In the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov's "Hero of Our Time" there is a conflict between Pechorin, the main character of the work, and Grushnitsky, who plays the role of Pechorin's friend. So why did the duel between Pechorin and Grushnitsky turn out to be inevitable?
Firstly, Pechorin could not have friends, much less friends. He is incapable of friendship or affection.
Pechorin is an egoist who is indifferent to the feelings of other people.
Secondly, main reason duel is jealousy. Grushnitsky was carried away by Princess Mary, but she paid her attention to Pechorin, who enjoyed this whole game. He was amused by how Grushnitsky was trying to regain the attention of Princess Mary. Going crazy with jealousy and wounded pride, Grushnitsky becomes dangerous.
In fact, disagreements between Pechorin and Grushnitsky began much earlier. They always took place. The heroes are the complete opposite. Lermontov contrasted them with each other in order to once again emphasize Pechorin’s bright personality and extraordinary character.
Despite Pechorin's position, Grushnitsky is also far from goodie novel. He is self-confident and arrogant. Grushnitsky loves pathos and always strives to play the role of a disappointed hero. Pechorin immediately notices all the weaknesses and vices of Grushnitsky.
Thus, the duel between Pechorin and Grushnitsky is the outcome of the conflict between two heroes, which was necessary and inevitable. Lermontov pushed the heroes “on the same path, where two cannot separate.”
Updated: 2017-03-02
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The shot rang out. The bullet grazed my knee. I involuntarily took a few steps forward in order to quickly move away from the edge.
- Well, brother Grushnitsky, it’s a pity that I missed! - said the captain, - now it’s your turn, stand up! Hug me first: we won't see each other again! - They hugged; the captain could hardly restrain himself from laughing. “Don’t be afraid,” he added, looking slyly at Grushnitsky, “everything is nonsense in the world!.. Nature is a fool, fate is a turkey, and life is a penny!”
After this tragic phrase, spoken with decent importance, he retreated to his place; Ivan Ignatich also hugged Grushnitsky with tears, and now he was left alone against me. I am still trying to explain to myself what kind of feeling was seething in my chest then: it was the annoyance of offended pride, and contempt, and anger, born at the thought that this man, now with such confidence, with such calm insolence, was looking at me , two minutes ago, without exposing himself to any danger, he wanted to kill me like a dog, because if I had been wounded in the leg a little more, I would certainly have fallen off the cliff.
I looked closely at his face for several minutes, trying to notice at least a slight trace of repentance. But it seemed to me that he was holding back a smile.
“I advise you to pray to God before you die,” I told him then.
“Don’t care about my soul more than your own.” I ask you one thing: shoot quickly.
– And you do not renounce your slander? don’t ask me for forgiveness?.. Think carefully: isn’t your conscience telling you something?
- Mister Pechorin! - shouted the dragoon captain, - you are not here to confess, let me tell you... Finish quickly; No matter if someone drives through the gorge, they will see us.
- Okay, doctor, come to me.
The doctor came up. Poor doctor! he was paler than Grushnitsky ten minutes ago.
I deliberately pronounced the following words with emphasis, loudly and clearly, like pronouncing a death sentence:
- Doctor, these gentlemen, probably in a hurry, forgot to put a bullet in my pistol: I ask you to load it again - and well!
- Can't be! - the captain shouted, - it can’t be! I loaded both pistols; unless a bullet rolled out of you... it's not my fault! – And you have no right to reload... no right... this is completely against the rules; I won't allow...
- Fine! - I told the captain, - if so, then we will shoot under the same conditions... - He hesitated.
Grushnitsky stood with his head bowed to his chest, embarrassed and gloomy.
- Leave them alone! - he finally said to the captain, who wanted to snatch my pistol from the doctor’s hands... - After all, you yourself know that they are right.
It was in vain that the captain did to him different signs, - Grushnitsky didn’t even want to look.
Meanwhile, the doctor loaded the pistol and handed it to me. Seeing this, the captain spat and stamped his foot.
“You’re a fool, brother,” he said, “a vulgar fool!.. You’ve already relied on me, so obey in everything... Serves you right!” kill yourself like a fly...” He turned away and, walking away, muttered: “Still, this is completely against the rules.”
- Grushnitsky! - I said, - there is still time; renounce your slander, and I will forgive you everything. You failed to fool me, and my pride is satisfied; - remember - we were once friends...
His face flushed, his eyes sparkled.
