Lesson 1
Objective of the lessons: help students understand the image of Eugene Onegin, his place in the development ideological content novel.
Methodical techniques: repetition, asking questions on the topic of the lesson, student reports, reading.
Lesson progress
I. Reading several miniature essays and discussing them
II. Student's report about the plot of the novel
Teacher's word.
So, the plot of the novel is structured in such a way that the characters seem to go beyond its scope. They clearly live in two spheres - the author's imagination and in the real environment, where they become acquaintances of the author. Next to the “novel of heroes” there is also a “novel of life”, in which characters meet with the author, Pushkin. And if the “romance of heroes” ends tragically, then the “romance of life” is not yet completed. An artistic illusion arises as if the events in the novel were not invented by Pushkin, but only observed in reality itself. And this proves the deep vitality of the plot of “Eugene Onegin”.
III. Conversation on the content of the novel
Where does Pushkin begin his novel and what is unique about such a beginning?
(The novel has a peculiar beginning: new for the literature of that time artistic technique: without any introduction, without a single preliminary word, the poet introduces the reader into the life of his hero, and only then introduces him to him, friendly, confidentially and simply.)
How can this beginning of a novel be correlated with the requirements of classicism?
Let us find and read with our students the “introduction” to “Onegin” at the end of the seventh chapter and draw a conclusion: Pushkin is ironizing one of the rules of classicism.
How does Onegin relate to the world around him?
Students read the corresponding stanzas, analyze and come to a conclusion. Onegin is alien to the connection with the national, native. “A child of fun and luxury,” Onegin received a life typical of that time: balls, restaurants, walks along Nevsky Prospect, visits to theaters.
What is theater for Onegin? What attracts him there?
(The theater for him is just a tribute to a certain ritual social life, a place where, as Pushkin ironically notes:
Everyone, breathing freely,
Ready to clap eenterchat,
To flog Phaedra, Cleopatra,
Call Monna (in order to
Just so they can hear him).
Onegin (“honorary citizen of the scenes”) is more interested in meetings and affairs with charming actresses than in the stage and art. He is deeply indifferent to both the inimitable “brilliant” Istomina and Didelot’s magnificent productions.
With men on all sides
He bowed, then went on stage.
He looked in great absentmindedness,
He turned away and yawned.
And he said: “It’s time for everyone to change;
I endured ballets for a long time,
But I’m tired of Didelot too.)
What comment does Pushkin give to the last line?
(Expressive note: A trait of chilled feeling worthy of Childe Harold. Mr. Didelot’s ballets are filled with vivid imagination and extraordinary charm...")
What does art and theater mean for a poet?
(For Pushkin, theater is a magical land. In a lyrical digression, filled with enormous enthusiasm and high inspiration, the author recalls the theatrical hobbies of his youth, gives brief but apt descriptions of outstanding playwrights and actors. Here Fonvizin is “the brave ruler of satire”, “friend freedom”, and “the overbearing Prince”, and V. A. Ozerov, who won “tears and applause”, and P. A. Katenin, who resurrected on the Russian stage “Corneille’s majestic genius” and “Caustic Shakhovsky”, the wonderful Russian actress E. S. Semenova, who shared with V. A. Ozerov the success of his tragedies, and the choreographer of the square Didelot, crowned with glory.)
What is your attitude towards the art of E. Onegin? How does the author show this?
(Lyrical digressions in many ways deepened our understanding of the hero’s unacceptable deafness to beauty. The author's rejection of Onegin's indifference to art is obvious. However, there is no direct assessment of this phenomenon in the novel. But there is an immensely rich world of theater. Showing his mysterious power allows the reader to feel the aesthetic and emotional inferiority of Onegin.)
So, who is Onegin?
(Onegin is a typical young St. Petersburg dandy. He is smart, fairly educated, he vaguely feels that it is impossible to live as is customary in secular society.)
What is Onegin's environment like? How does the hero differ from his surroundings?
(In addition to Pushkin himself, who considers Onegin to be his good friend, one of the progressive, thinking people - Kaverin - belongs to his friends, and then another name appears in the novel - Chaadaev, although the hero meets Kaverin in a fashionable restaurant, and is similar to Chaadaev in that he was a pedant in his clothes and what we called a “dandy.”)
Is Onegin's circle of acquaintances, described by the author, accidental?
