What features of young contemporaries did he try to capture. Great and mighty is the Russian language

Lesson #1
NOVEL I. S. TURGENEV "FATHERS AND CHILDREN".
HISTORY OF CREATION.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EPOCH OF THE 60S OF THE XIX CENTURY

Goals: to remind students of the position of the writer in the literary and social struggle during the period of work on the novel; emphasize the peculiarities of Turgenev's talent to "capture" modernity, to respond to everything new that has just been born in Russian life; talk about the history of writing a novel, find out the meaning of the title, exchange initial impressions of the read work; on the material of the novel "Fathers and Sons" to characterize the era of the 60s of the XIX century.

Course of lessons

1. What is the significance of the Sovremennik magazine for I. S. Turgenev?

2. What is the reason for the writer's break with Sovremennik and N. A. Nekrasov?

3. Tell us about Russian social life in the 60s of the XIX century.

(In the 60s of the XIX century, a new era of Russian life began. The warring forces of society were defined: conservatives defending the old order, liberals , advocating gradual changes in the socio-political life of Russia (Turgenev himself is a supporter of gradual reformist transformations in the country), and democrats , configured for the immediate destruction of the old and the establishment of new orders (Turgenev's hero - Bazarov - refers to these forces.)

I. S. Turgenev witnessed the triumph of the revolutionary democrats over the liberals. He admired the courage of the Russian revolutionaries, but didn't believe in the perspective of their activities, therefore, he especially acutely felt the shortcomings and extremes of the revolutionary movement of the sixties, who received the name "nihilism" in the novel "Fathers and Sons". Nihilists, according to the modern literary critic N. I. Prutsky, were really “ready to deny beauty, art, aesthetics ... Nihilists called themselves “terrible realists”, supporters of merciless analysis, fans of the exact sciences, experiment.”

The novel "Fathers and Sons" is a topical novel that largely explains the life of Russian society. Turgenev "caught and deployed" in the novel the main conflict of the crisis era - the uncompromising struggle of the liberals with the revolutionary democrats. In the book, Turgenev reflects on the change of generations, on the eternal struggle between the old and the new, on the careful attitude to cultural heritage. These eternal problems found a capacious formulation in the title of the novel "Fathers and Sons" - this is the "universal scope of reality" in its entirety: from the past through the present to the future.)

II. Implementation of an individual task.

Student message.

novel writing history

Fathers and Sons was written in a troubled era. The novel was conceived in 1860 in England, during Turgenev's summer vacation. The writer continued to work on the novel in Paris. But, judging by the letters to friends, things progressed slowly. In May 1861, Turgenev arrived in Russia, in Spasskoe-Lutovinovo. Under the influence of direct impressions, the work went successfully.

The novel "Fathers and Sons" was completed by August 1861.

During the work on the book, Turgenev was disappointed. Breaks with people he appreciated followed one after another.

After the novel “On the Eve” and the article by N. Dobrolyubov “When will the real day come?” Turgenev broke with Sovremennik, with which he was connected by many things, he was its employee for fifteen years.

Then a conflict arose with I. A. Goncharov, which led to a break in relations, after this (in the summer of 1861) there was a quarrel with L. N. Tolstoy, which almost ended in a duel.

Turgenev's faith was crumbling because of friendly feelings.

The novel "Fathers and Sons" was published in the journal "Russian Messenger" in February 1862, dedicated to V. G. Belinsky, directed "against the nobility as an advanced class."

I. S. Turgenev: “The main figure, Bazarov, was based on one personality of a young provincial doctor that struck me (he died shortly before 1860). This remarkable person embodied ... that barely born, still wandering beginning, which later received the name of nihilism. The impression made on me by this person was very strong and at the same time not entirely clear: I ... listened intently and looked at everything that surrounded me ... I was embarrassed by the following fact: in not a single work of our literature did I even meet a hint what I imagined everywhere…”

About the prototypes, Turgenev wrote: “Nikolai Petrovich [Kirsanov] is me, Ogarev and thousands of others; Pavel Petrovich [Kirsanov] – Stolypin, Esakov, Rosset, are also our contemporaries.”

In the character of Nikolai Petrovich, Turgenev captured a lot of autobiographical, the writer's attitude towards this hero is sympathetic.

Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov had prototypes: Alexei Arkadyevich Stolypin, officer, friend and relative of M. Yu. Lermontov; brothers Alexander, Arkady and Klimenty Rosset, guards officers, close acquaintances of Pushkin.

III. Analysis of the content of the novel "Fathers and Sons".

Questions and tasks:

1. When do the events take place? Read the beginning of the novel.

2. Who is coming with Arkady?(Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov is waiting for his son to arrive, but Arkady arrives with Bazarov, a raznochintsy democrat, a hero of the new era.)

3. Analysis of the landscape (described in the 3rd chapter of the novel), which appeared to the eyes of Arkady and Bazarov on the way to Maryino.

Reading from the words: "The places they passed through could not be called picturesque ..."

4. What is the position of the peasants? What details of the landscape speak of this?

5. Why, in your opinion, does Turgenev avoid vivid epithets that depict the life of nature?(We have before us the social function of the landscape. The author selects in nature only what is directly or indirectly connected with the living conditions of the peasants. Poverty, poverty in everything. Ponds with "bad dams", "villages with low huts", devastated cemeteries: living they forgot about the dead ... "Arkady's heart was shrinking little by little.")

6. Analysis of the second part of the landscape (3rd chapter). Reading from the words: “And while he was thinking, spring took its toll ...” What feelings arise after reading?(The writer is full of optimism. The landscape is beautiful! The life of nature is captivating. There is not a single detail that overshadows the mood!)

7. On the material of the novel, tell us about the relationship between peasants and landlords.(“The forest ... only I sold it”, “... the land goes to the peasants ...”, “... they don’t pay dues ...”, “disengaged from the peasants ...” Nikolai Petrovich transfers the peasants from corvée to quitrent, takes good land for himself, uses the labor of civilians workers, cuts down the forest, which should go to the peasants, does everything to protect their interests. The peasants resist in their own way - they refuse to perform the duties of the lord.)

8. Who will carry out the necessary changes?(Of course, new people of the new era, such as Bazarov, a raznochinets by origin and convictions.)

Homework.

1. Reading the novel (chapters 11–15).

2. Compose a description of N. P. Kirsanov.

3. Analysis of the behavior of E. Bazarova away. His relationship with Arkady and P.P. Kirsanov.

Lesson number 2.
E. BAZAROV AMONG THE KIRSANOVS. IDEOLOGICAL
AND SOCIAL DIFFERENCES OF THE HEROES

Goals: work on the content of the novel, analysis of chapters II, IV, X; draw students' attention to the origin of E. Bazarov, his behavior at a party, attitude towards the Kirsanov brothers; based on the text, highlight the main lines of the dispute between Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov, determine the "winner" in these disputes.

Course of lessons

I. Survey of students.

Questions:

1. Tell us about the history of the creation of the novel "Fathers and Sons." To whom did Turgenev dedicate his work?

2. Do the heroes of the novel have prototypes? Who are they?

3. What social conflict underlies the novel "Fathers and Sons"?

4. What is the position of the writer in the dispute between liberal nobles and raznochintsy-democrats?

5. What is the main conflict of the novel? How is this reflected in the work?

6. How do you understand the meaning of the title of the novel?

7. Tell us about the era of the 60s of the XIX century (based on the novel).

II. Analysis of the content of the second chapter of the novel. Meeting of Evgeny Bazarov with Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov(reading in faces).

Questions:

1. How is Evgeny Bazarov dressed? What does "hoodie with tassels" mean?(hoodie - loose clothing. The appearance of Bazarov in such a robe among the Kirsanovs is a challenge to aristocratic conventions.)

2. Appearance of Bazarov. What did Nikolai Petrovich pay attention to?(“The naked red hand” of Bazarov is the hand of a person accustomed to physical labor.)

3. How did Bazarov introduce himself?(“Eugene Vasiliev” is a common form. This is how the peasants were presented.)

4. Why, when meeting with Nikolai Petrovich, Bazarov did not immediately shake his hand?(And what if his hand hangs in the air? After all, the aristocrat Nikolai Petrovich could not shake his hand.)

III. Analysis of the content of the IV chapter of the novel. Bazarov's arrival in Maryino.

Questions:

1. What impression does the Maryino estate make?

2. How does Bazarov behave? Nikolai Petrovich?(Nikolai Petrovich tries not to notice the guest's cheeky manners.)

3. Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov. His appearance, mannerisms.(Appearance is striking sophistication.)Turgenev sympathizes with the hero or ironically over him?

4. What assessment did Bazarov give to the Kirsanov brothers?

5. What did Evgeny Bazarov do in Maryino? Arkady?(“Arkady sybaritized, Bazarov worked.” The life of the nobles passes in idleness, and the content of Bazarov’s life is work, even at a party he continues his natural science studies.)

6. What is the attitude of Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov to Bazarov?(“Pavel Petrovich hated Bazarov with all the strength of his soul: he considered him proud, impudent, cynic, plebeian.”)

7. How do ordinary people feel about Bazarov?

8. Bazarov - "nihilist". How does Arkady explain the meaning of this word? What is the essence of Bazar's nihilism?(To treat everything from a critical point of view, without taking anything for granted. Nihilism is a special worldview, which is based on the denial of social norms, rules, principles.)

Bazarov and Kirsanov Nikolai Petrovich and Pavel Petrovich are different people. Bazarov is a "nihilist" and a democrat, a man who has gone through a harsh school of labor and deprivation. The Kirsanovs are people of the "old age". There can be no reconciliation and unity between them. A collision is inevitable.

