I. S. Turgenev spoke about his novel “Fathers and Sons”: “My whole story is directed against the nobility as an advanced class. Look at the faces of Nikolai Petrovich, Pavel Petrovich, Arkady. Weakness and lethargy or limitation. Aesthetic sense forced me to take precisely the good representatives of the nobility, in order to prove my theme all the more accurately: if cream is bad, what about milk?.. They are the best of the nobles - and that is precisely why I chose them to prove their inconsistency.”
The Russian liberal nobility appears in the images of Pavel Petrovich, Nikolai Petrovich and Arkady Kirsanov. Bazarov is a nihilist. He denies the principles of liberals, and authorities, and parliamentarism, and art, in a word, everything that the liberal “fathers” believed in. It seems that he is endowed with strength and superiority over other heroes of the novel. Evgeniy is a man of sober and deep intelligence, confident in his abilities and in the work to which he has dedicated himself. He has friends and followers, but the plot of the novel unfolds in such a way that at the end of the novel Bazarov breaks off past connections and relationships with people who were there before close to him, as well as with his “followers and fellow travelers.” This also applies to Arkady Kirsanov.
It is in the words addressed to Arkady, his friend and follower, that the main conflict between the democratic hero and the liberals is formulated. “Your nobleman brother cannot go further than noble humility or noble boiling, and this is nothing. For example, you don’t fight - and you already imagine yourself to be great - but we want to fight. What! Our dust will eat your eyes out, our dirt will stain you!..”
Arkady is kind by nature. His heart aches at the sight of the familiar poor landscape and ragged men from childhood. He is full good intentions, wants big things, but has absolutely no idea what and how he should accomplish. “No,” thought Arkady, “this poor region does not amaze you with either contentment or hard work; He can’t stay like this, transformations are necessary... but how to carry them out, how to start?”
Like his father, Arkady is inclined to see the good in people first of all. By his own admission, he “doesn’t hate anyone.” He feels sorry for Bazarov’s parents, he feels sorry for the poor men. And in the eyes of the radical Bazarov, this is a sign of weakness: “You gentle soul, you weakling, where can you hate!.. You are timid, you have little hope for yourself...” It is not surprising that in disputes with Eugene, Arkady “usually remained defeated, although he spoke more than his comrade.”
Arkady loves to speak, sometimes simply reveling in his own speeches. It is he who formulates Bazarov’s credo, implying that he himself adheres to the same principles: “A nihilist is a person who does not bow to any authority, who does not accept a single principle on faith, no matter how respected this principle may be.” At the same time, Arkady does not notice that he himself is just an echo of Bazarov. Evgeny sees this clearly and, on occasion, unambiguously makes it clear to Arkady that in his judgments he does not rise above “opposite commonplaces”, he believes that “ beautiful speeches"Arcadia is simply "indecent."
At first, Bazarov wanted to re-educate Arkady, to make him “one of his own,” but very soon he became convinced that this was impossible: “Eh! Yes, I see you definitely intend to follow in your uncle’s footsteps.” Bazarov does not want to accept and admit that Arkady’s kindness is a consequence of the artistic talent of his nature - poetic, dreamy, sensitive to music and poetry, and humane.
At first, Arkady obeys his friend in everything; his still unformed nature is completely under the influence of Bazarov, who, although he is frank with him, always keeps him in a secondary role. Arkady does not notice or understand this, speaking about his friend with constant delight. But gradually Arkady becomes more and more independent and moves away from Bazarov. Arkady's nihilism and democracy is a kind of liberal declamation. Having fallen under the spell of a strong personality, Arkady for some time was, in his own words, a like-minded person of Bazarov. Throughout the entire novel, he imitates him, declaring his nihilism with youthful enthusiasm. However, he was unable to fully sustain the role he took on. At his core, Arkady was never a nihilist, and he hardly liked Bazarov, but he was unusually kind and forgave his friend a lot. The people of the sixties, using Aesopian language, often replaced the word “revolution” with the word “deed.” Saying goodbye to Arkady, Bazarov says this: “... you were not created for our bitter, tart, bourgeois life. You have neither insolence nor anger, but only youthful courage and youthful enthusiasm; This is not suitable for our business.”
