Why Onegin could not find happiness. Why can't Eugene Onegin be called a useful member of society and the state and be happy himself? Understanding gained by Tatyana
Roman A.S. Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin" can rightfully be considered one of the best literary works of the nineteenth century. On its pages, the author introduces us to the main characters - Eugene Onegin and Tatyana Larina. Both characters are definitely worth watching. To answer the question of why Onegin fell in love with Tatyana, let's first try to understand what Eugene is.
at the beginning of the novel
Features of the character of the hero, his feelings, disposition and thoughts are revealed to us gradually.
Eugene Onegin is a typical aristocrat of his time, a nobleman. He was "little by little, something" studied by French teachers and tutors, which gave him the opportunity to talk about everything superficially, with the "look of an expert."
In the light, Eugene was a success with the ladies. At first he was pleased that he knew how to impress the representatives of high society, but gradually indifference took possession of him, he was attacked by the blues.
The hero is trying to find something interesting in life. He begins to write, but, as it turned out, he does not like "hard work." Reading is also of little interest to him.
He comes to the village to his sick uncle, embittered at the whole world. Here Onegin meets the Larin family. The eldest daughter of this family, a sweet provincial young lady, is imbued with feelings for him. To understand why Onegin fell in love with Tatyana, let's try to find out more about this heroine.
The image of Tatyana Larina. Why did she choose Onegin
Pushkin loves his heroine very much. Tatyana Larina is a sensitive and sentimental girl, brought up on novels. This is a highly spiritual person with a rich inner world.
Pushkin singles out Tatyana among other characters, calling her
"sweet ideal." The author appreciates the ability to feel sincerely. Tatyana loves to see her extraordinary beauty. Since childhood, she has been striving for solitude, reading French books about love.
Why Tatyana fell in love with Onegin is easy to understand. He is a dandy from the capital who knows how to make an impression, who knows how to touch a lady's heart.
We continue our writing. Why did Tatiana fall in love with Onegin? At first glance, everything is clear: "The soul was waiting ... for someone, And it waited ...". However, the girl's feelings are deep, "Tatiana loves in earnest."
What is common between Onegin and Tatyana
Two characters, Onegin and Tatyana, it would seem, are completely different: he is confident in himself, she is timid; he knows the world, she is a modest provincial girl. However, in the character of the heroine there are features that are inherent in Onegin.
Firstly, both heroes are distinguished by their originality and originality of character. Secondly, the unsociable Onegin, like Tatyana, feels alone in the world, while she is a stranger among her loved ones. Thirdly, they yearn because of dissatisfaction with their environment. Fourth, the characters understand the emptiness and vulgarity of provincial and metropolitan societies. On these features, the essay is built.
Why did Tatiana fall in love with Onegin? The girl made Eugene the hero of her novel for a reason. She found in it. However, we are looking for an answer to the question of how, as we know, in response to the recognition of the girl, Eugene advised her to learn to "rule herself." So let's read the novel.
Second meeting
After the duel with Lensky, as we know, Onegin leaves the village. He goes to travel. Two years pass before our hero meets Tatyana Larina again. Onegin finds her in Moscow, she is a secular lady, a princess who makes up the happiness of her husband, behaves very dignified, not allowing herself "these little antics", "claims to succeed." Everyone around admires her, including our hero. He writes a confession to her, to which Tatyana replies that, despite her love for Eugene, she is given to another.
Why Onegin now fell in love with Tatyana
This question is difficult to answer unambiguously. On the one hand, Tatyana herself suggests that Eugene now liked her because of a certain position in high society. She is now "caressed by the yard." The shame of Tatyana could be noticed by everything that would bring Onegin "seductive honor."
Nevertheless, resentment most likely speaks in her, because she admits that she loves Eugene.
So why did Onegin fall in love with Tatyana? Perhaps she simply aroused his interest as a young secular woman who is much more attractive than a provincial young lady. In addition, the forbidden fruit is always sweet, because Tatyana became the wife of a respected general. She is beautiful and inaccessible. We can conclude that Eugene did not love her.
However, it is worth remembering how, at the first meeting, he told Lensky that he would have chosen Tatiana, not Olga, if he had been a poet. This confirms that Onegin saw in her a deep personality capable of evoking true feelings, for which the hero himself was not ready at that time, fearing to lose his "hateful freedom." Nevertheless, it can be assumed that with his words Onegin tried to divert the attention of the young poet from Olga.
Most likely, Onegin really fell in love with Tatyana, because his letter to Larina seems so sincere.
