Social utopia in the novel what to do. Roman N.G

N. G. Chernyshevsky in his novel "What is to be done?" unusual emphasis is placed on sane selfishness. Why is selfishness reasonable, sane? In my opinion, because in this novel we see for the first time a "new approach to the problem", Chernyshevsky's "new people", creating a "new" atmosphere. The author thinks that "new people" see personal "benefit" in striving to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy official morality. Their morality releases the creative possibilities of a philanthropic person. "New people" are not so painful to resolve conflicts of a family and love nature. In the theory of rational egoism there is an undoubted attraction and a rational core. The "new people" consider labor to be an inalienable condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their mind is in absolute harmony with their feelings, because neither their feelings nor their minds are perverted by the chronic hostility of people. One can trace the course of Vera Pavlovna's internal development: first, at home, she gains inner freedom, then the need for public service appears, and then the fullness of her personal life, the need to work independently of personal will and public arbitrariness. N. G. Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a “not new” person, all “new” people look the same, and the problem of a special person arises. Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his features in the form of questions: why did he do this? What for? These questions create an individual type. He is a "new" man in his becoming. All new people - as if they fell from the moon, and the only one who is associated with this era is Rakhmetov. Renunciation of oneself from the "calculation of benefits"! Here Chernyshevsky appears not as a utopian. And at the same time, Vera Pavlovna's dreams exist as an indication of the ideal society to which the author aspires. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic tricks: beautiful sisters appear in a dream to Vera Pavlovna, the eldest of them, the Revolution is a condition for renewal. In this chapter, we have to put a lot of points explaining the voluntary omission of the text, which the censors would not let through anyway and in which the main idea of ​​the novel would be exposed. Along with this, there is the image of a younger sister-beauty - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be the goddess not only of love, but also of the enjoyment of work, art, rest: "Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a desert place, rich fields, meadows are spread , gardens; there is a huge palace made of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, with wonderful furniture. Everywhere you can see how people work, sing songs, rest. "There are ideal human relations between people, everywhere there are traces of happiness and contentment, which you could not even dream of before. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees. Of course, there are many utopian things in this picture elements of a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. It is not for nothing that they are repeatedly hinted at in the novel, without naming them directly. The novel shows only rural labor and speaks of the people "in general", very generally. But this utopia in its main idea is very realistic: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go to satisfy the needs of the members of the collective.This new work must be based on high scientific and technological achievements, on scientists and powerful machines that allow a person to transform land and all his life.The role of the working class is not emphasized.Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from a patriarchal peasant community to socialism must be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to fix in the reader's mind the dream of a better future. It is Chernyshevsky himself who speaks through the lips of his "elder sister", turning to Vera Pavlovna with the words: "Do you know the future? It is bright and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can transfer" . Indeed, it is difficult to talk seriously about this work, given all its monstrous shortcomings. The author and his characters speak in an absurd, clumsy and unintelligible language. The main characters behave unnaturally, but they, like puppets, are obedient to the will of the author, who can make them do (experience, think) whatever he wants. This is a sign of Chernyshevsky's immaturity as a writer. The true creator always creates beyond himself, the creatures of his creative imagination have free will, over which even he, their creator, has no power, and it is not the author who imposes thoughts and actions on his heroes, but rather they themselves suggest to him this or that act, thought, turn plot. But for this it is necessary that their characters be concrete, have completeness and persuasiveness, and in Chernyshevsky's novel, instead of living people, we have before us naked abstractions, which hastily given a human appearance. The lifeless Soviet socialism originated from French utopian socialism, whose representatives were Claude Henri de Saint-Simon and many others. Their goal was to create prosperity for all people, and to carry out the reform in such a way that blood was not shed. They rejected the idea of ​​equality and fraternity and believed that society should be built on the principle of mutual recognition, asserting the need for hierarchy. But who will divide people according to the principle of more and less gifted? So why is gratitude the best thing in the world? Because those who are below should be grateful to others for being below. The problem of a full-fledged personal life was solved. They considered a bourgeois marriage (concluded in the church) to be a trade in a woman, since a lady cannot stand up for herself and provide herself with well-being and therefore is forced to sell herself; in an ideal society it would be free. In my opinion, the most important thing in society should be gratitude.

