The heroine of Turgenev's novels, you are arrogant, gentle and pure, There is so much of stormless autumn in you From the alley where the leaves are circling. N.S. Gumilev
Why was Turgenev able to create such a bright image that has not faded for almost two centuries? The study of the psychology of the Russian person, his inner world, the Russian national character greatly fascinated the writer Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. “Beauty is scattered everywhere... But nowhere does it shine with such power as in human individuality,” he once wrote to Pauline Viardot. It was Turgenev who created a series of truly Russian female images that incorporated subtle femininity, romance and dreaminess along with extraordinary strength of character and self-sacrifice. In his works, Turgenev captured the image of a Russian woman at the moment of her spiritual awakening, at the time when she began to realize herself as an individual: “... what is a Russian woman? What is her fate, her position in the world - in a word, what is her life ?" Turgenev's heroine is not satisfied with ordinary household chores, she "demands a lot from life, she reads, dreams... about love... but for her this word means a lot." She is waiting for a hero in whom everything is embodied for her: Without him, we would not have known for a long time The suffering of a woman’s loving soul, Her cherished thoughts, silent sadness; Only with him those songs that were hidden in silence sounded for us for the first time. He disturbed the silence of the stagnant waters, He gave a loud answer to secret requests, From the darkness he brought the woman into the light, Into the wide world of aspirations and consciousness, On the path of living delights, battles and troubles. (K. Balmont) 
Turgenev's heroine grew up among forests and fields, she thinks and reads a lot, she has a rich inner world into which she is in no hurry to let strangers in. She is not very attractive in appearance, and to a young man accustomed to social glitter, she may seem completely ugly. Despite the fact that her circle of acquaintances is limited, she has a good understanding of people and can distinguish the real from the show. Among the young people around her, she will unmistakably choose someone who is ready to serve a noble idea, and she is ready to follow him to the ends of the earth. Outwardly, she seems weak and gentle, but if necessary, she shows a very strong character, determination, and determination. The male hero usually turns out to be weaker than her. Pushkin also emphasized in a woman the moral advantages of strength, integral and pure characters, which placed her above the “superfluous people” of the noble intelligentsia. Turgenev deepens and develops this contradiction and opposition. “No matter how much you knock on nature’s door, it will not respond with an understandable word, because it is dumb... A living soul will respond, and mainly a female soul.” These words of Shubin from the first chapter of “On the Eve” are justified by all Turgenev’s novels. It is Natalya who “responds” to Rudin’s call; it was Lisa who was most excited by Lavretsky’s life drama, and she responded to his love; It was Elena, leaving her loved ones and homeland, who went with Insarov to fight. Almost everywhere in Turgenev, the initiative in love belongs to the woman; her pain is stronger and her blood is hotter, her feelings are sincere, more devoted than those of educated young people. The Russian woman is always looking for heroes; she imperiously demands submission to the power of passion. She herself feels ready for a sacrifice and demands it from another; when her illusion about the hero disappears, she has no choice but to be a heroine, to suffer, to act. The novelist endows his heroines with traits of captivating femininity, which is reflected not only in her pretty appearance, but also in her spiritual softness and grace. Delicacy here does not mean spinelessness. The distinctive feature of Turgenev’s female images lies precisely in the fact that, despite their outward softness, they retain complete irreconcilability in relation to the conservative environment that raised them. In all of them, the “fire” burns despite their relatives, their families, who are only thinking about how to put out this fire. They are all independent and live “their own lives.” 
The image of the “Turgenev young lady” has changed greatly over the course of a century and a half. Similar characters appeared in the books of other Russian writers - for example, in Chekhov or Bulgakov. They had quite a lot in common with Turgenev's heroines. Over time, this expression became commonplace. Its meaning has changed significantly. Nowadays this is what they call romantic, overly sensitive young ladies, about whom one can say that they are not of this world. In modern language, there has been a partial confusion of the image with the characteristics of the “muslin young lady” - nervous, unadapted to real life. Most likely for this reason, the expression “Turgenev’s girl” has a different meaning for modern writers than for the author. “Turgenev’s heroes are sketchy, and Turgenev’s famous women evoke any feelings other than the desire to get to know them,” wrote the ironic Sergei Dovlatov. For the vast majority of ordinary people, the image of Turgenev’s girl is associated with a certain infantile creature, always in a modest dress with a long girlish braid, waiting for Prince Charming on her porch. But this image bears little resemblance to the image of Asya, the very girl whom Turgenev described in the story of the same name, which gave its name to the definition of “Turgenev’s girl.” The modern Turgenev girl, rather, looks exactly like Asya. She is proud. Dreams of an active, active and sublime life. Her chosen one, according to her plan, should help her in everything, just as she is ready to give him all of herself, worshiping and admiring. This moral and pure nature is capable of strong passions, she dreams of a feat so that life does not pass unnoticed and without a trace. She has quite high self-esteem, but she places the same high demands on her chosen one. And here she is not ready to waste time on trifles - she is ready to wait for him as long as she has enough strength, without thinking that a girl’s beautiful age is not so long. 
The world does not stand still, and modern ideas about Turgenev’s girl are also undergoing changes. And here lies the misconception of many, for whom Turgenev’s girl is a wordless quiet person who accidentally wandered into the present from the noble nineteenth century. Yes, this girl is different from the rest both in her character and in her desire to find the one, to truly love and be loved. But in the modern world, these girls live quite comfortably, they are often quite successful at work, in addition to tightly buttoned Puritan dresses, they can afford trousers, jeans, and sneakers. Such girls are widely represented in books of the romantic prose genre by both domestic and foreign authors. And in the famous Scarlett O'Hara, if you look closely, you can find many of the features of Turgenev's heroines. In the now most popular English writer in Russia, Jojo Moyes, images of sublime and purposeful girls can be found in almost every book. In the 8th issue of the magazine “Friendship of Peoples” for 2018, under the title “Turgenev girls in an information storm”, the opinions of Belgorod high school students were published. Yes, many boys and girls doubt that “Turgenev’s girls are dating now.” However, more than half of those who spoke out are sure that such girls, “a little strange, obscene and great romantics,” exist; moreover, in every girl there lives a special one, Turgenev’s. Ovcharova Maria, 9c: “At all times, people are the same by nature. Evil and kind. Stingy and generous, sad and cheerful. Of course, something changes in character, behavior, understanding of the world. But the essence remains the same. We live in age of information, technology and promiscuity. Many people do not even try to improve, set goals. Digging into this endless information flow of information, we become weak-willed vegetables. But I have met many girls who have principles, values and high goals. They develop comprehensively. They dream and go towards their dreams. Existing in our century, when vulgarity and vulgarity are imposed, a girl trying to achieve her ideals accomplishes a feat.”
She is not as beautiful as Rostova - the Countess with the Russian spirit in Tolstoy. She does not have the charm of Tatyana Larina, whose virtue Pushkin zealously defends. Turgenev girl. Where does this miracle come from in Russian literature? “Her whole being strived for the truth.” Turgenev reflected his character, appearance, behavior, and disposition truthfully, and this diva is surprisingly pleasant. Her soul was waiting, “eager, languishing, Like a bird struggling alone in a cage.” The melancholy of her excited soul was calling for freedom from the empty wilderness. In her, overflowing with thirst for action, everyone could find complicity. Her face is charming, not sad, “And everything about it is subtle, smart, sweet.” With an exalted, pure soul, She does not seek peace for herself. In love, she is rather an adventurer, She rushes to her on the verge of risk. Turgenev girl. It’s unlikely you’ve never met such a girl in your life... (
Turgenev's girl, Turgenev's young lady is a typical heroine of the works of Ivan Turgenev, a literary stereotype formed in Russian culture on the basis of a generalized image of a number of his female characters from the works of 1850–1880.
The term itself arose during Turgenev’s lifetime, as is known from the responses of his contemporaries. Leo Tolstoy, with whom Turgenev had a long, difficult relationship, admired them. Today in Russia this term is perceived as a kind of code of Russian culture. In high school, essays on this topic are constantly offered. In this case, the material is usually the image of Asya, less often - Natalya Lasunskaya, since the story “Asya” and the novel “Rudin” (review) are included in the school curriculum.
The term “Turgenev girl” is also found in modern works of art. The Internet contains essays of various genres using this image. For example, you can cite the following poem by Tatyana Muratova “Turgenev’s Girl” (2007) or the play by L.V. Loy of the same name (2010).
The play sets up a tragicomic situation: English philologist Phil, a specialist in Russian literature, comes to Russia, fascinated by the mysterious Russian soul, who at all costs wants to marry Turgenev’s girl. His friend, journalist Andrei, who promised to help him in his search, turns out to be powerless. He shares his difficulties with his friend:
"Andrey: This intellectual cretin read Turgenev until he was completely stupefied and got it into his head that he only wanted to marry Turgenev’s girl!”
Irina laughs so hard that “her strength leaves her, and she crawls onto the sofa, continuing to laugh, sob and even hiccup from laughter.”
The question naturally arises as to how an Englishman imagines this girl.
"Andrey: How do I know? Probably of the Slavic type, with a braid over her shoulder, so that she would be faithful, devoted to her husband and with ideals.
Irina: With ideals? (Shakes head). There are big problems with this now.”
She persuades her friend, Nastasya Ivanovna, who has already been married twice and works in a glamor magazine, to play this role. And this experienced woman agrees not out of self-interest, but out of curiosity. She has a philological education, she even wrote a dissertation on Russian literature of the 19th century, which allows her to reflect her understanding of the image in the role she takes on. Clothes, modest appearance She appears in “a white blouse trimmed with lace at the collar and on the sleeves, and a long dark skirt,” “blond hair styled in a sleek hairstyle.” At the same time, Nastasya Ivanovna is not limited to the external side of the image, but tries to embody her idea of the internal content of Turgenev’s heroine. She talks about her love for classical painting (Bryullov, landscapes) and classical music. Taking Phil to the open window, she looks with him at the “wonderful eternal sky” and comes up with philosophical, existential problems: “The stars are the eyes of the universe, which from there, from above, watch us, sinners. Looking at them, I distance myself from everything earthly, rest my soul, cleanse myself of all the dirt that has stuck to me during the day.” And we must admit that, in general, Nastasya correctly reproduces the inner world of Turgenev’s ideal heroine, demonstrating the entire set of stereotypes. I can’t help but remember Lisa Kalitina in the night garden and other situations.
However, with the appearance of Fyodor, a successful businessman who selflessly and unrequitedly loves Nastasya, an instant metamorphosis occurs with her. Instead of the “modest and delicate Turgenev young lady,” a strong, decisive and rude woman appears before us: “What the hell are you up to?” In the end, she sets a price for herself of a million euros in “large denominations,” explaining her “high cost” by the fact that she is very attractive, speaks three foreign languages, and knows how to dress and present herself.
What follows is a conclave scene in the spirit of Dostoevsky’s “The Idiot,” when Nastasya throws this million euros into the fireplace. And this gesture shocks Phil so much that he abandons the idea of getting married, returns to England and begins to work on a comparative analysis of the female characters of Turgenev and Dostoevsky. But the very thought of Turgenev’s girl, love and ideals has a beneficial effect on Andrei and Irina, who understand that they love each other and decide to unite.
At the everyday level, the image of the “Turgenev girl” is very well represented in a radio program conducted in April 2004 by Viktor Erofeev. The presenter invited four women to the meeting: singer Lolita Milyavskaya, poet Tatyana Sherbina, employee of the French cosmetics company Masha Kuznetsova and artist-photographer Anna Brochet.
Erofeev began the discussion with the question of what the interlocutors mean by the concept of “Turgenev’s girl,” and whether this image was “scandalous” or “calming, affectionate, traditionally Russian.” All participants agreed that this is a romantic image, in which there is such a huge “amount of romanticism and idealism” that “could easily be recoded into the political sphere.” Lolita Milyavskaya stated that every girl is initially “Turgenev”, and then she is reborn either into a “bitch” or into a “terrorist”.
V. Erofeev himself called the type of terrorist a “post-Turgenev girl.” Another listener called and told a sad story about, as she imagined, the “Turgenev girl” whom she met on the train. It was a lonely girl, young and beautiful, who was reading a book: “I was surprised to read Turgenev on the cardboard cover. Poems in prose." I looked up and thought: “Lord, you are real.” Turgenev girl“, - so gentle, and she even had a braid, and was dressed all in white.” And, as it turned out, this airy, poetic girl, with an “escaping gaze” and calm hands, lives in a psychoneurological clinic, where she was brought from an orphanage.
V. Erofeev, correctly, in my opinion, put the dots in this dispute: there are two ideas about the “Turgenev girl”. The first is what we all came up with, this is the stereotype of a romantic, very gentle and soulful girl; and another thing is that real type of “Turgenev girl”, which Turgenev described in different novels and in different ways.
Turgenev’s ideal heroines combined the features of Pushkin’s Tatyana Larina (originality of character, intense spiritual life, signs of a bright self-awareness of the individual), but at the same time they differed from her in their independence and activity in choosing their life path. Turgenev’s girl could no longer be “given away” in marriage. In defending her love, she was ready to go (and did, like Elena Stakhova in the novel “On the Eve”) against the will of her parents and generally accepted norms of behavior. And with all this, Turgenev filled the images of Natalya Lasunskaya (“Rudin”), Asya (“Asya”), Elena Stakhova and some others with such high lyricism that there was not even a shadow of doubt about his intention to raise them to the ideal. Only Turgenev’s concept of moral purity no longer corresponded to the traditions of patriarchal family life, but included everything raised in Russia in the 1840s. discussion about love and marriage.
In this regard, L.V. Pumpyansky successfully noted that “above the cradle” of all Turgenev’s women looking for activity stood the images of George Sand. We can certainly talk about Georges-Sandism as an important ideological and moral movement in Russian culture in the mid-19th century. . The historian of social thought stated: “Georges Sand greatly influenced the change in Russian love. In her works, love is elevated to the ideal of the best of human feelings, and respect for women is sanctified by some kind of fanatical cult." It is no coincidence that A.F. Pisemsky made the chapter “Georges Sandism” the culmination of his novel “People of the Forties.” George Sand made a real revolution in ideas about love and marriage, forced many to reconsider the concept of a “fallen” woman, abandon the idea of the “holiness” of a marital union not based on mutual love, etc. .
Since the female images of George Sand, as well as Turgenev, were perceived only in conjunction with the male ones, it is necessary to consider them together. The male cultural-historical type created by George Sand is characterized by such personality traits as democracy, republican ideological beliefs, a humane attitude towards others, altruism, aesthetic development (talent as a musician, artist, or at least the ability to enjoy art). But its especially important feature is delicacy in the intimate sphere of life, respect for women’s rights.
The female version of this cultural-historical type assumed similar universal human traits, with the only difference being that its dominant traits were pride, an innate sense of self-esteem and independence from generally accepted (in society or middle-class) norms of behavior. The Georges Sandov girl also had numerous psychological and socially determined variations.
All these varieties of type, which presuppose the preservation of an invariant, were assimilated by cultural consciousness. In a revised form, they enriched Russian classics; in a more naked and easily recognizable form, they entered Russian works of fiction.
Turgenev concentrated his attention on the depiction of noblewomen who grew up in estate culture. Like Georges Sandov's heroine, Turgenev's girl is, first of all, a strong nature, purposeful, not just ready, but eager to serve and sacrifice herself for the sake of love or some high idea. Such girls from Turgenev are looking for a man who would be selflessly devoted to a high idea in order to love him, follow him without looking back and help him all his life in serving this idea. But, as a rule, Turgenev girls do not find such men. Or rather, at first they think that they have found it, and then they are cruelly disappointed (remember, for example, the wonderful farewell dialogue of the typical Turgenev girl Natasha with the eloquent Rudin, a preacher of all sorts of beautiful ideas).
