Onegin and Lensky became friends only because in their environment there were no more people of the appropriate age, education, position. "From nothing to do friends" met almost every day, spent time together. They needed each other: Lensky needed Onegin as a listener, a connoisseur of his poetry, as an interesting interlocutor who had his own original point of view, as an image, mysterious and romantic, which he would certainly have embodied in his future poem if he had time ... Why Lensky was to Onegin is more difficult to answer. Perhaps he, disappointed in life, was interested in watching how an enthusiastic and ardent poet would lose faith in his ideals, what this romantic, constantly hovering in the clouds, would be like when he met the first blows of fate. But time passed and everything remained the same: the enamored Lensky spoke enthusiastic nonsense, and Onegin became angry and annoyed more and more. The reason for his bad mood was the recent explanation with Tatyana and also the fact that Lensky, not feeling and not seeing anything but his own happiness, does not even try to understand his friend's mood and persistently persuades him to be at the Larins' birthday parties. The desire to teach the young egoist a lesson becomes stronger, due to a sense of the absurdity of the situation: he refused Tatyana and suddenly appeared to her on her name day, as if he had changed his mind, as if he was allowing the unfortunate girl to relive vain hopes. Courting Olga is also a desire to take revenge on Lensky, returning him from heaven to earth and the desire to get away forever from new explanations with Tatiana. Did Onegin assume that Lensky would challenge him to a duel? Of course, yes. And how else could the groom act at a time when a friend compromised his bride Olga in front of the entire Larin family and invited guests. In many ways, the fact that the duel took place is to blame for the dependence of both friends on the "opinions of the world." None of them wanted to "discover feelings, and not bristle like a beast," simply fearing that these feelings would be regarded as cowardice. Onegin, who knows how to shoot perfectly, shot the inexperienced duelist Lensky first. How many generations of readers have been breaking spears in disputes about why he did not shoot into the air - in this case, the noble Lensky would have had no choice but to do the same. Maybe this is a subconscious desire to survive in order to experience a real feeling? Or maybe a conscious desire to be in the eyes of others a fatal "demonic" hero? Did the poet want to punish his hero with eternal torments of remorse, or reward him with the newfound ability to love to suffer, expiating his guilt? It's hard to answer. The genius of the work lies in the fact that it makes you think, experience, look for everyone's own answers to many controversial questions.
The role of A.S. Pushkin in Russian literature is paramount. Thanks to the activity of the poet, national literature freed itself from imitation and acquired originality. There were works of a completely different kind, both in form and in content.
The novel in verse "Eugene Onegin" is an exceptional work of Pushkin. Exceptional in its novelty, in the display of characters and mores, in the description of the era, in the number of tender elegies, in the level of poetic skill.
In the center of the story are two young men - Eugene Onegin and Vladimir Lensky. Onegin is a young, metropolitan dandy, by right of birth and upbringing - an aristocrat. At the celebration of life, he is one of the first: “having fun and luxury a child”, a genius of “science of tender passion”.
Onegin is where there is an endless string of balls and holidays, theaters and restaurants, festivities and masquerades.
But, being a man of an acutely critical mind, Onegin quickly loses interest in secular life. Onegin is taller than the surrounding crowd. The tinsel of light no longer seduces him.
By the will of fate, he finds himself in the village, where he meets Vladimir Lensky, a man with views that are opposite to him, to Onegin.
Lensky belongs to the type of young people who are enthusiastic and enthusiastic about life. He is a romantic, a freethinker, a poet. Skepticism and boredom are not familiar to him.
It would seem that young people are completely different. In his moral and psychological appearance, Onegin is an individualist and egoist. Lensky is completely different. He ardently believes in love, in ideal friendship, in a youthful way. He lives in obedience not to reason, but to the call of his heart. Rationalism is not his forte.
But, despite significant differences, these two heroes have something in common. Both of them are without a real, masculine affair. There are no prospects to benefit our Fatherland in the future. They are both products of their time and their society.
In the countryside, in the open spaces, Onegin and Lensky became friends. And, despite the fact that “everything gave rise to disputes between them,” relations between friends developed, and at first nothing foreshadowed trouble.
But, as is often the case in novels, life and death go hand in hand.
The duel that arose between Onegin and Lensky is the central, turning point in the novel "Eugene Onegin". What events led to the duel?
The reason for the duel was Onegin's incorrect behavior towards both his friend Lensky and Lensky's fiancee, Olga. On one of the holidays, Onegin defiantly flirts with Olga. And she, a narrow-minded young lady, empty and frivolous, succumbs to flirting. Lensky is furious and demands to resolve the situation in a duel.
