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.
Ivan Turgenev
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 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.
Pauline Viardot
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, born from a seamstress, and sent her to his 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.
Isaac Levitan "Golden Autumn"
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. Not! 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.
Photo: ITAR-TASS, RIA Novosti
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 lasted 40 years - from 1843 to 1883. This is probably the longest love story ever.
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”.
She is not at all beautiful, rather, on the contrary. She is stooped, with bulging eyes, large, almost masculine features, and a huge mouth. But when the “divine Viardot” began to sing, her strange, almost repulsive appearance was magically transformed. It seemed that before that, Viardot's face was just a reflection in a crooked mirror, and only during singing did the audience see the original. At the time of one of these transformations, Pauline Viardot was seen on the stage of the opera house by the beginning Russian writer Ivan Turgenev. 
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.
Pauline Viardot Engraving
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.
At the same time, Turgenev was well aware of his ambiguous position in the Viardot house, he more than once had to catch the sidelong glances of his Parisian acquaintances, who shrugged their shoulders in bewilderment when Polina, introducing Ivan Sergeevich to them, said: “And this is our Russian friend, please meet me” . Turgenev felt that he, a hereditary Russian nobleman, was gradually turning into a lap dog, who began to wag his tail and squeal joyfully, as soon as the mistress threw a favorable look at her or scratched behind her ear, but he could not do anything with his unhealthy feeling. Without Polina, Ivan Sergeevich felt really sick and broken.
As for his own daughter, her life in her grandmother's estate is not at all cloudless. The imperious landowner treats her granddaughter like a serf. As a result, Turgenev offers Polina to take the girl to be brought up in the Viardot family. At the same time, either wanting to please the woman he loves, or seized with a love fever, Turgenev changes the name of his own daughter, and from Pelageya the girl turns into Polinet (of course, in honor of the adored Polina). Of course, the consent of Pauline Viardot to raise Turgenev's daughter further strengthened the feeling of the writer. Now Viardot has become for him also an angel of mercy, who snatched his child from the hands of a cruel grandmother. True, Pelageya-Polinet did not at all share her father's affection for Pauline Viardot. Having lived in Viardot's house until she came of age, Polinet retained her resentment towards her father and hostility towards her adoptive mother for the rest of her life, believing that she had taken away her father's love and attention.
Meanwhile, the popularity of Turgenev as a writer is growing. In Russia, no one perceives Ivan Sergeevich as a novice writer - now he is almost a living classic. At the same time, Turgenev firmly believes that he owes his fame to Viardot. Before the premieres of performances based on his works, he whispers her name, believing that it brings him good luck.
In 1852-1853, Turgenev lives on his estate practically under house arrest. The authorities did not like the obituary he wrote after Gogol's death - in it the secret office saw a threat to imperial power.
Upon learning that in March 1853 Pauline Viardot was coming to Russia with concerts, Turgenev lost his head. He manages to get a fake passport, with which the writer, disguised as a tradesman, goes to Moscow to meet his beloved woman. The risk was huge, but, unfortunately, unjustified. Several years of separation cooled Polina's feelings. But Turgenev is ready to be content with simple friendship, if only from time to time to see how Viardot turns his thin neck and looks at him with his mysterious black eyes.
In someone else's arms
SOME time later, Turgenev nevertheless made several attempts to improve his personal life. In the spring of 1854, the writer met with the daughter of one of Ivan Sergeevich's cousins, Olga. The 18-year-old girl captivated the writer so much that he even thought about getting married. But the longer their romance lasted, the more often the writer remembered Pauline Viardot. The freshness of the young Olga's face and her trustingly affectionate glances from under lowered eyelashes still could not replace the opium dope that the writer felt at every meeting with Viardot. Finally, completely exhausted by this duality, Turgenev confessed to the girl in love with him that he could not justify her hopes for personal happiness. Olga was very upset by the unexpected breakup, and Turgenev blamed himself for everything, but could not do anything with the newly flared love for Polina.
In 1879, Turgenev makes his last attempt to start a family. The young actress Maria Savinova is ready to become his life partner. The girl is not even afraid of a huge age difference - at that moment Turgenev was already over 60.
