OBLOMOV
(Novel. 1859)
Ilyinskaya Olga Sergeevna - one of the main heroines of the novel, bright and a strong character. Possible prototype I. - Elizaveta Tolstaya, only love Goncharov, although some researchers reject this hypothesis. “Olga in the strict sense was not a beauty, that is, there was no whiteness in her, no bright coloring of her cheeks and lips, and her eyes did not burn with rays of inner fire; there were no corals on the lips, no pearls in the mouth, no miniature hands, like those of a five-year-old child, with fingers in the shape of grapes. But if she were turned into a statue, she would be a statue of grace and harmony.”
Since the time she was orphaned, I. has been living in the house of her aunt Marya Mikhailovna. Goncharov emphasizes the heroine’s rapid spiritual maturation: she “as if she was following the course of life by leaps and bounds. And every hour of the slightest, barely noticeable experience, an incident that flashes like a bird past a man’s nose, is grasped inexplicably quickly by a girl.”
Andrei Ivanovich Stolts introduces I. and Oblomov. How, when and where Stolz and I. met is unknown, but the relationship connecting these characters is distinguished by sincere mutual attraction and trust. “...In a rare girl you will find such simplicity and natural freedom of look, word, action... No affectation, no coquetry, no lies, no tinsel, no intent! But almost only Stolz appreciated her, but she sat through more than one mazurka alone, not hiding her boredom... Some considered her simple, short-sighted, shallow, because neither wise maxims about life, about love, nor quick, unexpected and bold remarks, nor read or overheard judgments about music and literature..."
It is no coincidence that Stolz brings Oblomov to I.’s house: knowing that she has an inquisitive mind and deep feelings, he hopes that with her spiritual needs I. will be able to awaken Oblomov - make him read, watch, learn more and more discriminatingly.
Oblomov captured her in one of the first meetings amazing voice- I. sings an aria from Bellini’s opera “Norma”, the famous “Casta diva”, and “this destroyed Oblomov: he was exhausted,” plunging more and more into a new feeling for himself.
I.’s literary predecessor is Tatyana Larina (“Eugene Onegin”). But like the heroine of another historical time, I. is more confident in herself, her mind demands permanent job. This was noted by N.A. Dobrolyubov in the article “What is Oblomovism?”: “Olga, in her development, represents the highest ideal that only a Russian artist can now evoke from present-day Russian life... There is more in her than in Stolz, one can see a hint of a new Russian life; One can expect from her a word that will burn and dispel Oblomovism...”
But this is not given to I. in the novel, just as it is not given to Goncharov’s similar heroine Vera from “The Precipice” to dispel phenomena of a different order. Olga’s character, fused simultaneously from strength and weakness, knowledge about life and the inability to bestow this knowledge on others, will be developed in Russian literature - in the heroines of A.P. Chekhov’s drama - in particular, in Elena Andreevna and Sonya Voinitskaya from “Uncle Vanya”.
The main property of I., inherent in many female characters Russian literature of the last century - not just love for a specific person, but an indispensable desire to change him, raise him to his ideal, re-educate him, instilling in him new concepts, new tastes. Oblomov turns out to be the most suitable object for this: “She dreamed of how she would “order him to read the books” that Stolz left, then read newspapers every day and tell her the news, write letters to the village, complete a plan for organizing the estate, get ready to go abroad, - in a word, he will not fall asleep with her; she will show him his goal, make him love again everything that he has stopped loving, and Stolz will not recognize him when he returns. And she will do all this miracle, so timid, silent, whom no one has listened to until now, who has not yet begun to live!.. She even trembled with proud, joyful trepidation; I considered this a lesson ordained from above.”
Here you can compare her character with the character of Liza Kalitina from the novel by I. S. Turgenev “ Noble Nest", with Elena from his own "On the Eve". Re-education becomes the goal, the goal captivates so much that everything else is pushed aside, and the feeling of love gradually submits to the teaching. Teaching, in a sense, enlarges and enriches love. It is from this that the serious change occurs in I. that so amazed Stolz when he met her abroad, where she arrived with her aunt after breaking up with Oblomov.