Thus, Arkady, who at first seems like an ideal company for Eugene, is his imaginary student and follower. His passion for Bazarov was nothing more than a tribute to his youth. After some time, Arkady himself realizes that being a leader is not his role and that his purpose in life is much more modest. Explaining to Katya, he says: “I have changed in many ways, and you know this better than anyone else - you, to whom I, in essence, owe this change... I still want to be useful, I want to devote all my strength to the truth; but I am no longer looking for my ideals where I looked for them before; they seem... much closer to me. Until now, I did not understand myself, I asked myself tasks that were beyond my strength...” As Arkady grows up, he begins to get closer to his father, who, despite his “backwardness,” is closer in spirit to Bazarov.
When parting with Evgeniy, Arkady forgets all his bilious and sometimes even hostile antics. He “threw himself on the neck of his former mentor and friend, and tears flowed from his eyes.” But already in the evening of the same day, “talking... with Katya, Arkady completely forgot about his mentor.” Bazarov did not leave any trace or even memories of himself in Arkady’s life, and yet in the novel the younger Kirsanov is the best of Bazarov’s students. Other “followers” of Evgeny – Evdokia Kukshina – are depicted satirically. These people can be called neither real friends nor Bazarov's students because they do not have the ideological basis of nihilism, they have accepted only its outer shell. The first declares himself Bazarov's student, the second seems to embody his ideals: she is independent, practical and completely devoid of a sense of beauty. Both of them trivialize the ideas of the sixties, seeing in nihilism only one thing - the denial of all old moral norms, and enthusiastically follow this “new” fashion. Bazarov treats these “followers” of his with contempt. Being an intelligent person, he cannot help but notice that weak, dependent and, in general, insignificant people gather around him. And yet he does not push Sitnikov away.
Offends, but graciously allows you to stay close. This happens solely for the reason that Bazarov is aware that in his activities he will need assistants - narrow-minded but obedient performers. A revolutionary by nature, an ideological destroyer, Bazarov understands that theories are created by some people, and they are put into practice by completely different people; that destruction is carried out by more primitive and therefore more merciless people.
": "My whole story is directed against the nobility as an advanced class. Look at the faces of Nikolai Petrovich, Pavel Petrovich, Arkady. Weakness and lethargy or limitation. An aesthetic feeling forced me to take the good representatives of the nobility in order to prove my theme all the more accurately: if cream is bad, what about milk?.. They are the best of the nobles - and that is why I chose them to prove their inconsistency.”
In images Pavel Petrovich, Nikolai Petrovich and Arkady Kirsanov represent the Russian liberal nobility. Bazarov is a nihilist. He denies the principles of liberals, and authorities, and parliamentarism, and art, in a word, everything that the liberal “fathers” believed in. It seems that he is endowed with strength and superiority over other heroes of the novel. Evgeniy is a man of sober and deep intelligence, confident in his abilities and in the work to which he has dedicated himself. He has friends and followers, but the plot of the novel unfolds in such a way that at the end of the novel, Bazarov breaks off his former ties and relationships with people who were previously close to him, as well as with his “followers and fellow travelers.” This also applies to Arkady Kirsanov.
It's in the words, addressed to Arkady, his friend and follower, the main conflict between the democratic hero and the liberals is formulated. “Your nobleman brother cannot go further than noble humility or noble boiling, and this is nothing. For example, you don’t fight - and you already imagine yourself to be great - but we want to fight. What! Our dust will eat your eyes out, our dirt will stain you!..”
Arkady is kind by nature. His heart aches at the sight of the familiar poor landscape and ragged men from childhood. He is full of good intentions, wants big things, but he has absolutely no idea what and how he should accomplish. “No,” thought Arkady, “this poor region does not amaze you with either contentment or hard work; He can’t stay like this, transformations are necessary... but how to carry them out, how to start?”