Why couldn't Onegin return Tatyana's love? Who has more to lose in this case? Onegin or Tatyana? and got the best answer
Answer from Ekaterina *****[guru]
Onegin does not see the point in anything, is indifferent to everything except for self-esteem and independence. The feeling of love is alien to him, only "the science of tender passion" is familiar. It is difficult to imagine that in a few years this callous character will comprehend a selfless, spontaneous, poetic feeling. In the meantime, he sees in girls only potential brides planning how to spend his fortune after the wedding. He took Olga and Tatyana in exactly the same way.
After reading the letter, Onegin felt the excitement of the soul, he had long, and perhaps never known the real deep feeling that would have so excited him. “Perhaps the feelings of the old ardor took possession of him for a moment,” but Eugene returned from the clouds to the ground, sorting out his feelings, decided that they did not suit each other, did not dare to try his luck. The hero is endowed with a mind, therefore he acts reasonably, consciously, but love and reason are two different things. There are times when you need to "throw aside" the calculation, the head, and live with the heart. Eugene's heart is "chained" and it is very difficult to break them.
At the beginning of the novel, when the happiness of the characters seems so close, Onegin rejects Tatyana. Why? Simply because he is not only cruel, but also noble. He understands that happiness will be short-lived and decides to reject Tanya immediately, rather than gradually torment her. He sees the hopelessness of their relationship, so he decides to leave without starting a relationship. At the end of the novel, the situation changes, the hero lives his love, it means a lot to him. But now the decisive word for the heroine. But she refuses the relationship. Again, why? The girl was brought up according to ancient customs. It is impossible for her to cheat on her husband, to leave him. For this act, everyone would condemn her: family, society, and, first of all, herself. We see different characters of heroes, upbringing, worldview, different attitudes towards love. To connect them, you need to change all these qualities, all these data, but then we will see not Eugene Onegin and Tatyana Larina, but completely different heroes, with different qualities.
Answer from Mama Choli[guru]
because she was only 13 years old .. he was not a pedophile .. no one lost anything in this case .. the impudent youngster grew up and married the general, in her time ..
Answer from Elena[guru]
Onegin DID NOT WANT to respond to the feelings of a provincial girl (“He didn’t give in to the habit of a sweetheart”), because he knew that any courtship in the Russian provinces would be perceived unambiguously: courting, which means he intends to marry. And this was not part of Onegin's plans ("I did not want to lose my hateful freedom"). Tempted by the "science of tender passion", the hero did not believe in the existence of LOVE, therefore he did not believe in the depth of Tatyana's feelings. Education and nobility did not allow Onegin to take advantage of the situation. He directly tells Tatyana about this during the "rebuke" ("Not every one of you, as I understand. Inexperience leads to trouble").
Years of wandering that pulled the hero out of his usual environment, the experience of a different human communication, new life events CHANGED Onegin. Tatyana is met at a high-society reception by another Onegin. The main thing is that he learned to feel (Onegin's letter is solid feelings). But time has passed. Tatyana sheds tears over the letter, but knows that nothing can be changed. ("But I am given to another and will be faithful to him for a century"). Who is losing more? In my opinion, no one. Life has put everything in its place.
People, especially those with children, know how difficult it is sometimes to choose a name for a baby. Long before his birth (and some - many years before conception) they are already choosing a name.
It is easiest for kings: Louis XIII, XIV, XV... Henry IV, V, VI, VIII... It is more difficult for a simple person: you have to honor your beloved grandfather, a rich aunt, some bloody maniac (daddy Sanchez called the future terrorist Ilyich, guessed ), the Spaniard, without hesitation, gives the boy five names and pleases everyone, including the Mother of God (German case: Erich Maria Remarque), the family crowds around the cradle, it sometimes comes to a fight.
The author is one. He himself bore, he himself gave birth, he himself is looking for a name, he is tormented. Speaking names are not tricky. Kuteikin is a drunkard, Kabanikha is a pig, Molchalin is a quiet, vtirusha, careerist ... These are names-characteristics.
And Onegin? Why is he Eugene? It cannot be a coincidence. Moreover, Pushkin himself admitted:
I was already thinking about the shape of the plan
And as a hero I will name;
While my romance
I finished the first chapter...
This is the 60th stanza, the last stanza of the first chapter.
Eugene is a strange name. Of course, Kolya, Vanya, Petya (Greek, Jew, Roman) were also once strangers, but they became Russified so long ago that they became their own. But Eugene - no, something in him is not ours.
Maybe French? Moreover, Pushkin's lyceum nickname was French. French is the language of the Russian nobility...
Tatyana writes her famous letter to Onegin in French, in particular, also because
She didn't know Russian very well.
Didn't read our magazines
And expressed with difficulty
In your native language.
Everyone is so used to these verses and to the fact that Pushkin is a genius; they don’t notice how he clumsily wrote “she didn’t know Russian well.” Correct: “she spoke Russian poorly” or “she knew Russian poorly” (language).