I. immediately understands that in her relationship with Oblomov she belongs the main role, she “instantly weighed her power over him, and she liked this role of a guiding star, a ray of light that she would pour over the stagnant lake and be reflected in it.” Life seems to wake up in I. along with Oblomov’s life. But in her this process occurs much more intensely than in Ilya Ilyich. I. seems to be testing her capabilities as a woman and teacher at the same time. Her extraordinary mind and soul require more and more “complex” food.
It is no coincidence that at some point Obkomov sees Cordelia in her: all of I.’s feelings are permeated by a simple, natural, like a Shakespearean heroine, pride, encouraging her to realize the treasures of her soul as a happy and well-deserved given: “What I once called mine is no longer I’ll give it back, maybe they’ll take it away...” she says to Oblomov.
I.’s feeling for Oblomov is whole and harmonious: she simply loves, while Oblomov is constantly trying to find out the depth of this love, which is why he suffers, believing that I. “loves now, like embroidering on canvas: the pattern comes out quietly, lazily, she is even lazier unfolds it, admires it, then puts it down and forgets.” When Ilya Ilyich tells the heroine that she is smarter than him, I. replies: “No, simpler and bolder,” thereby expressing almost the defining line of their relationship.
I. hardly knows that the feeling she experiences is more reminiscent of a complex experiment than first love. She does not tell Oblomov that all the affairs of her estate have been settled, with only one goal - “...to see to the end how love will make a revolution in his lazy soul, how the oppression will finally fall from him, how he will not resist his loved one happiness..." But, like any experiment on a living soul, this experiment cannot be crowned with success.
I. needs to see his chosen one on a pedestal, above himself, and this, according to the author’s concept, is impossible. Even Stolz, whom I. marries after an unsuccessful romance with Oblomov, only temporarily stands higher than her, and Goncharov emphasizes this. By the end, it becomes clear that I. will outgrow her husband both in the strength of her feelings and in the depth of her thoughts about life.
Realizing how far her ideals diverge from the ideals of Oblomov, who dreams of living according to the ancient way of life of his native Oblomovka, I. is forced to abandon further experiments. “I loved the future Oblomov! - she says to Ilya Ilyich. - You are meek and honest, Ilya; you are gentle... like a dove; you hide your head under your wing - and don’t want anything more; you’re ready to coo under the roof all your life... but I’m not like that: this is not enough for me, I need something else, but I don’t know what!” This “something” will not leave I.: even after surviving a break with Oblomov and happily marrying Stolz, she will not calm down. The moment will come when Stolz will be faced with the need to explain to his wife, mother of two children, the mysterious “something” that haunts her restless soul. “The deep abyss of her soul” does not frighten, but worries Stolz. In I., whom he knew almost as a girl, for whom he felt first friendship and then love, he gradually discovers new and unexpected depths. It is difficult for Stoltz to get used to them, therefore his happiness with I. seems problematic in many ways.
It happens that I. is overcome by fear: “She was afraid to fall into something similar to Oblomov’s apathy. But no matter how hard she tried to get rid of these moments of periodic torpor, the sleep of the soul, no, no, but first a dream of happiness would creep up on her, surround her with the blue night and envelop her in drowsiness, then again there would be a thoughtful stop, as if the rest of life, and then embarrassment, fear , languor, some kind of dull sadness, some vague, foggy questions will be heard in a restless head.”
These turmoil are fully consistent with the author’s final reflection, which makes us think about the heroine’s future: “Olga did not know... the logic of submission to blind fate and did not understand women’s passions and hobbies. Having once recognized the dignity and rights to herself in the chosen person, she believed in him and therefore loved, and if she stopped believing, she stopped loving, as happened with Oblomov... But now she believed in Andrei not blindly, but with consciousness, and in him her ideal of male perfection was embodied... That is why she would not tolerate a decrease in the merits she recognized by even a hair; any false note in his character or mind would produce stunning dissonance. The destroyed building of happiness would have buried her under the rubble, or, if her strength had still survived, she would have searched..."
Roman I.A. Goncharov’s “Oblomov” is dedicated to describing the harmful consequences of the serfdom, and the consequences not for the peasants, but for the nobles. Main character this novel by Ilya Ilchich Oblomov. He is a simple, kind, but very lazy and spoiled person.
