Composition “A new attitude towards a woman in the novel“ What is to be done? The search for a "new woman" or the character of Vera Pavlovna.

Women's question

complex social problems, including the problems of the position of women in society and the family, the protection of motherhood and infancy, ways to free women from oppression. J. c. in the Marxist-Leninist understanding - part of the question of the conditions for the victory of the socialist revolution and the building of a communist society.

The subordinate, powerless or incomplete position of a woman in the family and society, consecrated by religion, is characteristic of all class antagonistic formations. Capitalism created the conditions for ever greater involvement of hired female labor in social production, but discriminated against women in terms of wages, retained her former subordinate position in the family, social and cultural enslavement, and gave rise to women's socialism. as an integral part of the question of the general social and labor question, in particular. “... The female half of the human race is doubly oppressed under capitalism. The working woman and the peasant woman are oppressed by capital, and moreover, even in the most democratic of the bourgeois republics, they remain, firstly, incomplete, because the law does not give them equality with a man; secondly - and this is the main thing - they remain in “domestic slavery”, “domestic slaves”, being crushed by the smallest, blackest, most difficult, most stupefying work of the kitchen and, in general, a single household and family economy, ”noted V. M. Lenin in 1921 (Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 42, pp. 368-69). This characterization of the conditions of life of women in capitalist society remains largely valid, despite the certain improvement in her position after World War II, associated with the general upsurge of the working-class and general democratic movement.

The involvement of women in social production under capitalism, on the one hand, and the preservation of her powerless position, on the other, give rise to a certain inconsistency in the attitude of bourgeois society towards women. Ideological predecessors of the Great french revolution saw in the oppressed position of women a violation of the "natural rights of man." An ardent supporter of women's equality, A. Condorcet, one of the spokesmen for the ideology of the French bourgeoisie during the Great French Revolution, which at that time acted under the slogans of "freedom, equality, fraternity", considered the slavish position of women as a result of deeply rooted prejudices in their views on women and, ignoring like other bourgeois authors, the class and economic roots of Zh. - author of the book "On the Subordination of Woman" (1869)]. During the years of the Great French Revolution, which dealt a crushing blow to feudal relations, laws were passed that somewhat improved the legal status of women. So, in 1791, a law was passed on women's education. By a decree of September 20, 1792, a woman was provided with some civil law. In April 1794, the Convention passed a law aimed at facilitating divorce. But already during the years of the Thermidorian reaction, these gains were significantly curtailed.

Napoleonic Code (1804) and bourgeois civil codes in other countries, the civil rights of women are severely limited, they are placed in a position subordinate to men in matters of family, marriage, divorce, parental authority, and property.

The legal and actual lack of rights of women has found a theoretical "substantiation" in the works of many bourgeois authors. According to French philosopher O. Comte, a supporter of the so-called. biological theory, very common in bourgeois literature, the unequal position of women in society is determined by the "natural weakness of the female body"; there can be no social equality between men and women, according to Comte and many other bourgeois authors; the exclusive vocation of a woman is family responsibilities. A similar biological interpretation of life style, declaring it to be eternal and insoluble, is still common in capitalist countries, with various modifications, to this day.

At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. in Germany and other countries, the bourgeois-petty-bourgeois "theory" of the three "Ks" (German Kirche, Küche, Kinder - church, kitchen, children) became widespread, which, according to the adherents of this "theory", should limit the circle of women's interests. This concept was later largely adopted by the Nazis. It is close, with certain corrections, to the views of some modern bourgeois theoreticians of the philological arts, who cite as an “argument” against the participation of women in social production and social life considerations about the physiological characteristics of a woman as a mother or future mother.

However, the patterns of development of capitalist society, as well as the development of science, technology and culture, drawing women into production, cultural and social activities, reveal the untenability of such concepts, which was revealed by the ideologists of revolutionary democracy and especially the ideologists of the proletariat. The utopian socialist C. Fourier showed that the degree of woman's emancipation is the measure of any emancipation in any given society. Unlike the bourgeois defenders of women's equality, the utopian socialists (Saint-Simon, Owen, Fourier, and others) understood the connection between the oppressed position of women and the nature of bourgeois society: women's emancipation is an important point in their plans for the reorganization of society. Russian revolutionary democrats of the 19th century. made one more step forward in the approach to Zh. v. they noted the exceptional importance of involving women in public life and called her to an active revolutionary struggle.

The most striking defender of the emancipation of women among Russian revolutionary democrats was N. G. Chernyshevsky, in whose novel What Is To Be Done? the image of a woman who escaped from a narrow family circle and won the right to an independent existence and active social activity is derived. However, the path to liberation outlined in Chernyshevsky's novel reflects the elements of utopianism contained in his teaching.

K. Marx and F. Engels were the first to reveal the class roots of the Zh. and showed that its solution in favor of working women in capitalist society is impossible, that the first condition for the real emancipation of women is the destruction of the system of capitalist exploitation. Based on their ideas, the decisions of the First International on the protection of the labor of working women not only revealed the connection between the oppressed and humiliated position of women and private ownership of the means of production and the exploitation of man by man, but also showed the inconsistency of the Proudhonist approach to women of art. (Proudhon and his supporters opposed the participation of women in socially useful work), created a theoretical basis for the development of the proletarian women's movement. Marx, Engels and Lenin regarded the oppressed masses of working women as the greatest reserve of the proletarian revolution. “The proletariat,” wrote V. I. Lenin, characterizing the dialectical connection between the proletarian revolution and the decision of the Women’s Revolution, “cannot achieve complete freedom without winning complete freedom for women” (ibid., vol. 40, p. 158) . An exceptionally important role in the propaganda and development of Marxist views on Zh. v. A. Bebel's book "Woman and Socialism" (1879) played. A significant contribution to the Marxist formulation of J. v. contributed the works and activities of K. Zetkin, N. K. Krupskaya and others.

