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Chapter 2
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Eugene Onegin, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Youth, Regrets, and the Passage of Time
Love, Courtship, and Marriage
Poetry vs. Reality
Russian Identity
Summary
Analysis
One day, after Eugene and Lensky have a conversation, Lensky leaves to spend the evening at the Larin house, where he often goes. Although they aren’t rich, Lensky finds their pastoral life charming. Eugene suspects Lensky really just wants to see Olga, and he asks if he can come along to see this girl that Lensky has spoken so much about. Lensky invites Eugene to join him on his visit with the Larins that evening.
This novel explores the difference between stories and reality. Here, Eugene has a chance to see how the reality of the Larins matches up with Lensky’s stories about them. Eugene’s desire to cross that threshold and see the Larins for himself reflects his desire to engage with something real. Although the Larins are poor, to Eugene they represent something authentic that he can’t find in either books or in his urban social circles.
Themes
Eugene and Lensky go to see the Larins, who warmly greet them. By the end of the evening, however, Eugene is starting to get bored. As Eugene talks with Lensky after the visit, he says he can’t see the appeal of Olga and thinks that if he were the “poet” telling the story, he'd make Tatyana the romantic interest. He says that by contrast, Olga is just plain, pale, and empty, like the moon. Lensky gets a little offended, and the conversation ends.
This passage highlights the difference in how Eugene and Lensky view the world. Lensky is young and still superficial, so he believes that the beautiful Olga must be the better of the two sisters. But having already spent a lot of time chasing beauty in St. Petersburg, Eugene is more intrigued by Tatyana, whose unusual qualities only make her more attractive to Eugene—they appeal to his “Russian soul” in a way that Olga’s superficial charm does not.
Themes
In the days after, people in the area gossip about Eugene showing up at the Larins. They joke that maybe Tatyana has finally found a man to marry. Tatyana herself is secretly excited by this gossip and begins to fall in love with Eugene. She begins to dream of him as she goes about her daily life. Thoughts of him make the romantic novels she reads even more intriguing. She imagines herself like the heroine of a book.
This passage is one of many that shows how gossip and expectations can influence people’s actions. Rumors about Eugene and Tatyana’s interest in each other soon become reality as Tatyana they push Tatyana to develop actual feelings for Eugene. This passage also shows how the inexperienced Tatyana gets her ideas about love from books she’s read. This shows how books give can give a person’s life meaning and excitement—but sometimes this can lead them to develop false expectations, which can result in disappointment and disillusionment.
Themes
The narrator comments on how stories used to be about perfect, noble heroes defeating evil, but now people just get bored by such simple stories. Now, young ladies prefer to read about darker heroes, like vampires or the romantic but egotistical men of Lord Byron’s poems. The narrator muses that perhaps when he himself is older, he’ll write a novel in the older style without any “grim details” that just focuses on love. It’ll be a tender family story, and the narrator will use the kind of romantic language he hasn’t used since his “fair mistress” departed him.
The narrator’s comments about stories reflect real literary history—Eugene Onegin came at a turning point in literature when realism and flawed protagonists were becoming more fashionable. The narrator’s preference for older, simpler narrative conventions underscores his nostalgia for the past and for his youth. Still, in some ways, the narrator’s reasoning is also flawed and overly romantic—he seems to want to see the world in terms of straightforward conflicts of good and evil, when in reality, life is rarely so simple.
Themes
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The narrator laments that Tatyana is doomed to die someday, but he hopes that she at least gets to experience the best of life first. She is flushed with emotion as she continues to think about Eugene throughout her days. One night she sleeps fitfully and eventually wakes up to get her nurse. She asks her nurse if she herself ever fell in love back in the day and what it was like.
The narrator’s reflection on Tatyana’s life and eventual death reflect how, in spite of the narrator’s love of simple, romantic stories, he is also aware of mortality and the darker side of life. Tatyana’s fitful sleeping shows how her love for Eugene is so strong that it has physical effects on her, manifesting as symptoms of physical illness.
Themes
The nurse tells Tatyana a story about how she married her husband, Danny, even though she didn’t really love him. She was only 13, and he was even younger. The harshness of the nurse’s life upsets Tatyana. The nurse thinks Tatyana is ill, but Tatyana explains that actually, she’s in love. She reassures her nurse that she’s alright and asks to be alone.
Although Tatyana suffers due to her unrequited love for Eugene, the nurse helps her understand that some people face even more difficult situations when it comes to marriage. The nurse’s situation demonstrates how little influence many lower-class women had over their lives, even for major decisions like marriage.
Themes
The narrator has known beautiful women who keep others at a distance. They scare men off by being stern, then find ways to win them back. Tatyana, however, has no interest in playing these kinds of games. Her love is trusting and innocent. She decides to write a letter to Eugene, writing in French, which she can write in better than her native Russian. The narrator agrees with her that Russian isn’t a very good language for love letters. He doesn’t mind when young ladies make grammar mistakes in their writing and even finds it charming.
Although the narrator criticizes women who keep their distance, in some ways he is also subtly making fun of Tatyana by suggesting that she doesn’t know the proper way to go about trying to court someone. At the same time, however, the narrator raises the question of why Tatyana’s direct approach is so unusual and why people are rarely honest and straightforward in love. Tatyana’s preference for French is yet further evidence of how much European culture has come to influence Russian culture and identity during this time period.
Themes
The narrator has gotten possession of Tatyana’s letter to Eugene and still cherishes it. In the letter, Tatyana confesses her love for Eugene and says she’s always thinking about him, even in her dreams. She wonders if he is her “salvation,” or if he was simply sent to tempt her. She ends by saying that if he’ll pledge his honor, she will be faithful to him. After finishing the letter, Tatyana is nervous about sending it and delays sealing it. At last, she asks her nurse to deliver it for her. The nurse is confused about whom to deliver it to but eventually agrees.
The love that Tatyana offers to Eugene is pure and uncomplicated. She is honest about her feelings and pledges to be faithful to Eugene if he agrees to do the same. In many ways, Tatyana’s straightforwardness and enthusiasm is similar to Lensky’s, showing how youth is a time of enthusiasm and hope. Still, Tatyana hesitates to send the letter after writing it, and this suggests her heightened awareness of the complications of love and the dangers of being vulnerable.
Themes
A couple days pass, and Tatyana hears nothing. One day, Lensky comes alone to see Olga. She asks about Eugene, and Lensky says Eugene is probably too busy with his mail to visit. Tatyana blushes and feels ashamed, believing she’s at fault for his absence. They all take tea, but Tatyana continues to think about Eugene.
Although Tatyana expressed her feelings directly in a letter, the initial response that Eugene gives is far less direct. He mentions only to Lensky that he is busy with his mail, which seems to hint that he is staying away because he received Tatyana’s letter and is putting off the uncomfortable act of officially turning her down. Eugene’s avoidance of her teaches Tatyana about the heartbreak of rejection and the potential consequences of communicating too openly about her feelings.
Themes
When Tatyana hears hoofbeats, she rushes out hoping to see Eugene and trips. But she doesn’t see or hear him. Instead, she hears some serf girls singing a romantic song as they pick berries. Eventually, Tatyana picks herself up off the ground and starts heading back. But just as she does, she sees Eugene standing, waiting. The narrator says he’s too tired at the moment to describe their meeting, but after a bit of a rest, he’ll be ready to tell everything.
Tatyana’s excited running and falling shows how she has become so emotional that she is barely in control of her body. Her physical fall foreshadows a different type of fall that she will experience in the next chapter after Eugene finally gives her a response to her love letter.
Themes