For him, lying around the clock on his favorite sofa replaces all kinds of life and activity. Oblomov lives with dreams of how he will move to his estate and have a wonderful life there.
Partly in the image of Oblomov the theme “ extra person“However, Oblomov himself wants to be superfluous; this is convenient and comfortable for him; no one will stop him from leading a measured lifestyle.
The meaning of Oblomov's dream
His belief in his own exclusivity, brought up from childhood, was called “Oblomovism.” Oblomov remembers his childhood in a dream: one of the most striking episodes of the novel, Oblomov’s dream, was written back in 1848.
This picture from childhood shows how crippling a person can be serfdom, when the master does not need to do anything. Oblomov is used to the fact that his faithful servant Zakhar and someone else will do everything for him, and he is a master, he is above this, so he will not fuss under any circumstances. Goncharov criticizes such lordship.
Image of Andrey Stolts
Oblomov's best friend Andrei Ivanovich Stolz, the son of a Russian noblewoman and a German; the direct opposite of Oblomov. Stolz is “an example of all strength”; from childhood he was accustomed to working for material wages, and he lives like this all his life.
He reproaches Oblomov for eternal laziness and tries to get him off the couch, but to no avail. According to A.P. Chekhov, the image of Stolz, the creative failure of Goncharov. He was conceived as the image of an ideal person, but in the end he turned out to be a “spirited beast, very pleased with himself.”
It is not known for what Stolz lives; he has no goal in life. In some ways he is similar to Oblomov, and ultimately realizes his idea of a peaceful life on the estate.
Image of Olga Ilyinskaya
At the end of the novel, Stolz marries Olga Sergeevna Ilnskaya, who was originally Oblomov’s lover. Olga is similar to Turgenev’s girls, who are morally superior to men; her image is a synthesis of reason and feeling.
For Olga's sake, Oblomov gets up from the couch and is ready to give up some of his principles and laziness. However, she herself only convinces herself that she is in love: Olga is still too young, does not know life, so she mistakes a slight infatuation for love.
Oblomov writes her a letter in which he explains that this is not love, but a real feeling will come to her later. Olga doesn’t believe it, but over time she becomes convinced that this is really so. After a marriage proposal, they are prevented from reuniting by all sorts of everyday little things, but in fact the lack of love. A breakup is inevitable.
A few months later, Olga begins an affair with Stolz, in which there is no longer jealousy or rivalry. Oblomov sincerely wishes his beloved woman happiness, albeit with someone else, but there won’t be any here either. Olga is smart and sublime, she wants to find the meaning of life, and Stolz is too down-to-earth for her.
Image of Agafya Pshenitsyna
Oblomov himself eventually marries Agafya Matveevna Pshenitsyna, a simple, narrow-minded woman who is used to doing everything in life herself. She does not think about the meaning of life; she is much more concerned about everyday issues.
She accepts Oblomov as he is and sincerely loves him. He even somewhat admires him as his master (and later his son). Oblomov continues to love Olga...
One of women's portraits in the novel there is the character of Olga Sergeevna Ilyinskaya, Stolz’s acquaintance and Oblomov’s beloved. Ilya Ilyich cannot forget this woman for a long time; he painted her portrait in his memory. “Olga in the strict sense was not a beauty, that is, there was no whiteness in her, no bright coloring of her cheeks and lips, and her eyes did not burn with rays of inner fire; there were no corals on the lips, no pearls in the mouth, no miniature hands, like those of a five-year-old child, with fingers in the shape of grapes...” Goncharov, I.A. Oblomov. A novel in 4 parts. - M.: Fiction, 1984. - 493 p. - P. 202. Such a woman could not leave the main character indifferent, who had not been seen in public for a long time.
Further, one can trace the view of I.A. Goncharov himself on the image of Olga: “Whoever met her, even absent-minded, stopped for a moment before this so strictly and deliberately, artistically created creature... the nose formed a noticeably convex, graceful line; the lips are thin and mostly compressed... the eyebrows gave a special beauty to the eyes... they were two light brown, fluffy, almost straight stripes that rarely lay symmetrically...” Ibid. - P. 202.
