What does the Turgenev girl mean? "the image of the Turgenev girl"
The Turgenev girl, the Turgenev 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 the life of Turgenev, as is known from the responses of his contemporaries. Leo Tolstoy, with whom Turgenev had a long, uneasy 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 - of Natalya Lasunskaya, since the story "Asya" and the novel "Rudin" (for review) are included in the school curriculum.
The term "Turgenev girl" is also found in contemporary works of art. The Internet contains compositions of different genres using this image. For example, you can cite the following poem by Tatyana Muratova "The Turgenev Girl" (2007) or the play by L.V. Loy of the same name (2010).
In the play, a tragicomic situation is set: an English philologist Phil, a specialist in Russian literature, comes to Russia, fascinated by the mysterious Russian soul, who at all costs wants to marry a Turgenev girl. His friend, journalist Andrei, who promised to help him in his search, turns out to be powerless. He shares his troubles with a friend:
"Andrey: This intellectual cretin has read Turgenev to the point of complete dullness and has hammered into his head that he wants to marry only a Turgenev girl! "
Irina laughs so much that "her strength leaves her, and she crawls onto the sofa, continuing to laugh, sob and even hiccup with laughter."
The question naturally arises, how does an Englishman imagine this girl.
"Andrey: How do I know? Probably of the Slavic type, with a scythe over her shoulder, so that she was faithful, devoted to her husband and with ideals.
Irina: With ideals? (Shakes her head). There are big problems with this now. "
She persuades her acquaintance, Nastasya Ivanovna, who has already been married twice and works in a glamorous 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 her role. Clothes, modest appearance She appears in "a white blouse trimmed with lace on the collar and on the sleeves, and a long dark skirt", "blonde hair styled in a sleek hairstyle." At the same time, Nastasya Ivanovna does not limit herself to the outer side of the image, but tries to embody her idea of the inner content of Turgenev's heroine. She speaks of her love for classical painting (Bryullov, landscapes) and classical music. Leading Phil to the open window, she looks with him at the “wonderful eternal sky” and goes to philosophical, existential problems: “The stars are the eyes of the universe, which from there, from above, watch us sinners. Looking at them, I move away from everything earthly, rest in my soul, cleanse myself of all the dirt that has adhered to me during the day. " And I must admit that on the whole Nastasya correctly reproduces the inner world of the ideal Turgenev heroine, demonstrating the whole set of stereotypes. Liza Kalitina involuntarily comes to mind in the night garden and other situations.
However, when Fedor appears, 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 devil are you leaning on?" In the end, she sets a price of one million euros for herself in "large bills", explaining her "high cost" by the fact that she is very attractive, speaks three foreign languages, knows how to dress and present herself.
This is followed by 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 the Turgenev 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 broadcast that was conducted in April 2004 by Viktor Erofeev. The presenter invited four women to the meeting: the singer Lolita Milyavskaya, the poet Tatyana Sherbina, the employee of the French cosmetics company Masha Kuznetsova and the artist-photographer Anna Brochet.
Erofeev began the discussion with the question of what the interlocutors mean by the concept of "Turgenev girl" and whether this image was "scandalous" or "soothing, 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 said that each girl was initially "Turgenevskaya", and then she was 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 what she thought was a "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 it on the cardboard cover” Turgenev. Poems in prose ". I looked up and thought: “Lord, you yourself are real Turgenev girl", - so tender, 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 neuropsychiatric dispensary, where she was brought from an orphanage.
V. Erofeev, in my opinion, correctly put the points 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 sincere girl; and another - that real type of "Turgenev girl", which Turgenev described in different novels and in different ways.
The ideal heroines of Turgenev combined the features of Pushkin's Tatyana Larina (uniqueness of character, intense spiritual life, signs of a vivid self-awareness of the personality), but at the same time they differed from her in independence, activity in choosing their life path. The Turgenev girl could no longer be “married off”. In defending her love, she was ready to go (and went, like Elena Stakhova in the novel "On the Eve") against the will of her parents, the generally accepted norms of behavior. And with all that, Turgenev filled the images of Natalia 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 the concept of moral purity in Turgenev no longer corresponded to the traditions of patriarchal family life, but included everything that was raised in Russia in the 1840s. discussion about love and marriage.
