Oblomov

Russian writer Ivan Goncharov’s novel Oblomov (1859) centers on Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, a young and generous nobleman filled with indecision, leaving him unable to take any significant actions. For large portions of the novel, he doesn’t even leave his room or bed. He is portrayed as the ultimate version of the “superfluous man”—a capable and talented figure who is rejected for not fitting social norms. This archetype is common in nineteenth-century Russian literature. Oblomov, a satire on Russian nobility at a time when such portrayals were becoming more acceptable, explores themes of the transition from childhood to adulthood, as well as the ongoing social changes in Russia as the country became more and more dissatisfied with its monarchy. Popular when it was released, it was the subject of much literary discussion, including among those who worried that its lead character would encourage sloth among the young. It was adapted into a 1980 Soviet film, which received significant critical acclaim, and was later adapted into a BBC television adaptation and a radio dramatization. In 1964, it was adapted for the stage as Son of Oblomov, a comedy adaptation.

Oblomov focuses on the daily life of the main character, Ilya Ilyich Oblomov. Oblomov is the son of a member of Russia’s landed gentry, providing him a life of relative leisure in the upper-middle class. Oblomov takes a casual, slothful attitude towards life, and commits to it to such an extent that he conducts most of his daily business from his bed. He is still in bed after waking up one morning, when he receives a letter from the manager of his country estate Oblomovka. The letter explains that the financial situation is terrible there, and they require a visit from him to make financial decisions about how to proceed. However, Oblomov rarely has the fortitude to leave his bedroom; a thousand-mile journey into the countryside seems impossible. He sleeps, dreaming of his youthful upbringing at Oblomovka. There, he was never expected to work or perform chores around the house, and his education was frequently interrupted as his parents pulled him out of school for family vacations. His half-German friend, Andrey Stolz, lived a very different life, brought up by hard-working parents who raised him with structure and discipline. A hard-working young man, Stoltz visits at the end of part one, rousing Oblomov from his dream.

As the story develops, Stoltz tries to get Oblomov out of his stupor. He brings people to the house, including a young woman named Olga. Oblomov quickly falls in love with Olga and they become engaged, but their relationship eventually falls apart when his apathy and fear of making decisions become too great for her to handle. She calls off their engagement after he delays their wedding too many times and makes no serious move towards putting his affairs in order. Oblomov’s shady friends, Taranteyev and Ivan Matveyevich, swindle him repeatedly; Stoltz looks out for him, getting the money back when they con the naive young nobleman. Eventually, however, the two criminals wise up and begin blackmailing Oblomov. He’s forced to give them all his income from the country estate for more than a year before Stoltz discovers the plot and retaliates by getting Ivan fired from his job. Olga, meanwhile, has left Russia and moved to Paris. Stoltz is traveling when he bumps into her again; they form a close connection. They fall in love and marry.



Oblomov continues to sleepwalk through life, but eventually, things reach such a point that he’s forced to take inventory and action. When Taranteyev continues to manipulate him and treat him cruelly, Oblomov confronts him, beating him and kicking him out of his manor. Stoltz returns to Russia after his travels and visits his friend. He learns that Oblomov has married his widowed landlady Agafia and had a son with her. The son is named Andrey, after Stoltz. Stoltz had hoped Oblomov would make more of himself but is finally resigned to the fact that he can’t change his friend. Oblomov spends the rest of his life being cared for by Agafia, having recreated his childhood paradise of Oblomovka. He is delivered delicious meals and never has a reason to worry. When Oblomov is old and sick, nearing his death, he mentions “Oblomovitis” as the cause of his death, implying that he knows he has written his own fate. He dies in his sleep, peacefully, and Stoltz adopts his son after his death.

Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov was a Russian novelist and government official, best known for his novels A Common Story, Oblomov, and The Precipice. He also worked as a government censor and wrote the controversial memoir An Uncommon Story, where he accused several prominent Russian novelists of plagiarizing his work.