Summary of chapter 24 fathers and sons. Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. Duel of Pavel Petrovich with Bazarov

The novel became a landmark for its time, and the image of the protagonist Yevgeny Bazarov was perceived by young people as an example to follow. Such ideals as uncompromisingness, lack of reverence for authorities and old truths, the priority of the useful over the beautiful, were perceived by the people of that time and were reflected in Bazarov's worldview.

Plot

Actions in the novel take place in the summer of 1859, that is, on the eve of the peasant reform of 1861.

Meaning of the ending:

Turgenev showed the greatness of Bazarov during his illness, in the face of death. In the speech of the dying, pain from the consciousness of the near inevitable end. Each remark addressed to Odintsova is a bunch of spiritual suffering: “Look, what an ugly sight: a worm half-crushed, but still bristling. And after all, I also thought: I’ll break off a lot of things, I won’t die, where! There is a task, because I am a giant!.. Russia needs me... No, apparently, it is not needed. And who is needed? Knowing that he will die, he consoles his parents, shows sensitivity to his mother, hiding the danger that threatens him from her, makes a dying request to Odintsova to take care of the old people: “After all, people like them cannot be found in your big world during the day with fire. ..” The courage and steadfastness of his materialistic and atheistic views manifested itself in his refusal to confess when, yielding to the pleas of his parents, he agreed to take communion, but only in an unconscious state, when a person is not responsible for his actions. Pisarev noted that in the face of death, "Bazarov becomes better, more humane, which is proof of the integrity, completeness and natural wealth of nature." Having not had time to realize himself in life, Bazarov only in the face of death gets rid of his intolerance and for the first time truly feels that real life much wider and more diverse than his ideas about it. This is the main point of the ending. Turgenev himself wrote about this:

“I dreamed of a gloomy, wild, large figure, half grown out of the soil, strong, vicious, honest - still doomed to death - because it still stands on the eve of the future.”

Main characters

Other heroes

• Dunyasha- servant at Fenechka.
• Victor Sitnikov- an acquaintance of Bazarov and Arkady, an adherent of nihilism.
• Kukshina- An acquaintance of Sitnikov, who, like him, is a pseudo-adherent of nihilism.
• Peter- Servant of the Kirsanovs.
• Princess R. (Nellie)- beloved P.P. Kirsanov
• Matvey Ilyich Kolyazin- official in the City ***

Film adaptations of the novel

• - Fathers and Sons (dir. Adolf Bergunker, Natalya Rashevskaya)
• - Fathers and Sons (dir. Alina Kazmina, Evgeny Simonov)
• - Fathers and Sons (dir. Vyacheslav Nikiforov)

Notes

Links

Before you is a summary of the first 10 chapters of the work “Fathers and Sons” by I.S. Turgenev. A summary is given chapter by chapter, in order to make it easier for you to navigate the events of the novel.

You can also check out brief retelling chapters and .

Moreover, those passages that need to be paid attention to, and which are "accepted" to be quoted in the lessons of Russian literature, we give unchanged.

The novel "Fathers and Sons" was written in the 60s of the XIX century and became very significant for its time.

Actions in the novel take place in the summer of 1859, that is, on the eve of the peasant reform of 1861.

FATHERS AND CHILDREN - summary. Chapters 1-10

Clicking on a chapter will take you to its summary.

• Skip to the content of chapters 11 - 20.
• Skip to the content of chapters 21 - 28.

Fathers and Sons. Chapter 1. Summary.

In this chapter we get acquainted with the history of the Kirsanov family.

“What, Peter? Can’t you see it yet?”, - asked on May 20, 1859, going out without a hat on the low porch of an inn on *** highway, a gentleman of about forty years old, in a dusty coat and plaid trousers, from his servant, a young and cheeky fellow with a whitish down on the chin and small dull eyes.

The servant, in whom everything: a turquoise earring in his ear, and pomaded multi-colored hair, and courteous movements, in a word, everything revealed a person of the latest, improved generation, looked condescendingly along the road and answered: “No way, sir, I can’t see it.”

Can't see? repeated the barin.

Not to be seen, - the servant answered for the second time. The master sighed and sat down on a bench.

The gentleman, whose name is Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov, is waiting for the arrival of his son Arkady. Nikolai Petrovich is the owner of two hundred souls. The estate is good, it is located fifteen miles from the inn. Kirsanov's father was a military general in 1812. He was a rude and semi-literate person, he devoted his whole life to military service.

Nikolai Petrovich and his elder brother Pavel were born in the south of Russia. Nikolai Petrovich "as a general's son" ... " not only did not differ in courage, but even earned the nickname of a coward».

The boys' mother lived happily ever after. She didn't pay much attention to the children. Nikolai Petrovich, like a general's son, had to go to military service. But he broke his leg and remained lame for the rest of his life.

When Nikolai was eighteen years old, his father took him to St. Petersburg and " put him in a university". My brother ended up in the guards regiment. Nikolai Petrovich and his brother lived together, in the same apartment.

In 1835, Nikolai Petrovich left the university as a candidate, and in the same year, General Kirsanov, dismissed for an unsuccessful review, came to St. Petersburg with his wife to live.

Some time later, General Kirsanov died from the blow. Soon his mother, Agathoklea Kuzminichna, also died. It was hard for her to get used to the deaf metropolitan life.

Even when his parents were alive, Nikolai Petrovich fell in love with the daughter of the former owner of his apartment, a pretty and developed girl. When the mourning for his parents ended, Nikolai Petrovich married her. For some time the young lived in the city, then settled in the countryside. A son Arkady was born there.

The couple lived very well and quietly: they almost never parted, read together, played four hands on the piano ...

But ten years later, in 1847, Nikolai Petrovich's wife died. He " barely survived this blow, turned gray in a few weeks».

In 1855 Arkady entered the university. Nikolai Petrovich lived with his son for three winters in St. Petersburg, trying to communicate with Arkady's comrades. Kirsanov could not come for the last winter, and now, in May 1859, already gray-haired and slightly hunched, he is waiting for his son, who, like Nikolai Petrovich once, received the title of "candidate".

« A tarantass harnessed by a trio of yam horses appeared". Kirsanov with a joyful cry of "Arkasha!" met his son.

Fathers and Sons. Chapter 2. Summary.

In this chapter, an acquaintance with Evgeny Bazarov takes place.

Together with Arkady, his friend arrived. Arkady told his father that the friend was so kind that he agreed to stay with them. The young man is somewhat aloof. He responds with some indifference to the joyful greeting of Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov. Arkady's friend's name is Yevgeny Vasilyevich Bazarov.

Fathers and Sons. Chapter 3. Summary.

Arkady was very glad to see his father. But the young man held back a sincere, almost childish joy. Of course, he still could not hide his feelings and emotions. Therefore, he I wanted to quickly move the conversation from the mood of the excited to the ordinary».

Arkady tells his father that he values ​​\u200b\u200bfriendship with Bazarov very much. He says that his new friend is engaged in natural sciences and is going to take an examination for a doctor next year. Arkady asks his father to be friendly with Bazarov.

In turn, Nikolai Petrovich tells his son about what is happening on the estate. He also says that the old nanny, Yegorovna, has died. Nikolai Petrovich changed the clerk, he decided " no longer keep freedmen, former yard servants, or at least not entrust them with any positions where there is responsibility».

The father embarrassedly tells his son that a girl, Fenechka, lives in his house. Nikolai Petrovich is ashamed of his weakness. But Arkady reacted to this news with indifference. Father and son look around.

The places they passed through could not be called picturesque. The fields, all the fields, stretched all the way to the sky, now slightly rising, now lowering again; in some places one could see small forests, and, dotted with sparse and low shrubs, ravines curled, reminding the eye of their own image on the ancient plans of Catherine's time. often with half-smashed roofs, and crooked threshing sheds with walls woven from brushwood and yawning gates near the empty humens, and churches, sometimes brick with plaster falling off in some places, sometimes wooden with leaning crosses and ruined cemeteries.

Arkady looked sadly at the gloomy picture. He thought that " this region is not rich, it does not impress either with contentment or hard work; he can’t stay like this, transformations are necessary ... but how to fulfill them, how to start? ..»

However, sad reflections could not prevail over the cheerful nature of the young man.

... Spring took its toll. Everything around was golden green, everything was wide and softly agitated and shiny under the quiet breath of a warm breeze ...

Arkady's mood changed.

A quarter of an hour later, both carriages stopped in front of the porch of a new wooden house, painted with gray paint and covered with a red iron roof. This was Maryino, Novaya Slobidka, also, or, according to the peasant name, Bobily Khutor.

Fathers and Sons. Chapter 4. Summary.

The chapter describes dinner at the Kirsanovs' estate.

Only a girl of about twelve and a young fellow, dressed in a gray livery jacket with white coat of arms buttons, came out to meet the gentlemen, this was the servant of Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov. Arkady and his friend were hungry. Nikolai Petrovich ordered dinner to be brought.

“A man of average height, dressed in a dark English suit, a fashionable low tie and patent leather ankle boots, entered the living room,” Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov. He looked to be about forty-five years old: his short-cropped gray hair shone with a dark sheen, like new silver; his face, bilious, but without wrinkles, unusually correct and clean, as if drawn with a thin and light chisel, showed traces of remarkable beauty: light, black, oblong eyes were especially good. Pavel Petrovich was glad to see his nephew. Nikolai Petrovich introduced his brother to Bazarov. After Arkady and his friend left, Pavel Petrovich expressed some dissatisfaction with the fact that "this hairy one" would be a guest in their house.

At dinner, the atmosphere was quite calm. Nikolai Petrovich talked about village life, Arkady - about life in St. Petersburg. After dinner, Bazarov gives his characterization to Nikolai Petrovich and Pavel Petrovich. About the first he speaks quite approvingly, calls him a good-natured man. Pavel Petrovich received a more scathing assessment. Bazarov calls him an eccentric, because in the village he walks like such a dandy.

Fathers and Sons. Chapter 5. Summary.

The next day, Yevgeny Bazarov woke up very early, everyone was still sleeping. He left the house and told the local boys to catch frogs for him. Evgeny Bazarov conducts experiments on frogs. Bazarov communicates with those around him with some contempt. But, despite this, he inspires trust and respect, especially among people below him on the social ladder.

Arkady is surprised that Fenechka was not present at the table. Arkady asks his father if he did not constrain the girl. The young man specially goes to get acquainted with her.

After meeting Arkady found out that he had a little brother. Arkady met this news with joy.

In a conversation with Pavel Petrovich, Arkady gives an assessment to his friend Bazarov. He calls him "nihilist" and explains what it means.

According to Arkady, one can be called a nihilist who does not bow to any authorities whatsoever; takes nothing on faith - neither opinions nor principles. Pavel Petrovich is very surprised by this. He does not understand how one can live without principles.

Suddenly, Fenechka appears, an attractive young woman, she looks about twenty-three years old. She " all white and soft, with dark hair and eyes, red and childishly plump lips and delicate hands". Soon Bazarov arrives, he has a bag of frogs with him. Uncle Arkady asks Bazarov a question: what is he going to do with frogs, eat or breed? But Yevgeny Bazarov misses the derision on deaf ears. He says that he needs frogs for experiments. When Pavel Petrovich finds out that Bazarov is engaged in the natural sciences, he asks if he is following the example of the Germans, because it was they who "greatly succeeded in this." Bazarov agrees that the authority of the Germans is very high, he calls them teachers. Pavel Petrovich wonders why he has a higher opinion of German scientists than of Russians. But Bazarov does not consider it necessary to explain his position.

Fathers and Sons. Chapter 6. Summary.

Pavel Petrovich asks Bazarov if he really does not recognize any authorities. Bazarov believes that there is no need to recognize authorities, you also don’t need to believe anything: “ Why should I acknowledge them? And what will I believe? They will tell me the case, I will agree, that's all". Such a position seems to Pavel Petrovich incomprehensible and wrong.

Pavel Petrovich talks about materialists, recalls Goethe and Schiller. He speaks with some disapproval of " chemists and materialists". But Bazarov does not agree with him. Eugene believes that a chemist is much more useful than any poet. This opinion causes great surprise in Pavel Petrovich. He directly asks Bazarov if he recognizes art. He replies bluntly: The art of making money, or no more hemorrhoids!»

Pavel Petrovich asks Bazarov if this means that he believes in one science. Bazarov says:

I have already reported to you that I do not believe in anything; And what is science - science in general? There are sciences, just as there are crafts, titles; and science does not exist at all.

Bazarov's answers offend and shock Pavel Petrovich. After some time, Arkady reproaches Bazarov for speaking so sharply with his uncle. But Eugene believes that there is no need to indulge the whims of the county aristocrats. Arkady asks his friend to be more indulgent towards his uncle and tells the story of Pavel Petrovich. According to Arkady, Pavel Petrovich should be pitied, not condemned, and even more so, one should not mock him.

Fathers and Sons. Chapter 7. Summary.

The seventh chapter tells the story of Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov.

Pavel Petrovich received a good upbringing, in his youth he was distinguished by rare beauty. Women paid attention to him, he was self-confident and persistent. At twenty-eight, he was already a captain. Pavel Petrovich had great opportunities. But suddenly he met Princess R. The character of the princess was very, very strange. She had a reputation for being a frivolous coquette. However, the woman did not find peace anywhere, she often cried, prayed.

In a word, the behavior of the princess betrayed her impulsive and exalted nature. Pavel Petrovich met her at the ball. She made a strong impression on Kirsanov, the young man fell in love with her without memory. The princess seemed to him a mystery, which is why he gave her a ring with a sphinx. Pavel Petrovich said that she herself looked like a sphinx, since he could not figure her out.

Despite all the virtues of Pavel Kirsanov, he soon got tired of the princess. It was a heavy blow for a man accustomed to quick and easy victories. Pavel Petrovich seemed to have lost his mind. He retired, abandoned his career, despite the brilliant opportunities that opened up before him. Now all he did was follow the princess. Of course, she drove the persistent and annoying gentleman.

Sooner or later, Pavel Petrovich realized that they had no future, but he could not return to his former life. After the disappointment in love, Pavel Petrovich no longer thought about marriage, ten years of his life passed like a dream, empty, not decorated with anything.

Once Pavel Petrovich found out about the death of the princess. She died, and before her death she practically went crazy. Kirsanov received a posthumous message from the princess, there was also his ring.

Pavel Petrovich had no choice but to live with his brother. They were both unhappy. Nikolai Petrovich lost his beloved wife, and Pavel Petrovich lost "his memories."

However, Nikolai Petrovich was still happier, because he had a son Arkady, and he also had the realization that life was not in vain.

Lonely Pavel Petrovich had no such thoughts. There was no longer any hope in his life. When Bazarov heard this story, he said that Pavel Petrovich was not worthy of pity. According to Bazarov, a person should not put all his life " on the map of women's love". Bazarov made up not the most flattering idea about Pavel Petrovich, so any arguments of Arkady seem unconvincing to him. Bazarov's speech is cynical and cruel. However, it cannot be denied that he is right on some points. However, Arkady does not agree with him. It is easy to understand that Arkady and his friend are completely different people.

Fathers and Sons. Chapter 8

Meanwhile, Pavel Petrovich visits Fenechka, asks to see the child. The girl is embarrassed, because she does not really like the presence of Pavel Petrovich. Here comes Nikolai Petrovich, and his brother immediately disappears. Pavel Petrovich returns to his office.

How did Nikolai Petrovich meet Fenechka, who became so close to him? The acquaintance happened three years ago. Kirsanov spent the night in a county town at an inn. Nikolai Petrovich met the hostess, Fenechka was her daughter.

Kirsanov invited the hostess of the inn to be his housekeeper. Once a misfortune happened - Fenechka got a spark from the stove in her eye. Her mother turned to Nikolai Petrovich for help. Kirsanov treated the girl and fell in love with her. After some time, Fenechka became an orphan, she had nowhere to go.