The needs of capitalist production, the development of the democratic and proletarian movement, in particular the women's movement (See Women's movement) , contributed to some progress in legislation on women's education and women's work (See Women's work) , as well as some general improvement in the legal status of women. Thus, for example, in Great Britain as early as 1847 a law was passed limiting the working day to 10 hours for women, which was regarded by the founders of Marxism as a major success for the working class; it was followed by new laws on the protection of women's work. Women began to gain access to trade unions (the Congress of Trade Unions resolved this issue in principle in 1889). Women's secondary schools began to be created, initially exclusively for girls from wealthy families. In the 2nd half of the 19th century. women in the UK were given access to the profession of a teacher, and later to other professions. In 1858, women received the right to divorce (but until 1938 a woman had less rights than a man in matters of divorce), in 1870-1900 - a series of concessions in the field of civil law. Women taxpayers received in 1869 a limited right to participate in municipal elections. In 1918, in Great Britain, married women, women tenants and holders of university degrees over the age of 30 were granted the right to vote; but it was not until 1928 that all women over the age of 21 received the right to vote. However, despite some improvement in the formal legal status of women in the UK, open discrimination against women in the field of wages persists. In the United States, women gained access to the teaching profession as early as the first half of the 19th century, and in the 1950s and 1970s. - to the so-called. free professions. In 1848 married women acquired the right to own property in the United States. But the legislative limitation of the working day for women was first introduced only in 1874 in the state of Massachusetts. Since 1880, women began to be accepted into the "male" trade unions. In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution came into force on the inadmissibility of restricting the voting rights of women. In France, women's lyceums were opened by law in 1880, and the first law regulating the conditions of women's work was adopted in 1892 (the law established an 11-hour maximum working day; in 1904, the working day for women was reduced to 10 hours). The bills on women's suffrage introduced in France since 1848 were not successful for almost 100 years. It was not until 1944 that French women were granted the right to vote. In Germany, suffrage was first granted to women by the Weimar Constitution of 1919. The Nazis' coming to power in 1933 resulted in the deprivation of women of the political and social gains they had achieved in the course of a long and stubborn struggle. In tsarist Russia, women were disenfranchised in State Duma, as well as in t. and. bodies local government. Despite the prevalence of female labor, in Russia until the 80s. There was absolutely no legislation to protect it. The working day in industries dominated by women was longer than in industries where men were employed, and it was paid almost half as much as men. The legislation in force in Russia placed a woman in a subordinate position in the family. February Revolution 1917 granted women the right to vote while maintaining their civil rights inequality.

Conditions for a genuine solution Zh. v. were created for the first time in history in the Soviet state, born of the Great October Socialist Revolution. In the very first months of the existence of Soviet power, all laws that fixed the inequality of women were repealed. The resolution on the formation of a workers' and peasants' government, adopted by the 2nd All-Russian Congress of Soviets, provided for the participation of workers' organizations, along with other mass organizations, in government. The political equality of women was enshrined in the first Soviet constitution (1918). Near Acts 1917-18 Soviet authority fully equated woman with man in labor law, civil, family and marriage rights, in the field of education, took measures to protect women's labor, motherhood and infancy, consolidated the principle of equal pay for equal work. As a result of the creation of socialist production relations, the industrialization of the country and collectivization Agriculture During the Cultural Revolution, the actual equality of women with men in Soviet society was basically achieved (especially great difficulties had to be overcome in the struggle for the emancipation of women in the Soviet East, where centuries-old traditions of the slave position of women stood in its way). Women's rights are enshrined in Art. 122 of the Constitution of the USSR: “Women in the USSR are granted equal rights with men in all areas of economic, state, cultural and social political life". Increasing and diverse state assistance to mothers provides women with the opportunity to enjoy these rights. The network of institutions created for the protection of mother and child is growing from year to year. In 1971 there were 9.5 million children in permanent kindergartens and nurseries (in 1914, 4.5 thousand). In 1956 maternity leave was increased from 77 to 112 days. Old-age pensions are granted to a woman 5 years earlier than men and with less (5 years) work experience (mothers with many children enjoy additional pension benefits).

Respect for women as an equal and active citizen of a socialist state is deeply rooted in the USSR. Women (53.9% of the population of the USSR at the beginning of 1971) in 1970 made up 51% of the number of workers and employees employed in the national economy (24% in 1928), 48% of workers employed in industry. Among specialists with higher and secondary special education in 1968 there were 58% women (with higher education 52%, with a secondary specialized education - 63%), and their number increased by 58 times compared to 1928. 31% of engineers, 38% of technicians, 72% of doctors (before the revolution 10%), 69% of teachers and cultural and educational workers, 39% of scientific workers are women (1968). Among the deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 8th convocation elected on June 14, 1970, there were 463 women (30.5%; among the deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the 1st convocation, elected in 1937, they were 16.5%). Women make up 45.8% of the deputies of the local Soviets of Working People's Deputies (elections of 1971). Scientific and technological progress contributes to the liberation of women from domestic work and their further involvement in industrial and social activities.