The motif of the statue can be seen here too. Oblomov himself compares Olga to a statue of “grace and harmony.” She's somewhat tall The size of the head strictly corresponded to the size of the head, the oval and size of the face; all this, in turn, was in harmony with the shoulders, and the shoulders with the body...” But researchers note that Olga is not a statue. There is another analogy for it - a machine.
As a statue Ilyinskaya is certainly beautiful, but as a machine she is functional. Lyubov Oblomov seems to have curled up the hero, but then the plant ends and the hero himself freezes. The hero’s eyes no longer sparkle and are no longer filled with tears “from the words, from the sounds, from this pure, strong girlish voice” from which the heart beat so much before.
I.A. Goncharov gives a portrait of the heroine at different moments of her life. Here she sings “Her cheeks and ears were red with excitement; sometimes a play of heart lightning suddenly sparkled on her fresh face, a ray of such mature passion flared up, as if she was experiencing a distant future time of life in her heart, and suddenly this instant ray went out again, again her voice sounded fresh and silvery,” the author describes “the awakening of the heroine’s soul “When she understands Oblomov’s feelings: “... her face was gradually filled with consciousness; a ray of thought and guesswork crept into every feature, and suddenly the whole face was illuminated with consciousness... The sun also sometimes, coming out from behind a cloud, little by little illuminates one bush, another, the roof and suddenly bathes the whole landscape in light...” But a completely different Olga, after a farewell conversation with Oblomov, “she changed in her face: two pink spots disappeared, and her eyes dimmed... she strongly pulled a branch from a tree in passing, tore it off with her lips...”. This shows all the disappointment, excitement and even annoyance of the heroine.
Olga Ilyinskaya also changes throughout her acquaintance with Ilya Oblomov. If at first, before Ilya Ilyich’s confession, she is light, always cheerful, lively, open and trusting, “dependent” on Stolz (he is her teacher), then after the confession and subsequent parting with the main character, she is thoughtful, restrained, persistent, firm, confident, restrained. She is no longer just a flighty girl, but a woman.
The writer identifies in Olga Ilyinskaya two important, in his opinion, personality traits that are so lacking in modern women, and therefore especially valuable. These are words and movements. They are presented quite convincingly in the novel. This is the talent of I.A. Goncharova.
/Dmitry Ivanovich Pisarev (1840-1868). Oblomov. Roman I. A. Goncharova /
The third remarkable personality depicted in Mr. Goncharov’s novel is Olga Sergeevna Ilinskaya- represents the type future woman, how it will subsequently be shaped by those ideas that in our time they are trying to introduce into women’s education. In this personality, which attracts one with inexpressible charm, but does not amaze with any sharply outstanding virtues, two properties are especially remarkable, casting an original flavor on all her actions, words and movements. These two properties are rare in modern women and therefore especially dear to Olga; they are presented in Mr. Goncharov’s novel with such artistic fidelity that it is difficult not to believe them, it is difficult to accept Olga as an impossible ideal created creative imagination poet. Naturalness and presence of consciousness is what distinguishes Olga from ordinary women. From these two qualities flow truthfulness in words and deeds, the absence of coquetry, the desire for development, the ability to love simply and seriously, without tricks and tricks, the ability to sacrifice oneself to one’s feelings as much as is allowed not by the laws of etiquette, but by the voice of conscience and reason. The first two characters, which we mentioned above, are presented as already formed, and Mr. Goncharov only explains them to the reader, that is, shows the conditions under the influence of which they were formed; As for Olga’s character, it is formed before the reader’s eyes. The author first portrays her as almost a child, a girl gifted with a natural mind, who enjoyed some independence during her upbringing, but who did not experience any strong feeling, no excitement, unfamiliar with life, not accustomed to observing oneself, analyzing the movements of one’s own soul. During this period of Olga's life, we see in her a rich but untouched nature; she is not spoiled by the world, she does not know how to pretend, but she also did not have time to develop mental strength in herself, did not have time to develop convictions for herself; she acts according to impulses kind soul, but acts instinctively; she follows friendly advice developed person, but does not always criticize this advice, is carried away by authority and sometimes mentally refers to her boarding school friends.<...>
Experience and calm reflection could gradually lead Olga out of this period of instinctive drives and actions; innate curiosity could lead her to further development by reading and serious study; but the author chose a different, accelerated path for her. Olga fell in love, her soul was excited, she learned about life, following the movements of her own feelings; the need to understand the state of her own soul forced her to change her mind a lot, and from this series of reflections and psychological observations she developed an independent view of her personality, her relationship with the people around her, the relationship between feeling and duty - in a word, on life in the broadest sense. G. Goncharov, depicting Olga’s character and analyzing her development, showed the educational influence of feelings in full force. He notices its occurrence, follows its development and dwells on each of its modifications in order to depict the influence that it has on the entire way of thinking of both characters. Olga fell in love accidentally, without prior preparation; she did not create an abstract ideal for herself, which many young ladies try to bring the men they know to life, she did not dream of love, although, of course, she knew about the existence of this feeling.
