Oblomov (, ) is the second novel by Russian writer Ivan Goncharov, first published in 1859. Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is the central character of the novel, portrayed as the ultimate incarnation of the superfluous man, a symbolic character in 19th-century Russian literature. Oblomov is a young, generous nobleman who seems incapable of making important decisions or undertaking any significant actions. Throughout the novel, he rarely leaves his room or bed. In the first 50 pages, he only manages to move from his bed to a chair.

The novel was popular when it came out, and some of its characters and devices have imprinted on Russian culture and language.

Creation and publication

Goncharov first thought of writing Oblomov in the mid-1840s, soon after publishing his first novel A Common Story. In 1849 he wrote "Episode from an Unfinished Novel: Oblomov's Dream", a short story that was published in the literary journal Sovremennik. The work on Oblomov continued for several years after the publication of "Oblomov's Dream" but was first interrupted by the death of Goncharov's mother, and then his decision to join the around the world voyage of the naval frigate Pallas. When Pallas finally ended its journey in August 1854 in Russia's far east, Goncharov spent another half a year getting acquainted with Siberia and slowly making his way back to St. Petersburg. Although Goncharov was not working on Oblomov during his long journey it appears he was thinking about the book, as Oblomov shows up in many of his letters home. When he tried to begin writing again in February 1855, he blamed his delays and inability to write on exhaustion, loss of momentum, and a new and more demanding job as a censor.

Plot summary

The novel focuses on the life of the main character, Ilya Ilyich Oblomov. Oblomov is a member of the landed gentry and the son of a member of Russia's nineteenth-century landed gentry. Oblomov's distinguishing characteristic is his slothful attitude towards life. Oblomov raises this trait to an art form, conducting his little daily business from his bed.

The first part of the book finds Oblomov in bed one morning. He receives a letter from the manager of his country estate, Oblomovka, explaining that the financial situation is deteriorating and that he must visit to make some major decisions. But Oblomov can barely leave his bedroom, much less journey a thousand miles into the country.

As he sleeps, a dream reveals Oblomov's upbringing in Oblomovka. He is never required to work or perform household duties, and his parents constantly pull him from school for vacations and trips or for trivial reasons. In contrast, his friend Andrey Stoltz, born to a German father and a Russian mother, is raised in a strict, disciplined environment, and he is dedicated and hard-working.

Stoltz visits at the end of Part 1, finally rousing Oblomov from sleep. As the story develops, Stoltz introduces Oblomov to a young woman, Olga, and the two fall in love. However, his apathy and fear of moving forward are too great, and she calls off their engagement when it is clear that he will keep delaying their wedding and avoiding putting his affairs in order.

Oblomov is swindled repeatedly by his "friends" Taranteyev and Ivan Matveyevich, his landlady's brother, and Stoltz has to undo the damage each time. The last time, Oblomov ends up living in penury because Taranteyev and Ivan Matveyevich are blackmailing him out of all of his income from the country estate, which lasts for over a year before Stoltz discovers the situation and reports Ivan Matveyevich to his supervisor. Meanwhile, Olga leaves Russia and visits Paris, where she bumps into Stoltz on the street. The two strike up a romance and end up marrying.

However, not even Oblomov could go through life without at least one moment of self-possession and purpose. When Taranteyev's behavior at last reaches insufferable lows, Oblomov confronts him, slaps him, and finally kicks him out of the house. Sometime before his death he is visited by Stoltz, who had promised to his wife a last attempt at bringing Oblomov back to the world. During this visit Stoltz discovers that Oblomov has married his widowed landlady, Agafia Matvievna, and had a child – named Andrey, after Stoltz. Stoltz realizes that he can no longer hope to reform Oblomov, and leaves. Oblomov spends the rest of his life in a second Oblomovka, continuing to be taken care of by Agafia Matvievna as he used to be taken care of as a child. She can prepare the food he likes, cares for the household, and makes sure that Oblomov does not have a single worrisome thought.

By then Oblomov had already accepted his fate, and during the conversation he mentions "Oblomovitis" as the real cause of his demise. Oblomov dies in his sleep, finally fulfilling his wish to sleep forever. Stoltz adopts his son upon his death.

