We present to your attention the work of I. A. ( summary). This article describes the main events of the novel, first published in 1847.

Part one

One summer, from the estate of Anna Pavlovna Adueva, a poor landowner from the village of Grachi, Alexander Fedorovich, her only son, a fair-haired young man in the prime of his strength, years and health, was sent to St. Petersburg for service. His valet, Yevsey, also travels with him.

Seeing off

Anna Pavlovna grieves and gives her son the last instructions. He is also accompanied by the strict and Agrafena, struggling to contain her emotions. Neighbor Marya Karpovna and her daughter Sofia come to see him off. The hero has an affair with the latter; his beloved gives him a lock of cut hair and a ring as a farewell.

They swear allegiance and eternal love. Pospelov, Alexander’s friend, also appears, having come from afar just to hug his comrade.

Petr Ivanovich

Let's continue to present the events of the novel" An ordinary story". A brief summary of the work will tell about further development narratives.

Finally, Alexander and Yevsey hit the road. The uncle of the main character, Pyotr Ivanovich Aduev, was also sent to St. Petersburg by Alexander’s father at one time and lived in this city for 17 years, for a long time without communicating with relatives. He served as an official on special assignments under one important person, held a very nice apartment, had several servants. Uncle, a reserved man, was considered a businesslike and active member of society. He always dressed tastefully and carefully, one might even say dapper. When Pyotr Ivanovich found out about the arrival of his nephew, he first decided to get rid of him under the first pretext. The uncle throws out letters from relatives without even reading them (including from Alexandra’s aunt, with whom he had an affair in his youth and who never married). But in the letter to his nephew’s mother, something touches him; he remembers how, many years ago, Anna Pavlovna cried as she saw him off to St. Petersburg. Pyotr Ivanovich is horrified that the latter orders him to stand up for his son before his superiors, to baptize him at night and to cover his mouth with a handkerchief from flies.

First difficulties

We present to you a description of the first difficulties that the young man encountered and their summary. Goncharov's "Ordinary History" continues its narrative chapter by chapter. The hero's first troubles were as follows. His uncle does not allow him to hug him, shows him a room that he can rent, instead of inviting him to live with him. This makes the emotional and exalted Alexander sad, who is accustomed to sincere outpourings and friendly disposition. The young man’s romantic attitude towards life is completely unacceptable in the eyes of Pyotr Ivanovich. He ridicules his nephew’s manner of expressing himself in romantic cliches, throws away Sophia’s hair and ring, and pastes the poems that the young man was so proud of on the wall. Pyotr Ivanovich gradually brings Alexander down to earth and assigns him to serve. The nephew dreams of a dizzying career, imagining it extremely vaguely. He talks about this uncle, about his projects, which, in the latter’s opinion, have either already been completed or do not need to be done at all. Knowing that the young man dreams of becoming a writer, his uncle is looking for translations for him for an agricultural magazine.

New life

Begins new stage in the life of the main character of the work "An Ordinary Story". Its brief summary consists of the following events. Two years later, Alexander is already mastering graceful manners, becoming more self-confident and balanced. Pyotr Ivanovich had already decided that he was the right way when suddenly the young man falls in love with Nadenka Lyubetskaya and forgets about everything in the world: his career, education, responsibilities. The uncle tries to explain that it is too early for him to get married, since in order to support his family, he must have a decent income. In addition, you need to be able to win a woman with your intelligence and cunning, but your nephew is primitive. His infatuation with Nadya will quickly pass, his uncle warns. Alexander is indignant upon learning that his uncle himself is going to get married and reproaches him for an arranged marriage.

Nadenka Lyubetskaya

Goncharov's "Ordinary History" continues its development in a brief summary. Alexander begins to visit the Lyubetskys' house. His beloved was impressionable to the extreme, had a fickle and wayward heart and an ardent mind. At first, she is satisfied with conversations about nothing, loving glances and walks under the moonlight. Alexander visits Pyotr Ivanovich less and less, abandons his career, begins to write again, but publishers do not accept his works, pointing out their unnaturalness and immaturity. Gradually Nadya gets bored with her admirer. The year she assigned to Alexander is ending probationary period, and she tries to avoid explanation. One of the reasons was a visit to Count Novinsky, a well-educated and well-mannered young man, a socialite. He begins to visit Nadenka and teaches her horse riding. Alexander, seeing that he is being avoided, falls into melancholy, then into panic, then decides to disappear for a while so that they will start looking for him, but this does not happen. The young man finally dares to call his beloved for a decisive conversation. Nadenka admits that she likes the Count. Alexander, leaving the house, sobs.

The summary of the book "Ordinary History" continues. In the middle of the night, the hero runs to Pyotr Ivanovich in order to arouse sympathy for himself, asking his uncle to agree to be his second during the duel with Novinsky. Pyotr Ivanovich speaks of the meaninglessness of the duel: Nadenka cannot be brought back, but her hatred can be acquired if you harm the count. In addition, in case of murder, hard labor or exile awaits him. In return, he offers to beat his opponent, to convince Nadenka of his superiority over the count, first of all, intellectually. The uncle proves that his beloved is not to blame for choosing Novinsky. At the end of the conversation, the nephew bursts into tears. Pyotr Ivanovich's wife, Lizaveta Aleksandrovna, comes to console him.

Part two

We have reached the second part of the novel "An Ordinary Story". Its summary is as follows.

Another year has passed. Alexander turned to cold despondency. Auntie spends a lot of time consoling him. The nephew likes the role of the sufferer. To her objection that true love does not strive to demonstrate himself to everyone, Alexander immodestly notes that his love for Pyotr Ivanovich’s wife is hidden very deeply, so that it is completely invisible. Mentally, the aunt agrees with him. Although she has no right to complain about her husband, who provides her with everything, Lizaveta Alexandrovna still sometimes wants a greater manifestation of feelings.

Meeting with a friend

This is how I. A. Goncharov unfolds further events (“Ordinary History”). The chapter summary that you are reading continues with the meeting of the main character with an old friend. One day Alexander comes to his aunt and tells her about the betrayal of a friend whom he has not seen for many years. He met him on Nevsky Prospekt. He did not respond to the sincere outpourings, dryly inquiring about the service and inviting him to come to his place the next day for dinner, which was attended by about a dozen guests. Here he offers to play cards, as well as money if he needs it. Alexander begins to talk about unhappy love, but his friend just laughs. The nephew reads to his aunt and uncle quotes from French novelists who defined friendship in a very pretentious way. This angers Pyotr Ivanovich, he declares that his friend behaved decently towards him. The uncle reprimands the young man that it’s time to stop complaining about people and whining when he has friends, among whom he also counts himself and his wife.

