Roman I.A. Goncharov’s “Oblomov” was published in 1859 in the journal “Otechestvennye zapiski”. The writer worked on the novel during the period of revival public life, associated with preparations for the reform of the abolition of serfdom in Russia. In his work, Goncharov criticizes the foundations of serfdom and reveals the theme of spiritual impoverishment and degradation of the local nobility.
At the center of the novel “Oblomov” is the complex and contradictory image of the landowner Ilya Ilyich Oblomov. His character and thinking were influenced by the environment in which he was raised and spent his childhood.
From an early age, the hero was instilled with traits that later became known as “Oblomovism.” Little Ilyusha grew up as a darling, completely unsuited to independent life. He is used to everything being done for him, and his destiny is “idleness and peace.” In Ilyusha, any attempts at activity were consistently suppressed. The stillness of life, dormancy, a secluded lifestyle is not only a sign of the hero’s existence, but also the essence of life in Oblomovka, which is separated from the whole world: “No strong passions, nor brave enterprises worried the Oblomovites.” Inactivity and lack of life goals are what characterize Oblomovka’s life.
However, Ilyusha’s character is shaped not only by lordship. Life in Oblomovka is full and harmonious in its own way: it is Russian nature, the love and affection of a mother, Russian hospitality, the colors of the holidays. These childhood impressions are an ideal for Oblomov, from the height of which he judges life. Therefore, the hero does not accept “Petersburg life”: he is not attracted by either his career or the desire to get rich.
Until the age of fifteen, Ilya studied very reluctantly at the boarding school. Studying science and reading books tired him. After boarding school, he “followed the course of science to the end” in Moscow. Oblomov came to St. Petersburg with the goal of succeeding in public service and arrange family life. Ilya Ilyich served somehow for two years and left the service. For him it was an unnecessary and meaningless burden.
Having quit his service and isolated himself from society, Oblomov indulged in dreams. Now “almost nothing attracted him from home, and every day he settled more and more firmly in his apartment.” Gradually, spiritual needs in Oblomov died, humane impulses became fruitless, and sound judgments turned into sleepy muttering. The hero gradually sank into complete mental passivity and apathy. Goncharov writes: “Oblomov...could not comprehend his life and therefore was burdened and bored by everything he had to do.”
He decided that it was better to remain an “Oblomovite”, but to retain his humanity and kindness of heart, than to be a vain careerist, callous and heartless. About St. Petersburg life, Ilya Ilyich says: “All the time running around, the eternal game of crappy passions, especially greed, interrupting each other’s paths, gossip, gossip, clicking at each other, this looking from head to toe; If you listen to what they are talking about, your head will spin and you will become stupefied.”
Thus, Oblomov was kind, meek, smart person who received good education. In his youth, he was full of progressive ideas and a desire to serve Russia. His childhood friend Andrei Stolts characterizes Oblomov this way: “This is a crystal, transparent soul.” However positive traits character of Ilya Ilyich are replaced by such qualities as lack of will and laziness. Life with its worries and worries, constant work frightens the hero, and he wants to sit out in a quiet apartment.
In an apartment on Gorokhovaya Street, Oblomov lies on the sofa, not only because, as a gentleman, he can do nothing, but also because he does not want to live at the expense of his moral dignity. The hero rejoices that he “doesn’t poke around, but lies here, preserving his human dignity and his peace!”
Oblomov's laziness and inactivity are caused by his negative attitude towards the life and interests of people contemporary to the hero. This is the tragedy of Oblomov’s life. Sometimes Ilya Ilyich wants to give up Oblomov’s habits. He rushes to action, but these desires quickly fade away. And before us is again a couch potato yawning from boredom and lying on the sofa. Apathy and laziness extinguish all his noble impulses.
Thus, Goncharov depicts the struggle of good inclinations in Oblomov with lordly habits and laziness. The hero does not seek to change his life. He values peace most of all, having no strength or desire to fight. He retreats before life problems and difficulties.
However, Ilya Ilyich is ashamed of his own lordship, as a person towering above him. He is tormented by the question: “Why am I like this?” When Stolz tries to awaken in Oblomov the desire to live and work, reproaching him for the paralysis of his mind and will, Ilya Ilyich admits: “I know everything, I understand everything, but there is no willpower.” The hero lives by the principle: “It would be nice if this happened by itself somehow imperceptibly.”