In this regard, L.V. Pumpyansky successfully noted that the images of George Sand stood “above the cradle” of all Turgenev women seeking activity. Undoubtedly, we can talk about Georges Sandism as an important ideological and moral movement in Russian culture of 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 a woman is sanctified by some kind of fanatical cult. " It is no coincidence that A.F. Pisemsky made the chapter “Georges Zandizm” as the culmination of his novel People of the Forties. Georges Sand made a real revolution in the concept of love and marriage, forced many to reconsider the concept of a "fallen" woman, to abandon the idea of the "sanctity" of a conjugal union not based on mutual love, and so on. ...
Since the female images of Georges Sand, as well as of Turgenev, were perceived only in conjunction with the male, it is necessary to consider them together. The male cultural-historical type created by Georges Sand is characterized by such personality traits as democracy, republican ideological convictions, a humane attitude towards others, altruism, aesthetic development (the talent of a musician, artist, or at least the ability to enjoy art). But his especially important feature is his delicacy in the intimate sphere of life, respect for the rights of women.
The female version of this cultural-historical type assumed similar universal human traits, with the only difference that pride, innate self-esteem and independence from generally accepted (in the light or bourgeois environment) norms of behavior became its dominant features. The Georges-Sandowski girl also had numerous psychological and socially determined variations.
All these varieties of the type, implying the preservation of the invariant, were assimilated by the cultural consciousness. In a revised form, they enriched the Russian classics; in a more naked and easily recognizable form, they entered Russian works of fiction.
Turgenev focused his attention on depicting noble girls who grew up in the manor culture. Like the Georges-Sandov heroine, the Turgenev girl is, first of all, a strong nature, purposeful, not just ready, but eager to serve and sacrifice herself for love or some lofty idea. Such girls in Turgenev are looking for a man who would be selflessly devoted to a lofty 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. Rather, at first they think that they have found, and then they are severely disappointed (recall, for example, the wonderful farewell dialogue of a typical Turgenev girl Natasha with the eloquent Rudin, a preacher of all sorts of beautiful ideas).
Unlike Georges Sand, Turgenev made his male images morally and ideologically much weaker than female ones. It would seem that a hero worthy of the Turgenev girl Elena Nikolaevna Stakhova (the novel "On the Eve") is Insarov, hurrying to fight for the independence and freedom of his homeland. But, firstly, he is a Bulgarian, and secondly, he dies of illness, without having accomplished anything great or even significant, moreover, he did not even reach 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 on rendez-vous". This, perhaps, was the main difference between the functioning of the Turgenev girls in the plot from the Georges-Sandov model. The French writer sometimes made her male heroes more sublime than the fair sex.
Turgenev was very selective in relation to the Georges-Sandov heroines. He was not interested in the problem of women's protest within marriage ("Indiana", "Jacques", "Valentina"), which was mastered in Russian literature in the 1840s. (Herzen, Panaev, Kudryavtsev, Druzhinin). As for the revision of the traditional image of the "fallen" woman ("Lucretia Floriani"), it began in Russia a little 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, embarking on works with a pronounced love story in the second half of the 1850s, devoted all his attention to the awakening consciousness of the girl, it is not by chance that he is called the singer of first love. But among her “favorite” heroines, Georges Sand also had this type, the 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 quite risky. Such was the fifteen-year-old Alesia Aldini, 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 her fate with him, she not only made secret meetings with her chosen one at 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 outstanding 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 subtext structure and multilevel meanings - Turgenev, apparently, was primarily attracted by the motive of the path of the main heroine-artist, which in the context of the entire work was perceived as a movement towards true love, truth, the innermost meaning of human existence ... It is no coincidence that the writer worked on an opera libretto based on this plot.
Unlike Georges Sand, who placed her ideal girls in the past (both in Mopra and the dilogy about Consuelo take place in the 18th century), not seeing the possibility of their existence in reality, Turgenev asserted the ideal of a woman - his contemporary.
