Polina and Louis Viardot to Turgenev Courteignel, Tuesday, September 10. Large drawing room, 11 o'clock Hello, my dear Turgenev. How are you delaying the letter! we wait every day for the postman to come, and every day he leaves us hungry and thirsty. Maybe today? Sky

Pauline Viardot to Turgenev Sunday, April 27 Listen, my good Turgenev, it's not my fault that I didn't write to you earlier, but those who have incessantly devoured all my time since Sappho went on. We played it three times in a row with increasing success. Friday I

Pauline Viardot - Turgenev March 17 (29), 1868. Baden-Baden. Baden-Baden, March 29 My dear Turgenev, I am writing to you this morning only so that tomorrow, when you return to Paris, you can get news about us. Louie's still pretty much the same, the day is passable

Pauline Viardot to Turgenev Erbprinz, Weimar. February 14, 1869, 10 a.m. Evenings I have finally found a free moment to write to you, my dear Turgenev - I lead a very busy life, I assure you. I will not retell you yesterday, I am sure that you read mine

Pauline Viardot to Turgenev London, March 29, 30, Devonshire Square Oh, dear friend, hurry back! Don't stay an hour longer than absolutely necessary. I beg you, if you have the slightest feeling for us! You don't have to go through Petersburg, or at least

Pauline Viardot to Turgenev March 13 (25), 1879. Paris My dear kind Turglin, I have just received your letter with a photograph. Thank you. I answer it, being sure that it will still find you calmly settled in St. Petersburg, where you are going to take root

Pauline Viardot to Turgenev Weimar, May 1, 3 o'clock "Marzo loco at abril lluvioso Sacan and mayo helado at nievoso." A little more and we will see wolves casually strolling through the streets of Weimar! But all this does not mean anything and does not prevent me from thinking that I did the right thing by coming here with Louise, and does not prevent me

Pauline Viardot to Turgenev Weimar, May 8 My dear Turglin, you have, of course, returned from your friend Flaubert. In any case, you will be in Paris before this letter. In three days, I myself will follow him, as I expect to leave on Saturday, the 10th, if it does not happen

Ivan Turgenev and Pauline Viardot The love story of the great Russian writer Ivan Turgenev and the one who was called the golden voice of France is full of drama and passion. Also, this story can be called a story about the loneliness of the soul: since Turgenev’s romance with the singer

Pauline Viardot-Garcia Hector Berlioz (1803–1869), French composer and conductor: Pauline's facial features are regular, sharp; they are even more attractive in the light of lamps and theatrical chandeliers. Pleasant and extremely varied voice; nobility in movements, all virtues,

Their relationship lasted 40 years. This is probably the longest love story ever.

In 1878, I.S. Turgenev wrote a poem in prose:
“When I am gone, when everything that was me crumbles into dust, - oh you, my only friend, oh you, whom I loved so deeply and so tenderly, you, who will probably outlive me, - do not go to my grave ... There's nothing for you to do there." This work is dedicated to Pauline Viardot, a woman whose romantic love Turgenev carried through many years of his life, until his very last breath.

Turgenev met the singer Viardot in 1843, when Viardot was on tour in St. Petersburg. Her full name is Michel Ferdinanda Pauline Garcia (Married Viardot). Polina Garcia was born in Paris in the famous Spanish artistic family Garcia. She was fluent in four languages ​​at the age of 4: French, Spanish, Italian and English. Later she learned Russian and German, studied Greek and Latin. She had a beautiful voice - mezzo-sopr /
Composer G. Berlioz admires her vocal skills. She was friends with the famous French writer George Sand, who at that time had a stormy romance with the composer F. Chopin. The acquaintance grew into a deep friendship. J. Sand portrayed Polina Garcia in the main image of the novel Consuela. And, when the writer and poet Alfred de Musset proposes to Polina, then on the advice of J. Sand, Polina refuses him. Soon, again on the advice of J. Sand, Polina accepts the proposal of Louis Viardot, a writer and journalist, a man 20 years older than her. At the beginning of the marriage, Polina was very passionate about her husband, but after some time, J. Sand admitted that her heart was tired of her husband's expressions of love. A very worthy person in all respects, Louis was the complete opposite of the talented and temperamental Polina. And even, J. Sand, who was disposed towards him, found him dull, like a nightcap.

