Книга Babalar ve Oğullar, автор Ivan Sergeyeviç Turgenyev

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سال 1977میلادی

Babalar ve Oğullar

Yazarın eski nesil ile yeni nesil arasındaki anlaşmazlıkları işlediği şaheseri “Babalar ve Oğullar” onun sanatını tüm yönleriyle ortaya koyan en iyi eserdir.

269 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1862

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About the author

Ivan Turgenev

1,644 books 2,156 followers

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (Cyrillic: Иван Сергеевич Тургенев) was a novelist, poet, and dramatist, and now ranks as one of the towering figures of Russian literature. His major works include the short-story collection A Sportsman’s Sketches (1852) and the novels Rudin (1856), Home of the Gentry (1859), On the Eve (1860), and Fathers and Sons (1862).

These works offer realistic, affectionate portrayals of the Russian peasantry and penetrating studies of the Russian intelligentsia who were attempting to move the country into a new age. His masterpiece, Fathers and Sons, is considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century.

Turgenev was a contemporary with Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy. While these wrote about church and religion, Turgenev was more concerned with the movement toward social reform in Russia.

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[Edited for typos]
A ‘classic’ classic. Written in 1862, Wikipedia suggest this can be considered the “first modern Russian novel.” The plot revolves around two sons and two fathers who are meant to show political change in Russia reflecting generational differences. We are told in the introduction that the author deliberately set the time frame of the novel in 1859, shortly before the emancipation of the serfs in 1861.

The fathers of course are old school, traditional Slavophiles, even though they have both recently adopted some changes that give their serfs some more liberties, such as making some of them wage laborers. It’s not enough for the two sons who are radicals at that time – essentially nihilists. This novel introduced the term nihilism into modern culture. The two sons are schoolmates at university and they believe in nothing of the established order – family, religion, customs, any established authority. Everything has to prove itself anew. They want to see Russia westernized.

The older of the two young men is more experienced and world-wise than the younger. The older is really the one espousing radicalism; the younger man idolizes him and agrees with everything he says. Both fathers have the same reactions to their sons: they are shocked but not argumentative. They defer to their sons’ level of learning and are awed by them. They expect great things of them, and given the choice to lead, follow, or get out of the way, they choose the last.

The older of the two young men, named Bazarov, is portrayed as egotistical and arrogant. Although Turgenev had relatively liberal views, this book was attacked by both sides. Reactionaries felt he favored these radical nihilist views by daring to argue them through Bazarov’s mouth. Liberals felt he was making fun of their views by having then expressed by a jerk.

There’s romance. Both men, on a visit to a neighboring estate, start to fall in love with a young widow. The younger man turns his attention to her younger sister; the older man falls hard for the widow. One of the fathers is embarrassed by having a young female serf as his mistress, although the son has no problem with that relationship. The plot is as much a love story(ies) as it is a political novel and at times becomes a bit like a soap-opera. But we recognize that literary styles have changed since 1860! We are also given a 3-page “Where are they now” wrap-up that you would not find in a modern novel.

I enjoyed the book. Not stellar, but a worthwhile read.

Top painting of Russia serfs from beastrabban.files.wordpress.com
Russian women pulling a barge from johnknifton.files.wordpress.com
The author from lareviewofbooks.org

17 comments
9,567 reviews 55.7k followers

(Book 874 From 1001 Books) – Отцы и дѣти = Fathers and Sons = Fathers and Children, Ivan Turgenev

Fathers and Sons is an 1862 novel by Ivan Turgenev, and ties with A Nest of Gentlefolk for the repute of being his best novel.

Arkady Kirsanov has just graduated from the University of Petersburg and returns with a friend, Bazarov, to his father’s modest estate in an outlying province of Russia.

His father, Nikolay, gladly receives the two young men at his estate, called Marino, but Nikolay’s brother, Pavel, soon becomes upset by the strange new philosophy called “nihilism” which the young men, especially Bazarov, advocate.

Nikolay, initially delighted to have his son return home, slowly begins to feel uneasy. A certain awkwardness develops in his regard toward his son, as Arkady’s radical views, much influenced by Bazarov, make Nikolay’s own beliefs feel dated.

Nikolay has always tried to stay as current as possible, by doing things such as visiting his son at school so the two can stay as close as they are, but this in Nikolay’s eyes has failed.

To complicate this, the father has taken a servant, Fenechka, into his house to live with him and has already had a son by her, named Mitya.

