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Ivan Turgenev Author BiographyNovelist and Dramatist known for Russian Peasantry Themes
The life and works of Russian writer, novelist and playwright Ivan Turgenev, known for his sympathy towards peasants.
Ivan Turgenev, Russian author, short-story writer, novelist and playwright, wrote about the ordinary lives of his countrymen, the peasants in particular, and the conflicts in Russian society during the 19th century. He was famous for his novel Fathers and Sons. Early Life: Education and CareerIvan (Sergeevich) Turgenev (1818-1883) was born in the province of Orel, into a wealthy family in the Ukraine region of Russia. He had an unhappy childhood due to the cruelty of his petty tyrant mother. He attended universities in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and in Berlin to study philosophy. While studying, he met and hung around with the radical political thinkers of the time. In particular, he became good friends with Alexander Herzen. Returning back to St. Petersburg in 1841, Turgenev worked for the Russian civil service for a short time before the success of two of his story-poems encouraged him to become a full-time writer. He took up literature which displeased his mother. Young LoveDuring this time Turgenev also became infatuated with the opera singer Paulina Garcia Viardot (Madame Viardot). His mother disapproved of this, too. As a result, she stopped financial support which extended in his inheritance. Through his writings, he was forced to support himself. Writing InfluenceHis writings showed the strong influence of Alexander Pushkin. At 34, he produced Khor and Khalynich, his first sketch of peasant life, which appeared again in Russian Life in the Interior. As a writer, Turgenev established his reputation through his sympathetic insights of the peasant life, but earned displeasure from the government who interpreted it as an attack on serfdom. Early WorksThe sketch of peasant life, Turgenev's first important work, is more commonly known as A Sportsman's Sketches (or The Hunting Sketches). They are short pieces written from the point of view of a young nobleman who is surprised to find the qualities of intelligence and morality among the peasants who live on his family's estates. Turgenev was one of the first Russian authors who wrote realistically about the lives of peasants and who portrayed them as worthwhile human beings. In 10th-century Russia peasants were little more than slaves, and all power lay with the czar. Turgenev wrote many novels on this theme to stress his sentiments against serfdom. In his famous novel, Fathers and Sons, he showed the conflict between the older generation, who respect tradition, and the youth, who are Nihilists, relying heavily on materialism, faith in science, and lack of respect for tradition and authority. Last YearsDisappointed at the lack of reform, Turgenev left Russia and settled first in Germany and then in France. He died in Paris, aged 64, but his remains were taken back to Russia and buried in St. Petersburg. Books by Ivan Turgenev
Sources:Chambers Biographical Dictionary (New Edition), edited by Una McGovern (2002) Larousse Dictionary of Writers, edited by Rosemary Goring (1994)
The copyright of the article Ivan Turgenev Author Biography in Great Writers is owned by Tel Asiado. Permission to republish Ivan Turgenev Author Biography in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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