Unlike Georges Sand, Turgenev made his male characters morally and ideologically much weaker than his female ones. It would seem that a hero worthy of Turgenev’s girl Elena Nikolaevna Stakhova (the novel “On the Eve”) is Insarov, who is in a hurry to fight for the independence and freedom of his homeland. But, firstly, he is a Bulgarian, and secondly, he is dying of an illness, having never accomplished anything great or even significant; moreover, he has not even reached his homeland.
Apparently, in Russian reality the writer did not find male heroes who would match his ideal girls. Let us recall the insightful remarks on this matter by N.G. Chernyshevsky about the “Russian man at rendez-vous”. This, perhaps, was the main difference between the functioning of Turgenev’s girls in the plot and the Georges Sandov model. The French writer sometimes made her male heroes more elevated than the fair sex.
Turgenev was very selective in relation to Georges Sandov's heroines. He was not interested in the problems of female protest within marriage (“Indiana”, “Jacques”, “Valentina”), which was mastered in Russian literature of the 1840s. (Herzen, Panaev, Kudryavtsev, Druzhinin). As for the revision of the traditional image of the “fallen” woman (“Lucretia Floriani”), it began in Russia somewhat later and was carried out from democratic and religious positions, both in the works of the sixties, and in the works of Dostoevsky and L. Tolstoy.
Turgenev, starting works with a pronounced love plot in the second half of the 1850s, devoted all his attention to the awakening consciousness of the girl; it is no coincidence that he is called the singer of first love. But among her “favorite” heroines, George Sand also had this type, the one most akin to Turgenev’s ideal. Already in the novels of the 1830s. she gave different versions of the character of a young girl, pure and chaste, but boldly disregarding the rules of decency and often acting rather riskily. This is exactly what fifteen-year-old Alesia Aldini was like, a beautiful aristocrat (“La Dernière Aldini” / “The Last Aldini”, 1838), who fell in love with the opera singer Lelio, the son of a fisherman. Ready to join in her destiny with him, she not only arranged secret meetings with her chosen one at her home, but could go alone to him at night for a decisive explanation.
However, perhaps the most vivid and full-blooded image, embodying the type of an extraordinary girl, gifted with spiritual beauty, moral purity and high ideology, was the image of Consuelo. For Turgenev, this heroine, associated with the personality of Pauline Viardot as the main prototype, had a special appeal. In the dilogy about Consuelo - this experimental work with a complex subtextual structure and multi-level meanings - Turgenev, apparently, was primarily attracted by the motive of the path of the main character-artist, which in the context of the entire work was perceived as a movement towards genuine love, truth, the innermost meaning of human existence . It is no coincidence that the writer worked on the libretto of an opera based on this plot.
Unlike George Sand, who placed her ideal girls in the past (the action in both “Mauprat” and the dilogy about Consuelo takes place in the 18th century), not seeing the possibility of their existence in reality, Turgenev affirmed the ideal of a woman - his contemporary.
Typologically close to Georges Sandov's heroine, the type of Turgenev's girl evoked conflicting feelings and assessments among contemporaries, ranging from admiration to complete rejection. Subsequently, approximately the same thing happened to his reception. Innokenty Annensky, in his article “Symbols of Beauty among Russian Writers” (1909), wrote, not without sarcasm, about the monotony of Turgenev’s attitude towards female beauty. He compared Turgenev’s woman with the epic “daring clearing,” which, being of grandiose proportions, puts the hero in his pocket along with the horse, and then invites him to “make love with her,” after which the hero dies. Annensky noted “ the impudence of imperious beauty"Turgenev's women, while men turned out to be "victims of beauty."
Nikolai Gumilyov gave a slightly different interpretation to the type of Turgenev’s girl. In his poem “To a Girl” from the collection “Alien Sky” (1912), he highlighted his characteristic rationalism and dispassion:
I don't like languor
of your crossed arms,
And calm modesty,
And bashful fear.
The heroine of Turgenev's novels,
You are arrogant, gentle and pure,
There is so much of stormless autumn in you
From the alley where the sheets are circling.
You'll never believe anything
Before you count, don't measure,
You'll never go anywhere
If you can’t find the paths on the map.
And that mad hunter is alien to you,
That, having climbed the naked rock,
In drunken happiness, in unaccountable melancholy
Shoots an arrow straight into the sun.
Another Silver Age poet, Konstantin Balmont, included in his poem “In Memory of I.S. Turgenev" is an enthusiastic hymn to both Turgenev’s heroines and their creator, who first discovered the spiritual needs of a Russian girl:
And there in the distance, where the grove is so foggy,
Where the beam barely flutters over the path, -
Elena, Masha, Lisa, Marianna,
And Asya and unfortunate Susanna -
They gathered in an airy crowd.
Familiar quaint shadows,
Creatures of love and beauty,
And virginal and feminine dreams, -
They were brought to life by a pure, gentle genius,
He gave them shape, colors and features.
If it weren't for him, we wouldn't know for a long time
The suffering of a woman's loving soul,
Her cherished thoughts, silent sadness;
Only with him did we hear for the first time
Those songs that lurked in silence.
Balmont united all the young heroines of Turgenev, without noticing significant differences. The most representative “Turgenev girls” are Natalya Lasunskaya, Lisa Kalitina, Elena Stakhova. Each of them matures and develops into an established personality before the reader’s eyes, as she goes through a series of tests - nature, music (or art), civic ideas and, of course, love. Therefore, only the space of the novel makes it possible to recreate and depict the “Turgenev girl”, ideal in her essence in all its completeness.
Some other Turgenev heroines retain only certain features of the cultural and historical type he created. The female characters of the previously mentioned stories (“Correspondence”, “Faust”) are at the initial (if it is appropriate to put it that way) stage of development of the “Turgenev girl”. The story can be called Turgenev's experimental platform for developing his novel plots and characters. Perhaps the closest to the model of the “Turgenev girl” is Masha Perekatova from the story “Breter”, in which there are two contenders and a motive for testing.
But Asya, who is most often “exploited” in this capacity in school essays, can hardly be considered a representative type. She is not only a very young, unformed creature, but also the illegitimate daughter of a peasant peasant woman and a gentleman. The first nine years of her life are spent in the barnyard; after the death of her mother, she lives for four years in the house of her unsociable master-father, who “almost forgot how to speak,” and at the age of thirteen she comes under the protection of her half-brother. All this gives rise to a “fundamental imbalance” in her, or deformation of consciousness, disharmony of personality.
According to psychoanalysis specialist, S.N. Zimovets, Asya “lives in the clinical space of love affect, the call of which forces her to constantly remain in extreme states of sensuality modes: the super-fast change of the maximum values of mental states and their signs is reflected in special dynamics and even some kind of cinematic change in the author’s micronarratives.” Of course, Asya aroused and arouses the sympathy and sympathy of both critics (for example, Chernyshevsky) and readers of different eras, as well as the author himself, because she captivates with her moral purity, the poetry of her first love feeling. But one can also agree with the expert’s opinion that “Asia’s feeling is unmotivated and sudden”: “It takes hold of her quickly and catastrophically, like an infection.” A.N. had approximately the same opinion. Ostrovsky, who ironically noted that this girl has “scrofula driven inside.”
Apparently, it is necessary to highlight in the female characters created by Turgenev a special type of “Turgenev girl”, the dominant features of which are not only youth, innocence, moral purity, but also integrity, harmony, the desire for development and the search for high love. She wants to love a worthy man who serves civic ideals. This model was shaped by the needs of the 1840s. Subsequently, under the influence of new demands of the time, the appearance of works on female psychology and his own maturation, Turgenev develops the character he found, modifies it, and endows each heroine with an individuality peculiar only to her. As the estate culture disappears, the “Turgenev girl” with its inherent dominant features also disappears.
If we use the structure of images of Turgenev’s heroes proposed by V.M. Golovko, then it is possible to identify 4 levels in Turgenev’s girl: ontological, archetypal, historical-social and psychological. She definitely thinks about the meaning of life, searches for her purpose; it is characterized by intellectual and aesthetic development with all the ensuing interests; it was formed by the estate culture of the 1840-1860s. with its inherent etiquette and ritual of behavior. Finally, the psychological level is the most individualized, although pride is a common feature for all
Turgenev's girl, as a code, went beyond literature and culture, entering public consciousness and public life. An interesting phenomenon is the competitions of Turgenev girls. It was first held in Orel in 2007 as part of the international festival “Russian Fashion”. At first it was designated as a Competition of Intelligence and Creativity and was held as a vibrant theatrical performance - an interregional competition of Russian style and etiquette. It was initiated by the Oryol Regional Folk Art Center in collaboration with the Department of Culture and Archives of the Oryol Region. The winner of the competition received the title of “Turgenev’s girl” and was awarded a trip to “Turgenev’s” Paris. A trip to St. Petersburg was organized for all other participants.
Currently, the competition has received independent status.
Goals and objectives of the competition
- education of an intellectual, moral and creative personality on the spiritual ideals of Russian literature;
- formation in young people of initiative and sociability, comprehensive personality development, desire to improve physically and spiritually;
- identifying bright, talented, enthusiastic people for further development and improvement in the field of creativity and art, active participation in the cultural and social life of the country;
- preserving the cultural values and traditions of the peoples of the Russian Federation, the tangible and intangible heritage of Russian culture and using it as a resource for spiritual and economic development;
- development of the cultural potential of the nation;
- studying the characteristics of the Russian female character, intelligence, tact, mental fortitude and projecting them into the worldview and character of the modern Russian girl;
- strengthening shared cultural interests and intimacy between generations;
- popularization of the creative heritage of the outstanding Russian writer Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev;
- developing a desire to study the historical and cultural traditions of Russia and the Oryol region.
Terms and procedure of the competition
Conditions of the competition: Girls aged 16-22 years old (born 1996-2002) living on the territory of the Russian Federation, recommended by regional authorities and institutions of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, can take part in the competition.
The competition is held in two stages:
- Preliminary stage (correspondence).
To participate in the first stage you must no later than July 1, 2018 submit the following competition materials to the competition organizing committee:
1. Application for participation(Appendix No. 2), questionnaire of the accompanying person (region representative) (Appendix No. 3)
2. Completed and signed form for the processing of personal data, both a participant and an accompanying person (representative of the region). For minor participants, it is issued by the parents or legal representatives of the participant (Appendix No. 4);
3. Photos of the participant(portrait and full-length photo);
4. Characteristics of the participant;
5.Video material of the implemented social project. A social project is a type of activity aimed at developing the social sphere (for example, helping orphans, solving an environmental problem, promoting a healthy lifestyle, helping homeless animals, etc.);
6. Essay on the topic “Letter to Turgenev”. The work must correspond to the essay genre. This is a small mini-essay in which the participant sets out his vision of the topic, trying to substantiate it and express his thoughts and feelings. (Appendix No. 5).
- Competition program.
October 19-20 A competitive selection will take place in Orel, where the jury will select the owner of the title “Turgenev Girl - 2018”.
The competitive selection program includes:
1.Competition “Business Card” . The contestant must introduce herself, talk about her hobbies, and the relevance of the chosen social project. It is possible to use a stage costume, show a video with obligatory commentary (up to 3 min.) ;
2. Artistic declamation competition “Beyond Time and Space” , dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of I.S. Turgenev. The contestant recites any poem or a logically complete passage from the works of I.S. Turgenev in a foreign language (English, German, French) (up to 2 min.) ;
3. Competition “ART-Hall” (literary and musical living room). With the participation of a support group, the contestant shows a logically completed fragment in the form of a musical performance, a literary and musical composition that combines musical, dramatic, choreographic and vocal art, based on the works of I.S. Turgenev (up to 8 minutes) .
The organizers reserve the right to change or supplement the list of competitive stages.
The Oryol competition provoked imitation: in Yakutsk on March 22, 2018, in one of the secondary schools, it was organized according to Oryol’s model, “Unraveling the Mystery of Turgenev’s Girl.”
They assessed the originality and uniqueness of the costumes, the plasticity and suitability of the image, and the ability to maintain contact with the audience. The participants talked about their hobbies, interests, as well as their understanding of the image of the “Turgenev girl”.
For a well-bred girl in the 19th century, knowledge of English, French, German, and needlework was considered mandatory; they also studied painting, music, and dancing. The second was a creative competition, which consisted of two tasks: the participants demonstrated their creative abilities, and then their artistic and stage skills in reading excerpts from works of fiction.
The third was an intellectual competition, which allowed the jury to evaluate their horizons, erudition, knowledge of literature, art, and painting. Each of the participants answered questions that they took out of the “magic” box.
These competitions show the relevance of this literary code and have a beneficial effect on modern literature, as they contribute to its aesthetic and ethical development. Therefore, it turns out that Turgenev is not just a Russian classic, but also our contemporary, who created such a harmonious image of a Russian girl that we want to imitate.
Bibliography:
1. Annensky I. Symbols of beauty among Russian writers // Annensky I. Books of reflections. M., 1979.
2. Balmont K. From the book of poems “Under the Northern Sky”. St. Petersburg, 1894. The poem was read by the author on October 31, 1893 in Moscow, at a meeting of the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature, dedicated to the memory of I. S. Turgenev
3. Beletsky A.I. Turgenev and Russian writers of the 30-60s. // Turgenev’s creative path. Pg., 1923.
4. Burenin V. Turgenev’s literary activity. St. Petersburg, 1884.
5. Memoirs of Praskovya Nikolaevna Tatlina (1812–1854) // Russian Archive. 1899. Nos. 9–12. P. 220.
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7. Domansky V.A. Russian estate text: image of the world, aesthetics, poetics // Domansky V.A., Kafanova O.B., Sharafadina K.I. Literature in the synthesis of arts. Garden as city and text. St. Petersburg, 2010, pp. 14–25.
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10. Erofeev V. Encyclopedia of the Russian soul Turgenev’s girl // Radio Liberty. Electronic resource: http://archive.svoboda.org/programs/encl /2004/encl. 042404.as.
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12. Kafanova O.B. George Sand and Russian literature of the 19th century. (Myths and reality.) 1830–1860 Tomsk, 1998. – 410 p.
13. Kafanova O.B. The phenomenon of George Sand in Russia in the 19th century // George Sand. Bibliography of Russian translations and critical literature in Russian. Ed. corresponding member RAS A.D. Mikhailova. T. 1. 1832-1900. M., 2005.
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Points: 0
For the vast majority of ordinary people, the image of Turgenev’s girl is associated with a certain infantile creature, always in a modest dress and a long girlish braid, waiting for Prince Charming on her porch. A kind of preparation for the ideal wife - “always barefoot, always pregnant and in the kitchen with a ladle in her hand.” They say that she will never run “to the left”, she sees all her happiness in her family and children, and she idolizes her husband so much that she is ready to “wash his feet and then drink this water” every day.
But this image bears little resemblance to the image of Asya, the very girl whom Turgenev described in the story of the same name, which gave its name to the definition of “Turgenev’s girl.” Turgenevskaya Asya is an open, passionate, noble nature. Yes, she is modest and shy, very shy and withdrawn in society, but not because she doesn’t like society - it’s just that her entire previous life took place in different conditions, and she has not yet found her manner of behavior in her new role - ladies Sveta. She is afraid to seem funny, because Asya is proud. She dreams of an active life, active and sublime. Her chosen one, according to her plan, should help her in everything, just as she is ready to give him all of herself, worshiping and admiring. This moral and pure nature is capable of strong passions, she dreams of a feat so that life does not pass unnoticed and without a trace. She has quite high self-esteem, but she places the same high demands on her chosen one. And here she is ready not to waste time on trifles - she is ready to wait for him as long as she has enough strength, without thinking that the girl’s beautiful age is not so long.
