Runny nose

An ordinary story in brief. "An ordinary story

This summer morning in the village of Grachi began unusually: at dawn, all the inhabitants of the house of the poor landowner Anna Pavlovna Adueva were already on their feet. Only the culprit of this fuss, Adueva’s son, Alexander, slept “as a twenty-year-old youth should sleep, in a heroic sleep.” Turmoil reigned in Rooks because Alexander was going to St. Petersburg for service: the knowledge he acquired at the university, according to the young man, must be applied in practice in serving the Fatherland.

The grief of Anna Pavlovna, parting with her only son, is akin to the sadness of the “first minister in the household” of the landowner Agrafena - together with Alexander, his valet Yevsey, Agrafena’s dear friend, goes to St. Petersburg - how many pleasant evenings did this gentle couple spend playing cards! Alexandra’s beloved, Sonechka, also suffers - the first impulses of his sublime soul were dedicated to her. best friend Adueva, Pospelov, in last minute breaks into Rooks to finally hug the one with whom he spent time in conversations about honor and dignity, about serving the Fatherland and the delights of love best watch university life...

And Alexander himself is sorry to part with his usual way of life. If high goals and a sense of his purpose had not pushed him into long journey, he, of course, would have stayed in Rrachi, with his endlessly loving mother and sister, the old maid Maria Gorbatova, among hospitable and hospitable neighbors, next to his first love. But ambitious dreams drive the young man to the capital, closer to glory.

In St. Petersburg, Alexander immediately goes to his relative, Pyotr Ivanovich Aduev, who at one time, like Alexander, “was sent to St. Petersburg at the age of twenty by his elder brother, Alexander’s father, and lived there continuously for seventeen years.” Not maintaining contact with his widow and son who remained in Grachi after the death of his brother, Pyotr Ivanovich was greatly surprised and annoyed by the appearance of an enthusiastic young man, expecting from his uncle care, attention and, most importantly, his separation hypersensitivity. From the very first minutes of their acquaintance, Pyotr Ivanovich almost by force has to restrain Alexander from pouring out his feelings and trying to embrace his relative. Along with Alexander, a letter arrives from Anna Pavlovna, from which Pyotr Ivanovich learns that great hopes are placed on him: not only by his almost forgotten daughter-in-law, who hopes that Pyotr Ivanovich will sleep with Alexander in the same room and cover the young man’s mouth from flies. The letter contains many requests from neighbors that Pyotr Ivanovich had forgotten to think about for almost two decades. One of these letters was written by Marya Gorbatova, Anna Pavlovna’s sister, who remembered for the rest of her life the day when the still young Pyotr Ivanovich, walking with her through the village surroundings, climbed knee-deep into the lake and picked a yellow flower for her to remember...

From the very first meeting, Pyotr Ivanovich, a rather dry and businesslike man, begins raising his enthusiastic nephew: he rents Alexander an apartment in the same building where he lives, advises where and how to eat, and with whom to communicate. Later he finds a very specific thing to do: service and - for the soul! - translations of articles devoted to agricultural problems. Ridiculing, sometimes quite cruelly, Alexander’s predilection for everything “unearthly” and sublime, Pyotr Ivanovich gradually tries to destroy the fictional world in which his romantic nephew lives. Two years pass like this.

After this time, we meet Alexander already somewhat accustomed to the difficulties of St. Petersburg life. And - madly in love with Nadenka Lyubetskaya. During this time, Alexander managed to advance in his career and achieved some success in translations. Now he has become enough important person in the magazine: “he was engaged in the selection, translation, and correction of other people’s articles, he himself wrote various theoretical views about agriculture" He continued to write poetry and prose. But falling in love with Nadenka Lyubetskaya seems to close the whole world before Alexander Aduev - now he lives from meeting to meeting, intoxicated by that “sweet bliss with which Pyotr Ivanovich was angry.”

Nadenka is also in love with Alexander, but, perhaps, only with that “little love in anticipation of a big one” that Alexander himself felt for Sophia, whom he had now forgotten. Alexander's happiness is fragile - Count Novinsky, the Lyubetskys' neighbor in the dacha, stands in the way of eternal bliss.

Pyotr Ivanovich is unable to cure Alexander of his raging passions: Aduev Jr. is ready to challenge the count to a duel, to take revenge on an ungrateful girl who is unable to appreciate his high feelings, he sobs and burns with anger... Pyotr Ivanovich’s wife, Lizaveta Aleksandrovna, comes to the aid of the distraught young man. ; she comes to Alexander when Pyotr Ivanovich turns out to be powerless, and we do not know with what exactly, with what words, with what participation the young woman succeeds in what her smart, sensible husband failed to do. “An hour later he (Alexander) came out thoughtfully, but with a smile, and fell asleep peacefully for the first time after many sleepless nights.”

