Features of utopia in the novel by Nikolai Chernyshevsky What to do
N. G. Chernyshevsky in his novel “What is to be done?” places an unusual emphasis on common-sense selfishness. Why is egoism reasonable, sane? In my opinion, because in this novel we see for the first time " new approach to the problem", "new people" of Chernyshevsky, creating a "new" atmosphere. The author thinks that "new people" see personal "benefit" in the desire to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy official morality. Their morality frees up the creative possibilities of philanthropic persons. "New people" resolve family and family conflicts less painfully. of a loving nature. The theory of rational egoism has an undeniable appeal and a rational core. "New people" consider work an essential condition human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their mind is in absolute harmony with their feelings, because neither their feelings nor their mind are perverted by the chronic hostility of people.
You can trace the course of Vera Pavlovna’s internal development: first at home she gains inner freedom, then the need for public service appears, and then the fullness of her personal life, the need to work regardless of personal will and social arbitrariness.
N. G. Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a “not new” person, all “new” people look the same, a problem arises special person. Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his traits in the form of questions: why did he do this? For what? These questions create an individual type. He is a “new” man in his formation. All the new people seem to have fallen from the moon, and the only one connected with this era is Rakhmetov. Denial of oneself out of “calculation of benefits”! Here Chernyshevsky does not act as a utopian. And at the same time, Vera Pavlovna’s dreams exist as an indication of the ideal society to which the author strives. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic techniques: beautiful sisters appear to Vera Pavlovna in a dream, the eldest of them, Revolution - a condition for renewal. In this chapter we have to put a lot of points to explain the voluntary omission of text, which the censorship would not let through anyway and in which it would be exposed main idea novel. Along with this, there is the image of a beautiful younger sister - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be a goddess not only of love, but also of the enjoyment of work, art, and leisure: “Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a deserted place, there are rich fields and meadows , gardens; there is a huge palace made of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, and wonderful furniture. You can see people working, singing songs, and relaxing everywhere.” There are ideal human relationships between people, traces of happiness and contentment everywhere, which were previously impossible to dream of. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees. Of course, there are many utopian elements in this picture, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. It is not for nothing that they are repeatedly hinted at in the novel without being directly named. The novel shows only rural labor and speaks about the people “in general,” in a very general way. But this utopia in its main idea is very realistic: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go to satisfy the needs of the members of the collective. This new work must rely on high scientific and technological achievements, on scientists and strong machines that allow a person to transform the earth and his entire life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from the patriarchal peasant community to socialism must be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to cement in the reader’s mind the dream of a better future. Chernyshevsky himself speaks through the mouth of his “elder sister,” addressing Vera Pavlovna with the words: “Do you know the future? It is bright and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can.” .
Indeed, it is difficult to talk about this work seriously, given all its monstrous shortcomings. The author and his characters speak in an absurd, clumsy and unintelligible language. The main characters behave unnaturally, but they, like dolls, are obedient to the will of the author, who can make them do (experience, think) whatever he wants. This is a sign of Chernyshevsky’s immaturity as a writer. A true creator always creates beyond himself, the creations of his creative imagination have free will, over which even he, their creator, has no control, and it is not the author who imposes thoughts and actions on his heroes, but rather they themselves suggest to him this or that action, thought, turn plot. But for this it is necessary that their characters be concrete, complete and convincing, and in Chernyshevsky’s novel, instead of living people, we have bare abstractions that have been hastily given a human form.
Lifeless Soviet socialism came from French utopian socialism, whose representatives were Claude Henri de Saint-Simon and many others. Their goal was to create prosperity for all people, and to carry out the reform in such a way that no blood was shed. They rejected the idea of equality and fraternity and believed that society should be built on the principle of mutual appreciation, asserting the need for hierarchy. But who will divide people according to the principle of more and less gifted? So why is gratitude the best thing in the world? Because those who are below should be grateful to others for being below. The problem of a full personal life was solved. They considered a bourgeois marriage (concluded in a church) to be trafficking in a woman, since a lady cannot stand up for herself and ensure her well-being and is therefore forced to sell herself; in an ideal society she will be free. In my opinion, the most important thing in society should be gratitude.
