Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev(Turgeniev) (October 28, 1818, Orel, Russian Empire - August 22, 1883, Bougival, France) - Russian writer, poet, translator; corresponding member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in the category of the Russian language and literature (1860). It is considered one of the classics of world literature.
Biography
Father, Sergei Nikolaevich Turgenev (1793-1834), was a retired cuirassier colonel. Mother, Varvara Petrovna Turgeneva (before the marriage of Lutovinova) (1787-1850), came from a wealthy noble family.
The family of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev came from an ancient family of Tula nobles, the Turgenevs. It is curious that the great-grandfathers were involved in the events of the times of Ivan the Terrible: the names of such representatives of this family as Ivan Vasilievich Turgenev, who was a nursemaid with Ivan the Terrible (1550-1556), are known; Dmitry Vasilyevich was the governor in Kargopol in 1589. And in the Time of Troubles, Pyotr Nikitich Turgenev was executed at the Execution Ground in Moscow for denouncing False Dmitry I; great-grandfather Alexei Romanovich Turgenev was a participant in the Russian-Turkish war under Anna Ioannovna.
Until the age of 9, Ivan Turgenev lived in the hereditary estate of Spasskoe-Lutovinovo, 10 km from Mtsensk, Oryol province. In 1827, the Turgenevs, in order to educate their children, settled in Moscow, buying a house on Samotyok.
The first romantic passion of young Turgenev was falling in love with the daughter of Princess Shakhovskaya - Catherine. The estates of their parents in the suburbs bordered, they often exchanged visits. He is 14, she is 18. In letters to her son, V.P. Turgeneva called E.L. Shakhovskaya a “poet” and a “villain”, since Sergei Nikolayevich Turgenev himself, a happy rival of his son, could not resist the charms of the young princess. The episode was revived much later, in 1860, in the story "First Love".
After his parents went abroad, Ivan Sergeevich first studied at the boarding house of Weidenhammer, then at the boarding school of the director of the Lazarevsky Institute, Krause. In 1833, 15-year-old Turgenev entered the verbal department of Moscow University. Herzen and Belinsky studied here at that time. A year later, after Ivan's older brother entered the Guards Artillery, the family moved to St. Petersburg, and Ivan Turgenev then transferred to St. Petersburg University to the Faculty of Philosophy. Timofey Granovsky became his friend.
Group portrait of Russian writers - members of the editorial board of the Sovremennik magazine. Top row: L. N. Tolstoy, D. V. Grigorovich; bottom row: I. A. Goncharov, I. S. Turgenev, A. V. Druzhinin, A. N. Ostrovsky, 1856
At that time, Turgenev saw himself in the poetic field. In 1834 he wrote the dramatic poem "The Wall", several lyric poems. The young author showed these tests of the pen to his teacher, professor of Russian literature P. A. Pletnev. Pletnev called the poem a weak imitation of Byron, but noted that "there is something" in the author. By 1837 he had already written about a hundred small poems. At the beginning of 1837, an unexpected and short meeting with A. S. Pushkin takes place. In the first issue of the Sovremennik magazine for 1838, which, after Pushkin’s death, was edited by P. A. Pletnev, Turgenev’s poem “Evening” was printed with the signature “- - -v”, which is the author’s debut.
In 1836, Turgenev graduated from the course with the degree of a real student. Dreaming of scientific activity, he again took the final exam the next year, received a candidate's degree, and in 1838 went to Germany. During the journey, a fire broke out on the ship, and the passengers miraculously managed to escape. Fearing for his life, Turgenev asked one of the sailors to save him and promised him a reward from his rich mother if he could fulfill his request. Other passengers testified that the young man exclaimed plaintively: "To die so young!", while pushing women and children at the lifeboats. Fortunately, the beach was not far.
Once on the shore, the young man was ashamed of his cowardice. Rumors of his cowardice infiltrated society and became the subject of ridicule. The event played a certain negative role in the subsequent life of the author and was described by Turgenev himself in the short story "Fire at Sea". Having settled in Berlin, Ivan took up his studies. Listening to lectures at the university on the history of Roman and Greek literature, at home he studied the grammar of ancient Greek and Latin. Here he became close to Stankevich. In 1839 he returned to Russia, but already in 1840 he again went abroad, visiting Germany, Italy and Austria. Impressed by a meeting with a girl in Frankfurt am Main, Turgenev later wrote the story "Spring Waters".
Henri Troyat, "Ivan Turgenev" "My whole life is permeated with the feminine. Neither a book nor anything else can replace a woman for me ... How can I explain this? I believe that only love causes such a flowering of the whole being, which nothing else can give. And what do you think? Listen, in my youth I had a mistress - a miller from the outskirts of St. Petersburg. I met her when I went hunting. She was very pretty - a blonde with radiant eyes, which are quite common with us. She didn't want to take anything from me. And once she said: “You must give me a present!” - "What do you want?" - "Bring me soap!" I brought her soap. She took it and disappeared. She returned flushed and said, holding out her fragrant hands to me: “Kiss my hands the way you kiss them to ladies in St. Petersburg drawing rooms!” I threw myself on my knees in front of her ... There is no moment in my life that could compare with this! (Edmond Goncourt. "Diary", March 2, 1872.)
