Female images in the novel "Fathers and Sons": semantic and artistic significance. Essay on the topic: Female images in Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons Female images, fathers and sons”
Female images in I. S. Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons”
Women play a big role in the works of writers. You could say huge. Because no work can do without love. And women are always associated with love. In all works, a woman dreams of great love. And not only in stories, but also in life. And everyone achieves it in their own way. The desire to achieve is related to character. Writers write and show about this. But there are no women with the same character. One strives for love in every possible way, the other makes no effort. After all, character matters a lot. Women with strong character always get their way. But this is not always the case in works. An example is the story “Oblomov”. In which the hero, who had lost the meaning in life, was unable to be raised by a woman with a strong character. But in life everything is not like that. We will not go into the details of this work, but consider the “problem” from the other side. For example, the work “Fathers and Sons”, which was written by I.S. Turgenev.
In this story there are representatives of women with strong character. Mainly Odintsova. The author described her as a beautiful, interesting woman. She plays one of the main roles in the work. She loved Bazarov. It was she who awakened human feelings in him, although he did not admit it.
Bazarov is the stupidest person (personal opinion). He denies all human feelings. He denied poetry. An example is the order to Arkady to take away a book with Pushkin’s poetry from his father. He doesn't recognize music. For example, laughter upon learning that Nikolai Petrovich plays a Scottish musical instrument. He perceives nature as a workshop. But Turgenev describes all the beauty of nature. The author doesn't like Bazarov, apparently. Bazarov recognizes only science. Love does not exist.
Odintsova and Bazarov are two different people. She has a different outlook on life. She could argue with him about anything. Bazarov was afraid of her. But in some ways they are similar. Apparently for this reason, when dying, Bazarov confesses his love for Odintsova. She belongs to the category of children.
Katerina, according to Bazarov, is a strong woman. She showed courage. fought for Arkady. The heroine was able to overcome Bazarov and his theory. Arkady is human. He acknowledges feelings. But Bazarov instills his theory in him. He talks about agreeing with her, although deep down he denies her. Katerina was able to overcome everything for the sake of love.
Fenichka is a modest, quiet, naive woman. She doesn't play a special role. But because of her, Pavel Petrovich dies. He was in love with her. She reminded him of his late wife. Because of her, he dies in a duel. From here you can see her small role, which ended in tragedy.
Kukshina rarely appears in the story. Her character is reminiscent of Bazarov. Her views on life are copied from the views of Bazarov. She has a weak character. She does not have her own views on life, and weak and weak-willed people can copy from someone.
Drawing conclusions, we clearly see that women play a large role in the stories. verses and poems. In the story “Fathers and Sons,” each heroine is overcome by love and each has her own end. Some are happy (Arkady and Katerina), others are unhappy (Bazarov and Odintsova). And it all depends on the character.
It is impossible to imagine the history of Russian literature without the name of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. His literary heritage is quite extensive: Turgenev wrote poetry, prose, and drama. The writer's talent manifested itself most clearly in his major works - novels and stories. It was in them that the artist comprehensively reflected the features of his time and the spiritual image of his contemporaries. Turgenev’s enormous merit also lies in the fact that in his work he touched upon universal human and philosophical problems that worried people at all times.
One of the fundamental themes of Turgenev's work is the theme of love. It is important to note that the author often tests his characters with love. And this is no coincidence, for Turgenev himself went through the same test.
Back in 1843, an event occurred that left an indelible mark on Turgenev’s entire life. He met an outstanding singer, a person of high culture, an intelligent and attractive woman, Pauline Viardot. The woman she loved could not become Turgenev’s wife: she had children and a husband. And their relationship retained the purity and charm of true friendship, behind which lay a high feeling of love. It is impossible to read the lines from Turgenev’s letter to Viardot without excitement: “Next Tuesday it will be seven years since I was with you for the first time. And so we remained friends, and, it seems to me, good friends. And I am happy to tell you after seven years that I have not seen anything in the world better than you, that meeting you on my way was the greatest happiness of my life, that my devotion and gratitude to you has no limits and will die only with me.”
As can be seen from all of the above, Turgenev treated his beloved and women in general with great respect and awe. In each of his works, the author gave a special place to female images, sometimes making them the main ones in revealing the main theme. The novel “Fathers and Sons” was no exception. The entire work is full of female images, each of which is interesting, original and carries its own special symbolic meaning.
Roman I.S. Turgenev's "Fathers and Sons" is a multifaceted and very deep work. It examines a variety of issues, from socio-political to deeply personal issues of love and friendship.
