E-book What to do

It was written partly in response to Ivan Turgenev’s work “Fathers and Sons.”

Chernyshevsky wrote the novel while in solitary confinement in the Alekseevsky ravelin of the Peter and Paul Fortress, from December 14, 1862 to April 4, 1863. Since January 1863, the manuscript has been transferred in parts to the investigative commission in the Chernyshevsky case (the last part was transferred on April 6). The commission, and after it the censors, saw in the novel only love line and gave permission to publish. The censorship oversight was soon noticed, and the responsible censor, Beketov, was removed from office. However, the novel had already been published in the Sovremennik magazine (1863, No. 3-5). Despite the fact that the issues of Sovremennik, in which the novel “What is to be done?” were published, were banned, the text of the novel in handwritten copies was distributed throughout the country and caused a lot of imitations.

In 1867, the novel was published as a separate book in Geneva (in Russian) by Russian emigrants, then it was translated into Polish, Serbian, Hungarian, French, English, German, Italian, Swedish and Dutch. IN Soviet era also in Finnish and Tajik (Farsi). The influence of Chernyshevsky’s novel is felt in Emile Zola (“Ladies’ Happiness”), Strindberg (“Utopias in Reality”), and the figure of the Bulgarian National Revival Lyuben Karvelov (“Is Fate to Blame,” written in Serbian).

“What to Do,” like “Fathers and Sons,” gave rise to the so-called anti-nihilistic novel. In particular, “On Knives” by Leskov, where the motifs of Chernyshevsky’s work are parodically used.

Ban on publication of the novel “What is to be done?” was only removed in 1905. In 1906, the novel was first published in Russia as a separate edition.

In the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky “What to do?” aluminum is mentioned. In the “naive utopia” of Vera Pavlovna’s fourth dream, it is called the metal of the future. Aluminum reached a “great future” by the middle of the 20th century.

The “lady in mourning” who appears at the end of the work is Olga Sokratovna Chernyshevskaya, the writer’s wife. At the end of the novel we are talking about the release of Chernyshevsky from the Peter and Paul Fortress, where he was while writing the novel. He never received his release: on February 7, 1864, he was sentenced to 14 years of hard labor followed by settlement in Siberia.

The main characters with the surname Kirsanov are also found in Ivan Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons”, but researchers deny the connection between the heroes of Chernyshevsky and Turgenev’s novels.

F. M. Dostoevsky argues with Chernyshevsky’s ideas, in particular with his thoughts about the future of humanity, in “Notes from Underground,” thanks to which the image of the “crystal palace” became a common motif in world literature of the 20th century.

What to do? This question was asked by the advanced Russian intelligentsia and youth from the very beginning of the nineteenth century.
When in Russian Empire Western trends of freedom penetrated and revolutionary ideas of one order or another, the Russian intelligentsia that had just emerged at that time was shocked. The discrepancy between the way of life of Russia - the last at that time European country, where it was not canceled serfdom and the ideas of modern philosophers and scientists did not leave them indifferent.

One of these young revolutionaries was Nikolai Chernyshevsky, who, thanks to his novel “What is to be done?” became one of the flagships of contemporary revolutionary movements.

Chernyshevsky wrote the novel “What to Do” in prison, which cannot be said from his ironic digressions: one gets the impression that the novel was written by a free person, not burdened with anything other than mental labor. Irony literally permeates the novel: every time the plot twists begin to resemble classic novel At that time, an “insightful reader” appears on the stage of the narrative, to whom the author condescendingly explains that he was mistaken.

Indeed: the very beginning of Chernyshevsky’s novel “What is to be done?” much like romantic novels: someone shoots himself on a bridge. But further development of the plot unexpectedly takes us into the life of a simple bourgeois family. An official, his despotic wife, his youngest son, a high school student, and his daughter, a girl of marriageable age. It would seem, what is special about this family, led by a money-greedy, cruel mother?

However, it turns out that even in such a family a strong and freedom-loving personality can grow up: Vera Pavlovna, that very “girl of marriageable age”, is morally and intellectually seriously superior to her surroundings. Her spirit and moral principles not broken by abuse or almost violent demands to “fit in.”

The son of the owner of the apartment building in which her family lives liked Vera Pavlovna. A beautiful and educated girl evokes understandable and base desires in a young spoiled barchuk. The young man simply wants to seduce Vera and make her his mistress, while her mother believes that he is going to propose to the girl. Having difficulty convincing her mother that the master’s intentions are far from marriage, Vera is left alone for a while. But not for long: the young man urgently wants to achieve Vera and begins to regularly visit her family’s apartment.