N. G. Chernyshevsky in his novel "What is to be done?" unusual emphasis is placed on sane selfishness. Why is selfishness reasonable, sane? In my opinion, because in this novel we see for the first time a "new approach to the problem", Chernyshevsky's "new people", creating a "new" atmosphere. The author thinks that "new people" see personal "benefit" in striving to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy official morality. Their morality releases the creative possibilities of a philanthropic person. "New people" are not so painful to resolve conflicts of a family and love nature. In the theory of rational egoism there is an undoubted attraction and a rational core. The "new people" consider labor to be an inalienable condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their mind is in absolute harmony with their feelings, because neither their feelings nor their minds are perverted by the chronic hostility of people.

One can trace the course of Vera Pavlovna's internal development: first, at home, she gains inner freedom, then the need for public service appears, and then the fullness of her personal life, the need to work independently of personal will and public arbitrariness.

N. G. Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a “not new” person, all “new” people look the same, and the problem of a special person arises. Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his features in the form of questions: why did he do this? What for? These questions create an individual type. He is a "new" man in his becoming. All new people - as if they fell from the moon, and the only one who is associated with this era is Rakhmetov. Renunciation of oneself from the "calculation of benefits"! Here Chernyshevsky appears not as a utopian. And at the same time, Vera Pavlovna's dreams exist as an indication of the ideal society to which the author aspires. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic tricks: beautiful sisters appear in a dream to Vera Pavlovna, the eldest of them, the Revolution is a condition for renewal. In this chapter, we have to put a lot of points explaining the voluntary omission of the text, which the censors would not let through anyway and in which the main idea of ​​the novel would be exposed. Along with this, there is the image of a younger sister-beauty - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be the goddess not only of love, but also of the enjoyment of work, art, rest: "Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a desert place, rich fields, meadows are spread , gardens; there is a huge palace made of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, with wonderful furniture. Everywhere you can see how people work, sing songs, and rest. " There are ideal human relations between people, everywhere there are traces of happiness and contentment, which it was impossible to even dream of before. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees. Of course, there are many utopian elements in this picture, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. No wonder they are repeatedly hinted at in the novel, without naming them directly. The novel shows only rural labor and talks about the people "in general", very generally. But this utopia is very realistic in its main idea: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go to satisfy the needs of the members of the collective. This new work must be based on high scientific and technological achievements, on scientists and powerful machines that allow a person to transform the earth and his whole life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from a patriarchal peasant community to socialism had to be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to fix in the reader's mind the dream of a better future. It is Chernyshevsky himself who speaks through the lips of his "elder sister", turning to Vera Pavlovna with the words: "Do you know the future? It is bright and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can transfer" .

Indeed, it is difficult to talk seriously about this work, given all its monstrous shortcomings. The author and his characters speak in an absurd, clumsy and unintelligible language. The main characters behave unnaturally, but they, like puppets, are obedient to the will of the author, who can make them do (experience, think) whatever he wants. This is a sign of Chernyshevsky's immaturity as a writer. The true creator always creates beyond himself, the creatures of his creative imagination have free will, over which even he, their creator, has no power, and it is not the author who imposes thoughts and actions on his heroes, but rather they themselves suggest to him this or that act, thought, turn plot. But for this it is necessary that their characters be concrete, have completeness and persuasiveness, and in Chernyshevsky's novel, instead of living people, we have before us naked abstractions, which hastily given a human appearance.

The lifeless Soviet socialism originated from French utopian socialism, whose representatives were Claude Henri de Saint-Simon and many others. Their goal was to create prosperity for all people, and to carry out the reform in such a way that blood was not shed. They rejected the idea of ​​equality and fraternity and believed that society should be built on the principle of mutual recognition, asserting the need for hierarchy. But who will divide people according to the principle of more and less gifted? So why is gratitude the best thing in the world? Because those who are below should be grateful to others for being below. The problem of a full-fledged personal life was solved. They considered a bourgeois marriage (concluded in the church) to be a trade in a woman, since a lady cannot stand up for herself and provide herself with well-being and therefore is forced to sell herself; in an ideal society it would be free. In my opinion, the most important thing in society should be gratitude.