And another year has passed since that memorable night. From the gloomy despair that Lizaveta Alexandrovna managed to melt, Aduev Jr. turned to despondency and indifference. “He somehow liked to play the role of the sufferer. He was quiet, important, vague, like a man who, in his words, had withstood the blow of fate...” And the blow was not slow to repeat: an unexpected meeting with an old friend Pospelov on Nevsky Prospekt, a meeting that was all the more accidental because Alexander did not even know about the move his soulmate to the capital - brings confusion into the already disturbed heart of Aduev Jr. The friend turns out to be completely different from what he remembers from the years spent at the university: he is strikingly similar to Pyotr Ivanovich Aduev - he does not appreciate the heart wounds experienced by Alexander, talks about his career, about money, warmly welcomes his old friend in his home, but no special signs of attention doesn't show it to him.

It turns out to be almost impossible to cure sensitive Alexander from this blow - and who knows what our hero would have come to this time if his uncle had not applied “extreme measures” to him!.. Discussing with Alexander about the bonds of love and friendship, Pyotr Ivanovich cruelly reproaches Alexander is that he closed himself only in own feelings, not knowing how to appreciate someone who is faithful to him. He does not consider his uncle and aunt his friends; he has not written to his mother for a long time, who lives only in thoughts of her only son. This “medicine” turns out to be effective - Alexander again turns to literary creativity. This time he writes and reads it to Pyotr Ivanovich and Lizaveta Alexandrovna. Aduev Sr. invites Alexander to send the story to the magazine to find out the true value of his nephew’s work. Pyotr Ivanovich does this under his own name, believing that this will be a fairer trial and better for the fate of the work. The answer was not slow to appear - it puts the finishing touches on the hopes of the ambitious Aduev Jr....

And just at this time, Pyotr Ivanovich needed the service of his nephew: his companion at the plant, Surkov, unexpectedly falls in love with the young widow of Pyotr Ivanovich’s former friend, Yulia Pavlovna Tafaeva, and completely abandons his affairs. Valuing business above all else, Pyotr Ivanovich asks Alexander to “make Tafaeva fall in love with himself,” pushing Surkov out of her home and heart. As a reward, Pyotr Ivanovich offers Alexander two vases that Aduev Jr. liked so much.

The matter, however, takes an unexpected turn: Alexander falls in love with a young widow and evokes a reciprocal feeling in her. Moreover, the feeling is so strong, so romantic and sublime that the “culprit” himself is not able to withstand the gusts of passion and jealousy that Tafaeva unleashes on him. Brought up on romance novels, married too early to a rich and unloved man, Yulia Pavlovna, having met Alexander, seems to throw herself into a whirlpool: everything she read and dreamed about now falls on her chosen one. And Alexander does not pass the test...

After Pyotr Ivanovich managed to bring Tafaeva to her senses with arguments unknown to us, another three months passed, during which Alexander’s life after the shock he experienced is unknown to us. We meet him again when he, disappointed in everything he lived before, “plays checkers with some eccentrics or fishes.” His apathy is deep and inescapable; nothing, it seems, can bring Aduev Jr. out of his dull indifference. Alexander no longer believes in either love or friendship. He begins to go to Kostikov, about whom Za-ezzhalov, a neighbor in Grachi, once wrote in a letter to Pyotr Ivanovich, wanting to introduce Aduev Sr. to his old friend. This man turned out to be just the right thing for Alexander: he “could not awaken emotional disturbances” in the young man.

And one day on the shore where they were fishing, unexpected spectators appeared - an old man and a pretty young girl. They appeared more and more often. Lisa (that was the girl’s name) began to try to captivate the yearning Alexander with various feminine tricks. The girl partially succeeds, but her offended father comes to the gazebo for a date instead. After an explanation with him, Alexander has no choice but to change the place of fishing. However, he doesn’t remember Lisa for long...

Still wanting to awaken Alexander from the sleep of his soul, the aunt asks him one day to accompany her to a concert: “some artist, a European celebrity, has arrived.” The shock that Alexander experienced from meeting beautiful music strengthens the decision that had matured even earlier to give up everything and return to his mother, in Grachi. Alexander Fedorovich Aduev leaves the capital along the same road along which he entered St. Petersburg several years ago, intending to conquer it with his talents and high appointment...

