Generations
Turgenev’s work in Fathers and Sons shows a pair of men and their fathers. The book displays them in such a way as to emphasise the differences between the two. Arkady and his father are not too unalike, and consequently though Arkady has adopted some ideas from Bazarov he finds harmony in balance. His father, though fairly liberal for his generation (especially when compared to Pavel), is not about to fully accept Bazarov’s ideas when he arrives, though he does entertain the thoughts and seriously considers the views. Nikolai seems to be slowly accepting views he agrees with while remaining in the comfort of his own home.
Similarly, his son Arkady seems to be on the liberal side of neutral, though this is definitely largely due to his proximity to Bazarov. The differences between Arkady and his father come largely through their acceptance/rejection of Nihlism. Arkady is embracing some of it’s applications, where his father listens but is not comfortable accepting them.
This difference is magnified between Bazarov and his parents. Bazarov has placed himself about as far towards the fringe of the spectrum as he can go. He does not accept any of the old Russian forms when we are first introduced to him, and his mannerisms are almost entirely defined by his philosophy. His parents are much more down to earth, and live a poor traditional orthodox life. Generationally it is almost as though Bazarov intentionally shucked the ways of his parents, and adopted his own mode of thinking when he went off to school.
The generation gap seen between both Arkady, his father and uncle, is mirrored in the differences between Bazarov and his parents. The implicit suggestion is that the younger generation is all going to have a new philosophy, that the ways of the past will give way to the new ideas in time. However, the book also serves as a bit of a warning. The fact that Bazarov as a radical dies in the end suggests that when people are not completely ready to accept an idea, the radical pushing for change will suffer.
The inevitability expressed in the book is that with time, the ideas of the youth will become the ideas of the world. This thought is very interesting when taken in context with the future of Russia – the Marxist revolutionary Vladmir Bazarov names himself after the Bazarov in this novel. Borrowing words from George Orwell, “He who controls the present controls the past, and he who controls the past controls the future.” In this novel, it is obvious that there is a struggle to find what is ‘right’ philosophically. The generations each have their own idea, and Bazarov tries to jump the gun and seize the present before it is time. Eventually, the ideas he was trying to permeate would be circulated, and the places where people agreed with them would see assimilation into their culture. Just as the present becomes the past, so too do generations move from one to the next.
Suffering
Suffering takes on many forms in Fathers and Sons, everything from heartbreak to physical pain and death. Turgenev touches on pain and the way that different individuals deal with it.
Pavel, the egotistical aristocrat is suffering from heartbreak throughout the entirety of the novel. His past has left him in such a state that he feels he can never love again, and that he has almost nothing left to live for. Consequently, his suffering comes in a few forms, first and foremost as love lost, and secondly as remorse for the way he lives his life. Pavel’s conflict with Bazarov exacerbates the fact that he is standing by an obsolete way of life, that in fact has no meaning or value in a world accepting modernization. This leads him to suffer in more ways than just heartache.
Nikolai we see first as a man who once suffered. He has picked up the pieces of his personal life from after his first wife died. Rather than letting himself succumb to a shadow life, Nikolai finds a way to create happiness where he is and takes on a second wife, Fenichka. Nikolai’s approach to his suffering was not to ignore it and accept it for what it was, but to treat the problem and make the best of the situation. This leaves him happy and functional.
Bazarov and his death are also quite an example of suffering in this novel. Turgenev very much emphasizes the way that characters interact with Bazarov towards the end of his life, and we can see a distinct change in Bazarov’s behavior when he realises he is dying. The fact that he vocalizes his desire to see Anna Odinstsova again signifies his falling away from Nihlistic ideas and his accepting of his own love for her. However, the pain is not enough to get him to admit his love on his deathbed, and he is unable to tell her that she is anything but beautiful before he passes. The suffering he feels while significant did not overcome his desire to break his philosophy in his last hour, very similar to Pavel’s refusal to seek out love again.
Philosophies
Turgenev is very well known for the use of influential political and philosophical ideas in his novel Fathers and sons. The protagonist, Bazarov, is described as a highly charismatic cult leader, one who firmly believes in a lack of order, in essence, nihlism. He is extremely taken with the fact that meaning is not implicit and that living is simply a string of events, with no situated order or significance. That is until he meets Madame Anna Odinstsova. Bazarov becomes enthralled by Anna, and eventually it is his love for her that convinces him to step outside of his idealized version of himself and admit his love. Directly contrasting his nihlistic worldviews, this leaves Bazarov highly conflicted, and later he comes into conflict with Pavel Kirsanov because of it.
Pavel has taken a very different approach to his life, being older and theoretically wiser than Bazarov, he has gone through much in his life. Pavel’s past has left him crippled due to a love affair, and he struggles to find meaning in anything. Thus He clings to the one thing he knows, and that just so happens to be tradition. The old ways of Russian Landowners fit Pavel just fine, and he is happy to let himself be stuck in the past so long as it gives him forms to follow. Pavel very much opposes the ways of Bazarov because of this, Bazarov is challenging his comfort and his way of life. This means that when Pavel is privy to Bazarov kissing Fenichka, he finally has an excuse to lash out and challenges Bazarov to a duel.
At this point Bazarov has lost the certainty of his own beliefs that he once had and he grudgingly accepts, even though the very premise of a duel goes against what he once believed.
The duel seems to be the climax of the intersection of philosophies, and while Bazarov walks away physically unscathed, we see that on his deathbed he is not so sure of his beliefs. The implication in this case seems to be where the characters are happiest, so too shall those pursuing happiness find it. Arkady and his father are the only ones who seem to achieve some form of happiness in the novel. They are the ones who strike the balance between new and old forms, the individuals who find sanity in the turbulence between the two dominating philosophies.
Love
Father’s and sons takes a very interesting approach to love, addressing almost effectively all main characters at some point in terms of their affections. Arkady’s father Nikolai has found a new beginning in Fenichka, and through this second love he seems to have found a form of happiness. Arkady, following the steps of his father embraces the ideas of love, and falls for Katya whom he eventually marries, just as his father re-marries Fenichka. The tone set by these circumstances makes one wonder if the same can be said for Bazarov and his parents.
However, we learn that Bazarov has pushed himself too far away from his roots to follow in their footsteps. Even though Bazarov admits he has fallen away from his idealistic standard, he cannot fully bring himself to tell Madame Odinstsova that he loves her as he lays dying. Contrasting this with Bazarov’s parents, we see that they were not as driven as he was to buck the societal trends, and have a relatively happy marriage. Unfortunately for Bazarov his nihlistic philosophy pulls him in one direction, when his infatuation with Madame Odinstsova pulls him in quite the other. The lack of faith in love that Bazarov displays initially stays with him, and he is unable to reconcile his views with the world and his love before his death. His final wish to see the woman he loved one more time is significant, and shows that he cared more about his love than his philosophy at the end of his life.
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