Pechorin and the “water society”. Essay on the topic: Pechorin and society (novel “Hero of Our Time” by M.Yu. Lermontov) Monotony of various types

What is society for a person? How important is it for each of us? To answer these questions, first of all, you need to understand what the words “society” and “person” mean. A person is a being with the gift of speech and thought, capable of creating something new. Despite the fact that the concepts of “personality” and “person” carry completely different semantic loads, in our time they are very close, in fact, they replace each other. However, a person is an outstanding person, noticeably different from the rest. Society is a group of people who, by the will of fate, found themselves together during a certain period of time or history. In society you can always find a person who stands out - an individual. Such people, as a rule, think about the state of the society in which they find themselves, and often express their dissatisfaction with the existing system, foundations, and ask themselves the question: is society for man or man for society?

The topic “man and society” has worried many thinkers throughout our history.

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An example of this can be the socio-psychological novel by M. Yu. Lermontov “A Hero of Our Time”. The main character of the works, Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin, is an extraordinary person, a dissenter. He, like Pushkin’s Onegin, can be placed in the gallery of “superfluous people.” These two images have a lot in common, however, the issue of human interaction with society in the case of Pechorin is more acute. He “madly chases after life,” but never gets anything from it. He refers precisely to those individuals who are bored with life, who despise its joys for their meaninglessness and transience, and modern society because it does not value intelligence, knowledge, honor, or nobility. Examples of such a society in the novel are the so-called “water society”. This is a collective image of representatives of the nobility, in whose behavior and life the features of the era can be traced - the first half of the nineteenth century, when people valued rank and idle pleasure above all else. The life and customs of visitors to mineral waters, which Grigory Aleksandrovich sneers at, are determined by history and traditions, the reluctance and impossibility of moving forward due to limited thinking. Pechorin notes with dissatisfaction the love of representatives of the “water society” for gossip and intrigue. In general, this entire society is contrasted with Pechorin, however, some heroes are also compared with him. For example, Grushnitsky, who is a kind of parody, a double of Pechorin - everything that Grigory has is the essence of his character, he has a posture put on display. He loves “lush phrases,” “drapes himself” into feelings without experiencing them, “producing an effect is his pleasure.” He and Pechorin are old friends who were “outwardly on the most friendly terms.” Grushnitsky is a typical representative of that society that is so alien to Grigory Alexandrovich, and therefore the conflict with him seems to Pechorin to be a conflict with the whole society in particular. Pechorin is full of rebellious rejection of the foundations and values ​​of the existing society, so his attempts to get closer to people are completely fruitless. We can say that Pechorin is not a man for society, and society is not for him.

So, as a rule, in every society there are people who are very different from it, “extra people.” They are dissatisfied with the political, economic, social or cultural-moral picture existing in this society; in general, virtually everything that happens in this society. Often this society also refuses to understand such people - and they come into conflict; on the one hand - an individual, on the other - a group of people, on the other hand - society. Perhaps such a person is doomed to loneliness, because it is impossible to live in society and be free from it.

Updated: 2018-05-11

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The author calls human society watery. The definition is somewhat unclear and close to fabulous. Pechorin and the “water society” are part of the chapter “Princess Mary”. There the character finds himself among a society that is different from the secular one, but also similar to it in its main characteristics.

Water Society

Who does Pechorin call the water society and why? The epithet becomes clear after reading the chapter “Princess Mary”. The local nobility here mixes with guests arriving from the capital. This mixture gives an interesting picture of morals. Who will outdo whom in terms of immorality? Both societies are “already good”; together they are even stronger. Why does he call it water? Because their goal is to improve health on the waters of Kislovodsk. Climate and healing water are not able to cure people's souls. It is here that it becomes clear that Pechorin’s disease is incurable. The man is trying to change something else around him, but everything is consumed by his selfishness and thirst for adventurism.

The water society has gathered near a clean source, but it resembles a swamp, drawing in and growing very quickly. Who does Gregory divide all the representatives of the new community into, and how does he treat them? These are steppe husbands, landowners, mistresses of local houses, vacationing dandies, numerous ladies and officers.

Steppe landowners

Fathers of families arrive in Pyatigorsk to find a successful match for their daughters. Their desire is to strengthen their financial condition. The St. Petersburg guards are mostly the sons of successful businessmen. The fate of the daughters is just an excuse. Landowners seek profit in any of their actions. The steppe husbands have worn out old-fashioned frock coats, but their daughters and wives are smart and sophisticated. In every man who passes by, they see the opportunity to create a couple. The sight of Pechorin at first evokes tender curiosity, but it quickly disappears and indignation appears. It is caused by army epaulets. This scene makes the reader smile bitterly.

