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Abstract: The article examines the artistic functions of Byron’s reminiscences in the novel “A Hero of Our Time” by M. Yu. Lermontov. The authors argue that reminiscences are a specific technique that allows the author of the novel to reveal the inner experiences of the characters, who have no chance, like the protagonist, to talk directly about their emotions via self-confession in diaries, letters, confessions, etc. As an example, the study analyzes a Byronic reminiscence: the name of one of the characters is interpreted as a direct allusion to the tragedy of the English author of “Werner, or The Inheritance”. The tradition established to consider Byron’s tragedy as another version of the plot about the “noble robber” in the spirit of Schiller in the Russian literary studies is disputed. According to the authors of the article, the conflict in Byron’s play is psychological in nature. The playwright seeks to explore the deepest levels of Werner-Siegedorf’s personality, right down to the spiritual “underground”, largely closed to the character himself, who does not want to fully realize the catastrophic consequences of his own actions. The reference to Byron’s tragedy helps Lermontov reveal the emotional turmoil of Dr. Werner, brought about by his intervention in the relationships between Pechorin and Grushnitsky as one of the actors who, through their actions, influenced the development of the ensuing intrigue and unexpectedly came across their tragic consequences. Like Byron’s main character, Dr. Werner cannot transfer his vague, unaccountable experiences to the verbal level, since this would inevitably lead to a direct formulation of the question: what extent his own actions could have provoked an intensification of Pechorin’s aggression towards Grushnitsky to, and therefore, is he to blame for the bloody outcome of the fatal duel? The inner drama of Dr. Werner helps the reader to better understand those thoughts and emotions of Pechorin, which he himself cannot trust even to his diary: what is the degree of his personal guilt in the death of Grushnitsky? Numerous violations of dueling rules committed by both sides suggest that initially the duel was conceived by all its participants as a performance, the real meaning of which was the moral destruction of the enemy. However, whether his physical destruction was intended is a question to which neither side gives a clear answer. The behavior of both Pechorin and Werner after the duel reveals the inner turmoil of both, caused both by the reluctance to look into the darkest corners of their own souls, and by the secret hope that the guilt will be removed from them by another one who witnessed all their actions from the very beginning: both expect words of consolation from each other, but do not receive them, just as Byron’s Werner had not received such words.

About the author(s) :

Anastasiya V. Lozhkova
Ural State Pedagogical University (Ekaterinburg, Russia)
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6763-4683

Tatyana A. Lozhkova
Ural State Pedagogical University (Ekaterinburg, Russia)
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1658-1389

Publication Timeline:

Date of receipt: 17.12.2023; date of publication: 31.03.2024

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