Why is Eugene Onegin called "an extra person"?
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"Eugene Onegin" - 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 - "an extra person". In this work, his role is played by main character. Character traits this person: the meaninglessness and aimlessness of existence, a lack of understanding of one’s place and role in life, disappointment, boredom, blues, a “sharp, chilled mind”, judgments and interests that are different from generally accepted ones. In order to make sure that Onegin was an “extra person” Let's take a 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 an “extra person”: the nobles lived off the labor of others, did not know how to work, were smart and educated, unlike the peasants. It was from a great mind that Eugene came to realize his meaningless existence, which led the hero to suffering. Onegin is a secular person, not burdened with service. The young man leads a vain, carefree, full of entertainment life, but he is not satisfied with the pastime that suits the people of his circle. Onegin was smarter than them, he thought and felt subtly, therefore he was worried and tormented by an aimless life, he did not want to devote it only to entertainment, like them. Since Eugene was a nobleman, he was used to living on everything ready. Onegin was not accustomed to anything stubborn and long-term, he was bored with monotonous work. Any planned activity leads to disappointment. Upbringing did not accustom him to hard work, he was tired of everything, and this led to thoughts about the worthlessness of his life, disappointment in it, boredom and sadness:
In short: Russian melancholy
She took possession of him little by little;
He shoot himself, thank God,
Didn't want to try
But to life completely cooled
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 deceit and delirium;
That conscience, that makes no sense
The hero is forced to leave Petersburg and move to the countryside. This circumstance gives rise to hope in his fate for better life. Arriving in the village, Eugene tried to take care of the household, alleviated the situation of the peasants on his estate: “he replaced the corvée with an old dues with a light yoke.” But that doesn't take him long either.
Relationships with other people are perceived as something boring by an “extra person”. The peculiarity of such a person is the inability to establish long-term relationships, because they bother 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 solitude. For this, Yevgeny receives an unflattering characterization from the landowners: “Our neighbor is ignorant; crazy; he is a pharmacist…”.
Yevgeny's friendship with Lensky also ends tragically. Only with Vladimir Lensky Onet
Why is Eugene Onegin called "an extra person"?
Show full text
"Eugene Onegin" - 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 - "an extra person". In this work, his role is played by the title character. The characteristic features of this personality are: the meaninglessness and aimlessness of existence, a lack of understanding of one’s place and role in life, disappointment, boredom, blues, a “sharp, chilled mind”, judgments and interests that are different from generally accepted ones. In order to make sure that Onegin was “superfluous man", consider 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 an “extra person”: the nobles lived off the labor of others, did not know how to work, were smart and educated, unlike the peasants. It was from a great mind that Eugene came to realize his meaningless existence, which led the hero to suffering. Onegin is a secular person, not burdened with service. The young man leads a vain, carefree, full of entertainment life, but he is not satisfied with the pastime that suits the people of his circle. Onegin was smarter than them, he thought and felt subtly, therefore he was worried and tormented by an aimless life, he did not want to devote it only to entertainment, like them. Since Eugene was a nobleman, he was used to living on everything ready. Onegin was not accustomed to anything stubborn and long-term, he was bored with monotonous work. Any planned activity leads to disappointment. Upbringing did not accustom him to hard work, he was tired of everything, and this led to thoughts about the worthlessness of his life, disappointment in it, boredom and sadness:
In short: Russian melancholy
She took possession of him little by little;
He shoot himself, thank God,
Didn't want to try
But to life completely cooled
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 deceit and delirium;
That conscience, that makes no sense
The hero is forced to leave Petersburg and move to the countryside. This circumstance gives rise to hope for a better life in his fate. Arriving in the village, Eugene tried to take care of the household, alleviated the situation of the peasants on his estate: “he replaced the corvée with an old dues with a light yoke.” But that doesn't take him long either.
Relationships with other people are perceived as something boring by an “extra person”. The peculiarity of such a person is the inability to establish long-term relationships, because they bother 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 solitude. For this, Yevgeny receives an unflattering characterization from the landowners: “Our neighbor is ignorant; crazy; he is a pharmacist…”.
Yevgeny's friendship with Lensky also ends tragically. Only with Vladimir Lensky Onet
(362 words)
In the novel of the great A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin" in front of us is an excerpt from the life of a Russian nobleman empire XIX century. It is through this representative of high society that the author gives an extensive description of the life and customs of the privileged class.
