Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov is a famous Russian writer who was a member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. He gained the greatest fame thanks to such novels as “Cliff”, “Ordinary History”, “Oblomov”, as well as the cycle of road essays “Frigate Pallas”. And, of course, everyone knows Goncharov’s literary-critical article “A Million of Torment”. We will tell you more about this great writer.
Writer childhood
Ivan Goncharov, whose life and work will be described in this article, was born in the city of Simbirsk in 1812. His parents entered the merchant class. The childhood of little Ivan passed in the big house of the Goncharovs, located in the city center. Over the years, the writer will tell about him in his autobiographical story “At Home”: “Glaciers, cellars, barns were filled to the brim with flour, various millet and all kinds of provisions for our family and courtyards. It was not just an estate, but a whole village. ” I must say that what he saw in this house sparked an interest in young Goncharov in understanding the lordly, local life of pre-reform Russia, which was so truthfully and vividly conveyed in his novels.
When Ivan was 7 years old, his father died, and the godfather - Nikolai Tregubov took up the education of Ivan. As a retired sailor, he was distinguished by good critical thinking and wide views. "Good sailor" - so Goncharov, whose biography is well known to fans, called his teacher. Ivan Alexandrovich recalled: “In order to thank Nikolai for our upbringing, my mother took upon herself all the troubles about his life. Tregubov’s yard merged with ours, and under the guidance of my mother we lived together with one big family.” Intellectual concerns went to Nicholas. The material part fell on the shoulders of the mother - a strict, experienced, excellent hostess.
Education
At first, the young Goncharov, whose life and work was admired, studied at home under the supervision of Tregubov, and then in a private boarding house. As soon as the boy was 10 years old, he was sent to Moscow at the insistence of his mother.
The next 8 years, Ivan studied at a commercial school. In the future, the writer will characterize these years as difficult and uninteresting. Although his moral and spiritual development was in full swing. The young man read a lot. Domestic literature became his true mentor. Goncharov (life and work are briefly described in this article) recalled: “Karamzin was my first teacher in the development of humanity and the moral sphere as a whole. With regard to poetry, my comrades and I reveled in Ozyorov, Dmitriev, Derzhavin and even Kheraskov, who passed out as a poet at school. ”
First idol
“Eugene Onegin” by Pushkin became a real poetic treasure for Goncharov and his peers. He said: “Oh God! What light, what magical horizons opened, and what revelations of poetry and life, moreover, understandable and modern, surged from this life-giving source! ” This prayer admiration in the name of the great poet Goncharov experienced all his life.
University Admission
Classes at the school became unbearable for Ivan, and he asked his mother to file a petition for his expulsion. At this moment, the young man was eighteen, and he began to think about his future. And since the passion for writing that arose in childhood did not go away, Goncharov, whose life and work were intertwined forever, decided to enter the verbal faculty of Moscow University. In 1831, he successfully passed the exams and was enrolled there.
Three years of study became an important milestone in his biography. The future writer was thinking hard - about himself, about people, about life. Simultaneously with Ivan, Aksakov, Turgenev, Lermontov, Stankevich, Ogarev, Herzen, Belinsky and other gifted young people who entered their name in the history of Russian literature studied at the university .
After university
After graduating from university in 1834, Goncharov went to his native Simbirsk, where his sisters, mother and Tregubov were waiting for him. So familiar from childhood, the city impressed Ivan primarily because nothing had changed there for so many years. It was a huge sleepy village.
Even before graduation, the future writer had the idea of ​​not returning to his hometown. He was attracted by the intense spiritual life in the capitals (Petersburg, Moscow). And although he made the decision to leave, he still did not leave.
First work
At this time, Goncharov, whose essay on life and work is in the school curriculum, received an offer from the governor of Simbirsk. He wanted the future writer to work as his personal secretary. After much hesitation and reflection, Ivan accepted the offer, but the work was boring and ungrateful. But he understood the mechanism of functioning of the bureaucratic system, which later came in handy to him as a writer.