In 1882 Savinova and Turgenev went to Paris. Unfortunately, this trip marked the end of their relationship. In Turgenev's house, every little thing reminded of Viardot, Maria constantly felt superfluous and was tormented by jealousy. In the same year, Turgenev fell seriously ill. Doctors made a terrible diagnosis - cancer. At the beginning of 1883, he was operated on in Paris, and in April, after the hospital, before returning to his place, he asks to be escorted to Viardot's house, where Polina was waiting for him.
Turgenev did not have long to live, but he was happy in his own way - next to him was his Polina, to whom he dictated the last stories and letters. September 3, 1883 Turgenev died.
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 about what they say about us, because our mutual position was recognized 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 ... "
Viardot greatly survived Turgenev, as he predicted in the poem “When I am gone ...” and she did not go to his grave, which was also predicted by the writer ...
Viardot's influence on Turgenev's literary fate is enormous (and it could not have been otherwise): look, he had no other theme than love; all his themes are an inconspicuous single love song. But look further at the details: all of Turgenev's "loves" do not have an earthly crown, they do not pass into marriage. He sang "a piece of the opened pagan sky" as the acquisition of his biography.
According to Turgenev's personality and his great affection for Viardot, we must protect her name from any offense ... For the world, she can be judged; but precisely for those who read and love the work of Ivan Sergeevich - she should never be judged, even if someone were to say that it was for Russians that she was especially judged for her coldness and indifference to Turgenev. May his will be sacred: may her memory be calm, not wounded near his sacred grave.
Well, why didn't Turgenev fall in love with another? Which would save him, reassure him, make him happy? Fall asleep with love and reverence? Well, why is he this, another did not like?
That's the whole answer to why she his I couldn’t possibly love more than I loved so much ... for the interest of his mind, the charm of his talents, his education; for his noble work.
Rock. And on both sides.
Materials used:[
url]http://www.bibliotekar.ru/rus-Rozanov/73.htm
Two centuries ago a great writer was born
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Their strange romance is still one of the main mysteries of world literature. “My feeling for her is something that the world has never known, something that has never existed and that can never be repeated,” the writer himself admitted in his declining years. “From the very minute I saw her in for the first time - from that fateful moment I belonged to her all, just like a dog belongs to its owner ... I could no longer live anywhere where she did not live; I broke away at once from everything dear to me, from my homeland itself, set off after this woman ... In German fairy tales, knights often fall into such a stupor. I could not take my eyes off the features of her face, could not listen to her speeches, admire her every movement; I, really, also breathed after her.
"SOOT AND BONES"
It is bitter and painful to read these confessions. Turgenev is not a frail intellectual deprived of female attention. A real Russian hero under two meters tall, handsome, writer, tireless hunter, smart, educated, rich. At home, many secular ladies sighed for him, dreaming of bringing him down the aisle. And he chose a visiting foreigner. Not only is she married, but, to put it mildly, not a beauty. Stooped, bulging eyes. It was impossible to look at the face from the front, the artist Ilya Repin claimed. The poet Heinrich Heine called it noble ugliness. "Soot and bones!" - yelled evil tongues. The classic story is "beauty and the beast", only here it turned out the other way around. Even a bosom friend, the writer George Sand, who arranged the marriage of the aspiring singer with the director of the Italian Opera, portraying Polina as the main character of the novel Consuelo, was perplexed when she learned that her son had an affair with Viardot: “Satan will fall in love more clearly than a falcon ... Well, what did he see in her?
However, Ivan Sergeevich himself was not blind. Lambert wrote bitterly to Countess: " Don Quixote, at least, believed in the beauty of his Dulcinea, and of our time, don Quixotes see that Dulcinea is a freak, and everyone runs after her".
I understood, but I couldn't do anything with myself. Once in his hearts he said to his friend-poet Athanasius Fet, who was visiting him in Paris: “I am subject to the will of this woman. Not! 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.
“He is terribly pitiful,” worried Leo Tolstoy. “He suffers mentally in a way that only a person with his imagination can suffer ... I never thought that he was capable of loving so much.”
“No, there was clearly not without witchcraft, a love potion,” the cream of society gossiped.
"Witchcraft of the Cursed Gypsy Woman"
This version was really popular both in St. Petersburg and in Paris, agrees the writer, editor-in-chief of the family magazine about nature "Anthill" Nikolai Starchenko, a great connoisseur of Turgenev's life and work. - No wonder his mother, lady Varvara Petrovna, kept repeating: “The damned gypsy has bewitched you!” And threatened to disinherit. - “Maman, she is not a gypsy, she is a Spaniard ...” Ivan objected with annoyance.