She lived calmly, not trying to artificially arouse love in herself, not trying to see the hero of her future novel in every new face. Love came to her unexpectedly, like any true feeling comes; this feeling imperceptibly crept into her soul and attracted her own attention when it had already received some development. When she noticed him, she began to think about it and compare her words and actions with her inner thoughts. This minute, when she became aware of the movements of her own soul, begins a new period in her development. Every woman experiences this moment, and the revolution that then takes place in her entire being and begins to reveal in her the presence of restrained feeling and concentrated thought, this revolution is especially fully and artistically depicted in Mr. Goncharov’s novel. For a woman like Olga, the feeling could not remain for long at the level of instinctive attraction; the desire to comprehend in her own eyes, to explain to herself everything that she encountered in life, awoke here with special force: a goal for feeling appeared, and a discussion of her beloved personality appeared; This discussion determined the very goal.
Olga realized that she was stronger than the person she loved, and decided to elevate him, breathe energy into him, give him strength to live. A meaningful feeling became a duty in her eyes, and with full conviction she began to sacrifice to this duty some external decency, the violation of which is sincerely and unfairly prosecuted by the suspicious court of the world. Olga grows along with her feelings; every scene that takes place between her and the person she loves adds new feature to her character, with each scene the graceful image of the girl becomes more familiar to the reader, is outlined brighter and stands out more strongly from the general background of the picture.
We have sufficiently defined Olga's character to know that there could be no coquetry in her relationship with her loved one: the desire to lure a man, to make him her admirer, without having any feelings for him, seemed to her unforgivable, unworthy of an honest woman. In her treatment of the man whom she subsequently fell in love with, at first soft, natural grace dominated; no calculated coquetry could have had a stronger effect than this genuine, artlessly simple treatment, but the fact is that on Olga’s part there was no desire to make one or another impression . The femininity and grace that Mr. Goncharov knew how to put into her words and movements constitute an integral part of her nature and therefore have a particularly charming effect on the reader. This femininity, this grace becomes stronger and more charming as the feeling develops in the girl’s chest; playfulness and childish carelessness are replaced in her features by an expression of quiet, thoughtful, almost solemn happiness.
Life opens up before Olga, a world of thoughts and feelings about which she had no idea, and she moves forward, looking trustingly at her companion, but at the same time peering with timid curiosity at the sensations that crowd in her excited soul. The feeling grows; it becomes a need, a necessary condition of life, and yet here too, when the feeling reaches pathos, to the “sleepwalking of love,” in the words of Mr. Goncharov, and here Olga does not lose consciousness of her moral duty and knows how to maintain a calm, reasonable, critical view of life. your responsibilities, the personality of your loved one, your position and your actions in the future. The very strength of feeling gives her a clear view of things and maintains firmness in her. The fact is that feeling in such a pure and sublime nature does not descend to the level of passion, does not darken reason, does not lead to such actions that would later make one blush; such a feeling does not cease to be conscious, although sometimes it is so strong that it presses and threatens to destroy the body. It infuses energy into a girl’s soul, makes her break one or another law of etiquette; but this same feeling does not allow her to forget her real duty, protects her from infatuation, instills in her conscious respect for the purity of her own personality, which contains the guarantees of happiness for two people.