(The chapter is dominated by dialogue. Turgenev is a master of dialogue.)

Plan:

1. Expressive reading of the characters' dialogues in faces.

2. Follow what the characters say and how they say it. (How do you understand the word “principle” and why do the heroes argue about principles so fiercely? Explain the point of view of the arguing. What is behind the principles: the requirements of life or tradition? Is P. Kirsanov right when he reproaches the youth for unscrupulousness? How do the heroes relate to the existing system? Can Bazarov be considered a revolutionary? What is the weak side of Bazarov's political views? Do those who argue convince each other?)

3. Views on nature and art. Identification of the author's position. Does Turgenev join Bazarov's statement that nature is not a temple, but a workshop? Does he completely deny Bazarov's creed? With what description of nature does the author end the novel, and why?

The fight between Pavel Petrovich and Bazarov takes place over evening tea. The heroes argue about the Russian people, about the principles and activities of the nihilists, about art and nature, about the nobility and the aristocracy. Each remark of Bazarov is directed against some generally recognized principle. (P. Kirsanov speaks of the need to follow authorities, to believe in them. E. Bazarov denies the reasonableness of both. Pavel Petrovich claims that one cannot live without principles, Bazarov answers: “Aristocratism, liberalism, progress, principles, you think how many foreign and ... useless words!" Pavel Petrovich is touched by the backwardness of the Russian people and reproaches Bazarov for contempt for the people, the nihilist parries the reproach: "Well, if he deserves contempt!" speaks of Schiller and Goethe, Bazarov exclaims: "A decent chemist is twenty times more useful than any poet!" during this period of rapid development of science and technical thought, an underestimation of art was often observed among a part of society. Such extremes were also inherent in Bazarov. Bazarov recognized only what was useful to his cause. The criterion of usefulness is the starting position from which the hero approached various phenomena of life and art.)

In the fights between E. Bazarov and P. Kirsanov, the truth was not born. The participants in the dispute were driven not by the desire for it, but by mutual intolerance. Both heroes were not quite fair to each other.

Homework.

2. Answer the questions:

1) The attitude of the characters to love, to a woman in general.

2) E. Bazarov and Anna Sergeevna Odintsova.

3) The love story of P.P. Kirsanov to Princess R.

4) Are Arkady and Katya happy?

Lesson #3 FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE IN THE LIFE OF HEROES
(FROM THE NOVEL OF I. S. TURGENEV "FATHERS AND CHILDREN")

Goals: analyze the relationship between Bazarov and Arkady Kirsanov, try to understand the inevitability of a gap between the characters, "catch" the social conditionality of the gap; to find out what place love takes in the life of the heroes of the novel, whether they are capable of strong feelings, whether they can withstand the tests of love; to show the deep internal differences between Bazarov and Odintsova, with some similarity in their natures; reveal (in the clash between Bazarov and Odintsova) Bazarov's superiority over the nobles in the sphere of feelings.

During the classes

I. Conversation with students on the topic "Relationships between Evgeny Bazarov and Arkady Kirsanov."

Questions:

1. Reading and analysis of the text from the words: “... We say goodbye forever ... you were not created for our bitter, tart, bean life. You have neither impudence nor anger, but there is young courage ... "

2. How does Bazarov characterize the life of revolutionaries in these words?

3. Why did Arkady join the nihilists?(“Young courage and young enthusiasm,” Bazarov, on the other hand, pushes “daring” and “anger” to fight.)

4. Does A. Kirsanov sincerely share the views of Bazarov at first?

5. Why, despite the desire, Arkady cannot become "strong, energetic"?

6. Why did the friends part ways? Does Bazarov have followers?(Educated and wealthy liberal nobles strive for comfort (moral and physical). They want to feel that they are progressive people. But when they have to act, narcissism and selfishness make them incapable of consistent struggle (“... you involuntarily admire yourself, you are pleased with yourself scold ... "- says Bazarov to Arkady). Arkady is Bazarov's temporary companion. Arkady Kirsanov was not used to the difficulties in the struggle against which character is developed, Bazarov's ideas were not deeply felt by him.)

7. What is the role of Kukshina and Sitnikov in revealing the ideas of nihilism?

II. Debate or conversation with students on the topic "Love in the life of heroes."

For Turgenev, a person's ability to love is the criterion of his viability. The writer necessarily conducts his heroes through this test.

Sample questions for discussion:

2. How do you rate the love story of Pavel Petrovich?(In the memory of Pavel Petrovich, Princess R. was imprinted as an “incomprehensible, almost meaningless ... image.” Turgenev emphasizes her “small mind”, hysterical behavior. Pavel Petrovich collapsed in love. follow her everywhere…” Where did his self-respect and pride go?)

3. One of the problems of the novel is Bazarov's conflict with the world of the nobility. The relationship of the hero with Odintsova is only a branching of this conflict. What are Bazarov's views on love and women in general?(Bazarov has a cynically consumerist view of a woman. Before meeting Anna Sergeevna Odintsova, Bazarov did not love anyone, so he had a misconception about this feeling.)

4. What attracted Evgeny Bazarov to Odintsova? How does he behave?(Anna Sergeevna charmed Bazarov with her beauty, feminine charm, and ability to behave with dignity. But true love arose when Bazarov saw in Odintsova an intelligent interlocutor and a person capable of understanding him. Bazarov needs spiritual communication! Evgeny Bazarov's feelings are deep.)

5. Purpose of Odintsova's life? What is her attitude towards Bazarov?(The goal of Anna Sergeevna’s life is material security, comfort and tranquility. Odintsova does not respond to Bazarov’s love. She just wanted to see at her feet an interesting, intelligent person, unlike others. Politically, Bazarov was a person who did not believe in those foundations of life which seemed familiar to her. By social status, Bazarov is a poor man, a future doctor, at best a scientist. By nature, Turgenev's hero is sharp and straightforward. Bazarov's love for Odintsova is an event that shakes the foundations of his beliefs, casting doubt on his philosophical system.)

6. Could the fate of Bazarov and Odintsova have been happy? Could Anna Sergeevna change, go with Bazarov to his "bitter, tart, bobylny" life?(She would never follow him, even if she fell in love.)

Conclusions. Bazarov is capable of love, of a great and deep feeling. According to M. M. Zhdanov, a comparison of Bazarov with Odintsova and Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov allows us to see the internal unity of the work, the connection of a love affair with the main conflict of the novel, proves "the triumph of democracy over the aristocracy" in the field of feelings.

Bazarov loves Odintsova and at the same time despises himself for being unable to cope with the feeling. The loneliness of the hero grows. Trying to fight his love for Anna Sergeevna, he plunges into work, but this does not save him. The complex interweaving of conflicting feelings can no longer be unraveled or cut.

7. Is Dostoevsky right when he saw in Bazarov "a sign of a great heart"?

8. Are Arkady and Katya happy?(Their feelings are natural, and therefore beautiful.)

9. How should Turgenev's words about love be understood in the epilogue of the novel?

Homework.

2. Answer the questions:

1) Bazarov's attitude towards parents.

2) Analyze the scene of Bazarov's illness and death. What qualities of the hero manifested themselves in the last hours of life?

3) Reflect on the fate of Bazarov, if he had remained alive. Why didn't the novel end with the hero's death?

Lesson #4
I. S. TURGENEV "FATHERS AND CHILDREN" (CHAPTER 27 AND EPILOGUE)

Goals: show the emotional impact of the last chapters of the novel; to help students imagine the hopeless situation in which Bazarov found himself, whether the hero’s illness and his death were accidental, what is Turgenev’s attitude towards his hero; to reveal the positive qualities of Bazarov, which manifested themselves with particular force in the last hours of his life (courage, willpower, loyalty to his convictions, love for life, a woman, parents, a mysterious Motherland).

During the classes

I. Individual reports of students on the topic "Bazarov and parents" or a conversation on:

1. Parents of E. Bazarov. Who are they?(The old Bazarovs are simple people who live out their lives in a small house under a thatched roof. They idolize their son and are proud of him. Vasily Ivanovich Bazarov is a tall “thin man with disheveled hair.” He is a commoner, the son of a deacon who became a doctor. For the fight against plague epidemic was awarded the Order.Trying to keep up with the times, to get closer to the younger generation.Arina Vlasyevna is a "round old woman" with "chubby hands". She is sensitive and pious, believes in omens. The author draws her image: "a real Russian noblewoman of the past ", which should have lived "for two hundred years." The arrival of the dear "Enyusha" excited, overwhelmed her whole being with love and worries.)

2. What role did the parents play in raising their son? How do they look at his work now?(They helped Evgeny as much as they could, they felt his unusualness.)

3. How does Bazarov treat his parents?(Bazarov understands that it is impossible to “remake” his parents. He loves them as they are (although the difference in views is obvious). Bazarov contrasts parents with high light: “... People like them cannot be found in your big light during the day with fire ", - he says to Odintsova. Nevertheless, in communication with his mother and father, the son is "angular and helpless": neither to caress, nor to reassure. He is often silent and does everything possible to hide away, suppress the feeling of filial love. After all love, both filial and parental, according to Bazarov's concepts, is a “sham” feeling.

II. An expressive reading of a passage about the death of Bazarov(with minor cuts).

III. Interview with students on:

1. What thoughts and feelings does Bazarov evoke in the death scene?(Admiration for strength of character, mental fortitude, courage, ability to hold on to the end.)

2. Determine the cause of the illness and death of the hero.(It seems that infection during the autopsy is an accident, in fact it is not. At work, in an effort to know the not yet known Bazarov, death overtakes.)

