Having shown in his novel "Fathers and Sons" the type of a new hero - a commoner, democrat, materialist and nihilist Bazarov, I.S. Turgenev had to reflect in the work how this phenomenon in life is single, accidental or natural. To do this, it was necessary to show whether Bazarov had like-minded people. One of them, his friend Arkady Kirsanov, fully shares the hero's convictions, but, as it turns out, not for long. Noble origin and upbringing, the inability to give up family feelings, and then the influence of Katya force
The hero to return to the traditional values of his circle. Are Sitnikov and Kukshin followers of Bazarov - people who consider themselves "progressives"? Sitnikov is the son of a wine farmer, a man who got rich on the maintenance of taverns. This is not respected in society, and Sitnikov is ashamed of his father. In his portrait, the author emphasizes the unnatural behavior of the hero: an anxious and restless expression on his face, “and he laughed uneasily: with some kind of short, wooden laugh.” He considers himself a “disciple” of Bazarov and says that he owes his “rebirth” to him, not noticing either the pomposity of his words or logical contradictions: after all, having heard from Bazarov that he “should not recognize authorities,” he felt “delight” in relation to Bazarov himself: “Finally I found a man!” Progressive views for Sitnikov are the way to self-affirmation at the expense of others, as well as for Mrs. Evdoxia Kukshina. She did not have a personal life, she parted with her husband, she is not outwardly beautiful, she has no children. In her behavior, too, everything was, as the author says, "not simple, not natural." To attract attention, she joined the progressive movement, but for her this is just an excuse to show herself, to demonstrate to others the breadth of her interests. She calls the world-famous writer George Sand a “backward woman” for her alleged ignorance of embryology, but Eliseevich, unknown to anyone, is a “brilliant” gentleman who wrote some article. Kukshina is interested in everything at once: chemistry, the women's issue, schools, but most of all she is concerned not with the problems themselves, but with the desire to demonstrate their knowledge to her interlocutors. She "drops" her questions one by one, without waiting for answers, and they have no place in Kukshina's self-satisfied monologue. She criticizes all women for being "badly brought up", and Odintsova for having "no freedom of opinion", but, most likely, she simply envy her beauty, independence and wealth. This is especially noticeable at the ball, where Kukshina appeared “in dirty gloves, but with a bird of paradise in her hair”: she was “deeply wounded” that they did not pay attention to her. Of course, Bazarov does not take conversations over a bottle of another champagne seriously, and he treats such people purely consumeristically: “We need the Sitnikovs ... I need such boobies. It’s not for the gods to really burn the pots. ” Feeling neglected, Sitnikov discusses Bazarov and Kirsanov with Kukshina, considering them "Opposite proud and ignorant." However, after the death of Bazarov, Sitnikov in St. Petersburg continues, according to his assurances, Bazarov's "case". The author describes with irony how, together with the "great" Eliseevich, Sitnikov is also preparing to "be great." He was beaten, but "he did not remain in debt: in one dark article, embossed in one dark magazine, he hinted that the one who beat him was a coward." With the same irony, Turgenev says that Kukshina, who finally got to Heidelberg, is now studying architecture, "in which, according to her, she discovered new laws." Bazarov is dead, and militant, self-satisfied ignorance flourishes, vulgarizing progressive ideas for which genuine fighters were ready to give their lives.
The most remarkable works of Russian literature of the 19th century are distinguished by the formulation of the most important social, philosophical, and ethical questions of their time. The richness of the problematics is one of the main qualities characteristic of Russian literature. It is clearly manifested in the titles of works, which often express the essence of the problems raised in a conditional, generalized form. The main group consists of titles containing the antithesis: "War and Peace", "Crime and Punishment", "Wolves and Sheep". This group also includes the novel by I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons".
