Lesson on chapter 2 “Princess Mary” from “Pechorin’s Journal”.

Topic: Mary and Pechorin. Relationship history.

Teacher's opening speech.

The story “Princess Mary” is perceived as the main story in the novel.

Why do you think?

(here Pechorin’s character is revealed to the fullest)

In relationships with which characters can we trace Pechorin’s character?

Introduction to the topic.

Let's see how the relationship between Princess Mary and Pechorin develops

Where do these characters first meet?

(Pechorin and Princess Mary meet for the first time in Pyatigorsk, where Pechorin arrives after a military mission. Princess Mary and her mother are treated at the waters in Pyatigorsk).

Who tells Pechorin about Princess Mary? (Grushnitsky)

What interests Pechorin in Mary’s appearance? (her teeth)

What attitude does this interest show? (Pechorin treats a woman like a horse)

In what chapter have we already noticed such an attitude? (In the chapter “Bela”, when Pechorin exchanged a horse for a girl.)

Why does Pechorin become interested in Mary? (feelings of envy and excitement make him get carried away with the princess)

How Pechorin perceives the relationship between Grushnitsky and Mary, confirm with words from the text. (For Pechorin, their relationship is a game; he does not take them seriously)

“There is a connection! - I shouted in admiration, - we will worry about the denouement of this comedy. Clearly fate is making sure that I don’t get bored.”

Working with text

How is Pechorin going to win Mary? (find confirmation in the text)

“If you want, I will introduce you...

- Have mercy! - I said, clasping my hands, - do they represent heroes? They meet in no other way than by saving their beloved from certain death...”

(Pechorin is going to become a hero for Mary, he will save her at the first opportunity)

How does Mary's attitude towards Pechorin change?

Hatred

“Her gaze, falling on me, expressed annoyance, trying to express indifference...”

“The princess absolutely hates me”

“Yesterday I met her in Chelakhov’s store; she sold a wonderful Persian carpet. The princess begged her mother not to skimp: this carpet would decorate her office so much!.. I gave forty extra rubles and bought it; for this I was rewarded with a look of the most delightful fury.”

Irritability

“She says that you have an impudent look, that you probably have the highest opinion of yourself.”

“Who is this gentleman who has such an unpleasant, hard look? he was with you then...”

“I immediately approached the princess, inviting her to waltz, taking advantage of the freedom of local customs, which allow me to dance with unfamiliar ladies.

“She could hardly force herself not to smile and hide her triumph.”

“I saw that she was ready to faint from fear and indignation.

I approached the drunken gentleman, took him quite firmly by the hand and, looking intently into his eyes, asked him to leave - because, I added, the princess had long ago promised to dance the mazurka with me.

- Well, there’s nothing to do!.. another time! - he said, laughing, and retired to his ashamed comrades, who immediately took him into another room.

I was rewarded with a deep, wonderful look."

Now Pechorin is a noble hero of the novel for Mary, Pechorin’s goal has been achieved.

“Her face blossomed; she joked very nicely; her conversation was sharp, without pretense of sharpness, lively and free; her remarks are sometimes deep... I made her feel with a very confusing phrase that I have liked her for a long time. She tilted her head and blushed slightly."

Love

“All these days I have never deviated from my system. The princess begins to like my conversation; I told her some of the strange incidents of my life, and she begins to see in me an extraordinary person.”

In order to finally win a woman’s heart, Pechorin reveals the secrets of his spoiled character. So he evokes a feeling of pity and compassion in the princess.

Let's make a table for the episode of June 3rd. Mary and Pechorin find themselves on a narrow path leading to Mount Mashuk.

“Yes, this has been my lot since childhood. Everyone read on my face signs of bad feelings that were not there; but they were anticipated - and they were born. I was modest - I was accused of guile: I became secretive. I felt good and evil deeply; no one caressed me, everyone insulted me: I became vindictive; I was gloomy, - other children were cheerful and talkative; I felt superior to them; they put me below. I became envious. I was ready to love the whole world, but no one understood me: and I learned to hate. My colorless youth passed in a struggle with myself and the world; Fearing ridicule, I buried my best feelings in the depths of my heart: they died there. I told the truth - they didn’t believe me: I began to deceive;”

Negative character traits.

