The image of Eugene Onegin in the novel “Eugene Onegin” by Pushkin: description of the hero in quotes. Collection of ideal essays on social studies Onegin's perception of the world around him

Pushkin devoted about nine years, almost half of his creative life, to the creation of the novel, putting into it the fruits of “a mind of cold observations and a heart of sorrowful notes.”

With all the breadth of themes of the novel "Eugene Onegin" it is, first of all, a novel about the mental life and quests of the Russian noble intelligentsia of the 20s of the 19th century. Pushkin turned to creating the image of his contemporary in his early romantic works, for example, in “Prisoner of the Caucasus.” However, the hero of this work did not satisfy the author, as he turned out to be romantic. The circumstances in which he acted were hothouse, his past remained vague, the reasons for his disappointment were unclear. Therefore, Pushkin returned to the idea of ​​creating a typical image of a contemporary in his main work, the novel Eugene Onegin.

Now we also have before us a disappointed hero, and in this we can see a connection with romantic poems, but he is depicted completely differently: his upbringing, education, and the environment in which he was born and lives is described in detail. The poet not only indicates obvious signs of his disappointment, but sets out to explain the reasons that gave rise to it.

The concept of “an extra person” appeared in 1850, when I. S. Turgenev’s “Diary of an Extra Man” was published. However, in Pushkin’s drafts there is a remark that Onegin at a social event “stands like something superfluous,” and it was Pushkin who for the first time in Russian literature creates the image of a “superfluous person.”

Onegin "secular Petersburg young man", metropolitan aristocrat; “Having fun and luxury as a child,” he received a home education and upbringing, typical for aristocratic youth of that time, under the guidance of a French tutor, who, “so as not to exhaust the child, taught him everything jokingly, did not bother him with strict morals...”

Onegin leads a life typical of the “golden youth” of that time: balls, restaurants, walks along Nevsky Prospect, visiting theaters. It took him eight years. But Onegin stands out from the general mass of aristocratic youth. Pushkin notes his “involuntary devotion to dreams, inimitable strangeness and a sharp, chilled mind,” a sense of honor, and nobility of soul. This could not but lead Onegin to disappointment in life, in secular society.

Blues and boredom took possession of Onegin. Having moved away from the “empty light”, he tries to engage in some useful activity. Nothing came of trying to write. Evgeny did not have a calling: “yawning, he took up his pen,” and he had no habit of work: “he was sick of persistent work.” An attempt to combat “spiritual emptiness” through reading also proved unsuccessful. The books he read either did not satisfy him, or turned out to be in tune with his thoughts and feelings and only strengthened them.

And now Onegin is trying to organize the life of the peasants on the estate, which he inherited from his uncle:

He is the yoke of the ancient corvée
I replaced it with a light quitrent...

However, all his activities as a landowner-owner were limited to this reform. The old moods, although somewhat softened by life in the lap of nature, continue to possess him. Everywhere he feels like a stranger and superfluous: both in high society and in provincial drawing rooms. It was hard and unbearable for him to see before him

There's a long row of dinners alone,
See life as a ritual
And after the decorous crowd
Go without sharing with her
No common opinions, no passions.

Onegin's extraordinary mind, his freedom-loving sentiments and critical attitude to reality placed him high above the "secular rabble", especially among the local nobility, thereby dooming him to complete loneliness. Having broken with secular society, in which he found neither high interests nor real feelings, but only a parody of them, Onegin loses touch with people.

Even such strong feelings as love and friendship could not save Onegin from “spiritual emptiness.” He rejected Tatyana’s love, since he valued “freedom and peace” above all else, and failed to discern the depth of her soul and her feelings. Fed up with the love of society ladies, Onegin became disillusioned with this feeling. His attitude towards love is rational and feigned. It is designed in the spirit of acquired secular “truths,” the main goal of which is to charm and seduce, to appear in love.

How early could he be a hypocrite?
To harbor hope, to be jealous,
To dissuade, to make believe,
Seem gloomy, languish.

