Eugene Onegin · Chapter
XXXIX explained
The narrator describes his friendship with a man who, like himself, has renounced vanity and the haunts of society.
What happens
The narrator describes his friendship with a man who, like himself, has renounced vanity and the haunts of society. They are drawn together by a shared love of meditation, original imagination, and a cool sagacious mind, both having grown weary of passion and dull existence, and both anticipating the betrayals of blind Fortune.
Themes in this chapter
The Aristocratic Malaise
Both the narrator and his friend are satiated with passion and tired of existence, reflecting the ennui and disillusionment common among the aristocracy.
Fate and Missed Opportunity
They both expect the hate of blind Fortune, suggesting a fatalistic outlook on life's disappointments.
Characters to notice
- Alexander Pushkin
The narrator, who describes his own renunciation of vanity and his friendship with a kindred spirit.
Key passages
“Having abjured the haunts of men, Like him renouncing vanity, His friendship I acquired just then; His character attracted me.”
After giving up society and vanity like my friend, I formed a friendship with him because I was drawn to his personality.
The narrator explains the basis of his friendship with a like-minded individual.
“Both were of passion satiate And both of dull existence tired, Extinct the flame which once had fired; Both were expectant of the hate With which blind Fortune oft betrays The very morning of our days.”
We were both weary of passion and bored with life, the fire that once motivated us gone, and we both anticipated the spiteful betrayals of blind Fortune even in our youth.
Describes the shared disillusionment and fatalism of the narrator and his friend.