And in the village, life seemed to have stopped running: the same hospitable neighbors, only older, the same endlessly loving mother, Anna Pavlovna; Sophia just got married without waiting for her Sashenka, and her aunt, Marya Gorbatova, still remembers the yellow flower. Shocked by the changes that have happened to her son, Anna Pavlovna spends a long time asking Yevsey how Alexander lived in St. Petersburg, and comes to the conclusion that life itself in the capital is so unhealthy that it has aged her son and dulled his feelings. Days pass after days, Anna Pavlovna still hopes that Alexander’s hair will grow back and his eyes will sparkle, and he thinks about how to return to St. Petersburg, where so much has been experienced and irretrievably lost.

The death of his mother relieves Alexander from the pangs of conscience, which do not allow him to admit to Anna Pavlovna that he was again planning to escape from the village, and, having written to Pyotr Ivanovich, Alexander Aduev again goes to St. Petersburg...

Four years pass after Alexander's return to the capital. Many changes happened to the main characters of the novel. Lizaveta Alexandrovna was tired of fighting her husband’s coldness and turned into a calm, sensible woman, devoid of any aspirations or desires. Pyotr Ivanovich, upset by the change in his wife’s character and suspecting her dangerous disease, is ready to give up his career as a court councilor and resign in order to take Lizaveta Alexandrovna away from St. Petersburg at least for a while. But Alexander Fedorovich reached the heights that his uncle once dreamed of for him: “a collegiate councilor, good government support, through outside labor” earns considerable money, yes He is also preparing to get married, taking three hundred thousand and five hundred souls for his bride...

At this point we part with the heroes of the novel. What, in essence, is an ordinary story!..

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The novel was conceived by the author in 1844. The work was first read in the salon of the Maykov family. Goncharov made some adjustments to his novel precisely on the advice of Valerian Maykov. Then the manuscript ended up with M. Yazykov, who was supposed to give it to Belinsky at the request of the author himself. However, Yazykov was in no hurry to fulfill the request, since he considered the novel to be too banal. The manuscript was handed to Belinsky by Nekrasov, who took it from Yazykov. Belinsky planned to publish it. An ordinary story" in the almanac "Leviathan".

However, these plans were never destined to come true. Goncharov received a lucrative offer: he could earn 200 rubles for each page of the manuscript. But Panaev and Nekrasov offered the writer the same amount, and Goncharov sold them his work. It was decided to publish the novel in Sovremennik. Publication took place in 1847. A year later, the novel was published as a separate edition.

Alexander Aduev, the son of a poor landowner, is going to leave his native estate. The young landowner received a decent university education, which he now wants to use in the service of his fatherland. Alexander leaves his first love Sonechka and his inconsolable mother Anna Pavlovna on the estate, who does not want to part with her only son. Aduev himself also does not want to leave his usual way of life. However, the high goals that he has set for himself force him to leave parents' house.

Once in the capital, Alexander goes to his uncle. Pyotr Ivanovich had lived in St. Petersburg for many years. After his brother's death, he stopped communicating with his widow and his nephew. Alexander does not seem to notice that his uncle is not too happy to see him. The young man expects care and protection from close relative. Pyotr Ivanovich receives a letter from the mother of his nephew, who asks him to help his son get a good job. The uncle has no choice, and he takes on the active upbringing of his nephew: he rents an apartment for him, gives him numerous pieces of advice, and finds him a place. Pyotr Ivanovich believes that Alexander is too romantic and out of touch with reality. It is necessary to destroy the fictional world in which the young man lives.

2 years have passed. During this time, Alexander was able to achieve success in his service. The uncle is happy with his nephew. The only thing that upsets Pyotr Ivanovich is the young man’s love for Nadenka Lyubetskaya. According to the stern uncle, “sweet bliss” can prevent his nephew from further promotion. Nadya also likes Alexander. However, the girl’s feelings are not as deep as the feelings of her lover. Nadenka is much more interested in Count Novinsky. Aduev Jr. dreams of a duel with his opponent. Pyotr Ivanovich is trying with all his might to dissuade his nephew from his fatal mistake. Uncle never found it the right words consolation. Lizaveta Alexandrovna, the wife of Pyotr Ivanovich, had to intervene. Only the aunt managed to calm the young man down and dissuade him from the duel.

Another year has passed. Alexander has already forgotten Nadenka. However, not a trace of the former romantic young man remained in him. Aduev Jr. is bored and sad all the time. Uncle and aunty try in various ways distract my nephew, but nothing helps. The young man himself tries to lose himself in love, but he fails. Alexander is increasingly thinking about returning home. In the end, the young man leaves the capital. Life in the village has not changed, only Sonya, Aduev’s first love, got married without waiting for her lover. Anna Pavlovna is glad that her son returned from St. Petersburg, and believes that life in the capital undermines her health.

