The novel "Oblomov" is an integral part of Goncharov's trilogy, which also includes "Cliff" and " ordinary story". It was published for the first time in 1859 in the journal Otechestvennye Zapiski, however, the author published a fragment of the novel Oblomov's Dream 10 years earlier, back in 1849. According to the author, a draft of the whole novel was already ready at that time. A trip to his native Simbirsk with its old patriarchal way of life inspired him in many ways to publish the novel. However, I had to take a break creative activity in connection with the trip around the world.
Analysis of the work
Introduction. The history of the creation of the novel. Main idea.
Much earlier, in 1838, Goncharov published the humorous story "Dashing Pain", where he condemningly describes such a pernicious phenomenon that flourishes in the West as a tendency to excessive daydreaming and blues. It was then that the author first raised the issue of Oblomovism, which he subsequently fully and multifacetedly revealed in the novel.
Later, the author admitted that Belinsky's speech on the topic of his "Ordinary History" made him think about the creation of "Oblomov". In his analysis, Belinsky helped him outline a clear image of the protagonist, his character and individual traits. In addition, the hero-Oblomov, in some way, Goncharov's recognition of his mistakes. After all, he was once also an adherent of a serene and meaningless pastime. Goncharov talked more than once about how hard it was sometimes for him to do some everyday things, not to mention how difficult it was for him to decide to go around the world. Friends even nicknamed him "Prince De Laziness".
The ideological content of the novel is extremely deep: the author raises deep social problems that were relevant to many of his contemporaries. For example, the dominance of European ideals and canons among the nobility and the vegetation of native Russian values. Eternal questions of love, duty, decency, human relationships and life values.
General characteristics of the work. Genre, plot and composition.
According to genre features, the novel "Oblomov" can be easily identified as typical work directions of realism. There are all the signs typical for the works of this genre: the central conflict of interests and positions of the protagonist and the society opposing him, a lot of details in the description of situations and interiors, authenticity from the point of view of historical and everyday aspects. So, for example, Goncharov very clearly draws the social division of the strata of society inherent in that time: petty bourgeois, serfs, officials, nobles. During the course of the story, some characters get their development, for example, Olga. Oblomov, on the contrary, is degrading, breaking down under the pressure of the surrounding reality.
A phenomenon typical of that time, described on the pages, later called "Oblomovism", allows us to interpret the novel as social and everyday. The extreme degree of laziness and moral licentiousness, the stagnation and decay of the individual - all this had an extremely detrimental effect on the philistines of the 19th century. And "Oblomovshchina" became a household name, in a general sense, reflecting the way of life of the then Russia.
In terms of composition, the novel can be divided into 4 separate blocks or parts. At the beginning, the author gives us an idea of what it is main character, follow the smooth, not dynamic and lazy course of his boring life. This is followed by the culmination of the novel - Oblomov falls in love with Olga, comes out of "hibernation", strives to live, enjoy every day and receive personal development. However, their relationship is not destined to continue and the couple is going through a tragic break. Oblomov's short-term insight turns into further degradation and disintegration of the personality. Oblomov again falls into despondency and depression, plunging into his feelings and a joyless existence. The denouement is the epilogue, which describes the further life of the hero: Ilya Ilyich marries a woman who is homely and does not sparkle with intellect and emotions. Spends the last days in peace, indulging in laziness and gluttony. The finale is the death of Oblomov.
Images of the main characters
In contrast to Oblomov, there is a description of Andrei Ivanovich Stolz. These are two antipodes: Stolz's view is directed clearly forward, he is sure that without development there is no future for him as an individual and for society as a whole. Such people move the planet forward, the only joy available to him is constant work. He enjoys achieving goals, he has no time to build ephemeral castles in the air and vegetate like Oblomov in the world of ethereal fantasies. At the same time, Goncharov does not try to make one of his heroes bad and the other good. On the contrary, he repeatedly emphasizes that neither one nor the other male image is ideal. Each of them has both positive features, as well as disadvantages. This is another feature that allows us to classify the novel as a realistic genre.