Turgenev's story at a dinner at Flaubert's
In 1841 Ivan returned to Lutovinovo. He became interested in the seamstress Dunyasha, who in 1842 gave birth to his daughter Pelageya (Polina). Dunyasha was given in marriage, the daughter was left in an ambiguous position.
In early 1842, Ivan Turgenev submitted a request to Moscow University for admission to the exam for a master's degree in philosophy. At the same time, he began his literary activity.
The largest printed work of this time was the poem Parasha, written in 1843. Not hoping for positive criticism, he took a copy of V. G. Belinsky to Lopatin's house, leaving the manuscript to the critic's servant. Belinsky highly appreciated Parasha, publishing a positive review two months later in Otechestvennye Zapiski. From that moment began their acquaintance, which eventually grew into a strong friendship.
In the autumn of 1843, Turgenev first saw Pauline Viardot on the stage of the opera house, when the great singer came on tour to St. Petersburg. Then, while hunting, he met Pauline's husband, the director of the Italian Theater in Paris, a well-known critic and art critic, Louis Viardot, and on November 1, 1843, he was introduced to Pauline herself. Among the mass of fans, she did not particularly single out Turgenev, known more as an avid hunter, and not a writer. And when her tour ended, Turgenev, together with the Viardot family, left for Paris against the will of his mother, without money and still unknown to Europe. In November 1845, he returned to Russia, and in January 1847, having learned about Viardot's tour in Germany, he left the country again: he went to Berlin, then to London, Paris, a tour of France and again to St. Petersburg.
In 1846, he participated in the renewal of Sovremennik. Nekrasov is his best friend. With Belinsky he went abroad in 1847 and in 1848 he lived in Paris, where he witnessed revolutionary events. He becomes close to Herzen, falls in love with Ogaryov's wife Tuchkova. In 1850-1852 he lived either in Russia or abroad. Most of the "Notes of a Hunter" was created by the writer in Germany.
Pauline Viardot
Without an official marriage, Turgenev lived in the Viardot family. Pauline Viardot raised Turgenev's illegitimate daughter. Several meetings with Gogol and Fet belong to this time.
In 1846, the novels Breter and Three Portraits were published. Later, he wrote such works as The Freeloader (1848), The Bachelor (1849), The Provincial Girl, A Month in the Village, Calm (1854), Yakov Pasynkov (1855), Breakfast at the Leader "(1856), etc. "Mumu" he wrote in 1852, being in exile in Spassky-Lutovinovo because of an obituary on the death of Gogol, which, despite the ban, he published in Moscow.
In 1852, a collection of short stories by Turgenev was published under the general title Notes of a Hunter, which was released in Paris in 1854. After the death of Nicholas I, four major works of the writer were published one after another: Rudin (1856), Noble Nest (1859), On the Eve (1860) and Fathers and Sons (1862). The first two were published in Nekrasov's Sovremennik. The next two are in the Russian Messenger by M. N. Katkov.
In 1860, Sovremennik published an article by N. A. Dobrolyubov “When will the real day come?”, In which the novel “On the Eve” and Turgenev’s work in general were rather harshly criticized. Turgenev gave Nekrasov an ultimatum: either he, Turgenev, or Dobrolyubov. The choice fell on Dobrolyubov, who later became one of the prototypes of the image of Bazarov in the novel Fathers and Sons. After that, Turgenev left Sovremennik and stopped communicating with Nekrasov.
Turgenev gravitates toward the circle of Western writers who profess the principles of "pure art", opposing the tendentious creativity of raznochintsev revolutionaries: P. V. Annenkov, V. P. Botkin, D. V. Grigorovich, A. V. Druzhinin. For a short time, Leo Tolstoy also joined this circle, who for some time lived in Turgenev's apartment. After Tolstoy's marriage to S. A. Bers, Turgenev found a close relative in Tolstoy, but even before the wedding, in May 1861, when both prose writers were visiting A. A. Fet at the Stepanovo estate, a serious quarrel occurred between the two writers, barely which did not end in a duel and spoiled relations between writers for a long 17 years.
"Poems in Prose". Herald of Europe, 1882, December. From the editorial introduction it is clear that this is a magazine title, not the author's.
From the beginning of the 1860s, Turgenev settled in Baden-Baden. The writer actively participates in the cultural life of Western Europe, making acquaintances with the leading writers of Germany, France and England, promoting Russian literature abroad and acquainting Russian readers with the best works of contemporary Western authors. Among his acquaintances or correspondents are Friedrich Bodenstedt, Thackeray, Dickens, Henry James, George Sand, Victor Hugo, Saint-Beuve, Hippolyte Taine, Prosper Mérimée, Ernest Renan, Theophile Gauthier, Edmond Goncourt, Emile Zola, Anatole France, Guy de Maupassant , Alphonse Daudet, Gustave Flaubert. In 1874, the famous bachelor dinners of five began in the Parisian restaurants of Rich or Pellet: Flaubert, Edmond Goncourt, Daudet, Zola and Turgenev.