J.'s decision in the USSR is of great international importance. Experience in solving Zh. in the USSR it was used by other socialist countries. The legislation of these countries guarantees the equality of women. Women widely use the right to work, education, participation in social and political life.

On the whole, the emancipation of women in the socialist countries has been achieved. However, the elimination of the remnants of the actual inequality of women in everyday life is a long process that will be completed as a result of the gradual transition from socialism to communism. The program of the CPSU provides for the creation of all social and living conditions that make it possible to accomplish this task.

Under the influence of the example of the socialist countries, primarily the USSR, the general growth of democratic and socialist forces and the new needs brought to life by the scientific and technological revolution, further significant changes occur in the position of women all over the world. The rights for which the women's movement has been fighting for decades (suffrage, the right to work, etc.) are recognized in most capitalist countries, in young independent states and proclaimed in a number of international documents, including the UN Charter (1945), the resolution (1946) and the convention (1952) on the political rights of women adopted by the UN General Assembly, the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (1967), the International Labor Organization convention on equal pay for equal work (1951) and in her recommendation on the work of women with family responsibilities (1965).

The greatest changes have been achieved in the countries of developed capitalism and in developing countries in the struggle for the legal equality of women, primarily in the field of political rights. If before 1917 only in 6 countries ( New Zealand, Australia, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland) women had the right to vote, and in 1917-20 women received them in about 11 more countries, then at the beginning of 1970, according to the UN, in 121 countries women had the right to vote and be elected in all organs state power. The participation of women in political life after the 2nd World War increased significantly. But the percentage of women in parliaments and even in local authorities the power of the capitalist countries is very low. In some countries the number of women members of parliaments is declining (in France from 39 in 1946 to 6 in 1968, in the USA from 19 in the 87th congress to 13 in the 92nd congress, etc.).

Isolation of a significant part of women from economic and socio-political life, low political and cultural level, in a number of countries mass illiteracy (at the end of the 60s, women accounted for more than 85% total number illiterates throughout the world) hinder their active participation in political life. In many bourgeois countries, the legal inequality of women in family and marriage relations persists. Discrimination against women in wages persists. Laws on equal pay for equal work, adopted in a number of countries (Italy, France, Germany, Argentina, Canada, Turkey, etc.), as well as international conventions, are violated. UK in the late 1960s. out of 9 million working women, only 1.5 million received the same salary as men. In the United States (data from the late 60s), women, who make up 51% of the population and 37% of workers, receive 42% less than men for their work, and this wage gap in the 50s-60s. increased. Discrimination against women also manifests itself in difficulties in obtaining a profession and education, and in the absence of the necessary conditions for combining work with family responsibilities. In a number of capitalist countries, the proportion of women among highly skilled workers remains extremely small. In the US, only 1% of engineers, 3% of lawyers, 7% of doctors and 9% of scientists are women. The unemployment rate among women in 1969 in the USA was 4.7%, and among men 2.8%. In all non-socialist countries, peasant women and agricultural workers especially suffer from discrimination. workers.

The emergence of new independent states as a result of the collapse of the colonial system of imperialism is accompanied by the process of emancipation of women and the strengthening of their role in socio-political life. In the developing countries of Asia and Africa, the first steps are being taken in the field of ensuring the equality of women, solving the problem of their employment in social production, overcoming archaic customs and survivals in family relationships, eradication of illiteracy (at the end of the 60s, more than 85% of women in Africa were illiterate).

The unequal status of women hinders social progress in non-socialist countries. In these countries, the fight against discrimination against women remains one of the important tasks of the labor and general democratic movement.

Lit.: Marx K., Engels F., Lenin V.I., On the women's issue, M., 1971; Bebel A., Woman and socialism, [transl. from German.], M., 1959; Zetkin K., Socialism will come to victory only together with a proletarian woman!, [transl. from German.], M., 1960; her, Lenin's Testament to Women of the World, M., 1958; Krupskaya N. K., Woman Worker, 2nd ed., M.-L., 1926; her, Woman of the Country of Soviets - an equal citizen, [M.], 1938; Kollontai A. M., Selected articles and speeches, M., 1972; Milovidova E., Women's issue and women's movement. Reader. Ed. and with an introduction by K. Zetkin, M. - L., 1929; Bilshay V., The solution of the women's issue in the USSR, 2nd ed., M., 1959; Women and children in the USSR. Statistical Sat., M., 1969; The role of women in modern society. Materials of the exchange of opinions held in the journal. "Problems of peace and socialism" in 1962, Prague, 1963; Petrova L. I., International Democratic Federation of Women for Peace, Equality and Happiness of Children, M., 1956; Smirnova R. M., The position of women in African countries, M., 1967; Berezhnaya N. A., The position and struggle of working women in Latin America, M., 1969; Brown L., Women's issue, trans. from German, M., 1922.

A. B. German.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .

See what the "Women's Question" is in other dictionaries:

English women's question; German Frauenfrage. A complex of specific problems related to the position and role of women in society and the family. Antinazi. Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2009 ... Encyclopedia of Sociology

In literature lessons, as a rule, they rarely pay attention to Chernyshevsky's work "What to do". This is partly correct: delving into the endless dreams of Vera Pavlovna, analyzing the plot, which serves only as a frame for the main idea of ​​​​the work, trying through the gnashing of teeth to make out the author’s not the most highly artistic and easy language, stumbling over almost every word - classes are long, tedious and not completely justified. From the point of view of literary criticism, this is not the best choice for consideration. But what an impact this novel had on the development of Russian social thought in the 19th century! After reading it, one can understand how the most progressive thinkers of that time lived.

