Fathers And Sons

The next morning, Arkady finds Vassily in the garden. The older man reports that he is gardening to sustain the family after a morning of seeing to neighborly health complaints. He refers to himself as a “plebeian” and apologizes for the lack of “luxury” in their surroundings (98). Arkady, exasperated, insists there is nothing to apologize to him for. Arkady delights Vassily by calling Bazarov “one of the most remarkable men I’ve ever met” (99). Vassily retorts, “I idolize my son” (99). He and Arkady discuss Bazarov’s future fame.

Bazarov joins them, and his father asks for his advice with a jaundiced patient. As he and Arkady lie in a haystack, Bazarov reminisces about his childhood, recalling that his family has lived here for decades—his grandfather, a Napoleonic war veteran, built the house. Bazarov loves his parents, and even envies the way they their respective spheres occupy them, unlike Bazarov himself who is preoccupied with his own existence and its meaninglessness: “the tiny space I occupy is so insignificant compared to the rest of space […] my life is so insignificant compared to eternity” (102). Arkady tries to temper Bazarov’s anger as it relates to his recent encounter with Anna (102).