The Turgenev girl is the image of the heroine, which is found in almost every work of Ivan Turgenev. Meek, silent, dreamy and purposeful - these are the traits the main character of his works should have. Let's figure out what is the peculiarity and uniqueness of her image.
Natalia Lasunskaya, the novel "Rudin"
Natalia Lasunskaya is the main character of Turgenev's first novel, Rudin. She loves silent walks, embroidery, reading history books and Pushkin. Natalia is laconic, dreamy and modest.
“Darya Mikhailovna's daughter, Natalya Alekseevna, might not have liked her at first sight. She had not yet had time to develop, she was thin, swarthy, kept a little stooped. But her features were beautiful and regular, although too large for a seventeen-year-old girl. She spoke little, listened and looked attentively, almost intently, as if she wanted to give herself an account of everything, - this is how Ivan Turgenev describes his heroine.
High intellectual abilities, external coldness and a bright inner world are one of the main features of the "Turgenev girl". She should not be beautiful on the outside, but her inner world, aspirations and dreams always admire other heroes, the author and the reader himself.
Photo source: wikipedia.org
The inner workings of thoughts are in stark contrast to the light and fashionable girls at that time, whose main goal was a successful marriage. The Turgenev girl does not need a profitable party. The main thing for her is to remain herself, to develop herself and her spirituality.
The meeting of Natalia and Dmitry Rudin does not bring her happiness. It turns out that the brilliant orator Rudin is not able to appreciate and understand the high feeling that Natalya experiences. She turns out to be stronger than Dmitry, a more confident and strong-willed person. At the end of the novel, the reader and the author have respect and sympathy for the main character.
Elena Stakhova, the novel "On the Eve"
Elena Stakhova is the protagonist of one of Turgenev's earliest novels "On the Eve". Its main goal is striving for "active good", compassion for those who need help. Elena Stakhova is a purposeful and courageous person.
For a Turgenev girl, finding love and living “happily ever after” is not the most important thing in life. For her, the struggle for others, empathy and sympathy is much more important. Elena Stakhova becomes the first heroine in Russian literature - a friend of a revolutionary, a fighter. She remained faithful after Insarov's death both to him and to her work.
Thanks to her revolutionary character, Elena Stakhova became a harbinger of a type that appeared in history a little later, in the ranks of the People's Will.
Photo source: wikipedia.org - Gerhard Eisters / Public Domain
The Turgenev girl is silent and purposeful. And this goal is not personal well-being and success, but the well-being of one's neighbor.
Anna Nikolaevna, story "Asya"
Asya is the key heroine of the novel of the same name by Ivan Turgenev. She is seventeen years old, and she is an illegitimate daughter from a landowner and a serf.
To achieve social status, she had to develop qualities such as stubbornness and determination. Having hardly mastered aristocratic manners, she still remained a "strange" girl for many.
Asya is a tough fighter for truth and justice. Sincerity of feelings combined with childish purity and spontaneity and disinterestedness are integral features of the Turgenev girl. Asya was one of Turgenev's most beloved heroes, and it was in her that he embodied his feminine ideal.
“I am in trouble with her. She's real gunpowder. Until now, she hadn’t liked anyone, but it’s bad if she loves anyone! Sometimes I don’t know how to be with her …”- this is how Turgenev described his heroine.
A Turgenev girl shouldn't be a beauty. And she is not at all agreeable. She will not lie or hide her feelings. True, straightforwardness, a riot of feelings and deep inner experiences - these are the weapons of the Turgenev girl, with which she can conquer almost any man.
Photo source: wikipedia.org - Gustov Liersch and Co. / Public Domain
Is there a Turgenev girl today?
"Word and Deed" discussed with psychologist Natalya Panfilova whether it is possible to meet the type of Turgenev girl today. According to the psychologist, there have been such young ladies at all times. But they have always been "exclusive" - something atypical, not replicated.
“The Turgenev young lady is a girl who unnecessarily idealizes life and relationships. She attaches great importance to feelings. However, very often this sensory perception "hangs in the air" - it is not attached to either events or actions. If she trusts a man, she expects from him exceptional romance, pure, absolute love. And if something goes wrong, then she gets upset to the point of impossibility, and on this she can put an end to the relationship, "- says the psychologist.
Today, the Turgenev girl is a person with a pure, naive soul, who, if anyone does harm, then only himself. Such a girl lives more like book images, believes in her ideal, even if it is unattainable. In the 19th century, a Turgenev noble girl could run away with a groom, dreaming of great, pure love. But as soon as she encounters reality, which, at times, differs from expectations, a tragedy arises in her soul, which she is very painfully experiencing.
Photo source: pixabay.com
How do men relate to the "Turgenev girl"
Psychologist Natalya Panfilova believes that at different stages men treat Turgenev's young ladies differently.
“When a man encounters such a girl, at first he is fascinated by her pure attitude, absolutely devoid of commercialism and bias. When a girl sees exceptionally positive qualities in a man, it's nice. But after this, a man experiences inner amazement and wariness, because every person wants to be not only admired, but also taken on those features that he does not like in himself. Therefore, as soon as a man discovers that the girl is completely unprepared to see flaws in him, he becomes embarrassed in front of her, as if he is deceiving a child who believes in miracles. Of course, it always hurts relationships,”the psychologist said.
As soon as a man discovers that the girl is completely unprepared to accept him with all his flaws, then, most likely, he will find a more "earthly" woman. One for which advantages overshadow disadvantages.
This complicated the relationship at all times. There are Turgenev girls today, but the accents are slightly different. Girls who were brought up in "greenhouse conditions", whom their parents allowed to look at life and relationships uncritically, protected them from the harshness of this world, become rather difficult life companions.
