Often referred to as a mystery writer, Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov, extravagant and inaccessible to many contemporaries, went to his zenith for almost twelve years. "Oblomov" was printed in parts, crumpled, added and changed "slowly and heavily," as the author wrote, whose creative hand, however, approached the creation of the novel responsibly and scrupulously. The novel was published in 1859 in the St. Petersburg journal Otechestvennye Zapiski and was met with obvious interest from both literary and philistine circles.
The history of writing the novel prancing in parallel with the tarantass of the events of that time, namely with the Gloomy Seven Years of 1848-1855, when not only Russian literature, but the entire Russian society was silent. It was an era of increased censorship, which was the reaction of the authorities to the activity of the liberal-minded intelligentsia. A wave of democratic upheavals took place across Europe, so politicians in Russia decided to secure the regime with repressive measures against the press. There was no news, and writers were faced with the caustic and helpless problem of having nothing to write about. What, perhaps, they wanted, the censors ruthlessly pulled out. It is this situation that is the result of that hypnosis and that lethargy with which the whole work is shrouded, as if by Oblomov's favorite dressing gown. The best people of the country in such a suffocating atmosphere felt unnecessary, and the values encouraged from above felt petty and unworthy of a nobleman.
“I wrote my life and what grew to it,” Goncharov briefly commented on the history of the novel after finishing touches on his creation. These words are an honest recognition and confirmation of the autobiographical nature of the greatest collection of eternal questions and answers to them.
Composition
The composition of the novel is circular. Four parts, four seasons, four states of Oblomov, four stages in the life of each of us. The action in the book is a cycle: sleep turns into awakening, awakening into sleep.
- Exposure. In the first part of the novel, there is almost no action, except perhaps only in Oblomov's head. Ilya Ilyich lies, he receives visitors, he shouts at Zakhar, and Zakhar shouts at him. Characters of different colors appear here, but basically they are all the same ... Like Volkov, for example, to whom the hero sympathizes and rejoices for himself that he does not fragment and does not crumble into ten places in one day, does not loom around, but retains his human dignity in his chambers . The next “out of the cold”, Sudbinsky, Ilya Ilyich also sincerely regrets and concludes that his unfortunate friend is bogged down in the service, and that now much will not move in him for a century ... There was a journalist Penkin, and colorless Alekseev, and heavy-browed Tarantiev, and all he was equally sorry, sympathized with everyone, retorted with everyone, recited ideas and thought ... An important part is the chapter "Oblomov's Dream", in which the root of "Oblomovism" is exposed. The composition is equal to the idea: Goncharov describes and shows the reasons for the formation of laziness, apathy, infantilism, and in the end, a dead soul. It is the first part that is the exposition of the novel, since here the reader is presented with all the conditions in which the personality of the hero was formed.
- Tie. The first part is also the starting point for the subsequent degradation of the personality of Ilya Ilyich, because even the leaps of passion for Olga and devoted love for Stolz in the second part of the novel do not make the hero a better person, but only gradually squeeze Oblomov out of Oblomov. Here the hero meets Ilyinskaya, which in the third part develops into a climax.
- Climax. The third part, first of all, is fateful and significant for the protagonist himself, since here all his dreams suddenly become real: he performs feats, he makes a marriage proposal to Olga, he decides to love without fear, he decides to take risks, to duel with himself... Only people like Oblomov don't wear holsters, don't swordsman, don't sweat during battle, they doze off and only imagine how heroically beautiful it is. Oblomov can’t do everything - he cannot fulfill Olga’s request and go to his village, since this village is a fiction. The hero breaks up with the woman of his dreams, choosing to preserve his own way of life, rather than striving for the best and eternal struggle with himself. At the same time, his financial affairs are hopelessly deteriorating, and he is forced to leave a comfortable apartment and prefer a budget option.
- Interchange. The fourth and final part, "Vyborg Oblomovism", consists of marriage to Agafya Pshenitsyna and the subsequent death of the protagonist. It is also possible that it was marriage that contributed to Oblomov’s stupefaction and imminent death, because, as he himself put it: “There are such donkeys that get married!”.
- There is only one main storyline here and it is love, romantic ... The relationship between Olga Ilyinskaya and her main beau is shown in a new, bold, passionate, psychologically detailed way. That is why the novel claims to be a love story, being a kind of model and manual for building relationships between a man and a woman.
- The secondary storyline is based on the principle of opposing two destinies: Oblomov and Stolz, and the intersection of these very destinies at the point of love for one passion. But in this case, Olga is not a turning point, no, the look falls only on strong male friendship, on a pat on the back, on wide smiles and on mutual envy (I want to live the way the other lives).
It can be summarized that the plot itself is extremely simple, despite the fact that it is stretched over six hundred pages. A lazy, kind middle-aged man (Oblomov) is deceived by his vulture friends (by the way, they are vultures each in their own area), but a kind loving friend (Stolz) comes to the rescue, who saves him, but takes away the object of his love (Olga), and therefore and the main nourishment of his rich spiritual life.
Features of the composition lie in parallel storylines at different levels of perception.
What is the novel about?
This novel is, first of all, about a vice of social significance. Often the reader can notice the similarity of Oblomov not only with his creator, but also with the majority of people who live and have ever lived. Which of the readers, as they got closer to Oblomov, did not recognize themselves lying on the sofa and reflecting on the meaning of life, on the futility of being, on the power of love, on happiness? Which reader has not crushed his heart with the question: “To be or not to be?”?