N. G. Chernyshevsky in his novel "What is to be done?" unusual emphasis is placed on sane selfishness. Why is selfishness reasonable, sane? In my opinion, because in this novel we see for the first time a "new approach to the problem", Chernyshevsky's "new people", creating a "new" atmosphere. The author thinks that "new people" see personal "benefit" in striving to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy official morality. Their morality releases the creative possibilities of a philanthropic person. "New people" are not so painful to resolve conflicts of a family and love nature. In the theory of rational egoism there is an undoubted attraction and a rational core. The "new people" consider labor to be an inalienable condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their mind is in absolute harmony with their feelings, because neither their feelings nor their minds are perverted by the chronic hostility of people.

One can trace the course of Vera Pavlovna's internal development: first, at home, she gains inner freedom, then the need for public service appears, and then the fullness of her personal life, the need to work independently of personal will and public arbitrariness.

N. G. Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a “not new” person, all “new” people look the same, and the problem of a special person arises. Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his features in the form of questions: why did he do this? What for? These questions create an individual type. He is a "new" man in his becoming. All new people - as if they fell from the moon, and the only one who is associated with this era is Rakhmetov. Renunciation of oneself from the "calculation of benefits"! Here Chernyshevsky appears not as a utopian. And at the same time, Vera Pavlovna's dreams exist as an indication of the ideal society to which the author aspires. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic tricks: beautiful sisters appear in a dream to Vera Pavlovna, the eldest of them, the Revolution is a condition for renewal. In this chapter, we have to put a lot of points explaining the voluntary omission of the text, which the censors would not let through anyway and in which the main idea of ​​the novel would be exposed. Along with this, there is the image of a younger sister-beauty - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be the goddess not only of love, but also of the enjoyment of work, art, rest: "Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a desert place, rich fields, meadows are spread , gardens; there is a huge palace made of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, with wonderful furniture. Everywhere you can see how people work, sing songs, and rest. " There are ideal human relations between people, everywhere there are traces of happiness and contentment, which it was impossible to even dream of before. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees. Of course, there are many utopian elements in this picture, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. No wonder they are repeatedly hinted at in the novel, without naming them directly. The novel shows only rural labor and talks about the people "in general", very generally. But this utopia is very realistic in its main idea: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go to satisfy the needs of the members of the collective. This new work must be based on high scientific and technological achievements, on scientists and powerful machines that allow a person to transform the earth and his whole life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from a patriarchal peasant community to socialism had to be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to fix in the reader's mind the dream of a better future. It is Chernyshevsky himself who speaks through the lips of his "elder sister", turning to Vera Pavlovna with the words: "Do you know the future? It is bright and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can transfer" .

Indeed, it is difficult to talk seriously about this work, given all its monstrous shortcomings. The author and his characters speak in an absurd, clumsy and unintelligible language. The main characters behave unnaturally, but they, like puppets, are obedient to the will of the author, who can make them do (experience, think) whatever he wants. This is a sign of Chernyshevsky's immaturity as a writer. The true creator always creates beyond himself, the creatures of his creative imagination have free will, over which even he, their creator, has no power, and it is not the author who imposes thoughts and actions on his heroes, but rather they themselves suggest to him this or that act, thought, turn plot. But for this it is necessary that their characters be concrete, have completeness and persuasiveness, and in Chernyshevsky's novel, instead of living people, we have before us naked abstractions, which hastily given a human appearance.

The lifeless Soviet socialism originated from French utopian socialism, whose representatives were Claude Henri de Saint-Simon and many others. Their goal was to create prosperity for all people, and to carry out the reform in such a way that blood was not shed. They rejected the idea of ​​equality and fraternity and believed that society should be built on the principle of mutual recognition, asserting the need for hierarchy. But who will divide people according to the principle of more and less gifted? So why is gratitude the best thing in the world? Because those who are below should be grateful to others for being below. The problem of a full-fledged personal life was solved. They considered a bourgeois marriage (concluded in the church) to be a trade in a woman, since a lady cannot stand up for herself and provide herself with well-being and therefore is forced to sell herself; in an ideal society it would be free. In my opinion, the most important thing in society should be gratitude.

