Oblomov meaning. Essay on the meaning of life by Oblomov

  • 26.06.2020

Reflections on the meaning of life. A. A. Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov” remains relevant for us, modern readers, despite the fact that a lot of time has passed since its creation. The main character of the novel, Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, cannot but arouse interest.

You involuntarily begin to think about the meaning of life and try to answer the question, who is Oblomov? Was he first and foremost a lazy person? Or is the problem of the novel's protagonist much deeper? Did Oblomov see any meaning in life? Or was it not in his nature to think about it? As soon as we meet Oblomov at the beginning of the work, we understand the absurdity of the situation. Because of the day after day, Ilya Ilyich is deprived of new impressions, the next one is similar to the previous one. The days go by without any decoration at all. Oblomov leads an almost vegetative existence, he is not interested in anything, is not keen on anything. The main thing in life becomes a cozy sofa, on which Oblomov lies all day long. The world around seems to Ilya Ilyich hostile and dangerous. There were no shocks in Oblomov’s life that could have affected his worldview. No, everything was very successful. Since childhood, Ilya Ilyich was surrounded by the care and attention of his family. And he never had to worry about his daily bread. Oblomov lives comfortably without thinking about anything. without caring about anything. He has absolutely no aspirations or desires. Day and night Oblomov lies on the sofa in the same robe made of Persian fabric. “... Lying down for Ilya Ilyich was neither a necessity, like that of a sick person or like a person who wants to sleep, nor an accident, like that of someone who is tired, nor a pleasure, like that of a lazy person: it was his normal state...”.

It is always human nature to think about the meaning of life. But even if we consider the question of the meaning of life to be an abstract philosophical category, we cannot help but admit that inaction has never made anyone happy. A feeling of fullness of life is possible only in the case of constant movement, an active search for new experiences. Let a person not be able to change the world or accomplish anything significant. But he can make his own life brighter and more interesting. And not the least role in this is played by everyday life with its affairs and concerns. Everyday life is not always dull and uninteresting. If desired, everyday activities can be bright and impressive. But all this has nothing to do with Ilya Ilyich Oblomov. He lies in an untidy, dusty room. It's dirty and uncomfortable here. But the hero of the novel has no desire to change at least this room, to make his life a little more comfortable. Here is how the writer speaks about Oblomov’s room: “The room where Ilya Ilyich was lying seemed at first glance to be beautifully decorated... But the experienced eye of a person with pure taste, with one quick glance at everything that was there, would have read the desire only to somehow observe the dekorum of the inevitable decency, just to get rid of them... On the walls, near the paintings, cobwebs, saturated with dust, were molded in the form of festoons; mirrors, instead of reflecting objects, could serve rather as tablets for writing on them, in the dust, some notes for memory... The carpets were stained. There was a forgotten towel on the sofa; On rare mornings there was not a plate with a salt shaker and a gnawed bone on the table that had not been cleared away from yesterday’s dinner, and there were no bread crumbs lying around*

The situation that surrounds the main character is quite unpleasant. Oblomov tries to reproach his servant Zakhar for his sloppiness. But the servant turns out to be a match for his master. He talks about dust and dirt: “... why clean it up if it accumulates again.” Zakhar also believes that “He didn’t invent bedbugs and cockroaches, everyone has them.”

Oblomov does not have the strength or desire to force his servant to clean up the room. He is not able to do anything in his native village. But Ilya Ilyich is happy to make plans, continuing to lie on the sofa. Oblomov dreams of reconstruction in the village. Of course, his dreams have nothing to do with reality. It is basically impossible to implement them. And, of course, Oblomov himself will never be able to implement them. Oblomov’s daydreaming takes on some monstrous scope. He lives these dreams, thereby abandoning real life. The writer gives us the opportunity to observe Ilya Ilyich when he dreams: “A thought walked like a free bird across his face, fluttered in his eyes, sat on his half-open lips, hid in the folds of his forehead, then completely disappeared, and then an even light of carelessness glowed throughout his face...” .

Oblomov does not think about his own life. On the one hand, he may seem happy. He is not worried about tomorrow, he does not think about (any problems or troubles. But on the other hand, his life is devoid of very important components - movement, new impressions, active actions. Oblomov practically does not communicate with people, a complete life is enough for him privacy from people and worries.

