Oblomovism

Oblomovism is basically what we see today with wealthy aristocrats like Paris Hilton and the Kardashians who are wealthy due to inherited wealth and are non-functioning members of the larger part of society. Oblomovism is described as working within a system which allows for the perpetuation of apathy to be transmitted over generations. With large amounts of unearned inherited wealth, the elite within society are not pressed to learn skills of any kind, but instead live lives simply of leisure ignorant of their own definition in relation to others. Dobrolyubov contrasts the oblomovist character of Ilyia Ilyich with his nurse Zakhar, ususally in terms of freedoms and skills. Simple tasks such as getting dressed and general hygiene are not even in the skill set of Ilyia because they have never had to be, they are taken care of by Zakhar from an early age. A system was arranged to perpetuate this type of codependence by elites on those people lower down the social ladder than themselves. Even if elite children wanted to do something on their own, they were scolded, as their servants were, for not making domestic staff do the tasks for them. So from an early age, this mindset was instilled in the oblomovist and was passed through generations along with aristocratic wealth. This mindset is further exacerbated by the fact that, from an early age, the heroes of Russian stories are often those who fail to find purpose in life or a meaningful occupation. Unlike Zakhar, Ilyia the oblomovist feels trapped by his station in life, he has not learned skills that allow him to function within society at large, nor does he have a concept of what his station contributes to society. Later in life when his station is described to him, the oblomovist still cannot comprehend how to begin using his position to make an impact on the world since he was never allowed to learn the skills associated with it. Outside of Zakhar’s domestic service, he has the freedom and the skills to