WHAT IS TO BE DONE? by Nikolai Chernyshevsky

Author:Nikolai Chernyshevsky
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CORNELL UNIVERSI1Y PRESS

xvii.

If an outsider had come to consult with Kirsanov about the position in which he found himself when he came to his senses, and if Kirsanov had been a total stranger to all those involved in the affair, he’d have said to the outsider, “It’s too late to remedy the situation by running away. I don’t know how it will turn out, but it’s equally dangerous both to run away and to stay here; as for those whose peace of mind concerns you, your running away would be more dangerous than staying here.”

Of course Kirsanov would have said this only to the sort of man who was similar to him or Lopukhov, that is, a man of resolute character and unfailing honesty. It would be useless to discuss such matters with other people, because they’d undoubtedly behave in an abominable and worthless way; they’d shame the woman, dishonor themselves, and then go around to their friends whining or boasting, savoring either their heroic virtue or their amorous appeal. Neither Lopukhov nor Kirsanov would enjoy talking with such people about the way honorable men should behave. But Kirsanov would be correct in telling anyone of his own ilk that running away now would be almost worse than staying. The implications would be clear. “I know how you’d have to behave if you stayed: so as not to reveal your feelings, since that’s the only way you could stay and not become a scoundrel. The task before you is to disrupt as little as possible the serenity of a woman whose life is going along smoothly. It already seems impossible not to disrupt it at all. The feeling that’s incompatible with her present relations has probably (why say ‘probably’—it’s better to say ‘undoubtedly’) arisen in her already, but she hasn’t noticed it quite yet. It’s not yet known whether it will manifest itself to her soon without your instigation. But your departure now would serve as that instigation. In other words, your departure. would merely hasten the very process you seek to avoid.”

However, Kirsanov was considering this affair not as an outsider but as a participant. He imagined that it would be harder to leave than to remain. His feelings were inducing him to stay. Consequently, wouldn’t that mean submitting to those feelings, yielding to desire, if he stayed? What right did he have to believe so absolutely that he would not reveal his feelings or provide any instigation by a word or a glance? Therefore, it would be wiser to leave. In one’s own affairs it’s difficult to distinguish how much one’s reason has been seduced by the sophistries of desire, because honesty is saying, “If you go against desire, you’ll have a greater chance of behaving in an honorable way.” This represents a translation from theoretical language into ordinary speech. The theory that Kirsanov advocated considers fine words such as “honorable” to be ambiguous and obscure. In his own terminology Kirsanov would have expressed himself thus: “Every man is an egoist and so am I.

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