said to Grushnitsky and turned to the doctor: "These gentlemen, probably in a hurry, forgot to put a bullet in my pistol: I ask you to load it again - and well!" Grushnitsky stood with his head on his chest, embarrassed and gloomy. “Leave them! he said to the captain. “Because you know they are right.” “Grushnitsky,” I said, “there is still time; give up your slander, and I will forgive you everything. “His face flushed, his eyes sparkled: “Shoot! - he answered, - I despise myself, but I hate you ... there is no place for us on earth together ... "I fired ... When the smoke cleared, Grushnitsky was not on the site." “Walking down the path, I noticed Grushnitsky's bloody corpse between the clefts of the rocks. I involuntarily closed my eyes ... "

Arriving home, Pechorin found two notes: one from the doctor, the other from Vera. Werner reported that everything was settled and coldly said goodbye to Pechorin: “There is no evidence against you, and you can sleep peacefully ... if you can ...” Vera wrote: “... This letter will be a farewell and confession ... you loved me as property, as a source of joy, anxieties and sorrows ... in your nature there is something special, something proud and mysterious; no one knows how to constantly want to be loved; evil is not so attractive in anyone ... and no one can be as truly unhappy as you, because no one tries so much to convince himself otherwise ... ”Vera confessed to her husband her love for Pechorin, and they leave: “I died, but what is the need? .. If I could be sure that you will always remember me ... I have lost everything in the world for you ...”

“Like crazy, I jumped out onto the porch, jumped on my Circassian and set off at full speed on the road to Pyatigorsk ... With the opportunity to lose her forever, Vera became dearer to me than anything in the world.” The exhausted, driven horse "plunged to the ground." “Exhausted by the anxieties of the day and insomnia, I fell on the wet grass and cried like a child ... I thought my chest would burst.” When Pechorin came to his senses, he realized that "chasing after lost happiness is useless and reckless ... Everything is for the better! .. It's great to cry ..." He returned to his place on foot and slept all day.

The doctor came with a warning: the authorities guess about the duel; said that the princess was sure that Pechorin had shot himself because of her daughter. The next day, Pechorin was assigned to fortress N and came to say goodbye to the Lithuanians. The princess thought that Pechorin was being stopped by some kind of marriage proposal. secret reason. But he asked permission to explain himself to Mary. “Princess,” I said, “do you know that I laughed at you? .. You must despise me ... Isn’t it true that even if you loved me, you despise me from this moment? ..” “I hate you ..." - she said.

An hour later, Pechorin left Kislovodsk. He continues his diary in the fortress: “Why did I not want to set foot on this path, where quiet joys and peace of mind awaited me? .. No, I would not get along with this lot!”

III. Fatalist

Pechorin describes his life in the Cossack village, where he spent two weeks. The officers played cards in the evenings. Once... at Major S***... they discussed whether it is true that a person's fate is written in heaven. "Each one told different extraordinary cases pro or contra" (pros and cons). Among the officers was Lieutenant Vulich, a Serb by birth, tall, swarthy, black-eyed. “He was brave, spoke little, but sharply; did not trust anyone with his spiritual and family secrets; I hardly drank wine ... There was only one passion ... a passion for the game. He suggested testing "whether a person can arbitrarily dispose of his life." Pechorin offered a bet: “I affirm that there is no predestination” and bet all the money that he had with him. Vulich randomly removed a pistol from the wall and cocked it. “It seemed to me that I read the seal of death on his pale face. "You are going to die today!" I told him. No one knew if the gun was loaded, everyone tried to dissuade Vulich. But he put the muzzle of the gun to his forehead, "pulled the trigger - misfire"; immediately took aim at the cap - a shot rang out. “Soon everyone went home, talking variously about Vulich’s quirks and, probably, with one voice calling me an egoist, because I bet against a man who wanted to shoot himself.”

Pechorin returned home and thought about the insignificance of human disputes and the eternity of the heavenly bodies, about the ancestors, to whom "the willpower was given by the confidence that the whole sky ... looks at them with participation." “But we, their miserable descendants ... are no longer capable of great sacrifices, either for the good of mankind, or even for our own happiness ... having, like them, neither hope nor even ... the pleasure that the soul meets in any struggle with people or with fate ... In a vain struggle, I exhausted both the heat of the soul and the constancy of the will; I entered this life, having already experienced it mentally, and I became bored and disgusting ... "

That evening, Pechorin firmly believed in predestination. Suddenly he bumped into something thick and soft. It was a pig cut in half. Two Cossacks running down the alley asked if Pechorin had seen the drunken Cossack: “What a robber! As soon as the chihira got drunk, he went to chop up everything that came across. ... you need to tie him up, otherwise ... "

Pechorin could not sleep. Early in the morning there was a knock on the window. The officers reported that Vulich had been killed: he was attacked by that drunken Cossack who slaughtered a pig. Before his death, he said only: "He's right!" This phrase referred to Pechorin: he predicted the imminent death of Vulich.

The killer locked himself in an empty hut, no one dared to go there. The old captain called out to the Cossack: “You have sinned, brother Efimych, so there is nothing to do, submit! ...You can’t escape your fate!” "I will not submit!" shouted the Cossack menacingly, and one could hear the click of the cocked trigger. Here Pechorin "flashed a strange thought: like Vulich, I decided to try my luck." Ordering the captain to distract the Cossack with conversations, Pechorin, tearing off the shutter, rushed out the window. The Cossack fired and missed. Pechorin grabbed his hands, the Cossacks rushed in, "and three minutes had not passed before the criminal was already tied up."

“After all this, how would it seem not to become a fatalist? But who knows for sure whether he is convinced of what or not? .. I like to doubt everything: I always go ahead bolder when I don’t know what awaits me. After all, nothing worse than death will happen—and you can’t escape death!” Returning to the fortress, Pechorin wished to know the opinion of Maxim Maksimych about predestination. But he didn’t understand much, he was used to thinking concretely: “These Asian triggers often fail...” it was written to the family! .. "