Just like men, women in this novel are also opposed to each other. Pshenitsyna Agafya Matveevna - Oblomov's wife is presented as a narrow-minded, but extremely kind and accommodating nature. She literally idolizes her husband, trying to make his life as comfortable as possible. The poor thing does not understand that by doing so she is digging his grave herself. She - typical representative of the old system, when a woman is literally a slave of her husband, who does not have the right to her own opinion, and a hostage to everyday problems.
Olga Ilinskaya
Olga is a progressive young girl. It seems to her that she will be able to change Oblomov, guide him on the true path, and she almost succeeds. She is incredibly strong in spirit, emotional and talented. In a man, she wants to see, first of all, a spiritual mentor, a strong whole personality, at least equal to her in her mindset and beliefs. This is where the conflict of interest with Oblomov occurs. Unfortunately, he cannot and does not want to meet her high demands and goes into the shadows. Unable to forgive such cowardice, Olga breaks with him and thereby saves herself from Oblomovshchina.
Conclusion
The novel raises a rather serious problem from the point of view of the historical development of Russian society, namely "Oblomovism" or the gradual degradation of certain sections of the Russian public. Old foundations that people are not ready to change and improve their society and way of life, philosophical issues of development, the theme of love and weakness human spirit- all this rightfully allows us to recognize Goncharov's novel as a brilliant work of the 19th century.
"Oblomovism" from social phenomenon gradually flows into the character of the person himself, drags him to the bottom of laziness and moral decay. Dreams and illusions are gradually replacing the real world, where there is simply no place for such a person. This leads to another problematic topic raised by the author, namely the question " Extra person", which is Oblomov. He is stuck in the past and sometimes his dreams even prevail over really important things, for example, love for Olga.
The success of the novel was largely due to a deep crisis that coincided in time. feudal system. The image of a jaded landowner, incapable of independent living, was very sharply perceived by the public. Many recognized themselves in Oblomov, and Goncharov's contemporaries, for example, the writer Dobrolyubov, quickly picked up the theme of "Oblomovism" and continued to develop it on the pages of his scientific works. Thus, the novel became an event not only in the field of literature, but the most important socio-political and historical event.
The author is trying to reach out to the reader, to make him look at own life, and perhaps something to rethink. Only by correctly interpreting the fiery message of Goncharov, you can change your life and then, you can avoid the sad ending of Oblomov.
Andrei tries to "walk" Ilya Ilyich into people, goes with him to dinner parties, at one of which he introduces him to Olga Ilyinskaya. She “in the strict sense was not a beauty ... But if she were turned into a statue, she would be a statue of grace and harmony”, “in a rare girl you will find such simplicity and natural freedom of sight, word, deed ... no lie, no tinsel, no intent !" Olga in the novel is the embodiment of grace, concentration, lightness. Oblomov is immediately captivated by the amazing voice of the girl, listening to her magnificent "Casta diva". At the request of Stolz, Olga draws up a plan for how she will take advantage of Oblomov's love in order to "remake" him into an active, active person. Olga understands that in relations with Oblomov she has the main role, "the role of a guiding star." She was transformed along with Oblomov's changes, because these changes are the work of her hands. “And she will do all this miracle ... She even trembled with proud, joyful awe; I considered it a lesson appointed from above. In the course of her experiment, Olga falls in love with Oblomov, which brings her whole plan to a standstill and leads to tragedy in their further relationship.
Oblomov and Olga expect the impossible from each other. She is from him - activity, will, energy. In her view, he should become like Stolz, but only retain the best that is in his soul. He is from her - reckless, selfless love. But Olga loves that Oblomov whom she created in her imagination, whom she sincerely wanted to create in life. “I thought that I would revive you, that you could still live for me - and you died a long time ago,” Olga says with difficulty and asks a bitter question: “Who cursed you, Ilya? What did you do? What ruined you? There is no name for this evil..." - "Yes, - Ilya answers. - Oblomovism!" The tragedy of Olga and Oblomov becomes the final verdict to that terrible phenomenon, which Goncharov portrayed in his novel.
The main thing, in my opinion, is another tragedy of Oblomov - humility, unwillingness to overcome such an ailment as Oblomovism. In the course of the novel, Oblomov set himself many tasks that, it would seem, are of paramount importance to him: to reform the estate, get married, travel around the world, and, finally, find himself a new apartment in St. Petersburg to replace the one from which he was evicted . But a terrible "disease" does not allow him to get down to business, she "dumped him on the spot." But Oblomov, in turn, does not try to get rid of her, but only tries in vain to shift his problems onto the shoulders of another, as he was taught in childhood. The tragedy of Ilya Ilyich is that even such high and noble feelings as love and friendship cannot make him wake up from eternal sleep.