Love for Olga Ilyinskaya temporarily transforms Oblomov. This is how the hero is described in a state of love: “The foggy, sleepy face instantly transformed, the eyes opened, the colors began to play on the cheeks; thoughts began to move, desire and will sparkled in the eyes.” But the fear of losing peace forces Oblomov to give up his love for Olga. “Oblomovism” turns out to be even stronger than love. This is the true tragedy!
Subsequently, Ilya Ilyich finds his “ideal” in the heartfelt love of Agafya Matveevna Pshenitsyna, who does not demand anything from him, indulging him in everything. In her house, “he was now surrounded by such simple, kind, loving people who agreed with their existence to support his life, to help him not notice, not feel it.” The disappeared world of childhood, Oblomovka appears again. Food and rest are all Ilya Ilyich’s activities.
Oblomov’s dignity lies in the fact that he condemned himself and was aware of his inevitable spiritual death. Olga asks him in anguish: “What ruined you, Ilya? There is no name for this hell...” Ilya Ilyich answered her: “There is - Oblomovism!” Oblomov suffers from the fact that he does not see a goal in life and does not find an application for his strength.
The writer showed Oblomov’s path to realizing his worthlessness, insolvency, and, ultimately, to the disintegration of his personality. Destruction of the essence of human nature.
So, the hero of the novel was ruined by Oblomovism. This phenomenon is not individual feature Oblomov, and, as Dobrolyubov puts it, “it serves as the key to unraveling many phenomena of Russian life.” The critic concludes: “There is a significant part of Oblomov in each of us, and it is too early to write a funeral eulogy for us.”
In the novel “Oblomov,” Goncharov depicted the tragic life story of the main character, Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, who lived his entire life in dreams, and was never able to step over himself and go beyond his own illusions. Ilya Ilyich evokes mixed emotions in the reader - on the one hand, his fate was clear almost from the first chapters of the novel - the hero was too far from real world, and his laziness and apathy are more likely to irritate than to attract, on the other hand, the reader is somewhat close to this image, which has absorbed all the signs of a bourgeois and truly Russian mentality. To understand what the tragedy of Oblomov’s life is, and why the hero remains interesting to modern readers, a detailed examination of the image of Ilya Ilyich as a character who bears the traits of “Oblomovism” is required.
The origins of "Oblomovism"
Goncharov for the first time in Russian literature introduces such a socio-philosophical concept as “Oblomovism”. In socio-historical terms, the phenomenon manifests itself as the character’s commitment to old, outdated values, a bourgeois way of life, an unwillingness to work and move forward while others decide the fate of the world for you.
IN philosophical aspect“Oblomovism” is a deeper and more capacious concept. She is the embodiment of everything Russian culture and history, Russian mentality- it is not surprising that Oblomovka in the minds of Ilya Ilyich is associated with rituals, fairy tales and legends, that is, with age-old wisdom ancestors, not so much material as spiritual inheritance.
The central character of Russian fairy tales is Ivan the Fool - the character is supposedly neither stupid nor lazy, but is perceived by people as such, since he constantly lies on the stove and waits for a miracle, which itself will find him and capture him in the whirlpool of events. Oblomov is a projection of Ivan the Fool from a fairy tale into the world of the 19th century. Like fairy tale image, Ilya Ilyich is an extra character, however, unlike Ivan, a miracle never appears to Oblomov, because he lives in a real, not a fictional world. That is why “Oblomovism” is not only the excessive cherishing of outdated and irrelevant values and living life in another, past tense, when the past is many times more important than the present, but also the replacement of reality with illusions, escapism leading to degradation and stagnation of the individual, which is why consists of Oblomov’s internal tragedy.
Oblomov and society
For Oblomov, society and the people around him act like decoration in his half-dream, half-existence. This can be clearly seen in the first part of the work, when Volkov, Sudbinsky and Penkin come to Oblomov in turn - Ilya Ilyich actually has little interest in their lives, he is even too lazy to get out of bed to greet the guests. Even more “important” for Oblomov, Alekseev and Tarantyev, in fact also mean little to Oblomov - the first acts as a background for his thoughts and allows him to speak out, Oblomov needs the second as a kind of second Zakhara, but more active and ready to act, even though that Tarantiev is deceiving Oblomov in every possible way.