Natural qualities		The consequence is the appearance of negative qualities
	Accused of deceit	Stealth
Felt good and evil	Lack of affection, insults	Grudge
Felt superior to others	They put it below	Envy
I was ready to love the whole world	Nobody understood	Hatred
spoke the truth	They didn't believe	Deceit

Compassion

“At that moment I met her eyes: tears were running in them; her hand, leaning on mine, trembled; cheeks were burning; she felt sorry for me! Compassion, a feeling that all women so easily submit to, let its claws into her inexperienced heart. During the entire walk she was absent-minded and did not flirt with anyone - and this is a great sign!”

How does Pechorin's attitude towards Mary change?

(At first he is passionate, passionate, for him the desire to win Mary’s heart is a game)

How do you understand the phrase: “She is dissatisfied with herself: she accuses herself of being cold... oh, this is the first, main triumph! Tomorrow she will want to reward me. I already know all this by heart - that’s what’s boring!”

Summing up

Pechorin deftly and cunningly moves towards his goal, he is confident in himself, and while he strives to win the heart of Princess Mary, his passion fills life with meaning. But as soon as he achieves the love of the young princess, he becomes bored again.

Homework: analyze Pechorin’s monologue

“Why am I bothering? Out of envy of Grushnitsky? Poor thing, he doesn't deserve her at all. Or is it a consequence of that nasty but invincible feeling that makes us destroy the sweet delusions of our neighbor, in order to have the petty pleasure of telling him, when he asks in despair what he should believe: “My friend, the same thing happened to me, and you you see, however, I have lunch, dinner and sleep peacefully and, I hope, I will be able to die without screaming and tears!

But there is immense pleasure in possessing a young, barely blossoming soul! She is like a flower whose best fragrance evaporates towards the first ray of the sun; you need to pick it up at this moment and, after breathing it to your heart’s content, throw it on the road: maybe someone will pick it up! I feel this insatiable greed within me, devouring everything that comes my way; I look at the sufferings and joys of others only in relation to myself, as food that supports my spiritual strength. I myself am no longer capable of going mad under the influence of passion; My ambition was suppressed by circumstances, but it manifested itself in a different form, for ambition is nothing more than a thirst for power, and my first pleasure is to subordinate to my will everything that surrounds me; to arouse feelings of love, devotion and fear - isn’t this the first sign and the greatest triumph of power? To be the cause of suffering and joy for someone, without having any positive right to do so - isn’t this the sweetest food of our pride? What is happiness? Intense pride. If I considered myself better, more powerful than everyone else in the world, I would be happy; If everyone loved me, I would find endless sources of love in myself.”

Answer the questions:

Why does Pechorin seek the love of Princess Mary?

What supports Pechorin’s spiritual strength?

What is Pechorin's first pleasure?

Why is Pechorin happy?

"Hero of Our Time" relationship between Pechorin and Mary and received the best answer