Damn gypsy love

Before her appearance in St. Petersburg in Russia, almost nothing was known about her. Viardot's debut in the opera The Barber of Seville was a promised success. At one of the performances of the opera, the singer was first seen and heard then by the young poet I.S. Turgenev, who served as a collegiate assessor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is in love with Pauline Viardot, in love at first sight. They first met in the house of the poet and teacher of literature, Major A. Komarov. Viardot herself did not single out Turgenev from many others. She later wrote: “He was introduced to me with the words: “This is a young Russian landowner, a glorious hunter and a bad poet.” At this time, Turgenev was 25 years old. Viardot - 22 years old. From that moment on, Polina is the mistress of his heart.
There is a union of two bright talented personalities. As they draw closer, Viardot becomes Ivan Sergeevich's unwitting confessor. He is frank with her. He trusts her with all his secrets. She is the first to read his works in manuscript. She inspires his creativity. One cannot speak of Turgenev without mentioning Viardot. It is impossible to talk about Viardot apart from Turgenev. With Polina's husband - Louis - Turgenev became very friendly. Both were passionate hunters
. The mother of Ivan Sergeevich V.P. Turgenev, having overcome jealousy and dislike for Polina, went to listen to her singing and find the courage to say: “The damned gypsy sings well!”
The dynamics of the development of relations between the relations between Viardot and Turgenev can be observed only from the letters of Ivan Sergeevich. Viardot's letters to Turgenev have not been preserved. Viardot removed them from the writer's archive after his death. But even reading the letters of only one side, Turgenev's letters, one can feel the strength and depth of his love for this woman. Turgenev writes his first letter immediately after Viardot left Russia in 1844. Correspondence did not improve immediately. Apparently, Viardot did not answer accurately and did not give freedom of expression to Turgenev. But she did not push him away, she accepted the love of the writer and allowed him to love her, without hiding her feelings. The letters are filled with Viardot's adoration.
Turgenev begins to live her life, her talent. He analyzes the shortcomings in her work. He advises her to study classical literary subjects, and gives advice on improving the German language.

For three years, Turgenev lived in France, being in close contact with the Viardot family and personally with Polina.

In the middle of 1850, Turgenev was forced to leave for Russia. The writer's mother was very jealous of her son for the "damned gypsy" (according to some reports, Viardot's father came from a gypsy family), demanded a break with Viardot and the return of her son home.
At the Spasskoye estate, Turgenev had a very difficult explanation with his mother. As a result, he managed to take away from her his illegitimate daughter Polina, who was born from the writer's connection with the serf seamstress A.I. Ivanova, and send the 8-year-old girl to be brought up in the Virado family. In November 1950, Turgenev's mother dies. Ivan Sergeyevich takes this death hard. Having read his mother's diary, Turgenev admires his mother in a letter to Viardot.

Heels on the neck and nose in the mud

Turgenev's letters to Viardot were translated from French and published during Viardot's lifetime. Polina herself made a selection of letters for publication. The banknotes are also made by her. As a result, love almost disappeared from the letters, the letters retained only the mood of warm friendly relations between two people who know each other well. The letters are published in full and without cuts immediately after Viardot's death. Many of them have inserts in German. There is reason to believe that Louis, Polina's husband, read Turgenev's letters to his wife and Turgenev knew about it, but at the same time, Louis did not know German at all. Turgenev writes: “I beg you, allow me, as a token of forgiveness, to passionately kiss these dear feet, to which my whole soul belongs ... I want to live and die forever at your dear feet. I kiss you for hours and remain forever your friend.
1854-1855 is a strange break in Turgenev's letters to Viardot. Most likely the reason is that Ivan Sergeevich is trying to arrange his personal life. Turgenev is fond of his distant relative Olga Alexandrovna Turgeneva. Turgenev often visited her father's house. She was a meek and attractive girl, the goddaughter of V. Zhukovsky, a musician. She turned 18 in 1854. They got very close. and Ivan Sergeevich thought about making an offer to Turgeneva. But, as Turgenev's friend P.V. Annenkov recalled, this connection did not last long and died out peacefully. But for Olga Alexandrovna, the gap turned out to be a heavy blow - she fell ill and could not recover from the shock for a long time. Then she married S.N. Somov and died, leaving several children. Turgenev was very sad about her death.