Arkady, however, is not troubled by the relationship: to the contrary, he openly celebrates the addition of a younger brother.

The two young men stay over at Marino for some weeks, then decide to visit a relative of Arkady’s in a neighboring province.

There, they observe the local gentry and meet Madame Anna Sergevna Odintsova, an elegant woman of independent means, who cuts a seductively different figure from the pretentious or humdrum types of her surrounding provincial society of gentry.

Both are attracted to her, and she, intrigued by Bazarov’s singular manner, invites them to spend a few days at her estate, Nikolskoye.

While Bazarov at first feels nothing for Anna, Arkady falls head over heels in love with her. .

Major characters:
Yevgeny Vasilevich Bazarov: A nihilist and medical student.
Arkady Nikolaevich Kirsanov: A recent graduate of St. Petersburg University and friend of Bazarov.
Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov: A landlord, a liberal democrat, Arkady’s father.
Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov: Nikolai’s brother and a bourgeois with aristocratic pretensions, who prides himself on his refinement but, like his brother, is reform-minded.
Vasily Ivanovich Bazarov: Bazarov’s father, a retired army surgeon, and a small countryside land/serf holder.
Arina Vlasevna Bazarova: Bazarov’s mother. A very traditional woman of the 15th-century Moscovy style aristocracy: a pious follower of Orthodox Christianity, woven with folk tales and falsehoods.
Anna Sergevna Odintsova: A wealthy widow who entertains the nihilist friends at her estate.
Katerina (Katya) Sergeevna Lokteva: The younger sister of Anna. She lives comfortably with her sister but lacks confidence, finding it hard to escape Anna Sergeevna’s shadow.
Feodosya (Fenechka) Nikolayevna: The daughter of Nikolai’s late housekeeper, with whom he has fallen in love and fathered a child out of wedlock.
Viktor Sitnikov: A pompous and foolhardy friend of Bazarov who joins populist ideals and groups. Like Arkady, he is heavily influenced by Bazarov in his ideals.
Avdotya (Evdoksia) Nikitishna Kukshina: An emancipated woman who lives in the town of X. Kukshina is independent but rather eccentric and incapable as a proto-feminist, despite her potential.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سال 1977میلادی

عنوان: پدران و پسران؛ نویسنده: ایوان ت��رگنیف؛ مترجم: مهری آهی؛ ترجمه از متن روسی؛ تهران، چاپ نخست 1334؛ در 333ص؛ چاپ دوم و سوم در 356ص؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، بنگاه ترجمه ونشر، 1351؛ در 356ص؛ چاپ چهارم 1356؛ زیر نظر احسان یارشاطر؛ چاپ دیگر وزارات فرهنگ و آموزش عالی، علمی فرهنگی؛ در 1365؛ چاپ دیگر 1375؛ چاپ ششم علمی فرهنگی 1388 در 298ص، شابک 9789646205963؛ چاپ هشتم 1392؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان روسیه – سده 19م

مترجم: مهدی سعادت؛ تهران، شقایق، 1364؛ در در 351ص و هشت ص؛ چاپ دوم 1367؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، درنا، 1368؛ در 351ص و هشت ص؛
مترجم: الهام ربیعی؛ تهران، نشر فرمهر، 1396؛ در 292ص؛ شابک 9786009732821؛

تورگنیف (زندگی: از سال 1818میلادی تا سال 1883میلادی)، از رهبران مکتب «ناتورالیسم روسیه» بودند؛ در دوران جوانی ایشان، مکتب «رمانتیزم» در «روسیه» رواج داشت؛ اشعار ایشان، پیش از سال 1840میلادی، تقلیدی از دیگر شاعران «رمانتیک» آن زمان بود؛ پس از سال1840میلادی، ایشان دست از افکار «رمانتیک» خویش برداشتند؛ با نوشتن داستانهای «ملاکین»، «اعیان و اشراف»، به شرح زندگی «رعایا»، و «دهقانانِ» «روس» پرداختند؛

رمان «پدران و پسران» که از شاهکارهای ایشان است، موضوعی بسیار ساده، در واژه های خویش پنهان دارد، رمان در سال 1862میلادی، برای نخستین بار چاپ شده است؛