Fascinating city
But Alexander and father's house finds no peace. Having barely returned, he is already dreaming of moving to St. Petersburg. After the capital's salons quiet life in the village it seems not dynamic and bright enough. However, the young man does not dare to leave, because he does not want to upset his mother. The death of Anna Pavlovna relieves Aduev Jr. of remorse. He returns to the capital.

Another 4 years have passed. The characters in the novel have changed a lot. Aunt Lizaveta became indifferent and indifferent. Pyotr Ivanovich also becomes different. From the former cold and calculating businessman, he turns into a loving family man. Pyotr Ivanovich suspects his wife serious problems with health problems and wants to resign in order to take his wife away from the capital. Alexander was able to get rid of his youthful illusions. Aduev Jr. makes good money, has achieved a high position and is going to marry a rich heiress.

Alexander Aduev

Romanticism and egocentrism are the main character traits of a young man. Alexander is confident in his uniqueness and dreams of conquering the capital. Aduev Jr. dreams of becoming famous in the poetic and writing fields and finding true love. Life in the village, according to the young man, is not for such a talented and exalted person as he.

Alexander's dreams collapse one after another. Very soon he realizes that there are enough mediocre poets and writers in the capital without him. Aduev will not tell the public anything new. True love also disappointed the young romantic. Nadenka Lyubetskaya easily abandons Alexander in order to prefer a more advantageous game to him. The young man comes to the conclusion that the world that he lived in his imagination does not really exist. Thus began the degeneration of the romantic into an ordinary cynic and businessman, like Alexander’s uncle.

Aduev Jr. realized in time that he was unable to remake reality, force it to be different. However, he can succeed by reconsidering his views and accepting the rules of the game.

Peter Aduev

At the beginning of the novel, Pyotr Ivanovich acts as the antipode of his nephew. The author characterizes this character as a person who is “icy to the point of bitterness.” Thanks to resourcefulness and composure, Alexander’s uncle was able to get a good job. Pyotr Ivanovich hates people who are unadapted to life, sentimental and sensitive. It is these character traits that he has to fight in his nephew.

Aduev Sr. believes that only those who know how to control their feelings have the right to be called a person. That is why Pyotr Ivanovich despises Alexander’s tendency to “delight.” All the predictions of the experienced uncle came true. His nephew was unable to become famous either as a poet or as a writer, and his affair with Nadenka ended in betrayal.

The uncle and nephew embody in the novel two sides of the author's contemporary Russia. The country is divided into dreamers, who bring no practical benefit to anyone with their actions, and businessmen, whose activities benefit only themselves. Alexander is a “superfluous person”, unsuitable for the present case and evoking feeling irony even among close relatives. The “superfluous” person will not benefit his fatherland, because, in fact, he himself does not know what he wants. Pyotr Ivanovich is overly practical. According to the author, his callousness is as destructive for others as the dreaminess of his nephew.

Some critics draw a parallel between “Ordinary History” and “Oblomov”, where the antipodes are Oblomov and his friend Stolz. The first, being a kind, sincere person, is too passive. The second, like Pyotr Aduev, is practical to the point of callousness. The title of the novel, “An Ordinary Story,” indicates that all the events described in the book are taken from life. Goncharov himself seems to admit that the story he tells is not unique. The transformation of romantics into cynics occurs every day. The “superfluous person” has only 2 options: leave this life, like Oblomov, or transform into a soulless machine, like Alexander Aduev.

5 (100%) 2 votes

Year of writing:

1847

Reading time:

Description of the work:

His debut novel, An Ordinary Story, was written by Ivan Goncharov in 1847. The novel was published in the same year by Sovremennik magazine. Some consider the novel An Ordinary Story to be part of an informal trilogy, in which the novels "Oblomov" and "Oblomov" later appeared.

Goncharov wrote the novel An Ordinary Story quite quickly, unlike Oblomov and The Cliff, which were characterized by Goncharov’s slowness and doubts.

Read below summary novel An Ordinary Story.

The grief of Anna Pavlovna, parting with her only son, is akin to the sadness of the “first minister in the household” of the landowner Agrafena - together with Alexander, his valet Yevsey, Agrafena’s dear friend, goes to St. Petersburg - how many pleasant evenings did this gentle couple spend playing cards! Alexandra’s beloved, Sonechka, also suffers - the first impulses of his sublime soul were dedicated to her. Aduev’s best friend, Pospelov, bursts into Grachi at the last minute to finally hug the one with whom they spent the best hours of university life in conversations about honor and dignity, about serving the Fatherland and the delights of love...