Olga Ilinskaya
Olga Sergeevna Ilyinskaya - Oblomov's beloved, Stolz's wife, a bright and strong character.
“Olga in the strict sense was not a beauty ... But if she were turned into a statue, she would be a statue of grace and harmony”, “In a rare girl you will find such simplicity and natural freedom of sight, word, deed ... no lie, no tinsel, no intent !"
The author emphasizes the rapid spiritual development of his heroine: she "as if listening to the course of life by leaps and bounds."
O. and Oblomov introduces Stolz. Ilya Ilyich is immediately captivated by the amazing voice of the girl. Listening to her magnificent "Casta diva", Oblomov falls more and more in love with O.
The heroine is self-confident, her mind requires constant work. Having fallen in love with Oblomov, she certainly wants to change him, raise him to her ideal, re-educate him. O. draws up a plan to "remake" Oblomov into an active, active person. “And she will do all this miracle ... She even trembled with proud, joyful awe; I considered it a lesson appointed from above. O. understands that in relations with Oblomov she has the main role, "the role of a guiding star." She was transformed along with Oblomov's changes, because these changes are the work of her hands. But the mind and soul of the heroine demanded further development, and Ilya Ilyich changed very slowly, reluctantly and lazily. O.'s feeling resembles rather the experience of re-educating Oblomov than sincere first love. She does not inform Oblomov that all affairs on her estate have been settled only in order to “follow to the end how love will make a revolution in his lazy soul ...” But, realizing that her life ideals never agree with Oblomov’s ideals, O. breaks off relations with him: “... you are ready to coo all your life under the roof ... but I’m not like that: this is not enough for me, I need something else, but I don’t know what!” O. needs to feel that her chosen one is above her. But even Stolz, whom she will marry, does not succeed. "The deep abyss of her soul" haunts O. rest. She is doomed forever striving for development and a richer, spiritually rich life.
Stolz
STOLZ - central character novel by I.A. Goncharov "Oblomov" (1848-1859). The literary sources of the image of Sh. are Gogol's Konstanzhonglo and the merchant Murazov (second volume " dead souls”), Petr Aduev (“Ordinary History”). Later, Sh. Goncharov developed the type in the image of Tushin (“Cliff”).
Sh. is the antipode of Oblomov, a positive type of practical figure. In the image of Sh., according to Goncharov's plan, such opposite qualities as, on the one hand, sobriety, prudence, efficiency, knowledge of people of a practical materialist should have been harmoniously combined; on the other - spiritual subtlety, aesthetic susceptibility, high spiritual aspirations, poetry. Thus, the image of Sh. is created by these two mutually exclusive elements: the first comes from his father, a pedantic, stern, rude German (“his father put him with him on a spring cart, gave the reins and ordered him to be taken to the factory, then to the fields, then to the city , to merchants, to offices"); the second - from her mother, a Russian, poetic and sentimental nature ("she rushed to cut Andryusha's nails, curl her curls, sew elegant collars and shirt-fronts, sang to him about flowers, dreamed of a high role with him about the poetry of life ..."). His mother was afraid that Sh., under the influence of his father, would become a rude burgher, but Sh.’s Russian environment prevented (“Oblomovka was nearby: there is an eternal holiday!”), As well as the princely castle in Verkhlev with portraits of pampered and proud nobles “in brocade, velvet and lace." “On the one hand, Oblomovka, on the other, the princely castle, with a wide expanse of aristocratic life, met with the German element, and neither a good bursh, nor even a philistine, came out of Andrei.”