This attitude towards people was apparently formed on the basis of his first failure - Oblomov’s service, where it was difficult, difficult, and uninteresting for him. Ilya Ilyich thought that a “second family” was waiting for him at work, similar to the Oblomov family, however, when it turned out that here it was every man for himself, the hero faced complete disappointment in this area of life. Oblomov’s social tragedy lies in his immaturity and inability to live real life and adapt to circumstances - the slightest failure or obstacle becomes a disaster for Ilya Ilyich and leads to the hero’s departure from true existence to an illusory existence.
Oblomov and love
The same escapism can be seen in Oblomov’s question of love - their separation was destined at the moment of their meeting. Olga, who fell in love not so much with the real Ilya Ilyich, but with the image inspired by Stolz, cherished precisely this idea of Oblomov as a kind, gentle, sensitive person, while not taking into account his excessive immersion in his inner world, where he is ready to let someone else go.
Oblomov's love was also rather a poetic love, the most important thing in which was the unattainability of the happiness he dreamed of - that is why Ilya Ilyich unknowingly pushed back the confession of his relationship to Aunt Olga and the wedding date - if the marriage had happened, his dream would have become a reality. The tragedy of Oblomov’s life is that for Ilya Ilyich the meaning of existence was precisely dreams, and not their achievement - such a realization of the desired would lead to disaster, the internal devastation of the hero, his loss of purpose and the essence of life.
At the moment Oblomov once again postponed his wedding day, Olga realized that it was not so much important to a man real love and family, so much longing for a beautiful and unattainable lady of the heart, distant and inaccessible. For a girl who represents practical views on the world, this is not acceptable, so she is the first to initiate a breakup with Oblomov.
Conclusions
Oblomov is a composite character, depicting a person who lives entirely in the past, unwilling and unable to adapt to new circumstances. As Dobrolyubov spoke about Goncharov’s novel, the author “buried” “Oblomovism” early; moreover, it remains a tendentious manifestation of society even in our time, representing people who are seeking, trying to know their place in the world, but are apathetic, quickly becoming disillusioned with own life and disappearing into the world of illusions. Oblomov’s tragedy is the tragedy of unrealized human potential, the gradual and complete withering away of a thinking but inert personality.
A description of the elements of the tragedy in Oblomov’s life and the disclosure of the causes of these problems will be useful for studying by 10th grade students when preparing an essay on the topic “What is the tragedy of Oblomov’s life.”
Work test
I. A. Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov” still causes controversy in terms of the actions of the main character. Some people evaluate Oblomov on the good side because of his gentleness and good nature, while others, on the contrary, consider Ilya Ilyich to be a lazy person, a man full of hopes and dreams. As soon as it comes to action, Oblomov begins to look for external reasons why he cannot turn his plans into reality.
At the beginning of the work, Oblomov appears to us as a person who does not seek to change his life. All day long he lies on his sofa and ventures into the world of dreams, where everything is at peace: no one is in a hurry, everyone lives for their own pleasure, and life itself drags on measuredly. One could ponder for a long time why Oblomov became like this, but the author himself gives us the answer.
Oblomov has a dream in which he sees his childhood. It is this dream that helps to understand the origins of Ilya Ilyich’s laziness and inactivity. From the very early age Oblomov was followed by his entire family. He couldn't just go for a walk or get dressed. Servants or parents did everything for him. As for his studies, his parents often did not let him study, citing the fact that today was a holiday or imagining that Ilya was sick. Even at fourteen years old, Oblomov does not dress himself. All the work is done by Zakhar, with whom he then lives his entire life. In my opinion, the reason for Oblomov’s inactivity, laziness, and aimlessness is his upbringing. If you study Oblomov’s childhood, it becomes clear that he did nothing, and this became his habit. In contrast, we can put Stolz, who was brought up strictly. And it was this method of education that helped Stolz establish himself in the world, reach heights in his career and restore Oblomov’s stolen estate. Only for a moment does Oblomov burn with a desire to change everything. The reason for this desire was Olga, with whom Ilya was crazy. He sketched out a wonderful plan for his later life, but again did not fulfill it. And in relationships he found external reasons. So, Oblomov did not go on a date with Olga because of the Neva flood. The bridges were raised, and Ilya decided to stay home. After breaking up with Olga Ilyinskaya Oblomov remains to live out his life with Pshenitsina. There Oblomov dies spiritually. He again takes a place on the sofa and lies on it all day and night. He no longer thinks about anything, tries to forget the past, and also mistakenly transfers all the proceeds from the village to Agafya Matveevna’s brother. There he is seized with an apoplexy. The doctor advised Ilya to lead an active lifestyle and eat right. Oblomov obeys the mistress and follows the doctor’s advice. He begins to walk two miles a day, but the hour of his death grew closer and closer. The second blow turned out to be fatal, and Ilya died.