Answer from Oksana Prikhodko[expert]
In the novel “Hero of Our Time,” Lermontov set himself the task of comprehensively and multifacetedly revealing the personality of his contemporary, showing a portrait of a “hero of our time,” “composed of our entire generation, in their full development,” as the author said in the preface to the novel. All storylines are reduced to the central image: Pechorin and Grushnitsky, Pechorin and Werner, Pechorin and Vulich, Pechorin and Maxim Maksimych, Pechorin and the highlanders, Pechorin and the smugglers, Pechorin and the “water society”. At the same time, love plots present in almost every part of the novel represent a special line. After all, one of the main features of a contemporary, according to Lermontov, is “premature old age of the soul,” in which “... some kind of secret cold reigns in the soul, / When fire boils in the blood.” Such is Pechorin: he is not capable of loving selflessly and devotedly, selfishness destroys his best and kindest feelings. This is precisely what is manifested in his relationships with all the heroines of the novel - Bela, Vera and, of course, Princess Mary.
The story of how Pechorin achieves the favor and love of this girl forms the plot basis of the part “Princess Mary”. It is here that, with deep psychologism, Lermontov shows the secret motives of the actions of Pechorin, who always strives to rule in everything, preserving his own freedom. He makes people into toys in his hands, forcing them to play by his own rules. And the result is broken hearts, suffering and death of those who met on his path. He really is like “the executioner in the fifth act of a tragedy.” This is precisely his role in Mary’s fate. A girl who, like Pechorin, belongs to high society, Princess Mary has absorbed much of the morals and customs of her environment since childhood. She is beautiful, proud, unapproachable, but at the same time she loves worship and attention to herself. At times, she seems spoiled and capricious, and therefore the plan developed by Pechorin to “seduce” her does not at first evoke strong condemnation from the reader.
But we also notice other qualities of Mary, hiding behind the appearance of a social beauty. She is attentive to Grushnitsky, whom she considers a poor, suffering young man. She cannot stand the ostentatious bragging and vulgarity of the officers who make up the “water society”. Princess Mary shows a strong character when Pechorin begins to carry out his “plan” to win her heart. But here’s the problem - Pechorin admits that he doesn’t like “women with character.” He does everything to break them, to conquer them. And, unfortunately, Mary fell victim to him, like others. Is she guilty of this? In order to understand this, you need to look at what Pechorin “plays” to win her favor. The key scene is Pechorin’s conversation with Mary on a walk near the sinkhole. “Taking on a deeply moved look,” the hero “confesses” to the inexperienced girl. He tells her about how everyone saw vices in him since childhood, and as a result he became a “moral cripple.” Of course, there is a grain of truth in these words. But Pechorin’s main task is to evoke the girl’s sympathy. And indeed, her kind soul was touched by these stories, and as a result, she fell in love with Pechorin for his “suffering.” And this feeling turned out to be deep and serious, without the edge of coquetry and narcissism. And Pechorin - he achieved his goal: “...After all, there is immense pleasure in possessing a young, barely blossoming soul! “- the hero cynically remarks. The last scene of the explanation between Pechorin and Mary evokes keen sympathy for the unfortunate girl. Even Pechorin himself “felt sorry for her.” But the verdict is merciless, the cards are revealed: the hero declares that he only laughed at her. And the princess can only suffer and hate him, and the reader can think about how cruel a person can be, consumed by selfishness and the desire to achieve his goals, no matter what.

Reply from BlankIC[active]
Pechorin and Mary met in Pyatigorsk, where the hero was after another completed military mission, and the young girl was relaxing with her mother. Both Pechorin and Mary had mutual acquaintances, hung around in “high society,” but were in no hurry to get to know each other. They stirred up interest and both played their game.
One day they met: it happened at one of the balls. Pechorin invited the girl to dance and already knew how their acquaintance would end. He had his own proven system - he met people and tried in every possible way to make people fall in love with him, this brought unprecedented pleasure, a feeling of victory and self-satisfaction.
Pechorin knew that today he was “running his tail” after the lady, and tomorrow she would begin to dodge, and this knowledge even made him a little bored.
And he achieved his goal... Mary was madly in love with the hero, poor thing! Why then are all these games needed?
There are several reasons for this. Firstly, this is entertainment and new acquaintance brings new emotions. Pechorin liked to torture Mary; he himself admitted that he considered himself a vampire stealing a young girl’s soul.
And secondly, Pechorin begins to actively court Princess Mary, so that people who were constantly in that “high society” would forget his recent relationship with the married lady Vera.
Grushnitsky is also in love with Mary; he shows her attention in every possible way. But Pechorin is not worried about the presence of a rival; on the contrary, he is amused by this whole existing love triangle. After Grushnitsky spread rumors in society about Princess Mary and Pechorin, he challenged him to a duel, where he killed Grushnitsky’s enemy.
Mary was stunned by such an act and thought that it was Pechorin who protected her from slander and admired his nobility. She was still tormented by love and was waiting for mutual confessions, but Pechorin admitted to her that their relationship was a game and he was simply mocking her feelings.
Pechorin never intended to marry Mary. After his words, she hated him. For the duel, Pechorin was sent to serve in fortress N and they parted forever.
In parting, Mary only said that she hated Pechorin.
Perhaps if she chose Grushnitsky, who was sincerely in love with her, then she would be happy now. But they say correctly that love gives us wings, but forever deprives us of reason and vision.

The novel “A Hero of Our Time” shows a portrait of not one person, but an entire generation, made up of vices. The main role is assigned to Pechorin, but it is the other characters in the novel with whom he had to intersect in life that allow us to better understand the inner world of this person, the depth of his soul.

The relationship between Pechorin and Princess Mary is one of the brightest storylines of the novel. They began casually, ending quickly and tragically. Once again, showing Pechorin as a man with a callous soul and a cold heart.

Acquaintance

The first meeting of Pechorin and Princess Mary took place in Pyatigorsk, where Grigory was sent after completing another military mission. The princess and her mother underwent treatment with the mineral waters of Pyatigorsk.

