The image of "Turgenev girls": description, characteristics and analysis

In this article we will consider the image of "Turgenev girls." This phrase can be heard quite often, but what does it mean? To answer this question, one will have to recall the works of Turgenev. But first, note that contemporaries loved the author very much. He had more admirers than any other Russian writer. Let’s try to figure out why Ivan Sergeyevich deserved such love?

Personal tragedy and attitude towards love

The image of the "Turgenev girls" was formed thanks to the peculiar worldview of the writer. In many ways, he owes his appearance to Turgenev's attitude to love. The writer all his life had an unrequited passion for Pauline Viardot, a famous French singer. This feeling prevented Ivan Sergeyevich from getting married; he even went to diplomatic service to be closer to the subject of sighing. But everything was in vain - Viardo was married and loved her husband.

This love failure was reflected in Turgenev's worldview. He stopped believing that feeling can make a person happy. For a writer, love has become an irresistible force that easily breaks even the most persistent person. This can be seen on the example of the fate of Bazarov. Turgenev was sure that, faced with a feeling, a person would not be able to remain the same - love would crush him. In it, the author sees doom, an inevitable fatum.

Heroines

The image of the Turgenev girl is a kind of embodiment of rock, which is designed to destroy lives - knowing love, the hero is doomed to spiritual and physical death. His character either dies, like Bazarov, or fades away, like Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov, who was unrequitedly in love with Princess R. After she died, he loses his inner strength, exists by inertia.

Based on the foregoing, it could be assumed that a woman condemning a man to death should have something demonic. But Turgenev does not allow himself to shoulder all responsibility on the heroine. On the contrary, he created an almost perfect image of a woman, which not a single Russian writer managed to create. The names of these perfect young ladies:

• Elena Stakhova ("The Eve");
• Zinaida ("First Love");
• Natalia Lasunskaya (Rudin);
• Lisa ("Diary of an Extra Man");
• Asya from the work of the same name;
• Lisa Kalitina (The Noble Nest);
• Vera (“Faust”).

As for the novel "Fathers and Sons," Anna Odintsova is not suitable for the role of "Turgenev's young lady." Rather, they can be ranked Fenechka and Katya.

The image of "Turgenev girls": characteristic

The heroines of the writer are different, but they have common features.

All "Turgenev girls" are very feminine. They may not be beautiful at first glance, but they have something special. His heroines “not of this world” are very romantic, read a lot, are impressionable, live in their own world. In this respect, the description of Natalia (“Rudin”) is indicative: “she remained motionless ... thought ... dropped her hands ... the work of thoughts was reflected on her face ... she felt strongly and deeply, but secretly.”

The Turgenev girl is very moral and impeccably virtuous. The most important thing for her is to be honest with herself and not go against her conscience. Only then can she be happy. From the outside it may seem that such heroines are helpless and weak, but this is completely not so. They contain a great power that gives them a sense of moral duty. It is impossible to break such a heroine, if she made a decision, then she will not change him.

"Turgenev girls" can easily sacrifice themselves, but only for the sake of a loved one. This again shows their inner strength. Often the spiritual potential of such heroines is much higher than that of any male hero. Due to their unusual nature, the fate of the “Turgenev girls” is very unusual. For example, Elena from "The Eve" goes to war, Marianna from "Novi" finds herself in the very center of revolutionary events, Lisa Kalitina ("The Noble Nest") finds peace only in the monastery.

The heroine of Turgenev necessarily serves something. It can be a beloved man, a higher idea, and sometimes both. At the same time, completely contradictory character traits coexist in her, for example, sobriety of the mind and obstinacy, impulsiveness.

So, we examined the main characters. Below you can see the plan. The image of the "Turgenev girl" on it will be much easier to analyze. We will take Asya as an example.

Inner strength

The writer creates a new female image. In his heroines, nothing remains of the beautiful ladies of the Middle Ages, who were considered ideal. Such women were docile, humble, and awaited action from men. The image of the “Turgenev girl” in the novel or novel is completely different. You can expect from her that she herself will take the place of a knight and save her lover from all troubles. Therefore, to call such a young lady weak-willed and weak is an irreparable mistake. It’s not possible to immediately discern its potential. At the same time, the heroines of Turgenev remain true to themselves, they are always internally whole, they are not torn apart by contradictions and doubts. Here, for example, is the description of Lisa Kalitina: "imbued with a sense of duty ... with a meek and kind heart ... she loved God alone dearly, enthusiastically, timidly."

Lisa Kalitina

Consider the image of "Turgenev girls" on the example of the heroine of the novel "The Noble Nest." Lisa Kalitina appears as an ordinary provincial young lady, who in everything obeys her mother and plays music all day. In the future, she was predicted a good party, that is, an enviable groom. Accepting this fate, she could live the same life as many of her peers. However, Lisa is ordinary only at first glance. The character of the heroine is emphasized by the author himself. He acquaints the reader with each hero, describing his past, but Lisa needs to understand, unraveling the characteristics that others give her. And at the same time, one must take into account that others do not immediately understand the girl. So, Lavretsky makes an incorrect judgment about her completely after the first meeting. Only with time does he manage to unravel Lisa and find out that they have a lot in common. The only thing that alienates them is faith in God: Lisa is a convinced Christian, and Lavretsky is an atheist. The girl very passionately discusses her faith, forgetting about everything in the world.

Lisa's love

The image of the “Turgenev girl” is very innocent. This is an inexperienced creature, new to real life. That is why Lisa does not immediately understand that she fell in love with Lavretsky. She found out about her affection only after realizing how much she had in common with her lover.

The scene of explanation between young people is noteworthy. Throughout the conversation, Lisa is silent. But the writer conveys her feelings through movements, facial expressions and gestures. Heroes are happy. And only after this scene Turgenev tells us about the past of Lisa, which gives the key to understanding her character.

Having accepted her feeling, the heroine no longer doubts anything. But the appearance of Lavretsky’s wife, who is alive, destroys her happiness. She considers this a punishment and sees one way out for herself - leaving for the monastery. But in this decision, the girl is true to herself. Faith in God tells us to do this.

The image of the "Turgenev girl" in the story "Asya": a plan

To facilitate the process of character analysis, you can draw up a general scheme of reasoning. It will look like this:

1. Brief description of the work: title, subject and problems.
2. General characteristics of the main character.
3. A detailed examination of her features and actions.
4. Answer the question of whether childhood and upbringing influenced the formation of personality.
5. The relationship of the heroine with her lover.
6. The plot denouement and debriefing.

The story "Asya"

Now we’ll try, using our plan, to analyze the image of the “Turgenev girl”. Asya was written in 1857. This story tells about a girl born from a relationship between the master and the peasant. The writer has repeatedly seen the fate of such children, so the topic was close and clear to him.

Now we turn to the description of Asi. She appears to be a typical "Turgenev girl." The girl is not particularly beautiful, but pretty, graceful, she has a lot of personal charm and originality. Here is what the author himself describes: “there was something special in her swarthy large face ... with a small thin nose, bright eyes, and children's cheeks.” In her appearance there is a lot of light and even childish. At the first meeting, she made a strange impression on the hero - there was too much sharp and swift in her gestures and actions.

As usual, the "Turgenev girl" does not open immediately. It soon becomes clear that her behavior can be explained by her past life. Despite her age, she understands the duality of her position, and this duality was transmitted to her character.

Asi's feelings

The image of the Turgenev girl in Asya is very bright. This is especially evident at the moment when the heroine realizes that the narrator paid attention to her. Meetings begin, they talk, and the man understands how spiritually rich Asya is. The girl reveals itself more and more, it becomes clear that she is firmly convinced that a person is capable of accomplishing anything, if only there would be a desire. At the same time, Asya is romantic and active, she needs an activity, she cannot calmly sit still. Love gives her new strength, makes her happy, inspires.

But happiness did not come true - the main character did not recognize love, was afraid of the opinions of the world and abandoned the heroine. That is why it leaves him unhappy until the end of days and does not give Turgenev another family and love. Asya (the image of the “Turgenev girl” is impeccable) appears as an ideal that was betrayed by the closest person.