- Shoot! - he answered, “I despise myself, but I hate you.” If you don't kill me, I'll stab you at night from around the corner. There is no place for the two of us on earth...
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.
– Finita la comedy! - I told the doctor.
He did not answer and turned away in horror.
I shrugged my shoulders and bowed to Grushnitsky’s seconds.
Going down the path, I noticed the bloody corpse of Grushnitsky between the crevices of the rocks. I involuntarily closed my eyes... Having untied the horse, I walked home. I had a stone on my heart. The sun seemed dim to me, its rays did not warm me.
In the novel “A Hero of Our Time,” M. Yu. Lermontov depicts Pechorin in a wide variety of social environments: in the Caucasus, among the Circassians; among the officers in the Cossack village; among smugglers in Taman, among high society gathered on the waters in Pyatigorsk. Pechorin in the novel is surrounded by a variety of characters, each of which shades the inner appearance of the main character in its own way.
So, Dr. Werner, being a friend of Grigory Alexandrovich, emphasizes the best that is in the hero - sincerity, education, high intellectual demands, analytical mind. At the same time, when compared with Werner, Pechorin’s cruelty and insensitivity become more noticeable. After the duel with Grushnitsky, Werner does not shake hands with Pechorin.
Maxim Maksimych is also, to some extent, opposed to Pechorin. For all his simplicity, the staff captain is kind and humane, capable of friendship and love. This, in Belinsky’s words, is a “wonderful soul,” a “heart of gold.” Against the background of Maxim Maksimych, Pechorin’s selfishness, his isolation, individualism, and loneliness are especially clearly visible.
The extraordinary personality of Pechorin, the “authenticity” of his spiritual quest and at the same time the hero’s self-will are revealed in the history of his relationship with Grushnitsky.
Grushnitsky in the novel is a kind of double of Pechorin. He's in in a certain sense parodies the attitude of Grigory Alexandrovich, acting in the role of “disappointed”.
More than anything else, Grushnitsky wants to assure everyone of his own uniqueness and extraordinary life circumstances. He assumes a mysterious, enigmatic air, constantly draping himself “into extraordinary feelings, sublime passions and exceptional suffering.” The manners and behavior of this character are calculated and effective: “he throws his head back when he speaks and constantly twirls his mustache with his left hand,” “he speaks quickly and pretentiously,” Grushnitsky has “a passion for reciting.” The panache and falseness of behavior in Grushnitsky border on vulgarity. As Pechorin aptly noted, in old age such people become “either peaceful landowners or drunkards - sometimes both...”.
Grushnitsky not only embodies the “fashion of being bored,” but he is also mean-spirited, immoral, vengeful and envious person prone to lies, intrigue, and gossip. Grushnitsky tries to court Mary Litovskaya, but she rejects him. And now he is ready to disgrace the girl’s good name by spreading gossip about her secret meetings with Pechorin.
Grushnitsky weaves intrigues against Pechorin. Considering him a happy rival, he dreams of taking revenge, killing him in a duel, preparing a pistol with blank cartridges for the enemy. However, he soon becomes a victim himself: Pechorin finds out about the plot and kills Grushnitsky in cold blood in this duel, reloading his weapon in time.
It is characteristic that Grushnitsky experiences some embarrassment during the fight, something like pricks of conscience. However, he does not abandon his plans, even after realizing that his plot has been exposed. “- Shoot! - he answered, “I despise myself, but I hate you.” If you don't kill me, I'll stab you at night from around the corner. There is no place for the two of us on earth..."
“Grushnitsky only has no character, but... his nature was not alien to some good sides: he was capable of neither real good nor real evil; but the solemn, tragic situation, in which his pride would play recklessly, had to arouse in him an instant and bold impulse of passion... Self-love forced him to see his rival and enemy in Pechorin; his pride decided to conspire against Pechorin’s honor; the same pride concentrated all the strength of his soul... and forced him to prefer certain death to certain salvation through confession. This man is the apotheosis of petty pride and weakness of character,” Belinsky wrote. S.P. Shevyrev evaluates this character in approximately the same way. “This is an empty fellow in the full sense of the word. He is vain... Having nothing to be proud of, he is proud of his gray cadet's overcoat. He loves without love,” the critic notes.
However, Pechorin also behaves unworthily in the duel scene: he chooses a place for the duel where one of them is doomed to inevitable death. Annoyance of offended pride, contempt and anger - these are the feelings experienced by Grigory Alexandrovich during the duel. There is no place for generosity in his soul. Playing with his own destiny, he enjoys playing with the destinies of other people.