The problem of the relationship between generations was reflected in the work of many Russian writers of both the 19th and 20th centuries, while each of the writers saw this conflict and its participants in their own way. So, for example, in the comedy A.S. Griboedova Chatsky, a representative of the “current century”, an exponent of progressive ideas, comes into conflict with the conservative Famus society and its foundations of the “past century”. It is the same in "Thunderstorm" by A.N. Ostrovsky, youth is a bright ray in the "dark kingdom" of petty tyrants that are becoming obsolete. M.Yu. Lermontov, on the contrary, saw in the outgoing generation the best that he did not find in his contemporaries.
What is common in many cases in the depiction of this conflict by different writers was that it was caused by a difference in life principles or political views of the parties. The conflict in Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons" reflects the antagonism of noble liberals and democrats of the sixties of the nineteenth century, associated primarily with the images of Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov and Yevgeny Bazarov. It is the development of their relationship that largely determines the plot movement of the novel and the disclosure of its main idea related to the ideological and political struggle of that era and the problem of generations, one way or another involved in this struggle.
The first clash between these heroes occurs in the fifth chapter, although they appear somewhat earlier. We see Bazarov on the first pages of the novel and we can already form a certain idea about him when we get acquainted with Pavel Petrovich in the fourth chapter. The portraits of both heroes painted by Turgenev are brightly contrasted.
In the whole appearance of Pavel Petrovich, everything is “extraordinarily correct”, elegant, finished; in a provincial landowner's house, he retains the habits of an aristocrat. In Bazarov, the author emphasizes democratic features, simplicity and some rudeness. A complete antithesis to the portrait of Bazarov, painted in chapter 1, is the portrait of Pavel Petrovich.
If Yevgeny has a “long” face, a “wide” forehead, and “long and thick” hair, then Pavel Petrovich’s features seem to be drawn out with a “thin and light chisel”, and “short-cropped hair shone with a dark sheen, like new silver.” In his appearance, one can see not “self-confidence and intelligence”, like Bazarov’s, but “wonderful beauty”. He is not tall, like Bazarov, but of medium height, and his hand is not "red", but "beautiful ... with long pink nails." In contrast to Bazarov's "clothing" ("a long hoodie with tassels"), Pavel Petrovich is dressed in "a dark English suite, a fashionable low tie and patent leather ankle boots."
The difference between the characters is also manifested in their behavior. We learn that "at dinner ... Bazarov said almost nothing, but ate a lot." Pavel Petrovich generally "never had dinner." Arriving at the Kirsanovs with his friend Arkady, Bazarov "fell asleep soon", but got up, as usual, before anyone else and immediately set to work. We see how, having collected frogs for experiments, he passes by the terrace in a linen coat and trousers, stained with marsh mud and mud. Uncle Arkady Pavel Petrovich, having met young people who had arrived from St. Petersburg in the house, "sat long after midnight in his office," reading and thinking, recalling the past. He came out for breakfast in a "delicate English-style morning" suit and a "little fez" which, together with a "carelessly tied tie," alluded to "the freedom of country life."
Such antitheses in external details prepare the reader for the ideological clash of the characters. Both of them are hostile towards each other. "And.. the chin is so neatly shaved... isn't that funny?" Bazarov remarks with irony. “Formerly there were Hegelists, and now there are nihilists. Let's see how you will exist in the void ... ”, - Pavel Petrovich answers him in tone.
In a conversation at breakfast, this hostility, hidden for the time being, turns into a clear desire to hurt the enemy. Even Arkady peacefully says: “Listen, Evgeny, you already treated him too harshly ... You insulted him.” Pavel Petrovich, striving to find out the foundations of nihilism in relation to "authorities", to art, "science in general", "Decrees adopted in human life", receives a "daring" rebuff. He is outraged by the "perfect swagger" of Bazarov, he perceives the condescending tone of the aristocrat interlocutor as an inappropriate "interrogation".
During the two weeks of Bazarov's stay in Maryino, Pavel Petrovich "hated him with all the strength of his soul" as "a proud, impudent, cynic, plebeian." In this mood, he expects "a fight with this doctor," the reason for which was Bazarov's review of one of the neighboring landowners: "Rubbish, aristocratic." In the second dispute of the heroes, the essence of their disagreements is highlighted. They have a social basis.