(These names are not given by chance; this is already a hint at the hero’s deeper needs than those of ordinary St. Petersburg dandies.)
How does Onegin stand out from the general mass of aristocratic youth?
(The author notes his “involuntary devotion to swords, inimitable strangeness and a sharp, chilled mind,” a sense of honor, nobility of soul. This could not lead Onegin to disappointment in life and the interests of secular society, to dissatisfaction with the political and social situation, expressed in a break with society and departure to the village.)
What is Onegin trying to do after leaving secular society?
(Students read the corresponding verses 43-44).
Conclusion:
“But he was sick of hard work...”
Having broken with secular society, in which he found neither high morals nor real feelings, but only a parody of them. And being cut off from the life of the people, Onegin loses touch with people.
1. How does the epigraph to the first chapter of the novel reveal Onegin’s personality?
2. Prepare coherent story based on the text about Onegin’s life in the village.
3. Individual message tasks:
The crisis stages in Onegin's life are a test of love and friendship.
Onegin and Lensky. What brings them together and what separates them?
Larin family.
Tasks for the future by subgroups:
1. Compare the St. Petersburg nobility with the local nobility (Chapters VIII and II).
2. Compare chapter VII with chapter IV.
3. Compare the St. Petersburg nobility (Chapter VIII) with the Moscow nobility (Chapter VII).
4. Prepare a speech on the topic “Belinsky about Onegin.”
5. Prepare a speech on the topic “Belinsky about Tatyana.”
Lesson 2
Let's start the lesson with students' answers to the questions posed in their homework. Listening to the answers, the students make their own additions and come to the conclusion that in the village all his activities were that of a landowner who tried to organize the life of the peasants on the estate that he inherited from his uncle:
He is the yoke of the ancient corvée
I replaced it with a light quitrent...
does not bring him satisfaction, and his activities are limited to this. The old moods, although somewhat softened by life in the lap of nature, continue to possess him. Onegin's extraordinary mind, his freedom-loving sentiments and critical attitude to reality placed him high above the crowd of nobles, especially among the landed gentry, and doomed him in the absence social activities to complete loneliness.
II. Design of notebooks
A work plan on the topic of the lesson is proposed (written on the board and in students’ notebooks).
1. Crisis stages of testing love and friendship.
2. Duel and murder of Lensky. The countdown begins, the return to your true self begins.
3. Travel. Knowledge of the real homeland and its people. A change in worldview, a resurrection of the truly human in the soul.
4. Love for Tatyana - finding your true self, blossoming of the soul.
III. Student reports on the proposed plan
The messages are accompanied by reading the corresponding stanzas of the novel. Students write down the main ideas from the messages.
After student reports, questions are posed to the class.
Why did Onegin make acquaintance with Lensky and how does Pushkin feel about their friendship?
(Saying that Onegin and Lensky are getting together there is nothing to do, Pushkin warns the reader and emphasizes the fragility of this friendship.)
(Onegin and Lensky are completely different people, but that's not all there is to it. Onegin does not have a feeling of friendship. His rule is aloofness. Lensky is only a temporary “exception”.)
In the draft manuscript there was a stanza where Eugene was revealed as a person more open to goodness and high concepts. In the white manuscript these qualities are narrowed, and in the final text (XIV stanza of Chapter II) they almost disappear.
What is the external environment of Onegin’s conversations with Lensky?
(The interior with which Pushkin accompanies Onegin’s conversations with Lensky (XVII stanza of the 4th chapter) constantly indicates the state of Onegin’s chilled, fading soul, “barely” warmed by the presence of the young poet.)
What are the results of these conversations? What is the main difference between Lensky and Onegin?
(Onegin killed... eight years of his life, but his soul is still not dead. He does not believe feelings, although he yearns for them. Therefore, communication with Lensky strengthens Onegin’s need to animate feelings. In young Lensky, “Everything was new to Onegin.” From Cold Onegin Lensky is distinguished primarily by the fact that “his soul was warmed”; he is not disappointed by the outside world.)
Why do Lensky’s ardent feelings cause Onegin to “involuntarily sigh of regret”?
(Changes also occur in Onegin, since he, who had previously scolded Homer and Theocritus, carefully listens to excerpts from Lensky’s northern poems. This, albeit a very timid, but obvious approach to art. And it is possible because the need to feel awakens in Onegin:
But more often they were occupied by passions
The minds of my hermits.