And finally, Onegin’s friendship with Lensky ended tragically. No matter how Onegin’s noble mind protested against the duel, social conventions shaped by the light still prevailed. Onegin killed his friend Lensky because he could not rise above the public opinion of the local nobility, which he inwardly despised. He was afraid of the “whispers, the laughter of fools,” the gossip of the Zaretskys, Petushkovs, and Skotinins.

And here is public opinion,
Spring of honor, our idol.
And this is what the world revolves on! ?

exclaims Pushkin. The outcome of Onegin’s life is bleak:

Having lived without a goal, without work
Until twenty-six years old,
Languishing in idle leisure
Without work, without wife, without business,
I couldn't do anything...

V. G. Belinsky called Onegin a “reluctant egoist,” a “suffering egoist,” because society made him such a “strong, remarkable nature.” “Evil is hidden not in man, but in society,” the critic wrote. Onegin's skepticism and disappointment are a reflection of the general “illness of modern Russians,” which gripped a significant part of the noble intelligentsia at the beginning of the century. Pushkin condemns not so much the hero as the secular environment that shaped him as a person.

It is obvious that the Onegins are doomed to inaction. The transformation of Onegin into a “superfluous man” was certainly inevitable at that time. He belonged to that enlightened part of the noble intelligentsia who avoided serving tsarism, did not want to be in the ranks of the silent ones, but also stood aloof from public activities. Pushkin’s undoubted merit is that in his novel he showed the tragedy of “superfluous people” and the reasons for their appearance among the noble intelligentsia of the 20s of the 19th century.

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Eugene Onegin from the novel of the same name by A.S. Pushkin is a unique character, in whom positive and negative character traits are equal. That is why his image, despite all the drama and negative impact on the destinies and lives of other characters, is attractive.

Onegin's age and marital status

Evgeny Onegin is a young nobleman of hereditary origin. In other words, his noble title was passed down to him from his ancestors, and was not earned by Onegin himself. Evgeniy was born in St. Petersburg, where he spent most of his life. Onegin's parents had already died by the time of the story, the exact date of death of the parents is unknown, the only thing that can be said is: at the time of the death of his parents, Onegin was not a small child - in the novel there are references to the fact that his parents took part in the process of his upbringing and education.

His parents had no other children. Onegin also has no cousins ​​- his closest relatives are childless. Onegin was “the heir of all his relatives.”

Dear readers! On our website you can get acquainted with A.S. Pushkin in the table.

After the death of his father, Eugene became the heir not only to the title of nobility, but also to numerous debts. An accident helped put an end to the debts - his uncle was seriously ill, and according to all forecasts he was soon to die. Since the uncle had no heirs, the owner of the uncle's estate had to become the closest relative. In this case it was Onegin.

Evgeny comes to his dying uncle, but Onegin is not guided by a feeling of affection for his uncle or love for a relative - in the case of Onegin it was a tactical move.

Evgeny only created the appearance of bitterness of loss; in fact, he is indifferent to his uncle’s person, and courting a dying man makes the young man melancholy and despondent.

After his uncle's death, Eugene gives his father's estate to the creditors and thus gets rid of his debts. Thus, the young 26-year-old single nobleman has the opportunity to start life over with a new leaf.

Education of Evgeny Onegin and occupation

Eugene Onegin, like all nobles, was an educated man. However, his basic knowledge wants to be better - Onegin's teacher Monsieur L'Abbe was not a strict teacher, he often made concessions to Eugene and tried not to complicate Onegin's life with science, so the quality of Eugene's knowledge, given his natural potential, could be better. Nothing is known about whether Onegin received his education in educational institutions. Despite such an obvious disregard for science, Onegin, like all nobles, knew French well (He knew French perfectly / Could express himself and wrote), knew a little Latin (He knew enough Latin / To parse epigraphs). He really didn’t like history: “He had no desire to rummage / In the chronological dust / History of the earth.”

