In the novel “Fathers and Sons,” Bazarov’s parents are prominent representatives of the older generation. Despite the fact that the author does not pay as much attention to them as, say, to the Kirsanov brothers, the images of Vasily Ivanovich and Arina Vlasyevna were not given by chance. With their help, the author most fully shows the relationships between generations.
Bazarov's parents
Vasily Ivanovich Bazarov is the father of the main character of the novel. This is a man of the old school, brought up in strict rules. His desire to appear modern and progressive is cute, but the reader understands that he is more of a conservative than a liberal. Even in his profession as a healer, he adheres to traditional methods, not trusting modern medicine. He believes in God, but tries not to show his faith, especially in front of his wife.
Arina Vlasevna Bazarova is Evgeniy’s mother, a simple Russian woman. She is poorly educated and strongly believes in God. The image of a fussy old woman created by the author looks old-fashioned even for that time. Turgenev writes in the novel that she should have been born two hundred years ago. She only calls pleasant impression, which does not spoil either her piety and superstition, or her good nature and complaisance.
The relationship between parents and Bazarov
The characteristics of Bazarov's parents clearly show that for these two people there is nothing more important than their only son. This is where the meaning of their life lies. And it doesn’t matter at all whether Evgeniy is nearby or far away, all thoughts and conversations are only about his beloved and beloved child. Every word exudes care and tenderness. Old people speak very reverently about their son. They love him with blind love, which cannot be said about Evgeny himself: Bazarov’s attitude towards his parents can hardly be called love.
At first glance, it is difficult to call Bazarov’s relationship with his parents warm and affectionate. You can even say that he does not appreciate parental warmth and care at all. But this is far from true. He sees and notices everything, even experiences reciprocal feelings. But it’s not that he doesn’t know how to show them openly, he just doesn’t consider it necessary to do it. And he doesn’t allow those around him to do this.
Bazarov has a negative attitude towards any attempts by his parents to show joy from his presence. Bazarov's family knows this, and his parents try to hide their true feelings from him, do not show increased attention to him and do not show their love.
But all these qualities of Evgeniy turn out to be ostentatious. But the hero understands this too late, only when he is already dying. Nothing can be changed or returned. Bazarov understands this, and therefore asks Odintsova not to forget his old people: “People like them are in your big world you can’t find it during the day with fire.” These words from his mouth can be compared to a declaration of love for his parents, he just doesn’t know how to express it any other way.
But the absence or manifestation of love is not the cause of misunderstanding between generations and Bazarov’s upbringing bright that confirmation. He does not abandon his parents; on the contrary, he dreams that they understand him and share his beliefs. Parents try to do this, but still remain true to their traditional views. It is this discrepancy that leads to the problem of eternal misunderstanding between children and fathers.
The climax of the novel- not a duel, not even an explanation. Bazarov's arrival to his parents begins the process of rethinking many previous postulates. During the meeting, Odintsova turned to him with a traditional request for such moments: “Tell me something about yourself... what is happening in you now.” For several evenings, Bazarov stubbornly avoids this question. Not out of “modesty”, not out of fear that the “aristocrat” would not understand him. He drove his so deep inner life, that now it is difficult to understand “what is happening in you.” “This is happening,” the wounded Bazarov is indignant, “as if I were some kind of state or society!” But the process of self-awareness has already begun. For the first time, when he sees his native home, the hero is overcome by a feeling of nostalgia: “That aspen<..>reminds me of my childhood... at that time I was sure that this pit and the aspen had a special talisman... Well, now I’m an adult, the talisman does not work.” For the first time, the consciousness of the uniqueness and value of one’s personality comes to mind: “The narrow place that I occupy is so tiny in comparison with the rest of the space where I am not and where no one cares about me; and the part of time that I manage to live is so insignificant before eternity, where I have not been and will not be... And in this atom<...>the blood circulates, the brain works, it also wants something.”
For the first time, Bazarov realized that, having placed himself above everyone, he had doomed himself to loneliness. The great goal contrasted him with other people - simple, ordinary, but happy: “It’s good for my parents to live in the world!” A moment later he returns to the same thought: “As you look... at the deaf life that the “fathers” lead here, it seems that better?" And the goal itself now seems not so unconditional. Why is one person (a self-valued person) obliged to sacrifice himself for the sake of another (the same person)? Why is he worse? “...You said today, passing by the hut of our elder Philip,” he reflects, turning to Arkady, “...Russia will then achieve perfection when the last man has the same room...” Arkady, of course, repeated the words of the teacher that “ each of us owes this ( happiness of the people) to promote". But Bazarov's reaction turns out to be for him a complete surprise: “And I hated this last guy<…>, for whom I have to bend over backwards and who won’t even say thank you to me... Well, he will live in a white hut. And a burdock will grow out of me<…>? “And no matter how frighteningly bitter such a confession emanates, this is also a symptom of the addition of humanity in Bazarov. Of course, hatred is a terrible feeling, but it is precisely a feeling, and it was precisely the feelings that were not present in Bazarov’s previous attitude towards people. Now “Philip or Sidor” is hated and, therefore, palpable: for Bazarov, for the first time he is a living person, and not<…>abstract question mark."