Artistic features and compositional originality of the novel by N.G. Chernyshevsky "What to do?"

Mysterious suicide in the 1st chapter of the novel "What is to be done?" - the plot is unconventional and unusual for Russian prose of the 19th century, more characteristic of adventurous French novels. According to the generally accepted judgment of all researchers, it was, so to speak, a kind of intriguing device, designed to confuse the commission of inquiry and the tsarist censorship. The melodramatic coloring of the narration about the family tragedy in the 2nd chapter, as well as the unexpected title of the 3rd - "Foreword", was intended for the same purpose, beginning like this: "The content of the story is love, the main person is a woman, it's good, even if she herself the story was bad..." In addition, in this chapter, the writer, addressing the people in a half-joking, half-mocking tone, admits that he quite deliberately "began the story with spectacular scenes torn from the middle or end of it, covered them with fog." Following this, Chernyshevsky, laughing to his heart's content at his readers, says: "I have not a shadow of artistic talent. I even speak the language poorly. But it's still nothing<...>Truth is a good thing: it rewards the shortcomings of the writer who serves her. "Thus, he puzzles the reader: on the one hand, the author openly despises him, referring to the majority with whom he is" insolent ", on the other, as if inclined to open up before all the cards and besides, it intrigues him by the fact that there is also a secret meaning in his story!The reader is left with one thing - to read and disassemble, and in the process to be patient, and the deeper he plunges into this work, the more tests he is subjected to patience...

The fact that the author really does not speak the language well, the reader is convinced literally from the first pages. So, for example, Chernyshevsky has a weakness for stringing verbal chains: "Mother stopped daring to enter her room"; loves repetition: "It's strange to others, but you don't know that it's strange, but I know that it's not strange"; the author's speech is careless and vulgar, and sometimes one gets the feeling that this is a bad translation from a foreign language: "The master has broken into ambition"; "For a long time they felt the sides of one of themselves"; "He answered with exquisite tolerance"; "People fall into two main departments"; "The end of this beginning was when they passed by the old man." The author's digressions are dark, clumsy and verbose: "They did not even think that they were thinking this; but this is the best thing, that they did not notice that they were thinking this"; "Vera Pavlovna<...>began to think, not at all, but somewhat, no, not several, but almost completely, to think that there was nothing important, that she mistook for a strong passion just a dream that would dissipate in a few days<...>Or did she think that she didn't, didn't think it, that she felt that it wasn't? Yes, it’s not like that, no, it’s like that, she thought more and more firmly that she thinks it. " At times, the tone of the narration seems to parody the intonations of a Russian everyday fairy tale: "After tea ... she came into her room and lay down. So she reads in her bed, only the book falls from her eyes, and Vera Pavlovna thinks: what is it, lately, has it become a little boring for me sometimes?" Alas, such examples can be cited ad infinitum ...

No less annoying is the mixing of styles: over the course of one semantic episode, the same faces continually stray from a pathetically sublime style to an everyday, frivolous or vulgar one.

Why did the Russian public accept this novel? The critic Skabichevsky recalled: "We read the novel almost on our knees, with such piety that does not allow the slightest smile on our lips, with which liturgical books are read." Even Herzen, admitting that the novel was "vilely written," immediately made the reservation: "On the other hand, there is a lot of good stuff." What is the "other side"? Obviously, from the side of Truth, the service of which should remove all accusations of mediocrity from the author! And the advanced minds of that era identified Truth with Benefit, Benefit - with Happiness, Happiness - with serving the same Truth ... Be that as it may, it is difficult to reproach Chernyshevsky with insincerity, because he wanted good, and not for himself, but for everyone! As Vladimir Nabokov wrote in his novel The Gift (in the chapter devoted to Chernyshevsky), "the brilliant Russian reader understood the kindness that the mediocre novelist tried in vain to express." Another thing is how Chernyshevsky himself went to this good and where he led the "new people." (Recall that the regicide Sofya Perovskaya already in her early youth adopted Rakhmetov's "boxing diet" and slept on the bare floor.) Let the revolutionary Chernyshevsky be judged with all severity by history, and the writer and critic Chernyshevsky by the history of literature.

