Russian reality of the 20s of the 19th century appears before the reader in the novel “Eugene Onegin” by the great poet of reality Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. This work is of very great importance in world literature. The author was able to combine romanticism and realism, humor and elegy, truth and dream. Beautiful poems combined with lyrical digressions and conveyed amazing pictures of Russian national life. Pushkin subtly describes the urban reality of Moscow and St. Petersburg, rural life, and the seasons. The great critic Belinsky called the novel "Eugene Onegin" an encyclopedia of Russian life. Analysis of the work will demonstrate to you its significance and grandeur.
How was the novel created?
An analysis of Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin" proves that the novel was created over several periods of the poet's work. The genius himself said that work on the book lasted just over 7 years. The novel was published in parts as it was written, and in 1833 a complete edition appeared. Pushkin had been making some amendments to the text all the time before. As a result, the master produced a masterpiece consisting of 8 songs, or parts, and the appendix “Excerpts from Onegin’s Journey.” Pushkin wrote another chapter, but since it contained some dangerous political hints associated with Decembrism, the author had to burn it. The poet began work on the book while in exile in the south (in Odessa), and finished the work in the village of Boldino.
The focus and genre originality of the work
"Eugene Onegin" is a realistic novel with a socio-psychological direction. It is written in poetic form. There was no such work in Russian literature of that time. Alexander Sergeevich retreated from the romantic canons and gave his creation more realism.
What did A.S. want to show in his book? Pushkin? The reader sees a young man, Eugene Onegin, a typical hero of that time. Next to him, the poet draws several more images, their characters, behavior, situations in which they find themselves. This is how the author explains various social problems. The formation of the hero’s views and character took place under the influence of various events in secular society. A detailed and thorough description of the characters’ actions allows us to call the novel a social one.
The love story of the work is devoid of the usual romance. Pushkin shows a mutual feeling that the heroes have to eradicate under the influence of external circumstances. In addition to the world of the heroes of the work (Eugene, Tatyana, Lensky), the novel clearly traces the world of the author - the narrator, which is reflected in the lyrical digressions. This allows us to classify the work as a lyric-epic genre.
Brief analysis of Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin"
Alexander Sergeevich's masterpiece begins with an appeal to the reader, where he characterizes his work, calling its chapters half funny, half sad, common people and ideal. Get acquainted with the plot and a brief analysis of "Eugene Onegin" chapter by chapter:
- Name day. Lensky proposed to Olga and is preparing for the wedding. The Lenskys invite Evgeny to Tatiana's name day. Before this, the girl sees a prophetic dream in which Onegin kills Lensky. Excited Tatiana at the evening does not know how to behave in front of Evgeniy. He noticed this confused behavior of the girl and is angry with Lensky, who brought him there. As a sign of revenge, Evgeniy courts Olga, and she flirts with him. A jealous poet challenges Onegin to fight a duel.
- Duel. Analysis of chapter 6 of “Eugene Onegin” is very important for the general understanding of the entire novel. Evgeniy realizes his vile act, but still agrees to the fight. Onegin shoots first and kills Vladimir. A poet who could have become famous throughout the world died.
- Moscow. Olga did not worry about Lensky for long and soon got married. Tatiana still loved Onegin. After some time, she is taken to Moscow to get married. A general became her husband.
- Wandering. Big light. Onegin traveled around the world for several years. Upon his return, at one of the balls in the capital, he met Tatiana, who turned into a society lady. He falls in love with her and writes several letters of recognition. The changed Tatyana still loves him, but chooses the honor of her family and her husband. The novel ends with a touching farewell between the characters.
Mirror composition of the novel
Alexander Sergeevich used the technique of mirror composition to create his masterpiece. This method reveals the spiritual formation of Onegin and Tatiana. At the beginning of the work, the reader sees Tatiana in love, suffering from unrequited feelings. The author strongly supports, sympathizes and sympathizes with his heroine.
At the end of the novel, Evgeniy, in love, is revealed to everyone, but Tatyana is already married. Now the author empathizes with Onegin. Everything is repeated in a mirror sequence. Examples of the boomerang effect are two letters: one from Tatyana, the other from Onegin.
Another example of mirror symmetry is Tatiana's dream and her marriage. The bear that saved her in the dream was her future husband.