Ultimately, the writer's property is such that, trying to expose another human flaw, he falls in love with it in the process and gives the reader a flaw with such an appetizing aroma that the reader eagerly wants to feast on it. After all, Oblomov is lazy, untidy, infantile, but the public loves him only because the hero has a soul and is not ashamed to reveal this soul to us. “Do you think that a thought does not need a heart? No, it is fertilized by love" - this is one of the most important postulates of the work, laying the essence of the novel "Oblomov".
The sofa itself and Oblomov, lying on it, keep the world in balance. His philosophy, promiscuity, confusion, throwing run the lever of movement and the axis of the globe. In the novel, in this case, not only the justification of inaction takes place, but also the desecration of action. The vanity of the vanities of Tarantiev or Sudbinsky does not bring any sense, Stolz is successfully making a career, but what one is unknown ... Goncharov dares to slightly ridicule work, that is, work in the service, to which he hated, which, therefore, was not surprising to notice in the character of the protagonist . “But how upset he was when he saw that there must be at least an earthquake in order not to come to the service of a healthy official, and earthquakes, as a sin, do not happen in St. Petersburg; a flood, of course, could also serve as a barrier, but even that rarely happens. - the writer conveys all the senselessness of state activity, which Oblomov thought about and waved his hand in the end, referring to Hypertrophia cordis cum dilatatione ejus ventriculi sinistri. So what is Oblomov talking about? This is a novel about the fact that if you are lying on the couch, you are probably more right than those who walk somewhere or sit somewhere every day. Oblomovism is a diagnosis of humanity, where any activity can lead either to the loss of one's own soul, or to the stupid crumbling of time.
Main characters and their characteristics
It should be noted that the surnames of the speakers are typical for the novel. For example, they are worn by all minor characters. Tarantiev comes from the word "tarantula", journalist Penkin - from the word "foam", which hints at the surface and cheapness of his occupation. With their help, the author completes the description of the characters: the name of Stolz is translated from German as “proud”, Olga is Ilyinskaya because it belongs to Ilya, and Pshenitsyna is a hint at the vileness of her petty-bourgeois lifestyle. However, all this, in fact, does not fully characterize the heroes, this is done by Goncharov himself, describing the actions and thoughts of each of them, revealing their potential or lack thereof.
- Oblomov- the main character, which is not surprising, but the hero is not the only one. It is through the prism of the life of Ilya Ilyich that a different life is visible, only here, what is interesting, Oblomovskaya seems to readers more entertaining and original, despite the fact that he does not have the characteristics of a leader and is even unsympathetic. Oblomov, a lazy and overweight middle-aged man, can confidently become the face of melancholy, depression and melancholy propaganda, but this man is so unhypocritical and pure in soul that his gloomy and stale flair is almost invisible. He is kind, subtle in love matters, sincere with people. He asks himself: “When will we live?” - and does not live, but only dreams and waits for the right moment for the utopian life that comes into his dreams and slumbers. He also asks the great Hamlet question: “To be or not to be,” when he decides to get up from the sofa or confess his feelings to Olga. He, just like Cervantes' Don Quixote, wants to accomplish a feat, but does not, and therefore blames his Sancho Panza - Zakhar for this. Oblomov is naive, like a child, and so sweet to the reader that an overwhelming feeling arises to protect Ilya Ilyich and quickly send him to an ideal village, where he can, holding his wife by the waist, walk with her and look at the cook in the process of cooking. We have discussed this in detail in our essay.
- The opposite of Oblomov is Stolz. The person from whom the narration and the story of "Oblomovism" is conducted. He is German by father and Russian by mother, therefore a man who has inherited the virtues of both cultures. Andrei Ivanovich from childhood read both Herder and Krylov, he was well versed in "hard-working money-making, vulgar order and boring correctness of life." For Stolz, the philosophic nature of Oblomov is equal to antiquity and the past fashion for thought. He travels, works, builds, reads avidly and envies the free soul of a friend, because he himself does not dare to claim a free soul, or maybe he is simply afraid. We have discussed this in detail in our essay.
- The turning point in Oblomov's life can be called in one name - Olga Ilyinskaya. She is interesting, she is special, she is smart, she is educated, she sings amazingly and she falls in love with Oblomov. Unfortunately, her love is like a list of certain tasks, and the beloved for her is nothing more than a project. Having learned from Stolz the peculiarities of thinking of her future betrothed, the girl is eager to make a “man” out of Oblomov and considers his boundless and quivering love for her to be her leash. In part, Olga is cruel, proud and dependent on public opinion, but to say that her love is not real means to spit on all the ups and downs in gender relations, no, rather, her love is special, but genuine. also became a topic for our essay.
- Agafya Pshenitsyna is a 30-year-old woman, the mistress of the house where Oblomov moved. The heroine is an economic, simple and kind person who found in Ilya Ilyich the love of her life, but did not seek to change him. It is characterized by silence, calmness, a certain limited outlook. Agafya does not think about something high, beyond the scope of everyday life, but she is caring, hardworking and capable of self-sacrifice for the sake of her beloved. More detailed in the essay.
Subject
Dmitry Bykov says:
Heroes of Goncharov do not shoot duels, like Onegin, Pechorin or Bazarov, do not participate, like Prince Bolkonsky, in historical battles and writing Russian laws, do not commit crimes and transgression over the commandment "Thou shalt not kill" as in Dostoevsky's novels. Everything they do fits into the framework of everyday life, but this is only one facet
Indeed, one facet of Russian life cannot encompass the whole novel: the novel is divided into social relations, friendships, and love relationships ... It is the latter theme that is the main one and is highly appreciated by critics.
