The theme of love in the novel "Fathers and Sons" is revealed by the example of the relationship between the following four couples: Bazarov and Odintsova, Pavel Petrovich and Princess R., Arkady and Katya, Nikolai Petrovich and Fenechka. In this article, we briefly describe the feelings of these heroes. The theme of love in Fathers and Sons helps to understand the nature of the characters. The test of this feeling reveals the personality characteristics of each of them.
The most striking character of the work is Bazarov. The author put this hero in the center of the story, and the history of his relationship with Anna Sergeyevna has a significant place. Therefore, we will start with it.
The feeling of Bazarov to Odintsova
Statements about Bazarovās love and his feeling for Odintsova betray contradictions in nature of Eugene. Perhaps, to some extent, the authorās irony is the image of a victory over the nihilism of a flashed romantic feeling. However, the real meaning of this situation seems to be the opposite. The fact is that for Turgenev, true love has always been a criterion of a high personality. The author did not seek to humiliate Eugene, on the contrary, he wanted to elevate him. Turgenev tried to show that in the callous and dry nihilists there is hidden a powerful force of feeling, one that Arkady is not capable of in his relationship with Katya.
However, love in the fate of the democrats of the ranks rarely played a fatal role, as, for example, in the life of Pavel Petrovich. What happened to Eugene is rather an exception. That is why Turgenev in his work assigns a secondary role to the love story.
Bazarov at the beginning of the novel refers to this feeling as romantic nonsense. He believes that this is "emptiness" and "licentiousness." The story of the feeling experienced by Princess R. Pavel Petrovich was introduced by Turgenev as a warning to Bazarov, this arrogant young man. Love in the life of the heroes of the novel I.S. Turgenev's "Fathers and Sons" becomes fatal.
The image of Anna Sergeevna
Anna Sergeyevna is the culprit of the great changes that have occurred with the main character. This is a beauty, an aristocrat, a young widow of 28 years. Odintsova experienced and felt a lot. This is a proud, independent and intelligent woman who has a decisive and free character. Of course, Eugene struck her imagination. And Anna Sergeyevna interested the hero with freedom of judgment, serene calm, well-read, extraordinary, democratic. However, Odintsova cannot answer Bazarov with the same strong feeling. Of course, in the eyes of the reader, she loses to Eugene, who is above her.
We can say that thanks to her, a turning point occurred in the soul of Yevgeny Bazarov. Love for her is the beginning of tragic retribution to Bazarov. This feeling seems to split his soul into two halves.
Fracture in the soul of Evgeny Bazarov
From this moment, two people live in the hero. The first one is an adversary of romantic feelings. The spiritual nature of love is denied to them. The second is a spiritually and passionately loving person who has encountered the mystery of this feeling. Eugene usually does not give much attention to the appearance of a person, but he was struck by the beauty of Odintsova, and he became interested in her. The hero who previously denied beauty is now captured by her. Bazarov, who rejected love, begins to experience this feeling. Eugene himself realizes that fighting yourself is a hopeless cause!
Loneliness of Bazarov in love
Bazarov is lonely in love. The hero reveals in a bitter feeling for Anna Sergeyevna as a deep, passionate and strong nature. The author shows how love broke Eugene, unsettled. At the end of the work, this is not the same person who was in the beginning. Bazarov is experiencing a severe mental crisis. Everything begins to fall out of his hands. Even the infection seems to be no coincidence: a depressed person becomes careless. However, Bazarov still does not give up the fight and is not humiliated in front of Anna Sergeyevna. By all means, he is trying to overcome despair and pain.
The similarity of the stories of Yevgeny Bazarov and Pavel Kirsanov
Love in the novel by I.S. Turgenev's āFathers and Sonsā is shown both in contrast (the sense of Arkady to Katya and Bazarov to Odintsova), and the similarity. You can see that the stories of Yevgeny Bazarov and Pavel Kirsanov are very similar. Both of them get to know their beloved ones at the ball. Both Bazarov and Kirsanov are unhappy in their feelings. Both of them used to be "women hunters", but suddenly changed, falling in love. Pavel Petrovich, accustomed to victories, soon achieved his goal in relation to Princess R. However, this victory did not cool him. Eugene soon realized that from Anna Sergeyevna āyou wonāt get any sense,ā but he couldnāt help but think about her. And for Pavel Petrovich, and for Bazarov, love is not a simple attraction. She becomes real torment for them. Kirsanov over time not only did not get cold with the princess, but also became āeven more painfulā attached to her. This love story in Fathers and Sons runs through his whole life. Bazarova, too, was "tormented and enraged" by love, from which only death saved him. And you can find the similarities of the stories of two heroes. Love in both cases turns out to be connected with death. Pavel Petrovich could not stop loving the princess even after she passed away. And Kirsanov lost everything. The author notes that the "emaciated head" of Pavel Petrovich lay on the pillow, as if the head of a dead man. Having fallen in love with Anna Sergeyevna, Bazarov also dies. Not like Pavel Petrovich, but physically.
Love in the life of Nikolai Petrovich
How is the theme of love revealed in the novel by I.S. Turgenev's "Fathers and Sons" in relation to the next hero, Nikolai Petrovich? For him, this feeling is a driving force and support. The theme of love in the novel "Fathers and Sons" by Turgenev receives new coverage when it comes to Nikolai Petrovich or his son. For them, this is not a fatal feeling, as for Pavel Petrovich or Bazarov. It is a tender affection, a natural need of the soul, with which they are not trying to fight.
At first, Nikolai Petrovich felt a deep, tender and touching feeling for his wife Masha. The couple practically did not part. So 10 years passed, and then Kirsanovās wife died. Nikolai Petrovich could hardly bear this blow. 10 years passed before his heart could accommodate a new love.
Fenechka is neither equal in social position, nor in age to Nikolai Petrovich. However, this did not stop Kirsanov. The heroine gave birth to his second son. This daughter of the former housekeeper Nikolai Petrovich was able to fill the house with joy and illuminate Kirsanovās life in his declining years.
Relations between Arkady and Katya
The theme of love in the novel "Fathers and Sons" is also represented by the relationship of the son of Nikolai Petrovich and Katya. Regarding Arkady, it must be said that before his eyes was an example of the deep and tender love of his parents. He had a completely different idea of āāthis feeling than that of Bazarov. Therefore, this hero was indignant when Eugene ridiculed the secret of the relationship between a man and a woman. As soon as Arkady moved away from his friend, the need for a loving and close person began to prevail in him. Unnoticed, Katya entered his life. In the relationship between Katya and Arkady, the author exposes nihilism, which is unusual for the nature of the son of Nikolai Petrovich. Katya bluntly declares that she undertakes to remake it. And the girl manages to put these words into practice. After some time, Arkady abandons nihilistic ideology and becomes an exemplary family man.
Conclusion
The theme of love is very widely represented in the novel "Fathers and Sons" by Turgenev. An essay on this work is not difficult to write. To reveal the theme of love, you can choose the relationship between two heroes or provide a general overview, as in our article. The pages of the novel "Fathers and Sons" by Turgenev are literally permeated with the spirit of this eternal feeling. The character of the heroes is most fully revealed just during the test of love. Of course, the theme of love in the novel "Fathers and Sons" is one of the key themes in this work.