Why did Onegin begin to show signs of attention to Olga, whom he never liked? The fact is that he wanted to take revenge on Lensky for bringing him to a holiday with the Larins, at which Tatyana (in love with Onegin) showed herself not from the best side. Tatyana could not hide her hysterical-nervous mood, which was not befitting this situation. And Onegin organically could not stand the exciting, nervous moods.
"Tragi-nervous phenomena,
Girlish swoons, tears
Eugene could not stand for a long time ... "
Onegin was angry with both Lensky, who delivered him to the Larins, and Tatyana.
Lensky, seeing Onegin's inappropriate behavior and Olga's reciprocal attentions, challenged Onegin to a duel.
The note to Onegin was handed over by "Zaretsky, once a brawler, Ataman of the Cartege gang."
Duel
A duel is a denouement, an event not uncommon in fiction. The duel had no primordial roots on Russian soil. For Russians, the solution of controversial issues through a duel is not typical. This "procedure" was borrowed by the Russians in Western Europe. The word "duel" itself comes from the French word duel.
Why did the denouement come so quickly? Why could the controversial issue be resolved in only one way - a bloody duel? To understand this issue, you need to know some biographical facts from the life of the heroes of the novel.
The formation of the personalities of Onegin and Lensky took place under the influence of Western ideologies.
During Onegin's upbringing, which took place under the guidance of French teachers and tutors, the emphasis was not on the scientific and labor principle, but on the desire to make a secular person with appropriate habits out of the ward. The duel is an inevitable companion of secular strife. And Onegin in his soul was always ready for a duel.
In addition, Onegin is a nobleman, and at that time it was customary to clarify all misunderstandings among the nobles in a duel.
Lensky, in turn, who was educated abroad in Germany, like Onegin, was cut off from his native soil. He was influenced by the then fashionable romantic trend in Europe. The vague ideas of the representatives of the German romantic school were instilled in the students. The disciples lived under the influence of these ideas, that is, in a world of dreams and fantasies.
The ideals of eternal love, the victory of good over evil, the thrown glove, pistols - all this "romance" was in Lensky's blood. Far away was only the true reality, the true state of things.
Lensky, in a fit of anger, guided by the rules of honor, decides to kill Onegin. And he dies, as he himself believes, for the honor of Olga. He brings the idea of being "her savior" to life. At the same time, he does not consider it necessary to speak frankly with Olga. Pride does not allow.
Pride is an essential evil. It blocks the true qualities of a person, introduces him into a circle of ridiculous delusions. Olga was not going to cheat on Lensky. Onegin had no views of Olga. And if Lensky humbled his pride, figured out all this, then there would be no duel. And Lensky would not have laid down his head ahead of time.
The terrible truth of life lies in the fact that the fate of Pushkin, our beloved poet who died so early, turned out to be similar to the fate of Lensky. Pushkin was also killed in a duel.
There are similarities between the duels Lensky - Onegin and Pushkin - Dantes. Both duels took place in winter (in the snow). A Onegin pistol of the same brand (the work of Lepage) that Pushkin used on his fateful day. Both duels took place a la barriere (to shoot at the barrier).
Was it possible to cancel the duel? Why did Onegin accept the challenge? After all, he knew perfectly well that either he himself or his friend would die. Although he was confident in his abilities. At the same time, he understood that the reason for the duel was insignificant. In fact, he could explain himself to Lensky. But to enter into negotiations with an eighteen-year-old boy - he is not like that! And what will the world say? And although he despises the neighbors of the landlords and puts him in no regard, he cannot disregard public opinion. To be considered a coward in someone's eyes is not for him. Since it so happened and the gauntlet is thrown to him, he is obliged to accept the challenge to a duel. Such was the code of dueling honor, which, in turn, was associated with the concept of "noble honor."
Were there any indirect ways for Onegin to prevent the duel? Were. And he took advantage of them. Firstly, Onegin was late for the duel. Failure to arrive on time could already lead to the cancellation of the fight. Secondly, he brought as his second - a lackey, a French servant Guillot. Having chosen a servant for the role of second, Onegin grossly violated the generally accepted, if not written, dueling code: a competition, as a matter of honor, could only take place between nobles. And the seconds, as witnesses to the duel, were no exception, they also had to belong to a high class. Onegin did not bring a person of noble birth, besides, the lackey was also a foreigner.
