Anna Kern - Pushkin's muse. A poem dedicated to Anna Kern

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Anna Kern was born with the surname Poltoratskaya in 1800. Her parents were we althy bureaucratic nobles. The father of the family happened to be a Poltava landowner and court adviser. Her mother, Ekaterina Ivanovna, can be described as a kind, but sickly and weak-willed woman. So the main thing in the family was the father.

Youth and growing up

The whole family lived on the estate, which belonged to the maternal grandfather. Then the parents and Anna Petrovna Kern moved to the territory of the county town of Lubny. Here the young years of the girl passed, and Bernovo, the estate owned by her family, also managed to visit her house. The girl really enjoyed reading. Anna Kern traveled to social events. She was given admiring glances. And all because of her charming appearance.

Father, a business man, took care of his daughter's family life, so the bridegroom for the girl was chosen by him. It was General Ermolai Fedorovich Kern. The wedding took place when the girl was 17 years old. Her fiancé was already in her sixties, but Anna Kern could not go against her father's will.

Life as a General

Anna Petrovna Kern got married in 1817year. In her memoirs, she mentions that she does not love her husband and it is not possible to feel a bright feeling for him. Even respect for him is not available. Hidden hatred takes place in this union.

When the kids came along, it didn't make things any better. Anna Kern showed no warmth towards them. She had two daughters. Life was not calm, because I constantly had to move in connection with the service of my husband, the general. I had to visit Pskov, Riga, Elizavetgrad, Old Bykhov and Derpt.

Once in Kyiv, the girl makes friends - Raevsky. She likes these people and their company. In every city she found like-minded people. In one of the houses of St. Petersburg, she met Alexander Pushkin.

Rich personal life

From the records of a woman, it can be understood that she met a man who she liked. Anna Kern briefly describes this man and calls him "brier".

Was her lover and landowner Arkady Rodzianko. June 1825 brought her together with Pushkin again when she was in Trigorskoye.

The poet was serving time in exile on the territory of the Mikhailovsky estate. Anna had another affair, when Alexei Wolf shared happy days with her. Her family life ended when, after moving to St. Petersburg, she left the family, for which she was known as an indecent woman.

She was whispered at social events. However, she did not care too much about the opinion of the world, but lived a full life.

As mentioned, Anna Kern was a very beautiful woman. Her portrait is proof of that. With age shedid not lose its charm, but only acquired its new shades. When she was 36 years old, she had a love affair with a 16-year-old cadet, moreover, this young man was her second cousin. Truly, there are no barriers to love!

However, her ardor faded a little when Anna Kern had a chance to become a quiet homebody in connection with the appearance of an illegitimate son from Alexander Markov-Vingradsky. When 1841 took the life of General Kern, Anna became a woman free from past marital obligations.

Second marriage

Due to the solid position of the deceased spouse, Anna was en titled to good pension payments. After General Kern, she had another husband, who became Alexander Markov-Vingranovsky. For the sake of official life with him, a woman sacrifices the money she receives as a widow.

She had tuberculosis. So, in the absence of significant funds, the family went through difficult times. The couple held tightly to each other and courageously went through all the trials until stomach cancer took Alexander from the world of the living.

Pushkin in her life

St. Petersburg was the first meeting place where Anna Kern, Pushkin's muse, first appeared in the eyes of the poet. It was 1819. The great poet did not sink into her soul at first sight and made a very mediocre impression. She was not encouraged by the crudeness of literary genius. However, when she read his poems, he appeared before her in a completely different light. Enjoyed almost every read.poem by Anna Kern.

In 1825 they meet again. Then the woman was in Trigorskoye. It was then that Pushkin's creative mind gave birth to the well-known work "I remember a wonderful moment …". Yes, yes, she was the one who came and inspired him to create these wonderful lines.

Anna's heart at that moment was occupied by Alexei Wolf. Although she did not deny herself the pleasure of flirting with a landowner named Rokotov, who lived nearby.

Correspondence

At that period, the communication of a woman with a poet is fastened. He writes a letter to Anna Kern using French. He put a lot into his lines: there is both playfulness and seriousness. Pushkin always had a sharp tongue, and this only impressed the woman. He was definitely not to be missed, so she was happy to hang out with him.

Two years later they meet again. This is Petersburg again. Pushkin wrote about this in a letter received from his friend Sergei Sobolevsky. In the text of the letter, the poet does not particularly choose expressions, roughly speaking about an intimate relationship with Anna. He then quickly turns the subject to money matters he had with a friend. As we can see, there is no need to talk about a tender love affair.

Relationships

Anna Kern's memories of Pushkin, as we have already understood, were very diverse: sometimes negative, sometimes positive. It is interesting that he somehow jokingly called her a Babylonian harlot in a letter that Alexey Wulf received from him. Such a strange sympathy, colored with notes of sarcastic humor,which was so peculiar to Pushkin.

The poet himself had a rather extensive list of mistresses. Pushkin did not rank Anna among his most beloved women. He just got carried away with her.

During the period of Pushkin's life together with Natalia Goncharova, Kern asked him for help. She needed him to help promote the book George Sand translated by her to the publishing house of Alexander Smirnov. The poet's reaction to the request was quite harsh. Despite his sharpness, Anna liked Pushkin well, and it was mutual.

Farewell "meeting"

They say that the last "meeting" of a woman with a poet took place. At that moment, when her coffin was carried in a funeral procession along Tverskoy Boulevard, a statue of Pushkin was installed there. It was then imported into the territory of Moscow along the Tverskoy tract. A poem and a ballad by other Russian poets were written about this fateful moment.

Although the relationship between Pushkin and Kern can be called romantic with a stretch, but the very work that the poet wrote in her honor, the very one that all schoolchildren learn and all adults know, that touches the soul of everyone, was precisely the result of this somewhat idiosyncratic union.

So a spark, and quite a strong one, nevertheless flared up in the soul of Alexander Sergeevich, and at least for a short moment he could throw everything at her feet. At some point, she seemed unearthly to him. And that very moment of her appearance was really wonderful. What happened in the soul of the emotional and temperamental poet then is another question. Life is knowna fickle thing.

In any case, we can be grateful to fate that at one time she brought these people together, thanks to which such a wonderful verse about a wonderful moment was born.