xample, but he cannot resist falling in love with Odintsov. He disdains the traditionalism of loving one's parents, but it is clear that he has a strong fondness for them, despite his sometimes harsh claims to the contrary. Turgenev could be suggesting in this case that there is something essential missing in a human being who tries to kill everything romantic, poetic and creative within himself.
In Pavlova's short novel, the conflict is more subtly expressed. Turgenev presents the conflict in blatant form. Bazarov may be trying to fool himself about his more humanistic and romantic tendencies, but he believes what he tells others about his nihilistic impulses. However, Khozrevsky, in Pavlova's story, is a man who is in disguise. He pretends to be less than he is in order to ingratiate himself into the life, mind, and perhaps the heart of the Princess. It might be argued that Khozrevsky has undertaken a feminine role, a social role inculcated into women who traditionally choose, or are forced, to minimize their talents and intellect in order not to outshine the men in their lives.
The Princess, on the other hand, has convinced herself that she represents the masculine principle, the force which is in control of the situation, that conquers the opposing feminine principle which Khozrevsky seems to represent. The Princess seems to love art, and is an artist herself, but in her relations with others she reveals herself to be a woman frightened of her own vulnerability and controlled by a need to dehumanize others. For example, her cousin tells her, "When you take a notion to amuse yourself with someone, you become quite inhuman" (Pavlova 34). In fact, her entire relationship with Khozrevsky can be said to be an amusement, although she is finally exposed as the object of amusement for Khozrevsky, at least in part. The fact that she co
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