Nikolai Nekrasov is primarily associated with most poems about Russia. Endless fields, dusty roads, the hardships of peasant life - all this is reflected in his lyrics, and this is all Nekrasov. “Panaevsky cycle” is a list of poems that stand out from the usual topics for all of us. This is real love lyrics, each line of which is dedicated to the poet’s wife, albeit civil, - Avdotya Panaeva. Their relationship was difficult, but so exciting that it was impossible not to talk about them.
Acquaintance
In 1842, fate brought young Nikolai and Avdot Panayev, nee Bryansk, at one of the secular evenings. “You are always incomparably good,” the poet wrote later about a new acquaintance. It was love at first sight, and no wonder: Avdotya was young, pretty, talented in literature. She felt great in society, her socialite attracted a huge number of the most venerable Petersburg writers. Moreover, Panaeva, despite the huge number of fans, was completely devoted to her husband, although he, in turn, was not distinguished by good manners and exemplary behavior.
Even Fyodor Dostoevsky fell under the spell of Avdotya, but Panaeva did not allow the relationship to develop. Of course, the winged Nekrasov could not help but try his luck. And just like many before him, he received a decisive refusal. The lyricist in love almost brought the scores to life, however, they could stop him.
Together!
But apparently, fate itself wanted the poet and his muse to be together. Four years later, Nekrasov again confessed his feelings, but this time Avdotya reciprocated. That is how Nekrasov’s love lyrics, The Panaevsky Cycle, began. Nikolai and Avdotya entered into a civil marriage, but far from ordinary - they lived in Panaev’s apartment, moreover, Ivan Panaev was a direct participant in their union - the same “Amur de Troy” that repeated half a century later with Mayakovsky and his Brik family.
In 1849, that is, three years later, the firstborn of Nekrasov and Panaeva was born. Unfortunately, the boy was not destined to live long. But still, it was during this difficult time that Nekrasov created the “Panaevsky Cycle” - a list of poems that reflected all his love for this unusually strong woman.
Contemporary
In 1848, Sovremennik, the brainchild of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, which passed into the possession of Nekrasov as a result of his decline, experienced a grave crisis. Censorship control did not miss a huge amount of material, there was simply nothing to attract the reader. The revival of the famous magazine along with the poet was also engaged in Avdotya. She helped to correct the works that were to be included in the publication, offered a number of her stories for publication. That is, it can already be judged by the fact that Nekrasov devoted the "Panaevsky cycle" (a list of poems about love) for no reason at all to her. This woman deserved such treatment.
Difficult relationship
Nekrasov’s love lyrics - “The Panaevsky Cycle” - is a real book that tells the whole story of the poet’s love and his muse, from the very beginning to the end. They seemed to be made for each other, but could not live in peace. Constant quarrels and conflicts, eternal scandals, the death of a child that seriously damaged the health of Nekrasov - all this hardly contributed to family happiness. Panaeva and Nekrasov constantly parted and converged again. In moments of solitude, the poet wrote new and new poems to his muse, among which, for example, “A heavy cross went to her share” and many others. Then Panaeva returned, and weeks began again, filled with joint creativity and passionate love.
One of the most serious disagreements occurred in the mid-fifties, but soon Avdotya already went with the poet to Europe, where he was looking for ways to treat one of his ailments. “You and I are stupid people,” the lyric wrote, not wanting to offend the woman whom he really adored and offered in his poems.
The final
“Long ago rejected by you” is one of the final poems of the cycle. The first part of the story of Panaeva and Nekrasov ended in the very beginning of the sixties - almost twenty years later. They undoubtedly went through a lot, but in recent years, the poet, who suffered from a sore throat, was increasingly depressed and spent time at the card table. Avdotya lost her children from both her first husband and Nekrasov, and soon Ivan Panayev himself, who had been with them for a long time, died. And it’s impossible not to change for such a long time.
The one to whom Nikolai Nekrasov once wrote "You are always incomparably good," now appears in his lyrics tired and tormented, sometimes vaguely capricious. With each line the lyrics became more and more gloomy and pessimistic, words literally oozed with this tension. Everything ended in 1863, when Avdotya Panaeva left the poet completely and forever.
Without her
After some time, Nekrasov met a Frenchwoman who played in the Russian Mikhailovsky Theater. Light and carefree, like a butterfly, the actress turned her head to the broken poet. It is likely that this is what made it easier for him to survive the breakup with Panaeva. But this relationship did not last. Once, the actress said that she was not going to move to Russia, while the poet did not want to live abroad.
After that, he met Fyokla Anisimovna, a simple village girl who became his Galatea. Giving her a new name (Zinaida Ivanovna), he taught her the basics of etiquette, showed how to stay on people, took with him wherever he could, so that an uneducated girl would get used to this new world as quickly as possible. The poet was very kind to all his chosen ones: he helped them financially, tried somehow to maintain friendly relations. But still, do not forget the fact that the poem "Three Elegies", so symbolic in name, he devoted specifically to Panayeva, and not to anyone else.
Without him
After the death of the first spouse and a break with the poet, Avdotya married again. But alas, she was not destined to find happiness in this alliance - the new chosen one turned out to be the same rake as Panaev. In this marriage, she gave birth to a daughter, completely and completely went into her upbringing, and then her husband left for another world, leaving the former Panaeva without a livelihood. It is known that Avdotya earned a piece of bread by writing stories, but she had to go through a lot of things - the affair with Nekrasov still left a dark spot on her reputation.
Summarizing
It is very difficult to argue who theirs had a greater influence on the other. On the other hand, would Nekrasov write the “Panaevsky Cycle” (a list of poems that are saturated with love and adoration) for another woman? Could he be realized as a poet without the constant support of an equally talented author?
Because of Avdotya, he quarreled with Turgenev, who had some kind of litigation with Panayeva, and with Tolstoy, and with Ostrovsky, although in the last two cases a great role was played by the enthusiasm of the lyrics for democracy, which in those days was not very welcome. But the poem "Three Elegies", which so symbolically demonstrates the number of women with whom the lyricist tried to build a relationship, he devoted specifically to Panayeva. Some researchers say that Nekrasov has loved her all his life. Let “a heavy cross went to her share”, but they carried it together.