Lesson topic:NOVEL "WHAT TO DO?". PROBLEM, GENRE, COMPOSITION. "OLD WORLD" IN THE IMAGE OF CHERNYSHEVSKY
Goals: to introduce students to the creative history of the novel “What is to be done?”, to talk about the prototypes of the heroes of the novel; give an idea of the problems, genre and composition of the work; to find out what is the attractive force of Chernyshevsky's book for contemporaries, how the novel What Is To Be Done? on Russian literature; name the heroes of the novel, convey the content of the most important episodes, dwell on the writer's depiction of the "old world".
During the classes
I. Conversationabout the questionm:
1. Briefly describe the main stages in the life and work of N. G. Chernyshevsky.
| 1828
, July 12 (24 according to a new style) - was born in Saratov, in the family of a priest Gavriil Ivanovich Chernyshevsky. |
II. Teacher's story CREATIVE HISTORY OF THE NOVEL "WHAT TO DO?".
PROTOTYPES OF THE NOVEL
Chernyshevsky's most famous novel What Is To Be Done? was written in the solitary confinement of the Alekseevsky ravelin of the Peter and Paul Fortress in the shortest possible time: begun on December 14, 1862 and completed on April 4, 1863. The manuscript of the novel passed double censorship.
The novel "What to do? From stories about new people ”(this is the full name of Chernyshevsky’s work) caused an ambiguous reaction from readers. The progressive youth spoke with admiration of "What is to be done?". Furious opponents of Chernyshevsky were forced to admit"extraordinary power" of the impact of the novel on young people. Enemies of Chernyshevsky, seeing the unprecedented success of the novel, demanded a brutal reprisal against the author. D. I. Pisarev, V. S. Kurochkin and their magazines (“Russian Word”, “Iskra”) and others spoke in defense of the novel.
About prototypes. Literary critics believe that the storyline is based on the life story of the family doctor Chernyshevsky, Pyotr Ivanovich Bokov. Bokov was the teacher of Maria Obrucheva, then, in order to free her from the yoke of her parents, he married her, but a few years later M. Obrucheva fell in love with another person - the physiologist I.M. Sechenov. Thus, Bokov became the prototypes of Lopukhov, Obrucheva of Vera Pavlovna, Sechenov of Kirsanov.
The novel "What to do?" Chernyshevsky dedicated to his wife Olga Sokratovna.
III. teacher lecture
PROBLEMS OF THE NOVEL
In "What to do?" the author proposed the theme of a new public figure (mainly from raznochintsy), discovered by Turgenev in "Fathers and Sons", who replaced the type of "superfluous person". The "nihilism" of E. Bazarov is opposed by the views of the "new people", his loneliness and tragic death - their cohesion and steadfastness. "New people" are the main characters of the novel.
Problems of the novel: the emergence of "new people"; people of the "old world" and their social and moral vices; love and emancipation, love and family, love and revolution.
On the composition of the novel. Chernyshevsky's novel is constructed in such a way that life, reality, appears in it in three time dimensions: in the past, present and future. The past is the old world, existing, but already becoming obsolete; the present is the positive beginnings of life that have appeared, the activity of “new people”, the existence of new human relations. The future is already an approaching dream ("The Fourth Dream of Vera Pavlovna"). The composition of the novel conveys movement from the past to the present and future. The author not only dreams of a revolution in Russia, he sincerely believes in its implementation.
About the genre. There is no unanimous opinion on this issue. Yu. M. Prozorov considers "What to do?" Chernyshevsky - socio-ideological novel, Yu. V. Lebedev - philosophical and utopian a novel created according to the laws typical of this genre. The compilers of the bio-bibliographic dictionary "Russian Writers" consider "What to do?" artistic and journalistic novel.
(There is an opinion that Chernyshevsky's novel What Is to Be Done? is family-domestic, detective, journalistic, intellectual, etc.)
Plot
The central character of the novel is Vera Pavlovna Rozalskaya. To avoid marriage, imposed by a selfish mother, the girl enters into a fictitious marriage with medical student Dmitry Lopukhov (teacher of Fedya's younger brother). Marriage allows her to leave her parental home and manage her life on her own. Vera studies, tries to find her place in life, and finally opens a “new type” sewing workshop - this is a commune where there are no hired workers and owners, and all the girls are equally interested in the well-being of the joint venture.
The family life of the Lopukhovs is also unusual for its time, its main principles are mutual respect, equality and personal freedom. Gradually, a real feeling arises between Vera and Dmitry, based on trust and affection. However, it happens that Vera Pavlovna falls in love with her husband's best friend, doctor Alexander Kirsanov, with whom she has much more in common than with her husband. This love is mutual. Vera and Kirsanov begin to avoid each other, hoping to hide their feelings, primarily from each other. However, Lopukhov guesses everything and forces them to confess.