“But the truth is where, on which side?” - the simple-minded Arkady is trying to achieve. New Bazarov no longer knows the answer to all the questions: “Where? I’ll answer you like an echo: where?” It cannot be said that the new Bazarov liked himself. Opening your own soul leads to a sad conclusion: you are the same as everyone else; just as vulnerable, just as involved in death. “What a disgrace!” Sometimes Bazarov even envies...an ant. "Drag her ( fly), brother, get it! Take advantage of the fact that you, as an animal, have the right not to recognize feelings of compassion!..” Challenge.., but to whom? Who is his enemy now?
Hence the hostile attitude towards Arkady. This time the younger Kirsanov appears not as a friend, but as a double. Or rather, a double of the former Bazarov. Who was so easy to live and who is painfully trying to resurrect within himself. Bazarov envies him, and hates him, and provokes him: “Enough, please, Evgeny, we will finally quarrel.” But Bazarov just wants a quarrel - “to the point of extermination.” Again, to Arkady’s horror, Bazarov’s bestial-proud nature awakened: “...The face of his friend seemed so ominous to him, such a serious threat seemed to him in the crooked smile of his lips, in his lit eyes...” Bazarov wants with all his might to remain the same Bazarov. “When I meet a person who would not give up in front of me... then I will change my opinion about myself.”
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In Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons,” representatives of the older generation include Bazarov’s parents: Vasily Ivanovich and Arina Vasilievna.
The father of the main character, Vasily Ivanovich, appears before the reader as a man of strict rules, one might say, a conservative. A doctor by profession, he has deep faith in God, but tries in every possible way not to show this in front of his wife. Vasily Ivanovich's desire to appear modern man touches, because his old school and traditional thinking are clearly visible when discussing any issues.
Arina Vasilievna is the mother of Evgeny Bazarov. Her character traits are simple and understandable, thanks to the considerable attention that Turgenev paid to this heroine. The fussy old lady in a cap seems old-fashioned even for that distant time. The author himself noted that she should have been born two hundred years ago. A quiet, good-natured woman, pious and, at the same time, superstitious, Arina Vasilievna makes a pleasant impression on the reader from the first minute.
These characters are two loving hearts, whose meaning of life lies in their only and dearly beloved son, Evgenia. And it doesn’t matter whether the object of their adoration is nearby or not, their thoughts and conversations are still focused on their beloved child. The words of the old people about their son are saturated with tenderness and care. It is clear with what trepidation they treat to a loved one. What can’t immediately be said about Evgeny Bazarov.
Evgeniy is seen as a callous young man who does not value the care and warmth of his parents. Yes, Bazarov is not used to exposing his feelings, but there is no point in talking about his inner indifference to his family. He notices parental love and he himself has tender feelings for them (as he himself admitted to Arkady). But he does not consider it necessary to flaunt his attitude towards his father and mother. In addition, Evgeny suppresses any attempts on their part to show joy from his presence. Parents know this trait of their son, so they try not to irritate him with excessive attention. But coldness and ostentatious indifference dissipate before the reader when Bazarov finds himself on his deathbed. Asking Anna Sergeevna Odintsova to take care of his parents, he uttered important words: “People like them cannot be found in your great world during the day.” This phrase from Eugene’s lips is akin to a warm declaration of love from a more emotional person.
However eternal problem fathers and children is not a lack of love or its excessive manifestation. This is an eternal question about mutual understanding between people of different generations. So Evgeniy wanted to be understood by his parents, so that his thoughts and views were shared by those closest to him. But Bazarov’s parents, although they tried to understand their son, remained adherents of traditional views. It seems strange how people with patriarchal views could grow up to have a nihilist son. Bazarov himself spoke about it this way: “Every person must educate himself - well, at least like me, for example...” Indeed, self-education played a huge role in the formation of his personality. And when the fruits of many years of parental education overlap with one’s own perception life principles, that’s when the topic of fathers and sons, which is relevant at all times, arises.
Evgeny Bazarov - main thing character Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons". Bazarov's character is a young man, a convinced nihilist, contemptuous of art and respecting only natural sciences, a typical representative of the new
generation of thinking youth. The main plot of the novel is the conflict between fathers and children, the bourgeois lifestyle and the desire for change.