- Love Theme embodied in Oblomov's relationship with two women: Olga and Agafya. So Goncharov depicts several varieties of the same feeling. Ilyinskaya's emotions are saturated with narcissism: in them she sees herself, and only then her chosen one, although she loves him with all her heart. However, she values her brainchild, her project, that is, the non-existent Oblomov. Ilya's relationship with Agafya is different: the woman fully supported his desire for peace and laziness, idolized him and lived by taking care of him and their son Andryusha. The tenant gave her a new life, a family, a long-awaited happiness. Her love is adoration to the point of blindness, because indulging her husband's whims led him to an early death. The main theme of the work is described in more detail in the essay "".
- Friendship Theme. Stolz and Oblomov, although they survived falling in love with the same woman, did not unleash a conflict and did not betray friendship. They always complemented each other, talked about the most important and intimate in the lives of both. This relationship has been ingrained in their hearts since childhood. The boys were different, but got along well with each other. Andrei found peace and good-heartedness visiting a friend, and Ilya gladly accepted his help in everyday affairs. You can read more about this in the essay "Friendship of Oblomov and Stolz".
- Finding the meaning of life. All heroes are looking for their own way, looking for the answer to the eternal question about the destiny of man. Ilya found it in reflection and finding spiritual harmony, in dreams and the very process of existence. Stolz found himself in the eternal movement forward. Detailed in the essay.
Problems
The main problem of Oblomov is the lack of motivation to move. The whole society of that time really wants, but cannot wake up and get out of that terrible depressing state. Many people have become and are still becoming Oblomov victims. A living hell is to live life as a dead man and not see any purpose. It was this human pain that Goncharov wanted to show, resorting to the concept of conflict for help: here there is a conflict between a person and society, and between a man and a woman, and between friendship and love, and between loneliness and an idle life in society, and between labor and hedonism and between walking and lying down and so on and so forth.
- The problem of love. This feeling can change a person for the better, this transformation is not an end in itself. For Goncharov's heroine, this was not obvious, and she put all the strength of her love into the re-education of Ilya Ilyich, not seeing how painful it was for him. Remaking her lover, Olga did not notice that she was squeezing out of him not only bad character traits, but also good ones. In fear of losing himself, Oblomov could not save his beloved girl. He faced the problem of a moral choice: either remain himself, but alone, or play another person all his life, but for the good of his wife. He chose his individuality, and in this decision you can see selfishness or honesty - to each his own.
- Friendship issue. Stolz and Oblomov passed the test of one love for two, but could not snatch a single minute from family life to maintain camaraderie. Time (and not a quarrel) separated them, the routine of days tore the former strong friendly ties. From separation, they both lost: Ilya Ilyich finally launched himself, and his friend was mired in petty worries and troubles.
- The problem of education. Ilya Ilyich became a victim of a sleepy atmosphere in Oblomovka, where servants did everything for him. The boy's vivacity was dulled by endless feasts and slumbers, the dull stupor of the wilderness left its mark on his addictions. becomes clearer in the episode "Oblomov's Dream", which we analyzed in a separate article.
Idea
Goncharov's task is to show and tell what "Oblomovism" is, opening its wings and pointing out both its positive and negative sides and enabling the reader to choose and decide what is paramount for him - Oblomovism or real life with with all its injustice, materiality and activity. The main idea in the novel "Oblomov" is a description of the global phenomenon of modern life, which has become part of the Russian mentality. Now the name of Ilya Ilyich has become a household name and denotes not so much a quality as a whole portrait of the person in question.
Since no one forced the nobles to work, and the serfs did everything for them, phenomenal laziness flourished in Rus', engulfing the upper class. The backbone of the country was rotten from idleness, in no way contributing to its development. This phenomenon could not but arouse concern among the creative intelligentsia, therefore, in the image of Ilya Ilyich, we see not only a rich inner world, but also inaction that is disastrous for Russia. However, the meaning of the kingdom of laziness in the novel "Oblomov" has a political connotation. No wonder we mentioned that the book was written during a period of stricter censorship. It has a hidden, but, nevertheless, the main idea that the authoritarian regime of government is to blame for this general idleness. In it, a person does not find any use for himself, stumbling only on restrictions and fear of punishment. The absurdity of subservience reigns around, people do not serve, but are served, therefore a self-respecting hero ignores the vicious system and, as a sign of silent protest, does not play an official who still does not decide anything and cannot change. The country under the gendarmerie's boot is doomed to regress, both at the level of the state machine, and at the level of spirituality and morality.
How did the novel end?
The life of the hero was cut short by obesity of the heart. He lost Olga, he lost himself, he even lost his talent - the ability to think. Living with Pshenitsyna did not do him any good: he was mired in a kulebyak, in a tripe pie, which swallowed and sucked poor Ilya Ilyich. Fat ate his soul. His soul was eaten by Pshenitsyna's repaired dressing gown, the sofa, from which he swiftly slid down into the abyss of innards, into the abyss of offal. This is the finale of the novel Oblomov - a gloomy, uncompromising verdict on Oblomovism.
What does it teach?
The novel is cheeky. Oblomov holds the reader's attention and places this very attention on the whole part of the novel in a dusty room where the main character does not get out of bed and shouts: "Zakhar, Zakhar!". Well, isn't that nonsense?! And the reader doesn’t leave… and can even lie down next to him, and even wrap himself in an “oriental robe, without the slightest hint of Europe”, and not even decide anything about the “two misfortunes”, but think about them all… Goncharov’s psychedelic novel loves to lull reader and pushes him to fend off the fine line between reality and dream.
Oblomov is not just a character, it is a lifestyle, it is a culture, it is any contemporary, it is every third inhabitant of Russia, every third inhabitant of the whole world.