Having left their rebellious power,
Onegin spoke about them
With an involuntary sigh of regret.)
What in Lensky’s appearance, behavior and feelings makes it possible to assume his high destiny; What prevented him from realizing his dreams in life?
Students note not only romantic dreaminess, but also enthusiasm, integrity of feeling, devotion to their beliefs, and the ability to defend them at the cost of their lives. In the portrait of Lensky (VI stanza of the 2nd chapter) signs of freedom-loving animation and naivety coexist. Next to each other are “freedom-loving dreams” and “shoulder-length black curls,” which, according to the fashion of that time, do not oppose each other, but create a hint of irony. But Lensky “from foggy Germany” brought not only “shoulder-length black curls” and an ardent way of thinking. He is a “messenger of glory and freedom”, he is ardent and impetuous, he is ready to write odes (a genre very beloved by the Decembrists). Lensky's ideals are not concrete, but abstract, therefore Vladimir in the novel turns out to be only a foggy mirror of a man of the Decembrist type, a freedom-loving romantic who goes to tragic ending. Desire lives in Lenskoye heroic act, but the life around him gives almost no reason for this. And the hero rushes into a duel to protect love from deceit, gullibility from cunning temptations, and finally, his romanticism from Onegin’s skepticism.
What did Onegin and Lensky argue about?
What is the reason for the heroes' quarrel? How did the characters' characters appear in it?
The 6th chapter, in which Lensky dies and Pushkin says goodbye to his youth, was written after the news of the death of the Decembrists. This coincidence of the fate of the hero of the novel and the heroes of Russian reality can hardly be considered a simple coincidence. Lensky's death is depicted in such solemn and majestic images that it makes one think of a huge catastrophe, a real tragedy:
So slowly along the slope of the mountains,
Sparkling in the sun,
A block of snow is sliding down.
IV. Lesson summary
The significance of Lensky's death is also emphasized by the structure of the work. Chapter 6 turns out to be the climax in the overall composition of the novel. It is here that a deep, dramatic change occurs in the destinies of all the heroes. Onegin understands that the feeling of superiority that he was so proud of and which was the basis of his life turned out to be “imaginary.” And Onegin is “struck” by this discovery. “By killing a friend in a duel,” he violated, according to Pushkin, the moral nature of things. Pushkin knew that it is not difficult to despise - brafer - the judgment of people; It is impossible to despise your own court. Onegin’s equanimity (the word “cold-blooded” is repeated more than once in the duel scene) turned into a deadly cold of horror in front of what had happened, in front of himself:
Doused with instant cold,
Onegin hurries to the young man,
He looks and calls him... in vain:
He's no longer there.
In stanza XXXIV, Pushkin calls on us, readers, to experience this horror in order to feel Onegin’s spiritual turmoil.
The hero cannot stand the test of love. In the first chapters, the author shows that love passed Onegin by, because Eugene was deprived of the very ability to love. His attitude towards love is entirely rational and feigned. It is designed in the spirit of acquired secular “truths,” the main goal of which is to charm and seduce, to appear to be in love, and not to actually be one.
Homework
1. Learn by heart an excerpt from the novel “Onegin’s Letter to Tatiana” and “Tatyana to Onegin” (optional).
What event became a turning point in Onegin’s spiritual quest?
How and why did Onegin's journey change his worldview?
Lesson 3
I. Checking homework
We begin the lesson by reading selected passages by heart (some of the students read them, and the rest are handed over to the assistants) and answering homework questions. Students listen and complement their friends’ answers.
II. Conversation on issues
So, what new character traits are revealed in Onegin after his break with society?
Why did Pushkin exclude the chapter about Onegin’s journey from the novel and all the readers’ attention, starting from Chapter VII, went to Tatyana?
(“In the anguish of heartfelt remorse,” Onegin leaves the estate, hoping to understand himself, to understand everything that happened. We, the readers, do not know with whom fate brought him together, or about his activities, but we vaguely guess that deep changes have occurred in him. Yes. and Pushkin did not set himself the goal of describing the rebirth of Onegin, since the dream of the ideal of the Russian man was connected with Tatyana. In Chapter VII, she was destined to open the intellectual world of Onegin. Tatyana not only understands him, but also rises above him, giving a precise definition of one. from the fundamental weaknesses of Onegin’s mind).