The theme of love is one of the main themes of this work. In this regard, the novel contains many female characters. With their help, the author not only reveals many problems, but also expresses her attitude to the problems of a woman’s destiny, expresses her point of view on female character, female destiny.
The novel features women of different generations. The “elders” include Bazarov’s mother Arina Vlasyevna, Arkady’s mother Masha, Arkady’s grandmother Agathoklea Kuzminishna, Anna Sergeevna and Katya’s aunt. All these heroines, with the exception of the old and, in my opinion, already out of her mind auntie, are positive characters. They, despite the difference in character, fulfilled their feminine duty with honor and followed their feminine destiny. These heroines had strong families, loving husbands and beloved children. It’s not for nothing that they raised worthy, good children: the Kirsanov brothers, and Bazarov, and Arkady.
The younger generation in “Fathers and Sons” includes Katya, Fenechka, and Kukshina. The fates of these women are different. If Fenechka is happy with her fate, then doubts already arise about Katya: she strives for a different life, interesting and active, but chooses the rather mediocre Arkady. What lies ahead for her? We can only guess.
Avdotya Nikitishna Kukshina is both a funny and dramatic character. This is a deeply unhappy woman who failed to find her feminine happiness. She is trying to turn into an emancipated, independent lady. Kukshina rejects her feminine nature, turning into a funny and pitiful creature. She still hopes to arrange her destiny, dreams of a husband and children. But, in my opinion, she is unlikely to succeed.
The characters of Princess R. and Anna Sergeevna Odintsova stand out in the novel. They are similar in many ways and form a parallel of the older and younger generations. These heroines prefer something else to a quiet family life. Princess R. chooses a life full of passions and excitement, Odintsova - a complete absence of emotions, but material well-being. Both heroines are unhappy. It seems to me that the author sees the reason for this in their rejection of family, love for their husband, and raising children. It is in this, in my opinion, that Turgenev sees the purpose of a woman, her sacred duty and her happiness.
Female images in the novel “Fathers and Sons”
“Turgenev’s girl” is already a common noun, a certain ideal that embodies external beauty, spirituality and self-esteem. “Turgenev’s women” are characterized by poetry, integrity of nature, and incredible fortitude. Such are Elena (“On the Eve”), Natalya (“Rudin”), Lisa (“The Noble Nest”). In the novel “Fathers and Sons,” the author betrayed his ideal. Here everything is far from being as clear as in his early works.
The novel presents a whole gallery of female characters - from the simple peasant woman Fenechka to the high society lady Anna Sergeevna Odintsova.
Fenechka is a very atypical image for Russian literature. For a long time, simple peasant women, such as they are, could not become the muses of writers and poets. Turgenev took on this image with tenderness: “It was a young woman of about twenty-three, all white and soft, with dark hair and eyes, with red, childishly plump lips and tender hands. She was wearing a neat cotton dress; her new blue scarf lay lightly on her round shoulders.” This image is unlike anything that appeared in Russian literature before or after. Karamzin's Liza is actually the same educated young lady, only called a peasant woman for appearance's sake. Nekrasov's peasant women are proud Russian women stopping galloping horses. Fenechka can’t stop a horse, and she’s not very educated. Her illiteracy, shyness, and simplicity are very nicely noted. These are realistic features that do not spoil her image at all. Here Fenechka appeared in front of the guests: “She lowered her eyes and stopped at the table, leaning lightly on the very tips of her fingers. It seemed that she was ashamed that she had come, and at the same time she seemed to feel that she had the right to come.”
Fenechka is a simple street girl. She does not feel the humiliation of her position, she is happy with everything. This is the first time we have encountered such an image in Russian literature, and this is why it is extremely valuable.
The next character introduced in the novel is Eudoxia, or rather Avdotya Nikitichna Kukshina. The image is passable and even caricatured, but not accidental. Probably in the middle of the 19th century. emancipated women appeared more and more often, and this phenomenon not only irritated Turgenev, but aroused burning hatred in him. This is confirmed by the description of Kukshina’s everyday life (“Papers, letters, thick issues of Russian magazines, mostly uncut, were scattered on dusty tables; cigarette butts were scattered everywhere”), as well as her appearance and manners (“In the small and inconspicuous figure of an emancipated woman there was no there was nothing ugly; but the expression on her face had an unpleasant effect on the viewer. I couldn’t help but ask her: “Are you hungry? Or are you timid?”