Zaretsky, Lensky's second, in this case, had to make a complaint and stop the fight. But the retired officer Zaretsky was too bloodthirsty. Despising the fact that he was not given the honor due to a nobleman, he simply "bit his lip." He didn't cancel the duel.
As a result, Lensky was killed. Onegin is "drenched in instant cold" driven by repentance. His friend will never get up again. Zaretsky is carrying home a terrible treasure. This is the result of the duel.
Conclusion
The novel "Eugene Onegin" Pushkin's contemporaries did not understand everything and not everyone accepted it. The only thing they were in solidarity with: the novel did not leave anyone indifferent. Centuries have passed. The eras have changed. But we still continue to argue, re-read the novel, worry about the characters. Pushkin's novel touched a nerve.
We feel sorry for the enthusiastic young man Lensky. Pushkin put a pistol into Onegin's hands in order to eliminate Lensky. Which, like Onegin, critics ranked among the "superfluous people" in society, not fighters, people who are not able to lead society to development.
In the very first lines of the novel, the main character, Eugene Onegin, is characterized as a selfish person who cares only about his own comfort and well-being, because it is a burden for him to look after his dying uncle, to pretend to be attentive and caring:
But my god, what a bore
With the sick to sit day and night,
Not leaving a single step away!
What low deceit
Amuse the half-dead
Fix his pillows
Sad to give medicine
Sigh and think to yourself:
When will the devil take you!
Arriving in the village and burying a relative, Onegin after a while gets acquainted with Lensky, a local young landowner who had recently returned from Germany. They spend a lot of time together: they go horseback riding, arguing on various topics, becoming friends “from nothing to do”, as the author writes. And friends?
Yevgeny, who in every possible way avoided communication with local landowners, became close to Lensky. The reason for the rapprochement is the same age of the heroes, the fact that both of them "the gentlemen of the neighboring villages ... did not like feasts", perhaps even the fact that otherwise they were completely different people. Eugene has long been disillusioned with secular friendship, does not love, but only plays with feelings, is tired of secular life, has not found a favorite thing for himself. And Lensky enthusiastically perceives life, sincerely (from childhood) loves Olga, believes in true friendship, composes poetry. The author writes:
They agreed. Wave and stone
Poetry and prose, ice and fire
Not so different from each other.
This dissimilarity brought the heroes closer, but it also led to the death of Vladimir Lensky. The usual misunderstanding, as well as the excessive selfishness of Onegin, who, having believed Lensky, who said that only close people would be on Tatyana's name day, upon arrival discovered all the "village light" and decided to take revenge on Lensky. And he takes revenge in accordance with his character: he begins to show signs of attention to Olga, who favorably, not noticing how her fiancé is hurt, accepts Yevgeny's courtship.
Unable to hide his feelings, Lensky challenges his "friend" to a duel. Vladimir does not understand the change in Onegin, and does not try to analyze his behavior and the reasons for the act. He not only defends his honor, but saves Olga from Eugene. “He thinks: “I will be her savior. I will not tolerate a corrupter with fire and sighs and praises to tempt a young heart...” It never occurs to him that this is another Onegin's game, a way of revenge for the irritation experienced at the sight of numerous guests. After all, Lensky is a romantic, for him the world is divided into black and white, and he perceives Onegin's courtship of his bride at face value.
Onegin understands that he was wrong, even feels remorse: "And rightly so: in a strict analysis, Calling himself to a secret court, He accused himself of many things ...". But the rules of secular society are merciless, and Onegin, fearing being accused of cowardice, accepts the challenge: “The old duelist intervened; He is angry, he is a gossip, he is a talker... Of course, there must be contempt At the cost of his funny words, But the whisper, the laughter of fools...».
The behavior of the heroes before the duel once again convinces the reader of their "difference": Lensky is worried, "he discovered Schiller", but he cannot help thinking about Olga and writes love poems. Onegin, on the other hand, “was asleep at that time in a dead sleep” and almost overslept.
According to the rules of that time, Onegin could prevent the duel by apologizing to Lensky, explaining the reasons for his behavior; or shoot in the air.
But he doesn't think about it. I think that perhaps he would consider it even humiliating for himself.
Lensky's death was also a tragic accident because Yevgeny fired a few moments earlier:
And Lensky, squinting his left eye, also began to aim - but just Onegin fired ... Eugene is struck by the death of a friend: Killed! .. With this terrible exclamation. Remorse of conscience makes the hero leave the village, go on a journey.
Considering himself a friend of Lensky, Onegin could not stand the test of friendship, again placing above all his own feelings and interests.
