Analysis of the novel “What to do” by N. G. Chernyshevsky

The plot of the work

Vera Pavlovna Rozalskaya, the main character of the novel, not wanting to marry a rich groom, enters into a fictitious marriage with Lopukhov, a medical student - a noble and decent man. Thus, Vera Pavlovna leaves her father's house. Being an independent and active person, she is trying to find her purpose. She opens a sewing workshop, where she recruits girls who are just as interested in developing the business as she is.

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Then Vera Pavlovna falls in love with her fictitious husband's friend Alexander Kirsanov. Kirsanov has mutual feelings for her, but in order not to ruin his friend’s family, Kirsanov leaves them for a long time. Subsequently, realizing that marriage is burdening Vera, Lopukhov fakes his suicide, thereby giving Vera and Kirsanov the opportunity to be together. Lopukhov leaves for America, where he becomes an agent of an English company, then returns to Russia, gets married, and reports his return to the Kirsanov family.

Chernyshevsky devotes separate pages to Rakhmetov. Despite the fact that he is a supporting hero, he is special for Chernyshevsky. In Rakhmetov, the author wanted to collect all the qualities of the “new” people of that time. He studies revolutionary literature and is an ardent supporter of his cause. He did not allow himself excesses, ate cheap food, slept on felt, and worked hard. He did all this in order to better understand the life of ordinary people. He saw his life goal in serving for the benefit of the common people.

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The artistic originality of the novel “What is to be done?”

Much in “What to do?” was astonishing in its unexpectedness. His plot was extraordinary. Under the pen of Chernyshevsky, the seemingly everyday story of the liberation of the daughter of a petty St. Petersburg official from domestic captivity resulted in a stormy, intense story of a Russian woman’s struggle for the freedom of her personality, for civil equality. Vera Pavlovna achieves material independence in a truly unheard of and previously unseen way. She runs an artisanal sewing workshop and here, in the complex management of affairs, she develops an active, purposeful, and proactive character. This storyline is intertwined with another, showing the new woman’s realization of even more significant life goals - achieving spiritual, moral and social independence. In her relationships with Lopukhov and Kirsanov, the heroine finds love and happiness in their truly human high sense. Finally, a third storyline appears in the narrative - Rakhmetov’s, which, it seems, only externally intersects with the first two. In fact, it is not a side episode, not an “insert” or a branch from the main plot, but its real skeleton. “A special person” appears at the most intense moment in the narrative, when Vera Pavlovna tragically experiences Lopukhov’s imaginary suicide, punishes herself for loving Kirsanov and intends to radically change her life, parting with the workshop, in essence, retreat, betray her ideals. With intelligent, sympathetic advice, Rakhmetov helps Vera Pavlovna find the right path. And the denouement of the novel is connected with Rakhmetov’s life fate.

The composition “What to do?” is also unusual. Before Chernyshevsky’s novel, there were no works of such complex construction in Russian literature. The novel begins with a scene “torn out” from the middle - the climax: suicide on the bridge, the mysterious disappearance of one of the main characters in the work. The central character of the novel, contrary to literary tradition, is given a modest place in the story, just one chapter. And on top of that, the narrative is continually interrupted by extraneous episodes, theoretical conversations, and dreams. A.V. Lunacharsky, who wrote the best work on Chernyshevsky’s fiction in Soviet times, noted: the author of “What is to be done?” used deeply thought-out compositional techniques. The internal structure of the novel “goes along four zones: vulgar people, new people, higher people and dreams.” Indeed, the Rozalskys and Storeshnikovs are replaced by Lopukhovs, Kirsanovs, Rakhmetovs, and the most significant symbolic images appear in Vera Pavlovna’s dreams. And the story ends with a well-encrypted episode that occupies one incomplete page in the novel, which the author without hesitation called a chapter - “Change of scenery.” And it is no coincidence that the victory of the revolution was predicted here, for which the novel was written.

Finally, the genre form itself, “What is to be done?” is also unusual. It was then almost unknown in Russian literature, a journalistic, socio-philosophical novel. Its peculiarity is that the “reproduction of life” in contrasting pictures of the “dirty” noble-bourgeois world and the world of new people is accompanied in the novel by an open author’s explanation of both. This explanation is by no means boring and edifying. It is carried out subtly and variedly, woven into the narrative fabric of the novel with a special thread. The explanation is also a bright journalistic page, showing through detailed economic accounts the profitability of collective work; this is a complex psychological analysis of the emotional experiences and actions of the heroes, convincing of the superiority of the new morality over the old, Domostroevsky one; this includes the author’s constantly ongoing caustic debates with the “slaves” of routine, especially with the “insightful reader” (a collective type of reactionary layman), stupid, ignorant, self-satisfied, who insistently undertakes to talk about art, and science, and morality, and others things about which “he doesn’t have a clue”; This is also a philosophical generalization of events and processes in the centuries-old history of mankind, striking in its breadth of knowledge and depth of theoretical thought.

In the novel, the journalist clearly pronounces, in the words of Chernyshevsky’s aesthetics, “a verdict on the phenomena of life.” But not in the form of “prosecutorial” speeches or some kind of punitive outpourings. This verdict is pronounced by the picture of new family and everyday relationships. The present is judged by the author's socialist ideal, in the “reflections of radiance” of which the unreasonableness of life, morals and concepts of a proprietary society appears even more uglier, and the Rakhmetovs, who devote themselves to the revolutionary struggle, are even more attractive.

In the novel of the genre form chosen by Chernyshevsky, naturally, a noticeable plot and compositional role was played by the image of the narrator, the author’s “I”. From chapter to chapter we get to know the author closer and closer, his powerful mind, the nobility and generosity of his soul, his heartfelt, unbiased understanding of the most complex motivations of the human person, his irony, his faith in a better future. Chernyshevsky conceived the novel “What to Do?” as a “textbook for life” and brilliantly realized this idea.

Characteristics of the main characters

Vera Pavlovna Rozalskaya is the main character of the novel, a young girl, she grew up in St. Petersburg, studied at a boarding school, sews well, is cheerful, sociable, despite her youth, she is a mature person, responsible, independent. A large place in the novel is devoted to the dreams of Vera Pavlovna. Through her dreams, Chernyshevsky expresses his philosophical reflections.
Lopukhov is a medical student, honest, noble, decent, belongs to the new generation. He selflessly helps Vera Pavlovna, offers to enter into a fictitious marriage for her so that she can leave her home and avoid an unwanted marriage. Being in a fictitious marriage, he does not insist on a relationship between him and Vera. Seeing that Vera Pavlovna is unhappy in her marriage to him, she stages her suicide, thereby giving her the opportunity to free herself from the bonds of marriage.
Kirsanov is Lopukhov’s best friend, honest, decent, serious, smart, responsible, works in a hospital. He loves Lopukhov's wife, Vera Pavlovna Rozalskaya, but tries not to interfere with their family life and disappears. After Lopukhova's staged suicide, he marries Rozalskaya.
Rakhmetov is a friend of Kirsanov and Lopukhov, a nobleman, a bright, extraordinary personality, a real revolutionary, the author calls him a “special person.” He unswervingly follows his principles. Despite the fact that he is a nobleman, he leads an ascetic lifestyle and wants to understand the life of ordinary people. Having fallen in love once, he suppresses this feeling in every possible way, since he believes that it will interfere with his lofty thoughts.

Essay on the topic: The artistic originality of Chernyshevsky’s novel “What to do?”

Composition. The artistic originality of N. Chernyshevsky’s novel “What to do?”

The enormous captivating power of the novel by N.G. Chernyshevsky was that he convinced of the truth, beauty and greatness of the new, advanced in life, convinced that a bright socialist future was possible and undoubted. He answered the most important and living question of the era: what should people do who hate the old, who do not want to live in the old way, who strive to bring closer the beautiful historical tomorrow of their homeland and all of humanity? Much in “What to do?” was astonishing in its unexpectedness. His plot was extraordinary. Under the pen of Chernyshevsky, the seemingly everyday story of the liberation of the daughter of a petty St. Petersburg official from domestic captivity resulted in a stormy, intense story of a Russian woman’s struggle for the freedom of her personality, for civil equality. Vera Pavlovna achieves material independence in a truly unheard of and previously unseen way. She runs an artisanal sewing workshop and here, in the complex management of affairs, she develops an active, purposeful, and proactive character. This storyline is intertwined with another, showing the new woman’s realization of even more significant life goals - achieving spiritual, moral and social independence. In her relationships with Lopukhov and Kirsanov, the heroine finds love and happiness in their truly human high sense. Finally, a third storyline appears in the narrative - Rakhmet's, which, it seems, only externally intersects with the first two. In fact, it is not a side episode, not an “insert” or a branch from the main plot, but its real skeleton. “A special person” appears at the most intense moment in the narrative, when Vera Pavlovna tragically experiences Lopukhov’s imaginary suicide, punishes herself for loving Kirsanov and intends to radically change her life by parting with the workshop, in essence, to retreat, to betray her ideals. With intelligent, sympathetic advice, Rakhmetov helps Vera Pavlovna find the right path. And the denouement of the novel is connected with Rakhmetov’s life fate. The composition “What to do?” is also unusual. Before Chernyshevsky’s novel, there were no works of such complex construction in Russian literature. The novel begins with a scene “torn out” from the middle - the climax: suicide on the bridge, the mysterious disappearance of one of the main characters in the work. The central character of the novel, contrary to literary tradition, is given a modest place in the story, just one chapter. And on top of that, the narrative is continually interrupted by extraneous episodes, theoretical conversations, and dreams. A.V. Lunacharsky, who wrote the best work on Chernyshevsky’s fiction in Soviet times, noted: the author of “What is to be done?” used deeply thought-out compositional techniques. The internal structure of the novel “goes along four zones: vulgar people, new people, higher people and dreams.” Indeed, the Rozalskys and Storeshnikovs are replaced by Lopukhovs, Kirsanovs, Rakhmetovs, and the most significant symbolic images appear in Vera Pavlovna’s dreams. And the story ends with a well-encrypted episode that takes up one incomplete page in the novel, which the author without hesitation called a chapter - “Change of scenery.” And it is no coincidence that the victory of the revolution was predicted here, for which the novel was written. Finally, the genre form itself, “What is to be done?” is also unusual. It was then almost unknown in Russian literature, a journalistic, socio-philosophical novel. Its peculiarity is that the “reproduction of life” in contrasting pictures of the “dirty” noble-bourgeois world and the world of new people is accompanied in the novel by an open author’s explanation of both. This explanation is by no means boring and edifying. It is carried out subtly and variedly, woven into the narrative fabric of the novel with a special thread. The explanation is also a bright journalistic page, showing through detailed economic accounts the profitability of collective labor; this is a complex psychological analysis of the emotional experiences and actions of the heroes, convincing of the superiority of the new morality over the old, Domostroevsky one; these are the constantly ongoing caustic disputes between the author and the “slaves” of routine, especially with the “insightful reader” (a collective type of reactionary layman), stupid, ignorant, self-satisfied, who insistently undertakes to talk about art, and science, and morality, and other things about which “he doesn’t have a clue”; This is also a philosophical generalization of events and processes in the centuries-old history of mankind, striking in its breadth of knowledge and depth of theoretical thought. In the novel, the journalist clearly pronounces, in the words of Chernyshevsky’s aesthetics, “a verdict on the phenomena of life.” But not in the form of “prosecutorial” speeches or some kind of punitive outpourings. This verdict is pronounced by the picture of new family and everyday relationships. The present is judged by the author's socialist ideal, in the “reflections of radiance” of which the unreasonableness of life, morals and concepts of a proprietary society appears even more uglier, and the Rakhmetovs, who devote themselves to the revolutionary struggle, are even more attractive. In the novel of the genre form chosen by Chernyshevsky, naturally, a noticeable plot and compositional role was played by the image of the narrator, the author’s “I”. From chapter to chapter we get to know the author closer and closer, his powerful mind, the nobility and generosity of his soul, his heartfelt, unbiased understanding of the most complex motivations of the human personality, his irony, his faith in a better future. Chernyshevsky conceived the novel “What to Do?” as a “textbook for life” and brilliantly realized this idea.

Problems of the work

In his novel, Chernyshevsky touches on many pressing issues of the time.

The main problems of the novel are:

the problem of a woman’s place in the society of that time
the problem of the crisis of the autocratic system
problem of moral choice
the hard life of poor people

First of all, the author raises the problem of a woman’s place in the society of that time. Women cannot get decent jobs and support themselves; instead, they can only marry for convenience. Vera Pavlovna found herself in the same situation, but thanks to Lopukhov, she managed to avoid such a fate. Chernyshevsky raises the issue of the lack of rights and helplessness of women of that time. And in the person of Lopukhov and Kirsanov, he calls for treating a woman as an equal person.

Note 1

The crisis of autocracy came quite a long time ago, people wanted revolution, their desire became stronger and stronger. The monarchy fought very sluggishly against the new worldview and dissent.

Each of the main characters of the novel is tested by the problem of moral choice. Vera entered into a fictitious marriage not out of love, but is trying in every possible way to preserve it. Kirsanov, not wanting to destroy his friend’s family, leaves his friends for a long time. Lopukhov, seeing Vera's suffering, stages suicide and thereby frees her from the bonds of marriage. It should be noted that all the heroes pass these tests with dignity.

The problem of poverty is also topical for that time. In order for a woman to exist, she had to marry a rich man. It is precisely concerns about the financial condition of her daughter that make Vera’s mother forget about morality and lead her to moral degradation.

The main idea of the work

The heroes of Chernyshevsky’s novel were created by him as role models for young people. In his “special” hero Rakhmetov, Chernyshevsky gives readers the answer to the question “What to do?” The main idea of the work is to show the reader a new active person whose goal is to live and act for the benefit of his people. The novel is interesting, first of all, because the author not only describes and is indignant about the social and moral situation that had developed at that time, but also puts forward ways, in his opinion, of the correct solution. With the character of Rakhmetov, the author calls on readers of that time to abandon their selfish motives and calls not to pay attention to the difference in classes. In the image of Rakhmetov, Chernyshevsky reveals the main idea of the novel - the determination to defend bright ideals.

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