Nikolai Chernyshevsky was arrested and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress for his radical statements against the authorities in force at that time. It was there that his work was born. The history of the novel What Is to Be Done began in December 1862 (it was completed by its author in April 1863). Initially, the writer conceived it as a response to Turgenev's book "Fathers and Sons", where he portrayed a man of a new formation - the nihilist Bazarov. Eugene comprehended tragic ending, but in contrast to him, Rakhmetov was created - a more perfect hero of the same mindset, who no longer suffered from Anna Odintsova, but was engaged in business, and very productively.

In order to deceive the vigilant censors and the judicial commission, the author introduces a love triangle into a political utopia, which occupies most on the amount of text. With this trick, he confused the officials, and they gave permission for publication. When the deception was revealed, it was already too late: the novel "What to do" was distributed throughout the country in issues of "Sovremennik" and hand-written copies. The ban did not stop either the distribution of the book or its imitation. It was removed only in 1905, and a year later separate copies were officially released. But for the first time in Russian it was published long before that, in 1867 in Geneva.

It is worth quoting some contemporaries to understand how significant and necessary this book was for the people of that time.

The writer Leskov recalled: “They talked about Chernyshevsky’s novel not in a whisper, not in silence, but at the top of their lungs in the halls, at the entrances, at the table of Ms. Milbret and in the basement pub of the Shtenbokov passage. They shouted: “disgusting”, “charm”, “abomination”, etc. - all in different tones.

The anarchist Kropotkin spoke enthusiastically about the work:

For the Russian youth of that time, it was a kind of revelation and turned into a program, became a kind of banner

Even Lenin honored her with his praise:

The novel “What is to be done?” plowed me deep. This is the thing that gives a charge for life.

Genre

There is an antithesis in the work: the direction of the novel "What to do" is sociological realism, and the genre is utopia. That is, truth and fiction closely coexist in the book and give rise to a mixture of the present (objectively reflected realities of that time) and the future (the image of Rakhmetov, Vera Pavlovna's dreams). That is why he caused such a resonance in society: people painfully perceived the prospects that Chernyshevsky put forward.

In addition, "What to do" is a philosophical and journalistic novel. He deserved this title thanks to the hidden meanings that the author gradually introduced. He wasn’t even a writer, he just used a concept that everyone understands. literary form to disseminate their political views and expressing their deep thoughts about a just social order tomorrow. In his work, it is the journalistic intensity that is obvious, it is philosophical questions that are covered, and the fictional plot serves only as a cover from the close attention of the censors.

What is the novel about?

It's time to tell what the book "What to do?". The action begins with an unknown man committing suicide by shooting himself and falling into a river. It turned out to be someone Dmitry Lopukhov, a progressive-minded young man who was pushed to this desperate act by love and friendship.

The essence of the prehistory of "What to do" is as follows: main character Vera lives with an ignorant and rude family, where a prudent and cruel mother established her own rules. She wants to marry off her daughter to the rich son of the mistress of the house where her husband works as a manager. A greedy woman does not shun any means, she can even sacrifice her daughter's honor. A moral and proud girl is looking for salvation from a tutor for her brother, student Lopukhov. He is secretly engaged in her enlightenment, pitying her bright head. He also arranges for her to run away from home under the auspices of a fictitious marriage. In fact, young people live like brother and sister, there are no love feelings between them.

"Spouses" are often in a society of like-minded people, where the heroine meets Lopukhov's best friend, Kirsanov. Alexander and Vera penetrate mutual sympathy, but they cannot be together, as they are afraid to hurt the feelings of a friend. Dmitry became attached to his “wife”, discovered in her a multifaceted and strong personality by educating her. A girl, for example, does not want to sit on his neck and wants to arrange her own life on her own by opening a sewing workshop where women in trouble could honestly earn money. With the help of true friends, she realizes her dream, and a gallery opens before us. female images with life stories that characterize a vicious environment where the weaker sex has to fight for survival and defend honor.

Dimitri feels that he is disturbing his friends and fakes his own suicide so as not to stand in their way. He loves and respects his wife, but understands that she will be happy only with Kirsanov. Naturally, no one knows about his plans, everyone sincerely mourns his death. But according to a number of hints from the author, we understand that Lopukhov calmly went abroad and returned from there in the final, reuniting with his comrades.

A separate semantic line is the company's acquaintance with Rakhmetov, a man of a new formation who embodies the ideal of a revolutionary, according to Chernyshevsky (he came to Vera on the day she received a note about her husband's suicide). It is not the actions of the hero that are revolutionary, but his very essence. The author tells about him in detail, reporting that he sold the estate and led a Spartan lifestyle, just to help his people. In his image, the true meaning of the book is hidden.

