The image of the family in the novels of Nikolai Garin-Mikhailovsky

Abstract

The end of the 19th century saw an intense debate in Russian society around what education should be like in the changing socio-political conditions and the growing revolutionary movement. These events forced people to think about whether they should choose the path of radical (revolutionary) transformations or remain on the path of evolution, relying on traditional values that were preserved in the family. Nikolai Garin-Mikhailovsky touched upon this sensitive topic, raising an important question about the future of the society's development strategy. Based on his own experience, Garin-Mikhailovsky puts forward the traditional Russian model of family education as an ideal, emphasizing the importance of the role of a woman in the formation of spiritual and moral values in a child. Most studies emphasize the sharp opposition and categorical condemnation of Garin-Mikhailovsky’s system of education in the family and at school, based on the brutal suppression of a person’s personality and forming spiritual monsters for society. Using the example of the main character of the tetralogy, Artemy Kartashev, the author shows how a personality is formed under the influence of various trials, how character, inner world, and relationships with family and friends change. The purpose of our research is to analyze the image of the family recreated by Garin-Mikhailovsky in the autobiographical saga “Tyoma’s Childhood”. The material for the research was the first two stories of the cycle – “Tyoma’s Childhood” and “Gymnasium Students”, since the theme of family is the leading one here, and weakens in subsequent books. The theoretical basis of the work was the works of V. M. Zhirmunsky, B. M. Gasparov, and A. B. Esin