Rejecting the ideas of revolutionary-minded commoners, he began to think about the possibility of creating a hero whose positions would not conflict with his own, more moderate, aspirations, but who would at the same time be revolutionary enough not to cause ridicule from his more radical colleagues in Sovremennik ". The understanding of the inevitable change of generations in progressive Russian circles, clearly evident in the epilogue of “The Nest of Nobles,” came to Turgenev back in the days of work on “Rudin”:
I was going to write “Rudina,” but the task that I later tried to accomplish in “On the Eve” rarely appeared before me. Figure main character, Elena, then still a new type in Russian life, was quite clearly outlined in my imagination; but there was a lack of a hero, such a person to whom Elena, with her still vague although strong desire for freedom, could surrender.
I. S. Turgenev
Karateev, who had a presentiment of his death when he handed over the manuscript to Turgenev, did not return from the war, dying of typhus in the Crimea. Turgenev’s attempt to publish Karateev’s work, which was artistically weak, was not successful, and until 1859 the manuscript was forgotten, although, according to the recollections of the writer himself, when he first read it, he was so impressed that he exclaimed: “Here is the hero I was looking for!” » Before Turgenev returned to Karateev’s notebook, he managed to finish “Rudin” and work on “The Noble Nest.”
Plot
The novel begins with a dispute about nature and the place of man in it between two young people - the scientist Andrei Bersenev and the sculptor Pavel Shubin. In the future, the reader gets acquainted with the family in which Shubin lives. The husband of his second cousin Anna Vasilyevna Stakhova, Nikolai Artemyevich, once married her for money, does not love her and makes acquaintance with the German widow Augustina Christianovna, who robs him. Shubin has been living in this family for five years, since the death of his mother, and is engaged in his art, but is subject to bouts of laziness, works in fits and starts and does not intend to learn the skill. He is in love with the Stakhovs' daughter Elena, although he does not lose sight of her seventeen-year-old companion Zoya.
Elena Nikolaevna, a twenty-year-old beauty, was distinguished by a kind and dreamy soul from an early age. She is attracted by the opportunity to help the sick and hungry - both people and animals. At the same time, she has long shown independence and lives by her own mind, but has not yet found a companion. She is not attracted to Shubin due to his variability and inconstancy, but she is interested in Bersenev for his intelligence and modesty. But then Bersenev introduces her to his friend, Bulgarian Dmitry Nikanorovich Insarov. Insarov lives with the idea of liberating his homeland from Turkish rule and attracts Elena’s keen interest.
After the first meeting, Insarov failed to please Elena, but everything turns upside down after an incident in Tsaritsyn, when Insarov protects Elena from the advances of a huge drunkard, throwing him into a pond. After this, Elena admits to herself in her diary that she fell in love with the Bulgarian, but it soon turns out that he intends to leave. At one time, Insarov told Bersenev that he would leave if he fell in love, since he did not intend to give up his duty for the sake of personal feelings, which Elena Nikolaevna later learned about from Andrey. Elena goes to Dmitry and confesses her love to him. When asked if she will follow him everywhere, the answer is yes.
After this, Elena and Dmitry communicate for some time through Bersenev, but in the meantime, more and more alarming letters are coming from Insarov’s homeland, and he is already seriously preparing to leave. One day Elena goes to see him herself. After a long and heated conversation, they decide to get married. This news comes as a blow to Elena’s parents and friends, but she still leaves with her husband.
Having reached Venice, Dmitry and Elena wait for the arrival of the old sailor Rendić, who must transport them to Serbia, from where their path lies to Bulgaria. However, Insarov is sick and develops a fever. Exhausted Elena has a nightmare, and when she wakes up, she realizes that Dmitry is dying. Rendich no longer finds him alive, but at Elena’s request he helps her deliver her husband’s body to his homeland.
Three weeks later, Anna Stakhova receives a letter from her daughter: she is heading to Bulgaria, which will become her new homeland, and will never return home. Further traces of Elena are lost; According to rumors, she was seen among the troops as a sister of mercy.
Motives of the novel
The ideas and motives of the novel were analyzed in detail from a progressive position by N. A. Dobrolyubov in the Sovremennik magazine in January 1860 (article “When will the real day come?”). Dobrolyubov notes Turgenev’s sensitivity as a writer to pressing social issues and dwells on how the author reveals some of these topics in his new novel.
Dobrolyubov paid special attention to the issue of choosing the main character. Dobrolyubov sees in Elena Stakhova an allegory of young Russia on the eve of social changes - an interpretation with which Turgenev himself did not agree (see):
| It reflected that vague longing for something, that almost unconscious, but irresistible need for a new life, new people, which now covers all of Russian society, and not even just the so-called educated one. Elena so clearly reflected the best aspirations of our modern life, and in those around her, the whole inconsistency of the usual order of the same life stands out so clearly that one involuntarily takes the desire to draw an allegorical parallel... This melancholy of expectation has long tormented Russian society, and how many times have we already been mistaken, like Elena, in thinking that the one we were waiting for has appeared , and then cooled down. N. A. Dobrolyubov |
Elena learned from the Russian people the dream of truth, which must be sought in distant lands, and the willingness to sacrifice herself for the sake of others. Elena's love is claimed by an artist, a scientist, a successful official and a revolutionary, and she ultimately chooses not pure reason, not art and not public service, but a civil feat. Dobrolyubov emphasizes that of all the candidates, the only worthy one is Insarov, who cannot imagine his happiness without the happiness of his homeland, who is entirely subordinate to a higher goal and whose word does not diverge from deeds.
Another theme running through the novel is the theme of the conflict between egoistic and altruistic aspirations in human soul. For the first time, this question is raised in the scene of a dispute between Bersenev and Shubin about happiness: is the desire for happiness an egoistic feeling, which is higher - the “love-pleasure” that separates people or the uniting “love-sacrifice”. At first, it seems to Elena and Insarov that this contradiction does not exist, but then they are convinced that this is not so, and Elena is torn between Insarov and her family and homeland, and later Insarov himself asks her the question whether his illness was sent as punishment for their love. Turgenev emphasizes this inevitable tragedy of human existence on Earth when, at the end of the book, Insarov dies, and Elena disappears and her trace is lost. But this ending highlights the beauty of the liberation impulse even more, giving the idea of the search for social perfection a timeless, universal character.
Criticism
Turgenev, who dreamed of an alliance of anti-serfdom forces and a reconciliation of liberals with radical democrats for the sake of fighting for a common national idea, did not accept the position of Dobrolyubov, who denied the validity of noble liberalism and contrasted the Russian Insarovs with the “internal Turks,” among whom he included not only obscurantist reactionaries, but also liberals dear to the author’s heart. He tried to persuade Nekrasov to refuse to publish Dobrolyubov’s article in Sovremennik, and when he did not heed his arguments, he broke with the editors of the magazine completely. For their part, the commoners of Sovremennik also took a course towards confrontation, and soon a devastating review of “Rudin”, already written by Chernyshevsky, appeared in the magazine.