The world does not stand still, and modern ideas about Turgenev’s girl are also undergoing changes. And here lies the misconception of many, for whom Turgenev’s girl is a dumb slob who accidentally wandered into the present from the noble nineteenth century. Yes, this girl differs from the rest in her purity, absence of bad habits, and desire to find her one and only, ready to love and be loved. But in the modern world, these girls live quite comfortably, they are often quite successful at work, in addition to tightly buttoned Puritan dresses, they can afford trousers, jeans, and sneakers. But their ideas about the male half of humanity remained the same - men have also changed.
A modern young man already looks, speaks, and thinks completely differently. And it’s good if modern Asya is able to understand this in time and see her Prince behind the unromantic appearance. She will be rewarded in the form of a happy life in a family, with the fulfillment of her dream of a quiet, cozy home, raising children and an active life and work to improve the world. If at such a moment she manages to find such a person, then he will be happy with her, just as she will be with him. She will love him ardently and passionately, with all the power of unspent love. If he is tactful enough with her, then perhaps she will discover the joys of sex. It will be the same Turgenev girl, but descended from the world of dreams and daydreams into real earthly life.
Reading time: 1 minute
Thanks to the work of I. S. Turgenev, the stable expression “Turgenev girl” or “Turgenev young lady” appeared in the Russian language. The generalized image of Turgenev’s heroines fit so organically into the lives of Russian intellectuals of the 19th century that this expression is still used today. But lately this has meant an infantile, sentimental young lady who is waiting for a prince on a white horse and is completely incapable of independent life. This does not at all correspond to the original understanding. What is the “Turgenev girl” really like?
Upbringing
Turgenev's favorite heroines grow up away from secular society with its corrupting influence. Their upbringing takes place not in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but in a secluded noble estate. Because of this, Turgenev’s girls are close to nature and people and are sensitive to the beauty of the world around them. They are very educated and well read.
What does Turgenev's girl look like?
The girls from Turgenev's novels are not distinguished by that bright appearance that amazes all the men on their way. The heroine can be portrayed as ugly (“Nov”). However, she has that hidden beauty that only a true connoisseur of beauty can notice.
What is the character of Turgenev's young lady?
- She is reserved and dreamy, has a hard time getting along with people, but has a rich inner world.
- Capable of heroic deeds and self-sacrifice.
- True to your heart.
- She is very strong, despite her external weakness.
Who is the lover of the “Turgenev girl”?
Of all the contenders for her hand, Turgenev’s heroine chooses not the most successful match (“Rudin”). Both parents and the entire secular society are against such marriages, but the girl is unshakable in her choice and follows her lover even to war (“On the Eve”).
The following parallel can be drawn: “Turgenev’s girl” is Russia, and her man is the brightest Russian type at that time. In the novel "Rudin" a type of Russian philosopher and intellectual is deduced who is incapable of fruitful activity. It was this type that was characteristic of the 1840s, when the novel takes place.
Unfortunately, in none of Turgenev’s novels do we find a successful ending to the love line. Even if the heroes have created personal happiness, it turns out to be destroyed by elemental forces (“On the Eve”). Now you know who the real “Turgenev girl” is!
Karmelaeva Daria Grigorievna
This work analyzes S. Streltsov’s story “Turgenev’s Girl” and gives an interpretation of the image of the main character of the story, Susie.
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IX ALL-RUSSIAN YOUTH COMPETITION OF RESEARCH AND CREATIVE WORKS ON ISSUES OF CULTURAL HERITAGE, ECOLOGY AND LIFE SAFETY
"UNECO"
_____________________________________________________
Section: literary studies
Topic: Interpretation of the image of the “Turgenev girl” in S. Streltsov’s story “The Turgenev girl”.
Scientific supervisor: Kezina Elena Vitalievna
Place of work: Municipal educational institution “Lyceum No. 230”, Zarechny, Penza region.
2011
Preface 3
I. Introduction 4
II. Main part 5
- Analysis of the concept “Turgenev girl” 5
1.1. The image of Asya from the story of the same name 7
1.2. The image of Lisa Kalitina from the novel “The Noble Nest” 8
1.3. The image of Natalya Lasunskaya from the novel “Rudin” 9
1.4. The image of Elena Stakhova from the novel “On the Eve” 11
1.5. The main character traits of the “Turgenev girl” 12
2. Characteristics of the main character of S. Streltsov’s story “Turgenev’s Girl” 13
III. Conclusion. 15
Afterword 16
List of sources and literature used 17
Appendix 18
PREFACE.
One of the main problems of our time is the problem of the moral and cultural decline of people. In modern society, such qualities as cunning, resourcefulness, the ability to flatter and make money, often by dishonest means, are more valued. We respect a person rich financially more than a person rich spiritually. But why have such qualities as nobility, kindness, mercy, compassion, and the desire for self-improvement become irrelevant?
Probably one of the main reasons can be considered the reduction in reading people. After all, books are one of the main sources of human spiritual enrichment. They contain the experience of many generations of people. They teach us to think, analyze other people’s mistakes, and therefore not to make them in our lives. In my opinion, the works of Russian classics are best suited in this regard. There are so many truly smart and moral thoughts in the works of A. S. Pushkin, L. N. Tolstoy, F. M. Dostoevsky and others. Their heroes are true role models.
Likewise, the works of I. S. Turgenev have their own ideal heroes. These are the so-called “Turgenev girls”, who personified all the best qualities that a real woman should have. They became examples for many generations of women who left their mark on history.
I. INTRODUCTION.
Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev is one of the generally recognized geniuses of Russian literature. His works live and will live for centuries, giving readers and critics the opportunity to think and reason about eternal philosophical questions. He holds an outstanding place in the development of Russian literature of the 19th century. It is with the name I.S. Turgenev is associated with the literary concept of “Turgenev’s girl”. It arose primarily to designate a number of heroines of I.S. Turgenev. And already in the twenty-first century (2008), a story by the modern writer Sergei Streltsov, called “Turgenev’s Girl,” appeared in the Neva magazine. This indicates that the work of I.S. Turgenev not only has not lost interest among readers, but is also relevant to this day.
During the preliminary discussion, we put forward the following hypothesis : if S. Streltsov’s story is called “Turgenev’s Girl,” then in it we can see the coincidence of the main character’s features with the generally accepted concept of “Turgenev’s Girl.”
To test the validity of the hypothesis, we set ourselves the following tasks :
- get acquainted with the literature on the works of I.S. Turgenev and S. Streltsov;
- find out what the features of the concept of “Turgenev girl” are;
- characterize the heroines of Turgenev’s works, who are considered to be truly “Turgenev’s girls”;
- characterize the main character of S. Streltsov’s story, Susie;
- compare the image of the main character of the story with the generally accepted concept of “Turgenev’s girl”.
During the work, we became acquainted with the works of the following authors: D.I. Pisarev, N.A. Dobrolyubov, S.N. Lapina. In addition, we turned to the schoolchild’s dictionary “Literary Heroes” and the Encyclopedia of Literary Heroes, but did not find an exhaustive answer to the question we posed.
II. MAIN PART.
1. Analysis of the concept of “Turgenev girl”.
The importance of female characters in Turgenev was noted by his contemporaries. At one time, N.A. Dobrolyubov, analyzing the novel “On the Eve,” emphasized that the main person in it is Elena, and in relation to her we must analyze other persons (1:57). This idea was undoubtedly supported by the author himself, as evidenced by the fact that in the French translation the novel was called “Elena”, and the title was approved by the author himself.