موضوع داستان: نفاق و جدال، بین دو نسل پیر و جوان، و طبقات جامعه ی «روسیه»ی آن دوران است؛ در این داستان «پدران»، نماد افراد محافظه کار، و سنت گرایی هستند، که در آنها اصلاحات، یا به کندی صورت میگیرد، یا اصلاً وجود ندارد؛ اما «پسران»، که کانون توجه نویسنده است، افرادی بسیار «رادیکال» هستند، که شخص قهرمان داستان، به نام «بازارف»، که پیرو مکتب «نهیلیسم»، و ماده گرایی مفرط است، در جدال با مکتب مخالف خود، یعنی «پدران»، کلنجار می‌روند؛ نکته ی جالب این داستان، مناظره‌ هایی است، که «بازارف»، با افراد مخالف نظریه ی خود، گاهی با خونسردی پیش میرود، و گاه نیز، بر آنها می‌آشوبد؛

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 19/07/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 08/06/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

2 comments
449 reviews 3,225 followers

In the quiet, sleepy, out of the way areas of rural Russia under the autocratic Czars, during the mid nineteenth century, nothing happens, still reality will show its unpleasant dark aspects as other things appear, the catalyst , two university educated arrogant young men return home, they believe that their flame of light will transform the nation for the better . However the students still have a great deal to learn about the ancient land. Arkady Kirsanov under the influence of the bright Evgeny Bazarov studying to be a doctor but an ardent, passionate nihilist his real occupation ( destroy all and rebuild a better world), brings to his widowed father’s Nicholas large estate this strange , unsettling person, he dominates the novel, in fact the writer’s Ivan Turgenev’s best fictional character, he himself acknowledged. Uncle Paul is a suave, debonair man, a former Don Juan, an unhappy love affair caused his exile from glittering Saint Petersburg , a supporter of the old customs , feels threatened by the new breeze. His amiable brother Nicholas is more tolerant, the inevitable strident arguments between Bazanov and Paul, the medical student,who is an enemy of ostentatious behavior, he is his own boss, about the future of society, gives this the spice the narrative needs, and will cause controversy in Russia, as both the supporters and the opponents of the status quo differ in their opinions of this story. Nicholas is an incompetent administrator of his farm, the serfs don’t obey his orders, rumors that they will be set free soon, ( in 1861 , two years hence ) causes turmoil. And the embarrassed Nicholas has a surprise for his son, a baby brother, Mitya, born recently by his young attractive, shy mistress Fenichal, at 23, over twenty years younger than her lover, the daughter of his late housekeeper. Bazarov anxious, elderly parents await his return, these good people, adore their son, and only child, his father a retired army physician much decorated, the couple haven’t seen him in three years. Bazanov has to leave the intolerable situation at his friend’s home, his excuse, he must go back and visit his father and mother . Their boy pretends to be indifferent, but secretly is proud of and enjoys the parent’s worship and every kindness, still he wants to be alone to do his medical experiments, that gives him contentment. This is the great author’s most popular book and probably his best also, it contains both happiness and sorrow, as does life itself. An excellent, riveting glimpse into two families.

17 comments
1,315 reviews 7,104 followers

In ‘Fathers and Sons’, we come across generational disagreement and conflict, amidst the social upheaval of mid nineteenth century Russia, and it’s where we are introduced to Bazarov.

Bazarov (the product of doting parents) is a bad tempered anarchist, rejecting the social conventions of the day, sparking misunderstandings and arguments aplenty, highlighting the conflict between the old and the new, but it’s a delightful read nevertheless.

16 comments
2,305 reviews 2,181 followers

I had some doubts upon reading Turgenev for the first time, could he really stand up with the likes of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky?, simple answer, yes. Fathers and Sons, although not on an epic level in terms of length, does an authentic and realistic job of presenting an account of upper class 19th century Russian provincial life, and indeed it doesn’t surprise me he gained greater respect in some parts in regards to the two other Russian greats. Turgenev arguably had better popularity due to his deeper humanity, where the psychological and emotional complexities of his principal characters are draw from first introduction as having a natural inherent intelligence. Whereas the previous two tend to often use a trauma, crisis, or inner conflict within. Although criticized by his fellow liberals, it was in fact Turgenev, who, from his death bed persuaded Tolstoy to carry on writing.

