Men and Passions by Mikhail Lermontov. Short summary

5 seconds

Yuri must make a difficult decision about which of his relatives he will live with. The young man falls in love with his cousin and tells his friend, who seems to betray him.

1 minute

Yuri Volin’s father and grandmother argue about his upbringing. Each of them tries to bend the young man to his side. Yuri falls in love with his cousin Lyubonka and is forced to conceal his forbidden feelings.

The Volin family makes a visit to the main character’s old friend, Zarutsky. Yuri tells him of his feelings for Lyuba. The young man can’t decide what to do: go with his father or stay with his grandmother. This choice does not give him peace and eats him up from the inside.

One day in the garden, Yuri sees Zarutsky standing on one knee in front of his cousin. The hero misunderstands his friend’s actions and decides that he has betrayed him. He offers his friend to settle the dispute with a duel, but Zarutsky refuses. Then Yuri has the idea of killing himself by drinking poison. When he finally decides to go with his father, they quarrel and the latter curses his son. After that, his suicidal thoughts become even stronger.