What is the principle of “secret psychologism” by I.S. Turgenev? (based on the novel “Fathers and Sons”)
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One of the most important features creative manner Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev is the author’s original approach to revealing the inner world of the hero, which later received the name “secret psychologism.” Turgenev was convinced that any writer, when creating his work, must be “a psychologist, but a secret one: he must know and feel the roots of phenomena, but represents only the phenomena themselves - in their bloom and decline." Turgenev very often resorts not to description, but to depicting the emotional experiences of characters with the help of their external manifestations: certain movements, certain gestures, facial expressions, changes in intonation in conversation.
Let's try to look at the features of this technique in the novel “Fathers and Sons.” So, for example, we know that Turgenev, while working on the novel, kept a diary on behalf of his hero, Bazarov. Thus, the writer could convey the feelings of his hero much more deeply, because, while keeping a diary, the author temporarily “turned” into Bazarov and tried to evoke in himself those feelings and thoughts that his hero could experience.
However, at the same time, Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev believed that the reader should not be told in detail about the process of the origin and development of feelings and experiences in the hero, that it is necessary to describe only their external manifestations, and then the author will not bore the reader. As Turgenev himself said: “The best way to be bored is to say everything.” In other words, the writer never directly depicted all the feelings and thoughts of his characters, but gave the reader the opportunity to guess them by external manifestations. For example, by the way Odintsova “with a forced laugh” tells Bazarov about the proposal, made by Arkady to Katya, and then during the conversation “laughs again and quickly turns away,” her feelings become clear: confusion and annoyance, which she tried to hide behind laughter. Or, for example, after an explanation with Odintsova, Bazarov goes into the forest and returns only later for several hours he was all dirty, with boots wet from dew, disheveled and gloomy. Here the reader himself has to guess what the hero felt when he wandered through the forest, what he was thinking about and what he was worried about.
Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, describing the “content” of his hero’s experiences, never asserts anything: he describes everything in the form of assumptions. This is evidenced by numerous author's remarks: “maybe”, “should be”, “might”
Criteria
- 3 of 3 K1 Depth of understanding of the topic and persuasiveness of the arguments
- 2 of 2 K2 Level of theoretical and literary knowledge
- 3 of 3 K3 Validity of using the text of the work
- 3 of 3 K4 Compositional integrity and consistency of presentation
- 3 of 3 K5 Following speech norms
- TOTAL: 14 out of 14
Of course, Bazarov - main character, an image in the novel, but he is not as mysterious for the reader as Pavel Petrovich (perhaps for the author).
Pavel Petrovich can be called an aged Pechorin, who has lived his life and survived the love that destroyed him. Turgenev introduces Pavel Petrovich to us as a knight, even Bazarov says that he has a knightly character. P.P., like Toggenburg, leads a reclusive life in Maryino (where he settled after the death of Princess R.). Pavel Petrovich is Bazarov's double. Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich had tragic love in their lives.
Giving psychological picture heroes, Turgenev regrouped them. In one letter he wrote: “...in the fate of almost every person there is something tragic, but it is hidden from the person himself by the vulgar surface of life. Many stop at the surface and do not suspect that they are the heroes of the tragedy. How else can it be to want the tragic.” That is, Bazarov, Pavel Petrovich, Princess R. and Odintsova are the heroes of the tragedy and they were all alone. By using psychological analysis Turgenev reveals to us inner world their heroes.
But after he met Odintsova, Bazarov changed, just like Pavel Petrovich. After what they experienced love stories we can better understand both Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich. We understand that Bazarov is a romantic and a poet at heart (and has always been one). And at the end, before his death, Bazarov says very beautifully (like Hamlet): “Blow on the dying lamp, and it will go out... Now... darkness...” (And Oedipus blinds himself.) Before meeting Odintsova, Bazarov deceived himself, hid his feelings . And Pavel Petrovich was always true to himself and his views. Pavel Petrovich is the most mysterious hero, and he retains his mystery to the end. In general, all Pavels are experiencing a revolution in their lives (Pavel Chichikov). In Bazarov's dream, Pavel Petrovich is a forest, and Bazarov also says that he would like to strangle him like a kitten.
Katya is an ash tree. Arkady and Katya are two jackdaws. They also settled in Maryino together with Arkady’s father and Fenechka. And Pavel Petrovich was left alone and moved abroad. Odintsova did not marry for the second time for love.
Psychologism of the novel “Fathers and Sons”
Turgenev is a hidden psychologist. He creates his heroes, gives them life and, like Bazarov, studies them under a microscope, into which he sometimes allows readers to look. But still, he is unable to change the fate of his heroes.
