OBLOMOV
(Roman. 1859)
Ilinskaya Olga Sergeevna - one of the main characters of the novel, a bright and strong character. A possible prototype of I. is Elizaveta Tolstaya, Goncharov's only love, although some researchers reject this hypothesis. “Olga in the strict sense was not a beauty, that is, there was neither whiteness in her, nor the bright color of her cheeks and lips, and her eyes did not burn with rays of inner fire; there were no corals on the lips, no pearls in the mouth, no miniature hands, like those of a five-year-old child, with fingers in the form of grapes. But if she were turned into a statue, she would be a statue of grace and harmony.
From the time she was orphaned, I. lives in the house of her aunt Marya Mikhailovna. Goncharov emphasizes the rapid spiritual maturation of the heroine: she “as if she was listening to the course of life by leaps and bounds. And every hour of the slightest, barely noticeable experience, an incident that flies like a bird past the nose of a man, is grasped inexplicably quickly by a girl.
Andrey Ivanovich Stolz introduces I. and Oblomov. How, when and where Stolz and I. met is unknown, but the relationship connecting these characters is distinguished by sincere mutual attraction and trust. “... In a rare girl you will find such simplicity and natural freedom of sight, word, deed ... No affectation, no coquetry, no lies, no tinsel, no intent! On the other hand, almost only Stolz appreciated her, but she sat through more than one mazurka alone, not hiding her boredom ... Some considered her simple, short-sighted, shallow, because neither wise maxims about life, about love, nor quick ones fell from her tongue, unexpected and bold remarks, nor read or overheard judgments about music and literature ... "
Stolz brings Oblomov to I.'s house not by chance: knowing that she has an inquisitive mind and deep feelings, he hopes that with his spiritual inquiries I. will be able to awaken Oblomov - make him read, watch, learn more and more legibly.
Oblomov, in one of the very first meetings, was captured by her amazing voice - I. sings an aria from Bellini's opera "Norma", the famous "Casta diva", and "this destroyed Oblomov: he was exhausted", more and more plunging into a new feeling for himself.
I.'s literary predecessor is Tatyana Larina ("Eugene Onegin"). But as the heroine of a different historical time, I. is more confident in herself, her mind requires constant work. This was also noted by N. A. Dobrolyubov in the article “What is Oblomovism?”: “Olga, in her development, represents the highest ideal that a Russian artist can now evoke from the current Russian life ... There is something more in her than in Stolz, one can see a hint of a new Russian life; one can expect a word from her that will burn and dispel Oblomovism ... "
But this I. is not given in the novel, just as it is not given to dispel the phenomena of a different order, similar to her heroine Goncharov Vera from The Cliff. The character of Olga, fused simultaneously from strength and weakness, knowledge about life and the inability to bestow this knowledge on others, will be developed in Russian literature - in the heroines of A.P. Chekhov's dramaturgy - in particular, in Elena Andreevna and Sonya Voynitskaya from "Uncle Vanya".
The main property of I., inherent in many female characters in Russian literature of the last century, is not just love for a particular person, but an indispensable desire to change him, raise him to his ideal, re-educate him, instilling in him new concepts, new tastes. Oblomov turns out to be the most suitable object for this: “She dreamed of how“ she would order him to read the books ”that Stoltz left, then read the newspapers every day and tell her the news, write letters to the village, finish the plan for the estate, get ready to go abroad, - in a word, he will not doze off with her; she will show him the goal, make him fall in love again with everything that he has stopped loving, and Stolz will not recognize him when he returns. And all this miracle will be done by her, so timid, silent, whom no one has obeyed until now, who has not yet begun to live! .. She even trembled with proud, joyful trembling; I considered it a lesson appointed from above.
Here you can compare her character with the character of Lisa Kalitina from I. S. Turgenev's novel "The Nest of Nobles", with Elena from his own "On the Eve". Re-education becomes the goal, the goal captivates so much that everything else is pushed aside, and the feeling of love gradually submits to teaching. Teaching, in a sense, enlarges and enriches love. It is precisely from this that the serious change occurs in I. that so struck Stolz when he met her abroad, where she, together with her aunt, arrived after the break with Oblomov.
I. immediately understands that in relations with Oblomov she plays the main role, she "in an instant weighed her power over him, and she liked this role of a guiding star, a ray of light that she would pour over a stagnant lake and be reflected in it." Life seems to wake up in I. along with the life of Oblomov. But in her this process takes place much more intensively than in Ilya Ilyich. I. seems to be testing on him his capabilities as a woman and a teacher at the same time. Her extraordinary mind and soul require more and more "complex" food.