Goncharov wrote a novel about the universal worldly laziness to live in order to overcome it himself and help people cope with this disease, but it turned out that he justified this laziness only because he lovingly described every step, every weighty idea of the bearer of this laziness. It is not surprising, because Oblomov's "crystal soul" still lives in the memories of his friend Stolz, his beloved Olga, his wife Pshenitsyna, and, finally, in the tearful eyes of Zakhar, who continues to go to the grave of his master. Thus, Goncharov's conclusion- to find the golden mean between the "crystal world" and the real world, finding a calling in creativity, love, development.
Criticism
Readers of the 21st century rarely read a novel, and if they do, they do not read it to the end. It is easy for some fans of Russian classics to agree that the novel is somewhat boring, but boring on purpose, forcing. However, this does not frighten reviewers, and many critics were happy to disassemble and still analyze the novel by psychological bones.
One popular example is the work of Nikolai Alexandrovich Dobrolyubov. In his article “What is Oblomovism?” the critic gave an excellent description of each of the characters. The reviewer sees the reasons for laziness and inability to arrange Oblomov's life in education and in the initial conditions where the personality was formed, or rather was not.
He writes that Oblomov is “not a stupid, apathetic nature, without aspirations and feelings, but a person who is also looking for something in his life, thinking about something. But the vile habit of getting the satisfaction of his desires not from his own efforts, but from others, developed in him an apathetic immobility and plunged him into a miserable state of moral slavery.
Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinsky saw the origins of apathy in the influence of the whole society, since he believed that a person was originally a blank canvas created by nature, therefore, some development or degradation of this or that person is on the scales that belong directly to society.
Dmitry Ivanovich Pisarev, for example, looked at the word "Oblomovism" as an eternal and necessary organ for the body of literature. "Oblomovism" according to him is a vice of Russian life.
The sleepy, routine atmosphere of a rural, provincial life added to what the labors of parents and nannies did not have time to do. The greenhouse plant, which in childhood had not become acquainted not only with the excitement of real life, but even with childish sorrows and joys, smelled of a stream of fresh, lively air. Ilya Ilyich began to study and developed so much that he understood what life is, what the duties of a person are. He understood this intellectually, but could not sympathize with the accepted ideas about duty, about work and activity. The fatal question: why live and work? - the question that usually arises after numerous disappointments and deceived hopes, directly, by itself, without any preparation, presented itself in all its clarity to the mind of Ilya Ilyich, - the critic wrote in his well-known article.
Alexander Vasilievich Druzhinin looked at Oblomovism and its main representative in more detail. The critic singled out 2 main aspects of the novel - external and internal. One lies in the life and practice of the daily routine, while the other occupies the area of the heart and head of any person, which does not cease to collect crowds of destructive thoughts and feelings about the rationality of the existing reality. If you believe the critics, then Oblomov became dead because he preferred to die, and not live in eternal incomprehensible fuss, betrayal, self-interest, monetary imprisonment and absolute indifference to beauty. However, Druzhinin did not consider "Oblomovism" an indicator of attenuation or decay, he saw sincerity and conscience in it, and believed that Goncharov himself was responsible for this positive assessment of "Oblomovism".
Interesting? Save it on your wall!Goncharov's novel "Oblomov" is a landmark work of literature of the 19th century, affecting both acute social and many philosophical problems, while remaining relevant and interesting to the modern reader. The ideological meaning of the novel "Oblomov" is based on the opposition of an active, new social and personal principle with an outdated, passive and degrading one. In the work, the author reveals these beginnings at several existential levels, therefore, in order to fully understand the meaning of the work, a detailed consideration of each of them is required.
The public meaning of the novel
In the novel "Oblomov" Goncharov first introduced the concept of "Oblomovism" as a generalized name for outdated patriarchal-landlord foundations, personal degradation, and life stagnation of a whole social layer of Russian philistinism, unwilling to accept new social trends and norms. The author considered this phenomenon on the example of the protagonist of the novel, Oblomov, whose childhood was spent in distant Oblomovka, where everyone lived quietly, lazily, taking little interest in anything and almost not caring about anything. The hero's native village becomes the embodiment of the ideals of the Russian old bourgeois society - a kind of hedonistic idyll, a "preserved paradise" where one does not need to study, work or develop.
Depicting Oblomov as a "superfluous person", Goncharov, in contrast to Griboedov and Pushkin, in which characters of this type were ahead of society, introduces into the narrative a hero who lags behind society, living in the distant past. An active, active, educated environment oppresses Oblomov - the ideals of Stolz with his work for the sake of work are alien to him, even his beloved Olga is ahead of Ilya Ilyich, approaching everything from a practical side. Stolz, Olga, Tarantiev, Mukhoyarov, and other acquaintances of Oblomov are representatives of a new, "urban" type of personality. They are more practitioners than theoreticians, they do not dream, but do, create something new - someone works honestly, someone deceives.
Goncharov condemns "Oblomovism" with its attraction to the past, laziness, apathy and the complete spiritual withering away of the individual, when a person essentially becomes a "plant" lying on the couch around the clock. However, Goncharov also portrays the images of modern, new people as ambiguous - they do not have the peace of mind and inner poetry that Oblomov had (remember that Stolz only found this peace while relaxing with a friend, and already married Olga is sad for something distant and is afraid to dream justifying himself to her husband).
At the end of the work, Goncharov does not make a definite conclusion who is right - the practitioner Stolz or the dreamer Oblomov. However, the reader understands that it was precisely because of the “Oblomovism”, as a phenomenon of a sharply negative and long-obsolete itself, that Ilya Ilyich “disappeared”. That is why the social meaning of Goncharov's novel "Oblomov" is the need for constant development and movement - both in continuous construction and creation of the surrounding world, and work on the development of one's own personality.