One of the main characters of the novel in the verses of A.S. Pushkin is Onegin. It is no coincidence that the work is named after him. The image of Onegin is complex and contradictory, containing positive signs of progressiveness and sharply negative features of clearly expressed individualism....
What is interesting about the image of the heroine of the novel "Eugene Onegin". First of all, with its deep national roots, its Russian basis, which makes it a perfect phenomenon in Moscow and St. Petersburg society, the attracting brilliance of which leaves Tatiana ...
The plan of the eighth chapter: Onegin appears in St. Petersburg secular society; The narrator tells where Onegin went after killing Lensky in a duel; Onegin meets Tatyana at a social event, a characteristic of St. Petersburg society; Onegin fell in love with Tatyana; ...
Pushkin worked on the novel "Eugene Onegin" for many years, it was his favorite work. Belinsky called it "an encyclopedia of Russian life." Indeed, this novel gives a picture of all strata of Russian society: and the highest ...
Lensky's death is described differently than all the others. This is the culmination of the plot, an event that decides the fate of all the main characters. One can treat Lensky condescendingly, notice all the ironic maxims about him, generously scattered by Pushkin, but one cannot ignore the fact that the death of the young poet is in the author and in his heroes (even at first in Olga, personifying the human and literary standard), and in readers-characters (for example, in the “young city dweller”), and simply in readers, it constantly responds with bitterness and compassion. V.G. Belinsky, despite serious reasons, in vain considered the death of Lensky the most worthy way out of the inevitable vulgarization in the future. The vulgarization is problematic, and, moreover, it seems to us that Pushkin left the possible fate of Lensky unpredictable and at the same time set up a small trap for readers, offering them to solve the alternative of stanzas XXXVII and XXXIX of the sixth chapter from the standpoint of "superiority, perhaps imaginary." The death of Lensky, of course, is a great misfortune, which occurred primarily because of the irreparable mistake of the protagonist. In this regard, let us recall the first reaction of the perpetrator of the bloody drama:
* In anguish of heart remorse,
* hand clenching the gun,
* Looks at Lensky Yevgeny.
* "Well? killed,” the neighbor decided.
* Killed! .. With a terrible exclamation
* Struck, Onegin with a shudder
* Departs and calls people.
* (VI, 132)
Zaretsky utters his remark in a deliberately registering tone, but his even “killed” echoes in Onegin’s soul with a “terrible exclamation”.
Lensky's death occupies virtually the entire second half of the novel. It can be said that it is reproduced in the text, paradoxically repeated. If we almost don’t remember cursory remarks about the death of many characters, then the murder of Lensky emphatically occurs twice: Onegin plunges him with a “long knife” in Tatyana’s dream and kills him with a pistol in a duel. Indeed, in the poetic world, dream and reality are equally real (12)*. The death of the poet in the philistine mode is also described. Lensky, as it were, was killed once preliminary, the other - for real, and once again dies posthumously. An absolute event, on the one hand, is reinforced by these repetitions, on the other hand, it becomes probabilistic. Hidden behind the text in the omitted stanza XXXVIII of the sixth chapter is the heroic modus of death:
* He could make a formidable path,
* In order to breathe one last time
* In view of the solemn trophies,
* Like our Kutuzov or Nelson,
* Or in exile, like Napoleon,
* Or be hanged like Ryleev.
Incidentally, the high mode of stanza XXXVII is preceded by XXXVI, which is quoted much less frequently. In it, the death of the poet is given on reminiscences of many mournful elegiac lamentations with a characteristic exclamation “where”:
* Faded! Where is the hot excitement
* Where is the noble aspiration
* And the feelings and thoughts of the young,
* Tall, gentle, daring?
* Where are the stormy desires of love ...
So, the death of Lensky with its various echoes throughout the second half of the novel (only the fourth chapter remains completely outside the motive, although there are “overtones” in it as well) receives much more weight than all the other deaths combined. Our initial impression of death as a natural moment in the cycle of being suddenly shifts sharply in a large amplitude of meaning. At first, life and death are almost equal to each other, and then death turns out to be a dramatic event. Pushkin calmly allows this antithesis to remain, and the two assessments of death give rise to structural and semantic tension with their unresolved contradiction.
In the novel by A. S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin" one of the saddest scenes is the duel between Lensky and Onegin. But why did the author decide to bring them into a duel? What motivated young people? Could this situation have been avoided? Below is an analysis of the episode of the duel between Lensky and Onegin.