Michelle Ferdinanda Polina Garcia is the daughter of the famous Spanish tenor Manuel Garcia. Mother, older sister also shone on the stages of Europe. So she knew the theater from childhood, grew up among the artists. She had a beautiful voice - a mezzo-soprano. Received an invitation to the "Italian Opera" in Paris. At the age of 18, she married the director of this opera, Louis Viardot, who was twenty-one years older. Obviously by calculation, so that the spouse would help in a creative career.
Viardot was not famous for her beauty.
So it's still witchcraft?
I guess there's some magnetism here. But I completely rule out any love potions, black magic. Turgenev at their first meeting was not famous to bewitch him. There was a different kind of magic at work. I will refer to the opinion of a connoisseur of female beauty, a wonderful artist Alexei Bogolyubov. He lived in Paris for a long time, was friends with Turgenev, communicated with Viardot. “She was not good-looking, but she was slender and even thin, she had wonderful black hair, smart velvety eyes and a matte complexion until old age ... Her mouth was large and ugly, but as soon as she began to sing, there was no talk of facial flaws , she was divinely inspired, she was such a powerful beauty, such an actress that the theater trembled with applause and bravo, flowers rained down on the stage, and in this enthusiastic noise the queen of the stage was hiding behind a falling curtain ... ".
It was this “divine inspiration” of the singer, her passionate feminine temperament on stage that struck down the sensual Turgenev. Like many others, I note. Viardot had many love affairs. They call the Prince of Baden, composers Charles Gounod, Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, prominent artists, writers ... But sooner or later they all freed themselves from her spell. And only Turgenev remained with Polina until the end of his days.
SVELA POSOVAYA HUNTING
- How did they meet?
- Interesting interesting…
Glory Viardot thundered throughout Europe. And finally, the singer arrived on tour in St. Petersburg. When he first saw her on stage in The Barber of Seville, Turgenev was smitten. And soon, exactly on the day of his 25th birthday, a certain Major Komarov introduced Ivan on a dog hunt near St. Petersburg with his other guest, Louis Viardot. Apparently, Turgenev made a good impression on the Frenchman. Three days later, Louis introduced him to his wife. Polina was then 23 years old. She favorably accepted the courtship of the charming "Russian bear", about whom she was told that he was a rich landowner (the owner of five thousand "slaves"!), A poet and an excellent shooter. So it was his favorite hunt that connected him with the main love of life. These two passions would feed Turgenev's work ever since.
He then wrote in his diary: “Meeting with Polina”, next to him he drew a cross, similar to a cemetery one. prophesied! He will drag the heavy cross of love for her to the grave.
Yes, they didn’t know then that their love affair would last four decades, and there would be ups, coolings and separations, sometimes for several years ...
FATHER RUINED FIRST LOVE
Because of Polina, Turgenev remained a bachelor for life, did not start his own family. However, it was rumored that the reason for this was the male failure of the classic. Because, they say, their relationship was platonic.
Insolvency? Oh well! In his youth, before meeting Viardot, in Spassky he had an affair with the pretty seamstress Avdotya Ermolaevna Ivanova (isn’t it from here, from the father of the seamstress, then the image of Yermolaj appeared - his constant companion in the “Notes of a Hunter”? The real name of the hunting assistant - Afanasy Alifanov.) The girl became pregnant. Noble Ivan decided to marry her, which led his mother into a frenzy. A terrible scandal erupted. Turgenev fled to the capital, and Varvara Petrovna sent Avdotya to Moscow to her parents. Pelagia was born there. Turgenev got from his mother that Avdotya was assigned a decent life allowance. She got married. And Varvara Petrovna took the girl to Spasskoye. And she loved to show off her son's "prank" to the guests. Like, look, who does she look like? Pelageya's face was the spitting image of Turgenev.
Later, while serving a year and a half in exile in Spassky for an article on Gogol, he took a serf mistress, Fetistka. Previously, she served as a maid with Ivan Sergeevich's cousin Elizabeth. The writer really liked it, he decided to buy it. The sister noticed how his eyes lit up and asked for a higher price. The writer did not bargain. He dressed the Fetistka well, she grew fat with her body, respected the master ...
