Fathers and Sons Summary | Chapterly
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev: A Complete Summary "A nihilist is a person who does not bow down to any authority, who does not accept any principle on faith, however much that principle may be revered." Overview Fathers and Sons (1862) is Ivan Turgenev's masterpiece and one of the most influential novels of the nineteenth century. It introduced the word "nihilist" into common usage and captured, with extraordinary precision, the collision between generations that occurs when a society is on the verge of transformation. The novel follows Arkady Kirsanov, a young university graduate, who brings his friend Yevgeny Bazarov home to his father's country estate. Bazarov is a self-proclaimed nihilist, a man who rejects all authority, tradition, art, and sentiment in favor of science and materialism. His presence disrupts the gentle rhythms of the Kirsanov household and forces every character to confront what they believe and why. Turgenev was attacked from all sides when the novel appeared. Conservatives saw it as glorifying nihilism. Radicals saw it as mocking their movement. The fact that both sides were offended is a testament to the novel's fairness: Turgenev refuses to stack the deck for either generation. Plot Summary The Arrival Arkady Kirsanov...