So, during the duel, Pechorin is ready to forgive Grushnitsky for his meanness if he repents of his action. “I decided to provide all the benefits to Grushnitsky; I wanted to experience it; a spark of generosity could awaken in his soul, and then everything would work out for the better; but pride and weakness of character should have triumphed... I wanted to give myself every right not to spare him, if fate had mercy on me. Who has not made such conditions with his conscience? - Pechorin reflects in his diary.
However, even being ready to forgive his opponent, Grigory Alexandrovich subconsciously hopes that he will not have to forgive Grushnitsky. Having an excellent understanding of human psychology, Pechorin is confident in the cowardice of his opponent, in his stubbornness, in his painful pride. It seems that these thoughts of the hero about the possibility of repentance and salvation of Grushnitsky are, to a greater extent, self-deception. In fact, Pechorin does not want to spare his opponent.
Grigory Alexandrovich is not a fatalist, he likes to “doubt everything,” but here he goes beyond doubt, showing his complete contempt and disrespect for Providence. Instead of gratitude to fate for his own salvation, gratitude that gives rise to generosity and mercy in a person as the most natural feelings, Pechorin experiences only contempt and hatred, giving rise to yet another villainy.
Grushnitsky annoys Pechorin from the very beginning. “I don’t like him either: I feel that we will someday collide with him on a narrow road, and one of us will be in trouble,” declares Grigory Alexandrovich already at the first meeting with the cadet in Pyatigorsk. The reason for this hatred of Pechorin was very clearly outlined by S.P. Shevyrev. “He plays the role of a disappointed one - and that’s why Pechorin doesn’t like him; this latter does not love Grushnitsky for the same feeling that we tend to dislike a person who imitates us and turns us into an empty mask, because we have living essence,” notes the researcher.
Thus, in the story with Grushnitsky, the hero reveals his new facets. Against the background of this character, Pechorin’s virtues become more noticeable - sincerity, strong will, determination, deep intelligence. At the same time, the entire abyss of Pechorin’s pride, his individualism and self-will are exposed here.
Duel of Grushnitsky and Pechorin
Goal: to analyze the episode “Pechorin’s Duel with Grushnitsky”, to find out how the characters’ characters are revealed in this episode.
Lesson progress:
Introduction to the topic
Reading the epigraph
“I don’t like him either: I feel
that we will ever encounter him
on a narrow road, and one of them will be in trouble.”
As you might have guessed, today we will talk about the Duel between Pechorin and Grushnitsky.
Viewing a duel scene
Conversation on issues ( brief retelling)
Why does Pechorin despise Grushnitsky?
Who destroyed the “friendly” relationship between Pechorin and Grushnitsky?
How was the duel provoked? What is Grushnitsky's role in this story?
The reason for the duel between Pechorin and Grushnitsky is Grushnitsky’s unworthy behavior towards Princess Mary and Pechorin.
What were the conditions of the duel?
What new trick did Pechorin’s opponents perform before the duel? Before the duel, Grushnitsky is plotting meanness: he wants to slip an unloaded pistol to Pechorin and thereby disgrace him. But Pechorin accidentally reveals this vile plan: “... I recognized the intention of these gentlemen to fool me by forcing me to shoot with blank charges. But now the matter went beyond the bounds of a joke: they probably did not expect such a denouement...”
How did Pechorin behave when he found out about this? Finally, Pechorin demands a loaded pistol, and Grushnitsky’s vile plan fails. Opponents shoot equally. Pechorin wounds Grushnitsky. As a result of his injury, he falls off a cliff and dies.
How are the opponents revealed in the duel scene itself?