By the way, at that time Viardot was in Russia with regular tours. Turgenev called her to Spasskoye, but the singer did not come. Then he himself, under a forged document, went to Moscow under the guise of a tradesman. And he spent several happy days with Polina.
So in terms of physical love, everything was normal with Turgenev. And with the serfs "Aphrodites", and with Viardot. About what there are hints in his correspondence with her. Of her three daughters, he singled out Claudia (Didi). He gave a large dowry when she got married. It was said that she was his daughter.
There is another mystery. He returned to Pauline in France after another separation, and exactly nine months later Paul Viardot was born. Turgenev sent a joyful telegram to his beloved woman. And he was happy until he found out about the existence of the artist Schaeffer, a new friend of the singer.
- It turns out that Paul is not the son of Turgenev?
Let's not guess. In any case, when Paul grew up and became a violinist, Ivan Sergeevich gave him a Stradivarius violin. Can you imagine?
But he really didn’t dare to start his own family. (The story of the pregnant seamstress doesn’t count, it was just a rush of nobility. If I really wanted to get married, no mother would have interfered.) I think the reason for this is not Viardot, but youthful spiritual injury. What he vividly, emotionally and frankly wrote about in the autobiographical novel "First Love". The hero passionately, without memory, fell in love with a neighbor in the country, Princess Zinaida, and she became the mistress ... of his father. And it happened, in fact, in front of the stunned young man. In fact, that princess was called Ekaterina Shakhovskaya. She was 19, she wrote poetry ...
- And what, did his father really beat off his first love from Ivan?
Alas… Sergei Nikolayevich Turgenev, in modern terms, was a big walker. His son gracefully called him "the great fisher before the Lord." A more sophisticated handsome man than Ivan, he constantly weaved love affairs. He instantly determined how to seduce the lady he liked. On the one hand he was gentle, on the other - rude ... The colonel married the neighbor-landowner Varvara Lutovinova, ugly, in years, by calculation. She had 5 thousand souls of serfs, he had only 150. His wife forgave him numerous betrayals, although she rolled up scandals. Because of these scandals, the story of the princess, Ivan developed a fear of family life. As soon as the relationship reached a serious point, he stepped aside. For example, even before Polina, there was a passionate affair with the sister of a friend, the future revolutionary Bakunin Tatiana. She was officially considered his bride. But the wedding didn't happen. It also later ended his serious relationship with a distant relative Olga Turgeneva, Baroness Yulia Vrevskaya, the famous actress Maria Savina, Leo Tolstoy's sister Maria. She even divorced her husband because of Turgenev. But the writer did not marry her, he returned to Polina. Mary with grief went to the monastery. Annoyed, Leo Tolstoy even challenged him to a duel. Fortunately, it did not take place, but the two classics did not communicate for a long time.
... He always returned to Polina. "On the edge of someone else's nest," as he himself put it. With a married singer, he was more comfortable, more comfortable. For years he lived in her house or rented a house nearby. Accompanied on tour in Europe. When the Viardots bought a villa in Baden-Baden, he built his house next door ...
BIG RUSSIAN COTTOP
How did your husband react?
Louis, let me remind you, was 21 years older than his wife. I immediately understood everything, did not interfere, did not roll up scandals. He was friendly with Turgenev. We hunted together near Paris, in Germany...
You can not discount the commercialism of the spouses. Both loved money. And Turgenev was rich. Returning from France to his homeland, he sold either a village or a grove. The “alien nest” always needed money. A typical example is his illegitimate daughter Pelageya from a seamstress. Turgenev first saw her when the girl was 8 years old. He was shocked by the fact that the servants treated her badly, mockingly called her “lady”. He immediately told Polina about the found daughter, who was strikingly similar to him. "I felt my duties towards her, and I will fulfill them - she will never know poverty, I will arrange her life in the best possible way."
Polina immediately realized that it smells like good money here. In a response letter, she offered to raise the girl along with her own daughters. Turgenev brought Pelageya to the Viardot family, renamed Polinet in honor of his beloved, generously paid for her maintenance. In short, she also tied Viardot to her daughter as a writer. Although the relationship between the singer and the girl did not work out.