The meaning of the title of the work
The meaning of the title of the novel "Oblomov" is closely related to the main theme of the work - it was named after the name of the protagonist Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, and is also associated with the social phenomenon described in the novel "Oblomovism". The etymology of the name is interpreted by researchers in different ways. So, the most common version is that the word “oblomov” comes from the words “fragment”, “break off”, “break”, denoting the state of mental and social breakdown of the landlord nobility, when it was in a borderline state between the desire to preserve old traditions and foundations and the need to change according to the requirements of the era, from a person-creator to become a person-practitioner.
In addition, there is a version about the connection of the title with the Old Slavonic root "oblo" - "round", which corresponds to the description of the hero - his "round" appearance and his quiet, calm character "without sharp corners". However, regardless of the interpretation of the title of the work, it points to the central storyline of the novel - the life of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov.
The meaning of Oblomovka in the novel
From the plot of the novel Oblomov, the reader from the very beginning will learn many facts about Oblomovka, about what a wonderful place it is, how easy and good it was for the hero there, and how important it is for Oblomov to return there. However, throughout the story, the events do not take us to the village, which makes it truly a mythical, fabulous place. Picturesque nature, gently sloping hills, a calm river, a hut on the edge of a ravine, which the visitor needs to ask to stand "back to the forest, and front to it" in order to enter inside - even in the newspapers there was never a mention of Oblomovka. No passions excited the inhabitants of Oblomovka - they were completely cut off from the world, they spent their life, arranged on constant rituals, in boredom and calm.
Oblomov's childhood passed in love, his parents constantly spoiled Ilya, indulging all his desires. However, the stories of the nanny who read to him about mythical heroes and fairy-tale heroes made a special impression on Oblomov, closely linking his native village with folklore in the memory of the hero. For Ilya Ilyich, Oblomovka is a distant dream, an ideal comparable, perhaps, to the beautiful ladies of medieval knights who sang of wives, whom they sometimes never saw. In addition, the village is also a way to escape from reality, a kind of semi-invented place where the hero can forget about reality and be himself - lazy, apathetic, completely calm and renounced from the outside world.
The meaning of Oblomov's life in the novel
Oblomov’s whole life is connected only with that distant, quiet and harmonious Oblomovka, however, the mythical estate exists only in the hero’s memories and dreams - pictures from the past never come to him in a cheerful state, his native village appears before him as a kind of distant vision, unattainable in its own way like any mythical city. Ilya Ilyich opposes in every possible way the real perception of his native Oblomovka - he still does not plan the future estate, he takes a long time to answer the letter from the headman, and in a dream he does not seem to notice the inconvenience of the house - a crooked gate, a sagging roof, a staggering porch, a neglected garden. Yes, and he really doesn’t want to go there - Oblomov is afraid that when he sees a dilapidated, devastated Oblomovka that has nothing to do with his dreams and memories, he will lose his last illusions, which he grabs with all his might and for which he lives.
The only thing that Oblomov causes complete happiness is dreams and illusions. He is afraid of real life, afraid of marriage, which he dreamed of many times, afraid of breaking himself and becoming different. Wrapped up in an old dressing gown and continuing to lie on the bed, he “preserves” himself in a state of “Oblomovism” – in general, the dressing gown in the work is, as it were, part of that mythical world that returns the hero to a state of laziness at extinction.
The meaning of the hero's life in Oblomov's novel comes down to gradual dying - both moral and mental, and physical, for the sake of holding on to his own illusions. The hero does not want to say goodbye to the past so much that he is ready to sacrifice a full life, the opportunity to feel every moment and know every feeling for the sake of mythical ideals and dreams.
Conclusion
In the novel "Oblomov" Goncharov depicted the tragic story of the extinction of a person for whom the illusory past has become more important than the multifaceted and beautiful present - friendship, love, social well-being. The meaning of the work indicates that it is important not to stop in place, indulging yourself with illusions, but to always strive forward, expanding the boundaries of your own “comfort zone”.
Artwork test
OBLOMOV
(Roman. 1859)
Oblomov Ilya Ilyich - the protagonist of the novel, a young man "about thirty-two - three years old, of medium height, pleasant appearance, with dark gray eyes, but with the absence of any definite idea, any concentration in facial features ... softness was the dominant and basic expression, not only the face, but the whole soul; and the soul shone so openly and clearly in the eyes, in the smile, in every movement of the head and hand. This is how the reader finds the hero at the beginning of the novel, in St. Petersburg, on Gorokhovaya Street, where he lives with his servant Zakhar.
The main idea of the novel, about which N. A. Dobrolyubov wrote, is connected with the image of O.: “... God knows what an important story. But Russian life is reflected in it, it presents us with a living, modern Russian type, minted with merciless rigor and correctness, a new word in our social development is reflected in it, pronounced clearly and firmly, without despair and without childish hopes, but with full consciousness truth. This word is Oblomovism, we see something more than just the successful creation of a strong talent; we find in it ... a sign of the times.”
N. A. Dobrolyubov was the first who ranked O. among the “superfluous people”, leading his ancestry from Onegin, Pechorin, Beltov. Each of these heroes in his own way fully and vividly characterized a certain decade of Russian life. O. is a symbol of the 1850s, the "post-Belt" times in Russian life and Russian literature. In the personality of O., in his tendency to inactive observation of the vices of the era inherited by him, we clearly distinguish a fundamentally new type introduced by Goncharov into literary and social use. This type personifies philosophical idleness, conscious alienation from the environment, which is rejected by the soul and mind of a young provincial who has come from sleepy Oblomovka to the capital.