It is no coincidence that at some point Obkomov sees Cordelia in her: all I.'s feelings are permeated by a simple, natural, like a Shakespearean heroine, pride, prompting to realize the treasures of one's soul as a happy and well-deserved given: “What I once called mine, that is no longer I’ll give it back, unless they take it away ... ”she says to Oblomov.
I.'s feeling for Oblomov is whole and harmonious: she simply loves, while Oblomov is constantly trying to find out the depth of this love, and therefore suffers, believing that I. “loves now, as she embroiders on the canvas: the pattern comes out quietly, lazily, she is even lazier unfolds it, admires it, then puts it down and forgets it. When Ilya Ilyich tells the heroine that she is smarter than him, I. replies: “No, simpler and bolder,” thereby expressing almost the defining line of their relationship.
I. hardly knows herself that the feeling she experiences is more reminiscent of a complex experiment than first love. She does not tell Oblomov that all matters on her estate have been settled, with only one goal - “... to follow to the end how love will make a revolution in his lazy soul, how oppression will finally fall from him, how he will not resist his loved ones happiness..." But, like any experiment on a living soul, this experiment cannot be crowned with success.
I. needs to see his chosen one on a pedestal, above himself, and this, according to the author's concept, is impossible. Even Stolz, whom I. marries after an unsuccessful affair with Oblomov, only temporarily stands higher than she, and Goncharov emphasizes this. By the end, it becomes clear that I. will outgrow her husband both in terms of the strength of feelings and the depth of reflection on life.
Realizing how far her ideals diverge from the ideals of Oblomov, who dreams of living according to the old way of his native Oblomovka, I. is forced to abandon further experiments. “I loved the future Oblomov! she says to Ilya Ilyich. - You are meek, honest, Ilya; you are gentle ... like a dove; you hide your head under your wing - and you want nothing more; you are ready to coo all your life under the roof ... yes, I’m not like that: this is not enough for me, I need something else, but I don’t know what! This “something” will not leave I.: even after surviving a break with Oblomov and happily marrying Stolz, she will not calm down. There will come a moment when Stolz will also have to explain to his wife, the mother of two children, the mysterious “something” that haunts her restless soul. "The deep abyss of her soul" does not frighten, but disturbs Stolz. In I., whom he knew almost as a girl, for whom he first felt friendship, and then love, he gradually discovers new and unexpected depths. It is difficult for Stolz to get used to them, because his happiness with I. seems to be largely problematic.
It happens that I. is overcome by fear: “She was afraid to fall into something similar to Oblomov's apathy. But no matter how hard she tried to get rid of these moments of periodic numbness, sleep of the soul, no, no, yes, the dream of happiness would first sneak up on her, the blue night would surround her and envelop her in drowsiness, then again there would come a thoughtful stop, as if the rest of life, and then embarrassment, fear , languor, some deaf sadness, some vague, foggy questions will be heard in a restless head.
These confusions are quite consistent with the final reflection of the author, which makes one think about the future of the heroine: “Olga did not know ... the logic of resignation to blind fate and did not understand women's passions and hobbies. Once recognizing in the chosen person the dignity and rights to herself, she believed in him and therefore loved, but stopped believing - stopped loving, as happened with Oblomov ... But now she believed in Andrei not blindly, but with consciousness, and in him her ideal of masculine perfection was embodied ... That is why she would not bear a drop in the dignity she recognized; any false note in his character or mind would produce a tremendous dissonance. The destroyed building of happiness would have buried her under the ruins, or, if her strength had still survived, she would have searched ... "
Olga Ilyinskaya is the culprit of some shake-up that Oblomov had to endure before plunging into his complete peace of Oblomovism (see the article Olga and Oblomov). Olga is presented in the book as a girl with willpower and an active mind. With Stolz, she has in common - the independence of nature and love for an active, full of movement and work of life. With Oblomov, she is brought together by a penchant for art, for general issues of life, and a love for nature. Being proud and active, Olga liked to set herself difficult tasks in life and achieve their implementation. One of these tasks was to revive Oblomov to a new life, to save him from Oblomovism, to introduce activity and living movement into his life.
