Why is the novel what to do called a utopia. Essay “Features of utopia in Nikolai Chernyshevsky’s novel “What is to be done?” Chernyshevsky’s vision of the role of the state, set out in the novel “What is to be done?”

N. G. Chernyshevsky in his novel “What to do?” places unusual emphasis on common-sense selfishness. Why is egoism reasonable, sane? In my opinion, because in this novel for the first time we see a “new approach to the problem”, Chernyshevsky’s “new people”, creating a “new” atmosphere. The author thinks that the “new people” see personal “benefit” in the desire to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy official morality. Their morality releases the creative potential of a philanthropic person. "New people"

Conflicts of a family and love nature are resolved less painfully. The theory of rational egoism has an undeniable appeal and a rational core. “New people” consider work an integral condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their minds are in absolute harmony with their feelings, because neither their feelings nor their minds are perverted by the chronic hostility of people.
You can trace the course of Vera Pavlovna’s internal development: first at home she gains inner freedom, then the need for public service appears, and then the fullness of her personal life, the need to work regardless of personal will and social arbitrariness.
N. G. Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a “not new” person, all “new” people look alike, and the problem of a special person arises. Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his traits in the form of questions: why did he do this? For what? These questions create an individual type. He is a “new” man in his formation. All the new people seem to have fallen from the moon, and the only one connected with this era is Rakhmetov. Denial of oneself out of “calculation of benefits”! Here Chernyshevsky does not act as a utopian. And at the same time, Vera Pavlovna’s dreams exist as an indication of the ideal society to which the author strives. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic techniques: beautiful sisters appear to Vera Pavlovna in a dream, the eldest of them, the Revolution, is a condition for renewal. In this chapter, we have to put a lot of points in place to explain the voluntary omission of the text, which the censorship would not let through anyway and in which the main idea of ​​the novel would be exposed. Along with this, there is the image of a beautiful younger sister - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be a goddess not only of love, but also of the enjoyment of work, art, and leisure: “Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a deserted place, there are rich fields and meadows , gardens; there is a huge palace made of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, and wonderful furniture. Everywhere you can see people working, singing songs, and relaxing.” There are ideal human relationships between people, traces of happiness and contentment everywhere, which were previously impossible to dream of. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees. Of course, there are many utopian elements in this picture, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. It is not for nothing that they are repeatedly hinted at in the novel without being directly named. The novel shows only rural labor and speaks about the people “in general,” in a very general way. But this utopia in its main idea is very realistic: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go to satisfy the needs of the members of the collective. This new work must be based on high scientific and technological achievements, on scientists and powerful machines that allow man to transform the earth and his entire life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from the patriarchal peasant community to socialism must be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to cement in the reader’s mind the dream of a better future. This is Chernyshevsky himself speaking through the mouth of the “elder sister,” addressing Vera Pavlovna with the words: “Do you know the future? It is light and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can.”
Indeed, it is difficult to talk about this work seriously, given all its monstrous shortcomings. The author and his characters speak in an absurd, clumsy and unintelligible language. The main characters behave unnaturally, but they, like dolls, are obedient to the will of the author, who can force them to do (experience, think) whatever he wants. This is a sign of Chernyshevsky’s immaturity as a writer. A true creator always creates beyond himself, the creations of his creative imagination have free will, over which even he, their creator, has no control, and it is not the author who imposes thoughts and actions on his heroes, but rather they themselves suggest to him this or that action, thought, turn plot. But for this it is necessary that their characters be concrete, complete and convincing, and in Chernyshevsky’s novel, instead of living people, we have bare abstractions that have been hastily given a human form.
Lifeless Soviet socialism came from French utopian socialism, whose representatives were Claude Henri de Saint-Simon and many others. Their goal was to create prosperity for all people, and to carry out the reform in such a way that no blood was shed. They rejected the idea of ​​equality and fraternity and believed that society should be built on the principle of mutual appreciation, asserting the need for hierarchy. But who will divide people according to the principle of more and less gifted? So why is gratitude the best thing in the world? Because those who are below should be grateful to others for being below. The problem of a full personal life was solved. They considered a bourgeois marriage (concluded in a church) to be trafficking in a woman, since a lady cannot stand up for herself and ensure her well-being and is therefore forced to sell herself; in an ideal society she will be free. In my opinion, the most important thing in society should be gratitude.

