Eugene Onegin

In his introduction, the narrator insists that Onegin is a charming, charismatic man who is praised by his peers in the Russian elite. At the same time, however, the narrator reveals that Onegin is eager for his uncle to die because he is simply bored of caring for the dying man. Onegin loathes the people and the parties of the Russian high society, meaning that the same people who praise him do so under the pretense that he is their friend. Instead, Onegin has adopted a cynical view of the world and made it his own. Though he hides this point of view from most people, he absolutely dislikes the society in which he lives. He considers the people around him to be hollow creatures of comfort who have nothing interesting or substantial to say. When Onegin moves to the rural community, he hopes that the change of scenery will allow him to meet new, more interesting people. This is not the case. He quickly becomes disillusioned with them, and his cynical view of Russian society is ratified.

Onegin’s cynical view of the world highlights the difference between the private and public versions of himself that he presents to others.