Editing Eugene Onegin (section)

==The duel==
[[File:Yevgeny Onegin by Repin.jpg|thumb|The pistol duel between Onegin and Lensky. Watercolour by [[Ilya Repin]] (1899)]]

In Pushkin's time, the early 19th century, [[duel]]s were very strictly regulated. A second's primary duty was to prevent the duel from actually happening, and only when both combatants were unwilling to stand down were they to make sure that the duel proceeded according to formalised rules.<ref name="Lotman duel">{{in lang|ru}} [[Juri Lotman]], [http://www.gumer.info/bibliotek_Buks/Literat/Lotm_EO/09.php Роман А.С. Пушкина «Евгений Онегин». Комментарий. Дуэль.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927183308/http://www.gumer.info/bibliotek_Buks/Literat/Lotm_EO/09.php |date=2007-09-27 }}, retrieved April 16, 2007.</ref> A challenger's second should therefore always ask the challenged party if he wants to apologise for the actions that have led to the challenge.
In ''Eugene Onegin'', Lensky's second, Zaretsky, does not ask Onegin even once if he would like to apologise, and because Onegin is not allowed to apologise on his own initiative, the duel takes place, with fatal consequences. Zaretsky is described as "classical and pedantic in duels" (chapter 6, stanza XXVI), and this seems very out of character for a nobleman. In effect, he is enthusiastic at the prospect of a duel and callous about its deadly possibilities. Zaretsky's first chance to end the duel is when he delivers Lensky's written challenge to Onegin (chapter 6, stanza IX). Instead of asking Onegin if he would like to apologise, he apologises for having much to do at home and leaves as soon as Onegin (obligatorily) accepts the challenge.

On the day of the duel, Zaretsky gets several more chances to prevent the duel from happening. Because dueling was forbidden in the [[Russian Empire]], duels were always held at dawn.{{clarify|date=September 2021}} Zaretsky urges Lensky to get ready shortly after 6&nbsp;o'clock in the morning (chapter 6, stanza XXIII), while the sun only rises at 20 past 8, because he expects Onegin to be on time. However, Onegin oversleeps (chapter 6, stanza XXIV), and arrives on the scene more than an hour late.<ref name="Lotman duel"/> According to the dueling codex, if a duelist arrives more than 15 minutes late, he automatically forfeits the duel.<ref>V. Durasov, [http://www.gumer.info/bibliotek_Buks/Literat/Lotm_EO/09.php Dueling codex] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927183308/http://www.gumer.info/bibliotek_Buks/Literat/Lotm_EO/09.php |date=2007-09-27 }}, as cited in [[Juri Lotman]], Пушкин. Биография писателя. Статьи и заметки., retrieved April 16, 2007.</ref> Lensky and Zaretsky have been waiting all that time (chapter 6, stanza XXVI), even though it was Zaretsky's duty to proclaim Lensky winner and take him home.

When Onegin finally arrives, Zaretsky is supposed to ask him a final time if he would like to apologise. Instead, Zaretsky is surprised by the apparent absence of Onegin's second. Onegin, against all rules, appoints his servant Guillot as his second (chapter 6, stanza XXVII), a blatant insult for the nobleman Zaretsky.<ref name="Lotman duel" /> Zaretsky angrily accepts Guillot as Onegin's second. By his actions, Zaretsky does not act as a nobleman should; in the end Onegin wins the duel.<ref name="Lotman duel" />

Onegin himself, however, tried as he could to prevent the fatal outcome, and killed Lensky unwillingly and almost by accident. As the first shooter, he couldn't deliberately miss the opponent: this was considered a serious insult and could create a formal reason to arrange another duel. Instead, he tried to minimize his chances of hitting Lensky by shooting without precise aim, from the maximum possible distance, not even trying to come closer and get a clear shot.<ref name="Lotman duel" />