Main characters and their characteristics

First of all, the novel is remarkable for its characters, and not for the plot, which was needed to divert the attention of the censors. Chernyshevsky in the work “What to do” draws images of strong people, “salt of the earth”, smart, decisive, courageous and honest people, on whose shoulders the frantic machine of the revolution will later rush at full speed. Such are the images of Kirsanov, Lopukhov, Vera Pavlovna, who are the central characters of the book. All of them are constant participants in the action in the work. But the image of Rakhmetov stands apart above them. In contrast to him and the trinity "Lopukhov, Kirsanov, Vera Pavlovna", the writer wanted to show the "commonness" of the latter. In the last chapters, he brings clarity and literally chews his intention for the reader:

“At the height at which they stand, all people must stand, all people can stand. Higher natures, which I and you cannot keep up with, my miserable friends, higher natures are not like that. I showed you a light outline of the profile of one of them: you see the wrong features.

1. Rakhmetov – main character novel What to Do? Already from the middle of the 17th year, he began his transformation into " special person”, before that he was “an ordinary, good, high school student who completed the course.” Having managed to appreciate all the "charms" of free student life, he quickly lost interest in them: he wanted something more, meaningful, and fate brought him to Kirsanov, who helped him embark on the path of rebirth. He began to eagerly absorb knowledge from all kinds of areas, read books "in a binge", train physical strength menial hard work, gymnastics and lead a spartan lifestyle to strengthen the will: refuse luxury in clothes, sleep on felt, eat only what ordinary people can afford. For closeness with the people, purposefulness, developed strength among people, he acquired the nickname "Nikitushka Lomov", in honor of the famous barge hauler, who was distinguished by his physical capabilities. In the circle of friends, they began to call him a “rigorist” for the fact that “he adopted original principles in material, moral, and mental life,” and later “they developed into a complete system, which he strictly adhered to.” This is an extremely purposeful and fruitful person who works for the benefit of someone else's happiness and limits his own, I am content with little.
2. Vera Pavlovna- the main character of the novel "What to do", a beautiful swarthy woman with long dark hair. In her family, she felt like a stranger, because her mother tried to profitably marry her off at any cost. Although she was characterized by calmness, poise and thoughtfulness, in this situation she showed cunning, inflexibility and willpower. She pretended to favor courtship, but in fact she was looking for a way out of the trap set by her mother. Under the influence of education and a good environment, she is transformed and becomes much smarter, more interesting and stronger. Even her beauty blossoms, as does her soul. Now we have a new type of self-confident and intellectually developed woman who runs a business and provides for herself. Such is the ideal of a lady, according to Chernyshevsky.
3. Lopukhov Dmitry Sergeevich is a medical student, husband and liberator of the Faith. He is distinguished by composure, a sophisticated mind, cunning, and at the same time responsiveness, kindness, sensitivity. He sacrifices his career to save a stranger, and even limits his freedom for her. He is prudent, pragmatic and restrained, his environment appreciates efficiency and education in him. As you can see, under the influence of love, the hero also becomes a romantic, because again he radically changes his life for the sake of a woman, staging suicide. This act betrays in him a strong strategist who calculates everything in advance.
4. Alexander Matveevich Kirsanov- Vera's lover. He is a kind, intelligent, sympathetic young man, always ready to meet his friends. He resists his feelings for his comrade's wife, does not allow him to destroy their relationship. For example, for a long time ceases to be in their house. The hero cannot betray Lopukhov's trust, both of them "breast, without connections, without acquaintances, made their way." The character is resolute and firm, and this masculinity does not prevent him from having a delicate taste (for example, he loves opera). By the way, it was he who inspired Rakhmetov to the feat of revolutionary self-denial.

The main characters of "What to do" are noble, decent, honest. There are not so many such characters in literature, there is nothing to say about life, but Chernyshevsky goes further and introduces an almost utopian character, thereby showing that decency is far from the limit of personality development, that people have become smaller in their aspirations and goals, that you can be even better, harder, stronger. Everything is known in comparison, and by adding the image of Rakhmetov, the writer raises the level of perception for readers. This is exactly what, in his opinion, a real revolutionary looks like, capable of leading the Kirsanovs and Lopukhovs. They are strong and intelligent, but not mature enough for decisive independent action.

Topic

• Love Theme. Chernyshevsky in the novel "What to do" reveals the favorite motif of writers in a new role. Now the extra link in love triangle self-destructs and sacrifices its interests to the reciprocity of the remaining parties. A person in this utopia controls his feelings to the maximum, sometimes even, it seems, completely refuses them. Lopukhov ignores pride, male pride, a feeling for Vera, just to please his friends and at the same time ensure their happiness without guilt. Such a perception of love is too far from reality, but we take it on account of the author's innovation, who presented the hackneyed topic in such a fresh and original way.
• Strength of will. The hero of the novel What to Do curbed almost all passions in himself: he refused alcohol, the society of women, stopped wasting time on entertainment, doing only "other people's affairs or nobody's affairs in particular."
• Indifference and responsiveness. If Vera's mother, Marya Aleksevna, was indifferent to the fate of her daughter and thought only about the material side of family life, then an outsider, Lopukhov, without any ulterior motive, sacrifices his bachelor calmness and career for the sake of the girl. So Chernyshevsky draws a line between the old-regime philistines with a petty greedy soul and representatives of the new generation, pure and disinterested in their thoughts.
• Revolution Theme. The need for change is expressed not only in the image of Rakhmetov, but also in the dreams of Vera Pavlovna, where in symbolic visions the meaning of life is revealed to her: it is necessary to bring people out of the dungeon, where they are imprisoned by conventions and a tyrannical regime. The writer considers enlightenment to be the basis of the new free world, it is with him that the happy life of the heroine begins.
• Enlightenment Theme. The new people in What Is to Be Done are educated and smart, and they devote most of their time to learning. But their impulse does not stop there: they try to help others and invest their strength in helping the people in the fight against age-old ignorance.