And Alexander himself is sorry to part with his usual way of life. If lofty goals and a sense of purpose had not pushed him on a long journey, he, of course, would have remained in Rooks, with his infinitely loving mother and sister, the old maid Maria Gorbatova, among hospitable and hospitable neighbors, next to his first love. But ambitious dreams drive the young man to the capital, closer to glory.

In St. Petersburg, Alexander immediately goes to his relative, Pyotr Ivanovich Aduev, who at one time, like Alexander, “was sent to St. Petersburg at the age of twenty by his elder brother, Alexander’s father, and lived there continuously for seventeen years.” Not maintaining contact with his widow and son, who remained in Rrach after the death of his brother, Pyotr Ivanovich is greatly surprised and annoyed by the appearance of an enthusiastic young man who expects from his uncle care, attention and, most importantly, the sharing of his heightened sensitivity. From the very first minutes of their acquaintance, Pyotr Ivanovich almost by force has to restrain Alexander from pouring out his feelings and trying to embrace his relative. Along with Alexander, a letter arrives from Anna Pavlovna, from which Pyotr Ivanovich learns that great hopes are placed on him: not only by his almost forgotten daughter-in-law, who hopes that Pyotr Ivanovich will sleep with Alexander in the same room and cover the young man’s mouth from flies. The letter contains many requests from neighbors that Pyotr Ivanovich had forgotten to think about for almost two decades. One of these letters was written by Marya Gorbatova, Anna Pavlovna’s sister, who remembered for the rest of her life the day when the still young Pyotr Ivanovich, walking with her through the village surroundings, climbed knee-deep into the lake and picked a yellow flower for her to remember...

After this time, we meet Alexander already somewhat accustomed to the difficulties of St. Petersburg life. And - madly in love with Nadenka Lyubetskaya. During this time, Alexander managed to advance in his career and achieved some success in translations. Now he became a fairly important person in the magazine: “he was involved in the selection, translation, and correction of other people’s articles, and he himself wrote various theoretical views on agriculture.” He continued to write poetry and prose. But falling in love with Nadenka Lyubetskaya seems to close the whole world before Alexander Aduev - now he lives from meeting to meeting, intoxicated by that “sweet bliss with which Pyotr Ivanovich was angry.”

Pyotr Ivanovich is unable to cure Alexander of his raging passions: Aduev Jr. is ready to challenge the count to a duel, to take revenge on an ungrateful girl who is unable to appreciate his high feelings, he sobs and burns with anger... Pyotr Ivanovich’s wife, Lizaveta Aleksandrovna, comes to the aid of the distraught young man. ; she comes to Alexander when Pyotr Ivanovich turns out to be powerless, and we do not know exactly how, with what words, with what participation the young woman succeeds in what her smart, sensible husband failed to achieve. “An hour later he (Alexander) came out thoughtfully, but with a smile, and fell asleep peacefully for the first time after many sleepless nights.”

It turns out to be almost impossible to cure sensitive Alexander from this blow - and who knows what our hero would have come to this time if his uncle had not applied “extreme measures” to him!.. Discussing with Alexander about the bonds of love and friendship, Pyotr Ivanovich cruelly reproaches Alexander the fact that he closed himself only in his own feelings, not knowing how to appreciate someone who is faithful to him. He does not consider his uncle and aunt his friends; he has not written to his mother for a long time, who lives only in thoughts of her only son. This “medicine” turns out to be effective - Alexander again turns to literary creativity. This time he writes a story and reads it to Pyotr Ivanovich and Lizaveta Alexandrovna. Aduev Sr. invites Alexander to send the story to the magazine to find out the true value of his nephew’s work. Pyotr Ivanovich does this under his own name, believing that this will be a fairer trial and better for the fate of the work. The answer was not slow to appear - it puts the finishing touches on the hopes of the ambitious Aduev Jr....

Still wanting to awaken Alexander from the sleep of his soul, his aunt asks him one day to accompany her to a concert: “some artist, a European celebrity, has arrived.” The shock that Alexander experienced from meeting beautiful music strengthens the decision that had matured even earlier to give up everything and return to his mother, in Grachi. Alexander Fedorovich Aduev leaves the capital along the same road along which he entered St. Petersburg several years ago, intending to conquer it with his talents and high appointment...

