A Hero of Our Time - Lermontov

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Mikhail Lermontov's famous novel, “A Hero of our Time,” was and remains one of the great literary achievements of the 19th century. Lermontov is considered to be the only true Romantic poet from Russia, and it is easy to see why after reading this book. He is greatly influenced by Byronism (a literary movement in Europe started by the Romantic poet George Gordon Lord Byron). In his work, Lermontov creates a character who encapsulates Byronic principles. Pechorin, Lermontov's protagonist, is a darker hero than most in Russian society are accustomed to. He is sensitive and cynical; he has great insight into his own personality and yet remains extremely arrogant. Pechorin is remarkably intelligent and prefers to rely on the certainty of intellect rather than the unpredictable nature of emotions. He is vain and ambitious but never content with his achievements. Once he sets out on a new adventure he easily gets bored with what he has accomplished and becomes depressed. He states "my imagination knows no peace, my heart no satisfaction". He specifically enjoys the challenge of conquering women. As time goes on however, he grows bored with the lovers he has seduced and treats them unkindly or just leaves them altogether. Throughout his journeys Pechorin is cruel to his lovers, rude to strangers, and even kills one of his friends in a duel sparked by a minor disagreement (showing little remorse afterwards). Perhaps Pechorin's contradictory personality is best summarized by the comment he makes to a friend about a lover: "I'm still in love with her. I'm grateful to her for a few moments of relative bliss. I'd give my life for her. But she bores me". Lermontov's creation of this morally corrupt protagonist sparked condemnation from many Russians upon its publication. Society was not comfortable with such a villainous character being hailed a hero as Lermontov clearly implies by the title of the book. In reaction to the criticism, Lermontov adds a preface in the book's second publication to explain that Pechorin "is a portrait of the vices of our whole generation in their ultimate development." He brilliantly points out that perhaps society is so fervently opposed to Pechorin because they secretly fear the realities in Pechorin's personality. Lermontov rhetorically asks "you will say that no man can be so bad, and I will ask you why, after accepting all the villains of tragedy and romance, you refuse to believe in Pechorin? You have admired far more terrible and monstrous characters than he is, so why are you so merciless to him, even as a fictitious character? Perhaps he comes too close to the bone?" Still today, Pechorin is a fascinating literary character and his personality is formed by the principles of Byronism.

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A Hero of Our Time (Illustrated)

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A Hero of Our Time is a novel by Mikhail Lermontov published in 1840. It tells the story of a young officer, Pechorin, sent to the Caucasus after a duel. This is what the author himself wrote about his idea of Pechorin in the preface:
"Pechorin, my dear readers, is in fact a portrait, but not of one man only: he is a composite portrait, made up of all the vices which flourish, full-grown, amongst the present generation. You will tell me, as you have told me before, that no man can be so wicked as this; and my reply will be: If you believe that such persons as the villains of tragedy and romance could exist in real life, why can you not believe in the reality of Pechorin? If you could admire far more terrifying and repulsive types, why aren't you more merciful to this character, even if it is fictitious? Isn't it because there's more truth in it than you might wish?"

This edition includes 22 illustrations by M. Lermontov, M. Vrubel, V. Serov, V. Polyakov and other artists of the late 19th and early 20th century.

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A Hero of Our Time (Illustrated) | Герой нашего времени (Russian Edition)

Description

A Hero of Our Time is a novel by Mikhail Lermontov published in 1840. It tells the story of a young officer, Pechorin, sent to the Caucasus after a duel. (Russian edition).

"Герой нашего времени" — единственный законченный роман М.Ю. Лермонтова. Отдельные части романа были опубликованы в "Отечественных записках" в 1839, а полностью "Герой нашего времени" был издан в 1840 году.

"В основной идее романа господина Лермонтова" — писал В.Г. Белинский, — "лежит важный современный вопрос о внутреннем человеке, вопрос, на который откликнутся все, и потому роман должен возбудить всеобщее внимание, весь интерес нашей публики... Слог повести — то блеск молнии, то удар меча, то рассыпающийся по бархату жемчуг!"

Книга иллюстрирована работами  М.Ю. Лермонтова, М.А. Врубеля, В.А. Серова и др. художников 19 века.

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Russian Classics in Russian and English: A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov (Dual-Language Book) (Russian Edition)

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This is a dual-language book with the Russian text on the left side, and the English text on the right side of each spread. The texts are precisely synchronized. See more details about this and other books on Russian Novels in Russian and English page on Facebook.

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Lermontov: Tragedy in the Caucasus

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The demon

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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

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