The study of female characters in Turgenev’s works has more than once attracted the attention of scientists.
In the typology of female images in Turgenev’s novels, it is customary to distinguish two types of female images (7: 2-3). The first group is those who live by their own interests, because they are focused on themselves (although this can, of course, be expressed in different ways). These are women like Odintsova and Rotmirova. And the second group is precisely Turgenev’s girls, whose thoughts are always turned to life and the suffering of others. These include the following heroines: Asya, Lisa Kalitina, Natalya Lasunskaya, Elena Stakhova.
The image of Turgenev's girl develops Pushkin's tradition of the “ideal female type.” In relation to these heroines, the statement of G. B. Kurlyandskaya is true that their “nature is devoid of opposite principles, to one degree or another it is distinguished by integrity, therefore their behavior, determined by nature, is always unambiguous and does not suffer from unexpected turns.”
The study of the psychology of the Russian person, his inner world, and the Russian national character fascinated the writer Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. “Beauty is scattered everywhere... But nowhere does it shine with such power as in human individuality,” he once wrote to Pauline Viardot. In the 50s of the 19th century, the writer was imbued with the artist’s restless desire to comprehend the secrets of existence, life and death, eternal nature, and beauty.
In his stories of those years, Turgenev captured the image of a Russian woman at the moment of her spiritual awakening, at the time when she began to realize herself as an individual: “... what is a Russian woman? What is her fate, her position in the world - in a word, what is her life? Turgenev's heroine is not satisfied with ordinary household chores, she “demands a lot from life, she reads, dreams... about love... but for her this word means a lot.” She is waiting for a hero who embodies everything for her: “happiness, love, and thought” - a hero who is able to change the course of life and resist “human vulgarity.” Having believed in the hero, Turgenev’s heroine “reveres him... studies, loves.”
The image of Turgenev's girl was not motionless. From story to story, the typical generalization that this image carried within itself became more and more profound and modern, absorbing features that each time illuminated a new side of Russian reality. Turgenev's girls are similar in the main thing - in relation to the ideal of life. These are girls filled with rainbow, “winged hopes”, discovering for the first time a new world of bright feelings and thoughts. In “Ace” (and other stories, for example, in “First Love”) Turgenev psychologically accurately described how in a young heart that has fallen in love for the first time, all feelings become heightened, and the heroine sees and feels the flow of life, its imperceptible flow.
1.1. The image of Asya from the story of the same name.
The ideal of a truly “Turgenev” girl can be called Asya, the heroine of the story of the same name.
The main character is the brightest image in literature (8: 40-41). A pretty girl of seventeen with “a dark, roundish face, a small thin nose, almost childish cheeks and black, light eyes. She is gracefully built, but not yet fully developed.”
Asya's life is tragic: she is the daughter of a landowner and a serf. She was brought up in her father's house as a young lady, but could not be his heir. All this leaves an imprint on her character. She is shy and does not know how to behave in secular society. She lost her mother early, and a few years later also her father. This made her think early about the meaning of life and become disillusioned with some things.
But she did not stop loving life, moreover, she wanted to leave her mark on history. “The days are passing, life is passing, and what have we done?” - says the heroine. Asya strives for something special, for an active life, for accomplishing a feat. She is a subtle, romantic nature, to whom everything ordinary and vain is alien. No wonder she wants to fly like a bird. She likes romantic stories and legends. And she considers Tatyana, the heroine of the novel “Eugene Onegin,” to be her idol.
Its main feature is inconstancy, mystery and strangeness (6: 273-274, 7: 4). That is why N.N. exclaims: “What a chameleon this girl is!” First she climbs the wall like a goat, waters the flowers on the walls, immediately after that she behaves like a well-bred young lady, sews and again shows her childishness. Asya is an open, passionate, noble and spontaneous nature.
Turgenev talks about how she was overcome by love for the first time. She completely surrenders to this feeling. Love inspires her, and there are no barriers to flight. Asya does not know how to hide her feelings or pretend, and therefore she is the first, like Pushkin’s Tatyana, to confess her love to N.N. But this news frightens him, and he does not dare to connect his life with such an extraordinary girl. Asya's impulsive and sincere love is broken by N.N.'s timid sympathy, his indecision and fear of confronting public opinion. Not quite clear explanations of N.N. deeply wound Asya's trembling soul, and she and Gagin leave the city. Her strange behavior, the strength with which she fell in love with N.N. amazes us, and Asya’s fate, the dramatic nature with which she broke up with N.N., makes us sympathize with her. But what is most amazing is her attitude towards life, the goals she wants to achieve, the fact that she strives to achieve something in life. Asya dreams of “going somewhere far away, to pray, to perform a difficult feat.” This is a distinctive feature of her character - a thirst for activity.
1.2. The image of Lisa Kalitina from the novel “The Noble Nest”.
The main character of the novel “The Noble Nest”, Lisa Kalitina, is considered a typical image of the “Turgenev girl”. D.I. Pisarev considered her one of the most graceful female images of Turgenev (5: 273-274). This is a spiritually gifted girl, a seeking nature, crystal clear and honest. Lisa combines obedience, humility and strong will. Her parents did not raise her, which is why she is different from them. Lisa thinks a lot, any injustice hurts her heart. This leads her to believe that people lead meaningless lives. However, being poorly educated, she incorrectly determines the meaning of life and activity. “Love everyone, and really no one” is her motto. Lisa is convinced of the falseness and imperfection of the world by the example of her family. The image of Lisa is quite contradictory (3: 251,253). The author does not give the heroine’s internal monologue, but gives her psychological picture: through the perception of other characters, a portrait sketch. Turgenev constantly compares Lisa’s actions, dictated by her moral duty, with her words about humility. The writer makes it clear that ascetic morality leads Lisa to renounce happiness, but she yearns for a normal life. She still has a thirst for love and happiness. Due to circumstances, she cannot be with her beloved, so she decides to go to a monastery. Lisa explains her decision this way: “My life with you is over. Happiness did not come to me, even when I had hopes for happiness. I know everything, both my own and other people’s sins, and how daddy acquired our wealth; I know everything. All this needs to be prayed away. I feel like I can’t live here, something is calling me away, I feel sick, I want to lock myself away forever.”
1.3. The image of Natalya Lasunskaya from the novel “Rudin”.
Another bright representative of the “Turgenev girl” type is the heroine of the novel “Rudin” - Natalya Lasunskaya.
This is a typical heroine of Turgenev’s prose: well-mannered, modest, gentle, smart beyond her years, with a rich inner world, and most importantly, capable of great and sincere feelings, of self-sacrifice in the name of love.
Natalia's main activities, like those of her peers from noble families, are walking, embroidery on canvas, reading: the author notes; that she read not only historical books and edifying works, but also - secretly from her mother and governess - Pushkin. In addition, Natalya was fond of horses and, according to the author, “studied diligently, read and worked willingly.”
From the first lines, the author's sympathy for Natalya is noticeable. Drawing her portrait, he says that “at first glance (Natalya) might not have been liked. She had not yet had time to develop, she was thin, dark, and stood a little stooped. But her facial features were beautiful and regular, although too large for a seventeen-year-old girl.” Describing Natalya’s appearance, the author focuses on her facial expression, which almost always reflected the “inner work of her thoughts”: “she felt deeply and strongly, but secretly; As a child, she rarely cried, and now she rarely even sighed, and only turned slightly pale when something upset her.”
Turgenev himself repeatedly notes that his heroine is not at all a young, inexperienced girl, and certainly not a “cold”, uncriminal noblewoman. This idea is confirmed after the meeting between Natalya and Rudin. Like many others, the eloquent Rudin made a huge impression on Natalya, but her feelings are far from simple curiosity and blind admiration. She saw in Rudin a man with a rich soul and intellect, capable of bright, significant actions that bring undoubted benefit. It was precisely this (that is, the ability for useful activity) that she convinced him during numerous conversations, which, without knowing it, nurtured Rudin’s pride, elevating him in his own eyes.
