Mikhail Lermontov Critical Essay | Critical Essay by David Matual

Critical Essay by David Matual

SOURCE: Matual, David. “Women and Horses in Mikhail Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time.” The International Fiction Review 22, nos. 1, 2 (1995): 8-14.

In the following essay, Matual discusses the numerous comparisons between women and horses in Lermontov's novel, claiming that the latter are regarded more favorably by the male characters.

Mikhail Lermontov's novel A Hero of Our Time consists of five stories (“Bela,” “Maksim Maksimovich,” “Taman,” “Princess Mary,” and “The Fatalist”), among which the first (“Bela”) and the fourth (“Princess Mary”) deal at some length with the amorous entanglements of the enigmatic protagonist, Girgori Pechorin. Early in “Princess Mary” we find Pechorin taking one of the French boutades (“Je haïs les hommes pour ne pas les mépriser, car autrement la vie serait une farce trop dégoûtante”) of Grushnitski, who is his competitor for the attentions of the title heroine, and adapting it to his own requirements: “Je méprise...
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