Treason for oneself is the saddest and bitter moral decline possible for a person. Each of us strives to find inner harmony, and betraying ourselves means that we have lost it forever. But what is it, betrayal of oneself? By this is meant precisely a betrayal of our beliefs, because they form the basis of our personality. As a rule, literary examples confirm my point of view.
In Chekhov’s play “Three Sisters,” Andrei dreams of devoting himself to science, so he wants to move to the big city with his sisters. His passion for knowledge is the main conviction that shapes his personality. There are no universities and professors in their backwoods, so in order to find inner harmony, he needs Moscow, where MSU is located. However, on the way to a dream, he decided to stop and marry a pretty and modest girl. Natasha seemed ideal, but after marriage, her "modest nature" turned into an unbridled philistine vulgarity. She lived in the house, appropriated all the landlords' rights and forced her husband to work only for his daily bread in order to establish the household. One could forget about the vocation, because soon Natalia gave birth to a child, who had to be supported. So Andrew remained in an inconspicuous position and far from a dream. Moscow remained a pipe dream, and the hero himself became what he did not want to be. This is a betrayal of yourself, and yet Andrey just changed his beliefs.
In Chekhov’s short story “Ionych,” the main character also changes his beliefs, and at the same time changes himself. All his life he dreamed of an interesting life for the benefit of other people, so he took up medicine. Dmitry spent days in cognition and vigil, all of his moments were filled with the highest meaning. Having moved to a small county, he was not going to change his views, but the philistine atmosphere was slowly dragging him on. The turning point was especially noticeable when the Turkins' daughter refused Startsev, having left to study at the conservatory. Then Dmitry sank down, flabby and became just a boring and fat man in the street, Ionitch. So, changing his beliefs, he betrayed himself and became what he did not want to be.
Thus, betraying yourself is a betrayal of your beliefs, principles and dreams. Unfortunately, it is enough to change your views, lower the bar in order to eventually get something that you did not strive for at all. Therefore, you must be true to your word and your principles in order to remain true to yourself.