To give his wife freedom, Lopukhov fakes suicide (the novel begins with an episode of imaginary suicide), he himself leaves for America in order to study industrial production in practice. After some time, Lopukhov, under the name of Charles Beaumont, returns to Russia. He is an agent of an English firm and arrived on her behalf to purchase a stearin plant from the industrialist Polozov. Delving into the affairs of the plant, Lopukhov visits Polozov's house, where he meets his daughter Ekaterina. Young people fall in love with each other and soon get married, after which Lopukhov-Beumont announces his return to the Kirsanovs. A close friendship is established between families, they settle in the same house, and a society of “new people” is expanding around them - those who want to arrange their own and social life “in a new way”.
One of the most significant heroes of the novel is the revolutionary Rakhmetov, a friend of Kirsanov and Lopukhov, whom they once introduced to the teachings of the utopian socialists. A short digression is devoted to Rakhmetov in chapter 29 (“A Special Person”). This is a hero of the second plan, only episodically connected with the main storyline of the novel (brings Vera Pavlovna a letter from Dmitry Lopukhov explaining the circumstances of his imaginary suicide). However, Rakhmetov plays a special role in the ideological outline of the novel. What it consists of, Chernyshevsky explains in detail in the XXXI part of chapter 3 (“Conversation with an insightful reader and his expulsion”):
Chernyshevsky showed two social spheres of the old life: noble and petty-bourgeois.
Representatives of the nobility - the landlord and playboy Storeshnikov, his mother Anna Petrovna, friends and friends of Storeshnikov with names in the French manner - Jean, Serge, Julie. These are people who are not able to work - egoists, "admirers and slaves of their own well-being."
The petty-bourgeois world is represented by the images of Vera Pavlovna's parents. Marya Alekseevna Rozalskaya is an energetic and enterprising woman. But she looks at her daughter and husband "from the point of view of the income that can be extracted from them."
The writer condemns Marya Alekseevna for greed, selfishness, callousness and narrow-mindedness, but at the same time he sympathizes with her, believing that life circumstances made her like that.
Homework.
Students' messages about the main characters: Lopukhov, Kirsanov, Vera Pavlovna, Rakhmetov.
Composition
“Disgusting people! Ugly people!..
My God, with whom am I forced to live in society!
Where there is idleness, there is vileness, where there is luxury, there is vileness!..”
N. G. Chernyshevsky. "What to do?"
When N. G. Chernyshevsky conceived the novel What Is to Be Done?, he was most interested in the sprouts of the “new life” that could be observed in Russia in the second half of the nineteenth century. According to G. V. Plekhanov, “... our author joyfully welcomed the appearance of this new type and could not deny himself the pleasure of drawing at least an obscure profile of it.” But the same author was also familiar with typical representatives of the “old order”, because from an early age, Nikolai Gavrilovich thought about why “people's misfortunes and sufferings occur”. In my opinion, it is wonderful that these are the thoughts of a child who himself lived in full prosperity and family well-being. From the memoirs of Chernyshevsky: “All gross pleasures seemed to me disgusting, boring, unbearable, this disgust from them was in me from childhood, thanks, of course, to the modest and strictly moral lifestyle of all my close older relatives.” But outside the walls of his home, Nikolai Gavrilovich constantly encountered disgusting types who were brought up by a different environment.
Although in the novel “What is to be done?” Chernyshevsky was not engaged in a deep analysis of the causes of the unjust structure of society, as a writer, he could not ignore the representatives of the "old order". We meet these characters at their points of contact with the “new people”. From such a neighborhood, all the negative features look especially vile. In my opinion, the advantage of the author is that he did not paint “vulgar people” with one color, but found shades of differences in them.
In the second dream of Vera Pavlovna, two layers of vulgar society are presented to us in the form of allegorical dirt. Lopukhov and Kirsanov lead a scientific discussion among themselves and at the same time teach a rather difficult lesson to the reader. The dirt on one field they call "real", and on the other - "fantastic". What are their differences?
In the form of "fantastic" dirt, the author presents us with the nobility - the high society of Russian society. Serge is one of its typical representatives. Alexei Petrovich tells him: “... we know your history; worries about the superfluous, thoughts about the unnecessary - this is the soil on which you grew up; this soil is fantastic.” But Serge has good human and mental inclinations, but idleness and wealth destroy them in the bud. So from stagnant mud, where there is no movement of water (read: labor), healthy ears cannot grow. There can only be phlegmatic and useless like Serge, or stunted and stupid like Storeshnikov, or even marginally ugly like Jean. In order for this dirt to stop producing freaks, new, radical measures are needed - land reclamation, which will drain stagnant water (read: a revolution that will give everyone according to their work). In fairness, the author notes that there are no rules without exceptions. But the origin of the hero Rakhmetov from this environment should be considered that rare exception, which only emphasizes the general rule. In the form of "real" dirt, the author presents the bourgeois-petty-bourgeois environment. It differs from the nobility for the better in that, under the pressure of life circumstances, it is forced to work hard. A typical representative of this environment is Marya Alekseevna. This woman lives like a natural predator: who dared, he ate! “Oh, Verochka,” she says to her daughter in a fit of drunken revelation, “do you think I don’t know what new orders are written in your books? - I know: good. Only you and I will not live to see them... So we will live according to the old ones... And what is the old order? The old order is one to rob and deceive. Although N. G. Chernyshevsky does not like such people, he sympathizes with them, tries to understand. After all, they live in the jungle and according to the law of the jungle. In the chapter “Eulogy to Marya Alekseevna,” the author writes: “You brought your husband out of insignificance, acquired security for your old age - these are good things, and things were very difficult for you. Your means were bad, but your situation gave you no other means. Your means belong to your situation, and not to your person; for them, dishonor is not for you, but honor for your mind and strength of your character. This means that if the circumstances of life become favorable, people like Marya Alekseevna will be able to fit into a new life, because they know how to work. In Vera Pavlovna's allegorical dream, "real" dirt is good because water moves in it (that is, it works). When the sun's rays fall on this soil, wheat can be born from it, so white, pure and tender. In other words, thanks to the rays of enlightenment, “new” people come out of the bourgeois-philistine environment, such as Lopukhov, Kirsanov and Vera Pavlovna. It is they who will build a just life. They are the future! N. G. Chernyshevsky thought so.
