Comparison of the letters of Onegin and Tatyana provides a good opportunity to appreciate the novel itself, and the greatest subtle psychologism of the author in his work "Eugene Onegin".
The characters' images, their feelings and thoughts are shown in the letters in a special way. Unobtrusively and subtly, sincerely and vividly, we see the open soul of Tatyana and Evgeny, who is in love with madness, who has lost the opportunity to be with the lady of the heart and understands this.
Love line of the novel
The love line in the work is its basis. The feelings of the characters are manifested in dialogues and monologues, actions.
Comparison of the two letters of Tatyana and Onegin most clearly makes it possible to understand the psychology of the heroes, since it is in their messages that they are most open and frank with each other.
Evgeny appears in the Larins' house, and the young dreamer Tatyana falls in love with him. Her feelings are bright and strong so much that the girl can not cope with them. She writes a letter to Eugene, and he hurts the girl with his cold answer. After that, the heroes part. Three years later, in St. Petersburg, the hero meets Tatyana at a ball. This is no longer a young country girl, butself-confident noble lady. And then it is time for Eugene to write to her. A comparison of Tatyana's and Onegin's letters (briefly given in the following sections of the article) will show us how similar and different their feelings are and the situation in which they find themselves.
Elements of the epistolary genre in the novel
The word "epistolary" is almost forgotten today. Nevertheless, during the time of Pushkin, this genre flourished. There is nothing difficult in understanding and meaning of this word: it comes from epistola - “letter, message”.
Comparing the letters of Onegin and Tatyana will give us the opportunity to understand how important elements of this genre are in Onegin. It is in their letters that the heroes most openly speak about their feelings and experiences. The messages of Tatyana and Onegin to each other show us their inner world, similarities and differences.
Letter from Tatyana
When the heroine meets Onegin, she, not spoiled by male attention and being dominated by her dreams and read books, of course, falls in love with him. But her feelings are chaste and pure, perhaps she loves not this young man, but her own idea of him. Unable to fight her feelings, she expresses them in a letter.
Comparison of the two letters of Tatyana and Onegin very subtly characterizes the main characters of the novel, shows the difference in their worldview and the commonality of a sad non-reciprocal feeling.
In her letter, Tatyana, with all her sincerity, talks about her love and experiences. She describes her feelings after the firstmeeting, and understanding what is in front of her - her beloved and betrothed.
She reveals all this without embellishment to Evgeny, whose silence hurts to the very heart. His answer is no less terrible for its indifference and ostentatious composure. He says that he is not a couple for the girl, and advises her to be careful in her impulses.
Onegin's letter
Comparison of the letters of Onegin and Tatyana shows how different people lose themselves and their principles in the face of love, especially non-reciprocal.
Evgeny and Tatyana are completely different people. They are distinguished by upbringing, place of their life, worldview. But how much is common in their letters! Both heroes are ready to face the wall of misunderstanding and even contempt from the opponent. If Tatyana is unconsciously afraid of this, then Eugene understands that it is precisely such a reaction that he deserves after a series of his actions. Once he held a letter in his hands, but now he writes it himself. Three years ago, he rejected the feelings of the girl, because he considered himself not ready for marriage and responsibility, restriction of freedom and the role of a family man. After his move to St. Petersburg, Evgeny returns to normal life, as if nothing had happened: neither a romantic girl in love, nor the murder of a close friend in a duel.
Meeting Tatiana turns the inner world of the hero, he may fall in love for the first time in his life. His love is different than Tatiana's. It is an all-consuming passion that turns the head, causes unexpected actions.
Comparison of characters' letters intable
A striking feature of the characters' messages is that they seem to be in dialogue with each other. Onegin answers the received letter years later. Let's compare the letters of Tatyana and Onegin. The table below will help us with this.
|
Letter from Tatyana Written at the peak of the hero's feelings, when he can no longer hide his feelings |
Onegin's letter Returning to the object of one's love, sincere and without falsehood, conveys the suffering of the author |
What's in common Both heroes in their letters are ready for condemnation, but unable to remain silent any longer |
Besides common features, there are many differences in the letters. Still, they were written by different people, with different worldviews and life paths. We will talk about them in the next section.
Comparison of letters from Tatyana and Onegin. Difference table
Different features of the characters' letters are due to the difference in time and characters, life circumstances in which the characters of the novel are in verse.
| Tatyana's letter to Evgeny | Onegin's letter to Tatyana | |
| Feelings | There is pure sincere love in the girl's letter. She is bright and platonic, it is enough for the heroine to see her beloved, listen to "his speeches". | Eugene owns passion. She pushes him to send a message to the girl. Seeing his beloved is not enough for him, he dreams of "hugging his knees" and telling her about his feelings. |
| Experiences | Tatiana's feelings are more serious and deep. She is afraid, she is “terrified to reread” her letter. This is the first time the heroine has such a strong feeling. | Eugene is more experienced in love affairs. This can be seen from his speech in a letter, full of complex turns, reasoning. Tatyana, on the other hand, writes in simple language, ingenuously and without further ado, talks about what she feels. |
Composition: comparison of letters from Onegin and Tatyana
We will devote this section of the article to a brief example of an essay about letters from heroes.
The novel "Eugene Onegin" is a real gem of Pushkin's work. It was rightfully proudly called the "Encyclopedia of Life" of the Russians of the Pushkin era. This is due to the fact that in the work the author describes the life of the nobility, interiors and clothes, balls and conversations, frivolous education by tutors and its consequences.
But the value of the novel is not only in this. His real soul is the characters' letters to each other.
Comparison of the letters of Onegin and Tatiana characterizes the inner world of the characters. They are definitely different people. Under the influence of all-consuming love, young Tatyana expresses her feelings in a letter. She sincerely and artlessly writes about what she can no longer hide.
A few years later, Eugene, who then rejected the girl's feelings, meets her in St. Petersburg as a married, self-confident lady and falls madly in love himself. Tatyana pretends not to notice his feelings. In a fit of despair, Eugene, as she had before,writes her a letter.
The letters have a lot in common, it's like a dialogue between the characters that they have years later. Both have a fear of being ridiculed and rejected, but both also rely on the nobility and honor of the opponent.
The strongest difference in the messages of Tatyana and Onegin is style. The girl writes simply and easily, in short and concise sentences about what she is experiencing, what she is unable to cope with. Yevgeny's letter is well-thought out and thought out, his style is quite complex and filled with reflections. This speaks of the strength of the characters' experiences: Tatyana's first love is still stronger than Evgeny's last passion.
In closing
The most powerful, psychologically subtle masterpieces of Russian literature include the novel "Eugene Onegin". Comparison of the letters of Tatyana and Onegin gives the reader a subtle feeling of the love and suffering of the characters, their mental turmoil and anxieties. It is in the letters that the heroes are before us - without the tinsel of education, manners or prejudices. Therefore, do not pass by this work. Although it was written almost three centuries ago, the relevance of the topics raised in it does not fade away.
