Grushnitsky is the hero of the chapter "Princess Mary". He introduces himself to the reader as a cadet who, while in the Caucasian waters, passes himself off as an officer demoted to the ranks of a soldier. Grushnitsky wants to play the role of a special person - he stubbornly dresses in an old soldier's overcoat, diligently plays the role of a sufferer who was unfairly removed from the first echelon of the military.
Grushnitsky was initially involved as one of the characters in the love triangle "Grushnitsky - Mary - Pechorin", playing the role of the first lover, but then relegated to the level of an unlucky rival. The matter could not have happened without Pechorin's game - he told the girl about the emptiness of his opponent, his insignificance, as a result of which Mary ceases to see him as a welcome guest, and considers him an annoying interlocutor.
As for character and personal qualities, Grushnitsky is a narcissist and not that smart character. He chooses for himself a mask of tragic mystery, living by the fashionable habits and ideas of his contemporaries. Grushnitsky is a weak character, his game is easy to expose, as Pechorin proved. The vain hero cannot accept defeat and takes revenge on the offender by becoming close to a dubious company and spreading dirty rumors about his opponent. The great meanness of this character is evidenced by the act of him and his gang on the eve of the duel: they leave Pechorin’s pistol unloaded and hope to carry out their vile plan. Finale: Grushnitsky is killed, Princess Mary experiences a spiritual drama, Pechorin does not understand whether this is victory or defeat.
Grushnitsky is a minor character in the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov "Hero of Our Time". The article provides information about the character from the work, a quotation description.
Full name
Not mentioned.
I turn around: Grushnitsky! We hugged.
Most likely, due to a slightly contemptuous attitude towards him:
he does not know people and their weak strings, because his whole life he has been focused on himself. His goal is to become the hero of a novel.
“You’re stupid,” I wanted to answer him, but I resisted and just shrugged.
Age
About 20 years.
he looks like he might be twenty-five years old, although he is hardly twenty-one.
Relation to Pechorin
Negative:
I understood him, and he doesn’t love me for this, although outwardly we are on the most friendly terms.
The end is hostile. Grushnitsky was killed by Pechorin in a duel.
I shot... When the smoke cleared, Grushnitsky was not on the site. Only the ashes still curled in a light column on the edge of the cliff.
Grushnitsky's appearance
He has only been in the service for a year, and wears, out of a special kind of dandyism, a thick soldier’s overcoat. He has a soldier's cross of St. George. He is well built, dark and black-haired; he looks like he might be twenty-five years old, although he is hardly twenty-one. He throws his head back when he speaks and constantly twirls his mustache with his left hand, because he leans on a crutch with his right.
Social status
At first a cadet
Grushnitsky - cadet.
I bet she doesn't know you're a cadet
Subsequently becomes an officer.
Grushnitsky came and threw himself on my neck: he was promoted to officer
Half an hour before the ball, Grushnitsky appeared to me in the full radiance of an army infantry uniform.
Grushnitsky comes from a not very rich family in the outback. Has a good education and upbringing
on the eve of leaving his father's village
answered me loudly in French
you know, it’s somehow awkward to ask to come into the house, although it’s common here
“You talk about a pretty woman like an English horse,” Grushnitsky said indignantly.
I’m afraid that the princess and I will have to start a mazurka - I don’t know almost a single figure...
Further fate
Killed in a duel.
Going down the path, I noticed the bloody corpse of Grushnitsky between the crevices of the rocks.
Personality of Grushnitsky
Grushnitsky is vain, dreams of becoming the hero of a novel
he does not know people and their weak strings, because his whole life he has been focused on himself.
he is one of those people... Making an effect is their pleasure
His arrival in the Caucasus is also a consequence of his romantic fanaticism
His goal is to become the hero of a novel. He tried so often to convince others that he was a being not created for the world, doomed to some kind of secret suffering, that he himself was almost convinced of it. That's why he wears his thick soldier's overcoat so proudly
wears, with a special kind of dandyism, a thick soldier's overcoat
I could never argue with him. He doesn't respond to your objections, he doesn't listen to you. As soon as you stop, he begins a long tirade, apparently having some connection with what you said, but which in fact is only a continuation of his own speech
Grushnitsky speaks pretentiously and importantly
under this thick gray overcoat beat a passionate and noble heart (about myself)
Grushnitsky likes to play himself as the greatest victim:
However, in those moments when he casts off his tragic mantle, Grushnitsky is quite nice
Grushnitsky managed to take a dramatic pose with the help of a crutch and answered me loudly
My soldier's overcoat is like a seal of rejection. The participation she excites is as heavy as alms
Yes, a soldier’s overcoat makes you a hero and a sufferer in the eyes of every sensitive young lady
Grushnitsky has absolutely no understanding of relationships and other people
You are a fool! - he said to Grushnitsky quite loudly..."
