Agafya Pshenitsyna

Agafya Matveevna Pshenitsyna is the widow of an official, Oblomov’s illegitimate wife. “She was about 30 years old. She was very white and plump in face. She had almost no eyebrows at all... Her eyes were grayish-simple, like her entire facial expression; the hands are white, but hard, with large knots of blue veins protruding outward.”
Before Oblomov, P. lived without thinking about anything. She was completely uneducated, even stupid. She was not interested in anything other than running the house. But in this she achieved perfection.
P. was in constant motion, realizing that “there is always work.” It was work that was the content and meaning of this heroine’s life. In many ways, it was P.’s activity that captivated Oblomov.
Gradually, with Oblomov settling in her house, important changes occur in P.’s nature. Anxieties, glimpses of reflection, and finally love awaken in her. Her heroine manifests herself in her own way, taking care of Oblomov’s clothes and table, praying for his health, and caring for the hero at night during his illness. “Her entire household... received a new, living meaning: the peace and comfort of Ilya Ilyich... She began to live in her own full and varied way.” P. is the only absolutely unselfish and decisive person around Oblomov. For his sake, she is ready to do anything: pawn jewelry, borrow money from her late husband’s relatives. When P. finds out about the machinations of her “brother” and godfather against Oblomov, she does not hesitate to break off all relations with them. P. and Oblomov have a son. Understanding his difference from the rest of his children, P., after Oblomov’s death, meekly gives him up to Stoltz to be raised. Having become a widow, P. realized that she had a meaning in life, she “knew why she lived and that she did not live in vain.” At the end of the novel with new strength P.’s selflessness is manifested: she does not need reports from Oblomov’s estate and income from it. The light of P.'s life faded along with Oblomov's life.

Zakhar

Zakhar is Oblomov's servant. This is “an elderly man, in a gray frock coat, with a hole under his arm... with a skull as bare as a knee and with immensely wide thick brown and gray sideburns...”
Z. is lazy and sloppy. Everything Z. touches breaks and breaks. He can serve food to Oblomov on dirty or broken dishes, he can serve food picked up from the floor, etc. He justifies this philosophically: everything that is done is pleasing to the Lord, and it is not worth fighting with. But Z.’s external looseness is deceptive. He cares about his master's goods and knows them inside out. Despite Tarantiev’s pressure, Z. does not give him any of the master’s clothes, confident that he will not return them. Z. is a servant of the old school, idolizing his master and his entire family. When Oblomov scolds the servant for likening him to other people living in the world, Z. feels guilty. Indeed, his master is special and the best. But, along with devotion to the owner, Z. is characterized by sophistication and depravity of morals. He loves to drink with friends, gossip with other servants, sometimes praising and then belittling his master. On occasion, Z. can pocket money for himself, change from a store, for example. Z.'s life is closely connected with Oblomov's life. The last two representatives of Oblomovka, each in their own way, sacredly keep her covenants in their souls. Even when Z. marries the cook Anisya, he tries not to allow her to see the master, but does everything for him himself, considering it his inviolable duty. Z.'s life ends with Oblomov's life. After his death, Z. is forced to leave Pshenitsyna’s house. He ends his life on the porch as a poor old man. This is how Stolz meets him and offers to take him to the village. But the faithful servant refuses: he cannot leave his master’s grave unattended.

Mikhei Tarantiev

Tarantyev Mikhey Andreevich is Oblomov’s fellow countryman. Where he came from and how he gained the trust of Ilya Ilyich is unknown. T. appears on the very first pages of the novel - “a man of about forty, belonging to a large breed, tall, voluminous in the shoulders and throughout the body, with large facial features, with a large head, with a strong, short neck, with large protruding eyes, thick lips . A quick glance at this man gave rise to the idea of something rude and unkempt.”
This type of bribe-taking official, a rude man, ready to scold everyone in the world every minute, but in last minute cowardly hiding from deserved reprisal, it was not Goncharov who discovered it in literature. It became widespread precisely after Goncharov, in the works of M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, A. V. Sukhovo-Kobylin. T. is the one “ the coming Ham”, which gradually reigned throughout Russia and which grew into a formidable symbol in the image of Sukhovo-Kobylin’s Rasplyuev.
But T. has one more interesting feature. “The fact is that Tarantiev was a master only of talking; in words he decided everything clearly and easily, especially with regard to others; but as soon as it was necessary to move a finger, to get under way - in a word, to apply the theory he had created to the case and give it a practical move... he was a completely different person: here he was missing... "This trait, as is known, characterizes not only the rude and uncouth characters of the named writers, but to some extent " extra people" Like T., they also remained “theoreticians for life,” applying their abstract philosophy to places and places out of place. Such a theorist needs a number of practices that could bring his plans to life. T. finds himself a “godfather”, Ivan Matveevich Mukhoyarov, a morally unscrupulous man, ready for any meanness, who does not disdain anything in his thirst for accumulation.