This novel takes place in the 1860’s, the Napoleonic war is receding, and a new chapter has begun.
The dominant theme is all in it’s title, a transition from one generation to the next, two friends from university, Arkady and Barzarov and are returning home to their parents country estates, the infuriating Barzarov is a headstrong, overly confident young man, who believes in nihilism, wanting to tear everything down, to start over again from this rotten place. Whereas Arkady is more delicate, and feels more passion for the people and world around him. Both sets of parents deeply love their children, that’s made perfectly clear, and are acceptant in their views. But problems arise in Arkady’s uncle Pavel, who doesn’t take to Barzarov, on both a personal and philosophical level, after coming to stay at Arkady’s home during the days following graduation. Love is explored as the novel progresses, both would become acquainted with a young widow, Madame Anna Odintzov, and her sister Katya, who plays piano, whilst also tapping into the free-floating testosterones of both.
Like most older novels, there always seems to be a duel, and this is no different, it still amazes me at how the smallest things end up kicking off two individuals wanting to blow holes in each other. Maybe Turgenev was thinking of his own once challenged stand off with Tolstoy.

Turgenev contrasts the two young men very well, both friends, but with completely different mindsets, while he leaves it to his readers to see the other parties and ordinary villagers in their own light. He portrays the parents poignant and sufferable states in a compassionate and dignified manner, and Barzazov in particular being bothered by an inner unhappiness for failing to see the values of artistic creation in other peoples lives. There are crushing disappointments and humiliations that are waiting in the wings for the young fellows, generally bought on by their weakness of knowledge for adult life, regardless how clever they thing they are, it does help in dealing with complex matters of the heart. While the two friends also come close to fisticuffs over Bazarov’s constant cynicism.

Fathers and Sons had left me with a sense of quietly observing over the different paths of both Arkady and Barzarov, and Turgenev has enabled me to see with better eyes the love and appreciation between father and son, It is this profound vitality in Turgenev’s characters, using a clear uncluttered dialogue that carry his novel to the heights of classic Russian Literature, with most complete and touching sincerity.

15 comments
198 reviews 1,527 followers

This book is a real classic of russian literature.The language is understandable and psychological depth. The main character Basarov is the first nihilist of world literature, and rejects all conventional moral concepts. Even in love, he sees nothing but the helplessness of lonely people and distances himself from her. When he finally falls in love, his worldview collapses. Also next to the main character you will meet interesting characters and it’s just fun to read this book. Fathers and Sons”is one of the best-known Russian social novels, which portrays the sensitivities of Russia in the mid-nineteenth century very vividly. Absolutelly recomendable.

260 reviews 12.8k followers

“Per quanto appassionato, peccatore e turbolento sia il cuore nascosto in una tomba, i fiori che vi crescono sopra ci guardano serenamente (. ): non dell’eterno riposo soltanto essi ci parlano, di quella gran pace della natura indifferente; essi ci parlano anche di un’eterna riconciliazione e di una vita senza fine. “

223 reviews 195 followers

Fathers and Sons (FS) apparently pleased no one on in Russia on publication, and if not precisely ‘shocked’ the muchadumbre, then surely ruffled feathers and rubbed salt in fresh wounds: that, in any event, is the general promise in the blurb on the back cover of the book. Goody. I like a scandal better than the next person, for sure. So I tore into it with gusto.

Alas, though. There is no scandal to be had here. I mean, not even remotely: not even a whiff of it. The big brouhaha seems to evolve around the character of Bazarov, a self proclaimed nihilist, who does naught else but pontificate grandly throughout: rejects everything on principle (or perhaps as a principle) (as being outmoded, unscientific and stupid), but has no new platform to offer. As he puts it, ‘first lets destroy everything, raze it to the ground, and we’ll worry about re-building later’. Having said that, there is no razing to be done here either: FS is really very peaceful: the plot line is singularly simple (in fact, if it were any simpler, there’d be NO plot line). Two rather lazy graduates, Arcady and Bazarov, travel from one paternal home to another, back and forth, stopping off on the way at Nicholshoe, the estate of two sisters (Katya and Anna Odinskaya, who become the love interests respectively) which conveniently lies exactly on the ‘flight path’, thus ensuring a straightline trajectory back and forth, the main point of which is not to bother the reader too much with the intricacies of plot. Just for the sake of completeness, although this is a character driven novel, there isn’t an overabundance of those either. Arcady and Bazarov are conveniently ‘only’ children (a rather contrived coincidence at a time when there were just no stoppers on procreation). This of course is a ploy to create an chamber ensemble where philosophical ideas can flow purely and purposefully without dilution from multiple voices. So, having set up this simple mis-en-scene, Turgenev sets on to the nitty gritty then.

