Fathers and Sons

by

Ivan Turgenev

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Katya is Anna Odintsov’s younger sister, age 18. Dominated by her sister and guardian, Katya is very shy and reserved. She spends most of her time playing the piano or playing with her dog, Fifi. She and Arkady develop a friendship over their shared fondness for music and nature. Arkady is able to see that Katya is proud and independent in her own way, and Katya recognizes that Arkady doesn’t fit into Bazarov’s world before Arkady even realizes this. Arkady slowly transforms under Katya’s influence from a would-be nihilist radical to the more conventional, tender-hearted gentleman underneath. Katya and Arkady marry and have a son, Nikolai, settling on the Kirsanov estate of Maryino. She and Fenichka become good friends.

Katya Odintsov Quotes in Fathers and Sons

The Fathers and Sons quotes below are all either spoken by Katya Odintsov or refer to Katya Odintsov. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Tradition and Progress Theme Icon
).
Chapter 26 Quotes

“I am now no longer the conceited boy I was when I first arrived here,” Arkady continued. “I have not reached the age of twenty-two for nothing; I still have every wish to lead a useful life, I still want to devote all my energies to the pursuit of truth; but I can no longer seek my ideal where I did before; I perceive it now . . . much closer to hand. Up till now I did not understand myself, I set myself tasks beyond my capacity… My eyes have recently been opened, thanks to a certain emotion … I am not expressing myself very clearly but I hope you will understand me . . .”

Related Characters: Arkady Nikolayevich Kirsanov (speaker), Katya Odintsov
Page Number: 266
Explanation and Analysis:

“You see what I’m doing: there happened to be an empty space in my trunk, and I’m stuffing it with hay; it’s the same with the trunk which is our life: we fill it with anything that comes to hand rather than leave a void […] And now, in parting, let me repeat . . . because there is no point in deceiving ourselves—we are parting for good, and you know that yourself . . . you have acted sensibly: you were not made for our bitter, harsh, lonely existence. There’s no audacity in you, no venom: you’ve the fire and energy of youth but that’s not enough for our business. Your sort, the gentry, can never go farther than well-bred resignation or well-bred indignation, and that’s futile.”

Related Characters: Yevgeny Vassilyich Bazarov (speaker), Arkady Nikolayevich Kirsanov, Katya Odintsov
Page Number: 271
Explanation and Analysis:
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Katya Odintsov Quotes in Fathers and Sons

The Fathers and Sons quotes below are all either spoken by Katya Odintsov or refer to Katya Odintsov. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Tradition and Progress Theme Icon
).
Chapter 26 Quotes

“I am now no longer the conceited boy I was when I first arrived here,” Arkady continued. “I have not reached the age of twenty-two for nothing; I still have every wish to lead a useful life, I still want to devote all my energies to the pursuit of truth; but I can no longer seek my ideal where I did before; I perceive it now . . . much closer to hand. Up till now I did not understand myself, I set myself tasks beyond my capacity… My eyes have recently been opened, thanks to a certain emotion … I am not expressing myself very clearly but I hope you will understand me . . .”

Related Characters: Arkady Nikolayevich Kirsanov (speaker), Katya Odintsov
Page Number: 266
Explanation and Analysis:

“You see what I’m doing: there happened to be an empty space in my trunk, and I’m stuffing it with hay; it’s the same with the trunk which is our life: we fill it with anything that comes to hand rather than leave a void […] And now, in parting, let me repeat . . . because there is no point in deceiving ourselves—we are parting for good, and you know that yourself . . . you have acted sensibly: you were not made for our bitter, harsh, lonely existence. There’s no audacity in you, no venom: you’ve the fire and energy of youth but that’s not enough for our business. Your sort, the gentry, can never go farther than well-bred resignation or well-bred indignation, and that’s futile.”

Related Characters: Yevgeny Vassilyich Bazarov (speaker), Arkady Nikolayevich Kirsanov, Katya Odintsov
Page Number: 271
Explanation and Analysis: