Image of the fireplace in "Eugene Onegin" by Alexander Pushkin: its role and compositional functions

This article examines the role of the artistic image of the fireplace in «Eugene Onegin» by Alexander Pushkin. The image of the fireplace is not only a reflection of the realities of the noble life of the 15th - 20th centuries, but also a kind of companion for the characters of the novel. The task of the research is to determine the role and compositional functions of this image in the novel. It has been established that the image of the fireplace in Pushkin’s novel is found in the first, fourth, seventh and eighth chapters of the text, along with multiple references to stoves. The authors of the article tried to trace how the image of the fireplace changed from chapter to chapter, and also to determine what caused this change. The article presents various interpretations of the image of the fireplace not only in the novel «Eugene Onegin», but also in other texts by A. Pushkin, as well as in the works of other authors who implement this image in their works. It has been established that the image of the fireplace performs many functions: it reflects the desire of the characters to follow the trend of fashion; the fireplace is a traditional symbol of warmth, comfort and home; a place near the fire is a place of rest and relaxation; the fireplace often turns out to be a symbol of sadness, melancholy and a place of loneliness, etc. With the help of this image, the author characterizes not only the protagonist of the novel, but also himself.