Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1965 ISBN 0140441476
Those very few who regularly read my reviews know that I have a difficult relationship with Russian literature. Quite often my lasting impression of reading works from Russia is just how different a place it is, and was, from where and who I am. So, while I often appreciate Russian works that I read, just as often they don't move me at a deep level.
I'm pleased to state that is not the case with Fathers and Sons, a book that I both enjoyed reading for its style, and that moved me with its narrative. Written in 1861 at a time of great upheaval in Russian society, Turgenev's subject is a perennial one - the clash of generations, of new ideas with the old, and the choices that people make in their lives.
In Bazarov, Turgenev has created a character that predicts much of Russian history to come. One can't help but think of Lenin when reading Bazarov's theories on humanity, Russians, the nobility and the state of serfs. He is referred to as the "nihilist" throughout the book, with good reason. His mindset is to destroy the current state of things, without having a clear idea of why he is doing so. He spurns society as it is, and human nature as well, which is why he is so confounded when he falls in love with Anna Sergeyevna, and this conflict in the end is the death of him. He was so determined to change the fate of Russia, and so many thought that he would, and yet his death at the end of the novel, as the result of a careless act in dissecting a dead peasant, is for no purpose, and before he could fulfil any of his promise, such as it was.
His disciple, Arkady, who is full of youthful bluster, realises that the path of the revolutionary is not for him, and marries Katya, Anna Sergeyevna's sister. His journey in the book contrasts with Bazarov, finding happiness and fulfilment, and the promise of adding to humanity through children and his activities in improving his family farm.
Arkady's father Nikolai Petrovich, and his uncle Pavel Petrovich, represent the older generation, as do Bazarov's parents Vassily Ivanych and Arina Vlassyevna. Both Nikolai and Pavel consider themselves liberal, but are shocked by the way Bazarov rejects all aspects of society as it currently stands. Nikolai represents those of the upper classes that are trying to do the right thing, and is bewildered by Bazarov's rejection of the arts. However, he is resigned to the coming age, and to the Bazarovs of this world. Pavel, who is truly aristocratic in nature and lifestyle, is horrified and disgusted by Bazarov and all he represents. His duel with Bazarov is surely representative of the change occurring in society: Pavel challenges Bazarov, who accepts because he knows it's the only way to solve the acrimony between them. Bazarov wins, Pavel accepts that honour has been satisfied, but is now diminished. Nikolai and Pavel also represent the two sides of aristocracy - those that try and work to make the world a better place, and those that fritter away their lives in luxury and affectation.
Bazarov's parents represent the middle-class of Russia, if one can use such a term....an ex-army doctor and his wife. People of the land, but not working it themselves, not rich but not poor, one step above superstition, and deeply religious. An embarrassment to Bazarov, but the heart and soul of the Russian countryside. They worship their son, without understanding him at all. In fact Bazarov does not have a normal relationship with anyone in this novel. He prides himself on his understanding of the peasant class, and the way he can interact with them, but "did not for a moment suspect that in their eyes he was after all nothing but a sort of buffoon."
Does Turgenev fall on one side or the other in this battle of old and new? I think he sees both sides, but he does value the human relationships that come from an ordered society, while not dismissing the need for change. Turgenev's writing is wonderful: delicate descriptions of nature interspersed with observations on human nature and social issues, with a well developed plot interweaving his character's adventures in life.
Highly Recommended
Cheers for now, from
A View Over the Bell
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