1. A nobleman by birth, he becomes a democrat in his views on life, on the people and in his behavior. Such a phenomenon as the transition of the best people of the ruling classes to the side of the oppressed was not accidental. More...
2. “The Rakhmetovs are a different breed,” says Vera Pavlovna, “they merge with the common cause in such a way that it is now a necessity for them, filling their lives; for them it even replaces...
3. Russian literature has always considered one of its most important tasks to be a reflection of the changes and problems that were observed in society. The development of literature has always gone hand in hand with the development of social thought. Moreover, the largest...
4. “I loved you so sincerely, so tenderly, As God grants you to be loved differently.” A. S. Pushkin When I began to analyze in detail the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky in terms of content, I...
5. Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky was born into the family of a priest, but in his youth he freed himself from religious ideas, becoming a leading thinker of his time. Chernyshevsky was a utopian socialist. He developed a coherent system of social liberation...
6. The advantages and disadvantages of this novel belong to him alone; it is similar to all other Russian novels only in its external form: it is similar to them in that its plot is very simple and...
7. Russian socialist utopianism was similar to French Christian socialism, whose representatives were Charles Fourier and Claude Henri Saint-Simon. Their goal was to create general prosperity, and to carry out the reform in such a way...
8. Alexander Nikolaevich Radishchev (1749-1802) - an outstanding revolutionary thinker of the second half of the 18th century. He was the first noble revolutionary in Russia who raised his Voice in defense of the oppressed peasantry and condemned serfdom. A....
9. N. G. Chernyshevsky is a writer of the second half of the 19th century. He was involved in social and political activities, as he was the ideological leader of the commoners, the leader of the political struggle for the liberation of the peasantry. The writer reflected all his revolutionary views...
10. Having read the novel by N. G. Chernyshevsky for the first time, a modern young man will most likely grin. Indeed, the relationships accepted in the family of Lopukhov and Vera Pavlovna look unusual. The house has neutral and non-neutral rooms...
11. The novel “What to do?” remarkable for its truthful reproduction of the social conflict between people of the old, moribund world and new people, from democratic circles, supporters of a new materialistic and revolutionary attitude to life. In the images of Lopukhov...
12. N. G. Chernyshevsky played an outstanding role in the history of Russian social thought and literature. The revolutionary-democratic stage in the liberation movement is associated with this name. All his multifaceted activities were subordinated to the task of revolutionary reconstruction...
13. The hero of the novel, Rakhmetov, is a revolutionary. He is a nobleman by birth. His father was a rich man. But the free life did not keep Rakhmetov on his father’s estate. He left the province and entered...
14. The most successful in the novel - and there is nothing strange in this - is the image of the evil, greedy and ignorant Marya Alekseevna, Verochka's mother. Nothing can be done about her integral character...
15. The highest patriotism, Chernyshevsky declared, lies in a passionate, boundless desire for the good of one’s homeland. This life-giving idea permeated and inspired the life and work of the great democratic revolutionary. Chernyshevsky was proud of the glorious history of the Russian people....
16. “Disgusting people! Ugly people! My God, with whom am I forced to live in society? Where there is idleness, there is vileness, where there is luxury, there is vileness! N. G. Chernyshevsky. "What to do?" When N. G. Chernyshevsky...
17. A very important character in the novel, the chapter “A Special Person” is dedicated to him. He himself comes from a noble rich family, but leads an ascetic lifestyle. By the time of the action indicated in the novel, R. is 22 years old....
18. The realistic novel, in which Chernyshevsky expressed his social ideal in figurative form, was consciously oriented towards the tradition of world utopian literature and was an innovative rethinking and development of the utopian genre. The novel contains...
19. In the era when Chernyshevsky lived and worked, the character and type of the Russian intelligentsia changed, because its social composition changed. If in the 40s it consisted mainly of nobles, then in...
20. The enormous captivating power of N. Chernyshevsky’s novel “What to do?” lies in the fact that he convinced of the truth, beauty and greatness of the new, advanced in life, convinced that a bright socialist future is possible and...

