Who is the Yanko hero of our time. Characteristics of the undine from the novel Hero of Our Time

“Taman” is the third story of “A Hero of Our Time” (see its summary and full text by chapter), and the first whose content is borrowed from “Pechorin’s diaries”. (See Image of Pechorin, Characteristics of Pechorin with quotes.)

The author of the novel writes in the preface: having learned that Pechorin died while returning from Persia, I received the right to publish his notes and decided to do this, because I became interested in the merciless sincerity with which the author exposes his own weaknesses and vices in them. The history of the human soul is perhaps more curious and useful than the history of an entire people, especially when it is the result of observations of a mature mind on itself and when it is written without a vain desire to arouse participation or surprise.

While in military service, Pechorin once came at night on official business to the run-down town of Taman. For a long time the Cossack foreman could not find him a house to stay: everyone was busy. Only one was free, but the foreman mysteriously warned that “it’s unclean there.”

Lermontov. Hero of our time. Maxim Maksimych, Taman. Feature Film

This hut stood on a cliff of the sea. When they knocked, the door was not immediately opened, but finally a blind boy of about 14, with spots in both eyes, came out of the house. The owner was not at home. A blind boy, an orphan, lived with her out of mercy.

Entering the hut, Pechorin and his Cossack servant went to sleep on the benches. The Cossack quickly fell asleep, but Pechorin could not close his eyes for a long time - and suddenly he saw a shadow quickly flashing outside the window. He got up, left the hut and saw a blind boy with some kind of package walking towards the pier, finding his way by touch.

Pechorin quietly followed him. A woman appeared near the seashore next to the blind man. They stood talking until a boat appeared in the distance among the waves.

From snippets of conversation, Pechorin realized that the smuggler Yanko was sailing in the boat. There was a storm at sea, but Yanko, skillfully rowing with oars, happily moored to the shore. The three of them, the blind man and the woman, began to pull some bundles out of the boat and take them somewhere. Without further monitoring them, Pechorin went to bed.

In the morning the old mistress of the hut returned. In response to Pechorin’s attempts to speak, this old woman pretended to be deaf. In annoyance, he took the blind man by the ear, asking: “Come on, blind little devil, tell me where you were dragging your bundle at night!” He only whimpered in response.

Having gone out to sit by the fence, Pechorin suddenly saw a beautiful girl on the roof of the hut - in all likelihood, the daughter of the owner. Dressed in a striped dress, with loose braids, she looked like an undine (mermaid) and sang a song about a boat that floats on the sea in a storm, and is ruled by a “wild little head.” Pechorin realized from her voice that it was she who stood with the blind man on the shore at night. The girl began to run next to him, as if playing, looking intently into his eyes. These pranks of hers continued until the end of the day.

Towards evening, Pechorin stopped the playful beauty at the door, telling her, without knowing why: “I know that last night you went to the shore. What if I decided to report this to the commandant? The girl just laughed, and Pechorin did not foresee that these words would have very important consequences for him.

When he sat down to drink tea in the evening, an “undine” suddenly came in, sat down opposite him, looking tenderly at him - and suddenly hugged him and kissed him on the lips. He wanted to hug her, but the girl deftly slipped out, whispering: “Tonight, when everyone is asleep, go ashore.”

Late in the evening Pechorin went to the sea. The girl met him by the water, led him to the boat, got into it with him and pushed off from the shore. In the boat, she began to hug and kiss him, but then suddenly she bent him over the side and tried to throw him into the sea.

A desperate struggle began between them. The girl pushed Pechorin into the water, repeating: “You saw it, you’ll get it!” With the last of his strength, he broke free and threw her into the waves. Having flashed twice, the “undine” disappeared from sight.

Pechorin rowed to the pier and wandered towards the hut, but from afar he saw the girl again: she had swam to the shore and was now wringing out her wet hair. Soon Yanko sailed up on yesterday's boat. The girl told him: “Everything is gone!”

A blind boy appeared. Yanko announced to him that he would now sail away with the girl, because the two of them could no longer stay here. The blind man asked to swim with them, but Yanko drove the boy away by only throwing him some small coin.

This strange and dangerous incident did not cause anything in Pechorin’s soul except painful bewilderment. He thought: “Why did fate throw me to them? Like a stone thrown into a smooth spring, I disturbed their calm and, like a stone, I almost sank to the bottom!”

In the morning Pechorin left Taman. He never found out what happened to the old woman and the blind man. “And what do I care about human joys and misfortunes!”

The story "Bela"

Pechorin brings misfortune and suffering to Maxim Maximovich and Bela. They don't understand him:

He tries to sincerely love, respect, be friends, but does not find the strength in his soul for a long, constant feeling.

Love is replaced by disappointment and cooling.