Life: good life! What is there to look for? interests of the mind, heart? - O. explains his worldview to his childhood friend Andrey Stolz. - You look where the center around which it all rotates: it is not there, there is nothing deep, touching the living. All these are dead, sleeping people, worse than me, these members of the council and society! What drives them in life? After all, they don’t lie down, but scurry every day like flies, back and forth, but what’s the point?.. Beneath this comprehensiveness lies emptiness, lack of sympathy for everything! Nature pointed out the goal to man.
Nature, according to O., indicated a single goal: life, as it has flowed for centuries in Oblomovka, where they were afraid of news, traditions were strictly observed, books and newspapers were not recognized at all. From "Oblomov's Dream", called by the author an "overture" and published much earlier than the novel, as well as from individual strokes scattered throughout the text, the reader will learn quite fully about the hero's childhood and youth, spent among people who understood life "nothing but an ideal peace and inactivity, disturbed at times by various unpleasant accidents ... they endured labor as a punishment imposed on our forefathers, but they could not love, and where there was a case, they always got rid of it, finding it possible and due.
Goncharov portrayed the tragedy of the Russian character, devoid of romantic features and not colored by demonic gloominess, but nevertheless found itself on the sidelines of life - through his own fault and through the fault of society, in which there was no place for drowsmen. Having no predecessors, this type has remained unique.
In the image of O. there are also autobiographical features. In the travel diary "Frigate" Pallada "Goncharov admits that during the trip he most willingly lay in a cabin, not to mention the difficulty with which he decided to circumnavigate the world. In the friendly circle of the Maykovs, who dearly loved the writer, Goncharov found a meaningful nickname - “Prince de Laziness”.
Path O.; - a typical path of the provincial Russian nobles of the 1840s, who came to the capital and found themselves out of work. Service in the department with the indispensable expectation of promotion, from year to year the monotony of complaints, petitions, establishing relationships with head clerks - this turned out to be beyond O., who preferred to move up the stairs of "career" and "fortune" lying on the couch, no hopes and dreams not dyed.
In O. dormant is that daydreaming that burst forth in Alexander Aduev, the hero of Goncharov's Ordinary History. In the soul of O. is also a lyricist, a man; who knows how to feel deeply - his perception of music, immersion in the captivating sounds of the aria "Casta diva" indicate that not only "pigeon meekness", but also passions are available to him.
Each meeting with a childhood friend Andrei Stolz, the complete opposite of O., can stir him up, but not for long: the determination to do something, to somehow arrange his life takes possession of him for a short time, while Stolz is next to him. And Stolz lacks neither the time nor the persistence to "lead" O. from act to act - there are others who, for selfish purposes, are ready not to leave Ilya Ilyich. They ultimately determine the course along which his life flows.
The meeting with Olga Ilyinskaya temporarily changed O. beyond recognition: under the influence of a strong feeling, incredible transformations take place with him - a greasy dressing gown is abandoned, O. gets out of bed as soon as he wakes up, reads books, looks through newspapers, is energetic and active, and having moved to the dacha near Olga, several times a day goes to meet her. “... A fever of life, strength, activity appeared in him, and the shadow disappeared ... and sympathy again beat with a strong and clear key. But all these worries did not yet leave the magic circle of love; his activity was negative: he does not sleep, reads, sometimes thinks of writing and a plan (improvement of the estate. - Ed.), He walks a lot, travels a lot. The further direction, the very thought of life, the deed, remains in the intentions.
Love, which carries the need for action, self-improvement, in the case of O. is doomed. He needs a different feeling that would connect today's reality with long-standing childhood impressions of life in his native Oblomovka, where they fence themselves off from an existence filled with anxieties and worries by any means, where the meaning of life fits into the thought of eating, sleeping, receiving guests and experiencing fairy tales as actual events. Any other feeling seems to be violence against nature.
Without realizing this to the end, O. understands what one cannot strive for precisely because of a certain warehouse of one's nature. In a letter to Olga, written almost on the verge of a decision to marry, he speaks of the fear of future pain, writes bitterly and piercingly: “What will happen when I get attached ... when seeing each other will become not a luxury of life, but a necessity when love cries out in heart? How to break away then? Can you survive this pain? It will be bad for me."
Agafya Matveevna Pshenitsyna, the landlady of the apartment that his fellow countryman Tarantiev found for O., is the ideal of Oblomovism in the broadest sense of this concept. She is just as “natural” as O. One can say about Pshenitsyna in the same words that Olga says about O. Stolz: “... An honest, faithful heart! This is his natural gold; he carried it unscathed through life. He fell from the shocks, cooled off, fell asleep, finally, killed, disappointed, having lost the strength to live, but did not lose his honesty and loyalty. Not a single false note was emitted by his heart, not dirt stuck to him ... This is a crystal, transparent soul; such people are few, they are rare; these are pearls in the crowd!
The features that brought O. closer to Pshenitsyna are indicated here exactly. Ilya Ilyich most of all needs a feeling of care, warmth, demanding nothing in return, and therefore he became attached to his mistress, as to a dream come true of returning to the blessed times of a happy, well-fed and serene childhood. With Agafya Matveevna, as with Olga, thoughts about the need to do something, somehow change life around and in oneself, are not connected. O. explains his ideal to Stolz simply, comparing Ilyinskaya with Agafya Matveevna: “... she will sing “Casta diva”, but she doesn’t know how to make vodka like that! And he won’t make such a pie with chickens and mushrooms!” And therefore, realizing firmly and clearly that he has nowhere else to strive, he asks Stolz: “What do you want to do with me? With the world where you drag me, I fell apart forever; you will not save, you will not make two torn halves. I have grown to this pit with a sore spot: try to tear it off - there will be death.