Russian utopian socialism stemmed from French utopian socialism, whose representatives were Charles Fourier and Claude Henri de Saint-Simon. Their goal was to create prosperity for all people, and to carry out the reform so that no blood was shed. They rejected the idea of ​​equality and fraternity and believed that society should be built on the principle of mutual gratitude, asserting the need for hierarchy. But who will divide people into more and less gifted? Why is gratitude the best thing? Because the one who is below should be grateful to others for being below. The problem of a full personal life was solved. They considered a bourgeois marriage (concluded in a church) to be a legalized trade in women, since a woman cannot provide herself with well-being and is sold; in an ideal society she will be free. So, the principle of mutual gratitude should be at the forefront of everything.
Chernyshevsky in his novel “What is to be done?” places special emphasis on reasonable egoism (calculation of benefits). If gratitude is outside of people, then reasonable egoism lies in the very “I” of a person. Every person secretly or openly considers himself the center of the universe. Why then is egoism reasonable? But because in the novel “What to do?” for the first time, a “new approach to the problem” is considered, Chernyshevsky’s “new people” create a “new” atmosphere, according to Chernyshevsky, “new people” see their “benefit” in the desire to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy official morality. Their morality liberates the creative possibilities of the human personality. “New people” resolve family and love conflicts less painfully. The theory of rational egoism has an undeniable appeal and rational grain. “New people” consider work an absolutely necessary condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their mind is in the most complete harmony with feeling, because neither their mind nor their feelings are distorted by chronic enmity against other people.
You can trace the course of Vera Pavlovna’s internal development: first at home she gains inner freedom, then the need for public service appears, and then the fullness of her personal life, the need to work regardless of personal will and social arbitrariness.
N. G. Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a “not new” person, all “new” people look alike, and the problem of a special person arises. Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his traits in the form of questions: why did he do this? For what? These questions create an individual type. He is a “new” man in his formation. All the new people seem to have fallen from the moon, and the only one connected with this era is Rakhmetov. Denial of oneself out of “calculation of benefits”! Here Chernyshevsky does not act as a utopian. And at the same time, Vera Pavlovna’s dreams exist as an indication of the ideal society to which the author strives. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic techniques: beautiful sisters appear to Vera Pavlovna in a dream, the eldest of them, the Revolution, is a condition for renewal. In this chapter, we have to put a lot of points in place to explain the voluntary omission of the text, which the censorship would not let through anyway and in which the main idea of ​​the novel would be exposed. Along with this, there is the image of a beautiful younger sister - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be a goddess not only of love, but also of the enjoyment of work, art, and leisure: “Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a deserted place, there are rich fields and meadows , gardens; there is a huge palace made of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, and wonderful furniture. Everywhere you can see people working, singing songs, and relaxing.” There are ideal human relationships between people, traces of happiness and contentment everywhere, which were previously impossible to dream of. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees. Of course, there are many utopian elements in this picture, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. It is not for nothing that they are repeatedly hinted at in the novel without being directly named. The novel shows only rural labor and speaks about the people “in general,” in a very general way. But this utopia in its main idea is very realistic: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go to satisfy the needs of the members of the collective. This new work must be based on high scientific and technological achievements, on scientists and powerful machines that allow man to transform the earth and his entire life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from the patriarchal peasant community to socialism must be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to cement in the reader’s mind the dream of a better future. This is Chernyshevsky himself speaking through the mouth of the “elder sister,” addressing Vera Pavlovna with the words: “Do you know the future? It is light and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can.”

N. G. Chernyshevsky in his novel “What is to be done?” places unusual emphasis on common-sense selfishness. Why is egoism reasonable, sane? In my opinion, because in this novel we see for the first time a “new approach to the problem”, “new people” of Chernyshevsky, creating a “new” atmosphere. The author thinks that the “new people” see personal “benefit” in the desire to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy official morality. Their morality releases the creative potential of a philanthropic person. “New people” resolve family and love conflicts less painfully. The theory of rational egoism has an undeniable appeal and a rational core. “New people” consider work an integral condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their minds are in absolute harmony with their feelings, because neither their feelings nor their minds are perverted by the chronic hostility of people.

