『Герой нашего времени』 - первый русский психологический роман

Abstract

There have been many research studies on Mikhail Lermontov’s 『A Hero of Our Time』. However, there still exist difference of opinions of whether this novel follows the romanticism trend of the times in the flow of Russian literature or whether the novel is a psychological novel and a classic example of new realism. Lermontov is known in Russian literature as a deep-thinking, observing and reflecting poet of not only himself but also contemporary people and Russia in general. It is not difficult to think that his parents’ unhappy marriage, his domineering grandmother, heartbreaks over struggles in love and other sufferings in his personal life had an impact on his self-observing and pessimistic behavior. Pechorin in 『A Hero of Our Time』 objectively depicts the typical contemporary poet. Lermontov contrasts past romantic experiences with the realism of Pechorin’s image, which is recognized as a change in Lermontov’s works. In other words, the theme ‘superfluous man’ found in 『Woe from Wit』 and 『Eugene Onegin』 is also found in 『A Hero of Our Time』, while demonic and Byronic features of the romantic protagonist is portrayed in psychological realism. Ginzburg argues that psychologism was derived from romanticism’s interest in the individual, but it overcame subjectivity by objectively observing the individual’s consciousness such as irony, self-observation and demonism. In other words, she emphasized that psychologism contrasts with romanticism although it was born from romantic poetry. Ginzburg argues that 『A Hero of Our Time』 is the beginning of Russian psychological novels and that the works of Turgenev, Goncharov, Dostoyevsky, and Tolstoy are psychological novels. Many researchers of Russian literature also argue the same view that 『A Hero of Our Time』 is the first psychological novel in Russian literature history. In other words, they argue that the main story of 『A Hero of Our Time』 is the psychological analysis of Pechorin, not the story of his personal events. Based on such argument, this paper studies whether the unique construct created by Lermontov defines the features of a psychological novel. The paper studies the importance and weight of 『A Hero of Our Time』 in Lermontov’s works, the definition of the concept ‘psychological novel,’ and the psychological features of Pechorin and other characters to determine whether there are grounds for it to be truly defined as a psychological novel.