The novel "Fathers and Sons" has a complex structure and a multi-level conflict. Outwardly, it represents a contradiction between two generations of people. But this eternal is complicated by ideological and philosophical differences. Turgenev's task was to show the pernicious influence of certain philosophical currents on modern youth, in particular nihilism.
What is nihilism?
Nihilism is an ideological and philosophical trend, according to which there are no and cannot be authorities, none of the postulates should be taken on faith. (as he himself notes) is a merciless denial of everything. German materialism served as the philosophical basis for the formation of the nihilistic doctrine. It is no coincidence that Arkady and Bazarov offer Nikolai Petrovich instead of Pushkin to read Buechner, in particular his work Matter and Force. Bazarov's position was formed not only under the influence of books, teachers, but also from live observation of life. Bazarov's quotes about nihilism confirm this. In a dispute with Pavel Petrovich, he says that he would gladly agree if Pavel Petrovich would present him "at least one decision in our modern life, in family or public life, which would not cause complete and merciless denial."
Basic nihilistic ideas of the hero
Bazarov's nihilism is manifested in his attitude to various spheres of life. In the first part of the novel, two ideas collide, two representatives of the older and younger generations - Evgeny Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov. They immediately feel dislike for each other, and then sort things out in polemics.
Art
Bazarov speaks most sharply about art. He considers it a useless sphere that does not give a person anything but stupid romanticism. Art, according to Pavel Petrovich, is a spiritual sphere. It is thanks to him that a person develops, learns to love and think, understand another, learn about the world.
Nature
Bazarov's review looks somewhat blasphemous, not a temple, but a workshop. And the man is a worker in it. "The hero does not see her beauty, does not feel harmony with her. In contrast to this review, Nikolai Petrovich walks through the garden, admires the beauty of spring. He cannot understand how Bazarov does not see all this, how he can remain so indifferent to God's creation.
The science
What does Bazarov appreciate? After all, he cannot have a sharply negative attitude towards everything. The only thing the hero sees value and benefit in is science. Science as the basis of knowledge, human development. Of course, Pavel Petrovich, as an aristocrat and a representative of the older generation, also appreciates and respects science. However, for Bazarov, the ideal is the German materialists. For them, there is no love, affection, feelings, for them a person is just an organic system in which certain physical and chemical processes take place. Inclined to the same paradoxical thoughts and main character novel "Fathers and Sons".
Bazarov's nihilism is called into question, he is tested by the author of the novel. Hence, an internal conflict arises, which no longer takes place in the Kirsanovs' house, where Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich argue every day, but in the soul of Yevgeny himself.
The future of Russia and nihilism
Bazarov, as a representative of the advanced direction of Russia, is interested in its future. So, according to the hero, in order to build a new society, first you need to "clear the place." What does this mean? Of course, the expression of the hero can be interpreted as a call for revolution. The development of the country must begin with cardinal changes, with the destruction of everything old. Bazarov, at the same time, reproaches the generation of liberal aristocrats for their inaction. Bazarov speaks of nihilism as the most effective direction. But it is worth saying that the nihilists themselves have not yet done anything. Bazarov's actions are manifested only in words. Thus, Turgenev emphasizes that the characters - representatives of the older and younger generations - are very similar in some ways. Eugene's views are very frightening (this is confirmed by Bazarov's quotes about nihilism). After all, on what is any state built in the first place? On traditions, culture, patriotism. But if there are no authorities, if you do not appreciate art, the beauty of nature, if you do not believe in God, then what is left for people? Turgenev was very afraid that such ideas could come true, that Russia would then have a very hard time.
internal conflict in the novel. love test
There are two key characters in the novel who supposedly play a cameo role. In fact, they reflect Turgenev's attitude towards nihilism, they debunk this phenomenon. Bazarov's nihilism begins to be comprehended by him a little differently, although the author does not directly tell us this. So, in the city, Evgeny and Arkady meet Sitnikov and Kukshina. They are progressive people who are interested in everything new. Sitnikov is an adherent of nihilism, he expresses his admiration for Bazarov. At the same time, he himself behaves like a jester, he shouts out nihilistic slogans, it all looks ridiculous. Bazarov treats him with obvious contempt. Kukshina is an emancipated woman, simply slovenly, stupid and rude. That's about all there is to say about the characters. If they are representatives of the nihilism on which Bazarov has such high hopes, then what is the future of the country? From that moment on, doubts appear in the soul of the hero, which intensify when he meets Odintsova. The strength and weakness of Bazarov's nihilism manifest themselves precisely in the chapters that speak of the hero's love feelings. He strongly opposes his love, because it's all stupid and useless romanticism. But his heart tells him something else. Odintsova sees that Bazarov is smart and interesting, that there is some truth in his ideas, but their categorical nature betrays the weakness and dubiousness of his convictions.
