BYRONISM in LERMONTOV's a HERO of OUR TIME by ALAN HARWOOD CAMERON B.A., U N I V E R S I T Y O F C a L G a R Y , 1968 M.A
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BYRONISM IN LERMONTOV'S A HERO OF OUR TIME by ALAN HARWOOD CAMERON B.A., University of Calgary, 1968 M.A., University of British Columbia, 1970 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department SLAVONIC STUDIES We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA April, 1974 In presenting this thesis in par ial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of The University of British Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada Date Afr, I l0} I f7f ABSTRACT Although Mikhail Lermontov is commonly known as the "Russian Byron," up to this point no examination of the Byronic features of A Hero of Our Time, (Geroy nashego vremeni)3 has been made. This study presents the view that, while the novel is much more than a simple expression of Byronism, understanding the basic Byronic traits and Lermontov1s own modification of them is essential for a true comprehension of the novel. Each of the first five chapters is devoted to a scrutiny of the separate tales that make up A Hero of Our Time. The basic Byronic motifs of storms, poses and exotic settings are examined in each part with commentary on some Lermontovian variations on them. The secondary figures, heroines, "pashas," villains and others are also assessed against Byronic tradition. Finally, the different presentations of Pechorin, the main figure, are analyzed and evaluated to determine how the hero is and is not "Byronic." To ascertain exactly what the hero's Byronic features might be, I have used^P.J. Thorslev's system of prototypes for the Byronic hero, who could have any or all of the traits of the Child of Nature, the Hero of Sensibility or the Gothic Villain. By determining how Pechorin fits into these categories, it is easy to see in what way he resembles a Byronic hero. The first chapter deals with Princess Mary and shows how Pechorin's love of nature, egocentric sensitivity and nostalgic musings are part of the Byronic mainstream, yet how his cruel penchant for evil constitutes a modifi• cation. Chapter Two, on Beta, demonstrates Lermontov's alterations of the fundamental Byronic love formula; in the next chapter; which concerns Maksim Maksimych I have shown how the focal point of that story, Pechorin's external description, is strikingly Byronic. Chapter Four presents a new interpretation of Taman ' as a parody on the heroic myth of infallibility. The second last chapter points out how the Byronism of The Fatalist is filtered through the actions of the story and how Pechorin reconciles the belief in his own free will with the concept of fatalism. Chapter Six concludes the study with a view of the novel as a whole and a summation of the Byronic features of A Hero of Our Time, '• iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page INTRODUCTION 1 FOOTNOTES ; 7 ONE — PRINCESS MARY 8 FOOTNOTES 107 TWO — BE LA 114 FOOTNOTES 166 THREE — MAKSIM MAKSIMYCH 169 FOOTNOTES 194 FOUR — TAMAN' 196 FOOTNOTES 237 FIVE — THE FATALIST 24 0 FOOTNOTES 267 SIX — CONCLUSION 270 FOOTNOTES 291 BIBLIOGRAPHY 29 3 V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I should like to express my sincere appreciation to my adviser Dr. Michael H. Futrell, whose patience, in• sight and assistance were invaluable. I would also like to thank Dr. Zbigniew Folejewski and Professor G.H. Durrant for their help and interest in the preparation of this study. Without the financial assistance of the Canada Council and the University of British Columbia I would not have been able to finish my work, so an expression of gratitude must go out to them too. Lastly, I would like to thank the staff of the library of the University of British Columbia, and especially those in the Interlibrary Loan Office whose assistance was above and beyond the call of duty. INTRODUCTION So many times has Mikhail Lermontov been called the "Russian Byron" by so many critics that the real issue of the relationship between the works of the English author and the Russian one has been clouded by generalization and oversimplification. Some1 have asserted with little concrete evidence that the influence of Byron on Lermontov 2 is obvious. Others have denied Byron's direct influence on Lermontov, stating that if the latter were influenced by the English author, this influence came through Pushkin. Certain valuable efforts to clarify the question have been made. Many are restricted to general