Issues

Many writers and public figures even after a while this book was mentioned. Chernyshevsky understood the spirit of that time and successfully developed these thoughts further, creating a real reminder of a Russian revolutionary. The problems in the novel "What to do" turned out to be painfully relevant and topical: the author touched upon the problem of social and gender inequality, topical political problems and even imperfections of the mentality.

• Women's issue. The problems in the novel "What to do" primarily concern women and their social disorder in the realities of tsarist Russia. They have nowhere to go to work, nothing to support themselves without a humiliating marriage of convenience or even more humiliating yellow ticket earnings. The position of a governess is little better: no one will do anything to the owner of the house for harassment if he is a noble person. So Vera would have fallen victim to the lust of an officer if progress in the person of Lopukhov had not saved her. He treated the girl differently, as an equal. This attitude is the key to prosperity and independence of the weaker sex. And the point here is not in frantic feminism, but in the banal opportunity to provide for oneself and the family in case the marriage did not work out or the husband died. The writer complains about the lack of rights and helplessness of women, and not about the underestimated superiority of one sex over the other.
• Crisis of the monarchy. Ever since the uprising Senate Square In 1825, ideas about the insolvency of the autocracy matured in the minds of the Decembrists, but the people were not then ready for coups of this magnitude. Subsequently, the thirst for revolution only strengthened and became stronger with each new generation, which could not be said about the monarchy, which fought this dissent as best it could, but, as you know, by 1905 it staggered itself, and in the 17th it voluntarily surrendered its positions Provisional Government.
• Problem moral choice. Kirsanov runs into her when he realizes his feelings for a friend's wife. Vera constantly feels it, starting with the failed "advantageous marriage" and ending with the relationship with Alexander. Lopukhov also faces a choice: to leave everything as it is, or to do justice? All the characters in What Is to Be Done stand the test and make the perfect decision.
• The problem of poverty. It is the depressing financial situation that leads Vera's mother to moral degradation. Marya Alekseevna cares about "real dirt", that is, she thinks how to survive in a country where she is not considered anything without a title and wealth? Her thoughts are burdened not by excesses, but by worries about daily bread. Constant need reduced her spiritual needs to a minimum, leaving no place or time for them.
• Problem social inequality. Vera's mother, not sparing her daughter's honor, lures officer Storeshnikov to make him her son-in-law. There was not a drop of dignity left in her, because she was born and lived in a rigid hierarchy, where those who are lower are dumb slaves for those who are higher. She will consider it lucky if the master's son dishonors her daughter, if only he would marry after that. Such an upbringing disgusts Chernyshevsky, and he caustically ridicules him.

The meaning of the novel

The author created a role model for young people to show how to behave. Chernyshevsky gave Russia the image of Rakhmetov, in which most of the answers to the burning questions “what to do”, “who to be”, “what to strive for” are collected - Lenin saw this and took a number of actions that led to a successful coup, otherwise he would not have spoke highly of the book. That is, the main idea The novel What Is to Be Done is an enthusiastic hymn to a new type of active person who can solve the problems of his people. The writer not only criticized contemporary society, but also suggested ways to solve those problems. conflict situations that tore him apart. In his opinion, it was necessary to do as Rakhmetov did: to abandon egoism and class arrogance, to help ordinary people not only with a word, but with a ruble, to participate in large and global projects that can really change the situation.

A real revolutionary, according to Chernyshevsky, is obliged to live the life that a simple person lives. People in power should not be elevated to a separate elite caste, as is often the case. They are servants of the people who appointed them. Something like this can express the position of the author, which he conveyed to his “special” hero and which he wants to convey to the reader through him. Rakhmetov is the accumulation of all the positive qualities, one might say, of a “superman”, like in Nietzsche. With the help of it, the idea of ​​the novel "What to do" is expressed - bright ideals and a firm determination to defend them.

Nevertheless, Chernyshevsky warns the reader that the path of these people, “to which they call you,” is thorny and “poor in personal joys.” These are people who are trying to be reborn from a person into an abstract idea, devoid of personal feelings and passions, without which life is hard and joyless. The writer warns against admiration for such Rakhmetovs, calling them ridiculous and pathetic, because they are trying to embrace the immensity, to exchange a fate full of earthly blessings for duty and unrequited service to society. But meanwhile, the author understands that without them, life would completely lose its taste and “turn sour”. Rakhmetov is not a romantic hero, but quite a real man, which the creator considers from different angles.

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WHAT TO DO?

From stories about new people

(Novel, 1863)

Vera Pavlovna (Rozalskaya) - main character. “... A tall, slender girl, rather swarthy, with black hair - “thick good hair”, with black eyes - “good eyes, even very good ones”, with a southern type of face - “as if from Little Russia; perhaps, rather, even a Caucasian type, nothing, very Beautiful face, only very cold, it's not in the south; good health ... ”- this is what V. P. Lopukhov sees at the moment of meeting. She grew up in St. Petersburg in a multi-storey building on Gorokhovaya. From the age of twelve he has been attending a boarding school. Learns to play the piano. From the age of fourteen she has been sheathing the whole family. At sixteen she herself gives lessons in the same boarding school. Cheerful, sociable disposition, loves to dance. The landlady's son Storeshnikov takes care of her, boasting to his friends that V.P. is his mistress. They do not believe him, and he promises to prove it by bringing V.P. to dinner with friends, but gets firm refusal heroines. Does not accept V.P. and his proposal to marry him.