Turgenev's attitude towards his hero
Not without reason around the novel "Fathers and Sons" a stormy controversy unfolded. First, the topic was very topical. Secondly, many representatives of literary criticism were, like Bazarov, passionate about the philosophy of materialism. Thirdly, the novel was bold, talented and new.
There is an opinion that Turgenev condemns his hero. That he slanders the younger generation, seeing only the bad in them. But this opinion is wrong. If you look at the figure of Bazarov more closely, then you can see a strong, purposeful and noble nature in him. Bazarov's nihilism is only an outward manifestation of his mind. Turgenev, rather, feels disappointed that such a talented person has become obsessed with such an unjustified and limited teaching. Bazarov cannot but arouse admiration. He is bold and bold, he is smart. But other than that, he's also kind. It is no coincidence that all peasant children are drawn to him.
As for the author's assessment, it is most fully manifested in the finale of the novel. Bazarov's grave, to which his parents come, is literally immersed in flowers and greenery, birds sing over it. It is unnatural for parents to bury their children. The beliefs of the protagonist were also unnatural. And nature, eternal, beautiful and wise, confirms that Bazarov was wrong when he saw in it only material for achieving human goals.
Thus, Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons" can be seen as a debunking of nihilism. Bazarov's attitude to nihilism is not just a philosophy of life. But this teaching is questioned not only by representatives of the older generation, but also by life itself. Bazarov, in love and suffering, dies from an accident, science is unable to help him, and over his grave Mother Nature is still beautiful and calm.
In the novel "Fathers and Sons" by I. Turgenev, thanks to Bazarov, the conflict of the old and new generations is revealed. He is a nihilist, an adherent of the fashionable trend at that time. Nihilists denied everything - the beauty of nature, art, culture, literature. Eugene, like a true nihilist, lived a practical and rational life.
What is the character of Bazarov? He is a self-made man. He believes not in art, but in science. Therefore, in part, nature for him "is not a temple, but a workshop, and man is a worker in it." His beliefs in many ways prevent him from truly appreciating human relations - he treats Arkady exclusively as a younger comrade, their communication is based on an interest in nihilism. To his parents, whom he sincerely loves, he speaks condescendingly. They are shy and lost in front of him.
It would seem that a person who denies any human weaknesses, feelings, lives only by rationalism, will achieve everything. He will convince everyone that he is right, because his arguments are based on facts, science, reasonable arguments. In disputes with him, Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov is lost, and Nikolai Kirsanov is completely afraid to enter into disputes with him.
Bazarov's views on love, due to nihilism, are also specific. He considers the relationship between a man and a woman exclusively from the biological side, he sees nothing mysterious and romantic in this. “Love is rubbish, unforgivable nonsense,” he says. When Arkady confesses to him about the "mysterious female look", Eugene only ridicules him, explaining to his friend the anatomy of the eye, arguing that there is nowhere to come from mystery; All eyes are anatomically the same. But fate played a cruel joke with Bazarov: she tested the firmness of his convictions with love, but he did not pass this test.
Acquaintance with Odintsova became fatal for Bazarov. Communicating with her, he finds "romance in himself." For a while, Eugene forgets about his views. However, when he does not receive reciprocity, he tries to convince himself that it was only a fleeting obsession. That he is still the same old nihilist who does not care about romantic nonsense. He tries to forget about his feelings, get down to work, get distracted. But internally, he experiences completely different emotions. All his actions after leaving his beloved are nothing more than self-deception.