On the edge of someone else's nest

Of course, Viardot was not the woman who was able to surround Turgenev with an atmosphere of tenderness that he so needed. But Turgenev's love, communication with him were necessary for Viardot. The constant presence of Turgenev was not for her a burden or the satisfaction of her vanity. Such an independent strong, somewhat unbridled nature could not bear next to her a person who loves her if she were indifferent to him. And Turgenev himself would hardly have endured the constant humiliation of one-sided love.

Turgenev transfers his love for Viardot to her entire family. He responds with such love in letters about Viardo's daughters Claudia and Marianne that some researchers, not without reason, argued that these two native daughters were writers. And in the appearance of Marianne, they found the Oryol features of Turgenev. However, simple chronological comparisons show that these conjectures are not confirmed.

In the spring of 1857, another cooling of relations between Turgenev and Viardot begins. She noticeably moves away from Turgenev, he writes a letter to the poet N.A. Nekrasov that it’s impossible to live like this: “It’s full to sit on the edge of someone else’s nest. I don’t have my own - well, I don’t need any. ” It is not known exactly what caused the cooling of relations. Although it is known that her husband, as well as a long-term friend A. Schaeffer, advised Viardot to break off relations with Turgenev. It can be seen from Viardot's letters to Y. Ritz. That this decision was not given to her without difficulty.

In 1861, there is no correspondence between him and Viardot. In 1862, relations are resumed - the Viardot family comes to Baden-Baden to buy a house - Turgenev joins them. Viardot comes to Baden-Baden to buy a house - Turgenev joins them. Viardot buy a house in this resort place. Around - an abundance of forests and mountains. Russians occupy a prominent place among vacationers. Here, Viardot's husband could be treated on the waters, and in the Schwardwald forests and mountain meadows there was excellent hunting: quails, hares, pheasants and even wild boars were found.

In Baden-Baden, Turgenev settled near Viardot's villa. For the last 20 years of his life, Ivan Sergeevich lived abroad, becoming a member of the Viardot family. In 1863, Viardot says goodbye to the big stage, although at 43 she is full of energy and charm, and her villa becomes a music center where celebrities gather, where Polina sings and also accompanies on the piano.
Summer Viardot rented a dacha in Bougival. The white villa was located on a hill, surrounded by old trees, a fountain, and streams of spring water ran through the grass. Slightly higher than the villa stood Turgenev's elegant, wooden-carved two-story house-chalet, decorated along the foundation with growing flowers. After classes with students, Viardot walked with Turgenev in the park, they discussed what he had written, and she never hid her opinion about his work. By this time, Turgenev's story about life in France, recorded by L.N. Maikov, where the writer says: “I love family, family life, but I was not destined to create my own family, and I attached myself, became part of a strange family ... There they look at me not as a writer, but as a person, and among it I feel calm and warm…” Of course, Viardot cannot be blamed for tearing Turgenev away from his homeland. This is wrong. Love for Viardot forced the writer to live abroad. As much as Viardot could support the energy of literary creativity in him

Let them talk…

The Parisian-Bougival period of the writer's life can be called a quiet haven of the last years of Turgenev's life.

Viardot's house became his home as well.