Criticism of the novel from more conservative circles was also distressing for Turgenev. Thus, Countess Lambert denied Elena Stakhova such qualities as femininity or charm, calling her immoral and shameless. The same position was taken by critic M.I. Daragan, who called the main character “an empty, vulgar, cold girl who violates the decency of the world, the law of female modesty” and even “Don Quixote in a skirt,” and Insarov - dry and sketchy. In secular circles they joked about the novel: “This is “On the Eve”, which will never have its tomorrow.” Finding himself under the crossfire of progressive and conservative critics who ignored the call for national reconciliation put into Insarov’s mouth, Turgenev, in his own words, began to feel the desire to “resign from literature.” Serious condition the writer was aggravated by hints from the outside
In the shade of a tall linden tree, on the banks of the Moscow River, not far from Kuntsevo, on one of the hottest summer days 1853, two young men were lying on the grass. One, apparently about twenty-three, tall, dark-skinned, with a sharp and slightly crooked nose, a high forehead and a restrained smile on his wide lips, lay on his back and thoughtfully looked into the distance, slightly squinting his small gray eyes; the other lay on his chest, supporting his curly blond head with both hands, and also looked somewhere into the distance. He was three years older than his comrade, but seemed much younger; his mustache barely broke through and light fluff curled on his chin. There was something childishly cute, something attractively graceful in the small features of his fresh, round face, in his sweet brown eyes, beautiful convex lips and white hands. Everything in him breathed the happy gaiety of health, breathed youth - carelessness, arrogance, spoiledness, the charm of youth. He rolled his eyes, and smiled, and propped up his head, as boys do who know that people are willing to look at them. He was wearing a loose white coat, like a blouse; a blue scarf wrapped around his thin neck, and a crumpled straw hat lay in the grass next to him. In comparison with him, his comrade seemed an old man, and no one would have thought, looking at his angular figure, that he, too, was enjoying himself, that he was having a good time. He lay awkwardly; his large head, wide at the top and pointed at the bottom, sat awkwardly on his long neck; the awkwardness was reflected in the very position of his hands, his torso, tightly covered in a short black frock coat, his long legs with raised knees, like the hind legs of a dragonfly. With all that, it was impossible not to recognize the good in him well-mannered person; the imprint of “decency” was noticeable throughout his clumsy being, and his face, ugly and even somewhat funny, expressed the habit of thinking and kindness. His name was Andrei Petrovich Bersenev; his comrade, a blond young man, was nicknamed Shubin, Pavel Yakovlevich. “Why don’t you lie on your chest like me?” - Shubin began. - It’s much better that way. Especially when you raise your feet and knock your heels on each other - like that. Grass under your nose: if you get tired of staring at the landscape, look at some pot-bellied booger as it crawls along a blade of grass, or at an ant as it scurries around. Really, it's better that way. And now you have taken some kind of pseudo-classical pose, like a dancer in a ballet, when she leans her elbows on a cardboard cliff. Remember that you now have every right to rest. Just kidding: I came out as the third candidate! Rest, sir; stop straining, spread your limbs! Shubin delivered this entire speech in his nose, half-lazy, half-jokingly (spoiled children say this with friends at home who bring them sweets), and without waiting for an answer, he continued: “What strikes me most about ants, beetles and other insect gentlemen is their amazing seriousness; running back and forth with such important faces, as if their lives meant something! For mercy, man, the king of creation, the highest being, looks at them, but they don’t even care about him; yet, perhaps, another mosquito will land on the nose of the king of creation and begin to eat him as food. It hurts. On the other hand, why is their life worse than our life? And why shouldn’t they put on airs if we allow ourselves to put on airs? Come on, philosopher, solve this problem for me! Why are you silent? A? - What? - Bersenev said, perking up. - What! - Shubin repeated. “Your friend expresses deep thoughts to you, but you don’t listen to him.” — I admired the view. Look how these fields sparkle hotly in the sun! (Bersenev whispered a little.) “An important color scheme has been launched,” said Shubin. - One word, nature! Bersenev shook his head. “You should admire all this even more than I do.” This is your thing: you are an artist. - No with; “It’s not my job, sir,” Shubin objected and put his hat on the back of his head. - I'm a butcher, sir; my job is meat, to sculpt meat, shoulders, legs, arms, but here there’s no shape, there’s no completeness, it’s gone in all directions... Go catch it! “But there’s beauty here too,” Bersenev remarked. — By the way, have you finished your bas-relief?- Which? - A child with a goat. - To hell! to hell! to hell! - Shubin exclaimed in a sing-song voice. “I looked at the real people, at the old people, at the antiques, and broke down my nonsense. You point me to nature and say: “And there is beauty.” Of course, there is beauty in everything, even in your nose there is beauty, but you can’t keep up with any beauty. The old people didn’t even chase after her; she herself descended into their creation, from where - God knows, from heaven, or something. The whole world belonged to them; We don’t have to spread ourselves so widely: our arms are short. We cast a fishing rod at one point and keep watch. Bite - bravo! but won't bite... Shubin stuck out his tongue. “Wait, wait,” Bersenev objected. - This is a paradox. If you do not sympathize with beauty, love it wherever you meet it, then it will not be given to you in your art. If a beautiful view, beautiful music don’t say anything to your soul, I want to say, if you don’t sympathize with them... - Oh, you sympathizer! - Shubin blurted out and laughed at the newly invented word, and Bersenev thought about it. “No, brother,” continued Shubin, “you are smart, a philosopher, the third candidate at Moscow University, it’s scary to argue with you, especially for me, a half-educated student; but I’ll tell you this: besides my art, I love beauty only in women... in girls, and only for some time now... He rolled over onto his back and put his hands behind his head. Several moments passed in silence. The silence of the midday heat loomed over the shining and sleeping earth. “By the way, about women,” Shubin spoke again. - Why won’t anyone take Stakhov in their hands? Have you seen him in Moscow?- No. “The old man has gone completely crazy.” He sits all day with his Augustina Christianovna, she’s terribly bored, but she sits. They stare at each other, it’s so stupid... It’s even disgusting to look at. Here you go! What a family God blessed this man with: no, give him Augustina Christianovna! I don't know anything more disgusting than her duck face! The other day I sculpted a caricature of her, in Dantan's style. It turned out very well. I'll show you. “And the bust of Elena Nikolaevna,” asked Bersenev, “is it moving?” - No, brother, he’s not moving. This face can drive you to despair. Look, the lines are clean, strict, straight; it seems not difficult to grasp the resemblance. It wasn’t like that... It’s not given like a treasure in your hands. Have you noticed how she listens? Not a single feature is touched, only the expression of the gaze constantly changes, and the whole figure changes from it. What can you tell a sculptor, and a bad one at that, to do? An amazing creature... a strange creature,” he added after a short silence. - Yes; “She’s an amazing girl,” Bersenev repeated after him. - And the daughter of Nikolai Artemyevich Stakhov! After that, talk about blood, about breed. And the funny thing is that she is definitely his daughter, she looks like him and she looks like her mother, like Anna Vasilievna. I respect Anna Vasilievna with all my heart, she is my benefactor; but she's a chicken. Where did Elena's soul come from? Who lit this fire? Here's your task again, philosopher! But the “philosopher” still did not answer. Bersenev was not at all guilty of verbosity and, when he spoke, he expressed himself awkwardly, hesitatingly, unnecessarily spreading his hands; and this time some special silence came over his soul - a silence similar to fatigue and sadness. He had recently moved out of town after a long and difficult job that took him several hours a day. Inactivity, the bliss and purity of the air, the consciousness of a goal achieved, a whimsical and careless conversation with a friend, a suddenly evoked image of a sweet creature - all these heterogeneous and at the same time for some reason similar impressions merged in him into one common feeling, which calmed him. and worried and exhausted... He was a very nervous young man. It was cool and calm under the linden tree; the flies and bees that flew into the circle of her shadow seemed to buzz more quietly; pure fine grass of emerald color, without golden tints, did not sway; the tall stems stood motionless, as if enchanted; the small grapes hung enchanted, as if dead yellow flowers on the lower branches of the linden tree. With every breath, the sweet smell was forced into the very depths of the chest, but the chest willingly breathed it. In the distance, across the river, up to the horizon, everything sparkled, everything was burning; From time to time a breeze passed there and crushed and intensified the sparkle; radiant steam swayed above the ground. The birds were not heard: they do not sing during the hot hours; but the grasshoppers were chattering everywhere, and it was pleasant to listen to this hot sound of life, sitting in the cool, at rest: it put one to sleep and awakened dreams. “Have you noticed,” Bersenev suddenly began, helping his speech with movements of his hands, “what strange feeling nature arouses in us?” Everything in her is so complete, so clear, I want to say, so self-satisfied, and we understand this and admire it, and at the same time, at least in me, she always arouses some kind of anxiety, some kind of anxiety, even sadness. What does it mean? Do we become more conscious in front of her, in her face, of all our incompleteness, our obscurity, or are we not satisfied with the satisfaction with which she is content, and she does not have the other, that is, I want to say, what we need? “Hm,” objected Shubin, “I’ll tell you, Andrei Petrovich, why all this is happening.” You described the feelings of a lonely person who does not live, but only watches and is in awe. What to watch? Live on your own and you will be fine. No matter how much you knock on nature’s door, it will not respond with an understandable word, because it is dumb. It will sound and whine like a string, but don’t expect a song from it. A living soul will respond, and predominantly a female soul. And therefore, my noble friend, I advise you to stock up on a friend of your heart, and all your melancholy feelings will immediately disappear. This is what we “need”, as you say. After all, this anxiety, this sadness, it’s just a kind of hunger. Give your stomach real food, and everything will immediately return to order. Take your place in space, be a body, my brother. And what is nature, why? Listen for yourself: love... what a strong, hot word! Nature... what a cold, schoolboy expression! And therefore (Shubin sang): “Long live Marya Petrovna!” “Or not,” he added, “not Marya Petrovna, but it doesn’t matter!” Vu me comprene. Bersenev stood up and rested his chin on his folded hands. “Why mockery,” he said, without looking at his comrade, “why mockery?” Yes, you're right: love is a great word, a great feeling... But what kind of love are you talking about? Shubin also stood up. - About what kind of love? Anything, as long as it is obvious. I confess to you, in my opinion, there are no different kinds of love. When you fell in love... “With all my heart,” Bersenev picked up. - Well, yes, it goes without saying, the soul is not an apple: you cannot divide it. If you fell in love, you are right. But I didn’t think to mock. There is such tenderness in my heart now, it is so softened... I just wanted to explain why nature, in your opinion, affects us this way. Because it awakens in us the need for love and is unable to satisfy it. She quietly drives us into other, living embraces, but we don’t understand her and expect something from her. Ah, Andrey, Andrey, this sun is beautiful, this sky, everything, everything around us is beautiful, but you are sad; but if at that moment you were holding the hand of your beloved woman in your hand, if this hand and this whole woman were yours, if you even looked her eyes, felt not my own, lonely, but her feeling - not sadness, Andrey, nature would not arouse anxiety in you, and you would not notice its beauty; she herself would rejoice and sing, she would echo your hymn, because you would then put your tongue into her, into the dumb one! Shubin jumped to his feet and walked back and forth a couple of times, while Bersenev bowed his head and a faint blush covered his face. “I don’t quite agree with you,” he began, “nature doesn’t always hint to us... love.” (He did not immediately pronounce this word.) She also threatens us; it reminds us of terrible... yes, inaccessible secrets. Isn't it supposed to consume us, isn't it constantly devouring us? It contains both life and death; and death speaks as loudly in it as life. “And in love there is life and death,” interrupted Shubin. “And then,” Bersenev continued, “when I, for example, stand in the forest in the spring, in the green thicket, when I imagine the romantic sounds of Oberon’s horn (Bersenev felt a little ashamed when he uttered these words), is that really... - Thirst for love, thirst for happiness, nothing more! - Shubin picked up. “I also know these sounds, I also know the tenderness and anticipation that comes to the soul under the canopy of the forest, in its depths, or in the evening, in open fields, when the sun sets and the river smokes behind the bushes. But from the forest, and from the river, and from the earth, and from the sky, from every cloud, from every grass, I expect, I want happiness, I feel its approach in everything, I hear its call! “My God is a bright and cheerful God!” This is how I started one poem; Admit it: the first verse is glorious, but I couldn’t find the second one. Happiness! happiness! until life has passed, until all our members are in our power, until we go not downhill, but uphill! Damn it! - continued Shubin with a sudden impulse, - we are young, not ugly, not stupid: we will win happiness for ourselves! He shook his curls and self-confidently, almost defiantly, looked up at the sky. Bersenev raised his eyes to him. - As if there is nothing higher than happiness? - he said quietly. - For example? - Shubin asked and stopped. - Yes, for example, you and I, as you say, are young, we good people, let's put; each of us wants happiness for ourselves... But is this word “happiness” that would unite, ignite us both, force us to shake hands with each other? Isn't this word selfish, I want to say, divisive? - Do you know words that connect? - Yes; and there are quite a few of them; and you know them. - Come on? what words are these? - Yes, at least art, - since you are an artist, - homeland, science, freedom, justice. - And love? - asked Shubin. - And love is a connecting word; but not the love that you now crave: not love-pleasure, love-sacrifice. Shubin frowned. - This is good for the Germans; but I want to love for myself; I want to be number one. “Number one,” Bersenev repeated. “And it seems to me that putting ourselves number two is the whole purpose of our life.” “If everyone does as you advise,” Shubin said with a pitiful grimace, “no one on earth will eat pineapples: everyone will provide them for others.” - So, pineapples are not needed; but don’t be afraid: there will always be people who even like to take bread from someone else’s mouth. Both friends were silent. “I met Insarov again the other day,” Bersenev began, “I invited him to my place; I definitely want to introduce him to you... and to the Stakhovs. - Which Insarov is this? Oh yes, that Serbian or Bulgarian you told me about? Is this a patriot? Was it he who instilled in you all these philosophical thoughts?- May be. — Is he an extraordinary individual, or what?- Yes. - Smart? Gifted? - Smart?... Yes. Gifted? I don't know, I don't think so. - No? What's so great about it? - You will see. Now, I think it's time for us to go. Anna Vasilievna is waiting for us, tea. What time is it? - Third. Let's go to. How stuffy! This conversation set my blood on fire. And you had a minute... It’s not for nothing that I’m an artist: I notice everything. Admit it, is a woman interested in you?.. Shubin wanted to look into Bersenev’s face, but he turned away and came out from under the linden tree. Shubin followed him, lolling and gracefully stepping with his small legs. Bersenev moved awkwardly, raising his shoulders high as he walked, craning his neck; and yet he seemed a more decent man than Shubin, more of a gentleman, we would say, if this word were not so vulgarized among us.Turgenev Ivan Sergeevich created his novel “On the Eve” in 1859. A year later, the work was published. Despite the remoteness of the events described in it, the novel remains in demand today. Why does it attract the modern reader? Let's try to understand this issue.
