Today in Writing History December 15, 1905: The Pushkin House was established in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to preserve the cultural heritage of Alexander Pushkin, (6/6/1799–2/10/1837). Pushkin was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era. He was influenced by Enlightenment writers and thinkers, like Diderot and Voltaire. He spoke out in support of social reform, and wrote poems, like “Ode to Liberty,” leading to the government exiling him from the capital. In 1920 the Pushkin House was renamed the Institute of New Russian Literature, with the main objective of preparing authoritative "academic" editions of works by Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, and others.
Fathers and Sons by Turgenev is an interesting character study of Bazarov, a self-proclaimed nihilist in the backdrop of the ideological differences between the “fathers” and “sons”. It also looks at the inevitability of the generational gap between sons (Bazarov and Arkady) and their respective fathers, and the futility of trying to reject emotions. (details linked)
Just an old couple comforting each other after their son leaves them after an extremely short stay... brought a tear to my eye.
"But you and I, we’re just a couple of old mushrooms, we are, stuck in the hollow of a tree, sitting side by side and never moving. Except that I’ll always remain the same for you for ever and ever, just as you will for me."
From #fathersandsons by #turgenev
Wow, just wow, Bazarov. And I thought I couldn't like you less.
"‘Why don’t you want to allow the idea of freedom of thought among women?’ he asked under his breath.
‘Because, mate, in my view, the only ones among women who think freely are bloody freaks.’"
When I read about Nikolai contemplating with sadness and agitation the rift between him and his son, Arkady, these lines broke my heart. A simple matter of a generation gap, when told from the POV of the father, was especially poignant considering that Nikolai put in considerable effort to make himself "up to date" to get closer to his son, and then had to overhear Bazarov call him "out of date" without Arkady disagreeing with him. #fathersandsons by #turgenev @bookstodon#bookquotes#reading
@bookstodon Bazarov had even made fun of his cello playing, saying that playing the cello is not a fitting activity for a man of his age, thankfully out of his hearing.
So many of us have probably been convinced how "out of date"/ "uncool" people of older generations have been. Now that I am older, I think that we were probably not always fair in our assessment, or our behavior
Nihilism (and Bazarov) in a nutshell for you 🙄
"I see,’ interrupted Pavel Petrovich, ‘I see. Meaning you’re convinced of all this and have decided for yourselves not to do anything serious about anything.’
‘And we’ve decided not to do anything about anything,’ Bazarov repeated sombrely.
‘And just swear at everything?’
‘And swear at everything.’
‘And that’s called nihilism?’
‘And that’s called nihilism,’" @bookstodon#turgenev#fathersandsons#nihilism#reading#bookquotes#russianliterature