Previous quarrels, conflicts and misunderstandings are overcome. Friendship and love strengthened, Turgenev's fidelity to Viardot waited for a well-deserved reward, but at the same time, Turgenev's soul remained divided, it was tormented by hopeless contradictions. Against this background, he had fits of despondency. So in a letter to Polonsky in 1877, Turgenev wrote: “Midnight. I am sitting at my desk again... Downstairs, my poor friend is singing something in her completely broken voice... and mine is darker than the night. Turgenev's health is deteriorating - he suffers from frequent attacks of gout. J. Sand dies. It was a powerful experience, both for Viardot and for Turgenev. Louis Viardot was very ill and decrepit. Doctors for a long time treated Turgenev for angina pectoris, attributing fresh air and a milk diet to him, but in fact he had spinal cancer. When the outcome of the disease became clear, Viardot, wanting to save Turgenev from overwork, began to protect the writer in every possible way, not lowering visitors to him. When the French writer A. Daudet came to Turgenev at the beginning of 1883, Viardot's house was full of flowers and singing, but Turgenev went down to the first floor to the art gallery with great difficulty. There was also Louis Viardot. Turgenev smiled, surrounded by the works of Russian artists. In April 1883, the writer was transported to Bougival. Turgenev was carried down the stairs, and the dying L. Viardot was wheeled towards him in an armchair. They shook hands - Viardot died two weeks later. After the death of Louis, all the attention of P. Viardot was directed to Turgenev.

In the summer, Turgenev's health improved slightly. He was still surrounded with warmth and care by members of the Viardot family. The bedridden writer asked to move his bed to the office: now he could see the sky and greenery, and most importantly, he could see Viardot's villa down the slope. But already in June, the hopelessness of the situation of the sick Turgenev became clear to the doctors. In mid-August, Turgenev's attacks of terrible pain resumed. Dying was hard, he lay all weakened, soaked in morphine and opium. In delirium, he spoke only Russian, Polina, her two daughters and two nurses were relentlessly with the dying writer. Already shortly before his death, he recognized Viardot leaning over him. He started up and said: "Here is the queen of queens, how much good she has done." In early September, Turgenev died. Viardot is in despair. She writes two letters to L. Peach, which breathe grief. She promises to be in mourning for the rest of her days. “No one knew him like we do, and no one will mourn him for so long,” wrote Viardot's daughter Marianne.

Turgenev's body was placed in a lead coffin, transported to Paris and placed in the basement of a Russian church. At the funeral service on September 7, a lot of people gathered. On September 19, the warmth of the writer was sent to Russia. Viardot sent two daughters, Claudia and Marianne, to the funeral. A grand funeral took place on September 27 at the Volkov cemetery in St. Petersburg. The first time after the death of Turgenev, Viardot was so broken that she did not even leave the house. As the people around her recall, it was impossible to look at Viardot without pity. Having recovered a little, she constantly reduced all conversations to Turgenev, rarely mentioning also her recently deceased husband. Some time later, the artist A.P. Bogolyubov visited her and the singer said very important words to him for understanding her relationship with Turgenev:

“... we understood each other too well to care what they say about us, because our mutual position was recognized as legitimate by those who knew and appreciated us. If the Russians value the name of Turgenev, then I can proudly say that the name Viardot compared with him does not detract from him in any way ... "

After Turgenev's death, Viardot moved to another apartment. She hung the walls of the living room with portraits of living and dead friends. In the place of honor, she placed a portrait of Turgenev. From 1883 until the end of her life, she wrote letters on paper with a mourning border and sealed them in mourning envelopes. Two testaments of Turgenev were announced - according to one of them, he left Viardot all his movable property, according to the other - the right to all his published and unpublished works.

After the death of Pauline Viardot, a manuscript by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was found in her table, which was called “Turgenev. Life for Art. They say that it was about how these two people who love each other melted all their feelings, thoughts, sufferings, wanderings of restless souls into art. The novel is gone. Throughout the 20th century, they tried to find it in European countries. And not only Europe. But so far without success...

In 1843, a turning point occurred in the life of the outstanding writer and poet Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. In his diary, he noted: "Meeting with Polina" and for some reason drew a cross next to it. If the 25-year-old writer knew that he would have to carry this cross all his life.

Pauline Viardot

In the 19th century, in high society, there would not have been a single person who had not heard this name at least once - Pauline Viardot. An outstanding opera diva was born in the capital of France in 1821. Her father, Manuel Garcia, is a Spanish singer and music teacher.

The family had two more children who also became famous performers (Manuel Garcia Jr. and Maria Malibran). They owe their talent to their father, who passed on and then correctly developed their musical abilities.

The singing data of young Polina were so outstanding that at the age of 16 she already gave solo concerts. And two years later, she played the role of Desdemona on the stage of the London Opera House in the play Othello.