Pushkin in the novel says that Evgeny lived carefree and did not experience any difficulties in life. He also had no goals in life - Onegin lived one day at a time, indulging in entertainment. Evgeniy was not in military or civil service. This was quite likely due to his whim, and not due to the inability to begin service.

Evgeny Onegin leads an active social life - he is a regular at balls and dinner parties.

Attachment to fashion trends in clothing

Evgeny Onegin is a real dandy. "Cut in the latest fashion."

His suit always follows the latest fashion trends. Evgeny spends a lot of time on hygiene procedures, dresses for a long time, examining his outfit from all sides: “He spent at least three hours / Spent in front of mirrors.”

It is unacceptable for him to have anything less than ideal in his appearance. Onegin does not look ridiculous in his suit; he is comfortable in such clothes. His plastic movements are successfully emphasized with the help of certain elements of clothing.

Onegin and society

Going out into society became an everyday entertainment for Onegin - therefore, soon all types of behavior of aristocrats became well known to him, and the appearances that had once captivated him began to tire and bore him.

Evgeny rarely gets carried away with anything - he is tired of everything: the theater, and balls, and dinner parties - everything bores the young dandy. That is why Evgeniy tries to distance himself from any communication - he is too tired of society and prefers solitude.” He was tired of the noise of the world... and in the village the boredom is the same.

In general, Eugene did not like either society or people. The only person he envied and respected was Vladimir Lensky:
Although he knew people, of course
And in general he despised them, -
/ But (there are no rules without exceptions)
He distinguished others very much
And I respected someone else’s feelings.

Leisure of Onegin

Since Evgeny Onegin is not in the service and is actually not busy with anything, he has a lot of free time in his arsenal. However, despite all the accompanying factors, he toils for a long time, not knowing what to do with himself. Onegin is not interested in anything - neither science, nor travel.

On our website you can read the story “The Queen of Spades” by A. S. Pushkin.

From time to time, Onegin whiles away his time by reading books. These are mainly works on economic topics, for example, the works of Adam Smith, but this did not last long “as women, he left books.” Evgeny himself loves to philosophize, although he does not have deep knowledge in any branch of science or culture.

Evgeny Onegin and women

Onegin was a prominent personality in the eyes of aristocrats. His youth, natural beauty and good manners allowed him to become a favorite in female society. At the beginning, such attention to his person flattered Onegin, but soon Eugene got tired of it.

Onegin notes that basically all women are fickle - they easily change their minds and this leaves a negative imprint on relationships with women.

The beauties didn't last long
The subject of his usual thoughts;
The betrayals have become tiresome

After arriving in the village, Onegin meets a young landowner - the romantic poet Vladimir Lensky. It is thanks to Lensky that Evgeny ends up in the Larins’ house.

Olga, the younger sister, was Lensky’s fiancée, but the eldest, Tatyana, did not have a groom. Despite the fact that Tatyana is noticeably different from other female representatives, her person does not arouse interest in Onegin. However, the same trend does not work in the case of Tatyana - the girl falls in love with a young man and decides to be the first to admit her feelings. However, Onegin does not feel in love with the girl; he tries to give her advice and behaves rudely with her, which brings her significant mental anguish and disappointment.

Evgeny Onegin and Lensky

After moving to the village, Evgeniy gets rid of numerous debts, but he never managed to escape from society and boredom. As in any other village located at a remote distance from large cities, the arrival of any new person causes a stir. Therefore, Onegin’s hopes for a solitary life could in no way be justified. This sad trend was further strengthened by the fact that Eugene was young, wealthy and single, which means he was a potential groom.

Interest in the person of Onegin arose not only among young unmarried girls and their parents. In the person of Onegin, Vladimir Lensky expected to find a friend. Evgeniy was not at all similar in temperament and character to Vladimir. Such differences in views and personal qualities attracted the young poet. Over time, Onegin became a friend of Lensky, despite the fact that friendship, like love, was already quite boring and disappointing to him: “friends and friendship are tired.”