Chernyshevsky in his novel “What is to be done?” places special emphasis on reasonable egoism (calculation of benefits). If gratitude is outside of people, then reasonable egoism lies in the very “I” of a person. Every person secretly or openly considers himself the center of the universe. Why then is egoism reasonable? But because in the novel “What is to be done?” for the first time, a “new approach to the problem” is considered, Chernyshevsky’s “new people” create a “new” atmosphere, according to Chernyshevsky, “new people” see their “benefit” in the desire to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy official morality. Their morality liberates creativity human personality . “New people” resolve conflicts of a family or love nature less painfully. The theory of rational egoism has an undeniable appeal and rational grain. “New people” consider work an absolutely necessary condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their mind is in the most complete harmony with feeling, because neither their mind nor their feelings are distorted by chronic enmity against other people. You can trace the course of Vera Pavlovna’s internal development: first at home she gains inner freedom, then the need for public service appears, and then the fullness of her personal life, the need to work regardless of personal will and social arbitrariness. N. G. Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a “not new” person, all “new” people look alike, and the problem of a special person arises. Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his traits in the form of questions: why did he do this? For what? These questions create an individual type. He is a “new” man in his formation. All the new people seem to have fallen from the moon, and the only one connected with this era is Rakhmetov. Denial of oneself out of “calculation of benefits”! Here Chernyshevsky does not act as a utopian. And at the same time, Vera Pavlovna’s dreams exist as an indication of the ideal society to which the author strives. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic techniques: beautiful sisters appear to Vera Pavlovna in a dream, the eldest of them, the Revolution, is a condition for renewal. In this chapter, we have to put a lot of points in place to explain the voluntary omission of the text, which the censorship would not let through anyway and in which the main idea of the novel would be exposed. Along with this, there is the image of a beautiful younger sister - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be a goddess not only of love, but also of the enjoyment of work, art, and leisure: “Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a deserted place, there are rich fields and meadows , gardens; there is a huge palace made of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, and wonderful furniture. You can see people working, singing songs, and relaxing everywhere.” There are ideal human relationships between people, traces of happiness and contentment everywhere, which were previously impossible to dream of. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees. Of course, there are many utopian elements in this picture, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. It is not for nothing that they are repeatedly hinted at in the novel without being directly named. The novel shows only rural labor and speaks about the people “in general,” in a very general way. But this utopia in its main idea is very realistic: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go to satisfy the needs of the members of the collective. This new work must be based on high scientific and technological achievements, on scientists and powerful machines that allow man to transform the earth and his entire life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from the patriarchal peasant community to socialism must be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to cement in the reader’s mind the dream of a better future. Chernyshevsky himself speaks through the mouth of his “elder sister,” addressing Vera Pavlovna with the words: “Do you know the future? It is bright and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can.” .
N. G. Chernyshevsky in his novel “What is to be done?” places an unusual emphasis on common-sense selfishness. Why is egoism reasonable, sane? In my opinion, because in this novel we see for the first time a “new approach to the problem”, “new people” of Chernyshevsky, creating a “new” atmosphere. The author thinks that the “new people” see personal “benefit” in the desire to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy official morality. Their morality releases the creative potential of a philanthropic person. “New people” solve family and love conflicts less painfully. The theory of rational egoism has an undeniable appeal and a rational core. “New people” consider work an integral condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their minds are in absolute harmony with their feelings, because neither their feelings nor their minds are perverted by the chronic hostility of people.
You can trace the course of Vera Pavlovna’s internal development: first at home she gains inner freedom, then the need for public service appears, and then the fullness of her personal life, the need to work regardless of personal will and social arbitrariness.
N. G. Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a “not new” person, all “new” people look alike, and the problem of a special person arises. Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his traits in the form of questions: why did he do this? For what? These questions create an individual type. He is a “new” man in his formation. All the new people seem to have fallen from the moon, and the only one connected with this era is Rakhmetov. Denial of oneself out of “calculation of benefits”! Here Chernyshevsky does not act as a utopian. And at the same time, Vera Pavlovna’s dreams exist as an indication of the ideal society to which the author strives. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic techniques: beautiful sisters appear to Vera Pavlovna in a dream, the eldest of them, Revolution - a condition for renewal. In this chapter, we have to put a lot of points in place to explain the voluntary omission of the text, which the censorship would not let through anyway and in which the main idea of the novel would be exposed. Along with this, there is the image of a beautiful younger sister - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be a goddess not only of love, but also of the enjoyment of work, art, and leisure: “Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a deserted place, there are rich fields and meadows , gardens; there is a huge palace made of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, and wonderful furniture. You can see people working, singing songs, and relaxing everywhere.” There are ideal human relationships between people, traces of happiness and contentment everywhere, which were previously impossible to dream of. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees. Of course, there are many utopian elements in this picture, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. It is not for nothing that they are repeatedly hinted at in the novel without being directly named. The novel shows only rural labor and speaks about the people “in general,” in a very general way. But this utopia in its main idea is very realistic: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go to satisfy the needs of the members of the collective. This new work must be based on high scientific and technological achievements, on scientists and powerful machines that allow man to transform the earth and his entire life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from the patriarchal peasant community to socialism must be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to cement in the reader’s mind the dream of a better future. Chernyshevsky himself speaks through the mouth of his “elder sister,” addressing Vera Pavlovna with the words: “Do you know the future? It is bright and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can.” .
Indeed, it is difficult to talk about this work seriously, given all its monstrous shortcomings. The author and his characters speak in an absurd, clumsy and unintelligible language. The main characters behave unnaturally, but they, like dolls, are obedient to the will of the author, who can make them do (experience, think) whatever he wants. This is a sign of Chernyshevsky’s immaturity as a writer. A true creator always creates beyond himself, the creations of his creative imagination have free will, over which even he, their creator, has no control, and it is not the author who imposes thoughts and actions on his heroes, but rather they themselves suggest to him this or that action, thought, turn plot. But for this it is necessary that their characters be concrete, complete and convincing, and in Chernyshevsky’s novel, instead of living people, we have bare abstractions that have been hastily given a human form.
Lifeless Soviet socialism came from French utopian socialism, whose representatives were Claude Henri de Saint-Simon and many others. Their goal was to create prosperity for all people, and to carry out the reform in such a way that no blood was shed. They rejected the idea of equality and fraternity and believed that society should be built on the principle of mutual appreciation, asserting the need for hierarchy. But who will divide people according to the principle of more and less gifted? So why is gratitude the best thing in the world? Because those who are below should be grateful to others for being below. The problem of a full personal life was solved. They considered a bourgeois marriage (concluded in a church) to be trafficking in a woman, since a lady cannot stand up for herself and ensure her well-being and is therefore forced to sell herself; in an ideal society she will be free. In my opinion, the most important thing in society should be gratitude.
Russian utopian socialism stemmed from French utopian socialism, whose representatives were Charles Fourier and Claude Henri de Saint-Simon. Their goal was to create prosperity for all people, and to carry out the reform so that no blood was shed. They rejected the idea of equality and fraternity and believed that society should be built on the principle of mutual gratitude, asserting the need for hierarchy. But who will divide people into more and less gifted? Why is gratitude the best thing? Because the one who is below should be grateful to others for being below. The problem of a full personal life was solved. They considered a bourgeois marriage (concluded in a church) to be a legalized trade in women, since a woman cannot provide herself with well-being and is sold; in an ideal society she will be free. So, the principle of mutual gratitude should be at the forefront of everything.
Chernyshevsky in his novel “What is to be done?” places special emphasis on reasonable egoism (calculation of benefits). If gratitude is outside of people, then reasonable egoism lies in the very “I” of a person. Every person secretly or openly considers himself the center of the universe. Why then is egoism reasonable? But because in the novel “What to do?” for the first time, a “new approach to the problem” is considered, Chernyshevsky’s “new people” create a “new” atmosphere, according to Chernyshevsky, “new people” see their “benefit” in the desire to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy official morality. Their morality liberates the creative possibilities of the human personality. “New people” resolve family and love conflicts less painfully. The theory of rational egoism has an undeniable appeal and rational grain. “New people” consider work an absolutely necessary condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their mind is in the most complete harmony with feeling, because neither their mind nor their feelings are distorted by chronic enmity against other people.