Four years pass after Alexander's return to the capital. Many changes happened to the main characters of the novel. Lizaveta Alexandrovna was tired of fighting her husband’s coldness and turned into a calm, sensible woman, devoid of any aspirations or desires. Pyotr Ivanovich, upset by the change in his wife’s character and suspecting she has a dangerous illness, is ready to give up his career as a court councilor and resign in order to take Lizaveta Alexandrovna away from St. Petersburg at least for a while. But Alexander Fedorovich reached the heights that his uncle once dreamed of for him: “collegiate adviser, good government support, through outside labor” earns considerable money and is also preparing to get married, taking three hundred thousand and five hundred souls for his bride...

At this point we part with the heroes of the novel. What, in essence, is an ordinary story!..

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At the very beginning of the story, twenty-year-old Alexander Aduev appears before the eyes of the readers, who grew up in the provinces under the wing of his endlessly loving mother and has just graduated from the local university. The young man still has no everyday experience and no real ideas about life; he imagines his own destiny and relationships between people in an extremely idealized way, based on the books that he happened to read. The mother recklessly adores her only son, instilling in him that there simply cannot be a more beautiful, smarter, more worthy person than him, that everything will turn out great for him when he arrives in St. Petersburg for service, as Alexander plans.

The young man himself also has no doubts about own strength, he believes in his talents and believes that he will be able to quickly make an enviable career in the capital. In addition, young Aduev is also interested in literary creativity, and he has serious hopes for success as a writer. Alexander is already infatuated with the neighbor's young lady Sophia and believes that he will never be able to forget her, that you can love only once in your life, although his mother hints to him that this girl can be neglected if he meets a more suitable match in St. Petersburg.

When Alexander finally arrives in the capital, he first goes to see his uncle, Pyotr Ivanovich Aduev, who has been living in St. Petersburg for two decades and has actually managed to achieve a solid promotion. Pyotr Ivanovich absolutely does not expect his nephew to appear, he is not at all pleased with the letter from Alexander’s mother, who asks to look after her son, but at the same time he believes that leaving an inexperienced young man completely alone in the capital will also be dishonest on his part, so he does not refuse accept a young man who has just arrived in St. Petersburg.

Naive Alexander is ready to love his uncle with all his heart, seeing him as his own, loved one, however, Pyotr Ivanovich greets him very restrainedly and immediately advises young Aduev to forget about all his “provincial habits” if he wants to achieve something in the capital. Alexander is simply dumbfounded by his coldness; the young man could not imagine anything like this before, but he still asks his uncle to help him find his first place to serve in St. Petersburg.

The job that Pyotr Ivanovich arranges for Alexander does not please the ardent romantic at all, since it consists only of routine copying of papers, which is repeated day after day. But the young man tries to believe that over time the situation will change and he will really be able to achieve more, although his uncle openly laughs at his dreams and ambitions. The elder Aduev directly says that with such an attitude to life divorced from reality, Alexander simply has nothing to do in the capital; it would be best to return to the village.

Soon, among his acquaintances, the young man meets pretty girl Nadenka Lyubetskaya falls madly in love with her, and the young lady reciprocates his feelings. When Alexander, who is literally overwhelmed with joyful emotions, tells his uncle about his love, Pyotr Ivanovich mockingly remarks that Nadenka will certainly deceive the young man and he should not trust the girl so recklessly. Alexander categorically refuses to believe these words; it seems to him that his uncle is a real monster who has never loved anyone in his life and therefore is simply unable to understand his true feelings.

Over the course of a year, Alexander feels infinitely happy with Nadenka, he is already going to turn to her mother with an official marriage proposal, but it was at this time that a certain Count Novinsky, an experienced socialite, who does not have much difficulty making an impression, begins to visit the Lyubetsky house to Nadenka. Alexander sees with despair how the girl grows cold towards him day by day, and finally he directly asks if anyone has replaced him in her heart. Nadenka openly admits that she no longer loves Aduev, and Alexandra is overcome by the deepest despair.

The young man hurries to tell his uncle about his tragedy, but Pyotr Ivanovich takes the terrible news for Alexander absolutely calmly, noting that this is exactly what he had warned the young man about for a long time. The elder Aduev tries to calmly explain to his nephew that he behaved completely incorrectly, that he should have rationally and calmly fought with the count for Nadenka’s affection, that neither the girl, nor especially her new lover owes him anything, that a person is free in his feelings. Alexander is not at all convinced by his uncle’s words, the young man experiences disappointment not only in love, but also in people in general, for quite a long time after this story he tries not to appear in society at all, but then he nevertheless comes to his senses a little.

