New people and a special person. Who are the “new people” in the novel “What is to be done? Other works on this work

Following the abolition of serfdom in 1861, people of a previously unprecedented formation began to emerge in Russian society. Children of officials, priests, minor nobles and industrialists came to Moscow, St. Petersburg and other big cities from different parts of Russia to get a good education. They were the ones who treated such people. It was they who, with pleasure and joy, absorbed not only knowledge, but also culture within the university walls, introducing, in turn, into the life of the democratic customs of their small provincial towns and obvious dissatisfaction with the ancient noble system.

They were destined to give rise to a new era in the development of Russian society. This phenomenon was reflected in Russian literature of the 60s of the 19th century; it was at this time that Turgenev and Chernyshevsky wrote novels about “new people.” The heroes of these works were commoner revolutionaries who considered the main goal of their lives to be the struggle for the happy life of all people in the future. In the subtitle of the novel "What to do?" We read by N. G. Chernyshevsky: “From stories about new people.”

Chernyshevsky “knows not only how new people think and reason, but also how they feel, how they love and respect each other, how they organize their family and everyday life, and how ardently they strive for that time and for that order of things, with whom one could love all people and trustingly extend a hand to everyone."

The main characters of the novel - Lopukhov, Kirsanov and Vera Pavlovna - are representatives of a new type of people. They do not seem to do anything that would exceed ordinary human capabilities. These are normal people, and the author himself recognizes them as such people; This circumstance is extremely important; it gives the entire novel a particularly deep meaning.

By nominating Lopukhov, Kirsanov and Vera Pavlovna as the main characters, the author thereby shows readers: this is how ordinary people can be, this is how they should be, if, of course, they want their life to be full of happiness and pleasure. Wanting to prove to readers that they are truly ordinary people, the author brings onto the stage the titanic figure of Rakhmetov, whom he himself recognizes as extraordinary and calls “special.” Rakhmetov does not participate in the action of the novel, because people like him are only then and there in their sphere and in their place, when and where they can be historical figures. Neither science nor family happiness satisfy them.

They love all people, suffer from every injustice that occurs, experience in their own souls the great grief of millions and give everything they can give to heal this grief. Chernyshevsky’s attempt to introduce a special person to readers can be called quite successful. Before him, Turgenev took on this matter, but, unfortunately, completely unsuccessfully.

The heroes of the novel are people who come from different strata of society, mostly students who study natural sciences and “early got used to making their way with their breasts.”

In Chernyshevsky’s novel, a whole group of like-minded people appears before us. The basis of their activity is propaganda; Kirsanov’s student circle is one of the most effective. Young revolutionaries are educated here, the personality of a “special person,” a professional revolutionary, is formed here. To become a special person, you must, first of all, have enormous willpower in order to give up all pleasures for the sake of your business and drown out all the slightest desires.

Work in the name of the revolution becomes the only, completely absorbing task. In the formation of Rakhmetov’s beliefs, the conversation with Kirsanov was decisive, during which “he sends a curse to what must die, etc.” After him, Rakhmetov’s transformation into a “special person” began. The power of influence of this circle on young people is evidenced by the fact that the “new people” have followers (Rakhmetov scholarship recipients).

Chernyshevsky also gave the image of a “new woman” in his novel. Vera Pavlovna, whom Lopukhov “brought” out of the “basement of bourgeois life,” is a comprehensively developed person, she strives for perfection: she decides to become a doctor in order to bring even greater benefit to people. Having escaped from her parents' house, Vera Pavlovna frees other women. She creates a workshop where she helps poor girls find their place in life.

All the activities of Lopukhov, Kirsanov, Vera Pavlovna are inspired by faith in the onset of a bright future. They are no longer alone, although their circle of like-minded people is still small. But it was people like Kirsanov, Lopukhov, Vera Pavlovna and others who were needed in Russia at that time. Their images served as an example for shaping the worldview of the revolutionary generation. The author realized that the people described in his novel were his dream. But this dream at the same time turned out to be a prophecy. “Years will pass,” says the author of the novel about the type of new person, “and he will be reborn in more numerous people.”

The writer himself wrote well about the “new people” and their significance in the life of the rest of humanity in his own work: “They are few, but with them the life of all blossoms; without them it would stall, it would turn sour; they are few, but they give all people to breathe, without them people would suffocate. This is the color of the best people, these are the engines of engines, they are the salt of the earth.”