Bazarov dies from the fact that he contracted typhus due to carelessness while working with a typhoid corpse. It would seem that he could treat the wound and prevent such a tragic ending to his own story, but Eugene relies on chance, treats his own fate with indifference. Why does Bazarov suddenly give up? The reason for this is unhappy love. The factor that he refused to put up with.
Bazarov admits his defeat to Odintsova when she, at his request, comes to him before his death. This is, perhaps, the first time when the hero admits to himself that love has taken over him, he is “limp”. In fact, he repeated the fate of Pavel Petrovich, went along the road that he despised.
Perhaps it was this stubbornness, unwillingness to revise their rules that led Bazarov to lose. Lose before fate. But the fact that he admitted his defeat, is not it a victory? Victory over yourself? Let it be quite shortly before his death, but the hero found the strength to admit his failures, admitted that everything he believed in unconditionally turned out to be not so strong in reality. The new Bazarov defeated the old Bazarov, and such a victory deserves respect.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!"Fathers and Sons". A nihilist, a young commoner, a student whose future profession is a doctor. Nihilism is a philosophical movement whose representatives questioned the values accepted in society. In the second half of the 19th century in Russia, this was the name given to young people with atheistic and materialistic views who wanted changes in the established state system and social order and had a negative attitude towards religion.
This term was found in critical literature even before Turgenev, but after the release of "Fathers and Sons" it dispersed and began to be used in everyday speech. The word "nihilist" turned into a characteristic of young men and women, whose composite image in literature was Yevgeny Bazarov. The hero remains in the minds of today's man the embodiment of nihilism as a denial of the old, including the "old" ideas about love and human relationships.
History of creation
The idea of "Fathers and Sons" began to form with Turgenev in 1860, when he was in England on the Isle of Wight. The prototype of Yevgeny Bazarov was a young doctor from the provinces, a random companion of Turgenev, with whom the writer was traveling on a train. The trip turned out to be difficult - the track was covered with snow, the train stopped for a day at some tiny station. Turgenev managed to communicate closely with a new acquaintance, they talked for the night, and the writer turned out to be very interested in the interlocutor. A casual acquaintance of the writer turned out to be a nihilist. The views of this man and even his profession formed the basis of the image of Bazarov.
The novel itself was created quickly, in comparison with the speed with which Turgenev worked on other works. Less than two years passed from the idea to the first publication. The plan of the book was drawn up by the writer in Paris, where he arrived in the autumn of 1860. There Turgenev began to work on the text. The author planned to finish the work by the spring of that year in order to bring the text ready for publication to Russia, but the creative process stalled. Winter left to write the first chapters, and by the spring of 1861 the novel was only half finished. Turgenev wrote in a letter:
"Paris doesn't work and the whole thing is stuck in half."
The author finishes work in the summer of 1861, already at home, in the village of Spasskoye. By September, corrections had been made, and Turgenev returned with the novel to Paris to read the text to his friends there, to correct and supplement something. In the spring of 1982, "Fathers and Sons" was published for the first time in the journal "Russian Messenger", and in the autumn they were published as a separate book.
In this final version, the image of Bazarov is made less repulsive, the author saves the hero from some unsightly features, and this is where the character's evolution ends. Turgenev himself described Bazarov in the list of characters when he made a preliminary portrait of the hero:
"Nihilist. Self-confident, speaks abruptly and a little, hardworking. Lives small; does not want to be a doctor, he is waiting for an opportunity. He knows how to speak with the people, although in his heart he despises them. He does not have and does not recognize an artistic element ... He knows quite a lot - he is energetic, he can be liked by his swagger. In essence, the most fruitless subject is the antipode of Rudin - for without any enthusiasm and faith ... An independent soul and a proud man of the first hand.
Biography
The time of the novel "Fathers and Sons" is the years immediately before the abolition of serfdom (which took place in 1861), when advanced ideas have already begun to manifest themselves in society, especially among young people. Evgeny Bazarov has half noble origin. His father, a poor retired army surgeon, spent his life in a rural environment, managing the estate of his noble wife. Educated, but modern progressive ideas bypassed him. Eugene's parents are people of conservative views, religious, but they love their son and tried to give him the best upbringing and education.