The younger Aduev also shows his uncle the poems and stories he has written, Pyotr Ivanovich believes that Alexander has no literary talent and he is wasting his time and ruining the paper; it would be much better for him to translate technical articles. In order to completely disabuse the young man of his literary abilities, the elder Aduev gives one of his stories to his friend the editor, passing off himself as its author. The review of Alexander’s work turns out to be sharply negative; the editor directly says that the story was probably written by a young man who was disillusioned with life, but no one would publish it. The younger Aduev, in despair, burns all his creations and announces to his uncle that he will not work for money in the literary field; in this regard, fate will not be able to break him.

After some time, Alexander meets the young widow Yulia Tafaeva, who is in many ways similar to him in her romantic and exalted, although too sad, perception of life. Aduev and this woman fall in love with each other, Alexander thinks that he has finally found what he has always dreamed of, that life has given him real happiness. However, the uncle notices that this time, most likely, the young man will cheat on his chosen one himself. Alexander still does not want to listen to Pyotr Ivanovich’s recommendations, but soon he feels that Julia is beginning to burden him, that he is already frankly bored with her and his recent passion has completely disappeared. He himself does not understand what is happening to him, because the woman loves him more and more, but Alexander is becoming increasingly cold and no longer wants not only to get married, but also to spend time with Tafaeva at all.

When the elder Aduev finds out about new problem nephew, he agrees to talk with Yulia and explain to her that Alexander is an extremely fickle creature, incapable of long-term and serious feelings that he is simply not worth his beloved. After this, Yulia really leaves Aduev alone, and Alexander himself becomes completely depressed for a while, lying on the couch at home all day long. Petersburg completely disappointed him both in terms of career and in terms of love, and his uncle sharply recommends that he return to his native village, to his mother. Alexander is forced to accept this advice; he really does not understand what else he should do in the capital.

Upon Aduev’s arrival at his estate, his mother notices with horror how her son has changed and lost weight, how sad and gloomy he is now. The woman tries to cheer up Alexander, promising to find him a worthy bride, a kind and sweet girl from a good family, but her son tells her that he is not going to love anyone else. However, staying in the village really does Alexander good; he begins to feel better and soon decides to leave for St. Petersburg again. The young man fulfills his intention immediately after the death of his mother, and in the epilogue of the novel he again talks with his uncle.

Now Alexander Aduev has become completely different. He is confidently making a career, forgetting about his previous romantic dreams, and in the near future he is also going to very profitably marry the daughter of a man who will be useful to him in many ways. Pyotr Ivanovich is sincerely happy about this transformation of his nephew, saying that he no longer hoped that he would come to his senses. Alexander assures his uncle that he is completely done with youthful nonsense, and reminds the elder Aduev that he, too, was in love with his aunt in his youth and also behaved sincerely and naively at that time. Pyotr Ivanovich recognizes this fact and tells Alexander that he is now leaving with his wife for Italy, leaving all his affairs, since her state of health gives rise to serious concerns.

Thus, throughout the novel, what happens to the main character is what happens in any era to many people. Alexander refuses the best human feelings, having concluded for himself that they only interfere with life, and turns into a typical careerist and cynic, deciding to follow the same path as the vast majority of the people around him.

Watch the film "An Ordinary Story".

Brief retelling

“Ordinary history” Goncharov I.A. (Very briefly)

Sasha Aduev, the hero of the novel, lives in the village in Oblomov’s carefree manner. His mother, with a lot of kisses and instructions, sends him to St. Petersburg to his uncle, Pyotr Ivanovich Aduev. The uncle reads with disgusted bewilderment the letter from the girl (now she is an old woman) whom he was fond of in his youth: what provincial sentimentality! Another letter from Sasha’s mother (the wife of Pyotr Ivanovich’s late brother) - she hands over her child to her “dear little brother-in-law.” It was in vain that the woman hoped that the uncle would settle his niece with him and would “cover his mouth from flies with a handkerchief.” Pyotr Ivanovich rents a room for Sasha and gives him his first lessons in urban practicality. He is amused by his nephew’s naive romanticism, his pompous speeches, his naive poems. The uncle even rejects his nephew’s education: all these “philosophies” and “rhetorics” are unsuitable for business. Sasha is assigned to the office to copy papers. He also has a “literary” job (he knows languages!) - translating articles on manure and potato molasses for an economics magazine.

