THE SUPERFLUOUS MAN
173
But the moment is lost before he can grasp it; the mind begins
to wander and the eyelids to droop. The next section is called,
"Oblomov's Dream."
It is not actually a dream but a fully-described excursion into
Oblomov's boyhood on the family estate of Oblomovka. Goncharov
was always methodical and he never raised questions without answer–
ing them. To the question: what formed this man? he furnishes a
comprehensive reply. Janko Lavrin called Goncharov a master of
Kleinmalerei
and this is nowhere better demonstrated than
in
the
abundant memorabilia that color his drawing of the family nest.
There is another thing about Goncharov-he is a master of the
delayed meaning and the postponed shock. From his comedy of
sharp highlights and exaggerations he turns to a kind of pastoral
idyll and Oblomovka is a picture of somnolent sweetness, quiet
plenty, lazy contentment; it is all drenched in a warm sunlight of
sentimentality. For a while the author seems to be identified with
the scene and he can almost be sighted, lounging in a doorway
looking out onto the yard where the red-cheeked boy is playing under
the .:yes of his nurse, where the long shadows are falling across the
balcony, the dovecote and the garden, where the rye-fields glow
like fire
in
the distance and the river sparkles. But there is a growing
sense of uneasiness and when he turns his face we recognize that he
is not some Mitya or Andryushka belonging to the house, but a
stranger with a cynical smile on his face.
He even follows them into their bedrooms at night, after the
placid day of rich heavy meals and frequent naps, to overhear their
prayers as they say: "'The day is over and thank God!' (they)
said, getting into bed, sighing and crossing themselves. 'We have
lived through it safely;
God
grant
that
it may be the same tomorrow!
Thanks be to Thee, 0 Lord.' "
The boy, Oblomov, is tended and fussed over, stuffed and
spoiled, his schooling interrupted by frequent holidays at home; he
is the victim of a monstrous love. There are·more sides to Oblomovism
than this, of course. Superstition, backwardness and fear all have a
part. Goncharov is especially ingenious in describing the kind of
palpitating fright that seizes Oblomovka in the face of anything new
or unexpected-the sudden arrival of a letter, a rumor of a wolf
seen in the ravine, a bad omen. Gogol's Old World Landowners are
