Stolz's life goal. Character history

Collection of essays: Andrey Stolts as a “man of action”

The pinnacle of I. A. Goncharov’s work is “Oblomov,” work on which was completed in 1859. At the center of the work is the tragic story of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, an untimely deceased nobleman, an intelligent, kind man, but weak-willed, apathetic, not adapted to work and life In the system of artistic images of the novel, one of the important places is occupied by the image of Oblomov’s childhood friend, Andrei Ivanovich Stolts. This is a “hero of the cause,” “a man of action.”

Stolz and Oblomov are antipodes. They are different in everything, but they are connected by a long and faithful friendship. Andrei Stolts is the son of an estate manager in a village that once belonged to the Oblomovs. He studied with Ilya, did him a “disservice”, either suggesting lessons or doing translations for him. And subsequently Andrei Stolts will selflessly help his friend in all life’s difficulties.

The main trait in Stolz’s character is hard work. His father is German, and he gave his son “a hard-working, practical education.” Ivan Bogdanovich explained to his son what clay was good for what, how tar was mined, lard was melted, etc. From the age of 14, Shlotz already went to the city alone and, for sure, correctly carried out his father's instructions. Andrei's mother is Russian. From her he also inherited faith. His mother would have “kept him close to her,” as Oblomov’s mother did, but Ivan Bogdanovich forbade stopping his son from learning about life.

After graduating from university, Stolz Sr. sent his son to St. Petersburg. He believed that he had fulfilled his duty by giving his son an education. Having left his parents' house, Stolz achieves everything he dreamed of. He recognized Europe “as if it were his own estate,” “saw Russia far and wide.” He made a career, “served, retired, went about his business and actually made a house and money.” He maintained contacts with gold miners, visited Kiev - the trading center of the beet-sugar industry, Nizhny Novgorod, famous for its annual fairs, Odessa - the largest center grain exports from Russia, a storage place for foreign goods, visited London, Paris, Lyon - the commercial and industrial centers of Europe. Such are the scale of Stolz's activities. Labor becomes the goal and meaning of Stolz's life. He tells Oblomov about this: “Labor is the image, the content, the element and purpose of life, at least mine.” Stolz never stops working. He is always in action.

The portrait of Stolz emphasizes his dynamism: “He is all made up of bones, muscles and nerves, like a blooded English horse. He is thin; he has almost no cheeks at all, that is, there is bone and muscle, but not a sign of fatty roundness.” He has no extra movements: “If he was sitting, he sat quietly, but if he acted, he used as many facial expressions as necessary.” The desire for balance is the main thing in the hero’s appearance, his character and fate. He “lived on a budget, trying to spend every day, like every ruble.”

In his moral life, Stolz also controlled his sorrows and joys, just as he controlled his affairs. The hero is used to being a leader. In his friendship with Oblomov, he plays the role of a strong mentor. It is Stolz who is trying to save his friend from the captivity of Oblomovism. He manages to do the incredible: he forces Oblomov to get up from the couch and, after many years of absence, appear in society. Stolz writes letters to his friend from abroad, inviting him to come to Switzerland and Italy.

Having met Oblomov two years later, when he would no longer think about changes in his own destiny, Stolz is forced to admit his powerlessness: “The hopes for the future are over: if Olga, this angel, did not carry you on her wings from your swamp , so I won’t do anything." And yet he invites Ilya Ilyich to “choose a small circle of activity, set up a village, tinker with the peasants, get involved in their business, build, plant.” Stolz tries to instill in Oblomov confidence in his abilities: “... you should and can do everything.”

Stolz's loyalty to the ideals of his youth is manifested in the fact that he saves a friend from poverty, draws up a power of attorney in his name and takes Oblomovka for rent. The energetic and active Stolz put his friend’s estate in order, changed a lot in Oblomovka: he built a bridge, put a roof on the house, and appointed a new manager.