Fathers and Sons. Chapter 9

On a walk, Fenechka meets Bazarov. He helps a baby who is teething. Fenechka feels a disposition towards Bazarov.

Arkady talks a lot with his friend. Yevgeny says that things are not going well in Kirsanov's household. According to Bazarov, the manager " either a fool or a rogue»; « workers look like inveterate sloths". Bazarov believes that Nikolai Petrovich peasants are easy " inflate».

Arkady says that Bazarov has a very bad opinion of the Russians. Bazarov does not deny this:

"A Russian person is good only because he has a bad opinion of himself."

In general, Bazarov gives everyone and everything very interesting characteristics. He says: " It is important that twice two is four, and the rest is all nonsense". Arkady asks him: " And nature is nothing?”, to which Bazarov replies:

“And nature is nothing in the sense in which you understand it. Nature is not a temple, but a workshop, and man is a worker in it.

Of course, Arkady does not always agree with the opinion of his friend, but he cannot but listen to him. When Bazarov finds out that Nikolai Petrovich plays the cello, this makes him smile. Bazarov believes that the venerable father of the family should not play the cello, that this is too frivolous an occupation.

Fathers and Sons. Chapter 10. Summary.

Bazarov has been visiting the Kirsanovs for a very long time. The housekeeper begins to respect him. Arkady's father, Nikolai Petrovich, tries to communicate less with Bazarov, as he is a little afraid of him. Pavel Petrovich hates Bazarov. Eugene himself treats everyone with condescending contempt. Once Bazarov told Arkady that his father " kind fellow", But " his song is sung". Thus, Bazarov wanted to say that Nikolai Petrovich was not capable of any sensible actions. Bazarov told Arkady that his father read Pushkin. According to Eugene himself, one should not read this "nonsense", but something useful, so he recommends Arkady give his father " Matter and force» Buechner. Nikolai Petrovich heard this conversation and was very offended. He told his brother about it.

Pavel Petrovich is furious, he talks about his hatred for Bazarov. Pavel Petrovich considers him a charlatan who has not gone far in science. But Nikolai Petrovich objects. He considers Bazarov smart and knowledgeable. In the evening, at the table, a major quarrel occurs between Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich. Bazarov said about the neighboring landowner that he was "rubbish, aristocratic." This caused indignation in Pavel Petrovich. He expressed to Bazarov that the aristocrat developed a sense of dignity, self-respect. And no aristocrats “no solid foundation for the public good". Bazarov skeptically listens to Pavel Petrovich's speech. He says that the aristocrats sit idly by and therefore do not bring any benefit to society.

Pavel Petrovich wants to know how useful nihilists are. Bazarov says that the nihilists deny everything:

"At the present time, denial is most useful - we deny."

Hearing this, Pavel Petrovich says that it is necessary not only to destroy, but also to build. Bazarov objects: “ It's not our business anymore. First you need to clear the place».

The dispute also comes about the Russian people. Pavel Petrovich says that Bazarov despises him. He agrees with this and says that the Russian people with their stupidity and lack of education cannot but be despised.

The conversation is very serious. Various issues were raised. Finally, Pavel Petrovich said that to break is not to build. After that, Arkady joined the conversation. He said that they break precisely because they are power, and power does not give an account of its actions. Angry, Pavel Petrovich said that there is strength in both the wild Kalmyk and the Mongol, and civilization should be dear to enlightened people.

Bazarov proposed to name some "decisions" that would not deserve complete and unconditional denial. Pavel Petrovich gave not the most successful examples.

The conversation left an unpleasant aftertaste with the Kirsanov brothers.

Skip to the summary of chapters 11-20.

Turgenev's most famous novel not only plays out the eternal conflict of the old and new generations, who look at each other with horror, then with contempt. The author brings to the stage a new hero - a nihilist who denies all ideals and values. Bazarov would become a role model for the next generation of revolutionaries and an anti-hero for future conservatives.

comments: Lev Oborin

What is this book about?

Shortly before the peasant reform, a medical student and self-proclaimed nihilist Yevgeny Bazarov arrives at the family estate of his friend Arkady. He denies all ideals and decency, which shocks the liberal-minded "fathers", but falls in love with the young widow Odintsova, and his way of thinking cannot withstand a collision with feeling. Turgenev's most publicistic and most famous novel not only brings the "new man" to the stage, reflecting the political controversy of his time, but is a book about the clash of an ideologist with his own ideas.

Ivan Turgenev. 1850s

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When was it written?

The beginning of the 1860s was a turbulent time for Turgenev: he quarreled with Ivan Goncharov, who accused him of plagiarism, Dobrolyubov and Chernyshevsky criticized his novels "On the Eve" and "Rudin" in the magazine "Contemporary" Literary magazine (1836-1866), founded by Pushkin. Since 1847 Nekrasov and Panaev have directed Sovremennik, later Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov joined the editorial board. In the 60s, an ideological split occurred in Sovremennik: the editors came to understand the need for a peasant revolution, while many of the magazine's authors (Turgenev, Tolstoy, Goncharov, Druzhinin) advocated slower and more gradual reforms. Five years after the abolition of serfdom, Sovremennik is closed by the personal order of Alexander II. ⁠ . The wounded Turgenev thinks about ending his career, but in the end he writes new novel- understanding the social atmosphere and the "new people", whom until recently he counted as allies. The immediate prototype of Bazarov is not Dobrolyubov or Chernyshevsky, but the unknown “young provincial doctor” met by Turgenev, who, like Bazarov, died in 1859. Turgenev begins writing "Fathers and Sons" in the hot pursuit of the conflict with Sovremennik, but interrupts work in 1861: most likely, the reason for this is the long-awaited peasant reform, which is being prepared for in the novel. Thus, "Fathers and Sons", published in 1862, is a look at the events of three years ago from another era.

"Fathers and Sons" is the only novel by Turgenev where public problems completely dissolved in art and where the ends of undigested journalism do not stick out

How is it written?

As always with Turgenev, public analytics are combined with a poetic style. Critic Nikolai Strakhov Nikolai Nikolaevich Strakhov (1828-1896) was an ideologue of pochvennichestvo, a close friend of Tolstoy and the first biographer of Dostoevsky. Strakhov wrote the most important critical articles about Tolstoy's work, so far we are talking about "War and Peace", largely relying on them. Strakhov was an active critic of nihilism and Western rationalism, which he contemptuously called "enlightenment". Strakhov's ideas about man as "the central node of the universe" influenced the development of Russian religious philosophy. ⁠ pointed out that Turgenev does not reproach Bazarov for indifference to nature, contempt for friendship, romantic love and parental feelings, but only depicts all this (and Bazarov himself) "with all the luxury and insight of poetry." Landscapes traditionally give a poetic coloring to prose, but Turgenev’s pastoral pictures of the province serve only as a backdrop for heated disputes between “liberal fathers” and “revolutionary children” and for tense relations between landowners and peasants. The plot of the novel is not too branched, it is easy to follow, but Turgenev reveals the background of his characters gradually - and thus makes the reader think about the history of the characters and the reasons for their differences.

Valentin Kuzmichev. N. A. Nekrasov, N. G. Chernyshevsky, N. A. Dobrolyubov in the editorial office of Sovremennik

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What influenced her?

First of all, the political differences between Turgenev and the editors of Sovremennik. Surely, when describing the controversy of the heroes, Turgenev kept in mind Goncharov’s novels: “An Ordinary Story” and the then-unfinished “Cliff” (it was because of him that Goncharov accused Turgenev of plagiarism). Bazarov's views are formed from the texts of positivist scientists, such as "vulgar materialist" Ludwig Buechner: Ludwig Buchner (1824-1899) was a German physician and philosopher. One of the key figures of vulgar materialism, a philosophical trend of the mid-19th century, according to which complex phenomena can be reduced to simple physiological causes: for example, spiritual experience can be reduced to the work of the brain. As a social Darwinist, Buechner believed that the principles natural selection can be extended to human society. His main work "Strength and Matter" was extremely popular in Russia in the 1860s, until the end of the century it went through 17 editions. ⁠ Turgenev, apparently, read them carefully and even critically. But the sources of the Turgenev style are one of the "difficult places" in literary criticism: it was undoubtedly influenced by the "harmonic clarity" of Pushkin's prose, at the same time, many fundamentally important descriptions give the impression of ambiguity, unsteadiness. In this sense, Turgenev's prose can be compared with Fet's poetry: this is where the tradition of Russian impressionist writing begins.

Circle of the magazine "Contemporary". 1856 Seated (left to right): Ivan Goncharov, Ivan Turgenev, Alexander Druzhinin, Alexander Ostrovsky. Standing (left to right): Leo Tolstoy and Dmitry Grigorovich

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After breaking off relations with Sovremennik, Turgenev gave Fathers and Sons to "Russian Messenger" Literary and political magazine (1856-1906) founded by Mikhail Katkov. In the late 1950s, the editorial board took a moderately liberal position; from the beginning of the 1960s, Russky Vestnik became more and more conservative and even reactionary. In a magazine in different years the central works of Russian classics were printed: Anna Karenina and War and Peace by Tolstoy, Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky, On the Eve and Fathers and Sons by Turgenev, Cathedrals by Leskov. ⁠ . The novel is dedicated to the memory of Vissarion Belinsky - another polemical gesture towards the editors of Sovremennik, whom Turgenev decided to remind of her glorious predecessors.

How was it received?

"Fathers and Sons" was the most talked about literary work in the memory of contemporaries. The words "nihilist" and "nihilism" instantly entered the lexicon of the era. Critics of the Sovremennik circle saw in Bazarov a caricature of the "new people." Maxim Antonovich, who took the place of Dobrolyubov, who died in 1861 and really resembled Bazarov with his radicalism and propensity for vulgarity, published a harsh article “Asmodeus of our time.” The article is named after the novel by the ultra-conservative writer Viktor Askochensky, which denounced the vicious, skeptical and atheistic youth. Thus, Antonovich directly said that Turgenev's book was a panegyric for "fathers" and a libel for "children." Dmitry Pisarev reacted to the novel in a completely different way: he said that Bazarov was sincerely sympathetic to him and, on the whole, was portrayed plausibly, with all the advantages and disadvantages, and the appearance of this type of people is natural. The most important review of "Fathers and Sons" belongs to Nikolai Strakhov, who pointed out that Turgenev "wrote a novel not progressive and not retrograde, but, so to speak, always."

Ivan Turgenev. 1850s

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"Fathers and Sons" appeared in the midst of the journalistic "argument about new people" - in many ways, Turgenev's novel set the tone for him. A year later, Nikolai Chernyshevsky's novel What Is to Be Done?, which offered the very “positive program” that Bazarov and his phantom like-minded people lack so much, will give new strength to this dispute. In Soviet literary criticism and school curriculum the triad "an extra person - a small person - new person”, and an example of a “new person” along with the heroes of “What is to be done?” will be Bazarov.

After Turgenev's novel, nihilism was talked about as a real-life phenomenon. Fear of denying everything revolutionaries reached the minds of European inhabitants, and anti-nihilistic novels began to appear in Russia. Unwittingly, Turgenev wrote a text that became one of the starting points in the formation of the Russian revolutionary movement. Filmed more than once, staged on stage, causing many interpretations, "Fathers and Sons" remains one of the most lively and discussed works of the Russian canon - despite the fact that the historical context of the novel is long gone.

Why does Turgenev describe the origin of his characters in such detail?

The key characters of Turgenev are often people with a complex, mixed origin. First of all, this concerns Bazarov. His mother was a pillar noblewoman, that is, she came from an ancient family, and his father received hereditary nobility, because when he was a military headquarters doctor, he earned the Order of St. Vladimir of the 4th degree. This nobility is acquired, without a history; the mindset of Bazarov Jr., who inherits his father's profession, is completely raznochinskiy. At the same time, paradoxically, in his statement to the refined nobleman Pavel Petrovich - "My grandfather plowed the land" - truly noble pride sounds. In "Fathers and Sons" there are dotted lines between the Kirsanovs and the Bazarovs: Bazarov's father served in the brigade of Arkady's grandfather, a general in 1812; Bazarov's grandfather participated in Suvorov's crossing of the Alps. It would seem that these families have a lot in common, but here ideological and, not least, material considerations come into play: the Kirsanov estate, although it is in danger of ruin, is an order of magnitude larger and richer than the Bazarov house. As a result, the relationship of people who have strong convictions is greatly influenced, as they would say now, by the background.

Nikolay Yaroshenko. Student. 1881 State Tretyakov Gallery

Is it possible to say that "children" occupy Turgenev more than "fathers"?

As a rule, the novel is reduced to Bazarov's line, but the very name "Fathers and Sons" suggests that the hero's environment plays an equally important role. Critics, skeptical of Turgenev's novel, considered him a panegyric to the "fathers" (and at the same time slandering the "children") - this is exactly what Maxim Antonovich speaks in this vein. Less biased critics, including Pisarev and Strakhov, noted that each character in the novel has a special character with its own contradictions. For example, Pavel and Nikolai Kirsanov are not reducible to the idea of ​​liberalism, even broadly understood: their views, especially Pavel Petrovich, Bazarov's main antagonist, are conditioned by their biography. All these characters are not limited to plot functions.

A person is able to understand everything - both how the ether trembles, and what happens in the sun; and how another person can blow his nose differently than he himself blows his nose, he is not able to understand this

Why does Bazarov call himself a nihilist? What is nihilism?

The word "nihilism", as Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov correctly points out, comes from the Latin nihil - "nothing". Terms with this root have been known since the Middle Ages; it is in the form of "nihilism" that it is first used, apparently, by the German philosopher and physician Jacob Obereit in 1787. In 1829 the philologist and journalist Nikolai Nadezhdin Nikolai Ivanovich Nadezhdin (1804-1856) - founder of the magazine "Telescope" and Belinsky's predecessor: largely under the influence of Nadezhdin literary criticism in Russia acquires a conceptual basis. In 1836, Teleskop was closed for publishing Chaadaev's Philosophical Letter, and Nadezhdin himself was sent into exile. Returning, Nadezhdin leaves criticism, gets a job at the Ministry of the Interior and devotes himself to ethnography. ⁠ introduces him into the Russian language: for him, the nihilists are the deniers of classicism, the vehement admirers of Byron's romanticism. In the German philosophical tradition, nihilism is first interpreted close to the term "idealism", but then it acquires a new meaning: total denial, rejection of authorities, the desire to destroy the entire generally accepted way of life. These ideas express Max Stirner Max Stirner (real name Johann Kaspar Schmidt; 1806-1856) was a German philosopher. In his main work “The Only One and His Property”, Stirner believes that one’s own “I” is above all, therefore a person has the right to defend his interests without looking back at ethical standards. During his lifetime, the philosopher was practically forgotten, but he was remembered in connection with the ideas of Nietzsche: as it turned out, many of them were already contained in the writings of Stirner. ⁠ and revered by Bazarov Ludwig Buechner, Ludwig Buchner (1824-1899) was a German physician and philosopher. One of the key figures of vulgar materialism, a philosophical trend of the mid-19th century, according to which complex phenomena can be reduced to simple physiological causes: for example, spiritual experience can be reduced to the work of the brain. As a social Darwinist, Buechner believed that the principles of natural selection could be extended to human society. His main work "Strength and Matter" was extremely popular in Russia in the 1860s, until the end of the century it went through 17 editions. ⁠ later they will be rethought by Friedrich Nietzsche.

With the light hand of Turgenev, the words "nihilism" and "nihilist" become widely used. Among the immediate reactions to "Fathers and Sons" are "anti-nihilistic novels" in which nihilists are demonized and mythologized: Alexei Pisemsky and Nikolai Leskov, among others, will perform in this genre, and Dostoevsky's "Demons" will become the pinnacle of anti-revolutionary pathos. Sinister nihilists are found in Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories and Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday. Albert Camus will devote extensive passages to Bazarov and Russian nihilism in his essay “The Rebellious Man”: according to Camus, nihilism, which approves violence and permissiveness, is one of the roots of totalitarian regimes of the 20th century and totalitarian ideology in principle. Writer Alexander Ilichevsky believes that Turgenev’s novel is “the first attempt in Russian culture to show how ideology destroys human" 1 ⁠ .