It must be said that Oblomov’s inner world is very rich. After all, Ilya Ilyich is able to feel and understand art. In addition, he finds pleasure in communicating with certain people, for example, with his friend Stolz, Olga Ilyinskaya. However, this is clearly not enough to feel the fullness of life. And deep down in his soul Oblomov understands this. He tries to create an imaginary harmony between his inner world and the outer world. But this is not so easy to do. After all, real life comes into conflict with the world of dreams and dreams. Let Oblomov be completely satisfied with his existence. But at the same time he is unhappy because he has replaced real life with half-asleep. It is no coincidence that nothing pleases Ilya Ilyich; vivid experiences, feelings and emotions are unfamiliar to him. Oblomov's inertia and indifference to life become his tragedy.

Oblomov believes that everything suits him. In fact, he does not know any other life; activity, aspirations and activity are alien to him. Everything passes by the main character. And he still lives by his illusions. And the only thing he sees in front of him is an uncleaned room. The world has narrowed for Oblomov to the size of his own sofa. Ilya Ilyich gives up love, career, family happiness in order to lie quietly on the sofa. In fact, Oblomov’s narrow-mindedness becomes the cause of his tragedy. Ilya Ilyich could not see all the advantages of real life. Oblomov's degradation has become completely justified. He doesn't even pay attention to his own appearance. For what? He's feeling good as it is. It doesn't matter what happened or what will happen. The main and only reality is the very sofa on which he slept for so long and on which the main character prefers to stay.

Oblomov's life has no meaning. After all, inaction, emptiness, laziness, apathy cannot be called meaning. Life becomes painful, because it is not human nature to lead a plant existence. The novel “Oblomov” makes readers think that a person is capable of becoming his own enemy if he decides to replace real life with vegetation.

Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov” is a landmark work of literature of the 19th century, touching on both acute social and many philosophical problems, remaining relevant and interesting to the modern reader. The ideological meaning of the novel “Oblomov” is based on the opposition of an active, new social and personal principle with an outdated, passive and degrading one. In the work, the author reveals these principles on several existential levels, therefore, to fully understand the meaning of the work, a detailed consideration of each of them is required.

Social meaning of the novel

In the novel “Oblomov,” Goncharov first introduced the concept of “Oblomovism” as a generalized name for outdated patriarchal-landlord foundations, personal degradation, and the vital stagnation of an entire social layer of Russian philistinism, unwilling to accept new social trends and norms. The author examined this phenomenon using the example of the main character of the novel, Oblomov, whose childhood was spent in distant Oblomovka, where everyone lived quietly, lazily, with little interest in anything and caring almost nothing. The hero's native village becomes the embodiment of the ideals of Russian old-time society - a kind of hedonistic idyll, a “preserved paradise” where there is no need to study, work or develop.

Portraying Oblomov as a “superfluous man,” Goncharov, unlike Griboyedov and Pushkin, whose characters of this type were ahead of society, introduces into the narrative a hero who lags behind society, living in the distant past. The active, active, educated environment oppresses Oblomov - the ideals of Stolz with his work for the sake of work are alien to him, even his beloved Olga is ahead of Ilya Ilyich, approaching everything from a practical side. Stolts, Olga, Tarantyev, Mukhoyarov, and other acquaintances of Oblomov are representatives of a new, “urban” personality type. They are more practitioners than theorists, they do not dream, but do, create new things - some by working honestly, others by deception.

Goncharov condemns “Oblomovism” with its gravitation towards the past, laziness, apathy and complete spiritual withering away of the individual, when a person essentially becomes a “plant” lying on the sofa around the clock. However, Goncharov also portrays the images of modern, new people as ambiguous - they do not have the peace of mind and inner poetry that Oblomov had (remember that Stolz only found this peace while relaxing with a friend, and the already married Olga is sad about something distant and is afraid to dream , making excuses to her husband).

At the end of the work, Goncharov does not make a definite conclusion about who is right - the practitioner Stolz or the dreamer Oblomov. However, the reader understands that it was precisely because of “Oblomovism,” as a phenomenon that is sharply negative and has long since become obsolete, that Ilya Ilyich “disappeared.” That is why the social meaning of Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov” is the need for constant development and movement - both in the continuous construction and creation of the surrounding world, and in working on the development of one’s own personality.

The meaning of the title of the work

The meaning of the title of the novel “Oblomov” is closely related to the main theme of the work - it was named after the surname of the main character Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, and is also associated with the social phenomenon “Oblomovism” described in the novel. The etymology of the name is interpreted differently by researchers. Thus, the most common version is that the word “Oblomov” comes from the words “Oblomok”, “break off”, “break”, denoting the state of mental and social breakdown of the landowner nobility, when it found itself in a borderline state between the desire to preserve old traditions and foundations and the need to change according to the requirements of the era, from a creative person to a practical person.

In addition, there is a version about the connection of the title with the Old Slavonic root “oblo” - “round”, which corresponds to the description of the hero - his “rounded” appearance and his quiet, calm character “without sharp corners”. However, regardless of the interpretation of the title of the work, it points to the central storyline of the novel - the life of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov.

The meaning of Oblomovka in the novel

From the plot of the novel “Oblomov,” the reader from the very beginning learns many facts about Oblomovka, about what a wonderful place it is, how easy and good it was for the hero and how important it is for Oblomov to return there. However, throughout the entire narrative, events never take us to the village, which makes it a truly mythical, fairy-tale place. Picturesque nature, gentle hills, a calm river, a hut on the edge of a ravine, which the visitor needs to ask to stand “with his back to the forest, and his front to it” in order to enter - even in the newspapers there was never a mention of Oblomovka. The inhabitants of Oblomovka did not care about any passions - they were completely cut off from the world, they spent their lives in boredom and tranquility, based on constant rituals.

Oblomov's childhood was spent in love, his parents constantly spoiled Ilya, indulging all his desires. However, Oblomov was particularly impressed by the stories of his nanny, who read to him about mythical heroes and fairy-tale heroes, closely linking his native village with folklore in the hero’s memory. For Ilya Ilyich, Oblomovka is a distant dream, an ideal comparable, perhaps, to the beautiful ladies of medieval knights who glorified wives who were sometimes never seen. In addition, the village is also a way to escape from reality, a kind of half-imagined place where the hero can forget about reality and be himself - lazy, apathetic, completely calm and renounced from the world around him.

The meaning of Oblomov's life in the novel

Oblomov’s whole life is connected only with that distant, quiet and harmonious Oblomovka, however, the mythical estate exists only in the memories and dreams of the hero - pictures from the past never come to him in a cheerful state, his native village appears before him as some kind of distant vision, in its own way unattainable , like any mythical city. Ilya Ilyich is in every possible way opposed to the real perception of his native Oblomovka - he still does not plan the future estate, he delays for a long time in responding to the headman’s letter, and in a dream he does not seem to notice the disrepair of the house - a crooked gate, a sagging roof, a shaky porch, a neglected garden. And he really doesn’t want to go there - Oblomov is afraid that when he sees the dilapidated, ruined Oblomovka, which has nothing in common with his dreams and memories, he will lose his last illusions, which he clings to with all his might and for which he lives.

The only thing that brings complete happiness to Oblomov is dreams and illusions. He is afraid of real life, afraid of marriage, which he has dreamed of many times, afraid of breaking himself and becoming someone else. Wrapping himself in an old robe and continuing to lie on the bed, he “preserves” himself in a state of “Oblomovism” - in general, the robe in the work is, as it were, part of that mythical world that returns the hero to a state of laziness and extinction.

The meaning of the hero's life in Oblomov's novel comes down to gradual dying - both moral and mental, and physical, for the sake of maintaining his own illusions. The hero does not want to say goodbye to the past so much that he is ready to sacrifice a full life, the opportunity to feel every moment and recognize every feeling for the sake of mythical ideals and dreams.

Conclusion

In the novel “Oblomov,” Goncharov depicted the tragic story of the decline of a person for whom the illusory past became more important than the multifaceted and beautiful present - friendship, love, social well-being. The meaning of the work indicates that it is important not to stand still, indulging oneself in illusions, but to always strive forward, expanding the boundaries of one’s own “comfort zone.”

Work test

The work of Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov “Oblomov” was written many years ago, but the problems raised in it remain relevant today. The main character of the novel has always aroused great interest in the reader. What is the meaning of Oblomov’s life, who is he and was he really lazy?

The absurdity of the life of the protagonist of the work

From the very beginning of the work, Ilya Ilyich appears before the reader in a completely absurd situation. He spends every day in his room. Devoid of any impressions. Nothing new happens in his life, there is nothing that would fill it with any meaning. One day is like another. Absolutely uninterested in and uninterested in anything, this person, one might say, resembles a plant.