Like his father, Arkady is inclined to see the good in people first of all. By his own admission, he “doesn’t hate anyone.” He feels sorry for his parents, sorry for the poor men. And in the eyes of the radical Bazarov, this is a sign of weakness: “You are a gentle soul, a weakling, where can you hate!.. You are timid, you have little hope for yourself...” It is not surprising that in disputes with Evgeniy Arkady “usually remained defeated, although he spoke more than his comrade "
Arkady loves speak, sometimes simply reveling in one’s own speeches. It is he who formulates Bazarov’s credo, implying that he himself adheres to the same principles: “A nihilist is a person who does not bow to any authority, who does not accept a single principle on faith, no matter how respected this principle may be.” At the same time, Arkady does not notice that he himself is just an echo of Bazarov. Eugene sees this clearly and, on occasion, unambiguously makes it clear to Arkady that in his judgments he does not rise above “opposite commonplaces”, and believes that Arkady’s “beautiful speeches” are simply “indecent.”
At first Bazarov wanted to re-educate Arkady, to make him “one of our own,” but very soon he became convinced that this was impossible: “Eh! Yes, I see you definitely intend to follow in your uncle’s footsteps.” Bazarov does not want to accept and admit that Arkady’s kindness is a consequence of the artistic talent of his nature - poetic, dreamy, sensitive to music and poetry, and humane.
First Arkady obeys his friend in everything, his still unformed nature is completely under the influence of Bazarov, who, although he is frank with him, always keeps him in a secondary role. Arkady does not notice or understand this, speaking about his friend with constant delight. But gradually Arkady becomes more and more independent and moves away from Bazarov. Arkady's nihilism and democracy is a kind of liberal declamation. Having fallen under the spell of a strong personality, Arkady for some time was, in his own words, a like-minded person of Bazarov.
Throughout the novel, he imitates it, declaring his nihilism with youthful enthusiasm. However, he was unable to fully sustain the role he took on. At his core, Arkady was never a nihilist, and he hardly liked Bazarov, but he was unusually kind and forgave his friend a lot. The people of the sixties, using Aesopian language, often replaced the word “revolution” with the word “deed.” Saying goodbye to Arkady, Bazarov says this: “... you were not created for our bitter, tart, bourgeois life. You have neither insolence nor anger, but only youthful courage and youthful enthusiasm; This is not suitable for our business.”
Thus Arkady, who at first seems like an ideal company for Evgeny, is his imaginary student and follower. His passion for Bazarov was nothing more than a tribute to his youth. After some time, Arkady himself realizes that being a leader is not his role and that his purpose in life is much more modest. Explaining to Katya, he says: “I have changed in many ways, and you know this better than anyone else - you, to whom I, in essence, owe this change... I still want to be useful, I want to devote all my strength to the truth; but I am no longer looking for my ideals where I looked for them before; they seem... much closer to me. Until now, I did not understand myself, I asked myself tasks that were beyond my strength...” As Arkady grows up, he begins to get closer to his father, who, despite his “backwardness,” is closer in spirit to Bazarov.
When parting with Evgeniy, Arkady forgets all his bilious and sometimes even hostile antics. He “threw himself on the neck of his former mentor and friend, and tears flowed from his eyes.” But already in the evening of the same day, “talking... with Katya, Arkady completely forgot about his mentor.” Bazarov did not leave any trace or even memories of himself in Arkady’s life, and yet in the novel the younger Kirsanov is the best of Bazarov’s students. Other “followers” of Evgeny – Evdokia Kukshina – are depicted satirically. These people can be called neither real friends nor Bazarov's students because they do not have the ideological basis of nihilism, they have accepted only its outer shell. The first declares himself Bazarov's student, the second seems to embody his ideals: she is independent, practical and completely devoid of a sense of beauty. Both of them trivialize the ideas of the sixties, seeing in nihilism only one thing - the denial of all old moral norms, and enthusiastically follow this “new” fashion. Bazarov treats these “followers” of his with contempt. Being an intelligent person, he cannot help but notice that weak, dependent and, in general, insignificant people gather around him. And yet he does not push Sitnikov away.
