Goncharov, Ivan (1812-1891), ranks among the most important novelists in Russian literature. His reputation rests primarily on Oblomov (1859), the second of his three novels. The title character, Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, is one of the greatest characters in Russian fiction. Oblomov is a young landowner living on his estate. He leads a life of physical and mental laziness, spending much of his time laying on a couch engaged in daydreams. He refuses to involve himself in business affairs and allows his estate to be mismanaged into ruin.
Critics generally consider Oblomov a brilliant work of social criticism. They see the landowner as representing the backward and futile character of Russian society in the 1800’s, contrasting the declining aristocratic class with the rising merchant class. Goncharov contrasts Oblomov with his friend Andrey Stolts, an efficient and energetic businessman who tries to rouse his friend into a life of action, but fails. Oblomov is also a landmark in the development of the Realist movement in Russian literature, with its unsentimental attention to commonplace characters and situations and its psychological insights into Oblomov’s character.
Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov was born on June 18, 1812, in Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk), Russia. He led a largely uneventful life. After graduating from Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1834, he spent nearly 30 years in the Russian civil service. His other two novels are A Common Story (1847) and The Precipice (1869). He also wrote a travel book, The Frigate Pallada (1858), based on a voyage to Japan he made from 1852 to 1855 as secretary to a Russian admiral. Goncharov died on Sept. 27, 1891.
