Chatsky and Onegin comparative characteristics. Onegin and Chatsky are different people of the same era

Evgeny Onegin and Alexander Chatsky are characters in various literary works by A. Pushkin and A. Griboyedov, however, they have something in common: the heroes are not fully understood and not accepted by society. But along with this, the acting characters also have distinctive features. If Onegin is a frequent visitor to formal balls and dinners, then Chatsky rejects such a lifestyle, considering it meaningless. Evgeny treats people arrogantly, Alexander, on the contrary, is friendly towards everyone, but if he sees himself as right, he defends this point of view. Below in the table the characteristics of these heroes are presented.

In the 10-20s of the last century in Russia, anti-serfdom sentiments intensified among the leading part of the nobility. The first secret societies were created, and ideas of bourgeois revolutions spread throughout the country. On one side of the barricades there were reactionaries, on the other - progressive nobles, future Decembrists. There were also representatives of the noble class who were not reactionaries, but did not join secret societies and did not have freedom-loving thoughts. It was at such a time that A. S. Pushkin began work on the first chapters of the novel “Eugene Onegin”, and in the same years A. S. Griboedov created his immortal comedy “Woe from Wit”.

Chatsky and Onegin, the main characters of these works, are the same age. These are young and energetic nobles. But the difference between the two images is immediately obvious. Chatsky, like Onegin, was brought up in an atmosphere of reaction, but he learned and became an educated person. Griboyedov's hero “writes and translates nicely.” Work for Chatsky is not a heavy burden; in enlightenment he sees movement forward. Onegin was brought up in the French manner, and Pushkin himself jokingly notes that he is a home teacher.

So that the child does not get tired,

I taught him everything jokingly,

I didn’t bother you with strict morals...

We all learned a little bit

Something and somehow...

Onegin spent eight years in idle Petersburg, where he went to receptions and balls, went to bed after midnight, and got up after noon. He understood the emptiness and worthlessness of such a life, but did not begin to fight it. Onegin retired to his estate, tried to engage in some kind of activity, but “he was sick of persistent work.” Chatsky also had an estate, but he “managed it carelessly,” that is, he treated the peasants well. His nature is outraged by the forced position of the serfs. Chatsky gives examples of how serf owners treated people who more than once saved their home, honor, and the lives of their owners.

Onegin is also trying to start organizing his serfs:

In his wilderness the desert sage,

He is the yoke of the ancient corvée

I replaced it with easy quitrent;

And the slave blessed fate.

But the author reports that this was done “just to pass the time.” All the activities of Onegin the reformer were limited to this. Evgeniy does not care about the fate of the peasants; his “chilled mind” inspires the hero that he only needs to take care of himself. He is an individualist.

Both heroes are contemptuous of high society. They are smart and reasonable, so they see all the emptiness and worthlessness of secular St. Petersburg and Moscow. “What new will Moscow show me?” - Chatsky asks on the day of his arrival to the Famusovs. He finds no change for the better. Griboyedov's hero breaks with this society completely, although he loves a girl from an environment he hates. Onegin remained a man of his circle, bearing all his vices. He killed Lensky in a duel, unable to rise above the world that he inwardly despised. Class prejudices took over, Eugene was afraid of the gossip of the “local rulers.” A critical attitude to reality and an extraordinary mind doomed him, in the absence of social activity, to complete loneliness. Chatsky is not alone. Griboyedov speaks about the brother of Colonel Skalozub, an advanced officer who left the service, about the nephew of Princess Tugoukhovskaya, who is enthusiastically studying chemistry and botany.

Chatsky has a more sensitive soul than Onegin. Onegin seems to be a reasonable egoist. He does not understand the depth of Tatyana's requests. The basis of his feelings is selfishness. Chatsky sincerely loves Sophia. He is completely transformed when he sees her. But Sophia is a person of Famus society, and Chatsky finds the strength to leave Moscow.

In the images of Chatsky and Onegin we clearly see different people of the same era. Somewhat similar, they represent the different paths that society followed at the beginning of the 19th century: the path of protest and the path of cold contemplation.