Turgenev often bought Polina jewelry. Parisian jewelers nicknamed him "the big Russian sucker". Since he could break the price or slip a low-quality product. He was trusting, never bargained.
When Turgenev died, according to the will, Polina inherited his foreign property, all rights to published and future works. And the classics were published willingly. So Viardot did not lose with the “Russian bear”.
OUR AGENT OF INFLUENCE IN THE WEST
There is a version that, in fact, a strange connection with the French singer was for Ivan Sergeevich only a cover for his main activity. Say, he was a scout, like the ethnographer Miklukho-Maclay, the travelers Arsenyev and Przhevalsky. Indeed, at the time of his acquaintance with Viardot, he served as a collegiate secretary in the Special Office of the Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia, and was engaged in the security of the Fatherland. His rank corresponded to the rank of army captain. Soon he officially left the service, began to travel abroad with Viardot, and lived there for a long time. The famous singer is an ideal "roof" for a scout. Surely for forty years he rose to the rank of general ...
Rumors are still going around. Once Vasily Mikhailovich Peskov and I were visiting Spassky-Lutovinovo. The director of the museum-reserve, Nikolai Ilyich Levin, placed us in the former almshouse, which had once been built by the kind-hearted Ivan Sergeevich for old yards. By the way, one of his former serfs "Aphrodite" asked to be assigned to an almshouse - and the writer immediately gave the appropriate order. So, on a long autumn evening, we also talked about Turgenev the scout. Levin categorically denied this: “There are no documents! We have dug many times…”
Although Turgenev did serve for a short time in the Ministry of Internal Affairs under the command of Vladimir Dahl himself, the author of the famous Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language. Mother insisted that Ivan become an official. But nothing good came of it. Soon the son left the service, completely devoted himself to literature. And Pauline Viardot.
So what then is the secret of this strange novel, slavish, in fact, the admiration of the mighty Russian master-classic before the "gypsy"?
This mighty gentleman was a very sensual artistic nature. If you read his works, you can see how highly he appreciates love for a Woman. I must adore her, idolize her. The imperious Polina Viardot became such an incentive for creativity for Ivan Sergeevich. Kept at a distance, forced to suffer, jealous, suffer. It was in these torments of love that he drew inspiration. The other women mentioned above could not give him such painful inspiration, since they themselves were kind to the writer. This was their mistake.
- Did Viardot herself love him?
I think she only loved herself. Others only allowed themselves to love. She had an iron principle: “For a woman to be successful, she must, just in case, keep completely unnecessary admirers around her. There must be a herd." No wonder the composer Saint-Saens wrote about her "countless betrayals."
And about her love for Turgenev, the writer Boris Zaitsev said well: “There was a lot of attractiveness in the grace, intelligence, beauty of the young Turgenev. Of course she liked it. I also liked his love for her. But she didn't hurt him. He had no power over her. She did not suffer for him, did not suffer, did not shed that blood of the heart that love requires.
I agree with this opinion. But we must take into account that even then foreigners understood love differently than we Russians. Like in that joke about the French woman who says: “The Russians invented love in order not to pay.”
- Although Turgenev just paid!
But Polina should not be condemned. With all obviousness and impartiality, today you understand: it was Viardot, it was Turgenev’s love for her that greatly influenced his creative upsurge!
So it was not in vain that he met Polina, it was not in vain that he went abroad to her.
Before meeting her, he composed only poetry. But he became famous for his prose.
From Europe I saw my homeland better. For three years in France, under the wing of Viardot, he wrote his great book, Notes of a Hunter. And later many other works.
I repeat, Turgenev was not a Russian intelligence officer. But, in modern terms, he became our powerful "agent of influence" in the West. And this introduction happened thanks to Polina, who introduced him to the circle of her close friends: writers, composers, artists. It was the color of the European cultural elite.
As an enlightened patriot, he saw his task in creating a favorable image of our state in Europe. I tried to have favorable articles about Russia appear more often in the French, English, German press. He also tracked false information about us, reacted to it in a timely manner - and not only himself, but also with the help of his foreign friends. He had a huge circle of influential acquaintances not only in Paris, but throughout Europe. When he built a cozy house in the German resort town of Baden-Baden next to the Villa Viardot, who gave musical lessons there to many offspring of the most noble families, his and Polina's guests were high-ranking statesmen from different countries, princes and crown princes, princesses, Emperor Wilhelm himself, Duke of Baden... Here, too, it was possible to influence the positive perception of Russia by the Western elite.