Main themes and issues
In the novel "Eugene Onegin" Alexander Sergeevich showed the typical natures of his era in their formation. The reader sees representatives of different layers of society: the capital's high society, the provincial nobility, ordinary city residents and peasants. Depicting realistic images of the nobility, Pushkin touches on the following topics:
- education;
- upbringing;
- family relationships;
- cultural traditions;
- Love;
- friendship;
- policy;
- customs and mores;
- historical issues;
- morality.
The novel is full of lyrical digressions, where the author’s reflections on life are most clearly visible. Pushkin talks about literature, theater, music. The author reveals the most important social, moral and philosophical problems:
- purpose and meaning of life;
- real and false values;
- the destructiveness of selfishness and individualism;
- loyalty to love and duty;
- transience of life;
- the value of moments.
Main idea and pathos
Pushkin's novel is named after the main character, this indicates the importance of this character in the book. The author's task was to create a hero of that time. And he did it. Pushkin shows that a happy life awaits only people who think little, who know little, who do not strive for anything spiritual and lofty. People who have a sensitive soul will suffer. Some, like Lensky, perish, others languish in inaction, like Onegin. People like Tatyana are destined to suffer in silence.
Pushkin blames everything not on the heroes, but on the environment in which their characters were formed. She made beautiful, noble and intelligent people unhappy. The writer draws critically on Moscow and St. Petersburg high society. To portray him, Pushkin uses satirical pathos.
Hero of his time - Evgeny Onegin
Onegin represents the high society of St. Petersburg. He grew up selfish, not accustomed to work, his training was done in jest. He spends all his time on social entertainment. This led to the fact that he was unable to understand the feelings of young Tatyana, her soul. The hero's life never turned out the way he wanted. The reason for such misfortune is that he did not understand the simple truth - happiness is next to a devoted friend, a faithful woman.
An analysis of the hero of "Eugene Onegin" proves that his transformation was influenced by many events, especially the death of Lensky. Onegin's inner world at the end of the book became much richer.
Tatyana Larina - the sweet ideal of a poet
Pushkin’s ideas about the Russian national character are associated with the image of Tatyana Larina. With a Russian soul, she absorbed all the traditions and customs of the Larin family. The heroine grew up among Russian nature on the fairy tales and legends of her nanny. The heroine has a very subtle inner world and a pure soul.
Tatyana is a strong personality. Even at the end of the novel she remains simple and natural. She sacrifices her love to moral purity, fidelity to duty, and sincerity in relationships.
Vladimir Lensky
Another representative of the nobility, Lensky, appears as a young romantic dreamer. The author sympathizes with this hero, admires him, sometimes feels sad and smiles. Vladimir strives for heroism and lives in an imaginary world. He is very ardent, impetuous and far from reality.
Sacred concepts for Lensky are love, nobility and honor. In a heroic outburst, Vladimir dies during a ridiculous duel with a friend.
The middle period of Pushkin’s creativity coincides with the writings Evgenia Onegina, his longest, most popular and influential, and perhaps his most characteristic work. This is a “novel in verse” (see its summary on our website), in eight songs, which are called chapters. It was begun in the spring of 1823 and completed in the fall of 1830; a few finishing touches were added in 1831. The initial impetus came from Don Juan Byron, but besides the general idea - to write a long narrative poem in stanzas, with a plot from modern life, in a half-serious, half-joking tone - Eugene Onegin has little in common with Byron's epic. He has no merit Don Juan- neither wide as the sea, nor satirical force. Its advantages are of a completely different order. It is less scattered, and although when Pushkin began it he did not yet know how it would end, it is a story with a beginning, middle and end. Its unity is not a predetermined and deliberate unity, but something like the organic unity of the life of an individual. It reflects the periods of the poet's life between his twenty-fourth and thirty-second years. The transition from the wild youthful enthusiasm of the first chapter to the humility and subdued tragedy of the eighth occurs gradually, like the growth of a tree.
Portrait of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Artist Orest Kiprensky, 1827
The first chapter, written in 1823, crowns Pushkin's youth. This is the most brilliant of all his works. It sparkles and bubbles like champagne - a tired but inevitable comparison. This is a description of the life of a young St. Petersburg dandy (Pushkin uses this English word), which Pushkin himself led before exile. This is the only chapter of all eight where hilarity prevails over seriousness. The following chapters are written in the same style, but it becomes more restrained and softer as the years pass. A mixture of humor (not satire) and poetic feeling, the boundless richness and variety of emotional shades and transitions manifested by Pushkin in Onegin have almost no precedents in world literature.