History of creation
In the 1850s, Turgenev, who supported the views of liberal democrats, began to think about the possibility of creating a hero whose positions would be quite revolutionary, but at the same time would not conflict with his own. The implementation of this idea would allow him to avoid the ridicule of his more radical colleagues at Sovremennik. His understanding of the inevitability of a generational change in progressive Russian circles was already clearly heard in the epilogue to “The Noble Nest” and was reflected in the work “Rudin”.
In 1856, landowner Vasily Karateev, a neighbor of the great writer Mtsensk district, notes were left to Turgenev, which served as the manuscript of an autobiographical story. It was a story telling about the author's unhappy love for a girl who left him for a Bulgarian student from Moscow University.
Somewhat later, scientists from several countries conducted research, as a result of which the identity of this character was established. The Bulgarian turned out to be Nikolai Katranov. He came to Russia in 1848, entering Moscow University here. The girl fell in love with the Bulgarian, and together they went to his homeland in the city of Svishtov. However, all the plans of the lovers were dashed by a fleeting illness. The Bulgarian contracted consumption and soon died. However, the girl, despite the fact that she was left alone, never returned to Karateev.
The author of the manuscript went to Crimea to serve as an officer of the noble militia. He left his work to Turgenev and offered to edit it. Already 5 years later, the writer began to create his novel “On the Eve”. The basis for this work was the manuscript left by Karateev, who had already died by this time.
Shubin and Bersenev
The plot of Turgenev's novel “On the Eve” begins with an argument. It is led by two young men - the sculptor Pavel Shubin and the scientist Andrei Bersenev. The topic of the dispute concerns nature and the place of man in it.
I. S. Turgenev introduces his heroes to the reader. One of them is Andrey Pavlovich Bersenev. This young man is 23 years old. He has just received a diploma from Moscow University and dreams of starting an academic career. The second young man, Pavel Yakovlevich Shubin, is waiting for art. The young man is a budding sculptor.
Their dispute about nature and man’s place in it did not arise by chance. Bersenev is struck by her completeness and self-sufficiency. He is sure that nature outshines people. And these thoughts make him sad and anxious. According to Shubin, it is necessary to live life to the fullest and not reflect on this matter. He recommends that his friend take his mind off sad thoughts by finding a girlfriend.
After this, the conversation between the young people goes back to normal. Bersenev reports that he recently saw Insarov and wishes him to meet Shubin and the Stakhov family. They are in a hurry to return to the dacha. After all, you can't be late for lunch. Pavel's aunt, Anna Vasilyevna Stakhova, will be extremely unhappy with this. But it was thanks to this woman that Shubin had the opportunity to do his favorite thing - sculpting.
Stakhov Nikolay Artemyevich
What does the summary of “On the Eve” given in the article tell us? Turgenev introduces his reader to a new character. Nikolai Artemyevich Stakhov is the head of the family, with youth dreamed of a profitable marriage. At 25, his plans came true. He took Anna Vasilievna Shubina as his wife. But soon Stakhov took a mistress - Augustina Christianovna. Nikolai Artemyevich was already bored with both women. But he does not break his vicious circle. His wife tolerates his infidelity, despite the mental pain.
Shubin and Stakhovs
What else do we know from summary"The day before"? Turgenev tells his reader that Shubin has been living in the Stakhov family for almost five years. He moved here after the death of his mother, a kind and intelligent French woman. Pavel's father died before her.
Shubin does his job with great diligence, but in fits and starts. At the same time, he doesn’t even want to hear about the academy and professors. And despite the fact that in Moscow they believe that the young man shows great promise, he still could not do anything outstanding.
Here I. S. Turgenev introduces us to the main character of his novel, Elena Nikolaevna. This is Stakhov's daughter. Shubin really likes her, but the young man does not miss the opportunity to flirt with 17-year-old plump Zoya, who is Elena’s companion. Stakhov's daughter is not able to understand such a contradictory personality. She is outraged by the lack of character in any person and is angry at stupidity. In addition, the girl never forgives lies. Anyone who has lost respect simply ceases to exist for her.
Image of Elena Nikolaevna
A review of the novel “On the Eve” by Turgenev speaks of this girl as an extraordinary person. She is only twenty years old. She is statuesque and attractive. The girl has gray eyes and a dark brown braid. However, there is something impetuous and nervous in her appearance, which not everyone likes.
Elena Nikolaevna's soul strives for virtue, but nothing can satisfy her. Since childhood, the girl was interested in animals, as well as sick, poor and hungry people. Their situation troubled her soul. At the age of 10, Elena met a beggar girl named Katya and began to take care of her, making her a kind of object of worship. Parents did not approve of such a hobby. But Katya died, leaving an indelible mark on Elena’s soul.
From the age of 16, the girl considered herself lonely. She lived an independent life, unconstrained by anyone, while believing that she had no one to love. She could not even imagine Shubin in the role of her husband. After all, this young man was distinguished by his inconstancy.
Bersenyev attracted Elena. She saw in him an intelligent, educated and deep person. But Andrei constantly and persistently told her about Insarov, a young man obsessed with the idea of liberating his homeland. This aroused Elena’s interest in the Bulgarian’s personality.
Dmitry Insarov
We can also learn the story of this hero from the summary of “On the Eve”. Turgenev told his reader that the young man’s mother was kidnapped and then killed by a Turkish aga. Dmitry was still a child then. The boy's father decided to avenge his wife, for which he was shot. At the age of eight, Insarov was left an orphan and was taken in by his aunt, who lived in Russia.