The girl did not have a beautiful appearance, some even argued that it was completely impossible to look at her full face. But as soon as she began to sing, everyone froze in admiration. The voice was of extraordinary beauty, refined and full of feeling.

At the age of 19, Polina married the composer, director of the Paris Opera House, Louis Viardot. He was twenty-one years older, but fell in love with his wife like a young man. It cannot be said that she also passionately treated her husband, rather, she allowed herself to be adored. One day, the girl confessed in her diary that Louis was as boring as a nightcap.

Polina longed for feelings, passion, wanted to have near her, as she put it, "a herd of admirers."

The singer toured a lot, including in Russia. She often came to this country, performed with other famous singers. With her talent, Polina inspired many composers who wrote works personally for her.

Among them were:

• F. Chopin;
• C. Saint-Saens;
• G. Berlioz;
• J. Meyerbeer and others.

In addition, Viardot herself wrote musical works (the opera The Last Sorcerer), compiled collections.

Polina spoke several foreign languages:

• Spanish
• Russian;
• German;
• French
• Italian
• English.

This talented woman translated some works of Russian literature into French. In addition, she was a caring mother, gave birth and raised four children. In 1863, the Viardot family moved to Baden-Baden because of Napoleon's policy, which was not shared by the father of the family.

Later they returned to Paris again, where Polina took up teaching at the conservatory and organized her own music salon.

The singer died at the age of 88 in Paris, surrounded by loving relatives.

Ivan Turgenev

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was born in 1883 in the Oryol province. His father was a cavalryman and had a handsome appearance. Because of a dissolute life and a passion for games, he quickly squandered his fortune, so he was forced to marry an ugly, middle-aged, but very rich girl Varvara Lutovinova, who came from an ancient noble family. Their far from ideal relationship did not resemble love.

Three sons were born in the marriage, but the father continued to lead a free lifestyle and soon left the family altogether. The mother was rather contradictory about the upbringing of children. She spent a lot of money on their education, hired the best tutors. But at the same time, she often lashed out at the children and even beat them. The severity of her character formed the basis of the image of the lady in the work "Mumu".

The mother moved to the capital in order to give her children a better education. There Ivan entered the university in the verbal department. At that time he met his first love. She turned out to be Princess Shakhovskaya.

At first, she showed favor to the young poet, entered into correspondence, but then it turned out that the windy girl reacted the same way to the feelings of his father. This shocked the young man, her image subsequently formed the basis of the work "First Love".

After the death of her son Sergei, the mother decided to move to the Northern capital. There Ivan entered the Faculty of Philosophy of the University, and then continued his education abroad. In the 40s, the young man returned to Russia, where he was awarded the title of master.

In his mother's estate, Ivan seduced a serf woman and she gave birth to a daughter. He even wanted to get married, but his mother was categorically against it. Then the peasant woman was given in marriage, and Ivan left for St. Petersburg. He was able to recognize his daughter only twenty years later.

In those years, Turgenev wrote his best works:

• "Notes of a hunter";
• "Rudin";
• "Noble Nest";
• "Fathers and Sons";
• "Smoke";
• "New".

In 1860 Ivan Sergeevich became a member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. Then he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Oxford University, and in 1980 he became an honorary member of Moscow University.

In the last years of his life, the writer was seriously ill, doctors diagnosed him with angina pectoris (angina pectoris). Turgenev died at the age of 64 in France.

Love at first sight

The love story of Polina Viardot and Turgenev is still not fully understood and is full of mysteries. Of course, creative people tend to have constant love for different people, which they need for inspiration. But this relationship was different from many others. Pauline Viardot first appeared in Turgenev's life in 1843. The writer then listened to the opera with her participation in St. Petersburg.

It was truly love at first sight! The singer charmed the young writer so much that he could no longer think of anyone. There was only one dream now - to see Polina, to enjoy her speeches, to be near.

He thought about her in solitude, the desire to see her was like a need to live, to breathe air. Far away from her, Ivan simply suffocated. Of course, the writer began to dedicate his works to the singer.