Sh., in contrast to Oblomov, makes his own way in life. It is not for nothing that Sh. comes from the bourgeois class (his father left Germany, wandered around Switzerland and settled in Russia, becoming the manager of the estate). Sh. brilliantly graduates from the university, serves with success, retires to do his own thing; makes a house and money. He is a member of a trading company that sends goods abroad; as an agent of the company, Sh. travels to Belgium, England, throughout Russia. Sh.'s image is built on the basis of the idea of balance, the harmonic correspondence of the physical and spiritual, mind and feelings, suffering and pleasure. Sh.'s ideal is measure and harmony in work, life, rest, and love. The portrait of Sh. contrasts with the portrait of Oblomov: “He is all made up of bones, muscles and nerves, like a blooded English horse. He is thin, he has almost no cheeks at all, that is, bone and muscle, but no sign of fat roundness ... "The ideal of Sh.'s life is unceasing and meaningful work, this is" the image, content, element and purpose of life. Sh. defends this ideal in a dispute with Oblomov, calling the latter's utopian ideal "Oblomovism" and considering it harmful in all spheres of life.
Unlike Oblomov, Sh. passes the test of love. He meets the ideal of Olga Ilyinskaya: Sh. combines masculinity, fidelity, moral purity, universal knowledge and practical acumen, allowing him to emerge victorious in all life's trials. Sh. marries Olga Ilyinskaya, and Goncharov tries in their active alliance, full of labor and beauty, to present an ideal family, a true ideal that Oblomov does not succeed in life: “we worked together, dined, went to the fields, made music as Oblomov dreamed ... Only there was no drowsiness, despondency with them, they spent their days without boredom and without apathy; there was no languid look, no word; the conversation did not end with them, it was often hot. In friendship with Oblomov, Sh. also turned out to be on top: he replaced the rogue manager, destroyed the intrigues of Tarantiev and Mukhoyarov, who tricked Oblomov into signing a fake loan letter.
The image of Sh., according to Goncharov, was supposed to embody a new positive type of Russian progressive figure (“How many Stoltsev should appear under Russian names!”), Combining both the best Western tendencies and Russian breadth, scope, spiritual depth. Type Sh. was supposed to turn Russia on the path European civilization to give it the proper dignity and weight among the European powers. Finally, S.'s efficiency does not come into conflict with morality; the latter, on the contrary, complements efficiency, gives it inner strength and strength.
Contrary to Goncharov's plan, in the image of Sh. utopian features. Rationalism and rationalism, embedded in the image of Sh., damages artistry. Goncharov himself was not entirely satisfied with the image, believing that Sh. was “weak, pale,” that “an idea peeps out of him too nakedly.” Chekhov expressed himself more sharply: “Stoltz does not inspire any confidence in me. The author says that this is a magnificent fellow, but I do not believe it. This is a puristic beast who thinks very well of himself and is pleased with himself. It is half composed, three-quarters stilted" (letter 1889). The failure of the image of Sh., perhaps, is due to the fact that Sh. is not artistically shown in the large-scale activity in which he is successfully engaged.
The novel "Oblomov" is one of the brightest works of Russian literature of the 19th century, which even today excites readers with the sharpness of the questions raised by the author. The book is interesting, first of all, because the problematics of the novel is revealed through the method of antithesis. The opposition in Oblomov of the main characters makes it possible to emphasize the conflict between different worldviews and characters, and also to better reveal inner world each character.
The action of the work revolves around the fate of the four main characters of the book: Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, Andrey Ivanovich Stolz, Olga Ilyinskaya and Agafya Pshenitsyna (some researchers supplement this list with Zakhar, but in terms of importance in the narrative, he still belongs to the secondary actors). Through male and female characters in the novel, the author analyzes various aspects of a person's social and personal life, reveals many "eternal" topics.
Characteristics of male characters
Ilya Oblomov And Andrey Stoltz – the main characters of "Oblomov" Goncharova. According to the plot of the novel, the men met during their school years and, having become friends, continued to support each other even decades later. Oblomov and Stolz are an example of a really strong, reliable and fruitful friendship for both men. Ilya Ilyich saw in Andrei Ivanovich a person who is always ready and, most importantly, knows how to solve his problems with those around him, with the expenses and income of the estate. For Stolz, Oblomov was a pleasant conversationalist, whose company had a pacifying effect on Andrei Ivanovich and helped him return to peace of mind, which he often lost in pursuit of new achievements.