discussion and contain little detailed analysis. Two doctoral theses, J.T. Shaw's "Byron and Lermontov: The Verse Tale," and W.K. Matthews' "The Influence of Byron on Russian Poetry," are among the exceptions. Shaw's formalistic study is an important document for Lermontov scholars: through a chronological examination of the works from the puerile apings of Byron to Lermontov's fine narrative achievements in Mtsyvi (The Novice) and Demon (The Demon)} Shaw traces Lermontov's very real desire to emulate his professed "master." Matthews points out certain Byronic features of Lermontov1s lyric poetry. Most scholars, such as M. 2 Nol'man, K. Cherny and M.N. Rozanov have restricted their discussions of Lermontov's "Byronism" to the lyric poems. There is no question that the Byronic obsession with self- centred melancholy pervades Lermontov's poetry. As E. Duchesne has said "Un trait est particulierement frappant chez Lermontov, la tristesse pessimistequi colore d'une 3 teinte sombre ses ecrits." Lyric poems such as Parus (The Sail), Vykhozhu odin ya na dorogu . (Alone I Walk the Way) and Utyos (The Cliff) emphasize the poet's preoccupation with loneliness. Lermontov's great love of nature is illustrated in such works as Mtsyri, Siniye gory Kavkaza, privetstvuyu vast (Blue Caucasian Mountains, I Greet You!) and Rodina (Native Land). The strange master• piece demon and others such as Moy Demon (My Demon) demon• strate Lermontov's Byronic penchant for evil. Lermontov's poems have all been well discussed, but up to now no detailed analysis has been made of the Byronic features of his novel A Hero of Our Time, which is the subject of this study. It is well known that Lermontov was fascinated with Byron's life and works. In his writings, including the masses of letters and juvenilia, Lermontov alludes to Byron over thirty times -- twice as many as to the next person (Napoleon), and six times the number of references 4 to Pushkxn. Byron is the only author with whom he claims 3 any kind of spiritual kinship and from whom he takes more than one epigraph. There is considerable evidence that Lermontov's passion for Byron's works began at the age of thirteen as he read translations of the English poet's works by Zhukovsky and Kozlov. A.P. Shan-Girey states that after the death of "Michel's" tutor Gindrot, a certain Englishman Winson took his place in 1829 and began to teach the young Lermontov English. In Shan-Girey's opinion he was a good pupil for soon he began to read Byron, Moore 5 and Scott in the original. It is certain that Lermontov read Moore's life of Byron for he was so impressed that he wrote a poem about it, which claimed that he and Byron had "one soul and the same sufferings." Ye. A. Sushkova, with whom Lermontov was violently in love, reported that in 1830 Lermontov would recite Pushkin and Lamartine and 7 "was inseparable from his huge volume of Byron." This volume may or may not have been the work by Thomas Moore, or it could have referred to French translations of the English author which were very popular at that time. At any rate there are a number of translations and adaptations from Byron's works, including poems which claim again that he and Byron have one soul. For example in his poem Net ya ne Bayron . (No3 I'm not a Byron. ) the poet claims that he too is an exile and a wanderer and wants to reveal his thoughts to the masses. But he states that he is still unknown; he began earlier than Byron and 4 will finish earlier. Yet "the image he used to describe the secrecy of his thoughts, significantly is related to g an image from Byron." Perhaps even more significant are the Russian author's attempts at finding resemblances between his life and that of Lord Byron. At best Lermontov clutches at straws. He sees similarities in precocious love affairs, predictions made by fortune tellers, unhappy home circumstances and even scribbling verses. As Shaw demonstrates these similarities are hardly "astonishing" as Lermontov declared they were. It seems clear that Lermontov was striving to find and emphasize any kind of 9 similarity, important or not, between himself and Byron. It is notable how little study has been made of the Byronic features of A Hero of Our Time. I do not intend to study mere influences of one author on another; rather I believe that though the Russian author did identify with many of Byron's traits in his life and works, he modified and developed them from their original forms to suit his own literary purposes. For example Lermontov used the fragmentary style of story telling.