Life is unthinkable without such people, because it must always change, being modified over time. Nowadays there is also a field of activity for new people making radical changes in life. Chernyshevsky's novel "What to do?" invaluable and topical in this regard for the current reader, helping to intensify the rise in the human soul, the desire to fight for the social good. The problem of the work will be eternally modern and necessary for the formation of society.

In the novel by G.N. Chernyshevsky, a special place belongs to the so-called “new people”. They are between ordinary people, immersed in their selfish interests (Marya Alekseevna), and a special person of modern times - Rakhmetov.
Chernyshevsky’s “new people” no longer belong to the dark old world, but they have not yet entered another. Vera Pavlovna, Kirsanov, Lopukhov, and Mertsalovs found themselves at this intermediate stage. These heroes already solve the problems of family and social life in a different way. They gradually discard the conventions of the old world and choose their own path of development. In order to decide on such a path of development, which consists of reading, observing life, “no sacrifices are required, no hardships are asked...” “Intermediate” heroes prefer the peaceful path of intellectual development, the awakening of an ordinary person, accessible to the majority. At the height at which Vera Pavlovna, Kirsanov, Lopukhov stand, “all people must stand, can stand.” And this can be achieved without sacrifice or hardship.

However, Chernyshevsky knows that, in addition to development, reading and observation of life, a heroic struggle against tyranny and despotism, social inequality and exploitation is needed. “The historical path,” says G.N. Chernyshevsky - not the sidewalk of Nevsky Prospekt; it goes entirely through fields, sometimes dusty, sometimes dirty, sometimes through swamps, sometimes through wilds. Anyone who is afraid of being covered in dust and getting their boots dirty should not take up public activities.”
According to the author, not everyone is ready for such a struggle. Therefore, Chernyshevsky divides “new people” into “ordinary” (Lopukhov, Kirsanov, Vera Pavlovna, Mertsalovs, Polozova) and “special” (Rakhmetov, “a lady in mourning”, “a man of about thirty”).

The selection of these two types among the positive characters of the novel has its own philosophical and socio-historical reasons. But the writer does not contrast “special” people with “ordinary” people, the leaders of the revolutionary movement with ordinary figures, but outlines the connection between them. So, Lopukhov saves Vera Pavlovna from an unequal marriage, creates a family with her based on freedom, mutual understanding, and trust. The heroine herself does not want to go through life like her mother Marya Alekseevna. She does not want to live in constant lies, selfishness, and the struggle for existence by any means. Therefore, in Lopukhov she finds her salvation.
The heroes commit a fictitious marriage. They are organizing their economic activities in a new way. Vera Pavlovna starts a sewing workshop and hires dressmakers who live together. Describing in detail the activities of Vera Pavlovna in the workshop, G.N. Chernyshevsky emphasizes the new nature of the relationship between workers and the mistress. They are not so much of an economic nature as they are based on achieving a common goal, mutual assistance, and good attitude towards each other.

The atmosphere in the workshop is reminiscent of a family. The writer emphasizes that Vera Pavlovna thus saved many of her charges from death and poverty (for example, Masha, who later became her maid). Here we see the enormous importance of G.N. Chernyshevsky assigns the role of labor. According to the writer, work ennobles a person, therefore “new people” should strive to direct their work for the benefit of others, thereby protecting them from the harmful influence of destructive passions. In the sphere of activity of “ordinary” people, Chernyshevsky included educational work in Sunday schools (teaching Kirsanov and Mertsalov in a group of sewing workshop workers), among the advanced part of the student body (Lopukhov could spend hours talking with students), at factory enterprises (Lopukhov’s classes in the factory office) .

The name of Kirsanov is associated with the plot of a clash between a common doctor and the “aces” of a St. Petersburg private practice - in an episode of the treatment of Katya Polozova, as well as the theme of scientific activity. His experiments on the artificial production of protein are welcomed by Lopukhov as “a complete revolution in the whole question of food, the whole life of mankind.”
These scenes reflected the writer's socialist views. Although time has shown that in many ways they turned out to be utopian and naive. The author of the novel himself deeply believed in their progressive role. At that time, the opening of Sunday schools, reading rooms, and hospitals for the poor was widespread among progressive youth.