I. S. Turgenev - Honorary Doctor of Oxford University. 1879
I. S. Turgenev acts as a consultant and editor of foreign translators of Russian writers, he himself writes prefaces and notes to translations of Russian writers into European languages, as well as to Russian translations of works by famous European writers. He translates Western writers into Russian and Russian writers and poets into French and German. This is how translations of Flaubert's works Herodias and The Tale of St. Yuliana Merciful" for the Russian reader and Pushkin's works for the French reader. For some time, Turgenev became the most famous and most widely read Russian author in Europe. In 1878, at the international literary congress in Paris, the writer was elected vice president; in 1879 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford.
Feast of the classics. A. Daudet, G. Flaubert, E. Zola, I. S. Turgenev
Despite living abroad, all Turgenev's thoughts were still connected with Russia. He writes the novel "Smoke" (1867), which caused a lot of controversy in Russian society. According to the author's review, everyone scolded the novel: "both red and white, and from above, and from below, and from the side - especially from the side." The fruit of his intense reflections in the 1870s was the largest of Turgenev's novels, Nov (1877).
Turgenev was friends with the Milyutin brothers (comrade of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister of War), A. V. Golovnin (Minister of Education), M. Kh. Reitern (Minister of Finance).
At the end of his life, Turgenev decides to reconcile with Leo Tolstoy, he explains the meaning of modern Russian literature, including Tolstoy's work, to the Western reader. In 1880, the writer takes part in the Pushkin celebrations dedicated to the opening of the first monument to the poet in Moscow, organized by the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature. The writer died in Bougival near Paris, August 22 (September 3), 1883 from myxosarcoma. Turgenev's body was, according to his desire, brought to St. Petersburg and buried at the Volkovo cemetery with a large gathering of people.
Family
Turgenev's daughter Polina was brought up in the family of Polina Viardot, and in adulthood she no longer spoke Russian. She married the manufacturer Gaston Brewer, who soon went bankrupt, after which Pauline, with the assistance of her father, hid from her husband in Switzerland. Since Turgenev's heiress was Pauline Viardot, his daughter found herself in a difficult financial situation after his death. She died in 1918 from cancer. Polina's children - Georges-Albert and Jeanne had no descendants.
Memory
Tombstone bust of Turgenev at the Volkovskoye cemetery
Named after Turgenev:
Toponymy
- Streets and Turgenev Square in many cities of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia.
- Moscow metro station "Turgenevskaya"
Public institutions
- Orel State Academic Theatre.
- Library-reading room named after I. S. Turgenev in Moscow.
- Museum of I. S. Turgenev ("Mumu's house") - (Moscow, Ostozhenka st., 37, p. 7).
- Turgenev School of Russian Language and Russian Culture (Turin, Italy).
- State Literary Museum named after I. S. Turgenev (Eagle).
- Spasskoye-Lutovinovo Museum-Reserve, the estate of I. S. Turgenev (Oryol region).
- Street and museum "Turgenev's Dacha" in Bougival.
- Russian Public Library named after I. S. Turgenev (Paris).
Monuments
In honor of I. S. Turgenev, monuments were erected in the cities:
- Moscow (in Bobrov lane).
- St. Petersburg (On Italian street).
- Eagle:
- Monument in Orel.
- Bust of Turgenev at the Noble Nest.
- Ivan Turgenev is one of the main characters in Tom Stoppard's Utopia Coast trilogy.
- F. M. Dostoevsky in his novel "Demons" depicts Turgenev as the character of the "Great writer Karmazinov" - a noisy, petty, practically mediocre writer who considers himself a genius and sits out abroad.
- Ivan Turgenev had one of the largest brains of people who ever lived, whose brain was weighed:
His head immediately spoke of a very large development of mental abilities; and when, after the death of I. S. Turgenev, Paul Ber and Paul Reclus (a surgeon) weighed his brain, they found that it exceeded the weight of the heaviest known brain, namely Cuvier, to such an extent that they did not believe their scales and took out new ones, to test yourself.
- After the death of his mother in 1850, collegiate secretary I. S. Turgenev inherited 1925 souls of serfs.
- Chancellor of the German Empire Chlodwig Hohenlohe (1894-1900) called Ivan Turgenev the best candidate for the post of Prime Minister of Russia. He wrote about Turgenev: "Today I spoke with the smartest man in Russia."
More than 2200 years ago, the great Carthaginian commander Hannibal was born. When he was nine years old, he swore that he would always oppose Rome, with which Carthage had been at war for many years at that time. And he followed his word, devoting his whole life to the struggle. What does a brief biography of Turgenev have to do with it? - you ask. Read on and you will surely understand.
Hannibal's Oath
The writer was a great humanist and did not understand how it is possible to deprive a living person of the most necessary rights and freedoms. And in his time it was even more common than it is now. Then the Russian analogue of slavery flourished: serfdom. He hated him, and he devoted his struggle to him.
