7 Secrets of the Novel Oblomov

1. The Secret of the Thunderstorm

In the chapter “Oblomov’s Dream,” the author describes the benevolent Oblomovka weather: “Thunderstorms are not terrible, but only beneficial there: they occur constantly at the same established time, almost never forgetting Elijah’s Day (Ilyin Den), as if to support a certain popular tradition. And the number and force of the strikes, it seems, are the same every year, as if a certain measure of electricity were allotted from the treasury for the whole region for the year.”

At first glance, this fragment seems almost incidental. The only thing that draws attention is the mention of Elijah’s Day: the “certain popular tradition” is the belief that one should not work on this day to avoid being killed by lightning. Recall that the main character of the novel is named Ilya Ilyich—and he does not want to work not only on his name day but ever. However, the thunderstorm in this passage is explained not only through the folk belief about Elijah the Prophet as the patron of thunder—that is, through the eyes of a person believing in the “popular tradition.” The thunderstorm is simultaneously presented rationally. The viewpoint of the Oblomovka resident is compared to the viewpoint of the rationalist Stolz: this character has not yet appeared in the novel, but his voice, skeptically assessing folk superstitions, is already sounding. This dual point of view will define the narration going forward.

2. The Secret of the Word “Moon”

The narrator likes Oblomovka, but sees nothing poetic in it: “God knows whether a poet or a dreamer would be satisfied with the nature of the peaceful corner. These gentlemen, as is known, like to gaze at the moon and listen to the nightingales singing. <…> But in that region, no one even knew what a moon was—everyone called it a month (mesyats). It somehow good-naturedly, with wide-open eyes, looked at the villages and the field and looked very much like a polished copper basin.”

The poetic image of the moon is absent from the “Oblomovian” consciousness, and we are told this for a reason. The aria “Casta Diva” from Bellini’s opera Norma is repeatedly mentioned in the novel. Oblomov first dreams of his future wife performing it, and later Olga Ilyinskaya performs the cavatina, after which Oblomov confesses his love to her. The title of the aria translates to “Chaste Goddess,” but it is dedicated to the goddess of the moon. Oblomov himself remembers this: “…how this woman cries out her heart! What sadness is laid in those sounds!… And no one knows anything around… She is alone… A secret weighs on her; she entrusts it to the moon…” Thus, Oblomov’s love for Olga is associated with the romantic image of the moon—which, however, was unknown in patriarchal Oblomovka. It is not surprising that the story of their relationship ends sadly.

3. The Secret of Oblomov’s Love for Olga

Having broken up with Olga, Oblomov falls into stupor: “Snow, snow, snow! — he repeated senselessly, looking at the snow that thickly covered the fence, the wattle, and the beds in the garden. — It has covered everything! — he then whispered desperately, lay down in bed, and fell into a leaden, cheerless sleep.”

The hero’s inability to utter anything but snow is due to the fact that Oblomov’s love for Olga develops in accordance with the seasons. The characters meet in May, and the lilac branch becomes the symbol of their love. The intensity of the relationship peaks in summer, and in autumn, Oblomov, overwhelmed by life’s many difficulties, avoids meetings with Olga. When they break up, it is snowing: the annual natural cycle is complete, and nothing can be done about it. Thus, even in his love, the hero turns out to be a product of his native village—a place where the “annual circle” repeats “regularly and imperturbably.”

4. The Secret of Coffee and Cigars

Dreaming, Oblomov describes what seems to him to be the ideal life to his only friend, Stolz: “Before dinner, it is pleasant to look into the kitchen… Then lie on the couch; my wife reads something new aloud; we stop, argue… But guests arrive, you and your wife, for example. <…> After dinner, mocha, a Havana on the terrace…”

Stolz’s reaction is important here: he listens attentively but is convinced from the start that even in his dreams, Oblomov cannot invent anything better than Oblomovka: “You paint me the same thing that happened with your grandfathers and fathers.” Stolz is clearly wrong. The traditional, “Oblomovian” way of life cannot satisfy the protagonist, and his dream cannot even be described in “Oblomovian” words: coffee, cigars, and terraces are all traces of his university studies and the books he has read. Oblomov, however lazy he may be, is an educated Petersburger and has moved far away from Oblomovka.

5. The Secret of the Eastern War

Oblomov reads newspapers and learns, “…why the English are sending ships with troops to the East…”

The military actions in the East most likely refer to the Anglo-Chinese “Opium Wars,” the consequences of which Goncharov personally observed and described in The Frigate “Pallada.” However, that is not the main point. The dispatch of English troops to the East is mentioned at least four times in different places in the novel, whose action spans several years. This suggests that not only is the protagonist stuck in a kind of frozen time where nothing happens, but the world news (which the characters love to discuss) is also constantly the same. Newspapers, seemingly obligated to track the latest news, report on events that seem to repeat endlessly. Not only Oblomov—the whole world cannot budge.

6. The Secret of the Collegiate Secretary

The narrator introduces Oblomov: “Oblomov, a nobleman by birth, a collegiate secretary by rank, has been living in St. Petersburg for twelve years without leaving.”

Collegiate Secretary is a rank of Class X, which is not the lowest. How Oblomov obtained this rank is not very clear, even to commentators. One could assume that Oblomov graduated from university as a candidate (with special success) and received this rank immediately (but Oblomov did not study diligently). If not a candidate, Oblomov should have held the Class XII rank (Provincial Secretary). Since the hero “served haphazardly for about two years,” he could not have earned two ranks. Furthermore, in the novel’s drafts, Oblomov is directly named a Provincial Secretary. Since a plausible explanation for Oblomov’s rank is lacking, another principle may be at work. Class X was the rank of Oblomov’s wife, the widow Agafya Matveevna Pshenitsyna (wives and widows of officials were considered to hold their husbands’ rank). This coincidence may be an ironic hint at a peculiar “kindred spirits” connection between Oblomov and Agafya Matveevna.

7. The Secret of Stolz

Stolz suggests that Oblomov should not “perish silently” but flee somewhere and engage in work: “Where? Well, even to the Volga with your peasants: there is more movement there, there are some interests, a goal, labor. I would go to Sitka, in Siberia.”

What is Stolz himself doing? The novel constantly mentions a certain frenzied activity that Stolz is engaged in, but without any specifics. One possibility is that this detail emphasizes Stolz’s versatility: he can do literally anything, so the specific nature of his activity is not very important. The other is a subtle clue, as the literary scholar Lyudmila Geiro noted: the scattered mentions of places Stolz frequently visits coincide with the list of areas where gold was mined, bought, and sold. If this is the case, Stolz is a gold industrialist. It is worth noting that Sitka, where Stolz wants to go, is in Alaska, but this does not necessarily suggest his involvement with gold mining, as the existence of gold reserves in Alaska was unknown when the novel was written.

Sources

Goncharov I. A. Complete Collected Works and Letters in 20 vols. Vol. 6. Oblomov. St. Petersburg, 2004.

Otradin M. V. The Prose of I. A. Goncharov in the Literary Context. St. Petersburg, 1994.

I. A. Goncharov’s Novel “Oblomov” in Russian Criticism. Leningrad, 1991.