In "Oblomov" the characters are presented as antipodes - completely different and almost in no way similar heroes. This is clearly seen in the depiction of the fates of Oblomov and Stolz. Ilya Ilyich grew up as a "hothouse", "indoor" child, who from an early age was taught to a lordly lifestyle, laziness and attitude to new knowledge as something optional and unnecessary. After graduating from school and university “for show”, Ilya Ilyich enters the service, where one of the first disappointments in life awaits him - at work you need to fight for your place, constantly work and be better than others. However, the most unpleasant thing for Ilya Ilyich is that his colleagues remain unfamiliar people, and do not become a new family for a man. Not accustomed to disappointments and blows, Oblomov, after the first failure at work, gives up and closes himself from society, creating his own special world of illusory Oblomovka.
Against the background of the active, striving forward Stolz, Ilya Ilyich looks like a lazy, apathetic bumpkin who simply does not want to do anything himself. Andrei Ivanovich's childhood and youth were filled with new impressions. Without suffering from excessive parental care, Stoltz could leave home for several days, choose his own way forward, read a lot and was interested in almost everything. Andrei Ivanovich learned his love for knowledge from his mother, while his practical approach to everything, perseverance and ability to work came from his German father. At the end of the university, Stolz leaves his native estate, independently building his own destiny, earning material wealth and meeting the right people.
The interdependence of male images
The male images of the heroes in the novel "Oblomov" are two ways of realizing a person in society, two leading principles that do not find a harmonious combination in any of the characters. On the other hand, Stolz and Oblomov perfectly complement each other, help each other in finding the most important things to achieve true, not illusory happiness. After all, Oblomov, in his dreams of rebuilding Oblomovka, appeared to be a person no less active and sociable than his friend, while Stolz throughout the novel continues to reach for the peace of mind that he found in Oblomov. As a result, unconsciously for himself, Andrei Ivanovich creates a kind of Oblomovka in his own estate after marriage with Olga, gradually turning into a person tied to home and appreciating the monotonous, calm flow of time.
Despite the fact that the characteristics of the heroes of Oblomov are based on antithesis, neither Oblomov nor Stolz are Goncharov's ideals, but rather are presented as an extreme manifestation of Oblomov's and progressive features in a person. The author showed that without the harmony of these two principles, a person will not feel full and happy, will not be able to realize himself both socially and spiritually.
Characteristics of female images
The main characters of the novel "Oblomov" are also opposed to each other. Olga Ilyinskaya is a young lady from a wealthy family, from childhood she studied literacy, science and the art of singing, an active and purposeful girl who likes to choose her own fate on her own, without adjusting to her husband or loved ones. Olga is not at all like the meek, homely Agafya, ready for anything for the sake of a loved one, able to adapt to any lifestyle, if only Oblomov was happy. Ilyinskaya was not ready to follow the wishes of Ilya Ilyich, to become his ideal "Oblomov" woman, whose main area of \u200b\u200bactivity would be the household - that is, the framework prescribed by Domostroy.
Unlike the uneducated, simple, quiet - the true prototype of the Russian woman - Agafya, Olga is an absolutely new type of emancipated woman for Russian society, who does not agree to limit herself to four walls and cooking, but sees her destiny in continuous development, self-education and striving forward . However, the tragedy of Ilyinskaya's fate lies in the fact that even having married an active, active Stolz, the girl still takes on the role of a wife and mother, classic for Russian society, not much different from the role described in Domostroy. The discrepancy between desires and the real future leads to Olga's constant sadness, the feeling that she did not live the life she dreamed of.
Conclusion
The main characters of the novel "Oblomov" are interesting, attractive personalities, whose stories and destinies make it possible to better understand ideological meaning works. For example male characters the author analyzes the themes of human development, becoming in society, the ability to set goals and achieve them, and using the example of women, she reveals the theme of love, devotion, the ability to accept a person as he is.
Oblomov and Stolz are characters not only opposed, but also complementary, just like Olga and Agafya, by the way. Having adopted or developed in themselves the features and qualities of the antipode image, the characters could become absolutely happy and harmonious, because it is precisely in the misunderstanding of the path to true happiness that the tragedy of the characters of Oblomov lies. That is why their characteristics in Goncharov's novel do not have an exclusively negative or positive connotation - the author does not lead the reader to ready-made conclusions, suggesting that he choose the right path himself.
Artwork test
Didn't like the essay?
We have 10 more similar compositions.