Separately, I want to say about what I especially liked.
Verochka had a very hard time living in her parents' house. The mother was often cruel to her daughter, beat and humiliated her. The ignorance, rudeness and tactlessness of the mother offended Vera's human dignity. Therefore, at first the girl simply did not love her mother, and then she even hated it. Although there was a reason, but this is an unnatural feeling, it is bad when it lives in a person. Then the author taught his daughter to feel sorry for her mother, to notice how "human features are visible from under the brutal shell." And in the second dream, Verochka was presented with a cruel picture of her life with a kind mother. After that, Marya Alekseevna sums up: “... you understand, Verka, that if I were not like that, you would not be like that either. You are good - bad from me; good you - from me evil. Understand, Verka, be grateful.”
I like that the author introduced this episode into his novel. If he does not reconcile the younger generation with the past, then at least he teaches not to cut off contact with it completely. It teaches first to understand - with the mind, and then to forgive - with the heart.
Other writings on this work
"Without generous ideas, mankind cannot live." F. M. Dostoevsky. (According to one of the works of Russian literature. - N. G. Chernyshevsky. "What to do?".) "The greatest truths are the simplest" L.N. Tolstoy (Based on one of the works of Russian literature - N.G. Chernyshevsky "What to do?") "New people" in the novel by G. N. Chernyshevsky "What is to be done?" New people" in the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky "What to do? "New People" Chernyshevsky A special person Rakhmetov "Reasonable egoists" N. G. Chernyshevsky The future is bright and beautiful (based on the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky "What is to be done?") Genre and ideological originality of the novel by N. Chernyshevsky "What to do?" How does N. G. Chernyshevsky answer the question posed in the title of the novel “What is to be done?” My opinion about the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky "What is to be done?" NG Chernyshevsky "What to do?" New people (based on the novel "What is to be done?") New people in "What to do?" The image of Rakhmetov The image of Rakhmetov in the novel by N.G. Chernyshevsky "What is to be done?" From Rakhmetov to Pavel Vlasov The problem of love in the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky "What is to be done?" The problem of happiness in the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky "What to do?" Rakhmetov is the "special" hero of N. Chernyshevsky's novel What Is to Be Done? Rakhmetov among the heroes of Russian literature of the 19th century Rakhmetov and the path to a brighter future (N.G. Chernyshevsky's novel "What to do") Rakhmetov as a “special person” in the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky “What is to be done?” The role of Vera Pavlovna's dreams in revealing the author's intention The novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky "What to do" about human relations Dreams of Vera Pavlovna (based on the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky "What to do?") The theme of labor in the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky "What is to be done?" The theory of "reasonable egoism" in the novel by G. N. Chernyshevsky "What is to be done?" Philosophical views in the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky "What is to be done?" The artistic originality of the novel "What is to be done?" Artistic features and compositional originality of the novel by N. Chernyshevsky "What is to be done?" Features of utopia in the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky "What is to be done?" What does it mean to be a "special" person? (According to the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky “What is to be done?”) The era of the reign of Alexander II and the emergence of "new people", described in the novel by N. Chernyshevsky "What is to be done?" Author's answer to the question in the title The system of images in the novel "What to do" The novel "What to do?" Analysis of the evolution of literary characters on the example of the image of Rakhmetov Roman Chernyshevsky "What to do" The composition of Chernyshevsky's novel "What is to be done?" The main theme of the novel "What to do?" Creative history of the novel “What is to be done?” Vera Pavlovna and the Frenchwoman Julie in the novel What Is to Be Done? Genre and ideological originality of the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky "What to do?" A new attitude towards a woman in the novel What Is To Be Done? Novel "what to do?". The evolution of intent. Genre problem Characteristics of the image of Mertsalov Alexei Petrovich About human relations What answers does the novel “What is to be done?” give? "Real dirt". What does Chernyshevsky mean by using this term Chernyshevsky Nikolai Gavrilovich, prose writer, philosopher Features of utopia in the novel by Nikolai Chernyshevsky "What is to be done?" THE IMAGE OF RAKHMETOV IN N.G. CHERNYSHEVSKY "WHAT TO DO?" How close are the moral ideals of the "new people" to me (based on Chernyshevsky's novel What Is to Be Done?) Rakhmetov "special person", "higher nature", a person of "another breed" Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky Rakhmetov and new people in the novel "What is to be done?" What attracts me in the image of Rakhmetov The hero of the novel "What to do?" Rakhmetov Realistic novel in N. G. Chernyshevsky "What is to be done?" Kirsanov and Vera Pavlovna in the novel "What to do?" Characterization of the image of Marya Alekseevna in the novel "What is to be done?" Russian utopian socialism in Chernyshevsky's novel What Is to Be Done? The plot structure of the novel "What is to be done?" Chernyshevsky N. G. "What to do?" Is there any truth in Chernyshevsky's novel What Is to Be Done? Reflection of the humanistic idea of the author in the characters of the novel "What is to be done?" Love in the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky "What is to be done?" My remarks on the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky "What to do" Rakhmetov is the "special" hero of the novel by N.G. Chernyshevsky "What to do?" Guide to actionWrote the novel "From stories about new people" (the first chapters appeared in the March book of the Sovremennik magazine for 1863, the last ones in the May issues of the magazine).
