What Is to Be Done?
What is What Is to Be Done? about?
What Is to Be Done? (1863) is Nikolay Chernyshevsky’s utopian novel, written in the Peter and Paul Fortress prison and smuggled past censors who failed to recognize its revolutionary implications. The novel follows Vera Pavlovna, a young woman who escapes an oppressive family through a fictitious marriage and establishes a sewing cooperative based on rational, egalitarian principles. Through Vera and her circle of "new people"—men and women who live by rational self-interest, reject conventional morality, and work toward social transformation—Chernyshevsky sketches a vision of how Russian society might be reorganized on rational and cooperative principles. The novel’s famous "Fourth Dream" presents an elaborate utopian vision of a future socialist society. Though often criticized as a novel—its prose is deliberately awkward, its narrator intrusively argumentative—its impact on Russian history was enormous. It inspired generations of revolutionaries, directly influenced Lenin, and became the most politically consequential novel in Russian history.
Main themes in What Is to Be Done?
Utopian Fiction
Utopian Fiction emerges as a defining element in What Is to Be Done?, shaping character development.
Russian Revolution Origins
In What Is to Be Done?, russian revolution origins provides a lens for understanding the story's core message.
Women’s Emancipation
The presence of women’s emancipation in What Is to Be Done? connects readers to its enduring relevance.
Rational Egoism
In What Is to Be Done?, rational egoism provides a lens for understanding the story's core message.
Why What Is to Be Done? is still relevant today
What Is to Be Done? demonstrates the extraordinary power of literature to shape political movements. Understanding this novel is essential for anyone studying the Russian Revolution, utopian thought, or the relationship between literature and political action.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is What Is to Be Done? about?
A young Russian woman escapes oppression and builds a cooperative society with fellow “new people” who live by rational principles, envisioning a transformed future. Read it free on TextStack.
Why is this the most politically influential Russian novel?
It provided a blueprint for revolutionary living that inspired generations of radicals, including Lenin, who credited it as formative and titled his own famous pamphlet after it.
Is What Is to Be Done? difficult to read?
The prose is deliberately unconventional and the narrator argumentative, but the ideas are clearly presented. Its historical importance makes the challenge worthwhile.
How did this novel escape prison censorship?
Censors reviewed it but failed to recognize the revolutionary implications hidden within what appeared to be a simple love story and social novel.