Anna cannot open herself to him because she does not see the possibility of a good future with him. She does not respond overtly to his declaration, though she is drawn to Bazarov she finds his devaluation of feelings and of the aesthetic side of existence unattractive. Eventually, prompted by Odintsova's own cautious expressions of attraction to him, he announces that he loves her. Bazarov, in particular, finds falling in love distressing because it runs counter to his nihilist beliefs. Although they stay for just a short time, Arkady begins to find himself and become more independent of Bazarov's influence. While Bazarov at first feels nothing for Anna, Arkady falls head over heels in love with her.Īt Nikolskoye, they also meet Katya, Anna Sergevna's sister. Both are attracted to her, and she, intrigued by Bazarov's singular manner, invites them to spend a few days at her estate, Nikolskoye.

There, they observe the local gentry and meet Madame Anna Sergevna Odintsova, an elegant woman of independent means, who cuts a seductively different figure from the pretentious and conventional types of the local provincial society. The two young men stay over at Marino for some weeks, then decide to visit a relative of Arkady's in a neighboring province.

Arkady, however, is not troubled by the relationship on the contrary, he is delighted by the addition of a younger brother. To complicate this, the father has taken a servant, Fenechka, into his house to live with him and has already had a son by her, named Mitya. Nikolay has always tried to stay as current as possible, by doing things such as visiting his son at school so the two can stay as close as they can, but this in Nikolay's eyes has failed. A certain awkwardness develops in his regard toward his son, as Arkady's radical views, much influenced by Bazarov, make Nikolay’s own beliefs feel dated. Nikolay, initially delighted to have his son return home, slowly begins to feel uneasy. His father, Nikolay, gladly receives the two young men at his estate, called Marino, but Nikolay's brother, Pavel, soon becomes upset by the strange new philosophy called ' nihilism' which the young men, especially Bazarov, advocate. He returns with a friend, Bazarov, to his father's modest estate in an outlying province of Russia. It is one of the most acclaimed Russian novels of the 19th century.Īrkady Kirsanov has just graduated from the University of Petersburg. 226 pp (2001 Modern Library Paperback Edition)įathers and Sons ( Russian: «Отцы и дети» Otcy i deti, IPA: pre-1918 spelling Отцы и дѣти), literally Fathers and Children, is an 1862 novel by Ivan Turgenev, published in Moscow by Grachev & Co.

Fathers and sons by ivan turgenev