In this blog post, we will examine the life and literary characteristics of Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev, as well as the background of his major works.

Turgenev and His Connection to Western Europe

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818–1883) is often regarded as the most Western European of 19th-century Russian writers. This assessment stems in part from the fact that few writers spent as much time in Western Europe as he did. Thanks to his long stay in Europe, his works became known to Western European readers earlier than those of other Russian writers, and he also cultivated close friendships with Western European intellectuals.
Turgenev loved the bright, clean, and refreshing French culture, immersed himself deeply in German idealist philosophy and Feuerbach, and offered sincere praise for Italy’s sublime cultural heritage. These cultural tastes and broad-mindedness were reflected in his literature, revealing a unifying tendency to harmonize various ideas and emotions rather than relying on Slavic or extreme modes of thought, and leading to a preference for concise expression over complex explanations.
His short story “Faust,” composed in the form of a series of letters, is regarded as a beautiful work of art. With its strong autobiographical elements, the work can be seen as a literary sublimation of the author’s own emotions, effectively conveying a man’s unrequited love for a married woman and the destructive consequences that follow. The story was published in 1856 in the magazine ‘Contemporaries’ under the subtitle “A Story in Nine Letters.”

Plot, Style, and Nature Descriptions in Major Works

The Plot and Characters of “Faust”

In his youth, Turgenev was deeply immersed in Goethe’s ‘Faust’, and in 1844, he translated parts of Goethe’s work, earning praise from the critic Belinsky. His short stories are imbued with a Goethean sensibility. Pavel, a character in the story, attempted to marry Vera in his youth but was forced to abandon the marriage due to her mother’s opposition.
Vera, who had Italian ancestry, was raised under her mother’s strict upbringing; her mother feared the intense passions that poetry and other arts might evoke. Having received such an education, Vera kept her distance from all works of art until her marriage; by the age of twenty-eight, despite having given birth to three children, she had never read a single novel or poem. After her marriage, she breaks free from Mrs. Yelchova’s taboos, but Vera herself still shuns “products of the imagination.”
Pavel reads Goethe’s ‘Faust’ to her, and through this, Vera opens her eyes to the Faustian world. This awakening, in which she rediscovers her long-suppressed desires for life and her passion for freedom, serves as a crucial turning point throughout the work and ultimately makes the catastrophic consequences of her unrequited love all the more tragic.

“Three Meetings” and the Characteristics of Turgenev’s Literature

The lyrical style and romantic atmosphere of ‘Faust’ are also a characteristic of Turgenev’s writing that was already evident in the short story ‘Three Meetings’, published five years earlier. ‘Three Meetings’ is a short story written in 1851; its original title was ‘The Old Estate’, and it was published in the magazine ‘Contemporaries’ in 1852 under the title ‘Three Meetings’.
“Three Meetings” is a fanciful and somewhat fantastical story that hints at a mysterious enigma; it is considered one of the most personal and confessional works among those written by the author in the early 1850s. The first few chapters of the work are set in Italy and are quite autobiographical; in fact, Turgenev’s experience of spending several days in Sorrento in the spring of 1840 greatly aided him in writing this story.
In “Three Meetings,” the protagonist’s psychology, as well as the women’s love and despair, are narrated with a fantastical yet delicate touch; in particular, the descriptions of nature are filled with lyrical beauty throughout the work. These depictions of nature are among the greatest virtues of Turgenev’s prose, and the landscapes he creates captivate the reader’s heart wherever they appear in the work.
Turgenev primarily depicted the nature of the plains. He enjoyed describing the plains and forests of his native Central Russia, and he portrayed small-scale scenes—such as undulating barley fields, streams flowing through tranquil plains, gentle breezes, and sunsets—with exceptional skill. In such depictions of nature, he still holds a position that is unparalleled throughout history.
In terms of his literary approach, Turgenev loved humanity and was a solemn realist—an author who placed great importance on reality. His impartial attitude and love for truth were also defining characteristics of his personality.
Turgenev also left behind 82 exquisite prose poems in his later years. These prose poems, in which his philosophical ideas and various artistic elements are condensed through symbolic techniques, occupy a unique place even among his late works.
Turgenev passed away in August 1883, the year after he published his prose poems, at the age of 65 in the suburbs of Paris. His remains were transported to Russia in early October and, in accordance with his will, were laid to rest in the Vorkovo Cemetery in St. Petersburg, where the critic Belinsky is buried.