Dobrolyubov's article when will the real day come. Notes

Nikolai Alexandrovich Dobrolyubov

When will the real day come?

(“On the Eve”, a story by I. S. Turgenev. “Russian Messenger”, 1860, No. 1–2)

Schlage die Trommel und furchte dich nicht!

Aesthetic criticism has now become the property of sensitive young ladies. From conversations with them, ministers of pure art can draw many subtle and true remarks and then write criticism of this kind. “Here is the content of Mr. Turgenev's new story (a story of content). Already from this pale sketch it is clear how much life and poetry of the freshest and most fragrant is here. But only reading the story itself can give an idea of ​​that flair for the subtlest poetic nuances of life, that sharp mental analysis, that deep understanding of the invisible jets and currents of social thought, that friendly and at the same time bold attitude towards reality, which constitute the distinctive features of Mr. Turgenev. See, for example, how subtly these mental traits are noted (repetition of one part of the story of the content and then an extract); read this wonderful scene, full of such grace and charm (extract); remember this poetic, lively picture (extract) or this tall, bold image (extract). Isn't it true that it penetrates into the depths of your soul, makes your heart beat faster, enlivens and decorates your life, elevates human dignity and the great, eternal significance of the holy ideas of truth, goodness and beauty before you! Comme c "est joli, comme c" est delicieux!

We are indebted to a small acquaintance with sensitive young ladies because we do not know how to write such pleasant and harmless critics. Frankly admitting this and refusing the role of "educator of the aesthetic taste of the public", we choose another task, more modest and more commensurate with our forces. We simply want to sum up the data that are scattered in the writer's work and which we accept as a fait accompli, as a vital phenomenon that stands before us. The work is simple, but necessary, because, after many occupations and recreations, rarely will anyone want to peer into all the details of a literary work, to disassemble, check and put in their place all the figures that make up this complex account of one of the aspects of our social life. life, and then think about the outcome and what it promises and obliges us to do. And this kind of verification and reflection is very useful in connection with Mr. Turgenev's new story.

We know that pure aesthetics will immediately accuse us of striving to impose our opinions on the author and assign tasks to his talent. Therefore, we will make a reservation, even though it is boring. No, we do not impose anything on the author, we say in advance that we do not know for what purpose, as a result of what preliminary considerations, he depicted the story that constitutes the content of the story “On the Eve”. It is not so important for us that wanted tell the author how much, what affected them, even if unintentionally, simply as a result of a faithful reproduction of the facts of life. We value every talented work precisely because in it we can study the facts of our native life, which is already so little open to the gaze of a simple observer. There is still no publicity in our life, except for the official one; everywhere we come across not living people, but officials serving in one department or another: in public places - with pen-writers, at balls - with dancers, in clubs - with gamblers, in theaters - with hairdressing patients, etc. Everyone buries further his spiritual life; everyone looks at you like that, as if saying: “After all, I came here to dance or to show my hair; well, be satisfied that I am doing my job, and please don’t try to extort my feelings and ideas from me. And indeed, no one is asking anyone, no one is interested in anyone, and the whole society goes apart, annoyed that it should converge on official occasions, like a new opera, a dinner party, or some kind of committee meeting. Where is there to learn and study the life of a person who has not devoted himself exclusively to the observation of social mores? And then what diversity, what even opposition in the various circles and classes of our society! Thoughts that have already become vulgar and backward in one circle are still hotly disputed in another; what is recognized by some as insufficient and weak, by others it seems too sharp and bold, etc. , her artistic works. The writer-artist, not caring about any general conclusions about the state of social thought and morality, is always able, however, to capture their most essential features, brightly illuminate and directly place them before the eyes of thinking people. That is why we believe that as soon as talent is recognized in a writer-artist, that is, the ability to feel and depict the vital truth of phenomena, then, by virtue of this very recognition, his works give a legitimate reason for reasoning about that environment of life, about that era , which caused this or that work in the writer. And the yardstick for a writer's talent here will be the extent to which life is widely captured by him, the extent to which the images that he creates are strong and voluminous.

We considered it necessary to state this in order to justify our method of interpreting the phenomena of life itself on the basis of a literary work, without, however, imposing on the author any preconceived ideas and tasks. The reader sees that for us it is precisely those works that are important in which life has affected itself, and not according to a program thought up in advance by the author. About A Thousand Souls, for example, we did not speak at all, because, in our opinion, the whole social side of this novel is forcibly fitted to a preconceived idea. Therefore, there is nothing to talk about here, except for the extent to which the author deftly composed his essay. It is impossible to rely on the truth and the living reality of the facts stated by the author, because his inner attitude to these facts is neither simple nor true. We do not see such an attitude of the author to the plot in Mr. Turgenev's new story, as in most of his stories. In "On the Eve" we see the irresistible influence of the natural course of social life and thought, to which the very thought and imagination of the author involuntarily submitted.

Setting the main task of literary criticism to be the explanation of those phenomena of reality that gave rise to a well-known work of art, we must note, moreover, that in application to the stories of Mr. Turgenev this task also has a special meaning. G. Turgenev can rightly be called the representative and singer of that morality and philosophy that has dominated our educated society in the last twenty years. He quickly divined new needs, new ideas introduced into the public consciousness, and in his works he usually drew (as far as circumstances allowed) attention to the question that was on the queue and was already vaguely beginning to excite society. We hope, on another occasion, to trace the entire literary activity of Mr. Turgenev, and therefore we will not now expand on this. We will only say that to this author's instinct for the living strings of society, to this ability to immediately respond to every noble thought and honest feeling, which is just beginning to penetrate the consciousness of the best people, we attribute a significant share of the success that Mr. Turgenev constantly enjoyed in the Russian public . Of course, literary talent in itself contributed a lot to this success. But our readers know that Mr. Turgenev's talent is not one of those titanic talents which, by the sole force of poetic representation, amaze, captivate you and draw you to sympathy for such a phenomenon or idea with which you are not at all disposed to sympathize, not a stormy, impetuous force, but on the contrary, softness and some kind of poetic moderation are the characteristic features of his talent. Therefore, we believe that he could not arouse the general sympathy of the public if he touched on issues and needs that are completely alien to his readers or not yet aroused in society. Some would notice the charm of poetic descriptions in his stories, the subtlety and depth in the outlines of various persons and positions, but, without any doubt, this would not be enough to make the writer a lasting success and glory. Without a lively attitude to the present, every, even the most likeable and talented narrator, must suffer the fate of Mr. Fet, who was once praised, but now only a dozen amateurs remember a dozen of the best poems. A lively attitude to the present saved Mr. Turgenev and secured his permanent success among the reading public. Some thoughtful critic even once reproached Mr. Turgenev for the fact that "all the fluctuations of social thought" were so strongly reflected in his activities (2). But despite this, we see here precisely the most vital side of Mr. Turgenev's talent, and with this side we explain why every work of his has hitherto been met with such sympathy, almost with enthusiasm.