The writer realizes in the lines of the novel a dream that was previously embodied in serious theoretical, accessible only to people well prepared for such reading. He seeks to involve the general reader in his ideas and even call them to active action. A hastily written work, with almost no hope of publication, sins with many artistic miscalculations and elementary imperfections, and yet serves as a convincing document of the era.
Before us is a political and socio-utopian novel, imbued with the spirit of controversy. The general outlines of the plot of the novel are simple: the daughter of a petty Petersburg official is freed from the heavy bonds of domestic captivity and finds happiness. However, in order to attract a wide readership to the novel, the author introduces into the narrative an imaginary suicide, the second marriage of the heroine, and the return of her ex-husband (Lopukhov) to St. Petersburg in the guise of a foreigner...
Passionately desiring to make the work popular, N. G. Chernyshevsky uses psychologically tested methods of adventure literature. On the pages novel the struggle of the “new people” with the old world unfolds. The author's dialogue with the "astute reader" helps to understand the nature of this struggle. In a frankly enthusiastic depiction of "new people" - signs of real life and a picture of the future, to which the author would like to lead all people.
The novel not only speaks about the acute issues of the era and the mistakes of people: it offers the logic of action in any, even the most critical, situations. His heroes in the novel are saved by "reasonable egoism", that is, such a system of behavior that implies a steady and at the same time reasonable adherence to the principles that they have developed for themselves. And these actions are largely determined by life attitudes, positions of a person. The “new man”, following “reasonable egoism”, cannot commit a vile, unworthy act, but in a critical situation he must be capable of a heroic accomplishment. It is these principles that the ordinary "new people" of the novel follow. Both Lopukhov's imaginary suicide and Rakhmetov's participation in criminal events are the result of following the principles of "reasonable egoism".
The old world in the novel is presented rather sparingly, since the image of the spiritual poverty of patriarchal traditions was mastered literature those years and the author was of little interest. But the novel did not seek to close itself on criticism of what existed around - it had to answer the question posed in its title: “What should the “new people” who have already appeared and who are oppressed by the old conditions do?” The “new people” depicted in the novel are able to get away from the old way of life and independently build their happiness: the author believes in them, his sympathies are on the side of these heroes. The freedom of personal relationships of "new", but "ordinary" people: Dmitry Sergeevich Lopukhov, Alexander Matveevich Kirsanov and Vera Pavlovna Rozalskaya is an ideal and a model. “I wanted to portray ordinary decent people of the new generation, people whom I met as many as hundreds ...” - writes N. G. Chernyshevsky. It is clear to us that these “whole hundreds” are the result of sincere faith writer, but hardly the result of his real observations of the surrounding reality.
Among the "new people" a special place is occupied by the heroine - Vera Pavlovna Rozalskaya, whom Lopukhov and Kirsanov save from the old world. Story about her activities, even against the background of the work of the "new people" makes an impression. Many people tried to realize her plans.
In the fourth dream of Vera Pavlovna, the author paints a utopian picture of a brighter future. The majestic contours of the socialist world order, all the technical issues of which are solved by machines, are touching and touching to the reader even today. The author assures us that the time will come and work will become easy and joyful, deserts will turn into fertile lands, rocks will be covered with gardens, and all people will become “happy handsome men and beauties leading a free life of work and pleasure.” Such is the variant of the utopia that Vera Pavlovna sees in her dream.
The "new people" in the novel exist in the time in which the author himself exists. Life on the pages of the novel is, first of all, the embodiment of the author's passionate dream of ideal human relationships. The novel as a "textbook of life" also played a practical role. Workshops similar to the one depicted in the novel arose in different cities. Russia, but it should be noted that their age was short.
