A noble nest is a short retelling. Noble nest, ivan turgenev. Other retellings and reviews for the reader's diary

The Noble Nest is a story written by the great writer I. S. Turgenev in 1858. In this novel, the nobility is shown at all levels: from the inhabitants of a small estate to the very top of an elite society. With this story, I. Trugenev wanted to display such processes as:

• the fate of the best of the nobility, their difference among other "typical" nobles and the reasons for the preservation of morality;
• display of the life of the people, the interaction of the nobility and the peasantry;
• the problem of love and self-sacrifice in the name of it.

The story itself begins with the reader's acquaintance with Fyodor Lavretsky. He came from Paris, where he suffered a terrible shame. His wife Varvara Pavlovna cheated on him, which earned herself a rather loud and dubious fame. It is this story that becomes the main rumor in society. The Kalitins' house also becomes aware of the return of the nobleman. Further it is told about Fedor himself, who, as it turns out, is the son of a noble nobleman and a simple peasant woman.

Little Fedor had to go through a lot. He was separated from his own mother, having given him an aunt, and over the years, his father began to bring up hatred of women in his son. Because of this, it was difficult for young Fedor to get along with people, but otherwise he received a first-class education and was a full-fledged heir to the Lavretsky family. A few years after the death of his father, Fedor met the beautiful Varvara Pavlovna, whom he later married.

In Paris, the Lavretsky couple ended up at the insistence of doctors, who advised the couple to change the situation. The fact is that their child died, and both had to start a new life. Everything was going well in Paris until Fedor found out about his wife's betrayal. Unable to withstand such disappointment, he leaves Varvara and returns home. Lavretsky arrived at Vasilievskoye, where he settled in the family estate. He lives a calm life when not everything is so calm in the Kalitins family.

Liza is trying to attract Fyodor's attention when her daughter Marya Dmitrievna wants to marry off Panshin's chamber-cadet. It seems that their grandmother Marfa Timofeevna opposes this idea. But all possible disputes are interrupted by the news - Lavretsky wants to visit the Kalitins. Lisa and Fedor begin to trust each other. The girl does not understand why Lavretsky's marriage fell apart. You need to be submissive and forgiving, this is what she says to the man.

Mikhalevich, who loves to write poetry, also comes to the Kalitins. Fedor thinks more and more about Liza, but convinces that his feelings for her are purely friendly. The next day, Lavretsky learns that his wife has suddenly died. The news hurts him badly. Trusting Lisa, he tells about the incident. The same one asks him for advice: Panshin asked for her hand in marriage. Succumbing to vague anxiety, Fedor advises not to rush and marry only for love.

Liza begins to avoid Lavretsky, worried about her feelings. Lavretsky himself never received confirmation of the death of Varvara. Tension builds up all around. One evening a dispute breaks out between Lavretsky and Panshinim. A secular official does not have a high opinion of the Motherland when Lavretsky defends his native land in every possible way. Lisa is completely on the side of Fedora. Then they meet, and Lavretsky realizes that he loves this girl. Lisa notices how similar they are, but she is depressed that Fedor does not believe in God.

When the lovers decided for a minute that their feelings were destined to live, when suddenly Varvara arrives. She begs Lavretsky to forgive her for the sake of their daughter. Fedor still does not forgive the cheater, but allows her to live in Lavriki. There will be no renewal of the relationship. Varvara Pavlovna goes to the Kalitins and talks to Liza. Liza herself begins to think that God himself does not want her love with Fedor. She tells Lavretsky about this, and asks him to fulfill his duty to his wife, and she will fulfill her duty to her family and God.

Lavretsky reconciles with his wife, but their relationship does not improve. Liza, unable to fall in love with Panshin, leaves for a monastery. Fedor's attempt to talk to the newly-minted nun does not work. Varvarva Pavlovna can not stand life on the estate, leaves her husband, and leaves for Paris, where she immediately has a worthy admirer. Time passes, almost eight years. Lavretsky arrives at the Kalitins' house, noting that life there has changed. Lisa's younger sister, Lena, who will soon get married, has already grown up there. Lavretsky is gnawing at nostalgia, he realizes that he can no longer think about his own happiness. He has had a huge turnaround that will not make him the same.

The novel "Noble Nest" by Turgenev was written in 1858, published in January 1859 in the journal Sovremennik. Immediately after publication, the novel gained great popularity in society, since the author touched upon deep social problems. The book is based on Turgenev's reflections on the fate of the Russian nobility.

main characters

Lavretsky Fedor Ivanovich- a rich landowner, an honest and decent person.

Varvara Pavlovna- Lavretsky's wife, two-faced and calculating person.

Liza Kalitina- the eldest daughter of Marya Dmitrievna, a pure and deeply decent girl.

Other characters

Marya Dmitrievna Kalitina- a widow, a sensitive woman.

Marfa Timofeevna Pestova- Maria Dmitrievna's own aunt, an honest and independent woman.

Lena Kalitina- the youngest daughter of Marya Dmitrievna.

Sergey Petrovich Gedeonovsky- State Councilor, friend of the Kalitin family

Vladimir Nikolaevich Panshin- a handsome young man, an official.

Christopher Fedorovich Lemm- an old music teacher of the Kalitin sisters, German.

Hell- the daughter of Varvara Pavlovna and Fyodor Ivanovich.

Chapters I-III

On "one of the extreme streets of the provincial town of O ..." there is a beautiful house where Marya Dmitrievna Kalitina lives - a pretty widow who "easily got irritated and even cried when her habits were broken." Her son is brought up in one of the best educational institutions Petersburg, and two daughters live with her.

The company of Marya Dmitrievna is made up of her own aunt, her father's sister, Marfa Timofeevna Pestova, who "had an independent disposition, spoke the truth to everyone."

Sergei Petrovich Gedeonovsky, a good friend of the Kalitin family, says that Lavretsky Fyodor Ivanovich, whom he "personally saw", has returned to the city.

Due to some ugly story with his wife, the young man was forced to leave his hometown and go abroad. But now he is back and, according to Gedeonovsky, has become even better looking - "in the shoulders they have become even wider, and a blush on the whole cheek."

A handsome young rider gallops to the Kalitins' house on a hot horse. Vladimir Nikolaevich Panshin easily pacifies the zealous stallion and allows Lena to stroke him. At the same time he and Liza appear in the living room - "a slender, tall, black-haired girl of about nineteen."

Chapters IV-VII

Panshin is a brilliant young official, spoiled by the attention of secular society, who very quickly "became known as one of the most amiable and dexterous young people in St. Petersburg." He was sent to the town of O. on business, and in the Kalitins' house he managed to become his own man.

Panshin plays his new romance to those present, which they find delightful. Meanwhile, the old music teacher, Monsieur Lemm, comes to the Kalitins. His whole appearance shows that Panshin's music did not make any impression on him.

Khristofor Fedorovich Lemm was born into a family of poor musicians, and at the age of eight he became an orphan, and at ten he began to earn himself a piece of bread with his art. He traveled a lot, wrote beautiful music, but never became famous. Fearing poverty, Lemm agreed to lead the orchestra of a Russian master. So he ended up in Russia, where he firmly established himself. Khristofor Fedorovich "alone, with an old cook he took from the poorhouse" lives in a small house, earning a living by private music lessons.

Lisa escorts Lemma to the porch, who has finished her lesson, where she meets a tall, handsome stranger. It turns out to be Fyodor Lavretsky, whom Liza did not recognize after eight years of separation. Marya Dmitrievna joyfully greets the guest and introduces him to everyone present.

Leaving the Kalitins' house, Panshin declares his love for Lisa.

Chapters VIII-XI

Fyodor Ivanovich "descended from an old noble tribe." His father, Ivan Lavretsky, fell in love with a courtyard girl and married her. Having received a diplomatic post, he went to London, from where he learned about the birth of his son Fyodor.

Ivan's parents softened their anger, made peace with their son and took their rootless daughter-in-law with their one-year-old son into the house. After the death of the old men, the master almost did not do the housework, and the house was run by his elder sister Glafira, an arrogant and domineering old maid.

Having closely taken up the upbringing of his son, Ivan Lavretsky set a goal for himself - to make a real Spartan out of a frail lazy boy. He was woken up at 4 o'clock in the morning, doused with cold water, forced to do gymnastics intensively, and limited in food. Such measures had a positive effect on Fyodor's health - "at first he caught a fever, but soon recovered and became a fine fellow."

Fyodor's adolescence passed under the constant yoke of an oppressive father. Only at 23, after the death of a parent, the young man was able to breathe deeply.

Chapters XII-XVI

Young Lavretsky, fully aware of the "shortcomings of his upbringing," went to Moscow and entered the University of Physics and Mathematics.

Father's haphazard and contradictory upbringing played a cruel joke with Fedor: "he did not know how to get along with people," "he hadn’t dared to look into the eyes of a single woman," “he didn’t know much that every high school student has known for a long time."