3. D. I. Pisarev: “The whole interest, the whole meaning of the novel lies in the death of Bazarov ... The description of Bazarov’s death isthe best place in the novelTurgenev; I even doubt that there is anything remarkable in all the works of our artist.”

A.P. Chekhov: “What a luxury -“ Fathers and Sons ”! Just at least shout the guard. Bazarov's illness was made so strong that I became weak, and there was a feeling as if I had contracted it from him. And the end of Bazarov?.. The devil knows how it's done. It's just brilliant."

Do you agree with such statements of Chekhov and Pisarev?

4. What is Turgenev's attitude towards his hero?

I. S. Turgenev: “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.”

The attitude of the writer to Bazarov was not entirely clear: Bazarov was his "enemy", to whom he felt"involuntary attraction". The writer did not believe that the people of the Bazarov warehouse would “find a way to renew Russia”(D.K. Motolskaya).

I. S. Turgenev: “If the reader does not fall in love with Bazarov with all his rudeness, heartlessness, ruthless dryness and harshness, if he does not fall in love with him ... it's my fault and did not reach his goal. In these words, in my opinion, the writer's love for his hero.

5. Tell us how Bazarov's loneliness gradually grows in a collision with other people.(According to M. M. Zhdanov, Turgenev, drawing Bazarov’s superiority over others, psychologically very subtly and convincingly shows his loneliness. The break with the Kirsanovs occurred due to ideological differences, with Anna Sergeyevna on the basis of unrequited love, the hero despises Kukshin and Sitnikov, Arkady by its nature, it is not capable of big things, the old Bazarovs and their son are people of different generations, and the difference in their development is great, with ordinary people - alienation.

6. D. I. Pisarev considers the death of Bazarov heroic, akin to a feat. He writes: “To die the way Bazarov died is the same as doing a great feat.” “... But to look into the eyes of death, to foresee its approach, not trying to deceive it, to remain true to yourself until the last minute, not to weaken and not be afraid - this is a matter of a strong character.” Is Pisarev right in evaluating the death of Bazarov as a feat?

7. How could his fate have been?

8. What qualities of Bazarov manifested themselves with particular force in the last hours of his life? For what purpose did he ask his parents to send for Odintsova?(Probably, one can say that Bazarov is dying of loneliness. Being in a state of deep mental crisis, he allows negligence when opening a corpse and does not take time Nothing to reduce the possibility of infection. The courage with which Turgenev's hero meets his death testifies to the true originality of his nature. Everything superficial, external disappears in Bazarov, and a person with a loving and even poetic soul is revealed to us. Bazarov admired Odintsova, with a feeling of love he already Not considers it necessary to fight.

In the image of Bazarov, Turgenev typifies such wonderful qualities of new people as will, courage, depth of feelings, readiness for action, thirst for life, tenderness.)

9. Why does the novel not end with the death of the hero?

10. Does Bazarovism exist today?(In the epilogue, I. S. Turgenev writes: “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 tell us not only about eternal peace, about that great the tranquility of "indifferent" nature; they also speak of eternal reconciliation and endless life ... "

The excited voice of the author! Turgenev speaks of the eternal laws of being, which do not depend on man. The writer convinces us that going against these laws is madness. In the novel, what is natural wins: Arkady returns to his parental home, families are created ... And the rebellious, tough, prickly Bazarov, even after his death, is still remembered and loved by aging parents.)

Homework.

2. After reading the article, answer the questions:

1) What are the fundamental properties of the Bazarov type?

2) What, according to Pisarev, is the author's attitude to the Bazarov type in general and to the hero's death in particular?

3) What, from the point of view of Pisarev, controls the behavior of Bazarov?

4) How does Bazarov compare with the heroes of the previous era?

3. Written answer (individual task): Why is the novel by I. S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons" and its hero interesting to today's reader?

4. Write down interesting statements about the novel by literary critics N. N. Strakhov, V. Yu. Troitsky. Which of them, in your opinion, is closer to Turgenev's point of view on his hero? Which ones should be argued with?

Lesson number 5.
DISPUTES AROUND I. S. TURGENEV'S NOVEL "FATHERS AND CHILDREN".
CONTEMPORARY ABOUT "FATHERS AND CHILDREN"

Goals: to acquaint with the assessments of Turgenev's novel by Russian critics; consider the main provisions of the article by D. I. Pisarev "Bazarov"; find out why the novel is interesting to today's reader, what is outdated in the work and what is modern; determine their attitude to Turgenev's novel and its characters.

During the classes

I. Repetition of the studied.

Sample questions:

1. Let's remember how the novel was created, where it was published, to whom it is dedicated, against whom it is directed.(The novel was conceived in 1860 in England, completed in Russia in 1861, published in Russkiy Vestnik in 1862, dedicated to V. G. Belinsky, directed against the nobility.)

2. What events of the novel do you consider the main ones?

3. What is the essence of the main conflict?

4. For what purpose does I. S. Turgenev confront Bazarov with other heroes of the novel? What is the “psychological couple reception”? What characters in the novel are involved?

5. What is "nihilism"?

6. What is the essence of Bazar's nihilism?

7. What is the role of Odintsova in revealing the main conflict of the novel?

8. Why did Turgenev "force" his hero to die? Did Bazarov believe in the immortality of the soul?

9. What, in your opinion, is outdated in the novel and what is modern?

10. What is your attitude to Turgenev's novel and its characters?

II. Discussion of the statements of Russian critics about the novel "Fathers and Sons".

I. S. Turgenev after the publication of Fathers and Sons, he wanted to leave literary activity forever and even said goodbye to readers in the story Enough.

"Fathers and Sons" made a sensation in a way that the author did not expect. With bewilderment and bitterness, he stopped before the "chaos of contradictory judgments"(Yu. V. Lebedev).

In a letter to A. A. Fet, Turgenev remarked in confusion: “Did I want to scold Bazarov or exalt him? I don’t know this myself, because I don’t know whether I love him or hate him!”

1. D. I. Pisarev wrote two brilliant articles "Bazarov" (1862) and "Realists" (1864), in which he expressed his attitude to Turgenev's novel and the protagonist. The critic saw his task in "outlining Bazarov's personality with large features", showing his strong, honest and stern character, and protecting him from unfair accusations.

Pisarev's article "Bazarov". (2-4, 10, 11th chapters.)

Interview with students on:

1) What are the fundamental properties of the Bazarov type and what are they due to?(Pisarev, with his characteristic aphoristic precision, reveals the essence of the Bazarov type, which is generated by the harsh school of labor. It was labor that developed energy ... Pisarev explained Bazarov’s rudeness and harshness by saying that “hands become rougher from harsh labor, manners become rougher, feelings become rougher.”)

2) What, according to D. I. Pisarev, controls Bazarov's actions?
(The reasons for vigorous activity, according to Pisarev, are “personal whim or personal calculations.” The critic, overlooking the revolutionary nature of Bazarov, could not clearly explain what “personal calculations” means. Pisarev also impoverished the concept of “personal whim”, without filling it with revolutionary content.)

3) How does Bazarov compare with the heroes of the previous era?

(D. I. Pisarev wrote about the attitude towards Bazarov and his predecessors in Russian literature: “... the Pechorins have a will without knowledge, the Rudins have knowledge without a will, the Bazarovs have both knowledge and will, thought and deed merge into one solid whole.")

4) What does the critic say about Turgenev's attitude to the Bazarov type in general? What do you think about the hero's death in particular?(For Turgenev, his hero stands “on the eve of the future.” Bazarov dies, and his lonely grave makes one think that the democrat Bazarov has no followers and successors.

Pisarev, as it were, is in solidarity with Turgenev, since he believes that Bazarov "has no activity." Well, if “there is no reason for him to live; so you have to see how he will die. The critic analyzes in detail the chapter on the illness and death of Bazarov, admires the hero, shows what gigantic powers and opportunities this new type has. “To die the way Bazarov died is the same as doing a great feat.”)

5) What statements of the Russian critic seem interesting to you?

2. D. D. Minaev 1 . The poem "Fathers or children? Parallel" (1862).

For many years without fatigue

Two generations are at war

bloody war;

And nowadays in any newspaper

"Fathers" and "Children" enter the battle.

Those and these destroy each other,

As before, in the old days.

We did what we could

Two generations parallel

Through the darkness and through the fog.

But the steam of fog scattered:

Only from Ivan Turgenev

Waiting for a new novel -

Our dispute was decided by the novel.

And we exclaimed in awe:

"Who can stand in an unequal dispute?"

Which one of the two?

Who has won? Who has the best rules?

Who forced himself to respect:

Whether Bazarov, Pavel Kirsanov,

caressing our ears?

Take a closer look at his face.

What tenderness, thinness of the skin!

Like light, a white hand.

In speeches, in receptions - tact and measure,

The greatness of the London "sir" -

After all, without perfume, without a travel bag 2

And his life is hard.

And what a morality! Oh Gods!

He is in front of Fenechka in alarm,

Like a high school student, he trembles;

For a man intervening in a dispute,

He is sometimes with the whole office,

Drawing with my brother in conversation,

"Calm, calm!" - repeats.

Raising your body

He does business without work,

Captivating old ladies;

Sits in the bath, going to bed,

Feeds terror to the new race,

Like a lion on Bryulevskaya terrace

Walking in the morning.

Here is the old press representative.

Can you compare Bazarov with him?

Hardly, gentlemen!

The hero can be seen by signs,

And in this gloomy nihilist

With his medicines, with his lancet,

There is no trace of heroism.

* * *

Like the most exemplary cynic,

He stan Madame de Odintsova

Pressed to his chest.

And even - what audacity, after all -

Hospitality rights not knowing

Once Fenya, hugging,

Kissed in the garden.