You can trace the course of Vera Pavlovna’s internal development: first at home she gains inner freedom, then the need for public service appears, and then the fullness of her personal life, the need to work regardless of personal will and social arbitrariness.

N. G. Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a “not new” person, all “new” people look alike, and the problem of a special person arises. Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his traits in the form of questions: why did he do this? For what? These questions create an individual type. He is a “new” man in his formation. All the new people seem to have fallen from the moon, and the only one connected with this era is Rakhmetov. Denial of oneself out of “calculation of benefits”! Here Chernyshevsky does not act as a utopian. And at the same time, Vera Pavlovna’s dreams exist as an indication of the ideal society to which the author strives. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic techniques: beautiful sisters appear to Vera Pavlovna in a dream, the eldest of them, Revolution - a condition for renewal. In this chapter, we have to put a lot of points in place to explain the voluntary omission of the text, which the censorship would not let through anyway and in which the main idea of ​​the novel would be exposed. Along with this, there is the image of a beautiful younger sister - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be the goddess not only of love, but also of the pleasure of work, art, and leisure: “Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a deserted place, there are rich fields and meadows ", gardens; there is a huge palace made of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, and wonderful furniture. Everywhere you can see people working, singing songs, and relaxing." There are ideal human relationships between people, traces of happiness and contentment everywhere, which were previously impossible to dream of. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees. Of course, there are many utopian elements in this picture, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. It is not for nothing that they are repeatedly hinted at in the novel without being directly named. The novel shows only rural labor and speaks about the people “in general,” in a very general way. But this utopia in its main idea is very realistic: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go to satisfy the needs of the members of the collective. This new work must be based on high scientific and technological achievements, on scientists and powerful machines that allow man to transform the earth and his entire life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from the patriarchal peasant community to socialism must be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to cement in the reader’s mind the dream of a better future. Chernyshevsky himself speaks through the mouth of his “elder sister,” addressing Vera Pavlovna with the words: “Do you know the future? It is bright and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can.” .

Indeed, it is difficult to talk about this work seriously, given all its monstrous shortcomings. The author and his characters speak in an absurd, clumsy and unintelligible language. The main characters behave unnaturally, but they, like dolls, are obedient to the will of the author, who can force them to do (experience, think) whatever he wants. This is a sign of Chernyshevsky’s immaturity as a writer. A true creator always creates beyond himself, the creations of his creative imagination have free will, over which even he, their creator, has no control, and it is not the author who imposes thoughts and actions on his heroes, but rather they themselves suggest to him this or that action, thought, turn plot. But for this it is necessary that their characters be concrete, complete and convincing, and in Chernyshevsky’s novel, instead of living people, we have bare abstractions that have been hastily given a human form.

Lifeless Soviet socialism came from French utopian socialism, whose representatives were Claude Henri de Saint-Simon and many others. Their goal was to create prosperity for all people, and to carry out the reform in such a way that no blood was shed. They rejected the idea of ​​equality and fraternity and believed that society should be built on the principle of mutual appreciation, asserting the need for hierarchy. But who will divide people according to the principle of more and less gifted? So why is gratitude the best thing in the world? Because those who are below should be grateful to others for being below. The problem of a full personal life was solved. They considered a bourgeois marriage (concluded in a church) to be trafficking in a woman, since a lady cannot stand up for herself and ensure her well-being and is therefore forced to sell herself; in an ideal society she will be free. In my opinion, the most important thing in society should be gratitude.

N. G. Chernyshevsky in his novel “What is to be done?” places unusual emphasis on common-sense selfishness. Why is egoism reasonable, sane? In my opinion, because in this novel we see for the first time a “new approach to the problem”, “new people” of Chernyshevsky, creating a “new” atmosphere. The author thinks that the “new people” see personal “benefit” in the desire to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy official morality. Their morality releases the creative potential of a philanthropic person. “New people” resolve family and love conflicts less painfully. The theory of rational egoism has an undeniable appeal and a rational core. “New people” consider work an integral condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their minds are in absolute harmony with their feelings, because neither their feelings nor their minds are perverted by the chronic hostility of people.

You can trace the course of Vera Pavlovna’s internal development: first at home she gains inner freedom, then the need for public service appears, and then the fullness of her personal life, the need to work regardless of personal will and social arbitrariness.