If for Pavel Petrovich the strength of the "foundation ... of a public building" is important, then the nihilist Bazarov is ready for its destruction. Considering this the historical task of his generation, he is even ready to go “against the people”, or rather, their delusions and superstitions, patriarchal morality, national foundations, which, from his point of view, have largely become obsolete. For Pavel Petrovich, on the contrary, the interests of the people are, as he claims, the highest value, but in essence, in his worldview, he does not go further than liberalism and the demand for respect for the individual. If in the days of his youth these "principles" were an indicator of progressiveness, now they call for "complete and merciless denial" from the younger generation of nihilists, like any existing "decree in modern ... everyday life, in family or public."
It would seem that the conflict of the characters is now designated as an irreconcilable contradiction, and they themselves look like complete antipodes. But a feature of the development of the conflict of the novel "Fathers and Sons" is that two opposite positions - the nihilist Bazarov and the liberal Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov - turn out to be comparable in terms of their dogmatism, one-sidedness and narrowness, deviations from the natural norm of human life, and following them leads each of "antipodes" to the same ending - tragic loneliness. Of course, for Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich this ending is realized in different ways (Bazarov dies, and Pavel Petrovich lives in England, although the writer emphasizes that the once brave nihilist fighter has become like a dead man), but nevertheless, these heroes also have a certain similarity.
At first glance, it seems that the last - third - clash between Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich, which led to a duel between opponents, finally separates them on different sides. True, it is somewhat alarming that, unlike the previous ones, this clash is not connected with an ideological struggle - it is caused by purely personal reasons. The hatred that Pavel Petrovich felt for the nihilist "did not decrease at all" when Arkady again brought his friend to Maryino - there was simply nothing for the opponents to find out, so they stopped the verbal battles. But now their enmity has led to quite definite actions.
Pavel Petrovich became an unwitting witness to Bazarov's somewhat unleashed and ambiguous behavior in relation to Fenechka, with whom he himself is secretly in love. As befits a nobleman of the old school, he challenges Bazarov to a duel. No matter how parodic she looked, Pavel Petrovich decided to “fight seriously” - and Bazarov agreed to participate in the duel, although he, as a true democrat, of course, does not recognize her. But, like Pavel Petrovich, Bazarov will never allow an insult to his personality and, if it comes to protecting his honor, then even if it is connected with “remnants of the past”, but the main thing is that pride does not suffer.
In a duel, both opponents behave quite worthily.
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The novel's character system
two camps
Doubles of Bazarov
| Sitnikov | Kukshina |
| He calls himself an "old acquaintance" of Bazarov and his student. Sitnikov's commitment to new ideas is ostentatious: he is dressed in a Slavophile Hungarian robe, on his business cards, in addition to French, there is also a Russian text in Slavic script. Sitnikov repeats Bazarov's thoughts, vulgarizing and distorting them. In the epilogue of Sitnikov “He hustles in St. Petersburg and, according to his assurances, continues Bazarov’s“ cause ”.<…>His father still pushes him around, and his wife considers him a fool ... and a writer ” | Lists herself as an "emancipated lady". She is "concerned" with the "women's issue", physiology, embryology, chemistry, education, etc. Cheeky, vulgar, stupid. In the epilogue: “She is now in Heidelberg and is no longer studying the natural sciences, but architecture, in which, according to her, she has discovered new laws. She still hangs out with students, especially young Russian physicists and chemists,<…>who, surprising at first the naive German professors with their sober view of things, subsequently surprise the very same professors with their complete inaction and absolute laziness. |
| Doubles are parodies of Bazarov, reveal the weaknesses of his maximalist worldview | |
| For Sitnikov and Kukshina, fashion ideas are just a way to stand out. They contrast with Bazarov, for whom nihilism is a consciously chosen position |
Women's images
| Anna Sergeevna Odintsova | A young beautiful woman, a wealthy widow. Odintsova's father was a famous card sharper. She received an excellent upbringing in St. Petersburg, she is raising her younger sister, Katya, whom she sincerely loves, but hides her feelings. Odintsova is smart, reasonable, self-confident. She exudes calmness, aristocracy. Most of all, she appreciates peace, stability and comfort. Bazarov arouses interest in her, gives food to her inquisitive mind, but feelings for him do not take her out of her usual balance. She is incapable of strong passion |
| bauble | A young woman of "non-noble origin", whom Nikolai Petrovich loves. Fenechka is kind, disinterested, simple-hearted, honest, open, she sincerely and deeply loves Nikolai Petrovich and her son Mitya. The main thing in her life is her family, so the persecution of Bazarov and the suspicions of Nikolai Petrovich offend her. |
| Katya Lokteva | Younger sister of Anna Sergeevna Odintsova. Sensitive nature - loves nature, music, but at the same time shows firmness of character. Katya does not understand Bazarov, she is even afraid of him, Arkady is much closer to her. She tells Arkady about Bazarov: "He is predatory, and you and I manual". Katya is the embodiment of the ideal of family life, which Arkady secretly aspired to, thanks to her Arkady returns to the camp of his fathers |
I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons"
Test
There is a small rural cemetery in one of the remote corners of Russia.
