THE DUEL AS A “LAST GASP” OF THE ARISTOCRACY (TO THE DUEL BETWEEN PAVEL PETROVICH KIRSANOV AND EVGENIY BAZAROY)

Zhang Yawen

The aim of the article is to explain the uniqueness of the “duel scenes” in the novel “Fathers and Sons” by I. S. Turgenev and to reveal the meaning contained in it. The research is based on the cultural-historical, psychological, comparative and axiological methods. The author claims that there are two types of duel in the novel, unfolding at different levels – the ideological duel between the liberal Pavel Petrovich and the democrat Bazarov in Chapter X, and the knight duel between the antagonists in Chapter XXIV. The ideological duel in the first part of the novel was “imposed” on Bazarov due to the socio-political characteristics of the conflict, while the main character’s image is abstracted and presented as a kind of prophet. The second one – the knight duel – is based on the revelation of Bazarov's romantic nature (after the love defeats with Odintsova). Pavel Petrovich, who witnessed that Bazarov kissed Fenechka, found an excuse to challenge Bazarov to the duel, and the conflict relations in this duel were significantly different from the previous one – it’s about an invasion of individual honor and dignity. Based on the study results the author concludes that Pavel Petrovich could not behave as a worthy opponent of Bazarov either in the ideological or in the knight duel; the outcome indicates the doom of the aristocratic generation represented by Pavel Petrovich. The duel in this novel turns out to be a “last gasp” of the aristocracy.

Keywords:Turgenev, conflict, Pavel Petrovich, aristocrat, Bazarov, nihilist-democrat, ideological duel, knight duel, generation