Finally, the genre form "What is to be done?" is also unusual. It was then still almost unknown to Russian literature publicistic, socio-philosophical novel. Its peculiarity is that the "reproduction of life" in contrasting pictures of the "dirty" noble-bourgeois world and the world of new people is accompanied in the novel by an open author's explanation of both. This explanation is by no means boring or instructive. It is carried out subtly and varied, weaving into the narrative fabric of the novel with a special thread. An explanation is also a bright journalistic page, showing, by means of detailed economic calculations, the profitability of collective labor; it is also a complex psychological analysis of the spiritual experiences and actions of the heroes, convincing of the superiority of the new morality over the old, pre-construction one. This is also the author's incessantly ongoing caustic disputes with the "slaves" of routine, especially with the "astute reader", stupid, ignorant, self-satisfied, importunately undertaking to talk about art, and science, and morality, and about other things in which "no belmez does not understand." This is also a philosophical generalization of the events and processes of the age-old history of mankind, striking in the breadth of knowledge and the depth of theoretical thought.

In the work, publicistically clearly announced, declaring the words of the aesthetics of the author himself, and "the verdict on the phenomena of life." However, not at all in the form of "prosecutor" speeches, even some kind of punishing outpourings. The real verdict is presented by the spectacle of new family and domestic relationships. He condemns today the author's socialist ideal, in the "reflections of radiance" of which the unreasonableness of being, the characters and views of an egoistic society looks more and more terrible and ugly, and the Rakhmetovs, who give their lives to the revolutionary struggle, become more and more attractive.

In the genre form of the novel chosen by Chernyshevsky, there is no doubt that a remarkable plot and compositional role was played by the figure of the narrator, the author's "I". From one chapter to another, the presence of the author himself, his strong and powerful intellect, his generosity and nobility, the generosity of his soul, the cordial, impartial comprehension of the most complex motives of the human personality, his irony and causticity are felt closer and closer. And, besides, an unshakable faith in a better future. N. G. Chernyshevsky conceived his novel as a "textbook of life" and brilliantly implemented this idea.

Features of utopia in the novel "What is to be done?"