Anatomy of a female common frog. From Alfred Brehm's Animal Life. 1911 In the novel, Bazarov collects frogs for experiments, explaining to the yard boy: “You and I are the same frogs, we just walk on our feet”

Who are the "we" that Bazarov is talking about? What job is he preparing himself for?

From the stories of Bazarov, we can conclude that there is a certain community of people - and not a small one, obsessed with common ideas: the spirit of denial, the desire to break old order, "clear space". Realizing that the constant denunciation of the social crisis is absurd and useless, the nihilists "decided not to take on anything" - however, a few lines later, Bazarov makes it clear that they are going to "act". The contradiction here is apparent: the word “do” in the mouths of both Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich means a certain “positive program”, while “act” means any action in principle, including destruction.

However, no "us" who "preach nothing" and are going to act is not found in the novel. Bazarov and Arkady are unlikely to make a revolutionary detachment; Sitnikov cannot be considered a serious nihilist, although Bazarov reads him for menial work. Neither Bazarov nor Arkady, who has known Bazarov for six months, ever mentions any other comrades in the case. This is rather strange: either Bazarov exaggerates the number of nihilists (and Pavel Petrovich's estimate - "four and a half" - is close to the truth), or the activities of his comrades are deeply conspiratorial.

At the same time, people like Bazarov did exist in Russia and created organizations: the Land and Freedom, founded in 1861, can serve as an example. However, they were not yet ready for any destruction at that moment. Pisarev also notes: “... During 1860 and 1861, Bazarov could not have done anything that would show us the application of his worldview to life; he would still cut frogs, fiddle with a microscope and, mocking various manifestations of romanticism, would enjoy the benefits of life to the best of his ability and ability. After Turgenev's novel, nihilistic atrocities pass into the category of urban legends: in 1862, when warehouses in St. Petersburg begin to burn, nihilists are accused of arson, referring to Fathers and Sons. These accusations will turn out to be unconvincing, and the revolutionary organization Land and Freedom, which arose in 1861, will soon disintegrate: as Bazarov might have predicted, the hope of a peasant uprising turned out to be futile. The next generation of revolutionaries, primarily Narodnaya Volya, will move on to real terror: after several unsuccessful assassination attempts on March 1, 1881, Alexander II, who liberated the peasants, will be killed.

Yeah, go try denying death. She denies you, and that's it!

Why does Odintsova reject Bazarov's love?

At first glance, it seems that Turgenev explains this point quite clearly. Sincerely carried away by Bazarov, Odintsova does not just decide to prefer the calmness of love, which no one knows where she will lead: by looking “beyond a certain line”, that is, by demanding recognition from Bazarov and for the first time coming into contact with him bodily (however, relatively innocently: we are talking about just one hug ), she saw "not even an abyss, but emptiness ... or ugliness." Perhaps the abyss would have conquered and beckoned Odintsova, but with some intuition she foresees the futility of both further relations and the fate of Bazarov. But, saying "or", Turgenev not for the first time leaves room for conjecture. It can be assumed that the word "ugliness" refers to the nature of Bazarov's passion, "similar to malice and, perhaps, akin to it" (again, "maybe"!), An unproductive passion that contradicts itself.

A curious idea is expressed in his essay “Man and Darkness” by the writer Alexander Ilichevsky: “What happens at the first embrace of alleged lovers? That's right: both he and she smell each other - the smell of breath, the smell of the body. After the hug, they stop speaking in human language and start speaking in the language of physiology - pheromones or whatever, but this language is not human. I dare to suggest that Odintsov's smell - or Bazarov's unconscious pheromone - did not like it, caused alarm, and she recoiled. That's why she imagined something that she called "disgrace" 2 Ilichevsky A. V. Man and darkness // Lessons of Russian love: 100 love confessions from great Russian literature. M.: AST; Corpus, 2013. ⁠ .

Let us note that in the finale of the novel Odintsova marries “not out of love, but out of conviction, one of the future Russian figures, a very smart person, a lawyer, with a strong practical sense, a strong will and a wonderful gift of speech, a still young, kind person and cold as ice. According to the description, this is some kind of modified Bazarov, a system converter from the inside - but we will not know anything more about him.

"Fathers and Sons". Directed by Adolf Bergunker and Natalya Rashevskaya. USSR, 1958

"Fathers and Sons". Directed by Vyacheslav Nikiforov. USSR, 1983

"Fathers and Sons". Directed by Avdotya Smirnova. Russia, 2008

Why does Turgenev need Bazarov's death?

“Yeah, go try denying death. She denies you, and that's it! says the dying Bazarov. The death of Bazarov, who is on the verge of some important business, is more than deus ex machina, "God from the Machine" latin expression, meaning an unexpected resolution of the situation due to external interference. Initially, a technique in ancient dramaturgy: one of the gods of Olympus descended onto the stage with the help of a mechanical device and easily solved all the problems of the heroes. ⁠ allowing to resolve the tangled plot. Bazarov, who had already thoroughly lost faith in his ideas, is faced with universal experience, which in its own way puts an end to all disputes. A continuation of this idea of ​​​​death as a “great equalizer” is the description of Bazarov’s grave: the flowers on it speak of “eternal reconciliation and endless life.” Last words novels, uttered in the voice of the "omniscient author", involuntarily read as morality.

If this morality is clear, then the symbolic content of Bazarov's death gives rise to different interpretations. So, Peter Vail and Alexander Genis believe that the ill-fated cut is a sign of the same “great equalizer”: “It was not a scratch that killed Bazarov, but nature itself. He again invaded with his crude lancet (literally this time) of the transducer into the routine of life and death - and fell him a victim" 3 Vail P. L., Genis A. A. Native speech. M.: Hummingbird, 2008. C. 160. ⁠ . One of the most insightful guesses about Bazarov's death is made by Sergei Nikolsky and Viktor Filimonov, who are generally opposed to the Raznochinskaya version of the answer to the question "how can we equip Russia." According to their version, Bazarov is ruined by the very nihilism that he preached, that is, the denial of culture: Bazarov, when opening a typhoid victim with a bad scalpel, inflicts a wound on himself, and the local doctor does not even have a "hell stone" to cauterize it. “You, Mr. Bazarov, wanted the triumph of nihilism, so please get it. That's why we feel sorry for this unsympathetic brute, because he dies not from his half-ostentatious, half-amusing "nihilism", but from a collision with a monstrous real phenomenon - the backwardness and savagery of Russian life, alien to culture, built and continuing to exist on the foundation neglect of human life,” the researchers conclude.

Finally, Bazarov's death (like any death) fills his figure with new meaning. For Pisarev, the way Bazarov dies is the final evidence in favor of the unrevealed greatness of both this man and the power that he personifies. Bazarov's courage in the hour of death obscures his repulsive features.

Why is it important that Bazarov is a doctor?

We know nothing about the young doctor who became the direct prototype of Bazarov, but the fact that the nihilist Bazarov chose medicine is a very telling detail. Medicine, anatomy, physiology, embryology are all human sciences, dealing with the body and its functions, with pure facts consistent with each other. There is no place for the soul, mysticism, sentiment in the positivist picture of the world of the nineteenth century physician. “And what is the mysterious relationship between a man and a woman? Bazarov asks mockingly. “We physiologists know what these relationships are. You study the anatomy of the eye: where can you get, as you say, a mysterious look? A remark about Odintsova: “Such a rich body! even now to the anatomical theater” – reminds of the famous black humor of doctors; this is the same defensive reaction of the psyche: Bazarov is already beginning to experience a previously unfamiliar love attraction. Medicine, albeit in a caricature form, is also interested in Bazarov's self-proclaimed associates - Sitnikov and Kukshin. Positivist reduction Reduction of all possible knowledge to empirical data - to what can be seen, touched or established by experiment. Any ideas or theories that are not built on this basis, from the point of view of the positivists, are an empty fantasy that has nothing to do with science. ⁠ science captivates nihilists so much that, according to Camus, "takes the place of religious prejudices."

Anatomical theatre. From the book "History of the University of Cambridge". 1915

Oxford Science Archive/Print Collector/Getty Images

Human eye. From The System of Human Anatomy by Erasmus Wilson. 1859

Mashuk/Getty Images

Why does Katya call herself and Arkady tame?

“He is predatory, and you and I are tame,” says Odintsova’s sister Katya, comparing herself and her future husband Arkady with Bazarov. Arkady is a little offended by this, not yet understanding that he will soon like being "tame". Katya directly likens herself, Arkady and Bazarov to animals - and, most likely, Bazarov would like this (as he would certainly like the Darwinian theory of evolution, which will be published a few months after Bazarov's death). She is distinguished by the same ability for a sober judgment as Bazarova, and she successfully replaces Arkady with his mentor, who, leaving, makes it clear that he is calm for the future of his friend, and compares him with a jackdaw - "the most respectable, family bird." The jackdaw is not a tame bird, but also (at least in the mind ordinary person, not a zoologist) is not predatory, not quite "free", keeping close to human habitation.

You study the anatomy of the eye: where does the mysterious look come from, as you say?

"Yes, he was dead." What does this unexpected phrase, which ends the story of the duel and the illness of Pavel Petrovich, mean?

Although Turgenev's novel gives the impression of an "objective" text, the author intervenes several times in the narrative with assessments that finally put everything in its place, or, conversely, admits that the motives of his characters are unknown to him. Oddly enough, such a recognition does not contradict the idea of ​​an "omniscient author", but rather speaks of his delicacy. The phrase about Pavel Petrovich is one of the author's most powerful judgments in the novel. At the first minute, one can even imagine that Pavel Petrovich really died from his trifling wound or from a nervous shock. In fact, the “death” of Pavel Petrovich is an internal psychological state: after a long mental struggle, rejection of prejudices and claims to Fenechka, reassessment of Bazarov, Pavel Petrovich finally dies for this world - he will live out abroad, in a pleasant environment and with new acquaintances, but nothing significant will happen in his life anymore, and the novel does not need him anymore. Before us, in fact, is the symbolic murder of a hero.

Manuscript of the novel "Fathers and Sons"

Bibliothèque nationale de France

Was a duel between Pavel Petrovich and Bazarov really possible?

Duels were legally prohibited for most of the 19th century, but widespread violations of this prohibition were overlooked. In the middle of the 19th century, duels were no longer as common as several decades earlier: they were perceived as an anachronism. It is significant that, according to most unwritten dueling codes, a duel was possible only between opponents of equal origin and social status. The fact that Bazarov, like Pavel Petrovich, was a nobleman, often escapes the readers of Fathers and Sons - formally there is nothing abnormal in Pavel Petrovich's call. However, both the fact that Bazarov is a nobleman only in the second generation, and his defiant anti-aristocratism make Pavel Petrovich look at him as an inferior - that is why some commentators believe that, having called Bazarov, Kirsanov paradoxically recognized him as his equal. Another "recognition of equality" occurs when Pavel Petrovich informs Bazarov that he acted nobly, not avoiding the fight and refusing to continue it after the opponent was wounded. “Bazarov would have behaved even more nobly if he had coolly discharged a bullet into the air after Kirsanov’s shot,” he will not fail to remark Nabokov 4 Nabokov VV Lectures on Russian literature. M.: Nezavisimaya gazeta, 1998. C. 167. ⁠ .

19th century capsule dueling pistol

Why couldn't Nikolai Petrovich marry Fenechka?

There were no legal barriers to this. The story of Nikolai Petrovich and Fenechka is completely trivial for the life of Russian landowners and peasants ("There is nothing else to tell," - so, to Nabokov's displeasure, Turgenev ends the story about the rapprochement between the landowner and the daughter of his housekeeper). But what is important in it is that the liberal-minded "fathers" are still hindered by class prejudices, and the timid Nikolai Petrovich depends on the opinion of his brother - the only person in the estate "of his own circle". In addition, he is held back by the memory of his late wife (this motive would later be echoed in Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, in the failed explanation of Koznyshev and Varenka). Pavel Petrovich, in turn, asks Nikolai Petrovich to marry Fenechka not out of some ideological considerations: his request combines self-denial, farewell to the past (Fenechka reminds him of a long-lost love), the desire to protect the girl, the desire, finally, to go beyond own ideas - this is given to the hero all the easier because at that moment he decided to leave Russia forever.

We have already written that Turgenev is especially interested in heroes of "mixed" social origin. It can be assumed that the child of Nikolai Petrovich and Fenechka is the hope for a new generation of "children". In his lecture on Turgenev, Nabokov notes that the role of Fenechka included giving compositional symmetry to the biography of Pavel Petrovich.

Butterfly wings. From Bertuch's Bilderbuch fur Kinder. 1798

Florilegius/SSPL/Getty Images

Why did Turgenev need deliberately comic characters - Sitnikov and Kukshina?

Bazarov's two admirers - the enthusiastic Sitnikov, who is ashamed of his father and lives on his money, and the "emancipated woman" Evdoksia Kukshina - are usually perceived exclusively as comic characters, shading Bazarov's cynical brilliance and, perhaps, caricaturally demonstrating the emptiness of "new people". The injustice of such a caricature was also emphasized by critics hostile to Turgenev (Antonovich wrote that Turgenev, with his mockery of Kukshina, harms the cause of women's liberation), and readers: for example, Russian Heidelberg students, with whom Kukshina met in the epilogue of the novel, protested to Turgenev. The figures of Sitnikov and Kukshina are indeed comical: the enlightened Kukshina's remark that George Sand knows nothing about embryology and is therefore unworthy of attention is already pure farce.

However, the presence of such followers - and we do not meet any others in the novel - casts a shadow on both Bazarov and his cause. Bazarov himself speaks as follows: “We need the Sitnikovs. Me, you understand this, I need such boobies. It’s not for the gods, in fact, to burn pots! .. ”In other words, the Sitnikovs are suitable for menial work, perhaps for terror, mass actions - a thought that occurs to almost all radical politicians. But the obvious stupidity of Sitnikov also compromises the “dirty work”: we seem to receive confirmation that the nihilists will not undertake any serious speeches in the near future.

It is worth noting that in the images of Sitnikov and Kukshina one can see, as it were, the grains of further directions of the raznochin movement: dressed as a “Slavophile”, Sitnikov will certainly become a populist, Kukshina will continue to devote herself to issues of women's emancipation.

Vladimir Makovsky. Party. 1897 State Tretyakov Gallery

Bazarov asks Arkady "not to speak beautifully." How does he say himself?

Arkady's poetic speech, in which even Turgenev's autoparody can be seen, irritates Bazarov. Note, however, that he himself "speaks beautifully" - that is, he resorts to sublime paths The word or expression used in figurative meaning to enhance artistic expression. ⁠ - in moments when the feeling of love takes precedence over reason. Dying, he asks Odintsova to kiss him with these words: “Blow on the dying lamp, and let it go out ...”

At the same time, it is impossible to say that Bazarov's speech in his usual state is devoid of any poetry. The “nihilistic” trope for Bazarov is a comparison of life with a suitcase in which an empty space is filled with something. The imagery of his controversy is deliberately reduced (“A person is able to understand everything - both how the ether trembles, and what happens in the sun; and how another person can blow his nose differently than he himself blows his nose, he is not able to understand”), but at the same time he quite naturally inserts folk proverbs, sayings, phraseological units into his speech, thereby revealing the features of the environment in which he grew up.

Speech characteristics are generally important in the interpretation of the heroes of "Fathers and Sons": we seem to hear both indecision in the confused words of Nikolai Kirsanov, and mannered gentlemanship in the Anglicisms and Gallicisms of his brother.

Why does Turgenev not name the exact age of his heroes?