So, his "new people" are honest, noble, capable of both selfless work and decisive action. But they are not the same breed that leaders come from. These people need to be led along the path they have chosen, and a person of a different caliber should lead them along this path. To do this, a “special person” appears in the novel and a special storyline associated with him. It is small in volume, but very important for understanding the novel. It is with Rakhmetov, in whom N. G. Chernyshevsky sees the “salt of the salt of the earth”, that not only the main events of the main plot, but also the idea of the work are connected.
The role of the "special person" belongs to the author himself, who appears on the pages of the novel and, without hiding, interferes in the affairs of the characters, in their thoughts and feelings. But the “special person” Rakhmetov is directly involved in the plot ... “He is more important than all of us here, taken together,” says Kirsanov. “They are few,” the author claims, “but the life of all flourishes with them; without them, she would have stalled, would have turned sour; there are few of them, but they allow people to breathe, without them people would suffocate. The mass of honest and kind people is great, but such people are few; but they are in it - theine in tea, bouquet in noble wine; from them her strength and fragrance; this is the color of the best people, these are the engines of engines, this is the salt of the salt of the earth.
Little space is given to this main image on the pages of the novel, but regardless of the reader's position, it is remembered. Rakhmetov from a noble family. In St. Petersburg, Kirsanov introduced him to the teachings of the utopian socialists and the philosophy of Feuerbach. Gifted with outstanding abilities, the young student very soon outgrows the teacher and becomes a professional revolutionary, "a knight without fear and reproach." This image, which is so sparingly depicted in the novel, played a huge role in the fate of the revolutionary movement in Russia. It was genuinely true that "in each of the outstanding Russian revolutionaries there was a huge proportion of Rakhmetovism, ”as G.V. Plekhanov argued. It is Rakhmetov who must decide: "What to do?"
In his “textbook of life”, N. G. Chernyshevsky revived a utopian picture cut off from real time, the realization of which the “new people” aspired to. And many readers of the novel What Is to Be Done? sincerely believed that they could embody the features of a beautiful future in the present. But a utopia is something that cannot be. The novel actively influenced readers, because it had the power of social appeal, there was sincerity and passion of a person devoted to his idea. But, unfortunately, there was no real path that a person could follow.
Summing up
Questions and tasks
1. What is the tragedy of the fate of N. G. Chernyshevsky?
2. Your attitude to the aesthetic theory of N. G. Chernyshevsky.
3. Tell the story of the creation and publication of the novel. "What to do?".
4. Give a general description of the "new people" in the novel by N.G. Chernyshevsky "What to do?".
5. What distinguishes the "new people" in the novel "What is to be done?" from a "special person" - Rakhmetov?
6. What is the role of dreams in the structure of N.G. Chernyshevsky? -
7. Describe the techniques by which a picture of the future is created in the fourth dream of Vera Pavlovna.
8. Evaluate "What to do?" like a utopian novel.
9. What role does the novel "What is to be done?" in the understanding of the era of its creation?
Essay topics
1. "Reasonable egoism" of the heroes of the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky "What is to be done?".
2. Female images in the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky “What is to be done?”.
3. “A special person” and his fate (based on the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky “What is to be done?”).
4. Was there a novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky “What is to be done?” textbook of life?
Topics of reports and abstracts
1. "New people" in the novels by I. S. Tyrgenev "Fathers and Sons" and N. G. Chernyshevsky "What to do?".
2. A utopian model of society on the pages of N. G. Chernyshevsky’s novel “What is to be done?”.
3. Utopia and anti-utopia as genres of fiction.
L and n shch and to about in A. P. N. G. Chernyshevsky. M., 1989.
P and n and e in M. T. N. G. Chernyshevsky: Artistic creativity. M., 1984.
Literature. 10 cells : textbook for general education. institutions / T. F. Kurdyumova, S. A. Leonov, O. E. Maryina and others; ed. T. F. Kurdyumova. M. : Bustard, 2007.
N. G. Chernyshevsky wrote his novel What Is to Be Done?, being imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. In this novel, he wrote about the "new people" who had just appeared in the country.
In the novel What Is to Be Done?, in all its figurative system, Chernyshevsky tried to present in living characters, in life situations, those standards that, as he believed, should be the main measure of public morality. In their affirmation, Chernyshevsky saw the lofty purpose of art.
Heroes "What to do?" - "special people", "new people": Lopukhov, Kirsanov, Vera Pavlovna. Their so-called rational egoism is the result of a conscious purposefulness, a conviction that an individual can be completely fine only in a rationally arranged society, among people who are also well. These rules, as we know, were adhered to in life by Chernyshevsky himself, they are followed by the "new people" - the heroes of his novel.
The "new people" do not sin and do not repent. They are always thinking and therefore they only make mistakes in calculation, and then they correct these mistakes and avoid them in subsequent calculations. In the "new people" goodness and truth, honesty and knowledge, character and intelligence turn out to be identical concepts; the smarter a person is, the more honest he is, because he makes fewer mistakes. "New people" never demand anything from others, they themselves need complete freedom of feelings, thoughts and actions, and therefore they deeply respect this freedom in others. They accept from each other what is given - I do not say voluntarily, this is not enough, but with joy, with full and lively enjoyment.