And finally, a happy event happened: Viardot's husband, while hunting, got to know Turgenev better and invited him to his house. One can imagine how happy the young man was! He was satisfied only with the fact that he sees next to him the object of his sighs. And once he almost went crazy with happiness when Polina rubbed cologne on his temples for a headache.

Threesome life (in Polina's family)

Then the Viardot family went back to Paris. Turgenev dropped everything and went after them. He settled in the house of friends on incomprehensible rights. But that suited him more than enough. Turgenev and Viardot talked for a long time every day, together they composed various works (for example, Polina wrote an opera to Turgenev's libretto).

Wikipedia, like many other sources, says that it is still not clear whether Polina Viardot and Ivan Turgenev had a bodily connection. Presumably at the time when Louis was paralyzed, they lived as husband and wife. In 1857, Polina's son Paul was born. There were rumors that Turgenev was his father.

The attitude of Turgenev's mother to her son's novel

The love of the writer and singer lasted for 40 years. Turgenev's mother was very angry when she found out about this novel. She threatened to deprive her son of her inheritance if he did not leave this "gypsy", as she called Polina.

But nothing could make Ivan Sergeevich fall out of love and forget his Muse.

Sometimes he was in a completely distressed financial situation, because his mother did not give him money for three years, but his soul sang when he was next to his beloved. He said that he could not live even an hour without the radiance of her eyes.

Continuation of the novel in letters (during separation)

When Ivan Turgenev and Pauline Viardot were forced to part, their communication continued in correspondence. Until now, Turgenev's letters to Pauline Viardot have been preserved. They are filled with tender, affectionate feelings, and sometimes passion.

In one of the letters, the writer informs his Muse that, having arrived in Russia, he found his own daughter in the estate! She has become quite mature, and now he does not know what to do with her. He still had to admit paternity, because the girl was very similar to Turgenev.

Then the writer decided to send Pelagia (that was the name of his daughter) to his Muse in Paris. Polina happily took up her upbringing, and soon the serf girl turned into a mannered and educated Mademoiselle Polinet.

Ivan Sergeevich died in France in the arms of his beloved. Was it not happiness for him: to see the eyes of his Muse before death, to enjoy her caresses and words. Most likely, he departed into eternity, feeling like a completely happy person.

Their relationship is considered one of the most dramatic and long love stories. But it would be more correct to say that this is the love story of only one person, Ivan Turgenev. For forty years the great Russian writer lived in the status of an eternal friend of the family, "on the edge of someone else's nest", side by side with the husband of the opera diva Polina Viardot. He traded life in his homeland and personal family happiness for the impassive friendship of his beloved, and even in old age he was ready to follow her to the ends of the world “at least as a janitor”.
Ivan Turgenev was first introduced to Pauline Viardot on November 1, 1843 as "a Great Russian landowner, a good shooter, a pleasant conversationalist and a bad poet." It cannot be said that such a recommendation contributed to his happiness: Polina herself later noted that she did not single out the future writer from the circle of new acquaintances and numerous admirers of her talent. But the young Turgenev, who was then barely 25, fell in love at first sight with the 22-year-old singer, who arrived in St. Petersburg with the Parisian Italian Opera. All of Europe at that time idolized her talent, and even Viardot's unattractive appearance did not interfere with her fame as a wonderful artist.
Contemporaries recalled how, with the beginning of the singing of the prima, a spark seemed to run through the hall, the audience fell into complete ecstasy and the appearance of the singer ceased to have at least some meaning. According to the composer Saint-Saens, Pauline Viardot had a bitter, like an orange, voice created for tragedies and elegiac poems. On the stage, she charmed with a passionate performance of operas, and at musical evenings she captivated the audience with her beautiful piano playing - her apprenticeship with Liszt and Chopin was not in vain. "Sings well, damn gypsy!" - admitted not without jealousy, after hearing the speech of Polina, Turgenev's mother.

Turgenev girl

In an inconspicuous stooped woman with bulging eyes, there really was something gypsy: she adopted southern features from her father, the Spanish singer Manuel Garcia. “She is desperately ugly, but if I saw her a second time, I would certainly fall in love,” one Belgian artist said about the singer to her future husband, Louis Viardot. George Sand introduced Polina to an art historian, critic and director of the Parisian Italian Opera. The writer herself considered the forty-year-old Louis dull, “like a nightcap,” but recommended him to her young friend as a suitor out of the best of intentions. Being completely fascinated by the singer, George Sand documented her in the main female image of the novel "Consuelo", talked her out of marriage with the writer and poet Alfred de Musset, and later turned a blind eye to the affair of the already married Pauline with her son.

