The pinnacle of creativity of the talented Russian prose writer and critic of the 19th century Ivan Goncharov was the novel Oblomov, published in 1859 in the journal Domestic Notes. His epic scale of the artistic study of the life of the Russian nobility in the mid-nineteenth century allowed this work to occupy one of the central places in Russian literature.
Characteristics of the main character
The protagonist of the novel is Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, a young (32-33 years old) Russian nobleman, idly and carefree living on his estate. He has a pleasant appearance, the main feature of which is softness in all his features and the main expression of his soul.
His favorite activity is to lie listlessly on the couch and waste time in empty thoughts and dreamy reflections. Moreover, the complete absence of any actions is his conscious choice, because once he had a position in the department and was waiting for promotion on the career ladder. But then he got bored with it and left everything, making his ideal a carefree life filled with sleepy peace and tranquility, as in childhood.
(Old faithful servant Zakhar)
Oblomov is distinguished by sincerity, gentleness and kindness, he did not even lose such a valuable moral quality as conscience. He is far from evil or bad deeds, but at the same time it is impossible to confidently say that he is a positive hero. Goncharov painted the reader a terrible picture of Oblomov's spiritual desolation and his moral decay. The old and faithful servant Zakhar is a mirror reflection of the character of his young master. He is just as lazy and sloppy, devoted to the depths of his soul to his master and also shares with him the philosophy of his life.
One of the main storylines in the novel, which perfectly reveals the character of the protagonist, is Oblomov's love relationship with Olga Ilyinskaya. Romantic feelings for this young and sweet lady that suddenly flared up in Oblomov's heart arouse in him an interest in spiritual life, he begins to be interested in art and the mental demands of his time. Thus, there is a ray of hope that Oblomov can return to a normal human life. Love reveals in him new, previously unknown traits of his character, inspires and inspires a new life.
But in the end, the feeling of love for this pure and highly moral girl becomes a bright, but very short-term flash in the measured and monotonous life of the couch potato master. Illusions are dispelled very quickly, from the fact that they can be together, they are too unlike Olga, he can never become the one she wants to see next to her. There is a natural breakdown in relations. In the process of choosing between romantic dates and a serene sleepy state in which he lived most of his conscious life, Oblomov chooses the usual and favorite option for him to do nothing. And only in the house of Agafya Pshenitsina, surrounded by such usual care and an idle, carefree life, he finds his ideal refuge, where his life ends quietly and imperceptibly.
The image of the main character in the work
After its release, the novel received close attention from critics and readers alike. By the name of the protagonist of this work (at the initiative of the famous literary critic Dobrolyubov), the whole concept of "Oblomovism" appeared, which later acquired a wide historical significance. It is described as a real disease of modern Russian society, when young and full of strength people of noble birth are busy with reflection and apathy, they are afraid to change anything in their lives and prefer lazy and idle vegetative life instead of action and struggle for their happiness.
According to Dobrolyubov, the image of Oblomov is a symbol of serf society in Russia in the 19th century. The origins of his "disease" lie precisely in the serf system, in the technical backwardness of the economy, in the process of exploitation and humiliation of forced peasant slaves. Goncharov revealed to the readers the whole path of the formation of Oblomov's character and his complete moral degradation, which applies not only to one individual representative of the nobility, but to the entire nation as a whole. Oblomov's path, sadly, is the path of the majority of people who do not have a specific goal in life and are absolutely useless for society.
Even such noble and lofty feelings as friendship and love could not break this vicious circle of laziness and idleness, so one can only sympathize with Oblomov that he did not find the strength to cast off the shackles of sleep and live a new, full life.
Introduction
Goncharov's novel "Oblomov" is a landmark work of Russian literature of the 19th century, describing the phenomenon of "Oblomovism" characteristic of Russian society. A prominent representative of this social trend in the book is Ilya Oblomov, who comes from a family of landowners, whose family structure was a reflection of the norms and rules of Domostroy. Developing in such an atmosphere, the hero gradually absorbed the values and priorities of his parents, which greatly influenced the formation of his personality. A brief description of Oblomov in the novel "Oblomov" is given by the author at the beginning of the work - he is an apathetic, introverted, dreamy man who prefers to live life in dreams and illusions, presenting and experiencing fictitious pictures so vividly that sometimes he can sincerely rejoice or cry from those scenes that are born in his mind. Oblomov's inner softness and sensuality seemed to be reflected in his appearance: all his movements, even in moments of anxiety, were restrained by external softness, grace and effeminacy, excessive for a man. The hero was flabby beyond his years, had soft shoulders and small plump hands, and a sedentary and inactive lifestyle was read in his sleepy look, in which there was no concentration or any main idea.