Ilya Ilyich's only activity is lying comfortably and serenely on the sofa. Since childhood, he has been accustomed to being constantly taken care of. He never thought about how to ensure his own existence. I always lived with everything ready. There was no such incident that would disturb his serene state. Life is simply convenient for him.

Inaction does not make a person happy

And this constant lying on the couch is not caused by some incurable disease or psychological disorder. No! The terrible thing is that this is the natural state of the main character of the novel. The meaning of Oblomov’s life lies in the soft upholstery of the sofa and a comfortable Persian robe. Every person from time to time tends to think about the purpose of his own existence. The time comes, and many, looking back, begin to reason: “What useful have I done, why am I even living?”

Of course, not everyone can move mountains or perform some heroic deed, but anyone can make their own life interesting and full of impressions. Inaction has never made anyone happy. Perhaps only up to a certain point. But this has nothing to do with Ilya Ilyich. Oblomov, whose life story is described in the novel of the same name by Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov, is not burdened by his inaction. Everything suits him.

Main character's home

The character of Ilya Ilyich can be judged from some of the lines in which the author describes the room where Oblomov lived. Of course, the decoration of the room did not look poor. It was luxuriously furnished. And yet there was neither coziness nor comfort in it. The paintings that hung on the walls of the room were framed with drawings of cobwebs. Mirrors, designed to allow one to see one's reflection in them, could be used instead of writing paper.

The whole room was covered in dust and dirt. Somewhere there was a randomly thrown thing that would remain there until it was needed again. On the table there are uncleaned dishes, crumbs and leftovers from yesterday's meal. All this does not evoke a feeling of comfort. But Ilya Ilyich does not notice this. Cobwebs, dust, dirt and uncleaned dishes are natural companions of his daily reclining on the sofa.

Dreaminess in the character of Ilya, or Like in the village

Often Ilya Ilyich reproaches his own servant, whose name is Zakhar, for sloppiness. But he seemed to adapt to the owner’s character, and perhaps he himself was not far from him from the very beginning; he reacts quite calmly to the untidiness of the home. According to his reasoning, there is no point in cleaning the room from dust, since it still accumulates there again. So what is the meaning of Oblomov’s life? A man who can’t even get his own servant to clean up the mess. He cannot even control his own life, and the existence of those around him is completely beyond his control.

Of course, sometimes he dreams of doing something for his village. He is trying to come up with some plans, again - lying on the sofa, in order to reorganize village life. But this person is already so divorced from reality that all the dreams he has built remain just that. The plans are such that their implementation is almost impossible. They all have some kind of monstrous scope that has nothing to do with reality. But the meaning of life in the work "Oblomov" is not revealed only in the description of one character.

A hero opposite to Oblomov

There is another hero in the work, who is trying to awaken Ilya Ilyich from his lazy state. Andrey Stolts is a man filled with boiling energy and liveliness of mind. Whatever Andrey undertakes, he succeeds in everything, and he enjoys everything. He doesn’t even think about why he does this or that thing. According to the character himself, he works for the sake of work.

What is the difference between the meaning of life of Oblomov and Stolz? Andrey never lies idle, like Ilya Ilyich. He is always busy with something, he has a huge circle of friends with interesting people. Stolz never sits in one place. He is constantly on the move, meeting new places and people. But nevertheless, he does not forget about Ilya Ilyich.

Andrey's influence on the main character

Oblomov's monologue about the meaning of life, his judgments about it, are completely opposite to the opinion of Stolz, who becomes the only one who was able to lift Ilya from the soft sofa. Moreover, Andrei even tried to return his comrade to an active life. To do this, he resorts to some trick. Introduces him to Olga Ilyinskaya. Realizing that pleasant communication with a beautiful woman will perhaps quickly awaken in Ilya Ilyich a taste for a more varied life than existence in his room.

How does Oblomov change under the influence of Stolz? His life story is now connected with the beautiful Olga. Tender feelings for this woman even awaken in him. He is trying to change, to adapt to the world in which Ilyinskaya and Stolz live. But lying on the sofa for a long time does not pass without a trace. The meaning of Oblomov’s life, associated with his uncomfortable room, is very deeply rooted in him. Some time passes, and he begins to feel burdened by his relationship with Olga. And, of course, their breakup became inevitable.