Like almost all our cemeteries, it shows a sad look: the ditches surrounding it have long been overgrown; the gray wooden crosses are drooping and rotting under their once-painted roofs; the stone slabs are all shifted, as if someone is pushing them from below; two or three plucked trees barely give a meager shade; sheep roam freely over the graves... But among them there is one that a man does not touch, that an animal does not trample on: only birds sit on it and sing at dawn. An iron fence surrounds it; two young Christmas trees are planted at both ends: Yevgeny Bazarov is buried in this grave. To her, from a nearby village, two already decrepit old men often come - a husband and wife. Supporting each other, they walk with a heavy gait; they will approach the fence, fall down and kneel, and weep long and bitterly, and look long and attentively at the mute stone, under which their son lies; they will exchange a short word, they will brush off the dust from the stone and straighten the branch of the tree, and they pray again, and they cannot leave this place, from where they seem to be closer to their son, to the memories of him ... Are their prayers, their tears fruitless? Isn't love, holy, devoted love, all-powerful? Oh no! No matter how passionate, sinful, rebellious the heart is hidden in the grave, the flowers growing on it serenely look at us with their innocent eyes: they tell us not only about eternal calmness, about that great calmness of "indifferent" nature; they also speak of eternal reconciliation and endless life...
(I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons")
IN 1.
AT 2. The above passage is a description of nature. What is the name of such a description in a work of art?
AT 3. The above passage is taken from the final part of the work, which tells about the fate of the characters after the completion of the main plot. What is another name for such an artistic finale?
works?
AT 4. The word "indifferent" (nature) is in quotation marks in the above passage. This is a quote: here Turgenev refers to a poem by a poet who is mentioned and quoted many times on the pages of Fathers and Sons. Write down the name of this poet.
AT 5. Establish a correspondence between the three characters of the work and their statements about the main character of the passage - Bazarov. For each position in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column. Write your answer in numbers in the table.
AT 6. Establish a correspondence between Bazarov's three remarks and the words that are missing in them (they are given in the nominative case). For each position in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column. Write your answer in numbers in the table.
AT 7. What is the name of the technique of a syntactically similar arrangement of speech elements in neighboring sentences or parts of sentences (for example, An iron fence surrounds it; two young trees
planted at both ends: Yevgeny Bazarov is buried in this grave or Are their prayers, their tears fruitless? Isn't love, holy, devoted love, all-powerful?)?
C1. What, in your opinion, makes it possible for the above passage to converge with a prose poem?
C2. In what other works of literature do we encounter philosophical reflections on life and death, and how do they resonate with the above passage (or with the work of I.S. Turgenev as a whole)?