In my opinion, the parents played main role in Oblomov becoming such a lazy person. It was his upbringing that turned Ilya into an aimless and inactive person. Children are copies of their parents. Like parents, like children. What do we see from Oblomov? His father sat by the window all day and only occasionally asked passers-by about their affairs. Mother always drank tea with her friends. This is how Ilya Ilyich became. Only great shocks were able to bring Ilya Ilyich out of hibernation.
Each of us has a “piece of Oblomov,” but not everyone wants to admit it.
Roman I.A. Goncharov’s “Oblomov” was published in 1859 in the journal “Otechestvennye zapiski”. The writer worked on the novel during a period of revitalization of public life associated with preparations for the reform of the abolition of serfdom in Russia. In his work, Goncharov criticizes the foundations of serfdom and reveals the theme of spiritual impoverishment and degradation of the local nobility.
At the center of the novel “Oblomov” is the complex and contradictory image of the landowner Ilya Ilyich Oblomov. His character and thinking were influenced by the environment in which he was raised
And he lived through his childhood.
From an early age, the hero was instilled with traits that later became known as “Oblomovism.” Little Ilyusha grew up as a spoiled child, completely unsuited to independent life. He is used to everything being done for him, and his destiny is “idleness and peace.” In Ilyusha, any attempts at activity were consistently suppressed. The stillness of life, dormancy, a secluded way of life is not only a sign of the hero’s existence, but also the essence of life in Oblomovka, which is separated from the whole world: “Neither strong passions nor brave undertakings worried the Oblomovites.” Inactivity and lack of life goals are what characterize Oblomovka’s life.
However, Ilyusha’s character is shaped not only by lordship. Life in Oblomovka is full and harmonious in its own way: it is Russian nature, the love and affection of a mother, Russian hospitality, the colors of the holidays. These childhood impressions are an ideal for Oblomov, from the height of which he judges life. Therefore, the hero does not accept “Petersburg life”: he is not attracted by either his career or the desire to get rich.
Until the age of fifteen, Ilya studied very reluctantly at the boarding school. Studying science and reading books tired him. After boarding school, he “followed the course of science to the end” in Moscow. Oblomov came to St. Petersburg with the goal of succeeding in public service and establishing a family life. Ilya Ilyich served somehow for two years and left the service. For him it was an unnecessary and meaningless burden.
Having quit his service and isolated himself from society, Oblomov indulged in dreams. Now “almost nothing attracted him from home, and every day he settled more and more firmly in his apartment.” Gradually, spiritual needs in Oblomov died, humane impulses became fruitless, and sound judgments turned into sleepy muttering. The hero gradually sank into complete mental passivity and apathy. Goncharov writes: “Oblomov...could not comprehend his life and therefore was burdened and bored by everything he had to do.”
He decided that it was better to remain an “Oblomovite”, but to retain his humanity and kindness of heart, than to be a vain careerist, callous and heartless. About St. Petersburg life, Ilya Ilyich says: “All the time running around, the eternal game of crappy passions, especially greed, interrupting each other’s paths, gossip, gossip, clicking at each other, this looking from head to toe; If you listen to what they are talking about, your head will spin and you will become stupefied.”
Thus, Oblomov was a kind, meek, intelligent person who received a good education. In his youth, he was full of progressive ideas and a desire to serve Russia. His childhood friend Andrei Stolts characterizes Oblomov this way: “This is a crystal, transparent soul.” However, the positive character traits of Ilya Ilyich are replaced by such qualities as lack of will and laziness. Life with its worries and worries, constant work frightens the hero, and he wants to sit out in a quiet apartment.
In an apartment on Gorokhovaya Street, Oblomov lies on the sofa, not only because, as a gentleman, he can do nothing, but also because he does not want to live at the expense of his moral dignity. The hero rejoices that he “doesn’t poke around, but lies here, preserving his human dignity and his peace!”