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Comparisons of the heroes of "Woe from Wit" and "Eugene Onegin" and received the best answer

Answer from Marina[guru]
“Woe from Wit” by A. S. Griboyedov and “Eugene Onegin” The main characters of these works, Chatsky and Onegin, are representatives of the advanced noble intelligentsia. The authors consider their characters and destinies in inextricable connection with time, with the social movement. The destinies of Chatsky and Onegin are in many ways similar. Onegin is the son of a “squandered” nobleman. Chatsky was brought up in the house of a rich uncle. It’s easy to imagine what kind of education they received. Chatsky recalls with a grin the index finger of the teacher, who inspired his students that there is no happiness for Russians without Germans. Evil irony is heard in his question: Why today, just like in ancient times, Are regiments busy recruiting teachers, in larger numbers, at a cheaper price? Pushkin, saying about Onegin’s upbringing, he rightly notes: We all learned a little of Something and somehow. Chatsky and Onegin are brought even closer together by their attitude to society, to the “light”. Onegin, tired of balls and social dinners, flees from the capital to the village. But here, too, “an eternal conversation about rain, about flax, about the barnyard” awaits him. His habits, behavior, “soul-sick laziness” cause bewilderment and dissatisfaction among his neighbors. Chatsky, passionately loving Sophia, could not stay in her father’s house. Everything there seemed lifeless to him. In Moscow, “yesterday there was a ball, and tomorrow there will be two.” A young, inquisitive mind needs food, it needs new impressions. Chatsky leaves the capital for a long time. “I wanted to travel around the whole world,” he says about himself. Onegin, living in the village, also felt his worthlessness, his uselessness, his inability to be a friend (relationship with Lensky), to love (relationship with Tatyana). “He was overcome by anxiety, a desire to change places.” “Changing places,” observations, thoughts caused by this, do not pass without a trace for the heroes. Pushkin calls his Onegin, returning from a trip, “very chilled and saturated with what he saw.” Thus, the worldviews of Chatsky and Onegin are finally formed. These are no longer youths, but adults, with rich life experience behind them. And now the fundamental differences between these literary types begin to show themselves. Onegin sees the emptiness of the life around him, the idle lordship, lies and falsehood reigning around, but he does not even think about actively fighting them. He is too well-mannered, too cold-blooded to make accusatory speeches in the living rooms of St. Petersburg in front of a crowd of laughing fools. His protest is expressed in another way. With his entire appearance he reveals a silent reproach. Pushkin describes Onegin this way: But who is this in the chosen crowd, standing silent and foggy? Faces flash before him, Like a row of annoying ghosts. Chatsky behaves completely differently. He is easily irritated, personal drama makes him especially vulnerable. Appearing at Famusov’s ball, he creates, in the words of I. A. Goncharov, such a “commotion” that he is mistaken for a madman. In his actions there is no cold calculation, egoism, which are characteristic of Onegin. Chatsky’s weapon is a punishing word. He demands “service to the cause.” He languishes among the empty, idle crowd of “tormentors, sinister old women, quarrelsome old men.” Chatsky demands space and freedom for his age. He announces that the “past century” is being replaced by a new one, bearing the ideal of “free life.” Goncharov in his article “A Million Torments” speaks of the typicality of Chatsky and Onegin. These types will invariably arise at a turning point. Onegins are “superfluous” people in their midst; their appearance always indicates trouble, the impending collapse of the social order. These people are head and shoulders above their contemporaries, they are noted for their insight and “sharp, cooled mind.” The Chatskys continue, develop what they started with “superfluous” people, they not only silently condemn and despise. The Chatskys openly hate, denounce, ridicule. “Chatsky is a sincere and ardent figure,” says I. A. Goncharov.

Pechorin, Chatsky and Onegin are the heroes of the most famous novels of all times. All of them are representatives of the nobility. Each of them stands out for its character, actions and other qualities that are remembered by the reader and stored in memory for a lifetime. All three have one common problem - loneliness.

Alexander Chatsky is educated and smart, noble and honest, young and ardent. He boldly speaks out about the problem of serfs and other problems of his time. Despite the fact that his words are not without some truth, no one responds to them. His fellow citizens, Muscovites, present his actions as an element of psychological disorder. Labeled a mad man, he leaves with his head held high, remaining misunderstood.