“You’re a fool, brother,” he said, “a vulgar fool!”
Grushnitsky, tugging at my hand, threw one of those dimly tender glances at her that have so little effect on women.
I know you are experienced in these things, you know women better than me... Women! women! who will understand them?.. (Grushnitsky about himself)
Grushnitsky hung a saber and a couple of pistols on top of his soldier’s overcoat: he was quite funny in this heroic attire
Grushnitsky is no stranger to nobility:
I will never agree! - said Grushnitsky (about an unfair duel)
only Grushnitsky seems to be more noble than his comrades. How do you think?
He blushed; he was ashamed to kill an unarmed man
But at the same time, weakness of character, pride and cowardice. For this reason, he could not help but shoot at Pechorin under pressure from his second
but pride and weakness of character had to triumph
his pride is especially offended
Grushnitsky smiled smugly
Self-satisfaction and at the same time some uncertainty were depicted on his face; his festive appearance, his proud gait would make me laugh if it were in accordance with my intentions
Oh self-love! you are the lever with which Archimedes wanted to lift the globe! (Pechorin about Grushnitsky)
Grushnitsky is reputed to be an excellent brave man; I saw him in action: he waves his sword, shouts and rushes forward, closing his eyes. This is not Russian courage!..
Coward! - answered the captain (about Grushnitsky)
About the injury
Grushnitsky went for treatment due to a leg wound.
I met him in the active detachment. He was wounded by a bullet in the leg and went to the waters a week before me
At that moment Grushnitsky dropped his glass on the sand and tried to bend down to pick it up: his bad leg was preventing him. Poor thing! how he managed to lean on a crutch, and all in vain. His expressive face really depicted suffering
made such a terrible grimace when he stepped on his shot leg
his leg suddenly recovered: he barely limps
Who is Grushnitsky?
In the novel “Hero of Our Time,” Grushnitsky appears before us in the chapter “Princess Mary.” This is a cadet who served with Pechorin and, like him, ended up undergoing treatment on the waters. We immediately learn that Grushnitsky “wears, out of a special kind of dapperness, a thick soldier’s overcoat.” This overcoat is his mask, a “tragic mantle,” which helps him appear in the eyes of women as a romantic hero, demoted to soldier for a duel. Pechorin, who himself more than once played one role or another in order to capture the lady’s heart, “understood him,” and Grushnitsky does not love him for this. And Pechorin doesn’t like him either. He feels that this young man is to some extent his competitor and that “someday they will collide on a narrow road.” The characterization of Grushnitsky in the novel “A Hero of Our Time” is mainly given by Pechorin. From his journal we learn what this character has under his mask.
Grushnitsky's character traits
"Good properties"
We must give Pechorin his due; he evaluates Grushnitsky objectively, seeing not only his negative traits, but also his “good qualities.”
When Grushnitsky stops playing his role, “he is quite sweet and funny” in his interactions with women, has a “rather sharp tongue” and is known as a brave man (although he rushes into battle with his eyes closed). And in seeking the love of Princess Mary, he does not play with her feelings, as it will look in the performance of Pechorin, but just wants to rise in the eyes of others.
Posturing
However, in general, the image of Grushnitsky in the novel “A Hero of Our Time” is negative. His main negative quality can be called posing. His main pleasure is to “produce an effect.” He says and does almost nothing sincerely, from the heart. He has pompous phrases ready for all occasions. He does not strive to find beauty in life, but invents and depicts “extraordinary feelings, sublime passions and exceptional suffering.” So Grushnitsky didn’t really fall in love with Princess Mary - he was flattered by her attention, and when it disappeared, he simply got angry and began spreading dirty rumors about the girl.
Narcissism
Grushnitsky is so in love with himself that he does not see the danger posed by Pechorin. In contrast, “he doesn’t know people and their subtle strings,” because all his life he was concerned only with himself. Grushnitsky does not know how to listen to others, does not respond to objections in a dispute, instead uttering long tirades. He is confident in his irresistibility and does not consider Pechorin a rival. It is not surprising that Pechorin manages to recapture the princess from him quite easily.
meanness
By the end of the chapter, we learn that Grushnitsky, who at first seemed so sweet and harmless, is capable of meanness. This will be shown by the duel between Pechorin and Grushnitsky. Together with his company, he leaves his opponent's pistol unloaded. Only thanks to chance does Pechorin manage to uncover this insidious plan. Injured pride does not allow Grushnitsky to apologize for slandering Princess Mary even in the face of death.