Oblomov's laziness and inactivity are caused by his negative attitude towards the life and interests of people contemporary to the hero. This is the tragedy of Oblomov’s life. Sometimes Ilya Ilyich wants to give up Oblomov’s habits. He rushes to action, but these desires quickly fade away. And before us is again a couch potato yawning from boredom and lying on the sofa. Apathy and laziness extinguish all his noble impulses.
Thus, Goncharov depicts the struggle of good inclinations in Oblomov with lordly habits and laziness. The hero does not seek to change his life. He values peace most of all, having no strength or desire to fight. He retreats before life's problems and difficulties.
However, Ilya Ilyich is ashamed of his own lordship, as a person towering above him. He is tormented by the question: “Why am I like this?” When Stolz tries to awaken in Oblomov the desire to live and work, reproaching him for the paralysis of his mind and will, Ilya Ilyich admits: “I know everything, I understand everything, but there is no willpower.” The hero lives by the principle: “It would be nice if this happened by itself somehow imperceptibly.”
Love for Olga Ilyinskaya temporarily transforms Oblomov. This is how the hero is described in a state of love: “The foggy, sleepy face instantly transformed, the eyes opened, the colors began to play on the cheeks; thoughts began to move, desire and will sparkled in the eyes.” But the fear of losing peace forces Oblomov to give up his love for Olga. “Oblomovism” turns out to be even stronger than love. This is the true tragedy!
Subsequently, Ilya Ilyich finds his “ideal” in the heartfelt love of Agafya Matveevna Pshenitsyna, who does not demand anything from him, indulging him in everything. In her house, “he was now surrounded by such simple, kind, loving people who agreed with their existence to support his life, to help him not notice, not feel it.” The disappeared world of childhood, Oblomovka appears again. Food and rest are all Ilya Ilyich’s activities.
Oblomov’s dignity lies in the fact that he condemned himself and was aware of his inevitable spiritual death. Olga asks him in anguish: “What ruined you, Ilya? There is no name for this hell...” Ilya Ilyich answered her: “There is - Oblomovism!” Oblomov suffers from the fact that he does not see a goal in life and does not find an application for his strength.
The writer showed Oblomov’s path to realizing his worthlessness, insolvency, and, ultimately, to the disintegration of his personality. Destruction of the essence of human nature.
So, the hero of the novel was ruined by Oblomovism. This phenomenon is not an individual feature of Oblomov, but, as Dobrolyubov puts it, “it serves as the key to unraveling many phenomena of Russian life.” The critic concludes: “There is a significant part of Oblomov in each of us, and it is too early to write a funeral eulogy for us.”
Roman I.A. Goncharov’s “Oblomov” was published in 1859 in the journal “Otechestvennye zapiski”. The writer worked on the novel during a period of revitalization of public life associated with preparations for the reform of the abolition of serfdom in Russia. In his work, Goncharov criticizes the foundations of serfdom and reveals the theme of spiritual impoverishment and degradation of the local nobility.
At the center of the novel “Oblomov” is the complex and contradictory image of the landowner Ilya Ilyich Oblomov. His character and thinking were influenced by the environment in which he was raised and spent his childhood.
From an early age, the hero was instilled with traits that later became known as “Oblomovism.” Little Ilyusha grew up as a spoiled child, completely unsuited to independent life. He is used to everything being done for him, and his destiny is “idleness and peace.” In Ilyusha, any attempts at activity were consistently suppressed. The stillness of life, dormancy, a secluded way of life is not only a sign of the hero’s existence, but also the essence of life in Oblomovka, which is separated from the whole world: “Neither strong passions nor brave undertakings worried the Oblomovites.” Inactivity and lack of life goals are what characterize Oblomovka’s life.
However, Ilyusha’s character is shaped not only by lordship. Life in Oblomovka is full and harmonious in its own way: it is Russian nature, the love and affection of a mother, Russian hospitality, the colors of the holidays. These childhood impressions are an ideal for Oblomov, from the height of which he judges life. Therefore, the hero does not accept “Petersburg life”: he is not attracted by either his career or the desire to get rich.
Until the age of fifteen, Ilya studied very reluctantly at the boarding school. Studying science and reading books tired him. After boarding school, he “followed the course of science to the end” in Moscow. Oblomov came to St. Petersburg with the goal of succeeding in public service and establishing a family life. Ilya Ilyich served somehow for two years and left the service. For him it was an unnecessary and meaningless burden.