Russian utopian socialism stemmed from French utopian socialism, whose representatives were Charles Fourier and Claude Henri de Saint-Simon. Their goal was to create prosperity for all people, and to carry out the reform in such a way that no blood was shed. They rejected the idea of ​​equality and fraternity and believed that society should be built on the principle of mutual gratitude, asserting the need for hierarchy. But who will divide people into more and less gifted? Why gratitude is the best thing? Because the one who is below should be grateful to others for being below. The problem of a full-fledged personal life was solved. Bourgeois marriage (concluded in the church) they considered legalized trade in a woman, since a woman cannot provide herself with well-being and is sold; in an ideal society it would be free. So, the principle of mutual gratitude should be at the head of everything.
Chernyshevsky in his novel What Is to Be Done? special emphasis is placed on reasonable selfishness (calculation of benefits). If gratitude is outside people, then reasonable egoism lies in the very “I” of a person. Each person secretly or openly considers himself the center of the universe. Why then is selfishness reasonable? But because in the novel “What is to be done?” for the first time, a “new approach to the problem” is considered, Chernyshevsky’s “new people” create a “new” atmosphere, according to Chernyshevsky, “new people” see their “benefit” in striving to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy official morality. Their morality frees the creative possibilities of the human person. "New people" less painfully resolve the conflict of a family, love nature. There is an undeniable attraction and rational grain in the theory of reasonable egoism. The “new people” consider labor to be an absolutely necessary condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their mind is in the most complete harmony with feeling, because neither their mind nor their feelings are distorted by chronic enmity against other people.
One can trace the course of Vera Pavlovna's internal development: first, at home, she gains inner freedom, then the need for public service appears, and then the fullness of her personal life, the need to work independently of personal will and public arbitrariness.
N. G. Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a “not new” person, all “new” people are the same, the problem of a special person arises. Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his features in the form of questions: why did he do this? What for? These questions create an individual type. He is a “new” man in his making. All new people - as if they fell from the moon, and the only one who is associated with this era is Rakhmetov. Renunciation of self from the “calculation of benefits”! Here Chernyshevsky appears not as a utopian. And at the same time, Vera Pavlovna's dreams exist as an indication of the ideal society to which the author aspires. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic tricks: beautiful sisters appear in a dream to Vera Pavlovna, the eldest of them, the Revolution, is a condition for renewal. In this chapter, we have to put a lot of points explaining the voluntary omission of the text, which the censors would not let through anyway and in which the main idea of ​​the novel would be exposed. Along with this, there is the image of the younger sister-beauty - the bride, meaning love-equality, which turns out to be the goddess not only of love, but also of the enjoyment of work, art, rest: “Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a desert place, rich fields, meadows are spread , gardens; there is a huge palace made of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, with wonderful furniture. Everywhere you can see how people work, sing songs, rest.” There are ideal human relations between people, everywhere there are traces of happiness and contentment, which it was impossible to even dream of before. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees. Of course, there are many utopian elements in this picture, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. No wonder they are repeatedly hinted at in the novel, without naming them directly. The novel shows only rural labor and talks about the people “in general”, very generally. But this utopia is very realistic in its main idea: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go to satisfy the needs of the members of the collective. This new work must be based on high scientific and technological achievements, on scientists and powerful machines that allow a person to transform the earth and his whole life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from a patriarchal peasant community to socialism had to be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to fix in the reader's mind the dream of a better future. It is Chernyshevsky himself who speaks through the lips of his “elder sister”, addressing Vera Pavlovna with the words: “Do you know the future? It is light and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can.”

N. G. Chernyshevsky in his novel "What is to be done?" unusual emphasis is placed on sane selfishness. Why is selfishness reasonable, sane? In my opinion, because in this novel we see for the first time a "new approach to the problem", Chernyshevsky's "new people", creating a "new" atmosphere. The author thinks that "new people" see personal "benefit" in striving to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy official morality. Their morality releases the creative possibilities of a philanthropic person. "New people" are not so painful to resolve conflicts of a family and love nature. In the theory of rational egoism there is an undoubted attraction and a rational core. The "new people" consider labor to be an inalienable condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their mind is in absolute harmony with their feelings, because neither their feelings nor their minds are perverted by the chronic hostility of people.

One can trace the course of Vera Pavlovna's internal development: first, at home, she gains inner freedom, then the need for public service appears, and then the fullness of her personal life, the need to work independently of personal will and public arbitrariness.

N. G. Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a “not new” person, all “new” people look the same, and the problem of a special person arises. Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his features in the form of questions: why did he do this? What for? These questions create an individual type. He is a "new" man in his becoming. All new people - as if they fell from the moon, and the only one who is associated with this era is Rakhmetov. Renunciation of oneself from the "calculation of benefits"! Here Chernyshevsky appears not as a utopian. And at the same time, Vera Pavlovna's dreams exist as an indication of the ideal society to which the author aspires. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic tricks: beautiful sisters appear in a dream to Vera Pavlovna, the eldest of them, the Revolution is a condition for renewal. In this chapter, we have to put a lot of points explaining the voluntary omission of the text, which the censors would not let through anyway and in which the main idea of ​​the novel would be exposed. Along with this, there is the image of a younger sister-beauty - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be the goddess not only of love, but also of the enjoyment of work, art, rest: "Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a desert place, rich fields, meadows are spread , gardens; there is a huge palace made of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, with wonderful furniture. Everywhere you can see how people work, sing songs, and rest. " There are ideal human relations between people, everywhere there are traces of happiness and contentment, which it was impossible to even dream of before. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees. Of course, there are many utopian elements in this picture, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. No wonder they are repeatedly hinted at in the novel, without naming them directly. The novel shows only rural labor and talks about the people "in general", very generally. But this utopia is very realistic in its main idea: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go to satisfy the needs of the members of the collective. This new work must be based on high scientific and technological achievements, on scientists and powerful machines that allow a person to transform the earth and his whole life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from a patriarchal peasant community to socialism had to be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to fix in the reader's mind the dream of a better future. It is Chernyshevsky himself who speaks through the lips of his "elder sister", turning to Vera Pavlovna with the words: "Do you know the future? It is bright and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can transfer" .