What is unpleasant about Kukshina is, first of all, philistinism, lack of taste, the desire to reach out, stand on a par, and attract attention. This portrait is also new for Russian literature. Turgenev described a contemporary phenomenon and was quite able to convey his attitude towards it.
The central female character of the novel is Odintsova. Every stroke in her portrait indicates that this is a lady from high society: “dignified posture,” a calm look, a barely noticeable smile: “Some kind of gentle and soft force wafted from her face.” It was not only her movements and gaze that were calm. When Bazarov and Arkady arrived at her estate, they saw how measured and monotonous her whole life was. Everything here turned out to be “put on rails.” Comfort and serenity formed the basis of Odintsova’s existence. She had suffered enough in life (“grated kalach”) and now it was as if she only wanted to take a break from her past.
It would seem that the ideal heroine has reappeared; This is still the same “Turgenev girl”, only matured. Hardly. The writer's attitude towards his heroine is ambiguous. This woman is good for everyone, but she also has one drawback: she is too calculating, practical, and too self-controlled. It is noticeable that this is an aging lady who will never allow herself the same stupidity, as if this would be good compensation for her passing youth. Odintsova is a lone wolf, you can hear it even in her last name. Perhaps her body is really very beautiful, as Bazarov says in a rather rude manner, but the reader cannot see this, and Odintsova’s soul does not evoke sympathy. Turgenev's ideal of a woman is the ability to love and sacrifice oneself for the sake of others.
There are few female characters in the novel. There are five main ones: Odintsova and her sister, Fenechka and Kukshina and the main character’s mother. Female images in the novel “Fathers and Sons” help to understand the problem, to understand nihilism as a new philosophical direction.
Antipathy of the image - Kukshina
Nihilism evokes various judgments. Some are passionate about the new direction and see only positive aspects in it. Nihilism in the image of Kukshina can change opinions. There is little that is pleasant about a woman: an unkempt appearance, careless clothing, disheveled hair. Kukshina is a representative of the advanced part of the advanced movement. But I want to turn away from such a representative. Bazarov himself feels doubts, conviction fades into the background. The author specifically offers the reader this version of a nihilistic attitude towards life. The woman tries to show herself as smart and knowledgeable in various fields, but the interlocutor sees how wrong her position is. The woman is a bright pseudo-nihilist. She undermines the authority of the teaching and contrasts with other female images of the novel.
Graceful Odintsova
Denying any feelings that can have an impact on a person, causing love and affection, Bazarov finds himself in the networks of emotions. Smart Anna interests the nihilist. He enjoys communicating with her. Evgeniy begins to plunge into an internal conflict between reason and love. Bazarov understands that all his beliefs are wrong. Feelings are stronger than ideas. Odintsova appears as a beauty, calm, and self-confident. The coldness of a woman's soul is not capable of melting even such a strong male character as that of the main character. But she can prove that love exists. Bazarov and Odintsova are afraid of feelings, one values their own peace of mind, the other values their convictions.
Mother's image
The author is sensitive to maternal love. Arina Vlasevna is caring and sweet. The image attracts with warmth and naivety. The poor woman is lost in front of her smart son. Bazarov tries to visit his home less often. The reader assumes that the reason is the mother's love. Evgeniy is afraid that he will not cope with his feelings and will become a romantic, a devoted son who does not hide his love.
Woman of Discord
The soft image of Fenechka is brought into the type of women who led to discord. A caring mother, modest and quiet, became the reason for the duel between Evgeniy and Pavel Petrovich. There are many similarities between men. They hate each other, but the duelists are funny in their feelings. The author specifically describes the comedy; he wants readers to chuckle at the pathos of the fight.
Fenichka does not want to be the cause of discord, but fate is driving her towards this. The scene of Bazarov’s meeting with Fenechka in the gazebo is amazing; she is sympathetic to both men, but inside she has fear that is terrifying. Bazarov's attitude towards women is different.
Cold Anna's sister
Katya Odintsova is an example of femininity. The sweet girl has enormous power. Her energy can change the environment around her. Arkady and Katerina create a real family based on true feelings. Love brings a man out of delusion. Nihilism is a thing of the past. Arkady is freed from the pressure of Bazarov's mind. The woman confirms the author’s position: love pushes a person to great deeds, without it it is impossible to be happy.
The works of I. S. Turgenev are among the most lyrical and poetic works in Russian literature. Female images give them a special charm. “Turgenev's woman” is some kind of special dimension, a certain ideal that embodies beauty, both external and internal. “Turgenev’s women” are characterized by poetry, integrity of nature, and incredible strength of spirit. I.S. Turgenev, in relation to women, reveals everything good or bad that is in his heroes.