Goncharov. Oblomov. Summary
At first, Olga's attempt was a success: having felt the charm of this smart and talented girl, Oblomov seems to be resurrected. He leaves his sofa, his dusty rooms, he is on his feet all day, wandering around with Olga, listening to music, making plans for a brighter future. But when the habits of a previous life take precedence over this attempt to revive, in Olga rationality turns out to be stronger than love for Oblomov. She writes him a letter in which she logically and in excellent literary form proves that she needs a life that is not the same as that possible with Oblomov, and breaks with him. The fact that Olga marries Stolz and lives happily with her rational and rather dry practical husband emphasizes the element of rationality in her nature.
Olga, in spirit, is close to Turgenev's heroines - Elena ("On the Eve") and Natasha("Rudin"). This is a strong nature that is not afraid of life. Her clear and freer mind helps her to understand people and the accidents of life. Dissatisfied with the vulgarity and banality of secular life, with all its prejudices and propriety, she wants to arrange her life herself so that she herself can breathe easily and those around her feel good. This independence in life is her characteristic feature, which distinguishes her favorably from the named Turgenev's heroines, who both need "leaders".
Stolz recommended Oblomov to Olga's attention from the very good side; he joked about his laziness, immobility, obviously, at first without attaching much fatal significance to these features, and he praised the bright sides of his soul. He tried to interest Olga Oblomov, because he considered the influence of this smart, energetic and kind girl useful for his friend. And so, having met Oblomov, having independently looked into his soul, Olga was convinced that the characterization made by Stolz was true - that Oblomov was indeed "a kind, intelligent, gentle, noble person." A proud dream arose in her smart head - to make a “deed” - to return this “good” person to the fruitful field of cultural life, only for a while, as it seemed to her, evaded the common human work for the benefit of the whole world.
First, with good-natured laughter, then with sincere affection, partly with coquetry, she really inspired Oblomov for a while, who was still under the influence of Stolz at that time. Oblomov not only resurrected spiritually, but even experienced a new feeling for himself - love to Olga. And she also fell in love with him, but in this love there was some kind of indulgence, something like a mother's love for a child who has recovered from an illness. It was not a passion that subordinated man to man.
Olga Sergeevna Ilyinskaya is one of the main characters of the novel by I. A. Goncharov, Oblomov's beloved, a bright and strong character. Ilyinskaya was not distinguished by beauty, but she was quite graceful and harmonious. It had a sincere simplicity and naturalness, which was rare. Nothing pretentious, no frills. The girl was orphaned early and lived in the house of her aunt, Marya Mikhailovna. It is unclear where and when Stoltz met her, but it was he who decided to introduce Olga to his friend Oblomov. The author of the novel emphasized the rapid spiritual maturation of the heroine. Her personal growth took place not by the day, but by the hour. Ilya Ilyich fell in love with her when he heard her superbly sing an aria from Bellini's opera. He became more and more immersed in this new feeling.
Olga was self-confident and wanted to change Oblomov without fail, to make him an active person. On this occasion, she even drew up a plan for re-education. As Stoltz wanted, positive changes really began to occur with his friend, and this was entirely Olga's merit. She was very proud of this and began to transform herself too. However, the girl did not understand that this was more a practical experience in re-education than sincere love. Moreover, the soul and mind of Ilyinskaya needed further development, and Oblomov changed slowly and reluctantly. Their relationship was doomed to break. Even after marrying Stolz, she does not stop looking for herself. Her deep soul needs something else, but she doesn't know exactly what. As the author shows, Olga's main purpose is an eternal desire for development and a spiritually rich life.
