The life of every person is full of different changes and very often we change our views by ourselves, but sometimes there are some events which cause these changes. So, the appropriate examples of this are the characters of Russian literature – Eugene Onegin, Tatyana Larina (“Eugenij Onegin” by A. Pushkin), and Bazarov (“Fathers and Sons” by I. Turgenev). All these characters pass through the complicated evolution of their inner world.
The character of Onegin was the first example of “another person” in Russian literature. Later other writers concentrated on this problem and showed he whole epoch in social life of Russia. So, Pushkin tried to define the initial reasons of this phenomenon in the character of Onegin: shallow education, the imitation of European culture, conditionality and prejudice of life of the epoch, and laziness.
The term “another person” includes the following characteristics: outstanding nature, critical thinking, striving for life sense understanding, disappointment, soul emptiness, and personal dramas.
Eugene Onegin got the usual education for his time; he was good in many subjects such as Latin, history, and politics. Though the author does not pay much attention to this and says just that everybody liked Onegin because of his charm. Nevertheless Pushkin makes an accent on the intellectual abilities of the character. Onegin had a typical way of life: restaurants, theatres, walks and love adventures. That was the range of interests which made his life happy. He was really ill with the social disease of the epoch.
Onegin is critical to himself and it is very important for the evolution of his character. He is bored of the entertainments he has everyday and he just wants to run away from this way of life. But Onegin’s fight against this world is passive. He meets love but he does not want to get it because he is sure that he is too much spoiled for the family life and he tries to reassure Tatyana that it is so. Nevertheless Eugene is honest and kind and he explains everything to her like a real gentleman. Then he loses his friend and love and all this because of his conditionality. Later Onegin fells in love and it changes his world and causes evolution of his inner world. When he speaks to Tatyana he is completely different from that person that it is possible to see in the beginning of the novel. His spirit is richer, more humanistic, deeper and sensitive. His words are sincere. But Tatyana can not reply his feeling any more.
The character of Tatyana Larina is opposite to Onegin’s. It is the first time in Russian literature when female character is opposed to the male one. Moreover, this female character is even stronger in comparison with the male. Pushkin embodies the best features of Russian women in the character of Tatyana. He just wanted to show a usual Russian girl. It is interesting that the author underlines that Tatyana does not have ant special, outstanding features. Tatyana is always lonely, she does not like to play with her friends, she is always deep in her feelings and nobody can help her. That is why she reads a lot in order to find the answers to the questions she is interested in. As well as Onegin she is not satisfied with her life but their attitude to this is different. Tatyana dreams about love and about hero in her life. Onegin seems to be this hero for her. But his cruel refusal is unexpected for her and love brings only sufferings. Tatyana stops to understand Onegin and his actions. She is in the difficult situation: she can not stop loving Eugene and at the same time she understands that he does not deserve her love. Onegin does not understand the depth of Tatyana’s feelings, her rich inner world.
Later Tatyana gets respect and riches, her character changes greatly. But her spirit is still rich and full of positive features. Nevertheless she is lonely in this world. She does not find the things she was striving for. The last meeting of Onegin and Tatyana shows that she is a decent, true and hones. She does not take Onegin’s love because she remembers that it is based on his egoism.
Tatyana’s character is considered to be ideal for the woman. Her character in the novel is shown in reflection. She changes greatly but her inner features are not changed. To my mind the same can be said about Onegin. Love changed his attitude to life, but his great egoism is still strong. The difference in love of these to people is in nature of love: Tatyana loves Onegin and wants him to be happy with her and Onegin loves Tatiana and wants him to be happy with her. That is the main problem and the question about the evolution of Onegin’s character is disputable.
Speaking about the character of Bazarov from “Fathers and Sons, it should be mentioned that it is collective, because Turgenev wanted to show a real hero of the time. So, that is why Bazarov’s character is very complicated, many-sided and conflicting. Bazarov is very rude and vulgar, and his manners are very special.
Bazarov is proud of his background. He thinks that every person should bring up by themselves, in order to get only the needed features. He tries to learn something new always.
Bazarov impresses by his hard-working. He is really useful for people. In addition, he is always a master of his words and life. It is boring for him to live without work. He also believes that hard work helps to overcome some spiritual pains. He has his own principles and nobody can influence his opinion. Even, on the contrary, he can have a great impact on people.
He is always ready to help. As an educated person, Bazarov knows much about human psychology and he can define negative features of the social like and he is striving for changes. He never pretends and always says truth. He wants to change life for better, but it is impossible because he meets only protest.
Nevertheless Bazarov has many negative features. He denies almost everything and looks at everything from the practical point of view. He is unable to enjoy nature and feel something inside just while watching it. He does not respect art. Bazarov is a representative of the new life.
The most negative feature in Bazarov’s character is that he does not want to love. His relationship between him and his parents is very strange. He tries to hide his love. He is not right in his attitude to women.
Bazarov is in love with Odintsova, but he tries to get rid of this feeling because it can prevent his aims.
Bazarov overcomes many life tests and then before death he understands that he is not right in many things. He is not ashamed of his romantic feelings and his views are changed.
In conclusion, it would be appropriate to tell that the events which caused the changes in the characters if Onegin, Tatiana Larina and Bazarov are connected with love and feelings. That is the common feature in the evolution of these three characters. Bazarov and Onegin have much in common because they try to hide their romantic nature and they do not want to open their hearts to love. Tatiana, on the contrary, is ready to love but understands that it is impossible because of her duties and honesty.
Works cited
Briggs A. D. P., Alexander Pushkin: Eugene Onegin (Landmarks of World Literature), Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Wexford Jane, Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons, Monarch Press, 1988.