Ivan Sergeevich was not as brave as the Carthaginian commander. He would not fight a bloody war with his enemy. Yet he found a way to fight and win.
Sympathizing with the serfs, Turgenev writes his "Notes of a Hunter", which draws public attention to this problem. Emperor Alexander I. I. himself, after reading these stories, was imbued with the seriousness of this problem and about 10 years later abolished serfdom. Of course, it cannot be argued that only the Hunter's Notes were the reason for this, but it is also wrong to deny their influence.
This is how a simple writer can play such a big role.
Childhood
Ivan Turgenev was born on November 9, 1818 in the city of Orel.. The biography of the writer begins from this moment. Parents were hereditary nobles. His mother had a greater influence on him, since his father, who married for convenience, left the family early. Ivan was then a child of 12 years old.
Varvara Petrovna (that was the name of the writer's mother) was difficult in character, because she had a difficult childhood - a drinking stepfather, beatings, an imperious and demanding mother. Now her sons had to experience a difficult childhood.
However, she also had advantages: an excellent education and financial security. What is worth only the fact that in their family it was customary to speak exclusively in French, according to the then fashion. As a result, Ivan received an excellent education.
Until the age of nine he was taught by tutors, and then the family moved to Moscow. Moscow at that time was not the capital, but the educational institutions there were first-class, and getting there from the Oryol province was three times closer than to the capital Petersburg.
Turgenev studied at the boarding houses of Weidenhammer and the director of the Lazarev Institute, Ivan Krause, and at the age of fifteen he entered the verbal department of Moscow University. A year later, he entered the capital's university at the Faculty of Philosophy: the family moved to St. Petersburg.
At that time, Turgenev was fond of poetry and soon attracted the attention of university professor Pyotr Pletnev to his creations. In 1838, he published the poems "Evening" and "To the Venus Mediciy" in the journal Sovremennik, where he was an editor. This was the first publication of the artistic work of Ivan Turgenev. However, two years earlier it had already been published: at that time it was a review of Andrey Muravyov's book On Journey to Holy Places.
Ivan Sergeevich attached great importance to his work as a critic and subsequently wrote many more reviews. He often combined them with his work as an interpreter. He wrote critical works on the Russian translation of Goethe's Faust, Schiller's William Tell.
The writer published his best critical articles in the first volume of his collected works, published in 1880.
academic life
In 1836 he graduated from the university, a year later he passed the exam and received the degree of candidate of the university. This means he graduated with honors and, in modern terms, received a master's degree.
In 1838, Turgenev traveled to Germany, where he attended lectures at the University of Berlin on the history of Greek and Roman literature.
In 1842 he takes the exam for a master's degree in Greek and Latin philology, writes a dissertation, but does not defend it. His interest in this activity is cooling down.
Sovremennik magazine
In 1836, Alexander Pushkin organized the production of a magazine called Sovremennik. He was dedicated, of course, to literature. It contained both the works of contemporary Russian authors of that time, and journalistic articles. There were also translations of foreign works. Unfortunately, even during Pushkin's lifetime, the magazine was not very successful. And with his death in 1837, it gradually fell into decline, although not immediately. In 1846 Nikolai Nekrasov and Ivan Panaev bought it.
And from that moment on, Ivan Turgenev, who was brought by Nekrasov, joined the magazine. The Sovremennik publishes the first chapters of the Hunter's Notes. By the way, this title was originally a subtitle of the first story, and Ivan Panaev came up with it in the hope of getting the reader interested. The hope was justified: the stories were very popular. Thus, Ivan Turgenev's dream began to come true - to change public consciousness, to introduce into it the idea that serfdom is inhuman.
In the magazine, these stories were published one at a time, and censorship was lenient towards them. However, when in 1852 they came out as a whole collection, the official who allowed the printing was fired. They justified this by the fact that when the stories are collected all together, they direct the reader's thought in a reprehensible direction. Meanwhile, Turgenev never called for any revolutions and tried to be at odds with the authorities.
But sometimes his works were interpreted incorrectly, and this led to problems. So, in 1860, Nikolai Dobrolyubov wrote and published in Sovremennik a laudatory review of Turgenev's new book, On the Eve. In it, he interpreted the work in such a way that supposedly the writer was looking forward to the revolution. Turgenev adhered to liberal views and was offended by this interpretation. Nekrasov did not take his side and Ivan Sergeevich left Sovremennik.
Turgenev was not a supporter of revolutions for a reason. The fact is that he was in France in 1848, when the revolution began there. Ivan Sergeevich saw with his own eyes all the horrors of a military coup. Of course, he did not want a repeat of this nightmare in his homeland.
Seven women are known in Turgenev's life:
It is impossible to ignore the relationship of Ivan Turgenev with Pauline Viardot. He first saw her on stage in 1840. She played the title role in the opera production of The Barber of Seville. Turgenev was subdued by her and passionately wanted to get to know her. The occasion presented itself three years later, when she again came on tour.