Meanwhile, Olga is experiencing a new phase of development: a sad moment of disappointment comes for her, and the mental suffering she experiences finally develops her character, gives her thoughts maturity, informs her life experience. Disappointment is often the fault of the person being disappointed. A man who creates for himself fantasy world, will certainly, sooner or later, collide with real life and hurt himself the more painfully, the higher the height to which his whimsical dream raised him. He who demands the impossible from life must be deceived in his hopes. Olga did not dream of impossible happiness: her hopes for the future were simple, her plans were feasible. She fell in love with an honest, intelligent and developed man, but weak, not used to living; She recognized his good and bad sides and decided to use every effort to warm him with the energy that she felt in herself. She thought that the power of love would revive him, instill in him a desire for activity and give him the opportunity to put to work abilities that had fallen asleep from long inactivity.
Her goal was highly moral; she was inspired by a true feeling. It could be achieved: there was no evidence to doubt its success. Olga mistook an instant flash of feeling on the part of the person she loved for a real awakening of energy; she saw her power over him and hoped to lead him forward on the path of self-improvement. Could she not be carried away by her beautiful goal, could she not see quiet, rational happiness ahead of her? And suddenly she notices that the energy excited for a moment is extinguished, that the struggle she has undertaken is hopeless, that the charming power of sleepy calm is stronger than its life-giving influence. What should she do in such a case? Opinions will likely be divided. Whoever admires the impetuous beauty of an unconscious feeling, without thinking about its consequences, will say: it should have remained true to the first movement of the heart and give your life to the one you once loved. But whoever sees in a feeling a guarantee of future happiness will look at the matter differently: hopeless love, useless for oneself and for the beloved object, has no meaning in the eyes of such a person; the beauty of such a feeling cannot excuse its lack of understanding.
Olga had to conquer herself, break this feeling while there was still time: she had no right to ruin her life, to make a useless sacrifice. Love becomes illegal when reason does not approve of it; to drown out the voice of reason means to give free rein to passion, to animal instinct. Olga could not do this, and she had to suffer until the deceived feeling in her soul ached. She was saved in this case by the presence of consciousness, which we have already indicated above. The struggle of thought with the remnants of feeling, reinforced by fresh memories of past happiness, tempered Olga’s spiritual strength. IN a short time she felt and changed her mind as much as does not happen to change her mind and change her mind during many years of quiet existence. She was finally prepared for life, and the past feelings she experienced and the suffering she experienced gave her the ability to understand and appreciate the true merits of a person; they gave her the strength to love as she could not love before. Only a remarkable personality could instill in her a feeling, and in this feeling there was no room for disappointment; The time for passion, the time for sleepwalking has passed irrevocably. Love could no longer sneak into the soul, eluding the analysis of the mind for a time. In Olga’s new feeling everything was definite, clear and firm. Olga previously lived with her mind, and her mind subjected everything to its analysis, presented new needs every day, sought satisfaction and food in everything that surrounded her.
Then Olga's development took only one more step forward. There is only a cursory indication of this step in Mr. Goncharov’s novel. The situation to which this new step led is not outlined. The fact is that Olga could not be completely satisfied either by quiet family happiness or by mental and aesthetic pleasures. Pleasures never satisfy a strong, rich nature, unable to fall asleep and lose energy: such a nature requires activity, work with a reasonable goal, and only creativity can to some extent calm this melancholy desire for something higher, unfamiliar - a desire that does not satisfy happy environment of everyday life. Olga reached this state of highest development. How she satisfied the needs that awoke in her, the author does not tell us. But, recognizing in a woman the possibility and legitimacy of these highest aspirations, he obviously expresses his view on her purpose and on what is called in the community the emancipation of women. Olga’s whole life and personality constitute a living protest against a woman’s dependence. This protest, of course, was not main goal the author, because true creativity does not impose practical goals on itself; but the more naturally this protest arose, the less prepared it was, the more artistic truth it contained, the stronger its effect on public consciousness.
