A Hero Of Our Time

How are women portrayed in the novel? Do any of the female characters truly have agency? Why or why not?

What is the thematic role of the Russian military in the novel? Why is it significant that the narrator, Maksim Maksimych, and Pechorin are military officers, and how do they compare with one another?

Pechorin’s diaries enable Pechorin to narrate parts of his life story in his own words. How does he characterize himself? How does his self-representation compare to the view that others have of him?

What role does weather, setting, and/or landscape play in the novel? How do these elements function symbolically, narratively, or thematically in the novel?

How are romantic relationships and their different forms—marriage, extramarital affairs, courtship—depicted in the novel? How do these depictions reflect the novel’s key themes and/or aid in characterization?

Analyze the character of Grushnitski. What is his wider significance in the text? How does he compare to Pechorin?

Examine the Caucasus and its peoples in the novel. How is this region and its culture depicted? What is the significance of the location and its inhabitants in the novel?

In some editions of the novel, “Princess Mary” is the final section. How does it change the novel’s meaning or emphasis to place that section at the end versus ending with “The Fatalist”?