/ Dmitry Ivanovich Pisarev (1840-1868). Oblomov. Roman I. A. Goncharova/
The third remarkable personality brought out in Mr. Goncharov's novel is Olga Sergeevna Ilinskaya- represents the type of the future woman, how those ideas that in our time are trying to introduce into women's education will subsequently form her. In this personality, which attracts to itself an inexpressible charm, but does not strike with any sharply outstanding virtues, two properties are especially remarkable, casting an original color on all its actions, words and movements. These two properties are rare in modern women and therefore especially dear in Olga; they are presented in Mr. Goncharov's novel with such artistic fidelity that it is hard not to believe them, it is hard to take Olga for an impossible ideal created by the poet's creative imagination. Naturalness and the presence of consciousness - that's what distinguishes Olga from ordinary women. From these two qualities follow truthfulness in words and deeds, the absence of coquetry, the desire for development, the ability to love simply and seriously, without cunning and tricks, the ability to sacrifice oneself to one’s feelings as much as not the laws of etiquette allow, but the voice of conscience and reason. The first two characters, discussed by us above, are presented already formed, and Mr. Goncharov only explains them to the reader, that is, he shows the conditions under the influence of which they were formed; as for Olga's character, it is formed before the eyes of the reader. The author first depicts her as almost a child, a girl gifted with a natural mind, who enjoyed some independence in her upbringing, but who did not experience any strong feelings, any excitement, unfamiliar with life, not accustomed to observing herself, analyzing the movements of her own soul. During this period of Olga's life, we see in her a rich, but untouched nature; she is not corrupted by the world, she does not know how to pretend, but she also did not have time to develop mental strength in herself, she did not have time to work out convictions for herself; she acts in obedience to the inclinations of a good soul, but acts instinctively; she follows the friendly advice of a developed person, but does not always criticize this advice, is carried away by authority and sometimes mentally refers to her boarding school friends.<...>
Experience and calm reflection could gradually lead Olga out of this period of instinctive drives and actions, her innate curiosity could lead her to further development through reading and serious studies; but the author chose a different, accelerated path for her. Olga fell in love, her soul was agitated, she came to know life, following the movements of her own feelings; the need to understand the state of her own soul forced her to rethink a lot, and from this series of reflections and psychological observations she developed an independent view of her personality, her relations with other people, the relationship between feeling and duty, in a word, life in the broadest sense. G. Goncharov, by depicting Olga's character, by analyzing her development, showed in full force the educational influence of feeling. He notices its emergence, follows its development, and dwells on each of its modifications in order to depict the influence that it has on the whole way of thinking of both actors. Olga fell in love by accident, without prior preparation; she did not create for herself an abstract ideal, under which many young ladies try to bring men they know, she did not dream of love, although, of course, she knew about the existence of this feeling.
She lived quietly, not trying to artificially arouse love in herself, not trying to see the hero of her future novel in every new face. Love came to her unexpectedly, unexpectedly, as any true feeling comes; this feeling imperceptibly crept into her soul and drew her own attention to itself when it had already received some development. When she noticed him, she began to ponder and measure words and deeds with her inner thought. This moment, when she became aware of the movements of her own soul, begins a new period in her development. Every woman experiences this moment, and the upheaval that then takes place in her whole being and begins to reveal in her the presence of restrained feelings and concentrated thought, this upheaval is especially fully and artistically depicted in Mr. Goncharov's novel. For a woman like Olga, feeling could not long remain at the level of instinctive attraction; the desire to comprehend in her own eyes, to explain to herself everything that met her in life, awakened here with special force: a goal for feelings appeared, and a discussion of a beloved person appeared; this discussion determined the very goal.
Olga realized that she was stronger than the person she loves, and decided to elevate him, breathe energy into him, give him strength for life. A meaningful feeling became a duty in her eyes, and with full conviction she began to sacrifice to this duty some external decorum, for the violation of which the suspicious court of light is sincerely and unjustly pursued. Olga grows with her feelings; each scene that takes place between her and the person she loves adds a new trait to her character, with each scene the graceful image of the girl becomes more familiar to the reader, is outlined brighter and stands out more strongly from the general background of the picture.
We have sufficiently defined Olga's character to know that there could be no coquetry in her relationship to her beloved: the desire to lure a man, to make him her admirer, without feeling any feelings for him, seemed to her unforgivable, unworthy of an honest woman. In her treatment of the man whom she later fell in love with, at first soft, natural grace dominated, no calculated coquetry could act stronger than this genuine, artlessly simple treatment, but the fact is that on the part of Olga there was no desire to make this or that impression . Femininity and grace, which Mr. Goncharov knew how to put into her words and movements, are an integral part of her nature and therefore have a particularly charming effect on the reader. This femininity, this grace, grows stronger and more charming as the feeling develops in the breast of the girl; playfulness, childish carelessness are replaced in her features by an expression of quiet, thoughtful, almost solemn happiness.
Life opens up before Olga, a world of thoughts and feelings about which she had no idea, and she goes forward, looking trustingly at her companion, but at the same time peering with timid curiosity at the sensations that crowd in her agitated soul. The feeling is growing; it becomes a need, a necessary condition of life, and meanwhile, and here, when the feeling reaches pathos, to the "lunaticism of love," in the words of Mr. Goncharov, and here Olga does not lose consciousness of moral duty and knows how to maintain a calm, reasonable, critical look their duties, the personality of the loved one, their position and their actions in the future. The very strength of feeling gives her a clear view of things and maintains firmness in her. The fact is that feeling in such a pure and sublime nature does not descend to the degree of passion, does not cloud the mind, does not lead to such actions, from which one would later have to blush; such a feeling does not cease to be conscious, although sometimes it is so strong that it presses and threatens to destroy the organism. It instills energy into the soul of a girl, makes her break this or that law of etiquette; but this same feeling does not allow her to forget her real duty, protects her from infatuation, instills in her a conscious respect for the purity of her own personality, which is the guarantee of happiness for two people.