Even in love and marriage, Stolz went through “the school of observation, patience, work.” Having met Olga Ilyinskaya in Paris, Stolz strives to unravel her mind and... He acts, wins her love. Olga and Stolz are happy in their family life. They lived “like everyone else,” as Oblomov dreamed,” but this was not a plant existence. They “thought, felt, spoke together.”

“A man of action” for Goncharov is a personality in which certain tendencies of Russian life of that time are reflected. Stolz strives for personal independence, he is a bourgeois businessman, but not a predator. Goncharov admires Stolz’s ebullient energy and entrepreneurial spirit, but also shows his weaknesses. Andrei Ivanovich has no poetry, no dreams, he does not have a program of public service. His activities are aimed only at personal well-being, he refuses to engage in a “bold struggle with rebellious issues.” Stolz’s activity is a disguised form of “Oblomovism.” The hero wants to achieve peace, get rid of the “fog of doubt, the melancholy of questions” about the meaning of life.

The characterization of Stolz - one of the main characters of the famous novel by Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov “Oblomov” - can be perceived ambiguously. This man is the bearer of the raznochinsky mentality, which is new for Russia. Probably, the classic initially wanted to create in his appearance a domestic analogue of the image of Jane Eyre.

Origin of Stolz

Andrei Ivanovich Stolts is the son of a clerk. His father Ivan Bogdanovich came to Russia from Germany. Before that, he tried to find a job in Russia, but he got a job managing a farm, where he scrupulously and skillfully managed the estate and kept records. He raised his son quite harshly. He worked for him from a young age, was a “personal driver” - he drove a spring cart when his father went to the city, to the fields, to the factory, to the merchants. The elder Stolz encouraged his son when he fought with the boys. Teaching science in the village of Verkhlevo for the children of landowners, he gave a thorough education to his Andryusha. Stolz’s mother was Russian, so Russian became his native language, and by faith he was Orthodox.

Of course, Stolz and Oblomov, who cannot organize his life, will clearly not be in favor of the latter.

Career

The young German graduated from college brilliantly. He made a career at work. Goncharov tells in snatches of other people’s phrases. In particular, we learn about the rank of Andrei Stolts from the phrase that in his service he “passed beyond the court.” Turning to the table of ranks, we find that the “court councilor” is the chairman of the court court, and is equal in rank to a lieutenant colonel. Thus, Andrei Stolts is a lawyer by training and earned a colonel’s pension. This is what the novel “Oblomov” tells us. The characterization of Stolz shows the predominance of a business streak in his character.

After retiring, the thirty-year-old man took up commercial activities in a trading company. And here he had good career prospects. At work, he was entrusted with responsible missions related to business trips to Europe and the development of new company projects. The business characterization of Stolz given by the novel is thorough and promising. Over the course of a couple of years of working in a trading company, he had already managed to profitably invest 40 thousand rubles of his father’s capital and turn it into 300 thousand rubles. For him, the prospect of making a million-dollar fortune is real.

Close people

Stolz has a spirit of camaraderie and cooperation. He spends time and energy to snatch his friend Oblomov from the web of laziness, tries to arrange his life by introducing him to a wonderful girl, Olga Ilyinskaya. Only when Oblomov refused to continue acquaintance with her, Stolz, having considered what a treasure Olga was, began to court her. The scammers who tried to completely ruin the careless Ilya Ilyich Oblomov finally had to deal with him - tough, insightful. He also pronounces the word that has become a household word - “Oblomovism.” After the illness and death of Ilya Ilyich, the Stoltsy spouses take his son Andryusha to raise him.

Conclusions based on Stolz's image

At the same time, it should be recognized that the author’s characterization of Stolz is the only flaw in the plot of the novel, as Goncharov himself confirmed. According to the plan, Andrei Ivanovich should have turned out to be an ideal person of the future, organically combining pragmatism with his father’s genes, and, inherited from his mother, artistic taste and aristocracy. In reality, the result was the type of bourgeoisie emerging in Russia: active, purposeful, unable to dream. Chekhov was critical of him, agreeing with the negative characterization that flashed in the novel - “a purged beast.” Anton Pavlovich debunked Stolz in the press as a man of the future, and Nikolai Aleksandrovich Dobrolyubov agreed with him. It is obvious that Goncharov’s characterization of Stolz went too far with rationality and commitment to rational thinking. These qualities in a normal, living person should not be hypertrophied to such an extent.

