19th Century Russi The Superfluous Man

The ‘superfluous man’ is a literary concept that developed in 19th century Russia, which gained popularity by Ivan Turgenev’s novella The Diary of a Superfluous Man. It is used to describe an individual, who is intelligent, learned, and well informed by idealism and goodwill, but incapable of engaging in effective action for societal welfare. These characters are in constant conflict and disharmony with the world around them. The ‘superfluous man’ paradigm is best depicted in the following three characters: Pechorin (Mikhail Lermontov’s A Hero of Our Time), Bazarov (Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Children), and Ivan Ilych (Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilych). This paper will explore the idea of the superfluous man in the preceding three characters
He bears strong adherence to his nihilistic and materialistic principles, which leads him to a self-destruction. Being an ardent realist, he sees humans as flawed and selfish, and seeks to live above them through science and destruction. He disdains the romanticist acts of various other characters: “A decent chemist is twenty times more useful than any poet” (Turgenev 21); also he mocks Nikolai Petrovich’s cello playing and Arkady’s devotion to Katya, to whom he advises to “restrain her sentimental tendencies.” (72). It’s this disrespect for people’s basic need for sentimentality that leads him to advocate a nihilistic philosophy, which is a rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless. Though Bazarov is a realist and a pragmatist, his very individual nature is subject to emotional trappings, which can be seen in his shift in opinion regarding women and love. His strong nihilistic approach causes him to be cynical about love, considering it “rubbish or unforgivable stupidity” (71), and anyone who gets influenced by a woman to be idiotic. But when Anna Odintsova challenges Bazarov’s views, he begins to feel his morals sway in her presence. He lacks the strength to have his way with her, or leave her. He calls his love for Anna as “a feeling that
Ivan blindly adopts the beliefs and norms of aristocratic society, and believes that by imitating their lifestyle and conduct, he will be able to improve his own life and find the true meaning of life and existence. Although he is not as cynical about women and love as Pechorin or Bazarov, Ivan considers a wife to be an ‘object’ of wealth and secure means. In his obsession to be recognized by all his middle-class friends, he attempts to have everything in his life be decorous and seemly. Even though his marriage is awful, as long as it appears ‘normal’ enough to society, he is satisfied: “He only required of it those conveniences – dinner at home, housewife, and bed – which it could give him, and above all tat propriety of external forms required by public opinion.” (Tolstoy 27). Ivan tried to be ‘in sync’ with societal norms, but fate intervenes (similar to Pechorin); and one day, whilst he is climbing a ladder to hang some drapes in his house, he makes a false step and slips, and becomes injured. Whilst he rests, Ivan suffers tremendous amounts of pain and dissatisfaction, especially with his life. Like Bazarov’s death, Ivan’s death too is filled with hope, since death allows him to confront his own isolation. This confrontation provokes the use of his reason and gives rise to existential