The family of N. A. and N. I. Goncharov is known mainly because of the marriage of their youngest daughter, Natalia, with Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin. A lot of evidence has survived about the scandalous marriage of his sister-in-law Catherine with Georges Dantes. At the same time, little is known about the life that Alexander Goncharova lived, but meanwhile, she took on the burden of worries about the poet’s large family and witnessed all the events that preceded the fateful duel that deprived Russia of her most talented son.
Childhood and youth
Alexandra Goncharova was born in 1811 at the manor of Princess Baryatinskaya not far from St. Petersburg. Thanks to an active mother, she, like the other children in the family, received an excellent home education. Because of the grandfather, who squandered the family’s funds, the Goncharovs were constantly in a difficult financial situation, so they were forced to live mostly far from the capitals, mainly in the estates “Towel Plant” and “Yaropolets”. There they constantly had to get bored, and Pushkin’s matchmaking to his younger sister Natalya brought a lot of excitement to the girls' lives.
Alexandra Goncharova: youth
In 1831, A. Yu. Polivanov got involved with the girl with the active assistance of Pushkin. The young man was the owner of a neighboring estate and a good lot for a dowry. However, for unknown reasons, Alexandra's mother refused to give consent, and the marriage did not take place.
After Natalya’s departure, Alexander Goncharov and her sister Ekaterina and her husband went to the Linen Factory for two years together with her husband and their only entertainment was horse riding and playing the piano.
Moving to Petersburg
Natalia Goncharova-Pushkina was preoccupied with the fate of her older sisters, who every day had less and less chance of arranging a personal life. She persuaded her husband to host her sister-in-law, in the hope that they would be able to get in the palace with maids of honor and find husbands for themselves.
Her plans for Catherine were fully realized, however, the less attractive Alexandra could not get a position, and she devoted herself to housekeeping in the Pushkin house and raising their children.
In 1836, she had a short romance with Arkady Rosset. However, the matter never came to matchmaking.
Relations with A. S. Pushkin
After the death of the poet, a lot of rumors and speculations about his relationship with the three Goncharov sisters appeared. They even gossiped that Alexandra was in love with her sister's husband. However, studies have shown that these rumors were based on the words of Idalia Poletika, who was Pushkin’s famous hater and, after the poet’s death, did everything to discredit his memory.
Marriage
After the death of Pushkin, Alexander Goncharova continued to live with Natalia, helping her sister raise children. In the autumn of 1838, she returned with her family to St. Petersburg and, thanks to the patronage of her relative E. Zagryazhskaya, became a maid of honor at the imperial court.
When Alexandra was about 40, the pupil of her aunt Sophia de Mestre, N. I. Ivanova, who was married to Austrian diplomat Baron Gustav Vogel von Friesenhof, returned from Vienna to Petersburg. Women have been friends since childhood and have met many times since.
It turned out that Baroness Friesengoff was seriously ill, and Alexandra Nikolaevna devoted a lot of time to looking after her, surrounding her with attention and care.
In 1850, the baron was widowed, but continued to see Goncharova often. Soon Friesengoff made her an offer, which she gladly accepted. The marriage was quite happy, and the couple lived together for 37 years.
After the wedding, Baroness Friesengoff and her husband left for Austria-Hungary, in his Brodzyana estate (today located in Slovenia). There, Alexandra Goncharova, whose childhood was spent mostly in the village, felt very happy and very rarely left her new home. Moreover, his doors were always open for relatives. In particular, she repeatedly visited Natalya Nikolaevna with children from both marriages, as well as brothers and nephews.
Alexandra Goncharova: children
Although Baroness Friesengoff married at the age of 40, which at that time was considered more than solid, she knew the joy of motherhood. In 1854, her daughter Natalia Gustavovna Friesengoff was born to her. At the age of 22, the girl married Elimar the Duke of Oldenburg, the youngest offspring of the ruling dynasty of Sweden. This unequal marriage was recognized as morganatic, and it was negatively perceived not only by the parents of the groom, but also by Alexandra Nikolaevna, who understood that her daughter would have to endure her arrogant antics of her new relatives all her life. Nevertheless, in marriage, Natalia Gustavovna was happy and gave birth to two children, who were granted the title of Counts von Welsburg.
Now you know who Alexandra Goncharova was (the biography is presented above). After many years of living as a poor relative in the sister’s house, thanks to a successful tank, she became the owner of a huge fortune and the title of baroness, and also became related to one of the most powerful families in Europe.