The absolute opposite of Oblomov is Stolz, who becomes the embodiment of calculation, activity, strength, determination, and determination. In Stolz’s German upbringing, the main thing was the development of an independent, active, purposeful nature. When describing the life of Stolz, Goncharov most often uses the words “firmly,” “straight,” and “walked.” And Stolz’s surname itself is sharp, abrupt, and his whole figure, in which there was not a fraction of roundness and softness, as in Oblomov’s appearance - all this reveals his German roots. His whole life was outlined once and for all; imagination, dreams and passions did not fit into his life program: “It seems that he controlled both sorrows and joys like the movement of his hands.” The most valued quality in a person for Stolz is “persistence in achieving a goal,” however, Goncharov adds that Stolz’s respect for a persistent person did not depend on the quality of the goal itself: “He never refused to respect people with this persistence, no matter how their goals were not important."

Stolz's goal in life, as he formulates it, is work and only work. To Oblomov’s question: “Why live?” - Stolz, without thinking for a moment, answers: “For the work itself, for nothing else.” This unequivocal “nothing else” is somewhat alarming. The results of Stolz’s work have a very tangible “material equivalent”: “He really made a house and money.” Goncharov speaks very vaguely, casually about the nature of Stolz’s activities: “He is involved in some company that ships goods abroad.” For the first time in Russian literature, an attempt appeared to show a positive image of an entrepreneur who, not having wealth at birth, achieves it through his labor.

Trying to elevate his hero, Goncharov convinces the reader that from his mother, a Russian noblewoman, Stolz acquired the ability to feel and appreciate love: “he developed for himself the conviction that love, with the power of Archimedes’ lever, moves the world.” However, in Stolz’s love everything is subordinated to reason; it is no coincidence that the “reasonable” Stolz never understood What happened between Oblomov and Olga, What became the basis of their love: “Oblomov! Can't be! – he added again affirmatively. “There’s something here: you don’t understand yourself, Oblomov, or, finally, love!” “This is not love, this is something else. It didn’t even reach your heart: imagination and pride, on the one hand, weakness, on the other.” Stolz never understood that there are different types of love, and not just the kind that he calculated. It is no coincidence that this inability to accept life in its diversity and unpredictability ultimately leads to the “Oblomovism” of Stolz himself. Having fallen in love with Olga, he is ready to stop, freeze. “I found mine,” thought Stolz. – I’ve waited!.. here it is, the last happiness of a person! Everything has been found, there is nothing to look for, there is nowhere else to go!” Having already become Stolz’s wife, experiencing true love for him, realizing that she has found her happiness in him, Olga often thinks about the future, she is afraid of this “silence of life”: “What is this? - she thought. -Where should we go? Nowhere! There is no further road. Is it really not, have you really completed the circle of life? Is everything really here, everything?”

Their attitude towards each other can say a lot about the characters. Oblomov sincerely loves Stolz, he feels true selflessness and generosity towards his friend; one can recall, for example, his joy at the happiness of Stolz and Olga. In his relationship with Stolz, the beauty of Oblomov’s soul is revealed, his ability to think about the meaning of life, activity, and its focus on man. Oblomov appears as a man who passionately seeks, although he does not find, a standard of life. In Stolz there is some kind of “lack of feeling” towards Oblomov; he is not capable of subtle emotional movements: on the one hand, he sincerely sympathizes with Ilya Ilyich, loves him, on the other hand, in relation to Oblomov he often turns out to be not so much a friend as “formidable” teacher." Stolz was for Ilya Ilyich the embodiment of that stormy life that always frightened Oblomov, from which he tried to hide. To Oblomov’s bitter and annoying: “Life touches,” Stolz immediately responds: “And thank God!” Stolz sincerely and persistently tried to force Oblomov to live more actively, but this persistence sometimes became harsh and sometimes cruel. Without sparing Oblomov and not considering that he has the right to do so, Stolz touches on the most painful memories of Olga, without the slightest respect for his friend’s wife he says: “Look around, where are you and who are you with?” The very phrase “now or never,” menacing and inevitable, was also unnatural to Oblomov’s soft nature. Very often, in a conversation with a friend, Stolz uses the words “I will shake you,” “you must,” “you must live differently.” Stolz drew a life plan not only for himself, but also for Oblomov: “You must live with us, close to us. Olga and I decided so, so it will be!” Stolz “saves” Oblomov from his life, from his choice - and in this salvation he sees his task.