Comparative characteristics heroes
| Grushnitsky |
||
| The night before the duel | “It’s two o’clock in the morning... I can’t sleep... But I need to fall asleep so that my hand doesn’t tremble tomorrow. However, it’s hard to miss at six steps.” “I remember that during the night before the fight, I did not sleep for a minute. I could not write for a long time: a secret anxiety took possession of me. I walked around the room for an hour; then I sat down and opened Walter Scott’s novel, which was lying on my table: it was “The Scottish Puritans”; at first I read with effort, then I forgot, carried away by the magical fiction...” “It’s finally dawn. My nerves calmed down." “I don’t remember a more blue and fresh morning!.. I remember - this time, more than ever before, I loved nature.” | |
| Behavior during a duel | “... Grushnitsky! - I said, - there is still time; give up your slander, and I will forgive you everything. You did not manage to fool me, and my pride is satisfied; remember - we were once friends...” | “...Shoot!” he answered, “I despise myself, but I hate you. If you don’t kill me, I’ll stab you at night from around the corner. There’s no place for the two of us on earth...” |
Working with illustrations
Illustrated by M.A. Vrubel “Duel of Pechorin with Grushnitsky” we see Pechorin, Werner and the dragoon captain. Pechorin stands half-turned, right hand he, who had just dropped the pistol, is stretched out tiredly along his body, with his left hand he frantically holds the saber. In his posture one can feel fatigue and relaxation after the stress he has just experienced, and in his facial expression there is an understanding of the irreparability of what happened, some kind of bewilderment and sad consciousness that he again turned out to be an “instrument of execution.” It seems that he sees nothing around him, and, immersed in his thoughts, repeats: “The comedy is over!” And at the same time, some hidden strengths are felt in him, the ability to endure the condemnation of people and remain himself; he will not leave the duel broken, although it is very difficult for him.
Independent task for students:
Describe the image of Pechorin created by the artist.
Body position (posture)
Facial expression
Summing up
What is Pechorin’s condition after the duel? Find the quote in the text (“I had a stone on my heart. The sun seemed dim to me, its rays did not warm me... The sight of a person would be painful for me: I wanted to be alone.”)
What new character traits did you see in Pechorin? (optional)
Words for reference: vengeful, proud, selfish, vile, merciful, selfish, honest, proud, heartless, cruel, courageous, brave, cowardly, a man of honor.
In the novel “A Hero of Our Time” the reader sees a clear contrast between two images: the main character and the cadet.
Of course, both heroes have similar character traits, such as selfishness and narcissism. But, it is impossible not to note that in Pechorin this is real, but in Grushnitsky everything is thoroughly saturated with falsehood. He is only trying to seem like a romantic hero, while Pechorin is one.
The heroes developed hostility towards each other almost immediately upon meeting in Pyatigorsk, but outwardly none of them showed it. It is impossible to call any of the characters absolutely positive or negative. Pechorin mercilessly treated Princess Mary, his longtime lover Vera and her husband just for fun. Not from some kind of internal natural malice, but only from boredom, main character The novel decided to fall in love with young Mary, and thereby evoke a feeling of jealousy in Grushnitsky. Pechorin is depicted by the author as a selfish and very contradictory nature. He is critical not only of the society around him, but also of himself. The main character is devoid of falsehood in his character and actions. He cannot be accused of meanness or cowardice.
Grushnitsky is depicted by M.Yu. Lermontov, as mediocrity. Juncker is not as experienced in communicating with women as Pechorin, and behaves rather timidly and modestly. At first, the reader may think that Grushnitsky’s love for Mary is sincere, but later it becomes clear that this is also false. He easily slandered his beloved when he saw Pechorin next to her window, only out of wounded pride, without even trying to understand the situation.
The duel is a critical moment of confrontation between the cowardice and courage of the two characters. The young cadet Grushnitsky behaved very vilely. Together with his new friend, the dragoon captain, he decided to make the main character a laughing stock. The plan was to leave the pistols unloaded. Junker seems to be trying to prove to himself that Pechorin is not ideal, and may be experiencing fear and cowardice. Grushnitsky was waiting for an opportunity to challenge Pechorin to a duel. But by chance, the main character heard what the dragoon captain and the young cadet were talking about.
Soon an incident occurred that led to a duel. When the main character was noticed opposite Princess Mary's window, Grushnitsky publicly ridiculed him. For which Pechorin challenged him to a duel. The dragoon captain again acted as an instigator and offered to load only Grushnitsky’s pistol, thus a cold-blooded murder was planned. It was fear that pushed the young cadet to such vile actions. He was afraid of losing to Pechorin, who was superior to him in everything.
The main character, on the contrary, was not afraid of death. He proposed making the conditions of the duel even more severe, moving the duel to a cliff, so that any, even minor, wound would become fatal. Grushnitsky shot first, and only grazed Grigory’s leg. Then the main character announced that his gun was not loaded and asked to reload. Pechorin's bullet turned out to be fatal for the cadet. Grushnitsky failed to defeat Grigory, even with the help of an insidious plan. But Pechorin did not feel satisfaction from his victory over cowardice; on the contrary, his soul was heavy.
The outcome of this confrontation turned out to be very tragic: Princess Mary’s heart is broken, the lives of Vera and her husband are broken.