At the university, the withdrawn and unsociable Lavretsky made friends with the student Mikhalevich, who introduced him to the daughter of a retired general, Varvara Korobyina.

The girl's father, a major general, after an ugly story with the embezzlement of state money, was forced to move with his family from St. Petersburg to "Moscow for cheap bread." By that time, Varvara had graduated from the Institute of Noble Maidens, where she was reputed to be the best student. She adored the theater, tried to often attend performances, where Fyodor saw her for the first time.

The girl charmed Lavretsky so much that "six months later he explained himself to Varvara Pavlovna and offered her his hand." She agreed because she knew that her fiancé was rich and noble.

The first days after the wedding, Fyodor "was blissful, reveling in happiness." Varvara Pavlovna skillfully survived from her own house Glafira, and the empty place of the estate manager was immediately taken by her father, who dreamed of putting his hands on the estate of a rich son-in-law.

Having moved to St. Petersburg, the newlyweds "traveled a lot and received, gave the most charming musical and dance parties", at which Varvara Pavlovna shone in all her splendor.

After the death of their first child, the married couple, on the advice of doctors, went to the waters, then to Paris, where Lavretsky accidentally found out about his wife's betrayal. The betrayal of a loved one severely crippled him, but he found the strength to tear out the image of Barbara from his heart. The news of the birth of his daughter did not soften him either. Having appointed the traitor a decent annual allowance, he broke off any relationship with her.

Fedor “was not born a sufferer,” and four years later returned to his homeland.

XVII-XXI

Lavretsky goes to the Kalitins to say goodbye before leaving. Upon learning that Lisa is heading to church, she asks to pray for him. From Marfa Timofeevna, he learns that Panshin is courting Liza, and the girl's mother is not against this union.

Arriving in Vasilievskoye, Fyodor Ivanovich notes that a great desolation reigns in the house and in the courtyard, and after the death of Glafira's aunt, nothing has changed here.

The servants are perplexed as to why the master decided to settle in Vasilievsky, and not in the rich Lavriki. However, Fedor is not able to live on the estate, where everything reminds him of his past marital happiness. Within two weeks Lavretsky put things in order in the house, acquired "everything he needed and began to live - either as a landowner or as a hermit."

After some time, he visits the Kalitins, where he makes friends with old Lemme. Fyodor, who "was passionately fond of music, efficient, classical music," shows a sincere interest in the musician and invites him to visit him for a while.

Chapters XXII-XXVIII

On the way to Vasilievskoe, Fyodor offers Lemma to compose an opera, to which the old man replies that he is too old for this.

Over morning tea, Lavretsky informs the German that he will still have to write a solemn cantata in honor of the upcoming "marriage of Mr. Panshin to Liza." Lemme does not hide his disappointment, because he is sure that the young official is not worthy of such a wonderful girl as Lisa.

Fedor proposes to invite the Kalitins to Vasilievskoye, to which Lemm agrees, but only without Mr. Panshin.

Lavretsky passes on his invitation and, taking the opportunity, is left alone with Liza. The girl “is afraid to make him angry,” but, having plucked up the courage, asks about the reasons for parting with his wife. Fyodor tries to explain to her all the baseness of Varvara's act, to which Liza replies that he must certainly forgive her and forget about the betrayal.

Two days later, Marya Dmitrievna and her daughters come to visit Fedor. The widow considers her visit "a sign of great indulgence, almost a good deed." On the occasion of the arrival of his beloved student Lisa, Lemm composes a romance, but the music turns out to be "confusing and unpleasantly tense", which greatly upsets the old man.

In the evening, they are going to “go fishing with the whole society”. At the pond Fyodor talks with Liza. He feels "the need to talk to Lisa, to tell her everything that came into his soul." This surprises him, because before that he considered himself a goner.

With the onset of dusk, Marya Dmitrievna is going home. Fyodor volunteers to accompany his guests. On the way, he continues to talk with Lisa, and they part as friends. During the evening reading, Lavretsky notices "in a feuilleton of one of the newspapers" a message about the death of his wife.

Lemme is going home. Fyodor goes with him and calls in to the Kalitins, where he secretly hands over the journal with the obituary to Lisa. He whispers to the girl that he will pay a visit tomorrow.

Chapters XXIX-XXXII

The next day, Marya Dmitrievna meets Lavretsky with poorly concealed irritation - she does not like him, and Pashin speaks of him not at all flattering.

While walking along the alley, Lisa asks how Fedor reacted to his wife's death, to which he honestly replies that he was practically not upset. He hints to the girl that his acquaintance with her touched deeply dormant strings in him.

Lisa confesses that she received a letter from Pashin with a marriage proposal. She does not know what to answer, because she does not like him at all. Lavretsky begs the girl not to rush with an answer and not to rob "the best, the only happiness on earth" - to love and be loved.

In the evening, Fyodor goes to the Kalitins again to find out about Liza's decision. The girl informs him that she did not give Panshin an unambiguous answer.

As an adult, mature man, Lavretsky realizes that he is in love with Liza, but "this conviction brought him not much joy." He dares not hope for the girl's reciprocity. In addition, he is tormented by the agonizing expectation of the official news of his wife's death.

Chapters XXXIII-XXXVII

In the evening, at the Kalitins' Panshin's, he begins to talk at length about how he would have turned everything in his own way, if the power were in his hands. He sees Russia as a backward country that should be learned from Europe. Lavretsky cleverly and confidently smashes all the arguments of his opponent. Liza supports Fedor in everything, since Panshin's theories scare her.

A declaration of love takes place between Lavretsky and Lisa. Fedor does not believe his happiness. He goes to the sounds of unusually beautiful music, and learns that it is Lemme who is playing his piece.

The next day after the declaration of love, the happy Lavretsky comes to the Kalitins, but for the first time in all the time he is not accepted. He returns home and sees a woman in a "black silk dress with flounces", in which he recognizes with horror his wife Barbara.

With tears in his eyes, the spouse asks him for forgiveness, promising to "break all connection with the past." However, Lavretsky does not believe Varvara's feigned tears. Then the woman begins to manipulate Fedor, appealing to his fatherly feelings and showing him his daughter Ada.

In utter confusion, Lavretsky wanders the streets and visits Lemma. Through the musician, he gives a note to Lisa with a message about the unexpected "resurrection" of his wife and asks for a date. The girl replies that she will be able to meet with him only the next day.

Fedor returns home and can hardly stand the conversation with his wife, after which he leaves for Vasilievskoye. Varvara Pavlovna, having learned that Lavretsky visited the Kalitins every day, went to visit them.

Chapters XXXVIII-XL

On the day of Varvara Pavlovna's return, Liza has a painful explanation for her with Panshin. She refuses the enviable groom, which makes her mother extremely sad.

Marfa Timofeevna enters Liza's room and declares that she knows everything about a night walk with a certain young man. Lisa confesses that she loves Lavretsky, and no one stands in the way of their happiness, since his wife is dead.

At a reception with the Kalitins, Varvara Pavlovna manages to charm Marya Dmitrievna with stories about Paris and appease her with a bottle of fashionable perfume.

Having learned about the arrival of Fyodor Petrovich's wife, Liza is sure that this is a punishment for all her "criminal hopes." A sudden change in fate shakes her, but she "did not shed a tear."

Marfa Timofeevna manages to quickly figure out the deceitful and vicious nature of Varvara Pavlovna. She takes Lisa to her room and cries for a long time, kissing her hands.

Panshin arrives for supper, and Varvara Pavlovna, who was bored, instantly revives. She charms a young man while performing a romance together. And even Liza, "to whom he had offered his hand the day before, disappeared as if in a fog."

Varvara Pavlovna does not hesitate to try her charms even on the old man Gedeonovsky, in order to finally win the place of the first beauty in the district town.

Chapters XLI-XLV

Lavretsky finds no place for himself in the countryside, tormented by "incessant, impetuous and powerless impulses." He realizes that everything is over, and the last timid hope of happiness has slipped away forever. Fedor tries to pull himself together and submit to fate. He harnesses the carriage and sets off for the city.

Upon learning that Varvara Pavlovna went to the Kalitins, he hurries there. Climbing the back stairs to Marfa Timofeevna, he asks her to meet with Lisa. The unhappy girl begs him to make peace with his wife for the sake of her daughter. Parting forever, Fyodor asks for a handkerchief as a keepsake. A footman enters and gives Lavretsky a request from Marya Dmitrievna to come to her urgently.

Kalitina, with tears in her eyes, begs Fyodor Ivanovich to forgive his wife and to take Varvara Petrovna out from behind the screen. However, Lavretsky is relentless. He sets a condition for his wife - she must live without a break in Lavriki, and he will observe all external decency. If Varvara Petrovna leaves the estate, this contract can be considered terminated.