Eternal images- characters literary works that are outside the scope of the work. They are found in other works: novels, plays, stories. Their names have become common nouns, often used as epithets, pointing to some qualities of a person or literary character. There are four eternal images of world significance: Faust, Don Juan, Hamlet and Don Quixote. These characters have lost their purely literary meaning and acquired universal human meaning. They were created once, but since then they have reappeared many times by writers of different eras. Their features sometimes show through in seemingly completely different characters.
In the novel "Oblomov" there are features of some of these heroes. For example, Oblomov is very similar to Hamlet. Shakespeare's Hamlet was always in search of some ideal, and so was Oblomov. These two souls both want something higher, they are not satisfied with life on Earth. They strive for an ideal that is far away from them - and perish. Hamlet wants to avenge the death of his father, for his murder. Oblomov does not take revenge on anyone, but he also wants to find himself in life, to determine his destiny.
At the beginning of the novel, he (and the reader) is confronted by a series of potential Oblomovs. Oblomov can choose "himself", but none of these characters is sympathetic to him, this is not the ideal that he wants, that he aspires to. IN real life Hamlet is also tormented by choice. His soul is not at peace. He also has several ways: he can become like Polonius, like Rosenkraitz and Guildenstern, or like Claudius, Gertrude. Hamlet does not want to become one of them. He remains himself and dies. He is killed by the musty atmosphere of Elsionor in which he exists. Oblomov is also trying to find his ideal in the musty atmosphere of St. Petersburg, where it simply cannot be. This hopelessness of outdated Petersburg kills him, this impossibility to find an ideal in it.
From Don Quixote in Oblomov - reverence for women and the spirit of chivalry, a romantic perception of the world, the search for some higher principle. Oblomov also fights with windmills - with the inhabitants of soulless St. Petersburg. Oblomov thinks, dreams, wants to change them, he is cramped in the capital, he does not want to communicate with those people who surround him. The city does not want to change, it still "flashes its wings". Life goes on as usual, but there is no Oblomov - Don Quixote, And St. Petersburg is the same, and Stolz is married to Olga - Oblomov's Dulcinea, and Oblomov himself has not achieved anything, his life is empty and meaningless, like a battle with Don Quixote windmills.
The third eternal image that occurs in the novel is Faust, partially embodied in the image of Stolz. There are many similarities between these two characters. Faust is a scientist who travels the world with Mephistopheles, Stolz is also a traveller. He is away all the time; he rarely visits Petersburg, and in the end he leaves altogether. He lives in the Crimea - in the blessed land. Faust is also trying to find his blessed land and for this he makes an alliance with Mephistopheles. Faust fails to find his dream, but Stolz is also not ideally happy. Faust sells his soul to Mephistopheles in search of happiness, and Stolz gives it to Olga. Faust (like Stolz) did not have spiritual quests similar to Oblomov's. Faust was a learned pragmatist, he was interested in science, not the soul, he was not looking for an ideal, he was looking for happiness. And Oblomov is looking for an ideal.
Oblomov embodied a huge number of qualities that are inherent in all people on earth. There is a part of Oblomov in each of us. This literary image also slept forever. It has acquired universal significance. Along with the definitions of "quixoticism" and "hamletism", the term "Oblomovism" has firmly entered our life. These terms are formed from the names and surnames of the heroes, who have become eternal images. And it should be noted salient feature correlation of the title of the work with the characters: all works in which there are heroes who have become eternal images are called by their names. For example, "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" by Shakespeare or "Faust" by Goethe. Goncharov's novel is also called Oblomov. Another property of the eternal image. Indeed, we are all a little Oblomov, but each in a different way.
In the novel by I. A. Goncharov "Oblomov" the complex relationship between slavery and nobility is exposed; there is a story about two opposite types of people who differ in concepts of the world: for one, the world is abstract, ideal, for the other, material and practical. The author described these two types in Oblomov and Zakhar.
Oblomov is educated, not stupid, but he is too lazy to do anything to solve this or that problem. All day long he just lies and thinks. Sometimes he seems to decide to do something, but rarely brings his impulses to the end. There is nothing better for him than to lie quietly and do nothing. Even his village is run by a trustee. For him, ordinary dressing becomes an obstacle to business, because he does not want to part with his favorite bathrobe. Oblomov is trying to understand himself, to understand why he is like that, and recalls his childhood, maternal affection, care. Little Ilyusha was not allowed to be independent: to dress himself, to wash himself. For this there was great amount nannies and servants. Accustomed to such guardianship, Oblomov, having matured, cannot do without the help of a servant. An “eternal child” was formed, dreamy, beautiful-hearted, but completely unadapted to practical life.