Alexander's Tale

Let us describe further events and their brief content. Goncharov's "Ordinary History" continues its development. Pyotr Ivanovich reminds his nephew that he has not written to his mother for 4 months. Alexander is completely crushed. To console him, his aunt advises him to take up literature again. A young man writes a story, the action of which takes place in a Tambov village, and the heroes are liars, slanderers and monsters. He reads it aloud to his aunt and uncle. Pyotr Ivanovich writes a letter to an editor he knows, in which he states that the story was written by himself, and he intends to publish it for a fee. He reads the editor's response to his nephew. He saw through the deception, noticing that the author was a young man, not stupid, but angry at the whole world. The reasons for this, in his opinion, are daydreaming, pride, premature development of the heart and immobility of the mind, leading to laziness. Work, science, practical work should help this young man. According to the editor, the author of the story has no talent.

Relationship with Yulia Tafaeva

After the events described above, Alexander burns all his literary works. His uncle asks him for help: to compete with Surkov, his partner. He is in love (Peter Ivanovich believes that he only thinks he is in love) with a certain Yulia Tafaeva, a young widow. He intends to throw money away for her sake and take it from Uncle Alexander. The young man begins to visit Tafaeva, with whom they have a lot in common (gloomy view of the world, dreaminess). He soon falls in love, and Tafaeva, who was brought up on French sentimental literature and married early to a man much older than her, reciprocates his feelings.

New disappointment

The hero will again be disappointed with the further development of events. Here is a brief summary of them. Goncharov's "An Ordinary Story" is already approaching its finale. Preparations for the wedding are underway. Alexander asks Lizaveta Alexandrovna for secret help from his uncle. Aunt pays a visit to Yulia, the girl is amazed by her beauty and youth. Tafaeva protests against her lover’s communication with the Aduevs. Alexander behaves despotically with Yulia, demands obedience and fulfillment of any whim (fences her off from male acquaintances, forbids her to travel). Julia puts up with this, but after a while they become bored, and the hero begins to find fault with his beloved. He realizes that he has wasted two whole years, once again his career suffered. He wants to communicate with friends, work, go out into society, but she despotically demands that Alexander belong only to her. Julia is humiliated and even begs to marry her on the condition that the hero be given complete freedom. Alexander doesn’t want this, but doesn’t know how to refuse. He turns to his uncle for advice. Julia has a nervous attack, Pyotr Ivanovich comes to her and settles the matter, saying that Alexander does not know how to love. The nephew falls into apathy. He doesn’t strive for anything, doesn’t show up to visit his uncle. The young man notices that there is not a single hope or dream left, there is only bare reality in front of him, which he is not ready to confront.

Lisa

The author, however, does not end the novel “Ordinary History” here. The summary will tell you how this story will end. The main character goes fishing with old man Kostikov, a miser and a grouch.

One day they meet with a certain elderly summer resident and his daughter Lisa, who falls in love with the hero. He plays the role of uncle, teaches her to have a sober attitude towards love and life. Lisa's father kicks him out. The young man is contemplating suicide, but the bridge on which he is standing is at that moment raised, and he jumps onto a solid support. After some time, he receives a note from his aunt asking him to take her to a concert, since his uncle is sick. The music makes a strong impression on Alexander, he cries right in the hall, they laugh at him.

Return to the village

These were the main events before returning to the village (briefly). Goncharov’s “ordinary story” is already unfolding in Rrachi. The young man completely loses faith in humanity and decides to return to the village. He tells his uncle that he does not blame him for opening his eyes, but having seen things in their true light, he was completely disillusioned with life. In the village, Alexander learns that he ex-lover Sophia has been married for a long time and is expecting her sixth child. The mother begins to fatten the young man, allows him to do nothing, hints that the time has come to get married, but the hero refuses.

New trip to St. Petersburg

Our ordinary story continues. Brief development events looks like this. A thirst for activity gradually awakens in the hero, and a desire arises to return to the capital. He writes letters to his aunt and uncle, in which he admits his selfishness. He also brings evidence to his uncle - a letter to his aunt from Rooks, in which he once talked in a romantic way.

Epilogue

4 years after the young man’s next visit to St. Petersburg, he announces to his uncle his intention to marry. He takes a large dowry, but barely remembers the bride herself. The uncle, however, cannot fully support his nephew, since during that time great changes have occurred in him. Pyotr Ivanovich began to treat his wife differently. He tries to show his feelings, but it’s too late: she doesn’t care, she lives only in silent submission to her husband, without reacting in any way to these attempts. The doctor discovers a strange illness in the aunt, one of the reasons for which, in his opinion, is that she did not have children. Pyotr Ivanovich decides to sell the plant, retire and go on a trip with his wife. But she is not ready to accept such sacrifices. She doesn't need belated love or freedom. Lizaveta Alexandrovna feels sorry for the old Alexander. Pyotr Ivanovich hugs his nephew for the first time since they met.

This is the plot of the work “An Ordinary Story,” briefly described in this article. We hope it helps you as you study this novel.

Brief Analysis

In this work, every person at all stages of life and development will find the necessary lesson for themselves. In a business atmosphere, Alexander Aduev’s sentimentality and naivety are ridiculous. His pathos is false, and his ideas about life and the loftiness of his speeches are far from reality. However, the uncle cannot be called an ideal: a respected man, a breeder, he is afraid of living feelings and goes too far in his practicality. He turns out to be unable to show warm feelings for his wife, which leads to her nervous disorder. There is a lot of irony in the teachings of this hero, and the nephew, being a simple, ingenuous person, accepts them too directly.

Alexander Aduev, having lost his former false ideals, does not acquire other, genuine ones. He simply turns into a calculating vulgar. Goncharov is ironic that such a path is far from an exception. Youthful ideals disappear - this is a common story. Few people can withstand the pressure on their soul and mind large city and bourgeois society. At the end of the work, the cynical uncle is much more humane than his student-nephew. Alexander became business person, for whom only money and career matter. And the city awaits new victims - the inexperienced and naive.

The novel was conceived by the author in 1844. The work was first read in the salon of the Maykov family. Goncharov made some adjustments to his novel precisely on the advice of Valerian Maykov. Then the manuscript ended up with M. Yazykov, who was supposed to hand it over to Belinsky at the request of the author himself. However, Yazykov was in no hurry to fulfill the request, as he considered the novel too banal. The manuscript was handed to Belinsky by Nekrasov, who took it from Yazykov. Belinsky planned to publish “Ordinary History” in the almanac “Leviathan”.

However, these plans were never destined to come true. Goncharov received advantageous offer: he could earn 200 rubles for each page of the manuscript. But Panaev and Nekrasov offered the writer the same amount, and Goncharov sold them his work. It was decided to publish the novel in Sovremennik. Publication took place in 1847. A year later, the novel was published as a separate edition.

Alexander Aduev, the son of a poor landowner, is going to leave his native estate. The young landowner received a decent university education, which he now wants to use in the service of his fatherland. Alexander leaves his first love Sonechka and his inconsolable mother Anna Pavlovna on the estate, who does not want to part with her only son. Aduev himself also does not want to leave his usual way of life. However, the high goals he has set for himself force him to leave his parents' home.