A young girl in those days had virtually no rights: everything she could and would like to do must be allowed by her parents or husband. How to get rid of the persistent observation of your parents and leave a hateful marriage? Suddenly, salvation comes: a young teacher, Dmitry Lopukhov, a man of progressive views, comes to teach his high school son. Gradually getting closer to Vera and entering into her position, he helps Vera leave the family. She manages to escape from home and marry Dmitry.

Begins new life, full and happy. Chernyshevsky’s novel “What to Do” does not end with a wedding: the beginning of Dmitry and Vera’s life together is just the beginning.

First of all, “What to do” is, of course, not work of art, but a kind of manual on confronting the rotten society for the youth of those years. Brave, strong personalities, displayed on the pages of the novel, confront the dirt and backwardness of society. Rakhmetov, a professional revolutionary, Vera Pavlovna - a strong business woman who helps dozens of young girls, Lopukhov - kind and smart person, who selflessly helped Vera, Kirsanov - Lopukhov’s friend, a talented doctor - all these heroes and their strong characters became real archetypes of the Russian revolutionary.

What to do? Nikolai Chernyshevsky

(No ratings yet)

Title: What to do?
Author: Nikolay Chernyshevsky
Year: 1863
Genre: Classic prose, Russian classics, 19th century literature

About the book “What to do?” Nikolai Chernyshevsky

Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky wrote his famous novel in 1862–1863 in prison. Since then, it has been reread by many generations of people. This novel touches on important questions for every person about happiness in the family and society, about the equality of men and women, about the right to decide one’s destiny, to work and live in pleasure.

On our website about books you can download the site for free without registration or read online book"What to do?" Nikolay Chernyshevsky in epub, fb2, txt, rtf, pdf formats for iPad, iPhone, Android and Kindle. The book will give you a lot of pleasant moments and real pleasure from reading. Buy full version you can from our partner. Also, here you will find latest news from the literary world, learn the biography of your favorite authors. For beginning writers there is a separate section with useful tips and recommendations, interesting articles, thanks to which you yourself can try your hand at literary crafts.

Quotes from the book “What to do?” Nikolai Chernyshevsky

I tried to force myself. I also have a will, just like you, I maneuvered no worse than you. But what is done out of calculation, out of a sense of duty, out of an effort of will, and not out of the inclination of nature, comes out lifeless.

Vera Pavlovna's upbringing was very ordinary. Her life before she met the medical student Lopukhov (3) was something remarkable, but not special. And even then there was something special in her actions.
Vera Pavlovna grew up in a multi-storey building on Gorokhovaya, between Sadovaya and Semenovsky Bridge. Now this house is marked with the appropriate number, and in 1852, when there were no such numbers yet (4), there was an inscription on it: “the house of the actual state councilor Ivan Zakharovich Storeshnikov.” So said the inscription; but Ivan Zakharych Storeshnikov died back in 1837, and from then on the owner of the house was his son, Mikhail Ivanovich, so the documents said. But the residents of the house knew that Mikhail Ivanovich was the owner’s son, and the owner of the house was Anna Petrovna.

“People who talk about all sorts of nonsense can talk about him as they please; people who have the right outlook on life will say that you did what you should have done; if you did this, it means that your personality was such that it was impossible for you to act differently under such circumstances, they will say that you acted out of necessity, that, in fact, you had no other choice.

- Well, you yourself say that this is love. Only this love is just a feeling, not a passion. What is love - passion? What is the difference between passion and simple feeling? By force. It means that if, with a simple feeling, weak, too weak in the face of passion, love puts you in such a relationship with a person that you say: “it is better to die than to be the cause of torment for him”; if a simple feeling says so, what will a passion that is a thousand times stronger say? She will say: “I would rather die than—not that I would demand, not that I would ask—but rather than allow this person to do anything for me other than what was pleasing to him; I will die sooner than allow him to force himself to do anything for me, to constrain himself in anything.” This is the kind of passion that says so, this is love. And if passion is not like that, then it is passion, but not love at all. I'm leaving here now. I said everything, Vera Pavlovna.

Reader, you, of course, know in advance that at this evening there will be an explanation that Verochka and Lopukhov will fall in love with each other? - of course, so.

But the main thing is independence! Do what I want - live how I want, without asking anyone, not demanding anything from anyone, not needing anyone! This is how I want to live!