Indeed, despite the fact that by the end of the novel we know the biography and origin of the characters in some detail, we cannot accurately name the years of birth of the Kirsanov brothers, sisters Anna Odintsova and Katya Lokteva (she is either twenty or eighteen years old) and, finally , Bazarov himself; it is only clear that he is several years older than Arkady. If the first ambiguities can be explained by Turgenev's haste, the latter is too serious to be attributed to negligence. Two explanations are possible: either Bazarov represents the entire generation of “new people” and indicating age to the nearest year is not necessary here, or Bazarov, despite Turgenev’s explanations, really had a well-known prototype, for example, the same Dobrolyubov. If Bazarov dies at the age of Dobrolyubov, then he is 25 years old and was born around 1834.

What caused the conflict between Turgenev and Dobrolyubov? How did this affect Fathers and Sons?

It is generally accepted that Turgenev quarreled with Sovremennik over Dobrolyubov's article "When Will the Real Day Come?" - about the novel "On the Eve". But, as follows from a recent biography Dobrolyubova 5 Vdovin A. V. Dobrolyubov: raznochinets between spirit and flesh. M.: Young guard, 2017. ⁠ , by the time the article appeared - which was not at all offensive - Turgenev's conflict with the young critic had been brewing for a long time. Like Bazarov, Dobrolyubov did not recognize authorities (with the exception of the closest people, primarily Chernyshevsky) and did not seek secular communication: “having received a condescending invitation to dinner from Turgenev (“come and you, young man”), Dobrolyubov refused to go out of pride” ; he also refused more gracious invitations. Turgenev’s behavior offended Dobrolyubov: “In our youth,” he told Panaev, “we were eager to at least take a closer look at literary authorities, we were delighted with their every word, and in the new generation we see ignorance of authorities; in general, dryness, one-sidedness, the absence of any aesthetic hobbies; they are all dead-born. I am afraid that they will bring into literature the same dead things that are in them. They had no childhood, no youth, no youth - these are some kind of moral freaks" 6 Panaeva A. Ya. From "Memoirs" // N. A. Dobrolyubov in the memoirs of contemporaries. M.: Artist. lit., 1986. S. 176. ⁠ . It is easy to notice here the same intonations with which Pavel Petrovich speaks, whose pride was hurt by Bazarov. Personal resentment soon turned into a literary one; the article about Nakanun, together with one of Chernyshevsky's notes, served as an excuse for Turgenev to break off relations with Sovremennik, with which he was no longer bound by a contract for the exclusive right to publish. Conflict, remember Avdotya Panayeva, Avdotya Yakovlevna Panaeva (maiden name - Bryanskaya; 1820-1893) - Russian writer and one of the first Russian feminists. In 1837, she marries journalist Ivan Panaev, then falls in love with his friend Nikolai Nekrasov and lives with him in a civil marriage for almost twenty years. After breaking up with Nekrasov, he marries again. Her memoirs contain a lot of valuable information about the social and literary life of the middle of the 19th century. ⁠ "who made a lot of noise in literature and entailed a lot of gossip and all kinds of insinuations, was at the same time a rupture of two parties, or, more correctly, of two generations - people of the forties and sixties."

Despite all this, Turgenev was saddened by the death of Dobrolyubov - especially since his best novel really owes a lot to criticism. The very concept of confrontation between the generations of "fathers" and "children" and the idea of ​​"new people" were expressed by Dobrolyubov in the article "Literary Little Things of the Past Year" (1859). Having quarreled with Sovremennik, Turgenev did not lose interest in Dobrolyubov. “Of course, Bazarov is by no means a caricature portrait of Dobrolyubov, but, as the sketches for the novel show, Turgenev kept in mind the same type of personality that Dobrolyubov appeared in his eyes. Both he and the hero of “Fathers and Sons” are outwardly sharp, principled rigorists, but inside they are torn by passions, who really do not know how to love women and are unable to build a serious relationship, ”concludes Dobrolyubov’s biographer Alexei Vdovin 7 Vdovin A. V. Dobrolyubov: raznochinets between spirit and flesh. M.: Young guard, 2017. C. 178. ⁠ case" 8 Nikolsky S. A., Filimonov V. P. Russian outlook. How a positive deed is possible in Russia: the search for an answer in Russian philosophy and classical literature of the 40-60s of the XIX century. Moscow: Progress-Tradition, 2009. ⁠ . The tension between peasants and landlords, felt in the novel, is almost as great as between “fathers” and “children”: Turgenev describes how the Kirsanov estate is falling into decay before our eyes, and that in the finale of the novel, who could not cope with affairs in his own household, Nikolai Kirsanov becomes a mediator - that is, an official who settles relations between peasants and landowners - most likely a consequence of the changes brought by the reform. Perhaps Turgenev draws such a conclusion too hastily: too little time had passed by the time Fathers and Sons was released to evaluate the reform, which left many peasants and landlords dissatisfied.

But the point is not only the relevance of the events of 1861 for society. Vladimir Nabokov begins his lecture on Turgenev with a description of the circumstances of his childhood, including communication with a mother full of "tyranny", who "brought the peasants ... to a truly miserable existence." (It is known that Turgenev drew the features of his own mother in the landowner from the story "Mumu".) "Later, when Turgenev tried to stand up for the serfs, she deprived him of his income and doomed him to real poverty, although in the future a huge inheritance awaited him," continues Nabokov. —<…>After the death of his mother, Turgenev made a lot of efforts to make life easier for his serfs, freed all the household servants and in every possible way contributed to the liberation reform of 1861. of the year" 9 Nabokov VV Lectures on Russian literature. Moscow: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 1998, p. 137. ⁠ . Thus, " peasant question” for Turgenev was a personal matter, and his presence in the novel is a consequence and evidence of Turgenev's involvement in his discussion. Another eloquent evidence is that the book that brought Turgenev to the forefront of Russian writers is devoted to the destinies of the peasants: Notes of a Hunter.

Turgenev himself, in a letter to the poet Konstantin Sluchevsky, stated: "My whole story is directed against the nobility as an advanced class." This remark, raised to the shield of Soviet literary criticism, can be interpreted in two ways: either "Fathers and Sons" is directed against the nobility in general, or, which is much more plausible, precisely against the leading role of the nobility in social change. Obviously, Bazarov at one time pinned his hopes for change with the peasants - despite the confession that escaped at some point: “And I hated this last peasant, Philip or Sidor, for whom I have to climb out of my skin and who won’t even thank me ". The confession seems to be cynical, but in fact desperate: a mirror parallel to it is the contempt of the peasants for Bazarov. Between "fathers" and "children", for all their dissimilarity, there are more opportunities for understanding than between "children" and those for whom they "should climb out of their skin." The world parallel to "fathers" and "children", a world that Turgenev even describes at a different pace, is often not taken into account at all when analyzing the novel.

It was not a scratch that killed Bazarov, but nature itself. He again invaded with his crude lancet (literally this time) of the transducer into the routine of life and death - and fell victim to it.

How are "Fathers and Sons" and "What to do?"

The novel by Nikolai Chernyshevsky, published a year after Fathers and Sons, was perceived by both the author and readers, at least in part, as a response to Turgenev (and it was not without reason that it was published in Sovremennik). In the place of one character, moreover internally contradictory, Chernyshevsky has a whole gallery of heroes of different levels of rationality and radicalism. The most curious is the connection between Bazarov and Rakhmetov from What Is to Be Done?: against the backdrop of “new people”, Rakhmetov becomes a “special person”, to whom Chernyshevsky gives the features of a prophet and a saint. Like Bazarov, he is distinguished by extreme judgments (for which he is called a rigorist), like Bazarov, he is of noble origin, from the conventions of which he refuses. The difference, however, is not so much that Chernyshevsky gives his hero a happy opportunity to serve the cause of the future, but that he brings Rakhmetov's asceticism and infallibility to an almost anecdotal level. Ultimately, the failing Bazarov turns out to be a much more believable character.

Nikolay Yaroshenko. Old and young. 1881 State Russian Museum

How does Fathers and Sons compare with Turgenev's other novels?

There are convincing attempts to consider Turgenev's novels as a single cycle of works about Russian society and people who have (or do not have) the opportunity to change something in it. It was Turgenev who first used the expression “extra person”, which would then turn into a literary cliché: “The Diary of an Extra Person” is the title of his story of 1850. The incompatibility of Chulkaturin, the hero of the Diary, with society is presented in the light of a love collision - Turgenev will continue to use this technique, but in the novels, starting with Rudin, the love conflict will become only part of a more complex conflict. Rudin, intelligent, enlightened, but indecisive and inactive, eventually dies on the Paris barricades of 1848 "a useless but heroic death" - by comparing this death with the death of Bazarov, one can appreciate what evolution Turgenev made as a writer. Lavretsky from the Noble Nest, just as smart and educated, becomes a hostage to the social morality of his time. Insarov from "On the Eve", a Bulgarian revolutionary who comes to Russia, stands out from the background of other Turgenev's heroes precisely by his commitment to action - but, firstly, in Russia, among people who are not very worried about the fate of the Bulgarians, he is an absolute stranger, firstly secondly, a senseless death awaits him. Indecision, inability to act became calling card many Turgenev's heroes, including in the stories "Spring Waters" and "Asya". A love collision is a traditional illustration of this character trait, as Nikolai Chernyshevsky noted in the article “Russian Man on Rendez-Vous”.

This "rendez-vous" can be understood not only as a love date, but also as a collision with a different reality, requiring a change in behavior. Turgenev's last two novels, "Smoke" and "Nov", testify that such clashes do not lead to positive results - both in a social and artistic sense. Despite the fact that Turgenev sincerely wanted to explore, as they would now say, social trends, his latest texts lacked exactly the brightness and provocativeness that distinguish "Fathers and Sons" and Dostoevsky's almost journalistic "Demons": in "Smoke" we already know the method of revealing the hero in a love conflict obscures the most curious thing in the novel - the characterization of the Russian emigration, which is well known to Turgenev, and in Novi the plot stalls, with difficulty connecting the description of "going to the people" with the details of the private life of revolutionaries more progressive than Bazarov. According to the historian of Russian literature Dmitry Svyatopolk-Mirsky, "Fathers and Sons" is "Turgenev's only novel, where social problems completely dissolved in art and from where the ends of the undigested journalism" 10 Svyatopolk-Mirsky D.P. History of Russian literature. Novosibirsk: Svinin and Sons Publishing House, 2014. C. 309. ⁠ .

bibliography

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• Ilichevsky A. V. Man and darkness // Lessons of Russian love: 100 love confessions from great Russian literature. M.: AST; Corpus, 2013.
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• Reifman P. Bazarov's cynicism // Lotman 70. Collection of articles dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Prof. Yu. M. Lotman. Tartu, 1992, pp. 273–280.
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All bibliography

Retelling plan

1. The author introduces readers to Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov.
2. His son Arkady arrives at his father's house with a new friend, Yevgeny Bazarov.
3. Arkady meets Fenechka.
4. Bazarov reveals his life principles.
5. The story of Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov, Arkady's uncle.
6. History of Fenechka.
7. Disputes of Bazarov and Kirsanov.

8. Friends leave the Kirsanovs' house. Acquaintance with Kukshina.
9. Meeting with Odintsova.
10. History of Odintsova.
11. Bazarov is forced to admit that he is in love with Odintsova.
12. Explanation of Bazarov with Odintsova.
13. Friends go to Bazarov's parents.
14. Bazarov and Arkady return to the Kirsanovs, having stopped on the way to Odintsova.
15. Pavel Petrovich challenges Bazarov to a duel.
16. Duel. Kirsanov is wounded. Bazarov narrows.
17. Nikolai Petrovich decides to marry Fenechka.
18. The last explanation of Bazarov with Odintsova.
19. Arkady proposes to Katya, Odintsova's sister.
20. The return of Yevgeny Bazarov to the parental home.
21. Bazarov becomes infected with typhus.
22. Odintsova comes to the dying Bazarov.
23. Death of Bazarov.
24. The wedding of Arkady and Katya, Nikolai Petrovich and Fenechka.
25. Epilogue. The further fate of the heroes.

retelling

Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov sat on the porch of the inn and waited for the arrival of his son Arkady. Kirsanov owned an estate of two hundred souls. His father was a military general, his mother belonged to the number of "mother commanders". Kirsanov himself was brought up at home surrounded by governesses until the age of fourteen. The older brother Pavel went to serve in the military. Nikolai was also predicted to have a military career, but he broke his leg, so at the age of eighteen his father sent him to the university. He left the university as a candidate. Soon his parents died, he married a pretty, educated girl and moved with her to the village, where he has remained to live ever since.

The couple lived very friendly, almost never parted, they read together, played four hands on the piano. Their son Arkady was born, and ten years later his wife died. Kirsanov took up farming. When Arkady grew up, his father sent him to St. Petersburg, where he lived with him for three years, then again went to the village.

And now he was sitting on the porch and waiting for his son. Seeing that Arkady was driving up, he ran.

Arkady introduced Nikolai Petrovich to his friend, Evgeny Bazarov. He asked his father not to stand on ceremony with Eugene, since he is a simple person. Bazarov decided to ride in the tarantass they had come in. Soon both carriages were laid down, and the heroes set off.

While Arkady and Nikolai Petrovich were riding in a carriage, Kirsanov could not get enough of his son, all the time he tried to hug him. Arkady was also glad to see him, but he tried to hide his childish joy and sometimes spoke in a cheeky way. When asked by Nikolai Petrovich what Bazarov was doing, Arkady replied that his subject was the natural sciences, but most of all he was interested in medicine.

Nikolai Petrovich complained about the troubles with the peasants: they do not pay dues, but the hired workers seem to be doing a good job. Arkady spoke of the beauty of nature that surrounded them, but fell silent, glancing back at Bazarov. Nikolai Petrovich said that almost nothing had changed on the estate, then, stammering, he spoke of the girl who now lived with him on the estate. If it would be embarrassing for Arkady and Evgeny to see her in the house, then she can leave for a while. But Arkady replied that he understood his father and was not going to embarrass him.

Both of them were uncomfortable after this conversation, and they changed the subject. Arkady began to examine the surrounding fields, which were in some desolation. The huts in the villages were low, the peasants came across poorly dressed, on decrepit nags. “No,” thought Arkady, “this region is not rich, it does not impress either with contentment or industriousness; it’s impossible, it’s impossible for him to stay like this, transformations are necessary ... but how to fulfill them, how to start?

However, the spring nature was beautiful. Arkady admired her. Nikolai Petrovich even began to read Pushkin's poem, but then he was interrupted by Bazarov, who asked Arkady to smoke. Nikolai Petrovich fell silent at once. They soon arrived at manor house.

The servants did not pour out to meet them, only one girl and a servant appeared, who helped everyone get out of the carriages. Nikolai Petrovich led everyone into the drawing room and ordered the old servant to serve dinner. Then the brother of Nikolai Petrovich, Pavel Petrovich, came out to meet them. He looked very well-groomed: a handsome face, on which the eyes were “especially good”, “short-cropped gray hair shone with a dark sheen, like new silver”; polished nails of white hands, "English suite", "pleasant voice", "beautiful white teeth". Bazarov is the complete opposite of Pavel Petrovich: his face is “long and thin, with a wide forehead”, “big greenish eyes expressed self-confidence and intelligence”, “hairy”, “red bare hand”, “long hoodie with tassels”, “lazy but courageous voice". After the greeting, Arkady and Bazarov went to their rooms to put themselves in order. Meanwhile, Pavel Petrovich asked his brother about Bazarov, whom he did not really like because of his untidy appearance.

Soon supper was served, during which little was said, especially Bazarov. Nikolai Petrovich told stories from his "farm" life. Pavel Petrovich, who never had supper, walked around the dining room and made small remarks, more like exclamations. Arkady reported some St. Petersburg news. But he felt a little embarrassed, as he returned to a house in which they used to consider him small. After dinner, everyone immediately dispersed.