Life of Oblomov
As if a continuation of the soft, apathetic, lazy Oblomov, the novel describes the life of the hero. At first glance, his room was beautifully decorated: “There was a mahogany bureau, two sofas upholstered in silk fabric, beautiful screens embroidered with birds and fruits unprecedented in nature. There were silk curtains, carpets, several paintings, bronze, porcelain and many beautiful little things. However, if you look better, you can see cobwebs, dusty mirrors and long-open and forgotten books, stains on carpets, untidy household items, bread crumbs, and even a forgotten plate with a gnawed bone. All this made the hero's room unkempt, abandoned, gave the impression that no one had lived here for a long time: the owners left the house long ago, not having time to clean up. To some extent, this was true: Oblomov had not lived in the real world for a long time, replacing it with an illusory world. This is especially evident in the episode when his acquaintances come to the hero, but Ilya Ilyich does not even bother to extend his hand to them to greet them, and, even more so, to get out of bed to meet the visitors. The bed in this case (like the bathrobe) is the boundary link between the world of dreams and reality, that is, getting out of bed, Oblomov would to some extent agree to live in the real dimension, but the hero did not want to.
The influence of "Oblomovism" on the personality of Oblomov
The origins of Oblomov's all-encompassing escapism, his irresistible desire to escape from reality, lie in the "Oblomov" upbringing of the hero, about which the reader learns from the description of Ilya Ilyich's dream. The character's native estate, Oblomovka, was located far from the central part of Russia, located in a picturesque, peaceful area where there were never strong storms or hurricanes, and the climate was calm and mild. Life in the village flowed measuredly, and time was measured not in seconds and minutes, but in holidays and rituals - births, weddings or funerals. The monotonous quiet nature was also reflected in the character of the inhabitants of Oblomovka - the most important value for them was rest, laziness and the opportunity to eat to their fill. Labor was seen as a punishment, and people did their best to avoid it, delay the moment of work or force someone else to do it.
It is noteworthy that the characterization of the hero Oblomov in childhood differs significantly from the image that appears before readers at the beginning of the novel. Little Ilya was an active, interested in many things and open to the world child with a wonderful imagination. He liked to walk and get to know the surrounding nature, but the rules of the "Oblomov" life did not imply his freedom, so gradually his parents re-educated him in their own image and likeness, growing him like a "greenhouse plant", protecting him from the hardships of the outside world, the need to work and learn new things. Even the fact that they sent Ilya to study was more a tribute to fashion than a real necessity, because for any slightest reason they themselves left their son at home. As a result, the hero grew up, as if closed from society, unwilling to work and relying in everything on the fact that with the emergence of any difficulties it would be possible to shout “Zakhar” and the servant would come and do everything for him.
Reasons for Oblomov's desire to escape reality
The description of Oblomov, the hero of Goncharov's novel, gives a vivid idea of Ilya Ilyich, as a person who is firmly fenced off from the real world and internally does not want to change. The reasons for this lie in Oblomov's childhood. Little Ilya was very fond of listening to fairy tales and legends about great heroes and heroes that his nanny told him, and then imagine himself as one of these characters - a person in whose life a miracle will happen at one moment that will change the current state of things and make the hero head and shoulders above others. However, fairy tales are significantly different from life, where miracles do not happen by themselves, and in order to achieve success in society and career, you need to constantly work, overcome falls and persistently move forward.
Hothouse education, where Oblomov was taught that someone else would do all the work for him, combined with the dreamy, sensual nature of the hero, led to the inability of Ilya Ilyich to deal with difficulties. This feature of Oblomov manifested itself even at the moment of the first failure in the service - the hero, fearing punishment (although, perhaps, no one would have punished him, and the matter would have been decided by a banal warning), he quits his job and no longer wants to face a world where everyone for himself. An alternative to hard reality for the hero is the world of his dreams, where he imagines a wonderful future in Oblomovka, a wife and children, a peaceful calm that reminds him of his own childhood. However, all these dreams remain only dreams, in reality, Ilya Ilyich puts off in every possible way the issues of arranging his native village, which, without the participation of a reasonable owner, is gradually being destroyed.