Lopukhov, Kirsanov and Vera Pavlovna, appearing in the novel What Is to Be Done? the main representatives of people of a new type, do not do anything that would exceed ordinary human capabilities. They are ordinary people, and the author himself recognizes them as such people; this circumstance is extremely important, and it gives the whole novel a particularly deep meaning. Describing Lopukhov, Kirsanov and Vera Pavlov, well, the author claims: this is how ordinary people can be, and this is how they should be if they want to find a lot of happiness and pleasure in life. Wishing
to prove to readers that they are really ordinary people, the author brings to the stage the titanic figure of Rakhmetov, whom he himself recognizes as extraordinary and calls him "special". Rakhmetov does not participate in the action of the novel, and he has nothing to do in it. People like him are needed only when and where they can be historical figures. Neither science nor family happiness satisfies them. They love all people, they suffer from every injustice that occurs, they experience in their own souls the great grief of millions and give everything they can to heal this grief. Chernyshevsky's attempt to introduce a special person to readers can be called successful. Before him, Turgenev undertook this business, but completely unsuccessfully.
Chernyshevsky's "new people" are the children of city officials and philistines. They work, are engaged in natural sciences and early began to make their way in life. Therefore, they understand the people of labor and go on the path of transforming life. They are engaged in a business that is necessary for the people, refusing all the benefits that private practice could give them. Before us is a whole group of like-minded people. The basis of their activities is propaganda. Kirsanov's student circle is one of the most effective. Young revolutionaries are brought up here, the personality of a “special person”, a professional revolutionary, is formed here.
Chernyshevsky also touches upon the problem of the emancipation of women. Escaping from her parents' house, Vera Pavlovna also frees other women. She creates a workshop where she helps poor girls find their place in life. Chernyshevsky thus wants to show what needs to be transferred from the future to the present. These are new labor relations, and fair wages, and the combination of mental and physical labor.
Thus, Russian literature as a mirror reflected the emergence of "new people", new trends in the development of society. At the same time, literary heroes have become models for worship, for imitation. And the social literary utopia “What is to be done?” in the part that talks about the fair organization of labor and remuneration for work, has become a guiding star for several generations of Russian revolutionaries.
His novel "What to do?" the famous Russian writer Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky created during the period when he was imprisoned in one of the cells of the Peter and Paul Fortress. The time of writing the novel is from December 14, 1862 to April 4, 1863, that is, the work, which became a masterpiece of Russian literature, was created in just three and a half months. Starting from January 1863 and until the moment of the author's final stay in custody, he handed over the manuscript in parts to the commission that dealt with the writer's case. Here the work was censored, which was approved. Soon the novel was published in the 3rd, as well as 4th and 5th issues of the Sovremennik magazine for 1863. For such an oversight, the censor Beketov lost his position. This was followed by bans on all three issues of the magazine. However, it was already too late. Chernyshevsky's work was distributed throughout the country with the help of "samizdat".
And only in 1905, during the reign of Emperor Nicholas II, the ban was lifted. Already in 1906, the book "What to do?" published in a separate edition.
Who are the new heroes?
The reaction to Chernyshevsky's work was mixed. Readers, based on their opinion, were divided into two opposing camps. Some of them believed that the novel is devoid of artistry. The latter fully supported the author.
However, it is worth remembering that before Chernyshevsky, writers created images of “superfluous people”. A striking example of such heroes are Pechorin, Oblomov and Onegin, who, despite their differences, are similar in their "smart uselessness". These people, "pygmies of deed and titans of words", were bifurcated natures, suffering from a constant discord between will and consciousness, deed and thought. In addition, their characteristic feature was moral exhaustion.
This is not how Chernyshevsky presents his heroes. He created images of "new people" who know what they need to desire, and are also able to carry out their own plans. Their thought goes along with the deed. Their consciousness and will are not at odds with each other. Heroes of Chernyshevsky's novel "What to do?" presented as bearers of new morality and creators of new interpersonal relations. They deserve the main attention of the author. No wonder even a summary of the chapters of "What to do?" allows us to see that by the end of the second of them, the author "lets go of the stage" such representatives of the old world - Marya Alekseevna, Storeshnikova, Serge, Julie and some others.
The main problem of the essay
Even the very brief content of “What to do?” gives an idea of the issues that the author raises in his book. And they are the following:
- The need for a socio-political renewal of society, which is possible through a revolution. Due to censorship, Chernyshevsky did not expand on this topic in more detail. He gave it in the form of half-hints when describing the life of one of the main characters - Rakhmetov, as well as in the 6th chapter.
- Psychological and moral problems. Chernyshevsky argues that a person, using the power of his mind, is able to create in himself new moral qualities set by him. At the same time, the author develops this process, describing it from the smallest, in the form of a struggle against despotism in the family, to the most ambitious, which found expression in the revolution.
- Problems of family morality and women's emancipation. The author reveals this topic in the first three dreams of Vera, in the history of her family, as well as in the relations of young people and the imaginary suicide of Lopukhov.