Who is dearer to us: the old man Kirsanov,

Lover of frescoes and hookahs,

Russian Togenburg 3 ?

Or he, a friend of the mob and bazaars,

Reborn Insarov, -

Frogs cutting Bazarov,

A slob and a surgeon?

The answer is ready: after all, we are not without reason

We have a weakness for Russian bars -

Give them crowns!

And we, deciding everything in the world,

These questions have been resolved...

Who is dearer to us - fathers or children?

Fathers! Fathers! Fathers!

Interview with students on:

2) What are the features of the form of the poem?(Minaev’s ironic poem is reminiscent of Lermontov’s Borodino. The poet sees Turgenev’s attacks on the younger generation in the novel Fathers and Sons. According to Minaev, Turgenev’s sympathies are on the side of the fathers: “Who is dearer to us - fathers or children? Fathers! Fathers! Fathers !)

3. M. A. Antonovich "Asmodeus 4 of our time" (1862).

Maxim Alekseevich Antonovich - publicist, literary critic and naturalist, belonged to the revolutionary-democratic camp, was a student of N. A. Dobrolyubov and N. G. Chernyshevsky. He carried his reverent attitude towards Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov through his whole life. Antonovich had a difficult relationship with Nekrasov.

According to the memoirs of his daughter, Antonovich had a very proud and intolerant character, which aggravated the drama of his fate in journalism.

In the article “Asmodeus of Our Time”, Antonovich spoke negatively about I. S. Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons”. The critic saw in the novel the idealization of fathers and slander of children. In Bazarov, Antonovich found immorality and "porridge" in his head. Yevgeny Bazarov is a caricature, slander of the younger generation.

Some excerpts from the article.

“From the very first pages ... You are enveloped in some kind of deadly cold; you don’t live with the characters in the novel, you don’t get imbued with their life, but you begin to talk coldly with them, or, more precisely, follow their reasoning ... This shows that Mr. Turgenev’s new work is extremely unsatisfactory artistically ... the new work lacks ... psychological analysis , no ... artistic images of nature paintings ...

... in the novel ... there is not a single living face and living soul, but all only abstract ideas and different directions ... He [Turgenev] despises and hates his main character and his friends with all his heart ...

In disputes, he [Bazarov] is completely lost, expresses nonsense and preaches absurdities that are unforgivable to the most limited mind ...

There is nothing to say about the moral character and moral qualities of the hero; this is not a man, but some terrible creature, just a devil, or, more poetically, asmodeus. He systematically hates and persecutes everyone from his kind parents, whom he cannot stand, to frogs, which he cuts with merciless cruelty. Never a single feeling creeps into his cold heart; there is not a trace of any enthusiasm or passion in him ...

[Bazarov] is not a living person, but a caricature, a monster with a tiny head and a gigantic mouth, with a small face and a big nose, and, moreover, the most malicious caricature ...

How does the modern young generation of Mr. Turgenev imagine? He, apparently, is not disposed towards him, he even treats children with hostility; fathers he gives full priority ...

The novel is nothing but a merciless and destructive criticism of the younger generation...

Pavel Petrovich [Kirsanov], a single man ... endlessly immersed in worries about foppery, but an invincible dialectician, strikes Bazarov and his nephew at every step ... "

Some statements from Antonovich's article are written on the board, students are invited to challenge the opinion of the critic.

- "The new work of Mr. Turgenev is extremely unsatisfactory in artistic terms."

- Turgenev "despises and hates his main character with all his heart", and "gives full advantage to his fathers and tries to elevate them ..."

- Bazarov "is completely lost, expresses nonsense and preaches absurdities." Pavel Petrovich "strikes Bazarov at every step."

- Bazarov "hates everyone" ... "not a single feeling creeps into his cold heart."

4. Nikolai Nikolaevich Strakhov- literary critic, author of the article "I. S. Turgenev. "Fathers and Sons"". The article is devoted to the exposure of nihilism as a theory allegedly divorced from Russian life.

The critic believed that Bazarov was the image of a man trying to subjugate the "forces of life" that gave birth to him and dominated him. Therefore, the hero denies love, art, the beauty of nature - these are the forces of life that reconcile a person with the world around him. Bazarov hates reconciliation, he longs for struggle. Strakhov emphasizes the greatness of Bazarov. Turgenev's attitude, according to Strakhov, is the same towards both fathers and children. “This identical measure, this common point of view in Turgenev is human life, in its broadest and fullest meaning.”

III. Implementation of individual homework.

Reading a written answer to the question "What is interesting about Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons" and his hero to today's reader?"

Homework.

1. An essay based on Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons". (Deadline is a week).

Sample topics:

1) The meaning of the title of Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons".

2) Russian nobility in the image of Turgenev.

3) What is the strength and artistic appeal of Bazarov?

4) What do I like and what do I not accept in Bazarov?

5) “So you deny everything?” (Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov.)

6) Attitude towards women of the heroes of the novel.

7) The role of landscape in Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons".

8) "Superfluous people" in the literature of the 19th century and the "new hero" of I. S. Turgenev.

9) Analysis of an episode from the novel by I. S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons" (at the choice of students).

2. Biography of the poet F. I. Tyutchev.

3. Reading the poet's poems.

To complete the task, select only ONE of the four proposed essay topics (17.1-17.4). Write an essay on this topic in a volume of at least 200 words (if the volume is less than 150 words, the essay is rated 0 points).

Expand the topic of the essay fully and multidimensionally.

Argument your theses by analyzing the elements of the text of the work (in an essay on lyrics, you must analyze at least three poems).

Identify the role of artistic means, which is important for revealing the theme of the essay.

Consider the composition of the essay.

Avoid factual, logical, verbal errors.

Write your essay clearly and legibly, following the rules of writing.

Explanation.

To complete the task of part 3, select only ONE of the proposed essay topics (17.1-17.4).

In the M2 answer form, indicate the number of the topic you have chosen, and then write an essay on this topic in a volume of at least 200 words (if the essay is less than 150 words, then it is rated 0 points).

Rely on the author's position and formulate your point of view. Argument your theses based on literary works (in an essay on lyrics, you must analyze at least three poems).

Use literary-theoretical concepts to analyze the work.

Consider the composition of the essay.

Write your essay clearly and legibly, following the rules of speech.

Commentary on essay topics

C17.1. What is the peculiarity of Chatsky's conflict with the Famus society? (According to the comedy by A. S. Griboedov “Woe from Wit”.)

The images created by Griboyedov are bright and ambiguous, uncharacteristic of a classic comedy; unconventional and the conflict of the play. Violent disputes flare up between Chatsky and Famusov about the acceptability of various ways to receive promotions and awards, about the importance of public opinion, about education. This conflict is social; on the one hand - Chatsky and some off-stage characters (brother Skalozub, Prince Fedor, nephew of Tugoukhovskaya), on the other - the Moscow noble society, headed by Famusov. This is not a confrontation between two people, but two worldviews, social positions; Chatsky and Famusov are only their most prominent representatives. From a historical point of view, this variant of social conflict is unresolvable: the confrontation between the old and the new cannot be resolved peacefully. However, in the comedy, the relationship of specific characters, Chatsky and Famusovsky society, is clarified to the end: they deeply despise each other, do not want to have anything in common; the conflict in the literary sense is resolvable, in the universal human sense it is not.

C17.2. What features of the “new man” in the image of Bazarov does I. S. Turgenev accept and what does I. S. Turgenev deny? (Based on the novel Fathers and Sons.)

“I dreamed of a gloomy, wild, big 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,” wrote Turgenev about his hero. The writer himself did not decide in relation to Bazarov. On the one hand, he justifies and appreciates Bazarov, quite sincerely admiring his intelligence, firmness, ability to defend his ideals and achieve what he wants; endows this image with features that he does not possess. But, on the other hand, the reader feels (there is no direct indication of this in the text, but this slips by itself, against the will of the author) that Bazarov is alien to the author, incomprehensible - the denial of art, nature, love is unacceptable for Turgenev. Turgenev sincerely wants to force himself to fall in love with his hero, to "ignite" his idea, but to no avail. The author and his protagonist remain on opposite sides. That is why the image of the new man Yevgeny Vasilyevich Bazarov turned out to be complex, contradictory, and, of course, very interesting.

C17.3. Why does A.A. Blok refer to the historical past of the Motherland in his poems about Russia?

According to Blok himself, the theme of Russia is the main one in his poetry. Blok turned to this topic at the very beginning of his career and remained faithful to it until the end of his life. The poem "Gamayun, the prophetic bird" was the first work of the young Blok dedicated to the fate of Russia. The theme of the historical path of the motherland, its tragic history, already arises in it. Bird Gamayun

Broadcasts and sings

Unable to raise the wings of the troubled ...

The cycle "On the Kulikovo Field" is entirely devoted to Russia. In the first poem of this cycle, the theme of the path arises, revealing itself in two planes: spatial and temporal. The temporary plan is an image of the historical path of Russia:

The holy banner will flash in the steppe smoke

And the steel of the Khan's saber...

And eternal battle! We only dream of peace

Through blood and dust...

It is the combination of the temporal plan with the spatial plan that gives the poem a special dynamism. Russia will never freeze in deathly immobility, it will always be accompanied by changes.

The expectation of change is also permeated with the poem “Born in Deaf Years ...”, dedicated to Z. N. Gippius. Blok is aware of the doom of his generation, the generation of children of the "terrible years of Russia", and calls for renewal.

C17.4. Images of two capitals in Russian literature.

