Nihilism in Turgenov's Fathers and Sons Turgenov's Fathers and Sons has several characters who have a strong worldview. Pavel believes that Russia needs a structure based on things like institutions, religion and class hierarchy. Madame Odintsov sees the world as simple as long as she keeps it systematic and free from interference. This essay will focus on perhaps the most interesting and complex character in Fathers and Sons: Bazarov. Vladimir Nabakov writes that "Turgenov takes his creature [B] out of a self-imposed pattern and places it in the normal world of chance." Examining Bazarov this essay will make this statement clearer to the reader. Using nihilism as a starting point we will examine Bazarov's views and interpretations of science, government, and institutions. Next we will deal with relationships between problems. Finally we examine Bazarov's death and the startling truths it reveals. These issues combined with the theme of nihilism will demonstrate that chance, or fate, is a strong force that cannot easily be denied. Nihilism as a concept is used in Fathers and Sons. To better understand the ideas behind this term, let's look at what Bazarov says on the topic. “We base our conduct on what we recognize as useful… the most useful thing we can do is to repudiate – and so we repudiate” (123). The basic concept of nihilism is to deny or deny and, as we will learn later in the same paragraph, to deny everything. With this 'destruction' of everything from science to art, there is no construction for nihilists, as Bazarov says: "This is none of our business" (126). Nihilists see the current structure of society as concerned with trivialities such as "art" and "parliamentism", ignoring real-life issues such as food, freedom and equality. Nihilists are aware of these social evils and therefore mentally deny recognizing any current authority or institution that only serves to perpetuate a myth. Bazarov agrees with the statement that nihilism "limits itself to abuse" (126). "...I don't believe in anything: and what is science, abstract science? There are sciences just as there are trades and professions, but abstract science just doesn't exist" (98). For Bazarov everything that is not tangible and concrete does not exist. Psychology, quantum mechanics, neurochemistry would be laughed at by Bazarov. It seems strange that Bazarov says: "...nowadays we laugh at medicine in general and do not worship anyone" (197), while at the same time pursuing a career as a doctor.