I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons"
Test
Six months have passed. It was a white winter with a cruel silence of cloudless frosts, dense, creaking snow, pink frost on the trees, a pale emerald sky, caps of smoke above the chimneys, clouds of steam from instantly opened doors, fresh, as if bitten, faces of people and the troublesome run of chilled horses. The January day was drawing to a close; the evening chill tightened still more on the motionless air, and the bloody dawn was quickly fading away. In the windows of the Maryinsky house lit up
lights; Prokofich, in a black tailcoat and white gloves, set the table with seven cutlery with special solemnity. A week ago, in a small parish church, quietly and almost without witnesses, two weddings took place: Arkady with Katya and Nikolai Petrovich with Fenechka; and on that very day Nikolai Petrovich was giving a farewell dinner to his brother, who was going to Moscow on business. Anna Sergeevna went to the same place immediately after the wedding, generously endowing the young.
Exactly at three o'clock everyone gathered at the table. Mitya was placed right there; he already had a nanny in an eye-catching kokoshnik. Pavel Petrovich sat between Katya and Fenechka; "husbands" were attached near their wives. Our acquaintances have changed recently: they all seem to have grown prettier and matured; only Pavel Petrovich lost weight, which, however, gave even more grace and grand seigneurism to his expressive features ... And Fenechka also became different. In a fresh silk dress, with a wide velvet cap on her hair, with a gold chain around her neck, she sat reverently motionless, respectful to herself, to everything that surrounded her, and smiled as if she wanted to say: "Excuse me, I'm not to blame." And she was not alone - the others all smiled and also seemed to apologize; everyone was a little embarrassed, a little sad, and, in fact, very good. Each served the other with amusing courtesy, as if they had all agreed to play some kind of ingenuous comedy. Katya was the calmest of all: she looked trustingly around her, and one could see that Nikolai Petrovich
already managed to fall in love with her without memory. Before the end of dinner he got up and, taking his glass in his hands, turned to Pavel Petrovich.
“You are leaving us... you are leaving us, dear brother,” he began, “not for long, of course; but still I can't help but express to you that I... that we... how much I... how much we... That's the trouble, that we don't know how to speak! Arkady, tell me.
“No, dad, I didn’t prepare.
- I'm well prepared! Just, brother, let me hug you, wish you all the best, and come back to us as soon as possible!
Pavel Petrovich kissed everyone, not excluding, of course, Mitya; at Fenechka's, he kissed, moreover, her hand, which she still did not know how to give properly, and, drinking a second poured glass, he said with a deep sigh: "Be happy, my friends! Farewell!" (Goodbye! (English).) This English ponytail went unnoticed, but everyone was touched.
“In memory of ____________,” Katya whispered in her husband’s ear and clinked glasses with him. Arkady shook her hand firmly in response, but he did not dare to propose this toast loudly.
I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons"
IN 1. To what genre does the work from which the excerpt is taken belong?
AT 2. The chapter from which the excerpt is taken tells about the fate of the heroes after the completion of the main plot. What is the name of such a final, final part of a work of art, its finale?
AT 3. Write down the character's last name (in the nominative case) to be inserted in place of the gap.
AT 4. Write out from the text a word that, along with the word "toast", denotes a short table speech of a welcoming character.
AT 5. Establish a correspondence between the three characters appearing in the passage and their future fate. For each position in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.
AT 6. Establish a correspondence between the three characters and the lines that they utter in the work. For each position in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.
AT 7. What is the name of the description of nature in a work of art (this passage begins with such a description)?
C1. Why, from your point of view, does Arkady hesitate to propose a toast to his friend out loud?
C2. In what other works of literature do we find scenes in which the family gathers at the table, and how do they echo the cited passage (or the work of I.S. Turgenev as a whole)?
The most remarkable works of Russian literature of the 19th century are distinguished by the formulation of the most important social, philosophical, and ethical questions of their time. The richness of the problematics is one of the main qualities characteristic of Russian literature. It is clearly manifested in the titles of works, which often express the essence of the problems raised in a conditional, generalized form. The main group consists of titles containing the antithesis: "War and Peace", "Crime and Punishment", "Wolves and Sheep". The novel belongs to this group.
I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons".
