Oblomov

Oblomov

Title page of the 1915 English translation by C. J. Hogarth
Author	Ivan Goncharov
Original title	Обломов
Translator	C. J. Hogarth
Country	Russia
Language	Russian
Publication date	1859
Media type	Print
Preceded by	Frigate "Pallada"

Oblomov (Russian: Обломов; [ɐˈbloməf]) is the second novel by Russian writer Ivan Goncharov, first published in 1859. Ilya Ilych Oblomov is the central character of the novel, portrayed as the ultimate incarnation of the superfluous man, a symbolic character in 19th-century Russian literature. Oblomov is a young, generous nobleman who seems incapable of making important decisions or undertaking any significant actions. Throughout the novel he rarely leaves his room or bed. In the first 50 pages, he manages only to move from his bed to a chair. The book was considered a satire of Russian nobility whose social and economic function was increasingly questioned in mid-nineteenth century Russia. It has been said that no other novel has been used to describe the ever-so-elusive “Russian mentality” or “Russian soul” as frequently as Oblomov.

The novel was popular when it came out, and some of its characters and devices have imprinted on Russian culture and language.

Goncharov first thought of writing Oblomov in the mid-1840s, soon after publishing his first novel A Common Story. In 1849 he wrote “Episode from an Unfinished Novel: Oblomov’s Dream”, a short story that was published in the literary journal Sovremennik. At that point Goncharov had just started writing his novel, and Oblomov was published ten years later, with “Oblomov’s Dream” as Chapter 9 in Part 1.

The character that would become Oblomov originally appeared in 1838 in the Maikovs’ handwritten magazine written by Goncharov, as one of the protagonists in “Likhaia bolest.” Nikon Ustinovich Tiazhelemko, or the pre-Oblomov Oblomov, was a slothful but rather endearing man whose name evokes in Russian the attribute “heavy”(tiazhelyi) and the expression “slow to move”(tiazhel na pod”em). The work on Oblomov continued for several years after the publication of “Oblomov’s Dream” but was first interrupted by the death of Goncharov’s mother, and then his decision to join the around the world voyage of the sea vessel The Frigate Pallas. When The Frigate Pallas finally ended its journey in August 1854 in Russia’s far east, Goncharov spent another half a year getting acquainted with Siberia and slowly making his way back to St. Petersburg. Although Goncharov was not working on Oblomov during his long journey it appears he was thinking about the book, as Oblomov shows up in many of his letters home. When he tried to begin writing again in Februarary 1855, he blamed his delays and inability to write on exhaustion, loss of momentum, and a new and more demanding job as a censor. The summer of 1857 finally found Goncharov, alone in Marienbad, completely exhilarated and writing Oblomov in full swing. By the end of August the novel was complete. He spent the following year revising and rewriting the novel until finally on January 14, 1859, Oblomov was published in Otechestvennye zapiski.