Russia has changed its capital more than once in its centuries-old history. Peter the Great, having barely managed to lay a new city - Petersburg - moved the capital there. Since then, the confrontation between St. Petersburg and Moscow began, claiming the title of the main city of the country. This struggle could not but be reflected in the works of writers who feel the spirit of the times. In addition, both cities are original and do not resemble one another: Moscow is always seething, lively, active; Petersburg is gloomy, proud, preserving traditions. He, even having lost his official status, remains the "cultural capital".

A. S. Pushkin admires the proud Moscow that did not surrender to Napoleon: “Moscow ... how much has merged in this sound for the Russian heart!” But Petersburg is dearer to the poet:

I love you, Peter's creation,

I love your strict, slender look,

Neva sovereign current,

Its coastal granite ...

Only a person who truly loves Petersburg could write such poems. For Pushkin, this city is the embodiment of the Petrovsky spirit.

We find a whole cycle of "Petersburg Tales" in Gogol. But the splendor of St. Petersburg fades into the background here, since Gogol writes not at all a guide to the city, but satirical works. Indifference, bureaucracy, depersonalization of a person - that's what worries the writer in the first place. Therefore, the image of the capital is bifurcated.

It is impossible not to recall the "Moscow Tavern", sung by Sergei Yesenin. The nightlife is in full swing here, everything is in smoke, everything is in a drunken stupor. In this Moscow, revelry, drunkenness reign, nothing is sacred. The poet wants to escape from the stuffy atmosphere of taverns, to see at least a piece of clear sky, to breathe fresh air. But there is no way out, and this hopelessness, depression also affects the reader. How far is this Moscow from Pushkin's!

In Russian literature, as in life, there is no single answer: which city is better? Moscow and St. Petersburg are dear to the Russian heart, each in its own way.

Famusov

That's it, you are all proud!
Would you ask how the fathers did?
Learn by looking at your elders...
A. S. Griboyedov

In the 60s of the 19th century, a new type of hero appeared in Russian literature, which is usually called the "new man". This hero replaced the "superfluous person", the main character of the works of the first half of the 19th century. “Superfluous people”, smart, educated, are not satisfied with the life around them and the ideals of their contemporary society. All of them are dissatisfied with their lives without meaning, but they cannot find a serious goal that would capture them, would give meaning to their lives. That is why they are called "superfluous people". A convincing characterization of "superfluous people" is given by N.A. Dobrolyubov in the article "What is Oblomovism?".

The life position of the "superfluous people" for their time was more or less clear: the heroes defiantly opposed themselves to the surrounding society and thus were a living reproach to this society: why are young, educated, capable people turned out to be "superfluous"? But during the first revolutionary situation and later, the position of withdrawal from public life becomes no longer sufficient. In the new historical conditions it is necessary to do business. The new—active—heroes began to be called "new people," following N.G.

In the novel "Fathers and Sons" a "new man" is presented - Bazarov. True, Turgenev calls him a "nihilist" and explains in detail what he means by this foreign word. Hearing it for the first time, Nikolai Petrovich says: “This is from the Latin nihil - nothing ... this word means a person who does not recognize anything” (V). Arkady immediately clarifies: “A nihilist is a person who does not bow to any authorities, who does not accept a single principle on faith, no matter how respect this principle is surrounded” (ibid.). In other words, it is not true that Bazarov does not believe in anything, he trusts "experience", "sensible truth", that is, he does not believe in "principles", but believes in frogs. D.I. Pisarev, who, according to his socio-political views, should be attributed to real (and not literary) nihilists, approves of Bazarov’s similar convictions: “It is precisely here, in the frog itself, that the salvation and renewal of the Russian people lies” (“ Motives of Russian drama”, X). In the natural sciences, the critic explains his thought, phrases and authorities mean nothing, experimental proofs are needed here, and only the scientist who “will live a full intellectual life and look at things reasonably and seriously” (ibid.) can find them.

The conversation about the nihilists ends with Pavel Petrovich's sarcastic remark: “Yes. Before there were Hegelists, and now there are Nihilists. Let's see how you will exist in emptiness, in airless space" (V). There is a reason for this causticity: no matter what Bazarov and his like-minded people say, they cannot get away from the knowledge and achievements of previous generations, that is, “fathers”. This manifests one of the laws of dialectics (the transition of quantity into quality), formulated, by the way, by G. Hegel.

Bazarov as a “new man” is contrasted in the novel with the main ideological opponent, Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov, who, both in his convictions and in his life history, is very reminiscent of “superfluous people”, it is not without reason that Bazarov calls him “an archaic phenomenon” without ceremony (IV). In turn, Pavel Petrovich did not like the long-haired nihilist with his bad manners and huge pride at first sight. Bazarov's bad manners, diligently noted by the writer (careless answers through his teeth, stomping on the flower beds, sitting on the table, careless posture "lounging" in an armchair, yawns during a conversation), can be regarded as a conscious challenge to the aristocrats by the "doctor's son": Bazarov neglects the rules of decency and defiantly taunts the well-groomed hands and tight collars of the loafer Pavel Petrovich.

Both of them argue a lot in the novel and thus reveal their philosophical beliefs, political views, and life position. Turgenev gives in detail the statements of each of them about the people, state power, political struggle, the social structure of Russia, Russian history, science, art, etc. Bazarov wins these disputes, which proves the thoughtfulness, solidity of his convictions and at the same time the vulnerability of many of the views of Pavel Petrovich, who, due to age and long rural solitude, has lagged behind life. The former secular lion does not understand that a new time is coming and it requires decisive action, and not just beautiful, albeit fair reasoning. Bazarov says about the new time in the novel: “Before, in recent times, we said that our officials take bribes, that we have no roads, no trade, no proper court ... And then we guessed what to talk, that's all only talking about our ulcers is not worth the trouble (...) ”(X). Repeating this thought, Bazarov turns to Arkady: “Your noble brother cannot go further than noble humility or noble boiling, and this is nothing. You, for example, do not fight - and you already imagine yourself to be good fellows - but we want to fight ”(XXVI).

Thus, two fundamentally different positions in life are revealed to the reader. Bazarov is a democrat both by origin (his grandfather plowed the land, and his father was a regimental doctor) and by conviction (“Our dust will eat your eyes out, our dirt will stain you, and you have not grown up to us ...” (XXVI), - says the main character to Arkady), and according to the working lifestyle. Pavel Petrovich is an aristocrat who is proud of his family, enjoys the fortune of his ancestors and demands respect for himself “for the fact that he generally dined well, and once even dined with Wellington at Louis Philippe” (VII). Bazarov's behavior proves that he is a purposeful, hard-working, strong-willed person. Turgenev's hero is a poor student, just like Rodion Raskolnikov, but he does not despair, he endures all the difficulties (lack of money, neglect of wealthy fellow students, enormous physical stress) that broke Raskolnikov, continues to study and is engaged in social activities. Bazarov is characterized by a materialistic worldview and serious studies in the natural sciences. The business spirit of the nihilist is to the liking of the author, who, however, does not forget that Bazarov formulated his main goal very clearly: to break everything old, “to clear the place” (X).

Turgenev, of course, does not like such "destructive" moods, but, being an honest writer, he shows that even during the holidays in Maryino, the nihilist continues to work hard, cuts frogs, treats little Mitya. And Pavel Petrovich in the same Maryino pays great attention to his appearance, manners, but at the same time does not interfere in the management of the estate, leaving this prosaic concern to his brother, he himself amuses his broken heart, looking for features in the face of Fenichka, similarities with Princess R. Bazarov completely justifiably asks the elder Kirsanov his caustic question: “Excuse me, Pavel Petrovich, you respect yourself and sit back; what is the use of this for the bien public?” (X).

Turgenev portrayed Bazarov as a man with a strong character, which manifested itself, for example, in the story of the hero's love for Odintsova. Although the nihilist at the beginning of the novel confidently declares that there is no love, but there is a physiological attraction of the sexes, he falls in love quite romantically and is rejected by the "lady of his heart." Thus, the story of Bazarov and Odintsova essentially repeats the story of Pavel Petrovich and Princess R. However, unhappy love “breaks” Kirsanov (“an extra person”): he loses interest in life, leaves for the village, where he completely surrenders to his sad memories-experiences. To Bazarov (“the new man”), unhappy love inflicts a severe spiritual wound, but cannot break him: he consciously seeks distraction in his work, helps his father treat the peasants, etc.

With these serious differences, the two antipode heroes are somewhat similar, for example, both do not know and understand the life problems of men, although both are convinced of the opposite. Aristocrat Pavel Petrovich “always stands up for the peasants; True, when speaking to them, he frowns and sniffs the cologne” (VII); Democrat Bazarov "did not even suspect that in the eyes of the peasants he was still something like a pea jester" (XXVII). Turgenev cites a conversation between a young nihilist and a peasant who cannot answer the gentleman's abstruse questions: the interlocutors do not understand each other at all. After listening to the absurdity that the earth stands on three fish, and the village world lovingly submits to a strict master, Bazarov “contemptuously shrugged his shoulders and turned away, and the peasant wandered home,” arguing that the master “was talking something; I wanted to scratch my tongue. It is known, master; does he understand? (XXVII).

Summing up, it should be said that Turgenev made an attempt to truthfully describe the new hero of Russian public life at a time when the ideological and psychological "portrait" of the revolutionary democrats had not yet fully formed. And yet, many aspects of Bazarov's character, as history has shown, were so correctly noticed by the writer that they were repeated in the characters of real Russian democratic revolutionaries (Dobrolyubov, Pisarev and others).