On the hunt, Ivan Sergeevich met her husband, a well-known art critic and theater director in Paris. Then he was introduced to Polina. Seven years later, he wrote to her in a letter that the memories associated with her were the most precious in his life. And one of them is how he first spoke to her on Nevsky Prospekt, in a house opposite the Alexandrinsky Theater.
Daughter
Ivan and Polina became very close friends. Polina raised Turgenev's daughter from Avdotya. Ivan was in love with Avdotya in the 41st, he even wanted to marry, but his mother did not bless, and he backed down. He left for Paris, where he lived for a long time with Polina and her husband Louis. And when he came home, a surprise awaited him: an eight-year-old daughter. It turns out that she was born on April 26, 1842. The mother was unhappy with his passion for Polina, did not help him financially and did not even announce the birth of her daughter.
Turgenev decided to take care of the fate of his child. He agreed with Polina that she would be raised by her, and on this occasion he changed his daughter's name to French - Polinette.
However, the two Polinas did not get along with each other, and after some time Polinette went to a private boarding school, and then began to live with her father, which she was very glad about. She loved her father very much, and he, too, did not miss the opportunity to write to her in letters of instructions and remarks about her shortcomings.
Pauline had two children:
- Georges Albert;
- Zhanna.
Writer's death
After the death of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, all his property, including intellectual property, went to Pauline Viardot by will. Turgenev's daughter was left with nothing and had to work hard to provide for herself and her two children. Besides Polinette, Ivan had no children. When she died (like her father - from cancer) and her two children, there were no descendants of Turgenev.
He died on September 3, 1883. Next to him was his beloved Polina. Her husband died four months before Turgenev, having been paralyzed for the last ten years of his life after a stroke. Many people accompanied Ivan Turgenev on his last journey in France, among them was Emile Zola. Turgenev was buried, according to his desire, in St. Petersburg, next to a friend, Vissarion Belinsky.
The most significant works
- "Noble Nest";
- "Notes of a hunter";
- "Asya";
- "Ghosts";
- "Spring Waters";
- "A month in the village".
If asked to briefly describe the life of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, his short biography would consist of one sentence: he lived his life pursuing one goal and following one love. But, it’s not enough to talk about this person in a nutshell, therefore, we will consider Turgenev’s life and work in more detail, having familiarized ourselves with his brief biography.
Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev short biography
So, a classic was born in a rather wealthy noble family. This happened in 1818 in October. His development and upbringing was complete, as parents could afford to hire teachers for their child. Turgenev, having such an opportunity, went deep into the study and already in his teens he was well-read and knew three languages. The knowledge gained made it possible to enter the university of the capital without any problems, however, he will soon be transferred to St. Petersburg to the Faculty of Philosophy. During this period, his first work, The Wall, was published in 1834. He graduated in 1837, after which he entered the Faculty of Philosophy in Germany. After graduating from a university abroad, Turgenev goes home and plans to create a philosophical faculty, but it was no longer possible to realize his plans, since the tsar issued a decree to close all the departments of philosophy.
However, the biography and life of Turgenev continues and he tries his hand at positions in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He tries to improve peasant life, but, having failed, he leaves his position. Here he gives himself completely to creativity. Further, the life of Turgenev and his short biography for children and schoolchildren tells us about the formation of creative activity. Turgenev's mentor was Belinsky, who helped determine the direction. In his works, the author uses realism, so the poem "Parash" comes out, and then other poems, theatrical plays, essays, stories, novels are born from Turgenev's pen.
Life and work of Turgenev
I would like to talk about the personal life of the writer, but he did not have a family, but he was in love. He fell in love with the married French singer Pauline Viardot, and met her in St. Petersburg when she was on tour. Since then, the writer has followed her on the heels. Where she was, there he was. So Turgenev moves to live abroad, but he yearns for his homeland. He describes his melancholy in the work "Notes of a Hunter", which gained immense popularity. It was a success.
When Gogol passed away, Turgenev creates an obituary. This happened in 1852. But, censorship did not let this work through, moreover, Turgenev ended up in exile for it. He was sent to the family estate, which is located in the Oryol province, where he writes the no less famous masterpiece "" and several other works. Turgenev stayed in exile until 1856, after which he again left Russia and went to France, where he lived and continued to write until his last breath, occasionally visiting his homeland. This is how "Asya", "Fathers and Sons" appears.
The biography of Turgenev and its brief content are completed by his death. Due to a serious illness, spinal cancer, Turgenev passed away in 1883 on a foreign side, but was buried in St. Petersburg, according to his request in his will.
Biography of Turgenev interesting facts
Were there brief interesting facts in Turgenev's biography? Were. They say that Turgenev loved to squander his parents' money in his youth, was frivolous and liked to dress like a dandy. First love broke his heart, it was Ekaterina Shakhovskaya. And they also say that Turgenev had an illegitimate daughter, whom he did not recognize, but whom he helped. He loved to sing, having no hearing, and also could not stand the dirt and debris around him. Here he is a classic of Russian literature.
And van Turgenev was one of the most important Russian writers of the 19th century. The artistic system he created changed the poetics of the novel both in Russia and abroad. His works were praised and severely criticized, and Turgenev spent his whole life looking for a path in them that would lead Russia to well-being and prosperity.