Despite her youth and inexperience, the heroine shows a maturity of character. To Julie Le Tellier's advice to marry Storeshnikov, she replies: “I want to be independent and live my own way; what I myself need, I am ready for that; what I don’t need, that I don’t want and don’t want ... I don’t want to demand anything from anyone, I want not to restrict anyone’s freedom and I myself want to be free. Nevertheless, V.P. naively believes in the sincerity of Storeshnikov's love for her, and only Lopukhov manages to open her eyes. The heroine asks him to find her a place as a governess, at first he succeeds, but then they are refused. V.P. even thinks about suicide, life at home becomes so unbearable for her. And then Lopukhov, who fell in love with her, offers her another way out - to marry him fictitiously.

Discussing the plan with Lopukhov life together, V.P. asks him to treat her as an outsider, as this prevents impoliteness and strengthens family harmony. They live like that - like brother and sister, in separate rooms, meeting on "no man's land" for joint meal or conversation. V.P. organizes a workshop-partnership on new economic principles (the profit is distributed among the workers), which becomes the main business of her life. At some point, V.P. understands that, despite the family harmony and great relationship with Lopukhov, she does not love him, but loves Kirsanov. She tries to deepen her relationship with her husband by making it more earthy and passionate, but this is just an escape from herself. Idyll does not work. In the end, Lopukhov disappears, faking suicide in order to free V.P. for a new union. The heroine finds true happiness with Kirsanov.

In the structure of the image of V.P., as well as the novel as a whole, important place occupied by dreams. They reflect the spiritual and moral evolution heroines. The first dream of V.P.: she is locked in a damp dark basement, paralyzed, she hears an unfamiliar voice, someone touches her hand, and the illness immediately passes, she sees a girl in the field, in which everything is constantly changing - and her face , and gait, and even nationality. When asked by the heroine who she is, the girl replies that she is the bride of her fiancé and, although she has many names, V.P. can call her "love for people."

The second dream of V.P .: again a field, Lopukhov and Mertsalov walk along it, and the first explains to the second the difference between pure, that is, real, dirt from rotten dirt, that is, fantastic. Real dirt is the one in which there is movement, life (its signs are labor and efficiency). In rotten mud, respectively, life and labor are absent. V.P. sees his mother Marya Aleksevna in an atmosphere of poverty, pale and exhausted, but kind, sees himself on the knees of an officer or being hired and being refused. “The bride of her suitors, the sister of her sisters,” V.P. explains that she should be grateful to her mother, because she owes everything to her, and she became angry because of the conditions in which she was forced to live. If the situation changes, then the evil will become good.

The third dream of V.P.: the singer Bosio reads her diary with her (although V.P. never kept it). This diary contains the history of her relationship with Lopukhov. In fright, V.P. refuses to read the last page, and then her mentor reads herself. The bottom line is that V.P. doubts the truth of his feelings for Lopukhov: her love for him is rather respect, trust, readiness to act together, friendship, gratitude, but not the love that she needs ... V.P. wants to love Lopukhov and does not want to offend him, but her heart longs for Kirsanov.

The fourth dream of V.P .: she sees different images of female queens, the embodiment of love - Astarte, Aphrodite, "Integrity". Finally, she recognizes the fair beauty who guides her through different eras development of mankind, herself - a free woman. A woman who loves and who is loved. "... It is she herself, but a goddess." He sees V.P. and the Crystal Palace-Garden, fertile fields, merrily working and also merrily resting people - an image of the future, which is "bright and beautiful." Her family happiness and her workshop, according to the author, is the prototype of this happy future, its germ.

The novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky “What to do?” created by him in the chamber of the Peter and Paul Fortress in the period from 14/12/1862 to 4/04/1863. for three and a half months. From January to April 1863, parts of the manuscript were submitted to the commission on the writer's case for censorship. The censorship did not find anything reprehensible and allowed the publication. The oversight was soon discovered and the censor Beketov was removed from his post, but the novel had already been published in the journal Sovremennik (1863, No 3-5). The bans on the issues of the magazine did not lead to anything, and the book was distributed throughout the country in "samizdat".

In 1905, under Emperor Nicholas II, the ban on publication was lifted, and in 1906 the book was published in a separate edition. The reaction of readers to the novel is interesting, and their opinions were divided into two camps. Some supported the author, others considered the novel devoid of artistry.

Analysis of the work

1. Socio-political renewal of society through revolution. In the book, the author, due to censorship, could not expand on this topic in more detail. It is given in semi-hints in the description of Rakhmetov's life and in the 6th chapter of the novel.

2. Moral and psychological. That a person, by the power of his mind, is able to create in himself new predetermined moral qualities. The author describes the whole process from a small one (the struggle against despotism in the family) to a large-scale one, that is, a revolution.

3. Women's emancipation, family morality. This topic is revealed in the history of Vera's family, in the relationship of three young people before the alleged suicide of Lopukhov, in the first 3 dreams of Vera.

4. Future socialist society. This is a dream of a beautiful and bright life, which the author unfolds in the 4th dream of Vera Pavlovna. Here is the vision of lighter labor with the help of technical means, i.e., the technogenic development of production.

