Fathers and Sons and Modernization

In his book Fathers and Sons, Turgenev paints a portrait of 19th century Russia through a number of intergenerational interactions. As Turgenev does so, he suggests ways in which Russia’s modernization affected both the older, more traditional generation and the younger, more radical generation. Early in chapter 11, Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov, one of the older characters in the novel, sits out in his garden after a particularly involved intergenerational debate. His musings highlight some important ways modernization affected 19th century Russians.

Central to modernization is the transition from an agrarian society to an industrial, urban society. In Russia, this agrarian society was organized around a system of nobility and serfs. Nobility owned the land and the serfs. The serfs did the farming. Increased industrialization altered this social system as workers were needed to transition from farm to factory (Dixon, 1999). Nikolai Petrovich references this phenomenon during his ruminations in the garden. He attributes the apparent gulf between himself and the younger generation to the young having “fewer traces of gentry mentality left in them than in us” (Turgenev, 1862, n.p.). By phrasing this sentence as he does, Nikolai Petrovich acknowledges that modernization is taking place. He also acknowledges that modernization is unlikely to be reversible. He sees the gentry mentality as disappearing.

Nikolai Petrovich also considers his son’s and Bazarov’s lack of gentry mentality to be “an advantage” (Turgenev, 1862, n.p.). Pavel Petrovich would not have agreed. Nicolai’s brother prefers the traditional system. Although Nikolai Petrovich objects to much of what Bazarov and Arkady espouse, he believes that their opinions carry more weight in society than his own. Whereas characters like Pavel Petrovich and Bazarov plant themselves firmly on one side or another, Nikolai Petrovich straddles the gulf between tradition and modernity. He has his own beliefs, but makes an effort to understand where his son is coming from. He allows that Arkady’s new way of thinking has taken root. This illustrates the complex ways Russians reacted to their changing society. Most importantly, it shows that sometimes members of the older generation were willing to adapt.

Another important aspect of modernization is its focus on rationality (Inglehart & Baker, 2000, p. 22). Rational thinking is the opposite of Romantic thinking. It stresses practicality and has no time for beauty and ornament. Bazarov only has time for business. He focuses on his scientific studies and repeatedly mocks Nikolai Petrovich for reading Pushkin and playing the cello. In contrast, Nikolai Petrovich cannot see the value in abandoning Romanticism. Shortly after acknowledging the younger generation’s apparent advantage, Nicolai Petrovich laments, “But to reject poetry…to have no feeling for nature ...?" (Turgenev, 1862, n.p.). Alone in his garden, Nikolai Petrovich looks around him as evening falls in the country and does not understand how such opinions could be useful or even possible. His inability to understand this particular aspect of modernization shows that Nikolai Petrovich might recognize that the world around him is changing, but will not let go of the things in the world that give him pleasure. He recognizes that change is taking place, but refuses to change that important part of himself.

In Fathers and Sons, Turgenev not only illustrates the traditional and modern ideas at war in 19th century Russia, he also shows how those ideas can be adapted and intertwined. Characters in the novel are not strictly divided in their opinions about the new ideas of the time. These different opinions and reactions of Turgenev’s characters’ show readers that culture is always a combination of conservatism and dynamism, and 19th century Russia was no exception.

References

Dixon, S. (1999). The modernization of Russia, 1676-1825. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Ingleheart, R. & Baker, W. E. (2000). Modernization, cultural change, and the persistence of traditional values. American Sociological Review, 65, 19-51. Retrieved from http://www.asanet.org/images/members/docs/pdf/special/asr/ASR_65_1_Article_1_Inglehart_Baker.pdf

Turgenev, Ivan. (1862). Fathers and sons. Retrieved from http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/t/turgenev/ivan/t93f/index.html