Eugene, like his father, chose the career of a doctor and entered the university, where he became friends with Arkady Kirsanov. Bazarov "instructs" a friend in nihilism, infecting him with his own views. Together with Arkady, the protagonist arrives at the Kirsanovs' estate, where he meets his friend's father Nikolai and his father's elder brother Pavel Petrovich. Opposite views on life and character traits of both heroes lead to conflict in a collision.
Pavel Kirsanov is a proud aristocrat, an adherent of liberal ideas, a retired officer. Behind the hero is a tragic love that happened to him in his youth. In Fenechka, the daughter of the housekeeper and mistress of his brother Nikolai, he sees a certain Princess R., a former lover. The unpleasant situation with Fenechka becomes an occasion for a duel between Pavel Petrovich and Bazarov. The latter, left alone with Fenechka, kisses the girl, to which Pavel Kirsanov turns out to be an indignant witness.
Yevgeny Bazarov adheres to revolutionary and democratic views, the environment of the liberals-Kirsanovs is ideologically alien to the hero. With Pavel Petrovich, the hero constantly argues about art, nature, human relations, nobility - the characters do not find a common language in anything. When Bazarov falls in love with Anna Odintsova, a wealthy widow, he has to reconsider some of his views on the nature of human feelings.
But Eugene does not find mutual understanding. Anna believes that serene calmness is the main thing in life. The heroine does not need unrest, Anna treats Bazarov with some sympathy, but does not respond to the confession so as not to worry.
Having visited the Odintsova estate, Bazarov, together with Arkady, goes to his parents for three days, and from there back to the Kirsanovs' estate. Just at this time, the scene of flirting with Fenechka takes place, after which Pavel Petrovich and Bazarov shoot themselves in a duel.
After these events, the hero decides to devote his life to medical practice. Eugene's attitude to work was such that he could not sit idle. Only work justified existence. Bazarov returns to his mother's estate, where he begins to treat everyone who needs medical help.
Carrying out an autopsy of a person who died due to typhus, the hero inadvertently injures himself and after a while dies due to blood poisoning. After the death of the hero, as if in mockery of the views of Bazarov, a religious rite is performed - a touch that completes the tragic fate of the hero.
Turgenev describes the appearance of the hero as follows: Bazarov has a long and thin face, a wide forehead, a pointed nose, large eyes, a greenish tint, and drooping sand-colored sideburns.
The hero sees the meaning of life in clearing a place in society for the sprouts of the new, but slips into a complete denial of the cultural and historical past of mankind, declaring that art is not worth a penny, and society needs only butchers and shoemakers.
Image and film adaptations
In Russian cinema, Evgeny Bazarov appeared three times. All three adaptations bear the same name - "Fathers and Sons", like the novel itself. The first tape was filmed in 1958 by the Lenfilm studio. The role of Bazarov was played by the Soviet actor Viktor Avdyushko. The next film adaptation came out in 1984. Bazarov, performed by Vladimir Bogin, looks like a very self-confident young man.
The latest film adaptation was released in 2008. This is a four-episode mini-series directed by , who also co-wrote the script. He acted as Bazarov. From ideological strife, here the emphasis is shifted to love relationships and the possibility of finding happiness for the heroes. The scriptwriters interpreted this work by Turgenev as a family novel.
- The scriptwriters added some expressive moments to the film "on their own", Turgenev did not have this. The famous scene where Bazarov confesses his love to Anna takes place among the glass and crystal that fill the room. These scenery are designed to emphasize the fragility and beauty of the noble world, which Bazarov invades, like "an elephant in china shop”, and the fragility of the relationship of the characters.
- The script also included a scene in which Anna gives Bazarov a ring. This moment is absent in the text, but it was introduced to emphasize Bazarov's inner resemblance to Pavel Petrovich (the latter's lover once did the same for him).
- Director Avdotya Smirnova was originally going to give the role of Pavel Kirsanov to her own father, an actor and director.
- The scenes on the estates were filmed in real "Turgenev" places. For the filming of the Kirsanov estate, the film crew was allowed to use an outbuilding in the Turgenev estate Spasskoye-Lutovinovo. The estate itself is a museum, where many originals are stored, so they are not allowed to take pictures there. Restoration was planned in the wing. In another Turgenev estate - Ovstyug, near Bryansk - they rented the estate of Anna Odintsova. But the house of Evgeny Bazarov's parents had to be built specifically for filming. For this purpose, old buildings were searched for in the villages.