Bazarov isn’t going to shock anyone today. In fact, his raison d’etre is practically the building blocks of our modern ‘yoof’: rebels without a cause. Bazarov (who did have a cause) has, in fact, been reincarnated in that iconic trope of our times, the ‘Kevin’. This might very well be a Britishism, but everyone will know what I mean.

But why was Bazarov so shocking back then? Clearly, I can’t let this go. I mean, Bazarov shocked a whole nation in 1861, what kind of apathetic reader can let this slide by without further investigation if they don’t know why? Deep internet trawls reveal a background of a humiliated intelligentsia on the back of the loss of the Crimean War, aware Russia has been left behind in the European technological, ideological and ‘business development’ stakes, and deeply split on how to fix this. The Slavophiles, whose Bakunin style popular concept of negation and denouncement of Alexander II reforms (including the emancipation of serfs in 1861) vs. The Westernisers, (Turgenev amongst them), who, although operating without a clear and consistent political doctrine, support all things western in their search for progression. The former view Bazarov as an insulting caricature of their cause, and the latter view him as a dirty rotten nihilistic scoundrel. Meanwhile, the West view him as the first proper literary nihilist and take to Turgenev like a house on fire.

Bazarov of course is only a half baked nihilist. He throws over his ideology at the alter of Madame Odinskaya’s feet, asks his mother for superstitious style old world blessings and engages in a positively Romantic style duel with Arkady’s uncle. Academics are having a field day, as we speak, at tracing the Byronic influences on his character.
The Slovophile vs. Westerniser match off is fascinating. This isn’t merely a semantic stand-off, a few after dinner soundbites being bandied about over brandy and a cigar. Now that I know about it, I can spot the elephant in the room practically in every chapter. At one point, Arkady and Bazarov praise Anna for her excellent use of Russian. This is a passing sentence, and its easy to just gloss over it, but ..really. exactly what language, I wonder, should Anna Odinskaya, a Russian aristocrat, born, raised and living in Russia, be speaking, if not Russian? Well, apparently, French. Knock me over with a feather, but those Russian aristocrats, from Catherine the Great’s time (circa 1799) to late nineteenth century got so big for their britches they started parleying in French from cradle to grave and couldn’t even speak their own language!! Of all, I say, all the high falutin’, sycophantic, preposterous things you could do, if this just doesn’t take the cake. (Well, I know the English did it too, but a full 1000 years earlier. After William of Normandy conquered and unified England in 1066, the court spoke French for the next 300 years. But, thats because the Normans were French to begin with!). My point is, in a situation like this, a Slavophile vs Westerniser disagreement might just take on slightly larger proportions than just a semantic joust.

One thing neither side disagreed on was the need to free the serfs. (Which partially happened in 1861). Russian serfs, from what I can gather, were little better off than slaves. They were, in fact slaves. Tied to the estate, forbidden to marry outside the estate, or move out of the estate, propelled into wars by their ‘masters’, toiling, unpaid, all day long. yup, definitely slaves. This agreement to free the serfs, though should not be taken as a carte blanche acknowledgement of an intrinsic serf worth: on the contrary, both sides are united in a blanket wave of derision and general despising of the peasants. FS is littered with condescending and derogatory remarks about the serfs, who are invariably being flogged for being fools, drunkards and thieves. Having said that, they are also an integral part of country living, in the way Mamie rules the roost at Tara in Gone with the Wind.

Midway through the novel Turgenev does a very naughty love quadrangle turn and twist worthy of a Shakesperean aficionado. Everybody falls in love with everyone else before they shakily settle into the ultimate equilibrium. The Bazarov/Anna Odinskaya link is easily recognisable although none the less sad for it: two cynics who are too jaded for each other.

So then, thats for background. How does Turgenev do, with all of this? I got to shout it loud and clear from the mountaintop now: he delivers! I bawled like a baby twice in this reading, and thats saying something: I can’t remember the last time I had a teary eye. It was Bazarov ‘wot done it both times: first when he left his parents after only a three day soujourn, and in the end. (you know what I mean). So this novel was shocking, in the end: I was shocked at how easily it moved me. I even had a moment of self doubt: was I going soft in the head? Well, much to my relief, I gather Turgenev elicits similar responses from many a reader, and in particular his contemporaries. Apparently Flaubert was astounded by him, George Sand looked up to him, James was influenced by him and only, apparently Meredith matches his pathos in terms of the ‘dying scene’ in terms of contemporaries. I haven’t read any Meredith whatsoever. Its looking like Egoist and the Ordeal of Richard Feverel might be next.