Several years pass. The patina of provincialism has disappeared from young Aduev. He dresses fashionably and has acquired a metropolitan flair. He is appreciated in his service. My uncle no longer wallpapers the utility rooms with his poetry and prose, but reads with interest. But Aduev decided to tell his uncle about his love - the only one in the world. His uncle makes fun of him: young romantic feelings, in his opinion, are worthless. And of course, this feeling cannot last forever: someone will “cheat” someone. The uncle himself was also planning to marry, not “for convenience” (marrying for money was a good idea), but “for reasons of convenience” - so that his wife would suit him as a person. The main thing is to do the job. And Sasha, out of love, no longer submits articles to the editor on time.

Time has passed. Nadenka (the one and only) chose Count Novinsky over Alexandra. The Count (a young, handsome socialite) comes to visit every day and rides horses with a girl. Sasha is suffering. He curses female infidelity and wants to challenge the count to a duel. With all this he comes to his uncle. Pyotr Aduev is trying to explain to his nephew that it is not Nadenka’s fault that she fell in love with another, that the count is not to blame either if he managed to capture the girl’s imagination. But Aduev does not listen to his uncle; he seems to him to be a cynic and heartless. The uncle's young wife, Lizaveta Alexandrovna (ta tante), consoles Alexander. She also has drama: her husband seems too rational to her, he does not tell her about his love. For a young sensitive woman, not only does he remember all her desires, he is ready to provide the contents of his wallet to satisfy her whims - but money means a lot to Pyotr Aduev.

Sasha Aduev manages to become disillusioned with his friendship: why didn’t a friend from his youth wet his chest with tears, but just invited him to dinner and began asking about his affairs? He is also disappointed in magazines that are unable to evaluate his literary work (very pompous and abstract discussions from life). The uncle welcomes the renunciation of literary works (Alexander has no talent) and forces his nephew to burn all his sublime writings. Aunt Lizaveta takes a kind of patronage over Sashenka. By taking care of Alexander, ma tante (aunt) seems to replenish that share of sentimentality that her soul seeks.

The uncle gives his nephew an important assignment: to “make the widow Yulia Tafaeva fall in love with him.” This is necessary because the uncle’s partner in the porcelain factory, the amorous and dapper Surkov, spends too much money on this widow. Seeing that his place is taken, Surkov will not waste his time. The assignment was carried out brilliantly: Sashenka captivated the sentimental, nervous widow, and he himself became carried away. They are so similar! Julia also cannot imagine “simple quiet love”; she absolutely needs to “fall at her feet” and swear “with all the strength of her soul.” At first, Alexander is so inspired by the kinship of souls and the beauty of Julia that he is ready to get married. However, the widow is too intrusive, too submissive in her feelings - and young Aduev begins to be burdened by this relationship. He doesn’t know how to get rid of the widow, but his uncle saves him after talking with Tafaeva.

Having lost his illusions, Alexander falls into apathy. He is not interested in promotions or editorial work. He dresses casually and often spends entire days on the couch. The only thing that entertains him is summer fishing. While sitting with a fishing rod, he meets a poor girl, Lisa, and is ready to seduce her without burdening himself with the obligations of marriage.

Lisa's father gives the younger Aduev a turn away. Indifference to everything overcomes Alexander. He is unable to follow in his uncle’s footsteps and find himself in society and in business (as they would say now, “in business”). Is there enough money for a modest life? And that's enough! The uncle tries to distract him and receives in response accusations that the younger Aduev, through the fault of the elder Aduev, grew old in soul before acquiring the necessary experience for this.

Peter Aduev received his “reward” for diligent service to the cause (and for playing cards every night) - he has lower back pain. Alexander Aduev’s lower back certainly won’t hurt! That's what my uncle thinks. Alexander does not see any joy in “business.” Therefore, he needs to go to the village. The nephew listened to the advice and left. My aunt cried all day.

In the village, Alexander first rests, then gets bored, then returns to his magazine (economic) work. He is going to return to St. Petersburg, but does not know how to announce this to his mother. The old woman saves him from these troubles - she dies.

In the epilogue, the reader is faced with the unexpected illness of Aunt Lizaveta - she is struck by a deep indifference to life. This gave rise to the “methodical and dry” attitude of her husband towards her. Pyotr Ivanovich would be glad to correct this (he resigns and sells the plant!), but his wife’s illness has gone too far, she does not want sacrifices - nothing can revive her. The uncle is going to take her to Italy - his wife’s well-being has become the highest value for him.

But Alexander is triumphant - he marries a rich (very rich!) young girl (does it matter how she feels!), he is doing great at work and in magazines. He's finally happy with himself. The only bad thing is that my lower back started to ache a little...