- The ten-month-old child of one of the museum employees in the Turgenev estate played the role of Fenechka's little son. In Bryansk, local theater workers were involved in the filming, they played the role of servants.
- To create only outfits for ladies, costume designer Oksana Yarmolnik had to spend 5 months. The costumes, however, are not authentic, but are deliberately close to modern fashion, so that the viewer can more easily feel sympathy for the characters and delve into the ups and downs of their lives. Completely remodeled costumes made the film look like historical play and alienated the viewer from what is happening on the screen, so it was decided to sacrifice authenticity.
- The scenes allegedly taking place on the city streets were actually filmed on location at Mosfilm.
- The dishes and wallpapers that the viewer sees in the frame were created specifically for filming, so that they correspond to the spirit of the time.
Quotes
"A decent chemist is twenty times more useful than any poet."
“Nature is not a temple, but a workshop, and man is a worker in it.”
“See what I do; there was an empty place in the suitcase, and I put hay in it; so it is in our life suitcase; no matter what they fill it with, as long as there is no emptiness. ”
"Upbringing? - picked up Bazarov. - Every person must educate himself - well, at least like me, for example ... And as for time - why will I depend on it? Let it better depend on me. No, brother, this is all licentiousness, emptiness! 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, rottenness, art."
The late fifties of the nineteenth century, the time when the democratic movement was just gaining momentum. And as a result of this, a conflict arises between different sections of society: between those who were supporters of liberal views and between those who adhered to democratic views.
In this regard, the novel by I. S. Turgenev, of course, caused a huge amount of controversy and opinion. Turgenev creates the image of a revolutionary - a democrat Bazarov, who sought to make some changes, to help the people. But it is absolutely meaningless, because he, like many young people of revolutionary views, believed that he knew ordinary people, and did not realize that an ordinary person takes him for a “pea jester” and is sure that the “master” does not understand him.
The plot of the novel is based on the collision of Bazarov with the world of aristocrats. Turgenev immediately shows that Bazarov is a democrat, a commoner, a man of labor, aristocratic etiquette is alien to him. In a collision with the "cursed barchuks" his appearance is fully revealed. The novel widely uses the technique of contrast: Bazarov is opposed to Pavel Petrovich, the aristocracy of one is opposed to the democracy of the other. Consistency, conviction, will and purposefulness of Bazarov contrasts with the duality of Arkady, this random beliefs, softness and lack of a conscious goal. Bazarov has his own concept of the correct structure of society, he considers human labor to be its basis, and not the division of society into those who work and those who do nothing.
But Bazarov is a nihilist who rejects what he does not know. He tells Arkady about his father: “I saw that he reads Pushkin. Explain to him that this is no good. Give him something sensible to read, at least “Matter and Force” ... Romance is alien to Bazarov, and he speaks of Pavel Petrovich’s convictions as follows: “Aristocratism, liberalism, progress, principles - foreign words. Russian people do not need them for nothing. He is a materialist, does not accept spiritual values: "Talking about art, creativity, parliamentarism, advocacy, the devil knows what, is meaningless when it comes to daily bread."
Turgenev leads his hero through a series of trials (and this is generally typical of Turgenev's novels). He tests Bazarov first with love, then with death. Turgenev, as it were, watches from the outside how his hero behaves in these situations. It seemed to Bazarov that he and love were in no way compatible, and having fallen in love with Anna Sergeevna Odintsova, he did not want to invoke these normal, human feelings in front of himself, and that’s all, being alone with himself, Eugene admits his love,. He, who simplifies human consciousness, reducing mental phenomena to elementary, physiological ones, who said: “You like a woman, so take her!” The writer portrayed Odintsova as an outstanding, intelligent person and at the same time as an attractive, beautiful woman, with aristocratic manners . Such a woman turned out to be able to captivate the nihilist, to arouse in his soul other, previously unknown feelings. Therefore, the refusal of Anna Sergeevna is so painful and tragic for him. The culmination of this storyline is Bazarov's declaration of love. His attitude to life also changes. He tells Arkady that the human person now appears to him as something insignificant in infinite space and time. And if love for Odintsova, a proud and strong woman, defeats the principles of nihilism, then in the dying scene Bazarov is faithful to his ideals to the end, he is not broken, he proudly looks death in the eyes. Many critics consider this scene the most powerful, lively and touching, because it is here that this "rebellious heart" is revealed to the end.