Once in the capital, Alexander goes to his uncle. Pyotr Ivanovich had lived in St. Petersburg for many years. After his brother's death, he stopped communicating with his widow and his nephew. Alexander does not seem to notice that his uncle is not too happy to see him. The young man expects care and protection from close relative. Pyotr Ivanovich receives a letter from the mother of his nephew, who asks him to help his son get a good job. The uncle has no choice, and he takes on the active upbringing of his nephew: he rents an apartment for him, gives him numerous pieces of advice, and finds him a place. Pyotr Ivanovich believes that Alexander is too romantic and out of touch with reality. It is necessary to destroy the fictional world in which the young man lives.

2 years have passed. During this time, Alexander was able to achieve success in his service. The uncle is happy with his nephew. The only thing that upsets Pyotr Ivanovich is the young man’s love for Nadenka Lyubetskaya. According to the stern uncle, “sweet bliss” can prevent his nephew from further promotion. Nadya also likes Alexander. However, the girl’s feelings are not as deep as the feelings of her lover. Nadenka is much more interested in Count Novinsky. Aduev Jr. dreams of a duel with his opponent. Pyotr Ivanovich is trying with all his might to dissuade his nephew from his fatal mistake. Uncle never found it the right words consolation. Lizaveta Alexandrovna, the wife of Pyotr Ivanovich, had to intervene. Only the aunt managed to calm the young man down and dissuade him from the duel.

Another year has passed. Alexander has already forgotten Nadenka. However, not a trace of the former romantic youth remained in him. Aduev Jr. is bored and sad all the time. Uncle and aunty try in various ways distract my nephew, but nothing helps. The young man himself tries to lose himself in love, but he fails. Alexander is increasingly thinking about returning home. In the end, the young man leaves the capital. Life in the village has not changed, only Sonya, Aduev’s first love, got married without waiting for her lover. Anna Pavlovna is glad that her son returned from St. Petersburg, and believes that life in the capital undermines her health.

Fascinating city
But Alexander finds no peace even in his father’s house. Having barely returned, he is already dreaming of moving to St. Petersburg. After the capital's salons, the quiet life in the countryside seems insufficiently dynamic and vibrant. However, the young man does not dare to leave, because he does not want to upset his mother. The death of Anna Pavlovna relieves Aduev Jr. of remorse. He returns to the capital.

Another 4 years have passed. The characters in the novel have changed a lot. Aunt Lizaveta became indifferent and indifferent. Pyotr Ivanovich also becomes different. From the former cold and calculating businessman, he turns into a loving family man. Pyotr Ivanovich suspects his wife serious problems with health problems and wants to resign in order to take his wife away from the capital. Alexander was able to get rid of his youthful illusions. Aduev Jr. makes good money, has achieved a high position and is going to marry a rich heiress.

Alexander Aduev

Romanticism and egocentrism are the main character traits of a young man. Alexander is confident in his uniqueness and dreams of conquering the capital. Aduev Jr. dreams of becoming famous in the poetic and writing fields and finding true love. Life in the village, according to the young man, is not for such a talented and exalted personality like him.

Alexander's dreams collapse one after another. Very soon he realizes that there are enough mediocre poets and writers in the capital without him. Aduev will not tell the public anything new. True love also disappointed the young romantic. Nadenka Lyubetskaya easily abandons Alexander in order to prefer a more advantageous game to him. The young man comes to the conclusion that the world that he lived in his imagination does not really exist. Thus began the degeneration of the romantic into an ordinary cynic and businessman, like Alexander’s uncle.

Aduev Jr. realized in time that he was unable to remake reality, force it to be different. However, he can succeed by reconsidering his views and accepting the rules of the game.

Peter Aduev

At the beginning of the novel, Pyotr Ivanovich acts as the antipode of his nephew. The author characterizes this character as a person who is “icy to the point of bitterness.” Thanks to resourcefulness and composure, Alexander’s uncle was able to get a good job. Pyotr Ivanovich hates those unadapted to life, sentimental and sensitive people. It is these character traits that he has to fight in his nephew.

Aduev Sr. believes that only those who know how to control their feelings have the right to be called a person. That is why Pyotr Ivanovich despises Alexander’s tendency to “delight.” All the predictions of the experienced uncle came true. His nephew was unable to become famous either as a poet or as a writer, and his affair with Nadenka ended in betrayal.

The uncle and nephew embody in the novel two sides of the author's contemporary Russia. The country is divided into dreamers, who bring no practical benefit to anyone with their actions, and businessmen, whose activities benefit only themselves. Alexander represents a “superfluous person”, unsuitable for the real business and causing a sense of irony even among close relatives. The “superfluous” person will not benefit his fatherland, because, in fact, he himself does not know what he wants. Pyotr Ivanovich is overly practical. According to the author, his callousness is as destructive for others as the dreaminess of his nephew.

Some critics draw a parallel between “Ordinary History” and “Oblomov”, where the antipodes are Oblomov and his friend Stolz. The first, being a kind, sincere person, is too passive. The second, like Pyotr Aduev, is practical to the point of callousness. The title of the novel, “An Ordinary Story,” indicates that all the events described in the book are taken from life. Goncharov himself seems to admit that the story he tells is not unique. The transformation of romantics into cynics occurs every day. The “superfluous person” has only 2 options: leave this life, like Oblomov, or transform into a soulless machine, like Alexander Aduev.

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Classic works are always considered the best publications to read. They have not only been tested over the years, but also raise complex, vital questions that are relevant at any time. In classical literature we find ourselves, it makes us think about our character, way of thinking, behavior and thinking.

Exactly this example classical literature and is Goncharov’s “Ordinary History”, the brief content of which will be the subject of our article. What kind of work is this? What is its essence and meaning? What is psychological problem“Ordinary History” by Goncharov? Let's find out.

But before we get to know the work better, let's get to know its author.

I. A. Goncharov

The creator of “Ordinary History” - Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov - was born in 1812, into a family of eminent and wealthy merchants. WITH early childhood the boy led a carefree, satiated life - the cellars and barns were overflowing with all kinds of provisions and sweets, gold was stacked in the chests, the owners were served by servants.

At the age of seven, Vanya lost his father. His godfather Tregubov, a kind and enlightened man, a sailor by profession, became his guardian and educator. At first he taught the child himself, then sent him to a school in Moscow.

Eight years of study helped Ivan become more mature and knowledgeable; he became addicted to reading and wanted to write himself. Pushkin and Karamzin become his ideals; it is them that the future writer wants to be equal to, it is they who strives to imitate.

At nineteen, young Ivan Goncharov entered the capital’s university at the Faculty of Literature. Here he meets Belinsky, Aksakov, Lermontov, Turgenev. Such talented, thoughtful friends and comrades leave an indelible mark on the open soul of a young man.

