What is nihilism in Fathers and Children?

In the novel nihilism means systematic negation: Bazarov denies usefulness of art, aristocratic manners, and unexamined tradition. He respects facts, experiments, and peasant speech over salon culture. Arkady adopts the label early, then softens; Sitnikov and Kukshin parody it as fashion.

Turgenev shows nihilism’s appeal — clearing dead wood from feudal habits — and its costs — emotional barrenness, social rudeness, inability to build after tearing down. Bazarov’s love for Odintsov proves he is not pure iconoclast. Historical context: Russian youth movements of the 1860s; literary context: response to Turgenev’s own generation. Define nihilism through Bazarov’s debates, not modern English “nothing matters.”