At first, Oblomov believes that T. is able to help him with worries about the estate and in changing his apartment. Gradually, not without the influence of Olga Ilyinskaya and Andrei Stolts, Ilya Ilyich begins to understand what quagmire T. is trying to drag him into, slowly forcing Oblomov to sink to the very bottom of life. T.’s attitude towards Stolz is not so much the contempt of a Russian for a German, with whom T. rather hides behind him, but rather the fear of exposing the grandiose frauds that T. hopes to carry through to the end. It is important for him, with the help of trusted persons, to get his hands on Oblomovka, receiving interest from Ilya Ilyich’s income, and to confuse him himself properly by obtaining evidence of Oblomov’s connection with Pshenitsyna.
T. hates Stolz, calling him a “sleazy beast.” Out of fear that Stolz will nevertheless take Oblomov abroad or to Oblomovka, T. is in a hurry, with the assistance of Mukhoyarov, to force Ilya Ilyich to sign a predatory contract for an apartment on Vyborg side. This contract deprives Oblomov of the possibility of any action. Following this, T. persuades Mukhoyarov, “before there are no more boobies in Rus',” to marry Oblomov to a new manager of the estate, Isaiah Fomich Zatertoy, who is very successful in bribes and forgeries. T.’s next step is to put into practice (with the help of the same Mukhoyarov) the idea of Oblomov’s “debt”. As if offended by his sister’s honor, Mukhoyarov should accuse Ilya Ilyich of laying claim to the widow Pshenitsyna and sign a document for compensation for moral damage in the amount of ten thousand rubles. The paper is then rewritten in the name of Mukhoyarov, and the godfathers receive money from Oblomov.

After Stolz exposes these frauds, T. disappears from the pages of the novel. Only at the very end is he mentioned by Zakhar, who, when meeting Stolz near the cemetery on the Vyborg side, tells how much he had to endure after the death of Ilya Ilyich from Mukhoyarov and T., who wanted to exterminate him from the world. “Mikhei Andreich Tarantyev kept striving to kick you from behind as soon as you passed by: life was gone!” In this way, T. took revenge on Zakhar for the neglect shown by the servant in those times when T. came to Oblomov for lunch and asked for a shirt, a vest, or a tailcoat - naturally, without return. Each time Zakhar stood up to defend his master’s property, growling like a dog at the uninvited guest and not hiding his feelings for the lowly person.
Oblomov

This is how he appears to the reader Main character at the very beginning of the novel: “He was a man about thirty-two or three years old, of average height, pleasant appearance, with dark gray eyes, but with the absence of any definite idea, any concentration in his facial features... His movements, when he was even alarmed , were also restrained by gentleness and laziness, not without a kind of grace. All anxiety was resolved with a sigh and died away in apathy or dormancy. Ilya Ilyich’s lying down was not... a necessity... it was his normal state.” Oblomov's home costume - an oriental robe, as well as the life of Ilya Ilyich, described in detail by the author, complement the image of the hero and help to better understand his character. “On the walls, near the paintings, cobwebs, saturated with dust, were molded in the form of festoons; mirrors, instead of reflecting objects, could rather serve as tablets for writing down some notes on them in the dust for memory.”

A far from impartial character appears before us; it seems that laziness, passivity, and indifference are deeply rooted in him. But at the same time, against the background of his “friends”, deceitful, selfish, boastful people who paid him a visit at the very beginning of the novel, the reader gets to know positive qualities Oblomov: purity of thoughts, honesty, kindness, cordiality.

To more fully reveal Oblomov’s character, Goncharov contrasts him with other heroes of the novel, Andrei Stoltz and Olga Ilyinskaya.