Bazarov remained true to his ideals. But what did these ideals give him?
The main idea of the novel, in my opinion, was well expressed by the critic N. N. Strakhov: “Be that as it may, Bazarov is still defeated; defeated not by the faces and not by the accidents of life, but by the very idea of this life. Such an ideal over him was possible only on the condition that all possible justice was given to him ... Otherwise, there would be no strength and significance in the victory itself.
Need to download an essay? Click and save - "Philosophical views of Bazarov and their trials by life. And the finished essay appeared in the bookmarks.Marina Voznesenskaya,
10th grade
School at the Embassy of the Russian Federation
in the Republic of Cyprus
(literature teacher -
Evgeny Vasilyevich Vasilenko)
Philosophical views of Bazarov and their test of life
Turgenev in the novel "Fathers and Sons" wanted to understand and show the image of a new man of his time.
Bazarov, the protagonist of the novel, is a nihilist. Resolutely and mercilessly, he denies everything: the social structure, idle talk, love of the people, as well as art and love. The subject of his "worship" is practical use.
Bazarov differs from the Kirsanovs in his energy, masculinity, firmness of character and independence. Turgenev wrote: “I dreamed of a gloomy, wild, large figure, half grown out of the soil, strong, vicious, honest - and yet doomed to death, because it still stands on the eve of the future, I dreamed of some strange pendant with Pugachev”.
It should be noted that the novel does not show Bazarov's childhood. But it is known that the character of a person is laid in the first years of his life. Perhaps Turgenev had no idea at all how such characters were formed? Bazarov is fond of natural sciences. Every day he is filled with work, new searches. “Bazarov got up very early and went two or three miles away, not to walk - he couldn’t stand walking without a goal, but to collect herbs.” He confessed to Arkady that the passion for work made him a man. “You only need to achieve your goal with your own work.” Accustomed to relying only on his own mind and energy, Bazarov developed a calm self-confidence. He doesn't care at all what others think of him: “A real person shouldn't care about that; a real person is one about whom there is nothing to think about, but whom one must obey or hate.
He reduces the relationship between a man and a woman to physiology, art to “the art of making money, or there is no more hemorrhoids”, that is, the whole world of beauty, which he calls “romanticism, nonsense, rottenness, art” is completely alien to him.
His philosophy of being originates from such an attitude to life and consists in the complete denial of all the foundations of society, all beliefs, ideals and norms of human life. “A nihilist 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 is,” Arkady says in the novel, obviously in the words of his teacher (Bazarov). But to deny everything is also a principle.
In a dispute with Pavel Petrovich, Bazarov's views are even more pronounced. All the principles of Pavel Petrovich boil down to preserving the old order in Russia. Bazarov seeks to destroy this order. “There is not a single civil decree in Russia that does not deserve criticism,” he said. However, Bazarov is not shown in any way in public activities, and we do not know if he has real plans to put his views into practice.
When the dispute touches on the issue of attitude towards the people, Pavel Petrovich says that the Russian people are “patriarchal”, “revere sacred traditions” and “cannot live without faith”, and that therefore the nihilists do not express their needs and are completely alien to them. Bazarov agrees with the statement about patriarchy, but for him this is only evidence of the backwardness of the people (“The people believe that when thunder rumbles, this is Elijah the prophet in a chariot driving around the sky”), his failure as a social force (“... freedom itself , which the government is busy with, is hardly going to benefit us, because our peasant is happy to rob himself, just to get drunk on dope in a tavern”). Bazarov considers himself closer to the people than Pavel Kirsanov: “My grandfather plowed the land. Ask any of your own peasants, in which of us - in you or in me - he would rather recognize a compatriot, ”although this does not prevent him from despising the people,“ if he deserves contempt.
Bazarov does not recognize the spiritual principle either in nature (“Nature is not a temple, but a workshop, and man is a worker in it”), nor in man. He treats a person as a biological organism: “All people are similar to each other both in body and soul ... One human specimen is enough to judge all others. People are like trees in the forest, not a single botanist will deal with every single birch.