N. G. Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a “not new” person, all “new” people look alike, and the problem of a special person arises. Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his traits in the form of questions: why did he do this? For what? These questions create an individual type. He is a “new” man in his formation. All the new people seem to have fallen from the moon, and the only one connected with this era is Rakhmetov. Denial of oneself out of “calculation of benefits”! Here Chernyshevsky does not act as a utopian. And at the same time, Vera Pavlovna’s dreams exist as an indication of the ideal society to which the author strives. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic techniques: beautiful sisters appear to Vera Pavlovna in a dream, the eldest of them, Revolution - a condition for renewal. In this chapter, we have to put a lot of points in place to explain the voluntary omission of the text, which the censorship would not let through anyway and in which the main idea of ​​the novel would be exposed. Along with this, there is the image of a beautiful younger sister - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be the goddess not only of love, but also of the pleasure of work, art, and leisure: “Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a deserted place, there are rich fields and meadows ", gardens; there is a huge palace made of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, and wonderful furniture. Everywhere you can see people working, singing songs, and relaxing." There are ideal human relationships between people, traces of happiness and contentment everywhere, which were previously impossible to dream of. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees. Of course, there are many utopian elements in this picture, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. It is not for nothing that they are repeatedly hinted at in the novel without being directly named. The novel shows only rural labor and speaks about the people “in general,” in a very general way. But this utopia in its main idea is very realistic: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go to satisfy the needs of the members of the collective. This new work must be based on high scientific and technological achievements, on scientists and powerful machines that allow man to transform the earth and his entire life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from the patriarchal peasant community to socialism must be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to cement in the reader’s mind the dream of a better future. Chernyshevsky himself speaks through the mouth of his “elder sister,” addressing Vera Pavlovna with the words: “Do you know the future? It is bright and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can.” .

Indeed, it is difficult to talk about this work seriously, given all its monstrous shortcomings. The author and his characters speak in an absurd, clumsy and unintelligible language. The main characters behave unnaturally, but they, like dolls, are obedient to the will of the author, who can force them to do (experience, think) whatever he wants. This is a sign of Chernyshevsky’s immaturity as a writer. A true creator always creates beyond himself, the creations of his creative imagination have free will, over which even he, their creator, has no control, and it is not the author who imposes thoughts and actions on his heroes, but rather they themselves suggest to him this or that action, thought, turn plot. But for this it is necessary that their characters be concrete, complete and convincing, and in Chernyshevsky’s novel, instead of living people, we have bare abstractions that have been hastily given a human form.

Lifeless Soviet socialism came from French utopian socialism, whose representatives were Claude Henri de Saint-Simon and many others. Their goal was to create prosperity for all people, and to carry out the reform in such a way that no blood was shed. They rejected the idea of ​​equality and fraternity and believed that society should be built on the principle of mutual appreciation, asserting the need for hierarchy. But who will divide people according to the principle of more and less gifted? So why is gratitude the best thing in the world? Because those who are below should be grateful to others for being below. The problem of a full personal life was solved. They considered a bourgeois marriage (concluded in a church) to be trafficking in a woman, since a lady cannot stand up for herself and ensure her well-being and is therefore forced to sell herself; in an ideal society she will be free. In my opinion, the most important thing in society should be gratitude.

Artistic features and compositional originality of the novel by N.G. Chernyshevsky "What to do?"

Mysterious suicide in the 1st chapter of the novel "What to do?" - the plot is unconventional and unusual for Russian prose of the 19th century, more typical of adventurous French novels. According to the generally accepted judgment of all researchers, it was, so to speak, a kind of intriguing device designed to confuse the investigative commission and the tsarist censorship. The melodramatic coloring of the story about a family tragedy in the 2nd chapter, as well as the unexpected title of the 3rd - “Preface”, which begins like this, were intended for the same purpose: “The content of the story is love, the main person is a woman, - this is good, at least she herself the story was bad..." In addition, in this chapter the writer, addressing the people in a half-joking, half-mocking tone, admits that he completely deliberately "began the story with spectacular scenes, torn from the middle or end of it, and covered them with fog." Following this, Chernyshevsky, having laughed at his readers to his heart’s content, says: “I don’t have a shadow of artistic talent. I don’t even speak the language well. But that’s still nothing.”<...>Truth is a good thing: it rewards the shortcomings of the writer who serves it." Thus, he puzzles the reader: on the one hand, the author openly despises him, classifying him as one of the majority with whom he is "impudent", on the other hand, as if inclined to open his eyes to he holds all the cards and also intrigues him with the fact that there is also a secret meaning in his story! The reader has only one thing left to do - read and disassemble, and in the process be patient, and the deeper he plunges into this work, the more tests he is subjected to patience...