Offends, but graciously allows you to stay close. This happens solely for the reason that Bazarov is aware that in his activities he will need assistants - narrow-minded but obedient performers. A revolutionary by nature, an ideological destroyer, Bazarov understands that theories are created by some people, and they are put into practice by completely different people; that destruction is carried out by more primitive and therefore more merciless people.
Arkady Nikolaevich Kirsanov was born in prosperous family where love and understanding reigned. His father, Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov, was a candidate who graduated from the university and worked in the Ministry of Appanages until he met Arkady’s mother, Maria. After marriage, father and mother moved to live in the village, where she grew flowers, and he sometimes went hunting.
Soon they had a son, Arkady. He was quiet good boy. When Arkady was ten years old, his mother died and his father, with difficulty enduring this blow, took up household chores. When his son reached student age, his father took him to St. Petersburg University and lived there with him for three winters. Later, his father remained in the village and was unable to come, and Arkady graduated from the university and received the title of candidate.
Having spent my childhood in loving family, Arkady grew up himself kind souls and a loving son.
Back in native home, he saw that his region was poor, and the people were dissatisfied and lazy. He wanted to change something, improve it, but he didn’t know what yet.
“No,” thought Arkady, “this is a poor region, it does not amaze you with either contentment or hard work; it’s impossible, he can’t stay like this, transformations are necessary... but how to carry them out, how to start?..”
Remembering his childhood and the years spent in this house, he was incredibly happy to return here again, to immerse himself in familiar smells and see familiar faces and objects.
"It's sweet to fall asleep in home, on a familiar bed, under a blanket, on which beloved hands were working, perhaps the hands of a nanny, those gentle, kind and tireless hands.”
In Arkady's absence at home, his father fell in love with and accepted into the house a young girl who bore him a son. Nikolai Petrovich was very worried about how his son would perceive this, but Arkady was very happy for his father.
“Besides, I’m sure you couldn’t make a bad choice; if you allowed her to live with you under the same roof, then she deserves it.”
Arkady remembered and appreciated the fact that his father never constrained his personal freedom, which is why he himself understood him, which made the old man incredibly happy and comforted.
Arkady had a friend - Bazarov, in whom he saw his mentor and imitated him in everything. They often argued, but Arkady was always the loser in these disputes. Apparently due to the fact that Bazarov was somewhat older than him and had his own personal point of view, distinguishable from others. They were nihilists, rejecting all canons and authorities.
In disputes, Arkady tried to show all his eloquence and understanding, striving to ensure that his friend respected him.
In the presence of beautiful ladies, the young man became very timid and could not find words to communicate. He also could not boast of the ability to dance.
“Arkady felt some timidity in his heart when, at the first sounds of the mazurka, he sat down next to his lady and, preparing to enter into a conversation, just ran his hand through his hair and did not find a single word.”
But having gotten used to the interlocutor, he could already talk to her calmly. Having met Anna Sergeevna Odintsova, Arkady was timid at first, but soon he was telling her about his father and uncle, feeling happy to be next to such a woman. She was a little older than him and saw Arkady only as a younger brother, which made the guy very sad, as he quickly fell in love with her.
“...it seemed that she appreciated in him the kindness and simplicity of youth - and that’s all.”
Being next to Odintsova, Arkady felt awkward, not knowing how to interest her.
“...and she didn’t know what to tell him: he was too young for her.”
Odintsova had a younger sister, Katya, with whom Arkady could be himself. He felt at ease with her, and they could talk about different topics.
When Arkady arrived at Odintsova's estate with letters from her late mother, he stayed there for several weeks. At this time, having spent all his days with Katya, he realized that he loved her. He also realized that he had changed and all Bazarov’s instructions and views were alien to him. He didn't want to be like him anymore.
It was so pleasant for him to talk directly about things that interested him, without fear of judgment from the outside.