At the age of 20, he returned to his homeland and in two years traveled the length and breadth of the country, having studied it well. Dmitry was in danger more than once. During his travels he was pursued. Bersenev talked about how he himself saw a scar on his friend’s body that remained at the site of the wound. However, the author of the novel points out that Dmitry does not at all want to take revenge on the Agha. The goal pursued by the young man is more extensive.
Insarov, like all students, is poor. At the same time, he is proud, scrupulous and undemanding. He is distinguished by his enormous capacity for work. The hero studies law, Russian history and political economy. He is translating Bulgarian chronicles and songs, compiling a grammar of his native language for Russians, and Russian for his people.
Elena's love for Insarov
Dmitry already made a strong impression on the girl during his first visit to the Stakhovs. The courageous character traits of the young man were confirmed by an incident that happened soon. We can learn about him from the summary of Turgenev’s “On the Eve”.
One day Anna Vasilievna came up with the idea of showing her daughter and Zoya the beauty of Tsaritsyn. They went there big company. The ponds, the park, the ruins of the palace - all this made a great impression on Elena. While walking, a man of impressive stature approached them. He began to demand a kiss from Zoya, which would serve as compensation for the fact that the girl did not respond to applause during her beautiful singing. Shubin tried to protect her. However, he did this in a florid manner, trying to admonish the drunken impudent man. His words only angered the man. And here Insarov stepped forward. In a demanding manner, he asked the drunk to leave. The man did not listen and leaned forward. Then Insarov lifted him and threw him into the pond.
Further, Turgenev’s novel tells us about the feeling that arose in Elena. The girl admitted to herself that she loved Insarov. That is why the news that Dmitry was leaving the Stakhovs was a blow to her. Only Bersenev understands the reason for such a sudden departure. After all, one day his friend admitted that he would leave if he fell in love. Personal feeling should not become an obstacle to his duty.
Declaration of love
After her confession, Insarov asked whether Elena was ready to follow him and accompany him everywhere? To this the girl answered him in the affirmative. And then the Bulgarian invited her to become his wife.
First difficulties
The beginning of the joint journey of Turgenev’s main characters “On the Eve” was not cloudless. Nikolai Artemyevich chose the chief secretary of the Senate Kurnatovsky as a husband for his daughter. But this obstacle was not the only one for the happiness of the lovers. Alarming letters began to arrive from Bulgaria. Dmitry was getting ready to go home. However, he suddenly caught a cold and was on the verge of death for eight days.
Bersenev looked after his friend and constantly talked about his condition to Elena, who was simply in despair. But the threat passed, after which the girl visited Dmitry. The young people decided to hurry up and leave. On the same day they became husband and wife.
Elena's father, having learned about the date, called his daughter to account. And here Elena told her parents that Insarov had become her husband, and that they would soon leave for Bulgaria.
Journey of the Young
Further in Turgenev's novel the reader is told that Elena and Dmitry arrived in Venice. Behind them was not only the difficult journey, but also the two months of illness that Insarov spent in Vienna. After Venice, the young people went to Serbia and then moved to Bulgaria. To do this, you need to wait for Rendic.
This old " sea wolf» will transport them to Dmitry’s homeland. However young man Consumption suddenly sets in. Elena takes care of him.
Dream
Elena, exhausted from caring for the sick, fell asleep. She had a dream in which she was in a boat, first on a pond in Tsaritsyno, and then at sea. Afterwards, a snow whirlwind covers her, and the girl finds herself in a cart near Katya. The horses carry them straight into the snowy abyss. Elena's companion laughs and calls her into the abyss. The girl wakes up, and at that moment Insarov says that he is dying. Rendich, who arrived to take the young people to Bulgaria, no longer finds Dmitry alive. Elena asks him to take the coffin with the body of her lover and goes with him.
The further fate of the heroine
After the death of her husband, Elena sent a letter to her parents saying that she was going to Bulgaria. She wrote to them that there was no other homeland for her except this country. What happened to her then, no one knows. They said that someone accidentally met a girl in Herzegovina. Elena got a job as a nurse and worked with the Bulgarian army. After that, no one saw her.
Analysis of the work
The theme of Turgenev’s work “On the Eve” touches on artistic comprehension question of the active principle in man. And the main idea of the novel is the need for active natures for the progress and movement of society.
The image of Elena Stakhova in Turgenev’s novel “On the Eve” is something that readers have long expected. After all, he shows us a strong-willed woman who has chosen an active and decisive man for herself. Critics of Turgenev’s novel “On the Eve” also noted this. Feedback from literary critics confirmed that the completely Russian, lively and complete image of Elena became a real pearl of the work. Before Turgenev, no Russian work had shown such a strong female character. The main feature of the girl is her self-sacrifice. Elena's ideal is active good, which is associated with the understanding of happiness.
As for Insarov, he, of course, towers over all the characters in the novel. The only exception is Elena, who is on the same level with him. Main character Turgeneva lives with the thought of heroism. And the most attractive feature of this image is love for the homeland. The young man's soul is filled with compassion for his people, who are in Turkish bondage.
The entire work of the Russian writer is imbued with the thought of the greatness and holiness of the idea of liberation of the fatherland. At the same time, Insarov is a real ideal of self-denial.
According to critics, Turgenev's genius was most clearly reflected in this novel. The writer was able to consider the current problems of his time and reflect them in such a way that the work remains relevant for the modern reader. After all, Russia always needs purposeful, brave and strong individuals.
Turgenev Lebedev Yuri Vladimirovich
Search for a new hero. Novel "On the Eve". Break with Sovremennik
In a letter to I. S. Aksakov in November 1859, Turgenev said this about the concept of the novel “On the Eve”: “The basis of my story is the idea of the need for consciously heroic natures in order for things to move forward.” What did Turgenev mean by consciously heroic natures and how did he treat them?
In parallel with his work on the novel, Turgenev writes the article “Hamlet and Don Quixote,” which is the key to the typology of all Turgenev’s heroes and clarifies the writer’s views on public figure modernity, “consciously heroic nature.” The images of Hamlet and Don Quixote receive a very broad interpretation from Turgenev. Humanity has always gravitated towards these types of characters, as if they were two oppositely charged poles, although complete Hamlets, just like complete Don Quixotes, do not exist in life. What properties of human nature do these heroes embody?
In Hamlet the principle of analysis is brought to the point of tragedy; in Don Quixote the principle of enthusiasm is brought to the point of comedy. In Hamlet the main thing is thought, and in Don Quixote it is will. In this split, Turgenev sees the tragic side human life: “For action you need will, for action you need thought, but thought and will have become separated and are becoming more separated every day...”
The article has a modern socio-political aspect. Characterizing the type of Hamlet, Turgenev keeps in mind the “superfluous man”, the noble hero, while by Don Quixote he means a new generation of public figures. In the drafts of the article, Don Quixote is called a “democrat” for a reason. True to his social instinct, Turgenev awaits the emergence of consciously heroic natures from among the commoners.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of Hamlet and Don Quixote?
