The Precipice (Goncharov novel)

The Precipice () is the third novel by Ivan Goncharov, first published in January–May 1869 issues of Vestnik Evropy magazine. The novel, conceived in 1849, took twenty years to be completed and has been preceded by the publication of the three extracts: "Sophja Nikolayevna Belovodova" (Sovremennik, No.2, 1860), "Grandmother" and "Portrait" (Otechestvennye Zapiski, Nos.1-2, 1861). The author considered it to be his most definitive work, in which he fully realized his grand artistic ambition. Less successful than its predecessor Oblomov (1859), The Precipice is still regarded as one of the Russian literature's classics.

Background 
According to Goncharov, the idea of the third novel came to him in 1849 when he returned to his native Simbirsk after fourteen years of absence. "Old memories of early youth, new encounters, landscapes of Volga banks, local scenes and situations, customs and manners, – all this stirred up my fantasies and I drew the plan for the novel in my head adding finishing touches to Oblomov. Both projects had to be aborted as I embarked upon the round the world journey on frigate "Pallada" in 1852, 1853 and 1854. It was only after this journey's end, and when the book Frigate "Pallada" has been written and published, that I was able to return to these novels, both still only conceived. […] In 1857-1858 I finished and published Oblomov and only after that was able to concentrate on The Precipice, some fragments of which I had read to my friends and others published in magazines in 1860-1861," he remembered. Only in 1868, while in Germany and France, Goncharov completed the fourth and fifth parts of the novel. Back in Saint Petersburg he revised the text and added an epilogue.

On August 21, 1866, in a letter to Alexander Nikitenko Goncharov wrote:   
One character, that of Mark Volokhov, has undergone considerable evolution. Initially, according to the author, "this figure was never supposed to fit into the novel's major scheme, being part of a background, in shadows," a mere "introductory face, serving for Vera's character fuller realization." Soon, though, he turned out to be one of the novel's most prominent figures. Among rough drafts of The Precipice there was Volokhov's short 'biography' which showed him to be initially a "domestic kind of a nihilist," struggling in vain to realize his life potential to the full, then evolving into a kind of ideologist preaching "new truth", materialism and atheism. Goncharov admitted later that Volokhov proved to be a challenging character and in the long run, a stumbling block, hindering the whole process. The author himself conceded later that "the Volokhov character came like a piece of two-part cloth, one half belonging to pre-1850s, another coming from the modern times when 'new people' started to emerge."

Goncharov considered The Precipice to be his best work, in which he managed to realize his artistic ambition to the full. "Dreams and aspirations of Raisky for me sound like a sonorous chord, praising a Woman, Motherland, God and love," he wrote in a letter to Mikhail Stasyulevich.

Reception
The novel, upon its release, received mixed response. At the time of the sharp division in the Russian cultural elite, critics came to assume the novel each according to their own current political stand. The Russian Messenger, a conservative magazine, not just praised the way Goncharov allegedly "poeticized the old times" but saw this as the novel's major asset. Critics close to the democratic camp (among them Nikolai Shelgunov and Maria Tsebrikova) published negative reviews. Characteristically, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin in his essay "The Street Philosophy" (Otechestvennye zapiski, 1869, No.6) focused only on chapter 6 of the last part of the novel. Having scrutinized Volokhov's character, he came to the conclusion that this type of person in no way could be seen as a Russian free-thinking man's role model.  Vexed by the fact that it was the 'domestic nihilist' type to whom Goncharov had attributed this status of a 'doctrine-holder', the critic saw this as a sign of the novel's tendentiousness and accused its author for "a penchant for abstract humanism." Traditional values of 'goodness' were totally irrelevant for the 'new Russia' with its social problems that were needed to be solved, Shchedrin argued.

Despite all this, The Precipice enjoyed great success. Goncharov remembered: "Stasyulevich related to me, how, every first day of a month, people would queue at the Vestnik Evropys doors as if it were bakers' - those were couriers, eager to grab copies for their subscribers."

References

External links

Category:Novels by Ivan Goncharov
Category:1869 Russian novels
Category:Works originally published in Russian magazines