Hello,
I need help with the above topic. Any help would be much appreciated.
In Father And Sons, around Page 135, Viktor Sitnikov and Kukshina is introduced to the story.
I have read the book over and still have no idea on their role and function in the novel.
Any ideas?
Regards Keisuke,
I could be wrong but I think Kukshina is supposed to emphasize how arrogant, and yet stupid, many of the young Russian university students were at the time.
Dostoevsky, incidentally agrees with Turgenev, and I believe this quote is from 'The Brothers Karamazov', though it could also be from C&P.
"If you were to give a Russian student a celestial map, even if he had never seen such a thing, he would return it to you the next day with corrections"
I am reciting that from memory and so it may not be entirely verbatim, but I think the gist is there.
I thought Viktor Sitnikov and Kukshina were annoying poseurs. But then I thought Bazarov was somewhat. I thought Kukshina might have been introduced as a contrast to Odintsova. Odintsova was a genuinely clever and charming woman, while Kukshina tries to be but does not succeed very well. Bazarov has a genuine interest in science and is seriously capable. He analyses situations clearly, can make tough decisions, is not afraid to upset people. He might have gone on to do great things. Sitnikov might have inherited his father's alcohol selling business and perhaps run it competently enough, but probably not take it much farther.