The problem of the relationship between generations was reflected in the work of many Russian writers of both the 19th and 20th centuries, while each of the writers saw this conflict and its participants in their own way. So, for example, in the comedy A.S. Griboedova Chatsky, a representative of the “current century”, an exponent of progressive ideas, comes into conflict with the conservative Famus society and its foundations of the “past century”. It is the same in "Thunderstorm" by A.N. Ostrovsky, youth is a bright ray in the "dark kingdom" of petty tyrants that are becoming obsolete. M.Yu. Lermontov, on the contrary, in the outgoing generation saw the best that he did not find
In contemporaries.
What is common in many cases in the depiction of this conflict by different writers was that it was caused by a difference in life principles or political views of the parties. The conflict in Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons" reflects the antagonism of noble liberals and democrats of the sixties of the nineteenth century, associated primarily with the images of Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov and Yevgeny Bazarov. It is the development of their relationship that largely determines the plot movement of the novel and the disclosure of its main idea related to the ideological and political struggle of that era and the problem of generations, one way or another involved in this struggle.
The first clash between these heroes occurs in the fifth chapter, although they appear somewhat earlier. We see Bazarov on the first pages of the novel and we can already form a certain idea about him when we get acquainted with Pavel Petrovich in the fourth chapter. The portraits of both heroes painted by Turgenev are brightly contrasted.
In the whole appearance of Pavel Petrovich, everything is “extraordinarily correct”, elegant, finished; in a provincial landowner's house, he retains the habits of an aristocrat. In Bazarov, the author emphasizes democratic features, simplicity and some rudeness. A complete antithesis to the portrait of Bazarov, painted in chapter 1, is the portrait of Pavel Petrovich.
If Yevgeny has a “long” face, a “wide” forehead, and “long and thick” hair, then Pavel Petrovich’s features seem to be drawn out with a “thin and light chisel”, and “short-cropped hair shone with a dark sheen, like new silver.” In his appearance, one can see not “self-confidence and intelligence”, like Bazarov’s, but “wonderful beauty”. He is not tall, like Bazarov, but of medium height, and his hand is not "red", but "beautiful ... with long pink nails." In contrast to Bazarov's "clothing" ("a long hoodie with tassels"), Pavel Petrovich is dressed in "a dark English suite, a fashionable low tie and patent leather ankle boots."
The difference between the characters is also manifested in their behavior. We learn that "at dinner ... Bazarov said almost nothing, but ate a lot." Pavel Petrovich generally "never had dinner." Arriving at the Kirsanovs with his friend Arkady, Bazarov "fell asleep soon", but got up, as usual, before anyone else and immediately set to work. We see how, having collected frogs for experiments, he passes by the terrace in a linen coat and trousers, stained with marsh mud and mud. Uncle Arkady Pavel Petrovich, having met young people who had arrived from St. Petersburg in the house, "sat long after midnight in his office," reading and thinking, recalling the past. He came out for breakfast in a "delicate English-style morning" suit and a "little fez" which, together with a "carelessly tied tie," alluded to "the freedom of country life."
Such antitheses in external details prepare the reader for the ideological clash of the characters. Both of them are hostile towards each other. "And.. the chin is so neatly shaved... isn't that funny?" Bazarov remarks with irony. “Formerly there were Hegelists, and now there are nihilists. Let's see how you will exist in the void ... ”, - Pavel Petrovich answers him in tone.
In a conversation at breakfast, this hostility, hidden for the time being, turns into a clear desire to hurt the enemy. Even Arkady peacefully says: “Listen, Evgeny, you already treated him too harshly ... You insulted him.” Pavel Petrovich, striving to find out the foundations of nihilism in relation to "authorities", to art, "science in general", "Decrees adopted in human life", receives a "daring" rebuff. He is outraged by the "perfect swagger" of Bazarov, he perceives the condescending tone of the aristocrat interlocutor as an inappropriate "interrogation".
During the two weeks of Bazarov's stay in Maryino, Pavel Petrovich "hated him with all the strength of his soul" as "a proud, impudent, cynic, plebeian." In this mood, he expects "a fight with this doctor," the reason for which was Bazarov's review of one of the neighboring landowners: "Rubbish, aristocratic." In the second dispute of the heroes, the essence of their disagreements is highlighted. They have a social basis.
