Analysis and summary of "What to do?" (Chernyshevsky NG)

For the first time a book by Chernyshevsky's most famous work - the novel What's to be Done? - was published in 1867 in Geneva. The initiators of the book's release were Russian emigrants, in Russia the novel was banned by the censorship. In 1863 the work still had time to be published in the journal Sovremennik, but those numbers where his separate chapters were printed were soon banned. Chernyshevsky's youth in those years passed each other word-by-mouth, and the novel itself - in manuscript copies, so the work made an indelible impression on them.

Is it possible to do something?

The author wrote his sensational novel in the winter of 1862-1863, being in the dungeons of the Peter and Paul Fortress. The dates of writing are December 14-April 4. Since January 1863 with separate chapters of the manuscript censors began to work, but seeing in the plot only a love line, they allow the novel to be printed. Soon the deep meaning of the work reaches the officials of tsarist Russia, the censor is dismissed, but it's done - a rare youth circle of those years did not discuss the short content "What to do?". Chernyshevsky with his work wanted not only to tell the Russians about "new people", but also to cause in them the desire to imitate them. And his bold call resonated in the hearts of many of the author's contemporaries.

The youth of the late XIX century Chernyshevsky's idea turned into a kind of program of his own life. Tales of the many noble deeds of those years began to appear so often that for a while they became almost the everyday routine of everyday life. Many suddenly realized that they were capable of an Act.

The availability of a question and a clear answer to it

The main idea of the work, and it is twice revolutionary in nature, is the freedom of the individual, regardless of gender. That's why the main heroine of the novel is a woman, since at that time the primacy of women did not go beyond the limits of her own living room. Looking back at the life of her mother and close acquaintances, Vera Pavlovna early realizes the absolute error of inaction, and decides that at the heart of her life will be work: honest, useful, giving the opportunity to live worthily. Hence morality - the freedom of the individual comes from the freedom to do things that correspond to both thoughts and possibilities. This is what Chernyshevsky tried to express through the life of Vera Pavlovna. "What should I do?" By chapters draws readers a colorful picture of the phased construction of "real life". Here Vera Pavlovna leaves her mother and decides to open her own business, she realizes that only equality among all members of her artel will be in accordance with her ideals of freedom, that her absolute happiness with Kirsanov depends on Lopukhov's personal happiness. Freedom of the person is interconnected with high moral principles - this is the whole of Chernyshevsky.

Characteristics of the author's personality through his characters

And writers, and readers, as well as all-knowing critics, have an opinion that the protagonists of the work are literary copies of their creators. Even if not exact copies, then very close in spirit to the author. The narrative of the novel "What to do?" Is from the first person, and the author is the acting character. He enters with other heroes into the conversation, even argues with them and, like a "voice-over", explains to the characters and readers many incomprehensible moments for them.

At the same time, the author brings to the reader doubts about his writing abilities, says that "he does not even speak fluently", and certainly there is not a drop of "artistic talent" in it. But for the reader his doubts are inconclusive, it also refutes the novel that Chernyshevsky himself created, "What should I do?". Vera Pavlovna and other characters are so accurately and versatile written out, endowed with such unique individual qualities that the author, who does not possess the true talent, would be incapable of creating.

New, but so different

Heroes Chernyshevsky, these positive "new people", according to the author, from the category of unreal, non-existent, at one fine time should by themselves firmly enter our lives. Enter, dissolve in the crowd of ordinary people, press them, rebuild someone, convince someone, persuade others - to push them out altogether, rid them of society, like a field of weed grass. Artistic utopia, which Chernyshevsky clearly understood and tried to define through the name, "What should I do?". Special person, On his deep conviction, is able to radically change the world around him, but how to do it, he must determine for himself.

Chernyshevsky created his novel in opposition to Turgenev's "Fathers and Children," his "new people" are not at all like the cynical and irritating nihilist Bazarov. The cardinality of these images in the realization of their main task: the hero of Turgenev wanted around him from everything that had gone through his "place to clear", that is, to destroy, whereas the characters of Chernyshevsky tried to build something more, to create before they were destroyed.

Formation of the "new man" in the middle of the XIX century

These two works of great Russian writers have become for readers and the literary community of the second half of the XIX century a kind of beacon - a ray of light in the dark kingdom. Both Chernyshevsky and Turgenev loudly stated about the existence of a "new man", his need for the formation of a special mood of the society that can bring about cardinal changes in the country.

If we re-read and translate the summary of "What to do?" Chernyshevsky in the plane of revolutionary ideas that deeply affected the minds of a certain part of the population of those years, many allegorical features of the work will become easily explainable. The image of the "bride of her fiancées", seen by Vera Pavlovna in her second dream, is nothing but a "Revolution" - this is the conclusion drawn by writers who lived in different years who studied and analyzed the novel from all sides. The other images, of which the novel is narrative, are also allegorical, regardless of whether they are animate or not.

A little bit about the theory of reasonable egoism

The desire to change not only for themselves, not only for their loved ones, but for all others, runs through the whole novel with a red thread. This is completely different from the theory of calculation of self-interest, which Turgenev reveals in Fathers and Children. In many ways, with his fellow pen, Chernyshevsky agrees, believing that any person can not only but also reasonably calculate and determine his own individual path to his own happiness. But at the same time, he says that you can enjoy it only surrounded by such happy people. This is the fundamental difference between the subjects of two novels: Chernyshevsky heroes are prosperous for everyone, Turgenev Bazarov creates his own happiness without looking at others. The closer Chernyshevsky is to us through his novel.

"What should I do?", The analysis of which we give in our review, in the end is much closer to the reader of Turgenev's "Fathers and Children."