Bazarov shared his impressions with Arkady. He considered Pavel Petrovich strange, because he dresses in the village like a dandy. Arkady replied that he used to be a secular lion, turning the heads of many women. Nikolai Petrovich Bazarov liked it, but he noted that he did not understand anything in the economy.

Arkady and Bazarov fell asleep early, the rest of the house could not close their eyes until late. Nikolai Petrovich kept thinking about his son. Pavel Petrovich held a magazine in his hands, but did not read it, but looked at the fire in the fireplace. Fenechka sat in her room and looked at the cradle in which her son, the son of Nikolai Petrovich, slept.

The next morning, Bazarov woke up before everyone else and went to inspect the surroundings. He met two yard boys, with whom he went to the swamp to catch frogs. He had a special ability to arouse confidence in himself "in people of lower origin", so the boys followed him. They were surprised at Bazarov's explanation: people are the same frogs.

Nikolai Petrovich and Arkady went out onto the terrace. The girl said that Fedosya Nikolaevna was unwell and would not be able to go downstairs to pour tea. Arkady asked his father if Fenechka didn't want to go out because he had come. Nikolai Petrovich was embarrassed and replied that most likely she was simply ashamed. Arkady began to assure him that she had nothing to be ashamed of, and neither did her father, and if her father let her under his roof, then she deserved it. Arkady wanted to go to her immediately. His father tried to warn him about something, but did not have time.

Soon Arkady went out onto the terrace again. He was cheerful and said that Fenechka was really unwell, but she would come later. Arkady lightly reproached his father for not telling him about his little brother, because then Arkady would have kissed him yesterday, as he did today. Both father and son were touched and did not know what to say to each other. Pavel Petrovich came, and everyone sat down to drink tea.

Pavel Petrovich asked Arkady where his friend was. Arkady replied that Yevgeny always gets up early and goes somewhere. Pavel Petrovich remembered that in his father's division there was a doctor Bazarov, who is most likely the father of Evgeny. Then he asked who this Bazarov was. Arkady replied that he was a nihilist, that is, "a person who does not bow to any authorities, who does not accept a single principle on faith, no matter how respected this principle may be." To this, Pavel Petrovich replied: “We, the people of the old century, we believe that without principles (Pavel Petrovich pronounced this word softly, in the French manner, Arkady, on the contrary, pronounced “pryntsyp”, leaning on the first syllable), without principles accepted , as you say, on faith, you can’t take a step, you can’t breathe.

Fenechka came out, a young and very pretty woman. “She seemed to be ashamed that she had come, and at the same time she seemed to feel that she had the right to come.” She handed Pavel Petrovich his cocoa and blushed.

When she left, there was silence on the terrace for a while. Then Pavel Petrovich said: "Mr. nihilist favors us." Bazarov went up to the terrace, asked for forgiveness for being late, said that he would return, just put the frogs. Pavel Petrovich asked if he ate them or bred them. Bazarov said indifferently that it was for experiments and left. Arkady looked at his uncle with regret, and Nikolai Petrovich furtively shrugged his shoulders. Pavel Petrovich himself realized that he had said nonsense, and started talking about the economy.

Bazarov returned and sat down to drink tea with everyone else. The conversation turned to science. Pavel Petrovich said that the Germans were very successful in it. “Yes, the Germans are our teachers in this,” Bazarov casually replied. Pavel Petrovich realized that Bazarov respected German scientists, but not Russian ones. He said that he himself did not really like the Germans, especially those who live now. The former, for example, Schiller or Goethe, were much better, while modern ones are only engaged in science. “A decent chemist is twenty times more useful than any poet,” Bazarov interrupted him. He did not at all want to continue this argument, but Pavel Petrovich kept asking him questions and asking questions, while showing that he was bored. Finally, Nikolai Petrovich intervened in the conversation and asked Bazarov to give him some advice about fertilizers. Eugene replied that he would be happy to help him.

Bazarov asked Arkady if his uncle was always like this. Arkady noticed that Yevgeny was too harsh with him, and decided to tell his story so that Bazarov would understand that Pavel Petrovich was worthy of pity, not ridicule.

Like his brother, Pavel Petrovich was brought up first at home, and then entered the military service. In St. Petersburg, the brothers lived together, but their way of life was very different. Pavel Petrovich was a real secular lion and did not spend a single evening at home. The ladies loved him very much, and the men secretly envied him.

In his twenty-eighth year he was already a captain and could have made a brilliant career if he had not once met Princess R. She had a stupid old husband and no children. She led the life of a frivolous coquette, suddenly went abroad and just as suddenly returned. At the balls she danced until she dropped, joking with young people. And at night she locked herself in her room, sobbed, wringing her hands in anguish, or simply sat all pale in front of the Psalter. The next day, she again turned into a secular lady. “No one would call her a beauty; in her whole face, the only thing good was that her eyes, and not even her very eyes - they were small and gray, - but their look, quick and deep, careless to the point of daring and thoughtful to the point of despondency, is a mysterious look. accustomed to quick victories, Pavel Petrovich just as quickly achieved his goal with Princess R. But the victory did not bring him triumph, on the contrary, he became even more painfully and deeply attached to this woman. Even when she gave herself irrevocably, there was still something incomprehensible in her that no one could penetrate. Once Pavel Petrovich gave her a ring with a sphinx and said that this sphinx was her. When the princess fell out of love with him, it became even harder for him. He almost lost his mind when she left him. Despite the requests of friends and superiors, he left the service and for four years followed her to foreign lands. He wanted to remain her friend, although he understood that friendship with such a woman was impossible. Finally he lost sight of her.

Returning to Russia, he tried to lead his former secular life, he could boast of new victories, but he was never the same. One day he learned that the princess had died in Paris in a state close to insanity. She sent him the ring he had given him, on which she drew a cross, and told him to tell him that this was the solution. Her death came just at the time when Nikolai Petrovich lost his wife. If before the differences between the brothers were strong, now they are almost erased. Pavel Petrovich moved to his brother's village and stayed with him.

Arkady added that Bazarov was unfair to Pavel Petrovich. In fact, he is very kind, he helped his brother with money many times, sometimes he stood up for the peasants, although he smelled cologne when he talked to them. Bazarov, on the other hand, called Pavel Petrovich a man who staked his whole life on the card of female love. “And what is the mysterious relationship between a man and a woman? We physiologists know what these relationships are. You study the anatomy of the eye: where does the mysterious look come from, as you say? It's all romanticism, nonsense, rot, art. Let's go and see the beetle." And both friends went to Bazarov's room.

Pavel Petrovich was not present for long at the brother's conversation with the manager. He knew that things were not going well on the estate, money was needed. But Pavel Petrovich had no money now, so he preferred to leave as soon as possible. He looked into Fenechka's room, who was very embarrassed at his arrival and ordered the maid to take the child to another room. Pavel Petrovich ordered that green tea be bought for him in the city. Fenechka thought that now he would probably leave, but Pavel Petrovich asked her to show her son. When they brought the boy, he said that the child looked like his brother. At that moment Nikolai Petrovich came and was very surprised to see his brother. He hastily left. Nikolai Petrovich asked Fenechka whether Pavel Petrovich had come of his own accord and whether Arkady had come. Then he kissed first little Mitya, and then Fenechka's hand.

This is the history of their relationship. About three years ago, Nikolai Petrovich stopped at a tavern, got into a conversation with the hostess. It turned out that things were not going well in the tavern. Nikolai Petrovich offered to move to his estate in order to conduct business there. Two weeks later, the hostess and her daughter Fenechka were already living in the estate. The girl was very afraid of Nikolai Petrovich, rarely showed herself, led a quiet and modest life. Once a spark from a fire hit her eye, and her mother asked Nikolai Petrovich to help her. He helped, but since then he constantly thought about the girl. She was still hiding, but gradually got used to him. Soon her mother died, and she remained in her place to take care of the household. “She was so young, so alone; Nikolai Petrovich himself was so kind and modest ... There is nothing else to say ... "

On the same day, Bazarov met Fenechka. He was walking with Arkady and saw Fenechka in the arbor with his son and a maid. Bazarov asked Arkady who she was. He explained in a few words. Eugene went to the gazebo to get acquainted. He very easily started a conversation, asked why the baby had red cheeks, and said that if Mitya fell ill, he was ready to help him, because he was a doctor.

When friends went further, Bazarov said that he liked Fenechka that she was not very embarrassed: "She is a mother - well, she's right." Arkady noticed that he considered his father wrong, since he should marry Fenechka. Bazarov only laughed in response: “Do you still attach importance to marriage?” Then he started talking about the fact that things were not going well on the estate, “the cattle are bad and the horses are broken”, “the workers look like notorious sloths”. "I'm beginning to agree with my uncle," Arkady remarked, "you have a decidedly bad opinion of the Russians." Bazarov did not mind. Suddenly they heard the sounds of the cello, it was Nikolai Petrovich playing. This seemed strange to Bazarov, and he laughed. “But Arkady, no matter how much he revered his teacher, did not even smile this time.”

It's been about two weeks. Everyone on the estate got used to Bazarov. Fenechka even once ordered to wake him up at night: Mitya had convulsions. The courtyard people were especially fond of Bazarov, with whom he could always find a common language. Nikolai Petrovich doubted his beneficial influence on Arkady, but still asked his advice. Only Pavel Petrovich hated Bazarov, whom he called a cynic and impudent and suspected that he despised him.

Usually Bazarov went out early in the morning to collect herbs and catch beetles, sometimes he took Arkady with him. One day they were a little late for tea, and Nikolai Petrovich went to meet them. They passed on the other side of the gate and did not see him, and Nikolai Petrovich heard their conversation. Bazarov said that although Kirsanov is a kind fellow, he is already a retired person, and his song is sung. Nikolai Petrovich wandered home. Meanwhile, Bazarov advised Arkady to let his father read Buchner instead of Pushkin. Nikolai Petrovich told his brother about what he had heard. He complained that he was striving with all his might to keep up with the times, he had made so many changes to his household, and he was still called a retired person. Pavel Petrovich said that he was not going to give up so quickly, he would still have a fight with Bazarov.

The fight took place that same evening, when everyone was drinking tea. Pavel Petrovich was still waiting for an excuse, because of which he could enter into an argument with Bazarov. But the guest remained silent throughout the dinner. Finally, when it came to a certain landowner, Bazarov called him "aristocratic rubbish." Pavel Petrovich realized that Bazarov had the same low opinion of all aristocrats. He began to talk about what a real aristocrat is. This is a person who fulfills his duties, who has principles, and he follows them. This is how he benefits society. Bazarov replied that Pavel Petrovich, although an aristocrat, did not bring any benefit, because he was sitting idly by. But, according to Pavel Petrovich, nihilists also do not benefit society, since they deny everything. For them, the main thing is to destroy everything, to destroy the old foundations, and who will build everything anew, the nihilists are no longer interested. Bazarov replied that the inaction of the nihilists was justified. Previously, the accusers constantly talked about how badly the people live in Russia, criticized the government, but they did not go beyond conversations. The nihilists have realized how empty such talk is. Therefore, they stopped trusting the authorities, stopped denouncing, now they deny everything, and "decided not to take on anything."

Pavel Petrovich was horrified. In his opinion, civilization is what the whole society rests on, if it does not exist, then society will reach primitiveness. For Pavel Petrovich, "the last dirty trickster" is much more civilized than any nihilist, "wild Mongol." Bazarov wanted to stop this senseless dispute: “I will only be ready to agree with you when you present me at least one decision in our modern life, in family or public life, which would not cause complete and merciless denial.”

The young people are gone. And Nikolai Petrovich remembered how, during his youth, he had a strong fight with his mother because she could not understand her son, and he could not understand her. Now the same relationship was between the elder Kirsanov and his son.

Before going to bed, Nikolai Petrovich went to his favorite pavilion. “For the first time he was clearly aware of his separation from his son; he foresaw that every day it would become more and more.” He realized that in vain in Petersburg he was present at the conversations of his son with his friends and rejoiced if he managed to insert his word. He did not understand one thing: how can poetry, nature, art be rejected? He admired the evening nature, and poetry came to his mind, but he remembered the book that his son had given him, and fell silent. Nikolai Petrovich began to remember his late wife. She seemed to him a young shy girl, as he saw her for the first time. He regretted that it was impossible to return everything back. But then Fenechka called him, and he was offended that she appeared at that very moment. He went home, and on the way he met his brother. Pavel Petrovich came to the arbor, looked at the sky, but "nothing was reflected in his beautiful dark eyes except the light of the stars."

Bazarov invited Arkady to take advantage of the invitation of an old friend to visit the city: Bazarov did not want to stay on the estate after a quarrel with Pavel Petrovich. After he was going to go to his parents. Bazarov and Arkady left the next day. The youth in the estate regretted their departure, and the old people sighed lightly.

A friend of the Bazarov family, Matvey Ilyich, received Arkady good-naturedly. He advised: if Arkady wants to get acquainted with the local society, he should attend the ball, which is arranged by the governor. Bazarov and Arkady went to the governor and received an invitation to the ball. When the friends were returning, they met a young man, Sitnikov, an acquaintance of Bazarov. He began to tell how much Eugene changed his life, called him a teacher. But Bazarov did not pay much attention to him. Sitnikov invited them to Evdokia Kukshina, a local emancipated woman, he was sure that Bazarov would like her. The friends agreed when they were promised three bottles of champagne.

They came to Kukshina's house. The hostess turned out to be still a young woman, dressed in an untidy dress, disheveled. She had an unprepossessing appearance, she spoke and moved cheekily, and her every movement was unnatural, as if she did it on purpose. She constantly jumped from subject to subject: at first she told that she was engaged in chemistry and was going to make glue for dolls, then she started talking about women's labor. She constantly asked questions, but did not wait for answers to them, but continued her chatter.

Bazarov asked if there were any pretty women in the city. Kukshina replied that her friend Anna Sergeevna Odintsova was not bad-looking, but she was poorly educated and did not understand at all the kind of conversations they were having now. She immediately switched to the need to improve women's education so that all women become as progressive as she is. Sitnikov constantly inserted stupid phrases like "down with the authorities" and laughed just as stupidly. When Kukshina began to sing a romance, Arkady could not stand it, said that it all looked like bedlam, and stood up. Bazarov, without saying goodbye to the hostess, left the house. Sitnikov ran after his friends.

A few days later, friends came to the ball. Since Arkady danced badly, and Bazarov did not dance at all, they sat down in a corner. They were joined by Sitnikov, who put on a grin on his face and made venomous jokes. But suddenly his face changed, and he said: "Odintsova has arrived." Arkady saw a tall woman in a black dress. She looked calm and intelligent and smiled a barely perceptible smile. Bazarov also drew attention to her: “What kind of figure is this? She doesn't look like other women." Sitnikov replied that he knew her and promised to introduce Arkady to her. But it turned out that he was completely unfamiliar to her, and she looked at him with some astonishment. But, having heard about Arkady, she asked if he was the son of Nikolai Petrovich. It turns out that she saw him several times and heard a lot of good things about him.

She was constantly invited to dance by various gentlemen, and in between she talked with Arkady, who told her about his father, uncle, life in St. Petersburg and the countryside. Odintsova listened to him with attention, but at the same time Arkady felt that she seemed to condescend to him. He told her about Bazarov, and Odintsova became interested in him. She invited them to her house.

Bazarov began to ask Arkady about Odintsova, and he replied that she was very nice, cold and strict. Bazarov agreed to accept her invitation, although he thought that she was something like an emancipated Kukshina. They left the ball right after dinner. Kukshina nervously laughed after them, as none of them paid any attention to her.

The next day, Arkady and Bazarov went to Odintsova. As they climbed the stairs, Bazarov joked venomously about her. But when he saw her, he was internally embarrassed: “Here you go! the women were scared!" Anna Sergeevna seated them across from her and began to look attentively at Bazarov, who sat down in the armchair too freely.

Odintsova's father was a card player and a swindler. As a result, he lost everything and was forced to settle in the village and soon died, leaving his small estate to two daughters - Anna and Katya. Their mother died a long time ago.