Evgeny Onegin is the most sympathetic character for many readers. Initially, it seems that he is the same spoiled rake as everyone else in St. Petersburg. He is handsome, so he is in demand among ladies, attends evenings, theaters and leads a free lifestyle. But soon Evgeniy became bored with such a life. It is there that he meets Lensky and kills him. His story with Tatyana Larina leaves nothing in the hero’s soul except indifference. Only when he meets the young widow again does he throw himself into her lap and beg for love. Tatyana, out of conscience, does not reciprocate, dooming Evgeny Onegin, like Chatsky, to loneliness.

Pechorin has a successful career - he is an army officer. He was not a secular person and was not interested in politics either. The character of the novel “A Hero of Our Time” remains a selfish person throughout the entire work. He, without hesitation, destroys the destinies of other people. Pechorin is called Onegin's younger brother. He also gets shot in a duel, which leads to the death of his comrade. He treats Princess Mary just as cruelly, just as Onegin did with Tatiana. Pechorin's act can be called even more daring and cruel.

Of all three characters, critics consider only Chatsky to be a figure, who was subject not only to bold speeches. Another significant difference between Chatsky and Onegin and Pechorin is that Alexander, having fallen in love with Sophia, is truly sincere and tries with all his might to protect her from everything evil in the world.

And yet, everyone is interested in how Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin and Alexander Sergeevich Griboedov could create such different, but at the same time similar characters. Contemporaries believe that Onegin, Chatsky and Pechorin can be called “superfluous people” in their separate worlds. It is also interesting that Pushkin wrote the novel in verse, which gives Onegin a more romantic image. Lermontov's work is the first psychological novel that forces the reader to penetrate deeper into the essence of his nature. But Griboyedov has a tragedy, the title of which reveals the whole essence of the work. Summing up, we can realize that all three representatives did not find a place in life and were forced to become lonely and abandoned.

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Composition

What happened in Russia in the early 20s of the 19th century? In response to the strengthening government reaction, secret political societies began to emerge in the country, aiming to radically transform life on a humane and fair basis. The clash between a man of Decembrist views and reactionary nobles is reflected in the works of writers whom the Decembrists considered their allies and comrades-in-arms.

Chatsky is the hero of A. S. Griboedov’s comedy “Woe from Wit,” and Onegin is the hero of A. S. Pushkin’s novel “Eugene Onegin.” Writers have depicted different, opposing characters in their works. Onegin is an educated person, but “superfluous” to society, and Chatsky is a progressive person of his time.

In these heroes we will find not only differences in character, but also similarities in origin, upbringing and education. Both Chatsky and Onegin studied and were brought up under the guidance of foreign tutors. We learn about Chatsky that he is an educated man who was engaged in literary work, was in the service of ministers, and lived abroad. But his stay there only broadened his mental horizons, and did not make him a fan of everything foreign.

Onegin, in comparison with Griboyedov's hero, received a superficial education.

Poor Frenchman
So that the child does not get tired,
I taught him everything jokingly...

Subsequently, Onegin significantly expanded his knowledge. He was fluent in French, “danced the mazurka easily and bowed at ease.” This knowledge and skills were quite enough to earn the favor of the world, which “decided that he was smart and very nice.”

In Chatsky’s character one can notice insolence and irreconcilability towards indifferent or conservative-minded people. He loves his homeland and speaks about it with warmth: “When you travel, you return home, and the smoke of the Fatherland is sweet and pleasant to us!” Chatsky is a smart, hot-tempered man, but under the mask of irony he has a sensitive, responsive heart. He can, like all people, laugh and be sad, he can be angry and harsh, but he will be a faithful and reliable friend. Hot and ardent, he is surprisingly similar to the young Pushkin. “Oster, smart, eloquent, especially happy with his friends,” says Lisa about him. He is a little naive and inexperienced in everyday affairs. And Onegin... Who is he? “A sad and dangerous eccentric, a creature of hell or heaven, this angel, this arrogant demon”? No, not an angel, not a demon. Onegin is a collective image, “in which the century is reflected and modern man is depicted quite correctly with his immoral soul, selfish and dry, immensely devoted to dreams, with his embittered mind seething in empty action.” He has no love and affection in his life. With boredom, dissatisfaction and irritation, Evgeniy goes to his dying uncle. The main thing for him is the inheritance. Onegin is indifferent to his relative’s illness and is horrified by the need to portray a saddened nephew. He leads a life typical of “golden” youth: balls, walks along Nevsky Prospect, visiting theaters. But he had long since become tired of all this. He was bored with the people with whom he was forced to communicate. The life he led did not suit him, but the change of situation could not affect Onegin. And in the village he was overcome by the same boredom.