And the temperament of the talented singer was not to be occupied: in her youth, her first hobby was Franz Liszt, from whom Polina took piano lessons, later she was fond of the composer Charles Gounod, to whom Turgenev was very jealous of her. The rest of Madame Viardot's novels will remain unknown to history, but, judging by the paradoxical attractiveness of the prima donna, numerous. However, Polina Garcia married then for love, and for some time she was really carried away by her husband. However, everything passes - and soon Polina confessed to George Sand that she was tired of the ardent expressions of her husband's love.

But what about our Turgenev? He became for Madame Viardot one of the many admirers, not without, however, a certain value. A rare man could amuse the artist with an amusing story, told so skillfully that inviting him to the dressing room seemed no longer so in vain. In addition, Turgenev with great desire undertook to teach Pauline Viardot the Russian language, which she needed for the flawless performance of the romances of Glinka, Dargomyzhsky and Tchaikovsky. This language was the sixth in the singer's arsenal and later helped her become the first listener of Turgenev's works. “Not a single line of Turgenev got into print before he introduced me to it. You Russians don’t know how much you owe me that Turgenev continues to write and work,” Viardot once said.
In order to be useful to his beloved, Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev - then still an unknown and poor landowner - went to France for Polina and her husband when the artist's tour of Russia ended. With Louis Viardot, the writer found a common language against the backdrop of a passion for hunting and interest in translating Russian writers into French. He often visited the Courtavnel family estate near Paris, took part in home performances, gathering guests and artistic evenings. When Pauline Viardot went on tour, Turgenev followed her: “Ah, my feelings for you are too great and powerful,” Ivan writes in one of his many letters to his beloved. - I can not live away from you, I must feel your closeness, enjoy it. The day when your eyes did not shine for me is a lost day. Compatriots visiting Turgenev abroad were surprised at his condition: “I never thought that he was capable of loving so much,” Leo Tolstoy writes after a meeting with a friend in Paris.

Homeland and kinship

In his love, Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev almost forgot his homeland, thereby completely infuriating his mother: her features can be traced in the image of a harsh landowner from the novel "Mu-mu". In 1850, the writer was forced to come to his native estate Spasskoe-Lutovinovo. The conversation with the landowner Turgeneva ended with the fact that Ivan was deprived of the landowner's money, took his illegitimate daughter Pelageya, born of a seamstress, and sent her to her beloved Polina. The Viardot family received the eight-year-old savage kindly and with family feelings for Turgenev. After some time, the illiterate peasant girl, through the efforts of Madame Viardot, turned into Mademoiselle Polinette, who draws well and writes letters to her father exclusively in French.

The Viardot couple, meanwhile not deprived of their children, eventually replaced Ivan Turgenev with a family. “Fate did not send me my own family, and I attached myself, became part of an alien family, and it happened by chance that this was a French family. For a long time my life has been intertwined with the life of this family. There they look at me not as a writer, but as a person, and among her I feel calm and warm. The writer felt especially happy in 1856, when Polina's son Paul was born. An extraordinary excitement, incomparable with the joy from the birth of Madame Viardot's previous children, swept over Turgenev. However, Polina herself did not express such vivid feelings, and the presence of her lover Ari Schaeffer at that moment, who painted her portrait, introduces a certain amount of doubt into the paternity of the Russian writer. But the descendants of Viardot are sure of the opposite. Moreover, just in time for the birth of the boy, Turgenev ended a short relationship at home: an attempt to fall in love with a meek and young distant relative was unsuccessful. Turgenev lost interest in the girl, leaving the unfortunate woman in bewilderment, which, as was the custom of that time, turned into an illness.
Baroness Vrevskaya, as well as actress Maria Savina, remained without reciprocity. Although the writer had a closeness with them, the image of Pauline Viardot did not leave him. And even the desire to spend more time in Russia broke at the very first call of Polina. If it was necessary to go to her, Turgenev dropped everything and left. The biographer of Ivan Turgenev notes: “If he were offered the choice to be the first writer in the world, but never again to see the Viardot family or serve as their watchman, janitor and, in this capacity, follow them somewhere to the other side of the world, he would prefer the position janitor." Yes, and Turgenev himself, already an accomplished writer, in 1856 confesses to his friend Afanasy Fet: “I am subject to the will of this woman. No! She shielded me from everything else, as I need. I am only blissful when a woman steps on my neck with her heel and presses my face into the dirt with her nose. People who were friends with the writer noted that he needed just such love - bringing suffering, generating soul movements, unrequited.

