The Superfluous Man in 19th Century Russian Literature and 20th Century
Existentialistic Embodiment
Pamela J. Won
Mentor: Lora Mjolsness
Nineteenth century Russian literature often portrays the male protagonist as the
superfluous man of the novel. The superfluous man is defined as: the Russian archetype
who is usually educated, intelligent, handsome, and idealistic, but unable to engage in
effective action. He is a bystander, a drifting individual who cannot bring himself to set a
foundation for life, but instead pursues innocuous moments of pleasure until boredom
becomes a dominating factor. Often called the Byronic, or epic hero, this archetype
struggles with both society and inner turmoil. Superfluous men range from being
sympathetic characters like Prince Andrei Bolkonsky (War and Peace 1865), lone
idealists like Ivan Karamazov (The Brothers Karamazov 1880), or aloof nobles similar to
Pechorin (A Hero of Our Time 1839). Supporting the Russian archetype is the philosophy
of existentialism studied by Jean Paul Sartre, whose twentieth century theories relate to
nineteenth century character and social developments of Russia. My focus is to show
commonalities between the two time periods in a way that existentialism unknowingly
and subconsciously plays a pivotal role in Russian literature. Sartre’s definition of
atheistic existentialism identifies famous Russian literary protagonists based on how the
Byronic hero wants to assume Godlike power, in Sartre’s definition, to fulfill impulsive
desires. Main characters in three Russian novels will be analyzed as components that
have evolved into contemporary existentialism. Dissertations, publications, and novels
were used to get to this research’s theories. A hybrid of classic archetypes and modern
philosophy also provides a large scope on social changes.