The meaning of Oblomov's life and death

Ilya Ilyich’s only dream is the desire to find peace. He does not need the vibrant energy of everyday life. The world in which he is closed, with its small space, seems much more pleasant and comfortable to him. And the life that his friend Stolz leads does not attract him. It requires fuss and movement, and this is unusual for Oblomov’s character. Finally, all of Andrei’s ebullient energy, which constantly collides with Ilya’s indifference, has dried up.

Ilya Ilyich finds his solace in the house of a widow, whose last name is Pshenitsyna. Having married her, Oblomov completely stopped worrying about life and gradually fell into moral hibernation. Now he is again dressed in his favorite robe. He's lying on the sofa again. Oblomov leads him to a slow decline. For the last time, Andrei visits his friend under the watchful eye of Pshenitsyna. He sees how his friend has sunk and makes one last attempt to pull him out of the pool. But there is no point in this.

Positive traits in the character of the main character

Revealing the meaning of Oblomov’s life and death, it is necessary to mention that Ilya Ilyich is still not a negative hero in this work. There are also quite bright positive features in his image. He is an infinitely hospitable and cordial host. Despite constantly lying on the couch, Ilya Ilyich is a very educated person, he appreciates art.

In his relationship with Olga, he does not show rudeness or intolerance, he is gallant and courteous. He is very rich, but destroyed by excessive care since childhood. At first you might think that Ilya Ilyich is infinitely happy, but this is just an illusion. A dream that replaced the real state.

Oblomov, who turned into a tragedy, seems to be happy with his situation. And yet he understands the futility of his existence. Moments of awareness of his own inaction come to him. After all, Ilya Stoltz forbade Olga to come to him, he did not want her to see the process of his decomposition. An educated person cannot fail to understand how empty and monotonous his life is. Only laziness prevents you from changing it and making it bright and varied.

All his life, Goncharov dreamed of people finding harmony of feeling and reason. He reflected on the strength and poverty of the “man of the mind,” and on the charm and weakness of the “man of the heart.” In Oblomov, this idea became one of the leading ones. In this novel, two types of male characters are contrasted: the passive and weak Oblomov, with his golden heart and pure soul, and the energetic Stolz, who overcomes any circumstances with the power of his mind and will. However, Goncharov’s human ideal is not personified in either one or the other. Stolz does not seem to the writer to be a more complete personality than Oblomov, whom he also looks at with “sober eyes.” Impartially exposing the “extremes” of the nature of both, Goncharov advocated the completeness and integrity of the spiritual world of man with all the diversity of its manifestations.

Each of the main characters of the novel had their own understanding of the meaning of life, their own life ideals that they dreamed of realizing.

At the beginning of the story, Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is a little over thirty years old, he is a pillar nobleman, the owner of three hundred and fifty souls of serfs, which he inherited. Having served for three years in one of the capital's departments after graduating from Moscow University, he retired with the rank of collegiate secretary. Since then he lived in St. Petersburg without a break. The novel begins with a description of one of his days, his habits and character. Oblomov’s life by that time had turned into a lazy “crawling from day to day.” Having withdrawn from active activities, he lay on the sofa and irritably argued with Zakhar, his serf servant, who was caring for him. Revealing the social roots of Oblomovism, Goncharov shows that “it all started with the inability to put on stockings, and ended with the inability to live.”

Raised in a patriarchal noble family, Ilya Ilyich perceived life in Oblomovka, his family estate, with its peace and inaction, as the ideal of human existence.
Three main acts of life constantly played out before the eyes of little Ilyusha in childhood: homeland, weddings, funerals. Then followed their divisions: christenings, name days, family holidays. The whole pathos of life is focused on this. This was the “wide expanse of lordly life” with its idleness, which forever became the ideal of life for Oblomov.

All Oblomovites treated work as a punishment and did not like it, considering it something humiliating. Therefore, life in the eyes of Ilya Ilyich was divided into two halves. One consisted of work and boredom, and these were synonymous for him. The other is from peace and peaceful fun. In Oblomovka, Ilya Ilyich was also instilled with a sense of superiority over other people. The “other” cleans his own boots, dresses himself, runs out to get what he needs. This “other” has to work tirelessly. Ilyusha, on the other hand, “was brought up tenderly, he did not endure cold or hunger, he knew no need, he did not earn his own bread, he did not engage in menial deeds.” And he considered studying a punishment sent by heaven for his sins, and avoided school classes whenever possible. After graduating from university, he was no longer involved in his education, was not interested in science, art, or politics.

