Ivan Turgenev: Mumu

This edition includes early works by I. S. Turgenev that reveal the most important motifs of his writing: fate, duty, loneliness, the search for happiness, and others. They also demonstrate the approach to character interiority inherent to Turgenev, which was later termed "secret psychologism." "A poet must be a psychologist," Turgenev said, "but a secret one: he must know and feel the roots of phenomena, but present only the phenomena themselves—in their blossoming or withering." A sense of loneliness and despair distinguishes Turgenev’s "superfluous men"—characters unable to find an outlet for their abilities, knowledge, and talent. However, this feeling of hopelessness is characteristic not only of individualists and rebels but also of the "little man." Thus, in the novella "Mumu," written by Turgenev based on real events, Gerasim's personal drama rises to the level of a universal human tragedy. It is no coincidence that I. S. Aksakov considered the figure of Gerasim "a personification of the Russian people, their terrible strength and incomprehensible meekness."

Author: Ivan Turgenev

Pages: 352 (newsprint). Paperback

Dimensions: 180x115x15 mm

Series: Azbuka-klassika