"Poet, talent, aristocrat, handsome"
The family of Ivan Turgenev came from an old family of Tula nobles. His father, Sergei Turgenev, served in the cavalry guard regiment and led a very wasteful lifestyle. To improve his financial situation, he was forced to marry an elderly (by the standards of that time), but very wealthy landowner Varvara Lutovinova. The marriage became unhappy for both of them, their relationship did not work out. Their second son, Ivan, was born two years after the wedding, in 1818, in Orel. Mother wrote in her diary: “... on Monday, the son Ivan was born, 12 inches tall [about 53 centimeters]”. There were three children in the Turgenev family: Nikolai, Ivan and Sergey.
Until the age of nine, Turgenev lived in the Spasskoe-Lutovinovo estate in the Oryol region. His mother had a difficult and contradictory character: her sincere and cordial concern for children was combined with severe despotism, Varvara Turgeneva often beat her sons. However, she invited the best French and German tutors to her children, spoke exclusively in French with her sons, but at the same time remained a fan of Russian literature and read Nikolai Karamzin, Vasily Zhukovsky, Alexander Pushkin and Nikolai Gogol.
In 1827 the Turgenevs moved to Moscow so that their children could receive a better education. Three years later, Sergei Turgenev left the family.
When Ivan Turgenev was 15 years old, he entered the verbal department of Moscow University. At the same time, the future writer fell in love with Princess Ekaterina Shakhovskaya for the first time. Shakhovskaya exchanged letters with him, but reciprocated Turgenev's father and thus broke his heart. Later, this story became the basis of Turgenev's story "First Love".
A year later, Sergei Turgenev died, and Varvara and her children moved to St. Petersburg, where Turgenev entered the Faculty of Philosophy at St. Petersburg University. Then he became seriously interested in lyrics and wrote the first work - the dramatic poem "The Wall". Turgenev spoke of her like this: “A completely absurd work in which, with furious ineptness, a slavish imitation of Byron's Manfred was expressed”. In total, during the years of study, Turgenev wrote about a hundred poems and several poems. Some of his poems were published by the Sovremennik magazine.
After his studies, 20-year-old Turgenev went to Europe to continue his education. He studied ancient classics, Roman and Greek literature, traveled to France, Holland, Italy. The European way of life struck Turgenev: he came to the conclusion that Russia should get rid of unculturedness, laziness, ignorance, following the Western countries.
Unknown artist. Ivan Turgenev at the age of 12. 1830. State Literary Museum
Eugene Louis Lamy. Portrait of Ivan Turgenev. 1844. State Literary Museum
Kirill Gorbunkov. Ivan Turgenev in his youth. 1838. State Literary Museum
In the 1840s, Turgenev returned to his homeland, received a master's degree in Greek and Latin philology at St. Petersburg University, even wrote a dissertation - but did not defend it. Interest in scientific activity replaced the desire to write. It was at this time that Turgenev met Nikolai Gogol, Sergei Aksakov, Alexei Khomyakov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Afanasy Fet and many other writers.
“The other day the poet Turgenev returned from Paris. What a man! Poet, talent, aristocrat, handsome, rich, smart, educated, 25 years old - I don’t know what nature denied him?
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, from a letter to his brother
When Turgenev returned to Spasskoe-Lutovinovo, he had an affair with a peasant woman, Avdotya Ivanova, which ended in the girl's pregnancy. Turgenev wanted to marry, but his mother sent Avdotya to Moscow with a scandal, where she gave birth to a daughter, Pelageya. Avdotya Ivanova's parents hastily married her off, and Turgenev recognized Pelageya only a few years later.
In 1843, under the initials of T. L. (Turgenez-Lutovinov), Turgenev's poem "Parash" was published. She was highly appreciated by Vissarion Belinsky, and from that moment their acquaintance grew into a strong friendship - Turgenev even became the godfather of the critic's son.
"This man is extraordinarily intelligent ... It is gratifying to meet a man whose original and characteristic opinion, colliding with yours, extracts sparks."
Vissarion Belinsky
In the same year, Turgenev met Pauline Viardot. Researchers of Turgenev's work are still arguing about the true nature of their relationship. They met in St. Petersburg when the singer arrived in the city on tour. Turgenev often traveled with Polina and her husband, art critic Louis Viardot, around Europe, visiting their Parisian house. His illegitimate daughter Pelageya was brought up in the Viardot family.
Fictionist and playwright
In the late 1840s, Turgenev wrote extensively for the theatre. His plays The Freeloader, The Bachelor, A Month in the Country and The Provincial Girl were very popular with the public and were warmly received by critics.
In 1847, Turgenev's short story "Khor and Kalinich" was published in the Sovremennik magazine, inspired by the writer's hunting trips. A little later, stories from the collection "Notes of a Hunter" were published there. The collection itself was published in 1852. Turgenev called him his "Annibal Oath" - a promise to fight to the end with the enemy, whom he hated since childhood - serfdom.