Hamlets are egoists and skeptics, they are always running around with themselves and do not find anything in the world to which they could “cleave their souls.” Warring against lies, the Hamlets become the main champions of the truth, which they nevertheless cannot believe. Their tendency to overanalyze causes them to doubt what is good. Therefore, the Hamlets are deprived of an active, effective principle; their intellectual strength turns into weakness of will.
Unlike Hamlet, Don Quixote is completely devoid of egoism, concentration on himself, on his thoughts and feelings. He sees the purpose and meaning of existence not in himself, but in the truth that is “outside the individual.” Don Quixote is ready to sacrifice himself for her triumph. With his enthusiasm, devoid of any doubt, any reflection, he is able to ignite the hearts of the people and lead them behind him.
But constant concentration on one idea, “constant striving for the same goal” gives some monotony to his thoughts and one-sidedness to his mind. As a historical figure, Don Quixote inevitably finds himself in a tragic situation: the historical consequences of his activities are always at odds with the ideal he serves and the goal he pursues in the struggle. The dignity and greatness of Don Quixote “lies in the sincerity and strength of conviction itself... and the result is in the hand of fate.”
Reflections on the essence of the character of a public figure, on the strengths and weaknesses consciously heroic natures found a direct echo in the novel “On the Eve”, published in the January issue of the magazine “Russian Messenger” for 1860.
N.A. Dobrolyubov, who devoted a special article to the analysis of this novel, “When will the real day come?”, gave a classic definition of Turgenev’s artistic talent, seeing in him a writer sensitive to social problems. His next novel, “On the Eve,” once again brilliantly justified this reputation. Dobrolyubov noted the clear arrangement of the main characters in it. Central heroine Elena Stakhova is faced with a choice; a young scientist, historian Bersenev, a future artist, a man of art Shubin, an official Kurnatovsky, who is successfully starting his career, and, finally, a man of civic feat, the Bulgarian revolutionary Insarov, are vying for the place of her chosen one. The social and everyday plot of the novel is complicated by a symbolic subtext: Elena Stakhova personifies young Russia on the eve of upcoming changes. Who does she need more now: people of science or art, government officials or heroic natures ready for civic feats? Elena's choice of Insarova gives an unambiguous answer to this question.
Dobrolyubov noted that in Elena Stakhova “that vague longing for something was reflected, that almost unconscious, but irresistible need for a new life, new people, which now covers the entire Russian society, and not even just the so-called educated one.”
In describing Elena's childhood, Turgenev draws attention to her deep closeness to the people. With secret respect and fear, she listens to the stories of the beggar girl Katya about life “at all God’s will” and imagines herself as a wanderer who left her father’s house and wanders along the roads. From folk source the Russian dream of truth came to Elena, which must be sought far, far away, with a wanderer’s staff in her hands. From the same source - the willingness to sacrifice oneself for the sake of others, for the sake of the high goal of saving people in trouble, the suffering and the unfortunate. It is no coincidence that in conversations with Insarov, Elena remembers the barman Vasily, “who pulled a legless old man out of a burning hut and almost died himself.”
Elena's appearance resembles a bird ready to take off, and the heroine walks “quickly, almost swiftly, leaning forward a little.” Elena’s vague melancholy and dissatisfaction are also connected with the theme of flight: “Why do I look with envy at the flying birds? It seems that I would fly with them, fly - where, I don’t know, just far, far from here.” The desire for flight is also manifested in the heroine’s unaccountable actions: “She looked for a long time at the dark, low-hanging sky; Then she stood up, with a movement of her head, brushed her hair away from her face and, without knowing why, stretched out her naked, cold hands to him, to this sky.” The alarm passes - “the unflying wings descend.” And at the fateful moment, at the bedside of the sick Insarov, Elena sees a white seagull high above the water: “If she flies here,” thought Elena, “that will be a good sign...” The seagull circled in place, folded its wings - and, like one that had been shot, , with a plaintive cry, fell somewhere far beyond the dark ship.”
Dmitry Insarov turns out to be the same inspired hero worthy of Elena. What distinguishes him from the Russian Bersenevs and Shubins? First of all, integrity of character, complete absence of contradictions between word and deed. He is not busy with himself, all his thoughts are focused on one goal - the liberation of his homeland, Bulgaria. Turgenev sensitively grasped the typical features in Insarov’s character the best people era of the Bulgarian Renaissance: the breadth and versatility of mental interests, focused at one point, subordinated to one cause - the liberation of the people from centuries-old slavery. Insarov's strength is nourished and strengthened by a living connection with his native land, which is so lacking in the Russian heroes of the novel - Bersenev, who writes the work “On some features of ancient German law in the matter of judicial punishments,” the talented Shubin, who sculpts bacchantes and dreams of Italy. Both Bersenev and Shubin are also active people, but their activities are too far from the urgent needs of people's life. These are people without a strong root, the absence of which gives their characters either internal lethargy, like Bersenev, or butterfly inconstancy, like Shubin.
At the same time, Insarov’s character is reflected in the tribal limitations typical of Don Quixote. The hero's behavior emphasizes stubbornness and straightforwardness, and some pedantry. This dual characterization receives artistic completion in the key episode with two statuettes of the hero, which Shubin sculpted. In the first, Insarov is presented as a hero, and in the second, as a ram, rising on its hind legs and bending its horns to strike. In his novel, Turgenev does not shy away from reflecting on the tragic fate of people of a quixotic nature.
Next to the social plot, partly growing out of it, partly rising above it, the philosophical plot unfolds in the novel. “On the Eve” opens with a dispute between Shubin and Bersenev about happiness and duty. “...Each of us wants happiness for ourselves... But is this word “happiness” that would unite, ignite us both, force us to shake hands with each other? Isn’t this word selfish, I want to say, divisive?” The words unite people: “motherland, science, justice.” And “love”, but only if it is not “love-pleasure”, but “love-sacrifice”.
It seems to Insarov and Elena that their love connects the personal with the public, that it is inspired by a higher goal. But it turns out that life comes into some conflict with the desires and hopes of the heroes. Throughout the entire novel, Insarov and Elena cannot get rid of the feeling of the unforgivability of their happiness, from the feeling of guilt before someone, from the fear of retribution for their love. Why?
Life poses a fatal question to Elena in love: is the great work to which she devoted herself compatible with the grief of a poor, lonely mother? Elena is embarrassed and finds no objection to her question. After all, her love for Insarov brings misfortune not only to her mother: it turns into involuntary cruelty and towards her father, towards her friends Bersenev and Shubin, it leads Elena to a break with Russia. “After all, this is my home,” she thought, “my family, my homeland...”
Elena unconsciously feels that in her feelings for Insarov, the happiness of closeness with a loved one at times prevails over the love for the work to which the hero wants to devote himself completely. Hence the feeling of guilt before Insarov: “Who knows, maybe I killed him.”