“...it’s not for nothing that my twenty-third year has passed; I still desire to be useful, I still desire to devote all my strength to the truth.”
Having truly fallen in love, he realized that he was looking for his ideals in the wrong place and set the wrong goals for himself. Soon, she and Katerina got married, and they had a son, Nikolai.
Arkady found his place in the sun and became very happy.
Roman I.S. Turgenev's "Fathers and Sons" became a landmark work of its time. In it, the author managed to reflect the eternal confrontation between two generations using the example of several families, as well as in a more global sense - the confrontation between young nihilism and established principles public life Russia. The novel contains a whole gallery most interesting images, each of which is important and interesting. The image and characterization of Arkady Kirsanov with quotes in the novel “Fathers and Sons” will help to fully reveal the contradictory image of the main character.
Formation of Arkady's character
Arkady Kirsanov is a hereditary nobleman. He was lucky to be born into a family where sincere love reigned. He was brought up according to noble traditions. When his mother died, his father devoted himself to giving the child everything he needed.When the young man entered the university, Nikolai Petrovich went to St. Petersburg with him and lived there for the first three years of his studies. He tried to keep abreast of his son's interests and know his comrades.
The conditions in which Arkady grew up shaped in him a love of beauty, admiration for nature, art, and a warm attitude towards his loved ones. Yielding to a rebellious youthful impulse, he falls under the influence of Yevgeny Bazarov. Arkady greatly values this man's friendship. And after him he declares himself a nihilist.
Father and son
Returning home after graduating, Arkady tries to demonstrate to his father that he is no longer the enthusiastic young man he was before. But immediate enthusiasm and love for his father breaks through:“Arkady quickly turned to his father and loudly kissed him on the cheek.”
On the way to his native estate, he sees that his family’s property is on the verge of decline, he lights up with various plans and ideas for transformation. The spring atmosphere distracts him from these thoughts, and again spontaneity breaks through in his behavior with his father:
“Arkady looked and looked, and, gradually weakening, his thoughts disappeared... He threw off his greatcoat and looked at his father so cheerfully, like such a young boy, that he hugged him again.”
Sometimes Arkady feels superior to his father. When Nikolai Petrovich tells him about his beloved, the son scolds him for his awkwardness and embarrassment, saying that he fully supports his father:
“...and a feeling of condescending tenderness for his kind and gentle father, mixed with a feeling of some secret superiority, filled his soul. “Please stop,” he repeated again, involuntarily enjoying the consciousness of his own development and freedom.”
Progressive views and a tender attitude towards his father allow Arkady to accept the news of the appearance of a half-brother with sincere joy.
Arkady and Bazarov
The meeting with Bazarov allowed Arkady Kirsanov to accept the ideas of a new emerging movement - nihilism. Bazarov, being a formed and integral personality, has strong views and principles. Evgeniy becomes Arkady's mentor. Young Kirsanov follows the ideas of his comrade with incredible zeal. He admires this man:“...I cannot express to you how much I value his friendship...”
Despite all efforts to match the appearance of progressive youth, Arkady's sentimentality and enthusiasm reveal him as a gentle person. Gradually, Arkady realizes that he and Evgeny are moving away, and sees how different their thoughts are. Not embarrassed by emotions, he says goodbye to his comrade forever:
“...Arkady threw himself on the neck of his former mentor and friend, and tears flowed from his eyes...”
Love of Arkady Kirsanov
Arkady is no stranger to the romanticism of his father, so his soul is open to tender feelings. Having met Odintsova, he imagines himself in love. The young man is tormented by the thought that Anna Sergeevna does not take him seriously, considering him a young man. Carried away by the torments of jealousy, he does not notice how he is getting closer to Odintsova’s sister, Katya. Suddenly he realizes that being around this girl is very good and interesting. Katya becomes Kirsanov's wife, together they find happiness.Kirsanov represents the perfect combination of new views with old traditions. Having married and settled in Maryino, he continues to introduce ideas of transformation into farming.