FATHERS AND CHILDREN (Otsui i Dyeti). The epithet (Nihilist" as a theological term dates back to a hoary antiquity; Tur genief made it the synoym of revolutionist, though, oddly enough, the hero of his most successful novel, (Fathers and Sons,' is not even by a hint connected with politics. It was quickly seized on, however, and applied partic ularly to the party that advocated assassination and other violent methods of combating Rus sian tyranny. (Otsui i Dyeti) (literally (Fathers and Children') was published in 1862 in the Russky Vyestnik and immediately became the storm centre of passionate and bitter recrimina tion. It coincided with the first upheaval caused by the emancipation of the serfs and the uncer tain beginning of a new era. It is meant to contrast one generation with its successor. Both Fathers and their Sons regarded the char acters portrayed as satirical caricatures. The action of 'Fathers and Sons) takes place main ly at the country estate of Nikolai Petrovitch Kirsinof, who had made an unambitious but happy marriage and on the death of his wife had entered into illicit relations with the daughter of his housekeeper. Under the same roof with him lives his younger brother, Pavel Petrovitch, who had engaged in an unfortunate love-affair with the notorious Princess X and, disillusioned, had retired, henceforth to occupy himself with keeping his toilet immaculate, oc casionally helping Nikolai Petrewitch regulate his affairs. Kirsanof's son, Arkady, who had been graduated from the University of Peters burg, comes home to make a visit and brings his friend, Bazarof, a Nihilist — a Nihilist, ac cording to Arkady, being a man who bows to no authority, takes no principle on faith, no matter how absolutely bolstered with convention it may be. Bazirof is brutally frank, and this seems to endear him to women and to those below him in station; but his lack of tact renders him particularly obnoxious to Pavel Petrol/itch, who, discovering that he is becoming too intimate with his brother's mistress, chal lenges him but is himself wounded. Bazarof
returns to his father's humble estate, and while engaged in scientific investigation of typhus, accidentally becomes infected and dies. The de scription of his final illness is a remarkable piece of realism; and the portraits of Bazarof's father and mother, the one a rather ridiculous sentimental doctor, the other a superstitious kindly lady of the petty aristocracy, are sym pathetic but rather satirical. Other episodes take place at the provincial capital, where Tur genief is cruel in his satire of the conceited rural tchinovnik or official, and at the beautiful estate of the widow, Anna Sergeyevna Odint soya, with whom both Arkady and Bazirof fall in love. Arkady finally transfers his affections to her naive young sister Katherina and mar ries her, while at same time his father at the intercession of Pavel Petawitch ends his illicit relations with Finitchka and legitimatizes their child. There are other notable figures: the silly widow, Madame Kukshina, with pretensions to liberal views and general culture; Viktor Sitnikof, who pretends to be a disciple of Bathrof but is depicted as an ass; Matvyii Ilyitch Kolyazin, a relative of Kirsinof's; a tchinovnik who likes to pose and needlessly to browbeat his subordinates; various princes and princesses, whom Turgenief, like all untitled Russians of ancient family, despised; the priest Father Aleksyei, and the usual representatives of the peasantry, whom Turgenief always loved, though he was not blind to their faults.
There are several English translations of Fathers and Eugene Schuyler made the first, in 1867; another by an anonymous translator appeared in New York in 1883, under the title (Fathers and Children); another, (Father and Sons,' appeared in Turgenief's 'Works' in London in 1889; also by Mrs. Con stance Garnett ('Complete Works,) London 1894-99) ; another by Miss Isabel Hapgood in 1903. From these a fairly good idea of the tiovel may be obtained but not one of them is representative of Turgenief's beautiful style.