Typologically close to the Georges-Sandov heroine, the type of the Turgenev girl evoked contradictory feelings and assessments from her contemporaries, ranging from admiration to complete rejection. In the future, about the same thing happened with his reception. Innocent Annensky, in his article "Symbols of Beauty in Russian Writers" (1909), not without sarcasm, wrote about the monotony of Turgenev's attitude to female beauty. He compared the Turgenev woman with the epic "daring Polyanitsa", which, being of grandiose size, puts the hero in his pocket along with the horse, and then invites him to "create love with her," after which the hero dies. Annensky noted “ the insolence of imperious beauty"Turgenev women, while men were" victims of beauty. "
Nikolai Gumilyov gave a somewhat different interpretation to the type of Turgenev girl. In his poem "Girl" from the collection "Alien Sky" (1912), he highlighted his characteristic rationalism and dispassion:
I don't like languor
Your crossed arms
And calm modesty
And bashful fright.
The heroine of Turgenev's novels,
You are arrogant, gentle and pure,
There is so much stormless autumn in you
From the alley where the sheets are circling.
Never believe anything
Before you count, don't measure
Never going anywhere
Kohl on the map of the paths you will not find.
And that mad hunter is alien to you,
That, having ascended a naked rock,
In drunken happiness, in unaccountable melancholy
Shoots an arrow straight into the sun.
Another poet of the Silver Age, 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 ray barely flutters over the path, -
Elena, Masha, Lisa, Marianna,
Both Asya and unfortunate Susanna -
Gathered in an airy crowd.
Familiar whimsical shadows
Creations of love and beauty
And virgin and feminine dreams, -
They were summoned 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, dumb sadness;
It was only with him that they sounded for the first time for us
Those songs that lurked in the silence.
Balmont united all the young heroines of Turgenev, not noticing significant differences. The most representative "Turgenev girls" are Natalya Lasunskaya, Liza Kalitina, Elena Stakhova. Each of them grows up and develops into an established personality before the reader's eyes, as it goes through a series of trials - 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 its essence in its entirety.
Some other Turgenev's heroines retain only certain features of the cultural-historical type he created. The female characters of the previously named stories ("Correspondence", "Faust") are at the initial (if it is appropriate to put it this way) stage of development of the "Turgenev girl". The story can be called an experimental platform for Turgenev to develop his novel plots and characters. Perhaps the closest to the model of the "Turgenev girl" Masha Perekatova from the story "Breter", in which there are two contenders and the motive of the test.
But Asya, 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 courtyard peasant woman and a master. 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 the unsociable, "almost forgotten how to speak" master-father, and at the age of thirteen goes under the patronage of her half-brother. All this gives rise to a "fundamental imbalance" in her, or deformation of consciousness, disharmony of the personality.
According to a specialist in psychoanalysis, S.N. Zimovets, Asya “lives in the clinical space of a passionate passion, the call of which makes her constantly stay in extreme states of sensibility modes: a superfast change in the limiting values of mental states and their signs is displayed in a special dynamics and even some kind of cinematic change in the author's micronarratives”. Of course, Asya aroused and evokes sympathy and sympathy from 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 feelings. But one can also agree with the opinion of a specialist that “Asi’s feeling is unmotivated and suddenly”: “It seizes her swiftly and catastrophically, like an infection”. A.N. Ostrovsky, who ironically remarked that this girl had "scrofula driven inside."
Apparently, in the female characters created by Turgenev, a special type of "Turgenev girl" should be distinguished, the dominant features of which are not only youth, innocence, moral purity, but also integrity, harmony, striving 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. In the future, under the influence of new demands of the time, the appearance of works on female psychology and his own growing up, Turgenev develops the character he found, modifies it, endows each heroine with an individuality peculiar only to her. As farmstead culture disappears, the "Turgenev girl" with her dominant features 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 the Turgenev girl: ontological, archetypal, historical-social and psychological. She necessarily thinks about the meaning of life, looking for her purpose; she is characterized by intellectual and aesthetic development with all the interests that follow from this; it was formed by the manor culture of the 1840s-1860s. with its inherent etiquette, ritual of behavior. Finally, the psychological level is the most individualized, although pride is a common feature for all.
