We’ve all probably met someone who only thinks about themselves and acts like the world revolves around them. People who exhibit these characteristics can be considered narcissists. Narcissists are people who have inflated egos, lack empathy and believe that they are superior to everyone. Based on the characteristics that narcissists possess, they often have hard times maintaining good relationships with those around them. Pechorin from Mikhail Lermontov’s A Hero of Our Time, is a prime example of a narcissist. Pechorin is a womanizer who only cares about himself. Due to his narcissistic tendencies, Pechorin pursues Princess Mary, though he has no interest in her and loves another woman named Vera. Based on Pechorin’s actions, it can be seen that his narcissistic tendencies keep him from maintaining personal connections as he forms relationships solely to serve his ego. Through this we can see how narcissism can get in the way of forming and keeping meaningful relationships.
In the beginning of the story, we meet Grushnitsky, a friend of Pechorin. When meeting Grushnitsky, Pechorin says, “I have seen through him, and that is why he dislikes me, although outwardly we are on the friendliest of terms…I don’t like him either” (Lermontov 85). Though Pechorin and Grushnitsky both dislike each other, they still remain as “friends.” Grushnitsky even opens up to Pechorin that he likes Princess Mary and wishes to pursue her. Once Pechorin finds out that Grushnitsky is interested in Mary, he immediately starts to think of a plan to win Mary over, while outwardly acting as if he is helping Grushnitsky. Due to the need to feed his ego and show his superiority, he begins to pursue Mary. In his attempt to make her fall in love with him, he also manipulates her into disliking Grushnitsky. After a while, Pechorin and Grushnitsky begin a rivalry over Mary which leads to a duel. What ultimately leads to this duel is when Pechorin finds out that Grushnitsky made up rumors about Pechorin’s presence at Princess Mary’s residence. Throughout the story, Pechorin continuously sabotages Grushnitsky’s chances with Mary because of his need to use others to boost his ego. Through Pechorin’s eyes his actions are always justified but when Grushnitsky creates a rumor out of jealousy, it is not justifiable and requires a duel to the death. Pechorin allows his pride to fuel his energy during the duel which keeps him from realizing that his quest for satisfying his ego has gone out of proportion. He fails to see that he is about to kill his “friend” over a battle that he himself started. Although Pechorin shows no mercy, during the duel Grushnitsky decides not to kill Pechorin as killing his friend is something that would haunt him. While Grushnitsky is sparing Pechorin, Pechorin is not as forgiving as he states, “There is still time: retract your slander and I shall forgive you everything. You did not succeed in fooling me, and my self-esteem is satisfied. Remember, we were friends once…” (Lermontov 154-155). Through this we can see that Pechorin cared more about getting an apology from Grushnitsky rather than the actual duel. Pechorin wanted Grushnitsky to admit defeat and apologize, as it would boost his ego. Without considering his relationship with Grushnitsky, Pechorin ends up killing Grushnitsky to uphold his narcissistic pride.
As stated before, Pechorin pursues Princess Mary and makes it a mission for her to fall in love with him. Pechorin pursues Mary to mess with Grushnitsky, and to get the satisfaction of having another woman fall for him while not reciprocating those feelings. Pechorin enjoys being the center of another person’s thoughts and enjoys having control over others feelings which leads him to pursue Mary without any true feelings for her. This can be seen when he says, “I never became the slave of the women I loved; on the contrary, I have always gained unconquerable power over their will and heart, with no effort at all…Is it because I never treasured anything too much, while they incessantly feared to let me slip out of their hands?” (Lermontov 101). Pechorin plays a cat and mouse game with women by constantly pushing them away at times, and at other times, pulling them close. He manipulates them and treats them as possessions. By doing this he gets women to fall in love with him while he does not possess the same feelings. Instead by doing this he receives the validation he needs to feed his ego. When the women he pursues express their feelings for him, Pechorin feels as if his work is done as he has made another woman fall in love with him showing his superiority. When Princess Mary says that she can sacrifice anything for the one she loves, she asks Pechorin if he despises her. To this Pechorin responds, “I shall tell you the whole truth. I shall neither justify myself, nor explain my actions. I do not love you” (Lermontov 136). With these harsh words, Pechorin makes it clear that he never had any feelings for Mary and that his sole purpose in courting her was just to get attention and satisfy his ego. Having fulfilled the desire of winning Mary over, Pechorin no longer sees any use for her, and abandons her with the words, “I do not love you.”
After turning Princess Mary away and dueling Grushnitsky, Pechorin gets the news that his old lover, Vera, was moving somewhere far away. She had admitted to her husband that she had an affair with Pechorin in the past, causing him to force her to leave. With this news, Pechorin breaks down and “like a madman” embarks on a journey to find her (Lermontov 157). In his diary entry, Pechorin confesses his feelings for Vera saying, “Faced by the possibility of losing Vera forever, I felt that she had become dearer to me than anything in the world – dearer than life, honour, happiness!” (Lermontov 158). For once Pechorin shows that he is capable of having romantic feelings for a woman. When Pechorin realizes that he cannot reach Vera, he “[begins] crying like a child” (Lermontov 157). For the first time, Pechorin is showing vulnerability and his true emotions. Also, for the first time, he was actually fighting and trying to make a relationship work. Based on this fact, some argue that narcissists would be able to maintain relationships. While it is true that Pechorin may love Vera, it does not necessarily mean that he would be able to maintain a relationship with her. Immediately after expressing his emotions, Pechorin says, “…my thoughts had regained their usual order, I realized that to pursue perished happiness was useless and senseless… It may have been due, however, to upset nerves, to a sleepless night, to a couple of minutes spent facing the muzzle of a pistol, and to an empty stomach” (Lermontov 158). After showing his emotions for a split second, Pechorin goes back to not caring. This shows how Pechorin believes that having a true relationship is meaningless as they are “useless.” He himself cannot admit his own feelings and blames his crying on other reasons rather than admitting he was crying because of a woman. In reality, Pechorin feels this way because with Vera leaving, he found that he did not have complete control over her. Pechorin enjoys having control over others feelings as at one point he states, “To be to somebody the cause of sufferings and joys, without having any positive right to it – is this not the sweetest possible nourishment for our pride? (Lermontov 116).” Realizing that he no longer has Vera to satisfy his ego, Pechorin begins to show emotions for once.
Through Pechorin’s actions throughout the story, it can be seen that individuals with narcissistic tendencies would not be able to maintain relationships- whether they be with friends or romantically. It is important for people to recognize these signs of narcissism in those around them. Noticing these characteristics and signs in those around you, allow you to protect yourself and not get manipulated by those with narcissistic qualities. Unfortunately, people like Vera and Mary, as well as Grushnitsky, fell victim to a narcissist, leading to heartbreak and death.
Works Cited
Lermontov, Mikhail. A Hero of Our Time. 1840.
