Fathers and Songs by Ivan Turgenev

Fathers and Sons is a novel written by Russian author Ivan Turgenev and originally published in 1862. Emerging in tsarist Russia during the realism period of literature, Turgenev examines the subject of changing generations in his novel. In Fathers and Sons the new generation is represented by the characters Arkady Nikolaevich Kirsanov and Evgeny Vasilich Bazarov, recent university graduates and self-proclaimed nihilists. Nihilism, a term popularized by Turgenev himself, is a broad philosophical school of thought that debases traditional values of life. Fathers and Sons was both written during and set in a time when nihilism movements in Russia were gaining a strong following. Throughout the novel Turgenev uses a combination of characterization, irony, and conflict to denounce nihilism.

In Fathers and Sons, Turgenev writes the character Bazarov to be, in his view, the prime example of a nihilist. Arkady also (initially) assumes the role of self-proclaimed nihilist, he is merely an initiate; Bazarov is the mentor. While very intelligent and well-spoken, Bazarov is rude and generally unlikable in personality from the moment he is introduced. When being introduced to Arkady’s father Nikolai, he is flippant and aloof: “Nikolai Petrovich went. . . going up to [Bazarov]. . . he warmly pressed the ungloved red hand, which was not at once held out to him. . . ‘[I am] Evgeny Vasilich,’ answered Bazarov, in a lazy but manly voice” (106). Bazarov uses his intellect and oratory skills most often to belittle others and their ideals, valuing very little himself. This is not done out of any meanness though, it is simply a part of his philosophical, nihilist views. He explains his views to Arkady’s uncle, Pavel, as such:

“We suspected that talk, ...

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... from a cut he received while participating in an an autopsy. He develops a fever, and accepts that death will come to him even when those around him do not. Bazarov, after a few days of struggling with the infection, finally succumbs and dies a young and unfulfilled man. This is symbolic: a man who lived his life devoid of values dies without ever contributing any true significance to the world.

These combinations of characterization, irony, and conflict are used by Turgenev to display nihilism in a negative light and fully denounce it. Bazarov, an intelligent but harshly plainspoken man who is even unable to adhere to his own philosophy, dies alone and unfulfilled, and his pupil Arkady has cast aside his teachings and moved forward onto a new life.

Works Cited

Turgenev, Ivan. Fathers and Sons. Trans. Constance Garnett. New York: Barnes and Noble, 2007. Print.