The princess and Pechorin constantly moved in secular society. A common circle of friends brought them together at one of the meetings. Grigory stirred up interest in his person, deliberately teasing the girl, ignoring her presence. He saw that she paid attention to him, but Pechorin was much more interested in watching how she would behave next. He knew women very well and could calculate several steps ahead how the acquaintance would end.

He took the first step. Pechorin invited Mary to dance, and then everything had to go according to the scenario he had developed. It gave him unprecedented pleasure to lure his next victim, allowing her to get carried away. The girls fell in love with the handsome military man, but quickly got bored and he, pleased with himself, with a feeling of complete self-satisfaction, put another tick on his record of love affairs, happily forgetting about them.

Love

Mary truly fell in love. The girl did not understand that the toy was in his hands. Part of the insidious heartthrob's plan. Pechorin benefited from meeting her. New emotions, sensations, a reason to distract the public from an affair with Vera, a married woman. He loved Vera, but they could not be together. Another reason to hit on Mary, to make Grushnitsky jealous. He was truly in love with the girl, but his feelings remained unanswered. Mary did not love him and was unlikely to love him. In the current love triangle, he is clearly superfluous. In retaliation for unrequited feelings, Grushnitsky spread dirty rumors about the affair between Pechorin and Mary, ruining her reputation. He soon paid for his vile act. Pechorin challenged him to a duel, where the bullet reached its target, killing the liar outright.

Final

After what happened, Mary began to love Pechorin even more. She believed that his action was noble. After all, he defended her honor, making it clear that she had been slandered. The girl was waiting for confessions from Gregory, tormented by love and the feelings that gripped her. Instead, he hears the bitter truth that he never loved her and certainly had no intention of marrying her. He achieved his goal by breaking the heart of another victim of his love spells. She hated him. The last phrase heard from her was

“...I hate you...”

Once again, Pechorin acted cruelly towards loved ones, stepping over their feelings and trampling on love.

"PRINCESS MARY"

In the stories “Bela”, “Maksim Maksimych” and “Taman” Pechorin is in the closest contact with ordinary people and “natural” people - the mountaineers. And no matter how these people differ from each other - “quiet” or “predatory” - they are united by the fact that in relation to Pechorin they are a different social circle. Pechorin turns out to be a stranger everywhere, an alien from another world, bringing confusion, discord and suffering, violating the natural, traditional order of life, the course of its events.

Pechorin belonged to the highest society in St. Petersburg. His youth was spent in pleasures that could be obtained for money, and he soon became disgusted with them. Secular life with its seductions is also boring. He began to read, study, and very soon became convinced that in the society that raised him, science could not give a person either happiness or fame, in which he saw the meaning of existence. Life became devalued in his eyes, and he was overcome by boredom and melancholy - the faithful companions of disappointment.

From this moment on, Pechorin returns to an environment socially close to him. Some connections are even restored here: Grushnitsky is an old friend, Princess Ligovskaya (he tells Pechorin that she knew his mother and was friends with his aunts).

What has changed in his relationship with others?

He is, more than ever, alien and restless. He is drawn to communicating with people, he is still full of curiosity, but at the same time ironic, mocking and prickly. After hugging Grushnitsky, he tells such a story about him and with such intonation that the reader does not have any respect for him. At the decisive dramatic moment, no one is left next to Pechorin, only Werner is able to respond.

In this story, Pechorin is as active and active as before.

Are his actions in the new story any different from those described in the first part?

The short story “Princess Mary” reveals the collision of good and evil in the image of Pechorin and his two principles - the high “demonic” and the ordinary, “earthly”. Two layers are also outlined in the hero’s self-awareness. The “higher principle,” demonic, is captured by other characters. Thus, in Vera’s monologue, the “program” of Pechorin’s character is visible, and in it Pechorin, not by chance, resembles Lermontov’s Demon. But if in the poem “The Demon” the struggle between good and evil is titanic in nature, then in the novel, in the environment of the “water society”, the conflict on the external plane becomes smaller, and the struggle itself captures insignificant characters and sinks to the level of offended petty pride.

In the first part, Pechorin behaved like a willful egoist, a self-lover, but his actions were “big” and could be explained by passion, love, desire for communication, closeness with people. In “Princess Mary” many of his actions are “petty”. He eavesdrops, spies, draws listeners away from the princess in order to annoy her; he buys up a carpet before her eyes and leads his horse, covered with this carpet, past her windows. And what is all this for? After all, he doesn’t love Mary, he’s not going to seduce her, which means he has nothing to share with Grushnitsky.