Depicting the "new man", Turgenev contrasted him with the hero of the previous era - the "superfluous man". The author showed that Bazarov has a stronger character than Pavel Petrovich: hard work, determination, will, striving for action for the common good, the breadth of life views and tasks distinguish the young nihilist from the refined gentleman, selfish, immersed in personal experiences, subject to external circumstances .

At the same time, the writer is frightened by the too radical beliefs of the “new people”, their contempt for universal human values ​​(family relations, love), neglect of cultural and scientific traditions developed by “fathers and grandfathers”. The complex attitude to the "new man" allowed Turgenev to create a multifaceted, interesting image of the main character.

...Perhaps (flattering hope)

The future ignorant will indicate

To my illustrious portrait,

And he says: that was the Poet!

Please accept my thanks

A worshiper of the peaceful Aonids,

O you whose memory will keep

My flying creations

Whose benevolent hand

Shake the old man's laurels!...

1823 lines from "Eugene Onegin"

Xavier de Maistre "Pushkin the Child",1800 - 1802
(Written in oil on a metal plate.)
It is assumed that this is the first image of Pushkin. The miniature was donated to S.M. Velikopolskaya, the daughter of the family doctor and friend of the Pushkins, M.Ya. Mudrova. For more than a hundred years, the portrait was carefully kept by the Wielkopolskys. In 1950, the artist V.S. Yakut, after a successful performance as Pushkin in A.P. Globa's play "Pushkin", received him as a gift. And ten years later, having learned about the creation of a museum dedicated to Pushkin in Moscow, Yakut transferred the precious relic there.
About Pushkin: "The passion for poetry manifested itself in him with the first concepts" ":" It used to be ... they ask him: "Why are you, Sasha, not sleeping?" - to which he usually answered: "I compose poetry"; here they will threaten him with rods in order to force him to leave poetry and take to sleep; this is how the poetic genius developed in him from early childhood.
N.V. Berg "The Village of Zakharovo": "... The kind owner took me around the garden and showed me the places that the child, Pushkin, especially loved. First of all, we examined a small birch grove, located not far from the house, almost at the very gate. In the middle there used to be a table with benches around it. Here, on good summer days, the Hannibalovs dined and drank tea. Little Pushkin loved this grove and even, they say, wished to be buried in it<...>From the grove we went to the bank of the pond, where there is still a huge linden tree, near which there used to be a semicircular bench. They say that Pushkin often sat on this bench and liked to play here. From the linden there is a very good view of the pond, the other side of which is covered with a dark spruce forest. There used to be several birches around the linden, which, as they say, were all covered with Pushkin's poems. From these birches only rotten stumps remained; however, one survived a little further, on which traces of some kind of letter are still visible. I could make out quite clearly only a few letters: okr ... k and vayut<...>
- Was the child Alexander Sergeyevich meek or a naughty one?
- He was humble, quiet such that, Lord! everything with books, it happened ... something with the brothers when they play, otherwise they don’t, I didn’t indulge with the peasants ... they were quiet, the children were respectful.
- When did he leave here?
- God knows! He must have left at the age of twelve..." (from a conversation with Arina Rodionovna's daughter)

S.G. Chirikov "Portrait of Pushkin", 1810
I'm a young rake
Still on the school bench;
I'm not stupid, I say without hesitation,
And without the cutesy antics...
My growth with the growth of the most lanky
cannot equal;
I have a fresh complexion, blond hair
And curly head...
A real demon in pranks,
A real monkey face
Much, too much windiness
("My portrait" 1814
translation from French)
Among Pushkin's lyceum nicknames, there was one given "by physiognomy and some habits": "a mixture of a monkey and a tiger."
“Couldn't be more ugly - it's a mixture of monkey and tiger appearance; he comes from African ancestors and still retains some blackness in his eyes and something wild in his eyes”<...>When he speaks, you forget about what he lacks in order to be beautiful, his conversation is so interesting, sparkling with intelligence, without any pedantry ... It is impossible to be less pretentious and more intelligent in the manner of expression. Ficquelmont)

I. Repin "Pushkin at the exam in Tsarskoye Selo on January 8, 1815", 1911
Pushkin recalls the exam in Tsarskoye Selo, which took place in 1815, when the famous poet G.R. Derzhavin. Tired of the monotony of the exam, Derzhavin dozed off. He suddenly perked up when Pushkin began to read his poem "Memoirs in Tsarskoye Selo". Derzhavin was delighted with the talent of the young poet. I. Repin depicted in his painting, written in 1911, an exciting story, where a young poet reads his poem.

"... The members of Arzamas looked at the release of young Pushkin as a happy event for them, as a triumph. His parents themselves could not take a more tender part in it; especially Zhukovsky, his successor in Arzamas, seemed happy as if God himself had sent him a sweet child. The child seemed to me rather playful and unbridled, and it even hurt me to watch how all the older brothers vied with each other indulging the little brother. It was almost always like this with me: those whom I was destined to love passionately "At first, our acquaintance seemed disgusting to me. They will ask: was he then a liberal? Yes, how could an eighteen-year-old boy who had just broken free, with an ardent poetic imagination and seething African blood in his veins, not be, and in such an era, when free-thinking was at its height, I didn’t ask then why he was called “Cricket,” but now I find it very fitting: for at some distance from Petersburg, hidden within the walls of the Lyceum, he was already giving out his sonorous voice in beautiful verses.<...>He was praised, scolded, extolled, scolded. Cruelly attacking the pranks of his youth, the envious themselves did not dare to deny him his talent; others sincerely marveled at his marvelous verses, but few discovered what was, if possible, even more perfect in him - his all-perceiving mind and high feelings of his beautiful soul ... "(F. F. Vigel from Notes")

Egor Ivanovich Geitman
Pushkin. 1822
The first image of Pushkin that his contemporaries saw was an engraving made by E. I. Geitman for the frontispiece in the first edition of the poem “The Prisoner of the Caucasus”. Its publisher, the poet and translator N. I. Gnedich, placed a note at the end of the book: “Publishers add a portrait of the Author, drawn from him in his youth. They think that it is pleasant to preserve the youthful features of the poet, whose first works are marked by an extraordinary gift.
The book was published in St. Petersburg at the end of August 1822. Having received it, Pushkin wrote to Gnedich from Chisinau: “Alexander Pushkin is masterfully lithographed, but I don’t know if it’s similar, the publishers’ note is very flattering - I don’t know if it’s fair” ... “I wrote to my brother so that he begged S. Lenin not to print my portrait, if my consent is needed, then I do not agree.

".. He knew how to be completely young in his youth, that is, constantly cheerful and carefree<...>This ebullient creature, in the most ebullient years of life, one might say, plunged into her pleasures. Who was to stop, warn him? Is it his weak father, who only knew how to admire him? Or to young friends, mostly military men, intoxicated with the delights of his mind and imagination, and who, in turn, tried to intoxicate him with incense of praise and champagne wine? Or the theatrical goddesses, with whom he spent most of his time? He was saved from delusions and troubles by his own strong mind, constantly awakening in him, a sense of honor, with which he was all full ... "(F. F. Vigel from Notes")

Josiv Eustathius Vivien de Chateaubrin
Pushkin. 1826
"Among many, my attention was particularly drawn to the young man who entered, short in stature, but rather broad-shouldered and strong, with a quick and observant gaze, unusually lively in his methods, often laughing in excess of unconstrained gaiety and suddenly suddenly turning to a thought that arouses participation. Sketches of the face his thoughts were wrong and ugly, but the expression of thought was so captivating that one would involuntarily want to ask: what is the matter with you? What sadness darkens your soul? he constantly blushed and laughed; his beautiful teeth showed in all their brilliance, his smile did not fade away. (V.P. Gorchakov. Excerpts from the diary about A.S. Pushkin)

"What a lucky Pushkin! He laughs so hard that his guts are visible" (artist Karl Bryullov)

“Short in stature, his lips are thick and curly… He seemed very ugly to me.” (Gypsy Tanya)

"... Pushkin dressed, although, apparently, casually, imitating in this, as in many other things, his prototype - Byron, but this negligence was apparent: Pushkin was very scrupulous about the toilet ..." (A.N. .Wulf Stories about Pushkin, recorded by M. I. Semevsky)

"... in 1822 there was a strong earthquake in Chisinau; the walls of the house cracked, resounded in several places; General Inzov was forced to leave the house, but Pushkin remained on the lower floor. Then there were a few more oddities in Pushkin, perhaps inevitable companions of brilliant youth. He wore nails longer than those of Chinese scholars. Waking up from sleep, he sat naked in bed and fired a pistol at the wall." (A.F. VELTMAN "Memories of Bessarabia")

"... A. S. Pushkin usually wrote his poems in the morning, lying on his bed, putting paper on his bent knees. In bed, he also drank coffee. Not once did Alexander Sergeevich write his works here, but he never liked to read them aloud, for others ... "(N.I. Vulf. Stories about Pushkin, recorded by V. Kolosov)

"... As a poet, he considered it his duty to be in love with all the pretty women and young girls he met<...>In essence, he adored only his muse and poeticized everything he saw .... "(M.N. Volkonskaya. From "Notes")

I.E. Vivien. "Portrait of Pushkin". 1826
Miniature in gouache on an ivory plate and drawing in Italian pencil by a Russified Frenchman J. Vivien. Pushkin ordered him two copies, he gave one to P. A. Osipova, the second - to the poet E. A. Baratynsky. This is a small chamber portrait, made simply, without any pretense, in order to capture the features of the poet as a keepsake for his close friends - the image played the role of the current photograph.