The reader is convinced literally from the first pages that the author really does not speak the language well. So, for example, Chernyshevsky has a weakness for stringing together verb chains: “Mother stopped daring to enter her room”; loves repetitions: “This is strange to others, but you don’t know that it’s strange, but I know that it’s not strange”; the author’s speech is careless and vulgar, and sometimes one gets the feeling that this is a bad translation from a foreign language: “The gentleman broke into ambition”; “For a long time they felt the sides of one of them”; “He answered with exquisite portability”; “People fall into two main divisions”; "The end of this beginning happened when they passed the old man." The author's digressions are dark, clumsy and verbose: “They didn’t even think that they were thinking this; but this is the best thing, that they didn’t even notice that they were thinking this”; "Vera Pavlovna<...>began to think, not at all, but somewhat, no, not several, but almost completely to think that there was nothing important, that she mistook for a strong passion just a dream that would dissipate in a few days<...>or did she think that no, she doesn’t think this, that she feels that this is not so? Yes, it’s not like that, no, like that, like that, she thought more and more firmly that she was thinking this.” At times, the tone of the narrative seems to parody the intonations of a Russian everyday fairy tale: “After tea... she came to her room and lay down. So she’s reading in her crib, only the book drops from her eyes, and Vera Pavlovna thinks: “Why is it that lately, I’ve become a little bored sometimes?” Alas, such examples can be given endlessly...

The mixture of styles is no less annoying: over the course of one semantic episode, the same people now and then stray from a pathetically sublime style to an everyday, frivolous or vulgar one.

Why did the Russian public accept this novel? The critic Skabichevsky recalled: “We read the novel almost on our knees, with such piety that does not allow the slightest smile on the lips, with which liturgical books are read.” Even Herzen, admitting that the novel was “disgustingly written,” immediately made the reservation: “On the other hand, there is a lot of good stuff.” On what “other side”? Obviously, from the side of Truth, whose service should clear the author of all accusations of mediocrity! And the progressive minds of that era identified Truth with Benefit, Benefit with Happiness, Happiness with serving the same Truth... Be that as it may, it is difficult to blame Chernyshevsky for insincerity, because he wanted good, and not for himself, but for everyone! As Vladimir Nabokov wrote in the novel “The Gift” (in the chapter dedicated to Chernyshevsky), “the brilliant Russian reader understood the good that the mediocre fiction writer vainly wanted to express.” Another thing is how Chernyshevsky himself went towards this good and where he led the “new people”. (Let us remember that the regicide Sofya Perovskaya, already in her early youth, adopted Rakhmetov’s “boxing diet” and slept on the bare floor.) Let the revolutionary Chernyshevsky be judged with all severity by history, and the writer and critic Chernyshevsky by the history of literature.

Finally, the genre form itself of “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 or 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 calculations the profitability of collective work; This is also 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”, stupid, ignorant, self-satisfied, who insistently undertakes to talk about art, and about science, and about morality, and about other things in which “no doesn't understand the bullshit." This is a philosophical generalization of events and processes in the centuries-old history of mankind, striking in the breadth of knowledge and depth of theoretical thought.

In the work, the “verdict on the phenomena of life” is clearly announced in a journalistic manner, declaring in the words of the author’s own aesthetics. However, not at all in the form of “prosecutorial” speeches, or even some kind of punitive outpourings. The present verdict is presented as a spectacle of new family and everyday relationships. Today the author's socialist ideal is condemned, in the “glimmer of radiance” of which the unreasonableness of existence, characters and views of an egoistic society looks more and more terrible and uglier, and the Rakhmetovs, who devote their lives to the revolutionary struggle, are increasingly attractive.