And “in Russian is bad” is used in the sense of “as it usually happens here” or, more simply, “in the Russian manner”. For example, she was bad at laying asphalt in Russian.
Eugene Onegin as imagined by Pushkin.
She did not know Russian well - this is Pushkin on purpose, this is a mockery both of the heroine, whom he mimicked, and of the reader ...
Oh yes! Everything around was French; in the West the star of Napoleon shone; Onegin's child was taught "poor Frenchman" (now they write "wretched" - Pushkin is corrected, they spoil the rhyme "... Frenchman ub ohoy did not bother morality ohoy”, make “wretched - strict”, but in accordance with the concepts of modern proofreading). Onegin speaks excellent French, but he is not at all French and certainly not German. Pushkin liked his character.
... The conditions of light overthrowing the burden,
How he, lagging behind the hustle and bustle,
I became friends with him at that time.
I liked his features
Dreams involuntary devotion
Inimitable strangeness
And a sharp, chilled mind.
Coldness, originality (inimitable strangeness) - smacks of an Englishman. And very clearly.
Here is my Onegin at large;
Shaved in the latest fashion
Like a dandy london dressed
How a London dandy is dressed. Remains silent in an important dispute. Reads Adam Smith (English economist) ... And what does he eat?
In front of him is a bloody roast-beef...
No: early feelings in him cooled down; (and in French they don’t cool to death, in Russian they don’t cool to death)
He was tired of the light noise;
The beauties didn't last long
The subject of his habitual thoughts;
Treason managed to tire;
Friends and friendship are tired,
Then, which could not always
Beef-steaks...(again English food with English spelling)
... And pour sharp words,
When I had a headache.
Onegin also misses English.
Illness whose cause
It's high time to find
Like an English spin
In short: Russian melancholy
She took possession of him little by little;
He shoot himself, thank God,
Didn't want to try
But life has completely cooled off.
Like Child-Harold, gloomy, languid...
Also Childe Harold (Byron's English hero). And then also in the village everyone decided that he (Onegin) was a most dangerous eccentric.
Well, then in the second chapter from abroad galloped Lensky. That's right, he rushed, but did not arrive; because the plot had to move. Now he will introduce Onegin to Tatiana Larina and...
But first, Lensky, who had been in love with Olga from an early age, paid tribute to the grave of his bride's father, Dmitry Larin, he was a good man.
He was a simple and kind gentleman,
And where his ashes lie,
The headstone reads:
“Humble sinner, Dmitry Larin,
Lord's servant and foreman,
Under the stone, Sim eats the world.
Returned to his penates,
Vladimir Lensky visited
The neighbor's monument is humble,
And he dedicated his breath to the ashes;
And for a long time my heart was sad.
Poor Yorick! 16 - he said dejectedly, -
He held me in his arms.
How often did I play as a child
His Ochakov medal!
He read Olga for me,
He said: will I wait for the day? .. "
And, full of sincere sadness,
Vladimir immediately drew
He has a funeral madrigal.
After the words "Poor Yorick!" there is a number "16" - this is a note by Pushkin himself; there are 44 of them in Onegin.
Note #16 looks like this: "Poor Yorik!" - Hamlet's exclamation over the jester's skull. (See Shakespeare and Stern.)"
"Cm." means "look". But no one fulfills this Pushkin's instruction. Because everyone already knows about Hamlet with a skull, there is no need to look at Shakespeare. A "see Stern"... firstly, he is not at hand; and secondly, why watch Stern if we already know everything from Shakespeare.
1825 edition (long before the end of the novel).
But if you still do what Pushkin asked - take, for example, Lawrence Stern's novel "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" (one of the funniest novels in world literature, a hooligan thing, it's even hard to believe that the priest wrote), - if we take this novel, then in chapter XII we read:
“Yevgeny saw that his friend was dying, heartbroken: he shook hands with him - - and quietly left the room, all in tears. Yorick followed Yevgeny with his eyes to the door - then closed them - and did not open them again.
He rests in his graveyard, in the parish, under a smooth marble slab, which his friend Eugene, with the permission of his executors, erected on his grave, making an inscription on it of just three words, serving him both as an epitaph and an elegy: “Alas, poor YORIC!"
Ten times a day, Yorick's spirit is comforted by hearing this tombstone read in many different mournful ways, testifying to universal compassion and respect for him: - - the path crosses the churchyard at the very edge of his grave - and everyone who passes by, involuntarily stops, casts a glance at her - - and sighs, continuing on his way: "Alas, poor Yorick!"
The double dash is a rarity in literature. An additional way to give a touch of mockery to "various plaintive modes." And Eugene (see Stern) - an eccentric young man, a violator of decency and the rules of a solid society - is a most dangerous eccentric.