Hoping to see Lisa, Fyodor Ivanovich goes to church. The girl does not want to talk to him about anything, and asks to leave her. The Lavretskys go to the estate, and Varvara Pavlovna vows to her husband to live peacefully in the wilderness for the sake of a happy future for her daughter.

Fyodor Ivanovich leaves for Moscow, and the very next day after his departure, Panshin appears in Lavriki, "whom Varvara Pavlovna asked not to forget her in solitude."

Liza, in spite of the pleas of her relatives, makes a firm decision to go to the monastery. Meanwhile, Varvara Pavlovna, “stocking up on money,” moved to St. Petersburg and completely subordinated Panshin to her will. A year later, Lavretsky learns that "Liza got her hair cut in the B ... ... M monastery, in one of the most remote regions of Russia."

Epilogue

After eight years, Panshin successfully built a career, but never married. Varvara Pavlovna, having moved to Paris, "grew old and fatter, but is still sweet and graceful." The number of her fans has noticeably decreased, and she completely surrendered herself to a new hobby - the theater. Fyodor Ivanovich became an excellent owner, and managed to do a lot for his peasants.

Marfa Timofeevna and Marya Dmitrievna died long ago, but the Kalitins' house was not empty. He even "seemed to look younger" when carefree, flourishing youth settled in him. The grown-up Lenochka was going to get married, her brother came from St. Petersburg with his young wife and her sister.

Once the old Lavretsky visits the Kalitins. He wanders the garden for a long time, and he is filled with "a feeling of living sadness about the vanished youth, about the happiness that he once possessed."

Lavretsky nevertheless finds a remote monastery in which Liza hid from everyone. She walks past him without looking up. Only by the movement of her eyelashes and clenched fingers can one understand that she recognized Fyodor Ivanovich.

Conclusion

In the center of Ivan Turgenev's novel is the story of the tragic love of Fedor and Liza. The impossibility of personal happiness, the collapse of their bright hopes echoes the social collapse of the Russian nobility.

A brief retelling of the "Noble Nest" will be useful for reader's diary and in preparation for a literature lesson.

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Retelling rating

Average rating: 4.5. Total ratings received: 245.

One of the most famous Russian love novels, which opposed idealism to satire and reinforced the archetype of the Turgenev girl in culture.

comments: Kirill Zubkov

What is this book about?

The "Noble Nest", like many of Turgenev's novels, is built around unhappy love - the two main characters, who survived an unsuccessful marriage, Fyodor Lavretsky and young Liza Kalitina, meet, have strong feelings for each other, but are forced to leave: it turns out that Lavretsky's wife Varvara Pavlovna is not died. Shocked by her return, Liza leaves for a monastery, while Lavretsky does not want to live with his wife and for the rest of his life is engaged in farming on his estate. At the same time, the novel organically includes a narration about the life of the Russian nobility, which has evolved over the past several hundred years, a description of relations between different estates, between Russia and the West, disputes about the ways of possible reforms in Russia, philosophical discourses on the nature of duty, self-denial and moral responsibility.

Ivan Turgenev. Daguerreotype O. Bisson. Paris, 1847-1850

When was it written?

Turgenev conceived a new "story" (the writer did not always consistently distinguish between stories and novels) shortly after finishing work on "Rudin", his first novel, published in 1856. The idea was not implemented immediately: Turgenev, contrary to his custom, worked on a new large work for several years. The main work was done in 1858, and already at the beginning of 1859, The Noble Nest was published in the Nekrasovsky "Contemporary" ⁠ .

The title page of the manuscript of the novel "Noble Nest". 1858 year

How is it written?

Now Turgenev's prose may not seem as effective as the works of many of his contemporaries. This effect is caused by the special place of Turgenev's novel in literature. For example, drawing attention to the most detailed inner monologues of Tolstoy's characters or to the uniqueness of Tolstoy's composition, which is characterized by many central characters, the reader proceeds from the idea of ​​a certain "normal" novel, where there is a central character who is often shown "from the outside", and not from the inside. It is Turgenev's novel that now acts as such a "starting point", very convenient for evaluating the literature of the 19th century.

- Here you are, returned to Russia - what do you intend to do?
- To plow the land, - answered Lavretsky, - and try to plow it as best as possible

Ivan Turgenev

Contemporaries, however, perceived Turgenev's novel as a very peculiar step in the development of Russian prose, which stood out sharply against the background of typical fiction of its time. Turgenev's prose seemed like a brilliant example of literary "idealism": it was contrasted with the satirical essay tradition that went back to Saltykov-Shchedrin and painted in dark colors how serfdom, bureaucratic corruption and social conditions in general ruin people's lives and cripple the psyche of the oppressed and oppressors alike. Turgenev does not try to get away from these topics, but he presents them in a completely different spirit: the writer is primarily interested not in the formation of a person under the influence of circumstances, but rather in his understanding of these circumstances and the reaction to them.

At the same time, even Shchedrin himself - far from being a mild and not prone to idealism critic - in a letter to Annenkov ⁠ admired Turgenev's lyricism and recognized its social benefits:

Now I have read The Noble Nest, dear Pavel Vasilyevich, and I would like to tell you my opinion about this thing. But I definitely can't.<…>And what can be said about all the works of Turgenev in general? Is it that after reading them it is easy to breathe, it is easy to believe, you feel warmth? What do you clearly feel, how the moral level rises in you, that you mentally bless and love the author? But after all, these will only be common places, and this, this very impression is left behind by these transparent, as if woven from the air, images, this is the beginning of love and light, in every line beating with a living key and, however, still disappearing in empty space ... But in order to adequately express these generalities, one must be a poet himself and fall into lyricism.

Alexander Druzhinin. 1856 Photo by Sergei Levitsky. Druzhinin is a friend of Turgenev and his colleague in the Sovremennik magazine

Pavel Annenkov. 1887 year. Engraving by Yuri Baranovsky from a photograph by Sergei Levitsky. Annenkov was friends with Turgenev, and was also the first biographer and researcher of Pushkin's work

"The Noble Nest" was the last great work of Turgenev, published in "Contemporary" Literary magazine (1836-1866) founded by Pushkin. Since 1847, Sovremennik was directed by Nekrasov and Panaev, later Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov joined the editorial board. In the 60s, an ideological split took place in Sovremennik: the editorial board came to understand the need for a peasant revolution, while many of the magazine's authors (Turgenev, Tolstoy, Goncharov, Druzhinin) advocated slower and gradual reforms. Five years after the abolition of serfdom, Sovremennik was closed on the personal order of Alexander II. ⁠ ... Unlike many novels of this time, it fit entirely in one issue - the readers did not have to wait for the continuation. Turgenev's next novel, "On the Eve", will see the light of day in the magazine Mikhail Katkov Mikhail Nikiforovich Katkov (1818-1887) - publisher and editor of the literary magazine "Russian Bulletin" and the newspaper "Moskovskie vedomosti". In his youth, Katkov is known as a liberal and Westernizer, he is friends with Belinsky. With the beginning of the reforms of Alexander II, Katkov's views became noticeably more conservative. In the 1880s, he actively supported the counter-reforms of Alexander III, led a campaign against ministers of non-titular nationality and generally became an influential political figure - and the emperor himself reads his newspaper. ⁠ "Russian Bulletin" Literary and political magazine (1856-1906), founded by Mikhail Katkov. In the late 1950s, the editorial board took a moderately liberal position; from the early 1960s, Russkiy Vestnik became more and more conservative and even reactionary. In different years, the magazine published the central works of Russian classics: "Anna Karenina" and "War and Peace" by Tolstoy, "Crime and Punishment" and "The Brothers Karamazov" by Dostoevsky, "On the Eve" and "Fathers and Sons" by Turgenev, "Cathedrals" Leskov. ⁠ , which economically was a competitor of "Sovremennik", and politically and literary - a principled enemy.

Turgenev's break with Sovremennik and his fundamental conflict with his old friend Nekrasov (which, however, many biographers of both writers tend to overly dramatize) are connected, apparently, with Turgenev's unwillingness to have anything in common with the “nihilists” Dobrolyubov and Chernyshevsky, who were published on the pages of Sovremennik. Although both radical critics never spoke badly about The Noble Nest, the reasons for the gap are generally clear from the text of Turgenev's novel. Turgenev generally believed that it was aesthetic qualities that made literature a means of social education, while his opponents more likely saw in art an instrument of direct propaganda, which could just as well be carried out directly, without resorting to any artistic methods. In addition, Chernyshevsky hardly liked the fact that Turgenev again turned to the image of a hero-nobleman, disappointed in life. In the article “Russian man on rendez-vous” dedicated to the story “Asya”, Chernyshevsky has already explained that he considers the social and cultural role of such heroes to be completely exhausted, and they themselves deserve only condescending pity.