The friendly disposition is replaced by irritation and fatigue from constant care.

How do the characters' relationships develop?

Bela

Pechorin

“And sure enough, she was beautiful: tall, thin, eyes black, like a mountain chamois.” Bela suffers from a contradiction that lives in her from the very moment when she finds herself captive of Pechorin. On the one hand, she likes Pechorin (“she often dreamed of him in her dreams... and no man has ever made such an impression on her”), but on the other hand, she cannot love him, since he is a non-religious.

What pushes Pechorin to kidnap Bela? Selfishness or the desire to experience a feeling of love that has already been forgotten? Pechorin “dressed her up like a doll, groomed her, cherished her.” Bela was pleased with such attention, she became prettier and felt happy.

The tender relationship between the heroes continued for four months, and then Pechorin’s attitude towards Bela changes. He began to leave home for a long time, became thoughtful and sad.

“I was wrong again: the love of a savage is little better than the love of a noble lady, the ignorance and simple-heartedness of one are just as annoying as the coquetry of the other.”

Pechorin is attracted by the integrity, strength and naturalness of the feelings of the mountain “savage”, the Circassian woman. Love for Bela is not a whim or whim on the part of Pechorin, but an attempt to return to the world of sincere feelings.

An attempt to get closer to a person of a different faith, a different way of life, to get to know Bela better, to find some kind of harmonious balance in relations with her ends tragically. Pechorin is a man who lives “out of curiosity,” he says: “my whole life was just a chain of sad and unsuccessful contradictions to my heart or mind.”

The story "Maksim Maksimych"

1. Attitude to the past that connected the heroes

Relation to the past
Pechorina	Maxim Maksimovich
Everything that happened was painful.	Everything that happened was sweet.
She cannot and does not want to calmly remember the past with Maxim Maksimych, especially the story with Bela.	Shared memories become the basis for a conversation that the staff captain so eagerly awaits.
The past and reminders of it cause pain in Pechorin’s soul, since he cannot forgive himself for the story that ended with the death of Bela.	Memories of the past give Maxim Maksimych some significance: he was a participant in the same events as Pechorin.
How does the last meeting of heroes end?
The unexpected meeting with the “past” did not awaken any feelings in the hero’s soul; he remained indifferent and indifferent to himself. Maybe that’s why, to Maxim Maksimych’s question: “I still have your papers... I carry them with me... What should I do with them?”, Pechorin answers: “Whatever you want...” Refusal to continue the meeting and conversation: “Really, I have nothing to tell, dear Maxim Maksimych... However, goodbye, I have to go... I’m in a hurry... thank you for not forgetting...”	“Good Maxim Maksimych has become a stubborn, grumpy staff captain!” He throws Pechorin’s notebooks to the ground with contempt: “Here they are all... I congratulate you on your find... At least print it in the newspapers. What do I care!..” Misunderstanding and resentment towards Pechorin, disappointment: “What does he have in me? I’m not rich, I’m not an official, and I’m not his age at all... Look what a dandy he has become, how he visited St. Petersburg again...”

2. Why don’t the good staff captain and Pechorin find understanding?

Differences between heroes
Pechorin	Maxim Maksimovich
He tries to get to the very essence of everything, to understand the complexities of human nature, and above all, his character.	Lacking an understanding of the general meaning of things, he is kind and simple-minded.
Always tries to overcome circumstances.	Submissive to circumstances.
The meeting of Maxim Maksimych with Pechorin brought disappointment to the staff captain; it made the poor old man suffer and doubt the possibility of sincere, friendly relations between people. We find an explanation for this behavior of Pechorin in his own words: “Listen, Maxim Maksimych, ... I have an unhappy character: whether my upbringing made me like this, whether God created me, I don’t know; I only know that if I am the cause of the misfortune of others, then I myself am no less unhappy. Of course, this is little consolation to them - only the fact is that it is so.”

The story "Taman"

Pechorin and the “honest” smugglers: Pechorin is young, inexperienced, his feelings are ardent and impetuous, impressionable and romantic, looking for adventure, ready to take risks.

Pechorin’s attitude towards the characters in the story:

	At the beginning of the story	At the end of the story
Blind boy	“I looked at him for a long time with involuntary regret, when suddenly a barely noticeable smile ran across his thin lips, and, I don’t know why, it made the most unpleasant impression on me.” The boy's behavior causes surprise and arouses curiosity - like a blind boy walking everywhere alone, and at the same time dexterous and careful. “The blind boy definitely cried, and for a long, long time... I felt sad.”	The boy's fate evokes sympathy, despite the fact that he robbed Pechorin.
Undine	“A strange creature... There were no signs of madness on her face, on the contrary, her eyes focused on me with lively insight, and these eyes seemed to be endowed with some kind of magnetic power... She was far from beautiful... There was a lot of character in her... Although in her indirect views I read something wild and suspicious..."	“The boat rocked, but I managed, and a desperate struggle began between us; rage gave me strength, but I soon noticed that I was inferior to my opponent in dexterity... with a supernatural effort she threw me on board...” Pechorin's premonition was justified: the undine turned out to be not quite an ordinary girl. She is endowed not only with an unusual appearance, but also has a strong, decisive, almost masculine character, combined with such qualities as deceit and pretense.
Pechorin's actions in the story "Taman" can be explained by his desire to penetrate all the secrets of the world. As soon as he feels the approach of any secret, he immediately forgets about caution and quickly moves towards discoveries. But the feeling of the world as a mystery and interest in life are replaced by indifference and disappointment.

The story "Princess Mary"

1. Water society is a socially close environment for Pechorin, but, nevertheless, the author presents the hero’s relationship with the nobility as a conflict.
What makes up the conflict?
The primitiveness of representatives of the “water” society	The inconsistency of Pechorin’s character: “an innate passion to contradict”
Hypocrisy and insincerity in the manifestation of feelings, the ability to deceive.	Pechorin’s egoism: “Being always on the alert, catching every glance, the meaning of every word, guessing the intention, destroying conspiracies, pretending to be deceived, and suddenly with one push overturn the entire huge and laborious edifice of tricks and plans - that’s what I call life.”
Inability to understand and accept Pechorin for who he is	Attempts to find some kind of harmonious balance in relations with people unfortunately end in failure for Pechorin.

2. Grushnitsky - a caricature of Pechorin

. We see Grushnitsky through the eyes of Pechorin, evaluate his actions through Pechorin’s perception: Grushnitsky came to Pyatigorsk to “become the hero of a novel.”

. “...He doesn’t know people and their weak strings, because his whole life he has been focused on himself.”

. He wears a fashionable mask of disappointed people, speaks in “lush phrases”, “drapes himself importantly into extraordinary feelings, sublime passions and exceptional suffering. Producing an effect is his pleasure.”

. There is “not a penny of poetry” in his soul.

. Capable of meanness and deception (duel with Pechorin).

. “I understood him, and for this he does not love me, although outwardly we are on the most friendly terms... I don’t love him either: I feel that we will someday collide with him on a narrow road, and one of us will be in trouble.” .

. Next to Pechorin, Grushnitsky looks pathetic and funny.

. Grushnitsky is always trying to imitate someone.

. Even on the border of life and death, Grushnitsky’s pride turns out to be stronger than honesty.

3. Werner - Pechorin’s friend and “double”

. By definition, Pechorin is a “wonderful person.” Werner and Pechorin “read each other’s souls.”

. He is a "skeptic and a materialist."

. He is distinguished by a deep and sharp mind, insight and observation, and knowledge of people.

. He has a kind heart (“he cried over a dying soldier”).

. Hides his feelings and moods under the guise of irony and ridicule. Werner and Pechorin cannot be friends, since Pechorin believes that “of two friends, one is always the slave of the other, although often neither of them admits this; I cannot be a slave, and in this case commanding is tedious work, because at the same time I have to deceive..."

4. Mary. Stages of development of relations between the princess and Pechorin

Irritation caused by Pechorin's lack of attention to the princess.

. Hatred caused by several “impudent” actions of Pechorin (Pechorin lured all the princess’s gentlemen, bought the carpet, covered his horse with the carpet).

. Interest born of the desire to find out who he is, this Pechorin.

. Meeting Pechorin changes not only the princess’s attitude towards the hero, but also the princess herself: she becomes more sincere, more natural.

. Pechorin's confession gives rise to sympathy and empathy in the princess.

. Changes are taking place in the princess, about which Pechorin notes: “Where has her liveliness gone, her coquetry, her whims, her daring expression, her contemptuous smile, her absent-minded gaze?..”

. Feelings awakened by love for Pechorin turn Princess Mary into a kind, gentle, loving woman who is able to forgive Pechorin.

5. Vera is the only woman Pechorin loves.

“Why she loves me so much, I really don’t know! Moreover, this is one woman who understood me completely, with all my petty weaknesses, bad passions... Is evil really so attractive?”

. Pechorin brings Vera a lot of suffering.

. Vera for Pechorin is a guardian angel.

. She forgives him everything, knows how to feel deeply and strongly.

. Even after a long separation, Pechorin experiences the same feelings for Vera, which he admits to himself.

. “With the possibility of losing her forever, Faith became dearer to me than anything in the world, dearer than life, honor, happiness.”

. “She is the only woman in the world whom I would not be able to deceive.” Vera is the only person who understands how lonely and unhappy Pechorin is.