So what is the purpose of his action?

In an entry dated June 3, Pechorin writes about the desire to assert his will, to subordinate other people and circumstances to it.

This goal corresponds to another goal, which is difficult to see. You can offer a chain of questions that will help you observe Pechorin’s behavior.

What is the result of Pechorin’s experiments on Princess Mary and Grushnitsky?

The result is tragic: Grushnitsky is killed, the princess’s life is ruined; Pechorin himself feels that he has left ashes behind him. Returning from the duel, Pechorin takes away the “stone on his heart” and sees the “dull” sun. Leaving Kislovodsk, he sees on the road the corpse of a horse with crows on its back. The last thing he hears from Grushnitsky and the princess are words of hatred towards him.

But this is a close-up. Now take a closer look. What is Pechorin waiting for, layer by layer removing his outfit from Grushnitsky and putting him in a truly tragic situation?

He wants to get to the spiritual core of his former friend, to awaken the person in him. He is ready to forgive everything for Grushnitsky’s recognition of his meanness.

At the same time, Pechorin does not give himself the slightest advantage in the “plots” he organizes, which require maximum effort from both him and his partners. In a duel with Grushnitsky, he deliberately puts himself in more difficult and dangerous conditions, striving for the purity of his experiment. Before his death, Grushnitsky says: “I despise myself...” Well, this is a true self-assessment. The truth became available to Grushnitsky. This is what Pechorin sought, but it did not bring him satisfaction.

What did he achieve in another cruel experiment with the princess?

He brought her to the threshold of a completely different stage in her life. After Pechorin’s painful lessons, she will never be deceived by the Grushnitskys. She is now doomed to involuntarily compare everyone she meets with Pechorin to Pechorin. But there are few such people, and they do not bring happiness. Now the most immutable canons of social life will seem doubtful to her. However, the suffering she endured is an indictment of Pechorin.

So, Pechorin not only asserts his will, but he mercilessly destroys the “harmony of ignorance”, illusory ideas about life, confronting them with reality.

Having understood the transparency of happiness, refusing it himself, Pechorin makes those who encounter him understand this. people with him. He is the enemy of sweet but inhuman ideals. “Why hope? - he says, “To Grushnitsky, angry at Mary’s indifference, to desire and achieve something - I understand, but who hopes?” “For him, benefit and morality lie only in truth.” “Real suffering is better than imaginary joy,” wrote Pechorin himself in one of his confessional diary entries, although, as usual, not at all. He takes credit for this: “Why am I bothering? Out of envy of Grushnitsky? He doesn’t deserve it at all, or is this a consequence of that nasty, but invincible feeling that forces us to destroy the sweet delusions of our neighbor in order to have it. it is a small pleasure to tell him, when he is in despair asking what he should believe: “My friend, it was the same with me, you see, however, I have lunch, dinner and I sleep very peacefully and, I hope, I will be able to die without screaming and tears!” (Record dated June 3).

Invading other people's destinies with his purely independent personal standards, Pechorin, as it were, provokes deep conflicts dormant in them for the time being between the social, that is, conditioned by the environment, upbringing, and the personal-human principle. And this conflict is necessary for the awakening of man in man. Does this mean Pechorin’s goal is good and humane? But this conflict becomes a source of suffering and life disasters for people. Pechorin does not achieve good goals by good means. He often crosses the line , separating good from evil, freely changing their places. And it happens that, asserting his will, his freedom, his dignity, Pechorin tramples on someone else’s will, freedom, dignity. His truly independent consciousness, his free will turns into unlimited individualism. He comes only from his “I”. Hence the real danger for Pechorin - to become Grushnitsky, Belinsky was right when he wrote that Pechorin sometimes fell into Grushnitsky, however, “more terrible than funny.” “Hero of Our Time” - Pechorin, as it were, balances between tragedy and comedy. How is that the critic noted, is due to the fact that the writer depicted a transitional state of spirit, “in which for a person everything old is destroyed, but nothing new is yet there, and in which a person is only the possibility of something real in the future and a perfect ghost in present."

Lermontov portrayed Pechorin as a victim of the environment and at the same time a representative of the environment. As a person, Pechorin evokes sympathy and regret; as a type of Russian life, he is subject to criticism and condemnation. Lermontov's irony is connected with this, but it relates to the hero's personality only to the extent to which he himself is a mirror of society. The main ironic emphasis is placed not on Pechorin, but on “Pechorinism” as a phenomenon. This is why Grushnitsky is so unpleasant to Pechorin - a parody of “A Hero of Our Time.”

Thus, in the story, two “truths” collide, the unlimited spiritual and moral freedom of the individual and the need to respect the rights and dignity of another, even the most inconspicuous person.

And these two “truths” cannot diverge on the same road. Without dialectical unity, the bearers of these “truths” will die in a collision: spiritually or physically.

And rebelling against the morality of his contemporary society, valuing his freedom most of all, subordinating everyone around him to his will, Pechorin, by his own admission, “played the role of an ax in the hands of fate.” A person who neglects someone else's freedom sooner or later loses his own.

Pechorin, entering life, dreamed of living it like Alexander the Great or Byron. The thirst for the heroic, the ideal of feat - this is what flowed from his maximalist views on the world and on man. In the 1930s, in connection with attempts to comprehend the logic of world history and correlate national history with world history, interest in those outstanding personalities whose actions acquired universal significance increased. From here it becomes clear that the choice of the names of Alexander the Great and Lord Byron, to which Lermontov’s hero appeals, is not an accident for him, this choice is determined by the spirit of the times.

The relationship of the protagonist with the princess is shown through the perception of Pechorin himself. The storyline of the relationship between these characters is one of the most striking in the novel. The development of this relationship is not easy, because it is a love triangle, the result of which is tragedy. But Pechorin and Mary are an alliance that will never become real.

Character introduction

The heroes met in Pyatigorsk, where the princess and her mother were relaxing on the waters. Each of them moves in secular circles and knows first-hand about the life of high society. Pechorin immediately arouses the girl’s interest, but plays with her feelings for a long time. He teases her for a long time, stirring up interest in himself. Finally he asks her to dance during the ball.

Pechorin knows exactly how to captivate a girl and make her fall in love with him. He has developed a whole system from which he does not deviate. And such a plan leads him to the desired result - the princess falls in love with him. But Pechorin’s attitude towards Mary is not sincere - he plays with her, makes her fall in love with him more out of boredom than out of real sympathy. Pechorin is an experienced heartthrob, but the princess is young and encounters such a feeling for the first time. But this does not stop the hero from playing with the girl’s fate.

Pechorin's motives

The main reason for Pechorin to fall in love with the princess was boredom. In order to get new emotions, to arrange entertainment for himself, the character is ready to sacrifice the destinies of people without exchanging for real feelings. Pechorin takes pleasure in seeing the princess suffer; he even compares himself to a vampire.

The second striking motive for conquering Mary is an attempt to hide her relationship with Vera. Having thrown dust into the eyes of those around him, Pechorin is trying to veil his relationship with a married lady. He himself writes that this arouses his interest even more. Playing a double game is fun for him. The character is not tormented by conscience either regarding the girl’s broken heart, or regarding Vera’s betrayal of her husband.

Love triangle

Arriving in Pyatigorsk, Pechorin meets his old friend Grushnitsky. But meeting Mary put a rift in their relationship. Grushnitsky falls in love with a girl, while she does not experience any feelings for him except irritation. But Pechorin, instead of helping his friend win the lady, decides to make her fall in love with himself.

Grushnitsky begins to spread rumors about Pechorin and Princess Mary. The duel, to which Pechorin challenged Grushnitsky, became the denouement of this love triangle. The story of Pechorin, Grushnitsky and Mary ends in tragedy. But remaining cold both to the girl’s feelings and to the death of his friend, Pechorin does not experience any feelings.

Mary expects love and a marriage proposal from him, but soon learns that Pechorin never had feelings for her, and she was just a toy for him. The hero does not repent of this at all and leaves, leaving Mary forever with hatred in her soul and a broken fate.

“A Hero of Our Time” is a novel about broken destinies. About how a worthy person, under the influence of time, can turn into a “moral cripple”, and, caring only about himself, play with the destinies and lives of other people. The era itself gave birth to such a generation. The destinies broken by Pechorin could have been decided differently if not for the momentary whims of the hero. In our time, it is especially important to think about the choice between what kind of person to be, and using the example of Pechorin to see the horror of cynicism and selfishness that flourishes today in modern society.