Is Onegin a victim of society and circumstances?
(No. Having changed his lifestyle, he accepted responsibility for his destiny. However, having abandoned the light, Onegin became not an activist, but a contemplator. The pursuit of pleasure was replaced by solitary reflections.)
What trials demonstrate Onegin's dependence on secular society?
(The test of love and the test of friendship have shown that external freedom does not mean freedom from false prejudices and opinions of society.)
How did Onegin prove himself in the test of love?
(Like a noble and mentally sensitive person. I was able to see in Tatyana sincere feelings, living, not bookish passions. But the hero did not listen to the voice of his heart, but acted judiciously. The “sharp, chilled mind” and the inability to have strong feelings, noted by the Author, became the cause of the drama of failed love.)
How does the test of friendship characterize the hero?
(In the test of friendship (a quarrel and a duel with Lensky), Onegin showed himself to be a “ball of prejudice”, deaf to the voice of his heart and to the feelings of Lensky. His behavior is the usual “secular anger”, and the duel is a consequence of the fear of Zaretsky’s evil tongue, and, ultimately, of society .)
So, what situation did Onegin find himself in?
(He became a prisoner of his old idol - “public opinion”.)
What led the hero to a previously inaccessible world of feelings?
(Tragedy (murder of a friend) and the overwhelming “anguish of heart remorse”)
What spiritual changes did Onegin’s love for Tatyana bring?
III. Summing up
Onegin is not limited to the books he has read. “Lord Byron's portrait” and “a column with a cast-iron doll” (Napoleon), of course, are symbols of Onegin’s faith, but not the gods he worships. Onegin has no gods at all, he is too skeptical to worship and respects himself too much to subordinate his life to someone else's rules. But Tatyana did not understand this and lost faith in love and her hero.
At the same time, Onegin undergoes new stage in spiritual development. He is transformed. There is nothing left in him of the former cold and rational person - he is an ardent lover. For the first time he experiences a real feeling, but it turns into a drama for him.
Homework
1. Make a plan to answer the question: “What are the reasons for the tragic outcome of Eugene Onegin’s life?”
2. Write miniature essays on the following topics:
Is Onegin capable of love?
What awaits Onegin in the future?
3. Messages on topics:
Larina's sisters
Tatyana is Pushkin’s “sweet ideal”.
4. Compare Tatiana’s letter with Onegin’s letter.
Where does A. S. Pushkin begin his novel? What is unique about this beginning? Why does the author describe in detail Onegin’s upbringing, education and pastime? How does Onegin relate to the world around him? What is theater for Onegin? What attracts him to him? What does art (theater) mean for Pushkin?
Who is Onegin? Typical young dandy Smart Quite educated Vaguely feels that one cannot live the way it is accepted in society
What is Onegin's environment like? How does the hero differ from his surroundings (Pushkin, Kaverin, Chaadaev)? Is Onegin's circle of acquaintances random? How does Onegin differ from the general mass of aristocratic youth? What is the hero trying to do after leaving secular society?
Conclusion: Onegin is trying to organize the life of the peasants on the estate, but this does not bring him satisfaction. The old moods continue to possess him. Onegin's extraordinary mind, his freedom-loving sentiments and critical attitude to reality place him high above the crowd of nobles, especially among the landed gentry, and doom him to loneliness in the absence of social activity.
Why did Onegin meet Lensky? How does Pushkin feel about their friendship? What is the reason for this attitude of the author? How does this characterize Onegin? What is the interior of the conversations between Onegin and Lensky? What is the result of these conversations? What in Lensky’s appearance, behavior and feelings suggests his high purpose? What did Onegin and Lensky argue about? What is the reason for the heroes' quarrel? How did the characters appear in it?
Chapter 6 (duel) was written after the news of the execution of the Decembrists. This influenced the fact that Lensky’s death is described in solemn and majestic images, as if the thought of a real tragedy. So slowly, along the slope of the mountains, sparkling in the sun, a block of snow slides. Onegin understands that the feeling of superiority that he was so proud of turned out to be imaginary. “By killing a friend in a duel,” Onegin violated, according to Pushkin, the moral nature of things. Onegin's equanimity turned into a deadly cold of horror at what had happened. Doused with instant cold. Onegin hurries to the young man...