But Rudin behaved like a weak-willed and insecure person in a situation that required him to act instantly and decisively. He advised Natalya to submit to fate and the will of her mother when Natalya herself was putting her life and well-being on the line and was ready to do anything just to be with her loved one. How beautiful Natalya is in her natural impulse at the last meeting with Rudin, and how low and pathetic Rudin himself is, who did not even make an attempt to change anything or at least give hope.
Even in an upset state, Natalya finds the strength to say wonderful words to Rudin: “... I still believed you, I believed every word you said... Go ahead, please weigh your words, don’t say them to the wind. When I told you that I love you, I knew what this word meant; I was ready for anything... Now all I have to do is thank you for the lesson and say goodbye.”
A few lines express the pain of disappointment, sadness and humility that many heroines of Russian literature experienced (primarily Pushkin’s Tatyana Larina comes to mind), but especially Turgenev’s girls.
1.4. The image of Elena Stakhova from the novel “On the Eve”.
Elena Stakhova is the heroine of I.S. Turgenev’s novel “On the Eve” (1860). The author portrays a type of new woman who goes from unaccountable impulses and dissatisfaction with the usual way of life to independent choice of her destiny, to self-sacrifice in the name of the homeland of her husband, Dmitry Insarov, a fighter for the independence of Bulgaria. Elena is characterized by dreaminess and moral purity, but in her, unlike her predecessors, readiness for a feat is combined with the ability to accomplish it.
Elena Nikolaevna is an extraordinary person. She has just turned twenty years old and is attractive: tall, with large gray eyes and a dark brown braid. In her entire appearance, however, there is something impetuous, nervous, which not everyone likes. Nothing could ever satisfy her: she longed for active good. Since childhood, she was worried and occupied by the poor, hungry, sick people and animals. When she was ten years old, a beggar girl, Katya, became the subject of her concern and even worship. Her parents did not approve of this hobby. True, the girl soon died. However, the trace of this meeting remained in Elena’s soul forever. From the age of sixteen she already lived her own life, but a lonely life. Nobody bothered her, but she was torn and languished: “How can I live without love, but there is no one to love!”
It is no coincidence that Dobrolyubov attached great importance to the image of Elena in the novel “On the Eve”. He considered her a real heroine, in many ways towering over Natalya Lasunskaya and Liza Kalitina; In terms of strength of character, he put only Katerina from Ostrovsky’s drama “The Thunderstorm” on a par with Elena. Elena is characterized by an extraordinary thirst for activity, determination, the ability to ignore the opinions and conventions of the environment and, most importantly, an irresistible desire to be useful to the people.
1.5. The main character traits of the “Turgenev girl”.
Having analyzed these images, we can identify common features characteristic of the concept of “Turgenev girl”. The heroines are endowed with a kind and sensitive soul that responds to everything beautiful. Both Lisa, Asya, and other heroines have a sense of duty; their actions can be called moral.
Asya was not afraid to be the first to confess her love to N.N., although at that time it was the height of indecency, she loved so much. And Lisa, realizing that she cannot be with her beloved, gives up everything and goes to the monastery.
All heroines are ready to do anything for love. But Asya is proud, so after an explanation with N.N., she immediately leaves in an unknown direction. Lisa, having entered a monastery, sacrifices herself for the happiness of others.
Each heroine lives a dream about the future, they make plans and try to bring them to life.
Turgenev girls make all decisions themselves, be it leaving for another country or entering a monastery, and are fully aware of their responsibility to other people for their actions.
It is no coincidence that the main characters fall in love with Turgenev's girls. Their soul conquers everyone.
Thus, the following traits can be called common character traits of all Turgenev girls:
- the wealth of the inner world;
- the ability to have sincere strong feelings, the absence of falsehood and coquetry;
- focus on the future;
- strong character, ability to self-sacrifice;
- activity and independence in deciding one’s destiny.
2. Characteristics of the main character of the story by S. Streltsov
"Turgenev's girl."
Sergei Streltsov is a modern Russian writer. Author of many famous works. Born in 1971. In 1991, he created the first ever multimedia English language textbook for children. He was the editor-in-chief of the Internet portal “The Saint George Journal”. Lives in Moscow (2: 88). Considered one of the best Orthodox writers of our time.
Sergei Streltsov in his story “The Turgenev Girl” presents us with his vision of the “Turgenev Girl” in the image of the main character of the story - the young American Susie.
Susie is the main character of the story. This is a young American woman, an orphan. She doesn't know her father, and her mother is dead. The girl spent her entire childhood in an orphanage. Here she became acquainted with the work of I. S. Turgenev and literally fell in love with his works. For her, the image of the “Turgenev girl” becomes an ideal that she wants to follow. Susie begins to study Russian in order to read the works of her favorite writer in the original.
Hoping to realize her dream, she goes to Russia, where she finds happiness.
Susie is an extraordinary and exceptional person. As was usually the case with Turgenev’s heroines, the girl has a difficult fate. From birth she was left alone; she spent her entire childhood in an orphanage. Loneliness taught the girl to rely only on herself. The heroine is very persistent in achieving her goal. She decides to learn Russian - and she does it, although it was very difficult. Susie works for a long time on her pronunciation and stress; in order to improve her skills, she even gets a job as a nanny for a Russian-speaking family. We see the same tenacity in Asa when she decides to be with her loved one at all costs.
In addition, Susie is also a creative person. She writes beautiful poetry and prose. This is her way of expressing herself. Her poems are published in a famous magazine, and an influential website recognizes her as poet of the year (4: 5, 8-9). Although we cannot say about any of Turgenev’s heroines that she was a poet or writer, they also had a desire for self-expression. Lisa found herself in religion. And Asya was still searching. She was sometimes serious and prim, sometimes cheerful and playful. It is no coincidence that N.N. exclaims: “What a chameleon this girl is!” Susie, like Asya and Lisa, firmly believes in her own strength. They are all characterized by a desire for activity, a desire to do something useful for others. If Asya dreams of accomplishing some kind of feat, then for Susie this feat becomes the opportunity to look after her fiancé, a poor disabled artist.
Naivety is another distinctive feature of the heroine of Streltsov’s story, bringing her closer to Turgenev’s heroines. It can be noted that, despite all the harsh trials of life, these girls managed to retain the best feelings and thoughts. But childish daydreaming and gullibility do not bring happiness to Asya and Lisa, and Susie, on the contrary, helps to make their dream come true.
It is no coincidence that Sergei Streltsov calls the story “Turgenev's Girl”. There is a deep meaning hidden in both the title and the story itself. By showing us this girl, the author paints an image of a person for whom it is not the material, but the spiritual side of life that is important. This is also typical for Turgenev’s heroines. In our age, in which money rules everything, people most often strive to acquire material well-being and build a career, and leave spiritual needs in the background. But the writer S. Streltsov shows us that there are still unselfish people for whom material well-being does not matter. The author makes us involuntarily think about what we live for, about the meaning of our existence. Having made his heroine an American, the author says that the features of the “Turgenev girl” are not limited to Russian women. These are universal human traits characteristic of people of all nations and nationalities.
Thus, the main character of S. Streltsov’s story, Susie, can be called a “Turgenev girl”, since she has traits characteristic of this type. Only, unlike Turgenev’s heroines, whose fates were tragic, Susie finds her happiness at the end of the story.
III. CONCLUSION.
In our research work, we identified the similarity of the features of the main character of S. Streltsov’s story with the generally accepted concept of “Turgenev’s girl.” Based on this, we concluded that Susie can be called a truly “Turgenev girl.” The initial hypothesis was confirmed. The author in his story continues the traditions of Russian classical literature and gives us, readers, lessons of kindness, as I.S. did in his time. Turgenev. We can say that these traditions continue to exist in the works of modern Russian writers.