First edition of The Noble Nest. Publishing house of the bookseller A.I. Glazunov, 1859

The magazine "Sovremennik" for 1859, where the novel "Noble Nest" was first published

What influenced her?

It is generally accepted that, first of all, Turgenev was influenced by the works of Pushkin. The plot of the "Noble Nest" was repeatedly compared with history. In both works, a Europeanized nobleman who came to the provinces encounters an original and independent girl, whose upbringing was influenced by both noble and common culture (by the way, both Pushkin's Tatiana and Turgenev's Liza encounter peasant culture through communication with a nanny). In both, love feelings arise between the heroes, however, due to the coincidence of circumstances, they are not destined to stay together.

It is easier to understand the meaning of these parallels in a literary context. Critics of the 1850s tended to contrast the "Gogol" and "Pushkin" trends in Russian literature against each other. The legacy of Pushkin and Gogol became especially relevant in this era, considering that in the mid-1850s, thanks to the softened censorship, it became possible to publish fairly complete editions of the works of both authors, which included many previously unknown works of contemporaries. On the side of Gogol in this confrontation was, among others, Chernyshevsky, who saw in the author, first of all, a satirist who exposed social vices, and in Belinsky - the best interpreter of his work. Accordingly, such writers as Saltykov-Shchedrin and his many imitators were ranked among the "Gogol" direction. Supporters of the "Pushkin" direction were much closer to Turgenev: it is no coincidence that the collected works of Pushkin published Annenkov Pavel Vasilyevich Annenkov (1813-1887) - literary critic and publicist, the first biographer and researcher of Pushkin, the founder of Pushkin studies. He made friends with Belinsky, in the presence of Annenkov Belinsky wrote his actual testament - "Letter to Gogol", under Gogol's dictation, Annenkov rewrote "Dead Souls". The author of memoirs about the literary and political life of the 1840s and its heroes: Herzen, Stankevich, Bakunin. One of Turgenev's close friends - the writer sent all his last works to Annenkov before publication. ⁠ , a friend of Turgenev, and the most famous review of this edition was written by Alexander Druzhinin Alexander Vasilyevich Druzhinin (1824-1864) - critic, writer, translator. Since 1847 he published stories, novels, feuilletons, translations in Sovremennik; his debut was the story “Polinka Sachs”. From 1856 to 1860 Druzhinin was the editor of the Library for Reading. In 1859 he organized the Society to provide benefits to needy writers and scientists. Druzhinin criticized the ideological approach to art and advocated "pure art", free from any didacticism. ⁠ Is another author who left Sovremennik, who was on good terms with Turgenev. During this period, Turgenev clearly orients his prose precisely towards the "Pushkin" principle, as the critic of the time understood it: literature should not directly address socio-political problems, but gradually influence the public, which is formed and brought up under the influence of aesthetic impressions and ultimately becomes capable of responsible and dignified actions in various spheres, including socio-political. The business of literature is to promote, as Schiller would say, "aesthetic education."

"Noble Nest". Directed by Andrey Konchalovsky. 1969 year

How was she received?

Most writers and critics were delighted with Turgenev's novel, which combined poetic principles and social relevance. Annenkov began his review of the novel as follows: “It is difficult to say, starting the analysis of Mr. Turgenev's new work, which deserves attention more: whether it is itself with all its merits, or the extraordinary success that met him in all strata of our society. In any case, it is worth seriously thinking about the reasons for that sole sympathy and approval, that delight and enthusiasm that were caused by the appearance of the "Noble Nest". On the author's new novel, people from opposite parties came together in one common verdict; representatives of dissimilar systems and views shook hands and expressed the same opinion. " The reaction of the poet and critic was especially effective. Apollo Grigoriev ⁠ , who devoted a series of articles to Turgenev's novel and admired the writer's striving in the person of the protagonist to portray "attachment to the soil" and "humility before the people's truth."

However, some contemporaries had different opinions. For example, according to the memoirs of the writer Nikolai Luzhenovsky, Alexander Ostrovsky remarked: "The noble nest", for example [immer], is a very good thing, but Liza is unbearable for me: this girl definitely suffers from scrofula driven inside. "

Apollon Grigoriev. Second half of the 19th century. Grigoriev devoted a whole cycle of complimentary articles to Turgenev's novel

Alexander Ostrovsky. Around 1870. Ostrovsky praised the "Noble Nest", but found the heroine Liza "unbearable"

In an interesting way, Turgenev's novel rather quickly ceased to be perceived as a topical and topical work and was then often regarded as an example of “pure art”. Perhaps this was influenced by those that caused a much greater resonance, thanks to which the image of a "nihilist" entered Russian literature, which for several decades became the subject of heated disputes and various literary interpretations. Nevertheless, the novel was a success: already in 1861 an authorized French translation was published, in 1862 - in German, in 1869 - in English. Thanks to this, Turgenev's novel until the end of the 19th century was one of the most discussed works of Russian literature abroad. Researchers write about its influence, for example, on Henry James and Joseph Conrad.

Why was "Noble's Nest" such a topical novel?

The time of publication of the "Noble Nest" was an exceptional period for imperial Russia, which Fyodor Tyutchev (long before Khrushchev's times) called the "thaw". The first years of the reign of Alexander II, who ascended the throne at the end of 1855, were accompanied by the growth of "glasnost" (another expression that is now associated with a completely different era) that amazed his contemporaries. The defeat in the Crimean War was perceived both among government officials and in an educated society as a symptom of the deepest crisis that gripped the country. The definitions of the Russian people and empire, adopted in the Nikolaev years, based on the well-known doctrine of "official nationality", seemed completely inadequate. V new era it was necessary to re-interpret the nation and the state.

Many contemporaries were convinced that literature could help in this, in fact, contributing to the reforms initiated by the government. It is no coincidence that during these years the government invited writers, for example, to participate in the compilation of the repertoire of state theaters or to compile a statistical and ethnographic description of the Volga region. Although the action of The Noble's Nest takes place in the 1840s, the novel reflects actual problems the era of its creation. For example, in the dispute between Lavretsky and Panshin, the protagonist of the novel proves "the impossibility of leaps and haughty alterations from the height of bureaucratic consciousness - alterations that are not justified either by knowledge of their native land, or by real faith in an ideal, even a negative one," obviously these words refer to plans government reforms. The preparation of the abolition of serfdom made the topic of relations between estates very relevant, which largely determines the prehistory of Lavretsky and Lisa: Turgenev is trying to present to the public a novel about how a person can comprehend and experience his place in Russian society and history. As in his other works, “the story has penetrated into the character and works from within. Its properties are generated by a given historical situation, and outside of this they do not have meaning " 1 Ginzburg L. Ya. On psychological prose. Ed. 2nd. L., 1976.S. 295. ⁠ .

"Noble Nest". Directed by Andrey Konchalovsky. 1969 year. Leonid Kulagin as Lavretsky

Piano by Konrad Graf. Austria, circa 1838. The piano in the "Noble Nest" is an important symbol: near it acquaintances are made, disputes are waged, love is born, a long-awaited masterpiece is created. Musicality, attitude to music is an important feature of Turgenev's heroes

Who and why accused Turgenev of plagiarism?

At the end of work on the novel, Turgenev read it to some of his friends and took advantage of their comments, finalizing his work for Sovremennik, and he especially valued the opinion of Annenkov (who, according to the recollections of Ivan Goncharov, who was present at this reading, recommended Turgenev to include in the narrative the prehistory of the main character Lisa Kalitina, explaining the origins of her religious beliefs. Researchers did find that the corresponding chapter was written into the manuscript later).

Ivan Goncharov was not delighted with Turgenev's novel. Several years earlier, he had told the author of The Noble Nest about the idea of ​​his own work dedicated to an amateur artist who finds himself in the Russian outback. Hearing "The Noble Nest" in the author's reading, Goncharov was enraged: Turgenev's Panshin (among other things, an amateur artist), as it seemed to him, was "borrowed" from the "program" of his future novel "Break", moreover, his image was distorted ; The chapter about the ancestors of the protagonist also seemed to him the result of literary theft, as well as the image of the strict old lady-lady Marfa Timofeevna. After these accusations, Turgenev made some changes to the manuscript, in particular, changing the dialogue between Marfa Timofeevna and Lisa, which takes place after a night meeting between Liza and Lavretsky. Goncharov seemed to be satisfied, but in the next big work of Turgenev - the novel "On the Eve" - ​​he again discovered the image of an amateur artist. The conflict between Goncharov and Turgenev led to a big scandal in literary circles. Collected for his permission "Areopagus" The authority in Ancient Athens, which consisted of representatives of the tribal aristocracy. In a figurative sense, a meeting of authorities to resolve an important issue. ⁠ from authoritative writers and critics, he acquitted Turgenev, but Goncharov, for several decades, suspected the author of The Noble Nest of plagiarism. "The Break" came out only in 1869 and did not enjoy the same success as the first novels of Goncharov, who blamed Turgenev for this. Gradually, Goncharov's conviction of Turgenev's dishonesty turned into a real mania: the writer, for example, was sure that Turgenev's agents were copying his drafts and passing them on to Gustave Flaubert, who made a name for himself thanks to Goncharov's works.