The Hunter's Notes is marked by such a power of talent that it has a beneficial effect on me; the understanding of nature is often presented to you as a revelation.”
Fedor Tyutchev
It was one of the first works that spoke openly about the troubles and dangers of serfdom. The censor, who allowed the "Notes of a Hunter" to be published, was dismissed from the service by personal order of Nicholas I with deprivation of his pension, and the collection itself was forbidden to be republished. The censors explained this by the fact that Turgenev, although he poeticized the serfs, criminally exaggerated their suffering from the oppression of the landlords.
In 1856, the writer's first major novel, Rudin, was published, written in just seven weeks. The name of the hero of the novel has become a household name for people whose word does not agree with the deed. Three years later, Turgenev published the novel The Nest of Nobles, which turned out to be incredibly popular in Russia: every educated person considered it his duty to read it.
“Knowledge of Russian life, and, moreover, knowledge is not bookish, but experienced, taken out of reality, purified and comprehended by the power of talent and reflection, is found in all the works of Turgenev ...”
Dmitry Pisarev
From 1860 to 1861, excerpts from the novel Fathers and Sons were published in Russkiy Vestnik. The novel was written on the "topic of the day" and explored the public mood of the time - mainly the views of nihilistic youth. The Russian philosopher and publicist Nikolai Strakhov wrote about him: “In Fathers and Sons, he showed more clearly than in all other cases that poetry, while remaining poetry ... can actively serve society ...”
The novel was well received by critics, however, did not receive the support of liberals. At this time, Turgenev's relations with many friends became complicated. For example, with Alexander Herzen: Turgenev collaborated with his Kolokol newspaper. Herzen saw the future of Russia in peasant socialism, believing that bourgeois Europe had outlived itself, and Turgenev defended the idea of strengthening cultural ties between Russia and the West.
Sharp criticism fell upon Turgenev after the release of his novel "Smoke". It was a pamphlet novel that equally sharply ridiculed both the conservative Russian aristocracy and the revolutionary-minded liberals. According to the author, everyone scolded him: "both red and white, and from above, and from below, and from the side - especially from the side."
From "Smoke" to "Prose Poems"
Alexey Nikitin. Portrait of Ivan Turgenev. 1859. State Literary Museum
Osip Braz. Portrait of Maria Savina. 1900. State Literary Museum
Timothy Neff. Portrait of Pauline Viardot. 1842. State Literary Museum
After 1871, Turgenev lived in Paris, occasionally returning to Russia. He actively participated in the cultural life of Western Europe and promoted Russian literature abroad. Turgenev communicated and corresponded with Charles Dickens, George Sand, Victor Hugo, Prosper Merimee, Guy de Maupassant, Gustave Flaubert.
In the second half of the 1870s, Turgenev published his most ambitious novel, Nov, in which he portrayed members of the revolutionary movement of the 1870s in a sharply satirical and critical manner.
"Both novels [Dym and Nov] only brought to light his growing alienation from Russia, the first with its impotent bitterness, the second with its lack of information and lack of any sense of reality in the depiction of the mighty movement of the seventies."
Dmitry Svyatopolk-Mirsky
This novel, like "Smoke", was not accepted by Turgenev's colleagues. For example, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote that Nov was a service to the autocracy. At the same time, the popularity of Turgenev's early stories and novels did not decrease.
The last years of the writer's life became his triumph both in Russia and abroad. Then a cycle of lyrical miniatures "Poems in Prose" appeared. The book opened with a poem in prose "The Village", and completed it with "Russian Language" - the famous anthem about faith in the great destiny of one's country: “In days of doubt, in days of painful reflections about the fate of my homeland, you are my only support and support, oh great, powerful, truthful and free Russian language! .. Without you, how not to fall into despair at the sight of everything that happens at home . But it is impossible to believe that such a language was not given to a great people!” This collection became Turgenev's farewell to life and art.
At the same time, Turgenev met his last love - the actress of the Alexandrinsky Theater Maria Savina. She was 25 years old when she played the role of Verochka in Turgenev's play A Month in the Country. Seeing her on stage, Turgenev was amazed and openly confessed his feelings to the girl. Maria considered Turgenev more of a friend and mentor, and their marriage never took place.
In recent years, Turgenev was seriously ill. Parisian doctors diagnosed him with angina pectoris and intercostal neuralgia. Turgenev died on September 3, 1883 in Bougival near Paris, where lavish farewells were held. The writer was buried in St. Petersburg at the Volkovskoye cemetery. The death of the writer was a shock to his fans - and the procession of people who came to say goodbye to Turgenev stretched for several kilometers.
Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev is a Russian writer and poet, playwright, publicist, critic and translator. He was born on October 28, 1818 in the city of Orel. His works are remembered for their vivid descriptions of nature, vivid images and characters. Critics especially highlight the cycle of stories "Notes of a Hunter", which reflects the best moral qualities of a simple peasant. There were many strong and selfless women in Turgenev's stories. The poet had a strong influence on the development of world literature. He died on August 22, 1883 near Paris.