He thinks a lot about the meaning of life and eternal values, literature and art, the life of the people and the morals of the nobility.

After graduating from university, young Ivan Goncharov receives a good government position, but continues to move in the literary circles of St. Petersburg. Here he becomes close friends with the painter Nikolai Maykov and his writer-wife. They meet representatives of the cultural life of the capital - poets, artists, musicians...

Continuing to work in the government field, occupying responsible positions and important positions, Ivan Aleksandrovich begins to write. His first work was “An Ordinary Story,” followed by the still famous “Oblomov” and “Cliff.”

What is remarkable about Goncharov’s first book, “Ordinary History”?

How the work was written

The history of the creation of Goncharov’s “Ordinary History” covers a fairly long period of time. In general, he worked very slowly and unhurriedly, thinking through every stroke and every thought in detail, trying to comprehend not only the depth of the characters of his heroes, but also the historical time in which he lived and which he described.

Goncharov’s “Ordinary History” (a brief summary of it will be given below) was conceived by the author back in 1944. For the next two years, he worked on his creation, as always, intently working on every sentence, analyzing every situation and every line of the hero.

The writer revised his work several times. In 1945, after reading the drafts in the Maykov family, he made some changes to the manuscript, listening to practical advice owner of the house. He then corrected the essay immediately before its publication.

Publication history

How was Goncharov’s novel “Ordinary History” published? At first, the author entrusted the manuscript to the literary patron Yazykov, but he considered the work insignificant and trivial and did not want to show it to the famous critic Vissarion Belinsky.

If it were not for Nikolai Nekrasov, who took the manuscript from Yazykov and showed it to Vissarion Grigorievich, the world might not have seen the work published.

The critic liked the novel. He saw in it a modern and relevant trend, as well as subtle psychologism and artistic realism. In 1947, the work was purchased from Goncharov (for two hundred rubles for each sheet) and published in the Sovremennik magazine.

What is the plot of Goncharov’s “Ordinary History”, which so interested the famous writers of that time?

The beginning of the story

A brief summary of Goncharov’s “Ordinary History” should begin with a description of the departure of the young, poor landowner Alexander Fedorovich, the only son of the kind-hearted lady Anna Pavlovna. Sasha is a handsome twenty-year-old romantic who has just graduated from university. He is eager to serve the Fatherland, find his own path in life and walk along it hand in hand with a gentle and kind girl. Alexander Fedorovich has many talents, writes poetry, he expects happiness and love to await him in St. Petersburg.

In his native village, a young man leaves a neighbor's young lady, Sonya, who is in love with him, a sincere and pure girl. She gives him a lock of hair as a souvenir and promises to wait.

To say goodbye to Sasha, his friend Alexander Pospelov comes, having specially ridden more than one hundred and fifty kilometers for this purpose. Young people fondly remember their intimate conversations about love, loyalty and service to the fatherland.

Meeting with uncle

In the capital, Aduev comes to visit his paternal uncle, Pyotr Ivanovich, an influential official and wealthy manufacturer. However, at first he does not even want to accept his nephew. However, remembering how kind Anna Pavlovna was to him, Aduev Sr. meets with a young man, but behaves with restraint and coldness.

Sasha doesn’t understand his uncle’s insensitivity; he feels uneasy about the city’s ceremony and indifference. Walking around St. Petersburg, the young man becomes disillusioned with the capital. He misses virgin nature, endless open spaces, the good nature and friendliness of his acquaintances.

Meanwhile, Pyotr Ivanovich is going to teach his nephew wisdom. He forbids him to show his sincere feelings and emotions, orders him to forget Sonyushka and even throws out her gifts. Uncle finds Alexandra a well-paid but tedious job, and encourages the young man to abandon poetry and literature as an unprofitable and stupid occupation.

Two years later

What happens to the main characters of Goncharov’s “Ordinary History” after this short period of time?

Alexander became more urban and important. He continues to work in one of the government departments, additionally translates articles and writes poetry or stories from time to time.

It turns out that the young man is in love with young girl Nadya, who responds to him with tenderness and reciprocity. However, their uncle condemns them romantic relationship, arguing that love is not necessary for marriage.

Love and betrayal

The lover spends entire evenings at his beloved's dacha. Nadenka is raised by one mother and grows up to be a pampered and flighty young lady. She asks Alexander for a year to test her feelings and reunite together in a happy marriage.

And then, when the appointed time approaches, another person appears on the horizon of the young lady - the sophisticated, rich, eminent Count Novinsky. Nadya is carried away by him and pays little attention to Aduev.

He, tormented by jealousy, behaves defiantly both towards his beloved and towards his happy rival. Over time, the girl refuses Alexander.

This was a heavy blow for him. He silently sobs and yearns for his lost happiness. The uncle does not understand the young man’s feelings and, seeing that he wants to challenge the count to a duel, advises him to take revenge in another, more sophisticated way. Only the aunt, the young wife of Aduev Sr., takes pity on Sasha in his unrequited love.

Twelve months have passed

Alexander still suffers from Nadya's refusal. He loses the meaning in life, loses faith in people, it seems to him that he is surrounded by unprincipled, evil ignoramuses. Finding joy in writing, the young man writes a story all day long, but Pyotr Ivanovich criticizes it and proves to his nephew that no one will publish it. This is true. The magazine refuses to publish the work, and young Aduev becomes disillusioned with his talent and his abilities.

Lizaveta Aleksandrovna, the wife of Aduev Sr., suffers from his coldness and aloofness. It is painful for her that her husband cares about her comfort, while forgetting about her heart and feelings.

Beautiful widow

Yulia Tafaeva, a young woman widowed early, becomes the cause of concern for Pyotr Ivanovich about his companion. He fell in love with a girl and spends all his money on her. Therefore, the uncle asks Alexander to play love with the widow in order to distract her from her partner.

Aduev Jr. doubts his success, but hits on a beautiful widow. Without noticing it, he falls in love with an experienced woman and, as it turns out, mutually.

Young people are very similar. They both want tenderness, violent manifestations of love, all-consuming passion. In their feelings, they seek solitude and want to belong to each other completely.

But such a dependent state, overshadowed by the constant jealousy and uncontrollability of his beloved, bothers Alexander. He loses interest in Yulia, and she insists on marriage.

The uncle helps the young people explain themselves and frees his nephew from the relationship that bothers him.

Main character's depression

Breaking up with Tafaeva does not make young man happy. He experiences enormous doubts - something has gone wrong in his life. He regrets that he came to St. Petersburg, that he abandoned the picturesque countryside and sweet Sonyushka.

However, such a rethinking of life does not prompt the main character to take action. He sinks lower and lower, works sluggishly, communicates with unsightly company, and does not visit his uncle.

Pyotr Ivanovich tries to stir up his nephew, he appeals to his ambition and reminds him of his career. Then he tries to awaken in him his former romantic impulses, but he became frozen in soul and became disillusioned with everything.

