Nikolay Aleksandrovich Dobrolyubov

Russian critic. Born the son of a priest. After attending seminary, he graduated from St. Petersburg's Normal School. Although he only wrote for five years, his literary talent was recognized by Chernyshevsky of the magazine "Contemporaries," and he published many literary critiques in the magazine from the standpoint of materialism and revolutionary democracy. He regarded literature as a reproduction of reality, emphasized its social significance, and criticized the school of pure art, but he did not demand a specific worldview from writers, and argued that it was the job of the critic to extract a worldview and philosophy from the work, and therefore advocated a division of labor between the two. His representative works include What is Oblomovism? (1859), which saw the end of a superfluous character in Goncharov's novel Oblomov; A Ray of Light in the Kingdom of Darkness (1860), which saw a sign of the revolutionary awakening of the people in Ostrovsky's play; and When Will That Day Come? (1860), which looked forward to the dawn of the revolution in Turgenev's The Eve. At the same time, during the revolutionary situation on the eve of the emancipation of the serfs, he serialized harsh essays exposing the political deception of liberals, which caused Turgenev and other writers to withdraw from The Modern Man, causing controversy. He died at the age of 25 from lung disease caused by overwork, but his passionate critiques, which aimed for a true people's revolution, were loved by the Narodniks of later years. He also left behind a collection of poems.

[Masashi Watanabe]

"What is Oblomovism? and other volumes" translated by Yukihiko Kaneko (Iwanami Bunko)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ロシアの批評家。司祭の子として生まれる。神学校を経てペテルブルグの師範学校を卒業。文筆活動はわずか5年間にすぎないが、『現代人』誌のチェルヌィシェフスキーにその文学的才能を評価され、唯物論、革命的民主主義の立場から、同誌に多数の文芸批評を発表した。文学を現実の再現ととらえ、その社会的意義を強調し、純粋芸術派を批判したが、作家に特定の世界観を要求せず、作品から世界観、哲学を引き出すのは批評家の仕事であるとして、両者の分業を主張した。ゴンチャロフの長編小説『オブローモフ』に余計者の最後をみた『オブローモフ主義とは何か』（1859）、オストロフスキーの戯曲のなかに民衆の革命的覚醒(かくせい)の予兆を認めた『闇(やみ)の王国における一条の光』（1860）、ツルゲーネフの『その前夜』に革命の曙光(しょこう)を待望した『その日はいつ来るか』（1860）などが代表作である。それと同時に農奴解放前夜の革命的情勢期には、自由主義者の政治的欺瞞(ぎまん)性を暴露する辛辣(しんらつ)な論文を連載、そのためにツルゲーネフをはじめとする作家たちが『現代人』から脱退、物議を醸した。過労がもとで肺患を患い25歳で病没するが、真の民衆革命を目ざす彼の情熱的な評論は、後のナロードニキたちによって愛読された。ほかに詩集も残している。

［渡辺雅司］

『金子幸彦訳『オブローモフ主義とは何か？　他一編』（岩波文庫）』

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