text: The protagonist of this novel debates whether he will be considered a "good fellow" or a "villain" before declaring that life is "how absurd, and yet, how vexatious!"
full_question: The protagonist of this novel debates whether he will be considered a "good fellow" or a "villain" before declaring that life is "how absurd, and yet, how vexatious!" In this novel, Dr. Werner must be consoled because he is worried about the title character's impending death. This novel's protagonist rides his horse to collapse after Princess Mary rebukes him. In this novel's first of five parts, the protagonist steals Kazbich's horse so he can carry off Bela and rape her. After dying unceremoniously while returning from Persia, this work's narrator discovers the title character's diary, which relates how he killed his friend Grushnitskiy in a cliffside duel. For ten points, name this novel about the superfluous man Pechorin, by Mikhail Lermontov.
first_sentence: The protagonist of this novel debates whether he will be considered a "good fellow" or a "villain" before declaring that life is "how absurd, and yet, how vexatious!"