Lermontov's message could be interpreted (obviously) in many ways. I believe that Lermontov is trying to portray Pechorin in a world where fate AND choice is present for two reasons. Pechorin's interactions with women, while differentiating slightly in progression, always have the same end result. Similarly, "The Fatalist" leads us towards believing that Pechorin's impact on others around him was a product of a supreme being. The end result of Pechorin's relationships always led to feelings of pain, confusion, remorse, etc, but Pechorin was put in a position where he COULD have chosen a different path, but from what we've garnered from his character, either way would produce the same negativity (had he chosen to live with either woman, his need to be "free"would have drove the relationship slowly into the same situation he put himself in by being assumed indiffirent).