Thus, G.N. Chernyshevsky accurately noticed and reflected the new positive trends of the era using the example of Vera Pavlovna’s workshop. The “new people” in his novel resolve their personal, intra-family conflicts differently. Although outwardly their family seems prosperous, friendly, and quite successful, in reality everything is different. Vera Pavlovna respected her husband very much, but never felt anything more for him. Unexpectedly, the heroine realized this when she met her husband’s best friend, Kirsanov. Together they took care of Lopukhov during his illness.

Vera Pavlovna has completely different feelings for Kirsanov. True love comes to her, which plunges her into absolute confusion. But in this episode, the key role is played not by the love story between Kirsanov and Vera Pavlovna, but by Lopukhov’s act. He does not want to interfere with his wife’s happiness; he cannot build a family on a lie. Therefore, he, like a true man of modern times, withdraws himself and stages suicide.

Lopukhov commits such a brave act because he does not want to cause his wife unhappiness or be the cause of her moral torment. Vera Pavlovna was inconsolable for a long time. Only Rakhmetov managed to revive her to life. There were no obstacles to the development of love for Kirsanov. As a result, Chernyshevsky’s heroes create a real family, based not only on mutual respect, but also on deep feeling.

The life of a new person, according to G.N. Chernyshevsky, must be harmonious socially and personally. Therefore, Lopukhov is not left alone either. He saves Mertsalova from death and marries her. And in this marriage he finds well-deserved happiness. Moreover, G.N. Chernyshevsky goes further, depicting ideal relationships between people, without mutual hostility, anger, or hatred. At the end of the novel we see two happy families: the Kirsanovs and the Lopukhovs, who are friends with each other.

Describing the life of “new people,” the writer focuses our attention on the economic and personal side of the heroes’ lives. With their help, he proves that the unjust, inhumane principles of life of the old world are outdated, and in society there is a desire for renewal, new relationships between people.

The “new people” that Chernyshevsky wrote about in his novel were representatives of a new phase in the development of society at that time. The world of these people was formed in the struggle against the old regime, which had outlived its usefulness, but continued to dominate. The heroes of the novel at almost every step encountered difficulties and adversities of the old order and overcame them. The “new people” in the work are commoners. They were determined, had a goal in life, knew what they should do, and were united by common ideas and aspirations. “Their main desire is to

The people were free, happy, and lived in contentment.” The “new people” believed in their people, saw them as decisive, powerful, and capable of fighting. But in order for him to achieve his goal, he must be taught, inspired and united.

The commoners, who are the heroes of Chernyshevsky’s novel, have a developed sense of self-esteem, pride, and the ability to stand up for themselves. The author writes: “Each of them is a courageous person, who does not hesitate, who does not yield, who knows how to take up a task, and if he takes it up, then he grasps it tightly, so that it does not slip out of his hands. This is one side of their properties; on the other hand, each of them is an impeccable person

Honesty, such that the question does not even occur to you: can you rely on this person in everything, unconditionally? This is as clear as the fact that he is breathing through his chest; as long as this chest breathes, it is hot and unchanging, feel free to lay your head on it...” Chernyshevsky was able to show their common, typical features, but also the characteristics of each of them.

Lopukhov and Kirsanov always relied only on themselves, worked together in the name of a high goal - to develop and improve science, selfless, helping those who need help, who deserve it. They did not seek profit in treating the sick. But Dmitry Sergeevich is calmer, Alexander Matveevich is an emotional and artistic person.

It was difficult for Vera Pavlovna to live in her own home due to the constant oppression and reproaches of her mother, but she did not break under the oppression, did not surrender to the mercy of the old order. This heroine was strong by nature, from an early age she had her own views on life, she always wanted freedom and a life without lies. It was not her habit to be disingenuous in front of people and, most importantly, in front of herself. She could not build her happiness on the misfortune of others, and did not tolerate being treated like a thing. Vera Pavlovna tried to understand the rational structure of society, so she created a sewing workshop with fair procedures and conditions. She is not interested in money, she wants to see the process itself. By doing good for oneself, one does good for others. Vera Pavlovna, creating a workshop, sets out to educate “new people”. She believes that there are a lot of good people, but they need to be helped, and they will help others, and there will be more “new people.” Vera Pavlovna is a different character than Katerina Polozova.