After the death of her father, Anna's life was very hard, she did not know how to manage the estate and how to live in poverty. But she did not lose her head, but ordered her mother's sister, an evil and snobby old princess, to come to her. Anna was about to fade into the wilderness, but then Odintsov, a wealthy man of about forty-six, saw her. He asked her to marry him, and Anna agreed. They

lived for six years, then Odintsov died, leaving all his fortune to his young wife. Anna Sergeevna traveled to Germany with her sister, but soon got bored there and returned to her Nikolskoye estate. She almost did not appear in a society where she was not loved and all sorts of gossip was told. But she didn't pay any attention to them.

Arkady was surprised at the behavior of his friend. Usually Bazarov was taciturn, but this time he tried to keep Anna Sergeevna engaged in conversation. It was not clear from her face whether this had made an impression on her. At first she did not like Bazarov's breaking, but she realized that he felt embarrassed, and this flattered her.

Arkady thought that Eugene would begin to talk about his views, but instead he talked about medicine, homeopathy, botany. It turned out that Anna Sergeevna had read books about this and was well versed in the subject. She treated Arkady like a younger brother. At the end of the conversation, she invited friends to visit her village. They agreed. After the friends left Odintsova's, Bazarov again spoke of her in his former tone. They agreed to go to Nikolskoye the day after tomorrow.

When they arrived at Odintsova's, they were met by two lackeys, and the butler led them to the room prepared for the guests and said that in half an hour the hostess would receive them. Bazarov noticed that Anna Sergeevna spoiled herself too much, called her a mistress. Arkady just shrugged. He, too, felt embarrassed.

Half an hour later they went down to the living room, where they were met by the hostess. In the conversation it turned out that the old princess still lives in the house and the neighbor comes to play cards. This is the whole society. A girl came into the living room with a basket of flowers. Odintsova introduced her sister Katya. She turned out to be shy, sat down near her sister and began to pick flowers.

Odintsova invited Bazarov to argue about something, for example, about how to recognize and study people. Bazarov replied that there was no need to study them. Just as trees are similar to each other, so people are no different, maybe just a little. If you recognize one person, consider that you have recognized everyone. Odintsova asked if there was no difference between a smart and a stupid person, a good and an evil one. “As between the sick and the healthy,” answered Bazarov. In his opinion, all moral ailments arise due to bad education: "Fix society, and there will be no diseases." Such a judgment surprised Anna Sergeevna, she wanted to continue the argument.

The old princess came down to tea. Odintsova and Katya treated her obligingly, gave her a cup, spread a pillow, but did not pay any attention to her words. Arkady and Bazarov realized that they were keeping her only for importance, since she was of princely origin. After tea, the neighbor Porfiry Platonych arrived, with whom Anna Sergeevna usually played cards. She invited Bazarov to join, and asked her sister to play something for Arkady. The young man had the feeling that he was being sent away, a "tormenting feeling, similar to a premonition of love" matured in him. Katya was very embarrassed by him, and after playing the sonata, she seemed to withdraw into herself, answering Arkady's questions in monosyllables.

Anna Sergeevna suggested that Bazarov take a walk in the garden the next day so that he could tell about the Latin names of plants. When the friends went to their room, Arkady exclaimed that Odintsova was a wonderful woman. Bazarov agreed, but called Katya a real miracle, since you can still make whatever you want out of her, and her sister is a “grated roll”. Anna Sergeevna thought about her guests, especially about Bazarov. She had never met people like him, so she was curious. The next day she and Bazarov went for a walk, while Arkady stayed with Katya. When Odintsova returned, Arkady noticed that her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her eyes shone brighter than usual. Bazarov walked with a careless gait, but the expression on his face was cheerful and even affectionate, which did not please Arkady.

Friends lived with Odintsova for about fifteen days and did not feel bored. This was partly facilitated by the special routine that the hostess herself and her guests adhered to. At eight o'clock everyone went down to morning tea. Before breakfast, they did what they wanted, and Anna Sergeevna herself worked with the clerk. Before dinner, the society gathered for conversation, and the evening was devoted to walking, playing cards and music. Bazarov was slightly annoyed by this routine. But Odintsova answered him that without him in the village one could die of boredom.

Changes began to take place in Bazarov. He felt a slight anxiety, became angry, quickly irritated and spoke reluctantly. Arkady decided that Bazarov was in love with Odintsova, and indulged in despondency, which quickly passed in the company of Katya, with whom he felt at home. The constant separation of friends has made changes in their relationship. They no longer discussed Odintsova, Bazarov's remarks about Katya were dry, and in general they talked less often than before.

But the real change in Bazarov was the feeling that Odintsova evoked in him. He liked women, but he called love romantic rubbish. He said that if it is impossible to get sense from a woman, then we must turn away from her. He soon realized that you could not get any sense from her, but he could not turn away. In his thoughts, he imagined how Anna Sergeevna was in his arms, and they were kissing. After that, he got angry with himself and gnashed his teeth. Anna Sergeevna also thought about him, she wanted to test him and know herself.

Once Bazarov met his father's clerk, who said that his parents were waiting for him and were worried. Eugene told Odintsova that he had to leave, and she turned pale. In the evening she and Bazarov sat in her office. Odintsova asked him why he wanted to leave, saying that she would be bored without him. Eugene objected that she would not be bored for a long time, since she arranged her life so correctly that there was no place for boredom in her. He did not understand why such a young, beautiful and intelligent woman imprisoned herself in the countryside, shunned society and at the same time invited two students to her place. He thought that she stays in one place because she loves comfort and convenience, and is indifferent to everything else. She cannot be carried away by anything, except for what arouses curiosity in her. Anna Sergeevna admitted to Bazarov that she was very unhappy, she loves comfort, but at the same time does not want to live at all. It seems to her that she has been living for a very long time, she has many memories behind her, she has experienced both poverty and wealth, and she has absolutely no goal ahead, she has nothing to live for.

Bazarov noticed that her misfortune was that she wanted to fall in love, but could not do it. Odintsova replied that for this you need to completely surrender to the person you love, and this is not so easy. She asked if Bazarov could devote himself completely to another person. He replied that he did not know. She wanted to say something else to Yevgeny, but did not dare. He soon said goodbye to her and left. Anna Sergeevna was about to follow him, but then she ran into the maid and returned to her office.

The next day, after morning tea, Anna Sergeevna went to her room and did not appear for breakfast. When the whole society gathered in the living room, Odintsova asked Bazarov to go up to her office. At first they started talking about chemistry textbooks, but she interrupted him and said that she wanted to continue their conversation yesterday. She wanted to know why, when people listen to music, they talk to good people, they experience something like happiness, and is it really happiness? Then she asked what Bazarov wants to achieve from life? Anna Sergeevna did not believe that a person with such ambitions as Bazarov's would want to be a simple county doctor. Eugene did not want to look into the future, so as not to regret later that he was talking about him in vain. Then Odintsova wanted to know what was happening with Bazarov now? She hoped that Eugene's tension would finally leave him and they would become good friends. Bazarov asked if Anna Sergeevna wanted to know the reason for his tension? She replied: "Yes." And then Bazarov confessed his love to her.

He was not seized by youthful horror after the first confession, he felt only passion. Bazarov attracted Anna Sergeyevna to him. She lingered in his arms for a moment, but then quickly freed herself. "You misunderstood me," she whispered. Bazarov left. A little later, he sent her a note in which he wrote that if she wanted, he would leave right now. But she said, "Why leave?" Until dinnertime, Anna Sergeevna did not leave her room. She kept asking herself what made her achieve Bazarov's recognition? It even seemed to her that she could respond to his feelings, but then she decided that peace was dearer to her.

Odintsova was embarrassed when she appeared in the dining room. But lunch went very smoothly. Porfiry Platonych arrived and told a few anecdotes. Arkady spoke quietly to Katya. Bazarov, on the other hand, was sullenly silent. After dinner, the whole company went for a walk in the garden. Bazarov asked Odintsova for forgiveness for his act and said that he intended to leave soon. He could stay on only one condition, but this condition will never come true, since Anna Sergeevna does not love him and will never love him. After that, he said goodbye to her and went into the house. Odintsova spent the whole day next to her sister. Arkady did not understand what was happening. Bazarov went down only for tea.

Sitnikov arrived, who inadvertently began to ask for forgiveness from the hostess for having appeared without an invitation. With his appearance, everything became much easier. After dinner, Bazarov told Arkady that he was leaving for his parents the next day. Arkady also decided to leave. He understood that something had happened between his friend and Odintsova. However, he was sorry to part with Katya. Aloud, he scolded Sitnikov, to which Bazarov replied that he needed such boobies: “It’s not for the gods to burn pots!” Arkady thought that he, probably, for Bazarov, was exactly the same oaf.

When Odintsova learned the next day of Bazarov's departure, she was not at all surprised. Saying goodbye, Odintsova expressed the hope that she and Bazarov would see each other again. On the way, Arkady noticed that his friend had changed. Bazarov replied that he would soon recover: "it is better to beat stones on the pavement than to let a woman take possession of at least the tip of her finger." After that, the friends were silent all the way.

When friends arrived at the manor house, they were met by Bazarov's father, Vasily Ivanovich. He was delighted with the arrival of his son, but tried not to show his feelings, because he knew that Eugene did not like this. Bazarov's mother, Arina Vlasyevna, ran out of the house. Seeing Eugene, she almost fainted, she was so glad of his arrival. Parents with joy did not even immediately notice Arkady, but then they began to apologize for such a reception. Vasily Ivanovich led the guests into his study, and Arina Vlasyevna went into the kitchen to hurry up with dinner.

Vasily Ivanovich talked all the time: about how he runs the household, what books he reads, how he is engaged in medicinal activities, he remembered several tales from his former soldier's life. Arkady smiled out of courtesy, Bazarov was silent and occasionally inserted short remarks. Finally went to dinner. Vasily Ivanovich was talking about something again, and Arina Vlasyevna kept looking at her son, without noticing Arkady. Then the father took everyone to look at the garden, in which he planted new trees.

Before going to bed, Bazarov kissed his mother and went to sleep in his father's office. Vasily Ivanovich wanted to talk to him, but Yevgeny pleaded tiredness. In fact, he didn't fall asleep until morning, staring angrily into the darkness. But Arkady slept very well.

When Arkady woke up and opened the window, he saw Vasily Ivanovich diligently digging in the garden. The old man started talking about his son. He wanted to know what Arkady thought of him. The guest replied that Bazarov was the most wonderful person he had ever met in his life. He is sure that Eugene will definitely succeed and glorify his name. Vasily Ivanovich was happy to hear this. He complained only that Eugene does not like to express his feelings and does not allow others to do this in relation to him.

Closer to noon, young people settled down on a haystack. Bazarov recalled his childhood. He was sure that his parents had a good life, they were constantly busy with business. And he said to himself that he takes up little space compared to the rest of space, and his life is insignificant before eternity. And at the same time, he also wants something, his blood beats, his brain works.

His parents do not feel their insignificance, while Bazarov himself feels "boredom and anger." He pointed to an ant dragging a fly. The ant, unlike people, does not feel a sense of compassion, therefore it cannot break itself. Arkady objected that Bazarov could never break himself. “I didn’t break myself, and the wench won’t break me,” exclaimed Bazarov. Arkady suggested that he take a nap to drive away the melancholy. Bazarov asked not to look at him sleeping, because he would have a stupid face. "Don't you care what they think of you?" asked Arkady. Bazarov replied that a real person should not care what they think of him, because a real person must either be listened to or hated. Here he, for example, hates everyone, and will change his mind about himself only when he meets a person who does not give in to him.

Arkady did not want to agree with him. Then he saw a maple leaf fall to the ground, and told his friend about it. Bazarov asked him not to say "beautiful", otherwise he would follow in the footsteps of his uncle, whom he called an idiot. Arkady stood up for his uncle. A quarrel ensued between friends. They were ready to fight, but then Vasily Ivanovich came. He said that a dinner would soon be served, at which Father Alexei would be present, who, at the request of his mother, had served a prayer service on the occasion of Yevgeny's return. Bazarov said that he was not against Father Alexei if he did not eat his portion. After dinner they sat down to play cards. Arina Vlasyevna again looked intently at her son.

The next day, Bazarov told a friend that he was going to go to the village to Arkady, because he was bored here and could not work, because his parents were always there. He will return home later. Arkady noticed that he was very sorry for his parents, especially his mother. Bazarov only towards evening decided to tell his father about his decision. It upset Vasily Ivanovich very much, but he braced himself and said that if Yevgeny had to go, then he had to. When the friends left the next day, everyone in the house was immediately depressed. The old people were left alone. “He left us, he left us,” Vasily Ivanovich babbled, “he left us; he got bored with us. One, like a finger now, one! Arina Vlasyevna leaned against him, trying to comfort him.

Friends drove to the inn in silence. Only then Arkady asked Bazarov where they would go: home or to Odintsova. Bazarov left it to him to make the decision, while he turned away. Arkady ordered to go to Odintsova. By the way the butler met them, the friends realized that no one was waiting for them. They sat for a long time with stupid faces in the drawing room until Anna Sergeevna came down to them. She behaved with them as usual, but spoke abruptly and reluctantly, from which it was clear that she was not very happy about their appearance. During the farewell, she apologized for the slightly cold reception and invited them to her place after a while.

Friends went to Arkady. They were very happy in the Kirsanovs' house. During dinner, they began to ask questions about this and that. Arkady spoke more. Nikolai Petrovich complained about the allotment on the estate: the workers were lazy, the peasants did not pay dues, the manager was completely lazy and even got fat on the lordly grubs, there were not enough people for the harvest.

The next day, Bazarov set to work on his frogs, Arkady considered it his duty to help his father. However, he noticed that he was constantly thinking about the village of Nikolsky. He walked until he was tired to get some air, but this did not help him. He asked his father to find letters from Odintsova's mother that she had written to his mother. When they were in his hands, he calmed down, as if he saw a goal in front of him, which he had to follow. Finally, ten days after returning home, he came up with an excuse and went to Nikolskoye. He was afraid that he would be given the same reception as the last time, but he was mistaken. Katya and Anna Sergeevna were glad to see him.

Bazarov understood why his friend left his parents' house, so he finally retired and was only engaged in his work. He no longer argued with Pavel Petrovich. Only once there was an argument between them again, but they immediately stopped it. Pavel Petrovich was sometimes even present at Bazarov's experiments. But Nikolai Petrovich visited him much more often. During dinners, he tried to talk about physics, geology or chemistry, since other topics could cause a collision. Pavel Petrovich still could not stand Bazarov. He did not even want to turn to him for help when one night he had a violent seizure. Only with Fenechka Bazarov communicated more readily than with everyone else, and she was not at all afraid of him. They often talked, although under Nikolai Petrovich she shunned Bazarov out of a sense of decency. Fenechka was generally afraid of Pavel Petrovich, especially if he suddenly appeared in front of her.

One morning, Bazarov saw Fenechka picking roses in the arbor. They started talking. Fenechka said that she did not want to become old, since now she does everything herself, she does not ask anyone for help, and in old age she will be dependent. Bazarov replied that he didn’t care whether he was old or young, because no one needed his youth, since he lives as a bean. He asked Fenechka to read some of his book, because he really wanted to see how she would read. He began to compliment her, and she was embarrassed by this. Bazarov asked her for one rose.

Suddenly it seemed to her that Pavel Petrovich was very close by. She admitted that she was very afraid of him, because he did not say anything, but everything just looked at her. Bazarov asked Fenechka to smell the flower she had given him. She reached out to him, and Bazarov kissed her on the lips. There was a cough behind the lilacs, and Fenechka quickly moved away. It was Pavel Petrovich. Seeing them, he quickly left. "It's a sin for you, Yevgeny Vasilievich," whispered Fenechka, leaving the arbor. Bazarov remembered another such scene, and he felt ashamed and vexed.