Why didn't Oblomov find himself in real life?
The only person who could pull Oblomov out of his constant half-asleep idleness was the hero’s childhood friend, Andrei Ivanovich Stolz. He was the exact opposite of Ilya Ilyich, both in appearance and in character. Always active, striving forward, able to achieve any goals, Andrei Ivanovich nevertheless valued his friendship with Oblomov, since in communicating with him he found the warmth and understanding that he really lacked in his environment.
Stolz was most fully aware of the destructive influence of the "Oblomovism" on Ilya Ilyich, therefore, until the last moment, he tried with all his might to pull him into real life. Once Andrei Ivanovich almost succeeded when he introduced Oblomov to Ilyinskaya. But Olga, in her desire to change the personality of Ilya Ilyich, was driven solely by her own egoism, and not by an altruistic desire to help a loved one. At the moment of parting, the girl tells Oblomov that she could not bring him back to life, because he was already dead. On the one hand, this is true, the hero is too firmly mired in Oblomovism, and in order to change his attitude to life, inhuman efforts and patience were required. On the other hand, active, purposeful by nature, Ilyinskaya did not understand that Ilya Ilyich needed time to transform, and he could not change himself and his life in one jerk. The break with Olga became an even greater failure for Oblomov than a mistake in the service, so he finally plunges into the networks of "Oblomovism", leaves the real world, not wanting to experience mental pain anymore.
Conclusion
The author's characterization of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, despite the fact that the hero is the central character, is ambiguous. Goncharov exposes both his positive features (kindness, tenderness, sensuality, the ability to experience and sympathize), and negative ones (laziness, apathy, unwillingness to decide anything on his own, refusal to self-development), depicting a multifaceted personality in front of the reader, which can cause both sympathy and disgust. At the same time, Ilya Ilyich is undoubtedly one of the most accurate images of a truly Russian person, his nature and character traits. This particular ambiguity and versatility of Oblomov's image allow even modern readers to discover something important for themselves in the novel, putting before themselves those eternal questions that Goncharov raised in the novel.
Artwork test
Drawing a patriarchal local estate, the birthplace of Ilya Ilyich, Goncharov passes a harsh sentence on the patriarchal economy and way of life. The life of the Oblomovites is "an invincible, all-consuming dream." Goncharov points to the backwardness of the economy in the Oblomov estate as one of the most important reasons for the mental immobility and laziness of its inhabitants.
“They were deaf to the political and economic truths about the need for a quick and lively circulation of capital,” says the author about the owners of Oblomovka, “about increased productivity and a change in products.
They in the simplicity of their souls understood and carried out the only use of capital - to keep it in a chest. The Oblomovites are not interested in their household, they lead a sleepy and lazy life. They are afraid of any, even trifling matter, and in the same spirit they educate Ilya Ilyich, killing any will and initiative in him, instilling an aversion to work, which in their eyes is a “punishment”, sent down from above, for the sins of their parents. This is how the weak-willed, inactive master Oblomov grows up.
Coming out of his native "nest" on an independent life path, Oblomov turns out to be completely helpless. He lazily studies at the university, lazily and negligently serves, and then completely retires, having messed up his affairs. In the end, Ilya Ilyich, still a young man, gives up any attempt to engage in any practical activity and gives himself up to complete rest, lying on the sofa, being constantly in a contemplative state, indulging in lazy dreams.
Drowsiness, apathy, passivity of Ilya Ilyich take on monstrous proportions over the years, and Oblomov is afraid not only of work, but also of any mental tension, any vital impulse and shake-up that brings him out of mental stupor.
Oblomovism is afraid of any movement and development, because it sees in them the undermining of the economic foundations of the local class. “Literacy is harmful to a peasant,” Oblomov objected to Stolz, “learn him, so he, perhaps, will stop plowing.”
Any innovations, no matter how they manifest themselves, any practical undertakings cause fear and disgust in Oblomov. Dislike for the bustling city is constantly noticed by Oblomov. “What is life? What a disgrace this metropolitan noise! he exclaims.
Denying urban civilization, Oblomov idealizes the patriarchal village, the patriarchal relationship between the serf and the landowner, dreams of reconciling the old patriarchal way of life with cultural interests.