Soon the young man leaves the service and leaves St. Petersburg for his home, completely devastated and tired in soul and body.

But it's not over yet

The mother is very happy to see her son, but she is worried about him appearance and physical condition.

Over time, Alexander becomes fresher and prettier. Nature and tender memories restore his strength. He lives a quiet life, but continues to dream of St. Petersburg. A year and a half later, the man writes to his aunt that he wants to return to the capital and start new life. He realizes that he behaved stupidly and wants to improve.

End of the work

Four years have passed since Aduev returned to St. Petersburg for the second time. Much has changed in his uncle's family. Having reached unprecedented heights and wealth, Pyotr Ivanovich finally understands that all this was tinsel, now the main thing for him is the health of his beloved wife, who is slowly fading away from his coldness and isolation. However, Lizaveta Aleksandrovna has already lost joy in life and she is indifferent to her husband’s belated feelings.

Alexander's life turned out completely differently. His mother died, and he finally found himself - he became confident and contented, received a good position and an enviable rank. He is going to marry an unfamiliar girl with a good dowry, whom he does not love and does not even respect. Aduev Sr. is happy for his nephew and hugs him for the first time in his life.

This concludes the summary of Goncharov’s “Ordinary History”.

Problems of the novel

As we see, the writer raised in his work serious psychological issues related to hidden emotional impulses and variability human heart. An analysis of Goncharov’s “Ordinary History” shows us how the influence of society and own worldview can radically change a person, make him step over himself and his beliefs, forget his own impulses and aspirations.

Having adapted to the system around him, Aduev turned from a kind, dreamy person into a greedy careerist and unprincipled egoist. At the end of the work, he even changes places with his uncle, as he becomes more family-oriented and virtuous, worrying about the health of his beloved wife.

This is evidenced by the characteristics of the heroes of Goncharov’s “Ordinary History”.

Images of the work

If earlier young Sasha appears to readers as attractive externally and internally, with whom you involuntarily sympathize and sympathize, then over time, experiencing disappointments and being under the influence of a rich uncle, he turns into an ordinary self-lover, a careerist and a pretender.

A serious analysis of Goncharov’s “Ordinary History” leads the reader to the idea that it is not others who are to blame for the young man’s troubles, his tragedy and despondency, but himself. He, who abandoned the innocent Sonya, who was in love with him, and free life in the village, and set off to conquer the capital. He, who was led by his weakness, fixated on unrequited love and own feelings.

Is it bad to be rich? Is it bad to have highly paid position? Of course not! This is all very good if a person remains himself, if his heart is pure and his conscience is calm. If he does good and thinks about the feelings of others.

Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov

"An Ordinary Story"

This summer morning in the village of Grachi began unusually: at dawn, all the inhabitants of the house of the poor landowner Anna Pavlovna Adueva were already on their feet. Only the culprit of this fuss, Adueva’s son, Alexander, slept “as a twenty-year-old youth should sleep, in a heroic sleep.” Turmoil reigned in Rooks because Alexander was going to St. Petersburg for service: the knowledge he acquired at the university, according to the young man, must be applied in practice in serving the Fatherland.

The grief of Anna Pavlovna, parting with her only son, is akin to the sadness of the “first minister in the household” of the landowner Agrafena - his valet Yevsey, Agrafena’s dear friend, goes with Alexander to St. Petersburg - how many pleasant evenings this gentle couple spent playing cards!.. Alexander’s beloved, Sonechka, - the first impulses of his sublime soul were dedicated to her. best friend Adueva, Pospelov, in last minute bursts into Rooks to finally hug the one with whom the best hours of university life were spent in conversations about honor and dignity, about serving the Fatherland and the delights of love...

And Alexander himself is sorry to part with his usual way of life. If high goals and a sense of his purpose had not pushed him into long journey, he, of course, would have stayed in Rrachy, with his endlessly loving mother and sister, the old maid Maria Gorbatova, among hospitable and hospitable neighbors, next to his first love. But ambitious dreams drive the young man to the capital, closer to glory.

In St. Petersburg, Alexander immediately goes to his relative, Pyotr Ivanovich Aduev, who at one time, like Alexander, “was sent to St. Petersburg at the age of twenty by his elder brother, Alexander’s father, and lived there continuously for seventeen years.” Not maintaining contact with his widow and son, who remained in Rrach after the death of his brother, Pyotr Ivanovich is greatly surprised and annoyed by the appearance of an enthusiastic young man who expects from his uncle care, attention and, most importantly, the sharing of his heightened sensitivity. From the very first minutes of their acquaintance, Pyotr Ivanovich almost by force has to restrain Alexander from pouring out his feelings and trying to embrace his relative. Along with Alexander, a letter arrives from Anna Pavlovna, from which Pyotr Ivanovich learns that great hopes are placed on him: not only by his almost forgotten daughter-in-law, who hopes that Pyotr Ivanovich will sleep with Alexander in the same room and cover the young man’s mouth from flies. The letter contains many requests from neighbors that Pyotr Ivanovich had forgotten to think about for almost two decades. One of these letters was written by Marya Gorbatova, Anna Pavlovna’s sister, who remembered for the rest of her life the day when the still young Pyotr Ivanovich, walking with her through the village surroundings, climbed knee-deep into the lake and plucked a yellow flower for her to remember...

From the very first meeting, Pyotr Ivanovich, a rather dry and businesslike man, begins raising his enthusiastic nephew: he rents Alexander an apartment in the same building where he lives, advises where and how to eat, with whom to communicate. Later he finds a very specific thing to do: service and - for the soul! — translations of articles devoted to agricultural problems. Ridiculing, sometimes quite cruelly, Alexander’s predilection for everything “unearthly” and sublime, Pyotr Ivanovich gradually tries to destroy the fictional world in which his romantic nephew lives. Two years pass like this.

After this time, we meet Alexander already somewhat accustomed to the difficulties of St. Petersburg life. And - madly in love with Nadenka Lyubetskaya. During this time, Alexander managed to advance in his career and achieved some success in translations. Now he has become enough important person in the magazine: “he was engaged in the selection, translation, and correction of other people’s articles, he himself wrote various theoretical views about agriculture" He continued to write poetry and prose. But falling in love with Nadenka Lyubetskaya seems to close the whole world before Alexander Aduev - now he lives from meeting to meeting, intoxicated by that “sweet bliss with which Pyotr Ivanovich was angry.”

Nadenka is also in love with Alexander, but, perhaps, only with that “little love in anticipation of a big one” that Alexander himself felt for Sophia, whom he had now forgotten. Alexander's happiness is fragile - Count Novinsky, the Lyubetskys' neighbor in the dacha, stands in the way of eternal bliss.