Pavel Petrovich returned home and when asked by his brother why he had such a dark face, he answered that he sometimes suffers from an overflow of bile.

Two hours later Pavel Petrovich came to Bazarov's room. He said that he would not take much of his time, he only needed to know how Bazarov felt about the duel. Eugene replied that from a theoretical point of view - this is absurd, but from a practical point of view - a completely different matter. Then Pavel Petrovich challenged him to a duel. He did not want to reveal the true reasons for his decision, which should be known to Bazarov. But since there have always been disputes and misunderstandings between them, this may be the reason. For formality, Kirsanov suggested a small quarrel, but Bazarov thought this was superfluous. They discussed the details of the duel. Instead of seconds, who are still nowhere to be found, they decided to take Peter's valet and agreed to meet tomorrow at dawn.

After Pavel Petrovich left, Bazarov exclaimed: “Fu-you, damn it! How beautiful and how stupid! What a comedy we broke off! He understood that it was impossible to refuse, because then Pavel Petrovich could hit him with his cane, and Bazarov would have to "strangle him like a kitten." He began to think about why Kirsanov challenged him to a duel, and came to the conclusion that he was most likely in love with Fenechka.

The day passed quietly and sluggishly. Fenechka was hiding in her room. Nikolai Petrovich complained about the wheat. Pavel Petrovich overwhelmed everyone with his chilling politeness. Bazarov wanted to write a letter to his father, but tore it up. He told Peter to come to him early tomorrow morning for a serious conversation, while he himself slept badly all night.

The next day, Peter woke Bazarov at four o'clock, and they went to the place of the duel. Bazarov explained to the servant what was required of him, saying that this was a very important and responsible role, and the footman was scared to death. Soon Pavel Petrovich appeared. He began to load his pistols, while Bazarov, meanwhile, counted the steps for the barrier. This idea seemed very stupid to Bazarov, so he joked all the time and spoke exaggeratedly beautifully, but was not at all afraid. Pavel Petrovich said that he was going to fight seriously.

The opponents dispersed. Pavel Petrovich fired first, but missed. Bazarov, who did not aim at all and did not even look at the enemy, wounded him in the leg. Pavel Petrovich said that, under the terms of the duel, they could shoot again, but Bazarov suggested that they postpone it until the next time, since now he is first of all a doctor and must examine the wound. Pavel Petrovich began to protest, but then lost consciousness, but soon came to his senses. Bazarov ordered Peter to go to the estate for a carriage, and Kirsanov ordered not to tell his brother anything. Peter left, and the opponents did not know what to talk about, and whether they should talk at all. “The silence lasted, heavy and awkward. Both were not well. Each of them was aware that the other understood him. This consciousness is pleasant to friends, and very unpleasant to enemies, especially when it is impossible to either explain or disperse. Then they started talking and decided to tell everyone that they had quarreled over political differences.

Together with Peter, Nikolai Petrovich arrived, who was very frightened for his brother. He asked Bazarov to take care of his wound until another doctor arrived from the city. Pavel Petrovich was taken to the estate. They took care of him all day. The doctor who arrived prescribed soft drinks for him and said that the wound was not dangerous. Pavel Petrovich sometimes raved, but quickly came to his senses. Once he woke up, saw Nikolai Petrovich in front of him and said that there was something of Princess R in Fenechka. He said that he would not tolerate if some insolent person touched her. Nikolai Petrovich decided that his brother had a fever.

The next day Bazarov came to Nikolai Petrovich to say goodbye. Pavel Petrovich also wanted to see him. But with Fenechka, who after the duel became afraid of Bazarov, he did not manage to say goodbye.

Pavel Petrovich lay in bed for about a week, then moved to the sofa. Conscience did not torment Fenechka, although she guessed the real reason for the duel. She was still afraid of Pavel Petrovich, and when she brought him food, she tried not to look at him. Once Pavel Petrovich spoke to her. He asked why she did not look at him as if she had a bad conscience, and if she loved his brother. Fenechka replied that she loved him very much and would not exchange him for anyone. Pavel Petrovich began to ask Fenechka to always love her brother and never leave him. Then he pressed her hand to his lips. At that moment Nikolai Petrovich entered with Mitya in his arms. Fenechka took the child and hurried out. Pavel Petrovich asked his brother to do his duty and marry Fenechka. Nikolai Petrovich was very surprised. He said that he did not do this earlier only because his brother was always against such marriages, but promised to fulfill his desire. And Pavel Petrovich thought to himself that after his brother's wedding he would go abroad and never return.

Arkady and Katya were sitting in the garden. “They were both silent; but it was precisely in the way they were silent, the way they sat side by side, that the trusting rapprochement was evident: each of them did not seem to think about his neighbor, but secretly rejoiced at his closeness. Then they spoke. Katya said that she and her sister changed him, now he is not as similar to Bazarov as before. Arkady asked her what she thought of his friend. Katya replied that he was a stranger to her and she was a stranger to him. Bazarov is predatory, while she and Arkady are tame. For a while he made an impression on Anna Sergeevna, but no one can influence her for too long. Arkady began to compare Katya and Anna Sergeevna. Both of them had the same character traits, although in Anna Sergeevna they were revealed more than in Katya. Katya asked not to compare them: unlike her sister, she would not marry a rich man, even if she loved him, she is ready to submit to her beloved, but inequality is terrible for her. Arkady assured that he would not exchange Katya for anyone, even for Anna Sergeevna, and hastily left. He returned to the house and found Bazarov in his room. Eugene told him in a few words about the latest events at the estate and assured him that everything was in order with his uncle. Arkady realized that Bazarov had come to say goodbye to him, but did not understand why. Bazarov replied that Arkady had already said goodbye to him a long time ago, hinted that his friend was in love with Odintsova and it seemed that things were going great for them. He said that he only stopped by to say goodbye, he didn’t even want to see Anna Sergeevna.

But Odintsova found out about Bazarov's arrival and wished to meet him. Bazarov assured her that he had already realized his past mistakes. Odintsova wanted to remain friends with him. They spoke as if they believed in their own words. Bazarov hinted that Arkady was in love with Anna Sergeevna, but it turned out that Odintsova did not suspect this. Then she invited him to go into the hall, in which Katya and the old princess were already sitting. Only Arcadia was missing. It wasn't long before he was found. He was sitting in the farthest corner of the garden and he looked as if he had finally decided on something.

The next day, Arkady and Katya were sitting in the gazebo, which Odintsova did not like to visit. Arkady said that they had been communicating for a long time, they talked about many things, but did not touch on one more issue. He still couldn't find the right words. Katya knew what he was getting at, but she sat with her head down, as if she did not want to help him speak out. Suddenly they heard a conversation between Odintsova and Bazarov, who were walking near the gazebo and did not see the young people. Anna Sergeevna said that she was flattered by Arkady's feelings. He is so young, so there is some charm in his feeling. And with Katya, he behaves like an older brother. Their conversation faded away. And then Arkady plucked up courage, confessed to Katya his love and asked her for her hand. Katya agreed.

The next day, Odintsova showed Bazarov a letter in which Arkady asked her permission to marry Katya. Bazarov advised her to allow this marriage. Odintsova asked Bazarov to stay on her estate for a while longer, but he hurried to leave. As he packed, he congratulated his friend on his characteristic swagger and ill-concealed malice. He said that Arkady was not suitable for the deeds that Bazarov preached: “Our dust will eat your eyes out, our dirt will stain you, and you have not grown up to us ...” At parting, Arkady hugged his friend, but Bazarov said that Katya comfort him quickly. And in fact, talking with Katya in the evening, Arkady no longer remembered his friend.

Bazarov's parents were very happy about the return of their son, especially since they did not expect him soon. Eugene again began to live in his father's office and worked there. This time, his parents did not interfere with him very much, his mother was even afraid to speak to him. Bazarov plunged into work. But soon the fever of work left him, and he felt restless, began to seek society. His condition worried his parents, but they were afraid to directly ask him about anything. When one day Vasily Ivanovich began to carefully question him about his work, about Arkady, Bazarov got angry.

Finally, Eugene, he found a job for himself - together with his father, he took up medical practice. Vasily Ivanovich was so happy about this that he even kept the tooth that Yevgeny pulled out from the peasant, and showed it to everyone as a landmark.

One day a peasant brought his brother, who was sick with typhus, from the village. But the Bazarovs said that it was too late to treat him, he would not recover. Three days later, Eugene came to his father and asked him for a hellish stone to cauterize the wound. He said that he had been present at the autopsy of that man with typhus, and cut himself. Vasily Ivanovich was frightened, offered to cauterize with iron, but Bazarov replied that it was four hours ago. If he's infected, there's nothing you can do now.

Soon Bazarov fell ill. He lost his appetite, got chills, fever. But he said it was a cold. He spent the whole night in a half-forgetful slumber. He ordered his father not to stand over him, but Vasily Ivanovich went out into the corridor and spent the whole night in front of his son's door. In the morning Bazarov tried to get up, but he felt dizzy and bled. Everything in the house seemed to turn black, and it became very quiet. Bazarov told Vasily Ivanovich that he had contracted typhus and was now unlikely to recover. The father was frightened, began to assure that it would soon pass, but Bazarov showed him the red spots on the body and said that there was nothing you could do to help him. He asked to send for Odintsova and tell her that he was dying.

Vasily Ivanovich went out to his wife and told her the terrible news. A doctor arrived, who confirmed Bazarov's fears, but said a few words about a possible recovery. Bazarov spent the night very badly. The next day he felt a little better. Vasily Ivanovich was even delighted, but Bazarov knew that this was only a temporary improvement. His father asked him to fulfill his duty as a Christian and take communion before his death, but Bazarov said that he should be given communion when he was unconscious.

Odintsova has arrived. Vasily Ivanovich called her an angel, and Arina Vlasyevna fell at her feet and began to kiss the hem of her dress. Anna Sergeevna felt uncomfortable. She brought a German doctor with her. He examined the patient and said that there was no chance of recovery. Then Anna Sergeevna went to see Bazarov. His appearance made a painful impression on her. “The thought that she wouldn’t have felt the same if she really loved him flashed in her head instantly.” Bazarov said that he loved her: "This did not make any sense before, and now even more so." He called her glorious, beautiful, admitted that he would not want to die so early, called himself a giant and said that now the giant's task is to die with dignity. He suggested that Odintsova would soon forget him, asked her to take care of his parents, since people like them could not be found during the day with fire. Bazarov asked Odintsova to kiss him: "Blow on the dying lamp and let it go out." Then he fell asleep.

Bazarov was no longer destined to wake up. By evening he fell into unconsciousness, and in the morning he died. The priest performed the necessary rites on him. “When the holy ointment touched his chest, one of his eyes opened and, it seemed, at the sight of a priest in vestments, a smoking censer, candles in front of the image, something like a shudder of horror instantly reflected on his dead face.” When Bazarov died, "Vasily Ivanovich was seized by a sudden frenzy", "Arina Vlasyevna, all in tears, hung around his neck, and both of them fell on their faces."

Six months have passed. Two weddings took place in a small parish church: Arkady with Katya and Nikolai Petrovich with Fenechka. Two weeks later there was a farewell dinner dedicated to Pavel Petrovich. Everyone gathered at the table, even Mitya was placed here. “Everyone was a little awkward, a little sad, and, in fact, very good.” Nikolai Petrovich began to make a toast, but, since he did not know how to make speeches, he hesitated. He wished his brother all the best and a speedy return. Pavel Petrovich kissed everyone. When everyone raised their glasses, Katya quietly whispered to Arkady: "In memory of Bazarov." Arkady squeezed her hand tightly, but did not dare to loudly propose this toast.

Anna Sergeevna married, but not out of love, but out of conviction, one of the future Russian leaders. They live very amicably "and will live, perhaps, to happiness ... perhaps to love." The old princess died and was forgotten by everyone on the same day. Arkady took up farming, and the farm began to bring considerable income. Nikolai Petrovich became a mediator.

Katya's son Kolya was born, she and Fenechka became very good friends and spent all their days together.

Pavel Petrovich went to Dresden and stayed to live there. He is more familiar with the English. "But life is hard for him ... harder than he himself suspects."

Kukshina also went abroad. Now she is studying architecture, still hanging out with young students. Sitnikov married a wealthy heiress. His father still oppresses him, and his wife calls him a fool and a liberal.

Two Christmas trees grow on Bazarov's grave. Often two decrepit old men come to him. They support each other and, kneeling down, weep and pray for a long time.

“No matter how passionate, sinful, rebellious the heart is hidden in the grave, the flowers growing on it serenely look at us with their innocent eyes ... they also speak of eternal reconciliation and endless life.”

Fathers and Sons. Feature film based on the novel by I. S. Turgenev. 1958

ChapterI. In May 1859, a forty-something landowner-widower Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov, a representative of the previous generation of "fathers", a soft, dreamy romantic, is waiting at an inn not far from his estate for the arrival of his son Arkady, who had just graduated from the university.

Chapter II. Arkady arrives with his university friend, medical student Yevgeny Bazarov. The long and thin face of this man with sideburns expresses self-confidence and will. (See Bazarov's description.)

Arkady, his father and Bazarov go to the Kirsanovs' estate, Maryino.

Bazarov. Illustration by artist P. Pinkisevich for Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons"

Chapter III. From meeting with his son, Nikolai Petrovich comes into a joyful, almost enthusiastic mood. In a lively road conversation with Arkady, he even begins to quote lines from Eugene Onegin about spring. (See Chapter 3 for a description of the scenery.)

However, it is noticeable that the young Arkady holds a more sober and prosaic outlook on life. Along the way, he and Bazarov begin to smoke such strong tobacco that Nikolai Petrovich can hardly stand its smell.

Chapter IV. In Maryino, they are met by the brother of Nikolai Petrovich, Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov, a man of about 45, thoroughbred, impeccably cleanly dressed, full of strictness and correctness in the English manner. This is another bright type of the idealistic era of the “fathers”, not sentimental, like Nikolai Petrovich, but “nobly chivalrous”.

Pavel Petrovich immediately does not like the unceremonious Bazarov, but he, for his part, treats both Kirsanov brothers with skeptical mockery. Arkady's father seems to him an impractical rookie, and Pavel Petrovich strikes with a strange "panache" for the village. Eugene directly tells Arkady about this in an evening private conversation.

Chapter V Bazarov leaves in the morning to catch frogs for his medical experiments. Arkady, whose mother died a long time ago, learns along the way that his father lives on an estate with a young girl, Fenechka. Now Arkady also becomes aware that Fenechka gave birth to a son from Nikolai Petrovich. According to the free-thinking of the new generation and out of a desire to seem magnanimous to himself, Arkady does not condemn his father's behavior.

Over morning tea, Arkady tells Pavel Petrovich and his father that Bazarov is a "nihilist", a person who does not bow to any authorities and traditions. Pavel Petrovich, who believes that firmly established principles should determine all human life, dislike for Bazarov is still growing.

Chapter VI. Bazarov, who has come from the pond, joins the breakfast of the Kirsanov family. Pavel Petrovich irritably starts an argument with him. He does not like that Bazarov is unpatriotic: he recognizes the superiority of German science over Russian, and even without hesitation claims that a decent chemist is 20 times more useful than any poet, even a great one. The conversation almost ends in a fight.

Pavel Petrovich and Nikolai Petrovich leave, and Arkady, in order to soften Bazarov, tells the romantic story of his uncle's life.

Chapter VII. In his youth, very handsome and self-confident, Pavel Petrovich was a darling of St. Petersburg society. He was predicted to have a brilliant military career, but everything was destroyed by his unhappy love for Princess R., a woman of a mysterious and eccentric nature, who now and then rushed from violent passions and risky hobbies by men to despair and repentance. At one time, the princess entered into a relationship with Pavel Petrovich, but then left him and went abroad. Having abandoned the service, he traveled for the princess all over Europe for four years, but finally realizing the futility of his efforts, he returned to his homeland and began to lead the life of an idle and disappointed person in the capital's salons. Ten years later, Pavel Petrovich found out that his beloved had died. He then went to live in the village with his brother, but even here he did not lose his memories of the past and retained his former aristocratic manners.