The Turgenev girl as a code went beyond literature and culture, entering public consciousness and social life. Competitions of Turgenev girls are an interesting phenomenon. It was first held in Oryol in 2007 as part of the Fashion for Russian International Festival. At first, it was designated as the Competition of Intelligence and Creativity and was held as a vivid theatrical performance - an interregional competition of Russian style and etiquette. It was initiated by the Oryol Regional Center of Folk Art in cooperation with the Department of Culture and Archival Affairs of the Oryol Region. The winner of the competition received the title of "Turgenev girl" and was awarded a trip to the "Turgenev" Paris. A trip to St. Petersburg was organized for all the other participants.
Currently, the competition has received an independent status.
Goals and objectives of the competition
- education of an intellectual, moral and creative personality on the spiritual ideals of Russian literature;
- the formation of initiative and sociability among young people, the all-round development of the personality, the desire to improve physically and spiritually;
- identification of 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;
- preservation of cultural values and traditions of the peoples of the Russian Federation, tangible and intangible heritage of Russian culture and its use as a resource for spiritual and economic development;
- development of the cultural potential of the nation;
- study of the peculiarities of the Russian female character, intelligence, tact, mental fortitude and their projection into the worldview and character of a modern Russian girl;
- strengthening common cultural interests and intergenerational proximity;
- popularization of the creative heritage of the outstanding Russian writer Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev;
- the formation of 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 16-22 years old (born in 1996-2002) living in the territory of the Russian Federation, recommended by regional bodies 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 competitive materials to the organizing committee of the competition:
1.Application for participation(Appendix No. 2), questionnaire of the accompanying person (representative of the region) (Appendix No. 3)
2. A completed and signed form for the processing of personal data, both the participant and the accompanying person (representative of the region). For underage participants, it is drawn up 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... Social project - a type of activity aimed at developing the social sphere (for example, helping orphans, solving environmental problems, promoting a healthy lifestyle, helping homeless animals, etc.);
6. Essay on the topic "Letter to Turgenev"... The work must correspond to the genre of the essay. This is a small mini-essay in which the participant expresses his vision of the topic, trying to justify it, express his thoughts and feelings. (Appendix No. 5).
- Competitive program.
October 19-20 in Oryol, a competitive selection will take place, where the jury will choose the winner of the title "Turgenev Girl - 2018".
The competitive selection program includes:
1. "Business card" competition . The competitor must introduce herself, talk about her hobbies, 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. Competition of artistic recitation "Out of time and space" dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of I.S. Turgenev. The contestant recites any poem or a logically complete excerpt 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). The contestant shows, with the participation of a support group, a logically complete fragment in the form of a musical performance, literary and musical composition, combining 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 was imitated: in Yakutsk on March 22, 2018, in one of the secondary schools, it was organized on the model of Orlovsky "Solving the Mystery of the Turgenev Girl".
They evaluated the originality and originality of costumes, plasticity and conformity to the image, the ability to keep in touch with the audience. The participants talked about their hobbies, interests, and also about their understanding of the image of the "Turgenev girl".
For a well-bred girl in the 19th century, knowledge of English, French, German languages, handicrafts were considered obligatory, they also studied painting and music, and dances. The second was a creative competition, which consisted of two tasks: the participants demonstrated their creative abilities, and then artistic and stage skills in reading excerpts from works of art.
The third was an intellectual competition, which allowed the jury to assess the horizons, erudition, knowledge of literature, art, painting. Each of the participants answered questions that she took out of the "magic" box.
These competitions show the relevance of this literary code and have a beneficial effect on the contemporary, as they contribute to the development of 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 one wants 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". SPb., 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. // The creative path of Turgenev. Pg., 1923.
4. Burenin V. Turgenev's literary activity. SPb., 1884.
5. Memoirs of Praskovya Nikolaevna Tatlina (1812–1854) // Russian archive. 1899. Nos. 9–12. P. 220.
6. Gumilev N. Poems. Prose.
7. Domansky V.A. Russian estate text: the image of the world, aesthetics, poetics // Domansky V.A., Kafanova O.B., Sharafadina K.I. Literature in the synthesis of arts. The garden is like a city and a text. SPb., 2010. P. 14–25.