IN literary criticism Much attention is paid to the confrontation between Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich, the personality of Arkady Nikolaevich (Bazarov’s friend), but very little is said about the relationship of the protagonist with his parents. This approach is very unfounded, because without studying his relationship with his parents it is impossible to fully understand his character.
Bazarov's parents are simple, good-natured old men who love their son very much. Vasily Bazarov (father) - old county doctor, leading the boring, colorless life of a poor landowner, who at one time spared nothing for the good upbringing of his son.
Arina Vlasyevna (mother) is a noblewoman who “should have been born in the era of Peter the Great,” a very kind and superstitious woman who knows how to do only one thing - cook excellent food. The image of Bazarov's parents, a kind of symbol of ossified conservatism, is contrasted with the main character - inquisitive, intelligent, sharp in his judgments. However, despite such different worldviews, Bazarov’s parents truly love their son; in the absence of Evgeny, all of them free time pass in thoughts about him.
Bazarov, on the other hand, treats his parents outwardly rather dryly; he certainly loves them, but is not used to open outpourings of feelings; he is burdened by constant obsessive attention. He cannot find either his father or his mother common language, he cannot even have discussions with them, like with Arkady’s family. This makes it hard for Bazarov, but he can’t help himself. under one roof, he agrees only on the condition that he will not be interfered with in his study of natural sciences in his office. Bazarov’s parents understand this very well and try to please their only child in everything, but, of course, it is extremely difficult for them to tolerate such an attitude.
Perhaps Bazarov’s main trouble was that he was not understood by his parents, due to the large difference in intellectual development and level of education, and did not receive moral support from them, which is why he was such a harsh and emotionally cold person, which often alienated from him people.
However, in the parental home we are shown a different Evgeny Bazarov - softer, more understanding, full of tender feelings that he will never outwardly show due to internal barriers.
The characteristics of Bazarov’s parents baffle us: how could a person of such progressive views grow up in such a patriarchal environment? Turgenev once again shows us what a person can do on his own. However it also shows main mistake Bazarov is his alienation from his parents, because they loved their child for who he is, and suffered greatly from his attitude. Bazarov's parents survived their son, but with his death the meaning of their existence ended.
Bazarov's behavior in his relationship with Odintsova is contradictory. Another contradiction of the main character of the novel is Bazarov’s attitude towards his parents. The latter were drawn by Turgenev with extraordinary sympathy.
Bazarov’s father, Vasily Ivanovich, is a retired regimental doctor, a commoner by birth, a “plebeian”, as he certifies himself. His words that he “felt Zhukovsky’s pulse” were filled with a sense of pride. And he directly participated in the campaigns of the Russian army, and “knew them firsthand” about the heroes of the past. He builds his life in accordance with the educational ideals of the past: he lives by his work, is interested in science and politics. An important step What happened in his life was that “not without making sensitive sacrifices, he put the peasants on quitrent and gave them his land for share.” He reaches out to to the younger generation, like Arkady’s father, wants to understand his son’s quests and claims. But life moves forward so uncontrollably, the changes taking place in it are so abrupt, that some kind of blank wall grows between him and his son and a deep abyss opens. “Of course,” he turns to his young friends, “you, gentlemen, know better, where can we keep up with you? After all, you have come to replace us.” In many ways, Vasily Ivanovich still lives by old ideas. He often speaks in tongue XVIII century, using intricate phrases and words.
The hero’s mother, Arina Vlasyevna, was also shaped by the past era. She lives by old traditions and customs, she is, in the words of Turgenev, “a real Russian noblewoman of the past.” She is charming, especially in moments when this kind woman fussily fussing to treat her beloved son, of whom she is so proud, but for whom she is so timidly worried.
Bazarov's attitude towards his parents is very uneven. On the one hand, he tries to suppress his filial feeling and is ashamed of its manifestations. More than once he speaks very harshly about his father and mother, considering love for them to be unnatural sentimentality. On the other hand, he shows great human tenderness towards the “old people”. He heads to Odintsova, but on the way he remembers those who are waiting for him at home, since it is his name day. And then he tries to cover up his feelings for his parents, casually throwing out the phrase: “Well, they’ll wait, what’s the importance.” But Bazarov is at home, on the eve of farewell to Odintsova. His behavior is again contradictory. He clearly does not want to fulfill his father’s request, which is so important for the old man. But here Odintsova touchingly and tenderly characterizes her parents: there is no need to dissuade the childishly simple-minded father of anything. “And caress your mother. After all, people like them cannot be found in your big world during the day.” In these contradictory judgments and feelings, Turgenev's hero reveals himself especially eloquently.