Synopsis of a review analysis of Chernyshevsky's novel what to do. Analysis of the novel by N.G.

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. Evgeny suffered a tragic ending, but Rakhmetov was created to counterbalance him - 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 the political utopia, which occupies a large part of the volume of the 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 Mrs. 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 was not even a writer, he simply used a literary form understandable to everyone to spread his political views and express his deep thoughts about the just social order of tomorrow. In his work, it is the journalistic intensity that is obvious, philosophical questions 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: the 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 are imbued with mutual sympathy, but they cannot be together, as they are afraid to hurt their friend's feelings. Dmitry became attached to his “wife”, discovered in her a multifaceted and strong personality, being engaged in her education. A girl, for example, does not want to sit on his neck and wants to arrange her own life by opening a sewing workshop where women in trouble could honestly earn money. With the help of true friends, she realizes her dream, and before us opens a gallery of 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 furious 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- the main character of the novel "What to do?". Already from the middle of the 17th year, he began his transformation into a "special person", before that he was "an ordinary, good, high school student who completed the course." Having managed to appreciate all the “charms” of a 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 voraciously absorb knowledge from various fields, read books “on a binge”, train his physical strength with hard work, gymnastics and lead a Spartan lifestyle to strengthen his 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 the love triangle is self-destructing 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 company 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 mentioned this book. 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 the 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 on Senate Square in 1825, the ideas of the insolvency of the autocracy had been ripening 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 already voluntarily surrendered its positions Provisional Government.
• The problem of 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.
• The problem of 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 of ​​the novel "What to do" 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 resolve those conflict situations that were tearing him apart. In his opinion, it was necessary to do as Rakhmetov did: to abandon selfishness and class arrogance, to help ordinary people not only with a word, but with a ruble, to participate in large and global projects that could 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 is thorny and "poor in personal joys" of these people, "to which they invite you." 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 a very real person, whom the creator considers from different angles.

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 goal of the work is 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 of French novels, aimed to confuse censorship and, along the way, attract the attention of the majority of the reading public. The plot is based on an uncomplicated love story, behind which the social, philosophical and economic problems of that time are hidden. 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, 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. Considered the official husband of Vera Pavlovna, he behaves towards her in the highest degree decent and noble. The apogee of his nobility is his decision to stage his own death in order to give Kirsanov and Vera, who love each other, 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 character in the 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 the case. 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.

The novel "What to do? "Was written in record time, less than 4 months, and published in the spring issues of the Sovremennik magazine for 1863. He appeared at the height of the controversy that unfolded around the novel by I. S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons". Chernyshevsky conceived his work, which has a very significant subtitle "From stories about new people", as a direct answer to Turgenev on behalf of the "young generation". Simultaneously in the novel “What to do? Chernyshevsky's aesthetic theory found its real embodiment. Therefore, we can assume that a work of art was created, which was supposed to serve as a kind of tool for "remaking" reality.

“I am a scientist... I am one of those thinkers who adhere to a scientific point of view,” Chernyshevsky once remarked. From this point of view, a "scientist" and not an artist, he offered in his novel a model of an ideal living arrangement. It is as if he does not bother to search for an original plot, but almost directly borrows it from George Sand. Although, under the pen of Chernyshevsky, the events in the novel acquired sufficient intricacy.

A certain metropolitan young lady does not want to marry a rich man and is ready to go against the will of her mother. From a hated marriage, the girl is saved by the medical student Lopukhov, the teacher of her younger brother. But he saves her in a rather original way: first he “develops her”, letting him read the appropriate books, and then he is combined with her in a fictitious marriage. At the heart of their life together is the freedom, equality and independence of the spouses, which are manifested in everything: in the way of the house, in housekeeping, in the activities of the spouses. So, Lopukhov serves as a manager at the factory, and Vera Pavlovna creates a sewing workshop “on shares” with workers and arranges a housing commune for them. Here the plot takes a sharp turn: the main character falls in love with her husband's best friend, physician Kirsanov. Kirsanov, in turn, "rescues" the prostitute Nastya Kryukova, who soon dies of consumption. Realizing that he is standing in the way of two loving people, Lopukhov "leaves the stage." All "obstacles" are removed, Kirsanov and Vera Pavlovna are legally married. As the action develops, it becomes clear that Lopukhov's suicide was imaginary, the hero went to America, and in the end he appears again, but already under the name of Beaumont. Returning to Russia, he marries a wealthy noblewoman, Katya Polozova, whom Kirsanov saved from death. Two happy couples start a common household and continue to live in complete harmony with each other.