After Bazarov has sufficiently thoroughly stated his views, the test of their life begins.
When friends arrive in the city, they run into Kukshina and Sitnikov, who clearly appear as caricatures of Bazarov, the nihilists. Bazarov treats them ironically, but nevertheless he is forced to endure them so as not to lose his supporters. The words of Pavel Petrovich are very suitable for them: “Before, young people had to study; I did not want to pass for ignoramuses, so they involuntarily worked. And now they should say: everything in the world is nonsense! - and it's in the hat. And in fact, before they were just blockheads, and now they have suddenly become nihilists.
It becomes clear that the nihilist Bazarov is alone in the public arena, although he himself claimed: "We are not so few as you think."
Further in the novel comes the most, in my opinion, the most important test of the hero: Bazarov suddenly finds himself under the power of the “natural element”, which is called love. The nihilist claims that romanticism is nonsense, nonsense, but he himself is tested by a feeling of love and turns out to be powerless before this feeling. Turgenev is convinced that nihilism is doomed to death, if only because it is powerless before the nature of human feelings. According to the exact remark of G.B. Kurlyandskaya, "Turgenev deliberately presented Bazarov as a deeply emotional person, carrying the fullness of sensations, in order to put her in clear contradiction with false beliefs that eliminate romance and poetry from life."
Bazarov at the beginning of the novel laughs at Pavel Petrovich, who was touched by the “mysterious look” of Princess R.: “And what kind of mysterious relationship between a man and a woman? We physiologists know what these relationships are. You study the anatomy of the eye: where does it come from, as you say, to a mysterious look? But a month later, he already says to Odintsova: “Perhaps you are right; maybe, for sure, every person is a mystery. Yes, although you, for example…”
Life turns out to be much more complicated than Bazarov's constructions. He sees that his feelings are not limited to "physiology", and with anger finds in himself the very "romanticism" that he so ridiculed in others, calling "nonsense" and weakness.
Unrequited love leaves its mark on Bazarov: he falls into melancholy, cannot find a place for himself anywhere, reconsiders his views and finally realizes the hopelessness of his position in the world.
“I am lying here under a haystack... the narrow place that I occupy is so tiny in comparison with the rest of the space where I am not and where I am not cared for; and the part of the time that I will be able to live is so insignificant before eternity, where I am not and will not be ... And in this atom, in this mathematical point, the blood circulates, the brain works, it also wants something. What a disgrace! What nonsense!”
Further, one can trace a certain vicious circle in Bazarov’s thoughts: “... today you said, passing by the hut of our elder Philip, - it is so nice, white, so, you said, Russia will then reach perfection when the last peasant will have the same premises , and each of us should contribute to this ... And I began to hate this last peasant, for whom I have to climb out of my skin and who won’t even thank me ... and why should I thank him? Well, he will live in a white hut, and burdock will grow out of me; well, what next?” So, from the point of view of Bazarov, his own theory becomes meaningless, since Russia will not achieve perfection if he and everyone is not going to do something for her good. “To understand the tragedy of Bazarov, one must remember that he is a maximalist, that he would be satisfied with the resolution of human issues<...>immediately and completely. Immediately and entirely - this means nowhere and never” (Yu. Mann).
Even in the last conversation with Pavel Petrovich, Bazarov renounces his previous view of the people and admits that it is difficult to understand him: “The Russian peasant is the same mysterious stranger that Madame Radcliffe once talked so much about. Who will understand him? He doesn't understand himself." And we see that he still remains a stranger to the people: “Alas! Bazarov, who contemptuously shrugged his shoulder and knew how to talk to peasants (as he boasted in an argument with Pavel Petrovich), this self-confident Bazarov did not even suspect that in their eyes he was still something like a pea jester ... ”Left without supporters, having broken with Arkady without regret (“You are a nice fellow, but you are still a soft, liberal barich”), having been refused by the woman he loves and having lost faith in the correctness of his worldview, tested by life, Bazarov ceases to value his life. Therefore, his death can be regarded not only as an accident or suicide, but also as a logical consequence of his spiritual crisis.