Spasskoye-Lutovinovo, Turgenev's family estate. Engraving by M. Rashevsky based on a photograph by William Carrick. Originally published in the magazine "Niva" for 1883

Hulton Archive / Getty Images

What do the heroes of Turgenev's novels and stories have in common?

Renowned philologist Lev Pumpyansky Lev Vasilievich Pumpyansky (1891-1940) - literary critic, musicologist. After the revolution he lived in Nevel, together with Mikhail Bakhtin and Matvey Kagan he formed the Nevel Philosophical Circle. In the 1920s, he taught at the Tenishevsky School, was a member of the Free Philosophical Association. He taught Russian literature at the Leningrad University. Author of classic works about Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Gogol and Turgenev. ⁠ wrote that the first four Turgenev novels ("Rudin", "Noble Nest", "On the Eve" and) are an example of a "novel of trial": their plot is built around a historically established type of hero who is being tested for compliance with the role of a historical figure. To test the hero are not only, for example, ideological disputes with opponents or social activities, but also love relationships. Pumpyansky, in the opinion of modern researchers, largely exaggerated, but on the whole his definition is apparently correct. Indeed, the protagonist is at the center of the novel, and the events taking place with this hero make it possible to decide whether he can be called a worthy person. In The Noble Nest, this is expressed literally: Marfa Timofeevna demands from Lavretsky to confirm that he is an “honest man,” out of fear for Liza's fate - and Lavretsky proves that he is incapable of doing anything dishonorable.

She felt bitter in her soul; she did not deserve such humiliation. Love did not affect her with joy: for the second time she cried since yesterday evening

Ivan Turgenev

The themes of happiness, self-denial and love, perceived as the most important qualities of a person, Turgenev raised already in his stories of the 1850s. For example, in the story "Faust" (1856), the main character is literally killed by the awakening of a love feeling, which she herself interprets as a sin. The interpretation of love as an irrational, incomprehensible, almost supernatural force that often threatens human dignity, or at least the ability to follow one's convictions, is typical, for example, for the stories "Correspondence" (1856) and "First Love" (1860). In The Noble Nest, the relationship of almost all heroes, except for Liza and Lavretsky, is characterized in exactly this way - it is enough to recall the characteristics of the connection between Panshin and Lavretsky's wife: “Varvara Pavlovna enslaved him, precisely enslaved him: no other word can express her unlimited, irrevocable, unrequited power over him. "

Finally, the prehistory of Lavretsky, the son of a nobleman and a peasant woman, recalls the main character of the story "Asya" (1858). Within the framework of the novel genre, Turgenev was able to combine these themes with socio-historical problems.

"Noble Nest". Directed by Andrey Konchalovsky. 1969 year

Vladimir Panov. Illustration for the novel "Noble Nest". 1988 year

Where are the references to Cervantes in The Noble Nest?

One of the important Turgenev types in the "Noble Nest" is represented by the hero Mikhalevich - "an enthusiast and poet" who "still adhered to the phraseology of the thirties." This hero in the novel is presented with a fair amount of irony; Suffice it to recall the description of his endless nocturnal dispute with Lavretsky, when Mikhalevich tries to define his friend and every hour rejects his own formulations: “you are not a skeptic, not disappointed, not a Volterian, you are bobak Steppe marmot. In a figurative sense - a clumsy, lazy person. ⁠ , and you are a malicious bobak, a bobak with a consciousness, not a naive bobak. " In the dispute between Lavretsky and Mikhalevich, topical issues are especially manifested: the novel was written in a period that contemporaries assessed as a transitional era in history.

And when, where did people take it into their heads? He shouted at four o'clock in the morning, but in a somewhat hoarse voice. - We have! now! in Russia! when each individual person has a duty, great responsibility before God, before the people, before himself! We sleep and time is running out; we are sleeping…

The comic is that Lavretsky considers the main goal of a modern nobleman to be a completely practical matter - to learn how to "plow the land", while Mikhalevich, who reproaches him for laziness, could not find any business on his own.

You joke with me in vain; my great-grandfather hung men by the ribs, and my grandfather was a man himself

Ivan Turgenev

This type, a representative of the generation of idealists of the 1830s-40s, a man whose greatest talent was the ability to understand current philosophical and social ideas, sincerely sympathize with them and convey them to others, was deduced by Turgenev in his novel Rudin. Like Rudin, Mikhalevich is an eternal wanderer, clearly resembling a “knight of a sad image”: “Even sitting in a tarantass, where they carried his flat, yellow, oddly light suitcase, he still spoke; wrapped in some kind of Spanish cloak with a reddish collar and lion's paws instead of fasteners, he still developed his views on the fate of Russia and ran his swarthy hand through the air, as if scattering the seeds of future prosperity. " For the author, Mikhalevich is a wonderful and naive Don Quixote (Turgenev's famous speech "Hamlet and Don Quixote" was written shortly after "The Noble Nest"). Mikhalevich “fell in love without counting and wrote poems to all his beloved; he especially fervently sang a mysterious black-haired "panna" who, apparently, was a woman of easy virtue. The analogy with Don Quixote's passion for the peasant woman Dulcinea is obvious: the hero of Cervantes is equally incapable of understanding that his beloved does not correspond to his ideal. However, the focus of the novel this time is not a naive idealist, but a completely different hero.

Why is Lavretsky so sympathetic to the peasant?

The father of the protagonist of the novel is a Europeanized gentleman who raised his son according to his own "system", apparently borrowed from the writings of Rousseau; his mother is a simple peasant woman. The result is quite unusual. The reader is faced with an educated Russian nobleman who knows how to behave decently and with dignity in society (Marya Dmitrievna constantly evaluates Lavretsky's manners badly, but the author constantly hints that she herself does not know how to behave in a really good society). He reads magazines in different languages, but at the same time is closely connected with Russian life, especially common people. In this regard, two of his love interests are remarkable: the Parisian "lioness" Varvara Pavlovna and the deeply religious Liza Kalitina, brought up by a simple Russian nanny. Turgenev's hero delighted Apollo Grigoriev Apollon Alexandrovich Grigoriev (1822-1864) - poet, literary critic, translator. In 1845 he began to study literature: he published a book of poetry, translated Shakespeare and Byron, wrote literary reviews for Otechestvennye zapiski. Since the late 1950s, Grigoriev wrote for Moskvityanin and headed the circle of its young authors. After the magazine was closed, he worked at the Library for Reading, Russkoye Slovo, and Vremya. Due to alcohol addiction, Grigoriev gradually lost his influence and practically stopped publishing. ⁠ , one of the creators soil cultivation Social and philosophical trends in Russia in the 1860s. The basic principles of soil cultivation were formulated by the staff of the magazines "Time" and "Epoch": Apollo Grigoriev, Nikolai Strakhov and the Dostoevsky brothers. The soil workers occupied a certain middle position between the camps of the Westernizers and the Slavophiles. Fyodor Dostoevsky, in his "Announcement of a subscription to the Vremya magazine for 1861", which is considered a manifesto of the soil, wrote: ; that, perhaps, everything hostile in these ideas will find its reconciliation and further development in the Russian nationality. " ⁠ : Lavretsky is really capable of sincerely sympathizing with the peasant who has lost his son, and when he himself fails all his hopes, he consoles himself with the fact that the ordinary people around him suffer no less. In general, Lavretsky's connection with the "common people" and the old, not Europeanized lordship is constantly emphasized in the novel. Learning that his wife, who lives according to the latest French fashions, is cheating on him, he feels not at all secular rage: “he felt that at that moment he was able to torture her, beat her half to death, like a peasant, strangle her with his own hands”. In a conversation with his wife, he indignantly says: “You joked with me in vain; my great-grandfather hung peasants by the ribs, and my grandfather was a peasant himself. " Unlike the previous central characters of Turgenev's prose, Lavretsky has a "healthy nature", he is a good boss, a man who is literally written to live at home and take care of his family and household.

Andrey Rakovich. Interior. 1845 Private collection

What is the meaning of the political dispute between Lavretsky and Panshin?

The protagonist's beliefs are consistent with his origins. In a conflict with the capital's official Panshin, Lavretsky opposes the reform project, according to which European public "institutions" (in modern language - "institutions") are able to transform the life of the people itself. Lavretsky “demanded, first of all, the recognition of the people's truth and humility before it — that humility without which courage against lies is impossible; Finally, he did not deviate from the deserved, in his opinion, accusation of frivolous waste of time and energy. " The author of the novel clearly sympathizes with Lavretsky: Turgenev himself, of course, had a high opinion of Western "institutions", but judging by the "Noble Nest", he did not appreciate the domestic officials who tried to introduce these "institutions" so well.