Nikolai Alexandrovich Dobrolyubov

When will the real day come?

(The day before. The story of I.S. Turgenev.

"Russian Messenger", 1860, No. 1-2.)

Schlage die Trommel und furchte dich nicht.

* Beat the drum and don't be afraid. Heine[*] (German).

Aesthetic criticism has now become the property of sensitive young ladies. From conversations with them, ministers of pure art can draw many subtle and true remarks and then write criticism in the following way: “Here is the content of Mr. Turgenev’s new story (a story of content). Already from this pale essay it is clear how much life and poetry of the freshest but only reading the story itself can give an idea of ​​that flair for the finest poetic nuances of life, of that sharp mental analysis, of that deep understanding of the invisible jets and currents of social thought, of that friendly and at the same time bold attitude towards reality, which constitute distinctive Turgenev's talent traits.Look, for example, how subtly these mental traits are noted (repetition of one part from the story of the content and then an extract); read this wonderful scene, full of such grace and charm (extract); remember this poetic living picture (extract ) or this tall, bold image (extract) Isn't it true that this penetrates into the depths of the soul, makes the heart Our heart beats stronger, enlivens and adorns your life, elevates before you human dignity and the great, eternal significance of the holy ideas of truth, goodness and beauty! Comme c "est joli, comme c" est delicieux!

* How beautiful it is, how charming it is! (French).

We are indebted to a small acquaintance with sensitive young ladies because we do not know how to write such pleasant and harmless critics. Frankly admitting this and refusing the role of "educator of the aesthetic taste of the public", we choose another task, more modest and more commensurate with our forces. We simply want to sum up the data that are scattered in the writer's work and which we accept as a fait accompli, as a vital phenomenon that stands before us. The work is simple, but necessary, because, after many occupations and recreations, rarely will anyone want to peer into all the details of a literary work, to disassemble, check and put in their place all the figures that make up this complex account of one of the aspects of our social life. life, and then think about the outcome and what it promises and obliges us to do. And this kind of verification and reflection is very useful with regard to Mr. Turgenev's new story.

We know that pure aesthetics[*]* will immediately accuse us of striving to impose their opinions on the author and assign tasks to his talent. Therefore, we will make a reservation, even though it is boring. No, we do not impose anything on the author, we say in advance that we do not know for what purpose, as a result of what preliminary considerations, he depicted the story that constitutes the content of the story "On the Eve". For us, what is important is not so much what the author wanted to say, but what was said to them, even if unintentionally, simply as a result of a truthful reproduction of the facts of life. We value every talented work precisely because in it we can study the facts of our native life, which is already so little open to the gaze of a simple observer. There is still no publicity in our life, except for the official one; everywhere we come across not living people, but officials serving in one department or another: in public places - with pen-writers, at balls - with dancers, in clubs - with gamblers, in theaters - with hairdressing patients, etc. Everyone buries further his spiritual life; everyone looks at you like that, as if saying: “After all, I came here to dance or to show my hair; well, be satisfied that I am doing my job, and please don’t try to extort my feelings and ideas from me ". And indeed, no one is tormenting anyone, no one is interested in anyone, and the whole society goes apart, annoyed that it should converge on official occasions, like a new opera, a dinner party, or some kind of committee meeting. Where is there to learn and study the life of a person who has not devoted himself exclusively to the observation of social mores? And then what diversity, what even opposition in the various circles and classes of our society! Thoughts that have become vulgar and backward in one circle are still hotly contested in another; what is considered by some to be insufficient and weak, to others it seems too harsh and bold, and so on. What falls, what wins, what begins to take root and prevail in the moral life of society - we have no other indicator of this than literature, and mainly its artistic works. The writer-artist, not caring about any general conclusions about the state of social thought and morality, is always able, however, to capture their most essential features, brightly illuminate and directly place them before the eyes of thinking people. That is why we believe that as soon as talent is recognized in a writer-artist, that is, the ability to feel and depict the vital truth of phenomena, then, by virtue of this very recognition, his works give a legitimate reason for reasoning about that environment of life, about that era , which caused this or that work in the writer. And the yardstick for a writer's talent here will be the extent to which life is widely captured by him, the extent to which the images that he creates are strong and voluminous.

* For notes on words marked with [*], see the end of the text.

We considered it necessary to state this in order to justify our method of interpreting the phenomena of life itself on the basis of a literary work, without, however, imposing on the author any preconceived ideas and tasks. The reader sees that for us it is precisely those works that are important in which life has affected itself, and not according to a program thought up in advance by the author. About "A Thousand Souls"[*], for example, we did not talk at all, because, in our opinion, the entire social side of this novel is forcibly fitted to a pre-composed idea. Therefore, there is nothing to talk about here, except for the extent to which the author deftly composed his essay. It is impossible to rely on the truth and the living reality of the facts stated by the author, because his inner attitude to these facts is neither simple nor true. We do not see such an attitude of the author to the plot in the new story of Mr. Turgenev, as in most of his stories. In "On the Eve" we see the irresistible influence of the natural course of social life and thought, to which the very thought and imagination of the author involuntarily submitted.

Setting the main task of literary criticism - the explanation of those phenomena of reality that caused a well-known work of art, we must note, moreover, that in the application to the stories of Mr. Turgenev, this task also has its own meaning. G. Turgenev can rightly be called a painter and singer of that morality and philosophy that has dominated our educated society in the last twenty years. He quickly guessed new needs, new ideas introduced into the public consciousness, and in his works he certainly drew (as circumstances allowed) attention to the question that was on the queue and was already vaguely beginning to excite society. We hope, on another occasion, to trace the entire literary activity of Mr. Turgenev, and therefore we will not expand on this now. We will only say that to this author's instinct for the living strings of society, to this ability to immediately respond to every noble thought and honest feeling that is just beginning to penetrate the minds of the best people, we attribute a significant share of the success that Mr. Turgenev constantly enjoyed in the Russian public . Of course, literary talent in itself contributed a lot to this success. But our readers know that Mr. Turgenev's talent is not one of those titanic talents that, by the sole force of a poetic presentation, amaze, captivate you and draw you to sympathy for such a phenomenon or idea with which you are not at all disposed to sympathize. Not a stormy, impetuous force, but, on the contrary, softness and some kind of poetic moderation serve as the characteristic features of his talent. Therefore, we believe that he could not arouse the general sympathy of the public if he touched on issues and needs that are completely alien to his readers or have not yet been raised in society. Some would notice the charm of poetic descriptions in his stories, the subtlety and depth in the outlines of various persons and positions, but, without any doubt, this would not be enough to make the writer a lasting success and glory. Without a lively attitude to the present, every, even the most sympathetic and talented narrator, must suffer the fate of Mr. Fet, who was once praised, but from whom now only a dozen lovers remember a dozen of the best poems. A lively attitude to the present saved Mr. Turgenev and strengthened his permanent success in the reading public. Some thoughtful critic[*] once even reproached Mr. Turgenev for the fact that "all the fluctuations of social thought" were so strongly reflected in his activities. But, despite this, we see here precisely the most vital side of Mr. Turgenev's talent, and with this side we explain why every work of his has hitherto been met with such sympathy, almost with enthusiasm.

The article is devoted to criticism of Turgenev's work "On the Eve". Dobrolyubov immediately stipulates the principles according to which Turgenev’s work will be considered: “we say in advance that we don’t know for what purpose, as a result of what preliminary considerations, he depicted the story that constitutes the content of the story “On the Eve”. It is not so much important for us what the author wanted to say, but what was said to them, even if unintentionally, simply as a result of a truthful reproduction of the facts of life .... we will talk about the phenomena of life itself on the basis of a literary work, without imposing, however, the author has no preconceived ideas and tasks. It is impossible to rely on the truth and the living reality of the facts stated by the author, because his inner attitude to these facts is neither simple nor true. We do not see such an attitude of the author to the plot in Mr. Turgenev's new story, as in most of his stories. In "On the Eve" we see the irresistible influence of the natural course of social life and thought, to which the very thought and imagination of the author involuntarily submitted.

ON THE. Dobrolyubov also expresses his opinion on Turgenev’s work: “G. Turgenev can rightly be called the representative and singer of that morality and philosophy that has dominated our educated society in the last twenty years. He quickly divined new needs, new ideas introduced into the public consciousness, and in his works he usually drew (as far as circumstances allowed) attention to the question that stood in the queue and was already vaguely beginning to excite society ... A lively attitude to modernity saved Mr. Turgenev and consolidated his continued success in the reading public.

Dobrolyubov characterizes the creative path of Turgenev. He notes Turgenev's orientation to the sphere of higher ideas, the writer's desire to bring noble ideas into the rough and vulgar reality, which deviated far from them. The heroes of Turgenev's works played the role of bringing new ideas to a certain circle, these are heroes - enlighteners, propagandists. In general, what they did is a respectable and noble deed. However, all these gentlemen are excellent, noble, intelligent, but, in essence, idle people. Drawing their images in various positions and collisions, Mr. Turgenev himself usually treated them with touching participation, with heartache over their sufferings, and constantly aroused the same feeling in the mass of readers. After The Nest of Nobles, critical remarks began to be made by those who expected much more from the protagonist Lavretsky.

And here comes the novel "On the Eve". Undoubtedly, Turgenev has already understood that his former heroes cannot win the hearts of readers and arouse sympathy; accordingly, he is making an attempt to take the road along which the advanced movement of the present is taking place. In "On the Eve" there are already other positions, other types.

Dobrolyubov considers in detail the main characters of "On the Eve". Elena is characterized by him as timid, almost massive, but possessing a wealth of internal forces and a languishing thirst for activity. Dobrolyubov believes that there is something unfinished in the heroine. But in this incompleteness of the personality, in the lack of a practical role, “we see the living connection of the heroine of Mr. Turgenev with our entire educated society. According to the way Elena’s character is conceived, at its core she is an exceptional phenomenon, and if in fact she was everywhere the spokeswoman for her views and aspirations, she would turn out to be alien to Russian society and would not have the same meaning for us as now. In our entire society, there is now only a awakened desire to get down to the real thing, a consciousness of the vulgarity of various beautiful toys, sublime reasoning and motionless forms with which we have been amusing ourselves and fooling ourselves for so long. But we still haven’t left the sphere in which we could sleep so peacefully, and we don’t know well where the way out is; and if anyone finds out, he is still afraid to open it. This difficult, agonizing transitional state of society leaves its mark on the work of art.

Turgenevskaya Elena is a new attempt (after Goncharovskaya Olga) to create a truly energetic, active character. Dobrolyubov believes that Turgenev did not quite succeed in describing this character.

As for Insarov, Dobrolyubov does not see anything unusual or extraordinary in him. He never lies, does not change his word, does not borrow money, does not like to talk about his exploits, does not postpone the execution of the decision, his word does not disagree with the deed, etc. In addition, Insarov is a Bulgarian who dreams of freeing his homeland is the main purpose of his life. Separately from his homeland, he cannot imagine and conceive of himself. The hero does not yet consider his stay in Moscow a real life, he does not consider his weak activity to be satisfactory even for his personal feelings. He also lives on the eve of the great day of freedom, on which his being will be illuminated with the consciousness of happiness, life will be filled and will already be real life. The only thing that Insarov is afraid of is that it can delay this desired moment of accomplishing a feat in the name of the motherland.

Dobrolyubov notes that the essence of Turgenev's story does not at all consist in presenting us with a model of civil, that is, public prowess, as some would like to assure. There is no reproach to the Russian younger generation, no indication of what a civilian hero should be like. “Having given us to understand and feel what Insarov is and what kind of environment he has fallen into, Mr. Turgenev is completely given over to the image of how Insarov loves and how he is loved. Where love must finally give way to living civic activity, he ends the life of his hero and ends the story.

Thus, Dobrolyubov wonders why the Bulgarians appeared in this work, what is his role, and why, in fact, Insarov is a Bulgarian, and not a Russian. Dobrolyubov says that the main person in "On the Eve" is Elena. It “has expressed that vague longing for something, that almost unconscious, but irresistible need for a new life, new people, which now embraces the whole of Russian society, and not even only the so-called educated. In Elena, the best aspirations of our modern life are so vividly reflected, and in those around her, all the failure of the usual order of the same life stands out so clearly. She longs to do good, but she does not know where this thirst can be applied. The appearance of Insarov gives her an answer to the question - where it is possible to apply one's strength, how to do true good.

As for why Insarov himself could not be Russian, Dobrolyubov gives the following answer: society will not get carried away by itself, and we base this assumption on the fact that this Insarov is still a stranger to us. Mr. Turgenev himself, who has studied the best part of our society so well, did not find a way to make it ours... And indeed, such Russians do not exist, should not and cannot exist, at least at the present time. We do not know how new generations develop and will develop, but those that we now see active did not develop at all in such a way that they could become like Insarov. The development of each individual person is influenced not only by his private relations, but also by the whole social atmosphere in which he is destined to live ... Russian life has developed so well that everything in it calls for a calm and peaceful sleep, and every sleepless person seems to not without reason, restless and completely superfluous for society.

In Russian society, of course, heroes like Insarov occasionally appear, but they are more like funny Don Quixotes, and not like true heroes: “They, for example, suddenly imagine that they need to save the peasants from the arbitrariness of the landowners: they don’t want to know that that there is no arbitrariness here, that the rights of the landowners are strictly determined by law and must be inviolable as long as these laws exist, and that to restore the peasants in fact against this arbitrariness means, without delivering them from the landowner, to still subject them to punishment according to the law. Or, for example, they will set themselves the task of saving the innocent from judicial untruths - as if our judges, of their own arbitrariness, do what they want. Everything we do, as you know, is done according to the law, and in order to interpret the law in one way or another, this does not require heroism, but the habit of judicial twists and turns. Here are our Don Quixotes and fussing in vain.

But Elena is already a familiar phenomenon for Russian society, this is a very real character, because the best part of Russian society is characterized by love and compassion, the desire to do good.

However, as Dobrolyubov notes, to satisfy our feelings, our thirst, more is needed: a person is needed, like Insarov, but Russian Insarov. What is he to us? We ourselves said above that we do not need heroes-liberators, that we are a domineering people, and not enslaved ... But do we have few internal enemies? Isn't it necessary to fight against them, and isn't heroism required for this struggle? And where are the people who are capable of doing business? Where are the whole people, from childhood embraced by one idea? There are no such people, because our social environment has not yet been conducive to their development. And it is from her, from this environment, from its vulgarity and pettiness, that new people must free us, for whom all the best, all freshness in our society is so eagerly and passionately waiting for their appearance.

Of course, there are no conditions for the appearance of such a hero yet. Moreover, our Russian hero has to solve a much more difficult task than the one that faced Insarov. After all, it is much more difficult to defeat an internal enemy than an external enemy. “The enemy is internal, scattered everywhere in a thousand different forms, elusive, invulnerable, and yet disturbing you everywhere, poisoning your whole life and not allowing you to rest or look around in the struggle. You can't do anything with this internal enemy with ordinary weapons; you can get rid of it only by changing the damp and foggy atmosphere of our life in which it originated, grew and intensified, and fanned yourself with such air that it cannot breathe.

However, is such a hero possible? Dobrolyubov replies in the affirmative: “He will come, finally, this day! And, in any case, the eve is not far from the day following it: just some kind of night separates them! .. "

When will the real day come

Nikolai Alexandrovich Dobrolyubov
When will the real day come?
(The day before. The story of I.S. Turgenev.
"Russian Messenger", 1860, No. 1-2.)
Schlage die Trommel und furchte dich nicht.
Heine*.
______________
* Beat the drum and don't be afraid. Heine[*] (German).
Aesthetic criticism has now become the property of sensitive young ladies. From conversations with them, ministers of pure art can draw many subtle and true remarks and then write criticism in the following way: “Here is the content of Mr. Turgenev’s new story (a story of content). Already from this pale essay it is clear how much life and poetry of the freshest but only reading the story itself can give an idea of ​​that flair for the finest poetic nuances of life, of that sharp mental analysis, of that deep understanding of the invisible jets and currents of social thought, of that friendly and at the same time bold attitude towards reality, which constitute distinctive Turgenev's talent traits.Look, for example, how subtly these mental traits are noted (repetition of one part from the story of the content and then an extract); read this wonderful scene, full of such grace and charm (extract); remember this poetic living picture (extract ) or this tall, bold image (extract) Isn't it true that this penetrates into the depths of the soul, makes the heart Our heart beats stronger, enlivens and adorns your life, elevates before you human dignity and the great, eternal significance of the holy ideas of truth, goodness and beauty! Comme c "est joli, comme c" est delicieux!
______________
* How beautiful it is, how charming it is! (French).
We are indebted to a small acquaintance with sensitive young ladies because we do not know how to write such pleasant and harmless critics. Frankly admitting this and refusing the role of "educator of the aesthetic taste of the public", we choose another task, more modest and more commensurate with our forces. We simply want to sum up the data that are scattered in the writer's work and which we accept as a fait accompli, as a vital phenomenon that stands before us. The work is simple, but necessary, because, after many occupations and recreations, rarely will anyone want to peer into all the details of a literary work, to disassemble, check and put in their place all the figures that make up this complex account of one of the aspects of our social life. life, and then think about the outcome and what it promises and obliges us to do. And this kind of verification and reflection is very useful with regard to Mr. Turgenev's new story.
We know that pure aesthetics[*]* will immediately accuse us of striving to impose their opinions on the author and assign tasks to his talent. Therefore, we will make a reservation, even though it is boring. No, we do not impose anything on the author, we say in advance that we do not know for what purpose, as a result of what preliminary considerations, he depicted the story that constitutes the content of the story "On the Eve". For us, what is important is not so much what the author wanted to say, but what was said to them, even if unintentionally, simply as a result of a truthful reproduction of the facts of life. We value every talented work precisely because in it we can study the facts of our native life, which is already so little open to the gaze of a simple observer. There is still no publicity in our life, except for the official one; everywhere we come across not living people, but officials serving in one department or another: in public places - with pen-writers, at balls - with dancers, in clubs - with gamblers, in theaters - with hairdressing patients, etc. Everyone buries further his spiritual life; everyone looks at you like that, as if saying: “After all, I came here to dance or to show my hair; well, be satisfied that I am doing my job, and please don’t try to extort my feelings and ideas from me ". And indeed, no one is tormenting anyone, no one is interested in anyone, and the whole society goes apart, annoyed that it should converge on official occasions, like a new opera, a dinner party, or some kind of committee meeting. Where is there to learn and study the life of a person who has not devoted himself exclusively to the observation of social mores? And then what diversity, what even opposition in the various circles and classes of our society! Thoughts that have become vulgar and backward in one circle are still hotly contested in another; what is considered by some to be insufficient and weak, to others it seems too harsh and bold, and so on. What falls, what wins, what begins to take root and prevail in the moral life of society - we have no other indicator of this than literature, and mainly its artistic works. The writer-artist, not caring about any general conclusions about the state of social thought and morality, is always able, however, to capture their most essential features, brightly illuminate and directly place them before the eyes of thinking people. That is why we believe that as soon as talent is recognized in a writer-artist, that is, the ability to feel and depict the vital truth of phenomena, then, by virtue of this very recognition, his works give a legitimate reason for reasoning about that environment of life, about that era , which caused this or that work in the writer. And the yardstick for a writer's talent here will be the extent to which life is widely captured by him, the extent to which the images that he creates are strong and voluminous.
______________
* For notes on words marked with [*], see the end of the text.
We considered it necessary to state this in order to justify our method of interpreting the phenomena of life itself on the basis of a literary work, without, however, imposing on the author any preconceived ideas and tasks. The reader sees that for us it is precisely those works that are important in which life has affected itself, and not according to a program thought up in advance by the author. About "A Thousand Souls"[*], for example, we did not talk at all, because, in our opinion, the entire social side of this novel is forcibly fitted to a pre-composed idea. Therefore, there is nothing to talk about here, except for the extent to which the author deftly composed his essay. It is impossible to rely on the truth and the living reality of the facts stated by the author, because his inner attitude to these facts is neither simple nor true. We do not see such an attitude of the author to the plot in the new story of Mr. Turgenev, as in most of his stories. In "On the Eve" we see the irresistible influence of the natural course of social life and thought, to which the very thought and imagination of the author involuntarily submitted.
Setting the main task of literary criticism - the explanation of those phenomena of reality that caused a well-known work of art, we must note, moreover, that in the application to the stories of Mr. Turgenev, this task also has its own meaning. G. Turgenev can rightly be called a painter and singer of that morality and philosophy that has dominated our educated society in the last twenty years. He quickly guessed new needs, new ideas introduced into the public consciousness, and in his works he certainly drew (as circumstances allowed) attention to the question that was on the queue and was already vaguely beginning to excite society. We hope, on another occasion, to trace the entire literary activity of Mr. Turgenev, and therefore we will not expand on this now. We will only say that to this author's instinct for the living strings of society, to this ability to immediately respond to every noble thought and honest feeling that is just beginning to penetrate the minds of the best people, we attribute a significant share of the success that Mr. Turgenev constantly enjoyed in the Russian public . Of course, literary talent in itself contributed a lot to this success. But our readers know that Mr. Turgenev's talent is not one of those titanic talents that, by the sole force of a poetic presentation, amaze, captivate you and draw you to sympathy for such a phenomenon or idea with which you are not at all disposed to sympathize. Not a stormy, impetuous force, but, on the contrary, softness and some kind of poetic moderation serve as the characteristic features of his talent. Therefore, we believe that he could not arouse the general sympathy of the public if he touched on issues and needs that are completely alien to his readers or have not yet been raised in society. Some would notice the charm of poetic descriptions in his stories, the subtlety and depth in the outlines of various persons and positions, but, without any doubt, this would not be enough to make the writer a lasting success and glory. Without a lively attitude to the present, every, even the most sympathetic and talented narrator, must suffer the fate of Mr. Fet, who was once praised, but from whom now only a dozen lovers remember a dozen of the best poems. A lively attitude to the present saved Mr. Turgenev and strengthened his permanent success in the reading public. Some thoughtful critic[*] once even reproached Mr. Turgenev for the fact that "all the fluctuations of social thought" were so strongly reflected in his activities. But, despite this, we see here precisely the most vital side of Mr. Turgenev's talent, and with this side we explain why every work of his has hitherto been met with such sympathy, almost with enthusiasm.
So, we can safely say that if Mr. Turgenev has already touched on some question in his story, if he has depicted some new side of social relations, this serves as a guarantee that this question is really being raised or will soon be raised in consciousness of an educated society, that this new side of life is beginning to stand out and will soon show itself sharply and brightly before the eyes of everyone. Therefore, each time Mr. Turgenev's story appears, the question becomes curious: what aspects of life are depicted in it, what issues are raised?
This question appears even now, and in relation to Mr. Turgenev's new story it is more interesting than ever. So far, Mr. Turgenev's path, in accordance with the path of development of our society, has been rather clearly outlined in one direction. He proceeded from the realm of higher ideas and theoretical strivings and aimed to bring these ideas and strivings into the rough and vulgar reality, which deviated far from them. The fees for the struggle and suffering of the hero, who was busying himself with the victory of his principles, and his fall before the overwhelming force of human vulgarity, were usually the interest of Mr. Turgenev's stories. Of course, the very foundations of the struggle, that is, ideas and strivings, changed in each work or, with the passage of time and circumstances, showed themselves more definitely and sharply. Thus, the Superfluous Man was replaced by Pasynkov, Pasynkov by Rudin, Rudin by Lavretsky[*]. Each of these faces was bolder and fuller than the previous ones, but the essence, the basis of their character and their entire existence, was the same. They were the bringers of new ideas to a certain circle, educators, propagandists - for at least one female soul, but propagandists. For this they were greatly praised, and for sure - in their time, apparently, they were very needed, and their work was very difficult, respectable and beneficial. Not without reason did everyone greet them with such love, so sympathize with their spiritual suffering, so pity their fruitless efforts. No wonder no one then thought to notice that all these gentlemen are excellent, noble, intelligent, but in essence idle people. Drawing their images in different positions and collisions, Mr. Turgenev himself usually treated them with touching participation, with heartache about their suffering, and constantly aroused the same feeling in the mass of readers. When one motive for this struggle and suffering began to seem insufficient, when one trait of nobility and loftiness of character seemed to be covered with some vulgarity, Mr. Turgenev was able to find other motives, other traits, and again fell into the heart of the reader and again aroused to himself and his heroes enthusiastic sympathy. The item seemed inexhaustible.
But lately, in our society, quite noticeably demands have been revealed that are completely different from those by which Rudin and all his brethren were called to life. In relation to these persons, a fundamental change took place in the concepts of the educated majority. The question was no longer about the modification of this or that motive, this or that beginning of their aspirations, but about the very essence of their activity. During that period of time, while all these enlightened champions of truth and goodness, eloquent sufferers of lofty convictions, were drawn before us, new people have grown up, for whom the love of truth and honesty of aspirations are no longer a wonder. From childhood, imperceptibly and constantly, they were imbued with those concepts and aspirations for which the best people had to fight, doubt and suffer in adulthood*. Therefore, the very nature of education in today's young society has taken on a different color. Those concepts and strivings that previously gave the title of an advanced person are now considered the first and necessary attribute of the most ordinary education. From a high school student, from a mediocre cadet, even sometimes from a decent seminarian, you will now hear the expression of such convictions, for which, in the old days, Belinsky, for example, had to argue and get excited. And a schoolboy or a cadet expresses these concepts - so difficult, they got it before with a fight - completely calmly, without any excitement and complacency, as a thing that cannot be otherwise and is even unthinkable otherwise.
______________
* We have already been reproached once for being partial to the younger generation and pointed out the vulgarity and emptiness to which it indulges in the majority of its representatives. But we never even thought of defending all young people indiscriminately, and this would not be in accordance with our goal. Vulgarity and emptiness are the property of all times and all ages. But we spoke and now we are talking about the chosen people, the best people, and not about the crowd, since both Rudin and all the people of his temper did not belong to the crowd, but to the best people of their time. However, we will not be wrong if we say that in the mass of society the level of education has risen in recent times. (Note by N.A. Dobrolyubov.)
** Titlo (title) - an honorary title.
When meeting a person of the so-called progressive direction, no one of decent people now indulges in surprise and delight, no one looks into his eyes with mute reverence, no one mysteriously shakes his hand and invites him in a whisper to himself, to a circle of chosen people - to talk about that injustice and slavery are disastrous for the state. On the contrary, now, with involuntary, contemptuous amazement, they stop before a person who shows a lack of sympathy for publicity, disinterestedness, emancipation*, etc. Now even people who do not like progressive ideas at heart must show that they love them in order to have access to a decent society. It is clear that in this state of affairs, the former sowers of good, people of Rudin's temper, are losing a significant share of their former credit. They are respected like old mentors; but it is rare that, having entered into his mind, he is disposed to listen again to those lessons that were accepted with such greed before, at the age of childhood and initial development. You need something else, you need to go further **.
______________
* Emancipation, or emancipation (from French) - liberation from dependence, in particular, the liberation of women from their state of economic and legal oppression and equalization of their rights with men.
** Against this idea, apparently, the extraordinary success that the publications of the works of some of our writers of the forties can testify to. A particularly striking example is Belinsky[*], whose works quickly sold out, they say, in the amount of 12,000 copies. But, in our opinion, this very fact serves as the best confirmation of our thought Belinsky was the foremost of the foremost, none of his peers went further than him, and where 12,000 copies of Belinsky were snapped up in a few months, Rudin simply had nothing to do. Belinsky's success proves not at all that his ideas are still new to our society and require great effort to spread, but precisely that they are now dear and sacred to the majority and that their preaching no longer requires heroism or special efforts from new leaders. talents. (Note by N.A. Dobrolyubov).
“But,” we will be told, “after all, society has not reached the extreme point in its development; further mental and moral improvement is possible. Therefore, society needs leaders, and preachers of the truth, and propagandists, in a word, people of the Rudin type. the former is accepted and entered into the general consciousness - let's suppose. But this does not exclude the possibility that new Rudins will appear, preachers of new, higher tendencies, and again they will fight and suffer, and again arouse the sympathy of society. This subject is, indeed, inexhaustible in its content and can constantly bring new laurels to such a likeable writer as Mr. Turgenev.
It would be a pity if such a remark were justified right now. Fortunately, it seems to be refuted by the latest movement in our literature. Arguing abstractly, one cannot but admit that the idea of ​​perpetual motion and eternal change of ideas in society, and consequently of the constant need for preachers of these ideas, is quite fair. But after all, one must also take into account the fact that societies do not live only to reason and exchange ideas. Ideas and their gradual development have their significance only because they, being born from already existing facts, always precede changes in reality itself. A certain state of affairs creates a need in society, this need is recognized, after the general consciousness of it there must be an actual change in favor of satisfying the need recognized by all. Thus, after a period of awareness of certain ideas and aspirations, a period of their implementation should appear in society; deeds must follow after reflections and conversations. The question now is: what did our society do in the last 20-30 years? For now, nothing. It studied, developed, listened to the Rudins, sympathized with their failures in the noble struggle for convictions, prepared for the task, but did nothing ... So much beauty accumulated in my head and heart; so much absurd and dishonorable has been noticed in the existing order of affairs; the mass of people “who are aware of themselves as being above the surrounding reality” is growing every year - so that soon, perhaps, everyone will be above reality ... consolations. It seems clear that what we need now is not people who would "elevate us even more above the surrounding reality", but people who would raise - or we were taught to raise - reality itself to the level of those reasonable demands that we have already realized. In a word, we need people of action, and not abstract ones, always a little bit of Epicurean reasoning*.
______________
* Epicureanism (from Greek) - a tendency to sensual pleasures, to pampered life; here: reasoning, far from life, from the requirements of reality.
The consciousness of this, although vaguely, was already expressed in many with the appearance of the "Noble Nest". Mr. Turgenev's talent, together with his faithful tact to reality, this time also carried him triumphantly out of a difficult situation. He knew how to stage Lavretsky in such a way that it is embarrassing to be ironic over him, although he belongs to the same kind of idle types that we look at with a smile. The drama of his position no longer lies in the struggle with his own impotence, but in the clash with such concepts and morals, with which the struggle, indeed, should frighten even an energetic and courageous person. He is married and has deserted his wife; but he fell in love with a pure, bright being, brought up in such concepts, in which the love of a married man is a terrible crime. And yet she loves him too, and his claims can continually and terribly torment her heart and conscience. You will inevitably think bitterly and painfully over such a situation, and we remember how painfully our hearts sank when Lavretsky, saying goodbye to Liza, said to her: "Ah, Liza, Liza! how could we be happy!" and when she, already a humble nun at heart, answered: "You yourself see that happiness does not depend on us, but on God," and he began: "yes, because you ..." and did not finish ... Readers and critics of The Nest of Nobles, I remember, admired many other things in this novel. But for us, his most essential interest lies in this tragic collision of Lavretsky, whose passivity, in this particular case, we cannot but excuse. Here Lavretsky, as if betraying one of the generic traits of his type, is hardly even a propagandist. Beginning with the first meeting with Lisa, when she was going to mass, throughout the novel he timidly bows before the inviolability of her concepts and never dares to approach her with cold reassurances. But even this, of course, because here propaganda would be the very thing that Lavretsky, like all his brethren, is afraid of. For all that, it seems to us (at least, it seemed when reading the novel) that the very position of Lavretsky, the very collision chosen by Mr. Turgenev and so familiar to Russian life, should serve as strong propaganda and lead each reader to a number of thoughts about the significance of a whole huge Department of concepts that run our lives. Now, according to various printed and verbal reviews, we know that we were not quite right: the meaning of Lavretsky's position was understood differently or not at all clarified by many readers. But that there was something legitimately tragic in it, and not illusory, this was understandable, and this, together with the merits of the performance, attracted the unanimous enthusiastic participation of the entire reading Russian public to the "Nest of Nobles".
After "The Noble Nest" one could fear for the fate of the new work of Mr. Turgenev. The path of creating sublime characters, forced to submit to the blows of fate, has become very slippery. In the midst of the enthusiasm for the "Noble Nest" voices were heard expressing displeasure at Lavretsky, from whom more was expected. The author himself considered it necessary to introduce Mikhalevich into his story, then for him to curse Lavretsky with a bastard. And Ilya Ilyich Oblomov, who appeared at the same time, finally and sharply explained to the entire Russian public that now it’s better for a powerless and weak-willed person not to make people laugh, it’s better to lie on his sofa than to run, fuss, make noise, reason and pour from an empty empty for years and decades. After reading Oblomov, the public understood his kinship with the interesting personalities of "superfluous people" and realized that these people are now really superfluous and that they are exactly as good as the kindest Ilya Ilyich. "What will Mr. Turgenev create now?" - we thought, and with great curiosity began to read "On the Eve".
The sense of the present moment did not deceive the author this time either. Realizing that the former heroes had already done their job and could not arouse the former sympathy in the best part of our society, he decided to leave them and, catching in a few fragmentary manifestations the breath of the new demands of life, he tried to take the road along which the advanced movement of the present time is being made. ..
In the new story of Mr. Turgenev, we meet other positions, other types than we are used to in his works of the previous period. The social need for a cause, a living cause, the beginning of contempt for dead, abstract* principles and passive virtues was expressed in the entire structure of the new story. Without a doubt, everyone who will read our article has now read "On the Eve". Therefore, instead of telling the content of the story, we will present only a short sketch of the main characters.
______________
* Abstract (from Latin) - abstract.
The heroine of the novel is a girl with a serious mindset, with an energetic will, humane aspirations of the heart. Its development took place in a very peculiar way due to special family circumstances.
Her father and mother were very limited people, but not evil; her mother was even positively distinguished by her kindness and softness of heart. From childhood, Elena was delivered from family despotism, which destroys in the bud so many beautiful natures. She grew up alone, without girlfriends, completely free; no formalism constrained her. Nikolai Artemyich Stakhov, her father, a dull-witted man, but posing as a philosopher of a skeptical tone and keeping away from family life, at first only admired his little Elena, in whom unusual abilities were early revealed. Elena, while she was small, also, for her part, adored her father. But Stakhov's relationship with his wife was not entirely satisfactory: he married Anna Vasilievna for her dowry, had no feelings for her, treated her almost with disdain and moved away from her in the company of Augustina Khristianovna, who robbed and fooled him. Anna Vasilievna, a sick and sensitive woman, like Marya Dmitrievna of the Noble Nest, humbly endured her position, but could not help complaining about it to everyone in the house, and incidentally even to her daughter. Thus, Elena soon became the confidant of her mother's sorrows and became involuntarily a judge between her and her father. With the impressionability of her nature, this had a great influence on the development of her internal forces. The less she could act in practice on this occasion, the more work seemed to her mind and imagination. Forced from an early age to peer into the mutual relations of people close to her, participating both with her heart and head in explaining the meaning of these relationships and pronouncing judgment on them, Elena early accustomed herself to independent reflection, to a conscious look at everything around her. The family relations of the Stakhovs are outlined very briefly by Mr. Turgenev, but in this essay there are deeply correct indications that explain quite a lot the initial development of Elena's character. By nature, she was an impressionable and intelligent child; her position between mother and father prompted her early serious reflections, early raised her to an independent, to a domineering role. She became on a level with the elders, made them defendants before her. And at the same time, her reflections were not cold, her whole soul merged with them, because it was about people too close, too dear to her, about relationships with which the most sacred feelings, the most vital interests of the girl were connected. That is why her reflections were directly reflected in her heart disposition: from the adoration of her father, she passed to a passionate attachment to her mother, in whom she began to see a being oppressed, suffering. But in this love for the mother there was nothing hostile to the father, who was neither a villain, nor a positive fool, nor a domestic tyrant. He was only a very ordinary mediocrity, and Elena lost interest in him - instinctively, and then, perhaps, consciously, deciding that there was nothing to love him for. Yes, she soon saw the same mediocrity in her mother, and in her heart, instead of passionate love and respect, only a feeling of regret and indulgence remained: Mr. Turgenev very successfully outlined her relationship to her mother, saying that she "treated her mother as with a sick grandmother. The mother recognized herself as inferior to her daughter; the father, as soon as the daughter began to outgrow him mentally, which was very easy, lost interest in her, decided that she was strange, and retreated from her.

(The day before. The story of I.S. Turgenev.

"Russian Messenger", 1860, N 1-2.)

Schlage die Trommel und furchte dich nicht.

____________________

* Beat the drum and don't be afraid. Heine[*] (German).

Aesthetic criticism has now become the property of sensitive young ladies. From conversations with them, ministers of pure art can draw many subtle and true remarks and then write criticism in the following way: “Here is the content of Mr. Turgenev’s new story (a story of content). Already from this pale essay it is clear how much life and poetry of the freshest but only reading the story itself can give an idea of ​​that flair for the finest poetic nuances of life, of that sharp mental analysis, of that deep understanding of the invisible jets and currents of social thought, of that friendly and at the same time bold attitude towards reality, which constitute distinctive Turgenev's talent traits.Look, for example, how subtly these mental traits are noted (repetition of one part from the story of the content and then an extract); read this wonderful scene, full of such grace and charm (extract); remember this poetic living picture (extract ) or this tall, bold image (extract) Isn't it true that this penetrates into the depths of the soul, makes the heart Our heart beats stronger, enlivens and adorns your life, elevates before you human dignity and the great, eternal significance of the holy ideas of truth, goodness and beauty! Comme c "est joli, comme c" est delicieux!

____________________

* How beautiful it is, how charming it is! (French).

We are indebted to a small acquaintance with sensitive young ladies because we do not know how to write such pleasant and harmless critics. Frankly admitting this and refusing the role of "educator of the aesthetic taste of the public", we choose another task, more modest and more commensurate with our forces. We simply want to sum up the data that are scattered in the writer's work and which we accept as a fait accompli, as a vital phenomenon that stands before us. The work is simple, but necessary, because, after many occupations and recreations, rarely will anyone want to peer into all the details of a literary work, to disassemble, check and put in their place all the figures that make up this complex account of one of the aspects of our social life. life, and then think about the outcome and what it promises and obliges us to do. And this kind of verification and reflection is very useful with regard to Mr. Turgenev's new story.

We know that pure aesthetics[*]* will immediately accuse us of striving to impose their opinions on the author and assign tasks to his talent. Therefore, we will make a reservation, even though it is boring. No, we do not impose anything on the author, we say in advance that we do not know for what purpose, as a result of what preliminary considerations, he depicted the story that constitutes the content of the story "On the Eve". For us, what is important is not so much what the author wanted to say, but what was said to them, even if unintentionally, simply as a result of a truthful reproduction of the facts of life. We value every talented work precisely because in it we can study the facts of our native life, which is already so little open to the gaze of a simple observer. There is still no publicity in our life, except for the official one; everywhere we come across not living people, but officials serving in one department or another: in public places - with pen-writers, at balls - with dancers, in clubs - with gamblers, in theaters - with hairdressing patients, etc. Everyone buries further his spiritual life; everyone looks at you like that, as if saying: “After all, I came here to dance or to show my hair; well, be satisfied that I am doing my job, and please don’t try to extort my feelings and ideas from me ". And indeed, no one is tormenting anyone, no one is interested in anyone, and the whole society goes apart, annoyed that it should converge on official occasions, like a new opera, a dinner party, or some kind of committee meeting. Where is there to learn and study the life of a person who has not devoted himself exclusively to the observation of social mores? And then what diversity, what even opposition in the various circles and classes of our society! Thoughts that have become vulgar and backward in one circle are still hotly contested in another; what is considered by some to be insufficient and weak, to others it seems too harsh and bold, and so on. What falls, what wins, what begins to take root and prevail in the moral life of society - we have no other indicator of this than literature, and mainly its artistic works. The writer-artist, not caring about any general conclusions about the state of social thought and morality, is always able, however, to capture their most essential features, brightly illuminate and directly place them before the eyes of thinking people. That is why we believe that as soon as talent is recognized in a writer-artist, that is, the ability to feel and depict the vital truth of phenomena, then, by virtue of this very recognition, his works give a legitimate reason for reasoning about that environment of life, about that era , which caused this or that work in the writer. And the yardstick for a writer's talent here will be the extent to which life is widely captured by him, the extent to which the images that he creates are strong and voluminous.

____________________

* For notes on words marked with [*], see the end of the text.

We considered it necessary to express this in order to justify our method - to interpret the phenomena of life itself on the basis of a literary work, without, however, imposing on the author any ideas and tasks that have been composed in advance. The reader sees that for us it is precisely those works that are important in which life has affected itself, and not according to a program thought up in advance by the author. About "A Thousand Souls"[*], for example, we did not talk at all, because, in our opinion, the entire social side of this novel is forcibly fitted to a pre-composed idea. Therefore, there is nothing to talk about here, except for the extent to which the author deftly composed his essay. It is impossible to rely on the truth and the living reality of the facts stated by the author, because his inner attitude to these facts is neither simple nor true. We do not see such an attitude of the author to the plot in the new story of Mr. Turgenev, as in most of his stories. In "On the Eve" we see the irresistible influence of the natural course of social life and thought, to which the very thought and imagination of the author involuntarily submitted.

Setting the main task of literary criticism - the explanation of those phenomena of reality that caused a well-known work of art, we must note, moreover, that in the application to the stories of Mr. Turgenev, this task also has its own meaning. G. Turgenev can rightly be called a painter and singer of that morality and philosophy that has dominated our educated society in the last twenty years. He quickly guessed new needs, new ideas introduced into the public consciousness, and in his works he certainly drew (as circumstances allowed) attention to the question that was on the queue and was already vaguely beginning to excite society. We hope, on another occasion, to trace the entire literary activity of Mr. Turgenev, and therefore we will not expand on this now. We will only say that to this author's instinct for the living strings of society, to this ability to immediately respond to every noble thought and honest feeling that is just beginning to penetrate the minds of the best people, we attribute a significant share of the success that Mr. Turgenev constantly enjoyed in the Russian public . Of course, literary talent in itself contributed a lot to this success. But our readers know that Mr. Turgenev's talent is not one of those titanic talents that, by the sole force of a poetic presentation, amaze, captivate you and draw you to sympathy for such a phenomenon or idea with which you are not at all disposed to sympathize. Not a stormy, impetuous force, but, on the contrary, softness and some kind of poetic moderation serve as the characteristic features of his talent. Therefore, we believe that he could not arouse the general sympathy of the public if he touched on issues and needs that are completely alien to his readers or have not yet been raised in society. Some would notice the charm of poetic descriptions in his stories, the subtlety and depth in the outlines of various persons and positions, but, without any doubt, this would not be enough to make the writer a lasting success and glory. Without a lively attitude to the present, every, even the most sympathetic and talented narrator, must suffer the fate of Mr. Fet, who was once praised, but from whom now only a dozen lovers remember a dozen of the best poems. A lively attitude to the present saved Mr. Turgenev and strengthened his permanent success in the reading public. Some thoughtful critic[*] once even reproached Mr. Turgenev for the fact that "all the fluctuations of social thought" were so strongly reflected in his activities. But, despite this, we see here precisely the most vital side of Mr. Turgenev's talent, and with this side we explain why every work of his has hitherto been met with such sympathy, almost with enthusiasm.