Bazarov's story of Arkady is not at all impressive: a man who allowed his life to break from tragic love seems to him a pompous comedian or a weakling.

Chapter VIII. After a conversation with Bazarov, Pavel Petrovich thoughtfully walks around the house and, after a little hesitation, enters Fenechka's room. He asks to show him the baby, his nephew. After looking at the child for a while, he just as absent-mindedly goes out, returns to his office, sits down on the sofa and thinks deeply with a sad and even desperate expression on his face.

Turgenev further tells the reader the story of Fenechka's acquaintance with Nikolai Petrovich. Her mother Feni served as Nikolai Petrovich's housekeeper. At first, he did not pay attention to the young girl, but once he took a closer look at her, little by little he fell in love, and after the death of her mother from cholera, he settled in his house. Despite the difference in age, she became close to the kind and modest gentleman not by calculation, but by inclination of the heart.

Chapter IX. Bazarov is now also getting to know Fenechka. Together with Arkady, he once enters the gazebo, where she sits with her baby son Mitya and the maid Dunyasha. Bazarov, like a doctor, checks to see if Mitya's teeth are being cut. The boy confidently walks towards him.

As they continue their walk, Arkady and Bazarov hear Nikolai Petrovich playing the Schubert cello in his room. Refined music in the middle of a remote village causes a new mockery in Bazarov - especially in view of the fact that the economy on the estate is clearly inept.

Chapter X The relationship between "fathers" and "children" is becoming increasingly complex. Nikolai Petrovich accidentally overhears a conversation between Arkady and Bazarov. “Your father is a kind fellow,” says Bazarov, “but he is a retired man, his song is sung. Reads nonsense like Pushkin. You better give him Stoff and Kraft Buechner". Arkady soon really brings his father Stoff and Kraft- an exposition of the materialistic system.

Nikolai Petrovich tells his brother about all this. Over evening tea, Pavel Petrovich clashes even more fiercely with Bazarov. “You deign to find my habits, my toilet, ridiculous, but this all stems from a sense of self-respect, from a sense of duty.” “You respect yourself,” Bazarov answers, “and sit back; What is the benefit to society from this? “You are rejecting everything now. What would you like to build instead? “It’s none of our business anymore… We need to clear the place first.” - "Do you despise the entire Russian people?" “Well, if he deserves contempt! Our so-called progressive people talk a lot about art, parliamentarism, advocacy, when it comes to daily bread, when freedom is hardly good for us, because our peasant is happy to rob himself just to get drunk in a tavern. “Yes, there are only four and a half of you, and there are millions of those who will not allow you to trample under your feet your most sacred beliefs.” - "Let's see. From a penny candle, you know, Moscow burned down. And your Raphael is not worth a penny of copper, along with all the institutions that you so revere: the community, the family, and so on.

Arkady and Bazarov leave. Nikolai Petrovich believes that, perhaps, it’s true that the time has come for the “fathers” to give way to a new generation. But Pavel Petrovich is sure that he is right and is not going to give up.

Chapter XI. Bazarov and Arkady decide to go to a neighboring provincial town, to visit a relative of the Kirsanovs, Kolyazin, who occupies a major official post there.

Chapter XII. In the city of Kolyazin, Arkady receives good-naturedly. He invites him to a ball given by the governor the day after tomorrow.

On the street of Bazarov and Arkady, a young man of an empty and narrow-minded look suddenly calls out. This is an acquaintance of Bazarov, Sitnikov. He honors Bazarov as his teacher in freethinking, to whom he "owes rebirth." Sitnikov invites to go to the local emancipe Kukshina. Disdainful of Sitnikov, Bazarov initially refuses, but agrees when he finds out that Kukshina will have champagne.

Chapter XIII. Untidy noblewoman Kukshina meets guests in a poorly cleaned room. Her mannerisms are extremely unnatural. She tries in vain to surprise new acquaintances with her knowledge of the natural sciences, incessantly pouring out the names of scientists and writers.

Bazarov and Evgeny almost do not take part in a stupid conversation, they only drink champagne. Towards the end, Kukshina begins to play the piano and sing in a hoarse voice, while Sitnikov ties his head with a scarf and portrays a lover dying with delight. Bazarov, yawning, leaves without even saying goodbye to the hostess. Sitnikov obsequiously catches up with him and Arkady.

Chapter XIV. At the ball at the governor's, Arkady suddenly notices a beauty of about 28 years old, calm, stately, who has entered. This is Anna Sergeevna Odintsova.

He sits down next to her. Odintsova speaks kindly to Arkady, but also with an air of some superiority. She has obviously seen a lot in her life, has a wealth of experience.

Arkady tells her about Bazarov. Odintsova looks attentively at Yevgeny standing at a distance. She invites Arkady to her estate, asks to bring Bazarov too: “It is very curious to see a person who has the courage not to believe in anything.”

Arkady tells Bazarov about his acquaintance with Odintsova. He speaks of her rather cynically: one gentleman told him that this lady is “oh-oh-oh”.

Chapter XV. History of Odintsova. Her father, a well-known swindler and gambler, eventually lost his game and was forced to leave St. Petersburg for the countryside. Soon he and his wife died, and 20-year-old Anna was left almost penniless with her 12-year-old sister Katya. Soon, by sober calculation, she married the 46-year-old rich man Odintsov. Six years later, he died, leaving her all his wealth and the country estate Nikolskoye.

Visit of Bazarov and Arkady to Odintsova in the city hotel. Arkady notices with surprise that Evgeny, who was never embarrassed by anything, in the presence of the beautiful Anna Sergeevna, behaves embarrassed. She obviously notices it too.

On the street, Bazarov speaks of Odintsova: “She looks like a possessive person. But she was in the redistribution, she ate our bread. Such a rich body! At least now in the anatomical theater.

Three days later they go to Odintsova in Nikolskoye.

Chapter XVI. The estate of Anna Sergeevna is magnificent. She introduces Arkady and Bazarov to her sweet, shy sister Katya.

Arkady already manages to fall in love with Odintsova. But in a conversation, she clearly prefers not him, but Bazarov, who she likes with her independence of judgment, although she does not agree with him on everything. Anna Sergeevna sends Arkady to listen to Katya's piano playing. Arkady is slightly offended by this, but, however, notices that Katya, with her timid appearance, is very pretty.

Odintsova is a woman without prejudice, but not prone to violent passions. She can sometimes get carried away, but immediately cools down, returning to her inherent poise and calmness. Now Bazarov is very interesting to her, but it cannot be said that her blood is especially boiling.

Chapter XVII. Bazarov feels that he is carried away by Odintsova. Formerly, he liked to say: “If you like a woman, try to get the point; but you can’t - well, don’t, turn away. ” But with Odintsova there is no “use” yet, and at the same time he does not want to leave her.

In order to overcome himself, Bazarov decides to leave Nikolsky for his parents' village, which is not far from here. Anna Sergeevna, learning about this, tries to keep him. She decides on something like an explanation with Bazarov. “I am very unhappy. I have no will to live. There are many memories behind me, and ahead is a long, long road, but there is no goal ... I don’t even want to go. “You want to fall in love,” Bazarov answers, “but you cannot fall in love. However, whoever this thing happens to is to be pitied.”

Eugene leaves, not allowing her to speak to the end. But the words of Odintsova greatly excite him.

Meanwhile, the "third extra" - Arkady - involuntarily draws closer to Katya.

Chapter XVIII. The next day, Odintsova calls Bazarov to continue yesterday's conversation. “You are not an ordinary person. And I went through a lot of tests. Perhaps I could understand you. But you are too reserved in my presence. What is the reason?". “The reason is that I love you, stupidly, madly ...” Bazarov suddenly answers.

She holds out her hands to him. But he does not take them with trepidation, but, full of greedy, hungry passion, draws her to his chest. The animal instinct burning in his eyes frightens Anna Sergeevna. She breaks free and retreats to a corner, saying in fright that he did not understand her. Eugene comes out, biting his lips.

Chapter XIX. After dinner, Bazarov comes up to apologize to Odintsova. She invites him to remain friends. The general tension is relieved by the unexpected arrival of the stupid Sitnikov. Bazarov decides to go to his parents tomorrow. Arkady also leaves with him. Sitnikov also ties in, but falls behind along the way.

Bazarov looks sick on the way. “It is better to break stones on the pavement than to let a woman take possession of even the tip of her finger,” he says to Arkady. “A man shouldn’t be doing such trifles.”

Chapter XX. The two of them come to the village of Bazarov's parents. Evgeny's father, Vasily Ivanovich, is an army doctor, a small landed nobleman. Mother, Arina Vlasyevna, is a simple Russian woman by nature. There is little landlordism in both of them. The father is easy to handle, but very businesslike. It is obvious that he is knowledgeable. Vasily Ivanovich sprinkles with foreign words, quotations from ancient authors, hints of mythology.

Parents are very happy about the arrival of their son, whom they have not seen for three years, but Bazarov treats them rather arrogantly and dismissively. The case with Odintsova still does not get out of his head.

Chapter XXI. Early in the morning, in a conversation with Bazarov's father, Arkady expresses a high opinion of his son. The old man almost weeps with delight.

In the afternoon, Bazarov and Arkady rest in a haystack. Arkady slightly reproaches his friend for being callous to his parents. “My mother and father,” replies Bazarov, have become accustomed to their insignificant life in such a way that they do not even notice the insignificance. Real man one to be obeyed or hated. But you are a tender soul, a weakling, where can you hate! .. "

Arkady is unpleasantly struck by Bazarov's arrogance. "Don't you think too highly of yourself?" “When I meet a person who would not give in to me, then I will change my opinion of myself.” Friends almost enter into a sharp quarrel, but it is prevented by the sudden appearance of Vasily Ivanovich, who calls young people for dinner.

Still not showing filial feelings for his parents, the next day Bazarov persuades Arkady to return to him, to Maryino. Eugene's mother and father are amazed that their son stayed with them for only three days, but their genuine grief does not make any impression on Bazarov.

Chapter XXII. Having reached the turn to Nikolskoye, Bazarov and Arkady stop there for a short time, and then arrive in Maryino. Nikolai Petrovich is very happy with their arrival.

Arkady soon accidentally learns that his mother was a friend of Odintsova's mother and his father has remnants of their former correspondence. Under the pretext of delivering these letters to Anna Sergeevna, he travels alone, without Bazarov, to Nikolskoye. Falling in love with Odintsova does not cool down in him. Anna Sergeevna and Katya greet Arkady cordially.

Chapter XXIII. Bazarov, meanwhile, is trying to forget from unhappy love in scientific experiments. Pavel Petrovich is still very hostile to him. But Fenechka is very friendly with Eugene. Noticing this, Pavel Petrovich gradually begins to follow her.

One morning Bazarov accidentally sees Fenechka in the arbor. He comes up to talk to her, smells one of the beautiful roses in her hands and suddenly kisses her on the lips.

Just at that moment, Pavel Petrovich coughed nearby. The stunned Fenichka hurried to leave.

Chapter XXIV. A couple of hours later, Pavel Petrovich knocks on the door of Bazarov and challenges him to a duel. Bazarov agrees. Thinking about the reasons for the call, he comes to the conclusion that Pavel Petrovich could not stand the kiss scene, since, apparently, he himself has tender feelings for Fenechka.

The duel is scheduled in a nearby grove. The next morning Bazarov comes there. The role of the second is played by the servant Peter. Before the duel, Pavel Petrovich warns that he intends to "fight seriously", without giving mercy.

Opponents converge. The enemy's bullet buzzes right at Bazarov's ear, but does not injure him. He shoots himself - and hits Pavel Petrovich in the thigh.

The wound appears to be harmless. Pyotr rushes to the estate, and from there soon Nikolai Petrovich arrives in a droshky. Pavel Petrovich is being transported to the estate. He does not tell his brother about the reason for the duel, but in the heat of the night he suddenly asks him: “Have you ever noticed that Fenechka is very similar to Princess R.?”

The next day Bazarov leaves Maryin. Fenechka, courting Pavel Petrovich, swears to him that the incident in the arbor was an accident, and she loves only Nikolai Petrovich. Pavel Petrovich, in a rush of feeling, asks that she never leave his brother. “Think what could be worse than to love and not be loved!” He persuades Nikolai Petrovich to seal his relationship with Fenechka by legal marriage, and he happily agrees. Pavel Petrovich himself, convinced that his life was in vain, decides to leave Russia and live last years in Europe.

Chapter XXV. Meanwhile, Arkady in Nikolskoye is surprised to notice that Katya has become closer to Anna Sergeevna for him. He is struck by Katya’s review of Bazarov: “He is predatory, and we are tame. He is a stranger to us ... ”Katya, observant, notices that Arkady, apparently, is in love with her.

Bazarov comes to Nikolskoye from Maryin. Arkady learns from him about the duel with Pavel Petrovich and that his uncle's wound is light. Bazarov explains that he is heading home, and turned to Odintsova "... the devil knows why." Both Arkady and Bazarov feel that their parting is near forever. Arkady is very excited about this, but Bazarov does not at all regret the imminent separation.

Anna Sergeevna sighs with relief when Bazarov assures her that he "has come to his senses and forgotten the previous stupidities." Odintsova is now more attracted to Arkady, full of youthful ardor.

Chapter XXVI. Sitting in the garden, Katya and Arkady hear a conversation between Anna Sergeevna and Bazarov passing by. She again convinces Eugene to forget what happened between them before. “At first we were interested in each other, but ... you and I are too similar. The homogeneous should not be drawn to the homogeneous. But Arkady is not like me. I fit him as an aunt, but there is some charm in his young and fresh feeling ... "

Katya droops at these words of her sister. However, when Anna Sergeevna and Bazarov leave, Arkady turns to her: “Katerina Sergeevna, I love you, and I love no one but you. Everything else has long since disappeared without a trace. Tell me yes! - "Yes!" Katya answers.

The next day, Anna Sergeevna finds out that Arkady is asking for Katya's hand in marriage. She tells Bazarov about this and seems to want to resume the love game with him. However, he proudly refuses: "I am a poor man, but I still have not accepted alms."

Bazarov says goodbye to the Odintsovs and Arkady, calling him before parting "a soft, liberal barich" who was not created for "our bitter, tart, bean life." Anna Sergeevna, having mourned a little, quickly calms down.

Chapter XXVII. Arriving to his father and mother, Bazarov again treats them rudely and callously. He fails to forget his love for Odintsova in the fever of work. Soon, Eugene falls into a dreary boredom.

In a neighboring village, a peasant dies with typhus. Opening his body, Bazarov is accidentally cut with a scalpel, and disinfection is not at hand. Soon Yevgeny shows signs of a terrible infection.

Turgenev picturesquely describes how courageously and calmly the nihilist accepts the terrible inevitability of his imminent death. Bazarov is in no hurry to take communion, but asks his father to send a messenger to Odintsova with the news that he is close to death.

Anna Sergeevna comes to the patient, bringing with her a German doctor. However, he is convinced that there is no hope for Bazarov. Odintsova says goodbye to Evgeny, kissing him on the forehead. The next day he dies. (See Death of Bazarov)

Death of Bazarov. Illustration by artist P. Pinkisevich for Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons"

Chapter XXVIII. Six months later, two weddings are played in Maryino: Arkady with Katya and Nikolai Petrovich with Fenechka. Pavel Petrovich immediately after that leaves for Dresden and lives there for a century, like a noble European gentleman. Arkady forgets his former nihilistic hobbies and plunges with his father into the cares of the estate. He and Katya have a son, Kolya.

... And over the grave of Bazarov in a cemetery in an abandoned village, his decrepit parents often come to cry. Flowers on the grave hill, looking serenely with their innocent eyes, seem to tell them about eternal reconciliation and endless life ...