(Chernyshevsky in the cell of the Peter and Paul Fortress writes a novel)

The pathos of the novel is the propaganda of the idea of ​​transforming the world through revolution, the preparation of minds and the expectation of it. Moreover, the desire to actively participate in it. the main objective works - the development and implementation of a new method of revolutionary education, the creation of a textbook on the formation of a new worldview for every thinking person.

Story line

In the novel, it actually covers the main idea of ​​the work. No wonder, at first, even the censors considered the novel nothing more than a love story. The beginning of the work, deliberately entertaining, in the spirit French novels, aimed to confuse censorship and, along the way, to attract the attention of the majority of the reading public. The plot is based on an uncomplicated love story, behind which social, philosophical and economic problems that time. Aesop's narrative language is permeated through and through with the ideas of the coming revolution.

The plot is this. There is an ordinary girl, Vera Pavlovna Rozalskaya, whom her mercenary mother tries in every possible way to pass off as a rich man. Trying to avoid this fate, the girl resorts to the help of her friend Dmitry Lopukhov and enters into a fictitious marriage with him. Thus, she gains freedom and leaves her parents' house. In search of a job, Vera opens a sewing workshop. This is no ordinary workshop. There is no hired labor here, the workers have their share in the profits, therefore they are interested in the prosperity of the enterprise.

Vera and Alexander Kirsanov are mutually in love. In order to free his imaginary wife from remorse, Lopukhov fakes suicide (it is from the description of it that the whole action begins) and leaves for America. There he acquires the new name Charles Beaumont, becomes an agent of an English company and, fulfilling her task, comes to Russia to purchase a stearin plant from the industrialist Polozov. Lopukhov meets his daughter Katya at Polozov's house. They fall in love with each other, the case ends with a wedding. Now Dmitry appears in front of the Kirsanov family. Friendship begins with families, they settle in the same house. A circle of “new people” is formed around them, who want to arrange their own and social life in a new way. Ekaterina Vasilievna, Lopukhov-Beaumont's wife, also joins the cause, setting up a new sewing workshop. This is the happy ending.

main characters

The central character of the novel is Vera Rozalskaya. The person is sociable, belongs to the type of "honest girls" who are not ready to compromise for the sake of a profitable marriage without love. The girl is romantic, but, despite this, she is quite modern, with good administrative inclinations, as they would say today. Therefore, she was able to interest the girls and organize a sewing production and more.

Another character in the novel is Lopukhov Dmitry Sergeevich, a student at the Medical Academy. Somewhat closed, prefers loneliness. He is honest, decent and noble. It was these qualities that inspired him to help Vera in her difficult situation. For her sake, he quits his studies in his last year and begins to engage in private practice. Considering official husband Vera Pavlovna, he behaves towards her in the highest degree decently and nobly. The apogee of his nobility is his decision to fake his own death in order to give loving friend friend Kirsanov and Vera to unite their destinies. Just like Vera, he refers to the formation of new people. Smart, enterprising. This can be judged, if only because the English company entrusted him with a very serious matter.

Kirsanov Alexander husband of Vera Pavlovna, best friend of Lopukhov. His attitude towards his wife is very impressive. He not only loves her dearly, but also looks for an occupation for her in which she could fulfill herself. The author feels deep sympathy for him and speaks of him as a brave man who knows how to carry out the work he has undertaken to the end. At the same time, the man is honest, deeply decent and noble. Not knowing about the true relationship between Vera and Lopukhov, having fallen in love with Vera Pavlovna, he disappears from their house for a long time, so as not to disturb the peace of the people he loves. Only Lopukhov's illness forces him to appear for the treatment of a friend. The fictitious husband, understanding the state of the lovers, imitates his death and makes room for Kirsanov next to Vera. Thus, lovers find happiness in family life.

(In the photo, the artist Karnovich-Valois in the role of Rakhmetov, the play "New People")

A close friend of Dmitry and Alexander, the revolutionary Rakhmetov is the most significant hero novel, although he is given little space in the novel. In the ideological outline of the story, he had a special role and is devoted to a separate digression in chapter 29. The man is extraordinary in every way. At the age of 16, he left the university for three years and wandered around Russia in search of adventure and education of character. This is a person with already formed principles in all spheres of life, in the material, physical and spiritual. At the same time, possessing an ebullient nature. He sees his future life in serving people and prepares for this by tempering his spirit and body. He even refused his beloved woman, because love can limit his actions. He would like to live like most people, but he cannot afford it.

In Russian literature, Rakhmetov became the first practical revolutionary. Opinions about him were completely opposite, from indignation to admiration. This is the ideal image of a revolutionary hero. But today, from the standpoint of knowledge of history, such a person could only evoke sympathy, since we know how accurately history proved the correctness of the words of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France: “Revolutions are conceived by heroes, fools carry out, and scoundrels use its fruits.” Perhaps the voiced opinion does not quite fit into the framework of the image and characteristics of Rakhmetov formed over decades, but this is indeed so. The foregoing does not in the least detract from the qualities of Rakhmetov, because he is a hero of his time.

According to Chernyshevsky, using the example of Vera, Lopukhov and Kirsanov, he wanted to show ordinary people of the new generation, of which there are thousands. But without the image of Rakhmetov, the reader could have a misleading opinion about the main characters of the novel. According to the writer, all people should be like these three heroes, but the highest ideal that all people should strive for is the image of Rakhmetov. And with this I fully agree.