That's where the name Onegin comes from and, in a sense, the character. Touchy academicians who for 185 years have not reached such a simple thought, academicians who for almost 200 years were too lazy to do an elementary thing: cm dismiss (and honor) Stern, they will say that this is “just a version”.
Let version. But it's not mine. It's not me who wrote "see. Stern".
All other versions are versions of wise literary critics. And this one is copyrighted. We must respect.
P.S. On Tuesday, February 7, at 10:30 pm, on the Kultura channel, in the program The Glass Bead Game, the novel in verse Eugene Onegin will be analyzed. I don’t know if the viewers will notice this, but during the recording of the program, there was a feeling that some important participants were slightly offended when I said why Onegin is Eugene.
Answer left Guest
It seems that the reader of "Eugene Onegin" has repeatedly wondered why the main characters were not happy, what made Tatyana and Evgeny far apart in life?
The development of the conflict we are talking about begins in the third chapter, when Onegin meets the Larin family and Tatyana falls in love with him, suffers, writes a letter and waits for an answer to it. The heroine saw Eugene only once and fell in love with him for life. This is explained by the fact that dreamy, endowed with an ardent imagination and a wayward soul, she recognized in Onegin the ideal that she compiled from sentimental novels. On the other hand, she caught a resemblance to herself in the young man and believed that they were made for each other. Tatyana writes a letter to Onegin, suffering and counting on his nobility:
I'm writing to you - what more?
What else can I say?
Now I know in your will
Punish me with contempt.
But Onegin could not appreciate and accept Tatyana's impulse, because by this time, as the narrator says about him, "he was considered an invalid in love":
He no longer fell in love with beauties,
And dragged somehow;
Refuse - instantly comforted;
They will change - I was glad to rest ...
Hence the didactic, moralizing tone of his answer to Tatyana. Actually, his answer is more of a confession, a frank admission that he does not want to limit his life to "the circle of his home." And if he was “captivated by the family picture”, then he would not look for a bride, except for her. Tatyana could take his answer as a declaration of love, but since the hero focuses so much on his unwillingness to live in a "home circle", he scares the girl away, but does not cool her feelings. Onegin did not see the most important thing in Tatyana: she is one of those whole poetic natures who can love only once. He will understand this at the end of the novel, when she, in her rebuke to him, will say as openly and trustingly as in a letter: “I love you (why be cunning?)”.
Further, Tatyana's love for Onegin develops and deepens. In his absence, the heroine, yearning, enters the empty house and gets acquainted with the library, with the notes made on the books that L reveals to her the inner world of such a dear person. Tatyana begins to understand him better and realizes how he lives, why he suffers. But was she able to join his experiences with her heart? No, she realizes everything only with her mind, since these ideas are alien to her, incomprehensible.
However, from that moment on, Tatyana begins to change, internally she gradually turns from a naive girl into a secular lady, who will then so amaze Onegin's imagination. Tatyana travels with her mother to Moscow to start a new life. And although in Moscow the thought of Onegin does not leave the heroine, she drives her away, trying to control herself. But here the heroes meet again, Tatyana did not betray her excitement:
Hey! not that she shuddered
Ile suddenly turned pale, red...
Her eyebrow did not move;
She didn't even purse her lips.
But it is her composure that now conquers Onegin in a way that sweet simplicity and openness could not conquer. The author-narrator describes in great detail the experiences of the hero in love, so that the reader does not doubt their sincerity. Tatyana believes him and therefore confesses her feelings, but rejects him because she is faithful to her husband and values her position in the world. Onegin is rejected and unhappy, but it is worth considering whether he would be happy if Tatyana answered his impulse. Most likely, he would soon be disappointed and become bored again, because he does not need a calm, measured life full of everyday worries, he needs a storm of passions, impulses, even misfortune, so that he feels harmonious in the world. Tatyana would not be happy with him either, they wanted too different things from life.
On the example of Onegin and Tatyana, we can conclude that love is not always a guarantee of happiness.
Eugene Onegin is the main character who is doomed to misfortune. And therein lies all the deadlocks and questions. How can a person who occupies a high position in society, to whom women pay attention, and who is not at all stupid, can turn out to be superfluous and unhappy?
I believe that Onegin himself is to blame for his troubles.
First, he does not want to do anything for the sake of this happiness.
He lets everything take its course, justifies his laziness with the position of the master. When a young girl confesses her love to him, he does not even try to understand her personality, but simply rejects it.
Secondly, Onegin puts himself above people. He sees everyone as boring, gray, with everyday problems and questions. He doesn't want to be among them. It is difficult to communicate with such a person. There always comes a time when people turn their backs. The company of such a hero becomes a burden to them.
I sincerely believe that a person can be happy anywhere and under any circumstances. The point is whether we can accept this happiness, whether we are ready to make efforts.
Updated: 2017-06-19
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