In the genre form of the novel chosen by Chernyshevsky, the figure of the narrator, the author’s “I,” undoubtedly played a remarkable plot and compositional role. From one chapter to the next, the presence of the author himself, his strong and powerful intellect, generosity and nobility, the generosity of his soul, heartfelt, impartial comprehension of the most complex motives of the human personality, his irony and causticity are felt closer and closer. And, in addition, an unshakable faith in a better future. N.G. Chernyshevsky conceived his novel as a “textbook of life” and brilliantly implemented this idea.

Chernyshevsky in his novel “What is to be done?” places special emphasis on reasonable egoism (calculation of benefits). If gratitude is outside of people, then reasonable egoism lies in the very “I” of a person. Every person secretly or openly considers himself the center of the universe. Why then is egoism reasonable? But because in the novel “What is to be done?” for the first time, a “new approach to the problem” is considered, Chernyshevsky’s “new people” create a “new” atmosphere, according to Chernyshevsky, “new people” see their “benefit” in the desire to benefit others, their morality is to deny and destroy official morality. Their morality liberates the creative possibilities of the human personality. “New people” resolve conflicts of a family or love nature less painfully. The theory of rational egoism has an undeniable appeal and rational grain. “New people” consider work an absolutely necessary condition of human life, they do not sin and do not repent, their mind is in the most complete harmony with feeling, because neither their mind nor their feelings are distorted by chronic enmity against other people. You can trace the course of Vera Pavlovna’s internal development: first at home she gains inner freedom, then the need for public service appears, and then the fullness of her personal life, the need to work regardless of personal will and social arbitrariness. N. G. Chernyshevsky creates not an individual, but a type. For a “not new” person, all “new” people look alike, and the problem of a special person arises. Such a person is Rakhmetov, who differs from others, especially in that he is a revolutionary, the only individualized character. The reader is given his traits in the form of questions: why did he do this? For what? These questions create an individual type. He is a “new” man in his formation. All the new people seem to have fallen from the moon, and the only one connected with this era is Rakhmetov. Denial of oneself out of “calculation of benefits”! Here Chernyshevsky does not act as a utopian. And at the same time, Vera Pavlovna’s dreams exist as an indication of the ideal society to which the author strives. Chernyshevsky resorts to fantastic techniques: beautiful sisters appear to Vera Pavlovna in a dream, the eldest of them, the Revolution, is a condition for renewal. In this chapter, we have to put a lot of points in place to explain the voluntary omission of the text, which the censorship would not let through anyway and in which the main idea of ​​the novel would be exposed. Along with this, there is the image of a beautiful younger sister - a bride, meaning love-equality, who turns out to be the goddess not only of love, but also of the pleasure of work, art, and leisure: “Somewhere in the south of Russia, in a deserted place, there are rich fields and meadows , gardens; there is a huge palace made of aluminum and crystal, with mirrors, carpets, and wonderful furniture. Everywhere you can see how people work, sing songs, and relax." There are ideal human relationships between people, everywhere there are traces of happiness and contentment that were previously impossible to dream of. Vera Pavlovna is delighted with everything she sees. Of course, there are many utopian things in this picture elements, a socialist dream in the spirit of Fourier and Owen. It is not for nothing that they are repeatedly hinted at in the novel, without being directly named. The novel shows only rural labor and speaks about the people “in general,” in a very general way. But this utopia in its main idea is very realistic: Chernyshevsky emphasizes that labor must be collective, free, the appropriation of its fruits cannot be private, all the results of labor must go to satisfy the requests of members of the team. This new work must be based on high scientific and technical achievements, on scientists and strong machines that allow a person to transform land and all his life. The role of the working class is not highlighted. Chernyshevsky knew that the transition from the patriarchal peasant community to socialism must be revolutionary. In the meantime, it was important to cement in the reader’s mind the dream of a better future. Chernyshevsky himself speaks through the mouth of his “elder sister,” addressing Vera Pavlovna with the words: “Do you know the future? It is bright and beautiful. Love it, strive for it, work for it, bring it closer, transfer from it to the present as much as you can.” .