Is The Use Of The Romantic Foils In Turgenev's True Love?

Turgenev's Fathers and Sons is held as a beacon of defining nihilism in 19th Century Russia. However, despite the novel's political and social backdrop, the primary focus of the text is on the subtlety of an unhappy love story. This is most clearly demonstrated by the contrast of romantic pairs vis-à-vis the predominant characters. Bazarov and Odintsova are contrasted with Arkady and Katya. This comparison extends further to the secondary characters of Pavel and his failed romance, and Arkady's father, Nikolai, and his relationship with Thenichka. Interestingly, Turgenev begins his work by highlighting the ideological bond between Bazarov and Arkady; thus is able to clearly indicate their eventual divergence as a by-product of their romantic
The use of the two romantic situations as foils suggests a deeper connection between personal nature and its ability to endow one with true love and happiness. In Turgenev's novel, true love affairs and happiness are those that involve the casting aside of dominance and assertion. It is the destiny of those who submit and accept the demands of life. This is noted most clearly in how Katya, unlike Odintsova and Bazarov, is not controlling and surrenders herself to "the great waves of life. " Likewise, despite Arkady's early presentation as a follower of Bazarov, there are consistent signs of his humanity, compassion, and appreciation for the sentimental. In fact, the novel implies from an early stage that his shared beliefs with Bazarov are contrived. When he and Bazarov are lying in a haystack, Arkady appreciates the beauty of a falling leaf. Bazarov brushes this aside and even shames Arkady for his awareness of the aesthetic of nature. Therefore, it becomes evident that Arkady's adherence to nihilism is out of naiveté and his youthful idolization of Bazarov as a genius. The eventual mellowing of Arkady, by means of falling in love with Katya, is a necessary price for continuity and survival. He tosses aside the value of independence, opting to become domesticated and softened in order to fulfill his own happiness. Unlike Bazarov and Odintsova, Arkaky and Katya are
All three characters are obsessed with being seen as extraordinary human beings by stubbornly adhering to a set role that they provide themselves. Odintosva, for example, is set on maintaining the present. She refuses to accept any change that is not from her own will, and asserts her dominance and desire to maintain order in her life. Even her marriage was a product of her own force, premeditated along the lines of maximum benefit for herself and her family – in short, a willing act of duty. For Pavel, his desire to play out the role of a romantic hero from the age of sentimentalism highlights his longing for the past. He fulfils the part of a superfluous and almost Onegin-like character that acknowledges his past follies and grievances, but is unable to move past them. Instead, he leads a life of solitude and secret melancholy on his brother's estate. Bazarov, on the other hand, lives for the future, seeking to reconstruct and better it with his ideas. However, he shares many similarities with Pavel. While one dwells in the previous and the other in the upcoming, both are overly stubborn in their ways and convictions, believing that their perspectives are superior. Moreover, both suffer from unfulfilled love and rejection, and, while deeply unhappy, are unable move past the set beliefs and standards they have placed