In the house of Pshenitsyna, the reader sees O. more and more perceiving “his real life, as a continuation of the same Oblomov existence, only with a different color of the area and partly of time. And here, as in Oblomovka, he managed to cheaply get rid of life, bargain with it and insure himself unperturbed peace.
Five years after this meeting with Stolz, "who again pronounced his cruel sentence:" Oblomovism! - and leaving O. alone, Ilya Ilyich "died, apparently, without pain, without torment, as if the clock had stopped, which they forgot to start." The son of O., born Agafya Matveevna and named after his friend Andrei, is taken to be raised by the Stoltsy.
Dedicated to the state characteristic of a Russian person. He describes a hero who has fallen into personal stagnation and apathy. The work gave the world the term "Oblomovism" - a derivative from the name of the character of the story. Goncharov created a striking example of 19th century literature. The book turned out to be the pinnacle of the writer's work. The novel is included in the school curriculum of Russian literature and does not lose its relevance, although two centuries have passed since its creation.
History of creation
"Oblomov" is a landmark work for Russian literature of the XIX century. Its meaning is not always available to schoolchildren who get acquainted with the book at a young age. Adults more deeply consider the idea that the author wanted to convey.
The main character of the work is the landowner Ilya Oblomov, whose lifestyle is incomprehensible to others. Some consider him a philosopher, others - a thinker, others - a lazy person. The author allows the reader to form their own opinion without being categorical about the character.
It is impossible to evaluate the idea of the novel separately from the history of the creation of the work. The basis of the book was the story "Dashing Pain", written by Goncharov several years earlier. Inspiration caught up with the writer at a time when the social and political situation in Russia was tense.
At that time, the image of an apathetic tradesman, who is not able to take responsibility for his actions and decisions, was typical for the country. Reasoning influenced the idea of the book. The critic wrote about the appearance of the image of the "superfluous person" in the literary works of that time. He described the hero as a freethinker, incapable of serious action, a dreamer, useless for society. The appearance of Oblomov is a visual embodiment of the nobility of those years. The novel describes the changes taking place in the hero. The characterization of Ilya Ilyich is subtly outlined in each of the four chapters.
Biography
The protagonist was born into a landowner's family, living according to the traditional aristocratic way of life. The childhood of Ilya Oblomov was spent in the family estate, where life was not very diverse. The parents loved the boy. Affectionate nanny pampered with fairy tales and jokes. Sleep and long sitting at a meal were commonplace for households, and Ilya easily adopted their inclinations. He was taken care of from all sorts of misfortunes, not allowing him to deal with the difficulties that arose.
According to Goncharov, the child grew up apathetic and withdrawn until he turned into a thirty-two-year-old unprincipled man with an attractive appearance. There was no interest in anything and no focus on a particular subject. Serfs provided the hero with income, so he did not need anything. The clerk robbed him, the place of residence gradually fell into disrepair, and the sofa became his permanent location.
The descriptive image of Oblomov includes the bright features of a lazy landowner and is collective. Goncharov's contemporaries tried not to name their sons Ilya if they were the namesakes of their fathers. The common noun that Oblomov's name acquired was diligently avoided.
The satirical description of the appearance of the character becomes a continuation of the string of "superfluous people", which he began and continued. Oblomov is not old, but already flabby. His face is expressionless. Gray eyes do not carry a shadow of thought. He wears an old dressing gown. Goncharov pays attention to the appearance of the character, noting his effeminacy and passivity. The dreamer Oblomov is not ready for action and indulges in laziness. The tragedy of the hero lies in the fact that he has great prospects, but is not able to realize them.
Oblomov is kind and disinterested. He does not have to make any effort, and if such a prospect arises, he is afraid of it and shows uncertainty. He often dreams of the atmosphere of his native estate, evoking a sweet longing for his native places. Periodically, beautiful dreams are dispelled by other heroes of the novel.
He is the antagonist of Ilya Oblomov. Friendship between men began in childhood. The antipode of the dreamer, who has German roots, Stolz avoids idleness and is used to working. He criticizes the lifestyle preferred by Oblomov. Stolz knows that the first attempts of a friend to realize themselves in a career ended in failure.
Having moved to St. Petersburg as a young man, Ilya tried to serve in the office, but things were not going well, and he preferred inaction. Stolz is an ardent opponent of passivity and tries to be active, although he understands that his work is not intended for lofty goals.
She became a woman who managed to awaken Oblomov from idleness. The love that settled in the heart of the hero helped to leave the usual sofa, forget about drowsiness and apathy. A golden heart, sincerity and breadth of soul attracted the attention of Olga Ilyinskaya.
She valued Ilya's imagination and fantasy, and at the same time tried to assert herself through caring for a person who had cut himself off from the world. The girl was inspired by the ability to influence Oblomov and understood that their relationship would not continue. The indecision of Ilya Ilyich caused the collapse of this union.
Fleeting obstacles are perceived by Oblomov as invincible obstacles. He is not able to adapt and adjust to the social framework. Inventing his own cozy world, he moves away from reality, where he has no place.
Closure became the path to the emergence of simple happiness in life, and it was brought by a woman who was constantly nearby. rented the apartment where the hero lived. After breaking up with Olga Ilyinskaya, he found solace in the attention of Agafya. A thirty-year-old woman fell in love with a tenant, and the feelings did not require a change in character or lifestyle.