After eleven months, he moved to Petersburg. Ivan began to build his future with his own hands, without any outside help. Upon arrival, he got a job as a translator in the Ministry of Finance. The service was not burdensome and highly paid.
Later, he became friends with the Maikov family, teaching the two older sons Russian literature and Latin. Maikovs House was an interesting cultural center of St. Petersburg. Every day painters, musicians, writers gathered here.
The beginning of creativity
Over time, Goncharov, whose “Million of Torment” remains one of the most read works, began to treat with irony the romantic cult of art inherent in the Maikovs house. The 40s can be called the beginning of his career. This was an important time in terms of the development of Russian literature and the life of society as a whole. Then the writer met Belinsky. The great critic significantly enriched the spiritual world of Ivan Alexandrovich and showed admiration for the writing style that Goncharov owned. The writer’s “Million Torment” was highly appreciated by Belinsky.
In 1847, the Ordinary History was published in Sovremennik. In this novel, the conflict between romanticism and realism is presented in the form of an essential conflict of Russian life. With a coined name, the author drew the reader's attention to the typical processes reflected in this creation.
Trip around the world
In 1852, Goncharov was lucky to get a secretary to serve in Vice Admiral Putyatin. So the writer went on a trip around the world on the frigate "Pallas." Putyatin was tasked with inspecting Russian possessions in America (Alaska) and establishing trade and political relations with Japan. Ivan Aleksandrovich was already in anticipation of many impressions that would enrich his work. Goncharov, whose “Million Torment” is still popular, kept a detailed diary from the first days. These notes formed the basis of his future book, The Frigate Pallas. She was published in 1855, when the writer returned to St. Petersburg, and was well received by readers.
But since Ivan Alexandrovich worked as a censor in the Ministry of Finance, he fell into an ambiguous position. In the progressive sections of society, his position was not welcome. A persecutor of free thought and a representative of hated power - that was what most Potters were for most. The novel "Oblomov" was almost ready, but Ivan Alexandrovich could not finish it in any way due to lack of time. Therefore, he left the Ministry of Finance and completely focused on his writing career.
The heyday of creativity
"Goncharov, the novel" Oblomov "" - such an inscription was on the cover of several thousand books published in 1859. The fate of the leading character was revealed not only as a social phenomenon, but also as a kind of philosophical understanding of the national character. The writer made an artistic discovery. This novel was included in the essay on the life and work of Goncharov as his most outstanding work. But Ivan Alexandrovich did not want to be inactive and bask in the rays of glory. Therefore, he began work on a new novel - “Cliff”. This work was his child, whom he raised for 20 years.
Last novel
Diseases and mental depression - it was from them that Goncharov suffered in the last years of his life, whose life and work were very productive. “Cliff” is the last major work of the writer. After Ivan Alexandrovich finished work on him, he began to live even harder. Of course, he dreamed of writing a new novel, but he did not proceed with it. He always wrote strained and slow. Often complained to colleagues that he did not have time to deeply comprehend the fast-moving events of modern life. He needed time for their awareness. All three novels of the writer depicted pre-reform Russia, which he perfectly understood. The events of subsequent years, Ivan Alexandrovich understood worse, and he lacked either the moral or physical strength to study them more deeply. Nevertheless, he actively corresponded with other writers and did not leave creative activity.
He wrote several essays: “Across Eastern Siberia”, “Trip along the Volga”, “Literary Evening” and many others. Some were published posthumously. It is also worth noting a number of his critical works. Here are Goncharov’s most famous sketches: “Million Tormented,” “Better Late Than Never,” “Notes on Belinsky,” and others. They firmly fit into the annals of Russian criticism as classical examples of literary and aesthetic thought.
Death
In early September 1891, Goncharov (life and work are briefly described in this article) caught a cold. Three days later, being completely alone, the great writer died. Ivan Alexandrovich was buried at the Nikolsky cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (after half a century the writer's ashes were transferred to the Volkovo cemetery). An obituary immediately appeared in Vestnik Evropy: "Like Saltykov, Ostrovsky, Aksakov, Herzen, Turgenev, Goncharov will always be in the leading position in our literature."