Appearance
Excerpt
Excerpt from A Hero of Our Time, by Mikhail Iurevich Lermontov
With this the conversation ended, and we continued to walk in silence,
side by side. On the summit of the mountain we found snow. The sun set,
and--as usually is the case in the south--night followed upon the day
without any interval of twilight. Thanks, however, to the sheen of the
snow, we were able easily to distinguish the road, which still went
up the mountain-side, though not so steeply as before. I ordered the
Ossetes to put my portmanteau into the cart, and to replace the oxen
by horses. Then for the last time I gazed down upon the valley; but
the thick mist which had gushed in billows from the gorges veiled it
completely, and not a single sound now floated up to our ears from
below. The Ossetes surrounded me clamorously and demanded tips; but the
staff-captain shouted so menacingly at them that they dispersed in a
moment.
“What a people they are!” he said. “They don’t even know the Russian for
‘bread,’ but they have mastered the phrase ‘Officer, give us a tip!’
In my opinion, the very Tartars are better, they are no drunkards,
anyhow.”...
We were now within a verst or so of the Station. Around us all was
still, so still, indeed, that it was possible to follow the flight of a
gnat by the buzzing of its wings. On our left loomed the gorge, deep and
black. Behind it and in front of us rose the dark-blue summits of the
mountains, all trenched with furrows and covered with layers of snow,
and standing out against the pale horizon, which still retained the last
reflections of the evening glow. The stars twinkled out in the dark sky,
and in some strange way it seemed to me that they were much higher than
in our own north country. On both sides of the road bare, black rocks
jutted out; here and there shrubs peeped forth from under the snow; but
not a single withered leaf stirred, and amid that dead sleep of nature
it was cheering to hear the snorting of the three tired post-horses and
the irregular tinkling of the Russian bell. [4]
Explanation
Mikhail Lermontov’s A Hero of Our Time (1840) is a seminal work of Russian Romanticism and psychological realism, often considered the first Russian "superfluous man" novel. The protagonist, Grigory Pechorin, embodies the disillusioned, restless intellectual of the post-Decembrist era—a figure both charismatic and morally ambiguous. The excerpt provided comes from the novella’s framing narrative, "Bela" (told by the traveling officer Maxim Maximych), as the narrator and his companion, the staff-captain, ascend a mountain in the Caucasus. The passage is rich in atmospheric detail, thematic depth, and subtle social commentary, all while advancing the novel’s exploration of alienation, imperialism, and the sublime.
Context and Setting
The scene unfolds in the Caucasus, a region Lermontov knew well from his military service and exile. The Caucasus was a liminal space for 19th-century Russians—both a site of imperial expansion (Russia was then engaged in the Caucasian War against local tribes) and a romanticized wilderness where exiled officers like Pechorin (and Lermontov himself) sought escape from St. Petersburg’s stifling society. The mountain ascent symbolizes not just physical journey but a metaphysical one: the isolation of the individual against an indifferent, vast nature.
The narrator (an unnamed Russian officer) and the staff-captain are traveling toward a military outpost, having just left a valley now obscured by mist. Their dialogue and observations reveal tensions between Russian colonialism and the native populations (Ossetes, Tartars), as well as the existential loneliness of the travelers.
Themes
Alienation and the Sublime The passage is steeped in the Romantic tradition’s fascination with the sublime—the awe-inspiring, often terrifying vastness of nature that dwarf human presence. The "deep and black" gorge, the "dark-blue summits" of the mountains, and the "dead sleep of nature" create a sense of cosmic indifference. The narrator’s focus on the "flight of a gnat" amid this grandeur underscores human insignificance, a recurring motif in Romantic literature (e.g., Wordsworth’s "tiny, unseen beings" in The Prelude).
- The silence is broken only by the "snorting of the three tired post-horses" and the "tinkling of the Russian bell," sounds that are both comforting (a trace of civilization) and melancholic (hinting at exhaustion and transience).
Imperialism and Cultural Otherness The interaction with the Ossetes (a Caucasian ethnic group) is fraught with colonial condescension. The staff-captain’s remark—"They don’t even know the Russian for ‘bread,’ but they have mastered the phrase ‘Officer, give us a tip!’"—exposes the power dynamics of Russian rule. The Ossetes are reduced to caricatures: either beggars or drunks, while the Tartars (another colonized group) are deemed "better" solely because they "are no drunkards." This reflects the Russian Empire’s hierarchical view of its subject peoples, where assimilation (or lack thereof) is measured by utility to the colonizer.
- The mist veiling the valley below symbolizes the erasure of native cultures under imperial dominance. The "not a single sound" from below suggests a silenced, subjugated land.
Transience and Memory The narrator’s "last gaze down upon the valley" marks a threshold—both literal (ascending the mountain) and metaphorical (leaving behind a chapter of experience). The mist and silence imply irrevocable change, a theme central to Pechorin’s character, who is perpetually in motion, unable to form lasting connections.
- The "last reflections of the evening glow" on the horizon evoke the fleeting nature of time, a common Romantic trope linking natural cycles to human mortality.
Existential Loneliness The "stillness" of the scene is almost oppressive. The absence of wind ("not a single withered leaf stirred") mirrors the emotional stagnation of the travelers. The stars, perceived as "much higher than in our own north country," suggest a cosmic distance, reinforcing the narrator’s (and by extension, Pechorin’s) alienation from both nature and society.
Literary Devices
Imagery and Sensory Detail Lermontov’s prose is densely visual and auditory:
- Visual: The contrast between the "pale horizon" and "dark-blue summits," the "sheen of the snow," and the "bare, black rocks" create a stark, almost monochromatic landscape that heightens the sense of desolation.
- Auditory: The "buzzing of a gnat," the "snorting of horses," and the "tinkling of the Russian bell" are the only sounds in an otherwise silent world, emphasizing isolation. The bell, a symbol of Russian Orthodoxy and imperial presence, rings "irregularly," suggesting the instability of colonial control.
Symbolism
- Mist: Obscures the valley, symbolizing the unknown, the past, or the erased cultures beneath Russian rule.
- Snow: Covers the landscape, representing both purity and the cold indifference of nature (and perhaps fate).
- Stars: Their perceived height in the southern sky may symbolize the narrator’s (or Pechorin’s) sense of being unmoored from familiar moral or social constellations.
Juxtaposition
- The grandeur of the mountains vs. the triviality of the gnat’s flight.
- The staff-captain’s brutal efficiency (shouting at the Ossetes) vs. the narrator’s contemplative gaze.
- The "dead sleep of nature" vs. the "cheering" sounds of the horses and bell (a fleeting comfort in desolation).
Foreshadowing The eerie stillness and the narrator’s focus on the "last reflections" of light hint at the novel’s broader themes of impermanence and doom. Pechorin, whose story unfolds later, is a man marked by such transitory moments, forever looking back at what he has left behind.
Significance of the Passage
Pechorin’s Worldview Though Pechorin is not present in this scene, the landscape mirrors his psychological state: cold, detached, and sublime. The Caucasus, for Pechorin (and Lermontov), is both a prison and a refuge—a place where the "hero of our time" can act out his disillusionment without the constraints of Russian society.
Critique of Imperialism Lermontov, who was critical of Russia’s Caucasian Wars, subtly undermines the colonial narrative. The Ossetes’ demand for tips is framed as comic, but it also exposes the economic exploitation inherent in imperialism. The staff-captain’s disdain reveals the hypocrisy of "civilizing" missions.
Romantic Irony The passage embodies the Romantic paradox: nature is both awe-inspiring and indifferent to human suffering. The narrator finds beauty in the stillness, yet it is a beauty tinged with melancholy, reflecting the Romantic era’s fascination with Weltschmerz (world-weariness).
Narrative Frame The excerpt is part of the novel’s layered storytelling (Maxim Maximych recounts Pechorin’s tale to an unnamed traveler). The focus on perception—how the narrator sees the landscape—highlights the subjectivity of truth, a key theme in A Hero of Our Time, where Pechorin’s character is pieced together from conflicting accounts.
Close Reading of Key Lines
"Night followed upon the day without any interval of twilight."
- In the Caucasus, the transition from day to night is abrupt, mirroring the novel’s sudden shifts in tone (from adventure to introspection, from humor to tragedy). The lack of twilight suggests a world without gradations—only extremes, much like Pechorin’s personality.
"The stars twinkled out in the dark sky, and in some strange way it seemed to me that they were much higher than in our own north country."
- The narrator’s perception of the stars’ height reflects his disorientation. The Caucasus is both geographically and psychologically distant from Russia, a place where familiar moral and social landmarks no longer apply.
"Amid that dead sleep of nature it was cheering to hear the snorting of the three tired post-horses..."
- The oxymoron of finding cheer in exhaustion captures the Romantic spirit: beauty and comfort are found in unlikely places, often where there is struggle. The horses, like the travelers, are weary but persist—a metaphor for the human condition.
Conclusion
This excerpt encapsulates A Hero of Our Time’s central concerns: the tension between individual freedom and imperial constraint, the sublime indifference of nature, and the loneliness of the modern soul. Lermontov’s prose is both precise and poetic, using the Caucasian landscape as a canvas to explore the inner turmoil of his generation. The passage’s power lies in its contrasts—between silence and sound, light and dark, motion and stillness—mirroring the contradictions within Pechorin himself: a man who is both a product of his time and eternally at odds with it.