Life and work of Turgenev. Works by Turgenev

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

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev was born into a noble family in 1818. I must say that almost all the major Russian writers of the 19th century came out of this environment. In this article, we will look at the life and work of Turgenev.

Parents

It is noteworthy that Ivan's parents met. In 1815, a young and handsome cavalry guard Sergei Turgenev arrived in Spasskoye. He made a strong impression on Varvara Petrovna (the writer's mother). According to a contemporary close to her entourage, Varvara ordered to pass it on to Sergei through acquaintances so that he would make a formal proposal, and she would gladly agree. For the most part, it was a marriage of convenience. Turgenev belonged to the nobility and was a war hero, and Varvara Petrovna had a large fortune.

Relationships in the newly minted family were strained. Sergei did not even try to argue with the sovereign mistress of their entire fortune. Only alienation and barely restrained mutual irritation hovered in the house. The only thing the spouses agreed on was the desire to give their children the best education. And for this they spared neither effort nor money.

Moving to Moscow

That's why the wholethe family moved to Moscow in 1927. At that time, we althy nobles sent their children exclusively to private educational institutions. So young Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was sent to a boarding school at the Armenian Institute, and a few months later he was transferred to the Weidenhammer boarding school. Two years later, he was expelled from there, and the parents no longer made attempts to arrange their son in any institution. The future writer continued to prepare for entering the university at home with tutors.

Study

After entering Moscow University, Ivan studied there for only a year. In 1834, he moved with his brother and father to St. Petersburg and transferred to a local educational institution. Young Turgenev graduated from it two years later. But in the future, he always mentioned Moscow University more often, giving it the greatest preference. This was due to the fact that the St. Petersburg Institute was known for its strict supervision of students by the government. There was no such control in Moscow, and the freedom-loving students were very pleased.

First works

It can be said that Turgenev's work began from the university bench. Although Ivan Sergeevich himself did not like to recall the literary experiments of that time. He considered the beginning of his writing career the 40s. Therefore, most of his university works never reached us. If Turgenev is considered a demanding artist, then he did the right thing: the available samples of his writings of that time belong to the category of literary apprenticeship. Interest they maypresent only for literary historians and those who want to understand how Turgenev's work began and how his writing talent was formed.

Passion for philosophy

In the mid and late 1930s, Ivan Sergeevich wrote a lot to hone his writing skills. For one of his works, he received a critical review from Belinsky. This event had a great influence on Turgenev's work, which is briefly described in this article. After all, it was not only that the great critic corrected the mistakes of the inexperienced taste of the "green" writer. Ivan Sergeevich changed his views not only on art, but also on life itself. Through observation and analysis, he decided to study reality in all its forms. Therefore, in addition to literary studies, Turgenev became interested in philosophy, and so seriously that he was thinking about becoming a professor at a department of a university. The desire to improve this area of knowledge led him to the third university in a row - Berlin. With long breaks, he spent about two years there and studied the works of Hegel and Feuerbach very well.

First success

In 1838-1842, Turgenev's work was not very active. He wrote little and mostly only lyrics. The poems he published did not attract the attention of either critics or readers. In this regard, Ivan Sergeevich decided to devote more time to such genres as drama and poetry. The first success in this field came to him in April 1843,when "Powder" came out. A month later, a laudatory review by Belinsky was published in Otechestvennye Zapiski.

In fact, this poem was not original. She became outstanding only thanks to Belinsky's recall. And in the review itself, he spoke not so much about the poem as about Turgenev's talent. Nevertheless, Belinsky was not mistaken, he definitely saw outstanding writing abilities in the young author.

When Ivan Sergeevich himself read the review, it caused him not joy, but rather embarrassment. The reason for this was doubts about the correctness of the choice of his vocation. They overcame the writer from the beginning of the 40s. Nevertheless, the article encouraged him and forced him to raise the bar for his activities. Since that time, Turgenev's work, briefly described in the school curriculum, received an additional impetus and went uphill. Ivan Sergeevich felt responsible to critics, readers and, above all, to himself. So he worked hard to improve his writing skills.

Arrest

Gogol died in 1852. This event greatly influenced the life and work of Turgenev. And it's not all about emotional experiences. Ivan Sergeevich wrote a "hot" article on this occasion. The censorship committee of St. Petersburg banned it, calling Gogol a "lackey" writer. Then Ivan Sergeevich sent the article to Moscow, where, through the efforts of his friends, it was published. An investigation was immediately appointed, during which Turgenev and his friends were declared the perpetratorsstate confusion. Ivan Sergeevich received a month of imprisonment, followed by deportation to his homeland under supervision. Everyone understood that the article was only a pretext, but the order came from the very top. By the way, during the "imprisonment" of the writer, one of his best stories was published. On the cover of each book was the inscription: "Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev" Bezhin Meadow ".

After his release, the writer went into exile in the village of Spasskoye. He spent almost a year and a half there. At first, nothing could captivate him: neither hunting, nor creativity. He wrote very little. The then letters of Ivan Sergeevich were replete with complaints of loneliness and requests to come to visit him at least for a while. He asked fellow craftsmen to visit him, as he felt a strong need for communication. But there were also positive moments. As the chronological table of Turgenev's work says, it was at that time that the writer had the idea of writing "Fathers and Sons". Let's talk about this masterpiece.

Fathers and Sons

After its publication in 1862, this novel caused a very heated controversy, during which most readers dubbed Turgenev a reactionary. This controversy frightened the writer. He believed that he would no longer be able to find mutual understanding with young readers. But it was to them that the work was addressed. In general, the work of Turgenev experienced hard times. "Fathers and Sons" became the reason for this. As at the beginning of his writing career, Ivan Sergeevich doubted his own vocation.

To thistime he wrote the story "Ghosts", which perfectly conveyed his thoughts and doubts. Turgenev reasoned that the writer's fantasy is powerless before the secrets of the people's consciousness. And in the story “Enough” he generally doubted the fruitfulness of the activity of an individual for the benefit of society. It seemed that Ivan Sergeevich no longer cares about success with the public, and he is thinking about ending his career as a writer. Pushkin's work helped Turgenev change his mind. Ivan Sergeevich read the great poet's reasoning regarding the opinion of the public: “She is fickle, many-sided and subject to fashion trends. But a true poet always addresses the audience given to him by fate. His duty is to awaken good feelings in her.”

Conclusion

We reviewed the life and work of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. Since then, Russia has changed a lot. Everything that the writer put to the fore in his works is left in the distant past. Most of the manor estates found on the pages of the author's works are no longer there. And the theme of evil landowners and the nobility no longer has a social urgency. And the Russian village is completely different now.

Nevertheless, the fate of the heroes of that time continues to arouse genuine interest in the modern reader. It turns out that everything that Ivan Sergeevich hated is also hated by us. And what he saw as good is so from our point of view. Of course, one can disagree with the writer, but hardly anyone will argue with the fact that Turgenev's work is timeless.