Vasily Andreevich Tropinin. Pushkin. 1827
“The portrait of Tropinin was ordered by Pushkin himself secretly and brought it to me as a surprise with various farces” (S.A. Sobolevsky from a letter to M.P. Pogodin in 1868)

“The Russian painter Tropinin recently completed a portrait of Pushkin. Pushkin is depicted en trois quart in a dressing gown, sitting next to a table. The similarity of the portrait with the original is striking, although it seems to us that the artist could not quite grasp the quickness of the look and the lively expression of the poet's face. However, Pushkin's physiognomy is so definite, expressive that any painter can grasp it, at the same time it is so changeable and unsteady that it is difficult to imagine that one portrait of Pushkin could give a true concept of it. Indeed: a fiery genius, reviving with each new impression, must change the expression of his face, which makes up the soul of the face ... Pushkin's portrait ... will be sent to St. Petersburg for an exhibition at the academy. We hope that connoisseurs will appreciate the excellent work of this portrait ”(note by the publisher N.A. Polevoy in his magazine“ Moscow Telegraph ”)

Orest Adamovich Kiprensky - Portrait of A.S. Pushkin
Russia/Moscow/Tretyakov Gallery 1827 Oil on canvas
The portrait of 28-year-old Pushkin was commissioned by his friend A. Delvig. “Artists' friend and adviser,” as Alexander Sergeevich called him, Delvig foresaw that the portrait would become an important event in Russian cultural life, and it was not by chance that he chose an already famous painter. Although Pushkin did not like to pose, he obeyed the desire of a friend unquestioningly. In July 1827, Kiprensky wrote it in Sheremetyev's house on the Fontanka. The poet responded to the finished portrait with an impromptu response:
Light-winged fashion darling,
Though not British, not French,
You created again, dear wizard,
Me, pet of pure muses,
- And I laugh at the grave,
Gone forever from the bonds of death.
I see myself in a mirror
But this mirror flatters me.
It says that I will not humiliate
The passions of important Aonides.
So Rome, Dresden, Paris
From now on, my appearance will be known.

“The Kiprensky portrait, unusually similar, was copied from Pushkin” (in a letter to his brother N.A. Mukhanov on July 15, 1827)

“Here is the poet Pushkin. Do not look at the signature: seeing him at least once alive, you immediately recognize his penetrating eyes and mouth, which lacks only incessant trembling: this portrait was painted by Kiprensky. (the exhibition opened on September 1)

Nikolay Ivanovich Utkin
Pushkin. 1827
Utkin's engraving was used for the frontispiece in the almanac Northern Flowers for 1828 published by Delvig, and was also sold as separate prints on large-format Chinese silk paper. However, the engraving was not just a mechanical reproduction of a painted original. In Utkin's engraving, there is no symbolic figure of the muse, arms crossed on the chest, a background highlighted around the head, and the romantic cloak is almost invisible. In Utkin's engraving, the image of the poet is simpler and more humane. Probably, it is precisely these qualities that explain the opinion of the poet's father and lyceum friends, who considered Utkin's engraving the best portrait of Pushkin.

“Here is our dear kind Pushkin, love him! I recommend it to you. His portrait is strikingly similar - as if you were seeing him. How you would love him, Sasha, if you saw him like me, every day. This is a man who wins when you get to know him. (Delvig's wife Sofya Mikhailovna in a letter to her friend A. N. Semenova when sending an engraving. February 9, 1828)

"At first glance, his appearance seemed plain. Medium height, thin, with small features of a swarthy face. Only when you look intently into his eyes, you will see a thoughtful depth and some kind of nobility in these eyes, which you will not forget later. In a pose, in gestures, accompanying his speech, there was the restraint of a secular, well-mannered person. Best of all, in my opinion, Utkin's engraving from a portrait of Kiprensky reminds him. In all other copies, his eyes are made too open, almost bulging, his nose is prominent - this is not true. He had a slight face and a beautiful, proportional to the face, head, with sparse, curly hair (I.A. Goncharov "From University Memoirs")

Gustav Adolf Gippius
Pushkin. 1827-1828
G. A. Gippius, a native of Reval, educated at the Vienna Academy of Arts, who established himself as a portrait lithographer in Germany and Italy, came to Russia in 1819. Pushkin on the Gippius lithograph is devoid of a romantic halo. This is a look at Pushkin of a third-party person who does not experience sacred awe before the Russian national genius.

“God, having given him the only genius, did not reward him with an attractive appearance. His face was expressive, of course, but some malice and mockery overshadowed the mind that was visible in his blue or, rather, glassy eyes ... Yes, and add to this terrible sideburns, disheveled hair, nails like claws, small stature , affectation in manners, an impudent look at women ... the strangeness of a natural and forced disposition and unlimited self-esteem - these are all the virtues of the body and soul that the world gave to the Russian poet of the 19th century. (diary entry by A. A. Olenina on June 18, 1828)

"... His secular brilliant mind is very pleasant in society, especially women's. With him I entered into a defensive and offensive alliance against beauties, which is why the sisters called him Mephistopheles, and me Faust ..." (A.N. Wulf. From "Diary" February 6, 1829)

Unknown artist
A.S. Pushkin. 1831
"... My sister tells me interesting news, namely two weddings: brother Alexander Yakovlevich and Pushkin on Goncharova, the first-class Moscow beauty. I wish him to be happy, but I don’t know if it is possible to hope for this with his morals and his way of thinking. If mutual responsibility is in the order of things, then how much he, the poor, wears horns, it is all the more likely that his first thing will be to corrupt his wife. June 28, 1830)

"Natalya Ivanovna<Гончарова>she was quite intelligent and somewhat well-read, but had bad, rude manners and some vulgarity in the rules. She had several sons and three daughters, Katerina, Alexandra and Natalia. There were about two thousand souls in Yaropolets, but despite that, she never had money and her business was in eternal disorder. In Moscow, she lived almost poorly, and when Pushkin came to her house as a groom, she always tried to send him out before dinner or before breakfast. She beat her daughters on the cheeks. They sometimes came to balls in tattered shoes and old gloves. Dolgorukaya remembers how at one ball Natalya Nikolaevna was taken to another room and Dolgorukaya gave her her new shoes, because she had to dance with Pushkin.
Pushkin remained the groom for almost a whole year before the wedding. When he lived in the village, Natalya Ivanovna did not allow her daughter to write letters to him herself, but ordered her to write all sorts of nonsense and, among other things, to instruct him to observe fasts, pray to God, etc. Natalya Nikolaevna wept from this.
Pushkin insisted that they be married as soon as possible. But Natalya Ivanovna bluntly announced to him that she had no money. Then Pushkin mortgaged the estate, brought money and asked to sew a dowry ... "(E.A. Dolgorukova. Stories about Pushkin, recorded by P.I. Bartenev)

P.F. Sokolov
Pushkin's portrait. 1836
Sokolov depicted Pushkin in his favorite pose with arms crossed on his chest.

"His slightly swarthy face was original, but ugly: a large open forehead, a long nose, thick lips - generally the wrong features. But what was magnificent about him was his dark gray eyes with a bluish tint - large, clear. The expression of these eyes cannot be conveyed : some kind of burning, and at the same time caressing, pleasant. I have never seen a more expressive face: smart, kind, energetic. "(L.P. Nikolskaya, who met Pushkin in 1833 at a dinner with the Nizhny Novgorod governor)

Thomas Wright
Pushkin. 1837
The first mention in print of the portrait of Pushkin is found in the newspaper Severnaya pchela dated March 17, 1837: end of this March.

“...drawn and engraved by G. Wright. Probably, we do not know whether this portrait is drawn from nature; it is likely that it was made for the collection of famous contemporaries, whose publication has long been begun by G. Wright. The exquisite taste in decoration characteristic of this Artist is a distinctive advantage of the portrait. Below is a fac-simile with Pushkin's signature. (N.V. Kukolnik in the article “Letter to Paris”, giving an overview of the surviving portraits of Pushkin known to him)

“Pay attention to the fact that an Englishman noted in Pushkin's appearance. The head of a social person, the forehead of a thinker. The statesman's mind is visible. The portrait is supplemented by a facsimile reproduction of the signature: “A. Pushkin. The signature gives the sheet graphic completeness and solemnity." (I. E. Repin)

Ivan Loginovich Linev. "Portrait of Pushkin". 1836-37 Canvas, oil.
"... I will tell you as I heard from Pushkin himself: in 1817 or 1818, that is, soon after graduating from the Lyceum, Pushkin met with one of his friends, the captain of the Life Guards. Izmailovsky regiment (I forgot his last name). The captain invited the poet to visit some fortune-teller famous at that time in St. Petersburg: this lady skillfully predicted the faces coming to her from the lines on the palms of her hands. She looked at Pushkin's hand and noticed that he had features that form a figure known in palmistry under the name of the table , usually converging to one side of the palm, Pushkin turned out to be completely parallel to each other ... Soothsayer carefully and for a long time examined them and finally announced that the owner of this palm would die a violent death, he would be killed because of a woman by a blond young man ...
Pushkin<...>to such an extent believed in the ominous prophecy of the fortune-teller that when, subsequently, preparing for a duel with the famous American gr. Tolstoy, shot with me at the target, then repeated more than once: “This one will not kill me, but the blond one will kill me, so the sorceress prophesied,” and for sure, Dantes was blond<...>Before the duel, Pushkin did not seek death; on the contrary, hoping to shoot Dantes, the poet had to pay for this only with a new exile to Mikhailovskoye, where he would take his wife, and there, in freedom, he intended to start compiling the history of Peter the Great ... "(A.N. Vulf. Stories about Pushkin, recorded by M.I. Semevsky)

There is also a mystical version that the prototype for Linev's portrait of a living poet was the image of Pushkin, already lying in a coffin. It is based on an attempt to reconstruct the events of January 29-30, 1837. It is authentically known that I. S. Turgenev brought a curl, cut by Nikita Kozlov from the head of the deceased poet, to Linev's house. Then there are speculations... Perhaps, having learned about the death of the poet, I. L. Linev went to the house on the Moika embankment to say goodbye to him and there he stood at the coffin, "absorbing" the image of the already dead face of the poet. Then he "revived" this image in the picture, but at the same time retained the features of the dead face he remembered - flattened, with a sunken chin, narrow and not embossed lips.