9. Zimovets S.N. Turgenev girl: genealogy of affect (experience of invective psychoanalysis) // Clinical anthropology. M., 2003.
10. Erofeev V. Encyclopedia of the Russian soul Turgenev girl // Radio freedom. Electronic resource: http: // archive.svoboda.org/ programs/ encl / 2004 / encl. 042404.as.
11. Kafanova O.B. Russian georges-Sandism // Leaders of minds and fashion. A foreign name as an inherited model of life. SPb, 2003.
12. Kafanova O.B. Georges Sand and Russian Literature of the 19th Century. (Myths and Reality.) 1830-1860 Tomsk, 1998 .-- 410 p.
13. Kafanova O.B. The Phenomenon of Georges Sand in Russia in the 19th Century // Georges Sand. Bibliography of Russian translations and critical literature in Russian. Ed. Corresponding Member RAS A.D. Mikhailova. T. 1.1832-1900 M., 2005.
14. Kiyko E.I. The heroine of the Georgesand type in Turgenev's story "Correspondence" // Russian Literature. 1984. No. 4.
15. Loy A. Turgenev girl. Electronic resource: http://samlib.ru/l/loj_a_w/turgen.shtml
16. Muratova T. Turgenev girl // Electronic resource: http://www.stihi.ru/2009/07/06/760.
17. Nadtochy E. Topological problematization of the connection between subject and affect in Russian literature. (From philosophical observations on the evolution of the poetics of scrofula) // Logos, 1999. № 2 (12).
18. Nikolaev Y. Turgenev. Critical study. M., 1894.
19. Pavlova K.K. Collected op. M., 1915.Vol. 2.
20. Pumpyanskiy L.V. Turgenev's novels and the novel "On the Eve". Historical and literary sketch // Turgenev I.S. Op. M .; L., 1929.Vol. 6.
21. Turgenev I.S. Full collection op. and letters: In 30 volumes. Works: In 12 volumes. M., 1978-1986. Letters: In 18 volumes, Moscow, 1982–213. P. 179.
22. Shashkov S.S. The history of a Russian woman. SPb., 1879.
23. E. Yufereva. The future of the "Turgenev girl" // Electronic resource: turgenev-archive. blogspot. com / 2011 /03/blog-post.html.
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F the prints of these girls speak for themselves. This is a type, I would even say, a diagnosis. Clean and modest, without bright makeup and vulgarity, but feminine and well-mannered. They have strict moral principles. They are ready to sacrifice themselves for a cause or love. Men often refer to them as ideal wives. I wonder what they say after looking at the photos?
B The Belgian photographer Philippe Erbe collected them for his project all over Russia. With the help of his friend Irina, he looked for them all over Russia: those who do not swear, love classical music and classical literature, and wear strict clothes. That is why there is no information about whether they are virgins - who can ask a lady like that - but, probably, yes. Or just for great love. They are not necessarily beautiful, but, as they say, they have tremendous moral strength. They live in modern Russia, misunderstood by anyone, and wear skirts no shorter than knee-deep. We look at portraits:
“... was not absent-minded: on the contrary, she studied diligently, read and worked willingly. She felt deeply and strongly, but secretly; even in childhood she rarely cried, but now she rarely even sighed, and only turned pale when something upset her "(Natalya Lasunskaya from the novel" Rudin ")
“Weakness angered her, stupidity angered her, she did not forgive a lie“ forever and ever ”; her demands did not give up before anything, the very prayers were more than once interfered with reproach. As soon as a person lost her respect, - and she pronounced the judgment soon, often too soon, - and he ceased to exist for her. " (Elena Stakhova from "On the Eve")
“All imbued with a sense of duty, fear of offending anyone, with a kind and meek heart, she loved everyone and no one in particular” (Liza Kalitina from “Noble Nest”)
“She was very good-looking, lively and meek disposition. Her gray, light eyes looked good-naturedly and directly from under childishly raised eyebrows; she smiled almost constantly and laughed quite often too. Her fresh voice sounded very pleasant; she moved freely, quickly - and blushed cheerfully. (Liza Ozhogina from "Diary of an Extra Man")
So I want to ask - would you fall in love with such a woman?