It cannot be said that Onegin and Lensky are connected by the true concept of friendship, at least on the part of Eugene. He maintains his communication with the young poet solely out of boredom and the lack of other company.

During the celebration of Tatyana Larina's name day, where Lensky brought him against his wishes, Onegin is quite bored and is angry at Tatyana's behavior. Soon, Evgeniy decides to take revenge on Vladimir for bringing him here by force - he dances with Olga, Lensky’s fiancée, which causes an attack of jealousy in his friend. This was not the end of the incident - a duel followed the attack of jealousy. Evgeniy understands perfectly well that he was wrong, but he does not dare to explain himself to his friend - Evgeniy deliberately neglects some of the rules of the duel (he is late, takes a servant as a second), hoping that because of this Lensky will postpone the duel, but this does not happen. As we see, Onegin is not a hopeless person, but he is unable to publicly admit his mistake, which leads to tragedy - Lensky was mortally wounded and died on the spot:

Killed!.. With this terrible exclamation
Smitten, Onegin with a shudder
He leaves and calls people...

Characteristics of the personal qualities of Evgeny Onegin

From his infancy, Evgeny Onegin was not deprived of attention. He grew up in affluence and permissiveness, so as an adult he was a selfish and spoiled person.

Onegin has enormous potential for the development of his personality - he has an extraordinary mind, he is smart and attentive, but he neglects all this. He does not want to do anything useful that would bring him positive results in the future - he likes to go with the flow.

Onegin knows how to impress people - he knows how to talk about any topic, despite the superficiality of his knowledge. Onegin is not an emotional and unromantic person. He has a “sharp, chilled mind.”

Onegin “Always frowning, silent, / Angry and coldly jealous!” He seems strange and eccentric to those around him, and this attracts people to him even more.

Thus, Evgeny Onegin is an unusual character - he has every opportunity to change his life and bring a lot of positive things into the lives of his family, but he neglects this due to his lack of restraint and inability to force himself to do necessary, but uninteresting things. His life is like an endless holiday, but, like any other activity, constant entertainment bored Onegin and became the cause of his blues.

With the poem “Eugene Onegin,” Pushkin began the theme of “superfluous” people in Russian literature. Following him, this problem was developed by Griboedov in the play “Woe from Wit”, M. Lermontov in the story “Hero of Our Time”, Turgenev in “Fathers and Sons” and in “Notes of an Extra Man”, Goncharov in “Oblomov” and other writers of that time .

Russian literature of the second half of the 19th century highlighted the education of a new person, active, proactive and useful to society. That's when this expression first appeared - extra people. As a rule, these are wealthy and educated people. They are able to purposefully serve their fatherland and society. Capable, but unwilling. Service often meant fighting for democratic freedoms.

But Pushkin and his contemporaries were influenced by Byronic romanticism. They created images of dissatisfied, bored skeptics. The superfluous person in early romantic literature was Aleko from, who fled from civilized society to a gypsy camp, but even there he did not find his place and purpose in life. Aleko served as a predecessor as a literary hero.

Why do we consider Evgeny Onegin an unnecessary person? It would seem that before us is a young man who has everything ahead. But Evgeniy lives. While he lived in St. Petersburg, all that interested him was entertainment: balls, theaters, drinking with friends, women, intrigue. Everyday repetition of the same entertainment, the same conversations, faces led our hero to a skeptical attitude towards people.

Onegin does not seek to start a family, he does not serve anywhere. He lives on income from the peasants, but even here he does not lift a finger to somehow increase productivity or improve the lives of those who belong to him. No. We must give him credit for replacing corvee with quitrent, for which the peasants were grateful to him, and the neighboring landowners were wary. This was the end of his economic work. If we recall the famous proverb, we can say that Onegin did not build a house, did not plant a tree, and did not give birth to a child.

Onegin was capable of intrigue in order to disperse the blood and have fun. When he started flirting with someone on his name day, he didn't think much about the consequences. After all, a young and pretty creature with a doll-like face could take his flirting at face value and fall in love. He didn’t care how his advances with Olga were perceived or how she felt. It was important for him to stroke his own ego and infuriate him.