And, of course, he is “the first Russian European”. In addition to French, he knew German, Italian, English, Spanish. In fact, he opened Russian literature for Europe. It was from him that they began to study it there, when Turgenev became the most famous and most widely read Russian author in Europe, and criticism ranked him among the first writers of the century. A remarkable case: in London, he met with Thackeray, who began to talk at length about the successes of English literature. After listening, Turgenev said: "And now, let me tell you about the successes of Russian literature." – “Is there really Russian literature?” Thackeray was very surprised. Then Turgenev read to him in Russian Pushkin's "I remember a wonderful moment ...". And suddenly the famous Englishman laughed - the very sound of Russian speech seemed ridiculous to him ... That's it!
But not much time passed, and in 1878 Turgenev was elected vice-president of the first international literary congress in Paris. He presided in turn with Victor Hugo. It was a victory that Turgenev, along with Hugo, was elevated to the rank of patriarch. In a speech at the congress, he emphasized: “One hundred years ago we were your students; now you accept us as your comrades.”
Pauline Viardot herself, under his influence, learned the Russian language and also promoted Russian culture in Europe, sang our romances ...
Bachelor Dinners
In Paris, the “dinners of the five great bachelors” were famous: Flaubert, Edmond Goncourt, Daudet, Zola and Turgenev, says Nikolai Starchenko. - They took place in the best restaurants of the French capital, or in the apartment of Flaubert, who owned the idea of feasts. But Turgenev was assigned the main role there. The writers enjoyed wine, delicious food, had unhurried conversations about literature, recalled incidents from their lives. It was there, by the way, that Ivan Sergeevich first admitted what wild horror he experienced when he met a naked female creature with flowing hair in Bezhin Meadow. Already today, unscrupulous ufologists will trumpet that the classic, they say, ran into a "snowman", although it was a village madwoman, as Turgenev himself said at the end of the story.
Of course, women were one of the main topics of bachelor feasts. The French boasted of their victories over the ladies, shared the ways and techniques of carnal love. And they made fun of the "old-fashioned" Russian friend, who preferred to speak reverently and chastely about the weaker sex. Here is one of the recorded stories, which clearly explains what place the Woman occupied in the life and work of Ivan Sergeevich.
“My whole life is permeated with femininity,” Turgenev admitted at Flaubert’s “bachelor’s dinner”. - 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. 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 before her! There is no moment in my life that can compare with this!”
"DO NOT GO TO MY GRAVE..."
In 1878, Turgenev wrote poetry in prose: “When I am gone, when everything that was me crumbles to dust, oh you, my only friend, oh you, whom I loved so deeply and so tenderly, you, who, probably, outlive me - do not go to my grave ... you have nothing to do there.
That's how it all happened. In recent years, Ivan Sergeevich lived in the Viardot family. He was seriously ill - cancer of the spine. However, French doctors mistakenly treated him for "angina pectoris". In the spring of 1883, Louis Viardot, Pauline's husband, died. And on September 3, Ivan Sergeevich died in her arms. He was buried according to the will in St. Petersburg at the Volkovo cemetery. Polina herself was not at the funeral, she sent her daughter Claudius. And I didn't go to his grave. As bequeathed (or predicted?) Turgenev.
After the death of her husband, Viardot was already teaching singing lessons with her students on the second day. When Turgenev died, she did not leave the room for three days ...
As the writer foresaw, she survived him. For 27 whole years.
"KISSING YOU FOR HOURS!"
FROM TURGENEV'S LETTERS TO POLINE VIARDOT
“Today I went to look at the house where I had the good fortune to speak with you for the first time seven years ago. This house is located on Nevsky Prospekt, opposite the Alexandrinsky Theatre; your apartment was right on the corner - do you remember? In all my life there are no memories more dear than those that relate to you ... I have become respectful of myself since I carry this treasure in me ... and now let me fall at your feet.
“Please, allow me, as a token of forgiveness, to passionately kiss these dear feet, to which my whole soul belongs ... At your dear feet, I want to live and die forever. I kiss you for hours and remain forever your friend.