Fedor Antonovich Bruni
Pushkin (in the coffin). 1837
"... I knew the Russian poet quite closely and for quite a long time; I found in him a character too impressionable, and sometimes frivolous, but always sincere, noble and capable of outpourings of the heart. His errors seemed to be the fruits of the circumstances in which he lived: everything, what was good in him flowed from his heart. He died 38 years old ... "(P.Ya. Vyazemsky. Mickiewicz about Pushkin)

"The tragic death of Pushkin awakened St. Petersburg from apathy. All of St. Petersburg was alarmed. An extraordinary movement took place in the city. On the Moika near the Pevchesky Bridge ... there was no passage, no passage. Crowds of people and carriages besieged the house from morning to night; cab drivers were hired simply by saying : ... "To Pushkin," and cabbies drove straight there. (I. I. Panaev "Literary Memories)

"We found a dark purple velvet coffin with Pushkin's body in a dim room, lit only by a reddish flickering fire from several dozen wax church candles. The coffin stood on a two-step hearse, upholstered in black cloth with silver galloons ... The face of the deceased was unusually calm and very seriously, but not at all gloomy. Gorgeous curly dark hair was scattered over a satin pillow, and thick sideburns bordered sunken cheeks to a chin protruding from under a black wide tie tied high. Pushkin was wearing his favorite dark brown frock coat with a sheen. " (V.P. Burnashev.)

The mask is the only documentary evidence of the structure of Pushkin's face. This is the most precious Pushkin relic. A plaster cast of the poet's face was made by the molder P. Balin under the guidance of the best master of the sculptural portrait of that time, S.I. Halberg.

“Before that minute, when he had to close his eyes forever, I rushed to him. Zhukovsky and Mikhail Vielgorsky were there, Dal (doctor and writer), and I don’t remember who yet. I had never imagined such a peaceful death before. Immediately went to Halberg. The mask was removed from the dead man, on which they now prepared a beautiful bust.
(from a letter from P. A. Pletnev to V. G. Teplyakov)

“It’s all over! Alexander Sergeevich ordered you to live long!” he [Pletnev] said barely audibly, wiping a tear with his glove ... Please, count, send the mask off as soon as possible! Yes, come! - Pletnev almost shouted and, turning the cab, somewhere rode off. And my father ran across the Neva with me home, immediately sent for the foundry worker Balin, who lived opposite the gates of the Academy on the fourth line, and sent him to remove the mask from Pushkin. Balin took it off surprisingly well. "
(Maria Kamenskaya, daughter of Count F. P. Tolstoy, recalling the day of Pushkin's death
according to M. A. Rybakov)

The first mention of Pushkin's death mask with hair is found in the article by N.V. Kukolnik of 1837 "Letter to Paris", where he, answering the question "whether the correct image of the late Pushkin remains", lists everything he knows: "Sculptural images: 1) the mask of A. S. Pushkin; Palazzi attached to her a hair up to half her head; in a smaller thickness, in his case, on a blue background, it is framed. In 1890, literally quoting Kukolnik, S. Librovich stated: “Shortly after Pushkin’s death, plaster photographs from the poet’s death mask were put on sale, with hair attached to them up to half the head, works by Palazzi, which were sold for 15 rubles, and similar copy masks, also made of plaster, framed under glass, on a blue background. Both those and other pictures from the mask are now very rare and, as far as we know, are no longer in any of the known Pushkin collections.

"... In April 1848, I once had the good fortune to dine with the Sovereign Emperor. At the table, where only Counts Orlov and Vronchenko were outsiders besides me, we talked about the Lyceum and from there - about Pushkin. "I first saw Pushkin, - His Majesty told us, - after the coronation, in Moscow, when he was brought to me from his imprisonment, completely sick and in wounds ... "What would you do if you were in St. Petersburg on December 14?" I asked him casually. “I would be in the ranks of the rebels,” he answered without stammering. (M. A. KORF Note on Pushkin)

Notes:
Nikolay Vasilievich Berg(1823-1884) - poet and translator of German, English and Slavic poets
"Arzamas"(1815-1818) - the name of a literary circle. "It was a new bond of literary and friendly ties that had already existed between friends. Further, it was a school of mutual literary education, literary partnership. And most importantly, the Arzamas meetings were a gathering place where people different ages, sometimes even different views and opinions on other extraneous issues, converged to talk about literature, to communicate their works and experiences to each other and to have witty fun and fool around. P.A. Vyazemsky.
"Moscow Telegraph"- Russian magazine published in Moscow in 1825-1834. N. Field every two weeks. Closed due to censorship.
Alexander Fomich Veltman(1800-1870) - writer
Philip Philipovich Vigel(1786-1856) - a well-known memoirist, "a slanderous, proud, touchy, caustic and intelligent person" (according to Herzen's true characterization), a member of Arzamas
Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya(1805-1863) - daughter of N. N. Raevsky, from January 1825 the wife of S. G. Volkonsky, who followed him to Siberia.
Vladimir Petrovich Gorchakov(1800-1867) - 1820 divisional quartermaster at the headquarters of the 16th division, from May 1822 a participant in the topographic survey of Bessarabia, one of Pushkin's closest friends in Chisinau
Nikolai Ivanovich Wolf(1815-1889) - son of I. I. and N. G. Vulfov, owners of the village. Bernov, Tver province. - As a child, I saw Pushkin several times visiting the estate of his parents, his memoirs about the poet were recorded by V. Kolosov.
Alexey Nikolaevich Vulf(1805-1881) - memoirist, author of the "Diary", a close friend of A. S. Pushkin; occupies a prominent place in the biography of Pushkin
Sergei Alexandrovich Sobolevsky(1803-1870) - Russian bibliophile and bibliographer, author of epigrams and other comic poems, friend of Pushkin, Lermontov and many other writers of the Golden Age of Russian literature, Prosper Merimee and many other European writers
Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov(1812-1891) - famous writer
Pyotr Andreevich Vyazemsky(1792-1878) - poet, literary critic
Natalya Ivanovna Goncharova, nee Zagryazhskaya (1785-1848) - the mother of the poet's wife Natalya Nikolaevna.
Ekaterina Alekseevna Dolgorukova, princess, born Malinovskaya (1811-1872) - daughter of the director of the Moscow Archive of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs A.F. Malinovsky, since 1834 the wife of an officer of the life hussar regiment R.A. Dolgorukov. Her mother A.P. Malinovskaya took part in Pushkin's matchmaking for Goncharova and was the bride's mother.
Pyotr Alexandrovich Pletnev(1791-1865) - critic, poet of the Pushkin era. Pletnev was a faithful and caring friend, to whom Zhukovsky, Pushkin, and Gogol turned; Pletnev served all of them both in deed and in advice; they greatly valued his opinion.
Vladimir Petrovich Burnashev(1812-1888) - writer and agronomist
Ivan Ivanovich Panaev(1812-1862) - Russian writer, literary critic, journalist.
Korf Modest Andreevich(1800-1876) - baron, from 1872 count, Pushkin's comrade at the Lyceum, who quickly made a bureaucratic career

Roman I. A. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons" came out on the eve of the peasant reform and caused heated debate. In the image of the key character, the author showed a "new person", endowing him with virtues and negative character traits.

Already from the beginning of the story, through a dialogue in the Kirsanovs' house, it becomes clear that Yevgeny Bazarov belongs to the nihilists who deny traditional foundations, art and everything that cannot be verified scientifically.

In further episodes, Turgenev reveals the strengths and weaknesses of a man with extraordinary thinking, who firmly defends his position. A clear negative feature in the image of Bazarov is a skeptical attitude towards love. He sincerely considers the bright feeling insignificant, but nature puts Eugene to the test of love for Anna Odintsova. He tries to deal with emotions that unexpectedly caused an internal conflict. Only before his death does Bazarov realize the utopian nature of the theory of nihilism. The author shows that a person is not able to deny spiritual feelings, therefore he condemns this character trait of the hero.

The positive qualities of Bazarov include sincerity and openness. Servants and peasant children are drawn to him. Unlike Pavel Kirsanov, he is not arrogant and capable of mercy, which is proved by the scene with the treatment of little Mitya. Fenechka's child sits calmly in his arms, although before that he had refused to go to Arkady. Turgenev emphasizes the kindness of the hero: "children feel who loves them," he clearly welcomes this trait of Bazarov's character.

At the same time, the author condemns Yevgeny's cold attitude towards his parents, the denial of attachment to them. Bazarov rarely visited his native home, he was burdened by communication with the old people, although they always looked forward to him. The father literally did not leave his son a single step. It is obvious that Eugene himself has tender feelings for his loved ones, but his character does not allow him to openly show affection. In the episode of Bazarov's departure with Arkady, the old people are shown deeply unhappy, which speaks of the condemnation of the culprit of their sadness.

Thus, through the behavior of the hero in various situations, the author shows his own attitude towards him. Turgenev does not approve of nihilism, the denial of obvious things and feelings, the neglect of parental love. At the same time, he accepts sincerity, disinterestedness and nobility in the character of the "new man". The author does not share the views of Bazarov, but clearly respects and sympathizes with his hero.

Updated: 2017-02-01

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