Rakhmetov is a special person, of all the others he is the most active. He understands that the struggle for a new world will be life and death. By all possible means he prepares himself for it. This hero is “the salt of the earth, the engine of engines.” He renounced his personal interests for the sake of one goal. Has enormous energy, endurance, clarity of thoughts and behavior. As Chernyshevsky writes: “Rakhmetov is an ebullient person, he was a master of business, he was a great psychologist.”

“And Lopukhov, and Kirsanov, and Vera Pavlovna, and Polozova, and Rakhmetov are people of strong passions, great experiences, and rich temperament. But at the same time, they can control their feelings and subordinate their behavior to the great tasks of the common cause.” “New people” are people of high ideals. Activity for them was the implementation of these ideals. All “new people” lived according to the “theory of rational egoism.” By doing things for themselves and in their own name, they also benefit others. According to Chernyshevsky, “new people” behave the same in all situations: they remain human under any circumstances. “New people” are not two-faced. The heroes of Chernyshevsky’s novel respect their loved one, do everything to make his life better, and treat each other as equals. That is why their love is pure and noble.

Independent work No. 4.

Nikolai Gavrilovich CHERNYSHEVSKY (1828-1889)- one of the most prominent representatives of the cohort of “raznochintsy” - writers, scientists, public figures of the 60s of the 19th century, who came either from the semi-peasant environment of the village clergy, or from among the bankrupt landowners, or from the lower classes of the city bureaucracy. This generation was distinguished by a thirst for knowledge, faith in their own strengths, and a desire to change social relations in Russia that did not suit them by any means, including violence, for the sake of future social harmony and equality.

While still a student at St. Petersburg University, Chernyshevsky sets the goal of his life to fight poverty, dreaming of a time when all people will live “at least the way people live who earn 15 - 20,000 rubles a year. income". At first, he assumed that the path to this material well-being lay through technical progress, and at one time he was even interested in creating a perpetual motion machine. But then, largely under the influence of the famous public figure Petrashevsky, he is inclined to think about the need for a violent overthrow of the autocracy. He is credited with the authorship of the proclamation “Bow to the lordly peasants from their well-wishers,” the purpose of which was to call Russia “to the axe.” He dreamed of “splitting the people”, organizing peasant unrest, “which can be suppressed everywhere and, perhaps, will make many unhappy for a while, but... this will give broad support to all uprisings.” “For malicious intent to overthrow the existing order, for taking measures to indignate and for composing an outrageous appeal,” Chernyshevsky was arrested and sentenced “to be deprived of all rights to the estate and sent to hard labor in the mines for fourteen years and then settled in Siberia forever”.

But even in hard labor, he did not stop his active revolutionary and social activities, thanks to which a generation of commoners of the 70s and 80s was formed, even more radically and irreconcilably disposed towards the autocracy, even more decisively making bloody revolutionary sacrifices - these are revolutionary terrorists, notorious in the case of Nechaev, Vera Figner, Alexander Ulyanov, the elder brother of the future leader of the Bolsheviks.

Only a few months before his death, in 1889, Chernyshevsky was able to return home to Saratov, where he managed to work for some time as a teacher in a gymnasium.

The novel “What to do?”- the most famous work of N.G. Chernyshevsky, written in solitary confinement in the Peter and Paul Fortress, where he was placed after his arrest, actually for four and a half months. The novel was published in 1863, since censorship did not immediately understand the revolutionary meaning of the work. This novel is didactic and utopian. Chernyshevsky dreamed that already in the process of reading an ordinary person would become a new person in the sense in which the author himself understands this word, and that some of the readers would decide to take the path of special people, about whom the author himself said: “They are few, but life blossoms with them. They are the engines of engines, the salt of the earth.”

The artistic originality of the novel, among other things, lies in the double understanding of the positive hero through whom the author’s ideals are expressed.

The focus is on the heroes whom Chernyshevsky calls “new” due to their unconventional attitude to the social and moral values ​​of the society in which they live. These are Lopukhov, Kirsanov, Vera Pavlovna, Katya Polozova, girls from Vera Pavlovna’s workshop, whom she managed to introduce to the views that she herself held. These are people for whom the main thing is honesty and decency in relation to each other, an indifferent attitude towards wealth not earned by honest labor, and at the same time the desire to live with dignity, without denying themselves the small joys of life such as soft goat shoes and coffee with cream.

