45 pages • 1 hour read
Alexander PushkinEugene Onegin
Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Adult | Published in 1832A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Historical Context: Pushkin and Russia in the 1820s
The 1820s marked a significant period in the history of Russia, as it was a time of reforms, cultural advancements, and political unrest. During this decade, Russia was under the rule of Tsar Alexander I, who came to the throne in 1801 following the assassination of his father, Tsar Paul I. At the start of the 1820s, Russia was still reeling from the effects of the Napoleonic Wars, which ended in 1815 with Russia playing a key role in the defeat of Napoleon. The war drained the country’s resources and left it in a state of economic and social turmoil. To stabilize the situation, Tsar Alexander I introduced a series of reforms aimed at modernizing the country and improving the lives of its citizens.
One of the most significant reforms introduced in the 1820s was the abolition of serfdom, which was in place since the 16th century. However, the abolition was not immediate and took several years to implement fully. The tsar initially introduced the policy in the Baltic provinces, where serfdom was less prevalent, and gradually expanded it to other parts of the country. The reform faced strong opposition from the nobility, who owned the serfs and feared losing their source of labor. Another important reform introduced in the 1820s was the establishment of a network of zemstvos, or local self-governing bodies. The zemstvos were responsible for the administration of local affairs and the provision of public services such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure. The creation of the zemstvos was a significant step towards decentralizing power and giving more autonomy to the regions. However, the tsar retained overall control, and the zemstvos were only given limited powers.
The 1820s also saw significant cultural advancements in Russia. The country was experiencing a literary and artistic renaissance, with writers and artists such as Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol, and Ivan Aivazovsky achieving international recognition. Pushkin became a symbol of Russian culture and nationalism, with his works drawing on Russian history and folklore. Pushkin’s most famous works include the play Boris Godunov, the novel The Captain’s Daughter, and many short stories. Like the protagonist in Eugene Onegin, Pushkin was involved in a duel in 1837. Pushkin was fatally wounded but, even by the time of his death, was already one of the most widely celebrated writers in Russian history.
However, the cultural advancements were not without controversy. The tsar was wary of the influence of Western ideas and sought to promote a distinctly Russian culture. He introduced a policy of censorship, which saw several writers and artists banned or exiled for their works. Pushkin himself was put under close surveillance by the secret police and was only able to publish his most famous work, Eugene Onegin, after extensive revisions. The narrator of Eugene Onegin specifically mentions the prospect of censorship during the course of his narration. An additional chapter was written and never published; Pushkin himself feared that the satirical criticisms of the tsar would result in punishment. He burned the drafts of the chapter. In the modern day, the accepted text of the novel in verse is based on the 1837 version that includes several sections that were removed by the tsar’s censors.
Historical Context: Duels in 19th-Century Russia
Duels were a common practice in 19th-century Russia among the aristocracy and military elite and were often initiated over insults or slights to one’s honor; they were seen as a way to restore one’s reputation and standing in society. The practice of dueling in Russia was so prevalent that it was eventually codified in the law. In 1863, Tsar Alexander II issued a decree that made it illegal to refuse a duel challenge. The punishment for refusal was severe and included loss of rank, exile, and even death. This law reflected the importance that dueling had in Russian society and the belief that one’s honor was worth fighting for.
The most common type of duel was the pistol duel, in which the participants stood back-to-back and walked a predetermined number of paces before turning and firing. The first person to be hit or to yield was declared the loser. Duels could also be fought with swords, but these were less common. The rules and social etiquette of dueling were highly formalized; a strict code of conduct governed the behavior of the participants. For example, it was considered impolite to aim directly at one’s opponent, and instead, one had to shoot in the air or at the ground. This rule was designed to avoid a lethal outcome and to allow the participants to save face without killing each other. However, many people still lost their lives in these confrontations.
An important part of any duel was the role of the second. The second had to be a trusted friend or colleague who was willing to risk his own safety to help his principal (the person fighting the duel). The second had to be knowledgeable about the rules and conventions of dueling to negotiate effectively with the opposing second. The second also had to be brave, resourceful, and capable of handling the stress and tension of the duel, while also ensuring that the specific details of the duel were kept private in the immediate aftermath.
Before the duel, the participants and their seconds would negotiate the terms and conditions of the fight, including the choice of weapons, the distance between the participants, and the number of shots or passes allowed. The seconds were responsible for ensuring that the rules were followed and that the participants were safe. If a principal was injured, then the second could provide medical help. If a principal was killed, the second would be responsible for informing the authorities.
The practice of dueling was also reflected in literature. One of the most famous examples of dueling in literature is Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin. The novel is a story of unrequited love and features a duel between the main character, Eugene Onegin, and his friend, Vladimir Lensky. In the novel, Lensky challenges Onegin to a duel after Onegin flirts with Lensky’s fiancée, Olga. Onegin reluctantly accepts the challenge, and the two men meet at dawn in a secluded clearing beside a mill. The duel is described in detail, and the tension and drama are palpable. Pushkin uses the duel to highlight the absurdity and senselessness of dueling; he suggests that the practice is more about defending one’s pride than about resolving actual grievances.
Literary Context: The Onegin Stanza
The Onegin stanza is a poetic form named after Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin. This form, also known as the Pushkin sonnet, consists of 14 lines divided into three quatrains and a final couplet, with a rhyme scheme of ABABCCDDEFFEGG. The Onegin stanza has become one of the most popular and recognizable forms of Russian poetry and has influenced many poets worldwide.
The Onegin stanza is a variation of the Italian sonnet, which consists of an octave and a sestet, with a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA CDECDE or ABABABAB CDCDCD. In the Onegin stanza, however, the final couplet is different from the preceding quatrains. It is shorter and typically concludes the poem with a witty or ironic twist, often reflecting the poem’s theme. The Onegin stanza is also characterized by its regularity and flexibility. Each quatrain is a complete thought, often with a distinct image or idea. The final couplet serves to tie the quatrains together, providing a satisfying conclusion to the poem. The rhyme scheme is complex, with a total of 16 rhymes, but it is not rigidly adhered to, and poets have been known to vary it in subtle ways.
One of the hallmarks of the Onegin stanza is its musicality. The rhyme scheme and the regular meter (usually iambic tetrameter) give the poem a pleasing, sing-song quality. This musicality is enhanced using repetition and parallelism, both of which are common in the Onegin stanza. Pushkin often used the form to satirize the aristocracy and comment on the social and political issues of his day. The use of irony and satire is not limited to Pushkin’s work, and many poets have used the form to comment on society and politics. Mikhail Lermontov, Vyacheslav Ivanov, Jurgis Baltrušaitis, and Valery Pereleshin have all used the form while writing in Russian, though the form is still closely associated with its creator. The use of the Onegin stanza in Russian poetry is often used as a direct reference to the ideas and themes commonly employed by Pushkin, or an allusion to the time at which the Onegin stanza was developed.
The Onegin stanza’s popularity is not limited to Russia. It has been widely adopted by poets worldwide. One of the most famous examples of the Onegin stanza outside of Russia is Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov, the first half of which is structured as a series of Onegin stanzas. Nabokov uses the form to tell the story of a poet who is murdered, and the poem serves as a commentary on the nature of poetry and art. Other examples of writers using the form in English or other languages include John Fuller, Jon Stallworthy, and Vikram Seth. As well as novels in verse (such as Eugene Onegin), the form has been used in shorter poems, more closely resembling traditional Shakespearean or Petrarchan sonnets.
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