"Noble Nest". Directed by Andrey Konchalovsky. 1969 year

Coach. 1838 The carriage is one of the attributes of secular European life, which Varvara Pavlovna enjoys with pleasure

The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London

How does the family history of the heroes affect their fate?

Of all Turgenev's heroes, Lavretsky has the most detailed pedigree: the reader learns not only about his parents, but also about the whole Lavretsky family, starting with his great-grandfather. Of course, this digression is intended to show the hero's rootedness in history, his living connection with the past. At the same time, Turgenev's “past” turns out to be very dark and cruel - in fact, this is the history of Russia and the nobility. Literally the entire history of the Lavretsky family is built on violence. The wife of his great-grandfather Andrei is directly compared with a bird of prey (for Turgenev this is always a significant comparison - just remember the ending of the story "Spring Waters"), and the reader literally does not know anything about their relationship, except that the spouses were at war with each other all the time. another: "Goggle-eyed, with a hawk nose, with a round yellow face, a gypsy by birth, hot-tempered and vindictive, she was in no way inferior to her husband, who almost killed her and whom she did not survive, although she always fought with him." The wife of their son Pyotr Andreevich, a “humble woman,” was subordinate to her husband: “She loved to ride on trotters, she was ready to play cards from morning to evening and always, it happened, covered her penny winnings with her hand when her husband approached the gambling house. table; and all her dowry, all the money she gave to him in an unrequited order. " Lavretsky's father Ivan fell in love with the serf Malanya, a “shy girl” who obeyed her husband and his relatives in everything and was completely removed from her son's upbringing, which led to her death:

Ivan Petrovich's poor wife did not endure this blow, did not endure the second parting: meekly, in a few days, she died out. Throughout her life, she did not know how to resist anything, and she did not fight the disease. She could no longer speak, the shadows of the grave were already falling on her face, but her features still expressed patient bewilderment and constant meekness of humility.

Pyotr Andreevich, who learned about his son's love affair, is also compared with a bird of prey: "He attacked his son like a hawk, reproached him for immorality, for godlessness, for pretense ..." the power of his wife. Firstly, Lavretsky is a product of a specific parental upbringing, because of which he - by nature an intelligent, far from naive person - got married without understanding what kind of person his wife was. Secondly, the very theme of family inequality connects the Turgenev hero and his ancestors. The hero got married because his family past did not let him go - in the future, his wife will become a part of this past, which will return at a fateful moment and ruin his relationship with Lisa. The fate of Lavretsky, who was not destined to find a home, is connected with the curse of his aunt Glafira, who was expelled by the will of Lavretsky's wife: “I know who is driving me out of here, from my ancestral nest. Only you remember my word, nephew: you cannot build nests anywhere, you will wander forever. " In the novel's finale, Lavretsky thinks of himself that he is "a lonely, homeless wanderer." In an everyday sense, this is inaccurate: we are faced with the thoughts of a wealthy landowner - however, inner loneliness and the inability to find happiness in life turn out to be a logical conclusion from the history of the Lavretsky family.

The head is all gray, and what he opens his mouth will lie or gossip. And also a state councilor!

Ivan Turgenev

Parallels with Lisa's background are interesting here. Her father was also a cruel, "predatory" person who subjugated her mother. Is in her past and direct influence folk ethics. At the same time, Liza feels more acutely than Lavretsky that she is responsible for the past. Lizina's readiness for humility and suffering is connected not with some kind of inner weakness or sacrifice, but with a conscious, deliberate desire to atone for sins, and not only their own, but also those of others: “Happiness did not come to me; even when I had hopes of happiness, my heart ached. I know everything, and my sins, and strangers, and how daddy made our wealth; I know everything. All this must be ground up, it is necessary to grind it down. "

Pages from the collection "Symbols and Emblems", published in Amsterdam in 1705 and in St. Petersburg in 1719

The collection consisted of 840 engravings with symbols and allegories. This mysterious book was the only reading of the impressionable and pale child Fedya Lavretsky. The Lavretskys had one of the reprints revised by Nestor Maksimovich-Ambodik early XIX century: this book was read by Turgenev himself as a child

What is a noble nest?

Turgenev himself wrote in an elegiac tone about the “noble nests” in the story “My neighbor Radilov”: “Our great-grandfathers, when choosing a place to live, certainly beat off tithes of two good land for an orchard with linden alleys. Fifty years later, many seventy years later, these estates, "noble nests", little by little disappeared from the face of the earth, houses decayed or sold for sale, stone services turned into heaps of ruins, apple trees died out and went for firewood, fences and wattle fences were exterminated. Some linden trees still grew to their glory and now, surrounded by plowed fields, they tell our windy tribe about "the formerly departed fathers and brothers." The parallels with the "Noble Nest" are not difficult to notice: on the one hand, the reader is not looking at Oblomovka, but the image of a cultured, Europeanized estate, where alleys are planted and music is listened to; on the other hand, this estate is doomed to gradual destruction and oblivion. In the "Noble Nest", apparently, this is exactly the fate prepared for the Lavretsky estate, whose family will be interrupted by the main character (his daughter, judging by the epilogue of the novel, will not live long).

The village of Shablykino, where Turgenev often hunted. Lithograph by Rudolf Zhukovsky after his own drawing. 1840 State Memorial and Natural Museum-Reserve of I. S. Turgenev "Spasskoye-Lutovinovo"

Fine Art Images / Heritage Images / Getty Images

Does Liza Kalitina resemble the stereotype of the "Turgenev girl"?

Liza Kalitina is probably now one of the most famous Turgenev images. The unusualness of this heroine was repeatedly tried to explain by the existence of some special prototype - here they also pointed to the countess Elizabeth Lambert Elizaveta Yegorovna Lambert (née Kankrina; 1821-1883) - maid of honor of the imperial court. Daughter of the Minister of Finance, Count Yegor Kankrin. In 1843 she married Count Joseph Lambert. She was friends with Tyutchev, was in a long correspondence with Turgenev. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, she was deeply religious. From a letter from Turgenev to Lambert of April 29, 1867: "Of all the doors into which I am a bad Christian, but following the gospel rule, I pushed, your doors opened easier and more often than others." ⁠ , a secular acquaintance of Turgenev and the addressee of his numerous letters filled with philosophical discourses, and on Varvara Sokovnin Varvara Mikhailovna Sokovnina (in the monasticism of Seraphim; 1779-1845) - nun. Sokovnina was born into a wealthy noble family, at the age of 20 she left home for the Sevsky Trinity Monastery, took monastic vows, and then schema (the highest monastic level, requiring severe asceticism). She lived in seclusion for 22 years. In 1821 she was elevated to the rank of abbess of the Oryol nunnery, and ruled it until her death. In 1837, Abbess Seraphima was visited by Alexandra Feodorovna, the wife of Emperor Nicholas I. ⁠ (in the monasticism of Seraphim), whose fate is very similar to that of Lisa.

Probably, first of all, the stereotypical image of the "Turgenev girl" is being built around Lisa, which is customary to write about in popular publications and which is often taken apart at school. At the same time, this stereotype is hardly consistent with Turgenev's text. Liza can hardly be called a particularly refined nature or a sublime idealist. She is shown as a person of extremely strong will, decisive, independent and internally independent. In this sense, her image was rather influenced not by Turgenev's desire to create the image of an ideal young lady, but by the writer's ideas about the need for emancipation and the desire to show an internally free girl so that this inner freedom does not deprive her of poetry. A night meeting with Lavretsky in the garden for a girl of that time was completely obscene behavior - in the fact that Liza decided on it, her complete inner independence from the opinions of others is manifested. The "poetic" effect of her image is given by a very peculiar manner of description. The narrator usually informs about Lisa's feelings with rhythmic prose, very metaphorical, sometimes even using sound repetitions: “No one knows, no one has seen and will never see how, from bath to life and prosperity, it is poured and see no zer but in the bosom ze mli ". The analogy between love growing in the heroine's heart and a natural process is not intended to explain any psychological properties of the heroine, but rather to hint at something that is beyond the capabilities of ordinary language. It is no coincidence that Liza herself says that she “has no words of her own” - in the same way, for example, in the finale of the novel, the narrator refuses to talk about the experiences of her and Lavretsky: “What did they think, what did both of them feel? Who will know? Who's to say? There are such moments in life, such feelings ... You can only point to them - and pass by. "

"Noble Nest". Directed by Andrey Konchalovsky. 1969 year

Vladimir Panov. Illustration for the novel "Noble Nest". 1988 year

Why do Turgenev's heroes suffer all the time?

