What is the meaning of Oblomov's life? Oblomov: a life story

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The work of Ivan Alexandrovich 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. Deprived of any impression. Nothing new happens in his life, there is nothing that would fill it with some kind of meaning. One day is like another. Absolutely not carried away and not interested in anything, this person, one might say, resembles a plant.

The only occupation of Ilya Ilyich is a comfortable and serene lying on the sofa. Since childhood, he was used to the fact that he was constantly taken care of. He never thought about how to ensure his own existence. Always lived on everything ready. There was no such incident that would disturb his serene state. It's just convenient for him to live.

Inaction does not make a person happy

And this constant lying oncouch is not caused by some incurable disease or psychological disorder. Not! 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 dressing gown. Every person from time to time tends to think about the purpose of their own existence. The time comes, and many, looking back, begin to reason: "What have I done useful, why do I live at all?"

Of course, not everyone can move mountains, perform some heroic deed, but anyone can make their own life interesting and full of impressions. No one has ever been made happy by inaction. Perhaps only up to a certain point. But this does not apply to 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.

The home of the main character

The character of Ilya Ilyich can already be judged from some lines in which the author describes the room where Oblomov lived. Of course, the decoration of the room did not look poor. She was beautifully furnished. And yet there was no coziness or comfort in it. The paintings that hung on the walls of the room were framed with spider web patterns. Mirrors, designed to reflect oneself 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 lying around, which will continue to lie,until needed again. On the table - uncleaned dishes, crumbs and leftovers from yesterday's meal. All this does not cause 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.

Dreamy in the character of Ilya, or How to change life in the village

Often, Ilya Ilyich reproaches his own servant, whose name is Zakhar, for the carelessness. But he seemed to have adjusted to the character of the owner, and perhaps he himself was initially not far from him, quite calmly reacting to the untidiness of the dwelling. 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 force his own servant to put things in order. He cannot even control his own life, and the existence of those around him is generally 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 couch, in order to rebuild the village life. But this person is already so divorced from reality that all the dreams he built remain theirs. Plans are such that their implementation is almost impossible. All of them have some kind of monstrous scope that has nothing to do with reality. But the meaning of life in the work of "Oblomov" is not revealed only in the description of one character.

Hero opposite to Oblomov

There is another hero in the work who is trying toawaken Ilya Ilyich from his lazy state. Andrey Stolz is a person filled with seething energy and liveliness of mind. Whatever Andrei undertakes, he succeeds in everything, and he enjoys everything. He does not 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? Andrei never lies, like Ilya Ilyich, idle. 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 road, 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 friend to an active life. To do this, he resorts to some kind of trick. Introduces him to Olga Ilyinskaya. Realizing that pleasant communication with a beautiful woman, perhaps, will quickly awaken in Ilya Ilyich a taste for a life more diverse than existence in his room.

How does Oblomov change under the influence of Stolz? His life story is now connected with the beautiful Olga. It even awakens tender feelings for this woman. He is trying to change, to adapt to the world in which Ilyinskaya and Stolz live. But his long lying on the couch, his degradation of personality does not go unnoticed. The meaning of Oblomov's life, associated with his uncomfortable room,very deeply rooted in it. Some time passes, and he begins to be burdened by relations with Olga. And, of course, their breakup became inevitable.

The meaning of Oblomov's life and death

The only dream of Ilya Ilyich is the desire to find peace. He does not need the seething energy of everyday life. The world in which he is closed, with its small space, seems to him much more pleasant and comfortable. 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 seething energy, which constantly runs into Ilya's indifference, has dried up.

Ilya Ilyich finds his consolation in the house of a widow whose name is Pshenitsyna. Having married her, Oblomov completely stopped worrying about life and gradually fell into moral hibernation. Now he is back in his favorite robe. Lying on the couch again. Oblomov's family life leads him to a slow extinction. The last time Andrei visits his friend is already under the vigilant eye of Pshenitsyna. He sees how his friend sank, and makes one last attempt to pull him out of the pool. But it makes no sense.

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 character in this work. There are in his image and quite bright positive features. He is an extremely hospitable and hospitable host. Despite the constant lying on the couch, Ilya Ilyich is very educatedman, he appreciates art.

In relations with Olga, he does not show rudeness or intolerance, he is gallant and courteous. His inner world is very rich, but destroyed by excessive care from childhood. At first, you might think that Ilya Ilyich is infinitely happy, but this is just an illusion. The dream that replaced the real state.

Oblomov, whose problem of the meaning of life has turned into a tragedy, seems to be satisfied with his position. And yet he understands the futility of his existence. Moments of awareness of his own inaction come to him. After all, Ilya Stolz forbade Olga to go 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 does not allow changing it and making it bright and varied.