Since "Princess Mary" is a long story, really a novella, we'll break it into two parts for Wednesday's class (though feel free to read the entire thing in one go if you wish--it's a fascinating story). Read to the June 5th entry, which is about 50 pages. If we have class on Friday, we'll finish the rest for then; if not, we'll finish it and read the final story for next Monday.
Answer TWO of the following:
Q1: Why does Pechorin resent his old acquaintance Grushnitsky so much? What might truly be at the heart of their rivalry? And do you think Grushnitsky resents him equally--or does he have a bit of hero worship for him as do the Narrator and Maksim Maksimich?
Q2: Early on in the story, Pechorin admits "Contradiction is, with me, an innate passion; my entire life has been nothing but a chain of sad and frustrating contradictions to heart or reason." Based on this, how can we know who the real Pechorin really is? Can we tell when he's merely being contrary or obstinate? Does he, like Pococurante, always say or do the opposite thing? Or is he less clever than he gives himself credit for?
Q3: Where in this story does Pechorin occasionally sound self-consciously literary? Are their times that his journal (it's dated like a personal diary) sounds too polished or contrived to be real? Does it ever sound more like the Narrator or other stories we've read before?
Q4: Why does Pechorin take pride in being told "that when riding in Circassian garb, I look more like a Kabardan than many a Kabardan...I have studied, for a long time, the mountain people"? Why would a Russian who looks down on these people want to be thought one of them? What might this say about his character and values?
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