Childhood and education
Turgenev was born into a noble family. His father was a retired officer. The writer's mother, Varvara Petrovna Lutovinova, was of noble origin. Ivan's childhood was spent in the hereditary estate of her family. Parents did everything to ensure a comfortable existence for their son. He was taught by the best teachers and tutors, and at a young age, Ivan and his family moved to Moscow for higher education. From childhood, the guy studied foreign languages, he was fluent in English, French and German.
The move to Moscow took place in 1827. There Ivan studied at the boarding house of Weidenhammer, he also studied with private teachers. Five years later, the future writer became a student of the verbal department of the prestigious Moscow University. In 1834, Turgenev transferred to the Faculty of Philosophy in St. Petersburg, as his family moved to this city. It was then that Ivan began to write his first poems.
For three years he created more than a hundred lyrical works, including the poem "Steno". Professor Pletnev P.A., who taught Turgenev, immediately noticed the undoubted talent of the young man. Thanks to him, the publication of Ivan's poems "To the Venus of Medicine" and "Evening" in the journal "Contemporary".
In 1838, two years after graduating from university, he went to Berlin to listen to philological lectures. At that time, Turgenev managed to get a Ph.D. In Germany, the young man continues his studies, he studies the grammar of the ancient Greek language and Latin. He was also interested in studying Roman and Greek literature. At the same time, Turgenev makes acquaintance with Bakunin and Stankevich. For two years he travels, visiting France, Italy and Holland.
Homecoming
Ivan returned to Moscow in 1841, at the same time he meets Gogol, Herzen and Aksakov. The poet greatly appreciated the acquaintance with each of his colleagues. Together they attend literary circles. The following year, Turgenev asks for admission to the exam for a master's degree in philosophy.
In 1843, for some time, the writer went to work in the ministerial office, but the official's monotonous activity did not bring him satisfaction. At the same time, his poem "Parasha" was published, which was highly appreciated by V. Belinsky. The year 1843 was also remembered by the writer for his acquaintance with the French singer Pauline Viardot. After that, Turgenev decides to devote himself entirely to creativity.
In 1846, the novels Three Portraits and Bretter were published. Some time after that, the writer creates other well-known works, including "Breakfast at the Leader", "Provincial Girl", "Bachelor", "Mumu", "A Month in the Village" and others. A collection of short stories, Notes of a Hunter, was published by Turgenev in 1852. At the same time, his obituary dedicated to Nikolai Gogol was published. This work was banned in St. Petersburg, but published in Moscow. For his radical views, Ivan Sergeevich was exiled to Spasskoe.
Later, he wrote four more works, which later became the largest in his work. In 1856, the book "Rudin" was published, three years after that, the prose writer wrote the novel "The Noble Nest". 1860 was marked by the release of the work "On the Eve". One of the most famous works of the author, "Fathers and Sons", dates back to 1862.
This period of life was also marked by a break in the poet's relationship with the Sovremennik magazine. This happened after Dobrolyubov's article entitled "When will the real day come?", Which was filled with negativity about the novel "On the Eve". Turgenev spent the next few years of his life in Baden-Baden. The city inspired his most voluminous novel, Nov, published in 1877.
last years of life
The writer was especially interested in Western European cultural trends. He entered into correspondence with famous writers, among whom were Maupassant, George Sand, Victor Hugo and others. Thanks to their communication, literature was enriched. In 1874, Turgenev organized dinners with Zola, Flaubert, Daudet and Edmond Goncourt. In 1878, an international literary congress is held in Paris, during which Ivan is elected vice president. At the same time, he becomes a respected doctor at Oxford University.
Despite the fact that the prose writer lived far from Russia, his works were known in his homeland. In 1867, the novel "Smoke" was published, dividing compatriots into two oppositions. Many criticized him, while others were sure that the work opens a new literary era.
In the spring of 1882, for the first time, a physical ailment called microsarcoma manifested itself, which caused Turgenev terrible pain. It was because of him that the writer later died. He struggled with pain to the last, Ivan's last work was Poems in Prose, released a few months before his death. On September 3 (according to the old style on August 22), 1883, Ivan Sergeevich died in Bougival. He was buried in St. Petersburg at the Volkovskoye cemetery. The funeral was attended by many people who wanted to say goodbye to a talented writer.
Personal life
The first love of the poet was Princess Shakhovskaya, who was in a relationship with his father. They met in 1833, and only in 1860 Turgenev was able to describe his feelings in the story "First Love". Ten years after meeting Princess Ivan meets Pauline Viardot, whom he falls in love with almost immediately. He accompanies her on tour, it is with this woman that the prose writer subsequently moves to Baden-Baden. After some time, the couple had a daughter who was brought up in Paris.
Problems in relations with the singer began due to the distance, her husband Louis also acted as an obstacle. Turgenev starts an affair with a distant relative. They were even planning to get married. In the early sixties, the prose writer again becomes close to Viardot, they live together in Baden-Baden, then move to Paris. In the last years of his life, Ivan Sergeevich is fond of the young actress Maria Savina, who reciprocates his feelings.