Mistresses of the waters

Women's attitude towards the military is somewhat different, although the goal is the same: to find a husband or lover. Women delight Pechorin. They are able to maintain their cuteness for a very long time. What is the secret of this skill? Maybe in their inconstancy? Women have to constantly “be on guard”; behind every uniform they see a passionate heart. Men change from season to season, but women remain.

dandies

There are crowds of such men. They have no faces or personality. Pechorin says that they drink a lot and not water. That is, their goal of staying in the Caucasus is not to improve their health. As befits dandies, they hold a glass of healing water, choosing a picture pose - “academic”. They are all lazy, the dandies “drag around in passing,” looking for someone to gossip with, playing and complaining about the boredom that they themselves create. The dandies express contempt for provincial women, suffering about the capital's young ladies. But the reader understands that when they get to Moscow or St. Petersburg, their position changes. There they miss the ladies from the outback, expressing contempt for the aristocrats.

Uniformity of various types

Pechorin finds himself drawn into the life of society. The author proves that it is impossible for a person to remain outside the environment. Gregory becomes a part of it, albeit not the most terrible, but just as dissolute and cruel. What do “water people” do? They gossip, they lie, they deceive. They are drawn to create and imagine themselves as a hero, a leader, an activist. Holidays, balls, wine and food are addictive and it is almost impossible to imagine them in other conditions. It's scary that most of society is young people. It is also frightening that the military becomes the instigators of intrigue. Even they, people who have learned the value of life, like it here. Family relationships are built on deception, profit and pure calculation. Feelings go somewhere into the past, they are played with, gradually forgetting about sincerity and devotion. In aquatic society, the topic of conscience is not at all important. The duel turns into murder and a weapon of revenge. Pechorin treats others with disdain, but this does not add to his attractiveness. He's one of them here.

“Hero of Our Time” was conceived by Lermontov as a work of acute social and psychological orientation.

But he could not help but touch upon the theme of society, which makes the novel social.

The “superfluous man” as a product of his era

Pechorin is included in the category of “superfluous people” by many literary scholars, as is Evgeny Onegin. The composition of the book was built in accordance with the goal that Lermontov tried to achieve - to understand the problems of the individual.

In the psychological chapter “Princess Mary,” the character of Grigory Pechorin comes into conflict with the “water society.” In this story we see how he relates specifically to this society and the whole world in general.

“Water Society” became a collective image of typical representatives of the aristocratic circle of nobles. Their actions and their entire lives reflect the characteristics of that era. The struggle of the individual against the social environment is revealed not only in Pechorin’s character traits, but also in pictures of the life of the “water society”, in its specifics, in the description of its members.

Grigory contemptuously and demonstratively does not join society. From the outside it is easy for him to see how angry aristocrats are towards each other, how they envy, gossip, and commit mean things. The entire way of life and customs that have developed among the inhabitants of the mineral resort are built on the basis of history and traditions accepted in that circle.

"Water Society" - a mirror of that time

Almost all visitors to the resort are opposed to the main character, but there are also people there who are somewhat akin to him.

Grushnitsky was a distorted image of Pechorin. What is innate in Grigory, part of his character, in Grushnitsky became just posing, designed to attract attention and amaze others. With his desire for romance, he achieves the opposite effect - he becomes simply a caricature, a parody of the romantic hero.

Werner in this chapter became the only character comparable to Gregory. They are similar in their skeptical attitude towards people, similar in their intelligence. However, they have many differences. Werner has a passive attitude towards life, while Pechorin tries to experience all the pleasures and passions. Before the fight with Grushnitsky, Grigory calmly admires the landscape, and Werner is interested in whether he left a will.

All the female images drawn by Lermontov on the pages of his book help to further reveal the character of the main character and show how he relates to love.

Separately, it is necessary to consider male characters in the “water society” - civilian and military. A special group is made up of young people on mineral waters. Before us appear people whose images were already depicted in their works by Pushkin and Griboedov. All the same passions are boiling here - the desire to achieve rank, admiration for money and titles, the same boring dance evenings, empty chatter, boredom and gossip.