When Oblomov was young, he expected a lot both from fate and from himself. He was preparing to serve his fatherland, to play a prominent role in public life, and dreamed of family happiness. But days passed after days, and he was still getting ready to start life, he was still picturing his future in his mind. However, “the flower of life blossomed and did not bear fruit.”

He saw his future service not as a harsh activity, but as some kind of “family activity.” It seemed to him that the officials serving together constituted a friendly and close family, all members of which were tirelessly concerned about mutual pleasure. However, his youthful ideas were deceived. Unable to withstand the difficulties, he resigned after serving only three years and without having accomplished anything significant.

It happened that, lying on the sofa, he would be inflamed with the desire to point out to humanity his vices. He will quickly change two or three positions, stand up on the bed with sparkling eyes and look around with inspiration. It seems that his high effort is about to turn into a feat and bring good consequences to humanity. Sometimes he imagines himself as an invincible commander: he will invent a war, organize new crusades, and perform feats of kindness and generosity. Or, imagining himself as a thinker, an artist, in his imagination he reaps laurels, everyone worships him, the crowd chases after him. However, in reality, he was not able to understand the management of his own estate and easily became the prey of such scammers as Tarantiev and the “brother” of his landlady.

Over time, he developed remorse that did not give him peace. He felt pain for his lack of development, for the burden that prevented him from living. He was torn by envy that others lived so fully and widely, but something was stopping him from boldly moving through life. He painfully felt that the good and bright beginning was buried in him, as in a grave. He tried to find the culprit outside himself and did not find it. However, apathy and indifference quickly replaced anxiety in his soul, and he again slept peacefully on his sofa.

Even his love for Olga did not revive him to practical life. Faced with the need to act, overcoming the difficulties that stood in his way, he became afraid and retreated. Having settled on the Vyborg side, he left himself entirely to the care of Agafya Pshenitsyna, finally withdrawing from active life.

In addition to this inability brought up by the lordship, many other things prevent Oblomov from being active. He really feels the objectively existing disconnect between the “poetic” and the “practical” in life, and this is the reason for his bitter disappointment.

If at the beginning of the novel Goncharov talks more about Oblomov’s laziness, then at the end the theme of Oblomov’s “golden heart”, which he carried unscathed through life, sounds more and more insistently. Oblomov's misfortune is connected not only with the social environment, the influence of which he could not resist. It is also contained in the “destructive excess of the heart.” The hero's gentleness, delicacy, and vulnerability disarm his will and make him powerless in front of people and circumstances.

In contrast to the passive and inactive Oblomov, Stolz was conceived by the author as a completely unusual figure. Goncharov sought to make it attractive to the reader with his “efficiency”, rational, skillful practicality. These qualities have not yet been characteristic of the heroes of Russian literature.

The son of a German burgher and a Russian noblewoman, Andrei Stolz received a hard-working, practical education from childhood thanks to his father. This, combined with the poetic influence of his mother, made him a special person. Unlike the round Oblomov, he was thin, all muscle and nerves. He exuded some kind of freshness and strength. “Just as there was nothing superfluous in his body, so in the moral practices of his life he sought a balance between practical aspects and the subtle needs of the spirit.” “He walked through life firmly, cheerfully, lived on a budget, trying to spend every day, like every ruble.” He attributed the reason for any failure to himself, “and did not hang it, like a caftan, on someone else’s nail.” He sought to develop a simple and straightforward outlook on life. Most of all, he was afraid of the imagination, “this two-faced companion,” and any dream, so everything mysterious and mysterious had no place in his soul. He considered everything that is not subject to analysis of experience and does not correspond to practical truth to be a deception.

Although Oblomov has nothing to object to Stolz’s reproaches, there is some kind of spiritual truth contained in Ilya Ilyich’s confession that he failed to understand this life.

If at the beginning of the novel Goncharov talks more about Oblomov’s laziness, then at the end the theme of Oblomov’s “golden heart”, which he carried unscathed through life, sounds more and more insistently. Oblomov's misfortune is connected not only with the social environment, the influence of which he could not resist. It is also contained in the “destructive excess of the heart.” The hero's gentleness, delicacy, and vulnerability disarm his will and make him powerless in front of people and circumstances.


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