Eugene Onegin

Eugene Onegin is a novel in verse by Russian author Alexander Pushkin, first published between 1825 and 1832 in serial form. The title character is a worldly but cynical man who leaves the city of Saint Petersburg after inheriting a large estate in the country. Eugene Onegin has been hailed as a landmark achievement in Russian literature and a demonstration of Pushkin’s mastery of the Russian language. The novel has been adapted for the ballet, the theater, television, film, and most famously as an opera of the same name. This guide uses the 2009 Oxford World’s Classics edition of Eugene Onegin, translated by James E. Falen.

Plot Summary

Eugene Onegin lives in Saint Petersburg, Russia in the 1820s. Though he is wealthy, the constant churn of social events leaves him feeling empty. He has a wealthy but sick uncle whom he must care for, but Onegin wishes his uncle would die soon. When his uncle does die, Onegin inherits his uncle’s substantial wealth and a country estate. The inheritance gives Onegin an excuse to leave Saint Petersburg. Upon moving to the country, he quickly becomes friends with his neighbor, Vladimir Lensky. He learns that Lensky is a poet and, unlike the cynical Onegin, has a romantic view of the world.

Lensky introduces Onegin to his fiancée, Olga Larin. Olga is a pleasant young woman, but Onegin does not consider her to be an intellectual. While meeting Olga, he also notices her younger sister, Tatyana. The two sisters could not be more different. Tatyana seems quiet and reserved but harbors a passionate soul. She is immediately interested in Onegin, eventually writing to him in a letter that declares her love. Onegin declines to respond, even though Tatyana intrigues him. When she meets him in public, she reiterates her interest, but he publicly declines her advances. He delivers a long speech about her letter, claiming that he appreciates her comments but finds the concept of marriage to be hollow. He could never marry, he says, because he would soon become bored. Instead, he can be Tatyana’s friend. He recommends that she learn to control her emotions; otherwise, he believes that she could be manipulated by a less wholesome man.

Lensky sends Onegin an invitation to a small gathering. Unbeknown to Onegin, the party is being held to celebrate Tatyana’s name day and is far more lavish than Lensky promised. Onegin arrives at the ball, which is more rural and boisterous than anything Onegin experienced in Saint Petersburg. As he moves through the crowd, Onegin becomes annoyed that the guests seem to be talking about him and Tatyana in romantic terms. He is bored by being tricked into attending exactly the kind of event he tried to leave back in the city. He is annoyed with Lensky. To seek revenge against his friend, he decides to flirt with Olga. Onegin invites her to dance, and Olga accepts, seemingly more interested in Onegin than in preserving the feelings of her fiancé.

Lensky sees Olga dancing and flirting with Onegin. He is so hurt by her behavior that he challenges Onegin to a duel. Onegin believes that social etiquette means he must accept the challenge, even though he does not want to potentially kill his friend. Onegin accepts the challenge and they face each other down with pistols. Onegin shoots and kills Lensky, even though he does not want to do so. The experience fills him with regret. He leaves his country estate and travels to another country to escape his regrets.

Tatyana goes to the now-empty country estate where Onegin lived. She searches through his possessions, including his many books. In these books, Onegin has made copious notes in the margins. From these notes, she begins to piece together the fragments of Onegin’s personality. To her, he seems like a carefully constructed amalgamation of various literary figures. She starts to wonder whether there is no real version of Eugene Onegin. Still hurt by his departure, she asks her parents to send her to live with an aunt in Moscow in the hope that she might meet a suitable man.

In Saint Petersburg, several years after the fateful duel, Onegin attends a social event. The glamorous ball is attended by many of Russia’s foremost aristocrats. Among the crowd, he spots a beautiful woman. She is the focus of everyone’s attention. As he stares at her, he realizes that this captivating woman is actually Tatyana. She is now married to an old military man. Onegin becomes obsessed with Tatyana. He plots how he might win her love. When he writes to her, he receives no reply. They finally meet and he asks her to run away with him. She declines, claiming that the moment in which they might have been together has passed. She confesses that she still loves Onegin but reaffirms her commitment to her husband. Tatyana leaves, mourning the machinations of fate.