The novel begins with a story about Onegin's childhood. The father of our hero led an idle life, which ultimately led to his ruin. He had little interest in his son, so the young man was placed in the care of a careless Frenchman who approached his education in a completely irresponsible way. So, although he was a nobleman, Eugene was a poorly educated person, but he still had a reputation in high society as a real intellectual. Having begun to lead a full-fledged secular life, he completely surrendered to passions and vices. He gave special preference to love affairs, becoming a real thief of women's hearts. But after some time, our hero lost interest in balls, art and novels. Having lost interest in entertainment, he fell into despondency and blues. Unfortunately, his story is by no means an exception. Pushkin showed how the idleness and irresponsibility of an entire class lead to the emergence of many young, beautiful, well-mannered, but empty and unadapted to life young men - superfluous people.
Feeling the aimlessness of his existence, Onegin left the world and soon moved to the provinces. With this change of scenery, Eugene hoped to dispel his blues, but the rural nature and worries about the economy soon bored him. Of all the neighbors, he was able to get closer only to Lensky. But in the end, everything turns into a tragedy. If the hero had dealt with high society, nothing terrible would have happened, because the behavior characteristic of Onegin was the norm for the high society of his time. But in the provincial landlord environment, this caused a storm of indignation, and the offended poet, in anger, called out his best friend to a duel. It seems that it would be possible to extinguish the absurd conflict by apologizing, but in the capital, repentance would become a shame for Eugene, and he could not allow this. In the end, the young man gives his life in vain. This is the main tragedy of Onegin. Wanting to leave the soulless environment, he cannot get rid of secular habits that alienate him from ordinary people. That is why the protagonist of the novel is an extra person, doomed to eternal loneliness.
Being a nobleman, Pushkin saw the decomposition of the nobility in the 19th century. Extra people are its consequence. The poet believed that sooner or later this would lead to the collapse of the elite and the death of the empire. And, as we know, he was not mistaken.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!Eugene Onegin is an extra person.
The novel in verse by the great Russian poet and writer A. S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin" is named after the main character, whose image in Russian literature is considered to be "an extra person."
From the work we learn that our hero is a young St. Petersburg aristocrat who received a shallow and typical noble education for that time and was raised by a tutor who "...taught the child everything jokingly, / Didn't bother with strict morality ...".
Like all the “golden youth”, Eugene leads a luxurious and idle life, attending balls, theaters, restaurants, while the young man achieves perfection in the “science of tender passion”, in which “there was a true genius”. But such an empty way of life soon bored him.
The main distinguishing feature or even strangeness of Onegin was his dissatisfaction and desire to find his place in life, since the secular environment choked him in his own way. The young man, with his extraordinary mind, was critical of reality, and as a result of this attitude, he formed high demands on life. But at one time, no one taught Eugene to work, so all his attempts to occupy himself with any useful activity were in vain.
Despite the fact that the young aristocrat was dissatisfied and even despised secular society, he obeyed its laws, fashion and did not try to change anything. The hero only suppressed his irritation from the need to do what he did not see the point in, and other conflicts that overwhelmed Onegin. All these are symptoms of such an ailment as "Russian melancholy" or "English spleen."
Although Eugene Onegin was a prudent person, with great potential and stood noticeably higher than typical representatives of the “light”, his dependence on this society, looking back at the opinions of others, deprived his soul of rebellion, dooming him to a superficial attitude to everything. That is why the young man could not remain himself.
But the whole trouble lies in the fact that Onegin is an egoist. The well-known critic Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinsky called him "an unwilling egoist" or "a suffering egoist." In this concept, he emphasizes mainly the influence of the hero's environment in which he is brought up and grows. "Light" forced Onegin to try on the mask of a cold and cynical person who lives only by logic in order to suppress the voice of his heart. However, the mask gives a small crack when Yevgeny writes a letter to Tatyana Larina, in which he puts his whole soul, at that moment a true romantic takes precedence over a passionless and chilled mind.
If he had listened to his heart from the very beginning, everything would have ended much better. Onegin would have a chance for more happy life. Belinsky also noted "Evil is hidden not in a person, but in society."
Thus, Onegin's personality is exceptionally deep and interesting, but his transformation into an "extra person" was inevitable, since it was society that made Eugene Onegin such.