From this estate ideal, Oblomov's ideas about married life grow. In the dreams of Ilya Ilyich, a patriarchal family idyll is drawn, where the landowner's wife, combining the modern level of development and education with grandfather's simplicity, still remains, in fact, an old lady, the embodiment of "bliss" and "solemn peace". Oblomov's philosophy also determines his views on love. Oblomov, and here, above all, thinks about peace. He longs to experience the “warmth of love”, but without “stunning explosions” and anxieties, he wants to find “an unchanging physiognomy of peace, an eternally smooth flow of feelings” in a relationship with his beloved woman. It was precisely the realization of these aspirations that Ilya Ilyich supposed to see in Olga Ilyinskaya, but he became convinced that life “touches” and “gets” everywhere, mercilessly refuting his illusions.
Pushing his hero against Olga, Goncharov even more sharply sets off the flabbiness of Oblomov's will, the lethargy of feelings and the idleness of the mind. In love for Olga, the writer outlines for Oblomov glimpses of a temporary awakening from spiritual hibernation in order to lead him to the sharpest awareness of his worthlessness and self-condemnation, to the understanding that he is "an extra person." And if, at the beginning of his acquaintance with Olga, Ilya Ilyich exclaims with hope: “Life, life again opens up to me!” and believes the “purpose of life” that has been revealed to him, then subsequently, with the greatest bitterness, he is forced to admit his complete spiritual bankruptcy: “I know everything, I understand everything, but there is no strength and will.” “Go ahead”, “throw off a wide robe and not only from his shoulders, but also from his soul” - he cannot, and he is left with the last refuge - a kind of Oblomovka: existence on the Vyborg side, with the widow Pshenitsyna. “And here, as in Oblomovka, he managed to get rid of life cheaply, bargain with it and insure himself with imperturbable peace,” says Goncharov about Oblomov.
Thus, the author shows the inevitability of moral disgust, the decline of the representatives of the landlord class, unable to keep pace with life, to be "on a par with the century." Goncharov, however, also points to Oblomov's attractive, positive features. “You are meek, honest, Ilya, you are gentle as a dove,” Olga Ilyinskaya says to Ilya Ilyich. At the end of the novel, the positive aspects of Oblomov are clearly outlined by Stolz: “He has an honest, faithful heart ...” “Oblomov will never bow to the idol of lies, his soul will always be pure, bright, honest ... there are few such people; they are rare; these are pearls in the crowd!
The author portrays Oblomov as a man capable of noble impulses, sensitive and responsive by nature. The simplicity and humanity of Oblomov, as the most valuable qualities of his character, are especially emphasized by Goncharov. The author points out that Oblomov has access to a breadth of views and humanity, which elevate him above an ordinary representative of the St. Petersburg business or bureaucratic world. “So few people are needed here,” exclaims, for example, Ilya Ilyich about the successful career and all sorts of successes in life of the official Sudbinsky.
“Give me a man, give me a man,” says Ilya Ilyich, talking about the forthcoming work by Penkin. “Depict a thief, a fallen woman, an inflated fool, and don’t forget a person right there ... Where is humanity?” he asks the writer Penkin. “Lend a hand to a fallen man ... do not mock him,” Oblomov demands from his interlocutor.
Characteristics of Oblomov
The novel "Oblomov", written by Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov, was published in 1859. This is the best work of the author, and even now it is a success among readers. Ivan Alexandrovich in "Oblomov" depicted the traditional type of Russian man, the embodiment of which in the work was Ilya Ilyich.
Let us turn to the novel and follow how the author gradually, in full, reveals the image of Oblomov. Goncharov introduces his hero into different situations in order to show all the disadvantages and advantages of the Oblomov type to the maximum extent. Ilya Ilyich is being tested by both friendship and love, and, nevertheless, is he doomed to disappear?
To answer this question, let's analyze his life. The first time we meet Oblomov in his apartment on Gorokhovaya Street, but over the course of the novel we learn more and more about him, and therefore we can imagine a fairly clear picture of his past life. The childhood of Ilya Ilyich passed in the family estate - Oblomovka. Ilyusha was a frisky boy. He, like all children, wanted movement, new experiences, but his parents in every way protected him from unnecessary experiences, did not burden him with anything, but forbade him to show any freedom.