He does not talk about where Onegin went after the duel, where he was before meeting Tatyana. But having met Onegin in St. Petersburg, we again see an idle man who now consoles himself with love for someone else’s wife, and sees the meaning of his existence in the fact that he follows her to all the social events where she happens.

Literary critics believe that “extra people” appeared due to some kind of social instability, and if Russia had a different social system and a different political situation, they would not have existed. But that's not true. One can name many examples of people who lived and worked in these same years and in the same social and social system, and at the same time gained fame and created a fortune for their descendants (that is, who grew a tree and built a house). Examples? We won't go far for them. These are the literary authors who wrote the books mentioned. By the way, Onegin tried to take up the pen and write something, but it didn’t work out. Laziness and inability to do socially significant work turned out to be stronger than him.

But it wasn’t even laziness that gave birth to extra people. She herself was born from the absence of any purpose.

One of the literary critics had the idea that Onegin would take the path of fighting the autocracy and would end up in the ranks of the Decembrists. If this happens, it will not be out of conviction that one is right, and a desire to free the country from tyranny. But only out of a desire to occupy my idle mind with something, to get the adrenaline pumping in my blood.

In Pushkin’s poetic heritage, the novel “Eugene Onegin” occupies one of the central places. The work begins a new period in Russian literature. In "Eugene Onegin", as in a mirror, Russian life of the Pushkin period was reflected. The eighth anniversary (1823 - 1831), during which the novel was written, was a turning point in the history of Russia and in the difficult fate of the author himself. The novel reflects the poet’s aspirations and thoughts, his worldview and feelings.

“Eugene Onegin” is not just a novel, but a novel in verse; it obeys special artistic laws. He is free from the classical canons in the field of literary plot and is open to the “unpredictable freedom of the plot of life.”

The central figure of the novel is Eugene Onegin. Who is Eugene Onegin, and why exactly did he appear at the top of the list of “superfluous people” in Russian literature?

In the arena of life - a young nobleman with a complex, contradictory character. He was born on the banks of the Neva; received a typical education for that time. French teachers and tutors taught him in such a way “so that the child would not be exhausted.” The years of study quickly passed, and now the light awaits Evgeny Onegin.

"Cut in the latest fashion,
How dandy London is dressed..."

He knew French perfectly, danced easily and naturally, was smart and sweet, that is, he fit perfectly into the standards of high society. Onegin tried to take from his young life everything he had time for: balls, visits, restaurants, ballet, meetings, masquerades...

But too soon the young, brilliant dandy became fed up with the world and became disillusioned with everything.

As a smart person, he began to look for a way out of the situation. He began to write, but his superficial attitude towards any task and inability to concentrate on serious studies led to the fact that “nothing came out of his pen.” I started to read, “but it was all to no avail.”

The situation was partly saved by the fact that Onegin, albeit for sad reasons, changed his place of residence and ended up in the village. But blues, boredom and melancholy catch up with him here too.

He refuses the love feelings of the modest young lady Tatiana. And he even reads a sermon to her on this topic:

“Learn to control yourself;
Not everyone will understand you, as I say;
Inexperience leads to disaster."

Onegin's acquaintance with his young neighbor Lensky also does not lead to anything good. There was a duel between them and Lensky died. Onegin begins to be gnawed by pangs of conscience. He is leaving on a trip to Russia. Depression “follows” him everywhere.

The traveler returns to the capital. And what does he see? New Tatyana - a married woman, a society lady. This is no longer that enthusiastic, modest village young lady.

"She doesn't notice him
No matter how he fights, even if he dies.
Accepts freely at home,
When visiting him, he says three words,
Sometimes he will greet you with one bow,
Sometimes he won’t notice at all...”

Now love flares up in Onegin’s heart. But Tatyana rejects him. Onegin is forced to part with her forever.