Indeed, it is difficult to talk seriously about this work, given all its monstrous shortcomings. The author and his characters speak in an absurd, clumsy and unintelligible language. The main characters behave unnaturally, but they, like puppets, are obedient to the will of the author, who can make them do (experience, think) whatever he wants. This is a sign of Chernyshevsky's immaturity as a writer. The true creator always creates beyond himself, the creatures of his creative imagination have free will, over which even he, their creator, has no power, and it is not the author who imposes thoughts and actions on his heroes, but rather they themselves suggest to him this or that act, thought, turn plot. But for this it is necessary that their characters be concrete, have completeness and persuasiveness, and in Chernyshevsky's novel, instead of living people, we have before us naked abstractions, which hastily given a human appearance.

The lifeless Soviet socialism originated from French utopian socialism, whose representatives were Claude Henri de Saint-Simon and many others. Their goal was to create prosperity for all people, and to carry out the reform in such a way that blood was not shed. They rejected the idea of ​​equality and fraternity and believed that society should be built on the principle of mutual recognition, asserting the need for hierarchy. But who will divide people according to the principle of more and less gifted? So why is gratitude the best thing in the world? Because those who are below should be grateful to others for being below. The problem of a full-fledged personal life was solved. They considered a bourgeois marriage (concluded in the church) to be a trade in a woman, since a lady cannot stand up for herself and provide herself with well-being and therefore is forced to sell herself; in an ideal society it would be free. In my opinion, the most important thing in society should be gratitude.

Artistic features and compositional originality of the novel by N.G. Chernyshevsky "What to do?"

Mysterious suicide in the 1st chapter of the novel "What is to be done?" - the plot is unconventional and unusual for Russian prose of the 19th century, more characteristic of adventurous French novels. According to the generally accepted judgment of all researchers, it was, so to speak, a kind of intriguing device, designed to confuse the commission of inquiry and the tsarist censorship. The melodramatic coloring of the narration about the family tragedy in the 2nd chapter, as well as the unexpected title of the 3rd - "Foreword", was intended for the same purpose, beginning like this: "The content of the story is love, the main person is a woman, it's good, even if she herself the story was bad..." In addition, in this chapter, the writer, addressing the people in a half-joking, half-mocking tone, admits that he quite deliberately "began the story with spectacular scenes torn from the middle or end of it, covered them with fog." Following this, Chernyshevsky, laughing to his heart's content at his readers, says: "I have not a shadow of artistic talent. I even speak the language poorly. But it's still nothing<...>Truth is a good thing: it rewards the shortcomings of the writer who serves her. "Thus, he puzzles the reader: on the one hand, the author openly despises him, referring to the majority with whom he is" insolent ", on the other, as if inclined to open up before all the cards and besides, it intrigues him by the fact that there is also a secret meaning in his story!The reader is left with one thing - to read and disassemble, and in the process to be patient, and the deeper he plunges into this work, the more tests he is subjected to patience...