In turn, Insarov asks Elena a similar question: “Tell me, has it ever occurred to you that this disease was sent to us as punishment?” Love and common cause turn out to be not entirely compatible. In delirium, during the period of his first illness, and then in his dying moments, with a stiff tongue, Insarov utters two fatal words for him: “mignonette” and “Rendich”. Mignonette is the subtle smell of perfume left by Elena in the room of the sick Insarov. Rendich is the hero's compatriot, one of the organizers of the impending uprising of the Balkan Slavs against the Turkish enslavers. The delirium reveals a deep split in the once whole Insarov.
Unlike Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov with their optimistic theory of reasonable egoism, which affirmed the unity of the personal and the general, happiness and duty, love and revolution, Turgenev draws attention to the hidden drama of human feelings, to eternal struggle centripetal (egoistic) and centrifugal (altruistic) principles in the soul of every person. Man, according to Turgenev, is dramatic not only in his inner being, but also in his relationships with the nature around him. Nature does not take into account the unique value of the human person: with indifferent calm it absorbs both the mere mortal and the hero; everyone is equal before her undiscriminating gaze. This motive of the universal tragedy of life invades the novel unexpected death Insarov, the disappearance of Elena’s traces on this earth - forever, irrevocably. “Death is like a fisherman who caught a fish in his net and left it in the water for a while: the fish is still swimming, but the net is on it, and the fisherman will snatch it when he wants.” From the point of view of “indifferent nature,” each of us is “to blame for the fact that we live.”
However, the thought of the tragedy of human existence does not detract, but, on the contrary, enlarges in the novel the beauty and greatness of the daring, liberating impulses of the human spirit, highlights the poetry of Elena’s love for Insarov, gives it a broad universal, philosophical meaning social content of the novel. Elena's dissatisfaction current state life in Russia, her longing for a different, more perfect social order in the philosophical plan of the novel acquires a “continuing” meaning, relevant in all eras and all times. “On the Eve” is a novel about Russia’s rush to new public relations, permeated with the impatient expectation of consciously heroic natures that will move forward the cause of liberation of the peasants. And at the same time, this is a novel about the endless quest of humanity, about its constant striving for social perfection, about the eternal challenge that poses human personality"indifferent nature":
“Oh, how quiet and gentle the night was, what dovelike meekness the azure air breathed, how every suffering, every grief was supposed to fall silent and fall asleep under this clear sky, under these holy, innocent rays! "Oh my God! - thought Elena, - why death, why separation, illness and tears? or why this beauty, this sweet feeling of hope, why the calming consciousness of a lasting refuge, unchanging protection, immortal protection? What does this smiling, blessing sky, this happy, resting earth mean? Is it really all just in us, and outside of us is eternal cold and silence? Are we really alone... alone... and there, everywhere, in all these inaccessible abysses and depths, everything, everything is alien to us? Why then this thirst and joy of prayer? ...Is it really impossible to beg, turn away, save... Oh God! Is it really impossible to believe a miracle?”
Turgenev’s contemporaries from the camp of revolutionary democracy, for whom the main thing was the social meaning of the novel, could not help but be embarrassed by its ending: Uvar Ivanovich’s vague answer to Shubin’s question whether we, in Russia, will have people like Insarov. What questions could there be about this at the end of 1859, when the cause of reform was rapidly moving forward, when “new people” occupied key positions in the Sovremennik magazine? To answer this question correctly, you need to find out what program of action Turgenev proposed to the “Russian Insarovs.”
The author of “Notes of a Hunter” entertained the idea of a fraternal union of all anti-serfdom forces and hoped for a harmonious outcome social conflicts. Insarov says: “Note: the last man, the last beggar in Bulgaria and I - we want the same thing. We all have the same goal. Understand what confidence and strength this gives!” Turgenev wanted all progressive-minded people, without distinction social status and shades of political convictions, extended their hands to each other.
Something else happened in life. Dobrolyubov's article, which Nekrasov introduced Turgenev to as a proofreader, greatly upset the writer. He literally begged Nekrasov to short letter: "I beg you, dear Nekrasov, do not print this article: It can’t cause me anything other than trouble, it’s unfair and harsh - I won’t know where to go if it gets published. - Please respect my request. “I’ll come see you.”
During a personal meeting with Nekrasov, in response to the persistent desire of the Sovremennik editor to publish an article, Turgenev said: “Choose: either me or Dobrolyubov!” Nekrasov’s choice finally resolved the protracted conflict. Turgenev left Sovremennik forever.
What did the writer not accept in Dobrolyubov’s article? After all, it was in it that a classical assessment of Turgenev’s talent was given, and the critic was very kind to the novel as a whole. Turgenev's decisive disagreement was caused by the interpretation of Insarov's character. Dobrolyubov rejected Turgenev’s hero and contrasted the tasks facing the “Russian Insarovs” with the program of national unity that the Bulgarian revolutionary proclaimed in the novel. The “Russian Insarovs” will have to fight the yoke of the “internal Turks,” among whom Dobrolyubov included not only open serf-owners-conservatives, but above all the liberal circles of Russian society, including the creator of the novel himself, I. S. Turgenev. Dobrolyubov’s article struck at the holy of holies of Turgenev’s convictions and beliefs, so he broke all relations with the editors of the magazine.
This departure cost the writer dearly. He had a lot in common with Sovremennik: he took part in its organization and collaborated with it for fifteen years. The memory of Belinsky, friendship with Nekrasov... Literary fame, finally... This breakup was also not easy for Nekrasov. But the subsequent course of events made the dream of reconciliation with Turgenev impossible. Soon, a negative review of the novel “Rudin” appeared in Sovremennik, the author of which Turgenev mistakenly considered Dobrolyubov, although it was written by Chernyshevsky. The novel was denied artistic integrity; it spoke of the author's lack of freedom in relation to the main character, depicted from opposing points of view that were not consistent with each other. It was hinted that Turgenev allegedly deliberately lowered Rudin’s character to please the rich aristocrats, in whose eyes “every poor man is a scoundrel.” Humorous attacks on Turgenev began to appear on the pages of Whistle. At the end of September 1860, the writer sent Panaev an official refusal to cooperate:
“Dear Ivan Ivanovich. Although, as far as I remember, you have already stopped announcing your employees in Sovremennik, and although, based on your reviews of me, I must assume that you no longer need me, however, to be sure, I ask you not to include my name in the number your employees, especially since I have nothing ready and that big thing, which I have just started now and which I will not finish until next May, has already been assigned to the Russian Messenger.
In an advertisement for subscription to Sovremennik, Turgenev soon read that some representatives of the magazine (mainly the fiction department) were no longer among its employees. “Regretting the loss of their cooperation, the editors, however, did not want, in the hope of their future excellent works, to sacrifice the main ideas of the publication, which seem to them fair and honest and the service of which attracts and will attract new, fresh figures and new sympathies to it, between while the figures, although talented, have stopped in the same direction, precisely because they do not want to recognize the new demands of life, deprive themselves of strength and cool the former sympathies for them.”