Vera about Pechorin: “... there is something special in your nature, something peculiar to you alone, something proud and mysterious; in your voice, no matter what you say, there is invincible power; no one knows how to constantly want to be loved; Evil in no one is so attractive; No one's gaze promises so much bliss; no one knows how to use their advantages better, and no one can be as truly unhappy as you, because no one tries so hard to convince themselves otherwise.”

The story "Fatalist"

Pechorin is looking for an answer to the question: “Does predestination exist?”
The hero is preoccupied with thoughts about the fate and will of man. We are talking about subjects more significant than human feelings, relationships, opposition to one or another circle of society. One of those present remarks: “And if there really is predestination, then why were we given reason, why should we give an account of our actions?..”
Believes in fate, predestination	Doesn't believe in fate, predestination
Vulich is a player who constantly tempts fate. He seeks power over fate. His courage is explained by the fact that he is confident that every person is assigned the hour of his death and it cannot be otherwise: “Each of us is assigned a fateful minute.”	Pechorin - does not believe that there is a higher power that controls the movements of people. “I felt funny when I remembered that there were once wise people who thought that the heavenly bodies took part in our insignificant disputes over a piece of land or for some fictitious rights.”
	“And how often do we mistake for a belief a deception of the senses or an error of reason!.. I like to doubt everything: this disposition of the mind does not interfere with the decisiveness of character; on the contrary, as for me, I always move forward more boldly when I don’t know what awaits me. After all, nothing worse can happen than death - and you can’t escape death!”
A person who has faith and purpose turns out to be stronger than a person who does not believe in fate, does not believe in himself. If there is nothing more important for a person than his own desires, then he inevitably loses his will. Pechorin understands this paradox as follows: “And we, their pitiful descendants, wandering the earth without convictions and pride, without pleasure and fear, except for that involuntary fear that squeezes the heart at the thought of the inevitable end, we are no longer capable of great sacrifices for any good.” humanity, not even for our own happiness, because we know its impossibility and indifferently move from doubt to doubt...”

Yanko is an episodic hero of the story “Taman” from Lermontov’s “Hero of Our Time”. Several phrases and actions reveal the characteristics of his personality. There are few of them, but they are capacious and bright.

Against the backdrop of the raging elements of the sea, a “poor boat” appears before the reader. In it, a hero heads to the shore, in whom romantic daring and heartless pragmatism merge. In the meantime, we only know that “Yanko is not afraid of the storm.” A brave daredevil, he is not afraid of fog, winds, coast guards, or the sea. This is how he appears from the words of the blind man. His boat resembled the movement of a bird. She dived like a duck, and then, quickly swinging her oars, “jumped out of the abyss among the spray of foam.” The flapping of the oars resembled the flapping of wings. What prompted the young man to take such a desperate step? Perhaps a romantic feeling? Alas, the reason is prosaic and even primitive: the transportation of contraband goods. A heavy load doubled the risk of moving between the “mountains of waves” whipped up by a strong storm.

Here he is, deftly maneuvering, guiding his boat into a small bay. Despite the narrator's fears, she remains unharmed. Yanko's actions reveal a confident and decisive nature. We admire his courage, agility and strength. But his appearance is unremarkable: “of average height, wearing a Tatar lamb’s hat,” “has a Cossack-style haircut, and a large knife in his belt. This lack of expressive details partly dispels the romanticism of the image. A feeling of ordinariness arises.

Local residents call Yanko and his fellow smugglers "bad people." Their assessment is confirmed, although initially it was only an assumption. The halo of the romantic hero finally disappears in the face of danger. The words that the old woman has “healed” and it’s time for her to know the honor” expose a cold, callous heart. Behind the “reward” the blind man sees soulless stinginess. He abandons helpless people on the shore, because they will be a burden to him. Used him and threw him out of his life without a twinge of conscience. This is an extra category in his illegal “deeds”.

It is obvious that Yanko is a lover of easy money. Behind an outwardly attractive life full of risk is emptiness and lack of spirituality. Money determines everything in her. The fearless battle with the sea took place for the sake of material gain. Life is filled with deception, theft and betrayal of people loyal to him. And it is unlikely that love for the “ondine” lives in his heart. Cold calculation is also visible in the words “I would pay more.”

Lermontov is faithful to the harsh truth of life. The beauty of the amazing landscapes contrasts with the absurd emptiness of the souls and lives of the heroes. The hero is convinced that his accomplice will not find such a daredevil like him, apparently considering himself successful. To some extent this is true, because Yanko leaves “rich goods” in the care of the blind man. But this is the success of the primitive human soul. So, the hero is an “unkind person.” He does not hesitate to make a decision, and his boat with a white sail disappears into the sea. From there he brought romantic expectations to the reader and takes them away, leaving a feeling of bewilderment and bitter disappointment.

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