Grigory Pecherin

(The man went out onto the balcony and leaned against it, looking somewhere into the distance and clearly not noticing you.)

Pechorin received a secular education, at first he chases after secular entertainment, but then disappointment awaits him, attempts to engage in science and cooling to it. He is bored, indifferent to society and experiences deep dissatisfaction with his life. Pechorin is a deep character. "A sharp, cool mind" is combined in him, with a thirst for activity and willpower. He feels immense strength in himself, but squanders it on trifles, on love affairs, without doing anything useful. Pechorin makes the people around him unhappy. He is above the environment, smart, educated. But internally he is devastated, disappointed. He lives "out of curiosity", on the one hand, and on the other - he has an ineradicable thirst for life. Pechorin's character is very contradictory. He says: "I have long lived not with my heart, but with my head." At the same time, having received Vera's letter, Pechorin, like a madman, rushes to Pyatigorsk, hoping to see her at least once more. He painfully searches for a way out, thinks about the role of fate, seeks understanding among people of another circle. And he does not find a sphere of activity for himself, an application for his powers. So he interferes in the lives of smugglers, takes revenge on everyone indiscriminately, plays with Bela's fate, Vera's love. He defeats Grushnitsky in a duel and becomes a hero of the society that he despises. Grigory thinks the following about himself: “I was modest – I was accused of deceit: I became secretive. I deeply felt good and evil; no one caressed me, everyone insulted me: I became vindictive; I was sullen – other children were cheerful and talkative; I felt myself above them – I was placed below. I became envious. I was ready to love the whole world – no one understood me: and I learned to hate.” And he also says about himself: Whether I am a fool or a villain, I do not know; but it is true that I am also very worthy of pity, perhaps more than she: my soul is corrupted by light, my imagination is restless, my heart is insatiable; everything is not enough for me: I get used to sadness as easily as to pleasure, and my life is boring, confused in a stupid way and ridiculously unhappy.