About nine years, almost half of his creative life, Pushkin gave the creation of the novel, putting into it the fruits of "the mind of cold observations and the heart of sad remarks."
Despite the breadth of the themes of the novel, "Eugene Onegin" 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 addressed the creation of the image of his contemporary in early romantic works, for example, in The 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 a disappointed hero, and in this we can see a connection with romantic poems, but he is depicted in a completely different way: his upbringing, education, the environment in which he was born and lives are described in detail. The poet not only indicates clear signs of his disappointment, but aims to explain the reasons that gave rise to it.
The concept of "extra man" appeared in 1850, when I. S. Turgenev's "Diary of an Extra Man" was published. However, in Pushkin's drafts, a remark flashes that Onegin at a social event "is like something superfluous," and it is Pushkin who for the first time in Russian literature creates the image of a "superfluous person."
Onegin - "secular St. Petersburg young man", the capital's aristocrat; "Having fun and luxury as a child," he received a home education and upbringing, typical for the aristocratic youth of that time, under the guidance of a French tutor, who, "so that the child would not be exhausted, taught him everything jokingly, did not bother with strict morality ..."
Onegin leads a life typical of the "golden youth" of that time: balls, restaurants, walks along Nevsky Prospekt, visits to 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, nobility of soul. This could not but lead Onegin to disappointment in life, in secular society.
Spleen and boredom took possession of Onegin. Moving away from the "empty light", he tries to engage in some useful activity. Nothing came of the attempt to write. Yevgeny did not have a vocation: "yawning, he took up the pen," and he does not have the habit of work: "hard work was sickening to him." An attempt to combat "spiritual emptiness" through reading was also unsuccessful. The books he read either did not satisfy him or turned out to be consonant with his thoughts and feelings and only strengthened them.
And here Onegin is trying to organize the life of the peasants on the estate, which he inherited from his uncle:
Yarem he is an old corvée
I replaced it with a light quitrent ...
However, all his activities as a landowner-owner were limited to this reform. Former moods, although somewhat softened by life in the bosom of nature, continue to own him. Everywhere he feels like a stranger and superfluous: both in high-society and in provincial living rooms. It was hard and unbearable for him to see before him
One dinner is a long row,
Look at life as a rite
And following the orderly crowd
Go without sharing with her
No shared opinions, no passions.
Onegin's extraordinary mind, his freedom-loving moods and critical attitude to reality put him high above the "secular mob", especially among the local nobility, thereby dooming him to complete loneliness. Breaking with secular society, in which he did not find either high interests or real feelings, but only a parody of them, Onegin loses touch with people.
From "spiritual emptiness" could not save Onegin and such strong feelings as love and friendship. He rejected Tatyana's love, since he valued "freedom and peace" above all else, he was unable to discern the whole depth of her soul and her feelings. Fed up with the love of secular ladies, Onegin was disappointed in this feeling. His attitude to love is rational and feigned. It is sustained in the spirit of assimilated secular "truths", the main purpose of which is to enchant and seduce, to appear in love.
How early could he be hypocritical,
Hold hope, be jealous
disbelieve, make believe
To seem gloomy, to languish.
And finally, Onegin's friendship with Lensky ended tragically. No matter how the noble mind of Onegin protested against the duel, the social conventions formed by the light nevertheless prevailed. Onegin killed his friend Lensky, because he could not rise above the public opinion of that local nobility, which he internally despised. He was frightened of the "whispers, the laughter of fools," the gossip of the Zaretskys, the Petushkovs, and the Skotinins.
And here's the public opinion
Spring of honor, our idol.
And this is where the world revolves! —
exclaims Pushkin. The result of Onegin's life is bleak:
Having lived without a goal, without labor
Until the age of twenty-six
Languishing in idle leisure
No service, no wife, no business,
Couldn't do anything...
V. G. Belinsky called Onegin "an unwilling egoist", "a suffering egoist", because society made such a "strong, remarkable nature". "Evil hides not in man, but in society," wrote the critic. Onegin's skepticism and disappointment are a reflection of the general "illness of the newest Russians" that seized 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.
Obviously, the Onegins are doomed to inaction. The transformation of Onegin into a "superfluous person" was certainly inevitable at that time. He belonged to that enlightened part of the noble intelligentsia, which avoided serving tsarism, did not want to be in the ranks of the silent, but also stood aside from social 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.