Pyotr Ivanovich is unable to cure Alexander of his raging passions: Aduev Jr. is ready to challenge the count to a duel, to take revenge on an ungrateful girl who is unable to appreciate his high feelings, he sobs and burns with anger... Pyotr Ivanovich’s wife, Lizaveta Aleksandrovna, comes to the aid of the distraught young man. ; she comes to Alexander when Pyotr Ivanovich turns out to be powerless, and we do not know exactly how, with what words, with what participation the young woman succeeds in what her smart, sensible husband failed to achieve. “An hour later he (Alexander) came out thoughtfully, but with a smile, and fell asleep peacefully for the first time after many sleepless nights».

And another year has passed since that memorable night. From the gloomy despair that Lizaveta Alexandrovna managed to melt, Aduev Jr. turned to despondency and indifference. “He somehow liked to play the role of the sufferer. He was quiet, important, vague, like a man who, in his words, had withstood the blow of fate...” And the blow was not slow to repeat: an unexpected meeting with an old friend Pospelov on Nevsky Prospekt, a meeting that was all the more accidental because Alexander did not even know about the move his soulmate to the capital - brings confusion into the already disturbed heart of Aduev Jr. The friend turns out to be completely different from what he remembers from the years spent at the university: he is strikingly similar to Pyotr Ivanovich Aduev - he does not appreciate the wounds of the heart experienced by Alexander, talks about his career, about money, warmly welcomes his old friend in his home, but no special signs of attention doesn't show it to him.

It turns out to be almost impossible to cure sensitive Alexander from this blow - and who knows what our hero would have come to this time if his uncle had not applied “extreme measures” to him!.. Discussing with Alexander about the bonds of love and friendship, Pyotr Ivanovich cruelly reproaches Alexander the fact that he closed himself only in his own feelings, not knowing how to appreciate someone who is faithful to him. He does not consider his uncle and aunt his friends; he has not written to his mother for a long time, who lives only in thoughts about her only son. This “medicine” turns out to be effective - Alexander again turns to literary creativity. This time he writes a story and reads it to Pyotr Ivanovich and Lizaveta Alexandrovna. Aduev Sr. invites Alexander to send the story to the magazine to find out the true value of his nephew’s work. Pyotr Ivanovich does this under his own name, believing that this will be a fairer trial and better for the fate of the work. The answer was not slow to appear - it puts the finishing touches on the hopes of the ambitious Aduev Jr....

And just at this time, Pyotr Ivanovich needed the service of his nephew: his companion at the plant, Surkov, unexpectedly falls in love with the young widow of Pyotr Ivanovich’s former friend, Yulia Pavlovna Tafaeva, and completely abandons his affairs. Valuing business above all else, Pyotr Ivanovich asks Alexander to “make Tafaeva fall in love with himself,” pushing Surkov out of her home and heart. As a reward, Pyotr Ivanovich offers Alexander two vases that Aduev Jr. liked so much.

The matter, however, takes an unexpected turn: Alexander falls in love with a young widow and evokes a reciprocal feeling in her. Moreover, the feeling is so strong, so romantic and sublime that the “culprit” himself is not able to withstand the outbursts of passion and jealousy that Tafaeva unleashes on him. Raised on romance novels Having married a rich and unloved man too early, Yulia Pavlovna, having met Alexander, seems to throw herself into a whirlpool: everything that she read and dreamed about now falls on her chosen one. And Alexander does not pass the test...

After Pyotr Ivanovich managed to bring Tafaeva to her senses with arguments unknown to us, another three months passed, during which Alexander’s life after the shock he experienced is unknown to us. We meet him again when he, disappointed in everything he lived before, “plays checkers with some eccentrics or fishes.” His apathy is deep and inescapable; nothing, it seems, can bring Aduev Jr. out of his dull indifference. Alexander no longer believes in either love or friendship. He begins to go to Kostikov, about whom Zaezzhalov, a neighbor in Grachi, once wrote in a letter to Pyotr Ivanovich, wanting to introduce Aduev Sr. to his old friend. This man came in handy for Alexander: he young man“I couldn’t awaken emotional unrest.”

And one day on the shore where they were fishing, unexpected spectators appeared - an old man and a pretty young girl. They appeared more and more often. Lisa (that was the girl’s name) began to try to captivate the yearning Alexander with various feminine tricks. The girl partially succeeds, but her offended father comes to the gazebo for a date instead. After an explanation with him, Alexander has no choice but to change the place of fishing. However, he doesn’t remember Lisa for long...

Still wanting to awaken Alexander from the sleep of his soul, his aunt asks him one day to accompany her to a concert: “some artist, a European celebrity, has arrived.” The shock experienced by Alexander from meeting beautiful music strengthens the decision that had matured even earlier to give up everything and return to his mother, in Grachi. Alexander Fedorovich Aduev leaves the capital along the same road along which he entered St. Petersburg several years ago, intending to conquer it with his talents and high appointment...

And in the village, life seemed to have stopped running: the same hospitable neighbors, only older, the same endlessly loving mother, Anna Pavlovna; just got married without waiting for her Sashenka, Sophia, but she still remembers yellow flower aunt, Marya Gorbatova. Shocked by the changes that have happened to her son, Anna Pavlovna spends a long time asking Yevsey how Alexander lived in St. Petersburg, and comes to the conclusion that life itself in the capital is so unhealthy that it has aged her son and dulled his feelings. Days pass after days, Anna Pavlovna still hopes that Alexander’s hair will grow back and his eyes will sparkle, and he thinks about how to return to St. Petersburg, where so much has been experienced and irretrievably lost.

The death of his mother relieves Alexander from the pangs of conscience, which do not allow him to admit to Anna Pavlovna that he was again planning to escape from the village, and, having written to Pyotr Ivanovich, Alexander Aduev again goes to St. Petersburg...

Four years pass after Alexander's return to the capital. Many changes happened to the main characters of the novel. Lizaveta Alexandrovna was tired of fighting her husband’s coldness and turned into a calm, sensible woman, devoid of any aspirations or desires. Pyotr Ivanovich, upset by the change in his wife’s character and suspecting she has a dangerous illness, is ready to give up his career as a court adviser and resign in order to take Lizaveta Alexandrovna away from St. Petersburg, at least for a while. But Alexander Fedorovich reached the heights that his uncle once dreamed of for him: “a collegiate adviser, a good government salary, through outside labor”, he earns considerable money and is also preparing to get married, taking three hundred thousand and five hundred souls for his bride...

At this point we part with the heroes of the novel. What, in essence, is an ordinary story!..

The story begins in the village of Grachi, where turmoil reigns in the estate of the landowner Anna Pavlovna Adueva: her only son Alexander leaves for service in St. Petersburg. In the village he leaves his beloved girl Sonechka and his best friend Pospelov.

In the capital, Alexander turns for help to his uncle, Pyotr Ivanovich Aduev, who forgot to think about his nephew, but, having controlled himself, found him good job a translator and a decent apartment next door. He is somewhat embarrassed by his nephew’s desire for everything sublime, but he rightly believes that life in the capital will change him.

