A Hero of Our Time

It is an example of the superfluous man novel noted for its compelling Byronic hero (or antihero) Pechorin and for the beautiful descriptions of the Caucasus. There are several English translations including one by Vladimir Nabokov and Dmitri Nabokov in 1958. Pechorin is the embodiment of the Byronic hero. Byrons works were of international repute and Lermontov mentions his name several times throughout the novel. According to the Byronic tradition Pechorin is a character of contradiction. He is both sensitive and cynical. He is possessed of extreme arrogance yet has a deep insight into his own character and epitomizes the melancholy of the Romantic hero who broods on the futility of existence and the certainty of death. Pechorins whole philosophy concerning existence is oriented towards the nihilistic creating in him somewhat of a distanced alienated personality. The name Pechorin is drawn from that of the Pechora River in the far north as a homage to Alexander Pushkins Eugene Onegin named after the Onega River.