At times, the gentle solicitude of his parents bored him. Whether he runs down the stairs or across the yard, suddenly ten desperate voices are heard after him: “Ah, ah! hold on, stop! fall, break! Stop, stop…”
It is not in vain that Dobrolyubov writes: “From an early age, he sees that all household work is done by lackeys and maids, and papa and mama only order and scold for bad performance. Therefore, he will not kill himself over work, no matter what they tell him about the necessity and sanctity of work. And now he already has the first concept - that it’s more honorable to sit back than to fuss at work ... ”Indeed, all decisions in the house were made without his participation, and Ilya’s fate was decided behind his back, so he had no idea about adult life, in which got completely unprepared.
So, having arrived in the city, Ilya Ilyich tried to find an occupation to his liking. He tried to write, to serve as an official, but all this seemed to him empty, meaningless, because there it was necessary to do business, which he did not like because of his upbringing, all the more so Oblomov did not know the meaning of these activities and did not seek to understand, therefore considered that this is not life, because it does not correspond to his ideals, which are a peaceful, calm, carefree life, hearty food and serene sleep. Just such a way of life leads Oblomov at the beginning of the novel. He did not pay much attention to his appearance: he was wearing a dressing gown, which had a special meaning for Ilya Ilyich. These were the clothes that he considered the best for himself: the dressing gown is “soft, flexible; he, like an obedient slave, submits to the slightest movement of the body. It seems to me that the dressing gown is a key detail in the portrait of Oblomov, since it symbolizes the lifestyle of this person, to some extent reveals to us his character: lazy, calm, thoughtful. Ilya Ilyich is a homebody. There is no tyranny in Oblomov, characteristic of the owners of serfs, nor stinginess, nor any sharply negative qualities. This is a kind sloth, prone to dreams.
A lot about the character of the protagonist tells us his portrait and the interior of the room. Oblomov is a man of about thirty-two or three years old, “of medium height, of pleasant appearance, with dark gray eyes, but with the absence of any definite idea, any concentration in facial features,” which indicates the absence of a goal in life. At first glance, it seemed that his room was perfectly cleaned, but looking closer, you notice a layer of dust on all things, unread books, remnants of meals, which indicates that the person living here is trying to create the appearance of decorum of that time, but not a single thing does not complete.
This was the impression of Ilya Ilyich only at the beginning of the novel, because, having met Olga, he was greatly transformed, the former Oblomov remained only in his memories, and the new one began to read, write, work a lot, set goals and strive for them. He, as if, woke up from a long hibernation and began to catch up. That's what love does to a person! Moreover, Olga all the time encouraged Ilya to act. Finally, a full-blooded life began to play in him.
The love of Oblomov and Ilyinskaya continues until Ilya Ilyich has to face real life, until decisive action is required from him, until Olga realizes that she loves the future Oblomov. “I recently found out that I loved in you what I wanted to be in you, what Stoltz pointed out to me, what we invented with him. I loved the future Oblomov!” Neither friendship, nor even such pure, sincere love could make him give up a peaceful, calm, carefree life. Ilya Ilyich moved to the Vyborg side, which can be called the "new Oblomovka", because there he returned to his former way of life. The widow of Pshenitsyn is just the ideal wife that Oblomov imagined during his dreams, she does not force him to do anything, does not require anything. And Ilya Ilyich from such a life again begins to degrade. But I don't think you can blame him for everything. “What ruined you? There is no name for this evil ... ”- Olga exclaims at parting. “There is ... Oblomovism!” - he whispered a little audibly.
Oblomov himself was well aware that the life he leads would not bring anything to future generations, but there was no such driving vitality that could bring him out of a state of apathy to everything around him. Ilya Ilyich “painfully felt that some good, bright beginning was buried in it, as in a grave ... But the treasure was deeply and heavily littered with rubbish, alluvial rubbish. It was as if someone had stolen and buried in his own soul the treasures brought to him by the world and life.
Oblomov is kind and hospitable: his doors are open to all friends and acquaintances. Even Tarantiev, who is rude and arrogant with Ilya Ilyich, often dine at his house.
And love for Olga reveals his best qualities: kindness, nobility, honesty and “pigeon tenderness”.
Is Oblomov significantly different from most people? Of course, laziness, apathy and inertia are characteristic of many people to one degree or another. The reasons for the emergence of such qualities may be different. Some people believe that their whole life is a continuous series of failures and disappointments, and therefore do not seek to change it for the better. Others are afraid of difficulties, so they try to protect themselves from them as much as possible. However, people still have to face reality, recognize its cruel sides, struggle with difficulties in order to celebrate success or fail as a result. This is the meaning of human life.
