Nihilism in Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons
Nihilism in Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons has several characters that hold strong views of the world. For example, Pavel believes that Russia needs structure from such things as institution, religion, and class hierarchy. On the other hand, Madame Odintzov views the world as simple so long as she keeps it systematic and free from interference.
This commentary will focus on perhaps the most interesting and complex character in Fathers and Sons: Bazarov.
Vladimir Nabakov writes that "Turgenev takes his creature [B] out of a self-imposed pattern and places him in the normal world of chance." By examining Bazarov I will attempt to make sense of this statement. Using nihilism as a starting point I am going look at Bazarov’s views and interpretations of science, government and institution. Next I will turn to the issue relationships and finally I will examine Bazarov’s death and the stunning truths it reveals. These issues combined with the theme of nihilism will prove that chance, or fate is a strong force which cannot easily be negated.
Nihilism as a concept is used throughout Fathers and Sons. To gain a better understanding of the ideas behind this term let’s look at what Bazarov says on the subject.
"We base our conduct on what we recognize as useful... the most useful thing we can do is to repudiate – and so we repudiate" (123).
The base concept of nihilism is to deny or negate, and as we learn later in the same paragraph, to negate everything. With this ‘destruction’ of everything from science to art there is no building for nihilists, as Bazarov says
"That is not our affair" (126).
Nihilists view the current structure of society as concerned with such trivialities as ‘art’ and ‘parliament’ while ignoring real life issues such as food, freedom, and equality. Nihilists are aware of these social woes and hence mentally deny recognizing any of the present authority or institutions which only serve to perpetuate a myth.
"... I don’t believe
This commentary will focus on perhaps the most interesting and complex character in Fathers and Sons: Bazarov.
Vladimir Nabakov writes that "Turgenev takes his creature [B] out of a self-imposed pattern and places him in the normal world of chance." By examining Bazarov I will attempt to make sense of this statement. Using nihilism as a starting point I am going look at Bazarov’s views and interpretations of science, government and institution. Next I will turn to the issue relationships and finally I will examine Bazarov’s death and the stunning truths it reveals. These issues combined with the theme of nihilism will prove that chance, or fate is a strong force which cannot easily be negated.
Nihilism as a concept is used throughout Fathers and Sons. To gain a better understanding of the ideas behind this term let’s look at what Bazarov says on the subject.
"We base our conduct on what we recognize as useful... the most useful thing we can do is to repudiate – and so we repudiate" (123).
The base concept of nihilism is to deny or negate, and as we learn later in the same paragraph, to negate everything. With this ‘destruction’ of everything from science to art there is no building for nihilists, as Bazarov says
"That is not our affair" (126).
Nihilists view the current structure of society as concerned with such trivialities as ‘art’ and ‘parliament’ while ignoring real life issues such as food, freedom, and equality. Nihilists are aware of these social woes and hence mentally deny recognizing any of the present authority or institutions which only serve to perpetuate a myth.
"... I don’t believe