Olga, meanwhile, is going through a new phase of development: a sad moment of disappointment comes for her, and the mental suffering she experiences finally develops her character, gives her thoughts maturity, and informs her of life experience. Disappointment is often the fault of the disappointed person. A person who creates a fantastic world for himself will certainly, sooner or later, collide with real life and hurt himself the more painfully, the higher was the height to which his whimsical dream raised him. Whoever demands the impossible from life must be deceived in his hopes. Olga did not dream of impossible happiness: her hopes for the future were simple, her plans were feasible. She fell in love with an honest, intelligent and developed man, but weak, not used to living; she recognized his good and bad sides and decided to use all her efforts to warm him with the energy that she felt in herself. She thought that the power of love would revive him, instill in him a desire for activity and give him the opportunity to apply to the cause the abilities that had dozed off from long inactivity.
Its purpose was highly moral; she was inspired by her true feeling. It could be achieved: there was no evidence to doubt success. Olga mistook the momentary outburst of feeling on the part of the person she loved for a real awakening of energy; she saw her power over him and hoped to lead him forward on the path of self-improvement. Could she not be carried away by her beautiful goal, could she not see quiet reasonable happiness ahead of her? And suddenly she notices that the momentarily excited energy is extinguished, that the struggle she has undertaken is hopeless, that the charming power of sleepy calm is stronger than its life-giving influence. What was she to do in such a case? Opinions are likely to be divided. Whoever admires the impetuous beauty of an unconscious feeling, without thinking about its consequences, will say: she had to remain true to the first movement of her heart and give her life to the one she once loved. But whoever sees in a feeling a guarantee of future happiness will look at things differently: hopeless love, useless for oneself and for a beloved object, has no meaning in the eyes of such a person; the beauty of such a feeling cannot excuse its lack of meaning.
Olga had to conquer herself, to break this feeling while there was still time: she had no right to ruin her life, to bring herself a useless sacrifice. Love becomes illegitimate when reason disapproves of it; to drown out the voice of reason means to give free rein to passion, animal instinct. Olga could not do this, and she had to suffer until a deceived feeling ached in her soul. She was saved in this case by the presence of consciousness, which we have already indicated above. The struggle of thought with the remnants of feeling, reinforced by fresh memories of past happiness, hardened Olga's spiritual strength. In a short time, she changed her mind and changed her mind as much as it does not happen to change her mind and change her mind during many years of calm existence. She was finally prepared for life, and the past feeling she experienced and the suffering she experienced gave her the ability to understand and appreciate the true virtues of a person; they gave her the strength to love in a way she could not love before. Only a remarkable personality could inspire her with feelings, and in this feeling there was already no room for disappointment; the time of infatuation, the time of sleepwalking has passed irrevocably. Love could not more imperceptibly sneak into the soul, slipping away from the analysis of the mind for a time. In Olga's new feeling, everything was definite, clear and firm. Olga used to live by her mind, and her mind subjected everything to its analysis, presented new needs every day, sought satisfaction, food in everything that surrounded her.
Then Olga's development took only one more step forward. There is only a cursory indication of this step in Mr. Goncharov's novel. The situation to which this new step led is not outlined. The fact is that neither quiet family happiness, nor mental and aesthetic pleasures could completely satisfy Olga. Pleasures never satisfy a strong, rich nature, incapable of falling asleep and losing energy: such a nature requires activity, labor with a reasonable goal, and only creativity can to some extent calm this dreary desire for something higher, unfamiliar - a desire that does not satisfy happy environment of everyday life. Olga reached this state of higher development. How she satisfied the needs awakened in her, the author does not tell us. But, recognizing in a woman the possibility and legitimacy of these higher aspirations, he obviously expresses his view on her appointment and on what is called in the community the emancipation of a woman. Olga's whole life and personality constitute a living protest against the dependence of a woman. This protest, of course, was not the main goal of the author, because true creativity does not impose practical goals on itself; but the more naturally this protest arose, the less it was prepared, the more artistic truth it contains, the more strongly it will affect the public consciousness.