If a person decides to protect himself from all possible and impossible difficulties, then his life gradually turns into something completely monstrous. This is exactly what happened to Oblomov. Unwillingness to live according to the existing laws of life leads to a gradual, but very rapid degradation. At first, a person thinks that it is still possible to change, that very little time will pass and he will “resurrect”, throw off laziness and despondency, like an old dress, and take up things that have been waiting for him for a long time. But time passes, forces are depleted. And the person still remains in the same place.
Oblomov was of a noble family, had the rank of collegiate secretary, and for twelve years he lived without a break in St. Petersburg. When his parents were alive, he occupied only two rooms. The servant Zakhar, taken out of the village, served him. After the death of his father and mother, he inherited three hundred and fifty souls in one of the remote provinces.“Then he was still young and, if it cannot be said that he was alive, then at least he is more alive than now; he was also full of various aspirations, he kept hoping for something, expecting a lot both from fate and from himself ... "He is a lotI thought about my role in society and drew pictures of family happiness in my imagination.
But the years went by“The fluff turned into a stiff beard, the rays of the eyes were replaced by two dull dots, the waist was rounded, the hair began to climb mercilessly.”He was thirty years old, and he did not move a single step forward in his life - he was only going and preparing to start living.Life, in his understanding, was divided into two halves: one consisted of work and boredom, the other of peace and peaceful fun.
"The service at first puzzled him in the most unpleasant way." Brought up in the provinces, among relatives, friends and acquaintances, he was "imbued with a family principle", the future service seemed to him some kind of family activity. Officials in one place, in his opinion, were a close-knit family, caring for mutual peace and pleasure. He thought that going to the service every day was not necessary, and such reasons as bad weather or a bad mood could be a good reason for being absent from the place. What was his surprise when he realized that a healthy official could not come to the service only if an earthquake or flood happened.
“Oblomov became even more thoughtful when he was forced to make various certificates, extracts, rummage through his affairs, write notebooks two fingers thick, which, as if in mockery, were callednotes ; moreover, everyone demanded soon ... ”Even at night they would wake him up and force him to write notes. "When to live? When to live? he insisted.
He imagined the boss as something like a second father, who always takes care of his subordinates and enters into their position. However, on the first day he had to be disappointed. With the arrival of the chief, everyone began to run, knocking each other down, and tried to show themselves as best as possible.
All subordinates were pleased with him, but for some reason in his presence they were always shy and answered all his questions in a voice that was not their own. Ilya Ilyich also became shy in the presence of the chief, and spoke to him in a "thin and nasty" voice.
Somehow, Oblomov served for two years, and if one unforeseen incident had not occurred, he would have served further. Once he accidentally sent some necessary paper instead of Astrakhan to Arkhangelsk, and was afraid that he would have to answer. Without waiting for punishment, he went home, sent a medical certificate of illness to the service, and then resigned.
“Thus ended - and then did not resume - his state activity.
The role in society was better for him. In the first years of his stay in St. Petersburg, when he was young, "his eyes shone for a long time with the fire of life, rays of light, hope, strength poured out of them." But that was a long time ago, when a person sees only good in any other person and falls in love with any woman, and anyone is ready to propose a hand and heart.
In previous years, Ilya Ilyich had a lot of “passionate looks”, “promising smiles”, handshakes and kisses, but he never surrendered to beauties and was never even their “diligent admirer”, because courtship is always accompanied by troubles. Oblomov preferred to worship from afar.“His soul was still pure and innocent; she may have been waiting for her love, her support, her passion, and then, over the years, it seems, she stopped waiting and despaired.
Ilya Ilyich's friends became less and less every year. “Almost nothing drew him out of the house,” and every day he left the apartment less and less. At first, it was hard for him to walk around dressed all day, then he gradually became too lazy to dine at a party, and went only to close friends, who could get rid of tight clothes and get some sleep. Soon he got tired of putting on a tailcoat and shaving every day.
And only his friend Stoltz managed to bring him to the people. But Stolz was often on the road, and, remaining alone, Oblomov "plunged head over heels into his solitude, from which only something extraordinary could lead him out," but this was not foreseen.