Here are the three main characters of Oblomov. The remaining groups of personalities that make up the background of the picture and stand in the background are outlined with amazing clarity. It is clear that the author did not neglect the little things for the main plot and, while painting a picture of Russian life, dwelled on every detail with conscientious love. The widow Pshenitsyna, Zakhar, Tarantyev, Mukhoyarov, Anisya - all these are living people, all these are types that each of us has met in our lifetime.<...>
"Oblomov", in all likelihood, will constitute an era in the history of Russian literature; it reflects the life of Russian society in a certain period of its development. The names of Oblomov, Stolz, Olga will become household names. In a word, no matter how you look at Oblomov, whether as a whole or in separate parts, is it in relation to modern life or in terms of its absolute significance in the field of art, one way or another, it will always have to be said that this is a completely elegant, strictly considered and poetically beautiful work.<...>The depiction of a pure, conscious feeling, the determination of its influence on a person’s personality and actions, the reproduction of the dominant disease of our time, Oblomovism, are the main motives of the novel. If we remember that every elegant work has an educational influence, if we remember that a truly elegant work is always moral, because it correctly and simply depicts real life, then we must admit that reading books like Oblomov should be necessary condition any rational education. Moreover, reading this novel can be especially useful for girls 3. This reading, incomparably better than an abstract treatise on female virtue, will explain to them the life and duties of a woman. One has only to think about Olga’s personality, trace her actions, and, probably, more than one fruitful thought will appear in her head, more than one warm feeling will be engrained in her heart. So, we think that every educated Russian woman or girl should read Oblomov, just as she should read all the major works of our literature.
Olga Ilyinskaya is the culprit of some shake-up that Oblomov had to endure before plunging into his complete peace of Oblomovshchina (see article Olga and Oblomov). Olga is presented in the book as a girl with willpower and an active mind. What she has in common with Stolz is an independent nature and a love for an active life, full of movement and work. She is brought closer to Oblomov by her penchant for art, for general issues life, love of nature. Being proud and active, Olga loved to set herself difficult tasks in life and achieve their implementation. One of these tasks was to revive Oblomov to a new life, save him from Oblomovism, introduce activity and living movement into his life.
Goncharov. Oblomov. Summary
At first, Olga’s attempt was a success: having felt the charm of this smart and talented girl, Oblomov seemed to be resurrected. He leaves his sofa, his dusty rooms, he is on his feet all day, wanders with Olga, listens to music, makes plans for a bright future. But when the habits of her previous life take over this attempt to be reborn, Olga’s rationality turns out to be stronger than love to Oblomov. She writes him a letter in which she logically and in excellent literary form proves that she needs a life different from what is possible with Oblomov, and breaks up with him. The fact that Olga marries Stolz and lives happily with her rational and dry practical husband emphasizes the element of rationality in her nature.
Olga, in spirit, is close to Turgenev’s heroines - Elena (“On the Eve”) and Natasha(“Rudin”). This is a strong nature that is not afraid of life. Her clear and free mind helps her understand people and the accidents of life. Dissatisfied with vulgarity and banality social life, with all her prejudices and decency, she wants to arrange her life herself so that she can breathe easily and those around her feel good. This independence in life is her characteristic feature, distinguishing her favorably from the named Turgenev heroines, who both need “leaders.”
Stolz recommended Oblomov to Olga's attention in the best possible way; he joked about his laziness and immobility, obviously, at first without attaching any special fatal significance to these features, but bright sides he praised his souls. He tried to interest Olga Oblomov, because he considered the influence of this intelligent, energetic and kind girl. And so, having met Oblomov, having independently looked into his soul, Olga was convinced that the description made by Stolz was correct - that Oblomov was indeed “a kind, intelligent, gentle, noble person.” A proud dream arose in her smart head - to do “the job” - to return her to a fruitful field cultural life this “good” person, only temporarily, as it seemed to her, evading the common human work for the benefit of the whole world.
First with a good-natured laugh, then with sincere affection, partly with coquetry, she really inspired Oblomov for a while, who was still under the influence of Stolz at that time. Oblomov not only resurrected spiritually, but even experienced a new feeling for himself - Love to Olga. And she also fell in love with him, but in this love there was some kind of condescension, something like mother's love to a child who has recovered from an illness. It was not a passion that subjugates man to man.