- Dreams of a bright and beautiful life that will come with the creation of a socialist society in the future. Chernyshevsky illuminates this topic thanks to the fourth dream of Vera Pavlovna. The reader sees here also the facilitated work, which became possible thanks to the development of technical means.
The main pathos of the novel is the propaganda of the idea of transforming the world by making a revolution, as well as its expectation and preparation of the best minds for this event. At the same time, the idea is expressed of active participation in the upcoming events.
What was Chernyshevsky's main goal? He dreamed of developing and implementing the latest methodology that would allow for the revolutionary education of the masses. His work was supposed to be a kind of textbook, with the help of which every thinking person would begin to form a new worldview.
The entire content of the novel "What to do?" Chernyshevsky is divided into six chapters. Moreover, each of them, except for the last one, is further subdivided into small chapters. In order to emphasize the particular importance of the final events, the author speaks of them separately. To do this, in the content of the novel "What to do?" Chernyshevsky included a one-page chapter titled "Change of scenery".
The beginning of the story
Consider the summary of Chernyshevsky's novel "What is to be done?". Its plot begins with a found note, which was left in one of the rooms of the hotel in St. Petersburg by a strange guest. It happened in 1823, on July 11. The note says that soon its author will be heard on one of the bridges of St. Petersburg - Liteiny. At the same time, the man asked not to look for the guilty. The incident happened the same night. A man shot himself on Liteiny Bridge. The perforated cap that belonged to him was fished out of the water.
The following is a summary of the novel "What to do?" introduces us to a young lady. On the morning when the event described above happened, she is in a dacha located on Kamenny Island. The lady is sewing, singing a bold and lively French ditty, which speaks of a working people whose liberation will require a change of consciousness. This woman's name is Vera Pavlovna. At this moment, the maid brings the lady a letter, after reading which she begins to sob, covering her face with her hands. The young man who entered the room makes attempts to calm her down. However, the woman is inconsolable. She pushes the young man away. At the same time, she says: “His blood is on you! You are in the blood! I'm the only one to blame..."
What was said in the letter that Vera Pavlovna received? We can learn about this from the presented brief content "What to do?". In his message, the writer indicated that he was leaving the stage.
The appearance of Lopukhov
What further do we learn from the summary of Chernyshevsky's novel What Is to Be Done? After the events described, a story follows, telling about Vera Pavlovna, about her life, as well as about the reasons that led to such a sad outcome.
The author says that his heroine was born in St. Petersburg. This is where she grew up. The lady's father - Pavel Konstantinovich Vozalsky - was the manager of the house. The mother was engaged in the fact that she gave money on bail. The main goal of Marya Alekseevna (mother of Vera Pavlovna) was the profitable marriage of her daughter. And she did her best to resolve this issue. The evil and narrow-minded Marya Alekseevna invites a music teacher to her daughter. Buys Vera beautiful clothes, goes to the theater with her. Soon, the son of the owner, officer Storeshnikov, pays attention to the swarthy beautiful girl. The young man decides to seduce Vera.
Marya Alekseevna hopes to force Storeshnikov to marry her daughter. To do this, she requires Faith to favor the young man. However, the girl perfectly understands the true intentions of her boyfriend and in every possible way refuses signs of attention. Somehow she even manages to mislead her mother. She pretends to be supportive of the womanizer. But sooner or later the deception will be revealed. This makes the position of Vera Pavlovna in the house simply unbearable. However, everything suddenly resolved, and at the same time in the most unexpected way.
Dmitry Sergeevich Lopukhov appeared in the house. This graduate medical student was invited by Vera's parents to join her brother Fedya as a teacher. At first, young people were very wary of each other. However, then their communication began to flow in conversations about music and books, as well as about a fair direction of thought.
Time has passed. Vera and Dmitry felt sympathy for each other. Lopukhov learns about the plight of the girl and makes attempts to help her. He is looking for a governess job for Verochka. Such work would allow the girl to live separately from her parents.
However, all Lopukhov's efforts were unsuccessful. He could not find such owners who would agree to take in a girl who had run away from home. Then the young man in love takes another step. He leaves his studies and starts translating a textbook and private lessons. This allows him to start getting sufficient funds. At the same time, Dmitry makes an offer to Vera.
First dream
Vera has her first dream. In it, she sees herself emerging from a dark and damp basement and meeting an amazing beauty who calls herself love for people. Vera talks to her and promises to let girls out of such basements who are locked in them, as she was locked.
family well-being
Young people live in a rented apartment, and everything is going well for them. However, the landlady notices oddities in their relationship. Verochka and Dmitry only call each other "darling" and "darling", they sleep in separate rooms, entering them only after knocking, etc. All this is surprising to an outsider. Vera tries to explain to the woman that this is a completely normal relationship between spouses. After all, this is the only way to not get bored with each other.
The young wife runs the household, gives private lessons, reads books. Soon she opens her own sewing workshop, in which the girls are self-employed, but receive part of the income as co-owners.
Second dream
What else do we learn from the summary of Chernyshevsky's novel What Is to Be Done? In the course of the plot, the author introduces us to the second dream of Vera Pavlovna. In it, she sees a field with ears of corn growing on it. There is also dirt here. And one of them is fantastic, and the second is real.