Chatsky, it seems to me, is taller and smarter than Onegin. This is a man of progressive views. He is full of bright ideas for transforming society and angrily denounces the vices of old Moscow. His deep mind gives him faith in life and high ideals. Chatsky is outraged by serfdom, by the fact that a landowner can exchange his faithful servants, who “more than once saved his life and honor,” for three greyhounds. He wants to serve “the cause, not the persons.” “I’d be glad to serve, but it’s sickening to be served,” he responds to Famusov’s reproaches and moralizing.

Onegin languished, suffocated in his environment and did not know what he wanted. Evgeniy read a lot, tried to engage in literary work, but “he was sick of persistent work; nothing came of his pen.” He did not know what to do with his mind; Chatsky was seriously preparing for activities for the benefit of the fatherland. Even his ideological opponent Famusov pays tribute to his abilities, saying: “He writes and translates well.” Everyone talks about his great intelligence.

Onegin is critical of the way of life of noble society, but does not make a serious attempt to change anything; he is far from the Decembrist progressive ideas.

Chatsky actively defends freedom of thoughts and opinions, recognizes that every person has his own opinions and beliefs and expresses them openly. He stands for the development of national culture, for the unity of the intelligentsia with the people. He is outraged by the admiration of Russian nobles for French fashions, language, and their isolation from their national roots.

Will we ever be resurrected from the alien power of fashion?
So that our smart, cheerful people
Although, based on our language, he didn’t consider us Germans.

Chatsky has a high opinion of his people, but Onegin is infinitely far from them.

How do our heroes show themselves in friendship and love? In Famus society, Chatsky has no friends. They hate him here, they even declare him crazy, because they don’t recognize his views on life, his beliefs. It is worth noting that Chatsky constantly uses the pronoun “we”, since he considers himself not alone in the desire for change. His friends are those who represent the “present century,” but Griboedov only mentions these people, introducing non-stage characters into the play.

Onegin was inseparable from Lensky. Despite the fact that the friends were like “ice and fire,” they had a lot in common. Lensky shared his views and personal experiences with Onegin, he trusted him. But Onegin’s rash act aroused in Lensky a feeling of jealousy, bitter resentment and disappointment in love and friendship. Onegin calmly accepts the challenge and kills his only friend in a duel, without feeling the slightest hostility towards Lensky. He only thinks about how the local society, which he does not respect at all, will evaluate his behavior.

The basis of Onegin’s love for Tatyana also lies in selfishness and selfishness. In his first explanation with her, he frankly admits that strong, deep feelings are alien to him. Chatsky loved Sophia seriously, seeing in her his future wife. Love for him is not “the science of tender passion,” as for Onegin. Because of his love for a girl, Chatsky returns to a society that is deeply disgusting to him. He had to drink the cup of suffering to the bottom.

Chatsky boldly and courageously fights for everything new, advanced, for a new Russia, but he cannot be congratulated on his victory. He leaves Moscow to “search the world where there is a corner for offended feelings.” But we are sure that he will remain a fighter who will continue his activities for the sake of the freedom of the Fatherland. At the end of the novel, Onegin also experiences the collapse of his hopes for happiness, but unlike Chatsky, he is broken by this grief. If Griboyedov's hero, in addition to love, had socially useful activities for the benefit of his homeland, then Onegin has no such activity.

Griboyedov and Pushkin created bright realistic images in their works that absorbed the typical features of people of the era of the 20s of the 19th century. They continue to influence the spiritual formation of new generations.