We believe that this work can be used both in literature lessons dedicated to the works of I.S. Turgenev and modern writers, and in extracurricular work on the moral education of the younger generation.
AFTERWORD.
Thus, the problem of the decline in the moral and cultural level of people is one of the most pressing today. And if nothing is done, then a disaster will probably happen soon.
So what needs to be done to solve this pressing issue? Of course, you need to read a lot. Books are the best helpers in the moral enrichment of a person. In addition, it is necessary to preserve traditions and customs, as S. Streltsov does. He preserves and develops the traditions of Russian classical literature in his works. And therefore, it is necessary to include such modern authors in the school curriculum in order to develop the best human qualities in children from school.
List of used sources and literature.
1. Dobrolyubov N.A. Collected works: In 9 volumes. T.2. M-L, 1962.
2. Magazine “Neva” 2008 No. 10.
3. Classic for school. I.S. Turgenev “The Noble Nest”. Publishing house: “Dragonfly-press”, 2002.
4. Lapina S.N. Discourse analysis of S. Streltsov’s story “Turgenev’s Girl” www. revolution.allbest.ru
5. Pisarev D.I. “Female types in the novels and stories of Pisemsky, Turgenev and Goncharov” op. in 4 volumes. T.1, articles and reviews 1859-1862. M.: State Publishing House of Fiction, 1955.
6. Schoolchild’s dictionary “Literary heroes”. Publishing house: “Sovremennik”, 1988.
7. Typology and originality of female images in the works of I.S. Turgenev. revolution.allbest.ru
8. Encyclopedia of literary heroes. Publishing house: “Agraf”, 1998.
10. www. revolution.allbest.ru
Application.
S. Streltsov
Turgenev girl
Susie was born an orphan, her father abandoned her mother when he found out she was pregnant. And her mother died in childbirth. From birth, Susie wandered around shelters, but did not lose heart at all. At the age of six she learned letters and began to write poetry.
Government food, clothing and housing did not bother her at all; she felt like a poetess. She read her first experiments in class, in church, and in libraries when the days of young poets were held there. Her favorite poet was King David; above him she placed only Jesus Christ, considering the Lord's Prayer to be the most beautiful poem.
When she turned twelve, she decided to try publishing. I sent my poems to magazines via the Internet. The only one that published it that year was the Times Literary Supplement. Usually only mature poets are published there, but she was included in the publication’s pages because she did not indicate her age. She didn't know this. Desperate, I decided that I would write prose. To decide what kind of prose to write, she began reading books by famous authors.
When she was fourteen, in Henry James's book "Portrait of a Lady", she read that the author of this book spoke enthusiastically about some Russian named Ivan Turgenev, and found the book "Fathers and Sons" in the library of her orphanage. The book surprised her because Americans and English don’t write like that. She began to look for other books by the same author and found two more: “Rudin” and “The Noble Nest.” They were sadly carefree, strange, and teased her curiosity. She decided that she should learn Russian.
She found a Russian family that sometimes needed to babysit the children, and bought a textbook with laser discs. She learned the alphabet for two weeks, but her trials did not end there. After trying to read, she realized how difficult it was to cope with pronunciation. Everything was difficult - from the simplest sounds to accents. After six months of regular conversations with Russians and studying in her free time, she realized that she was starting to speak a new language for her. She began to take Russian books for children and tried to read them, it was more difficult than a textbook. This is how she recognized Pushkin, Lermontov and Agnia Barto. Things moved forward, and at the age of sixteen she read all of Turgenev in Russian, downloading his books from the Internet. Her joy knew no bounds. In addition, American magazines began to publish her poems and stories. It didn’t bring in any money, but it was nice to see my word in print.
When she finished school, she was recognized as poet of the year on www.poetry.com, and she received a ten thousand prize. With this money she decided to go to Russia in the summer. While packing her things, she wrote in her notebook with multi-colored markers: “Flight / to the sky / is / whatever / am I // dash / to the rot / is / whatever / I’m not» .
She liked the poem and went to the airport. On the way, she opened a book - it was a parting gift from the Russians, whose child she periodically babysat for. The book contained a lurid portrait of an old man. She knew that Russians highly respect such images and call them icons. She smiled at the old man and said: “If you are a saint, then give me an adventure.” The old man's name was Saint Nicholas.
Upon arrival in Moscow, she decided to first visit Red Square. Without stopping at the hotel, I went there directly from Sheremetyevo-2.
On the square she saw a church and was surprised, since she only knew about Lenin’s mausoleum. She climbed the stairs and entered the temple. She found this old man from the icon and immediately recognized him.
Where is my adventure? - she asked cheerfully, and it seemed to her that he smiled back at her.
Leaving the church, she discovered that the backpack with her things, which she had left at the entrance, was missing. The backpack contained all her money and documents, except for her passport, which was in her jeans pocket. She didn’t cry right away, but when she did, she started crying seriously.
She didn't know what to do.
She walked and cried. Two people were sitting on a bench near the wall of the Historical Museum. One was dressed and made up as Lenin, the other as Marx.
What's happened? - he asked.
I'm robbed clean “,” she muttered through tears.
Don't you speak Russian? - he asked her.
“I was robbed,” she was finally found.
“Well, that’s it,” said Lenin.
I only have my passport left.
Do you have somewhere to live? - Lenin asked her.
“No,” she answered, shaking her head.
Then come with me, and we will figure out where you will sleep tonight.
“I’m American,” she said.
“I understand that,” he smiled back at her.
Coming out of the subway, she realized that they were in some kind of suburb. They boarded the bus and soon got off in a well-kept place lined with identical houses.
This is Novogireevo,” Lenin waved his hand around himself.
Is this not Moscow anymore? - she asked.
This is still Moscow,” he consoled her.
They entered some entrance. The house was cheap, the walls of the staircases were painted, bottles and cigarette butts were everywhere.
This is where you will live for now,” Lenin said, opening a door.
They entered a poor but neatly decorated apartment.
Dad, I thought you’d be there later,” came a voice from the next room.
Kolya, come, we have guests.
A young man in a vest and training clothes rolled out of the room in a wheelchair.
“Hello,” he said.
Hello, I'm Susie,” she extended her hand.
And I’m Kolya,” he shook her light palm.
“I’ll move to the sofa in the kitchen for now, and she will be in my room,” Lenin told his son and went to wash his hands.
In the evening, when it became clear that she did not have a single soul mate in the world, they decided that while the trial was going on, she would stay with them and help Kolya around the house.
“We are poor, and the poor must help each other,” said Lenin and introduced himself: “Nikolai Nikolaevich, son of Nikolai Nikolaevich and father of Nikolai Nikolaevich.” We don’t have a wife; my wife died a year ago from cancer.
“I understand,” Susie said.
I have to make fun of tourists in order to somehow survive. I am a physicist by profession.
Doctor? - she asked.
No, scientist,” he answered her.
They were making an atomic bomb,” she said, after thinking.
Yes, I did.
And I write poetry.
And Kolya is an artist. Have you seen it? His entire room is covered in canvases.
Yes, that's good, said Susie.
What's good? - asked Kolya Jr., - I’m disabled, and also an artist, so I’ll never get married.
No, get married,” she said and blushed.
On whom? - he asked, not seeing her blush.
“I will look after you,” she said and blushed even more.
“Don’t look at him that he doesn’t walk,” said Nikolai Sr. “It was the bullet in Chechnya that deformed him.”
Are you a soldier? - she asked the young man.
“Former,” he said and, looking into her eyes, also blushed.
“He is also a nobleman,” said the father. - We even have our own estate. They gave us an outhouse on a collective farm estate, in a former estate.
How about Turgenev? - she asked, holding her breath.
Almost,” said the father.
“I’ve been dreaming about this for several years,” she said with a serious smile.
Then we are at your disposal,” said Nikolai Sr. and left the kitchen to leave the young people alone.
Flying to the skies is what I am. The desire to fall is not typical for me ( English).
I was completely robbed ( English).