Turgenev was outraged by this note: it turned out that the editors of Sovremennik themselves, devoted to the radical trend, refused to cooperate with Turgenev and other writers of the liberal camp. The general assessment and verdict was also offensive, denying the writers of Turgenev’s circle any creative prospects. “So you and I are among the Podolinskys, Trilunnys and other respectable retired majors! - Turgenev joked bitterly in a letter to Fet. - What, father, should I do? It's time to give way to the young men. But where are they, where are our heirs?
Critical reviews of the novel “On the Eve” also greatly upset Turgenev. Countess E. E. Lambert directly told Turgenev that he published the novel in vain. To her high society taste, Elena Stakhova seemed to be an immoral girl, devoid of shame, femininity and charm. The critic M.I. Daragan, expressing the opinion of conservative circles of society, called Elena “an empty, vulgar, cold girl who violates the decency of the world, the law of female modesty” and is some kind of “Don Quixote in a skirt.” Dmitry Insarov also seemed to this critic to be a dry and sketchy hero, a completely unsuccessful hero for the author. There was a high-society joke going around St. Petersburg: “This is the “On the Eve”, which will never have its tomorrow.” It turned out that after the signal of general reconciliation accepted by society in the novel “ Noble Nest", a period of general discord began: "On the Eve" was criticized both on the left and on the right, Turgenev's call for unity, put into the mouth of Insarov, was not heard by Russian society. After the publication of “On the Eve”, Turgenev began to have a desire to “resign from literature.”
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Message-report on the work of I.S. Turgenev "On the Eve"
Plan
1. Summary of the novel
2. The main character of the novel and the idea that he expresses.
3. Testing the hero for genius and “nature”. Does it stand up to the test?
4. Why does the test of love occupy a special place in Turgenev’s novel?
5. The meaning of the novel's ending
1. The action of the novel begins in the summer of 1853 in the suburban dacha Kuntsevo. Two young people are in love with Elena, the twenty-year-old daughter of the leading nobleman Nikolai Artemyevich Stakhov and Anna Vasilievna Stakhova, a native of Shubina - 26-year-old Pavel Yakovlevich Shubin, an artist-sculptor, and 23-year-old Andrei Petrovich Bersenev, an aspiring philosopher, third candidate at Moscow University. Elena is more sympathetic towards Bersenev, which causes Shubin annoyance and jealousy, but this does not in any way affect his friendship with Bersenev. Friends are completely different: if Shubin, as befits an artist, sees everything sharply and brightly, wants to be “number one” and craves love and pleasure, then Bersenev is more restrained, considers the purpose of his life to be “number two” and love for him First of all, sacrifice. Elena shares a similar point of view. She tries to help and protect everyone, patronizes oppressed animals, birds, insects she encounters, provides charity and gives out alms.
Bersenev invites his university friend, Bulgarian Insarov, to Kuntsevo. Dmitry Nikanorovich Insarov is a man of iron spirit, a patriot of his homeland. He came to Russia to study with one sole purpose - to then apply the knowledge he acquired in the liberation of his native Bulgaria from the Turkish yoke. Bersenev introduces Insarov to Elena. A bright, real, mutual, selfless, sensual love flares up between Insarov and Elena. Bersenev, remaining true to his principles, steps aside. Passionately in love Insarov, faithfully serving his main purpose, tries to drown out love with his departure in order to protect his chosen one in advance from the terrible trials awaiting her. However, at the last minute, Elena is the first to open up to Insarov and admits that she cannot see her future life without him. Insarov surrenders to the power of his feelings, but cannot forget about the purpose of his life and prepares to leave for Bulgaria. Elena doesn’t know anything else for herself but to follow the person she loves so much. In search of a solution to the difficulties of leaving Russia, Insarov catches a cold and becomes seriously ill. Bersenev and Elena nurse him. Insarov recovers a little and secretly marries Elena. Thanks to “well-wishers,” this secret is revealed and serves as a blow to Elena’s parents, who see her future in marriage to college adviser Yegor Andreevich Kurnatovsky. However, thanks to Anna Andreevna’s love for her daughter, the marriage of Elena and Insarov is still blessed and financially supported. In November, Elena and Insarov leave Russia. Insarov has no direct route to Bulgaria. His illness progresses and he is forced to undergo treatment in Vienna for two months. In March, Elena and Insarov come to Venice, Italy. From here, Insarov intends to reach Bulgaria by sea. Elena constantly looks after Insarov and even, feeling the approach of something terrible and irreparable, does not at all repent of her actions. Her feelings for Insarov only deepen. From this love Elena blossoms. Insarov, exhausted by illness, fades away and is supported only by his love for Elena and the desire to return to his homeland. On the day the ship arrives, Insarov quickly dies. Before his death, he says goodbye to his wife and homeland. Elena decides to bury her husband in Bulgaria and sets off after Insarov's ship arrives across the dangerous Adriatic Sea. Along the way, the ship encounters a terrible storm and Elena's further fate is unknown. In her last letter home, Elena says goodbye to her family and writes that she does not repent of anything and sees her happiness in loyalty to the memory and life’s work of her chosen one.
2. The main character of the novel is the Bulgarian Dmitry Insarov, who personifies a new generation of people of civic feat, whose words do not diverge from deeds. Insarov speaks exclusively the truth, certainly fulfills his promises, does not change his decisions, and his whole life is subordinated to one highest goal for him - the liberation of Bulgaria from the Turkish yoke. The ideological core of Insarov is the belief in the union of all anti-serfdom forces, the union of all parties and political movements in the struggle against the forces of enslavement and humiliation of man.
3. Drawing the image of Insarov, Turgenev endows his hero not only with a rare mind (not everyone, however, as now, manages to enter Moscow University), but also with excellent physical strength and dexterity, vividly describing the scene of Insarov’s defense of Zoe, a companion, at the Tsaritsyn pond Elena from the encroachments of a drunken hulk of a German.
4. Love in the novel is constantly contrasted with a common cause. It’s easier for Elena here than for Insarov. She completely surrenders to the power of love and thinks exclusively with her heart. Love inspires her and under the influence of this great power Elena blossoms. It is much more difficult for Insarov. He has to split between his chosen one and the main goal of his life. Sometimes, love and a common cause are not entirely compatible, and Insarov more than once tries to run away from love. However, he does not succeed, and even at the moment of death, Insarov utters two characteristic words: “mignonette” - the subtle smell of Elena’s perfume and “Rendich” - Insarov’s compatriot and like-minded person in the fight against the Turkish enslavers. With this opposition, Turgenev is probably trying to convey to the reader that as long as there is injustice in the world, pure love will always have a worthy competitor. And only people themselves can help love reign supreme over the world if they all extend their hands to each other in a single impulse.
5. The ending of the novel is frankly sad and uncertain regarding its main character. However, tragic colors, if we consider the novel, exclusively as very beautiful love story, outline even more clearly the great power that is true love. If, while reading the novel, you feel the symbolic overtones in it and see in Elena the personification of young Russia, standing “on the eve” of great changes, then the sad outcome of the work can be seen as a warning from the author about the vulnerability and weakness of an individual, even such a person as Insarov, and great strength people united by one idea.