Having come from among the commoners, who studied for “copper pennies,” they consider decent work and the desire for the good of their neighbor to be the most important things in life. They form the so-called “theory of reasonable egoism,” the essence of which is that a person can feel good only when others around him feel good. By doing a good deed for others, even while infringing on one’s own rights and opportunities, a person becomes happy because those close to him are happy. The characters test this theory with their lives. When Lopukhov saw that Verochka Rozalskaya needed to be saved from her own mother, who intends to marry her to the rich and immoral Storeshnikov, he decides to marry her, although this requires him to quit his studies and look for work. He completely disinterestedly passes on the data of his scientific research to his friend Kirsanov, making it easier for him to get his diploma. Vera Pavlovna starts workshops for poor girls, saving them from poverty and consumption, and divides the profits equally. In case of marriage, he gives a substantial dowry for the girl. When Vera Pavlovna fell in love with Kirsanov, she informs her husband about this, trusting him infinitely, and he stages his own suicide, freeing Vera from marriage.

As a result, this universal dedication leads to universal happiness: Lopukhov, having gotten rich honestly somewhere in America, finds love and mutual understanding with Vera Pavlovna’s friend Katya Polozova.

The rationalism and normativity of such a plot structure are obvious, and the author does not hide it, wishful thinking. The morality of new people is not based on religion. To introduce a new way of relating, the writer schematizes human nature.

This remark applies even more to the “special person” - the nobleman Rakhmetov, who renounced all the rights and benefits of his class and even personal happiness for the sake of the happiness of all people. Rakhmetov tempers himself in anticipation of future trials and suffering, strengthens himself physically and spiritually: he works as a barge hauler on the Volga, receiving the nickname Nikitushka Lomov, limits himself to food, not allowing any delicacies, even if his financial situation allows it (and this little thing distinguishes him from the “new people!”), sleeps on felt studded with nails, or does not sleep at all for three days, strengthening his will, spending time reading books. The “cause” that Rakhmetov serves is not specifically shown for censorship reasons, but the general atmosphere of the 60s of the 19th century allowed us to draw the correct conclusion: he is a revolutionary, like the author himself and his comrades.

Chernyshevsky's utopian views were most fully expressed in Vera Pavlovna's 4th dream. With the help of this conventional technique, which does not constrain the freedom of imagination, Chernyshevsky tries to look into the future. His ideas about the future are optimistic, and this is the most important thing. Humanity, according to Chernyshevsky, will realize its right to freedom, work, creativity and personal happiness. Another thing is that Chernyshevsky’s very understanding of happiness is naive and limited. In Chernyshevsky’s future there is no place for personal feelings and qualities, or rather, they are seen as an exception to the rule. Members of the community are provided free of charge with all the conditions for a normal, or rather, normative life, but if the needs of the individual go beyond the norm (you want something tasty or especially beautiful clothes), then you have to pay for it. The very forms of payment for labor in the future society are not specified. There is no family as a unit of society, as the strongest human community, which includes both personal and altruistic relationships.

Some of what Chernyshevsky predicted, having barely begun to come true, turned into its opposite, for example, the active change of nature, the transfer of northern rivers into the desert, the construction of canals, etc. led to irreparable losses of the ecological balance of the planet; Aluminum as a material of the future is outdated; humanity values ​​natural, natural materials more and more. People are increasingly concentrated in megacities rather than in settlements surrounded by nature. Predicting the future is a difficult and thankless task, and Chernyshevsky is not alone in his mistakes and delusions.

In the society of the future there are no fears of want or grief, but there are no memories either. These are people without a past. Chernyshevsky's idea of ​​a harmonious person is illustrated, whose life combines easy, pleasant work with songs, the development of a person's creative abilities (choir, theater), relaxation, fun (dancing and singing), love and procreation, care for health, respect for the elderly. But this rationality and harmony turn out to be unconvincing, since the problems of the individual in its relation to other members of society are not highlighted; In their desire for an easy and carefree life, people of the future are deprived of the past, historical memory, and bypass the complexities of existence. Call “Love the future, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present everything that you can transfer” turns out to be overly journalistic, unfounded and declarative.