Here are the three main characters of Oblomov. The other groups of personalities that make up the background of the picture and stand in the background are outlined with amazing clarity. It can be seen that the author did not neglect trifles for the main plot and, painting a picture of Russian life, dwelled on every detail with conscientious love. The widow Pshenitsyn, Zakhar, Tarantiev, Mukhoyarov, Anisya - all these are living people, all these are types that each of us has met in our lifetime.<...>
"Oblomov", in all likelihood, will constitute an era in the history of Russian literature, it reflects the life of Russian society in a certain period of its development. The names of Oblomov, Stolz, Olga will become household names. In a word, no matter how one considers Oblomov, whether as a whole or in separate parts, whether in relation to modern life or in terms of its absolute significance in the field of art, one way or another, one will always have to say that it is quite elegant, strictly considered and poetically beautiful work.<...>The depiction of a pure, conscious feeling, the determination of its influence on a person's personality and actions, the reproduction of the dominant disease of our time, Oblomovism - these are the main motives of the novel. If we remember, moreover, that every fine work has an educational influence, if we remember that a truly fine work is always moral, because it depicts real life faithfully and simply, then it must be recognized that reading books like Oblomov must be a necessary condition for any rational education. Moreover, it may be especially useful for girls to read this novel 3 . This reading, incomparably better than an abstract treatise on female virtue, will make clear to them the life and duties of a woman. One has only to think about Olga's personality, follow her actions, and, probably, more than one fruitful thought will be added to her head, more than one warm feeling will be planted in her heart. So, we think that every educated Russian woman or girl should read Oblomov, just as she should read all the capital works of our literature.
"is the most striking and complex female character. Getting to know her as a young, just developing girl, the reader sees her gradual maturation and disclosure as a woman, mother, and independent person. At the same time, a complete characterization of the image of Olga in the novel "Oblomov" is possible only when working with quotations from the novel that most capably convey the appearance and personality of the heroine:
“If she were turned into a statue, she would be a statue of grace and harmony. The size of the head strictly corresponded to a somewhat high growth, the oval and dimensions of the face corresponded to the size of the head; all this, in turn, was in harmony with the shoulders, the shoulders - with the camp ... ".
When meeting with Olga, people always stopped for a moment "before this so strictly and deliberately, artistically created creature."
Olga received a good upbringing and education, understands the sciences and art, reads a lot and is in constant development, knowledge, achievement of new and new goals.
These features of hers were reflected in the appearance of the girl: “The lips are thin and mostly compressed: a sign of a thought constantly directed at something. The same presence of a speaking thought shone in the keen, always cheerful, piercing look of dark, gray-blue eyes, "and unevenly located thin eyebrows created a small crease on the forehead" in which something seemed to say, as if a thought rested there. Everything in her spoke of her own dignity, inner strength and beauty: “Olga walked with her head tilted slightly forward, so gracefully, nobly resting on a thin, proud neck; moved smoothly with her whole body, stepping lightly, almost imperceptibly.
Love for Oblomov
The image of Olga Ilyinskaya in Oblomov appears at the beginning of the novel as a still very young, little-knowing girl, looking at the world around her with wide open eyes and trying to cognize it in all its manifestations. The turning point, which became for Olga the transition from childish shyness and some embarrassment (as was the case when communicating with Stolz), was love for Oblomov. A wonderful, strong, inspiring feeling that flashed with lightning speed between lovers was doomed to parting, since Olga and Oblomov did not want to accept each other as they really are, cultivating a feeling for semi-ideal prototypes of real heroes.
For Ilyinskaya, love for Oblomov was not associated with the feminine tenderness, gentleness, acceptance and care that Oblomov expected from her, but with duty, the need to change the inner world of her lover, to make him a completely different person:
“She dreamed of how“ she would order him to read the books ”that Stoltz had left, then read the newspapers every day and tell her the news, write letters to the village, finish the plan for arranging the estate, get ready to go abroad - in a word, he would not doze off with her; she will show him the goal, make him fall in love again with everything that he stopped loving.
“And all this miracle will be done by her, so timid, silent, whom no one has obeyed until now, who has not yet begun to live!”
Olga's love for Oblomov was based on the selfishness and ambitions of the heroine. Moreover, her feelings for Ilya Ilyich can hardly be called true love - it was a fleeting love, a state of inspiration and rise in front of a new peak that she wanted to reach. For Ilyinskaya, in fact, Oblomov’s feelings were not important, she wanted to make her ideal out of him, so that she could then be proud of the fruits of her labors and, perhaps, remind him later that everything he had was due to Olga.