Grushnitsky is a reflection of Pechorin
In the image of Grushnitsky one can discern all the features that are inherent in Pechorin, and this is precisely the meaning of this character. Pechorin looks at himself as if from the outside, and he does not like his own reflection. After all, he, like Grushnitsky, initially has no evil intentions, plays with people, but out of boredom, and not from a desire to make them unhappy. Nevertheless, his selfishness, like Grushnitsky’s narcissism, leads to tragic consequences. Is this why he does not feel triumph when he sees the bloody body of a colleague between the rocks? It's as if he himself is lying there.
Work test
Throughout the entire story, only the image of Pechorin lasts until the very end. The supporting characters were given by the author specifically to highlight various facets of the character of the main character. This is their main compositional role. Despite this, they are interesting to the reader in themselves, since they reflect the social life of people, the foundations, and morals of society.
Grushnitsky appears as such a character in the work.
Belinsky assures that this image denotes a whole category of people of this type. According to Lermontov, they wear on their faces a fashionable mask of a person disappointed in life. Pechorin himself accurately characterizes Grushnitsky, saying that he is simply a poser trying to pass himself off as a romantic hero. He expresses himself in pathetic phrases, surrounds himself with sublime feelings, exceptional passions and even suffering. Grushnitsky’s main goal is to produce a certain effect on society. In fact, his soul is devoid of any poetry; this hero emanates self-confidence, selfishness, and complacency a mile away. He never listens to his interlocutor, does not enter into dialogue with him, because he is intoxicated only with his speech, he is only interested in himself, and not other people.
However, Grushnitsky is not just a person in love with himself, he is capable of baseness and meanness. It is he who becomes the source of gossip about Pechorin and Mary. He agrees to a duel with a completely unarmed opponent. In a duel, all the lowest character traits of this character are revealed.
Pechorin’s personality stands out especially clearly against the background of young people, to whom Grushnitsky belongs.
In the story “Princess Mary” Grushnitsky is shown as a mediocrity, a person who loves pathos and loud words. This character has prepared pompous phrases for any situation, which he drapes and decorates with some special feelings, romantic suffering, passions. Thus, Grushnitsky plays a fashionable youthful role - a hero disappointed in himself and in life. Producing the desired effect is his main goal, his main pleasure. He deliberately wears a shabby soldier’s overcoat and tries to convincingly play the role of a sufferer who has been demoted for some bold but daring act. But this is only a parody of Pechorin, which is why Grushnitsky hates him so much. He himself is not very smart, and therefore cannot understand, see how much Pechorin is taller than him. Grushnitsky is in a state of love, he likes Princess Mary. She, too, initially pays special attention to him, but soon falls in love with Pechorin. The forgotten Grushnitsky is angry, jealous, his injured pride makes him dangerous. He gathers a group to mock Mary. These same people deliberately do not load Pechorin’s pistol when he challenges Grushnitsky to a duel, accusing him of slander. This outright meanness amazes the main character. Pechorin cannot forgive this, and, having reloaded the pistol, kills Grushnitsky.
Grushnitsky is the main character of the novel “Hero of Our Time” by M.Yu. Lermontov, written by the author in 1838-1840. This is a young man, a cadet, who at twenty-one has already been awarded the St. George Cross. Grushnitsky is a funny guy, sometimes too trusting, he is easily confused by false ideas about honor and dignity. But in death he achieves true exclusivity. It’s not for nothing that I. Annensky, in his article “Lermontov’s Humor,” calls his death beautiful. Grushnitsky shouted heated phrases at his opponent, standing at gunpoint, sincerely believing at that moment that Pyatigorsk was the whole world in which the two of them were cramped and had no place. Undoubtedly, with age, this hero would get mad, become more flexible, wiser, but his time is limited by being on leave due to injury.
Pechorin shows us that Grushnitsky is overly fanatical in terms of romance. And yet, this fanaticism becomes even more obvious in the presence of Pechorin. This happens because the young man is flattered by the attention of a socialite from St. Petersburg, wants to become like him, imitate him, but, in fact, he only copies the mask. Grushnitsky is like a participant in a masquerade organized by Pechorin. It was in this masquerade that the young man had the opportunity to play a certain role in society for the first and last time.