Characters

  • Ilya Ilyich Oblomov is the eponymous character of the novel. Raised to never worry about his education or the running of his inherited estate, Oblomov spends the novel attempting to recreate his childhood idyll. By the beginning of the story, his inactivity and fear of responsibility have led to the disrepair of his estate and personal affairs. Part I of the novel follows Oblomov's morning, as he refuses to take care of his estate and apartment in favor of sleeping and dreaming about his childhood home. Only Stoltz can get him out of bed, but cannot convince Oblomov to revisit his estate. Oblomov gradually falls in love with Stoltz's friend Olga and the two become engaged as she attempts to continue Stoltz's mission of improving Oblomov. Olga eventually breaks off the engagement when she realizes that Oblomov is unable to change his ways. While he sincerely attempts to follow Stoltz's and Olga's advice throughout the novel, he ultimately resists their changes and lives out the rest of his life with Agafia Matvievna and their children, having never gone back to Oblomovka.
  • Andrey Ivanovich Stoltz is Oblomov's best friend from childhood, and is married to Olga by the end of the novel. The only child of a German father and Russian mother, Stoltz went to the same school as Oblomov and frequently visited Oblomov's family. While Stoltz's father instilled ideals of efficiency and practicality, Stoltz's mother often attempted to ease her husband's lessons by pampering Stoltz and teaching him music. The influence of Stoltz's father leaves him a practical and work-oriented man, but his childhood days in Oblomovka cause him to be lifelong friends with Oblomov. Stoltz spends much of the novel attempting to help Oblomov, both by solving Oblomov's financial and other problems and trying to mold Oblomov in his image. His efforts center mainly around getting Oblomov to regain control of his estate. Ultimately Stoltz himself handles Oblomovka's renovation, modernizing it and investing in new infrastructure. His final attempt to bring Oblomov back to Oblomovka fails when he realizes that Oblomov has married Agafia Matvievna, and instead he adopts Oblomov's son upon Oblomov's death.
  • Olga Ilyinsky is introduced to Oblomov by Stoltz and is included in Stoltz's attempts to reform Oblomov. Olga spends much of her time throughout the novel determined to change Oblomov's ways. She and Oblomov fall in love, and her efforts seem to be successful for a time, as Oblomov reads more novels and attends more social events. The two become engaged, but Oblomov's deep-set fear of moving forward prevent him from taking necessary steps toward actual marriage, and Olga breaks off the engagement. Olga then travels to Paris with her aunt, where she runs into Stoltz. The two fall in love and marry, moving to the Crimea.
  • Zakhar is Oblomov's servant. He constantly tries to get Oblomov to get his life in order by reminding him about the dues of his estate. He is an ineffective servant but extremely devoted to his master, and he holds the Oblomov family in high esteem. He becomes a beggar after Oblomov's death until Stoltz finds and takes care of him.
  • Agafia Matvievna is Oblomov's widowed landlady, who falls in love with him and holds him in high regard as a nobleman. She is also Ivan Matveyevich's sister. At the end of the story, it is revealed to Stoltz that Oblomov and Agafia are married with a son.
  • Taranteyev and Ivan Matveyevich are Oblomov's "friends", who repeatedly swindle him. Taranteyev and Ivan end up blackmailing Oblomov out of all of his income from the country estate. This stunt lasts for over a year before Stoltz discovers the situation and reports Ivan Matveyevich and Taranteyev to his supervisor. When Taranteyev's behavior at last reaches insufferable lows, Oblomov confronts him, slaps him around a bit and finally kicks him out of the house.

Style

Narrator

The narrator of Oblomov appears as a rather traditional third-person narrator. In the beginning of the novel he is largely invisible and lets the characters do the talking. As the novel progresses he comes far less neutral and actually begins to not only describe the characters but he begins to judge them, like criticizing Oblomov's family for being overly protective of Ilya as a child, or calling Oblomov's false friends "parasites". The Oblomovka of his childhood keeps track of time through the cyclical events of birth, death, and natural seasons, relying on the repetition of events to pass through life. Even Oblomov's name and patronymic, Ilya Ilyich, reveal him as a repeat of his father instead of just a son. This instilling of contentment through repetition renders Oblomov ill-equipped for the expectations placed on his adulthood in a rapidly changing society.

Adulthood

Adulthood constantly discourages Oblomov, whose main desire is to retreat into the safety of his childhood sense of time. described the word as an integral part of Russian avos'. Stolz suggests that Oblomov's death was the result of "Oblomovism".

A character named "Oblomov" in art patron Peggy Guggenheim's memoir Out of This Century was identified by poet Stephen Spender as Samuel Beckett, her one-time lover.

Social changes in Russia

Oblomov's place in the context of Russian history became the focus of much literary criticism when it was first published. Goncharov himself thought of Oblomov more as a treatise on human nature than as commentary on Russian society,

"What is Oblomovism?" focused heavily on the social significance of the novel, interpreting Stoltz and Olga as social ideals in contrast to Oblomov's reliance on the past. Dobrolyubov, a follower of Vissarion Belinsky and a leading literary critic, believed strongly that literature should promote positive change, and his essay praised Oblomov as an effective warning against the Russian social disease of "Oblomovism".

Adaptations

thumb|1964 playbill for Oblomov, when it was still being presented as a serious drama.

Spike Milligan play

The novel was adapted for the stage by Italian writer Riccardo Aragno. Aragno's script for Oblomov was bought by Spike Milligan's production company in early 1964. Milligan had long nurtured hopes of transitioning from comedy to serious drama. To this end, Milligan rehearsed for seven weeks with director Frank Dunlop and castmates Joan Greenwood, Bill Owen, and Valentine Dyall.

The play opened at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, on October 7, 1964. During the first performance Milligan was struck by stage fright and forgot nearly all of his lines. He quickly began making up things to say to the cast, turning the drama into an impromptu improv session. Noticing that a drama critic who'd given rave reviews to Milligan's other stage comedies was in the audience, Milligan ended the first performance by shouting "Thank God, Milton Shulman's in!"

The play was savaged in the theatrical press. However, Oblomov<nowiki/>'s producers had booked the play into the Lyric for three weeks. Anxious to recoup their investment by any means, they gave Milligan carte-blanche on stage. Milligan's antics included starting the play while sitting with the audience, yelling for his castmates to entertain him. Another night he wore a false arm that fell out of his sleeve when co-star Ian Flintoff, playing Oblomov's doctor, shook Milligan's hand. When Flintoff complained to Bill Kerr, a longtime friend of Milligan, that Spike was making a mockery of their hard work Kerr replied, "We have to put up with all the shit, mate, because it pays the rent."

Then, noticing that Peter Sellers was seated between Prince Charles and Princess Margaret, Milligan asked in a loud voice "Is there a Sellers in the house?" Sellers immediately shouted "Yes!" Milligan launched into a vaudeville routine about Prince Phillip's suspenders, with Sellers participating from his seat with the royals. This culminated in Milligan giving a high-kick, lobbing one of his bedroom slippers at Sellers, nearly missing Prince Phillip's head. Once back in bed with co-star Joan Greenwood, Milligan spent the rest of the performance mocking the Queen for bringing her son to such a racy play. The play ended with Milligan unsheathing a katana on stage and asking the Queen to knight him for his efforts that night. She declined. The performance ran 45 minutes over its scheduled ending. Prince Charles reportedly saw the play five times.

In 1989 BBC TV made an English-language dramatisation of the novel, with George Wendt in the title role. In this version, Oblomov was a lazy modern-day Communist Party boss.

A copy of the novel is shown, and its themes alluded to, by scriptwriter/director John Michael McDonagh in his 2011 feature film The Guard; its protagonist is a cynical police sergeant in rural Ireland.

Radio adaptations

In 2005 BBC Radio 4 made a two-part English-language dramatisation, heralding the lead character as "a tragic-comic hero for a couch potato generation". It was adapted by Stephen Wyatt, produced and directed by Claire Grove, and starred Toby Jones as the lead, supported by Trevor Peacock, Claire Skinner, Clive Swift, Gerard McDermott, Nicholas Boulton and Richenda Carey. Olga's singing voice was provided by Olivia Robinson, with Helen Crayford on piano.

In 2008 an adaptation was produced for the English service of the Russian national broadcaster, the Voice of Russia.

English translations

  • C. J. Hogarth (1915, abridged)

Based on 1859 text

  • David Magarshack (1954)
  • Ann Dunnigan (1963)
  • Stephen Pearl (2006)

Based on 1862 text

  • Natalie Duddington (1929)
  • Marian Schwartz (2008)

References

  • Oblomov—Public domain translation from 1915 (severely abridged by the translator)
  • LibriVox audio book of Charles James Hogarth's abridged English translation
  • Goncharov's Oblomov: A Critical Companion edited by Gayla Diment—A series of critical essays
  • Oblomov—The original Russian text
  • Full text of Oblomov in the original Russian at Alexei Komarov's Internet Library