Before moving on to the discussion, let's make up the duels of Onegin and Lensky. This is necessary so that the review of the scene goes consistently, and the reader can understand why this episode was introduced into the novel.
Reasons for the fight
Why did Lensky challenge his friend to a duel? Readers will remember that Vladimir was a man of a soft, romantic disposition, in contrast to Yevgeny, a cynical person who was tired of the world, always bored. The reason for the duel is banal - jealousy. But who and why was jealous?
Lensky brought Onegin to Larina. If Vladimir had his own interest (he was the bridegroom of the sister of the birthday girl, Olga), then Eugene was bored. To this is added the attention of Tatyana, who is in love with him. All this only irritates the young man, and he chose Lensky as the reason for his bad mood.
Onegin decides to take revenge on his friend for spoiling the evening and begins to court his bride. Olga was a windy girl, so she gladly accepted Evgeny's courtship. Lensky does not understand what is happening and, determined to put an end to it, invites her to dance. But Olga ignores his invitation and continues to waltz with Onegin. Humiliated, Lensky leaves the party and challenges his only friend to a duel.
Brief description of the duel between Onegin and Lensky
Eugene receives a call through Zaretsky, an acquaintance of Lensky. Onegin understands that he was to blame, that such stupidity is not worth having best friends shoot because of it. He repents and realizes that the meeting could have been avoided, but proud young people do not refuse the fatal meeting...
When analyzing the episode of the duel between Lensky and Onegin, one should note Yevgeny's attempts to provoke Vladimir's refusal to duel: he is an hour late, appoints a servant as his second. But Lensky prefers not to notice this and waits for a friend.
Zaretsky counts the required number of steps, the young people are preparing to shoot. While Lensky takes aim, Onegin shoots first. Vladimir dies instantly, Eugene, shocked by this, leaves. Zaretsky, taking Lensky's body, goes to the Larins.
Could there be another outcome of the fight?
Analyzing the episode of the duel between Lensky and Onegin, it should be noted what role Zaretsky played in this story. If you carefully read the novel, you can find lines that hint at the fact that it was he who persuaded Lensky to call Onegin to shoot himself.
It was also in the power of Zaretsky to prevent the duel. After all, Eugene realized his guilt and no longer wanted to participate in this farce. And Levin's second was supposed to try to reconcile the rivals, but this was not done. Zaretsky could cancel the duel just because Onegin was late for it, and his second was a servant, although according to the rules of a duel, only people of equal social status could be seconds. Zaretsky was the sole arbiter of the duel, but he did nothing to prevent the fatal duel.
The result of the duel
What happened to Onegin after the duel? Nothing, he just left the village. In those days, duels were forbidden, so it is obvious that the cause of Lensky's death was presented to the police in a completely different way. A simple monument was erected to Vladimir Lensky, his bride Olga soon forgot about him and married another.
How is the main character revealed in this scene?
When schoolchildren write an essay on the analysis of the episode of the duel between Onegin and Lensky, they pay great attention to which side Eugene reveals himself. It seems that he does not depend on the opinion of society and is tired of the circle of aristocrats with whom he revels and has fun. But is it because he does not refuse a duel that he is actually afraid of what society will say about him? Suddenly he will be considered a coward who did not defend his honor?
An analysis of the episode of the duel between Lensky and Onegin presents a somewhat different image before the reader's eyes: Eugene is a weak-willed person who is guided not by his own judgments, but by the opinion of the world. For the sake of his selfishness, he decided to take revenge on Vladimir, not thinking about hurting his feelings. Yes, he tried to avoid the duel, but still he did not apologize and did not explain anything to his friend.
At the end of the analysis of the episode of the duel between Lensky and Onegin, one should write about the significance of the scene for the novel. It is in this fight that the real character of Eugene is revealed. Here his spiritual weakness, the duality of nature is manifested. Zaretsky can be compared with a secular society, the condemnation of which the hero is so afraid of.
The death of Lensky suggests that people with a fine mental organization cannot survive in a deceitful one. They are too elevated, sensitive and sincere. It is worth noting that Eugene Onegin is a collective character who has absorbed the typical features of secular society.
But as readers know, the author did not spare Onegin, and in literature he is considered a cynical hero with a hard heart. He rejected Tatyana's love, ruined a friend, played with human feelings. And when he repented and realized that he had done wrong, it was already too late. Onegin never found his happiness, his destiny is loneliness among people who are not interesting to him ...
This was a brief analysis of the episode of the duel between Onegin and Lensky, which reveals the essence of this scene in the work.