Here it doesn’t even look like vices, but like a normal pastime. The only difference with Pushkin and Griboyedov is that Lermontov does not show the high society of the capital, but the provincial nobles who are trying with all their might to show that they are the same capital elite. The author skillfully uses irony, creating images of his characters and their surroundings.

The Water Society is not just a random backdrop for the main character. Questions of existence, problems of struggle and friendship of the individual, her relationships with other people became the author’s priority goal. He strives to show not a static individual, but a dynamically moving hero experiencing turbulent events.

M. Yu. Lermontov is a prominent representative of the romantic trend in literature, because of this, the problem of the individual and his environment is key in his works. But the novelty of the novel “A Hero of Our Time” lies in the fact that the clash between personality and society is presented through different artistic means: not only romantic, but also realistic.

Comparison with the novel by A. S. Pushkin “Eugene Onegin”

Grigory Pechorin is the main character of the work, his image is a certain social type. Like Pushkin’s Onegin, he is called the “superfluous man.” In the characters of the two characters, close moments can be traced: small details, some character traits, even the events that happen to them.

But the conflict between the individual and society in “A Hero of Our Time” is more complex than in Pushkin’s novel, since Pechorin is full of life, persistently seeks it, but all attempts are doomed to failure, while Onegin “goes with the flow.”

The role of composition in revealing the problem of personality and society

The composition of the work serves to achieve the main goal set by the writer - the disclosure and resolution of the personality problem. The key place belongs to the story “Princess Mary”. In it, the hero is revealed to the greatest extent, because such a literary device as confession is used. The remaining artistic techniques (portraits, dialogues, landscapes, and so on) add psychologism to this part of the work.

An extensive system of images reveals the secrets of the hero, hidden, at first glance, traits of his character.

Pechorin's conflict with the society around him

Like other representatives of the romantic movement, Mikhail Lermontov contrasts the individual with his environment, the norms and rules accepted in it. The author places the hero in different social environments: either he is presented as an army officer during the Caucasian War, or he communicates with smugglers, or he moves among the nobility.

“Princess Mary” describes in detail Pechorin’s conflict with the “water society”, Grigory Alexandrovich’s relationship with him and with the entire society.

The “Water Society” represents the quintessence of the St. Petersburg and provincial nobility. Their behavior and lifestyle bear a clear imprint of the author's contemporary era. The clash of the individual with the environment is embodied in the relationship of the protagonist with the “water society”, the values ​​and interests of its representatives, and typical entertainment.

All the provincial and metropolitan nobility are opposed to Grigory Pechorin, but in the novel there are quite a few heroes who are not just opposed to the main character, but compared with him.

Comparison of Pechorin with other characters in the work

Grushnitsky is a kind of caricature of the main character. In Grushnitsky, the deep essence of Pechorin becomes just a pose adopted in order to impress others. This is an anti-romantic hero.

His romanticism is almost cartoonish. His behavior often does not correspond to the situation. In everyday affairs he tries to find romantic notes, but in truly romantic moments he gets lost. His participation in the duel has nothing to do with nobility; he does not refuse it only because of pride. Grushnitsky is a little reminiscent of Lensky: romanticism, death in a duel, youth.

Only one male character is not opposed to Pechorin - Werner. They are really similar, both skeptical and witty, in conflict with society. But there are many differences: Pechorin is a man of action, Werner is passive. The character of the latter is not so deep and complex, it is more practical. His appearance is filled with romantic details, but his personality is contradictory.

The main features of the “water society” presented by the author in the novel

A special class in it consists of civil and military men; young people stand apart. But it is impossible to imagine other features other than those already described in detail in the works of A.S. Griboyedov and A.S. Pushkin. The same veneration of rank, idleness, balls and gossip, an absolutely empty life devoid of higher meaning.

Everything is the same, but in “A Hero of Our Time” we see a provincial society, not a metropolitan one. The lifestyle of the local nobility, the atmosphere of a small town, is described with incredible, subtle irony.

We can say that the “water society” is far from a passable image in “A Hero of Our Time.” The problem of the relationship between man and society is the main goal of Mikhail Lermontov’s work. At the same time, the poet and writer continues the traditions of Russian literature of that period.

The water society is representatives of the nobility who are treated and relax in the Caucasian mineral waters. Among them there are visitors, as well as local residents. The chapter “Princess Mary” tells about their way of life on the waters. Pechorin opposes himself to the water society, considers himself superior to others, but he is one of them.