Bazarov looks like a frog, and he says that “you and I are the same frogs.” Perhaps he cuts up frogs not only to find his princess, but also, perhaps, to find out what is inside him. Bazarov is a frog, and a frog can communicate directly with his father, with God. Therefore, Bazarov is closest to God. Bazarov says that he “looks at the sky only when he needs to sneeze.” Chichikov also sneezes loudly and blows his nose. Bazarov also says that “a person can understand everything, but cannot understand why another person blows his nose differently than he does.” Blowing your nose, sneezing - a trumpet sound. He, like Christ in Copernaum, heals the sick in Maryino (and his father, Vasily Ivanovich, always talked about the episode of the plague in Bessarabia). Pavel Petrovich and Bazarov are strangers in Maryino, they both look like Oedipus.
Arkady is placed as if in contrast to Bazarov. At first, Arkady obeyed Bazarov in everything, but then he gradually became more independent. Unlike Pavel Petrovich and Bazarov, Arkady is not a stranger in Maryino. The name Arkady means a happy person who does nothing. Arkady is a finch, and Bazarov advises him to be a jackdaw and build his own nest. When Katya and Arkady are sitting under an ash tree, he reads Heine (“Lorelei,” perhaps), and soon Bazarov and Odintsova appear. Arkady was never a nihilist, and he hardly liked Bazarov, but he is kind. He feels sorry for the poor men, he feels sorry for Bazarov’s parents, his mother: “You don’t know your mother, Evgeny...” Evgeny did not know mother nature, which destroyed him.
Turgenev draws a parallel between Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich. Bazarov, like Pavel Petrovich, locks himself in his office (and Ladanov also locks himself in his office after the death of his wife). At the beginning of the novel, Bazarov despises Pavel Petrovich, who put everything on the card of love. By the way, Pavel Petrovich played cards very well, but he lost all the time, and Bazarov lost to Father Alexei at cards. And those who lose at cards are lucky in love. Two more mysterious figures in the novel are Princess R. and Odintsova. The story of Princess R. plays a large role in the novel. Princess R. is the same femme fatale who destroyed Pavel Petrovich. She is a sphinx, an eternal mystery. Perhaps Princess R. would never have become a sphinx if Pavel Petrovich had not given her a ring and said that she was a sphinx. During the day she flirted, was a society lady, and at night she read the Psalter. She is unpredictable, like Asya, and a little crazy. Princess R. put an end to the sphinx, that is, to herself. She learned her riddle, comprehended the secret of love and life in exchange for her life. Perhaps Pavel Petrovich is Woland: he has a cane, a mustache, Bazarov hit him in the leg, and when he was lying in bed, “the light from the window illuminated the face of a dead man,” Pavel Petrovich has empty eyes. And perhaps he left Princess R. no choice by giving the ring. The turning point in the relationship between Pavel Petrovich and Bazarov is a duel, after which they find a lot in common in each other. Nikolai Petrovich is closest to Turgenev. He admires nature, he is a good-natured person, “ ladybug" Fenechka has an icon of St. Nicholas the Pleasant hanging in her room. Nikolai Petrovich also had a tragedy in his life when his wife died, but he was still able to fall in love with Fenechka. With him, like with Arkady, love is not fatal. Fenichka loves Nikolai Petrovich, she collects “an abyss of red and white roses” for his breakfast. Odintsova is also a sphinx, Lorelei. She felt an emptiness, an abyss behind her. She looks more like Vera Nikolaevna. (In “Faust” a portrait of Vera’s mother comes to life, and in Odintsova’s house there is a statue of Silence, which everyone is afraid of). Odintsova is cold, and Bazarov says to Arkady: “You like ice cream, don’t you?” She always breathes calmly and evenly, she is like an inanimate person, a statue. Once, when Odintsova was talking to Bazarov, she began to breathe as if she had just climbed a mountain (Olga and Oblomov; Asya). Odintsova’s house is like a castle, there is order everywhere, and her name is a hint of loneliness. One of the manifestations of Turgenev’s talent was the invention of his own method descriptions of the hero’s psychological state, which later became known as “secret psychologism.” Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was convinced that any writer, when creating his work, must first of all be a psychologist, depicting the mental state of his heroes and penetrating into the holy depths of their inner state, their feelings and experiences. So, for example, we know that Turgenev, while working on the novel, kept a diary on behalf of his hero, Bazarov. Thus, the writer could convey his feelings much more deeply, because, while keeping a diary, the author temporarily “turned” into Bazarov and tried to evoke in himself those thoughts and feelings that the hero could experience. However, at the same time, the writer believed that the reader should not be told in detail about the process of the origin and development of feelings and experiences in the hero, that only their external manifestations should be described. Then the author will not bore the reader (as Turgenev said, “ The best way bored - that's all to say"). In other words, the writer set himself the goal not so much of explaining the essence of the psychological states of his characters, but of describing these states and showing their “external” side. In this sense, the development of Arkady's condition before leaving Nikolskoye is characteristic. First, Turgenev shows Arkady's train of thought, what he thinks. Then the hero has some kind of vague feeling (the author does not fully explain this feeling to us, he simply mentions it). After some time, Arkady realizes this feeling. He thinks about Anna Odintsova, but gradually his imagination draws him another image - Katya. And finally, Arkady’s tear falls on the pillow. At the same time, Turgenev does not comment on all these experiences of Arkady - he simply describes them. So, for example, readers themselves must guess why, instead of Anna Sergeevna, Arkady sees Katya in his imagination and why at that moment a tear drips onto his pillow. Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, describing the “content” of his hero’s experiences, never asserts anything. He describes everything in the form of assumptions. This is evidenced, for example, by numerous author’s remarks (“possibly”, “maybe”, “should be”). In other words, the author again gives the reader the right to guess for himself what is happening inside the hero. Also a very common technique of Turgenev when depicting state of mind hero is a default. Only the hero’s action is shown, which is not commented on at all. It's simply stating a fact. So, for example, after an explanation with Odintsova, Bazarov goes into the forest and returns only a few hours later, all dirty. With boots wet from dew, disheveled and gloomy. Here we ourselves have to guess what the hero felt when he wandered through the forest, what he thought about and what he was worried about. In conclusion, it is worth saying that the principle of secret psychologism makes the novel “Fathers and Sons” extremely fascinating. The reader becomes, as it were, actor novel, he seems to be drawn into the action. The author does not let the reader fall asleep, constantly giving him food for thought. It is almost impossible to read a novel without thinking. You constantly have to interpret the characters one way or another. It can also be said that it is partly this principle that makes the novel relatively small in size, which also makes it easier to read. In the novel Fathers and Sons, Turgenev uses the technique of “secret psychologism.” The writer paints before us a picture of what happened, without missing the slightest movement, glance, sigh, but also does not burden it with a description of the hero’s feelings. Thus, Turgenev gives the reader the opportunity to think out, speculate and feel the feelings of the hero in the way he understands him for himself. In my opinion, one of the most interesting episodes for analysis and shrouded in mystery was Bazarov’s conversation with Odintsova in her office and his immediate explanation with Anna Sergeevna. Therefore, I chose it for research and now I will give several excerpts from the novel in which the technique of “secret psychologism” is used. Anna Sergeevna still could not really understand her feelings, but she was definitely interested in Bazarov, so she invited him to her office to continue the conversation that had taken place the day before. Evgeny Vasilyevich also had not yet admitted his feelings to himself, but he noticed that something wrong was happening to him, especially in the presence of Anna Sergeevna. " Odintsova quickly walked to her office. Bazarov obediently followed her, without raising his eyes and only catching with his ears the subtle whistle and rustle of the silk dress sliding in front of him.
Just recently, he did not pay any attention to his appearance, much less the appearance of other girls. For him, all these little things simply did not exist; he was busy thinking about science, about man. And now he obediently follows Anna, and nothing around attracts his attention, only a thin whistle and the rustle of a dress sliding in front of him... “And you would like to know the reason for this restraint, you would like to know what is happening inside me?” Just think, a person who goes through life in denial, not recognizing anything that fills our souls and hearts, a nihilist, ultimately confesses his most sincere and reverent feelings to the woman he loves. "
He quickly turned around and, grabbing both her hands, suddenly pulled her onto his chest.She did not immediately free herself from his embrace; but a moment later she was already standing far away in the corner and looking from there at Bazarov. He rushed towards her...
- Evgeny Vasilyevich, you misunderstood me...-she whispered with hasty fear. It seemed that if he had taken another step, she would have screamed..."
Evgeny Vasilyevich has to experience something that previously had no meaning or significance for him. The author punishes him with this love, but Anna Sergeevna does not reciprocate the confession. She answers him with hasty fear, she is afraid of him and his feelings... And if he had made any other movement towards her, she would have screamed... All this suggests that Anna Sergeevna does not love Bazarov. She feels a genuine interest in him, his reasoning and reflections, she enjoys his company and Eugene himself, but she was afraid of a new relationship and later, in the novel, she herself admits to us that she would feel completely different if she truly loved him. Turgenev's "secret psychologism", which lies in the smallest details, endows the novel with imagery and allows us not only to see the novel through the eyes of the author, but also to witness this scene ourselves.
“Yes,” Odintsova repeated with some kind of fear that was still incomprehensible to her.
- So know that I love you, stupidly, madly... This is what you have achieved...