Oblomov
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Oblomov (first published: 1858) is the best known novel by Russian writer Ivan Goncharov. Oblomov is also the central character of the novel, often seen as the ultimate incarnation of the superfluous man, a stereotypical character in 19th-century Russian literature. Oblomov was compared to Shakespeare's Hamlet as answering 'No!' to the question "To be or not to be?". 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 and famously fails to leave his bed for the first 150 pages of the novel. The book was considered a satire of Russian nobility whose social and economic function was increasingly in question in mid-nineteenth century Russia.
The novel was wildly popular when it came out in Russia and a number of its characters and devices have had an imprint on Russian culture and language. Oblomov (also, oblomovism) has become a Russian word used to describe someone who exhibits the personality traits of sloth or inertia similar to the novel's main character.
Influence
Goncharov's work added new words to the Russian lexicon, most notably "Oblomovism" (sometimes also rendered as "Oblomovitis";), described as an integral part of Russian character. Stolz suggests that Oblomov's death was the result of "Oblomovism".
The term Oblomovism appeared in a speech given by V.I. Lenin in 1922, where he says that:
- Russia has made three revolutions, and still the Oblomovs have remained... and he must be washed, cleaned, pulled about, and flogged for a long time before any kind of sense will emerge.
A character named "Oblomov" in art patron Peggy Guggenheim's memoir "Out of This Century" was identified by poet Stephen Spender as Samuel Beckett, her one-time lover.