If for Pavel Petrovich the strength of the "foundation ... of a public building" is important, then the nihilist Bazarov is ready for its destruction. Considering this the historical task of his generation, he is even ready to go “against the people”, or rather, their delusions and superstitions, patriarchal morality, national foundations, which, from his point of view, have largely become obsolete. For Pavel Petrovich, on the contrary, the interests of the people are, as he claims, the highest value, but in essence, in his worldview, he does not go further than liberalism and the demand for respect for the individual. If in the days of his youth these "principles" were an indicator of progressiveness, now they call for "complete and merciless denial" from the younger generation of nihilists, like any existing "decree in modern ... everyday life, in family or public."
It would seem that the conflict of the characters is now designated as an irreconcilable contradiction, and they themselves look like complete antipodes. But a feature of the development of the conflict of the novel "Fathers and Sons" is that two opposite positions - the nihilist Bazarov and the liberal Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov - turn out to be comparable in terms of their dogmatism, one-sidedness and narrowness, deviations from the natural norm of human life, and following them leads each of "antipodes" to the same ending - tragic loneliness. Of course, for Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich this ending is realized in different ways (Bazarov dies, and Pavel Petrovich lives in England, although the writer emphasizes that the once brave nihilist fighter has become like a dead man), but nevertheless, these heroes also have a certain similarity.
At first glance, it seems that the last - third - clash between Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich, which led to a duel between opponents, finally separates them on different sides. True, it is somewhat alarming that, unlike the previous ones, this clash is not connected with an ideological struggle - it is caused by purely personal reasons. The hatred that Pavel Petrovich felt for the nihilist "did not decrease at all" when Arkady again brought his friend to Maryino - there was simply nothing for the opponents to find out, so they stopped the verbal battles. But now their enmity has led to quite definite actions.
Pavel Petrovich became an unwitting witness to Bazarov's somewhat unleashed and ambiguous behavior in relation to Fenechka, with whom he himself is secretly in love. As befits a nobleman of the old school, he challenges Bazarov to a duel. No matter how parodic she looked, Pavel Petrovich decided to “fight seriously” - and Bazarov agreed to participate in the duel, although he, as a true democrat, of course, does not recognize her. But, like Pavel Petrovich, Bazarov will never allow an insult to his personality and, if it comes to protecting his honor, then even if it is connected with “remnants of the past”, but the main thing is that pride does not suffer.
In a duel, both opponents behave quite worthily. Bazarov is restrained and firm - he retains his presence of mind even when an experienced duelist Pavel Petrovich aims at him "right in the nose." Pavel Petrovich, wounded in the leg, behaves in accordance with the rules of good manners: he jokes, does not blame anyone, in parting he “shaked .. the hand” of his former opponent. And Bazarov, in turn, is also ready to show nobility - more precisely, professionalism: he is right there on the spot, like a doctor helping the wounded.
These characters will no longer meet on the pages of the novel: Bazarov is waiting for a near death, and Pavel Petrovich leaves Russia forever. But their characters were quite clearly identified, and moreover, their development led to a kind of paradox: it turns out that such obvious antipodes also have similar features. But these similarities appear long before the duel.
With the beginning of a love conflict in Chapter XV, connected with the relationship between Bazarov and Odintsova, the concrete historical line of plot development is replaced by an “eternal” one: love tests a person at the level of timeless, eternal values. And here an amazing thing is revealed: the love story of Bazarov, both in its nature and in its consequences, turns out to be close to the long history of Pavel Petrovich and Princess R. Unexpected parallels arise between these antagonist heroes: they are both smart, self-confident, women like (in his youth, Pavel Kirsanov was "secular lion"). A "brilliant career" awaited Kirsanov and a "great future" for Bazarov.
But for Bazarov, as earlier for Pavel Petrovich, with a chance meeting at a ball with a woman whom he will also love passionately and forever, everything will change. And he, “like a poisoned one,” will begin to “wander from place to place,” lose interest in his usual activities and in life in general. As a result of this, a restlessness similar in both heroes and a similar spiritual extinction will appear.