Pushkin. Eugene Onegin. Lecture by Alexander Arkhangelsky
It is the crowning achievement of Pushkin’s first mature years and the fullest expression of his so-called “subjective” manner, as opposed to the objective and impersonal style characteristic of his later years. Of all his works, restraint is least visible here: the poet allows himself digressions - lyrical, humorous, polemical. He does not flaunt the economy of artistic means. More than anywhere else, he relies on the impression made by the atmosphere. But his sense of proportion and unerring skill are present in Evgeniya Onegin just like in all his works. Many Russian poets imitated the manner Onegin, and all with dubious success. It requires two qualities that are very rarely found in combination - boundless, inexhaustible vitality and an unerring sense of artistic proportion. When talking about Onegin’s profound influence on the subsequent development of literature, we do not mean the direct metrical descendant of this “novel in verse.” We are talking about the type of realism that he first introduced, about the style of depicting characters, about types of people and about the construction of a story, which can be considered the source of the later Russian novel. Realism Onegin- that special Russian realism, which is poetic, without idealizing reality, without compromising reality in anything. The same realism will come to life in the novels of Lermontov, Turgenev and Goncharov, in War and Peace and in Chekhov's best works.
Outlining characters in Onegin- not analytical, not psychological, but poetic, dependent on the lyrical and emotional atmosphere accompanying the characters, and not on the analysis of their thoughts and feelings. The style of portraiture was inherited from Pushkin by Turgenev and other Russian novelists, but not by Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. As for the characters of the novel, Onegin and Tatiana are the progenitors of a large offspring in Russian literature; the heroes of Lermontov, Goncharov and Turgenev all bear family resemblances to them. Finally, the construction of the story, so different from Pushkin’s prose, became the norm for the Russian novel. The simple plot, logically developing from the characters, and the unhappy, thought-provoking, muted ending became a model for Russian novelists, especially Turgenev.
Many tricks Onegin can be considered romantic, but the spirit of this poem is different. As in all mature works of Pushkin, the harsh moral law of Fate dominates in it. Irresponsible indulgence of one's own whims and selfishness gradually, inevitably, without theatrical effects, destroy Onegin, while Tatiana's calm self-control and humility crown her with that undeniable moral greatness that is always associated with her name. By creating Tatyana, Pushkin avoided the almost inevitable - he did not make a virtuous woman who coldly rejects her loved one neither a prude nor a puritan - and this is his greatness. Tatyana's virtue is redeemed by sadness, which she cannot overcome, by a calm and resigned decision to reject the only possible paradise for her and live without any hope of happiness. The Tatiana-Onegin relationship was often revived in Russian literature, and the contrast between a petty and weak man and a strong woman became almost hackneyed among Turgenev and others. But Pushkin’s classic attitude—sympathy without pity for a man and respect without “reward” for a woman—has never been revived.
The poem “Eugene Onegin” is a real encyclopedia of the life of Russian people of the 19th century. The novel in verse was created during the years 1823-1831. It clearly shows the stylistic features of realism. The different segments of the Russian population of that time period are depicted very laconically and accurately. The initial chapters were written by a young poet, and in the final chapters it is felt that the author is a person with vast life experience. This novel traces the maturation of A. S. Pushkin as a creator.
History of creation
The great poet worked on his brainchild for more than seven years. The author considered the novel “Eugene Onegin” a magnificent creation. Along with “Boris Godunov” he called it a feat. This fascinating work reveals the dramatic fate of the noble intelligentsia. All this happens against the backdrop of pictures of Russian life.
Work on the essay began in May 1823 in Chisinau. At this time the poet was in exile. Pushkin decided to write a realistic novel in verse, abandoning romanticism as the leading creative principle.
But still, the first pages still have romantic features. The original idea called for nine chapters. However, due to political issues, one chapter had to be removed - “Onegin’s Travels”. Some of its fragments are included in the appendix. Researchers of Alexander Sergeevich’s work point out that this chapter describes how Evgeny Onegin becomes an observer near the Odessa pier. This was followed by rather harsh judgments and remarks. Fearing possible persecution by the authorities, Pushkin destroyed this fragment.
