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It's intended to be ironic.
In his preface to the second edition, Lermontov criticises the readers who - like you - took the title at face value and interpreted it to mean Pechorin was really being modelled as a hero:
The preface to a book serves the double purpose of prologue and epilogue. It affords the author an opportunity of explaining the object of ...
3
Despite Lermontov's preface, I cannot help but feel that there is a degree of sincerity in calling Pechorin a hero. The narrator even addresses this question at the end of the first part where the English translation is:
Some readers will probably want to know what I think of Pechorin's character. My reply may be found in the title of this book. "But that ...
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