After a couple of years, Alexander becomes calmer and more reasonable, he achieved certain successes in the service and fell madly in love with Nadezhda Lyubetskaya. His uncle is negative about his hobby and believes that this hobby will bring him unnecessary disappointment. And it turns out to be right: the selfish Nadenka prefers Count Novinsky to Alexandra. The hero is completely crushed, he loses interest in life and only his uncle’s wife, Lizaveta Aleksandrovna, manages to distract him a little and turn his grief into slight sadness.

A year later, Alexander faced a new test: in the capital, he accidentally ran into his village friend Pospelov. He has changed a lot: he has become a real resident of the capital, has become rich and clearly disdains Alexander’s company. For the hero, this is the last straw, because everyone around, in his opinion, has forgotten about love and friendship and is only interested in money and entertainment.

Alexander falls into depression, but his uncle decides not to stand on ceremony with him and claims that he himself is to blame for this: he did not write to a friend, forgot about his mother and sister, isolated himself from his past life and got the expected result. To dispel his melancholy, Pyotr Aleksandrovich asks him for a favor: to make Yulia Pavlovna Tafaeva fall in love with him, who distracts his companion Surkov from work, which has a bad effect on profits. Alexander agrees, but unexpectedly the feeling between the young people becomes mutual. The uncle is in a panic: again his nephew is teetering on the verge of an emotional breakdown, he tricks Yulia into leaving, and Alexander goes to Grachi out of melancholy.

In the village he was greeted very cordially, his life became calm again and his only entertainment was fishing in the local pond. It was there that he met a girl, Lisa, but the death of his mother prevented the development of a new hobby. Alexander even sighs with some relief: now there are no obstacles to his return to St. Petersburg.

There, life changed in many ways, his uncle resigned and went with his wife to live on his village estate. He, a notorious cracker and skeptic, oddly enough, decided to add a little emotion to his relationship with his wife. Now Alexander has no relatives left in the capital; he focused all his attention on his career.

A few years later he was already a collegiate adviser, began to earn an obscene amount of money and completely forgot about his mental torment of his youth. The hero is even ready to marry, but only to a girl with a rich dowry. This is such an ordinary everyday story.

Essays

“Goncharov’s plan was broader. He wanted to strike a blow at modern romanticism in general, but failed to determine the ideological center. Instead of romanticism, he ridiculed provincial attempts at romanticism" (based on the novel by Goncharov "An Ordinary Story" by I.A. Goncharov “The Loss of Romantic Illusions” (based on the novel “An Ordinary Story”) The author and his characters in the novel “An Ordinary Story” The author and his characters in I. A. Goncharov’s novel “An Ordinary Story” The main characters of I. Goncharov’s novel “An Ordinary Story”. The main character of I. Goncharov's novel "An Ordinary Story" Two philosophies of life in I. A. Goncharov’s novel “An Ordinary Story” Uncle and nephew of the Aduevs in the novel “An Ordinary Story” How to live? Image of Alexander Aduev. St. Petersburg and the province in I. Goncharov’s novel “An Ordinary Story” Review of the novel by I. A. Goncharov “An Ordinary Story” Reflection of historical changes in Goncharov’s novel “Ordinary History” Why is I. A. Goncharov’s novel called “Ordinary History”?

This summer morning in the village of Grachi began unusually: at dawn, all the inhabitants of the house of the poor landowner Anna Pavlovna Adueva were already on their feet. Only the culprit of this fuss, Adueva’s son, Alexander, slept “as a twenty-year-old youth should sleep, in a heroic sleep.” Turmoil reigned in Rooks because Alexander was going to St. Petersburg for service: the knowledge he acquired at the university, according to the young man, must be applied in practice in serving the Fatherland.

The grief of Anna Pavlovna, parting with her only son, is akin to the sadness of the “first minister in the household” of the landowner Agrafena - his valet Yevsey, Agrafena’s dear friend, goes with Alexander to St. Petersburg - how many pleasant evenings did this gentle couple spend playing cards!.. Alexander’s beloved, Sonechka, - the first impulses of his sublime soul were dedicated to her. Aduev’s best friend, Pospelov, bursts into Grachi at the last minute to finally hug the one with whom they spent the best hours of university life in conversations about honor and dignity, about serving the Fatherland and the delights of love...

And Alexander himself is sorry to part with his usual way of life. If lofty goals and a sense of purpose had not pushed him on a long journey, he, of course, would have remained in Rrachi, with his infinitely loving mother and sister, the old maid Maria Gorbatova, among hospitable and hospitable neighbors, next to his first love. But ambitious dreams drive the young man to the capital, closer to glory.

In St. Petersburg, Alexander immediately goes to his relative, Pyotr Ivanovich Aduev, who at one time, like Alexander, “was sent to St. Petersburg at the age of twenty by his elder brother, Alexander’s father, and lived there continuously for seventeen years.” Not maintaining contact with his widow and son, who remained in Rrach after the death of his brother, Pyotr Ivanovich is greatly surprised and annoyed by the appearance of an enthusiastic young man who expects from his uncle care, attention and, most importantly, the sharing of his heightened sensitivity. From the very first minutes of their acquaintance, Pyotr Ivanovich almost by force has to restrain Alexander from pouring out his feelings and trying to embrace his relative. Along with Alexander, a letter arrives from Anna Pavlovna, from which Pyotr Ivanovich learns that great hopes are placed on him: not only by his almost forgotten daughter-in-law, who hopes that Pyotr Ivanovich will sleep with Alexander in the same room and cover the young man’s mouth from flies. The letter contains many requests from neighbors that Pyotr Ivanovich had forgotten to think about for almost two decades. One of these letters was written by Marya Gorbatova, Anna Pavlovna’s sister, who remembered for the rest of her life the day when the still young Pyotr Ivanovich, walking with her through the village surroundings, climbed knee-deep into the lake and plucked a yellow flower as a souvenir for her...

From the very first meeting, Pyotr Ivanovich, a rather dry and businesslike man, begins raising his enthusiastic nephew: he rents Alexander an apartment in the same building where he lives, advises where and how to eat, with whom to communicate. Later he finds a very specific thing to do: service and - for the soul! - translations of articles devoted to agricultural problems. Ridiculing, sometimes quite cruelly, Alexander’s predilection for everything “unearthly” and sublime, Pyotr Ivanovich gradually tries to destroy the fictional world in which his romantic nephew lives. Two years pass like this.

After this time, we meet Alexander already somewhat accustomed to the difficulties of St. Petersburg life. And - madly in love with Nadenka Lyubetskaya. During this time, Alexander managed to advance in his career and achieved some success in translations. Now he became a fairly important person in the magazine: “he was involved in the selection, translation, and correction of other people’s articles, and he himself wrote various theoretical views on agriculture.” He continued to write poetry and prose. But falling in love with Nadenka Lyubetskaya seems to close the whole world before Alexander Aduev - now he lives from meeting to meeting, intoxicated by that “sweet bliss with which Pyotr Ivanovich was angry.”