Let us take a closer look at the figure of Onegin. Onegin is smart, “my good friend,” a man—an old-fashioned intellectual. He is capable of certain activities (one of his good deeds is the abolition of corvée, replacing it with quitrent), but is not capable of hard work. He lacks willpower, demands and self-criticism. He does not have the strength necessary for meaningful, useful social work.

Onegin is a person who fits the category of “superfluous people” in Russian literature. The term “extra person” arose in 1850 after the publication of the story by I.S. Turgenev "Diary of an Extra Man". An extra person is a type of nobleman suffering from boredom, melancholy and loneliness. A superfluous person is characterized by mental fatigue, self-destruction, and deep skepticism.

Dissatisfied, bored in society, Onegin lives in the name of some high principles and ideal aspirations. In fact, Eugene is only ready to apply lofty ideas about the human person, about freedom and its rights to himself, but not only does not recognize these rights in others, but also does not tolerate them.

Conclusion

The novel “Eugene Onegin” is one of the most significant, outstanding works of our poet Alexander Pushkin. The main character, Onegin, idle and bored, is familiar to Russian literature as a type of “superfluous person.”

Onegin has no prospect of self-realization; he has abilities, but no will. Throughout the entire narrative, the author of the novel’s attitude towards Onegin is ironic, without sarcasm; with shades of sympathy for the main character.

Why is Evgeny Onegin called the “superfluous man”?

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“Eugene Onegin” is the first Russian realistic socio-psychological novel, the central work of Pushkin, written by him in 1830. In the novel in verse “Eugene Onegin” by A.S. Pushkin, a new type of hero, not previously encountered in Russian literature, is revealed - the “extra person”. In this work, his role is played by the title character. Characteristic features of this personality: meaninglessness and aimlessness of existence, lack of understanding of one’s place and role in life, disappointment, boredom, melancholy, “sharp, chilled mind”, judgments and interests that differ from generally accepted ones. In order to make sure that Onegin was “superfluous man,” let’s look at his biography. Eugene is a representative of the nobility, which was very important for the “superfluous person,” since the peasant could not belong to this type. Only a representative of the nobility can lead a lifestyle similar to a “superfluous man”: the nobles lived off the labor of others, did not know how to work, were smart and educated, unlike the peasants. It was from Eugene’s great mind that he realized his meaningless existence, which led the hero to suffering. Onegin is a secular man, not burdened with service. The young man leads a hectic, carefree life full of entertainment, but he is not satisfied with the pastime that quite suits the people of his circle. Onegin was smarter than them, he thought and felt subtly, so he was worried and tormented by his aimless life, he did not want to devote it only to entertainment, like they did. Since Eugene was a nobleman, he was used to living on everything ready-made. Onegin was not accustomed to anything persistent and long-term; he was bored with monotonous work. Any systematic activity leads to disappointment. His upbringing did not teach him to work hard, he was bored with everything, and this led to thoughts about the worthlessness of his life, disappointment in it, boredom and sadness:

In short: Russian blues
I mastered it little by little;
He will shoot himself, thank God,
I didn't want to try
But I lost interest in life completely

Onegin tried to occupy himself with creativity, began to read books, but even here his efforts were in vain:
I read and read, but to no avail:
There is boredom, there is deception and delirium;
There is no conscience in that, there is no meaning in that

The hero is forced to leave St. Petersburg and move to the village. This circumstance gives rise to hope for a better life in his destiny. Arriving in the village, Evgeniy tried to take up farming and eased the situation of the peasants on his estate: “he replaced the ancient corvée with a light quitrent.” But this does not occupy him for long.

The “superfluous person” perceives relationships with other people as something boring. The peculiarity of such a person is the inability to establish long-term relationships, because they bore him just like any other activity. He does not want to communicate with neighbors who can only talk “about haymaking and wine, about the kennel and their relatives.” Onegin prefers loneliness. For this, Evgeniy receives an unflattering description from the landowners: “Our neighbor is ignorant; crazy; he is a pharmacist...”

Evgeniy’s friendship with Lensky also ends tragically. Only with Vladimir Lensky One