Often it is the heroines in his works who are forced to make decisions, make moral choices, and determine their destiny.
The novel “Fathers and Sons” presents a whole gallery of female images - from the simple peasant woman Fenechka to the high society lady Anna Sergeevna Odintsova.
I would like to start my essay with a story about Fenechka. Fenechka’s first appearance leaves in the soul a feeling of something soft, warm and very natural: “She was a young woman of about twenty-three, all white and soft, with dark hair and eyes, with red, childishly plump lips and delicate hands. She was wearing a neat chintz dress, a new blue scarf lay lightly on her round shoulders.”
It should be noted that Fenechka did not appear in front of Arkady and Bazarov on the first day of their arrival. That day she said she was sick, although, of course, she was healthy. The reason is very simple: she was terribly shy.
The duality of her position is obvious: a peasant woman whom the master allowed to live in the house, but he himself was ashamed of it. Nikolai Petrovich committed a seemingly noble act. He settled with him a woman who gave birth to a child from him, that is, he seemed to recognize certain of her rights and did not hide the fact that Mitya was his son. But he behaved in such a way that Fenichka could not feel free and coped with her situation only thanks to her natural naturalness and dignity.
This is how Nikolai Petrovich tells Arkady about her: “Please don’t call her loudly... Well, yes... she lives with me now. I placed her in the house... there were two small rooms. However, all this can be changed.” He didn’t even mention his little son—he was so embarrassed.
But then Fenechka appeared in front of the guests: “She lowered her eyes and stopped at the table, leaning lightly on the very tips of her fingers. It seemed that she was ashamed that she had come, and at the same time she seemed to feel that she had the right to come.”
It seems to me that Turgenev sympathizes with Fenechka and admires her. It’s as if he wants to protect her and show that in her motherhood she is not only beautiful, but also above all rumors and prejudices: “And really, is there anything in the world more captivating than a young beautiful mother with a healthy child in her arms? ”
Bazarov, living with the Kirsanovs, happily communicated only with Fenechka: “Even his face changed when he talked to her. It took on a clear, almost kind expression, and some kind of playful attentiveness was mixed in with its usual carelessness.” I think the point here is not only in Fenechka’s beauty, but precisely in her naturalness, the absence of any affectation and attempts to pretend to be a lady.
Bazarov liked Fenechka, he once kissed her firmly on her open lips, thereby violating all the rights of hospitality and all the rules of morality. Fenichka also liked Bazarov, but she would hardly have given herself to him.
Pavel Petrovich was even in love with Fenechka, came to her room several times “for nothing,” and was alone with her several times, but he was not so low as to kiss her. On the contrary, because of the kiss, he fought a duel with Bazarov and, in order not to be further tempted by Fenechka, he went abroad.
The image of Fenechka is like a delicate flower, which, however, has unusually strong roots. It seems to me that of all the heroines of the novel, she is closest to the “Turgenev women”.
The direct opposite of Fenechka is Eudoxia, or rather Avdotya Nikitichna Kukshina. The image is quite interesting and rather caricatured, but not accidental. Probably, in the middle of the 19th century, emancipated women appeared more and more often, and this phenomenon not only irritated Turgenev, but aroused burning hatred in him. This is confirmed by the description of Kukshina’s life: “Papers, letters, thick issues of Russian magazines, mostly uncut, were scattered on dusty tables. There were scattered cigarette butts everywhere,” as well as her appearance and manners: “There was nothing ugly in the small and inconspicuous figure of the emancipated woman, but the expression of her face had an unpleasant effect on the viewer,” she walks “somewhat disheveled, in a silk, not entirely neat dress , her velvet coat is lined with yellowed ermine fur.” At the same time, he reads something from physics and chemistry, reads articles about women, albeit with half a sin, but still talks about physiology, embryology, marriage and other things. All her thoughts are turned to objects more serious than ties, collars, potions and baths. She subscribes to magazines and communicates with students abroad. And to emphasize her complete opposite to Fenechka, I will quote the following quote: “...no matter what she did, it always seemed to you that this was exactly what she did not want to do. Everything with her came out, as children say, on purpose, that is, not simply, not naturally.”
In the image of Kukshina we see the young female generation of that time, emancipated, with progressive aspirations. Although Turgenev ridicules her aspirations, which would deserve encouragement and approval from every right-thinking person.