Time period of the novel
The poem "Eugene Onegin" covers numerous events (from 1819 to 1825). Firstly, this was the time of the reign of Alexander the First. Secondly, these were the years of development of Russian society. Thirdly, the period from before the Decembrist uprising.
The time of action and creation of the novel practically coincides. Indeed, in general, it reflected the important events of the first quarter of the 19th century.
Similar to Lord Byron’s poem called “Don Juan,” A. S. Pushkin created his novel. “Eugene Onegin,” whose poems seem to be collected in motley chapters, is rightfully considered the best literary creation of the 19th century.
It is not for nothing that the novel is called the encyclopedia of its time. From the text you can learn about tastes and their preferences in clothing, fashion, and values. “Eugene Onegin” literally describes the entire Russian life.
Editions
The poem was published gradually, in separate editions, each of which included one chapter. The most striking excerpts were published in almanacs and magazines. Each chapter was awaited with great impatience; it was perceived as a great event in Russian literature. The very first chapter was published in 1825. Readers could purchase the complete edition in one volume since 1833. Shortly before Pushkin’s death (in January 1837), I. Glazunov’s printing house released the novel in mini-format.
It was planned to sell 5,000 copies within a year (five rubles per book). However, after the death of the poet, the entire circulation was sold out within a week.
In 1988, a circulation of 15,000 copies was published (Kniga publishing house).
Plot
The poem opens with the lamentations of a young nobleman about the illness of his uncle. Already here the character of Eugene Onegin is revealed. He has to come to St. Petersburg to say goodbye to the patient. The first chapter tells about the origin, family and life of the main character before receiving the sad news.
Social entertainment and love affairs filled the life of a young man in St. Petersburg. But he gets tired of all this. When Evgeniy visits his uncle in the village, he finds out that his relative has already died. The young man becomes his only heir.
Evgeny Onegin falls into deep depression (analysis of his image is in a separate section). He begins to make friends with his neighbor Lensky, who is the complete opposite of Onegin. Vladimir is an ardent and passionate romantic poet who is in love with Olga Larina. Evgeniy is quite surprised by his friend’s choice, hinting that he would choose Tatiana. The latter falls in love with Onegin and writes him a frank letter with declarations of love. However, the cold nobleman rejects her.
Onegin finds himself at dinner with the Larins. Out of boredom, he begins to court Olga, making his friend jealous. Lensky challenges him to a duel. The duel ends with the death of Vladimir, and Evgeniy leaves the village.
The next meeting with Tatyana, who fell in love with him, happens three years later. Now she is an important socialite, the wife of a general. Onegin falls in love with her, but attempts to woo the girl end in failure. Now she refuses him, although she does not hide the fact that she still loves him. But loyalty and family are more important to her than feelings.
At this point the story is interrupted. The description of the novel “Eugene Onegin” continues with a description of the main characters.
Characters
- Onegin.
- Tatyana Larina.
- Vladimir Lensky.
- Olga Larina.
- Tatiana's nanny.
- Zaretsky (second).
- Husband of Tatyana Larina, whose name is not indicated.
- Author (Pushkin himself).
Dmitry and Praskovya Larins (father and mother), uncle Evgenia, Moscow cousin of the Larins, etc. are mentioned.
"Eugene Onegin". Analysis of Tatiana's letter
A young provincial girl, in a letter to Onegin, confesses the feelings that have flared up in her. In the 19th century, it was not customary for young ladies to be the first to declare their love. However, Tatyana consciously oversteps moral prohibitions. Her pride suffers from this, she torments herself with doubts, and is overcome by conflicting feelings. Despite all this, the girl acts decisively. The letter reveals her subtle and romantic nature. It is not at all surprising that Tatyana experiences such passionate feelings. The girl loved French novels since childhood. She always dreamed of finding her hero so that she could throw out her emotions. The choice of Onegin did not fall by chance. He seemed special to her, completely different from the other residents of the village. He was mysterious and enigmatic to her. This is exactly the hero Tatyana dreamed about. She believed that Evgeny would certainly understand and love her. She is very worried about the lines written and is ashamed of them. The nanny who suddenly enters notices the blush on the girl’s face, but considers this a sign of health. Tatyana gives the letter and awaits the result in fear.
