Turgenev's Pesn' torzhestvuiushchei liubvi The Song of Triumphant Love: the Flaubert connection

Pesn' torzhestvuiushchei liubvi has always occupied a singular position among Turgenev's works. On the one hand, it has been placed within the series of 'mysterious tales' that dominated his last period. On the other, its chronological and geographic setting distinguish it from a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Slavonic papers 2013-03, Vol.55 (1-2), p.215-236
Main Author: Zekulin, Nicholas G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Flaubert, Gustave
France
Geography
History
Literature
Love
Novels
Russia
Time
Turgenev, Ivan
Writers
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Pesn' torzhestvuiushchei liubvi has always occupied a singular position among Turgenev's works. On the one hand, it has been placed within the series of 'mysterious tales' that dominated his last period. On the other, its chronological and geographic setting distinguish it from all Turgenev's other mature works. From its first publication in 1881, its uniqueness has been seen as a factor of its links with Flaubert, two of whose Trois contes [Three Stories] ('La Légende de saint Julien l'Hospitalier' [The Legend of St. Julian the Hospitaller] and 'Hérodias') Turgenev had translated into Russian and published in 1877. Using a close reading of the relevant texts, this study examines the devices utilized by Flaubert that Turgenev appropriates, how he employs them and how his use differs from that of Flaubert. The conclusion suggests that while Turgenev shows a profound understanding of Flaubert's methods, he takes only those elements that are useful to him to pursue a theme-the nature of love-that had long been central to his own works. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT] Reprinted by permission of Canadian Slavonic Papers/Revue canadienne des slavistes
ISSN:0008-5006