Real dirt means taking care of what is most needed in life. It was precisely this that Marya Alekseevna was constantly burdened with. On this, ears can be grown. Fantastic dirt is a concern for the unnecessary and superfluous. On such soil, ears of corn will never grow.
The emergence of a new hero
The author shows Kirsanov as a strong-willed and courageous person, capable not only of a decisive act, but also of subtle feelings. Alexander spends time with Vera when Dmitry is busy. Together with his friend's wife, he goes to the opera. However, soon, without explaining any reasons, Kirsanov stops coming to the Lopukhovs, which greatly offends them. What was the real reason for this? Kirsanov's falling in love with a friend's wife.
The young man reappeared in the house when Dmitry fell ill to cure him and help Vera with care. And here the woman realizes that she is in love with Alexander, which is why she is completely confused.
third dream
From the summary of the work "What to do?" we learn that Vera Pavlovna is having a third dream. In it, she reads the pages of her diary with the help of some unknown woman. From it, she learns that she feels only gratitude for her husband. However, at the same time, Vera needs a gentle and quiet feeling, which she does not have for Dmitry.
Solution
The situation in which three decent and intelligent people found themselves, at first glance, seems insoluble. But Lopukhov finds a way out. He shoots himself on the Liteiny Bridge. On the day that Vera Pavlovna received this news, Rakhmetov came to see her. This old acquaintance of Lopukhov and Kirsanov, who is called "a special person."
Acquaintance with Rakhmetov
In the summary of the novel “What to do”, the “special person” Rakhmetov is presented by the author as a “higher nature”, which Kirsanov helped to awaken in his time by familiarizing himself with the necessary books. The young man comes from a wealthy family. He sold his estate, and distributed the money he received for it to fellows. Now Rakhmetov adheres to a harsh lifestyle. In part, he was prompted by the reluctance to possess what the common man does not have. In addition, Rakhmetov set as his goal the education of his own character. For example, to test his physical abilities, he decides to sleep on nails. In addition, he does not drink wine and does not make acquaintances with women. In order to get closer to the people, Rakhmetov even walked with barge haulers along the Volga.
What else is said about this hero in Chernyshevsky's novel What Is to Be Done? The summary makes it clear that Rakhmetov's whole life consists of sacraments that are clearly revolutionary. A young man has many things to do, but they are not all personal. He travels around Europe, but at the same time in three years he is going to Russia, where he will certainly need to be.
It was Rakhmetov who came to Vera Pavlovna after receiving a note from Lopukhov. After his persuasion, she calmed down and even became cheerful. Rakhmetov explains that Vera Pavlovna and Lopukhov had very different personalities. That is why the woman reached out to Kirsanov. Soon Vera Pavlovna left for Novgorod. There she married Kirsanov.
The dissimilarity between the characters of Verochka and Lopukhov is also mentioned in a letter that soon arrived from Berlin. In this message, a medical student who allegedly knew Lopukhov well conveyed Dmitry's words that he began to feel much better after the separation of the spouses, as he always sought solitude. Namely, the sociable Vera Pavlovna did not allow him to do this.
The life of the Kirsanovs
What does the novel What to Do next tell its reader about? Nikolai Chernyshevsky? The summary of the work makes it possible to understand that the love affairs of the young couple settled well to the common pleasure. The lifestyle of the Kirsanovs is not much different from that of the Lopukhov family.
Alexander works hard. As for Vera Pavlovna, she takes baths, eats cream and is already engaged in two sewing workshops. The house, as before, has neutral and common rooms. However, the woman notices that her new husband does not just allow her to lead a lifestyle she likes. He is interested in her affairs and is ready to help in difficult times. In addition, the husband perfectly understands her desire to master some urgent occupation and begins to help her in the study of medicine.
fourth dream
Getting acquainted briefly with Chernyshevsky's novel What Is to Be Done?, we proceed to continue the plot. It tells us about the fourth dream of Vera Pavlovna, in which she sees amazing nature and pictures from the life of women of various millennia.
At first, the image of a slave appears before her. This woman obeys her master. After that, in a dream, Vera sees the Athenians. They begin to bow to the woman, but at the same time they do not recognize her as their equal. Then the following image appears. This is a beautiful lady, for whom the knight is ready to fight in the tournament. However, his love immediately passes after the lady becomes his wife. Then, instead of the face of the goddess, Vera Pavlovna sees her own. It does not differ in perfect features, but at the same time it is illuminated by the radiance of love. And here comes the woman who was in the first dream. She explains to Vera the meaning of equality and shows pictures of the citizens of the future Russia. They all live in a house built of crystal, cast iron and aluminium. In the morning these people work, and in the evening they begin to have fun. The woman explains that this future must be loved and should be strived for.
Completion of the story
How does the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky “What is to be done?” End with. The author tells his reader that guests often come to the Kirsanovs' house. The Beaumont family soon appears among them. When meeting with Charles Beaumont, Kirsanov recognizes him as Lopukhov. The two families become so close to each other that they decide to continue living in the same house.
