Ivan Goncharov
Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov was a prominent Russian novelist born into a wealthy merchant family, who played a significant role in 19th-century literature. He initially pursued studies in commerce before shifting his focus to philology at Moscow University, where he graduated in 1834. Goncharov's literary career began with his first novel, *A Common Story*, which explores the disillusionment of an idealist moving from rural life to urban society, ultimately becoming opportunistic. His second novel, *Oblomov*, published in 1859, features a protagonist embodying lethargy and ineffectiveness, a character that resonated deeply within Russian society and became emblematic of a broader cultural phenomenon known as "Oblomovism."
In addition to his novels, Goncharov undertook a notable expedition to Japan between 1852 and 1854, resulting in a series of essays titled *The Voyage of the Frigate Pallada*, which provided vivid accounts of his experiences. His later work, *The Precipice*, continues to delve into themes of personal inertia amidst societal change. After retiring in 1867, Goncharov penned reminiscences and critiques, while grappling with personal delusions regarding literary theft. He lived out his remaining years in St. Petersburg, passing away in 1891, leaving behind a legacy marked by deep reflections on human nature and societal transformation.
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Ivan Goncharov
Russian novelist
- Born: June 6, 1812
- Birthplace: Simbirsk, Russia
- Died: September 15, 1891
- Place of death: St. Petersburg, Russia
Biography
Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov (guhn-chuh-RAHF) was born into a well-to-do merchant family living the manorial life of Russian gentry. In 1822 Goncharov went to Moscow to study at the School of Commerce, where he became seriously interested in literature. He left the school in 1830 and entered the philological department of Moscow University, graduated in 1834, and began to work as a secretary to the governor of Simbirsk. In 1835 Goncharov left for St. Petersburg to work as a translator in the ministry of finance. Although he was, according to Leo Tolstoy, a thorough townsman, Goncharov demonstrated in his novels a profound concern for the disintegration of gentry traditions. His first novel, A Common Story, published when Goncharov was thirty-five years old, traces the disillusioning sentimental education of an idealist who makes the transition from an idyllic country estate to St. Petersburg and becomes a smug opportunist.
Between 1852 and 1854 Goncharov took part in an expedition to Japan on the military frigate Pallas. The cycle of essays The Voyage of the Frigate Pallada gives a brilliant, realistic account of this trip. On his return from the expedition Goncharov worked as a censor, an editor, and a member of the Council of the Press Affairs. In 1859 his second novel, Oblomov, was published. The hero, who gives the novel its title, is a cultured, intelligent man of generous impulses who is nevertheless hopelessly slothful and ineffectual—indeed for a number of pages he cannot even get out of bed—and who sinks slowly and undramatically into the depths of what he himself calls “Oblomovism.” This characterization was immediately recognized as representing a significant type in Russian society, and the name Oblomov became proverbial. In his autobiographical essay “Luchshe pozdno, chem nikogda” (better late than never) Goncharov himself remarked that he intended to present the lethargy of Russia in contrast to the ferment of foreign influences; the author’s sympathy, however, is obviously for Oblomov.
Goncharov worked slowly on another novel, The Precipice, in which he again shows a talented, intelligent man doomed to remain a dilettante, as well as a young man torn between old and new values. The book contains, besides, a sympathetic portrait of an old-style grandmother, and an unsympathetic portrait of a contemporary nihilist.
After retiring in 1867 he wrote reminiscence, criticism, and a few stories; in the 1870’s a curious book appeared, An Uncommon Story, which, when it was finally published in 1924, showed Goncharov to have been suffering from the delusion that Ivan Turgenev and others had stolen his ideas. He lived quietly until his death in St. Petersburg in 1891.
Bibliography
Diment, Galya. Goncharov’s “Oblomov”: A Critical Companion. Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press, 1998. Provides criticism and interpretation of Goncharov’s novel.
Diment, Galya. “The Two Faces of Ivan Goncharov: Autobiography and Duality in Obyknovennaia Istorija.” Slavic and East European Journal 32 (Fall, 1988). Discusses Goncharov’s use of autobiographical facts in his writings.
Ehre, Milton. Oblomov and His Creator: The Life and Art of Ivan Goncharov. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1973. An excellent starting point for research, with its detailed literary biography and deep analysis of Goncharov’s work.
Kuprianova, Nina. “I Used to Have My Own Field.” Soviet Literature 7 (July, 1987). Brief biographical survey and literary analysis of Goncharov’s novels.
Lavrin, Janko. Goncharov. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1954. Brief biographical survey and literary analysis of Goncharov’s novels.
Lyngstad, Alexandra, and Sverre Lyngstad. Ivan Goncharov. New York: Twayne, 1971. Provides a psychological sketch of the author and a discussion of his literary works.
Reeve, F. D. The Russian Novel. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966. Places Goncharov in the context of Russian literary history.
Setchkarev, Vsevolod. Ivan Goncharov: His Life and His Works. Würzburg: Jal-Verlag, 1974. Brief biographical survey and literary analysis of Goncharov’s novels.