“Ah, my feelings for you are too great and powerful. I cannot 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.
The love of Ivan Turgenev and Pauline Viardot lasted 40 years. For the writer, this feeling became a test for life. In the autumn of 1843, he first saw the 22-year-old singer Pauline Viardot-Garcia at the St. Petersburg Opera.
"Ugly!" - swept through the hall. Stooping, with an awkward figure, with bulging eyes and a face that, according to Ilya Repin, it was impossible to look at the full face, Polina seemed to many an ugly girl. But as soon as she sang ... "Divine!" everyone sighed.
Pauline Viardot, 1842. (wikipedia.org)
Since that evening, the heart of Ivan Turgenev forever belonged to a talented Frenchwoman: "From the very minute I saw her for the first time, from that fateful moment, I belonged to her all, that's how a dog belongs to its owner ...".
Polina's husband, Louis Viardot, contributed to the rapprochement of the novice writer and the young actress. On November 1, 1843, he introduced the 25-year-old Ivan to his wife: "Meet a Russian landowner, a good hunter, a pleasant conversationalist and a bad poet."
Young Turgenev, 1838. (wikipedia.org)
Soon Turgenev became a member of Polina's makeup room along with certain generals, counts, and the son of the director of the Imperial Theatre. Each of the "boyfriends" was supposed to entertain Madame Viardot with stories during the intermission. Turgenev easily overshadowed his rivals. In addition, he volunteered to teach Polina the Russian language. Two weeks later, she performed a Russian song in the scene of Rosina's music lesson ("The Barber of Seville"). The Petersburg public fell at her feet. The meetings became daily.
Turgenev did not conceal his love, but, on the contrary, shouted about it to everyone and everyone. One day, he burst into someone's living room, exclaiming, "Gentlemen, I'm so happy today!" It turned out that he had a headache, and Viardot herself rubbed his temples with cologne.
As for Polina's feelings, she often said: “In order for a woman to be successful, she must, just in case, keep completely unnecessary admirers around her. There must be a herd." And Turgenev belonged to this "herd" ...
Louis Viardot. (wikipedia.org)
Paris, London, Baden-Baden, Paris again... The writer meekly followed his beloved from city to city, from country to country: “Ah, my feelings for you are too great and powerful. I cannot 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 who visited Turgenev abroad were surprised at his condition: “I never thought that he was capable of loving so much,” Leo Tolstoy wrote after meeting with a comrade in Paris.
In his love, Turgenev almost forgot his homeland, thus finally enraging his mother. In 1850, after five years of wandering, the writer was forced to come to his native estate Spasskoe-Lutovinovo. The conversation with Varvara Petrovna ended with the fact that Turgenev was deprived of the landlord's money, took his illegitimate daughter Pelageya, born of a serf, and sent her beloved to Paris. The Viardot couple received the 8-year-old savage kindly and with family feelings for Turgenev. A few years later, the illiterate peasant girl, through the efforts of Polina, turned into Mademoiselle Polinette, who draws well and writes letters to her father exclusively in French.
Polina Turgeneva-Brewer, daughter of the writer. (wikipedia.org)
The Viardot family became a part of Turgenev's life: “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 Leo Tolstoy's younger sister Maria was unsuccessful. Baroness Yulia Vrevskaya, as well as actress Maria Savina, remained without reciprocity. The writer met the latter at the end of 1879. Forgetting about his 62 years, Turgenev was captured by youth, femininity and great talent. Some affinity was established between them, but the image of Pauline Viardot did not leave him. Even in those moments when Turgenev seemed to be especially happy in Russia, he could unexpectedly declare to his friends: "If Madame Viardot calls me now, I will have to go." And left...
Actress Maria Savina. (wikipedia.org)
As Andre Maurois writes in his monograph Turgenev, “if he were offered the choice of being the first writer in the world, but never again seeing the Viardot family or serving as their watchman, janitor, and in this capacity following them somewhere to the other end light, he would have preferred the position of a janitor. Yes, and Turgenev himself, already an accomplished writer, in 1856 admitted to his friend Afanasy Fet: “I am subject to the will of this woman. Not! 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.
Since 1863, the writer returned to Russia less and less often. Until the end of his days, he remained in the Viardot family and died in his beloved's arms. Polina outlived her admirer by 27 years.