The fact that the author really does not speak the language well, the reader is convinced literally from the first pages. So, for example, Chernyshevsky has a weakness for stringing verbal chains: "Mother stopped daring to enter her room"; loves repetition: "It's strange to others, but you don't know that it's strange, but I know that it's not strange"; the author's speech is careless and vulgar, and sometimes one gets the feeling that this is a bad translation from a foreign language: "The master has broken into ambition"; "For a long time they felt the sides of one of themselves"; "He answered with exquisite tolerance"; "People fall into two main departments"; "The end of this beginning was when they passed by the old man." The author's digressions are dark, clumsy and verbose: "They did not even think that they were thinking this; but this is the best thing, that they did not notice that they were thinking this"; "Vera Pavlovna<...>began to think, not at all, but somewhat, no, not several, but almost completely, to think that there was nothing important, that she mistook for a strong passion just a dream that would dissipate in a few days<...>Or did she think that she didn't, didn't think it, that she felt that it wasn't? Yes, it’s not like that, no, it’s like that, she thought more and more firmly that she thinks it. " At times, the tone of the narration seems to parody the intonations of a Russian everyday fairy tale: "After tea ... she came into her room and lay down. So she reads in her bed, only the book falls from her eyes, and Vera Pavlovna thinks: what is it, lately, has it become a little boring for me sometimes?" Alas, such examples can be cited ad infinitum ...

No less annoying is the mixing of styles: over the course of one semantic episode, the same faces continually stray from a pathetically sublime style to an everyday, frivolous or vulgar one.

Why did the Russian public accept this novel? The critic Skabichevsky recalled: "We read the novel almost on our knees, with such piety that does not allow the slightest smile on our lips, with which liturgical books are read." Even Herzen, admitting that the novel was "vilely written," immediately made the reservation: "On the other hand, there is a lot of good stuff." What is the "other side"? Obviously, from the side of Truth, the service of which should remove all accusations of mediocrity from the author! And the advanced minds of that era identified Truth with Benefit, Benefit - with Happiness, Happiness - with serving the same Truth ... Be that as it may, it is difficult to reproach Chernyshevsky with insincerity, because he wanted good, and not for himself, but for everyone! As Vladimir Nabokov wrote in his novel The Gift (in the chapter devoted to Chernyshevsky), "the brilliant Russian reader understood the kindness that the mediocre novelist tried in vain to express." Another thing is how Chernyshevsky himself went to this good and where he led the "new people." (Recall that the regicide Sofya Perovskaya already in her early youth adopted Rakhmetov's "boxing diet" and slept on the bare floor.) Let the revolutionary Chernyshevsky be judged with all severity by history, and the writer and critic Chernyshevsky by the history of literature.

Finally, the genre form "What is to be done?" is also unusual. It was then still almost unknown to Russian literature publicistic, socio-philosophical novel. Its peculiarity is that the "reproduction of life" in contrasting pictures of the "dirty" noble-bourgeois world and the world of new people is accompanied in the novel by an open author's explanation of both. This explanation is by no means boring or instructive. It is carried out subtly and varied, weaving into the narrative fabric of the novel with a special thread. An explanation is also a bright journalistic page, showing, by means of detailed economic calculations, the profitability of collective labor; it is also a complex psychological analysis of the spiritual experiences and actions of the heroes, convincing of the superiority of the new morality over the old, pre-construction one. This is also the author's incessantly ongoing caustic disputes with the "slaves" of routine, especially with the "astute reader", stupid, ignorant, self-satisfied, importunately undertaking to talk about art, and science, and morality, and about other things in which "no belmez does not understand." This is also a philosophical generalization of the events and processes of the age-old history of mankind, striking in the breadth of knowledge and the depth of theoretical thought.

In the work, publicistically clearly announced, declaring the words of the aesthetics of the author himself, and "the verdict on the phenomena of life." However, not at all in the form of "prosecutor" speeches, even some kind of punishing outpourings. The real verdict is presented by the spectacle of new family and domestic relationships. He condemns today the author's socialist ideal, in the "reflections of radiance" of which the unreasonableness of being, the characters and views of an egoistic society looks more and more terrible and ugly, and the Rakhmetovs, who give their lives to the revolutionary struggle, become more and more attractive.

In the genre form of the novel chosen by Chernyshevsky, there is no doubt that a remarkable plot and compositional role was played by the figure of the narrator, the author's "I". From one chapter to another, the presence of the author himself, his strong and powerful intellect, his generosity and nobility, the generosity of his soul, the cordial, impartial comprehension of the most complex motives of the human personality, his irony and causticity are felt closer and closer. And, besides, an unshakable faith in a better future. N. G. Chernyshevsky conceived his novel as a "textbook of life" and brilliantly implemented this idea.