After the death of Ivan Turgenev, Pauline Viardot took all her letters from the writer's archive. And one can only guess how many beautiful female images and tragic love stories in the works of the great writer gave life to this passion, which lasted for forty years.

Turgenev and Pauline Viardot.

The year 1843 remained forever memorable for Turgenev, not only because it was the first notable milestone on his literary path; This year left an indelible mark on his personal life.

In the autumn of 1843, an Italian opera came to St. Petersburg, in which the remarkably gifted twenty-year-old singer Polina Garcia Viardo performed.

Born into an artistic family, Polina Garcia began her career almost as a child. Already at the end of the thirties, she performed with great success in Brussels, in London, and at the age of eighteen she made her debut on the Parisian opera stage as Desdomona in Verdi's Otello, and then as Chenerentola in Rossini's opera.

Russian viewers immediately appreciated Viardot's stormy passion and extraordinary artistic skill, the range of her voice and the ease with which she freely moved from the high note of the soprano to the deep notes of the contralto that caressed the heart.

Hearing for the first time Polina Garcia in the role of Rosina, Turgenev was captivated by her talent and from that day on did not miss a single performance of the opera that arrived.

After some time, his friends and acquaintances told each other that Turgenev was without memory from Viardot's game. “He is now completely immersed in Italian opera and, like all enthusiasts, is very sweet and very funny,” Belinsky wrote to Tatyana Bakunina.

They said that, having learned about her son’s new hobby, Varvara Petrovna visited a concert where Viardot performed, and upon returning home, as if speaking to herself, not addressing anyone, she said: “And I must admit, the damned gypsy sings well!”

Soon Turgenev had the opportunity to go hunting in the company of Pauline Garcia's husband, Louis Viardot, and then he was introduced to the singer herself. Subsequently, Viardot jokingly told that he was introduced to her as a young landowner, an excellent hunter, a good conversationalist and a mediocre poet.

November 1 - the day on which this acquaintance took place, forever remained unforgettable for him.

“I have not seen anything in the world better than you ... To meet you on my way was the greatest happiness of my life, my devotion and gratitude has no boundaries and will die only with me,” Turgenev wrote to Polina Viardot from St. Petersburg.

From adolescence until the last days of his life, Turgenev remained true to this feeling, sacrificing a lot to him ...

On April 30, 1845, Varvara Petrovna wrote from Moscow: “Ivan left here for five days with the Italians, he disposes to go abroad with them or for them.”

At the end of the tour in St. Petersburg and Moscow, the Italian opera began to prepare for its departure from Russia.

With the service in the department of the Ministry of the Interior, everything was over by this time. On May 10, a foreign passport was sent from the ministry to the Governor-General of St. Petersburg "for the retired collegiate secretary Ivan Turgenev, who is going to Germany and Holland to cure his illness."

Again Kronstadt, then a long-distance steamer, again wind and waves in the boundless expanse of the harsh Baltic Sea ...

Was it not because these regions attracted him then, that nearby, behind a ridge of mountains, lay the birthplace of Pauline Garcia?

Then he was in Paris and, apparently, received an invitation to stay at the estate of the Viardot spouses, located sixty kilometers southeast of Paris. The place called Kurtavnel, with its ancient castle, surrounded by moats, a canal, a park, groves, left an unforgettable impression in Turgenev's soul.

Upon his return from France, he was again in St. Petersburg, among Belinsky and his friends. Turgenev's literary reputation is being strengthened day by day.