However, readers were attracted in the novel not by the original vicissitudes of the plot or any other artistic merit: they saw something else in it - a specific program of their activity. If democratically minded youth accepted the novel as a guide to action, then official circles saw it as a threat to the existing social order. The censor, who evaluated the novel after its publication (one can write a separate novel about how it was published) wrote: contrary to the fundamental principles of religion, morality and social order. However, the censor did not notice the main thing: the author not only destroyed, but created a new model of behavior, a new model of the economy, a new model of life.

Talking about the arrangement of Vera Pavlovna's workshops, he embodied a completely different relationship between the owner and workers, who are equal in their rights. In Chernyshevsky's description, life in the workshop and in the commune with her looks so attractive that similar communities immediately arose in St. Petersburg. They did not last long: their members were not ready to arrange their lives on new moral principles, which, by the way, are also mentioned a lot in the work. These "new beginnings" can be interpreted as a new morality of new people, as a new faith. Their life, thoughts and feelings, their relations with each other strongly do not coincide with those forms that have developed in the "old world" and are generated by inequality, the lack of "reasonable" principles in social and family relations. And new people - Lopukhov, Kirsanov, Vera Pavlovna, Mertsalovs - strive to overcome these old forms and build their lives differently. It is based on work, respect for each other's freedom and feelings, true equality between a man and a woman, that is, what, according to the author, is natural for human nature, because it is reasonable.

In the book, under the pen of Chernyshevsky, the famous theory of “reasonable egoism” is born, the theory of the benefit that a person derives for himself by doing good deeds. But this theory is accessible only to "developed natures", which is why so much space is given in the novel to "development", that is, education, the formation of a new personality, in Chernyshevsky's terminology - "exit from the basement". And the attentive reader will see the ways of this "exit". Follow them and you will become a different person, and another world will open to you. And if you engage in self-education, then new horizons will open for you and you will repeat the path of Rakhmetov, you will become a special person. Here is a secret, albeit utopian, program that has found its embodiment in a literary text.

Chernyshevsky believed that the path to a bright and beautiful future lay through the revolution. So, to the question posed in the title of the novel: “What to do?”, The reader received an extremely direct and clear answer: “Transfer to a new faith, become a new person, transform the world around him, “make a revolution”. This idea was embodied in the novel, as one of Dostoevsky's heroes would later say, "seductively clear."

A bright, beautiful future is achievable and close, so close that the main character Vera Pavlovna even dreams of it. “How will people live? ”- Vera Pavlovna thinks, and the “bright bride” opens up tempting prospects for her. So, the reader is in a society of the future, where labor “on the hunt” reigns, where labor is pleasure, where a person is in harmony with the world, with himself, with other people, with nature. But this is only the second part of the dream, and the first is a kind of journey "through" the history of mankind. But everywhere the eyes of Vera Pavlovna see pictures of love. It turns out that this dream is not only about the future, but also about love. Once again, social and moral issues are connected in the novel.

An iconic figure in Russian literature is Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky.

"What to do?" - a novel with which most people associate his name. However, the activities of the great philosopher, critic and publicist were not limited to a single work.

life and creation

As noted above, the link "Chernyshevsky /" What is to be done? "" firmly stuck in the head of schoolchildren and students. Thanks to this work, the writer can rightfully be considered the first. According to his convictions, Chernyshevsky himself called himself a revolutionary democrat. He was born in Saratov, in the family of a poor priest. received at home under the guidance of his father. Then he entered the seminary, but soon realized that he did not feel called to such an activity and transferred to St. Petersburg University, where he began to study history, philosophy and philology. In 1850, the young scientist received his Ph.D.

His further activities were aimed at promoting revolutionary ideas. "Sankt-Peterburgskiye Vedomosti", "Domestic Notes", "Sovremennik" - young Chernyshevsky actively collaborated with all these progressive publications. "What to do?" - the novel that would bring him fame - then existed only in the form of vague ideas and sketches.

Arrest

Today it is known for certain that since 1861, Nikolai Gavrilovich was under the vigilant supervision of the secret police. None of his contemporaries doubted that he actively participated in the drafting of anti-government appeals and was even involved in the famous fires of 1862 in St. Petersburg. On June 12, the writer was arrested and placed in solitary confinement in the Peter and Paul Fortress. As an official accusation, he was charged with writing proclamations to the "Lord's Peasants". The reason for the arrest was a letter from Herzen sent from abroad, in which Chernyshevsky was mentioned. "What to do?" - a novel that was entirely written in the fortress.

