His shapely, slim figure and broad shoulders gave evidence of a strong constitution, capable of enduring all the hardships of a nomad life and changes of climates, and of resisting with success both the demoralizing effects of life in the Capital and tempests of the soul” (Lermontov pg.
50). A true man is a man who takes responsibility. He is a man who takes responsibility for himself, his family, his influence, his actions, and his accountability. What do you think defines a true man?If a man takes responsibility for what he does, what he is, and who he is he would not have to blame the society, his surroundings, and other people he has met or known.
But I cannot define a man in only my perspective because there are many definitions to what a man is, and what he symbolizes. Of course there isn’t only one type of man in this world, but I will explain my understanding of a man I’ve learned about. In the novel, A Hero of Our Time, Mikhail Lermontov uses the Byronic influence to create the characterization of Pechorin, who is also known as Grigori Alexandrovich.To give you a little knowledge of what the Byronic influence is, I will tell you some information about it. The Byronic influence happened in the 1700s, and it happened due to Lord Byron’s works, such as his poems.
Lord Byron’s influence was known throughout the whole world by many people, including Russian Romantic writer, poet, and painter, Mikahil Lermontov. Through our interactive orals (IOs), the topic Byronic Influence stood out the most because I felt that it would play a big part within the novel, A Hero of Our Time. As I thought, it did play a big part in the novel.Lermontov’s character, Pechorin is characterized as the “Byronic hero”. A Byronic hero is defined as a melancholy and rebellious young man, distressed by a terrible wrong he committed in the past.
In the novel, Pechorin is a very intriguing person. He makes it confusing for us to understand his situation, but yet he makes us pity him at the same time. Pechorin is known for his embodiment of the Byronic hero. Byron’s works were international, meaning they were known worldwide to everyone. Lermontov mentions his name several times throughout the novel.
According to the Byronic hero and influence, Pechorin is a character of contradiction. He is both sensitive and cynical. He is possessed of extreme arrogance, yet has a deep insight into his own character and resembles the melancholy of the romantic hero who broods on the futility of existence and the certainty of death. Pechorin’s whole philosophy concerning existence is oriented towards the nihilistic, creating in him somewhat of a distanced, alienated personality.
Lermontov’s characterization of Pechorin is the reason to why we as the audience pity him in many ways.But, Pechorin's behavior as a character soon changes after Bela, the young lady who he kidnapped at first gets kidnapped by his enemy, Kazbich, and becomes mortally wounded. After 2 days of suffering, Bela spoke of her inner fears and her feelings for Pechorin, who listened without once leaving her side. After her death, Pechorin became physically ill, lost some weight and became very unsociable. After meeting with Maxim, who is similar to a close friend, again, he acts coldly and antisocial, showing deep depression and disinterest in interaction.He soon dies on his way back from Persia, admitting to Maxim before that he is sure he will never return.
Pechorin described his own personality as self-destructive, admitting he himself doesn't understand his purpose in the world of men. His boredom with life, feeling of emptiness, forces him to indulge in all possible pleasures and experiences, which soon, cause the downfall of those closest to him. He starts to realize this with Vera and Grushnitsky, while the tragedy with Bela soon leads to his complete emotional collapse.Pechorin treats women as a reason for endless conquests and does not consider them worthy of any particular respect. He considers women such as Princess Mary to be little more than pawns in his games of romantic issues, which in effect hold no meaning in his pleasure.
This is shown in his comment on Princess Mary: “I often wonder why I’m trying so hard to win the love of a girl I have no desire to seduce and whom I’d never marry. ” I believe that Pechorin thinks this way due to the fact that he’s been hurt by his first love, Vera.Vera and Pechorin were deeply in love until she left him because of money issues. From then on, he lost his trust in women. He still had interest in women, but he would not trust them to the point where he would marry them.
Lermontov brings to life and is able to define the Byronic hero by describing him from different angles and framing him with other characters. The reader comes to understand that the hero is a complex entity: his morality is misguided, his motives are inconsistent, he is isolated and he suffers deeply while struggling to understand himself.Though the entire novel is devoted to developing Pechorin as a complex character A Hero of Our Time is critical of the Byronic hero and reveals the hero's hypocrisy, indulgence in melodrama, and self-pity. Grushnitsky is maneuvered to expose these qualities in Pechorin as well as define some other aspects of the Byronic hero. Because Byronic tendencies had become fashionable to imitate, Lermontov was able to define the hero by defining the impostor.
In this way, Lermontov created a background on which the hero's qualities would become readily detectable.Whether he is being criticized or defined, it is clear that the Byronic hero is under scrutiny in A Hero of our Time. Through Pechorin's journal and accounts by other character's, the reader becomes aware of Pechorin's flaws, his hypocrisy, and his pretension. Simultaneously though, the reader is educated to the real qualities of the Hero; his superiority and his suffering. Grushnitsky is used to outline some of the more tangible requirements of heroic status while in some cases serving as a backdrop for irony.
With these devices Lermontov exposes the hero from all angles and Pechorin takes on the complexities of the Byronic hero.