Nadenka is also in love with Alexander, but, perhaps, only with that “little love in anticipation of a big one” that Alexander himself felt for Sophia, whom he had now forgotten. Alexander's happiness is fragile - Count Novinsky, the Lyubetskys' neighbor in the dacha, stands in the way of eternal bliss.

Pyotr Ivanovich is unable to cure Alexander of his raging passions: Aduev Jr. is ready to challenge the count to a duel, to take revenge on an ungrateful girl who is unable to appreciate his high feelings, he sobs and burns with anger... Pyotr Ivanovich’s wife comes to the aid of the young man distraught with grief, Lizaveta Alexandrovna; she comes to Alexander when Pyotr Ivanovich turns out to be powerless, and we do not know exactly how, with what words, with what participation the young woman succeeds in what her smart, sensible husband failed to achieve. “An hour later he (Alexander) came out thoughtfully, but with a smile, and fell asleep peacefully for the first time after many sleepless nights.”

And another year has passed since that memorable night. From the gloomy despair that Lizaveta Alexandrovna managed to melt, Aduev Jr. turned to despondency and indifference. “He somehow liked to play the role of the sufferer. He was quiet, important, vague, like a man who, in his words, had withstood the blow of fate...” And the blow was not slow to repeat: an unexpected meeting with an old friend Pospelov on Nevsky Prospekt, a meeting, all the more accidental because Alexander did not even know about the move of his soul mate to the capital - brings confusion into the already disturbed heart of Aduev Jr. The friend turns out to be completely different from what he remembers from the years spent at the university: he is strikingly similar to Pyotr Ivanovich Aduev - he does not appreciate the wounds of the heart experienced by Alexander, talks about his career, about money, warmly welcomes his old friend in his home, but no special signs of attention doesn't show it to him.

It turns out to be almost impossible to cure sensitive Alexander from this blow - and who knows what our hero would have reached this time if his uncle had not applied “extreme measures” to him!.. Discussing with Alexander about the bonds of love and friendship, Pyotr Ivanovich cruelly reproaches Alexander the fact that he closed himself only in his own feelings, not knowing how to appreciate someone who is faithful to him. He does not consider his uncle and aunt his friends; he has not written to his mother for a long time, who lives only in thoughts of her only son. This “medicine” turns out to be effective - Alexander again turns to literary creativity. This time he writes a story and reads it to Pyotr Ivanovich and Lizaveta Alexandrovna. Aduev Sr. invites Alexander to send the story to the magazine to find out the true value of his nephew’s work. Pyotr Ivanovich does this under his own name, believing that this will be a fairer trial and better for the fate of the work. The answer was not slow to appear - it puts the finishing touches on the hopes of the ambitious Aduev Jr....

And just at this time, Pyotr Ivanovich needed the service of his nephew: his companion at the plant, Surkov, unexpectedly falls in love with the young widow of Pyotr Ivanovich’s former friend, Yulia Pavlovna Tafaeva, and completely abandons his affairs. Valuing business above all else, Pyotr Ivanovich asks Alexander to “make Tafaeva fall in love with himself,” pushing Surkov out of her home and heart. As a reward, Pyotr Ivanovich offers Alexander two vases that Aduev Jr. liked so much.

The matter, however, takes an unexpected turn: Alexander falls in love with a young widow and evokes a reciprocal feeling in her. Moreover, the feeling is so strong, so romantic and sublime that the “culprit” himself is not able to withstand the outbursts of passion and jealousy that Tafaeva unleashes on him. Brought up on romance novels, married too early to a rich and unloved man, Yulia Pavlovna, having met Alexander, seems to throw herself into a whirlpool: everything she read and dreamed about now falls on her chosen one. And Alexander does not pass the test...

After Pyotr Ivanovich managed to bring Tafaeva to her senses with arguments unknown to us, another three months passed, during which Alexander’s life after the shock he experienced is unknown to us. We meet him again when he, disappointed in everything he lived before, “plays checkers with some eccentrics or fishes.” His apathy is deep and inescapable; nothing, it seems, can bring Aduev Jr. out of his dull indifference. Alexander no longer believes in either love or friendship. He begins to go to Kostikov, about whom Zaezzhalov, a neighbor in Grachi, once wrote in a letter to Pyotr Ivanovich, wanting to introduce Aduev Sr. to his old friend. This man turned out to be just the right thing for Alexander: he “could not awaken emotional disturbances” in the young man.

And one day on the shore where they were fishing, unexpected spectators appeared - an old man and a pretty young girl. They appeared more and more often. Lisa (that was the girl’s name) began to try to captivate the yearning Alexander with various feminine tricks. The girl partially succeeds, but her offended father comes to the gazebo for a date instead. After an explanation with him, Alexander has no choice but to change the place of fishing. However, he doesn’t remember Lisa for long...

Still wanting to awaken Alexander from the sleep of his soul, his aunt asks him one day to accompany her to a concert: “some artist, a European celebrity, has arrived.” The shock experienced by Alexander from meeting beautiful music strengthens the decision that had matured even earlier to give up everything and return to his mother, in Grachi. Alexander Fedorovich Aduev leaves the capital along the same road along which he entered St. Petersburg several years ago, intending to conquer it with his talents and high appointment...

And in the village, life seemed to have stopped running: the same hospitable neighbors, only older, the same endlessly loving mother, Anna Pavlovna; Sophia just got married without waiting for her Sashenka, and her aunt, Marya Gorbatova, still remembers the yellow flower. Shocked by the changes that have happened to her son, Anna Pavlovna spends a long time asking Yevsey how Alexander lived in St. Petersburg, and comes to the conclusion that life itself in the capital is so unhealthy that it has aged her son and dulled his feelings. Days pass after days, Anna Pavlovna still hopes that Alexander’s hair will grow back and his eyes will sparkle, and he thinks about how to return to St. Petersburg, where so much has been experienced and irretrievably lost.

The death of his mother relieves Alexander from the pangs of conscience, which do not allow him to admit to Anna Pavlovna that he was again planning to escape from the village, and, having written to Pyotr Ivanovich, Alexander Aduev again goes to St. Petersburg...

Four years pass after Alexander's return to the capital. Many changes happened to the main characters of the novel. Lizaveta Alexandrovna was tired of fighting her husband’s coldness and turned into a calm, sensible woman, devoid of any aspirations or desires. Pyotr Ivanovich, upset by the change in his wife’s character and suspecting she has a dangerous illness, is ready to give up his career as a court adviser and resign in order to take Lizaveta Alexandrovna away from St. Petersburg, at least for a while. But Alexander Fedorovich reached the heights that his uncle once dreamed of for him: “a collegiate adviser, a good government salary, through outside labor”, he earns considerable money and is also preparing to get married, taking three hundred thousand and five hundred souls for his bride...

At this point we part with the heroes of the novel. What, in essence, is an ordinary story!..