Having quit his service and isolated himself from society, Oblomov indulged in dreams. Now “almost nothing attracted him from home, and every day he settled more and more firmly in his apartment.” Gradually, spiritual needs in Oblomov died, humane impulses became fruitless, and sound judgments turned into sleepy muttering. The hero gradually sank into complete mental passivity and apathy. Goncharov writes: “Oblomov...could not comprehend his life and therefore was burdened and bored by everything he had to do.”
He decided that it was better to remain an “Oblomovite”, but to retain his humanity and kindness of heart, than to be a vain careerist, callous and heartless. About St. Petersburg life, Ilya Ilyich says: “All the time running around, the eternal game of crappy passions, especially greed, interrupting each other’s paths, gossip, gossip, clicking at each other, this looking from head to toe; If you listen to what they are talking about, your head will spin and you will become stupefied.”
Thus, Oblomov was a kind, meek, intelligent person who received a good education. In his youth, he was full of progressive ideas and a desire to serve Russia. His childhood friend Andrei Stolts characterizes Oblomov this way: “This is a crystal, transparent soul.” However, the positive character traits of Ilya Ilyich are replaced by such qualities as lack of will and laziness. Life with its worries and worries, constant work frightens the hero, and he wants to sit out in a quiet apartment.
In an apartment on Gorokhovaya Street, Oblomov lies on the sofa, not only because, as a gentleman, he can do nothing, but also because he does not want to live at the expense of his moral dignity. The hero rejoices that he “doesn’t poke around, but lies here, preserving his human dignity and his peace!”
Oblomov's laziness and inactivity are caused by his negative attitude towards the life and interests of people contemporary to the hero. This is the tragedy of Oblomov’s life. Sometimes Ilya Ilyich wants to give up Oblomov’s habits. He rushes to action, but these desires quickly fade away. And before us is again a couch potato yawning from boredom and lying on the sofa. Apathy and laziness extinguish all his noble impulses.
Thus, Goncharov depicts the struggle of good inclinations in Oblomov with lordly habits and laziness. The hero does not seek to change his life. He values peace most of all, having no strength or desire to fight. He retreats before life's problems and difficulties.
However, Ilya Ilyich is ashamed of his own lordship, as a person towering above him. He is tormented by the question: “Why am I like this?” When Stolz tries to awaken in Oblomov the desire to live and work, reproaching him for the paralysis of his mind and will, Ilya Ilyich admits: “I know everything, I understand everything, but there is no willpower.” The hero lives by the principle: “It would be nice if this happened by itself somehow imperceptibly.”
Love for Olga Ilyinskaya temporarily transforms Oblomov. This is how the hero is described in a state of love: “The foggy, sleepy face instantly transformed, the eyes opened, the colors began to play on the cheeks; thoughts began to move, desire and will sparkled in the eyes.” But the fear of losing peace forces Oblomov to give up his love for Olga. “Oblomovism” turns out to be even stronger than love. This is the true tragedy!
Subsequently, Ilya Ilyich finds his “ideal” in the heartfelt love of Agafya Matveevna Pshenitsyna, who does not demand anything from him, indulging him in everything. In her house, “he was now surrounded by such simple, kind, loving people who agreed with their existence to support his life, to help him not notice, not feel it.” The disappeared world of childhood, Oblomovka appears again. Food and rest are all Ilya Ilyich’s activities.
Oblomov’s dignity lies in the fact that he condemned himself and was aware of his inevitable spiritual death. Olga asks him in anguish: “What ruined you, Ilya? There is no name for this hell...” Ilya Ilyich answered her: “There is - Oblomovism!” Oblomov suffers from the fact that he does not see a goal in life and does not find an application for his strength.
The writer showed Oblomov’s path to realizing his worthlessness, insolvency, and, ultimately, to the disintegration of his personality. Destruction of the essence of human nature.
So, the hero of the novel was ruined by Oblomovism. This phenomenon is not an individual feature of Oblomov, but, as Dobrolyubov puts it, “it serves as the key to unraveling many phenomena of Russian life.” The critic concludes: “There is a significant part of Oblomov in each of us, and it is too early to write a funeral eulogy for us.”