"He was not accustomed to movement, to life, to crowds, to fuss." Sometimes he fell into a state of nervous fear, was afraid of silence. To all the hopes that youth carried, and to all the bright memories, he lazily waved his hand.
“What did he do at home? Read? Did you write? Studied?"
If a book or a newspaper fell under his hands, he read. If you hear about some wonderful work, there will be a desire to get acquainted with it. He will ask to bring it, and if it is brought quickly, he will begin to read. If he had made any effort, he would have mastered the subject discussed in the book. But he, having not finished reading the book, put it aside, lay down and looked at the ceiling.
He studied, like everyone else, until the age of fifteen in a boarding school. Then his parents sent him to Moscow, "where he, willy-nilly, followed the course of science to the end." During the years of study he did not show laziness and whims, he listened to what his teachers told him, and with difficulty learned the lessons he was given. “He considered all this as a punishment sent down by heaven for our sins.” More than what the teachers asked, he did not read and did not teach and did not require explanations. "Serious reading tired him."
At some point, he became interested in poetry, and Stoltz tried to extend this hobby longer. "The youthful gift of Stolz infected Oblomov, and he burned with a thirst for work, a distant but charming goal." However, soon Ilya Ilyich sobered up, and only occasionally, on the advice of Stolz, lazily ran through the lines. He hardly mastered the books that were brought to him and often fell asleep even in the most interesting places.
After graduating, he no longer wanted to learn anything. Everything that he learned during his studies was stored in his head in the form of an "archive of dead affairs."
The doctrine had an effect on Ilya Ilyich in a strange way: "between science and life, he had a whole abyss that he did not try to cross." He went through the entire course of legal proceedings, but when something was stolen in his house and it was necessary to write some paper to the police, he sent for the clerk.
All affairs in the village were conducted by the headman. Oblomov himself "continued to draw the pattern of his own life." Thinking about the purpose of his existence, he came to the conclusion that the meaning of his life lies in himself, that he got "family happiness and care for the estate." Since the death of his parents, things on the estate have gone from bad to worse every year. Oblomov understood that he needed to go there and figure it out himself, but "the trip was a feat for him." In his life, Ilya Ilyich made only one trip: from his village to Moscow, “among featherbeds, chests, suitcases, hams, rolls ... and accompanied by several servants.” And now, lying on the sofa, he drew up in his mind "a new, fresh plan for organizing the estate and managing the peasants." The idea of this plan has been formed for a long time, it only remained to calculate something.
As soon as he gets out of bed in the morning, after tea he immediately lies down on the sofa, rests his head on his hand and ponders, sparing no effort, until, finally, his head is tired from hard work and when his conscience says: enough done today for the common good.
Only then does he decide to take a break from his labors and change his caring pose to another, less businesslike and strict, more convenient for dreams and bliss.
Freed from business worries, Oblomov liked to withdraw into himself and live in the world he created.
The pleasures of lofty thoughts were available to him; he was no stranger to universal human sorrows. He bitterly in the depths of his soul wept at a different time over the misfortunes of mankind, experienced unknown, nameless suffering, and longing, and a desire to go somewhere far away, there, probably, to that world where Stolz used to take him.
Sweet tears run down his cheeks...
But towards evening, “Oblomov’s tired forces also tend to rest: storms and unrest subside in the soul, the head sobers up from thoughts, blood slowly makes its way through the veins ...” Ilya Ilyich thoughtfully rolled over onto his back, fixed a sad look at the sky and sadly followed the sun with his eyes . But the next day came, and with it new worries and dreams arose.He liked to imagine himself as an invincible commander, a great artist or thinker, to invent wars and their causes.In bitter moments, he turned from side to side, lay face down, sometimes knelt down and prayed fervently. And all his moral strength was spent on this.
No one knew or saw this inner life of Ilya Ilyich: everyone thought that Oblomov was so-so, only lying and eating on health, and that there was nothing more to be expected from him; that the thoughts in his head hardly fit in. This is how he was talked about wherever he was known.
Stoltz knew in detail about his abilities, about his inner volcanic work of his ardent head, humane heart, and Stoltz could testify, but Stolz was almost never in St. Petersburg.
Only Zakhar, who spent his whole life addressing his master, knew even more in detail all his inner life; but he was convinced that he and the master were doing business and living normally, as they should, and that one should not live otherwise.