Onegin fails not only the test of friendship, but also the test of love. From the first chapters, Pushkin shows that the hero is deprived of the ability to love, his attitude towards love is entirely rational and feigned. How did Eugene prove himself in the test of love? What led the hero to a previously inaccessible world of feelings? What spiritual changes did Onegin’s love for Tatyana bring?
Here is an essay based on the work of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin “Eugene Onegin”, dedicated to analysis moral quest heroes.
Moral quests of heroes in the novel “Eugene Onegin”
Pushkin worked on the main text of his imperishable novel in verse for more than 7 years; over these years, much has changed in the fate of the author himself, in the social political life countries and abroad. “Cold observations of the mind and sad notes of the heart” , the loss of friends, the tragedy of the Decembrist uprising, the maturation of the author himself - all this was gradually reflected in the novel. The mental life and moral quests of advanced noble youth were reflected in the novel through the narrative of the main characters - Onegin, Tatyana and Lensky.
Evgeny Onegin represents the high society of St. Petersburg in the novel. His fate is the fate of many of his contemporaries, who received a secular upbringing and superficial education under the guidance of foreign tutors. This was a tradition of ancient noble families, determined by the desire to keep up with the West in fashions and opinions. Upbringing and education among the St. Petersburg nobility determined the qualities of the young nobleman Onegin: distance from the people, ignorance national culture, a dormant sense of duty and lack of habit of work.
Possessing an extraordinary mind, Onegin inquisitively peered into the life of the capital, read a lot, thought, and wanted to understand the origins of the prevailing social conditions of life of the Russian nobility.
Onegin’s serious interests pitted him against the aristocracy; he became disillusioned with the empty life of the “golden youth”, with himself, realizing the worthlessness of all eight years spent in this environment.
But, talking about Onegin, Pushkin notes another personality trait determined by both the environment and the era - egoism, bordering on individualism, so typical of the noble class. Speaking about the noble intelligentsia, the author notes: “We all look at Napoleons... We consider everyone as zeros, and ourselves as ones” . The social environment, its material advantages and benefits, historically enshrined in state laws, helped to establish a sense of exclusivity and superiority in gentlemen, and especially in aristocrats. This moral trait of Onegin determined his personal tragedy: he was left alone, unable to appreciate Tatyana’s feelings in time, to be attentive and sensitive to her, and even to Lensky.
The fate of Tatyana, Pushkin’s beloved heroine, is also sad. The Larin family represents a different environment of the nobility in the novel - the local one. These people say “about haymaking, about wine, about the kennel, about my relatives” . Tatyana is a stranger in their midst. But growing up in an environment landed nobility, closest to the people, gave Tatyana those wonderful qualities that made her the “sweet ideal” of the author and many readers: naturalness and sincerity of behavior and manifestations of feelings, love for native nature, to the rituals of the “dear old days”, to the nanny. Folk traditions determined her moral ideas about duty and morality, so Tatyana breaks up with Onegin in the name of duty to her husband. But her suffering is deep and tragic: she dooms herself to life with an unloved person.
The landowner Vladimir Lensky was far from not only the life of the peasants of his village, but also from specific aspects of Russian reality in general. In terms of his costume, hairstyle, habits, and interests, he is further from Russian life than Onegin, who, if only out of boredom, replaced corvée with quitrent. Lensky is a dreamer and a romantic, so much so that Pushkin laughs at him as a landowner, a man, a poet. The historically established desire of the nobility to gain knowledge abroad determined the complete worthlessness of the sublime dreamer, his moral blindness, and inability to correctly evaluate either people or circumstances.
Looking into Lensky's possible future, the poet wrote: “... in the village, happy and horny, would wear a quilted robe, would really know life” , that is, if Lensky had remained alive, his lot would have been the life of an ordinary man.
A.S. Pushkin’s novel “Eugene Onegin” was a work of greatest significance for his contemporaries, as it taught them to live, evaluate and choose correctly life paths, taught morality, reason, identity and citizenship. (V.G. Belinsky).
I hope you liked the essay The moral quest of the heroes in the novel “Eugene Onegin”
Pushkin worked on the main text of the “novel in verse” for more than seven years; during these years, much has changed in the fate and character of the poet himself, in the social and political life of the country and abroad. “Cold observations of the mind and sad notes of the heart,” the loss of friends, the tragedy of the Decembrist uprising, the maturation of the author himself - all this was gradually reflected in the novel. The mental life and moral quests of advanced noble youth were reflected in the novel through the story of main characters- Onegin, Tatiana, Lensky.