Bazarov’s reaction to Kukshina was also completely different than to Fenechka; when he saw her, he winced. The nonsense that Kukshina spoke was quite consistent with her appearance and manners. Perhaps, Bazarov’s meeting with Kukshina is significant only because in their conversation for the first time the name of Anna Sergeevna Odintsova was heard - a woman who later plunged Bazarov into the abyss of passions and torment.
They met Bazarov at the governor’s ball, and Odintsova immediately made an indelible impression on him: “What kind of figure is this? - he said. “She’s not like other women.” It must be said that in the mouth of Bazarov (that is, this man as he was at the time of their meeting) this is the highest praise. Bazarov, in a conversation with the owner of the estate, is confused, embarrassed, pressed, trying to overcome the feeling of love that is beginning to arise in his heart. Anna did not dare to fall in love with Bazarov, an extraordinary man who would hardly make her life calm.
Every stroke in Odintsova’s portrait indicates that she is a lady from high society. Anna Sergeevna Odintsova amazed with her dignified posture, smooth movements, intelligent and calmly looking eyes. Her face exuded soft and gentle strength. It was not only her movements and gaze that were calm. Life on her estate was characterized by luxury, calm, coldness, and the absence of interesting people. Regularity and constancy are the main features of the way of life on Odintsova’s estate.
When Bazarov and Arkady arrived at her estate, they saw how measured and monotonous her whole life was. Everything here turned out to be “put on rails.” Comfort and serenity formed the basis of Odintsova’s existence. She had suffered enough in life (“grated kalach”) and now it was as if she only wanted to take a break from her past. More than once in conversations with Bazarov she called herself old.
When I read the novel, at first I thought that she was being flirtatious in this way - after all, she is only 28 years old! But then I realized: this young woman has the soul of an old woman. How else can we explain her desire to do her best to drown out the love that has arisen within herself, just so that it does not interfere with her measured way of life.
The author writes about her: “Her mind was inquisitive and indifferent at the same time. Her doubts never subsided to the point of forgetfulness and never grew to the point of anxiety. If she weren’t independent, she might have rushed into battle, would have recognized passion...’’ Odintsova herself knows this quality of her nature well, she says to Bazarov: “I love what you call comfort.”
But at the same time, Anna Sergeevna is capable of noble deeds, sympathy, and high sadness. She comes to say goodbye to the dying Eugene, although he only asked his father to inform him that he was ill and dying.
At the end of the novel, we learn that Anna Odintsova married “not out of love, but out of conviction, to one of the future Russian leaders...” Coldness of reason in her is, unfortunately, combined with some coldness of soul.
Odintsova has a strong character, and she even suppressed her younger sister Katya in some ways.
Katya is a nice girl, and although at first she is perceived as a pale shadow of Odintsova, she still has character. A dark brunette with large features and small, thoughtful eyes. As a child she was very ugly, but by the age of 16 she began to get better and became interesting. Meek, quiet, poetic and bashful. Milo blushes and sighs, is afraid to speak, and notices everything around him. Musician. Loves flowers and makes bouquets of them. Her room is amazingly tidy. Patient, undemanding, but at the same time stubborn. Her individuality is gradually revealed, and it becomes clear that in an alliance with Arkady she will be the main one.
Odintsova’s image is interesting precisely because of its ambiguity. She cannot be called either a positive or negative heroine without sinning against the truth. Anna Sergeevna is a lively and bright person, with her own advantages and disadvantages.
It’s difficult for me to unequivocally answer the question: how does Turgenev feel about Odintsova? Maybe my personal perception is interfering with me - Odintsova is not very attractive to me. But one thing is obvious: Turgenev nowhere allows irony in relation to this heroine. He considers her a fairly smart woman (“A woman with a brain,” according to Bazarov), but I don’t think he’s very fascinated by her.
“Turgenev women” are strong women. Perhaps they are much stronger in spirit than the men around them. Perhaps Odintsova’s merit lies in the fact that she, unwittingly, helped Bazarov throw off the mask that so hindered him, and contributed to the development of the personality of this extraordinary man. Which of these women turns out to be sweeter and closer to the writer’s heart? Of course, Fenechka. It was her that Turgenev bestowed with the happiness of love and motherhood. And emancipated women, in their worst manifestations, are deeply unsympathetic to him. Odintsov is repulsive with his coldness and selfishness. Turgenev's ideal of a woman lies in the ability to love and sacrifice herself for the sake of her beloved. All these heroines, of course, are very different, each of them has their own life, their own experiences, but they are all united by love and the desire to be happy.