Ilya Ilyich acquires this ideal of the family, his native Oblomovism, in his marriage to Agafya Matveevna Pshenitsyna, a bourgeois, to whose house he moved from Gorokhovaya Street. In the description of the court, Goncharov gives an ambiguous characterization of peace and quiet, noting that "except for a barking dog, it seemed that there was not a single living soul." The first thing Oblomov notices in Agafya is her thriftiness and thoroughness. She is talented in housekeeping, but otherwise she does not understand anything. Oblomov's feeling for Pshenitsyna was mundane, for Olga - sublime. He dreams about Olga, looks at Agafya, for the wedding with Olga something had to be done, and the marriage with Agafya develops by itself, imperceptibly. Even Stolz had already given up hope of getting his friend out of this Oblomovism when he saw Ilya Ilyich's "eternal" dressing gown. If Olga “took off” her dressing gown, then Agafya, having patched it up “so that she would serve longer”, again clothed Oblomov in it. The only thing Stolz can do is take care of Oblomov's son. Thus, by transferring the little Andre-ryusha to Stolz's upbringing, Goncharov shows who the future belongs to.
The inseparable connection with the Oblomov environment cannot be overcome by Agafya, whom, after the death of Oblomov, Stolz offered to live with his son. The value of the image of Oblomov is unusually great. Goncharov contrasted it with the vanity and meaninglessness of St. Petersburg life of the Volkovs, Sudbinskys, and Penkins, who forgot about man and sought to satisfy their petty vanity or mercantile interests. Goncharov does not accept this Petersburg "Oblomovism" either, protesting through the mouth of Oblomov against the condemnation of "fallen people." Oblomov speaks of compassion for the "fallen", getting up from the sofa in a fit of feelings. Seeing no point in the vain life of St. Petersburg, in pursuit of illusory values, Oblomov's doing nothing is a kind of protest against the advancing rationalism of the bourgeois era. In this era, Oblomov retained a pure childish soul, but "Oblomovism" - apathy, laziness and lack of will - led him to spiritual and physical death.
Zakhar is a servant of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov. Goncharov defines his character as a knight “with fear and reproach,” who “belonged to two eras, and both put their stamp on him. From one, he inherited boundless devotion to the Oblomovs' house, and from the other, later, refinement and corruption of morals. he likes to drink with friends, gossip in the yard with other servants, sometimes embellishing his master, sometimes exposing him as Oblomov has never been. Zakhar is an eternal uncle, for whom Oblomov remains a small, unreasonable child, almost for the rest of his life.
He is unconditionally faithful not only to his master, but to his entire family, since it has been established from time immemorial: there are masters and there are their servants. At the same time, Zakhar can grumble at the owner, and even argue with him, and insist on his own. So, the age-old habit of the servants of the old century does not allow him to squander the lordly. When Oblomov's countryman, the swindler Tarantiev, asks Ilya Ilyich to give him a tailcoat for a while, Zakhar immediately refuses: until the shirt and vest are returned, Tarantiev will not receive anything else. And Oblomov is lost in front of his firmness.
It can be said that Ilya Ilyich is completely dependent on Zakhar, becomes the slave of his serf, and it is difficult to decide which of them is more subject to the power of the other. By at least What Zakhar does not want, Ilya Ilyich cannot force him to do, and what Zakhar wants, he will do against the will of the master, and the master will submit. Therefore, the servant Zakhar is in a certain sense a “master” over his master: Oblomov’s complete dependence on him makes it possible for Zakhar to sleep peacefully on his couch. The ideal of the existence of Ilya Ilyich - "idleness and peace" - is to the same extent a longed-for dream of Zakhar. Goncharov shows that the character and outlook of both the master and the servant were formed under the influence of the centuries-old practice of legalized nobility and slavery. In the novel, we will not find angry denunciations of serfdom, but the problematic of the work is connected with the analysis of how exactly it affects a person and what comes of it.