Grigory Pechorin

He is a skeptic and a materialist, like almost all doctors, and at the same time a poet, and not in a joking way... He studied all the living strings of the human heart, as one studies the veins of a corpse, but he never knew how to use his knowledge... His appearance was one of those which strike one as unpleasant at first glance, but which one likes later, when the eye learns to read in the irregular features the imprint of a tried and elevated soul... Werner was short, thin, and weak, like a child; one leg was shorter than the other, like Byron's; his head seemed enormous in comparison to his body: he wore his hair cut short… His small black eyes, always restless, tried to penetrate your thoughts. His clothes showed taste and neatness… Werner and Pechorin are united by intelligence, analytical/critical thinking, love of philosophical debate, observation, and egoism (indifferent to everything except themselves). Pechorin also shows his desire to rule in his friendships.

He's only been in the service for a year, and, in keeping with his unique brand of dandyism, wears a thick soldier's greatcoat. He has a St. George's Cross. He's well-built, dark-skinned, and dark-haired; he looks twenty-five, though he's barely twenty-one. He throws his head back when he speaks, and constantly twirls his mustache with his left hand, as he leans on a crutch with his right. A cadet. Pechorin met him in the active detachment. This is a poser and a vulgarian who reproduced Pechorin. Provincial girls liked such people; Tried to "become the hero of a novel"; He strove to create an effect and had “pompous phrases” for all occasions; "Grushnitsky is known as a great brave man; I've seen him in action; he waves his saber, shouts, and rushes forward with his eyes closed. That's not typical Russian bravery!…" Pechorin makes fun of the hero; Grushnitsky is Pechorin's double. They both enjoy making an impression. However, the cadet's double is a parody, as Pechorin is intelligent, while Grushnitsky is stupid and cowardly. The main character is incapable of friendship, but calls the cadet his friend. The conflict between them arises from the very beginning. Pechorin about Grushnitsky: “I don’t like him either: I feel that we will someday collide on a narrow road, and one of us will end up in trouble.”

She keeps her personal diary in which she describes her feelings and events.

Rebellious, he desires to test his luck. His inner struggle is a consequence of his habit of opposing society. He often says that he brings suffering not only to others but also to himself, and he regrets this. He is a man who has failed to find a use for his powers. He constantly analyzes his actions, rationalizing everything. Pechorin often wonders why he was born at all, and that it was a very unfortunate day. After his high life in St. Petersburg, he has become cold and hard, his face impenetrable. He always hides his feelings. He considers himself a moral cripple. He is always bored, so he loves to create drama. He makes beauties fall in love with him, even though he himself will never love them. He ruins other people's relationships and destinies. His heart harbors sadness, melancholy, and envy. He is a very contradictory person. He believes that his life is nothing but a series of sad and unfortunate contradictions between his heart and mind. He believes that he is incapable of friendship, because of two friends, one is always the other’s slave, although often neither of them will admit it to themselves. Sometimes he likes to tease princesses and beauties, making them fall in love with him and then rejecting them. For him, it's just a game he knows by heart. He considers all women monotonous. His whole life is a game in which he takes risks and tempts fate. And in the heat of passion, he's capable of madness. An egoist who wants to be loved, but not experience feelings himself. He says he doesn't want to be a slave to the woman he loves; he wants power and will over her heart, a possessive one. And marriage is terrifying to him, because it would mean losing his freedom. He says that this is how he was raised since childhood and this is how society influenced him. He thinks he is ready to die. He says he lives by his mind, not his heart. However, he does have feelings, but he tries to hide them. When alone, he can cry and show his feelings, but he still tries to rationalize them. Considers himself the villain of other people's destinies.

He was of medium height; his slender, slender figure and broad shoulders bespoke a robust frame capable of enduring all the hardships of a nomadic life and changing climates, unconquered by the debauchery of the capital or the storms of the soul. His dazzlingly clean linen revealed the habits of a respectable man. His fingers were thin and pale. And his eyes never laughed when he laughed. Some thought this a sign of an evil character, but in reality it was merely sadness and melancholy. His skin had a certain feminine delicacy. His hair was brown, slightly curly, and he had a small, well-groomed mustache.

Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin is a loner, at odds with society. A nobleman from St. Petersburg in the 1830s, Grigory Pechorin serves as an officer in the Russian Imperial Army and holds the rank of ensign. His place of service is the Caucasus, where he participated in combat operations and served in various military units. Having begun his service in the guards in St. Petersburg, after a duel, he was exiled to the Caucasus to join an active army corps.