The novel "Fathers and Sons", written by I. S. Turgenev in the second half of the 19th century, will never lose its relevance.
This is already proved by the name, because the contradictions that arise between different generations are quite common at any time. And when social ones are added to age differences, the conflict becomes even more acute and becomes a socially significant phenomenon.
The main characters of the work of I. Turgenev are the Bazarov, a fellow soldier and the hereditary aristocrats Kirsanov. Each of them is distinguished by a special upbringing, way of life, attitude to the world, and he is also convinced that it is he who can serve, if not the ideal, then the model of modern man. The comparative characterization of Bazarov and Pavel Kirsanov (these are the main antipodes in the novel) allows readers who live a century and a half later to form their ideas about the main social forces and developmental features of Russia in the mid-19th century.
Meet the protagonist
The plot of the action is the arrival in the village, on vacation, of the young nobleman Arkady. The father who meets his son looks at his comrade with some surprise - he really does not look like the Kirsanovs. Evgeni Bazarov (friend and spiritual teacher of Arkashi) is the son of a simple doctor. Dressed simply - in a long hoodie with tassels. Immediately struck by his big red hands and long hair. Yes, and the behavior was special - somewhat cheeky, rude. Such was the characteristic given by Nikolai Petrovich at the first meeting.
Arkady Kirsanova and Evgeny Bazarov at that moment shared common interests, but as the relations of all the heroes develop, young people will more and more move away from each other. One of the reasons is the conflict between the young democrat’s fellow soldier and Pavel Petrovich, already old, but who has retained sophistication and innate aristocracy.
The beginning of the confrontation
The appearance of Bazarov among the Kirsanovs was an event that disrupted the peaceful course of life in the house. Pavel Petrovich immediately disliked a friend of his nephew. This is understandable. In contrast to Eugene, he loved the gloss in everything and maintained the order that had formed over the years. With a beautiful, well-groomed appearance, in an English suit, with starched collars and impeccable behavior, he was the exact opposite of Bazarov. Their antipathy will begin from the first moment of acquaintance and end with a duel.
The comparative characteristics of Bazarov and Pavel Kirsanov (literature has not yet known such clashes of generations) helps not only to reveal their inner world and ideological convictions, but also to give an idea of the features of the development of society in that period.
Origin, education and social activities
Appearance is the first thing that catches your eye when meeting two completely opposite heroes. The more their relationship escalates, the more clearly the absolute difference between them becomes visible.
Bazarov is the son of an impoverished noblewoman and an ordinary doctor. He achieved everything in life with his own labor, not wanting to at least to some extent depend on his parents. This is a man of strong mind and character, who decided to devote his life to medicine and science. He did not believe in anything and proudly proclaimed himself a nihilist.
Pavel Petrovich, a nobleman in several generations, was raised in a completely different setting. A good education, officer service and universal love - these are the things that formed the basis of his life. However, the passionate passion of Princess R. and a rather quick disappointment (she abandoned him) caused him to prematurely become old and alienated from the light. He lost his taste for life, then settled in his brother’s estate and since then has led a closed, useless life.
Thus, the characteristics of Bazarov and Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov help to understand how dissimilar these people were from the beginning.
Ideological contradictions
Such a clear difference in social status could not but affect the relationship of the heroes. If Nikolai Petrovich tried to show condescension to the guest, to even give in somewhere, his brother immediately showed complete dislike. And the more Bazarov and Kirsanov communicated, the stronger became their confrontation, which spilled over into a fierce argument, and then into a duel. A thorough analysis of the attitude of the democrat-raider and the hereditary nobleman to the social role of aristocrats and nihilists, the way of government, people, nature and art is the best characteristic of the characters.
Evgeny Bazarov and Arkady Kirsanov, too, in fact, looked a little like each other - this will become clear in the final of the novel. Therefore, the second tried to convince a friend that he was mistaken in relation to Pavel Petrovich and asked him to be more lenient. However, reconciliation of two such different people was impossible, and a duel is proof of this.
What is the essence of the ideological differences between a young soldier and an elderly nobleman?
Attitude to the aristocracy
The first controversial issue for them was the question of what is the role of the nobility in the state system and the general way of life.
Pavel Petrovich, who was an aristocrat “to the marrow of bones,” claimed that they are the main driving force of any development, and this right was given to them even by birth. And the ideal of any state is monarchy and liberal reforms leading to progress.
This point of view aroused bitterness in the opponent, the main reason for which he explained was the complete inability of aristocrats to act and, as a result, their futility for any society. The proof of this was Kirsanov himself, idly spending his life in the village.
Nihilists - who are they?
This does not end their disputes, acting as a comparative characteristic. Bazarov and Kirsanov were interested in other issues.
So, after discussing the role of the aristocracy, they could not help discussing the activities of the nihilists, during which the phrase “he does not believe in anything”, uttered earlier by Arkady, is somewhat adjusted by Bazarov. He calls himself a man who accepts only that which can be useful. At the moment, science and medicine were such for him, and the established views on life, monarchy and serfdom, religion were absolutely denied, since they led to stagnation. For Kirsanov, the nihilists were people who caused only irritation with their impudence and unbelief.
The aristocrat and the nihilist are two completely different generations, which convincingly proves the comparative characteristics of Bazarov and Kirsanov.
Assessment of the role of art in human life
Heroes in violent disputes express their attitude to culture, especially since for Pavel Petrovich it was an attempt to triumph over “everything denying” Bazarov. Here they appear as complete antipodes. The first is a romantic whose life was spent at balls and in entertainment. It is no coincidence that he advocates poetry, music, love (although at the same time the author shows the emptiness of his reasoning). The second was brought up by labor, so all this for him is stupidity, distracting from the real thing (in this Turgenev condemns his hero, proving the failure of such views by Bazarov’s love for Odintsova).
Comparative characteristics of Bazarov and Kirsanov - conclusions
The novel “Fathers and Sons” was an innovative work, since it depicted not only representatives of the older and younger generations, but also completely different socio-political forces that played an important role in the development of Russia.
The author himself, to a greater extent, belonged to the Kirsanovs, but his sympathies are more often on the side of Evgeny Bazarov, for whom he leaves the right to reform the country.
A comparative description of Bazarov and Kirsanov makes it clear that both of them were outstanding personalities, the best representatives (and this was emphasized by the author himself) of nobles and raznoshintsev. In some ways they were right, in something they were mistaken - this is not so important. The main thing is that both of them have contributed to the development of the country. And I. S. Turgenev managed to capture and convey in his novel an important moment when a generational change takes place and a new stage in the development of society begins.