Would you feel good with her? What do you think of them at all? Anachronism, or?
all photos from the site
The expression "Turgenev girl" is not a phraseological unit, it is a literary stereotype, which was formed on the basis of the images of several heroines of Ivan Turgenev.
It is very interesting and, probably, even popular, although, as before, few people understand it.
The Turgenev girl is the eternal ideal of those who appreciate the real feminine beauty in her soul.
In a general sense, a Turgenev girl is understood as a modest girl, far from the big world, with a rich inner world.
In the view of Turgenev, such a girl is the canon of a Russian woman, combining intelligence and simplicity, strong character and endless devotion. The Turgenev girl is often dreamy, but true to one idea, for the sake of which she can sacrifice herself. She falls in love not with the outer gloss, but with the soul. And he loves with his soul.
An example of such a type can be Natalya Alekseevna Lasunskaya from the novel "Rudin", who "at first glance might not like it," who "spoke little, listened and looked attentively, almost intently," "often remained motionless, dropped her hands and thought," but while she “studied diligently, read and worked willingly.<...>She felt deeply and strongly, but secretly. "
Another heroine is Elena Nikolaevna Stakhova from the novel "On the Eve". "In her whole being, in the expression on her face, attentive and a little fearful, in a clear but changeable gaze, in her smile, as if tense, in her voice, quiet and uneven, there was something nervous, electric, something impulsive and hasty , in a word, something that could not be liked by everyone, that even repulsed others. " "Weakness angered her, stupidity angered her, she did not forgive lies" forever and ever "; her demands did not retreat before anything, the very prayers more than once interfered with reproach." Nothing could ever satisfy her: she always longed for active good. Nobody embarrassed her, but she was torn and yearned: "How to live without love, but there is no one to love!"
Of course, Asya from the well-known story cannot be ignored. "There was something of her own, special, in the warehouse of her swarthy, round face, with a small thin nose, almost childish cheeks and black, light eyes. She was gracefully folded, but as if not yet fully developed." Asya is having fun, then sad, then climbs the ruins of the castle to water the flowers. She quickly falls in love with the narrator and throws herself into an embrace, but immediately runs away, having received a reproach from her lover.
There are many other "Turgenev girls": Liza Kalitina from "Noble Nest", Marianna Sinetskaya from the novel "Nov", Liza from the story "Diary of an Extra Man", Vera from the story "Faust". Possessing different character traits, having different biographies, they all have something in common. They feel like strangers in a secular environment, they subjugate men not so much with their beauty as with their dissimilarity from others, their strong nature. Probably, in our time, this "Turgenev ideal" is becoming more and more in demand, although very rare.
Finally, I will quote lines from the poem by Konstantin Dmitrievich Balmont "In memory of I. S. Turgenev" ("Days are passing ..."):
And there in the distance, where the grove is so foggy,
Where the ray barely flutters over the path, -
Elena, Masha, Lisa, Marianna,
Both Asya and unfortunate Susanna -
Gathered in an airy crowd.
Familiar whimsical shadows
Creations of love and beauty
And virgin and feminine dreams, -
They were summoned to life by a pure, gentle genius,
Have you ever noticed that there are no expressions like "Tolstoy's girl" or "Chekhov's young lady"? And a pearl like “Dostoevskaya” or “Gogol's” girl is completely unthinkable! But the expression "Turgenev's young lady" still lives on! What is the reason? And who is she, the favorite heroine of the great writer?
I think it is worth starting with the personality and fate of I.S.Turgenev himself. Many know that the novelist had a strong passion for the French singer Pauline Viardot. This story of unrequited love still worries people, plays are staged about it, films are made. The writer himself never got married.
The Turgenev girl is feminine, not always beautiful at first glance, but at the same time she is distinguished by some special charm. She is in a sense “out of this world”: she reads a lot, is romantic, impressionable, lives in her own world, a bright introvert. This is how the author introduces to readers Natalia Lasunskaya from the novel “Rudin”: “She often remained motionless, dropped her hands and thought; her face then expressed the inner work of her thoughts ... She felt deeply and strongly, but secretly ... "Tatyana Larina can be considered an ideal example of a Turgenev young lady who, however, came from the pen of another writer and poet.
Between love and moral norms, the heroine will choose the latter, she is impeccably virtuous. For her, purity of conscience is perhaps even the most important criterion for happiness. Only at first glance, Turgenev's heroine is weak and helpless; in fact, she has a powerful potential of inner strength based on a sense of moral duty.
The Turgenev girl is prone to self-sacrifice, for the sake of a loved one she can do a lot. Her reserve of strength can be more powerful than that of a man, and she is drawn forward by the power of calling. An unusual character breeds an unusual destiny. The heroines of Turgenev boldly go to war (Elena in "On the Eve"), and to the revolution (like Marianna in "Novi"), and to the monastery (Liza Kalitina in the "Noble nest"). The Turgenev young lady serves either a beloved man, or an idea, and sometimes both at the same time. She can combine seemingly irreconcilable qualities: rationality in her is adjacent to impulses of feelings and stubbornness.
The heroine of Turgenev is not like the Beautiful Lady of the Middle Ages, who simply receives attention from her knight. Rather, she herself will become a knight and, like some women from Russian fairy tales, will go to save her hero. Therefore, she is not weak and weak-willed, as it seems at first glance: “... From her whole being, something strong and courageous, something impetuous and passionate,” - this is how the author describes Marianne (novel “New”). The inner integrity, loyalty to oneself of Turgenev's heroines is amazing! Let us recall, for example, Liza Kalitina: “All imbued with a sense of duty, fear of offending anyone, with a kind and meek heart, she loved everyone and no one in particular; she loved one God enthusiastically, timidly, tenderly. "
Not all writers were close to the image of such a girl. Arkady Averchenko in the story "The Death of a Girl by the Fence" caustically ridicules the attempts of modern women to be like the heroines of Turgenev. According to the satirist, the type of such a girl is impossible in the changed realities.
There are many stereotypes about the Turgenev girl, the modern world gives this type its own interpretation. Sometimes this is the name for simple romantic young ladies, or those who read a lot and can go headlong into the book world. There is also an idea that this girl is nervous, unbalanced, hysterical; or very modest, almost downtrodden, or simply out of date. But I still think that a true Turgenev young lady harmoniously combines all the qualities that I wrote about above. In the modern world, there are, perhaps, really few of them.
© Evgeniya Novoseltseva
For the overwhelming majority of ordinary people, the image of a Turgenev girl is associated with a certain infantile creature, always in a modest dress and a long maiden braid, waiting for the Prince Charming on her porch. A kind of preparation for the ideal wife - "forever barefoot, constantly pregnant and in the kitchen with a ladle in hand." Say, this will never run "to the left", sees all her happiness in her family and children, and worships 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 described by Turgenev in the story of the same name, which gave the name to the definition of “Turgenev's girl”. Turgenevskaya Asya is an open nature, ardent, noble. Yes, she is modest and shy, very constrained and closed in society, but not because she does not like society - just her whole previous life took place in different conditions, and she has not yet found her demeanor in a new role for herself - 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 adoring. 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 a fairly high self-esteem, but she makes the same high demands on her chosen one. And here she is ready not to waste her time on trifles - she is ready to wait for him as long as she has enough strength, not thinking that the girl's beautiful age is not so long.
The world does not stand still, and modern ideas about the Turgenev girl are also undergoing changes. And here lies the delusion of many, for whom the Turgenev girl is a dumb knucklehead who accidentally wandered into the present from the noble nineteenth century. Yes, this girl differs from the rest and her purity, and the absence of bad habits, and the desire to find her only one, 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 have remained the same - men have also changed.
The modern young man already looks and speaks and thinks quite differently. And it's good if modern Asya is able to understand this in time and discerns behind the unromantic appearance of her Prince. She will be rewarded in the form of a happy life in the family, with the fulfillment of the dream of a quiet, comfortable 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, as she is with him. She will love him ardently and passionately, with all the strength of unspent love. If he is tactful enough with her, then perhaps she will discover the joys of sex for herself. It will be the same Turgenev girl, but descended from the world of dreams and dreams into real earthly life.
