Riassunto
Trama e riassunto di Un eroe del nostro tempo
A chi è rivolto
For readers who love a sharp central character, a wild setting and a puzzle about motive, and for anyone curious to discover the pleasures of Russian literature.
Che cos’è questo libro
Mikhail Lermontov published this short novel in 1840, when he was in his mid twenties. It is set in the Caucasus, the mountain borderland where Russian troops fought local peoples and where officers, exiles and travelers passed the time in forts and spa towns. Five linked tales follow Grigory Pechorin, who is clever, brave, often cruel and fully aware of it. You meet him first through other people, then through his own private journal. The book offers adventure, romance, a duel and a close look at a mind that cannot find anything worth caring about.
In questo riassunto
- 1A traveler meets a veteran in the mountainsFree
- 2Pechorin takes what he wants in Bela
- 3A cold meeting between two old comrades
- 4Pechorin speaks for himself in Taman
- 5Society games and a rival in Princess Mary
- 6What the novel says and how it works
Punto chiave 1 di 6
A traveler meets a veteran in the mountains
An unnamed narrator, a young officer and writer, travels through the Caucasus by carriage. He notes the cliffs, the snow and the rough mountain roads. Bad weather holds him in the mountains with Maxim Maximych, an older staff captain who has served in the region for many years.
When the narrator asks for stories, the old captain begins to talk about a younger officer who once served under him in a fortress. That officer is Pechorin.
This frame shows how the book works. Lermontov gives you Pechorin at a distance first, through the eyes of a loyal friend who admires him but does not understand him. Then comes the narrator, who sees him with a writer's eye. Only later does Pechorin speak for himself. The effect is like walking toward a figure in fog. Each witness adds a detail, and each disagrees a little with the last. The frontier is a place where a man can do things he would never do at home.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
- Nothing to pay today · Renews every year
- We email you before you pay
- Cancel online in two clicks
Who’s who
- Pechorin
- A clever, bored young army officer whose restless desires shape his dealings with friends, rivals and lovers.
- Maxim Maximych
- A kindly veteran captain who serves alongside Pechorin and tells the traveling narrator about their time together.
- The traveling narrator
- A young officer and writer who meets Maxim Maximych while traveling and later publishes Pechorin's private journal.
- Bela
- A young princess from a mountain family who attracts Pechorin's attention during his service at a frontier fortress.
- Grushnitsky
- A young cadet who admires Princess Mary and adopts a romantic pose that Pechorin regards with scorn.
- Princess Mary
- A young woman visiting the spas whose acquaintance with Pechorin becomes entangled with his rivalry with Grushnitsky.
- Dr. Werner
- An ironic physician at Pyatigorsk whose intelligence makes him a congenial companion and conversational equal for Pechorin.
- Vera
- A married woman who knows Pechorin from the past and still loves him when they meet again.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 60,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 4 h
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 9 other languages
Questions about Un eroe del nostro tempo
What is A Hero of Our Time about?
It tells of Pechorin, a young Russian army officer in the Caucasus, through five linked tales. He chases love, danger and amusement, hurts people along the way, and cannot find real satisfaction.
Why is Pechorin called a Byronic hero?
He is proud, moody, brave, restless and alienated, like the heroes of Lord Byron's poems. Lermontov, however, treats the type with irony and shows the damage such a man does.
Is A Hero of Our Time a true story?
No, it is fiction, published in 1840. Lermontov drew on his own service in the Caucasus and on men he knew, but Pechorin is an invented character.
Why are the stories told out of order?
Lermontov places the tales so we see Pechorin through others first, then through his own journal. The order shapes our judgment and keeps him a mystery.
Is A Hero of Our Time hard to read?
No. The tales are fast and clear.