Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev

This post was originally published on a now-retired blog that I maintained from roughly 2005 to 2013. As a result, there may be some references that seem out of date. 

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Another one of those Russian novels written about the time the serfs were emancipated and the changes coming to Russian society.

It’s a story, that much I can follow, but whatever larger points it’s trying to make are lost on me because I’m so far removed from that time and place.

Bazarov is the nihilist in the story, the man who believes in nothing that he can not directly observe, and he dies in the end from an infection he gets from dissecting a corpse. 

Arkady is his devotee who strays from this philosophy, gets married, and lives happily ever after.

What do you think that means?

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This post appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.