Stolz is certainly the antipode of Oblomov. Every trait of his character is a sharp protest against the qualities of Ilya Ilyich. Stolz loves life - Oblomov often falls into apathy; Stolz has a thirst for activity - for Oblomov, the best activity is relaxing on the couch. The origins of this opposition are in the education of heroes.
The author makes you involuntarily compare the childhood of little Andrei with the childhood of Ilyusha. Unlike Stolz, who grew up under the tutelage of his father, independent, persistent in achieving his goals, and thrifty, the main character grew up as a child, accustomed to having all his desires satisfied not as a result of his own efforts, but from the hard work of others. The village where Oblomov was brought up was, according to Dobrolyubov, the soil on which Oblomovism grew. Such an upbringing developed apathetic immobility in Ilya Ilyich and plunged him into the pitiful state of a moral slave. This is one of Oblomov’s tragedies touched upon in the novel - the young and active Ilyusha was infected from childhood with an “incurable disease”, Oblomovism - laziness generated by fear of change and fear of the future.
Stolz, in whom the author infused the power capable of reviving the Oblomovs and destroying Oblomovism, considers it his duty to change way of life friend.

Description of the characters in I. Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov”

Oblomov

Oblomov Ilya Ilyich is the main character of the novel, a young man “about thirty-two or three years old, of average height, pleasant appearance, with dark gray eyes, but with the absence of any definite idea, any concentration in his facial features... there was softness the dominant and basic expression, not only of the face, but of the whole soul; and the soul shone so openly and clearly in the eyes, in the smile, in every movement of the head and hand.” This is how the reader finds the hero at the beginning of the novel, in St. Petersburg, on Gorokhovaya Street, where he lives with his servant Zakhar.

WITH early childhood he saw a similar example among his relatives, who also fenced themselves off from the outside world and protected it. It was not customary to work in his home. When he, as a child, played snowballs with peasant children, they then warmed him up for several days. In Oblomovka they were wary of everything new - even a letter that came from a neighbor, in which he asked for a beer recipe, was afraid to open for three days.

But Ilya Ilyich remembers his childhood with joy. He idolizes the nature of Oblomovka, although this is an ordinary village, not particularly remarkable. He was brought up by rural nature. This nature instilled in him poetry and a love of beauty.

Ilya Ilyich does nothing, just complains about something all the time and engages in verbiage. He is lazy, does nothing himself and does not expect anything from others. He accepts life as it is and does not try to change anything in it.

When people come to him and tell him about their lives, he feels that in the bustle of life they forget that they are wasting their lives in vain... And he does not need to fuss, act, does not need to prove anything to anyone. Ilya Ilyich simply lives and enjoys life.

It's hard to imagine him in motion, he looks funny. At rest, lying on the sofa, it is natural. He looks at ease - this is his element, his nature.

Nature, however, showed Oblomov a single goal: life, as it had flowed for centuries in Oblomovka, where they were afraid of news, traditions were strictly observed, books and newspapers were not recognized at all. From “Oblomov’s Dream,” called an “overture” by the author and published much earlier than the novel, as well as from individual strokes scattered throughout the text, the reader learns quite fully about the hero’s childhood and youth, spent among people who understood life “no other than an ideal.” peace and inaction, disturbed from time to time by various unpleasant accidents... they endured labor as a punishment imposed on our forefathers, but they could not love, and where there was an opportunity, they always got rid of it, finding it possible and proper.” Goncharov depicted the tragedy of the Russian character, deprived romantic features and not colored by demonic gloom, but nevertheless finding himself on the sidelines of life - through his own fault and through the fault of society, in which there was no place for the scrap people. Having no predecessors, this type remained unique.

Oblomov's clothes - his robe, "oriental"< ...>, very roomy, so that he could wrap himself in it twice.” The robe becomes a symbol of Ilyusha’s laziness, Stolz and Olga Ilyinskaya strive to pull him out of the robe, but when Oblomov finally gives up, abandons the struggle of life, flees from love for Ilyinskaya into sleep and habitual idleness, the robe again envelops his corpulent body. Another indispensable attribute of Ilya Oblomov’s laziness is the sofa on which he spends all his days from dawn to dusk in daydreaming, half-asleep and sleep. The furnishings of Oblomov’s apartment are evidence of decline, neglect of surrounding things, apathy and lack of will: “On the walls, near the paintings, a cobweb, saturated with dust, was molded in the form of festoons; mirrors, instead of reflecting objects, could serve rather as tablets for writing down on them, in the dust, some notes for memory. The carpets were stained. There was a forgotten towel on the sofa; On rare mornings there was not a plate with a salt shaker and a gnawed bone on the table that had not been cleared away from yesterday’s dinner, and there were no bread crumbs lying around.” Oblomov’s fate is a series of failures, disappointments and defeats in life: in childhood he studied somehow, because he considered teaching “as a punishment sent by heaven for our sins”; after completing his education, “his head represented a complex archive of dead deeds, persons, eras, numbers, religions,” “like a library consisting of only scattered volumes on different parts of knowledge”; Ilya’s service was not a success, since he did not see the point in it and was timid in the presence of his superiors, when one day he accidentally sent the necessary paper instead of Astrakhan to Arkhangelsk, went to bed, and then resigned out of fright; Oblomov did not experience love, because “great troubles lead to rapprochement with women.”

Zakhar

Zakhar is the servant of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov. Goncharov dedicated a special essay to this type, entitled “Servants of the Old Century,” in which he recalls well-known representatives of this class, people of the old school, who had difficulty getting used to new living conditions. Zakhara’s literary pedigree comes from Pushkin’s Savelich (“ Captain's daughter"). Despite all the differences in the characters of the first, corrupted by life in St. Petersburg and the pathological laziness of his master, and the second - the eternal uncle, for whom the pet remains a small, unreasonable child almost for the rest of his life, they are brought together by their obsessive loyalty not only to their master, but to everything his family.

3ahar - “an elderly man, in a gray frock coat, with a rip under the arm... in a gray vest, with copper buttons, with a skull as bare as a knee and with immensely wide and thick gray-blond sideburns, of which each would have become three beards... The Oblomov house was once rich and famous in its own right, but then, God knows why, it grew poorer, smaller, and finally, imperceptibly lost among the older noble houses. Only the gray-haired servants of the house kept and passed on to each other the faithful memory of the past, cherishing it as if it were a shrine.”

The portrait of Zakhara, depicting a funny and absurd appearance, is complemented by a special voice: the hero does not speak, but grumbles like a dog, or wheezes. The voice given by God, according to Zakhar, “he lost while hunting with dogs, when he was traveling with an old master and when it seemed like a strong wind blew into his throat.”

Complete indifference to litter, dust, and dirt distinguishes this servant from other servant characters Russian literature. Zakhar has drawn up his own philosophy on this matter, which does not allow one to fight either dirt, cockroaches and bedbugs, since they were invented by the Lord himself. When Oblomov gives his servant the example of the tuner’s family living opposite, Zakhar responds with the following arguments, in which his extraordinary powers of observation are visible: “Where will the Germans take the rubbish? Look how they live! The whole family has been gnawing on the bone for a week. The coat passes from the father's shoulders to the son, and from the son again to the father. My wife and daughters are wearing short dresses: everyone tucks their legs under them like geese... Where can they get dirty laundry? They don’t have it like we do, so that in their closets there’s a bunch of old, worn-out clothes lying around over the years, or a whole corner of bread crusts accumulated over the winter... They don’t even have a crust lying around in vain: they’ll make some crackers and drink it with beer.”

Oblomov- a hereditary nobleman of the old school. He is 31 - 32 years old, lives in St. Petersburg in a small rented apartment, and is a person who spends all his time at home. Ilya Ilyich does not go to work and does not sit behind papers in the building, he earns his living with the help of other, equally stupid and narrow-minded people. Oblomov dreams of sitting on the couch forever in his favorite robe and not worrying about “stupid” problems. Oblomov is a lazy and dreamy person. One day he falls in love with Olga Ilyinskaya, who wants to change him with all her might, but even love cannot correct him.

Stolz- Oblomov’s best friend, known to him since childhood and the complete opposite of him. It is alien to him to lie on the sofa and dream about better life and a wonderful future. Andrei Ivanovich relies only on his own strength and skills. He constantly goes to the front and tries to reach his top. He doesn’t understand how you can live your life in one place, not travel and not grow. But, despite this, Stolz appreciates Oblomov for his pure, sincere heart and tries with all his might to help him both financially and in love affairs.

Olga Ilyinskaya- a young progressive landowner, 20 years old. She is a smart, beautiful, emotional girl who takes the best from life. Olga is similar to Stolz in her beliefs and character. The moment she meets Oblomov, she notices a man who does not want to change anything and relies only on fate and dreams. She doesn't count good time spending time lying on the couch and daydreaming. Therefore, afterwards Ilyinskaya spends all her strength on changing Oblomov, but even she doesn’t succeed.

Agafya Pshenitsyna- not a rich landowner, about 30 years old, who remained a widow with two small children. She is the owner of the house where Ilya Ilyich lives. Agafya cooks very tasty, cleans the house well, also sews well, in general, she is an excellent housewife. Matveevna is a quiet, kind, modest woman and at the same time narrow-minded and stupid. She would prefer to remain silent and simply agree than to express her point of view. Agafya is getting old, doing everything for Oblomov, she takes care of him like a mother and child. And then in the end she acquires the role of wife for her tenant.

Zakhar- Oblomov’s servant for 50 years. He has known the owner since he was very young and works for him quite large number time. Now in his service with Mr. Zakhar, he has become as lazy and grouchy as the owner. He constantly complains, whines about the terrible conditions, and deceives Ilya Ilyich. Zakhar Trofimovich can rob Oblomov both in terms of money and food. The servant is a representative of the old order and believes that until his death he should serve only one master. He remains loyal even after the death of his master.

Anisya- cook in the apartment of the landowner Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, she is 47 years old. She is a hardworking woman, kind, affectionate, quiet and quite modest. Anisya is not a stupid and narrow-minded person, she is much smarter than the servant Zakhar. The cook sees that Oblomov is wasting his life on the sofa in a dressing gown, giving himself up to unrealistic dreams. Agafya understands that you can’t live like a nobleman, and you could waste your whole life. But despite her conflicting thoughts, she does not tell her owner about this and continues to take care of him and push him around in front of his orders.

Mukhoyarov – brother the mistress of the house, Agafya Pshenitsyna. He worked for a long time as a secretary in the office, and during his entire service Mukhoyarov accumulated a fairly decent amount of money with the help of bribes. The former secretary is an arrogant and cunning man who can sell his loved ones for a pittance. If you don’t know this person well or look at him from the outside, you can say that he is a quiet, petty and pathetic person who is afraid to raise his head against a nobleman. But in his soul, Mukhoyarov, as they said, is a rather smart and narcissistic person.

Volkov- a noble nobleman, the first guest in Oblomov’s house for 25 years. He is a fashionable, rich man who spends his whole life not on the sofa in a robe, giving in to his dreams, but at various noisy gatherings with noble people. He wears only the best clothes and jewelry, talks only about “high” things and problems. Volkov attends all social meetings, performances, theaters and various evenings. For a nobleman, the opinion of the noble crowd is more important than his desires. Volkov is ready to forget about his interests, just for the sake of respect from other people.

Sudbinsky- he is Oblomov’s former colleague in the office and is the second guest in Ilya Ilyich’s house after Volkov. He doesn't spend his life on the rich social evenings, not for the discussion of people and does not spend his life in the house in a shabby robe. Sudbinsky spends all his personal time on his own career. The employee tries with all his might to receive bigger bonuses and better awards. This brings him quite a bit of income, but, despite the benefits, he lives his life within the four walls of his office.

Penkin- another of Oblomov’s acquaintances and the third guest in his house. He is a fashionable writer and writer. Penkin earns money by writing various books and fashion articles for newspapers and magazines. He writes about various incidents, secular news and not poor individuals. But despite his rather easy career, Penkin writes articles only for profit, and does not receive any pleasure from it. The writer sees quite rich life, travels around the world and sees a lot of new things. But for Oblomov, he is just a machine that is trying to survive all the juices from life.

Alekseev- an old acquaintance of Onegin and is already the fourth guest in his rented estate. He is a minor official who earns little money and does not move up the career ladder. Alekseev fully corresponds to his profession. An official is a small, quiet person who does not like to stand out from others; it is easier for him to squeeze into a corner so that no one can see him. Alekseev is not passionate about his service, does not travel the world, and does not like to attend various noisy social parties. He visits Ilya Ilyich only for free food and drink.

Tarantiev- fifth guest in Oblomov’s house, about 40 years old. He is a minor official, like Alekseev. Throughout his entire life, Tarantiev did not advance any further in his service. The official, despite his low title among his acquaintances, is an arrogant, cunning, and also quite selfish person. He has been robbing Oblomov and Mukhoyarov for quite some time, “pumping” money out of him while he lies quietly on the sofa and simply does not notice it. Tarantiev is a vengeful person who will not forget a single word from an action and will not calm down until he takes revenge.