In 1864, the writer was sentenced to seven years hard labor, then a lifelong settlement in Siberia. On May 19, family members and numerous followers filed at different times on Horse Square, however, the return of the revolutionary to Saratov took place only in June 1889. He died in the autumn.

Chernyshevsky, "What to do": a summary of the work

The novel was written in part as a polemic against Turgenev's Fathers and Sons. According to Chernyshevsky himself, he set himself the goal of describing "ordinary decent people of the new generation." There are three central characters in the book: Vera Rozalskaya, Dmitry Lopukhov and Alexander Kirsanov. Verochka is the manager's daughter. The greedy and vulgar mother intends to profitably marry the girl, but the noble and proud beauty decides to take fate into her own hands and concludes with medical student Lopukhov. They are built on the principles of mutual respect, equality and freedom. Vera even opens a sewing workshop-commune. However, their happiness does not last long - a young woman falls in love with her husband's best friend, Kirsanov. Noble Dmitry does not want to get in their way and fakes suicide (so that Vera can remarry), after which he leaves for America, where he studies industrial production. A few years later, he returns to Russia under a different name and marries Ekaterina Polozova, the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. Naturally, both families are in close contact, intending to build a "new" social life. Thus ends the novel "What to do?". N. Chernyshevsky remained faithful to the ideals that he declared in his main work until the end of his life.

1863, "Contemporary"

1867 (Geneva), 1906 (Russia)

"What to do?"- a novel by the Russian philosopher, journalist and literary critic Nikolai Chernyshevsky, written in December - April, while imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress of St. Petersburg. The novel was written partly in response to Ivan Turgenev's Fathers and Sons.

History of creation and publication

Chernyshevsky wrote the novel while in solitary confinement of the Alekseevsky ravelin of the Peter and Paul Fortress, from December 14, 1862 to April 4, 1863. Since January 1863, the manuscript has been handed over in parts to the commission of inquiry on the Chernyshevsky case (the last part was handed over on April 6). The commission, and after it the censors, saw only a love line in the novel and gave permission for publication. The oversight of censorship was soon noticed, the responsible censor Beketov was removed from his post. However, the novel had already been published in The Contemporary (1863, No. 3-5). Despite the fact that the issues of Sovremennik, in which the novel What Is to Be Done? were published, were banned, the text of the novel in handwritten copies was distributed throughout the country and caused a lot of imitation.

“Chernyshevsky’s novel was not talked about in a whisper, not quietly, but at the top of his lungs in the halls, at the entrances, at the table of Mrs. Milbret and in the basement pub of the Shtenbokov passage. They shouted: “disgusting”, “charm”, “abomination”, etc. - all in different tones.

“For the Russian youth of that time, it [the book“ What is to be done? ”] was a kind of revelation and turned into a program, became a kind of banner.”

The emphatically entertaining, adventurous, melodramatic beginning of the novel was supposed not only to confuse censorship, but also to attract the broad masses of readers. The external plot of the novel is a love story, but it reflects the new economic, philosophical and social ideas of the time. The novel is riddled with allusions to the coming revolution.

• In the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky “What to do?” aluminum is mentioned. In the "naive utopia" of Vera Pavlovna's fourth dream, it is called the metal of the future. And this great future to date (ser. XX - XXI century) aluminum has already reached.
• The "lady in mourning" that appears at the end of the work is Olga Sokratovna Chernyshevskaya, the writer's wife. At the end of the novel, we are talking about the release of Chernyshevsky from the Peter and Paul Fortress, where he was at the time of writing the novel. He did not wait for release: on February 7, 1864, he was sentenced to 14 years of hard labor, followed by a settlement in Siberia.
• The main characters with the surname Kirsanov are also found in Ivan Turgenev's novel Fathers and Sons.

Literature

• Nikolaev P. Revolutionary novel // Chernyshevsky N. G. What to do? M., 1985

Screen adaptations

• 1971: Three-part teleplay (directors: Nadezhda Marusalova, Pavel Reznikov)

Notes

see also

Links

Categories:

• Literary works alphabetically
• Nikolay Chernyshevsky
• political novels
• Novels of 1863
• Novels in Russian

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