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The nihilist movement (in Latin, nihil means “nothing”) was a Russian philosophical movement that picked up steam in the 1860s, and the term was popularized by Fathers and Sons. Though the movement is difficult to define, its emphases included the rejection of all authorities and traditional institutions (such as marriage, the church, and governmental structures) and reliance on materialism and scientism, with an eventual goal of social and political transformation. Bazarov’s nihilism is characterized by a particular disdain for the views of old-fashioned progressives who debated issues such as the oppression of the serfs but were, according to nihilists, insufficiently revolutionary in their actions.
Nihilism Quotes in Fathers and Sons
The Fathers and Sons quotes below are all either spoken by Nihilism or refer to Nihilism. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 5
Quotes
“What is Bazarov?” Arkady smiled. “Would you like me to tell you, uncle, what he is exactly?”
“Please do, nephew.”
“He is a nihilist!”
“A what?” asked Nikolai Petrovich, while his brother lifted his knife in the air with a small piece of butter on the tip and remained motionless.
“He is a nihilist,” repeated Arkady.
“A nihilist,” said Nikolai Petrovich. “That comes from the Latin nihil - nothing, I imagine; the term must signify a man who . . . who recognizes nothing?”
“Say - who respects nothing,” put in Pavel Petrovich, and set to work with the butter again.
“Who looks at everything critically,” observed Arkady.
“Isn’t that exactly the same thing?” asked Pavel Petrovich.
“No, it’s not the same thing. A nihilist is a person who does not take any principle for granted, however much that principle may be revered.”
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Nihilism Term Timeline in Fathers and Sons
The timeline below shows where the term Nihilism appears in Fathers and Sons. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5
...an army doctor. Pavel asks what Bazarov does. Rather triumphantly, Arkady declares, “He is a nihilist!” “A what?” Pavel asks, his butter knife poised in the air.
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Soon Pavel says, “Here is Monsieur Nihilist.” Bazarov appears, splattered with mud and carrying a wiggling sack. To Pavel’s inquiry, Bazarov explains...
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Chapter 10
...is a waste of time; “so-called progressives and reformers” never accomplish anything. That is why nihilists have decided to “confine ourselves to abuse” rather than trying to do anything “serious.”
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When Arkady agrees with Bazarov, Pavel groans that such a force as nihilism is fundamentally uncivilized. Anyway, nihilists are too few to make any difference among the Russian...
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Chapter 11
...men have some advantage over his generation—perhaps their distance from “the serf-owning mentality.” Yet the nihilist rejection of nature confounds him. Looking across his fields, Nikolai thinks “O Lord, how beautiful...
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...is delighted with the suggestion but conceals his excitement behind languor; “he was not a nihilist for nothing!” The two of them set off the following day. The older men “breathed...
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