Having united the farms, little by little they began to show confidence in each other and healed soul to soul. Pshenitsyna did not demand anything from her husband. She was content with her virtues and ignored her faults. In marriage, the son Andryusha was born, the only consolation of Agafya after the death of Oblomov.
- The chapter "Oblomov's Dream" describes how the hero dreams of a thunderstorm. According to popular belief, it is impossible to work on Ilyin's day, so as not to accept death from thunder. Ilya Ilyich has not worked all his life. The author justifies the character's idleness by believing in omens.
- A native of a village whose life is cyclical, Oblomov builds love relationships according to this principle. Getting acquainted with the Ilyinsky spring, he confesses his feelings in the summer, gradually falls into apathy in the fall and tries to avoid meetings in the winter. The relationship between the characters lasted a year. This was enough to experience a bright palette of feelings and cool them down.
- The author mentions that Oblomov served as a collegiate assessor and managed to be a provincial secretary. Both positions did not correspond to the class to which the landowner belonged, and they could be achieved by hard work. Comparing the facts, it is easy to assume that the hero, who was lazy and while studying at the university, got the position in a different way. The classes of Pshenitsyna and Oblomov corresponded, which the author emphasizes the kinship of souls.
- Life with Agafya suited Oblomov. It is curious that even the woman's surname is consonant with the rural nature, for which the hero yearned.
Quotes
Despite laziness, Oblomov shows himself to be an educated and sensitive person, a deep person with a pure heart and good thoughts. He justifies inaction with the words:
“…Some people have nothing else to do but to speak. There is a calling."
Internally, Oblomov is strong to commit an act. The main step towards changes in his life is love for Ilyinskaya. For her sake, he is capable of feats, one of which is saying goodbye to his favorite bathrobe and sofa. It is quite possible that an object that could interest the hero so strongly was simply not found. And since there is no interest, why forget about the conveniences? So he criticizes light:
“... There is no business of their own, they scattered in all directions, did not go to anything. Under this comprehensiveness lies emptiness, lack of sympathy for everything! .. "
Oblomov in Goncharov's novel appears at the same time as a lazy person with a negative connotation and an exalted character with a poetic talent. In his words, there are subtle turns and expressions that are alien to the hard worker Stolz. His graceful phrases beckon Ilinskaya and turn Agafya's head. Oblomov's world, woven from dreams and dreams, is built on the melody of poetry, love for comfort and harmony, peace of mind and goodness:
"... Memories - or the greatest poetry, when they are memories of living happiness, or - burning pain, when they touch dried wounds."
The image of Oblomov
Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is a young nobleman, 33 years old, of short stature. At first glance, he made a rather positive impression, but upon closer examination, one could notice the complete absence of thought in his face.
Life style
He led a measured, apathetic life. He spent most of his time lying on the couch in his greasy dressing gown in a room with overhanging cobwebs and dusty mirrors.
An ambiguous character appears before readers. On the one hand, enslaved by laziness, indifference and apathy, and on the other hand, it stands out favorably against the background of its false and hypocritical friends. Here we already see his decency, kindness of soul, purity of thoughts and honesty.
In order to more fully reveal the image of Oblomov, Goncharov confronts him with other significant characters in the novel - Stolz and Olga Ilyinskaya.
Environment
Andrei Stoltz is a childhood friend of the protagonist - the complete opposite of Oblomov, his antipode. He cannot sit idle, his head is full of plans and ideas, he appreciates the boiling of life around, loves to be in the center of events. This difference is due to the difference in the upbringing of the characters.
Oblomov was the only child in the family, everyone cherished and cherished him. Any desire of little Ilya was immediately fulfilled, his whims were indulged, protected from the slightest danger and any activity. The village of Oblomov became, according to Dobrolyubov, the birthplace of such a thing as "Oblomovism". Such an attitude instilled in him an apathetic attitude towards life and made him a moral cripple, afraid of change and the uncertainty of the future.
Stolz, on the other hand, was brought up by one father, grew up as an independent and purposeful child. Ilya's good attitude towards him suggests that Stolz is able to influence him, revive him to true life and destroy the "Oblomovism" that reigns in the soul of the protagonist. Andrey set himself such a goal, considering it his duty to "save" his friend.
re-education
Andrei Stoltz forces Ilya Ilyich to go out, attend dinner parties, where one day the hero meets a young and energetic girl, Olga Ilyinskaya. She cannot be called a beauty in the full sense of the word, her beauty is simple and elegant. The most valuable thing about her was her views on life - freedom of thought, spontaneity, the absence of lies in words and deeds. Oblomov immediately fell in love with her freedom-loving voice, her soul, her character.
Olga, together with Stolz, come up with a plan of action, following which Oblomov must be an active, active person. She takes on the role of a ray of light, showing the way to the lost Oblomov. And Ilya Ilyich really began to transform, and with him Olga grew prettier and grew spiritually. In the end, the girl fell in love with her ward, which made it impossible to further fulfill the plan and thereby doomed their love union to death.
The fact is that both Olga and Ilya make impossible demands on each other. Olga expects to see in Oblomov a transformed person, at least remotely reminiscent of Andrei Stolz, but at the same time retaining the best qualities of Ilya - honesty, kindness, truthfulness. Ilya, on the other hand, expects from Olga absolute love for herself for who she is. But Olga loves an invented ideal that has little in common with the real Oblomov. To the question of the girl: "Who cursed you?" - Ilya replies bitterly: "Oblomovism." Thus, "Oblomovism" defeats the best qualities of the hero completely.