What kind of life did he want to involve his friend in? The content of the week that Oblomov spent with Stolz was inherently different from the dream on Gorokhovaya Street. There were some things to do this week, lunch with a gold miner, tea at the dacha in a large society, but Oblomov very accurately called it vanity, behind which no person is visible. In his last meeting with his friend, Stolz said to Oblomov: “You know me: I set myself this task a long time ago and will not give up. Until now I was distracted by various things, but now I am free.” So the main reason emerged - various matters that distracted Stolz from his friend’s life. And indeed, between the appearances of Stolz in Oblomov’s life - like failures, like abysses - years pass: “Stolz did not come to St. Petersburg for several years,” “a year has passed since Ilya Ilyich’s illness,” “it’s been five years since we have seen each other.” It is no coincidence that even during Oblomov’s life, “an abyss opened up” between him and Stolz, “a stone wall was erected,” and this wall existed only for Stolz. And while Oblomov was still alive, Stolz buried his friend with an unequivocal sentence: “You are dead, Ilya!”

The author's attitude towards Stolz is ambiguous. Goncharov, on the one hand, hoped that soon “many Stoltz would appear under Russian names,” on the other hand, he understood that in artistic terms it was hardly possible to call the image of Stolz successful, full-blooded, he admitted that the image of Stolz was “weak, pale - it makes the idea look too bare.”

The problem of the hero in the novel “Oblomov” is connected with the author’s thoughts about the present and future of Russia, about the generic traits of the Russian national character. Oblomov and Stolz are not just different human characters, they are different systems of moral values, different worldviews and ideas about the human personality. The hero’s problem is that the author does not give preference to either Oblomov or Stolz, reserving to each of them his right to the truth and choice of life path.

Work:

Stolts Andrey Ivanovich is a friend of Oblomov, a business man.

Sh. received a unique upbringing. The Russian mother wanted to see him as a well-mannered, noble, romantic young man. The father raised his son as a strong man, capable of standing up for himself and coping with all difficulties.

From this combination, Sh.’s character was formed: “Suddenly, out of his father’s 40 thousand, he made 300 thousand capital, and in the service he became a servant, and a scientist... now he’s still traveling!” - this is how Tarantiev, who does not love him, speaks of Sh.

Indeed, Sh. is a very active person, the complete opposite of Oblomov. Sh. is independent, independent, self-confident. It seems that he manages to do everything: earn money, keep abreast of all the news, do charity work. “He is all made up of bones, muscles and nerves, like a blooded English horse.”

But, despite all the positive qualities, Sh. very much lacks spiritual softness, warmth, and subtlety of nature. “The dream, the enigmatic, the mysterious had no place in his soul... He had no idols...”

It is symbolic that the hero is half-German by origin. Hence all his pedantry, some callousness, mechanicalness: “above all else he put persistence in achieving the goal” by any means.

Sh. introduces Oblomov to Olga Ilyinskaya with the best intentions in order to awaken activity in his friend. When their relationship falls apart, Sh. himself marries Olga, perceiving her not only as his beloved woman, but also as his student. On it, Sh. tests his philosophical and life theories. But even he is not able to fully understand Olga’s aspirations for a different life, full of exploits and stormy excitement. He tells her: “You and I are not Titans... let’s bow our heads and humbly go through the difficult moment, and then life will smile again...” Sh. comes to terms with Oblomov’s life after several unsuccessful attempts to help his friend change. The only thing he can do is to take in his son and put things in order in Oblomovka in order to ensure the future of Oblomov, the youngest.

In the first chapters of the second part of the story, we learn a lot about Stolz’s childhood and upbringing. His mother was Russian, his father was German. He professed the Orthodox faith and his native language was Russian. His unusual character was brought up in him by a tough, demanding father and a kind, gentle mother towards Stolz. From Stolz the elder he receives a “practical education”, and from his mother the love of art, which she so diligently invested in him. Thanks to all these qualities, such as love for work, independence, perseverance in goals and German habits, Stolz achieves a lot in adulthood. In St. Petersburg he “served, retired...”, made himself a house and money, as he promised his father. Traveled a lot around the world, studied Russia and Europe.

Stolz was afraid to dream; his happiness lay in constancy. He became an ideal in Oblomov, everything about him was perfect. Stolz is the absolute opposite of the lazy, boring, worthless Oblomov. These are completely different people living their own lives.

STOLTZ is the central character of I.A. Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov” (1848-1859). Literary sources of the image of Sh. are Gogol’s Konstanjonglo and the merchant Murazov (second volume of “Dead Souls”), Pyotr Aduev (“Ordinary History”). Later, Sh. Goncharov developed the type in the image of Tushin (“Cliff”).

Sh. is the antipode of Oblomov, a positive type of practical figure. In the image of Sh., according to Goncharov’s plan, such opposing qualities as, on the one hand, sobriety, prudence, efficiency, knowledge of people as a materialist-practitioner should have been harmoniously combined; on the other hand, spiritual subtlety, aesthetic sensitivity, high spiritual aspirations, poetry. The image of Sh. is thus created by these two mutually exclusive elements: the first comes from his father, a pedantic, stern, rude German (“his father put him on a spring cart, gave him the reins and ordered him to be taken to the factory, then to the fields, then to the city , to merchants, to public places"); the second - from her mother, a Russian, poetic and sentimental nature (“she rushed to cut Andryusha’s nails, curl his curls, sew graceful collars and shirtfronts, sang to him about flowers, dreamed of a high role with him about the poetry of life...”). The mother was afraid that Sh., under the influence of his father, would become a rude burgher, but Sh.’s Russian entourage prevented him (“Oblomovka was nearby: there is an eternal holiday!”), as well as the princely castle in Verkhlev with portraits of pampered and proud nobles “in brocade, velvet and lace." “On the one hand, Oblomovka, on the other, the princely castle, with a wide expanse of lordly life, met the German element, and neither a good bursh nor even a philistine came out of Andrei.”

Sh., in contrast to Oblomov, makes his own way in life. It is not for nothing that Sh. comes from the bourgeois class (his father left Germany, wandered around Switzerland and settled in Russia, becoming the manager of an estate). Sh. graduates from the university with flying colors, successfully serves, retires to take care of his own business; makes a house and money. He is a member of a trading company that ships goods abroad; as an agent of the company, Sh. travels to Belgium, England, and throughout Russia. Sh.'s image is built on the basis of the idea of ​​balance, harmonious correspondence between the physical and spiritual, mind and feeling, suffering and pleasure. The ideal of Sh. is measure and harmony in work, life, rest, love. The portrait of Sh. contrasts with the portrait of Oblomov: “He is entirely made up of bones, muscles and nerves, like a blooded English horse. He is thin, he has almost no cheeks at all, that is, bone and muscle, but no sign of fatty roundness...” Sh.’s ideal of life is constant and meaningful work, this is “the image, content, element and purpose of life.” Sh. defends this ideal in a dispute with Oblomov, calling the latter’s utopian ideal “Oblomovism” and considering it harmful in all spheres of life.

Unlike Oblomov, Sh. stands the test of love. He meets the ideal of Olga Ilyinskaya: Sh. combines masculinity, loyalty, moral purity, universal knowledge and practical acumen, allowing him to emerge victorious in all life's trials. Sh. marries Olga Ilyinskaya, and Goncharov tries in their active alliance, full of work and beauty, to imagine an ideal family, a true ideal that does not work out in Oblomov’s life: “they worked together, had dinner, went to the fields, played music as Oblomov also dreamed of ... Only there was no drowsiness, no despondency, they spent their days without boredom and without apathy; there was no sluggish look, no words; their conversation never ended, it was often heated.” In his friendship with Oblomov, Sh. also rose to the occasion: he replaced the rogue manager, destroyed the machinations of Tarantiev and Mukhoyarov, who deceived Oblomov into signing a false loan letter.

The image of Sh., according to Goncharov, was supposed to embody a new positive type of Russian progressive figure (“How many Stoltsevs should appear under Russian names!”), combining both the best Westernizing tendencies and Russian breadth, scope, and spiritual depth. Type Sh. was supposed to turn Russia onto the path of European civilization, to give it the appropriate dignity and weight among the European powers. Finally, Sh.’s efficiency does not conflict with morality; the latter, on the contrary, complements efficiency, gives it inner power and strength.

Contrary to Goncharov's plan, utopian features are noticeable in Sh.'s image. The rationality and rationalism inherent in the image of Sh. is detrimental to artistry. Goncharov himself was not entirely satisfied with the image, believing that Sh. was “weak, pale”, that “the idea is too bare from him.” Chekhov expressed himself more harshly: “Stolz does not inspire me with any confidence. The author says that he is a magnificent fellow, but I don’t believe him. This is a spirited beast who thinks very well of herself and is pleased with herself. It’s half composed, three-quarters stilted” (letter 1889). The failure of Sh.'s image may be explained by the fact that Sh. is not artistically shown in the large-scale activity in which he is successfully engaged.

Andrei Ivanovich Stolts has been communicating with Oblomov since childhood and has become his close friend. By character he is a man of action, a practitioner, and by origin he is half German. Stolz's mother is a Russian noblewoman. For all his rationalism, Stolz has a good disposition. The hero is honest, understands people, and at the same time tends to calculate every action and approach everything in life from the side of practical benefit. Stolz was written out as an antipode to Oblomov and should, according to the author’s plan, be perceived as a role model.

Stolz is married to a noblewoman, a woman with whom Oblomov is in love. Olga loved Oblomov at first, but broke up with him. Oblomov was listless and dreamy, before proposing to Olga, he thought a lot and retreated.

Stolz at times brings Oblomov out of his apathy and makes him remember about life, encourages him to get down to business, invest in the establishment of schools, building roads, but Oblomov brushes aside such ideas.

Ilya Oblomov is taken advantage of by scammers, the hero’s affairs and economy pass into their hands, and he himself plunges into even greater inactivity than usual. When Oblomov hears rumors about his own upcoming wedding, the hero is horrified because nothing has been decided for him yet. During this period, Olga visits the hero and, seeing him in such a weak-willed and pitiful state, breaks off this relationship. This is where the love story between Olga and Oblomov ends.

The heroine is not going to get involved in a new relationship, but Stolz convinces Olga that the first relationship turned out to be a mistake and only laid the foundation for a new love - for him, Stolz. Olga appreciates hard work and determination in Stolz - something that she did not see in Oblomov. And she trusts her husband unlimitedly, “like a mother.”

Stolz holds progressive (for that time) views on the role of women in society. According to the hero, a woman is called upon to make a contribution to public life, educating worthy citizens, and for this she herself must be well educated. Stolz studies with his wife, teaches her science, and these activities bring the spouses even closer together. Stolz argues heatedly with his wife and is surprised at Olga's intelligence.