Briefly about the plot

As the reader could already determine, never taking Chernyshevsky's novel, the main character of the work is Vera Pavlovna. Through her life, the formation of her personality, her relationship with others, including men, reveals the author's main idea of his novel. A brief summary of "What to do?" Chernyshevsky without Lists of characteristics of the main characters and details of their lives can be conveyed in several sentences.

Vera Rozalskaya (who is also Vera Pavlovna) lives in a fairly well-to-do family, but everything in her home disgusts her: her mother with her dubious activities, and acquaintances who think the same thing, but who speak and do something else entirely. Deciding to leave her parents, our heroine tries to find work, but only a fictitious marriage with her close in spirit to Dmitry Lopukhov gives the girl that freedom and the lifestyle she dreams about. Vera Pavlovna creates a sewing workshop with equal rights for her income of all seamstresses, which is quite progressive for that time. Even her sudden love for a close friend of her husband, Alexander Kirsanov, in which she was convinced, courting with Kirsanov for the sick Lopukhov, does not deprive her of sanity and nobility: she does not leave her husband, she does not leave the workshop. Seeing the mutual love of his wife and close friend, Lopukhov, staging suicide, frees Vera Pavlovna of any obligations to him. Vera Pavlovna and Kirsanov are getting married and are quite happy about it, and a few years later Lopukhov appears again in their life. But only under a different name and with a new wife. Both families settle in the neighborhood, spend quite a lot of time together and are quite satisfied with the circumstances that have developed in this way.

Does being determine consciousness?

Formation of the personality of Vera Pavlovna is far from the regularity of the features of the nature of those of her peers who grew up and were brought up in similar conditions. Despite her youth, lack of experience and connections, the heroine clearly knows what she wants in life. It is not for her to marry successfully and become an ordinary mother of the family, especially since by the age of 14 the girl knew and understood many things. She beautifully sewed and provided the whole family with clothes, at the age of 16 began to earn, giving private lessons on playing the piano. The desire of her mother to marry her meets with a firm refusal and creates her own business - a sewing workshop. On broken stereotypes, about brave deeds of a strong character, the work "What to do?". Chernyshevsky in his own way gives an explanation for the established statement that consciousness determines the existence in which a person is. Defines, but only as he decides - either by following the path chosen by him, or finds his own. Vera Pavlovna stepped out of the way, prepared for her by her mother and the environment in which she lived, and created her own way.

Between spheres of dreams and reality

To determine your path does not mean to find it and follow it. Between dreams and their embodiment in reality lies a huge abyss. Someone does not dare to jump over it, but someone gathers all his will into a fist and takes a decisive step. This is how Chernyshevsky "What to do?" Answers the raised problem in his novel. An analysis of the stages of the formation of the personality of Vera Pavlovna is performed by the author himself instead of the reader. He conducts it through the embodiment of the heroine of his dreams of his own freedom into reality through active work. Let this difficult, but direct and quite passable way. And according to him Chernyshevsky not only directs his heroine, but also allows her to achieve what she wants, giving the reader to understand that only the activity can achieve the cherished goal. Unfortunately, the author emphasizes that not everyone chooses this way. Not every.

Reflection of reality through dreams

In a rather unusual form, wrote his novel "What to do?" Chernyshevsky. Dreams of Faith - there are four of them in the novel - reveal the depth and originality of those thoughts that cause real events in it. In her first dream, she sees herself freed from the cellar. This is a symbolism of leaving home, where she was destined for an unacceptable fate for her. Through the idea of releasing girls like her, Vera Pavlovna creates her own workshop, in which each seamstress gets an equal share of her total income.

The second and third dreams are explained to the reader through real and fantastic mud, reading Verochkin's diary (which she, by the way, never led), what thoughts about the existence of different people seize the heroine in different periods of her life, what she thinks about her second marriage and about The very necessity of this marriage. Explanation through dreams - a convenient form of presentation of the work, which chose Chernyshevsky. "What should I do?" - the content of the novel , reflected Through dreams, characters The main characters in dreams - a worthy example of Chernyshevsky's application of this new form.

Ideals of a bright future, or Fourth dream of Vera Pavlovna

If the first three dreams of the heroine reflected her attitude to the accomplished facts, then her fourth dream is a dream about the future. It is enough to remember it in more detail. So, Vera Pavlovna dreams a completely different world, implausible and beautiful. She sees a lot of happy people living in a wonderful house: luxurious, spacious, surrounded by amazing views, decorated with beating fountains. In it, no one feels deprived, at all - one common joy, one common welfare, all are equal in it.

Such are the dreams of Vera Pavlovna, this is what Chernyshevsky would like to see ("What should I do?"). Dreams, and they, as we recall, about the interconnection of reality and the world of dreams, reveal not so much the spiritual world of the heroine, but the author of the novel. And his full awareness of the impossibility of creating such a reality, a utopia that can not be accomplished, but for which it is nevertheless necessary to live and work. And this is also the fourth dream of Vera Pavlovna.

Utopia and its predictable finale

As everyone knows, his main work - the novel "What to do?" - Nikolai Chernyshevsky wrote while in prison. Deprived of family, society, freedom, seeing in dungeons reality in a completely new way, dreaming about another reality, the writer stated it on paper, not believing in its implementation. The fact that "new people" can change the world, in this Chernyshevsky did not doubt. But the fact that under the power of circumstances not everyone will stand, and not everyone will be worthy of a better life - this he also understood.

What is the end of the novel? The idyllic coexistence of two families close in spirit: the Kirsanovs and Lopukhovs-Beaumont. A small world, created by active, full of nobility thoughts and actions people. Are there many around such happy communities? No! Is this not the answer to Chernyshevsky's dreams about the future? Who wants to create his own happy and happy world, he will create it, whoever does not want to - will go with the flow.