Ivan Turgenev's Fathers and Children: Ideological and Generational Conflict in 19th Century Russia

Fathers and Children is a novel indicative of the times. Published in 1862 in Russia, it speaks of clinging to old vestiges of the past, of embracing new and radical ideas, and above all the irreconcilable gap that can exist between generations.

Turgenev’s novel is set in 1859, and a young Arkady Petrovich is returning home after a term at a Russian university. He comes from a well-off family, but has come into contact with new ideas during his time away from home. He brings home a new friend of his named Bazarov, who stands in stark contrast to both the ideals and social situation of his family. Bazarov is a nihilist, a self-proclaimed believer in nothing and a proponent of using science and reason to overcome obstacles. 

His uncompromising ideas clash with the more traditional values of the members of Arkady’s family, particularly his uncle Pavel. Though Bazarov shuns art and love as useless obstacles in the face of human progress, he begins to succumb to the very feeling of romantic love. Not only does it threaten his own system of non-beliefs, but also clashes with the family that is fighting to stay hospitable to him.

Turgenev chooses to focus on Bazarov and his unique outlook on life and society. Fathers and Children was written during a time when ideological radicalism was coursing through underground channels in autocratic Russia. After a failed uprising in 1825 by socialist radicals, Czar Nicholas I reacted by imposing very harsh regulations on potentially subversive organizations. However, these regulations helped to foster a thriving movement against the principles of autocracy. One of the belief systems was nihilism, which in essence is belief in nothing at all, including all religions, institutions, or aesthetics.