Nikolaev N. I., Shvetsova T. V. The Motives of the Heroine’s Suicide in I. S. Turgenev’s Novellas

(Lomonosov Northern [Arctic] Federal University, Arkhangelsk)

Abstract ♦ The article investigates the peculiarity of the heroines’ suicide motives in Turgenev’s novellas (“The Lull”, “An Unhappy Girl” and “Klara Milich”). The basic content of these works is defined by the attitudes of other characters, of the narrator and the author towards the act committed by the female protagonists, by the universal desire to discover the underlying motives of the suicide.

The plots of the novellas feature the same elements, and the surface motive for the suicides seems simple: unrequited love. Yet, Turgenev’s texts cast doubt on the simplicity of the answer. The heroines’ acts ultimately stop seeming obvious, and their behavior is revealed as always contradictory. Unsatisfied expectations, lost hopes for happy life with their lover push Turgenev’s heroines towards a tragic end. However, the suicide in each novella is accompanied by a number of details which are not fully explainable and unwittingly question this simplistic interpretation of the protagonists’ deaths.

Russian literature has formulated the principles of artistic understanding of a heroine’s suicide as early as in the late 18th century. The motives which drove Turgenev’s female protagonists towards self-killing can be viewed in the context of the 18th century literary achievements, with a special focus on the characters created by J.-W. Goethe and N.M. Karamzin. It is important to note that under similar circumstances, Russian and Western literary heroes perform unique actions.

We believe that the originality of suicides in Russian literature in comparison with the European tradition is closely linked to a specific worldview and the architectonics of the literary world where the self-killing is performed. The treatment of this subject in the novellas by N.M. Karamzin and I.S. Turgenev matched the predominant religious and ethical principles of the Russian cultural space.

Keywords: Russian literature, comparative studies, Nikolay M. Karamzin, J.-W. von Goethe, Ivan S. Turgenev, novella, suicide, the lyric hero.

Nikolaev Nikolai Ippolitovich, Doctor of Philology, Professor, Chair, Department of the Theory and History of Literature, M.V. Lomonosov Northern (Arctic) Federal University. Postal address: 36 Karl Marx St., Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russian Federation, 164500. Tel.: +7 (8184) 53-84-00. E-mail: nikolay.nick2012@yandex.ru

Shvetsova Tatyana Vasilievna, Candidate of Philology, Associate Professor, Department of the Theory and History of Literature, M.V. Lomonosov Northern (Arctic) Federal University. Postal address: 36 Karl Marx St., Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russian Federation, 164500. Tel.: +7 (8184) 53-84-00. E-mail: tavach@atnet.ru

Citation: Nikolaev, N. I. and Shvetsova, T. V. (2014) Motivy samoubiistva geroin' povestei I. S. Turgeneva [The Motives of the Heroine’s Suicide in I. S. Turgenev’s Novellas]. Znanie. Ponimanie. Umenie, no. 4, pp. 251–259. (In Russ.).

Submission date: 18.02.2014.

RUSSIAN VERSION

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