Doctor Oblomova- another acquaintance of Oblomov and the last guest in his house. He treats Oblomov, examines him and gives him various advice. The doctor is not used to serving small people and treats only nobles and socialites. He is one of the few people who does not profit from someone he knows, but tries to get him off the couch and show him how diverse the world outside the window is. He is a quiet, reserved, but attentive person. The doctor will prefer to advise, but not force you to do something.

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Characteristics of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov very ambiguous. Goncharov created it complex and mysterious. Oblomov separates himself from the outside world, fences himself off from it. Even his home bears little resemblance to habitation.

From early childhood, he saw a similar example from his relatives, who also fenced themselves off from the outside world and protected it. It was not customary to work in his home. When he, as a child, played snowballs with peasant children, they then warmed him up for several days. In Oblomovka they were wary of everything new - even a letter that came from a neighbor, in which he asked for a beer recipe, was afraid to open for three days.

It's hard to imagine him in motion, he looks funny. At rest, lying on the sofa, it is natural. He looks at ease - this is his element, his nature.

Let's summarize what we read:

Appearance of Ilya Oblomov. Ilya Ilyich is a young man, 33 years old, good-looking, of average height, plump. The softness of his facial expression showed him to be a weak-willed and lazy person.
Marital status. At the beginning of the novel, Oblomov is not married, he lives with his servant Zakhar. At the end of the novel he gets married and is happily married.
Description of the home. Ilya lives in St. Petersburg in an apartment on Gorokhovaya Street. The apartment is neglected; the servant Zakhar, who is as lazy as the owner, rarely sneaks into it. A special place in the apartment is occupied by a sofa, on which around the clock lies Oblomov.
Behavior and actions of the hero. Ilya Ilyich can hardly be called an active person. Only his friend Stolz manages to bring Oblomov out of his slumber. The main character is lying on the sofa and only dreams that he will soon get up from it and take care of business. He can't even decide pressing problems. His estate has fallen into disrepair and is not bringing in any money, so Oblomov doesn’t even have money to pay the rent.
The author's attitude towards the hero. Goncharov has sympathy for Oblomov, he considers him kind, sincere person. At the same time, he sympathizes with him: it is a pity that a young, capable, not stupid man has lost all interest in life.
My attitude towards Ilya Oblomov. In my opinion, he is too lazy and weak-willed, and therefore cannot command respect. At times he just infuriates me, I want to go up and shake him. I don't like people who live their lives so mediocrely. Perhaps I react so strongly to this hero because I feel the same shortcomings in myself.

Characteristics of the hero

Oblomov Ilya Ilyich is a nobleman “32-33 years old, pleasant in appearance, with dark gray eyes, but with the absence of any specific goal, any concentration in his facial features... gentleness was the dominant and main expression... of the whole soul.”

O. lies on his couch all day long, doing nothing. He is not only unable to manage his estate, but even to get ready and go to a party. All this presents great difficulty for him.

It is important to note that such inaction is a conscious choice of the hero: “Life: life is good... there is nothing deep that touches the living. All these are dead people, sleeping people, worse than me, these members of the council and society!

We learn the ideal of O.’s life from the chapter “Oblomov’s Dream.” The hero dreams of his childhood in his native Oblomovka: calm, peaceful, idle, filled with love and warmth.

O.'s path is a typical path of provincial nobles of the early 19th century. O. served in the department, did routine work, and waited for a promotion from year to year. But the hero did not need such a worthless life. He chose to lie on the sofa and contemplate the vices of his time from the outside.

O.'s soul is not devoid of dreaminess. He is a lyricist who can feel deeply. But his lifestyle muted this spiritual feature of the hero. Only O.’s old friend, Stolz, is able to wake her up for a short time.

Love for Olga temporarily changes the hero beyond recognition: “A fever of life, strength, activity appeared in him...” But “the further direction, the very thought of life, the matter remains in intentions.” This is not surprising: O. is not capable of active love, which requires self-improvement. He himself understands this and, fearing that Olga will be disappointed in him, provokes their breakup. Only Agafya Pshenitsina was able to create an ideal life for O. with a feeling of care, warmth, and idleness: “I have grown to this hole with a sore spot: try to tear it off - there will be death.” In Pshenitsina’s house, O.’s life also ended, “apparently, without pain, without torment, as if a watch had stopped and they had forgotten to wind it.”