Stolz saves Oblomov from the clutches of scammers who would otherwise have robbed him completely. Later, Oblomov names his son after Stoltz, who is born to him from a woman from the bureaucratic environment, a landlady with whom Oblomov goes to live. Due to a sedentary lifestyle, Oblomov suffers an early stroke, and Stolz visits a sick friend. During this visit, Oblomov asks Stolz, in the name of friendship, to look after his little son Andrei. When Oblomov dies two years later, the Stolts take his son to be raised.

Image

Stolz is in his early thirties. The hero's appearance emphasizes his character - he is strong, thin, muscular, with high cheekbones, and there is no excess fat on his body. Goncharov compares the hero to a “blooded English horse.” Stolz has greenish eyes, the hero is dark-skinned, calm in his movements as well as in character. The hero is not characterized by excessive facial expressions, sharp gestures or fussiness.

Stolz's father, a German, came from the burghers and was not a nobleman. The boy was raised in the traditions of the burghers - he was taught to work and practical activities, which Andrei’s mother, a Russian noblewoman, did not like. My father studied geography with Andrey. The hero learned to read from the texts of German writers and biblical verses, and from a young age he helped his father in business, summing up accounts. Later he began to work as a tutor in a small boarding house set up by his father, and received a salary for this, like an ordinary artisan.

By the age of fourteen, the hero already went to the city alone on instructions from his father and carried out the assignment exactly, without mistakes, errors or bouts of forgetfulness. Andrei's father forbade his mother to interfere with the boy's activity and keep him with him. Stolz grew up active and was often absent from home for a long time. The young man received a good university education and speaks Russian and German equally well. At the same time, the hero continues to study throughout his life and constantly strives to learn new things.

Stolz did not receive nobility at birth, but soon rose to the rank of court councilor, which gave the hero the right to personal nobility. He does not advance further up the career ladder, but leaves the service to engage in trade. The company in which Stolz invested is engaged in the export of goods. Andrei was able to increase his father’s fortune many times over, turning forty thousand in capital into three hundred, and bought a house.

Stolz travels a lot and rarely stays at home for long. The hero traveled the length and breadth of Russia, visited abroad, studied at foreign universities and studied Europe “as his estate.” At the same time, Stolz is no stranger to social interaction, attends parties, and knows how to play the piano; interested in science, news and “all life.”

Characteristics of Stolz

The hero is restless, cheerful, firm and even stubborn. Always takes an active position: “if society needs to send an agent to Belgium or England, they send him; you need to write some project or adapt a new idea to business - they choose it.” Stolz's time is clearly planned, he does not waste a minute.

At the same time, the hero knows how to restrain unwanted impulses and remain within the boundaries of natural, rational behavior, controls his own feelings well and does not rush to extremes. Stolz is not inclined to blame others for his own failures and easily takes responsibility for the suffering and troubles that have occurred.

In contrast to Oblomov, the hero does not like to dream, avoids fantasies and everything that cannot be analyzed or applied in practice. Stolz knows how to live within his means, is prudent, is not prone to unjustified risks, and at the same time easily navigates difficult or unfamiliar circumstances. These qualities, coupled with determination, make the hero a good businessman. Stolz loves order in affairs and things, and navigates Oblomov’s affairs better than Oblomov himself.

Actors

The novel "Oblomov" was filmed in 1979. The director of the film entitled “A few days in the life of I. I. Oblomov” was, and the role of Andrei Stolts was played by the actor. Stolz in the film is depicted as a cheerful and active person, as he is presented in Goncharov’s novel.

At the same time, the actor admitted that he rather saw himself in the image of Oblomov, and Stolz, whose role Bogatyrev had to play, was in character the complete opposite of the actor himself.

The word “Oblomovism,” which became a household word after the release of the novel, was first heard from Stolz as a characteristic of Oblomov’s lifestyle. This word denoted a tendency toward laziness, apathy, and stagnation in business. In a word, what we would now call “procrastination.”

Quotes

“Labor is the image, content, element and purpose of life. At least mine."

“Life and work itself are the goal of life, not a woman.”

“Man is created to arrange himself and even change his nature.”