You can trace the course of Vera Pavlovna’s internal development: first at home she gains inner freedom, then the need for public service appears, and then the fullness of her personal life, the need to work regardless of personal will and social arbitrariness.
N. G. Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a “not new” person, all “new” people look alike, and the problem of a special person arises. Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his traits in the form of questions: why did he do this? For what? These questions create an individual type. He is a “new” man in his formation. All the new people seem to have fallen from the moon, and the only one connected with this era is Rakhmetov. Denial of oneself out of “calculation of benefits”! Here Chernyshevsky does not act as a utopian. And at the same time, Vera Pavlovna’s dreams exist as an indication of the ideal society to which the author strives. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic techniques: beautiful sisters appear to Vera Pavlovna in a dream, the eldest of them, the Revolution, is a condition for renewal. In this chapter, we have to put a lot of points in place to explain the voluntary omission of the text, which the censorship would not let through anyway and in which the main idea of the novel would be exposed. Along with this, there is the image of a beautiful younger sister - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be a goddess not only of love, but also of the enjoyment of work, art, and leisure: “Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a deserted place, there are rich fields and meadows , gardens; there is a huge palace made of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, and wonderful furniture. Everywhere you can see people working, singing songs, and relaxing.” There are ideal human relationships between people, traces of happiness and contentment everywhere, which were previously impossible to dream of. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees. Of course, there are many utopian elements in this picture, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. It is not for nothing that they are repeatedly hinted at in the novel without being directly named. The novel shows only rural labor and speaks about the people “in general,” in a very general way. But this utopia in its main idea is very realistic: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go to satisfy the needs of the members of the collective. This new work must be based on high scientific and technological achievements, on scientists and powerful machines that allow man to transform the earth and his entire life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from the patriarchal peasant community to socialism must be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to cement in the reader’s mind the dream of a better future. This is Chernyshevsky himself speaking through the mouth of the “elder sister,” addressing Vera Pavlovna with the words: “Do you know the future? It is light and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can.”
Before us is a political and social-utopian novel, imbued with a spirit of polemics. The general outlines of the novel's plot are simple: the daughter of a petty St. Petersburg official is freed from the heavy bonds of domestic captivity and finds happiness.
Vera Pavlovna's dreams are an indication of the ideal society that the author strives for. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic techniques: beautiful sisters appear to Vera Pavlovna in a dream, the eldest of them, the Revolution, is a condition for renewal. In this chapter, we have to put a lot of points in place to explain the voluntary omission of the text, which the censorship would not let through anyway and in which the main idea of the novel would be exposed. Along with this, there is the image of a beautiful younger sister - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be a goddess not only of love, but also of the enjoyment of work, art, and leisure: “Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a deserted place, there are rich fields and meadows , gardens; there is a huge palace made of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, and wonderful furniture. You can see people working, singing songs, and relaxing everywhere.” There are ideal human relationships between people, traces of happiness and contentment everywhere, which were previously impossible to dream of. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees.
Of course, there are many utopian elements in this picture, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. It is not for nothing that they are repeatedly hinted at in the novel without being directly named. The novel shows only rural labor and speaks about the people “in general,” in a very general way. But this utopia in its main idea is very realistic: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go to satisfy the needs of the members of the collective. This new work must be based on high scientific and technological achievements, on scientists and powerful machines that allow man to transform the earth and his entire life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from the patriarchal peasant community to socialism must be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to cement in the reader’s mind the dream of a better future. Chernyshevsky himself speaks through the mouth of his “elder sister,” addressing Vera Pavlovna with the words: “Do you know the future? It is bright and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can.” .
In Vera Pavlovna's fourth dream, the author paints a utopian picture of a bright future. The majestic contours of the socialist world order, all technical issues of which are solved by machines, are touching and touch the reader today. The author assures us that the time will come and work will become easy and joyful, deserts will turn into fertile lands, rocks will be covered with gardens, and all people will become “happy handsome men and beauties, leading a free life of work and pleasure.” This is the version of utopia that Vera Pavlovna sees in her dream.