Characteristics of the main character
The image of Evgeny Onegin is very complex and contradictory. This is a young landowner who did not receive due attention and proper upbringing as a child. He grew up without a mother, deprived of the necessary affection and warmth. The father had nothing to do with his son. He entrusted it to the tutors. Therefore, Onegin became a selfish person. He cared only about his own desires, and the suffering of other people was absolutely uninteresting. The image of Eugene Onegin amazes with its composure. It can touch almost anyone's nerves. Evgeniy is capable of greatly offending without noticing that he has committed a bad act. Unfortunately, everything good and beautiful that was hidden deep in his soul remained undeveloped. Evgeny's whole life is sheer laziness and boredom. Saturated with monotonous pleasures, he sees nothing joyful in life.
Fictional hero
The image of Evgeny Onegin was not invented. This is a typical young man of that time. Such youths are different from the representatives of the ruling class. They are nobler, more conscientious and smarter. Such as themselves, the social structure and personal environment. Onegin has high views and demands on life. Having met Lensky, who graduated from the best university in Germany, he can argue with him on any topic. He values his friendship with Vladimir very much. In his attitude towards Tatyana and Lensky, such a trait of his as goodwill is revealed.
By the end of the novel, the image of Eugene Onegin is transformed. We already see a sincere person in love. He's different. But his love was late. Although Tatyana has feelings, she is not ready to betray her husband. Now Evgeniy understands how stupid he was before. He regrets that he missed such a girl and possible happiness. But awareness comes too late, nothing can be changed.
The poem by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin is one of the best creations of the 19th century. The poet worked on his brainchild for seven years. The work can be called a socio-psychological novel in poetic form. It is written in simple and easy language. The author pays a lot of attention to depicting the characters and emotional experiences of his characters: Onegin, Lensky, Tatyana, Olga, the girls’ mother, nanny and others.
The character of Onegin in the novel “Eugene Onegin” became the subject of scientific debate and research immediately after the publication of the work. To this day, Pushkin scholars cannot come to unambiguous conclusions. Who was Eugene - a lonely lost soul, an extra person, or a carefree prisoner of his own idle thoughts. His actions are contradictory, his thoughts are shrouded in the haze of “worldly sorrow.” Who is he?
Hero prototype
In the novel "Eugene Onegin", a brief summary of which is provided against the backdrop of the development of the hero's image, is the property of many literary scholars and Pushkin scholars. We will show you the development of the hero's character against the background of the events of the novel.
Pushkin was not only a brilliant poet, but also a subtle psychologist. The writer devoted seven years to his only novel, writing and editing it. This work marked Pushkin's transition from romanticism to realism. The novel in verse was planned to be a completely realistic work, but the influence of romanticism is still very strong and noticeable, which is not surprising considering that the idea arose after reading Byron’s “Don Juan.”
The character of Onegin in the novel “Eugene Onegin” is the result of the poet’s creative quest. It cannot be said that the main character had his own clear prototype. The role of the prototype was assigned to Chaadaev and Griboyedov, Pushkin himself and his opponent Pyotr Katenin, with whom the poet exchanged veiled barbs in his works. However, Pushkin himself repeatedly said that Evgeny is a collective image of noble youth.
What was the character of Onegin in the novel “Eugene Onegin”?
In the first lines of the novel we see a young man spoiled by the wealthy life of the nobility. He is handsome and not deprived of the attention of women. Therefore, the reader is not at all surprised by the title key line of Tatyana’s love for Onegin, and then Onegin’s unrequited love for Tatyana.
Throughout the novel, the character of the hero undergoes serious changes, which we will discuss in the following sections of the article. At first glance at him, one gets the impression that strong feelings are inaccessible to him; he is so fed up with the attention of the fair sex that he considers himself entitled to give advice. “The less we love a woman, the more she likes us” has become an aphorism. But in the novel, Onegin himself falls into his own trap.
Characteristics of Onegin in the novel “Eugene Onegin”, chapter 1
The work was called “an encyclopedia of Russian life.” It describes in great detail the balls and outfits of ladies and gentlemen, dishes and cutlery, interiors and architecture of buildings. But most of all the author’s attention is directed to the atmosphere in which the poet himself lived and in which his heroes live.
The first chapter of the novel is dedicated to Eugene. On behalf of the narrator, we learn that the hero is saddened by a letter about his uncle's illness. He is forced to go to him, but Onegin has no desire to do this. Here we see the hero somewhat indifferent. Having learned about the illness and imminent death of a relative, he would grieve and sympathize, but Evgeniy only cares about his own comfort and unwillingness to leave social life.
Image of Onegin
The characterization of Onegin in the novel “Eugene Onegin” is quite deep. It begins with a description of the origin of the character, from which we learn that he is a nobleman, born in St. Petersburg. His father “finally squandered himself” on balls and gambling debts.
Eugene's upbringing was carried out by hired teachers - tutors, who did not care at all about the fruits of their studies. The author says that in his time almost all noble children received such an education.
Moral principles that were not instilled in time did their job: young Onegin became a thief of women's hearts. The attention of the ladies disgusted him, pushing him to “exploits of love.” Soon this way of life led him to satiety and boredom, disappointment and melancholy.
The characterization of Onegin in the novel “Eugene Onegin,” a brief description of which we see in the first chapter, gains momentum as the plot develops. The author does not justify the actions of his hero, but the realistic border of the novel shows us that he simply cannot be different. The environment in which he grew up could not have brought any other fruit.
Development of Evgeniy's characteristics
The characterization of Onegin in the novel “Eugene Onegin,” chapter by chapter, shows us completely opposite sides of the character’s personality. In the first chapter we see a young, headstrong rake, balls and the conquest of beautiful girls, clothes and self-care are his main concerns.
In the second chapter, Eugene is the young heir of his deceased uncle. He is still the same eccentric rake, but his behavior with the serfs tells the reader that he is capable of sympathy and understanding. Onegin relieves the peasants of an unaffordable tax, which displeases his neighbors. However, he simply ignores them. For this, he is considered an eccentric and an “ignorant”; his image is surrounded by rumors and speculation.
Friendship with Lensky
A new neighbor, Vladimir Lensky, settles next to Evgeniy. He had just arrived from Germany, where the world of romanticism and poetry captivated and enchanted him. At first the heroes do not find a common language; they are very different. But soon friendly relations begin between them.
The young poet Lensky, with his communication, temporarily relieves Evgeny of the insane boredom that overcomes him here too. He is interested in the poet, but in many ways he does not understand his romantic impulses.
The characterization of Onegin in the novel “Eugene Onegin”, thanks to the image of Lensky, quickly introduces the reader to the dark shades of the hero’s soul. The spirit of competition and superiority throws Onegin at In the fifth chapter, the Larins have a feast organized on the occasion of Tatyana's birthday. Frustrated by the boredom and hubbub, Evgeniy begins to flirt with Olga, Lensky’s fiancée. He does this to anger Vladimir, and does not expect a challenge from him to a duel. In this duel, he kills his friend and leaves the village. The poet does not say whether he grieves for his friend who died at his hand.
Evgeniy and Tatiana
In the third chapter of the novel, Evgeny appears in the Larins' house. Tatyana falls into the power partly of her girlish dreams, partly of the hero’s charm. She puts her feelings into the letter. But there is no answer to it. At the beginning of the fourth chapter, the heroes meet, and Onegin coldly tells Tatyana that if he wanted a quiet family life, he would not need anyone except Tatyana. However, now the family is not part of his plans, and marriage will only bring disappointment and pain to both. He takes on the role of a noble mentor and advises the girl to be careful with her impulses, because “not everyone will understand you, as I do.”
The characterization of Onegin in the novel “Eugene Onegin”, a brief summary of which we are telling, is inseparable from the image of the main character. It is revealed precisely thanks to the love line. Tatyana is inconsolable in her non-reciprocal love, Evgeniy’s coldness wounds her to the very heart, deprives her of sleep and peace, and plunges her into half-nightmarish, half-visionary dreams.
Second meeting with Tatyana
When Evgeny meets a girl who was once in love with him in St. Petersburg, this becomes the climax of the novel.
The character of Onegin in the novel “Eugene Onegin” undergoes completely unexpected changes. The hero falls in love for the first time in his life. And so much so that he is ready for any extravagance just to win the girl he once pushed away.
He writes a letter to her, where he confesses his feelings, but does not receive an answer to it.
The answer will later be a conversation with Tatyana, where she admits that she also loves him, but loyalty to her husband, honor and responsibility do not allow her to reciprocate his feelings. The novel ends at this dialogue, the poet leaves Evgeniy to reap the fruits of his madness in Tatiana’s bedroom.
It is difficult to find a writer in the world who would give so many greatest examples of creativity in various types of living literary style as A.S. Pushkin.
Among his main works is the novel Eugene Onegin. What is the value of this novel?
“Eugene Onegin” is one of the poet’s most complex and important works. It is made in an innovative genre - in the style of “novel in verse”.
The main character of the novel is Eugene Onegin. What is Onegin? A young man, a nobleman, whose birth coincided with the change of centuries: the eighteenth and nineteenth. A regular in secular society, a “deep economist,” a philosopher, an expert in the “science of tender passion.” He succeeded in everything in society. Educated, elegantly dressed, with proper haircut, an expert in Latin and dance, an admirer of Adam Smith. He knew how to bow casually and be on time everywhere - to the theatre, to the ballet, to receptions.
“What do you want more? The light has decided
That he is smart and very nice."
But very quickly Onegin became tired of the tinsel and glitter, the noise and bustle of the world. “The feelings in him have cooled down,” the betrayals are tired, “friends and friendship are tired.” And a disease familiar to many called “Russian blues” began to take hold of him.
The soul of Evgeny Onegin is not crippled by nature. She is spoiled by superficial things: the temptations of society, passions, inaction. Onegin is capable of good deeds: in his village he replaces corvée with “light quitrent.”
Onegin feels: the relationships that have developed in society are false. There is no spark of truth in them, they are thoroughly saturated with hypocrisy. Onegin is sad; and this eternal longing for something worthwhile, true.
By the will of fate, Onegin finds himself in the village, where he meets Tatyana Larina, a pensive, dreamy district young lady. She writes him a love letter - and here the selfishness and coldness of Onegin’s soul are fully manifested. He teaches her life, reads her an insensitive rebuke, rejects her love.
Chance brings Onegin together with his young neighbor Lensky. Lensky is a romantic, he is far from reality, his feelings are genuine and spontaneous. They are completely different from Onegin. A quarrel arises between them, a duel follows, and Onegin kills Lensky in this duel. And then, with even greater melancholy from repentance for this involuntary, unnecessary crime, he leaves to wander around Russia.
Onegin returns to St. Petersburg and meets Tatyana again. But what is it? What a dramatic change. At the sight of Onegin, her eyebrow did not even move. An indifferent princess, an unapproachable goddess.
What's happening to Onegin? “The concern of youth is love?..”
A tender feeling began to warm in his soul, previously cold and calculating. But now he is rejected. By sacrificing her love and Onegin's love, Tatiana may have shown the main character the path to moral and spiritual rebirth.
Eugene Onegin is a product of secular society, he observes the rules of decency, but at the same time, the light is alien to him. The secret here lies not in society, but in himself. In his inability to do business, to live with firm ideals and goals. He has no problems to solve, he does not find true meaning in anything.
Why does Pushkin put his hero, as the bearer of a lofty idea - the human personality, its freedom and rights, in such a strange position, why in the mind is this person a failed and insolvent hero? The explanation here can be twofold. According to the first version, Pushkin created his hero under the influence of Byron, and thus Onegin is an echo of those heroes, “anxious types”, imbued with skepticism and disappointment, which Western culture put forward at that time, and as such, being transplanted onto foreign soil , they turn out to be unsuccessful and insolvent here.
Another explanation may be that such “anxious types” could arise independently on Russian soil, thanks in part to the same Western culture on the one hand, and on the other hand, thanks to Russian life, which provided sufficient material for skepticism and disappointment.
Their inconsistency and unsuitability for Russian life was first recognized by Pushkin, and this consciousness penetrated into our social consciousness, as evidenced by all of our subsequent Russian literature. These “alarming types” continued to exist for a long time in our literature in the works of Lermontov, Griboedov, Turgenev and other authors, with the same character of inconsistency and unsuitability for Russian life.
Conclusion
Pushkin brought into our public consciousness the high idea of the human personality, its freedom and its rights, but at the same time he brought into our consciousness the fact that this high idea is in the hands of our progressive people, who have education and upbringing, and often for the most part, it breaks down due to their personal egoism, as a result of which it does not bring the expected results. Whereas among the mass of the Russian people the idea glimmers like a spark under a mass of ashes, and at any opportunity it is ready to ignite, moving the mass and each individual person to great feats.