Of course, the difference of natures still affects. If Pavel Petrovich, having discovered the power of the unknown, humbled himself before him, then Bazarov, who heroically met even death, does not seem to humble himself, although, in fact, he practically does not fight for life. But a breakdown nevertheless occurred within him: passionate and by its nature irrational, irresistible love awakened in Bazarov, as once in Pavel Petrovich, questions of a philosophical, universal nature, so unlike his former vulgar materialistic position. These are questions of life and death, eternity and the moment, the place of man in the universe:
“I’m lying here under a haystack,” he reflects in Chapter XXI. - ... The narrow place that I occupy is so tiny in comparison with the rest of the space where I am not and where I do not care; and the part of the time that I will be able to live is so insignificant before eternity, where I have not been and will not be.
That is why Bazarov's view has changed so dramatically on specific historical issues, for example, about the people. If earlier he spoke of a certain community with the people (“My grandfather plowed the land”), now for him a peasant is a “mysterious stranger”, and clearly hostile (“he hated this last peasant, Philip or Sidor, who will live in a white hut , but burdock will grow out of me”). With the dying words “Russia needs me ... No, apparently not needed,” Bazarov, in fact, recognizes the triumph of circumstances over himself, as Pavel Petrovich once did.
Thus, the former Bazarov - a staunch denier of the "mysteries of being" - after the start of a love conflict is no longer there. Reflecting on these secrets, he turns out to be at the same time a stranger, superfluous for ordinary life, which means that, to a certain extent, he draws closer to the “superfluous people”, to which, obviously, the other hero of the novel, Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov, belongs.
The conflict node of the work - a duel - located strictly in the middle between the main plot episodes, delimits the socio-political collision (the dispute between the nihilist and the liberal was finally resolved by the victory of Bazarov) from the one that addresses eternal problems: after all, both of them are put here in a situation of life and death. The irreconcilability of the world outlook of Pavel Petrovich and Bazarov does not prevent them from drawing closer psychologically - as individuals.
From this point of view, they both oppose the inhabitants of Maryin and Nikolsky, who are immersed in a different sphere of interests and feelings than they are. The natures of both heroes are equally proud, passionate, uncompromising; both are misunderstood and alone, doomed to a familyless life. For both heroes, the aspirations for the fullness of being end in failure: they are destroyed by deaf, hostile forces standing above a person - the forces of Fate, Fate. “It's over with me. I fell under the wheel, ”says Bazarov before his death. In fact, Pavel Petrovich is living his life. So opponents-antipodes within the socio-historical conflict in the face of the universe, they turn out to be brothers in fate.
It is difficult to say whether the author wanted to show the similarity of his characters consciously, or whether his sense of artistic truth led to this. But it is obvious that if not doubles - in the sense of doubles in Dostoevsky's novels - then at least they are similar natures, with all their ideological and political differences, nevertheless. That is why the intonation of the narration about each of them is so close in the finale of the novel - its peculiar epilogue.
Turgenev believed that the fate of all the chosen natures, who have risen above the ordinary worldly level, striving for higher needs, turns out to be tragic. Such is the fate of these two heroes of his novel: if the lives of the others somehow settled down, then these heroes paid a high price for their aspirations: a deep spiritual drama led Pavel Petrovich to the state of a “living dead”, and Bazarov literally paid with his life. This gives the whole novel as a whole, and each of these two images, a tragic sound.
And at the same time, another very important turn of the theme of the struggle of generations arises: if in the categories of concrete historical time their conflict is irreconcilable, then in the timeless categories the finale of the novel speaks of “eternal reconciliation and endless life.” By describing Bazarov's grave, the author speaks of the hero's drama on the scale of eternity - of its enduring, mysterious and grandiose significance.
The outcome of the novel "Fathers and Sons" is not like the traditional denouement, where evil is punished and virtue is rewarded. With regard to this novel, there is no question of which side the unconditional sympathies or equally unconditional antipathies of the writer are on.