Eugene Onegin represents in the novel high society Petersburg, his fate is the fate of many of his contemporaries, who received a secular upbringing and superficial education under the guidance of foreign tutors. It was a tragedy of ancient noble families, caused by the desire to keep up with the West in fashion and judgment. Upbringing and education among the St. Petersburg nobility determined the qualities of the young nobleman Onegin: distance from the people, ignorance of national culture, a dormant sense of duty and lack of habit of work. Thus he entered the life of “the world” and was received favorably, “the world decided that he was smart and very nice.”
With his extraordinary mind, Onegin peered inquisitively into the life of the capital, he read a lot, reflected, wanted to understand the origins of the prevailing social conditions of life of the Russian nobility and his place in noble society. Byron and Napoleon attract his attention, he carefully reads periodical literature (remember the notes in the margins of books and magazines in his village library, which helped Tatyana understand Onegin).
Onegin’s serious interests pitted him against the main part of the aristocracy; he became disillusioned with the empty life of the “golden youth”, with himself, realizing the worthlessness of all eight years spent in this environment. Onegin’s quest “reflected the century,” the time when the social environment of the best part of the Russian aristocracy was historically driven by the search for ways that would lead to fundamental changes in socio-political and intellectual life.
But, talking about Onegin, Pushkin notes another personality trait determined by both the environment and the era - egoism, so typical of the noble class. Speaking about the noble intelligentsia, the author notes: “We all look to Napoleons... We consider everyone to be zeros, and ourselves to be ones.” The social environment, its material advantages and benefits, historically enshrined in state laws, helped to establish a sense of exclusivity and superiority in gentlemen, especially in aristocrats. This moral trait of Onegin caused his personal tragedy; he was left alone, unable to be attentive and sensitive to Tatyana, and then to Lensky in time. The result is sad: “Having lived without a goal, without work until the age of 26, he, thank God, did not want to try, but he completely lost interest in life.”
The fate of Tatyana, Pushkin’s beloved heroine, is also sad. The Larin family represents a different environment of the nobility in the novel - the local one. These people talk “about haymaking, about wine, about the kennel, about their relatives.” Tatyana is a stranger in their midst. This happened because “she was gifted from heaven with a mind and a living will, and a wayward head, and a fiery and tender heart.” Clarissa, Julia, Delphine, heroines French novels, their love, their misfortunes became an integral feature of Tatyana’s ideas about life.
But her upbringing among the local nobility, who were closest to the people, gave Tatyana those wonderful qualities that made her the “sweet ideal” of the author and many readers: naturalness and sincerity of behavior and expression of feelings, love for her native nature, for the “rites of dear old times” , to the nanny. Folk traditions determined her ideas about duty and morality, so Tatyana breaks up with Onegin in the name of duty to her husband. But her suffering is deep and tragic: she dooms herself to life with an unloved person.
The story about the paths of moral quest that the noble youth followed would be incomplete without the fate of Lensky, the neighbor of the Larins and Onegin on the estate. The landowner Vladimir Lensky was far from not only the life of the peasants of his village, but also from knowledge of any specific aspects of Russian reality in general. In terms of his costume, hairstyle, habits, and interests, he is further from Russian life than Onegin, who at least “out of boredom” replaced corvée with quitrent. Lensky is such a dreamer and romantic that Pushkin, sympathizing with him as a poet, laughs at him as a landowner, a lover, a man. The historically established desire of the nobility to acquire knowledge abroad determined the complete worthlessness of the sublime dreamer, his moral blindness, and inability to correctly evaluate either people or circumstances.
Looking into Lensky's possible future, the poet wrote: “In the village, happy and horned, would wear a quilted robe, would really know life.” That is, if Lensky had remained alive, his lot would have been the life of an ordinary man, and such a fate for a poet is the most terrible, therefore Pushkin prefers that his hero die young and not have wasted his romanticism.
A. S. Pushkin’s novel “Eugene Onegin” was a work of greatest significance for his contemporaries, as he taught how to live, correctly evaluate and choose life paths, taught morality, reason, goodness, originality and citizenship. “By reading Pushkin, you can perfectly educate a person within yourself” (V. G. Belinsky).