A young officer arrives in Pyatigorsk and is the first to meet on its streets the families of provincial nobles - steppe landowners. Pechorin guesses their place of residence from the old-fashioned, shabby frock coats of the men. Their purpose of arrival is to profitably marry their daughters to a nobleman from the capital, so the wives and daughters of the steppe landowners, unlike the heads of families, are dressed in exquisite outfits. They look at every new person who comes to Pyatigorsk with curiosity, trying to discern a potential groom in him.

The wives of local officials greet guests differently. Not only civilians, but also military gentlemen are good for their holiday romances.

There is also a special class - the dandies. They drink, but not mineral water, walk little, hardly look after the ladies, and complain of boredom. The dandies express contempt for everything provincial and dream of the capital's high society, but they are not allowed there.

Pechorin mockingly observes the morals of the water society, choosing a victim for his intrigues. The cadet Grushnitsky and the pretty Princess Mary become her.

The young army man is a representative of the dandies. This is a narrow-minded person, a lover of external details. Grushnitsky hides his essence behind a spectacular pose and lengthy, elaborate speeches. He loves to produce an effect on others, posing as a sufferer, dreaming of becoming the hero of a novel. Self-love does not allow Grushnitsky to refuse the duel and admit his guilt in a base act, which leads him to his tragic death.

Princess Mary is the most expressive image of the ladies of the water society. She is beautiful, intelligent, and has a sense of humor. It is Mary Pechorin who initiates into the secrets of her soul. The morals of high society had not yet left their deep mark on her young character. The princess is still capable of compassion and love. Pechorin teaches her a cruel lesson and destroys her fragile soul.

Pechorin's friend Doctor Werner stands somewhat apart from the water society. He is similar to the main character in his independent character. This is the only person whose opinion is important for Pechorin. Werner is smart, ironic, and sees right through people. Unlike Pechorin, who actively participates in life, Werner watches it as if from the outside. The doctor is even more pragmatic than Pechorin in life, devoid of romantic feelings. Before the duel, Pechorin admires the beauty of nature, and Werner is interested in whether his friend has a will.

All representatives of the water society are united by veneration, intrigue, envy, secular gossip, idle pastime, and spiritual emptiness. It is a copy of the high society of Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Option 2

Pechorin, the main character of Lermontov’s novel “A Hero of Our Time,” is traditionally classified as “superfluous people.” The writer, placing his character in various circumstances, confronting him with different people, compares him and the environment.

Pechorin opposes the “water society”; the author depicts the hero’s view of this society and the environment as a whole. “Water society” is, of course, a collective image. These are representatives of the nobility, in whose behavior and way of life all the typical features of the writer’s time are observed. The clash between an individual and society is depicted not only to reveal Pechorin’s character, but also to reflect the life priorities of the “water society”. Pechorin, with barely concealed disdain, notes the feeling of envy of representatives of high society, their commitment to intrigues and slander. The morals of the people, over whom his hero follows the author with irony, are determined by historical events and customs.

“Water Society” is the antagonist of Pechorin, however, there are characters who are not opposite to Pechorin, but, on the contrary, are comparable to the main character. Grushnitsky, for example, is in some way a caricature of the main character. And while Pechorin has the essence of his nature, Grushnitsky has a spectacular pose with which he hopes to impress. He poses and often behaves inappropriately under the circumstances. Grushnitsky’s participation in the fight is low and ignoble, but he cannot give up, as he is extremely ambitious.

Werner is only one male character who is comparable to Pechorin. Their kinship is revealed in their relationships with society, their sharp mind, and skepticism. But Werner is inactive, less deep and complex than the main character.

As for the female characters in the novel, they are also necessary to fulfill the main task - revealing the character of Pechorin, his view of love. Of the presented female images, Princess Mary is depicted more expressively. This is a romantic nature, she is young, intelligent, and witty. A pure and naive nature, against her background Pechorin’s egoism is even more obvious.

Faith is a fuzzy image, described with strokes and hints. She is compared with Pechorin and in the relationship with her one can clearly feel the tragedy of the protagonist’s position, his inability to truly love.

A special category in the “water society” is represented by civil and military men. The “water youth” stands apart. But everywhere there is the same veneration of rank, the same balls, wasting time, gossip, spiritual poverty. Provincial society copies the capital's.

“Water Society” is not an accidental line of the novel. The problem of personality, its relationship with the outside world is the most important task of M. Yu. Lermontov’s creativity.

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