Violence and aggression permeate Turgenev's entire life; a living being, it seems, cannot but suffer. In Turgenev's story "Diary of an Extra Man" (1850), the hero was opposed to nature, because he was endowed with self-awareness and acutely felt the approaching death. In The Noble Nest, however, the desire for destruction and self-destruction is shown as characteristic not only of people, but of all nature. Marfa Timofeevna tells Lavretsky that no happiness is possible for a living being in principle: “Why, I used to envy the flies: here, I thought, who is good in the world to live; Yes, once at night I heard a fly whining in a spider's paws - no, I think they have a thunderstorm. " At his simpler level, Lavretsky's old servant Anton, who knew his aunt Glafira who had cursed him, speaks of self-destruction: “He told Lavretsky how Glafira Petrovna bit herself by the hand before her death, - and after a pause, he said with a sigh:“ Every man, master-father, he is devoted to himself to be devoured. " Turgenev's heroes live in a terrible and indifferent world, and here, unlike historical circumstances, it will probably not be possible to correct anything.

Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) - German philosopher. According to his main work "The World as Will and Representation", the world is perceived by the mind, therefore it is a subjective representation. Will is the objective reality and organizing principle in man. But this will is blind and irrational, therefore it turns life into a series of suffering, and the world in which we live - into "the worst of the worlds."⁠ - and the researchers paid attention to some parallels between the novel and the main book of the German thinker "The World as Will and Representation". Indeed, both natural and historical life in Turgenev's novel is full of violence and destruction, while the art world turns out to be much more ambivalent: music carries both the power of passion and a kind of liberation from the power of the real world.

Andrey Rakovich. Interior. 1839 Private collection

Why does Turgenev talk so much about happiness and duty?

The key disputes between Liza and Lavretsky are about the human right to happiness and the need for humility and renunciation. For the heroes of the novel, the theme of religion is of exceptional importance: the unbeliever Lavretsky refuses to agree with Liza. Turgenev does not try to decide which of them is right, but shows that duty and humility are necessary not only for a religious person - duty is also significant for public life, especially for people with such a historical background as the heroes of Turgenev: the Russian nobility is not depicted in the novel only as a bearer of high culture, but also as an estate, whose representatives have oppressed each other and those around them for centuries. Conclusions from the controversy, however, are mixed. On the one hand, the new generation, free from the heavy burden of the past, easily achieves happiness - perhaps, however, that it succeeds due to a more fortunate coincidence of historical circumstances. At the end of the novel, Lavretsky addresses the younger generation with a mental monologue: “Play, have fun, grow, young forces ... your life is ahead of you, and it will be easier for you to live: you, like us, will not have to find your way, fight, fall and get up in the midst of darkness; we fussed about how to survive - and how many of us did not survive! - and you need to do business, work, and the blessing of our brother, the old man, will be with you. " On the other hand, Lavretsky himself refuses to claim happiness and largely agrees with Liza. Considering that tragedy, according to Turgenev, is generally inherent in human life, the fun and joy of the "new people" turn out to be in many ways a sign of their naivety, and the experience of misfortune through which Lavretsky went through may be no less valuable for the reader.

bibliography

• Annenkov P. V. Our Society in Turgenev's "Noble Nest" // Annenkov P. V. Critical Essays. SPb .: Publishing house of RHGI, 2000. P. 202–232.
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Gedeonovsky was the first, as usual, to bring the news of Lavretsky's return to the Kalitins' house. Maria Dmitrievna, the widow of the former provincial prosecutor, who at her fifty years retained a certain pleasantness in her features, favors him, and her house is one of the most pleasant in the city of O ... But Marfa Timofeevna Pestova, the seventy-year-old sister of Maria Dmitrievna's father, does not favor Gedeonovsky for his inclination make up and talkativeness. But what to take - a priest, albeit a state councilor.

However, it is generally tricky to please Marfa Timofeevna. She doesn’t like Panshin - everyone’s favorite, an enviable groom, the first gentleman. Vladimir Nikolaevich plays the piano, composes romances on his own words, draws well, recites. He is quite a secular person, educated and dexterous. In general, he is a St. Petersburg official on special assignments, a chamber-cadet who arrived in O ... with some assignment. He visits the Kalitins for the sake of Liza, the nineteen-year-old daughter of Maria Dmitrievna. And it looks like his intentions are serious. But Marfa Timofeevna is sure: her favorite is not such a husband. The music teacher Christopher Fedorovich Lemm, an elderly, unattractive and not very successful German, secretly in love with his student, puts Panshin and Lizin low.

The arrival of Fyodor Ivanovich Lavretsky from abroad is a significant event for the city. His story is passed from mouth to mouth. In Paris, he accidentally caught his wife of treason. Moreover, after the breakup, the beautiful Varvara Pavlovna received scandalous European fame.

The inhabitants of the Kalitinsky house, however, did not think that he looked like a victim. He still breathes with steppe health, lasting strength. Only in the eyes is fatigue visible.

Actually, Fyodor Ivanovich is a strong breed. His great-grandfather was a tough, impudent, intelligent and crafty man. The great-grandmother, a hot-tempered, vengeful gypsy, was in no way inferior to her husband. Grandfather Peter, however, was already a simple steppe gentleman. His son Ivan (father of Fyodor Ivanovich) was brought up, however, by a Frenchman, an admirer of Jean Jacques Rousseau: so ordered his aunt, with whom he lived. (His sister Glafira grew up with her parents.) The wisdom of the 18th century. the mentor poured into his head entirely, where she stayed, without mixing with blood, without penetrating into the soul.

Upon returning to his parents, Ivan felt dirty and wild in his home. This did not prevent him from drawing attention to the maid of mother Malanya, a very pretty, intelligent and meek girl. A scandal erupted: Ivan's father disinherited, and ordered the girl to be sent to a distant village. Ivan Petrovich fought off Malanya on the way and married her. Having accommodated his young wife with the Pestovs' relatives, Dmitry Timofeevich and Marfa Timofeevna, he himself went to Petersburg, and then abroad. In the village of Pestovs, he was born on August 20, 1807. Fedor. Almost a year passed before Malanya Sergeevna was able to appear with her son at the Lavretskys. And that was only because Ivan's mother, before her death, asked for her son and daughter-in-law the stern Pyotr Andreevich.

The happy father of the baby finally returned to Russia only twelve years later. Malanya Sergeevna had died by this time, and the boy was brought up by his aunt Glafira Andreevna, ugly, envious, unkind and domineering. Fedya was taken from his mother and given to Glafira during her lifetime. He did not see his mother every day and loved her passionately, but he vaguely felt that an unbreakable barrier existed between him and her. Fedya was afraid of his aunt, did not dare to utter a word in front of her.

Returning, Ivan Petrovich himself took up the upbringing of his son. Dressed him in Scottish and hired a porter for him. Gymnastics, natural sciences, international law, mathematics, carpentry and heraldry formed the backbone of the educational system. The boy was woken up at four in the morning; doused with cold water, forced to run around the pole on a rope; fed once a day; taught to ride and shoot a crossbow. When Fedya was sixteen years old, his father began to instill in him contempt for women.

A few years later, having buried his father, Lavretsky went to Moscow and at twenty-three entered the university. A strange upbringing has borne fruit. He did not know how to get along with people, he did not dare to look a single woman in the eyes. He only got along with Mikhalevich, an enthusiast and poet. It was this Mikhalevich who introduced his friend to the family of the beautiful Varvara Pavlovna Korobyina. A twenty-six-year-old child only now understood what it was worth living for. Varenka was charming, intelligent and decently educated, she could talk about the theater, played the piano.

Six months later, the young arrived in Lavriky. The university was abandoned (not to marry a student), and a happy life began. Glafira was removed, and General Korobyin, Varvara Pavlovna's papa, arrived at the place of the steward; and the couple drove off to Petersburg, where their son was born, who soon died. On the advice of doctors, they went abroad and settled in Paris. Varvara Pavlovna instantly settled down here and began to shine in society. Soon, however, Lavretsky got hold of a love note addressed to his wife, whom he so blindly trusted. At first he was seized by rage, a desire to kill both ("my great-grandfather hung peasants by the ribs"), but then, having ordered a letter about the annual allowance for his wife and the departure of General Korobyin from the estate, he went to Italy. The newspapers circulated bad rumors about his wife. From them I learned that he had a daughter. Indifference to everything appeared. And yet, four years later, he wanted to return home, to the city of O ..., but he did not want to settle in Lavriki, where he and Varya spent their first happy days.

Lisa drew his attention from the very first meeting. He noticed Panshin near her. Maria Dmitrievna did not hide that the chamber junker was crazy about her daughter. Marfa Timofeevna, however, still believed that Liza would not be with Panshin.

In Vasilievskoye Lavretsky examined the house, the garden with a pond: the estate had time to run wild. The silence of a leisurely solitary life surrounded him. And what strength, what health was in this inactive silence. The days went by monotonously, but he did not get bored: he did the housework, rode a horse, read.