Pushkin worked on the main text of the novel in verse for more than seven years; over these years, much has changed in the fate of the author himself, in socio-political life of the country and abroad. “Cold observations of the mind and sad notes of the heart,” the loss of friends, the tragedy of the Decembrist uprising, the maturation of the author himself - all this was gradually reflected in the novel. The mental life and moral quests of advanced noble youth were reflected in the novel through the narrative of the main characters - Onegin, Tatyana, Lensky.
Evgeny Onegin represents the high society of St. Petersburg in the novel, his fate is the fate of many of his contemporaries, who received a secular upbringing and superficial education under the guidance of foreign tutors. This was a tradition of ancient noble families, determined by the desire to keep up with the West in fashions and opinions. Upbringing and education among the St. Petersburg nobility determined the qualities of the young nobleman Onegin (a dormant sense of duty and lack of habit of work). Thus he entered the life of the world and was received favorably, “the world decided that he was smart and very nice.”
Possessing an extraordinary mind, Onegin inquisitively peered into the life of the capital, read a lot, thought, and wanted to understand the origins of the prevailing social conditions of life. Byron and Napoleon attract his attention, he reads books and magazines (remember the notes in the margins of his books and magazines in Onegin’s library).
Onegin’s serious interests pitted him against the aristocracy; he became disillusioned with the empty life of the “golden youth”, with himself, realizing the worthlessness of all eight years spent in this environment. Onegin’s quest reflected a time when the search for ways that would lead to fundamental changes in socio-political and intellectual life was historically determined.
But, talking about Onegin, Pushkin notes another personality trait determined by both the environment and the era - egoism, bordering on individualism, so typical of the noble class. Speaking about the noble intelligentsia, the author notes: “We all look to Napoleons... We consider everyone to be zeros, and ourselves to be ones.” This moral trait of Onegin determined his personal tragedy: he was left alone, unable to appreciate Tatyana’s feelings in time, to be attentive and sensitive to her, and then to Lensky. The result is sad: “Having lived without a goal, without work until the age of 26, he, thank God, did not want to try, but he completely lost interest in life.”
The fate of Tatyana, Pushkin’s beloved heroine, is also sad. The Larin family represents another environment of the nobility in the novel - the local one. These people talk “about haymaking, about wine, about the kennel, about their relatives.” Tatyana is a stranger in their world. This happened because “she was gifted from heaven with a mind and a living will, and a wayward head, and a fiery and tender heart.” Clarissa, Julia, Delphine are the heroines of French novels, their love, their misfortunes became an integral part of Tatyana’s ideas about life.
But her upbringing among the landed nobility gave Tatyana those wonderful qualities that made her the “sweet ideal” of the author and many readers: naturalness and sincerity of behavior and expression of feelings, love for her native nature, for the rituals of the “dear old days,” for her nanny. Folk traditions determined her moral ideas about duty and morality, so Tatyana breaks up with Onegin in the name of duty to her husband. But her suffering is deep and tragic: she dooms herself to life with an unloved person.
The story about the paths of moral quest that the noble youth followed would not be complete without considering the fate of Lensky, the neighbor of the Larins and Onegin on the estate. The landowner Vladimir Lensky was far from only the life of the peasants of his village of Krasnogory, but also from specific aspects of Russian reality in general. In terms of his costume, hairstyle, habits, and interests, he is further from Russian life than Onegin, who, if only out of boredom, replaced corvée with quitrent. Lensky, on the other hand, is a romantic dreamer, so much so that he ceases to see the difference between real life and the life he invented in his romantic poems.
Looking into Lensky's possible future, the poet wrote: "... in the village, happy and horned, would wear a quilted robe, would really know life." That is, if Lensky had remained alive, his lot might have been the life of an ordinary man.
Pushkin's novel was a work of greatest significance for his contemporaries, as he taught how to live, correctly evaluate and choose life paths, taught morality, reason, identity and citizenship.
The final events of the novel involve not only the completion of the personal relationship between Onegin and Tatyana. Here the author's ideal of a rebellious personality, always seeking spiritual daring, incapable of half-measures and compromises, was realized. The more painful the trials, the more tragic the situation, the brighter the energy of spiritual requests flares up. But it is precisely in them that the prospect of further search lies.
In this sense, “Eugene Onegin” anticipated all the later discoveries of the Russian novel: Lermontov, Goncharov, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy.