Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Impressions of Russian Literature - III
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has been proofread at least once.
(diff)
(history)
Denna sida har korrekturlästs minst en gång.
(skillnad)
(historik)
changed his hate to boundless contempt. He knew that
a single prayer for mercy, a single repentant word, would
open to him all paths, but he would rather fall down in
his chains than say the one lying word which could save
him. He does not grudge the others their pleasures; he
allows the others to deplore his condition; he would
rather suffer everything than be like them.”
In 1840 Lermontof was a second time banished to the
Caucasus, for a duel with a son of the French minister,
the historian of literature, Barante. In principle he was
opposed to duels, but, as a nobleman and an officer, he
could not free himself from the laws of society which
were honored about him. Shortly after he left the
capital, his romance, “The Hero of Our Time,” appeared.
In this book several characters are found, the prototypes
of which could be found in the higher ranks of society
of his day. A comrade of Lermontof, Martynof, felt
that he was insulted in several places in the book.
Probably he thought himself portrayed in the person
of Gruzhnitski. When the poet, one day, made a joke
about him, the latter embraced the opportunity for a
challenge. In the duel which followed, Lermontof was
killed, on July 15, 1841, pierced through the heart. A
memorial to him was raised at Pyatigorsk, in the
vicinity of which he fell.
There was a demon in him, a ruling spirit, hot and
cold, good and cruel, wild and tender; cherishing
independence in defiance of everything above him, and to
emancipation from everything which would cling to him.
Young as Lermontof was, he was often obliged to ask
himself if he was not possessed of an evil spirit, — one
which gained him women, who soon became a burden to
him; one which laughed disdainfully at him, and mocked
him, where others were moved pathetically. If he had
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