Three weeks later I went to O ... to the Kalitins. Lemma found them. In the evening, having gone to see him off, he stayed with him. The old man was touched and admitted that he writes music, played and sang something.

In Vasilievsky, the conversation about poetry and music imperceptibly turned into a conversation about Liza and Panshin. Lemme was categorical: she doesn't love him, she just obeys her mother. Liza can love one beautiful thing, but he is not beautiful, i.e. his soul is not beautiful

Liza and Lavretsky trusted each other more and more. Not without hesitation, she once asked about the reasons for his break with his wife: how can you break what God has united? You must forgive. She is sure that one must forgive and submit. As a child, she was taught this by her nanny Agafya, who told the life of the Most Pure Virgin, the lives of saints and hermits, and took her to church. Her own example brought up humility, meekness and a sense of duty.

Suddenly Mikhalevich appeared in Vasilievsky. He grew old, it was evident that he was not doing well, but he spoke as passionately as in his youth, read his own poems: "... And I burned everything that I worshiped, / I bowed down to everything that I burned."

Then the friends argued for a long time and loudly, disturbing Lemma, who continued to visit. You cannot only wish for happiness in life. This means building on sand. Faith is needed, and without it Lavretsky is a pitiful Voltairean. If there is no faith, there is no revelation, there is no understanding of what to do. You need a pure, unearthly being who will pull him out of apathy.

After Mikhalevich, the Kalitins arrived at Vasilievskoye. The days passed joyfully and carefree. “I speak to her as if I were not an obsolete person,” Lavretsky thought of Liza. Seeing off their carriage on horseback, he asked: "Are we friends now? .." She nodded in response.

The next evening, looking through French magazines and newspapers, Fyodor Ivanovich came across a message about the sudden death of the queen of fashionable Parisian salons, Madame Lavretskaya. In the morning he was already at the Kalitins. "What's wrong with you?" - asked Lisa. He gave her the text of the message. Now he is free. "You don't need to think about this now, but about forgiveness ..." she objected, and at the end of the conversation she repaid with the same trust: Panshin asks for her hand in marriage. She is not at all in love with him, but she is ready to obey her mother. Lavretsky begged Liza to think, not to marry without love, out of a sense of duty. That same evening, Liza asked Panshin not to rush her with an answer and informed Lavretsky about this. All the following days a secret anxiety was felt in her, as if she even avoided Lavretsky. And he was also alarmed by the lack of confirmation of his wife's death. And Liza, when asked if she had dared to give an answer to Panshin, said that she knew nothing. She doesn't know herself.

One summer evening in the living room, Panshin began to reproach the new generation, saying that Russia had lagged behind Europe (we didn’t even invent a mousetrap). He spoke beautifully, but with secret bitterness. Lavretsky suddenly began to object and defeated the enemy, proving the impossibility of leaps and haughty alterations, demanded recognition of the people's truth and humility before it. The irritated Panshin exclaimed; what does he intend to do? Plow the land and try to plow it as best you can.

Liza was on the side of Lavretsky the whole time of the dispute. The secular official's contempt for Russia offended her. Both of them realized that they love and do not love the same thing, but differ only in one thing, but Lisa secretly hoped to lead him to God. The embarrassment of the last days has disappeared.

Everyone gradually dispersed, and Lavretsky quietly went out into the night garden and sat down on a bench. Light appeared in the lower windows. Liza was walking with a candle in her hand. He quietly called her and, sitting down under the lindens, said: "... I was brought here ... I love you."

Returning along the sleeping streets, full of joyful feeling, he heard the wondrous sounds of music. He turned to where they were coming from and called: Lemme! The old man appeared in the window and, recognizing him, threw down the key. Lavretsky had not heard anything like it for a long time. He walked over and hugged the old man. He paused, then smiled and cried: "I did this, for I am a great musician."

The next day Lavretsky went to Vasilyevskoye and in the evening returned to the city. In the hall he was greeted by the smell of strong perfume, and there were trunks right there. Crossing the threshold of the living room, he saw his wife. Confusedly and verbosely, she began to beg to forgive her, at least for the sake of her innocent daughter in front of him: Ada, ask your father with me. He invited her to settle in Lavriki, but never expect a renewal of relations. Varvara Pavlovna was submissive herself, but on the same day she visited the Kalitins. The final explanation of Liza and Panshin has already taken place there. Maria Dmitrievna was in despair. Varvara Pavlovna managed to occupy, and then arrange her in her favor, hinted that Fyodor Ivanovich had not completely deprived her of "his presence." Liza received Lavretsky's note, and the meeting with his wife was not a surprise to her ("Serves me right"). She behaved stoically in the presence of a woman whom “he” once loved.

Panshin appeared. Varvara Pavlovna immediately found the tone with him. She sang a romance, talked about literature, about Paris, took up semi-secular, semi-artistic chatter. Parting, Maria Dmitrievna expressed her readiness to try to reconcile her with her husband.

Lavretsky reappeared at the Kalitinsky house when he received Liza's note with an invitation to come to them. He immediately went up to Marfa Timofeevna. She found an excuse to leave them alone with Lisa. The girl came to say that it remains for them to fulfill their duty. Fyodor Ivanovich must make peace with his wife. Doesn't he now see for himself: happiness does not depend on people, but on God.

When Lavretsky was going downstairs, the footman invited him to Marya Dmitrievna's. She spoke about the repentance of his wife, asked to forgive her, and then, offering to take her from hand to hand, brought Varvara Pavlovna out from behind the screen. Requests and already familiar scenes were repeated. Lavretsky finally promised that he would live with her under the same roof, but he would consider the contract violated if she allowed herself to leave Lavriki.

The next morning, he took his wife and daughter to Lavriky, and a week later he left for Moscow. A day later, Panshin visited Varvara Pavlovna and stayed for three days.

A year later, news reached Lavretsky that Liza had tonsured her hair in a monastery in one of the remote regions of Russia. After some time, he visited this monastery. Liza walked close to him - and did not look, only her eyelashes twitched slightly and her fingers holding the rosary tightened even more.

And Varvara Pavlovna very soon moved to Petersburg, then to Paris. A new admirer appeared near her, a guard of an extraordinary build strength. She never invites him to her fashionable evenings, but otherwise he takes full advantage of her location.

Eight years have passed. Lavretsky again visited O ... The older inhabitants of the Kalitinsky house had already died, and the youth reigned here: Liza's younger sister, Lenochka, and her fiancé. It was fun and noisy. Fyodor Ivanovich walked through all the rooms. There was the same piano in the living room, the same hoop stood by the window as then. Only the wallpaper was different.

In the garden, he saw the same bench and walked along the same alley. His sadness was agonizing, although that turning point was already taking place in him, without which one cannot remain a decent person: he stopped thinking about his own happiness.

Retold

In the novel "Noble Nest" Turgenev describes the customs and customs, interests and hobbies of Russian nobles.

An external appearance is created that this is a work of love. But against the background of the love line, another, much stronger line can be traced here - the social one. This is the theme of the degeneration of the Russian nobility as a class, shown through the degeneration of such "noble nests". On the example of Lavretsky, Turgenev showed that a person cannot live in isolation from what is happening around him in society. Using Lisa as an example, the author denounced the desire for the material - so, Lisa's mother did not care about the girl's feelings. Trying to pass her off as Panshin, her mother pursued a thirst for money and prestige.

All the guests of the Kalitnykhs became symbols of that time: gossip, bribes, idolatry, inertia and conservatism ... The crisis of Russian society at that time is evident.

At the very beginning of the story, the author acquaints the reader with the main character - Fyodor Lavretsky, on whom his wife, who betrayed him, has brought a terrible shame and shameful glory. Fyodor returns from Paris, which becomes known in the house of Marya Dmitrievna Kalitina. Moreover, Lavretsky was going to see them.

Young Liza is trying to interest Fedor. Friendship is struck between them with the emergence of stronger feelings. Soon Lavretsky learns that his wife Varvara Pavlovna has unexpectedly died. This news plunges him into deep sadness.

Liza is at this time forced to marry an unloved person. She tells Fedor about her torment and torment, to which he advises the girl not to rush into a decision and to marry only for love.

Lisa begins to avoid Fedor, reflecting on her feelings. The situation around is more and more tense. And when it seems that the solution has already been found, and soon the lovers will unite, Barbara suddenly appears. She begs Lavretsky on oath to forgive her and talks heart to heart with Liza. Noble Liza asks Fedor to fulfill his duty and unite with his wife. For her sake, Lavretsky goes to it. Liza, who is unable to fall in love with Panshin, goes to a monastery.

Lavretsky was never able to become happy with his wife. And after 8 years he returns to the Kalitins' house. Here, nostalgia swept over the main character. Fedor understands that a huge breakdown has happened in him and he will never be the same.

Picture or drawing Noble nest

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